I was given that position to solve on Chess Tactics Trainer - position 0026207! Of course in the given postition it was  easy to solve but that Nd7 was  a humdinger!

simply mind  blowing..........th u soo much...........this is real chess

An amazing sac and a neat mate!

"I think for black 21.Rxd7 better is Re7."

then it is mate in two: Nxf6 ...Kh6 Qh5 mate

I think for black 21.Rxd7 better is Re7.

Dont know but did they play with a clock in those days? how long did J had time to think?

Nowadays the clock plays an important role and even GM may miss such a long continuation.

about whether J calculated it all through: I am reading Tals autobiography and he says that he often sacrificed based on intuition. He was seldom wrong.

but this combination is amazing no matter how he found it!

why stuff like this is not often found in GM games today is because GM now defend positionally better. balck should have played his rook to d8 and not to e8 I think.

I don't think too many of those players you listed were in a class above Janowski.  He was one of the world's best in his prime.

And yes, though 22 Ne4 is quite a move, I would guess that DJ foresaw it when he made the bishop sac.  As you say, such attacks were his forte.

jpatrick said:

"I doubt that Janowski "saw" 22.Ne4 when he played 17.Bxh7+, though he may have.   Very often the game is decided by a continuation foreseen by neither player."

I suspect he did, all but one of those moves was forced.  For all of his weaknesses, this game is the kind of tactical battle he shined in.

Janowski was a class below the players that would have been his peers (Lasker, Rubinstein, Capablanca, Maróczy, Tarrasch, Marshall, Tartakower, Réti, Nimzowitsch, Alekhine, Pillsbury, etc.) but he was a top 20 player for nearly 20 years.  Everybody recalls that Lasker and Capablanca dominated him, but he scored respectably against most of the top masters of his time.

Thx for the game!!!

Thanks, ShermanLee

Great game!

A very combinative attack that culminates into an Arabian mate.

to ShermanLee

I think if

22.  ...    Bxe4

23. Qxf6  Rg8

24. Rcc7 +-

with no other black piece can defend g7

I doubt that Janowski "saw" 22.Ne4 when he played 17.Bxh7+, though he may have.   Very often the game is decided by a continuation foreseen by neither player.

Moves like 17.Bxh7+ are played using judgment supported by calculation, and tempered with experience.  Sometimes you have to enter a line knowing that the continuation is there, and trusting that you can find it.

Good game but not sure why Mikenas (white) should have spent any time looking at 21...Bc6, which I think is far inferior to at least three other black moves including 21...Rf8

to percivalfox

I think the point in 22 Ne4 is that black if black goes for the night, white can go 23 Qf6 because the pawn is pinned and with the bishop gone the g7 pawn would be unprotected. Also if black goes for the rook 22 ... Bd7 it is followed by 23 Nxf6 forking king, bishop, and rook. Im also a noob but its my best bid.

From move 16 on you showed alternative lines and demonstrated the promblems that occur when you play that move. That's a completely fine thing to do and very helpful for me. But at move 22 you only tell us that the move is amazing, but not why. Because if it wouldn't be Janowski playing, I'd say that what white achieved by that move is to successfully hang his knight... so at that point I as an amateur need some help! ....

Gracias, Julio. Vaya manera de maniatar al rival Precioso mate!

capa's execution of this line is much more convincing.

extremely similar to a capablanca match in an example from an article a couple of days ago about finding your style and attacking your own weaknesses head on.