Lasker-Capablanca, Moscow 1935

At Moscow 1935 twenty players engaged in a nineteen round event. At the end, Salo Flohr and Mikhail Botvinnik were on top with 13 points. Flohr was undefeated and had seven wins to Botvinnik’s nine, but Botvinnik had two losses. Emanuel Lasker was in clear third place with 6 wins and thirteen draws (12.5/19). The undefeated Lasker was followed by Jose R. Capablanca who had seven wins and two losses (12/19). The game selected is Lasker-Capablanca from round nine. This game provided Lasker with a full point and one of the brilliancy prizes.
Lasker opened with 1.e4. Capablanca did not respond with 1.e5. This avoided the Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation with which Lasker, as White, won against Capablanca at St. Petersburg 1914. That may not be the reason Capablanca played 1...e6 resulting in the French Defense. The game became a Winawer Variation with Lasker opting for 4.Nge2, a move popularized by Alekhine. Play developed to Lasker’s advantage and he never let Capablanca equalize. My notes show other lines and a number of other games, most by Lasker. A few notes are from Ludwig Rellstab (1904-1983), a German IM. At the end, I tried to show what could have happened if Capablanca had played it out.