Of chess, it has been said that life is not long enough for it, but that is the fault of life, not chess.
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[Event "Breslau"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1912.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Levitsky"]
[Black "Marshall, Frank"]
[Result "0-1"]
[BlackElo "unknown"]
[ECO "C10"]
[TimeControl "0"]
[WhiteElo "unknown"]
{ This game is usually considered to be the best game of Frank Marshall
because it contains what many believe to be the best move ever played on a
chess board.|Lasker or Capablanca were better players, but they had
nothing on Frank Marshall when it came to aggressive attitude, combinational
skill, and pure imagination.|It is said that the spectators showered the
board with gold coins after the incredible conclusion of this game. Is the
game worth gold? Does it contain the best move ever played? See for
yourself. } 1. d4 { C10: French with 3 Nc3: Unusual Black 3rd moves instead of
3...dxe4 } 1... e6 2. e4 d5 3. Nc3 c5 { Marshall plays a weak move that will
ultimately allow white to shred black's center. Perhaps black was hoping for
tactical chances in the resulting complex position. } 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. exd5 exd5 6. Be2 Nf6 7. O-O Be7 8. Bg5 O-O 9. dxc5 { Black's d-pawn becomes a juicy
target; isolated, alone. } 9... Be6 { Black cannot afford the loss of his entire
center. He wastes no time bolstering the weakling. } 10. Nd4 Bxc5 11. Nxe6 { A
bad idea by white. Black reconnects a strong central pair of pawns, opens up
the f- file for his Rooks. White cannot generate counter play against the
central pawns in time. } 11... fxe6 12. Bg4 Qd6 13. Bh3 Rae8 14. Qd2 { White should
have played a3 to control the important b4 square. } 14... Bb4 { Black immediately
pins the poor knight. } 15. Bxf6 { White deals with black's threat of Nf6-e4. } 15... Rxf6 16. Rad1 { Now white deals with the threat of d5-d4. } 16... Qc5 17. Qe2 { White
sets up what he hopes will be a simple exchange of pawns, but Marshall sees
more deeply. } 17... Bxc3 18. bxc3 Qxc3 19. Rxd5 { Of course not 19... exd5 because
20. Qxe8 leads to mate. } 19... Nd4 { Black activates his knight while gaining time
on white's queen. How should white respond? The queen must keep pressure on
the e8-rook. If 20. Qe5 then 20... Nf3+! 21. gxf3 Rg6+ is crushing. } 20. Qh5 $2 { White loses the upper hand. 20. Qe4 Rf4 21. Qe5 is white's only chance. } 20... Ref8 { With the decisive threat Rxf2. Black has nothing to gain by 20...
exd5?! 21. Qxe8+ Rf8 22. Be6+ Nxe6 23. Qxe6+ Rf7 24. Qxd5 Qxc2 25. f3 =.
20... g6 allows 21. Qe5 =. } 21. Re5 { White may have wanted to play 21. Rc5,
but after 21... Rxf2! the game is over. 22. Rxf2 Qe1+ or 22. g3 Nf3+ are
both crushing. } 21... Rh6 22. Qg5 { If 22. Qg4? then black would win routinely with
22... Nf3+ discovery on the rook on e5. } 22... Rxh3 23. Rc5 Qg3 { There you have a
move to admire. The Queen is en prise three ways. All of which lose. If
24. hxf3, then 24... Ne2 is mate. If 24. fxg3, then 24... Ne2+ leads to
mate. The game could have continued painfully for white like this: 24. Qxg3
Ne2+ 25. Kh1 Nxg3+ 26. Kg1 Nxf1. } 0-1