LaviChess

Euwe vs. Lilienthal, Stockholm 1937

After 70 moves the reigning world champion Max Euwe had the win in his hands. He only needed to put his bishop on the right square. Instead he played 71.Bd5, and Andor Lilienthal's f-pawn marched on.

  • WhiteMax Euwe
  • BlackAndor Lilienthal
  • WhereStockholm
  • WhenAugust 7, 1937
  • EventStockholm Chess Olympiad, round 11 (Netherlands vs. Hungary)
  • Result0–1, Black won
  • OpeningNimzo-Indian Defense (E33)
  • Length71 moves

In the summer of 1937 the Chess Olympiad was played in Stockholm, at the Grand Royal Hotel. Nineteen teams took part. Sweden was the host but finished only tenth, and the one Swede who lived up to expectations was Gösta Danielsson, who won the gold medal for the best score on fourth board.

The Netherlands had world champion Max Euwe on top board. He had beaten Alexander Alekhine in 1935 and was to defend the title against him later that year. In Stockholm Euwe started strongly, but after the halfway point things went worse.

In round 11 the Netherlands met Hungary, and Euwe faced Andor Lilienthal. It was a long game. After 41 moves the rooks were gone, and only bishops and pawns were left.

The players

Max Euwe (1901–1981) from the Netherlands was world champion 1935–1937. He was never a professional: he taught mathematics. Later he became president of FIDE, the world chess federation, and it was he who in 1975 named Anatoly Karpov world champion.

Andor Lilienthal (1911–2010) was born in Moscow and grew up in Hungary. In Stockholm he played top board for Hungary, who took silver. Eleven years later he won the brilliancy prize at Saltsjöbaden against Miguel Najdorf.

Read more about Max Euwe among the great chess players.

The game move by move

Step through with the arrows or tap a move. Moves with a dot have a comment.

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Max Euwe has the white pieces, Andor Lilienthal the black.

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Open on the analysis board

Watch the game on the living board

Play like Lilienthal

Guess the moves Lilienthal played, one at a time. The move from the game earns two points, and a move Lavi thinks is about as good earns one. The other side's moves and the game's notes come as you go.

Play like LilienthalPlay like Euwe

The moments that decided it

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After 41.Bxd1: the rooks are gone, and the bishop endgame begins.
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After 70…f3: with 71.Bg6 Euwe would have won.

The end

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The final position after 71…f2. White resigned after 71…f2.

Why the game is famous

The game has been called one of the most famous blunders in Chess Olympiad history, made by the reigning world champion. It was Euwe's first loss of the event and helped bring about the Netherlands' first lost match.

Savielly Tartakower, who also played in Stockholm, called it in Tidskrift för Schack “the tragic but otherwise valuable game Dr Euwe–Lilienthal.” Later that year Euwe lost the title to Alekhine in a return match.

The whole game with notes, as text

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 Euwe chooses to protect the knight on c3 with his queen, so that he can recapture with the queen if the bishop takes. 4… Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. Qxc3 Qe7 8. b4 a5 9. b5 Nb8 10. g3 O-O 11. Bg2 a4 12. O-O Re8 13. Bb2 Nbd7 14. Rfd1 e5 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Qb4 e4 17. Qxe7 Rxe7 18. Ng5 e3 19. Bxf6 exf2+ The pawn captures on f2 with check. The black pawn has come all the way here from e5. 20. Kxf2 gxf6 21. Ne4 Kg7 22. Nc3 Nc5 23. Nd5 Rd7 24. h4 Rb8 25. Rac1 b6 26. Nb4 Rxd1 27. Rxd1 Bg4 28. Rd4 h5 29. Na6 Re8 30. Nxc5 bxc5 31. Re4 Be6 32. Re3 Rb8 33. Rc3 Kg6 34. Bc6 Kf5 35. Bf3 Ke5 36. e3 Rd8 37. Ke2 Rh8 38. Rc1 Rg8 39. Kf2 Rd8 40. Rd1 Rxd1 41. Bxd1 The rooks are gone. Bishops and pawns are left, and both bishops move on light squares. 41… Bxc4 42. Bxa4 Bd3 43. Ke1 Kd5 44. Bd1 Bg6 45. Be2 c4 46. Kd2 Kc5 47. Kc3 Kxb5 48. Bxc4+ Ka4 49. Kb2 f5 50. Bd3 f6 51. Bc4 Ka5 52. Kc3 Kb6 53. Kb4 c5+ 54. Kc3 Kc7 55. Bg8 Kd6 56. a4 Be8 57. Kb3 Bc6 58. Bh7 Ke5 59. Bg6 Ke4 60. Bxh5 Kxe3 Both kings are active, and each side has its bishop and three pawns left. 61. a5 Bd5+ 62. Kc3 f4 63. gxf4 Kxf4 64. a6 f5 65. a7 The white a-pawn has reached the seventh rank, but the black bishop holds the a8 square. 65… Ke5 66. Bf7 Bb7 67. h5 f4 68. h6 Kf6 69. h7 Now two white pawns stand on the seventh rank. The bishop guards a8, and the black king gets to g7 in time to guard h8. 69… Kg7 70. Kc4 f3 Here Euwe could have won. 71. Bd5 A serious mistake by the reigning world champion. With 71.Bg6 he would have won. The king cannot take that bishop, because then the h-pawn queens, and after 71…f2 72.Bd3 the bishop stops the f-pawn. 71… f2 Euwe resigned. The pawn is heading for f1, and White has no good answer.

PGN – the game as text for other chess programs
[Event "Stockholm Chess Olympiad, round 11 (Netherlands vs. Hungary)"]
[Site "Stockholm"]
[Date "1937.08.07"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Max Euwe"]
[Black "Andor Lilienthal"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E33"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. Qxc3 Qe7 8. b4 a5 9. b5 Nb8 10. g3 O-O 11. Bg2 a4 12. O-O Re8 13. Bb2 Nbd7 14. Rfd1 e5 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Qb4 e4 17. Qxe7 Rxe7 18. Ng5 e3 19. Bxf6 exf2+ 20. Kxf2 gxf6 21. Ne4 Kg7 22. Nc3 Nc5 23. Nd5 Rd7 24. h4 Rb8 25. Rac1 b6 26. Nb4 Rxd1 27. Rxd1 Bg4 28. Rd4 h5 29. Na6 Re8 30. Nxc5 bxc5 31. Re4 Be6 32. Re3 Rb8 33. Rc3 Kg6 34. Bc6 Kf5 35. Bf3 Ke5 36. e3 Rd8 37. Ke2 Rh8 38. Rc1 Rg8 39. Kf2 Rd8 40. Rd1 Rxd1 41. Bxd1 Bxc4 42. Bxa4 Bd3 43. Ke1 Kd5 44. Bd1 Bg6 45. Be2 c4 46. Kd2 Kc5 47. Kc3 Kxb5 48. Bxc4+ Ka4 49. Kb2 f5 50. Bd3 f6 51. Bc4 Ka5 52. Kc3 Kb6 53. Kb4 c5+ 54. Kc3 Kc7 55. Bg8 Kd6 56. a4 Be8 57. Kb3 Bc6 58. Bh7 Ke5 59. Bg6 Ke4 60. Bxh5 Kxe3 61. a5 Bd5+ 62. Kc3 f4 63. gxf4 Kxf4 64. a6 f5 65. a7 Ke5 66. Bf7 Bb7 67. h5 f4 68. h6 Kf6 69. h7 Kg7 70. Kc4 f3 71. Bd5 f2 0-1

Download .pgn

Sources

  • OlimpBase: 7th Chess Olympiad, Stockholm 1937 (interesting games)
  • OlimpBase: the games from Stockholm 1937 (37olm.pgn)
  • PGN Mentor, Euwe.pgn
  • Tidskrift för Schack 1937 no. 8–9: Savielly Tartakower on the Olympiad (p. 210)
  • Wikipedia: Andor Lilienthal

The moves compared in two databases (PGN Mentor and OlimpBase): identical, 142 half-moves. Euwe resigned after 71…f2. Date and round from OlimpBase. That 71.Bg6 would have won is what OlimpBase writes, and we have checked it: after 71.Bg6 White wins, after every other move it is a draw or a loss. Every move has also been replayed by computer and checked against the rules of chess.

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Updated November 14, 2026