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The Castling Race: Push Pawns, Count Tempi, Win

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Kings on opposite wings turn a game into a race. Capablanca shows how to win it: push your pawns, count the tempi, and get there first.

Good day, chess world!

This is the eleventh game in Capablanca's own Chess Fundamentals book and it is a textbook opposite-side castling attack.
Playing White against Dawid Janowski. Capablanca castles kingside and sends his queenside pawns at the enemy king.
When kings are on different sides of the board, the game turns into a race to open lines against the opponent's king.

If you are enjoying my posts take a look at the lesson link on my website where I expand on this lessons. You can also sign up to the free email lessons on Logical chess and Capablanca's strategy course.

Four exercises from the game

Try to solve each before you watch. Capablanca is White here and wins the race, so every exercise asks for White's move, the pawn-storm technique that got there first. The answers are in the full game at the bottom, in the video, and in the website lesson linked below.

Exercise 1. White to play (move 11). The kings are on opposite wings. Which quiet rook move prepares the queenside pawn storm?

Exercise 2. White to play (move 15). Which pawn thrust rips open the files in front of the black king?

Exercise 3. White to play (move 17). Which knight jump to the outpost dominates the board and feeds the attack?

Exercise 4. White to play (move 31). Which queen move finishes on the light squares around the black king?

Play through the full game with my notes here:

https://lichess.org/study/Gez3HLqp/3KXsrjJI

Questions, or a move you would have played differently? Tell me in the comments. Good day, chess world.

Watch the video and go deeper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhBzbocWQLs

Free interactive lesson for this game, with board diagrams and six puzzles, on my website: https://chessexcellence.com/f/opposite-side-castling-pawn-storm-attack-capablanca-janowski-1914.html

Free Capablanca notes (PDF): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfVtlFBDTaYahWI-VcpZOUIGn7ly5R4mYnjoEgg2OOgHn1tzQ/viewform

Free study sheets from my Logical Chess Move by Move series: https://forms.gle/nEt1DWY5pKGq7T3n6

See the whole Capablanca's Chess Fundamentals series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYil0efSf2As