LaviChess

Ståhlberg vs. Alekhine, Hamburg 1930

At the 1930 Chess Olympiad, 22-year-old Gideon Ståhlberg sat across from world champion Alexander Alekhine. For thirty moves he held his own, and for a while he was even slightly better. Then a single king move was enough, and the game won the Olympiad's first prize for the best game.

  • WhiteGideon Ståhlberg
  • BlackAlexander Alekhine
  • WhereHamburg
  • WhenJuly 15, 1930
  • EventHamburg Chess Olympiad, round 3 (France vs. Sweden)
  • Result0–1, Black won
  • OpeningNimzo-Indian Defense (E23)
  • Length31 moves

In the summer of 1930 the third Chess Olympiad was played in Hamburg, to celebrate the Hamburg Chess Club's hundredth birthday. Eighteen teams took part. France had world champion Alexander Alekhine on top board.

In round 3 France met Sweden, and Alekhine faced 22-year-old Gideon Ståhlberg. Alekhine won all nine of his games in Hamburg. The Olympiad was won by Poland, with Akiba Rubinstein on top board.

The players

Gideon Ståhlberg (1908–1967) grew up in Surte outside Gothenburg and became Swedish champion in 1929. In 1950 he became Sweden's first grandmaster, and he played in the Candidates Tournaments of 1950 and 1953, where the world champion's challenger was chosen.

Alexander Alekhine (1892–1946) was world champion twice, 1927–1935 and 1937–1946. He loved to attack and prepared very thoroughly. He is the only world champion in the open section to have died as the reigning champion.

Read more about Gideon Ståhlberg and Alexander Alekhine 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.

abcdefgh87654321

Gideon Ståhlberg has the white pieces, Alexander Alekhine the black.

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
  11. 11.
  12. 12.
  13. 13.
  14. 14.
  15. 15.
  16. 16.
  17. 17.
  18. 18.
  19. 19.
  20. 20.
  21. 21.
  22. 22.
  23. 23.
  24. 24.
  25. 25.
  26. 26.
  27. 27.
  28. 28.
  29. 29.
  30. 30.
  31. 31.
Open on the analysis board

Watch the game on the living board

Play like Alekhine

Guess the moves Alekhine 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 AlekhinePlay like Ståhlberg

The moments that decided it

abcdefgh87654321
After 18…f4: Alekhine's attack on the kingside begins.
abcdefgh87654321
After 31…Rxf3: one king move later the white position collapses.

The end

abcdefgh87654321
The final position after 31…Rxf3. White resigned after 31…Rxf3.

Why the game is famous

The game won the Olympiad's first prize for the best game, among the more than six hundred games played in Hamburg.

It takes two players to make a beautiful game. Ståhlberg was 22 and held his own against the world champion for thirty moves. For a while he was even slightly better. Then a single king move gave Alekhine his chance. Two decades later Ståhlberg became Sweden's first grandmaster.

The whole game with notes, as text

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3 The queen attacks the bishop on b4. The move was disputed in 1930: Aron Nimzowitsch doubted it, but Rudolf Spielmann had won brilliant victories with it at the latest Karlsbad tournament, wrote Tidskrift för Schack. 4… c5 5. dxc5 Nc6 6. Nf3 Ne4 7. Bd2 Nxc5 A new move Nimzowitsch had shown in San Remo, against Efim Bogoljubov, wrote Tidskrift för Schack. 8. Qc2 f5 Black takes control of the e4 square. 9. a3 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 O-O 11. b4 Ne4 12. e3 b6 13. Bd3 Nxc3 14. Qxc3 Bb7 15. O-O Ne7 After the game Alekhine said that this move was probably wrong, and that 15…d6 might have been better, reported Tidskrift för Schack. That is how hard he was on himself: the position was still roughly level. 16. Be2 Qe8 17. Rfd1 Rd8 18. a4 f4 Here Alekhine's attack begins, wrote Tidskrift för Schack. 19. a5 fxe3 20. Qxe3 Nf5 21. Qc3 d6 22. axb6 axb6 23. Ne1 e5 24. Ra7 Nd4 The knight settles on d4, in the middle of White's camp. 25. Qe3 Rd7 26. Ra2 Rdf7 27. f3 Rf4 Both black rooks have reached the f-file. 28. Bd3 Qh5 29. Bf1 Qg5 30. Rf2 h6 31. Kh1 The mistake. Before this move the position was roughly level, and with, for example, 31.Bd3 Ståhlberg could have gone on defending. Now the rook takes on f3. 31… Rxf3 The rook takes the pawn on f3 and attacks the queen on e3. Ståhlberg resigned: the position could not be saved.

PGN – the game as text for other chess programs
[Event "Hamburg Chess Olympiad, round 3 (France vs. Sweden)"]
[Site "Hamburg"]
[Date "1930.07.15"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gideon Ståhlberg"]
[Black "Alexander Alekhine"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E23"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3 c5 5. dxc5 Nc6 6. Nf3 Ne4 7. Bd2 Nxc5 8. Qc2 f5 9. a3 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 O-O 11. b4 Ne4 12. e3 b6 13. Bd3 Nxc3 14. Qxc3 Bb7 15. O-O Ne7 16. Be2 Qe8 17. Rfd1 Rd8 18. a4 f4 19. a5 fxe3 20. Qxe3 Nf5 21. Qc3 d6 22. axb6 axb6 23. Ne1 e5 24. Ra7 Nd4 25. Qe3 Rd7 26. Ra2 Rdf7 27. f3 Rf4 28. Bd3 Qh5 29. Bf1 Qg5 30. Rf2 h6 31. Kh1 Rxf3 0-1

Download .pgn

Sources

  • OlimpBase: 3rd Chess Olympiad, Hamburg 1930 (the best game prizes)
  • OlimpBase: the games from Hamburg 1930 (30olm.pgn)
  • PGN Mentor, Alekhine.pgn and Stahlberg.pgn
  • Tidskrift för Schack 1930 no. 8 (p. 172)
  • Wikipedia: Alexander Alekhine

The moves compared in three databases (PGN Mentor, both Alekhine's and Ståhlberg's files, and OlimpBase): identical, 62 half-moves. Tidskrift för Schack 1930, the Swedish federation's magazine, gives moves 12–18 in a note to another game, and they agree. Ståhlberg resigned after 31…Rxf3. Date and round from OlimpBase; that it was the match between France and Sweden is in the magazine. Every move has also been replayed by computer and checked against the rules of chess.

All famous games

Updated November 14, 2026