The Knight on f5 That Marshall Could Never Chase

Good day, chess world!

This is game 8 of Capablanca's My Chess Career, the sixth game of the 1909 Marshall match. This game is a great demonstration of the value of outpost squares and how to use them effectively.

The whole game turns on one square. Capablanca manoeuvres his queen knight b1 to d2 to f1 to e3 and finally to f5, where no pawn can ever attack it. Marshall is then playing a piece down where it matters. The knight does not win material. It just sits there, takes away squares, and lets every other white piece pile up on the h-file. When the attack finally hits home it is a rook sacrifice on h6. The knight on f5 is one of the pieces covering the escape squares.

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Four exercises from the game

Try to solve each before you watch. Capablanca is White here and he wins, so every exercise asks for White's move. The outpost itself is a slow idea built over several quiet moves, so these exercises test the moments where that long term plan turns into something concrete. 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 14). Marshall has just taken on g4 to break up your kingside pawns. There are two ways to recapture and only one of them is right. Which, and why?

Exercise 2. White to play (move 28). Marshall has finally traded off your famous knight with Bxf5. Which pawn recaptures, and what does it do to his king?

Exercise 3. White to play (move 30). Your queen is on h5 and both rooks are on the h-file. Where does the queen go to tie Black up completely?

Exercise 4. White to play (move 32). You have just given a rook on h6 and Marshall recaptured with the g-pawn. His king sits on f8. Which capture reopens the attack and wins?

Play through the full game with my notes here:

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

Watch the video and go deeper

Youtube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3Jhin1UxNQ

The full chess lesson on my website. https://chessexcellence.com/f/how-to-use-a-knight-outpost-capablanca-vs-marshall.html

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The full list of lessons : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPOO5Irce4Zw