Chapter 5, Part I — Modern Ideas in Chess: The Hyper-Moderns and Alekhin

This is the first part of the fifth chapter of Richard Réti's Modern Ideas in Chess (1922): the five sections on the hyper-modern style, a complicated position, Alexander Alekhin and two of his games, in the order the book gives them, narrated in Réti's own words. Tartakower called the youngest masters hyper-modern. Réti explains what they rebelled against: chess principles are maxims, not laws of nature, and the moves made automatically by rule are the source of the greatest errors. Even the first moves of a game, 1.e4 e5 and 1.d4 d5, come into question. What you'll take away: • Why a chess rule is only a maxim that is usually, but not always, worth following, and why the hyper-moderns are the greatest opponents of routine play (§29). • Breyer's claim that 1.d4 is better than 1.e4, and the opening as an attack on the centre, seen through an attack on a castled King (§30). • Why the modern defence avoids an early decision in the centre, with Bogoljubow's openings as examples (§30). • Alekhin's character and style: restless, original in combination, his combinations ending in the move that takes the opponent's breath away (§31). • Alekhin–Rubinstein: Pawn to C5 and the Bishop to e3, moves that hit every principle of development in the face (§31). • Alekhin–Fahrni: the Knight to h3, the Rook to h6, and the surprising Queen move at the kernel of the combination (§32). • Bogoljubow–Alekhin: the fight for d5, and the Queen sacrifice that wins the game (§33). Chapters 0:00 §29 The hyper-modern style — rules as maxims, and routine play 4:17 §30 A complicated position — 1.e4 or 1.d4, and the opening as an attack on the centre 6:39 §30 The castled King — why Black avoids h6 and g6 7:38 §30 The centre after 1.e4 e5 or 1.d4 d5, and Bogoljubow's openings 10:12 §30 Why the opening is the hardest part of the game 11:15 §31 Alekhin — Russian chess, and a master of combination 14:13 §31 Alekhin–Rubinstein — the neglect of development 16:11 §32 Alekhin–Fahrni — the Knight to h3 and the kernel of the combination 18:37 §33 Bogoljubow–Alekhin — the fight for d5 and the Queen sacrifice A note on the board: for §30's attack on a castled King, Réti names no position, so the board shows an illustrative one: Black castled on the King's side after Bogoljubow's line, with White's Bishop on f4 so the g- and h-pawns' advance stands clear. In the mate after Alekhin–Fahrni, Réti prints only White's three moves; the board adds Black's replies and marks them as added. Modern Ideas in Chess is in the public domain. Book adapted from the 1923 English edition. Captions available.