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.Lasker will play Mr.Reti, and Mr.Lasker will play Mr.Alekhine.Mr.Maroczy has drawn the bye.Gentlemen, you may begin when you are ready!"GAME 46 -- EM.LASKER VS.RETILike a juggernaut, Dr.Lasker has been unstoppable in this event.He has yet to lose a game!Meanwhile, Reti has enjoyed some success of his own, but his has been a bit less predictable.The two friends were conversing when the pairings were announced, so they walk to theboard together, take their places on opposite sides, shake hands, and prepare for battle.Theclock is started, Dr.Lasker pushes the e-pawn to e4, and the game has begun!AFTER THE GAMEWell, that certainly didn't take long! Reti seems to be somewhat off his usual form today.After the game, Dr.Lasker stays around to watch the remaining contests.Reti, meanwhile,remembers to pick up his briefcase(!), and leaves the hall by the side door.We go out theback way and catch up with him.We ask him what he thinks went wrong."I'm not entirely sure," he replies."I was not entirely comfortable with the flow of the game.Isuppose I just lost my way in opening the d-file."You see, Herr Doktor enjoys putting his opponents in uncomfortable situations, even if thatmeans he ends up with an unfavorable position of his own.That, unfortunately, was not thecase in this game.He excels at open positions and I never really had the chance to exploit anymistakes here."We ask him about Lasker's reputation for luck or for having some sort of hypnotic influenceover his opponents."Superstitious nonsense!" Reti snorts."The answer is much more complex: the doctor usespsychology to win his games.In fact, I'm working on an article on the subject in my sparetime during this tournament.I plan to publish it after the tournament is over."GAME 47 -- MARSHALL VS.CAPABLANCAThis game is one of the more interesting matchups we've seen so far.There's no bad blood orill will between these players, but they do have a history.In 1909, Capablanca was a young,up-and-coming player on the international chess scene, while Frank Marshall was already aveteran and arguably one of the strongest players in the world.Eager to build upon his rapidlygrowing reputation, Capablanca challenged Marshall to a match.The American agreed, andthe pair faced off in the spring and early summer in New York.Capablanca stunned the chessworld by not just defeating Marshall but by soundly trouncing him, winning eight games,losing only one, and drawing the other fourteen.Marshall shows no sign of being the least bit taken aback by this memory.There's no way toknow if he's even thinking about it, as he smiles broadly and greets the World Championwarmly when they meet at the board.Carrie Marshall is a different story.Her nervousness is written on her face like words in abook.She's nervous, yet hopeful that her husband will come away with the victory today.Marshall glances at Carrie as the clock is started.He smiles and winks as he pushes the d-pawn forward to start the game.AFTER THE GAMEThe players agree to a draw, shaking hands on the deal.Then they look at each other for amoment and are suddenly hard-pressed to keep from laughing.Marshall pantomimes wipingsweat from his brow and the Champion starts to chuckle.He looks at the board and raises hishand in a half-shrug as if to say "What happened?" Marshall points at the Black King and thensweeps his hand over the board from right to left.Capa studies the board for a moment andmakes hand motions over the Queenside as if to say "I was trying to break through over here".Then the two lean forward and start discussing the game in low tones.They set the pieces upand spend many minutes analyzing the game.We can't hear what they're saying and ourattention is soon diverted by the other games still being played.GAME 48 -- ED.LASKER VS.ALEKHINEEdward Lasker has had a less-than-stellar tournament so far (to say the least).Meanwhile,Alekhine is near the top of the table.The crowd expects a bloodbath.We contemplate the ideaof not even watching this game.Lasker, to his credit, shows no concern.He wears his near-perpetual half-smile as he seatshimself at the board.It's hard to tell who is more relaxed: Lasker or his opponent.We're sureAlekhine anticipates an easy win, so he has no worries.Perhaps Lasker feels that he hasnothing to lose and everything to gain in this game.In any event, he seems to have no worriesgoing into this struggle.The opponents shake hands and the game begins.AFTER THE GAMEBoy, Edward Lasker sure had Alekhine going there for awhile! What a battle! It just goes toshow that you can never tell what's going to happen in chess!The two players sit and analyze the game for a long time.Alekhine uncharacteristically seemsvery interested in the ideas of his admittedly weaker opponent.Perhaps Alekhine has a new-found respect for the players at the bottom of the table.GAME 49 -- YATES VS.BOGOLJUBOWOne has to wonder what's going through the head of Frederick Dewhurst Yates these days.The three-time British champion has been somewhat less than successful so far in New York.He's had just one win (against Edward Lasker) and seems to have permanently staked out aplace for himself at the bottom of the table.Yates' opponent for this round, Bogoljubow, has had a better time of it.He's notched up threewins (against Marshall, Maroczy, and Reti) and though he's still 2.5 points off the lead heseems to be comfortably situated in the center of the pack.The competitors meet at the board and exchange pleasantries, but then get ready for battle.The clock is started and the fight begins.AFTER THE GAMEBogoljubow and Yates analyze the game for a few minutes, but the Englishman alreadyknows what move was his undoing.Bogo exits the hall quickly, but Yates sits at the table for a moment.He seems to bemeditating (or at least in some deep thought).He seems to be thinking "What am I doing herein New York? Did I sail across the Atlantic for this?" Slowly he rouses himself, shakes hishead as though clearing it, caps his pen, and silently leaves the hall without so much as abackward glance.GAME 50 -- JANOWSKI VS.TARTAKOWERDr.Tartakower greets his opponent warmly as they seat themselves at the board.This,however, seems to do little to brighten Janowski's perpetually gloomy outlook.TheFrenchman still appears nervous and edgy as he prepares himself for battle against the masterof the Hypermodern method.Tartakower leans back in his chair and awaits the starting of the clock.He runs his hand overthe top of his rounded head and gazes at the room about him, completely unconcerned.Janowski fidgets with his pen, tapping his foot rapidly on the floor.An arbiter steps to their table and starts Janowski's clock.A trembling hand reaches for the d-pawn.AFTER THE GAMEJanowski is as pleased after the game as he was nervous before it.His facial expression hasbrightened considerably since the game's conclusion.Tartakower, meanwhile, seems on the verge of laughter.He realizes that he blundered badlyby castling on the wrong side and seems greatly amused by his own folly.The two masters spend many minutes going over their game together.They eventually riseand leave the hall, still talking about today's misadventure.ROUND ELEVEN -- MARCH 30THE SCORE SO FARPLAYER SCORE W D LLASKER,EM.7.0 5 4 0ALEKHINE 6.0 4 4 1CAPABLANCA 6.0 3 6 1RETI 5.0 4 2 3TARTAKOWER 5.0 3 4 2BOGOLJUBOW 4.5 4 1 4MAROCZY 4.0 2 4 3MARSHALL 4.0 1 6 2JANOWSKI 3.5 2 3 4LASKER,ED.3.0 0 6 3YATES 2.0 1 2 6As the halfway point approaches, we see Dr.Lasker continuing his winning ways.He's wonfully half of the games he's played so far and hasn't lost a game!The arch-rivals Capablanca and Alekhine are nipping at Lasker's heels, though, tied a pointback at six [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]