Marshall-Bigelow, Lake Hopatcong 1923

Position after 50...Kd8.
What's the quickest way for White to play and win?

I have analyzed several more games from Lake Hopatcong 1923. Here is the chess column of Sunday, August 19, 1923 from The Daily Brooklyn Eagle.

MARSHALL STILL THE LEADER IN CHESS TOURNEY
Schapiro, Brooklyn Entry, Holds Champion to Draw at Lake Hopatcong
by Hermann Helms
(Staff Correspondent of the Eagle)

Lake Hopatcong, N.J., Aug. 18--

The close of play in the 11th round of the masters' tournament of the ninth American chess contest, at the Hotel Alamac, found Frank J. Marshall, the United States champion, still in possession of the lead, with a total of 81/2-1!/2, although Kupchik of New York equals his total wins. The latter's losses, however, figure up to 2!/2 points. Marshall expects to increase his score to 9 at least when his adjourned game with Janowski is finished tomorrow.

Barring accidents a draw is looked for by most everybody. In that case Janowski and Kupchik will be on equal terms, half a point behind the champion. A more thrilling finish, with only two more rounds to go, could not well be wished for.

Morris A. Schapiro of Brooklyn, star player at Columbia University and holder of the Manhattan Chess Club's championship, was again at the top of his form today, when he had to deal with Marshall following his finely earned draw with Janowski in the previous round. Again he was a stumbling block to the aspirations of the great international expert, whose American title he is said to covet. At any rate, it is generally understood that his closest friends have been grooming him for a possible contest fot the championship in the near future.
The fact that Schapiro held Marshall to a draw at a time when the latter was keen to win and place a greater distance between himself and his rivals shows that he is of the stuff of which champions are made. Marshall took some chaces in the opening, playing the black side of a queen-gambit declined. He refrained from castling in order to post his rook on the open king's knight file. Schapiro broke open the queen's wing of the board and in the minds of some it looked just a bit dubious for the national champion.

Marshall Strengthens Position

Marshall, however, pulled the loose ends of his position together and entered the ending on even terms. In fact, he had a passed pawn on the queen's rooks file, but Schapiro, with two rooks was closely watching its advance. After 59 moves, a draw was agreed upon. Had Schapiro shown the same steadiness throughout the tournament as he did against Janowski and Marshall his prospects for a high place would be brighter. His score now reads 61/2-41/2, and he is tied for fifth place with Chajes of the Rice Progressive Chess Club.

United States champion Marshall had a hard fight on his hands in the 10th round in order to maintain his lead over Janowski and Kupchik in the chess masters tournament at Lake Hopatcong. Bigelow held him for 57 moves, but was finally outwitted by Marshall, who handled his Knight in superb style.

[Event "9th American Chess Congress"]
[Site "Lake Hopatcong, NJ USA"]
[Date "1923.08.17"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Marshall, Frank James"]
[Black "Bigelow, Horace Ransom"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D55"]
[Annotator "Goeller,Michael"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[TimeControl "40/150"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 b6 $2 7. cxd5 $1 exd5 $6 (7... Nxd5 8. Nxd5 exd5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Rc1 Qb4+ 11. Qd2 $14) 8. Rc1 O-O 9. Bd3 Bb7 10. O-O c5 11. Bf5 Ne4 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13. Bxd7 $1 Qxd7 14. dxc5 Nxc5 15. Qd4 $16 Rad8 16. Rfd1 Rfe8 17. h3 h6 18. Ne5 $6 (18. Qf4 Ne4 19. Nd4 $16) 18... Qf5 19. Nd3 $6 Nxd3 $6 (19... Ne6 $1 20. Qe5 Qg6 $15 {and ...d4 to follow.}) 20. Rxd3 Re7 21. e4 $1 Qf4 22. Rcd1 Red7 23. exd5 Qxd4 24. Rxd4 Kf8 25. f4 Rd6 26. g4 a5 27. Kf2 g6 28. Re4 R8d7 29. h4 Rc7 30. g5 $1 h5 31. Red4 Rc5 32. R1d3 Rd8 33. a3 $1 Ba8 34. Na4 Rcxd5 35. Rxd5 Rxd5 36. Rxd5 Bxd5 37. Nxb6 Bb3 38. Ke3 Ke7 39. Kd4 Ke6 40. Nc4 Kf5 $2 (40... a4) 41. Nxa5 Bd1 42. Nc4 $6 (42. Ke3 Kg4 43. b4 Kxh4 44. b5 Kg3 45. b6 Bf3 46. b7 Bxb7 47. Nxb7 h4 48. Nc5 h3 49. Ne4+ Kg2 50. Nf2 h2 51. a4 $18) 42... Kxf4 43. b4 Kg3 44. b5 Kxh4 45. Ke3 Ba4 46. b6 Bc6 47. Kf2 $6 (47. Kf4 $18) 47... Kxg5 48. a4 Kf6 49. a5 Ke7 50. a6 Kd8 (50... Kd7 51. Ne5+ Kd6 52. Nxf7+ $18 (52. Nxc6 $4 Kxc6 $19)) 51. Nd6 $6 ({ Much faster is} 51. a7 $1 {when Black is in zugzwang, unable to prevent Nd6, b7, and a8=Q. For example:} Bd5 (51... Kd7 52. Ne5+ $18) (51... Ba8 52. Nd6 Kd7 53. b7 Bxb7 54. Nxb7 Kc7 55. a8=Q) (51... Kc8 52. Nd6+ Kd7 53. b7 $18) 52. Nd6 Kd7 53. b7 Kxd6 54. b8=Q+ $18) 51... Kd7 $1 52. Nxf7 (52. b7 $4 Kc7 $11) 52... Bd5 53. Ne5+ Kc8 54. Nxg6 Bb7 55. Ne7+ $1 Kb8 56. axb7 Kxb7 57. Nd5 1-0

And here is the column from August 22, 1923 by Hermann Helms:

MARSHALL HELD TO DRAWN GAME BY SCHAPIRO

While it is still an open question whether Morris Schapiro of Brooklyn is quite ready to contest a match for the United States chess championship and whether or no it would not be wiser for him to wait another year or two, the fact remains that he held Frank J. Marshall, the title holder, to a draw in a long game of 59 moves in the masters' tournament at Lake Hopatcong. At no stage of the game was the international expert able to show any advantage in position, although he experienced no trouble in emerging from what seemed like a precarious situation in the opening. In this connection, it must not be forgotten that the game between these two, contested in the Metropolitan Chess League last season, stands to the credit of Marshall.

The eventful game between Chajes and Lasker was well handled by the latter.

Frank Marshall's decisive win over Sournin of Washington kept the United States champion in front after 12 rounds. It was snappy chess in every sense of the word and Sournin, when he was minus a piece, hardly knew how it all happened.

[Event "9th American Chess Congress"]
[Site "Lake Hopatcong, NJ USA"]
[Date "1923.08.20"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Schapiro, Morris"]
[Black "Marshall, Frank James"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D39"]
[PlyCount "118"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 {Marshall's favorite move, which he used to great success in his game against Kupchik earlier in the tournament.} 5. Bg5 {The right answer.} c5 $5 (5... dxc4 $1 $11) 6. e3 Qa5 $6 { Too aggressive.} 7. Bxf6 gxf6 8. Qb3 $6 ({Better} 8. cxd5 $1 Bxc3+ (8... exd5 9. dxc5 $16) 9. bxc3 exd5 (9... Qxc3+ 10. Nd2 exd5 11. Rc1 $16) 10. dxc5 Qxc3+ 11. Nd2 Nc6 (11... Qxc5 $4 12. Rc1) 12. Rc1 $16) 8... Bd7 $5 9. a3 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Rg8 $5 11. O-O $1 Bxc3 12. bxc3 b5 13. Be2 Bc6 14. Rfd1 Nd7 15. Ne1 c4 16. Qc2 f5 {Strengthening his grip on the light squares.} 17. Bf3 $5 (17. a4 $1) 17... Bxf3 18. Nxf3 Nf6 (18... Nb6 $6 19. e4 $1 fxe4 20. Qxe4 Qxc3 21. Ne5 $1 $36) 19. a4 $1 Ne4 20. axb5 Qxc3 21. Qa4 Qb2 22. Ra2 $6 (22. Rf1 $3 { with the thread of ...b6} Qb3 23. Qxb3 cxb3 24. Rfb1 $16) 22... Qb3 (22... Nc3 $5 23. Rxb2 Nxa4 24. Rc2 $16) 23. Rc1 $6 (23. Qxb3 $1 cxb3 24. Rb2 Nc3 25. Ra1 Nxb5 26. Rxb3 Nd6 27. Ra6 $16) 23... Nc3 $1 24. Qxb3 cxb3 25. Rb2 Nxb5 26. Rxb3 a6 $11 27. Ne5 Ke7 28. Nc6+ Kd6 29. Nb4 Rgc8 30. Ra1 a5 31. Nd3 Rc3 32. Rxb5 Rxd3 33. Kf1 a4 34. Ke2 Rc3 35. Kd2 Rc6 36. Ra3 Rac8 37. Rc5 Rxc5 38. dxc5+ Rxc5 39. Rxa4 Rc7 40. Ra8 Rb7 41. Rh8 f6 42. Ke2 e5 43. Kf3 Rg7 44. g3 Ke6 45. h4 Kf7 46. h5 Rg5 47. Rxh7+ Kg8 48. Rh6 Kg7 49. Rg6+ Rxg6 50. hxg6 Kxg6 51. g4 fxg4+ 52. Kxg4 f5+ 53. Kh4 Kh6 54. f4 exf4 55. exf4 Kg6 56. Kg3 Kf7 57. Kf2 Ke6 58. Ke3 Kd5 59. Kd3 Kc5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Masters Tournament"]
[Site "Lake Hopatcong"]
[Date "1923.??.??"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Marshall, Frank James"]
[Black "Sournin, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D15"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventDate "1923.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 Bf5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 $5 (5... cxd5) 6. e3 (6. Qb3 $5 Nxc3 $1 (6... Nb6 $6 7. e4 $16) (6... Qb6 $6 7. Qxb6 axb6 8. Nxd5 cxd5 9. Bf4 $14) 7. bxc3 $14 (7. Qxb7 $2 Nd5 $1 8. Qxa8 Qc7 {traps White's Queen.})) 6... e6 7. Bd3 Bb4 8. Qc2 Bxd3 9. Qxd3 Qc7 $6 (9... Qa5 $142 10. Bd2 Qa6 $11) 10. O-O Nd7 11. e4 Nf4 $6 (11... Nxc3 $142 12. bxc3 Be7 $14) 12. Bxf4 Qxf4 13. Ne2 Qc7 14. Rac1 O-O 15. e5 $5 Rfd8 16. Qe4 Nf8 $2 17. d5 $1 $16 f5 $4 18. Qxb4 1-0

[Event "9th American Chess Congress"]
[Site "Lake Hopatcong, NJ USA"]
[Date "1923.08.16"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Janowski, David"]
[Black "Marshall, Frank James"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D03"]
[PlyCount "209"]
[EventDate "1923.??.??"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bg5 e6 4. e3 c5 5. Nbd2 Nc6 6. c3 Bd6 7. Bd3 h6 8. Bh4 O-O 9. O-O e5 10. dxe5 Bxe5 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. Bc2 b6 13. h3 Ba6 14. Re1 Nd3 15. Bxd3 Bxd3 16. Nf3 Be4 17. Ne5 (17. Nh2 $1) 17... Qd6 18. Bg3 Qe6 $36 19. f3 Bh7 20. Nd3 Bxd3 $11 {Marshall seeks to avoid a Bishops of opposite color ending.} (20... Qf5 $5 21. Nf4 Qg5 22. Bf2 Rad8 $15) 21. Qxd3 Rad8 22. a4 c4 $1 { Seizing critical light squares.} 23. Qd4 Nd7 24. Bh4 f6 25. e4 Ne5 26. Bg3 Nd3 27. Re2 (27. exd5 Qxd5 28. Qxd5+ Rxd5 29. Re7 Rf7 $17) 27... dxe4 28. Rxe4 Rxd4 29. Rxe6 Rd5 30. Rc6 Nxb2 $17 31. Ra2 Rd2 32. Bf4 Rd1+ $6 (32... Rc2 33. a5 bxa5 34. Rxa5 Re8 35. Rxa7 Ree2 $17) 33. Kh2 Nd3 (33... Rb1) 34. Bg3 f5 35. f4 Re8 36. Rxc4 Nc5 37. a5 Re4 38. axb6 axb6 39. Rb4 Rxb4 40. cxb4 Ne4 41. Ra8+ Kh7 42. Rb8 Nd2 $2 ({Black can dominate White's Bishop beginning with} 42... Rd3 $1 43. Be1 (43. Bh4 g5 $1) 43... Re3 44. Bh4 g5 45. fxg5 hxg5 46. Bxg5 Nxg5 47. Rb7+ Kg6 48. Rxb6+ Ne6 $17) 43. Bh4 $6 (43. Bf2 $1) 43... Nf1+ 44. Kg1 Ng3+ 45. Kf2 $2 {It's not clear why Janowski declined the draw.} (45. Kh2 $1 Nf1+ $11) 45... Ne4+ 46. Ke2 Nc3+ 47. Kf2 Rd4 48. Be7 Rxf4+ 49. Kg3 Re4 50. Bf8 Re6 51. Rb7 Rg6+ 52. Kf3 Kg8 53. Be7 Nd5 54. Bd8 Re6 55. Kf2 Rd6 56. Rb8 Kf7 57. b5 Ke6 58. Kf3 g5 59. g4 fxg4+ 60. Kxg4 Ke5 61. Rc8 Ke4 62. Rc4+ Ke5 63. Rc8 Ke6 64. Rb8 Kd7 65. h4 gxh4 66. Bxh4 Ne3+ 67. Kf3 Nc4 68. Ke4 Re6+ 69. Kd4 Na3 70. Rd8+ Kc7 71. Rd5 Nc2+ 72. Kc3 Ne3 73. Bg3+ Kc8 74. Rh5 Ng4 75. Kd4 Rg6 76. Bf4 Nf6 77. Rh1 Ne8 78. Kd3 Kd7 79. Be3 Rd6+ 80. Kc4 Re6 81. Kd3 Nd6 82. Rh5 Nf7 83. Bd4 Rg6 84. Rd5+ Ke7 85. Rh5 Rd6 86. Rf5 Rg6 87. Rh5 Ng5 88. Kc4 Re6 89. Kd5 Rd6+ 90. Kc4 Re6 91. Rh1 Nf7 92. Ra1 Nd6+ 93. Kd5 Nxb5 94. Be5 Kd7 95. Rg1 h5 96. Rg5 Rh6 97. Rg7+ Ke8 98. Bf4 Rf6 $6 (98... Nc3+ 99. Ke5 Rc6 100. Rh7 b5) 99. Be5 Rf7 {A bad plan, after which White's mating threats force at least a draw despite his two pawn deficit.} 100. Rg6 Nc7+ 101. Kc6 Nb5 102. Kd5 Kd7 103. Rxb6 Nc7+ 104. Bxc7 Kxc7 105. Rh6 1/2-1/2