The new book by Thomas Engqvist, Réti: Move by Move (Everyman Chess), about the hypermodern leader Richard Réti, is so significant that it deserves further examination.
Perhaps Réti’s most celebrated victory came against Capablanca, who had come through his 1921 world title contest and the subsequent great tournament of London 1922 without losing a single game. When Réti defeated Capablanca with his new opening system at New York 1924, it was the first game lost by Capa in eight years. It created a sensation.
Réti-Capablanca: New York 1924, Réti Opening
1 Nf3 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 b4 Bg7 4 Bb2 0–0 5 g3 b6 6 Bg2 Bb7 7 0–0 d6 8 d3 Nbd7 9 Nbd2 e5 10 Qc2 Re8 11 Rfd1 a5 12 a3 h6 13 Nf1 It is a mistake to play 13 Nxe5? on account of 13 … Bxg2 14 Nxd7 Qxd7 15 Kxg2 Rxe2, when Black controls the e-file as well as the long light diagonal after the further … Qc6+.
Raymond Keene
Capa capitulates
issue 28 January 2017
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