Here we have another example by Capablanca. The diagram is from the game Capablanca - Villegas, Buenos Aires 1914. Capablanca was one of the greatest positional players of the pre-WWII years. It stands to reason that we can find many examples of the 'Principle of Maximum Usefulness' in his games. Like all great masters he used the principle intuitively.
Black has just played 27...bxc5. White has three ways to recapture the Pawn.
- If 28.Qxc5+, Black plays 28...Qxc5 29.bxc5 (29.Rxc5 Rd4) and the c-Pawn will be lost.
- If 28.Rxc5, then 28...Rd1+ 29.Kg2 Qb7+ 30.f3 (30.Qf3?? Rg1+) and Black has counterplay against the exposed White King.
- If 28.bxc5, Black blockades the Pawn with 28...Qc6, when White will have a difficult time lifting the blockade.
Has Capablanca the positional player been outplayed positionally?
Not at all! The Cuban genius realized that he was not forced to recapture the Pawn immediately. He played 28.Qe4!
This wonderful move
- Prevents ...Qc6,
- Prepares Kg2, when the King can't be checked on the a8-h1 diagonal,
- Prevents ...c4, and
- Prepares b4xc5-c6.
Black can't play cxb4 because of the pin on the c-file. The game continued 28...Rd5 29.bxc5 g6 30.c6 and Black felt compelled to resign a few moves later.
