PART II
GAME 1. QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED
(Match, 1909)
White: F. J. Marshall. Black: J. R. Capablanca.
| 1. P - Q 4 | P - Q 4 | |
| 2. P - Q B 4 | P - K 3 | |
| 3. Kt - Q B 3 | Kt - K B 3 | |
| 4. B - Kt 5 | B - K 2 | |
| 5. P - K 3 | Kt - K 5 |
I had played this defence twice before in the match with good results, and although I lost this game I still played it until the very last game, when I changed my tactics. The reason was my total lack of knowledge of the different variations in this opening, coupled with the fact that I knew that Dr. E. Lasker had been successful with it against Marshall himself in 1907. I thought that since Dr. Lasker had played it so often, it should be good. The object is to exchange a couple of pieces and at the same time to bring about a position full of possibilities and with promising chances of success once the end-game stage is reached. On general principles it should be wrong, because the
same Knight is moved three times in the opening, although it involves the exchange of two pieces. In reality the difficulty in this variation, as well as in nearly all the variations of the Queen's gambit, lies in the slow development of Black's Queen Bishop. However, whether this variation can or cannot be safely played is a question still to be decided, and it is outside the scope of this book. I may add that at present my preference is for a different system of development, but it is not unlikely that I should some time come back to this variation.
| 6. B × B | Q × B | |
| 7. B - Q 3 |