Marco-Maroczy: A French Exchange Four Knights Endgame

Geza Maroczy (March 3, 1870-May 29, 1951) was a Hungarian grandmaster who was one of the world’s top players in the early twentieth century. His opponent in the game shown is Georg Marco (November 29, 1863-August 29, 1923), who was a Romanian who lived in Vienna. Marco was a tournament and match player who edited the Wiener Schachzeitung and wrote annotated tournament and match books.

The Marco-Maroczy game is from the Kolisch Memorial of 1899-1900, which took place in Vienna, Austria. Maroczy scored 9/11 with 7 wins, 4 draws, and no losses. This put him 1.5 points ahead of Schlechter and Brody (7.5/11). Alapin was next with 6.5. Marco was in a three way tie for fifth with 6 points.

The opening was the French Defense. Marco opted for the Exchange Variation, which is less popular now. Many of the other options in the Exchange Variation are shown in the notes. Part of Maroczy’s win as White against Akiba Rubinstein in 1908 is included. The players were often in symmetrical positions. Maroczy was the winner in an endgame that had pawns on both sides and four knights. Improvements for Marco are shown in the notes. However, on move 73... the alternative in the notes has been previously proposed as a draw. My analysis indicates that Black still wins in that line. In any case, Maroczy’s move made for an easier win.