chessgames.com
Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players · Kibitzing
Alexander Alekhine vs Enrique Linares Jr
Blindfold simul, 8b (1939) (blindfold), Panama City PAN
French Defense: Classical Variation. Richter Attack (C13)  ·  1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

explore this opening
find similar games 2,194 more games of Alekhine
sac: 22.Rxg7+ PGN: download | view | print Help: general | java-troubleshooting

TIP: Help with kibitzing features can be found on our Kibtizing Help Page.

PGN Viewer:  What is this?
For help with this chess viewer, please see the Olga Chess Viewer Quickstart Guide.
PREMIUM MEMBERS CAN REQUEST COMPUTER ANALYSIS [more info]

A COMPUTER ANNOTATED SCORE OF THIS GAME IS AVAILABLE.  [CLICK HERE]

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 3 OF 3 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Jul-10-06  RandomVisitor: Is this the longest Black can hold out?

22.Rxg7+ Kxg7 23.Rg1+ Bg5 24.Bxf5 Kf8 25.Qh8+ Ke7 26.Qh7 Ke8 27.Rxg5 Qxg5 28.fxg5 h3 29.g6 Kd8 30.g7 Re8 31.Qh4+ Kc7 32.g8Q Bxf5 33.Qf7+ Bd7 34.e6 Rxe6 35.Qg3+ Kd8 36.Qgg7 Rd6 37.Qff8 Kc7 38.Qxd6+ Kb6 39.Qgxd7 Ka6 40.Q7c7 h2 41.Qa3#

Jul-10-06  notyetagm: <RandomVisitor> Wow, so are you telling us that the Monday puzzle could be described as "White To Play: Mate in 20"!

I saw the standard idea of the <♖xg7 SACRIFICE>, 22 ♖xg7+! ♔xg7 23 ♖g1+, but then I had trouble finding an immediate mate because the Black king can slip away to the queenside via ... ♔e8, ... ♔d7 if White is not careful.

Now I feel better. I could not believe that I could not find a simple mating continuation after 23 ♖g1+!. There is no simple mate in that position!

Jul-10-06  notyetagm: See McShane's 41 ♖x♗g7! in McShane vs Illescas-Cordoba, 2005 for a simpler example of the <♖xg7! SACRIFICE> theme.

After Black recaptured with 41 ... ♔xg7?, 42 ♖g1+ is the first move of a mate in 6 that is not too hard to calculate, unlike the mate in 20(!) that <RandomVisitor> pointed out in this Alekhine game.

Jul-10-06  notyetagm: Yet another not too difficult <♖xg7! SACRIFICE> to work out is Houska's excellent 19 ... ♖xb2! from S McGrane vs J Houska, 2006. Her rook sacrifice leads to a quick win, unlike Alekhine's in this game.

Jul-10-06  YouRang: <notyetagm><Now I feel better. I could not believe that I could not find a simple mating continuation after 23 g1+!. There is no simple mate in that position!>

True. But White can threaten mate such that Black must surrender its queen to escape. I suspect that this is the point of the puzzle.

Jul-10-06  notyetagm: <YouRange> But it's Monday! I expected to find at most a mate in 4 or something like that.
Jul-10-06  xKinGKooLx: This was easy... I got the initial move in about 1 second and the continuation in about 1 minute. I saw 22. ♖xg7+ ♔xg7 23. ♖g1+ ♗g5 24. ♖xg5+ and Black must give up his queen or be mated. For example... 24. ...♔f8 25. ♕h8+ ♔e(f)7 26. ♖g7#. If instead of 23. ...♗g5 Black blocks with 23. ...♖g6, then 24. ♕xg6+ ♔f8 25. ♕g8#, or 24. ...♔h8 25. ♕g7#. A nice rook sacrifice. It is a good puzzle because it allows you to look at several mating sequences.
Jul-10-06  EmperorAtahualpa: I actually had to stare at this puzzle for a bit before I spotted 22.Rxg7+ Kxg7 23.Rg1+! Certainly not the easiest Monday puzzle...
Jul-10-06  YouRang: <notyetagm> <But it's Monday! I expected to find at most a mate in 4 or something like that.>

I gather that this puzzle was a little harder than the typical Monday puzzle, but not all Monday puzzles are forced mates. Occasionally, it's mate-or-lose-your-queen, like today. :-)

Jul-10-06  BishopofBlunder: <kevin86: I miss a Monday puzzle! I guess it's time to turn in my membership card to the human race! lol>

I thought we all did that when we became chessplayers.

Jul-10-06  unferth: <Richerby: I'm not sure what the `1of8' means but I notice that Alekhine vs Rodriguez Vicente, 1939 is also described as `Panama City 1of8'>

One of eight games at an Alekhine simul, I'd guess.

Jul-10-06  jperr75108: Pretty impressive for a simul. Hard for a monday, got the first move but not all the variations.
Jul-10-06  Fezzik: My biggest surprise here was that there's a chess player named Linares. I thought the tournament was named after a place. Could it be named after the Linares family?
Jul-10-06  Fezzik: Random visitor's lines of analysis are precisely what is meant by knowing when to stop. White was just plain winning after 23.Rg1+. Yes, Black could throw the kitchen sink at White, but after White took everything, he was still winning. Black was wise to resign.

The mate in 16 is ridiculous. Any human would consider resigning before reaching that position!

Jul-11-06  Richerby: <unferth: One of eight games at an Alekhine simul, I'd guess.> For that to be the case, Alekhine would have had to play two 8-board simuls in Panama City in 1939. Of course, that's not impossible.
Jul-11-06  Richerby: <fezzik: I thought the tournament was named after a place.> The Linares tournament has that name because it is played in the city of Linares, Spain, yes. (Except this year the first half was played in Mexico.) It's not unusual for people and places to share names.
Jul-11-06  notyetagm: <Fezzik: Random visitor's lines of analysis are precisely what is meant by knowing when to stop. ... The mate in 16 is ridiculous. Any human would consider resigning before reaching that position!>

<RandomVisitor> was simply showing what the truth was in the position. Black is able to put off being mated for quite some time.

I found his post useful because it showed that Black can last much longer than I initially thought. Now that did not make that big of a difference in this position but how many times have you played a speculative sacrifice "assuming" there was no defense to your mate threats and lo and behold your opponent found one?

Jul-12-06  unferth: <Richerby: For that to be the case, Alekhine would have had to play two 8-board simuls in Panama City in 1939. Of course, that's not impossible.>

more likely, both this game and the other were part of the same simul.

Jul-14-06  Richerby: Well, they can't both have been played on board 1 of the same 8-board simul!
Jul-14-06  Calli: <Richerby> "1 of n" is a very common notation to indicate a simul and the number of games in the simul. "Board" is not implied. This and the Rodriguez were played in the same simul. Alekhine played 8 games blindfold and finished in less than 2 hours, the opposition being very weak.
Jul-17-06  Richerby: <Calli> Oh, I see. It means `one of the n games played' rather than `this is game number one; and you can find games two, three, ..., n somewhere else.'
Mar-21-09  WhiteRook48: is this what they named the Linares tournaments after?
Jul-29-10
Premium Chessgames Member
  GrahamClayton: One of 8 simultaneous blindfold games played in Panama City in March 1939. Alekhine finished with a +8, -0, =0.
Sep-03-11  chenturini: This game are played in Panama City, Republic of Panama, in 1939, and the World Champion played a 8 simultaneous blindfold and win all games. At the time Enrique Linares jr., was one of the best isthmian chessplayer, and in 1947 was the 2nd panamanian champion.
Nov-07-15  TheFocus: From a simultaneous blindfold exhibition in Panama City, Panama at the Club Dispuesta. The exact date is not known.

Alekhine scored +8=0-0.

See <American Chess Bulletin 1939>, pg. 35.

Jump to page #    (enter # from 1 to 3)
search thread:   
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 3 OF 3 ·  Later Kibitzing>

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

  1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
  2. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
  3. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
  4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
  5. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
  6. No trolling.
  7. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
  8. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

Blow the Whistle

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.


NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific game only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

This game is type: BLINDFOLD. Please report incorrect or missing information by submitting a correction slip to help us improve the quality of our content.

<This page contains Editor Notes. Click here to read them.>

Featured in the Following Game Collections[what is this?]
French Classical. Richter Attk (C13) 1-0 Blindfold Kside crush
from g-pawn/file demolition after FTB's ECO C Eve by fredthebear
22. Rxg7+!
from Weakened Castled Position by patzer2
Alekhine's 22 Rxg7+! destroys the Black kingside
from Rxg7!, ... Rxg2! sacrifices by notyetagm
French Classical. Richter Attk (C13) 1-0 Blindfold Kside crush
from Trompy, Byrne Bg5 Stuff Fredthebear by fredthebear
The Greatest!!
by Antiochus
The castle under siege...
from Collections in Idleness 6 by Trigonometrist
22.? (Monday, July 10)
from Puzzle of the Day 2006 by Phony Benoni
22.? (July 10, 2006)
from Monday Puzzles, 2004-2010 by Phony Benoni
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Alyokhin Attacks
by Owl
Chess Miniatures, Collection XVII
by wwall
22. Rxg7+!
from Weakened Castled Position by Jaredfchess
The castle under siege...
from Collections in Idleness 6 by xajik
22.? (Monday, July 10)
from POTD French 1 by takchess
The castle under siege...
from Collections in Idleness 6 Compiled by xajik by kishchess
The castle under siege...
from Collections in Idleness 6 by kishchess

Home | About | Login | Logout | F.A.Q. | Profile | Preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Café | Biographer's Bistro | New Kibitzing | Chessforums | Tournament Index | Player Directory | Notable Games | World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections | ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Store | Privacy Notice | Contact Us

Copyright 2001-2023, Chessgames Services LLC