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Classic game replay

Jose Raul Capablanca vs Jacques Mieses, 1935

This replay preserves the complete 69-ply score of Capablanca playing White across 35 numbered moves. The board can be advanced one ply at a time; the notes stick to observable board changes rather than guessing at the players’ intentions.

On this page
  1. Practice positions
  2. Replay with move-by-move board facts
  3. PGN
  4. Sources and checking
  5. Continue with another game
White
Jose Raul Capablanca
Black
Jacques Mieses
Event
Margate
Year
1935
Result
1-0
Opening
D47 Semi-Slav Defense: Semi-Meran Variation

Opening reference: Semi-Slav Defense: Semi-Meran Variation (D47).

In this game, 20 half-moves are labelled opening, 49 middlegame and 0 endgame. The score contains 15 captures and 6 checks or mates; before a recorded move, the position offered a median of 33 legal choices. The source score ends after 35.Ne3 with the recorded result 1-0. Its termination tag was not retained, so this record does not infer whether the game ended by resignation, time or another cause.

Practice positions

The daily trainer uses a short set of positions from this complete score. Each link goes to the exact half-move rather than only the numbered move.

  1. 9.e5 — Create pressure on f69.e5 was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.
  2. 15.Bd2 — Answering the check15.Bd2 was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.
  3. 22.Nf6+ — A forcing check22.Nf6+ was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.
  4. 29.Ne6+ — A forcing check29.Ne6+ was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.
  5. 31.Rc1 — Rook on the open c-file31.Rc1 was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.

Replay with move-by-move board facts

The board, fact panel and transcript use the same legal score. “Fixed engine check” means Stockfish 17.1, one thread, a fixed 25,000-node search and 3 candidate lines. It compares moves under one reproducible setting; it does not claim to reconstruct a player’s thoughts.

♜♞♝♛♚♝♞♜♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♜♞♝♛♚♝♞♜
Jose Raul Capablanca vs Jacques Mieses, 1935

Start position

Use Previous and Next on the board, or select a move in the transcript. The board fact and fixed engine check remain visible until you choose another move.

Opening · 1.d4 to 10...Nh6

  1. 1.d4 Claim central space

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from d2 to d4; from there it controls e5 and c5.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · d4 Nf6 Nf3 e6.

  2. 1...d5 Claim central space

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from d7 to d5; from there it controls e4 and c4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · d5 c4 e6 Nf3.

  3. 2.c4 Change the pawn structure

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from c2 to c4; the move changes the central pawn contact; from c4 it attacks Black's pawn on d5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · c4 e6 Nf3 Nf6.

  4. 2...c6 Advance the c-pawn

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from c7 to c6; from there it controls d5.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · c6 e3 g6 Nc3.

  5. 3.Nf3 Develop the knight

    Board fact: White develops the knight from g1 to f3; from there it controls d4 and e5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nf3 e6 e3 Nf6.

  6. 3...Nf6 Develop the knight

    Board fact: Black develops the knight from g8 to f6; from there it controls d5 and e4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nf6 Nc3 e6 e3.

  7. 4.e3 Advance the e-pawn

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from e2 to e3; from there it controls d4 and f4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · e3 Bf5 cxd5 cxd5.

  8. 4...e6 Advance the e-pawn

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from e7 to e6; from there it controls d5 and f5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · e6 Nc3 Be7 b3.

  9. 5.Nc3 Develop the knight

    Board fact: White develops the knight from b1 to c3; from c3 it attacks Black's pawn on d5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nc3 Be7.

  10. 5...Nbd7 Develop the knight

    Board fact: Black develops the knight from b8 to d7; from there it controls e5, c5 and f6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nbd7 h3 Be7 Bd3.

  11. 6.Bd3 Develop the bishop

    Board fact: White develops the bishop from f1 to d3; from d3 it attacks Black's pawn on h7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bd3 dxc4 Bxc4 b5.

  12. 6...dxc4 Exchange on c4

    Board fact: Black's pawn takes the pawn on c4; the move changes the central pawn contact; Black accepts doubled pawns on the c-file; from c4 it attacks White's bishop on d3; black is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · dxc4 Bxc4 b5 Bd3.

  13. 7.Bxc4 Recapture on c4

    Board fact: White's bishop recaptures the pawn on c4; from c4 it attacks Black's pawn on e6; material is level after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bxc4 b5 Bd3 b4.

  14. 7...a6 Advance the a-pawn

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from a7 to a6.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · a6.

  15. 8.e4 Claim central space

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from e3 to e4; from there it controls d5 and f5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · e4 b5.

  16. 8...c5 Change the pawn structure

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from c6 to c5; the move changes the central pawn contact; from c5 it attacks White's pawn on d4.

    Fixed engine check: Playable; b5 ranked higher · c5 e5 b5 Bb3.

  17. 9.e5 Create pressure on f6

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from e4 to e5; from e5 it attacks Black's knight on f6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · e5 b5 Bb3 Nd5.

  18. 9...Ng4 Create pressure on e5

    Board fact: Black moves the knight from f6 to g4; from g4 it attacks White's pawn on e5 and White's pawn on f2.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Ng4.

  19. 10.Ng5 Create pressure on e6

    Board fact: White moves the knight from f3 to g5; from g5 it attacks Black's pawn on e6 and Black's pawn on f7.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Ng5 cxd4.

  20. 10...Nh6 Reroute the knight

    Board fact: Black moves the knight from g4 to h6; from there it controls f5.

    Fixed engine check: Playable; cxd4 ranked higher · Nh6 O-O.

Middlegame · 11.Bxe6 to 35.Ne3

  1. 11.Bxe6 Exchange on e6

    Board fact: White's bishop takes the pawn on e6; from e6 it attacks Black's knight on d7 and Black's pawn on f7; white is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bxe6 cxd4.

  2. 11...cxd4 Exchange on d4

    Board fact: Black's pawn takes the pawn on d4; the pawn is now passed; the move changes the central pawn contact; from d4 it attacks White's knight on c3; material is level after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · cxd4 Qxd4 fxe6 Nxe6.

  3. 12.Bxd7+ Capture with check on d7

    Board fact: White's bishop takes the knight on d7; the move checks Black's king; from d7 it attacks Black's bishop on c8; white is ahead by 3 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Qxd4 ranked higher · Bxd7+ Qxd7.

  4. 12...Qxd7 Recapture on d7

    Board fact: Black's queen recaptures the bishop on d7; from d7 it reinforces the bishop on c8; material is level after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qxd7 Nce4 Be7 Nf3.

  5. 13.Nce4 Improve the knight

    Board fact: White moves the knight from c3 to e4; from there it controls c3, c5 and d6.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Nce4 Be7.

  6. 13...Qb5 Create pressure on b2

    Board fact: Black moves the queen from d7 to b5; from b5 it attacks White's pawn on b2 and White's pawn on e5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qb5 Qb3 Bd7 Bd2.

  7. 14.a4 Create pressure on b5

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from a2 to a4; from a4 it attacks Black's queen on b5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · a4 Bb4+ Bd2 Bxd2+.

  8. 14...Bb4+ A forcing check

    Board fact: Black develops the bishop from f8 to b4; the move checks White's king; from there it controls c3, c5 and d6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bb4+ Bd2 Bxd2+ Qxd2.

  9. 15.Bd2 Answering the check

    Board fact: White develops the bishop from c1 to d2; from d2 it attacks Black's bishop on b4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bd2 Bxd2+ Qxd2 Qxe5.

  10. 15...Bxd2+ Capture with check on d2

    Board fact: Black's bishop takes the bishop on d2; the move checks White's king; from d2 it attacks White's knight on g5; black is ahead by 3 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bxd2+ Qxd2 Qxe5 O-O.

  11. 16.Qxd2 Recapture on d2

    Board fact: White's queen recaptures the bishop on d2; from d2 it attacks Black's pawn on d4; material is level after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qxd2 Qxe5 O-O O-O.

  12. 16...Qxe5 Exchange on e5

    Board fact: Black's queen takes the pawn on e5; from e5 it attacks White's knight on e4 and White's knight on g5; black is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qxe5.

  13. 17.O-O Kingside castling

    Board fact: White castles kingside, moving the king to g1 and the rook to f1. The move changes king safety and develops the rook in one turn.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · O-O O-O Rfe1 Qd5.

  14. 17...O-O Kingside castling

    Board fact: Black castles kingside, moving the king to g8 and the rook to f8. The move changes king safety and develops the rook in one turn.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · O-O Rfe1 Qd5 Nf3.

  15. 18.Rfe1 Rook on the open e-file

    Board fact: White moves the rook from f1 to e1; the rook now occupies the open e-file; from there it controls e4 and e3.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rfe1 Qd5.

  16. 18...Qd5 Create pressure on e4

    Board fact: Black moves the queen from e5 to d5; from d5 it attacks White's knight on e4 and White's knight on g5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qd5 Nf3 Bg4 Nc3.

  17. 19.Nf3 Create pressure on d4

    Board fact: White moves the knight from g5 to f3; from f3 it attacks Black's pawn on d4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nf3 Nf5 Rad1 Be6.

  18. 19...Nf5 Improve the knight

    Board fact: Black moves the knight from h6 to f5; from there it controls d4, d6 and e3.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nf5 Rad1 Bd7 Nxd4.

  19. 20.Rad1 Rook on the semi-open d-file

    Board fact: White moves the rook from a1 to d1; the rook now works on a semi-open d-file; from d1 it reinforces the queen on d2.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rad1 b6 Nxd4 Qxd4.

  20. 20...Rd8 Improve the rook

    Board fact: Black moves the rook from f8 to d8; from there it controls d5 and d6.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Rd8 Qg5 h6 Nf6+.

  21. 21.Qg5 Create pressure on d8

    Board fact: White moves the queen from d2 to g5; from g5 it attacks Black's rook on d8 and Black's knight on f5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qg5 h6 Nf6+ Kf8.

  22. 21...h6 Create pressure on g5

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from h7 to h6; from h6 it attacks White's queen on g5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · h6 Nf6+ Kf8 Nxd5.

  23. 22.Nf6+ A forcing check

    Board fact: White moves the knight from e4 to f6; the move checks Black's king; from f6 it attacks Black's queen on d5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nf6+ Kf8.

  24. 22...Kf8 Answering the check

    Board fact: Black answers the check by moving the king from g8 to f8; from f8 it reinforces the pawn on f7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Kf8 Nh7+ Kg8 Nf6+.

  25. 23.Nxd5 Exchange on d5

    Board fact: White's knight takes the queen on d5; white is ahead by 8 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nxd5 hxg5 Nb6 Rb8.

  26. 23...hxg5 Exchange on g5

    Board fact: Black's pawn takes the queen on g5; the move changes the central pawn contact; Black accepts doubled pawns on the g-file; black is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · hxg5 Nb6 Rb8 Nxg5.

  27. 24.Nb6 Create pressure on a8

    Board fact: White moves the knight from d5 to b6; from b6 it attacks Black's rook on a8 and Black's bishop on c8.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nb6 Rb8 Nxg5 Ne7.

  28. 24...Rb8 Improve the rook

    Board fact: Black moves the rook from a8 to b8; from b8 it reinforces the bishop on c8.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rb8 Nxg5 Ne7 Re4.

  29. 25.Nxg5 Exchange on g5

    Board fact: White's knight takes the pawn on g5; from g5 it attacks Black's pawn on f7; material is level after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nxg5 Ne7 Nh7+ Ke8.

  30. 25...Bd7 Develop the bishop

    Board fact: Black develops the bishop from c8 to d7; from d7 it attacks White's pawn on a4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bd7 Nxd7+ Rxd7 Rd3.

  31. 26.g4 Create pressure on f5

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from g2 to g4; from g4 it attacks Black's knight on f5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · g4 Nh6.

  32. 26...Nh4 Reroute the knight

    Board fact: Black moves the knight from f5 to h4; from there it controls f3 and f5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nh4.

  33. 27.Rxd4 Exchange on d4

    Board fact: White's rook takes the pawn on d4; the rook now occupies the open d-file; from d4 it attacks Black's bishop on d7; white is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rxd4 Be8.

  34. 27...Bc6 Create pressure on a4

    Board fact: Black moves the bishop from d7 to c6; from c6 it attacks White's pawn on a4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bc6 Rf4 f6 Ne6+.

  35. 28.Rf4 Create pressure on f7

    Board fact: White moves the rook from d4 to f4; from f4 it attacks Black's pawn on f7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rf4 f6 Ne6+ Kf7.

  36. 28...f6 Create pressure on g5

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from f7 to f6; from f6 it attacks White's knight on g5.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · f6 Ne6+ Kf7 Nxd8+.

  37. 29.Ne6+ A forcing check

    Board fact: White moves the knight from g5 to e6; the move checks Black's king; from e6 it attacks Black's rook on d8 and Black's pawn on g7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Ne6+ Kf7 Nxd8+ Rxd8.

  38. 29...Kg8 Answering the check

    Board fact: Black answers the check by moving the king from f8 to g8; from g8 it reinforces the pawn on g7.

    Fixed engine check: Playable; Kf7 ranked higher · Kg8 Nxd8.

  39. 30.Nxd8 Exchange on d8

    Board fact: White's knight takes the rook on d8; from d8 it attacks Black's bishop on c6 and Black's pawn on b7; white is ahead by 6 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nxd8 Rxd8.

  40. 30...Rxd8 Recapture on d8

    Board fact: Black's rook recaptures the knight on d8; the rook now occupies the open d-file; from d8 it reinforces the king on g8; white is ahead by 3 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rxd8 Rc1.

  41. 31.Rc1 Rook on the open c-file

    Board fact: White moves the rook from e1 to c1; the rook now occupies the open c-file; from c1 it attacks Black's bishop on c6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rc1 Kf7 Nc4 Ng6.

  42. 31...Re8 Rook on the open e-file

    Board fact: Black moves the rook from d8 to e8; the rook now occupies the open e-file; from there it controls e4, e5 and e3.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Re8 Rd1 Bf3 Ra1.

  43. 32.h3 Advance the h-pawn

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from h2 to h3; from h3 it reinforces the pawn on g4.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · h3 Nf3+.

  44. 32...Re2 Rook on the open e-file

    Board fact: Black moves the rook from e8 to e2; the rook now occupies the open e-file; from e2 it attacks White's pawn on b2 and White's pawn on f2.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Nf3+ ranked higher · Re2 Nc4 Bxa4 Na5.

  45. 33.Nc4 Improve the knight

    Board fact: White moves the knight from b6 to c4; from there it controls e5, d6 and e3.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nc4 Bxa4 Na5 Bb5.

  46. 33...Nf3+ A forcing check

    Board fact: Black moves the knight from h4 to f3; the move checks White's king; from there it controls d4 and e5.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Nf3+ Kf1 Re6 Ne3.

  47. 34.Kf1 Answering the check

    Board fact: White answers the check by moving the king from g1 to f1; from f1 it attacks Black's rook on e2.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Kf1 Re6 Ne3 g5.

  48. 34...Re7 Rook on the open e-file

    Board fact: Black moves the rook from e2 to e7; the rook now occupies the open e-file; from there it controls e4, e5 and e3.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Re7 Ne3 Ng5 Rc3.

  49. 35.Ne3 Improve the knight

    Board fact: White moves the knight from c4 to e3; from there it controls d5, c4 and f5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Ne3 Ng5 h4 Nf3.

PGN

[Event "Margate"] [Site "?"] [Date "1935.??.??"] [White "Capablanca, Jose Raul"] [Black "Mieses, Jacques"] [Result "1-0"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nc3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 a6 8. e4 c5 9. e5 Ng4 10. Ng5 Nh6 11. Bxe6 cxd4 12. Bxd7+ Qxd7 13. Nce4 Qb5 14. a4 Bb4+ 15. Bd2 Bxd2+ 16. Qxd2 Qxe5 17. O-O O-O 18. Rfe1 Qd5 19. Nf3 Nf5 20. Rad1 Rd8 21. Qg5 h6 22. Nf6+ Kf8 23. Nxd5 hxg5 24. Nb6 Rb8 25. Nxg5 Bd7 26. g4 Nh4 27. Rxd4 Bc6 28. Rf4 f6 29. Ne6+ Kg8 30. Nxd8 Rxd8 31. Rc1 Re8 32. h3 Re2 33. Nc4 Nf3+ 34. Kf1 Re7 35. Ne3 1-0

Sources and checking

Score source: Chess Database, version 1 by Ana Schaigorodsky (2016), licensed under CC BY 4.0. LibreChess selected the exact score identified by sha256:b00f0115ab3cdfaf16d5fe4091ac0d74e5f1a55f262b12f6bde5418db7775453 and pins it in the selection manifest.
Exact Figshare tags:
White="Capablanca, Jose Raul"; Black="Mieses, Jacques"; Event="Margate"; Date="1935.??.??"; Result="1-0". LibreChess parsed the main line with chess.js and stores normalised SAN. Source comments, side variations and termination detail were not retained.

LibreChess checks every SAN move with chess.js and compares the result and move sequence with a stored reference. The engine comparison was calculated offline from the fixed settings above; it is not a source for historical claims. No termination is inferred where the imported score does not preserve one.

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