[Event "EU-Cup 31st"] [Site "Skopje"] [Date "2015.10.21"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Li, Chao B"] [Black "Matlakov, Maxim"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2689"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2015.10.18"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "MKD"] [SourceTitle "CBM 169"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.11.10"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.11.10"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Siberia"] [BlackTeam "Mednyi Vsadnik"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 d5 $5 {This is not the move order through which we normally reach the Ragozin, because Nimzo-Indian players like to play the Nimzo when their opponents play 3.?c3. Here Maxim chooses to go for the Ragozin rather than guess whether his opponent wanted to play the 5.e3 system or the 5.g3 one in the Nimzo-Indian.} 5. Bg5 h6 (5... Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 c5 {is the Westphalia variation in the Ragozin.}) 6. Bxf6 (6. Bh4 {The reason why this move hasn't been played much recently is} dxc4 (6... g5 7. Bg3 Ne4 {is also a possible way to play.}) 7. e3 b5 {When Black's results have been encouraging.}) 6... Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 (8... c6 9. Bd3 Nd7 10. O-O dxc4 11. Bxc4 e5 12. Ne4 $14 {Playing in Classical Queen's Gambit style has not worked well for Black whose bishop on b4 is quite misplaced.}) 9. Bxc4 c5 {For quite some time now this has been considered as a reliable way to level the game.} 10. O-O cxd4 11. Ne4 (11. Nxd4 Bd7 12. Qb3 Nc6 13. Nxc6 Bxc3 14. Rxc3 Bxc6 15. Bb5 Bd5 16. Bc4 Bc6 17. Bb5 Bd5 $11 {is one of the variations played when both the players come to the board with peaceful intentions. This happened in Ivanchuk -Carlsen, Tata Steel 2015.}) (11. exd4 Rd8 {followed by ?c6 gives Black no real problems in the opening.}) 11... Qe7 {This is the main move. Apart from this ?g6 and ?f5 are worthy of attention.} (11... Qf5 12. Ng3 Qa5 13. exd4 Nc6 14. Qe2 Bd7 15. a3 Bd6 16. Ne4 Bf4 17. Rc3 $14 {was played in Aronian against Carlsen where White got a good tangible edge, ½-½ (56) Aronian,L (2815)-Carlsen,M (2881) Dubai 2014.}) (11... Qg6 {This has not been played much. It might not be such a bad move.} 12. Qxd4 (12. Bd3 f5 13. Ng3 Nc6 14. exd4 {with an interesting position.}) 12... Nc6 13. Ne5 Nxe5 14. Qxe5 Bd7 15. Bd3 $1 Bc6 16. Rxc6 bxc6 17. Nc5 {[%CAl Ge5e4,Ge4b4,Ge4h7]} f5 18. Nxe6 Rf6 19. Bc4 $36) 12. a3 $5 {Earlier everyone used to take on d4 with the pawn or the knight. But Dubov introduced this move against Vishy Anand at the World Rapids in Berlin and scored a fine victory. Since then it has been tried in a few games and looks like an interesting way for White to gain a fresh position rather than those same old lines which seem to be just equal. The main idea is to dislodge the bishop from the f8 to b4 diagonal. In this way after ?xd4 ?c6 both the squares c5 and d6 will be available to the white queen.} Ba5 (12... Bd6 13. Nxd6 Qxd6 14. Qxd4 Qxd4 15. Nxd4 $14 {is a clear cut advantage for White.}) 13. Qxd4 Nc6 (13... Rd8 {was played by Anand against Dubov.} 14. Qe5 Nc6 15. Qh5 Bd7 (15... Bc7 16. g4 $1) 16. g4 $1 {1-0 (42) Dubov,D (2661)-Anand,V (2803) Berlin 2015, gave White quite a strong attack.}) (13... Bb6 {was Gajewski's choice against Fressinet.} 14. Qd6 Nc6 15. Rfd1 Rd8 16. Qxe7 Nxe7 {by transposition leads to the main game.} 17. Nd6 $6 {0-1 (48) Fressinet,L (2702)-Gajewski,G (2654) Berlin 2015, Fressinet's choice of parking the knight on this advanced outpost was not so good and Black could have equalised with ?c5. Instead Li Chao played better as we shall see.}) 14. Qc5 (14. Qd6 {was equally good and would have most probably transposed.}) 14... Bb6 15. Qxe7 Nxe7 16. Rfd1 $14 {It goes without saying that White is better here. All his pieces are in the game and excellently posted. Apart from his development there is nothing inherently wrong with the black position but it's just quite difficult to develop the light-squared bishop and get the a8 rook in the game. With his next move Black tries to solve these problems.} Rd8 17. Rxd8+ Bxd8 18. Nd6 (18. Be2 $1 {doesn't show his cards just yet. It's not easy for Black to unravel here.} Bd7 (18... Nc6 19. Bb5 Be7 20. Bxc6 bxc6 21. Ne5 $16 {with a clear positional edge.}) 19. Nd6 Bc6 20. Ne5 $1 $16 {[%CAl Ge5f7,Ge5c6]}) 18... Nf5 19. Nxf5 (19. Nxc8 Rxc8 $11) 19... exf5 20. Nd4 (20. Ne5 $5 Be6 21. Bxe6 fxe6 22. f4 $5 {This is a nice prophylactic move. The idea being that by protecting the knight on e5, ?f6 can be directly met with ?c7.} (22. Rd1 Bf6 $15) 22... Bf6 (22... Bb6 23. Kf2 Rd8 {Black has got all his pieces into the game but after} 24. Ke2 $14 {White should be better as he will slowly start advancing his queenside pawns. The ? on e5 is stronger than the bishop.}) 23. Rc7 b5 24. Kf2 Rd8 $11 {This is the right way to equalise for Black.}) 20... Bd7 {It seems like Black will slowly unravel here, but White still has this slight edge in development which forces Black to be accurate.} 21. Bd5 Rb8 (21... Rc8 22. Rxc8 Bxc8 23. Nb5 $1 {[%CAl Gb5a7]} Bd7 24. Nd6 $14 {[%CAl Gd6f7,Gd6b7]} (24. Nxa7 $2 Bb6 $19)) 22. b4 a5 {This is a pretty ambitious move. Black wants to start getting his bishops into the game.} 23. b5 Rc8 (23... Bb6 24. a4 f4 $1 $11) 24. Rd1 (24. Rxc8 Bxc8 {should most probably end in a draw.}) 24... Rc7 25. Bf3 (25. b6 Rc3 26. Bxb7 Bxb6 $17 {gives Black a clear cut advantage.}) 25... Bf6 26. b6 {White had to do something against the threat of ?xd4 followed by ?xb5.} Rc3 27. Rb1 {White goes for this ambitious continuation and quite justifiably. The b7-pawn cannot be defended easily and once it falls the b6-pawn is just two steps away from queening.} (27. Bxb7 Bxd4 28. exd4 Rb3 $11) 27... f4 $1 (27... Rxa3 $2 28. Bxb7 $18 {is just lost for Black.}) (27... Bxd4 $1 28. exd4 Bc8 $1 $11 {At first sight this looks passive but what can White do? Black is slowly going to bring his king into the game with ?f8-e7-d6. Meanwhile it is difficult for White to come up with something. This could have been an adequate defence but it's difficult for humans to play in this fashion because we value activity more than passivity.}) 28. Bxb7 fxe3 $2 {The main reason why this move is bad is because the back rank threats are gone after fxe3.} (28... Bxd4 {A very logical question to ask here is what happens to ?xd4 exd4 ?f5. The rook cannot stay on the b-file because of the back rank weakness and once it moves from b1 then the black rook moves to b3 and collects the b6 pawn.} 29. exd4 Bf5 30. Re1 Rb3 $11 {This was a very simple defence which would have ensured a draw for Matlakov. Instead he goes for something else and White is much better after that.}) 29. fxe3 Rxe3 (29... Bxd4 30. exd4 Bf5 {No longer makes any sense because} 31. Rb5 {and there is no back rank mate.}) 30. Nf3 $1 Bf5 31. Rb5 {This position is extremely difficult for Black to defend. The knight on f3 does a brilliant job of defending its king and the bishop and rook are working to ensure that the b6-pawn causes some serious damage.} Bd3 (31... Bd7 32. Rd5 (32. Rxa5 $2 Bd8 $1 $17) 32... Be8 33. Ba8 Rb3 34. b7 $16) 32. Rxa5 (32. Bc6 $5 {looks flashy but doesn't win because of} Rxf3 $1 {Threatening a mate on f1.} (32... Bxb5 33. b7 Bxc6 34. b8=Q+ Be8 $11 {White cannot really win this.}) 33. gxf3 Bxb5 34. b7 Be5 35. Bxb5 $11) 32... Bd8 33. Ra8 $1 Re8 34. Kh1 $1 {To make such moves you require excellent calculation and confidence. Li Chao knows that his king will not be mated on the back rank. Meanwhile the threat now is to just play ?c6 and b7.} Bb5 35. a4 $1 Bxa4 (35... Bd7 36. a5 $18 {[%csl Ga5,Gb6]}) 36. Rxa4 Bxb6 37. h4 {This requires some technical effort but there is absolutely no doubt that White will slowly but surely win this.} g6 38. Bd5 Re7 $6 {Brings the game to a quick end.} 39. Ra6 $1 {The g6-pawn falls. This new idea of playing a3 in the opening will be tested in many more games I think. Black's task of equalising is not easy. In this game Li Chao went wrong with ?d6. Matlakov was able to equalise but then went horribly wrong when a draw was just a move away.} 1-0 [Event "Poikovsky Karpov 04th"] [Site "Poikovsky"] [Date "2003.04.23"] [Round "4"] [White "Pelletier, Yannick"] [Black "Vescovi, Giovanni P"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2623"] [BlackElo "2615"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2003.04.20"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "16"] [SourceTitle "CBM 095"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2003.07.25"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2003.07.25"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 Bb4 {Das ist die Ragozin-Variante des Damengambits, ein spezieller Hybrid des Damengambits und der Nimzoindischen Verteidigung. Die gewoehnliche schwarze Strategie in dieser Variante ist der Kampf um das e4-Feld.} 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 (6... Nbd7 {Diese Variante wird oft gespielt.}) 7. Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 Ne4 {Diese Variante ist weniger gespielt. Schwarz moechte direkt einen Bauern gewinnen.} 9. Nd2 {Dieses (zeitweilige) Bauernopfer ist die beste Fortsetzung fuer Weiss.} (9. Rc1 $6 h5 $36) 9... Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bxc3 11. Rc1 Ba5 {Das ist die alte Fortsetzung. Aber in Betracht kommt auch der Zwischenzug 11..?b2!?.} (11... Bb2 $5) 12. h4 {Fuer den Bauern Weiss hat Kompensation, weil die schwarze Bauernstruktur am Koenigsfluegel geschwaecht ist.} (12. e3 c6 13. Bd3 Bc7 (13... h5 14. h4 g4 15. Qc2 Nd7 16. O-O Bxd2 17. Qxd2 Nb6 18. e4 dxe4 19. Bxe4 Be6 20. Rfe1 {1-0 Notkin,M-Mochalov,E/Minsk 1998/CBM 64 ext (45)}) (13... Nd7 14. O-O Nf6 15. Be5 O-O 16. Nb3 Bc7 17. f4 g4 18. Qe1 {1-0 Smejkal,J-Kurajica,B/Vrsac 1981/MCD (42)}) 14. Bxc7 Qxc7 15. O-O f5 16. Nf3 Be6 17. Ne5 O-O 18. Qh5 Qg7 19. Rb1 b6 20. f4 {1-0 Tkachiev,V-Vallin,G/France 2001/EXT 2002 (33)}) 12... Rf8 $5 {[%mdl 4] Schwarz verlasst die h-Linie mit dem Turm und moechte seinen Koenig entweder in der Mitte lassen, oder (in einigen Varianten) lange rochieren.} (12... g4 13. e3 (13. Qc2 $5) 13... c6 (13... Bf5 14. Be2 Rg8 15. O-O c6 16. Nb3 Bb6 17. Bd3 Qf6 18. Re1 Be4 19. a4 a5 20. Bxe4 dxe4 21. Nd2 Qe7 22. Rb1 Bd8 23. Nc4 Rg6 24. h5 Re6 25. d5 {1-0 Naumkin,I-Zemerov,V/Genova 2001/CBM 85 ext (25)}) (13... Nc6 $6 14. Bb5 Bd7 15. Rc5 $1 {1-0 Khalifman,A-Serper,G/St Petersburg 1994/CBM 43 ext/[Khalifman] (31)}) 14. Be2 Be6 (14... h5 15. O-O Bc7 16. Bxc7 Qxc7 17. e4 $1 Be6 18. exd5 Bxd5 19. Bc4 Qd8 20. Re1+ Kf8 21. Qb3 {1-0 Ovsejevitsch,S-Karmov,M/Krasnodar 1996/EXT 2000 (27)}) 15. O-O Nd7 (15... h5 $6 16. e4 $1 Bb6 17. exd5 cxd5 18. Nb3 (18. Bb5+ $5 Kf8 19. Nb3 $44) 18... Nc6 19. Qd2 $44 {½-½ Gelfand,B-Bareev,E/Polanica Zdroj 1997/CBM 61/[Gelfand] (36)}) 16. Nb3 Bc7 17. Bxg4 Bxg3 18. Bxe6 Bd6 19. Qh5 Qe7 20. Bxd7+ Qxd7 21. Nc5 Qe7 22. e4 Bxc5 23. dxc5 O-O-O {½-½ Tukmakov,V-Inkiov,V/Chania 1992/EXT 2003 (23)}) 13. e3 c6 {[%CAl Ga5c7,Gc7g3] Das ist ein typysches positionelles Motiv - Schwarz moechte den starken dunkelfarbigen Laufer des Gegners mit 14...?c7 tauschen.} 14. Bd3 Bc7 15. Bxc7 Qxc7 {Weiss hat Entwicklungsvorteil, aber die schwarze Stellung ist fest.} 16. Qh5 {[%csl Gh5] Mit diesem Damezug Weiss gewinnt den Bauern zurueck.} Be6 (16... Qe7 17. Qxh6 gxh4 (17... Qa3 $6 18. Ke2 $36) 18. Qxh4 $14) 17. hxg5 (17. Qxh6 gxh4 18. Qxh4 Nd7 {Auf diese Weise hätten wir eine ähnliche Stellung wie in der Partie - dort wird die weisse Dame auf g5 stehen.}) 17... hxg5 18. Qxg5 Nd7 (18... Qe7 $6 19. Qg3 $36) 19. f4 $13 {Weiss strebt nach Aktivitaet am Koenigsfluegel. Der Zug 20.f5 droht jedoch noch nicht mit Figurengewinn, weil Schwarz 20...f6 ziehen kann.} (19. Rb1 $14 {[%CAl Gb1b7]}) 19... f6 (19... Qa5 20. f5 f6 $13) 20. Bg6+ Kd8 (20... Ke7 $13) 21. Qh6 Qd6 {[%CAl Gd8c7]} 22. f5 $6 {Dieser Zug gefaellt mir nicht, weil der g6? abgeschnitten wird.} Bg8 23. Kf2 Rc8 {[%CAl Gc6c5]} (23... Kc7) 24. Qf4 $6 (24. Qh2 Qxh2 25. Rxh2 Ke7 $11) 24... Kc7 (24... Qxf4+ 25. exf4 Ke7 $11) 25. Rc3 b6 {[%CAl Gc6c5] Schwarz moechte seine Bauernmehrheit am Damenfluegel mobilisieren.} (25... Qxf4+ 26. exf4 b6 $11) 26. Nf3 (26. Qxd6+ Kxd6 $15) 26... c5 27. Ra3 $2 {[%mdl 16384] Dieser Zug gefaellt mir gar nicht. Der weisse Turm steht völlig passiv auf der a-Linie.} (27. dxc5 Qxf4 28. exf4 (28. cxb6+ $4 Kb7 $19) 28... Nxc5 $11 (28... bxc5 29. Nd4 $13)) 27... Qxf4 28. exf4 {[%csl Rf4,Rf5]} a5 (28... Kb7 $13) 29. dxc5 bxc5 $1 {[%csl Gc5,Gd5] Die Aktivitaet ist wichtiger als ein Bauer.} (29... Nxc5 30. Nd4 $11) 30. Rxa5 d4 $44 {Die schwarze positionelle Drohung ist 31...?a8.} 31. Ra7+ Kd6 32. Rb1 (32. Ra6+ Rc6 33. Rxc6+ Kxc6 $15) 32... Ra8 33. Rbb7 (33. Rxa8 Rxa8 $17) 33... Rxa7 34. Rxa7 Rb8 $1 $17 {[%csl Gc5,Gd4,Gd6,Rg6][%CAl Rb8b2,Rb2a2,Rb2f2] Schwarz hat einen Bauern weniger, aber seine verbundene Bauern sind stark im Zentrum und der g6? steht schrecklich passiv.} 35. Kg3 $2 (35. Nd2 Bd5 36. g4 c4 $17) 35... Bd5 (35... Rb2 $17) 36. a4 d3 37. Kf2 (37. Nd2 Rb2 $19) 37... Rb2+ 38. Ke3 Bxf3 $1 (38... Rxg2 $17) 39. Kxf3 (39. gxf3 c4 $19) 39... c4 $19 {[%csl Gc4,Gd3] Die schwarze Bauern entscheiden die Partie - Weiss spielt eigentlich mit einer Figur weniger wegen des ?g6.} 40. Ra6+ Kc5 41. Ra7 c3 (41... Nb6 $19) 42. Rc7+ (42. Rxd7 c2 $19) 42... Kb4 43. Rb7+ Ka5 0-1 [Event "Rilton Cup 45th"] [Site "Stockholm"] [Date "2016.01.02"] [Round "6"] [White "Krasenkow, Michal"] [Black "Hammer, Jon Ludvig"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2610"] [BlackElo "2695"] [Annotator "ChessBase"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2015.12.27"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SWE"] [SourceTitle "CBM 170 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2016.02.25"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2016.02.25"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Rc1 (9. Be2 {ist die Hauptvariante und erzielt prozentual deutlich bessere Ergebnisse, nach} dxc4 10. O-O Bd7 11. Bxc4 Bxc3 (11... Bd6 {hier kann Schwarz das Läuferpaar nicht behaupten} 12. Ne4 Qe7 13. Qc2 e5 14. d5 Nd8 15. Nxd6 cxd6 16. Rac1 $14 {1-0 (36) Wagner,D (2481)-Landa,K (2640) Germany 2013}) 12. bxc3 Rfd8 {hat Weiß das leichtere Spiel, auch wenn Aronian die Variante zuletzt gut behaupten konnte:} 13. Be2 Be8 14. Qa3 Qe7 15. Qb2 b6 16. Nd2 Na5 17. Nb3 Nxb3 18. axb3 a5 19. b4 axb4 20. Qxb4 Kf8 21. Bf3 Qxb4 22. cxb4 Rxa1 23. Rxa1 Ke7 24. Kf1 Kd6 25. Ke2 Bb5+ 26. Kd2 e5 27. dxe5+ Kxe5+ 28. Kc3 Rd3+ 29. Kc2 Rd8 30. Kc3 Rd3+ 31. Kc2 Rd8 32. Kc3 {1/2-1/2 (32) Vachier Lagrave,M (2731)-Aronian,L (2765) Saint Louis 2015}) 9... Qg6 {nun kann sich Weiß nicht fertig entwickeln und entscheidet sich die lästige Dame auf g6 zu tauschen.} 10. Qc2 Qxc2 11. Rxc2 Rd8 12. a3 Bf8 {Schwarz konnte nun das Läuferpaar retten und hat so langfristig gesehen einen großen Trumpf. Weiß muss versuchen, die Stellung so geschloßen wie nur möglich zu halten.} 13. Be2 (13. Nb5 Rd7 14. Bd3 a6 15. Nc3 Ne7 16. Ke2 Rd8 $11 {1-0 (69) Kramnik,V (2783)-Aronian,L (2777) Zuerich 2015}) 13... Na5 $146 14. c5 Nc6 15. b4 g5 $5 {leitet die Öffnung der Stellung ein.} 16. g4 {Diagramm [#]} (16. b5 Ne7 17. O-O Bg7 $13 {und Schwarz hat mit f6-e5 bzw. b6 verschiedene Hebel zur Verfügung}) 16... e5 $1 17. Nxe5 Nxe5 18. dxe5 a5 $132 19. O-O axb4 20. axb4 c6 {Schwarz bekommt den Bauern nicht sofort zurück, seine Türme und Läufer entfalten jedoch innerhalb weniger Züge ihr Potential, sodass das materielle Zugeständnis durch die Initiative kompensiert wird.} 21. Rd1 {ambitioniert gespielt} (21. Ra2 $5 {im Wissen um die folgende Karriere des Ta8 erscheint dieser Abtausch empfehlenswert.} Rxa2 22. Nxa2 Re8 {Schwarz bekommt das Material zurück, Weiß gewinnt jedoch Zeit, sich richtig zu positionieren.} 23. Nc1 (23. f4 gxf4 24. exf4 f6 $36) 23... Rxe5 24. Nb3 {[%CAl Gf1a1,Gb3d4]} Re8 25. Ra1 Bg7 26. Ra8 $132) 21... Bg7 22. f4 Re8 23. Kf2 gxf4 24. exf4 f6 25. exf6 Bxf6 26. h3 Ra3 {drei der vier schwarzen Figuren sind bereits bestens aktiviert, der Lc8 wird auf der Diagonale a2-g8 Arbeit finden. Weiß ist bemüht, die Stellung zusammenzuhalten.} 27. Rd3 Kg7 28. Kf3 $6 (28. Na2 Bh4+ 29. Kf3 Ra4 30. f5 {[%csl Ge6]} Bd7 $15) 28... Be6 29. Nd1 Ra4 30. Rb3 d4 31. Bc4 {Diagramm [#]} Ra2 $1 {nach 5 Sekunden Bedenkzeit ausgeführt. Diese Taktik wurde von Krasenkow bei 28. Kf3 wohl übersehen. Nun ist die weiße Stellung nicht mehr zu retten.} 32. Rxa2 (32. Rc1 Bxc4 33. Rxc4 Rh2 $19) 32... Bxc4 33. g5 Bxb3 34. gxf6+ Kxf6 35. Rd2 Bxd1+ 36. Rxd1 Re3+ 37. Kf2 Re4 38. Rd3 Rxf4+ 39. Ke2 Ke5 40. Rg3 Ke4 41. Rg7 d3+ 42. Kd2 Rf2+ 43. Kc3 Rc2+ 44. Kb3 Rc1 45. Re7+ Kf3 46. Rf7+ Ke2 47. Re7+ Kd1 48. Kb2 d2 49. Re4 Rc2+ 50. Kb1 Rc3 0-1 [Event "Sinquefield Cup 5th"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.08.08"] [Round "6"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2809"] [BlackElo "2810"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2017.08.02"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "USA"] [EventCategory "22"] [SourceTitle "CBM 180"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2017.09.13"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.09.13"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Be2 {This is less favourable here than after} (9. Rc1 Rd8 $6 {The development of White's rook is more useful, and the f7-point becomes vulnerable in some lines (see Navara - Leko in this issue).}) 9... dxc4 (9... Bd7 $5 {is another common move.}) 10. O-O Bxc3 (10... Bd7 {is more accurate} 11. Bxc4 $140 Bxc3 12. bxc3 {avoiding the game line.}) (10... a6 11. Bxc4 {is hardly satisfactory for Black, as tournament practice shows.}) 11. bxc3 Bd7 (11... e5 {doesn't solve Black's problems:} 12. Qxc4 exd4 (12... Rd8 13. dxe5 Qe7 14. Rfd1 Re8 15. Qf4 a6 16. Bc4 Be6 17. Bd3 Rad8 18. Nd4 $16 {1-0 (65) Ragger,M (2655)-Paikidze,N (2411) Moscow 2012}) (12... Bf5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Qxc7 Nd3 15. Rad1 $16 {1-0 (27) Moranda,W (2559)-Rosenthal,D (2413) Germany 2013}) (12... Qd6 13. Rfd1 Re8 14. Qa4 Qe7 15. Bb5 Bd7 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. dxe5 c6 18. Be2 Bf5 19. f4 $16 {1-0 (52) Zhukova,N (2456)-Khurtsilava,I (2212) Chakvi 2015}) 13. cxd4 Bg4 (13... Rd8 14. Rab1 $5) 14. Rab1 Qd6 15. Rfc1 Rab8 16. Qc3 Rfc8 17. h3 Bf5 18. Rb5 Ne7 19. Ne5 $14 {1/2 (84) Gavrilov,A (2425)-Rzayev,B (2400) Prague 2016}) 12. Qxc4 (12. Bxc4 {leads to the line usually arising after 10...Bd7. It is more comfortable for Black, who can easily neutralise White's small edge:} Rfd8 (12... Qe7 13. Qc2 $5 (13. Be2 e5 (13... b6 14. Qb3 Rac8 15. Rfd1 Na5 16. Qb2 c5 $11 {0-1 (47) Fressinet,L (2687)-Giri,A (2782) Paris 2016}) 14. Qb3 b6 15. Qc4 Rac8 16. Nd2 Na5 17. Qb4 c5 18. Qa3 Rfe8 $11 {1-0 (62) Fedoseev,V (2601)-Aleksandrov,A (2586) Khanty-Mansiysk 2013}) 13... Na5 14. Bd3 c5 15. Ne5 Rfd8 16. f4 Be8 17. Qf2 (17. Qe2 Rac8 18. f5 f6 19. Ng4 {0-1 (44) Hansen,C (2621)-Hammer,J (2665) Oslo 2015} h5 20. Nf2 e5 $1 {I.Stohl}) 17... Nc6 18. Qg3 f5 19. Nf3 Rac8 20. Qf2 cxd4 21. exd4 Qa3 22. Qd2 Bh5 $11 (22... Ne7 $143 23. Rac1 Bh5 24. Ne5 Nd5 25. Bc4 b5 26. Bb3 $14 {1/2 (32) Ribli,Z (2555)-Movsesian,S (2677) Munich GER 2016})) 13. Qc2 (13. Qa3 Qe7 14. Qxe7 (14. Qb2 Na5 15. Bd3 c5 16. e4 Be8 17. Rad1 cxd4 18. cxd4 Rac8 $11 {1/2 (67) Shankland,S (2661)-Aronian,L (2770) Tsaghkadzor 2015}) 14... Nxe7 15. Ne5 (15. a4 c5 16. Rfb1 Rab8 17. Ne5 Be8 18. a5 Rdc8 19. Bb5 Rc7 20. Bxe8 Rxe8 21. Nd3 cxd4 22. cxd4 Nd5 $11 {1/2 (45) Sargissian,G (2679)-Fressinet,L (2702) Douglas 2015}) 15... Be8 16. Rfb1 Rab8 17. a4 b6 18. a5 Nc6 19. Nxc6 Bxc6 20. f3 Kf8 21. Kf2 Ke7 22. Be2 f6 $11 {1/2 (46) Navara,D (2730)-So,W (2773) Wijk aan Zee 2016}) (13. Be2 Be8 (13... e5 $5 14. Qb3 b6 15. Rfd1 Bf5 $132 {I.Stohl}) 14. Qa3 Qe7 15. Qb2 b6 (15... Na5 16. Qb4 $5 Qxb4 17. cxb4 Nc6 18. Rab1 $14 {1-0 (58) Topalov,V (2798)-Aronian,L (2780) Stavanger 2015 CBM 167 [Stohl,I]}) 16. Nd2 Na5 17. Nb3 Nxb3 18. axb3 a5 $11 {1/2 (32) Vachier Lagrave,M (2731)-Aronian,L (2765) Saint Louis 2015}) 13... Na5 14. Be2 (14. Bd3 c5 15. Ne5 Be8 16. f4 Rac8 17. Qf2 cxd4 18. cxd4 Qe7 $13 {1/2 (50) Sanikidze,T (2537)-Libiszewski,F (2533) Drancy 2016}) 14... c5 15. Ne5 Be8 16. Qe4 Nc6 17. f4 Rac8 18. Rad1 Qe7 19. c4 f5 20. Nxc6 Bxc6 21. Qe5 cxd4 22. Rxd4 Kf7 23. Rfd1 g6 $11 {1/2 (35) Bu Xiangzhi (2711)-Le Quang Liem (2712) Ho Chi Minh City VIE 2017}) 12... Rac8 (12... Rfd8 13. Nd2 (13. Bd3 $5 {[%CAl Yd3e4]}) (13. Rab1 $5) 13... Rac8 14. Nb3 Qe7 15. a4 a5 16. Bf3 $14 {1-0 (43) Ushenina,A (2438)-Milliet,S (2356) Reykjavik 2015}) 13. Rad1 (13. Bd3 $5 {[%CAl Yd3e4]}) 13... Rfd8 14. Nd2 (14. Qb3 Na5 15. Qa3 b6) 14... Na5 15. Qb4 b6 16. Ba6 Rb8 17. Ne4 Qf5 18. Bd3 Bc6 19. f3 Bxe4 $2 {[%mdl 16384] A positional mistake. Black trades his strong bishop and opens up the f-file for White.} (19... Nb7 $14 {[%CAl Yf5a5]}) 20. fxe4 Qg5 21. Rf3 c5 22. Qb2 e5 23. Rdf1 $1 cxd4 24. cxd4 Rb7 25. d5 {[%csl Ra5]} Rc7 26. h4 $1 {Black loses his crucial e5-pawn, after which White's central pawn avalanche starts crushing his position.} Qxh4 (26... Qh5 27. Rf5) 27. Qxe5 Qe7 (27... Re7 28. Qc3 Nb7 29. e5 $1 Rxd5 30. Qb3 $16 {[%csl Rf7]}) 28. Qg3 Qc5 $2 {[%mdl 8192] This loses at once.} (28... Qd6 {was more stubborn but after} 29. e5 $1 Qxd5 30. e6 Qd6 $8 31. Bh7+ $1 Kxh7 32. Qxd6 Rxd6 33. exf7 Rd8 34. f8=Q Rxf8 35. Rxf8 $16 {White kept good winning chances.}) 29. Rf6 $1 {[%CAl Rf6h6]} h5 (29... Kf8 30. Rg6 $1 Qc3 31. e5 Qxd3 32. Rxg7 $18) 30. Rh6 $1 Qc3 31. Rxh5 g6 32. e5 $1 (32. e5 Qxd3 33. Qh4 gxh5 34. Qxd8+ $18) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup"] [Site "Tbilisi"] [Date "2017.09.06"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Le, Quang Liem"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [BlackElo "2702"] [Annotator "Vidit,Santosh Gujrathi"] [PlyCount "140"] [EventDate "2017.09.03"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "GEO"] [SourceTitle "CBM 181"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2017.11.10"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.11.10"] [SourceQuality "1"] {The World Cup is a very special tournament. It simply can't be compared to any other event. The pressure and schedule of such an event are gruelling. Therefore I was very glad that I had managed to play good chess and advance until round 3. In round 2 I played against Le Quang Liem who had made an impressive showing in Saint Louis a couple of days back.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 O-O 8. e3 Bf5 9. Qb3 {My opponent was blitzing out his moves which alerted me a little. Thankfully my memory was working fine that day and I managed to recollect my analysis.} Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3 Nbd7 11. Be2 (11. Nd2 {this line was more fresh in my mind as I had seen this game} Rc8 12. Be2 c5 13. O-O Qb6 14. Rfc1 Rfe8 15. Kf1 Ne4 {½-½ (40) Karjakin,S (2783)-Harikrishna,P (2755) Shamkir 2017}) 11... c6 12. Nd2 Ne4 {My opponent was taken aback when I played this. Here I probably realised that he maybe wasn't expecting me to play this.} 13. Bxd8 (13. Nxe4 Qxh4 14. Nd6 {is another way to play.}) 13... Nxc3 14. bxc3 Rfxd8 {I thought Black is quite comfortable here. He can play ...c5 and maybe double up on the c-file. Whereas White's plan isn't that clear.} 15. f3 c5 16. Kf2 Rac8 17. Rhc1 Rc7 18. e4 {I was very surprised to see this. I was under the impression that White's centre is more of a burden than a strength.} (18. g4 Bh7 19. h4 {expanding on the kingside made sense. Although Black is completely fine.} Rdc8 20. Nb3 Kf8 $11) 18... dxe4 19. fxe4 Bg6 20. Bf3 (20. Ke3 Nf6) 20... Ne5 $5 {I played this after considerable thought. I was confused between various tempting plans.} (20... Rdc8 {reduces the pressure on the d4-pawn.} 21. Nb3 a5 $5 (21... cxd4 22. cxd4 $14) 22. a4 $11) 21. Ke3 (21. dxe5 {was maybe a concrete way to solve the issue.} Rxd2+ 22. Ke3 Rcd7 23. Rd1 R7d3+ 24. Kf4 Rxd1 25. Rxd1 Rxd1 (25... Rxc3 26. Rd8+ Kh7 27. g4 {and White is better due to the bad bishop on g6}) 26. Bxd1 b5 27. h4 Kf8 28. g4 Ke7 29. Bb3 a5) 21... Nc6 22. Nb3 {Somewhere around here he offered me a draw. With such a comfortable position it would be shameful to accept it!} (22. d5 Ne5 23. c4 Re7 24. g4 f6 {The knight has a fantastic blockade and White's position doesn't inspire much.}) 22... cxd4+ 23. cxd4 Re7 {With the threat of ...?xe4 followed by ...f5.} 24. g4 $6 {I was very surprised to see this. White should probably already start his play on the queenside:} (24. e5 {was the only other move I considered} Nb4 (24... f6 25. Bxc6 bxc6 26. Rxc6 Bf7 27. Rc5 Bd5 {looks nice, but fizzles out} 28. Kf2 fxe5 29. dxe5 Rxe5 30. Rac1 $11) 25. Be4 Bxe4 26. Kxe4 f6 27. Rc4 Nc6 28. Rac1 {Here ...fxe5/d5 looked scary but Black has the luxury to prepare this capture!} Ree8 $1 29. g3 fxe5 30. d5 Ne7 $1 $17 {The point!}) (24. Rc5 $1 {I must admit that I hadn't seen this resource.} f5 25. e5 f4+ 26. Kf2 $1 (26. Kxf4 Nxd4 27. Nxd4 Rxd4+ 28. Kg3 b6 {looks practically annoying}) 26... Nxd4 27. Rd1 $132) 24... f6 25. Re1 {Again, a very surprising move. It looked a bit slow.} ({Maybe White has to go for active counterplay:} 25. Rc5 Bf7 26. Rd1 Nb4 27. Rd2 b6 $15 {Black is better but compared to game his pieces are more active.}) 25... Bf7 {Most logical, but probably not the best.} (25... Nb4 26. Kd2) (25... Rde8 26. Nd2 a5 $1 {is the computer's suggestion! Black now threatens to play ...?d7 and then kick away the knight on b3. Isn't playing ...a5 after the knight has been kicked back to d2 a little too counter-intuitive for a mere human?} 27. Rac1 Rd7) 26. Rad1 Nb4 {I have to act fast!} 27. Rd2 Rc7 28. Kf2 (28. Rc1 Rxc1 29. Nxc1 Rc8 30. Ne2 Bxa2) 28... Nxa2 {Inaccurate.} (28... Rc2 $1 29. Ree2 Rc3 {is a sophisticated way to keep the domination} 30. Re3 Rxe3 31. Kxe3 Rc8 32. d5 Rc3+ 33. Ke2 Be8 $1 34. Nd4 Bd7 35. Rb2 a5 {and Black's active pieces suffocate White.}) 29. d5 (29. Rxa2 Bxb3 30. Ra3 $1 {We both missed this intermediate move.} (30. Rxa7 Rxd4 31. Rb1 Rd3 $17) 30... Bf7 31. d5 {Apparently It's not easy for Black to advance his queenside pawns.}) 29... Nc3 {I wanted to get my knight to d6.} (29... Nb4 30. Re3) 30. Nd4 Rc4 (30... b5 31. Rb2 (31. Rc2 $1)) 31. Re3 Be8 $6 (31... a5 {Just advance your passed pawns!}) 32. Bg2 {I was relieved to see this. While my opponent was thinking, I realised that I had thrown away my advantage as I didn't see how to react after the simple breakthrought in the centre.} (32. e5 fxe5 (32... Nxd5 33. Nf5 $1) 33. Rxe5 a5 34. d6 $1 (34. Ne6 Rd6 $15) 34... Bf7 35. Nb5 a4 36. Nxc3 Rxc3 37. Bxb7 $11) 32... Nb5 (32... b5 33. Bf1 Rcc8) (32... Bd7 {was maybe better, but I wanted to solve the problem of the c3-knight.}) 33. Nxb5 Bxb5 34. Bf1 (34. Rb2 Rc5 35. h4 {apparently is more resistant! The presence of bishops creates more problems to realise the extra pawn.}) 34... Rc5 35. Bxb5 Rxb5 $17 {Now Black has a clear advantage. Although White still has counterplay due to the d-pawn. After a few earlier inaccuracies, I am proud to say that in the next phase of the game I showed some talent! :)} 36. Rc3 Rd7 37. Ke3 Kf7 38. Rdc2 (38. h4 a5 39. Rc8) 38... a5 39. Rc7 Ke7 40. Rc8 a4 41. Ra8 Rb4 $1 {Cutting of the king!} (41... Rb3+ 42. Kd4 Rb4+ (42... a3 {looks tempting but pawn is way too advanced to defend} 43. Rc3 $1 $11) 43. Rc4 Rxc4+ 44. Kxc4 Rc7+ 45. Kb5 Rc2 46. Rxa4 Rxh2 47. Kb6 $11) 42. Kd3 (42. Rcc8 {visually looked scary but I correctly understood that I can safely take my king to the queenside.} Kd6 $1 43. Re8 Kc5 $1 44. h4 g5 45. h5 Rb3+ $19) 42... Rd8 $1 {The move I am most proud of in the game! I found this simply because I couldn't find another way to keep the pressure!} (42... Kd6 43. Rc4 $1 (43. Re8 Re7 44. Rd8+ Ke5 45. d6 Rd4+ $17) 43... Rxc4 44. Kxc4 Rc7+ 45. Kd4 b5 46. Ra6+ Kd7 47. Ra5 {and my pawns are a little stuck.}) 43. Ra7 (43. Rc7+ Kd6 44. Rxb7 Rxa8 45. Rxb4 {with a classic rook behind the pawn scenario} a3) 43... Kd6 44. Rc4 Rxc4 (44... Rb3+ 45. Kd4 a3 46. h4 (46. Rc3 Rxc3 47. Kxc3 Ke5) 46... h5) 45. Kxc4 Ke5 $1 {Another very strong move! It was important to understand that Black has to give away the material rather than to hang onto it.} (45... Rc8+ 46. Kd4 b5 47. Ra6+ Kd7 48. Ra5 Rc4+ 49. Kd3 Rc5 50. Kd4 {Black has practical problems!}) 46. Rxb7 (46. Kd3 b5 {is similiar to above line but here Black is so much more active.} 47. Rxg7 b4) 46... Ra8 $1 47. Rb2 a3 48. Ra2 Kxe4 49. d6 Ke5 $1 (49... Rd8 50. Kc5 {would be anti climactic!}) 50. Kc5 Rc8+ $1 51. Kb4 Kxd6 52. Rxa3 Rc7 53. Re3 (53. Ra5 Rc2 54. h3 Rh2 $19) 53... Kd5 54. h3 g6 $1 $19 {Black just prepares a passed pawn as White's king is safely cut off. My good friend Erwin l'Ami who is a master of such rook endgames congratulated me and told that he found this endgame 'sweet'! What better compliment can I ask for?} 55. Re8 f5 56. Rg8 Rc6 57. Kb5 Rf6 58. gxf5 gxf5 59. Rd8+ Ke4 60. Re8+ Kf3 61. Kc4 Rd6 62. Kc5 Rd1 63. Rh8 f4 64. Rxh6 Kg3 65. Rg6+ Kxh3 66. Rf6 Kg3 67. Rg6+ Kf2 68. Kc4 f3 69. Kc3 Kf1 70. Kc2 Rd5 0-1 [Event "Prague Masters 3rd"] [Site "Prague"] [Date "2021.06.19"] [Round "6"] [White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Black "Abasov, Nijat Azad"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2687"] [BlackElo "2665"] [Annotator "Wojtaszek,Radoslaw"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2021.06.14"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "CZE"] [EventCategory "18"] [SourceTitle "CBM 203"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2021.08.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.08.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,107,28,28,25,-11,-11,2,6,6,33,2,7,-6,-6,-45,-21,-10,6,6,42,48,48,-6,12,0,-9,-3,3,2,6,-5,31,5,13,-6,15,-6,26,39,22,23,45,46,47,47,47,63,59,102,112,115,123,154,154,53,76,97,120,76,261,124,99,110,137,99,142,130,144,232,232,226,232,182,200,186,145,172,172,172,309,309,317,238,243,243,241,241,327,343,343,335,322,265,308,116,354,390,386,386,412,434,446,477,558,558,512,560,618,688]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 O-O 8. e3 Bf5 {I had plenty of experience in this line with black so I have to say that it was quite refreshing having the white pieces here!} 9. Qb3 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Nbd7 11. Be2 ({White doesn't have time for} 11. Qxb7 $2 Rb8 $1 (11... c5 {is also good.}) 12. Qxa7 Qe7 $1 $36) 11... c5 12. dxc5 (12. O-O $6 c4 13. Qxb7 Qb6 14. Qxb6 axb6 $36) 12... Nxc5 ({With black I used to play} 12... g5 $5 13. Bg3 (13. Nd4 $5 {is an interesting move which leads to very uncleai positions.}) 13... Nxc5 14. Qb4 Nfe4 15. O-O Qe7 {and made two relatively easy draws here.}) 13. Qb4 Rc8 ({It's important that black cannot play} 13... Nd3+ $6 14. Bxd3 Bxd3 15. Qd4 $1 {and he will have to deal with the broken structure after Bxf6.}) 14. O-O g5 15. Bg3 Qe7 $6 ({The strongest is} 15... Re8 $1 {because now white is not able to transfer his bishop to the a1-h8 diagonal:} 16. Be5 g4 17. Bxf6 Qxf6 18. Nd4 h5 $11 19. f3 $6 g3 $1 20. hxg3 Rxe3 $15) 16. Be5 $1 {[%CAl Ga1h8]} Rfd8 (16... g4 $6 {with the rook on f8 it's not sufficent for black:} 17. Bxf6 Qxf6 18. Nd4 h5 19. f3 $1 $36 {and compared to the line 15...Re8, the e3 pawn is not hanging.}) 17. Rad1 ({Even stronger was the immediate} 17. Bd4 $1 Nfe4 18. Ne5 b6 19. c4 dxc4 20. Bxc4 $36) 17... Nfe4 18. Bd4 Rd6 $2 {At first it makes sense to activate the rook but it simply doesn't work tactically.} (18... Kf8 $3 {with the idea ...Ne6 would be very strong:} 19. c4 (19. Rb1 $5 b6) 19... Ne6 $1 {and black is fine, for instance} 20. Qb2 $5 (20. Qxe7+ Kxe7 21. cxd5 Rxd5 22. Bxa7 Rxd1 23. Bxd1 Ra8) 20... dxc4 21. Bb6 $8 c3 $8 22. Bxd8 cxb2 23. Bxe7+ Kxe7 24. Rb1 Nc3 25. Rxb2 Nxe2+ 26. Rxe2 Bd3 27. Rb2 Bxf1 28. Rxb7+ Ke8 29. Kxf1 Rc1+ 30. Ke2 Rc2+ 31. Kf1 Rxa2 $11) 19. c4 $1 Rb6 20. Qe1 $1 dxc4 21. Bxc4 Be6 22. Be2 $1 {During the game I felt that I should avoid exchanges and it was a correct decision.} (22. Bxe6 $6 Qxe6 23. Ne5 f6 24. Bxc5 Nxc5 25. Nf3 Qxa2 26. Nd4 $44) 22... Rd6 (22... Bxa2 23. Ne5 $40 {would give me a strong attack, for instance} Be6 24. f3 Nd6 25. f4 $1) 23. Ne5 Bxa2 24. f3 Nf6 25. Qa5 $6 ({It was way better to continue playing against black's king:} 25. f4 $1 Nfe4 26. fxg5 hxg5 27. Bh5 $40) 25... Qe6 $2 ({We both missed} 25... Bb3 $1 26. Bxc5 (26. Rc1 $1 b6 27. Qa1 {and white keeps some initiative.}) 26... Qxe5 27. Rxd6 Rxc5 28. Qd8+ Kg7 29. e4 a5 $44) 26. Qxa7 b6 27. Ba1 $6 {Simply too slow.} ({Again it was better to continue in a more aggressive way with} 27. f4 $1 Bd5 28. fxg5 hxg5 (28... Ra8 29. Qxf7+ Qxf7 30. Nxf7 Bxf7 31. Rxf6 Rxf6 32. gxf6 $18) 29. Nxf7 (29. Rxf6 $1 Qxf6 30. Nc6 $1 {wins on the spot.}) 29... Qxf7 30. Qxf7+ Kxf7 31. Bxf6 Rxf6 32. Rxd5 $18) 27... Rxd1 28. Rxd1 Qb3 29. Kf1 Re8 30. Bd4 $4 (30. Nc4 $1 Qc2 31. Na3 $1 Qf5 32. Qxb6 $18) 30... Qe6 31. Ra1 $2 Bd5 32. e4 Nb3 $2 ({It was neccessary to play} 32... Bb3 $1 {but white would keep an edge after} 33. Rb1 $14) 33. exd5 Qxd5 (33... Nxd5 34. Bb5 $1 (34. Bb2 $2 Nxa1 35. Qxa1 f6 $1 36. Bb5 fxe5 37. Bxe8 Qxe8 38. Bxe5 $11) 34... Rf8 35. Qa4 Nxa1 36. Qxa1 $18) 34. Bc3 Nxa1 35. Bc4 $1 {35.Qa1 was a good alternative but I calculated the game continuation till the very end.} (35. Qxa1 $5 Ra8 36. Qb2 $16) 35... Qd1+ 36. Be1 Nd7 $1 37. Bxf7+ (37. Qxd7 Qxd7 38. Nxd7 $16) 37... Kf8 38. Bxe8 Kxe8 (38... Nxe5 39. Bb5 $18) 39. Nxd7 Qd3+ 40. Kf2 Qd4+ 41. Ke2 Qc4+ 42. Ke3 $1 Nc2+ 43. Kd2 $1 Nxe1 44. Nf6+ $1 $18 (44. Kxe1 $4 Qc1+ $11 (44... Qe6+ $11)) 44... Kf8 45. Qb8+ $1 {And now black cannot avoid material losses} Ke7 46. Qe5+ Kf7 47. Kxe1 $18 Qc1+ 48. Kf2 Qd2+ 49. Kg3 Qf4+ {The pawn endgame is obviously hopeless for black.} 50. Qxf4 gxf4+ 51. Kxf4 Kxf6 52. Ke4 Ke6 53. g4 b5 54. f4 1-0 [Event "EU-Cup 31st"] [Site "Skopje"] [Date "2015.10.22"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Black "Hammer, Jon Ludvig"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2734"] [BlackElo "2680"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2015.10.18"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "MKD"] [SourceTitle "CBM 169"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.11.10"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.11.10"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Novy Bor"] [BlackTeam "Oslo Schakselskap"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CZE"] [BlackTeamCountry "NOR"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. dxc5 Nbd7 9. Qd4 $5 {A rare but interesting move.} Qa5 ({The natural} 9... Bxc5 {deserves serious examination. It was played in the following blitz game:} 10. Qd2 Qb6 11. e3 Bb4 12. a3 Ne4 13. Qxd5 Nxc3 $6 14. Qc4 Ba5 15. b4 $16 {0-1 (48) Riazantsev,A (2684)-Vitiugov,N (2738) Wroclaw POL 2014}) 10. a3 (10. Rc1 $5 Bxc5 11. Qd2) 10... Bxc5 (10... Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 O-O 12. Qb4 $5 Qxc5 13. Bxf6 Qxb4 14. axb4 Nxf6 15. Nd4 Be6 16. f3 a6 17. e3 Rfc8 18. Kd2 Rc7 19. Bd3 Rac8 20. Ra3 Kf8 21. b5 axb5 22. Nxb5 Rd7 23. Nd4 $14 {1/2 (36) Vazquez Igarza,R (2601)-Gharamian,T (2655) Saint Quentin 2014}) 11. Qd2 O-O 12. e3 Be7 13. Bd3 $14 {As a result of the opening battle, Black does not have enough counterplay for his isolated pawn.} (13. Be2 {was possible, too.}) 13... Qd8 (13... Nc5 14. Bc2 Qa6 15. Qe2 {, and White keeps an edge in the endgame.}) 14. Rd1 Nc5 15. Bb1 Be6 16. O-O (16. Bxf6 $5 Bxf6 17. Nd4 {obtaining a classic setup, mostly known from the famous Karpov-Kasparov game.}) 16... Nce4 {This attempt to simplify the game proves unsuccessful; perhaps it was better to try another knight move:} (16... Nfe4 17. Nxe4 (17. Bxe7 Nxd2 18. Bxd8 Nxf3+ 19. gxf3 Raxd8 20. f4 $14) 17... dxe4 18. Qc3 Qe8 19. Nd4 $14) 17. Nxe4 Nxe4 (17... dxe4 18. Qxd8 Rfxd8 19. Nd4 {is also unpleasant.}) 18. Bxe4 dxe4 19. Qc2 exf3 (19... Bd5 $5 {was a better option: White wins a pawn by means of} 20. Bxe7 Qxe7 21. Rxd5 exf3 22. gxf3 {but after, say,} Rac8 {it will be very difficult to convert it due to White's doubled pawns. After the text move, sacrificing the queen, White has a lot of technical problems, too, but GM Radek Wojtaszek successfully overcomes them.}) 20. Rxd8 Bxd8 21. Bxd8 fxg2 22. Rd1 Rfxd8 23. Rxd8+ Rxd8 {[%mdl 4096]} 24. Kxg2 a6 25. e4 g5 {It is not easy to say whether this move is necessary.} 26. Qc3 Kh7 27. f3 Rd1 {If Black waits passively:} (27... Rd7 {, White can prepare h2-h4, eliminating Black's g5-pawn, and then start moving his f-pawn.}) 28. Qc2 Re1 29. Qd2 Rb1 30. Qc2 Re1 31. Kf2 Rh1 32. Ke3 b5 33. Kd4 Rf1 34. Qg2 Rc1 35. Ke5 Bb3 36. h4 Rc6 37. Qg3 Bd1 $6 (37... f6+ $142) 38. hxg5 hxg5 39. Qg2 $1 {Black's pieces have lost co-ordination, and he can't avoid fresh material losses.} Rh6 (39... Bb3 40. Kd4 {[%CAl Rg2g5,Rf3f4]}) 40. Kf5 g4 41. Qxg4 Rg6 42. Qh4+ Rh6 43. Qe7 Bb3 44. f4 Kg7 45. Qe5+ Kg8 46. Qc3 Ba2 $2 {Loses on the spot but} (46... Be6+ 47. Ke5 {was hopeless, too.}) 47. b3 {[%CAl Rc3b2]} Bb1 48. Qc1 $1 Bd3 49. Qc8+ Kh7 (49... Kg7 50. Qc3+) 50. Qd7 Rh5+ 51. Kf6 1-0 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE GP"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2015.05.20"] [Round "6"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2734"] [BlackElo "2776"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "165"] [EventDate "2015.05.14"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 167"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.07.13"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.07.13"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:23]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 4. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 5. cxd5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} exd5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 6. Bf4 {[%emt 0:00:04] Hardly an ambitious line but quite possible, why not?} O-O {[%emt 0:00:05]} 7. Rc1 $146 {[%emt 0:09:44] A new move but its value is not quite clear.} (7. e3 {is usually played. Here is a recent example:} c5 8. Be2 c4 9. O-O Nc6 10. Ne5 Be6 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Qc2 Qd7 13. b3 Bf5 14. Qb2 cxb3 15. Qxb3 Bd6 16. Bxd6 Qxd6 17. a4 a5 $11 {1/2 (51) Vorobiov,E (2579)-Predke,A (2533) Kazan RUS 2015}) 7... Bf5 {[%emt 0:09:44]} (7... c5 $5 8. dxc5 Ne4 {is probably quite possible and needs practical tests. E.g.} 9. g3 $5 {deserves attention.}) 8. a3 {[%emt 0:18:05]} Ba5 $6 {[%emt 0:02:03] Illogical. This bishop will waste time and finally be exchanged for its white counterpart.} (8... Bxc3+ $142 9. Rxc3 Ne4 $1 10. Rc1 (10. Rxc7 $2 g5) 10... c6 {although White's bishop pair guarantees him a small edge.}) 9. e3 $6 {[%emt 0:08:09]} (9. b4 $142 Bb6 10. e3 {. If Black continues ...c7-c6 and ...?b6-c7, he loses yet another tempo; and} a5 11. b5 a4 {[%CAl Yb6a5]} 12. Bd3 {is in White's favour, too.}) 9... c6 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 10. Be2 {[%emt 0:00:35]} Nbd7 {[%emt 0:02:14]} 11. O-O {[%emt 0:00:34]} Re8 {[%emt 0:13:07]} 12. b4 {[%emt 0:12:08]} Bc7 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 13. Bxc7 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Qxc7 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 14. b5 {[%emt 0:04:38] Despite the tempo White gifted back to his opponent, his minority attack is quite successful.} Qd6 {[%emt 0:05:07]} 15. Qb3 {[%emt 0:00:26]} c5 {[%emt 0:07:44]} 16. dxc5 {[%emt 0:02:03]} Nxc5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 17. Qb4 $14 {[%emt 0:00:08] With no activity compensating for his isolated d5-pawn, Black is doomed to long defence.} Rac8 {[%emt 0:00:25]} 18. Rfd1 {[%emt 0:02:15]} Be6 {[%emt 0:04:02] Too passive.} (18... h6 $142) 19. h3 {[%emt 0:07:45]} Red8 {[%emt 0:09:07]} 20. Nd4 {[%emt 0:02:31]} Qf8 {[%emt 0:12:26]} 21. b6 {[%emt 0:05:10] Generally pawn exchanges are favourable for the defender but White must create a second object of attack (the b7-pawn in this case).} axb6 {[%emt 0:00:48]} 22. Qxb6 {[%emt 0:00:19]} Nfd7 {[%emt 0:01:49]} 23. Qb2 {[%emt 0:06:51]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:01:48]} 24. Bf3 {[%emt 0:02:20]} Rd7 {[%emt 0:00:51]} 25. Qb4 {[%emt 0:11:18]} Qd8 {[%emt 0:02:38]} 26. Nce2 {[%emt 0:03:32]} Rdc7 {[%emt 0:04:40]} 27. Nf4 {[%emt 0:01:31]} Bd7 $6 {[%emt 0:01:57]} (27... Qd7) 28. Qa5 $2 {[%emt 0:07:04] Both players overlooked that} (28. Bxd5 {was quite possible as the tactical trick} Nxd5 29. Nxd5 Nd3 {didn't succeed due to} 30. Ne7+ Kf8 (30... Kh8 31. Ndc6 $3 Bxc6 (31... Nxb4 32. Nxd8 $18 {[%CAl Rd8f7]}) (31... Rxc6 32. Rxc6 $1 Bxc6 33. Nxc8) 32. Rxc6 $1 bxc6 (32... Rxc6 $144 33. Nxc6 bxc6) 33. Nxc8 Rxc8 34. Qb3 {, and White ends up with an extra pawn}) 31. Rxc7 ({or} 31. Qd6 Qxe7 32. Qxe7+ Kxe7 33. Rxc7 Rxc7 34. Rxd3 $16) 31... Nxb4 32. Rxc8 Bxc8 33. Ne6+ Bxe6 34. Rxd8+ Kxe7 35. Rb8 $16) 28... Ra8 $6 {[%emt 0:01:27]} (28... Ba4 $142 29. Rf1 Be8 {successfully holding on.}) 29. Qb6 $1 {[%emt 0:00:24]} Ra6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 30. Qb4 {[%emt 0:00:28]} Ra4 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 31. Qb6 {[%emt 0:00:30]} Ra6 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 32. Qb4 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Ra4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 33. Qb2 $1 {[%emt 0:00:05] The d5 pawn is now doomed...} Ne6 $2 {[%emt 0:15:25] ...but this move could have led to even worse consequences.} (33... Be8 $2 34. Nf5) (33... Ra8 $142 34. Bxd5 Qe7) 34. Nxd5 $6 {[%emt 0:04:26]} (34. Ndxe6 fxe6 35. Nxe6 $1 Bxe6 36. Qb6 {, indicated by a number of commentators, led to an immediate collapse of Black's position.}) 34... Rxc1 {[%emt 0:01:30]} 35. Rxc1 {[%emt 0:00:37]} Nxd4 {[%emt 0:01:15]} 36. exd4 {[%emt 0:00:40]} Nxd5 {[%emt 0:03:42]} 37. Bxd5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} b5 {[%emt 0:00:43]} 38. Bc6 {[%emt 0:03:48]} Bxc6 {[%emt 0:03:53]} 39. Rxc6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} h6 {[%emt 0:00:36]} 40. Qc2 $1 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Ra8 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 41. Qc5 {[%emt 0:02:41]} Qf8 {[%emt 0:01:57]} 42. Qxb5 {[%emt 0:10:00]} Qxa3 {[%emt 0:00:52] This position is difficult to hold for Black but it is a dream for him compared to what could have happened several moves earlier.} 43. Qc4 {[%emt 0:04:42]} Qf8 {[%emt 0:10:55]} 44. d5 {[%emt 0:02:13]} Qe8 {[%emt 0:02:01]} 45. Qd4 {[%emt 0:02:38]} Rd8 {[%emt 0:07:31]} 46. Rc7 {[%emt 0:02:02] White unnecessarily allows his opponent to stop his passed pawn on d5, and his task becomes more difficult.} (46. Rb6 $142 {[%CAl Yd5d6]}) 46... Qf8 {[%emt 0:00:43]} (46... Rd6 $1) 47. Rc3 {[%emt 0:04:49]} (47. Rc6 $1 Qe8 48. Rb6 {[%CAl Yd5d6]}) 47... Qd6 {[%emt 0:03:53]} 48. Rg3 {[%emt 0:00:22]} g6 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 49. Rd3 {[%emt 0:00:35]} Kh7 {[%emt 0:07:07]} 50. g3 {[%emt 0:00:47]} Rd7 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 51. Kg2 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Rd8 {[%emt 0:01:04]} 52. h4 {[%emt 0:00:55]} h5 {[%emt 0:01:22]} 53. Kf3 {[%emt 0:03:39]} Kg8 {[%emt 0:00:37]} 54. Qf4 {[%emt 0:01:13]} Qa6 {[%emt 0:01:44]} 55. Qd4 {[%emt 0:01:47]} Qd6 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 56. Kg2 {[%emt 0:01:05]} Rd7 {[%emt 0:00:21]} 57. g4 {[%emt 0:03:00] There is apparently no other way to make progress.} hxg4 {[%emt 0:02:31]} 58. Qxg4 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:03:37]} 59. h5 {[%emt 0:01:10]} Re7 {[%emt 0:05:44]} 60. Qd4+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} Qe5 {[%emt 0:00:00] Black goes for a rook endgame. A correct decision as it should be drawish. However, Anish Giri doesn't play it in the best way.} 61. hxg6 {[%emt 0:09:36]} Qxd4 {[%emt 0:04:36]} 62. Rxd4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Kxg6 {[%emt 0:00:56][%mdl 4096]} 63. Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Kf5 $1 {[%emt 0:01:58] Shouldering White's king out of the way.} 64. Rf4+ {[%emt 0:00:17]} Kg5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 65. Re4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Rd7 $2 {[%emt 0:00:10] The rook should be active!} (65... Ra7 $1 66. Re8 (66. Ke3 Ra3+ 67. Kd4 Ra4+ {, and White's king must retreat}) (66. Rd4 Kf5) (66. d6 Kf6 67. Kf4 Rd7 68. Rd4 Ke6 69. Kg5 Rxd6 70. Rxd6+ Kxd6 71. Kf6 Kd5 $11) 66... Ra1 $1 {, again stopping White's king, after which he can't make progress, e.g.} 67. Ke2 Ra5 68. Rd8 Kf6 {[%CAl Rf6e7,Rf6e5]}) 66. Re5+ {[%emt 0:00:11]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 67. Kf4 $2 {[%emt 0:02:05] A strange decision.} (67. Ke4 $1 Ra7 68. Re8 {, and White's king goes to the queenside. Black's rook is on the short side of White's pawn, and it can't successfully attack White's king with side checks. Therefore White wins.}) 67... Ra7 {[%emt 0:04:23]} 68. Rf5+ {[%emt 0:03:34]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:01:08]} 69. Kg5 {[%emt 0:00:08] This outflanking should not be enough for a victory.} Ra6 {[%emt 0:02:59] Again passive!} ({White is unlikely to win after} 69... Ra3 70. Re5+ Kf8 $1 ({but not} 70... Kd6 71. f4 Rf3 72. Re8 {, and White gradually wins the f7-pawn keeping Black's king cut off from White's f-pawn, on its long side}) {e.g.} 71. f4 Ra4 $1 72. f5 Ra1) 70. Re5+ {[%emt 0:03:30]} Kd7 $2 {[%emt 0:00:05] Here, too, Black's king should not go to the d-file.} (70... Kf8 $1 {should be enough to hold on after all.}) 71. Re2 {[%emt 0:01:20] Not the most exact retreat but it doesn't spoil much.} (71. Re1 $1 {was more accurate.}) 71... Rg6+ {[%emt 0:00:55]} (71... Rd6 72. f4 Rxd5+ 73. Kf6 Kd8 74. f5 Ra5 75. Rh2 $18 {[%CAl Yh2h8,Yh8f8]}) 72. Kf5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Ra6 {[%emt 0:05:36] An attempt to pin White's f-pawn (impossible in the event of 71.?e1) was insufficient after all:} (72... Rg2 73. Kf6 Kd6 74. Rd2 Rg4 75. Kxf7 Rf4+ 76. Kg6 Rf8 77. Kg5 $1 Rg8+ 78. Kf6 Rf8+ 79. Kg6 $22 Rg8+ (79... Rf3 80. Kg5 {[%CAl Yg5g4,Yf2f4]}) 80. Kf7 Rg2 81. Kf6 Rh2 82. Kg5 Rg2+ 83. Kh4 Rh2+ 84. Kg3 Rh8 85. f4 {etc.}) 73. f4 {[%emt 0:00:39]} Ra4 {[%emt 0:05:39]} 74. Kg5 {[%emt 0:03:09]} f6+ {[%emt 0:03:05] Otherwise f4-f5-f6 etc.} 75. Kf5 {[%emt 0:00:14]} Kd6 {[%emt 0:02:55]} 76. Re4 {[%emt 0:04:32]} Ra8 {[%emt 0:00:41]} 77. Kxf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Kxd5 {[%emt 0:00:20] With his king on the long side of White's pawn, Black has no chances to survive.} 78. Re5+ $1 {[%emt 0:00:20]} Kd4 {[%emt 0:01:24]} 79. Re6 {[%emt 0:00:18]} Rf8+ {[%emt 0:01:12]} 80. Kg5 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Rg8+ {[%emt 0:01:07]} 81. Rg6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Re8 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 82. f5 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Ke5 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 83. Rg7 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 1-0 [Event "Gashimov Memorial 3rd"] [Site "Shamkir"] [Date "2016.06.03"] [Round "8"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2663"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "206"] [EventDate "2016.05.26"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "AZE"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 173"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2016.07.12"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2016.07.12"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qb3 {This old reply to the Ragozin Defence has recently gained popularity.} c5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. a3 Bxc3+ (9... cxd4 10. axb4 dxc3 11. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 12. bxc3 Be6 13. e3 Ke7 14. Nd4 Nd7 15. Kd2 a6 16. Bd3 Rac8 17. Ra5 Rc7 18. Rb1 $14 {1/2 (32) Bacrot,E (2714)-Moiseenko,A (2699) Biel 2013}) 10. Qxc3 Nd7 (10... c4 11. b3 Be6 12. bxc4 dxc4 13. e4 $14) (10... b6 11. e3 O-O 12. dxc5 Qxc3+ 13. bxc3 bxc5 14. O-O-O Be6 15. c4 dxc4 16. Ne5 c3 17. Kc2 Rc8 18. Rd6 Kf8 19. Be2 a6 20. Rhd1 $16 {1/2 (45) Kasimdzhanov,R (2681)-Vitiugov,N (2709) Moscow 2011}) 11. g3 {Fianchetto is the most ambitious way of developing White's bishop in this structure; however, Black has enough counterplay in any case.} (11. Qe3+ Qe7 12. Qxe7+ Kxe7 13. dxc5 Nxc5 {is not too promising for White as he can't establish firm control of the d4-square due to his poor development. A recent example:} 14. Rc1 Kd6 15. Nd4 Bd7 16. f3 Rac8 17. Kd2 Ne6 18. Rxc8 Rxc8 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. e3 e5 $11 {1/2 (30) Nakamura,H (2764)-Radjabov,T (2726) Tashkent 2014}) (11. e3 {is the most popular continuation but recently Black has been doing well in this line, e.g.} O-O 12. Be2 b6 13. O-O Bb7 14. Rac1 c4 15. Nd2 b5 16. Bf3 Qe7 17. Qa5 Bc6 18. b3 Qd6 19. bxc4 bxc4 20. Nb1 Rab8 21. Nc3 Rb3 22. Nxd5 Rxa3 23. Qc7 Qxc7 24. Nxc7 Bxf3 25. gxf3 Nb6 26. Nb5 Rb3 27. Nxa7 c3 $44 {1/2 (61) Shirov,A (2691)-Giri,A (2768) Hoogeveen 2014}) 11... O-O 12. Bg2 Re8 (12... b6 $5 13. O-O Bb7 (13... Ba6 14. Rfe1 Rac8 15. Bh3 Rc7 16. Rac1 Rd8 17. Qe3 c4 18. Bg2 b5 19. Qc3 Qb6 $132 {0-1 (48) Garcia Ilundain,D (2500)-Mitkov,N (2475) Pula 1997}) 14. Rac1 Rfd8 15. Rfd1 Qe6 16. e3 c4 17. b3 b5 18. a4 a6 19. Nd2 {1/2 (19) Herraiz Hidalgo,H (2415)-Kolev,A (2582) Mallorca 2000}) 13. e3 (13. O-O {is possible but White's compensation for the pawn will only be enough to maintain the balance:} Rxe2 14. Rae1 (14. Rfe1 Re6 15. Bh3 cxd4 16. Nxd4 Re4 17. Rxe4 dxe4 18. Bf5 Qe5 19. Re1 Nc5 20. Bxc8 Rxc8 21. b4 Rd8 22. Nb5 Qxc3 23. Nxc3 Rd3 $11 {0-1 (54) Ulko,J (2325)-Gorelov,S (2485) Moscow 1996}) 14... Re6 15. Bh3 Re4 16. Nd2 Rxe1 17. Rxe1 Qd8 18. dxc5 Nxc5 19. Bg2 Na4 20. Qb4 Nb6 21. Nb3 $44 {1/2 (78) Vaganian,R (2662)-Aleksandrov,A (2645) Moscow 2002}) 13... b6 14. O-O Bb7 15. Rfc1 (15. Rfd1 Rac8 16. Ne1 Nf8 17. Qb3 cxd4 18. exd4 Ne6 19. Nf3 Rc4 20. Qe3 Rc2 21. Rd2 Rec8 22. h4 Qf5 $11 {1-0 (33) Browne,W (2484)-Baginskaite,C (2360) Seattle 2003}) 15... a5 {Black agrees to obtain an isolated central pawn and exchange queens. Not the best idea as this pawn has more dynamic possibilities in the middlegame, and now it will just restrict Black's b7-bishop.} (15... c4 {is not enough for equality either:} 16. b3 (16. Nd2 Bc6 17. b3 b5 18. a4 a6 19. bxc4 bxc4 20. Qa5 Qd6 21. Nb1 Nf6 22. Nc3 Rab8 23. Rcb1 Ba8 24. Bf3 g6 25. Rxb8 Rxb8 26. Rb1 Rxb1+ 27. Nxb1 Kg7 28. Nc3 Qa3 29. Kg2 Bb7 30. h4 h5 {1/2 (30) Sakaev,K (2619)-Lastin,A (2643) Moscow 2009}) 16... b5 17. Nd2 Rab8 18. a4 a6 19. axb5 axb5 20. Qb4 Qb6 21. Ra5 Bc6 22. Rca1 Ra8 23. Nb1 Rxa5 24. Rxa5 cxb3 25. Ra3 b2 26. Rb3 Ra8 27. Rxb2 $14 {1/2 (46) Renman,N (2405)-Wiedenkeller,M (2385) Karlskrona 1983}) (15... Qe7 {, avoiding the queen exchange, looks more appropriate:} 16. dxc5 bxc5 17. b4 c4 {This passed pawn gives Black counterplay, e.g.} 18. Rd1 Nf6 19. Qd4 a5 20. b5 a4 21. Nd2 Rad8 22. Nb1 Ne4 23. Nc3 Nxc3 (23... Nc5 $2 24. Nxd5 Bxd5 25. Bxd5 Nb3 26. Qxc4 Nxa1 27. Rxa1 $16 {Komljenovic,D (2409)-Peralta,F (2612) Navalmoral 2012}) 24. Qxc3 d4 $1 25. exd4 Bxg2 26. Kxg2 Qb7+ $11) 16. dxc5 Qxc3 17. Rxc3 Nxc5 (17... bxc5 {loses a pawn after} 18. Bh3) 18. Rac1 Kf8 19. Nd4 Rad8 20. Bf1 Re7 21. Bb5 $14 {White starts torturing his opponent; however, the Women's World Champion defends well.} g6 {[%mdl 256]} 22. b4 axb4 23. axb4 Ne4 24. Rc7 Nd6 25. Rxe7 Kxe7 26. Rc7+ Kf8 27. Bd3 Rb8 28. g4 Ke8 29. Bb5+ Kf8 30. Bd7 Bc8 31. h3 Bxd7 32. Rxd7 Ne4 33. Nc6 Ra8 {Black gives up the f7-pawn but activates her rook.} 34. Ne5 Ra1+ 35. Kg2 Ra2 36. Rxf7+ Kg8 37. h4 Rb2 38. Rf4 Kg7 39. Nc6 b5 40. Nd8 (40. h5 $1 g5 41. Rf5 {was more promising although after} Nc3 {Black's defences remained solid.}) 40... Rxb4 41. Ne6+ Kg8 42. Rf8+ (42. Nc7 g5 43. Nxd5 (43. hxg5 hxg5 44. Rf5 Rb2 45. Nxd5 Kg7) 43... gxf4 44. Nxb4 fxe3 45. fxe3 h5 $1 {- this endgame is hardly winning for White.}) 42... Kh7 43. Rf7+ Kh8 44. Rf8+ Kh7 45. Rf7+ Kh8 46. f3 Rb2+ 47. Kh3 Re2 $5 {An interesting concept. Black sacrifices a piece but it will be difficult for White to keep his pawns.} 48. Rf8+ Kh7 49. Rf7+ Kh8 50. Rf8+ Kh7 51. fxe4 Rxe3+ 52. Kh2 Rxe4 53. Rf7+ Kh8 54. Rf8+ Kh7 55. Rf7+ Kh8 56. Nc7 Kg8 57. Rd7 Rxg4 58. Kh3 Rc4 59. Nxd5 Kf8 60. Nf6 Rc6 61. Ng4 Rb6 62. Nxh6 b4 {[%csl Gb4]} 63. Rf7+ Ke8 64. Rf2 b3 65. Rb2 Ke7 {White can't make progress without giving up his last pawn.} 66. Ng4 Ke6 67. Re2+ Kf7 68. Rb2 Ke6 69. Kg3 Rb5 70. Nf2 Kf6 71. Ne4+ Kg7 72. Ng5 Kh6 73. Nf3 Rb4 74. Kf2 Kh5 75. Ke3 Rb8 76. Ke4 Rb4+ 77. Kd5 Kg4 78. Ne5+ Kh5 (78... Kxh4 {was quite possible, of course.}) 79. Nf3 Kg4 80. Kc5 Rb8 81. Ne5+ Kh5 82. Nc6 Rb7 83. Na5 Rb8 84. Nc6 Rb7 85. Ne5 Rb8 86. Kc4 Rc8+ 87. Kd4 Rb8 88. Kc3 Rb5 89. Nf3 Rb8 90. Nd4 Kxh4 91. Nxb3 g5 92. Rh2+ Kg3 93. Rh7 g4 94. Nd2 Rg8 95. Kd3 Kg2 96. Nc4 Rf8 97. Nd2 g3 98. Rg7 Ra8 99. Ke3 Ra3+ 100. Kf4 Kg1 101. Nc4 g2 102. Nxa3 Kf2 103. Rxg2+ Kxg2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Sharjah FIDE GP"] [Site "Sharjah"] [Date "2017.02.22"] [Round "5"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2742"] [BlackElo "2759"] [Annotator "Yermolinsky,Alex "] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2017.02.18"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "UAE"] [SourceTitle "CBM 177"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2017.03.16"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.03.16"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 {Black combines the ideas of Queen's Gambit Declined and the Nimzo Indian into a complex setup, called the Ragozin Defence.} 5. cxd5 ({Actually, most games played by Viacheslav Ragozin went} 5. Qa4+ Nc6 {so the black c7-pawn didn't get into action early as the modern treatment of this opening demands.}) 5... exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 O-O (7... g5 {used to be the main move here.} 8. Bg3 Ne4 9. Nd2 Nxc3 ({There's something to be said in favour of} 9... Nxg3 10. hxg3 c6 {Black gets his bishop pair at the cost of weakening his K-side.}) 10. bxc3 Bxc3 11. Rc1 {here Black holds the balance after the crafty move} Bb2 $1 {first found by Tal and lately used by Aronian.}) ({Lately, the most attention was focused on} 7... c5 {which, incidentally, was introduced by R.J. Fischer in the early 1960's.} 8. e3 ({White can try to interfere with Black's plans by} 8. dxc5 {but then} Nbd7 9. e3 Qa5 {was upheld by both Anand and Carlsen in 2014, and later this line gained a new supporter in Yu Yanguy. I guess, Black isn't doing so badly there.}) {and then Black without further ado plays the bold} 8... c4 $1 {What to make of this structure? White has to try for e3-e4, but it's easier said than done. One modern example is a rapid game Duda-Wojtaszek, 2015:} 9. Nd2 g5 $1 10. Bg3 Nc6 11. Be2 Bf5 12. a3 Bxc3 13. bxc3 O-O 14. O-O b5 15. f3 Re8 16. Bf2 Bg6 17. Qc1 a5 18. Re1 b4 19. e4 {with extreme complications.}) 8. e3 Bf5 {Now as g7-g5 became less attractive (king safety issues) Black still has to try for more than just a meek transition to a Queen's Gambit Exchange Variation.} (8... Be7 $2 9. Qc2 {gives White an extra tempo in a familiar pawn structure.}) ({The solution once again can be seeked in active counterplay:} 8... c5 9. Bd3 c4 10. Bc2 {White's light-squared bishop is much handier on the b1-h7 diagonal.} Nbd7 11. O-O Qa5 12. Ne2 Re8 13. b3 Ba3 $1 14. bxc4 dxc4 {as once played by GM Kacheishvili.}) 9. Qb3 {White is trying to hit both d5 and b7 to underline the problem with Black's previous move.} ({A rather innocuous looking} 9. Bd3 {nonetheless brought White success in Ragger-Inarkiev, ECC 2016:} Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Nbd7 11. Ne5 {} Qe8 12. O-O c6 13. Nxd7 {} Nxd7 14. a3 Bd6 15. e4 {Black's pieces are awkwardly placed here.}) 9... Bxc3+ ({I'm curious about} 9... Nc6 $5 {Black is going full Ragozin.} 10. Be2 (10. Bb5 Rb8) 10... g5 11. Bg3 Ne4 12. O-O Bxc3 13. bxc3 Qd7 14. Rac1 (14. Qxb7 Rab8 15. Qxc7 Qe6 {is very uncomfortable for the white queen.}) 14... Na5 15. Qb4 b6 {That light-square blockade has a chance here, hasn't it?}) 10. bxc3 Nbd7 11. Be2 c5 {All standard issue, and here Grischuk played a new move.} 12. dxc5 {Up to this point the players were following Ding Liren-Leko, 2016} ({which saw} 12. O-O c4 {We already know the strength of this pawn push working together with the black bishop controlling the b1-h7 diagonal.} 13. Qb2 Qb6 $11) 12... Nxc5 13. Qb4 Nce4 ({Pavel took over 20 minutes contemplating} 13... Nd3+ 14. Bxd3 Bxd3 15. Qd4 Ba6 {and decided against it. Indeed, he had to look ahead to} 16. Bxf6 {and decide how to recapture. Both options are testing.} gxf6 {seems the more principled choice.} (16... Qxf6 17. Qxf6 gxf6 18. Kd2 {makes the white king very comfortable, therefore defeating the very purpose of Black's ?a6.}) 17. Qg4+ Kh7 18. Qf5+ Kg7 19. Nd4 Qc7 20. Rc1 Rae8 21. h4 Re5 22. Qf4 Qc4 23. Rh3 {with unclear consequences.}) 14. Nd4 Bh7 15. O-O {White has emerged with a castled king and safe pawn structure. Most 1.d4 players would be content with that. The next order of business is to try for some advantage by preparing c3-c4.} g5 16. Bg3 Qb6 {Eljanov is looking for counterplay against White's split pawns. For that he's willing to double his own pawns, but get the a-file open for the rook. Such strategy is typical for Pavel's active positional style. In this game, however, he met an opponent to match his wits.} 17. Qxb6 axb6 18. Rfc1 Rfc8 19. c4 Nxg3 20. hxg3 Rc5 21. Nb3 $1 Rc7 22. cxd5 Rxc1+ 23. Rxc1 Nxd5 24. Nd4 $1 {White has a small plus based on the fact that his centralised knight is protected by a pawn, while its black counterpart is not.} Bg6 ({Illustration:} 24... Rxa2 $2 {loses to} 25. Bc4 Ra5 26. Nb3) 25. Bb5 Nb4 26. a4 Na6 27. f3 Nc5 28. e4 Rd8 29. Rc4 {Grischuk conducts the game in classic Capablanca style. His pieces are well enough placed to keep Black from finding counterplay. Now he will bring the king up to complete Stage One.} h5 30. Kf2 f6 31. Ke3 Bf7 32. Rb4 Ra8 33. Ne2 Rc8 $2 {A big misstep from Black.} ({Containing the white rook's activity was a must:} 33... Kf8 $1 {Maybe Pavel worried about} 34. Nc3 (34. Rd4 Ke7) 34... Ke7 35. Be2 {but then Black has a tactical defence,} Rc8 36. Rxb6 $4 Nd7) 34. Rd4 {Alexander seizes his chance.} Be8 35. Rd6 Bxb5 36. axb5 Kf7 37. Nc3 Re8 38. Rxb6 f5 39. Rd6 (39. Kd4 Ne6+ 40. Kd5 {looked more decisive.}) 39... fxe4 40. Nxe4 $2 {This isn't the first time a big advantage has slipped away in a rook ending.} ({White keeps all the aces with the knights on the board.} 40. fxe4) 40... Nxe4 41. fxe4 Ra8 42. Rd7+ Kf6 $2 {I cannot explain this. Clearly White's main trump is the b-pawn, so Black had to get his king over to help.} ({So, play} 42... Ke6 $1 43. Rxb7 {and then start your typical rook checks:} Ra3+ 44. Kf2 ({It is not difficult to evaluate} 44. Kd4 Rxg3 45. Rh7 (45. b6 Rxg2 46. Rb8 Rb2 47. b7 Kd7 {safe and sound}) 45... h4 46. b6 Rxg2 47. b7 Rb2 48. Kc5 Ke5 49. Kc6 Kxe4 {reaching a draw with moves to spare.}) 44... Ra2+ 45. Kg1 Rb2 46. b6 Rb1+ 47. Kh2 g4 $3 {The key move to keep the white king out of play forever.} (47... Kd6 48. g4 $3 h4 49. Rg7) 48. Rb8 (48. Rh7 Ke5 49. Rxh5+ Kxe4 50. Rh6 Kf5) 48... Kd7 49. e5 Kc6 50. e6 Re1 {eliminating White's passers.}) 43. Rxb7 Ra3+ 44. Kd4 Rxg3 45. b6 {A totally different picture now - the black king is late coming over to the b-pawn.} Rxg2 46. Rb8 Rb2 47. b7 $1 {This guarantees a win without the need to get the king involved, as the e-pawn just marches on.} Kg7 48. e5 g4 49. Kc3 1-0 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE GP"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2015.05.14"] [Round "1"] [White "Jakovenko, Dmitrij"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2776"] [Annotator "Jakovenko,Dmitrij"] [PlyCount "121"] [EventDate "2015.05.14"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 167"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.07.13"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.07.13"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:32]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:40]} 2. d4 {[%emt 0:00:41]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:36]} 3. c4 {[%emt 0:00:37]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:34]} 4. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:47]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:39]} 5. Qa4+ {[%emt 0:00:46]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:37]} 6. Ne5 $5 {[%emt 0:00:35] This rare line was suggested to me by my second Denis Khismatullin. Short analysis has proven that Black, despite having a plethora of enticing possibilities, can easily make a mistake and end up in an inferior position.} Bd7 {[%emt 0:05:29]} 7. Nxd7 {[%emt 0:00:36]} Qxd7 {[%emt 0:03:24]} 8. e3 {[%emt 0:04:51]} O-O {[%emt 0:01:44]} 9. a3 {[%emt 0:03:27]} Bxc3+ {[%emt 0:04:06]} 10. bxc3 {[%emt 0:00:44]} e5 {[%emt 0:07:26] In order to benefit from the development advantage Black is seeking an active continuation. Fortunately for White his centre is solid enough and later on the opening of the play will prove beneficial to him, due to the advantage of the bishop pair.} 11. Be2 {[%emt 0:01:55]} Rfe8 {[%emt 0:05:41]} 12. Bb2 {[%emt 0:00:39]} ({Naturally it was not possible to play} 12. O-O $4 {due to} Nxd4) 12... dxc4 {[%emt 0:07:26]} 13. Qxc4 {[%emt 0:13:05]} ({After} 13. Bxc4 a6 {[%csl Gb2][%CAl Gb7b5,Gc6a5] Black would be obtaining tempi in the fight for the c4-square. Besides, White really needs to think about the potential c3-c4 advance in order to open up the bishop on b2.}) 13... Na5 {[%emt 0:09:57]} 14. Qb4 {[%emt 0:28:15]} ({A serious alternative would have been the move} 14. Qa2 $5 {During the game I had been under impression, that after the advance c3-c4 the queen on a2 will be too passive. It is quite possible, that it was more important to avoid blows against the exposed queen.} {In the event of} c5 15. dxe5 Rxe5 16. c4 $14 {the initiative would belong to the white pieces.}) 14... b6 {[%emt 0:01:38]} 15. dxe5 {[%emt 0:07:43]} (15. Rd1 {would not succeed because of} Qc6 $1 (15... Nd5 $2 16. dxe5) 16. O-O Nd5 17. Qb5 Nxc3 $1 $11) 15... Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:52]} (15... Rxe5 $5 {deserved serious attention:} 16. c4 Rc5 $13 {not fearing the doubling of pawns on the f-file. On the other hand also the game move does not spoil anything.}) 16. Qf4 {[%emt 0:02:59]} Nxe5 {[%emt 0:03:21]} 17. Rd1 {[%emt 0:05:46]} Qc6 $6 {[%emt 0:12:59] The first step in the wrong direction. Black is overestimating his possibilities trying hard to prevent c3-c4 advance.} ({After the quiet choice} 17... Qe7 18. c4 Ng6 19. Qf5 Rad8 (19... Ne4 $2 20. Rd7) 20. O-O Ne4 $13 {Black should in my opinion be able to gradually reach equality due to the absence of weaknesses in his position.}) 18. O-O {[%emt 0:00:41]} Ne4 {[%emt 0:12:34] On this and the following move Black was still able to get off the false track, but it would not be fully compatible with the move ...?c6.} (18... Re7 19. c4 Rae8 20. Rd4 $14) 19. c4 {[%emt 0:02:17]} Nxc4 $6 {[%emt 0:01:37]} (19... f6 $142 $14) 20. Rc1 {[%emt 0:07:24]} ({After} 20. Bxc4 Qxc4 21. Qg4 g6 {White was not able to exploit the vulnerability of the dark squares, but the pawn would still be missing.}) 20... b5 {[%emt 0:01:08]} 21. Bxc4 $1 {[%emt 0:01:16] The move order is quite crucial.} ({In the event of the immediate} 21. f3 {Black would be playing} Ned2 $1) 21... bxc4 {[%emt 0:00:40]} 22. f3 {[%emt 0:00:38] It became obvious, that my opponent in the heat of grabbing the pawn did not see this line or simply failed to appreciate the consequences. Black's knight suddenly does not have a a suitable square for a retreat.} Nf6 {[%emt 0:13:04]} (22... Nd6 23. Qg5 $16) (22... Nd2 $4 23. Qd4 $18) (22... Qb6 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 24. fxe4 Qe6 25. Rf3 $5 $16) 23. Rxc4 {[%emt 0:00:40]} Qe6 {[%emt 0:01:54]} 24. Bxf6 Qxf6 {[%emt 0:04:19]} 25. Qxf6 {[%emt 0:16:06]} gxf6 {[%emt 0:00:35]} 26. Kf2 {[%emt 0:01:21] As a consequence of the short tactical exchange we have reached a very complicated rook ending. Even the computer is not able to offer real assistance since it consequently gives the false value to many positions.} ({As an example I abstained from} 26. e4 {due to} Rab8 27. Rxc7 (27. Kf2 $142 {see 26.?f2}) 27... Rb2 $1 28. Rxa7 Rd8 {Stockfish gives White +2 and shows the line} 29. Kh1 Rdd2 30. Rg1 Ra2 31. h4 Rd3 32. Rc1 Raxa3 {not really understanding, that after the exchange of a pair of rooks the endgame is theoretically drawn.}) 26... Rab8 {[%emt 0:07:05]} 27. Rfc1 $6 {[%emt 0:02:11] An inaccuracy, after which Black could have immediately made a draw.} ({It was better to play} 27. e4 {[%CAl Gf2g3,Gc4a4] in order to hide the king on g3 and locate the rook on a4. Despite that Black would most likely have a way to a safe haven:} Rb2+ 28. Kg3 Rd8 29. Rf2 ({After} 29. Rxc7 Ra2 30. Rxa7 Rd3 {we would have reached the same theoretical drawing line with 4 against 3 pawns}) 29... Rxf2 30. Kxf2 Rd2+ 31. Kg3 Ra2 32. Ra4 c5 33. Rxa7 c4 {when White is not able to avoid trading the c-pawn for the a-pawn with a draw.}) 27... Rb3 $2 {[%emt 0:04:09]} ({Black could have saved hinmself with} 27... Rb2+ 28. R1c2 Reb8 29. Rxc7 a5 $1 ({During the game I was calculating only} 29... Rxc2+ 30. Rxc2 Rb3 31. Rc6 $1 {[%CAl Gc6a6] with a win} Rxa3 32. Rxf6 {and I believe, that this position must be winning}) 30. e4 Rxc2+ 31. Rxc2 Rb3 32. Ra2 a4 $11) 28. R1c3 {[%emt 0:03:39]} Reb8 {[%emt 0:00:47]} 29. Rxc7 {[%emt 0:05:18]} a5 {[%emt 0:01:54]} ({There was the quite interesting endgame along these lines:} 29... Rxc3 30. Rxc3 Rb2+ 31. Kg3 Ra2 {. Despite that White should gradually be able to win:} 32. e4 a5 33. h4 Kg7 34. Kf4 a4 (34... Rxg2 35. Rc5 $18) 35. g4 h6 36. h5 Ra1 37. Ke3 Kf8 38. Kd4 Ke7 39. Kc5 Rb1 40. Rc4 Rb3 41. Rxa4 Rxf3 42. Ra7+ Ke6 43. a4) {After the text move Black wants to play a4, trade the rooks on c3 and play ...?b3. Even though I did not have too much time on the clock I have fortunately managed to find the best response.} 30. g4 $1 {[%emt 0:07:54] The first step is to move the g-pawn from the 2nd rank...} a4 {[%emt 0:01:18]} 31. Ke2 {[%emt 0:00:38] ...the white king is rushing to help its own rooks. The humble a3-pawn seems to be the most important factor in all positions - it has to be saved!} h5 $2 {[%emt 0:07:11] Anish was also suffering from lack of time and committed the decisive mistake.} ({The main idea of the latest white moves was clearly visible in the variation} 31... Rb2+ 32. Kd3 Rxh2 33. Rc8+ $1 Rxc8 34. Rxc8+ Kg7 35. Rc4 {and in such a position the spare pawn on the a-file whould have been enough for win.}) ({It was still possible to prolong the resistance with the help of} 31... Kg7 32. Kd3 Kg6 33. R7c4 Rxc3+ 34. Rxc3 f5 $16 {even though I believe, that despite that with best play on both sides Black should not be able to save the game.}) 32. gxh5 {[%emt 0:01:04]} Rb2+ {[%emt 0:01:21]} 33. Kd3 {[%emt 0:01:49]} Rd8+ {[%emt 0:01:58]} 34. Ke4 {[%emt 0:01:20]} Rxh2 {[%emt 0:01:39]} (34... Re8+ 35. Kf5 Rb5+ 36. Kg4 Rg5+ 37. Kh4 Ree5 38. R7c4 Rxh5+ 39. Kg3 $18) 35. Rc8 {[%emt 0:00:51]} Rxc8 {[%emt 0:00:37]} 36. Rxc8+ {[%emt 0:00:33]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:00:33]} 37. Ra8 {[%emt 0:01:44]} Rxh5 {[%emt 0:01:17]} 38. Rxa4 $18 {[%emt 0:00:36]} f5+ {[%emt 0:04:00]} 39. Kd3 {[%emt 0:02:14]} Rh1 {[%emt 0:01:54]} 40. Rc4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 41. f4 {[%emt 0:00:00] My plan consisted in the idea to put the white rook to c3 after which the black king will be cut off from the a-pawn. Black will be left without any counterplay.} Ke6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 42. Rc6+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 43. Kc2 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Re1 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 44. Rc3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Kd6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 45. a4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Ra1 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 46. Kb3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rb1+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} 47. Ka2 {[%emt 0:00:00]} ({The winning line was} 47. Ka3 Ra1+ 48. Kb4 Rb1+ 49. Rb3 Ra1 50. a5 Kc6 51. Rc3+ Kd6 (51... Kb7 52. Rc5) 52. Ra3) 47... Rb8 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 48. Ka3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Ra8 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 49. Rb3 $6 {[%emt 0:00:00] In the period of last few moves I always had to make a choice between different plans, each of which seemed to be 99%winning but not 100%. As a consequence Black nearly got the chance for a draw.} (49. Kb4 $142 {see game.}) 49... Re8 {[%emt 0:00:00]} ({With the help of the move} 49... Kc5 $1 {my opponent could have seriously complicated my winning process. After} 50. Rb5+ Kc4 51. Rxf5 Rd8 {the only way to win was hidden in} 52. Re5 $1 ({The drawish line was equally} 52. e4 Rd3+ 53. Kb2 Rd2+ 54. Kc1 Ra2 55. Rxf7 Kc3 $1 56. Rc7+ Kd3 57. Ra7 Kc3 58. Kb1 Rb2+ $1 59. Ka1 Rb4 60. e5 Rxf4 61. Ka2 Re4 62. Ka3 Kc4 $11) ({just as} 52. Rxf7 Rd3+ 53. Kb2 Rxe3 54. a5 Re2+ 55. Ka3 Re1 $1 56. Ka2 Re2+ 57. Kb1 Re1+ 58. Kc2 Re2+ 59. Kd1 Ra2 60. Rf8 Rxa5 61. Ke2 Ra3 62. Rd8 Kc5 $11) 52... Rd3+ 53. Kb2 Rd2+ 54. Kc1 Ra2 55. a5 Kc3 56. Kd1 Kd3 57. Ke1 $18 Re2+ 58. Kf1 Ra2 59. Re7 Rxa5 60. Kf2 {. Sincerely speaking I am not at all sure that I would have been able to find a winning line after such an unexpected turn of events.}) 50. Rc3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Ra8 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 51. Kb4 {[%emt 0:00:00] Now I was returning to the correct plan and the rest is simple.} Rb8+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} 52. Kc4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rc8+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} 53. Kd4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Ra8 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 54. Ra3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Ra5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 55. Kc4 {[%emt 0:00:00] Black is not able to simultaneosly fight with my passed pawn and defend his own foot soldiers.} Kc6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 56. Kb4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rd5 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 57. Rc3+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} Kb6 {[%emt 0:01:12]} 58. Rc8 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rd3 {[%emt 0:07:42]} 59. a5+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} Kb7 {[%emt 0:00:35]} 60. Rc3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rd1 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 61. Rc5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 1-0 [Event "EU-ch 16th"] [Site "Jerusalem"] [Date "2015.03.05"] [Round "9"] [White "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Black "Saric, Ivan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [BlackElo "2661"] [Annotator "Prathamesh,Sunil Mokal"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2015.02.24"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "ISR"] [SourceTitle "CBM 166"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.05.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.05.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bf4 {A rare move in the Ragozin Defence. 6.?g5 is a popular move and most commonly played. White sometimes chooses 6.?a4+ as well. But ?f4 is very rare.} c5 {In the style of the Tarrasch Defence.} 7. g3 {As is well known, the fianchetto is a strong variation against the Tarrasch.} Nc6 (7... Ne4 $5 8. Rc1 (8. Qb3 $6 Nc6 $17) (8. Qc2 Qa5 9. Rc1 (9. a3 Nxc3 10. Bd2 c4 $13 (10... Ne4 11. Bxb4 $16 {[%CAl Gc2c8]})) 9... Nc6 $17 (9... Qxa2 $13)) 8... Qa5 9. Bg2 Nxc3 (9... Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Nc6 (10... Nxc3 $2 11. Qd2 $18) 11. dxc5 Qxc5 12. O-O O-O 13. Qb3 $14 {[%csl Gf4,Gg2] ?}) ({A couple of weeks after this game Hou Yifan, playing Black faced some problems in this variation as well. It was a rapid game though, that went} 9... Nc6 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3 c4 12. Qc2 O-O 13. Nd2 $1 Nxd2 14. Bxd2 Re8 15. e4 dxe4 16. Bxe4 $36 {With the two bishops and a decent pawn structure, White is already better.} Qh5 $6 17. Rb1 Bh3 18. Rfe1 Rab8 19. Bf4 Rbd8 20. Bh1 Bf5 21. Rxe8+ Rxe8 22. Qd1 Bg4 23. Qd2 Bf3 24. Re1 Re6 25. Bxf3 Qxf3 26. d5 Rxe1+ 27. Qxe1 g5 28. dxc6 gxf4 29. c7 Qc6 30. Qe7 {1-0 Shankland vs Hou Yifan, Honolulu USA 2015.}) 10. bxc3 Bxc3+ 11. Bd2 Bxd2+ 12. Qxd2 Qxd2+ 13. Nxd2 $14 {[%csl Rc5,Rd5]}) 8. Bg2 O-O 9. O-O c4 10. Bg5 Bxc3 $6 (10... Be6 $142 11. Ne5 Be7 {transposing directly to the Tarrasch Defence. White has wasted time with ?f4-?g5 and Black has done the same with ...?b4-?e7.}) 11. bxc3 h6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. Nd2 Ne7 14. e4 $1 Be6 $6 ({Black needed to stop the White ? manoeuvre with} 14... Qc6 $142 {[%CAl Gc6c4,Gc6a4] but after} 15. f4 $14 {with space and the centre, White has at least a slight edge.}) 15. Qa4 $1 Rfd8 16. Rab1 (16. Qa3 $5 {would have been strong here too.}) 16... b6 ({It was better for Black to rearrange his pieces with} 16... Bd7 17. Qa3 Bc6 {although White retains a decent edge here too.} 18. Rfe1 (18. exd5 Nxd5 19. Rfe1 (19. Nxc4 {wins a pawn that is hard to retain.} Rac8 $1 20. Ne5 $6 Nxc3 $15) 19... b5 $132) 18... b5 19. Qa6 dxe4 20. Nxe4 Bxe4 21. Qxf6 gxf6 22. Bxe4 Rab8 $14) 17. Qa3 $1 {[%csl Rd5,Re7][%CAl Ge4e5,Ga3e7,Gg2a8] Suddenly, Black is in deep trouble.} Nc6 (17... Ng6 18. f4 $1 $16 (18. exd5 Bxd5 19. Bxd5 Rxd5 20. Nxc4 Rc8 21. Ne3 Ra5 22. Qb3 Rg5 23. Ng2 $14)) (17... Rd7 18. Rxb6 $18 (18. e5 Qg5 19. Nxc4 $16)) (17... Re8 18. f4 $5 (18. e5 $6 Qf5 $1 19. Nxc4 $2 dxc4 20. Bxa8 Rxa8 21. Qxe7 Qf3 $19 {[%CAl Ge6d5]}) 18... Bg4 19. exd5 Nf5 (19... Be2 20. Rfe1 Bd3 21. d6 $18) 20. d6 {[%CAl Gg2a8]} Rad8 21. Nxc4 Ne3 22. d7 Bxd7 23. Nxe3 Rxe3 24. Qxa7 $16) 18. exd5 Bxd5 19. Bxd5 Rxd5 20. Nxc4 $16 {Eljanov is now simply a pawn up.} Rad8 21. Qb2 b5 $2 {Looking at the f3-square, Black makes a desperate exchange sacrifice, but it fails to bring any compensation.} 22. Ne3 b4 (22... Rh5 23. Qe2 Rg5 24. Rxb5 $18) (22... Rg5 23. h4 Rh5 24. Qe2 $18 {[%csl Rb5,Rh5][%CAl Gb1b5]}) 23. Nxd5 Rxd5 24. Rfd1 bxc3 25. Qxc3 Nxd4 26. Kg2 Qe5 27. Qe3 Qd6 28. Rbc1 Qd7 29. Qc3 Kh7 30. Qd3+ g6 31. Rc4 Rh5 32. Rxd4 Qh3+ 33. Kf3 Rf5+ 34. Rf4 1-0 [Event "Norway Chess 3rd"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2015.06.16"] [Round "1"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2723"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "Wagner,Dennis"] [PlyCount "117"] [EventDate "2015.06.16"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [EventCategory "22"] [SourceTitle "CBM 167"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.07.13"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.07.13"] [SourceQuality "1"] {In this game MVL introduced an interesting opening idea, that brought him a nice edge, which he converted with superb technique.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 {Aronian chooses his favourite Ragozin.} 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 Nbd7 8. e3 g5 9. Bg3 Ne4 {This line is Aronian's pet variation.} 10. Qc2 (10. Nd2 $5 {is the other try here.}) 10... h5 (10... Nb6 {has also been played by Aronian, but the game definitely left room for improvements.} 11. Bd3 Nxg3 12. hxg3 Be6 13. Ne5 (13. a3 $5 Bf8 14. b4 $14) 13... Qe7 14. f4 O-O-O 15. O-O Kb8 16. a3 Bd6 17. a4 {0-1 (50) Lysyj,I (2648)-Aronian,L (2813) Tromsoe 2013, with a complicated fight.}) 11. h3 $5 $146 {This move looks ugly at first sight, but has a lot of venom. The opening of the f-file increases White's control of the weak squares on f5 and f6 and eases the immediate opening of the position with e4. Black has not be very careful, which is difficult without precise knowledge.} (11. Bd3 {didn´t work well in a recent game:} h4 12. Bxe4 dxe4 13. Qxe4+ Kf8 14. Be5 f6 15. Qg6 fxe5 16. Nxg5 Qf6 17. Nh7+ Rxh7 18. Qxh7 exd4 19. exd4 Qe6+ 20. Kd2 (20. Kf1 $142 $11) 20... Qf6 $17 {0-1 (40) Postny,E (2630)-Sokolov,I (2623) Montpellier 2015}) 11... Bxc3+ $6 ({MVL repeated this idea in the last round and Grischuk showed an improvement:} 11... Qf6 $1 12. Bd3 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 Nxg3 14. fxg3 g4 $1 15. hxg4 hxg4 16. Nh4 Nb6 17. Qf2 $1 Qxf2+ 18. Kxf2 Be6 19. Nf5 Kd7 20. Rh4 {½-½ (38) Vachier Lagrave,M (2723) -Grischuk,A (2781) Stavanger NOR 2015. White had a comfortable endgame, but coulnd't do much with his slight edge.}) 12. bxc3 Nxg3 13. fxg3 Nb6 (13... Nf6 14. Nxg5 (14. Bd3 g4 15. hxg4 Nxg4 16. O-O $14 {The king is always quite safe behind its doubled g-pawns.}) 14... Rg8 15. h4 Qe7 16. Be2 Bd7 17. O-O O-O-O 18. Kh2 $14) (13... Qe7 14. Bd3 Nb6 (14... Qxe3+ 15. Kd1) 15. O-O $14) (13... Rg8 14. Bd3 g4 15. hxg4 hxg4 16. Nh4 Qg5 17. O-O Nb6 18. c4 $1 Be6 19. c5 Nc4 20. Bxc4 dxc4 21. Qa4+ c6 22. Rf4 $14) (13... Qf6 14. c4 $14) 14. Bd3 $14 {White is already better. He can play on the queenside with a4 or opent the centre by e4, while Black has no real counterplay.} g4 ({Non-concrete play like} 14... Be6 {is no fun either.} 15. a4 (15. e4 $5 $36) 15... Qd6 16. Qf2 Rg8 17. a5 Nd7 18. Nd2 O-O-O 19. O-O g4 20. h4 $40 {White always profits from his ultra-secure king shelter.}) 15. hxg4 Bxg4 16. O-O Qe7 17. Ne5 Be6 18. Bf5 {quite a convincing way to a decent advantage.} (18. e4 $5 O-O-O 19. exd5 Nxd5 20. Rae1 $14) 18... Nd7 (18... O-O-O $2 19. Bxe6+ fxe6 20. Nf7 $16) (18... Nc4 19. Nxc4 dxc4 20. Qe4 $16) 19. e4 $1 {Opening the centre and initiating an advantageous sequence.} (19. Bxe6 Qxe6 20. Nxf7 Rf8 $132) 19... Nxe5 (19... dxe4 20. Bxe6 Qxe6 21. Nxf7 $16) 20. exd5 $1 {A strong intermediate capture.} O-O-O (20... Bxd5 21. Rae1 Be6 22. Rxe5 O-O-O 23. Bxe6+ (23. Rfe1 Bxf5 24. Qxf5+ Qd7 25. Qf3 $14) 23... fxe6 24. Qe2 Rh6 25. Rb1 $36) 21. dxe6 fxe6 22. Rae1 $1 exf5 23. Rxe5 Qa3 24. Rfxf5 $16 {As the h5-pawn will fall White is up two pawns. The seemingly weak white king will be able to hide behind its rooks and passed pawns.} Kb8 25. Rxh5 Rxh5 26. Rxh5 a6 27. Kh2 {It's very difficult to give Black any good advice, since he has no counterplay.} Rf8 28. Qb3 Qe7 29. Qd5 Qe2 30. a4 Qd3 31. c4 a5 32. Rh4 Qc3 (32... Qb3 33. Qxa5 Qxc4 34. Qc5 Qf7 35. a5 $16 {White is winning in the long run.}) 33. g4 {Now one of the g-pawn starts advancing, while the other one secures the king against checks from the side.} Qe1 34. Rh7 Qc1 35. Qe5 $1 {Avoiding any checks.} Qxc4 36. g5 Rg8 37. Rh8 (37. g6 $5 $18) 37... Qf7 38. Rxg8+ Qxg8 39. Qf6 b5 (39... Qh7+ 40. Kg3 Qd3+ 41. Kh4 Qe4+ 42. Kh5 $18) 40. axb5 a4 41. g6 a3 42. b6 (42. g7 {was a quicker road to victory.} a2 (42... Qh7+ 43. Kg1 a2 44. Qd8+ Kb7 45. Qd5+ Kb6 46. Qxa2 $18) 43. Qf8+) 42... a2 43. Qe5 Qd8 44. bxc7+ Qxc7 45. g7 Qxe5+ 46. dxe5 a1=Q 47. g8=Q+ Kc7 48. Qc4+ Kd8 49. Qd5+ Ke7 50. Qd6+ Ke8 51. Qc6+ Ke7 52. Qc7+ Ke6 53. Qd6+ Kf7 54. Qd7+ Kf8 55. Qf5+ Ke7 56. g3 Qc3 57. Kh3 Ke8 58. Kh4 Qe1 59. Qf4 {A convincing victory by MVL!} 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup"] [Site "Krasnaya Polyana"] [Date "2021.07.16"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Black "Alekseev, Evgeny V"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2691"] [BlackElo "2605"] [Annotator "Wojtaszek,Radoslaw"] [PlyCount "137"] [EventDate "2021.07.12"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "8"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "CBM 203"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2021.08.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.08.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,137,50,19,44,-17,-13,-22,0,-16,0,-37,-8,-42,15,-8,31,5,58,41,80,62,48,32,75,84,90,81,93,72,79,89,86,48,52,32,62,35,52,52,52,52,52,54,54,21,23,36,47,23,16,7,44,0,31,28,33,35,57,47,44,51,75,74,78,58,82,54,58,61,60,61,66,64,68,78,94,97,97,87,104,98,111,90,111,106,105,101,86,101,99,101,98,87,96,100,104,103,122,122,91,76,74,70,81,62,51,54,54,45,42,46,45,45,45,45,45,35,35,39,39,36,35,35,34,253,193,266,230,428,954,1100,1129,1219,1904,1904,2338,2217,29971,29084]} {The World Cup is a very special kind of event - you never know how many games you're going to play. I started from the round 2 and already here I was paired with a strong Russian Grandmaster, who had 2700+ rating in the past. 1st game ended up with a draw after I have managed to defend an unpleasant position. In the second game I decided to play more aggresively against my solid opponent.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bf4 c6 {Not the main move but the one I expected.} (6... Ne4 7. Rc1 Nc6 {Is the big mainline with many interesting games played during Magnus Carlsen Tour recently.}) (6... O-O 7. e3 Bf5 8. Qb3 {Is the move black wanted to avoid by playing 6...c6.}) 7. e3 Bf5 8. a3 (8. Qb3 Qb6 $1 {Is the main point of black's opening play.}) 8... Bd6 (8... Be7 9. Nh4 $1 {Typical, white wants to develop his bishop to d3} Be6 10. Bd3 $14) 9. Ne5 $5 {A novelty which I prepared for this game. Objectively black should be fine but I thought it's an interesting try against a solid opponent.} (9. Bxd6 $5 Qxd6 10. Nh4 $1 Be6 11. Bd3 $14 {was another promising direction. White would be slightly better but I thought that black's position was too solid.}) 9... Qe7 $1 {[%CAl Gb8d7] Black insists on Nbd7 which would immediately solve all his opening problems.} (9... Nbd7 $4 10. Nxf7 Kxf7 11. Bxd6 $18) (9... O-O $6 {Objectively maybe it's not a bad move but it would give me an easy play after} 10. g4 $1 Be6 $1 (10... Bxe5 $6 11. dxe5 Nxg4 12. h3 Nh6 13. Qf3 $36) 11. Bd3 c5 $1 {Black has to seek for an active play.} 12. g5 Ne8 13. dxc5 Bxe5 14. Bxe5 Qxg5 15. Bd4 $13) 10. Qf3 $5 {Making Nbd7 impossible again.} Bg6 $2 (10... Nbd7 $4 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Qxf5 $18) (10... g6 $6 11. Bg5 $1 h5 $8 (11... Bxe5 $4 12. dxe5 Qxe5 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. g4 $1 $18) 12. Bd3 Bxe5 13. dxe5 Qxe5 14. Bxf5 gxf5 15. Bf4 $1 Qe7 16. Ne2 $1 $14 {[%csl Gf5][%CAl Ge2d4]}) (10... O-O $2 11. Nxc6 Nxc6 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Qxf5 $16) ({The best was} 10... Qe6 $1 {and now black can finally develop freely.} 11. Bd3 Bxd3 12. Nxd3 O-O 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 $11) 11. h4 $1 $36 Nh5 12. Nxg6 fxg6 (12... hxg6 {wouldn't solve black's problem either:} 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. e4 $1 $16) 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. e4 $1 dxe4 (14... Qf4 15. Qxf4 Nxf4 16. g3 Ne6 17. O-O-O $18 {it's also hopeless for black.}) 15. Nxe4 $1 (15. Qxe4+ $2 Qe7 $1 {and without queens it would be easier for black to organize some defence.}) 15... Qe7 (15... Qxd4 16. Rd1 Qe5 17. Bc4 Nf6 18. O-O $1 $18) 16. Bc4 Nd7 (16... Nf6 17. O-O-O $1) 17. Bf7+ $5 ({The simple} 17. O-O-O O-O-O 18. Ng5 {should be also sufficent but I didn't want to allow castling.}) 17... Kf8 18. Bxg6+ $4 (18. Bb3+ Nhf6 19. Bc2 $1 $18 {For some reason I completely forgot about this move. Even now it's very difficult for me to explain how it happened. Ovbviously now white is completely winning - black's king will never be safe.}) (18. Ba2+ $5 Ndf6 19. O-O Qxe4 20. Qb3 $36 {It's funny that I calculated this line for a long time but finally I decided not to enter this and went for a safer line. Objectively white's compensation is more than sufficent and should be winning.} Nd5 21. Qxb7 Re8 {This bothered me during the game but white has} 22. Rae1 $1 Qxe1 23. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 24. Kh2 $18) 18... Nhf6 19. Bf5 g6 (19... Nxe4 20. Qxe4 Qxe4+ 21. Bxe4 Re8 22. f3 Nf6 {would be good for black if it weren't for} 23. O-O $1 $16) 20. Bxd7 Qxe4+ 21. Qxe4 Nxe4 22. Bg4 $16 {White is still better but during the game I felt like I will have to win the same game twice :)} Kg7 23. Rd1 Nf6 24. Be2 Rae8 25. Rh3 $1 Nd5 26. Rf3 Re7 27. Kf1 Rd8 28. g3 Red7 29. Rfd3 Ne7 $2 (29... h5 $1 30. Bf3 Ne7 31. Be4 Rd6 {and I'm not sure how exactly white should make progress here.}) 30. Bg4 $1 Nf5 (30... Rd6 31. Re1 $1 Nd5) 31. Bxf5 gxf5 32. Re1 $2 (32. Rf3 $1 Rxd4 (32... Rd5 33. Rc1 $1 Kf6 34. Rc5 $18) 33. Rxd4 Rxd4 34. Rxf5 $18) 32... f4 $1 {I missed this resource, now black gets some practical chances to save the game.} 33. Re4 (33. gxf4 $5 Kf6 34. Rb3 $1 (34. Re4 c5 $1) 34... Rc7 35. Re4 Rd5 36. Kg2 $16) 33... fxg3 34. Rxg3+ Kf6 35. Rf3+ Kg6 36. Rff4 $16 Rd6 37. Ke2 Rf6 38. Rg4+ $1 Kf7 39. Ke3 Rdd6 40. Re5 h6 41. Rge4 Rd7 42. h5 a6 43. a4 Rfd6 44. a5 $1 $18 Rd5 45. Rxd5 $6 {There was no need for this, I could still continue improving my position.} (45. b4 $1 {and compared to the game, I would always have an improved version with a pawn on b4.}) 45... Rxd5 46. Re5 Rd8 47. Ke4 Rg8 48. d5 cxd5+ 49. Rxd5 Ke6 {Around here I was getting short of time and couldn't find the best moves.} 50. Re5+ $2 (50. f4 $1 Rg2 51. f5+ Ke7 52. b4 Rg4+ (52... Rb2 53. Ke5 Re2+ 54. Kd4 Kf6 55. Rd6+ $18) 53. Ke5 Rxb4 54. f6+ Kf8 55. Ke6 Re4+ 56. Kf5 Rb4 57. Kg6 $18) 50... Kf6 51. b4 Rg1 52. Rc5 Re1+ 53. Kf4 Rb1 54. Rc4 Rh1 55. Kg4 Rg1+ 56. Kf4 Rh1 57. Kg4 Rg1+ 58. Kf3 $1 Rg5 (58... Rb1 $1 {was relatively the best defence.} 59. Ke4 Ke6 (59... Kg5 60. f4+ Kxh5 61. Kf5 $1 {- again this motif wins!}) 60. f4 Re1+ (60... Rb2 61. f5+ Kf6 62. Kd4 Kxf5 63. Kc5 $18) 61. Kd3 Rd1+ (61... Kd5 62. Rc7) (61... Kd6 62. Rd4+ $1 Kc6 63. f5 $18) 62. Ke3 $1 Rb1 (62... Re1+ 63. Kd2 Rb1 64. Kc2 Rh1 65. Rc7) 63. Kd4 $1 Kd6 64. Ke4 $1 Rh1 (64... Ke6 65. f5+ Kf6 66. Kd5 Kxf5 67. Kc5) 65. Rc5 $1 (65. Kf5 $4 Rxh5+ 66. Kg6 Rh4 $1) 65... Rb1 66. Kf5 Rxb4 67. Re5 $18) 59. Rc5 $1 Rxc5 (59... Rg7 60. Ke4) 60. bxc5 Kg5 61. Ke4 Kxh5 62. Kf5 $1 {Typical motif which proved useful here.} (62. Ke5 $4 Kg6 63. f4 h5 64. Ke6 Kg7 65. Ke7 Kg6 66. Ke6 Kg7 $11) 62... Kh4 63. f4 h5 64. Ke5 $1 {The simplest} (64. Ke6 Kg3 65. f5 h4 66. f6 h3 67. f7 h2 68. f8=Q h1=Q 69. Qd6+ Kf2 70. Kd7 {should be also winning but no need for that.}) 64... Kg4 65. f5 h4 66. f6 h3 67. f7 h2 68. f8=Q h1=Q 69. Qg7+ 1-0 [Event "Norway Chess 2nd"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2014.06.04"] [Round "2"] [White "Agdestein, Simen"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2628"] [BlackElo "2752"] [Annotator "Marin,Mihail"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2014.06.03"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 161"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2014.07.16"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.07.16"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Qa4 c5 8. dxc5 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 O-O 10. Qb4 h6 11. Bh4 Re8 12. e3 Re4 13. Qa3 Qe7 14. Be2 $146 (14. Bb5 Nxc5 15. O-O g5 16. Bg3 Bd7 17. Bxd7 Nfxd7 18. Nd4 $14 {½-½ (50) Akopian,V (2696)-Alekseev,E (2716) Nalchik 2009}) (14. Bxf6 Nxf6 15. Be2 Bg4 16. Rb1 a6 17. O-O Rc8 18. Qb3 Rc7 19. h3 Bh5 20. c6 b5 $1 {½-½ (28) Feller,S (2539)-Palac,M (2571) Le Port Marly 2009}) 14... Nxc5 15. O-O b6 $11 16. Rfd1 $2 g5 $6 ({Black misses an unexpected tactical resource:} 16... Rxh4 $3 17. Nxh4 Nfe4 18. f3 (18. Nf3 Nxf2 $1 $17 19. Kxf2 $2 Ne4+ {[%CAl Ge7a3]}) 18... Nf2 19. Rxd5 Qxe3 20. Rd8+ Kh7 21. Qc1 Nh3+ 22. Kh1 Qxe2 23. gxh3 Nd3 24. Qf1 Nf2+ 25. Kg1 Nxh3+ 26. Kh1 Qe3 $36) 17. Bg3 Bg4 18. Rd4 (18. c4 $5 dxc4 19. h3 Bh5 20. Bd6 Qe6 21. Bxc5 bxc5 22. Qxc5 $14) 18... Re8 19. h3 Bf5 20. Nd2 $6 (20. c4 $1 $14 Rxd4 21. Nxd4 Bg6 22. cxd5 Nxd5 23. Bb5 $36) 20... Rxd4 21. cxd4 Nce4 22. Qxe7 Rxe7 23. Nxe4 Nxe4 24. Bh2 Nc3 $11 25. Bf1 Re6 26. a4 a5 27. Bb8 Rc6 28. Ba7 Bc2 29. Bb5 Re6 30. Rc1 Bxa4 31. Rxc3 Bxb5 32. Rb3 Bc4 33. Rxb6 Rxb6 34. Bxb6 a4 35. Bc5 f5 36. f4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Olympiad-34"] [Site "Istanbul"] [Date "2000.11.07"] [Round "10.2"] [White "Sokolov, Ivan"] [Black "Milov, Vadim"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2611"] [BlackElo "2626"] [Annotator "Milov,Vadim"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2000.10.28"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "TUR"] [SourceTitle "EXT 2001"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2000.11.22"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2000.11.22"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Bosnia&Herzegovina"] [BlackTeam "Switzerland"] [WhiteTeamCountry "BIH"] [BlackTeamCountry "SUI"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. Ne5 Bd7 7. Nxd7 Qxd7 8. a3 (8. e3 e5) 8... Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Ne4 (9... O-O $5 10. e3 a6 11. Qc2 (11. Be2 b5 $1 12. cxb5 axb5 13. Qxb5 Rfb8 14. Qd3 Na5 $44) 11... Na5 (11... e5 12. cxd5 Qxd5 13. c4 Qd6 14. d5 Ne7 15. e4 $14) 12. cxd5 exd5 13. Bd3 Rfe8 14. O-O c5 $11) 10. Qc2 O-O (10... Na5 $6 11. cxd5 exd5 12. f3 Nd6 13. e4 O-O 14. Bd3 $36) 11. e3 Na5 12. Bd3 (12. f3 Nd6 13. cxd5 (13. c5 Ndc4 14. Bd3 f5 15. e4 b6 $132) 13... exd5 14. Bd3 f5 $13) 12... f5 13. cxd5 (13. f3 Nd6 {-12.f3} (13... dxc4 $2 14. Bxe4 $16)) 13... exd5 14. a4 $1 (14. O-O c5 15. f3 c4 $1 16. Bxe4 (16. Be2 Nb3 17. Rb1 Nd6 $17) 16... fxe4 17. fxe4 Rxf1+ 18. Kxf1 Rf8+ 19. Kg1 Qf7 20. Bb2 dxe4 $17) 14... c5 15. Ba3 (15. f3 c4) 15... Rf6 16. Bxc5 (16. dxc5 Rc8 17. Bb4 Nc4 (17... Nc6 18. f3 $16) 18. Bxc4 dxc4 19. Rd1 Qc6 $13) 16... Nxc5 17. dxc5 Rc8 18. O-O Rxc5 19. Rfd1 {× d5,f5} Nc6 $6 (19... Nc4 20. e4 fxe4 21. Bxe4 h6 22. Rd4 Qc6 $11) 20. Rab1 (20. e4 $2 Nb4) 20... Ne7 21. Rb5 (21. e4 $5 fxe4 22. Bxe4 g6 (22... Rh6 {?Qc7} 23. Qa2 Kh8 24. Bf3 $14) 23. Bf3 b6 24. Rd3 $14) 21... Rfc6 22. Rxc5 Rxc5 23. e4 fxe4 24. Bxe4 g6 25. Bf3 Qe6 $1 (25... b6 26. Re1 $36) 26. Qd2 b6 27. Re1 Qf6 28. h3 Kg7 29. Re3 Rc4 $1 (29... Nf5 30. Rd3 Ne7) 30. Bg4 (30. Bxd5 Nxd5 31. Qxd5 Rxc3 32. Qd7+ Kh6 $11) (30. Qe1 $5 Nf5 31. Re5 d4 32. Re6 (32. cxd4 Nxd4 (32... Rxa4 33. d5 $36) (32... Rxd4 33. Re6 Qg5 34. Qe5+ Kh6 35. Bg4 $16 {?}) 33. Re7+ Kf8 $11) 32... Qg5 33. Qe5+ Kh6 34. Bg4 (34. Qb8 dxc3 35. Qf8+ Ng7 36. Re7 Qc1+ 37. Kh2 Qf4+ 38. Qxf4+ Rxf4 $17) 34... dxc3 35. Qxf5 Qxf5 36. Bxf5 c2 $11) 30... Re4 (30... Rxa4 31. Re6 Qf7 (31... Qf8 32. c4 $5 (32. Bf3 $36 {?Qe3}) 32... Rxc4 33. Qb2+ d4 (33... Kg8 34. Rf6 $18) 34. Qe2 Rc1+ 35. Kh2 Ng8 36. Qe5+ Kh6 (36... Nf6 37. Re7+ Kh6 38. Qf4+ g5 39. Qd6 $18) 37. Qxd4 Rc5 38. Rd6 $44) 32. c4 $5 {Sokolov,I} (32. Qe1 Re4 $11) 32... Rxc4 33. Qb2+ d4 34. Qe2 Rc1+ 35. Kh2 Ng8 36. Qe5+ Kh6 (36... Kf8 37. Rd6) 37. Qxd4 (37. Qh5+ $11) 37... Rc5 $13) 31. Rxe4 dxe4 32. Qd7 (32. Bd1 Qe5) 32... a5 33. Qb7 h5 (33... Qe5 34. Qxb6 Qxc3 $11) 34. Bd1 (34. Be2 Qe6 {?e3}) 34... Qe6 35. Bb3 Qe5 (35... Qxb3 $2 36. Qxe7+ Kh6 37. Qxe4 Qxc3 38. Qe3+ Qxe3 39. fxe3 Kg5 40. Kf2 Kf5 41. Ke2 $18) 36. Qxb6 Qxc3 37. Qe6 Qc1+ 38. Kh2 Qf4+ 39. Kg1 1/2-1/2 [Event "FRA-chT Top 16 GpA"] [Site "France"] [Date "2007.02.10"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Gurevich, Mikhail"] [Black "Hracek, Zbynek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2635"] [BlackElo "2619"] [Annotator "Gurevich,Mikhail"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2007.02.09"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "FRA"] [SourceTitle "CBM 116 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2007.03.07"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2007.03.07"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Gonfreville"] [BlackTeam "Vandoeuvre"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "FRA"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. d4 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. e3 c5 8. Bd3 Qa5 9. Qc2 O-O 10. O-O c4 11. Bf5 g6 12. Bxd7 Nxd7 13. Nd2 (13. e4 Nb6 14. e5 Bf5 15. Qd2 Rfe8 16. a3 Bf8 17. a4 Nd7 18. h3 a6 19. g4 Be6 20. Bh6 Bb4 21. Ng5 $40 {1-0 Grischuk,A (2710)-Filippov,V (2562)/Fuegen 2006/CBM 115 (28)}) 13... Nb6 14. f3 Bxc3 (14... Re8 15. Rae1 Bd7 16. h4 Na4 17. Ndb1 Bf8 18. e4 Nb6 19. Qd2 Bg7 20. a3 Be6 21. Re2 Nd7 22. Rfe1 dxe4 23. fxe4 Qb6 $132 {1-0 Zhu Chen (2505)-Dreev,A (2683)/Dubai 2002/CBM 089 (67)}) 15. bxc3 Na4 $5 (15... Bd7) 16. Rac1 f6 17. Bh6 Re8 18. e4 Bd7 19. Rfe1 Re6 20. Nf1 (20. exd5 $5 Qxd5 (20... Rxe1+ 21. Rxe1 Qxc3 22. Qxc3 Nxc3 23. Re7 $36) 21. Rxe6 Qxe6 22. Qe4 $14) 20... Rae8 21. Ng3 Bc6 22. Bd2 b5 23. Rb1 (23. Re2 Qb6 24. a3 dxe4 $132) 23... Qd8 24. Re2 dxe4 25. fxe4 f5 $1 $132 26. Rbe1 (26. e5 Nb6 $132 {xd5}) 26... Bxe4 (26... fxe4 $5 27. Nxe4 b4 $1 28. Bg5 Bxe4 29. Bxd8 (29. Rxe4 Qd5 $19) 29... Bxc2 30. Rxe6 Rxd8 31. cxb4 Rxd4 32. Re7 c3 $15) 27. Nxe4 Rxe4 28. Rxe4 fxe4 29. Rxe4 Nb6 (29... Qa8 30. Rf4 Nb6 31. Rf3 {i??h6?}) 30. Bh6 Nd5 31. Qe2 $1 Rxe4 32. Qxe4 Qd7 33. h3 $5 (33. Qe5 Nxc3 34. Qb8+ Kf7 35. Qf4+ Qf5 $11) 33... Kf7 $1 (33... Nxc3 $4 34. Qa8+ Kf7 35. Qf3+ $18) 34. Qe5 Nxc3 $11 35. Qg7+ Ke6 36. Qe5+ Kf7 37. Qf4+ Qf5 38. Qc7+ Ke6 39. Qc6+ Ke7 40. Qc7+ Qd7 41. Qe5+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup"] [Site "Tbilisi"] [Date "2017.09.27"] [Round "7.6"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2771"] [BlackElo "2802"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2017.09.03"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "GEO"] [SourceTitle "CBM 181"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2017.11.10"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.11.10"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "1500+10"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 4. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 5. cxd5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} exd5 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 6. Bf4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} c6 {[%emt 0:00:41]} 7. e3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Bf5 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 8. Be2 {[%emt 0:00:10]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:15]} 9. O-O {[%emt 0:00:02]} Be7 {[%emt 0:00:03] After this move Ding was out of his preparation as he said after the game.} 10. Nh4 {[%emt 0:00:23]} Bg6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 11. Nxg6 {[%emt 0:00:34]} hxg6 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 12. Qb3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Qb6 {[%emt 0:00:41]} 13. Qc2 {[%emt 0:00:02]} (13. Qxb6 axb6 14. a4 $5 $14) 13... a5 {[%emt 0:00:44]} 14. g4 $5 {[%emt 0:00:45] This move is doubled edged. It gains space and has some aggresive intentions but Black is very solid and can defend without too much trouble.} Nbd7 {[%emt 0:01:28]} 15. g5 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Ne8 {[%emt 0:01:53]} 16. e4 {[%emt 0:00:02] Something seems to be wrong with White's play . He first pushed the pawn in front of his king and later broke in the centre. That's what a must win game can do to you.} dxe4 {[%emt 0:03:03]} 17. Nxe4 {[%emt 0:01:22]} (17. d5 $5 Qd8 18. Rad1 $13 Bxg5 19. Bg3 $44) 17... Qd8 {[%emt 0:00:42]} 18. h4 {[%emt 0:01:06]} Nb6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 19. Be5 {[%emt 0:02:08]} Nd5 {[%emt 0:00:59] Over the last few moves Black has consolidated his position, but White has been able to create an imbalance which helps him continue to play ambitiously.} 20. Bg4 {[%emt 0:00:52]} Kh8 $6 {[%emt 0:08:12]} (20... Nef6 $1 21. gxf6 gxf6 22. Bh2 f5 23. Bxf5 gxf5 24. Nc3 $13) (20... Nd6 21. Nc5 $14) 21. Rae1 $1 {[%emt 0:01:29] White is not just better. He has all his pieces well placed and we can hope that he could have taken advantage of it. But it was not to be.} Nef6 $5 {[%emt 0:04:31] This move is a little too late. White has a way to keep his advantage.} (21... f5 22. gxf6 gxf6 23. Ng5 fxe5 24. Ne6 Qd7 25. Qxg6 $18) 22. gxf6 {[%emt 0:03:51]} gxf6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 23. Bh2 {[%emt 0:00:29]} (23. Bg3 f5 24. Bxf5 gxf5 25. Nc3 $1 $16 (25. Qd1 {Ding wanted to play this during the game. This move is also very strong.})) 23... f5 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 24. Bxf5 {[%emt 0:00:01]} gxf5 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 25. Qd1 {[%emt 0:00:31]} (25. Nc3 Bd6 26. Bxd6 Qxd6 27. Qxf5 $13) 25... Rg8+ {[%emt 0:00:42]} 26. Kh1 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Rg4 $1 {[%emt 0:00:32] This move was missed by Ding Liren.} 27. Ng3 {[%emt 0:01:29]} Rxh4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 28. Nxf5 {[%emt 0:00:35]} Rh7 {[%emt 0:01:18]} 29. Nxe7 {[%emt 0:04:24]} Nxe7 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 30. Re5 {[%emt 0:00:01] Ding would like to exchange his rooks via h5, but Levon's next move stops that.} Nf5 $1 {[%emt 0:01:28]} (30... Qd6 $1 $15) 31. Rfe1 {[%emt 0:04:37]} (31. Qg4 Qh4 32. Qxh4 Nxh4 $15) 31... Qh4 {[%emt 0:00:52]} 32. Re8+ {[%emt 0:03:21]} Kg7 $1 {[%emt 0:00:02]} (32... Rxe8 33. Rxe8+ Kg7 34. Qg1+ Kf6 $19 {also would have won, but what Levon does is much better.}) 33. Rg1+ {[%emt 0:00:02]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:01] A historic game. This gave us the new World Cup champion - the first man in the history of the game to have won the World Cup twice.} 0-1 [Event "Horgen CS"] [Site "Horgen"] [Date "1994.??.??"] [Round "10"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Benjamin, Joel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2680"] [BlackElo "2610"] [Annotator "Gelfand,Boris"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "1994.09.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "SUI"] [EventCategory "16"] [SourceTitle "CBM 043"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1994.12.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1994.12.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 {Kortschnoj} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O (7... c5 {Kortschnoj} 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bb5+ Nc6) 8. Rc1 dxc4 (8... c6 9. Bd3 Nd7 10. O-O Bxc3 11. Rxc3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 e5 {Kasparov,G-Benjamin,J/Horgen/1994/}) 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. exd4 $5 (11. Nxd4 Rd8 12. Qb3 Qe7 13. Ne4 Ba5 {Goldin-Serper/Novosibirsk/1993/}) 11... Nc6 12. Ne4 Qf4 (12... Qe7) (12... Qd8 $14 {Kortschnoj}) 13. Qe2 Rd8 14. g3 (14. Rfd1 Be7 15. d5 $4 exd5 {0-1/Vandevooert-Sosonko,G/Brussels/1993/} 16. Bxd5 $142 Rxd5 $1 17. Rxd5 Qxc1+ $19) 14... Qg4 (14... Qf5 $5 {? ?a5-b6}) 15. Qe3 Ba5 16. Be2 Bb6 17. Rfd1 (17. Ne5 Qf5 18. Nxc6 (18. Bg4 $4 Qxe5 $1) 18... bxc6 19. Nc5 Qd5 20. Rfd1 Qxa2 21. Bc4 (21. b3 Bxc5 22. dxc5 Ba6) 21... Qxb2 22. Rb1 Qc2 23. Bd3 Qa2) 17... Qf5 18. Nc5 Qf6 $1 19. Ne5 (19. a3 Bxc5 20. dxc5 (20. Rxc5 Ne7) 20... Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Qxb2 $13) 19... Nb4 $2 (19... Nxe5 20. Qxe5 $5 (20. dxe5 Rxd1+ (20... Qe7 $14 {Kortschnoj}) 21. Rxd1 (21. Bxd1 Qe7 22. Bf3 Rb8) 21... Qe7 22. b4 a5 23. a3 axb4 24. axb4 Bxc5 $1 25. bxc5 (25. Qxc5 Qxc5 26. bxc5 Kf8 $1 $14) 25... Bd7 26. Bf3 Bc6 27. Bxc6 bxc6 28. Rd6 $16) 20... Qxe5 21. dxe5 Rxd1+ 22. Bxd1 Bxc5 23. Rxc5 Bd7 24. Bf3 Rc8 25. Ra5 $16) 20. a3 (20. Bh5 $5 g6 21. Qxh6 Qg7 (21... Nxa2 22. Rc4) 22. Qxg7+ Kxg7 23. Bf3 Nxa2 24. Ra1 (24. Rc4 $5) 24... Nb4 25. Nc4 $16) 20... Nd5 21. Qe4 Bc7 22. Bd3 g6 23. Qe2 b6 $2 (23... Qg7 $142 $16) 24. Ne4 Qg7 25. Nc6 Rd7 (25... Re8 26. Ba6 $1 Bxa6 27. Qxa6 $16) 26. Bb5 $1 a6 (26... Bb7 27. Na5 $18) 27. Ba4 b5 28. Bb3 Bb6 (28... Bb7 29. Nc5 Bxc6 30. Nxd7 Bxd7 31. Bxd5) (28... Ne7 29. Qf3 $1) 29. Qf3 f5 30. Nc5 Rd6 (30... Bxc5 31. dxc5 Bb7 32. Na5 $18) 31. Bxd5 exd5 (31... Rxd5 32. Nb4 $18) 32. Re1 $1 Qf8 (32... Rxc6 33. Qxd5+ $18) 33. Ne7+ Kh7 34. Qf4 Qf6 35. Nxc8 Rxc8 36. Nd7 $1 Rxd7 (36... Rxc1 37. Nxf6+ $18) 37. Rxc8 Bxd4 38. Rc7 Rg7 (38... Bxf2+ {Kortschnoj} 39. Kf1 $1 $18) 39. Rxg7+ Qxg7 40. Qd6 Bf6 41. Re6 1-0 [Event "Rubinstein Memorial 34th"] [Site "Polanica Zdroj"] [Date "1997.??.??"] [Round "5"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Bareev, Evgeny"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2695"] [BlackElo "2670"] [Annotator "Gelfand,Boris"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "1997.08.19"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "POL"] [EventCategory "16"] [SourceTitle "CBM 061"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1997.11.23"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1997.11.23"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 Ne4 9. Nd2 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bxc3 11. Rc1 Ba5 12. e3 c6 13. h4 g4 14. Be2 Be6 (14... h5 15. O-O Bc7 16. Bxc7 Qxc7 17. e4 $16 Be6 18. exd5 Bxd5 19. Bc4 Qd8 20. Re1+ Kf8 21. Qb3 {1-0 Ovsejevitsch,S-Karmov,M/Krasnodar op 1996 (27)}) 15. O-O h5 $6 $146 (15... Nd7 $5 16. Nb3 Bc7 17. Bxg4 Bxg3 18. Bxe6 Bd6 19. Qh5 Qe7 20. Bxd7+ Qxd7 21. Nc5 Qe7 22. e4 Bxc5 23. dxc5 O-O-O {½-½ Tukmakov,V-Inkiov,V/Hania op (8) 1992}) (15... Bxd2 16. Qxd2 Nd7 17. Rb1 $1 $16) 16. e4 $1 (16. Nb3 Bc7 (16... Nd7 17. Nxa5 Qxa5 18. f3) 17. Nc5 Bxg3 18. fxg3 Nd7 $1 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Qd3 Rh6 $13) (16. f3 Bc7 17. Bxc7 Qxc7) 16... Bb6 (16... Bxd2 17. Qxd2 dxe4 18. Qf4 $16) (16... Nd7 17. exd5 cxd5 18. Nb3 Bb6 19. f3) 17. exd5 cxd5 18. Nb3 (18. Bb5+ $5 Kf8 (18... Nd7 19. Nb3 a6 20. Ba4 Kf8 21. Nc5 $36) 19. Nb3 $44) 18... Nc6 19. Qd2 Rc8 (19... Qf6 20. Bb5 O-O 21. Bxc6 bxc6 22. Rxc6 Rac8 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Be5 Qg6 25. Qf4 $16) 20. Bb5 (20. Nc5 Qe7 (20... Bxc5 21. dxc5 f6 22. Rb1 Qd7 23. Rb2 $16) (20... Qf6 21. Nxb7 O-O 22. Nd6 $18) 21. Bb5 Bxc5 22. dxc5 $16) (20. f3 gxf3 (20... Bc7 21. Bxc7 Rxc7 22. fxg4 hxg4 23. g3 Qd6 24. Rf4 b6 $5 25. Bxg4 $16) 21. Rxf3 Nxd4 22. Nxd4 Rxc1+ 23. Kh2 Bxd4 24. Qxd4 $40) 20... Kf8 21. Nc5 (21. f3 gxf3 (21... Bc7 22. Bxc7 Rxc7 23. Qf4 $44) 22. Rxf3 Nxd4 23. Nxd4 Rxc1+ 24. Kh2 Bg4 25. Qxc1 Bxd4 26. Qf4 Bg1+ 27. Kxg1 Bxf3 28. Qb4+ Kg8 29. gxf3 Qf6 $13) 21... Bxc5 22. Rxc5 $2 (22. dxc5 $1 Kg7 (22... f6 23. Rce1 Qd7 (23... Kf7 24. f3) 24. f3 $16 Kg7 25. fxg4 Bxg4 26. Rxf6 $18) 23. f3 f6 24. Rce1 Re8 $16) 22... f6 $1 23. Bxc6 (23. f3 Kg7 24. Be2 gxf3 25. Bxf3 Qd7 {?Ne7}) 23... bxc6 (23... Rxc6 $2 24. Rxc6 bxc6 25. Rb1 $16) 24. f3 Kg7 25. fxg4 Bxg4 26. Ra5 Qe7 27. Re1 $11 (27. Be5 $2 fxe5 28. Rxa7 Qxa7 29. Qg5+ Kh7 30. Rf6 Qg7 $1 $19 (30... Qxd4+ 31. Kh1 $18)) 27... Qd7 28. Ra3 Rhe8 29. Rae3 Bf5 30. Rxe8 Rxe8 31. Rxe8 Qxe8 32. Qf4 Kg6 33. Qb8 Qf7 34. Bf2 Be4 35. Be3 Kh7 36. Bf4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates qf3"] [Site "Brussels"] [Date "1991.??.??"] [Round "4"] [White "Jussupow, Artur"] [Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2625"] [BlackElo "2735"] [Annotator "Jussupow,Artur"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "1991.08.??"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "8"] [EventCountry "BEL"] [SourceTitle "Candidates"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceVersion "2"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. Bg5 Bb4 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 c5 8. Bd3 Qa5 9. O-O (9. Qc2) 9... c4 10. Bf5 O-O $1 (10... Bxc3 11. bxc3 Qxc3 (11... Ne4 12. Qc2 $36) 12. Qb1 {?e4? ECO}) 11. Qc2 Re8 12. Nd2 g6 13. Bh3 (13. Bxd7 $5) 13... Bxc3 14. bxc3 Ne4 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Bxd7 Bxd7 17. Bf4 Bc6 (17... Qd5 18. a4 Re6 19. Rfb1 Rb6 (19... Ra6 $5 $10) 20. Rxb6 axb6 21. Qb2 $14 {Cebalo,M-Wirthensohn,H Bern 1988}) (17... Ba4 18. Qb2 Bc6 19. a4 $14 {Vaiser,A-Wirthensohn,H Suhr (4) 1990}) (17... Re6 $5 18. Rfb1 Qd5 19. a4 a5 20. Qb2 Bc6 21. Qa3 Kg7 22. h3 g5 $10 {Pinter,J-Sosonko,G Haninge (8) 1988}) 18. d5 $5 {N} (18. a4 Re6 19. Rfb1 g5 20. Bg3 h5 21. h3 h4 22. Be5 $13 {Smirnov-Alekseev USSR 1987}) 18... Qxd5 19. Rfd1 Qa5 20. Rd4 Rad8 21. Rad1 (21. Bd6 Rd7 22. Qd2 (22. Rad1 $4 Ba4 23. Rxe4 Red8 $19) 22... Re6 $146) 21... Rxd4 22. Rxd4 Rd8 23. Bd6 (23. Qd2 Rxd4 24. Qxd4 Qd5 $10) 23... Rd7 24. Qd2 Qd8 $1 25. h3 f6 26. Bc5 b6 27. Rxd7 Qxd7 28. Qxd7 (28. Bd4 Kf7 $15) 28... Bxd7 29. Bd6 g5 30. a3 Kf7 31. Bb8 a6 32. Bc7 b5 33. Bd8 h5 34. Kh2 Kg6 35. Kg3 (35. Kg3 h4+ 36. Kh2 f5 37. g3 Kh5 38. Kg2 $10) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 5th"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2017.06.08"] [Round "3"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2771"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2017.06.06"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [EventCategory "22"] [SourceTitle "CBM 179"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2017.07.12"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.07.12"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 Re8 8. Bd2 a6 9. h3 Bd6 10. a3 Bd7 11. Be2 dxc4 12. Bxc4 h6 13. O-O e5 14. Rae1 Qe7 15. Nh4 Qd8 16. Qb3 Rf8 17. Qd1 b5 18. Ba2 Kh8 19. Bc1 {Aronian's last move seems timid, but actually it provokes Black into a strong reaction. Black has two logical ways of exploiting the knight's position on h4.} g5 $6 (19... e4 20. Qc2 g5 21. f3 $5 {is a huge mess. Here are some lines as an example:} gxh4 (21... Nh5 22. fxe4 (22. Bd5 $1) 22... g4 $1 $40) 22. fxe4 Rg8 (22... Bxh3 23. Re2 $1 $13 (23. e5 Rg8 24. Rxf6 Rxg2+ 25. Qxg2 Bxg2 26. Kxg2 Nxe5 27. dxe5 Bxe5 28. Rxh6+ Kg7 29. e4 $13)) 23. Re2 Bxh3 24. Bxf7 $1 $13) 20. dxe5 $1 (20. Nf3 g4 {gives Black some attacking chances, and was Giri's point.}) 20... Nxe5 21. f4 {And we have a mess on our hands. Black has to take the knight on h4.} gxh4 (21... Nc6 22. fxg5 hxg5 23. Nd5 $18) (21... gxf4 22. exf4 {is not much better.}) 22. fxe5 Bxe5 23. e4 $1 {White is down a pawn, but this is inconsequential. He has plenty of targets on the kingside to attack. Both sides must hurry to create threats.} Rg8 24. Bxf7 $6 {Tempting but perhaps not the most precise. The f7 pawn was not a key part of Black's defence or offence.} (24. Bf4 $1 Bxf4 (24... Bxh3 25. Bxe5 Rxg2+ 26. Kh1 {leads to nothing}) (24... Qe7 25. Qf3 $16) 25. Rxf4 Bxh3 26. Qxd8 Raxd8 27. Kh2 $1 Nh5 $1 {Otherwise Black loses material} 28. Rxh4 Bg4 29. Bxf7 Rg5 30. Nd5 $36 {with pressure on Black's kingside.}) 24... Rg7 25. Bf4 Bxf4 26. Rxf4 Bxh3 27. Kh2 (27. Qxd8+ Rxd8 28. Re3 $1 (28. Kh2 Rxf7 29. Kxh3 $11) 28... Bxg2 (28... Rxg2+ 29. Kh1 {and Black can't save both of his pieces, nor create a mating threat}) 29. Rxf6 $16) 27... Bd7 28. Be6 $1 {Covering g4.} Ng4+ 29. Rxg4 Bxe6 30. Qxd8+ Rxd8 31. Rxh4 Kh7 {Unfortunately at the end of the day we have reached an endgame that is not much for either side, though Black is to be preferred because of the bishop.} 32. Re2 Rd4 33. Rf2 Rf7 34. Rxf7+ Bxf7 35. Rf4 Kg7 36. Rf5 Rc4 37. Kg3 c5 38. Kf3 b4 39. axb4 cxb4 40. Nd5 b3 41. Ne3 Rd4 42. Ra5 Bg6 43. Nf5+ Bxf5 44. exf5 Rd2 45. Rxa6 Rxb2 {the draw is now trivial} 46. Rg6+ Kh7 47. Rb6 Rb1 48. Rb7+ Kg8 49. g3 b2 50. Kg2 Kf8 51. Kh2 Kg8 52. Kg2 Kf8 53. Kh2 Kg8 1/2-1/2 [Event "Geneva FIDE GP"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.14"] [Round "8"] [White "Li, Chao B"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2735"] [BlackElo "2737"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2017.07.06"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SUI"] [SourceTitle "CBM 180"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2017.09.13"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.09.13"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 Bb4+ 5. Nc3 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Qb3 c5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. dxc5 Bxc3+ 11. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 12. bxc3 Nd7 13. Rd1 Nxc5 14. Rxd5 b6 15. Rd4 {This old and well-known line has been examined in several CBM issues, most recently in CBM 133, annotations to L'Ami - Cornette (EU-chT 2009).} Ne6 $6 $146 {This new continuation is hardly an improvement. I guess Penteala Harikrishna simply forgot the theoretical recommendations.} (15... Be6 {is a better way for Black to obtain sufficient compensation for the missing pawn, e.g.} 16. c4 (16. Bc4 Rac8 17. Kd2 Bxc4 18. Rxc4 Rfe8 19. Kc2 Ne4 $15 {0-1 (35) Mista,A (2561)-Najer,E (2637) Czechia 2011}) 16... Rac8 17. Be2 (17. g4 Rfd8 18. Rg1 Nb7 19. g5 Rxd4 20. Nxd4 Bxc4 21. gxh6 g6 $11 {1/2 (38) L'Ami,E (2592)-Grandelius,N (2536) Germany 2012}) 17... Rc7 18. Kd2 Rfc8 19. Rb1 Nb7 20. Kc3 Na5 21. Nd2 Nc6 22. Rd6 Kf8 23. Rb5 Ke7 24. Rd3 Na5 $44 {[%csl Rc4] 1/2 (31) Voloshin,L (2426)-Gerzhoy,L (2257) Pardubice 2001}) (15... Bb7 {is possible, too:} 16. Bc4 Rac8 17. O-O Ne6 (17... Rfe8 $6 18. Nd2 Re7 19. Rc1 $14 {1-0 (62) L'Ami,E (2606)-Cornette,M (2577) Novi Sad 2009 CBM 133 [L'Ami,E]}) (17... Bxf3 $5 18. gxf3 Ne6 19. Rg4 Rfd8 20. Rc1 Rd2 21. Kg2 Kf8 $44 {E.L'Ami}) 18. Bxe6 fxe6 19. Ne5 Rc5 $5 20. Nd7 Rg5 21. Nxf8 (21. e4 Rc8 $44) 21... Rxg2+ 22. Kh1 Rxf2+ $11 {E.L'Ami}) 16. Rd6 Bb7 17. Nd4 Nxd4 18. Rxd4 Rac8 19. Kd2 $14 {White keeps an extra pawn, difficult to convert but easy to torture his opponent with for the whole game.} Rc5 20. Rg1 Rfc8 21. Bd3 Kf8 (21... Rxc3 $2 22. Bf5) 22. Rd7 Bd5 $6 (22... Bc6 $1 23. Rxa7 $140 Rd8 24. Kc2 Rcd5 25. Bc4 Rd2+ $132) 23. Rxa7 Rxc3 $16 {A big success for White - he has traded his weak c3-pawn for Black's healthy a7-pawn.} 24. e4 Be6 25. Rb1 R3c7 $6 {It was better for Black to keep both rooks for possible counterplay:} (25... R3c6) 26. Rxc7 Rxc7 {[%mdl 4096]} 27. a4 Bd7 28. Bc2 Rc6 29. f4 Ke7 30. Rb4 h5 31. g3 Kd8 32. Bb3 f6 33. h4 Kc7 34. Kd3 f5 $6 {Desperation. This gives White a protected passed pawn but it was equally hopeless just to watch him gradually improving his position.} 35. e5 Rg6 36. Kd4 (36. Bf7 $1 {was more technically correct:} Rxg3+ 37. Kd2 Rg2+ 38. Ke3 Bc8 39. e6 {[%CAl Re6e7]} Ba6 40. Bxh5 {etc.}) 36... Rxg3 37. e6 Be8 38. Ke5 {[%csl Ge5]} Rc3 39. Kxf5 Rc5+ 40. Ke4 Bc6+ 41. Kd3 Rc1 42. Bc2 g6 $6 {This loses instantly but White should gradually win after} (42... Rh1 43. f5 {, too.}) 43. Kd2 $1 Rg1 44. e7 Be8 45. Re4 $18 {[%CAl Rc2d3,Rd3b5] Slightly surprisingly, Black has no defence.} Rg2+ 46. Kc3 Rg3+ 47. Bd3 Kd6 48. Kd4 {[%CAl Rd3b5]} Bxa4 49. e8=Q Bxe8 50. Rxe8 Rg4 51. Ke3 Rg3+ 52. Ke2 Kd5 53. Rg8 Rg4 54. Kf3 Rxh4 55. Be4+ Kd4 56. Rd8+ Kc3 57. Bxg6 Rh1 58. f5 Rf1+ 59. Ke2 Rf4 60. Rd3+ 1-0 [Event "FIDE-Wch k.o."] [Site "New Delhi/Teheran"] [Date "2000.12.03"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Piket, Jeroen"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2681"] [BlackElo "2649"] [Annotator "Gelfand,Boris"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2000.11.27"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "IND"] [SourceTitle "CBM 080"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2001.01.25"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2001.01.25"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. exd4 Nc6 12. Ne4 Qf4 13. Qe2 Rd8 14. g3 Qg4 15. Rfd1 (15. Qe3 {Gelfand} Ba5 16. Be2 Bb6 17. Rfd1 (17. Ne5 {Gelfand} Qf5 18. Nxc6 (18. Bg4 $4 Qxe5 $1) 18... bxc6 19. Nc5 Qd5 20. Rfd1 Qxa2 21. Bc4 (21. b3 Bxc5 22. dxc5 Ba6) 21... Qxb2 22. Rb1 Qc2 23. Bd3 Qa2) 17... Qf5 18. Nc5 Qf6 $1 19. Ne5 (19. a3 {Gelfand} Bxc5 20. dxc5 (20. Rxc5 Ne7) 20... Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Qxb2 $13) 19... Nb4 $2 (19... Nxe5 {Gelfand} 20. Qxe5 $5 (20. dxe5 Rxd1+ (20... Qe7 $14 {Kortschnoj}) 21. Rxd1 (21. Bxd1 Qe7 22. Bf3 Rb8) 21... Qe7 22. b4 a5 23. a3 axb4 24. axb4 Bxc5 $1 25. bxc5 (25. Qxc5 Qxc5 26. bxc5 Kf8 $1 $14) 25... Bd7 26. Bf3 Bc6 27. Bxc6 bxc6 28. Rd6 $16) 20... Qxe5 21. dxe5 Rxd1+ 22. Bxd1 Bxc5 23. Rxc5 Bd7 24. Bf3 Rc8 25. Ra5 $16) 20. a3 (20. Bh5 $5 {Gelfand} g6 21. Qxh6 Qg7 (21... Nxa2 22. Rc4) 22. Qxg7+ Kxg7 23. Bf3 Nxa2 24. Ra1 (24. Rc4 $5) 24... Nb4 25. Nc4 $16) 20... Nd5 21. Qe4 Bc7 22. Bd3 g6 23. Qe2 {1-0 Gelfand,B-Benjamin,J/Horgen 1994/CBM 43/[Gelfand] (41)}) 15... Bd7 (15... Ba5 16. a3 Bb6 17. b4 Qh5 18. b5 Na5 19. Ba2 Rd5 20. Rc2 Bd7 21. a4 Rd8 22. Nc5 Bc8 23. Bxd5 exd5 {½-½ Shneider,A-Kuzmin,G/Ordzhonikidze 2000 (42)}) 16. a3 Be7 (16... Bf8 17. Qe3 Be8 18. b4 Qh5 19. Be2 Qf5 20. Nh4 Qh7 21. Nc5 g5 22. Nf3 Rab8 23. Bc4 Qg7 24. d5 exd5 25. Bxd5 Ne7 26. Bxb7 Nf5 27. Rxd8 Rxd8 28. Qe5 Nd4 29. Qxg7+ Bxg7 30. Nxd4 Rxd4 {½-½ Magai,V-Mitkov,N/Istanbul TUR 2000/The Week in Chess 314 (44)}) 17. Qe3 Be8 18. b4 a6 (18... Rac8 19. b5 Na5 20. Be2) 19. Be2 (19. d5 exd5 20. Bxd5 Rac8) 19... Qh3 $6 (19... Qf5 20. Nc5 Bxc5 21. dxc5 Qf6 22. Bd3 $14) 20. Nc5 (20. Nc3 $5) 20... Bxc5 (20... b5 $6 $14) 21. dxc5 (21. Rxc5 Ne7) 21... Qf5 (21... Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Rd8 23. Rxd8 Nxd8 24. Qe5 $16) (21... Ne7 22. Ne5 Nd5 23. Qe4) 22. Bd3 Qf6 23. Be4 (23. h4 $16) 23... Rxd1+ (23... Qe7 $5 24. h4 Rxd1+ 25. Rxd1 Rd8) 24. Rxd1 Rc8 (24... Rd8 $5 25. Rb1 (25. Rd6 $5) 25... Qe7 26. a4 $16) 25. h4 Kf8 26. g4 $1 Qe7 (26... Rd8 $5) 27. g5 hxg5 28. hxg5 Rd8 29. Re1 $1 $18 (29. Rxd8 Qxd8 30. Qf4 $16) 29... Qc7 (29... g6 30. Qf4) 30. g6 fxg6 (30... f6 31. Bxc6 Bxc6 32. Nd4 $18) 31. Ng5 Nd4 (31... Bf7 32. Bxg6) 32. Qxd4 1-0 [Event "Cannes m"] [Site "Cannes"] [Date "1993.??.??"] [Round "2"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Lautier, Joel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2685"] [BlackElo "2645"] [Annotator "Kramnik,Vladimir"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "1993.02.??"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "FRA"] [SourceTitle "CBM 034"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1993.06.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1993.06.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Qc2 h6 (7... c5 8. dxc5 Qa5 9. Bd2 $1 Qxc5 10. e3 Ne4 11. Rc1 $14) (7... O-O 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. Qxc3 $14) 8. Bh4 c5 9. e3 $1 c4 $5 (9... Qa5 10. Bd3 c4 11. Bf5 O-O 12. O-O) 10. Be2 Qa5 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3 Ne4 13. Rfc1 Nb6 14. a4 $1 (14. Nd2 Bf5 $10) (14. Ne5 Bf5 15. f3 Nd6 $5 16. Qb2 f6 $13) 14... Bf5 (14... Bd7 $6 15. Ne5 Bxa4 16. Nxc4 $1) 15. Qb2 O-O 16. Bd1 Rfe8 17. Ra2 $5 {? ?a3, ?b2-b5} f6 $6 (17... Nd7 $1 18. Qa3 Qc7 $14) 18. Nd2 (18. Qa3 Bd7) 18... Bd7 (18... Nxd2 19. Qxd2 Bd7 20. Bc2 $1 {? ?b1, ?c2?}) 19. Nf1 $1 Nxa4 $2 (19... Bc6 20. f3 Nd6 21. Bg3 Nf5 22. Bf2 $16) 20. Qxb7 Red8 (20... Nexc3 21. Rxc3 Qxc3 22. Qxd7 $18) 21. Bxa4 Bxa4 22. f3 $1 (22. Qb2 Qb6 $1 $10) 22... Rdb8 (22... Nxc3 23. Be1 Nxa2 24. Bxa5 Nxc1 25. Bxd8 $18) (22... Rab8 23. Qe7 Re8 (23... Nxc3 24. Be1) 24. Qd7 $1 (24. Qa3 $2 Rb3 $1 25. Qxa4 Qxa4 26. Rxa4 Nxc3 $132) 24... Nxc3 25. Rxc3 Qxc3 26. Rxa4 Red8 27. Qg4 {? ?a7, ?f6}) (22... Nd6 23. Qb1 Qb5 24. Qa1 Bb3 25. Rxa7 $16) 23. Rxa4 $1 Qxa4 24. Qxd5+ Kh8 25. Qxe4 (25. fxe4 $5 {? e5}) 25... Qa3 26. Rb1 Qxc3 27. Bg3 $1 Re8 (27... Rxb1 28. Qxa8+ Kh7 29. Qe4+ $18) 28. Qg6 a5 (28... Qd3 29. Qxd3 cxd3 30. Rb3 $18) 29. Rb7 Rg8 30. Bf4 Qd3 31. e4 $1 Qxd4+ 32. Be3 Qd8 33. Bxh6 Qf8 34. Be3 Qe8 35. Qg4 Kh7 36. Qh3+ (36. Qh3+ Kg6 37. Qf5#) 1-0 [Event "Najdorf Memorial 11th"] [Site "Buenos Aires"] [Date "2000.09.23"] [Round "6"] [White "Karpov, Anatoly"] [Black "Milov, Vadim"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2699"] [BlackElo "2626"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2000.09.18"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ARG"] [EventCategory "14"] [SourceTitle "CBM 080"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2001.01.25"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2001.01.25"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 {Das ist die sogenannte Ragozin-Variante, die in den vierziger Jahren sehr populär war. . Das ist eine spezielle Mischung aus dem Damengambit und der Nimzoindischen Verteidigung, in der Schwarz prinzipiell um die Herrschaft über das Feld e4 kämpft.} 5. Bg5 {Die andere Hauptvariante ist 5.cxd5 exd5 6.?g5.} Nbd7 (5... dxc4 {Auf diese Weise kann Schwarz die scharfe Wiener Variante herbeiführen.}) 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Qc2 O-O (7... h6 8. Bh4 c5 9. e3 Qa5 10. Bd3 O-O 11. O-O c4 12. Bf5 $14) (7... c5 8. dxc5 Qa5 9. Bd2 $14) 8. a3 Bxc3+ (8... Be7 9. e3 $14 {Wir haben eine gut bekannte Stellung der Abtauschvariante des Damengambits vor uns, aber mit einem Mehrtempo für Weiß - denn Schwarz spielte 4...?b4 und 8...?e7.}) 9. Qxc3 h6 (9... c6 10. e3 (10. Nd2 $5) 10... h6 (10... Qe8 11. Nd2 (11. Qc2 Ne4 12. Bf4 Qe7 13. Bd3 f5 14. h4 Ndf6 15. Ne5 Nh5 16. g3 Be6 17. Qd1 Nxf4 18. gxf4 c5 19. dxc5 Nxc5 20. Nf3 d4 21. Nxd4 Rad8 22. Bc2 Bd5 23. Rg1 Be4 24. Bxe4 Qxe4 25. Kf1 {1-0 Van Wely,L-Giorgadze,G/Frankfurt 1999/EXT 2000 (59)}) 11... Ne4 12. Nxe4 {½-½ Garcia Ilundain,D-Giorgadze,G/Barcelona ESP 2000/The Week in Chess 301 (12)}) (10... Qb6 11. Qb4 Ne4 12. Bf4 Qd8 13. Be2 a5 14. Qa4 c5 15. Qc2 c4 16. Bxc4 dxc4 17. Qxe4 $16 {½-½ Lutz,C-Blatny,P/Germany 1995/GER-chT (42)}) 11. Bh4 Qe8 (11... g5 12. Bg3 Ne4 13. Qc2 h5 14. Nd2 Nxd2 15. Qxd2 h4 16. Bd6 Re8 17. Bd3 Nf6 18. Bb4 a5 19. Bc3 Ne4 20. Bxe4 dxe4 21. f3 Qd5 22. O-O {½-½ Bozinovic,B-Kovacevic,V/Kastel Stari 1997/CBM 57 ext (49)}) 12. Bd3 Ne4 13. Qc2 Nb6 14. O-O Bf5 15. a4 Qe6 16. Nd2 Nd6 17. Nb3 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 Nf5 19. Nc5 Qg6 20. Bg3 Nxg3 21. hxg3 Qxd3 22. Nxd3 Nc4 {½-½ Markos,J-Luther,T/Istanbul TUR 2000/The Week in Chess 313 (40)}) 10. Bh4 c6 11. Nd2 $5 $146 {[%mdl 8] Eine interessante Idee - Weiß spielt (noch) nicht e2-e3, sondern möchte mit f2-f3 den Springerzug ?e4 verhindern.} (11. e3 Qe8 12. Bd3 Ne4 13. Qc2 Nb6 14. O-O Bf5 15. Rfe1 Qe6 16. Nd2 Nd6 17. f3 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 Nbc4 19. Nxc4 Nxc4 20. b3 Nd6 21. Rac1 Rfe8 22. Bg3 Nf5 23. Bf2 Rad8 {0-1 Pelletier,Y-Milov,V/Biel 1993/TD (67)}) 11... Qe8 {Die schwarze Dame geht aus der Fesslung auf der Diagonale h4-d8.} (11... g5 12. Bg3 Ne4 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. h4 (14. e3 Nb6 $13 {[%CAl Gb6d5]}) 14... Nb6 15. hxg5 Nd5 16. Qc2 Qa5+ 17. Qd2 $1 (17. Kd1 $6 e3 $1 $13 18. gxh6 Bf5 19. h7+ (19. Qxf5 $4 Qd2#) 19... Kh8 20. Qc1 Qa4+ 21. Ke1 Qa5+ 22. Kd1 $11 (22. b4 $2 Nxb4 23. axb4 Qxb4+ 24. Kd1 Qxd4+ 25. Ke1 Qb4+ 26. Kd1 Rfd8+ $19)) 17... Qxd2+ 18. Kxd2 hxg5 19. e3 $14) 12. f3 Qe6 13. e3 Nb6 14. Bf2 (14. O-O-O) 14... Nh5 15. g4 (15. O-O-O f5 $13) 15... Nf4 16. O-O-O $14 {Weiß hat das Läuferpaar und das bessere Figurenspiel. In der Folge kann er im Zentrum mit e3-e4 aktiv werden.} Ng6 17. Bd3 Bd7 18. Kb1 {Das ist immer ein nützlicher prophylaktischer Zug - Weiß vermeidet mögliche Unannehmlichkeiten auf der c-Linie.} Na4 19. Qc2 c5 $5 {Ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob diese Fortsetzung korrekt ist. Schwarz möchte nicht abwarten, sondern strebt sofort Gegenspiel an.} 20. dxc5 Rac8 21. e4 $1 {[%CAl Gf2c5]} (21. Bf5 Qe7 22. Bxd7 Qxd7 23. Ne4 f5 24. gxf5 Qxf5 25. Qxa4 dxe4 $13) 21... d4 $5 {Schwarz opfert einen weiteren Bauer, aber auf diese Weise werden die weißen Figuren (?d3 und ?d2) etwas passiv.} (21... dxe4 22. Nxe4 $16 {[%csl Gd3,Ge4]}) 22. Bxd4 Qe7 {[%CAl Ge7c5]} 23. Nb3 b6 {[%CAl Gc8c2]} 24. Ba6 Rc7 25. c6 $6 {Es ist klar, dass Weiß einen Bauern zurückgeben muss, aber nach der Partiefortsetzung bekommt Schwarz die offene c-Linie.} (25. h4 Nxc5 26. Nxc5 bxc5 27. Qc3 $16 {[%CAl Gc3c7]}) 25... Rxc6 26. Qd2 Rd6 $1 {[%CAl Gd6d1] Die Oppisition von Turm und Dame ist unangenehm für Weiß - es droht ?e6 und ?fd8.} 27. Qb4 Ne5 28. Bb5 $2 (28. Bxe5 Qxe5 {[%CAl Re5b2,Rb2b1]} 29. Rd4 $16) 28... Bxb5 29. Qxb5 Nxf3 $1 {[%mdl 64]} 30. Qxa4 Qxe4+ 31. Ka2 Rfd8 {[%CAl Rd8d1] Schwarz hat nur einen Bauern für die Figur, aber Weiß sieht sich vor Problemen bei der Koordination seiner Figuren. Er muss die Figur zurück geben.} 32. h3 $1 (32. Rhf1 Nxd4 33. Rfe1 Qxg4 34. Re8+ Rxe8 35. Qxe8+ Kh7 {[%CAl Gg4d1]} 36. Rxd4 Rxd4 37. Nxd4 Qxd4 38. Qxf7 $17) 32... Qe6 {[%CAl Ge6a2]} (32... Nxd4 $2 {Dieses Schlagen des Läufers kommt zu früh.} 33. Rhe1 Qf4 34. Re8+ Rxe8 (34... Kh7 35. Rxd8 Rxd8 36. Rxd4 $18) 35. Qxe8+ Kh7 36. Qa4 b5 37. Qb4 a5 38. Rxd4 $18) 33. Ka1 Qd7 34. Qa6 (34. Qxd7 R8xd7 35. Rhe1 Nxe1 (35... Nxd4 36. Nxd4 Rxd4 37. Rxd4 Rxd4 38. Re8+ Kh7 39. Re7 {Wir haben nach Zugumstellung dieselbe Stellung wie in der Partie nach 35...?xe1.}) 36. Rxe1 Rxd4 37. Nxd4 Rxd4 38. Re8+ Kh7 39. Re7 Kg6 40. Rxa7 Rd3 41. Rb7 Rxh3 42. Rxb6+ Kg5 $17) 34... Nxd4 35. Rxd4 Rxd4 36. Nxd4 Qxd4 37. Qxa7 {Endlich hat Weiß das materielle Gleichgewicht wiederhergestellt.} Re8 $15 {Schwarz hat etwas bessere Chancen, weil die weiße Dame etwas passiv auf a7 steht. Schwarz Hingegen hat starke Kontrolle über die d- und e- Linie.} 38. Rf1 Qc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Biel GM 50th"] [Site "Biel"] [Date "2017.07.27"] [Round "4"] [White "Navara, David"] [Black "Leko, Peter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2678"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2017.07.24"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SUI"] [EventCategory "16"] [SourceTitle "CBM 180"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2017.09.13"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.09.13"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Rc1 Rd8 ({The queen exchange after} 9... Qg6 10. Qc2 Qxc2 11. Rxc2 Rd8 {is probably a better choice for Black in this line.}) 10. Be2 $1 (10. a3 {is too slow:} Bxc3+ 11. Rxc3 e5 $1 12. cxd5 exd4 13. Rc5 Bg4 (13... Qf5 $5 14. Nxd4 Nxd4 15. Qxd4 Qb1+) 14. Nxd4 Nxd4 15. Qxd4 Qxd4 16. exd4 b6 17. Rxc7 Rxd5 18. Bc4 Re8+ 19. Kd2 Rxd4+ 20. Kc3 Rd7 $11 {1/2 (30) Ding,L (2759)-Harikrishna,P (2758) Shenzhen 2017}) (10. cxd5 {is probably harmless, too:} exd5 11. Be2 (11. a3 Bf8 12. Be2 Ne7 13. b4 Ng6 14. Qb3 c6 15. Na4 Bg4 16. Nc5 Rab8 17. Qd1 Bd6 $11 {1/2 (75) Rivas Pastor,M (2533)-Cornette,M (2544) Salou 2011}) (11. Bb5 a5 $5 (11... Bf8 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. O-O a5 $5 {0-1 (24) Formanek,E (2330)-Braga,F (2390) Hastings 1985} 14. e4 $13) 12. a3 Bf8 13. Bxc6 bxc6 14. O-O Bd6 15. e4 Bf4 16. Rce1 dxe4 (16... Bg4 17. Ne5 Bxe5 18. dxe5 Qg6 19. f3 Bh3 20. Rf2 $14 {1/2 (43) Shariyazdanov,A (2495)-Ibragimov,I (2590) Moscow 1998}) 17. Rxe4 Rb8 $11) 11... Be6 (11... a6 $5 12. O-O Bf8 13. a3 Ne7 14. b4 Bg4 15. Qd1 Bxf3 $11 16. gxf3 $6 c6 17. Kh1 Nf5 18. f4 a5 $36 {1/2 (28) Mamedyarov,S (2724)-Bartel,M (2594) Moscow 2009}) 12. O-O Bf8 (12... a6 13. Ne5 $1 (13. Qd1 Bd6 14. Na4 Ne7 15. Nc5 Bc8 16. Rc3 b6 17. Nd3 Ng6 18. Qb3 Bf5 $13 {1-0 (39) Langeweg,K-Medina Garcia,A Wijk aan Zee 1969}) 13... Bxc3 14. Nxc6 $1 Bd7 15. Rxc3 Bxc6 16. Qc2 $14) 13. a3 Ne7 14. b4 Nf5 15. Nb5 c6 16. Nc7 Rab8 17. Nxe6 Qxe6 18. Qxa7 Nxe3 $1 19. fxe3 Qxe3+ 20. Kh1 Qxe2 21. Ne5 {1-0 (38) Krasenkow,M (2635)-Zhao,X (2562) Vlissingen 2013 CBM 155 Extra [CB]} Re8 $13) 10... dxc4 {A typical motif: Black gains a tempo since White's bishop comes to c4 in two moves. However, it is not enough for equality. Black can't find a good moment to free his pieces with ...e6-e5.} (10... e5 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3 dxc4 13. Bxc4 Bd7 14. Qc2 Bf5 15. Bd3 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Qe6 17. Qb1 b6 18. Rfd1 $14 {1/2 (57) Zhu,Y (2340)-Boldoo,E (2200) Ulaanbaatar 2015}) 11. Bxc4 Bd7 (11... e5 12. O-O (12. dxe5 Bxc3+ 13. Rxc3 Nxe5 $11 {1/2 (46) Houska,J (2416)-Dorrington,C (2315) England 2014}) 12... Bxc3 13. bxc3 {- see above Zhu-Boldoo}) 12. Qc2 Bd6 (12... e5 $6 {now loses a pawn after} 13. dxe5 Nxe5 (13... Bxc3+ 14. Qxc3) 14. Nxe5 Qxe5 15. Bxf7+ $1 Kh8 16. O-O $14 (16. Bg6 $6 {1-0 (50) Cmilyte,V (2524)-Hou,Y (2606) Beijing 2012} Bb5 $44 {[%csl Re1]})) 13. O-O a6 (13... e5 $2 14. Nd5) 14. Rfd1 Qe7 15. a3 {[%CAl Yc4a2,Ya2b1][%mdl 32]} Rac8 $6 {Unable to push ...e6-e5, Black starts an artificial manoeuvre, which only worsens his position.} (15... b5 $142 16. Ba2 b4 17. Bb1 f5 $14) 16. Ba2 Nb8 {Preparing ...c7-c5 but again, Black will be unable to carry out that plan without serious concessions.} 17. e4 Bf4 (17... c5 $2 18. e5 Bc7 19. d5) 18. Ra1 Bc6 {So, Black has failed to push either ...e6-e5 or ...c7-c5, and he is completely passive now. White launches a kingside attack.} (18... c5 19. e5 $1 cxd4 20. Rxd4 Bg5 21. h4 Bc6 22. Rxd8+ Rxd8 23. hxg5 Bxf3 24. gxf3 Qxg5+ 25. Kf1 $16) 19. h4 {[%CAl Rg2g3]} h5 20. Ne2 Bh6 21. Ng3 g6 22. d5 $1 exd5 $6 (22... Bd7 $5 23. e5 $16 {[%CAl Yg3e4]}) 23. exd5 Be8 24. Re1 Qf8 (24... Qf6 25. Ne4 Qb6 26. Nfg5 $16) 25. Ng5 $40 {[%mdl 128]} Kh8 26. Rad1 Nd7 27. Qb3 Nb6 28. Qf3 Kg8 29. N3e4 Nd7 30. d6 $1 Bg7 31. Nxf7 $1 Bxf7 32. Qxf7+ Qxf7 33. Bxf7+ Kxf7 34. Ng5+ Kf6 (34... Kg8 35. dxc7 Rxc7 36. Ne6 Rdc8 37. Nxc7 Rxc7 38. Re7 $18) 35. Re7 Ne5 36. Rd5 $1 Kf5 (36... cxd6 37. Rdxe5 $1 dxe5 38. Rf7#) 37. Rxg7 Rxd6 38. Rf7+ Rf6 39. Re7 1-0 [Event "London Classic 8th"] [Site "London"] [Date "2016.12.11"] [Round "3"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2779"] [BlackElo "2779"] [Annotator "Pavlovic,Milos"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2016.12.09"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [EventCategory "22"] [SourceTitle "CBM 176"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2017.01.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.01.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 {Recently this has become Anand's favorite move order, in the same tournament he played it against So as well.} 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Bb4 7. e3 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 Ne4 {We have reached a very sharp line of the Ragozin Opening, a line that has had lots of followers recently.} 10. Nd2 Nxg3 ({It is risky to take the pawn:} 10... Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bxc3 12. Rc1 Ba5 13. h4 Nf6 14. Rc5 Bxd2+ 15. Qxd2 Ne4 16. Bxc7 Qe7 17. Qb2 O-O 18. hxg5 Nxc5 (18... hxg5 19. Bd3 $1 $16) 19. dxc5 Qxc7 20. Rxh6 Qa5+ 21. Kd1 Qa4+ 22. Kc1 f6 23. Rg6+ Kh8 24. gxf6 Rf7 25. Bd3 {with a winning attack.}) 11. hxg3 c6 $5 {A less popular choice among grandmasters at least, but an interesting one. We will see that the idea is to have at his disposal the a5-square for the bishop to retreat to.} (11... Nb6 12. a3 Bd6 13. e4 dxe4 14. Ndxe4 Qe7 15. Be2 Bf5 16. Nxd6+ Qxd6 17. Rc1 c6 18. O-O O-O 19. f4 Rad8 20. fxg5 Bg6 21. gxh6 Qxd4+ 22. Qxd4 Rxd4 23. g4 Re8 24. Rcd1 Rxd1 25. Rxd1 Kh7 26. g5 Re5 27. Rd8 Rxg5 28. Rb8 Nd5 29. Nxd5 Rxd5 30. Rxb7 Rd2 31. Bf3 c5 {½-½ (46) Onischuk,A (2662)-Bacrot,E (2697) Berlin (rapid) 2015. Black managed to make a draw without great difficulties.}) 12. a3 {An important move, Black has to decide where to go with the bishop.} Ba5 {Probably the best choice, as Black keeps the tension. b2-b4 is still not any kind of positional threat, so the bishop on a5 enjoys a good position.} (12... Be7 13. Bd3 Nf6 14. Qe2 Be6 15. Nf3 Ng4 16. e4 dxe4 17. Bxe4 Qa5 18. O-O Nf6 19. Ne5 Qb6 20. Rfd1 Rd8 {½-½ (20) Borisenko,G-Averbakh,Y Sverdlovsk 1957}) (12... Bd6 {a slightly provocative idea...} 13. e4 Nb6 14. e5 Be7 15. Bd3 Be6 16. Qe2 Qd7 17. Nb3 O-O-O 18. O-O-O Kb8 19. Kb1 h5 {with unclear conseqencies.}) (12... Bxc3 13. bxc3 Nf6 14. Bd3 Qe7 15. Qc2 Bd7 16. c4 {White is slightly better.}) 13. Bd3 Kf8 14. Qc2 Nf6 15. O-O-O Kg7 16. Kb1 Be6 17. Nb3 Bb6 18. f4 Bg4 19. Rde1 Qd6 {So all has gone in normal fashion, Black has a slightly exposed king but has the bishop pair, and the position is a bit closed for the moment.} 20. Rhf1 Rae8 21. Nc5 Re7 22. Qd2 $5 {Hitting g5.} Rhe8 (22... Bxc5 23. dxc5 Qxc5 24. fxg5 hxg5 25. b4 (25. e4 dxe4 $17 {the pawn on g5 is defended}) 25... Qd6 26. e4 Rh5 27. exd5 Rxe1+ 28. Qxe1 cxd5 (28... Nxd5 29. Nxd5 Qxd5 30. Qc3+ Kg8 31. Bc4 Qe4+ {Black is fine}) 29. Nb5 Qb6 30. Qe5 Qe6 31. Qd4 Qb6 $11) 23. fxg5 hxg5 24. e4 Nxe4 (24... Nh5 $3 {The computer choice; for humans this is a tough move to play in a tournament game. What puzzles me is that I don't understand really what Anand missed in this game.} 25. Qxg5+ (25. e5 Qh6 26. Qf2 Bxc5 27. dxc5 f5 $1 $132) 25... Qg6 26. Qxg6+ fxg6 $17) 25. N5xe4 {It was better to take with the other knight:} (25. N3xe4 $1 dxe4 26. Rxe4 Bh5 {the idea that could have saved Black in the game now is not that strong due to} 27. Qxg5+ Qg6 28. Qxe7 $1 Rxe7 29. Rxe7 {the bishop on d3 is protected now!} Bxc5 30. Rfxf7+ Qxf7 31. Rxf7+ Kxf7 32. dxc5 $16) 25... dxe4 26. Rxe4 Rxe4 $2 (26... Bh5 $1 {the last chance because Nakamura took with the wrong knight on e4} 27. Qxg5+ Qg6 28. Qxg6+ Bxg6 29. Rg4 Re1+ 30. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 31. Ka2 Ba5 {Black has very good chances of holding a draw actually without great problems.}) 27. Nxe4 Qg6 (27... Qxd4 28. Qxg5+ Kf8 29. Qh6+ Qg7 30. Qd6+ Re7 31. Nf6 $18) 28. Nf6 $1 Qxf6 29. Rxf6 Kxf6 30. Qc3 Bd7 ({A better chance was} 30... Bc7 31. d5+ Be5 32. Qb4 Bc8 33. dxc6 bxc6 34. Qc5 $16) 31. d5+ Re5 32. Be4 g4 33. dxc6 bxc6 34. Bxc6 Bxc6 35. Qxc6+ $18 Kg5 36. Qd7 Re3 37. Qxf7 Rxg3 38. Qd5+ Kh4 39. a4 $18 Bf2 40. Qd8+ Kh5 41. Qe8+ Kg5 42. Qe5+ Kg6 43. Qf4 1-0 [Event "Rubinstein Memorial 36th"] [Site "Polanica Zdroj"] [Date "1999.08.22"] [Round "6"] [White "Khenkin, Igor"] [Black "Milov, Vadim"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2633"] [BlackElo "2626"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "1999.08.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "POL"] [EventCategory "15"] [SourceTitle "CBM 073"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.12.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.12.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%mdl 576]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Bg5 (5. Bf4 {Dieser Zug ist stärker, wenn Schwarz statt 4...?bd7 den Zug 4...?e7 spielt. Ribli.} dxc4 6. e3 Nb6 (6... Nd5 7. Bxc4 Nxf4 8. exf4 Bd6 9. Ne5 O-O 10. O-O Nb6 11. Bb3 Bd7 12. Qg4 Bxe5 $5 13. dxe5 Bc6 $11) 7. Bxc4 Nxc4 8. Qa4+ c6 $5 9. Qxc4 Nd5 $11) 5... Bb4 {Jetzt wir haben die Grundstellung der Ragozin-Variante. Schwarz kämpft um das Feld e4 und gibt daher im richtigen Moment das Läuferpaar auf c3.} 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 c5 8. Bd3 Qa5 9. O-O {Eine sehr riskante Fortsetzung. Weiss verteidigt nicht den Springer c3, sondern strebt nach schneller Entwicklung. Meines Erachtens ist die Hauptfortsetzung 9.?c2 sicherer als der Textzug.} (9. Qc2 c4 10. Bf5 O-O 11. O-O) 9... c4 10. Bc2 (10. Bf5 $5) 10... Bxc3 11. bxc3 Qxc3 {Das ist die kritische Fortsetzung. Schwarz nimmt den Bauern. Weiss hat gute Entwicklung und das Läuferpaar, aber ich bin nicht ganz sicher, ob die weisse Kompensation völlig genügend ist.} (11... Ne4 12. Bh4 Ndf6 (12... O-O 13. Bxe4 dxe4 14. Nd2 Qd5 15. a4 Nb6 16. a5 Nd7 17. Qb1 Re8 18. Qb4 b5 19. axb6 Nxb6 20. Ra5 Qe6 21. Rfa1 {1-0 Cvitan,O-Ellers,H/Bern 1995/EXP 46 (41)}) (12... Qxc3 13. Rc1 Qa3 14. Bxe4 dxe4 15. Nd2 O-O 16. Nxe4 $1 b5 17. Bg3 Qe7 18. Nd6 {Ftacnik,L. 1-0 Gelfand,B-Lautier,J/Belgrade 1991/CBM 27/[Ftacnik] (27)}) (12... Nxc3 13. Qe1 b6 14. e4 Nxe4 15. Bxe4 Qxe1 16. Rfxe1 dxe4 17. Rxe4+ Kf8 18. Rae1 g6 19. Re7 $16) 13. Bxf6 Nxf6 14. Qc1 O-O 15. a4 Bd7 16. Ne5 Bc6 17. Qb2 Rab8 18. Rfb1 Rfe8 19. Nxc6 {1-0 Cvitan,O-Becker,M/St.Ingbert op 1995/EXT 95op (19)}) 12. Rc1 {[%CAl Gc1c3]} (12. Qb1 Qa5 (12... O-O 13. e4 dxe4 (13... Nxe4 14. Be7 $16 {[%CAl Re7f8,Re7b4]}) 14. Bd2 Qa3 15. Bb4 Qa6 16. Bxf8 exf3 17. Bb4 fxg2 18. Re1 $13) (12... Qa3) 13. e4 $44) 12... Qa3 (12... Qa5 13. Ne5 O-O 14. f4 $1 (14. Qf3 Re8 15. Qg3 Qa6 16. f4 Qd6 17. Rf3 b5 18. Qh4 Ne4 19. Bxe4 dxe4 20. Rg3 f6 21. Bh6 Re7 22. Bxg7 Rxg7 {0-1 Moreno,A-Rodriguez/Hermanos Saiz 1992/EXT 97 (41)}) 14... Re8 15. Nxd7 $1 Nxd7 16. Qh5 {1-0 Moreno,A-Vilela,J/La Habana (m/5) 1997/[Moreno,Ale] (24)}) 13. Ne5 b5 {Schwarz verteidigt den c4-Bauern, denn im Falle von späterem e3-e4, könnte der c4-Bauern schwach sein.} (13... O-O) 14. Nxd7 Bxd7 $146 {Interessant, dieser logische Zug ist eine theoretische Neuerung.} (14... Nxd7 15. e4 h6 16. Bh4 Nb6 17. Re1 O-O 18. e5 Na4 19. Re3 Qxa2 20. Rg3 Qb2 21. Qd2 $40 {1-0 Pafnutieff,V-Bisguier,A/Hollywood 1954/EXT 99 (39)}) 15. Qf3 (15. Bxf6 gxf6 16. Qf3 {[%CAl Rf3f6,Rf3d5]} Qd6 17. e4 $44 {Weiss hat Initiative für den Bauern und der schwarze König steht unsicher in der Mitte.}) 15... Qd6 {[%csl Gd6] Die Dame verteidigt die wichtigsten Punkte in der schwarzen Stellung.} (15... Bg4 $6 16. Qf4 $16 {[%csl Gf4,Rf6,Rg4]}) 16. a4 (16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. e4 $44) 16... Bg4 (16... b4 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. e4 $44) 17. Bf4 (17. Qg3 Qxg3 18. fxg3 b4 {[%csl Gb4,Gc4]} 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Rxf6 b3 $17) 17... Qe6 $5 $15 (17... Bxf3 18. Bxd6 Be4 19. axb5 Bxc2 20. Rxc2 Ne4 $11) 18. Qg3 {[%CAl Gg3g7]} b4 {[%csl Gb4,Gc4] Die verbundenen schwarzen Bauern sind stark.} 19. f3 b3 20. Bb1 (20. fxg4 bxc2 $17 {[%csl Ye4]}) 20... Bh5 21. Bd6 {[%csl Gd6][%CAl Gd6a3,Gd6f8] Weiss hat starke Kontrolle über die schwarzen Felder. Das ist durchaus typisch für die Ragozin-Variante.} (21. Qxg7 Rg8 22. Qh6 Bg6 $17) 21... Bg6 22. Bc5 (22. e4 Nh5 23. Qe5 Qxe5 24. Bxe5 (24. dxe5 Nf4 $17) 24... f6 $17) 22... Nd7 23. Ba3 Bxb1 24. Rxb1 Qxe3+ $17 {Schwarz hat einen weiteren Bauern gewonnen. Seine Bauernmasse ist stark (d5,c4,b3), aber sein König steht noch ein wenig unsicher.} 25. Kh1 O-O-O $8 26. Qxg7 {Weiss hat nur einen Bauern weniger, aber die weisse Kompensation ist fraglich.} Qe6 27. Qg5 (27. Rfe1 Qg6 $17 {Weiss kann den Damentausch nicht vermeiden.}) 27... Rde8 {[%CAl Ge8e1]} 28. Qd2 Kb7 {Schwarz verbessert seine Königsstellung.} 29. Rfe1 Qc6 {[%CAl Rc6a4]} 30. Rec1 {[%CAl Gc1c6,Gb1b7] Es droht eventuell 31.?xb3+.} (30. a5 Rxe1+ 31. Qxe1 (31. Rxe1 c3 $19 {[%csl Gb3,Gc3]}) 31... Qg6 $17) 30... Qxa4 {Schwarz hat zwei gesunde Mehrbauern. Weiss ist ohne Kompensation.} 31. Qf4 {[%CAl Rf4f7]} f6 32. Qd6 Nb6 (32... Qc6 33. Rxb3+ $1 Nb6 $15) 33. Bc5 Qc6 34. Qf4 {Weiss muss die Damen um jeden Preis auf dem Brett halten.} Re2 {[%csl Ge2]} 35. Bb4 {[%CAl Gb1b3,Gc1c6]} Rg8 36. g4 (36. Rxb3 Rgxg2 $19) 36... Qe6 $19 {Schwarz vermeidet die Motiven mit ?xb3.} 37. Re1 Rc8 {[%csl Gb3,Gc4][%CAl Gc4c3] Die schwarze Bauern sind kaum noch aufzuhalten.} 38. Rxe2 Qxe2 {[%csl Ge2]} 39. Re1 Qd3 {[%csl Gd3][%CAl Gc4c3,Gb3b2]} 40. Qxf6 {Die schwarzen Freibauern entscheiden den Kampf.} b2 (40... b2 41. Qf5 Qxf5 42. gxf5 c3 $19) 0-1 [Event "Presidents Cup "] [Site "Elista"] [Date "1998.05.12"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Khalifman, Alexander"] [Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2660"] [BlackElo "2615"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "1998.05.07"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "CBM 065"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1998.08.06"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1998.08.06"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 {5...dxc4 würde hier in die Wiener-Variante führen. Ribli.} h6 6. Bxf6 (6. Bh4 $6 dxc4) 6... Qxf6 7. e3 {Schwarz besitzt das Läuferpaar, aber das weiße Zentrum ist stark und die schwarze Dame steht nicht gut auf f6.} c5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Rc1 {Weiß verteidigt den Springer c3 und plant 10.dxc5, um den schwarzen Damenbauern zu isolieren.} c4 10. Nd2 Bxc3 (10... Be6 11. g3 O-O 12. Bg2 $14 Bxc3 13. bxc3 Nc6 14. O-O b5 15. e4 Qd8 16. Qh5 $36 {½-½ Cebalo,M-Piket,J/Munich 1989 (34)}) 11. bxc3 {Schwarz hat mit ...c5-c4 die Spannung im Zentrum aufgegeben und so verfügt Weiß mit e3-e4 (evtl. vorbereitet durch f2-f3) einen perspektivreichen Plan.} O-O 12. g3 (12. Be2) 12... Bf5 $5 {[%CAl Gd3b1,Gf5b1]} (12... Qd6 13. Bg2 f5 14. O-O Nc6 15. Rb1 Rb8 16. a4 b6 17. Qf3 Ne7 18. Qf4 Rd8 19. Qxd6 Rxd6 20. f3 Bd7 21. Rb2 Nc6 22. Ra2 Be6 23. Rb1 Rc8 24. Bf1 Kf8 25. Be2 Ke7 26. Bd1 Rdd8 27. Bc2 $14 {1-0 Cebalo,M-Dizdar,G/Bled op 1994 (42)}) (12... Nc6 13. Bg2 Be6 14. O-O $14) 13. Bg2 {[%csl Rd5][%CAl Rg2d5]} Rd8 14. O-O Bd3 {[%csl Rd3]} 15. Re1 $14 {Trotz des auf den ersten Blick stolzen Läufers auf d3 kann der Weiße mit e3-e4 sein Zentrum mobilisieren und sich so positionelles Übergewicht verschaffen.} Qa6 (15... Nc6 16. e4 dxe4 17. Nxe4 $14 {[%csl Rb7,Yc5,Gg2][%CAl Re4f6,Re4c5]}) 16. e4 $1 (16. a4 b5 17. axb5 Qxb5 18. e4 {[%csl Gg2][%CAl Gg2a8]}) 16... Nd7 (16... dxe4 17. Nxe4 {[%csl Ra6,Rd3][%CAl Re4c5]}) (16... Qxa2 17. exd5 $16 {[%csl Ra2,Gd5,Ge1,Gg2][%CAl Ge1e7]}) 17. e5 $5 {[%csl Gc3,Gd4,Rd5,Ge5,Gg2][%CAl Rg2d5]} (17. exd5 Nf6 {[%csl Rd5][%CAl Rf6d5]}) 17... Nf8 {Natürlich muß Schwarz den Bauern d5 verteidigen.} 18. a4 Qe6 $6 {Schwarz folgt einer passiven Verteidigungsidee und entwickelt dabei kein Gegenspiel.} (18... b5 19. Ra1 bxa4 20. Qxa4 Qxa4 21. Rxa4 $14 {[%csl Ra7]}) 19. Nf1 {[%CAl Gf1e3]} Re8 (19... Bxf1 $6 {Es ist nicht logisch, den Stolz der schwarzen Stellung zu tauschen.} 20. Rxf1 $16 {[%CAl Gf2f4,Gf4f5]}) 20. Ne3 {[%csl Ge3] Der weiße Springer steht ausgezeichnet auf e3. Er kontrolliert den Bauern d5 und unterstützt den Raumgewinn mittels g3-g4 / f2-f4-f5 am Königsflügel.} Rad8 21. f4 {[%csl Gd4,Ge3,Ge5,Re6,Gf4]} Ng6 (21... f5 $2 22. exf6 gxf6 (22... Qxf6 23. Nxd5 $16) 23. Nxd5 $16 {[%CAl Re1e6]}) 22. Bf1 $1 Be4 (22... Bxf1 23. f5 Qd7 24. Rxf1 $16 {Weiß hat großen Raumvorteil am Königsflügel.}) 23. Bg2 Bd3 (23... Bxg2 24. f5 Qd7 25. Kxg2 $16) 24. Qh5 {Natürlich gibt sich Weiß mit Stellungswiederholung nicht zufrieden.} Ne7 (24... f5 $2 25. exf6 Qxf6 (25... gxf6 26. f5 $18) 26. Nxd5 $16) 25. g4 $36 {[%csl Gd4,Ge3,Ge5,Re6,Gf4,Gg2,Gg4,Gh5] Der weiße Bauernsturm ist sehr gefährlich.} Qg6 (25... Bg6 26. Qh4 (26. f5 Bxh5 27. fxe6 Bg6 28. exf7+ Kxf7 $16) 26... f5 27. exf6 (27. h3 $14) 27... Qxf6 28. Qg3 $16 {[%csl Rd5,Ge3,Gf4,Rf6,Gg2,Gg3,Gg4]} (28. Qxf6 gxf6 29. f5 Bf7 (29... Bh7 30. Nxd5 Nxd5 31. Bxd5+ $18) 30. Kf2 $14 (30. Rb1 $14))) 26. Qh4 $5 $16 {[%csl Rg6][%CAl Rf4f5]} (26. Qxg6 fxg6 $14) 26... f5 27. exf6 Qxf6 (27... gxf6 28. f5 $16 Qg5 (28... Qg7 29. Nxd5 Nxd5 30. Bxd5+ $18) (28... Qf7 29. Qxh6 $16) 29. Qxg5+ hxg5 30. Nxd5 Nxd5 31. Bxd5+ $18) 28. Qxf6 gxf6 29. Nxd5 {[%csl Gd5]} Nxd5 30. Bxd5+ {[%CAl Rd5g8,Rd5b7] Einen Bauern hat der Weiße bereits gewonnen, jetzt fällt noch b7.} Kf8 (30... Rxd5 31. Rxe8+ $18) 31. Bxb7 {Mit zwei Mehrbauern besitzt Weiß gute Gewinnchancen, aber wegen des aktiven schwarzen Läufers auf d3 ist noch präzises Spiel notwendig.} Rb8 32. Bc6 Re2 (32... Rxe1+ 33. Rxe1 Rb3 34. d5 Rxc3 35. d6 $18 {[%csl Gc6,Gd6,Ge1][%CAl Rd6d7,Rd7d8] und der weiße d-Bauer entscheidet den Kampf.}) 33. Rxe2 Bxe2 {[%CAl Re2g4]} 34. h3 Ke7 35. Re1 {[%csl Ge1,Re2][%CAl Re1e7]} Kd6 36. Bb5 $5 (36. Rxe2 Kxc6 37. Re6+ Kd5 38. Rxf6 Ke4 $132 {[%csl Gb8,Ge4,Rg1]}) 36... a6 (36... Bd3 37. f5 $18 {[%CAl Re1e6,Re6d6,Re6h6]}) 37. Rxe2 axb5 38. axb5 Rxb5 {In Turmendspielen ist die Remisbreite gewöhnlich groß, aber Schwarz hat kein Gegenspiel und sein König ist vom Königsflügel abgeschnitten.} 39. Kf2 Rb3 40. Re3 {[%csl Ge3] Der weiße Turm verteidigt alles.} Rb2+ 41. Kf3 Kd5 (41... Rh2 42. Ke4 {[%CAl Re4f5]} Ke6 43. d5+ Kd6 44. Kd4 (44. Kf5 Kxd5 45. Kxf6 $18) 44... Rd2+ 45. Kxc4 Rxd5 46. Rd3 $18) 42. h4 Rh2 43. Kg3 (43. h5 $6) 43... Rh1 44. g5 $18 {Weiß bildet einen starken Freibauern. Die Partie ist entschieden.} hxg5 45. fxg5 fxg5 46. hxg5 {[%csl Rd5,Ge3,Gg3]} Rh8 47. Kg4 Rg8 48. Re5+ {Der g-Freibauer macht das Rennen, so daß Schwarz die Segel streichen mußte.} 1-0 [Event "Biel GM 51st"] [Site "Biel"] [Date "2018.07.22"] [Round "1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Navara, David"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2842"] [BlackElo "2741"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "127"] [EventDate "2018.07.22"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "SUI"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 186"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2018.09.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2018.09.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Bg5 Bb4+ 5. Nc3 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. dxc5 Nd7 (10... Bxc5 11. O-O Qe7 {looks like a simpler equaliser.}) 11. O-O (11. c6 {is not too dangerous:} bxc6 (11... Ne5 $6 12. Nxe5 Qxe5 13. Qb3 $1 (13. O-O bxc6 14. Qe2 Rd8 15. Rfd1 Bb7 16. Rxd8+ Rxd8 17. Rd1 Rxd1+ 18. Qxd1 Qc7 19. h3 Bxc3 20. bxc3 c5 $11 {1/2 (37) Giri,A (2790)-Carlsen,M (2863) Shamkir 2015}) 13... Ba5 $5 14. Qb5 (14. cxb7 $5 Rb8 15. Ba6 $1 {looks strong, too} ({but not} 15. bxc8=Q Rfxc8 {, and Black regains material}) {e.g.} 15... Bxb7 16. Bxb7 Qc7 17. O-O Rxb7 18. Qa3 $16) 14... Qxb5 15. Bxb5 bxc6 16. Bd3 Rb8 17. b3 c5 18. Ke2 Bb7 19. f3 $14 {1/2 (30) Abasov,N (2623)-Cheparinov,I (2712) Ankara 2018}) (11... Nb6 12. Bd3 (12. Qb3 $5) (12. Be2 $5) 12... bxc6 13. O-O Bxc3 14. Rxc3 Nd5 15. Rb3 a5 16. Qc1 a4 17. Ra3 Ba6 18. Bxa6 Rxa6 19. Nd4 $14 {1/2 (45) Ruck,R (2571)-Petkov,V (2564) Gabicce Mare 2013}) 12. O-O Ne5 (12... Nb6 13. Be2 Bb7 14. Qc2 c5 15. a3 Bxc3 16. Qxc3 Rac8 17. Qxf6 gxf6 18. Rfd1 Rc7 19. Nd2 Rd8 20. Nb1 Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Na4 22. b3 Nb6 23. Nc3 Bd5 24. Rb1 a5 25. e4 Bc6 26. f3 $14 {1/2 (84) Chuchelov,V (2553)-Dragun,K (2547) Germany 2013}) 13. Be2 Rb8 (13... Nxf3+ 14. Bxf3 Ba6 15. Re1 Rab8 16. Qa4 Rb6 17. Red1 Bxc3 18. bxc3 Rd8 19. Qa3 g6 20. h3 Kg7 21. Rd4 $14 {1/2-1/2 (54) Sasikiran,K (2658)-Sandipan,C (2478) Mumbai 2003}) 14. Qa4 Bxc3 15. bxc3 c5 $1 16. Qxa7 Bb7 17. Nxe5 Qxe5 18. Rfd1 Be4 19. Rd2 {1/2 (19) Gelfand,B (2735)-Matlakov,M (2682) Moscow 2016 CBM 171 [Besenthal,K]} Rfd8 $132) (11. Qc2 Nxc5 12. a3 Bxc3+ 13. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 14. Rxc3 Bd7 (14... b6 $5 $11) 15. Ne5 Rfc8 16. Nxd7 Nxd7 17. Ke2 Nb6 18. Rhc1 Kf8 19. f4 Ke7 20. h4 Nxc4 21. Rxc4 Rxc4 22. Rxc4 Kd7 $11 {1-0 (38) Salem,A (2591)-Berescu,A (2458) Abu Dhabi 2014}) 11... Nxc5 (11... Rd8 $5 12. Qc2 (12. Ne4 $5) 12... Bxc3 13. Qxc3 Qxc3 14. Rxc3 Nxc5 15. Be2 b6 16. Rfc1 {1/2 (29) Wang,Y (2737)-Yu,Y (2725) Shenzhen 2016} a5 $11) (11... Bxc3 $5 12. Rxc3 Nxc5 13. Be2 b6 14. Qd4 Qxd4 15. Nxd4 a5 16. Bf3 Ba6 17. Bxa8 Bxf1 $11 {1/2 (25) Krassowizkij,J (2439)-Ochsner,B (2462) Illertissen 2018}) 12. Nb5 {White tries to exploit the vulnerable position of Black's b4-bishop but it is not too painful for Black.} (12. a3 Bxc3 13. Rxc3 Rd8 14. Qe2 b6 $11 {0-1 (42) El Gindy,E (2486)-Ni,H (2666) Tromsoe 2014}) 12... a6 13. Nbd4 b5 (13... Ba5 $5 14. a3 Bb6 15. b4 Ne4 16. Qd3 Ng5 17. Nxg5 hxg5 18. Qe4 {1-0 (36) Salem,A (2638)-Peralta,F (2556) Sitges 2017} Bxd4 19. exd4 Rd8 20. Rfd1 Rb8 $11) 14. Be2 (14. a3 $5 bxc4 15. Rxc4 Bb7 (15... Bxa3 $6 16. bxa3 Ne4 17. Nc6 Bb7 18. Nfe5 $16 {1-0 (30) Jakovenko,D (2749)-Cheparinov,I (2712) Ankara TUR 2018}) 16. Rxb4 Bd5 $44) 14... e5 15. Nc2 $5 {[%mdl 512] An unexpected queen sacrifice.} (15. a3 exd4 16. axb4 Ne6 17. Nxd4 Rd8 18. Bf3 Rb8 $11) 15... Rd8 16. Nxb4 Rxd1 17. Rfxd1 $44 {White has a development advantage and controls central files; besides, there are weaknesses in Black's camp (e5-pawn, d5-square). Still, one can hardly believe that Black can lose this game.} a5 (17... Nd7 $5 18. Rc6 ({or} 18. Nd5 Qd8) 18... Qe7 {was quite possible but not easy to play.}) (17... e4 $5 18. Rxc5 exf3 19. Bxf3 Qe7 $1 {[%CAl Yc8b7]}) 18. Nd5 Qd6 19. Nxe5 (19. Nc3 Qe7 20. Nxb5 Bb7 {, and Black comfortably develops his pieces. If} 21. Nd6 {then} Ba6 $5) 19... Bb7 20. Bf3 Rc8 21. Ng4 Qf8 22. h4 Nd7 23. Rxc8 Bxc8 24. a3 h5 25. Nh2 g6 26. Be2 Ne5 {There was no need to give up a second pawn:} (26... b4 $5 $11) {However, Black wants to activate his pieces as soon as possible.} 27. Bxb5 Bb7 28. Nc3 Qe7 29. Rd4 Qe6 30. Nf1 Qb3 31. Rd2 Nc4 32. Rd7 Nxb2 33. Rxb7 Qxc3 34. Be8 Kf8 35. Bxf7 Qc6 36. Rxb2 Kxf7 {[%mdl 4096]} 37. Rd2 {[%CAl Yd2d4,Ya3a4]} Qa4 38. Rd3 Qxh4 {As a result of complications, Black has avoided material losses, and the game should end in a draw.} 39. Rd7+ Kg8 40. Rd4 Qe7 41. a4 Qa3 42. g3 Qa1 43. Kg2 g5 44. Nd2 g4 45. Ne4 Qc1 $2 {Black gives up a pawn once again.} (45... Kg7 $11) 46. Nf6+ Kf7 47. Nxh5 Qc6+ 48. Kg1 Qc1+ 49. Kh2 Kg6 50. Nf4+ Kf6 51. Ng2 Kg5 {It is very difficult to defend now, and Black quickly sinks.} (51... Qc8 $142) 52. Rf4 Qd1 53. Nh4 Qc2 $2 (53... Kh6 $1 54. Nf5+ Kh7 $1 {, and Black holds on.}) 54. Nf5 Qd3 55. e4 Qd7 56. e5 Qh7+ 57. Kg1 Qg6 58. Nd6 Qe6 $2 (58... Qb1+ $142 {but after} 59. Kh2 Qh7+ 60. Kg2 {White should gradually win.}) 59. Rf5+ Qxf5 60. Nxf5 Kxf5 {The pawn endgame is easily winning for White.} 61. f4 gxf3 62. Kf2 Kxe5 63. Kxf3 Kf5 64. Ke3 {White's g-pawn is below the crucial h3-c8 diagonal, and Black's king, after capturing it, can't get to c8.} 1-0 [Event "EU-Cup 35th"] [Site "Ulcinj"] [Date "2019.11.16"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Matlakov, Maxim"] [Black "Alekseev, Evgeny V"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2623"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2019.11.10"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "MNE"] [SourceTitle "CBM 193 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2020.01.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.01.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Mednyi Vsadnik"] [BlackTeam "Primorsky District"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 c5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Qc2 Qa5 9. Bd3 c4 10. Bf5 O-O 11. O-O Re8 12. Nd2 g6 13. Bxd7 Nxd7 14. f3 Nb6 15. e4 {This rich opening line fell out of favour when it was discovered that with sensible play Black's chances to hold the balance are quite reasonable. Despite a lot of experience, there still seems to be scope for investigation, and defender's task is not enviable.} Bxc3 (15... Bd7 16. h4 Bf8 17. Be3 Bg7 18. h5 Rad8 19. hxg6 hxg6 20. Rfe1 Be6 21. e5 Bf5 22. Qc1 f6 23. f4 $11 {½-½ (50) Ponomariov,R (2733)-Alekseev,E (2700) Astrakhan 2010}) (15... Bf8 16. exd5 Bg7 17. Nde4 Nxd5 18. Qd2 Nxc3 19. bxc3 Qd5 20. Rfe1 Bf5 21. Nf6+ Bxf6 22. Bxf6 Re6 23. Rxe6 Qxe6 24. Bh4 $14 {½-½ (29) Borovikov,V (2601)-Tukhaev,A (2518) Paleochora 2010}) 16. Qxc3 Qxc3 17. bxc3 Bd7 18. e5 $146 {[%mdl 4] Given the flow of the game, Matlakov probably looked at White's plan before the game and realized that despite Black's counterplay his chances are not negliglible.} (18. Rab1 Rab8 (18... Re6 19. e5 Na4 20. Rfc1 Rb6 21. Rxb6 axb6 22. Be7 Nb2 23. Rc2 Nd3 $11 {1-0 (44) Jakovenko,D (2732)-Peralta,F (2608) Mulhouse 2011}) (18... Bc6 19. e5 (19. Rb4 Kg7 20. Bf4 Re7 21. Bd6 Rd7 22. Bg3 {½-½ (22) Karavade,E (2297)-Vaibhav,S (2080) Nagpur 2008}) 19... Na4 20. Rfc1 b5 21. Nf1 a5 22. a3 Rab8 23. Ne3 Nb6 24. Ng4 Nd7 25. Bh6 $14 {1-0 (99) Kobalia,M (2637)-Kosintseva,T (2515) Moscow 2010}) 19. Kf2 f5 20. exd5 Nxd5 21. Nxc4 Nxc3 22. Rbe1 $11 {0-1 (36) Korobov,A (2671)-Wang,H (2733) Rogaska Slatina 2011}) 18... Na4 19. Rfc1 b5 20. Nf1 {Without the best located pieces, any dream of success is just empty air, the white knight belongs to e3.} (20. a3 Nb2 21. Nf1 Nd3 22. Rcb1 Reb8 23. Ne3 Be6 24. g4 $14) 20... a5 (20... Nb2 21. Ne3 Be6 22. g4 $14) 21. Ne3 Be6 22. Rab1 (22. a3 Nb2 23. Rab1 Nd3 24. Rf1 Reb8 25. f4 h5 26. f5 gxf5 27. Nxf5 b4 $11) 22... b4 $5 {For the strong players, counterplay is the best form of defence since it ties down enemy pieces that could otherwise try to do real damage elsewhere.} (22... Rab8 23. a3 $1 $16) 23. cxb4 axb4 24. Rxb4 Reb8 (24... h5 25. a3 Reb8 26. Nd1 $16) 25. Rxb8+ Rxb8 26. g4 (26. Nd1 Kg7 27. g4 $14) 26... Nb2 $2 {The biggest crimes in chess have two natures - tactical miscalculations and misplacement of pieces.The knight dreams about the d3 square, but this is not to be. The activation of Black's rook was much more unpleasant for White.} (26... h5 $1 27. h3 Rb2 28. Rc2 c3 29. a3 $14) 27. Rb1 c3 28. f4 f5 {In difficult situations, players are often trying to complicate matters even at the cost of material. Giving up the pawn will not save the defender from problems, but White will need to be more careful.} (28... Rb4 29. f5 Bd7 30. Rc1 Na4 31. Bf6 Bc6 32. e6 $1 $16) 29. exf6 Kf7 (29... Rb4 30. f5 gxf5 (30... Bd7 31. fxg6 hxg6 32. f7+ $1 Kxf7 33. Rf1+ Kg7 34. Nxd5 $16) 31. gxf5 Bf7 32. Rc1 Na4 33. Nc2 Rb2 34. Kf2 Rxa2 35. Kg3 $16) 30. Rc1 Rc8 (30... Na4 31. f5 Bd7 (31... gxf5 32. gxf5 Bc8 33. Ng4 $1 Bxf5 34. Ne5+ Ke6 35. f7 $18) 32. Bf4 Rc8 33. Nxd5 gxf5 34. g5 $16) 31. f5 $1 {Some players believe that anything active on the board is good. The stronger ones understand that timely and good activity has the hidden value of gold.} gxf5 32. gxf5 Bd7 33. Nxd5 h6 (33... Bxf5 34. Ne7 $1 Rf8 35. Nxf5 Kg6 36. Bh6 Rxf6 37. Ne7+ Kf7 38. Bg5 $18) (33... Rg8 34. h4 h6 35. Ne7 $18) 34. Bxh6 c2 (34... Bxf5 $2 35. Ne7 $18) 35. Ne3 Ba4 {Black avoids an endgame with opposite-coloured bishops, but with a 3 pawns handicap.} (35... Kxf6 36. Rxc2 Rxc2 37. Nxc2 Bxf5 38. Nb4 $16) 36. Ng4 Nd3 (36... Nc4 37. Bg5 Nd6 38. Ne5+ Kg8 39. Bd2 $18) 37. Ne5+ $1 {The c-pawn has been safely stopped, and all the other things speak for White.} (37. Ne5+ Nxe5 38. dxe5 Rc4 39. Re1 $18) 1-0 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 18th"] [Site "Caleta"] [Date "2020.01.30"] [Round "10"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2674"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "199"] [EventDate "2020.01.21"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "GGB"] [SourceTitle "CBM 194 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2020.03.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.03.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,199,32,28,34,-16,-10,-11,4,10,20,-2,2,4,2,2,14,10,48,9,3,-6,31,39,58,34,52,52,56,49,49,51,45,24,69,48,60,55,53,67,66,72,78,51,108,103,101,101,100,74,99,76,86,90,86,85,74,60,64,56,60,52,66,68,72,70,134,126,116,117,130,138,138,122,112,124,118,121,120,109,144,138,147,145,153,172,150,187,183,191,185,165,154,123,224,147,168,138,124,107,106,139,139,139,177,203,262,112,160,165,159,127,171,155,155,155,651,644,714,732,732,732,714,277,274,265,269,279,279,275,275,283,283,283,283,283,283,247,283,283,283,225,247,254,261,262,267,266,266,266,274,258,262,268,268,265,283,287,310,300,300,310,317,317,317,359,361,381,361,416,416,423,403,423,1012,403,509,541,1015,1016,1165,1002,1016,1016,1109,1144,1208,1277,1301,1408,2352,2691,2691,29982,29983,1703,29975,29986,29993,29994,29997,29998]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 O-O 7. e3 Bf5 8. Qb3 Bxc3+ 9. Qxc3 h6 {About this line - see CBM 182, annotations to Ding Liren - Aronian by GM Alex Yermolinsky.} 10. Bf4 $5 $146 {A new idea} (10. Bh4 {leads to a position arising from various move orders. Here is the important reference game, mentioned above:} g5 ({Black can play safer:} 10... Nbd7) 11. Bg3 Ne4 12. Qxc7 Nc6 $1 {is a key idea by Levon Aronian:} 13. Qxd8 (13. Bb5 $142 Rc8 14. Qxd8 Rfxd8 15. O-O h5 {- see present game}) 13... Rfxd8 14. Be2 Rac8 15. O-O h5 $1 16. h4 g4 17. Ne5 Nb4 {[%CAl Rb4c2,Rc2e3]} 18. Bf4 f6 19. Nd3 Nc3 $1 20. bxc3 {1/2 (20) Ding,L (2774)-Aronian,L (2801) Palma de Mallorca 2017 CBM 182 [Yermolinsky,A]} (20. bxc3 Nxd3 21. Bxd3 Bxd3 22. Rfc1 Rc4 $11)) 10... Ne4 {Black decides to reply in the same manner as after 10.Bh4 g5 11.Bg3; however, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave plays differently.} 11. Qxc7 Nc6 12. Bb5 $1 Rc8 13. Qxd8 Rfxd8 14. O-O g5 15. Bg3 h5 {This position could have happened in Ding-Aronian, too - see above.} 16. h3 Ne7 $6 {Too humble.} ({The active} 16... Nb4 {is a better option. After} 17. Bh2 (17. Rac1 $6 a6 18. Be2 Nxa2) (17. Rfc1 Nc2 18. Rab1 Nxg3 19. fxg3 g4 $132) 17... a6 18. Be2 Rc2 19. Rfe1 Rxb2 20. Rab1 Rxb1 21. Rxb1 a5 {[%CAl Re4c3] Black is not worse. It is unclear what White had prepared in that case.}) 17. Rfc1 Nxg3 18. fxg3 $16 {White's double pawns is an insufficient compensation for Black's material deficit although it requires a lot of work from White to convert his extra pawn.} g4 19. hxg4 hxg4 20. Nd2 Bc2 21. Nb1 $1 {[%CAl Yb1c3]} Bxb1 22. Raxb1 f5 {An attempt to keep the position closed but almost all Black's pawns are now on light squares, which is a good news for White's light-squared bishop.} 23. Bd3 Kf7 24. Rc3 $5 Ke6 25. Kf2 $6 ({The immediate} 25. Ra3 {was more accurate.}) 25... Rh8 $6 (25... Rxc3 26. bxc3 Rc8 27. Rc1 Rc6 {[%CAl Yc6b6] was a better way to create counterplay.}) 26. Ra3 $1 {White must create weaknesses in Black's camp.} Ra8 (26... a6 27. Rb3 b5 28. Ke2 $5 (28. a4 bxa4 29. Rb4 {is not enough due to} a5 30. Rxa4 Nc6) 28... Rh2 29. Rg1 {, then pushing a2-a4 at an appropriate moment.}) 27. Rc1 (27. Rb3 $5 b6 (27... Rab8 28. Rc1 Rhc8 29. Rh1) 28. a4) 27... Nc8 28. b4 Nd6 29. b5 Rhc8 30. Rc5 Rd8 $6 (30... Rxc5 31. dxc5 Nc4 {was possible, with good drawing chances, e.g.} 32. Rc3 (32. Bxc4 dxc4 {[%CAl Ye6d5]}) 32... Rc8 33. c6 bxc6 34. Bxc4 dxc4 35. Rxc4 Kd5 36. Rxc6 Rxc6 37. bxc6 Kxc6 {with a drawish pawn endgame.}) 31. Rac3 Rd7 32. a4 b6 $2 {This move, weakening the c6 square, worsens Black's position.} (32... Rh7 $142 33. a5 Rf8 {[%CAl Yd6e4] , and White can hardly break Black's defence. A possible continuation:} 34. a6 bxa6 35. bxa6 Ne4+ 36. Bxe4 fxe4+ 37. Ke2 Rb8 38. Rc2 Rh2 39. Kf2 Rh1 40. Rc6+ Kf5 41. Rd6 Rbb1 42. Rxd5+ Ke6 43. Re5+ Kd6 {[%CAl Rb1e1]} 44. Ke2 Rbd1 45. Rxe4 Rhe1+ {with a perpetual.}) 33. Rc6 Rdd8 34. Ke2 Rd7 {Black decides to wait but it doesn't help anymore.} 35. Rc1 Rh8 36. a5 {Probably premature.} (36. Rf1 $142 Rh5 37. Kd2 {bringing the king to b4 and then playing a4-a5.}) 36... bxa5 37. Ra6 Rh2 38. Kf2 Rhh7 39. Rcc6 {[%CAl Rd3f5]} Rhf7 $6 {Another passive move.} (39... Rh1 {was a better chance:} 40. Rxa5 (40. Bxf5+ Kxf5 41. Rxd6 Rxd6 42. Rxd6 Rb1 43. Rxd5+ Ke4 44. Re5+ Kd3 $132 {[%csl Ga5]}) 40... Rd1 41. Bc2 Rd2+ 42. Kg1 Rb7 43. Ra2 $1 Ke7 $1 {, continuing stubborn resistance.}) 40. Ke2 a4 41. Rxa4 Rb7 42. Raa6 Rfd7 43. Kd2 Ke7 44. Rc5 Ke6 45. Kc3 Rb8 (45... Rb6 46. Rxb6 axb6 47. Rc6) 46. Kb4 Rh8 {Too late.} 47. Rc1 (47. Bb1 $5 $18 {[%CAl Yb1a2]}) 47... Rh2 48. Rf1 (48. Kc5 $5 Rc7+ (48... Rxg2 49. Rh1 $18) 49. Rc6 Rxc6+ 50. bxc6 Rxg2 51. Rh1) 48... Ke7 49. Bxf5 Nxf5 50. Rxf5 Rxg2 51. Rg5 Rxg3 (51... Kf7 $5 52. Rag6 $5 Rb2+ 53. Ka4 Re7 54. Rg7+ Kf6 55. Rxe7 Kxg5 56. Ka5 Ra2+ 57. Kb4 Kf6 $1 (57... Rg2 58. Rxa7 Rxg3 59. b6 Rg1 60. Kc5 $18) 58. Rc7 Ke6 59. Rc6+ Kf5 60. Ra6 Rxa6 61. bxa6 Ke4 62. Kc5 Kf3 63. Kxd5 Kxg3 64. e4 Kf2 65. e5 g3 66. e6 g2 67. e7 g1=Q 68. e8=Q {with a winning queen endgame.}) 52. Rg7+ Ke8 53. Rxd7 Kxd7 {[%mdl 4096]} 54. Rxa7+ Ke6 (54... Kd6 55. Rg7 {[%CAl Rg7g6]} Rxe3 56. Rxg4 {[%CAl Rg4g6]} Re6 57. Ka5 $18) 55. b6 Rg1 56. b7 Rb1+ 57. Kc5 Rc1+ 58. Kb6 Rb1+ 59. Kc7 Rc1+ 60. Kd8 Rb1 61. Ra6+ (61. Kc8 Rc1+ 62. Kb8 {[%CAl Rb8a8] was much simpler.}) 61... Kf5 62. Kc7 g3 63. Rb6 {Under time pressure White fails to calculate} (63. b8=Q Rxb8 64. Kxb8 g2 (64... Ke4 65. Re6+ Kf3 66. Kc7 g2 67. Rg6 Kxe3 68. Rxg2 Kxd4 69. Kd6) 65. Ra1 Ke4 66. Kc7 Kxe3 67. Rd1 ({or} 67. Kd6 Kxd4 68. Re1 $1 {(the key move, cutting off Black's king)} Kc4 69. Ke5 $18) 67... Ke2 68. Rg1 $18) 63... Rxb6 64. Kxb6 g2 65. b8=Q g1=Q 66. Qe5+ Kg6 67. Kc6 {White wins the d5 pawn and the game, although it takes over 30 more moves.} Qa1 68. Qg3+ Kf5 69. Qf4+ Kg6 70. Kxd5 Qa8+ 71. Kc4 Qa4+ 72. Kc3 Qa1+ 73. Kd2 Qb2+ 74. Ke1 Qg2 75. Qf1 Qc2 76. Qf3 Kg7 77. Kf1 Qc1+ 78. Kg2 Qc2+ 79. Kg3 Qc7+ 80. Kh3 Qc3 81. d5 Qd3 82. Kg3 Kg6 83. Qg4+ Kh7 84. Qd7+ Kh8 85. Qe8+ Kg7 86. Qe7+ Kh8 87. Qe5+ Kh7 88. d6 Qg6+ 89. Kh4 Qb1 90. Qe7+ Kg6 91. Qe6+ Kh7 92. d7 Qe1+ 93. Kg5 Qg3+ 94. Kf6 Qh4+ 95. Kf7 Qh5+ 96. Kf8 Qa5 97. Qe7+ Kg6 98. d8=Q Qf5+ 99. Kg8 Qd5+ 100. Qxd5 1-0 [Event "Groningen Festival"] [Site "Groningen"] [Date "1998.12.30"] [Round "10"] [White "Piket, Jeroen"] [Black "Milov, Vadim"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2605"] [BlackElo "2640"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "1998.12.20"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "16"] [SourceTitle "CBM 069"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.04.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.04.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 {Milov,V} Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Nbd7 {Eine interessante Zugfolge. Schwarz entwickelt zuerst den Springer und kann später 5...?b4 oder 6...?b4 spielen. Er vermeidet so z.B.die Variante 4...?b4 5.?a4+. Ribli.} 5. cxd5 (5. Bf4 $5 Bb4 (5... dxc4 6. e4 (6. e3 Nd5 7. Bxc4 Nxf4 8. exf4 $14) 6... Nb6 7. Bxc4 Nxc4 8. Qa4+ $14) 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Bd2 N7f6 8. Qc2 $1 $14 (8. a3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Ba5 $11)) 5... exd5 6. Bg5 Bb4 {Mit Zugumstellung wir haben die Hauptvariante der Ragozin-Verteidigung erreicht.} 7. e3 c5 8. Bd3 Qa5 9. Qc2 c4 10. Bf5 {Dieser Plan wurde seinerzeit von Aljechin empfohlen. Weiß hat Übergewicht im Zentrum, Während Schwarz um die Kontrolle des Feldes e4 kämpfen muß.} O-O 11. O-O Re8 (11... Bxc3 12. bxc3 Re8 13. Rfb1 g6 14. Bxf6 Nxf6 15. Bxc8 Raxc8 16. Rxb7 Ne4 17. Rb4 Qa3 18. Ra4 Qxc3 19. Qxc3 Nxc3 20. Rxa7 Ra8 21. Rxa8 Rxa8 22. a3 Nb5 23. a4 Ra5 $13 {1-0 Mirnic,M-Golubovic,B/Pula 1993/EXT 99 (37)}) 12. Rfb1 $146 {?Es ist klar, daß Schwarz früher oder später ...?xc3 spielen muß und in diesem Fall wird der Turm auf b1 aktiv. Anderseits hat Weiß aber zu viele Figuren am Damenflügel, denn strategisch muß er mit späterem e3-e4 im Zentrum spielen.} g6 13. Bxd7 (13. Bh3 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Ne4 $132 {[%csl Ge4]}) 13... Nxd7 14. a3 Bxc3 (14... Bf8 15. e4 $14) 15. bxc3 {[%CAl Gb1b7]} (15. Qxc3 Qxc3 16. bxc3 b6 $11) 15... Qa6 $11 {[%CAl Ga6e6,Gd7f6,Gf6e4] '!' Milov,V. Schwarz bereitet das traditionelle Springermanöver ...?d7-f6-e4 vor. Der andere Plan mit 15...?b6 ist auch interessant.} (15... Nb6 $5 {[%CAl Gb6a4,Rc8f5,Rf5b1]} 16. Rb4 Bf5 17. Qd2 $11 (17. Qb2 Na4 (17... Re6))) 16. a4 {[%CAl Gb1b5] Weiß verhindert den Blockade des Damenflügels und entfaltet etwas Aktivität in der b-Linie.} Nf6 {[%csl Ye4][%CAl Gf6e4,Rc8f5,Rf5b1] '=' Milov,V.} (16... Nb6 $6 17. a5 $16) 17. Rb4 (17. Rb5 {Milov,V} Bd7) 17... Ne4 (17... Bf5 18. Qb2 {[%csl Rb7][%CAl Rb2b7]}) 18. Bf4 Qf6 {Schwarz möchte die Entwicklung des Damenflügels beenden, aber nach sofortigem 18...b6 stände die Dame auf a6 schlecht.} (18... Bf5 $6 19. Nh4 (19. Qb2) 19... Be6 20. f3 $36) 19. Be5 (19. Rb5 $5 {Milov,V} g5 20. Be5 Qf5 (20... Qc6 21. Nd2) 21. h3 f6 22. Bh2 b6 $11) 19... Qc6 {[%csl Ge4] Wir haben eine typische "Ragozin-Stellung". Weiß kontrolliert die schwarzen und Schwarz die weißen Felder.} 20. a5 {'?!' Milov,V.} (20. Nd2 $11 {Milov,V}) 20... f6 {'?' Milov,V.} 21. Bg3 (21. Bf4 {Milov,V} g5) 21... b5 $1 22. axb6 (22. Nd2 Nxg3 (22... Bf5) 23. hxg3 Bf5 24. Qd1 a6 $15) 22... axb6 23. Rxa8 (23. Rab1 $2 Nxg3 24. Rxb6 Qc7 25. hxg3 Bf5 $17 {[%CAl Rf5b1]}) 23... Qxa8 24. Qb2 {[%csl Rb6] '?!' Milov,V.} (24. Rxb6 Qa1+ $132 {[%CAl Ra1g1,Ra1c3]} (24... Qa1+ {Milov,V} 25. Rb1 Qa3 $1 $15 (25... Qxc3 26. Qa4 $13) 26. Rc1 $140 Bf5)) 24... b5 {'?!' Milov,V.} 25. Ne1 (25. Rxb5 Qa4 {[%CAl Ra4d1,Gd1g1]} 26. h3 Nxc3 $15) 25... Bd7 {Schwarz hat seinen b-Bauern verteidigt und der e4-Springer, sowie die aktive Dame in der a-Linie bieten ihm mindestens gleiche Chancen.} 26. Nc2 Qa6 $15 {[%CAl Ge8a8,Ga8a2]} (26... h5 {Milov,V} 27. f3 (27. Na3 Qa6 28. Nxb5 Ra8 29. h3 Qa1+ $17) 27... Nxg3 28. hxg3 Qb8 29. Kf2 h4 30. gxh4 Qh2 31. h5 Qxh5 32. Qc1 $13) 27. f3 Nd2 (27... Nxg3 28. hxg3 Bf5 $5 $15 (28... Bf5 {Milov,V} 29. Na3 Rxe3 30. Rxb5 Qd6 $15)) 28. Be1 Nb3 {[%csl Gb3]} 29. Rxb3 $5 {Weiß opfert die Qualität und bekommt einen guten Springervorposten auf b4.} cxb3 30. Qxb3 Qc6 {'?' Milov,V.} (30... Qe6) (30... Be6 {Milov,V} 31. Qb2 Qa4 $17) 31. Nb4 {[%csl Gb4,Rd5]} Qc4 32. Qxc4 dxc4 33. e4 $44 {[%csl Gb4,Gd4,Ge1,Ge4] '?' Milov,V. Die weißen Zentrumsbauern sind stark und es ist nicht leicht für Schwarz, voranzukommen.} Ra8 {[%CAl Ga8a1,Ga1g1]} 34. g4 {Weiß gewinnt Raum am Königsflügel und aktiviert seine Bauern.} Ra1 {[%csl Ga1] Der schwarze Turm steht wirklich aktiv, kann aber allein nichts erreichen.} 35. Kf2 Kf7 36. Ke2 {[%CAl Ge1g3,Gg3b8] Der Läufer strebt nach g3 und der König kann die einzige weiße Schwäche, den Bauern c3, verteidigen.} h5 (36... g5 $5 {(Milov,V) Piket}) 37. gxh5 gxh5 38. d5 Rb1 (38... Bh3 {Milov,V} 39. Bg3) 39. Bg3 Bh3 40. f4 {[%csl Gd5,Ge4,Gf4] Die weiße Bauernmasse wirkt gefäehrlich.} Bg4+ (40... Bg2 41. e5) 41. Ke3 Rf1 {[%csl Gf1][%CAl Gf1f3,Gf3e3]} 42. e5 Rf3+ 43. Kd4 h4 $5 {Mit diesem Zug gewinnt Schwarz einen Bauern und bringt die weißen Bauern zum Stillstand.} 44. Bxh4 (44. e6+ {Milov,V} Ke7 (44... Bxe6 45. dxe6+ Kxe6 46. Ke4 Rxc3 47. f5+ Kf7 48. Bxh4 $11) 45. Bxh4 Rxf4+ 46. Ke3 Rf3+ 47. Ke4 Rxc3 48. Nc6+ Kd6 49. Bxf6 Bf3+ 50. Kf4 Rd3 51. Ne5 Rxd5 52. Nxf3 Kxe6 53. Ke4 $11) 44... Rxf4+ 45. Kc5 fxe5 {Jetzt hat Schwarz eine klare Mehrqualität, aber das aktive weiße Figurenspiel reicht zum Ausgleich aus.} 46. Bg3 (46. Nc6 $11 {Milov,V}) 46... Rf5 (46... Re4 47. Nc6 $11) 47. Nc6 {[%csl Re5][%CAl Rc6e5,Re5f7,Re5g4]} Kf6 (47... e4 48. Ne5+ {[%CAl Re5f7,Re5g4]} Rxe5 49. Bxe5 $11) 48. Kxb5 e4 (48... Be2 {Milov,V}) 49. Kxc4 e3 50. Nd4 {[%CAl Rd4f5]} (50. Bh4+ Kf7 (50... Kg7) 51. Kd4 $11 {[%csl Re3][%CAl Rc6e5,Re5f7,Re5g4]}) 50... Rf1 51. Kd3 e2 {Schwarz hat nichts besseres. Er muß seinen letzten Bauern geben und die Stellung vereinfachen.} 52. Nxe2 {Und in gleicher Stellung wurde hier Remis vereinbart.} (52. Nxe2 Rd1+ 53. Ke3 Rxd5 $11 (53... Bxe2 54. Kxe2 Rxd5 $11 {[%mdl 40]})) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Palma de Mallorca FIDE GP"] [Site "Palma de Mallorca"] [Date "2017.11.19"] [Round "5"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2774"] [BlackElo "2801"] [Annotator "Yermolinsky,Alex "] [PlyCount "39"] [EventDate "2017.11.16"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "CBM 182"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2018.01.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2018.01.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 {This opening, commonly referred to as the Ragozin, has gained massively in popularity in recent years. Black combines various ideas of the Nimzo-Indian with the solid structure of the Queen's Gambit Declined. I learned the Ragozin first from my own experiences on the white side of it after being unable to make any headway against Gregory Serper in our battles in the late 1990's. Then I figured, if you can't beat them, join them, and started playing the Ragozin myself! I don't have many wins to show for it, but I did make a lot of draws against quality opposition, such as Onischuk, Epishin and Gulko. Of course, it all happened a long time ago, and now there are new ideas for Black.} 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 O-O (6... h6 {is what Serper and I always played.}) 7. e3 (7. Qc2 {transposes to a Nimzo-Indian 4.?c2. One example is So-Carlsen, Grand Chess Tour Blitz, Paris, 2017:} h6 8. Bh4 c5 9. dxc5 Nbd7 10. e3 Qa5 11. Bd3 Ne4 12. O-O Bxc3 13. bxc3 Ndxc5 14. Nd4 Nxd3 15. Qxd3 {Magnus wisely continued with} Re8 ({rejecting the pawn offer,} 15... Qxc3 16. Qxc3 Nxc3 17. Rfc1 Ne4 18. f3 Nd2 19. Rc7 {where White would have had a lot of compensation, and possibly more.}) 16. Rfc1 Bd7 17. c4 dxc4 18. Rxc4 Qd5 {and equalised comfortably.}) 7... Bf5 $5 {It's a different ballgame here, as Black has just developed his light-squared bishop on a great diagonal, an opportunity usually denied to him by White.} ({There were a lot of games by Carlsen some ten years ago when the young Magnus played} 7... c5 {As we know now, White's best reply is} 8. dxc5 $1 (8. Bd3 c4 9. Bc2 Nbd7 {is another transposition to a theoretical line, where Black's delaying of ?bd7 allowed him to avoid the more dangerous lines with the white bishop on f5.}) 8... Nbd7 9. Rc1 Qa5 10. a3 $1 Bxc3+ 11. Rxc3 Ne4 12. b4 Nxc3 13. Qa1 {A great invention by Topalov, used for the first time against Carlsen in their 2007 game in Wijk aan Zee. Since then many games have followed that trend, including a fairly recent Aronian(!)-Nakamura, GCT Rapid, Leuven 2016. Obviously, all top players are very familiar with that line.}) ({In the meantime,} 7... c6 $6 {is not so good. What we have here is a standard Exchange Variation pawn structure from the QGD with the black bishop clearly misplaced on b4.}) 8. Qb3 {appears to be the only attempt to bother Black.} (8. Be2 Nbd7 9. O-O c6 10. Qb3 Qb6 11. Na4 Qa5 $11) 8... Bxc3+ 9. Qxc3 h6 {This is Levon's preferred move order, while some people try to throw in ...h6 some moves earlier.} 10. Bh4 {Ding's novelty, but it just transposes to a known position.} ({Nakamura-Aronian, Norway Chess 2017 went} 10. Bxf6 Qxf6 {and here Hikaru thought better of capturing the pawn} 11. Qxc7 {What's the deal here? Black will likely continue with} ({instead, he chose the rather meek} 11. Bd3 {and was forced to defend a slightly worse position until finally reaching a draw on move 60.}) 11... Nc6 12. Be2 Rfc8 13. Qf4 Nb4 14. O-O Rc2 {This is the moment when White should take a close look at} 15. Nh4 $5 {Further practical tests are in order.}) 10... g5 $5 {This is a true innovation by Levon Aronian.} (10... Nbd7 11. Nd2 Rc8 12. Be2 c5 13. O-O Qb6 {Karjakin-Harikrishna, 2017}) 11. Bg3 Ne4 {Once again, the c7-pawn is on the sacrificial altar.} 12. Qxc7 Nc6 $1 13. Qxd8 Rfxd8 14. Be2 Rac8 15. O-O h5 $1 {Nothing works for Black without this key move. Another excellent piece of opening preparation by Levon. What's amazing is that he isn't holding the novelties back until the Candidates. Generosity worthy of a king.} ({The immediate} 15... Nb4 {leads Black nowhere after} 16. a3) 16. h4 g4 17. Ne5 (17. Ng5 $2 Nxg3 18. fxg3 Bg6 {would leave the white knight in great danger.}) 17... Nb4 18. Bf4 ({The secret would be revealed after} 18. a3 Nc2 19. Rac1 Nxe3 $1) 18... f6 19. Nd3 {There is nowhere else to go with that knight.} Nc3 20. bxc3 {A draw was agreed here,} ({in view of} 20. bxc3 Nxd3 21. Bg3 Rxc3) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Biel Credit Suisse"] [Site "Biel"] [Date "1997.07.27"] [Round "6"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Milov, Vadim"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2695"] [BlackElo "2635"] [Annotator "Milov,Vadim"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "1997.07.20"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "SUI"] [EventCategory "17"] [SourceTitle "CBM 060"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1997.09.29"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1997.09.29"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 Rd8 (8... dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. exd4 Nc6 12. Ne4 Qf4 (12... Qd8 13. a3 Ba5 14. Qd3 Bb6 15. Rfd1 Qe7 16. Bb5 $14 {Topalov-J.Polgar,Madrid,1997}) 13. Qe2 $14 {Gelfand-Benjamin,Horgen,1994}) 9. a3 Bxc3+ 10. Rxc3 dxc4 11. Rxc4 c6 12. Bd3 Nd7 13. O-O $14 (13. Ne5 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Qe7 {and Black is not worse}) 13... Re8 (13... e5 $4 14. dxe5 {and after all recaptures White plays Bh7 winning the Rook on d8.}) 14. Bb1 e5 15. dxe5 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 (16. Rf4 Nxf3+ 17. Qxf3 Qe7 18. Ba2 Be6 $10) 16... Rxe5 17. Rf4 Qe7 18. Rd4 Be6 19. e4 (19. Qd3 $5 g6 20. f4 Rb5 $1 (20... Rd5 21. e4 Rxd4 22. Qxd4 Qd8 23. Qc3) 21. Qd2 (21. b4 a5 22. e4 axb4 23. f5 gxf5 24. exf5 Bxf5 $1 $10) 21... c5 22. Rd6 (22. Re4 Rd8 23. Qc3 Qd6 24. Qf6 Rb6 $10) 22... Rb6 23. Rxb6 axb6 24. e4 (24. Rd1 Bg4) 24... Rd8 $10) 19... g5 $1 {Now f2-f4 is no longer dangerous and Black gets a perfectly good game. The weakness of the King is not that important because Black is strong on the dark squares.} 20. Qd2 Qf6 $6 {I shouldn't have allowed White to pin my Queen.} (20... a5 $5 {was a better try}) 21. Rd6 a5 22. Qc3 Kg7 23. Re1 a4 (23... g4 $5 24. Ba2 Re8) 24. Ba2 Re8 25. f3 h5 26. Re2 Kg8 27. Qd4 g4 28. fxg4 hxg4 29. Bxe6 R8xe6 30. Rxe6 Rxe6 31. e5 (31. Qxa4 Qe5 {and Black has compensation that must be enough for a draw.}) 31... Qg5 32. Re4 Rg6 33. Rf4 g3 34. h3 Qe7 35. Rg4 Qe6 36. Qd8+ Kg7 37. Rh4 Rh6 38. Rg4+ Rg6 39. Rh4 Rh6 40. Rg4+ Rg6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Prague Masters 1st"] [Site "Prague"] [Date "2019.03.15"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Navara, David"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [BlackElo "2711"] [Annotator "Vidit,Santosh Gujrathi"] [PlyCount "114"] [EventDate "2019.03.06"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "CZE"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 189"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2019.04.29"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.04.29"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,114,28,34,29,-9,4,-15,-2,4,33,1,10,10,10,-33,-24,-26,-19,-16,-1,-36,-34,-30,-23,-5,0,-6,4,-13,7,-20,-20,-9,0,16,17,11,10,-5,-10,3,7,-14,-14,2,4,-30,-30,-103,-110,-117,-116,-118,-118,-113,-116,-116,-118,-111,-118,-119,-118,-134,-122,-123,-118,-123,-121,-118,-118,-123,-129,-140,-134,-129,-124,-119,-119,-120,-119,-115,-119,-119,-123,-119,-121,-121,-121,-121,-121,-121,-108,-113,-111,-111,-98,-121,-121,-114,-121,-121,-121,-214,-206,-240,-231,-224,-239,-238,-214,-213,-207,-203,-204,-204,-203]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qb3 {I wasn't expecting this variation. This line was supposed to be quite easy for Black, so I was intrigued to see what idea David had in mind.} c5 6. dxc5 Na6 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Qxc3 Nxc5 9. cxd5 Qxd5 10. Be3 Nce4 11. Qb4 $5 {This was played only once before. I was out of the book and decided to play the most natural moves.} a5 (11... Bd7 12. Rd1 a5 13. Qb6 Qa2 {is the engine's first line. Don't ask me why!}) 12. Qd4 O-O 13. Ne5 {White's main trump is the pair of bishops. Although he lacks a bit in development, if he manages to get f3-e4, kicking my knights, he would stand better.} a4 14. Nd3 ({In the previous game Black surprisingly blundered with} 14. f3 $4 Qa5+ 15. Qb4 Qxe5 16. fxe4 Bd7 $19 {0-1 (25) Moranda,W (2599)-Tregubov,P (2592) Germany 2018}) 14... Rd8 {I saw this move instantly, but I was looking to find something more forcing.} ({I was attracted to the sophisticated idea of} 14... Qa5+ $5 15. Qb4 Qf5 {The point is that now f3 is met with Nd5. But sadly I couldn't find anything after} 16. Bc1 $1 {It looks ridiculous to bring one of the only developed pieces back to its initial position. But now that the threat of Nd5 isn't there, there isn't an easy way to stop f3-e4.} (16. f3 Nd5 $1)) 15. Qxd5 {Until now David had been blitzing, but surprisingly he took half an hour to play this move.} (15. Qb4 {was the only other alternative. It didn't work due to some beautiful lines.} Qf5 {threatening Nd5} 16. f3 (16. g4 $5 Nxg4 17. Bb6 Rxd3 $1 18. exd3 Nef6 $1 {Black has fantastic compensation for the exchange.} (18... Nexf2 $6 19. Rg1 Qe5+ 20. Kd2 Qg5+ 21. Kc2 {and the king runs})) 16... Nd5 17. Qd4 e5 $1 18. Nxe5 Ng5 19. g4 Qf6 $132) 15... Nxd5 16. Bc1 b5 {I wanted to have a firm grip on c4 as my knights will eventually end up there.} (16... Bd7 $1 17. f3 Nd6 18. e4 Nb6 {followed by Bb5 seems to solve all the problems.}) 17. f3 Nd6 18. e4 Nb6 19. Bd2 $6 {A surprising move as it allows the exchange of the light squared bishop.} (19. Bf4 $5 Nbc4 20. Be2 f6 21. Bxd6 Nxd6 22. Nb4 {White has a very pleasant endgame, although it's quite close to equal.}) 19... Ndc4 20. Bc3 Ne3 21. Ke2 (21. Nb4 Nxf1 22. Rxf1 $11 {is probably a less clumsier way of exchanging.}) 21... Nbc4 22. Ne5 Ba6 (22... Nxf1 {Initially I wanted to simply a force a draw with} 23. Nxc4 bxc4 24. Rhxf1 Rd3 {but then later I realized that I can try to pose some more problems. Although it's still completely equal, of course.}) 23. Nxc4 Nxc4 24. Rc1 $4 {David hallucinated. He told me after the game that he simply missed the idea of Nd2.} (24. Kf2 Nxb2 {Black wins a pawn, but still the endgame should be completely equal, as the bishop on a6 is nothing more than a pawn.} 25. Be2 Nd3+ 26. Ke3 Rdc8 27. Bd4 Nc5 28. Bxc5 Rxc5 29. Rhc1 Rac8 30. Rxc5 Rxc5 31. Rd1) 24... b4 25. Bxb4 Nd2+ 26. Ke3 Nxf1+ 27. Rhxf1 Bxf1 28. Rxf1 Rac8 $17 {The endgame should be completely winning for Black, but there are still some technical difficulties as it's not easy for Black to find an entry into White's camp.} 29. Bc3 f6 30. h3 {Another strange move, unnecceasarily weakening the g3 square.} Kf7 31. Rg1 Rd7 {I decided to shuffle around till move 40 before taking any concrete measures.} 32. Ke2 Kg6 33. Ke3 Kg5 34. Rc1 {Cheeky.} Kg6 {I didn't want to take any big committal decisions before move 40. I decided to simply improve my position to the maximum.} 35. Kf2 h5 36. Kg3 Rd3 (36... Rcd8 {is slightly careless as it would free the rook on c1.} 37. Bb4) 37. Kf2 h4 38. Ke2 Rd7 39. Ke3 Kh5 40. Rf1 Rcd8 {There are two main plans in this position: 1) To push the king back to e2 and try to enter with the king via g5-f4-g3. 2) To block the kingside and manoeuvre the king all the way to b3. The 1st plan was shorter and more tempting. The lazy person that I am, I decided to go for the shorter route.} 41. Ke2 Rb8 (41... Kg5 {is the natural follow up but I couldn't see how to procede after} 42. Rc1 Kf4 43. Be1 {Preventing Kg3.} Rb7 44. Rc2 Rdb8 {Initially, I thought this was winning for Black as it seems that the bishop has to prevent both Kg3 and support the b2 pawn.} {But then I spotted the idea of} 45. Kf2 (45. b4 $3 {The computer spots the brilliant idea of mating the black king!} axb3 46. Rc5 $1 {The idea of g3 hxg3/Bd2# is impossible to parry.} Rd7 47. Bxh4 $18 {1-0 Bruzon Batista,L (2659)-Vidit,S (2651) FIDE World Cup 2015 (1.3) Ironically, once I had trapped my king exactly this way in the World Cup.}) 45... Rxb2 46. Bd2+ Ke5 47. Bc3+) 42. Rc1 Rb3 43. Rf1 Kg5 44. Ke3 Rb6 45. Rc1 Rbd6 46. Ke2 Rd3 47. Be1 Rb3 48. Rc2 e5 {As I couldn't make any progress on the kingside, I decided to opt for the second plan of transferring the king to the queenside.} 49. Bc3 Kg6 50. Ke3 $6 {Allowing the rook to the 1st rank can't be right. He probably got tired of defending and started making mistakes.} Rd1 $19 51. f4 $2 {Whoever said mistakes come in pairs was a wise man.} Re1+ 52. Kd2 Rxe4 53. fxe5 fxe5 54. Kd3 Rd4+ 55. Ke3 Kf5 56. Rf2+ Rf4 57. Rd2 Rc4 {It's funny how the last round makes or breaks your tournament. With a win, I managed to finish second making an average event into a good one.} 0-1 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 18th"] [Site "Caleta"] [Date "2020.01.30"] [Round "10"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2674"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "199"] [EventDate "2020.01.21"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "GGB"] [SourceTitle "CBM 194 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2020.03.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.03.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,199,32,28,34,-16,-10,-11,4,10,20,-2,2,4,2,2,14,10,48,9,3,-6,31,39,58,34,52,52,56,49,49,51,45,24,69,48,60,55,53,67,66,72,78,51,108,103,101,101,100,74,99,76,86,90,86,85,74,60,64,56,60,52,66,68,72,70,134,126,116,117,130,138,138,122,112,124,118,121,120,109,144,138,147,145,153,172,150,187,183,191,185,165,154,123,224,147,168,138,124,107,106,139,139,139,177,203,262,112,160,165,159,127,171,155,155,155,651,644,714,732,732,732,714,277,274,265,269,279,279,275,275,283,283,283,283,283,283,247,283,283,283,225,247,254,261,262,267,266,266,266,274,258,262,268,268,265,283,287,310,300,300,310,317,317,317,359,361,381,361,416,416,423,403,423,1012,403,509,541,1015,1016,1165,1002,1016,1016,1109,1144,1208,1277,1301,1408,2352,2691,2691,29982,29983,1703,29975,29986,29993,29994,29997,29998]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 O-O 7. e3 Bf5 8. Qb3 Bxc3+ 9. Qxc3 h6 {About this line - see CBM 182, annotations to Ding Liren - Aronian by GM Alex Yermolinsky.} 10. Bf4 $5 $146 {A new idea} (10. Bh4 {leads to a position arising from various move orders. Here is the important reference game, mentioned above:} g5 ({Black can play safer:} 10... Nbd7) 11. Bg3 Ne4 12. Qxc7 Nc6 $1 {is a key idea by Levon Aronian:} 13. Qxd8 (13. Bb5 $142 Rc8 14. Qxd8 Rfxd8 15. O-O h5 {- see present game}) 13... Rfxd8 14. Be2 Rac8 15. O-O h5 $1 16. h4 g4 17. Ne5 Nb4 {[%CAl Rb4c2,Rc2e3]} 18. Bf4 f6 19. Nd3 Nc3 $1 20. bxc3 {1/2 (20) Ding,L (2774)-Aronian,L (2801) Palma de Mallorca 2017 CBM 182 [Yermolinsky,A]} (20. bxc3 Nxd3 21. Bxd3 Bxd3 22. Rfc1 Rc4 $11)) 10... Ne4 {Black decides to reply in the same manner as after 10.Bh4 g5 11.Bg3; however, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave plays differently.} 11. Qxc7 Nc6 12. Bb5 $1 Rc8 13. Qxd8 Rfxd8 14. O-O g5 15. Bg3 h5 {This position could have happened in Ding-Aronian, too - see above.} 16. h3 Ne7 $6 {Too humble.} ({The active} 16... Nb4 {is a better option. After} 17. Bh2 (17. Rac1 $6 a6 18. Be2 Nxa2) (17. Rfc1 Nc2 18. Rab1 Nxg3 19. fxg3 g4 $132) 17... a6 18. Be2 Rc2 19. Rfe1 Rxb2 20. Rab1 Rxb1 21. Rxb1 a5 {[%CAl Re4c3] Black is not worse. It is unclear what White had prepared in that case.}) 17. Rfc1 Nxg3 18. fxg3 $16 {White's double pawns is an insufficient compensation for Black's material deficit although it requires a lot of work from White to convert his extra pawn.} g4 19. hxg4 hxg4 20. Nd2 Bc2 21. Nb1 $1 {[%CAl Yb1c3]} Bxb1 22. Raxb1 f5 {An attempt to keep the position closed but almost all Black's pawns are now on light squares, which is a good news for White's light-squared bishop.} 23. Bd3 Kf7 24. Rc3 $5 Ke6 25. Kf2 $6 ({The immediate} 25. Ra3 {was more accurate.}) 25... Rh8 $6 (25... Rxc3 26. bxc3 Rc8 27. Rc1 Rc6 {[%CAl Yc6b6] was a better way to create counterplay.}) 26. Ra3 $1 {White must create weaknesses in Black's camp.} Ra8 (26... a6 27. Rb3 b5 28. Ke2 $5 (28. a4 bxa4 29. Rb4 {is not enough due to} a5 30. Rxa4 Nc6) 28... Rh2 29. Rg1 {, then pushing a2-a4 at an appropriate moment.}) 27. Rc1 (27. Rb3 $5 b6 (27... Rab8 28. Rc1 Rhc8 29. Rh1) 28. a4) 27... Nc8 28. b4 Nd6 29. b5 Rhc8 30. Rc5 Rd8 $6 (30... Rxc5 31. dxc5 Nc4 {was possible, with good drawing chances, e.g.} 32. Rc3 (32. Bxc4 dxc4 {[%CAl Ye6d5]}) 32... Rc8 33. c6 bxc6 34. Bxc4 dxc4 35. Rxc4 Kd5 36. Rxc6 Rxc6 37. bxc6 Kxc6 {with a drawish pawn endgame.}) 31. Rac3 Rd7 32. a4 b6 $2 {This move, weakening the c6 square, worsens Black's position.} (32... Rh7 $142 33. a5 Rf8 {[%CAl Yd6e4] , and White can hardly break Black's defence. A possible continuation:} 34. a6 bxa6 35. bxa6 Ne4+ 36. Bxe4 fxe4+ 37. Ke2 Rb8 38. Rc2 Rh2 39. Kf2 Rh1 40. Rc6+ Kf5 41. Rd6 Rbb1 42. Rxd5+ Ke6 43. Re5+ Kd6 {[%CAl Rb1e1]} 44. Ke2 Rbd1 45. Rxe4 Rhe1+ {with a perpetual.}) 33. Rc6 Rdd8 34. Ke2 Rd7 {Black decides to wait but it doesn't help anymore.} 35. Rc1 Rh8 36. a5 {Probably premature.} (36. Rf1 $142 Rh5 37. Kd2 {bringing the king to b4 and then playing a4-a5.}) 36... bxa5 37. Ra6 Rh2 38. Kf2 Rhh7 39. Rcc6 {[%CAl Rd3f5]} Rhf7 $6 {Another passive move.} (39... Rh1 {was a better chance:} 40. Rxa5 (40. Bxf5+ Kxf5 41. Rxd6 Rxd6 42. Rxd6 Rb1 43. Rxd5+ Ke4 44. Re5+ Kd3 $132 {[%csl Ga5]}) 40... Rd1 41. Bc2 Rd2+ 42. Kg1 Rb7 43. Ra2 $1 Ke7 $1 {, continuing stubborn resistance.}) 40. Ke2 a4 41. Rxa4 Rb7 42. Raa6 Rfd7 43. Kd2 Ke7 44. Rc5 Ke6 45. Kc3 Rb8 (45... Rb6 46. Rxb6 axb6 47. Rc6) 46. Kb4 Rh8 {Too late.} 47. Rc1 (47. Bb1 $5 $18 {[%CAl Yb1a2]}) 47... Rh2 48. Rf1 (48. Kc5 $5 Rc7+ (48... Rxg2 49. Rh1 $18) 49. Rc6 Rxc6+ 50. bxc6 Rxg2 51. Rh1) 48... Ke7 49. Bxf5 Nxf5 50. Rxf5 Rxg2 51. Rg5 Rxg3 (51... Kf7 $5 52. Rag6 $5 Rb2+ 53. Ka4 Re7 54. Rg7+ Kf6 55. Rxe7 Kxg5 56. Ka5 Ra2+ 57. Kb4 Kf6 $1 (57... Rg2 58. Rxa7 Rxg3 59. b6 Rg1 60. Kc5 $18) 58. Rc7 Ke6 59. Rc6+ Kf5 60. Ra6 Rxa6 61. bxa6 Ke4 62. Kc5 Kf3 63. Kxd5 Kxg3 64. e4 Kf2 65. e5 g3 66. e6 g2 67. e7 g1=Q 68. e8=Q {with a winning queen endgame.}) 52. Rg7+ Ke8 53. Rxd7 Kxd7 {[%mdl 4096]} 54. Rxa7+ Ke6 (54... Kd6 55. Rg7 {[%CAl Rg7g6]} Rxe3 56. Rxg4 {[%CAl Rg4g6]} Re6 57. Ka5 $18) 55. b6 Rg1 56. b7 Rb1+ 57. Kc5 Rc1+ 58. Kb6 Rb1+ 59. Kc7 Rc1+ 60. Kd8 Rb1 61. Ra6+ (61. Kc8 Rc1+ 62. Kb8 {[%CAl Rb8a8] was much simpler.}) 61... Kf5 62. Kc7 g3 63. Rb6 {Under time pressure White fails to calculate} (63. b8=Q Rxb8 64. Kxb8 g2 (64... Ke4 65. Re6+ Kf3 66. Kc7 g2 67. Rg6 Kxe3 68. Rxg2 Kxd4 69. Kd6) 65. Ra1 Ke4 66. Kc7 Kxe3 67. Rd1 ({or} 67. Kd6 Kxd4 68. Re1 $1 {(the key move, cutting off Black's king)} Kc4 69. Ke5 $18) 67... Ke2 68. Rg1 $18) 63... Rxb6 64. Kxb6 g2 65. b8=Q g1=Q 66. Qe5+ Kg6 67. Kc6 {White wins the d5 pawn and the game, although it takes over 30 more moves.} Qa1 68. Qg3+ Kf5 69. Qf4+ Kg6 70. Kxd5 Qa8+ 71. Kc4 Qa4+ 72. Kc3 Qa1+ 73. Kd2 Qb2+ 74. Ke1 Qg2 75. Qf1 Qc2 76. Qf3 Kg7 77. Kf1 Qc1+ 78. Kg2 Qc2+ 79. Kg3 Qc7+ 80. Kh3 Qc3 81. d5 Qd3 82. Kg3 Kg6 83. Qg4+ Kh7 84. Qd7+ Kh8 85. Qe8+ Kg7 86. Qe7+ Kh8 87. Qe5+ Kh7 88. d6 Qg6+ 89. Kh4 Qb1 90. Qe7+ Kg6 91. Qe6+ Kh7 92. d7 Qe1+ 93. Kg5 Qg3+ 94. Kf6 Qh4+ 95. Kf7 Qh5+ 96. Kf8 Qa5 97. Qe7+ Kg6 98. d8=Q Qf5+ 99. Kg8 Qd5+ 100. Qxd5 1-0 [Event "EU-chT (Men) 21st"] [Site "Heraklion"] [Date "2017.10.31"] [Round "4.2"] [White "L'Ami, Erwin"] [Black "Movsesian, Sergei"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2611"] [BlackElo "2671"] [Annotator "Fernandez,Daniel Howard"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "2017.10.28"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "GRE"] [SourceTitle "CBM 182"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2018.01.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2018.01.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Netherlands"] [BlackTeam "Armenia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NED"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARM"] [WhiteClock "0:36:24"] [BlackClock "0:23:17"] {Now for a brief look at some completely diferent games. This one caught my eye for a gutsy exchange sacrifice by White, who is maybe best known as an ex-winner of the famous Reyjkavik open tournament.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Rc1 ({According to what I understand the main line is} 9. Be2 Bd7 (9... dxc4 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3 Bd7 12. Qxc4 $14 {Aronian,L -So,W, Saint Louis 2017}) 10. Qc2 (10. Qb3 {is played too}) 10... dxc4 11. O-O Bd6 {Harika,D-Hou,Y, Rhodes 2013}) 9... Qg6 10. Qc2 Qxc2 11. Rxc2 Rd8 12. a3 Bf8 {So, Black has equalised, at least to my mind. The question is whether anyone cares. These days Carlsen, Aronian and even Kramnik seem to be much more about outplaying people later than huge preparation, though the 'other' type of elite like Giri, Caruana, Anand continue to exist in equal numbers.} 13. Nb5 Rd7 14. h4 {Stopping ...g5 ideas, which doesn't look like much but is a big deal. What White might secretly want now is to be pushed back with ...a6, so that a later ?c5! packs a bit more punch...} a6 15. Nc3 Rd8 16. g4 $6 (16. cxd5 exd5 17. Bd3 (17. Na4 {would have been consistent, and maybe intended, but also not best.}) 17... g6 18. g3 {White definitely has more 'ideas' here. The king can go to g2, the ?f3 to c5, the rooks can be doubled or not, maybe b4...}) (16. Be2 dxc4 17. Bxc4 Bd6 {is just equal.}) (16. c5 g6 $1 {is not what White is looking for.}) 16... g6 (16... dxc4 17. Bxc4 e5 {was a tactical opportunity that will not knock twice.}) 17. cxd5 exd5 18. Bh3 {Back under control.} Ne7 19. Na4 c6 20. Nc5 Rb8 21. Ke2 Kg7 22. Nd3 (22. b4 $5 $14) 22... Ng8 23. g5 h5 24. Nfe5 Ne7 $11 {Very good neutralisation by Black, who seems to be equal again.} 25. Bxc8 Nxc8 26. Rh3 Bd6 27. Rf3 Bxe5 28. dxe5 (28. Nxe5 Nd6 {was possible, but would fail to keep 'a little something' in the position.}) 28... Ne7 29. Rf6 Ng8 30. f4 $1 {Exclamation mark for the Dutch courage! The conception is amazing, and not be well understood by engines, and to do this in a team tournament... as we shall see it may not have improved White's position, but the nerve is admirable!} (30. Rd6 Ne7 $11) (30. Rf4 Ne7 31. Nc5 Nf5 32. e6 {was relatively pedestrian and probably equal.}) 30... Nxf6 (30... Re8 {It takes a special kind of sadist to do this - " I see your sacrifice, and I raise you a cold shoulder" - from a psychological point of view this move would have been fantastic. White might struggle to arrange a favourable f5, and Black can if he wishes take later, or else play ...?e7-f5 anyway.}) 31. gxf6+ Kh6 32. Rc1 {The idea is simple. ?g1-g5, f5, ?f4 if/when it threatens ?xh5 or ?xg6.} Rbc8 $5 {A good defence.} (32... Re8 33. Rg1 b6 {...c5 will come soon, so White should hurry.} 34. f5 (34. Rg5 Rg8 $15) (34. Kf3 $5 {leads to one of the most amazing perpetuals I have ever seen.} c5 35. f5 c4 36. e6 $3 cxd3 37. exf7 Re4 (37... Rf8 38. fxg6 $14) 38. Rxg6+ Kh7 39. Rg7+ Kh8 40. Rg6 $3 $11) 34... Rg8 35. e6 gxf5 36. Rxg8 Rxg8 37. exf7 Rf8 38. Ne5 c5 39. Kf3 d4 $11 {with a bizarre draw.}) (32... Rg8 $5 {is similar to the game, but less flexible.} 33. Nc5 (33. Rg1 b6 $15) 33... a5 34. Kd3 $1 {White should now give up on f5.} (34. Rg1 b6 35. Nd7 Rb7 36. e6 Rxd7 $15) 34... b6 35. Nd7 Rb7 36. e6 Rc8 $3 $11 {The mess continues, but Black has his counterchances.}) 33. Rg1 Rg8 34. Nc5 Rc7 {Black seems to have adequately defended against both mate and pawn-grabbing. Now comes:} 35. f5 $1 g5 $6 (35... Rcc8 $3 {A hard defensive move to spot.} 36. Ne6 $3 {The response is even more amazing.} fxe6 (36... gxf5 37. Ng7 c5 38. Kf3 d4 39. exd4 cxd4 $11) 37. fxe6 Rce8 38. e7 Rg7 {Black is so tied up, this is the best he can do.} 39. Kd3 Rexe7 40. fxe7 Rxe7 41. Kd4 $11) 36. e6 g4 $1 37. e7 $1 $16 {White gets the same bind without sacrificing his knight. A later ?e6 could well be crushing too.} Re8 38. Kf2 b6 39. Nd3 c5 40. Nf4 Rd7 41. Rd1 d4 42. e4 $1 {Bringing in, if needed, a fourth pawn. The game is now over.} Kh7 43. Nd5 Rb8 44. Kg3 1-0 [Event "Tata Steel-A 80th"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2018.01.24"] [Round "10"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2804"] [Annotator "Fernandez,Daniel Howard"] [PlyCount "42"] [EventDate "2018.01.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 183"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2018.03.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2018.03.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/6000+30:20/3000+30:900+30"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 Bb4 {The Ragozin: known to me as the opening which won Jonathan Hawkins his first British national title.} 5. cxd5 {5.?g5 and 5.e3 are also played.} exd5 6. Bf4 (6. Bg5 {is the main move, and after} h6 7. Bh4 c5 {the current fashion is for the ambitious} 8. dxc5 $5) 6... Ne4 7. Qa4+ {A second minor move in a row by Peter Svidler lands him not in completely new territory but certainly in slight danger.} (7. Rc1 {was a more solid move in an obvious ideological precedent.} Nc6 8. Nd2 g5 9. Be3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bd6 $132 {Svane,R-Socko,B Germany 2016}) 7... Nc6 8. Rc1 O-O 9. g3 (9. h4 {was necessary if a little uncomfortable. There could follow} Bg4 10. e3 Qe7 11. Be2 $11) (9. e3 g5 10. Bg3 h5 11. h4 g4 12. Ne5 Bxc3+ 13. Rxc3 (13. bxc3 Nxg3 14. fxg3 Qe7 $17) 13... Nxc3 14. bxc3 Nxe5 15. Bxe5 Bf5 $15 {Ermenkov, E-Shyam,S Albena 2015}) 9... g5 10. Be3 f5 (10... Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 f5 {was a marginally more precise order.}) 11. Bg2 {Kind of a wasted move since White will never get to castle.} (11. Bd2 $5 Bxc3 12. Bxc3 {was an additional option granted by Black's last.}) 11... f4 {[%emt 0:35:06]} 12. gxf4 {[%emt 0:35:56]} (12. Bd2 {can be met in various ways, including} g4 13. Ne5 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Nxd2 15. Kxd2 Nxe5 16. dxe5 fxg3 $15) 12... Bxc3+ {[%emt 0:00:08]} 13. bxc3 {[%emt 0:00:33]} gxf4 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 14. Bd2 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Kh8 $1 $17 {[%emt 0:03:03] The absolute best move. After less than 15 moves White has no castling prospects and is close to lost.} 15. Qb3 $2 {[%emt 0:35:15] Not helping.} (15. Rg1 Be6 16. Bf1 {is one way of trying to get belated counterplay.}) ({After} 15. O-O Qf6 $1 {White will be unable to form a coherent defence against doubling on the g-file.}) 15... Na5 {[%emt 0:03:05] Unfortunately, this natural move gains a great many tempi.} 16. Qc2 {[%emt 0:06:27]} Nc4 {[%emt 0:00:47] The obvious threat is ...?g4 trapping the d2-bishop, but there are others.} 17. Rd1 {[%emt 0:01:32]} Rg8 {[%emt 0:07:46]} (17... Qe7 {is most favoured by machines, which want to continue ...?f5 and ...?ae8, but it is much of a muchness by now.}) 18. Ne5 {[%emt 0:04:30]} Nxe5 {[%emt 0:00:22]} 19. Bxe4 {[%emt 0:01:20]} Qg5 {[%emt 0:00:34]} (19... dxe4 20. Bxf4 Ng6 21. Bg3 {is also dead, but the game might last a bit longer since White has a good bishop.}) 20. Bxf4 {[%emt 0:07:49]} Qxf4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 21. Bxd5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Bf5 $1 {[%emt 0:00:28] It's a clear piece and maybe even more. A shame that Svidler was not able to demonstrate his usual good chess today.} 0-1 [Event "Tata Steel-A 80th"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2018.01.17"] [Round "5"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2680"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2018.01.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 183"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2018.03.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2018.03.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Bb4 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bf4 {A possible but not very ambitious line.} O-O 7. Rc1 c6 (7... Bf5 {- Svidler-Giri in CBM 167.}) 8. e3 Bd6 (8... Bf5 $5 9. Qb3 $5 (9. Be2 Bd6 10. Bxd6 Qxd6 11. O-O Nbd7 12. a3 Ne4 13. Na4 Qe7 14. Qb3 Nd6 $11 {1-0 (39) Melkumyan,H (2622)-Bluebaum,M (2588) Berlin 2015}) 9... Qb6 10. Nh4 (10. Be2 Be7 11. Nd2 Nbd7 12. h3 Bg6 13. O-O a5 14. Qxb6 Nxb6 15. Bc7 Nfd7 16. Rfe1 Rfc8 17. Bg3 Re8 $11 {1/2 (55) Sunilduth Lyna,N (2524)-Dubov,D (2661) Moscow 2017}) 10... Be6 11. Bd3 c5 (11... Nh5 $5) 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. Qxb6 axb6 14. a3 Nh5 15. Bg3 Nc6 16. Nf3 Nxg3 17. hxg3 h6 18. Nb5 Be7 19. O-O Bf6 $11 {1/2 (41) Cuenca Jimenez,J (2489)-Peralta,F (2559) Caleta 2018}) (8... Qa5 9. Nd2 (9. Bd3 $5) 9... Bg4 10. Qc2 c5 11. dxc5 Qxc5 12. Nb3 Qe7 13. Bd3 Rc8 14. O-O Bxc3 15. bxc3 Nc6 16. Qb2 Ne5 17. Bxe5 Qxe5 18. Nd4 b6 19. c4 Bd7 20. h3 Ne4 $11 {1/2 (30) Sunilduth Lyna,N (2526)-Laxman,R (2403) Sharjah 2017}) 9. Bxd6 (9. Bg3 Bf5 10. Bd3 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 Re8 12. Nd2 Na6 13. a3 Nc7 14. Na4 Ne6 15. b4 Qe7 16. Nc5 Rad8 17. Nf3 Ne4 $11 {1-0 (51) Mamedyarov,S (2804)-Lenderman,A (2611) chess.com INT 2018}) 9... Qxd6 10. Qc2 Re8 (10... Bg4 $5 {in order to exchange the bishop or transfer it to g6.}) 11. Bd3 Nbd7 12. O-O Nf8 13. h3 {Preventing ...?g4 for good.} g6 (13... Ng6 $5) 14. Ne5 {[%mdl 32] White prepares a kingside attack with f2-f4-f5. Black's g6-pawn will be a useful hook for him.} Nh5 {Preparing ...f7-f6 and thus preventing 15.f4.} (14... Be6 15. f4) (14... Ne6 15. f4 Ng7 16. g4) 15. Rfe1 Re7 16. Qa4 Nd7 17. Nf3 (17. f4 {was now possible, e.g.} f6 18. Nf3 Nb6 19. Qc2 {However, White changes his plan and starts a classic minority attack.}) 17... Ndf6 $6 {A strange decision. Black's h5 knight will now be stuck on the kingside, and White's assault will go without obstacles.} ({If} 17... Nhf6 {then} 18. b4 {, too.}) (17... Nb6 {doesn't help much:} 18. Qa5 {and then b2-b4. If} Ng7 $6 {then} 19. e4 $1 {is very strong.}) (17... a5 $1 {preventing b2-b4, is correct. The initiative belongs to White but it is not easy for him to break down Black's defences. If} 18. e4 {then} Nf4 19. e5 Qb4) 18. b4 a6 {A senseless move, not preventing b4-b5.} (18... Bd7 $142 19. b5 Ne4) 19. b5 cxb5 20. Nxb5 Bd7 $2 {A tactical blunder. However, White doesn't exploit it.} (20... Qd8 21. Nc3 $16 {[%csl Rh5]}) 21. Nxd6 Bxa4 22. Rb1 $2 (22. Nc8 {[%CAl Rc8e7,Rc8b6]} Re6 23. Ng5 Re8 24. Nb6 $18) 22... b5 23. Ne5 (23. Rec1 $142 Re6 24. Nc8) 23... Nd7 24. Rec1 Nxe5 25. dxe5 Rxe5 26. Rc7 Rf8 (26... f5 $5) 27. Rc6 (27. Ra7 {was more logical.}) 27... Ra8 28. Rc7 Rf8 29. Rc6 Ra8 30. Rbc1 d4 (30... Re6 $5) 31. g4 Nf6 32. e4 (32. exd4 Re6 33. g5 $14) 32... Re6 33. f4 b4 34. Rc8+ Rxc8 35. Rxc8+ Kg7 36. e5 Nd5 (36... Ne8 $5 37. Ne4 Rc6 $1 38. Rd8 Rc1+ 39. Kf2 a5 $14) 37. Bc4 Nxf4 38. Rc7 ({White can hardly win after} 38. Bxe6 Nxe6) 38... d3 $4 {[%mdl 8192] A terrible blunder when the rescue was very close.} (38... Nxh3+ 39. Kh2 Rxe5 $1 40. Rxf7+ (40. Nxf7 Re3 $1 41. Ng5+ Kf6 42. Nxh3 Rc3 $132) 40... Kh6 41. Kxh3 d3 42. Rf2 Re3+ 43. Kg2 Kg5 {with sufficient counterplay.}) 39. Rxf7+ Kh6 40. Rxf4 d2 41. Rd4 1-0 [Event "Prague Masters 3rd"] [Site "Prague"] [Date "2021.06.19"] [Round "6"] [White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Black "Abasov, Nijat Azad"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2687"] [BlackElo "2665"] [Annotator "Wojtaszek,Radoslaw"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2021.06.14"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "CZE"] [EventCategory "18"] [SourceTitle "CBM 203"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2021.08.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.08.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,107,28,28,25,-11,-11,2,6,6,33,2,7,-6,-6,-45,-21,-10,6,6,42,48,48,-6,12,0,-9,-3,3,2,6,-5,31,5,13,-6,15,-6,26,39,22,23,45,46,47,47,47,63,59,102,112,115,123,154,154,53,76,97,120,76,261,124,99,110,137,99,142,130,144,232,232,226,232,182,200,186,145,172,172,172,309,309,317,238,243,243,241,241,327,343,343,335,322,265,308,116,354,390,386,386,412,434,446,477,558,558,512,560,618,688]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 O-O 8. e3 Bf5 {I had plenty of experience in this line with black so I have to say that it was quite refreshing having the white pieces here!} 9. Qb3 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Nbd7 11. Be2 ({White doesn't have time for} 11. Qxb7 $2 Rb8 $1 (11... c5 {is also good.}) 12. Qxa7 Qe7 $1 $36) 11... c5 12. dxc5 (12. O-O $6 c4 13. Qxb7 Qb6 14. Qxb6 axb6 $36) 12... Nxc5 ({With black I used to play} 12... g5 $5 13. Bg3 (13. Nd4 $5 {is an interesting move which leads to very uncleai positions.}) 13... Nxc5 14. Qb4 Nfe4 15. O-O Qe7 {and made two relatively easy draws here.}) 13. Qb4 Rc8 ({It's important that black cannot play} 13... Nd3+ $6 14. Bxd3 Bxd3 15. Qd4 $1 {and he will have to deal with the broken structure after Bxf6.}) 14. O-O g5 15. Bg3 Qe7 $6 ({The strongest is} 15... Re8 $1 {because now white is not able to transfer his bishop to the a1-h8 diagonal:} 16. Be5 g4 17. Bxf6 Qxf6 18. Nd4 h5 $11 19. f3 $6 g3 $1 20. hxg3 Rxe3 $15) 16. Be5 $1 {[%CAl Ga1h8]} Rfd8 (16... g4 $6 {with the rook on f8 it's not sufficent for black:} 17. Bxf6 Qxf6 18. Nd4 h5 19. f3 $1 $36 {and compared to the line 15...Re8, the e3 pawn is not hanging.}) 17. Rad1 ({Even stronger was the immediate} 17. Bd4 $1 Nfe4 18. Ne5 b6 19. c4 dxc4 20. Bxc4 $36) 17... Nfe4 18. Bd4 Rd6 $2 {At first it makes sense to activate the rook but it simply doesn't work tactically.} (18... Kf8 $3 {with the idea ...Ne6 would be very strong:} 19. c4 (19. Rb1 $5 b6) 19... Ne6 $1 {and black is fine, for instance} 20. Qb2 $5 (20. Qxe7+ Kxe7 21. cxd5 Rxd5 22. Bxa7 Rxd1 23. Bxd1 Ra8) 20... dxc4 21. Bb6 $8 c3 $8 22. Bxd8 cxb2 23. Bxe7+ Kxe7 24. Rb1 Nc3 25. Rxb2 Nxe2+ 26. Rxe2 Bd3 27. Rb2 Bxf1 28. Rxb7+ Ke8 29. Kxf1 Rc1+ 30. Ke2 Rc2+ 31. Kf1 Rxa2 $11) 19. c4 $1 Rb6 20. Qe1 $1 dxc4 21. Bxc4 Be6 22. Be2 $1 {During the game I felt that I should avoid exchanges and it was a correct decision.} (22. Bxe6 $6 Qxe6 23. Ne5 f6 24. Bxc5 Nxc5 25. Nf3 Qxa2 26. Nd4 $44) 22... Rd6 (22... Bxa2 23. Ne5 $40 {would give me a strong attack, for instance} Be6 24. f3 Nd6 25. f4 $1) 23. Ne5 Bxa2 24. f3 Nf6 25. Qa5 $6 ({It was way better to continue playing against black's king:} 25. f4 $1 Nfe4 26. fxg5 hxg5 27. Bh5 $40) 25... Qe6 $2 ({We both missed} 25... Bb3 $1 26. Bxc5 (26. Rc1 $1 b6 27. Qa1 {and white keeps some initiative.}) 26... Qxe5 27. Rxd6 Rxc5 28. Qd8+ Kg7 29. e4 a5 $44) 26. Qxa7 b6 27. Ba1 $6 {Simply too slow.} ({Again it was better to continue in a more aggressive way with} 27. f4 $1 Bd5 28. fxg5 hxg5 (28... Ra8 29. Qxf7+ Qxf7 30. Nxf7 Bxf7 31. Rxf6 Rxf6 32. gxf6 $18) 29. Nxf7 (29. Rxf6 $1 Qxf6 30. Nc6 $1 {wins on the spot.}) 29... Qxf7 30. Qxf7+ Kxf7 31. Bxf6 Rxf6 32. Rxd5 $18) 27... Rxd1 28. Rxd1 Qb3 29. Kf1 Re8 30. Bd4 $4 (30. Nc4 $1 Qc2 31. Na3 $1 Qf5 32. Qxb6 $18) 30... Qe6 31. Ra1 $2 Bd5 32. e4 Nb3 $2 ({It was neccessary to play} 32... Bb3 $1 {but white would keep an edge after} 33. Rb1 $14) 33. exd5 Qxd5 (33... Nxd5 34. Bb5 $1 (34. Bb2 $2 Nxa1 35. Qxa1 f6 $1 36. Bb5 fxe5 37. Bxe8 Qxe8 38. Bxe5 $11) 34... Rf8 35. Qa4 Nxa1 36. Qxa1 $18) 34. Bc3 Nxa1 35. Bc4 $1 {35.Qa1 was a good alternative but I calculated the game continuation till the very end.} (35. Qxa1 $5 Ra8 36. Qb2 $16) 35... Qd1+ 36. Be1 Nd7 $1 37. Bxf7+ (37. Qxd7 Qxd7 38. Nxd7 $16) 37... Kf8 38. Bxe8 Kxe8 (38... Nxe5 39. Bb5 $18) 39. Nxd7 Qd3+ 40. Kf2 Qd4+ 41. Ke2 Qc4+ 42. Ke3 $1 Nc2+ 43. Kd2 $1 Nxe1 44. Nf6+ $1 $18 (44. Kxe1 $4 Qc1+ $11 (44... Qe6+ $11)) 44... Kf8 45. Qb8+ $1 {And now black cannot avoid material losses} Ke7 46. Qe5+ Kf7 47. Kxe1 $18 Qc1+ 48. Kf2 Qd2+ 49. Kg3 Qf4+ {The pawn endgame is obviously hopeless for black.} 50. Qxf4 gxf4+ 51. Kxf4 Kxf6 52. Ke4 Ke6 53. g4 b5 54. f4 1-0 [Event "EU-Cup 32nd"] [Site "Novi Sad"] [Date "2016.11.09"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Ragger, Markus"] [Black "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2694"] [BlackElo "2714"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "121"] [EventDate "2016.11.06"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "SRB"] [SourceTitle "CBM 176"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2017.01.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.01.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Maria Saal"] [BlackTeam "Moscow SHSM Legacy"] [WhiteTeamCountry "AUT"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 O-O 8. e3 Bf5 9. Bd3 {White displays no great ambition in the opening.} (9. Qb3 {is more aggressive but Black has showed solid ways to equality in recent games:} Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 (10. Qxc3 Nbd7 11. Nd2 Rc8 12. Be2 c5 13. O-O Qb6 14. Rfc1 cxd4 15. Qxd4 Qxd4 16. exd4 Rfe8 $11 {1/2 (40) Wojtaszek,R (2733)-Matlakov,M (2684) Poikovsky 2016}) 10... Nbd7 $1 11. Be2 (11. Qxb7 c5 $1 {[%CAl Rd8a5]} 12. Qa6 c4 13. Be2 Qb6 14. Qxb6 axb6 $44) 11... c5 12. O-O c4 13. Qxb7 (13. Qb2 Qb6 14. Qc1 Ne4 $11 {1/2 (47) Ding Liren (2778)-Leko,P (2712) Danzhou CHN 2016}) 13... Rb8 (13... Qb6 $5 14. Qxb6 axb6 15. a4 g5 16. Bg3 Ne4 17. Rfc1 b5 18. Bd1 Rfc8 $44 {1/2 (55) Podvoysky,E (2227)-Tsenkov,L (2343) Lechenicher SchachServer 2014}) 14. Qa6 Rb2 (14... g5 $5 15. Bg3 Qb6 16. Qxb6 Rxb6) 15. Bd1 Qb6 16. Qxb6 (16. Qa3 $5) 16... axb6 17. Bxf6 Nxf6 18. Ne5 Ne4 19. Rc1 Ra8 20. Nc6 Kf8 21. Bf3 Raxa2 22. Bxe4 Bxe4 23. Nb4 Rxb4 24. cxb4 Rb2 $44 {1-0 (34) Cori,J (2609)-Hammer,J (2651) Baku AZE 2016}) ({The other moves are harmless:} 9. Rc1 Nbd7 10. a3 Bxc3+ 11. Rxc3 g5 12. Bg3 Ne4 13. Rc1 c5 14. dxc5 Qa5+ 15. Nd2 d4 16. b4 Qxa3 17. Nxe4 Bxe4 18. Rc4 Bd5 19. Rxd4 Qc3+ 20. Qd2 Qa1+ 21. Qd1 Qc3+ 22. Qd2 Qa1+ 23. Qd1 {1/2 (23) Zhou Jianchao (2612)-Zhang Zhong (2634) China CHN 2016}) (9. Be2 Nbd7 $5 (9... c6 $6 10. Qb3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Qb6 12. Bxf6 Qxb3 13. axb3 gxf6 14. Kd2 $16 {1-0 (35) Tal,M-Damjanovic,M Sarajevo 1966}) 10. O-O c6 11. Qb3 Qb6 $11) 9... Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Nbd7 ({or} 10... c6 11. O-O Nbd7 12. Ne5 Be7 13. Nxd7 Nxd7 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. a3 a5 16. Rfc1 f5 17. Ne2 a4 18. b3 Nb6 $11 {1/2 (30) Batchimeg,T (2391)-Munkhgal,G (2446) Ulaanbaatar 2016}) 11. Ne5 Qe8 12. O-O c6 13. Nxd7 Nxd7 14. a3 Bd6 (14... Be7 15. Bg3 Nb6 $11 {[%CAl Ye8d7]}) (14... Bxc3 15. Qxc3 Nb6 {should be enough for equality, too.}) 15. e4 dxe4 16. Nxe4 Be7 17. Bg3 Nb6 $11 {Black controls the d5-square but White's pieces are more active. The position is dynamically equal.} 18. Nc5 Qc8 19. Rfe1 Nd5 20. Be5 b6 21. Ne4 Qd7 22. Qg3 $6 {Probably an oversight.} (22. h3 f6 23. Bh2 {was a normal continuation.}) 22... f6 23. Bf4 $6 {This move loses a pawn; White gets some activity but it is not sufficient compensation.} ({But the exchange of bishops after} 23. Bd6 Rad8 24. Bxe7 Nxe7 {is clearly favourable for Black as White's isolani becomes obviously weak - exactly like in the game Giri-Dominguez from this issue.}) 23... Nxf4 24. Qxf4 Qxd4 25. Qc7 Rae8 ({In the event of} 25... f5 $5 26. Qxe7 Rae8 {even after} 27. Nf6+ Qxf6 28. Qxe8 Rxe8 29. Rxe8+ Kh7 30. Re2 {White should hardly lose.}) 26. Qxc6 Qxb2 $17 27. Qc4+ (27. Qd7 $5 Bxa3 28. Qd3) 27... Kh8 28. Ra2 Rc8 $1 29. Qxc8 Qxa2 30. Qd7 Bxa3 31. Qxa7 f5 32. Ng3 Qd2 33. Rf1 Bc5 34. Qc7 Qd5 35. Ne2 Qc4 36. Qe5 f4 37. Rd1 Qa4 $6 {Black starts going wrong.} ({It is unclear why Ernesto Inarkiev didn't play} 37... f3 $19) 38. Ra1 Qc4 $6 (38... Qb4 $142 {preventing 39.?a7.}) 39. Ra7 Rf6 40. Qc7 Rg6 $2 (40... Qg8 41. Qb7 Rf8 {[%CAl Yb6b5] looked passive but that was the best way to parry White's threats. After consolidation Black kept chances to convert his extra pawn.}) 41. Ra8+ Kh7 42. Qc8 Rf6 43. Qh8+ Kg6 44. Qe8+ Kh7 45. Qh8+ Kg6 46. Qe8+ Rf7 $6 {It was time to accept the repetition of moves:} (46... Kh7 $11) 47. Ra7 {This pin along the 7th rank paralyses Black's pieces.} Bd6 48. Rd7 Bc7 $2 {[%mdl 16384]} (48... Bc5 {was the only way to stay in the game} 49. Nc3 $140 (49. Rxf7 Qxf7 50. Nxf4+ {is not deadly due to} Kf6 51. Qd8+ Ke5) 49... f3 $1 50. gxf3 (50. g3 Bxf2+ 51. Kxf2 Qc5+ 52. Kf1 Qc4+ $11) 50... Qf4 {then giving a perpetual.}) 49. Nc3 $1 {The activation of this knight now ends the game.} h5 (49... f3 50. g3 {then h2-h4 etc.}) 50. h4 f3 51. g3 Bxg3 {Desperation.} 52. Qxf7+ Qxf7 53. Rxf7 Kxf7 54. fxg3 $18 {?} g5 55. hxg5 Kg6 56. Ne4 b5 57. Kf2 b4 58. Kxf3 Kf5 59. Ke3 b3 60. Kd3 b2 61. Kc2 1-0 [Event "Dos Hermanas"] [Site "Dos Hermanas"] [Date "1995.??.??"] [Round "7"] [White "Kamsky, Gata"] [Black "Polgar, Judit"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2630"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "1995.04.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "18"] [SourceTitle "CBM 047"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1995.08.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1995.08.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 e6 2. c4 d5 3. d4 Nd7 4. Nc3 Ngf6 5. Bg5 Bb4 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 c5 8. Bd3 Qa5 9. Qc2 c4 10. Bf5 O-O 11. O-O Re8 12. Nd2 g6 13. Bxd7 Nxd7 14. Rfe1 (14. a3 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Nb6 16. f3 Bd7 17. h4 (17. Rfe1 Ba4 18. Qc1 Bc6 19. Ra2 Re6 20. Nf1 Rae8 21. h4 Nc8 22. Nh2 f6 23. Bf4 Nd6 24. Bxd6 {Kasparov,G-Tatai,S/Dubai olm (13)/1986/1-0 (41)}) 17... Ba4 18. Qb2 Bc6 19. Rac1 Re6 20. Rfe1 Rae8 21. Kf2 f5 22. h5 Na4 23. Qc2 Qc7 24. hxg6 {Hodgson,JM-Landenbergue,C/Muenchen op9293 (02)/1992/1-0 (38)}) (14. Rae1 Nb6 15. f3 Bd7 16. Bh4 Na4 17. Ndb1 Bf8 (17... Re6 18. e4 Bxc3 19. bxc3 Rae8 20. e5 f5 $6 21. Qc1 Qc7 22. Bf6 Rb6 23. h4 f4 $1 24. Qxf4 {Bellon Lopez,J-Campos Moreno,J/Espana/1991/1-0 (42)}) 18. e4 Nxc3 $2 19. Nxc3 Bc6 $6 20. e5 b5 21. a3 Qb6 22. Qf2 a5 23. f4 b4 24. f5 $1 {Krasenkov,M-Blatny,P/Katowice/1992/1-0 (35)}) (14. Bh4 Nb6 15. e4 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Qa4 17. Qb1 Bd7 18. f4 Qa3 19. Rf3 dxe4 20. Nxe4 Rxe4 21. Qxe4 Bc6 22. Qe2 Re8 23. Qf2 Bxf3 24. Qxf3 {Nickoloff,B-Kovacevic,V/Toronto (01)/1989/0.5 (79)}) (14. h4 Nb6 15. f3 Bf8 16. e4 Bg7 17. exd5 Bf5 18. Nde4 Nxd5 19. Qf2 Nxc3 20. bxc3 Qa6 21. Rae1 h6 22. Bf4 Rad8 23. Re3 Qc6 24. Rfe1 {Ftacnik,L-Winants,L (3)/Tilburg1.29 (30')/1992/0.5 (35)}) 14... Nb6 15. f3 Na4 (15... Bd7 16. e4 $2 dxe4 17. h4 Bxc3 18. Qxc3 Qxc3 19. bxc3 exf3 20. Ne4 $17 {Ftacnik,L-Blatny,P/Stara Zagora zt/1990/}) 16. Rac1 Nxc3 17. bxc3 Ba3 18. Rb1 Bf5 19. e4 Bd7 $1 (19... dxe4 20. fxe4 Be6 21. d5 Bd7 22. Nxc4 $16) 20. Nf1 (20. h4 $2 Ba4) (20. Rxb7 Ba4 21. Qb1 Bc6 $17) 20... dxe4 21. f4 b6 22. Ne3 Rac8 23. Rf1 f5 (23... Bf8 24. f5 gxf5 25. Rf2 Bg7 26. Rbf1 $40) 24. Bf6 Bf8 25. Be5 Qa4 26. Qf2 Qc6 27. h3 Bg7 (27... h5 28. g4 fxg4 29. hxg4 hxg4 30. Qh4 $40) 28. Kh2 Rf8 29. g4 Rce8 (29... Bxe5 30. dxe5 Rce8 31. Rbd1 $36) 30. gxf5 Bxf5 31. Qg3 Re7 (31... Bxe5 32. fxe5 Be6 33. Rbd1 $44) 32. Rf2 Ref7 33. Rbf1 b5 34. h4 h5 (34... a5 35. h5 $132) 35. Rg2 Kh7 36. Rfg1 Bh6 37. d5 (37. Nxf5 Rxf5 38. d5 Qe8 $15) 37... Qd7 38. d6 Bg4 {xf4} (38... a6 39. Nxf5 Qxf5 40. Qxg6+ Qxg6 41. Rxg6 Bxf4+ 42. Bxf4 Rxf4 43. Rg7+ Kh8 44. R7g5 Rxh4+ 45. Kg3 Rg4+ 46. Rxg4 hxg4 47. Rd1 $10) 39. Nxg4 Qxg4 (39... hxg4 40. Rf1) 40. Qxg4 hxg4 41. Rxg4 Bxf4+ 42. Bxf4 Rxf4 43. Rxf4 Rxf4 44. Rd1 (44. d7 Rf8) 44... Rf8 45. d7 Rd8 46. Kg3 Kg7 47. Kf4 Kf6 48. Rd5 (48. Kxe4 Ke6 49. Rg1 $10) 48... e3 (48... Ke6 49. Rxb5 Rxd7 50. Re5+ Kf6 51. Rxe4 $14) 49. Kxe3 Ke6 50. Rxb5 Rxd7 51. Ra5 Rd3+ (51... Rd3+ 52. Ke4 Rxc3 53. Ra6+ Kf7 54. Rxa7+ $10) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Munich SKA"] [Site "Munich"] [Date "1993.??.??"] [Round "10"] [White "Lobron, Eric"] [Black "Lautier, Joel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2620"] [BlackElo "2645"] [Annotator "Hansen,Curt"] [PlyCount "121"] [EventDate "1993.05.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "GER"] [EventCategory "16"] [SourceTitle "CBM 036"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1993.10.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1993.10.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Qc2 c5 8. e3 Qa5 9. Bd3 c4 10. Bf5 O-O 11. O-O Re8 12. Nd2 g6 13. Bxd7 Nxd7 14. Rae1 Nb6 15. f3 Bd7 16. Bh6 (16. Re2 Bxc3 17. bxc3 Ba4 18. Qb2 Bc6 19. Rc1 Re6 20. Bf4 Na4 21. Qc2 b5 $132 {Danielsen,H-Stempin,P/Lyngby Open/1990/}) (16. h4 Bf8 17. e4 Bg7 18. Be3 Rad8 19. Ndb1 dxe4 20. fxe4 f5 21. e5 Be6 22. h5 $13 {Nemet,I-Georgadze,G/Forli open/1992/}) (16. Bh4 Bxc3 (16... Re6 17. e4 Rae8 18. Ndb1 f5 19. e5 Na4 20. Re2 Nxc3 (20... Bxc3 21. bxc3 Qc7 22. Bf6 Rb6 23. h4 $14 {Bellon Lopez,J-Campos Moreno,J/Spain/1991/}) 21. Nxc3 Bxc3 22. bxc3 b5 23. g4 $1 $40 {Cramling,P-Wirthensohn/Bern/1991/}) (16... Na4 17. Ndb1 Bf8 18. e4 Nxc3 19. Nxc3 Bc6 (19... Be6 20. Re2 Bg7 21. Qd2 Qb6 22. e5 Qc6 23. g4 b5 24. Rg2 b4 25. Ne2 a5 26. f4 Bc8 27. f5 $16 {Osterman,R-Sifrer,D/SLO-ch/1992/}) 20. e5 b5 21. a3 Qb6 22. Qf2 a5 23. f4 b4 24. f5 $1 $16 {Krasenkov,M-Blatny,P/Katowice op/1992/}) 17. bxc3 Na4 18. Nb1 f5 (18... Qb5 19. e4 Qb2 20. Qxb2 Nxb2 21. exd5 f5 22. Na3 $14 {Neverov,V-Dizdar,G/Voskresensk/1990/}) 19. h3 (19. Bg3 Re6 20. Bf4 Rae8 21. h4 Qd8 22. Qf2 Bc8 23. Rc1 b5 $15 {Mohr,S-Luther,T/Bad Lauterberg/1991/}) (19. e4 dxe4 20. fxe4 fxe4 21. Bf6 e3 22. Be5 Rf8 23. Qe4 Bc6 24. Qxe3 Qd5 25. Qh3 {0,5-0,5/Glek,I-Luther,T/Deutschland/1992/}) 19... Re6 (19... Bc6 20. g4 Rf8 21. Bg3 Rae8 22. Be5 $2 Nc5 $17 {Cramling,P-Lobron,E/Hamburg SKA/1991/}) 20. g4 Rf8 21. Bg3 Bc6 22. Re2 Qd8 23. Bf4 Qe7 $13 {Thinius,M-Dizdar,G/Gronningen op/1991/}) 16... Re6 17. Ndb1 (17. e4 Bxc3 18. bxc3 Na4 19. Nb1 Rb6 $132) 17... Be7 (17... Rae8 18. e4 $14) (17... Bxc3 18. Nxc3 Na4 $13) 18. Bf4 {?e3-e4} (18. e4 $2 g5 $19) 18... Bf6 19. Qf2 {?e3-e4} Bg7 20. e4 Bc6 21. e5 (21. Bd2 Qa6 $13) 21... Nd7 $15 {?b1} 22. Bd2 Qb6 (22... Qc7 $5 {?b7-b5-b4}) 23. Nd1 {??c3,?d2,?e3 + f3-f4-f5/??bc3,?e3 ×d5} f6 24. exf6 Rxe1 25. Rxe1 Nxf6 $17 {??f8+?e4/?g4 ×d4} 26. Bc3 Rf8 27. Qd2 Nh5 {??f4-d3} 28. Nf2 Bd7 $6 (28... Nf4 29. g3 $13 (29. Bb4 $2 Bxd4 30. Bxf8 Nd3 $17)) (28... Rf7 $5 {??d7+?f4,?c3,?b1}) 29. Bb4 $1 $13 Re8 (29... Rf7 30. Bc5 {??c3}) 30. Rxe8+ Bxe8 31. Bc5 Qe6 32. g4 Nf6 33. Nc3 Nd7 34. Bb4 Nb8 {??c6,×d4} (34... Qf6 35. Qe3 Bf7 36. Ne2 $10) 35. Ne2 Nc6 36. Bc3 b5 {?b4 -+} (36... a5 $5 {?b7-b5}) 37. b4 a5 (37... cxb3 38. axb3 b4 39. Bb2 $13 {??d3}) 38. a3 axb4 39. axb4 Bf8 {?Dd6 -+} 40. g5 {??g4?} (40. Ng3 Qe7 $1 $17 (40... Qd6 41. Nfe4 $1 dxe4 42. Nxe4 Qd8 43. d5 $13)) (40. Nc1 Qf6 41. Kg2 Bd6 $17) 40... Qe7 (40... Nxb4 41. Bxb4 Bxb4 42. Qxb4 Qxe2 43. Ng4 Qxf3 44. Nh6+ Kh8 45. Qe7 $10) 41. Ng4 Bf7 42. Nh6+ (42. Nf6+ Kg7 $17 {?Sxb4}) 42... Kg7 (42... Kh8 43. Qf4 Be6 44. Kf2 $13) 43. Qf4 Qe6 $1 {??d6} 44. Qd2 (44. Qc7 Bd6 45. Qb7 (45. Qxc6 $4 Bxh2+ $19) 45... Nd8 $19) 44... Bxb4 (44... Nxb4 $2 45. Nf4 Qe7 46. Nh5+ Kh8 47. Bxb4 $16) 45. Nf4 Qd6 46. Nh5+ Kf8 47. Bxb4 Nxb4 (47... Qxb4 48. Qf4 Qe1+ 49. Kg2 Qe2+ $10) 48. Nf6 Nc6 49. Qa2 $8 (49. Nxh7+ Kg7 50. Nf6 b4 $17) 49... b4 50. Qa6 (50. Qa8+ Nd8) 50... b3 51. Qb6 $1 Qe6 52. Kf2 Kg7 53. h4 $6 Ne5 $1 54. Nf5+ $8 Qxf5 55. dxe5 Qxe5 $2 (55... Qc2+ 56. Kg3 b2 57. Nh5+ gxh5 58. Qf6+ Kf8 59. Qd6+ Kg8 60. Qd8+ $10) (55... c3 $1 56. Qc7 (56. Qxb3 Qxe5 $19) (56. h5 Qxg5) 56... b2 57. Ne8+ Kf8 58. Nd6 b1=Q $19) 56. Ng4 Qf4 (56... Qb2+ 57. Kg3 Qc3 58. h5 $1 $132) 57. h5 $1 {?h5-h6} Qd2+ 58. Kf1 Qc1+ 59. Kf2 Qd2+ 60. Kf1 Qc1+ 61. Kf2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Aeroflot op-A 16th"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.02.28"] [Round "8"] [White "Fedoseev, Vladimir1"] [Black "Matlakov, Maxim"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2658"] [BlackElo "2701"] [Annotator "Yermolinsky,Alex "] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2017.02.21"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "CBM 177"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2017.03.16"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.03.16"] [SourceQuality "1"] {This battle between two of the best young Russian players had a big impact on the standings.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qb3 {A bit of an unusual line.} c5 6. dxc5 Na6 ({A more popular line is} 6... Nc6 7. Bg5 dxc4 8. Qxc4 Qa5 9. Bxf6 ({The endgame offers nothing to White:} 9. Rc1 Qxc5 10. Qxc5 Bxc5 11. e3 Bb4 12. a3 Bxc3+ 13. Rxc3 Ne4 {Nakamura-Aronian, LOndon Classic, 2016.}) 9... gxf6 10. Rc1 Qxc5 11. Qh4 Ke7 {The black king is relatively safe here.} 12. g3 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 (13. Rxc3 Qb4) 13... b6 14. Bg2 Bb7 15. O-O {Matlakov himself had a crack at this posiiton with White against Alexandrov in 2010, and failed to make the most of it after} Rad8 16. Nd4 h5 17. Rcd1 Rd6 18. Rd3 Ba6 19. Rf3 Rh6 {Once White is forced to trade his strong ?d4 there isn't a whole lot he can do.}) 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Qxc3 Nxc5 9. cxd5 Qxd5 10. Be3 {At least here White can boast about his bishop pair.} Nce4 11. Qe5 Qxe5 12. Nxe5 Nd5 13. Bc1 $1 {Vladimir Fedoseev is 21 years old, but he handles this game like a seasoned pro. White needs to preserve his dark-squared bishop at any cost..} Nc5 (13... f6 14. Nd3 Kf7 15. f3 Nd6 16. e4 Ne7 17. Be3 $14) 14. Rb1 f6 (14... Nb3 $6 {would be consistent, but the whole operation costs Black too much time, which is telling after} 15. e4 Nf6 16. f3 Nxc1 17. Rxc1 $16 {What to do here?} Ke7 {is no good:} 18. Rc7+ Kd6 19. Nxf7+ Kxc7 20. Nxh8 Bd7 21. Nf7 {and having snatched an important pawn the knight escapes unscathed.}) 15. Nc4 e5 16. f3 $1 {The key to White's success in such positions is proper pawn placement.} Ke7 17. e4 Nf4 18. Be3 Ncd3+ ({Perhaps, a small amount of structural damage had to be conceded in order to facilitate Black's development.} 18... b6 $5) 19. Bxd3 Nxd3+ 20. Ke2 Nf4+ 21. Bxf4 exf4 22. Na5 $1 {Vladimir Kramnik has used this knight placement to great success in similar positions.} b6 {It's all about the c6-square, and now the knight gets there.} ({It was high time to look for counterplay:} 22... Rd8 23. Rhc1 (23. Rhd1 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Bd7 $11) 23... f5 24. Rc7+ Kf8 {Now in the event of} 25. Rd1 Rxd1 26. Kxd1 fxe4 27. fxe4 b6 28. Nc6 Bg4+ 29. Kd2 Re8 30. Kd3 f3 {Black seems to be getting somewhere.}) 23. Nc6+ Kd6 $2 {Practically speaking, a losing move.} ({Only} 23... Ke6 24. Rbc1 Bd7 {would leave Black a chance to escape.} 25. Nd4+ Ke7 26. Rc7 Kd6 27. Rhc1 Rac8 28. Nf5+ (28. Nb5+ $4 Bxb5+ {well, check.}) 28... Bxf5 29. R1c6+ Ke5 {is a fascinating position. White seems to be close, but he can't quite secure his advantage, neither in} 30. Re7+ ({nor} 30. exf5 Rxc7 31. Rxc7 a5 32. Rxg7 Rc8 33. Kd3 Rd8+ 34. Kc3 Rc8+ 35. Kb3 h6) 30... Kd4 31. Rd6+ Kc4 32. exf5 Kb3) 24. Rbc1 Ba6+ 25. Kf2 Rhc8 26. Rhd1+ Ke6 27. g3 fxg3+ 28. hxg3 g6 {Maxim felt he had to get the f5-square under control.} (28... Bb7 29. Nd4+ Kf7 30. Nf5 $1 Rxc1 31. Rxc1 {and there's no} Rc8 {on account of} 32. Nd6+) 29. f4 Bb7 {He must have thought he was safe here.} (29... h5 30. Ke3 Re8 31. f5+ gxf5 32. Nd4+ Kf7 33. Nxf5 {and at least one of White's rooks gets to the 7th rank.}) 30. f5+ $1 {Suddenly Black is losing material. An excellent display of positional chess by Vladimir Kramnik. Sorry, I meant to say, Fedoseev.} 1-0 [Event "EU-chT 23rd"] [Site "Terme Catez"] [Date "2021.11.15"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Sargissian, Gabriel"] [Black "Donchenko, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2664"] [BlackElo "2645"] [Annotator "Edouard,Romain"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2021.11.12"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SLO"] [SourceTitle "CBM 208 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2022.07.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.07.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "Germany"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "GER"] {[%evp 0,71,20,36,28,-21,-21,-9,0,0,0,-13,-7,0,2,-73,-15,-14,-3,-3,30,47,35,5,17,-35,-14,-37,-37,-29,-29,0,7,-15,-11,-3,8,15,8,-9,-9,-101,-51,-25,-25,61,61,-56,-41,-41,41,215,207,196,363,213,206,223,223,206,206,206,207,153,168,202,186,187,193,205,205,216,229,245]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 O-O 8. e3 Bf5 {The latest fashion in the Ragozin.} 9. Qb3 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 (10. Qxc3 Nbd7 11. Be2 c6 12. Nd2 Ne4 13. Bxd8 Nxc3 14. bxc3 Rfxd8 {is known to be extremely close to equal: 15.a4!?, 15.Nf1!? or 15.g4!? - the latest being something that I played myself.}) 10... Nbd7 11. Be2 c5 12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. Qb4 Rc8 14. O-O {A very critical position.} g5 (14... Re8 15. Rad1 g5 16. Bg3 Qe7 17. c4 (17. Be5 $5 $146) 17... Nce4 18. Qxe7 Rxe7 19. cxd5 Rd7 (19... Nxg3 20. hxg3 Rd7 21. d6 Rcd8 22. Nd4 Bg6 {1-0 (51) Keymer,V (2630)-Ivic,V (2606) Riga 2021} 23. f3 $36) 20. d6 Nc3 21. Nd4 Nxd1 22. Rxd1 Rc5 $13) (14... Qe7 15. Rfd1 Rfd8 16. Nd4 Bd7 17. c4 $36 {½-½ (66) Cheparinov,I (2687)-Gajewski,G (2626) Moscow 2019}) 15. Bg3 Nfe4 (15... Qe7 16. Be5 Rfd8 17. Rad1 Nfe4 18. Bd4 Rd6 19. c4 Rb6 20. Qe1 $14 {1-0 (54) Wojtaszek,R (2687)-Abasov,N (2665) Prague 2021}) (15... Re8 $5 16. Rfd1 Nfe4 (16... a5 17. Qa3 Nce4 18. c4 Qb6 19. Nd4 Nxg3 20. hxg3 $14 {½-½ (64) Cheparinov,I (2670)-Sethuraman,S (2624) Douglas 2019}) 17. c4 Qf6 18. cxd5 Nc3 19. Nd4 Nxd1 20. Rxd1 Bd7 21. d6 b6 $13 {½-½ (27) Alonso Rosell,A (2572)-Anton Guijarro,D (2673) Chalons en Champagne 2021}) 16. Rad1 $6 $146 {Objectively dubious - but in the game Black failed to find why.} ({Previous Sargissian had tried} 16. Be5 {right away but after} Re8 17. Bd4 a5 18. Qa3 Ne6 19. Rac1 Nxd4 20. Nxd4 Bg6 {Black had a pretty solid position. ½-½ (39) Sargissian,G (2681)-Gukesh,D (2614) Warsaw 2021}) 16... a5 $1 (16... Na4 17. Qxa4 Nxc3 18. Qxa7 Nxe2+ 19. Kh1 {would be a little unpleasant for Black.}) 17. Qa3 Qf6 $2 (17... Na4 $1 18. Nd4 (18. Qxa4 Nxc3 $17) 18... Bd7 $1 (18... Naxc3 19. Nxf5 Nxe2+ 20. Kh1) 19. c4 Nac3 $1 20. cxd5 Nxd1 21. Bxd1 Re8 {and Black is simply better.}) 18. Be5 Qe6 19. Bd4 b6 20. c4 $1 {Suddenly Black's position turns to a nightmare. That's the problem with the Ragozin: one mistake and the game can be gone.} dxc4 21. Ba1 $1 {The d4-square, the a1-h8 diagonal... this is not going to be fun for Black!} Bg6 (21... Nd3 22. Bxd3 cxd3 23. Nd4 Qd7 24. Qxd3 (24. Nxf5 $5 Qxf5 25. f3 Nc5 26. Qb2 f6 27. Qxb6 $16) 24... Bg6 25. Qb3 $16) 22. Nd4 (22. Ne5 $5) 22... Qd7 23. f3 Nd6 24. e4 Rfd8 $2 {Losing on the spot.} (24... f6 25. Nc2 $14) 25. Nf5 $1 Nb5 (25... Bxf5 26. Qc3 $18) 26. Qb2 c3 27. Qxb5 (27. Qc1 $5 Qe8 28. Bxb5 Qxb5 29. Qxc3 $18) 27... Qxb5 28. Ne7+ Kf8 29. Nxg6+ fxg6 30. Bxb5 {It is all over.} c2 31. Rxd8+ Rxd8 32. Bb2 Nd3 33. Bxd3 Rxd3 34. Kf2 Rd2+ 35. Ke3 Rxg2 36. Rf2 1-0 [Event "Bundesliga 2122"] [Site "Germany"] [Date "2022.04.09"] [Round "3.8"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Santos Latasa, Jaime"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2648"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2022.03.05"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "15"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "CBM 207 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2022.05.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.05.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Viernheim"] [BlackTeam "Bayern Muenchen"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GER"] [BlackTeamCountry "GER"] {[%evp 0,99,27,24,27,-23,-3,3,6,6,14,-20,-20,-14,-14,-14,-4,-15,-11,-29,-14,-35,-38,-58,4,-1,15,-16,-11,-29,22,-4,-13,5,-3,-24,-24,-31,-24,-17,-16,-16,-16,-16,-13,-8,-21,-1,-1,7,0,0,0,0,40,36,37,21,26,37,43,28,59,64,74,20,53,91,82,74,80,87,83,88,88,100,122,118,190,154,154,142,142,129,264,234,234,200,324,104,402,321,318,354,354,325,439,544,514,372,380,382]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. a3 {'!?' A move that was popularized by Magnus Carlsen, when he won a nice game against Wesley So in 2020.} Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 Bd7 {'!?'} (7... Ne4 {is the other critical move.}) (7... O-O 8. Bg5 $1 h6 9. Bh4 Bd7 10. Qc2 Na5 11. g4 $1 g5 12. Bg3 Ne4 13. h4 $40 {1-0 (35) Carlsen,M (2862)-So,W (2770) chess24.com 2020}) 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Qc2 {A quiet, hardly promising line.} (9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 Ne5 $5 (10... O-O {is common}) 11. Qb3 Ng6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. Qxb7 O-O $44 {0-1 (52) Mirzoev,A (2438)-Piyumantha,M (2231) Dhaka 2021}) 9... O-O {A natural move but practice has seen a number of alternatives:} (9... h6 10. e3 O-O 11. c4 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Be6 13. Rb1 Bxc4 14. Qxc4 Rb8 15. Bd2 $14 {1-0 (50) Pap,G (2535)-Danada,T (2308) Piestany SVK 2021}) (9... Qc8 10. e3 Bf5 11. Qb2 (11. Bd3 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Qg4 13. O-O O-O 14. c4 Rad8 15. Rb1 $14 {1-0 (58) Arkell,K (2457)-Richardson,J (2308) Birmingham 2001}) 11... O-O 12. c4 Ne7 13. cxd5 Nexd5 14. Be2 Re8 15. O-O Re6 16. Bd2 $14 {1-0 (37) Sofrevski,J-Vukovic,S Kragujevac 1959}) (9... Na5 {or 9...h6 (to prevent Bg5) are also possible.} 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bh4 c5 12. e3 Rc8 13. Bd3 O-O 14. O-O cxd4 15. exd4 Nc4 16. Rfe1 Nd6 17. Re3 Re8 18. Ne5 g5 19. Bg3 Nfe4 $13 {1-0 (39) Sakaev,K (2629)-Gutov,A (2477) Smolensk 2000}) (9... Ne7 $5 10. Bg5 (10. e3 $5) 10... Ne4 11. Bh4 Bb5 12. Rb1 c6 13. a4 Ba6 14. e3 Bxf1 15. Kxf1 b6 $11 {0-1 (28) Belov,V (2598)-Tomashevsky,E (2705) Moscow 2019}) (9... Ne4 {0-1 (39) Makarczyk,K-Urseanu,V Bucharest 1951} 10. e3 $5) 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bh4 Na5 (11... Qe7 12. e3 Bg4 13. Bd3 Qe6 14. O-O Bxf3 15. gxf3 Ne7 16. c4 $14 {0-1 (77) Wang,K (2389)-Guo,A (2432) New York 2022}) (11... g5 $5 {turns out to be too weakening, as in the following game:} 12. Bg3 Ne4 13. e3 Bf5 (13... h5 $6 14. c4 {'!'} Bf5 (14... h4 15. Bxh4 $1 gxh4 16. cxd5 $18) 15. Bd3 h4 16. Be5 g4 (16... f6 $2 17. cxd5 $18) 17. Bf4 {'!'} Re8 (17... gxf3 18. gxf3 $18) 18. Ne5 $16 {1-0 (36) Grischuk,A (2778)-Pichot,A (2630) Krasnaya Polyana RUS 2021} Nxe5 19. dxe5 $18 {1-0 (36) Grischuk,A (2778)-Pichot,A (2630) Krasnaya Polyana 2021.}) 14. Bd3 Na5 (14... Qf6 15. O-O Nxg3 16. hxg3 Ne7 17. c4 c6 18. Bxf5 Qxf5 19. Qb3 $14 {1-0 (54) Khismatullin,D (2646)-Gordievsky,D (2422) Moscow 2012}) 15. Nd2 Re8 16. Be5 f6 17. Bxe4 dxe4 18. Bg3 c5 19. O-O cxd4 20. cxd4 Rc8 21. Qb2 Qd5 $11 {0-1 (52) Priehoda,V (2370)-Blatny,P (2415) Trnava 1986}) 12. Ne5 {'N!' Avoiding problems on the e-file as in the game below.} (12. e3 c5 13. Ne5 cxd4 14. exd4 Qe8 {'!' was fine for Black in: 1-0 (62) Le,Q (2709)-Paravyan,D (2617) chess.com 2022.} 15. Bd3 Ba4 16. Qb2 Ng4 $132 {1-0 (62) Le,Q (2709)-Paravyan,D (2617) chess.com INT 2022}) 12... Be6 {Too soft. Black has some development advantage and should exploit it:} (12... g5 $5 13. Bg3 c5 {, immediately launching counterplay}) 13. e3 c5 14. Bd3 c4 (14... g5 $6 15. Bg3 {is too risky now as White has made a useful move Bf1-d3.}) 15. Bh7+ $1 Kh8 {For example if he tries to unpin himself:} 16. Bf5 {Black has concrete problems.} Nb3 (16... Qc8 17. Bxe6 Qxe6 18. Bxf6 gxf6 (18... Qxf6 $2 19. Nd7 $18) 19. Nf3 $14) 17. Bxe6 $6 {Interesting, but not best.} ({The simple} 17. Rd1 {was simple and strong. Black's b3 knight is rather useless in that case. was a safe bet.} Qc8 18. Bxe6 Qxe6 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Nf3 $14) 17... Nxa1 18. Qd1 fxe6 19. Ng6+ Kg8 20. Nxf8 Qxf8 21. Qxa1 b5 {Black has initiative on the queenside now, White must carefully defend.} 22. O-O a5 {Black is simply not worse at all.} 23. Qb2 Rb8 24. Rb1 Nd7 25. Bg3 Rb7 26. f3 Nb8 27. e4 Nc6 {[%CAl Rb5b4]} 28. Qe2 Qf7 $6 {This move allows White to activate his bishop. Allowing the white bishop to switch to a better diagonal.} (28... Qd8 $5 {getting ready to recapture on d5 with the queen was just fine for Black.} 29. exd5 $140 Qxd5) 29. Bd6 Kh7 $6 (29... Qd7 $5 30. Bc5 e5 $13) 30. Bc5 Kg8 {'?!' Black decides to wait hoping that his defence is solid enough.} (30... e5 {was the key move if Black wanted to find counterplay, unlike in the game, e.g.} 31. exd5 Qxd5 32. Qe4+ Qxe4 33. fxe4 exd4 34. cxd4 c3 35. d5 Ne5 36. Bd4 Nc4 37. Bxc3 Nxa3 $13) 31. Qe1 {'?!' Giving Black another chance to push ...e5, which he did not!} Qd7 (31... e5 $1) 32. h4 {'?'} (32. exd5 $142 Qxd5 (32... exd5 33. Rb2 {[%CAl Yb2e2]}) 33. Qe4 $14 {'?'}) 32... Kh8 {'?' Black has a last chance to push ...e5.} ({It was a last good opportunity to play} 32... e5 $1 $13) 33. exd5 {'!'} Qxd5 (33... exd5 34. Rb2 {followed by Re2 is close to winning for White.}) 34. Qe4 $1 {Not if Black trades queens he won't be in time to push ...b4. Black is somehow paralyzed.} Kg8 35. h5 Rb8 (35... Qxe4 36. fxe4 {is favorable for White, of course.}) 36. g4 Qd7 37. Kg2 Rb7 $6 {[%mdl 8192]} (37... Ne7 38. Bxe7 Qxe7 {was probably the last chance to continue resistance.} 39. Qe5 $16) 38. Re1 {'!' The e6 pawn is doomed now. Finally the black position collapses.} b4 (38... Nd8 39. d5 $1 $18) 39. axb4 axb4 40. Qg6 $1 {[%CAl Re1e6]} e5 41. cxb4 c3 42. dxe5 Nxb4 (42... Qd2+ 43. Bf2 $18) 43. Ra1 $1 Nc6 44. Bd6 (44. Ra8+ {was quite enough for a win, e.g.} Nb8 (44... Rb8 45. Rxb8+ Nxb8 46. e6 $18) (44... Nd8 45. Kg3 $18 {[%CAl Rc5b6]}) 45. e6 Rb2+ 46. Bf2 Rxf2+ (46... Qd2 47. Qf7+ Kh7 48. Qf5+ Kg8 49. Qc5 $18) 47. Kxf2 Qd2+ 48. Kg3 Qe1+ 49. Kf4 $18) 44... Ra7 (44... Rb2+ 45. Kg3 Nd8 {was more stubborn. White should continue} 46. g5 ({or} 46. Qd3 c2 47. Rc1) ({but not, say,} 46. Ra8 $2 c2)) 45. Rxa7 Nxa7 46. e6 Qb5 47. Qf7+ Kh7 48. Qxa7 Qb2+ 49. Qf2 c2 50. Bf4 1-0 [Event "GRENKE Chess Classic"] [Site "Karlsruhe, Germany"] [Date "2024.03.31"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2708"] [BlackElo "2755"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16.1"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2024.??.??"] {[%evp 18,88,43,48,47,28,34,31,44,40,31,17,29,18,28,20,23,23,13,0,45,63,64,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-18,-22,-24,-22,-22,-14,0,0,-65,-83,-88,-9,-8,-7,-9,-8,-22,0,0,-14,0,0,0,0,0,0,-40,0,-8,0,-2,-1,-1,-1,-1,0,-12,0,-26,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bxf6 Qxf6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 c6 9. Bd3 Nd7 10. O-O Qe7 {D38: Queen's Gambit Declined: Ragozin Defence (4 Nf3 Bb4).} ({Relevant:} 10... dxc4 11. Bxc4 Bxc3 12. Rxc3 b6 13. Bd3 c5 14. Be4 Rb8 15. Qa4 a5 16. Rfc1 Rd8 17. h3 Ba6 18. Qc2 b5 19. Ra3 cxd4 20. Nxd4 Rbc8 21. Rc3 b4 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Qd2 Nc5 24. Bf3 e5 25. Nb3 Nxb3 26. Rxc8+ Bxc8 27. axb3 Be6 28. Bd5 e4 29. Bxe6 fxe6 {½-½ (29) Fressinet,L (2632)-Bacrot,E (2672) Asnieres sur Seine 2023}) 11. a3 Bd6 12. c5 Bc7 {White is slightly better.} 13. e4 dxe4 14. Bxe4 e5 {[#]} 15. Re1 $146 ({Predecessor:} 15. Bb1 exd4 16. Re1 Qxc5 17. Qd3 g6 18. Ba2 Ne5 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Qxg6+ Bg7 21. Ne4 {½-½ (29) Savchenko,S (2590)-Landa,K (2515) Kazan 1995}) ({Predecessor:} 15. Bb1 exd4 16. Re1 Qxc5 17. Qd3 g6 18. Ba2 Ne5 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Qxg6+ Bg7 21. Ne4 Qf5 22. Qg3 Qg4 23. Qc7 Bf5 24. h3 Qg6 25. Nd6 d3 26. Rcd1 Qf6 27. Nxf5 Qxf5 28. Re3 Rad8 29. Rf3 Rd7 {½-½ (29) Savchenko,S (2590)-Landa,K (2515) Kazan 1995}) ({RR} 15. Bb1 exd4 16. Re1 Qxc5 17. Qd3 g6 18. Ba2 Ne5 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Qxg6+ Bg7 21. Ne4 Qf5 22. Qg3 Qg4 23. Qc7 Bf5 24. h3 Qg6 25. Nd6 d3 26. Rcd1 Qf6 27. Nxf5 Qxf5 28. Re3 Rad8 29. Rf3 Rd7 {Savchenko,S (2590)-Landa,K (2515) Kazan 1995 ½-½}) 15... Qd8 16. Bb1 exd4 17. Qd3 {[%csl Gb1][%CAl Rd3h7] [#]} g6 18. Ba2 Kh7 {[%eval 45,20]} (18... Bf4 $1 $11 {[%eval 0,19]} 19. Ne4 Bxc1 20. Rxc1 Nf6) 19. Qxd4 $14 Ne5 20. Qxd8 {[%eval 0,20]} ({Better is} 20. Qe3 $14 {[%eval 64,21]} Nxf3+ 21. Qxf3) 20... Nxf3+ $11 21. gxf3 Bxd8 22. Ne4 Bh3 23. Nd6 Bg5 24. Rcd1 Kg7 25. f4 Bxf4 26. Re7 b6 27. Rd3 Bxd6 28. cxd6 Bf5 29. Rc3 {[%eval -65,22]} (29. Rd1 $11 {[%eval 0,18]}) 29... c5 $15 30. b4 Rad8 {[%eval -9,20]} ({Black should try} 30... cxb4 $17 {[%eval -88,21]} 31. axb4 a5 32. bxa5 bxa5) 31. bxc5 $11 bxc5 32. Rxc5 Rxd6 33. Rcc7 $1 {[%CAl Re7f7]} Kf6 34. Rxf7+ Rxf7 35. Rxf7+ {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KRB-KRB} Kg5 36. Rxa7 Be4 {[%CAl Rd6d1] [#]} 37. Bb3 Rc6 38. Rd7 Bf3 {[%mdl 1024] Hoping for ...Rc1+. Black has compensation.} 39. h3 h5 40. Kh2 Rc1 {Threatens to win with ...h4.} 41. Bd5 Rd1 42. Be6 {Kg3 is the strong threat.} Ra1 {( -> ...h4)} 43. Bd5 Rd1 44. Be6 {Strongly threatening Kg3.} Ra1 {Accuracy: White = 84%, Black = 85%.} (44... Re1 $5 {[%CAl Rh5h4]} 45. h4+ {[%mdl 64] Decoy} Kxh4 46. Rd4+ Kg5 $15) 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup"] [Site "Krasnaya Polyana"] [Date "2021.07.16"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Black "Alekseev, Evgeny V"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2691"] [BlackElo "2605"] [Annotator "Wojtaszek,Radoslaw"] [PlyCount "137"] [EventDate "2021.07.12"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "8"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "CBM 203"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2021.08.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.08.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,137,50,19,44,-17,-13,-22,0,-16,0,-37,-8,-42,15,-8,31,5,58,41,80,62,48,32,75,84,90,81,93,72,79,89,86,48,52,32,62,35,52,52,52,52,52,54,54,21,23,36,47,23,16,7,44,0,31,28,33,35,57,47,44,51,75,74,78,58,82,54,58,61,60,61,66,64,68,78,94,97,97,87,104,98,111,90,111,106,105,101,86,101,99,101,98,87,96,100,104,103,122,122,91,76,74,70,81,62,51,54,54,45,42,46,45,45,45,45,45,35,35,39,39,36,35,35,34,253,193,266,230,428,954,1100,1129,1219,1904,1904,2338,2217,29971,29084]} {The World Cup is a very special kind of event - you never know how many games you're going to play. I started from the round 2 and already here I was paired with a strong Russian Grandmaster, who had 2700+ rating in the past. 1st game ended up with a draw after I have managed to defend an unpleasant position. In the second game I decided to play more aggresively against my solid opponent.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bf4 c6 {Not the main move but the one I expected.} (6... Ne4 7. Rc1 Nc6 {Is the big mainline with many interesting games played during Magnus Carlsen Tour recently.}) (6... O-O 7. e3 Bf5 8. Qb3 {Is the move black wanted to avoid by playing 6...c6.}) 7. e3 Bf5 8. a3 (8. Qb3 Qb6 $1 {Is the main point of black's opening play.}) 8... Bd6 (8... Be7 9. Nh4 $1 {Typical, white wants to develop his bishop to d3} Be6 10. Bd3 $14) 9. Ne5 $5 {A novelty which I prepared for this game. Objectively black should be fine but I thought it's an interesting try against a solid opponent.} (9. Bxd6 $5 Qxd6 10. Nh4 $1 Be6 11. Bd3 $14 {was another promising direction. White would be slightly better but I thought that black's position was too solid.}) 9... Qe7 $1 {[%CAl Gb8d7] Black insists on Nbd7 which would immediately solve all his opening problems.} (9... Nbd7 $4 10. Nxf7 Kxf7 11. Bxd6 $18) (9... O-O $6 {Objectively maybe it's not a bad move but it would give me an easy play after} 10. g4 $1 Be6 $1 (10... Bxe5 $6 11. dxe5 Nxg4 12. h3 Nh6 13. Qf3 $36) 11. Bd3 c5 $1 {Black has to seek for an active play.} 12. g5 Ne8 13. dxc5 Bxe5 14. Bxe5 Qxg5 15. Bd4 $13) 10. Qf3 $5 {Making Nbd7 impossible again.} Bg6 $2 (10... Nbd7 $4 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Qxf5 $18) (10... g6 $6 11. Bg5 $1 h5 $8 (11... Bxe5 $4 12. dxe5 Qxe5 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. g4 $1 $18) 12. Bd3 Bxe5 13. dxe5 Qxe5 14. Bxf5 gxf5 15. Bf4 $1 Qe7 16. Ne2 $1 $14 {[%csl Gf5][%CAl Ge2d4]}) (10... O-O $2 11. Nxc6 Nxc6 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Qxf5 $16) ({The best was} 10... Qe6 $1 {and now black can finally develop freely.} 11. Bd3 Bxd3 12. Nxd3 O-O 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 $11) 11. h4 $1 $36 Nh5 12. Nxg6 fxg6 (12... hxg6 {wouldn't solve black's problem either:} 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. e4 $1 $16) 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. e4 $1 dxe4 (14... Qf4 15. Qxf4 Nxf4 16. g3 Ne6 17. O-O-O $18 {it's also hopeless for black.}) 15. Nxe4 $1 (15. Qxe4+ $2 Qe7 $1 {and without queens it would be easier for black to organize some defence.}) 15... Qe7 (15... Qxd4 16. Rd1 Qe5 17. Bc4 Nf6 18. O-O $1 $18) 16. Bc4 Nd7 (16... Nf6 17. O-O-O $1) 17. Bf7+ $5 ({The simple} 17. O-O-O O-O-O 18. Ng5 {should be also sufficent but I didn't want to allow castling.}) 17... Kf8 18. Bxg6+ $4 (18. Bb3+ Nhf6 19. Bc2 $1 $18 {For some reason I completely forgot about this move. Even now it's very difficult for me to explain how it happened. Ovbviously now white is completely winning - black's king will never be safe.}) (18. Ba2+ $5 Ndf6 19. O-O Qxe4 20. Qb3 $36 {It's funny that I calculated this line for a long time but finally I decided not to enter this and went for a safer line. Objectively white's compensation is more than sufficent and should be winning.} Nd5 21. Qxb7 Re8 {This bothered me during the game but white has} 22. Rae1 $1 Qxe1 23. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 24. Kh2 $18) 18... Nhf6 19. Bf5 g6 (19... Nxe4 20. Qxe4 Qxe4+ 21. Bxe4 Re8 22. f3 Nf6 {would be good for black if it weren't for} 23. O-O $1 $16) 20. Bxd7 Qxe4+ 21. Qxe4 Nxe4 22. Bg4 $16 {White is still better but during the game I felt like I will have to win the same game twice :)} Kg7 23. Rd1 Nf6 24. Be2 Rae8 25. Rh3 $1 Nd5 26. Rf3 Re7 27. Kf1 Rd8 28. g3 Red7 29. Rfd3 Ne7 $2 (29... h5 $1 30. Bf3 Ne7 31. Be4 Rd6 {and I'm not sure how exactly white should make progress here.}) 30. Bg4 $1 Nf5 (30... Rd6 31. Re1 $1 Nd5) 31. Bxf5 gxf5 32. Re1 $2 (32. Rf3 $1 Rxd4 (32... Rd5 33. Rc1 $1 Kf6 34. Rc5 $18) 33. Rxd4 Rxd4 34. Rxf5 $18) 32... f4 $1 {I missed this resource, now black gets some practical chances to save the game.} 33. Re4 (33. gxf4 $5 Kf6 34. Rb3 $1 (34. Re4 c5 $1) 34... Rc7 35. Re4 Rd5 36. Kg2 $16) 33... fxg3 34. Rxg3+ Kf6 35. Rf3+ Kg6 36. Rff4 $16 Rd6 37. Ke2 Rf6 38. Rg4+ $1 Kf7 39. Ke3 Rdd6 40. Re5 h6 41. Rge4 Rd7 42. h5 a6 43. a4 Rfd6 44. a5 $1 $18 Rd5 45. Rxd5 $6 {There was no need for this, I could still continue improving my position.} (45. b4 $1 {and compared to the game, I would always have an improved version with a pawn on b4.}) 45... Rxd5 46. Re5 Rd8 47. Ke4 Rg8 48. d5 cxd5+ 49. Rxd5 Ke6 {Around here I was getting short of time and couldn't find the best moves.} 50. Re5+ $2 (50. f4 $1 Rg2 51. f5+ Ke7 52. b4 Rg4+ (52... Rb2 53. Ke5 Re2+ 54. Kd4 Kf6 55. Rd6+ $18) 53. Ke5 Rxb4 54. f6+ Kf8 55. Ke6 Re4+ 56. Kf5 Rb4 57. Kg6 $18) 50... Kf6 51. b4 Rg1 52. Rc5 Re1+ 53. Kf4 Rb1 54. Rc4 Rh1 55. Kg4 Rg1+ 56. Kf4 Rh1 57. Kg4 Rg1+ 58. Kf3 $1 Rg5 (58... Rb1 $1 {was relatively the best defence.} 59. Ke4 Ke6 (59... Kg5 60. f4+ Kxh5 61. Kf5 $1 {- again this motif wins!}) 60. f4 Re1+ (60... Rb2 61. f5+ Kf6 62. Kd4 Kxf5 63. Kc5 $18) 61. Kd3 Rd1+ (61... Kd5 62. Rc7) (61... Kd6 62. Rd4+ $1 Kc6 63. f5 $18) 62. Ke3 $1 Rb1 (62... Re1+ 63. Kd2 Rb1 64. Kc2 Rh1 65. Rc7) 63. Kd4 $1 Kd6 64. Ke4 $1 Rh1 (64... Ke6 65. f5+ Kf6 66. Kd5 Kxf5 67. Kc5) 65. Rc5 $1 (65. Kf5 $4 Rxh5+ 66. Kg6 Rh4 $1) 65... Rb1 66. Kf5 Rxb4 67. Re5 $18) 59. Rc5 $1 Rxc5 (59... Rg7 60. Ke4) 60. bxc5 Kg5 61. Ke4 Kxh5 62. Kf5 $1 {Typical motif which proved useful here.} (62. Ke5 $4 Kg6 63. f4 h5 64. Ke6 Kg7 65. Ke7 Kg6 66. Ke6 Kg7 $11) 62... Kh4 63. f4 h5 64. Ke5 $1 {The simplest} (64. Ke6 Kg3 65. f5 h4 66. f6 h3 67. f7 h2 68. f8=Q h1=Q 69. Qd6+ Kf2 70. Kd7 {should be also winning but no need for that.}) 64... Kg4 65. f5 h4 66. f6 h3 67. f7 h2 68. f8=Q h1=Q 69. Qg7+ 1-0 [Event "Bundesliga 2122"] [Site "Germany"] [Date "2022.04.09"] [Round "3.8"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Santos Latasa, Jaime"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2648"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2022.03.05"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "15"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "CBM 207 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2022.05.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.05.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Viernheim"] [BlackTeam "Bayern Muenchen"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GER"] [BlackTeamCountry "GER"] {[%evp 0,99,27,24,27,-23,-3,3,6,6,14,-20,-20,-14,-14,-14,-4,-15,-11,-29,-14,-35,-38,-58,4,-1,15,-16,-11,-29,22,-4,-13,5,-3,-24,-24,-31,-24,-17,-16,-16,-16,-16,-13,-8,-21,-1,-1,7,0,0,0,0,40,36,37,21,26,37,43,28,59,64,74,20,53,91,82,74,80,87,83,88,88,100,122,118,190,154,154,142,142,129,264,234,234,200,324,104,402,321,318,354,354,325,439,544,514,372,380,382]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. a3 {'!?' A move that was popularized by Magnus Carlsen, when he won a nice game against Wesley So in 2020.} Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 Bd7 {'!?'} (7... Ne4 {is the other critical move.}) (7... O-O 8. Bg5 $1 h6 9. Bh4 Bd7 10. Qc2 Na5 11. g4 $1 g5 12. Bg3 Ne4 13. h4 $40 {1-0 (35) Carlsen,M (2862)-So,W (2770) chess24.com 2020}) 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Qc2 {A quiet, hardly promising line.} (9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 Ne5 $5 (10... O-O {is common}) 11. Qb3 Ng6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. Qxb7 O-O $44 {0-1 (52) Mirzoev,A (2438)-Piyumantha,M (2231) Dhaka 2021}) 9... O-O {A natural move but practice has seen a number of alternatives:} (9... h6 10. e3 O-O 11. c4 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Be6 13. Rb1 Bxc4 14. Qxc4 Rb8 15. Bd2 $14 {1-0 (50) Pap,G (2535)-Danada,T (2308) Piestany SVK 2021}) (9... Qc8 10. e3 Bf5 11. Qb2 (11. Bd3 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Qg4 13. O-O O-O 14. c4 Rad8 15. Rb1 $14 {1-0 (58) Arkell,K (2457)-Richardson,J (2308) Birmingham 2001}) 11... O-O 12. c4 Ne7 13. cxd5 Nexd5 14. Be2 Re8 15. O-O Re6 16. Bd2 $14 {1-0 (37) Sofrevski,J-Vukovic,S Kragujevac 1959}) (9... Na5 {or 9...h6 (to prevent Bg5) are also possible.} 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bh4 c5 12. e3 Rc8 13. Bd3 O-O 14. O-O cxd4 15. exd4 Nc4 16. Rfe1 Nd6 17. Re3 Re8 18. Ne5 g5 19. Bg3 Nfe4 $13 {1-0 (39) Sakaev,K (2629)-Gutov,A (2477) Smolensk 2000}) (9... Ne7 $5 10. Bg5 (10. e3 $5) 10... Ne4 11. Bh4 Bb5 12. Rb1 c6 13. a4 Ba6 14. e3 Bxf1 15. Kxf1 b6 $11 {0-1 (28) Belov,V (2598)-Tomashevsky,E (2705) Moscow 2019}) (9... Ne4 {0-1 (39) Makarczyk,K-Urseanu,V Bucharest 1951} 10. e3 $5) 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bh4 Na5 (11... Qe7 12. e3 Bg4 13. Bd3 Qe6 14. O-O Bxf3 15. gxf3 Ne7 16. c4 $14 {0-1 (77) Wang,K (2389)-Guo,A (2432) New York 2022}) (11... g5 $5 {turns out to be too weakening, as in the following game:} 12. Bg3 Ne4 13. e3 Bf5 (13... h5 $6 14. c4 {'!'} Bf5 (14... h4 15. Bxh4 $1 gxh4 16. cxd5 $18) 15. Bd3 h4 16. Be5 g4 (16... f6 $2 17. cxd5 $18) 17. Bf4 {'!'} Re8 (17... gxf3 18. gxf3 $18) 18. Ne5 $16 {1-0 (36) Grischuk,A (2778)-Pichot,A (2630) Krasnaya Polyana RUS 2021} Nxe5 19. dxe5 $18 {1-0 (36) Grischuk,A (2778)-Pichot,A (2630) Krasnaya Polyana 2021.}) 14. Bd3 Na5 (14... Qf6 15. O-O Nxg3 16. hxg3 Ne7 17. c4 c6 18. Bxf5 Qxf5 19. Qb3 $14 {1-0 (54) Khismatullin,D (2646)-Gordievsky,D (2422) Moscow 2012}) 15. Nd2 Re8 16. Be5 f6 17. Bxe4 dxe4 18. Bg3 c5 19. O-O cxd4 20. cxd4 Rc8 21. Qb2 Qd5 $11 {0-1 (52) Priehoda,V (2370)-Blatny,P (2415) Trnava 1986}) 12. Ne5 {'N!' Avoiding problems on the e-file as in the game below.} (12. e3 c5 13. Ne5 cxd4 14. exd4 Qe8 {'!' was fine for Black in: 1-0 (62) Le,Q (2709)-Paravyan,D (2617) chess.com 2022.} 15. Bd3 Ba4 16. Qb2 Ng4 $132 {1-0 (62) Le,Q (2709)-Paravyan,D (2617) chess.com INT 2022}) 12... Be6 {Too soft. Black has some development advantage and should exploit it:} (12... g5 $5 13. Bg3 c5 {, immediately launching counterplay}) 13. e3 c5 14. Bd3 c4 (14... g5 $6 15. Bg3 {is too risky now as White has made a useful move Bf1-d3.}) 15. Bh7+ $1 Kh8 {For example if he tries to unpin himself:} 16. Bf5 {Black has concrete problems.} Nb3 (16... Qc8 17. Bxe6 Qxe6 18. Bxf6 gxf6 (18... Qxf6 $2 19. Nd7 $18) 19. Nf3 $14) 17. Bxe6 $6 {Interesting, but not best.} ({The simple} 17. Rd1 {was simple and strong. Black's b3 knight is rather useless in that case. was a safe bet.} Qc8 18. Bxe6 Qxe6 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Nf3 $14) 17... Nxa1 18. Qd1 fxe6 19. Ng6+ Kg8 20. Nxf8 Qxf8 21. Qxa1 b5 {Black has initiative on the queenside now, White must carefully defend.} 22. O-O a5 {Black is simply not worse at all.} 23. Qb2 Rb8 24. Rb1 Nd7 25. Bg3 Rb7 26. f3 Nb8 27. e4 Nc6 {[%CAl Rb5b4]} 28. Qe2 Qf7 $6 {This move allows White to activate his bishop. Allowing the white bishop to switch to a better diagonal.} (28... Qd8 $5 {getting ready to recapture on d5 with the queen was just fine for Black.} 29. exd5 $140 Qxd5) 29. Bd6 Kh7 $6 (29... Qd7 $5 30. Bc5 e5 $13) 30. Bc5 Kg8 {'?!' Black decides to wait hoping that his defence is solid enough.} (30... e5 {was the key move if Black wanted to find counterplay, unlike in the game, e.g.} 31. exd5 Qxd5 32. Qe4+ Qxe4 33. fxe4 exd4 34. cxd4 c3 35. d5 Ne5 36. Bd4 Nc4 37. Bxc3 Nxa3 $13) 31. Qe1 {'?!' Giving Black another chance to push ...e5, which he did not!} Qd7 (31... e5 $1) 32. h4 {'?'} (32. exd5 $142 Qxd5 (32... exd5 33. Rb2 {[%CAl Yb2e2]}) 33. Qe4 $14 {'?'}) 32... Kh8 {'?' Black has a last chance to push ...e5.} ({It was a last good opportunity to play} 32... e5 $1 $13) 33. exd5 {'!'} Qxd5 (33... exd5 34. Rb2 {followed by Re2 is close to winning for White.}) 34. Qe4 $1 {Not if Black trades queens he won't be in time to push ...b4. Black is somehow paralyzed.} Kg8 35. h5 Rb8 (35... Qxe4 36. fxe4 {is favorable for White, of course.}) 36. g4 Qd7 37. Kg2 Rb7 $6 {[%mdl 8192]} (37... Ne7 38. Bxe7 Qxe7 {was probably the last chance to continue resistance.} 39. Qe5 $16) 38. Re1 {'!' The e6 pawn is doomed now. Finally the black position collapses.} b4 (38... Nd8 39. d5 $1 $18) 39. axb4 axb4 40. Qg6 $1 {[%CAl Re1e6]} e5 41. cxb4 c3 42. dxe5 Nxb4 (42... Qd2+ 43. Bf2 $18) 43. Ra1 $1 Nc6 44. Bd6 (44. Ra8+ {was quite enough for a win, e.g.} Nb8 (44... Rb8 45. Rxb8+ Nxb8 46. e6 $18) (44... Nd8 45. Kg3 $18 {[%CAl Rc5b6]}) 45. e6 Rb2+ 46. Bf2 Rxf2+ (46... Qd2 47. Qf7+ Kh7 48. Qf5+ Kg8 49. Qc5 $18) 47. Kxf2 Qd2+ 48. Kg3 Qe1+ 49. Kf4 $18) 44... Ra7 (44... Rb2+ 45. Kg3 Nd8 {was more stubborn. White should continue} 46. g5 ({or} 46. Qd3 c2 47. Rc1) ({but not, say,} 46. Ra8 $2 c2)) 45. Rxa7 Nxa7 46. e6 Qb5 47. Qf7+ Kh7 48. Qxa7 Qb2+ 49. Qf2 c2 50. Bf4 1-0 [Event "EU-chT 23rd"] [Site "Terme Catez"] [Date "2021.11.15"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Sargissian, Gabriel"] [Black "Donchenko, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2664"] [BlackElo "2645"] [Annotator "Edouard,Romain"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2021.11.12"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SLO"] [SourceTitle "CBM 208 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2022.07.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.07.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "Germany"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "GER"] {[%evp 0,71,20,36,28,-21,-21,-9,0,0,0,-13,-7,0,2,-73,-15,-14,-3,-3,30,47,35,5,17,-35,-14,-37,-37,-29,-29,0,7,-15,-11,-3,8,15,8,-9,-9,-101,-51,-25,-25,61,61,-56,-41,-41,41,215,207,196,363,213,206,223,223,206,206,206,207,153,168,202,186,187,193,205,205,216,229,245]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 O-O 8. e3 Bf5 {The latest fashion in the Ragozin.} 9. Qb3 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 (10. Qxc3 Nbd7 11. Be2 c6 12. Nd2 Ne4 13. Bxd8 Nxc3 14. bxc3 Rfxd8 {is known to be extremely close to equal: 15.a4!?, 15.Nf1!? or 15.g4!? - the latest being something that I played myself.}) 10... Nbd7 11. Be2 c5 12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. Qb4 Rc8 14. O-O {A very critical position.} g5 (14... Re8 15. Rad1 g5 16. Bg3 Qe7 17. c4 (17. Be5 $5 $146) 17... Nce4 18. Qxe7 Rxe7 19. cxd5 Rd7 (19... Nxg3 20. hxg3 Rd7 21. d6 Rcd8 22. Nd4 Bg6 {1-0 (51) Keymer,V (2630)-Ivic,V (2606) Riga 2021} 23. f3 $36) 20. d6 Nc3 21. Nd4 Nxd1 22. Rxd1 Rc5 $13) (14... Qe7 15. Rfd1 Rfd8 16. Nd4 Bd7 17. c4 $36 {½-½ (66) Cheparinov,I (2687)-Gajewski,G (2626) Moscow 2019}) 15. Bg3 Nfe4 (15... Qe7 16. Be5 Rfd8 17. Rad1 Nfe4 18. Bd4 Rd6 19. c4 Rb6 20. Qe1 $14 {1-0 (54) Wojtaszek,R (2687)-Abasov,N (2665) Prague 2021}) (15... Re8 $5 16. Rfd1 Nfe4 (16... a5 17. Qa3 Nce4 18. c4 Qb6 19. Nd4 Nxg3 20. hxg3 $14 {½-½ (64) Cheparinov,I (2670)-Sethuraman,S (2624) Douglas 2019}) 17. c4 Qf6 18. cxd5 Nc3 19. Nd4 Nxd1 20. Rxd1 Bd7 21. d6 b6 $13 {½-½ (27) Alonso Rosell,A (2572)-Anton Guijarro,D (2673) Chalons en Champagne 2021}) 16. Rad1 $6 $146 {Objectively dubious - but in the game Black failed to find why.} ({Previous Sargissian had tried} 16. Be5 {right away but after} Re8 17. Bd4 a5 18. Qa3 Ne6 19. Rac1 Nxd4 20. Nxd4 Bg6 {Black had a pretty solid position. ½-½ (39) Sargissian,G (2681)-Gukesh,D (2614) Warsaw 2021}) 16... a5 $1 (16... Na4 17. Qxa4 Nxc3 18. Qxa7 Nxe2+ 19. Kh1 {would be a little unpleasant for Black.}) 17. Qa3 Qf6 $2 (17... Na4 $1 18. Nd4 (18. Qxa4 Nxc3 $17) 18... Bd7 $1 (18... Naxc3 19. Nxf5 Nxe2+ 20. Kh1) 19. c4 Nac3 $1 20. cxd5 Nxd1 21. Bxd1 Re8 {and Black is simply better.}) 18. Be5 Qe6 19. Bd4 b6 20. c4 $1 {Suddenly Black's position turns to a nightmare. That's the problem with the Ragozin: one mistake and the game can be gone.} dxc4 21. Ba1 $1 {The d4-square, the a1-h8 diagonal... this is not going to be fun for Black!} Bg6 (21... Nd3 22. Bxd3 cxd3 23. Nd4 Qd7 24. Qxd3 (24. Nxf5 $5 Qxf5 25. f3 Nc5 26. Qb2 f6 27. Qxb6 $16) 24... Bg6 25. Qb3 $16) 22. Nd4 (22. Ne5 $5) 22... Qd7 23. f3 Nd6 24. e4 Rfd8 $2 {Losing on the spot.} (24... f6 25. Nc2 $14) 25. Nf5 $1 Nb5 (25... Bxf5 26. Qc3 $18) 26. Qb2 c3 27. Qxb5 (27. Qc1 $5 Qe8 28. Bxb5 Qxb5 29. Qxc3 $18) 27... Qxb5 28. Ne7+ Kf8 29. Nxg6+ fxg6 30. Bxb5 {It is all over.} c2 31. Rxd8+ Rxd8 32. Bb2 Nd3 33. Bxd3 Rxd3 34. Kf2 Rd2+ 35. Ke3 Rxg2 36. Rf2 1-0 [Event "RUS-ch m3-4"] [Site "Elista"] [Date "1997.05.30"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Dreev, Alexey"] [Black "Zvjaginsev, Vadim"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2650"] [BlackElo "2610"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "204"] [EventDate "1997.04.19"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "CBM 059"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1997.08.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1997.08.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Qc2 {Das ist eine gefährliche Zugfolge für Schwarz. Weiß verteidigt den Springer, zudem ist es in einigen Varianten von Vorteil, daß der ?g5 nach d2 zurückkehren kann. Wenn Weiß 7,e3 spielt, verbaut er sich diese Möglichkeit.Ribli.} c5 (7... O-O 8. a3 Be7 $14 {Dieser bescheidene Läuferzug räumt ein, daß 4...?b4 nur ein Tempoverlust war.Ribli.} (8... Bxc3+ 9. Qxc3 $14)) (7... h6 {Ich glaube, Schwarz kann sich mit diesem Zug Zeit lassen.Ribli.} 8. Bh4 c5 9. e3 Qa5 10. Bd3 O-O 11. O-O {Das ist im Prinzip die Hauptvariante, jedoch wegen h6-?h4 etwas vorteilhaft für Weiß.Ribli.} c4 12. Bf5 Re8 13. Nd2 $14 {Und in der Hauptvariante wäre jetzt 13...g6 -ohne h6-?h4- eine gute Fortsetzung.Ribli.}) 8. dxc5 (8. a3 Bxc3+ (8... Qa5) 9. Qxc3 c4 10. Nd2 h6) 8... h6 (8... Nxc5 9. a3 Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3 Nce4 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Qxf6 Nxf6 13. Rc1 Bd7 14. Nd4 Ke7 15. e3 Rhc8 16. Rxc8 Rxc8 17. Kd2 h5 18. f3 a6 19. Bd3 {1-0 Komarov,D-Tatai,S/Reggio9697 Reggio Emilia 1997 (37)}) (8... Qa5 9. Bd2 Qxc5 10. a3 (10. e3 Ne4 (10... O-O 11. Bd3 Qe7 12. O-O Ne5 13. Nxe5 Qxe5 14. Ne2 Bd6 15. Ng3 h6 16. Rfe1 Bd7 17. Qb3 Bc6 18. Bc3 {1-0 Lalic,B-Rosandic,D/Zagreb Vukovar 1993 (36)}) 11. Rc1 Nxd2 12. Qxd2 O-O 13. a3 Bxc3 14. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 15. Rxc3 Nf6 16. Nd4 Bd7 17. f3 Rfc8 18. Rxc8+ Rxc8 19. Kd2 Ne8 20. Bb5 Bxb5 21. Nxb5 a6 22. Nc3 {1-0 Boensch,U-Blatny,P/BL9596 1996 (41)}) 10... Bxc3 11. Qxc3 Ne4 12. Qxc5 Ndxc5 13. Rd1 (13. Nd4 Nxd2 14. Kxd2 Bd7 15. f3 Ne6 16. e3 Nxd4 17. exd4 Bf5 18. Bb5+ Ke7 19. Rhe1+ Kd6 20. Re5 Be6 21. f4 g6 22. Rg5 {½-½ Ivanov,T-Maksimenko,A/Vladivostok op 1995}) 13... Nxd2 14. Rxd2 Be6 15. e3 Rc8 16. Nd4 Ne4 17. Rd1 Ke7 18. Bd3 {½-½ Kovacevic,B-Tatai,S/Formia op 1995 (29)}) 9. Bd2 O-O 10. e3 Bxc5 {[%csl Yd4,Rd5] Schwarz hat einen Isolani auf d5 und sein ?d7 wäre besser auf c6 postiert. Weiß muß zunächst einmal seine Entwicklung beenden. Er kontrolliert das wichtige Feld d4. - Wenn man gegen einen isolierten Bauern spielt, ist es immer wichtig, das Feld vor dem Bauern fest in der Hand zu haben.Ribli.} 11. Bd3 {Hier steht der Läufer aktiver als auf e2. Weiß hält so den Punkt e2 für das Manöver ?e2-d4 frei.Ribli.} a6 {Unterbindet das eventuelle Springermanöver ?b5-d4.Ribli.} 12. O-O $14 Bd6 {Hier hat Schwarz meiner Meinung nach keine gefährliche Aktivität - was normalerweise den isolirten Bauern kompensieren sollte.Ribli.} 13. Ne2 {[%CAl Ge2d4] Der Springer zielt nach d4 und macht Platz für den schwarzfeldrigen ?c3.Ribli.} Ne5 (13... Nc5 14. Bc3 {[%csl Gd4][%CAl Gc3g7]}) 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. Bc3 Qe7 {Es wäre für Schwarz strategisch günstiger, die weißfeldrigen Läufer zu tauschen und die schwarzfeldrigen auf dem Brett zu halten. In unserer Partie ist der ?c3 aber so stark, daß Schwarz dem Läufertausch nicht aus dem Wege geht.Ribli.} 16. Bxe5 Qxe5 17. Rac1 Be6 18. Qc3 {[%csl Gd4,Rd5] Weiß strebt ein Endspiel an, in dem er aufgrund der ewigen Schwäche d5 einen kleinen, aber dauerhaften Vorteil hätte.Ribli.} Ng4 19. Qxe5 Nxe5 20. Bb1 Rac8 21. Nd4 {[%csl Gd4] Der Springer steht stolz auf d4. Ich möchte anmerken, daß das mögliche Endspiel ?d4 gegen ?e6 immer vorteilhaft für Weiß ist und Schwarz hartnäckig um Remis kämpfen müßte.Ribli.} Nc4 22. Rc2 {Es ist besser für Weiß, die Schwächung des Damenflügels mit 22.b3 zu vermeiden.Ribli.} (22. b3 $6 {[%csl Ra3,Rc3]}) 22... Nd6 23. Rfc1 {In einem solchen Endspiel sind normalerweise zwei Endergebnisse möglich: Weiß gewinnt oder Remis.Ribli.} Rc4 24. a3 {[%CAl Yb1a2,Ya2d5] Weiß bereitet die Verbesserung des Läufers nach 25.?a2 vor.Ribli.} Rfc8 25. Ba2 Rxc2 26. Rxc2 Rxc2 27. Nxc2 {Ich möchte anmerken, daß Weiß wegen des schwachen ?d5 Weiss in allen Endspielen besser steht - natürlich in Bauernendspiel, im Endspiel ?vs.?, ?vs.?, ?vs.? und ?vs.?. Daß er immer besser steht, ist unbestreitbar, die Frage ist nur, ob dieser Vorteil für den Sieg auch ausreicht.Ribli.} Kf8 28. a4 {[%csl Gb6][%CAl Ra4a5] Weiß will die schwarzen Bauern am Damenflügel festlegen. Wenn diese Bauern auf weißen Feldern blockiert wären, hätte Weiß bessere Chancen.Ribli.} Ke7 (28... a5 29. b4 b6 (29... axb4 30. Nxb4 {[%csl Rd5]})) (28... b6 $2 29. Nb4 {[%CAl Rb4d5,Rb4a6]}) 29. Kf1 Bd7 30. a5 Nc4 {Schwarz wartet nicht mehr, er bietet einen Figerentausch an und läßt so seinen isolierten ?d5 auflösen. Das Problematische an diesem Zug ist, daß dieser ?c4 schwach wird.Ribli.} 31. Bxc4 dxc4 {[%csl Rc4]} 32. Ke2 Kd6 33. Kd2 Kc5 34. Kc3 f5 {Auf den ersten Blick ein antipositioneller Zug, aber in Wirklichkeit unterbindet er den später möglichen weißen Raumgewinn am Königsflügel.Ribli.} 35. Nd4 Bc8 36. h4 Bd7 (36... g6 $6 {[%csl Rg6]}) 37. h5 {Weiß hat Raumvorteil am Königsflügel, aber der ?h5 kann später einmal schwach werden.Ribli.} Bc8 38. f3 {Da der Springer allein für weitere Gewinnversuche nicht ausreicht, bereitet Weiß e3-e4 vor.Ribli.} Bd7 39. Ne2 Kb5 40. Nd4+ Kc5 41. g3 Bc8 42. e4 {Weiß spielt diesen Zug nicht nur, um sich einen Freibauern zu bilden, sondern auch um 44.?f5 vorzubereiten.Ribli.} fxe4 43. fxe4 Bg4 {[%csl Rh5]} 44. Nf5 Bxh5 (44... Bxf5 45. exf5 Kd5 {Meiner Meinung nach ist das Bauernendspiel remis.Ribli.} 46. g4 Ke4 (46... Kc5 $4 47. g5 {Das ist ein gut bekannter Durchbruch in dieser Stellung.Ribli.} hxg5 48. f6 gxf6 49. h6 $18) 47. Kxc4 Kf4 48. Kc5 Kxg4 49. Kb6 Kxh5 50. Kxb7 Kg4 51. b4 (51. Kxa6 h5 52. b4 (52. Kb5 $18) 52... h4 53. b5 h3 54. b6 h2 55. b7 h1=Q 56. b8=Q {Und Weiß hat einen bloß theoretischen Vorteil, da der ?a5 gefährlich werden kann. Meiner Meinung nach reicht das aber nicht zum Gewinn.Ribli.}) 51... h5 52. b5 h4 53. bxa6 h3 54. a7 h2 55. a8=Q h1=Q+ 56. Kb8 Qh2+ 57. Ka7 (57. Kb7 Qh1+) (57. Kc8 Qh8+ 58. Kb7 Qh1+) 57... Qg1+ $11) 45. Nxg7 Bg6 {[%csl Gg6]} 46. e5 Bd3 (46... Kd5 47. e6 Kd6 48. g4 $5 Ke7 49. Nf5+ Kxe6 (49... Bxf5 $4 50. gxf5 $18) 50. Nxh6 $14) 47. e6 Kd6 48. Kd4 Be2 {[%CAl Ye2g4,Yg4e6]} 49. Nf5+ Kxe6 50. Nxh6 Kd6 51. g4 {Weiss hat einen dauerhaften Vorteil. Jetzt ist der Freibauer g4 eine Gefahr für Schwarz.Ribli.} Kc6 52. g5 {[%csl Gg5]} Bd3 53. Nf7 Kb5 54. Ne5 {[%CAl Re5d3]} Bb1 55. Nxc4 Kb4 $22 {Weiß hat einen Bauern mehr, befindet sich aber in Zugzwang.Ribli.} 56. Nd2 (56. Kd5 $4 Ba2 $19) 56... Bh7 57. Nc4 Bb1 $22 58. Nd6 Kxa5 59. Nxb7+ Kb4 60. Nc5 Bh7 61. Nxa6+ (61. Kd5 a5 {Der schwarze Plan ist klar -er gibt den Läufer für den g-Bauern und tauscht oder gewinnt den b-Bauern, und das Remis ist gesichert.Ribli.}) 61... Kb3 62. Nc5+ Kxb2 $11 {Jetzt haben wir eine theoretische Remisstellung. Schwarz muß jedoch vorsichtig sein. 1952 analysierte der Franzose Cheron dieses Endspiel. Natürlich muß Schwarz den Läufer für den g-Bauern geben. Der weiße Plan besteht darin, den Läufer auszuschließen. Aber in diesem Fall hilft der schwarze König von hinten. Ich möchte anmerken, daß die Stellung totremis wäre, wenn der schwarze König z.B. auf e7 oder g8 stünde.Ribli.} 63. Nd7 Kc2 64. Nf8 Bd3 65. Ke5 Kd2 66. Kf4 Ke2 67. Ne6 Kf2 68. Nd4 {[%csl Gf2] Der schwarze König muß hier stehen bleiben, denn der weiße Springer allein kann nichts ausrichten, und wenn der weiße König nach vorne geht, kann ihm der schwarze König folgen.Ribli.} Bg6 69. Nf3 Bh7 70. Nh4 Ke2 71. Nf5 Kf2 72. Ne3 Bg6 (72... Bd3 $2 73. Nf5 $18) 73. Nd5 Bh7 74. Ne7 Kg2 75. Kg4 Kf2 76. Nf5 Kg2 77. Nh4+ Kf2 78. Kf4 Ke2 (78... Bc2 $2 79. Nf5) 79. Ke5 Ke3 $1 80. Nf5+ Kf3 81. Kf6 Kf4 {Der schwarze König kann sehr gut von hinten helfen.Ribli.} 82. Nh6 Bb1 {[%csl Gf5] Jetzt kann Schwarz diesen Zug ruhig ausführen, da sein König das Feld f5 hält.Ribli.} 83. Nf7 Bc2 84. Ne5 Bb1 85. Nc6 {GM Dreev ist zwar ein großer Kämpfer, aber - ich glaube - er hätte hier ruhig Remis geben können.Ribli.} Bc2 86. Nb4 Bb1 87. Nd5+ Kg4 88. Ne3+ Kf4 (88... Kh4 $6 89. Nf5+ Kg4 90. g6 Bxf5 91. g7 Bh7 $11) 89. Ng2+ Kg4 90. Ne3+ Kf4 91. Nd1 Bc2 92. Nb2 {Normalerweise kann Weiß dieses Endspiel nicht gewinnen. Vielleicht spekuliert Dreev auf einen Sonderpreis für die längste Partie?Ribli.} Kg4 93. Nc4 Kf4 94. Nb6 Bb1 95. Nd7 Bc2 96. Nc5 Bb1 97. Ne6+ Kg4 98. Nd4 Kf4 99. Ne2+ Kg4 100. Nc3 Bc2 101. Nd5 Bb1 102. Ne7 Kf4 {Und endlich wurde Remis gegeben.Ribli.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "GRENKE Chess Classic"] [Site "Karlsruhe, Germany"] [Date "2024.03.31"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2708"] [BlackElo "2755"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16.1"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2024.??.??"] {[%evp 18,88,43,48,47,28,34,31,44,40,31,17,29,18,28,20,23,23,13,0,45,63,64,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-18,-22,-24,-22,-22,-14,0,0,-65,-83,-88,-9,-8,-7,-9,-8,-22,0,0,-14,0,0,0,0,0,0,-40,0,-8,0,-2,-1,-1,-1,-1,0,-12,0,-26,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bxf6 Qxf6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 c6 9. Bd3 Nd7 10. O-O Qe7 {D38: Queen's Gambit Declined: Ragozin Defence (4 Nf3 Bb4).} ({Relevant:} 10... dxc4 11. Bxc4 Bxc3 12. Rxc3 b6 13. Bd3 c5 14. Be4 Rb8 15. Qa4 a5 16. Rfc1 Rd8 17. h3 Ba6 18. Qc2 b5 19. Ra3 cxd4 20. Nxd4 Rbc8 21. Rc3 b4 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Qd2 Nc5 24. Bf3 e5 25. Nb3 Nxb3 26. Rxc8+ Bxc8 27. axb3 Be6 28. Bd5 e4 29. Bxe6 fxe6 {½-½ (29) Fressinet,L (2632)-Bacrot,E (2672) Asnieres sur Seine 2023}) 11. a3 Bd6 12. c5 Bc7 {White is slightly better.} 13. e4 dxe4 14. Bxe4 e5 {[#]} 15. Re1 $146 ({Predecessor:} 15. Bb1 exd4 16. Re1 Qxc5 17. Qd3 g6 18. Ba2 Ne5 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Qxg6+ Bg7 21. Ne4 {½-½ (29) Savchenko,S (2590)-Landa,K (2515) Kazan 1995}) ({Predecessor:} 15. Bb1 exd4 16. Re1 Qxc5 17. Qd3 g6 18. Ba2 Ne5 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Qxg6+ Bg7 21. Ne4 Qf5 22. Qg3 Qg4 23. Qc7 Bf5 24. h3 Qg6 25. Nd6 d3 26. Rcd1 Qf6 27. Nxf5 Qxf5 28. Re3 Rad8 29. Rf3 Rd7 {½-½ (29) Savchenko,S (2590)-Landa,K (2515) Kazan 1995}) ({RR} 15. Bb1 exd4 16. Re1 Qxc5 17. Qd3 g6 18. Ba2 Ne5 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Qxg6+ Bg7 21. Ne4 Qf5 22. Qg3 Qg4 23. Qc7 Bf5 24. h3 Qg6 25. Nd6 d3 26. Rcd1 Qf6 27. Nxf5 Qxf5 28. Re3 Rad8 29. Rf3 Rd7 {Savchenko,S (2590)-Landa,K (2515) Kazan 1995 ½-½}) 15... Qd8 16. Bb1 exd4 17. Qd3 {[%csl Gb1][%CAl Rd3h7] [#]} g6 18. Ba2 Kh7 {[%eval 45,20]} (18... Bf4 $1 $11 {[%eval 0,19]} 19. Ne4 Bxc1 20. Rxc1 Nf6) 19. Qxd4 $14 Ne5 20. Qxd8 {[%eval 0,20]} ({Better is} 20. Qe3 $14 {[%eval 64,21]} Nxf3+ 21. Qxf3) 20... Nxf3+ $11 21. gxf3 Bxd8 22. Ne4 Bh3 23. Nd6 Bg5 24. Rcd1 Kg7 25. f4 Bxf4 26. Re7 b6 27. Rd3 Bxd6 28. cxd6 Bf5 29. Rc3 {[%eval -65,22]} (29. Rd1 $11 {[%eval 0,18]}) 29... c5 $15 30. b4 Rad8 {[%eval -9,20]} ({Black should try} 30... cxb4 $17 {[%eval -88,21]} 31. axb4 a5 32. bxa5 bxa5) 31. bxc5 $11 bxc5 32. Rxc5 Rxd6 33. Rcc7 $1 {[%CAl Re7f7]} Kf6 34. Rxf7+ Rxf7 35. Rxf7+ {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KRB-KRB} Kg5 36. Rxa7 Be4 {[%CAl Rd6d1] [#]} 37. Bb3 Rc6 38. Rd7 Bf3 {[%mdl 1024] Hoping for ...Rc1+. Black has compensation.} 39. h3 h5 40. Kh2 Rc1 {Threatens to win with ...h4.} 41. Bd5 Rd1 42. Be6 {Kg3 is the strong threat.} Ra1 {( -> ...h4)} 43. Bd5 Rd1 44. Be6 {Strongly threatening Kg3.} Ra1 {Accuracy: White = 84%, Black = 85%.} (44... Re1 $5 {[%CAl Rh5h4]} 45. h4+ {[%mdl 64] Decoy} Kxh4 46. Rd4+ Kg5 $15) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Hamburg FIDE GP"] [Site "Hamburg"] [Date "2019.11.09"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Navara, David"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2703"] [BlackElo "2764"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2019.11.05"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "4"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "CBM 193"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2019.12.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.12.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,46,19,31,14,-14,-11,0,0,6,33,-23,-18,-2,-13,-18,-24,1,26,6,25,28,18,26,0,0,-9,-4,-19,6,6,-15,18,22,76,11,11,8,8,-7,2,-5,14,-8,-9,-90,-92,-101,-101]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 Re8 8. Bd2 Bf8 9. a3 {This move order doesn't require a2-a3.} (9. Be2 $5 {is harmless, of course, e.g.} Nb4 10. Qb1 c5 11. dxc5 Bxc5 12. a3 Nc6 13. O-O a6 $11 ({rather than} 13... dxc4 14. Bxc4 b6 15. Ne4 Nxe4 16. Qxe4 Bb7 17. Bc3 $14 {1/2 (32) Postny,E (2652)-Gajewski,G (2643) Germany 2014})) (9. Rd1 {is a logical alternative to 9.a3 but then, anyway, Black can play} e5 $5 {, which looks enough for equality} (9... a6 10. a3 (10. Bc1 $5) 10... h6 (10... e5 $5) 11. Bc1 Bd7 12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Ng4 14. f4 Bc5 15. Qe2 h5 16. g3 $16 {1-0 (61) Sevian,S (2654)-Tari,A (2630) Khanty-Mansiysk 2019}) 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. dxe5 Rxe5 12. cxd5 Nxd5 (12... Bf5 $5 13. Bd3 Bxd3 14. Qxd3 Nxd5 15. O-O Nxc3 16. Bxc3 Qxd3 17. Rxd3 Re6 $11 {1/2 (31) Mis,M (2328)-Koziol,K (2289) Ustron 2019}) 13. Nxd5 (13. e4 Bg4 $1 14. Nxd5 (14. f3 $2 Qh4+ 15. g3 Qf6 16. fxg4 Qf3) 14... Qxd5 15. f3 Be6 $13) 13... Rxd5 14. Bc4 Rd6 $11 (14... Rg5 15. Bc3 Qe8 {1/2 (22) Andersson,F (2280)-Sjodahl,P (2419) Sweden 2014} 16. Bd3 $14)) 9... e5 (9... a6 10. Be2 dxc4 11. Bxc4 h6 12. O-O e5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Rxe5 15. e4 b5 16. Bf4 Rc5 17. Ba2 $14 {1-0 (69) Christiansen,J (2571)-Valsecchi,A (2506) Porto Mannu Palau ITA 2019}) (9... h6 10. h3 $5 (10. O-O-O $2 a6 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Bd3 b5 $40 {0-1 (30) Makarov,M (2521)-Matlakov,M (2613) St Petersburg 2010}) (10. Rd1 $5) 10... e5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. O-O-O Nxf3 14. gxf3 Nb6 15. Rg1 Qh4 16. Ne4 Bf5 17. Bc3 $14 {1-0 (34) Prusikin,M (2545)-Khenkin,I (2655) Germany 2012 EXT 2014 [Prusikin,M]}) 10. dxe5 (10. cxd5 $2 Nxd4 $1 11. exd4 exd4+ 12. Ne2 Qxd5 13. Qd3 c5 $17 {0-1 (21) Spalir,J (2336)-Diermair,A (2472) Deutschlandsberg 2018}) 10... Nxe5 11. cxd5 (11. Nxe5 $5 Rxe5 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. e4 {needs more examination. In the following game White obtained a tiny edge:} Nxc3 14. Bxc3 Re8 15. Bd3 $14 Qg5 16. O-O Bd6 $6 {1/2 (24) Fier,A (2580)-Swayams,M (2447) Llucmajor 2018} 17. e5 $1 Bxe5 18. Rae1 $16) 11... Nxf3+ (11... Nxd5 12. O-O-O (12. h4 Bg4 13. Ng5 g6 14. f3 Bf5 15. e4 Nxc3 16. Bxc3 h6 17. Be2 hxg5 18. exf5 gxh4 $13 {0-1 (33) Rasmussen,A (2538)-Ochsner,B (2454) Svendborg 2018}) (12. Nxe5 $1 Rxe5 13. e4 {- see above}) 12... Nxf3 (12... Nb6 13. Ne4 (13. Nxe5 $5 Rxe5 14. Bd3) (13. h4 $5) 13... Nxf3 (13... Qe7 14. Bc3 Ng6 15. Bd3 c5 16. Neg5 Bd7 17. h4 $40 {1-0 (46) Kuzubov,Y (2642)-Babujian,L (2491) Yerevan 2014}) 14. gxf3 Qh4 15. Bc3 (15. Bd3 c5 $5 {[%CAl Yc5c4]}) 15... Bf5 $1 16. Bd3 Bg6 17. f4 Rad8 $15 {1/2 (34) Nakamura,H (2715)-Kramnik,V (2772) London 2009 CBM 134 [Krasenkow,M]}) 13. gxf3 Nxc3 14. Bxc3 Qh4 15. Rg1 Be6 16. f4 Rad8 17. Bd3 Rd6 (17... Bg4 $2 18. Bxh7+ Kh8 19. Rxd8 Rxd8 20. Be4 $16 {1-0 (43) Nakamura,H (2749)-Duda,J (2731) Saint Louis 2019}) 18. Be4 (18. f5 Ba2 19. Bb5 Rxd1+ 20. Rxd1 Rd8 21. Rxd8 {1/2 (21) Chatalbashev,B (2537)-Parligras,M (2614) Banja Vrujci 2017}) 18... Rxd1+ 19. Rxd1 c6 20. Rg1 g6 21. f5 {0-1 (33) Bu,X (2715)-Yu,Y (2725) Shenzhen 2016} Ba2 $1 $13) 12. gxf3 Nxd5 13. Bd3 (13. O-O-O {- see above. The text move doesn't change much: White must castle long, and Black's position is solid.}) 13... Nxc3 14. Bxc3 Qh4 $1 {[%csl Gh4][%mdl 288] An excellent square for Black's queen.} 15. O-O-O g6 {A new plan: Black doesn't hurry to develop his light-squared bishop. He wants to get rid of White's strong c3 bishop first.} (15... Be6 16. Rhg1 Rad8 17. Rg3 (17. f4 {- see above}) 17... Bc4 (17... Rd6 $5) 18. Be4 Rxd1+ 19. Qxd1 Rd8 20. Qg1 Qh6 $13 {1-0 (45) Navara,D (2733)-Piorun,K (2634) Germany 2018}) 16. Be4 Bg7 17. Qa4 Qe7 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. h4 {This attack should have been prepared by} (19. Kb1) 19... Qc5+ 20. Kb1 Bf5 21. h5 $2 {[%mdl 8192]} ({Something solid like} 21. Rd4 {was required to keep the balance.}) 21... b5 $1 {And suddenly White loses material.} 22. Qa6 $2 {Totally crazy.} (22. Qc2 Bxe4 23. fxe4 Qxc2+ 24. Kxc2 Rxe4 $17) (22. Qd4+ $142 Qxd4 23. Rxd4 c5 $1 24. h6+ Kf8 25. Rd5 Rxe4 26. Rxf5 gxf5 27. fxe4 fxe4 28. Kc2 {keeping drawing chances in the rook ending.}) 22... Rxe4 23. h6+ Kf8 24. fxe4 Bxe4+ 25. Ka1 Bxh1 26. Qf6 $2 {This "attack" is unsuccessful but, of course, the capture of the bishop was hopeless enough:} (26. Rxh1 Qb6 27. Qxb6 axb6 {- in this rook endgame White has no counterplay, and he should lose.}) 26... Bc6 27. e4 b4 28. axb4 Qb5 29. b3 a5 30. Kb2 axb4 31. Rd2 Qc5 32. Rd3 Re8 33. Qg7+ Ke7 34. Rf3 Kd8 35. Rxf7 Bxe4 36. Qf6+ Kc8 0-1 [Event "Olympiad-40"] [Site "Istanbul"] [Date "2012.09.05"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Lupulescu, Constantin"] [Black "Peralta, Fernando"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2614"] [BlackElo "2606"] [Annotator "Marin,Mihail"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "2012.08.28"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "TUR"] [SourceTitle "CBM 151"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2012.11.13"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2012.11.13"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Romania"] [BlackTeam "Argentina"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ROU"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARG"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. e3 O-O 9. Be2 Bd7 10. Qb3 dxc4 11. Qxc4 Bd6 12. O-O Rfc8 13. Rfd1 Be8 14. Rac1 Qg6 15. a3 a5 16. Bd3 Qh5 17. Be4 {Inducing the next mistake by putting pressure on b7.} Nd8 $6 {If we compare with Ding-Lupulescu, the knight stands really badly.} (17... a4 $5) 18. h3 a4 19. Bc2 Qa5 20. Qd3 g6 21. d5 $36 {With the knight on e7, this would only lead to exchanges favouring Black, as in the aforementioned game.} e5 22. Qe4 f5 23. Qh4 Nf7 $2 (23... e4 24. Bxe4 $5 fxe4 25. Nxe4 $40) 24. Qf6 Nh8 25. Nxe5 $18 {The game is over. And, indeed, it will last just two more moves. The only thing is that the result is not the expected one.} Qb6 26. Nc4 $4 Bh2+ 0-1 [Event "Biel Suri Memorial"] [Site "Biel"] [Date "2014.07.15"] [Round "2"] [White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2733"] [BlackElo "2629"] [Annotator "ChessBase"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2014.07.14"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "SUI"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 162"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2014.09.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.09.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Hou Yifan keeps showing that her unusual openings are not as bad as one would suspcet. She drew relatively effortlessly against Radoslaw Wojtaszek; the Polish player could claim a small edge throughout the game without it being anything special. The game fizzled out to a draw when too many pieces were traded.} 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Qd6 $5 {This move has never really been seen in tournament chess, except in the game Grischuk-Yu Yangyi from the recent World Rapid Championship. It's possible that it is some kind of Chinese special preparation in the Ragozin?} 7. Nd2 Bf5 8. e3 (8. Nb5 Qb6 9. Bxf6 gxf6 {is perhaps a little more dangerous although it was the Chinese player that won in the aforementioned game that followed exactly like this.}) 8... Nbd7 9. Bf4 Qb6 10. Be2 c5 11. dxc5 Nxc5 12. Be5 O-O 13. O-O Rad8 14. Bd4 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Qc6 16. Qc1 Nfe4 17. Nxe4 Nxe4 18. f3 Nd6 19. Qa3 a6 20. Qc5 Rc8 21. Qxc6 Rxc6 22. a4 h5 23. Ra2 Re8 24. Kf2 Re7 25. Rb2 Nc4 26. Bxc4 Rxc4 27. Ra1 f6 28. h4 Bg6 29. Rb4 Rec7 30. Rxc4 Rxc4 31. a5 Be8 32. Ra2 Ra4 33. Rxa4 Bxa4 34. g4 hxg4 35. fxg4 Kf7 36. g5 fxg5 37. hxg5 Kg6 38. Kg3 Kxg5 39. Bxg7 Kf5 40. Kf3 Bd1+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Bazna Kings 4th"] [Site "Medias"] [Date "2010.06.19"] [Round "5"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2741"] [BlackElo "2733"] [Annotator "Rogozenco,Dorian"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2010.06.14"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "ROU"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 137"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.07.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.07.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 c5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Be2 {This quiet move caught Ponomariov by surprise. More often White plays 9.?c1 or 9.?b5+.} cxd4 {Already this might be inaccurate.} (9... Nc6 {leaves Black with better chances to equalize.}) 10. Qxd4 Qxd4 ({After the game Ponomariov suggested} 10... Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Nc6 12. Qxf6 gxf6 {as a possible improvement for Black. White is slightly better, but it is hard for him to use Black's pawn weaknesses.}) 11. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Ke7 13. Bf3 Rd8 14. Rb1 $1 {White has an advantage, as it is more difficult for Black to complete development as it may seem at the beginning. Notice that White already threatens to win a pawn with 15.?b5. Probably Black should play here 14...?a6, which was actually met in one game before, although after 15.?e2 Black still must struggle for a draw.} b6 $2 {An unfortunate novelty.} 15. c4 $1 Bb7 16. Rd1 Kf8 17. cxd5 Nd7 ({Loses a piece after} 17... Bxd5 18. Nf5 {(most other moves of the knight also win a piece).}) 18. e4 Rac8 19. Be2 Nc5 20. f3 {White is a pawn up and what a pawn - the passer on d5! The rest is a matter of pure technique, especially for such a high-class player like Gelfand.} Na4 21. Kf2 Nc3 22. Rd2 Nxe2 23. Kxe2 Rc4 24. Ke3 g6 25. Rb1 Rdc8 26. Nb5 Ra4 27. Rbb2 Ke7 28. Rdc2 Ra5 29. Nd4 Kd6 30. Kf4 Rxc2 31. Rxc2 f5 32. h4 fxe4 33. fxe4 a6 34. h5 Ra4 35. Rd2 gxh5 36. Nf5+ Kd7 37. Ke5 b5 38. Nd6 1-0 [Event "Tilburg"] [Site "Tilburg"] [Date "1990.09.24"] [Round "14"] [White "Nikolic, Predrag"] [Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2600"] [BlackElo "2680"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "1990.09.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "16"] [SourceTitle "CBM 020"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1991.02.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1991.02.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Bg5 Bb4 6. e3 c5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bb5 Qa5 9. Bxd7+ (9. O-O Bxc3 10. Bxd7+ Bxd7 11. bxc3 Ne4 12. Qb3 Bc6 13. dxc5 $10 {Agejchenko-Krasenkov/USSR/1982/}) 9... Nxd7 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3 c4 12. Qc2 O-O 13. Nd2 Re8 14. Rae1 Nb6 15. f3 Bd7 16. Bf4 Ba4 $1 17. Qb2 Bc6 18. Qc2 Na4 (18... Ba4 19. Qb2 Bc6 $10) 19. Nb1 Re6 20. Re2 Rae8 21. Rfe1 b5 22. a3 Qd8 23. e4 $2 dxe4 24. fxe4 Qh4 25. Bg3 Qe7 26. e5 (26. d5 Bxd5 $19) (26. Nd2 f5 27. e5 Qxa3 $19) 26... a5 27. Qc1 Bd5 28. Nd2 b4 29. axb4 axb4 30. cxb4 Qxb4 31. Nf1 c3 32. Qf4 f6 33. Rf2 fxe5 34. Qf7+ Kh8 35. Bxe5 Rxe5 36. Qxe8+ Rxe8 37. Rxe8+ Bg8 38. Rff8 Qxd4+ 39. Ne3 h6 40. Kf1 Kh7 41. Rxg8 Qd3+ 42. Kf2 c2 43. Rh8+ Kg6 44. Nxc2 (44. Rc8 Qd2+ $19) 44... Qxc2+ 45. Kf3 Qf5+ 46. Kg3 Nc3 47. h3 Qd3+ 48. Kf2 Nd1+ 49. Kg1 Ne3 {Ftacnik,L} (49... Ne3 50. Rhf8 Qe2 51. Rf2 Qe1+ $19) 0-1 [Event "Tata Steel-A 87th"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2025.01.22"] [Round "5"] [White "Fedoseev, Vladimir1"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2717"] [BlackElo "2803"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "Mega2025 Update 14"] [Source "Chessbase"] [SourceDate "2025.02.07"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.02.07"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Be2 dxc4 {9...dxc4 scores better than 9...Bd7. 9...dxc4 punktet besser als 9...Ld7.} 10. O-O Qe7 11. Bxc4 Na5 12. Bd3 Bxc3 13. bxc3 b6 14. Qb4 Qd6 15. Rfd1 $146 (15. Be4 Bb7 16. Bxb7 Nxb7 17. Rfd1 Na5 18. Rac1 Rac8 19. h3 c5 20. Qb1 Rfd8 21. e4 cxd4 22. cxd4 Rxc1 23. Rxc1 {½-½ Korobov,A (2668)-Heimann,A (2617) Sitges Sunway op 6th 2019 (10)}) 15... Bb7 16. Rac1 Rac8 17. Qxd6 cxd6 18. Nd2 Rc7 19. Rc2 Rfc8 20. Rdc1 Kf8 21. f3 Ke7 22. e4 g5 23. Kf2 e5 24. Nf1 exd4 25. cxd4 Rxc2+ 26. Rxc2 Rxc2+ 27. Bxc2 Bc8 28. Bd3 Nc6 29. Ke3 a6 30. Nd2 b5 31. Nb3 d5 32. Nc5 Kd6 33. Bc2 Ne5 34. Bb3 Nc4+ 35. Kd3 Nb6 36. Kc3 a5 37. a3 f6 38. Ba2 Kc6 39. g3 Bh3 40. Nb3 Na4+ 41. Kc2 Bg2 42. e5 fxe5 43. dxe5 b4 44. Nd4+ Kc5 45. e6 Kd6 46. axb4 axb4 47. Bxd5 Bf1 48. Bb3 Nc5 49. Nf5+ Ke5 50. e7 Bd3+ 51. Kd2 Bb5 52. Bc4 Ba4 53. Ng7 g4 54. f4+ Kd4 55. Bf7 Ne4+ 56. Ke1 Kc3 57. e8=Q Bxe8 58. Nxe8 b3 59. Bxb3 Kxb3 60. Ke2 1-0 [Event "CHN-chT 3rd"] [Site "China"] [Date "2007.04.25"] [Round "2"] [White "Bu, Xiangzhi"] [Black "Zhang, Zhong"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2656"] [BlackElo "2621"] [Annotator "ChessBase II"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2007.04.??"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "18"] [EventCountry "CHN"] [SourceTitle "EXT 2017"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2016.10.25"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2016.10.25"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qb3 Nc6 (7... c5) 8. e3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 O-O 10. O-O Bd6 11. Ne4 Qe7 12. Bb5 Bd7 13. Nxd6 Qxd6 14. Rac1 Rfc8 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Qe7 17. Bxd7 Qxd7 18. Rfd1 $32 {[%csl Ra8,Rb7,Rc7,Rc8]} Qe8 19. Qxb7 $6 (19. Qc4 c6 (19... c5 20. Rd6) 20. Rd6) 19... Rab8 20. Qxa7 Rxb2 21. Rxc7 Ra8 22. Qd4 Raxa2 23. Qh4 Rd2 24. Rdc1 Qa4 25. Qxa4 Rxa4 26. Rc8+ Kh7 27. Rf8 Rc4 28. Rb1 Rb4 29. Rc1 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2007.11.30"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Cheparinov, Ivan"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2670"] [BlackElo "2752"] [Annotator "ChessBase"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2007.11.24"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "CBM 122"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2008.01.30"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2008.01.30"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. d4 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. e3 c5 8. Qc2 Qa5 9. Bd3 c4 10. Bf5 O-O 11. O-O Re8 12. Nd2 g6 13. Bxd7 Nxd7 14. h4 Nb6 15. f3 Bf8 16. e4 Bg7 17. Be3 Be6 {A novelty. Previously Black took on e4, which leaves White with a very pleasant position. Mamedjarov tries to keep the center blockaded, but White finds enough play on the wings.} 18. a4 {One move on the left side} Bd7 19. h5 {One move on the right side} Rac8 20. Rfe1 {And finally a move in the center.} Bc6 21. hxg6 hxg6 22. e5 Na8 23. Nf1 Nc7 24. f4 Bd7 25. Ng3 Qb6 26. a5 Qe6 27. f5 $1 {The danger comes on the g-file, not on the h-file, as it seemed.} gxf5 28. Nh5 Qg6 29. Nxg7 Kxg7 30. Bf4 Ne6 $2 ({After} 30... Rh8 31. Re3 Rh4 $1 32. Rg3 Rg4 {Cheparinov had yet to show the correctness of his aggressive strategy.}) 31. Qf2 Rh8 32. Re3 {Suddenly Black is in troubles.} Rh5 {The resulting positions after this move are hopeless.} ({Perhaps some more chances would have offered} 32... Nxf4 33. Rg3 Nd3 34. Rxg6+ fxg6 {but White should be winning here anyway.}) 33. Rg3 Rch8 34. Rxg6+ fxg6 35. Qf3 Rh1+ 36. Kf2 Rxa1 37. Qxd5 Bc8 38. Ne2 g5 39. Bc1 f4 40. Qxc4 b6 41. d5 {The central pawns quickly decide the outcome.} Nc5 42. e6 Ra4 43. Qc3+ Kg8 44. Kg1 Re4 1-0 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE GP"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2015.05.17"] [Round "4"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2744"] [BlackElo "2776"] [Annotator "ChessBase II"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2015.05.14"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 167"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.07.13"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.07.13"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 4. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 5. Bg5 {[%emt 0:00:09]} h6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 6. Bxf6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Qxf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 7. e3 {[%emt 0:00:02]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:06]} 8. Rc1 {[%emt 0:00:06]} dxc4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 9. Bxc4 {[%emt 0:00:17]} c5 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 10. O-O {[%emt 0:00:17]} cxd4 {[%emt 0:00:22]} 11. Ne4 {[%emt 0:00:13]} Qe7 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 12. Nxd4 {[%emt 0:00:46]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 13. Bd3 {[%emt 0:02:40]} (13. Qh5 Nc6 14. Nb3 {1-0 Aronian,L (2804)-Anand,V (2785) Grand Slam Final 7th 2014 (6)}) 13... Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 14. Nb3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Na5 $146 {[%emt 0:00:03]} (14... Rfd8 15. a3 Ba5 16. Nd6 Be8 17. Nxe8 Qxe8 18. Nxa5 Nxa5 19. b4 Nc6 20. Qb3 Ne7 21. Rc7 Rab8 22. Be4 Nd5 23. Rc4 Rd7 24. Rfc1 Rbd8 25. Bf3 Qe7 26. Rd4 b6 27. g3 g6 28. Rcd1 Nf6 {½-½ (28) Gelfand,B (2747)-Leko,P (2713) Tsaghkadzor 2015}) 15. Rc7 {[%emt 0:03:12]} Rfd8 {[%emt 0:00:16]} (15... Nxb3 16. Rxb7 Rab8 17. Rxb8 Rxb8 18. Qxb3 $14 {Roiz}) 16. a3 {[%emt 0:14:57]} Nxb3 {[%emt 0:05:06]} 17. Qxb3 {[%emt 0:12:23]} Ba5 {[%emt 0:07:59]} 18. Rxb7 {[%emt 0:01:07] Gelfand "won" a pawn in this Ragozin, but the resulting initiative allowed Giri to have a very pleasant double rook endgame, even though he was the one with a material deficit. Gelfand had no problems holding the draw either, though.} Ba4 {[%emt 0:04:54]} 19. Rxe7 {[%emt 0:07:20]} Bxb3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 20. Nc5 {[%emt 0:06:06]} Bb6 {[%emt 0:04:24]} 21. Nxb3 {[%emt 0:07:51]} Rxd3 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 22. Nd4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Bxd4 {[%emt 0:01:55]} 23. exd4 {[%emt 0:02:20]} Rb8 {[%emt 0:00:23]} 24. Rxa7 {[%emt 0:02:43]} Rxb2 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 25. Ra4 {[%emt 0:01:44]} Ra2 {[%emt 0:00:59]} 26. h4 {[%emt 0:01:02]} g6 {[%emt 0:00:29]} 27. g3 {[%emt 0:01:08]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:00:17]} 28. Kg2 {[%emt 0:01:15]} g5 {[%emt 0:02:55]} 29. hxg5 {[%emt 0:02:26]} hxg5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 30. g4 {[%emt 0:05:51]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:01:19]} 31. Re1 {[%emt 0:01:00]} Rdd2 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 32. Rf1 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Rd3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 33. Re1 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Rdxa3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 34. Rxa3 {[%emt 0:01:01]} Rxa3 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 35. Rd1 {[%emt 0:00:29]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 36. d5 {[%emt 0:02:41]} e5 {[%emt 0:02:44]} 37. Rb1 {[%emt 0:00:30]} Rd3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 38. Rb7+ {[%emt 0:00:52]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 39. Rb6+ {[%emt 0:00:05]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 40. Rb7+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Tata Steel-A 81st"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2019.01.25"] [Round "11"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2817"] [BlackElo "2695"] [Annotator "Yermolinsky,Alex "] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2019.01.12"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 188"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2018.12.21"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2018.12.21"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,60,31,18,32,-6,3,15,13,14,41,9,12,-56,-28,-33,-38,-26,-23,-35,-41,-46,-17,-6,-18,-29,-14,-14,2,-13,-1,18,-7,-74,-44,-79,-56,-69,-62,32,-50,-121,-97,-122,-102,-111,-111,-134,-130,-125,-107,-131,-133,-137,-148,-167,-159,-154,-162,-215,-231,-437,-458]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. a3 $6 {The choice of this risky line is understandable, as Shakhriyar is still looking for his first win in 2019.} Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 Nbd7 {[#]} 9. e3 (9. Qa4 O-O 10. Qxc4 c5 11. e3 b6 {appears safe for Black.}) (9. Nd2 b5 10. a4 c6 11. e4 {is logical, but Black can immediately interfere with White's plan of e4-e5 and Ne4-d6:} e5 $1) 9... b5 10. a4 c6 11. Qb1 a6 12. Be2 O-O 13. O-O Qe8 14. Re1 (14. e4 e5 (14... Bb7 {is good enough.}) 15. Bxf6 gxf6 16. Qc1 Kh7 17. Nh4 $13) 14... Nd5 15. Qc2 Bb7 16. e4 N5f6 17. Bf1 {The white bishop is very ineffective here, it should have been on c2.} c5 $1 18. Rab1 Qc8 $1 {Excellent play from Vidit.} 19. axb5 axb5 20. Rxb5 Bxe4 21. Qd2 (21. Rxe4 Qc6 {as the point.}) 21... Bxf3 22. gxf3 Qc6 23. Bxc4 cxd4 24. Qxd4 Rfc8 25. Rb4 Qxf3 $19 {White's position lies in ruin.} 26. Bg3 Ra3 27. Rc1 Nd5 28. Bxd5 exd5 29. Rd1 Nf6 30. Be5 Ne4 0-1 [Event "London Classic"] [Site "London"] [Date "2009.12.14"] [Round "6"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Short, Nigel D"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2772"] [BlackElo "2707"] [Annotator "Saunders,John C"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2009.12.08"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [EventCategory "18"] [SourceTitle "CBM 134"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.01.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.01.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 {This opening can't quite make up its mind whether it is the Ragozin variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined or a line of the Nimzo-Indian. But, as William Shakespeare said, what's in a name?} 5. Qb3 c5 (5... Ba5 {is an idea here.}) 6. cxd5 exd5 7. dxc5 Nc6 8. Bg5 $5 ({You won't find that move on your database - it is fresh from 'Laboratoire Kramnik'. Why did he inflict it on Short? Because he's worth it...} 8. e3 O-O 9. Be2 Be6 10. Nd4 Bxc5 11. Nxe6 fxe6 12. O-O Qe7 {which was Karpov-Kramnik, Monte Carlo 1997. Kramnik won that game.}) 8... Be6 9. O-O-O {Things are already a bit tricky for Black. He decides to sacrifice a pawn.} Qa5 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Nxd5 O-O-O 12. e4 f5 13. Bc4 Bxc5 (13... Qxc5 {is a bold try but} 14. Kb1 fxe4 15. Ng5 {looks very useful for White.}) 14. Ng5 fxe4 15. Nxe4 Bd4 16. Ndc3 Rhe8 17. Bxe6+ Rxe6 18. f3 Ne5 ({Perhaps} 18... Kb8 {is called for, though White is still better.}) 19. Nb5 {#Kramnik was heard to say in the commentary room, and at a later video interview, that his position was very strong after this.} Rb6 ({If Black backs off with} 19... Bb6 {then} 20. Rxd8+ Kxd8 21. Nbd6 {starts to get very unpleasant.}) 20. Qc2+ Rc6 21. Nec3 Bxc3 ({The only other move worth contemplating is} 21... Be3+ 22. Kb1 Kb8 23. Rxd8+ Qxd8 24. Rd1 Qg8 {but really Black is a pawn down for no compensation after this.}) 22. Rxd8+ Kxd8 23. Nxc3 Kc7 24. Rd1 a6 25. Qxh7 {#} Kb8 ({It is surprising that neither player gave much thought to} 25... Qxa2 {here, as it is perfectly logical and apparently quite playable. When the players were discussing this in the commentary room, they looked at} 26. Qh8 Rxc3+ $5 27. bxc3 Qa1+ 28. Kd2 Qb2+ 29. Ke1 Qxc3+ 30. Kf1 Qc4+ 31. Kg1 Qc5+ 32. Kh1 {#, etc, etc, and Kramnik concluded he was winning, so they moved onto another position. But it was suddenly apparent to the spectators that IM Lawrence Trent was desperately straining to say something. On and on went Kramnik, barely pausing for breath and oblivious to Lawrence's attempts to catch his eye. Eventually the Kramnik stream of consciousness abated for a second and Lawrence seized his chance: "Can we go back to the earlier position?" (the one in the diagram). Then Lawrence dropped his bombshell: "Black plays} Nd3 $3 {"... the super-GMs were temporarily bemused by the sheer effrontery of the young English commentator... Kramnik tried to rescue his line... "I play} 33. Rf1 {", but Lawrence was ready for him: "... then} Nf2+ $3 {"... another super-grandmaster pause. Kramnik, finally recognising a choice between being mated on the back rank or being caught by Philidor's legacy, smiled in that closed-eye way of his and said: "Well... I wouldn't have played 26 Qh8!", to a gale of mirth from an audience which was thoroughly enjoying young Trent's moment of triumph over his elders and betters. Back to the game...}) 26. Kb1 Nc4 27. Qh8+ Rc8 28. Qd4 Qb4 29. b3 a5 30. Ka1 Na3 31. Qxb4 axb4 32. Nd5 Rc2 {It is hard to resign when you can place a rook on the seventh and perhaps threaten something. But in fact Kramnik had calculated it all through to the finish.} 33. Nxb4 Rxg2 34. Rh1 {The rook sits behind the pawn and pushes. Simple chess.} Ka7 35. h4 Kb6 36. h5 Ka5 37. h6 Kxb4 38. h7 Nc2+ 39. Kb1 Na3+ 40. Kc1 1-0 [Event "Bayern-chI Bank Hofmann 19th"] [Site "Bad Wiessee"] [Date "2015.11.05"] [Round "6"] [White "Nisipeanu, Liviu Dieter"] [Black "Piorun, Kacper"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2678"] [BlackElo "2609"] [Annotator "Fischer,Johannes"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "2015.10.31"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "CBM 169 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.12.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.12.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. e3 c4 9. Nd2 g5 10. Bg3 Bxc3 11. bxc3 Bf5 12. Be2 Nc6 13. O-O O-O 14. f3 b5 15. e4 $5 {Weiß opfert einen Bauern, um Linien zu öffnen und die geschwächte Königsstellung des Schwarzen anzugreifen.} dxe4 16. fxe4 Nxe4 17. Nxe4 ({Den Läufer auf f5 kann Weiß nicht nehmen:} 17. Rxf5 Nxc3 18. Qf1 Nxe2+ 19. Qxe2 Qxd4+ {und Schwarz gewinnt.}) 17... Bxe4 18. Bf3 Qd5 19. Bxe4 Qxe4 20. Rf6 Ne7 21. Qh5 Nf5 22. Re1 $2 {Weiß hat einen Bauern weniger und die Stellung ist unübersichtlich, aber die Engines bewerten sie als ausgeglichen - doch dieser Zug ist ein Versehen, das Weiß die Partie kostet.} (22. Be5 {Der Computer gibt folgende Ausgleichsvariante an:} Rae8 23. Rg6+ Kh7 24. Rf6 Re6 25. Rxf7+ Kg8 26. Rxf8+ Kxf8 27. Kh1 Kg8 28. Rf1 {mit Ausgleich. In der praktischen Partie bietet diese Stellung natürlich beiden Seiten Chancen.}) 22... Nxg3 23. hxg3 Qxe1+ 24. Kh2 Qe4 25. Rxh6 f6 {Nach diesem Zug entkommt der schwarze König, z.B. 26.Tg6+ Kf7 27.Txg5+ Ke6 und es ist kein Matt zu sehen.} 0-1 [Event "Sinquefield Cup 3rd"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2015.08.24"] [Round "2"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2731"] [BlackElo "2765"] [Annotator "ChessBase II"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2015.08.23"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "USA"] [EventCategory "22"] [SourceTitle "CBM 168"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.09.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.09.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 4. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 5. Bg5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} h6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 6. Bxf6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Qxf6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 7. Qa4+ {[%emt 0:00:18]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 8. e3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:06]} 9. Be2 {[%emt 0:00:10]} dxc4 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 10. O-O {[%emt 0:00:19]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 11. Bxc4 {[%emt 0:00:19]} Bxc3 {[%emt 0:00:05] After 11...Bd6 stopped giving Black optimal positions, people have been looking at this capture on c3 to even things out. Aronian used it against Topalov in Norway this year.} 12. bxc3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Rfd8 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 13. Be2 {[%emt 0:01:35]} Be8 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 14. Qa3 {[%emt 0:02:23]} Qe7 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 15. Qb2 {[%emt 0:00:07]} b6 {[%emt 0:00:05] Played instantly. Aronian's improvement over 15...Na5, which he played against Topalov.} (15... Na5 16. Qb4 Qxb4 17. cxb4 Nc6 18. Rab1 $14 {Topalov-Aronoian, Norway 2015.}) 16. Nd2 {[%emt 0:03:53] Perhaps this is not the most challenging, but I'm not sure what to suggest instead.} Na5 {[%emt 0:03:24]} 17. Nb3 {[%emt 0:02:05]} (17. Qb4 c5 {doesn't look anywhere near as appealing as it did in the mentioned game.}) 17... Nxb3 {[%emt 0:00:47]} 18. axb3 {[%emt 0:00:09]} a5 {[%emt 0:04:04]} 19. b4 {[%emt 0:12:00]} (19. Bf3 Rab8 20. c4 {is given as slightly better by the computers, but after} c5 {the position looks pretty equal to me.}) 19... axb4 {[%emt 0:05:29]} (19... Bc6 20. bxa5 bxa5 $11) 20. Qxb4 {[%emt 0:03:18]} (20. cxb4 {was perhaps a bit better, but still Black should be ok.}) 20... Kf8 {[%emt 0:02:12]} 21. Bf3 {[%emt 0:10:45]} Qxb4 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 22. cxb4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Rxa1 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 23. Rxa1 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 24. Kf1 {[%emt 0:03:09]} Kd6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 25. Ke2 {[%emt 0:04:46] There is no reason to believe either side is better. Even making a miniscule amount of progress looks impossible.} Bb5+ {[%emt 0:00:53]} 26. Kd2 {[%emt 0:01:45]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:31]} 27. dxe5+ {[%emt 0:00:54]} Kxe5+ {[%emt 0:00:04]} 28. Kc3 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Rd3+ {[%emt 0:02:41]} 29. Kc2 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Rd8 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 30. Kc3 {[%emt 0:01:18]} Rd3+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} 31. Kc2 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Rd8 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 32. Kc3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates Tournament"] [Site "Berlin"] [Date "2018.03.18"] [Round "7"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2809"] [Annotator "Yermolinsky,Alex "] [PlyCount "31"] [EventDate "2018.03.10"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "GER"] [EventCategory "22"] [SourceTitle "CBM 184"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2018.05.16"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2018.05.16"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 {True to his uncompromising style and with the tournament situation in mind, Grischuk chooses the sharpest continuation.} ({Of course,} 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O {is safe for White, but Mamedyarov himself had a hard time proving White's advantage in recent games against Radjabov and Yu Yangyi.}) 6... g5 $5 7. Bg3 Ne4 8. Qc2 (8. Qb3 {is an alternative, but after} Nc6 9. e3 h5 10. h4 g4 11. Ne5 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Nxg3 13. fxg3 Nxe5 14. dxe5 {not too many people would find White's pawn structure attractive.}) ({As in a similar position with the exchange on d5 included, White isn't getting much out of a pawn sacrifice with} 8. Nd2 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Bxc3 10. Rc1 {mainly because of the annoying} Bb2 $1) 8... h5 $1 {The point of Black's play. Facing the threat to his bishop White is forced to weaken his pawns.} 9. h3 Nc6 $1 {Shakh demonstrates excellent preparation.} ({The immediate} 9... Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Nxg3 11. fxg3 Nc6 {allows White to expand in the centre} 12. e4 $5 {Dubov-Brkic, 2016}) 10. e3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Nxg3 12. fxg3 Qd6 13. Qf2 {It's OK to repeat the position, but Grischuk was burning time fast, even by his standards.} Qa3 14. Qc2 Qd6 15. Qf2 {Very uncharacteristic of Alexander.} ({With} 15. Kf2 {which already was played in Azmaiparashvili-Nikolaidis, 1996 White continues to fight.} h4 16. g4 Bd7 17. Bd3 {and his king isn't so bad.}) 15... Qa3 16. Qc2 1/2-1/2 [Event "GRENKE Chess Classic"] [Site "Karlsruhe, Germany"] [Date "2024.03.31"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2708"] [BlackElo "2755"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ralphptorres"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2024.??.??"] 1. d4 {[%eval 17,0]} Nf6 {[%eval 16,0]} 2. c4 {[%eval 16,0]} e6 {[%eval 21,0]} 3. Nf3 {[%eval 0,0]} d5 {[%eval 12,0]} 4. Bg5 {[%eval 4,0]} h6 {[%eval 18,0]} 5. Bxf6 {[%eval 18,0]} Qxf6 {[%eval 24,0]} 6. Nc3 {[%eval 24,0]} Bb4 {[%eval 11,0]} 7. e3 {[%eval 14,0]} O-O {[%eval 19,0]} 8. Rc1 {[%eval 14,0]} c6 {[%eval 24,0]} 9. Bd3 {[%eval 17,0]} Nd7 {[%eval 31,0]} 10. O-O {[%eval 33,0]} Qe7 {[%eval 36,0]} 11. a3 {[%eval 13,0]} Bd6 {[%eval 3,0]} 12. c5 {[%eval 39,0]} Bc7 {[%eval 44,0]} 13. e4 {[%eval 34,0]} dxe4 {[%eval 33,0]} 14. Bxe4 {[%eval 11,0]} e5 {[%eval 4,0]} 15. Re1 $146 {[%eval 12,0]} ({RR} 15. Bb1 exd4 16. Re1 Qxc5 17. Qd3 g6 18. Ba2 Ne5 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Qxg6+ Bg7 21. Ne4 Qf5 22. Qg3 Qg4 23. Qc7 Bf5 24. h3 Qg6 25. Nd6 d3 26. Rcd1 Qf6 27. Nxf5 Qxf5 28. Re3 Rad8 29. Rf3 Rd7 {Savchenko,S (2590)-Landa,K (2515) Kazan 1995 ½-½}) 15... Qd8 {[%eval 8,0]} 16. Bb1 {[%eval 0,0]} exd4 {[%eval 8,0]} 17. Qd3 {[%eval 0,0]} g6 {[%eval 4,0]} 18. Ba2 {[%eval 12,0]} Kh7 {[%eval 12,0]} 19. Qxd4 {[%eval 16,0]} Ne5 {[%eval 23,0]} 20. Qxd8 {[%eval 2,0]} Nxf3+ {[%eval 0,0]} 21. gxf3 {[%eval 3,0]} Bxd8 {[%eval 0,0]} 22. Ne4 {[%eval 0,0]} Bh3 {[%eval 0,0]} 23. Nd6 {[%eval 0,0]} Bg5 {[%eval 0,0]} 24. Rcd1 {[%eval 2,0]} Kg7 {[%eval 9,0]} 25. f4 {[%eval 1,0]} Bxf4 {[%eval 12,0]} 26. Re7 {[%eval 16,0]} b6 {[%eval 14,0]} 27. Rd3 {[%eval 16,0]} Bxd6 {[%eval 3,0]} 28. cxd6 {[%eval 3,0]} Bf5 {[%eval 5,0]} 29. Rc3 {[%eval 31,0]} c5 {[%eval 32,0]} 30. b4 {[%eval 37,0]} Rad8 {[%eval 4,0]} 31. bxc5 {[%eval 9,0]} bxc5 {[%eval 8,0]} 32. Rxc5 {[%eval 8,0]} Rxd6 {[%eval 9,0]} 33. Rcc7 {[%eval 8,0]} Kf6 {[%eval 0,0]} 34. Rxf7+ {[%eval 0,0]} Rxf7 {[%eval 0,0]} 35. Rxf7+ {[%eval 0,0]} Kg5 {[%eval 0,0]} 36. Rxa7 {[%eval 1,0]} Be4 {[%eval 1,0]} 37. Bb3 {[%eval 0,0]} Rc6 {[%eval 0,0]} 38. Rd7 {[%eval 0,0]} Bf3 {[%eval 0,0]} 39. h3 {[%eval 0,0]} h5 {[%eval 0,0]} 40. Kh2 {[%eval 0,0]} Rc1 {[%eval 0,0]} 41. Bd5 {[%eval 0,0]} Rd1 {[%eval 0,0]} 42. Be6 {[%eval 0,0]} Ra1 {[%eval 0,0]} 43. Bd5 {[%eval 0,0]} Rd1 {[%eval 0,0]} 44. Be6 {[%eval 0,0]} Ra1 {[%eval 0,0]} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Bilbao Masters 9th"] [Site "Bilbao"] [Date "2016.07.23"] [Round "10"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2855"] [Annotator "ChessBase"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2016.07.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "22"] [SourceTitle "CBM 174"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2016.09.13"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2016.09.13"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/5400:3600+10"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. Nxd4 Bd7 12. Qb3 {danach verflacht die Partie sehr schnell} (12. Ne4 {ist ein ambitionierterer Versuch} Qe7 13. Qh5 Nc6 14. Nb3 Be8 15. a3 f5 16. Qe2 Bxa3 17. bxa3 fxe4 18. Nc5 Ne5 19. Ba2 Nf3+ 20. Kh1 Qh4 21. gxf3 Bh5 22. Bxe6+ Kh8 23. Bg4 exf3 24. Qb2 Bxg4 25. Rg1 Rf7 26. Qd4 h5 27. Nd3 Rd8 28. Qe4 Qe7 29. Qxe7 Rxe7 30. Nf4 Kh7 31. Rc5 g6 32. h3 Bf5 33. Nxh5 Bxh3 34. Kh2 Bf5 35. Nf6+ Kh6 36. e4 Rf8 37. e5 b6 38. Rd5 Kg7 39. Kg3 Be6 40. Rh1 Bg8 41. Kf4 Rc8 42. Rd4 b5 43. Re1 a5 44. Kxf3 Rc3+ 45. Kf4 Rxa3 46. Nxg8 Kxg8 47. e6 Ra4 48. Rxa4 bxa4 49. Ke5 Kg7 50. Kd6 Kf8 51. Rc1 Re8 52. Ke5 a3 53. Kf6 a2 54. Ra1 Rb8 55. f4 Rb4 56. f5 gxf5 57. Rxa2 Rh4 58. Rd2 Rh6+ 59. Ke5 Rh1 60. Kd6 Ke8 61. Rg2 Rd1+ 62. Ke5 Rh1 63. Rg6 Ke7 64. Rg7+ Ke8 65. Kf6 Rh6+ 66. Ke5 Rh1 {1/2-1/2 (66) So,W (2762)-Hou,Y (2673) Wijk aan Zee 2015 CBM 165 [Ftacnik,L]}) 12... Nc6 13. Nxc6 Bxc3 14. Qxb7 (14. Rxc3 Bxc6 15. Bb5 Bd5 16. Bc4 Bc6 17. Bb5 Bd5 18. Bc4 {1/2-1/2 (18) Ivanchuk,V (2715)-Carlsen,M (2862) Wijk aan Zee 2015}) 14... Bxc6 15. Qxc6 Bxb2 16. Rc2 Rac8 17. Qa4 Rc7 {Diagramm [#] Weiß hat aufgrund der etwas besser platzierten Figuren "symbolischen Vorteil", doch die Stellung gibt freilich zu wenig her um den Weltmeister unter Druck zu setzen} 18. Bd3 Rxc2 19. Bxc2 Rc8 20. Rd1 Qc3 21. Bb3 Qc5 22. g3 Bf6 23. Rd7 Rc7 24. Rxc7 Qxc7 25. Qe8+ Kh7 26. h4 g6 27. Qa8 Kg7 28. Kg2 h5 29. Qe4 a5 30. Ba4 Qc5 31. Qb7 Qb4 32. Qxb4 axb4 33. Kf3 Bc3 34. Kg2 Be1 35. Kf1 Bc3 36. Kg2 Be1 37. Kf1 Bc3 38. Kg2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Gashimov Memorial 3rd"] [Site "Shamkir"] [Date "2016.05.28"] [Round "3"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2726"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "Besenthal,Klaus Guenter"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2016.05.26"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "AZE"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 173"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2016.07.12"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2016.07.12"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. Nxd4 Bd7 12. Ne4 Qe7 13. Be2 {Diagramm [#]} ({Giri spielt diese Variante nicht zum ersten Mal:} 13. Bd3 Nc6 14. Nb3 Na5 15. Rc7 Rfd8 16. a3 Nxb3 17. Qxb3 Ba5 18. Rxb7 Ba4 19. Rxe7 Bxb3 20. Nc5 Bb6 21. Nxb3 Rxd3 22. Nd4 Bxd4 23. exd4 Rb8 24. Rxa7 Rxb2 25. Ra4 Ra2 26. h4 g6 27. g3 Kg7 28. Kg2 g5 29. hxg5 hxg5 30. g4 Kf6 31. Re1 Rdd2 32. Rf1 Rd3 33. Re1 Rdxa3 34. Rxa3 Rxa3 35. Rd1 Ke7 36. d5 e5 37. Rb1 Rd3 38. Rb7+ Kf6 39. Rb6+ Ke7 40. Rb7+ {1/2-1/2 (40) Gelfand,B (2744)-Giri,A (2776) Khanty-Mansiysk 2015}) 13... Nc6 14. a3 Nxd4 15. Qxd4 Ba5 16. Qc5 Bd8 17. Bf3 Bc6 18. Rfd1 Bxe4 19. Qxe7 Bxe7 20. Bxe4 Bf6 {Diagramm [#] Vollkommen spannungsfreie Strukturen, die Damen sind getauscht, ungleiche Läufer - eine Partie mit vorhersagbarem Ergebnis.} 21. b4 Rad8 22. g3 Bb2 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. Rc7 Bxa3 25. Rxb7 Kf8 26. Rxa7 Bxb4 27. Ra8 Rxa8 28. Bxa8 Bc5 29. Kg2 Bb4 30. Be4 Bc5 31. h3 Bb4 32. Bf3 g5 33. g4 Bc5 34. Be4 Bb4 35. Bf3 Bc5 36. Be4 Bb4 37. Bf3 Bc5 38. Be4 Bb4 39. Bf3 Bc5 40. Be4 Bb6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Olympiad-40"] [Site "Istanbul"] [Date "2012.08.30"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Parligras, Mircea Emilian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2695"] [BlackElo "2618"] [Annotator "Marin,Mihail"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2012.08.28"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "TUR"] [SourceTitle "CBM 151"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2012.11.13"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2012.11.13"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "China"] [BlackTeam "Romania"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"] [BlackTeamCountry "ROU"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. e3 O-O 9. Be2 Bd7 10. Qb3 dxc4 11. Qxc4 Qg6 12. O-O Bd6 13. Nb5 {Starting from this moment, White plays without a clear plan. In the meanwhile, Black will regroup harmoniously.} Rac8 14. Rac1 Be7 15. a3 a6 16. Nc3 Bd6 17. Rfd1 Ne7 18. g3 Nd5 19. Nh4 {This kind of move can be good only if it leads to the trapping of the queen.} Qg5 20. Ne4 Qe7 21. Qb3 Nb6 22. Nc3 a5 23. Bf3 Rb8 24. Be4 Rfd8 25. Bb1 Be8 26. d5 {Hoping to give meaning to the h4-knight by making the f5-square available. However, this is not realistic.} Nxd5 27. Nxd5 exd5 28. Rxd5 a4 29. Qd3 g6 $1 {Black has the bishop pair in an open position and the b2-pawn is vulnerable. And the knight will not make any single move until the end of the game!} 30. Rd1 Bc6 31. Rd4 Qf6 32. Qc4 Be5 33. Rxd8+ Rxd8 34. Rxd8+ Qxd8 35. Be4 Qd1+ 36. Kg2 Qb3 37. Qxb3 Bxe4+ 0-1 [Event "Tata Steel-B 80th"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2018.01.17"] [Round "5"] [White "L'Ami, Erwin"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2634"] [BlackElo "2718"] [Annotator "ChessBase II"] [PlyCount "36"] [EventDate "2018.01.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "15"] [SourceTitle "CBM 183"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2018.03.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2018.03.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/6000+30:20/3000+30:900+30"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:01:59]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:10]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:27]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:22]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:35]} 4. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:22]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:18]} 5. Bg5 {[%emt 0:00:58]} h6 {[%emt 0:00:50]} 6. Bxf6 {[%emt 0:01:34]} Qxf6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 7. e3 {[%emt 0:00:27]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:18]} 8. Rc1 {[%emt 0:00:13]} dxc4 {[%emt 0:00:38]} 9. Bxc4 {[%emt 0:00:28]} c5 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 10. O-O {[%emt 0:02:57]} cxd4 {[%emt 0:00:36]} 11. Nxd4 {[%emt 0:01:44]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:00:26]} 12. Qb3 {[%emt 0:02:49]} (12. Ne4 Qe7 13. Bd3 Nc6 14. Nb3 Na5 15. Rc7 Rfd8 16. Nxa5 Bxa5 17. Rxb7 Qf8 18. Qh5 Bb6 19. Ng5 f5 20. Bb5 Bxb5 21. Nxe6 Be8 22. Qf3 Qf6 23. Rxg7+ Kh8 24. Qb7 Rab8 25. Rh7+ Kg8 26. Rg7+ Kh8 27. Rh7+ Kg8 28. Rg7+ {½-½ (28) Radjabov,T (2710)-Harikrishna,P (2755) Shamkir 2017}) 12... Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:25]} 13. Nxc6 {[%emt 0:00:17]} Bxc3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 14. Rxc3 {[%emt 0:02:28]} Bxc6 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 15. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Bd5 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 16. Bc4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Bc6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 17. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Bd5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 18. Bc4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Bc6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Grand Slam Final 7th"] [Site "Bilbao"] [Date "2014.09.19"] [Round "5"] [White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2717"] [BlackElo "2785"] [Annotator "ChessBase"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2014.09.14"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 163"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2014.11.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.11.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ {The point of this move is to force Black's knight to c6, which is not always the most comfortable place for it.} Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd2 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Bd6 9. O-O e5 10. d5 Ne7 11. Qc2 (11. e4 h6 12. h3 a6 13. Qc2 {led to a draw in Ushenina-Koneru earlier this month in the Grand Prix.}) 11... h6 12. h3 a6 13. a3 Bf5 14. e4 Bd7 {Forcing e4 has its pros and cons. f4 is weakened and White doesn't get access to e4 for a knight, but it reinforces the center.} 15. Rfe1 Ng6 16. Nd1 c6 17. Ne3 Rc8 18. Bc3 cxd5 19. Bxd5 Nxd5 20. Nxd5 Be6 21. Rad1 f6 22. Qa4 Rf7 23. Bb4 Bxb4 24. Qxb4 Qf8 {One can remember the Anand-Vallejo game, with a similar pawn structure; however here Black is the one better placed.} 25. Qa4 Rd8 26. Ne3 Nf4 27. Rxd8 Qxd8 28. Rd1 Rd7 (28... Qc8 {kept some chances alive, but Anand was surely happy with a solid position.}) 29. Rxd7 Qxd7 30. Qxd7 Bxd7 31. Ne1 Ne2+ 32. Kf1 Bb5 33. a4 {forcing a perpetual.} Ng3+ 34. Kg1 Ne2+ 35. Kf1 Ng3+ 36. Kg1 Ne2+ 37. Kf1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Aeroflot op-A 15th"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.07"] [Round "7"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Matlakov, Maxim"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2735"] [BlackElo "2682"] [Annotator "Besenthal,Klaus Guenter"] [PlyCount "37"] [EventDate "2016.03.01"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "CBM 171"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2016.03.14"] [SourceVersion "2"] [SourceVersionDate "2016.03.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. dxc5 Nd7 11. c6 bxc6 12. O-O Ne5 13. Be2 {Diagramm [#]} Rb8 ({Die schwarzen Bauern sind etwas schwächer als die weißen; dafür stehen die schwarzen Figuren aktiver - die einzige andere Partie in der Datenbank bestätigt dies:} 13... Nxf3+ 14. Bxf3 Ba6 15. Re1 Rab8 16. Qa4 Rb6 17. Red1 Bxc3 18. bxc3 Rd8 19. Qa3 g6 20. h3 Kg7 21. Rd4 Rxd4 22. cxd4 Bb5 23. Rc5 Kh7 24. Qc3 Ra6 25. Qc2 Qd8 26. Bxc6 Bxc6 27. Rxc6 Rxc6 28. Qxc6 Qa5 29. Qc2 Qe1+ 30. Kh2 a5 31. Kg3 h5 32. h4 Qb4 33. Qc7 Kg7 34. Qc5 Qd2 35. Qc4 Qd1 36. Kh2 Qd2 37. Kg1 Qd1+ 38. Qf1 Qc2 39. Qa1 Kg8 40. a4 Qb3 41. g3 Kh7 42. Kf1 Qc4+ 43. Ke1 Qb4+ 44. Ke2 Qc4+ 45. Kf3 Qb3 46. Kg2 Kg8 47. Kg1 Kh7 48. e4 Kg8 49. Qc1 Qxa4 50. d5 exd5 51. exd5 Qd4 52. Qc6 a4 53. d6 Kg7 54. d7 {1/2-1/2 (54) Sasikiran,K (2658)-Sandipan,C (2478) Mumbai 2003}) 14. Qa4 Bxc3 15. bxc3 c5 16. Qxa7 Bb7 17. Nxe5 Qxe5 18. Rfd1 Be4 19. Rd2 {Diagramm [#] Schwarz hat Kompensation für den Bauern, doch offenbar wollten beide Spieler diesen Sachverhalt nicht näher untersuchen.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Tal Memorial 4th"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2009.11.07"] [Round "3"] [White "Ivanchuk, Vassily"] [Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [BlackElo "2739"] [Annotator "Marin,Mihail"] [PlyCount "138"] [EventDate "2009.11.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 133"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2009.11.19"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2009.11.19"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Qc2 O-O 8. e3 c5 9. Be2 Qa5 10. O-O cxd4 $5 {An interesting concept. Black usually blocks the queenside with ...c4, with or without the prior exchange on c3.} 11. Nxd4 Bxc3 12. bxc3 Re8 13. Bf4 Ne5 14. Rab1 a6 15. Bxe5 Rxe5 16. Rfc1 Qc7 17. c4 {White admits that the d5-pawn is no weaker than his c3-pawn and hopes to take advantage of his advance in development. Black's hopes are mainly connected with his queenside majority, which may become a telling factor in the event of simplifications.} dxc4 18. Qxc4 Qxc4 19. Rxc4 b5 20. Bf3 bxc4 21. Bxa8 Kf8 22. Rb8 Re8 23. Kf1 Nd7 24. Rb4 a5 25. Rb1 Ne5 26. Bd5 c3 27. Bb7 Bxb7 28. Rxb7 Rc8 29. Nc2 Nc6 30. a3 Rd8 31. Rb1 Rd2 32. Rc1 Ne5 33. Nd4 Rxf2+ 34. Kxf2 Nd3+ 35. Kf3 Nxc1 36. Ke4 Ke7 37. Nc2 Kd6 38. Kd4 Nb3+ 39. Kxc3 Nc5 40. Kc4 f5 41. Nd4 g6 42. Nf3 Ne6 43. h4 Nc7 44. Ng5 h5 45. g3 Nd5 46. Kd4 Nc7 47. a4 Nd5 48. Nf7+ Ke6 49. Nd8+ Kd6 50. Nb7+ Ke6 51. Nd8+ Kd6 52. Nf7+ Ke6 53. Ne5 Nb6 54. Nxg6 Nxa4 55. Nf4+ Kf7 56. Nxh5 Nb6 57. Nf4 a4 58. Nd3 a3 59. Nb4 Kg6 60. Kc3 Kh5 61. Nc2 a2 62. Kb2 Na4+ 63. Kxa2 Nc3+ 64. Kb3 Ne4 65. Kc4 Nxg3 66. Kd5 Kxh4 67. Ke5 Kg4 68. Nd4 Kg5 69. Nf3+ Kg4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Sinquefield Cup 12th"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2025.08.20"] [Round "3"] [White "Duda, Jan Krzysztof"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2725"] [BlackElo "2745"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "2025.08.16"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "USA"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "Mega2025 Update 44"] [Source "Chessbase"] [SourceDate "2025.09.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.09.05"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Qb3 c5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. dxc5 Bxc3+ 11. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 12. bxc3 Nd7 13. Rd1 Nf6 $1 {13...Nf6 is better than 13...Nxc5. 13...Sf6 ist besser als 13...Sxc5.} 14. Nd4 Bd7 15. f3 Rfc8 16. Nb3 Ba4 17. Rd4 Bxb3 18. axb3 Rxc5 19. Kd2 Rac8 20. Bd3 Ra5 21. Rb1 $146 (21. Bc2 g6 22. Rb1 h5 23. Ra4 Rac5 24. Rxa7 Rxc3 25. Bd3 R3c7 26. Rba1 Nd7 27. Ra8 {½-½ Harikrishna,P (2688)-Yu,Y (2717) EU-Cup 39th Vrnjacka Banja 2024 (6.3)}) 21... Rc7 22. Bc2 Kf8 23. Ra4 Rxa4 24. bxa4 Nd7 25. Bb3 Rc5 26. Ba2 b6 27. Rb5 a6 28. Rb4 Ke7 29. Rd4 Nf6 30. Rb4 Nd7 31. Rd4 Nf6 32. Rb4 Nd7 1/2-1/2 [Event "ESP-chT CECLUB Honor"] [Site "Linares"] [Date "2025.08.14"] [Round "7.19"] [White "Anton Guijarro, David"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2625"] [BlackElo "2709"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2025.08.08"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "Mega2025 Update 42"] [Source "Chessbase"] [SourceDate "2025.08.22"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.08.22"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Myinvestor Casablanca"] [BlackTeam "Solvay"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ESP"] [BlackTeamCountry "ESP"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qb3 c5 6. dxc5 Na6 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Qxc3 Nxc5 9. cxd5 Qxd5 10. Be3 Nce4 11. Qe5 Qxe5 12. Nxe5 Nd5 13. Bc1 Nc5 14. b4 {is the legacy move (14.Rb1). ist old school (14.Tb1).} Nb3 15. Rb1 Nxc1 16. Rxc1 Ke7 17. e4 Nb6 18. Rc7+ Kd6 19. Rc5 Ke7 $146 (19... Rf8) 20. Rc7+ Kd6 21. Rc5 Ke7 22. Rc7+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Danzhou 3rd"] [Site "Danzhou"] [Date "2012.06.04"] [Round "6"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2679"] [BlackElo "2623"] [Annotator "Let's Check"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2012.05.29"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "CHN"] [EventCategory "16"] [SourceTitle "CBM 149"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2012.07.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2012.07.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. e3 c5 8. Be2 Qa5 9. O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 c4 11. Qc2 Ne4 12. Rac1 Nb6 13. Bf4 O-O 14. Ne5 Re8 15. f3 Nd6 16. e4 Be6 17. Ng4 Nb5 18. Ne3 Rad8 19. Bg3 Qa3 20. Qd2 f6 21. e5 fxe5 22. Bxe5 Nd7 23. f4 Nxe5 24. fxe5 Rf8 25. Rxf8+ Rxf8 26. Bf3 Nc7 27. Rb1 b5 28. Qb2 Qxb2 29. Rxb2 a5 30. a4 Rb8 $6 (30... bxa4 31. Ra2 Nb5 $11) 31. axb5 $16 Rxb5 32. Ra2 $1 Kf8 33. Kf2 Ke7 34. Ke1 Na8 $2 (34... g6 35. Bd1 Na8 $16) 35. Nxc4 $1 $18 dxc4 36. Bxa8 Kd7 37. Be4 g6 38. Kd2 Bf5 39. Bxf5+ gxf5 40. Kc2 Kc6 41. Rb2 Rd5 42. Rb8 a4 43. Ra8 Rb5 44. Rxa4 Kd5 45. Ra6 Rb7 46. Rd6+ Ke4 47. e6 Rg7 48. g3 f4 49. Rd7 Rg8 50. e7 1-0 [Event "GRENKE Chess Classic"] [Site "Karlsruhe, Germany"] [Date "2024.03.31"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2708"] [BlackElo "2755"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ralphptorres"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2024.??.??"] 1. d4 {[%eval 17,0]} Nf6 {[%eval 16,0]} 2. c4 {[%eval 16,0]} e6 {[%eval 21,0]} 3. Nf3 {[%eval 0,0]} d5 {[%eval 12,0]} 4. Bg5 {[%eval 4,0]} h6 {[%eval 18,0]} 5. Bxf6 {[%eval 18,0]} Qxf6 {[%eval 24,0]} 6. Nc3 {[%eval 24,0]} Bb4 {[%eval 11,0]} 7. e3 {[%eval 14,0]} O-O {[%eval 19,0]} 8. Rc1 {[%eval 14,0]} c6 {[%eval 24,0]} 9. Bd3 {[%eval 17,0]} Nd7 {[%eval 31,0]} 10. O-O {[%eval 33,0]} Qe7 {[%eval 36,0]} 11. a3 {[%eval 13,0]} Bd6 {[%eval 3,0]} 12. c5 {[%eval 39,0]} Bc7 {[%eval 44,0]} 13. e4 {[%eval 34,0]} dxe4 {[%eval 33,0]} 14. Bxe4 {[%eval 11,0]} e5 {[%eval 4,0]} 15. Re1 $146 {[%eval 12,0]} ({RR} 15. Bb1 exd4 16. Re1 Qxc5 17. Qd3 g6 18. Ba2 Ne5 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Qxg6+ Bg7 21. Ne4 Qf5 22. Qg3 Qg4 23. Qc7 Bf5 24. h3 Qg6 25. Nd6 d3 26. Rcd1 Qf6 27. Nxf5 Qxf5 28. Re3 Rad8 29. Rf3 Rd7 {Savchenko,S (2590)-Landa,K (2515) Kazan 1995 ½-½}) 15... Qd8 {[%eval 8,0]} 16. Bb1 {[%eval 0,0]} exd4 {[%eval 8,0]} 17. Qd3 {[%eval 0,0]} g6 {[%eval 4,0]} 18. Ba2 {[%eval 12,0]} Kh7 {[%eval 12,0]} 19. Qxd4 {[%eval 16,0]} Ne5 {[%eval 23,0]} 20. Qxd8 {[%eval 2,0]} Nxf3+ {[%eval 0,0]} 21. gxf3 {[%eval 3,0]} Bxd8 {[%eval 0,0]} 22. Ne4 {[%eval 0,0]} Bh3 {[%eval 0,0]} 23. Nd6 {[%eval 0,0]} Bg5 {[%eval 0,0]} 24. Rcd1 {[%eval 2,0]} Kg7 {[%eval 9,0]} 25. f4 {[%eval 1,0]} Bxf4 {[%eval 12,0]} 26. Re7 {[%eval 16,0]} b6 {[%eval 14,0]} 27. Rd3 {[%eval 16,0]} Bxd6 {[%eval 3,0]} 28. cxd6 {[%eval 3,0]} Bf5 {[%eval 5,0]} 29. Rc3 {[%eval 31,0]} c5 {[%eval 32,0]} 30. b4 {[%eval 37,0]} Rad8 {[%eval 4,0]} 31. bxc5 {[%eval 9,0]} bxc5 {[%eval 8,0]} 32. Rxc5 {[%eval 8,0]} Rxd6 {[%eval 9,0]} 33. Rcc7 {[%eval 8,0]} Kf6 {[%eval 0,0]} 34. Rxf7+ {[%eval 0,0]} Rxf7 {[%eval 0,0]} 35. Rxf7+ {[%eval 0,0]} Kg5 {[%eval 0,0]} 36. Rxa7 {[%eval 1,0]} Be4 {[%eval 1,0]} 37. Bb3 {[%eval 0,0]} Rc6 {[%eval 0,0]} 38. Rd7 {[%eval 0,0]} Bf3 {[%eval 0,0]} 39. h3 {[%eval 0,0]} h5 {[%eval 0,0]} 40. Kh2 {[%eval 0,0]} Rc1 {[%eval 0,0]} 41. Bd5 {[%eval 0,0]} Rd1 {[%eval 0,0]} 42. Be6 {[%eval 0,0]} Ra1 {[%eval 0,0]} 43. Bd5 {[%eval 0,0]} Rd1 {[%eval 0,0]} 44. Be6 {[%eval 0,0]} Ra1 {[%eval 0,0]} 1/2-1/2 [Event "WchT 6th"] [Site "Beersheba"] [Date "2005.11.05"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Bu, Xiangzhi"] [Black "Jobava, Baadur"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2637"] [BlackElo "2601"] [Annotator "Mueller,Karsten"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2005.11.01"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ISR"] [SourceTitle "CBM 110"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2006.01.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2006.01.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "China"] [BlackTeam "Georgia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"] [BlackTeamCountry "GEO"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 c5 6. e3 O-O 7. cxd5 exd5 8. dxc5 Nbd7 9. Bd3 Qa5 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3 Ne4 12. Qc2 Nxg5 13. Nxg5 h6 14. Nf3 Nxc5 15. Nd4 Bd7 16. Rfd1 Rac8 17. Bf5 Rfd8 18. Rac1 Na4 19. Rd3 Nb6 20. e4 dxe4 21. Bxe4 Rc7 22. Nf5 Qe5 23. Re1 Qf6 24. Nd6 Ba4 25. Qd2 Qg5 26. f4 Qc5+ 27. Kh1 Rdd7 28. h3 Nc4 29. Nxc4 Qxc4 30. Bd5 Qa6 31. Rd4 Rc8 32. Re5 Rdc7 33. Be4 Be8 34. Bf5 Rb8 35. Kh2 f6 36. Rd8 fxe5 37. Rxb8 Re7 38. Qd5+ Kf8 39. fxe5 Qf1 40. Qe4 Qb5 41. e6 Qf1 42. Qe5 Qc4 43. Qd6 Qc6 44. Qxc6 bxc6 45. Kg3 g5 46. Bg6 $5 {Gute Technik! Weiß wickelt in ein leicht gewonnenes Bauernendspiel ab:} Rxe6 47. Rxe8+ Rxe8 48. Bxe8 Kxe8 49. Kg4 $1 Kf8 50. Kf5 Kf7 51. c4 Ke7 52. c5 Kf7 53. Ke5 Ke7 {und Weiß gewinnt das Oppositionsduell aufgrund seiner zahlreichen Reservetempi:} 54. a4 (54. g4 $18) 54... h5 (54... a5 55. g4 $18) 55. a5 g4 56. h4 g3 57. a6 (57. a6 Kd7 58. Kf6 Kd8 59. Kg5 $18) 1-0 [Event "FIDE Grand Swiss"] [Site "Samarkand"] [Date "2025.09.04"] [Round "1"] [White "Sindarov, Javokhir"] [Black "Hakobyan, Aram"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2722"] [BlackElo "2625"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2025.09.04"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "Mega2025 Update 46"] [Source "Chessbase"] [SourceDate "2025.09.19"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.09.19"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Rc1 Rd8 10. Be2 dxc4 11. Qb5 $1 {[%mdl 4] is recently more successful than 11.Bxc4. ist inzwischen erfolgreicher als 11.Lxc4.} Qe7 12. a3 Bd6 13. Qxc4 e5 14. d5 Nb8 15. Nb5 $146 (15. Ne4 c6 16. Nxd6 Qxd6 17. O-O Bf5 18. Qc3 cxd5 19. Qxe5 Qxe5 20. Nxe5 Nd7 21. Nf3 {½-½ Muradli,M (2586)-Grebnev,A (2595) Fujairah op-A 2025 (5)}) 15... Nd7 16. Nxd6 cxd6 17. Qc7 Kf8 18. Nd2 Nb6 19. e4 Qxc7 20. Rxc7 Rb8 21. Nb3 Bd7 22. Kd2 Rdc8 23. Rhc1 Rxc7 24. Rxc7 Bc8 25. Na5 Na8 26. Rc3 Bd7 27. h4 Ke7 28. h5 g6 29. hxg6 fxg6 30. g3 h5 31. Ke3 Kf6 32. Rc1 Rc8 33. Rd1 Ke7 34. f4 b6 35. Nc4 b5 36. Nd2 Nb6 37. Nf3 Kf6 38. Rf1 a6 39. fxe5+ dxe5 40. b3 Bh3 41. Rf2 Bd7 42. Kd2 Re8 43. Ne1+ Kg7 44. Nd3 Nxd5 45. exd5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Sitges Sunway op 3rd"] [Site "Sitges"] [Date "2016.12.22"] [Round "8"] [White "Edouard, Romain"] [Black "Vocaturo, Daniele"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2611"] [BlackElo "2606"] [Annotator "Dahale,Atul"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2016.12.16"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "EXT 2019"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2018.10.10"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2018.10.10"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:01:35]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:27]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 3. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:14]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 4. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} d5 {[%emt 0:01:02]} 5. cxd5 {[%emt 0:01:18]} exd5 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 6. Bg5 {[%emt 0:00:13]} Nbd7 {[%emt 0:01:16]} 7. Qc2 {[%emt 0:00:37]} h6 {[%emt 0:01:50]} 8. Bh4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} g5 $5 {[%emt 0:00:21] Interesting decision..} (8... c5 9. e3 O-O 10. Bd3 {would have been quite natural.}) 9. Bg3 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Ne4 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 10. Nd2 {[%emt 0:01:02]} Nxg3 {[%emt 0:00:44]} 11. hxg3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Nb6 {[%emt 0:00:49]} 12. e3 {[%emt 0:01:13] White's pawn structure in center is solid although Black has two bishop it won't favour him much as the position is not that open yet! White's rook is eyeing on h6! overall I will prefer playing with white here.} c6 {[%emt 0:04:36]} 13. Bd3 {[%emt 0:01:21]} Be6 {[%emt 0:03:56]} 14. Kf1 {[%emt 0:08:12] White is not casteling, he will keep his king in the center where it is actually quite safe!} Qf6 {[%emt 0:03:31]} 15. a3 {[%emt 0:04:30]} Bd6 {[%emt 0:02:47]} 16. Ne2 {[%emt 0:00:05]} O-O-O {[%emt 0:10:38] Black has decided to castle long, he wants to bring his all pieces on kingside and attack White's king, but this is not so easy as White is also ready to attack on queenside quite fast. Now it depends on who will be able to destroy opponent's shield first.} 17. b4 {[%emt 0:13:05] Starting the pawn storm.} Kb8 {[%emt 0:01:34]} 18. Rb1 {[%emt 0:11:48]} h5 {[%emt 0:14:09] Black is also not going to sit idel.} 19. a4 {[%emt 0:02:55] typical!} Rc8 {[%emt 0:11:54]} 20. a5 {[%emt 0:05:35]} Nd7 {[%emt 0:00:13] When you can't break through on the wing you need to break into the center and activate your pieces! White's pieces need some space to breath!} 21. e4 $1 {[%emt 0:07:44]} dxe4 {[%emt 0:09:06]} 22. Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Qe7 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 23. Qd2 {[%emt 0:00:13]} f6 {[%emt 0:03:32]} 24. Nc5 {[%emt 0:01:42]} Bg4 {[%emt 0:10:07]} 25. f3 {[%emt 0:03:40]} Be6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 26. Qe3 {[%emt 0:01:03]} Bxc5 $2 {[%emt 0:02:24] After this White will have clear target i.e. b7. White will pile up his rooks on b-file and it will be difficult to defend the weaknesses around Black's king.} (26... Rce8) 27. bxc5 {[%emt 0:00:18]} Qf7 {[%emt 0:01:26]} 28. Rb4 {[%emt 0:12:29]} Rhe8 {[%emt 0:03:01]} 29. Qd2 {[%emt 0:01:15]} Ka8 {[%emt 0:04:20]} 30. Kf2 {[%emt 0:02:05] Slowly bringing the rook in the game.} a6 {[%emt 0:03:07] This move has created additional weakness... now White has another target on a6. And the bishop on d3 is idealy placed !} 31. Nc3 {[%emt 0:09:28]} Bd5 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 32. Rhb1 {[%emt 0:04:12] All White's pieces are playing!! Black couldn't creat any counter play.} Rc7 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 33. Nxd5 {[%emt 0:02:32]} cxd5 {[%emt 0:00:53]} 34. c6 $1 {[%emt 0:01:56] Typical destructive move... you need to break the base of pawnchain!} bxc6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 35. Bxa6 {[%emt 0:00:38]} Nb8 {[%emt 0:02:58]} 36. Rb6 {[%emt 0:03:44]} Ka7 {[%emt 0:04:28]} 37. Rb7+ {[%emt 0:00:39]} (37. Qb2 {would have been a quick finish.}) 37... Ka8 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 38. R7b6 {[%emt 0:00:17]} Qh7 {[%emt 0:00:49]} 39. Bb7+ {[%emt 0:00:43]} Ka7 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 40. Qc3 {[%emt 0:00:00] Complete dominance.} h4 {[%emt 0:00:00] It's too late.} 41. g4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rce7 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 42. Qc5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Re2+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} 43. Kg1 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Re1+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} 44. Rxe1 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rxe1+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} 45. Kf2 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nd7 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 46. Ra6+ {[%emt 0:00:00] Dominating game by Edouard!} 1-0 [Event "Candidates Tournament"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2014.03.14"] [Round "2"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2830"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "ChessBase Website"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "2014.03.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 160"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2014.05.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.05.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"] [WhiteClock "0:57:55"] [BlackClock "1:45:08"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:12]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 4. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 5. Bg5 {[%emt 0:00:33]} Nbd7 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 6. cxd5 {[%emt 0:00:57]} exd5 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 7. Nd2 {[%emt 0:00:13]} c6 {[%emt 0:06:08]} 8. e3 {[%emt 0:00:29]} Nf8 {[%emt 0:06:29]} 9. Bd3 {[%emt 0:00:13]} Ng6 {[%emt 0:00:11]} (9... Be7 10. Qc2 Ne6 11. Bh4 g6 12. h3 O-O 13. Nf3 a5 14. g4 b5 15. Ne5 Bb7 16. f4 c5 17. f5 cxd4 18. fxe6 dxc3 19. O-O d4 20. Nxf7 Qd5 21. Bxf6 Qh1+ 22. Kf2 Qxh3 23. Ke1 cxb2 24. Qxb2 Bb4+ 25. Kd1 Bf3+ 26. Rxf3 Qxf3+ 27. Be2 Qxf6 28. g5 Qg7 29. Qxd4 Rxf7 30. exf7+ Qxf7 31. Rc1 Rb8 32. a4 Qb3+ 33. Rc2 Qb1+ 34. Rc1 Qb3+ 35. Rc2 Rc8 36. Bc4+ bxc4 37. Qd5+ Kf8 38. Qd7 Re8 {0-1 (38) Aronian,L (2807)-Ivanchuk,V (2765) Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2011}) 10. O-O {[%emt 0:05:16]} O-O {[%emt 0:03:27]} 11. f4 $146 {[%emt 0:01:31]} (11. Qc2 h6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. Rae1 Nh4 14. f4 Bf5 15. Nf3 Rfe8 16. Nxh4 Bxd3 17. Qxd3 Qxh4 18. Re2 Rad8 19. a3 Bf8 20. b4 Rd7 21. Rf3 Qd8 22. g4 a5 23. bxa5 Qxa5 24. g5 hxg5 25. fxg5 Qxa3 26. g6 Re6 27. gxf7+ Rxf7 28. Ref2 Rxf3 29. Rxf3 b5 30. Rh3 Rf6 31. e4 Qc1+ 32. Kg2 Qe1 33. Rg3 b4 34. Qe2 Qxe2+ 35. Nxe2 dxe4 36. Re3 Re6 37. Ng3 g6 38. Rb3 Kf7 39. Kf2 c5 40. Ke3 c4 {Vokac,M (2479)-Kravtsiv,M (2582) Pardubice 2012 0-1}) 11... h6 {[%emt 0:01:33]} 12. Bxf6 {[%emt 0:00:16]} Qxf6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 13. f5 {[%emt 0:04:45] Levon Aronian had commented in the round one press conference after his loss that statistically he had a record for playing better after a loss, and he felt this. He quipped that he had might as well get it out of the way as early as possible. Still, even he could not have predicted what happened though, when Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, a great tactician in his own right, carelessly went astray in a Queen's Gambit, and fell for a vicious tactic that lost his queen.} Ne7 $2 {[%emt 0:03:40]} 14. Nde4 $1 {[%emt 0:10:35][%csl Rf6]} dxe4 {[%emt 0:00:59]} 15. Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Qh4 {[%emt 0:06:27]} 16. g3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Qh3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 17. Nf2 {[%emt 0:02:32]} Qxf1+ {[%emt 0:00:05]} 18. Kxf1 {[%emt 0:09:17]} Nxf5 {[%emt 0:03:34]} 19. Qf3 {[%emt 0:00:31]} Nd6 {[%emt 0:07:06]} 20. e4 {[%emt 0:02:50]} f6 {[%emt 0:06:39]} 21. Bc2 {[%emt 0:23:11]} Be6 {[%emt 0:01:52]} 22. Nd3 {[%emt 0:00:53]} Nc4 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 23. Kg1 {[%emt 0:01:11]} Bd6 {[%emt 0:02:53]} 24. Nf4 {[%emt 0:09:55]} Bxf4 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 25. gxf4 {[%emt 0:00:19]} Rad8 {[%emt 0:03:50]} 26. f5 {[%emt 0:06:49]} Bf7 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 27. Qc3 {[%emt 0:00:23]} Rfe8 {[%emt 0:00:52]} 28. Bd3 {[%emt 0:05:50]} Nb6 {[%emt 0:00:22]} 29. a4 {[%emt 0:01:19]} a6 {[%emt 0:00:25]} 30. a5 {[%emt 0:02:16]} Nc8 {[%emt 0:02:57]} 31. e5 {[%emt 0:01:54]} Ne7 {[%emt 0:00:22]} 32. e6 {[%emt 0:04:30]} Bh5 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 33. Be4 {[%emt 0:02:28]} Nd5 {[%emt 0:08:39]} 34. Qh3 {[%emt 0:01:25]} Be2 {[%emt 0:00:37]} 35. Kf2 {[%emt 0:01:12]} Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 36. Rg1 {[%emt 0:00:55]} Kh7 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 37. Qa3 {[%emt 0:03:14]} Bc4 {[%emt 0:00:58]} 38. Rg4 {[%emt 0:03:36]} Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 39. Rg1 {[%emt 0:02:35]} Bc4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 40. Rc1 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 41. Bf3 {[%emt 0:01:42]} Nf4 {[%emt 0:00:46]} 42. Rd1 {[%emt 0:03:02]} Kh8 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 43. d5 {[%emt 0:02:10]} Nxd5 {[%emt 0:01:38]} 44. Bh5 {[%emt 0:00:36]} 1-0 [Event "FRA-chT Top 12"] [Site "Brest"] [Date "2019.05.20"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Tabatabaei, Mohammad Amin"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2610"] [BlackElo "2730"] [Annotator "ChessBase II"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2019.05.18"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "FRA"] [SourceTitle "CBM 190 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2019.07.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.07.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Cannes"] [BlackTeam "Asnieres"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "FRA"] [TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 4. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:20]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:25] La viennoise est trés à la mode} 5. cxd5 {[%emt 0:00:23]} exd5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 6. Bg5 {[%emt 0:00:13]} h6 {[%emt 0:00:52]} (6... Nbd7) 7. Bh4 {[%emt 0:00:14]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:30]} 8. e3 {[%emt 0:00:19]} Bf5 {[%emt 0:00:49]} 9. Qb3 {[%emt 0:00:40]} Bxc3+ {[%emt 0:00:10]} 10. Qxc3 {[%emt 0:00:09]} (10. bxc3 Nbd7 11. Be2 c5 12. dxc5 g5 13. Nd4 Bg6 14. c6 bxc6 (14... gxh4 15. cxd7 Qxd7 16. h3 Rac8 $11 {½-½ Jojua,D (2586)-Mchedlishvili,M (2602) GEO-ch 77th Tbilisi 2018 (4.1)})) 10... Nbd7 {[%emt 0:00:28]} 11. Be2 {[%emt 0:00:20]} c6 {[%emt 0:00:36]} 12. Nd2 {[%emt 0:00:15]} Ne4 {[%emt 0:01:55]} 13. Bxd8 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Nxc3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 14. bxc3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Rfxd8 {[%emt 0:00:27] Les deux joueurs continuent de blitzer l'ouverture} 15. a4 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Rac8 $5 $146 {[%emt 0:01:19]} (15... c5 16. Nf1 Rac8 17. Ng3 Bh7 18. Kd2 Rc7 19. a5 Kf8 20. h4 Nf6 21. Bf3 Ke7 22. h5 Kd6 23. Ra3 cxd4 24. exd4 Re8 25. Nf1 Be4 26. Ne3 Bxf3 27. Nf5+ Kc6 28. gxf3 Rg8 29. Raa1 Kd7 30. Rag1 Rgc8 31. Rc1 Rg8 32. Rce1 b6 33. a6 b5 34. Re5 Rb8 35. Rg1 Nxh5 36. Rxd5+ Ke6 37. Re5+ Kd7 38. Nxg7 Nxg7 39. Rxg7 Kd6 40. Rh7 b4 41. Rxh6+ Kd7 42. Rd5+ Ke7 43. Re5+ Kd7 44. cxb4 Rxb4 45. Ke3 {Grischuk,A (2772)-Karjakin,S (2752) Moscow 2019 1-0}) 16. Nf1 {[%emt 0:00:16][%CAl Gf1g3,Gg3f5] Les Blancs s'étaient préparés à la nouveauté et ils répondent à tempo} Nf6 {[%emt 0:05:51]} 17. Ng3 {[%emt 0:00:45]} Bg6 {[%emt 0:00:22]} 18. h4 {[%emt 0:06:55][%CAl Gh4h5]} Ne4 $1 {[%emt 0:04:36]} 19. Nxe4 {[%emt 0:01:58]} Bxe4 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 20. f3 {[%emt 0:01:01]} Bh7 {[%emt 0:00:08][%csl Gh7][%CAl Ga1b1] Le ?b7 empêche ?b1} 21. h5 $5 {[%emt 0:10:17] Gagne de l'espace} c5 {[%emt 0:02:49]} 22. Kd2 {[%emt 0:00:32]} cxd4 {[%emt 0:03:31]} 23. exd4 {[%emt 0:00:40]} (23. cxd4) 23... Rd6 {[%emt 0:00:25][%CAl Gd6c6,Gd6e6]} 24. Bd3 {[%emt 0:10:41]} Bxd3 {[%emt 0:05:36]} 25. Kxd3 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Re6 {[%emt 0:08:00]} 26. Rab1 {[%emt 0:19:23]} b6 {[%emt 0:08:59]} 27. Rb5 {[%emt 0:08:18]} (27. a5 $5) 27... Rce8 $132 {[%emt 0:02:56]} 28. Rxd5 {[%emt 0:01:44]} Re3+ {[%emt 0:00:04]} 29. Kc4 {[%emt 0:00:19]} Rc8+ {[%emt 0:00:10]} 30. Kb5 {[%emt 0:00:19]} Rexc3 {[%emt 0:01:02]} 31. Rd7 {[%emt 0:03:18]} Rc2 {[%emt 0:13:38]} 32. g4 {[%emt 0:06:37]} R2c3 $36 {[%emt 0:10:57]} 33. Rf1 {[%emt 0:06:26]} (33. Rd1 Rxf3 34. Rxa7 {[%CAl Gd4d8]}) 33... Kf8 {[%emt 0:02:25]} 34. d5 {[%emt 0:06:49]} R3c7 {[%emt 0:07:25]} 35. Rxc7 {[%emt 0:00:22]} Rxc7 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 36. d6 {[%emt 0:02:31]} Rc5+ {[%emt 0:00:10]} 37. Ka6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Ra5+ {[%emt 0:03:50]} 38. Kb7 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Ke8 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 39. Re1+ {[%emt 0:03:23]} (39. Kc7 Rc5+) 39... Kd7 {[%emt 0:03:24]} 40. Re7+ {[%emt 0:00:14]} Kxd6 {[%emt 0:00:22]} 41. Rxf7 {[%emt 0:30:03] Une longue réflexion après le contrôle de temps pour évaluer la position et trouver un plan} b5 {[%emt 0:41:14]} 42. axb5 {[%emt 0:05:43]} Rxb5+ {[%emt 0:00:04]} 43. Kxa7 {[%emt 0:00:29]} Rg5 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 44. Kb6 {[%emt 0:00:59]} Ke6 {[%emt 0:00:28]} 45. Rc7 {[%emt 0:00:14]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:02:16]} 46. Rc6+ {[%emt 0:01:27]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:01:51]} 47. Rc7+ {[%emt 0:01:58]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 48. Rc6+ {[%emt 0:00:20]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 49. Rc7+ {[%emt 0:00:41]} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Tata Steel-A 81st"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2019.01.19"] [Round "7"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2695"] [Annotator "Yermolinsky,Alex "] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2019.01.12"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 188"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2018.12.21"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2018.12.21"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ {In search of a new weapon against the Ragozin defence, White revisits the 1930's theory.} ({Both} 5. Bg5) ({and} 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 {are topical.}) 5... Nc6 {It's all about the placement of the black knight ahead of its c-pawn, which according to the classical principles of the Queens Gambit puts Black in disadvantage. Vyacheslav Ragozin made an important contribution by arguing the point.} 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 {[#] Sooner or later White has to return the queen to her proper spot, so it can be done right away.} (7. Bd2 {is best answered by the immediate} dxc4 $1 8. Bxc4 Bd6 {getting ready for e6-e5, which is the main idea in the Ragozin.} 9. O-O e5 10. h3 a6 11. Qc2 exd4 12. exd4 b5 $1 13. Be2 Nb4 14. Qd1 Bb7 {Yermolinsky-D.Zilberstein, San Francisco 2007}) 7... Re8 {Vidit settles on one of the most popular choices.} ({Others include} 7... dxc4 {which may eventually transpose to the game,}) (7... Ne7 {which I view as admission of guilt, as Black is trying to reposition the "badly placed" knight,}) ({and, finally my personal favorite} 7... b6) 8. Bd2 Bd6 {Black's idea is to wait for the white light-squared bishop to come out before taking on c4. I wonder if it's worth the trouble.} 9. h3 ({The point of Black's early rook move is visible after} 9. c5 Bf8 {where the threat of e6-e5 forces White into} 10. Bb5 Bd7 11. Bxc6 Bxc6 12. Ne5 {which, incidentally, might not be so bad for him.}) 9... a6 10. a3 Bd7 11. Be2 dxc4 12. Bxc4 h6 {[#] So, Black has won a local battle for a tempo (Bf1-e2xc4), but what are his accomplishments? The Bd7 move might have made sense when the white queen was on a4, but now it looks like a waste of time. In the meantime, thanks to the Re8 move Black must guard the g5-square before moving the e-pawn forward.} 13. g4 $3 {No matter what your engines say I absolutely admire Radjabov's concept. If Black can be punished for his opening transgressions it must be done in a resolute fashion.} (13. O-O e5 14. Rae1 Qe7 15. Nh4 {Aronian-Giri, 2017}) 13... e5 {A classic strategy of meeting a flank attack with counterstrike in the centre, but it's wrought with dangers of opening the diagonal for the white bishop.} (13... b5 14. Ba2 b4 {deserved attention.}) 14. g5 b5 ({Here and on the next move Vidit should have tried a a piece sacrifice:} 14... Nxd4 15. exd4 exd4+ 16. Ne2 b5 17. Bd3 hxg5 18. Nxg5 c5) 15. Ba2 exd4 {This will meet with a devastating response. [#]} ({Still,} 15... Nxd4 16. exd4 exd4+ 17. Ne2 Qe7 18. Nfxd4 hxg5 {was there for the taking.}) 16. gxh6 $3 {Guess who's coming to dinner - White threatens Qg6!} dxc3 ({The only way to deal with it was} 16... Bf4 17. O-O-O Bxh6 (17... dxc3 18. exf4 cxd2+ 19. Rxd2 Qe7 20. Qg6 {is White's signature attacking line.}) 18. exd4 Bxd2+ 19. Qxd2 {and now counterattack -} b4 $1) 17. Bxc3 Be6 ({Now} 17... Bf4 18. Qg6 Bxh6 {still saves the king, but at the cost of a piece.} 19. Rd1 $1 ({Not} 19. O-O-O Qe7 20. Bxf6 {as} Qc5+ 21. Bc3 Be6 {turns the tables.}) 19... Qe7 20. Bxf6 Qxf6 21. Qxf6 gxf6 22. Rxd7 {with large advantage to White.}) 18. Bxe6 ({Aesthetically White doesn't want to put his rook on a2, but} 18. Rg1 Bxa2 19. Rxg7+ Kf8 20. Rxa2 Be5 21. Ng5 {actually works for him.}) 18... Rxe6 19. Rg1 {[#]} Ne8 {Clearing out that square was one of the ideas of 17...Be6, but just focusing on the defense isn't going to cut it.} ({Black needed to introduce an element of counterplay:} 19... Nh5 20. Bxg7 Bg3 $3 {albeit White has a choice of good responses to it, the most efficient being} 21. Rd1 Qe7 22. Ke2 Re8 23. Bc3 Rxe3+ 24. Kf1) 20. Bxg7 Nxg7 21. Rxg7+ Kf8 22. Qh7 {From this point on White's attack is irresistable.} Qf6 23. Ng5 Rxe3+ 24. Kf1 Nd8 25. Qg8+ Ke7 26. h7 Bg3 {[#]} 27. Ne4 $1 {Still, Teimour had to see this one and keep his nerve in the face of time trouble.} Rxe4 (27... Qf3) 28. Rxg3 Rh4 29. Rd1 {A final stroke in this truly brilliant game. Black is forced to part with a rook.} Rxh7 30. Re3+ Ne6 31. Qxa8 Rh8 32. Qc6 Kf8 33. Rxe6 Qxe6 34. Rd8+ Kg7 35. Qc3+ f6 36. Qxc7+ 1-0 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters 2025"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2025.01.20"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Gukesh, Dommaraju"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2803"] [Annotator "Chessbase - Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "2025.??.??"] [EventCountry "NED"] {[%evp 12,48,30,29,41,23,38,25,23,38,27,27,29,25,27,31,31,2,39,39,38,47,37,40,74,75,65,67,62,53,56,60,62,0,52,0,62,0,41]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 {[%CAl Bc1g5,Bg5h4,Bh4g3][%mdl 32]} h6 7. Bh4 Bf5 8. Qa4+ Nc6 {[%CAl Bb8c6,Bc6e7,Be7g6][%mdl 32]} 9. e3 {[%CAl Bf1a6]} g5 10. Bg3 O-O 11. Bb5 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Ne7 13. Nd2 (13. Qa3 Ne4 14. Nd2 Nxd2 15. Kxd2 Bg6 16. h3 Nf5 17. Be5 Nd6 18. Bxd6 cxd6 19. Qb3 Qf6 20. f3 Qe6 21. c4 dxc4 22. Bxc4 Qe7 23. Bd5 Rac8 {½-½ (23) Daneshvar,B (2582)-Ter Sahakyan,S (2652) Sharjah UAE 2024}) 13... Ng6 14. Qd1 $146 (14. h3 a6 15. Be2 Re8 16. O-O h5 17. Qb3 b5 18. a4 c6 19. Qb4 h4 20. Bh2 g4 21. hxg4 Nxg4 22. Bxg4 Bxg4 23. axb5 cxb5 24. f3 Bf5 25. e4 dxe4 26. fxe4 Bxe4 27. Nxe4 Rxe4 28. Qc5 Qd7 {Basso,P (2541)-Donchenko,A (2657) Reykjavik 2021 ½-½ (60)}) (14. Rc1 c6 15. Be2 Re8 16. h4 Qd7 17. Kf1 Qe6 18. Re1 Bg4 19. Qd1 Bxe2+ 20. Qxe2 Qf5 21. h5 Nf8 22. f3 c5 23. Bf2 cxd4 24. cxd4 Rac8 25. g4 Qc2 26. Nb3 Ne6 27. Bg3 b6 28. Qxc2 Rxc2 {Howell,D (2677)-Brkic,A (2608) Baku AZE 2023 ½-½ (49)}) 14... h5 {[%CAl Bh6h5,Bh5h4][%mdl 32]} 15. h3 c6 16. Be2 h4 17. Bh2 b5 18. a4 a6 19. O-O Re8 20. Re1 Qe7 21. Bf3 Be4 22. Be2 Bf5 23. Bf3 Be4 24. Be2 $6 {Inaccuracy. Bg4 was best.} (24. Bg4 Nxg4 25. Qxg4 f6 26. f3 Bc2 27. e4 Qe6 28. Qxe6+ Rxe6 29. axb5 cxb5) 24... Bf5 {1/2-1/2 wins. Precisão Lichess/Stockfish 17: Brancas 96% Pretas 95% Precisão Chess.com: Brancas 98.7% Pretas 97.8%} 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Challengers 2025"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2025.01.20"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Gukesh, Dommaraju"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2803"] [Annotator "Chessbase - Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "2025.??.??"] {[%evp 12,48,30,29,41,23,38,25,23,38,27,27,29,25,27,31,31,2,39,39,38,47,37,40,74,75,65,67,62,53,56,60,62,0,52,0,62,0,41]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 {[%CAl Bc1g5,Bg5h4,Bh4g3][%mdl 32]} h6 7. Bh4 Bf5 8. Qa4+ Nc6 {[%CAl Bb8c6,Bc6e7,Be7g6][%mdl 32]} 9. e3 {[%CAl Bf1a6]} g5 10. Bg3 O-O 11. Bb5 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Ne7 13. Nd2 (13. Qa3 Ne4 14. Nd2 Nxd2 15. Kxd2 Bg6 16. h3 Nf5 17. Be5 Nd6 18. Bxd6 cxd6 19. Qb3 Qf6 20. f3 Qe6 21. c4 dxc4 22. Bxc4 Qe7 23. Bd5 Rac8 {½-½ (23) Daneshvar,B (2582)-Ter Sahakyan,S (2652) Sharjah UAE 2024}) 13... Ng6 14. Qd1 $146 (14. h3 a6 15. Be2 Re8 16. O-O h5 17. Qb3 b5 18. a4 c6 19. Qb4 h4 20. Bh2 g4 21. hxg4 Nxg4 22. Bxg4 Bxg4 23. axb5 cxb5 24. f3 Bf5 25. e4 dxe4 26. fxe4 Bxe4 27. Nxe4 Rxe4 28. Qc5 Qd7 {Basso,P (2541)-Donchenko,A (2657) Reykjavik 2021 ½-½ (60)}) (14. Rc1 c6 15. Be2 Re8 16. h4 Qd7 17. Kf1 Qe6 18. Re1 Bg4 19. Qd1 Bxe2+ 20. Qxe2 Qf5 21. h5 Nf8 22. f3 c5 23. Bf2 cxd4 24. cxd4 Rac8 25. g4 Qc2 26. Nb3 Ne6 27. Bg3 b6 28. Qxc2 Rxc2 {Howell,D (2677)-Brkic,A (2608) Baku AZE 2023 ½-½ (49)}) 14... h5 {[%CAl Bh6h5,Bh5h4][%mdl 32]} 15. h3 c6 16. Be2 h4 17. Bh2 b5 18. a4 a6 19. O-O Re8 20. Re1 Qe7 21. Bf3 Be4 22. Be2 Bf5 23. Bf3 Be4 24. Be2 $6 {Inaccuracy. Bg4 was best.} (24. Bg4 Nxg4 25. Qxg4 f6 26. f3 Bc2 27. e4 Qe6 28. Qxe6+ Rxe6 29. axb5 cxb5) 24... Bf5 {1/2-1/2 wins. Precisão Lichess/Stockfish 17: Brancas 96% Pretas 95% Precisão Chess.com: Brancas 98.7% Pretas 97.8%} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess Qualifier"] [Site "Fagernes"] [Date "2016.03.23"] [Round "1"] [White "Hammer, Jon Ludvig"] [Black "Grandelius, Nils"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2701"] [BlackElo "2646"] [Annotator "Fischer,Johannes"] [PlyCount "146"] [EventDate "2016.03.23"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [EventCategory "16"] [SourceTitle "CBM 172"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2016.05.12"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2016.05.12"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. d4 Nbd7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Bb4 7. Nd2 c6 8. e3 Nf8 9. Bd3 Ng6 10. O-O O-O 11. f4 h6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. f5 Nh4 {This is a new move and it is likely that Grandelius analysed its tactical consequences at home.} ({A previous top-level game continued with} 13... Ne7 14. Nde4 dxe4 15. Nxe4 Qh4 16. g3 Qh3 17. Nf2 Qxf1+ 18. Kxf1 Nxf5 19. Qf3 Nd6 20. e4 f6 21. Bc2 Be6 22. Nd3 Nc4 23. Kg1 Bd6 24. Nf4 Bxf4 25. gxf4 Rad8 26. f5 Bf7 27. Qc3 Rfe8 28. Bd3 Nb6 29. a4 a6 30. a5 Nc8 31. e5 Ne7 32. e6 Bh5 33. Be4 Nd5 34. Qh3 Be2 35. Kf2 Bb5 36. Rg1 Kh7 37. Qa3 Bc4 38. Rg4 Bb5 39. Rg1 Bc4 40. Rc1 Bb5 41. Bf3 Nf4 42. Rd1 Kh8 43. d5 {Aronian,L (2830)-Mamedyarov,S (2757) Khanty-Mansiysk 2014 1-0}) 14. Qh5 {[#]} Bxf5 {A surprising tactical shot. Black gives two pieces for a rook and a pawn and stops White's attack.} 15. Rxf5 ({After} 15. Bxf5 g6 16. Bxg6 fxg6 17. Rxf6 gxh5 18. Rxh6 Nf5 19. Rxh5 Nxe3 {the engines assess the position as equal. Black is pawn down but has good play.}) 15... Nxf5 16. Qxf5 Qxf5 17. Bxf5 Rae8 {The engines also give this position as equal. White's e-pawn is weak and White's minor pieces find it surprisingly difficult to find targets to attack.} 18. Kf2 g6 19. Bd3 Re6 20. g4 Rfe8 21. Re1 Be7 22. Nf3 Bg5 23. Nd1 Rf6 24. Kg2 Rfe6 25. Kf2 Rf6 26. Ke2 Rfe6 27. Kd2 Rf6 28. Ke2 Rfe6 29. Kd2 Rf6 {[#]Grandelius was obviously content with a draw and did not show any intention to avoid the repetition of moves. But Hammer wants to continue the game and play for a win. In fact, White is definitely not worse and might even be slightly better here.} 30. Be2 Rfe6 31. Bf1 Kg7 32. a3 Bd8 33. Bd3 Bc7 34. h4 Rf6 35. Rf1 Ba5+ 36. Ke2 Bb6 37. g5 hxg5 38. hxg5 Rfe6 39. Ne5 $6 {[#]Allowing Black to change the position favorably.} ({After} 39. Bc2 {or}) (39. Kd2 {White runs no danger to lose the game.}) 39... R6e7 40. b4 {[#]} Rxe5 $1 {After this exchange sacrifice Black is a piece down but he will get three pawns for it - and suddenly it is White who has to be careful.} 41. dxe5 Rxe5 42. Rg1 Bd8 43. Kf3 Bxg5 44. e4 $2 {[#] White finally wants to get rid of the weakness which has plagued for the last moves. However, now the black bishop finds new targets on the queenside.} ({After a non-committal move such as} 44. Rg2 {the position is still roughly balanced.}) 44... Bc1 45. a4 Ba3 46. exd5 ({After} 46. b5 dxe4+ 47. Bxe4 cxb5 48. axb5 Rxb5 {White also loses a pawn.}) 46... Rxd5 47. Bc4 Rf5+ 48. Ke4 Bxb4 {Now Black has four pawns for the piece and is the one playing for a win.} 49. Rf1 b5 50. axb5 cxb5 51. Ne3 Rxf1 52. Bxf1 a6 53. Nd5 Bd6 54. Ne3 Kh6 55. Kd5 Bf4 56. Nc2 Bd2 57. Nd4 f5 58. Nxb5 {Liquidating into an endgame with opposite-colored bishops which is perhaps White's best hope for a draw. However, Black's king is too active.} axb5 59. Bxb5 Kg5 60. Ke6 f4 61. Kf7 f3 62. Bc6 f2 63. Bb5 Bc3 64. Bf1 Kh6 65. Be2 g5 66. Ke6 Kg6 67. Bd3+ Kh5 68. Kf5 Kh4 69. Be2 Bd2 70. Bf1 Kg3 71. Ke4 Kh2 72. Kd3 Kg1 73. Ke2 g4 0-1 [Event "EU-ch 16th"] [Site "Jerusalem"] [Date "2015.02.26"] [Round "3"] [White "Vitiugov, Nikita"] [Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2735"] [BlackElo "2603"] [Annotator "Mikhalchishin,Adrian"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2015.02.24"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "ISR"] [SourceTitle "CBM 166"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.05.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.05.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Qc2 c5 8. g3 h6 {Maybe other options have to be considered more seriousely} (8... Qa5 9. Bg2 Ne4 10. Bd2 Nxd2 11. Nxd2 cxd4 12. Nxd5 O-O 13. a3 Bxd2+ 14. Qxd2 Qxd2+ 15. Kxd2 Nc5 16. Rad1 Be6 17. b4 Na4 18. Ne7+ Kh8 19. Bxb7 Rae8 20. Bc6 Rxe7 21. Bxa4 Bc4 22. Rhe1 {Bacrot,E (2704)-David,A (2598)/Le Port Marly 2012, with a sound extra pawn.}) (8... O-O 9. Bg2 h6 10. Be3 b6 (10... Re8 11. O-O Rxe3 12. fxe3 Qe7 13. Qc1 Nb6 14. Ne5 Be6 15. a3 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Rc8 17. a4 Nbd7 18. Nxd7 Bxd7 19. Qd2 Re8 20. Rxf6 Qxf6 21. Bxd5 Qg5 22. dxc5 Bc6 23. Bxc6 bxc6 24. Rd1 {Baryshpolets,A (2546)-Nisipeanu,L (2686)/Pardubice CZE 2014 (65), and the advantage is not sufficient to win the game.}) (10... c4 11. O-O Re8 12. Bf4 Bxc3 13. bxc3 Ne4 14. Nd2 Nxd2 15. Qxd2 Nb6 16. Qc2 Be6 17. a4 a5 18. Rfb1 Ra6 19. Rb2 Bd7 20. h4 Qc8 21. Kh2 {Jovanic,O (2511)-Kravtsiv,M (2581)/Livigno 2012/ Black has not yet equalised.}) 11. O-O Bb7 12. Rfd1 ({A better move was} 12. Nh4 Re8 13. Nf5) 12... Re8 13. Bf4 $2 (13. Nh4) 13... Bxc3 14. bxc3 Rc8 15. Bh3 g5 $1 16. Nxg5 hxg5 17. Bxg5 Rc6 {Frolyanov,D (2555)-Aleksandrov,A (2612)/Moscow 2012, and the position is very sharp.}) 9. Bf4 ({In a famous game Zhukova played} 9. Be3) 9... Qa5 ({Normal development does not solve Black's problems} 9... O-O 10. Bg2 b6 (10... c4 11. O-O Nb6 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ne5 Re8 14. f3 Nfd7 15. Nxd7 Qxd7 16. e4 dxe4 17. fxe4 Bg4 18. Rd2 Rad8 19. a3 Ba5 {Arun Prasad,S (2472)-Nisipeanu,L (2686)/Pardubice 2014, the white centre is very dangerous.}) 11. O-O Bb7 12. Nb5 Bc6 13. Nc7 Rc8 14. a3 Ba5 15. b4 Ne4 16. dxc5 bxc5 17. bxa5 Rxc7 18. Bxc7 Qxc7 19. Nd2 f5 20. Rac1 Kh8 21. f3 Nxd2 22. Qxd2 f4 23. gxf4 Rxf4 24. e3 Ra4 25. f4 {Lagno,K (2540)-Hou Yifan (2661)/Tromso NOR 2014, with a serious advantage for White.}) ({But it is necessary to test more seriousely} 9... Ne4 10. Bg2 Ndf6 11. O-O O-O 12. dxc5 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Bxc5 14. Rad1 Qe7 15. Nd4 Rd8 16. Nf5 Qe6 17. Nd4 Qa6 18. Nb3 Be7 19. Bc7 Re8 20. Be5 Bg4 21. Rfe1 Rac8 22. Rd4 Bh5 23. Bxd5 Nxd5 {Bartel,M (2366)-Aleksandrov,A (2593)/Wroclaw POL 2014, with good counterplay.}) 10. Bg2 Ne4 11. Rc1 $1 {A very strong pawn sacrifice.} Qxa2 ({It is preferable to develop simply} 11... Ndf6 12. O-O Bxc3 13. bxc3 O-O) 12. Nd2 Bxc3 13. bxc3 Qxc2 14. Rxc2 Nxd2 15. Kxd2 Nb6 ({Serious problems in the endgame resulted from} 15... Nf6 16. Be5 O-O 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. dxc5 Be6 19. Ra1 Rfc8 20. Ra5 Rc7 21. Rb2 Rac8 22. Rxa7 Rxc5 23. Ra3 b5 24. e3 {Wojtaszek,R (2717)-Peralta,F (2606)/Istanbul 2012/CBM 151 (49), but winning is not an easy task yet.}) ({Another alternative was very passive defence} 15... cxd4 16. cxd4 Nb6 17. Ra1 O-O 18. Bc7 Be6 19. Ra5 Rac8 20. Rac5 Ra8) 16. dxc5 Nc4+ 17. Kd3 Bf5+ $2 ({A better defence was} 17... Be6 18. Kd4 g5 19. Bd6 Kd7 20. Bxd5 Bxd5 21. Kxd5 Nxd6 22. cxd6 Rhc8 23. c4 Rc6 24. c5 b6 25. e4 Rac8) 18. e4 Bh7 19. Kd4 Na5 20. Kxd5 $1 {Such a king march looks dangerous, but it is perfectly safe here. Just Black has no real counterplay.} O-O-O+ 21. Bd6 b6 22. Ra1 Nb7 23. Rxa7 (23. Bh3+ {It was stronger to include this check, but he did it later.} f5) 23... bxc5 24. Bh3+ f5 25. e5 1-0 [Event "Norway Chess 2025"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2025.06.03"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Erigaisi Arjun"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2782"] [BlackElo "2776"] [Annotator "Chess.com"] [PlyCount "141"] [EventDate "2025.??.??"] {[%evp 0,141,19,16,18,-10,0,-4,-11,4,4,15,14,8,38,-3,5,8,5,8,8,12,11,3,13,-3,28,13,63,37,33,33,24,-7,15,-12,17,-65,-43,30,69,0,21,-12,-24,-41,-34,-32,-10,-50,14,-62,-30,-61,-46,-65,-56,-59,16,10,13,7,6,-2,9,6,8,9,39,11,47,-27,-11,-54,-20,-34,0,-99,-12,-10,-16,-16,-12,-11,-11,-39,-18,-38,-7,-5,-17,-73,-85,-60,-71,-90,-112,-99,-99,-99,-59,-52,-58,-58,-56,-93,-82,-107,-110,-111,0,0,345,337,394,394,390,395,389,364,421,425,445,448,434,461,469,472,475,470,493,490,545,557,560,614,651,614,716,790,962,1002,29985,29988]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. g3 O-O 9. Bg2 Ne4 10. O-O Re8 11. Qc2 cxd4 12. Nxd4 Nc6 13. Rd1 Na5 14. Rb1 Bd7 15. Rb4 Qf6 16. Be3 $146 (16. Bxe4 {was seen in an email game, and we will see this capture in this game.} dxe4 17. Bf4 Rac8 18. Nb3 Nxb3 19. Rxd7 Nc5 20. Rd6 Qe7 21. Rd1 {½-½ (21) Tasic,V-Daurelle,H LSS email 2007}) 16... Rac8 17. Bxe4 Rxe4 18. Nf3 Rxb4 19. axb4 Nc4 20. Bd4 Qa6 21. Ng5 Qh6 22. h4 f6 23. Nf3 a6 24. Ne1 Qg6 25. Nd3 Re8 26. Qc1 Qf7 27. Re1 b6 28. Nb2 Bb5 29. Nxc4 Bxc4 30. Bxb6 Bxe2 31. Qd2 Qh5 32. Qf4 Re4 33. Qb8+ Kf7 34. Bc5 h6 {Somewhere around here, it seemed like Caruana was playing for two results. The white king is weaker than the black one.} 35. Kh2 Qf3 36. Qb7+ Kg6 37. Rg1 Kh7 38. Qa7 Qf5 39. Bf8 Qg6 40. Re1 Kg8 41. Bc5 Qf5 42. Qc7 {By this point, Caruana had one minute left against seven.} Qf3 $2 ({Prophylaxis against any checks with} 42... Kh7 $1 {was best, but the king just came from there. Caruana had less than a minute, so he didn't have time to analyze such subtle moves.}) 43. Rg1 $2 (43. Qc8+ Kh7 44. Qh3 $1 {gave White great chances to hold.}) 43... h5 $2 (43... Qf5 {Again, this would have been better, but Caruana was playing on instinct.}) 44. Qd7 Bc4 45. b5 $4 {This pawn sacrifice could have lost the game.} (45. g4 $1 {gave Black equal chances, and Arjun would play this kind of move in the game.}) 45... Bxb5 $2 {Black is still better, but any direct win is gone.} (45... d4 $3 {was the best move, disconnecting White's bishop from f2.} 46. Bxd4 Be6 {Black plays this same move in other lines.} 47. Qd8+ Kh7 {And let's make a subpar move to show Black's giant threat:} 48. b6 (48. g4 hxg4 49. Rg3 Qf5 {is best, but the white king will still be ensared.}) 48... Rxh4+ $1 49. gxh4 Qh3#) (45... axb5 {Even this, however, would have given Caruana a winning advantage. There's no real compensation for the pawn sacrifice.}) 46. Qxd5+ Kh7 47. Qd1 $4 (47. g4 $1 {was the best chance, as Arjun will play later.}) 47... Re2 48. Qb1+ Bd3 49. Qc1 Be4 $2 (49... Re4 {Preventing White's idea of Qf4 was the way to go. Sometimes there is the threat of ...Rg4 or ...Rxh4 even, as we saw in a previous line.}) 50. Qf4 {White gets his idea in and Black's attack is slipping.} Qxc3 51. Be3 {Black has won a pawn, but White has consolidated the position of his king. Next, he will counterattack with a timely g4, on the next move.} Bg6 52. g4 $1 {The beginning of the turnaround.} hxg4 53. h5 $5 {Sacrificing a pawn to open the h-file, an idea that will actually win the game, even if the position is equal right now.} (53. Qxg4 {It was possible to take right away, as Arjun does a move later.}) 53... Bxh5 54. Qf5+ Bg6 (54... Kg8 {Arjun said he wasn't even sure he was making a draw here.}) 55. Qxg4 Qe5+ $4 {Caruana had 37 seconds left when he played this move. It's a losing check.} 56. Rg3 {Even though it's much easier to find in this case, somehow this move reminds me of Ding's famous ...Rg6 move to win the world championship against Ian Nepomniachtchi in their final tiebreak game. White self-pins for victory.} Qh5+ {There's nothing to do anyway. White was threatening either to win the bishop on g6 or to mate on g7 if it moves.} (56... Qxg3+ {Giving away the queen is one of the engine's \"genius\" recommendations.}) 57. Rh3 {[%emt 0:00:53] Black would be much better if not for this move. Remember how Arjun sacrificed a pawn to open this h-file on move $2} Qxh3+ 58. Qxh3+ Kg8 59. Qg4 Bd3 60. Bh6 Re7 61. Bxg7 Be2 62. Qg6 Rxg7 63. Qe8+ Kh7 64. Qxe2 {White has a queen versus rook. Arjun manages to win this one.} Rg5 65. Qxa6 Kg7 66. f4 Rg4 67. f5 Rb4 68. Kg3 Rb1 69. Qa7+ Kh6 70. Qf7 Rb3+ 71. Qxb3 1-0 [Event "Bundesliga 2122"] [Site "Germany"] [Date "2022.04.30"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Kasimdzhanov, Rustam"] [Black "Piorun, Kacper"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2659"] [BlackElo "2640"] [Annotator "Edouard,Romain"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2022.03.05"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "15"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "CBM 209 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2022.09.30"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.09.30"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Baden-Baden"] [BlackTeam "Berlin SF"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GER"] [BlackTeamCountry "GER"] [WhiteClock "1:40:00"] [BlackClock "1:40:00"] {[%evp 0,75,20,20,23,7,7,7,7,7,29,2,5,9,7,-26,18,35,43,43,44,5,14,22,20,13,25,20,23,22,14,22,20,10,5,9,61,61,121,114,104,104,104,104,104,107,110,105,105,124,133,130,144,157,140,160,193,128,110,135,151,148,147,147,129,133,125,134,130,97,290,271,286,279,397,421,457,388]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 Nbd7 8. e3 g5 9. Bg3 Ne4 10. Nd2 Nxg3 11. hxg3 c6 12. Qc2 Nb6 (12... Nf6 {is the alternative - more solid in the center, less solid on the queenside.}) 13. Bd3 Be6 14. a3 Bd6 15. O-O-O Qe7 $146 (15... Qf6 {has been played in the three existing games, putting pressure on f2 (and d4 if White pushes e4).}) 16. e4 {The normal reaction.} dxe4 17. Bxe4 Nd5 $2 (17... O-O-O $2 18. d5 $18) (17... Bc7 $1 {with the idea of ...0-0-0 was the only try to justify 15...Qe7!?.}) 18. Rde1 {Now Black has no way to castle queenside, which means he's forever much worse.} Rc8 (18... Nxc3 19. Qxc3 O-O-O $2 20. d5 $18) 19. Bf5 Kd7 20. Bxe6+ fxe6 21. Nce4 b6 22. Kb1 Bb8 23. Rc1 {Black has a terribly ugly postion and can only wait and suffer.} Qg7 24. Qa4 Rhe8 25. Nf3 g4 26. Ne5+ $1 Bxe5 27. dxe5 Qxe5 (27... Rc7 28. f4 $5 gxf3 29. gxf3 Qxe5 30. Rxh6 $18) 28. Qxa7+ Rc7 29. Qa4 h5 30. Ka1 Rf8 31. Rhe1 Qg7 32. Re2 Qg6 33. Nc3 $6 (33. Rce1 Qf5 34. Nd2 {starting to relocate the knight should just be crushing.}) 33... Rf5 $6 (33... Nxc3 34. Rxc3 Rf5 35. Rec2 b5 {would give Black chances.}) 34. Rec2 $6 (34. Ne4 {back wouldn't make much difference: Black cannot make use of the two tempis.}) 34... Rf8 $2 (34... Nxc3 35. Rxc3 b5 {was still Black's best chance, but with the c2-rook on c1, White is able to play} 36. Qc2 {with a crushing advantage.}) 35. Nb5 $1 {After this nice tactics, it's all over.} cxb5 36. Qxb5+ Kc8 (36... Kd8 37. Rxc7 Nxc7 38. Qxb6 $18) 37. Qa6+ Kd7 38. Qa4+ (38. Qa4+ Kc8 (38... Kd6 39. Rxc7 Nxc7 40. Qb4+ $18) 39. Qa8+ $18) 1-0 [Event "EU-chT (Men) 15th"] [Site "Gothenburg"] [Date "2005.08.05"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Moiseenko, Alexander"] [Black "Jobava, Baadur"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2664"] [BlackElo "2621"] [Annotator "Kortschnoj,Viktor Lvovich"] [PlyCount "108"] [EventDate "2005.07.30"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SWE"] [SourceTitle "CBM 109"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.11.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.11.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Ukraine"] [BlackTeam "Georgia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UKR"] [BlackTeamCountry "GEO"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 O-O 7. e3 c5 {The so called "Westfalia" variation in a modernised treatment - Black postpones the neccessary in this set-up move ?bd7, starting immediate actions in the centre.} 8. Bd3 (8. dxc5 Nbd7 9. Be2 {has been played many times - White comes out of the opening with a slight advantage. In this game White tries to get more.}) 8... c4 9. Bb1 $2 {As the continuation of the game clearly shows, this move is bad - the idea connected with this move does not work. 8.?c2 is certainly better.} Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Nbd7 11. Qc2 $6 {White is trying to accomplish his idea. Instead he had to play 11.?d2 ?a5 12.?c1 - White stands better.} Qa5 12. Nd2 Ne4 13. Nxe4 $6 (13. Be7 $1 Re8 14. Bb4 Qd8 15. f3 Qh4+ (15... Qg5 16. Nf1 $1) 16. g3 Nxg3 17. Qxh7+ Qxh7 18. Bxh7+ Kxh7 19. hxg3+ Kg8 20. Kf2 $14) 13... dxe4 $15 14. Bh4 (14. Be7 Re8 15. Bb4 Qg5 $15) 14... Nb6 15. O-O {White is planning to play f2-f3, but looks for better circumstances. In order not to get squeezed he had to play it now!} Re8 16. Bg3 Nd5 $17 17. Rc1 Qa3 18. Qd2 Bf5 19. f3 f6 20. Bf2 b5 21. fxe4 Bxe4 {Some people would prefer here to take the pawn with the rook!} 22. Bxe4 Rxe4 23. Rab1 a6 24. Qb2 Qxb2 25. Rxb2 {Finally White managed to develop his queen side, gets some relief, but his position, with the bishop protecting his weak pawn, remains bad, practically lost. Still, Black needs to play precisely.} Nb6 $1 {Black prevents the counter-play of his opponent!} 26. Kf1 Kf7 27. Ke2 Ke6 28. Kf3 Kd5 29. g4 Rae8 30. Ra1 Kc6 {Black regrouped his pieces and is going to put the knight to d5, either winning a pawn or to sacrifice an exchange on e3, or to strengthen his grip with g7-g6, f6-f5, f5-f4...} 31. a4 {So whether it works or not - White can't wait any longer with his counter-play.} Nxa4 32. Rxa4 bxa4 33. Rb4 a5 $1 34. Rxc4+ Kb5 35. Rc5+ Kb6 36. Rc4 R4e6 37. Rxa4 {The move 37.d5, perhaps planned by White, does not work because of 37...?e4!} Kb5 38. Ra3 Ra6 39. d5 a4 40. e4 Kc4 41. Bg3 {If 41.?e3 then g7-g6, followed by f6-f5.} Kd3 42. d6 Rd8 {More precise is 42...Kc2} 43. g5 $6 {43.e5 would render some chances for defence} Kc2 $19 44. c4 Kb2 45. Re3 a3 46. gxf6 gxf6 47. e5 a2 48. exf6 Rdxd6 $1 49. Be5+ Kc2 50. Re2+ Kb3 51. Rb2+ Kxc4 52. Rxa2 Rd3+ 53. Ke4 Rxa2 54. f7 Rf2 0-1 [Event "13th Norway Chess 2025"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2025.06.03"] [Round "15"] [White "Erigaisi Arjun"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2782"] [BlackElo "2776"] [PlyCount "141"] [EventDate "2025.05.26"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. g3 O-O 9. Bg2 Ne4 10. O-O Re8 11. Qc2 cxd4 12. Nxd4 Nc6 13. Rd1 Na5 14. Rb1 Bd7 15. Rb4 Qf6 16. Be3 $146 (16. Bxe4 {was seen in an email game, and we will see this capture in this game.} dxe4 17. Bf4 Rac8 18. Nb3 Nxb3 19. Rxd7 Nc5 20. Rd6 Qe7 21. Rd1 {½-½ (21) Tasic,V-Daurelle,H LSS email 2007}) 16... Rac8 17. Bxe4 Rxe4 18. Nf3 Rxb4 19. axb4 Nc4 20. Bd4 Qa6 21. Ng5 Qh6 22. h4 f6 23. Nf3 a6 24. Ne1 Qg6 25. Nd3 Re8 26. Qc1 Qf7 27. Re1 b6 28. Nb2 Bb5 29. Nxc4 Bxc4 30. Bxb6 Bxe2 31. Qd2 Qh5 32. Qf4 Re4 33. Qb8+ Kf7 34. Bc5 h6 {Somewhere around here, it seemed like Caruana was playing for two results. The white king is weaker than the black one.} 35. Kh2 Qf3 36. Qb7+ Kg6 37. Rg1 Kh7 38. Qa7 Qf5 39. Bf8 Qg6 40. Re1 Kg8 41. Bc5 Qf5 42. Qc7 {By this point, Caruana had one minute left against seven.} Qf3 $2 ({Prophylaxis against any checks with} 42... Kh7 $1 {was best, but the king just came from there. Caruana had less than a minute, so he didn't have time to analyze such subtle moves.}) 43. Rg1 $2 (43. Qc8+ Kh7 44. Qh3 $1 {gave White great chances to hold.}) 43... h5 $2 (43... Qf5 {Again, this would have been better, but Caruana was playing on instinct.}) 44. Qd7 Bc4 45. b5 $4 {This pawn sacrifice could have lost the game.} (45. g4 $1 {gave Black equal chances, and Arjun would play this kind of move in the game.}) 45... Bxb5 $2 {Black is still better, but any direct win is gone.} (45... d4 $3 {was the best move, disconnecting White's bishop from f2.} 46. Bxd4 Be6 {Black plays this same move in other lines.} 47. Qd8+ Kh7 {And let's make a subpar move to show Black's giant threat:} 48. b6 (48. g4 hxg4 49. Rg3 Qf5 {is best, but the white king will still be ensared.}) 48... Rxh4+ $1 49. gxh4 Qh3#) (45... axb5 {Even this, however, would have given Caruana a winning advantage. There's no real compensation for the pawn sacrifice.}) 46. Qxd5+ Kh7 47. Qd1 $4 (47. g4 $1 {was the best chance, as Arjun will play later.}) 47... Re2 48. Qb1+ Bd3 49. Qc1 Be4 $2 (49... Re4 {Preventing White's idea of Qf4 was the way to go. Sometimes there is the threat of ...Rg4 or ...Rxh4 even, as we saw in a previous line.}) 50. Qf4 {White gets his idea in and Black's attack is slipping.} Qxc3 51. Be3 {Black has won a pawn, but White has consolidated the position of his king. Next, he will counterattack with a timely g4, on the next move.} Bg6 52. g4 $1 {The beginning of the turnaround.} hxg4 53. h5 $5 {Sacrificing a pawn to open the h-file, an idea that will actually win the game, even if the position is equal right now.} (53. Qxg4 {It was possible to take right away, as Arjun does a move later.}) 53... Bxh5 54. Qf5+ Bg6 (54... Kg8 {Arjun said he wasn't even sure he was making a draw here.}) 55. Qxg4 Qe5+ $4 {Caruana had 37 seconds left when he played this move. It's a losing check.} 56. Rg3 {Even though it's much easier to find in this case, somehow this move reminds me of Ding's famous ...Rg6 move to win the world championship against Ian Nepomniachtchi in their final tiebreak game. White self-pins for victory.} Qh5+ {There's nothing to do anyway. White was threatening either to win the bishop on g6 or to mate on g7 if it moves.} (56... Qxg3+ {Giving away the queen is one of the engine's \"genius\" recommendations.}) 57. Rh3 {[%emt 0:00:53] Black would be much better if not for this move. Remember how Arjun sacrificed a pawn to open this h-file on move $2} Qxh3+ 58. Qxh3+ Kg8 59. Qg4 Bd3 60. Bh6 Re7 61. Bxg7 Be2 62. Qg6 Rxg7 63. Qe8+ Kh7 64. Qxe2 {White has a queen versus rook. Arjun manages to win this one.} Rg5 65. Qxa6 Kg7 66. f4 Rg4 67. f5 Rb4 68. Kg3 Rb1 69. Qa7+ Kh6 70. Qf7 Rb3+ 71. Qxb3 1-0 [Event "Qatar Masters op"] [Site "Doha"] [Date "2015.12.28"] [Round "8"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2748"] [BlackElo "2834"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah/CB Website"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "2015.12.20"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "QAT"] [SourceTitle "CBM 170"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2016.01.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2016.01.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. Ne4 Qe7 12. exd4 {This is much more combative than taking on d4 with the knight. The isolated pawn means that there is an imbalance and an imbalance means that both sides have to play actively to make use of their imbalances.} (12. a3 {is the new move with which Dubov beat Anand in the World Rapid.}) 12... Rd8 13. Qe2 Nc6 14. Rfd1 Ba5 15. Ng3 Bb6 16. Qe4 Bd7 17. h4 $5 {Typical Mamedyarov. Until here everything had been seen in the game Shimanov-Matlakov 2014. But this is a new move.} Be8 18. a3 Rd6 19. Qg4 $6 ({It was a good time to think about equalising and getting rid of the isolated pawn.} 19. d5 exd5 (19... Rad8 20. Qc2 $1 Rxd5 (20... exd5 21. Nf5 $16) 21. Bxd5 exd5 $14) 20. Rxd5 Qxe4 21. Nxe4 Rxd5 22. Bxd5 Rd8 23. Nc3 $11) 19... Rad8 {Now the d4-pawn is just a weakness.} 20. d5 Qf8 $1 {You are not going to be able to fool Magnus. He takes his queen away from the ?f5 fork tricks and gets ready to take on d5.} 21. Qe4 Ne7 {Thanks to the pin on the d-file the pawn cannot really move.} 22. Bd3 f5 $1 23. Qe5 Nxd5 24. Bxf5 $2 exf5 25. Nxf5 {Did Mamedyarov stir up some complications once again?} Rc6 $1 {Not really! The rook on c1 would be left hanging if the d-rook moved and if ?xc6 then bxc6 would solidify the position of the knight on d5.} 0-1 [Event "Bundesliga 2122"] [Site "Germany"] [Date "2022.04.30"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Kasimdzhanov, Rustam"] [Black "Piorun, Kacper"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2659"] [BlackElo "2640"] [Annotator "Edouard,Romain"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2022.03.05"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "15"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "CBM 209 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2022.09.30"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.09.30"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Baden-Baden"] [BlackTeam "Berlin SF"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GER"] [BlackTeamCountry "GER"] [WhiteClock "1:40:00"] [BlackClock "1:40:00"] {[%evp 0,75,20,20,23,7,7,7,7,7,29,2,5,9,7,-26,18,35,43,43,44,5,14,22,20,13,25,20,23,22,14,22,20,10,5,9,61,61,121,114,104,104,104,104,104,107,110,105,105,124,133,130,144,157,140,160,193,128,110,135,151,148,147,147,129,133,125,134,130,97,290,271,286,279,397,421,457,388]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 Nbd7 8. e3 g5 9. Bg3 Ne4 10. Nd2 Nxg3 11. hxg3 c6 12. Qc2 Nb6 (12... Nf6 {is the alternative - more solid in the center, less solid on the queenside.}) 13. Bd3 Be6 14. a3 Bd6 15. O-O-O Qe7 $146 (15... Qf6 {has been played in the three existing games, putting pressure on f2 (and d4 if White pushes e4).}) 16. e4 {The normal reaction.} dxe4 17. Bxe4 Nd5 $2 (17... O-O-O $2 18. d5 $18) (17... Bc7 $1 {with the idea of ...0-0-0 was the only try to justify 15...Qe7!?.}) 18. Rde1 {Now Black has no way to castle queenside, which means he's forever much worse.} Rc8 (18... Nxc3 19. Qxc3 O-O-O $2 20. d5 $18) 19. Bf5 Kd7 20. Bxe6+ fxe6 21. Nce4 b6 22. Kb1 Bb8 23. Rc1 {Black has a terribly ugly postion and can only wait and suffer.} Qg7 24. Qa4 Rhe8 25. Nf3 g4 26. Ne5+ $1 Bxe5 27. dxe5 Qxe5 (27... Rc7 28. f4 $5 gxf3 29. gxf3 Qxe5 30. Rxh6 $18) 28. Qxa7+ Rc7 29. Qa4 h5 30. Ka1 Rf8 31. Rhe1 Qg7 32. Re2 Qg6 33. Nc3 $6 (33. Rce1 Qf5 34. Nd2 {starting to relocate the knight should just be crushing.}) 33... Rf5 $6 (33... Nxc3 34. Rxc3 Rf5 35. Rec2 b5 {would give Black chances.}) 34. Rec2 $6 (34. Ne4 {back wouldn't make much difference: Black cannot make use of the two tempis.}) 34... Rf8 $2 (34... Nxc3 35. Rxc3 b5 {was still Black's best chance, but with the c2-rook on c1, White is able to play} 36. Qc2 {with a crushing advantage.}) 35. Nb5 $1 {After this nice tactics, it's all over.} cxb5 36. Qxb5+ Kc8 (36... Kd8 37. Rxc7 Nxc7 38. Qxb6 $18) 37. Qa6+ Kd7 38. Qa4+ (38. Qa4+ Kc8 (38... Kd6 39. Rxc7 Nxc7 40. Qb4+ $18) 39. Qa8+ $18) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup"] [Site "Tbilisi"] [Date "2017.09.06"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Dreev, Alexey"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2648"] [BlackElo "2827"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "2017.09.03"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "GEO"] [SourceTitle "CBM 181"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2017.11.10"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.11.10"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 3. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:57]} Bb4 $5 {[%emt 0:00:07] Dreev is a well known expert in the ?c2 variation in the Nimzo Indian. With this move order Magnus avoids that opening.} 4. Nf3 {[%emt 0:04:20]} (4. Qc2 dxc4 {is good for Black.}) 4... Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:33]} 5. Bg5 {[%emt 0:01:45]} h6 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 6. Bxf6 {[%emt 0:00:32]} Qxf6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 7. Qb3 {[%emt 0:00:54]} c5 {[%emt 0:00:28]} 8. cxd5 {[%emt 0:00:31]} exd5 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 9. a3 {[%emt 0:00:31]} Bxc3+ {[%emt 0:00:09]} 10. Qxc3 {[%emt 0:00:05]} c4 {[%emt 0:03:51] This is a relatively new idea.} 11. b3 {[%emt 0:03:34]} Be6 {[%emt 0:00:47]} (11... b5 12. a4) 12. Ne5 $6 {[%emt 0:16:57] This move was condemned by Magnus.} (12. e3 O-O 13. Be2 Rc8 14. O-O Nc6 15. a4 cxb3 16. a5 Qd8 17. a6 b6 18. Qxb3 Qd6 19. Rfb1 Rc7 20. h3 Rac8 21. Bd3 Kf8 22. Qb2 Qe7 23. Kf1 Na5 24. Ke2 Nc4 25. Qb4 Qxb4 26. Rxb4 Nd6 27. g4 g5 28. Nd2 Ke7 29. f3 f6 30. Nf1 Rc1 31. Rbb1 Rxb1 32. Rxb1 Rc3 33. Ra1 Nc4 34. Nd2 Nb2 35. Bb5 Bd7 36. Bxd7 Kxd7 37. Ra2 Rc2 38. e4 b5 39. Ra3 Rxd2+ 40. Kxd2 Nc4+ 41. Kc3 Nxa3 {0-1 (41) Skrondal,I (2277)-Hammer, J (2628) Sandefjord 2017}) (12. bxc4 dxc4 13. e4 {is the critical line, but here it seems Black is holding his own.} O-O 14. Be2 Nc6 $13) 12... O-O {[%emt 0:05:27]} 13. e3 {[%emt 0:11:59]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:16:21]} 14. Be2 {[%emt 0:20:19]} (14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. bxc4 Qg6 $1 {This key move gives Black the advantage.}) (14. bxc4 Nxe5 15. dxe5 Qg6 $1 $15) 14... Nxe5 {[%emt 0:02:59]} 15. dxe5 {[%emt 0:00:37]} Qg6 {[%emt 0:02:20]} 16. O-O {[%emt 0:03:25]} d4 $5 {[%emt 0:04:40]} 17. exd4 {[%emt 0:00:21]} cxb3 {[%emt 0:00:03] The b3-pawn is very strong.} 18. Bf3 {[%emt 0:08:07]} Rac8 {[%emt 0:03:21]} 19. Qe3 {[%emt 0:01:39]} Qg5 $1 {[%emt 0:02:23] With this queen exchange the b3-pawn gains in strength.} 20. Rab1 {[%emt 0:12:47]} (20. d5 Qxe3 21. fxe3 Bd7 {Black has a good position, but this might have been the best way to play.}) 20... Qxe3 {[%emt 0:01:20]} 21. fxe3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Rfd8 {[%emt 0:05:50]} 22. Bxb7 {[%emt 0:02:15]} Rc3 {[%emt 0:03:49]} 23. d5 {[%emt 0:00:49]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:01:22]} 24. Rf4 {[%emt 0:03:25]} a5 {[%emt 0:02:59] Stopping ?b4.} 25. Kf2 $2 {[%emt 0:03:07]} (25. d6 {and the game goes on.}) 25... Rb8 $1 {[%emt 0:01:58]} 26. Bc6 {[%emt 0:00:51]} Bxc6 {[%emt 0:00:19]} 27. dxc6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Rxc6 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 28. Rd4 {[%emt 0:00:38]} Rc2+ {[%emt 0:00:10]} 29. Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:39]} b2 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 30. Rdd1 {[%emt 0:00:30]} Rb5 {[%emt 0:02:46]} 31. a4 {[%emt 0:01:23]} Rxe5 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 32. Rd8+ {[%emt 0:00:58]} Kh7 {[%emt 0:00:02] And Dreev, who is already a pawn down with a hopeless position, resigned the game.} 0-1 [Event "FRA-chT Top 12"] [Site "Montpellier"] [Date "2015.06.09"] [Round "11.2"] [White "Matlakov, Maxim"] [Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2694"] [BlackElo "2746"] [Annotator "ChessBase II"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "2015.05.30"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "FRA"] [SourceTitle "CBM 166 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.06.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.06.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Clichy-Echecs 92"] [BlackTeam "Mulhouse Philidor"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "FRA"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 (5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 (6... h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. e3 c4 9. Nd2 g5 10. Bg3 Bf5 11. Be5 Bxc3 12. bxc3 $14) 7. Qc2 c5 8. g3 {Le polonais avait suivi cette ligne rare avec les coueurs inversées} h6 9. Bf4 Ne4 {½-½ Wojtaszek,R (2717)-Peralta,F (2606) Istanbul ol (Men) 40th 2012 (5.1)} (9... O-O 10. Bg2 b6 11. O-O Bxc3 (11... Bb7 $6 12. Nb5 {[%csl Rb4,Rb7,Rd6]}))) 5... h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. Ne4 (11. Nxd4 Bd7 12. Qb3 Nc6 13. Nxc6 Bxc3 14. Rxc3 Bxc6 15. Bb5 Bd5 16. Bc4 Bc6 17. Bb5 Bd5 18. Bc4 {½-½ (18) Topalov,V (2798)-Anand,V (2804) Stavanger 2015}) 11... Qe7 12. Nxd4 Bd7 13. Bd3 Nc6 14. Nb3 Na5 15. Rc7 Rfd8 16. Nbc5 $146 (16. a3 Nxb3 17. Qxb3 Ba5 18. Rxb7 Ba4 19. Rxe7 Bxb3 20. Nc5 Bb6 21. Nxb3 Rxd3 22. Nd4 Bxd4 23. exd4 Rb8 24. Rxa7 Rxb2 25. Ra4 Ra2 26. h4 g6 27. g3 Kg7 28. Kg2 g5 29. hxg5 hxg5 30. g4 Kf6 31. Re1 Rdd2 32. Rf1 Rd3 33. Re1 Rdxa3 34. Rxa3 Rxa3 35. Rd1 Ke7 36. d5 e5 37. Rb1 Rd3 38. Rb7+ Kf6 39. Rb6+ Ke7 40. Rb7+ {½-½ (40) Gelfand,B (2744)-Giri,A (2776) Khanty-Mansiysk 2015}) 16... f5 17. a3 fxe4 18. axb4 (18. Nxe4 Ba4 $15 {[%CAl Ge7c7]}) 18... exd3 19. Qxd3 Bb5 20. Rxe7 Bxd3 21. bxa5 Bxf1 22. Kxf1 Rd1+ 23. Ke2 Rad8 24. Rxb7 R1d2+ 25. Ke1 Ra8 1/2-1/2 [Event "Tata Steel-B 80th"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2018.01.17"] [Round "5"] [White "Krasenkow, Michal"] [Black "Bluebaum, Matthias"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2671"] [BlackElo "2640"] [Annotator "ChessBase II"] [PlyCount "186"] [EventDate "2018.01.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "15"] [SourceTitle "CBM 183"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2018.03.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2018.03.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/6000+30:20/3000+30:900+30"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 4. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 5. Qa4+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 6. e3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:11]} 7. Qc2 {[%emt 0:00:06]} (7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 Bd7 9. Qc2 Na5 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Bd3 Re8 12. O-O c5 13. dxc5 Rc8 14. a4 Rxc5 15. Ba3 Rc8 16. Ng5 g6 17. Rab1 Qc7 18. Rfc1 Nc4 19. Bxc4 dxc4 20. Qd1 Bc6 21. Qd4 Qe5 22. Nf3 Qf5 23. Qd1 Ne4 24. Rb2 Rcd8 25. Nd4 Qg5 26. Qf1 Bxa4 27. Qxc4 Bc6 28. Nxc6 bxc6 29. Qxc6 Rc8 30. Qa4 Qe5 31. c4 Red8 32. h3 Nc5 33. Qxa7 Nd3 34. Rb5 Qe8 35. Rd1 Ra8 36. Qe7 Qc6 {Yu,Y (2751)-Harikrishna,P (2744) Huaian 2017 1-0}) 7... Ne7 {[%emt 0:02:06]} 8. a3 {[%emt 0:00:58]} Bxc3+ {[%emt 0:00:14]} 9. Qxc3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} b6 {[%emt 0:03:36]} 10. b3 {[%emt 0:00:15]} Bb7 {[%emt 0:03:41]} 11. Be2 {[%emt 0:00:32]} dxc4 {[%emt 0:05:21]} 12. bxc4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} c5 {[%emt 0:00:47]} 13. O-O {[%emt 0:03:49]} Rc8 {[%emt 0:04:05]} 14. Rd1 $146 {[%emt 0:00:08]} (14. Bb2 cxd4 15. Nxd4 Ne4 16. Qc2 Nf5 17. Nxf5 exf5 18. f3 Qg5 19. Bd4 Nc5 20. a4 Ne6 21. Ra3 f4 22. Bd3 h6 23. Qf2 Rfd8 24. a5 bxa5 25. Rfa1 fxe3 26. Bxe3 Qf6 27. Bf1 Nd4 28. Bxd4 Qxd4 29. Qxd4 Rxd4 30. Rxa5 a6 31. c5 Rd5 32. Rb1 Rc7 33. Rxb7 Rxb7 34. c6 {1-0 (34) Babula,V (2559)-Georgiadis,N (2472) Reykjavik 2015}) 14... Qc7 {[%emt 0:06:01]} 15. Bb2 {[%emt 0:02:11]} cxd4 {[%emt 0:19:02]} 16. Nxd4 {[%emt 0:00:38]} Qc5 {[%emt 0:12:28]} 17. a4 {[%emt 0:10:47]} Qg5 {[%emt 0:04:03]} 18. Nf3 {[%emt 0:03:22]} Bxf3 {[%emt 0:03:35]} 19. Bxf3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 20. Rac1 {[%emt 0:02:11]} Na5 {[%emt 0:04:38]} 21. Qb4 {[%emt 0:00:53]} Rc5 {[%emt 0:10:58]} 22. Bd4 {[%emt 0:04:28]} Rf5 {[%emt 0:03:03]} 23. Bxf6 {[%emt 0:20:52]} gxf6 {[%emt 0:08:10]} 24. h4 {[%emt 0:04:30]} Qg7 {[%emt 0:00:49]} 25. Kf1 {[%emt 0:11:44]} Rc5 {[%emt 0:00:49]} 26. Rd7 {[%emt 0:00:24]} f5 {[%emt 0:02:29]} 27. g3 {[%emt 0:09:10]} Rfc8 {[%emt 0:01:59]} 28. Rcd1 {[%emt 0:02:00]} Qf6 {[%emt 0:03:32]} 29. Rxa7 {[%emt 0:01:27]} Nxc4 {[%emt 0:01:30]} 30. Bh5 {[%emt 0:06:12]} Ne5 {[%emt 0:07:09]} 31. Qxb6 {[%emt 0:00:41]} Rc2 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 32. Qb7 {[%emt 0:04:30]} Rf8 {[%emt 0:01:19]} 33. Qb3 {[%emt 0:03:03]} Rc5 {[%emt 0:02:35]} 34. Qb2 {[%emt 0:08:09]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:01:15]} 35. a5 {[%emt 0:00:50]} f4 {[%emt 0:00:53]} 36. exf4 {[%emt 0:01:03]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 37. Qb6 {[%emt 0:06:51]} Qc3 {[%emt 0:00:34]} 38. Rxf7+ {[%emt 0:04:14]} Rxf7 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 39. Bxf7 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Kxf7 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 40. Rd7+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:01:48]} 41. a6 {[%emt 0:10:46]} Qc4+ {[%emt 0:12:42]} 42. Kg1 {[%emt 0:00:29]} Rb5 {[%emt 0:00:55]} 43. Qe3 {[%emt 0:01:26]} Rb3 {[%emt 0:03:56]} 44. Qe1 {[%emt 0:05:12]} Qc2 {[%emt 0:13:42]} 45. Rd1 {[%emt 0:05:46]} Qc5 {[%emt 0:01:45]} 46. Rc1 {[%emt 0:05:31]} Qd5 {[%emt 0:01:10]} 47. Ra1 {[%emt 0:02:08]} Qd4 {[%emt 0:01:11]} 48. Kg2 {[%emt 0:01:17]} Rb2 {[%emt 0:03:07]} 49. Ra3 {[%emt 0:04:55]} Qc5 {[%emt 0:03:32]} 50. Qc3+ {[%emt 0:12:30]} Qxc3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 51. Rxc3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Rb6 {[%emt 0:02:34]} 52. a7 {[%emt 0:00:28]} Nxa7 {[%emt 0:00:49]} 53. Rc7 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:52]} 54. Rxh7 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Ne7 {[%emt 0:04:31]} 55. h5 {[%emt 0:02:03]} Nd5 {[%emt 0:01:02]} 56. Rh6+ {[%emt 0:06:55]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:01:13]} 57. Rh7+ {[%emt 0:01:26]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 58. Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:37]} Rb3+ {[%emt 0:02:07]} 59. Kg4 {[%emt 0:00:19]} Rb5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 60. Ra7 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rb2 {[%emt 0:01:24]} 61. Kf3 {[%emt 0:01:59]} Rb3+ {[%emt 0:00:19]} 62. Kg2 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Rb5 {[%emt 0:00:52]} 63. h6 {[%emt 0:00:58]} Kg6 {[%emt 0:04:50]} 64. h7 {[%emt 0:00:18]} Rb8 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 65. Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:54]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:01:09]} 66. Re7 {[%emt 0:01:00]} Rb3+ {[%emt 0:00:32]} 67. Kg2 {[%emt 0:03:25]} Nxh7 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 68. Rxe6+ {[%emt 0:00:04]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 69. Re3 {[%emt 0:02:09]} Rb2 {[%emt 0:00:38]} 70. Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Ra2 {[%emt 0:00:44]} 71. Rb3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Rc2 {[%emt 0:00:43]} 72. Rb6 {[%emt 0:02:11]} Rc3+ {[%emt 0:00:21]} 73. Ke2 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:47]} 74. Rb5 {[%emt 0:03:04]} Kg6 {[%emt 0:01:21]} 75. f3 {[%emt 0:00:53]} Nh5 {[%emt 0:02:36]} 76. Rg5+ {[%emt 0:01:01]} Kh6 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 77. Kf2 {[%emt 0:01:41]} Ra3 {[%emt 0:02:20]} 78. Kg2 {[%emt 0:01:55]} Ra4 {[%emt 0:01:47]} 79. Rf5 {[%emt 0:01:38]} Kg6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 80. Rg5+ {[%emt 0:00:07]} Kh6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 81. Rg8 {[%emt 0:00:51]} Nxf4+ {[%emt 0:02:06]} 82. gxf4 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Rxf4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 83. Kg3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Rf6 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 84. Rg4 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Rf7 {[%emt 0:00:54]} 85. Kf2 {[%emt 0:00:34]} Ra7 {[%emt 0:01:00]} 86. Rg8 {[%emt 0:00:22]} Kh7 {[%emt 0:00:35]} 87. Rg4 {[%emt 0:00:31]} Kh6 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 88. Rg8 {[%emt 0:00:48]} Kh7 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 89. Rg5 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Kh6 {[%emt 0:00:28]} 90. Rg4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Ra2+ {[%emt 0:00:46]} 91. Kg3 {[%emt 0:00:17]} Ra1 {[%emt 0:00:42]} 92. Kf4 {[%emt 0:00:28]} Ra4+ {[%emt 0:00:07]} 93. Kf5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Ra5+ {[%emt 0:00:04]} 1/2-1/2 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.15"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Bu, Xiangzhi"] [Black "Santos Latasa, Jaime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2693"] [BlackElo "2624"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "China"] [BlackTeam "Spain"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"] [BlackTeamCountry "ESP"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 d5 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 Re8 8. Bd2 a6 9. a3 Bd6 10. h3 Bd7 11. Bd3 ({RR} 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Bd3 Na7 13. Qb3 c6 14. Qxb7 Nb5 15. Nxb5 axb5 16. Ne5 Rb8 17. Qa6 Ra8 18. Qb7 Rb8 19. Qa6 Ra8 {½-½ Karjakin,S (2773)-Carlsen,M (2855) Bilbao Masters 9th 2016 (8)}) ({RR} 11. Rd1 h6 12. b4 dxc4 13. Bxc4 e5 14. O-O Qe7 15. Bc1 b5 16. Nd5 Qd8 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Rxe5 19. f4 Re8 20. Nxf6+ Qxf6 21. Bd5 Rad8 22. Bb2 Qe7 23. e4 c6 24. Qc3 Qf8 25. Bxf7+ Qxf7 {1-0 Svane,R (2623)-Hong,A (2542) GRENKE Chess Open 2024 (5.7)}) 11... dxc4 12. Bxc4 h6 13. Ne4 $146 ({RR} 13. g4 b5 14. Bd3 e5 15. d5 Ne7 16. g5 hxg5 17. Nxg5 Qc8 18. Rg1 Bf5 19. O-O-O b4 20. axb4 Bxb4 21. e4 Bd7 22. f4 Ng6 23. f5 Nf4 24. Bxf4 exf4 25. Qg2 Bf8 26. Nxf7 Kxf7 27. Qg6+ Kg8 {1-0 Rozman,L (2387)-Ostrovskiy,A (2450) New York Marshall Spring GM 2019 (6)}) ({RR} 13. O-O e5 14. d5 Ne7 15. e4 b5 16. Ba2 Ng6 17. Rfe1 Nh5 18. Be3 Rf8 19. Qd1 Nhf4 20. Rc1 f5 21. exf5 Bxf5 22. Bb1 Bxb1 23. Rxb1 Qd7 24. Bxf4 Rxf4 25. Ne4 Raf8 26. Re3 Qf7 27. Qd3 Rf5 {½-½ Timman,J (2573)-Leko,P (2679) Douglas IoM op 2017 (7)}) 13... e5 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxd6 cxd6 16. Nxe5 dxe5 17. Qb3 Be6 18. Bxe6 Rxe6 19. Rd1 Rb6 20. Qc2 Qd5 21. O-O Qe6 22. Ba5 Rc6 23. Qd3 Rc5 24. Bb4 Rd5 25. Qb3 Rxd1 26. Qxd1 Nd5 27. Qb3 Rd8 28. Rc1 Nf4 29. Qxe6 Nxe6 30. Kf1 f6 31. Ke2 Kf7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Vidmar Memorial 12th "] [Site "Portoroz"] [Date "1997.07.09"] [Round "5"] [White "Beliavsky, Alexander G"] [Black "Zvjaginsev, Vadim"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2635"] [Annotator "Baburin,Alexander"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "1997.07.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SLO"] [EventCategory "15"] [SourceTitle "CBM 061"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1997.11.23"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1997.11.23"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 c5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3 c4 9. Bf5 Nb6 10. Bxc8 Rxc8 11. O-O O-O 12. Ne5 ({A good illustration of Black's ideas and intentions in this position is the following game:} 12. Qc2 Be7 13. Nd2 Ng4 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Rfe1 Rc6 16. Nf1 f5 17. f3 Nf6 18. Rad1 Qd7 19. Qf2 Na8 20. Qd2 Nc7 21. e4 fxe4 22. fxe4 Ng4 23. Re2 Rcf6 24. Ne3 Nf2 25. Rf1 Nxe4 26. Nxe4 Rxf1+ 27. Nxf1 dxe4 28. Rxe4 b5 $17 {Murugan-Zvjaginsev, Goodricke op 1997.} (28... b5 29. Ne3 Ne6 30. d5 Nc5 31. Rd4 Qd6 32. Rg4 Nd3 33. Qc3 Qh6 {0-1 Murugan,K-Zvjaginsev,V/Goodricke op 1997/EXP 58} (33... Qh6 34. Qd4 {0-1 Murugan,K-Zvjaginsev,V/Goodricke 1997/EXP 56}))) 12... Be7 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. a4 a5 15. f4 {Since Black cannot utilize the weakness of the e4-square, this serves White well. However, Black's position is solid enough, as the game proves.} Qe7 16. Qf3 Rcd8 17. Rf2 Bxe5 18. dxe5 f6 $1 19. exf6 Qxf6 20. Rd1 Qc6 21. Rfd2 Nxa4 22. Nxa4 Qxa4 23. Rxd5 Rxd5 24. Qxd5+ Kh8 25. Kf2 h6 26. Rd2 Qb4 27. Ke2 c3 28. bxc3 Qxc3 29. Qxb7 Re8 30. Qb6 a4 31. Qd4 Qxd4 32. Rxd4 Ra8 33. Rd2 a3 34. Ra2 Kg8 35. Kd2 Kf7 36. Kc2 Ke6 37. Kb1 Kf5 38. Rc2 Ke4 39. Rc7 Kxe3 40. Rxg7 Kxf4 41. Rg6 h5 42. h4 a2+ 43. Ka1 Ra3 44. Rg5 Rg3 1/2-1/2 [Event "GCT Warsaw 2024"] [Site "Warsaw, Poland"] [Date "2024.05.12"] [Round "22.2"] [White "Shevchenko, Kirill"] [Black "Gukesh D"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2622"] [BlackElo "2649"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2024.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 c6 9. Qb3 Bd6 10. Bd3 Nd7 11. O-O Qe7 ({RR} 11... Bb8 12. e4 dxe4 13. Nxe4 Qf4 14. Rfe1 Rd8 15. Bb1 Nf8 16. g3 Qg4 17. Ne5 Bxe5 18. dxe5 Ng6 19. f3 Qh5 20. f4 Rd4 21. Qe3 c5 22. Nxc5 Rd8 23. Be4 Rb8 24. Bf3 Qh3 25. Rcd1 Rxd1 26. Rxd1 {Antova,G (2288)-Rosenberg,E (2099) Charlotte USA 2021 1-0 (35)}) 12. Rfe1 $146 ({RR} 12. e4 dxc4 13. Bxc4 e5 14. d5 Nc5 15. Qc2 b5 16. Bb3 b4 17. Ne2 Nxb3 18. Qxb3 cxd5 19. exd5 Ba6 20. Rfe1 Rac8 21. Ng3 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Rc8 23. Rc6 Qd7 24. Qc2 Bb7 25. Rxc8+ Qxc8 26. Qxc8+ Bxc8 {Bagaturov,G (2447)-Khurtsidze,N (2443) Antakya 2010 ½-½ (51)}) ({RR} 12. c5 Bc7 13. e4 dxe4 14. Nxe4 Nf6 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. Rfe1 Rd8 17. Be4 Rb8 18. Qc3 Bd7 19. Ne5 Be8 20. g3 Qe7 21. a3 f6 22. Nf3 Qd7 23. Bc2 Bf7 24. Qd3 f5 25. Qe3 Kh8 26. Bb3 Re8 {Ordaz Valdes,L (2393)-Wang,A (2321) Berkeley USA 2019 ½-½ (41)}) 12... dxc4 13. Bxc4 Nf6 14. h3 e5 15. dxe5 Bxe5 16. Nxe5 Qxe5 17. Rcd1 b5 18. Bd3 Be6 19. Qc2 Rac8 20. Ne2 Rfd8 21. Nd4 Bd7 22. a3 c5 23. Nf3 Qe7 24. e4 c4 25. Bf1 Bc6 26. Rxd8+ Rxd8 27. a4 a6 28. axb5 axb5 29. b3 Bxe4 30. Qc3 Qc5 31. bxc4 b4 32. Qb3 Ra8 33. Nd2 Bf5 34. Qg3 Bg6 35. Nb3 Qc6 36. c5 Ra3 37. Bc4 Kh7 38. Qd6 Qa4 39. c6 Rxb3 40. c7 Bf5 41. Qc5 Bc8 42. Bxb3 Qxb3 43. Rc1 Qb2 44. Rc2 Qb1+ 45. Kh2 b3 46. Rd2 Ne4 47. Qc3 0-1 [Event "Dresden zt 1.2"] [Site "Dresden"] [Date "1998.05.05"] [Round "7"] [White "Jussupow, Artur"] [Black "Milov, Vadim"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2630"] [BlackElo "2635"] [Annotator "ChessBase"] [PlyCount "33"] [EventDate "1998.04.28"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "CBM 065"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1998.08.06"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1998.08.06"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Bg5 Bb4 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 c5 8. Bd3 Qa5 9. O-O c4 10. Bc2 O-O (10... Bxc3 11. bxc3 Ne4 (11... O-O 12. Ne5 Qxc3 13. Nxd7 Nxd7 14. Qb1 Qa3 15. Bxh7+ Kh8 16. Bc2 Nb6 {Kishnev,S-Tischbierek,R/Bad Woerishofen op 1992/TD 92\03/0-1 (52)}) 12. Bh4 Qxc3 13. Rc1 Qa3 14. Bxe4 dxe4 15. Nd2 O-O 16. Nxe4 $1 $16 {1-0 Gelfand,B-Lautier,J/Belgrade Invest 1991/CBM 27 [Ftacnik] (26)}) 11. Ne5 Re8 (11... Bxc3 12. bxc3 Ne4 13. Be7 Re8 14. Bb4 Qc7 15. Nxf7 {1-0 Von Hartlieb,J-Fischdick,G/NRW-I 1992/TD 92\01 (48)}) 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Ne2 Nf8 14. Nf4 Bd6 15. Nh5 Qc7 16. Qf3 $4 (16. Bh6 $1 {Fritz} Bxh2+ (16... Ne6 17. Qg4) 17. Kh1 Qc6 18. Bxg7 Bc7 19. e4 Bd8 20. e5 $36) 16... Ng6 (16... Bxh2+ 17. Kh1 Bd6 18. Bf6 $36) 17. h4 (17. Bf6 Bf8) (17. Qxd5 Bxh2+ 18. Kh1 Be6 19. Qf3 Bd6 20. e4 Qd7 $13) 1/2-1/2 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.15"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Bu, Xiangzhi"] [Black "Santos Latasa, Jaime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2693"] [BlackElo "2624"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "China"] [BlackTeam "Spain"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"] [BlackTeamCountry "ESP"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 d5 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 Re8 8. Bd2 a6 9. a3 Bd6 10. h3 Bd7 11. Bd3 ({RR} 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Bd3 Na7 13. Qb3 c6 14. Qxb7 Nb5 15. Nxb5 axb5 16. Ne5 Rb8 17. Qa6 Ra8 18. Qb7 Rb8 19. Qa6 Ra8 {½-½ Karjakin,S (2773)-Carlsen,M (2855) Bilbao Masters 9th 2016 (8)}) ({RR} 11. Rd1 h6 12. b4 dxc4 13. Bxc4 e5 14. O-O Qe7 15. Bc1 b5 16. Nd5 Qd8 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Rxe5 19. f4 Re8 20. Nxf6+ Qxf6 21. Bd5 Rad8 22. Bb2 Qe7 23. e4 c6 24. Qc3 Qf8 25. Bxf7+ Qxf7 {1-0 Svane,R (2623)-Hong,A (2542) GRENKE Chess Open 2024 (5.7)}) 11... dxc4 12. Bxc4 h6 13. Ne4 $146 ({RR} 13. g4 b5 14. Bd3 e5 15. d5 Ne7 16. g5 hxg5 17. Nxg5 Qc8 18. Rg1 Bf5 19. O-O-O b4 20. axb4 Bxb4 21. e4 Bd7 22. f4 Ng6 23. f5 Nf4 24. Bxf4 exf4 25. Qg2 Bf8 26. Nxf7 Kxf7 27. Qg6+ Kg8 {1-0 Rozman,L (2387)-Ostrovskiy,A (2450) New York Marshall Spring GM 2019 (6)}) ({RR} 13. O-O e5 14. d5 Ne7 15. e4 b5 16. Ba2 Ng6 17. Rfe1 Nh5 18. Be3 Rf8 19. Qd1 Nhf4 20. Rc1 f5 21. exf5 Bxf5 22. Bb1 Bxb1 23. Rxb1 Qd7 24. Bxf4 Rxf4 25. Ne4 Raf8 26. Re3 Qf7 27. Qd3 Rf5 {½-½ Timman,J (2573)-Leko,P (2679) Douglas IoM op 2017 (7)}) 13... e5 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxd6 cxd6 16. Nxe5 dxe5 17. Qb3 Be6 18. Bxe6 Rxe6 19. Rd1 Rb6 20. Qc2 Qd5 21. O-O Qe6 22. Ba5 Rc6 23. Qd3 Rc5 24. Bb4 Rd5 25. Qb3 Rxd1 26. Qxd1 Nd5 27. Qb3 Rd8 28. Rc1 Nf4 29. Qxe6 Nxe6 30. Kf1 f6 31. Ke2 Kf7 1/2-1/2 [Event "GCT Warsaw 2024"] [Site "Warsaw, Poland"] [Date "2024.05.12"] [Round "19.5"] [White "Erigaisi Arjun"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2671"] [BlackElo "2687"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2024.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. Bd2 dxc4 7. e3 Bd7 8. Qc2 Na5 9. Ne5 O-O $146 ({RR} 9... c5 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. Nxd7 Nxd7 12. Ne4 O-O 13. O-O-O Bb6 14. Bxa5 Bxa5 15. Nc5 Nxc5 16. Rxd8 Rfxd8 17. Be2 Nd3+ 18. Bxd3 cxd3 19. Qa4 Rac8+ 20. Kb1 Rd5 21. Rc1 Rxc1+ 22. Kxc1 h6 23. e4 Rc5+ 24. Kd1 {Remnev,S (2090)-Bortnyk,M (2037) Dnipropetrovsk 2004 1-0 (53)}) ({RR} 9... c5 10. dxc5 Rc8 11. Rd1 Rxc5 12. Nxd7 Qxd7 13. a3 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 Qc7 15. Be2 Nc6 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. b4 Rg5 18. Qxc4 Qb6 19. O-O Ke7 20. Qe4 Rhg8 21. g3 h5 22. b5 Nb8 23. Rc1 Nd7 24. Qb4+ {Volodin,A (2498)-Dokutchaev,A (2428) Finland 2011 1-0}) 10. a3 Be7 11. Rd1 c5 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. Nxd7 Qxd7 14. Na4 Nb3 15. Qxc4 Qd5 16. Bc3 Qxc4 17. Bxc4 b5 18. Bxb5 Be7 19. Bc4 Nc5 20. Nxc5 Bxc5 21. Ke2 Rac8 22. Ba2 Ne4 23. Be5 Bb6 24. f3 Nc5 25. Rd2 Rfe8 26. Rc1 h5 27. Rdc2 Red8 28. b4 1-0 [Event "40th ECC Open 2025"] [Site "Rhodes GRE"] [Date "2025.10.25"] [Round "7.37"] [White "Fedoseev, Vl3"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2720"] [BlackElo "2752"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2025.10.19"] [EventType "team"] [WhiteTeam "Tuxera Aquaprofit Nagykanizsai Sakk Klub"] [BlackTeam "SuperChess"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Qa4+ Nc6 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. e3 O-O 10. Rc1 Qg6 11. h4 ({RR} 11. Qd1 Ne7 12. Ne5 Qf6 13. Nd3 Ba5 14. b4 Bb6 15. Be2 c6 16. O-O a6 17. a4 Bc7 18. g3 Bd6 19. b5 axb5 20. axb5 Ra3 21. Nb1 Ra2 22. Nc3 Ra3 23. Nb1 Ra2 24. Nc3 Ra3 {½-½ (24) Duda,J (2731)-Wojtaszek,R (2722) Prague 2019}) 11... Bf5 $146 ({RR} 11... f5 12. h5 Qe6 13. Bb5 Bd7 14. Kf1 Bxc3 15. Rxc3 f4 16. Bxc6 Bxc6 17. Qc2 Rae8 18. Kg1 fxe3 19. Rxe3 Qd6 20. Ne5 Bd7 21. Rh4 Bf5 22. Qc3 Qf6 23. Rf4 Qg5 24. Ref3 Rf6 25. Qb3 c6 26. Qxb7 {Pantzar,M (2456)-Peng,L (2562) Malmo SWE 2023 0-1}) ({RR} 11... Bg4 12. Be2 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 Rfd8 14. O-O Qf6 15. c4 a6 16. c5 Ne7 17. Qd1 Bxf3 18. Bxf3 Qxh4 19. Rb1 Rab8 20. Rb3 Qf6 21. Qe2 b5 22. cxb6 Rxb6 23. Rc1 Rxb3 24. axb3 Qb6 25. Qc2 c6 26. Qc5 {Georgiadis,A (2229)-Mou,I (2209) Budapest HUN 2025 ½-½ (39)}) ({RR} 11... Be6 12. h5 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 Qf6 14. Rh4 a6 15. Bd3 b5 16. Qd1 Rfe8 17. Bb1 Qd8 18. Qc2 f5 19. Rf4 Qd6 20. Nh4 Bd7 21. Kf1 Re4 22. Nxf5 Bxf5 23. Rxf5 Qh2 24. Qb3 Ne7 25. Bxe4 Qh1+ 26. Ke2 {Predke,A (2689)-Ruck,R (2531) Samarkand UZB 2023 1-0 (31)}) ({RR} 11... Bg4 12. Be2 Rfe8 13. Kd2 Rad8 14. a3 Bd6 15. Nb5 a6 16. Nxd6 Qxd6 17. Qc2 f5 18. Qc5 f4 19. Qxd6 fxe3+ 20. fxe3 Rxd6 21. Rc3 Rde6 22. Ng5 Bxe2 23. Nxe6 Rxe6 24. Kxe2 Nxd4+ 25. Kd1 Nb5 26. Rc2 {Baum,J (2425)-Ajay Santhosh Parvathareddy (2193) Piestany SVK 2024 ½-½ (47)}) 12. h5 Qd6 13. Be2 Ne7 14. a3 a5 15. Qb3 Bxc3+ 16. Rxc3 b6 17. O-O c5 18. dxc5 bxc5 19. Rfc1 a4 20. Qd1 Rfc8 21. Nd2 Qb6 22. b3 axb3 23. Rxb3 Qf6 24. Rbc3 c4 25. e4 dxe4 26. Bxc4 Rd8 27. Qe2 Nd5 28. Bxd5 Rxd5 29. Nxe4 Qe7 30. Re3 Bxe4 31. Rxe4 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE-Wch k.o."] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2001.11.29"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Beliavsky, Alexander G"] [Black "Delchev, Aleksander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2668"] [BlackElo "2634"] [Annotator "Kostakiev,Dimitar"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2001.11.27"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "CBM 086"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2002.02.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2002.02.05"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 {Ragozin (who's name fairly is taken for this move) started to use it since 1934. Before him - around 25 games were played already: G.Gossip first initiated the line in 1889 . After - plead of great names as Chigorin, Shlehter, Alekhine, Marshal, Bernstein etc defended Black's side.. During the middle of 90's immense quantity of games marked a real boom (continuing up to now). Most of the games finished draw, but White got edge in the total statistic.} 5. Bg5 {Ragozin's adversairys used the following continuations:} (5. e3 O-O (5... Nbd7 6. Qb3 Qe7 {1-0 Zagoriansky,E-Ragozin,V/Moscow 1945/HCL (52)}) 6. Bd3 (6. Qc2 c5 7. dxc5 Nc6 8. Be2 Bxc5 {½-½ Yudovich,M-Ragozin,V/Tbilisi 1937/EXT 2000 (54)}) (6. a3 Be7 (6... Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 b6 8. Qc2 Bb7 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Bd3 Nbd7 11. O-O Re8 12. c4 {0-1 Tipary,L-Ragozin,V/Budapest 1949/MCD (26)}) 7. Bd3 Nbd7 (7... b6 8. O-O Bb7 9. Qe2 Ne4 {1-0 Kotov,A-Ragozin,V/Moscow 1942/HCL (57)}) 8. O-O c5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Ne5 c4 11. Bc2 Nb6 {1-0 Stolberg,M-Ragozin,V/Moscow 1940/URS-ch (57)}) (6. Bd2 b6 7. Rc1 Bb7 8. Qc2 Nbd7 {½-½ Bronstein,D-Ragozin,V/Moscow 1948/URS-ch (44)}) 6... Nc6 (6... c5 7. O-O Nbd7 (7... Nc6 8. a3 Bxc3 9. bxc3 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Qc7 {½-½ Ragozin,V-Tolush,A/Leningrad 1954/EXT 99 (53)}) 8. Ne2 (8. Qe2 a6 9. Rd1 dxc4 10. Bxc4 {½-½ Ratner,B-Ragozin,V/Moscow 1945/URS-ch (58)}) (8. a3 Ba5 9. Qc2 Bc7 10. Rd1 cxd4 11. exd4 {½-½ Pachman,L-Ragozin,V/Moscow 1947/MCL (57)}) (8. cxd5 exd5 9. a3 Ba5 10. Qc2 c4 11. Be2 {1-0 Gusev,N-Ragozin,V/Lvov 1951/EXT 99 (42)}) 8... Qe7 9. Qc2 b5 10. b3 bxc4 11. bxc4 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Bb7 13. a3 Ba5 14. Rb1 Bb6 15. Qa4 Be4 {0-1 Ravinsky,G-Ragozin,V/Moscow 1942/HCL (40)}) (6... Nbd7 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 c5 9. O-O Qc7 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Qe2 Re8 12. Bb2 c4 13. Bc2 Nf8 {0-1 Fridstein,G-Ragozin,V/Moscow 1947/MCD (42)}) (6... b6 7. O-O Bb7 8. cxd5 (8. a3 Bxc3 9. bxc3 Nbd7 10. a4 a5 11. cxd5 exd5 12. c4 Re8 13. Bb2 {½-½ Petrosian,T-Ragozin,V/Kiev 1954/URS-ch (44)}) 8... exd5 9. a3 Bd6 10. b4 Nbd7 11. Qb3 c6 12. Bb2 Qe7 13. Rac1 Ne4 14. b5 c5 {0-1 Averbakh,Y-Ragozin,V/Garga 1953/MCL (32)}) 7. O-O Qe7 (7... dxc4 8. Bxc4 Bd7 9. Ne2 Bd6 10. Bd3 e5 11. dxe5 Bxe5 12. a3 Qe7 13. Qc2 Rfd8 14. Bd2 {1-0 Alatortsev,V-Ragozin,V/Moscow 1935/HCL (38)}) 8. a3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Bxc3 10. bxc3 e5 {1-0 Dubinin,P-Ragozin,V/Leningrad 1934/URS-ch (40)} (10... e5 11. a4 Rd8 12. Ba3 Qe8 13. Ng5 Rd7 14. Qc2 b6 15. d5 Na5 16. Bb5 h6 17. Nf3 Nxd5 18. Bxd7 Bxd7 19. Bc1 {1-0 Dubinin,P-Ragozin,V/Leningrad 1934/URS-ch (40)})) (5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. Ne5 (6. Bg5 dxc4 7. e3 Qd5 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. Nd2 Bxc3 {½-½ Rabinovich,I-Ragozin,V/Moscow 1935/HCL (54)}) (6. e3 O-O 7. Bd2 a6 8. Qc2 dxc4 9. Bxc4 {½-½ Reshevsky,S-Ragozin,V/Semmering 1937/HCL (62)}) 6... Bd7 7. Nxc6 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 Bxc6 {0-1 Freiman,S-Ragozin,V/Leningrad 1934/URS-ch (45)}) (5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne4 (6... dxc4 7. Qa4+ Bd7 8. Qxc4 O-O (8... Bc6 9. Ne5 O-O 10. Bg5 {½-½ Fred,A-Ragozin,V/Helsinki 1946/EXT 99/[ChessBase] (25)}) 9. e3 Bc6 10. Be2 Nbd7 11. O-O {0-1 Lisitsin,G-Ragozin,V/Leningrad 1939/URS-ch (64)}) 7. Nd2 Nxd2 8. Bxd2 {½-½ Lilienthal,A-Ragozin,V/Moscow 1936/HCL (34)}) (5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Qd6 (6... h6 7. Bxf6 (7. Bh4 c5 8. Rc1 {1-0 Ragozin,E-Moiseenko,A/St Petersburg 1995/EXT 97 (51)}) 7... Qxf6 8. Qa4+ Nc6 9. Ne5 {½-½ Pavlov-Ragozin,V/Kiev 1950/EXT 99 (45)}) (6... h6) (6... c5 7. dxc5 Nbd7 8. Rc1 Nxc5 {1-0 Ragozin,E-Delanoy,A/Geneve 1992/TD (52)}) 7. Nd2 Nbd7 8. e3 c6 9. Bd3 O-O {1-0 Botvinnik,M-Ragozin,V/Moscow 1938/EXT 2001 (31)}) 5... Nbd7 {Ragozin himself prefered 5...h6 or 5...dxc4} (5... h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qb3 Nc6 8. cxd5 Nxd4 9. Nxd4 {0-1 Rabinovich,I-Ragozin,V/Tbilisi 1937/EXT 2000 (65)}) ({and:} 5... dxc4 6. e4 c5 7. e5 cxd4 8. exf6 gxf6 {0-1 Zamikhovsky,A-Ragozin,V/Moscow 1942/HCL (44)}) 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Qc2 O-O 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. Qxc3 c6 10. e3 Qe8 11. Qc2 (11. Nd2 Ne4 12. Nxe4 {½-½ Garcia Ilundain,D-Giorgadze,G/Barcelona 2000/CBM 77 ext (12)}) 11... Ne4 12. Bf4 $5 {RATHER NEW LINE!} (12. Bd3 h6 13. Bh4 c5 14. dxc5 Ndxc5 15. b4 Nxd3+ 16. Qxd3 $14 {0-1 Andersson,J-Leino,J/Vantaa 1996/EXT 99 (33)}) 12... Ndf6 $146 (12... Qe7 13. Bd3 f5 14. h4 Ndf6 15. Ne5 Nh5 16. g3 Be6 {1-0 Van Wely,L-Giorgadze,G/Frankfurt 1999/EXT 2000 (59)}) 13. h3 (13. Bd3 Qe7 (13... Bg4 14. Ne5 $16 {[x?g4]} Nh5 15. Bxe4 dxe4 16. Nxg4) 14. Be5 $11 (14. Ne5 Nh5 15. Bxe4 dxe4 16. Bg3 $11)) 13... Nh5 $11 14. Be5 f6 15. Bh2 f5 16. Bd3 f4 17. O-O fxe3 18. fxe3 Nhf6 19. Ne5 Be6 20. b4 Qe7 21. Rf3 a5 22. b5 cxb5 23. Bxb5 Rfc8 24. Qb2 Rc3 25. Bd3 Rac8 26. Rff1 Nh5 27. Bxe4 dxe4 28. Rfc1 Rxc1+ 29. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 30. Qxc1 Nf6 31. Qc5 Qxc5 32. dxc5 Nd7 33. Nxd7 1/2-1/2 [Event "FRA-chT Top 16 GpB"] [Site "Cannes"] [Date "2005.04.03"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Gurevich, Mikhail"] [Black "Milov, Vadim"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2634"] [BlackElo "2668"] [Annotator "ChessBase II"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2005.03.31"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "FRA"] [SourceTitle "CBM 105 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.05.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.05.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Gonfreville"] [BlackTeam "Avignon"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "FRA"] [TimeControl "40/6000+30:20/3000+30:600+30"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 c5 8. Bd3 c4 9. Bf5 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qa5 11. O-O Qxc3 (11... Ne4 12. Qb1 Nxg5 13. Nxg5 h6 14. Bxd7+ Bxd7 15. Qxb7 Ke7 16. Qb1 hxg5 17. e4 Qxc3 18. exd5 Kd6 19. Rc1 Qxd4 20. Qb4+ Qc5 21. Qc3 f6 22. Qg3+ Ke7 23. Rab1 Kf7 24. Rd1 c3 25. Rb7 Rad8 26. Qd3 Rhe8 27. h4 gxh4 28. d6 c2 29. Rc1 Re6 30. Qb3 Qxd6 31. Qxc2 Qe7 32. Qd2 Re2 33. Qa5 Re5 34. Qd2 Ke8 35. Rxa7 Qe6 36. Rd1 h3 37. Ra3 hxg2 38. Rd3 Rh5 39. Re3 Rh1+ 40. Kxg2 Bc6+ 41. Kg3 {Azmaiparashvili,Z (2610)-Kurajica,B (2585) Strumica 1995 0-1}) 12. Rc1 $146 {Une amélioration sur une très vieille partie} (12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Qa4 Ke7 14. Qb5 Rb8 15. a4 Rd8 16. Qxd5 Nb6 17. Qc5+ Ke8 18. Rfc1 Qb3 19. Nd2 Qb2 20. Ne4 Nd5 21. Nd6+ Rxd6 22. Qxd6 Bxf5 23. Qxb8+ Ke7 24. Qxa7 c3 25. Qc5+ Ke6 26. Qc8+ {1-0 (26) Walter,M-Reti,R Trencianske Teplice 1928}) 12... Qa3 13. e4 Nxe4 14. Bxe4 dxe4 15. Nd2 Nb6 16. Nxe4 Nd5 17. Rxc4 O-O 18. Rc5 Be6 19. Qd2 f6 20. Bh4 Rfd8 21. Bg3 b6 22. Rc6 Bd7 23. Rcc1 Bf5 24. Rfe1 Rd7 25. f3 Rad8 26. Bf2 Re7 27. Nc3 Rxe1+ 28. Bxe1 Be6 29. Nxd5 Bxd5 $132 {[%csl Rd4]} 30. Rc3 Qxa2 31. Qxa2 Bxa2 32. Ra3 Bc4 33. Rxa7 Rxd4 $11 34. Rb7 b5 35. Bb4 Rd1+ 36. Kf2 Rb1 37. Rb8+ Kf7 38. Rb7+ Ke6 39. Bf8 Rb2+ 40. Kg1 g6 41. Rxh7 b4 42. Rb7 b3 43. Bg7 Rb1+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "GCT Warsaw 2024"] [Site "Warsaw, Poland"] [Date "2024.05.12"] [Round "22.2"] [White "Shevchenko, Kirill"] [Black "Gukesh D"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2622"] [BlackElo "2649"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2024.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 c6 9. Qb3 Bd6 10. Bd3 Nd7 11. O-O Qe7 ({RR} 11... Bb8 12. e4 dxe4 13. Nxe4 Qf4 14. Rfe1 Rd8 15. Bb1 Nf8 16. g3 Qg4 17. Ne5 Bxe5 18. dxe5 Ng6 19. f3 Qh5 20. f4 Rd4 21. Qe3 c5 22. Nxc5 Rd8 23. Be4 Rb8 24. Bf3 Qh3 25. Rcd1 Rxd1 26. Rxd1 {Antova,G (2288)-Rosenberg,E (2099) Charlotte USA 2021 1-0 (35)}) 12. Rfe1 $146 ({RR} 12. e4 dxc4 13. Bxc4 e5 14. d5 Nc5 15. Qc2 b5 16. Bb3 b4 17. Ne2 Nxb3 18. Qxb3 cxd5 19. exd5 Ba6 20. Rfe1 Rac8 21. Ng3 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Rc8 23. Rc6 Qd7 24. Qc2 Bb7 25. Rxc8+ Qxc8 26. Qxc8+ Bxc8 {Bagaturov,G (2447)-Khurtsidze,N (2443) Antakya 2010 ½-½ (51)}) ({RR} 12. c5 Bc7 13. e4 dxe4 14. Nxe4 Nf6 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. Rfe1 Rd8 17. Be4 Rb8 18. Qc3 Bd7 19. Ne5 Be8 20. g3 Qe7 21. a3 f6 22. Nf3 Qd7 23. Bc2 Bf7 24. Qd3 f5 25. Qe3 Kh8 26. Bb3 Re8 {Ordaz Valdes,L (2393)-Wang,A (2321) Berkeley USA 2019 ½-½ (41)}) 12... dxc4 13. Bxc4 Nf6 14. h3 e5 15. dxe5 Bxe5 16. Nxe5 Qxe5 17. Rcd1 b5 18. Bd3 Be6 19. Qc2 Rac8 20. Ne2 Rfd8 21. Nd4 Bd7 22. a3 c5 23. Nf3 Qe7 24. e4 c4 25. Bf1 Bc6 26. Rxd8+ Rxd8 27. a4 a6 28. axb5 axb5 29. b3 Bxe4 30. Qc3 Qc5 31. bxc4 b4 32. Qb3 Ra8 33. Nd2 Bf5 34. Qg3 Bg6 35. Nb3 Qc6 36. c5 Ra3 37. Bc4 Kh7 38. Qd6 Qa4 39. c6 Rxb3 40. c7 Bf5 41. Qc5 Bc8 42. Bxb3 Qxb3 43. Rc1 Qb2 44. Rc2 Qb1+ 45. Kh2 b3 46. Rd2 Ne4 47. Qc3 0-1 [Event "GCT Warsaw 2024"] [Site "Warsaw, Poland"] [Date "2024.05.12"] [Round "19.5"] [White "Erigaisi Arjun"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2671"] [BlackElo "2687"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2024.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. Bd2 dxc4 7. e3 Bd7 8. Qc2 Na5 9. Ne5 O-O $146 ({RR} 9... c5 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. Nxd7 Nxd7 12. Ne4 O-O 13. O-O-O Bb6 14. Bxa5 Bxa5 15. Nc5 Nxc5 16. Rxd8 Rfxd8 17. Be2 Nd3+ 18. Bxd3 cxd3 19. Qa4 Rac8+ 20. Kb1 Rd5 21. Rc1 Rxc1+ 22. Kxc1 h6 23. e4 Rc5+ 24. Kd1 {Remnev,S (2090)-Bortnyk,M (2037) Dnipropetrovsk 2004 1-0 (53)}) ({RR} 9... c5 10. dxc5 Rc8 11. Rd1 Rxc5 12. Nxd7 Qxd7 13. a3 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 Qc7 15. Be2 Nc6 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. b4 Rg5 18. Qxc4 Qb6 19. O-O Ke7 20. Qe4 Rhg8 21. g3 h5 22. b5 Nb8 23. Rc1 Nd7 24. Qb4+ {Volodin,A (2498)-Dokutchaev,A (2428) Finland 2011 1-0}) 10. a3 Be7 11. Rd1 c5 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. Nxd7 Qxd7 14. Na4 Nb3 15. Qxc4 Qd5 16. Bc3 Qxc4 17. Bxc4 b5 18. Bxb5 Be7 19. Bc4 Nc5 20. Nxc5 Bxc5 21. Ke2 Rac8 22. Ba2 Ne4 23. Be5 Bb6 24. f3 Nc5 25. Rd2 Rfe8 26. Rc1 h5 27. Rdc2 Red8 28. b4 1-0 [Event "EU-ch 20th"] [Site "Skopje"] [Date "2019.03.28"] [Round "10"] [White "Korobov, Anton"] [Black "Movsesian, Sergei"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2686"] [BlackElo "2627"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2019.03.18"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "MKD"] [Tiebreak "Sum of Buchholz"] [SourceTitle "CBM 189"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2019.04.29"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.04.29"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,80,19,25,19,-20,3,-3,6,6,17,-5,30,25,29,-18,-19,5,10,-48,-3,-3,2,-6,16,-14,27,33,-8,6,46,19,19,19,19,-11,-6,14,14,25,15,37,53,48,31,35,23,-9,-9,-19,0,-20,-1,-48,-53,-28,-47,-78,-78,-98,-45,-67,-69,-37,-37,-58,-58,-69,-38,-150,-175,-171,-150,-167,-165,-163,-48,-88,-62,-50,-50,-320,-380]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Rd1 {A rare continuation with the idea to anticipate ...d5xc4 Bf1xc4 e6-e5 - in that case the d-file opens up for White's rook.} Rd8 (9... a6 10. Qb3 Qe7 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Be2 Rd8 13. a3 Bxc3+ 14. Qxc3 Bg4 15. Rc1 Rd7 16. h3 Bxf3 17. Bxf3 Nd8 18. Bg4 Ne6 19. b4 c6 20. O-O {1-0 (65) Sarana,A (2630)-Karthikeyan,M (2560) Moscow RUS 2019 - finally a "normal" position, slightly better for White, in which he outplayed his opponent.}) 10. Bd3 {Rather harmless. Black takes on c4 gaining a tempo.} (10. Qc2 $6 {can be strongly met with} e5 $1 ({rather than} 10... Bf8 11. a3 g6 12. Be2 Bg7 13. O-O a5 14. Nb5 Qe7 15. Rc1 dxc4 16. Bxc4 $14 {1/2 (35) Aronian,L (2793)-So,W (2812) Leuven 2017})) (10. Be2 dxc4 11. O-O Bd7 12. Qc2 Na5 13. Ne5 Qe7 14. f4 Bd6 15. Nxd7 Rxd7 16. Qa4 Bb4 17. Ne4 b6 18. a3 Bd6 $11 {1/2 (30) Rapport,R (2675)-Vidit,S (2702) Douglas 2017}) (10. Qb3 $5 Qg6 11. h3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Bxc3+ (12... Qxg2 $5 13. Ke2 Qg6 $13 {should be tried}) 13. Qxc3 Bd7 14. Bd3 Qh5 15. a3 Qa5 16. b4 Qb6 17. O-O a5 18. b5 Na7 19. Rb1 Nxb5 20. Bxb5 Bxb5 21. Rfc1 Qa6 22. Qxc7 Rd7 23. Qc3 f6 24. Nd2 $14 {1-0 (61) Esipenko,A (2593)-Leko,P (2669) Moscow 2018}) 10... dxc4 11. Bxc4 Bd7 12. Qc2 (12. Qb3 Bd6 $5 {[%CAl Rc6a5]}) 12... Na5 13. Bd3 c5 $1 {A timely change of plan. White was prepared for ...e6-e5 but ...c7-c5 frees Black's position completely.} 14. O-O cxd4 15. Ne4 (15. exd4 Rac8 $11) 15... Qe7 16. a3 Rac8 17. Qe2 Bd6 18. b4 $6 (18. Nxd6 Qxd6 19. Nxd4 $11 {was probably a better option.}) 18... Nc6 (18... Ba4 $142 $1 {, activating the bishop:} 19. Rb1 (19. bxa5 Bxd1 20. Rxd1 dxe3 21. Qxe3 Bxa3 $17) 19... Nc6 20. exd4 a6 $15 {[%csl Ga4]}) 19. exd4 Be8 20. Rfe1 Qc7 21. Nxd6 Rxd6 22. Qe4 f5 23. Qf4 Bh5 {Black has transfered his bishop to a good square after all but the price is the weakening move ...f7-f5.} 24. Bc4 Kh8 25. d5 Bxf3 26. gxf3 $2 {[%mdl 16384] Too optimistic. White gets no compensation for his damaged pawn structure.} (26. Qxf3 Nxb4 (26... Ne7 27. Bd3 $1 Rxd5 (27... Nxd5 $2 28. Rxe6 $1 Rxe6 29. Qxf5) 28. Rxe6 Rcd8 29. Ree1 $14) 27. dxe6 $5 (27. axb4 Qxc4 28. dxe6 Rxe6 29. Rxe6 Qxe6 30. Qxb7 $11) 27... Rxd1 28. Qxd1 Qxc4 29. axb4 Qxb4 30. g3 $44 {[%csl Ge6]}) 26... Qd8 (26... Ne7 $142 $1 27. Bb3 Nxd5 $17) 27. Rc1 $1 (27. Ba2 Ne7 $17) (27. Bb3 e5 $1 28. Qxf5 Nd4 29. Qd3 Rf6 $17) 27... e5 $1 28. Qxf5 Rf6 29. Qg4 $2 (29. Qh3 $1 Nd4 30. Bd3 $1 Nxf3+ 31. Kh1 {was the only defence.} Rb8 32. Re3 Ng5 33. Qg2 $13 {is clearly more favorable for White than the game continuation, when Black's rook was already on f4.}) 29... Rf4 $1 30. Qh3 Nd4 31. Bd3 {too late.} Nxf3+ 32. Kh1 Rb8 $1 {Black must keep this rook to protect the 8th rank.} 33. Re2 (33. Re3 $142 Ng5 34. Qg2 Qf6 $17) 33... Nxh2 $1 {White probably overlooked this tactics.} 34. Rec2 Ng4 35. Kg1 Qg5 36. Qg3 Rxf2 $1 37. d6 Rd8 38. Rc8 Rff8 39. d7 h5 40. Be4 $2 (40. Be2 $17) 40... h4 0-1 [Event "Norway Chess 2nd"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2014.06.10"] [Round "7"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2815"] [Annotator "Sumets,Andrey"] [PlyCount "125"] [EventDate "2014.06.03"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 161"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2014.07.16"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.07.16"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Qa4+ Nc6 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. e3 {This line is considered as harmless. Kramnik tends to a calm position, relying on his technical skills.} O-O 10. Be2 Rd8 ({Another option is} 10... Be6 {In this case White can trade his knight for the opponent's dark-squared bishop and get his favourite Carlsbad pawn structure.} 11. a3 (11. O-O a6 {and White can't change the knight for the bishop anymore.} 12. Rfc1 Bd6 13. Qd1 Ne7 14. Na4 b6 15. Nc3 Rfc8 16. Qf1 b5 17. a4 c6 {We can't consider the c6-pawn as a weakness. White has no space on the queenside to attack it.} 18. Nb1 bxa4 19. Nc3 Bg4 $6 (19... a3 $1 20. bxa3 Bf5 21. Na4 Rcb8 $11 22. Bxa6 $2 Be4 23. Nd2 c5 24. dxc5 Be5 $17) 20. Nxa4 Bxf3 21. Bxf3 $14 {Mamedyarov,S (2763) -Eljanov,P (2751) Astrakhan 2010 1/2 (36)}) 11... Bd6 12. Nb5 Bg4 13. O-O Ne7 14. Nxd6 Qxd6 15. b4 f5 (15... c6 16. b5 cxb5 17. Qxb5 a6 18. Qb4 Qxb4 19. axb4 Rfc8 20. h3 Bf5 21. Rfc1 Rxc1+ 22. Rxc1 Rc8 $11 {1/2 (66) El Gindy,E (2507) -Aleksandrov,A (2668) Tripoli 2004}) 16. Qb3 Kh8 17. g3 Ng6 18. Bd1 Bh3 19. Re1 Rae8 20. Qc3 c6 21. Kh1 Bg4 22. Ng1 Ne7 23. Kg2 $14 {1/2 (66) Karpov,A (2619) -Kravtsiv,M (2609) Hockenheim GER 2014}) 11. O-O Bf8 (11... a6 {Bacrot wants to put his bishop on d6.} 12. Ne5 (12. a3 {seems to be stronger:} Bd6 $6 (12... Bf8 13. b4 Bf5 14. Qb3 Na7 {The knight is heading for d6} 15. Rfc1 c6 16. Na4 Nc8 17. Nc5 Nd6 18. a4 Bg4 19. Qd1 Bxf3 20. Bxf3 b5 21. Ra2 {1/2 (21) Grabarczyk,M (2475)-Landa,K (2611) Germany 2010}) 13. Nxd5 Bxh2+ 14. Nxh2 Rxd5 15. Rac1 $14) 12... Nxe5 13. Qxb4 Ng6 14. Qc5 c6 15. b4 Nh4 $132 16. Kh1 Re8 17. a4 Bf5 18. Qb6 Re7 19. g3 $2 (19. b5) 19... Bd3 $19 {Legky,N (2461)-Bacrot,E (2705) 0-1 (35) France 2007}) 12. Rfc1 Ne7 13. b4 a6 14. Qb3 c6 15. Na4 $1 (15. a4 Ng6 16. b5 a5 17. bxc6 bxc6 {It is not easy to organize pressure against the c6-pawn.} 18. Nd1 (18. Qc2 Be6 19. Nd1 $6 Rdc8 20. Nb2 c5 21. dxc5 Bxc5 $15)) 15... Bg4 {Aronian decided to prevent ?e5. Another logical idea was to put his knight on d6.} (15... Nf5 16. Nc5 Nd6 17. Ne5 Bf5 18. a4 $14 {White slowly prepares b5 and it is not easy to indicate what Black should do.}) 16. Nc5 Ra7 (16... Rab8 17. a4 Nc8 18. Ra2 {and White keeps some pressure.} ({a premature move is} 18. b5 axb5 19. axb5 Nd6 $11)) 17. a4 Nc8 $146 (17... Rda8 $5 {preventing b5} 18. h3 Bxf3 19. Bxf3 Nf5 20. Bg4 Nd6 {Black's rooks are placed in a slightly ridiculous way but his position is very solid.}) (17... Nf5 18. Ra2 Bd6 19. b5 axb5 20. axb5 Rxa2 21. Qxa2 Qe7 22. bxc6 bxc6 23. Qd2 Ra8 24. Nd3 Bxf3 25. Bxf3 Qg5 $11 {Zhou Weiqi (2601)-Yu Yangyi (2675) Danzhou CHN 2014 1/2 (57)}) 18. Ra2 $1 {An important move. The bishop on e2 is well protected and White can play ?e5. He also can double his rooks on the c-file.} Bxf3 19. Bxf3 $14 Nb6 20. Be2 g6 21. g3 h5 22. h4 Nd7 {Levon trades knights.} ({Perhaps his position would be more reliable after} 22... Bd6 23. Bf1 Kg7 24. Rac2 Qe7 25. b5 $14) 23. Nxd7 $5 (23. Rac2 {I don't think that Black can take on c5.} Qd6 24. b5 $14) 23... Rxd7 24. b5 axb5 25. axb5 Rxa2 26. Qxa2 {Black is in trouble. After trading on c6 White has 3 pieces which can attack the c6-pawn against 2 defenders.} Rc7 {Black has a very robust position.} 27. Qa8 Qd6 (27... Kg7 28. bxc6 bxc6 29. Bb5 g5) 28. Qb8 Qd7 (28... c5 29. Bf3) 29. Bf1 $1 {The idea of the last move is to weaken the opponent's king after ?h3 f5.} Kg7 (29... Rc8 30. Qa7 cxb5 31. Rxc8 Qxc8 32. Bxb5 {it seems that White can attack and take the d5-pawn for free. However Black launches a counter attack and makes a draw.} g5 $1 33. hxg5 h4 34. g6 $5 hxg3 35. gxf7+ Kxf7 36. fxg3 Qc7 37. Kf2 Qc2+ 38. Be2 Qf5+ $11) 30. Bh3 f5 31. Ra1 Rc8 32. Qe5+ $6 {The queen is misplaced in the center of the board.} (32. bxc6 $1 bxc6 33. Qb6 Bd6 34. Ra7 Rc7 35. Ra6 Rc8 36. Bf1 $16 {The bishop is heading for a4.}) 32... Kf7 33. bxc6 bxc6 34. Qf4 {Probably first of all Vladimir counted on 34.e4 but than realised that it led to a draw.} (34. e4 Bd6 35. exf5 Bxe5 36. fxg6+ Kg7 37. Bxd7 Bxd4 38. Bxc8 Bxa1 39. Bb7 c5 40. Bxd5 Kxg6 $11) 34... Bd6 35. Qh6 Bf8 36. Qf4 Bd6 37. Qf3 {Vladimir has lost most of his advantage.} Kg7 38. Qe2 Rc7 {A bit passive.} (38... Rb8 39. Qa2 Qc7 {intending take on g3} 40. Kg2 Rb4 $11) 39. Qa2 Be7 40. Qb3 Rb7 41. Qc3 Bb4 42. Qc2 Be7 43. Ra6 Rc7 44. Bg2 (44. Qc3 $1 Bf6 45. Qc5 Be7 46. Qb6 $14) 44... Qd6 (44... c5 $5 45. dxc5 Bxc5 46. Qd2 d4 47. e4 d3 48. Qg5 Rc6 49. Rxc6 Qxc6 50. exf5 Qf6 $11) 45. Bf3 {The bishop goes on a4.} Qd7 46. Kg2 Bf6 47. Qc5 Be7 48. Qb6 $14 Bd8 49. Bd1 {Black is in trouble. He can only count on a counter attack. For example, he can put his queen on the e-file and meet ?a4 with ...?e4+.} Rc8 50. Qb2 Rc7 51. Ba4 $6 {It makes Black's life easier.} (51. Qb6 Rc8 52. Qb1 $1 $16 {followed by ?a4.} c5 $2 53. dxc5 Rxc5 54. Qb8 $1 Bc7 55. Qb2+ $18) 51... f4 $1 52. exf4 Bxh4 53. Qb8 (53. gxh4 Qg4+ 54. Kf1 Qh3+ 55. Kg1 (55. Ke2 $4 Re7+ 56. Kd2 Qf1 $19) 55... Qg4+ $11) 53... Qd8 54. Qb6 Qe7 55. Kh2 $2 (55. Bc2 $1 Bf6 (55... Bxg3 $4 56. Kxg3 h4+ 57. Kg2 $18) 56. Ra8 Kh7 57. Qb1 $14 {White still has chances to win the game.}) 55... Bxg3+ $1 $11 56. Kxg3 h4+ $11 57. Kh2 Qd6 58. Bd1 (58. Kg1 Qxf4 $11 59. Qb2 $4 Re7 $19) 58... Rf7 (58... Qxf4+ 59. Kh3 Rf7 60. Qxc6 Qe4 61. f3 Rxf3+ $11) 59. Ra7 Qxf4+ 60. Kh3 Qxf2 61. Rxf7+ Qxf7 62. Qxc6 Qf1+ 63. Kxh4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Biel GM 48th"] [Site "Biel"] [Date "2015.07.28"] [Round "8"] [White "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2723"] [BlackElo "2733"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "202"] [EventDate "2015.07.20"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "SUI"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 168"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.09.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.09.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 {The Ragosin has become one of the most frequently played openings at the highest level recently, and players like Aronian, Carlsen, Anand and many others have been employing it with Black.} 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 {We go into one of the solid and positional lines in this opening. Needless to say that at every move there were lots of deviations and possibilities for both sides.} Qxf6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Be2 Bd7 (9... dxc4 {For a person who is not so well versed in the theoretical evaluations of this opening, this way of taking on c4 followed by e5 looks the most natural.} 10. O-O $1 {and this is the reason why White can hope for a small edge. ...e5 can be met with ?d5.} (10. Bxc4 e5 11. O-O $5 {[%CAl Gc3d5]} (11. d5 $6 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 e4 $15) (11. Nxe5 $6 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Qxe5 $15) 11... exd4 12. Nd5 Qd6 13. Nxb4 Qxb4 14. Qxb4 Nxb4 15. Nxd4 c5 16. Nf3 Be6 $11 {is quite close to equality.}) 10... Bd7 (10... e5 11. Nd5 $16 {The knight on c3 is no longer pinned.}) 11. Bxc4 $14 {White has performed well from this position.}) 10. Qb3 (10. O-O $2 Bxc3 11. bxc3 Nxd4 $17) 10... dxc4 11. Qxc4 (11. Bxc4 Bd6 {followed by e5 gives Black a fine position. One should not forget that ...?a5 is a threat.}) 11... Qe7 (11... e5 $6 12. d5 $1 Bxc3+ 13. Qxc3 Ne7 14. Qxc7 $16) (11... Bd6 $5 12. O-O Qg6 13. Rfd1 Na5 14. Qd3 Qxd3 15. Bxd3 Rfd8 {Black should equalise although with the plan of ?e4-c5 it is slightly easier to play as White.}) (11... Qg6 $5 12. O-O Bd6 {transposes to the 11...?d6 variation.}) 12. a3 (12. O-O {looks more natural but Black goes} Na5 $1 13. Qxc7 (13. Qd3) 13... Rac8 14. Qe5 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Qa3 $11 {½-½ (52) Vachier Lagrave,M (2758)-Wojtaszek,R (2724) Saint Quentin 2014}) 12... Bd6 13. Nd2 $5 $146 {Eljanov's novelty.} (13. O-O $6 e5 $1 14. d5 Na5 15. Qa2 e4 16. Nd2 f5 $1 17. b4 $6 Qe5 $15) (13. Ne4 {had been played in prior games but after} a5 14. O-O a4 15. Nxd6 cxd6 $11 {Black had already equalized in Fressinet,L (2708)-Cornette,M (2533) Nimes 2014.}) 13... Nb8 (13... e5 14. d5 Nb8 (14... Na5 15. Qa2 {[%CAl Gb2b4] The threat of b4 is not so easy to meet.} c5 16. O-O $14) 15. O-O $14) (13... f5 $5 {controlling e4 can be a good innovation.} 14. O-O a6 {[%CAl Gb7b5]}) 14. Bf3 (14. b4 $6 e5 $1 $11) 14... Bc6 (14... c6 15. Qb3 $14 {[%CAl Gd2c4]}) 15. Bxc6 Nxc6 16. O-O (16. f4 $5 {stopping e5 could be an interesting idea.} Qh4+ 17. g3 Qh3 18. Qf1 Qf5 (18... Qxf1+ 19. Kxf1 $14 {is a comfortable endgame for White}) 19. Rc1 $14 {followed by ?f3 and 0-0.}) 16... Qd7 (16... e5 17. d5 $14 {The knight has to just retreat and White has a clear edge.}) 17. Qb3 (17. f4 $14) 17... Rab8 (17... e5 18. d5 Ne7 19. Qxb7 Rfb8 20. Qa6 Rxb2 21. Nc4 $14) 18. Rac1 Ne7 19. Nce4 c6 20. Nxd6 (20. Nc4 Bc7 21. f4 $14 {with some excellent dark square control. This idea with f4 looked pretty tempting for me but Eljanov liked his structure as it was and didn't want to create any weakness.}) 20... Qxd6 {White's advantage is made up of a nice central pawn structure, more space and well placed pieces as well as squares like c5 and e5 for the knight. It is pretty irritating to defend for Black as he really has no active plans.} 21. Qa4 $1 {Forcing a6 and weakening more dark squares.} (21. Ne4 Qd5) 21... a6 22. Nc4 Qc7 23. b4 Nd5 (23... b5 $6 24. Qa5 $1 $16) 24. Qb3 Nb6 25. Na5 {Of course it makes sense to avoid the knight exchange. The knight is excellently placed on a5, putting pressure on the b7-pawn.} Rfd8 26. Rfd1 {Prophylaxis against e5.} (26. Rc2 e5 $1 $11) 26... Qe7 (26... e5 $2 27. d5 $1 Rxd5 28. Rxd5 Nxd5 29. Qxd5 $18) 27. Qc2 Rd5 (27... e5 $2 28. dxe5 Rxd1+ (28... Qxe5 29. Nxb7 $1 $18) 29. Rxd1 Qxe5 30. Nxb7 $1 Rxb7 31. Rd8+ $18) (27... Kh8 {Just to show you what White's idea really is.} 28. Qc5 Qxc5 $2 (28... Qc7 $14 {is the best.}) 29. bxc5 Nd5 30. Rc2 $16 {[%CAl Gd1b1] The b7-pawn is too weak.}) 28. e4 {White must have made this move reluctantly as it compromises the compact structure to some extent. Also the d4-pawn becomes a little weak. But getting in ?c5 was essential and hence this move is not at all bad.} Rd7 $1 {Defending the queen and getting ready to meet ?c5 with ...?a4.} (28... Rdd8 29. Qc5 Qc7 30. d5 $16) 29. Qc5 Na4 (29... Qxc5 30. bxc5) 30. Qxe7 Rxe7 31. f3 $1 {[%CAl Gg1f2,Gf2e3] I really like this move very much. Eljanov realises that d4 is now the only point that Black can attack and he gets his king to the perfect square on e3. Strong players always remember that the king is also a piece!} (31. d5 cxd5 32. exd5 exd5 33. Rxd5 Nc3) 31... Rd7 32. Kf2 Rbd8 33. Ke3 h5 (33... e5 34. d5 Nb6 {is met by a pretty tactic.} (34... cxd5 35. Rxd5 (35. exd5 Nb6 36. d6 Nc8 $15) 35... Rxd5 36. exd5 Rxd5 37. Nxb7 $16) 35. Nxb7 $1 (35. d6 Nc8 $15) 35... Rxb7 36. dxc6 $1 Rxd1 (36... Rbb8 37. c7 $18) 37. cxb7 Rd8 38. Rc6 Nd7 39. Rd6 $18) 34. Rc2 (34. h4 {is the normal way to cramp down the opponent's pawns in such positions.}) 34... f6 {From this point onwards both the players keep shuffling their pieces. White waits for the perfect moment to break on the kingside.} 35. Rdd2 Kf7 36. h4 Nb6 37. Nb3 Re7 38. Rc1 Ra8 39. Rc5 Rh8 40. Rc3 Ra8 41. Nc5 Nc8 (41... a5 $6 {is a little bit suicidal as you are helping White to open up the position- something that he is on the lookout for.} 42. Rb2 $1 $16 (42. bxa5 Rxa5 $13)) 42. Nb3 Nb6 43. Rdd3 Na4 44. Rc1 Nb6 45. Rc5 Rh8 46. Rd1 Na4 47. Rc2 Nb6 48. Nc5 Ra8 49. a4 {Finally some progress on the queenside.} Nc8 50. Nb3 Nb6 51. a5 Nc8 52. Rc5 g6 53. g4 {Because the a8 rook is temporarily shut down due to the c8 knight this move is quite strong.} hxg4 54. fxg4 Nd6 55. e5 fxe5 (55... Ne8 {seems better but looks pretty passive and very difficult for humans to play.} 56. Rf1 f5 $14) 56. dxe5 Nb5 57. Kf4 $1 {Another beautiful activation of the king. The first one was ?g1-f2-e3 and now ?e3-f4-g5. On g5 the king would be excellently placed and create some dangerous threats around his opponent's monarch.} ({Another way was} 57. Rc4 Rh8 58. Kf4 Rxh4 59. Kg5 Rh3 60. Rf1+ Kg7 61. Nc5 Re3 62. Re4 Rxe4 63. Nxe4 $16 {with ?c5 and ?f6 coming up, White is completely dominating in spite of being a pawn down.}) 57... Kg7 58. Kg5 Rf8 59. Rcc1 (59. Rc4 Rf3 60. Nc5 Re3 61. Re4 $18 {was the crucial variation that had to be seen. Once the counterplay based on the e5-pawn is stopped, sooner or later the white rooks will infiltrate the black camp.}) 59... Rf3 60. Nd2 $6 (60. Nc5 Re3 61. Re1 $18 {Of course the knight looks much better on c5 than on c4 as in the game.}) 60... Re3 61. Nc4 Rb3 62. Rb1 Rc3 63. Nd6 c5 (63... Nxd6 64. exd6 Rd7 {is also a tough nut to crack for White.}) 64. Rf1 (64. Rdc1 $1 cxb4 65. Rxc3 bxc3 (65... Nxc3 66. Rxb4 $18) 66. Rc1 $1 {A difficult move to see.} (66. Nxb5 $6 axb5 67. Rxb5 Rc7 $36) 66... Rc7 $2 (66... Rd7 67. Nxb5 axb5 68. Rxc3 $18) 67. Ne8+) 64... Nd4 (64... cxb4 65. Nxb5 (65. Rxb4 $6 Nxd6 66. exd6 Rc5+ $11) 65... axb5 66. Rxb4 $16 {is a clear cut advantage for White.}) 65. bxc5 Rxc5 66. Rbe1 (66. Rxb7 Rxb7 67. Nxb7 Rxe5+ 68. Kf4 Rb5 $11) (66. Ne8+ $1 {How's this for a tactical shot!} Kg8 (66... Rxe8 67. Rxb7+ Kg8 68. Rff7 Rxe5+ 69. Kxg6 $18 {and it's mate pretty soon.}) (66... Kh7 67. Rf8 Nc6 68. Kf6 $18) 67. Kh6 $1 Rxe8 68. Rxb7 $18 {[%CAl Gf1f7]}) 66... Nc6 67. h5 gxh5 (67... Nxe5 68. h6+ Kh7 69. Rxe5 Rxe5+ 70. Kf6 $18 {[%csl Re5,Re7,Gf6] is a picturesque position.}) 68. gxh5 Nxe5 69. h6+ Kh7 70. Kf6 (70. Rxe5 {no longer works to perfection due to} Rxe5+ 71. Kf6 Rxa5 72. Kxe7 Kxh6 $11 {and the game ends in a draw.}) 70... Nc6 71. Rc1 (71. Rg1 $5 {was a very interesting try. Black has only one way to maintain the balance here.} Rh5 $1 (71... Kxh6 $2 72. Rg6+ $18) (71... Rd5 72. Rg7+ $1 (72. Rxe6 $2 Rxe6+ 73. Kxe6 Rxa5 $11) 72... Rxg7 73. hxg7 Rh5 74. Kf7 Ne7 75. Kxe7 Rxa5 76. Kf7 $18) 72. Rg7+ Rxg7 73. hxg7 Kg8 $11 {It looks scary for Black but he is clinging on.}) 71... Rxa5 72. Rg1 (72. Rxc6 bxc6 73. Kxe7 Kxh6 74. Kf6 Kh5 $11) 72... Rh5 (72... Rc7 73. Rg7+ Rxg7 74. hxg7 Rh5 75. Kf7 Ne5+ 76. Kf8 Ng6+ $11) 73. Rxc6 Rd7 $1 {Black avoids the final trap.} (73... bxc6 $2 {surprisingly loses to} 74. Kxe7 (74. Rg7+ $2 Rxg7 75. hxg7 Rh1 $19) 74... Rxh6 (74... Kxh6 75. Nf7+ Kh7 76. Kf8 $18 {[%CAl Gg1g7]}) 75. Kf7 Rh2 76. Ne4 $18) 74. Rc8 (74. Rb6) 74... Rxh6+ 75. Ke5 Rg7 76. Rxg7+ Kxg7 {It would be safe to assume that Wojtaszek knows how to draw the rook vs rook+knight position!} 77. Rc7+ Kg6 78. Rxb7 Rh1 79. Re7 Re1+ 80. Ne4 a5 81. Rxe6+ Kf7 82. Ra6 a4 83. Rxa4 Ke7 84. Ra7+ Ke8 85. Kd5 Kf8 86. Rb7 Ke8 87. Nd6+ Kf8 88. Nf5 Re2 89. Kd6 Re1 90. Ng7 Rd1+ 91. Ke6 Re1+ 92. Kf6 Rf1+ 93. Nf5 Ke8 94. Ra7 Kd8 95. Ke6 Re1+ 96. Kd5 Rd1+ 97. Nd4 Ke8 98. Rh7 Kf8 99. Ke5 Re1+ 100. Kf6 Rf1+ 101. Nf5 Ke8 {A fighting game where Eljanov was pushing throughout. He missed a few chances to take home the full point and Wojtaszek was rewarded for his tenacious defence. Yet I would remember this game for the excellent use of the king as a piece in the middlegame/endgame by Eljanov.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Corus"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2007.01.21"] [Round "8"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2729"] [BlackElo "2744"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "130"] [EventDate "2007.01.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 117"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2007.03.30"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2007.03.30"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. e3 c5 8. Be2 {A modest move, comparing to the normal} (8. Bd3) 8... Qa5 9. O-O O-O 10. Qc2 (10. dxc5 {is equally harmless}) 10... Bxc3 (10... Re8 $6 11. Nxd5 $1 Nxd5 12. a3 $14) (10... c4 $5 11. Nd2 Re8 12. Bh4 b5 13. Rfb1 (13. a4 $142) 13... Bf8 14. Bf3 Bb7 15. e4 dxe4 16. Ndxe4 Nxe4 17. Nxe4 Qb6 $15 {0-1 Brenninkmeijer,J-Sosonko,G/Netherlands 1992/CBM 030 (41)}) 11. bxc3 Ne4 (11... b6 $5 12. Nd2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Ba6 14. Nb3 Qa4 15. Bxa6 Qxa6 16. f3 h6 17. Bh4 Rac8 $11 {½-½ Brenninkmeijer,J-Gulko,B/Groningen 1990/CBM 021 (38)}) 12. c4 {The only attempt to get something.} cxd4 13. cxd5 (13. exd4 $5 Nxg5 14. Nxg5 Nf6 15. c5 Bd7 16. Bd3 g6 17. Nf3 Ba4 18. Qb2 b6 19. Rac1 Rac8 20. Qa3 $14 {0-1 Gil Capape,J-Campora,D/Zaragoza 1992/TD (30)}) 13... Re8 {Black has a comfortable position. White's pair of passive bishops has no importance, especially as White can't keep it.} 14. Rad1 {This loses a pawn, as well as} (14. Bf4 $6 dxe3 15. Bxe3 Ndf6) (14. exd4 $5 Nb6 15. Bd3 Bf5 {followed by ...?xd5, leads to a material balance, and White must hold the position, despite his isolated pawn.}) 14... h6 15. Bh4 $6 (15. Bf4 $142 $5 dxe3 16. Bxe3 Nc3 17. Rc1 Nxe2+ (17... Nxd5 18. Bd2) 18. Qxe2 Qxd5 19. Rfd1 $44 {White's development advantage compensates Black's extra pawn, and a draw is quite probable.}) 15... dxe3 16. fxe3 Nc3 17. Be1 $6 {A passive move but White had not enough compensation for the pawn anyway, e.g.} (17. Rd4 Nxd5 $1 (17... Rxe3 $6 18. Bd3) 18. Be1 Qc7 $1 $17) 17... Rxe3 18. Bd3 Qc5 $1 19. Qxc3 Rxe1+ 20. Qxc5 Rxf1+ 21. Bxf1 Nxc5 $19 {White is a pawn down with no compensation whatsoever (moreover, his d5 pawn is rather weak). The rest is a matter of technique.} 22. Ne5 Nd7 23. Nc4 Nf6 24. Be2 Bd7 25. Bf3 Rd8 26. Ne5 Bf5 27. d6 Nd7 28. Nc4 b6 29. a3 Kf8 30. Kf2 Rc8 31. Ne3 Be6 32. Nd5 Rc2+ 33. Kg3 Ne5 34. Nc7 Bd7 35. Na6 Ke8 36. Re1 f6 37. Re3 Kd8 38. Bd5 Rd2 39. Nc7 Bf5 40. Kf4 g6 41. Rc3 Kd7 42. Ke3 Rd3+ 43. Rxd3 Bxd3 44. Be4 Bxe4 45. Kxe4 Kxd6 46. Nb5+ Kc5 47. Nxa7 Nc4 48. a4 Nd6+ 49. Kd3 Kb4 50. Kd4 Nf5+ 51. Kd5 Ne3+ 52. Ke6 f5 53. Nc8 Nxg2 54. Nxb6 f4 55. Nd5+ Kxa4 56. Kf6 f3 57. Nc3+ Kb4 58. Ne4 Nh4 59. Kg7 h5 60. Kh6 Kc4 61. Kg5 Kd3 $1 62. Ng3 Nf5 63. Nh1 Ne7 64. Kf6 Ke2 65. h4 (65. Kxe7 f2 66. Ng3+ (66. Nxf2 Kxf2 67. Kf6 h4 68. Kxg6 Kg2 $19) 66... Kf3 67. Kf6 h4 68. Nf1 Ke2 $19) 65... Kf1 0-1 [Event "Moscow Tal Memorial 1st"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2006.11.07"] [Round "2"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2741"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "135"] [EventDate "2006.11.06"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 116"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2007.02.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2007.02.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 {This old reaction to the Westphalian variation is now less popular than Kramnik's} (7. Qc2) 7... c5 8. Bd3 Qa5 9. Qc2 c4 10. Bf5 O-O 11. O-O Re8 12. Nd2 g6 13. Bxd7 Nxd7 14. f3 Nb6 15. Bf4 {[%CAl Ye3e4]} ({Surprisingly,} 15. e4 $5 {has not been tried so far although I don't see any direct refutation, e.g.} Bxc3 (15... Bd7 {and}) (15... Bf8 {are possible, of course}) (15... dxe4 $6 16. Ndxe4) 16. Qxc3 (16. bxc3 $6 dxe4 17. Nxe4 Rxe4 18. fxe4 Qxg5) 16... Qxc3 17. bxc3 Na4 $6 18. Rfc1 Be6 19. Rab1) (15. Rae1) (15. Bh6) (15. h4) {After the text move Black consequently prevents e3-e4.} 15... Bxc3 16. bxc3 Qa4 17. Qc1 (17. Qb2 Bf5 18. Rfe1 (18. Rf2 Qa5 19. Rc1 Na4 20. Qa3 b5 21. Nf1 Bd3 22. h4 Qd8 23. g3 Qe7 24. Qxe7 Rxe7 25. Nh2 f6 $17 {0-1 Hebden,M-Greenfeld,A/Rishon Le Ziyyon 1992/CBM 033 ext (49)}) 18... Bd3 19. e4 Qc6 20. e5 Na4 21. Qc1 b5 22. Nf1 Bxf1 (22... a5 $5 $13) 23. Kxf1 f5 (23... b4 $5 24. cxb4 c3) 24. exf6 Qxf6 25. Be5 Qf5 $13 {1-0 Gofshtein,L-Inkiov,V/Arco 2000/EXT 2001 (34)}) (17. Qb1 $5 {[%CAl Ye3e4] D.Jakovenko}) 17... Bf5 {In this system, if Black manages to contain White's attack, his queenside pawn advantage and the weakness of White's c3 pawn will become decisive factors.} 18. Re1 (18. Qe1 Bd3 19. Rf2 Re6 20. Nf1 f6 21. h4 Rae8 22. g4 Qa3 23. Ng3 Na4 24. Rc1 b5 $36 {½-½ Coursaget,N-Pijuan,M/Banyoles 2005/CBM 108 ext (39)}) 18... Qc6 (18... Bd3 $5 {is probably more accurate:} 19. h4 (19. e4 $5 Qc6 20. e5 f5 {[%CAl Yb6d7,Yd7f8,Yf8e6] G.Giorgadze}) (19. Nf1 Re6 20. Ng3 Rae8) 19... Re6 20. Nf1 Qd7 21. g4 f5 (21... Na4 $5 $15 {G.Giorgadze}) 22. g5 Na4 23. Ng3 Rb6 24. Rd1 Rb2 25. Rd2 Qb5 26. Rxb2 Qxb2 27. Qxb2 Nxb2 28. a4 $13 {½-½ Kiselev,S-Giorgadze,G/Podolsk 1992/CBM 033 (60)}) 19. Nf1 Bd3 20. Ng3 Re6 (20... f6 21. h4 Re7 22. Qd2 Rae8 23. Nh1 h5 24. Nf2 Bf5 25. Re2 Nc8 26. Rae1 Nd6 27. Bxd6 Qxd6 28. e4 Bd7 29. exd5 Rxe2 30. Rxe2 Rxe2 31. Qxe2 Qxd5 32. Qe7 Qe6 33. Qd8+ Kg7 34. Ne4 Bc6 $11 {½-½ Van der Sterren,P-Giorgadze,G/Manila 1992/TD (48)}) 21. Nh1 {As White can't push e3-e4, he tries to oust the black bishop from d3.} f6 22. h4 Rae8 23. Nf2 Qa4 {It turns out that 18...?c6 was a loss of time but Black has no real problems anyway.} 24. Rd1 $6 (24. Qd2 $142 {If Black allows the capture on d3 then White will have his queen there and not his rook.}) 24... Kg7 $1 {[%CAl Yh7h6,Yg6g5][%mdl 512] Black sacrifices a pawn to obtain a strong c4 square for his knight.} 25. Qb2 (25. Qd2 {is too late due to} h6) 25... R8e7 26. Nxd3 cxd3 27. Rxd3 Nc4 $44 {[%csl Gc4,Rd3]} 28. Qf2 Rb6 29. Qg3 Rb2 30. e4 $5 {White gives up a pawn to obtain counterplay.} dxe4 $6 {It was not obligatory to open files for White.} (30... Rxa2 $142 $1 {[%csl Ga7] exchanging a pair of rooks:} 31. Re1 Ra1 $15) 31. fxe4 (31. Re1 $6 e3 $1 32. Bxe3 Kf7 $15) 31... Rxe4 32. Rf1 Qd7 (32... Qc6 33. d5 (33. h5 Ree2 34. d5 Qe8) 33... Qb6+ 34. Kh2 (34. Kh1 Rb1 35. Rdd1 $11) 34... Ree2 35. Re1 (35. d6 $143 Qc6) 35... Rxg2+ 36. Qxg2 Rxg2+ 37. Kxg2 {and White should not lose.}) 33. Rdf3 $2 (33. h5 $1 {lead to an almost forced draw:} Ree2 (33... Rxa2 $2 34. hxg6 hxg6 35. Qh2 g5 36. Rh3) (33... Qd5 $6 34. Bc1 {[%CAl Yh5h6,Yg3c7]}) 34. Bh6+ $1 Kf7 (34... Kxh6 $2 35. Qf4+ Kg7 36. Qxf6+ Kh6 37. Qf4+ g5 38. Qf6+ Kxh5 39. Rh3+ Qxh3 40. Qf7+ $18) 35. hxg6+ hxg6 36. Rxf6+ Kxf6 37. Rf3+ Ke6 38. Qxg6+ Kd5 39. Qg8+ (39. Rf5+ Ne5) 39... Ke4 $1 40. Qg6+ Kd5 $11) 33... Ree2 $1 34. R3f2 {There is nothing better.} (34. Bh6+ $2 Kxh6 35. Qf4+ Kh5) 34... Qe7 (34... Rxa2 $2 35. Bh6+ Kxh6 36. Qf4+ Kh5 37. Qxf6 Qg4 38. Rf5+ gxf5 39. Rxf5+ Qxf5 40. Qxf5+ Kxh4 41. Qf4+ $11 {D.Jakovenko}) 35. Rxe2 Rxe2 (35... Qxe2 $4 36. Re1) 36. a4 (36. Qd3 Qe4 $17) 36... Ne3 37. Bxe3 Rxe3 38. Rf3 Rxf3 39. Qxf3 Qe1+ 40. Kh2 Qxh4+ 41. Kg1 Qe1+ 42. Kh2 Qe7 $17 {[%mdl 4096] This endgame is better for Black but not easy to win. He should push his kingside pawns but the white king is on the road.} 43. c4 h5 44. c5 h4 45. Kh3 g5 46. Kg4 {Was it better to wait passively? Hard to say.} (46. Qd5) 46... a5 47. Kh5 $6 Qe8+ 48. Kg4 Qc8+ 49. Kh5 Qe8+ 50. Kg4 Qf7 51. Qf5 Qe7 52. Qf3 Kh6 53. Qd5 Qc7 54. Kf5 Kg7 (54... Qf4+ 55. Ke6 g4 {was recommended by GM Jakovenko, but I don't see a win after} 56. Qxb7 (56. Qd6 $143 Qe4+ $1 57. Kxf6 Qg6+ 58. Ke7 h3 59. gxh3 $140 g3 $19) 56... h3 57. gxh3 gxh3 58. Kf7 $1 Qg4 $1 (58... h2 59. Qg2) 59. c6 Qg7+ (59... Qg2 60. Qb8 Qd5+ 61. Ke7 $1) 60. Ke6 Qg2 $1 61. Qa8 $1 Qe4+ 62. Kxf6 Qxd4+ 63. Ke6 Qe4+ 64. Kd6) 55. Kg4 Qc8+ 56. Kf3 h3 {This pawn exchange is probably premature.} (56... Kg6 $5 57. Ke2 Qe8+ 58. Kf2 Qf7 $17) 57. gxh3 Qxh3+ 58. Kf2 Qh2+ 59. Kf1 Qf4+ 60. Kg2 Qd2+ 61. Kg3 Qe3+ 62. Kg2 Qe2+ 63. Kg3 Qe7 64. Kg4 Qc7 65. Qe4 Kf8 66. Qf5 Qc6 67. d5 $1 Qxc5 (67... Qxa4+ $6 68. Kh5 Qe8+ 69. Kh6) 68. Qxf6+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates Tournament"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2014.03.21"] [Round "7"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2787"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2014.03.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 160"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2014.05.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.05.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Qc2 c5 8. e3 Qa5 9. Bd3 c4 10. Bf5 O-O 11. O-O Re8 12. Nd2 g6 13. Bxd7 Nxd7 14. h4 {White is preparing activity on the kingside and at the same time protecting his bishop on g5.} (14. f3) (14. Rae1) 14... b5 {The most popular move in this critical position seems to be 14...?b6. Mamedyarov is unhappy that the pawns of the queenside would lose mobility, on the other hand the bishop c8 could become more active.} (14... Nb6 15. f3 (15. Nb3 Qa6 16. Nc5 Qa5 17. a4 (17. Nb3 Qa6 18. Nc5 Qa5 19. Nb3 {½-½ Orsag,M-Sosonko,G/Aaland-Stockholm 1997/ (19)}) (17. e4 $5) 17... Bf5 18. e4 (18. Qd1 Bxc5 19. dxc5 Qxc5 20. a5 Nd7 21. Qxd5 Qxd5 22. Nxd5 Bd3 $13) 18... dxe4 (18... Bxe4 $5 19. N3xe4 dxe4 20. Nxe4 Nd5 $15) 19. Nxb7 Qa6 20. Nc5 Qc8 (20... Bxc5 21. dxc5 e3 22. Qc1 Nd7 23. Bxe3 Qc6 24. Nb5 Bd3 25. Rd1 Re4 $132) 21. Qe2 a5 $6 (21... Bxc5 22. dxc5 Qxc5 23. g4 Bc8 24. Nxe4 Nd7 $13) 22. N5xe4 Nd7 (22... Bxe4 23. Nxe4 Nd5 $44) 23. f3 Qc6 24. Qf2 $14 {1/2 (42) Kempinski,R (2587)-Tischbierek,R (2523) Germany 2002/} (24. Rac1)) (15. e4 Bxc3 16. bxc3 dxe4 17. Nxe4 Nd5 18. Nf6+ Nxf6 19. Bxf6 Bf5 20. Qd2 Re6 21. Bg5 f6 22. Bh6 Qd5 {½-½ Cvitan,O-Palac,M/Pula 1993/EXT 99 (35)}) 15... Bf8 (15... Bxc3 16. bxc3 Qa4 (16... Na4 17. Rac1 (17. Rfc1 Bd7 18. e4 Re6 19. Rab1 Nb6 20. Rb4 Rae8 21. e5 Na4 22. Nf1 Rb6 23. a3 $14 {1-0 (33) Malakhatko,V (2612)-Paehtz,E (2481) Dresden 2008}) 17... Bd7 18. e4 f5 19. Rfe1 Rac8 20. Nf1 dxe4 21. fxe4 fxe4 22. Rxe4 Bf5 23. Rxe8+ Rxe8 24. Qd2 Qb5 25. Ne3 $16 {Dautov,R-Tischbierek,R/Bad Mergentheim/1991/}) (16... Bd7 17. e4 f5 18. Rfe1 $6 (18. e5 $16) 18... Qa4 19. Qc1 dxe4 $1 20. fxe4 Qc6 21. e5 Nd5 $10 {Dautov,R-Winants,L/Belgique/1992/}) 17. Qc1 $6 (17. Qb1 Qa3 18. Rc1 Bd7 19. e4 Rac8 20. Nf1 dxe4 21. fxe4 f5 22. e5 Nd5 23. Qc2 f4 24. Qf2 b5 25. h5 Re6 26. Qf3 Bc6 27. Nd2 {1-0 Pinter,J-Greenfeld,A/Beersheba/1991/ (51)}) 17... Bf5 $1 18. Re1 Qc6 (18... Qc2 19. e4 $14) 19. Nf1 Na4 20. Ng3 Bd3 21. Nh1 Kg7 22. Nf2 f6 23. Bf4 h6 (23... Bf5 24. e4 (24. g4 Bd3 25. Qd2 Rac8) 24... dxe4 25. g4 e3 26. Rxe3 Bd3 27. Qd2) 24. Qa3 g5 {1-0 (58) Sokolov,I (2665)-Sosonko,G (2515) Amsterdam 1996/}) (15... f6 16. Bf4 (16. Bh6 $5 Bd7 17. h5 $36) 16... Bd7 17. a3 $142 (17. Rae1 Bxc3 (17... Ba4 $1 18. Qc1 Bc6 19. e4 Na4 $1 $132 {?} 20. Re3 $140 $2 Qb6) 18. bxc3 Na4 19. Nb1 f5 20. h5 $40) (17. e4 $6 Ba4 $1 18. Qc1 Bc6 19. Re1 (19. exd5 Bxc3 20. dxc6 Bxd4+ 21. Kh1 bxc6 22. Nxc4 Qh5 $10) (19. e5 $2 Na4 20. Nxa4 fxe5 $1 21. a3 Bxd2 22. Bxd2 Qxa4 23. dxe5 d4 $36) 19... Na4 $1 20. Nxa4 (20. exd5 $5 Rxe1+ 21. Qxe1 Bxd5 22. Nde4 Nxc3 23. bxc3 Be7 $10) 20... Qxa4 21. e5 Ba5 $1 22. exf6 Bb6 23. Qc3 Ba5 {?-? Dautov,R-Lutz,C/BL 9192/1992/'}) 17... Bxc3 18. bxc3 Ba4 19. Qc1 Bc6 20. Ra2 Re6 21. Re1 $14) (15... Bd7 16. e4 (16. Rae1 Na4 17. Ndb1 Re6 18. e4 Nxc3 19. bxc3 Bf8 20. exd5 Qxd5 21. Rxe6 Qxe6 22. Nd2 f5 23. Qb1 Qd5 24. Re1 Re8 25. Rxe8 Bxe8 26. Qe1 {Dizdar,G-Kovacevic,Vlad/Makarska/1993/0-1 (56)}) 16... Bc6 17. Rae1 Re6 18. e5 Bd7 19. g4 Rc6 20. Re2 Re8 21. Rg2 Nc8 22. f4 Ra6 23. Nf3 h5 24. f5 hxg4 25. e6 {1-0 Yrjola,J-Siklosi,Z/HUN-ch op Eger/1987 (34)}) 16. e4 Bg7 17. Be3 (17. exd5 Bf5 18. Nde4 Nxd5 19. Qf2 Nxc3 20. bxc3 Qa6 21. Rae1 h6 22. Bf4 Rad8 23. Re3 Qc6 24. Rfe1 {½-½ Ftacnik,L-Winants,L (03)/Tilburg1.29 (30')/1992/ (35)}) 17... Be6 18. a4 Bd7 19. h5 Rac8 20. Rfe1 Bc6 21. hxg6 hxg6 22. e5 Na8 23. Nf1 Nc7 24. f4 Bd7 25. Ng3 {1-0 (44) Cheparinov,I (2670)-Mamedyarov,S (2752) Khanty-Mansiysk 2007}) (14... f6 15. Bf4 (15. Bh6 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Nb6 17. f3 Qa4 18. Qc1 Bd7 19. e4 Re6 20. Re1 Rae8 21. Re3 Bc6 22. Qf1 Qc2 23. Qf2 Na4 24. Rae1 Nxc3 25. exd5 Rxe3 26. Rxe3 Nxd5 27. Rxe8+ Bxe8 28. Qe1 {1/2 (30) Tregubov,P (2647)-Iotov,V (2556) Manama 2009}) 15... Bxc3 16. bxc3 Nb6 17. f3 Qa4 18. Qb2 Bf5 19. Rfe1 Qc6 20. Qa3 Bd3 21. Qxa7 {1/2 (21) Malakhatko,V (2569)-Aleksandrov,A (2639) Kolkata 2009}) (14... Bf8 15. e4 h6 16. Be3 dxe4 17. Nxc4 Qh5 18. Nxe4 Qxh4 19. f3 a5 20. Bf2 Qd8 21. d5 Ra6 22. a4 f5 23. Nc3 Nf6 24. Rfe1 Bb4 25. Rxe8+ Nxe8 26. Rd1 $14 {1-0 (53) Romanov,E (2547)-Aleksandrov,A (2582) Dagomys 2008}) 15. a4 {There are hardly any examples played with the slightly unusual move 14...b5. Kramnik decides to undermine the pawn structure right away.} (15. a3 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Nb6 17. f3 Na4 18. Rac1 Nb6 19. Ra1 Na4 20. Rac1 f6 21. Bf4 Qd8 22. e4 $11 {0-1 (62) Lekic,D (2390)-Mikhalevski,V (2608) Budva 2009}) 15... Bxc3 (15... Bb7 16. axb5 Qb6 17. b3 $16) 16. bxc3 b4 17. cxb4 Qxb4 18. Nb1 (18. Rfb1 Qd6 19. Qc3 Rb8 20. Rxb8 Qxb8 21. Bf4 Qa8 22. e4 Nf6 23. Be5 Ng4 24. Bg3 Bb7 $11) 18... Qd6 {Mamedyarov is a great player in positions with tactical content. A pure strategic fight leaves him a bit restless as he has little chances to demonstrate the small miracles he can achieve with the pieces.} (18... Bb7 $5 19. Nc3 Bc6 20. e4 Qd6 21. Rfe1 Rac8 $11) 19. Nc3 Qc6 (19... Nf8 20. Bf4 Qc6 21. Qb2 Ne6 22. Bh2 $14) 20. Rfb1 Ba6 21. Qd1 (21. Qe2 f6 22. Bh6 (22. Bf4 Nf8 23. Qf3 Rad8) 22... Rad8 (22... Rab8 23. Qf3 Rxb1+ 24. Rxb1 Bb7 25. Nxd5 Ba8 26. e4 f5 27. Qc3 Rxe4 28. f3 Re6 29. Ne3 $16) 23. Qf3 Nb6 24. Bf4 $14) 21... f6 22. Bf4 Rad8 23. Qf3 Nf8 24. Bh6 {The former world champion was quite satisfied with his achievements as his opponent is reduced to passive play. Objectively speaking it is not so easy for White to make real progress.} Kf7 (24... Rd7 25. Rb4 Kf7 26. Rd1 $14) 25. Rb2 Ne6 26. Rab1 (26. Rd1 Ng7 27. g4 Kg8 28. Rdb1 $14) 26... Ng7 27. g4 {Kramnik was unhappy about this ambitious advance that tries to limit Black's possibilities. Pawns in front of the white king become exposed. which may prove to be critical in the event of the opening of the position.} Kg8 28. Qf4 (28. a5 Rf8 29. Qg2 $14) 28... Kf7 (28... Qd7 29. Qf3 Qf7 $11) 29. e4 $6 {It seems that White is not able to improve his pieces any more so he decides to start the war. In a complicated tactical fight chances will be shared by both players especially after the clever 31st black move.} (29. Rb5 $5 Bxb5 30. axb5 Qb7 $15) (29. Bxg7 Kxg7 30. Rb8 (30. e4 dxe4 31. d5 Qd6 $15) 30... Qe6 $11) (29. Qf3 $14) 29... Ne6 30. exd5 (30. Qe3 Nc5 $1 31. exd5 Qd7 32. Qf3 Nd3 33. Re2 Rxe2 34. Qxe2 Bc8 35. f3 f5 $11) 30... Nxf4 31. dxc6 g5 $5 {[%mdl 64] The ambitions of Kramnik were marred by the shock as the bishop on h6 will have to fear for its life.} (31... Rxd4 32. Rb7+ Bxb7 33. cxb7 Rb8 34. Nb5 Ne6 35. Nxd4 Nxd4 36. a5 a6 37. Rb6 c3 $11) 32. hxg5 fxg5 33. c7 {Numerous attractive ideas had to be judged against each other under the conditions of a ticking clock and very complicated positions that defy clear evaluation.} (33. Rb7+ $1 Bxb7 34. Rxb7+ Kg6 (34... Ke6 35. Kh2 Rg8 36. c7 Rc8 37. Rxa7 $11) 35. Bg7 Ne2+ 36. Nxe2 Rxe2 37. Kf1 $5 Re4 38. Be5 $11) (33. Nb5 Re6 (33... c3 34. Nxc3 Kg6 35. c7 Rxd4 36. Nb5 Rxa4 37. Nxa7 Kxh6 38. Rb8 Re7 39. R8b6+ Ng6 40. Rc1 $11) 34. c7 Rc8 35. Bxg5 Nh3+ 36. Kg2 Nxg5 37. d5 Rg6 38. d6 Bxb5 39. Rxb5 Rxd6 40. Rxg5 Rxc7 41. Rh5 Kg7 42. Rg5+ $11) 33... Rd6 34. Bxg5 Nh3+ 35. Kg2 Nxg5 36. d5 Bc8 (36... Rf6 37. Rb8 Bc8) 37. Rb8 Rf6 {Kramnik has felt that serious counterplay with passed pawns should be enough for equality, but even shortly before the time control the situation remains exceptionally messy. It is much easier to claim after the game that White had at least two ways to keep full equality with 38.?b5 or 38.?f1. In any case the rook move is rather unfortunate, as the chances have much improved for Mamedyarov.} 38. Ra8 $2 (38. Re1 $2 Rxe1 39. Rxc8 Nf3 $1 40. Rf8+ $1 Kxf8 41. c8=Q+ Kg7 42. Qc7+ Kh6 $1 43. Qxa7 (43. Kg3 Rg1+ 44. Kh3 Ng5+ 45. Kh4 Rh1+ 46. Kg3 Rf1 $15) (43. Qc5 Rg1+ 44. Kh3 Ng5+ 45. Kh2 Rxg4 $17) 43... Rg1+ 44. Kh3 Ng5+ 45. Kh4 Rh1+ 46. Kg3 Rh3+ 47. Kg2 Rxc3 48. f4 Rc2+ 49. Kg3 Ne4+ 50. Kf3 Nd2+ 51. Ke2 Rxf4 52. Kd1 $15) (38. Rf1 $5 Rf8 (38... Nf3 39. Rh1 Ng5 40. Rf1) 39. f4 Ke7 40. Re1+ Kd7 41. fxg5 Rf2+ 42. Kg1 Kxc7 43. Rb5 R2f4 44. Ne4 Rxg4+ 45. Kh2 Rh4+ 46. Kg3 Rg4+ 47. Kh2 $11) (38. Nb5 Bxg4 39. Rxe8 Kxe8 40. Nxa7 Bh3+ 41. Kg3 Rf3+ 42. Kh4 h6 43. Rb8+ Ke7 44. c8=Q Bxc8 45. Rxc8 Kd6 46. Rxc4 Kxd5 47. Rc8 $11) 38... Rf4 $1 39. f3 $1 (39. Nb5 Rxg4+ 40. Kf1 Ne4 41. f3 Rf4 42. Rxc8 Rxc8 43. Ke2 Ng3+ 44. Kf2 Nf5 45. Re1 Kf8 46. d6 Nxd6 47. Nxd6 Rxc7 $19) 39... Rxf3 {The sensible tradition of judging the choices made under time pressure with greater leniency has to be applied also for the last black move. It was not possible to get more than a slight advantage with 39...?f3, but the situation would have been unpleasant for the adversary.} (39... Nxf3 $1 40. Rxc8 $1 (40. Kg3 Rxg4+ 41. Kxf3 Rg6 42. Rxc8 Rf6+ 43. Kg4 Rxc8 44. Rb7 Ke7 $17) 40... Rxc8 41. Nb5 Ke7 (41... Rg8 42. c8=Q (42. Nd6+ Kf6 43. Rb8 Ne1+ 44. Kh3 Rfxg4 45. Ne8+ Ke5 46. c8=Q Rg3+ $19) 42... Rxc8 43. Nd6+ Kf6 44. Nxc8 Nd2 $15) 42. d6+ Kd7 43. Nxa7 Rg8 44. c8=Q+ Rxc8 45. Rb7+ Kd8 46. Nxc8 Kxc8 47. Rc7+ Kd8 48. a5 Ng5 49. a6 c3 50. Rxc3 Ra4 $15) 40. d6 $2 {In a great tradition of celebrated omissions on the 40th move Kramnik makes a mistake, that will push him closer to disaster.} (40. Rbb8 $1 Rxc3 (40... Bxg4 41. Rxe8 Rxc3 42. c8=Q Rc2+ 43. Kg3 Bxc8 44. Rexc8 $18) 41. Rxc8 Rc2+ 42. Kg3 Rc3+ 43. Kg2 (43. Kf4 $2 Nh3+ 44. Kf5 Rf3#) 43... Rc2+ $11) 40... Bxg4 41. Rxe8 Kxe8 42. Rb8+ Kf7 43. Rd8 (43. Nd1 Bh3+ 44. Kh2 Bd7 45. c8=Q Bxc8 46. Rxc8 Rd3 47. Nf2 Rd4 48. d7 Ne6 $17) 43... Bh3+ 44. Kh2 Rxc3 45. d7 (45. c8=Q $2 Bxc8 46. Rxc8 Ke6 $19) 45... Rc2+ 46. Kg3 (46. Kh1 Nf3 47. Rf8+ Ke6 48. Rxf3 Bg2+ 49. Kg1 Kxd7 $19) 46... Rg2+ 47. Kh4 $2 {We have to be strict with this courageous move. The white king at the edge of the board is risking very harsh treatment. For better or worse the last chance for Kramnik was to fool around with the king in the opposite direction.} (47. Kf4 $1 Ne6+ 48. Kf3 Nxc7 49. Rf8+ Kxf8 50. d8=Q+ Ne8 51. Qh4 Rc2 52. Qxh7 $15) 47... Be6 $3 48. Rf8+ (48. c8=Q $4 Nf3+ 49. Kh5 Rh2#) 48... Kxf8 $4 {Mamedyarov has suddenly lost control of his nerves and the situation. Two consecutive great mistake will cost him the whole point. Maybe even the author could not sensibly explain, why he refrained from the incomparably more logical move 48...?g6!} (48... Kg6 $1 49. Rg8+ Kh6 50. Rxg5 Rh2+ 51. Kg3 Bxd7 52. Rg8 Rh3+ 53. Kf2 Ra3 $19) 49. c8=Q+ Kg7 $2 (49... Kf7 50. Kh5 $3 (50. d8=N+ Kf6 51. Nxe6 Nxe6 52. Qxc4 $14) 50... Bg4+ 51. Kh6 $1 Ne6 52. Qe8+ Kf6 53. d8=Q+ Nxd8 54. Qxd8+ Ke5 55. Qb8+ Kd4 56. Qxa7+ $16) 50. Qb7 $1 {Most players have already experienced the situation, when the smoke of the battle finally clears and they look with astonishment at the ruins of their own efforts. It would be understandable if Shakhriyar had secretly shed a tear in the face of a disaster.} Nf3+ (50... Rh2+ 51. Kg3 Rh3+ 52. Kf4 Rb3 53. Qxb3 cxb3 54. d8=Q $18) 51. Qxf3 Rh2+ 52. Kg5 h6+ (52... Bxd7 53. Qf6+ Kg8 54. Qd8+ Kg7 55. Qxd7+ $18) 53. Kf4 Rh4+ 54. Ke5 {The level of complexity in this game has definitely influenced the fact that both great players failed to play consistently well throughout the battle.} 1-0 [Event "EU-Cup 30th"] [Site "Bilbao"] [Date "2014.09.16"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Agdestein, Simen"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2622"] [BlackElo "2784"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "121"] [EventDate "2014.09.14"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "CBM 163"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2014.11.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.11.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Oslo Schakselskap"] [BlackTeam "SOCAR"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"] [BlackTeamCountry "AZE"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 Nbd7 {An uncommon mixture of plans.} (7... g5 8. Bg3 Ne4 {or}) (7... c5 {are usually played.}) 8. Qa4 $146 {Unbelievably, a new move!} (8. e3 {still allows Black to play} g5 9. Bg3 Ne4) (8. Qc2 {leads to a well-known position from the 6...?bd7 7.?c2 system}) 8... c5 9. dxc5 a5 (9... Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 O-O 11. Qb4 {transposes to the line 6...?bd7 7.?a4 etc. with a later ...h7-h6. Agdestein-Giri, annotated in CBM 161 by GM Mihail Marin, is the most recent example.}) 10. a3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 O-O {The inclusion of ...a7-a5 a2-a3 deprives White's queen of the b4-square; on the other hand, Black's queenside is weakened now; on the third hand, the b3 square can be available for Black's knight in some lines. In total, these new factors probably keep the balance of the position.} 12. Qd4 Re8 13. Nd2 Qc7 {Too weak.} (13... g5 $5 14. Bg3 Nf8 {[%CAl Yf8e6] looks risky but perhaps quite playable, e.g.} 15. h4 Ne6 16. Qe3 Nf4 17. Qd4 Ne6 $11) 14. e3 Ne4 15. Bb5 Re6 (15... Qxc5 16. Qxc5 Nexc5 17. O-O $14 {[%csl Gb5]}) 16. c4 $1 Qxc5 17. Nb3 {White goes for a positional advantage instead of winning a pawn, which would give Black counterplay:} (17. Qxc5 Ndxc5 18. cxd5 Re5 19. Nxe4 Nxe4 20. Bc4 (20. Bd3 Nc5 21. Rd1 Nxd3+ 22. Rxd3 Bf5) 20... Bd7 {[%CAl Ya8c8]}) 17... Qxd4 18. Nxd4 Re5 19. f3 Nec5 20. cxd5 (20. Ke2 $5 {[%CAl Yh4g3]}) 20... Nb6 (20... Rxe3+ 21. Kf2 Re5 22. d6 {[%csl Gd6][%CAl Yh1d1] is also favourable for White, e.g.} Rd5 23. Rhd1 Rxd6 24. Nf5 Rxd1 25. Rxd1 {with domination.}) 21. O-O Rxd5 (21... Rxe3 22. Rfc1) (21... Nxd5 22. e4 Nc3 23. Bc4 $16) 22. Rab1 Ne6 23. Nxe6 Bxe6 {So, White has obtained a typical positional plus: the bishop pair in an open position with an asymmetrical pawn structure. However, precision is required.} 24. e4 $6 (24. Rfc1 {, covering the c4-square, may be more accurate.}) 24... Rh5 25. Bf2 Nc4 {[%CAl Rc4a3,Rc4d2]} 26. g4 Rxb5 $6 {There was no need to give up the exchange.} (26... Re5 $142 {e.g.} 27. Bd4 Rg5 28. h4 Rg6 29. h5 Rg5 30. Bxc4 Bxc4 31. Rfc1 Rb5 $5 {, and Black should hold on.} (31... b5 $143 {[%csl Rg5]})) 27. Rxb5 Nd2 28. Rxb7 Nxf3+ 29. Kg2 Nd2 30. Rd1 Nc4 31. a4 Bxg4 {It looks like Black, with a pawn for the exchange, has a decent position; however, rooks are rooks, especially when the struggle is taking place on both sides of the board. Finally Black's a5-pawn falls, and White's outside a-pawn becomes an important factor.} 32. Rd4 Rc8 33. Bg3 Ne3+ 34. Kf2 Nd1+ 35. Ke1 Ne3 36. Kf2 Nd1+ 37. Ke1 Ne3 38. Kd2 Nf1+ 39. Kd3 Rc1 (39... Nxg3 40. hxg3 {[%CAl Yb7b5]}) 40. Rd8+ Kh7 41. Ra8 Nxg3 {Black hurries up to win White's kingside pawn but keeping a strong knight was also possible:} (41... Rd1+ 42. Kc2 Bf3 43. Re7 Ne3+ 44. Kc3 Nf5 45. Rxf7 Bxe4 46. Rxa5 Rd3+ 47. Kb4 Nd4 {etc.}) 42. hxg3 Be6 43. Rxa5 Rg1 44. Re5 Rxg3+ 45. Kd4 Ra3 46. a5 Kg6 47. Rbb5 Ra4+ 48. Kc3 Rc4+ 49. Kb2 Ra4 50. Rbc5 Ra2+ 51. Kc3 Ra4 52. Rh5 Rxe4 $2 {Now White's pawn moves forward.} ({His task was not yet easy after a waiting move like} 52... Kh7 {. If} 53. Rc6 {then} g5 {[%CAl Yh7g6,Yh6h5]}) 53. a6 f5 54. Rh1 Ra4 55. Rc6 Kf7 56. Rb1 Bd5 57. Rb7+ Kg8 58. Rg6 $1 {White's b7-rook is untouchable.} Rc4+ (58... Bf7 59. Rd6 {[%CAl Ya6a7]}) 59. Kd3 Bxb7 60. Kxc4 Bf3 61. Kd4 1-0 [Event "ESP-chT"] [Site "Sanxenxo"] [Date "2004.11.25"] [Round "8"] [White "Moiseenko, Alexander"] [Black "Giorgadze, Giorgi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2653"] [BlackElo "2612"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2004.11.18"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "CBM 105"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.04.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.04.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 {Eine selten gespielte Zugfolge.} 4. Nf3 {Statt dieser natürlicher Fortsetzung kann Weiß auch mit 4.a3, 4.cxd5 oder 4.e3 fortsetzen.} Nf6 {Mit Zugumstellung erhalten wir die Grundstellung der Ragozin Variante im Damengambit.} 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 {Das ist eine sehr scharfe Variante, die ruhige Alternative ist 6...?bd7.} 7. Bh4 {Weiß hat keine Angst vor den Komplikationen; nach 7.?xf6 bekommt das Spiel positionellen Charakter.} (7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. Qa4+ (8. Qb3) 8... Nc6 9. e3) 7... g5 8. Bg3 Ne4 9. Nd2 {Dieses Bauernopfer ist die beste Möglichkeit für Weiß; im Falle von 9.?c1 h5! erlangt Schwarz gefährliches Gegenspiel.} Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bxc3 11. Rc1 Bb2 {Mit diesem Zwischenzug greift Schwarz den Turm an; nach 12.?c2 geht schon 12...?xd4 und wegen der schlechten Stellung des Turmes auf c2 geht nicht ?a4+.} (11... Ba5) 12. Bxc7 (12. Rxc7 Na6 13. Rc2 Bxd4 14. e3 Bg7 15. Bxa6 bxa6 $11) 12... Qd7 $5 {Das ist die moderne Fortsetzung, aber die Alternative 12...?e7 ist ebenfalls spielbar.} (12... Qe7 13. Bd6 Qe6 14. Rb1 $44) 13. Rb1 (13. Be5 Bxc1 14. Bxh8 Qc7 $5 (14... Bxd2+ 15. Qxd2 Qf5 16. f3 Nc6 17. e4 dxe4 18. d5 Ne7 19. Bc4 $44 {1-0 Lputian,S-Vasilevich,T/Abu Dhabi 2003/CBM 97 (38)}) 15. h4 Qc3 16. hxg5 Bxd2+ 17. Qxd2 Qa1+ 18. Qd1 Qc3+ 19. Qd2 {½-½ Schlosser,P-Landa,K/Nancy FRA 2004/(19)}) 13... Bc3 {13...?xd4?? wäre ein großer Fehler wegen 14.?xb8 ?xb8 15.e3, mit der Drohnung 16.?b5 und es hängt gleichzeitig der ?d4.} (13... Qxc7 14. Rxb2 Nc6 15. e3 $14 {1-0 Legky,N-Verat,L/Elancourt 2003/EXT 2004 (47)}) (13... Ba3 14. Bxb8 Rxb8 15. e3 O-O 16. Bd3 Kg7 17. Qb3 Be7 18. Bc2 Qe6 19. Qd3 Qg6 20. Qxg6+ fxg6 21. Ke2 Bd7 22. Bd3 Bd6 $11 {0-1 Agrest,E-Vallin,G/France 2003/CBM 95 (57)}) 14. Be5 $146 {Eine aussichtsreiche Neuerung! Früher spielte Weiß 14.?xb8 und 14.?g3, was auch nicht schlecht ist.} (14. Bxb8 Rxb8 15. e3 O-O 16. Be2 (16. Bd3 Qg4 $1) 16... Ba5 17. O-O Bc7 18. Qc2 Qd6 $6 (18... Qe7 $11 {? ?d6, ?e6}) 19. Nf3 Qe7 20. Qc5 $1 Qxc5 21. dxc5 Be6 22. Rfc1 $14 {Goldin,A-Kacheishvili,G/Denver 2002/CBM 101[Ribli] (22)}) (14. Bg3 $5 Nc6 15. e3 Qe7 16. Bb5 (16. Rc1 $5 Bb4 (16... Qb4 17. Qc2) 17. Bb5 Bd7 18. O-O O-O 19. Nf3 $14) 16... Bf5 17. Bxc6+ bxc6 18. Qc1 Bxb1 19. Qxc3 Qb7 20. O-O $44 {½-½ Dreev,A-Aleksandrov,A/Sochi 2004/CBM 101/[Ribli] (41)}) 14... O-O 15. Rb3 Ba5 (15... Qc6 16. e3 $44) 16. h4 $44 {[%csl Rg8][%CAl Gh1h8,Gb3h3] Weiß besitzt aufgrund der schwachen schwarzen Königsstellung eine befriedigende Kompensation für den Minusbauern. Des weiteren sind seine beide Türme aktiv.} Nc6 $2 {[%mdl 16384] Dieser Springerzug ist ziemlich optimistisch - es wäre viel besser 16...g4 ziehen, um den Königsflügel geschlossen halten.} (16... g4 $142 17. e3 Nc6 18. Bf4 Qe6 19. Be2 $44) 17. hxg5 Nxe5 18. dxe5 Qc7 (18... hxg5 19. e3 $44 {[%CAl Rd1h5]} (19. Rbh3 Qf5 $13)) 19. e3 (19. gxh6 Qxe5 20. e3 $16) 19... Qxe5 20. f4 Qc7 (20... Qe4 21. Kf2 Bxd2 22. Qxd2 hxg5 23. Qd1 $1 {[%CAl Rd1h5,Rh1h8]} (23. Bd3 $40) 23... g4 24. Bd3 $40) 21. Rxh6 Re8 {Es droht 22...?xf4.} 22. Kf2 $1 {Mit diesem Zug vermeindet Weiß die Fesselung seines d2-Springers und bringt seinen König in sichere Stellung.} (22. Qa1 $6 d4 $132) 22... d4 23. Kg1 $1 $16 {[%csl Gg1,Rg8] Der weiße König steht sicher, während sich der schwarze in höchster Not befindet.} Bf5 (23... dxe3 24. Qa1 {[%CAl Ra1h8,Rh8g8]} Re5 25. Nc4 $18 (25. Ne4 $18)) 24. Qh5 {[%mdl 128] Es droht 25.?h8+ ?g7 26.?h6#.} (24. Nc4 Bc3 (24... dxe3 25. Qd4 Bh7 26. Bd3 $18) 25. Nd6 $18) 24... Kg7 25. e4 (25. Nc4 dxe3 26. Nd6 $18) 25... Rxe4 (25... Bxe4 26. Nxe4 Rxe4 27. Rh7+ $18) 26. Nxe4 Bxe4 27. Rh3 $18 {[%csl Rg7,Gh3,Gh5,Gh6] Weiß hat drei Schwerfiguren auf der h-Linie positioniert, die ihm zu einem siegreichen Angriff verhelfen.} d3 28. Rh7+ (28. Rh8 $18) 28... Kf8 (28... Bxh7 29. Qxh7+ Kf8 30. Qh8+ Ke7 31. Qf6+ Kd7 32. Rxd3+ $18) 29. g6 $1 Bb6+ (29... Qb6+ 30. Kh2 Bxg6 31. Rh8+ Ke7 32. Qe5+ $18) 30. Kh1 Bxg6 31. Qxg6 Qxf4 (31... fxg6 32. Rxc7 Bxc7 33. Rh8+ $18) 32. Qg7+ 1-0 [Event "Tbilisi FIDE GP"] [Site "Tbilisi"] [Date "2015.02.15"] [Round "1"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [BlackElo "2797"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2015.02.15"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "GEO"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 165"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.03.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.03.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd2 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Bd6 9. h3 {A prophylactic move. White protects the important g4-square and keeps the option of castling long. However, it is too slow, and Black should easily equalise.} (9. Nb5 {is the main line examined in a survey in CBM 153.}) 9... a6 (9... Bd7 10. Qc2 e5 11. O-O (11. d5 Nb4 12. Qb3 a5 13. a3 e4 $1 14. Nd4 Na6 15. Qc2 Nc5 16. O-O Qe7 17. Ncb5 Be5 18. b4 Nd3 19. bxa5 c6 20. dxc6 bxc6 21. Nc3 c5 $13 {1-0 (42) Manolache,M (2549)-Doncea,V (2415) Arad 2012}) 11... exd4 12. exd4 Qc8 (12... Nb4 13. Qd1 c6 14. Bg5 Be7 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Qb3 b5 17. Bxf7+ Rxf7 18. Qxb4 $16 {1/2 (145) Bu,X (2710)-Naroditsky,D (2601) Las Vegas 2014}) 13. Nb5 Bxh3 14. Nxd6 (14. gxh3 Qxh3 15. Nxd6 Qg4+ $11) 14... Qg4 15. Ne1 Nxd4 16. f3 {1-0 (31) Mareco,S (2583)-Mekhitarian,K (2487) Santos 2011} Nxc2 17. fxg4 Nxa1 18. Nxf7 Bxg4 $13) (9... e5 $5 10. d5 Ne7 11. e4 a6 12. a3 {1/2 (38) Polak,T (2522)-Hainke,G (2318) Livigno 2012} c6 13. dxc6 Nxc6 $11) 10. O-O {A natural move but practice has seen other options:} (10. Be2 e5 $1 (10... Bd7 11. Qb3 Qe7 12. O-O b5 13. Ng5 e5 14. d5 (14. dxe5 $6 Qxe5 15. f4 Qe7 16. Bf3 Rad8 17. Rae1 h6 18. Nge4 Nxe4 19. Nxe4 Be6 20. Qc3 Bb4 21. Qxc6 Bxd2 $15 {1-0 (66) Nikolic,P (2638)-Oms Pallisse,J (2506) Barcelona 2012}) 14... Na5 15. Qc2 $14) 11. d5 Ne7 12. e4 Bd7 13. Qc2 c6 14. dxc6 Bxc6 15. Bg5 Ng6 16. Rd1 h6 17. Be3 Qe7 18. O-O Rac8 $11 19. Qb1 b5 $15 {1/2 (25) Dobrov,V (2499)-Yemelin,V (2564) Serpukhov 2007}) (10. Qc2 b5 11. Be2 Bb7 12. a3 e5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. Bf3 Qc8 16. Ne2 c5 {1/2 (16) Malakhatko,V (2562)-Jakobsen,O (2387) Salou 2005}) (10. e4 e5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Bxe5 13. O-O-O c6 (13... Qe7 $5) 14. f4 b5 15. Qc2 bxc4 16. fxe5 Nd7 17. Bf4 Qe7 18. Qa4 Nxe5 19. Bxe5 Qxe5 20. Qxc6 Be6 21. Qd6 Qa5 22. Qg3 Rfd8 $11 {1/2 (30) Guidarelli,L (2498)-Estremera Panos,S (2345) Chambery 2014}) (10. a3 h6 (10... e5 $11) 11. O-O e5 12. Qc2 Re8 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Rxe5 15. e4 Rh5 16. Rfe1 Ng4 $13 {0-1 (22) Thomassen,J (2332)-Sanikidze,T (2600) Novi Sad 2009}) 10... e5 {This standard advance is the essence of Black's plan.} 11. Qc2 (11. Rad1 $6 exd4 12. exd4 Bf5 13. Ne5 Nxd4 14. Nxf7 Rxf7 15. Bxf7+ Kxf7 16. Be3 Nb5 17. Nxb5 axb5 18. Qxb5 Qc8 $17 {1/2 (30) Dizdarevic,E (2540)-Sosonko,G (2515) Pula 1997}) (11. d5 Ne7 12. Qc2 h6 13. a4 Ng6 14. Bd3 Nh7 15. Bxg6 fxg6 16. Nh2 Bf5 {1/2 (18) Leitao,R (2620)-Saldano Dayer,H (2415) Campinas 2010}) 11... b5 (11... exd4 {is also quite enough for equality:} 12. exd4 b5 13. Be2 Nb4 14. Qd1 (14. Qb1 Bb7 15. Bg5 Re8 $132 {1-0 (30) Iskusnyh,S (2485)-Karpeshov,O (2408) Samara 2002}) 14... Bb7 15. a4 bxa4 16. Rxa4 $11 (16. Nxa4 $143 Ne4 $1 17. Bxb4 Bxb4 18. Qc2 Ng5 19. Qb3 Nxf3+ 20. Bxf3 Bxf3 21. Qxf3 Qxd4 $17 {1/2 (42) Yermolinsky,A (2517)-Zilberstein,D (2410) San Fransisco 2007})) 12. Be2 (12. Bb3 $6 Bb7 (12... exd4 $5 13. exd4 Na5) 13. Ne2 exd4 14. exd4 Ne7 15. Ne5 c5 (15... Be4 $5 16. Qc3 Nfd5) 16. Nxf7 Rxf7 17. dxc5 Rc8 18. Bxf7+ Kxf7 19. b4 Bb8 20. Rad1 Qd5 21. f3 Qf5 22. Qxf5 Nxf5 23. Rfe1 Nd5 $15 {0-1 (46) Mchedlishvili,M (2635)-Khismatullin,D (2584) Plovdiv 2008}) (12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Be2 Bb7 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. Rad1 Qe7 16. a4 b4 17. Na2 c5 18. Nc1 Rac8 19. b3 Bb8 $15 {0-1 (34) Semcesen,D (2387)-Halkias,S (2579) Reykjavik 2008}) 12... Bb7 13. a3 Re8 14. d5 $6 {After this move Black opens up the centre and obtains pressure due to his development advantage.} (14. Bd3 {(preventing 14...e4) is probably the best option although it is rather White who should worry about equality:} b4 (14... exd4 $5 15. exd4 b4) (14... Nxd4 $5 15. exd4 e4 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 $11) 15. Ne4 exd4 16. Rfe1 $1 Ne5 $1 17. Nxe5 Bxe4 (17... Nxe4 18. exd4 Nxd2 19. Qxd2 c5 $13) (17... Bxe5 18. Nc5 $44) 18. exd4 Bxd3 19. Nxd3 Rxe1+ 20. Bxe1 bxa3 21. bxa3 Bf8 $11) 14... Ne7 15. e4 c6 $1 {[%mdl 32]} 16. dxc6 Nxc6 17. Be3 Nd4 $1 18. Nxd4 exd4 19. Bxd4 Nxe4 $15 20. Bf3 {After this move White's pawn structure gets destroyed but his position was quite unpleasant in any case, e.g.} (20. Rad1 Qg5 21. Be3 Qe5 22. f4 Qe7 $15) 20... Rc8 21. Rfe1 Nxc3 22. Rxe8+ Qxe8 23. Bxc3 Bxf3 24. gxf3 Qe6 25. Rd1 Rc5 26. h4 Rc4 27. Qd3 Bf8 28. Qd8 Qf5 29. Qa8 $4 {[%mdl 8192]} (29. Bb4 {was not good due to} Rc8) (29. Rd4 $15 {was a must.}) 29... Rxh4 ({It is hard to say what exactly White overlooked. Perhaps} 29... Rxh4 30. Bb4 (30. Rd8 $4 Qb1+) 30... Qg5+ 31. Kf1 Rh1+ 32. Ke2 Qe5+) 0-1 [Event "Dortmund SuperGM 36th"] [Site "Dortmund"] [Date "2008.07.06"] [Round "7"] [White "Van Wely, Loek"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2677"] [BlackElo "2752"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2008.06.28"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "GER"] [EventCategory "18"] [SourceTitle "CBM 125"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2008.07.30"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2008.07.30"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Qc2 h6 8. Bh4 O-O 9. e3 c5 10. Bd3 c4 11. Bf5 Nb6 12. g4 $146 {An unsuccessful attempt to change the evaluation of this position, satisfactory for Black. Practice has seen:} (12. O-O Bxc3 (12... Be7 13. Rfe1 Bxf5 14. Qxf5 Qc8 15. Qc2 Re8 16. Rac1 Qe6 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. e4 dxe4 19. Rxe4 Qc6 20. Rce1 Rad8 $11 {½-½ Harika,D-Lahno,K/Mallorca 2004/CBM 102 ext (27)}) (12... Bxf5 $5 13. Qxf5 Qd7 14. Qc2 Qe6 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. e4 dxe4 17. Nxe4 Qf5 18. Rac1 Rac8 19. a3 Be7 20. Rfe1 Rfd8 21. Qe2 Bf8 22. Ned2 Qd3 23. Kf1 Qxe2+ 24. Kxe2 Re8+ 25. Kd1 Rxe1+ 26. Kxe1 Na4 $15 {½-½ Tregubov,P-Eljanov,P/Sochi 2007/CBM 118 (66)}) 13. bxc3 Bxf5 (13... Qd6 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. Bxc8 Raxc8 16. a4 Nd7 17. e4 dxe4 18. Qxe4 b6 19. Qb7 Qc6 20. Qxc6 Rxc6 21. Rfe1 Nf6 22. Re5 Rd8 23. Nd2 Nd5 24. Rc1 a6 $11 {1-0 Krivoshey,S-Essing,A/playchess.com INT 2004/EXT 2005 (66)}) 14. Qxf5 Qd7 15. Qc2 (15. Qxd7 Nbxd7 16. Nd2 Rfe8 17. Rfb1 b6 18. a4 g5 19. Bg3 a6 20. Kf1 Re6 21. Rb2 Nh5 22. Rab1 Nxg3+ 23. hxg3 Rc8 24. g4 Rb8 25. Ke2 Nf6 26. f3 Kg7 27. Kf2 Kg6 {½-½ Komljenovic,D-Wirthensohn,H/Zuerich 1989/EXT 1997}) 15... Ne4 16. a4 f6 17. a5 (17. Ne1 Rfe8 18. f3 Nd6 19. Bf2 Qe6 20. g4 Rad8 21. Ng2 Qf7 22. Rae1 g5 23. Bg3 Nbc8 24. Re2 Qh7 25. Ne1 a5 26. Qxh7+ Kxh7 27. Kf2 b5 $132 {½-½ Laveryd,P-Lukez,F/Sweden 1996/EXT 1998 (67)}) 17... Nc8 18. Ne1 Re8 19. f3 Ned6 20. Bf2 Ne7 21. Qb2 Nc6 22. Nc2 Re7 23. Bg3 Nf5 24. Rfe1 Rae8 25. Bf2 Nd6 26. Bg3 Nf5 27. Bf2 Nd6 $11 {½-½ Zubov,A-Eljanov,P/Poltava 2006/CBM 116 (98)}) (12. Bxc8 Rxc8 13. O-O (13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. Ne5 Bd6 15. f4 Qe6 16. O-O f6 17. f5 Qe7 18. Ng6 Qxe3+ 19. Kh1 Rfe8 20. Rad1 Bb4 {½-½ Sandipan,C-Motwani,P/Catalan Bay 2004/CBM 098 ext}) 13... Be7 (13... Re8 14. Ne5 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Qd6 16. Rfb1 Nfd7 17. Nxd7 Qxd7 18. a4 Rc6 19. Rb5 Nc8 20. Qd1 a6 21. Rb2 Ree6 22. Qg4 Rb6 $11 {½-½ Kelly,B-Schandorff,L/Gothenburg 2005/CBM 109 (27)}) 14. Rad1 Nh5 15. Qf5 g6 16. Bxe7 Qxe7 17. Qh3 Kg7 18. Ne5 Nf6 19. f3 Qb4 20. Rd2 Na4 21. Rc2 Nxc3 22. bxc3 Qa4 23. Rb2 Rc7 24. Qg3 Qa3 25. Rfb1 Re7 26. Qe1 b6 27. Re2 Qd6 28. e4 Rfe8 29. Nxc4 dxc4 30. e5 Qc6 31. exf6+ Qxf6 $11 {½-½ Pelletier,Y-Wirthensohn,H/Zuerich 1993/EXT 1997 (46)}) 12... g5 13. Bg3 (13. Nxg5 $6 hxg5 14. Bxg5 Qd6) 13... Bxf5 14. gxf5 (14. Qxf5 $143 Ne4) 14... Ne4 15. Nd2 Qe7 (15... Re8 $5 {looks even stronger.}) 16. Ke2 Nxd2 17. Kxd2 Qe4 $5 18. h4 g4 19. Qxe4 dxe4 20. h5 $1 {[%csl Rg4] White should not allow 20...h5, after which Black's light-square blockade will be very strong. After the text move White obtains counterplay against the g4 pawn. Generally, the position, although extremely complicated, can be evaluated as dynamically equal.} Kh7 21. Rh4 Rg8 22. Rg1 Nd5 $1 {[%csl Gd5]} 23. Be5 f6 24. Bh2 (24. Bd6 $5 Bxc3+ 25. bxc3 Rad8 26. Bh2 Rc8 {[%CAl Yc8c6,Yc6a6]} 27. Rb1 Rg7 28. Rb5 $132) 24... Rac8 25. Rhxg4 Rxg4 26. Rxg4 {[%mdl 4096]} Rc6 27. Rxe4 Ra6 {[%CAl Ra6a2]} 28. a3 Bxc3+ 29. bxc3 Rxa3 30. Re6 b5 (30... Ra2+ 31. Ke1 b5 32. Bd6 $5 (32. e4 {-game})) 31. e4 (31. Ke2 $5 Nxc3+ 32. Kf3 b4 (32... Nd5 33. Rd6) (32... Kg7 33. Bd6) 33. Rxf6 b3 34. Be5 Kg8 $1 35. Rg6+ Kf7 36. Rg7+ Ke8 37. Rb7 $13) 31... Ra2+ 32. Ke1 Nxc3 33. e5 $6 {Not sensing any danger, White doesn't take the draw after} (33. Bd6 $11 {[%CAl Ye6e7]}) 33... Ra1+ 34. Kd2 Nd5 $1 {[%csl Gb5,Gc4]} 35. exf6 (35. Rd6 $5) 35... c3+ 36. Kd3 $2 {Extremely accurate play was already required:} (36. Kc2 $1 Ra2+ 37. Kd3 $1 Kg8 (37... Rd2+ 38. Ke4 c2 39. Rc6) 38. Rd6 Rd2+ 39. Ke4 c2 40. Rc6 Rxf2 41. Be5 $5 (41. Bg3 Nxf6+ $1 42. Ke5 $1 Ng4+ 43. Ke4 Rd2 44. Bf4 $132) 41... Nb6 42. Bg3 Nc4 43. Rc8+ $11) 36... Rd1+ $6 (36... Kg8 $142 $1 {e.g.} 37. Re8+ Kf7 38. Rc8 Rd1+ 39. Ke4 Nxf6+ 40. Kf3 b4 41. Be5 Nd5 42. Ke4 Ne7 $19) 37. Ke2 $4 {It was still possible to save the game in a study-like way:} (37. Ke4 $3 c2 38. Kxd5 c1=Q 39. Re7+ Kg8 40. Rg7+ $1 Kh8 41. Rc7 $1 Qa3 (41... Qxc7 $4 42. Bxc7 Kg8 43. Ke6 Rxd4 44. f7+ Kf8 45. f3 Rd1 46. Bf4 $18) (41... Rxd4+ 42. Kxd4 $132 {[%csl Gf6]}) 42. Rc8+ Kh7 43. Rc7+ $11 Kg8 $2 44. f7+ Kf8 45. Bd6+ $16) 37... c2 $19 38. f7 Kg7 39. Rxh6 Kxf7 0-1 [Event "Olympiad-36"] [Site "Mallorca"] [Date "2004.10.27"] [Round "12"] [White "Vaganian, Rafael A"] [Black "Goldin, Alexander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2640"] [BlackElo "2620"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2004.10.15"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "CBM 104"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.01.27"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.01.27"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "US of America"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 {Statt dieser Fortsetzung kann Schwarz mit 5...dxc4 in die Wiener Variante übergehen.} 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qb3 c5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. e3 (9. a3 Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3 Nd7 11. g3 $5 O-O 12. Bg2 Re8 13. O-O Rxe2 14. Rae1 Re6 15. Bh3 Re4 16. Nd2 Rxe1 17. Rxe1 Qd8 $11 {Vaganian,R-Aleksandrov,A/Moscow 2002 (21)}) 9... O-O 10. dxc5 Bxc3+ 11. Qxc3 (11. bxc3 Be6 12. Nd4 Nd7 13. Qa3 (13. Qxb7 Nxc5 14. Qb2 Qg5 15. Qc2 Rac8 16. h4 Qe7 17. Bd3 Bd7 18. Rc1 Rc7 19. g3 Ne4 $44 {½-½ Nikolic,P-Kacheishvili,G/Ohrid (19)}) 13... Ne5 $1 14. Be2 Qg6 15. O-O-O Rfc8 $44 {Gagunashvili,M-Aleksandrov,A/Batumi 2002 (22)}) 11... Qxc3+ 12. bxc3 {Weiß hat einen Bauern mehr, aber seine Bauern auf der c-Linie sind schwach.} Be6 13. Bb5 $146 {Weiß möchte entweder den Zug 13...a6 provozieren oder die Entwicklung des schwarze Damenflügels stören.} (13. Nd4 Rc8 14. Rb1 Nd7 15. c4 (15. c6 $6 bxc6 16. Ba6 Rcb8 17. O-O Nc5 18. Be2 Ne4 19. Rxb8+ Rxb8 20. Nxc6 Rb2 21. Bd3 Rxa2 22. Rb1 g5 {0-1 Gaprindashvili,N-Dizdar,G/Dubai UAE 2002/(61)}) 15... Nxc5 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. cxd5 exd5 18. Be2 Ne4 19. Bg4 Rc6 20. f3 Nc5 $11 {½-½ Tregubov,P-Aleksandrov,A/Budva 2002/EXT 2003 (41)}) 13... Rc8 (13... a6 14. Ba4 Rc8 15. Kd2 (15. Rb1 Ra7 16. Kd2 Rxc5 17. Rb6 Ra5 (17... Nd7 $2 18. Rxe6 $1 $18) 18. Bb3 Nd7 19. Rd6 Kf8 20. Nd4 Ke7 21. Rc6 $11) 15... Rxc5 16. Rhb1 b5 17. Bc2 $14 {[%CAl Ga2a4,Gf3d4]}) 14. Kd2 Rxc5 15. Rhb1 Rc7 $11 {[%csl Gc7][%CAl Gb8c6][%mdl 256] Schwarz verteidigt prophylaktisch den b7-Bauern und möchte seine Entwicklung mit 16...?c6 beenden.} (15... Nc6 $6 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Nd4 Rc4 18. Rb4 $14) 16. Nd4 {[%csl Gd4] Weiß hat auf den ersten Blick einen mikroskopischen Vorteil, denn seine Springerstellung auf d4 ist stark und der d5? ist isoliert, aber der c3? ist auch schwach in der weißen Stellung.} Nc6 17. Bxc6 (17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. c4 $11) (17. Nxc6 bxc6 18. Ba6 Kf8 $11) 17... bxc6 {[%CAl Gc6c5,Gc5d4]} 18. Rb2 {[%CAl Ga1b1,Gb1b8]} (18. c4 c5 (18... dxc4 $6 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Kc3 $16) 19. Nxe6 fxe6 $11) 18... c5 {Schwarz muss den Springer von d4 verjagen.} 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Rab1 (20. c4 Kf7 $11) 20... Kf7 21. Rb7 Rac8 {Weiß kontrolliert die einzige offene Linie, aber es gibt dort keine guten Eindringungsmöglichkeiten - Schwarz verteidigt alles.} 22. c4 Ke7 (22... dxc4 $2 23. Kc3 $16) 23. cxd5 exd5 24. h4 $5 {[%CAl Gh4h5,Gg2g4,Gf2f4] Weiß mobilisiert seine Mehrheit am Königsflügel.} Kd6 {[%csl Gd6] Schwarz hat keine Probleme, sein König steht aktiv im Zentrum.} 25. h5 Rf8 (25... Rxb7 26. Rxb7 Rc7 $11) 26. f4 Re8 27. R1b5 Rce7 (27... Rxb7 28. Rxb7 Re7 29. Rxe7 Kxe7 30. g4 $11) 28. Rxe7 Rxe7 {[%mdl 4096]} 29. Ra5 Kc6 (29... c4 $11) 30. a4 (30. Ra6+ Kb5 31. Rg6 Kc4 32. g4 Rb7 33. Kc2 $11) 30... c4 31. g4 {[%csl Gc4,Gf4,Gg4,Gh5] Beide Spieler mobilisieren ihre Mehrheit.} Rb7 32. Rb5 (32. Kc2 Re7 33. Kd2 $11) 32... Rxb5 33. axb5+ Kxb5 34. g5 Kc6 35. f5 Kd6 (35... hxg5 $4 36. f6 $18) 36. f6 Ke6 37. fxg7 Kf7 38. gxh6 a5 {Eine interessantes Endestellung - beide Spieler müssen mit dem König in der Nähe der gegnerischen Bauern bleiben. Die Stellung ist remis.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Nalchik FIDE GP"] [Site "Nalchik"] [Date "2009.04.17"] [Round "3"] [White "Alekseev, Evgeny V"] [Black "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2716"] [BlackElo "2693"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2009.04.15"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 130"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2009.05.20"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2009.05.20"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Bg5 Bb4 6. Qb3 {A rare move, in this game, however, leading to a well-known position of the 6.Qc2 system.} c5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. Qxc3 c4 (9... h6) 10. Nd2 O-O 11. e3 (11. e4 $2 Nxe4 12. Nxe4 Qe8 13. O-O-O Qxe4 $17 {0-1 Clausen,S-Sarosi,Z/Copenhagen 1988/TD (51)}) (11. b3 b5 $5 (11... cxb3 12. Qxb3 b6 13. e3 Bb7 14. Bb5 Rc8 $1 15. O-O $6 (15. Bf4 $1 $16 {Ftacnik}) 15... Qc7 16. Qb4 Qc3 17. Rfb1 a6 18. Bf1 Qxb4 19. axb4 Rc2 $132 {½-½ Dreev,A-Lautier,J/Biel 1993/CBM 037/[Ftacnik] (52)}) 12. a4 b4 $1 13. Qxb4 Rb8 14. Qc3 cxb3 15. e3 Qb6 16. Rb1 b2 $132 {0-1 Peric,S-Sarosi,Z/Kecskemet 1992/EXT 2004 (45)}) (11. g3 h6 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. Bg2 Re8 14. e3 Bf5 15. O-O Rc8 16. a4 Re6 $13 {0-1 Gurieli,N-Milov,V/Biel 1998/CBM 066/[Milov,V] (30)}) 11... h6 12. Bh4 (12. Bf4 Nb6 (12... Re8 13. Be2 b5 14. a4 $1 bxa4 15. Rxa4 Nb6 16. Ra5 $1 Bg4 17. Bxg4 Nxg4 18. O-O Nf6 19. Rfa1 Nh5 20. Be5 f6 21. Bg3 Nxg3 22. hxg3 $16 {[%csl Ra7,Rd5] 1-0 Yakovich,Y-Yandarbiev,R/Krasnoyarsk 2003/CBM 098/[Yakovich] (46)}) (12... b5 13. a4 $1 bxa4 14. Rxa4 Nb6 15. Ra5 Bd7 16. Qa3 a6 17. Be2 Bb5 18. O-O Rc8 19. Nb1 Ne4 20. Nc3 Nxc3 21. bxc3 $14 {½-½ Dreev,A-Zvjaginsev,V/RUS-ch m1-2 1997/CBM 59 (45)}) 13. a4 (13. Be2 Na4 14. Qb4 Qd7 15. b3 a5 16. Qd6 c3 17. Qxd7 cxd2+ 18. Kxd2 Bxd7 19. bxa4 Ne4+ 20. Ke1 g5 21. Bg3 Bxa4 22. f3 Nxg3 23. hxg3 $14 {1-0 Gelfand,B-Greenfeld,A/Haifa 1998/EXT 2002 (41)}) 13... a5 14. b3 (14. Be2 Bf5 15. O-O Qe7 16. Qa3 Qxa3 17. Rxa3 Rfc8 18. Rc1 Ne4 19. Nb1 {1-0 Yakovich,Y-Voitsekhovsky,S/Tomsk 1997/EXT 2000/[Baburin] (51)} g5 $1 $11 {Baburin}) 14... Be6 15. Be2 Qe7 16. O-O Rfc8 17. Rfb1 (17. bxc4 dxc4 18. e4 Bf5 19. Bf3 Bxe4 20. Nxe4 Nxe4 21. Qc2 f5 22. Be5 Nd5 23. Bxe4 fxe4 24. Qxe4 Qf7 $13 {½-½ Morozevich,A-Alekseev,E/Moscow 2008/CBM 127 (40)}) 17... Bf5 18. Rc1 Rc6 19. h3 Ne4 20. Nxe4 Bxe4 21. Bg3 {½-½ Potkin,V-Kosintseva,T/Moscow RUS 2009/The Week in Chess 746}) 12... Qe8 $1 $146 {[%CAl Yf6e4,Yb7b5][%mdl 8] A strong multi-purpose move.} (12... b5 $143 13. a4 $1 bxa4 14. Rxa4 Ne4 15. Bxd8 Nxc3 16. bxc3 Rxd8 17. Be2 Nf6 18. f3 a5 19. Kf2 Bd7 20. Ra2 a4 21. Rha1 Bc6 22. e4 $1 $14 {1-0 Akopian,V-Khenkin,I/Amsterdam 2005/CBM 107 ext (45)}) 13. f3 $6 (13. Bg3 Ne4 14. Nxe4 Qxe4 15. f3 Qe7 $13 {is probably more accurate.}) 13... b5 $1 14. Kf2 (14. a4 $4 b4 $1 {is the point behind 12...?e8.}) 14... a5 $17 {Black's queenside initiative is definitely coming first!} 15. g4 Qe7 16. Bg3 b4 17. Qc2 b3 $6 (17... Re8 $142 $1 18. Re1 (18. axb4 Qxe3+ 19. Kg2 Qxd4 20. bxa5 Bb7 $17) 18... bxa3 $17) 18. Qc3 (18. Qc1 Nb6 19. h3 Na4 20. Nb1 Nd7 $1 21. Nc3 Nxc3 22. Qxc3 Nb6 $17 {[%CAl Yb6a4]}) 18... Nb6 19. Re1 Na4 20. Qc1 Re8 $6 {Black loses an important tempo.} (20... c3 21. bxc3 b2 22. Qc2 $13) (20... Bd7 $142 $1 21. Nb1 Rac8 22. h3 (22. Nc3 Nxc3 23. Qxc3 Bxg4 $1) 22... c3 $1 23. Nxc3 Rc6 24. Qa1 Rxc3 $1 25. bxc3 Rc8 $17) 21. h3 c3 $2 {Now it was better to play positionally:} (21... Bb7 22. Nb1 Nd7 $15 {[%CAl Yd7b6] The ...c4-c3 threat is stronger than its execution!}) 22. bxc3 b2 23. Qc2 Bd7 24. Nb1 {The b2-pawn is stopped, and the a4 knight is hardly stronger than the white blocker on b1. Conclusion: White has taken over the initiative and can now try to prepare a kingside attack (although it is not easy).} Bc6 (24... Rec8 25. Bd3 Nxc3 $6 {doesn't work due to} 26. Qxb2) 25. Bd3 Qb7 26. h4 $36 {?} Bb5 $4 {[%mdl 8192] A terrible blunder probably caused by bewilderment: Black had hung on so well... However, it is hard to suggest anything instead (except waiting).} 27. Qb3 Bc6 28. Qxb7 Bxb7 29. Bb5 {Black's position now just collapses.} Nb6 30. g5 hxg5 (30... Nh5 31. Re2) 31. hxg5 Nh7 32. Re2 Re6 33. Rxb2 Nxg5 34. Bf4 Nh7 35. Nd2 {An extra pawn and a bishop pair are quite enough for an easy victory.} Ba6 36. Rc1 Nf6 37. Bxa6 Rxa6 38. Rb5 Rc6 39. e4 Ra8 40. c4 $1 Nxc4 41. Nxc4 dxc4 (41... Rac8 42. Nb6 Rxc1 43. Bxc1 Rxc1 44. e5 $18) 42. d5 Rcc8 43. Ke3 Nd7 44. Kd4 f6 45. Rxc4 Rxc4+ 46. Kxc4 Rc8+ 47. Kd4 g5 48. Bd6 Kf7 49. Rxa5 Rc1 50. Ra7 Ke8 51. a4 Rf1 52. a5 Rxf3 53. Ra8+ Kf7 54. a6 Rf1 55. Rd8 Rd1+ 56. Kc3 Nb6 57. Rb8 1-0 [Event "Madrid Magistral 6th"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "1997.05.25"] [Round "4"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Polgar, Judit"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2725"] [BlackElo "2645"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "1997.06.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "17"] [SourceTitle "CBM 059"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1997.08.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1997.08.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. c4 {Ftacnik} e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Bb4 {Eine in letzter Zeit sehr populäre Zugfolge. In einigen Varianten kann Schwarz statt des "normalen" ?f6 - ?e7 spielen.Ribli.} 4. Nf3 Nf6 {So entsteht die sogenannte "Ragosin-Variante". Schwarz strebt lebendiges Figurenspiel an. Meiner Meinung nach ist das ganze System jedoch ein wenig unnatürlich.Ribli.} 5. Bg5 {Mit dem Partiezug bietet Weiß seinem Kontrahenten die Gelegenheit mit 5...dxc4 in die Wiener-Variante einzulenken. Wenn Weiß das umgehen möchte, kann er zuerst 5.cxd5 cxd5 und anschließend 6.?g5 ziehen.Ribli.} h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 {Das ist ein sehr einfaches und gutes System für Weiß. Er besitzt Vorteil im Zentrum und in Wirklichkeit ist die schwarze Dame auf f6 schlecht postiert. Schwarz hat zwar das Läuferpaar, aber es dürfte schwierig sein, für den ?c8 eine gute Zukunft zu finden.Ribli.} dxc4 (8... c6 9. a3 (9. Bd3 Nd7 10. O-O Bxc3 11. Rxc3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 e5 13. Bb3 exd4 14. exd4 Qd6 15. Re1 $14 {Kasparov,G-Benjamin,J/Horgen 1994/½-½ (58)})) 9. Bxc4 c5 (9... Nc6 10. O-O Bxc3 11. Rxc3 e5 12. d5 Ne7 13. Bb3 Bg4 14. Rxc7 Qd6 15. Qc2 Rac8 16. Rxc8 Rxc8 17. Qe4 {1-0 Van der Sterren,P-Blatny,P/Moscow olm 1994 (53)}) 10. O-O (10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. O-O Qe7 12. Ne4 Rd8 13. Qc2 Bb6 14. a3 Bd7 15. Ba2 Be8 16. Bb1 Nd7 {½-½ Ribli,Z-Serper,G/Groningen PCA 1993 (25)}) 10... cxd4 11. exd4 (11. Nxd4 {Das ist die andere Möglichkeit, wenn Weiß keinen Isolani bekommen möchte.Ribli.} a6 $5 12. Ne4 Qe7 13. Nb3 Rd8 14. Qc2 Qf8 15. Be2 Bd7 16. a3 Be7 17. Na5 b6 18. Nc4 b5 19. Ne5 Ra7 20. Rfd1 {0-1 Gagarin,V-Aleksandrov,A/RUS-Cup2 Moscow 1996 (38)}) (11. Qxd4 Qxd4 12. Nxd4 Bd7 13. a3 Bxc3 14. Rxc3 Nc6 15. Nxc6 Bxc6 16. Rd1 Rfd8 17. Rxd8+ Rxd8 {½-½ Podgaets,M-Gorelov,S/URS-FL Sverdlovsk 1984 (23)}) 11... Nc6 (11... Bxc3 $5) 12. Ne4 Qd8 (12... Qf4 {Das wäre eine Alternativet, aber die ?f4 ist nur scheinbar aktiv, in Wirklichkeit ist sie für Weiß mit Tempogewinn leicht anzugreifen.}) (12... Qe7 13. Qe2 $14) (12... Qf4 13. Qe2 Rd8 14. g3 (14. Rfd1 Be7 15. d5 $4 exd5 {0-1 Vandevoort,P-Sosonko,G/Brussels zt (03)/1993/}) 14... Qf5 (14... Qg4 15. Qe3 Ba5 16. Be2 Bb6 17. Rfd1 (17. Ne5 Qf5 18. Nxc6 bxc6 19. Nc5 Qd5 20. Rfd1 Qxa2 21. Bc4 Qxb2 22. Rb1 Qc2 23. Bd3 Qa2) 17... Qf5 18. Nc5 Qf6 $1 19. Ne5 Nb4 $2 (19... Nxe5 20. Qxe5 $5 Qxe5 21. dxe5 Rxd1+ 22. Bxd1 Bxc5 23. Rxc5 Bd7 24. Bf3 Rc8 25. Ra5 $16) 20. a3 (20. Bh5 $5 g6 21. Qxh6 Qg7 22. Qxg7+ Kxg7 23. Bf3 Nxa2 24. Ra1 Nb4 25. Nc4 $16) 20... Nd5 21. Qe4 {1-0 Gelfand,B-Benjamin,J/Horgen CS (10)/1994 (41)}) 15. Rfd1 Ba5 (15... Bf8 16. a3 Bd7 17. Bd3 Qh5 18. Nc5 Bxc5 19. Rxc5 Qg4 20. Kg2 b6 21. Rc3 Qh5 22. Ne5 Qxe2 23. Bxe2 Nxe5 24. dxe5 Ba4 25. b3 Rxd1 26. Bxd1 Bb5 {½-½ Cebalo,M-Dizdar,G/CRO-ch/1995 (32)}) 16. Nh4 Qh7 17. d5 exd5 18. Bxd5 Bf5 {1-0 Shneider,A-Blatny,P/Bern op 1995 (35)} (18... Bf5 {Ftacnik} 19. Nc5 Bb6 20. Nxb7 Nd4 (20... Rxd5 21. Rxd5 Nd4 22. Qd2 $18) 21. Rxd4 Bxd4 22. Nxd8 Rxd8 23. Rc7 {1-0 Shneider,A-Blatny,P/Bern op (05)/1995 (36)})) 13. a3 (13. d5 exd5 14. Bxd5 Bf5 $1 $8 (14... Ne7 $2 15. Bxf7+ $1 Kxf7 16. Qb3+ Nd5 17. Rfd1 Be6 18. Nd4 $40) (14... Bg4 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. Rxc6 $16) (14... Bd7 15. a3 $1 Be7 16. b4 $14) 15. Qb3 Qb6 {½-½ Komarov,D-Kupreichik,V/Jugoslavija 1995 (25)} (15... Qb6 {Ftacnik} 16. Ng3 (16. a3 Be7 17. Qxb6 axb6 18. Bxc6 bxc6 19. Ng3 Bd3 20. Rfd1 Bb5 21. Nd4 Bf6 $11) 16... Bd7 17. Nh5 $5 {×g7} Bg4 18. Bxc6 (18. Nf4 $6 Bxf3 19. Qxf3 Bd2 $1 $36) 18... bxc6 (18... Bxh5 19. Bd5 $11) 19. Rc4 (19. Nxg7 $2 Kxg7 20. Ne5 Bd2 $1 $19) 19... Bxh5 20. Rxb4 Qa5 $1 {½-½ Komarov,D-Kupreichik,V/JUG/1995 (26)})) (13. Qd3 {Ftacnik} Be7 14. a3 Bd7 $11) 13... Ba5 (13... Be7 {Meiner Meinung nach wäre diese Fortsetzung logisch, aber Judit hat andere Gedanken im Kopf. Sie möchte ?d4 attackieren.Ribli.}) (13... Be7 {Ftacnik} 14. Qd3 $5 (14. d5 exd5 15. Bxd5 Bf5 $11)) 14. Qd3 Bb6 15. Rfd1 {Weiß hat einen isolierten ?d4 aber -wie üblich im Damengambit- auch Raumvorteil. Der schwarze ?c8 findet kein gutes Feld.Ribli.} Qe7 (15... Ne7 {Ftacnik} 16. Ba2 Bd7 17. Bb1 $14) 16. Bb5 (16. Ba2 {Ftacnik} Rd8) 16... Bd7 (16... Rd8 $5 {Ftacnik} 17. Bxc6 bxc6 18. Rxc6 (18. Qe3 Bb7 19. Ne5 Rac8 20. b4 $13) 18... Bb7 19. Rcc1 e5 20. Ng3 Qe6 21. Qe3 Bxf3 22. Qxf3 Bxd4 23. b4 a5 $11) 17. Nc5 $14 Be8 (17... Bxc5 18. dxc5 {[%csl Rd6]}) (17... Rac8 {Ftacnik} 18. Nxd7 Qxd7 19. Bxc6 bxc6 20. Ne5 $14) 18. Qc3 Rc8 (18... Rd8 {Ftacnik} 19. Nxb7 Qxb7 20. Bxc6 Bxc6 21. Qxc6 Qxc6 22. Rxc6 $14) 19. b4 {[%csl Gc5] Weiß hat ein sehr gut plazierten ?c5. Es ist schwierig für Schwarz, zu Gegenspiel zu kommen, aber Judit verteidigt sich hartnäckig.Ribli.} a5 20. Bd3 {[%CAl Gd3b1,Gd3h7] Der Läufer wechselt auf die Diagonale b1-h7, auf der er den schwarzen König ein wenig beunruhigen kann.Ribli.} axb4 21. axb4 Rc7 (21... Bd7 {Ftacnik} 22. Qe1 $14) 22. Qe1 $1 {Ein wahrhaft großmeisterlicher Zug! Die Opposition mit dem Turm war der weißen Dame unangenehm, von e1 droht sie nun nach e4 zu ziehen. Übrigens steht sie auch sonst ganz gut auf e1, sie deckt ?b4 und kontrolliert die e-Linie.Ribli.} Kh8 (22... Bd7 {Ftacnik} 23. Qe4 f5 24. Qe1 Rfc8 25. Bc4 $14) 23. h4 $5 {Weiß gewinnt zusätzlich Raum und verhindert das später eventuell mögliche ?g5.Ribli.} Qd6 24. Bb1 (24. Qe4 {Ftacnik} f5 $1 25. Qxe6 $4 Bxc5 $19) 24... Qf4 25. Be4 {Jetzt droht Weiß mit 26.?xb7 ?xb7 27.?xc6.Ribli.} Ne7 (25... Bd7 {Ftacnik} 26. g3 $14) 26. g3 Qf6 27. Ne5 {[%csl Gc5,Ge5][%CAl Re5g4,Rg4f6] Weiß aktiviert nicht nur seinen Springer, sondern droht zugleich 28.?g4 mit Damenfang.Ribli.} (27. Nxb7 $6 Rxc1 28. Rxc1 Bxd4 (28... Bxd4 {Ftacnik} 29. Nxd4 Qxd4 30. Rd1 Qb6 31. Nc5 $14)) 27... Nf5 (27... Bc6 $4 {Ftacnik} 28. Ng4 $18) (27... Nc6 $5 {Ftacnik} 28. Ng4 Qe7) 28. Ng4 Qd8 (28... Qe7 29. d5 (29. Bxf5 {Ftacnik} exf5 30. Qxe7 Rxe7 31. Ne3 $16) 29... Bxc5 30. bxc5 Rxc5 31. Bxf5 $18 (31. d6 $2 Nxd6 32. Rxc5 Nxe4 $13)) 29. d5 $1 $16 {All the white pieces are harmoniously supporting this breakthrough. Da nun alles gut vorbereitet ist, zelebriert Weiß den Durchbruch.Ribli. Alle weisse Krafte unterstutzen mit Harmonie diesen wichtigen Durchbruch.} Nd6 (29... Qe7 {Ftacnik} 30. Bxf5 exf5 31. d6 Qxe1+ 32. Rxe1 $16) 30. dxe6 f5 {Jetzt beginnt ein scharfer taktischer Kampf, jedoch mit weißem Vorteil.Ribli.} 31. Nxb7 (31. Qd2 $5 {Ftacnik} fxe4 (31... Ba4 32. Bc2 Bxc2 33. Rxc2 fxg4 34. Qxd6 $18) 32. Qxd6 Qxd6 33. Rxd6 Ba7 34. Ne5 $16) 31... Qe7 $5 (31... Rxb7 32. Bxb7 Qe7 (32... fxg4 33. e7 $18) 33. Rxd6 {Führt zur Partiefortsetzung.} (33. Ne5 {Ftacnik} Nxb7 34. Rd7 (34. Nd7 Rf6 35. Nxf6 $16) 34... Qxe6 35. Rxb7 f4 36. Nd3 Qg6 37. Nc5 $18)) 32. Rxd6 (32. Nxd6 Rxc1 33. Rxc1 Qxd6) 32... Rxb7 $8 (32... fxe4 33. Rxb6 $18 (33. Rxb6 {Ftacnik} Rxb7 34. Rxb7 Qxb7 35. Qc3 $18)) (32... fxg4 33. Rxb6 $18) 33. Bxb7 Qxd6 (33... Qxb7 34. e7 $18 (34. Nxh6 $1 {Ftacnik} gxh6 35. Qe5+ $18)) 34. e7 $1 {Weiß hat keine Angst vor Komplikationen. Er opfert seinen ?g3 mit Schach, aber das ist irrelevant, weil sein ?e7 so mächtig ist.Ribli.} (34. Qe5 Bxf2+ $1 35. Kxf2 $4 fxg4+ $19) (34. Ne3 {Ftacnik} Qxe6 35. Nd5 Qd7 36. Nxb6 Qxb7 37. Rc8 $18) 34... Qxg3+ $6 (34... Rf7 $5 {Meiner Meinung nach wäre das die beste Verteidigung für Schwarz. Natürlich hat Weiß auch hier Vorteil, aber Schwarz kann sich noch verteidigen.Ribli.}) (34... Rf7 {Ftacnik} 35. Rc8 Rxe7 36. Rxe8+ Rxe8 37. Qxe8+ Kh7 38. Kh2 $18) 35. Bg2 Rg8 (35... Rf7 {Ftacnik} 36. Rc8 $18) 36. Ne5 {[%csl Ge5,Ge7]} Qxh4 37. Rc8 {[%csl Rg6][%CAl Rc8e8]} Kh7 (37... Qxe7 $2 38. Ng6+ $18) ({Die Drohung ist} 37... Z0 38. Rxe8 Rxe8 39. Ng6+ $18) (37... Qf4 $2 {Ftacnik} 38. Rxe8 Bxf2+ 39. Qxf2 Qxe5 40. Rxg8+ Kxg8 41. Qxf5 $18) (37... Bh5 {Ftacnik} 38. Rxg8+ Kxg8 39. Nd3 Kh7 40. e8=Q Bxe8 41. Qxe8 Qd4 42. Qb5 $18) (37... Qg3 $5 {Ftacnik} 38. Nc4 Bd4 (38... Ba7 39. b5 Bd4 40. Qd2 $18) 39. Qd2 (39. Rd8 $1 Qg4 40. Nd6 f4 41. Nf7+ Bxf7 42. Rxg8+ Kxg8 43. e8=Q+ Bxe8 44. Qxe8+ Kh7 45. Qe4+ Qg6 $11) 39... Ba7 40. b5 Bxb5 41. Rxg8+ Kxg8 42. Qa2 Bxf2+ 43. Qxf2 $18) 38. Nc4 Bd4 (38... Qf6) (38... Ba7 {Ftacnik} 39. Nd6 Qh5 40. Nxe8 $18) 39. Nd6 $18 Qh5 (39... Bxf2+ {Ftacnik} 40. Qxf2 Qxe7 41. Nxe8 $18) 40. Nxe8 Rxe8 41. Rxe8 Qxe8 42. Qe6 {[%csl Ge6][%CAl Rg2c6,Rc6e8]} Bf6 $8 (42... g6 {Ftacnik} 43. Bc6 $18) 43. Qxf5+ Kg8 (43... Kh8 44. Be4 $18) 44. Bd5+ Kh8 45. Be4 {Und Schwarz gab. Eine von Topalov sehr stark gespielte Partie.Ribli.} (45. Be4 Qg8 (45... Kg8 {Ftacnik} 46. Qh7+ Kf7 47. Bg6+ $18) 46. e8=Q $18) 1-0 [Event "Sarajevo Bosnia-A 37th"] [Site "Sarajevo"] [Date "2007.05.22"] [Round "4"] [White "Morozevich, Alexander"] [Black "Movsesian, Sergei"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2642"] [Annotator "Movsesian,Sergei"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2007.05.19"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "BIH"] [EventCategory "17"] [SourceTitle "CBM 118"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2007.05.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2007.05.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 O-O 7. e3 c5 8. dxc5 Nbd7 9. Rc1 Nxc5 $5 (9... Qa5) 10. Bd3 (10. Qd4 Bxc3+ 11. Qxc3 Nce4 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. Bd3 Bg4 14. O-O Rc8 15. Qd4 Bxf3 16. gxf3 Qb6 $11 {Shulman-Zvjagintsev, Khanty-Mansiysk (WCup) 2005}) 10... Bg4 $5 {Leads to a very interesting position with two knights agaist two bishops.} (10... h6 {looks as a playable option as well:} 11. Bxf6 (11. Bh4 g5 12. Bg3 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 (13. Rxc3 Nfe4 14. Bxe4 Nxe4 15. Ra3 Qb6 $36) 13... Nfe4 $11) 11... Qxf6 12. O-O Be6 $11) 11. O-O Bxf3 12. gxf3 Bxc3 13. Rxc3 Ne6 14. Bh4 d4 15. Rc4 b5 16. Rc2 (16. Rc1 {wouldn't change much:} dxe3 17. fxe3 Qb6 18. Bxf6 Qxe3+ 19. Kh1 gxf6 $13) 16... dxe3 17. fxe3 Qb6 18. Bxf6 (18. Bf2 Rad8 19. Qe2 Rfe8 {and the black pieces seem to be much better placed.}) 18... Qxe3+ 19. Kh1 gxf6 20. Re2 Qh6 21. Bxb5 Kh8 22. Bc4 Rad8 23. Qc1 Qh3 {It is somewhat easier to play this position with Black. White has to be careful, but shouldn't be worse.} 24. Ref2 Rg8 25. Qe3 $4 {A huge blunder, which loses the game on the spot.} (25. Qc3 Qh4 26. Bxe6 fxe6 $11) 25... Ng7 $1 {Not a very logical move, but who would care about logic, if it wins immediately!} 26. Rg1 (26. Bxf7 Nf5 $19) (26. Qc3 Nh5 $19) 26... Nf5 27. Qe1 Rxg1+ 28. Kxg1 {Allowing Black to win nicely.} (28. Qxg1 Rg8 29. Rg2 Rxg2 30. Qxg2 Qxg2+ 31. Kxg2 Ne3+ $19) 28... Rg8+ 29. Kh1 Ng3+ 30. Kg1 Nf1+ 31. Kh1 Nxh2 0-1 [Event "13th Norway Chess 2025"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2025.06.03"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2782"] [BlackElo "2776"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 7.0"] [PlyCount "141"] [EventDate "2025.05.26"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 {D38: Queen's Gambit Declined: Ragozin Defence (4 Nf3 Bb4).} ({RR} 7. a4 Ne4 8. e3 Nxc3 9. Qc2 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Ne4 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Bb5+ Bd7 13. Ba3 Qa5+ 14. Ke2 Nc6 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. Rhc1 c5 17. Bxc5 Rc8 18. Nb3 Qa6+ 19. Ke1 Nxc5 20. Nxc5 Qd6 21. Qc3 O-O {Tabatabaei,M (2623)-Yu,Y (2713) Berlin 2022 ½-½ (69)}) 7... exd5 8. g3 ({RR} 8. Qc2 Qa5 9. Nd2 Nbd7 10. e3 O-O 11. Bd3 c4 12. Be2 Re8 13. O-O b5 14. Bf3 Bb7 15. Rb1 Rab8 16. Rb4 Bc6 17. a4 bxa4 18. Nxc4 Qc7 19. Nb2 Bb5 20. Be2 Bxe2 21. Qxe2 Qxc3 22. Rxa4 Rec8 {Tong Thai Hoang An (1869)-Siddhi Rao (1677) Montesilvano ITA 2024 0-1 (71)}) 8... O-O 9. Bg2 {The position is equal.} Ne4 $146 ({RR} 9... Re8 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Re1 Qa5 12. Qc2 Nb6 13. Bf4 Bd7 14. Be5 Ba4 15. Qf5 Nbd7 16. Ng5 Bc6 17. c4 dxc4 18. Bxc6 bxc6 19. Bxf6 Nxf6 20. Nf3 Rad8 21. e4 Re7 22. dxc5 h6 23. Rac1 c3 24. Re3 {Strating,S (2310)-Wagenmakers,E (2270) Leeuwarden 1995 1-0}) ({RR} 9... Bf5 10. O-O Qc8 11. Bf4 c4 12. Nd2 Bh3 13. Re1 Bxg2 14. Kxg2 Nc6 15. f3 Nh5 16. Be3 f5 17. Bf2 Qe8 18. e3 b5 19. Qb1 Rb8 20. e4 fxe4 21. fxe4 Qg6 22. Be3 Ne7 23. exd5 Nf5 24. Nf1 {Colls Gelaberto,E (2164)-Naroditsky,D (2622) Benasque 2015 0-1}) 10. O-O Re8 11. Qc2 cxd4 12. Nxd4 Nc6 13. Rd1 {and Bxe4 should not be overlooked} Na5 14. Rb1 Bd7 15. Rb4 Qf6 16. Be3 $146 (16. Bxe4 dxe4 17. Nb5 Bxb5 18. Rxb5 b6 19. Rb4) ({Predecessor:} 16. Bxe4 dxe4 17. Bf4 Rac8 18. Nb3 Nxb3 19. Rxd7 Nc5 20. Rd6 Qe7 21. Rd1 {½-½ Tasic,V-Daurelle,H LSS ST-2007-0-00015 LSS email}) 16... Rac8 17. Bxe4 Rxe4 18. Nf3 $1 Rxb4 (18... Qxc3 $2 19. Qxc3 Rxc3 20. Rxd5 $18 (20. Rxe4 dxe4 21. Rxd7 h6 $18)) 19. axb4 Nc4 (19... Rxc3 $2 20. Qd2 Nb3 21. Qxd5 $18) 20. Bd4 (20. Bxa7 $14 Be6 21. Qc1) 20... Qa6 21. Ng5 Qh6 22. h4 f6 23. Nf3 a6 24. Ne1 Qg6 25. Nd3 (25. Qxg6 $142 hxg6 26. Ng2) 25... Re8 {White is weak on the light squares} 26. Qc1 Qf7 (26... Rxe2 $6 27. Nf4 Qg4 28. Nxe2 Qxe2 29. Re1 $16) 27. Re1 b6 28. Nb2 Bb5 29. Nxc4 Bxc4 30. Bxb6 Bxe2 31. Qd2 Qh5 32. Qf4 {[%CAl Of2f3]} Re4 $1 33. Qb8+ {[#]} (33. Qd2 $1 $15) 33... Kf7 $1 $17 34. Bc5 h6 (34... Kg6 $17) 35. Kh2 (35. f3 $2 Qxf3 36. h5 Qxh5 37. Qa7+ Kg8 $19 (37... Kg6 38. Bf8 $15)) (35. b5 $1 $15 Bxb5 36. Qb7+ (36. Rxe4 Qd1+ 37. Kh2 dxe4 $15) 36... Kg8 (36... Kg6 37. Rxe4 dxe4 38. Qxe4+ Kf7 39. Qb7+ Kg8 40. Qa8+ Be8 41. Bd4 $11) 37. Rxe4 {[%mdl 64] Remove Defender} dxe4 38. Qa8+ Qe8 39. Qxe8+ Bxe8 40. Kf1) 35... Qf3 (35... Qf5 $142) 36. Qb7+ (36. c4 $2 dxc4 37. Qc7+ (37. b5 $2 axb5 38. Qf8+ Kg6 $19) 37... Kg8 $19 (37... Kg6 $2 38. Rg1 $19)) 36... Kg6 {[%CAl Oe4h4]} 37. Rg1 Kh7 {[%CAl Od5d4]} 38. Qa7 (38. Qd7 $17) 38... Qf5 (38... Qxc3 39. Bf8 Rg4 40. Qe3 Qxe3 41. fxe3 $17) 39. Bf8 (39. Bd4 $17) 39... Qg6 (39... Qg4 $19 40. Re1 Kg8) 40. Re1 {[#]} (40. Qd7 $17) 40... Kg8 $1 $19 41. Bc5 Qf5 42. Qc7 (42. Be3 $17 {might work better.} Bb5 43. Kg2) 42... Qf3 $2 (42... Kh7 $19 43. Qd6 Qf3) 43. Rg1 ({White should try} 43. Qc8+ $1 $15 Kh7 44. Qh3) 43... h5 (43... Qf5 $17) 44. Qd7 $11 Bc4 {[%CAl Od5d4]} 45. b5 $2 {[%mdl 8192]} Bxb5 $2 (45... d4 $19 46. Qd6 (46. cxd4 $2 Be6 $19) 46... Qxf2+ 47. Rg2 Qf3 48. Bxd4 (48. bxa6 $2 Bf1 $19) 48... axb5 (48... Bxb5 49. Rf2 $17) (48... Re2 $2 49. Rxe2 Qxe2+ 50. Kg1 $19)) 46. Qxd5+ $15 Kh7 {[%CAl Oe4h4]} (46... Kh8 {is interesting.} 47. g4 Be8 48. Rg3 Qe2) 47. Qd1 $2 (47. g4 $17) 47... Re2 {[%CAl Ob5c6]} (47... Qxc3 $2 48. Qxh5+ Kg8 49. Qd5+ Kh8 50. Qxe4 $18) 48. Qb1+ Bd3 49. Qc1 Be4 (49... Re4 $19 {and Black stays clearly on top. and ...a5 should not be overlooked} 50. Be3 a5) 50. Qf4 $17 Qxc3 ({Better is} 50... Ra2 $17) 51. Be3 $1 $11 Bg6 52. g4 hxg4 (52... Qd3 {simplifies} 53. Rc1 Rc2 54. Rxc2 Qxc2 55. g5 fxg5 56. Qxg5 Qd1) 53. h5 {[%mdl 64] Decoy} Bxh5 54. Qf5+ Bg6 55. Qxg4 Qe5+ $2 {[%mdl 8192]} (55... Qc7+ $11 56. Rg3 Qc2) 56. Rg3 $18 Qh5+ (56... Qxg3+ 57. Kxg3 Ra2) 57. Rh3 Qxh3+ 58. Qxh3+ Kg8 59. Qg4 {[%csl Be2,Bg6]} Bd3 (59... Rxe3 $142 60. fxe3 Bd3 61. Qe6+ Kh7) 60. Bh6 {[%csl Gh6][%CAl Rg4g7]} Re7 {[#]} 61. Bxg7 $1 Be2 (61... f5 62. Qd4) 62. Qg6 (62. Bxf6+ Bxg4 63. Bxe7 Bd7 $11) 62... Rxg7 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KQ-KRB} 63. Qe8+ ({Worse is} 63. Qxf6 Rh7+ 64. Kg2 Rg7+ 65. Kh1 Rh7+ 66. Kg2 Rg7+ 67. Kh1 Rh7+ 68. Kg2 $11) 63... Kh7 64. Qxe2 {KQ-KR} Rg5 65. Qxa6 {White mates.} Kg7 66. f4 {[%CAl Bf2f4,Bf4f5][%mdl 32]} Rg4 67. f5 Rb4 68. Kg3 Rb1 69. Qa7+ Kh6 70. Qf7 {[%csl Gf5][%CAl Rf7g6]} Rb3+ {Never resign too early! Weighted Error Value: White=0.28 (precise) /Black=0.48} 71. Qxb3 1-0 [Event "EU-Cup 23rd"] [Site "Kemer"] [Date "2007.10.10"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Sasikiran, Krishnan"] [Black "Gyimesi, Zoltan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2661"] [BlackElo "2610"] [Annotator "Sasikiran,Krishnan"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2007.10.03"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "TUR"] [SourceTitle "CBM 121"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2007.11.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2007.11.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Zagreb"] [BlackTeam "Zalaegerszeg"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CRO"] [BlackTeamCountry "HUN"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 d5 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 Bd7 7. Qc2 O-O 8. Bd2 Rc8 $5 $146 {Black wants to move the knight on c6 and play c5. However, with so many options open it is difficult to say whether Black will manage to play c5.} (8... Re8 {seems more natural, preparing the withdrawal to ?f8 if necessary and trying to acheive e5 as soon as possible.}) 9. a3 Bxc3 (9... Bd6 10. c5 Be7 11. b4 $14) 10. Bxc3 Ne4 11. Bb4 $5 (11. Bd3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 g6 13. cxd5 (13. O-O dxc4 14. Bxc4 Na5 15. Bd3 c5 $11) (13. h4 $5) 13... exd5 14. Qb3 Bg4 15. Qxb7 Na5 16. Qa6 Bxf3 17. gxf3 c5 18. Rb1 $13) 11... Nxb4 (11... Re8 12. Bd3 a5 13. Bc3 Nxc3 14. bxc3 g6 15. h4 $5 $14) 12. axb4 Qe7 13. c5 a6 14. Bd3 Ng5 $1 (14... f5 15. Ne5 Bb5 16. Bxb5 axb5 17. O-O Ra8 18. Ra5 $1 Rxa5 19. bxa5 $14) 15. Nd2 (15. Nxg5 Qxg5 16. O-O g6 17. c6 Bxc6 18. Bxa6 bxa6 19. Qxc6 Rb8 $11) 15... f5 16. f4 $5 (16. h4 Ne4 17. Nf3 Bb5 18. g3 {and White can hope to drive the knight on e4 with a later f3.}) 16... Ne4 17. Nf3 Bb5 $1 18. Rg1 (18. Bxe4 fxe4 19. Ne5 $13 {White had to go for in this position. The knight looks good, however it has no targets. White can try to organise play on the kingside with h4-g4 etc.}) 18... Bxd3 19. Qxd3 g5 $5 20. g3 (20. fxg5 Nxg5 21. O-O-O Ne4 (21... Nxf3 22. gxf3+ Kh8 23. Rg3 f4 $5 $13) 22. Rdf1 Kh8 23. Ne5 Qe8 $1 $132) 20... c6 21. Rg2 g4 22. Nd2 Nxd2 $6 {There was no need to hurry with this exchange. Black has to play against h3, White's only pawn break available in this position.} (22... Rf6 23. O-O-O Rh6 $11) 23. Kxd2 Kg7 $6 {Another slight inaccuracy allowing a slight initiative for White.} ({After} 23... Rf6 24. h3 gxh3 25. Rh2 Rh6 26. Rah1 Qg7 27. Qf1 Kf7 28. Rxh3 Rxh3 29. Qxh3 Rh8 $11 {the weakness on g3 compensates the weakness on h7.}) 24. h3 h5 25. Qe2 $5 (25. Kc3 $5) 25... Rh8 26. Rh2 Rcg8 27. Kc3 ({If} 27. Rah1 {then} b5 $1 {blocks the king's entry to the queenside.}) 27... Qf6 (27... Kf8 28. Rah1 Qf6 (28... Ke8 $2 29. hxg4 Rxg4 30. Rxh5 Rxh5 31. Rxh5 Rxg3 32. Rh8+ Kd7 33. Qh5 $18) 29. hxg4 hxg4 30. Rh7 Rxh7 31. Rxh7 Rg7 32. Rh5 $14) 28. Rah1 Qd8 29. Kb3 Qe8 $6 (29... Qf6 $1 30. hxg4 hxg4 31. Rxh8 Rxh8 32. Rxh8 Kxh8 33. Qh2+ Kg7 34. Qh5 Qd8 $1 35. Ka4 (35. Qg5+ $2 Qxg5 36. fxg5 Kg6 37. Ka4 Kxg5 38. Ka5 e5 39. dxe5 d4 40. exd4 f4 41. gxf4+ Kf5 $19) 35... b5+ $1 $11) 30. hxg4 hxg4 31. Rh4 Rxh4 $2 {Underestimating the danger. After the text move the white queen will occupy the key diagonal h4-d8, and combining the threat on Black's e6-pawn and king's entry to the queenside, White will create a Zugzwang to win a pawn.} (31... Qd8 32. Qh2 Rxh4 33. Qxh4 Qxh4 34. Rxh4 Rb8 35. Ka4 b6 (35... Rf8 36. Ka5 Rf7 37. Kb6 Re7 38. Rh1 Rf7 39. b5 cxb5 40. b4 Re7 41. c6 bxc6 42. Kxc6 Kg6 43. Rh8 Ra7 44. Kb6 Re7 45. Kxa6 Rc7 46. Kxb5 Rc1 47. Rh2 $1 Rg1 48. Kc6 Rxg3 49. b5 Rxe3 50. Rb2 $18) 36. cxb6 Rxb6 37. Rh1 Kf7 (37... Kf6 38. Rh7 $1 Rb8 39. Ra7 Rb6 (39... Rh8 40. Rxa6 Rh3 41. Rxc6 Rxg3 42. b5 Rg2 43. b3 $1 $18) 40. Rc7 Kg6 41. b3 $1 Kf6 42. Ka5 Rb5+ 43. Kxa6 Rxb4 44. Rb7 $18) 38. Rh7+ Ke8 39. Ra7 Kd8 $14 {and Black should be able to defend.}) 32. Rxh4 Rh8 33. Qh2 Rxh4 34. Qxh4 Qd7 35. Qg5+ Kf7 36. Qh6 $1 Kg8 (36... Ke8 37. Qh8+ Ke7 38. Qb8 $1 Kf7 39. Ka4 Ke7 40. Qg8 Qc7 41. Qg7+ Kd8 42. Qf8+ Kd7 43. Qf7+ Kc8 44. Qxe6+ Qd7 45. Qg8+ (45. Qe5 $6 b6 $1 46. cxb6 c5+ 47. Kb3 c4+ 48. Kc3 Kb7 49. b3 (49. Qc7+ Qxc7 50. bxc7 Kxc7 51. b3 cxb3 52. Kxb3 Kc6 $11) 49... cxb3 50. Kxb3 Qc6 51. Qe7+ Kxb6 52. Kb2 Qb5 53. Qc5+ Kb7 $11) 45... Kc7 46. Qf8 $18) 37. Qg6+ (37. Qf6 Qe8 38. Ka4 $5) 37... Kf8 38. Qf6+ Kg8 39. Qe5 Qc8 40. Ka3 Kf7 41. Qd6 $1 (41. Ka4 $2 Qd8 $1 $11) 41... Ke8 42. Ka4 Qd7 43. Qb8+ Ke7 44. b3 $1 {Zugzwang.} b5+ (44... Kf7 45. Ka5 $18) 45. Ka5 Qd8+ 46. Qxd8+ Kxd8 47. Kb6 1-0 [Event "Corus"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2007.01.24"] [Round "10"] [White "Van Wely, Loek"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2683"] [BlackElo "2744"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2007.01.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 117"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2007.03.30"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2007.03.30"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Qc2 c5 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. Qxc3 h6 10. Qe3+ {Van Wely decided against testing the dangerous opponent in the position after exchange of the bishop on f6, even though white seems to keep the initiative there.} (10. Bxf6 Qxf6 11. e3 O-O 12. Bb5 (12. Be2 b6 13. Rc1 Bb7 14. O-O Rfc8 15. Rfd1 Qe7 16. dxc5 bxc5 17. b4 d4 18. Qd2 Nf6 19. bxc5 dxe3 20. Qxe3 Qxe3 21. fxe3 Ne4 22. Ne5 Nxc5 23. Bc4 {1-0 Kazhgaleyev,M (2606)-Hanley,C (2419)/Port Erin 2006 (63)}) 12... cxd4 13. Qxd4 Qxd4 14. Nxd4 Nb6 15. Rc1 a6 16. Be2 Bd7 17. Rc7 Rab8 18. Kd2 Rfd8 19. Rhc1 Kf8 20. b3 {1/2 Malaniuk,V (2635)-Blatny,P (2510)/Brno 1993 (46)}) 10... Qe7 11. Qxe7+ Kxe7 12. Bf4 (12. Bxf6+ Kxf6 13. dxc5 Nxc5 14. Nd4 Bd7 15. e3 Rac8 16. Be2 Rc7 17. f3 Ne6 18. Kd2 Rhc8 19. Rac1 Nxd4 20. exd4 Rxc1 21. Rxc1 Rxc1 22. Kxc1 a5 23. Kd2 {1/2 Alavkin,A (2492)-Landa,K (2584)/Tomsk 2006}) 12... b6 13. dxc5 bxc5 14. b4 a5 {Aronian is the first to deviate from the continuation, that his opponent already played against another strong GM from Armenia.} (14... Ne4 15. e3 a5 16. b5 Bb7 17. a4 g5 18. Bg3 Nxg3 19. hxg3 Nb6 20. Bd3 Rad8 21. Ke2 Kf6 22. Rhc1 g4 23. Nh4 c4 24. Bc2 d4 25. exd4 Rxd4 {1/2 Van Wely,L (2675)-Sargissian,G (2667)/Germany 2006 (45)}) 15. bxc5 (15. b5 g5 16. Bg3 Ne4 17. e3 Nxg3 18. hxg3 g4 19. Nh4 Ne5 $13) 15... Nxc5 16. Nd4 Bd7 17. f3 Rhc8 18. g4 {White could aspire for advantage, if only his forces could become more coordinated. Two bishops and opponent's isolated central pawn are strong arguments, but black has lots of time to improve his pieces.} (18. Rb1 Nh5 19. Bd2 Nf6 $13) 18... Ne8 19. h4 Nd6 20. Rd1 Na4 $5 (20... Ne6 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Be5 g6 23. e4 Nf7 $11) 21. e3 Rab8 22. Rh2 Nb2 (22... Nc3 23. Rc1 Nb1 24. Rxc8 Rxc8 $11) 23. Ra1 Rb6 (23... Nbc4 24. Rc2 f6 25. e4 g5 26. hxg5 hxg5 27. Bh2 Ne5 28. Rxc8 Rxc8 29. exd5 Rc5 $11) 24. Rd2 Nbc4 25. Rc2 Nb5 {The knight on d4 was too strong an enemy and was onstructing further activisation of the counterplay.} (25... f5 26. gxf5 Nxf5 27. Nxf5+ Bxf5 28. e4 Be6 29. Rac1 Rbc6 30. Be2 $14) 26. Nxb5 Rxb5 27. e4 Rb3 28. Be2 (28. exd5 Rxf3 29. Rf2 Bxg4 $15) 28... Nxa3 $2 {Aronian is an exceptional player, but at the same time a fallable mortal. With the help of excellent play he managed to hold equal chances, but shortly before the gates of draw he is chosing to soldier on.} (28... Rxa3 $1 29. Rxa3 Nxa3 30. Rxc8 Bxc8 31. exd5 Bb7 32. Bc7 Bxd5 33. Bxa5 Nc2+ 34. Kf2 Nd4 $11) 29. Rxc8 Bxc8 30. Bd1 Rxf3 $2 $138 {Serious mistake in time trouble, the whole attention obviously went into calculating the saving manouver of the knight possibly stranded on a1.} (30... Rd3 31. exd5 Bb7 32. d6+ Kd8 33. Kf2 $14) 31. Bc1 $1 (31. Bxf3 Nc2+ 32. Kd2 Nxa1 33. exd5 Nb3+ 34. Kc3 a4 35. d6+ Kd7 36. Kb4 Nd4 $11) 31... Rh3 32. Bxa3+ Ke6 33. exd5+ Kxd5 34. Bf8 Rxh4 35. Rxa5+ Ke6 (35... Kc6 36. Rc5+ Kd7 37. Ba4+ $18) 36. Bxg7 Rh1+ 37. Kd2 f6 38. Rh5 $4 {[%mdl 8192] A textbook example of a hasty problem solution. Van Wely had a completely winning position, since even after the exchange of all pawn rook and bishops would be unable to withstand the coordinated attack of the white forces.} (38. Bf3 Rh3 39. Be2 Rg3 40. Bxh6 Kf7 41. Ra4 $18) 38... Rxd1+ $1 39. Kxd1 Kf7 40. Rxh6 Bxg4+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Prague Masters 2nd"] [Site "Prague"] [Date "2020.02.21"] [Round "9"] [White "Duda, Jan Krzysztof"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2721"] [Annotator "Duda,Jan Krzysztof"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2020.02.12"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "CZE"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 195"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2020.04.30"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.04.30"] [SourceQuality "1"] {This game was played under very specific circumstances. It was the last round of the tournament, played one hour earlier than usual. My opponent had a great tournament scoring +3 and it seemed to everyone that he was clearly going to win the competition. However, in the 8th round something apocalyptic happened to him, because he lost a-not-possible-to-lose game against David Navara. Vidit was clearly winning before the time control, and later he had an endgame with a plus pawn which was drawn. Not being able to settle for a draw, he overpushed and lost. I on the other hand had a mediocre tournament, winning in the 1st round a cool game against David Navara, but losing in round 7 a traumatic game to Alireza Firouzja, where after 15 moves I was basically busted with White. I was happy though to play with White against Vidit in the last round, because I have never had a chance to play an official game against him (with White). Considering our history, and more importantly his game against David, it felt as if I was going to win an easy game. Obviously such thinking is hardly dangerous, and I had to keep my composure, not letting my emotions take over} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 ({Here is the aforementioned apocalypse of Vidit:} 3... b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Bf4 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Bg3 Nd7 8. e4 N5f6 9. e5 Nh5 10. Nc3 Be7 11. Bc4 a6 12. d5 exd5 13. Bxd5 Nxg3 14. hxg3 c6 15. Bxf7+ Kxf7 16. e6+ Kxe6 17. Qe2+ Kf7 18. O-O-O Bf6 19. Ne4 Qe7 20. Nd6+ Kf8 21. Qxe7+ Bxe7 22. Nxb7 Nf6 23. Ne5 Nd5 24. Kb1 Rc8 25. Rhe1 Bxa3 26. Nxc6 Bb4 27. Nxb4 Nxb4 28. Rd7 h5 29. Nd6 Ra8 30. Ree7 Rh7 31. Ne4 Rh6 32. Rxg7 Rd8 33. b3 Rxd7 34. Rxd7 a5 35. f3 Rc6 36. Rd2 Kf7 37. Kb2 Ke6 38. Nc3 Rd6 39. Re2+ Kf5 40. Ne4 Rd1 41. Nc3 Rd3 42. Nb1 Nd5 43. Kc2 Nb4+ 44. Kb2 Nd5 45. Na3 Ne3 46. Nc4 Nxc4+ 47. bxc4 a4 48. Kc2 Rb3 49. Rd2 Rb4 50. Kc3 Rb3+ 51. Kc2 Rb4 52. Kc3 Rb3+ 53. Kd4 a3 54. Ra2 Ke6 55. c5 b5 56. g4 hxg4 57. fxg4 b4 58. g5 Rb2 59. Ra1 a2 60. g6 b3 61. c6 Rc2 62. Rf1 b2 63. g7 Rxg2 64. c7 Kd7 {0-1 (64) Vidit,S (2721)-Navara,D (2717) Prague CZE 2020}) 4. Nc3 Bb4 {He is a very keen Ragozin player, sometimes only varying with the Grunfeld Defence.} 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 Re8 8. Bd2 a6 {The setup with a6-Bd6 is a flagship of Vidit. My preparation for this game was frankly quite limited, but obviously I knew my stuff in other lines too.} (8... Bd6 9. h3 (9. c5 $1 {is strong for White here and secures a long term edge.}) 9... a6 10. a3 Bd7 11. Be2 dxc4 12. Bxc4 h6 13. g4 e5 14. g5 $1 $40 {was a nice assault in Radjabov,T (2757)-Vidit,S (2695) Wijk aan Zee 2019, 1-0 (36).}) 9. a3 Bd6 10. O-O-O $5 {This is the prepared idea. It's clearly risky, but as said I was having a bigger blunder margin than normally.} (10. h3 {and}) (10. Rd1 {are more common moves}) 10... Bd7 {This looks the most logical, but Black has playable alternatives too:} (10... dxc4 11. e4 (11. Bxc4 b5 12. Bd3 Bb7 $13 (12... b4)) 11... e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. Bg5 Bd4 (14... Bd7 15. Bxc4 Qc8) 15. Nd5 $6 (15. Bxc4 c5 16. Nd5 {would be the correct move order.}) 15... c5 $6 (15... c6 $1 16. Rxd4 (16. Nxf6+ gxf6 17. Be3 Bxe3+ 18. fxe3 Qb6 $17) (16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Nxf6+ Qxf6 18. Bxc4 b5 19. Ba2 c5 $132) 16... cxd5 17. Rxd5 Qb6 {with a messy position where Black is fine.}) 16. Bxc4 Be6 $13 {with sharp play as seen in Aizpurua,P (2348)-Cruz,C (2567) Guatemala City GUA 2020, 0-1 (41).}) (10... b5 $6 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Nxd5 Nxd5 13. Qxc6 {It is debatable if Black has enough compensation for the pawn.}) (10... Rb8) 11. c5 (11. e4 {is another possibility, but I didn't go for it because it's more forcing. After} dxe4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Qxe4 e5 14. Ng5 g6 15. c5 (15. Qh4 h5 16. c5 Be7 {is the same.}) 15... Be7 16. Qh4 h5 17. Bc4 {Black has many playable moves, probably the most entertaining being} Nxd4 18. Qg3 (18. Nxf7 $2 {is bad:} Bxh4 19. Nxd8+ Kh7 20. Nxb7 $6 Bc6 21. Na5 Bxg2 $17 {and Black is close to winning.}) 18... Bf5 19. Nxf7 Qd5 $1 20. Qc3 Qxc5 {and it's all equal according to the engine.}) {Now we get more or less a forced sequence.} 11... Bf8 12. e4 dxe4 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 Ne7 15. Bd3 g6 16. Ne5 Bc6 $6 (16... Ba4 {was the only move I had analysed. The variation goes} 17. Qf3 Nf5 18. g4 Bxd1 {and I would have to decide between} 19. Kxd1 ({or} 19. Rxd1 Nh6 {playing for compensation.}) 19... Qxd4 20. Bc3 Qd5 21. gxf5 Qxf3+ 22. Nxf3 exf5 {with an unclear endgame.}) ({But it seems Black can also play slowly:} 16... Bg7 17. Qf4 Rf8) ({or} 16... Nc6) 17. Qf4 Nf5 18. g4 $1 {This is very important. Black is not only forced to withdraw his beautiful knight but also, no less importantly, to exchange his bishop, the main defender of the black monarch.} Bh6 (18... Qxd4 19. gxf5 Qxf4 20. Bxf4 Bxh1 21. fxg6 hxg6 22. Rxh1 $16 {Two pieces are clearly stronger than a rook here.}) 19. Nxc6 bxc6 20. Qe4 Bxd2+ 21. Rxd2 Ne7 22. Bc4 Nd5 23. h4 $16 Qf6 {I considered my position to be better, but now spent a lot of time choosing between many promising possibilities.} 24. h5 (24. Rh3) (24. Kb1) ({and} 24. f4 {are the other moves I gave a thought.}) 24... e5 ({I was the most afraid of this move, but saw that at the very least I had 25.Qe5 with the better endgame} 24... Qg5 25. hxg6 (25. Qe5 $5 Qxe5 26. dxe5 {I wasn't sure that Black couldn't create any sort of fortress, but obviously this endgame is hardly depressing to play with Black.} a5 27. h6 (27. b3 $5 {not allowing a4.}) 27... a4 28. Rc2 Ra5 29. Bd3 Kf8 (29... f6)) 25... fxg6 {is better, but now Black has created a huge weakness on e6 for himself.} (25... hxg6 26. f4 $1 {I didn't calculate well enough here.} Qxg4 (26... Nxf4 27. Rdh2 Kf8 28. Kb1 Nd5 29. Qf3 $18) 27. Qe5 f6 28. Qe1 Qxf4 29. Rh4 Qg5 30. Qh1 f5 31. Qh2 $40 {and apparently White's attack is very strong here.}) 26. f3 Re7 27. Qd3 {is the idea, to unpin the rook with Kb1.}) (24... g5 25. h6 Qf4 26. Bd3 {White again has various alternatives.} Qxe4 27. Bxe4 $16 {and White has additional target on h7 as well.}) (24... a5 25. hxg6 fxg6 26. f4 $40) 25. Kb1 ({For some reason this is considered better by the engine:} 25. Re2 Qg5+ 26. Kb1 exd4 27. Qxd4 Rxe2 28. Bxe2 Qf6 29. Rd1 $16) 25... Rad8 $2 {It's rather surprising, but actually this is the losing mistake. Black had other resources which obviously would keep him in the game, but his position would be worse in any case.} (25... Rab8) (25... Kg7) (25... exd4 26. Qxd4 Qf3 (26... Rad8 27. Rhd1)) (25... Qf4 26. Qxf4 (26. Re2 $5 exd4 27. Qxf4 Nxf4 28. Rxe8+ Rxe8 29. Bxa6 $16) 26... exf4 27. Re2) 26. Re2 $1 $18 {Now Black is stuck, and he can't avoid material losses.} Nf4 (26... exd4 27. Qxe8+ Rxe8 28. Rxe8+ Kg7 29. h6# $1 {is the key, making all the difference!}) 27. Re3 (27. Ree1 {is also good. There is no avoiding dxe5.}) 27... Nd5 28. hxg6 hxg6 (28... Qxg6 29. Qxg6+ hxg6 30. Rxe5 $18) 29. Reh3 $18 {This nice rook switch is the nail in his coffin. Basically the game is over by this stage, although I still managed to make a mistake in the process.} Kf8 30. Bxa6 $5 {Not the most precise, but he was in severe time trouble, and usually such slow moves are very difficult to meet. Besides a pawn is a pawn :)} Qxf2 31. Rf3 $6 {I had a 50/50 choice and missed.} (31. Rf1 $1 {wins on the spot. The difference is that now there is no Rb8!} Qxd4 32. Qxg6 Qd1+ {Extra trick.} 33. Ka2 Qxf1 (33... Nb4+ 34. axb4 Qa4+ 35. Ra3 $18) 34. Qh6+ Ke7 35. Bxf1 $18 {I had seen that far, but thought Rf3 to be simpler.}) 31... Qxd4 (31... Rb8 $1 {would have been a huge surprise, even though I don't think I would hash it up. After the pretty natural variation} 32. Rxf2 Nc3+ 33. Kc2 Nxe4 34. Re2 $1 {is the only winning move, with the idea that} exd4 {meets} 35. Rxe4 $1) 32. Qxg6 Nf4 (32... Nc3+ 33. bxc3 Rb8+ 34. Ka1 $18) 33. Qf6 Qe4+ 34. Bd3 {and checkmate is unavoidable. This win put me on +1 score, and this was enough to share the 1st place.} 1-0 [Event "Corus"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2010.01.17"] [Round "2"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Short, Nigel D"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2696"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2010.01.16"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 135"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.03.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.03.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Rc1 c6 8. e3 Qa5 9. Bd3 {[%mdl 512] A double-edged pawn sacrifice but otherwise White can't fight for an advantage.} (9. Qb3 {is harmless due to} Ne4 {, e.g.} 10. Bd3 (10. Bf4 c5 11. a3 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 c4 13. Qb4 Qxb4 14. axb4 a5 $1 15. bxa5 Rxa5 16. Ng5 Nxg5 17. Bxg5 Nb6 18. Rb1 Na4 19. Kd2 b5 $15 {0-1 Laznicka,V (2596)-Sargissian,G (2667)/Germany 2006/CBM 116 (32)}) 10... Nxg5 11. Nxg5 Nf6 12. O-O O-O 13. h3 Re8 14. Rfe1 h6 15. Nf3 Qb6 16. Na4 Qa5 17. Nc3 Qb6 18. Qc2 Bd6 19. a3 Qd8 20. Nd2 Bd7 21. Na4 b6 22. Nc3 Rc8 23. Nf3 Qe7 24. Bf5 Bxf5 25. Qxf5 g6 26. Qd3 Ne4 $11 {1-0 Wang Yue (2736)-Eljanov,P (2720)/Elista 2008/CBM 128 (75)}) 9... Qxa2 (9... Ne4 {gives White an extra tempo compared to the 9.?b3 line:} 10. O-O Nxg5 11. Nxg5 Nf6 12. Qc2 h6 13. Nf3 Bd6 14. h3 O-O 15. Ne5 $14 c5 $6 16. Nb5 Bxe5 17. dxe5 Nd7 18. f4 c4 19. Bh7+ Kh8 20. Nd6 $16 {1-0 Gelfand,B (2758)-Jakovenko,D (2736)/Khanty Mansiysk 2009/CBM 134 (30)}) 10. O-O Qa5 11. Ne5 Nxe5 (11... O-O 12. f4 $5 (12. Qf3 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Ng4 14. Qg3 Nxe5 15. Qxe5 f6 16. Bxf6 $1 Rxf6 17. Qe8+ Rf8 18. Qh5 h6 19. Qg6 Rf6 20. Qe8+ Rf8 21. Qg6 Rf6 22. Qe8+ {1/2 Navara,D (2719)-Aronian,L (2744)/Wijk aan Zee 2007/CBM 117}) 12... Bxc3 13. bxc3 Ne4 14. Be7 Re8 15. Bb4 Qd8 16. c4 Nxe5 17. fxe5 Be6 18. cxd5 cxd5 19. Bxe4 dxe4 20. Bd6 $44 {0-1 Riazantsev,A (2661)-Alekseev,E (2715)/Moscow 2009/CBM 134 (46)}) 12. dxe5 Ng4 (12... Nd7 $5 13. e6 $5 (13. Bf4 Nc5) (13. f4 Nc5) 13... Ne5 $1 {and Black is apparently OK.}) 13. Bf4 f6 $1 14. e4 $6 {Sacrificing a second pawn without sufficient compensation.} (14. exf6 $5 Nxf6 15. Qb3 {[%CAl Ye3e4]} Be7 $5 16. Ra1 (16. e4 d4) 16... Qb4 17. Qc2 O-O 18. Ra4 Qb6 19. Be5 $44) 14... fxe5 15. Bg3 Bxc3 $1 (15... d4 $6 16. Nd5 $1 Bd6 $1 (16... cxd5 17. Rxc8+ Rxc8 18. Qxg4 O-O 19. Bxe5 Rc7 20. exd5 $16) (16... O-O 17. Nxb4 Qxb4 18. h3 Nf6 19. Bc4+ $1 Kh8 20. Bxe5 $16) 17. h3 $6 (17. Bh4 $1 {[%CAl Rc1a1]} cxd5 18. Rxc8+ Rxc8 19. Qxg4 O-O 20. Qe6+ Kh8 21. Qxd6 Qd2 22. Be7 $1 Rg8 23. Qa3 Rc1 24. g3 $16) 17... O-O 18. hxg4 cxd5 19. exd5 Kh8 20. Be4 Bd7 $17 {1-0 Chatalbashev,B (2499)-Brancaleoni,M (2314)/Genova 2005/CBM 107 ext (35)}) 16. Rxc3 d4 17. Ra3 Qc5 18. Qd2 O-O 19. h3 Nh6 $6 {A wrong route for the knight makes it passive.} (19... Nf6 $17 20. Ra5 $140 b5 21. Rc1 Qd6 22. Qc2 Bb7 {[%CAl Yf6d7]}) 20. Ra5 b5 21. Rc1 Qd6 22. Qc2 Rf6 23. Qc5 Nf7 24. Qxd6 Rxd6 25. Rc5 {[%csl Ga5,Ra8,Gc5,Rc6,Re5,Rf7,Gg3] Suddenly it is not easy for Black to make progress!} Be6 (25... Re6 26. Bc2 Kf8 27. b4 $44 {[%csl Ra8,Rc8]}) 26. Kf1 (26. f4 $5 $44 {but White needn't hurry.}) 26... h6 27. Ke2 a6 28. b4 Bb3 (28... g5 $5) 29. Bxe5 Nxe5 30. Rxe5 {White has recaptured one of the pawns and has sufficient compensation for the second, due to his better pawn structure and active pieces.} Rg6 31. g3 Rg5 32. Re7 c5 33. bxc5 (33. h4 $5 Rh5 34. bxc5 Rxc5 35. Rd7 Bc4 36. Rxd4 Bxd3+ 37. Kxd3 $14 {[%csl Ge4,Gf2]}) 33... Rxc5 34. Rd7 Be6 35. Rd6 Bxh3 36. Raxa6 Rf8 $6 {Black starts playing with fire and barely saves the game.} (36... Rxa6 37. Rxa6 Kf7 38. Rd6 Be6 39. Rxd4 h5 $14) 37. f4 Rc1 38. Rxd4 (38. Kf2 $1 $16) 38... Bf1+ 39. Kd2 Rfc8 40. Bxf1 Rxf1 {[%mdl 4096]} 41. Rd7 Rcc1 $6 (41... Rf2+ $1 42. Ke3 Rfc2 (42... Rcc2 43. Rb7) 43. f5 R8c3+ 44. Kf4 (44. Rd3 b4) 44... Rf2+ 45. Ke5 Rc5+ 46. Kd6 Rc8 $14) 42. Rb7 Rcd1+ 43. Ke3 Rfe1+ 44. Kf3 h5 45. f5 $6 {Passed pawns must go forward!} (45. e5 $1 Rd3+ 46. Kf2 Red1 47. Ra2 $16 {[%csl Ge5]}) 45... Rd3+ 46. Kf4 Rf1+ 47. Ke5 Rxg3 {[%csl Gh5]} 48. Rxb5 Kh7 49. Rb8 Rg4 50. Raa8 Kh6 51. Rh8+ Kg5 52. Rh7 Kh4 53. Rah8 Rg5 54. Rg8 Rfg1 55. Ra8 Re1 56. Rg8 Rg4 57. Rgxg7 1/2-1/2 [Event "EU-ch 11th"] [Site "Rijeka"] [Date "2010.03.09"] [Round "4"] [White "Kurnosov, Igor"] [Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2674"] [BlackElo "2601"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2010.03.06"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "CRO"] [SourceTitle "CBM 136"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.05.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.05.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Bb4 5. Qb3 {A relatively modern continuation. White immediately provokes the isolation of Black's central pawn. But the current game transposes into a well-known line of the 5.cxd5 exd5 6.?g5 system:} (5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. Qb3 c5 9. dxc5 Nc6 10. e3) 5... c5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. dxc5 Nc6 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bxf6 Qxf6 10. e3 O-O (10... d4 $6 11. Nxd4 (11. Bb5 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 dxe3 13. fxe3 Qe7 14. Bxc6+ bxc6 15. O-O {1/2 Gorelov,S (2430)-Janjgava,L (2410)/Pavlodar 1987/EXT 1997}) (11. exd4 $5) 11... Nxd4 12. exd4 Qxd4 (12... Bxc3+ 13. Qxc3 O-O 14. f3 $16 {[%CAl Ye1f2]}) 13. Bc4 (13. Bb5+ $5) 13... Qe4+ 14. Kf1 Bxc3 15. Bxf7+ Kf8 16. Bd5 Qd3+ 17. Kg1 Qd4 18. bxc3 Qxc5 19. Rd1 $18 {1/2 Niklasson,C (2413)-Sjodahl,P (2435)/Sweden 2004/EXT 2006 (44)}) (10... Bxc3+ $6 11. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 12. bxc3 Be6 13. Rb1 Nd8 14. Bb5+ Ke7 15. Nd4 Rc8 16. Nb3 $16 {1-0 Muschalek,I-Collin,T (2295)/ICCF 2002/ICCF Telechess CBM 112 (31)}) (10... Be6 $5 11. Bb5 Bxc5 12. O-O (12. Nxd5 Bxd5 13. Qxd5 Bb4+ 14. Kf1 O-O 15. Qb3 Ba5 16. Rc1 Ne5 17. Ke2 Nxf3 18. gxf3 Rad8 $44 {1/2 Varga,Z (2450)-Barkhagen,J (2410)/Budapest 1993/EXT 1997 (69)}) (12. Rd1 $5 O-O 13. Nxd5) 12... O-O (12... Rd8 13. Qa4 $1 $14 (13. e4 $143 dxe4 14. Nxe4 Bxb3 15. Nxf6+ gxf6 16. axb3 O-O 17. Rac1 Bb6 18. Rfe1 Nd4 {1/2 Serrer,C (2310)-Tompa,J (2415)/Budapest 1987/TD})) 13. Rac1 (13. Qa4 $6 Rac8 14. Rac1 Bd6 15. Ne2 Qxb2 16. Rc2 Qf6 17. Rfc1 Ne5 $17 {1/2 San Segundo Carrillo,P (2440)-Rodriguez Vargas,O (2445)/Spain 1993/TD (42)}) 13... Na5 14. Qd1 Rad8 15. Ne2 Bb6 16. Ned4 Bg4 $132 {1-0 Rizzo,G (2108)-Izsak,G (2444)/Porto San Giorgio 2009/CBM 131 Extra (40)}) 11. Bb5 (11. a3 Ba5 12. Be2 d4 13. exd4 Re8 $5 (13... Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Qxd4 15. O-O Qxc5 $11) 14. Qd1 Bg4 15. O-O Rad8 16. b4 {1-0 Balcerowski,W-Tolush,A/Polanica Zdroj 1964/MCD (52)} Bc7 $1 $36) (11. O-O-O $5 Bxc3 12. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 13. bxc3 Be6 14. Nd4 Rac8 15. Bb5 Nd8 16. Nb3 $14 {1/2 Alfonso Nogue,B-Garcia Vicente,N (2245)/Empuriabrava 1997/EXT 2002}) 11... Bxc3+ {A simple course. After the exchange of queens Black hopes to recapture White's c5 pawn.} (11... Bh3 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Nd4 Bxg2 14. Rg1 Bxc3+ 15. Qxc3 Be4 16. Nxc6 Qxc3+ 17. bxc3 Rfe8 18. Nd4 $16 {1-0 Nestorovic,D (2428)-Lopez Martinez,J (2474)/Belgrade 2001/EXT 2002 (39)}) (11... d4 $5 12. Bxc6 dxc3 13. Qxb4 cxb2 14. Rb1 bxc6 15. Qxb2 Qg6 (15... Qf5 16. O-O Qxc5 17. Rfc1 Qd5 18. Nd4 (18. Qa3 $14) (18. Rd1 $5) 18... c5 19. Qb5 (19. Qb3 $14) 19... Bh3 20. gxh3 Qg5+ 21. Kf1 cxd4 22. Qxg5 hxg5 23. exd4 Rad8 $14 {1/2 Doroshkievich,V-Zilberstein,V/Soviet Union 1972/EXT 2010 (48)}) 16. O-O Bh3 17. Nh4 Qh5 (17... Qg5 18. Qb4 Rab8 19. Qf4 Qxf4 20. exf4 Be6 $132 {1/2 Jusiak,G (2225)-Rotstein,A (2420)/Naleczow 1989/EXT 1997 (56)}) 18. Qb4 Be6 19. Nf3 Bxa2 20. Ra1 a5 21. Qa4 Be6 22. Nd4 Bd5 23. f3 f5 $132 {1/2 Beliavsky,A (2585)-Tal,M (2605)/Moscow 1987/CBM 004 (30)}) 12. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 13. bxc3 Na5 (13... Ne7 14. Nd4 Be6 15. Rb1 Rfd8 16. Ba4 Rab8 17. Kd2 Rdc8 $6 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Bd7 Rxc5 20. Bxe6+ $16 {1-0 Suba,M (2430)-Inkiov,V (2450)/Pernik 1978/EXT 2004 (35)}) 14. Nd4 Be6 (14... a6 15. Be2 (15. Ba4 $143 Rd8 {1/2 Bisguier,A-Ivkov,B/Buenos Aires 1955/MCD} 16. Rb1 Bd7) 15... Be6 16. Nb3 Nc6 17. O-O-O Rfc8 (17... a5 18. a4 Rac8 19. Bb5 Na7 20. Be2 Nc6 21. Kb2 Ne5 22. Bb5 Nc4+ 23. Ka2 Rc7 24. Rhe1 $16 {1-0 Mamedyarov,S (2741)-Can,E (2442)/Bursa TUR 2010/The Week in Chess 792 (45)}) 18. Bf3 Ne7 19. Rd4 $6 (19. Kb2 $14) 19... a5 20. a4 Rab8 21. Kc2 b6 22. cxb6 Nc6 23. Rd2 Rxb6 $132 {0-1 Stohl,I-Hansen,C (2335)/Groningen 1981/EXT 2000 (32)}) 15. Nb3 (15. Rb1 $5 {as} Rfc8 $2 {was still impossible due to} 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Bd7) 15... Nc4 16. O-O-O Rac8 17. Rhe1 a6 18. Bxc4 dxc4 19. Na5 Rxc5 20. Nxb7 {White has kept his extra pawn but Black creates strong counterplay along the b-file.} Rg5 $5 21. g3 (21. Rg1 $5) 21... Rb5 22. Nd6 (22. Nd8 Bd5 23. a4 (23. e4 Rxd8 24. Rxd5 Rbxd5 25. exd5 Rxd5 26. Re4 Ra5 $1 27. Kb2 Rb5+ 28. Ka1 Rd5 $132) 23... Ra5 24. e4 Ba8 $5 25. Rd7 Rxa4 26. Kb2 Ra5 27. f3 f5 $132) 22... Rb6 23. Kc2 Rd8 24. Ne4 Rdb8 25. Rb1 Bf5 26. f3 g5 $5 27. g4 Bg6 28. Rxb6 Rxb6 29. Kc1 Bxe4 30. fxe4 Re6 31. e5 Rxe5 32. e4 Kg7 33. Re2 Kg6 34. Kd2 h5 35. h3 hxg4 36. hxg4 Re8 37. Ke3 Rd8 38. Rd2 1/2-1/2 [Event "EU-Cup 22nd"] [Site "Fuegen"] [Date "2006.10.14"] [Round "7.5"] [White "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Black "Khalifman, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2628"] [BlackElo "2622"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "127"] [EventDate "2006.10.08"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "AUT"] [SourceTitle "CBM 115"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2006.11.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2006.11.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Tomsk 400"] [BlackTeam "Cheboksary"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Qd6 {[%CAl Rf6e4] A rare, poorly explored line. In my opinion, d6 is not the best square for the queen.} 7. Nd2 c6 8. Qc2 {Preventing 8...?f5} h6 (8... O-O 9. e3 Re8 10. Bd3 Nbd7 11. O-O Nf8 12. a3 Ba5 13. b4 Bd8 (13... Bc7 14. Bf4 Qd8 15. Bxc7 Qxc7 16. Rfc1 a6 17. Na4 g6 18. Nc5 Ng4 19. Nf3 Ne6 20. h3 Nxc5 21. Qxc5 Nf6 22. Ne5 Qe7 23. Qxe7 Rxe7 24. a4 $14 {1-0 Averbakh,Y-Kluger,G/Kislovodsk 1964/EXT 98 (56)}) 14. Rac1 (14. Bf4 $142 Qe7 15. h3) 14... a5 15. Bf4 Qe7 16. Rb1 Ng6 17. Bg3 Nh5 $13 {0-1 Labollita,M-Liascovich,L/Buenos Aires 2004/EXT 2005 (60)}) 9. Nb5 $146 {After this move Black has an unpleasant choice: to have his kingside pawns doubled or to yield White a bishop pair. He opts for the latter - rightly!} (9. Bh4 Qf4 10. Nf3 Qf5 11. Qb3 Bd6 12. e3 O-O 13. Rd1 Nbd7 14. Bd3 Qe6 15. O-O Nb6 16. Rfe1 Ne4 17. a4 f5 18. Bg3 Bxg3 $2 (18... Nxg3 $142 $13) 19. hxg3 $16 {1-0 Malich,B-Mititelu,G/Decin 1975/EXT 2001 (37)}) 9... Bxd2+ (9... Qe7 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Nc3 $14 {[%csl Rf6,Rf7]}) 10. Bxd2 Qe7 11. Nc3 O-O 12. e3 {With a standard plan ?d3, 0-0, f3,e4. Black should disrupt it using his development advantage.} c5 $1 13. Ne2 $6 {This pretentious move can't be good but otherwise Black reaches equality:} (13. dxc5 Nc6 (13... d4 $143 14. Nb5 dxe3 15. Bxe3 {and White keeps an extra pawn}) 14. Be2 Qxc5 $11 {[%CAl Yd5d4]}) 13... Ne4 (13... c4 $5 14. Ng3 h5 15. Be2 h4 (15... g6 $5) 16. Nf5 Bxf5 17. Qxf5 Nc6 $13) 14. dxc5 Nc6 15. Ng3 Nxd2 16. Qxd2 Qxc5 (16... d4 17. Rc1 Be6 $44 {was quite possible, too but Black is already fighting for an advantage.}) 17. Bd3 d4 18. e4 {A typical pawn structure has arisen. The main question is now about White's blockade on d3. If Black manages to lift it, his d4 pawn can become dangerous.} Be6 19. O-O Ne5 20. Rfc1 Qb6 21. Bf1 $6 {White voluntarily lets the d4 pawn forward.} (21. b3 Rac8 22. Nf5 $5 Bxf5 23. exf5 Rfd8 $15 {[%CAl Rc8c3]}) (21. Nf5 $5) 21... d3 22. h3 Rfd8 {[%CAl Re5c4]} (22... Bxh3 $2 23. Qc3 Ng4 24. Qd2 $11) 23. b3 $2 {An oversight but it is not easy to offer something instead.} (23. Nf5 Bxf5 (23... Nc4 $2 24. Rxc4 Bxc4 25. Qc3) 24. exf5 $17) 23... Rac8 $2 {Missing} (23... Bxh3 $1 24. Qc3 (24. Qf4 d2 25. Rd1 Ng6 $19) 24... Qf6 $3 25. gxh3 (25. Qd2 Rac8 26. f4 Rc2 $1 $19) 25... d2 26. Rd1 Nf3+ $19 {- the point!}) 24. Kh2 Ng6 $6 {Going on the wrong way.} (24... g5 $1 {, strengthening the e5 knight, was quite possible. If} 25. f4 {then} Rc2 (25... gxf4 26. Qxf4 Qd6 27. Rxc8 Bxc8 28. Nh5 Kf8 {is less clear}) 26. Rxc2 dxc2 27. Qxc2 gxf4 28. Nf5 Bxf5 29. exf5 Qe3 30. Rd1 Rxd1 31. Qxd1 Kg7 $17 {[%csl Ge3,Ge5]}) 25. Rxc8 Bxc8 26. Rc1 (26. Rd1 $142) 26... Qd6 $2 {This loses the d3 pawn and leads to a favorable endgame for White.} (26... Qf6 $5 {was correct preventing both an immediate capture on d3 and ?c1-c3. Still, after} 27. Rd1 (27. Bxd3 $2 Bxh3 $1 28. gxh3 Ne5 $17) (27. Rc3 $2 Qf4 $1) {it is unclear how Black can make progress, e.g.} 27... Nf4 (27... b6 28. Bxd3 Ba6 29. e5 $1 Qxe5 30. Qc2 $11) 28. Nf5 {[%CAl Rg2g3]} Ne2 (28... Qe5 29. Ne7+ Kh8 30. Nxc8 {[%CAl Yg2g3]}) 29. Qe3 $13 {[%csl Rd3]}) 27. Qxd3 $1 Qxd3 28. Bxd3 Bxh3 29. gxh3 Rxd3 {[%mdl 4096]} 30. Rc8+ Kh7 (30... Nf8 $5 31. Nf5 f6 $14 {with firm defense}) 31. Rc7 Ne5 $6 {An inaccurate move eventually leading to a defeat.} (31... Rd2 32. Rxf7 (32. Nf5 Kg8 $1 33. Kg3 Rxa2 34. Rxb7 Rc2 $11) 32... Kg8 33. Rxb7 Rxf2+ 34. Kg1 Rxa2 35. Nh5 Kf8 {and Black shouldn't lose}) 32. Re7 Nf3+ 33. Kg2 Nh4+ 34. Kf1 Rd1+ 35. Ke2 Ra1 36. a4 Ra2+ 37. Kf1 Ra1+ 38. Ke2 Ra2+ 39. Ke3 Ng2+ 40. Kf3 Ne1+ 41. Ke3 Ng2+ 42. Kd4 Rxf2 43. Nf5 Kg6 44. Rxb7 $16 {White's king is more active and his pawns are more advanced so he has good winning chances although the endgame is extremely complicated. Its detailed analysis is outside the scope of this publication.} Rf3 $6 (44... a5) 45. h4 (45. b4 $5 Rxh3 46. Rxa7) 45... a5 46. Rb5 h5 47. b4 $1 axb4 48. a5 Nf4 (48... Ra3 49. Kc5 b3 50. Kb6) 49. Kc5 Ra3 50. Kb6 Nd3 51. Nd4 Nb2 52. Rxb4 Na4+ 53. Kc6 Nc3 54. Rb3 Ra4 55. Rxc3 Rxd4 56. a6 Rxe4 57. a7 Ra4 58. Kb6 Rxa7 59. Kxa7 Kf5 60. Rg3 g6 61. Rg5+ Ke4 62. Kb6 f5 63. Kc5 f4 64. Rxg6 1-0 [Event "Prague Masters 2nd"] [Site "Prague"] [Date "2020.02.21"] [Round "9"] [White "Duda, Jan Krzysztof"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2721"] [Annotator "Duda,Jan Krzysztof"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2020.02.12"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "CZE"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 195"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2020.04.30"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.04.30"] [SourceQuality "1"] {This game was played under very specific circumstances. It was the last round of the tournament, played one hour earlier than usual. My opponent had a great tournament scoring +3 and it seemed to everyone that he was clearly going to win the competition. However, in the 8th round something apocalyptic happened to him, because he lost a-not-possible-to-lose game against David Navara. Vidit was clearly winning before the time control, and later he had an endgame with a plus pawn which was drawn. Not being able to settle for a draw, he overpushed and lost. I on the other hand had a mediocre tournament, winning in the 1st round a cool game against David Navara, but losing in round 7 a traumatic game to Alireza Firouzja, where after 15 moves I was basically busted with White. I was happy though to play with White against Vidit in the last round, because I have never had a chance to play an official game against him (with White). Considering our history, and more importantly his game against David, it felt as if I was going to win an easy game. Obviously such thinking is hardly dangerous, and I had to keep my composure, not letting my emotions take over} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 ({Here is the aforementioned apocalypse of Vidit:} 3... b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Bf4 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Bg3 Nd7 8. e4 N5f6 9. e5 Nh5 10. Nc3 Be7 11. Bc4 a6 12. d5 exd5 13. Bxd5 Nxg3 14. hxg3 c6 15. Bxf7+ Kxf7 16. e6+ Kxe6 17. Qe2+ Kf7 18. O-O-O Bf6 19. Ne4 Qe7 20. Nd6+ Kf8 21. Qxe7+ Bxe7 22. Nxb7 Nf6 23. Ne5 Nd5 24. Kb1 Rc8 25. Rhe1 Bxa3 26. Nxc6 Bb4 27. Nxb4 Nxb4 28. Rd7 h5 29. Nd6 Ra8 30. Ree7 Rh7 31. Ne4 Rh6 32. Rxg7 Rd8 33. b3 Rxd7 34. Rxd7 a5 35. f3 Rc6 36. Rd2 Kf7 37. Kb2 Ke6 38. Nc3 Rd6 39. Re2+ Kf5 40. Ne4 Rd1 41. Nc3 Rd3 42. Nb1 Nd5 43. Kc2 Nb4+ 44. Kb2 Nd5 45. Na3 Ne3 46. Nc4 Nxc4+ 47. bxc4 a4 48. Kc2 Rb3 49. Rd2 Rb4 50. Kc3 Rb3+ 51. Kc2 Rb4 52. Kc3 Rb3+ 53. Kd4 a3 54. Ra2 Ke6 55. c5 b5 56. g4 hxg4 57. fxg4 b4 58. g5 Rb2 59. Ra1 a2 60. g6 b3 61. c6 Rc2 62. Rf1 b2 63. g7 Rxg2 64. c7 Kd7 {0-1 (64) Vidit,S (2721)-Navara,D (2717) Prague CZE 2020}) 4. Nc3 Bb4 {He is a very keen Ragozin player, sometimes only varying with the Grunfeld Defence.} 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 Re8 8. Bd2 a6 {The setup with a6-Bd6 is a flagship of Vidit. My preparation for this game was frankly quite limited, but obviously I knew my stuff in other lines too.} (8... Bd6 9. h3 (9. c5 $1 {is strong for White here and secures a long term edge.}) 9... a6 10. a3 Bd7 11. Be2 dxc4 12. Bxc4 h6 13. g4 e5 14. g5 $1 $40 {was a nice assault in Radjabov,T (2757)-Vidit,S (2695) Wijk aan Zee 2019, 1-0 (36).}) 9. a3 Bd6 10. O-O-O $5 {This is the prepared idea. It's clearly risky, but as said I was having a bigger blunder margin than normally.} (10. h3 {and}) (10. Rd1 {are more common moves}) 10... Bd7 {This looks the most logical, but Black has playable alternatives too:} (10... dxc4 11. e4 (11. Bxc4 b5 12. Bd3 Bb7 $13 (12... b4)) 11... e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. Bg5 Bd4 (14... Bd7 15. Bxc4 Qc8) 15. Nd5 $6 (15. Bxc4 c5 16. Nd5 {would be the correct move order.}) 15... c5 $6 (15... c6 $1 16. Rxd4 (16. Nxf6+ gxf6 17. Be3 Bxe3+ 18. fxe3 Qb6 $17) (16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Nxf6+ Qxf6 18. Bxc4 b5 19. Ba2 c5 $132) 16... cxd5 17. Rxd5 Qb6 {with a messy position where Black is fine.}) 16. Bxc4 Be6 $13 {with sharp play as seen in Aizpurua,P (2348)-Cruz,C (2567) Guatemala City GUA 2020, 0-1 (41).}) (10... b5 $6 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Nxd5 Nxd5 13. Qxc6 {It is debatable if Black has enough compensation for the pawn.}) (10... Rb8) 11. c5 (11. e4 {is another possibility, but I didn't go for it because it's more forcing. After} dxe4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Qxe4 e5 14. Ng5 g6 15. c5 (15. Qh4 h5 16. c5 Be7 {is the same.}) 15... Be7 16. Qh4 h5 17. Bc4 {Black has many playable moves, probably the most entertaining being} Nxd4 18. Qg3 (18. Nxf7 $2 {is bad:} Bxh4 19. Nxd8+ Kh7 20. Nxb7 $6 Bc6 21. Na5 Bxg2 $17 {and Black is close to winning.}) 18... Bf5 19. Nxf7 Qd5 $1 20. Qc3 Qxc5 {and it's all equal according to the engine.}) {Now we get more or less a forced sequence.} 11... Bf8 12. e4 dxe4 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 Ne7 15. Bd3 g6 16. Ne5 Bc6 $6 (16... Ba4 {was the only move I had analysed. The variation goes} 17. Qf3 Nf5 18. g4 Bxd1 {and I would have to decide between} 19. Kxd1 ({or} 19. Rxd1 Nh6 {playing for compensation.}) 19... Qxd4 20. Bc3 Qd5 21. gxf5 Qxf3+ 22. Nxf3 exf5 {with an unclear endgame.}) ({But it seems Black can also play slowly:} 16... Bg7 17. Qf4 Rf8) ({or} 16... Nc6) 17. Qf4 Nf5 18. g4 $1 {This is very important. Black is not only forced to withdraw his beautiful knight but also, no less importantly, to exchange his bishop, the main defender of the black monarch.} Bh6 (18... Qxd4 19. gxf5 Qxf4 20. Bxf4 Bxh1 21. fxg6 hxg6 22. Rxh1 $16 {Two pieces are clearly stronger than a rook here.}) 19. Nxc6 bxc6 20. Qe4 Bxd2+ 21. Rxd2 Ne7 22. Bc4 Nd5 23. h4 $16 Qf6 {I considered my position to be better, but now spent a lot of time choosing between many promising possibilities.} 24. h5 (24. Rh3) (24. Kb1) ({and} 24. f4 {are the other moves I gave a thought.}) 24... e5 ({I was the most afraid of this move, but saw that at the very least I had 25.Qe5 with the better endgame} 24... Qg5 25. hxg6 (25. Qe5 $5 Qxe5 26. dxe5 {I wasn't sure that Black couldn't create any sort of fortress, but obviously this endgame is hardly depressing to play with Black.} a5 27. h6 (27. b3 $5 {not allowing a4.}) 27... a4 28. Rc2 Ra5 29. Bd3 Kf8 (29... f6)) 25... fxg6 {is better, but now Black has created a huge weakness on e6 for himself.} (25... hxg6 26. f4 $1 {I didn't calculate well enough here.} Qxg4 (26... Nxf4 27. Rdh2 Kf8 28. Kb1 Nd5 29. Qf3 $18) 27. Qe5 f6 28. Qe1 Qxf4 29. Rh4 Qg5 30. Qh1 f5 31. Qh2 $40 {and apparently White's attack is very strong here.}) 26. f3 Re7 27. Qd3 {is the idea, to unpin the rook with Kb1.}) (24... g5 25. h6 Qf4 26. Bd3 {White again has various alternatives.} Qxe4 27. Bxe4 $16 {and White has additional target on h7 as well.}) (24... a5 25. hxg6 fxg6 26. f4 $40) 25. Kb1 ({For some reason this is considered better by the engine:} 25. Re2 Qg5+ 26. Kb1 exd4 27. Qxd4 Rxe2 28. Bxe2 Qf6 29. Rd1 $16) 25... Rad8 $2 {It's rather surprising, but actually this is the losing mistake. Black had other resources which obviously would keep him in the game, but his position would be worse in any case.} (25... Rab8) (25... Kg7) (25... exd4 26. Qxd4 Qf3 (26... Rad8 27. Rhd1)) (25... Qf4 26. Qxf4 (26. Re2 $5 exd4 27. Qxf4 Nxf4 28. Rxe8+ Rxe8 29. Bxa6 $16) 26... exf4 27. Re2) 26. Re2 $1 $18 {Now Black is stuck, and he can't avoid material losses.} Nf4 (26... exd4 27. Qxe8+ Rxe8 28. Rxe8+ Kg7 29. h6# $1 {is the key, making all the difference!}) 27. Re3 (27. Ree1 {is also good. There is no avoiding dxe5.}) 27... Nd5 28. hxg6 hxg6 (28... Qxg6 29. Qxg6+ hxg6 30. Rxe5 $18) 29. Reh3 $18 {This nice rook switch is the nail in his coffin. Basically the game is over by this stage, although I still managed to make a mistake in the process.} Kf8 30. Bxa6 $5 {Not the most precise, but he was in severe time trouble, and usually such slow moves are very difficult to meet. Besides a pawn is a pawn :)} Qxf2 31. Rf3 $6 {I had a 50/50 choice and missed.} (31. Rf1 $1 {wins on the spot. The difference is that now there is no Rb8!} Qxd4 32. Qxg6 Qd1+ {Extra trick.} 33. Ka2 Qxf1 (33... Nb4+ 34. axb4 Qa4+ 35. Ra3 $18) 34. Qh6+ Ke7 35. Bxf1 $18 {I had seen that far, but thought Rf3 to be simpler.}) 31... Qxd4 (31... Rb8 $1 {would have been a huge surprise, even though I don't think I would hash it up. After the pretty natural variation} 32. Rxf2 Nc3+ 33. Kc2 Nxe4 34. Re2 $1 {is the only winning move, with the idea that} exd4 {meets} 35. Rxe4 $1) 32. Qxg6 Nf4 (32... Nc3+ 33. bxc3 Rb8+ 34. Ka1 $18) 33. Qf6 Qe4+ 34. Bd3 {and checkmate is unavoidable. This win put me on +1 score, and this was enough to share the 1st place.} 1-0 [Event "Saint Louis Spring-A"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2022.03.07"] [Round "6"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "Swiercz, Dariusz"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2676"] [BlackElo "2656"] [Annotator "Kapnisis,Spyridon"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2022.03.02"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "USA"] [EventCategory "16"] [SourceTitle "CBM 207 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2022.05.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.05.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 b6 $5 (7... Re8) 8. Bd2 (8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bd3 Bg4 (9... Ne7 $5 {[%CAl Yc7c5]}) 10. a3 Bxc3+ 11. Qxc3 Bxf3 12. gxf3 Ne7 13. b3 Rc8 14. Bb2 $13 {1-0 (42) Petrosyan,M (2620)-Pashikian,A (2606) Yerevan ARM 2022}) 8... Bb7 (8... Ne7 9. a3 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 a5 11. b3 (11. cxd5 exd5 12. Bd3 Ba6 $13) 11... Ba6 12. Nd2 a4 $1 13. bxa4 dxc4 (13... Nf5 $5 $13) 14. e4 $13 {1-0 (69) Sevian,S (2647)-Bok,B (2624) Krasnaya Polyana RUS 2021}) 9. cxd5 exd5 10. a3 Bd6 11. Bd3 (11. Nb5 Ne4 $6 12. Bd3 Re8 13. Nxd6 Qxd6 14. O-O a5 15. Rfc1 $16 {1-0 (24) Vidit,S (2721)-Pashikian,A (2605) Moscow RUS 2019}) 11... a6 12. O-O Ne7 (12... Re8 13. b4 Qe7 14. Rfc1 (14. b5 $5) 14... Nb8 (14... Nd8 $5) 15. Qb3 b5 $2 (15... Nbd7 $13) 16. a4 c6 17. e4 $1 $16 {1-0 (30) Hakobyan,A (2561)-Santos Ruiz,M (2560) New Delhi IND 2019}) 13. b4 Ng6 14. b5 a5 (14... Re8 $5 {[%CAl Yf6e4]}) (14... axb5 15. Nxb5 c5 16. Nxd6 Qxd6 17. Rfb1 Ba6 18. Bxa6 Rxa6 19. dxc5 bxc5 20. a4 $14) 15. a4 Re8 $6 {[#]} (15... Rc8 $5 16. Bc1 (16. Bf5 Rb8 17. Bc1 Ne7 18. Bh3 c6 $5 19. bxc6 (19. Bb2 Bc8 (19... c5 $2 20. dxc5 bxc5 21. Ne2 $16) 20. Bxc8 Rxc8 $13) 19... Nxc6 $13 {[%CAl Yc6b4,Yf6e4]}) 16... c5 17. bxc6 Rxc6 18. Qb3 {[#]} Nh4 $3 19. Nxh4 Ne4 20. Nf5 (20. Nf3 Rxc3 21. Qb1 Bb4 $15) 20... Rxc3 21. Qb5 Bb4 22. Bxe4 Bc6 23. Qe2 dxe4 24. Bb2 Rd3 25. d5 (25. Qg4 Qf6 26. d5 $1 (26. Nxg7 $2 Qg6 $1 $17 {[%csl Rg7]} (26... Qxg7 27. Qxg7+ Kxg7 28. d5+ $11)) 26... Qg6 27. Qxg6 fxg6 28. dxc6 gxf5 29. Rfc1 Rc8 30. Bd4 Ba3 $1 (30... Kf7 31. c7 $16) 31. Rc2 Bc5 $1 $11) 25... Qg5 $1 26. Nxg7 Bd7 27. Nh5 (27. Qh5 Qg6 $1 28. Qh4 Rxd5 $13) 27... f6 28. f4 Qh6 29. Rad1 Bc5 $1 30. Rxd3 exd3 31. Qf3 d2 32. Rd1 Qg6 $1 {[%CAl Yd7g4]} 33. d6 (33. h3 Be8 $1 34. Ng3 $2 (34. Nxf6+ $15) 34... Qc2 $19) 33... Qg4 $13) (15... Qe7 16. Qb3 Rad8 17. Bc1 Ne4 18. g3 $6 (18. Ba3 $5 Nh4 19. Nxh4 Qxh4 20. Bxd6 $14) 18... Bb4 19. Na2 Bd6 {0-1 (58) Michalik,P (2585)-Kjartansson,G (2450) Terme Catez SLO 2022} (19... Qf6 $1 20. Be2 Bc8 $1 $15 {[%CAl Yc8g4]})) 16. Bc1 $1 {[%CAl Yc1a3] White will exchange his dark squared bishop through the a3 square. By exchanging the dak-squared bishops white eliminates his worst placed piece for an important attacking piece} Ne4 17. Ba3 Rc8 18. Rfc1 $2 {[#]} (18. Bxd6 cxd6 19. Ra3 Nh4 20. Nxh4 Qxh4 21. Qb2 $16 {[%csl Rb7,Rd5,Rd6] remains difficult for black}) (18. Qb2 $5) 18... Nh4 $2 {Black misses an important chance to get a very dangerous initiative in the kingside.} (18... c5 $1 19. bxc6 (19. dxc5 bxc5 $17 {[%csl Ra3]}) 19... Rxc6 20. Qb2 Nh4 $1 21. Ne1 $1 (21. Nxh4 $2 {[#]} Bxh2+ $1 {An important intermediate move.} 22. Kxh2 Qxh4+ 23. Kg1 Rh6 24. Kf1 Qg4 $1 25. Ne2 Rh2 $19) (21. Be2 Nxf3+ 22. Bxf3 Bxh2+ $1 23. Kxh2 Qc7+ 24. Kg1 Nxc3 $17) 21... Nxc3 22. Rxc3 Bxh2+ $1 23. Kxh2 Qc7+ 24. Bd6 Qxd6+ 25. Kg1 $17) 19. Nxh4 Qxh4 20. g3 $6 {There was no real need for white to weaken his pawn structure.} (20. Bxd6 cxd6 (20... Nxd6 21. Ne2 $16) 21. Qb2 Nxc3 22. Rxc3 Rxc3 23. Qxc3 Rc8 24. Qa3 Qd8 25. Rc1 {Black might be able to hold this inferior ending but it can't enjoyable.}) 20... Qg5 {[#]} (20... Qe7 $5 21. Bxd6 cxd6 22. Qb2 $14) 21. Nxe4 $6 {It is perfectly understandable that Robson wanted to get rid of the annoying Ne4 but he should have tried to delay Nxe4.} (21. Qd1 $1 {getting the queen out of the c file makes a lot of sense since the c file is going to open quite soon.} Bxa3 (21... c5 22. bxc6 Rxc6 $1 (22... Bxc6 $2 23. Nxe4 dxe4 24. Ba6 Bxa3 25. Rxa3 Ra8 26. Rxc6 $18) 23. Nxe4 dxe4 24. Rxc6 Bxc6 25. Bc4 $14) (21... h5 $6 22. h4 Qf6 (22... Qf5 23. Rc2 $16 {[%CAl Ya3d6,Ya1c1]}) (22... Qg6 $2 23. Bxd6 cxd6 24. Nxe4 dxe4 25. Be2 $18 {[%csl Rh5]}) 23. Bxe4 $1 dxe4 24. Bxd6 cxd6 25. Qxh5 $16) (21... Nxf2 $2 22. Kxf2 Qxe3+ 23. Kg2 $18) (21... Qf6 22. Nxe4 dxe4 23. Be2 $14 {[%CAl Ye2g4,Yc1c3,Ya1c1] White is quite likely to get the control of the c file}) (21... g6 $6 22. Bxd6 $1 Nxc3 23. Rxc3 cxd6 24. h4 Qe7 25. Rxc8 Rxc8 26. h5 $16) 22. Rxa3 c5 23. bxc6 (23. Bxe4 dxe4 24. Ne2 cxd4 25. Nxd4 $14) 23... Rxc6 24. Nxe4 Rxc1 $1 (24... dxe4 25. Rxc6 $1 Bxc6 26. Rc3 Bd5 27. Bb5 $16) 25. Qxc1 dxe4 26. Bf1 $14) (21. Bxd6 cxd6 22. Qb2 h5 $13) 21... dxe4 22. Bf1 Qf5 23. Qb2 h5 {[#]} 24. Rc3 (24. h4 g5 {looks dangerous for white but white is still ok.} 25. hxg5 Qxg5 26. Bh3 h4 27. Bxd6 $1 (27. Bxc8 $2 Bxc8 $17) 27... cxd6 28. Kh1 $1 Rxc1+ 29. Rxc1 Kh7 30. Rg1 $11) 24... h4 25. Rac1 g6 $13 26. Qe2 (26. Be2 $5 $13) 26... Kg7 27. Qb2 (27. g4 $5 Qg5 28. Bxd6 cxd6 29. Rxc8 Rxc8 30. Rxc8 Bxc8 31. h3 $11) 27... Bd5 28. Bxd6 cxd6 29. Rxc8 Rxc8 30. Rxc8 Qxc8 31. Qa3 $1 (31. gxh4 $2 Qg4+ 32. Kh1 Qd1 $17 {[%CAl Yd1a4]}) (31. Be2 $6 h3 $1 32. Bf1 Kg8 33. Qa3 Qe6 34. Qc3 Qg4 35. Qc2 {[#]} Be6 $1 (35... Kg7 36. Be2 $11 Bb3 $4 37. Qb2 Qe6 38. d5+ $18) (35... Kf8 $2 36. Qc7 $1) (35... Kh7 $2 36. Be2 Bb3 37. Qxb3 Qxe2 38. Qxf7+ Kh6 39. Qf8+ Kh7 40. Qe7+ Kh6 41. Qh4+ Kg7 42. Qxh3 Qd1+ 43. Qf1 Qxa4 $11) 36. Be2 {[#]} (36. Kh1 Qf3+ 37. Kg1 Bg4 $19 {[%CAl Yg8g7,Yf3d1]}) 36... Bb3 $1 37. Bxg4 $1 (37. Kf1 Qe6) 37... Bxc2 38. Kf1 Bxa4 39. Be2 Bb3 40. Ke1 {White probably survives because black king has no entry.}) 31... Qc7 $2 (31... hxg3 32. hxg3 Qc7 $11) 32. gxh4 Kf8 33. Be2 Ke7 34. Qb2 Qc8 35. Kg2 Qf5 $6 (35... Be6 $11) 36. Qc3 (36. Qc1 $5) 36... Kd8 {[#]} 37. h3 $1 {[%CAl Ye2g4]} Qf6 38. Bg4 Bb7 39. Kg3 Qe7 {[#]} 40. Qc4 (40. d5 $5 {Whie could have tried to complicate matters by sacrificing his central pawn. The compensation is rather obvious since he will have the chance to activate his queen.} f5 $1 (40... Qe5+ $2 41. Qxe5 dxe5 42. d6 $18 {[%CAl Yh4h5]}) 41. Be2 Bxd5 42. Bc4 $1 Bb7 $1 {Black bishop protects valuable light squares so he shouldn't be exchanged.} (42... Bxc4 $2 {The pure queen ending appears to be quite dangerous for black who has problems with his king's safety and a lot of weak pawns.} 43. Qxc4 Qe5+ 44. Kg2 f4 $1 {Opening the center in order to weaken white's king defense is the only way for black to fight for the draw.} 45. exf4 Qxf4 46. Qe6 $1 $16 {White has the safest king.}) 43. Qh8+ (43. Bb3 Qe5+ 44. Qxe5 dxe5 45. h5 gxh5 46. Kh4 Ke7 47. Kg5 h4 $1 48. Kxh4 (48. Kxf5 Bc8+ 49. Kxe5 Bxh3 50. Kxe4 Bg4 (50... Bg2+ $2 51. Kf4 $18) 51. Kf4 Be2 $1 52. f3 (52. Bc2 Kd6 53. e4 Ke7 54. e5 Ke6 55. Ke3 Bf1 56. f4 h3 57. Bb3+ Ke7 58. Bd5 h2 59. f5 Bc4 $1 60. Bg2 Bb3 61. Kd4 Bxa4 62. f6+ Kf7 63. Bd5+ Kg6 $11) 52... Kd6 53. e4 h3 54. e5+ Ke7 55. Kg3 h2 $11) 48... Kf6 $11) 43... Kc7 44. Bb3 d5 45. Kf4 {[%CAl Yh8e5]} Kd6 (45... Kd7 $5) 46. Bc2 Kd7 (46... Kc7 $4 47. Qe5+ $18) 47. Bd1 Bc8 (47... Kd6 48. Qh6 $1 Qf6 49. Kg3 $16 {[%CAl Yh4h5]}) 48. Kg3 (48. Qh6 Qf6 49. Kg3 Qa1 $11) 48... Kc7 49. Qd4 Qd6+ 50. Kg2 Bd7 51. Qg7 Kc8 52. h5 gxh5 53. Bxh5 f4 $1 $14) (40. Qb3 $5 Qe8 (40... d5 $6 41. f4 exf3 42. Bxf3 Qd6+ 43. Kg2 $16) 41. Qa2 Qe7 42. Bd1 $5 Qf6 $1 43. Qe2 {[%CAl Ye2g4]} Bc8 $14) 40... d5 41. Qc3 (41. Qf1 Qa3 42. Bd1 Qd6+ 43. f4 exf3+ 44. Kxf3 Bc8 {White's extra pawn is not enough to claim an avantage.}) 41... f5 {[#]} (41... Qd6+ 42. Kg2 Qe7 $11) 42. Bd1 (42. Be2 $5 Qd6+ 43. f4 exf3+ 44. Kxf3 Qh2 45. Bf1 Qh1+ $1 46. Ke2 Qe4 47. Qa3 $1 Kc7 48. Qf8 Qc2+ 49. Kf3 Qe4+ 50. Kf2 Qxh4+ 51. Ke2 Qe4 52. Kd2 {White keeps a small advantage.}) 42... Qd6+ 43. Kg2 {[#]} (43. f4 exf3+ 44. Kxf3 Qh2 45. Qe1 Qxh3+ 46. Kf4 Qh2+ 47. Qg3 Qxg3+ 48. Kxg3 Ke7 49. Kf4 Kf6 $11) 43... Qe7 $1 {Black shows good prophylactic thinking.} (43... Qf6 $6 44. Qa3 $1 Kc7 45. Kg3 Kb8 (45... g5 $2 46. hxg5 Qxg5+ 47. Kh2 $16) 46. Qb2 $1 (46. f4 $6 exf3 47. Bxf3 f4+ $1 48. exf4 Qxd4 {With the white king exposed black will manage to get the draw.}) 46... Ka7 (46... Kc7 $2 47. f4 $1 exf3 48. Qf2 $1 $18) 47. Qd2 $16 {[%CAl Yf2f4] white has chances to play for the win.}) 44. Kg3 Qd6+ 45. f4 exf3+ 46. Kxf3 Qh2 $1 47. Qe1 Qxh3+ 48. Ke2 Qg2+ 49. Kd3 Bc8 50. Kc3 1/2-1/2 [Event "World-ch Tournament"] [Site "Mexico City"] [Date "2007.09.18"] [Round "5"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Morozevich, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2726"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "Schandorff,Lars"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2007.09.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "MEX"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 120"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2007.10.02"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2007.10.02"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 {The popular Ragozin variation. It is a mix of the Queens Gambit Declined and the Nimzo Indian and it appeals to players who like unbalanced positions.} 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 {The old variation. It leads to a complex strategical game, but White seems to have the easier play. In the last few years Black has instead been experimenting with an interesting and sharp move-order} (6... O-O 7. e3 c5 $132) 7. e3 c5 8. Bd3 Qa5 {The basic idea. Black develops the queen and puts pressure on the white knight.} 9. Qc2 c4 {The second step. Black fixes the pawn structure with tempo and gains some space on the queenside.} 10. Bf5 O-O 11. O-O Re8 12. Nd2 {Both sides fight for control of the important square e4. The game now goes into a phase of deep manouvering.} g6 {Asks the annoying bishop to declare itself.} 13. Bh3 $1 {Keeps all the pieces on the board.} (13. Bxd7 Nxd7 {also gives White some initiative, but Black should be ok. A recent example} 14. f3 Nb6 15. Bf4 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Qa4 17. Qc1 Bf5 18. Re1 Qc6 19. Nf1 Bd3 20. Ng3 Re6 21. Nh1 f6 22. h4 Rae8 23. Nf2 Qa4 24. Rd1 Kg7 25. Qb2 R8e7 26. Nxd3 cxd3 27. Rxd3 Nc4 28. Qf2 Rb6 29. Qg3 Rb2 30. e4 dxe4 31. fxe4 Rxe4 32. Rf1 Qd7 33. Rdf3 Ree2 34. R3f2 Qe7 35. Rxe2 Rxe2 36. a4 Ne3 37. Bxe3 Rxe3 38. Rf3 Rxf3 39. Qxf3 Qe1+ 40. Kh2 Qxh4+ 41. Kg1 Qe1+ 42. Kh2 Qe7 43. c4 h5 44. c5 h4 45. Kh3 g5 46. Kg4 a5 47. Kh5 Qe8+ 48. Kg4 Qc8+ 49. Kh5 Qe8+ 50. Kg4 Qf7 51. Qf5 Qe7 52. Qf3 Kh6 53. Qd5 Qc7 54. Kf5 Kg7 55. Kg4 Qc8+ 56. Kf3 h3 57. gxh3 Qxh3+ 58. Kf2 Qh2+ 59. Kf1 Qf4+ 60. Kg2 Qd2+ 61. Kg3 Qe3+ 62. Kg2 Qe2+ 63. Kg3 Qe7 64. Kg4 Qc7 65. Qe4 Kf8 66. Qf5 Qc6 67. d5 Qxc5 68. Qxf6+ {½-½ Mamedyarov,S (2728)-Aronian,L (2741)/Moscow RUS 2006/The Week in Chess 627}) 13... Kg7 ({The obvious move} 13... Bxc3 {is strongly met with} 14. Qxc3 $1 (14. bxc3 Ne4 15. Nxe4 dxe4 $11 {Black is threatenening to play ?b6 with a nice position, so White's best bet is ?xd7 with opposite coloured bishops and rather equal play.}) 14... Qxc3 15. bxc3 Ne4 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Bg4 $1 Nb6 18. Be2 $14 {White keeps the bishop pair and has a pleasant endgame. This has been known since a nice Karpov game.} Be6 19. Rab1 Rac8 20. Rfc1 Rc7 21. f3 Bd5 22. Kf2 Rc6 23. h4 Kg7 24. a4 Nxa4 25. Rxb7 Ra6 26. Rb5 Nb6 27. Rc2 Ra4 28. Bf4 Rc8 29. Rc5 Bb7 30. Rb2 Ra3 31. Be5+ f6 32. Bc7 Rb3 33. Ra2 Nd7 34. Rxc4 Bd5 35. Rxa7 Bxc4 36. Bxc4 Rxc3 37. Bd6 R3xc4 38. Rxd7+ Kg8 39. fxe4 Rc1 40. Kf3 Rf1+ 41. Kg3 Rc3 42. Bf4 Rg1 43. e5 fxe5 44. dxe5 Rc6 45. Bh6 Rb1 46. Rg7+ Kh8 47. Re7 Rb8 48. e6 Rcc8 49. Rf7 Kg8 50. Rg7+ Kf8 51. Rxh7+ Ke8 52. Bg5 {1-0 Karpov,A (2688)-Milov,V (2620)/Cap d'Agde 2002/CBM 092/[Ribli]}) 14. Rae1 {Prepares f3 and e4 with good play in the centre.} Ne4 15. Ndxe4 dxe4 16. Bf4 f5 $146 {An interesting novelty. Black shuts ?h3 out of play. At least for now. In a few games Black tried} (16... Nb6 17. Bxc8 Raxc8 18. f3 $36 {but in all of them White got good play on the kingside, for example} exf3 19. Rxf3 f5 20. e4 Kg8 21. Bg3 fxe4 22. Rxe4 Bxc3 23. bxc3 Qd5 24. Rg4 Qd7 25. Rg5 Rf8 26. Rxg6+ hxg6 27. Qxg6+ Qg7 28. Qe6+ Rf7 29. Bd6 Rcf8 30. Be5 Qg5 31. Rg3 Qxg3 32. hxg3 Kh7 33. Qh3+ Kg6 34. Qg4+ Kh6 35. Bf4+ Kh7 36. Qh5+ Kg8 37. Be5 {1-0 Huzman,A (2435)-Dreev,A (2465)/Uzhgorod 1987/EXT 97}) 17. f3 Nf6 18. a3 $1 {Grischuk has always been a very talented attacking player, and although he has switched from 1.e4 to 1.d4 he hasn't forgotten the importance of the initiative in a sharp position. Here he sacrifices a pawn and puts himself in the driver's seat. This strong reaction puts Moro's novelty under a black cloud. White would like to put the bishop on e5 and break open the centre, but it has to be prepared. Bad was immediately} (18. Be5 $6 Rxe5 19. dxe5 Qxe5 {with good positional compensation for the exchange.}) 18... Bxc3 19. bxc3 h5 $6 {Creates new weaknesses, but taking the pawn was also risky.} (19... Qxa3 20. Be5 $1 exf3 (20... Rxe5 21. dxe5 Nd5 22. fxe4 Qxc3 23. Qf2) 21. gxf3 $36 {White quickly gets e4 in with strong pressure.}) 20. Qf2 $1 {Transfering the queen to the kingside. White has a simple plan. ?f2-g3 followed by ?f4-e5. Then the bishop is protected and Black cannot get away with the typical exchange sacrifice.} Bd7 21. Qg3 Qxc3 22. Be5 {Completes White's strategy. Morozevich quickly goes downhill.} Qxa3 $6 ({Also hopeless was} 22... Rxe5 $6 23. dxe5 Nh7 24. fxe4 $18) ({The last chance to prolong the fight was} 22... exf3 23. gxf3 Rf8 (23... h4 $5 24. Qxh4 Rxe5 $1 25. dxe5 Qxe5 26. Qxc4 Bb5 27. Qb3 Rh8 28. f4 Qe8 29. Bg2 Bxf1 30. Qxb7+ Qf7 31. Qxf7+ Kxf7 32. Bxf1 Rc8 {and Black has good compensation for the pawn in an ending.}) 24. e4 f4 $1 25. Qh4 Bxh3 26. Qxh3 Qxa3 27. Kh1 $1 Qe7 28. Rg1 Kh7 29. Qg2 Rg8 30. Bxf4 {and White's initiative is still very strong.}) 23. fxe4 $18 {Black's position collapses.} Rxe5 24. exf5 $1 {Black probably missed this strong move.} ({Not} 24. Qxe5 Re8 25. Qc7 Rxe4) 24... Rxf5 25. Bxf5 Bxf5 26. Rxf5 Re8 27. Re5 {Timetrouble.} (27. Rc5 $1 Re7 28. Rxc4) 27... Qd6 28. Rxe8 Nxe8 (28... Qxg3 29. hxg3 Nxe8) 29. Qf3 b5 30. Qb7+ Nc7 31. Qxa7 b4 {Suddenly Black has some counterplay, but with active and precise play Grischuk ends all discussions.} 32. e4 c3 33. e5 Qe7 34. Qb7 {With control. The black pawns don´t run anywhere.} Kh6 35. Rf1 c2 (35... h4 36. h3 Kg7 37. Rb1 $18) 36. Rc1 Qg5 37. Rxc2 Qe3+ 38. Rf2 Ne6 39. Qxb4 {The pawns are gone and so is the last hope.} Qc1+ 40. Rf1 Qe3+ 41. Kh1 1-0 [Event "FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss"] [Site "Douglas"] [Date "2019.10.19"] [Round "9"] [White "Abasov, Nijat Azad"] [Black "Sjugirov, Sanan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2632"] [BlackElo "2662"] [Annotator "Abasov,Nijat"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2019.10.10"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "IOM"] [SourceTitle "CBM 206 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2022.03.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.03.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 {Ragozin. Frankly speaking, I wasn't expecting Ragozin from Sanan.} 5. Bg5 $5 ({Some rounds earlier in this tournament I had faced Ragozin in my game against Anand where I chose} 5. Qa4+) 5... h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. Qc2 {I already had couple games here, surprisingly Sanan wasn't ready facing it again!} Be7 $146 {Novelty. I was totally surprised seeing it on the board.} ({I even had a game here playing with Black, then I chose} 11... Nc6 12. Ne4 Qe7 (12... Bb4+ 13. Ke2 Qf5 14. g4 $5 {looks like a serious try with White}) 13. Nxc5 Qxc5 14. a3 Qa5+ 15. Qc3 Qxc3+ 16. Rxc3 Rd8 17. Ke2 Bd7 18. Rhc1 Rac8 19. Bd3 Kf8 20. h4 Ne7 {and eventually game ended in a draw: 1/2 (42)-1/2 (42) Salem,A (2586)-Abasov,N (2509) Sharjah 2014}) 12. O-O (12. Bd3 Nc6 (12... a6 13. O-O Nc6 14. Bh7+ Kh8 15. Ne4) 13. a3 Ne5) 12... Nc6 13. Rfd1 Rd8 14. Rxd8+ ({or} 14. Ne4 Qf5 15. Rxd8+ Nxd8 16. Nd4 Qa5 17. Bd3 Bd7 18. Qc7 Qd5 19. Bc4 Qxe4 20. Qxd7 Bf8 21. Bf1 $36) 14... Bxd8 15. Rd1 {Thanks to the activity of my pieces and extra half an hour on the clocks, I was very optimistic about my chances.} Qe7 16. Qd3 ({in case of} 16. Qd2 Ba5 {comes with the pin}) 16... Ba5 $6 ({Black should have tried to finish the development with} 16... b6 17. Nb5 Bb7 18. Nd6 Nb4 $132 {followed by 19...-Bxf3}) 17. Bb5 Qb4 $2 {Black is not really threatening taking on b2} 18. Ne4 $1 Bc7 (18... Qxb2 $4 19. Rb1 Qxa2 20. Bc4 Qa4 21. Nc5 $18 {traps the Queen}) 19. a3 Qe7 (19... Qxb2 20. Rb1 Qa2 21. Bc4 $18) 20. Nd6 Rb8 (20... Qxd6 {leads to losing endgame} 21. Qxd6 Bxd6 22. Rxd6 Kf8 23. Bxc6 Ke7 24. Rd4 bxc6 25. Ne5 c5 26. Nc6+ Kf6 27. Rf4+ $18) 21. Bxc6 ({in case of a waiting move, I wasn't happy about} 21. h3 Qxd6 22. Qxd6 Bxd6 23. Rxd6 Kf8 24. Bxc6 Ke7 25. Rd4 bxc6 26. Ne5 {and this time Black's got} Rb6) (21. b4 a5 {was my concern}) 21... bxc6 22. Ne5 (22. Nxc8 Rxc8 23. Qa6 {doesn't lead to a material win in a view of} Rd8 $1 {and Black is in the game}) 22... Qxd6 $2 ({Here we both missed a very powerful resource for Black} 22... Bd7 $1 {is looks totally insane to give away the f7-pawn. But... If it works - it works...} 23. Ndxf7 (23. Nexf7 Be8) 23... Be8 24. Nd6 Rd8 25. Nec4 c5 $1 {[%CAl Ge8b5] preparing ...-Bb5} 26. e4 Bb5 27. e5 Bxc4 28. Qxc4 Bxd6 29. exd6 Rxd6 {and at the end of this extraordinary line, somehow, Black holds!}) 23. Qxd6 Bxd6 24. Rxd6 Rxb2 25. h4 {opening some air for my King, at the same time will try to get rivalry King into a cage with h5 later on. The endgame is extremely unpleasant for Black} Bb7 26. Rd8+ Kh7 27. Nxf7 (27. h5 $6 {is the alternative I was considering, but it fails to work due to} Rb1+ 28. Kh2 Rb5 29. f4 f6 $132) 27... Kg6 28. Ne5+ (28. Rf8 $5 $18) (28. Rd7 c5 29. Ne5+ Kf6 30. Ng4+ Kf5 31. f3 $18) 28... Kf6 29. f4 Kf5 {Here I panicked for a bit as the Black King gets suddenly active...} 30. Nd3 $2 (30. Nc4 $1 {with the idea of Nd6 was the key move} Rb1+ 31. Kh2 c5 32. Nd6+ Kg6 33. Rb8 Be4 34. h5+ $1 Kh7 (34... Kxh5 35. Rg8 $18) 35. Rc8 $18) 30... Rb5 (30... Rb1+ 31. Kf2 $1 (31. Kh2 {could lead to crazy complications!} Ke4 32. Nc5+ Kxe3 33. Rb8 {seems like White's won?} (33. a4 {is engine's suggestion} Kxf4 34. Nxe6+ Ke3 35. Nc5 Rb4 36. Rb8 Rxh4+ 37. Kg3 Rb4 38. a5 Rb5 39. Nxb7 c5 40. Re8+ Kd3 41. Rd8+ Ke2 42. Nd6 Rxa5 43. Nc4 {Practically White still has chances but with the precise play the game should end in a draw.}) 33... Rb5 $1 {No!} 34. Nxb7 Kf2 $1 {Now White's totally tied up} (34... c5 $144 {should also draw} 35. f5 $2 e5 $1 $17) 35. a4 (35. Kh3 h5 $11) 35... Rb1 36. a5 a6 $11 ({or} 36... Rg1 $11)) 31... Ba6 32. Nc5 Bc4 33. Kg3 {[%CAl Ge3e4] White's domination is unquestionble}) 31. Nf2 $2 {too passive, but the time trouble approaching (I had 7 minutes vs 2 minutes) I was a bit concerned about ...-Ke4 or ...-Kg4 moves.} e5 (31... c5 32. h5 {[%CAl Gd8f8] threatening Rf8 checkmate} e5 33. Rf8+ Ke6 34. Re8+ Kd7 35. Rxe5 {looked better for White at first glance, but} Rb1+ 36. Kh2 c4 37. Rc5 Rb2 $1 {Black has enough counter-play} (37... Rc1 $2 38. Nd3 $1 Rc2 $4 (38... Kd6 39. Nxc1 Kxc5 40. Na2 {[%CAl Ga2c3] Bringing Knight to -c3, just like Nimzowitsch recommended!} c3 $1 41. Nxc3 Kc4 42. Ne2 Kb3 43. g4 Kxa3 44. g5 Bd5 $1 (44... Bf3 $2 45. Ng3 Kb4 46. Nf5 a5 47. Nxg7 a4 48. gxh6 Be4 49. f5 a3 50. h7 a2 51. h8=Q $18 {and White is promoting first, with 3 extra pawns}) 45. Ng3 (45. Nc3 Bf3 $1 46. f5 hxg5 47. f6 Bxh5 48. fxg7 Bf7 49. Nb5+ Kb4 50. Nxa7 Kc5 $11) 45... Kb4 46. e4 (46. Nf5 hxg5 47. fxg5 a5 48. h6 (48. Nxg7 a4 49. h6 Be4 $19) 48... gxh6 49. gxh6 Bg8 50. Ne7 Bh7 51. Nc6+ Kb5 52. Nxa5 Kxa5 $11 {and Black saves the game}) 46... Bg8 $8 47. e5 Kc5 48. Nf5 hxg5 49. e6 $5 {last attempt} Bxe6 50. Nxg7 Bg8 51. fxg5 Kd5 52. Kg3 a5 53. g6 a4 54. h6 a3 55. h7 Bxh7 56. gxh7 a2 57. h8=Q a1=Q {and this endgame is theoretically drawn}) 39. Rxc4 $18) 38. Kg3 Rc2) 32. g4+ {pushing King back} Ke6 33. f5+ Ke7 34. Rg8 $1 {forcing King to f7 from where it might potentially be forked with Nd6.} Kf7 35. Rb8 c5 36. Nd3 (36. Ne4 {would have been a very strong move if only not...} Rb1+ 37. Kf2 Bxe4 $19 {and the Rook on b1 is defended!}) 36... Kf6 $4 {blunders the next move of White} ({meanwhile} 36... c4 $1 {was saving the game} 37. Nxe5+ Rxe5 38. Rxb7+ Kf6 39. Kf2 Rc5 (39... h5 $11 40. g5+ Kxf5 41. Rxg7 Kg4 $11) 40. Ke2 c3 41. Kd1 Rc4 42. Rb4 Rxb4 43. axb4 h5 44. gxh5 Kxf5 45. Kc2 Kg4 46. Kxc3 Kxh4 47. Kd4 Kxh5 48. Kd5 g5 49. e4 Kg6 50. Kd6 Kf7 51. Kd7 Kf6 52. Kd6 Kf7 $11) {I spent 5 out of 6 remanining minutes and only the very last moment spotted} 37. Re8 $1 {now it's totally winning for White} (37. Nxc5 Rxc5 38. Rxb7 Rc4 (38... h5) 39. Rb4) 37... Bd5 {preventing Re6} 38. Nxe5 Rb7 39. e4 $1 Bf7 (39... Bb3 40. Ng6 {followed by e5 and Rf8.}) 40. Nd7+ {Sadly, Sanan resigned here, not letting me deliver the checkmate on the board} (40. Nd7+ Rxd7 41. e5# {would have been a really beautiful finish - checkmate with the contribution of 4 pawns!}) (40. g5+ {was also an option} hxg5 41. Ng4#) 1-0 [Event "Qatar Masters op"] [Site "Doha"] [Date "2014.12.03"] [Round "8"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Yu, Yangyi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2705"] [Annotator "Yu,Yangyi"] [PlyCount "182"] [EventDate "2014.11.26"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "QAT"] [SourceTitle "CBM 164"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.01.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.01.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] {After seven rounds Giri and Kramnik were jointly heading the table with 6.0/7, followed by me and UAE GM Salem with 5.5/7 each. In round eight I had to face Giri, the top seed in this tournament and currently ranking among the world's top 10. Giri had won his first six games but lost in round seven against Kramnik. Prior to the game I did not think too much about all the things that could happen. I tried to remain calm and told myself that I just wanted to play a good game. I believe this mindset is one reason for my decent performance. Of course, this was not the first time Giri and I had met. We were both born in 1994 and our paths have crossed several times. My last game against Giri at the Reykjavik Open in Iceland 2013 ended in a draw.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. e3 c4 9. Be2 {Up to this point we both played pretty fast. I had already played this line of the Queens Gambit Declined (D38) quite often. However, when preparing I noticed how well my opponent knows the openings, and I assumed he had thoroughly analysed this line.} Bf5 $1 {A rare move, which I had analysed with a friend. Now Giri spent quite a bit of time thinking about his response. This indicates that he was not prepared for the unexpected 9...?f5.} (9... g5 $5 10. Bg3 $13) 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3 O-O 12. Rc1 (12. Nd2 g5 13. Bg3 Re8 14. a4 (14. Be5 Nc6 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 $11) 14... Nbd7 $13) 12... Nbd7 13. Ne5 Qb6 {So far all the moves had been rather natural and now the position seems to be roughly equal. White has the pair of bishops, but the position is rather closed. Black has no major weakness and his strong bishop on f5 prevents the white rooks from going to b1. And the pawn on c3 can easily become vulnerable. Given White's inability to gain control over the b-file, Black can try to take advantage of his queenside majority and simply advance his pawns, e.g. ...b5 and ...a5. All in all White's position is more difficult to play, and he can quickly run into trouble if he proceeds carelessly.} 14. Nxd7 {I think White should first play 14.?f3 and avoid the exchange of minor pieces. Then it is more difficult for Black to play ...?c6, ...b5, ...a5 to set a strong pawn avalanche in motion. But after 14.?f3 ?e6 Black's position should still be quite okay.} (14. Bf3 $5 Qe6 15. Nxd7 Nxd7 16. Qa4 Qc6 17. Qa5 b5 18. a4 a6 $11) 14... Nxd7 15. Qd2 (15. Bg3 Qc6 16. a4) (15. Bg4 Bxg4 16. Qxg4 Qc6 17. Rb1 b5) 15... Rfe8 16. Rfe1 Qc6 {I assessed my position as being already very good and much easier to play. Black's obvious and simple plan is to advance his queenside pawns, whereas White will not be able to break through in the centre with f3 and e4 because Black controls the key squares.} 17. f3 (17. Qb2 b5 18. Bd1 Nb6 $15) 17... b5 18. Bf1 a5 $15 19. g4 Bg6 20. Bg3 Nb6 21. a3 Re7 22. h3 Rea7 {I was planning to sacrifice a pawn with ...b4 followed by ...?a2. In conjunction with the passed pawn on c4 the rook on the second rank would make it difficult for White move.} 23. Qb2 {A strong move averting my plan to play ...b4, as White could then re-capture on b4 with his queen.} Na4 (23... b4 24. axb4) 24. Qd2 Nb6 25. Qb2 Bd3 $1 {Now after White prevented all good opportunities to play ...b4 I had to find a new plan. First, I first wanted to force White's white-squared bishop to a worse square.} 26. Bg2 (26. Bxd3 cxd3 27. Qd2 Nc4 28. Qxd3 Nxa3 29. e4 Nc4 $17) 26... Re8 $1 {My new plan was to shift my rooks from the a- to the e-file to exert pressure on e3, and to put my knight and my queen on squares from which they eyed the queen - and the kingside, thus creating the dual threats of ...b4 and ...f5. It is not easy for White to find a good defence against this plan.} 27. Ra1 Rae7 28. Qc1 Re6 29. Ra2 Qd7 30. Bf2 Na4 31. Rd2 (31. Bg3 Qe7) 31... Qd6 {Now all of Black's pieces are perfectly-placed. I'm threatening both ...b4 and ...f5. If White plays 32.?a2 to prevent ...b4, I can play 32...f5, followed by ...?g6 launching an attack on the kingside. White's pawns do not make a good impression and they hinder White's pieces from occupying and defending important squares.} 32. Kh1 {My opponent makes a prophylactic move on the kingside. But this finally allows my b4-breakthrough on the queenside.} (32. Ra2 f5 $1 {[%CAl Ge6g6]}) 32... b4 $1 33. axb4 axb4 34. cxb4 Qxb4 $17 {Black has a clear advantage and can infiltrate White's position via the a- and the b-files.} 35. e4 $6 {Maybe my opponent had overlooked that after 35...dxe4 36.d5 Black can play 36...e3!} dxe4 36. fxe4 (36. d5 e3 $19) 36... Bxe4 37. Rxe4 Rxe4 38. Bxe4 Rxe4 {This position must be winning for Black. He is a pawn up, his pieces are more active, and White is still struggling to gain space.} 39. Qc2 c3 40. Rd1 Re7 {Maybe 40...?e8 is even more precise. I had calculated 41.d5 ?b2 42.?xa4 attacking my rook on e8, hence I moved my rook to e7. Later, when I was looking at the game with an engine, I saw that 42...?e2 would win the piece back - and win the game.} (40... Re8 $1 41. d5 Qb2 $1 42. Qxa4 Re2 $1 $19 43. d6 Rxf2 44. Qa8+ Kh7 $19) 41. Rb1 {Very accurate defence.} (41. d5 $2 Qb2 $19) 41... Nb2 42. Re1 Rxe1+ (42... Qb7+ 43. Kg1 (43. Kh2 Rxe1 44. Bxe1 Nd1 $1 $19) 43... Rxe1+ 44. Bxe1 Qf3 45. Qxc3 Nd3 46. Qc8+ Kh7 $19) 43. Bxe1 Na4 $2 {I didn't spend too much time here. 43...?a4 is actually not a good move. I deemed Black's advantage to be decisive but underestimated White's advanced d-pawn, which quite annoyingly ties up Black's pieces. If I give up my pawn on c3 for White's d-pawn, the resulting endgame will be a lengthy battle. The best continuation would have been 43...?b7+ followed by 44...?f3. White's awkward kingside pawns leave his king exposed, allowing Black's queen and knight to penetrate White's kingside and create mating threats. Black will very likely win White's bishop or at the very least the h- and the g-pawn.} (43... Qb7+ $1 $19 44. Kg1 Qf3 45. Qxc3 Nd3 46. Qd2 (46. d5 Qe3+ 47. Kf1 Qxh3+ 48. Ke2 Nf4+ $19) 46... Nf4 47. d5 Nxh3+ 48. Kh2 Qxg4 49. d6 Ng1 $19) 44. d5 Qd4 {I had initially planned 44...?c4 but had to abandon this idea after realising that White can simply play 45.?g1. After long thought I decided to go for 44...?d4.} (44... Qc4 45. Kg1) 45. d6 {Up to here Giri had defended remarkably well, considering the enormous pressure he had been facing during the whole game. A true reflection of his strength.} Nc5 {Played after about 25 minutes. My initial plan after 44...?d4 was to continue with 45...?e3, but then I saw that White could play 46.?g2 after which my advantage would get less and less. I also thought about ...?f8 but was a bit too worried. After the game the engines suggested that ...?f8 is not such a bad move! The text move leads to an endgame that is not easy to win for Black but not easy to draw for White either. At least I wanted to maintain the pressure on White.} (45... Qe3 $6 46. Kg2 $1) (45... Kf8 $5 46. Qf5 g6 (46... g5 47. Bf2 (47. Qc8+ Kg7 48. d7 Qe4+)) 47. Qc8+ Kg7 48. Kg2 (48. d7 Qe4+) 48... Qd5+ $19) 46. Qxc3 Qxd6 47. Qf3 Qe6 48. Bf2 Ne4 49. Be3 Qc4 50. Bf4 Qc2 51. Kg1 Qc5+ 52. Kg2 Qd4 53. Be3 Qb2+ 54. Kg1 Qb1+ 55. Kg2 Qc2+ 56. Kg1 Nc3 57. Bf2 Qd2 58. Kf1 Nd5 59. Kg2 Nf4+ 60. Kg3 Nd5 {Here we both had less than ten minutes left though I was a bit better on the clock. I also had the initiative and thus a psychological edge.} 61. Kg2 Nf6 62. Qf5 Qc3 63. Qf3 Qc2 64. Qa8+ Kh7 65. Qf3 Qc4 66. Qf5+ Kg8 67. Qf3 Ne4 68. Be3 f6 69. Bf4 Kf7 70. Be3 Qd5 71. Kg1 Ke6 72. Kg2 Kd7 73. Kg1 Kd6 74. Qe2 Ke6 75. Qf3 Qe5 76. Kh1 Kf7 77. Bf4 Qd5 78. Kg2 Kg6 79. Be3 Qe6 80. Bf4 Nc5 81. Bg3 Qc4 82. Qe3 Qc2+ {We were in the fifth hour of a mentally and physically exhausting game. Here I had about nine minutes left on the clock, whereas my opponent was down to one minute. Probably afraid of mistakes in extreme time pressure he tried to find a tactical way to secure a draw.} 83. Qf2 Qc4 84. Qe3 Ne4 85. Bf4 Qc2+ 86. Kf3 Nc3 {Right after making this move I saw that White could play 87.?xh6. And my opponent went for it straight away. I was forced to remain calm and pull myself together. I said to myself that it would be miraculously unfair to fall victim to such a tactical blow in a position with so few pieces on the board. 87...gxh6 would of course end in a perpetual, but Black is not forced to take the bishop. I took a sober look at the position and after about one minute I found a response.} 87. Bxh6 $2 $138 Qh2 $1 $19 {I had calculated that this was winning for Black. After the game the engine confirmed my assessment. My opponent had little time left. He will lose his bishop without attaining the desired perpetual, and any attempt to save the bishop will cost him his queen. It is fair to say, my queen and knight harmonized very well with each other in penetrating White's exposed king and exploiting the space advantage Black had throughout the entire game.} 88. Qe8+ (88. Bf4 Qxh3+ 89. Bg3 Qh1+) 88... Kh7 89. Bxg7 (89. Bf4 Qxh3+ 90. Bg3 Qh1+ 91. Ke3 Qg1+ 92. Kd2 Qd4+ 93. Kc2 Qxg4 $19) 89... Qh1+ $1 $19 (89... Qxh3+ 90. Kf2 Kxg7 91. Qd7+ Kh6 92. g5+) 90. Kf2 Ne4+ 91. Ke2 Qg2+ {I felt relieved and a bit lucky after this epic five hour battle. I had made a few inaccuracies but by and large I had played a good game and was satisfied with my performance. After the game I had dinner and went for a walk. Then I returned to the hotel to rest and think about how to prepare for the game against Kramnik in the final round.} 0-1 [Event "Moscow Petrosian Memorial"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2014.11.08"] [Round "4"] [White "Leko, Peter"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2731"] [BlackElo "2797"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2014.11.04"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 164"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.01.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.01.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Qc2 h6 8. Bh4 c5 9. e3 Qa5 10. Bd3 c4 11. Bf5 {This version of the Westphalian Variation (with inclusion of ...h7-h6 ?g5-h4) was considered rather favorable for White; however, recent practice claims to change that verdict.} g6 ({It is essential that after} 11... O-O 12. O-O Re8 13. Nd2 {Black can't play 13...g6 due to 14.?xg6; therefore, he has serious development problems. Here is an old practical example:} Bxc3 14. bxc3 Qa6 {(preparing ...?d7-f8)} 15. Rfe1 Nf8 16. f3 Bxf5 17. Qxf5 Qe6 {1-0 (82) Hertneck,G (2605)-Campora,D (2560) Tilburg 1994} 18. Qb1 b6 19. e4 $14 {G.Hertneck}) {However, it was recently discovered (and demonstrated for the first time by GM Jonathan Hawkins last year) that ...g7-g6 could be played immediately!} 12. Bxd7+ $1 $146 {An important novelty. Peter Leko turns to a usual Westphalian path, where the insertion of ...h7-h6 ?g5-h4 proves to be favourable for White!} (12. Bxg6 {was tried in previous games and proved not to be as killing as it might look:} Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 fxg6 14. Qxg6+ Kf8 15. O-O ({after} 15. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 16. Nd2 Rg8 17. Qf5 Qxa1+ 18. Ke2 Qxh1 {White has nothing more than a draw by perpetual:} 19. Be5+ Ke8 20. Qe6+ Kf8 21. Qxh6+ Ke8 {etc.; that may be his best option after the bishop sacrifice!}) 15... Qa6 {Surprisingly, Black successfully defend, keeping his material gains.} 16. Rae1 (16. Qf5 Rh7 $5) 16... Qe6 17. Nd2 Qf7 18. Qxf7+ Kxf7 19. e4 Nb6 20. e5 Ne8 21. f4 Bf5 22. e6+ Kf8 $15 {1/2 (30) Plischki,S (2396)-Stern,R (2546) Verden an der Aller GER 2014}) 12... Nxd7 13. O-O O-O 14. Rae1 {[%CAl Ye3e4]} Nb6 (14... Re8 15. e4 dxe4 16. Rxe4 Rxe4 17. Qxe4 {looks dangerous for Black although} g5 $5 {should be checked}) 15. Ne5 {[%mdl 96] This is the point: White's knight can't be pushed away by means of ...f7-f6.} Bxc3 (15... Bf5 16. e4 $1 dxe4 (16... Bxe4 17. Qd2 $1 {[%CAl Rd2h6] - another drawback of ...h7-h6! -} Kg7 $140 $2 {(h7?)} 18. Ng4) 17. g4 $36) 16. bxc3 Qa4 ({Once again} 16... Bf5 {is inappropriate:} 17. e4 $1 dxe4 18. g4 Be6 19. f3 $1 g5 (19... exf3 20. Nxg6) 20. Bg3 e3 (20... exf3 $2 21. Nc6 $1 bxc6 22. Rxe6) 21. f4 $40) 17. Qb1 Qe8 18. f3 {White prepares e3-e4, and Black has no counterplay in sight. The opening battle has ended in White's favour but, of course, a lot of fight is still ahead.} Kg7 19. h3 {[%CAl Ye5g4]} ({The immediate} 19. Ng4 Bxg4 20. fxg4 Qe4 {is satisfactory for Black. After the text move, however, Black tries to trap White's centralised knight.}) 19... h5 20. e4 $1 {[%mdl 640] White gladly sacrifices his knight for an attack.} f6 21. exd5 fxe5 $2 (21... Nxd5 22. Nxc4 Qc6 23. Qb3 {, and Black hardly has sufficient compensation for the pawn.}) ({The intermediate} 21... Bf5 {was relatively better but after} 22. Qc1 fxe5 23. Rxe5 Qa4 24. g4 Bd3 25. Rfe1 {Black's defence remained quite difficult.}) 22. Rxe5 Qa4 23. Rfe1 $2 {Despite a long period of thought, White misses quite a simple win:} (23. Re7+ Rf7 24. Qe1 $1 Bf5 25. Bf6+ $1 Kg8 (25... Kxf6 26. Qe5+ Kg5 27. Rxf7 $18) 26. Rxf7 $18) 23... Bf5 24. Qc1 Rf7 (24... Rae8 $142 25. Be7 Rf7 26. Bf6+ Rxf6 27. Rxe8 Nxd5 28. Rd8 Qc6 29. Re5 Rd6 {with a solid defence (A.Tukhaev)}) 25. g4 $1 hxg4 26. hxg4 Bd3 27. Re7 Nxd5 (27... Raf8 28. Bf6+ $3 Kxf6 29. Qh6 $18 {was noticed by both players.}) 28. Rxf7+ Kxf7 29. Qg5 Qc6 (29... Qb5 $2 30. Re7+ $1) 30. Re5 Rf8 ({After} 30... Nf6 31. Qf4 {[%CAl Rg4g5]} g5 32. Rxg5 {White keeps winning chances, too.}) 31. Rxd5 {With an extra pawn and a d4 passer, White has good winning prospects despite the opposite-coloured bishops.} Kg8 32. f4 Qa4 33. Re5 Re8 34. Rxe8+ $2 {It was better to wait for Black's capture on e5:} (34. Kf2 $1 {, and Black can't take on a2 as he comes under a killing attack:} Qxa2+ $2 35. Kg3 Qa4 (35... Rxe5 36. Qd8+ Kh7 37. fxe5 {[%CAl Rd8e7,Rh4f6]}) 36. Re7 $1 {[%CAl Rd4d5]} Rxe7 37. Qxe7 $18 {[%CAl Rh4f6]}) 34... Qxe8 35. f5 Kh7 36. Bg3 (36. d5 $1 gxf5 37. d6 {was a better chance although after} Be4 $1 38. gxf5 Bc6 39. Kf2 Qf7 {Black should probably survive.}) 36... gxf5 37. gxf5 (37. Be5 Qg6 38. Qe7+ Kg8 39. g5 f4 $1 {, and Black holds on (A.Tukhaev)}) 37... Qf7 38. Qh4+ Kg8 39. f6 Qg6 40. Kf2 Kf7 {Black has established a strong blockade and secured a draw.} 41. Be5 Bb1 42. Qg3 Qc2+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Tata Steel-A 75th"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2013.01.26"] [Round "12"] [White "Sokolov, Ivan"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2663"] [BlackElo "2603"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2013.01.12"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 153"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2013.03.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2013.03.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 {A risky continuation.} (6. Bxf6 {is normal}) 6... dxc4 7. a3 (7. e4 {, like in the Vienna Variation (without ...h7-h6 ?g5-h4), is impossible due to} g5) (7. Qa4+ {and}) (7. e3 {are quite comfortable for Black as well.}) {The text move has recently been gaining popularity in the position without ...h7-h6 ?g5-h4. However, GM Ivan Sokolov's attempt to play it here doesn't succeed.} 7... Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 c5 $146 {A simple reply apparently solving Black's problems.} (8... b5 9. a4 (9. e4 $5 g5 10. Nxg5 hxg5 11. Bxg5 Rg8 12. h4 Bb7 (12... c5 $5 {[%CAl Yd8a5]}) 13. e5 Nbd7 14. exf6 c5 15. Rh3 cxd4 16. Qxd4 Qa5 17. Re3 $14 {1-0 Quinteros,M (2525)-Pachman,L (2410)/Baden-Baden 1985/MCL (36)}) 9... c6 10. Bxf6 Qxf6 11. Ne5 a6 (11... Nd7 12. Nxc6 Nc5 $1 {[%CAl Rc5e4]} 13. Qb1 $1 Nb3 14. Ra2 $14) 12. g3 Bb7 13. Bg2 Qe7 14. O-O O-O 15. f4 Re8 16. Qb1 $44 {0-1 (69) Macieja,B (2614)-Hammer,J (2630) Achaea GRE 2012}) (8... c6 9. Nd2 (9. Qc2 b5 10. e4 Nbd7 11. e5 g5 12. Nxg5 hxg5 13. Bxg5 Bb7 14. exf6 c5 15. Rd1 Qc7 16. h4 O-O-O $13 {1/2 Van Wely,L (2650)-Drozdovskij,Y (2627)/Ourense 2009/EXT 2010 (57)}) 9... Qa5 (9... b5 10. e4 $44) 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Qc1 b5 12. a4 Qc7 13. g3 Bb7 14. Bg2 Nd7 {1/2 Borovikov,V (2385)-Aleksandrov,A (2530)/Vejen 1993/EXT 1999 (29)} 15. O-O $44) 9. Bxf6 {White follows the game Van Wely - Thavandiran, in which ...h6 ?h4 were not included.} Qxf6 10. e3 Nc6 (10... O-O 11. Bxc4 b6 {[%CAl Yc8b7] may be a bit more accurate. The knight can go to c6 or d7.}) 11. Bxc4 O-O 12. Bb5 (12. O-O {, still following Van Wely, hardly promises more after} b6) 12... Bd7 (12... e5 $5 13. Bxc6 Qxc6 $11) 13. O-O Rfd8 $11 14. a4 Qe7 (14... Rac8 {is simpler. Black plays a bit inconsequently but still keeps good chances.}) 15. Qb1 Rab8 16. Qe4 cxd4 17. exd4 Qf6 18. Bd3 g6 19. Rfe1 Ne7 20. c4 (20. Ne5 {may be more accurate.}) 20... Nf5 21. d5 exd5 22. cxd5 Re8 23. Ne5 $2 {[%mdl 8192]} ({After} 23. Qb4 Nd6 {it is Black who has a small advantage due to his strong blockading knight but the text move leads to material losses.}) 23... Qd6 24. f4 f6 25. Kh1 h5 $1 {Of course, the e5-knight will hardly run away so Black needn't hurry about taking it.} 26. Qe2 Rbd8 27. Bc4 Re7 28. Qb2 Rde8 29. Nf3 {OK, it has run away but at what price!} Rxe1+ 30. Nxe1 Qxf4 $19 31. Bd3 Qe3 32. h3 Ng3+ 33. Kh2 Qf4 34. Kg1 h4 35. Qf2 Qxf2+ (35... Qe5 {was probably even stronger as White's king is almost in a mating net.}) 36. Kxf2 Ne4+ 37. Kg1 {It was better to get rid of Black's blockading knight. Of course, Black should still gradually win after, say,} (37. Bxe4 $142 Rxe4 38. Rb1 b6 39. a5 b5 40. Rc1 b4 41. d6 (41. Rc7 Bb5 42. d6 Kf8 $19) 41... Kf8 42. Nd3 Bf5) 37... g5 $1 38. a5 Nd6 39. Nf3 Rc8 40. a6 b6 41. Re1 Kf7 42. Rf1 Ke7 43. Re1+ Kd8 44. Bh7 Rc4 45. Bg8 Ra4 46. Be6 Rxa6 47. Nh2 b5 48. Ng4 Ne8 49. Nh6 Bxe6 50. dxe6 Ng7 51. e7+ Ke8 52. Ng8 f5 (52... f5 53. Rc1 Kf7 54. Rc8 Ne8 $19) 0-1 [Event "Zug FIDE GP"] [Site "Zug"] [Date "2013.04.19"] [Round "2"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Leko, Peter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2771"] [BlackElo "2744"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2013.04.18"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "SUI"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 154"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2013.05.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2013.05.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteClock "0:18:46"] [BlackClock "0:00:40"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. e3 c4 9. Nd2 g5 10. Bg3 Bf5 {This line was examined in CBM 141, game Radlabov - Eljanov (annotations by GM Pavel Eljanov).} 11. Be5 {Probably a bit premature.} (11. Be2 {is more common; here are some recent games:} O-O (11... Nc6 12. h4 Rg8 (12... O-O $5) 13. a3 $5 (13. hxg5 hxg5 14. Rc1 Kf8 (14... Qe7 15. O-O Bxc3 16. Rxc3 b5 17. a4 a6 18. Qa1 b4 19. Rcc1 Ne4 $132 {0-1 (35) Kosteniuk,A (2497)-Hou,Y (2575) Rostov on Don 2011}) 15. O-O Rh8 16. b3 Bxc3 17. Rxc3 b5 18. bxc4 bxc4 19. Qa4 Rc8 20. Nxc4 $2 Ne4 21. Rcc1 Qf6 $19 {0-1 (37) Riazantsev,A (2705)-Kulaots,K (2581) Warsaw POL 2012}) 13... Bxc3 14. bxc3 b5 15. O-O Qe7 16. Re1 Kf8 17. hxg5 hxg5 18. e4 $1 Nxe4 19. Nxe4 dxe4 20. a4 b4 21. d5 Rd8 22. Bxc4 $14 {1-0 (33) Ding,L (2637)-Wang Hao (2728) Ningbo 2011}) (11... Nbd7 12. O-O Qa5 (12... O-O 13. f3 Bg6 14. e4 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Qa5 16. Qc1 b5 17. e5 Nh7 18. f4 $16 {1-0 (44) Cheparinov,I (2640)-Cramling,P (2536) Villafranca 2010}) 13. Qc1 O-O 14. a3 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Rac8 16. f3 Bd3 17. Re1 Rfe8 18. Bd1 Re6 19. Nf1 Rce8 20. Qd2 Nf8 $13 {1-0 (36) Moradiabadi,E (2502)-Dizdar,G (2521) Paris 2006}) 12. O-O (12. h4 $6 Re8 13. hxg5 hxg5 14. Be5 Nbd7 15. f4 Bxc3 16. bxc3 b5 17. g4 Bh7 18. Rh6 Re6 19. fxg5 Nxe5 20. gxf6 Ng6 $17 {0-1 (31) Nyback,T (2636)-Grandelius,N (2545) Plovdiv 2012}) 12... Re8 13. a3 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Nc6 15. Re1 b5 $11 {0-1 (31) Eljanov,P (2716)-Morozevich,A (2788)/ Moscow 2008/CBM 126 Extra}) ({The immediate} 11. h4 {is also possible, e.g.} Rg8 12. hxg5 hxg5 13. Be5 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Nbd7 15. Qf3 Bg6 16. Bxf6 Nxf6 17. Qg3 Qb6 18. Qe5+ Kd7 19. Be2 Rae8 20. Qxg5 Bc2 21. Qf4 Qb2 22. O-O Rxg2+ 23. Kxg2 Rg8+ 24. Kh2 Rh8+ 25. Kg2 {1/2 (25) Nyback,T (2618)-Kulaots,K (2567) Salo FIN 2012}) ({Finally, White can go for simplifications:} 11. Bxb8 {[%CAl Rd1a4]} Bxc3 $8 12. bxc3 Rxb8 13. Qf3 Bg6 14. h4 gxh4 15. Qf4 b5 16. a3 Rb6 17. Be2 Re6 18. Rxh4 Ne4 19. Rc1 h5 $13 {1-0 (45) Chiburdanidze,M (2502)-Xu Yuhua (2484) Doha 2011}) 11... Bxc3 {More or less forced.} (11... Nbd7 $2 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. Nxd5 $16) 12. bxc3 Nbd7 13. Bd6 (13. Qa4 O-O 14. Bg3 {is rather illogical:} Re8 15. Be2 Re6 16. O-O Qe7 17. Qd1 Qa3 $36 {1-0 (54) Zhou Jianchao (2660)-Xiu,D (2508) Xinghua Jiangsu 2011}) 13... Qb6 14. Bb4 $146 {This move provokes 14...a5 but that is rather good for Black, who starts advancing his queenside pawns.} (14. Bg3 Qb2 $1 15. Qc1 Qxc1+ 16. Rxc1 b5 17. f3 O-O 18. Kf2 Rfe8 19. a4 a6 20. Be2 Re6 $15 {0-1 (56) Radjabov,T (2740)-Eljanov,P (2751) Astrakhan 2010 CBM 141 [Eljanov]}) (14. Ba3 Qa6 (14... Qe6 15. Qa4 a5 16. Qb5 $14 {Werle,J (2574)-Bartel,M (2599) Germany 2010}) 15. Bb4 Qe6 16. a4 Ne4 17. a5 g4 18. Be2 Ndf6 19. Nf1 O-O-O $15 {0-1 (30) Gauglitz,G (2465)-Dizdar,G (2500)/Halle 1987/ CBM}) 14... a5 15. Ba3 Qc6 16. Be2 b5 17. O-O Rb8 18. f3 b4 19. Bb2 O-O 20. Rc1 Nb6 {Black has seized the initiative.} 21. Ba1 Qe6 (21... Rfc8 $5 22. e4 Bg6) 22. e4 dxe4 {The position now opens up.} (22... Bg6 $5 {and if} 23. exd5 Nfxd5 24. Nxc4 {then} bxc3 $17 25. Bxc3 $2 Nxc4 26. Bxc4 Qe3+ 27. Kh1 Nxc3) 23. cxb4 axb4 24. fxe4 Nxe4 $6 (24... Bxe4 $142 $1 25. Rxf6 (25. Nxc4 Nfd5 $15) 25... Qxf6 26. Nxe4 Qf4 27. Nf2 Ra8 28. Rc2 c3 {Despite White's formal material advantage, his position is worse, due to Black's strong c3-pawn.}) 25. Bxc4 Nd5 26. Nb3 {[%mdl 2048] White has considerably activated his pieces.} Bg6 27. Nc5 Qd6 28. Qf3 Rfe8 (28... Rbe8 $142 $1 29. Nb7 Qd7 30. Nc5 Qd6 $11) 29. Na6 $1 {Suddenly White wins an exchange. OK, for a pawn, and Black's compensation is obvious but still Black is not totally safe now. Besides, Peter Leko comes under tremendous time pressure.} Rb7 30. Bxd5 Qxd5 31. Nc7 Rxc7 32. Rxc7 Qxa2 33. Qh3 (33. d5 $5 {[%CAl Ga1h8]} Qxd5 34. h4) 33... Qd5 (33... Kh7 {was quite possible; well, White could have played} 34. d5 {here, too.}) 34. Qxh6 Nc3 35. Kh1 $2 (35. Bxc3 $142 bxc3 36. Kh1 Qf5 37. Rg1 c2 38. Rc5 Qf2 39. Rc6 $11) 35... Qf5 36. Rg1 Ne4 37. Rc2 b3 38. d5 f6 39. Re2 Bf7 $2 (39... Ng3+ $4 40. hxg3 Rxe2 {didn't work due to} 41. g4 $1 Qe4 42. Bxf6 $18) (39... Kf7 $1 {was the way to obtain an advantage:} 40. d6 Ng3+ 41. hxg3 Rxe2 42. d7 $1 Rd2 $1 {winning the d-pawn (Indicated by GM M.Golubev)} ({but not} 42... Qxd7 $2 43. Bxf6 Kxf6 44. Rf1+)) 40. d6 Qg6 $2 (40... Bd5 $1 41. d7 Rd8 42. Rc1 $1 {[%CAl Yh1g1]} Bb7 $1 43. Re3 $1 g4 $1 {(M.Golubev)} 44. Rxb3 Rxd7 $132 {[%CAl Rd7h7] is, of course, impossible to find on move 40.}) 41. Qxg6+ Bxg6 42. d7 Rd8 43. Rd1 $16 {Black has no compensation for the exchange anymore, and White gradually overcomes the technical difficulties in this ending:} Kf7 44. g4 Nc5 45. Rd6 Ne4 46. Rd4 Nc5 47. Re3 Bc2 48. Rc3 Nxd7 49. Re3 f5 50. Bb2 fxg4 51. Rd5 Kg6 52. Re7 Ra8 53. Rdxd7 Ra2 54. Rd6+ Kh5 55. Bg7 g3 56. h3 Bg6 57. Ree6 b2 58. Bxb2 1-0 [Event "Moscow Tal Memorial 8th"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2013.06.13"] [Round "1"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2784"] [BlackElo "2753"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2013.06.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "22"] [SourceTitle "CBM 155"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2013.07.16"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2013.07.16"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd2 dxc4 8. Bxc4 a6 9. O-O Bd6 10. Rad1 (10. Qc2 {leads to the main line of this system examined in the theoretical survey in CBM 153. The text move is hardly a good alternative. Generally, White's rook will be vulnerable on d1 after the eventual ...?c8-g4 (after ...e6-e5, of course).}) (10. Rfe1 {makes more sense but Black has no serious problems anyway:} e5 11. d5 Ne7 (11... e4 $143 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. dxc6 Nxd2 14. Nxd2 Bxh2+ 15. Kxh2 Qxd2 16. cxb7 Bxb7 17. Kg1 Rab8 18. Qa3 Rbd8 19. Qc5 Qd6 20. Qxd6 Rxd6 21. Rac1 $14 {1/2 (52) Lenic,L (2595)-Moiseenko,A (2677) Moscow 2010}) 12. e4 h6 13. Qd1 Ng6 14. Rc1 Bd7 15. Bf1 c5 {1/2 (15) Lenic,L (2602)-Arutinian,D (2573) Martuni 2010}) 10... e5 (10... Qe7 11. e4 e5 12. Bg5 exd4 (12... Qe8 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. Nd5 Kg7 15. dxe5 fxe5 16. Qb3 $14 {1-0 (40) Lampert,J (2333)-Sumets,A (2590) Wunsiedel 2013}) 13. Nd5 Qxe4 14. Nxf6+ (14. Bxf6 b5 15. Bxb5 axb5 16. Qxa8 Qxd5 17. Bxd4 Bg4 $17) 14... gxf6 15. Bd3 Qe6 $13) 11. dxe5 (11. d5 Ne7 12. e4 h6 13. Be2 Ng6 14. Ne1 Nf4 15. Bxf4 exf4 16. Nd3 Nd7 17. Nb1 Re8 18. Nd2 Nc5 19. Nxc5 Bxc5 20. Qc2 Bd6 $11 {1/2 (49) Gagunashvili,M (2625)-Serper,G (2507) Las Vegas 2007}) 11... Nxe5 12. Be2 (12. Nxe5 Bxe5 13. Be2 Bd7 14. Qh4 Bc6 15. Bc1 Qe7 16. f3 Rad8 17. Qc4 Bd6 18. e4 Qe5 19. g3 Bc5+ 20. Kg2 b5 21. Qb3 h6 $132 {1-0 (50) Raicevic,V (2446)-Stevanovic,S (2253) Serbia 2006}) 12... Qe7 13. Ng5 $6 {Hardly a good manoeuvre since the knight doesn't reach the e4 square.} ({It was time to simplify the game, aiming for equality:} 13. Ne4 $5) 13... Bf5 $1 14. e4 ({In the event of} 14. Nge4 $2 Nxe4 15. Nxe4 b5 $1 16. Qc2 {the knight is pinned, and Black obtains a big advantage, e.g.} Rfe8 17. f3 Ng4 $1 {etc.}) 14... Bd7 15. Qc2 h6 16. Nf3 {An inglorious retreat.} Rfe8 17. Rfe1 Rad8 18. g3 $6 (18. h3 $142 Nxf3+ 19. Bxf3 Qe5 20. g3 {since} Bxh3 $6 {is risky due to} 21. Bf4 {[%CAl Ye4e5]}) 18... Neg4 $1 19. h3 $6 ({Of course, after} 19. Bd3 Bc5 20. Re2 Bc6 {White's position is unpleasant but now it just collapses.}) 19... Nxf2 $1 {[%mdl 640]} 20. Kxf2 Bxh3 {[%CAl Rd6c5]} 21. Kg1 (21. Nd4 Bc5 22. Be3 Qe5 {with deadly threats}) 21... Bxg3 22. Bf1 Bxe1 23. Rxe1 Bg4 24. Bg2 Bxf3 25. Bxf3 Qd6 26. Re2 Qg3+ 27. Bg2 Ng4 {White's king is naked and helpless.} 28. Nd1 Re6 29. Ne3 Rc6 30. Qb1 Qh2+ 31. Kf1 Qf4+ (31... Qf4+ 32. Ke1 (32. Kg1 Rxd2) 32... Qg3+ 33. Kf1 Nh2+ 34. Kg1 Nf3+ $19) 0-1 [Event "EU-ch 13th"] [Site "Plovdiv"] [Date "2012.03.31"] [Round "11"] [White "Jakovenko, Dmitrij"] [Black "Fressinet, Laurent"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2729"] [BlackElo "2693"] [Annotator "Jakovenko,Dmitrij"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2012.03.20"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "BUL"] [SourceTitle "CBM 148"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2012.05.16"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2012.05.16"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Victory in this game would guarantee me first place, whilst any other result would do the same for my opponent. On the other hand, a draw would probably give me the silver or bronze medal, so I did not want to take too many risks, especially as the ban on draws before move 40 deprived me of this saving resource, if things should go wrong. Ein Sieg in dieser Partie würde mir den ersten Plan garantieren, während jedes andere Ergebnis dasselbe für meinen Gegner tun würde. Andererseits würde mir ein Unentschieden wahrscheinlich die Silber- oder Bronzemedaille sichern, daher wollte ich nicht allzu viel Risiko eingehen, zumal mich das Remisverbot vor dem 40. Zug dieser Rettungsressource beraubte, falls die Dinge schiefgehen sollten.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 Nf6 {Fressinet somewhat surprised me by choosing the Ragozin Defence - in the tournament situation the Queen's Gambit struck me as a more logical choice. Mit der Wahl der Ragosin-Verteidigung überraschte mich Fressinet ein wenig - in der Turniersituation schien mir das Damengambit die logischere Entscheidung.} 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. e3 c5 8. dxc5 ({In recent times, White has not been able to secure an advantage in the "main" variation In jüngster Zeit war Weiß nicht in der Lage, in der "Haupt"-Variante} 8. Bd3 Qa5 9. Qc2 c4 10. Bf5 O-O 11. O-O Re8 {, and the text move is now considered the most dangerous for Black. einen Vorteil zu sichern, und der Textzug gilt derzeit als das Gefährlicheste für Schwarz.}) 8... Qa5 9. Rc1 Bxc3+ ({The whole variation became popular after two wins by Kramnik, against Ponomariov and Mamedyarov, after Populär wurde die ganze Variante nach zwei Siegen von Kramnik, gegen Ponomariov und Mamedyarov, nach} 9... Ne4 10. Qxd5 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bxc3+ 12. Kd1 {. Vladimir himself preferred 9...?xc3 as Black against Anish Giri (Amber, 2011). Vladimir selbst bevorzugte dabei als Schwarzer gegen Anish Giri (Amber, 2011) 9...?xc3.}) 10. bxc3 O-O 11. Nd4 Qxc5 12. Bd3 Re8 {Not a very successful novelty, but Black has not managed to solve his problems in other games either. Keine sonderlich erfolgreiche Neuerung, doch auch in anderen Partien hat es Schwarz nicht geschafft, seine Probleme zu lösen.} ({In Wijk aan Zee 2011, there was the interesting game Nakamura-Grischuk: In Wijk aan Zee 2011 gab es die interessante Partie Nakamura-Grischuk:} 12... Ne4 13. Bf4 Nb6 ({Another interesting try is Ein anderer interessanter Versuch ist} 13... Qe7 {with the idea of 14...?e5. In the game Cmylite–Kosintseva,N, 2011, White obtained the advantage after mit der Idee 14...?e5. In der Partie Cmylite–Kosintseva,N, 2011, erlangte Weiß Vorteil nach} 14. Qh5 Ndf6 15. Qh4 h6 16. f3 g5 $2 (16... Nc5 $5 {deserves attention verdient Aufmerksamkeit.}) 17. Qxh6 gxf4 18. fxe4) 14. Qc2 ({a few months later, Nikita Vitiugov played Einige Monate später spielte Nikita Vitiugov} 14. Qh5 {against Evgeny Alekseev and also obtained the advantage gegen Evgeny Alekseev und kam ebenfalls in Vorteil.}) 14... h6 15. f3 Nf6 16. g4 $5 Re8 17. Kf2 $5 Nc4 18. h4 $5 {. Unexpectedly finding his king under direct attack, Alexander decided on the sacrifice . Seinen König unerwartet einem direktem Angriff gegenübersehend, entschied sich Alexander für das Opfer} Bxg4 {, but his initiative proved insufficient for equality and Hikaru won. , doch seine Initiative erwies sich als ungenügend zum Ausgleich und Hikaru gewann.}) 13. O-O Ne4 14. Bf4 Ne5 $6 {Black's problems in the game start with this move. The break c3-c4 should have been prevented. Die Probleme von Schwarz in der Partie beginnen mit diesem Zug. Der Hebel c3-c4 hätte verhindert werden sollen.} ({After the natural Nach dem natürlichen} 14... Nb6 {there is the unpleasant gibt es das unangenehme} 15. Nb5 Re7 16. c4 $1) ({so he should prefer vorzuziehen war daher} 14... Nd6) 15. Bxe5 Rxe5 16. c4 {It is quite possible that Laurent underestimated the danger of this position. It looks as though Black should be able to gradually defend, as he has no weaknesses. But it turns out that the need to spend tempi retreating his attacked pieces, and the difficulty of finding a good square for the c8-bishop make the defence extremely unpleasant. Es ist durchaus möglich, dass Laurent die Gefahr dieser Stellung unterschätzte. Es sieht so aus, als sollte sich Schwarz allmählich verteidigen können, da er keine Schwächen hat. Doch es stellt sich heraus, dass die Notwendigkeit, beim Zurückziehen seiner angegriffenen Figuren Tempi zu verlieren, sowie die Schwierigkeit, ein gutes Feld für den Läufer c8 zu finden, die Verteidigung extrem unangenehm machen.} Nf6 {The knight would be better placed on c5, or at least on d6. But Black has no choice. Der Springer wäre auf c5 besser postiert, oder zumindest auf d6, aber Schwarz hat keine Wahl.} ({After Auf} 16... Qe7 {to free the square c5 for the knight, the reply , um das Feld c5 für den Springer freizumachen, gewinnt die Erwiderung} 17. f4 $1 {wins at once auf der Stelle}) ({whilst in reply to während auf} 16... Nd6 {there follows there follows} 17. Nb3 {He would have to play folgt. Dann müsste er} Qa3 (17... Qc6 18. cxd5 Qxd5 {is again impossible because of ist erneut unmöglich wegen} 19. f4 $1) 18. cxd5 Qxa2 {, but here, White's passed pawns are clearly more dangerous than Black's. spielen, aber hier sind die weißen Freibauern eindeutig gefährlicher als die schwarzen.}) ({Finally, simply developing the bishop is also impossible; after Und schließlich ist auch das einfache Entwickeln des Läufers unmöglich, nach} 16... Bd7 17. Nb3 Qe7 18. f4 $1 Rf5 19. Nd4 dxc4 20. Nxf5 Bxf5 21. Bxc4 Rd8 22. Qa4 {Black loses the exchange, without sufficient compensation. verliert Schwarz die Qualität, ohne ausreichende Kompensation.}) 17. Qb3 ({It is tempting to play Verlockend ist} 17. cxd5 Qxd5 18. Bc4 {, but the accurate , aber das genaue} Qd7 $1 ({schlecht ist} 18... Qd8 {is bad:} 19. Nf3 Re8 20. Qxd8 Rxd8 21. Ng5) 19. Qb3 Qe7 {allows Black to strengthen his position. erlaubt Schwarz, seine Stellung zu festigen.}) 17... Re7 ({During a game, it is hard to play Während einer Partie fällt es schwer,} 17... Qb6 {and settle for a prospectless endgame after zu spielen und sich auf ein perspektivloses Endspiel nach} 18. c5 Qxb3 19. axb3 {. But maybe this was the best choice – after einzustellen. Aber vielleicht war dies die beste Wahl - nach} Bd7 {it would not be easy to realise White's advantage. wäre es nicht einfach, den Vorteil von Weiß zu verwerten.}) 18. Rfd1 Bg4 $2 {There do not appear to be any concrete threats, but at every move, Black must be careful not to lose by force, which is very hard work. Laurent tries to change the course of the game, but objectively, this is a bad idea. However, I cannot suggest anything that much better. Es scheint keine konkreten Drohungen zu geben, doch bei jedem Zug muss Schwarz aufpassen, nicht forciert zu verlieren, was sehr harte Arbeit ist. Laurent versucht, den Partieverlauf zu ändern, aber objektiv ist dies eine schlechte Idee. Ich kann allerdings nichts sonderlich Besseres vorschlagen.} ({During the game I thought the most logical move was Während der Partie erschien mir die logischste Fortsetzung} 18... dxc4 19. Bxc4 Qh5 {, and I was planning to play , und ich plante darauf} 20. f3 {followed by e3-e4, retaining strong pressure. nebst e3-e4, was starken Druck behauptet.}) 19. f3 Be6 20. cxd5 Qxd5 21. Bc4 Qe5 22. f4 $2 {Although the real mistake came later, it is this move which deserves the question mark, as it shows that White did not see the forcing continuation. Obwohl der wirkliche Fehler erst später kam, ist es dieser Zug, welcher das Fragezeichen verdient, da er zeigt, dass Weiß die forcierende Fortsetzung nicht sah.} ({The correct way was Korrekt war} 22. Nxe6 fxe6 23. f4 Qf5 24. Rd6 Rae8 25. Bb5 $1 Ne4 {(after the rook retreats, there follows 26.?d3 winning the pawn on e6 – this is the hidden manoeuvre I missed) (nach dem Wegzug des Turms folgt 26.?d3 mit Gewinn des Bauern auf e6 – dies ist das versteckte Manöver, das ich übersah)} 26. Rd4 Nc5 27. Qa3 Rc8 28. Qxa7 {, winning a pawn, with a superior position. The variation is not so complicated, and is a major flaw, in an otherwise quite good game. , was einen Bauern gewinnt, mit überlegener Stellung. Die Variante ist nicht so kompliziert, und sie ist ein erheblicher Makel in einer ansonsten recht guten Partie.}) 22... Qe4 (22... Bxc4 23. fxe5 Bxb3 24. exf6 Bxd1 25. fxe7 Ba4 {would be too dangerous for the opponent, but things are not so simple, and I would have had to find wäre für den Gegner zu gefährlich, aber so einfach ist die Sache nicht, und ich hätte} 26. Rc7 b6 27. Kf2 g6 28. Kf3 Kg7 29. Ke4 Kf6 30. Kd5 {which should win. finden müssen, was gewinnen sollte.}) 23. Nxe6 fxe6 24. Be2 {It seemed to me that the threat to the b7-pawn forces Black to play 24...?g6 (heading to f7), after which 25.?c5 gives a huge advantage. However, there followed... Mir schien, dass die Bedrohung des b7-Bauern Schwarz zu 24...?g6 (mit Ziel f7) nötigt, wonach 25.?c5 riesigen Vorteil gibt. Aber es folgte...} ({It was still not too late to return to the forced winning variation, by means of Es war noch nicht zu spät, mittels} 24. Rd4 Qf5 25. Rd6 {, but the move 22.f4 was played with another idea in mind. zu der forcierten Gewinnvariante zurückzukehren, aber der Zug 22.f4 wurde eben mit einer anderen Idee vor Augen gespielt.}) 24... Nd5 25. Kf2 Qb4 {...I had missed this move. To my great good fortune, the exchange of queens still doesn't solve all Black's problems. ... Diesen Zug hatte ich übersehen. Zu meinem großen Glück löst auch der Damentausch noch nicht alle Probleme von Schwarz.} 26. Bc4 Qxb3 27. Bxb3 Nc7 28. Rc5 {The immediate threats have been repulsed, but the defence remains very difficult for Black. Advancing the queenside pawns only leads to their loss, the weakness of the e6-pawn prevents the knight from being activated, and meanwhile, White plans a storm with the h- and g-pawns. Die unmittelbaren Drohungen wurden abgewehrt, doch die Verteidigung bleibt sehr schwierig für Schwarz. Das Vorrücken der Damenflügelbauern führt nur zu deren Verlust, die Schwäche des e6-Bauern verhindert die Aktivierung des Springers, und in der Zwischenzeit plant Weiß einen Sturm mit dem h- und g-Bauern.} Kf8 {Clearly, Black had not yet taken the decision to place the pawn on g6, otherwise he would have done it without wasting a tempo. Eindeutig hatte sich Schwarz noch nicht dazu entschieden, den Bauern nach g6 zu stellen, andernfalls hätte er dies getan, ohne ein Tempo zu verschwenden.} 29. Re5 g6 {The permanent threat of f4-f5 is unpleasant, but now White has a new target to attack. Die ständige Drohung f4-f5 ist unangenehm, aber nun hat Weiß ein neues Angriffsobjekt.} 30. h4 Kg7 31. h5 Rf8 32. g4 Rff7 {With the text move, Black creates the threat of ...?d7 – the exchange of rooks would greatly ease his position. Mit dem Textzug schafft Schwarz die Drohung ...?d7 – der Turmtausch würde seine Stellung erheblich erleichtern.} ({In reply to Als Erwiderung auf} 32... gxh5 33. Rxh5 e5 {there would follow käme} 34. Rdh1 Kh8 35. Bc2 ({here too, the computer offers a correction: White wins immediately with auch hier bietet der Computer eine Korrektur an: Weiß gewinnt sofort mit} 35. g5 $1 exf4 36. g6) 35... Rff7 36. f5 {with an overwhelming advantage. mit überwältigendem Vorteil.}) {In practice, this was the moment that decided the game – using 3-4 minutes of the ten I had remaining, I found a way to prevent my opponent's plan. In der Praxis war dies der Moment, der die Partie entschied - 3-4 meiner noch verbleibenden zehn Minuten aufbrauchend, fand ich einen Weg, den Plan meines Gegners zu verhindern.} 33. Rg5 $1 ({The endgame after Das Endspiel nach} 33. Kf3 Rd7 34. Rxd7 Rxd7 35. Bxe6 Re7 36. Bb3 Rxe5 37. fxe5 {may not be winning. ist möglicherweise nicht gewonnen.}) 33... Rd7 $2 {Laurent misses my idea. It was necessary to continue passive defence, although it is possible that the position is not defensible anyway. Laurent entgeht meine Idee. Notwendig war es, die passive Verteidigung fortzusetzen, obwohl es sein kann, dass die Stellung sowieso nicht mehr zu halten ist.} ({For example Zum Beispiel} 33... Rf8 34. Kg3 Kf6 35. e4 Rg8 36. h6 {followed by ?g5-e5, g4-g5 and f4-f5. , gefolgt von ?g5-e5, g4-g5 und f4-f5.}) 34. hxg6 hxg6 35. Bc2 $1 {Winning the g6-pawn, and with it, the game. Gewinnt den g6-Bauern und damit die Partie.} Kf8 (35... Rxd1 36. Rxg6+ Kh7 37. Rxe6+ Kh8 38. Rh6+ Kg7 39. Rg6+ Kh7 40. Rg5+ $18) 36. Rxg6 Rxd1 37. Bxd1 Rh7 {By starting the advance of his passed pawns with 37...b5 it was still possible to prolong the intrigue, but I would like to think that I would have coped with the pressure and conducted the game to victory. Durch das Ingangsetzen seiner Freibauern mit 37...b5 war es noch möglich, den Kampf zu verlängern, aber ich würde gerne denken, dass ich dem Druck standgehalten und die Partie zum Sieg geführt hätte.} 38. Bb3 Ke7 39. f5 {Now it is all simple. Nun ist alles einfach.} exf5 40. gxf5 Ne8 41. e4 Nd6 42. f6+ 1-0 [Event "EU-chT (Men) 18th"] [Site "Porto Carras"] [Date "2011.11.08"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Postny, Evgeny"] [Black "Moiseenko, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2640"] [BlackElo "2715"] [Annotator "Postny,Evgeny"] [PlyCount "125"] [EventDate "2011.11.03"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "GRE"] [SourceTitle "CBM 146"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2012.01.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2012.01.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Israel"] [BlackTeam "Ukraine"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ISR"] [BlackTeamCountry "UKR"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. Qb3 c5 7. a3 {I guess that the line that I chose to meet the Ragosin Defence came as a surprise to my opponent. His reply took him quite a while.} Bxc3+ (7... dxc4 8. Qxc4 Bxc3+ 9. Qxc3 h6 10. Bxf6 Qxf6 11. Rc1 b6 12. e3 a6 13. dxc5 bxc5 14. Nd2 Rb8 15. Nc4 Qxc3+ 16. Rxc3 Ke7 17. f3 Bb7 {?/= 0-1 Hammer,J (2647)-Efimenko,Z (2701)/Wijk aan Zee 2011/Mega2011 Update 06 (78)}) (7... Qa5 8. Bd2 O-O 9. e3 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 Qd8 11. Rd1 $14 {1-0 Roiz,M (2660)-Socko,B (2654)/Lublin 2011/CB20_2011 (90)}) 8. Qxc3 h6 $146 {Quite a sensible novelty.} (8... dxc4 9. Qxc4 b5 $5 10. Qc3 cxd4 11. Qxd4 O-O 12. e3 h6 13. Bh4 a6 14. Be2 $14 {1-0 Wilton,L (2136)-Antonsen,M (2471)/Borup 2010/CBM 138 Extra (31)}) 9. Bxf6 (9. Bh4 $6 g5 10. Bg3 Ne4 11. Qd3 Qa5+ 12. Nd2 f5 13. b4 cxb4 14. e3 b3 $1 15. cxd5 b6 $1 16. Rd1 Nxd2 17. Qxd2 Qxd5 $15) 9... Qxf6 10. cxd5 exd5 11. e3 (11. Qe3+ Qe7 12. Qxe7+ Kxe7 13. dxc5 Nxc5 {This endgame is completely equal.}) 11... O-O 12. Be2 (12. Bb5 $6 c4 13. b3 Nc5 $1 14. bxc4 Ne4 15. Qb2 a6 16. Ba4 dxc4 $15) 12... b6 13. O-O Bb7 14. Rfc1 $6 {This move is too passive. Obviously, White can claim only a slight advantage here at best. For this purpose it is necessary to fight against Black's pawn offensive on the queenside.} (14. a4 $1 {Now 14...c4 would be met by 15.b3 ruining Black's pawn chain.}) 14... c4 $1 {Of course. Now Black is fine.} 15. a4 a6 16. Qb4 {It's true that I have a good blockade, but I don't have an active plan.} Bc6 17. Ne1 b5 18. axb5 axb5 19. b3 (19. Nc2 {It would be nice to bring the knight to b4 and bishop to f3 hunting the ?d5, but it doesn't really work.} Rfb8 20. Qd2 Ra4 $1 21. Nb4 Qd6 $15) 19... Qg6 20. h3 Rfe8 21. Bf3 Nf8 {Transferring the knight to better pastures.} 22. bxc4 bxc4 {This passed pawn might become dangerous in some of the endgames.} 23. Rxa8 Rxa8 24. Qb6 $6 {I shouldn't allow his queen to occupy the fine square d6.} (24. Bd1 {has a point, with an idea to place the bishop on c2 and the knight to f3. The same manoeuvre I adopted in the game later. The position remains balanced.}) 24... Qd6 25. Nc2 Rb8 26. Qa5 (26. Qc5 $2 Qxc5 27. dxc5 Ne6 28. Nd4 Ba8 $1 $17 {[%csl Rc5]}) 26... Rb3 $6 {This active square is only temporary for the rook. It was more accurate to play 26...?e6 immediately.} 27. Ra1 Ne6 28. Bd1 $1 {The bishop will be kicked away by ...?e6-g5 anyway. It's also useful to drive away Black's active rook.} Ng5 29. Ne1 Rb8 30. Bc2 g6 31. Qc3 Qe7 32. Ra6 Bb5 33. Ra5 Ne4 ({After} 33... Bc6 {it would be difficult to find anything better than to repeat the position by} 34. Ra6 {It's true that Black is not worse, so the decision to play for a win is understandable. However, from the point of view of match strategy it would have been wise for Alexander to repeat moves, as on 3rd board Eljanov was winning vs Smirin.}) 34. Qb2 Qe8 35. Qa3 (35. Bxe4 $2 {is met by the strong intermediate move} Bd7 $1 36. Qc2 Qxe4 37. Qxe4 dxe4 {The endgame is dangerous for White as the knight is very clumsy here.}) 35... Ng5 (35... Qf8 36. Bxe4 Qxa3 37. Rxa3 dxe4 38. Nc2 Bc6 39. Ra5 Rb2 40. Na3 c3 41. Rc5 Rb3 42. Rxc6 Rxa3 $11) 36. Ra7 Bc6 37. h4 Ne6 38. Nf3 Ra8 $2 {This move is much worse than it looks at first glance.} ({Now it was necessary to play} 38... Qf8 $1 39. Rxf7) 39. Ne5 {Now I force him to take and my queen is becoming very active.} Rxa7 40. Qxa7 h5 41. Qb6 {The first time-trouble finished, and I quickly realised that I have an overwhelming advantage.} Ba8 42. Qa6 $1 {[%mdl 2048] Creating a sort of a domination. Black is completely tied down and every legal move would be a concession.} Nf8 (42... Kg7 43. Qa7 {[%csl Rf7,Rg6]} Kg8 44. Ba4 Qf8 45. Nxf7 Qxf7 46. Qxa8+ $18) 43. Ba4 Qb8 44. Qf6 Qb1+ 45. Bd1 $6 {I was pretty sure this move is the best one, but, in fact it only creates unnecessary complications.} (45. Kh2 Qf5 46. Qd8 Kg7 (46... Qxf2 $2 47. Nd7 $18) 47. Qxa8 Qxf2 48. Nf3 $18 {I didn't see this simple move, and therefore rejected 45.?h2.}) 45... Qb7 46. g4 $1 hxg4 47. Nxg4 Nd7 48. Qd8+ Kg7 49. Bc2 $6 {I had the strong feeling that 49.?a4 must win, but, since I didn't see a clear-cut mating line, I decided to play it safe. The score in the match at this moment was 2-1 in favour of Ukraine, so I was obliged not to spoil my winning position to level the match.} (49. Ba4 c3 (49... Qb1+ 50. Kg2 (50. Kh2 $4 Qb8+ 51. Qxb8 Nxb8 $15) 50... Qe4+ 51. Kg3 $18) 50. Bxd7 c2 51. Qf6+ Kg8 52. Nh6+ Kh7 53. Qd8 $1 {I didn't see this nice idea.} c1=Q+ 54. Kg2 {In this picturesque position Black's couple of queens can't save him from mate.}) 49... Qc6 50. h5 gxh5 51. Qg5+ Kf8 52. Qd8+ Kg7 53. Qg5+ Kf8 54. Nh6 {Of course, I shouldn't spend a move on capturing the ?h5, direct attack against the king decides.} Nf6 55. Nf5 Ne8 (55... Ke8 56. e4 $1 (56. Ba4 $2 Qxa4 57. Qxf6 Kd7 {is not so convincing.}) 56... dxe4 (56... Kd7 57. e5 $18) 57. Bxe4 Qa6 58. Bxa8 $18) 56. Qe7+ Kg8 57. Qg5+ Kf8 58. Qe7+ Kg8 59. Qd8 Kf8 60. Kf1 $1 {The last precise move. The immediate 60.?a4 is met by 60...?g6 check! So, it's necessary to move the king out.} Bb7 (60... c3 61. Ba4 $1 c2 62. Bxc2 $18) {[%tqu "En","White si winning by force. How?","","","c2a4","Now it works.",10]} 61. Ba4 $1 {Now it works.} Qe6 (61... Qxa4 62. Qe7+ Kg8 63. Qg5+ Kf8 64. Qh6+ Kg8 65. Ne7#) 62. Bxe8 Qxe8 63. Qf6 1-0 [Event "Poikovsky Karpov 05th"] [Site "Poikovsky"] [Date "2004.03.19"] [Round "3"] [White "Onischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2652"] [BlackElo "2679"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "117"] [EventDate "2004.03.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "18"] [SourceTitle "CBM 100"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2004.06.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2004.06.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 {Großmeister Aleksandrov spielt sehr gern die Ragozin-Variante.} 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 {Das ist die prinzipielle Variante, aber statt 5.cxd5 kommt alternativ auch der sofortige Läuferzug 5.?g5 in Betracht.} Nbd7 {Das ist eine sehr populäre Fortsetzung - die Alternativen sind 6...h6, 6...c5 und 6...?d6.} 7. e3 c5 8. Bd3 Qa5 9. Qc2 {Weiß folgt der klassischen Spielweise.} c4 10. Bf5 g6 $6 {Dieser Zug ist kaum zu empfehlen - die Hauptvariante ist 10...0-0 11.0-0 ?e8 und nur im Falle von 12.?d2 spielt Schwarz g6. Der Textzug schwächt die dunklen Felder am Königsflügel.} 11. Bxd7+ Nxd7 12. e4 {Das ist die prinzipielle Fortsetzung.} (12. O-O O-O 13. Nd2 Nb6 14. f3 f6 15. Bh4 Bd7 16. Rae1 Na4 17. Ndb1 $11) 12... O-O 13. O-O Nb6 {Schwarz möchte die Stellung geschlossen halten.} 14. e5 {[%csl Yf6,Yh6] Die dunklen Felder sind sehr schwach am Königsflügel.} Bf5 15. Qd2 Rfe8 16. a3 Bf8 (16... Bxc3 17. bxc3 $16) {?} 17. Ne4 (17. Nh4 Bd3 (17... Be6 18. f4 h6 19. f5 hxg5 20. Qxg5 $40) 18. b4 Qa6 19. Rfd1 $16) 17... Qxd2 18. Nf6+ Kh8 19. Bxd2 $14 {[%csl Gf6] Der f6? steht sehr aktiv und paralysiert die schwarze Stellung.} Re7 20. Ba5 Rd8 (20... Be6 21. Ng5 $14) 21. g4 Bd3 (21... Be6 22. Ng5 $14) 22. Rfe1 h6 23. h4 {[%CAl Gg4g5]} Bg7 24. g5 h5 {Schwarz muss die Stellung geschlossen halten.} (24... hxg5 $2 25. hxg5 Re6 26. Kg2 $18 {[%CAl Ge1h1,Gh1h8]}) 25. Re3 Bf5 26. Ne1 {[%CAl Ge1g2,Gg2f4,Gf4d5][%mdl 32] Weiß möchte seine Springerstellung verbessern.} Re6 27. Ng2 Rc8 $2 (27... Bxf6 28. gxf6 $14 (28. exf6 $14)) 28. Nf4 $16 {[%csl Rd5,Re6][%CAl Rf4d5,Rf4e6]} Na4 29. N6xd5 $1 {Weiß nimmt den Bauern, was starker ist als der Qualitätsgewinn.} (29. Nxe6 fxe6 30. Re2 c3 31. bxc3 Nxc3 32. Bxc3 Rxc3 $14) 29... Ra6 30. Bc3 {Weiß hat einen Bauern mehr und Schwarz hat keine Kompensation.} Bf8 31. Re2 {[%CAl Gd5e3,Ge3f5] Weiß bereitet den Springerzug 32.?e3 vor.} Rd8 32. Ne3 Nxc3 33. bxc3 Bd7 34. Ned5 (34. d5 $16) 34... b5 (34... Bg4 35. Ree1 Bf3 36. Nf6 $16) 35. e6 $1 {Weiß opfert zeitweilig einen Bauern, was zu Vereinfachungen führt, wonach Weiß ein sehr vorteilhaftes Endspiel bekommt.} Bxe6 (35... fxe6 36. Nxg6+ Kg7 37. Ndf4 $16) 36. Nc7 {[%CAl Rc7a6,Rc7e6]} Rxa3 37. Rxa3 Bxa3 38. Nfxe6 fxe6 39. Nxb5 {[%csl Re6][%CAl Rb5a3,Rb5a7][%mdl 4096] Die Stellung ist materiell gleich, aber alle schwarze Bauern sind schwach.} Bc1 40. Nxa7 Rd6 41. Nb5 Rb6 42. Re5 $1 {Weiß gibt Schwarz keine Gegenchancen, alles ist verteidigt in der weißen Stellung, Schwarz kann nur warten.} (42. Nc7 $16) 42... Kg7 43. Kg2 Kf7 44. Rc5 Ke7 45. Na7 Kd7 46. Rxc4 $18 {Mit zwei Bauern mehr gewinnt Weiß leicht.} Ba3 47. Kf3 Bf8 48. Ke4 Ra6 49. Nb5 Rb6 50. Rc7+ Kd8 51. c4 $1 {Dieses Springeropfer ist die einfachste Lösung.} (51. Rf7 Ke8 52. Rf6 Rxb5 53. Rxg6 $16) 51... Rxb5 52. cxb5 Kxc7 53. Ke5 Bg7+ (53... Kd7 54. Kf6 Bb4 55. Kxg6 Be1 56. Kxh5 Bxf2 57. g6 Bxd4 58. b6 Bf6 59. b7 Kc7 60. Kg4 Kxb7 61. h5 Bg7 62. Kg5 $18) 54. Kxe6 Bxd4 55. f3 Bf2 56. Kf6 Bxh4 57. Kxg6 Bf2 58. Kxh5 Kd7 59. g6 1-0 [Event "RUS-chT 11th"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2004.04.23"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Dreev, Alexey"] [Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2689"] [BlackElo "2668"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2004.04.20"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "EXT 2020"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2019.10.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.10.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Norilsk Norilsky Nikel"] [BlackTeam "Ekaterinburg Max Ven"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 {Die Alternative ist 5.?g5, aber in diesem Fall kann Schwarz mit 5...dxc4 fortsetzen (5...h6 ist auch möglich), was zur Wiener Variante führt.} exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 Ne4 9. Nd2 {Dieses Bauernopfer ist die beste Möglichkeit für Weiß.} (9. Rc1 $6 h5 $36 {[%CAl Gh5h4]}) 9... Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bxc3 11. Rc1 Bb2 {Heutzutage wird dieser Zug in der Großmeisterpraxis oft gespielt. Nach 11...?a5 bekommt Weiß Kompensation für den Bauern, da die schwarze Königsstellung geschwächt ist.} 12. Bxc7 (12. Rxc7 Na6 13. Rc2 Bxd4 14. e3 Bg7 15. Bxa6 bxa6 $11) 12... Qd7 13. Rb1 (13. Be5 Bxc1 14. Bxh8 Qc7 $5 $146 (14... Bxd2+ 15. Qxd2 Qf5 16. f3 Nc6 17. e4 dxe4 18. d5 Ne7 19. Bc4 $44 {1-0 Lputian,S-Vasilevich,T/Abu Dhabi 2003/CBM 97 (38)}) (14... Qc6 15. Qb3 Be6 (15... Kf8 16. e3 f6 17. Nb1 $1 a6 18. Bd3 $16) 16. e3 Nd7 17. Bb5 Qc7 18. Nb1 O-O-O 19. Bxd7+ Bxd7 20. Bf6 Re8 21. O-O $16) 15. h4 Qc3 16. hxg5 Bxd2+ 17. Qxd2 Qa1+ 18. Qd1 Qc3+ 19. Qd2 {½-½ Schlosser,P-Landa,K/Nancy FRA 2004/(19)}) 13... Bc3 14. Bg3 $1 {[%mdl 4] Dieser Läuferzug ist ganz logisch, aber interessanterweise kam er in der Turnierpraxis noch nicht vor.} (14. Bxb8 Rxb8 15. e3 O-O 16. h4 g4 17. Rb3 Qc7 18. Be2 Bd7 19. O-O f5 20. Bb5 Be6 {½-½ Ftacnik,L-Landa,K/Beijing 1996/CBM 54 ext (20)}) 14... Nc6 (14... Bxd4 $4 15. e3 $18 (15. Bxb8 Rxb8 16. e3 $18 {[%CAl Re3d4,Rf1b5,Rb5e8]})) 15. e3 $14 {Die Stellung ist materiell gleich, aber die weiße Bauernstruktur ist gesund.} Qe7 16. Bb5 {Weiß entwickelt den Läufer, was logisch ist, aber noch stärker scheint mir zuerst ein Zwischenzug mit dem Turm zu sein:} (16. Rc1 $5 Bb4 (16... Qb4 17. Qc2) 17. Bb5 Bd7 18. O-O O-O 19. Nf3 $14 {Weiß hat gutes Figurenspiel, während Schwarz Bauern- und Felderschwächen am Königsflügel hat.}) 16... Bf5 17. Bxc6+ (17. Rc1 Qb4 18. Bxc6+ bxc6 $132) 17... bxc6 {?} 18. Qc1 {Auf diese Weise opfert Weiß eine Qualität für aktives Spiel.} (18. Rc1 Qb4 $132) 18... Bxb1 (18... Bxd2+ 19. Kxd2 O-O 20. Rb3 $14 {[%CAl Gh2h4]}) 19. Qxc3 Qb7 20. O-O $44 {Es hängt der b1? und die schwarze Bauernstruktur ist geschwächt. Typisch für die Ragozin-Variante ist, Weiß kontrolliert stark die dunkelfarbigen Punkte, während Schwarz die weißfarbigen Felder beherrscht.} Bg6 21. Bd6 {[%csl Gd6][%CAl Gd6f8]} Qd7 (21... O-O-O 22. Be5 Rhe8 23. Nb3 $44 {[%CAl Gb3a5,Gb3c5,Gf1c1,Gc1c8]}) 22. Ba3 (22. Qc5 f6 $13) 22... O-O-O 23. Nb3 {[%csl Yc5][%CAl Gb3c5,Gb3a5] Der Springer zielt nach c5 (eventuell nach a5). Da Schwarz keinen dunkelfarbigen Läufer besitzt, kann er sich nicht leicht gegen die dunkelfarbigen Drohungen verteidigen.} Kb8 24. Nc5 (24. Rc1 Rc8 $2 (24... Ka8 25. Nc5 $44 (25. Qxc6+ Qxc6 26. Rxc6 Rc8 $17)) 25. Nc5 $18 {[%csl Rd7] Nach 25...?e7 kommt 26.?a6+ mit Damengewinn, nach 25...?c7 auch, sonst gibt Weiß Matt mit 26.?b4+.}) 24... Qc8 $8 25. Rd1 {[%CAl Gd1d2,Gd2b2] Der b1-Punkt wird von dem g6? kontrolliert, so bringt Weiß den Turm über ?d2-?b2 ins Spiel.} (25. Qb4+ Ka8 26. Qa4 $44 {[%CAl Gf1c1,Gc1c8]}) 25... Rh7 26. Rd2 f5 $1 {[%CAl Gh7b7][%mdl 256] Gute Verteidigung - Schwarz bringt seinen Turm auf der 7. Reihe ins Spiel.} 27. Qa5 Ka8 28. Rb2 Re8 (28... Qc7 29. Qxc7 Rxc7 30. Ne6 Rdc8 31. Nxc7+ Rxc7 32. Bf8 h5 33. h4 g4 34. Kh2 $14) 29. Na4 {[%CAl Ra4b6,Rb6a8,Rb6c8]} Rb7 30. Nb6+ Rxb6 31. Rxb6 f4 $1 {Auf diese Weise findet Schwarz sein Gegenspiel am Königsflügel.} (31... Qc7 32. Bc5 Rb8 33. Rxb8+ Qxb8 34. f4 gxf4 35. exf4 $16) 32. Bc5 Qc7 33. Ra6 (33. Qa4 fxe3 34. fxe3 Rxe3 35. Qxc6+ (35. Rxc6 $2 Re1+ 36. Kf2 Qf4+ 37. Kxe1 Qe3+ 38. Kd1 (38. Kf1 Bd3#) 38... Qd3+ 39. Kc1 (39. Ke1 Qc3+ 40. Ke2 Bh5+ $19) 39... Qc3+ 40. Kd1 Bh5+ $19) 35... Qxc6 36. Rxc6 Be4 37. Rxh6 Re2 $11) 33... Qxa5 34. Rxa5 fxe3 35. fxe3 Rxe3 $11 {[%CAl Gg6e4,Ge4g2,Ge3e2,Ge2a2,Ge2h2] Schwarz verliert den a7-Bauern, aber er kann nach ?e4 den g2-Bauern angreifen und das Spiel ausgleichen.} 36. Rxa7+ Kb8 37. Ra6 Re2 38. Rxc6 Be4 39. Rxh6 Rxg2+ 40. Kf1 Rxa2 41. h3 Kc8 1/2-1/2 [Event "Biel GM"] [Site "Biel"] [Date "2007.08.01"] [Round "8"] [White "Van Wely, Loek"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2680"] [BlackElo "2710"] [Annotator "Van Wely,Loek"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2007.07.23"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SUI"] [EventCategory "18"] [SourceTitle "CBM 120"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2007.10.02"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2007.10.02"] [SourceQuality "1"] {I was a happy camper on 1,5 from 7, and Magnus was leading the tournament with +2, but just lost horribly against Pelletier, so any result possible. Ich zierte das Tabellenende mit 1,5 aus 7, und Magnus führte im Turnier mit +2, hatte allerdings gerade auf schreckliche Weise gegen Pelletier verloren, also jedes Resultat möglich.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 c5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3 $5 {Today I was in a creative mood and over the board decided to play something new. A risky strategy when your tournament is not running well, but somehow this kept me sharp. Heute war ich in kreativer Stimmung und beschloss am Brett, etwas Neues zu spielen. Eine riskante Strategie, wenn das Turnier nicht gut für dich läuft, aber irgendwie hielt mich das unter Spannung.} (8. Rc1 {was Topalov's choice vs Carlsen. war Topalovs Wahl gegen Carlsen.} Nbd7 9. dxc5 Qa5 $6 (9... Nxc5 $142 10. Qd4 (10. Bd3 {Morozevich - Movsesian 0-1 Sarajevo 2007}) 10... Bxc3+ 11. Qxc3 Nce4 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 $14) 10. a3 (10. Nd2 b6 11. c6 $6 (11. Be2 bxc5 12. O-O Bxc3 13. Rxc3 Qxa2 14. Qc2 Rb8 $11 {Grischuk-Carlsen Moscow 2006}) 11... d4 12. cxd7 dxc3 13. bxc3 Bxc3 14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. dxc8=Q (15. Bd3 Bxd7 16. Rc2 $11) (15. Rxc3 Qxc3 16. dxc8=Q Raxc8 $36) 15... Raxc8 $36) 10... Bxc3+ 11. Rxc3 Ne4 12. b4 $1 Nxc3 13. Qa1 $16 {Topalov-Carlsen Wijk aan Zee 2007}) 8... c4 9. Bc2 Nbd7 10. O-O Qa5 11. Rc1 (11. Ne5 Bxc3 12. bxc3 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Ne4 14. Be7 Re8 15. Bb4 Qc7 $11 {Radjabov-Carlsen blitz 2006}) 11... Bxc3 12. bxc3 Ne4 13. Bb1 Re8 14. Bf4 Nb6 $6 {I suppose Magnus didn't expect some violent action to happen on his kingside, otherwise he might have gone for the solid Ich vermute, Magnus hatte keinen Ausbruch von Gewaltätigkeiten an seinem Königsflügel erwartet, ansonsten hätte er vielleicht das solide} (14... Nf8 {gewählt.}) (14... Qa3 {with clear intentions to take on c3 is not so great: mit klaren Intentionen, auf c3 zu schlagen, ist nicht so besonders:} 15. Ng5 $1 Ndf6 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 (16... dxe4 17. d5) {and now the positonal und jetzt sehen sowohl das positionelle} 17. Qe1 {and als auch} ({the more aggressive das aggressivere} 17. Qh5 {both look tempting verlockend aus.})) 15. Ne5 f6 16. Qh5 Be6 17. f3 $1 {That was White's idea. Das war die Idee von Weiß.} fxe5 18. Bxe5 Bf7 19. Qh3 $1 {Doesn't give Black a chance to bail out to an inferior endgame. Gibt Schwarz keine Chance, sich in ein schlechteres Endspiel zu verdrücken.} (19. Qh4 $6 Nd7 $1 20. fxe4 Nxe5 21. dxe5 Bg6 22. exd5 Bxb1 (22... Qxd5 $6 23. Bxg6 hxg6 24. Rcd1 Qc5 (24... Qxe5 25. Qxc4+ Re6 (25... Qe6 26. Qxe6+ Rxe6 27. Rd7 $16) 26. Rf3 $16) 25. Qd4 (25. Qf4 Re7) 25... Rxe5 26. Qxc5 Rxc5 27. Rd7 Rf8 28. Rxf8+ Kxf8 29. Rxb7 Rd5 30. Rxa7 Rd3 31. Kf2 Rxc3 $16) 23. Rxb1 Qxd5 24. Qd4 Qc6 $16 {Somehow White's compromised pawn structure gives Black good drawing chances. Irgendwie gibt die kompromittierte Bauernstruktur von Weiß Schwarz gute Remischancen.}) 19... Nf6 (19... Ng5 20. Qf5 h6 21. h4 Rxe5 22. dxe5 Ne6 23. Qh7+ Kf8 24. f4 Bg8 25. Qh8 Qc5 26. Rce1 $40 {and during the game and also now I didn't see any way for Black to stop my attack. und während der Partie - und auch jetzt - sah ich keinen Weg für Schwarz, meinen Angriff aufzuhalten.}) (19... Be6 20. Qh4) 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Qh6 $1 ({I understood very well that after Ich war mir durchaus im klaren, dass nach} 21. Qxh7+ Kf8 22. e4 $40 {White has a nice attack going on, but the move played is even stronger. Weiß einen schönen Angriff hat, aber der gespielte Zug ist noch stärker.}) 21... Bg6 22. Bxg6 hxg6 23. Qxg6+ Kf8 24. Qxf6+ Kg8 25. Qg6+ Kf8 26. Qf6+ Kg8 27. e4 ({After a long think I finally rejected Nach einer langen Denkpause verwarf ich schließlich} 27. f4 $5 {because I prefered to win slowly but surely instead of winning quickly but running some risk of screwing it up. Later it happened that this "surely" was not to be 24 carats gold by the way. , weil ich lieber langsam, aber sicher gewinnen wollte, statt schnell zu siegen, dafür jedoch das Risiko einzugehen, die Sache zu vermasseln. Später sollte sich übrigens herausstellen, dass dieses "sicher" auch nicht auf die Goldwaage zu legen war.} Qa3 $1 (27... Nd7 28. Qg6+ Kf8 29. f5 Ke7 30. Rb1 $1 (30. f6+ Kd6 $1) 30... Qa6 31. f6+ Kd6 32. f7+ Re6 33. Qg3+ Kc6 34. e4 $1 dxe4 35. Rf5 Rd6 36. Qf4 $18) 28. Qg6+ Kf8 29. f5 Ke7 30. f6+ Kd7 31. Qh7+ Kc6 32. f7 Rf8 33. e4 $36) 27... Qb5 (27... Qxa2 $5 {Is this possible? During the game I even didn't notice this pawn was hanging, and right now I don't see a clear refutation. At least it would have forced White to speed up matters. Ist das möglich? Während der Partie bemerkte ich nicht einmal, dass dieser Bauer hing, und selbst jetzt sehe ich keine klare Widerlegung. Zumindest hätte es Weiß gezwungen, die Dinge zu beschleunigen.}) 28. Qg6+ Kf8 29. Qf6+ Kg8 30. Qg6+ Kf8 31. e5 Qc6 32. Qf5+ $2 (32. Qc2 $1) 32... Ke7 33. Qh7+ (33. f4 Qh6) 33... Kd8 34. f4 Qd7 35. Qxd7+ $2 {A big mistake, White still had a chance to better his life and to show some understanding, but unfortunately again this was not the case. The fact is that White's pawns are easier pushed with queens on, and apart from that, Black's king lacks shelter, so the more pieces on, the better. To make it even worse, with queens off, Black's king might become a very useful blockader of White's pawn phalanx. Ein grober Fehler. Weiß hatte noch immer eine Chance, sich das Leben zu erleichtern und etwas Stellungsverständnis zu zeigen, aber leider versäumte er es aufs Neue. Tatsache ist nämlich, dass die weißen Bauern mit Damen auf dem Brett leichter vorgestoßen werden können, und außerdem mangelt es dem schwarzen König an Schutz; also je mehr Figuren auf dem Brett, desto besser. Was es noch schlimmer macht, bei getauschten Damen könnte der schwarze König ein sehr nützlicher Blockierer der weißen Bauernphalanx werden.} (35. Qh4+ Kc7 36. f5 {was the way to play. war die angesagte Fortsetzung.}) 35... Kxd7 $1 (35... Nxd7 36. Rb1 Rb8 37. Rb5) 36. g4 Rg8 $1 {Slowing White down.} (36... Na4 $2 37. Kg2 {and there will be no stopping g5-h4-f5-g6 etc.}) 37. h3 (37. g5 $2 Raf8 38. Kg2 Ke6) 37... Na4 38. Kg2 (38. f5 {to push the pawns was also an option, however, I was waiting till I had all my bases loaded. um die Bauern voranzutreiben, war ebenfalls eine Möglichkeit, doch ich wartete ab, bis ich all meine Tablebases geladen hatte.}) 38... b5 39. Kg3 a5 40. a3 b4 (40... Rab8 $5 41. f5 b4 42. cxb4 axb4 43. axb4 Rxb4 44. h4 c3 45. Rf4 Rc8 46. f6 c2 (46... Rb3 47. g5 $18) 47. Rf2 Rbc4 (47... Nc3 48. Rfxc2 Ne2+ 49. Rxe2 Rxc1 50. e6+ Ke8 51. Ra2 $18 {would have led to some kind of masochistic affair where Black's extra rook won't be very helpful. hätte zu einer Art Masochismusnummer geführt, wo der schwarze Mehrturm nicht besonders hilfreich sein wird.}) (47... Rxd4 48. Rfxc2 Rd3+ 49. Kg2 Nc3 50. g5 Ke6 (50... d4 51. g6 $18) (50... Rc4 51. f7 Ke7 (51... Rg4+ 52. Kf1 Rf3+ 53. Rf2 Rxf2+ 54. Kxf2 Ke7 55. Rxc3 $18) 52. Rf2 $18) 51. g6 $18) 48. f7 Nc3 49. Kg2 Na2 50. Rcxc2 Rxc2 51. f8=Q Rxf8 52. Rxc2 Nb4 53. Rd2 Nc6 54. h5 Nd8 $1 {and maybe Black can save himself. und vielleicht kann Schwarz sich retten.}) 41. cxb4 {Not allowing some fancy stuff, although probably bad: Lässt keine Spirenzchen zu, obwohl sie vermutlich nichts taugen:} (41. axb4 Nxc3 $5 42. Rxc3 axb4) 41... axb4 42. axb4 Nb2 (42... Rab8) 43. Rc3 Nd3 44. b5 Rgb8 45. Rb1 Ra5 46. f5 (46. b6 Ra6 47. b7 Ra7 48. g5 {I must confess that this was my first intention Ich muss gestehen, dass dies meine erste Absicht war} (48. Rb5 Kc6) (48. Rb6 $2 Raxb7 49. Rd6+ Ke8 50. Rxd5 Rb3 $1 $19) 48... Raxb7 (48... Ke6 $2 49. Rb6+ Kf5 50. Rxd3 cxd3 51. Kf3) 49. Rxb7+ Rxb7 50. g6 Ke6 51. Kg4 {but then I was unpleasantly surprised by the consequences of , doch dann wurde ich unangenehm überrascht von den Konsequenzen von} Nf2+) (46. g5 $2 Ke6 47. Kg4 Nf2+) 46... Raxb5 47. Rxb5 Rxb5 48. e6+ $6 {Laziness could have cost me the game, were it not that the position is winning anyway. A good player would have calculated the endgame after Faulheit hätte mich die Partie kosten können, wäre die Stellung nicht sowieso gewonnen.} (48. Ra3 $1 Nxe5 {til the end: bis zum Ende:} 49. Ra7+ Kd6 50. dxe5+ Kxe5 51. Re7+ Kd6 52. Re6+ Kd7 53. Kf4 {but I couldn't and I still can't. Just waiting for the tablebase of 9 pieces... , aber ich konnte es nicht, und ich kann es noch immer nicht. Warte nur auf die 9-Steiner-Tablebase...}) 48... Ke7 $2 ({During the game I was getting very much worried about Während der Partie bekam ich große Sorgen wegen} 48... Kd6 $1 {and I don't put my hands in the fire that I would have found the solution: , und ich lege meine Hand nicht dafür ins Feuer, dass ich die Lösung gefunden hätte.} 49. Ra3 Nb4 50. g5 Rb8 (50... Nc6 51. Kg4 Rb7 (51... Rb8 52. Re3 c3 53. Rxc3 Nxd4 54. Re3 Rb4 55. e7 Nc6+ 56. Kh5 Nxe7 57. f6 Rh4+ 58. Kxh4 Nf5+ 59. Kh5 Nxe3 60. g6 Ke6 61. g7 Kf7 62. Kh6 $18) 52. g6 Nxd4 53. Kg5 Rb3 54. e7 $1 (54. Ra8 Rxh3 55. g7 Nxe6+ 56. fxe6 Rg3+ 57. Kf6 Rf3+ 58. Kg6 Rg3+ 59. Kf7 Rxg7+ 60. Kxg7 Kxe6 $11) (54. Rxb3 cxb3 55. g7 Nxe6+ 56. fxe6 b2 $11) 54... Kxe7 55. f6+ {and it seems White is winning here. und es sieht so aus, als ob Weiß hier gewinnt.}) 51. Kg4 Rc8 52. e7 $3 {To give up your pride like this, you need to be tough! Um seinen Stolz so aufzugeben, muss man schon ein ganz Harter sein!} Kxe7 53. f6+ Kf8 (53... Kf7 54. Ra7+ Ke6 55. Re7+ Kd6 56. g6) 54. Ra7 Nc6 55. Rh7) 49. Ra3 Rb7 50. g5 Nb4 (50... Nc5 {Also this last swindle doesn't work: Auch dieser letzte Schwindel funktioniert nicht:} 51. dxc5 Rb3+ 52. Rxb3 cxb3 53. c6 b2 54. c7 b1=Q 55. c8=Q Qe1+ 56. Kg4 Qe2+ 57. Kh4 Qc4+ 58. Qxc4 dxc4 59. Kh5 c3 60. Kg6 c2 61. f6+ Kxe6 62. f7 c1=Q 63. f8=Q $18) 51. Re3 $1 {Now there is no more stopping. Nun gibt es kein Halten mehr.} Nc6 52. f6+ Kd6 53. Kg4 c3 54. e7 c2 55. Rc3 Rb8 56. Rxc2 Nxd4 57. Rb2 Rc8 58. g6 Ne6 59. Rb6+ Kd7 60. Rb7+ 1-0 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE GP"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2015.05.17"] [Round "4"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2754"] [BlackElo "2803"] [Annotator "Wagner,Dennis"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2015.05.14"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 167"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.07.13"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.07.13"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:05]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 4. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:05] The Ragozin is one of the most popular openings against 1.d4 nowadays!} (4... c6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 Qa5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3 Ne4 9. O-O Nxg5 10. Nxg5 $14 {This specific position is supposed to be favourable for White. Compared to the game White didn't waste time on ?c1 and his lead in development is clearly visible.}) 5. cxd5 {[%emt 0:01:10]} exd5 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 6. Bg5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Nbd7 {[%emt 0:00:19]} (6... h6 $5 {is the alternative here.}) 7. Rc1 $5 {[%emt 0:05:19] With the obvious idea of preventing c5.} (7. e3 {is the main move.}) 7... c6 {[%emt 0:05:13]} (7... c5 8. dxc5 Qa5 9. Bd2 $1 $16 {That's the point, without a pawn on e3 the bishop can retreat.}) 8. e3 {[%emt 0:00:40]} (8. a3 {has been played more often.} Bxc3+ (8... Bd6 {is also not dangerous for Black.} 9. e3 O-O 10. Be2 Re8 11. Bh4 Nf8 12. Bg3 Ng6 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. O-O Bg4 $11 {0-1 (44) Zubov,A (2588)-Moiseenko,A (2701) Lvov 2014}) 9. Rxc3 (9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Qb3 Ne4 11. Qb4 (11. e3 O-O $11) 11... Qxb4 12. cxb4 a5 $15 {0-1 (32) Kurbonboeva,S (2235)-Safarli,E (2641) Tashkent 2015}) 9... h6 10. Re3+ $5 Kf8 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. g3 g6 13. Bg2 Kg7 14. O-O Ne4 {1/2-1/2 (25) Ivekovic,B (2300)-Palac,M (2581) Zagreb 2015; with a funny, but equal position.}) (8. Qc2 h6 9. Bh4 g5 10. Bg3 Ne4 11. Nd2 (11. e3 h5 $1 12. Bd3 h4 13. Bxe4 hxg3 14. Bf5 gxf2+ 15. Kxf2 Nf6 $11) 11... Ndf6 12. e3 Nxg3 (12... Nxd2 $1 13. Qxd2 (13. Kxd2 $5 Ne4+ 14. Kd1 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Bf5 16. Bd3 O-O 17. f3 Nxg3 18. hxg3 Bxd3 19. Qxd3 Qf6 $11) 13... Ne4 14. Qc2 h5 15. f3 Nxg3 16. hxg3 Bd6 17. Kf2 h4 $15) 13. hxg3 Qe7 14. Bd3 Be6 15. a3 Bd6 16. Na4 Rd8 17. Nc5 Bc8 18. b4 Ng4 {1-0 (41) Carlsen,M (2813)-Grischuk,A (2756) Nice 2010; with complicated and unclear play, where Black is not worse.}) 8... Qa5 $1 {[%emt 0:16:47]} 9. Bd3 {[%emt 0:00:09]} (9. Qb3 Ne4 10. Bf4 (10. Bd3 O-O 11. O-O Nxg5 12. Nxg5 Nf6 13. a3 Bd6 14. Qc2 h6 15. Nh7 Nxh7 16. Bxh7+ Kh8 $11) 10... c5 11. a3 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 c4 13. Qb4 Qxb4 14. axb4 a5 $11 {1-0 (41) Mamedyarov,S (2741)-Halkias,S (2566) Bursa 2010}) 9... Ne4 {[%emt 0:03:08]} 10. O-O {[%emt 0:02:37]} Nxg5 {[%emt 0:09:01]} 11. Nxg5 {[%emt 0:00:14] This position reminds me of a similar scenario in the Campridge Springs (see above). White has given up the pair of bishops, but intends to use the outpost on e5 by playing f4,?f3,?e5.} Nf6 {[%emt 0:05:12]} 12. Qc2 {[%emt 0:09:50]} h6 {[%emt 0:09:05]} 13. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:46]} Bd6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} (13... O-O $5 14. h3 Be6 15. Ne5 c5 16. f4 (16. dxc5 Qxc5 17. a3 Bxc3 18. Qxc3 Qxc3 19. Rxc3 Rac8 $11) 16... cxd4 17. exd4 Rac8 $11 {1-0 (32) Sargissian,G (2677)-Cramling,P (2536) Villafranca 2010}) 14. Ne5 {[%emt 0:06:07]} Ng4 $1 {[%emt 0:06:05] Caruana tries to interfere with White´s plans.} 15. Nf3 {[%emt 0:17:00]} (15. Nxg4 Bxg4 16. h3 Be6 $11 {is not dangerous at all.}) 15... Nf6 {[%emt 0:05:32]} 16. h3 {[%emt 0:00:23] Of course MVL doesn´t agree to the repetition and prepares the knight invasion first.} O-O {[%emt 0:18:48]} 17. Ne5 {[%emt 0:01:01]} a6 $1 {[%emt 0:00:37][%CAl Gc6c5] The first novelty of the game, although probably neither players knew that, as they had already used quite a huge amount of time.} (17... c5 $2 {is premature.} 18. Nb5 $1 {This explains the necessary prophylaxis 17.-a6.} Bxe5 19. dxe5 Nd7 20. f4 c4 21. Bh7+ Kh8 22. Nd6 $16 {1-0 (30) Gelfand,B (2758)-Jakovenko,D (2736) Khanty-Mansiysk 2009}) 18. f4 {[%emt 0:06:55]} (18. Na4 $5 {preventing Black´s idea, before initiating play of his own comes into consideration. I give some sample lines:} Qc7 19. f4 Re8 20. Nc5 (20. a3 a5 21. g4 (21. Rf3 Be6 22. Nc5 (22. Rg3 Rad8 23. Qe2 Kh8 24. Bb1 Re7 $11) 22... Bxc5 23. Qxc5 Ne4 24. Bxe4 dxe4 25. Rf2 f6 26. f5 fxe5 27. fxe6 exd4 28. Rf7 Qg3 29. Qxd4 Rxe6 30. Rxb7 Kh7 $11) (21. Nc5 $1) 21... Be6 22. Nc5 Bxc5 23. Qxc5 Nd7 $11) 20... a5 21. a3 Re7 (21... Nd7 22. Bh7+ Kf8 23. Ncxd7+ Bxd7 24. Rf3 $36) 22. Qf2 Nd7 23. Na4 $1 Nf6 24. Qh4 {White has some initiative.}) 18... c5 {[%emt 0:00:41]} 19. g4 {[%emt 0:04:16] This pawn thrust is aggressive, but rather risky, too. If the position opens, the king is going to be very weak.} ({I prefer a move like this one, possibly preparing the regroupment ?b1, ?c2:} 19. Qf2 Be6 20. a3 Rfe8 $1 (20... c4 21. Bb1 Rfe8 22. Qc2 b5 23. g4 $40) 21. Bb1 Rad8 22. Qc2 Qc7 23. g4 b5 $132) 19... cxd4 {[%emt 0:07:36]} 20. exd4 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Be6 {[%emt 0:02:07]} 21. Qb3 $6 {[%emt 0:10:21] I assume that this was played with the idea of f5 in mind and is a first step in the wrong direction. White has to be extremly careful and should keep control over his position, with a useful move like ?g2.} (21. g5 $2 hxg5 22. fxg5 Bxe5 23. dxe5 Nd7 $17) (21. Kg2 {It makes sense to move the king out of the diagonal g1-a7. The white queen will go to f2, and later, at the right moment, g5 might follow. Black has counterplay, too and the position should be dynamically balanced, althoug probably easier to play with Black, since White has a long-term problem with his king safety.} b5 22. a3 Qb6 23. Qf2 Rad8 24. Rfe1 Bc8 25. g5 (25. Bb1 Bb7 26. Rcd1 Rfe8 27. Qc2 {is not so effective here.} (27. Qf3 b4 $132) 27... Ne4 $1) 25... hxg5 26. fxg5 Ne4 (26... Nh5 $5) 27. Nxe4 dxe4 28. Bxe4 Bxe5 29. dxe5 Bxh3+ 30. Kg3 Qxf2+ 31. Kxf2 g6 $11) 21... b5 {[%emt 0:05:24]} 22. f5 {[%emt 0:03:18]} (22. Qc2 {Returning the queen is safer, but of course not very principled.}) 22... Qb6 $1 {[%emt 0:01:07]} 23. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Bc8 {[%emt 0:00:46]} 24. Kg2 $6 {[%emt 0:00:52]} (24. Nxd5 $1 Nxd5 25. Be4 $1 {It´s very difficult to decide on this sequence during a game, because it´s easy to miss something due to White´s bad king safety.} Nc7 26. Rc6 $1 {All the following complications should somehow end in a draw.} Qb7 (26... Qb8 27. Rxd6 Ne8 28. Bxa8 Qxd6 29. Kg2 Nf6 30. Ne5 $1 Qxd4 31. Re1 {Somehow White is holding here.} Qd2+ 32. Kf1 Bxf5 33. gxf5 Rxa8 34. Qxf7+ Kh7 35. Qg6+ $11) 27. Nd2 Be7 (27... Re8 28. Rxd6 Rxe4 29. Nxe4 Qxe4 30. Rd8+ Kh7 31. Qxf7 Qe3+ 32. Kh2 Qe2+ $11) 28. f6 Bxf6 29. Rcxf6 (29. Rfxf6 Qa7 (29... gxf6 30. Rxf6 $18) 30. Rf2 Ne6 31. Rd6 Qe7 32. Qg3 $11) 29... Qa7 30. Rxf7 Qxd4+ 31. Kh1 Be6 32. Rxf8+ Rxf8 33. Rxf8+ Kxf8 34. Qc2 {with a tenable position.}) 24... Bb7 $17 {[%emt 0:06:31] White has a lot of space on the kingside, but his position turns out to be over-extended. In the long run he is going to have major difficulties with his king.} 25. Na4 {[%emt 0:01:18]} Qa7 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 26. Nc5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Rac8 {[%emt 0:00:49]} 27. a4 {[%emt 0:09:01]} (27. Nxb7 Qxb7 28. a4 (28. Rfe1 Bb8 $40) 28... b4 {is also difficult for White. The opposite-coloured bishops increase Black's attacking potential.} 29. Ne5 Qb6 $1 (29... Rfe8 30. Rxc8 Rxc8 31. Re1 Qb6 32. Nf3 a5 $15) 30. Nf3 Bb8 $1 {[%CAl Gb6d6]} 31. Rxc8 Rxc8 32. Rf2 Qd6 33. Ne5 Ba7 34. Nf3 (34. Rc2 Re8 $19) 34... Ne4 $19) 27... Bxc5 {[%emt 0:01:05]} 28. dxc5 {[%emt 0:00:11]} d4 $1 {[%emt 0:02:06] This is even more convincing than the natural ...?xc5.} (28... Rxc5 29. Rxc5 Qxc5 30. axb5 axb5 31. Qxb5 Qa7 32. Qb4 d4 33. Kf2 Rd8 $19) 29. axb5 {[%emt 0:00:30]} axb5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 30. Qxb5 {[%emt 0:03:55]} (30. Rfe1 Rxc5 31. Rxc5 Qxc5 32. Qxb5 Qc7 $19) 30... Bc6 $1 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 31. Qb6 {[%emt 0:02:39]} Qd7 $1 {[%emt 0:00:18]} 32. Kg1 {[%emt 0:00:05]} (32. Qa5 Rfe8 33. Rce1 Rxe1 34. Rxe1 Qb7 35. Rf1 Nd5 $19) 32... Rfe8 $19 {[%emt 0:01:28] The game is more or less over. With such a weak king it's impossible to survive.} 33. Rce1 {[%emt 0:01:12]} Rxe1 {[%emt 0:02:18]} 34. Nxe1 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Re8 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 35. Ng2 {[%emt 0:03:26]} Nd5 {[%emt 0:01:57]} 36. Qb3 {[%emt 0:02:23]} Ne3 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 37. Nxe3 {[%emt 0:00:57]} dxe3 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 38. Qc4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Qc7 {[%emt 0:00:59]} 39. Qf4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Qxf4 {[%emt 0:00:26]} 40. Rxf4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e2 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 41. Bxe2 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Rxe2 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 42. Rb4 {[%emt 0:00:44]} Rg2+ {[%emt 0:03:27]} 43. Kf1 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Rc2 {[%emt 0:00:07] A convincing counterattacking game by Caruana.} 0-1 [Event "Tata Steel-A 77th"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2015.01.15"] [Round "5"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2673"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "132"] [EventDate "2015.01.10"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 165"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.03.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.03.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. Nxd4 Bd7 12. Ne4 Qe7 13. Qh5 {This variation in the modern 4...?b4 defence is well known, but the method of gaining advantage for White remains well hidden. What is known is the latest trend to try for more than the minumum with an aggressive queen move.} (13. Bd3 $5 Nc6 14. Nb3 Rfd8 (14... Na5 15. Rc7 Nxb3 16. Rxb7 Rab8 17. Rxb8 Rxb8 18. Qxb3 $14) 15. a3 Ba5 16. Nd6 Be8 17. Nxe8 Qxe8 18. Nxa5 Nxa5 19. Qe2 Rac8 20. b4 Nc6 21. Be4 $11 {1/2 (86) Gupta,A (2638)-Parligras,M (2574) Abu Dhabi 2014}) (13. a3 Ba5 14. Qh5 Bb6 15. Rfd1 (15. Nb5 Bc6 16. Nbc3 Nd7 17. Bb5 Bxe4 18. Nxe4 Rfd8 19. Rfd1 Nf6 20. Qh4 Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Rd8 {1/2 (21) Le Roux,J (2551)-Cornette,M (2552) Belfort 2012}) 15... Rd8 (15... Nc6 16. Nf3 {1/2 (16) Solak,D (2564)-Delchev,A (2637) Vrsac 2006}) 16. Nd6 Be8 17. Nxe8 Rxe8 18. Qf3 Rd8 19. Bb5 a6 20. Ba4 a5 21. Nf5 exf5 22. Rxd8+ Qxd8 23. Qxb7 Na6 24. Rd1 Qb8 $17 {1/2 (57) Grachev,B (2610)-Dizdar,G (2548) Plovdiv 2008}) (13. Qb3 Bc6 14. Nxc6 Nxc6 15. Bb5 Ne5 16. a3 Ba5 17. Be2 Rfd8 18. Qb5 Rd5 19. Rc5 Rad8 20. Qxa5 b6 21. Rxd5 bxa5 22. Rxe5 $16 {0-1 (39) Ivanov,S (2570)-Greenfeld,A (2530) Beersheba 1998}) 13... Nc6 14. Nb3 Be8 $146 {[%mdl 4] The women's world champion plays extremely well and thus needs to study openings at a high level. Her move is a novelty and an attempt to slightly improve on the play of Anand from Bilbao.} (14... f5 15. a3 (15. Nec5 Be8 16. Qf3 Bxc5 17. Nxc5 Bf7 18. Bb5 Rac8 19. Nd3 Rfd8 20. Rfd1 Be8 $11) 15... fxe4 (15... Ne5 16. Be2 (16. axb4 Nxc4 17. Rxc4 Bb5 18. Ned2 Bxc4 19. Nxc4 Qxb4 20. Ncd2 a5 $15) 16... Be8 17. Qh3 Bc6 (17... fxe4 18. axb4 Bc6 19. Nd4 Bd5 20. Qg3 Qf6 $11) 18. axb4 Bxe4 $11 {1/2 (42) Ramirez,A (2591)-Cornette,M (2545) Cappelle la Grande 2012}) 16. axb4 Nxb4 17. Nc5 (17. Qc5 Rfe8 18. Qxe7 Rxe7 19. Nc5 Bc6 20. Nxe6 Kh7 21. Rfd1 Rc8) (17. Qg6 Nd3 18. Bxd3 exd3 19. Qxd3 Rac8 20. Rxc8 Rxc8 $11) 17... Nd3 18. Nxd3 (18. Nxd7 Qxd7 19. Qg4 Rae8 20. Rc2 Nb4 21. Rd1 Qf7 22. Rcd2 Qf5 23. Qxf5 Rxf5 24. Rd4 b5 25. Be2 Nd3 $11) 18... exd3 19. Bxd3 (19. Rcd1 Bc6 20. Rxd3 Rad8 21. Qg6 Rxd3 22. Bxd3 Rd8 23. Qh7+ Kf8 $11) 19... Bc6 20. Rc4 Rf6 (20... Qf6 $5 21. Rf4 Qxb2 22. Rd4 (22. Rg4 Rad8 23. Qxh6 Rxd3 24. Qxe6+ Rf7 25. Qc8+ Rf8 $11) 22... Rad8 23. Qg6 Rxd4 24. Qxe6+ Kh8 25. exd4 Qxd4 26. Qg6 Kg8 $11) 21. Be4 (21. Rd1 $5 Rd8 22. Bc2 Rxd1+ 23. Qxd1 $11) 21... Bxe4 22. Rxe4 Rd8 23. Qe2 Rf5 24. h3 Rfd5 25. Qg4 R8d6 26. Rc1 {1-0 (46) Aronian,L (2804)-Anand,V (2785) Bilbao 2014}) (14... Rfd8 $5 15. a3 Bd6 16. Nxd6 Qxd6 17. Rfd1 Qe5 18. Qe2 Ne7 $11) 15. a3 f5 16. Qe2 (16. Qh3 Na5 17. Nd4 Nxc4 18. Rxc4 Ba5 19. Nc5 Rc8 20. Rfc1 Bb6 21. b4 $11) 16... Bxa3 {It seems logical to presume, that the bishop move was discovered in the preparation of the whole line. Fortunately for White the position will remain playable for him, but objectively close to equality even after an immediate 16...fxe4.} (16... fxe4 17. axb4 Nxb4 18. Nc5 Bf7 19. Nxe4 Rfd8 $11) 17. bxa3 fxe4 18. Nc5 (18. Qg4 Rf6 19. Nc5 Kh8 (19... Bf7 20. Bb5 Rc8 21. Qxe4 Bg6 22. Qa4 Be8 23. Rfd1 $14) 20. Bb3 Rd8 $11) 18... Ne5 $5 {In my humble opinion only this move represents the key idea of the whole line introduced by the novelty 14...?e8. Hou is prepearing the move of the knight to f3 with serious counterplay against the white kingside.} 19. Ba2 (19. Bxe6+ Kh8 20. Bd5 Nf3+ $1 21. gxf3 Qg5+ 22. Kh1 Qxd5 23. fxe4 (23. Nxe4 $2 Bh5 24. Rc5 Bxf3+ 25. Qxf3 Qxc5 $19) 23... Bh5 24. exd5 Bxe2 25. Ne6 Rf6 26. f4 Bxf1 27. Rxf1 Re8 $11) 19... Nf3+ 20. Kh1 (20. gxf3 $2 Qg5+ 21. Kh1 exf3 $19) 20... Qh4 {Interesting and good play usually means, that some of the attractive options remain behind the curtains. Black could consider a more conservative approach with 20...?g5!?} (20... Ng5 $5 21. Qc4 Bc6 22. Nxe6 Nxe6 23. Qxe6+ Qxe6 24. Bxe6+ Kh7 $11) 21. gxf3 (21. h3 Kh8 22. Qb2 (22. Nxe6 Bd7 23. Qb2 Bxe6 24. Bxe6 Qe7 $11) 22... Ng5 23. Nxe6 Nxe6 24. Bxe6 Bc6 $11) 21... Bh5 22. Bxe6+ Kh8 23. Bg4 $1 {So is a man of the moment! Not only has he decided to live in the USA, but also to become one of the best players in the world. His feeling for positions is simply outstanding, even though in this game he had to live with some danger.} exf3 24. Qb2 Bxg4 25. Rg1 Rf7 26. Qd4 {Both players have displayed an enviable level of masterful play. Even the computer finds only two moments, when the chosen moves could have been marginally improved upon. A safer way to full equality seems to be promised by the move 26.?c4!?} (26. Rc4 $5 h5 27. Rb4 Rc8 28. Nd3 (28. Rxb7 $2 Rxb7 29. Nxb7 Qe7 $17) 28... Qf6 29. Qxf6 gxf6 30. Nf4 Rc5 $11) 26... h5 27. Nd3 Rd8 (27... Rd7 28. Qe4 Rxd3 29. Qxd3 Qxf2 30. Rc7 Qb2 31. Rf7 Qe5 32. Qd4 Qxd4 33. exd4 Kg8 34. Rf4 $11) 28. Qe4 Qe7 {Once again the engine grumbles a bit about the immediate queen exchange and suggests improving the black king first.} (28... Kg8 $5 29. Rg3 Qe7 30. Qxe7 Rxe7 31. Nf4 Rd2 32. h3 Bf5 33. Kg1 h4 34. Rg5 Be4 $15) 29. Qxe7 Rxe7 30. Nf4 Kh7 31. Rc5 (31. h3 Bf5 32. Nxh5 Rd2 33. Rc5 Bg6 34. Rcg5 Bxh5 35. Rxh5+ Kg8 36. Rf1 Ra2 37. Rb5 Rxa3 38. Rfb1 b6 39. Kh2 $15) 31... g6 32. h3 Bf5 33. Nxh5 $1 {The new "American"star has a very sharp eye and the tactical shots represent the minimal level of his skills.} Bxh3 34. Kh2 Bf5 (34... Bc8 35. Nf4 Bf5 36. Kg3 Rd2 $11) 35. Nf6+ Kh6 36. e4 Rf8 (36... Rf7 37. Ng4+ Bxg4 38. Rxg4 Rd1 $11) 37. e5 b6 38. Rd5 Kg7 39. Kg3 Be6 (39... Rh8 40. Kxf3 Rc7 41. Rd6 $11) 40. Rh1 $1 Bg8 {The firs lady of chess even has to be careful, since White has managed to create a superhero on f6.} 41. Kf4 Rc8 42. Rd4 (42. Nxg8 Kxg8 43. Kxf3 Rf7+ 44. Ke3 Rc3+ 45. Ke4 Rc4+ 46. Rd4 Rxd4+ 47. Kxd4 Rxf2 48. e6 $11) 42... b5 43. Re1 a5 {Black is not prepared just to watch how White is skillfully improving his position. The counterplay with the queenside pawn majority will certainly tie down some forces of her dangerous opponent.} (43... Bf7 44. Kxf3 Rc5 45. Rde4 g5 46. Kg4 Kg6 $11) 44. Kxf3 Rc3+ 45. Kf4 (45. Ke4 Bb3 $11) 45... Rxa3 46. Nxg8 Kxg8 47. e6 Ra4 {Computers can be confident and suggest the equalising line that seems pretty dangerous when people are playing over the board. Hou is exchanging rooks and making sure that the danger of losing will be very small.} (47... Kf8 48. Ke5 Rf3 49. Rh1 Rf5+ 50. Kd6 Ra7 51. Rh8+ Kg7 52. Rdh4 Ra6+ 53. Ke7 Ra7+ $11) 48. Rxa4 bxa4 49. Ke5 Kg7 50. Kd6 Kf8 51. Rc1 {White might have been a bit tired after all the commotion, he might have missed the more unpleasant line for Black after 51.?h1!} (51. Rh1 $1 Ra7 52. Rh8+ Kg7 53. Rd8 Ra6+ 54. Ke5 a3 55. Rd7+ Kg8 56. Kf6 a2 57. Rd8+ Kh7 58. Rd1 Kg8 59. Ra1 a4 60. Rxa2 a3 61. f4 Kf8 62. Rc2 Kg8 $11) 51... Re8 52. Ke5 a3 53. Kf6 a2 $1 (53... Rb8 54. Rc5 $1 Ra8 55. Rc2 $14) 54. Ra1 Rb8 55. f4 (55. Rxa2 Rb5 56. Kxg6 Ke7 57. Re2 a4 58. f4 Rb8 $11) 55... Rb4 (55... Rb2 $1 56. Rh1 Kg8 57. Ra1 Kf8 $11) 56. f5 gxf5 (56... Rb2 57. Rh1 Rh2 58. Rd1 Rd2 $11) 57. Rxa2 Rh4 $1 {Not a bad example of truly fighting chess. Tje world champion finds the best defence and the game will finally come to a fully justified draw.} 58. Rd2 (58. Rxa5 Rh6+ 59. Ke5 Rh1 $11) 58... Rh6+ 59. Ke5 Rh1 60. Kd6 Ke8 61. Rg2 Rd1+ 62. Ke5 Rh1 63. Rg6 Ke7 64. Rg7+ Ke8 65. Kf6 Rh6+ 66. Ke5 Rh1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Grand Slam Final 7th"] [Site "Bilbao"] [Date "2014.09.15"] [Round "2"] [White "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2712"] [BlackElo "2785"] [Annotator "RR"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2014.09.14"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 163"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2014.11.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.11.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. dxc5 (8. e3 {wird häufiger gespielt.}) 8... Nbd7 9. e3 Qa5 10. Rc1 $5 Ne4 11. Be2 {Riskant.} ({Forciert zum Remis führt} 11. Qxd5 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bxc3+ 13. Kd1 O-O 14. Bc4 g5 15. Bxg5 hxg5 16. Rxc3 Qxc3 17. Nd4 Nf6 18. Qxg5+ Kh7 19. Qxf6 Qxc4 20. Qh4+ Kg6 21. Qg3+ Kh5 22. Qe5+ f5 23. g4+ Kg6 24. gxf5+ Bxf5 25. Rg1+ Kh5 26. f4 Rad8 27. Ke1 Rxd4 28. exd4 Qxa2 29. Rg5+ Kh4 30. Rg6 Qb1+ 31. Kf2 Qc2+ 32. Kf3 Qd3+ 33. Kf2 Qd2+ 34. Kf3 Qd3+ {½-½ (34) Miroshnichenko,E (2670)-Kuzubov,Y (2627) Dubai 2011}) 11... O-O ({Die Konsequenzen von} 11... Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bxc3+ 13. Kf1 Nxc5 14. Qxd5 Be6 15. Qd6 g5 {sind nicht klar, sowohl} 16. Nxg5 {als auch} (16. Nd4 {führt zu Verwicklungen, die am Brett nicht zu überschauen sind. Aber eigentlich kämpft eher Weiß ums Remis.})) 12. O-O $11 Bxc3 13. bxc3 Nxc3 14. Qd2 Nxe2+ 15. Qxe2 b6 $1 16. c6 Ba6 17. Qd1 ({Genauer ist} 17. Qe1 Bxf1 18. Qxa5 bxa5 19. Kxf1 {, denn Schwarz wird es kaum schaffen, die b-Linie für sich auszunutzen.}) 17... Nc5 18. Qxd5 Bxf1 19. Kxf1 $2 {Dies führt ziemlich forciert zu einem für Schwarz besseren Endspiel.} ({Besser ist} 19. Rxf1 {und nach} Rac8 (19... Ne6 20. Qxa5 bxa5 21. Nd4 $11) 20. Nd4 {besitzt Weiß die Optionen 21.?f5 und 21.?e7.}) 19... Rac8 20. Nd4 Qd2 $1 {Nutzt die Position des ?c1 aus.} 21. Qc4 Rfe8 {Droht 22...?e4!} 22. Qc2 Qxc2 23. Rxc2 Re5 $2 {Dies vergibt den Vorteil während} (23... g5 24. Bg3 Ne4 $1 {den Läufertausch erzwingt. Allerdings ist es bis zum Sieg noch ein langer Weg.}) 24. Bg3 $11 Rd5 25. c7 Rd7 {Vielleicht hat Anand zu spät entdeckt, dass} (25... Ne4 26. Bf4 g5 $2 {sogar wegen} 27. Nc6 $1 {verliert.}) 26. Nb5 $6 {Sieht logisch aus, ist aber ungenau.} (26. Nc6 {ist gut spielbar,}) ({oder auch einfach} 26. f3 {, um den ?g3 vor einem möglichen Tausch zu schützen - jeweils mit völligem Ausgleich.}) 26... a6 $1 {Schwarz gewinnt ein Tempo.} 27. Nd4 $2 ({Natürlich nicht} 27. Na7 $2 Rcxc7 28. Bxc7 Rxc7 {und der ?a7 geht verloren.}) ({?Aber} 27. Nc3 {[%csl Ge4] verhindert ...?e4 und bewahrt Remischancen, z.B.:} f5 28. Rb2 Nd3 29. Rd2 $1 g5 30. e4 $1 f4 31. Bxf4 gxf4 32. Nd5 Kg7 33. Rxd3 Rcxc7 34. Rd2 Rc4 35. f3 {und trotz der Damenflügelmajorität ist ein Sieg für Schwarz unwahrscheinlich.}) 27... Ne4 $17 {Jetzt ist der Tausch noch folgenreicher, da Weiß den c-Bauern nicht halten kann.} 28. Rc6 Nxg3+ 29. hxg3 Rdxc7 30. Rxb6 {Weiß ist aber auch hier nicht chancenlos.} Rc1+ 31. Ke2 Ra8 32. Rb4 a5 33. Ra4 Rb1 34. Nb3 $2 {Das macht es Schwarz zu leicht.} (34. Kf3 Rb4 35. Ra3 a4 {würde zu einem langen Kampf führen, in dem Weiß aber letztlich unterliegen sollte.}) 34... Rb2+ 35. Kf3 Ra6 0-1 [Event "Olympiad-36"] [Site "Mallorca"] [Date "2004.10.26"] [Round "11"] [White "Azmaiparashvili, Zurab"] [Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2672"] [BlackElo "2659"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2004.10.15"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "CBM 104"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.01.27"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.01.27"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Georgia"] [BlackTeam "Belarus"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GEO"] [BlackTeamCountry "BLR"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 {Großmeister Aleksandrov spielt gern die Ragozin-Variante.} 5. cxd5 (5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd2 a6 8. a3 Bd6 9. c5 Be7 10. Bd3 e5 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Nd7 13. Qc2 Nxe5 14. Bxh7+ Kh8 15. Bf5 Bxc5 16. O-O-O c6 17. Bxc8 Rxc8 18. Kb1 {½-½ Azmaiparashvili,Z-Aleksandrov,A/Bled ol 2002/(62)}) 5... exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. e3 c5 8. Bd3 c4 {Diese Nebenvariante hat selbstständige Bedeutung.} (8... Qa5 9. O-O c4 10. Bf5 Bxc3 11. bxc3 Ne4 12. Qb1 Nxg5 13. Nxg5 h6 14. Bxd7+ Bxd7 15. Qxb7 $4 Ke7 {0-1 Azmaiparashvili,Z-Kurajica,B/Strumica 1995/EXT 95b (41)}) 9. Bf5 Nb6 {Schwarz möchte die weißfarbigen Läufer tauschen und er verliert nicht Zeit mit ?d8-a5, wie in der Hauptvariante.} 10. Qc2 (10. Bxc8 Rxc8 11. O-O O-O 12. Ne5 Be7 13. Qf3 Qd6 14. Rac1 Rcd8 15. b3 (15. Rfe1 $5) 15... cxb3 16. axb3 Ne4 $11) (10. Bc2 Bg4 11. h3 Bh5 12. Ba4+ Kf8 13. g4 Bg6 $11) 10... Be7 (10... Bxf5 $5 11. Qxf5 Qd7 (11... Na4 $5) 12. Qe5+ Qe6) 11. Ne5 $146 (11. O-O Bxf5 12. Qxf5 O-O 13. Ne5 Ne8 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Rfe1 Nd6 16. Qf3 Qe6 17. e4 dxe4 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. Rxe4 Qd5 {½-½ Mecking,H-Aleksandrov,A/Calvia ESP 2004/Calvia ol (Men) (40)}) 11... Bxf5 12. Qxf5 O-O 13. h4 $5 {[%CAl Gh1h3,Gh3f3][%mdl 4] Weiß spielt sehr originell - sein h1? kommt über h3 ins Spiel.} (13. O-O) 13... Ne8 {[%CAl Ge8d6,Gd6f5,Gd6e4]} (13... Ne4 $5) 14. Rh3 Qd6 (14... f6 $2 15. Qe6+ Kh8 16. h5 fxe5 (16... fxg5 17. Ng6+ hxg6 18. hxg6#) 17. Bxe7 $18) (14... Nd6 15. Qg4 (15. Bxe7 Qxe7 16. Qf3 Ne4 $15) 15... f5 $13) 15. O-O-O $14 {[%csl Rb6,Ge5,Re8,Gf5,Gg5] Weiß hat eine aktive Stellung, während Schwarz Probleme mit der Figurenkoordination hat - seine Springer stehen weniger glücklich.} a6 {Schwarz verteidigt sich gegen ?b5, so droht schon 16...f6.} (15... f6 $2 16. Nb5 Qb4 17. Qe6+ Kh8 18. h5 $18) 16. Ng4 Rd8 (16... f6 17. Bf4 Qc6 18. h5 $14) 17. Rg3 {[%csl Gg3][%CAl Gg3g8]} Kh8 18. e4 $1 {Weiß sprengt die Zentrumstellung und bekommt eine dauerhafte Initiative.} dxe4 19. Nxe4 Qd5 20. Qe5 (20. Qxd5 $6 Nxd5 21. Bxe7 Nxe7 22. Ne3 b5 $15 (22... f5 23. Nc5 f4 24. Rf3 $16)) 20... Rd7 $2 (20... Qxe5 $142 21. dxe5 (21. Nxe5 $2 f6 $19) 21... Rxd1+ 22. Kxd1 f6 (22... Bxg5 23. hxg5 $16) 23. exf6 Nxf6 (23... gxf6 24. Bh6 Rg8 25. Ne3 $14) 24. Ngxf6 gxf6 25. Bh6 Rg8 $11) 21. Bxe7 (21. Qxd5 Nxd5 22. Ne5 Rc7 23. Bxe7 Rxe7 (23... Nxe7 24. Rf3 Nd5 25. Rf5 Kg8 26. Ng6 fxg6 27. Rxd5 $14) 24. Nc3 Nef6 25. Nxc4 Rc8 $44) 21... Qxe5 22. dxe5 Rxe7 23. Nd6 {[%csl Gd6]} h5 (23... Nxd6 24. exd6 $16) 24. Ne3 Rxe5 25. Nxb7 {[%csl Rc4] Natürlich nimmt Weiß den b7-Bauern, denn der c4? bleibt immer schwach.} (25. Nexc4 Nxc4 26. Nxc4 Re4 $11 (26... Rc5 27. Rc3 $14)) 25... f6 26. Rf3 {[%CAl Gf3f5,Gf5e5] Weiß verbessert seine Turmstellung und nachfolgend kann er mit ?f5 den e5-Turm tauschen.} Rf7 27. Nd6 Nxd6 28. Rxd6 {[%csl Rc4,Gd6][%CAl Rd6a6]} Rb7 29. Rf5 Rxf5 30. Nxf5 {[%csl Gd6,Gf5] Die weißen Figuren stehen aktiv und der c4? ist eine potenzielle Schwäche.} Na4 31. Rd2 c3 $6 (31... Rb4 32. Rc2 Nc5 $14) 32. Rd8+ Kh7 33. b3 $16 Nc5 34. Kc2 {[%csl Rc3]} Rb4 35. Rd4 (35. Kxc3 Rf4 36. Rd5 Ne4+ 37. Kd3 Nxf2+ 38. Ke3 g5 $132) (35. g3 $16) 35... Rxd4 36. Nxd4 {[%csl Rc3][%mdl 4096] Schwarz kann den c3-Bauern nicht verteidigen, wonach er sich in einem unhaltbaren Endspiel befindet.} g5 {Schwarz möchte am Königsflügel einige Gegenchancen finden.} (36... Ne4 37. f3 $16) 37. hxg5 (37. g3 $2 Ne4 $132) 37... fxg5 38. f3 Kg6 39. Kxc3 h4 40. a4 (40. Kc4 Nd7 41. Kd5 $16) 40... g4 41. fxg4 Kg5 42. Kc4 Ne4 43. Kd5 Nc3+ 44. Kc6 Kxg4 45. Kb6 Kg3 (45... Nd1 46. Kxa6 Ne3 47. Nf3 Nxg2 48. Nxh4 $18) 46. Nf5+ $18 Kg4 47. Nxh4 {Weiß gibt den Springer gegen den h-Bauern und gewinnt die Partie mit zwei verbundenen Bauern.} Kxh4 48. Kxa6 Kg5 49. Kb6 {[%CAl Ra4a5,Ra5a6]} 1-0 [Event "Tata Steel-A 77th"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2015.01.15"] [Round "5"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2862"] [BlackElo "2797"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2015.01.10"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 165"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.03.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.03.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. Qa4+ Nc6 9. e3 O-O 10. Be2 Be6 11. O-O a6 12. Rfc1 Bd6 13. Qd1 Ne7 {A popular system of the Ragozin Defence has been played. As usual in this structure, White must start active play on the queenside while Black must create kingside counterplay.} 14. a3 ({In the event of} 14. Na4 {there is nothing wrong with} b6 {, e.g.} 15. b4 (15. Nc3 g5 $5 16. g3 Qg7 17. Qf1 f5 18. Bxa6 f4 19. exf4 Rxa6 $5 20. Qxa6 gxf4 21. Qd3 Bf5 22. Qd2 Be4 $36 {0-1 (29) Khairullin,I (2604)-Khismatullin,D (2614) Ulan Ude 2009}) 15... g5 16. Nb2 Ng6 17. Nd3 Kg7 18. a4 a5 19. b5 h5 20. Rc3 Rad8 21. Rac1 Rd7 22. Nfe5 Nxe5 23. Nxe5 Bxe5 24. dxe5 Qxe5 25. Qd4 Qxd4 26. exd4 h4 27. Rxc7 Rxc7 28. Rxc7 {White has broken through but Black easily holds his ground in this simple ending:} Rc8 29. Rxc8 Bxc8 30. Bd3 Kf6 31. Kf1 Bg4 32. Ke1 Bf5 33. Kd2 Bxd3 34. Kxd3 g4 35. Ke3 Kg5 36. f4+ Kf5 {1/2 (36) Huzman,A (2605)-Jakovenko,D (2726) Plovdiv 2010}) ({To} 14. Rab1 {(which may look a better way to prepare b2-b4) Black can reply} Bf5 {and then make use of the exchange of light-squared bishops by transferring his knight to b6 and possibly c4:} 15. Bd3 c6 16. b4 Nc8 $1 17. a4 Nb6 18. a5 Nc4 19. Na4 Rfe8 20. Nc5 {1/2 (20) Babula,V (2583)-Dizdar,G (2541) Turin 2006}) 14... Rfd8 {This move is slightly mysterious; it is not clear what Black's rook will do here. Practice has seen a lot of alternatives; here are some examples, in which Black mostly obtained good play:} (14... Rad8 15. Na4 Bc8 16. Nc5 c6 17. b4 g5 18. g3 Nf5 19. Ne1 Kg7 20. Bh5 Bc7 21. a4 Nd6 22. Bg4 Bxg4 23. Qxg4 Qe7 24. Ned3 Bb8 25. Qh3 Rfe8 26. Ra2 f6 27. Rac2 Qf7 28. Nxa6 $5 bxa6 29. Rxc6 {1-0 (38) Gurevich,D (2499)-Zilberstein,D (2379) San Diego 2004} a5 $13) (14... Rfe8 15. b4 c6 16. Na4 Ng6 17. Nc5 Re7 18. a4 Bg4 19. Ra2 (19. b5 {is premature due to} axb5 20. axb5 Rxa1 21. Rxa1 Bxc5 {forcing} 22. dxc5) 19... Rae8 (19... a5 $5 20. b5 b6) 20. Ne1 (20. b5 $5) 20... Bxe2 21. Rxe2 Nf4 22. Rb2 {1-0 (40) Jobava,B (2678)-David,A (2597) Milan 2011} Qg5 $11) (14... c5 $5 15. dxc5 Bxc5 16. Na4 (16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. Rxc5 Qxb2 $11) 16... Ba7 17. b4 d4 18. Nxd4 Rad8 19. Qf1 Bxd4 20. exd4 Nf5 21. Nc5 {1/2 (21) Jobava,B (2695)-Efimenko,Z (2640) Rijeka 2010}) (14... b6 15. Qf1 Bg4 16. b4 c6 17. Na4 Rfb8 18. h3 Bf5 19. Qe1 g5 20. Nb2 h5 21. Nd3 g4 22. hxg4 Bxd3 $1 23. Bxd3 hxg4 24. Nd2 a5 25. bxa5 Rxa5 26. a4 Rba8 $132 {0-1 (74) Maiorov,N (2516)-Aleksandrov,A (2601) Minsk 2007}) (14... Rfb8 15. Na4 b6 16. b4 c6 17. Ne1 Bf5 18. Bd3 Bd7 19. Rab1 Ra7 20. g3 g6 21. Be2 h5 22. Bf3 Bf5 23. Rb3 a5 24. Nc3 axb4 25. axb4 b5 26. e4 dxe4 27. Bxe4 $6 Be6 $15 {0-1 (56) Laurusas,T (2222)-Swiercz,D (2501) Wroclaw 2010}) (14... g5 $5 15. g3 Qg7 16. e4 dxe4 17. Nxe4 Bd5 18. Nxd6 cxd6 19. Bc4 Bc6 20. d5 Bd7 21. Qd2 Qf6 22. Rc3 Rac8 23. Rac1 b5 24. Bb3 Rxc3 25. Rxc3 Rc8 $11 {0-1 (54) Aghasaryan,R (2235)-Lintchevski,D (2502) Kirishi 2008}) 15. b4 Nc8 16. Na4 {[%mdl 36]} b6 $6 {Too cautious.} (16... b5 $5 17. Nc5 Nb6 18. a4 Nc4 $132) 17. Nb2 Ne7 18. Nd3 Ng6 {This manoeuvre is slightly illogical but it was necessary to cover the e5-square. It looks like Black has not done anything terribly wrong so far but in fact, his position is now very passive.} 19. a4 {[%CAl Ya4a5]} a5 20. b5 {Compare this position to the above-mentioned game Huzman-Jakovenko: Black has not managed to push ...g7-g5 so he has no counterplay. White gradually mounts pressure along the c-file.} Re8 (20... Bf5 21. Rc3 Rd7 22. Rac1 Re8 {may be a better arrangement of the rooks but it doesn't solve the general problems.}) 21. Rc3 Bf5 22. Rac1 Rad8 23. Nd2 Rd7 (23... Qe6 $142 {preventing the exchange of bishops. Still, White can gradually prepare it:} 24. Bh5 $1 Rd7 25. h3 {as} Bxh3 26. gxh3 Qxh3 {doesn't work due to} 27. Qg4) 24. g3 (24. Bg4 $1 {was possible at once as} Bxh2+ {obviously didn't work.}) 24... Nf8 ({Again} 24... Qe6 {was called for. Still, after} 25. Bf3 {[%CAl Yd1b3] Black's defence was very difficult.}) 25. Bg4 $1 {A typical exchange of a defender. Black's d5-pawn becomes more vulnerable, the c6-square in White's full possession; besides, White can now activate his queen and even his kingside pawns.} Nh7 26. Bxf5 (26. Ne5 $5 Bxe5 27. dxe5 Rxe5 28. Rxc7 {E.Gleizerov}) 26... Qxf5 27. Qf3 $1 {Both endgame and middlegame are now bad for Black.} Qg5 (27... Qe6 28. Nf4 (28. h4 $143 Nf6 {[%CAl Yf6e4,Ye6h3]}) 28... Bxf4 29. gxf4 {, and the c7-pawn gets even weaker.}) 28. h4 Qe7 29. Rc6 Nf6 30. Nf4 g6 $6 {Black weakens his kingside, and his position collapses. Now it was better to defend passively:} (30... Ba3 31. R1c2 Bb4) 31. h5 $1 Kg7 (31... g5 32. Nxd5 Nxd5 33. Qxd5 Bxg3 (33... Ba3 34. Qf5 Bxc1 35. Rxh6 f6 36. Qg6+ Qg7 37. Qxe8+ $18) 34. Qf5 {[%CAl Rc6h6]} Bd6 35. Nc4 $18 {[%CAl Rc4d6]}) 32. hxg6 fxg6 33. Nxd5 $1 Nxd5 34. Qxd5 Bxg3 35. Qg2 Bd6 36. Nc4 {[%CAl Rc4d6]} Rf8 $2 (36... Qd8 {was relatively better but after} 37. f4 $1 {[%CAl Yc4e5] Black's position could not be defended anyway} (37. Nxd6 $143 cxd6)) 37. Ne5 $1 Bxe5 ({In the event of} 37... g5 38. Nxd7 Qxd7 {White's simplest way to convert his material advantage was} 39. e4 Rf4 40. Kf1 {[%CAl Re4e5]} Rg4 41. Qf3 Rf4 42. Qg3 $1 Rxe4 43. Rxc7 $1) 38. Qxg6+ Kh8 39. Qxh6+ Kg8 40. dxe5 $18 Qxe5 41. Rg6+ Kf7 42. Rc4 Qa1+ 43. Kg2 Rh8 44. Rf4+ Ke8 45. Re6+ Re7 46. Rxe7+ Kxe7 47. Re4+ 1-0 [Event "Jermuk FIDE GP"] [Site "Jermuk"] [Date "2009.08.16"] [Round "7"] [White "Bacrot, Etienne"] [Black "Jakovenko, Dmitrij"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2721"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2009.08.09"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "ARM"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 132"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2009.09.16"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2009.09.16"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Qa4+ Nc6 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. e3 O-O 10. Be2 Rd8 (10... Be6 {is more popular in this quiet line - see e.g. CBM 111, annotation to Rustemov - Vallejo by GM Z.Ribli.}) 11. O-O Bf8 {Or else:} (11... Be6 12. Rfc1 a6 13. Qc2 $5 Bd6 14. Na4 Bf5 15. Qc3 Ne7 16. Nc5 Rab8 17. Bd3 c6 18. b4 Bxd3 19. Qxd3 Nf5 20. a4 Nh4 21. Nxh4 Qxh4 22. g3 Qf6 23. b5 $14 {1-0 Vorobiov,E (2598)-Janssen,R (2527)/Kavala GRE 2009/The Week in Chess 770 (37)}) (11... a6 12. Rac1 (12. Ne5 $6 Nxe5 13. Qxb4 Ng6 14. Qc5 c6 15. b4 Nh4 $40 {0-1 Legky,N (2461)-Bacrot,E (2705)/France 2007/CBM 116 ext (35)}) (12. Rfc1 Rb8 13. a3 Bf8 14. b4 Ne7 15. Qb3 Be6 16. a4 Nf5 17. b5 axb5 18. axb5 c5 19. bxc6 bxc6 20. Qa4 c5 21. dxc5 Bxc5 22. Nb5 Bb6 {1/2 Mamedyarov,S (2757)-Carlsen,M (2693)/Dortmund 2007/CBM 119 (26)}) (12. a3 $5 Bf8 13. Qb3 Bg4 $2 (13... Rb8 14. Nxd5 $140 $2 Qe6) 14. h3 Be6 15. Qxb7 $16 {1-0 Chatalbashev,B (2548)-Willemze,T (2419)/Kallithea GRE 2009/The Week in Chess 766 (29)}) 12... Be6 $2 (12... Bf8 {[%CAl Yc6e7,Yc7c6]}) 13. Ne5 Bxc3 14. Nxc6 Bd7 15. Rxc3 Bxc6 16. Qa5 Qd6 17. Rfc1 $14 {1/2 Polugaevsky,L (2640)-Ivkov,B (2535)/Petropolis 1973/IZT/[ChessBase] (65)}) (11... Bxc3 $5 12. bxc3 Bg4 (12... Bf5 $5) 13. Rfc1 Ne7 14. Rab1 Bc8 15. c4 c6 16. Nd2 Qd6 17. Bf3 $16 {1-0 Popov,L (2430)-Estrin,Y (2430)/Kecskemet 1979/EXT 1999 (36)}) (11... Bf5 $5 12. Rfc1 Qe6 13. Ne1 a6 14. Bf3 {1-0 Peek,M (2365)-Fritze,B (2240)/Groningen 1990/CBM 022 (26)} Be7 $5) (11... Bg4 $2 12. Ne5 Bxe2 $8 13. Nxe2 Nxe5 14. Qxb4 $16) 12. a3 (12. Rac1 $5 a6 (12... Ne7 13. Ne5 Qb6 14. Bh5 g6 15. Bf3 c6 16. Qc2 Nf5 17. a3 a5 18. g3 Bg7 {1-0 Rajkovic,D (2511)-Brkljaca,A (2353)/Belgrade 2007/CBM 116 ext (41)} 19. Na4 Qc7 20. Nd3 $14) 13. Qd1 {[%CAl Yc3a4,Ya4c5]} (13. Qb3 Qd6 14. Na4 Ne7 (14... b6 $142 15. Rc3 Bd7) 15. Ne5 b6 16. Rfd1 Be6 17. a3 Rdb8 18. Qc3 Rc8 19. Nd3 Bd7 20. Qb3 $14 {1-0 Mihaljcisin,M (2280)-Petkov,V (2480)/Sibenik 2006/CBM 114 ext (39)}) 13... Ne7 (13... Qd6 14. Ne1 Ne7 15. Nd3 b6 16. b4 Bd7 17. Qb3 Bb5 18. Nb2 (18. Ne5 $142) 18... Bxe2 19. Nxe2 $14 {1-0 Malaniuk,V (2600)-Mochalov,E (2445)/Katowice 1993/EXT 1998 (39)}) (13... Na7 14. Ne5 c6 15. Na4 Nb5 16. Nb6 Ra7 17. a4 Nc7 18. Nxc8 Rxc8 19. Qb3 Ne8 20. e4 $1 $16 {1/2 Muse,M (2485)-Kovacevic,V (2475)/Vinkovci 1993/CBM 038 ext (61)}) 14. Na4 c6 15. Nb6 Rb8 16. Nxc8 Nxc8 17. Ne5 Bd6 18. f4 Qe7 19. Bd3 Nb6 20. Qh5 Nd7 21. Rf3 Nf6 22. Qh3 c5 23. Rg3 $36 {1/2 Flohr,S-Estrin,Y/Moscow 1953/EXT 1999 (33)}) (12. Rfc1 a6 (12... Ne7 13. b4 (13. Nb5 $6 c6 {?} 14. Nc7 $2 Rb8 15. Qxa7 Bg4 $17 {?c7}) 13... Be6 (13... Ng6 14. Qb3 c6 15. b5 $14 {1/2 Brunsteins,D (2407)-Kolus,W (2089)/LSS 2007/Telechess CBM 131 (42)}) 14. Qb3 a6 $6 (14... Nf5 $1 $13) 15. Na4 Rdc8 (15... c6 16. Nc5 Bc8 17. a4 Nf5 18. Rab1 Bd6 19. b5 axb5 20. axb5 Nh4 21. Nxh4 Qxh4 22. g3 $14 {1/2 Pogorelov,R (2441)-Cvetkovic,S (2378)/Obrenovac 2008/CBM 127 Extra (28)}) 16. Nc5 Ra7 17. Qa4 Nf5 18. Nd7 Qe7 19. Nxf8 Kxf8 20. Ne5 Nd6 21. b5 Qe8 22. Qa3 Qe7 23. bxa6 $16 {1-0 Malaniuk,V (2600)-Maksimovic,B (2325)/Becici 1993/EXT 2000 (50)}) 13. Qd1 (13. Qb3 $5 Qd6 14. Na4 b6 15. Qd1 g6 16. a3 Bg7 17. b4 Nb8 (17... Bd7 $142 18. Nc3 Ne7) 18. Nc3 c6 19. Qb3 Be6 20. a4 Nd7 21. a5 $14 {1-0 Petrosian,T-Averbakh,Y/Moscow 1966/EXT 1999 (39)}) (13. a3 Ne7 (13... Be6 14. Qd1 g5 15. Nd2 Ne7 16. Na4 c6 17. Nc5 Bc8 18. Bg4 Rb8 19. Nf1 Bxg4 20. Qxg4 Qf5 21. h3 Qxg4 22. hxg4 f5 23. Nh2 $14 {1/2 Fernandes,A (2465)-Campora,D (2503)/Santo Antonio 2001/CBM 084 (67)}) 14. b4 Bg4 15. Qb3 c6 16. a4 Nf5 17. b5 Bxf3 (17... axb5 $142 18. axb5 Rxa1 19. Rxa1 c5 $5 $132 {B.Lalic}) 18. Bxf3 a5 19. Qd1 g6 20. Rab1 $14 {1-0 Lalic,B (2590)-Dizdar,G (2535)/Makarska Tucepi 1995/EXT 1997 (38)}) 13... Ne7 (13... Be6 14. Na4 Bd6 15. Nc5 Bc8 16. Rc3 Ne7 17. Rac1 b6 18. Nd3 Ng6 19. a3 a5 20. Nde1 Bd7 21. Nd2 Re8 22. Bg4 Be6 23. Bxe6 fxe6 {1/2 Szilagyi,G-Pogats,J/Budapest 1958/EXT 2006}) 14. Na4 c6 15. Nb6 (15. Nc5 Nf5 16. b4 h5 17. a4 g6 18. Rab1 Bd6 19. b5 axb5 20. axb5 Nh4 21. bxc6 bxc6 {1/2 Alvarez Ibarra,R (2420)-Bertona,F (2370)/Montcada 1997/EXT 1999}) 15... Rb8 16. Nxc8 Nxc8 17. Ne1 $1 Bd6 18. Nd3 Bc7 19. b4 Nd6 20. a4 $36 {1/2 Lalic,B (2550)-Sherwin,J (2358)/Coulsden 76/388 1999/Inf 76/[Lalic,B] (59)}) 12... Ne7 13. b4 (13. Rfe1 c6 14. Qb3 Ng6 15. Bd3 Re8 16. e4 Nf4 17. e5 Qe6 18. Bf1 Qg4 19. Nd1 c5 20. Ne3 Nh3+ 21. Kh1 Nxf2+ 22. Kg1 $11 {1/2 Pileckis,E (2472)-Aronian,L (2757)/Kallithea 2008/CBM 127 (28)}) 13... a6 {[%mdl 32]} (13... c6 {was possible, with a normal Karlsbad structure, e.g.} 14. Qb3 Be6 15. Rfc1 Ng6 16. Na4 Bg4 17. Ra2 Bd6 18. Ne1 Bxe2 19. Rxe2 Qh4 20. g3 Qg4 21. Ra2 Rac8 22. Nc5 Rc7 23. a4 h5 $132 {0-1 Polatel,L (2009)-Ibarra Chami,L (2416)/Kemeri 2007/CBM 121 Extra (54)}) {The text move (without ...c7-c6) leads to a different strategic setup.} 14. b5 (14. Qb3 $5 Be6 15. Na4 Nf5 16. Nc5) 14... Bg4 (14... c5 $5 {deserved serious attention:} 15. bxa6 (15. bxc6 Nxc6 16. Rfb1 Ra7 {[%CAl Yb7b5]} 17. Rb6 Bc5 $1) 15... c4 16. e4 $5 Rxa6 17. Qc2 Bg4 $13) 15. bxa6 Bxf3 16. Bxf3 Rxa6 17. Qb3 Qd6 18. Rfc1 c6 $6 {After this move White obtains a typical favourable structure. Black could have avoided that by playing} (18... Raa8 {although after} 19. a4 (19. Nb5 Qb6 20. Rxc7 $2 Ra5 21. Rc5 Nf5) 19... c6 20. a5 {[%csl Rb7] White will try to trade the a5- and b7-pawns anyway.}) 19. Qxb7 Rxa3 20. Rxa3 Qxa3 {[%csl Rc6]} 21. Ne2 g6 22. g3 h5 23. h4 Qd6 24. Nf4 Bh6 25. Ne2 {White doesn't hurry as Black has no counterplay or possibility to strengthen his defence.} Bg7 26. Rb1 Bf6 27. Nf4 Kg7 28. Qa7 Rd7 29. Qa6 Rd8 30. Kg2 Rd7 31. Bd1 Rc7 32. Rb8 Kh7 33. Bc2 Kg7 34. Bd1 Kh7 35. Ra8 Qd7 36. Qd3 Kh6 37. Qa3 Rc8 38. Ra7 Rc7 39. Ra8 Rc8 40. Ra6 Rc7 41. Qc5 Qc8 42. Qd6 Kg7 43. Qa3 Qf5 44. Qd3 Qd7 $4 {[%mdl 8192] As usually happens, Black, tired of difficult defence, commits a blunder. However,} (44... Qxd3 45. Nxd3 {offers him few chances to survive.}) 45. Bxh5 {The rest is clear, especially as the black king is now compromised, too.} Nf5 46. Bd1 Rb7 47. Qc2 Ne7 48. Nd3 Qc7 49. h5 Ra7 50. Rxa7 Qxa7 51. hxg6 fxg6 52. Nf4 Qd7 53. Be2 Qd6 54. Bg4 Kf7 55. Ne6 Ng8 56. Nc5 Ne7 57. Qb1 Qd8 58. Qb7 1-0 [Event "Grenke Chess Classic 3rd"] [Site "Baden-Baden"] [Date "2015.02.07"] [Round "5"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2797"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2015.02.02"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "GER"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 165"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.03.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.03.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 d5 4. d4 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Qa4+ Nc6 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. e3 O-O 10. Be2 a6 11. O-O Be6 12. Rfc1 Bd6 {A popular system of the Ragozin Defence. Black is preparing ...?c6-e7.} 13. a3 (13. Qd1 {- see Carlsen-Aronian in this issue.}) 13... Ne7 (13... g5 $6 {is premature:} 14. Qd1 g4 15. Ne1 h5 16. g3 Rad8 17. Ng2 Qg7 18. Na4 Ne7 19. Nc5 Rb8 20. Bd3 Qf6 21. Qe2 Rfe8 22. b4 Nf5 23. Nxe6 Rxe6 24. Qc2 Ne7 25. Nh4 $14 {1-0 (56) Barbero,G (2365)-Vukovic,Z (2375) Boeblingen 1985}) (13... Qd8 14. b4 f5 {looks slow but in the following game White failed to refute that plan:} 15. Qb3 Kh8 16. Rd1 Bg8 17. g3 Qf6 18. Bf1 Ne7 19. Bg2 g5 20. Ra2 c6 21. Re2 Rae8 22. Na4 Ng6 23. Qc2 Re7 24. Nc5 Rfe8 25. Rdd2 h5 $36 {0-1 (37) Nikcevic,N (2440)-Kurajica,B (2520) Kladovo 1991}) 14. b4 (14. Qd1 {leads to a position from Carlsen - Aronian.}) 14... c6 15. Qb3 {The drawback of this setup is that after a3-a4 and b4-b5 a6xb5 a4xb5 Black can reply ...c6-c5! d4xc5 ?d6xc5 threatening ...d5-d4. Therefore White's queen will have to find another square. But which one? b1? That would disconnect White's rooks. If it goes to b2 then the c3-knight will be pinned later on. That's why the plan with ?a4-d1 is considered more appropriate; still, the whole line is hardly promising for White.} g5 {[%mdl 128] Black seizes the initiative.} (15... h5 $143 16. Na4 h4 17. Nc5 Rab8 18. Qd1 {(still!)} Bc7 19. a4 Bg4 20. Nd2 Bf5 21. b5 axb5 22. axb5 Qd6 23. Nf1 cxb5 24. Bxb5 Rfc8 25. Bd3 $14 {[%csl Rb7,Rd5,Rh4] 1-0 (44) Bacrot,E (2723)-Grandadam,N (2286) Basel 2011}) (15... Nf5 $143 {(not the best square for the knight!)} 16. a4 g5 17. Nd2 Nh4 18. g3 Nf5 19. b5 axb5 20. axb5 Rxa1 21. Rxa1 c5 $2 22. Nxd5 Bxd5 23. Qxd5 cxd4 {1-0 (61) Jaracz,P (2531)-Perdek,M (2245) Wroclaw 2013} 24. Rd1 $1 dxe3 25. Ne4 exf2+ 26. Kxf2 Qe6 27. Nxd6 Ne3 28. Qxe6 Nxd1+ 29. Bxd1 fxe6+ 30. Ke1 $16) 16. Qb2 Qg7 (16... g4 $5 17. Nd2 Bc7 {[%CAl Yh6h5]} (17... h5 $143 18. Nde4 $1)) 17. Na4 Rae8 18. Nc5 Bc8 19. g3 (19. a4 f5 $36 {[%CAl Yg5g4,Yf5f4]}) 19... Nf5 {Here, too, I don't like this position of the knight.} (19... f5 {[%CAl Ye7g6,Yg5g4,Yh6h5,Yh5h4] was quite strong. It was not easy for White to defend.}) 20. Bd3 (20. a4 {looks more logical but after} h5 {Black keeps initiative anyway.}) 20... Qf6 21. Rf1 {Quite an artificial defence.} h5 22. Rac1 (22. Rad1 h4 (22... Nh6 23. Nd2 h4 24. e4) 23. e4 $5 Bxc5 24. exf5 {was an interesting attempt to change the course of the game: after} Ba7 25. g4 {it is difficult for Black to break through.}) 22... h4 23. Qd2 Nh6 $2 {Black underestimates his opponent's tactical resource. It was hardly an oversight since White's previous move had clearly indicated his intention; most probably, Vishy missed something in the subsequent variations.} (23... hxg3 $1 24. hxg3 Kg7 (24... Nh4 $5 25. Ne1 $1 Ng6 $1 {(Chesspro.ru)} 26. Qe2 {[%CAl Ye2f3]} g4 {was quite good, too}) {, and now complications after} 25. e4 {are rather favourable for Black:} Nxd4 $1 26. Nxd4 Rh8 {[%CAl Rf6h6]} 27. Nxb7 $1 Qh6 28. f4 Qh1+ 29. Kf2 Qh2+ 30. Ke1 Qxg3+ 31. Qf2 Bxf4 32. Qxg3 Bxg3+ 33. Kd1 Bf4 $1 {etc.}) 24. e4 $1 {[%mdl 64]} Bxc5 (24... Qxf3 25. Qxg5+ Kh7 26. e5+ Bf5 27. Bxf5+ Nxf5 (27... Qxf5 28. Qxf5+ Nxf5 29. exd6 Nxd6 30. Nd7 {[%CAl Rd7f8,Rd7f6]}) 28. Rc3 $1 Nxd4 $8 (28... Qxc3 29. Qxf5+ Kh6 30. Qf6+ Kh7 31. Qxh4+ Kg7 32. Qg5+ Kh8 33. Qh6+ Kg8 34. Nd7 $18) 29. Qxh4+ Kg7 30. Qxd4 {, and White ends up with an extra pawn (indicated by Chesspro.ru).}) 25. e5 Qg7 $2 {Just losing a pawn and eventually the game.} (25... Bxb4 $8 26. axb4 Qg7 27. Nxg5 Bf5 28. Nf3 $14 {- it is now Black's king which is unsafe but the whole game is still ahead.}) 26. bxc5 f6 27. exf6 Rxf6 28. Nxg5 Bf5 29. Rce1 Rff8 30. Rxe8 Rxe8 31. Nf3 Bxd3 32. Qxd3 Re4 33. Re1 hxg3 34. hxg3 {Frustrated, Anand didn't want to check Levon's technique.} 1-0 [Event "Dortmund SuperGM 38th"] [Site "Dortmund"] [Date "2010.07.25"] [Round "10"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2761"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2010.07.15"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "GER"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 138"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.09.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.09.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 c5 8. dxc5 Qa5 9. Rc1 Ne4 10. Qxd5 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bxc3+ 12. Kd1 O-O {This line was thoroughly examined by GM I.Stohl in his annotations to Kramnik - Ponomariov (CBM 133).} 13. Bc4 (13. Be7 $6 Re8 14. Bd6 Nf6 15. Qb3 Ne4 16. Bc4 Be6 17. Ke2 Bxc4+ 18. Qxc4 b5 19. Qd5 b4 $17 {1/2 Gurevich,D (2578)-Gareev,T (2614)/Irvine USA 2010/The Week in Chess 822 (53)}) 13... Nf6 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Ke2 b5 16. cxb6 $146 {[%mdl 8] A simple course, instead of the unclear and complicated} (16. c6 Ba6 17. Qf5 $5 Qa3 $2 (17... Bb2 18. Rc2 g6 $13 {I.Stohl}) 18. Bd3 Rfd8 19. c7 $2 (19. Qxh7+ Kf8 20. c7 $16 {I.Stohl}) 19... Qxa2+ 20. Nd2 Rxd3 $1 21. Qxd3 b4 $13 {1-0 Kramnik,V (2772)-Ponomariov,R (2739)/Moscow 2009/CBM 133/[Stohl] (81)}) 16... Qxd5 $6 (16... axb6 $142 17. Qxa5 Rxa5 18. Rhd1 (18. Rc2 Bf5 $44) 18... Ba6 {with good drawing chances as Black recaptures the a2 pawn.}) 17. Bxd5 Ba6+ 18. Bc4 axb6 19. a4 {White now keeps his extra pawn. The best Black can get is the endgame "R+B+3p" vs. "R+N+4p" with pawns on the same side, which is not easy to hold.} Bb2 20. Rc2 Rfc8 21. Nd2 b5 22. axb5 Bxb5 23. Rb1 Bxc4+ 24. Rxc4 Bf6 25. Rxc8+ Rxc8 {[%mdl 4096]} 26. Ne4 Re8 27. f4 ({The rook endgame after} 27. Nxf6+ gxf6 {is drawn - here doubled pawns help Black's defence.}) 27... Bd4 $4 {A strange decision. Black himself creates a passed pawn for White, after which the rook ending will be winning for him. Something wrong with the nerves?} (27... Be7 {, tenaciously defending.}) 28. exd4 Rxe4+ 29. Kd3 f5 30. g3 Re7 31. Rb5 (31. Rb5 g6 32. d5 Kf7 33. Kd4 h5 34. d6 Re2 35. Re5 $18 {[%csl Gd6]}) 1-0 [Event "POL-ch 68th"] [Site "Warsaw"] [Date "2011.02.17"] [Round "6"] [White "Bartel, Mateusz"] [Black "Macieja, Bartlomiej"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2617"] [BlackElo "2636"] [Annotator "Bartel,Mateusz"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2011.02.12"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "POL"] [SourceTitle "CBM 140 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2011.03.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2011.03.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] {This game was played in 6th round. After two wins at the beginning of the tournament I drew the 3 next games and I was among 6 players with +2 who were leading. My opponent was also in that group of players.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 {I didn't wanted to play 4.?c3 as well as Bartek plays both 4...dxc4 and 4...c5. So, I decided to deviate.} h6 {Surprise. I expected the capture on c4 or the check on b4.} 5. Bxf6 Qxf6 6. Nc3 Bb4 {4...h6 was a surprise, this was even more unexpected (I was waiting for 6...c6). Now we are in the Ragozin, an opening never tried by my opponent. I also haven't played too many games in the Ragozin with White, but on the other hand my experience was significant.} 7. e3 O-O 8. Be2 {The move which Anish Giri played versus me at the last Olympiad. I didn't prepare that line before the game (which I commented to CBM), so I decided to follow in Anish's footsteps. It turned to be a good choice!} dxc4 9. O-O b6 $5 {At this point my opponent had less than 30 minutes on the clock when I still had almost 1:30. During the post mortem Bartek told me that he knew the most natural 9...c5, but wanted to try something else. However, his choice wasn't very fortunate.} (9... Rd8 10. Bxc4 c5 11. Ne4 Qg6 12. Bd3 cxd4 13. Nh4 Qh7 14. Nf6+ gxf6 15. Bxh7+ Kxh7 16. exd4 Nc6 17. Qf3 Kg7 18. Rad1 Rd5 19. Qg4+ Kh7 20. Rd3 Bd7 21. Rg3 Rg5 22. Qf3 Kg7 23. d5 Nd4 24. Qe3 {Mamedyarov,S (2722)-Aleksandrov,A (2627)/Mainz 2006/CBM 113 ext/1-0 (44)}) (9... c5 10. Ne4 Qe7 11. a3 cxd4 12. Qxd4 Ba5 13. Qxc4 a6 14. Rac1 Nc6 15. Qc5 Rd8 16. h3 Qxc5 17. Nxc5 Rd6 18. Rc2 Bb6 19. b4 a5 20. b5 Bxc5 21. Rxc5 Ne7 22. Rfc1 Bd7 23. Ne5 Be8 24. Rc7 {Perelshteyn,E (2540)-Rensch,D (2400)/Peabody 2007/CBM 119 ext/1-0}) 10. Ne5 $146 {The most aggressive reaction. This move is really multifunctional as well, as White wants to fight for the white squares and wants to prepare an attack with the f-pawn and wants to take control over the centre squares.} (10. Rc1 Bb7 11. Nb5 a6 12. Rxc4 axb5 13. Rxb4 Rxa2 14. Rxb5 Bc6 15. Rb4 Nd7 16. Rc4 Bxf3 17. Bxf3 c5 18. Qb3 Ra5 19. Rd1 e5 20. dxc5 Nxc5 21. Qc2 Ne6 22. b4 Ra7 23. Rc6 Rd8 24. h3 Rxd1+ {Karpov,A (2690)-Wockenfuss,K (2350)/Bad Lauterberg 1977/EXT 2002/1-0}) (10. Ne4 Qg6 11. Ne5 Qh7 12. Bf3 c6 13. Qa4 a5 14. Nxc6 Bd7 15. Ng3 Rc8 16. a3 Bf8 17. Qxc4 Nxc6 18. Qb3 Rab8 19. Rac1 Ne7 20. Rxc8 Bxc8 21. Rc1 Kh8 22. h4 Ba6 23. Be4 f5 24. Bc6 Bc8 {Nakagori,K-Shakenov,E/Artek 1999/EXT 2000/0-1 (47)}) 10... Bb7 11. f4 Qe7 12. Bf3 c6 ({Not something which Black is dreaming about, but the alternative} 12... c5 {was very risky and it was hard to go for it during the game. However, Black could play it!} 13. d5 $1 Bxc3 $1 {During the game I thought this is not anything special.} (13... Rd8 $2 14. d6 $1 Rxd6 15. Qxd6 Qxd6 16. Bxb7 {and White will be simply a piece up.}) 14. bxc3 (14. d6 Bxf3 $1 {This is the move I missed.} 15. dxe7 Bxd1 16. exf8=Q+ Kxf8 17. bxc3 Ba4 {and probably the position is balanced.}) 14... exd5 15. Bxd5 Bxd5 16. Qxd5 Na6 {and White is slightly better, but for such a player as Bartek it would be easy to escape with a draw.}) 13. Qc2 $6 {Objectively speaking this is an inaccuracy, but from the practical point of view it is not a bad try. White wants to create an attack on the kingside as quckly as possible. Unfortunately, Black has a significant number of defensive resources.} (13. Nxc4 {did offer White a slight advantage, but I wasn't sure if this was something real.}) 13... Bxc3 ({In the event of} 13... Nd7 14. Bxc6 $1 Nxe5 15. Bxb7 Qxb7 16. fxe5 Bxc3 17. bxc3 {White would have nice attacking prospects on the kingside.}) 14. bxc3 c5 $1 {Good idea. Black wants to exchange some pieces to decrease White's attacking potential.} 15. f5 ({After} 15. Bxb7 Qxb7 16. dxc5 Qc7 $1 {Black is fine.}) 15... Bxf3 16. Rxf3 Nd7 $2 ({From the practical point of view the best choice was} 16... exf5 $1 17. Qxf5 cxd4 18. exd4 Qe6 $1 {and the endgame after} 19. Qxe6 fxe6 20. Rxf8+ Kxf8 21. Rf1+ Kg8 {is only slightly better for White and requires many strong moves to win. During the game I thought White's task is easy, but the post mortem showed that I would have big problems to win that position.}) 17. Nxd7 Qxd7 18. f6 $1 {This is what I was dreaming about - a very strong pawn on f6 will help White to organise a killing attack.} e5 ({My opponent was already short of time, but he noticed that after the natural} 18... g6 {White would have the very strong} 19. e4 $1 Kh7 20. e5 $1 cxd4 21. Rh3 $1 {and Black is lost. However, Bartek should try this. I saw the e3-e4 idea, but being convinced that White is completely winning I would have had a good chances of missing the correct moment to push e4.}) ({The immediate} 18... Qd5 {to transfer to h5 wasn't possible because of} 19. Rg3 g6 20. Rxg6+ fxg6 21. Qxg6+ Kh8 22. Qg7#) 19. Raf1 {There were other moves, but this one, entering the a1-rook into the main theatre of operations was the most logical for me.} g6 ({In the event of} 19... exd4 {White can play} 20. fxg7 Rfe8 (20... Kxg7 21. Rg3+ Kh8 22. Rf6) 21. exd4 {and the attack should be decisive.}) 20. Rh3 $2 {The beginning of some serious mistakes.} ({Just after pressing the clock I realised that the simple} 20. Qe4 {was winning on the spot - the queen is transferred to h4 and it finishes the game. Thinking over this move I checked only ?f2, but I rejected this because of ...?g4. Unfortunately, ?e4 remained unnoticed...}) 20... Qg4 {This is not very promising, but it's hard to find something better.} ({If Black tried} 20... exd4 {I think I would finally play} 21. Qe4) 21. Rg3 {There were other options, like the trivial 21.dxe5, but I was so much focused on my attack...} Qh5 22. d5 {A big mistake. I was sure that Black was helpless and I could do almost everything. This moment of relaxation could have cost me a lot...!} ({The simple} 22. Rf5 $1 {was winning quickly, but I missed that after} Qh4 (22... g5 {is losing because of the fine} 23. h4 exd4 24. Rfxg5+ $1 hxg5 25. Qf5) 23. Rh3 Qe1+ {I have} (23... Qg4 24. Rxe5 {and ?h3-g3-g6 is coming.}) 24. Rf1 {and it's over.}) 22... Rfe8 {This move is a bit senseless.} ({Exactly at that moment Black had a fantastic chance to change things by playing} 22... e4 $1 {Both players saw that move, but for some reasons neither of us understood that the queen on h5 becomes very active and after} 23. Qxe4 Rad8 $1 {White is no longer better!}) 23. e4 {The calm way of playing.} ({Again, it was better to play} 23. Rf5 g5 (23... Qh4 24. Qd1 $1 Qe4 25. Qh5) 24. h4 $1) 23... Kh7 24. Qd2 g5 25. Rf5 Rg8 {This is losing quickly.} ({I must admit that I was shocked when engines showed me that after the paradoxical} 25... Kg6 {Black is defending stubbornly! I would need to think about something special to break Black's wall. It's hard to believe, but it's hard to eliminate the black queen, for example after} 26. h3 $5 b5 27. Rg4 a5 {and the black queen is completely closed in, but Black has real counterchances on the queenside! It only shows how important it is to finish the game at the correct moment. Such stubborn defence is not what you want to face, when it was easy to win some moves earlier!}) 26. Rxe5 {Now White is not only positionally better, but also has two strong central pawns.} Qg6 $2 {A tactical mistake, which made things easier.} 27. Rexg5 $1 Qxg5 (27... hxg5 28. Rh3+ Qh6 29. Rxh6+) 28. Rxg5 Rxg5 29. d6 {White is completely winning and the rest is really simple.} Rd8 30. d7 b5 31. Qd6 b4 32. Qe7 bxc3 33. Qxd8 c2 34. Qh8+ Kxh8 35. d8=Q+ Kh7 36. Qd2 1-0 [Event "Olympiad-42"] [Site "Baku"] [Date "2016.09.10"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Fressinet, Laurent"] [Black "Bluebaum, Matthias"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2664"] [BlackElo "2626"] [Annotator "Sumets,Andrey"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2016.09.02"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "AZE"] [SourceTitle "CBM 175"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2016.11.10"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2016.11.10"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "France"] [BlackTeam "Germany"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "GER"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 Bf5 8. Qa4+ {The most ambitious way. Other moves don't promise White an advantage.} (8. e3 {The most popular move. Usually it leads to the Carlsbad pawn structure, where Black has managed to put his bishop on f5, so he shouldn't have big problems to equalise the game.} Nbd7 9. Qa4 (9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 c6 11. O-O O-O 12. a3 Be7 {In comparison with the QGD Exchange Variation Black has spent 1 tempo on the bishop manoeuvre ?f8-b4-e7 but he has traded light-squared bishops even without playing ...g6.} 13. b4 a6 14. Rfb1 b5 15. a4 Re8 (15... Nb6 $5 16. Ne5 Qc8 17. Qc2 Nc4 18. h3 Re8 {with a roughly equal position}) 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 (16... Nxf6 $142 $5 17. Qc2 Bd6 18. Ne2 Qe7 $11) 17. a5 Be7 18. Qc2 Bd6 19. Ne2 Rc8 20. Nc1 Nf6 21. Nd3 $14 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2765)-Anand,V (2791) Shamkir 2015 1/2 (47)}) (9. Qb3 Ba5 10. Be2 c6 11. O-O Qb6 12. Nd2 O-O 13. a3 (13. Rfc1 Rfe8 14. a3 Qxb3 15. Nxb3 Bc7 16. Na4 Bd6 17. Nac5 Nxc5 18. Nxc5 Bxc5 19. Rxc5 Ne4 20. Rcc1 a5 $11 {Wang Yue (2718)-Wojtaszek,R (2727) Huai'an CHN 2016 1/2 (68)}) 13... Qxb3 14. Nxb3 Bc7 15. f3 Rfe8 16. Bf2 a5 17. a4 Re7 18. Rfc1 g5 $15 {Kovalenko,I (2644)-Wojtaszek,R (2722) Gjakova KOS 2016 1/2 (38)}) 9... a5 10. a3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 O-O 12. Nd2 c5 ({It seems to me that 12...c6 is in the spirit of this line:} 12... c6 $5 13. Qb3 (13. c4 Re8 14. Be2 g5 15. Bg3 c5 $13) 13... Qe8 $1 14. Be2 (14. Qxb7 $2 Ng4 15. Qb2 (15. Be2 Nxe3 16. fxe3 Qxe3 17. Qb2 Rab8 18. Qc1 Rfe8 $19) 15... Nxe3 16. fxe3 Qxe3+ 17. Kd1 Rab8 18. Qc1 Bg4+ 19. Kc2 c5 $17) ({Probably White should play} 14. Bxf6 Nxf6 15. Be2 $11) 14... Ne4 15. Nxe4 Qxe4 16. Bg3 Qxg2 $17) 13. Be2 g5 14. Bg3 Qb6 15. Qb5 Qxb5 16. Bxb5 c4 $6 17. f3 Rfe8 18. Kf2 Re6 19. Rhe1 (19. h4 $5 g4 20. Bf4 $14) 19... Nb6 20. Ra2 $14 {Ipatov,A (2648)-Pashikian,A (2612) Gjakova KOS 2016 0-1 (49)}) 8... Nc6 9. e3 g5 10. Bg3 O-O (10... Qe7 $6 {This leads to a bad position} 11. Bb5 Bd7 12. O-O O-O 13. Ne5 Bxc3 {Greenfeld,A (2569)-Suarez Gomez,J (2448) Pontevedra ESP 2016 1/2 (46)} 14. Nxd7 $1 Qxd7 (14... Bxb2 $2 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. Rab1 Bc3 17. Rb3 Bd2 18. Rd1 $18)) 11. Bb5 (11. Ne5 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Nxe5 13. Bxe5 Ng4 14. Bg3 Qe7 15. Be2 Nxe3 {1/2 (15) Godart,F (2261)-Despontin,L (2267) ICCF 2014. Let's continue this line:} 16. fxe3 Qxe3 17. Qd1 Rae8 18. Kf1 Qxc3 19. Rc1 Qb2 20. Kf2 c6 21. Re1 Re4 22. Rc2 Qxd4+ 23. Qxd4 Rxd4 24. Rb2 {The computer evaluates this position as equal. So the opponents agreed to a draw.}) 11... Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Ne7 13. Nd2 {It seems to me that this is almost forced; in order to fight for an advantage White needs to secure his dark-squared bishop.} ({In the first game, in which Black played 7...?f5 Yuri Vovk reacted less precisely:} 13. O-O c6 {I think that Black could have got better chances after 13...?e4:} (13... Ne4 $5 14. Qa3 h5 15. h3 Nxg3 16. fxg3 Nc8 $15) 14. Be2 b5 (14... Ne4 15. Qb3 {and Black has no time to play ...h5}) 15. Qa3 Ne4 16. Ne5 f6 {White's knight is heading to d3, so why should Black push him?} (16... Kg7 $5) 17. Nd3 a5 18. Nc5 a4 19. Nxe4 Bxe4 20. Qc5 Qd7 $11 {Vovk,Y (2588)-Gajewski,G (2646) Jerusalem 2015 1-0 (46)}) 13... Ne4 14. Nxe4 Bxe4 15. O-O {White can't avoid the exchange of his dark-squared bishop.} (15. f3 $6 Bg6 16. Bf2 c6 17. Be2 Nf5 18. e4 (18. O-O Nxe3 $1 19. Bxe3 Re8 20. Bxg5 hxg5 $15) 18... dxe4 19. fxe4 Nh4 20. Bxh4 gxh4 21. e5 Qg5 $15) 15... c6 16. Be2 Nf5 17. c4 dxc4 18. Qxc4 Qd5 19. Qxd5 Bxd5 20. Rab1 $146 {To see a novelty on move twenty or later is not a big surprise nowadays. It is obvious why you can't find this position in Correspondence chess. The computer evaluation is about 0.00 so who wants to waste time?! However if you can not use computer's advice then the position is in White's favour due to the central pawns. Of course White's advantage is minimal and Black can level the game by means of ...?xg3, ...?ae8, ...f5, ...f4.} (20. a4 Rae8 21. Rfe1 Re7 22. Bg4 Nxg3 23. hxg3 f5 24. Bf3 Rd8 25. Rab1 Kf7 (25... f4 $5 26. e4 Bc4 27. gxf4 Rxd4 28. f5 Kf7 $13) 26. Rec1 g4 27. Bxd5+ Rxd5 28. Rc4 h5 29. Kf1 Ke6 30. Ke2 Kd6 $11 {Leko,P (2712)-Yu Yangyi (2734) Danzhou CHN 2016 1/2 (51)}) 20... b6 (20... Nxg3 21. hxg3 Rab8 {is reliable but it doesn't seem to be very attractive for Black.}) 21. Rb2 Rae8 22. Rc1 Nxg3 23. hxg3 f5 {This is quite logical. Black creates counter-chances by means of f4.} 24. Bc4 (24. Bf3 f4 (24... Bxf3 25. gxf3 f4 26. gxf4 gxf4 27. e4 $14) 25. Bxd5+ cxd5 {leads to the same position.}) 24... f4 25. Bxd5+ cxd5 26. gxf4 gxf4 27. exf4 (27. Rc3 fxe3 28. fxe3 Re6 $11) 27... Rxf4 {The position is almost equal but Black needs to be careful.} 28. Rd2 Ree4 (28... h5 $5 {White's king goes to g3, so Black should prevent it by means of ...h5, ...h4.} 29. Rc7 Rf7 30. Rdc2 Re4 $11) 29. Rcd1 Kg7 $6 (29... h5 30. f3 Re7 31. Rc1 h4 32. Kf2 Ree4 33. Rc7 Rxd4 34. Rxd4 Rxd4 35. Rxa7 $11) 30. f3 Re3 31. Kf2 Ra3 32. Kg3 $14 {The position which has arisen is still drawish.} Re4 $6 {Black can't increase the presure on d4, so there is nothing his rook can achieve on the 4th rank.} (32... Rf6 33. Rc1 Kg6 34. Rc8 Re6 35. Rd8 Ra5 36. Rc2 Kg5 $14) 33. Rc1 Kf7 34. Rc8 $1 {Now Black is in trouble.} (34. Rc7+ $6 Re7 35. Rxe7+ Kxe7 36. Kf4 Kf6 $11) 34... Re1 (34... Re8 35. Rxe8 Kxe8 36. Kf4 {is very dangerous for Black.}) 35. Kf4 $16 Ra1 $2 {The a2-pawn isn't very important. White's two rooks and king create a very strong attack. I believe that 35...?a1 is the decisive mistake.} (35... Re6 36. Kf5 Rf6+ 37. Ke5 Re6+ 38. Kxd5 Ra5+ 39. Kc4 h5 40. Rh8 Rc6+ 41. Kd3 Re6 $16 {Black retains drawish chances.}) 36. Rc7+ Ke8 $6 ({There is the slightly more resilient} 36... Kf6 37. Rdc2 Re1 38. Rh7 Kg6 39. Rcc7 Re6 (39... Rxa2 40. Rcg7+ Kf6 41. Rf7+ Ke6 (41... Kg6 42. Rhg7+ Kh5 43. Rf5+ Kh4 44. Rg4#) 42. Re7+ Kd6 43. Rxe1 $18) (39... Re8 $8 40. Rcg7+ Kf6 41. Rxa7 Rxa7 42. Rxa7 h5 43. Rb7 Re6 44. g3 $22 $18) 40. Rhg7+ Kh5 41. Rc1 $18) 37. Re2+ Kd8 38. Ree7 $18 {The rest is clear without comments.} R3xa2 39. Red7+ Ke8 40. Rh7 Kd8 41. Rcd7+ Kc8 42. Rdf7 1-0 [Event "Grand Slam Final 7th"] [Site "Bilbao"] [Date "2014.09.20"] [Round "6"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2804"] [BlackElo "2785"] [Annotator "Roiz,Michael"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2014.09.14"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 163"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2014.11.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.11.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] {This game was played in the last round, when Vishy had already secured the 1st place.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 (7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Be2 {is another fashionable line nowadays.}) 7... O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. Ne4 (11. Nxd4 Bd7 12. Qb3 Nc6 {is a well-known theoretical line, which is quite safe for Black.}) (11. exd4 Nc6 12. Ne4 Qe7 {leads to a position, which may arise also after the text move.}) 11... Qe7 ({After} 11... Qf5 12. Ng3 Qa5 13. exd4 {the current World Champion was unable to solve all the problems:} Nc6 14. Qe2 Bd7 15. a3 Bd6 (15... Be7 $5) 16. Ne4 Bf4 17. Rc3 Rad8 18. Rd1 b5 19. Bd3 b4 20. Rc5 Qb6 21. g3 $14 {½-½ Aronian,L (2815)-Carlsen,M (2881)/Dubai UAE 2014 (56)}) (11... Qg6 $6 {looks too risky:} 12. Bd3 f5 13. Ng3 dxe3 14. Qb3 $36) 12. Nxd4 {Levon Aronian deviates from having an isolated pawn.} ({After} 12. exd4 {Black should be able to equalise by means of delivering the bishop to b6 at some point:} Nc6 (12... Rd8 $5 13. Qe2 Ba5 14. Rfd1 Bb6 15. Bb5 Bd7 16. Nc3 Bxb5 17. Qxb5 Na6 18. d5 Nc7 19. Qe2 Rd6 $11 {½-½ Erdos,V (2658)-Vallejo Pons,F (2705)/Warsaw POL 2013 (24)}) 13. Qe2 Ba5 (13... Bd7 14. a3 Bd6 15. Rfd1 Rad8 16. Qe3 Rfe8 17. b4 $14 {1-0 Gelfand,B (2764)-Rahman,Z (2470)/Tromso NOR 2013 (63)}) 14. Bb5 Bd7 15. Nc5 Be8 16. Qe4 Bb6 $11 {½-½ Benjamin,J (2591)-Serper,G (2587)/Connecticut 2000/EXT 2001 (42)}) 12... Bd7 13. Qh5 {Not only connecting the rooks, but also keeping an eye on the a5-spot.} ({White can also fight for a small advantage by means of} 13. Bd3 $5 Nc6 14. Nb3 Rfd8 (14... Na5 15. Rc7 Nxb3 16. Rxb7 Rab8 17. Rxb8 Rxb8 18. Qxb3 $14) 15. a3 Ba5 16. Nd6 Be8 17. Nxe8 Qxe8 18. Nxa5 Nxa5 19. Qe2 $14 {½-½ Gupta,A (2638)-Parligras,M (2574)/Abu Dhabi UAE 2014 (86)}) 13... Nc6 14. Nb3 {Exchanging the knights would allow Black to put the light-squared bishop on c6, so White avoids that.} f5 {This move is somewhat loosening, but Black is trying to force some simplifications.} (14... Rfd8 $5 {deserves serious attention:} 15. a3 Bd6 16. Nxd6 Qxd6 17. Rfd1 Qe5 18. Qe2 Ne7 {and Black is close to equality.}) 15. a3 {The most principled response.} ({After} 15. Nec5 Be8 16. Qf3 Bxc5 17. Nxc5 Bf7 18. Bb5 Rac8 19. Nd3 Rfd8 20. Rfd1 Be8 {White can hardly achieve anything special.}) 15... fxe4 $146 {A natural novelty, which doesn't really change the evaluation of this line. Black still needs some accuracy, but the position is about equal.} ({In the preceding game Black wasn't experiencing problems:} 15... Ne5 16. Be2 (16. axb4 Nxc4 17. Rxc4 Bb5 18. Ned2 Bxc4 19. Nxc4 Qxb4 20. Ncd2 a5 $15) 16... Be8 17. Qh3 Bc6 (17... fxe4 18. axb4 Bc6 19. Nd4 Bd5 20. Qg3 Qf6 $11) 18. axb4 Bxe4 $11 {½-½ Ramirez,A (2591)-Cornette,M (2545)/Cappelle la Grande 2012/CBM 147 Extra (42)}) 16. axb4 Nxb4 17. Nc5 {Levon goes for the most aggressive option. Black has several weaknesses, so there is no way to keep an extra pawn.} ({After} 17. Qc5 Rfe8 18. Qxe7 Rxe7 19. Nc5 Bc6 20. Nxe6 Kh7 21. Rfd1 Rc8 {Black should be able to equalise in this endgame.}) ({The same after} 17. Qg6 Nd3 18. Bxd3 exd3 19. Qxd3 Rac8 20. Rxc8 Rxc8 $11) 17... Nd3 {Vishy doesn't mind exchanging the knights.} 18. Nxd3 ({In case of} 18. Nxd7 Qxd7 19. Qg4 Rae8 20. Rc2 Nb4 21. Rd1 Qf7 22. Rcd2 Qf5 23. Qxf5 Rxf5 24. Rd4 b5 25. Be2 Nd3 {Black gives the pawn back in order to liquidate into a drawish rook endgame.}) 18... exd3 19. Bxd3 (19. Rcd1 Bc6 20. Rxd3 Rad8 21. Qg6 Rxd3 22. Bxd3 Rd8 23. Qh7+ Kf8 $11) 19... Bc6 {Black has a weak ?e6, while the king may be attacked too. Still, White's advantage is not too big at the moment.} 20. Rc4 (20. Qg6 Qf6 21. Qh7+ Kf7 {leads nowhere.}) 20... Rf6 (20... Qf6 $5 {seems a bit safer. For instance,} 21. Rf4 Qxb2 22. Rd4 (22. Rg4 Rad8 23. Qxh6 Rxd3 24. Qxe6+ Rf7 25. Qc8+ Rf8 $11) 22... Rad8 23. Qg6 Rxd4 24. Qxe6+ Kh8 25. exd4 Qxd4 26. Qg6 Kg8 $11) 21. Be4 {The exchange of the bishops makes Anand's task easier.} ({I would prefer} 21. Rd1 $5 Rd8 22. Bc2 Rxd1+ 23. Qxd1 {with some attacking prospects.}) 21... Bxe4 22. Rxe4 Rd8 {Now, when all Black's forces are mobilised, the position is almost equal.} 23. Qe2 Rf5 24. h3 Rfd5 (24... Qf7 $5 25. Rc1 Rfd5 26. Qg4 {could transpose to the text.}) 25. Qg4 R8d6 26. Rc1 Kh7 $6 {This inaccurate move allows White to regroup the pieces and extend the initiative.} ({It makes sense to restrict the activity of ?c1 along the open file:} 26... Qd7 $5 27. Kh2 Rg5 28. Qf3 Rc6 $11) 27. Ra4 $1 {The main idea of that move is freeing the central square for the queen.} a6 (27... b5 28. Qe4+ g6 29. Raa1 $14) 28. Qe4+ Kg8 (28... g6 {looks quite risky:} 29. Rac4 Rd7 (29... Rd1+ 30. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 31. Kh2 Rd2 32. f4 Rxb2 33. Qd4 Rb5 34. e4 $16 {[%csl Rh7][%CAl Gc4c8]}) 30. Rc8 $14) 29. Rc8+ Rd8 30. Rac4 $14 {As a result of Black's inaccuracy, White's advantage becomes significant.} R5d7 31. g3 {Levon is not in a rush, since Black can only sit and wait.} (31. b4 $5 {could be another way to improve the position.}) 31... Kf7 $6 {After this passive move Black's position is becoming very dangerous.} ({Active defence was called for:} 31... Rd1+ 32. Kg2 R1d2 33. g4 (33. b4 $6 Qf8 $1 34. Qxe6+ Kh8 35. Rxd8 Rxf2+ 36. Kg1 Rf1+ $11) 33... Qf7 34. Rxd8+ Rxd8 $14) 32. Qf3+ $6 {A pointless check,since there is hardly a better square for the queen.} ({Much stronger was} 32. h4 Rxc8 33. Rxc8 Qf6 34. h5 Qf5 35. Qb4 Re7 36. g4 Qf3 37. Qd4 $16) 32... Kg8 33. Qe4 Kf7 $6 {Once again, missing the aforementioned improvement.} 34. Qg4 {A serious loss of time, which allows Vishy to activate his queen.} (34. h4 $1) 34... Rxc8 35. Rxc8 Qg5 $1 36. Qb4 {The only way to keep the queens on the board and fight for a full point.} (36. Qe2 {would allow Black to get sufficient counterplay:} Qd5 37. Kh2 Qb5 $1 38. Qc2 Qf1 $11) 36... Kg6 37. h4 $6 {This mistake could have been quite painful for Levon, but good fortune was on his side!} (37. Rf8 Qd5 38. Qf4 $14) 37... Qf5 $2 ({Vishy has missed a golden opportunity to solve all his problems:} 37... Rd1+ 38. Kh2 Qd5 39. e4 Qd4 40. Qf8 Qxe4 41. Qe8+ Kh7 42. Qg8+ Kg6 $11) 38. Rf8 $1 Qd5 (38... Rf7 39. Rxf7 Qxf7 40. Qe4+ Qf5 41. Qxb7 a5 $16) 39. Qg4+ Kh7 40. Kh2 h5 ({Avoiding the hopeless rook ending:} 40... b5 41. h5 g5 42. hxg6+ Kg7 43. Qf4 Qh5+ 44. Kg2 Qxg6 45. Ra8 Qf5 46. Rxa6 Rd2 47. b3 Qxf4 48. gxf4 $18) 41. Qf4 Qc6 $2 {Finally, Black commits the decisive mistake.} ({After} 41... Qd3 42. Qb8 Re7 43. Qc8 Qd5 $16 {Black's position is still difficult, but there is no forced win for White.}) 42. Qb8 $1 $18 {A decisive penetration of White's queen. Now the king is hopeless.} Rd1 43. e4 Rc1 ({Or} 43... Qxe4 44. Rh8+ Kg6 45. Qe8+ Kf6 46. Rf8+ Ke5 47. Qxh5+ $18) 44. Rh8+ Kg6 45. Qf4 Rc5 46. e5 ({Black resigns in view of} 46. e5 Rc4 47. Qg5+ Kf7 48. Rh7 $18 {with a mate in a few moves.}) 1-0 [Event "Grand Slam Final 4th"] [Site "Sao Paulo/Bilbao"] [Date "2011.09.30"] [Round "4"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2807"] [BlackElo "2765"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2011.09.26"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "BRA"] [EventCategory "22"] [SourceTitle "CBM 145"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2011.11.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2011.11.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Bg5 Bb4 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Nd2 {A relatively new reaction to the Westphalian System. However, the knight move looks somewhat artificial.} c6 (7... Be7 {[%CAl Yb7b6,Yc7c5] is another logical plan.}) 8. e3 Nf8 (8... O-O {is apparently less accurate as Black will need to play ...?f8-e8 to transfer his knight to e6:} 9. Bd3 Re8 10. Qc2 $142 $1 {[%CAl Ye1c1]} (10. O-O Nf8 11. a3 (11. Qf3 Be7 12. Rab1 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. b4 a6 15. a4 b5 16. Rfc1 Ne6 17. Ne2 Bd7 18. Ng3 g6 $11 {0-1 Krizsany,L (2370)-Luther,T (2480)/Kecskemet 1993/CBM 037 ext (55)}) (11. Qc2 Bd6 12. Kh1 g6 13. Rae1 Ne6 14. Bh4 Be7 15. f3 c5 16. dxc5 Nxc5 17. Nb3 Nxd3 18. Qxd3 Be6 19. Re2 Qb6 {1/2 Oms Pallisse,J-Garcia Ilundain,D (2480)/Las Palmas 1993/EXT 1998}) 11... Be7 (11... Bd6 12. b4 (12. e4 dxe4 13. Ndxe4 Be7 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. d5 Rd8 17. Be4 Be6 18. Qb3 cxd5 19. Bxd5 Rd7 $11 {1/2 Dreev,A (2705)-Zvjaginsev,V (2649)/Sochi 2005/CBM 107 (22)}) (12. Qf3 Be7 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. b4 Be7 15. Rfc1 Bd6 16. Na4 Qg5 17. Qe2 Bg4 $11 {0-1 Beliavsky,A (2654)-Milov,V (2626)/Saint Vincent 2000/CBM 078 (63)}) 12... Ne6 (12... a6 $5) 13. Bh4 g6 14. b5 Ng7 15. bxc6 bxc6 16. Bg3 Nf5 17. Bxf5 Bxf5 18. Qa4 Bxg3 19. hxg3 Qd6 20. Rfc1 Ng4 21. Nd1 $14 {[%csl Rc6] 1-0 Suba,M (2520)-Gonzalez Aguirre,L (2300)/Oviedo 1993/CBM 038 ext (36)}) 12. b4 a6 13. Nb3 (13. Rb1 Ng4 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Nf3 Ng6 16. Re1 Be6 17. Qc2 Qf6 18. e4 dxe4 19. Bxe4 Rad8 20. Rbd1 Qf4 21. g3 Qh6 $13 {0-1 Zlotnik,B (2455)-Campos,J (2470)/Palma de Mallorca 1992/TD (52)}) 13... Ng4 (13... Ng6 14. Qc2 Ng4 15. Bxe7 Qxe7 16. h3 Nh6 17. Rae1 f5 18. f4 Qf6 19. Nd2 Nf7 20. Nf3 Nd6 21. Ne5 $14 {1-0 Suba,M (2520)-Campos,J (2485)/Caceres 1996/EXT 2004 (36)}) 14. Bxe7 Qc7 15. g3 Qxe7 16. Qf3 Nh6 17. Rfe1 Bh3 18. Bf1 Bxf1 19. Kxf1 Ne6 20. h4 f5 21. Nc5 Rf8 22. Ne2 Ng4 23. Kg2 Nf6 24. Nf4 Nd8 25. a4 Ne4 26. Qd1 Nf7 27. f3 Ned6 $11 {1/2 Suba,M (2487)-Campos Moreno,J (2491)/Barcelona 2000/CBM 077 ext (48)}) 10... Nf8 11. a3 (11. O-O-O Be6 12. Kb1 Rc8 13. Nb3 b6 14. Ba6 Rb8 15. Be2 Ng6 16. h4 h6 17. h5 Nf8 18. Bh4 Be7 19. Bg3 Bd6 20. Bh4 Be7 21. Ka1 a5 $13 {1-0 Sakaev,K (2634)-Vitiugov,N (2594)/Khanty Mansiysk 2007/CBM 122 (64)}) 11... Be7 (11... Bd6 12. O-O-O a5 13. Kb1 Be7 14. h3 Ne4 15. Bxe7 Nxc3+ 16. Qxc3 Qxe7 17. Nb3 Qf6 18. Qc2 b6 19. g4 Bd7 20. Rhg1 Rac8 21. Bf5 $14 {1-0 Vokac,M (2440)-Luther,T (2495)/Brno 1991/CBM 026 (37)}) 12. O-O (12. O-O-O Be6 13. Kb1 b6 14. Nf3 b5 15. Ne5 Qb6 16. Ne2 b4 17. Qxc6 bxa3 18. Qxb6 axb6 19. Nc6 Bd6 20. Bf4 Bxf4 21. Nxf4 $14 {1-0 Pantsulaia,L (2490)-Petrosian,T (2321)/Yerevan 2004/CBM 103 ext (34)}) 12... g6 13. b4 a6 14. Nb3 Ne6 15. Bh4 Ng7 16. f3 Bf5 17. Bf2 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 Bd6 19. Kh1 Nd7 20. e4 Nb6 21. Nc5 Qc7 22. Bg1 Rad8 23. a4 $14 {1-0 Abbasov,F (2537)-Bajarani,U (2393)/Baku 2011/CBM 140 Extra (38)}) (8... Nb6 9. Qc2 Be6 10. Bd3 h6 11. Bh4 Be7 12. O-O O-O 13. Nf3 Nfd7 14. Bg3 c5 {1/2 Almeida Quintana,O (2488)-Baron Rodriguez,J (2431)/Havana 2007/CBM 118 ext (40)} 15. Nb5 $1 $14) (8... h6 $5 9. Bh4 O-O 10. Bd3 Re8 11. O-O Be7 (11... Nf8 12. Qc2 Bd6 13. Bg3 Bxg3 14. hxg3 Ne6 15. b4 Qe7 16. Rab1 Ng5 17. b5 c5 18. dxc5 Qxc5 19. Rfc1 d4 20. Nd1 Qxc2 21. Rxc2 Bg4 22. Nc4 Rad8 23. Ndb2 Nd5 24. exd4 {1/2 Arlandi,E (2435)-Braga,F (2385)/Reggio Emilia 1992/EXT 2000}) 12. Qc2 b6 13. e4 dxe4 14. Ndxe4 Bb7 15. Rfe1 Nxe4 16. Bxe7 Rxe7 17. Nxe4 Nf8 18. Rad1 Qd7 19. Bc4 Rae8 $11 {1/2 Vokac,M (2465)-Jirovsky,M (2420)/Luhacovice 1993/TD (54)}) 9. Bd3 Be7 (9... Ne6 10. Bxf6 Qxf6 11. Qa4 {[%CAl Rc3d5]} Bxc3 12. bxc3 O-O 13. O-O h5 14. Rae1 h4 15. Qd1 Re8 16. f4 c5 17. Qh5 Nc7 18. Qh7+ Kf8 19. e4 $16 {1-0 Vokac,M (2485)-Zvolanek,L (2365)/Czechia 1994/TD (35)}) (9... Ng6 10. Qa4 $1 (10. O-O O-O 11. h4 (11. Qc2 h6 $11) 11... h6 12. h5 hxg5 13. hxg6 fxg6 14. Qb3 Ba5 15. e4 Bb6 16. exd5 cxd5 17. Nde4 $1 Be6 18. Rae1 Bxd4 19. Nxf6+ Rxf6 20. Rxe6 Rxe6 21. Nxd5 $44 {1-0 Ftacnik,L (2535)-Winants,L (2505)/Tilburg 1992/CBM 032/[Ftacnik] (26)}) 10... Be7 11. Qc2 Be6 12. h3 $14 Bb4 $6 13. f4 $1 Bd7 14. O-O $16 h6 $6 15. Bxg6 fxg6 16. Qxg6+ Kf8 17. Bh4 Qe8 18. Qd3 $16 {1/2 Chernin,A (2620)-Greenfeld,A (2520)/Beersheba 1992/CBM 030 (36)}) 10. Qc2 (10. h3 Ne6 11. Bh4 O-O 12. O-O g6 13. a3 a5 14. Na4 Ra7 15. Qc2 Ng7 16. Nc5 Nf5 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. Nf3 Be7 19. Rfe1 Bd6 $10 {1/2 Alterman,B (2515)-Dizdar,G (2495)/Debrecen 1992/EU-chT (31)}) 10... Ne6 11. Bh4 g6 {[%CAl Ye6g7,Yc8f5] One of the key ideas of the Queen's Gambit Exchanged.} 12. h3 O-O ({For} 12... Ng7 {White has prepared} 13. g4 h5 14. O-O-O $1) 13. Nf3 (13. O-O Ng7 $1 {as} 14. g4 {is now obviously inappropriate}) (13. O-O-O c5 $1) 13... a5 {A useful move, both for the queenside counterplay (if White castles long) and to prevent b2-b4 (in case White castles kingside).} 14. g4 $6 {Aronian's pet move. But it was more appropriate here to create pressure on the queenside:} (14. O-O $142 Ng7 15. Qb3 {[%CAl Yc3a4]}) 14... b5 $1 15. Ne5 (15. O-O-O a4 $36 {?}) (15. O-O $5) 15... Bb7 16. f4 c5 $1 {[%mdl 4] It turns out that Black is better prepared for the complications.} 17. f5 $6 (17. Nxb5 cxd4 18. Nxd4 Nxd4 19. exd4 Ne4 $44) 17... cxd4 18. fxe6 dxc3 19. O-O d4 $5 20. Nxf7 $2 {After this bad move Black starts a decisive attack.} (20. exf7+ Kg7 21. bxc3 dxe3 22. Qh2 $1 $13 {was still playable.}) 20... Qd5 $19 {[%CAl Rd5h1,Rd5e6][%mdl 128]} 21. Bxf6 (21. e4 Qxe6 22. Ng5 $8 Qe5 {[%CAl Rf6d7]} 23. Nf3 (23. Qb3+ Nd5 $1) (23. bxc3 Nd7 $1 24. Qb3+ Kh8 25. Nf7+ Rxf7 26. Qxf7 Bxh4) 23... Qf4 24. Rae1 Nxg4 $1 25. hxg4 (25. Bxe7 Qg3+ 26. Qg2 Rxf3) 25... Qxg4+ 26. Qg2 Qxg2+ 27. Kxg2 Rxf3 $1 28. Rxf3 Bxh4 $19) 21... Qh1+ 22. Kf2 Qxh3 $1 23. Ke1 cxb2 24. Qxb2 Bb4+ 25. Kd1 Bf3+ 26. Rxf3 Qxf3+ 27. Be2 Qxf6 28. g5 Qg7 29. Qxd4 {Time-trouble chaos now takes the floor.} Rxf7 $138 (29... Bc5 $142 $1 30. Qxg7+ Kxg7 31. Bxb5 Rab8 32. a4 Rb6 $19) 30. exf7+ Qxf7 31. Rc1 (31. Bxb5 Rc8 32. Qe4 $1 Rc5 $17 {[%csl Rg5]}) 31... Rb8 32. a4 $4 $138 {[%mdl 8192]} (32. Rc2 {still enabled White to fight on.}) 32... Qb3+ 33. Rc2 Qb1+ 34. Rc1 Qb3+ 35. Rc2 Rc8 36. Bc4+ bxc4 37. Qd5+ Kf8 38. Qd7 Re8 0-1 [Event "Presidents Cup "] [Site "Elista"] [Date "1998.05.11"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Gurevich, Mikhail"] [Black "Bareev, Evgeny"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2635"] [BlackElo "2675"] [Annotator "Tsesarsky,Ilya"] [PlyCount "190"] [EventDate "1998.05.07"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "CBM 065"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1998.08.06"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1998.08.06"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. d4 d5 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bh4 Bb4+ 6. Nc3 dxc4 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. a3 (8. Bxf6 Qxf6 (8... gxf6 9. e4 (9. O-O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 Qd5 11. Qc2 (11. e3 b5 12. Qc2 f5 13. Nd2 Qd6 14. h3 Bb7 $44 (14... Rg8 15. g4 Qa3+ 16. Kb1 Rb8 17. gxf5 b4 18. Nxc4 bxc3+ 19. Ka1 Qe7 20. fxe6 Qxe6 21. Qxc3 $16)) 11... Na5 (11... f5 12. Nd2 Rg8 13. e4 fxe4 14. Re1 f5 15. Bxc4 Qd6 16. g3 Bd7 $44) 12. e4 Qb5 13. e5 f5 14. h3 (14. d5 $2 exd5 (14... Bd7 15. dxe6 fxe6 $44 {0-1 Behrhorst-Simon/BL /SW,7,28 1988 (33)}) 15. Nd4 Qd7 16. f4 c5 $17) 14... Bd7 15. Rg1 $132) 9... Bd7 10. Qc2 b5 11. a3 Bxc3+ 12. Qxc3 Ne7 13. b3 cxb3 14. Qxb3 a6 15. Rc1 Bc6 16. Bd3 Rg8 (16... f5 $17) 17. O-O f5 $17 {0-1 Gerber,K-Martin,A/cr 1974 (37)}) 9. a3 (9. Ne5 Bd7 (9... O-O 10. Nxc6 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Bd7 $1 12. Qxc4 Bxc6 13. f3 Qg5 14. e4 Rad8 (14... a6 $6 15. Qe2 Rad8 16. Qd2 Qh5 (16... Qxd2+ 17. Kxd2 e5 18. d5 $14) 17. Bd3 $132) 15. Qe2 (15. Rb1 f5 $1 16. e5 Bd5 17. Qe2 c5 18. c4 Bc6 19. dxc5 f4 $19) 15... f5 16. e5 Bd5 17. Qd2 Qh4+ (17... f4 18. Bd3 c5 19. O-O cxd4 20. cxd4 $11) 18. Qf2 Qe7 19. Bd3 Qa3 20. Qd2 c5 21. O-O cxd4 22. cxd4 Rc8 23. Rfc1 b6 $15) 10. Nxc6 (10. Nxd7 $2 Qxd4 $1 $17) 10... Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Bxc6 12. Qxc4 O-O 13. f3 Qg5 14. Qd3 Rad8 15. Qd2 Qe7 16. e3 e5 17. Be2 Rfe8 $15 {Titov,G-Barle,J/Manila olm 1992/½-½ (60)}) 9... Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 O-O 11. Qxc4 e5 12. e3 exd4 13. cxd4 Be6 14. Qc5 Rad8 15. Be2 Bd5 16. O-O Rfe8 17. Rfe1 Qg6 18. Qc3 Re6 19. Bd3 Be4 20. Rad1 Rd5 21. Bxe4 Rxe4 22. g3 $14 {Karpov,A-Tal,M/Brussels blitz 1987/1-0 (51)}) (8. e3 Bd7 (8... Qd5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. a3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 b5 12. Qc2 Bb7 13. e4 Qh5 14. Be2 Na5 15. Nd2 Qg6 16. Bf3 O-O 17. O-O c5 $15 {0-1 Dzindzichashvili,R-Taimanov,M/USSR 1974 (41)}) 9. Qc2 (9. O-O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 Nxd4 11. Qxc4 Nxf3 12. gxf3 Qe7 13. Kb2 O-O-O $17 {0-1 Skembris,S-Inkiov,V/Ano Liosia op 1993 (32)}) 9... b5 10. Be2 a6 11. O-O Be7 12. Rad1 O-O 13. Rd2 Nd5 14. Bg3 f5 $44 {1-0 Bakalarz,M-Weglarz,L/POL-chT Porabka 1986 (35)}) 8... Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qd5 10. Bxf6 (10. Nd2 Ne4 11. Nxe4 Qxe4 12. Bg3 Bd7 13. f3 Qg6 14. Qxc4 Qc2 15. Qd3 Qxd3 16. exd3 O-O-O 17. Be2 $14 {1-0 Granda Zuniga,J-Mitkov,N/ch-ESP Team, Ampuriabrava ESP 1997 (41)}) 10... gxf6 11. Nd2 (11. Qc2 f5 12. g3 b6 13. Bg2 Bb7 14. O-O O-O-O 15. a4 Na5 16. Rfe1 c5 17. e4 fxe4 18. Ne5 f5 $19 {0-1 Guimard,C-Pachman,L/Mar del Plata 1962 (42)}) 11... b5 12. Qd1 $6 (12. Qc2 Rb8 $44) 12... Rb8 $15 13. e4 Qd6 14. a4 (14. Qf3 e5 15. d5 Ne7 16. a4 a6 17. axb5 axb5 18. Rb1 c6 $15) 14... a6 15. axb5 axb5 16. Rb1 Rb6 (16... Rg8 17. Qf3 e5 18. d5 Na5 $44) 17. Qh5 e5 18. Be2 $2 (18. d5 Ne7 19. Be2 f5 $15) 18... f5 $1 {[%csl Rf5][%CAl Gh5b5]} (18... exd4 19. Rxb5 Rxb5 20. Qxb5 dxc3 21. Nxc4 Qd7 22. Bg4 Qxg4 23. Qxc6+ Bd7 24. Qa8+ Ke7 25. Qa3+ Kd8 26. Qa8+ Ke7 (26... Bc8 27. O-O $11) 27. Qa3+ $11) 19. exf5 exd4 $19 20. O-O (20. Qf3 d3 21. Qe3+ Ne7 22. Ne4 Qc6 23. Bf3 Bxf5 24. O-O Bxe4 25. Bxe4 Qd6 $19) 20... Qf4 $5 (20... dxc3 $144 $5 21. Ne4 (21. Nf3 Qf6 $19) 21... Qe5 $142 $1 (21... Qd4 22. Bf3 b4 23. Rfe1 (23. Rbd1 Qe5 (23... Qg7 24. f6 (24. Rfe1 O-O $19) 24... Qg6 25. Qc5 $18) 24. Rfe1 Kf8 25. Ng3 Qf6 26. Bxc6 c2 (26... Rxc6 27. Qe2 Kg8 28. Nh5 Qxf5 29. Qe8+ Kh7 30. Qxc6 Qxh5 31. Qxc4 c5 32. Rd5 Qg6 (32... Be6 33. Rxe6 $18) 33. Rxc5 Bh3 34. Qe4 (34. g3 Re8 35. Rc1 Re4 36. Qb3 Qf6 37. Rc7 Kg8 38. Qd1 Bg4 $132) 34... Qxe4 35. Rxe4 Rg8 36. g3 c2 37. Rxc2 Bf5 38. Rec4 Bxc2 39. Rxc2 b3 40. Rb2 Rb8 41. Kf1 Kg6 42. Ke2 Kf5 43. Kd3 $11) 27. Rd5 Rxc6 28. Qe2 Be6 $1 29. fxe6 Rxe6 30. Ne4 Qb2 31. Rd2 Rxe4 (31... b3 32. Qxc4 Kg7 33. Rd7 Rhe8 34. Rf1 Kg8 35. Nd2 Rb8 36. Rxc7 $18 (36. Rd3 Reb6)) 32. Qxe4 c1=Q 33. Rxb2 Qxb2 34. Qxc4 Qc3 $11) 23... Kf8 24. Rbd1 Qg7 25. Qh4 Qe5 26. Nd6 c2 (26... cxd6 27. Rxe5 c2 28. Qf6 cxd1=Q+ 29. Bxd1 Nxe5 30. Qxh8+ Ke7 31. Qxc8 $18) 27. Rxe5 Nxe5 28. Re1 Nxf3+ 29. gxf3 Rxd6 $19) 22. Rfe1 (22. Ng3 Qf4 $1 $19) 22... c2 23. Rbc1 Bxf5 (23... Qxf5 $4 24. Nd6+ cxd6 25. Bg4+ Qe5 26. Rxe5+ Nxe5 27. Bxc8 $18) 24. Bf3 Be6 25. Qxe5 (25. Rxc2 Qxh5 26. Bxh5 Ke7 $19) 25... Nxe5 $19) 21. Nxc4 (21. Rfe1 O-O $19) 21... bxc4 22. Bxc4 Qxf5 23. Qe2+ (23. Qxf5 Bxf5 24. Rxb6 cxb6 25. Bb5 Kd7 26. cxd4 Kd6 $19) 23... Kf8 24. Rxb6 cxb6 25. cxd4 Rg8 (25... Nxd4 26. Qb2 Qf4 27. g3 Qe4 $19) 26. Rd1 Rg4 27. Qe3 Qf6 28. Bb5 Nxd4 (28... Rxd4 29. Rxd4 Nxd4 30. Qe8+ Kg7 31. Qxc8 Nxb5 $19) 29. h3 (29. Qe8+ Kg7 30. Rxd4 Rxd4 31. Qxc8 Rd1+ 32. Bf1 Qd4 $19) 29... Rf4 (29... Rxg2+ 30. Kxg2 Bb7+ 31. Kh2 Nxb5 $19) 30. Qe8+ Kg7 31. Qxc8 Nxb5 32. Rd3 Rf5 33. h4 Na7 34. Qa8 Qxh4 $6 (34... Qa1+ 35. Kh2 Rf6 36. Rg3+ Rg6 $19) 35. Rg3+ Rg5 36. Rxg5+ hxg5 37. Qxa7 Qd4 38. g3 (38. Qe7 Qc5 39. Qa7 Qc1+ 40. Kh2 Qf4+ 41. Kg1 b5 $19) 38... g4 39. Qa6 Qc5 40. Qe2 Qc1+ (40... f5 $19) 41. Kh2 Qh6+ 42. Kg1 Qe6 43. Qb2+ Kg6 44. Qb1+ Kf6 45. Qb2+ Ke7 46. Qd4 f5 47. Qg7+ Kd6 48. Qd4+ Kc7 49. Qc3+ Kb8 50. Qh8+ Qc8 51. Qe5+ Ka7 52. Qe7+ Ka6 53. Qa3+ Kb7 54. Qd3 (54. Qe7+ Qc7 55. Qe6 Qc2 56. Qd7+ Ka6 $19) 54... Qe6 55. Qb5 Qe1+ 56. Kg2 Qe4+ 57. Kg1 Kc7 58. Kh2 Qe6 59. Qa4 Qh6+ 60. Kg1 Qc1+ 61. Kh2 Qc5 62. Qa7+ Kd6 63. Qb8+ Kd5 64. Qa8+ Ke5 65. Qe8+ Kd4 66. Qe3+ Kd5 67. Qd2+ Kc6 (67... Ke4 68. f3+ gxf3 69. Qf4+ Kd3 70. Qxf3+ Kc2 71. Kh3 b5 72. Qe2+ Kc3 73. Qf3+ Kd2 (73... Kb2 74. Qe2+ Ka3 (74... Kc3) 75. Qd3+ Ka4 76. Qd1+ Ka5 77. Qd8+ $17) 74. Qg2+ Ke1 75. Qh1+ Ke2 76. Qg2+ $17) 68. Qh6+ Kd5 69. Qd2+ Qd4 70. Qc2 f4 71. Qf5+ Kc4 72. Qc2+ Kb4 73. Qb1+ Kc3 74. Qa1+ Kd3 75. Qd1+ Ke4 76. Qe2+ Kd5 77. gxf4 Qxf4+ 78. Kg1 Qd4 $2 (78... Qc1+ 79. Kg2 Qc4 80. Qd2+ Kc5 81. Kg3 b5 82. Qg5+ Kb6 83. Qe3+ Kc6 84. Qe8+ Kb7 85. Qf8 b4 $19) 79. Qb5+ Ke4 (79... Kd6 80. Qe8 Kc5 $17) 80. Qc6+ Kd3 81. Qb5+ Kc3 82. Kg2 Qc5 83. Qe2 Qd5+ 84. Kh2 b5 85. Qxg4 b4 86. Qg7+ $6 (86. Qg3+ Qd3 87. Qc7+ Qc4 88. Qg3+ Kc2 89. Qg6+ Qd3 90. Qc6+ Kd1 91. Kg2 b3 92. Qb7 Kc2 93. Qc6+ Kb1 94. Qb6 b2 95. Qc6 Qc2 (95... Ka2 96. Qa4+) 96. Qf3 Kc1 97. Qf4+ Kd1 98. Qd4+ $11) 86... Qd4 87. Qc7+ Kd2 88. Qf7 Qc3 89. Qd5+ Ke2 90. f4 $2 (90. Kg2 $1 $15) 90... b3 $19 91. f5 (91. Qg2+ Kd1 92. Qh1+ Qe1 93. Qb7 Qf2+ 94. Kh3 b2 95. Qb3+ Qc2 96. Qf3+ Qe2 97. Qb3+ Ke1 $19) 91... b2 92. Qe4+ Qe3 93. Qc4+ Qd3 94. Qg4+ Ke1 95. Qg1+ Qf1 0-1 [Event "London Classic"] [Site "London"] [Date "2009.12.15"] [Round "7"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2715"] [BlackElo "2772"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2009.12.08"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [EventCategory "18"] [SourceTitle "CBM 134"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.01.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.01.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 d5 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 {For this move - see CBM 123, annotations to Socko - Gajewski. However, there have been a lot of developments since then.} Re8 (7... a6 8. a3 Be7 9. b4 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Bd6 11. Bb2 e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 (12... Bxe5 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14. Be2 Be6 15. Ne4 Bf5 16. Nxf6+ Qxf6 17. Qxc7 Nd3+ 18. Bxd3 Qxb2 19. Rb1 Rac8 20. Qxc8 Qxb1+ 21. Bxb1 Rxc8 22. Kd2 $16 {1-0 Bartel,M (2588)-Colovic,A (2493)/Plovdiv 2008/CBM 124 (39)}) 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. f4 $1 $146 Bd6 15. O-O Re8 16. e4 Ng4 17. Qe2 (17. Qb3 $142 Be6 18. Bxe6 Rxe6 19. h3 $16) 17... b5 18. Bb3 (18. Ba2 $142) 18... c5 19. h3 $14 cxb4 $6 20. axb4 Bxb4 21. hxg4 Bc5+ 22. Rf2 Qh4 23. f5 Bb7 {1-0 Krasenkow,M (2624)-Koneru,H (2603)/Mumbai 2008/CBM 124 Extra (48)} 24. Ba3 $3 $16) (7... b6 8. Be2 Ba6 9. cxd5 Bxe2 10. Kxe2 exd5 11. Rd1 Ne7 12. Bd2 c5 13. dxc5 bxc5 14. Kf1 Rc8 15. Kg1 Qb6 16. a3 Bxc3 17. Bxc3 Ne4 18. Be5 $14 {1-0 Cramling,P (2525)-Kosintseva,N (2518)/Konya TUR 2009/The Week in Chess 787 (40)}) (7... Bd6 $5 8. c5 Be7 9. Bb5 (9. h3 $6 b6 10. a3 bxc5 11. dxc5 a5 12. Bb5 Na7 13. c6 Nxb5 14. Nxb5 Ba6 15. Nbd4 Ne4 $17 {0-1 Dworakowska,J (2335)-Atalik,E (2409)/Plovdiv 2008/CBM 123 Extra (26)}) 9... Bd7 10. a3 Qe8 11. Bd3 a5 12. b3 b6 13. cxb6 cxb6 14. Bb2 Qb8 15. O-O Rc8 16. Qe2 Bd6 17. Nb5 Be7 18. Rac1 Na7 $11 {1/2 Krasenkow,M (2639)-Golod,V (2578)/Helsingor 2008/CBM 125 Extra (48)}) (7... dxc4 {is probably the simplest way to equalise:} 8. Bxc4 e5 $5 (8... Bd6 $5 9. O-O (9. Ng5 h6 10. Nge4 e5 11. Nxd6 cxd6 12. d5 Ne7 13. e4 Ng6 14. O-O Nh5 15. Qd1 Nf6 16. Kh1 Bd7 17. a4 Rc8 18. b3 a6 19. f3 Nh7 20. Ba3 Qe7 21. Qd2 Ng5 $11 {0-1 Moranda,W (2533)-Moiseenko,A (2632)/Polanica Zdroj 2008/CBM 126 (35)}) 9... e5 10. h3 exd4 (10... Qe7 11. a3 Bd7 12. d5 Na5 13. Bd3 c5 14. dxc6 Nxc6 15. Rd1 Rac8 16. Bd2 h6 17. Rac1 Rfd8 18. Qb1 Be6 19. Ne4 Bb3 20. Re1 Bd5 21. Bc3 Nxe4 22. Bxe4 Bxe4 23. Qxe4 Qe6 $11 {0-1 Najer,E (2681)-Fressinet,L (2658)/Hamburg GER 2009/The Week in Chess 788 (41)}) 11. exd4 Nb4 (11... h6 12. a3 a6 13. Ba2 Ne7 14. Ne5 c5 15. Nxf7 Rxf7 16. dxc5 Bxc5 17. Qb3 Ned5 18. Nxd5 Be6 19. Nxf6+ Rxf6 $44 {1/2 Cramling,P (2535)-Lomineishvili,M (2378)/Ohrid MKD 2009/The Week in Chess 779 (24)}) 12. Qd1 Bf5 13. a3 Nc6 14. Re1 h6 15. Ne5 Bxe5 16. dxe5 Qxd1 17. Nxd1 Nd7 $11 {1/2 Chiburdanidze,M (2506)-Kosintseva,T (2536)/Ningbo CHN 2009/The Week in Chess 774 (37)}) (8... a6 $143 9. O-O (9. a3 Bd6 10. Ng5 h6 11. Nge4 Nxe4 12. Nxe4 e5 13. Nxd6 cxd6 14. d5 Ne7 15. O-O b5 16. Bd3 f5 17. e4 fxe4 18. Bxe4 Bf5 $11 {1-0 Gonzalez Garcia,J (2509)-Vehi Bach,V (2387)/Barbera ESP 2009/The Week in Chess 766 (54)}) 9... Bd6 10. Rd1 Qe8 11. a3 e5 12. Ng5 h6 13. Nge4 Nxe4 14. Nxe4 Qe7 15. d5 Nd8 16. Nxd6 cxd6 17. a4 $14 {½-½ Hillarp Persson,T-Arutinian,D/Crete 2007/CBM 121 (45)}) 9. a3 (9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. dxe5 Ng4 11. Qb3 Bxc3+ 12. Qxc3 Qh4 13. g3 Qh3 14. Bf1 Qh5 15. Be2 Qh3 16. Bf1 Qh5 17. Be2 {1/2 Krasenkow,M (2639)-Socko,B (2627)/Warsaw 2008/CBM 126}) 9... Ba5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. dxe5 Ng4 12. Bd3 Bxc3+ 13. Qxc3 Qh4 14. g3 Qh3 15. Bf1 Qh5 16. Be2 Qh3 17. Bf1 Qh5 18. Bg2 Nxe5 19. f4 Nf3+ 20. Kf2 Nxh2 $13 {1-0 Socko,B (2644)-Zdebskaja,N (2368)/Differdange 2008/CBM 124 Extra (30)}) 8. Bd2 Bf8 $5 $146 {[%mdl 8]} (8... e5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. cxd5 $5 $14) 9. a3 (9. Be2 $5 e5 $5 (9... dxc4 10. Bxc4 e5 $6 11. Ng5) (9... Nb4 {[%CAl Yc7c5]} 10. Qb3)) 9... e5 $1 $11 10. dxe5 (10. cxd5 $2 Nxd4 $1) 10... Nxe5 11. cxd5 Nxd5 12. O-O-O Nb6 13. Ne4 Nxf3 14. gxf3 Qh4 15. Bc3 (15. Bd3 $142 Rd8 (15... Bf5 16. Nf6+) 16. Bc3 Be7 $5 17. Rhg1 g6 $11) 15... Bf5 $1 16. Bd3 Bg6 $15 {Safely parrying White's threats along the g-file and obtaining the better prospects due to White's damaged pawn structure.} 17. f4 Rad8 18. f5 (18. Ng3 $5) 18... Rxd3 $6 (18... Bh5 $1 19. Rdg1 Nd5 20. Rg3 Nxc3 21. Nxc3 Rd6 $17 {[%CAl Ye8d8]}) 19. Nf6+ $1 (19. Qxd3 Bxf5 20. f3 Bxe4 21. fxe4 Rxe4 $17) 19... gxf6 20. Qxd3 Qxf2 (20... Bh5 $6 21. Rdg1+ Kh8 22. Rg3 $40) 21. fxg6 hxg6 22. Bd4 (22. Rhf1 $1 Qxe3+ 23. Qxe3 Rxe3 24. Rd8 $1 Nc4 25. Bb4 Nd6 26. Bxd6 cxd6 27. Rxf6 Kg7 28. Rf2 $14) 22... Nd5 23. Kb1 c5 $6 (23... Qh4 $5 24. Bxa7 c6 $44) 24. Rhf1 (24. Bxc5 $5 Bxc5 25. Qxd5 Qxe3 26. Qxb7) 24... Qxh2 25. Bxf6 Nxf6 26. Rxf6 Bg7 27. Qb5 Bxf6 (27... Qe5 28. Rfd6 b6 29. Qxe8+ Qxe8 30. Rd8 Kf8 $11) 28. Qxe8+ Kg7 29. Qb5 Qg2 30. Rd7 Qe4+ 31. Ka2 Qe6+ 32. Kb1 Qe4+ 33. Ka2 Qe6+ 34. Kb1 Qe4+ {Black doesn't take the risk of playing for a win.} (34... g5 $6 {M.Notkin} 35. Qxb7 g4 36. Qd5) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Saint Louis Spring-A"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2022.03.07"] [Round "6"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "Swiercz, Dariusz"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2676"] [BlackElo "2656"] [Annotator "Kapnisis,Spyridon"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2022.03.02"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "USA"] [EventCategory "16"] [SourceTitle "CBM 207 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2022.05.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.05.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 b6 $5 (7... Re8) 8. Bd2 (8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bd3 Bg4 (9... Ne7 $5 {[%CAl Yc7c5]}) 10. a3 Bxc3+ 11. Qxc3 Bxf3 12. gxf3 Ne7 13. b3 Rc8 14. Bb2 $13 {1-0 (42) Petrosyan,M (2620)-Pashikian,A (2606) Yerevan ARM 2022}) 8... Bb7 (8... Ne7 9. a3 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 a5 11. b3 (11. cxd5 exd5 12. Bd3 Ba6 $13) 11... Ba6 12. Nd2 a4 $1 13. bxa4 dxc4 (13... Nf5 $5 $13) 14. e4 $13 {1-0 (69) Sevian,S (2647)-Bok,B (2624) Krasnaya Polyana RUS 2021}) 9. cxd5 exd5 10. a3 Bd6 11. Bd3 (11. Nb5 Ne4 $6 12. Bd3 Re8 13. Nxd6 Qxd6 14. O-O a5 15. Rfc1 $16 {1-0 (24) Vidit,S (2721)-Pashikian,A (2605) Moscow RUS 2019}) 11... a6 12. O-O Ne7 (12... Re8 13. b4 Qe7 14. Rfc1 (14. b5 $5) 14... Nb8 (14... Nd8 $5) 15. Qb3 b5 $2 (15... Nbd7 $13) 16. a4 c6 17. e4 $1 $16 {1-0 (30) Hakobyan,A (2561)-Santos Ruiz,M (2560) New Delhi IND 2019}) 13. b4 Ng6 14. b5 a5 (14... Re8 $5 {[%CAl Yf6e4]}) (14... axb5 15. Nxb5 c5 16. Nxd6 Qxd6 17. Rfb1 Ba6 18. Bxa6 Rxa6 19. dxc5 bxc5 20. a4 $14) 15. a4 Re8 $6 {[#]} (15... Rc8 $5 16. Bc1 (16. Bf5 Rb8 17. Bc1 Ne7 18. Bh3 c6 $5 19. bxc6 (19. Bb2 Bc8 (19... c5 $2 20. dxc5 bxc5 21. Ne2 $16) 20. Bxc8 Rxc8 $13) 19... Nxc6 $13 {[%CAl Yc6b4,Yf6e4]}) 16... c5 17. bxc6 Rxc6 18. Qb3 {[#]} Nh4 $3 19. Nxh4 Ne4 20. Nf5 (20. Nf3 Rxc3 21. Qb1 Bb4 $15) 20... Rxc3 21. Qb5 Bb4 22. Bxe4 Bc6 23. Qe2 dxe4 24. Bb2 Rd3 25. d5 (25. Qg4 Qf6 26. d5 $1 (26. Nxg7 $2 Qg6 $1 $17 {[%csl Rg7]} (26... Qxg7 27. Qxg7+ Kxg7 28. d5+ $11)) 26... Qg6 27. Qxg6 fxg6 28. dxc6 gxf5 29. Rfc1 Rc8 30. Bd4 Ba3 $1 (30... Kf7 31. c7 $16) 31. Rc2 Bc5 $1 $11) 25... Qg5 $1 26. Nxg7 Bd7 27. Nh5 (27. Qh5 Qg6 $1 28. Qh4 Rxd5 $13) 27... f6 28. f4 Qh6 29. Rad1 Bc5 $1 30. Rxd3 exd3 31. Qf3 d2 32. Rd1 Qg6 $1 {[%CAl Yd7g4]} 33. d6 (33. h3 Be8 $1 34. Ng3 $2 (34. Nxf6+ $15) 34... Qc2 $19) 33... Qg4 $13) (15... Qe7 16. Qb3 Rad8 17. Bc1 Ne4 18. g3 $6 (18. Ba3 $5 Nh4 19. Nxh4 Qxh4 20. Bxd6 $14) 18... Bb4 19. Na2 Bd6 {0-1 (58) Michalik,P (2585)-Kjartansson,G (2450) Terme Catez SLO 2022} (19... Qf6 $1 20. Be2 Bc8 $1 $15 {[%CAl Yc8g4]})) 16. Bc1 $1 {[%CAl Yc1a3] White will exchange his dark squared bishop through the a3 square. By exchanging the dak-squared bishops white eliminates his worst placed piece for an important attacking piece} Ne4 17. Ba3 Rc8 18. Rfc1 $2 {[#]} (18. Bxd6 cxd6 19. Ra3 Nh4 20. Nxh4 Qxh4 21. Qb2 $16 {[%csl Rb7,Rd5,Rd6] remains difficult for black}) (18. Qb2 $5) 18... Nh4 $2 {Black misses an important chance to get a very dangerous initiative in the kingside.} (18... c5 $1 19. bxc6 (19. dxc5 bxc5 $17 {[%csl Ra3]}) 19... Rxc6 20. Qb2 Nh4 $1 21. Ne1 $1 (21. Nxh4 $2 {[#]} Bxh2+ $1 {An important intermediate move.} 22. Kxh2 Qxh4+ 23. Kg1 Rh6 24. Kf1 Qg4 $1 25. Ne2 Rh2 $19) (21. Be2 Nxf3+ 22. Bxf3 Bxh2+ $1 23. Kxh2 Qc7+ 24. Kg1 Nxc3 $17) 21... Nxc3 22. Rxc3 Bxh2+ $1 23. Kxh2 Qc7+ 24. Bd6 Qxd6+ 25. Kg1 $17) 19. Nxh4 Qxh4 20. g3 $6 {There was no real need for white to weaken his pawn structure.} (20. Bxd6 cxd6 (20... Nxd6 21. Ne2 $16) 21. Qb2 Nxc3 22. Rxc3 Rxc3 23. Qxc3 Rc8 24. Qa3 Qd8 25. Rc1 {Black might be able to hold this inferior ending but it can't enjoyable.}) 20... Qg5 {[#]} (20... Qe7 $5 21. Bxd6 cxd6 22. Qb2 $14) 21. Nxe4 $6 {It is perfectly understandable that Robson wanted to get rid of the annoying Ne4 but he should have tried to delay Nxe4.} (21. Qd1 $1 {getting the queen out of the c file makes a lot of sense since the c file is going to open quite soon.} Bxa3 (21... c5 22. bxc6 Rxc6 $1 (22... Bxc6 $2 23. Nxe4 dxe4 24. Ba6 Bxa3 25. Rxa3 Ra8 26. Rxc6 $18) 23. Nxe4 dxe4 24. Rxc6 Bxc6 25. Bc4 $14) (21... h5 $6 22. h4 Qf6 (22... Qf5 23. Rc2 $16 {[%CAl Ya3d6,Ya1c1]}) (22... Qg6 $2 23. Bxd6 cxd6 24. Nxe4 dxe4 25. Be2 $18 {[%csl Rh5]}) 23. Bxe4 $1 dxe4 24. Bxd6 cxd6 25. Qxh5 $16) (21... Nxf2 $2 22. Kxf2 Qxe3+ 23. Kg2 $18) (21... Qf6 22. Nxe4 dxe4 23. Be2 $14 {[%CAl Ye2g4,Yc1c3,Ya1c1] White is quite likely to get the control of the c file}) (21... g6 $6 22. Bxd6 $1 Nxc3 23. Rxc3 cxd6 24. h4 Qe7 25. Rxc8 Rxc8 26. h5 $16) 22. Rxa3 c5 23. bxc6 (23. Bxe4 dxe4 24. Ne2 cxd4 25. Nxd4 $14) 23... Rxc6 24. Nxe4 Rxc1 $1 (24... dxe4 25. Rxc6 $1 Bxc6 26. Rc3 Bd5 27. Bb5 $16) 25. Qxc1 dxe4 26. Bf1 $14) (21. Bxd6 cxd6 22. Qb2 h5 $13) 21... dxe4 22. Bf1 Qf5 23. Qb2 h5 {[#]} 24. Rc3 (24. h4 g5 {looks dangerous for white but white is still ok.} 25. hxg5 Qxg5 26. Bh3 h4 27. Bxd6 $1 (27. Bxc8 $2 Bxc8 $17) 27... cxd6 28. Kh1 $1 Rxc1+ 29. Rxc1 Kh7 30. Rg1 $11) 24... h4 25. Rac1 g6 $13 26. Qe2 (26. Be2 $5 $13) 26... Kg7 27. Qb2 (27. g4 $5 Qg5 28. Bxd6 cxd6 29. Rxc8 Rxc8 30. Rxc8 Bxc8 31. h3 $11) 27... Bd5 28. Bxd6 cxd6 29. Rxc8 Rxc8 30. Rxc8 Qxc8 31. Qa3 $1 (31. gxh4 $2 Qg4+ 32. Kh1 Qd1 $17 {[%CAl Yd1a4]}) (31. Be2 $6 h3 $1 32. Bf1 Kg8 33. Qa3 Qe6 34. Qc3 Qg4 35. Qc2 {[#]} Be6 $1 (35... Kg7 36. Be2 $11 Bb3 $4 37. Qb2 Qe6 38. d5+ $18) (35... Kf8 $2 36. Qc7 $1) (35... Kh7 $2 36. Be2 Bb3 37. Qxb3 Qxe2 38. Qxf7+ Kh6 39. Qf8+ Kh7 40. Qe7+ Kh6 41. Qh4+ Kg7 42. Qxh3 Qd1+ 43. Qf1 Qxa4 $11) 36. Be2 {[#]} (36. Kh1 Qf3+ 37. Kg1 Bg4 $19 {[%CAl Yg8g7,Yf3d1]}) 36... Bb3 $1 37. Bxg4 $1 (37. Kf1 Qe6) 37... Bxc2 38. Kf1 Bxa4 39. Be2 Bb3 40. Ke1 {White probably survives because black king has no entry.}) 31... Qc7 $2 (31... hxg3 32. hxg3 Qc7 $11) 32. gxh4 Kf8 33. Be2 Ke7 34. Qb2 Qc8 35. Kg2 Qf5 $6 (35... Be6 $11) 36. Qc3 (36. Qc1 $5) 36... Kd8 {[#]} 37. h3 $1 {[%CAl Ye2g4]} Qf6 38. Bg4 Bb7 39. Kg3 Qe7 {[#]} 40. Qc4 (40. d5 $5 {Whie could have tried to complicate matters by sacrificing his central pawn. The compensation is rather obvious since he will have the chance to activate his queen.} f5 $1 (40... Qe5+ $2 41. Qxe5 dxe5 42. d6 $18 {[%CAl Yh4h5]}) 41. Be2 Bxd5 42. Bc4 $1 Bb7 $1 {Black bishop protects valuable light squares so he shouldn't be exchanged.} (42... Bxc4 $2 {The pure queen ending appears to be quite dangerous for black who has problems with his king's safety and a lot of weak pawns.} 43. Qxc4 Qe5+ 44. Kg2 f4 $1 {Opening the center in order to weaken white's king defense is the only way for black to fight for the draw.} 45. exf4 Qxf4 46. Qe6 $1 $16 {White has the safest king.}) 43. Qh8+ (43. Bb3 Qe5+ 44. Qxe5 dxe5 45. h5 gxh5 46. Kh4 Ke7 47. Kg5 h4 $1 48. Kxh4 (48. Kxf5 Bc8+ 49. Kxe5 Bxh3 50. Kxe4 Bg4 (50... Bg2+ $2 51. Kf4 $18) 51. Kf4 Be2 $1 52. f3 (52. Bc2 Kd6 53. e4 Ke7 54. e5 Ke6 55. Ke3 Bf1 56. f4 h3 57. Bb3+ Ke7 58. Bd5 h2 59. f5 Bc4 $1 60. Bg2 Bb3 61. Kd4 Bxa4 62. f6+ Kf7 63. Bd5+ Kg6 $11) 52... Kd6 53. e4 h3 54. e5+ Ke7 55. Kg3 h2 $11) 48... Kf6 $11) 43... Kc7 44. Bb3 d5 45. Kf4 {[%CAl Yh8e5]} Kd6 (45... Kd7 $5) 46. Bc2 Kd7 (46... Kc7 $4 47. Qe5+ $18) 47. Bd1 Bc8 (47... Kd6 48. Qh6 $1 Qf6 49. Kg3 $16 {[%CAl Yh4h5]}) 48. Kg3 (48. Qh6 Qf6 49. Kg3 Qa1 $11) 48... Kc7 49. Qd4 Qd6+ 50. Kg2 Bd7 51. Qg7 Kc8 52. h5 gxh5 53. Bxh5 f4 $1 $14) (40. Qb3 $5 Qe8 (40... d5 $6 41. f4 exf3 42. Bxf3 Qd6+ 43. Kg2 $16) 41. Qa2 Qe7 42. Bd1 $5 Qf6 $1 43. Qe2 {[%CAl Ye2g4]} Bc8 $14) 40... d5 41. Qc3 (41. Qf1 Qa3 42. Bd1 Qd6+ 43. f4 exf3+ 44. Kxf3 Bc8 {White's extra pawn is not enough to claim an avantage.}) 41... f5 {[#]} (41... Qd6+ 42. Kg2 Qe7 $11) 42. Bd1 (42. Be2 $5 Qd6+ 43. f4 exf3+ 44. Kxf3 Qh2 45. Bf1 Qh1+ $1 46. Ke2 Qe4 47. Qa3 $1 Kc7 48. Qf8 Qc2+ 49. Kf3 Qe4+ 50. Kf2 Qxh4+ 51. Ke2 Qe4 52. Kd2 {White keeps a small advantage.}) 42... Qd6+ 43. Kg2 {[#]} (43. f4 exf3+ 44. Kxf3 Qh2 45. Qe1 Qxh3+ 46. Kf4 Qh2+ 47. Qg3 Qxg3+ 48. Kxg3 Ke7 49. Kf4 Kf6 $11) 43... Qe7 $1 {Black shows good prophylactic thinking.} (43... Qf6 $6 44. Qa3 $1 Kc7 45. Kg3 Kb8 (45... g5 $2 46. hxg5 Qxg5+ 47. Kh2 $16) 46. Qb2 $1 (46. f4 $6 exf3 47. Bxf3 f4+ $1 48. exf4 Qxd4 {With the white king exposed black will manage to get the draw.}) 46... Ka7 (46... Kc7 $2 47. f4 $1 exf3 48. Qf2 $1 $18) 47. Qd2 $16 {[%CAl Yf2f4] white has chances to play for the win.}) 44. Kg3 Qd6+ 45. f4 exf3+ 46. Kxf3 Qh2 $1 47. Qe1 Qxh3+ 48. Ke2 Qg2+ 49. Kd3 Bc8 50. Kc3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Poikovsky Karpov 07th"] [Site "Poikovsky"] [Date "2006.03.20"] [Round "3"] [White "Sokolov, Ivan"] [Black "Onischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2689"] [BlackElo "2650"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2006.03.18"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "18"] [SourceTitle "CBM 112"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2006.06.07"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2006.06.07"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 Ne4 9. Nd2 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bxc3 11. Rc1 Bb2 12. Bxc7 Qe7 13. Bd6 Qe6 14. Rb1 Bc3 {The board is dominated by the sharp theoretical struggle. Black has managed to show couragegous way of treating the critical variation with the pawn sacrifice on c3. The first players are succeeding in questioning the concept only in the last 2-3 years.} (14... Qxd6 15. Rxb2 Nc6 16. e3 Bf5 (16... Qa3 17. Qb3 Qxb3 18. Nxb3 b6 19. h4 Rg8 20. Kd2 Bd7 21. g3 {1-0 Krivoshey,S (2503)-Kritz,L (2484)/Griesheim 2003 (61)}) 17. Be2 O-O 18. h4 Rfe8 19. hxg5 hxg5 20. Nf3 f6 21. Bd3 Qd7 22. Qb1 Be4 23. Bxe4 dxe4 24. Rxb7 Qe6 25. Rh6 Qd5 26. Rxf6 Ne7 27. Rb5 {1-0 Vera,R (2534)-Gongora Reyes,M (2408)/Holguin City 2002}) (14... Bxd4 $2 15. Bxb8 Rxb8 16. Qa4+ $18) 15. Ba3 (15. Qc2 Qxd6 16. Qxc3 O-O 17. e3 Bf5 18. Bd3 Rc8 19. Qb3 Bxd3 20. Qxd3 Qa6 21. Ke2 Rc7 22. Rhc1 Qxd3+ 23. Kxd3 Nc6 24. a3 Rac8 {1/2 Rasmussen,K (2462)-Schandorff,L (2497)/Koege 2005 (32)}) (15. Bc5 b6 16. Rb3 bxc5 17. Rxc3 O-O 18. Rxc5 Nd7 19. Ra5 Ba6 20. e3 Bxf1 21. Kxf1 Nf6 22. h4 g4 23. g3 Rfc8 24. Kg2 Rab8 25. Nb3 Qe4+ {1/2 Finegold,B (2522)-Mitkov,N (2515)/Bolingbrook 2005 (57)}) 15... Nc6 16. e3 Bxd4 17. Bb5 {Sokolov´s pieces are exercising maximal pressure. Black has not only exposed his kingside with the advance 7...g5, but now he can not even castle.} (17. Be2 Be5 18. O-O Bd6 19. Bxd6 Qxd6 20. Ne4 Qe5 21. Qxd5 Qxd5 22. Nf6+ Kf8 23. Nxd5 Rb8 24. Nb4 Nxb4 25. Rxb4 Be6 26. a4 (26. Ra4 a6 27. Rb1 Kg7 28. Bf3 Rhd8 {0-1 Leski,M (2414)-Mitkov,N (2552)/Nice 2003 (44)}) 26... Kg7 27. h4 Rhc8 28. hxg5 hxg5 29. Rfb1 b6 30. a5 {1/2 Timoscenko,G (2522)-Mitkov,N (2493)/Lido Estensi 2002 (34)}) 17... Be5 (17... Bf6 18. Nb3 Bc3+ 19. Kf1 a6 20. Bd3 b5 21. Bc5 Bf6 22. a4 Be7 23. axb5 axb5 24. Bxb5 Ba6 25. Bxa6 Rxa6 26. h4 {1/2 Shabalov,A (2622)-Mitkov,N (2493)/Chicago 2002 (42)}) 18. O-O (18. Nf3 Bc3+ 19. Kf1 a6 20. Ba4 b5 21. Bb3 Bb7 22. Bxd5 Qd7 23. e4 b4 24. Bb2 Bxb2 25. Rxb2 O-O 26. Qd2 Rfe8 27. h4 Ne5 28. hxg5 Bxd5 29. exd5 Nxf3 30. gxf3 Re5 {1/2 Atalik,S (2581)-Mitkov,N (2534)/Nova Gorica 2003 (60)}) 18... Bd6 (18... a6 19. Bd3 Bd6 20. Bxd6 Qxd6 21. Rb6 $16) 19. Bxd6 Qxd6 20. Ne4 Qe5 21. Qxd5 (21. Nc5 O-O 22. Rc1 Qd6 23. Qd2 $14) 21... Qxd5 22. Nf6+ Kf8 23. Nxd5 Ne7 24. Nc7 $1 {The fact, that this is the first independent move of the game indicates, how difficult is to put the question mark to the black´s daring concept.} (24. Nxe7 Kxe7 25. Rfc1 Kf6 26. Rc7 Be6 27. Rxb7 Bxa2 28. Ra1 Rhb8 29. Rxb8 Rxb8 30. Rxa2 Rxb5 31. h4 a5 {1/2 Finegold,B (2563)-Mitkov,N (2552)/Chicago 2006 (43)}) 24... Rb8 25. f4 {White has achieved quite a lot, but his active approach in order to open up the f file is helping the defender. The quiet 25.e4!? would have meant quite a challenge for Onischuk´s defensive abilities.} (25. e4 $5 b6 26. f3 Bb7 27. Rfd1 $16) 25... Bf5 26. e4 (26. Rbc1 g4 27. Rfd1 $14) 26... Bxe4 27. Rbe1 Nd5 $5 {[%mdl 256] The defender is exchanging the knight in an original way, very promising looks the simple retreat of the bishop to the c6 square.} (27... Bc6 28. Bxc6 (28. fxg5 Bxb5 29. Nxb5 hxg5 30. Nd4 Rh6 31. Rf2 Rg6 $13) 28... Nxc6 29. fxg5 Kg7 (29... hxg5 $6 30. Ne6+ Kg8 31. Nxg5 Rf8 32. Nxf7 Rxf7 33. Re8+ $18) 30. gxh6+ Rxh6 $11) 28. Rxe4 Nxc7 29. Bc4 Ne8 (29... Re8 30. Rxe8+ Nxe8 31. fxg5 Nd6 32. Bxf7 hxg5 33. Bd5+ $14) (29... g4 30. Rd1 Re8 31. Rxe8+ Kxe8 32. Bxf7+ Kxf7 33. Rd7+ Kg8 34. Rxc7 Rh7 35. Rc8+ Kf7 36. Kf2 $14) 30. Rd4 {Sokolov is tirelessly fighting for the initiative and correctly keeps the long range bishop.} (30. fxg5 Nd6 31. Rd4 Nxc4 32. Rxc4 hxg5 33. Rc7 Rh7 34. Rb1 $11) 30... b5 31. Bb3 Rb7 32. fxg5 hxg5 33. Rd5 Rg8 34. Rxb5 $1 {The witty small combination hints at the necessity to continue with the tough defense.} Re7 (34... Rxb5 35. Rxf7#) 35. Rff5 (35. Rb8 Rg6 36. Ra8 $14) 35... g4 36. Rfe5 Rxe5 37. Rxe5 Rg7 38. Rb5 f6 39. Kf2 (39. g3 Re7 40. Kf2 Rh7 41. Rb8 Rxh2+ 42. Ke3 Rh5 43. Ba4 Re5+ 44. Kf4 Kf7 45. Rb7+ $14) 39... g3+ $5 {Onischuk is a good fighter and with pawn sacrifice he solves the threat of the loss of a far advance soldier.} 40. hxg3 Rc7 41. Rd5 (41. g4 Nd6 42. Ra5 Kg7 43. Ke3 Nf7 44. Kf4 $16) 41... Ke7 42. Rh5 Ng7 43. Rh7 Kd6 44. Rh1 Rc5 45. g4 Re5 46. Rh8 Re8 47. Rh1 Re5 48. Rh6 Ke7 49. Rh7 Rg5 50. Rh8 Ne6 $1 {Black is not willing to exchange the a7 pawn for the one of the isolated brothers on the g file.} (50... Rxg4 51. Ra8 $16) 51. Rh1 (51. Ra8 Ra5) 51... Nd4 52. Rh7+ Kd6 53. Rxa7 Nxb3 54. Ra6+ Ke7 55. axb3 Rb5 56. Ra3 Rb4 57. Kg3 Kf7 58. Kh4 Kg6 59. Ra6 Kg7 {The triumph of the defense is complete, white can not even hope to realize his two spare pawns.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "EU-Cup 13th final"] [Site "Kazan"] [Date "1997.12.29"] [Round "2"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Bareev, Evgeny"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2670"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "1997.12.28"] [EventType "team-k.o."] [EventRounds "4"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "EXT 2020"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2019.10.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.10.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Kazan Sberbank-Tatarstan"] [BlackTeam "Azov Ladya"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 {Die sogenannte Ragozin-Variante des Damengambits, in der Schwarz nach lebendigem Figurenspiel strebt. Das ganze System ist nach meiner Meinung etwas riskant f?r Schwarz. Ribli.} 5. Qa4+ {Kramnik w?hlt eine Nebenvariante. Die prinzipielle Fortsetzung ist 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5.} Nc6 6. a3 Be7 (6... Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 Bd7 (7... O-O 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 Bd7 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Qc2 b5 12. e3 Rb8 13. Bd3 Qe7 14. O-O Rfe8 15. Nd2 Na5 16. Nb3 Nb7 17. Rfe1 {1-0 Bertok,M-Krstev,K/JUG-ch 1961 (36)}) 8. cxd5 (8. Qc2 O-O 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Bg5 Re8 11. e3 h6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. Be2 Bf5 14. Qa2 Rad8 15. O-O Rd6 16. c4 dxc4 17. Qxc4 Be4 $13 {Yepez,O-Ortega,R/Panamerican 1966/1-0 (63)}) 8... exd5 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bxf6 (10. Bh4 g5 11. Bg3 Ne4 $13) 10... Qxf6 11. e3 (11. Qb3 Qd6 12. e3 (12. Qxb7 Rb8 13. Qa6 Bf5 (13... Nxd4 14. Qxd6 Nxf3+ 15. gxf3 cxd6 $10) 14. e3 O-O 15. Be2 Rb2 16. O-O Rfb8 $44) 12... Bf5 $13) 11... O-O 12. Be2 a6 13. Qb3 Qd6 14. O-O b5 15. Ne1 Na5 16. Qb4 Qxb4 17. cxb4 Nc4 {1/2-1/2 Jelling,E-Hector,J/Bellinge 1991}) 7. cxd5 (7. e3 O-O 8. Qc2 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Bd6 10. b4 e5 11. b5 exd4 12. bxc6 dxc3 13. Qxc3 bxc6 14. Bb2 Rb8 15. h3 Qe7 16. O-O c5 17. Rae1 Be6 18. Nd2 Rfd8 19. f4 Qd7 20. Re2 Bf8 21. Qc2 Bxc4 22. Nxc4 Qd3 23. Qxd3 Rxd3 24. Bxf6 gxf6 25. Rc2 {1/2-1/2 Puc,S-Sokolov,V/ Sarajevo 1958 (28)}) 7... exd5 8. Bf4 O-O 9. e3 Bf5 10. Ba6 $5 {Eine orginelle Art, den L?ufer zu entwickeln.} (10. Be2 $10 {lenkt in eine normale Damengambitstellung, aber der schwarze Springer steht auf c6 nicht gl?cklich.}) 10... bxa6 11. Qxc6 Rb8 $13 12. b4 (12. Bxc7 Qc8 13. Nd1 (13. Nxd5 Nxd5 14. Qxd5 Rb5 15. Qc6 Rxb2 16. Rc1 (16. O-O Rc2 $19) 16... Bxa3 17. O-O Rb7 18. Rc3 (18. Rc4 Bd3) 18... Bb4 19. Rcc1 Bd3 20. Rfd1 Be2 $17) 13... Rb6 (13... Rb7 14. Rc1) 14. Qc1 (14. Qc3 Ne4) 14... Rb7 15. Bf4 Qe6 16. O-O Rc8 17. Nc3 Ne4 $44 18. Nd2 Nxc3 19. bxc3 Bd8) 12... Rb6 13. Qa4 Nh5 14. Bg3 (14. Be5 Bg4 $13) (14. Bxc7 Qxc7 15. Nxd5 Qb7 16. Nxb6 axb6 $13 {Schwarz hat zwei Leichtfiguren gegen Turm und zwei Bauern.}) 14... Rh6 {Strategisch Schwarz steht sehr schlecht. Praktisch alle seine Bauern am Damenfl?gel sind schwach. Andererseits besitzt er das L?uferpaar und gro?e Initiative am K?nigsfl?gel.} 15. O-O (15. Ke2 $5 {Ein auf den ersten Blick sonderbarer Zug, aber der Koenig steht hier keineswegs schlechter als in der Partie auf g1.} Bg4 $13) 15... Nxg3 16. hxg3 Bd6 17. Rfe1 (17. Nxd5 Bxg3 (17... Be4 $5 18. Nc3 (18. Nf4 Bxf4 19. exf4 Bxf3 20. gxf3 Qc8 21. g4 Qd8 22. g5 (22. Kg2 Qxd4 (22... Qh4 $2 23. Rh1 $16) 23. f5 c5) 22... Rh4) 18... Bxf3 19. gxf3 Qc8 20. g4 Qd8 21. Rfc1 Qh4 22. Kf1 Qh3+ 23. Ke2 Rf6 24. Qc6 Bxb4) 18. fxg3 Qxd5 19. Ne5 Be4 20. Nxf7 $1 Rxf7 21. Qe8+ $18) 17... Be4 18. Nxe4 (18. Nd2 Bf5 19. Nf3 Be4 $10) 18... dxe4 19. Nd2 f5 $1 20. Qxa6 (20. Nc4 Qg5 21. Qd1 Rh5 22. Rc1 Qh6 23. Kf1 Rh1+ 24. Ke2 $14 {Wenn Wei? den schwarzen Angriff abwehren kann, hat er gute Aussichten im Endspiel.}) 20... Qg5 21. Qe2 {Gegen 22...Qh5 gerichtet.} (21. Qc4+ $5 Kh8 22. Qe2 {In einigen Varianten macht dies einen gro?en Unterschied wegen der schwachen schwarzen Grundreihe.}) 21... Rh5 22. Nc4 $2 (22. Nf1 Qh6 23. f4 exf3 24. Qxf3 Rh1+ (24... f4 25. exf4 Bxf4 26. Qb3+ Kh8 27. gxf4 Rh1+ 28. Kf2 Qxf4+ 29. Ke2) 25. Kf2 Qe6 $44) 22... Qh6 23. f4 exf3 24. Qxf3 {#} Bxg3 $3 $17 {Dieser sch?ne Zug bietet dem Schwarzen Vorteil. Die Aufstellung der schwarzen Schwerfiguren ist so ?berzeugend, da? Wei? die Dame abgeben mu?.} 25. Qxg3 f4 26. Qg4 (26. exf4 Rxf4 27. Re8+ {H?tte Wei? 21.Qc4 Kh8 22.Qe2 gespielt - w?re jetzt Matt, aber in diesem Fall h?tte Schwarz nat?rlich anders spielen m?ssen.} Kf7 28. Qxf4+ Qxf4 29. Rf1 Rh1+ $19) 26... fxe3 27. Qxh5 $8 Qxh5 28. Nxe3 (28. Rxe3 Qf7 29. Rc3 (29. Rc1 Qf2+ 30. Kh2 Rf4 $19) 29... Qf2+ 30. Kh2 Qh4+ 31. Kg1 (31. Rh3 Qxd4 32. Rc1 Qf4+ $19) 31... Qxd4+ $19) 28... Qh4 {Turm und Springer bieten keine ausreichende Kompensation f?r die Dame. Fr?her oder sp?ter setzt sich der schwarze Materialvorteil durch.} 29. Re2 Qxd4 30. Rd1 Qc3 31. Nd5 Qxa3 32. Kh2 (32. Nxc7 Qxb4 $19) 32... h6 33. Re3 Qa6 (33... Qb2) (33... Qa4) 34. Nxc7 Qc4 35. Nd5 Kh7 {Der schwarze K?nig befindet sich in Sicherheit, damit kann der Angriff beginnen.} 36. Red3 Qh4+ 37. Rh3 Qg4 38. Rd2 Rf5 39. Rhd3 Qh4+ 40. Rh3 Qc4 {Ich glaube, da? die letzte Phase der Partie in Zeitnot gespielt wurde. In diesem Fall mu? zun?chst mit bescheidenen Z?gen und Zugwiederholungen (wie Barejev spielte) die Zeitkontrolle erreicht werden, bevor ein konkreter Plan zu Realisierung des Vorteils gefunden werden kann.} 41. Rhd3 Qh4+ 42. Rh3 Qe4 $19 {Nach diesem Zug gibt es f?r Wei? keine Verteidigung mehr.} 43. Re3 (43. Rhd3 Rh5+ 44. Kg3 (44. Kg1 Qe1#) (44. Rh3 Rxd5 $19) 44... Rg5+ 45. Kh3 Rxg2 46. Rxg2 Qxd3+ $19) (43. Nc3 Qf4+ $19) 43... Rh5+ 44. Kg1 Qb1+ 45. Kf2 Rxd5 $1 {und Wei? gab wegen 46.Rxd5 Qa2+ mit Turmgewinn auf. Eine sch?ne Partie, die Barejev in Kramniks Stil spielte. Ribli.} 0-1 [Event "Moscow Tal Memorial 4th"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2009.11.11"] [Round "6"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2772"] [BlackElo "2739"] [Annotator "Stohl,Igor"] [PlyCount "161"] [EventDate "2009.11.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 133"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2009.11.19"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2009.11.19"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 ({After} 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 {Black, apart from transposing into our game with} Nbd7 {has other options:} (6... O-O 7. e3 c5 8. dxc5 Nbd7 {is currently quite topical, after} 9. Rc1 Nxc5 $5 10. Qd4 Bxc3+ 11. Qxc3 Nce4 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. Be2 Bg4 {Black usually gradually equalizes.}) ({The older line} 6... h6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 Ne4 $132 {also seems playable.})) 5... Nbd7 (5... dxc4 {leads to the Vienna line, which featured quite prominently in Moscow (see Ivanchuk-Kramnik).}) ({Black can also try} 5... O-O 6. e3 c5 {, which after} 7. cxd5 exd5 {transposes to a line we mentioned in the previous note.}) 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 ({Kramnik in his previous practice was very successful with} 7. Qc2 {The most solid reaction seems to be postponing the c5 advance with} O-O (7... h6 8. Bh4 c5 9. e3 c4 (9... Qa5 10. Bd3 O-O 11. O-O c4 12. Bf5 Re8 13. Nd2 Be7 14. Rae1 Nb6 15. a3 Be6 16. Bxe6 fxe6 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. f4 $1 Nd7 19. Nf3 Qc7 20. g4 $1 Nf8 21. g5 hxg5 22. fxg5 Be7 23. e4 dxe4 24. Qxe4 Rad8 25. Re2 a6 26. Qg4 Qa5 27. Ne5 $40 {1-0,Kramnik,V (2685)-Serper,G (2590)/Dortmund/1993/}) 10. Be2 Qa5 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3 Ne4 13. Rfc1 Nb6 14. a4 Bf5 15. Qb2 O-O 16. Bd1 Rfe8 17. Ra2 f6 $6 (17... Nd7 $1 18. Qa3 Qc7 $14 {Kramnik}) 18. Nd2 Bd7 19. Nf1 $1 $16 Nxa4 $2 20. Qxb7 Red8 21. Bxa4 Bxa4 22. f3 Rdb8 23. Rxa4 $1 $18 {Kramnik,V (2685)-Lautier,J (2645)/Cannes m/1993/}) (7... c5 8. dxc5 h6 9. Bd2 O-O 10. e3 Bxc5 11. Bd3 a6 12. O-O Bd6 (12... Ba7 13. Ne2 Re8 14. Bc3 Nf8 15. Nf4 Be6 16. Rad1 Rc8 17. Qb3 b5 18. Qa3 Ra8 19. Nd4 Qd7 20. Nde2 Qd8 21. Bb1 N8d7 {Kramnik,V (2715)-Lautier,J (2655)/Monte Carlo blindfold rpd/1995/} 22. Nxe6 fxe6 23. Bg6 $16) 13. Ne2 (13. Rfd1 Nc5 14. Bf5 Be6 15. Be1 Rc8 16. Nd4 Qd7 17. Rac1 Be5 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Bh3 Qf7 20. Nxd5 Nxd5 21. Rxd5 exd5 22. Bxc8 Rxc8 23. b4 b6 24. Qe2 Qb7 25. bxc5 bxc5 $11 {Mikhalchishin,A (2512)-Aronian,L (2675)/Calvia olm/2004/}) 13... Ne5 (13... Nc5 $5) 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. Bc3 Qe7 16. Bxe5 Qxe5 17. Rac1 Be6 18. Qc3 Ng4 19. Qxe5 Nxe5 20. Bb1 Rac8 21. Nd4 $11 {/?,Dreev,A (2650)-Zvjaginsev,V (2610)/RUS-ch Elista/1997/ White has a riskless, but only very slight edge.}) 8. e3 (8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. Qxc3 c6 {Here White lately hasn't been able to prove an advantage:} 10. e3 (10. Nd2 Qe8 11. e3 Ne4 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Bf4 Qe6 14. Be2 Nb6 15. Bg3 Qg6 16. Qc5 Bg4 $11 {Alekseev,E (2708)-Ponomariov,R (2718)/Moscow Tal mem/2008/}) 10... Qe8 11. Qc2 Ne4 12. Bd3 h6 13. Bf4 Qe7 14. h3 Re8 15. Bh2 c5 $1 $132 16. O-O c4 17. Bxe4 Qxe4 18. Qxe4 Rxe4 19. Nd2 Re6 {Zhou Jianchao (2623)-Bu Xiangzhi (2702)/JinZhou/2009/} 20. e4 dxe4 21. Nxc4 Nf6 22. Nd6 Ne8 $11) 8... c5 9. Be2 (9. Bd3 Qa5 10. O-O c4 {leads to the 7.e3 c5 8.?d3 lines.}) 9... Qa5 10. O-O cxd4 ({Simpler is} 10... Bxc3 11. bxc3 Ne4 $11 {?}) 11. Nxd4 Bxc3 12. bxc3 Re8 13. Bf4 Ne5 14. Rab1 a6 15. Bxe5 Rxe5 16. Rfc1 Qc7 17. c4 dxc4 18. Qxc4 Qxc4 19. Rxc4 b5 20. Bf3 (20. Rc7 $142 Ne8 21. Rc3 $14) 20... bxc4 21. Bxa8 Kf8 22. Rb8 Re8 23. Kf1 $6 (23. Bf3 Bg4 $132) 23... Nd7 24. Rb4 a5 $1 25. Rb1 Ne5 26. Bd5 c3 $36 {Ivanchuk,V (2739)-Ponomariov,R (2739)/Moscow Tal mem/2009/}) 7... c5 8. dxc5 $5 {A rare move, which was certainly prepared by Kramnik at home - one can hardly imagine a top GM going for the following king-walk without checking it with a computer.} ({The main line} 8. Bd3 Qa5 9. Qc2 c4 10. Bf5 O-O 11. O-O Re8 12. Nd2 g6 13. Bh3 {leads to complex play, recently Black has been able to hold his own after} Kg7 14. Rae1 h6 15. Bh4 g5 $5 16. Bxd7 Bxd7 17. Bg3 Nh5 18. e4 Nxg3 19. hxg3 dxe4 (19... Bxc3 20. bxc3 dxe4 21. Nxc4 Qa4 22. Qxa4 Bxa4 23. Ne3 Bd7 24. c4 b6 25. g4 Rac8 26. a4 h5 27. gxh5 f5 $132 {Zhao Jun (2560)-Wang Hao (2696)/Beijing/2009/}) 20. Nxc4 Qa6 21. Ne5 Bxc3 22. bxc3 Bb5 23. c4 Rxe5 24. dxe5 Bxc4 25. Qxe4 Bxf1 26. Rxf1 Rd8 $11 {Zhukova,N (2461)-Kosintseva,T (2522)/RUS-chTW Dagomys/2009/}) 8... Qa5 {The direct counterattack is the most logical reaction.} (8... O-O 9. Rc1 {leads to a position we have already mentioned above in the note to move 5.}) 9. Rc1 {Other moves can't cause Black any problems:} (9. Bxf6 Nxf6 10. Qd4 O-O 11. Bd3 Bxc5 $11) (9. Nd2 Ne4 10. Ndxe4 dxe4 11. Qd4 O-O 12. a3 Bxc3+ 13. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 14. bxc3 Nxc5 15. Be7 Nb3 16. Rd1 Re8 17. Bb5 Bg4 18. Bxe8 Bxd1 19. Kxd1 Rxe8 20. Bb4 Rc8 21. Kc2 Nc5 22. Bxc5 Rxc5 23. Rd1 g6 24. g4 h5 $11 {Karpov,A (2725)-Lautier,J (2645)/France/1993/}) 9... Ne4 (9... Qxa2 10. Bxf6 Nxf6 11. Bb5+ Bd7 12. O-O Bxc3 13. Bxd7+ Nxd7 14. Rxc3 O-O (14... Qxb2 15. Rc2 Qf6 16. Qxd5 $36) 15. b4 Rfc8 16. Nd4 g6 17. Qc1 $16 {Lingnau,C (2365)-Gebhardt,U (2245)/Dortmund/1992/}) (9... O-O 10. a3 $1 {leads to a position, which arises mostly via a different move order with Black castling earlier. Here after} Bxc3+ 11. Rxc3 Ne4 12. b4 Nxc3 13. Qa1 $44 {White has been very successful in current practice, the latest example is} Qa4 14. Qxc3 a5 15. b5 b6 16. c6 Nc5 17. Be2 Re8 18. O-O Bg4 19. Bd1 Ne4 20. Qb2 Qc4 21. Be2 Qc5 22. Rc1 $16 {Bacrot,E (2709)-Korchnoi,V (2566)/EU-chT Novi Sad/2009/}) ({In the future Black should possibly have a closer look at} 9... Bxc3+ $5 10. bxc3 O-O 11. Bd3 Ne4 $5 (11... Qxc5 12. O-O b6 13. c4 $1 Bb7 14. cxd5 (14. Qa4 $5) 14... Qxd5 15. e4 (15. Bc4 $14) 15... Qe6 16. Be3 Nc5 (16... Rfc8 $11) 17. Bxc5 bxc5 18. Re1 Rad8 19. e5 Qg4 20. h3 Bxf3 21. hxg4 Bxd1 22. Rexd1 Nxg4 23. Rxc5 Rfe8 24. Be2 {Van der Sterren,P (2535)-Winants,L (2515)/NED-chT/1992/} Rxd1+ 25. Bxd1 Nxe5 26. Ba4 Nd3 27. Rc7 Re1+ 28. Kh2 g6 29. f3 Ne5 $132) 12. O-O Ndxc5 13. Bb1 Na4 (13... Bg4 $132) (13... Re8 $5) 14. c4 Bg4 $6 (14... Be6 $142 $1 $11) 15. Qxd5 Qxd5 16. cxd5 Bxf3 17. Be7 $1 Nec3 18. Bxf8 Bxd5 {1/2,Novikov,I (2545)-Blatny,P (2495)/Budapest/1991/} 19. Bb4 Ne2+ 20. Kh1 Nxc1 21. Rxc1 $14) 10. Qxd5 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bxc3+ 12. Kd1 $1 {?} (12. Nd2 $2 O-O $36) 12... O-O (12... Nf6 $2 13. Qc4 Bb4 14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. Qb5+ Bd7 16. Qxa5 Bxa5 17. Nd4 $16 {Danner,G (2408)-Fletcher,J/ECC Saint Vincent/2005/}) 13. Bc4 Nf6 {Ftacnik: 'N'} ({The tactical complications after} 13... Nxc5 {'?!' Ftacnik.} 14. Be7 {seem to favour White:} Be6 (14... Bb4 15. Bxf8 Be6 16. Qd4 $5 (16. Qe5 Rxf8 17. Bxe6 fxe6 18. Rc2 (18. Rxc5 $2 Qxa2 $1 $40) 18... Rf5 19. Qb8+ Rf8 20. Qe5 $11) 16... Rxf8 17. Ke2 $14 Rd8 18. Qh4 b5 19. Bxe6 Nxe6 20. Rc2 Qa3 21. Rd1 Rxd1 22. Kxd1 $16 {Novikov,I (2611)-Schulte,O (2392)/Edmonton/2000/}) 15. Qxc5 Qa4+ 16. Bb3 Bxb3+ 17. axb3 Qxb3+ 18. Ke2 Qb2+ $1 (18... Rac8 19. Qf5 Rfe8 20. Rhd1 g6 21. Qd7 b5 22. Nd2 Qb2 23. Kf1 {1-0,Novikov,I (2545)-Tischbierek,R (2500)/Copenhagen/1991/ Ftacnik: '1-0/Novikov,I-Tischbierek,R/Copenhagen op/1991/'}) (18... Rfc8 19. Qf5 $16) (18... Qa2+ 19. Kf1 $16) 19. Kd3 Rfc8 20. Qd5 $1 {??c2, ?c5} (20. Rc2 $2 Qxc2+ 21. Kxc2 Bb4 $3 22. Qxc8+ Rxc8+ 23. Kb3 Bxe7 $19 {Mikhalchishin,A (2465)-Plachetka,J (2465)/Kecskemet/1983/}) 20... Ba5 $5 {Plachetka} (20... Bb4 21. Rxc8+ Rxc8 22. Bxb4 Qc2+ 23. Kd4 Qb2+ 24. Ke4 Qxb4+ 25. Nd4 $18) 21. Qe5 $5 (21. Rxc8+ Rxc8 22. Ke4 $1 (22. Qxa5 $2 Qc2+ 23. Kd4 Rc4+ $19) (22. Nd4 Qd2+ $1 23. Ke4 Qxf2 $17) 22... Qc2+ 23. Kf4 Bc7+ 24. Kg4 Qxf2 25. g3 $14) (21. Rc5 Rxc5 $1 (21... Rd8 $6 22. Bxd8 Rxd8 23. Rxa5 $1 Rxd5+ 24. Rxd5 $18) 22. Qxc5 Qb3+ 23. Ke4 (23. Ke2 Qb2+ 24. Kd3 Qb3+ $11) 23... Bb6 24. Qd5 Qc2+ 25. Kf4 Qxf2 26. Qxb7 (26. Qd2 Qxe3+ 27. Qxe3 Bxe3+ 28. Kxe3 Re8 $11) 26... Re8 $13) 21... Qb3+ 22. Ke4 {[%CAl Ye4f4,Yf4g3] ??f4-g3} Bc3 23. Nd4 {?} Bxd4 24. exd4 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Qb2 26. Rc7 Qxf2 (26... Qe2+ 27. Kd5 Qa2+ 28. Kd6 $16) 27. Kd3 $36) 14. Bxf6 ({Time is important; the text move is simpler than} 14. Qd3 Bb2 (14... Rd8 15. Nd4 Bg4+ 16. Kc2 $2 (16. f3 $142 Bxd4 17. exd4 Be6 18. Ke2 $14) 16... Bb4 17. Kb1 Bh5 18. Ka1 Bg6 19. Qb3 Bxc5 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Rhd1 Ba3 $36 {Hefty Hilardo,J (2335)-Baron Rodriguez,J (2407)/ESP-chT/2006/}) 15. Rc2 (15. Bxf6 $5 Bxf6 16. Ke2 $14) 15... Bg4 16. Ke2 (16. Qb3 Ne4 $5 17. Qxb2 Nxg5 $44) 16... Be5 17. h3 Bh5 18. Qb3 $14) 14... Bxf6 15. Ke2 b5 $5 $146 {[%mdl 8] An ambitious novelty, but it doesn't completely solve Black's problems. However, even after} (15... Bg4 {White can fight for an advantage:} 16. Rhd1 (16. c6 Qb6 $5 (16... Qxd5 17. Bxd5 bxc6 18. Rxc6 Rab8 19. Rhc1 $16 {leads to a better version of the ? in Novikov-Serper.}) 17. Bb3 (17. Bd3 $5) 17... Be6 18. Qc5 Qa6+ 19. Bc4 $14) (16. Qxb7 $5 Rab8 17. Qe4 Bh5 18. Bb3 Bb2 19. c6 Bxc1 20. Rxc1 $44) 16... Rac8 (16... Rad8 17. Qxb7 Rxd1 18. Rxd1 Qxc5 19. Qb3 $16) 17. c6 (17. Qxb7 Rxc5 $132) 17... Qxd5 18. Bxd5 bxc6 19. Rxc6 Rxc6 20. Bxc6 Rb8 21. a4 Rb2+ 22. Kf1 Ra2 23. Rb1 Ra1 $1 24. Rxa1 Bxa1 25. Nd4 Kf8 26. f3 Bc8 27. Ke2 Ke7 28. Kd3 Kd6 29. Bb5 f6 $14 {/=,Novikov,I (2550)-Serper,G (2490)/URS-ch Moscow/1991/}) (15... Be6 16. Qe4 Bxc4+ 17. Qxc4 Rac8 18. Rhd1 $14) 16. c6 ({White also wants more than the simple} 16. cxb6 axb6 $14 {Now the game becomes very complex with the tension growing fast.}) 16... Ba6 (16... Rb8 17. Qc5 $36) 17. Qf5 $5 (17. Rhd1 Bc3 $1 18. Bd3 Rad8 19. Qc5 (19. Qe4 Rxd3 20. Rxd3 b4 $36) 19... Rxd3 20. Rxd3 Qxa2+ 21. Rd2 Bxd2 22. Nxd2 b4+ 23. Ke1 Qa3 24. Qc2 b3 $5 $132) 17... Qa3 $2 (17... Bb2 $142 $1 18. Rc2 g6 {?} 19. Qc5 Ba3 20. Qg5 Be7 $1 21. Qe5 (21. Qxe7 bxc4 $15) 21... Bd6 22. Qg5 Be7 $11) (17... Rad8 18. c7 $1 Rd6 (18... Rd7 19. a4 $5 Rxc7 20. Bd3 Rd8 21. Rxc7 Qxc7 22. axb5 $16) (18... Qxc7 $4 19. Bd3 $18) 19. Rhd1 Rxd1 20. Rxd1 Qxc7 21. Bd3 $14) 18. Bd3 Rfd8 19. c7 $6 {[%mdl 8256] Kramnik repays the tactical favour from move 17 - a situation, which will arise even later in the game.} (19. Qxh7+ $142 Kf8 20. c7 {?} Qxa2+ 21. Kf1 $1 (21. Rc2 $2 Qxc2+ 22. Bxc2 b4+) 21... Re8 (21... Rdc8 22. Be4 b4+ 23. Kg1 Bb7 24. Bxb7 Rxc7 25. Re1 $16) 22. Qh8+ (22. g3 $5 g6 23. Kg2 Bb7 24. Rhd1 $16) 22... Ke7 23. Qh5 $40) 19... Qxa2+ 20. Nd2 (20. Rc2 $2 Qxc2+ 21. Bxc2 b4+ $17) (20. Ke1 Qa5+ $5 (20... Rxd3 21. Qxd3 b4 22. Qd2 Qa5 23. Nd4 $14) 21. Nd2 Rxd3 22. Qxd3 Rc8 23. f4 b4 24. Qd6 Bc3 25. Kf2 $13 {is similar to the game continuation. However, one can understand that White instinctively wants to keep his ?? connected.}) 20... Rxd3 $1 {Black doesn't give his opponent a second chance to take on h7.} 21. Qxd3 (21. Kxd3 b4+ 22. Ke4 $8 Qxd2 23. c8=Q+ Rxc8 24. Rxc8+ Bd8 $1 $36) 21... b4 22. Kf3 Bb7+ (22... Qa5 $5 23. Qe4 (23. Qd7 Qh5+ {and playing for a win with} 24. g4 Qh3+ {is very risky}) 23... Rc8 $44) 23. Kg3 (23. Ne4 Qe6 24. Qc4 (24. Kg3 Bxe4 25. Qxe4 Qxe4 26. c8=Q+ Bd8 $44) 24... Bc3 25. Qxe6 fxe6 26. Rhd1 Rf8+ 27. Ke2 $5 Bxe4 28. Rd8 Bb7 29. Kd3 a5 (29... Kf7 30. Kc4 Ke7 31. Rxf8 Kxf8 32. Rd1 $16) 30. Kc4 a4 31. Rcd1 Ba6+ 32. Kc5 Be5 33. Ra8 $1 Bxc7 34. Rxa6 $14) 23... h5 (23... Qa5 24. f4 Rc8 25. Rhd1 $16 {?} Rxc7 $2 26. Nb3) 24. h3 {White doesn't need this move.} (24. f4 $142) (24. f3 $5) 24... Qa5 25. f4 (25. Ne4 h4+ 26. Kh2 Be5+ 27. f4 Bxc7 $132) 25... Rc8 26. Nc4 $5 (26. Qd7 Bc3 27. Ne4 Qxc7 28. Qxc7 Rxc7 29. Nxc3 bxc3 30. Rhd1 f5 $44 (30... Be4 $5 $15 {and already White has to fight for a draw.})) (26. Rhd1 Rxc7 27. Ne4 Be7 $44) 26... Qa6 (26... Qxc7 $142 27. Nd6 Qd8 28. Kh2 $14) 27. Ne5 $6 (27. Qd7 $1 b3 (27... Bc6 28. Qd6 $16) 28. Rhd1 {?} b2 29. Rc2 Bc6 30. Qf5 Rxc7 31. Rxb2 $16) 27... Qxd3 28. Nxd3 Bc3 $44 29. Rhd1 a5 (29... Rxc7 $2 30. Nxb4 $18) 30. Nc5 (30. Nxb4 $5 {was more circumspect:} axb4 31. Rd8+ Kh7 32. Rxc8 Bxc8 33. Rd1 (33. Kf3 Kg6 34. Ke4 Be6 $11) 33... b3 34. Rd8 b2 35. Rxc8 Be1+ (35... b1=Q 36. Rh8+ Kxh8 37. c8=Q+ $14) 36. Kh2 b1=Q 37. Rb8 Bg3+ (37... Qd3 38. c8=Q Bg3+ 39. Kxg3 Qxe3+ $11) 38. Kxg3 Qe1+ 39. Kh2 h4 40. c8=Q Qg3+ $11) 30... Rxc7 31. Na4 Be4 32. Rd6 $2 $138 (32. Kf2 h4 $44) 32... Kh7 $2 $138 (32... Bc2 $1 33. Nxc3 (33. Rxc2 Be1+ $19) 33... Rxc3 $36 {[%csl Ga5,Gb4] /? and Black's unleashed ? are very dangerous.}) 33. Ra6 h4+ 34. Kh2 $1 (34. Kf2 Rd7 35. Nxc3 bxc3 36. Rxc3 Rd2+ 37. Ke1 Rxg2 38. Rxa5 f5 $11 {??g3}) 34... Rd7 (34... f5 $5 35. Rxa5 Rc6 $44) 35. Nc5 (35. Rxa5 Rd2 36. Rh5+ Kg8 37. Kg1 Rxg2+ 38. Kf1 $14) 35... Re7 36. Rxa5 (36. Nxe4 Rxe4 37. Rxa5 Rxe3 {?} 38. Rh5+ Kg6 39. Rxh4 b3 40. Rg4+ Kf5 41. Rg5+ Kxf4 42. Rb5 b2 43. Rxc3 Rxc3 $11) 36... Bd2 (36... Bg6 37. Na4 $16 {[%CAl Rf4f5] ?f5}) 37. Rc4 f5 $6 (37... b3 $5 38. Nxb3 (38. Rb5 Bc6 39. Rb6 Rxe3 40. Rxc6 b2 41. Rb6 Be1 42. g3 hxg3+ 43. Kh1 Re2 44. Ne4 Rh2+ 45. Kg1 Bf2+ 46. Nxf2 gxf2+ 47. Kf1 b1=Q+ $11) 38... Bxa5 39. Nxa5 Re6 40. Rd4 f5 41. Nc4 Rg6 42. Rd2 Rg3 $44 {[%csl Re3,Rg2] ×e3,g2 and I don't see any way for White to convert his extra ?.}) (37... Bg6 $2 38. f5 Bxf5 39. Nb3 {?} Be1 40. Rxf5 Rxe3 41. Rf3 $18) (37... Bf5 38. Nb3 Be1 39. Rxf5 Rxe3 $14) 38. Nxe4 fxe4 39. Rh5+ Kg6 40. Rg5+ (40. Rxh4 b3 (40... Rb7 41. Rc8 $1 (41. Rh8 b3 42. Rc6+ Kf7 43. Rhc8 b2 44. R8c7+ Rxc7 45. Rxc7+ Ke6 46. Rb7 Bc3 $15) 41... Bxe3 (41... b3 $2 42. Rf8 $1 Rb5 43. f5+ Rxf5 44. Rb8 Bxe3 45. Rxb3 Rf4 46. Kg3 $18) 42. Rf8 Rf7 43. Rxf7 Kxf7 44. f5 b3 45. Rxe4 $18) 41. Rc6+ Kf7 42. Rb6 Bxe3 43. Rxb3 Bd2 $132) 40... Kf6 (40... Kh7 41. g4 $1 $16) 41. Rc6+ (41. g4 $1 hxg3+ 42. Kxg3 $16) 41... Kf7 42. Rf5+ Kg8 43. g4 (43. Rc8+ $5 Kh7 44. g4 $16) 43... Re8 $5 (43... hxg3+ 44. Kxg3 Bxe3 45. Rc8+ Kh7 46. Rh5+ Kg6 47. Kg4 $1 {?} b3 48. Rf8 $18) 44. Re5 (44. Rb6 Bxe3 45. Rxb4 Bd2 $132) 44... Rb8 (44... Rxe5 45. fxe5 Bxe3 46. Kg2 b3 47. Rc8+ Kf7 48. Rb8 Ke6 49. Rxb3 Bf4 50. Rb6+ Kxe5 51. Rg6 $16) 45. g5 $6 (45. Rce6 $142 Kf8 $8 (45... Bxe3 46. Re8+ Rxe8 47. Rxe8+ Kf7 48. Rxe4 Bd2 49. Rd4 Bc3 50. Rd7+ Ke6 51. Rd3 $18) 46. Rd5 Bc3 (46... Bxe3 47. Rxe4 b3 48. Rh5 $1 Kf7 49. Rxe3 b2 50. Re1 b1=Q 51. Rxb1 Rxb1 52. Rxh4 $18) 47. Rdd6 $16) 45... Kh7 $1 (45... b3 $2 46. g6 b2 47. Rb6 $18) 46. Re7 Bxe3 47. Rh6+ Kg8 48. Rg6 Bd4 (48... Bxf4+ 49. Kg2 Kh8 50. Rgxg7 Rc8 51. Rh7+ Kg8 52. Reg7+ Kf8 53. Rd7 Rc2+ 54. Kf1 Rc1+ 55. Ke2 Rc2+ 56. Ke1 Rc1+ 57. Rd1 Rxd1+ 58. Kxd1 Bxg5 $14 {gives White only practical winning chances, as he won't be able to reach the ? from the game.}) 49. Rge6 Kh7 $2 (49... Bc5 $142 $1 50. Re8+ Rxe8 51. Rxe8+ Kf7 52. Rxe4 b3 53. Re1 b2 54. f5 (54. Rb1 Be3) 54... g6 $11 {and White won't pick up the ?b2 without losing two ??.}) (49... b3 50. g6 Rf8 (50... Kf8 51. Rf7+ Kg8 52. Rb7) 51. Rb7 b2 52. Rxe4 $18) 50. f5 Bc5 (50... b3 51. f6 Rg8 $8 (51... b2 52. Rxg7+ Kh8 53. Ree7 $18) 52. Rb7 $18) (50... Be3 51. Rg6 (51. f6 Bxg5 52. Rxg7+ Kh6 53. Rd7 Rf8 54. f7+ Kg7 55. Rxe4 Rxf7 56. Rxf7+ Kxf7 57. Rxb4 $18 {according to Tablebases.}) 51... Bd4 52. Rxe4 $18) 51. Re8 $2 (51. Rd7 $142 $1 Kg8 52. Rxe4 b3 53. f6 gxf6 54. gxf6 $18) 51... Rxe8 52. Rxe8 b3 (52... e3 53. Kg2 b3 54. Kf3 $18 {?} b2 55. g6+ Kh6 56. Kg4) 53. Kg2 (53. Rxe4 $2 g6 $1 54. f6 b2 55. Re1 Be3 56. Rb1 Bxg5 $11) 53... Be3 $2 {Seemingly only this is the final and decisive mistake.} (53... b2 54. Rb8 Bd4 55. Kf1 Be5 56. Rb7 Kg8 57. Ke2) (53... Bd6 $142 $1 54. Rxe4 b2 55. Re1 Bf4 (55... g6 56. Rb1 gxf5 57. Rxb2 Bf4 58. Rf2 Bxg5 59. Rxf5 $18) 56. Rb1 Bc1 57. Kf3 g6 58. Kg4 gxf5+ 59. Kxf5 Kg7 60. g6 Kf8 61. Kf6 Kg8 62. g7 Bd2 63. Kf5 Bc3 $11 {still holds.} (63... Bc1 $2 64. Kg6 $22)) 54. Rxe4 Bxg5 55. Rb4 g6 56. Rb7+ Kh6 57. fxg6 Kxg6 58. Kf3 Bd2 59. Kg4 Be1 60. Rxb3 $18 {[%mdl 4096] From now on TB show the ? is winning for White. Although Kramnik doesn't always take the most straightforward path, he knows the basic principles of the winning method and he will never endanger his victory.} Bg3 (60... Kf6 61. Rf3+ Kg6 62. Re3 $18) 61. Rf3 (61. Re3 $18 {is equivalent.}) (61. Rb6+ $2 Kf7 62. Kf5 Ke7 $11 {allows Black's ? to escape the dangerous corner.}) 61... Be1 (61... Kh6 62. Rf6+ Kg7 63. Kg5 Bc7 64. Re6 Kf7 65. Re4 Bg3 66. Re3 Kg7 67. Rf3 Be1 68. Rf1 Bg3 69. Kh5 Kh7 70. Rf7+ Kg8 71. Kg6 Bh2 72. Rd7 Kf8 73. Rd4 Bg3 74. Re4 $22 $18 {We will see this method (and final position) in the game as well.}) 62. Re3 Bf2 ({Similar is} 62... Bg3 63. Re6+ Kf7 64. Kf5 $18) 63. Re6+ Kf7 64. Kf5 (64. Re2 $1 Bg3 65. Kg5 {is slightly faster.}) 64... Bg3 65. Re4 Bf2 66. Kg5 Bg3 67. Re2 {See the 64.?e2! line.} Kg7 68. Re7+ Kf8 69. Kf6 Bf2 70. Re6 (70. Ke6 $1 Be1 (70... Bd4 71. Rh7 $18) 71. Rc7 Bg3 72. Ra7 Bh2 (72... Be1 73. Kf6 Bc3+ 74. Kg6 Be1 75. Ra4 $1 Bg3 76. Re4 $18) 73. Rf7+ $1 Kg8 (73... Ke8 74. Rh7 $18) 74. Kf6 Bg3 75. Kg6 {-61...?h6}) 70... Bg3 71. Kg6 Bh2 72. Re4 Bg3 {We have already seen that White must achieve this position with Black to move, thus forcing zugzwang.} 73. Kf6 Bf2 74. Kg6 (74. Re7 $1 Bd4+ 75. Ke6 Bc3 76. Rh7 Be1 77. Rc7 Bg3 78. Ra7 {-70.?e6!}) 74... Bg3 75. Re2 Bd6 76. Kg5 Bg3 (76... Be7+ 77. Kf5 Bc5 78. Re4 Bf2 79. Kf6 Bc5 (79... Bg3 80. Kg6) 80. Ra4 Be7+ (80... Ke8 81. Ke6) 81. Ke6 Bg5 82. Ra7 Kg8 83. Kf5 Be3 84. Ra3 Bc5 85. Ra5 Bd6 86. Ra4 Bg3 (86... Be7 87. Kg6) 87. Kg6 Kf8 88. Re4 $18) 77. Kf6 Bf4 78. Re4 Bd6 (78... Bc7 79. Rc4 Bd8+ 80. Kf5 Kf7 81. Rd4 Be7 82. Rd7 $18) 79. Rd4 Bc7 ({More resilient, but equally hopeless is} 79... Be7+ $142 80. Kf5 Kf7 ({The ? won't escape:} 80... Ke8 81. Ke6 Kf8 82. Rf4+ Ke8 83. Ra4 $18) 81. Rd7 Kf8 82. Ke6 Bg5 83. Rb7 Bd2 (83... Kg8 84. Kf5 Bd2 85. Kg6 Kf8 86. Rb5 Bc1 (86... Be1 87. Rf5+) 87. Rh5 $18) 84. Rf7+ $1 Kg8 (84... Ke8 85. Rh7) 85. Kf6 Be1 86. Kg6 Bg3 87. Re7 Kf8 88. Re4 $18) 80. Kg6 Bg3 81. Re4 $22 1-0 [Event "WchT 12th"] [Site "Astana"] [Date "2019.03.14"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Sethuraman, SP."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2771"] [BlackElo "2637"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "169"] [EventDate "2019.03.05"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "KAZ"] [SourceTitle "CBM 189"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2019.04.29"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.04.29"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] {[%evp 0,169,16,19,19,5,5,5,15,13,23,-13,-17,4,4,-53,-7,-10,3,-28,44,-8,7,6,38,41,48,46,44,40,45,63,57,39,17,22,38,35,30,34,50,65,60,45,49,48,41,41,35,65,69,69,89,92,99,101,101,101,122,129,128,90,128,95,128,106,128,92,125,81,115,79,87,93,98,96,93,93,86,70,103,84,86,81,77,77,81,90,86,76,95,93,102,97,97,86,81,60,86,60,92,89,93,90,74,53,47,56,56,40,36,6,32,32,52,33,84,79,96,108,124,124,144,126,123,134,138,138,154,150,139,145,142,142,151,151,151,202,184,203,209,209,244,244,248,242,301,308,308,157,239,258,260,248,317,303,312,312,312,323,318,319,321,321,335,341,360,360,370,351,411,413]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 O-O 8. e3 Bf5 9. Qb3 Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3 (10. bxc3 Nbd7 $1 {gives Black good counterplay, as was seen in recent games, e.g.} 11. Be2 (11. Qxb7 Rb8 12. Qxa7 Qe7 13. Be2 Rb2 $44 {1/2 (50) Kopasov,E (2205)-Woelfelschneider,P (2201) Lechenicher SchachServer 2012}) 11... c5 12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. Qb4 Rc8 14. O-O Re8 15. Rad1 Nce4 16. Nd4 Bh7 17. c4 dxc4 18. Bxc4 Qe7 $11 {1/2 (34) Matlakov,M (2709)-Karthikeyan,M (2585) Moscow 2018}) 10... g5 {A risky move. Black weakens his kingside having a specific idea in mind.} (10... Nbd7 {is enough for equality:} 11. Be2 (11. Nd2 Rc8 12. Be2 (12. b4 Re8 13. Be2 Ne4 14. Nxe4 Qxh4 15. Ng3 Bg4 16. f3 Bf5 17. O-O Qg5 18. e4 dxe4 19. Nxf5 Qxf5 20. fxe4 Qxe4 21. Bf3 Qe3+ 22. Qxe3 Rxe3 23. Bxb7 Rb8 $11 {1/2 (45) Hammer,J (2629)-Harikrishna,P (2738) Palma de Mallorca 2017}) 12... c5 13. O-O Qb6 14. Rfc1 cxd4 (14... Rfe8 15. Kf1 Ne4 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. a4 cxd4 18. Qxd4 Qxd4 19. exd4 Nb6 $11 {1/2 (40) Karjakin,S (2783)-Harikrishna,P (2755) Shamkir 2017}) 15. Qxd4 Qxd4 16. exd4 Rfe8 17. Kf1 Nf8 18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. g4 Bd7 20. Nb3 b6 21. Bf3 Ne6 22. Bxd5 Nf4 23. Bf3 Bb5+ 24. Kg1 Rxc1+ 25. Rxc1 Ne2+ 26. Bxe2 Rxe2 $11 {1/2 (40) Wojtaszek,R (2733)-Matlakov,M (2684) Poikovsky 2016}) (11. Qa3 c6 12. Be2 Qb6 (12... Re8 13. Nd2 Nf8 14. O-O Ng6 15. Bg3 Ne4 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 17. Rfc1 Ne7 18. b4 a6 19. Qa5 $14 {1/2 (37) Lupulescu,C (2610)-Xu,Y (2520) Moscow 2019}) 13. Nd2 a5 14. O-O Rfe8 15. Rfe1 Ne4 16. Nf1 g5 17. Ng3 Be6 18. Nxe4 dxe4 19. Bg3 Qb4 $11 {1/2 (34) Aronian,L (2780)-Deac,B (2594) Douglas 2018}) 11... c6 12. Nd2 Ne4 13. Bxd8 (13. Nxe4 Qxh4 14. Nd6 Bg4 15. g3 Qf6 16. Bxg4 Qxd6 $11 {1/2 (30) Mamedyarov,S (2820)-Carlsen,M (2839) Porto Carras 2018}) 13... Nxc3 14. bxc3 Rfxd8 15. c4 (15. f3 c5 16. Kf2 Rac8 17. Rhc1 Rc7 18. e4 dxe4 19. fxe4 Bg6 20. Bf3 Ne5 $5 21. Ke3 Nc6 $36 {0-1 (70) Le,Q (2739)-Vidit,S (2702) Tbilisi 2017 CBM 181 [Vidit,S]}) 15... dxc4 (15... c5 $5) 16. Nxc4 Be6 17. Na5 Rab8 18. Bf3 Nb6 19. Ke2 Nc4 20. Nb3 Bd5 21. g4 Kf8 22. Rhc1 Rbc8 $11 {1-0 (46) Edouard,R (2643)-Gavrilescu,D (2479) Caleta ENG 2019}) 11. Bg3 Ne4 12. Qxc7 Qxc7 $6 {It looks like Black mixed up something.} (12... Nc6 $1 {is a key idea by Levon Aronian:} 13. Qxd8 (13. Bb5 Rc8 14. Qxd8 Rfxd8 15. O-O h5 {with similar consequences}) 13... Rfxd8 14. Be2 Rac8 15. O-O h5 $1 16. h4 g4 17. Ne5 Nb4 {[%CAl Rb4c2,Rc2e3]} 18. Bf4 f6 19. Nd3 Nc3 $1 20. bxc3 {1/2 (20) Ding,L (2774)-Aronian,L (2801) Palma de Mallorca 2017 CBM 182 [Yermolinsky,A]} (20. bxc3 Nxd3 21. Bxd3 Bxd3 22. Rfc1 Rc4 $11)) 13. Bxc7 Nc6 14. Bb5 $1 Rfc8 (14... Nb4 15. O-O Rac8 16. Rfc1) 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. Ba5 {White is just a pawn up, and his bishop has got out of danger; he is yet to complete his development, though.} Rab8 17. b4 (17. b3 c5 {[%CAl Rc5c4]} 18. dxc5 Rxc5 19. b4 ({but not} 19. Bd2 $2 Rc2 {[%CAl Rg5g4]}) 19... Rc4 {seemed less convincing to White.}) 17... Nd6 18. Nd2 $1 Nb7 (18... Bd3 19. Nb3 Nc4 20. Nc5) 19. Nb3 Bc2 20. Nc5 Nxc5 (20... Nxa5 21. bxa5 {is even worse for Black as White keeps his dominating c5 knight.}) 21. dxc5 $1 {White obtains a queenside pawn majority. Despite opposite-coloured bishops, he keeps some hopes to convert his material advantage.} Re8 (21... Ba4 $142 $1 {blockading the queenside.}) 22. a4 $1 Bf5 23. O-O-O $5 Re4 24. Rd4 Rxd4 25. exd4 {[%mdl 4096]} Bd7 26. Kd2 Re8 27. Bc7 f6 28. f3 a6 29. g4 Kg7 30. Rc1 Re6 31. h3 Kf7 32. Bg3 Be8 33. Bf2 Bd7 34. Be3 Kg7 35. f4 ({It was probably better to start with} 35. h4 {and then, after h4xg5 h6xg5, prepare f3-f4. Still, White's winning chances were uncertain.}) 35... gxf4 36. Bxf4 Kg6 37. Be3 Kg7 38. Ke2 Kg6 39. Kf2 Be8 40. Ke2 Bd7 41. Kf3 Be8 42. Kf2 Bd7 43. Ke2 Be8 44. Kd3 Bd7 45. Bd2 Kg7 (45... h5 $5 {deserved attention, reducing the number of pawns, but Black understandably doesn't want to give White a passed h-pawn.}) 46. Bf4 Kg6 47. Bg3 Kg5 48. Be1 Be8 49. Bd2+ Kg6 50. Rf1 Kg7 51. h4 Bd7 52. g5 {White can't find another way to break through but Black now obtains a strong passed pawn.} fxg5 53. hxg5 h5 54. Bf4 Kg6 55. Be5 Be8 (55... h4 $1 {with a probable draw.}) 56. Ke3 Kxg5 57. Rg1+ Kh6 $6 (57... Kf5 $142 $1 {preventing the activation of White's king. After} 58. Rg8 h4 {Black should not lose.}) 58. Rg8 Re7 59. Kf4 $1 Rf7+ 60. Kg3 Re7 (60... Bd7 $142 $1 61. Ra8 (61. Kh4 $2 Rf3) 61... h4+ 62. Kg2 Bf5 {with counterplay. After the text move Black's pieces remain passive, he loses his h5 pawn and gradually the game.}) 61. Kh4 Re6 62. Rh8+ Kg6 63. Rxh5 Re7 64. Rg5+ Kf7 65. Kg4 Ke6 66. Rg8 Kf7 (66... Kd7 67. Kf5 Rf7+ 68. Bf6) 67. Rh8 Kg6 68. Rf8 Bd7+ 69. Kg3 Be8 70. b5 $1 axb5 71. axb5 cxb5 72. c6 $1 b4 73. c7 Bd7 74. c8=Q Bxc8 75. Rxc8 Rb7 76. Kf4 b3 77. Rg8+ Kh7 78. Rg1 b2 79. Rb1 Kg6 (79... Rb3 80. Bd6 {[%CAl Yf4e5]}) 80. Ke3 Kf5 81. Kd3 Rb5 82. Kc3 Rb7 83. Rxb2 Rh7 84. Re2 Re7 85. Kb4 1-0 [Event "FIDE-Wch k.o."] [Site "Groningen"] [Date "1997.12.17"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Dreev, Alexey"] [Black "Zvjaginsev, Vadim"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2640"] [BlackElo "2635"] [Annotator "Finkel,Alexander"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "1997.12.09"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "NED"] [SourceTitle "CBM 063"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1998.03.26"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1998.03.26"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 {Psakhis} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 Nc6 5. Nf3 d5 6. Bg5 (6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. e3 O-O 10. a3 Bxc3+ 11. Qxc3 Bg4 12. Nd2 Rae8 13. Nb3 Re7 $1 $11 {[%csl Rc7][%CAl Gc6d8,Gd8e6,Gc7c6] Chernin,A-Zvjaginsev,V/Vidmar mem, Portoroz SLO 1997 (24)}) 6... h6 (6... dxc4 $5 {Psakhis} 7. e3 Qd5 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. Nd2 Bxc3 10. bxc3 Na5 11. Ne4 Ke7 12. f3 f5 13. Nd2 Bd7 $13 {½-½ Dao,T-Kiss,A/HUN t-ch 1994 (36)}) 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. e3 O-O (8... dxc4 9. Bxc4 O-O 10. O-O Bd6 11. Rad1 Re8 (11... e5 {Psakhis} 12. Nd5 Qd8 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. f4 Bd6 16. f5 Qg5 17. Rf3 $36 {1:34-1:45 ½-½ Shabalov,A-Sokolin,L/Marshall 1993 (34)}) 12. Bb5 $5 Bd7 13. e4 Qg6 14. Qe2 $14 {Petursson-Reeh/Gausdal/SW,20,20 1990 (37)}) 9. a3 Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3 Re8 (10... b6 $6 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Be2 Bb7 13. O-O Rfc8 14. b4 Nd8 15. Rfc1 c6 16. a4 $14 {??Lalic,B-Inkiov,V/Haifa 1989}) (10... a5) 11. Rc1 $5 (11. Be2 dxc4 12. Bxc4 e5 13. Nxe5 $6 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Qxe5 15. Qxe5 Rxe5 $11 {Krueger,K-Rotshtein,A/Berlin Summer op 1992/0-1 (56)}) (11. Rd1 {Psakhis} a5 12. h3 a4 13. Be2 Bd7 14. O-O Rec8 15. Ne5 Be8 16. Bf3 $14 {1-0 Akesson,R-Matros,A/Stockholm op 1997 (58)}) 11... Bd7 12. cxd5 $1 $14 {N/} ({Nothing gives white} 12. Be2 dxc4 $5 13. Bxc4 e5 14. d5 $6 Nd4 $1 15. Nd2 c6 $36 {and the black is the one who fights for advantage;Zysk,R-Brglez,R/Ptuj 1989 (54)} (15... c6 {Psakhis} 16. Qd3 Bf5 17. e4 Bg4 $11 {1-0 Zysk,R-Brglez,R/Ptuj 1989 (54)})) 12... exd5 13. Be2 Nd8 $5 (13... Rad8 {Psakhis} 14. O-O Bc8 15. b4 $14 (15. Bb5 Re6 16. b4 $14)) 14. Ne5 Bf5 15. g4 $6 {Wining a pawn,but giving black sufficient counterchanses.} ({Deserved attention} 15. O-O c6 16. b4 Rc8 17. Qb3 a6 18. a4 $14 {with longlasting pressure.}) 15... Be4 (15... Be6 {Psakhis} 16. h4 $5 $36) 16. f3 Bh7 (16... Qh4+ $142 $1 {Psakhis} 17. Kd2 f6 (17... Bh7 18. Qxc7 f6 19. Qd7 $1 Ne6 20. Qf7+ Kh8 21. Ng6+ (21. Nd3 Bxd3 22. Kxd3 Qf2 $19) 21... Bxg6 22. Qxg6 Qf2 23. Qd3 (23. Rcf1 $2 Qxe2+ $1 24. Kxe2 Nf4+ $19)) 18. fxe4 fxe5 19. exd5 (19. Qb3 exd4 20. Qxd5+ Ne6 $17 {[%csl Rd2,Ge6,Gh4][%CAl Ga8d8]}) (19. dxe5 dxe4 20. Qxc7 Ne6 $132) 19... exd4 20. Qxd4 Re7 $44 {[%CAl Gd8f7]}) 17. Qxc7 Nc6 $1 $44 (17... Ne6 {Psakhis} 18. Qxb7 Rab8 19. Qc6 Qh4+ 20. Kf1 $16) 18. Nxc6 (18. g5 $6 Qe6 $1 19. Qxb7 (19. gxh6 $2 Nxe5 20. Qxe5 Qxh6 $19 {[%csl Re3][%CAl Ge8e1]}) 19... Nxe5 20. dxe5 Qxe5 21. Rc3 d4 $1 $17 {[%CAl Ge8e2,Ge5e2]}) 18... bxc6 19. Rc3 (19. Rxc6 Qg5 $1 (19... Qh4+ $2 20. Kd2 Qg5 21. Qf4 $18) 20. Rc3 $6 (20. f4 Qh4+ 21. Kd2 Rab8 (21... Rxe3 $2 22. Kxe3 Re8+ 23. Kd2 Qf2 24. Qe5 $3 $18) (21... Be4 $44 {Psakhis}) 22. b4 a5 $1 23. Qxa5 Rxe3 $5 24. Kxe3 Re8+ 25. Kd2 Qf2 26. Re1 Qxd4+ 27. Kc1 Qa1+ $11) 20... Rxe3 21. h4 Rxc3 22. Qxc3 Qf4 $36) 19... Re7 20. Qxc6 $8 (20. Qg3 $2 {Psakhis} c5 $1 21. dxc5 (21. Rxc5 Rxe3 22. Rxd5 Qb6 $5 $17) 21... d4 22. Rb3 d3 23. Rb8+ Re8 $17) 20... Qxc6 21. Rxc6 Rxe3 22. Kf2 (22. Rc3 Rxc3 23. bxc3 Rb8 24. Bd1 Rb2 $44) 22... Rb3 (22... Rae8 {Psakhis} 23. Bd1 Rd3 24. Re1 $14) 23. Rhc1 g5 $1 $11 24. Rc8+ (24. Rxh6 {Psakhis} Rxb2 (24... Bg6 $5) 25. Rh5 Re8 26. Rxg5+ Kf8 27. Re5 Rxe5 28. dxe5 d4 $1 $44) 24... Rxc8 25. Rxc8+ Kg7 26. Rc5 Rxb2 27. Ke1 (27. Rxd5 Bd3 28. Re5 Ra2 $11) 27... Rb1+ 28. Kd2 Rb2+ 29. Kd1 Rb1+ 30. Kd2 Rb2+ 31. Ke1 Rb1+ 32. Kf2 Rb2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Tal Memorial 5th"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2010.11.05"] [Round "1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "Mueller,Karsten"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2010.11.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 139"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.11.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.11.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. dxc5 Nbd7 9. Rc1 Qa5 10. a3 Bxc3+ 11. Rxc3 Ne4 12. b4 Nxc3 13. Qa1 Qa4 14. Qxc3 O-O 15. e3 a5 16. b5 Nxc5 17. Qxc5 Bf5 18. Qd4 Qxa3 19. Be2 Qb4+ 20. Qxb4 axb4 21. Nd4 Ra1+ 22. Bd1 Bh7 23. Nb3 Rb1 24. Nd2 Rb2 25. Bg3 Rc8 26. Be5 Ra2 27. Nb3 Bc2 28. Bxc2 Rcxc2 29. O-O f6 30. Bd4 Ra3 31. Na1 Rd2 32. h3 Rad3 33. Kh2 Ra3 34. b6 h5 35. Rb1 Rxf2 36. Nb3 Raa2 37. Rg1 {Schwarz muss auf der Hut sein, dass der weiße Springer seinen b-Bauern nicht schnell einsammeln und rechtzeitig zurückkehren kann:} Kh7 $2 {Dafür hat Schwarz keine Zeit.} ({Wenn er mittels} 37... h4 {den weißen König am Verlassen seines Hauses hindert, ist die Stellung im Gleichgewicht, z.B.} 38. Nc5 Rad2 39. Nxb7 b3 40. Na5 b2 41. b7 Rxg2+ 42. Rxg2 Rxg2+ 43. Kxg2 b1=Q 44. Ba7 $11) 38. Nc5 Rfd2 $2 {Ein Fehler kommt selten allein, aber nun ist guter Rat bereits teuer, z.B.} (38... Rad2 39. h4 $1 {Baut dem König einen Ausgang.} ({Das überhastete} 39. Nxb7 $2 b3 40. Na5 b2 41. b7 Rxg2+ 42. Rxg2 Rxg2+ 43. Kxg2 b1=Q 44. Ba7 {wäre dagegen nur remis, weil Schwarz im Bauernrennen schneller ist.}) 39... g5 (39... f5 40. Be5 $16) 40. Kh3 g4+ (40... gxh4 41. Nxb7 b3 42. Bb2 Rde2 (42... Rxb2 43. Nd8 Rxg2 44. Rxg2 Rxg2 45. b7 Rg3+ 46. Kh2 Rxe3 47. b8=Q $18) 43. Nd6 Rxe3+ 44. Kh2 Re7 45. Bd4 Rf4 46. Bc5 Rg4 47. b7 Rg8 48. Rb1 $18) 41. Kg3 Rfe2 42. Ne6 b3 43. Nf4 Rf2 44. Nd3 Rf5 (44... Rfe2 45. Nc1 Rxd4 46. Nxe2 Rb4 47. Rb1 $16) 45. Nf4 b2 46. Rb1 $16) 39. Nxb7 b3 40. Nc5 b2 41. Rb1 {und Weiß entscheidet das Rennen für sich, daher gab Kramnik auf.} 1-0 [Event "Morelia/Linares 23rd"] [Site "Morelia/Linares"] [Date "2006.03.03"] [Round "8"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2700"] [BlackElo "2752"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2006.02.18"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 112"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2006.06.07"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2006.06.07"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 {Eine kleine Überraschung für Weiß - Aronian spielt selten die sogenannte Ragozin-Variante.} 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. e3 c5 8. Bd3 (8. dxc5 Qa5 9. Nd2 (9. Rc1 Ne4 10. Qxd5 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bxc3+ 12. Kd1) 9... Ne4 10. Ndxe4 dxe4 11. Qd4 O-O 12. a3 Bxc3+ 13. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 14. bxc3 Re8 15. Bb5 Re5 $11) 8... Qa5 (8... c4 9. Bc2 Qa5 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3 Qxc3 $5 (11... Ne4 12. Bh4 Qxc3 (12... Ndf6 13. Bxf6 Nxf6 14. Qc1 O-O 15. a4 Bd7 16. Ne5 Bc6 17. Qb2 Rab8 18. Rfb1 Rfe8 19. Nxc6 {1-0 Cvitan,O-Becker,M/St.Ingbert op 1995/EXT 95op (19)}) 13. Rc1 Qa3 14. Bxe4 dxe4 15. Nd2 O-O 16. Nxe4 $1 {1-0 Gelfand,B-Lautier,J/Belgrade 1991/CBM 27/ 27}) 12. Rc1 {[%CAl Gc1c3]} Qa3 (12... Qa5 13. Ne5 O-O 14. f4 $1 Re8 15. Nxd7 $1 Nxd7 16. Qh5 {1-0 Moreno,A-Vilela,J/La Habana (m/5) 1997 (24)}) 13. Ne5 b5 14. Nxd7 Bxd7 (14... Nxd7 15. e4 h6 16. Bh4 Nb6 17. Re1 O-O 18. e5 Na4 19. Re3 Qxa2 20. Rg3 Qb2 21. Qd2 $40 {1-0 Pafnutieff,V-Bisguier,A/Hollywood 1954/EXT 99 (39)}) 15. Qf3 (15. Bxf6 gxf6 16. Qf3 {[%CAl Rf3f6,Rf3d5]} (16. e4 $13) 16... Qd6 17. e4 $44) 15... Qd6 {[%csl Gd6] 0-1 Khenkin,I-Milov,V/Polanica Zdroj 1999/CBM 073/[Ribli] (40)}) 9. O-O c4 10. Bf5 Bxc3 11. bxc3 Ne4 (11... Qxc3 12. Rc1 (12. Bxf6 Nxf6 (12... gxf6 13. Qa4) 13. Qa4+ Bd7 (13... Ke7 $5 14. Rfc1 b5 15. Qxb5 Qa3) 14. Bxd7+ Nxd7 15. Ne5 Rd8 16. Rfe1 Qb2 17. Rab1 b5 18. Qxa7) 12... Qa3 (12... Qa5) 13. e4 Nxe4 14. Bxe4 dxe4 15. Nd2 Nb6 16. Nxe4 Nd5 17. Rxc4 O-O 18. Rc5 Be6 19. Qd2 f6 20. Bh4 Rfd8 {½-½ Gurevich,M-Milov,V/Cannes 2005/CBM 105 ext (43)}) 12. Qc2 Ndf6 (12... Qxc3 $4 13. Bxe4 $18) (12... Nxc3 $2 13. e4 $36 (13. Rac1)) 13. Bxc8 Rxc8 14. Bxf6 Nxf6 15. Rfb1 (15. Nd2 O-O 16. Rfb1 Qc7 (16... b6) 17. e4 dxe4 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. Qxe4 Rfe8 20. Qf3 Re7 21. Re1 Rce8 22. Rxe7 Qxe7 23. g3 b6 24. Kg2 g6 25. Rd1 Qe2 26. d5 $36 {1-0 Kavalenia,L-Kolmakov,P/Dubna 2000/EXT 2002 (39)}) (15. Rab1 b5 (15... b6) 16. Rb4 O-O 17. Rfb1 Ne4 18. Nd2 Nd6 19. a4 a6 20. e4 dxe4 21. Nxe4 Nxe4 22. Qxe4 Rfe8 23. Qc2 Rcd8 24. g3 {1-0 Nowak,I-Bozek,A/Poznan 1987/TD 87\06 (51)}) 15... b6 {Diese natürliche Fortsetzung ist eine theoretische Neuerung. Schwarz muss den b-Bauern verteidigen.} (15... Rc7 16. a4 (16. Rb4 b6 17. a4 O-O 18. Rb5 (18. Rab1) 18... Qa6 19. Ne5 Rb8 20. Qf5 $6 (20. Rab1) 20... Qb7 21. f3 Ne8 $1 {0-1 Tarjan,J-Lein,A/Greenville 1983/MCL/66)}) 16... Ne4 17. Rb4 O-O 18. Nd2 Nd6 19. Qd1 Re8 20. Qf3 Re6 21. g3 Rce7 22. Rab1 Rf6 23. Qg2 h5 {½-½ Krallmann,M-Kalka,A/Germany 2004/EXT 2005 (40)}) 16. Rb4 Qa6 17. Nd2 {[%CAl Gf2f3,Ge3e4] Weiß geht weg mit dem Springer von f3 und bereitet die traditionelle Besetzung des Zentrums mit f3-e4 vor.} O-O 18. f3 Nh5 $1 {[%mdl 32] Ein origineller Plan - nach 19.e4 möchte Schwarz 19...?f4 ziehen.} 19. g3 (19. a4 $1 {Auf diese Weise kann Weiß das mögliche schwarze Gegenspiel mit b6-b5 verhindern.}) 19... Rce8 20. e4 (20. Re1 f5 $1 $132 {[%CAl Gf5f4]}) 20... b5 $1 $132 {[%CAl Ga6g6] Weiß hat eine starke Zentrumsstellung, Schwarz muss etwas Gegenspiel finden. Mit dem Textzug kann die Dame auf das g6-Feld zielen.} 21. Re1 Qg6 {[%CAl Gg6g1,Gh5g3]} 22. Rxb5 (22. Kf2 a6 23. a4 dxe4 24. fxe4 f5 25. e5 Qg5 $1 (25... Qg4 26. Qd1 Qh3 27. Nf3 f4 28. g4 $1 $36) 26. Nf3 Qg4 {[%CAl Gf5f4]}) 22... dxe4 23. fxe4 Nxg3 {[%mdl 128] Mit diesem Springeropfer kann Schwarz das Remis erreichen.} 24. hxg3 Qxg3+ 25. Kf1 Qf4+ 26. Ke2 Qg4+ 27. Kf2 (27. Nf3 $4 Qg2+) 27... Qh4+ 28. Ke2 Qg4+ 29. Kf2 1/2-1/2 [Event "EU-Cup 26th"] [Site "Plovdiv"] [Date "2010.10.18"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Huzman, Alexander"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2605"] [BlackElo "2783"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2010.10.17"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "BUL"] [SourceTitle "CBM 139"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.11.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.11.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Beer Sheva"] [BlackTeam "Yerevan Mika"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ISR"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARM"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Qc2 c5 8. dxc5 h6 9. Bd2 O-O 10. a3 $6 {Hardly a good move as Black takes on c5 with his bishop anyway.} (10. e3 {is usually played.}) 10... Bxc5 11. e3 a6 12. Be2 (12. Bd3 Bd6 13. Ne2 Nc5 14. Ned4 Bd7 15. O-O Rc8 16. Bf5 Nfe4 17. Bb4 {1-0 Akopian,V (2640)-Filippov,V (2574)/Dubai 1999/CBM 070 ext (41)} b6 $13) 12... b5 $146 (12... Bd6 13. O-O Ne5 14. Rfd1 Be6 15. Rac1 Rc8 16. Qb1 Nc4 17. Nd4 Be5 18. Be1 Qe7 19. Bf3 Nd6 20. g3 Rfd8 $11 {1/2 Aronian,L (2675)-Lautier,J (2682)/ICC INT 2004/CBM 105 (46)}) 13. O-O Bb7 14. Rfd1 Rc8 15. Be1 Re8 $132 {Black has an active position fully compensating for his isolated pawn.} 16. Rac1 Nf8 (16... Bd6 $5) (16... Nb6 $5 {[%CAl Yb6c4]}) 17. Nd4 Qb6 18. Bf3 $2 {A serious mistake allowing a break in the centre.} (18. Qd3 $11) 18... Bxd4 $1 19. Rxd4 (19. exd4 $2 Ne6 20. Qd3 Nxd4 $1 {[%mdl 64] and Black wins a pawn} 21. Qxd4 $140 $2 Rxe1+ $1) 19... Ne6 20. Rd2 $6 ({Or} 20. Rdd1 d4 21. Bxb7 Qxb7 22. exd4 Nf4 23. f3 N6d5 $17) (20. Rh4 {(to control the f4-square), however ugly, was the best way to defend. Of course, Black is much better anyway:} Red8 21. Rd1 Rc7 {[%CAl Yd5d4]} ({better than the immediate} 21... d4 22. Bxb7 Qxb7 23. exd4 Rc4 24. f3 Nxd4 25. Qf2 $11)) 20... d4 $1 21. Bxb7 Qxb7 22. exd4 Ne4 23. Rdd1 Nf4 $1 $19 {[%csl Ge4,Gf4]} 24. d5 a5 $1 (24... Nxc3 $143 25. Bxc3 Ne2+ 26. Kh1 Nxc1 27. Qxc1) 25. Qb3 b4 26. axb4 axb4 27. Na2 (27. Nxe4 Rxc1 28. Rxc1 Ne2+ 29. Kh1 Nxc1 30. Qc4 Qc8 $1 $19) (27. g3 Nxc3 28. Bxc3 (28. bxc3 Ne2+ 29. Kg2 Nxc1 30. Rxc1 Re5 31. Rd1 Rce8 $19) 28... Ne2+ 29. Kg2 Nxc1 30. Rxc1 Qb8 31. Bd2 Rxc1 32. Bxc1 Qb7 $19 {[%CAl Ye8d8]}) 27... Ne2+ 28. Kh1 Nxc1 (28... Qb6 $5 29. Rxc8 $140 Qxf2 $3 30. Rxe8+ Kh7 31. Bxb4 Qg1+ $1 32. Rxg1 Nf2#) 29. Nxc1 Nf6 30. d6 Qc6 31. Na2 Qxd6 32. Bxb4 Qb6 33. f3 Qf2 0-1 [Event "Norway Chess 3rd"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2015.06.19"] [Round "4"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2798"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "Stohl,Igor"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2015.06.16"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [EventCategory "22"] [SourceTitle "CBM 167"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.07.13"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.07.13"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 {The Ragozin was a very popular choice in Stavanger. Black essays the active bishop sortie, but he can still opt for solid lines later on - as he does in our game.} ({The text move is more enterprising than} 4... Be7 {- the Orthodox Queen's Gambit was absent in Norway!}) ({Another sharp continuation is the Semi-Slav} 4... c6 {, which however arose in Stavanger only by transposition:} 5. Bg5 (5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 (6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O e5 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. e4 exd4 11. Nxd5 Nxd5 12. exd5 h6 13. Nxd4 Qh4 14. Nf3 Qh5 15. Bh7+ Kh8 16. Qf5 Qxf5 17. Bxf5 Nf6 18. Bc2 b6 19. Ba4 $146 (19. Rd1 Bb7 20. Bb3 Rad8 21. Rd3 Bc7 22. Bd2 Bxd5 23. Bxd5 Rxd5 24. Rxd5 Nxd5 25. Rc1 Rd8 $11 {Mamedyarov,S (2753)-Anand,V (2786) Moscow 2013}) 19... Bb7 20. Bc6 Bxc6 21. dxc6 Rac8 22. Be3 (22. Nd4 Be5 $11) 22... Rxc6 23. Rad1 Re8 24. Bd4 Bf8 25. g3 Kg8 26. Kg2 Ne4 27. Rfe1 Rce6 28. Re3 Nc5 $11 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2723)-Giri,A (2773) Stavanger 2015}) 6... dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 Bb7 9. O-O a6 10. e4 c5 11. d5 Qc7 12. dxe6 fxe6 13. Bc2 Bd6 14. Ng5 Nf8 15. f4 O-O-O 16. Qe1 e5 17. f5 ({More principled, but far from clear is} 17. Nd5 Bxd5 18. exd5 exf4 19. Bd2 $5 $44 {, this has brought White a moderate success in postal practice.}) 17... h6 18. Nf3 N8d7 19. Kh1 (19. Bd2 $142) 19... Rhe8 (19... Nb8 20. Be3 Nc6 21. Rc1 Rhe8 22. Bb1 Nd4 23. b4 c4 24. a3 Bf8 25. Rd1 Nxf3 26. gxf3 Rxd1 27. Qxd1 Rd8 28. Qe1 Bc6 29. Qf2 Kb7 $11 {Knight,T (2526)-Loinjak,S (2443) email 2008}) 20. Bd2 Qc6 21. Rd1 Nb6 22. Nd5 $2 ({Premature, but} 22. a3 Bc7 $15 {[%CAl Yb5b4,Yb6c4] is already comfortable for Black.}) 22... Nbxd5 23. exd5 Qd7 24. Ba5 e4 25. Ng1 Bc7 26. d6 Bxa5 27. Qxa5 e3 28. Ne2 Qc6 {[%csl Rd6,Ge3,Rg2] 0-1, Vachier Lagrave,M (2723)-Topalov,V (2798) Stavanger 2015}) 5... h6 6. Bh4 (6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 Nd7 8. Rc1 g6 9. Be2 Bg7 10. cxd5 exd5 11. b4 a6 12. a4 O-O 13. b5 axb5 14. axb5 Qd6 15. O-O Nb6 16. Qb3 Rb8 17. Nd1 Bf5 18. Nb2 Rfc8 19. Nd3 Bxd3 ({Black has no problems at all after} 19... Nc4 $142 $1) 20. Qxd3 c5 21. dxc5 Rxc5 22. h4 Na4 $6 (22... h5 23. Ng5 Qc7 $11) 23. h5 Rbc8 24. Rxc5 Nxc5 25. Qc2 gxh5 26. Nd4 Qg6 27. Nf5 (27. Qf5 $5 $36) 27... Bf8 {Carlsen,M (2876)-Topalov,V (2798) Stavanger 2015} 28. Bf3 Qe6 29. Rc1 $36) {A new direction in the Anti-Moscow is} 6... g5 (6... dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5 9. Be2 Bb7 10. e5 Nd5 11. O-O Nxc3 (11... Nd7 {is the standard reaction}) 12. bxc3 c5 13. a4 a6 14. Qb1 g4 15. Nh4 cxd4 16. axb5 d3 17. Bxg4 a5 18. Bf3 Bxf3 19. Nxf3 Qd5 20. Ra4 Nd7 21. Qa2 Nb6 22. Rxa5 Rxa5 23. Qxa5 Bc5 $44 {Grischuk,A (2780)-Karjakin,S (2753) Khanty-Mansiysk 2015}) 7. Bg3 {and now} Ne4 $5 (7... dxc4 {already gives White a choice, apart from} 8. e4 ({he has the alternatives} 8. e3) (8. h4 {and}) (8. a4 $5)) {The simplest and possibly the best reaction seems to be} 8. e3 $5 {?} (8. Nd2 Nxg3 9. hxg3 Bg7 (9... Qb6 $5 $13) 10. e3 a6 11. Bd3 b5 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Rc1 Nd7 14. f4 Bb7 15. Nf3 Rc8 16. O-O g4 17. Ne5 h5 18. Ne2 Rxc1 19. Qxc1 f5 20. Qc2 Nxe5 21. dxe5 Qc8 22. Qd2 $16 {Grischuk,A (2728)-Kramnik,V (2788) Moscow blitz 2008}) (8. Nxe4 dxe4 9. Nd2 Qxd4 10. e3 Qxb2 11. Rb1 Qc3 12. Be2 Nd7 13. O-O Nc5 14. Nb3 Nd3 15. Nd2 Nc5 {½, Vachier Lagrave,M (2723)-Carlsen,M (2876) Stavanger 2015}) 8... Qa5 9. Qb3 Bb4 10. Rc1) 5. Bg5 ({The main alternative is} 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 {and now:} {Aronian preferred} h6 (6... Nbd7 7. Rc1 (7. e3 c5 ({Black can still transpose into 6...h6 with} 7... h6) 8. dxc5 (8. Bd3 Qa5 9. Qc2 c4 10. Bf5 O-O 11. O-O Re8 {is the older main line, here it's difficult for White to fight for an advantage.}) 8... Qa5 ({or} 8... O-O {was the topic of an opening survey in CBM 148.})) (7. Qc2 c5 8. g3 $5 {is another recent try to get an opening advantage:} h6 9. Bf4 Qa5 10. Bg2 Ne4 11. Rc1 Qxa2 12. Nd2 Bxc3 13. bxc3 Qxc2 14. Rxc2 Nxd2 15. Kxd2 Nb6 16. dxc5 Nc4+ 17. Kd3 Bf5+ $2 (17... Be6 $132) 18. e4 Bh7 19. Kd4 Na5 20. Kxd5 O-O-O+ 21. Bd6 b6 22. Ra1 Nb7 23. Rxa7 bxc5 24. Bh3+ f5 25. e5 {1-0, Vitiugov,N (2735)-Aleksandrov,A (2603) EU-ch Jerusalem 2015}) 7... c6 8. e3 ({A more restrained way is} 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. Rxc3 O-O 10. e3 Qe8 $132) 8... Qa5 9. Bd3 Ne4 (9... Qxa2 $5 10. O-O Qa5 11. Ne5 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Ng4 13. Bf4 f6 14. exf6 Nxf6 15. Qb3 Be7 16. e4 Qb4 17. Qc2 d4 18. Ne2 Be6 19. Bd2 Bb3 20. Bxb4 Bxc2 21. Bxc2 Bxb4 22. e5 Ng4 23. Nxd4 Nxe5 24. Ne6 Ke7 25. Nxg7 Rad8 26. Rfd1 a5 $13 {/=, Khismatullin,D (2657)-Landa,K (2635) Dagomys 2010}) 10. O-O Nxg5 11. Nxg5 Nf6 12. Qc2 h6 13. Nf3 Bd6 14. Ne5 Ng4 15. Nf3 (15. Bf5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Bxe5 17. Bxc8 Rxc8 18. Qf5 Qc7 19. Nxd5 Bxh2+ 20. Kh1 Qd7 21. Nf6+ gxf6 22. Qxf6 Rg8 23. Kxh2 Rg6 $132 {Korotylev}) 15... Nf6 16. h3 O-O 17. Ne5 a6 (17... c5 $6 18. Nb5 Bxe5 19. dxe5 Nd7 20. f4 c4 21. Bh7+ Kh8 22. Nd6 Nc5 23. Rcd1 $16 {Gelfand,B (2758)-Jakovenko,D (2736) Khanty-Mansiysk 2009}) 18. f4 (18. Na4 $5 $14) 18... c5 19. g4 cxd4 20. exd4 Be6 21. Qb3 (21. Qf2 $13) (21. Kh1 $5) 21... b5 22. f5 Qb6 23. Nf3 $8 Bc8 24. Kg2 $6 (24. Nxd5 $1 Nxd5 25. Be4 Nc7 26. Rc6 Qb7 27. Nd2 $13) 24... Bb7 {[%csl Re4][%CAl Ga8h1]} 25. Na4 Qa7 26. Nc5 Rac8 (26... Ne4 $5 $36) 27. a4 (27. Nxb7 $142 Qxb7 $15) 27... Bxc5 28. dxc5 d4 $1 29. axb5 axb5 30. Qxb5 Bc6 31. Qb6 Qd7 32. Kg1 Rfe8 $40 {[%csl Rg1] Vachier Lagrave,M (2754)-Caruana,F (2803) Khanty-Mansiysk 2015}) 7. Bh4 Nbd7 (7... g5 8. Bg3 Ne4 9. Nd2 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bxc3 11. Rc1 Bb2 12. Rxc7 Na6 13. Rc2 Bxd4 14. e3 Bg7 15. h4 {Carlsen,M (2881)-Aronian,L (2815) Flor & Fjaere blitz 2014} Bf5 $1 16. Bb5+ Kf8 $13) 8. e3 g5 9. Bg3 Ne4 10. Qc2 (10. Nd2 Nxg3 11. hxg3 c6 12. Qc2 Nf6 13. Bd3 Qe7 14. O-O-O Be6 15. Kb1 O-O-O 16. a3 Bd6 17. Nb5 Kb8 18. Nxd6 Rxd6 19. Nb3 Bc8 20. Nc5 Nd7 21. Na4 Nb6 22. Nc5 $11 {Vitiugov,N (2739)-Aronian,L (2770) Sochi 2015}) 10... h5 11. h3 $146 (11. h4 g4 12. Ng5 Nxg3 13. fxg3 Qe7 14. O-O-O Bxc3 15. bxc3 {Rasmussen,K (2462)-Wegerer,F (2235) Pula 2007} Rh6 $1 $17 {[%CAl Yf7f6]}) 11... Qf6 (11... Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Nxg3 13. fxg3 Nb6 14. Bd3 g4 15. hxg4 Bxg4 16. O-O Qe7 17. Ne5 Be6 18. Bf5 Nd7 19. e4 Nxe5 20. exd5 $1 O-O-O 21. dxe6 fxe6 22. Rae1 exf5 23. Rxe5 $16 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2723)-Aronian,L (2780) Stavanger 2015}) 12. Bd3 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 Nxg3 14. fxg3 g4 15. hxg4 hxg4 16. Nh4 Nb6 17. Qf2 (17. e4 $5 dxe4 18. Bxe4 c6 19. Rf1 $13) 17... Qxf2+ 18. Kxf2 Be6 19. Nf5 Kd7 20. Rh4 Rhg8 21. Ke2 Nc8 22. Rf1 Nd6 23. Nxd6 Kxd6 24. Bf5 Rg5 25. Bxe6 Kxe6 26. Rh7 Rf8 27. a4 b6 28. Kd3 c5 29. Rh6+ f6 30. Rh7 Rf5 $1 $44 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2723)-Grischuk,A (2781) Stavanger 2015}) 5... h6 ({In a later round Levon didn't repeat this line and went somewhat surprisingly for the Vienna with} 5... dxc4 6. e4 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Nbd7 11. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12. Kf1 gxf6 13. h4 a6 14. Rh3 Qb4 ({This has replaced the older} 14... Qa5 15. Ba4 $5 b5 16. Bb3 Qb6 17. Rc1 Bb7 18. Rhc3 Ne5 19. f4 Rd8 20. fxe5 Rxd4 21. Qf3 f5 22. Qf2 fxe4 23. Rc7 {1-0, Khalifman,A (2617)-Kachar,V (2283) Voronezh 2014}) 15. Be2 Ne5 16. Rb1 $5 (16. h5 Qd6 17. Qd2 Nc6 18. Rd3 Qh2 19. f4 Rg8 20. Bf3 Bd7 21. Ne2 Qh1+ 22. Ng1 Nd4 23. Rxd4 Bb5+ 24. Kf2 Qh4+ 25. Ke3 e5 26. fxe5 Qg5+ 27. Kf2 Qg3+ $11 {Anand,V (2770)-Kramnik,V (2787) Khanty-Mansiysk 2014}) 16... Qd6 17. Qd2 Bd7 $5 $146 (17... b5 18. Rd1 Bb7 {0-1 (49) Bida,M (2323)-Bluebaum,M (2521) Durban 2014} 19. Qh6 $1 Qe7 20. Rc3 {[%CAl Rd4b5]} Rd8 21. f3 $44) 18. Rxb7 Bb5 19. Rb3 Rc8 (19... Rd8 20. R3xb5 axb5 21. Bxb5+ Kf8 22. Nxe6+ Qxe6 23. Qxd8+ Kg7 24. Qd5 Qg4 $132) 20. Bxb5+ axb5 21. Qb4 (21. R7xb5 O-O (21... Nc4 $5 22. Qc3 O-O $13) 22. Rg3+ Ng6 23. h5 Rfd8 24. hxg6 hxg6 25. Rb4 e5 26. Rd3 exd4 27. Rbxd4 Qa6 $44) 21... Qxb4 22. Rxb4 O-O (22... Nd3 23. Nxb5 Rc1+ 24. Ke2 Nxb4 25. Rb8+ Ke7 26. Rxh8 Rc2+ $11) 23. R7xb5 Rfd8 24. Ke2 Kg7 25. Ra4 (25. a4 Rc1 $132) 25... Ra8 26. Rbb4 Rdb8 27. Nb3 Rxb4 28. Rxb4 Rxa2+ $11 {Giri,A (2773)-Aronian,L (2780) Stavanger 2015}) 6. Bxf6 {The usual response.} ({Without the exchange on d5} 6. Bh4 {can be rather risky:} dxc4 $5 ({White must also reckon with} 6... g5 7. Bg3 Ne4 8. Qc2 (8. Rc1 $6 h5 9. Qa4+ Nc6 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Ne5 Bd7 12. Nxc6 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 Bxc6 14. Qb3 h4 15. Be5 f6 16. f3 fxe5 17. fxe4 O-O 18. e3 Kg7 19. Bb5 Qd6 20. Qa4 Rae8 21. Bxc6 bxc6 22. Rf1 h3 23. gxh3 Qh6 $40 {Michalik,P (2576)-Movsesian,S (2700) Czechia 2014}) 8... h5 9. h4 g4 $13) 7. Qa4+ (7. e3 b5 8. a4 c6 {and in practice White's compensation has been rather nebulous.}) 7... Nc6 8. e3 Bd7 9. Qc2 b5 10. a3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Ne7 12. Ne5 Nf5 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. Nxd7 Qxd7 15. a4 c6 16. g3 a5 17. Bg2 Ra6 18. d5 cxd5 19. axb5 Rb6 20. e4 dxe4 21. Rxa5 O-O 22. Bxe4 (22. Qxe4 $5 Rxb5 23. Rxb5 Qxb5 24. O-O $132) 22... Nd6 23. Bc6 $2 (23. O-O $15) 23... Qc7 24. Ra4 Nxb5 25. Bxb5 Qe5+ $17 {Eljanov,P (2729)-Khismatullin,D (2656) St Petersburg 2013}) 6... Qxf6 7. Qa4+ {An attempt to disrupt Black's natural development and prevent c7-c5.} ({After} 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 {Black has been holding his own recently:} 10. O-O (10. dxc5 Bxc5 (10... Nd7 11. c6 Ne5 (11... bxc6 $5 12. O-O Ne5 13. Be2 Nxf3+ 14. Bxf3 Ba6 15. Re1 Rab8 16. Qa4 Rb6 $132 {Sasikiran,K (2658)-Sandipan,C (2478) Mumbai 2003}) 12. Nxe5 Qxe5 13. O-O (13. Qb3 $5 Ba5 14. cxb7 Rb8 15. Ba6 Bxb7 16. Bxb7 Qc7 17. O-O Rxb7 18. Qa3 $14) 13... bxc6 14. Qe2 Rd8 15. Rfd1 Bb7 16. Rxd8+ Rxd8 17. Rd1 Rxd1+ 18. Qxd1 Qc7 19. h3 Bxc3 20. bxc3 c5 21. Qa4 Qc6 $11 {Giri,A (2790)-Carlsen,M (2863) Shamkir 2015}) 11. Qc2 (11. O-O Rd8 (11... Qe7 12. Ne4 Rd8 13. Qc2 Bb6 14. Rfd1 Nc6 15. Rxd8+ Nxd8 16. Ne5 Bd7 17. Nxd7 Qxd7 18. Rd1 Qc7 19. g3 Nc6 20. Bb5 Rc8 21. Rc1 Ne7 22. Qxc7 Rxc7 23. Rxc7 Bxc7 $11 {Aronian,L (2816)-Anand,V (2780) Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2012}) 12. Qc2 $5 (12. Qe2 Qe7 13. a3 Bd7 14. Rfd1 Nc6 15. b4 Bb6 16. Bb3 Be8 17. Na4 Rxd1+ 18. Bxd1 Bc7 19. Nc5 Bd6 20. Bc2 a5 21. Qd3 g6 22. Ne4 Rd8 $15 {Shirov,A (2696)-Wei,Y (2551) WCup Tromsoe 2013}) 12... Bf8 (12... Qe7 13. Rfd1 Bd7 14. Bd3 Bb6 15. Bh7+ Kh8 16. Be4 Nc6 17. Na4 f5 18. Bxc6 Bxc6 19. Ne5 Rxd1+ 20. Rxd1 Bxa4 21. Qxa4 Qc7 22. Ng6+ Kh7 23. Nf4 Rd8 24. Rxd8 Qxd8 25. Qb3 $11 {/?, Buczinski,H (2184)-Salzmann,S (2133) email 2008}) 13. Rfd1 Nc6 14. Ne4 Qe7 15. Rxd8 Qxd8 16. Rd1 Bd7 {½, Wang,Y (2689)-Zhang,Z (2613) Jiangsu Wuxi 2008}) 11... Bd7 (11... Bb4 12. O-O Bxc3 13. Qxc3 Qxc3 14. Rxc3 Bd7 15. Rd1 Rc8 16. Be2 Rxc3 17. bxc3 f6 18. Rb1 b6 19. Rd1 Kf8 20. Nh4 Bc6 {Fressinet,L (2711)-Gajewski,G (2641) Saint Quentin 2014} 21. Bh5 $36) 12. O-O Bb6 13. Ne4 Qe7 14. Rfd1 Nc6 15. a3 Rfd8 16. Nd6 Rab8 17. Qe4 (17. Ba2 $5 {[%CAl Ya2b1]}) 17... Bc7 18. Bd3 g6 19. Nb5 Bb6 20. h4 $6 (20. Qf4 Kg7 $11) 20... e5 21. Be2 Bf5 22. Qa4 e4 23. Nfd4 Nxd4 24. Nxd4 Bd7 25. Bb5 {Ipatov,A (2608)-Zhukova,N (2470) Doha 2014} Bg4 $17) 10... cxd4 11. Ne4 (11. Nxd4 Bd7 12. Qb3 Nc6 13. Nxc6 Bxc3 14. Rxc3 Bxc6 15. Bb5 Bd5 16. Bc4 Bc6 17. Bb5 Bd5 18. Bc4 {½, Topalov,V (2798)-Anand,V (2804) Stavanger 2015 This quick draw in the last round only repeated past games, but it brought Topalov tournament victory.}) 11... Qe7 12. Nxd4 Bd7 {This year White has tested} 13. Bd3 (13. Qh5 Nc6 14. Nb3 f5 (14... Be8 15. a3 f5 (15... Bd6 16. Nxd6 Qxd6 17. Rfd1 Qe7 18. Qc5 Qf6 19. Bd3 {[%CAl Rd3h7]} g6 20. Qc2 Ne5 {Zhukova,N (2471)-Szczepkowska,K (2414) Chengdu 2015} 21. Be4 Ba4 22. Rd4 $14) 16. Qe2 Bxa3 17. bxa3 fxe4 18. Nc5 Ne5 19. Ba2 Nf3+ 20. Kh1 Qh4 21. gxf3 Bh5 22. Bxe6+ Kh8 23. Bg4 exf3 24. Qb2 Bxg4 25. Rg1 Rf7 26. Qd4 h5 27. Nd3 Rd8 28. Qe4 Qe7 29. Qxe7 Rxe7 30. Nf4 Kh7 31. Rc5 $132 {So,W (2762)-Hou,Y (2673) Wijk aan Zee 2015 For more details about this game see the notes by Ftacnik in CBM 165}) 15. a3 fxe4 (15... Ne5 $5 16. Be2 Be8 17. Qh3 Bc6 18. axb4 Bxe4 19. Qg3 {Ramirez,A (2591)-Cornette,M (2545) Cappelle la Grande 2012} Qg5 $5 $11) 16. axb4 Nxb4 17. Nc5 Nd3 18. Nxd3 exd3 19. Bxd3 Bc6 20. Rc4 Rf6 21. Be4 Bxe4 22. Rxe4 Rd8 23. Qe2 Rf5 24. h3 Rfd5 25. Qg4 R8d6 26. Rc1 {Aronian,L (2804)-Anand,V (2785) Bilbao 2014 For more details see the notes to this game by Roiz in CBM 163} Qd7 $11 {/?}) 13... Nc6 14. Nb3 Na5 $5 15. Rc7 Rfd8 16. a3 ({A forcing tactical line is} 16. Nbc5 f5 $8 17. a3 fxe4 18. axb4 exd3 19. Qxd3 (19. bxa5 $2 Rac8 20. Rxc8 Bxc8 $17 {[%csl Gd3]}) 19... Bb5 20. Rxe7 Bxd3 21. bxa5 Bxf1 22. Kxf1 Rd1+ 23. Ke2 Rad8 24. Rxb7 R1d2+ 25. Ke1 $11 {½, Matlakov,M (2694)-Wojtaszek,R (2746) Montpellier 2015}) 16... Nxb3 17. Qxb3 Ba5 18. Rxb7 Ba4 $1 19. Rxe7 Bxb3 20. Nc5 Bb6 21. Nxb3 Rxd3 22. Nd4 Bxd4 23. exd4 Rb8 24. Rxa7 Rxb2 25. Ra4 Ra2 $11 {Gelfand,B (2744)-Giri,A (2776) Khanty-Mansiysk 2015}) 7... Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Be2 {Retains the central tension.} ({Topalov spurns the Carlsbad-like} 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Be2 Be6 11. O-O a6 12. Rfc1 Bd6 13. Qd1 (13. a3 Ne7 14. b4 c6 15. Qb3 g5 16. Qb2 Qg7 17. Na4 Rae8 18. Nc5 Bc8 19. g3 Nf5 20. Bd3 Qf6 21. Rf1 h5 22. Rac1 h4 23. Qd2 Nh6 $2 (23... hxg3 24. hxg3 Kg7 $15) 24. e4 $16 {Aronian,L (2777)-Anand,V (2797) Baden-Baden 2015}) 13... Ne7 14. a3 Rfd8 15. b4 Nc8 16. Na4 b6 $6 (16... b5 $5 17. Nc5 Nb6 $132) 17. Nb2 Ne7 18. Nd3 Ng6 19. a4 a5 20. b5 Re8 21. Rc3 Bf5 22. Rac1 Rad8 23. Nd2 Rd7 24. g3 Nf8 25. Bg4 $16 {Carlsen,M (2862)-Aronian,L (2797) Wijk aan Zee 2015 Although White won both quoted games, Krasenkow in his notes in CBM 165 indicates ample improvements for Black. Especially Anand, who concentrated on his kingside play, achieved a promising position.}) 9... dxc4 ({Perhaps it's more accurate to force White's ? to move with} 9... Bd7 $5 10. Qb3 (10. Qc2 dxc4 11. O-O Na5 12. Ne5 Qe7 13. Ne4 Bd6 14. Nxd7 Qxd7 15. Bxc4 Nxc4 16. Qxc4 Be7 17. Rac1 c6 18. Qb3 Rfd8 19. Nc5 Bxc5 20. Rxc5 Qe7 21. Qc3 Rd5 22. Rxd5 exd5 $11 {Zoler,D (2504)-Hammer,J (2647) Yerevan 2014}) 10... dxc4 11. Qxc4 (11. Bxc4 Bd6 $11 {[%CAl Ye6e5,Rc6a5]}) 11... Qg6 ({We will have a look at} 11... Bd6 {in the following note, it can lead to similar positions.}) 12. O-O Bd6 13. Rfd1 (13. Nb5 Rfc8 14. Nxd6 cxd6 15. Rac1 e5 16. dxe5 dxe5 17. Bd3 Bf5 18. Bxf5 Qxf5 19. Qb5 Qe6 20. Qxb7 Rab8 21. Qa6 Rxb2 22. Rc5 Rxa2 23. Qb7 Ra5 24. Rxa5 Nxa5 25. Qxa7 Nc4 26. Rc1 Nd6 27. Rxc8+ Qxc8 28. Qa1 e4 29. Nd4 Nf5 30. Nxf5 Qxf5 {½, Wojtaszek,R (2711)-Yu,Y (2677) Wijk aan Zee 2014}) (13. Rac1 Na5 14. Qd3 Qxd3 15. Bxd3 Nc6 16. Rfd1 Rfd8 17. Bb1 Nb4 18. Be4 c6 19. Bb1 Be8 20. a3 Nd5 21. Ne4 Be7 22. Ba2 g5 23. h3 Kg7 24. Rd2 Nf6 25. Bb1 a5 26. Nxf6 Bxf6 27. Be4 a4 $11 {Zhou,J (2589)-Yu,Y (2723) Xinghua 2015}) 13... Rfd8 14. Bd3 Na5 15. Qb5 Bxb5 16. Bxg6 Bc6 17. Be4 Bxe4 18. Nxe4 Nc4 19. Rdc1 Nb6 20. Kf1 c6 21. Ke2 Kf8 22. g4 Ke7 23. h4 Rac8 24. Rc2 Nd7 $11 {/?, Vallejo Pons,F (2698)-Wei,Y (2634) Leon rpd 2014 Black had a solid, but rather passive position, which he eventually managed to hold.}) 10. O-O Bd7 (10... Bd6 11. Qxc4 (11. Bxc4 e5 $5 12. Ne4 Qe7 13. Nxd6 cxd6 $11 {/?}) 11... Bd7 12. Rac1 Qg6 13. Rfd1 Na5 14. Qd3 Qxd3 15. Bxd3 Nc6 16. Ne4 Nb4 17. Bb1 Ba4 18. Rd2 Bc6 19. a3 Bxe4 20. Bxe4 Nd5 21. Rdc2 c6 22. Nd2 a5 23. g3 Rfd8 24. Nc4 Be7 25. Kf1 Ra6 26. Bd3 Nb6 27. Ne5 Raa8 28. f4 Nd7 29. Nf3 a4 30. Ke2 Ra5 $11 {/?, Melkumyan,H (2676)-Naroditsky,D (2633) Tsaghkadzor 2015 This position is slightly more pleasant for White and in the end he managed to win.}) 11. Bxc4 Bxc3 {Aronian decides not to lose any more time and gives up the bishop-pair instead. It's not so simple to equalize after the alternatives:} (11... Bd6 12. Qc2 $5 (12. Ne4 Qe7 13. Qc2 e5 14. d5 Nd8 15. Nxd6 cxd6 16. Rac1 f5 17. Be2 Rc8 18. Qb3 f4 19. Nd2 b6 20. Qa3 fxe3 21. Qxe3 Nf7 22. Ba6 Rxc1 23. Rxc1 Bf5 24. Ne4 Rd8 25. Ng3 Bg6 26. Bd3 $36 {Wagner,D (2481)-Landa,K (2640) Germany 2013}) 12... e5 13. d5 Nb4 14. Qd2 Qg6 (14... a5 $5) 15. a3 Na6 16. b4 Bh3 $6 17. Ne1 e4 18. f3 exf3 19. Nxf3 Bg4 20. Bd3 Qh5 21. Ne4 Rad8 22. Nxd6 Rxd6 23. e4 $16 {[%csl Ra6,Gd5,Ge4] Ragger,M (2670)-Cornette,M (2552) Belfort 2012}) (11... Qg6 {[%CAl Rc6d4]} 12. Qd1 $5 {[%CAl Yc4d3] also seems to retain a small plus.}) 12. bxc3 Rfd8 (12... Qe7 13. Be2 (13. Qc2 $5 {?} e5 14. Rab1 b6 15. Bd5 $36) 13... e5 $1 14. Qb3 b6 15. Qc4 Rac8 16. Nd2 Na5 17. Qb4 c5 18. Qa3 Rfe8 (18... Qe6 $5) 19. d5 e4 20. c4 Qg5 21. Kh1 Rcd8 22. Rae1 Bf5 23. Rg1 h5 24. Nf1 Bg4 $11 {Fedoseev,V (2601)-Aleksandrov,A (2586) Khanty-Mansiysk 2013}) 13. Be2 $146 {[%mdl 40] Topalov's novelty indicates a different strategy, contrary to prior examples: White will concentrate more on queenside play.} (13. Qc2 Na5 14. Bd3 c5 15. Ne5 Be8 16. f4 Qe7 17. Qe2 Rac8 18. f5 f6 19. Ng4 exf5 (19... h5 20. Nf2 e5 $1 $36) 20. Bxf5 Rc7 21. Rad1 h5 22. Nf2 cxd4 23. cxd4 Nc4 24. Rfe1 Bf7 25. Bd3 b5 26. Ne4 Re8 27. Qf2 Rc6 28. Nc5 Rxc5 29. dxc5 Qxc5 $44 {0-1 (44) Hansen,C (2621)-Hammer,J (2665) Oslo 2015}) (13. Qa3 Qe7 14. Qb2 Na5 15. Bd3 c5 16. e4 Be8 17. Rad1 cxd4 18. cxd4 Rac8 19. Rfe1 Nc4 20. Qe2 Nb6 21. Rc1 Qa3 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. d5 Bd7 $15 {Shankland,S (2661)-Aronian,L (2770) Tsaghkadzor 2015}) 13... Be8 {Follows the same plan as against Shankland, but this seems unnecessarily passive.} (13... e5 $5 14. Qb3 b6 15. Rfd1 Bf5 $132) 14. Qa3 Qe7 15. Qb2 Na5 {[%CAl Yc7c5]} 16. Qb4 $5 {[%mdl 4096] Topalov prevents c5 and opts for a slight endgame pull.} Qxb4 17. cxb4 Nc6 18. Rab1 a5 $5 {Aronian seeks activity.} ({Moves such as} 18... Ne7 {, or}) (18... Rac8 {enable White to retain his space advantage and a small, but long-term edge.}) 19. bxa5 {A controversial decision. White opens the queenside for his rooks, but improves Black's pawn structure.} ({More natural was} 19. b5 Ne7 (19... Nb4 20. a3 Nd5 21. Rfc1 $14) 20. Rfc1 $14) 19... Nxa5 20. Rfc1 Rdc8 21. Ne1 {[%csl Gc5,Ge5][%CAl Ye1d3]} Ra7 (21... Bc6 22. f3 (22. Nd3 Bd5 23. Nb4 c6 {[%csl Gc4][%CAl Yb7b5]} 24. a4 Bb3 25. Nd3 Bc4 $132) 22... Bd5 23. Rb2 $14) 22. Nd3 Nc6 23. Bf3 Nd8 {[%CAl Ye8c6] Black has foregone an earlier chance to activate the ?e8, but now he prepares the bishop swap.} 24. Nb4 (24. g3 Bc6 25. Bxc6 Nxc6 26. Nc5 Nd8 ({or} 26... Na5 $5 {seemed one exchange too much to Topalov. Therefore he prevents ?c6, but the knight obstructs the open file.})) 24... Ra5 {[%CAl Yc7c5]} 25. h4 Kf8 26. Rc3 c6 (26... c5 27. Rbc1 (27. Nd3 c4 28. Nc5 b5 29. a4 bxa4 30. Rxc4 Rc7 $132 {[%csl Ga4]}) 27... b6 28. a3 f6 $5 {?} 29. Nd3 c4 $132) 27. Bd1 $5 {[%CAl Yd1b3,Yb4d3] The manoeuvring continues, the bishop will protect a2 and free the knight.} Ke7 (27... c5 $6 28. Nd3 c4 29. a4 $1 b5 (29... Bxa4 30. Bxa4 Rxa4 31. Nc5 $36 {[%csl Rb7][%CAl Yc3c4]}) 30. axb5 Bxb5 31. Bf3 $14 {/?}) (27... f6 $5 28. Bb3 Bg6) 28. Bb3 c5 $5 {Aronian finally decides to clarify the position.} 29. Nd3 b6 30. dxc5 (30. Bc2 Rb5 31. dxc5 Rxb1+ 32. Bxb1 Bb5 $11) 30... bxc5 (30... Bb5 $5 31. Bc4 Bxc4 32. Rxc4 bxc5 33. a4 Rc7 {is probably a more reliable way to neutralise the pressure. The distant passed pawn is under sufficient control.}) 31. f3 (31. Rbc1 Nb7 {[%CAl Ye8a4]} 32. e4 {is similar.}) 31... Rc7 32. e4 Nb7 33. Rbc1 Ba4 (33... f6 34. e5 Bg6 35. Nf4 Bf7) 34. e5 $1 {? The difference in comparison with the note to move 30 is here the bishop swap will take place on b3, enabling the ?b3 to join the attack on the vulnerable ?c5. However, Black's position is still defensible...} Rc6 (34... Bxb3 $142 35. axb3 Ra3 36. b4 (36. Kf2 Rd7 37. Ke3 Rd5 $11) 36... Rxc3 37. Rxc3 Kd7 38. bxc5 Kc6 $11 {[%CAl Yc6b5]}) (34... g6 {also deserves attention, Black prevents further space gains.}) 35. Kh2 Rb6 36. h5 $1 $36 {[%csl Rg7] Fixes a weakness and continues the fight.} (36. Bxa4 Rxa4 37. Nxc5 Nxc5 38. Rxc5 Rxh4+ 39. Kg3 Rd4 $11) 36... Bxb3 (36... f6 $142 $5 37. Nb2 (37. Bc4 Bc6 $14) 37... Bxb3 38. axb3 $14) 37. axb3 {[%CAl Rb3b4]} Kd7 $2 {This doesn't stop White's main threat.} (37... Rab5 $142 {still retains reasonable drawing chances:} 38. Nxc5 (38. b4 cxb4 39. Nxb4 (39. Rc8 $2 Rd5 $17) (39. Rc7+ Ke8 40. Rc8+ Nd8 41. Nxb4 Rxe5 $15) 39... Rxb4 40. Rc7+ Ke8 41. Rc8+ Nd8 42. Rd1 Ke7 43. Rcxd8 Rb7 $11) 38... Nxc5 39. Rxc5 Rb7 $5 (39... Rxc5 40. Rxc5 Rb7 $1 $14 (40... Rxb3 41. Rc7+ Kf8 42. Rc8+ Ke7 43. Rg8 {[%csl Rg7,Rh6]} Rb5 44. f4 f6 45. Rxg7+ Kf8 46. Rh7 fxe5 47. fxe5 Rxe5 48. g4 $18 (48. Rxh6 $2 Rg5 49. Kh3 Kg7 $11))) 40. R1c3 f6 $14) (37... f6 $2 38. b4 cxb4 39. Rc7+ Ke8 40. Rxg7 $18) 38. b4 $1 cxb4 (38... Rab5 39. bxc5 Rc6 40. Rc4 $16 {[%CAl Yc4g4]}) 39. Rc8 {[%CAl Rc1c7]} Nd8 40. R1c7+ Ke8 41. Nc5 {[%CAl Rc7d7]} Rxc5 $8 {Bitter, but true - Black must give up an exchange to stave off the mating attack.} 42. Rxc5 b3 43. Rc1 Kd7 (43... b2 $6 44. Rd1 Ke7 45. Rcxd8 Rb7 46. Rg8 b1=Q 47. Rxb1 Rxb1 48. Rxg7 $18 {[%csl Rh6][%CAl Rg7h7]}) 44. R8c7+ Ke8 45. Rc8 ({Topalov probably spurned} 45. R7c3 {due to} Rb5 (45... b2 46. Rb1 Nc6 47. f4 $18) 46. f4 f6 $16) 45... Kd7 46. R8c3 Ke7 (46... Rb5 47. Rd1+ Ke7 48. Rc7+ Ke8 49. Rc8 Rd5 50. Rxd5 exd5 51. Rb8 $18) ({A more resilient try was} 46... Nc6 $142 $5 47. f4 f6 $16) 47. Rd3 (47. Rb1 $1 Nc6 48. f4 Nd4 49. Rc7+ Ke8 50. Ra1 Rb8 51. Raa7 Nb5 (51... b2 52. Re7+ Kd8 53. Rxf7 Ke8 54. Rxg7 Kf8 55. Rh7 Kg8 56. Rag7+ Kf8 57. Rh8+ $18) 52. Rab7 Rxb7 53. Rxb7 Nd4 54. Rb4 Ne2 55. Rb8+ Ke7 56. Rb7+ Kf8 57. g3 Nc1 58. Kg2 $18 {[%CAl Yg2f3,Yf3e3,Ye3d2]}) (47. f4 $5 {leads to the game position.}) 47... Nb7 (47... Nc6 $142 48. Rd6 b2 49. Rb1 f6 $16) 48. Rdc3 Nd8 49. f4 $5 (49. Rb1 $1 $18 {-47.?b1!}) 49... f6 (49... b2 50. Rb1 {[%CAl Yc3c2,Yc2b2]} f6 51. Rc7+ Ke8 52. exf6 (52. Rxg7 $2 fxe5 {?} 53. fxe5 Nf7) 52... gxf6 53. Rc2 Rb5 54. g4 Rb4 55. Rf2 $18 {and White will gradually win.}) 50. Rc7+ Ke8 (50... Kf8 51. Rc8 b2 52. Rb1 $18 {- 49...b2}) 51. Rxg7 $1 fxe5 (51... Nc6 52. exf6 b2 53. Rb1 Nd4 54. g4 $1 $18 {[%CAl Rg4g5] ?} Nf3+ (54... Nc2 55. Rd1 $1 $18) 55. Kg2 Nd2 56. g5 Nxb1 57. g6 $18 {[%CAl Rg7e7,Rg6g7]}) 52. Rcc7 $18 {[%CAl Rg7g8] The mating attack trumps the passed pawn and the rest is simple and straightforward.} Kf8 53. Rh7 Kg8 $8 54. Rcg7+ Kf8 55. Rd7 Kg8 56. Rxh6 Nf7 (56... b2 57. Rxd8+ Kg7 (57... Kf7 58. Rh7+ Kf6 59. Rf8#) 58. Rg6+ Kf7 (58... Kh7 59. Rd7+ Kh8 60. f5 $1 b1=Q 61. Rh6+ Kg8 62. f6 $18 {[%CAl Rf6f7,Rd7g7]}) 59. Rd7+ Ke8 (59... Kf8 60. h6 b1=Q 61. h7 $18) 60. Rc7 Kf8 61. h6 b1=Q 62. h7 $18) 57. Rg6+ Kh8 58. Rf6 $1 (58. Rf6 b2 59. Rfxf7 Kg8 60. h6 Rb8 (60... b1=Q 61. Rg7+ Kf8 62. Rd8#) 61. Rh7 b1=Q 62. Rdg7+ Kf8 63. Rh8#) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup"] [Site "Tromsoe"] [Date "2013.08.17"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Moiseenko, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2699"] [Annotator "Sumets,Andrey"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2013.08.11"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "CBM 156"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2013.09.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2013.09.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Be2 dxc4 {A few monts ago Alexandr Moiseenko opted for the other option and he got a good position against C. Lupulescu.} (9... Bd7 10. Qb3 dxc4 11. Qxc4 Qg6 (11... Qe7 12. O-O Na5 13. Qd3 c5 14. a3 c4 15. Qc2 Bd6 (15... Bxc3 16. Qxc3 Nb3 17. Rad1 b5 18. Ne5 Rab8 $132) 16. Ne4 (16. e4 Rad8 17. Rad1 b5 18. e5 Bb8 19. d5 $6 exd5 20. Nxd5 Qe6 $15) 16... Rac8 17. Nxd6 Qxd6 18. Qc3 Nb3 19. Rae1 b5 20. Ne5 a5 21. Nxd7 Qxd7 $11 {Postny,E (2637) -Wojtaszek, R (2701) Legnica POL 2013 1/2 (41)}) 12. O-O Bd6 13. Nb5 e5 14. Nxd6 {Here White has nothing after trading his knight for bishop. More ambitious was 14.d5 but it seems that Black would be OK after} (14. d5 Ne7 15. Nxd6 cxd6 16. Rfc1 Rfc8 17. Qb3 b6 $11) 14... cxd6 15. Rfd1 Rfd8 16. Rac1 e4 17. Nd2 Bh3 18. g3 d5 19. Qb5 Rd6 {Lupulescu, C (2634) -Moiseenko,A (2698) Legnica POL 2013 1/2 (41). Black has nothing to worry about.}) (9... a6 10. Qb3 dxc4 11. Qxc4 Bd6 12. O-O Bd7 (12... Qg6 $5 13. Rac1 (13. Bd3 $2 Na5 14. Bxg6 Nxc4 $15) 13... Bd7 $1 (13... e5 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Nd5 $14) 14. a3 e5 15. dxe5 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 Bxe5 17. f4 Bd6 18. Bf3 Be6 19. Qe2 c6 $11) 13. Ne4 Qe7 14. Rac1 Rfc8 15. Rfd1 $14 Nd8 16. Qc2 Bc6 17. Ned2 Bb5 18. Ne4 Nc6 19. a3 Nb8 $2 20. Bxb5 axb5 21. d5 $16 {Rodshtein,M (2652)-Swiercz,D (2565) Plovdiv 2012 1-0 (82)}) 10. O-O Bd6 {A strange decision. Black allows White to play ?xc4. That is certainly better for White then regaining the pawn after ?xc4. Probably Alexander has mixed up something.} (10... Bd7 11. Bxc4 Bd6 12. Qc2 (12. Ne4 Qe7 13. Qc2 e5 14. Nxd6 cxd6 15. d5 Nd8 {After this move Black had the worse position. Probably he needed to opt for} (15... Nb8 $5 16. Rac1 b5 17. Be2 a5 18. Nd2 Na6 $132 {with good counterplay}) 16. Rac1 f5 17. Qb3 f4 18. exf4 Rxf4 19. g3 Rf8 20. Qe3 $14 {Lin Weiguo (2470)-Landa,K (2560) Beijing 1997 1-0 (32)}) 12... e5 13. d5 ({White don't get an advantage after} 13. Nd5 Qd8 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Rfd1 Re8 17. Rd2 c6 18. Nc3 Qe7 $15) 13... Nb4 14. Qd2 Qg6 $6 (14... a5 $1 15. a3 Na6 16. Ne4 Qg6 17. Nxd6 cxd6 18. Qxa5 e4 19. Ne1 (19. Nd4 $2 Bh3 $17) 19... b5 20. Ba2 Nc5 $44) 15. a3 Na6 16. b4 $14 {Black's knight on a6 is out of play} Bh3 17. Ne1 e4 18. f3 exf3 19. Nxf3 Bg4 20. Bd3 Qh5 21. Ne4 Rad8 22. Nxd6 Rxd6 23. e4 $16 {1-0 (32) Ragger,M (2670)-Cornette,M (2552) Belfort 2012}) (10... a6 11. Bxc4 Bd6 12. Bd3 Bd7 13. Qb3 Qe7 14. Rac1 e5 15. Nd5 Qe8 16. dxe5 Nxe5 17. Nxe5 Qxe5 18. f4 Qe6 19. Nxc7 Qxb3 20. axb3 Rac8 21. Nd5 Be6 (21... Bc6 $1 22. Nb6 (22. Be4 Rce8 $11) 22... Rcd8 23. Rfd1 Rfe8 $44) 22. Be4 Rc5 23. Rcd1 Re8 24. Nc3 Bb8 25. Bd5 $14 {Bu Xiangzhi (2676)-Vitiugov, N (2722) Ningbo CHN 2010 1-0 (57)}) 11. Qxc4 e5 $146 {Before the game we are examining, the move 10...?d6 was played only once and I don't think that Alexander knew that game.} (11... Bd7 12. Rfd1 Rad8 13. Rac1 a6 14. Ne4 Qe7 15. Qb3 Rb8 16. Nc5 $14 {Malaniuk,V (2517)-Gralka,J (2240) Lazy POL 2013 1-0 (46)}) 12. d5 (12. Ne4 $5 Qe7 (12... Qd8 13. Rfd1 exd4 14. Nxd4 Bxh2+ 15. Kxh2 Qh4+ 16. Kg1 Qxe4 17. Nxc6 Qxc6 18. Qxc6 bxc6 19. Bf3 Rb8 20. b3 $14) 13. d5 Nb8 (13... Nd8 $6 {The knight has nothing to do on d8.} 14. Nxd6 cxd6 15. Rac1 f5 16. Rc3 Nf7 17. Rfc1 $16) 14. Rac1 Bf5 15. Nxd6 cxd6 16. Qc7 Nd7 17. b3 $14 {White is clearly better.}) 12... Nd8 $2 {On d8 Black's knight is out of play. It seems to me that after 12...?d8? White has got a huge advantage.} (12... Nb8 $1 {I believe he had to play this} 13. Rac1 Nd7 14. Ne4 Qd8 15. Rfd1 f5 16. Nxd6 cxd6 17. Nd2 Nf6 18. Qb3 Qe7 19. Nc4 $14 {White is still better but Black has some counterplay.}) 13. Rac1 Qe7 14. Nb5 Bf5 15. Nxd6 cxd6 16. Nd2 $16 {White plays very simply and due to the knight on d8 Black's position is very difficult.} f6 (16... Rc8 {He could trade rooks but probably it wouldn't help Black to save the game.} 17. Qa4 b6 18. Rxc8 Bxc8 19. Rc1 Bf5 20. Nc4 $1 f6 21. Na3 Nf7 22. Nb5 a5 23. Rc7 $16) 17. Qc7 Rf7 18. Qxe7 Rxe7 19. Rc3 {White wants to double rooks on the c-file. Black can only wait. Instead of waiting Moiseenko decided to trade his passive rook and he lost immediately.} Rc8 $2 20. Rxc8 Bxc8 21. Rc1 $18 {There is no way to protect the d6-pawn.} Bd7 22. Ne4 Nf7 23. Bh5 $1 Be8 24. Rc8 Kh7 $8 25. Rxe8 Rxe8 26. Bxf7 Rc8 27. g4 Rc2 (27... Rd8 28. h4 Rd7 29. Be6 Rd8 30. h5 $18) 28. Nxd6 Rxb2 29. Be6 Rxa2 30. Nf7 Rd2 31. d6 Kg6 32. e4 (32. d7 Rxd7 33. Nxe5+ fxe5 34. Bxd7 $18) 32... a5 33. Bd5 1-0 [Event "EU-Cup 27th"] [Site "Rogaska Slatina"] [Date "2011.09.28"] [Round "4"] [White "Khismatullin, Denis Rimovich"] [Black "Alekseev, Evgeny V"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2635"] [BlackElo "2662"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2011.09.25"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "SLO"] [SourceTitle "CBM 145"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2011.11.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2011.11.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Tomsk 400"] [BlackTeam "Saratov Ekonomist"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Qc2 c5 8. g3 {A rare move, which has suddenly become popular. It leads to a structure typical of the Queen's Indian.} h6 (8... Qa5 9. Bd2 O-O 10. Bg2 Ne4 11. Nxd5 Nxd2 12. Nxd2 cxd4 13. Nxb4 Qxb4 14. O-O Nf6 15. a3 Qb6 16. Nc4 Qc7 17. Rac1 $14 {1-0 Nikolov,M (2578)-Mitkov,M (2358)/Rogaska Slatina SLO 2011/The Week in Chess 822 (39)}) (8... cxd4 9. Nxd4 Qb6 10. Rd1 Ne4 11. Be3 $1 {is crucial, and now:} Qg6 (11... Qa5 12. Bg2 $1 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Bxc3+ 14. Kf1 Bxd4 15. Bxd4 O-O 16. Qb2 f6 17. Bc3 Qc7 18. Bxd5+ Kh8 19. Bb4 Rd8 20. Kg2 $14 {1-0 Riazantsev,A (2682)-Feller,S (2611)/Biel 2010/CBM 137 Extra (44)}) 12. Bd2 (12. Rc1 Nb6 13. Bg2 Bxc3+ 14. bxc3 Nc4 15. Bf4 O-O 16. O-O b6 17. f3 Nc5 18. Rfd1 Bb7 $11 {1/2 Danielian,E (2506)-Kosintseva,T (2559)/Tbilisi GEO 2011/The Week in Chess 863 (44)}) 12... Nxc3 13. bxc3 Qxc2 14. Nxc2 Ba5 15. Bg2 Nf6 16. Nb4 Be6 17. Be3 O-O 18. O-O Bxb4 19. cxb4 Ne4 20. Rc1 Rfc8 21. Bd4 $14 {1/2 Galliamova,A (2492)-Kosintseva,N (2560)/Rostov-on-Don RUS 2011/The Week in Chess 875 (37)}) 9. Be3 (9. Bd2 O-O 10. Bg2 b6 11. O-O Re8 12. Rfd1 Bb7 13. e3 Qe7 14. Ne2 $6 (14. Rac1 $142) 14... Bxd2 15. Nxd2 Rac8 16. Qf5 cxd4 17. Nxd4 Nc5 18. Qf3 Nd3 19. Rab1 Ne4 20. Nxe4 dxe4 21. Qh5 Rc5 22. Qe2 Qf6 $15 {1-0 Khismatullin,D (2662)-Sjugirov,S (2643)/Olginka 2011/CBM 142 (75)}) (9. Bxf6 Qxf6 (9... Nxf6 10. Bg2 O-O 11. O-O Qe7 (11... c4 12. Ne5 Re8 13. b3 Bf5 14. Qxf5 Bxc3 15. Rad1 cxb3 16. axb3 Qe7 17. e3 $14 {[%csl Rd5] 1/2 Zhao Xue (2497)-Tan Zhongyi (2429)/Shenzhen CHN 2011/The Week in Chess 880 (70)}) 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. Rad1 Rd8 14. Nd4 Bg4 15. h3 Be6 16. Qb3 Rac8 17. e3 Bb6 18. a3 $14 {1-0 Topalov,V (2775)-Kramnik,V (2785)/Monte Carlo 2011/CBM 142 (60)}) 10. Rd1 O-O 11. Bg2 Nb6 12. dxc5 Bf5 13. Qc1 Na4 14. Nd4 Be6 $1 (14... Rac8 15. Nxf5 Qxf5 16. Rxd5 Qf6 17. O-O Bxc3 18. bxc3 Nxc3 19. Rd2 Rxc5 20. Qa3 $14 {1-0 Bacrot,E (2705)-Peralta,F (2608)/Mulhouse FRA 2011/The Week in Chess 865 (31)}) 15. O-O Nxc3 16. bxc3 Bxc5 $11) 9... b6 (9... O-O 10. Bg2 Re8 11. O-O c4 12. Bf4 Qa5 13. Ne5 Nb6 14. f3 Be6 15. e4 Rad8 {0-1 Javakhishvili,L (2469)-Peralta,F (2601)/Vrachati GRE 2011/The Week in Chess 877 (58)} 16. Rad1 $36) 10. Bg2 O-O 11. O-O Bb7 12. Rfd1 Rc8 13. Rac1 Re8 14. Bh3 Rxe3 $6 {[%mdl 512] This exchange sacrifice doesn't pay off.} (14... Ba6 {[%csl Re2][%CAl Rb4c3] was a good way to equalise.}) 15. fxe3 Qe8 16. Ne5 Rd8 17. Qf5 c4 (17... Nxe5 $142 18. Qxe5 (18. dxe5 Bc8 19. Qf4 Nh5 20. Qh4 Bxh3) 18... Qc6 {[%CAl Rd8e8] but, of course, Black's compensation is insufficient. White can even give back the material in a very fine version:} 19. Rf1 $5 Re8 20. Rxf6 $1 gxf6 21. Qf4 $36 {[%csl Rf6,Rg8,Rh6]}) 18. Bg2 {Taking the e4-square under control and pressurising Black's weak d5-pawn.} g6 19. Qf4 Nh5 $2 (19... Nxe5 $142 20. Qxe5 Kg7 $16) 20. Qxf7+ $1 {A timely tranformation.} Qxf7 21. Nxf7 Kxf7 22. Bxd5+ (22. Nxd5 $5) 22... Bxd5 23. Nxd5 Bd6 24. e4 {[%csl Gd4,Ge4] White's material advantage is now symbolic (?+2? vs ?+?) but his strong central pawns should decide the game.} Ke6 (24... Rc8 25. e5 Bb8 26. e4 {[%csl Gd4,Ge4,Ge5]}) 25. Rxc4 Nhf6 26. Nc3 $1 {[%CAl Re4e5]} b5 27. Rc6 b4 28. e5 Nb8 29. Rxd6+ $1 Rxd6 30. Na4 Rc6 31. exf6 Rc2 32. Kf2 Nd7 33. Ke3 Nxf6 34. Kd3 Rc8 35. Nc5+ 1-0 [Event "Morelia/Linares 24th"] [Site "Morelia/Linares"] [Date "2007.02.19"] [Round "3"] [White "Morozevich, Alexander"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2741"] [BlackElo "2744"] [Annotator "Marin,Mihail"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2007.02.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 117"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2007.03.30"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2007.03.30"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. e3 c5 8. Be2 Qa5 9. O-O O-O 10. Nd2 $5 {A new move. Of course, Morozevich does not allow such details as the loss of a pawn to distract him from his plans.} ({Aronian had recent pleasant memories after the more common continuation} 10. Qc2 Bxc3 11. bxc3 Ne4 12. c4 cxd4 13. cxd5 Re8 14. Rad1 h6 15. Bh4 dxe3 16. fxe3 Nc3 17. Be1 Rxe3 18. Bd3 Qc5 19. Qxc3 Rxe1+ 20. Qxc5 Rxf1+ 21. Bxf1 Nxc5 22. Ne5 Nd7 {and White did not obtain sufficient compensation for the pawn. Given the fact that the position is simplified, the d-pawn is not too dangerous. Radjabov,T (2729)-Aronian,L (2744)/Wijk aan Zee 2007/ (0-1, 65)}) 10... Bxc3 {Psychologically, it is hard to refuse such a gift. It would mean that Black's previous play, based on the concentration of forces on the queenside was somewhat pointless. Besides, the threat ?b3 was rather annoying.} ({The alternate way to parry ?b3 was} 10... c4 {, renewing the threat of ...?xc3. However, releasing the tension so easily would have allowed White obtain the initiative in the centre with} 11. Qc2 Re8 12. Bf3 {preparing e4. We can see that the bishop is better placed than on f5 (as happens in the lines based on ?d3), because it puts pressure on the long diagonal and does not face the danger of being exchanged for the relatively passive c8-bishop.}) 11. bxc3 ({The intermediate} 11. Nb3 $2 {does not work because of} Qa4 {(A nice stablesquare for Her Majesty)} 12. bxc3 Ne4 $17) 11... Qxc3 12. Rc1 Qa3 13. dxc5 {This is the kind of position White has aimed for: he has the better development, a strong pair of bishops and a firm control over the dark squares.} Qxa2 {The least Black can do is win a pawn to compensate for the strategic drawbacks of his position.} 14. Bf4 $5 {The bishop has done its job on g5. By retreating to f4, it avoids being attacked by an eventual ...?e4 and takes another important diagonal under control. The generally desirable developing move ...?e5 is prevented and in certain cases the bishop could go to d6.} Re8 {A multi purpose move and, possibly, the only reasonable continuation. Black enables both ...?e5 and ...?f8, in order to prepare the development of the queenside.} ({He is not prepared to undermine the c5-pawn with} 14... b6 {because of} 15. c6 Nc5 16. Be5 {with strong pressure. The immediate threat is ?a1, trapping the enemy queen.}) ({As pointed out by Shipov, the attempt to transfer the queen's knight to c6 with} 14... Nb8 {would be strongly met by} 15. Be5 $1) 15. Nf3 {Not only preparing the transfer of the knight to d4, but also preventing Black's planned ...?e5.} (15. Nb3 {allows Black complete his development with} Ne5 (15... Ne4 16. f3 Nef6 17. Bb5 a6 18. Ra1 Qb2 19. Qd3 $16) 16. Nd4 Bd7) 15... Ne4 16. Bb5 {The best way to defend the c5-pawn.} a6 $5 {The importance of this move will become clear soon.} 17. Ba4 $1 ({Very ambitious.} 17. Bxd7 {would have led to approximate equality after} Bxd7 18. Ra1 Qb2 (18... Qc4 $6 {would lose the exchange after} 19. Ne5) 19. Qxd5 $11) 17... Nexc5 $5 {The final consequences of the tactical operation initiated by this move are hard to evaluate, but Black had no other way to complete his development.} 18. Rxc5 Nxc5 19. Bxe8 Be6 {Now we can see Aronian's point. It suddenly appears that White's extra-bishop is trapped. The control over the b5-square is essential for the net surrounding the bishop. However, White has not exhausted his resources yet.} 20. Be5 $3 {The enthusiastic evaluation of this move has an elevated degree of subjectivism, based on the admiration of its unexpected and original character.} ({White would have retained strong compensation with the more natural} 20. Bxf7+ Bxf7 21. Be5 $1 {, but Morozevich has more ambitious plans: he wants to eliminate the g7-pawn, in order to leave the enemy king with chronic problems of safety.}) 20... Rxe8 21. Bxg7 $1 Kxg7 {After the weakening of the kingside dark squares, Black should not allow this bishop remain on board.} (21... Qa4 {would not change anything because of} 22. Qd2 {and if} Kxg7 {then} 23. Qc3+ {with similar play as in the game. It should be mentioned that} d4 $2 {, aiming to unblock the d4-square, is bad because of} 24. Nxd4 {when White will retrieve all the sacirficed material, retaining all his other trumps.}) 22. Qd4+ Kg8 23. Qxc5 Qc4 24. Qd6 {In spite of the radical structural modifications and some simplifications, the evaluation of the position remains the same: the weakness of the dark squares offers White sufficient compensation. The knight is much stronger than the bishop, but the queenside pawns should not be underestimated. Just remember the second game from the Elista match...} Rc8 25. h3 {This move not only ensures White against back rank problems, but also prevents ...?g4.} Qc7 {In the next phase of the game, Aronian will constantly harrass the enemy queen, in order to prevent White from regrouping properly for a kingside attack. However, this approach will fail, because once in a while White will make some small progress, while Black will practically remain immobile.} 26. Qb4 a5 27. Qh4 Qc2 28. Nd4 Qe4 29. Qe7 b6 ({In his annotations for Chess Today, Maxim Notkin recommends} 29... Kh8 {with the idea of ...?g8, aiming to use the g-file for counter-attack. However, this can be easily prevented with} 30. Qf6+ Kg8 31. Kh2 Qg6 (31... Re8 32. f4 Qg6 33. Qh4 {forces Black to play} f5 {which is hardly appealing.}) 32. Qe7 Kh8 33. Qxb7 ({Notkin only analises} 33. f4 Bxh3 $1 $11 {withperpetual in all lines}) 33... Rg8 34. g3 {Black is still far from reaching a draw. The material situation is equal, but White's strategic advantage persists even in case of further simplifications.} Qh6 35. Nxe6 $5 (35. h4 Qf6 (35... Rg4 36. Qe7 $16 {defends the kingside and prepares the activation of the rook.}) 36. Qa6 Rg4 37. Qxa5 Rxh4+ 38. Kg1 Rg4 39. Rb1 h5 $14) 35... fxe6 36. Qa6 $16) 30. Kh2 Bf5 {The transfer of the bishop to g6 does not seem like a good idea, as it will provide White with a simple attacking plan. However, Black's position is not easy to handle. The most difficult thing is to discern between real threats and imaginary ones.} (30... Kh8 31. Qf6+ Kg8 32. f4 Qg6 33. Qe7 $18 {[%csl Ge6][%CAl Rf4f5]}) 31. Qf6 Bg6 32. f4 {Suddenly, Black is in great trouble.} Qxe3 33. Rf3 Qc1 34. Rg3 Qa1 35. f5 ({This is winning, of course, but slightly more precise would have been} 35. h4 {, threatening h5-h6 followed by Qg7 mate. In case of} h5 {, the move} 36. f5 {is even stronger than in the game, because the g6-square has been weakened. I would allow myself a small digression. I am currently involved in our national championship (which partly explains why my comments are more superficial than usual). In the same day when the current game was played, I obtained a similar attacking position against GM Grigore, but failed to convert it into a win because I did not play h4 at the right moment... However, the coincidence is only relative, as Morozevich should still win after the game move, although by less obvious means...}) 35... Rc1 36. Re3 Rh1+ 37. Kg3 Re1 38. Rf3 ({White had a fantastic attacking continuation:} 38. Qd8+ Kg7 39. f6+ Kh6 40. Kh4 $3 {. Taking over the g5- and h5-squares to the enemy king and threatening mate in one on f8.} Qxd4+ ({If} 40... Be4 {then} 41. Qf8+ Kg6 42. Qg7# {and the f5=square is taken away from the enemy king by the knight}) 41. g4 {and it is all over. Again,} Bc2 {does not help because fater} 42. Qf8+ Kg6 43. Qg7# {the g4-pawn has replaced the knight for the job of controlling the f5-square.}) 38... Rf1 39. fxg6 $2 ({Finally allowing Black to escape dry out of the deepest water.} 39. Qd8+ {would have still won, in similar way as in the rpevious variation.}) 39... Rxf3+ 40. Qxf3 Qe1+ 41. Kf4 hxg6 42. Qxd5 Qf2+ 43. Nf3 {After 43...?xg2 White will not have sufficient pawns left to retain winning chances.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Lublin 3rd"] [Site "Lublin"] [Date "2011.05.15"] [Round "1"] [White "Roiz, Michael"] [Black "Socko, Bartosz"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2660"] [BlackElo "2654"] [Annotator "Roiz,Michael"] [PlyCount "179"] [EventDate "2011.05.15"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "POL"] [EventCategory "18"] [SourceTitle "CBM 143"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2011.07.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] {I was happy to start the tournament with a hard-won victory in the 1st round. Unfortunately, that was also the last one!} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. Qb3 {That is what I had prepared for this game.} c5 7. a3 Qa5 {In my opinion, this is the most principled move.} (7... dxc4 8. Qxc4 Bxc3+ 9. Qxc3 h6 10. Bxf6 $6 (10. Bh4 g5 11. Bg3 Ne4 12. Qd3 $14) 10... Qxf6 11. Rc1 b6 12. e3 a6 13. dxc5 bxc5 14. Nd2 Rb8 $11 {0-1 Hammer,J (2647)-Efimenko,Z (2701)/Wijk aan Zee NED 2011 (78)}) 8. Bd2 O-O {A very natural move - Black simply completes his development.} ({An earlier game saw} 8... dxc4 $6 9. Qxc4 Nb6 10. Qa2 Bxc3 11. Bxc3 Qb5 12. e3 $16 {and White was much better in 0-1 Mamedyarov,S (2763)-Savchenko,B (2632)/Moscow 2010/EXT 2011 (30)}) 9. e3 $146 {A new move which hardly can pose Black any serious problems. Black has some development advantage which compensates for White's bishop pair in any case.} (9. Rc1 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 Qd8 11. e3 b6 $11) (9. Rd1 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 Qc7 $11 11. dxc5 $6 Nxc5 12. Qc2 Nce4 $36 {0-1 Mamedyarov,S (2763)-Grischuk,A (2771)/Moscow 2010/EXT 2011 (37)}) 9... Bxc3 10. Bxc3 Qd8 $1 {The most exact retreat.} (10... Qc7 11. dxc5 Nxc5 12. Qc2 Nce4 13. Be5 Qe7 14. Bd3 b6 15. cxd5 exd5 16. O-O Bg4 17. Bxf6 Nxf6 18. Nd4 $14) 11. Rd1 {After a deep meditation I didn't manage to find any way to prevent Black from setting up a comfortable position by means of 11...b6 and 12...?b7 or even 12...?a6. Perhaps, this line is just not very promising for white.} (11. Qc2 Ne4 12. Bd3 Nxc3 13. bxc3 dxc4 14. Bxc4 Nf6 $11) 11... b6 12. dxc5 ({After} 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Bb5 Bb7 14. Bxd7 Nxc3 15. Qxc3 Qxd7 16. dxc5 Qb5 $11 {[%csl Re1] only White may be in trouble here.}) 12... Nxc5 13. Qc2 Bb7 {This natural move was played rapidly. However, Black had some good alternatives at his disposal.} (13... Bd7 $5 14. b3 Nce4 $11) (13... Nce4 14. Bb4 Re8 15. cxd5 exd5 16. Bb5 Bd7 $11) 14. Ng5 $5 {The only way to keep some pressure on the board.} ({Black's knights are too strong after} 14. Be2 Nfe4 15. Bd4 Rc8 16. O-O Nd6 {and it is White who has to be careful.}) 14... Nfe4 $1 {The most ''human'' decision, which was highly predictable. However, during the game I considered 2 other options:} (14... g6 {this looks a bit scary,but actually it is not easy to exploit the weakness of ?g8.} 15. b4 (15. h4 Nfe4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. Be5 Qe7 18. h5 {looks too risky, since White is not developed enough.}) 15... Nce4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. Ba1 {and it looks like White may fight for an edge here.}) (14... Re8 15. cxd5 (15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. Qxh7+ Kf8 17. Qh5 Ke7 {gives Black a lot of play for the pawn.}) 15... Bxd5 16. Bb5 $1 h6 $1 17. b4 $1 Ncd7 18. Bxf6 Nxf6 19. Bxe8 Qxe8 20. Nf3 Rc8 21. Qd2 {and I am not 100% sure if Black has sufficient compensation.}) 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Bb4 {That was the point of 14.?g5 - at least I got a tempo for my next developing move.} Re8 (16... Nc5 $5 17. cxd5 Bxd5 18. Bc4 Qg5 19. Bxd5 exd5 20. O-O Rac8 21. Qe2 Rfd8 $11) 17. Bd3 Qh4 ({The most precise option was:} 17... a5 $1 18. Bxe4 axb4 19. Bxh7+ (19. cxd5 exd5 20. Bxh7+ Kh8 21. Bf5 Qg5 (21... bxa3 22. bxa3 Qf6 23. O-O Rxa3 24. Rd4 $14 {leaves some problems}) 22. O-O d4 23. f4 Qf6 $13) 19... Kh8 20. cxd5 Rc8 21. Qb1 $11 {and here Black has a lot of possibilities, but the position remains more or less equal .}) ({Also worth considering is} 17... Qg5 18. Bxe4 (18. O-O Nf6 19. f4 (19. cxd5 Rac8 20. Bc3 Bxd5 21. e4 Bb7 $11) 19... Qh5 $11) 18... dxe4 19. O-O a5 20. Bd6 Rac8 21. a4 h5 $132 {with a level game.}) 18. Bxe4 Qxe4 19. Qxe4 dxe4 {The resulting endgame is somewhat better for White due to his superior pawn structure.} 20. a4 {An important move which prevents Black from fixing the structure by a7-a5-a4.} Red8 21. Rxd8+ $1 {It's important to swap the rooks first.} (21. Ke2 Rd3 22. Rxd3 exd3+ 23. Kxd3 Bxg2 $11) 21... Rxd8 22. Ke2 f6 23. Rd1 Rxd1 (23... Rd3 {doesn't solve all the problems:} 24. Rxd3 exd3+ 25. Kxd3 Bxg2 26. Bd6 Kf7 27. Bb8 a6 28. Kc3 Bf1 29. Ba7 b5 30. cxb5 axb5 31. a5 $14 {and the ?a5 is very strong.}) 24. Kxd1 Kf7 25. Bd6 Ke8 26. b4 {I just wanted to push my pawn to b5.} ({Another way to handle this endgame was:} 26. Bb8 Bc6 27. b3 a6 28. Ba7 b5 29. cxb5 axb5 30. a5 Kd7 31. Kc2 Kc8 32. Bc5 $14) 26... Kd7 27. Bb8 a6 28. Kc2 h5 29. h4 g6 {Bartosz prefers a passive defence.} (29... Kc8 30. Bd6 Kd8 31. Bf8 g6 32. Kc3 Bc8 33. Bg7 Ke7 34. b5 Kf7 35. Bh8 {leads to the same type of position.}) ({Another defensive resource was:} 29... g5 $5 30. hxg5 fxg5 31. Be5 Bc6 32. b5 axb5 33. axb5 Ba8 34. Bf6 g4 35. Kc3 $14 {but I am not sure if Black's task is easier here.}) 30. Kc3 Bc6 31. b5 axb5 32. axb5 Bb7 33. Bf4 {The bishop is going to attack the ?f6 from the opposite side.} e5 34. Bh6 Ke7 35. Kb4 Ba8 (35... Ke6 36. c5 bxc5+ 37. Kxc5 Bd5 38. Kb6 Kd7 39. Bg7 f5 40. Ka7 Kc7 41. b6+ Kc8 42. Bxe5 {didn't change anything.}) 36. Bg7 {Sooner or later,Black should give up one of his pawns, as he cannot let the penetration of the ?b4 into his camp.} Kf7 37. Bh8 Ke6 38. Bg7 Kf7 39. Bh6 Ke7 40. c5 {It was impossible to make any progress without this move.} bxc5+ 41. Kxc5 Kd7 42. Bg7 f5 $1 {Of course,Black prefers to do without ?e5.} 43. Bxe5 Bb7 {It looks like there is no way to break the fortress, but Black shouldn't relax just yet.} 44. Bf4 Ba8 45. Bh2 Bb7 46. Kb6 Kc8 47. Bf4 Ba8 48. Be5 Bb7 ({Of course, not} 48... Bd5 $2 49. Kc5 Ba8 50. Kd6 $18) 49. Bd4 Ba8 50. Kc5 Kd7 51. Kc4 Bb7 52. Kc3 Kd6 53. Kd2 Bd5 54. Ke1 {Obviously White's only attempt to make any progress is by bringing the king to g5 via f1 or by means of f2-f3 and ?e1-f2.} Bc4 55. b6 Ba6 56. f3 {Till now Bartosz was defending quite well, but he fails to take some concrete decisions.} Bb7 $6 ({Black could achieve an immediate draw after:} 56... f4 $1 57. exf4 (57. fxe4 fxe3 58. Bxe3 Ke5 $11) 57... exf3 58. gxf3 Kc6 59. Kd2 Kb7 $11 {[%CAl Ga6b5,Gb5d7] as White cannot create a second passer.}) 57. Kf2 Ke6 ({After} 57... exf3 58. gxf3 f4 59. e4 Ba6 60. Ke1 Kc6 61. Kd2 {White still has some chances.}) ({But again,} 57... f4 $1 58. fxe4 Bxe4 59. exf4 Kd7 60. g3 Ke6 61. Ke3 Ba8 62. Be5 Bb7 63. Kd4 Bg2 $11 {was a solution.}) 58. Kg3 Ba8 59. Kf4 Bb7 60. Kg5 Kf7 61. Kf4 Ke6 62. Bc3 Bc6 (62... exf3 {was still possible, but after} 63. gxf3 Bc6 64. Bd4 {Black should find the correct:} Kd7 $1 (64... Bb7 $2 65. Kg5 Kf7 66. e4 fxe4 67. f4 $1 Bc6 68. Be3 Bb7 69. f5 gxf5 70. Kxh5 Kf6 71. Kh6 $18) 65. e4 (65. Kg5 Bxf3 66. Kxg6 Bg4 $11) 65... fxe4 66. fxe4 Ke6 $11 {and Black can stop both the pawns.}) 63. Be1 Kf6 64. Bc3+ Ke6 65. Kg5 Kf7 $2 {Having few minutes left on his clock, my opponent misses the last chance of changing the pawn structure.} (65... exf3 $1 66. gxf3 Kf7 67. e4 fxe4 68. f4 e3 69. f5 gxf5 70. Kxh5 f4 $11) 66. f4 $1 {It's hard to believe, but White is probably winning now, as he has a clear plan for creating the second passer.} Bb7 67. Be1 Bc8 68. Bf2 Kg7 69. Bg3 Kf7 70. Be1 Kg7 71. g3 Kf7 72. Bc3 Bb7 73. g4 hxg4 (73... fxg4 {is even worse:} 74. Be1 Kg7 75. f5 gxf5 76. Kxf5 $18) 74. h5 gxh5 75. Kxf5 {Finally I got the second passer, and the black pawns may be easily stopped.} g3 (75... Bc8+ 76. Kxe4 Bb7+ 77. Ke5 g3 78. Be1 g2 79. Bf2 h4 80. f5 $18 {is completely hopeless.}) 76. Be1 g2 77. Bf2 Ke7 78. Kg6 Bd5 79. Kxh5 (79. f5 Kf8 80. Kxh5 Kf7 81. Kg5 Bc6 82. f6 $18 {was good enough.}) 79... Kf6 80. Kg4 Ke6 81. Kg5 $1 {The last accurate move..} (81. Kg3 $2 Kd6 82. Kxg2 Kc6 83. Kg3 Be6 $11) 81... Kf7 82. Kf5 Bb7 83. Bg1 Ba8 84. Ke5 Ke7 85. f5 {The rest is simple White wins a piece, while Black cannot create any threats.} Kf7 86. Kd6 Kf6 87. Kc7 Kxf5 88. b7 Bxb7 89. Kxb7 Kg4 90. Kc6 1-0 [Event "Astrakhan FIDE GP"] [Site "Astrakhan"] [Date "2010.05.19"] [Round "9"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Eljanov,Pavel"] [PlyCount "112"] [EventDate "2010.05.10"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 137"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.07.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.07.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. e3 c4 $5 {A rather rare opening variation. I learned it when Alexander Morozevich tried it successfully against... me in the Tal Memorial (blitz).} 9. Nd2 ({One week later Sasha Moiseenko played} 9. Be2 g5 10. Bg3 Ne4 11. Rc1 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Qa5 13. O-O {and here I had prepared a novelty:} O-O $5 $146 14. Qc2 Bf5 15. Qb2 Qb6 {0-1 Moiseenko,A (2669)-Eljanov,P (2751)/Odessa UKR 2010 (56). Black is ok.}) 9... g5 10. Bg3 Bf5 11. Be5 ({Against Moro I played} 11. Be2 O-O 12. O-O Re8 13. a3 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Nc6 15. Re1 b5 {but Black obviously is ok here:} 16. Bf1 Bg6 17. f3 a5 18. e4 dxe4 19. fxe4 Nxe4 20. Nxe4 Rxe4 21. Rxe4 Bxe4 22. Qh5 Nxd4 23. Re1 Bg6 24. Qg4 Nf5 25. Bf2 a4 26. Rd1 Qe7 27. Qf3 Rd8 28. Rxd8+ Qxd8 29. Qc6 Nd6 30. Bg3 Ne4 31. Qxb5 Qe7 {0-1 Eljanov,P (2716)-Morozevich,A (2788)/ Moscow 2008/CBM 126 Extra}) ({Possible is also the principled} 11. h4 {however it is very hard to judge, what is the strongest as the position is rather complicated; both sides have their trumps.}) 11... Bxc3 (11... Nbd7 $2 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. Nxd5) 12. bxc3 Nbd7 13. Bd6 Qb6 14. Bg3 {A novelty but it does not look very logical.} (14. Ba3 {I think here Black has also good counterplay, but with queens on the board White has more chances to attack the black king.} Qa6 15. Bb4 Qe6 16. a4 Ne4 (16... a5 $5) 17. a5 g4 18. Be2 Ndf6 19. Nf1 O-O-O 20. f3 Ng5 21. h4 gxh3 22. g4 Bd3 23. a6 b6 24. Bxd3 cxd3 25. Kf2 h5 26. gxh5 Qf5 27. Nh2 Nge4+ 28. Ke1 Qg5 29. fxe4 Qxe3+ 30. Kf1 Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:05] 0-1 Gauglitz,G (2465)-Dizdar,G (2500)/Halle 1987/ CBM}) 14... Qb2 $1 {Not the only move, but it's obvious, that Black is very much ok after the queen swap.} 15. Qc1 Qxc1+ 16. Rxc1 b5 {Anyway it's necessary as after} (16... O-O 17. f3 Rfe8 18. Kf2 Re6 {White has} 19. e4 $1) 17. f3 O-O 18. Kf2 Rfe8 19. a4 a6 $1 (19... bxa4 20. e4 dxe4 21. Nxc4 {at least is not worse.}) 20. Be2 Re6 21. Rhe1 Nb6 (21... Rae8 $1 {looks like a bit more precise:} 22. Nf1 ({Possibly I was afraid of} 22. Bd1 Bd3 23. Ra1 {but here I have the very strong knight transfer} Nb8 $1 24. axb5 axb5 25. Ra8 Nc6 {where the b4-threat is rather annoying for White.}) 22... Nb6 23. axb5 axb5 24. Ra1 Na4 $15) 22. axb5 axb5 23. Ra1 Na4 24. Ra3 Bg6 25. Bf1 Nd7 $5 ({I didn't see anything special after} 25... Rae8 26. h4 Nb2 27. hxg5 hxg5 28. Rea1 Bd3 (28... Rxe3 29. Be5) (28... Nd3+ 29. Bxd3 Bxd3 30. Re1 Rb6 31. Rh1 $132) 29. Be5 Nd7 30. Bc7 $132) 26. h4 $6 (26. e4 $1 {was better:} f5 {and here White has some choice} 27. exd5 {looks dangerous, but I did not find anything real here for White:} (27. exf5 Rxe1 28. Kxe1 Bxf5 {Black is just better}) ({Also interesting is} 27. Rb1 $5 Rb6 (27... dxe4 28. fxe4 f4 29. Rxb5 fxg3+ 30. Kxg3 $36) (27... fxe4 28. fxe4 dxe4 29. Ke3 $1 Nf6 30. Rxb5 Ng4+ 31. Ke2 e3 32. Nxc4 Nxh2 33. Bxh2 Nxc3+ 34. Rxc3 Bh5+ 35. Kd3 Bg6+ $11) 28. exf5 Bxf5 29. Rb4 $13) 27... Rxe1 28. Kxe1 f4 29. Bf2 Re8+ 30. Be2 Nf6 31. d6 Bd3 32. Ne4 Nxe4 33. fxe4 Bxe4 34. g3 f3 35. d7 Rd8 36. Bxc4+ bxc4 37. Rxa4 Rxd7 38. Rxc4 Ra7 39. Rc5 Ra1+ 40. Kd2 Ra2+ 41. Ke1) 26... f5 27. hxg5 hxg5 28. f4 g4 $1 {This is the case where a human move is stronger than the first line of engines (from a practical point of view - obviously).} (28... Nf6 {this is it} 29. fxg5 (29. Be2 {also possible}) 29... Ng4+ 30. Kg1 Rxe3 31. Rxe3 Nxe3 32. Nf3 {I saw this line during the game, but refused to play it. Human logic is simple: White has a good square on e5, the position is opened (two bishops!) and the pawn on g5 could be powerful in the future. The only way to choose this line is to calculate all lines till the big advantage. But I didn't see anything special even with the help of my silicon friend.} Re8 (32... f4) (32... Bh5) (32... Be8)) 29. Rb1 Ra5 30. Be2 Rea6 31. Bh4 (31. Rba1 Nb8 $1 (31... Kf7 32. e4 $1 fxe4 33. Nf1 $132) (31... Nf6 32. Bh4 Kg7 33. Bd1 Nxc3 $5 34. Bxf6+ Kxf6 35. Rxa5 Nxd1+ 36. Ke2 Nc3+ 37. Ke1 Rxa5 38. Rxa5 Be8 {White should hold it} 39. Ra6+ Ke7 40. Rb6 Bd7 41. Nf1 Ne4 42. Nd2) 32. e4 (32. Bh4 Nc6 $17) 32... Nc6 33. exd5 Nb6 34. dxc6 (34. Rxa5 Rxa5 35. Rxa5 Nxa5 36. d6 Nb7 {despite the rook swap Black is better as White has just no space} 37. d7 Nxd7 38. Kg1 Nb6) 34... Rxa3 35. Rb1 Be8 36. Rxb5 Rxc3 37. Rxf5 Rc2 $17) 31... Nab6 32. Rxa5 Rxa5 33. Bd8 {Probably it's just losing tempi.} ({However} 33. Nf1 Na4 34. Ra1 Nb8 35. Ng3 Nc6 36. Ra3 Kf7 {White is struggling.}) 33... Be8 $1 34. Ke1 Ra8 35. Be7 $2 {The decisive mistake.} (35. Bg5 Nb8 36. Bd1 Ra3 37. Rc1 Nc6 $17) ({It was necessary to prevent the penetration of Black's rook:} 35. Bc7 Na4 36. Ra1 Nf6 37. Ra3 Ra7 38. Be5 Kf7 39. Bd1 Ke6 {and White is worse but still in the game.}) 35... Kf7 36. Bb4 Ra2 {Now it's too late.} 37. Bd1 Ke6 38. Rc1 Nb8 $1 39. Rc2 Ra1 40. Rb2 Na6 41. Rb1 Ra2 42. g3 {Losing by force, but it's anyway a question of time.} (42. Be2 Nxb4 43. cxb4 Na4 $19) 42... Nd7 43. Be2 Nxb4 44. Rxb4 Nf6 45. Kd1 Ra1+ 46. Rb1 Rxb1+ 47. Nxb1 Ne4 48. Bf1 Nxg3 49. Bg2 Ne4 50. Ke2 Kd6 51. Bxe4 dxe4 52. Na3 Kc6 53. Nc2 Kb6 54. Kf2 Ka5 55. Kg3 Ka4 56. d5 Bd7 0-1 [Event "Moscow Tal Memorial 5th"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2010.11.13"] [Round "8"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Wang, Hao"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2727"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2010.11.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 139"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.11.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.11.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 {The main move, although it seems a bit illogical since the white bishop is still on f1.} 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. exd4 {Getting a typical isolated central pawn structure.} (11. Nxd4 {is an alternative approach.}) 11... Nc6 (11... Rd8) (11... Bxc3 {have been seen in practice, too.}) 12. Ne4 Qe7 {The most solid reply.} ({After} 12... Qf4 {the black queen will be vulnerable:} 13. Qe2 Rd8 (13... Bd7 14. g3 (14. a3 Be7 15. Rfd1 Rad8 16. g3 Qg4 17. Qe3 Bc8 18. b4 a6 19. Rd2 Kh8 20. Be2 Qf5 $11 {1/2 Lerner,K (2560)-Farago,I (2445)/Boeblingen 1997/EXT 2001 (36)}) 14... Qc7 15. Qe3 Rfd8 16. a3 Bf8 17. b4 $14 {[%CAl Gc1c7,Ge4c5] 1-0 Bagirov,R (2507)-Vasilevich,T (2431)/Abu Dhabi 2003/CBM 097/[Ribli] (60) Weiß kontrolliert mehr Raum und die schwarze Dame steht weniger glücklich auf der c-Linie.}) 14. g3 Qg4 (14... Qf5 15. Rfd1 Bf8 (15... Ba5 $2 16. Nh4 Qh7 17. d5 exd5 18. Bxd5 Bf5 19. Nc5 Bb6 20. Nxb7 Nd4 21. Rxd4 Bxd4 22. Nxd8 Rxd8 23. Rc7 $18 {1-0 Shneider,A (2530)-Blatny,P (2485)/Bern 1995/EXT 2000 (36)}) 16. a3 Bd7 17. Bd3 (17. b4 $14 {[%CAl Yf3h4,Yd4d5] A.Shneider}) 17... Qh5 18. Nc5 Bxc5 19. Rxc5 Qg4 20. Kg2 b6 21. Rc3 Qh5 22. Ne5 Qxe2 23. Bxe2 Nxe5 24. dxe5 Ba4 $11 {1/2 Cebalo,M (2570)-Dizdar,G (2510)/Slavonski Brod 1995/CBM 048 (32)}) (14... Qc7 $142 $5 {The best move but then why 12...?f4 ?} 15. Rfd1 Bd7 16. a3 Bf8 17. b4 a6 18. Ba2 Be8 19. Bb1 Qe7 20. h4 g6 $13 {0-1 Shulman,Y (2581)-Onischuk,A (2650)/San Diego 2006/CBM 112 (47)}) 15. Rfd1 (15. Qe3 Bd7 (15... Ba5 16. Be2 Bb6 17. Rfd1 Qf5 18. Nc5 Qf6 19. Ne5 $14 {1-0 Gelfand,B (2680)-Benjamin,J (2610)/Horgen 1994/CBM 043/[Gelfand] (41)}) 16. Be2 Qf5 17. Bd3 Qh5 18. a3 {1/2 Komarov,D (2580)-Farago,I (2475)/Bozen 1998/CBM 065 ext}) 15... Bd7 (15... Ba5 16. a3 Bb6 17. b4 Qh5 18. b5 Na5 19. Ba2 Rd5 20. Rc2 Bd7 21. a4 Rd8 22. Nc5 $14 {1/2 Shneider,A (2551)-Kuzmin,G (2466)/Ordzhonikidze 2000/CBM 078 (42)}) 16. a3 Bf8 (16... Be7 17. Qe3 Be8 18. b4 a6 19. Be2 Qh3 $6 (19... Qf5 20. Nc5 Bxc5 21. dxc5 Qf6 22. Bd3 $14) 20. Nc5 Bxc5 21. dxc5 Qf5 22. Bd3 Qf6 23. Be4 $16 {1-0 Gelfand,B (2681)-Piket,J (2649)/New Delhi/Teheran 2000/CBM 080/[Gelfand] (32)}) 17. Qe3 Be8 18. b4 Qh5 19. Be2 Qf5 20. Nh4 Qh7 21. Nc5 g5 22. Nf3 Rab8 23. Bc4 $14 {1/2 Magai,V (2546)-Mitkov,N (2532)/Istanbul 2000/EXT 2001 (44)}) (12... Qd8 13. a3 $1 (13. d5 exd5 14. Bxd5 Bf5 15. Qb3 Qb6 16. Ng3 Bd7 17. Nh5 Bg4 18. Bxc6 bxc6 19. Rc4 Bxh5 20. Rxb4 Qa5 21. a3 Bxf3 22. Qxf3 Rab8 $11 {1/2 Komarov,D (2575)-Kupreichik,V (2500)/Yugoslavia 1995/EXT 2010 (26)}) 13... Ba5 14. Qd3 Bb6 15. Rfd1 Qe7 {losing a tempo} 16. Bb5 Bd7 17. Nc5 Be8 18. Qc3 Rc8 19. b4 a5 20. Bd3 axb4 21. axb4 Rc7 22. Qe1 Kh8 23. h4 $36 {1-0 Topalov,V (2725)-Polgar,J (2645)/Madrid 1997/CBM 059 (45)}) 13. Qe2 (13. a3 Ba5 14. b4 Bb6 15. d5 exd5 16. Bxd5 Bg4 17. Nc5 Rad8 18. Re1 Qd6 19. Nxb7 Qxd5 20. Qxd5 Rxd5 21. Rxc6 Bxf3 22. gxf3 Rd2 $44 {1/2 Zivanic,M (2459)-Yermolinsky,A (2522)/Stillwater 2009/CBM 130 Extra (41)}) (13. Qc2 Rd8 14. Rfd1 Bd7 15. a3 Ba5 16. b4 Bb6 17. Nc5 Be8 18. d5 exd5 19. Bxd5 a5 $132 {0-1 Aronian,L (2786)-Kramnik,V (2772)/Moscow 2009/EXT 2010 (52)}) 13... Rd8 (13... Ba5 14. Bb5 Bd7 15. Nc5 Be8 16. Qe4 Bb6 17. Bd3 g6 18. Rfd1 {1/2 Benjamin,J-Serper,G/Connecticut 2000/EXT 2001 (42)}) 14. Rfd1 Bd7 (14... Ba5 {is a bit premature as proven by GM R.Ruck:} 15. Bb5 $1 Bd7 16. Nc5 (16. Ne5 {0-1 Cebalo,M (2512)-Dizdar,G (2542)/Vukovar 2005/EXT 2006 (43)} Nxd4 $5 17. Rxd4 Bxb5 18. Rxd8+ Rxd8 19. Qxb5 Rd5 20. Ng6 fxg6 21. Qe2 Bb6 $13) 16... Be8 17. d5 $1 Rxd5 (17... exd5 18. Qxe7 Nxe7 19. Nxb7 Rdb8 20. Nxa5 Rxb5 21. Nb3 a5 22. Rd2 a4 23. Nbd4 $14 {1/2 Ruck,R (2531)-Dizdar,G (2541)/Austria 2007/EXT 2008 (38)}) 18. Rxd5 exd5 19. Qxe7 Nxe7 20. Nxb7 Bb6 21. Nd6 Bxb5 22. Nxb5 Rb8 23. Nc3 $14 {1-0 Ruck,R (2558)-Neubauer,M (2417)/Austria 2008/EXT 2009 (53)}) 15. Bd3 $146 {With the idea of a kingside attack along the b1-h7 diagonal.} (15. a3 Ba5 16. b4 {creates an object of counterplay by ...a7-a5:} (16. Nc5 Be8 17. Qe4 Bb6 18. Bd3 g6 19. b4 a5 20. Rb1 axb4 21. axb4 Kg7 22. h4 h5 23. Re1 Rd6 $13 {0-1 Premnath,R (2304)-Gutov,A (2444)/New Delhi IND 2010/The Week in Chess 794 (38)}) 16... Bb6 17. Nc5 Be8 18. Qe4 (18. h4 a5 19. Rb1 axb4 20. axb4 Rd6 21. Rd3 Rad8 22. Qd2 Na7 23. Re1 Qc7 24. d5 exd5 25. Bxd5 Bc6 $11 {1/2 Cebalo,M (2544)-Rosandic,D (2280)/Zagreb 2002/CBM 091 ext (30)}) 18... a5 $1 19. Rb1 (19. d5 exd5 20. Bxd5 Qxe4 21. Nxe4 axb4 22. axb4 Nxb4 23. Bxb7 Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 Ra2 $15 {/= 1/2 Winants,L (2504)-Ehlvest,J (2600)/Bled 2002/EXT 2003 (46)}) (19. b5 Nxd4 $1 20. Nxb7 Nxf3+ 21. Qxf3 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Rb8 (22... Bxf2+ $1 23. Qxf2 Qxb7 $15) 23. Nd6 Rd8 24. Nxe8 Qxe8 $11 {0-1 Ruck,R (2572)-Ehlvest,J (2600)/Panormo 2002/CBM 090 ext (59)}) 19... axb4 20. axb4 Nxb4 $6 (20... Ra3 $132) 21. Rxb4 Bxc5 22. Rxb7 Qd6 23. Bd3 f5 24. Qe2 Bxd4 $4 25. Nxd4 Qxd4 26. Qxe6+ Kh8 27. Qxf5 g6 28. Qf8# {1-0 Cifuentes Parada,R (2503)-Rodriguez Gonzalez,J (2249)/San Sebastian 2003/EXT 2005}) 15... Be8 16. Bb1 {GM Sh.Mamedyarov himself didn't overestimate the strength of his attack but he said he simply liked the position.} Ba5 17. Nc5 Bb6 18. a3 {Still!} Bxc5 (18... Nxd4 {was the simplest way to equality:} 19. Nxd4 Bxc5 20. Qc2 {apparently winning a piece but...} f6 $1 {the most accurate} (20... Qg5 $143 21. Qxc5 Qxc5 22. Rxc5 Rd6 23. Be4 $1 Rad8 24. Bxb7 Ba4 25. Rd2 Rxd4 26. Rxd4 Rxd4 27. g3 $14) (20... Kf8 21. Qxc5 Qxc5 22. Rxc5 Rd6 23. Be4 Rad8 24. Nxe6+ $5 fxe6 25. Rxd6 Rxd6 26. Kf1 $14) 21. Qxc5 Qxc5 22. Rxc5 e5 23. Ba2+ Kh8 24. Rd5 Rxd5 25. Bxd5 exd4 26. Bxb7 Rb8 27. Be4 Rxb2 28. Rxd4 Ra2 $1 29. g4 Ra1+ 30. Kg2 Kg8 $11) 19. Qc2 $6 (19. dxc5 $11) 19... f5 $1 (19... Kf8 20. dxc5 (20. Qh7 $6 f5 21. dxc5 Bh5) 20... Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Rd8 $11) 20. Qxc5 (20. dxc5 Bh5 $15) 20... Qxc5 21. Rxc5 Rd6 $6 (21... Bh5 $142 {, and it is now White who must fight for a draw:} 22. Ba2 (22. d5 Ne5 {winning a pawn}) 22... Bxf3 23. Bxe6+ Kf8 (23... Kh8 $144) 24. gxf3 Nxd4 25. Bd5 Ne2+ (25... b6 26. Rc4 Rxd5 27. Rcxd4 $11) 26. Kf1 Nf4 27. Bb3 Rxd1+ 28. Bxd1 g6 29. Rc4 Ne6 $15 {- a typical endgame, in which White's destroyed pawn structure is more important than his B vs N advantage in the open position.}) 22. d5 Bh5 {Illogical although not that bad yet.} (22... Rad8 23. Re1 Rxd5 24. Rxd5 Rxd5 25. Ba2 $11) 23. Rd3 $1 exd5 $6 (23... Rad8 {still led to equality:} 24. dxc6 (24. g4 Bxg4 25. dxc6 Rxd3 26. Bxd3 Bxf3 27. c7 Rc8 28. Bc4 $1 (28. Bb5 $6 Bc6) 28... Bd5 $1 29. Bxd5 exd5 30. Rxd5 Rxc7 31. Rxf5 $11) 24... Rxd3 25. Bxd3 Rxd3 26. g4 $5 bxc6 $8 27. Ne1 (27. Ne5 Rd1+ 28. Kg2 Bxg4 29. Rxc6 Be2 $11) 27... Rd1 28. gxh5 Rxe1+ 29. Kg2 $11 {?}) 24. Rcxd5 Rf6 $2 {[%mdl 16384] Unnecessarily giving up the file. After} (24... Rxd5 25. Rxd5 g6 {[%CAl Ya8d8] White's advantage was still largely symbolic, e.g.} 26. Rd7 Rd8 27. Ba2+ Kf8 28. Rxd8+ Nxd8 29. Nd4 f4 $1) 25. b4 Bf7 26. Rd7 Bc4 27. Rd2 Re8 $5 28. h4 $1 (28. Rxb7 $6 Ne5 29. Nd4 (29. Nxe5 $2 Rxe5 30. Rd1 Rfe6) 29... Rd6 {offers Black counterplay he dreams of.}) 28... b5 (28... Ne5 29. Nxe5 Rxe5 30. Kh2) 29. Rc7 Ne5 (29... Re7 30. Rc8+ Kf7 31. Bxf5 $18) 30. Nxe5 Rxe5 31. Kh2 a6 32. g4 $1 {The decisive breakthrough.} (32. Rdd7 Rf7 {was less convincing.}) 32... Be6 33. g5 hxg5 34. hxg5 Rf8 (34... Rf7 35. g6 $1 Rf6 $8 36. Rd8+ Rf8 37. Rd6 Re8 38. Rxa6 f4 39. Raa7 {[%CAl Gc7g7,Ga7g7] and White should win.}) 35. Re7 Re1 (35... Rf7 36. g6 $18) 36. Ba2 1-0 [Event "EU-ch 12th"] [Site "Aix les Bains"] [Date "2011.04.02"] [Round "11"] [White "Edouard, Romain"] [Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2600"] [BlackElo "2638"] [Annotator "Edouard,Romain"] [PlyCount "123"] [EventDate "2011.03.22"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "FRA"] [SourceTitle "CBM 142 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2011.06.27"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2011.06.27"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. e3 c4 9. Be2 $5 {An interesting idea. Instead of playing more "passively" with 9.?d2, I intend to base my plan on ideas with ?e5 once Black has been weakened with ...g5 and once I have have begun the assault of the c3 pawn (...?xc3, ...?e4, ...?a5).} Bf5 10. O-O g5 11. Bg3 Bxc3 12. bxc3 Ne4 13. Rc1 Nd7 $5 {A very interesting try. My opponent had already played the rather dubious 13...?a5, but I did not know that!} (13... Qa5 14. Ne5 $1 {was played in Moiseenko-Aleksandrov (2001), which was won by White. Here} Nxc3 $2 {would be wrong:} 15. Rxc3 $1 Qxc3 16. Bh5 O-O 17. Qf3 Qc2 18. Bxf7+ $1 Kg7 (18... Rxf7 $2 19. Qxd5 Bg6 20. Nxf7 Bxf7 21. Qxb7 $18) 19. Qxd5 $18) 14. Nd2 Nxg3 15. fxg3 $1 {A typical idea: I weaken my pawn structure, but get strong activity on the f-file. The idea will be to play e4 (so as not to be left with a blot on e3) and possibly to reach the f5-square. As a general rule, if the thrust e4 is never possible, fxg3 should never happen, unless there's good cause!} Bh7 $1 {Played "à tempo" by my opponent.} (15... Bg6 $6 16. Bh5 $1 O-O (16... Bxh5 17. Qxh5 Qe7 18. Rce1 $5 Nf6 19. Qf3 Ne4 20. Nxe4 dxe4 21. Qh5 {just wins.}) 17. Bxg6 fxg6 18. Qc2 {followed by e4. White is clearly better.}) 16. e4 $6 {That tempting move seems to let slip the advantage.} ({The other tempting move} 16. Bh5 {also doens't work:} O-O 17. Qf3 Bd3 18. Qxd5 Bxf1 19. Rxf1 Qe7 20. Nxc4 Nb6 {with unclear position.}) (16. Bg4 $1 {was best, in order to put a piece on f5. Afterwards it will be too late, as ...0-0 will make ...f5 possible.} O-O (16... Bd3 17. Rf2 Qe7 18. Qf3 O-O 19. Bf5 $16) 17. Bf5 {followed by ?f3 and e4 sooner or later. White is better, and will recycle his knight to f5 at some point.}) 16... O-O 17. exd5 (17. Bf3 b5 $1 18. e5 (18. a4 a6 {doesn't change much.}) (18. exd5 {goes back into the game.}) 18... Nb6 19. Bh5 f6 20. Qg4 (20. e6 Qe7 21. Bf7+ Kg7 {and I strongly doubt White's attacking chances.}) 20... Qe7 21. Rce1 f5 {and Black will push his queenside pawns and seems very fine to me.}) 17... b5 18. Bf3 Rb8 $6 (18... Nf6 {was much more precise.}) 19. g4 $6 (19. a4 a6 20. Be4 f5 21. Bb1 Nb6 22. axb5 axb5 23. Qe2 $1 Qxd5 24. Nf3 {was my best try, though I'm not sure White is better at all.}) 19... Nf6 20. Re1 Nxd5 {Here I realised that I couldn't fight for any advantage anymore.} 21. Bxd5 (21. Be4 $6 Nf4 {is fine for Black.}) 21... Qxd5 22. Qf3 Qxf3 (22... Qd7 $5 23. a4 b4 (23... a6 $6 24. Qf6) 24. Nxc4 Qxa4 (24... b3 $5 25. Nb2 Rbe8 {with sufficient compensations for equality.}) 25. cxb4 Rxb4 $11) 23. gxf3 f5 24. gxf5 Bxf5 25. Ne4 Rb6 (25... Bxe4 $5 26. fxe4 Rf4 {was just kind of a draw. But with 6.5/10, a draw wouldn't help anybody.}) 26. Nc5 Rf7 27. Re8+ Kg7 28. a3 Bh3 29. Re3 Rg6 (29... Rbf6 30. f4 Bc8 $11) 30. Rce1 $1 h5 (30... g4 $2 31. f4 $1 {and Black's bishop is bad on h3.}) 31. Re7 Rgf6 32. Rxf7+ Rxf7 33. Kf2 {The position is still kind of OK for Black, but the situation starts to turn!} h4 $2 (33... g4 34. Ne6+ $1 (34. Re3 Rf6 $11) 34... Kg6 35. f4 $16 {and White is better.}) ({Something passive like} 33... Bg4 $5 34. Re3 Bf5 {would have been best. But I think my opponent wasn't expecting any danger at that time.}) 34. Re5 $1 Kg6 (34... Bf5 35. d5 $16) (34... g4 35. Ne6+ Kg6 36. Ng5 Rf6 37. Ke3 a6 38. d5 {with an almost winning position for White.}) 35. Ne4 $1 Rf5 (35... g4 36. Ng5 {check 34...g4}) 36. Re6+ Kf7 37. Ra6 Kf8 {Here I did realise my position was totally winning, but I had to play 3 more moves under huge time pressure!} 38. Ke3 {My first idea was to reach some sort of endgame thanks to ?f6+, now that my king advanced a little bit. But I suddenly realised all endgames were probably drawn.} (38. Rxa7 {was much simpler:} g4 39. Nd2 gxf3 40. Rh7 Rf4 41. Ke3 $18) 38... g4 (38... Bg2 39. Nd2 $1 (39. Rf6+ $6 Rxf6 40. Nxf6 Kf7 41. Ne4 Kg6 42. Nd6 a6 43. Ne8 a5 $5 {or 43...?h3 and I'm not sure at all if White is winning or not!}) 39... Rf7 40. Ra5 Rb7 41. Kf2 Bh3 42. Ne4 g4 43. Ng5 $16) 39. f4 $1 (39. fxg4 Bxg4 40. Rf6+ $2 Ke7 $1 $11 {Oops!}) 39... Bg2 40. Rh6 $1 {Nice blow, especially for a 40th move...} Rf7 $6 (40... h3 41. Nf2 g3 (41... Bf3 42. Nxh3 $18) 42. hxg3 Kg7 43. Ng4 (43. Rh4 Rf6 {is less simple.}) 43... Rf7 44. Rh5 $18 {[%CAl Ye3f2,Yg4e3]}) 41. Rh8+ $1 Kg7 (41... Ke7 42. Rxh4 Bxe4 43. Kxe4 Rg7 44. d5 g3 45. hxg3 Rxg3 46. Kd4 a6 (46... Rd3+ 47. Kc5 $18) 47. Rh7+ Kd6 48. Rh6+ $18) 42. Rxh4 Bf3 43. Rh5 a6 44. Nf2 (44. Nc5 $18) (44. Re5 $18) 44... Kf6 (44... Kf8 $8 45. Ne4 $18 (45. f5 $5)) 45. h3 Rg7 (45... Re7+ 46. Re5 $18) (45... g3 46. Kxf3 (46. Ng4+ $5) 46... gxf2 47. Kxf2 $18) 46. hxg4 Bxg4 47. Rg5 $1 Bd7 (47... Rxg5 48. fxg5+ Kxg5 49. Nxg4 Kxg4 50. Ke4 $18) 48. Ne4+ Kf7 49. Rxg7+ Kxg7 50. Nc5 Bc8 51. d5 Kf6 52. d6 Bg4 53. Nxa6 Ke6 54. Nc7+ Kxd6 55. Nxb5+ Kd5 56. Nc7+ Kd6 57. Na6 Kc6 58. Kd4 Be6 59. Nc5 Bg8 60. f5 Kb5 61. f6 Bf7 62. Nd7 {In my opinion, an important victory!} 1-0 [Event "Olympiad-43"] [Site "Batumi"] [Date "2018.10.02"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2776"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2018.09.24"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "GEO"] [SourceTitle "CBM 187"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2018.12.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2018.12.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Azerbaijan"] [BlackTeam "US of America"] [WhiteTeamCountry "AZE"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Be2 dxc4 10. O-O Bd7 11. Bxc4 {This line was examined in detail by GM Igor Stohl in CBM 167, annotations to the game Topalov-Aronian.} Bxc3 12. bxc3 Rfd8 (12... Qe7 $5 13. Be2 (13. Qc2 Na5 {[%CAl Yc7c5]}) 13... e5 (13... b6 14. Qb3 Rac8 15. Rfd1 Na5 16. Qb2 c5 17. a4 Rfd8 18. Ne5 Be8 19. Bb5 Rc7 {0-1 (47) Fressinet,L (2687)-Giri,A (2782) Paris 2016}) (13... Rfc8 14. Nd2 Nd8 15. Qb3 c5 16. a4 Rc7 17. Qa3 Kf8 18. Ne4 cxd4 19. cxd4 Qxa3 20. Rxa3 Ke7 21. a5 {1/2 (21) Khalifman,A (2624)-Pourramezanali,A (2506) Moscow 2016}) 14. Qb3 b6 15. Qc4 Rac8 16. Nd2 Na5 17. Qb4 c5 18. Qa3 Rfe8 19. d5 e4 20. c4 Qg5 21. Kh1 Rcd8 $132 {1-0 (62) Fedoseev,V (2601)-Aleksandrov,A (2586) Khanty-Mansiysk 2013}) 13. Be2 {Or else:} (13. Qa3 Qe7 14. Qxe7 (14. Qb2 Na5 15. Bd3 c5 16. e4 Be8 17. Rad1 cxd4 18. cxd4 Rac8 $11 {1/2 (67) Shankland,S (2661)-Aronian,L (2770) Tsaghkadzor 2015}) 14... Nxe7 15. Rab1 (15. Ne5 Be8 16. Rfb1 Rab8 17. a4 b6 18. a5 Nc6 19. Nxc6 Bxc6 20. f3 Kf8 21. Kf2 Ke7 $11 {1/2 (46) Navara,D (2730)-So,W (2773) Wijk aan Zee 2016}) (15. a4 c5 16. Rfb1 Rab8 17. Ne5 Be8 18. a5 Rdc8 19. Bb5 Rc7 20. Bxe8 Rxe8 21. Nd3 cxd4 22. cxd4 Nd5 23. g3 Rec8 $11 {1/2 (45) Sargissian,G (2679)-Fressinet,L (2702) Douglas 2015}) 15... b6 16. Ne5 Be8 17. e4 Nc8 18. f3 Nd6 19. Be2 Kf8 20. Kf2 Rac8 21. Nd3 Nb7 22. Nf4 c5 23. Ba6 Rc7 24. Bxb7 Rxb7 25. dxc5 Rd2+ 26. Kg3 Rxa2 $11 {1/2 (39) Karjakin,S (2782)-Aronian,L (2764) Stavanger 2018}) (13. Qc2 Na5 14. Bd3 (14. Be2 c5 15. Ne5 Be8 16. Qe4 Nc6 17. f4 Rac8 18. Rad1 Qe7 19. c4 f5 20. Nxc6 Bxc6 21. Qe5 cxd4 22. Rxd4 Kf7 $13 {1/2 (35) Bu,X (2711)-Le,Q (2712) Ho Chi Minh City 2017}) 14... c5 15. Ne5 (15. Rab1 Rac8 16. Qe2 Be8 17. Ne5 Qe7 18. f4 cxd4 19. cxd4 Rc3 20. Bb5 f6 21. Ng4 {1/2 (21) Mareco,S (2644)-Real de Azua,E (2484) Buenos Aires 2017}) 15... Be8 16. f4 Qe7 (16... Rac8 $143 {1/2 (50) Sanikidze,T (2537)-Libiszewski,F (2533) Drancy 2016} 17. f5 $1 cxd4 $140 18. exd4 Rxd4 19. fxe6 $1 Qxe6 20. Bh7+ Kh8 21. Bf5 Qb6 (21... Qd5 22. Nf3) 22. Rab1 Rb4+ 23. Kh1 {with material gains for White}) 17. Qf2 (17. f5 f6 $1 18. Nc4 Nxc4 19. Bxc4 Bf7 20. Qe4 Re8 $11) (17. Qe2 Rac8 18. f5 f6 19. Ng4 {0-1 (44) Hansen,C (2621)-Hammer,J (2665) Oslo 2015} h5 20. Nf2 e5 $36) 17... Nc6 18. Qg3 f5 19. Nf3 Rac8 20. Qf2 cxd4 21. exd4 Qa3 $132 {1/2 (32) Ribli,Z (2555)-Movsesian,S (2677) Germany 2016}) 13... Be8 (13... e5 $5 14. Qb3 b6 15. Rfd1 Bf5 $132 {I.Stohl}) 14. Qa3 Qe7 15. Qb2 b6 (15... Na5 $143 16. Qb4 $1 Qxb4 17. cxb4 Nc6 18. Rab1 $14 {1-0 (58) Topalov,V (2798)-Aronian,L (2780) Stavanger 2015 CBM 167 [Stohl,I]}) 16. c4 $146 {The only active plan for White.} (16. Nd2 Na5 17. Nb3 (17. Qb4 c5) 17... Nxb3 18. axb3 a5 19. Bf3 (19. b4 axb4 20. Qxb4 Kf8 21. Bf3 Qxb4 22. cxb4 Rxa1 23. Rxa1 Ke7 $11 {1/2 (32) Vachier Lagrave,M (2731)-Aronian,L (2765) Saint Louis 2015}) 19... Rab8 20. b4 c5 21. bxc5 bxc5 22. Qa3 a4 23. Qxc5 Qxc5 24. dxc5 Rdc8 $11 {1/2 (31) Pelletier,Y (2540)-Movsesian,S (2671) Heraklio 2017}) 16... Na5 17. e4 c5 {This move allows White to obtain a comfortable edge. Other plans deserve more attention for Black:} (17... f6 {[%CAl Ye8g6,Ye8h5]}) (17... Qf6 $5 {[%csl Yd5][%CAl Yc7c5]} 18. Qc2 Nc6 19. d5 Ne5) 18. d5 exd5 19. exd5 b5 {Black wants to destroy White's centre.} ({In case of the natural} 19... Nb7 20. Bd3 {[%CAl Yf1e1] White's control of the e-file guarantees him the better prospects.}) 20. cxb5 {White improves on the following game played earlier at the Olympiad:} (20. Rfe1 bxc4 21. Qc3 Qc7 22. Rad1 Nb7 23. Bxc4 Qa5 24. Rc1 (24. Qc1 $5) 24... Qxc3 25. Rxc3 Na5 26. Bd3 c4 27. Be4 Rac8 28. Nd4 Kf8 $11 {1/2 (35) Nakamura,H (2763)-Vidit,S (2711) Batumi GEO 2018}) 20... Rxd5 21. Rfe1 $14 {White has a superiour pawn structure (and a chance to create a queenside passed pawn); besides, Black's a5 knight, albeit blockading, is placed poorly.} Qd8 (21... Rad8 $5 22. Qc3 Qc7 $14) 22. Qc3 {[%csl Ra5]} c4 23. Rad1 {[%mdl 32]} Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Qb6 25. Nd4 {[%csl Gd4][%CAl Rd4f5] Centralization!} Bd7 26. a4 a6 {This is harmless as Black will not be able to take on b5 any time soon.} 27. h3 (27. g4 $5) 27... Rd8 $6 {[%mdl 8192] A tactical blunder in a poor position.} (27... axb5 28. axb5 Rc8 (28... Rd8 29. Ra1) 29. Bf3 $16) 28. bxa6 {It turns out that Black has problems recapturing this pawn!} Bc8 (28... Qxa6 $2 29. Nf5 $18) 29. Rd2 $1 Rf8 {Again the a6 pawn is invulnerable due to 30.Nf5.} 30. Rb2 (30. Bg4 $5 {, to gain the f5 square for the knight, was even stronger.}) 30... Qxa6 31. Rb5 Nb7 32. Bxc4 (32. a5 $5 $18) 32... Nd6 (32... Qxa4 $2 33. Rxb7 $1 Bxb7 34. Nf5 $18) 33. Rb4 Nxc4 34. Rxc4 Be6 {It was probably more stubborn to keep the bishop:} (34... Bd7) 35. Nxe6 Qxe6 36. Rc6 Qf5 37. a5 {White's outside passed pawn should bring him a victory.} Rb8 (37... Re8 38. a6 Re2 {was Black's last chance but after} 39. Qd4 {White overcomes all minor problems, e.g.} Ra2 40. a7 Qb1+ 41. Kh2 Qb7 42. Qd8+ Kh7 43. Rc7 Qe4 44. Qd6 $1 ({but not} 44. Rxf7 $2 Rxa7 $1 45. Rxa7 $140 Qf4+ $11) 44... Rxf2 45. Qg3 {[%CAl Rc7c8]} Ra2 46. Rxf7 {etc.}) 38. a6 Rb1+ 39. Kh2 Qf4+ 40. Qg3 Qxg3+ 41. Kxg3 Ra1 42. Kf4 Ra5 43. Ke4 Kf8 44. Rc8+ Ke7 45. Rc7+ Ke6 46. a7 Ra4+ 47. Kd3 1-0 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters 2025"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2025.01.22"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Fedoseev, Vladimir"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2717"] [BlackElo "2803"] [Annotator "Chessbase - Stockfish 17"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2025.??.??"] [EventCountry "NED"] {[%evp 46,119,21,19,27,22,25,24,23,27,35,18,15,17,32,4,6,3,16,20,46,0,38,37,41,19,62,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,23,20,130,154,133,122,225,210,294,270,291,266,277,281,407,445,426,422,435,419,477,435,514,508,495,495,699,697,683,644,718,658,754,747,733,728,1209,1127,819,814]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Be2 dxc4 10. O-O Qe7 11. Bxc4 Na5 12. Bd3 Bxc3 (12... c5 13. dxc5 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Nc6 15. Qb5 Rb8 16. Bc2 Bd7 17. Qd3 g6 18. h4 Rfd8 19. h5 Be8 20. Qc4 g5 21. Rfd1 Na5 22. Qb4 Nc6 23. Qc4 Na5 24. Qb4 Nc6 25. Qc4) 13. bxc3 b6 14. Qb4 (14. Ne5 Bb7 15. Qc2 c5 16. f4 Nc6 17. Be4 Nxe5 18. fxe5 Rac8 19. Rf3 cxd4 20. Bxb7 d3 21. Qxd3 Qxb7 22. Qd4 Rc5 23. e4 Qc7 24. Rd1 Rxe5 25. Qd7 Rc5 26. Qd2 Rc4 27. Qd3 Rc8 28. Qd7 Qc5+ {Bach Ngoc Thuy Duong (2214)-Lu,M (2438) Budapest HUN 2024 0-1 (38)}) (14. c4 c5 15. d5 Bd7 16. Qa3 exd5 17. cxd5 f5 18. Rfd1 Qd6 19. Rac1 Kh8 20. Be2 Rae8) (14. Bb1 Bb7 15. Qc2 g6 16. e4 c5 17. Qd2 Kg7 18. Bd3 Rfd8 19. Rfe1 Rac8 20. Rad1 Qf6 21. h4 cxd4 22. cxd4 Nc6 23. e5 Qe7 24. Be4 Rc7 25. h5 Nb4 26. Bxb7 Rxb7 27. Rc1 Nd5 28. g3 Rc7) (14. e4 c5 15. Rad1 Bb7 16. Rfe1 Qc7 17. Bb1 cxd4 18. cxd4 Rac8 19. d5 Qc4 20. Qxc4 Nxc4 21. dxe6 fxe6 22. Nd4 e5 23. Nf5 Rc7 24. f3 Bc8 25. Nd6 Rd8 26. Nxc8 Rcxc8 27. Bc2 Kf7 28. Bb3 b5) 14... Qd6 15. Rfd1 $146 (15. Be4 Bb7 16. Bxb7 Nxb7 17. Rfd1 Na5 18. Rac1 Rac8 19. h3 c5 20. Qb1 Rfd8 21. e4 cxd4 22. cxd4 Rxc1 23. Rxc1 Nc6 24. Rc4 Na5 25. Rc1 Nc6 26. Rc4 Na5 27. Rc1 Nc6 28. Rc4 Na5 29. Rc1 Nc6 {Korobov,A (2668)-Heimann,A (2617) Sitges 2019 ½-½}) 15... Bb7 16. Rac1 Rac8 17. Qxd6 cxd6 18. Nd2 Rc7 19. Rc2 Rfc8 20. Rdc1 Kf8 21. f3 Ke7 22. e4 g5 23. Kf2 e5 24. Nf1 exd4 25. cxd4 Rxc2+ 26. Rxc2 Rxc2+ 27. Bxc2 Bc8 28. Bd3 Nc6 29. Ke3 a6 30. Nd2 b5 31. Nb3 d5 32. Nc5 Kd6 33. Bc2 (33. a4 $14 {deserves consideration.}) 33... Ne5 34. Bb3 (34. dxe5+ Kxc5 35. exd5 Kxd5 36. Bb3+ Kxe5 37. Bxf7 a5 $15) 34... Nc4+ 35. Kd3 Nb6 36. Kc3 $6 {Inaccuracy. a4 was best.} (36. a4) 36... a5 37. a3 f6 38. Ba2 Kc6 39. g3 Bh3 40. Nb3 Na4+ 41. Kc2 Bg2 $2 {Mistake. g4 was best.} (41... dxe4 {remains equal.} 42. fxe4 Kb6) (41... g4 42. exd5+ Kxd5 43. fxg4 Bxg4 44. Nxa5+ Kxd4 45. Nc6+ Ke3 46. Ne7 Kf2 47. Ng8) 42. e5 $1 $16 (42. Nxa5+ $6 Kb6 43. e5 (43. Nb3 dxe4 44. fxe4 Bxe4+ 45. Kd2 Bd5) 43... fxe5 (43... Kxa5 44. exf6 Nb6 45. f7 $15)) 42... fxe5 43. dxe5 b4 (43... Kb6 $16) 44. Nd4+ $18 (44. Nxa5+ Kb5) 44... Kc5 45. e6 $1 Kd6 (45... Kxd4 $2 46. e7 $18) 46. axb4 axb4 47. Bxd5 $1 Bf1 (47... Kxd5 48. e7 Kxd4 (48... b3+ $2 49. Nxb3 Nc5 50. Nxc5 $18) 49. e8=Q $18 (49. e8=R $2 Kc4 $19)) (47... Bh3) 48. Bb3 $18 Nc5 49. Nf5+ Ke5 50. e7 (50. Nxh6 Nxb3 51. Ng4+ (51. Kxb3 Kxe6 52. Kxb4 Be2 $14) 51... Kxe6 52. Kxb3 Be2) 50... Bd3+ 51. Kd2 Bb5 52. Bc4 (52. Nxh6 Nxb3+ 53. Kc2 Nd4+ 54. Kc1 Ke6 $19 (54... Nxf3 $2 55. h4 $19)) 52... Ba4 53. Ng7 $1 (53. Nxh6 Kf6 54. Ng8+ Kg7 $18) 53... g4 {[#]} (53... Kd4 54. Bf7 (54. e8=R Bxe8 55. Nxe8 Kxc4 $15) 54... b3) 54. f4+ $1 $18 (54. e8=N gxf3 55. Nc7 Ne4+ 56. Kc1 (56. Ke3 f2) 56... f2) (54. e8=Q+ Bxe8 55. Nxe8 gxf3 $16) (54. fxg4 Ne4+ 55. Kd3 Nd6 $18) 54... Kd4 55. Bf7 (55. e8=Q Bxe8 56. Nxe8 Ne4+ (56... Kxc4 57. f5) 57. Kc2 Kxc4) 55... Ne4+ 56. Ke1 Kc3 57. e8=Q Bxe8 58. Nxe8 b3 59. Bxb3 Kxb3 {[#]} 60. Ke2 $1 {1-0 White wins. Precisão Stockfish 17: Brancas 98% pretas 94% Precisão Chess.com: Brancas 98.5% Pretas 93.8%} 1-0 [Event "Bazna Kings 5th"] [Site "Medias"] [Date "2011.06.18"] [Round "7"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2815"] [BlackElo "2776"] [Annotator "Carlsen,Magnus"] [PlyCount "143"] [EventDate "2011.06.11"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "ROU"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 143"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2011.07.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Qc2 c5 8. dxc5 h6 9. Bd2 {This variation is naturally not especially dangerous for Black. However, as the game shows, White has some chances for a small, stable edge.} O-O 10. e3 Bxc5 11. Rc1 Qe7 12. Be2 a6 13. Qd3 {An important move; Black should not be allowed to play ...b5 and ...?b7 with easy play. ?b3 with the same idea was also possible, but I felt that the queen would be better on d3.} Nb6 14. O-O Bg4 {Frankly, I didn't understand why he wanted to provoke ?d4, as in general exchanges favour White here.} (14... Be6 {was perfectly sensible.}) 15. Nd4 Bd7 {I don't think it was necessary to withdraw the bishop immediately as after} (15... Rac8 16. Bxg4 (16. b3 {is probably more accurate, but should hardly trouble Black much either}) 16... Nxg4 17. Nf3 Ne5 18. Nxe5 Qxe5 {Black is fine:} 19. b3 d4 20. f4 dxe3 $1 21. fxe5 exd2+ 22. Kh1 dxc1=Q 23. Rxc1 Rfd8 24. Qf3 Bd4 25. Ne2 Rxc1+ 26. Nxc1 Bxe5 $11) 16. Bf3 Rfe8 17. b3 Ba3 (17... Ne4 18. Nxd5 {just loses a pawn.}) 18. Rc2 Rac8 (18... Ne4 19. Nce2 {does not change too much.}) 19. Nce2 {Now White is definitely better. However, it is still difficult to make any substantial progress.} Rxc2 20. Qxc2 Be6 {Very sensible, as ?a5 was an annoying threat. The text gives the knight a square on d7.} 21. Bc1 Rc8 (21... Bd6 {would be desirable, but gives White some time to regroup:} 22. Bb2 Rc8 23. Qb1 Nbd7 24. Nf4 Ne5 25. Be2 {with a very pleasant position.}) 22. Bxa3 Qxa3 23. Qd2 Bg4 $1 {An important move. After the bishops are gone, White will not have too many resources left, and the temporary lack of coordination in the black camp (the knights on b6 and g4 are loose, and even the rook might be hanging in some lines) cannot be exploited.} (23... Nbd7 24. Nf4 Qe7 25. Rc1 Rxc1+ 26. Qxc1 Ne5 27. Be2 {would give White the kind of position he's aiming for.}) 24. Bxg4 Nxg4 25. Nf5 Nf6 26. h3 {I spent a lot of time on this and the next few moves, looking for a way to increase my advantage, but everywhere Black defends easily enough.} Kh7 27. Qd4 Nbd7 28. Qf4 Nf8 {The most natural.} (28... Qxa2 29. Ned4 Qa3 {looks risky, but is probably also playable:} 30. g4 (30. Nd6 Rc1 31. Rxc1 Qxc1+ 32. Kh2 Qc7 $11) (30. Nxg7 Kxg7 31. Nf5+ Kg6 32. b4 Qc3 {leads nowhere}) 30... Rc1 31. Rxc1 Qxc1+ 32. Kg2 g5 33. Qd6 Qc5 {and Black is ok.}) 29. Neg3 (29. Nxh6 $2 {was tempting, but doesn't quite work:} Ne6 30. Qf5+ (30. Qh4 g5 31. Qg3 Ne4 $1 (31... Kxh6 32. f4 {is actually quite dangerous}) 32. Qf3 Kxh6 33. Qxf7 Qd6 34. Ng3 Ng7 35. Nxe4 dxe4 36. Qxb7 Rc6 {and only Black can be better}) 30... Kxh6 31. g4 Qb2 32. Ng3 g5 $1 (32... g6 {is what I calculated, and is also quite sufficient:} 33. g5+ Kg7 (33... Nxg5 34. Qxc8) 34. gxf6+ Qxf6 35. Qxd5 Rc2 $11) 33. f4 Rc1 {and White is busted} (33... gxf4 34. g5+ Nxg5 35. Qxf4 Rc1 36. h4 Rxf1+ 37. Kxf1 {might be enough for a draw})) (29. Ned4 Ng6 30. Qd6 Qxd6 31. Nxd6 Rc7 {and it's unclear what the knight is doing on d6.}) 29... Ng6 (29... Ne6 {was possibly even more precise. It looks weird to give the white queen such a nice post on e5 for free, but after the cool} 30. Qe5 Rc6 $1 {White has nothing} 31. Nxg7 Nxg7 {shows the point of ...?c6.}) 30. Qd4 Qc5 {The only move (the threath of ?xg7 was very unpleasant). Now White has to exchange queens.} 31. f3 Qxd4 32. Nxd4 Ne5 33. Rd1 g6 34. Kf2 Kg7 35. Nge2 Kf8 36. g4 {White is still a little better here, but since the only black weakness is well defended and Black is active enough, there are no real winning chances.} Nc6 37. Rc1 Ke7 (37... Ne7 {was quite possible. Short on time, I was intending to repeat moves once, and then think about whether to exchange rooks or knights. I would probably have chosen the first option.}) 38. h4 Kd6 39. h5 {There is not really anything else. In order to have any chances for a win, I need to create a weakness on the kingside, and there h6 is the target.} Ne7 (39... gxh5 40. Nf5+ $1 (40. gxh5 Nxh5 41. Rh1 Nxd4 42. Nxd4 Ng7 43. Rxh6+ Ne6 $11) 40... Kd7 41. gxh5 Nxh5 42. Rh1 Nf6 43. Rxh6 {would be unpleasant for Black.}) 40. Rh1 gxh5 41. gxh5 Rg8 {Since the exchange of queens Ivanchuk had been playing more or less at blitz speed, and I was wondering whether he considered the position an easy draw, or was simply not in the mood for a painstaking defence. Anyway, White certainly has something to play for here, even though there is no doubt that Black should hold with sensible play.} 42. Ng3 Rg5 43. b4 (43. f4 Rg8 44. Kf3 Kd7 {leads nowhere. I thought it would be useful to postpone f4, as one of my knights or even the rook might want to use that square.}) 43... Kd7 44. Rh4 Ne8 45. Rf4 Nd6 46. a4 b6 {This was not necessary.} (46... Re5 {was quite ok. I don't see any serious was to play for a win here} 47. Rg4 Nef5 $1) 47. a5 {Naturally, I should not let the opportunity to create a potential weakness on a6 go, even though my own pawn on a5 might also be weak in some lines.} bxa5 48. bxa5 f5 $6 {I thought this was a serious inaccuracy during the game. There is no real need to leave this pawn as a target for both my knights. Staying put with ...?e5 was probably still fine.} 49. Rh4 Nc4 $2 (49... Rg8 50. Nge2 Rb8 51. Rh1 Rb2 52. Kg3 Ra2 53. Nf4 Rxa5 54. Ng6 {gives White a serious initative, as the king suddenly has a square on f4, and the black king might start to feel uncomfortable after a timely ?e5.}) 50. f4 Rg4 51. Rh3 {An ugly move, but I didn't want to allow} (51. Rh1 Nxe3 52. Kf3 Rg8 53. Rb1 Nc4 {which did not look clear to me at the board. Probably though, the position after} 54. Rb7+ Kd6 55. Ndxf5+ Nxf5 56. Nxf5+ Kc5 57. Rc7+ $1 Kb4 58. Ne7 {still offers winning chances, but it looked really messy.}) 51... Nd6 52. Rh1 Rg8 (52... Ne4+ 53. Nxe4 dxe4 54. Rb1 {just helps White, who is dominating.}) 53. Rb1 Ra8 54. Kf3 Kc7 55. Ne6+ {Once again, I was a little short of time, and wanted to repeat moves before going for ?b6.} (55. Rb6 {wins, as the following instructive variation shows:} Kd7 (55... Nec8 56. Ne6+ Kd7 57. Nc5+ Kc7 58. Rxa6 Rb8 59. Ne2 $18) 56. Nb3 Kc7 57. Nc5 Nc6 58. Nxa6+ Kd7 59. Nc5+ Kc7 60. Ne6+ Kd7 61. a6 $1 Kxe6 62. Rxc6 Kd7 63. Rc5 Rxa6 64. Ne2 $1 {and with ?d4 and ?xd5 to come, White should win.}) 55... Kc8 {I was a little upset that I allowed him this extra option, but White is still winning.} 56. Nc5 Rb8 (56... Nc6 57. Rb6 Kc7 {would transpose to the variations after 55.?b6, and}) (56... Nc4 57. Rb7 {loses trivially.}) 57. Rxb8+ Kxb8 58. Nxa6+ Kb7 59. Nb4 {White is winning here, as Black doesn't have enough time to gobble up the a-pawn.} Nc4 60. a6+ Kb6 61. Ke2 Nd6 62. Kd3 Nb5 63. Ne2 Ka5 (63... Nc7 64. Nd4 Nxa6 65. Nxa6 Kxa6 66. Ne2 {with ?d4 and an easy win to come.}) 64. Nc3 Nc7 65. Nbxd5 $1 {A nice finishing touch. The king invasion is completely decisive, even a knight down!} Nexd5 66. Nxd5 Nxd5 67. a7 Nc7 68. Kd4 Kb6 69. Ke5 Kxa7 70. Kxf5 Nd5 71. Kg6 Nxe3 72. Kxh6 {Black is several tempi short here, so he resigned. I am happy with the way I conducted this endgame, although some of Ivanchuk's decisions and especially his time management left something to be desired.} 1-0 [Event "Morelia/Linares 24th"] [Site "Morelia/Linares"] [Date "2007.02.25"] [Round "7"] [White "Ivanchuk, Vassily"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2744"] [Annotator "Marin,Mihail"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2007.02.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 117"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2007.03.30"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2007.03.30"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 {In spite of the dangers he had passed through in his earlier game against Morozevich, Aronian did not lose faith in this variation.} 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Qc2 {Ivanchuk chooses a quiet system of development, which is not without poison as we shall see.} c5 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. Qxc3 h6 10. Bxf6 ({Consequent to his linear strategy.} 10. Qe3+ {was played in Van Wely-Sargissian, Bundesliga 2006 and Van Wely-Aronian, Wijk aan Zee 2007, which might be a hint that this line is an Armenian specialty.}) 10... Qxf6 11. e3 O-O 12. Be2 b6 13. O-O Bb7 {The position is characteristic for the Tartakower-Makagonov-Bondarevsky variation of the Queen's Gambit declined. The main differences are that in the QGD the queens find themselves in opposition on the a3-e7 diagonal and that the black bishop is developed slightly more actively on e6.} (13... a6 $5 14. Rac1 c4 15. Ne5 b5 16. f4 Qd6 17. Bf3 Bb7 18. g4 Rfe8 19. Rce1 Nf8 20. g5 {Taking advantage by the fact that Black has released the tension in the centre, White has built up a dangerous kingside attack.} hxg5 21. fxg5 Rxe5 $5 {This sacrifice does not prevent White's long-term attack.} 22. dxe5 Qe7 23. h4 Ng6 24. Qd4 Nxe5 25. Bg2 Re8 26. Re2 Qe6 27. Ref2 Re7 28. Rf5 Nd3 29. h5 Ne5 30. h6 $18 {Yakovich,Y (2577)-Sargissian,G (2658)/Moscow RUS 2007/TWIC 641 (1-0, 49)}) 14. Rfc1 {A novelty. White usually developes the other rook on c1.} (14. b4 $5 c4 15. b5 a6 16. a4 {led to an interesting structure, where each side has his trumps. Black relies on his passed pawn, while White will try to setup pressure against the d5-pawn.} Qe7 17. Nd2 Ra7 18. Bf3 Nf6 19. Rfb1 a5 20. Re1 Ba8 21. Rab1 Qd6 22. Bd1 Re8 23. Bc2 Rc7 24. f3 Rd8 25. Nf1 Bb7 26. Ng3 g6 27. Nh1 Re7 $13 {Goldin,A (2590)-Voitsekhovsky,S (2475)/Novgorod 1997/CBM 060 (½-½, 75)}) (14. Rac1 Rfc8 15. Rfd1 Qe7 (15... a5 $5) 16. dxc5 bxc5 17. b4 $14 d4 $5 18. Qd2 Re8 $5 (18... Nf6 $2 19. bxc5 dxe3 20. Qxe3 Qxe3 21. fxe3 Ne4 22. Ne5 Nxc5 23. Bc4 $16 {Kazhgaleyev,M (2606)-Hanley,C (2419)/Port Erin IOM 2006/TWIC 621 (1-0, 63)}) 19. bxc5 dxe3 20. Qxe3 (20. Qxd7 $2 exf2+ 21. Kh1 $8 Qxd7 22. Rxd7 Bxf3 $1 23. gxf3 $8 Rxe2 $15) (20. fxe3 Nxc5 $15) 20... Qf8 $1 {[%csl Yc5,Ye2]} 21. Qf4 Nxc5 22. Bc4 $14 {[%csl Yc1,Yc4,Yd1,Gf7]}) 14... Rac8 15. dxc5 Qxc3 16. Rxc3 Rxc5 ({Black cannot maintain the compactness of his structure with} 16... bxc5 {because of} 17. b4 {, ensuring White the control of the d4-square. The point behind Ivanchuk's novelty is revealed after} cxb4 18. Rxc8 Rxc8 19. axb4 {when the queen's rook is optimally placed on its initial square.}) 17. Rcc1 $5 ({A paradoxical move. White is not sufficiently well prepared to fight for the control of the c-file with} 17. Rac1 {because of} Rfc8 {when} 18. Rxc5 bxc5 19. b4 cxb4 {leads to simplification and a probable draw, in spite of Black's isolated pawn. One general rule states that the side playing against the isolani should keep as many major pieces on board and try to provoke the exchange of minor pieces, in order to successfully attack the relative weakness of the central pawn. From this perspective, Ivanchuk's willing retreat is easy to understand.}) 17... Rfc8 $6 ({Obviously missing White's idea. Safer would have been} 17... Rxc1+ 18. Rxc1 Rc8 {with a defensibleposition for Black.}) 18. Rd1 $1 {Of course. Black's activity along the c-file will have a temporary character, while the pressure against the d5-pawn will be permanent.} Rc2 19. Bb5 Nf8 20. Rab1 R2c7 21. Ba4 Ne6 22. Bb3 Kf8 23. h3 Rc5 24. Kh2 Ke7 25. Rd2 Rb5 26. Ba2 Rbc5 27. Ne1 a5 28. Rbd1 Rd8 29. Kg3 Rb5 30. f3 {White has a pleasant position, but there is a long way till achieving something more concrete still.} Rc8 $2 ({Rather careless. Black should have brought the other rook into safety with} 30... Rc5) 31. Nd3 $1 {Suddenly, the rook is trapped. The threat a4 is hard to prevent in adequate way.} d4 ({Other moves also lose this pawn, for instance} 31... a4 32. Nb4 Nc7 33. e4 {when} dxe4 34. Rd7+ {leads to a devastating attack}) ({or} 31... Nc5 32. Nf4 Na4 33. Bxd5 Bxd5 34. Nxd5+ {when the central knight compensates for the presure against the b2-pawn.}) 32. Bxe6 Kxe6 33. Nf4+ Ke7 34. Rxd4 Rc7 35. R1d2 {White is basically winning now, but Aronian went down rather quickly, possibly demoralized by the unexpected course of events.} Rbc5 36. e4 Rc4 37. Rd6 R4c6 38. e5 Rc2 39. Rxc2 Rxc2 40. Rxb6 Bc6 41. b4 g5 42. Nh5 axb4 43. axb4 Bd5 44. Ng7 Re2 45. Nf5+ Ke8 46. Nxh6 Be6 47. Rb5 Rb2 48. Rb8+ Kd7 49. Rg8 1-0 [Event "FIDE-Wch k.o."] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2001.11.28"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Goldin, Alexander"] [Black "Nielsen, Peter Heine"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2612"] [BlackElo "2620"] [Annotator "Nielsen,Peter Heine"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2001.11.27"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "CBM 086"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2002.02.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2002.02.05"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. e5 h6 8. exf6 hxg5 9. fxg7 Rg8 10. dxc5 (10. a3 {As played in Van Wely-Agrest seems more critical to me. Should black retreat with 10...?a5 as in the game, this is certainly an achievement for White.}) 10... Qxd1+ 11. Rxd1 Rxg7 12. Bxc4 Nc6 (12... Nd7 {Is more normal.} 13. c6 bxc6 14. O-O {Should be ok for black, but I didn't find it completely satisfactory.}) 13. O-O Bxc5 14. Ne4 Be7 15. g4 (15. Nd6+ Bxd6 16. Rxd6 Ke7 17. Rfd1 {Would be great, but 16...g4! destroys black's coordination Therefore the textmove is the only way to try and pressurize. .}) (15. Bb5 Bd7 16. Rxd7 Kxd7 17. Ne5+ Kc7 18. Rc1 {Might look intimidating, but its just bad for white after.} Rc8) 15... Bd7 16. Nd6+ Bxd6 17. Rxd6 Ke7 18. Rfd1 Be8 {White has optical pressure, but blacks is much too solid. White however needed to win in order to stay in the match, so he tries regrouping.} 19. R6d2 Rc8 20. Re1 Rg8 21. a3 Kf6 {Preparing ?e7-g6. Bad news for white. More exchanges is neccesary.} 22. Ba2 Ne7 23. Ne5 Ng6 24. Nxg6 Rxg6 25. Bb1 Rh6 26. Be4 b6 27. Kg2 Bc6 {Securing the draw.} 28. Bxc6 Rxc6 29. Rd7 Rc2 30. Re3 Kg7 31. Rf3 Rf6 32. Rxf6 Kxf6 33. b4 a5 34. bxa5 bxa5 35. Ra7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Biel Credit Suisse"] [Site "Biel"] [Date "1997.07.23"] [Round "3"] [White "Karpov, Anatoly"] [Black "Lautier, Joel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2660"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "1997.07.20"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "SUI"] [EventCategory "17"] [SourceTitle "CBM 060"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1997.09.29"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1997.09.29"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 {Karpov} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 (5. Qa4+ Nbd7 6. e4 a6 7. Bf4 b5 8. Nxb5 axb5 9. Qxa8 Bb4+ 10. Bd2 Nb6 11. Qc6+ Bd7 12. Qb7 Bc8 13. Qc6+ Bd7 {Und hier wurde Remis gegeben. Karpov-Polgar,J.Dortmund 1997.}) 5... Bb4 {Das ist die sogenannte Wiener Variante, die ein Spiel mit verteilten Chancen gibt} 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 {Weiß hat Entwicklungsvorteil, aber er hat strukturelle Schwächen. Nach meiner Meinung ist die ganze Variante verdächtig für Schwarz, funktioniert aber gut in der Turnierpraxis.} 10. Nb5 {Das ist Karpovs Lieblingsvariante. Er hat das schon zwei Mal gegen Timman ausprobiert in dem vorletzten FIDE-WM Wettkampf.} (10. Bb5+ $5) 10... Nxe4 (10... Bd7 11. Nd6+ Ke7 12. Qd2 Bc6 13. f4 Nbd7 14. Rd1 $1 Rhd8 15. Qd4 $1 h6 16. Bh4 Qh5 17. Bf2 Kf8 18. e5 {1-0 Karpov,A-Timman,J/FIDE-Wch 1993 (32)}) (10... O-O 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Qg4+ Kh8 13. Qh4 Nd7 14. Rd1 a6 15. Rd3 $1 {Razuvajev,Y-Drasko,M/Protvino/1988/}) (10... a6 11. Nd6+ Ke7 12. Bf4 (12. Qd2 Nc6 13. Rd1 $5 Rd8 14. O-O Qc5 $1 (14... h6) 15. e5 Qxe5 16. Bf4 Qc5 17. Qb2 (17. Qe2 Na5 18. Be5 Rd7 19. Nf5+ Kd8 20. Nxg7 Nxc4 21. Bxf6+ Kc7 22. Bd4 Qc6 23. Ne8+ {½-½ Naumann,F-Wegner,H/Hamburg Wichern op 1993 (41)}) 17... b5 $1 18. Be3 Qe5 19. Qa3 Ng4 $3 20. Bg5+ $1 $8 Qxg5 21. Nxc8+ Kf6 22. Rxd8 Nxd8 23. Nb6 $1 {Kuzmin,A-Akopian,V/USSR (ch)/1991/0.5 (52)}) 12... Nc6 13. Qb3 Nd4 14. Nxc8+ Kf8 15. Qb2 Rxc8 16. O-O Nf3+ 17. gxf3 Rxc4 18. Qxb7 {1-0 Podgaets,M-Maljutin,E/Alushta op 1993 (42)}) 11. Bf4 (11. Qd4 O-O $1 12. Qxe4 a6 13. Be7 axb5 14. Bb4 {½-½ Karpov,A-Timman,J/FIDE-Wch 1993 (27)}) 11... O-O 12. O-O Bd7 (12... Nd7 $1 13. Nc7 $6 (13. Re1 $44) 13... e5 14. Nxa8 exf4 15. Bd5 Ndf6 (15... Nxc3 $2 16. Qd2) (15... Nef6 $5) 16. Bxe4 Nxe4 {Karpov,A-Timman,J/FIDE-Wch 1993/1-0 (53)}) (12... Nc6 13. Bc7 $1 b6 14. Qf3 $36) 13. a4 {Weiß stabilisiert seine Springerstellung auf b5, und in einigen Varianten leidet die schwarze Dame an Felderarmut.} (13. Nc7 e5 14. Nxa8 exf4 15. Qd5 Nc5 $13 {[%csl Ra8]} (15... Qxd5 16. Bxd5 Nd6 (16... Nxc3 17. Bxb7) 17. Rfd1 {[%CAl Gd1d7]} (17. Nc7 Rc8)) (15... Nc5 $1 {Karpov} 16. Bb5 $140 Rc8 {× ?a8})) 13... Bc6 (13... Nxc3 14. Nxc3 (14. Qd2 $6 Bxb5 15. axb5 Qb4 16. Bd6 Ne2+ $1 (16... Qxc4 17. Bxf8) 17. Qxe2 Qxd6 $17) 14... Qxc3 15. Rc1 (15. Bxb8 Qxc4 (15... Raxb8 16. Rc1 (16. Qxd7 Qxc4))) 15... Qa5 (15... Qb4 16. Bxb8 (16. Bd6 Qxa4 17. Bxf8 Kxf8 $15) 16... Bxa4 17. Qd6 Qxd6 18. Bxd6) 16. Bxb8 Bxa4 17. Bc7 (17. Ra1 b5 18. Bg3 Bxd1 (18... bxc4 19. Qxa4 $16) 19. Rxa5 $16)) (13... Bxb5 $2 {Karpov} 14. axb5 Qxc3 15. Qe2 $1 Qd4 (15... Nf6 $16) (15... Nc5 $2 16. Be5 Qb4 17. Rfb1 $18) 16. Rfd1 $18) 14. Qg4 {? ?h6, ?e5} (14. Qd4 {Karpov} Na6 {? ?ad8}) (14. Be5 {Karpov} Nd7 15. Bc7 b6 $13) 14... Nf6 (14... Nd7 15. Bh6 $16) 15. Qe2 $44 {Weiß hat das Läuferpaar, lebendiges Figurenspiel, aber Schwarz hat keine besondere Schwächen, obwohl seine Dame passiv steht.} a6 (15... Nbd7 $5 16. Bc7 {Weiß muß konkrete Drohungen suchen, sonst hat Schwarz eine gute Stellung..} b6 (16... Nb6 17. Bd6 Rfd8 18. Bb4 (18. Bd3 Bxb5 19. axb5 Qxc3) 18... Qa6 19. Bd3 (19. Nc7 Qxc4 $19) 19... Nxa4 (19... Rxd3 20. Qxd3 Nxa4 21. c4) 20. Nd4 b5 (20... Qb6 21. Nxc6 Qxc6 22. Bb5 Nxc3) 21. Nxc6 Qxc6 22. Bxb5 Nxc3) (16... Qa6 $2 17. Nd6 $18) 17. Bd6 {[%csl Ra5] Und Weiß droht 18.?b4 nebst 19.?c7.}) (15... Na6 {Karpov} 16. Be5 Nd7 17. Bd6 $36) 16. Nc7 Ra7 17. Qe3 b6 (17... e5 {Karpov} 18. Qxa7 (18. Qxe5 Qxe5 19. Bxe5 $16) 18... exf4 19. Nb5 $16) {} 18. Nxe6 $1 Nd5 (18... fxe6 19. Bxb8 Rxb8 20. Qxe6+ Kh8 21. Qxc6 Qxc3 $14 {Weiß hat eine aktive Stellung, und die schwarze Königsstellung ist ein wenig geschwächt.}) (18... Re7 {Karpov} 19. Bd6 $1 Nd5 20. Qg3 fxe6 (20... Rxe6 21. Bxf8 Rg6 (21... Kxf8 22. Qxb8+) 22. Qxb8 Rxg2+ 23. Kh1 $1 $18 (23. Kxg2 $4 Nf4+ 24. Kg3 Qg5#)) 21. Bxd5 $1 $18) 19. Qg3 fxe6 20. Bxb8 $14 {Weiß hat das Läuferpaar und einige Drohungen am Königsflügel. Die schwarze Dame spielt eine passive Rolle auf a5.} Raf7 21. Bd6 {[%csl Gd6]} Re8 (21... Rc8 {Karpov} 22. Bb4 $1 Nxb4 23. cxb4 Qf5 (23... Qxb4 24. Bxe6) 24. Bxa6 Ra8 25. Bd3 Qf4 26. Qh3 $18) 22. Rfe1 {[%CAl Ge1e7,Ge1e8]} Kh8 (22... Qxc3 $2 23. Qxc3 Nxc3 24. Bxe6 $16) 23. Be5 {Weiß steht aktiver. Er ist besonders stark auf den schwarzen Felden.} Nf6 24. Bd4 (24. Bd3 $5 {Karpov} Nh5 $6 (24... Qd5 25. c4) 25. Qh4 Qd5 26. Be4 $1) 24... Ne4 25. Qh4 Nd6 (25... Nxc3 26. Bd3 {[%CAl Rd4h8,Rd3h7,Rh4h7]} h6 27. Qxh6+ $18) 26. Bd3 (26. Re5 $142 $1 {Karpov} Nxc4 27. Rxa5 bxa5 28. Re1 (28. Bxg7+ $2 Rxg7 {× g2}) 28... Bd5 29. f3 $18) 26... Nf5 $8 (26... h6 27. Qxh6+ $18) 27. Qh5 Kg8 28. Re5 {[%csl Ge5]} b5 29. Rae1 (29. Bxf5 exf5 30. Rxf5 {Weiß hat einen Bauern mehr, aber auf dem Brett gibt es ungleichfarbige Läufer, und Schwarz hat eine aktive Stellung. Karpov versteht es, den positionellen Druck zu erhöhen.} (30. Rxe8+ {Karpov} Bxe8 31. Qe2 $14 (31. Re1 $2 Re7))) 29... g6 (29... Qxa4 $2 30. Bxf5 Rxf5 31. Rxf5 g6 (31... exf5 32. Rxe8+ $18) 32. Qh6) 30. Qe2 Nxd4 31. cxd4 Qd8 (31... Ref8 $142 $5 {Karpov}) 32. axb5 axb5 (32... Bxb5 33. Bxb5 axb5 34. d5 (34. Rxb5 Qxd4 {Weiss hat bessere Bauernstellung,aber dieser Vorteil ist wenig.Ribli.}) (34. Rxe6 Ref8 {[%csl Rf2]}) (34. Rd1 {[%csl Rb5,Re6]} b4 35. Rxe6 $16) 34... Ref8 35. dxe6 Rxf2 36. Qxb5 $16) 33. Qe3 Ref8 34. Re2 $5 {Karpov schwächt nicht die Bauern am Königsflügel.} (34. f3 Rf4 (34... Bxf3 $1 {Karpov} 35. gxf3 Rxf3 36. Qe2 (36. Qe4 R8f4) 36... Qxd4+ 37. Re3 b4 $11)) 34... Rf4 35. Rxe6 (35. Be4 $14 {Karpov}) 35... Rxd4 (35... Qd5 36. f3 Rxd4 37. Bc2 $16 {[%CAl Gc2b3,Gb3g8]}) 36. Bc2 {Das Material ist reduziert, aber es gibt noch Feinheiten auf dem Brett.Weiß kontrolliert das Feld d1 mit dem Läufer und droht 37.?b3.} Rd6 $2 {Fehler in schlechter Stellung - und in Zeitnot?} (36... Rf6 37. Re7 $5 $40 (37. Bb3 Rxe6 38. Qxe6+ Kg7 39. Qe5+ (39. Qxc6 $2 Rd1+ 40. Bxd1 Qxd1+ $19) 39... Kh6 (39... Qf6 $2 40. Qxf6+ Kxf6 41. Re6+ $18) 40. Re3 Rd3 (40... Rd1+ $2 41. Bxd1 Qxd1+ 42. Re1) 41. h4 (41. Qf4+ Kg7 (41... g5 $2 42. Re6+ $18)) 41... Rxe3 42. Qxe3+ Kg7 43. Qc3+ Qf6)) 37. Bb3 $18 Kh8 (37... Kg7 38. Re7+ (38. Qc3+ Rf6 39. Rxd6 Qxd6 40. Re6 Qf4 41. f3 $16) 38... Kh8 39. Qc3+ (39. Rd2 $1 $18) (39. h3 {Karpov ? 40.?h6+-}) (39. Qh6 $2 Rf7 $3 40. Bxf7 Qxe7 $1) 39... Rff6 40. R2e6 $18) 38. Qc3+ Rf6 39. Rxd6 Qxd6 40. Re6 {Und Schwarz muß aufgeben, da er keinen Zug mehr hat.} 1-0 [Event "Candidates Tournament"] [Site "Berlin"] [Date "2018.03.18"] [Round "7"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2784"] [Annotator "Yermolinsky,Alex "] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2018.03.10"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "GER"] [EventCategory "22"] [SourceTitle "CBM 184"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2018.05.16"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2018.05.16"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 {Interesting ploy from Caruana. He goes for the Vienna Variation, the line championed by Aronian himself.} 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 h6 ({Karjakin-Aronian from earlier in this tournament, and countless other games, saw} 6... c5) 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 {This line didn't use to be so hot until lately, when the efforts of Nisipeanu, Pelletier and Vallejo Pons finally gained recognition.} 8. Bxc4 ({The almost forgotten idea} 8. Qa4+ {makes some sense here. At least the black c-pawn won't be able to hit the white centre right away. After} Nc6 9. Bxc4 O-O 10. O-O Bd7 11. Qb3 Ba5 12. Rad1 Bb6 13. e5 Qe7 14. Qc2 Nb4 15. Qe2 Bc6 16. a3 {White is hoping to translate his spatial gains into something meaningful.}) 8... c5 $1 9. O-O {White states his intention to play for quick development.} ({Alternatively,} 9. e5 Qd8 10. a3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 cxd4 12. cxd4 Nc6 13. O-O O-O 14. Qd3 b6 {would lead to a standard pawn structure Kramnik doesn't mind defending as Black.}) 9... cxd4 10. e5 Qd8 11. Ne4 O-O 12. Qe2 Be7 (12... Bd7) 13. Rad1 Qc7 14. Bd3 ({A straight-forward pawn sac} 14. Nd6 Bxd6 15. exd6 Qxd6 16. Rxd4 Qe7 17. Rfd1 Nc6 18. Rd6 {may succeed but only in blitz.}) 14... Nd7 {This move underlines a general problem with White's concept: his e5-pawn is insufficiently protected due to the absence of his dark-squared bishop. Granted, Black is behind in development, but his kingside defences are quite solid.} 15. Rc1 Qa5 {[#]} {[%tqu "En","","","","g2g4","It's hard to blame Levon for trying to turn his luck around, but such moves tend to backfire on you more often than not.",10,"e4g3","",0]} 16. g4 $6 {It's hard to blame Levon for trying to turn his luck around, but such moves tend to backfire on you more often than not.} (16. Ng3 Nc5 17. Bb1 d3 {forces White to part with the bishop, effectively ending his attacking chances.}) 16... Nxe5 17. Nxe5 Qxe5 18. f4 Qa5 19. g5 Qd8 $6 {Caruana shows his willingness to put up a tough defence.} ({There's something to be said in favour of the counter-attacking plan} 19... Bd7 20. gxh6 Rfc8 ({Fabiano must have seen} 20... g6 21. Nc5 $5 Bxc5 22. Qe5 f6 23. Qxc5 Qxc5 24. Rxc5 {and found this endgame troublesome.}) 21. hxg7 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Bc6 {but leaving his king without shelter is unnerving.}) 20. h4 Bd7 21. gxh6 g6 22. h5 Kh8 23. Kh2 {Aronian just couldn't stop. Clearly, he was thinking attack, when in reality White should be looking to escape with a draw.} ({The obvious} 23. hxg6 fxg6 24. Nc5 {offers White compensation, albeit Black can survive:} Rc8 {etc.}) 23... Bc6 24. Rf3 Bd6 $1 {The engines may not rate this move as the strongest, but from a human point of view it's more than good enough. Caruana's play is very consistent.} 25. Qf2 Bc7 26. Kh3 Qe7 (26... gxh5 27. Rg3 f5 {Again, the engines try to lead us astray.}) 27. Ng5 e5 28. Rxc6 $5 {Probably, the best chance, although White cannot count on more than a draw in all lines.} bxc6 29. Nxf7+ Rxf7 30. hxg6 Rf6 $2 {Fabiano's only mistake in the overall very solidly played game.} ({He must have rejected} 30... Rxf4 {on account of} 31. Rxf4 exf4 32. Qxd4+ Qe5 33. g7+ Kg8 34. Bc4+ Kh7 35. Qd3+ Kxh6 36. g8=Q Rxg8 37. Bxg8 {and indeed, it seemed White could survive, but only until Black finds} Qh8 $1 38. Bb3 Kg5+ 39. Kg2 Qxb2+ 40. Bc2 Qf6 {with decent winning chances.}) 31. g7+ $2 {In time trouble Levon misses his chance.} (31. Qh4 $3 Qe6+ (31... e4 32. Bxe4) 32. f5 Qe7 33. Be4 {would lead to a crazy position. Black is up a whole rook, but, positionally speaking, White is doing just fine.}) 31... Kg8 32. Bc4+ $2 ({Again,} 32. Qh4 $1) 32... Kh7 33. Qh4 e4 34. Rg3 Bxf4 35. g8=Q+ Rxg8 36. Bxg8+ Kh8 37. Rg7 Qf8 38. Rh7+ Kxg8 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2005.11.28"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Ftacnik, Lubomir"] [Black "Istratescu, Andrei"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2612"] [BlackElo "2622"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "110"] [EventDate "2005.11.27"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "CBM 111"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2006.04.04"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2006.04.04"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 {Ribli} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qa5 9. Bb5+ $1 Nbd7 10. Bxf6 gxf6 $6 {Istratescu is no expert in the Vienna variation and he doesn't realise, how dangerous it is to leave the white king the chance to solve all problems by castling.} (10... Bxc3+ {Ribli} 11. bxc3 Qxc3+ 12. Kf1 gxf6 {wäre Übergang zur Variante 8...?xc3+ 9.bxc3 ?a5 10.?b5+ ?bd7 11.?xf6 ?xc3+ 12.?f1 gxf6.}) 11. O-O {Ribli: 'Das ist der große Unterschied zu 10...?xc3+; der weiße König steht nach der Rochade sicher, während der schwarze unsicher in der Mitte steht.'} a6 (11... Bxc3 {Ribli} 12. bxc3 Qxc3 $2 13. Rc1 Qa5 14. Nxe6 $18) 12. Ba4 Bxc3 13. bxc3 Ke7 (13... b5 $2 {Ribli} 14. Bb3 Qxc3 15. Rc1 Qa5 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Bxe6 $18) 14. Re1 {Ribli: 'Bei materieller Gleichheit hat Weiß eine aussichtsreiche Stellung. Schwarz hat Entwicklungsprobleme und sein König steht angreifbar in der Mitte.'} Rd8 15. Bb3 Nc5 {Considerably the best continuation must have been daring acceptance of the pawn c3. After the text move black could have lost very quickly.} (15... Qxc3 $5 16. Rc1 Qb4 17. Nf5+ exf5 18. exf5+ Ne5 19. Qh5 Rf8 20. Bc4 Qb2 (20... b5 21. Qh4 Qd6 22. Rcd1 Qc7 23. Rd5 Qxc4 24. Rdxe5+ Be6 25. R5e4 $18) 21. Rcd1 Qb4 22. Qh4 Qc3 23. f4 Qxc4 24. Rxe5+ Be6 25. fxe6 fxe6 26. Qxh7+ Rf7 27. Rd7+ Kxd7 28. Qxf7+ Kd6 29. Re1 $16) 16. Qf3 $6 {White was intensively looking for a better continuation, but he has missed the move 19.?xh7! in the line with the knight sacrifice 16.?f5!} (16. Qh5 $5 Rxd4 (16... Nxb3 17. e5 Qxc3 18. Nxb3 fxe5 19. Rac1 $16) 17. cxd4 Nxb3 18. e5 $1 {1-0 Szeberenyi,A-Sarosi,Z /Hungary 1999/}) (16. Nf5+ $1 exf5 17. exf5+ Be6 (17... Kf8 18. Qh5 Nxb3 19. Qxh7 $1 Be6 20. fxe6 fxe6 21. Rxe6 Qxc3 22. Rae1 $18) 18. Qc2 Qb5 19. fxe6 Qd3 20. exf7+ Kf8 21. Qb2 $18) 16... e5 17. Nc2 (17. Nf5+ Bxf5 18. Qxf5 Nxb3 19. axb3 Qxc3 20. Rac1 Qd2 21. Rf1 $16) 17... Nxb3 18. axb3 Qb6 19. Ne3 Be6 (19... Qxb3 $2 20. Nd5+ $18) 20. c4 {Ribli: 'Weiß hat deutlichen Positionsvorteil: er besitzt die bessere Bauernstruktur und kontrolliert das wichtige d5-Zentrumsfeld. Mit dem Textzug verstärkt Weiß seine Kontrolle über d5 und verteidigt indirekt den b3-Bauern.'} Rd4 {Black has survived the first wave of attack, but his position remained difficult.} (20... Rd2 21. Nd5+ Bxd5 22. exd5 Rg8 23. Rad1 $16) 21. Re2 a5 (21... Rad8 {Ribli} 22. Nd5+ Bxd5 23. exd5 $16) 22. Rea2 Ra6 (22... Qd8 23. Nd5+ Kf8 24. Nxf6 Rd3 25. Qe2 Rxb3 26. Nd5 $16) 23. h3 h5 24. Nd5+ (24. Qxh5 Qxb3 25. Ra3 Qb6 26. Qf3 $16) 24... Bxd5 25. exd5 h4 (25... Kf8 26. Rc2 Qc5 27. Qxh5 Rxd5 28. Qh6+ Ke7 29. cxd5 Qxc2 30. Rc1 Qxb3 31. Rc8 $18) 26. Qc3 Kd7 (26... Qc5 27. Rxa5 Rxa5 28. Rxa5 Rd1+ 29. Kh2 Qxf2 30. Qb4+ $18) 27. Ra4 (27. Rxa5 Rxa5 28. Qxa5 Qxb3 (28... Rd1+ 29. Kh2 Qxa5 30. Rxa5 Rd2 31. f3 f5 32. Ra7 $16) 29. Qa8 Rd1+ 30. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 31. Kh2 Qb3 32. Qf8 Qxc4 33. Qxf7+ $16) 27... Qc7 $6 {It must have been better to play 27...?c5!?} (27... Qc5 $5 28. Qe3 $16) 28. Rc1 Qc5 (28... b5 29. cxb5 Qxc3 (29... Rd1+ 30. Rxd1 Qxc3 31. bxa6 Qxb3 32. Rda1 Qxd5 33. Rxa5 $18) 30. Rxc3 Rb6 31. Rxa5 Rxd5 32. Ra7+ $16) 29. b4 $1 axb4 30. Rxb4 Qc7 (30... Ke8 31. Rxb7 Kf8 32. Rb5 $18) 31. Qb3 Kc8 32. c5 Rxb4 33. Qxb4 Qa5 $2 {The Romanian has lost the control of the game, it was much better to put the queen on d7.} (33... Qd7 $1 34. d6 Ra4 35. Qb3 Ra6 36. Qf3 Qe6 37. Rd1 e4 38. Qc3 $18) 34. Qg4+ Kb8 (34... Kc7 35. d6+ Kb8 36. Qd7 $18) 35. Qg8+ Ka7 36. Qxf7 Qb4 {Black did not even test the trick after 36...?a2.} (36... Qa2 37. c6 $1 Rxc6 38. dxc6 Qxf7 39. c7 $18) 37. c6 Qb2 38. Qxb7+ $2 {Very unpleasant moment, since white has decided to play safe in a winning position. It was clear that 38.?f1 is very bad for black, but 38...e4 still offered some chances.} (38. Rf1 e4 (38... Ra1 39. Qxb7+ Qxb7 40. Rxa1+ $18) 39. Qe7 $1 (39. c7 Ra1 40. c8=Q Rxf1+ 41. Kxf1 Qb1+ 42. Ke2 Qd3+ 43. Ke1 Qb1+ 44. Kd2 Qd3+ 45. Kc1 Qa3+ 46. Kc2 Qd3+ 47. Kb2 Qb5+ 48. Kc3 Qd3+ 49. Kb4 Qb1+ 50. Kc5 Qc2+ 51. Kd6 Qxc8 52. Qxf6 $16) 39... Ra5 40. c7 Ra1 41. c8=Q Rxf1+ 42. Kh2 (42. Kxf1 Qb1+ 43. Ke2 Qd3+ 44. Ke1 Qb1+ 45. Kd2 Qd3+ 46. Kc1 Qf1+ 47. Kb2 Qb5+ 48. Kc3 Qd3+ 49. Kb4 Qb1+ 50. Ka4 Qd1+ 51. Kb5 Qb3+ 52. Qb4 $18) 42... Rc1 43. Qg4 Qa1 44. Qxh4 $18) 38... Qxb7 39. cxb7 Kxb7 40. Rc4 Rd6 41. Rxh4 Rxd5 42. Rh7+ $2 {The nerves are taking it's toll, it was much better to cut off the black king with 42.?c4! with a technically winning position.} (42. Rc4 $1 Rd1+ 43. Kh2 Rd2 44. f3 $18) 42... Kc6 43. Rf7 (43. g4 Kd6 44. Rg7 Rd4 45. Kg2 Ke6 46. h4 f5 47. Rg6+ Kf7 $14) 43... Rd6 44. h4 Kd5 45. Kh2 Ke6 46. Rg7 Rd2 47. h5 (47. f3 f5 48. h5 Kf6 49. Rg6+ Kf7 $14) 47... f5 (47... Rxf2 48. h6 Rf4 49. g4 Rf2+ 50. Kg3 Rf1 51. Kg2 Ra1 52. h7 Ra2+ 53. Kg3 Ra3+ 54. Kh4 Ra1 55. Kh5 Rh1+ 56. Kg6 $18) 48. Rg6+ (48. h6 Kf6 49. Rg8 Rd7 $11) 48... Kf7 49. f3 e4 50. fxe4 fxe4 51. Rg5 (51. Rg4 Rd5 52. Rf4+ Kg7 53. g4 Re5 54. Kg1 e3 55. Kf1 e2+ 56. Ke1 Kh6 $11) 51... e3 52. Kg3 Kf6 53. Rg6+ Kf7 54. Kf3 e2 55. Kf2 Rd5 {White has squandered all his advantage, the position is drawn.} (55... Rd5 56. g4 Re5 57. Ke1 Re4 $11) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Morelia/Linares 23rd"] [Site "Morelia/Linares"] [Date "2006.03.11"] [Round "14"] [White "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2650"] [BlackElo "2801"] [Annotator "ChessBase"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2006.02.18"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 112"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2006.06.07"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2006.06.07"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 {Topalov faces Vallejo with one of his own weapons. In doing so, he might have counted on a certain psychologic effect.} 6. Bg5 c5 ({Of course, it would have made little sense to allow Vallejo make use of Ivanchuk's "lesson" in the variation starting with} 6... b5) 7. Bxc4 ({Vallejo refrains from the main theoretical dispute, arising after} 7. e5 {and which had brought him a win over Topalov last year in Monte Carlo. After the game move, Black is supposed to be OK at the present stage of theory.}) 7... cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Qb3 O-O 13. O-O Bxb5 14. Nxb5 Nc6 15. c4 Rad8 {#Something must have gone wrong with Topalov's preparation. White can force a draw by perpetual whenever he wants, something the World Champion had no special reasons to be interested in, given the acute tournament situation.} 16. Qg3+ Kh8 17. Qh4 Kg7 18. Qg3+ Kh8 19. Qh4 Kg7 20. f4 Qd2 21. e5 fxe5 22. Qg5+ Kh8 23. Qf6+ Kg8 24. Qg5+ Kh8 25. Qf6+ Kg8 26. Rf3 ({Technically speaking, this is a novelty, but it hardly changes anything. Previously,} 26. Rae1 {had been played, invariably resulting into a draw.}) 26... Rd3 27. Qg5+ Kh8 28. Qf6+ Kg8 29. Qg5+ Kh8 30. Qf6+ Kg8 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates Tournament"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2014.03.17"] [Round "4"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2787"] [Annotator "ChessBase Website"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2014.03.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 160"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2014.05.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.05.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"] [WhiteClock "1:04:51"] [BlackClock "1:23:48"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:08] A fabulous and exciting game, which was unfortunately rather short. Kramnik busted out his Vienna which is a sharp and interesting line, accepting a pawn sacrifice for which White obtains a strong initiative. Anand's opening was not the best and it allowed Kramnik a creative and powerful counterplay that resulted in a perpetual check.} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:16]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:18]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:52]} 4. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:13]} dxc4 {[%emt 0:03:57]} 5. e4 {[%emt 0:09:15]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 6. Bg5 {[%emt 0:00:42]} c5 {[%emt 0:00:25]} 7. Bxc4 {[%emt 0:00:46]} cxd4 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 8. Nxd4 {[%emt 0:00:11]} Bxc3+ {[%emt 0:01:18]} 9. bxc3 {[%emt 0:00:14]} Qa5 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 10. Bb5+ {[%emt 0:01:00]} Nbd7 {[%emt 0:02:31]} 11. Bxf6 {[%emt 0:00:30]} Qxc3+ {[%emt 0:00:37]} 12. Kf1 {[%emt 0:00:17]} gxf6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 13. h4 {[%emt 0:01:27]} a6 {[%emt 0:01:03]} 14. Rh3 {[%emt 0:03:13]} Qb4 {[%emt 0:00:55]} 15. Be2 {[%emt 0:01:09]} Ne5 {[%emt 0:02:48]} 16. h5 {[%emt 0:08:12]} (16. Rc1 Qd6 17. Rc2 Bd7 18. Rd2 Qc7 19. Rc2 Qd6 20. Rd2 Qc7 21. Rc2 {½-½ (21) Grischuk,A (2746)-Kramnik,V (2781) Moscow 2011}) 16... Qd6 {[%emt 0:09:27]} 17. Qd2 {[%emt 0:02:31]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:01:17]} 18. Rd3 {[%emt 0:02:03]} Qh2 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 19. f4 {[%emt 0:10:05]} Rg8 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 20. Bf3 {[%emt 0:01:30]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:01:26]} 21. Ne2 {[%emt 0:07:21]} Qh1+ {[%emt 0:03:58]} 22. Ng1 {[%emt 0:00:21]} Nd4 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 23. Rxd4 {[%emt 0:02:04]} Bb5+ {[%emt 0:01:11]} 24. Kf2 {[%emt 0:00:14]} Qh4+ {[%emt 0:00:12]} 25. Ke3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:18]} 26. fxe5 {[%emt 0:00:22]} Qg5+ {[%emt 0:00:42]} 27. Kf2 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Qg3+ {[%emt 0:00:09]} 28. Ke3 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Qg5+ {[%emt 0:01:16]} 29. Kf2 {[%emt 0:00:13]} Qg3+ {[%emt 0:00:02]} 30. Ke3 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Qg5+ {[%emt 0:00:03]} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Tata Steel-A 79th"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2017.01.24"] [Round "9"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2808"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "ChessBase II"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2017.01.14"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 177"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2017.03.16"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.03.16"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/6000+30:20/3000+30:900+30"] 1. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 2. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 3. c4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 4. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 5. Bg5 {[%emt 0:02:30]} dxc4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 6. e4 {[%emt 0:01:58]} c5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 7. Bxc4 {[%emt 0:03:50]} cxd4 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 8. Nxd4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Bxc3+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} 9. bxc3 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Qa5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 10. Bb5+ {[%emt 0:00:22]} Nbd7 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 11. Bxf6 {[%emt 0:07:20]} Qxc3+ {[%emt 0:00:20]} 12. Kf1 {[%emt 0:00:08]} gxf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 13. h4 {[%emt 0:15:34]} Qb4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 14. Rh3 {[%emt 0:08:38]} a6 {[%emt 0:00:21]} 15. Be2 {[%emt 0:02:51]} Ne5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 16. Rb1 {[%emt 0:08:02]} Qd6 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 17. Qd2 {[%emt 0:06:53]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:03:15]} 18. Rxb7 {[%emt 0:03:42]} Bb5 {[%emt 0:04:58]} 19. Rc3 $146 {[%emt 0:06:50]} (19. Rb3 Rc8 20. Bxb5+ axb5 21. Qb4 Qxb4 22. Rxb4 O-O 23. R7xb5 Rfd8 24. Ke2 Kg7 25. Ra4 Ra8 26. Rbb4 Rdb8 27. Nb3 Rxb4 28. Rxb4 Rxa2+ 29. Nd2 Kg6 30. g3 h5 31. Rd4 f5 32. exf5+ Kxf5 33. Rf4+ Kg6 34. Rd4 Kf5 35. Rf4+ Kg6 36. Rd4 {½-½ (36) Giri,A (2773)-Aronian,L (2780) Stavanger 2015}) 19... Rd8 {[%emt 0:08:40]} 20. Nf3 {[%emt 0:10:03]} Qxd2 {[%emt 0:03:58]} 21. Bxb5+ {[%emt 0:00:07]} axb5 {[%emt 0:01:33]} 22. Nxd2 {[%emt 0:00:08]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:12]} 23. Nf3 {[%emt 0:03:54]} Nxf3 {[%emt 0:00:49]} 24. Rxf3 {[%emt 0:00:30]} Rb8 {[%emt 0:00:30]} 25. Rg3+ {[%emt 0:06:41]} Kh8 {[%emt 0:00:39]} 26. Rxb8 {[%emt 0:03:21]} Rxb8 {[%emt 0:01:06]} 27. Rb3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Ra8 {[%emt 0:06:22]} 28. Rxb5 {[%emt 0:01:50]} Rxa2 {[%emt 0:00:17]} 29. Rb4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 30. g3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Ra5 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 31. Kg2 {[%emt 0:00:06]} f5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 32. exf5 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Rxf5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 33. g4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Ra5 {[%emt 0:00:16]} 34. Kg3 {[%emt 0:00:09]} h6 {[%emt 0:00:18]} 35. Rc4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Rb5 {[%emt 0:00:24]} 36. Rd4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Ra5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 37. Rc4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Rb5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 38. Rd4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Ra5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Sinquefield Cup 3rd"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2015.09.01"] [Round "9"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2816"] [BlackElo "2765"] [Annotator "ChessBase II"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2015.08.23"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "USA"] [EventCategory "22"] [SourceTitle "CBM 168"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2015.09.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.09.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. Qa4+ Nc6 7. a3 {A variation that scores rather badly for White, Topalov must have had some kind of special idea.} Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 Qd5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd2 {White will have some compensation for his pawn thanks to the central majority and a slightly weakened kingside, but it should not be enough. If anything Black has real chances to play for an advantage, as the score of this line proves.} b5 11. Qc2 a6 12. e4 Qd7 13. g3 Bb7 14. Bg2 Ne7 {Aronian mentioned after the game that he was very happy with the opening... "I didn't have to think! just put the knight on e7, a rook on d8 and go c5, what else can I do?".} 15. O-O O-O 16. Rfd1 Rad8 17. a4 c5 18. axb5 axb5 19. Nf3 Qc7 20. Rab1 f5 {Black really has no problems, and this advance forces White to start thinking about not falling into a clearly worse position.} 21. exf5 Nxf5 22. Rxb5 Bxf3 23. Bxf3 cxd4 24. Qc1 dxc3 {forcing the draw} (24... Qe7 {was worth considering, but Aronian thought he shouldn't get too clever...} 25. Be4 $1 $11 (25. Rb4 Rc8 $15)) (24... Kh8 {was what Topalov was afraid of, but there is a clear draw here...} 25. cxd4 Nxd4 26. Rxd4 Rxd4 27. Qh6 $1 Qe7 28. Rb7 $11 Qd8) 25. Rxf5 Rxd1+ 26. Bxd1 exf5 27. Qg5+ Kh8 28. Qf6+ Kg8 29. Qg5+ {And with that Aronian becomes the 2015 Sinquefield Champion.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Olympiad-41"] [Site "Tromsoe"] [Date "2014.08.10"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2698"] [Annotator "Roiz,Michael"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2014.08.02"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "CBM 162"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2014.09.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.09.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Spain"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "ESP"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qa5 9. Bd2 Qc5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Nb3 Qc7 {Quite a rare retreat. The queen takes control over important squares f4 and e5, but White may put some pressure along the c-file.} ({Black as a couple of alternatives in this well known theoretical position:} 11... Qe5) (11... Qb6) (11... Qe7 {and}) 12. Rc1 $146 {Admitting the drawback of Black's last move.} (12. Bxd7+ {is harmless:} Nbxd7 13. O-O O-O 14. Rc1 Bd6 15. h3 Rad8 16. Qe2 Qb8 17. f4 Nc5 18. e5 Nxb3 19. axb3 Bc5+ $11) ({But} 12. O-O {is also worth considering:} O-O (12... Bxc3 13. Bxd7+ Qxd7 14. Bxc3 $14 {½-½ Ding,L (2654)-So,W (2658)/Khanty-Mansiysk 2011/CBM 145 (33)}) 13. Bd3 (13. Rc1 $5 {most probably transposes to the text}) 13... Nc6 14. a3 (14. Rc1 Rfd8 15. Qe2 Rac8 16. Bg5 Be7 17. f4 Qb6+ 18. Kh1 Nb4 19. Bb1 Be8 20. Bh4 Qa6 $11 {½-½ Borovikov,V (2569)-Colovic,A (2435)/Rethymno 2012/CBM 149 Extra (25)}) 14... Be7 15. Rc1 Rfd8 16. Qe2 Be8 17. Bb1 $14) 12... Nc6 13. O-O O-O 14. Qe2 {Both players are connecting the rooks and mobilising their forces, but White's task is easier due to his slight space advantage.} Rfd8 15. Bg5 Be7 16. Be3 $1 {A correct decision. Now White's setup is harmonious, so pushing f4-f5 is a plan worth considering.} ({Nothing will be achieved by} 16. f4 h6 17. Bxf6 (17. Bh4 $2 Nxe4 18. Bxe7 Qb6+ 19. Kh1 Nxe7 20. Bxd7 Nxc3 21. Rxc3 Rxd7 $19) 17... Bxf6 18. e5 Be7 $11) 16... a6 17. Bd3 $1 {Kramnik correctly keeps the bishop on the board.} ({After} 17. Bxc6 Bxc6 18. Nd4 Bd7 $1 {Black should be OK:} (18... Rac8 19. Na4 Qe5 20. Nxc6 Rxc6 21. Rxc6 bxc6 22. f3 $14) 19. Rfd1 (19. Nd5 Qd6 20. Nxe7+ Qxe7 21. Bg5 e5 $11) 19... Qb8 20. Bg5 Nd5 21. Bxe7 Nxe7 $11) 17... Be8 18. f4 {Once again Vladimir chooses the most aggressive continuation. The advance of the kingside pawn is quite threatening, so Vallejo Pons had to react somehow.} ({There were some positional alternatives:} 18. Na4 Bd6 19. f4 e5 20. f5 Qe7 21. Nb6 Rab8 22. Rfd1 Nb4 23. Bb1 Bb5 24. Qe1 $14) (18. Rfd1 Rac8 19. f4 $14 {with a pleasant edge in both cases.}) 18... Ng4 ({Another natural response could be met by} 18... e5 19. fxe5 (19. Kh1 $5) 19... Qxe5 20. Rf5 $1 (20. Bf4 Qh5 21. e5 Qxe2 22. Bxe2 Nd5 $11) 20... Qb8 21. Nd5 Nxd5 22. exd5 Ne5 23. Bd4 Nxd3 24. Qxd3 $36) 19. Qxg4 {This time White doesn't mind exchanging the light-squared bishop in order to keep the attacking potential.} ({It was also possible to change the character of the position:} 19. Nd5 $5 exd5 20. Qxg4 dxe4 21. Bxe4 Bd7 22. Qf3 $14 {with definite pressure.}) 19... Rxd3 20. Bf2 $6 {After this move White loses the lion's share of his harmony.} ({It was a good moment to switch to a positional plan:} 20. Qe2 $1 Rdd8 (20... Qd8 21. Kh1 Bf8 22. f5 $36) 21. Qf2 Qb8 22. Bb6 Rd3 23. e5 $14 {and Black's position lacks space.}) 20... Qd8 (20... a5 $5 21. Na4 b5 22. Nac5 Rdd8 $132) 21. e5 Nb4 $1 {As a result, Black has a golden opportunity to develop some counterplay.} 22. Nc5 {Vladimir's move is a bit risky, but the position remains balanced.} ({Still, more to the point was} 22. Rcd1 {forcing Black to find the precise route to equality:} Bb5 $1 (22... Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Qc8 24. a3 Nd5 25. Nxd5 exd5 26. f5 $36) 23. Nxb5 axb5 24. a3 Nc6 25. Qe2 Rd5 $11) (22. Rfd1 Bb5 23. a3 Bc4 24. Nc5 Bxc5 25. Bxc5 Nd5 $11) 22... Rd2 {Vallejo Pons accepts the challenge. The rook is always dangerous on the 2nd rank, so White should be careful now.} ({Another reasonable possibility was} 22... Bxc5 23. Bxc5 Rc8 24. Ne4 {now it looks scary, but Black can parry all the threats:} h5 $1 25. Nf6+ (25. Qxh5 $2 f5 26. Qg5 Qxg5 27. Nxg5 Nxa2 $17) 25... Qxf6 26. exf6 hxg4 27. Bxb4 $11) 23. N3e4 (23. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 Qc7 25. N5e4 Rd8 26. Nf6+ Bxf6 27. exf6 Rxd1+ 28. Nxd1 (28. Qxd1 Qxf4 29. g3 $1 Qxf6 30. Qd6 Nd5 31. Bc5 h6 32. Qf8+ Kh7 33. Qxe8 (33. Nxd5 exd5 34. Qxe8 Qxb2 $11) 33... Nxc3 34. bxc3 Qf5 $11 {is a draw by perpetual.}) 28... g6 {can be dangerous for White.}) 23... Rxb2 24. Rfd1 (24. Nd6 {could be met by the brave} Nxa2 $1 (24... Bxd6 25. Nxb7 Qb8 26. Nxd6 Bb5 27. Bd4 Rd2 (27... Rxa2 28. f5 $40) 28. Be3 Rc2 29. f5 Be2 30. Qg3 Bxf1 31. Rxf1 $36) (24... b6 25. Ncb7 (25. Nxe6 fxe6 26. Qxe6+ Kf8 27. Qf5+ Kg8 28. Qe6+ Kf8 $11) 25... Qd7 26. f5 Bf8 27. f6 g6 $132) 25. Ncxb7 Qd7 26. Ra1 g6 27. Nc5 Qc6 {and White's compensation is not obvious here.}) 24... Nd5 25. Nf6+ $2 {Vladimir has overestimated his attacking chances. Black is obliged to exchange the dakr-squared bishop, but White cannot exploit it.} (25. Bd4 Rxa2 26. Nxb7 Qd7 27. Nbd6 Bxd6 28. Nxd6 $44) 25... Bxf6 (25... Kh8 $6 26. Nxd5 exd5 27. Bd4 $36) 26. exf6 g6 {The ?f6 is hanging, so White is unable to create any serious threats.} 27. Bd4 $2 {A decisive step in the wrong direction. White gives up a second pawn.} ({At the same time,} 27. Qh4 $1 Bc6 28. Nxe6 Qxf6 29. Ng5 h5 30. Bd4 Rxg2+ 31. Kxg2 Nxf4+ 32. Kf1 Bb5+ 33. Kf2 Nh3+ 34. Kg3 Qxg5+ 35. Qxg5 Nxg5 36. h4 Ne6 37. Bf6 $15 {gives White excellent drawish chances due to activity of all the pieces.}) 27... Rxa2 28. Qh4 ({Perhaps,} 28. Qh3 {was more stubborn, although after} Nxf6 29. Nxe6 (29. Be5 Rd2 $19) 29... Qe7 30. Nc7 Rd8 31. Nxe8 Nxe8 32. f5 Re2 $1 33. fxg6 fxg6 34. Bf2 Rxd1+ 35. Rxd1 b5 $19 {Black should win anyway.}) 28... Bc6 $1 {A multi-purpose move. Black is not only freeing a way for the queen to f8, but also putting pressure on his opponent's king.} 29. Ne4 (29. Nxe6 {was also hopeless:} Rxg2+ 30. Kxg2 Nxf4+ 31. Kg1 Nxe6 32. Be3 Qa5 $19) 29... Re2 $1 30. Ng3 ({Or} 30. Ng5 h5 31. Nf3 Nb4 32. Qg5 Bxf3 33. gxf3 Nd5 $19) 30... Nxf4 $1 $19 {The final touch. White is obliged to swap queens in order to avoid mate.} 31. Qxf4 (31. Nxe2 Nxe2+ 32. Kf2 Nxc1 $19) 31... Qd5 32. Ne4 Qxe4 ({Only not} 32... Rxe4 $4 33. Qh6 Re1+ 34. Kf2 Qxg2+ 35. Kxe1 {and Black may even lose here.}) 33. Qxe4 Rxe4 {Black has 3 extra pawns, so the rest is simple.} 34. Bb6 g5 35. Rd2 h6 36. Bd8 a5 37. Be7 a4 38. Rc3 Kh7 39. h3 Kg6 40. Kh2 Rf4 0-1 [Event "Sarajevo Bosnia 30th"] [Site "Sarajevo"] [Date "2000.05.24"] [Round "7"] [White "Kasparov, Garry"] [Black "Morozevich, Alexander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2851"] [BlackElo "2748"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "2000.05.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "BIH"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 077"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2000.07.27"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2000.07.27"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qa5 9. Bd2 O-O $5 $146 {[%mdl 8] Morozevich seems to have been inspired by Kasparov himself, in openings he looks for independent ideas rather early in the game.} (9... Qc5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Nb3 Qe7 12. Bd3 (12. Qe2 O-O 13. Bxd7 (13. Bd3 e5 14. a3 Bxc3 15. Bxc3 Nc6 16. O-O Bg4 17. Qe3 Rfd8 18. h3 Be6 19. Nc5 Bc8 20. Nb3 b6 21. Rad1 Be6 {½-½ Sokolov,I-Dizdar,G/Dresden/1998/ (42)}) 13... Nbxd7 14. a3 Nc5 15. Nxc5 Bxc5 16. O-O {½-½ Zueger,B-Kishnev,S/Gelsenkirchen/1991/ (16)}) 12... Nc6 13. O-O (13. a3 Bd6 14. Be3 (14. O-O Rd8 15. f4 Bc8 16. e5 Bc5+ 17. Kh1 Rxd3 18. exf6 gxf6 19. Qe2 Qd8 20. Rad1 Be7 21. Be3 Rd7 {½-½ Topalov,V-Polgar,J/Wijk aan Zee/1998/ (38)}) 14... a6 15. O-O O-O 16. f4 e5 17. f5 Nd4 18. Nxd4 exd4 19. Bxd4 Bc5 20. Bxc5 Qxc5+ {½-½ Gelfand,B-Tkachiev,V/Groningen 1997/ (23)}) 13... O-O 14. a3 Bd6 15. f4 (15. Bg5 h6 16. Bh4 Bf4 17. Ne2 e5 18. Nxf4 exf4 19. f3 Be6 20. Bf2 {1-0 Kramnik,V-Lautier,J/Monte Carlo/1998/ (46)}) 15... e5 16. f5 Nd4 17. Bg5 Bc6 18. Nd2 (18. Na5 h6 19. Bh4 Bc7 20. Nxc6 bxc6 {0-1 Dorfman,J-Ekstroem,R/FRA/1998/ (76)}) 18... b5 (18... Rfd8 19. Kh1 Bc7 20. Bc4 Qd6 21. Bd5 Rd7 22. Nc4 {1-0 Bacrot,E-Fressinet,L/Meribel 1998/ (44)}) 19. Nd5 Bxd5 20. exd5 Bc5 21. Kh1 Rfd8 22. Ne4 {1-0 Nikolic,P-Lautier,J/Monte Carlo/1998/ (32)}) 10. Nc2 Bxc3 (10... Qc7 11. Qe2 Be7 12. O-O $14) 11. Bxc3 Qg5 12. Qe2 $5 (12. Qf3 Nbd7 (12... e5 13. Ne3 $14) 13. Be2 Qh4 $1 14. e5 Nd5 $11) 12... Qxg2 13. O-O-O Qxe4 (13... Nxe4 $2 14. Rhg1 Nxc3 15. Qe5 $1 f6 16. Bxe6+ Kh8 17. Qd6 $18) 14. Rhg1 g6 (14... Qxe2 15. Bxe2 e5 (15... Nbd7 16. Rxd7 Bxd7 17. Bxf6 g6 18. Bf3 $14) (15... Ne8 16. Bb4 e5 17. Bd3 $11) 16. Bxe5 Ne8 17. Bd4 (17. Nd4 Na6) 17... Kh8 18. Nb4 Be6 $13) 15. Ne3 e5 (15... Nbd7 16. Rd4 Qc6 17. Rgd1 Ne4 18. Bb4 $13) 16. f4 $1 Be6 {[%mdl 256] Black clearly plays with fire, but white has already invested two pawns and his king on c1 is not especially safe.} (16... exf4 $2 17. Nd5 $1 Qxe2 18. Nxf6+ $18) (16... Qxf4 17. Rdf1 Qh4 18. Be1 Qh5 19. Nd5 $1 Nbd7 20. Nxf6+ Nxf6 21. Rxf6 Qxe2 22. Bxe2 $14) 17. Bd3 (17. Bxe6 $2 fxe6 18. fxe5 Nd5 $19) 17... Qxf4 (17... Qa4 18. fxe5 (18. Bxe5 Rc8+ 19. Bc2 Nbd7 $17) 18... Ne4 19. Bxe4 Qxe4 20. Rd4 Qxe5 21. Qf3 $1 Qc5 (21... Nc6 22. Re4 Qxh2 23. Rh1 $18) 22. Qf6 $16) 18. Rgf1 (18. Rdf1 Qh4 19. Be1 Rc8+ 20. Nc2 (20. Kb1 Qa4 21. b3 Bxb3 $19) 20... Qd4 21. Bc3 Qc5 $40) 18... Qh4 (18... Qg5 $5 19. Rg1 (19. h4 Qxh4 20. Bxe5 Nbd7 21. Bd6 Rfc8+ 22. Kb1 Qa4 $19) 19... Qh5 20. Qxh5 Nxh5 21. Bxe5 Bxa2 22. Nf5 Rc8+ 23. Bc3 Nc6 24. Be4 $17) 19. Be1 Qa4 (19... Rc8+ 20. Kb1 Qa4 21. b3 Bxb3 22. axb3 Qxb3+ 23. Qb2 Qxb2+ 24. Kxb2 Kg7 (24... Nbd7 25. Bb5 $14) 25. Bh4 $15) 20. Rxf6 Nc6 {Kasparov has won a piece, but three pawns and attacking chances give black rather comfortable play.} (20... Rc8+ $5 21. Bc2 (21. Bc3 Qxa2 22. Rf2 Nd7 $17) 21... Qxa2 22. Qb5 Qa1+ 23. Kd2 Rd8+ 24. Ke2 Rxd1 25. Bxd1 Nc6 (25... Qa6 26. Qxa6 Nxa6 $15) 26. Qxb7 Nd4+ 27. Kf1 Re8 28. Bg4 $14) 21. Rxe6 (21. b3 $5 Qa3+ 22. Kb1 Nd4 23. Qg2 $14) 21... Nd4 (21... fxe6 22. Kb1 (22. Bc4 Nd4 23. Qg4 Qc6 (23... Rac8 $2 24. Rxd4 $16) 24. Bc3 Rf4 $17) 22... Nd4 23. Qg2 Nf5 $15) 22. Qg4 Qxa2 (22... fxe6 23. Bxg6 Rf4 24. Bxh7+ $5 (24. Rxd4 Rxg4 25. Rxg4 Qc6+ 26. Bc2+ Kf7 27. Re4 $15) 24... Kxh7 25. Qh5+ Kg8 26. Bc3 (26. Qxe5 $2 Ne2+ 27. Kb1 Qe4+ $19) 26... Nf3 27. Qg6+ Kf8 28. Qxe6 Qe4 29. Nf5 Qxf5 30. Bb4+ Kg7 31. Rd7+ Qf7 32. Rxf7+ Rxf7 33. Bd6 $14) (22... Rac8+ $6 23. Kb1 fxe6 24. Bxg6 Rf4 25. Bxh7+ Kxh7 26. Qh5+ Kg8 27. Qxe5 $18) 23. Bxg6 $1 {The position became too hot for comfort, Kasparov is happy to pull out of trouble with perpetual check.} (23. Rxe5 $2 Qa1+ 24. Bb1 (24. Kd2 Qxb2+ 25. Bc2 Rad8 $19) 24... Rac8+ 25. Kd2 Nb3+ 26. Ke2 Qxb2+ 27. Bc2 Rxc2+ 28. Nxc2 Qxe5+ $17) 23... hxg6 (23... fxg6 24. Rxd4 (24. Rxg6+ hxg6 (24... Kh8 $6 25. Rxd4 Qa1+ 26. Kc2 Qxe1 27. Qg5 $1 Rae8 (27... Qf2+ 28. Kb1 $16) 28. Rd2 $16) 25. Qxg6+ $11) 24... Qa1+ 25. Kc2 exd4 26. Rxg6+ hxg6 27. Qxg6+ $11) (23... Kh8 $2 24. Rxd4 Qxe6 25. Qxe6 fxe6 26. Rh4 $18) 24. Rxg6+ fxg6 25. Qxg6+ Kh8 26. Qh5+ Kg8 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup"] [Site "Tbilisi"] [Date "2017.09.26"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2771"] [BlackElo "2802"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2017.09.03"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "GEO"] [SourceTitle "CBM 181"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2017.11.10"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.11.10"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} (1... d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 h6 $6 (6... b5 {is the best move and main line.}) 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. Bxc4 $14 {We reach a similar position to the game where instead of ...c6, ...?b4 is played, which is of course an improvement for Black.}) 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 4. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:06] Going for the Ragozin.} 5. Bg5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} dxc4 {[%emt 0:00:11] This was the same line that Wesley So played against Ding Liren in their tiebreak and the game was drawn in just six moves.} 6. e4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} (6. a3 {was played by Ding Liren and after} Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 c5 8. e3 cxd4 9. Bxf6 {The players agreed to a draw.}) 6... h6 {[%emt 0:00:57]} (6... c5 {is the main line.} 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 {is the main line, I am sure Ding had some preparation done in those lines.}) 7. Bxf6 {[%emt 0:01:16]} Qxf6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 8. Bxc4 {[%emt 0:00:04] I would already feel that White has a very good position. Black has to do something with a break in the centre or else the centre is just too strong.} c5 {[%emt 0:00:33]} (8... Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qg6 10. Qe2 Qxg2 11. Rg1 Qh3 12. Rxg7 $18) 9. O-O {[%emt 0:01:14]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:05]} (9... cxd4 10. e5 Qd8 11. Nxd4 $14) 10. e5 {[%emt 0:00:34]} Qd8 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 11. Ne4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} cxd4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 12. Qe2 $5 {[%emt 0:00:10] This is the more ambitious way of playing for White. He hopes to put his rook on d1 and then win the d4-pawn. In any case, even if he doesn't win the d4-pawn, he would like to launch a kingside attack with ?g3, ?d3 and the king on g8 is already feeling the heat.} (12. Nxd4 Qc7 $15) (12. Qxd4 Qxd4 13. Nxd4 Nd7 $11 14. f4 Nc5 15. a3 Bxa3 16. Nf6+ gxf6 17. Rxa3 f5 $13) 12... Bd7 {[%emt 0:00:06]} ({A game which shows the power of White's attacking prospects was played by Mamedyarov:} 12... Qb6 13. Bd3 Rd8 14. Ng3 Bd7 15. Qe4 g6 16. Qg4 Be8 17. h4 Nd7 18. h5 Nf8 19. Nh4 Kh7 20. f4 Be7 21. f5 exf5 22. Ngxf5 Bg5 (22... gxf5 $13) 23. hxg6+ Nxg6 24. Nxh6 Bxh6 25. Rf6 Be3+ 26. Kh1 Qc7 27. Raf1 Qxe5 28. Rxf7+ Bxf7 29. Rxf7+ Kh8 30. Nxg6+ {1-0 (30) Mamedyarov,S (2743)-Vallejo Pons,F (2698) Dubai 2014}) 13. Rfd1 $6 {[%emt 0:09:10] Ding already thought for nine minutes which meant that he was out of his preparation. This move along with his next do not go well together. If he wanted to launch an attack on the kingside with ?g3 - ?d3 and so on like Mamedyarov, the rook is doing absolutely nothing on d1.} (13. Bd3 Nc6 14. Ng3) (13. Rad1 {could also be interesting so that later the other rook can go to e1.}) 13... Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 14. Ng3 {[%emt 0:02:27] White is putting his ambitions into the kingside attack.} (14. a3 Be7 15. b4 (15. Rac1) 15... Qb8 16. Ng3 b5 17. Bxb5 Nxe5 18. Bxd7 Nxd7 19. Nxd4 $14 {½-½ (101) Grischuk,A (2736)-Aronian,L (2781) Linares 2010}) (14. Nxd4 $2 Nxe5 $17) 14... Bc5 $1 {[%emt 0:10:11]} ({If you transfer your knight immediately to the kingside then d4 can be taken by the rook:} 14... Ne7 $6 15. Rxd4 $14 {The rook can also move to g4 which could lead to a strong attack.}) 15. a3 {[%emt 0:10:51] This move was played predominantly to stop Black's ideas related to ...?b4 after White plays ?d3.} (15. Bd3 Nb4 $1) 15... Ne7 $1 {[%emt 0:07:34] An excellent idea which is an extremely important one. The knight is beautifully placed on g6. From there it attacks the e5-pawn, but that it did from c6 as well. The more important function is that it defends Black's king position and threatens moves like ...?f4 and ...?h4. Also it frees the space for the bishop to come to c6.} 16. Ne4 {[%emt 0:11:20]} (16. b4 Bb6 17. Nxd4 Ng6 $15 {Somehow the e5-pawn is very weak and with the bishop on b6, you can never bolster it with f4.}) (16. Nxd4 $6 Qb6 $1 17. Nf3 (17. Nb3 Ba4 18. Nxc5 Bxd1 $19) 17... Bc6 18. b4 Bxf3 19. Qxf3 Bd4 $17) (16. Bd3 Bc6 {and with the queen unable to use the e4-square, this will lead to a position where White has many pieces on the kingside, but no good way to launch an attack.} 17. Nh4 Nd5 18. Qe4 (18. Qg4 Qg5 $17) 18... Nf6 19. Qe2 Nd7 $17) 16... Bb6 {[%emt 0:01:13]} 17. Nxd4 {[%emt 0:03:33]} (17. Nd6 Ng6 18. Nxb7 Qe7 19. Nd6 Bc6 $17 20. Nxd4 Bxg2 $1 $17) 17... Ng6 $1 {[%emt 0:05:09] White is not afraid of any discovered attacks down the d-file. This is very solid play by Aronian.} 18. Qh5 {[%emt 0:04:25]} (18. Nf3 Qc7 $15) (18. Nd6 {might look like a strong move but it fails to} Qg5 $1 19. Nf3 Qh5 $17 {The queen is well placed, bishop is coming to c6 and the knight is jumping to f4.}) 18... Qh4 $1 {[%emt 0:01:11] This was the move that Ding Liren had missed. Now the queen exchange is forced, after which the weak e5-pawn and Black's bishop pair give him a very substantial edge.} 19. Qxh4 {[%emt 0:09:04]} Nxh4 {[%emt 0:00:05] I was sitting in the press room discussing this position with IM Beglar Jobava (Baadur's brother). At first we did not think White has so many difficulties, but the more we analysed the more we realised that the only way for White to hold the balance is to give up a pawn and aim for activity. After the game Ding Liren also said the same - he was looking to give up a pawn, but in return exchange one of Black's bishops.} 20. a4 $5 {[%emt 0:04:49]} (20. Bb5 Bxd4 21. Bxd7 Bxb2 22. Rab1 Bxe5 23. Rxb7 Rfb8 $17) (20. Nd6 Ng6 21. Bb5 (21. Nf3 Bc6 22. Be2 Nf4 23. Kf1 Nxe2 24. Kxe2 f6 $17) (21. Nxb7 Nxe5 22. Be2) 21... Nxe5 22. Bxd7 Rfd8 $1 $17 (22... Nxd7 23. Nxb7 Rab8 24. Nd6 Bxd4 25. Rxd4 Rxb2 $17)) (20. Be2 Ng6 21. Nd6 Nxe5 22. Nxb7 Rab8 23. Nf3 Ba4) 20... Ng6 {[%emt 0:07:17]} (20... a6 21. Nd6 Ng6 22. Be2 Nxe5 23. Nxb7 Rab8 24. Nf3 {and now ...?xa4 is impossible.} Nxf3+ 25. Bxf3 $13) 21. a5 {[%emt 0:00:40]} Bxd4 {[%emt 0:02:14]} 22. Rxd4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Bc6 {[%emt 0:01:09] This seemed like more safe and cohesive.} (22... Nxe5 {was one move that was considered.} 23. f4 Nxc4 24. Rxd7 {The b7-pawn is attacked.} b6 25. a6 (25. axb6 axb6 26. Rxa8 Rxa8 27. Nd6 Nxd6 28. Rxd6 Ra4 $5 29. f5 Rb4 30. fxe6 fxe6 31. Rxe6 Rxb2 $17) 25... Nxb2 (25... Rfd8 26. Rad1 Rxd7 27. Rxd7 Nxb2 28. Nd6 f5) 26. Rc1 Rfd8 27. Rxd8+ Rxd8 28. Rc7 Ra8 29. Nd6 f5 (29... Na4 30. Rxf7 Nc5 31. Re7 $17) (29... Nd3 30. Rxf7 Nb4 31. Re7 Nxa6 32. f5 e5 33. f6 gxf6 34. Ne4 Rf8 35. Rxa7 Nc5 36. Nxc5 bxc5 37. Rc7 $11) 30. Nb5 Na4 31. Rxa7 Rxa7 32. Nxa7 Nc5 33. Nc8 Nxa6 34. Nxb6 $11 {Although Black can try this, it seems as if it is closer to a draw.}) 23. b4 {[%emt 0:01:44]} Nxe5 {[%emt 0:03:48]} (23... a6) (23... Rfd8 {After the game Ding Liren said this was a better move.} 24. Rad1 Rxd4 25. Rxd4 Nxe5 26. b5 Bxe4 27. Rxe4 Rc8 $17) 24. b5 {[%emt 0:01:30]} Bxe4 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 25. Rxe4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Nd7 {[%emt 0:00:14] Levon decides to keep his knight.} (25... Nxc4 {was a move that was considered in the analysis. But I have a feeling that this too should be a draw.} 26. Rxc4 Rac8 27. Rac1 Rxc4 28. Rxc4 Rd8 {An important tempo with the threat of a back rank mate.} 29. Kf1 Rd5 30. Rc8+ Kh7 31. Rc7 Rxb5 32. a6 bxa6 33. Rxf7 Kg6 34. Rxa7 a5 $15 {Black can try here for sure, but the outcome would be mostly a draw.}) (25... Rfc8 26. Bxe6 $1 $15 {As a pair of rook has not been exchanged, there is no back rank mate.}) 26. Rd4 {[%emt 0:01:42]} Nc5 {[%emt 0:00:57]} (26... Nf6 {was possible, but Levon considered that his knight would be better placed on c5.} 27. Be2 Rfd8 28. Rxd8+ (28. Rad1 Rxd4 29. Rxd4 Rc8 $17) 28... Rxd8 29. Bf3 Nd5 30. Rc1 {White should be able to hold this.}) 27. Rad1 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Rfc8 {[%emt 0:04:12] At this point everyone started to get really excited about Levon's chances. His plan is simple get the king on f8-e7 and then ...?d8, swap a pair of rooks and the rest is easy. However, Ding had some other plans in his mind.} 28. h4 $1 {[%emt 0:00:08] The idea of this move is clear once it is made - to play h5 and to fix a weakness on g7 which can be attacked with the rook coming to g4. However, it is not so easy to find the move at first instance.} (28. Be2 Kf8 (28... Nb3 $1 29. Ra4 Rd8 $17) 29. Bf3) 28... Kf8 $6 {[%emt 0:03:21]} (28... g6 $1 {I feel this would have been the best way to continue. Concrete variations might not be necessary here. The main point is that h5 is met with ...g5, and there is no weakness on g7. That's the reason why ...g6 looks good.}) (28... h5 {could also be possible, but White wins an important tempo with} 29. Be2 $1 (29. g4 hxg4 30. Rxg4 Rd8 $17) 29... g6 30. Bf3 Kf8 31. Rc4 Rab8 (31... Ke7 32. a6 $16) 32. b6 $1 axb6 33. axb6 Ke7 34. Rdc1 Kd6 35. Rd1+ Ke7 36. Rdc1 $11) 29. h5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:01:54]} 30. Rg4 $1 {[%emt 0:00:04] And Black's plan of exchanging the rooks has to be stalled for the time being as the g7-pawn is hanging. At this point it could have been a good idea to give up the g7-pawn and just activate the rook.} Rg8 $6 {[%emt 0:02:15] Levon wants to keep things under control and convert his extra pawn, this might not really be the best idea.} (30... Rd8 $1 31. Rxd8 Rxd8 32. Rxg7 Rd1+ 33. Kh2 Rc1 34. Be2 (34. Rg4 f5 35. Rh4 e5 $17) 34... Rc2 35. Bf3 Rxf2 $17 {Black has a tangible edge.}) 31. Be2 $1 {[%emt 0:02:07]} (31. b6 axb6 32. axb6 Ra4 $17) 31... b6 {[%emt 0:00:50]} (31... Rad8 {might have been more accurate.} 32. Rc1 b6 33. axb6 axb6 34. Bf3 Rd3 $132) 32. Bf3 {[%emt 0:04:58] Attacking the rook before taking on b6, so that the rook cannot be activated via the a-file.} Rac8 {[%emt 0:02:59]} 33. axb6 {[%emt 0:00:18]} axb6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 34. Ra1 $1 {[%emt 0:00:13] Taking the open file.} Rc7 {[%emt 0:01:53]} 35. Bc6 {[%emt 0:00:39] In general White has just put all his pieces on the most active squares and asks Black what he wants to do. At this point everyone's faith in Ding's defence increased as all of Black's pieces are really very active.} f5 {[%emt 0:04:08]} (35... Nd3 36. Ra6 Ne5 37. Rg3 Nxc6 38. bxc6 Rxc6 39. Ra7+ $11 {would lead to a draw.}) 36. Rg3 {[%emt 0:06:09]} (36. Rg6 Nd3 $1 $17) 36... Kf7 {[%emt 0:02:41]} 37. Rd1 {[%emt 0:00:57]} Ra7 {[%emt 0:00:18]} (37... Rcc8 38. Ra1 $132) 38. Rg6 {[%emt 0:00:45] The rook now attacks the e6-pawn, and the other rook is ready to go to d6 anytime. All in all things are looking very promising for White from the point of view of making a draw.} Ra3 {[%emt 0:03:34]} (38... Ra4 39. g3 $15) (38... Rf8 39. g3 Ra2 40. Rd6 $15) 39. g4 {[%emt 0:01:20] Everyone thought that this move was not the best as it allows Black to take on g4 and play ...?h3 to attack the h5-pawn. But Ding has seen it deeper.} (39. Rd6 {keeping the pressure could have been a good idea.}) (39. g3 {slowly improving the position is how many people would have played this position. Get the king to g2 and then see what is to be done. But that's not Ding's style. His way is to be more direct and this he does with the move g4.} Nd3 (39... Rd3 40. Ra1 $14) (39... Rf8) (39... Rc8 {...?f8 and ...?c8 were two moves that Ding didn't want to calculate and hence he chose g4.}) 40. Bd7 $11) 39... fxg4 {[%emt 0:02:43]} 40. Rxg4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} (40. Rd4 Ra4 {This was the move that Ding didn't like.} (40... Rh3 41. Rf4+ Ke7 42. Rfxg4 Rxh5 43. Rxg7+ Rxg7 44. Rxg7+ Kd6 $17) 41. Rxa4 Nxa4 42. Rxg4 Nc5 {[%CAl Gg8d8] Now the rook is coming to d8.} 43. Rf4+ Ke7 44. Rg4 Kf6 45. Rg6+ Kf7 {and there is no perpetual check and the rook is coming to d8.}) 40... Rh3 {[%emt 0:00:22]} 41. Be4 $1 {[%emt 0:11:24] The key move of the game that secures the draw. Once White sees this he immediately understands that he has the half point in his hands.} Nxe4 {[%emt 0:17:11]} (41... Rxh5 42. Bg6+ $18) 42. Rxe4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Rxh5 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 43. Rd7+ {[%emt 0:00:07]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 44. Rd6 {[%emt 0:00:04] Pawns are exchanged and it's just a draw.} Re5 {[%emt 0:00:18]} 45. Rxe5 {[%emt 0:00:24]} Kxe5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 46. Rxb6 {[%emt 0:00:04] The worst is over for Ding Liren.} g5 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 47. Rb7 {[%emt 0:00:18]} h5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 48. b6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} h4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 49. Rf7 {[%emt 0:00:51]} Rd8 {[%emt 0:00:54]} 50. b7 {[%emt 0:00:30]} Rd1+ {[%emt 0:00:37]} 51. Kg2 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Rb1 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 52. f3 {[%emt 0:00:33] Black has no way to make progress. A great opening by Aronian and a great defensive effort by Ding Liren.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Groningen PCA"] [Site "Groningen"] [Date "1993.??.??"] [Round "9"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Kaidanov, Gregory S"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2640"] [Annotator "Kramnik,Vladimir"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "1993.12.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "NED"] [SourceTitle "CBM 039"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1994.04.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1994.04.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 {Chekhov} d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Nbd7 (10... Bd7 {Chekhov} 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Qb3 O-O (12... a6 13. Be2 Nc6 14. O-O O-O (14... Qc7 15. Rab1 Na5 16. Qa3 Rc8 17. Rfd1 $14 {Kasparov,G-Hjartarson,J/Tilburg/1989/1:0 (26) Inf 48/551/}) 15. Rad1 $14 {Eingorn,V-Gelfand,B/Debrecen/1989/1:0 (37) Inf 48/550/}) 13. O-O Nc6 14. Bxc6 Bxc6 15. Nxc6 bxc6 16. Rae1 Rfd8 17. e5 fxe5 18. Qc4 Rd5 19. Qg4+ Kh8 20. c4 Rc5 21. Rd1 e4 $1 22. Qxe4 Qc3 23. Rd4 Rg8 24. Rfd1 {Khenkin,I-Rechlis,G/Tel Aviv/1992/} Rg6 $132) 11. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12. Kf1 (12. Ke2 {Chekhov} Qb2+ 13. Kf1 gxf6 14. h4 e5 15. Nb3 a6 16. Be2 Nf8 17. Qd6 Be6 18. Rd1 Rc8 19. Nc5 Qb4 20. Nxe6 Qxd6 21. Rxd6 Nxe6 22. g3 Rc1+ 23. Kg2 Rxh1 24. Kxh1 Ke7 25. Rb6 Nc5 26. Bc4 $44 {Tukmakov,V-De La Villa Garcia,J/Leon/1992/ Inf 54/414/}) 12... gxf6 13. h4 (13. Nxe6 $6 {Chekhov} Qe5 $1 14. Ng7+ $6 (14. Nd4 O-O 15. Rc1 Nc5 $10) 14... Kf8 15. Nf5 Qxb5+ 16. Kg1 Qe5 17. h4 Rg8 18. Rh3 Rg6 19. Rc1 Nb6 $19 {Lobron,E-Polgar,Zs/Dortmund/1990/0:1 (38) Inf 49/483/}) (13. Nf5 $5 {Chekhov Zueger,B-Costa,J/Bern/1991/0,5 (34) Inf 53/401/} exf5 $5 14. Rc1 Qe5 15. Rxc8+ Rxc8 16. Qxd7+ Kf8 17. Qxc8+ Kg7 18. Qxf5 Qa1+ 19. Ke2 Qxh1 20. e5 (20. Qg4+ Kf8 $10) 20... Qxg2 21. Qxf6+ Kg8 $10) 13... a6 (13... Ke7 {Chekhov} 14. Rh3 Qc5 15. Rb1 Rd8 16. Qc1 $16 Qb6 (16... a6 $5 17. Ra3 Qb6 18. Nc6+ bxc6 19. Bxc6 Qa7 20. Rc3 Rb8 21. Qa3+ Nc5 22. Rxc5 Rxb1+ 23. Rc1+ Rd6 24. Rxb1 Qd4 $10 {Lukacs,P-Dzevlan,M/Budapest/1991/ Inf 54/414/}) 17. Rd3 $1 Nc5 18. Qa3 {Dzhanzhava,L-Maljutin,E/SSSR/1991/1:0 (31) Inf 54/414/} Rd6 $1 $13) 14. Rh3 (14. Ba4 Ke7 15. Rh3 Qc4+ 16. Kg1 Nc5 17. Bb3 Qb4 18. Rc1 Bd7 19. Re3 Rac8 20. Rc4 Qb6 21. e5 fxe5 22. Rxe5 Nxb3 23. Nf5+ Kd8 24. Nd6 $40 {Magerramov,E-Galliamova Ivanchuk,A/Rostov op/1993/1-0 (49)}) (14. Rc1 Qb4 15. Be2 $5 (15. Ba4 {Chekhov} Ke7 16. Rh3 Nc5 17. Bb3 Bd7 18. Rc4 Qa5 19. Qc2 Rac8 20. Rhc3 b6 $17 {Nikolic,Pr-Gelfand,B/Sarajevo(m/4)/1991/0,5 (61) Inf 51/418/}) 15... O-O 16. Rh3 Kh8 17. Rg3 Rg8 18. Rcc3 Ne5 19. Rxg8+ Kxg8 20. Rg3+ Kf8 21. Nf3 Nc6 22. e5 $1 fxe5 23. Nxe5 Qd4 24. Nd3 $5 $13 {Wegner,H-Khalifman,A/Hamburg/1991/0-1 (41)}) 14... Qa5 15. Be2 Nc5 $6 (15... Ke7 16. Rc1 Rd8 17. Qc2 Ne5 18. Qb2 Rd6 $1 19. Rb3 b5 $1 $8 20. f4 Nc4 21. Bxc4 bxc4 22. Rxc4 (22. e5 $2 fxe5 23. fxe5 Rxd4 $1 24. Qxd4 $10 {Browne,W-Petursson,M/St.Martin/1991/0.5 (29)}) 22... Bd7 23. a4 Rd8 24. e5 $16 {Cramling,P-Rodriguez Talavera,JC/Dos Hermanas (06)/1992/1-0 (32)}) (15... O-O {Chekhov} 16. Rg3+ Kh8 17. Qc1 Rg8 18. Rxg8+ Kxg8 19. Qh6 $44) 16. Nb3 $1 Nxb3 17. Qxb3 e5 {?! Chekhov} (17... Qc7 18. Rd1 (18. Rb1 Bd7 19. Qxb7 Qxb7 20. Rxb7 Bc6 21. Rc7 Bxe4 22. Bxa6 O-O {Gruenberg,HU-Horvath,C/Budapest Kasparov (02)/1991/0.5 (23)}) 18... Bd7 19. Qb2 $1 O-O-O $8 20. Rc1 Bc6 21. Bxa6 $1 Rd6 $8 22. Be2 Rhd8 $5 23. Qxf6 Rd2 24. Ra3 $16 {Akopian,V-Horvath,Cs/Niksic/1991/1-0 (34)}) 18. Rf3 (18. Rd3 Qc7 $13 {? ?e7, ?e6}) (18. Rg3 Qc7 19. Bc4 b5 20. Bd5 Bb7 $13) (18. Rc3 Be6 $1 19. Qxb7 Qxc3 20. Qxa8+ Ke7 21. Qb7+ Kf8 22. Rd1 Bxa2 23. Qxa6 Be6 $10) 18... Qd8 (18... Ke7 19. Rc1 $16) (18... Be6 $142 19. Qxb7 O-O 20. Qe7 Qd8 21. Qxf6 (21. Qc5 $5 $16) 21... Qxf6 22. Rxf6 Rfd8 $16) 19. Rc1 $1 $16 (19. Rd1 $6 {Chekhov} Qe7) 19... Qe7 (19... Bg4 $6 20. Rd3 (20. Rfc3 Bxe2+ 21. Kxe2 O-O $13) 20... Bxe2+ 21. Kxe2 Qe7 22. Qb6 Qe6 (22... Rd8 23. Rc7 $18) 23. Qxe6+ fxe6 24. Rc7 $18) (19... Be6 20. Qxb7 O-O 21. Rd1 Qe8 22. Rxf6 $16) (19... b5 20. Rc6 $1 Be6 21. Qa3 Qe7 22. Bxb5 $1 Qxa3 23. Rxa6+ Ke7 24. Rfxa3 $16) (19... O-O 20. Qe3 (20. Rd3 {Chekhov} Qe7 21. Qb6 Be6 22. Rc7 Qe8 23. Rxb7 $16) 20... Kh8 21. Qh6 Rg8 (21... Be6 22. Rd3 Qe7 23. Rc7 $1) 22. Rd3 Qe7 (22... Qf8 23. Qxf6+ Qg7 $16) 23. Rc7 $1 Qe6 24. Rd6 $3 Qxd6 25. Rxf7 Bf5 26. exf5 $18) 20. Qb6 Qd8 $6 (20... Bg4 21. Rc7 Qe6 22. Qxb7 Rd8 23. Bc4 $1 Bxf3 24. gxf3 Qh3+ (24... Qd6 25. Bxf7+ Kf8 26. Bd5 $18) 25. Ke2 O-O 26. Rxf7 $18) (20... O-O 21. Rc7 Qe6 22. Rxf6 (22. Qe3 $5) (22. Qc5 {Chekhov} Bd7 23. Rg3+ Kh8 24. Bc4 Bb5 25. Qxb5 axb5 26. Bxe6 fxe6 27. Rgg7 $18) 22... Qxb6 23. Rxb6 $18) (20... Qe6 $1 21. Rxf6 Qxb6 22. Rxb6 Be6 $16) 21. Rc7 Qd4 $8 (21... O-O {Chekhov} 22. Rd3 $18) 22. Re7+ $1 (22. Qxd4 exd4 23. Bc4 $16) 22... Kxe7 (22... Kf8 23. Rxf7+ Kg8 24. Rg7+ Kxg7 25. Qxf6+ Kg8 26. Qf8#) 23. Qxf6+ Kd7 24. Rd3 (24. Qxf7+ Kd8 (24... Kc6 25. Rf6+ Kc5 26. Qe7+) 25. Rd3 Bd7 26. Rxd4 exd4 27. Qf6+ Kc7 28. Qe5+ Kc6 {? ?ae8}) (24. Qxh8 $4 {Chekhov} Qa1+) 24... Qxd3 25. Bxd3 Re8 (25... Rf8 26. Bc4) 26. Bc4 Re7 27. Bxf7 Kd8 (27... b5 28. Bd5 Ra7 29. Bc6+ Kd8 30. Qf8+) 28. Qb6+ Kd7 29. Bb3 $1 Ke8 30. Ba4+ Kf7 (30... Bd7 31. Bxd7+ (31. Qxb7 {Chekhov} Rd8 32. Qxa6 $18) 31... Rxd7 32. Qe6+ Kd8 33. Qg8+) 31. Qd8 1-0 [Event "Bazna Kings 4th"] [Site "Medias"] [Date "2010.06.20"] [Round "6"] [White "Wang, Yue"] [Black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2752"] [BlackElo "2741"] [Annotator "Rogozenco,Dorian"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2010.06.14"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "ROU"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 137"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.07.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.07.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qa5 {Gelfand chooses a variation, which he himself faced with the White pieces before.} ({The main line goes} 8... Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5) 9. Bd2 Qc5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Nb3 Qe7 {As Wang Yue recognized after the game, he didn't know much theory here. Actually it is very difficult for White to get an advantage in this line.} 12. Bd3 Nc6 13. a3 Bd6 14. O-O ({Gelfand played} 14. Be3 a6 15. O-O O-O 16. f4 e5 17. f5 Nd4 18. Nxd4 exd4 19. Bxd4 Bc5 20. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 21. Kh1 Bc6 22. Qf3 Rfe8 23. Qg3 Rad8 {1/2-1/2 Gelfand,B (2695)-Tkachiev, V (2615)/Groningen 1997}) 14... O-O {The position is equal. White's main problem is the misplaced knight on b3.} 15. f4 (15. Bg5 h6 16. Bh4 Bf4 $11) 15... e5 16. f5 (16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. exd5 Nd4 18. Nxd4 exd4 $11) 16... Nd4 17. Bg5 Bc6 18. Bc4 Qd8 $1 {This queen retreat solves the problem of the pin - Black prepares ?d6-e7.} 19. Nd5 Bxd5 20. Bxd5 Be7 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 {The opposite-coloured bishops will soon lead to inevitable draw.} 22. Kh1 Rc8 23. Rc1 Qb6 24. Rc3 Rxc3 25. bxc3 Nxb3 26. Bxb3 Qe3 27. Qf3 Qxf3 28. Rxf3 Rc8 29. a4 Rc5 30. g3 Kf8 31. Rd3 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE-Wch k.o."] [Site "Las Vegas"] [Date "1999.08.12"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Khalifman, Alexander"] [Black "Polgar, Judit"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2628"] [BlackElo "2671"] [Annotator "Knaak,Rainer"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "1999.07.31"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "100 Jahre Schach"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2000.04.19"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2000.04.19"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Die Partie ist eine Glanzleistung Khalifmans, der damit seine bis dato negative Bilanz gegen Polgar ausgeglichen hat.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 {Polgar hat früher fast nur Königsindisch gespielt, doch auf sehr hohem Niveau hat man es mit dieser Eröffnung wahrlich nicht leicht.} 3. d4 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 {Von nun an hat Schwarz wenig Spielraum.} 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Bxf6 gxf6 ({Auch nach} 11... Qxc3+ 12. Kf1 gxf6 13. h4 {bestimmt Weiß das Spiel.}) 12. Qb3 a6 13. Be2 Nc6 14. O-O Qc7 15. Rab1 Na5 16. Qa3 Rc8 17. c4 Qc5 ({Die Annahme des Bauernopfers durch} 17... Nxc4 18. Bxc4 Qxc4 19. Rfd1 {führt zu sehr angenehmen Spiel für Weiß.}) 18. Qc3 e5 ({Auch nach} 18... Nxc4 19. Rxb7 Nd6 20. Qxc5 Rxc5 21. Ra7 Nxe4 22. Bxa6 {besitzt Weiß eine hoch überlegene Stellung.}) ({Doch nach} 18... Ke7 $1 19. Kh1 {und erst jetzt} e5 {hatte es Weiß in der Partie Van Wely-Rustemov (Polanica Zdroj 1999) nicht leicht Vorteil nachzuweisen. Diese Partie wurde genau eine Woche nach Khalifman-Polgar gespielt.}) 19. Nb3 Nxb3 20. axb3 {Die geschwächte schwarze Bauernstruktur gibt Weiß einen kleinen, aber lang anhaltenden Vorteil.} a5 21. Rfd1 Be6 22. h3 $1 {Die Idee mit dem nachfolgenden ?g4 ist sehr stark; der ?e6 wird abgetauscht, denn er gibt der schwarzen Stellung einigen Halt.} O-O (22... Ke7 $5 {(Ribli) schaut etwas besser aus. Der Meinung = kann ich mich jedoch nicht anschließen. Nach} 23. Bg4 {sind doch die Schwächen im schwarzen Lager unübershebar.}) 23. Qg3+ Kh8 24. Qh4 Qe7 25. Bg4 $1 Rg8 ({Auf} 25... Rcd8 {kann} 26. Rd5 $1 {folgen, denn der Läufer e6 muss die Eventualdrohung Lg4-f5 parieren.}) 26. Rd3 Rg5 ({Auch nach} 26... Rcd8 27. Rbd1 Rxd3 28. Rxd3 Rd8 29. Rf3 {sieht Khalifman Weiß deutlich im Vorteil, denn Schwarz kann bestenfalls ein Turmpaar abtauschen und bleibt auf den Schwächen am Königsflügel sitzen.}) 27. Bxe6 Qxe6 (27... fxe6 {würde die Struktur etwas verbessern, doch nach} 28. Rbd1 {hätte Schwarz neue Sorgen mit der 7. Reihe.}) 28. Rbd1 Rcg8 29. Rd6 $1 Qc8 (29... Rxg2+ 30. Kf1 Qe7 31. Rd7) 30. g3 Kg7 31. R1d5 h6 $2 {?} ({Mit} 31... Rg6 {ließ sich längerer Widerstand leisten.}) 32. Rxe5 $1 {Solche kleinen Tricks beherrscht Judit Polgar eigentlich aus dem ff, doch eben als die Aktive.} Rd8 (32... fxe5 33. Qxh6#) (32... Rxe5 33. Qxf6+ Kf8 34. Qxe5) 33. Red5 Rxd6 34. Rxd6 Rg6 35. Qf4 a4 36. bxa4 Qxc4 37. Rd8 Qc3 38. Kg2 Qb4 39. Ra8 h5 40. Qb8 $1 Qxe4+ 41. Kh2 Rg5 42. Qh8+ Kg6 43. Rg8+ Kf5 44. Qh7+ 1-0 [Event "World Cup"] [Site "Skelleftea"] [Date "1989.08.??"] [Round "5"] [White "Portisch, Lajos"] [Black "Huebner, Robert"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2600"] [BlackElo "2605"] [Annotator "Bulletin"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "1989.08.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "15"] [EventCountry "SWE"] [EventCategory "16"] [SourceTitle "CBM 014"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1990.02.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1990.02.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. e5 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qa5 9. exf6 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qxg5 11. fxg7 Qxg7 12. Qd2 {'!?' Bulletin. Bulletin: 'N'} (12. Qf3 Nd7 13. Bxc4 O-O 14. O-O Nc5 15. Rad1 b6 $1 16. Qxa8 Bb7 17. Qxf8+ Kxf8 $15) 12... Nc6 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. Bxc4 Qe5+ 15. Kf1 Bb7 16. Rd1 O-O 17. h4 Rad8 {'!' Bulletin.} 18. Qxd8 Rxd8 19. Rxd8+ Kg7 20. Rh3 c5 21. Rg3+ Kf6 {'?!' Bulletin.} 22. Rd1 Qf4 23. Be2 Qxh4 24. Kg1 Qa4 25. Rd2 Bd5 26. c4 Bxc4 27. Bxc4 Qxc4 28. Rd7 Qc1+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Linares 08th"] [Site "Linares"] [Date "1990.??.??"] [Round "10"] [White "Gulko, Boris F"] [Black "Salov, Valery"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2610"] [BlackElo "2645"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "1990.02.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "16"] [SourceTitle "CBM 017"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1990.08.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1990.08.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 Bb4 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Bxd7+ {N} (12. Qb3 a6 13. Be2) 12... Nxd7 13. O-O a6 (13... Qxc3 14. Nb5 $40) 14. Rb1 Qc7 15. Qh5 Nc5 (15... Qxc3 $2 16. Nxe6) 16. Rb4 {? ?c4,?e6} Qe5 17. Qxe5 fxe5 18. Nb3 Nxb3 19. axb3 O-O-O 20. f4 $1 $14 exf4 21. Rc4+ Kb8 22. Rxf4 Rd7 23. Rd4 Rc7 (23... Rxd4 24. cxd4 Rd8 25. e5 {? ?f2-e3}) 24. Rd3 Rg8 25. Kf2 a5 $1 26. c4 Ka7 27. Rh3 Rg7 28. Rh5 Ka6 29. Rfh4 a4 $1 30. bxa4 Rxc4 31. g3 (31. Rxh7 Rc2+ 32. Ke3 Rcxg2) 31... f5 $1 32. Rh6 (32. exf5 Rxh4 33. gxh4 Rf7) 32... Ka5 33. Rxe6 Kxa4 34. exf5 Rxh4 35. gxh4 b5 36. f6 Rb7 37. Re7 Rb6 38. Re4+ b4 39. Rf4 Rb8 40. f7 Rf8 41. Ke3 Ka5 42. Ke4 b3 43. Rf2 b2 44. Rxb2 Rxf7 45. Ke5 h5 46. Ke4 Ka6 47. h3 Rb7 48. Ra2+ Kb6 49. Kf5 Kc6 50. Kg6 Rb5 51. Rg2 Kd6 52. Rg5 Rb3 53. Rxh5 Rxh3 54. Rh8 Ke7 55. h5 Rg3+ 56. Kf5 Kf7 57. h6 Rf3+ 58. Kg4 Ra3 {Ftacnik,L} 1/2-1/2 [Event "EU-Cup 26th"] [Site "Plovdiv"] [Date "2010.10.21"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Alekseev, Evgeny V"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2691"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Stohl,Igor"] [PlyCount "112"] [EventDate "2010.10.17"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "BUL"] [SourceTitle "CBM 139"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.11.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.11.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Economist SGSEU"] [BlackTeam "Azerbaijan Socar"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "AZE"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 dxc4 (4... Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 c5 8. dxc5 Qa5 9. Rc1 {Safer seems to be} Bxc3+ $5 ({After} 9... Ne4 10. Qxd5 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bxc3+ 12. Kd1 O-O 13. Bc4 Nf6 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Ke2 b5 {White has the simple} 16. cxb6 $5 ({My notes deal with the ambitious and very complex} 16. c6 Ba6 $13 {Kramnik,V (2772)-Ponomariov,R (2739)/Moscow /2009/CBM 133/}) 16... Qxd5 17. Bxd5 Ba6+ 18. Bc4 axb6 19. a4 $14 {Here White has an edge without any risk, disgusted by his opening, Black didin't offer much resistance:} Bb2 $6 20. Rc2 Rfc8 21. Nd2 b5 22. axb5 Bxb5 23. Rb1 Bxc4+ 24. Rxc4 Bf6 25. Rxc8+ Rxc8 26. Ne4 Re8 27. f4 Bd4 $2 28. exd4 Rxe4+ 29. Kd3 f5 30. g3 Re7 31. Rb5 {1-0,Kramnik,V (2790)-Mamedyarov,S (2761)/Dortmund/2010/}) (9... O-O 10. a3 Bxc3+ 11. Rxc3 Ne4 12. b4 Nxc3 13. Qa1 Qa4 14. Qxc3 $44 {Without the insertion of h6 and ?h4 as in the game Aronian-Kramnik, Moscow 2010, this line seems fine for White and the practical results back this up.}) 10. bxc3 O-O 11. Be2 (11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. Qd4 Be6 (12... Ne4 13. Qxd5 Nxc5 $32) (12... Bf5 $5) 13. Qb4 {Jaracz,P (2543)-Estremera Panos,S (2337)/Arvier/2010/} Qxa2 $1 14. Bd3 a5 15. Qxb7 Qa3 $13 {/3}) 11... Ne4 12. O-O Ndxc5 13. Be7 Re8 14. Bxc5 Qxc5 (14... Nxc5 $5 15. c4 dxc4 16. Bxc4 Be6 17. Ng5 $5 Bxc4 18. Rxc4 Ne6 $11) 15. c4 dxc4 16. Rxc4 Qe7 17. Qc2 Nd6 18. Rc7 Bf5 19. Qc1 Qd8 20. Rd1 Rc8 21. Rxc8 Qxc8 22. Qa3 Ne4 23. Rc1 (23. Qxa7 $5 Nc3 24. Re1 $13 {was probably worth the try.}) 23... Qb8 24. Nd4 Bd7 {Cmilyte,V (2513)-Koneru,H (2593)/ECC W Plovdiv/2010/ Black gradually neutralized White's pressure and achieved full equality.}) 5. Bg5 {White has other options here:} ({A chance do divert the game onto a different path is} 5. Qa4+ Nbd7 ({More popular and at least equivalent is} 5... c6 6. Qxc4 b5 $132) 6. e4 a6 (6... c5 $6 7. d5 $1 exd5 8. e5 d4 9. exf6 dxc3 10. Bxc4 Qxf6 11. Bg5 Qc6 12. O-O-O $1 $40 {is an opening trap, which has been around for half a century already.}) 7. Bxc4 c6 8. Qd1 $5 b5 9. Bd3 Bb7 $2 ({Correct is of course} 9... c5 {, transposing to the Meran branch, which brought Anand great success in Bonn 2008 against Kramnik. However, this line doesn't belong to Naiditsch's repertoire.}) 10. e5 $16 {Mamedyarov,S (2761)-Naiditsch,A (2684)/Dortmund/2010/}) (5. e3 a6 {leads to Queen's Gambit Accepted lines, considered harmless for Black, as White has somewhat prematurely developed his ? to c3.}) ({Finally, a more popular move-order is} 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 {, transposing back into our game.}) 5... Bb4 6. e4 h6 $5 {Kramnik introduced this interesting sideline into elite practice in last year's Tal memorial (see the notes to Ivanchuk-Kramnik, Moscow 2009 in CBM 133). However, the main move status still belongs to} (6... c5 {and now:} {White plays} 7. Bxc4 ({One of the critical positions arises after} 7. e5 cxd4 8. Qa4+ Nc6 9. O-O-O Bd7 10. Ne4 Be7 11. exf6 gxf6 12. Bh4 {Objectively Black should probably go for the customary} Rc8 ({Recently we have seen some attempts to sacrifice the ?c4:} 12... Qc7 13. Kb1 Qf4 14. Re1 Nb4 (14... Ne5 $5) 15. Qxb4 $6 {While this motif works nicely on move 13, here it's more or less dubious.} (15. Qd1 $142 $1 Bc6 $5 (15... c3 16. Qc1 c2+ 17. Ka1 $16) 16. Qxd4 Qf5 17. Qxc4 $14 {and Black still has to prove he has full compensation.}) 15... Bxb4 16. Nxf6+ Kd8 17. Re4 Qf5 18. Ne5 Bc6 19. g4 Qxe5 $1 20. Rxe5 Bxh1 21. Nd5+ Kd7 22. Nxb4 d3 23. a4 Rhg8 24. h3 f5 $36 {Riazantsev,A (2674)-Naiditsch,A (2686)/Poikovsky/2010/}) ({After} 12... e5 13. Bxc4 a6 14. Qb3 {the straightforward} Na5 $2 (14... Rc8 $142) (14... O-O $5) {should have run into} 15. Nxf6+ $1 (15. Bxf7+ $2 Kf8 {Anand,V (2788)-Kosteniuk,A (2517)/Moscow WCh 5'/2009/} {?} 16. Qd5 Rc8+ 17. Kd2 Bc6 $17) 15... Bxf6 16. Bxf7+ Kf8 17. Qa3+ Be7 18. Bxe7+ Qxe7 19. Nxe5 Rc8+ 20. Kd2 $16) (12... Nb4 $2 13. Qxb4 Bxb4 14. Nxf6+ Kf8 15. Rxd4 $16) 13. Kb1 Na5 {A recent example went} 14. Qc2 e5 15. Nxd4 exd4 16. Rxd4 Qb6 17. Rd6 (17. Rd5 Be6 18. Rh5 Bg4 19. Qa4+ Nc6 20. Rb5 Qa6 21. Qxa6 bxa6 22. Rb7 Bf5 23. f3 Rg8 $5 24. Bg3 Rg5 $132 {Khmelniker,I (2404)-Khenkin,I (2620)/ECC Fuegen/2006/}) 17... Rc6 18. Rxc6 Qxc6 19. Be2 f5 20. Bxe7 Qxe4 21. Bf6 Rg8 22. Bf3 Qxc2+ 23. Kxc2 Rg6 24. Re1+ Kf8 25. Be7+ Kg8 26. Kc3 (26. Bc5 $5) 26... Re6 27. Rxe6 fxe6 28. Bd6 Kf7 29. Bh5+ Kf6 30. f4 b5 31. h3 Nc6 32. Bf3 e5 $11 33. Bxc6 {1/2,Grischuk,A (2756)-Gelfand,B (2750)/Nice blindfold rpd/2010/}) 7... cxd4 8. Nxd4 {more often, giving Black a choice:} {This is presumably the main reason why Anand prefers} Qa5 $5 ({More popular, but risky is} 8... Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 ({Maybe Black should again have a closer look at} 10... Nbd7 11. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12. Kf1 gxf6 {, although this is also quite dangerous after} 13. h4 $1 $44) 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Bxd7+ Nxd7 13. O-O a6 14. Rb1 Qc7 {The novel} 15. Qf3 $5 {causes problems:} ({After} 15. Qh5 {Black also hangs on a thin line, the latest wrinkle is} Nc5 16. Rb4 Qe5 17. Qh4 (17. Qh6 Rc8 18. Nf3 Qxc3 19. Rd4 Ke7 20. e5 Nd7 21. Qh4 Rhg8 22. Kh1 b5 23. h3 Rc4 24. Rxd7+ Kxd7 25. Qxf6 Qd3 26. Qxf7+ Kc6 27. Qxe6+ Kb7 28. Re1 Rg6 29. Qf7+ Rc7 30. Qf4 Rc4 31. Qf8 Rc8 32. Qe7+ Rc7 33. Qh4 {Kramnik,V (2759)-Naiditsch,A (2697)/Dortmund/2009/ see the notes by Krasenkov in CBM 131.} Rcg7 $1 34. Qd4 Qxd4 35. Nxd4 Rxg2 36. e6 Rxf2 37. e7 Rgg2 $11 {Kramnik}) 17... Rd8 18. f4 $5 (18. Nf3 Qxc3 19. e5 Rg8 20. Qxh7 Kf8 21. Rf4 f5 22. Qh6+ Ke8 23. Qh7 Kf8 24. Ng5 Rxg5 25. Qh4 Ne4 26. Rxe4 fxe4 27. Qxg5 Rd5 $11 {Radjabov,T (2740)-Leko,P (2735)/Astrakhan/2010/} {?} 28. Rc1 Rd2 $1) 18... Qxe4 19. Re1 Qg6 $1 (19... Qd5 20. Qxf6 Rg8 21. g3 Rg6 22. Qh8+ Ke7 23. Qe5 Qxe5 24. Rxe5 Rc8 25. Nb3 Nd3 26. Rxb7+ Kf8 27. Rh5 Rg7 28. f5 Nf4 29. Rh4 Ne2+ 30. Kf2 Nxc3 31. fxe6 fxe6 32. Rxh7 $16 {Leko,P (2734)-Naiditsch,A (2684)/Dortmund/2010/}) 20. f5 Qg5 21. Qxg5 fxg5 22. fxe6 fxe6 23. Nxe6 Nxe6 24. Rxe6+ Kf7 25. Reb6 Rd1+ 26. Kf2 Rd2+ 27. Kg3 Rc8 28. Rxb7+ Kg6 29. R4b6+ Kf5 {1/2,Beliavsky,A (2632)-Naiditsch,A (2674)/CRO-chT Sibenik/2010/}) 15... O-O-O $6 {[%csl Rc8]} ({Here the ? will be in danger, but the same goes for} 15... Rc8 16. Rfd1 O-O 17. Ne2 $1 Rfd8 18. Ng3 Kf8 19. Nh5 Qe5 20. Rd4 Ke7 21. Rbd1 $36 {Kazhgaleyev,M (2620)-Kulaots,K (2592)/Khanty-Mansiysk olm/2010/}) 16. Rb4 Nc5 $2 (16... Ne5 $5) 17. Rfb1 e5 (17... Rhg8 18. Rc4 {?} b5 19. Nxb5 axb5 20. Rxb5 Rg5 21. g3 Kd7 22. Qe3 Rc8 23. f4 $18) 18. Rc4 (18. Qxf6 $142 $1 exd4 19. cxd4 Nd7 20. Qh6 {??c1+-}) 18... Rd6 19. Nb3 b6 {Le Quang Liem (2681)-Naiditsch,A (2684)/Dortmund/2010/} 20. a4 $1 $16 {? See the notes by Le Quang in CBM 138.}) 9. Bd2 (9. Bb5+ Bd7 10. Bxf6 Bxb5 11. Ndxb5 (11. Nb3 Qb6 12. Bxg7 Rg8 $44 {[%csl Re1] ?e1}) 11... gxf6 12. O-O Nc6 13. a3 Bxc3 14. Nxc3 Rg8 15. f4 Rd8 16. Qe1 Qb6+ 17. Rf2 {Kramnik,V (2772)-Anand,V (2783)/WCh Bonn/2008/ see the notes in CBM 127 by Krasenkow.} Kf8 $5 $11) (9. Bxf6 {is an attempt to enter the above lines, but here Black has} Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qxc3+ 11. Kf1 gxf6 12. Bb5+ Ke7 $1 {and the direct} 13. Rc1 Qa5 14. e5 fxe5 15. Qh5 Nd7 $1 16. Qg5+ Kf8 17. Rxc8+ Rxc8 18. Bxd7 Qd8 {already forces White to take the perpetual with} 19. Nxe6+ fxe6 20. Qh6+ Ke7 21. Qxe6+ Kf8 22. Qf5+ $11) 9... Qc5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Nb3 Qe7 12. Bd3 Nc6 13. O-O O-O 14. a3 Bd6 {and now the older moves promise White nothing:} 15. Kh1 $146 (15. f4 e5 16. f5 Nd4 17. Bg5 Bc6 18. Bc4 (18. Nd2 Qd8 $5 19. Nd5 Be7 $11) 18... Qd8 $1 19. Nd5 Bxd5 20. Bxd5 Be7 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Kh1 Rc8 23. Rc1 Qb6 $11 {Wang Yue (2752)-Gelfand,B (2741)/Medias/2010/}) (15. Bg5 h6 16. Bh4 g5 $5 17. Bg3 Rfd8 $11) 15... Be5 $5 16. f4 Bxc3 17. Bxc3 e5 18. f5 (18. Qf3 $5) 18... Rfd8 19. Qe2 b6 20. Nd2 Bc8 $1 21. Nf3 Bb7 22. Rae1 a6 23. Bc4 b5 24. Ba2 h6 $132 {Black's forces are well deployed, so White decided to bail out with} 25. Bd5 $5 Nxd5 26. exd5 Rxd5 27. f6 Qxf6 28. Nxe5 Qe6 29. Nxf7 Qxe2 30. Rxe2 Rd7 $11 {Kramnik,V (2780)-Anand,V (2800)/Bilbao/2010/}) 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. e5 {Last year I praised this idea, but it doesn't give White an advantage.} ({More enterprising is} 8. Bxc4 c5 9. O-O $5 ({After} 9. e5 Qd8 10. d5 exd5 11. Bxd5 {Black has also} Bxc3+ $5 (11... O-O 12. Rc1 Nc6 13. O-O Nd4 14. Be4 Re8 15. Nd5 Bf5 16. Bxf5 Qxd5 17. Nxd4 {Aronian,L (2786)-Kramnik,V (2772)/Moscow/2009/} Qxd4 $11) 12. bxc3 O-O 13. O-O Nc6 $1 (13... Qc7 14. Qb3 Nc6 15. Rfe1 Bg4 $6 16. e6 $1 Bxe6 17. Bxe6 fxe6 18. Rxe6 Qf7 19. Rae1 Kh8 20. Qb5 $16 {Aronian,L (2786)-Morozevich,A (2750)/Moscow WCh 5'/2009/}) 14. Bxc6 (14. Rb1 Qc7 15. Qe2 Bf5 16. Rbd1 Rfe8 17. Rfe1 Bg4 $36 {[%csl Re5] ×e5,Evdokimov,A (2551)-Meier,G (2638)/Marrakesh/2010/}) 14... bxc6 15. Qa4 Be6 $5 16. Qxc6 Qa5 17. Rfc1 Rad8 18. Qe4 Bd5 19. Qe3 Rfe8 20. Rd1 Bxf3 21. Rxd8 Qxd8 22. gxf3 Qd5 $44 {Esen,B (2475)-Tukhaev,A (2516)/Ankara/2009/}) {Similar is} 9... O-O ({and now:} 9... cxd4 10. e5 (10. Nb5 Qe7 11. Qxd4 O-O 12. Nxa7 Bc5 13. Nxc8 Rxc8 14. Qd3 Nc6 15. Qe2 Nd4 16. Nxd4 Bxd4 $44 {[%csl Gd4] ?,Lysyj,I (2615)-Movsesian,S (2709)/EU-ch Rijeka/2010/ and Black's active ? should compensate the extra ?.}) 10... Qd8 11. Ne4 O-O (11... Nc6 12. a3 Be7 13. Qe2 O-O 14. Bd3 {and now the premature weakening} g6 $6 15. h4 $1 Kg7 16. h5 g5 17. Ned2 Rh8 18. Nh2 b6 19. f4 gxf4 20. Rxf4 Bg5 21. Raf1 $1 Bxf4 22. Rxf4 a5 23. Ng4 $40 {1-0,Akopian,V (2694)-Ivanchuk,V (2741)/Astrakhan/2010/ gave White a huge attack - the disappointed Ivanchuk resigned immediately.}) 12. Qe2 (12. Qd3 Nc6 13. Bb5 Bd7 14. Rfd1 Rc8 15. Nxd4 Qc7 16. Bxc6 Bxc6 17. Nxc6 Qxc6 18. Nd6 Bxd6 19. exd6 Rfd8 20. Rd2 Rd7 $11 {Polak,T (2525)-Movsesian,S (2717)/Hustopece rpd/2010/}) 12... Bd7 13. Rfd1 (13. Bd3 Bc6 14. Bc2 $5) 13... Nc6 14. a3 Be7 15. b4 Qb8 16. Ng3 b5 17. Bxb5 Nxe5 (17... a5 $142 $5 $11) 18. Bxd7 Nxd7 19. Nxd4 Ne5 20. Nb3 a6 21. Ne4 $11 {/?,Grischuk,A (2736)-Aronian,L (2781)/Linares/2010/}) 10. e5 Qd8 11. Qe2 (11. d5 Bxc3 12. bxc3 exd5 13. Bxd5 {- see the 9.e5 line.}) 11... cxd4 12. Rad1 (12. Rfd1 Nc6 13. Qe4 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Bd7 15. cxd4 Ne7 16. Bd3 g6 17. Qf4 Kg7 18. Be4 Nd5 (18... Bc6 $5 $11) 19. Bxd5 exd5 20. Rdc1 Be6 21. Rab1 $11 {1/2,Fressinet,L (2658)-Movsesian,S (2711)/Bundesliga/2010/}) (12. Ne4 Bd7 {- 9...cxd4}) 12... Bd7 13. Ne4 Nc6 14. Ng3 Qc7 15. Bd3 Ne7 16. Rc1 Bc6 17. Nxd4 Rad8 18. Rc4 Qb6 19. Qg4 Bc5 20. Nh5 g6 $132 21. Bxg6 $6 (21. Nxc6 $142 bxc6 $11) 21... Nxg6 22. Nxe6 Be7 23. Nxd8 Qxd8 24. e6 Qd5 $1 25. exf7+ Kh7 $15 {Kramnik,V (2788)-Ivanchuk,V (2749)/Wijk aan Zee/2010/ The opponents tried this line again a few months later, only with opposite colours. See the notes in CBM 135 by Krasenkow.}) ({Rather soft is} 8. Qa4+ Nc6 9. Bxc4 Bd7 10. Bb5 (10. Qd1 g5 $132) 10... a6 (10... Bxc3+ $5 11. bxc3 Qg6 12. O-O Qxe4 13. Rfe1 Qf4 14. d5 Qxa4 15. Bxa4 Nd8 $13) 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3 O-O 13. Bd3 e5 14. d5 b5 $11) 8... Qd8 9. Qa4+ Nc6 10. Bxc4 Bd7 11. Qc2 Ne7 $5 {Grischuk adopts a different concept and keeps the ? closed for the time being.} ({After the direct, but risky} 11... Na5 12. Bd3 (12. Be2 $5) 12... c5 13. dxc5 Rc8 14. a3 Bxc5 15. O-O {Ivanchuk,V (2739)-Kramnik,V (2772)/Moscow/2009/} {nobody had yet tried to test Kramnik's recommendation} Be7 $5 16. Rad1 Qc7 $132) 12. O-O Bc6 $146 {[%mdl 8] Only this is a real novelty, Grischuk doesn't hurry with castling so as not to make his c a target. However, even} (12... O-O 13. Rfd1 Bc6 14. Qe2 Ba5 $5 15. Rac1 Bb6 16. Bd3 Ng6 17. Bb1 Re8 18. Ne4 Qe7 19. a3 Red8 20. g3 Rd7 21. Rd2 Rad8 22. Qe3 Rd5 $11 {Delchev,A (2635)-Ragger,M (2565)/Zadar/2009/ gave Black a solid position.}) 13. Ne4 Nd5 14. a3 Be7 {Black assigns his ? a different role, than Ragger.} 15. Rac1 (15. b4 a6 $11 {leads nowhere, but now Black prevents ? expansion.}) 15... a5 $1 16. Rfe1 a4 17. Ba2 {[%CAl Ya2b1,Gb1h7] Tries to set up a battery on the b1-h7 ?, but Black is still not obliged to castle.} (17. Nc5 Nf4 $5 18. Qc3 O-O $11) 17... Nb6 (17... O-O $143 18. Bb1 $14) ({Grischuk probably didn't like} 17... Qd7 18. Nc5 {and}) (17... h5 {[%CAl Yg7g6,Ye8f8,Yf8g7] ?g6,?f8-g7 seemed to slow to him, therefore he decides to get rid of the ?e4.}) 18. Qe2 Bxe4 $5 {Black exchanges a good ?, but on the other hand he increases his ? control and deals with the pressure on the ?c} 19. Qxe4 c6 $11 20. Red1 {Here White probably should have reanimated his Y by gradually transferring it to e4.} Ra5 21. Ne1 Nd5 22. Nd3 h5 (22... Qb6 $11 {prevents ?c5, but Grischuk is in no hurry and even invites the ? to the ?.}) 23. Rc2 (23. Nc5 {was more logical.}) 23... g6 24. Nc5 (24. Nf4 {abandons all ambitions, but even with the ? Black can play on, as he can gradually concentrate all his pieces against the ×d4 (?d8,d7,?b6,?a7).}) 24... Bxc5 25. dxc5 (25. Rxc5 Qb6 $11 (25... Rxc5 $5 26. dxc5 Qa5 $11 {/?})) 25... O-O 26. Rd4 Qe7 27. Rxa4 ({After} 27. Rdc4 $5 $11 {it would be more difficult for Black to activate his forces.}) 27... Rxc5 28. Rxc5 $6 {Why ket the ? out?} (28. Rac4 $142 $11) 28... Qxc5 29. Rc4 Qb6 30. Qd4 Rd8 $1 $36 {Now White can't swap ? and Black's ? starts growing.} 31. g3 $2 {A tactical error.} (31. h3 $142 $15) 31... Qc7 $6 ({Both} 31... Ne3 $5 32. Qxe3 Qxe3 33. fxe3 Rd1+ 34. Kf2 Rd2+ 35. Kf3 Rxb2 $17) ({and} 31... c5 $1 32. Qxc5 Qxb2 $17 {would net Black a ?.}) 32. Qe4 ({Black should have probably retained the ? on the board, after} 32. Rc1 $5 Ne7 33. Qc3 Nf5 34. Bb1 Nd4 35. Re1 $15 {he has more chances for active ?.}) 32... Ne7 33. Rd4 Nf5 34. Rxd8+ Qxd8 35. Qe2 (35. Qc2 Qd4 36. Qc3 Qd1+ $5 37. Kg2 h4 $36) 35... Qd4 $1 {[%csl Ra2,Gd4,Re2,Gf5][%mdl 4128] The dominant ? can't be dislodged. Black now vindicates Capablanca's maxim "A ? cooperates better with a ?, than with a ?" with superior technique and in a model fashion.} 36. Kg2 (36. Bb1 Ne7 $36 {doesn't change the character of the position.}) 36... Kg7 37. Bc4 Nh6 {[%CAl Rh6g4] ??g4 Black forces a new weakness.} 38. h3 (38. Bd3 Ng4 39. f4 Ne3+ 40. Kf3 Nd5 {[%csl Rf3] ?f3 exposes the c.}) 38... Nf5 $17 39. a4 $6 {Loses material almost by force.} ({More resilient was} 39. Bd3 $1) 39... h4 $1 40. g4 ({Even here White had} 40. Bd3 $142 $5 {although here} hxg3 41. Bxf5 exf5 42. fxg3 Qxa4 {should gradually win.}) 40... Ne7 {[%csl Re5][%CAl Yc6c5,Yg6g5,Ye7c6,Ye7g6] ×e5,?c5,?c6,g5,?g6} 41. Kg1 (41. g5 Qf4 $19) 41... c5 42. b3 (42. Bb5 Nd5 43. Kh2 g5 $1 $19 {??f4}) 42... Nc6 43. Qf3 Qxe5 44. Bb5 Na5 $19 45. Qd3 b6 46. Qd8 (46. Be8 Qe1+ 47. Kg2 Qb4 48. Qf3 f5 $19) 46... Nxb3 47. Qxb6 Nd2 48. a5 Qe1+ 49. Kg2 Ne4 50. Kf3 Ng5+ 51. Kg2 Ne4 {Repetition to win some time.} 52. Kf3 Ng5+ 53. Kg2 Qe4+ 54. Kf1 (54. Kh2 Qf4+ 55. Kg2 Qf3+ 56. Kf1 Ne4 $19) 54... Qh1+ 55. Ke2 Qf3+ 56. Ke1 Ne4 (56... Ne4 57. Be2 Qxf2+ 58. Kd1 Qd4+ 59. Kc2 Qc3+ 60. Kb1 Qd2 $19) 0-1 [Event "Moscow Tal Memorial 4th"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2009.11.14"] [Round "9"] [White "Ivanchuk, Vassily"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [BlackElo "2772"] [Annotator "Stohl,Igor"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2009.11.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 133"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2009.11.19"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2009.11.19"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%mdl 2] A crucial game for the outcome of the tournament, by winning it Ivanchuk could overtake Kramnik. Although he didn't succeed, Black had to overcome some scary moments...} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 dxc4 {This surprisingly became a popular choice in Moscow, competing on equal terms with the ever-present Semi-Slav} (4... c6) 5. e4 {The main active try.} (5. e3 {is considered too soft, although Black must know his way around:} a6 6. a4 c5 7. Bxc4 Nc6 8. O-O Be7 9. dxc5 (9. Qe2 cxd4 10. Rd1 e5 11. exd4 exd4 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. Qe5 Qd6 14. Qxd4 Qxd4 15. Rxd4 Bc5 16. Rd1 O-O $11 {is symmetrical and drawish.}) 9... O-O $5 ({White has a slight initiative after the more usual} 9... Qxd1 10. Rxd1 Bxc5 11. Bd2 b6 12. Bd3 Nb4 13. Be2 $11 {/?}) 10. Qc2 (10. Qe2 {is played more often.}) 10... Bxc5 11. Rd1 Bd7 $5 (11... Qc7 $146 12. Ne4 Be7 13. Bd2 (13. Bd3 $5) 13... Na5 $5 14. Bxa5 (14. Bd3 $142 Qxc2 15. Bxc2 $14 {?}) 14... Qxa5 15. Nxf6+ Bxf6 16. Bd3 g6 17. Be4 Qb4 18. Rd2 Ra7 $1 19. h3 (19. h4 $5 {?h5?}) 19... b6 20. Rad1 b5 21. axb5 Qxb5 22. Nd4 Qb6 23. Qc6 Rb7 ({Black already aspires for more than easy equality after} 23... Qxc6 $11) 24. Rc2 Qxc6 25. Nxc6 Kg7 26. Rdd2 h5 27. Bf3 h4 28. Na5 Rd7 29. Bc6 Rxd2 30. Rxd2 {Anand,V (2788)-Morozevich,A (2750)/Moscow Tal mem/2009/} Rd8 $11 {/?,?}) 12. Ne4 (12. Bd2 $142 $11) 12... Nb4 13. Nxf6+ Qxf6 14. Qe2 Bc6 $32 15. e4 (15. Bd2 $1 {?} Qxb2 16. Rab1 Qa3 17. Ra1 $11) 15... Rfd8 16. Rxd8+ Qxd8 17. Bd2 Nc2 18. Bg5 Nd4 $36 {Kortschnoj,V (2623)-Ivanchuk,V (2729)/Odessa rpd/2007/}) (5. Bg5 Bb4 6. a3 (6. e4 {transposes into our game and the more usual Vienna line positions. However, White's try isn't without venom as well.}) 6... Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 h6 ({Anand decides to play it safe. This position is almost unexplored and Black has numerous options:} 7... Qd5 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. Nd2 $44) (7... b5 8. a4 c6 9. g3 h6 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Bg2 Bb7 12. Qb1 a6 13. Nd2 Qc7 14. O-O Nd7 15. Qb4 c5 16. dxc5 Bxg2 17. Kxg2 Qc6+ 18. Kg1 Ke7 19. Rfb1 Rhb8 20. axb5 Rxb5 21. Qxc4 Rxc5 22. Qb4 a5 23. Qa3 Ke8 24. c4 h5 $132 {1/2,Grischuk,A (2710)-Van Wely,L (2679)/Wijk aan Zee/2005/}) 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. e3 (9. Qa4+ Bd7 (9... Nd7 $5 10. e3 O-O 11. Qxc4 c5 {?b6, ?b7?}) 10. Qxc4 Bc6 11. Ne5 $5 (11. e3 O-O 12. Be2 Nd7 13. O-O Rac8 14. Qb3 b6 15. Rfd1 Bxf3 (15... Rfe8 $142) 16. Bxf3 c5 {Kuzubov,Y (2634)-Bokros,A (2487)/AUT-chT/2009/} 17. a4 $36) 11... O-O 12. Nxc6 Nxc6 13. g3 Ne7 14. Bg2 c6 15. Rb1 Rab8 16. e4 Nc8 17. a4 Qe7 18. O-O {1/2 Koopmann,J-Windt,L/Hamburg 1978/EXT 2008 (47)}) 9... b5 10. a4 c6 11. Ne5 a6 12. g4 $5 $146 (12. g3 Ra7 13. Bg2 Rc7 14. O-O O-O 15. Qb1 Bb7 16. axb5 cxb5 17. Bxb7 Rxb7 18. Nxc4 Rc7 19. Nd2 Rc6 20. Ne4 Qe7 21. Nc5 Qd6 22. Qb4 Nd7 23. Nxd7 Qxd7 $11 {Olesen,N-Hvid,J/Aarhus/1992/}) 12... Bb7 (12... Ra7 $5 13. Bg2 Rc7 $13) 13. Bg2 Qe7 (13... Nd7 $5 14. Bxc6 Bxc6 15. Nxc6 O-O 16. O-O e5 $132) 14. O-O O-O 15. f4 $44 Nd7 (15... Qc7 16. g5 {??}) 16. Nxc6 Qd6 17. Ne7+ Qxe7 18. Bxb7 Ra7 19. Bg2 Nb6 20. axb5 axb5 21. Rxa7 Qxa7 22. Qa1 Qe7 23. e4 Ra8 24. Qb2 Ra5 25. e5 Qh4 $6 (25... Qa3 26. Rb1 Qxb2 27. Rxb2 Ra1+ 28. Kf2 Na4 $132) 26. Qe2 $6 (26. f5 $5 $36 {?} Qxg4 27. h3 Qg3 28. fxe6 fxe6 29. Qb4) 26... Ra3 27. f5 Rxc3 28. fxe6 fxe6 29. Qe4 Qd8 30. Qg6 Qxd4+ 31. Kh1 Re3 $8 32. Qxe6+ Kh7 33. Qf5+ Kh8 34. Qf8+ Kh7 35. Qf5+ Kh8 36. Qf8+ {1/2,Carlsen,M (2801)-Anand,V (2788)/Moscow Tal mem/2009/}) 5... Bb4 6. Bg5 h6 $5 {A rare move with a dubious reputation, nevertheless Kramnik employed it twice in Moscow.} (6... c5 {is the standard reaction, which Kramnik had to face himself this year in Dortmund. After} 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Bxd7+ Nxd7 13. O-O a6 14. Rb1 Qc7 15. Qh5 Nc5 16. Rb4 Qe5 17. Qh6 Rc8 {he came up with the novelty} 18. Nf3 $5 {Kramnik,V (2759)-Naiditsch,A (2697)/Dortmund/2009/ For more details about this game see the notes in CBM 131 by Krasenkow.}) 7. Bxf6 $8 (7. Bh4 $2 g5 $17) 7... Qxf6 8. e5 {Ivanchuk has an original plan.} ({Aronian went for the natural and almost universally played} 8. Bxc4 c5 $5 {Attacking the ? immediately give Black some extra options, as right now the ?c3 is still pinned.} (8... O-O 9. O-O c5 ({Black shouldn't leave White's ? intact:} 9... Rd8 $143 $6 10. Qe2 Nc6 (10... Nd7 11. Rfd1 c6 12. a3 Bf8 13. e5 Qe7 14. h4 Qe8 15. Bd3 Be7 16. Qe4 Nf8 17. Qg4 b6 18. Ne4 Kh8 19. Ng3 Bd7 20. Nh5 Ng6 21. Rac1 Rac8 22. Re1 c5 23. d5 $1 $40 {Podgaets,M (2484)-Rivera,A (2392)/Havana/1999/}) 11. e5 Qf4 12. Rad1 Na5 13. Bd3 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Bd7 15. h3 Bc6 16. Nh2 Ba4 17. Rd2 h5 18. Rb2 g6 19. Rb4 Bd7 20. d5 Qh6 21. c4 c5 22. Rbb1 b5 23. Be4 $16 {Chernin,A (2560)-Frias,V (2485)/Saint John/1988/}) 10. e5 (10. Nb5 a6 11. e5 Qe7 12. Nd6 cxd4 13. Qxd4 Nc6 14. Nxc8 Raxc8 15. Qe4 Rfd8 16. Bd3 g6 17. h4 {Kupchik,A-Reinfeld,F/New York/1938/} h5 $11) 10... Qd8 11. d5 (11. Ne4 cxd4 12. a3 Be7 13. Qxd4 Qxd4 14. Nxd4 Nd7 15. f4 Nc5 16. Nc3 Rd8 17. Rad1 Bd7 18. Rd2 Rac8 19. Ba2 Na4 20. Ne4 Nb6 21. f5 Nc4 22. Bxc4 Rxc4 23. f6 {Sharavdorj,D (2441)-Jahedi,S (2106)/Berkeley/2008/} gxf6 $15) (11. a3 Bxc3 12. bxc3 cxd4 13. cxd4 Bd7 $5 $132) 11... exd5 (11... Bxc3 $5 12. bxc3 exd5 13. Qxd5 $5 $14) 12. Bxd5 (12. Nxd5 $142 $36) 12... Bxc3 13. bxc3 Nc6 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Qa4 Qc7 (15... Be6 $1 16. Qxc6 Qa5 $44) 16. Rfd1 Be6 17. Qa3 c4 18. Rd6 Bd5 19. Nd4 Qe7 20. f4 Qh4 21. Rf1 Qg4 22. Qb2 Rab8 23. Qf2 $14 {Gligoric,S-Karaklajic,N/Sarajevo/1951/}) 9. e5 (9. O-O $5 cxd4 10. Nb5 Qd8 11. a3 Be7 12. Nbxd4 O-O 13. e5 $14 {Chernin}) 9... Qd8 $5 (9... Qe7 10. O-O Bxc3 (10... cxd4 11. Ne4 O-O 12. Qxd4 Rd8 13. Qe3 Bd7 $6 (13... Nd7 $14) 14. Rad1 Bc6 15. Nf6+ $1 Kh8 16. Rxd8+ Qxd8 17. Ng5 Qe7 18. Qd3 g6 19. Bxe6 $18 {?,Flear,G (2495)-Condie,M (2430)/Bath zt/1987/}) 11. bxc3 O-O 12. Nd2 $5 (12. Qe2 Bd7 {[%CAl Yd7c6] ??c6?}) (12. d5 exd5 13. Bxd5 Nd7 14. Re1 Nb6 15. Be4 Rd8 16. Qe2 {Gligoric,S-Kostic,B/Zagreb/1946/} Be6 $11) 12... b6 13. Ne4 (13. d5 $1 $36) 13... Ba6 14. Bxa6 Nxa6 15. Qa4 Nc7 16. dxc5 bxc5 17. c4 $14 {Kmoch,H-Gilg,K/Kecskemet/1927/}) 10. d5 exd5 11. Bxd5 O-O 12. Rc1 Nc6 13. O-O Nd4 14. Be4 Re8 15. Nd5 Bf5 16. Bxf5 Qxd5 17. Nxd4 Rxe5 $6 (17... Qxd4 $1 18. Qxd4 cxd4 19. f4 Bd2 20. Rc7 Be3+ 21. Kh1 Rab8 22. g3 Kf8 {[%CAl Ye8e7] ??e7= and Black should gradually neutralize White's slight pressure.}) 18. Nb5 $1 (18. Nb3 Rxf5 19. a3 Qxd1 (19... c4 $2 20. Nd4 Rf4 21. Ne2 Qxd1 22. Rfxd1 Re4 23. Ng3) 20. Rfxd1 c4 21. Rxc4 (21. Nd4 Rd5 22. axb4 Rad8 23. Rxc4 b5 $15) 21... Be7 $11) 18... Qxd1 19. Rfxd1 Rxf5 20. a3 $6 (20. Nd6 $142 Rg5 21. Nxb7 Rb8 22. Nd6 $14 {[%csl Ra7,Rc5] /?,,??? would have given White a pleasant and riskless edge.}) 20... c4 $1 21. axb4 Rxb5 22. Rxc4 a5 23. g3 {1/2,Aronian,L (2786)-Kramnik,V (2772)/Moscow Tal mem/2009/}) ({After} 8. Qa4+ Nc6 9. Bxc4 {Black can avoid transposing into the game with} Bd7 $5 (9... Qf4 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3 $14 {?} Qxe4 $2 12. d5 $1 $18) (9... O-O 10. O-O Bxc3 $6 11. bxc3 e5 12. Bd5 Bd7 13. Rab1 exd4 14. cxd4 Rab8 15. Rfe1 Rfc8 {Ftacnik,L (2580)-Mirzoev,A (2516)/Lisbon op/2001/} 16. Qc4 $16 {[%csl Gd4,Ge4] ??}) 10. Qd1 (10. Qb3 Ba5 $1 11. Rd1 Bb6 {[%CAl Rc6d4,Yc6a5] ??d4, ?a5}) 10... g5 $5 $13 (10... O-O 11. O-O $14)) 8... Qd8 $146 {[%mdl 8]} (8... Qe7 9. Bxc4 O-O 10. Qc2 (10. O-O $142) 10... Nc6 $6 (10... c5 $132) 11. O-O Rd8 12. Rad1 a6 {0-1 Jernberg,K-Storslett,R/Tromsoe 1998/EXT 2003 (52)} 13. Qe4 $36 {???}) 9. Qa4+ $5 (9. Bxc4 c5 {transposes to Aronian-Kramnik.}) 9... Nc6 10. Bxc4 {The main point of White's previous 2 moves was to postpone the liberating thrust c5.} Bd7 11. Qc2 (11. Qb3 Bxc3+ 12. Qxc3 (12. bxc3 Na5 $14) 12... Ne7 $13) (11. O-O $2 Bxc3 12. bxc3 Nxe5 $19) 11... Na5 $6 {Kramnik still insists on pushing his ?c7 ASAP, but he will soon have a lot of problems with his sidelined ?.} (11... Ne7 $142 $5 $13 {/?}) 12. Bd3 ({An alternative was} 12. Be2 c5 (12... Bc6 13. a3 $16) {More solid is} 13. dxc5 $5 (13. Rd1 cxd4 (13... Rc8 14. d5 $36) 14. Rxd4 Nc6 15. Rg4 {was an interesting suggestion by Shipov. White has attacking chances, but Black isn't without ? after} Qa5 $13) 13... Rc8 14. a3 Bxc5 15. O-O Be7 16. Rfd1 $14) 12... c5 {Risky, but consistent.} (12... Bc6 13. a3 Be7 14. Be4 $14 {is rather passive.} (14. Rd1 $5 Bxf3 15. gxf3 Nc6 16. d5 $13)) 13. dxc5 Rc8 14. a3 $1 Bxc5 $8 15. O-O (15. b4 {doesn't win a piece and unnecessarily weakens the ? after} Bb6 $5 (15... Be7 16. O-O Nc4 17. Qe2 $14) 16. O-O O-O $14) 15... O-O 16. Rad1 {Ivanchuk patiently improves his position.} Be7 (16... Bb6 17. Qe2 $36) 17. Qe2 {White still doesn't force the issue. After} (17. Bb5 {he would have to reckon with a radical change of the character of the position with} Bxb5 $5 (17... Nc6 18. Qe4 Qc7 19. h4 $1 $40) 18. Rxd8 Rfxd8 19. Rd1 Rxd1+ 20. Qxd1 Rd8 21. Qc1 Bd3 $14 {[%csl Gd3,Ge7] /?? and converting the slight material advantage against Black's active pieces is far from simple.}) 17... Qc7 {Keeps an eye on d7 and e5.} ({However Black could perhaps afford even the seemingly more dangerous} 17... Qb6 $5 18. Qe4 (18. Bh7+ Kxh7 19. Rxd7 Rfe8 $11) (18. Ne4 Ba4 $15) 18... g6 19. Qg4 $1 {It's important to further weaken the ?.} (19. Qf4 Kg7 $132) 19... h5 (19... Kg7 $2 20. Bxg6 $18) 20. Qf4 (20. Qg3 $5 Be8 21. Ne4 Qxb2 22. Nd6 $44) 20... Kg7 (20... Qxb2 $2 21. Qh6 $1 $16 {?}) 21. Ne4 Ba4 $1 {[%CAl Ra4c2] ??c2?} (21... Qxb2 22. Nf6 $40)) 18. Qe4 g6 19. Qg4 (19. Qf4 Bc6 20. Nd4 $5 (20. Qxh6 Bxf3 21. Bxg6 $11 (21. gxf3 $2 Qxe5 $17)) 20... Rcd8 (20... Rfd8 21. Bxg6 $1 fxg6 (21... Bg5 22. Qg3 fxg6 23. h4 $1 $16) 22. Nxe6 Bg5 23. Qg3 Qf7 24. Nxd8 Rxd8 25. Rxd8+ Bxd8 26. Rd1 $36) 21. Bxg6 Rxd4 (21... fxg6 22. Qg3 $36) 22. Qxd4 $5 fxg6 23. b4 Rf5 $1 24. bxa5 Qxa5 $14) (19. Qe3 {Zagrebelny} Bc6 20. Nd4 Bc5 21. Qxh6 Bxd4 22. Bxg6 fxg6 23. Qxg6+ Kh8 $5 (23... Qg7 24. Qxe6+ Kh8 25. Qh3+ $14 {/?}) 24. Rxd4 Qh7 25. Qxe6 Rce8 26. Qd6 Qg7 $13) 19... Kg7 {This natural move allows White to enhance his ? with a strong manoeuvre.} ({Solid, but passive is} 19... Be8 20. Ne4 $14 {?}) (19... h5 20. Qg3 $1 (20. Qf4 Rfd8 21. Ne4 $14) 20... Be8 21. Ne4 {?} Ba4 22. Qf4 $1 $16 {[%CAl Rf4h6,Yd1c1] ??h6, ?c1}) (19... Bc6 20. Bxg6 Bxf3 21. Bxf7+ $1 (21. gxf3 $6 Kh8 $1 (21... Qxe5 22. Rd7 Qg5 $11) 22. Qh5 Bg5 $15) 21... Kxf7 (21... Kh8 22. Qxf3 Bg5 23. Nb5 Qxf7 24. Qxf7 Rxf7 25. Nd6 $16) 22. Qxf3+ Kg8 23. Qg4+ Kh8 24. Qxe6 Bg5 25. Ne4 $40) 20. Ne2 $1 {[%mdl 128]} Bc6 $2 (20... Nc6 21. Nf4 Rg8 22. Bxg6 Kf8 (22... fxg6 $2 23. Rxd7 $18) 23. Rd3 $5 (23. Qh5 fxg6 24. Qxh6+ Kf7 25. Rfe1 $44) (23. h4 $5 Rg7 24. Qh5 $40) 23... fxg6 24. Rfd1 Nb8 25. Nd4 $40) ({The text move provokes a crisis, but could have cost Kramnik dearly. Black should have limited himself to the passive} 20... Rg8 21. Nf4 (21. Ng3 $5) 21... Kh8 $14) (20... h5 21. Qg3 {again only loosens Black's ?.}) 21. Nf4 Rg8 $8 (21... Bxf3 22. Nxe6+ $1 Kh8 (22... Kg8 23. gxf3 Qxe5 24. Rfe1 $18) 23. Qh3 Qxe5 24. Nxf8 Rxf8 25. Qxf3 (25. Rfe1 Qxb2 26. Qxh6+ Kg8 27. Bxg6 Qg7 28. Qxg7+ Kxg7 29. gxf3 $18) 25... Qxb2 26. Qe3 $18) 22. Nd4 $1 {[%CAl Rd4e6,Rf4e6,Yb2b4] ??e6, b4} ({Ivanchuk's move is even stronger than} 22. Nxe6+ fxe6 23. Qxg6+ Kf8 24. Qxh6+ Rg7 (24... Kf7 25. Bf5 $1 $18) 25. Nd4 (25. Qxe6 Bxf3 26. Qf5+ $16) 25... Qxe5 26. Qh8+ Kf7 27. Bg6+ $1 Kxg6 28. Qxc8 Kh7 29. Nxc6 Nxc6 30. Rd3 $16) 22... Kh7 (22... Qxe5 23. Rfe1 $18) 23. h4 $2 $138 {Ivanchuk was down to his last 7 minutes and with more tempting possibilities to choose from he starts to falter.} (23. b4 $5 Ba4 $5 (23... Qxe5 24. Ndxe6 $1 (24. bxa5 $2 Qxd4 25. Bxg6+ Rxg6 26. Qxg6+ fxg6 27. Rxd4 e5 $15) 24... Qf6 (24... h5 25. Qg3 (25. Rde1 hxg4 26. Rxe5 Kh6 27. Rxa5 fxe6 28. b5 $16) 25... fxe6 26. Rfe1 Qg5 27. Rxe6 $1 $18) (24... Nb3 25. Rfe1 Qf6 26. Qh3 $5 (26. b5 Bd7 27. Nd5 Qh4 28. Nf8+ $16) 26... Rce8 27. Bc4 fxe6 28. Nxe6 $16 {and White back the piece with a continuing ?.}) 25. bxa5 fxe6 26. Rfe1 $16 {[%csl Rh7] ??h7}) 24. Rde1 Nc4 (24... Nb3 25. Ndxe6) 25. Ndxe6 Qd7 26. h4 $5 {?} Nd2 27. Ng5+ hxg5 28. e6 Qd6 29. exf7 gxf4 30. Re6 Qxd3 31. fxg8=Q+ Rxg8 32. Rxe7+ Rg7 33. Rfe1 $40) (23. Ndxe6 $142 $1 Qxe5 24. b4 {is even more accurate, as it avoids line B) above.}) 23... Qxe5 24. h5 $6 (24. Ndxe6 $5 $36 {still retains a dangerous ?, but in a less clear situation, than in the above note.}) 24... Kh8 $1 {[%mdl 256] Ivanchuk possibly underestimated this cold-blooded defence.} 25. Nxc6 (25. hxg6 $2 Qxd4 $19) 25... Nxc6 26. hxg6 f5 $11 27. g7+ {White decides it's time to bail out.} ({After} 27. Qf3 Nd4 28. Qe3 Bd6 {he has, in any case, nothing better than} 29. Qxe5+ Bxe5 30. Nxe6 Nxe6 31. Rfe1 Rc5 32. b4 Rd5 33. Bc2 Nd4 (33... Rxd1 34. Bxd1 $11 {/?}) 34. Bb3 Nf3+ 35. gxf3 Rxg6+ $11 {with a drawish ?.}) 27... Rxg7 $8 (27... Qxg7 $2 28. Qxg7+ Rxg7 (28... Kxg7 29. Bc4 $16) 29. Nxe6 Rf7 30. Bb1 $36) 28. Ng6+ Kg8 29. Nxe5 (29. Nxe5 fxg4 30. Bc4 Nd8 31. Rfe1 $44 {gives White enough play for the ? to hold the balance, but not more.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE-Wch"] [Site "NED/INA"] [Date "1993.??.??"] [Round "14"] [White "Karpov, Anatoly"] [Black "Timman, Jan H"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2620"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "1993.09.??"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "NED"] [SourceTitle "CBM 036"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1993.10.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1993.10.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Nb5 Nxe4 (10... Bd7 11. Nd6+ Ke7 12. Qd2 Bc6 13. f4 Nbd7 14. Rd1 $1 Rhd8 15. Qd4 $1 h6 16. Bh4 Qh5 17. Bf2 Kf8 18. e5 Nd5 $6 19. O-O Qg4 $2 20. h3 $1 Qh5 21. f5 $1 Kg8 22. Rd3 $1 N7b6 23. Bxd5 Bxd5 24. Rg3 $16 {Karpov,An-Timman,J (06)/FIDE-Wch (Arnheim)/1993/1-0 (33)}) (10... a6 11. Nd6+ Ke7 12. Qd2 (12. Bf4 Nc6 13. Qb3 Nd4 14. Nxc8+ Kf8 15. Qb2 Rxc8 16. O-O Nf3+ 17. gxf3 Rxc4 18. Qxb7 g5 19. Bd6+ Kg7 20. Bb4 Qa4 21. Rfd1 Rhc8 22. Rd2 Rxc3 23. Bxc3 Rxc3 24. Kg2 {Podgaets,M-Maljutin,E/Alushta op/1993/1-0 (43)}) 12... Nc6 13. Rd1 $5 Rd8 14. O-O Qc5 $1 (14... h6 {Vyzmanavin,A-Ribli,Z/Calcutta (07)/1992/0.5 (14)}) 15. e5 $8 Qxe5 16. Bf4 Qc5 17. Qb2 b5 $1 18. Be3 Qe5 19. Qa3 Ng4 $3 20. Bg5+ $1 $8 Qxg5 21. Nxc8+ Kf6 22. Rxd8 Nxd8 23. Nb6 $1 bxc4 $2 24. Nxa8 {Kuzmin,A-Akopian,V/USSR (ch)/1991/0.5 (52)}) (10... O-O $2 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Qg4+ Kh8 13. Qh4 Nd7 14. Rd1 a6 15. Rd3 $1 $16 {Razuvaev,Y-Drasko,M/Protvino/1988/}) 11. Bf4 (11. Qd4 O-O $1 12. Qxe4 a6 13. Be7 axb5 14. Bb4 Qc7 15. Bxb5 Bd7 16. Bd3 g6 17. O-O Re8 18. Qe3 Nc6 19. Bc5 Ne7 20. Be4 Nf5 21. Bxf5 exf5 22. Qd4 Re4 23. Qd6 Qxd6 24. Bxd6 {Karpov,An-Timman,J (08)/FIDE-Wch (Amsterdam)/1993/0.5 (28)}) 11... O-O 12. O-O (12. Qf3 a6 13. Nc7 e5 14. Nxa8 exf4 15. Rc1 Qe5 16. Qe2 f3 17. gxf3 Qg5 18. Qe3 Qg2 19. Ke2 Bg4 20. Rhg1 Bxf3+ 21. Qxf3 Nxc3+ 22. Rxc3 Qxg1 23. Re3 Nd7 24. Nb6 $14 {Seres,L-Koczka,Zs/Gyor junior/1991/1-0 (31)}) 12... Nd7 $1 (12... Nc6 13. Bc7 $1 b6 14. Qf3 $36) 13. Nc7 $6 e5 (13... Rb8 14. Nxe6 $1) 14. Nxa8 exf4 15. Bd5 (15. Qf3 Nd2 16. Qxf4 Nxf1 17. Rxf1 (17. Bxf1 Qxc3 18. Rc1 Qb2 19. Nc7 Nf6 20. Nb5 Bd7 21. Nd6 b5 $17) 17... Ne5 18. Re1 Nxc4 19. Qxc4 Be6 $5 20. Qc7 $2 (20. Rxe6 fxe6 21. Nc7 Qb6 $17) 20... Qa6 $19) 15... Ndf6 (15... Nef6 $1 16. c4 (16. Bf3 Ne5 (16... Nc5 17. Qd4 $1 {? ?b4}) 17. Qd6 (17. Re1 Qxc3 18. Be2 (18. Rc1 Nxf3+ 19. gxf3 Qa5 20. Nc7 Bh3 21. Kh1 Qxa2 $17 (21... Qxa2 $17))) 17... Nxf3+ 18. gxf3 Bh3 $19 (18... Bh3 $19)) 16... Nc5 17. Qe1 Qxe1 $1 18. Rfxe1 Bd7 19. Nc7 Rc8 20. Nb5 Bxb5 (20... Nxd5 $19) 21. cxb5 Nxd5 22. Rac1 b6 $19) (15... Nxc3 $2 16. Qd2) 16. Bxe4 Nxe4 17. f3 $6 (17. Re1 Bf5 18. Qd4 Rxa8 19. Rxe4 Bxe4 20. Qxe4 Qxc3 21. Rb1 Rc8 22. Qxf4 b6 $17 (22... b6 $17)) 17... Nxc3 $6 (17... Rd8 $1 18. Qe1 (18. Qc2 Qc5+ 19. Kh1 Ng3+ 20. hxg3 Qh5+ 21. Kg1 fxg3 22. Rfc1 (22. Rfd1 Qh2+ 23. Kf1 Qh1+ 24. Ke2 Qxg2+ 25. Ke3 Re8+ 26. Qe4 Rxe4+ 27. fxe4 Qf2+ 28. Kd3 Bg4 $19) 22... Bf5 23. Qb3 Qh2+ 24. Kf1 Qh1+ 25. Ke2 Qxg2+ 26. Ke1 Qf2#) 18... Qc5+ 19. Kh1 Nf6 20. Qf2 Qxf2 21. Rxf2 Bd7 22. Rb2 (22. Nc7 Rc8) 22... Rxa8 23. Rxb7 $17) 18. Qd6 $1 Nd5 $6 (18... Be6 19. Nc7 Bxa2 20. Rfe1 (20. Rf2 Rc8 21. Ne6 $5 fxe6 22. Rfxa2 Qd5 23. Rd2 Qxd6 24. Rxd6 e5 25. Rd7 $14) 20... Qb6+ 21. Qxb6 axb6 22. Kf2) (18... Nb5 $5 19. Qe5 (19. Qxf4 Be6 20. a4 Nc3 21. Qc7 Qb4 $17) 19... Bd7 20. a4 (20. Rfd1 Bc6 21. a4 Qc3 $1 (21... Rxa8 $2 22. axb5 Qxb5 23. Qxb5 Bxb5 24. Rxa7 $1) 22. Qxf4 (22. Qe7 $6 Re8 23. Qg5 Qe3+ 24. Kh1 Nd4 $19) 22... Qc5+ 23. Kh1 Rxa8 24. axb5 Bxb5 25. Rac1 Qf8 $17 26. Rd4 Bc6 27. Rcd1 h6 28. Qc7 Kh7 29. Rd8 Rxd8 30. Rxd8 Qc5) 20... Rxa8 21. axb5 Qxb5 $15) (18... Rd8 19. Qc7 (19. Rfe1 $5) 19... Qxc7 20. Nxc7 Bd7 21. a4 $1) 19. Rfc1 Be6 (19... Rd8 20. Qe5 (20. Rc5 $5) (20. Qc5 Qxc5+ (20... Qd2 21. Qxc8 $5 Ne3 22. Qh3 Rxa8 23. Rc8+ $18) 21. Rxc5 b6 22. Rcc1 Bb7 23. Nc7 Ne3 $132) 20... Qd2 21. Rd1) (19... Ne3 20. Qxf4 Qd2 21. Qg3 $16) 20. Nc7 Nxc7 21. Qxc7 Qxc7 $2 (21... Qd2 $132) 22. Rxc7 Bd5 23. Rc5 Be6 (23... Bc6 24. Rf5 a6 25. Rxf4 $14) 24. Rc7 Bd5 25. Rc5 Be6 26. Ra5 a6 27. Rb1 Rc8 28. h4 Rc7 29. Rb4 Bc4 30. Raa4 Be6 (30... Bb5 31. Rxb5 $1) 31. Rb6 $1 (31. Rxf4 h6 32. Rfb4 Bd5 $10) 31... h6 (31... Bd5 $4 32. Rd6) 32. a3 g5 $6 (32... Bd5 {? ?c6}) 33. Rab4 (33. hxg5 hxg5 34. Ra5 g4 35. fxg4 $16) 33... a5 (33... Bd5 34. Rxh6 $18) (33... gxh4 $1 34. Rxf4 h3 35. gxh3 Bxh3 $14) 34. Ra4 gxh4 35. Rxf4 $6 (35. Rxa5 h3 36. gxh3 Bxh3 37. Rxh6 $16) 35... h3 36. gxh3 (36. g4 $2 Rc3 $1 37. a4 Bd5 38. Rbf6 Kg7 39. Kh2 Be6 $13) 36... Bxh3 37. Ra4 Rc3 (37... Bd7 38. Rxa5 Rc1+ 39. Kg2 Bc6 $132) 38. Rxb7 Rxf3 39. Rxa5 Be6 $4 (39... Rf1+ 40. Kh2 Be6 {? ?a1=}) 40. Rb1 $1 $18 h5 41. Rg5+ Kf8 42. Ra1 h4 43. a4 f6 44. Rg2 Bd5 45. Rd2 Be4 46. a5 (46. Kh2 $18) 46... Rh3 47. Ra4 $1 Bc6 (47... Rh1+ 48. Kf2 Rh2+ 49. Ke3 Rxd2 50. Kxd2 f5 51. Rxe4 $1 fxe4 52. a6 $18) 48. Rc4 Rh1+ 49. Kf2 Bb5 50. Rc7 Ke8 51. Rd5 Rb1 52. Rh5 $1 Kd8 53. Ra7 1-0 [Event "EU-chT 25th"] [Site "Batumi"] [Date "2025.10.12"] [Round "7.27"] [White "Martirosyan, Haik M"] [Black "Yuffa, Daniil"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2626"] [BlackElo "2621"] [PlyCount "227"] [EventDate "2025.10.05"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "Mega2025 Update 50"] [Source "Chessbase"] [SourceDate "2025.10.20"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.10.20"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "Spain"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "ESP"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. a4 c5 8. axb5 cxd4 9. Nxd4 h6 10. Be3 $1 {[%mdl 4] is recently more successful than 10.Bxf6. ist inzwischen erfolgreicher als 10.Lxf6.} Nxe4 11. Rc1 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Ba3 13. Rb1 O-O 14. Bxc4 Qc7 15. Be2 $146 (15. Bd3 e5 16. Ne2 Bb7 17. Ng3 Rd8 18. Qc2 Nd7 19. O-O Bc5 20. Nh5 Bf8 21. Bf5 {1-0 Goryachkina,A (2545)-Goltseva,E (2366) RUS-ch (Women) 74th 2024 (3)}) 15... Bb7 16. O-O Nd7 17. Nc6 Bd6 18. g3 Bxc6 19. bxc6 Ne5 20. Bf4 Qxc6 21. Bxe5 Bxe5 22. Bf3 Qxc3 23. Bxa8 Rxa8 24. Rc1 Qb2 25. Qf3 Rf8 26. Rfd1 a5 27. Qe4 Qb5 28. Rb1 Qc5 29. Rb7 Bc3 30. Rdd7 Qe5 31. Qd3 Qf6 32. Kg2 Bb4 33. Qc4 g6 34. Rd3 h5 35. Rf3 Qe5 36. Rd7 Qg7 37. h4 Qe5 38. Qc2 Kg7 39. Qc6 Kg8 40. Qb7 Qg7 41. Qc7 a4 42. Qc4 a3 43. Ra7 Bd6 44. Qc6 Bb4 45. Rf4 Bd2 46. Rc4 Qa1 47. Qc5 a2 48. Rc2 Qe1 49. Rcxa2 Qe4+ 50. Kh2 Bh6 51. R7a4 Qf5 52. Qc6 Rd8 53. Ra5 Qd3 54. Kg2 Qd7 55. Qa6 Qd6 56. Qc4 Qd4 57. Qf1 Qd1 58. Qxd1 Rxd1 59. Ra8+ Kg7 60. R2a7 Rd2 61. Kf1 Rd1+ 62. Ke2 Rd2+ 63. Ke1 Rd5 64. Re8 Bd2+ 65. Kf1 Rf5 66. Rxe6 Bc3 67. Re4 Bb2 68. Rd7 Bc3 69. Kg2 Bb2 70. Re3 Bf6 71. Rb3 Ba1 72. Rd1 Bf6 73. Rd2 Be7 74. Rb7 Bf6 75. Rdd7 Bc3 76. f3 Kg8 77. Re7 Kg7 78. Rec7 Bd4 79. f4 Kg8 80. Kf3 Kg7 81. Rd7 Bc3 82. Rdc7 Ba1 83. Ke4 Kg8 84. Kd3 Bg7 85. Rd7 Ba1 86. Ra7 Bb2 87. Rdb7 Bg7 88. Kc4 Bh6 89. Rb8+ Kh7 90. Rd8 Bg7 91. Re8 Bb2 92. Rf8 Kg7 93. Rb8 Bc1 94. Kd3 Rf6 95. Rbb7 Kg8 96. Rd7 Rf5 97. Ra2 Rb5 98. Kc4 Rb6 99. Kd3 Rc6 100. Re7 Rd6+ 101. Ke2 Rb6 102. Ra8+ Kg7 103. Raa7 Rf6 104. Reb7 Kg8 105. Ra1 Re6+ 106. Kf3 Bd2 107. Rb3 Rc6 108. Raa3 Kg7 109. Ke2 Bc1 110. Ra2 Re6+ 111. Kf2 Rd6 112. Ke1 Re6+ 113. Re2 Rd6 114. Rc3 1-0 [Event "Karpov-Piket Match"] [Site "Monte Carlo"] [Date "1999.02.22"] [Round "2"] [White "Karpov, Anatoly"] [Black "Piket, Jeroen"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2619"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "1999.02.21"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "8"] [EventCountry "MNC"] [SourceTitle "CBM 070"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.06.08"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.06.08"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%mdl 2052]} 1. d4 {Piket} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 {Das ist die prinzipielle Fortsetzung und gegen Piket ist es besonders wichtig, so zu spielen, um ihn nach 5.?g5 c6 nicht in die von ihm gern gespielte Botwinnik-Variante zu lassen. Ribli.} Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 {In der letzten Zeit ist die Fortsetzung 8...?a5 sehr populär und in einigen Varianten ist es für Schwarz günstig, daß er noch nicht ?xc3 gespielt hat.} Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Nb5 {Karpovs Lieblingsvariante ist eigentlich ein Bauernopfer. Die Alternativen sind 10.?xf6 und 10.?b5.} Nxe4 (10... Bd7 11. Nd6+ Ke7 12. Qd2 {? f4, e5} Bc6 13. f4 Nbd7 14. Rd1 $1 Rhd8 15. Qd4 $1 h6 16. Bh4 Qh5 17. Bf2 $1 Kf8 18. e5 {1-0 Karpov,A-Timman,J/Arnhem (m/6) 1993/[Karpov,An] (33)}) (10... O-O 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Qg4+ Kh8 13. Rd1 Nd7 14. Qh4 Qd8 15. Nd6 Qe7 16. f4 Rg8 17. O-O Nb6 18. Rf3 Nxc4 19. Rh3 Rg7 20. e5 Nxd6 21. exf6 {1-0 Bacrot,E-Magem Badals,J/Pamplona 1998/CBM 63_04 (21)}) (10... a6) 11. Bf4 (11. Qd4 O-O 12. Qxe4 a6 13. Be7 axb5 14. Bb4 Qc7 15. Bxb5 Bd7 16. Bd3 g6 17. O-O Re8 {½-½ Karpov,A-Timman,J/Amsterdam (m/8) 1993/[Karpov,An] (28)}) 11... O-O 12. O-O Nd7 {Piket folgt dem Spiel seines Landsmanns Timman (Karpov,A - Timman m/14 Jakarta1993).} (12... Bd7 13. a4 (13. Nc7 e5 14. Nxa8 exf4 15. Qd5 Nc5 $13 {[%csl Ra8]}) 13... Bc6 14. Qg4 Nf6 15. Qe2 a6 16. Nc7 Ra7 17. Qe3 $1 b6 {?} 18. Nxe6 $1 Nd5 19. Qg3 fxe6 20. Bxb8 Raf7 21. Bd6 {1-0 Karpov,A-Lautier,J/Biel 1997/Inf 70/[Karpov,An] (40)}) 13. Re1 $1 $44 {Karpov} (13. Nc7 $4 e5 $19 14. Nxa8 exf4 15. Bd5 Ndf6 $1 16. Bxe4 Nxe4 17. f3 Nxc3 $4 (17... Rd8 18. Qe1 Qc5+ 19. Kh1 Nf6 20. Qf2 Qxf2 21. Rxf2 Bd7 $19) 18. Qd6 Nd5 $2 (18... Nb5 $15) 19. Rac1 {1-0 Karpov,A-Timman,J/Jakarta (m/14) 1993/[Timman,J] (53)}) 13... Ndf6 (13... Nxc3 $6 14. Qd2 {[%csl Rc3]} Nb6 15. Bd3 Nbd5 16. Be5 $16) 14. a4 {'!' Piket. Weiß festigt seine Springerstellung auf b5 und verhindert das schwarze Befreiungsmanöver ...a6 / ...b5.} (14. Be5 {Piket} a6 15. Rxe4 Nxe4 16. Qg4 f6 (16... g6 17. Qxe4 axb5 18. Qf4 f6) 17. Bc7 f5) (14. Qd4 $5 {Piket}) 14... b6 (14... a6 15. Nc7 Qc5 {[%CAl Rc5f2,Rc5c4]} (15... Rb8 16. Nxa6 Ra8 17. Nc7 $16) (15... e5 {Piket} 16. Nxa8 exf4 (16... Bg4 $5 17. f3 exf4 18. fxg4 (18. Qd4 $1 Bxf3 19. gxf3 Ng5 20. Kf2 Rxa8 (20... Nxf3 21. Kxf3 Qh5+ 22. Kg2 Qg4+ 23. Kf1 Qh3+ 24. Ke2) 21. Re5) 18... Rd8 19. Bxf7+ Kf8) 17. Qd4 Rd8 (17... Qg5 18. Rxe4 Bh3 19. g3 Nxe4 20. Qxe4 Rxa8 21. Bxf7+ (21. Qxb7)) (17... Bh3 18. gxh3 Qg5+ (18... Rd8 19. Rxe4)) 18. Qb6) 16. Qd4 $44 (16. Qd4 Qxd4 17. cxd4 Ra7 18. a5 (18. d5 exd5 19. Bxd5 Nc5 20. a5 (20. Bd6 b6 21. a5 Rxc7)) 18... Bd7 19. d5 (19. Rac1 $1 Bc6 20. f3 $16) 19... exd5 20. Bxd5 Nxd5 21. Nxd5 Nf6 22. Nb6 Be6 23. Rad1)) (14... e5 $5 {Piket} 15. Bxe5 a6 16. Bxf6 (16. Bc7 b6 17. Nd6 Nxf2 (17... Qc5 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. Rxe4 Qxc7 20. Qe2 $14) (17... Nxc3 18. Qd4 Ncd5 19. Re5 Be6 20. Bxd5 Nxd5 21. Nf5 $18) 18. Qd4) 16... Nxf6 17. Nd6 Qc7 18. Qd4 (18. Bxf7+ Rxf7 19. Nxf7 Kxf7 (19... Qxf7 20. Qd8+ Qf8 21. Qc7) 20. Qb3+) 18... Bg4 19. f3 Rad8 20. Rad1 Bh5 21. g4 Bg6 (21... Ne8 22. Nxe8 Rxd4 23. Nxc7 Rxc4 24. Rd7 Bg6 25. Nd5)) 15. f3 (15. Nd6 {Piket} Nxd6 (15... Nxc3 $5) 16. Bxd6 Re8 $2 (16... Rd8 17. Bb4 Rxd1 18. Raxd1 (18. Rexd1 Ba6 19. Bxa5 Bxc4 20. Bb4 a5 (20... Nd5 21. a5 b5) 21. Rd4 Rc8 22. Bc5 Nd5 23. Rxc4 bxc5)) 17. Bb5) 15... Nc5 (15... Nxc3 16. Qd3 Ncd5 (16... Nxb5 $2 17. axb5 Qb4 18. Bd6 $18) 17. Bd2 {[%csl Ra5]} Qa6 18. Nc7 $14 {[%CAl Rc7a8,Rc7a6]}) (15... a6 {Piket} 16. fxe4 axb5 17. Bxb5 (17. axb5 Qxa1 18. Qxa1 Rxa1 19. Rxa1 Nxe4 (19... Bb7 20. e5 Nd5 (20... Ne4 21. Ra7 Rb8 (21... Bd5 22. Bxd5 (22. Bd3 Nxc3 23. Be3) 22... exd5) 22. Be3 Bd5 23. Bxd5 exd5 24. Bd4 $16) 21. Bd2 Rc8)) 17... Ba6 (17... Bd7 18. Bd6 (18. c4 Bxb5 19. cxb5 Rfd8 20. Qb3 Rd4) 18... Rfc8 19. e5 Bxb5 20. exf6 Bxa4 21. Qg4 g6 22. Qf4 g5 23. Qg4 Qd5 24. Re5 Qxd6 25. Rxg5+ Kh8 26. Ra5 Qf8) 18. Bd6 Bxb5 19. Bxf8 Bxa4 20. Bb4 $16 Bxd1 (20... Qb5) 21. Bxa5 bxa5 22. Rexd1 Nxe4 23. Rxa5 Rc8 24. Re5 Nf6 25. Rc5) 16. Be5 {[%csl Ra5] Weiß hat lebendiges Figurenspiel und die schwarze Dame steht unglücklich auf a5.} a6 (16... Bb7 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Qd4 $40) (16... Ba6 {Piket} 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Qd4 Kg7 19. Qg4+ Kh8 20. Qh4 Kg7 21. Re3 Bxb5 22. f4 Ne4 23. Bxb5 f5 24. Rae1 (24. Rh3 $16)) 17. Nd6 $13 {[%csl Ra5]} (17. Nc7 $2 Ra7 $17) (17. Bxf6 {Piket} axb5 18. Be7 bxc4 19. Bxf8 Nd3 20. Bb4 Qa7 $15) (17. Nd4 {Piket} Bd7) 17... Ncd7 (17... Ne8 $5) (17... Rd8 $5) (17... Ne8 $5 {Piket} 18. Qd4 Nxd6 19. Bxd6) 18. Bd4 Qh5 (18... Qg5 $5) 19. Rb1 {Weiß steht mit allen Figuren aktiv und wenngleich er keine konkreten Drohungen aufstellt, hat Schwarz Probleme mit der Figurenkoordination.} Rb8 20. Qd2 {'!' Piket.} h6 21. Qf4 {[%csl Gd6,Gf4][%CAl Gf4b8] Die weiße Dame steht sehr gut auf f4. In einigen Varianten hängt der Turm auf b8.} Bb7 (21... Qa5 22. Nxf7 Rxf7 23. Bxe6 $16 {[%csl Rb8,Gf4,Rf7,Rg8] Weiß hat eine sehr aktive Stellung.}) (21... Qg5 22. Qxg5 hxg5 23. Nxc8 Rbxc8 24. Bxa6 $14) (21... b5 {Piket} 22. axb5 axb5 23. Bxb5 Ra8 24. c4 Qg5 25. Qxg5 hxg5 26. c5 Ba6 27. c6) (21... Nd5 {Piket} 22. Qg3 Qg5 23. Qxg5 hxg5 24. Bxd5 exd5 25. Re7 $16) (21... Qg6 {Piket} 22. Rbd1 $1) 22. Nxb7 Rxb7 23. Bxa6 $14 {Jetzt steht Weiß bei materiellem Gleichgewicht mit seinem Läuferpaar besser.} Rbb8 24. Bb5 (24. Bd3 $5 {Piket ? 25. Rb5 Karpov}) 24... Rfc8 (24... Qg5 {Piket}) 25. Rbd1 {'?!' Piket.} Nf8 $5 {'??!' Piket. Piket opfert einen Bauern und befreit sich von den Fesselungen.} (25... Qg5 {Piket} 26. Qxg5 hxg5 27. Be3 (27. h3)) 26. Bxf6 Ng6 (26... gxf6 {Piket} 27. Qxf6 Qc5+ 28. Kh1 Qxc3 29. Qxh6) 27. Qd4 gxf6 28. Qxf6 Rc5 $2 {[%csl Rc3]} (28... Qg5 29. Qxg5 hxg5 $14) (28... Qc5+ {Piket} 29. Kh1 Qxc3 30. Rd8+ $18) 29. Bd3 $2 {'??' Piket. Karpov findet die taktische Lösung nicht.} ({?} 29. Rxe6 $1 fxe6 (29... Rf5 30. Rd8+ Nf8 (30... Kh7 {Piket} 31. Rxb8 Rxf6 $16 32. Rxf6 Qc5+ 33. Kf1 Kg7 34. Rc6 Qe3) 31. Ree8 (31. Rxb8 Rxf6 32. Rxf6 $18) 31... Rxf6 32. Rxf8+ Kg7 33. Rg8+ Kh7 34. Bd3+ $18) 30. Rd7 $18) 29... Ne5 $44 {Schwarz hat eine starke Springerstellung auf e5, aber bei gutem weißen Spiel ist das zuwenig Kompensation.} (29... Nh4 {Piket} 30. Kh1) 30. Bf1 Qg5 31. Qxg5+ hxg5 {Schwarz hat eine gesunde Stellung, und der weiße Mehrbauer ist kaum zu verwerten.} 32. Rb1 f6 {[%csl Rc3]} 33. Rb3 (33. Rb5 Rxb5 (33... Rxc3 34. a5 $16) 34. Bxb5 Kf7 $14) 33... Kf7 34. Re4 Rd8 35. Rd4 {'?' Piket.} (35. h4 $1 {Piket}) 35... Rdc8 (35... Rxc3 $1 {Piket}) 36. Rdb4 $6 (36. Rxb6 $5 Rxc3 37. Rdd6 $14) 36... Rxc3 37. Rxc3 Rxc3 38. Rxb6 Ra3 {[%csl Ga3] Der schwarze Turm steht ausgezeichnet, kontrolliert den a-Bauern und kann gleichzeitig die weiße Königsstellung angreifen.} 39. Rb7+ Kg6 40. Ra7 Ra1 $1 {[%csl Ga1][%CAl Ga1g1,Ga1a4]} 41. a5 {'?' Piket.} (41. Kf2 Ra2+ 42. Kg3 (42. Be2 Nd3+ 43. Ke3 Nf4 $11) (42. Ke3 Ra3+) 42... f5 {'?' Piket.} 43. a5 f4+ 44. Kh3 Ra3 $132 {[%CAl Ga3h3]}) 41... Nc4 $11 {[%csl Ra5,Rf1][%CAl Rc4d2,Rd2f1,Rc4e3,Re3f1] Schwarz gewinnt den Bauern zurück.} 42. Kf2 Rxa5 43. Re7 {[%CAl Re7e6,Rf1c4] Weiß scheint Material zu gewinnen, aber Schwarz hat genügend Gegenspiel.} Ra2+ 44. Kg1 (44. Be2 {Piket} Kf5 (44... Ne5 45. g3 (45. Rxe6 $6 Nd3+ $1 46. Kg3 Nf4 47. Bf1 Ra1 (47... Nxe6 48. Bc4)))) (44. Kg3 {Piket} Ne3 $1 45. Bd3+ f5 46. Rxe6+ Kf7 47. Rxe3 f4+ 48. Kg4 fxe3 49. Bc4+ Kf6 50. Bxa2 e2) 44... Ra1 45. Kf2 (45. Rxe6 $2 Nd2 $19) 45... Ra2+ {Und es wurde Remis vereinbart.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Poikovsky Karpov 11th"] [Site "Poikovsky"] [Date "2010.06.05"] [Round "4"] [White "Riazantsev, Alexander"] [Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2674"] [BlackElo "2686"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2010.06.02"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "18"] [SourceTitle "CBM 137"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.07.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.07.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. e5 {This system, once "the main line" of the Vienna variation, is now a rare guest in top tournaments. It leads to crazy complications.} cxd4 8. Qa4+ (8. Nxd4 {is the main alternative. 'Ribli: 'That was my theoretical innovation, which I was able to try out successfully against Chernin (Ribli,Z - Chernin, A Subotica 1987). Today this is a theoretical main line.'' 'Ribli: 'Das war meine theoretische Neuerung, die ich seinerzeit erfolgreich gegen Tschernin ausprobieren konnte (Ribli,Z - Tschernin, A Subotica 1987). Heutzutage ist dies eine theoretische Hauptlinie.''}) 8... Nc6 9. O-O-O Bd7 (9... h6) 10. Ne4 Be7 (10... Nxe4 $6 11. Bxd8 Rxd8 12. Nxd4 Bd2+ 13. Rxd2 Nxd2 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15. Qa3 $1 Nxf1 16. Rxf1 Rd3 17. Qb4 a5 18. Qxc4 Rd5 19. Rd1 $16 {1-0 Ivanchuk,V (2729)-Nisipeanu,L (2693)/Foros 2007/CBM 119/[Ftacnik] (39)}) 11. exf6 gxf6 12. Bh4 Qc7 $146 {[%mdl 8] Surprisingly, a new move in this well-known position.} (12... Rc8 {is the main theoretical line. Here is the overview of Black's other options:}) (12... b5 $2 13. Qxb5 e5 14. Qxc4 Rc8 15. Kb1 O-O 16. Nfd2 Be6 17. Qa4 Nb4 18. Bxf6 $1 Bxa2+ 19. Ka1 $16 {1/2 Schmidt,W (2425)-Jonkman,H (2270)/Dresden 1993/TD (76)}) (12... Nb4 $6 13. Qxb4 $1 Bxb4 14. Nxf6+ Kf8 15. Rxd4 Be7 $1 (15... Qa5 16. Nxd7+ Ke8 17. Nf6+ Kf8 18. Bxc4 {'Ribli: 'White has three minor pieces for the queen, and the black king is insecure.'' 'Ribli: 'Weiß hat drei Leichtfiguren für die Dame, und der schwarze König steht unsicher.''} Rc8 19. Kb1 $16 {1-0 Fine,R-Gruenfeld,E/Amsterdam 1936/HCL (52)}) 16. Ne5 Bb5 (16... Ba4 $143 17. Rxd8+ Rxd8 18. Be2 c3 19. bxc3 Ba3+ 20. Kb1 Rd2 21. Bd3 b5 22. Bg5 Rxf2 23. Ned7+ Kg7 24. Ng4 Rb2+ 25. Ka1 h5 26. Bf6+ Kg8 27. Nge5 Rxg2 28. Be4 {1-0 Kengis,E (2539)-Darbanvaighani,M (2390)/Abu Dhabi 2006/CBM 113 ext}) 17. Rxd8+ Rxd8 18. Be2 Kg7 19. Nh5+ Kf8 20. Nf6 {1/2 Greenfeld Alon (2520)-Kortschnoj Viktor (2640)/Beer-Sheva 1988} (20. Bg3 $16)) (12... Na5 $6 13. Qc2 e5 14. Nxd4 exd4 15. Rxd4 Nc6 $5 (15... Qb6 16. Rd6 $1 Qb4 17. a3 Qa4 18. Nxf6+ Bxf6 19. Bxf6 Qxc2+ 20. Kxc2 Rg8 21. g3 $16 {1-0 Kacheishvili,G (2556)-Shchekachev,A (2537)/Trignac 2001/EXT 2002 (62)}) (15... Rc8 16. Qc3 Rc6 17. Be2 Qb6 18. Rd5 Re6 19. Bg4 Rxe4 20. Bxd7+ Kf8 21. Bg5 $1 $16 {1-0 Milos,G (2510)-Cifuentes Parada,R (2465)/Santiago de Chile 1989/CBM 012 (42)}) 16. Rd6 $1 (16. Rxd7 Qxd7 17. Nxf6+ Bxf6 18. Bxf6 Rg8 19. Bxc4 Rg6 $13 {1/2 Van der Sterren,P (2470)-Sosonko,G (2535)/Wijk aan Zee 1988/CBM 005 (30)}) 16... Bxd6 $140 17. Nxf6+ Kf8 18. Qd2 $1 $18 {S.Atalik}) (12... Ne5 13. Qc2 (13. Qa3 $6 Nd3+ $1 (13... Bxa3 14. Nxf6+ Kf8 15. Nxe5 $16 {S.Atalik}) (13... O-O 14. Qxe7 Qxe7 15. Nxe5 $16) 14. Rxd3 cxd3 15. Qxd3 Rc8+ 16. Kb1 e5 $13) 13... Ng6 (13... Nxf3 14. gxf3 e5 15. Rg1 $36) 14. Rxd4 Nxh4 15. Nxh4 f5 16. Nxf5 $1 exf5 17. Bxc4 fxe4 18. Rhd1 $16 {1-0 Bilsel,S (1963)-Leglise,A (1300)/IECG 2001/Telechess CBM 105 (28)}) (12... e5 $5 13. Bxc4 a6 (13... O-O 14. Kb1 Rc8 15. Rc1 $1 Nb4 16. Bb5 (16. Nxf6+ $5 Bxf6 17. Bxf6 Bxa4 18. Bxd8 Rfxd8 19. Nxe5 $14 {0-1 Atalik,S (2551)-Zakharevich,I (2466)/Vladimir 2002/CBM 091/[Atalik] (24)}) 16... Bf5 17. Nfd2 a6 18. Be2 b5 19. Qa3 $16 {S.Atalik}) 14. Qb3 $1 (14. Qc2 Na5 15. Kb1 Rc8 16. Nxe5 fxe5 17. Nd6+ Bxd6 18. Bxd8 Nxc4 19. Bf6 Na3+ 20. bxa3 Rxc2 21. Kxc2 Rg8 $15 {1/2 Kanep,M (2504)-Kulaots,K (2525)/Tallinn 2007/CBM 116 ext (34)}) (14. Bd3 b5 15. Qc2 Nb4 16. Qd2 Be6 17. Nxf6+ Bxf6 18. Qxb4 Bxh4 19. Nxh4 Qxh4 20. Rhe1 $44 {1-0 Margvelashvili,G (2478)-Vovk,Y (2549)/Lvov 2008/EXT 2009 (57)}) 14... Na5 $5 {0-1 Anand,V (2788)-Kosteniuk,A (2517)/Moscow 2009/EXT 2010 (41)} (14... O-O 15. Nfd2 $1 $14) 15. Nxf6+ $1 Bxf6 16. Bxf7+ Kf8 17. Qa3+ $1 Kg7 $1 (17... Kxf7 18. Nxe5+) (17... Be7 18. Bxe7+ Qxe7 19. Nxe5 $16) 18. Bxf6+ Qxf6 19. Qxa5 Bf5 20. Rd2 $1 Rac8+ 21. Kd1 e4 $1 22. Nxd4 Bg4+ 23. Ne2 Rhd8 $44) (12... a6 13. Qxc4 e5 14. Nxe5 $1 Nxe5 15. Qxd4 Qc7+ (15... Rc8+ 16. Kb1 O-O (16... Bf5 17. Qa4+ Bd7 18. Qb3 Qc7 19. Bd3 Be6 20. Qa4+ b5 21. Qd4 Rd8 22. Qe3 $36 {1-0 Kunin,V (2546)-Khenkin,I (2644)/Budva 2009/CBM 130 (27)}) 17. Be2 Bf5 18. Qe3 Qa5 19. g4 Be6 (19... Bg6 $5 $132) 20. a3 Nc4 21. Bxc4 Rxc4 22. Nxf6+ Bxf6 23. Bxf6 Rxg4 24. Bc3 $14 {1-0 Perunovic,M (2420)-Perunovic,M (2579)/Zlatibor 2008/CBM 125 Extra (50)}) 16. Kb1 (16. Qc3 $6 Rc8 17. Qxc7 Rxc7+ 18. Kb1 Bf5 19. f3 Rg8 (19... O-O 20. Be2 Rfc8 21. Rc1 Nc4 22. Bxc4 Rxc4 $11 {1/2 Riazantsev,A (2632)-Sorokin,M (2561)/Salekhard 2006/CBM 115 ext (31)}) 20. Bg3 Rc6 21. Bxe5 fxe5 22. g3 Be6 23. Bd3 f5 $15 {1/2 Malakhatko,V (2596)-Naiditsch,A (2639)/Germany 2008/CBM 124 (41)}) 16... O-O-O (16... Rc8 17. Be2 Bf5 18. Ka1 Rd8 19. Qe3 Rxd1+ 20. Rxd1 Bxe4 21. Qxe4 O-O 22. Bg3 $14 {1/2 Riazantsev,A (2638)-Perunovic,M (2579)/Plovdiv 2008/CBM 124 (40)}) (16... Bf5 17. Qa4+ Kf8 18. f3 Kg7 19. Be2 b5 20. Qd4 Rhd8 21. Qe3 Nc4 $11 {0-1 Zhou Jianchao (2652)-Wang Hao (2722)/Xinghua CHN 2010/The Week in Chess 813 (60)}) 17. Rc1 Bc6 18. Qe3 f5 19. Bxe7 Qxe7 20. Nc5 Kb8 21. Bxa6 bxa6 22. Rhe1 $44 {1/2 Lysyj,I (2609)-Wojtaszek,R (2637)/Stockholm 2010/CBM 134 Extra (29)}) 13. Kb1 (13. Bg3 e5 14. Qxc4 b5 $1 $132) 13... Qf4 14. Re1 Nb4 $5 (14... Ne5 15. Qd1 Nxf3 (15... Bc6 16. Qxd4 Qf5 17. Kc1 $1 {[%CAl Re4f6]} Rd8 18. Nxf6+ Bxf6 19. Rxe5 Rxd4 20. Rxf5 Bxh4 21. Nxd4 exf5 22. Nxc6 bxc6 23. g3 Bf6 24. Bxc4 $14) 16. Bg3 $1 Qf5 17. gxf3 d3 18. Qd2 $14) 15. Qxb4 $6 {[%mdl 512] "Brilliant" but not quite correct.} (15. Qd1 $142 {, e.g.} Bc6 (15... c3 16. Qc1 $1) 16. Qxd4 Qf5 $8 17. Qxc4 Bd5 (17... Rd8 18. b3 $1 O-O 19. a3) 18. Qb5+ Kf8 19. Nfd2 Bxa2+ 20. Ka1 {White parries Black's threats, keeping a material advantage.}) 15... Bxb4 16. Nxf6+ Kd8 17. Re4 Qf5 18. Ne5 Bc6 $1 (18... Be7 $143 19. Nxf7+ Kc8 (19... Kc7 20. Bg3+ Kc8 21. Bxc4 $36) 20. Bxc4 Rf8 21. Bxe6 $1 Qxe4+ 22. Nxe4 Bxe6 23. Bxe7 Rxf7 24. Nd6+ Kd7 25. Nxf7 Kxe7 26. Ne5 Kd6 27. Nf3 Bf5+ 28. Ka1 d3 $44) 19. g4 Qxe5 $1 (19... Bxe4+ $4 20. Nxe4+) 20. Rxe5 Bxh1 21. Nd5+ Kd7 22. Nxb4 d3 $15 {[%csl Gd3] In this (still crazy) position Black should be better due to his strong d3-pawn.} 23. a4 $6 (23. Bf6 $142 $1 Rhg8 (23... Rhc8 24. a4) 24. g5 a5 $140 25. Nxd3 cxd3 26. Bxd3 {regaining the h7-pawn with decent counterplay.}) 23... Rhg8 24. h3 f5 $1 {That's the point! The initiative on the kingside now belongs to Black.} 25. Bg3 a5 26. Na2 fxg4 $2 (26... h5 $142 $1 {- in fact, not an easy move to find -} 27. gxh5 (27. gxf5 exf5 28. Rxf5 $2 d2 29. Kc2 Be4+) (27. Nc3 $5 hxg4 $1 28. h4 Raf8 29. Bf4 Rh8 30. Bg5 f4 $19) 27... f4 $1 28. Bh2 Bg2 29. Bxg2 Rxg2 30. Bxf4 Rxf2 {(S.Zagrebelny)} {e.g.} 31. Be3 Rf1+ 32. Nc1 Re1 33. Re4 e5 $1 34. Rxe5 Kd6 35. Re4 Kd5 36. Re7 Rd8 $19 {[%CAl Rd3d2]}) 27. Nc3 $1 {White now consolidates his pieces and obtains counterplay.} Raf8 28. Rc5 Rxf2 $2 {An interesting but unsuccessful attempt.} (28... Rc8 $142 29. Rxa5 $13) 29. Bxf2 Rf8 30. Nd1 Bf3 $2 (30... g3 31. Rxc4 gxf2 32. Rd4+ Ke7 33. Kc1 $1 $16) 31. Ne3 $18 {[%mdl 1024]} Bd5 32. Be1 $2 {It is now White who misses a victory this time.} (32. Bg1 $1 Rf3 33. hxg4 Rg3 34. Nxd5 Rxg1 35. Ne3 $18 {- two extra pieces are more than enough!}) 32... Rf3 {Again it is Black who regains the missing material and starts playing for a win! Fortunately, White has enough defensive resources.} 33. Bd2 b6 34. Rb5 Rf2 (34... gxh3 35. Bxh3 Rxh3 36. Nxd5 exd5 37. Rxd5+ Kc6 38. Rd4 Kc5 39. Rf4 {, and White should not lose.}) 35. Be1 Rf3 36. Bd2 Rf2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Bundesliga 0405"] [Site "Germany"] [Date "2004.12.12"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Van Wely, Loek"] [Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2681"] [BlackElo "2611"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "32"] [EventDate "2004.11.12"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "15"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "CBM 106"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.06.06"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.06.06"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Porz"] [BlackTeam "Katernberg"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GER"] [BlackTeamCountry "GER"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. e5 h6 8. exf6 hxg5 9. fxg7 Rg8 10. Qc2 cxd4 (10... Qf6 11. dxc5 (11. O-O-O Bxc3 12. Qxc3 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Bd7 14. Bxc4 Nc6 15. Nb5 Qxc3+ 16. bxc3 Ke7 17. Rhe1 Rac8 18. Nd6 Rc7 19. Nxf7 Rxg7 20. Nd6 {1-0 Taylor,T-Van Buskirk,C/Los Angeles 2004/ (29)}) 11... Nd7 12. Bxc4 Bxc3+ 13. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 14. bxc3 g4 15. Nd4 Nxc5 16. h4 Rxg7 17. O-O Bd7 18. g3 Rc8 19. Rfe1 Kf8 {½-½ Giorgadze,G-De la Villa Garcia,J/Benasque 1997/ (33)}) (10... Rxg7 11. O-O-O cxd4 12. Nxd4 Bd7 13. Bxc4 Nc6 14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. Ne4 Be7 16. Rd2 Qc7 17. Rhd1 Rd8 18. Qc3 Kf8 19. Nf6 Bxf6 20. Qxf6 {1-0 Miralles,G-Ekstroem,R/Switzerland 2001/ (34)}) 11. Qh7 Ke7 12. O-O-O Bxc3 (12... d3 13. h4 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Qa5 15. Kb2 Qb6+ 16. Ka1 $16) 13. bxc3 Qa5 $1 {Naiditsch is correctly opting for equality, his position was otherwise very dangerous.} 14. Qxg8 (14. Nxd4 Qxc3+ 15. Kb1 Qb4+ 16. Nb3 cxb3 17. Qxg8 bxa2+ 18. Kxa2 Qa4+ 19. Kb2 Qb4+ 20. Kc2 Qa4+ 21. Kd2 Qa5+ 22. Kd3 Qf5+ 23. Kc3 Qa5+ $11) 14... Qxc3+ 15. Kb1 Qb4+ 16. Kc2 Qc3+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "EU-chT (Men) 15th"] [Site "Gothenburg"] [Date "2005.08.03"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Black "Gustafsson, Jan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2639"] [BlackElo "2614"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "125"] [EventDate "2005.07.30"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SWE"] [SourceTitle "CBM 109"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.11.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.11.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Ukraine"] [BlackTeam "Germany"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UKR"] [BlackTeamCountry "GER"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 Bb4+ 5. Nc3 dxc4 6. a3 {Eine Nebenvariante, womit Weiß den Läufertausch auf c3 forciert und das Läuferpaar behält.} (6. e4) 6... Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 Nbd7 {Dieser Springerzug wird selten gespielt, die Alternative 7...b5 ist populärer.} (7... Qd5 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. Nd2 Nd7 10. e4 Qa5 11. Qf3 $2 (11. Qc1 $5 b5 $140 $6 12. a4 $14) 11... b5 12. e5 Rb8 13. exf6 Bb7 14. Qg3 Nxf6 15. Qe5 Qxc3 16. Rd1 Ke7 {0-1 Rau,J-Aronian,L/Bad Wiessee 2002/EXT 2003/(38)}) (7... c6 8. g3 Nbd7 9. Bg2 Qa5 10. Qc2 Ne4 11. Bd2 Nxd2 12. Nxd2 Nb6 13. O-O O-O 14. e4 Rd8 15. Rfe1 c5 16. d5 Bd7 {0-1 Eljanov,P-Bauer,C/Biel 2004/(35)}) (7... b5 8. a4 (8. e4 Nbd7 (8... h6 $5 9. Bxf6 (9. Bh4 g5 10. Nxg5 hxg5 11. Bxg5 Rg8 12. h4 Nbd7 13. e5 Rxg5 14. hxg5 Nd5 15. g6 Qg5 $132) 9... gxf6 (9... Qxf6)) 9. e5 h6 10. exf6 hxg5 11. fxg7 Rg8 12. Qb1 {1-0 Van Wely,L-Ribli,Z/Bundesliga2000/(21)}) 8... c6 9. g3 h6 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Bg2 Bb7 12. Qb1 a6 13. Nd2 Qc7 14. O-O Nd7 15. Qb4 c5 {½-½ Grischuk,A-Van Wely,L/Wijk aan Zee 2005/CBM 105(24)}) 8. e4 h6 (8... b5 9. e5 h6) 9. Bh4 (9. Bxf6 Nxf6 10. Qb1 (10. e5 Nd5) 10... c6 11. Bxc4 Qa5) 9... g5 10. Bg3 b5 (10... Nxe4 11. Bxc4 Nxg3 12. fxg3 c5 13. O-O O-O 14. Qd3 cxd4 15. cxd4 Qf6 16. h4 $44 {1-0 Borovikov,V-Gritsak,O/Ordzhonikidze 2000/(29)}) 11. Qb1 {Weiß verteidigt seinen e4-Bauern und es "hängt" der Bauer auf b5.} (11. Nd2) 11... a6 (11... Rb8 12. Ne5 $44 (12. Be2 $44)) 12. Be2 (12. a4 Bb7 13. Nd2 c5 $132) 12... c5 (12... Bb7 $5) 13. O-O cxd4 14. Nxd4 $44 {[%csl Ge2,Re8,Gg3] Weiß hat einen Bauern weniger, aber er hat das Läuferpaar und gute Entwicklung, während die schwarze Bauernstellung schwach ist. Der schwarze König steht wenig glücklich im Zentrum.} Bb7 15. f3 Nh5 16. a4 (16. Bxc4 $2 Nxg3 17. hxg3 Qb6) (16. Bf2 Nf4 17. Bxc4 Qc7 18. Bb3 Qxc3 19. Rc1 $44) 16... Nxg3 17. hxg3 Qc7 (17... Qb6 $2 18. axb5 e5 19. bxa6 $16) (17... g4 18. f4 (18. axb5 gxf3 19. Bxf3 (19. gxf3 Rg8) 19... Qc7 20. bxa6 Rxa6 21. Rxa6 Bxa6 22. Qb4) 18... Nc5) 18. axb5 a5 (18... Qxg3 $2 19. bxa6) 19. b6 $1 {Ein starker Zug: Weiß möchte die Stellung am Damenflügel öffnen, sonst kann Schwarz 19...?b6 ziehen.} Qc5 (19... Qxb6 20. Qxb6 Nxb6 21. Rfb1 Ra6 22. Bxc4 Nxc4 23. Rxb7 O-O 24. Rc7 $14) (19... Nxb6 20. Qb5+ Nd7 21. Rfd1 $44 (21. Rfb1 Ra7 22. Ra4)) 20. Qb5 $1 {Weiß tauscht die aktive schwarze Dame und bekommt nun dauerhafte Initiative am Damenflügel.} (20. Kh2 a4) 20... Qxb5 21. Nxb5 Ke7 22. Nc7 {[%csl Ra5,Gb6,Rc4,Gc7]} Rab8 23. Rxa5 Nxb6 24. Rb1 $16 {[%CAl Gb1b8][%mdl 2048]} Nd7 25. Rb4 {[%csl Rc4]} (25. Bxc4 $2 Rhc8) (25. Rab5 Bc6 26. Rxb8 Rxb8 27. Rxb8 Nxb8 28. Bxc4 Kd6 29. Na6 Nxa6 30. Bxa6 f5 $14) 25... Rhc8 26. Rxc4 (26. Nb5) 26... Nb6 27. Rb4 Nd7 (27... Rxc7 $6 28. Rxb6 Rbc8 $16 (28... Rxc3 $2 29. Ra7 Rc7 30. Ba6 $18)) 28. Nb5 {Weiß hat einen Bauern mehr und aktives Figurenspiel am Damenflügel.} Rc6 29. Ra7 Rb6 30. Nd4 Kd6 (30... Rxb4 31. cxb4) 31. Kf2 Bc8 32. Rxb6+ Rxb6 33. Nb5+ Ke7 34. Ke3 (34. e5 $142 Kd8 (34... Ra6 35. Nd6 $1 $18) 35. f4 $16) 34... Ra6 35. Rxa6 (35. Rc7 Kd8) 35... Bxa6 36. Nc7 Bxe2 37. Kxe2 {[%csl Gc3][%mdl 4096] Im Springerendspiel hat Weiß einen Bauern mehr. Wegen des reduzierten Materials hat Schwarz einige Remischancen, aber der weiße Mehrbauer bleibt ein wichtiger Faktor.} Kd6 38. Na6 f5 $1 {Schwarz möchte das Material weiter reduzieren, um sich besser verteidigen zu können.} 39. exf5 exf5 40. Nb4 Nf6 (40... Kc5 41. Nc2) 41. Nc2 Nh5 42. Kf2 f4 (42... Kc5 43. Ne3 f4 44. Nf5 $16) 43. g4 (43. gxf4 Nxf4) 43... Nf6 44. Ke2 h5 $15 45. gxh5 Nxh5 46. Kd3 Ng3 47. Nd4 Kd5 48. c4+ Kd6 (48... Kc5 $2 49. Ne6+ $18) 49. Nc2 Kc5 50. Nd4 Kd6 51. Kc3 Nf1 52. Nb5+ Ke5 53. c5 Kd5 54. Kb4 Ne3 {[%csl Rg2][%CAl Re3g2]} 55. Nc7+ Kc6 56. Ne6 Nxg2 57. Nxg5 Ne3 {Schwarz hat aufgrund des reduzierten Materials gute Remischancen.} (57... Ne1 58. Kc4 Nc2) 58. Ne6 Nc2+ 59. Kc4 Ne3+ 60. Kd4 Nf5+ 61. Kc4 Ne3+ 62. Kd3 Nf5 $4 {Ein unglaublicher Fehler!} (62... Nf1 $1 63. Ke2 (63. Nxf4 Nh2 $11) 63... Nh2 $11) 63. Nd4+ $18 {[%CAl Rd4c6,Rd4f5]} 1-0 [Event "ESP-chT Honor Gp1 49th"] [Site "Merida"] [Date "2005.08.25"] [Round "2"] [White "Sokolov, Ivan"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2691"] [BlackElo "2724"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2005.08.24"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "CBM 109"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.11.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.11.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. e5 {Sokolov wählt gerne diese Variante.} h6 8. exf6 hxg5 9. fxg7 Rg8 10. Qc2 {Mit diesem Zug möchte Weiß die Damen auf dem Brett halten. Die weiße Idee ist 11.?h7.} Qf6 {Die Textfortsetzung führt zu kompliziertem Spiel, auch die Alternative 10...cxd4 kommt in Betracht.} (10... g4 $6 11. Qh7 Ke7 12. Qh4+ Ke8 13. Qxg4 $16) (10... Nc6 11. O-O-O Bxc3 (11... cxd4 12. Qh7 Ke7 13. Ne4 d3 14. Qh6 $18) 12. Qxc3 $16) (10... Rxg7 11. dxc5 (11. O-O-O Qa5 (11... g4 12. dxc5 $14) 12. dxc5 (12. Bxc4 g4) 12... Bxc3 13. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 14. bxc3 Nd7 15. h4 g4 $13) 11... Nc6 12. Bxc4 g4 (12... Bxc5) 13. Rd1 Qa5 (13... Qc7) 14. Nd2 Qxc5 15. O-O $1 $14) (10... cxd4 11. Qh7 Ke7 12. Rd1 $5 (12. O-O-O Bxc3 13. bxc3 Qa5 14. Qxg8 Qxc3+ 15. Kb1 Qb4+ 16. Kc2 Qc3+ {½-½ Van Wely,L-Naiditsch,A/Bundesliga 2004-05/(16)}) 12... Nc6 $5 (12... d3 13. Bxd3 $1 Bxc3+ $6 14. bxc3 cxd3 15. Rxd3 Qe8 $6 16. Nxg5 f6 17. Ne4 {1-0 Halkias,S-Georgiev,K/Greece 2004/(34)}) 13. Bxc4 Bd7 $5 (13... g4 14. Nxd4 Nxd4 15. O-O $1 $16 Bc5 (15... e5 16. Nd5+ $18) 16. Nb5 Nf3+ 17. gxf3 Bd7 18. Qh4+ $18) 14. Nxd4 Nxd4 15. Rxd4 Qb6 $5 16. Qe4 Bc6 $11 {½-½ Khurtsidze,N-Zaiatz,E/Chisinau 2005/(19)}) 11. dxc5 (11. O-O-O Bxc3 12. Qxc3 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Bd7 14. Bxc4 Nc6 15. Nb5 Qxc3+ 16. bxc3 Ke7 17. Rhe1 Rac8 (17... Na5 $1 18. Nd6 Nxc4 19. Nxc4 $11) 18. Nd6 Rc7 19. Nxf7 {1-0 Taylor,T-Van Buskirk,C/Los Angeles 2004/[Ribli] (29)}) (11. a3) 11... Nd7 (11... Rxg7 12. O-O-O $14) (11... g4 12. Nd2 $14) 12. Bxc4 Bxc3+ {Auf diese Weise verschlechtert Schwarz die weiße Bauernstruktur.} 13. bxc3 (13. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 14. bxc3 g4 15. Nd4 Nxc5 $11 {½-½ Giorgadze,G-De la Villa G/Benasque 1997/EXT 97/(33)}) 13... Nxc5 14. O-O g4 $5 {[%mdl 4] Eine interessante Eröffnungsidee von Schwarz. Nach 14...?xg7 15.?fe1 oder 14...?d7 15.?e2 strebt der weiße Springer nach e5, wo er eine aktive Stellung besitzt. Mit der Partiefortsetzung verjagt Schwarz den Springer von f3, sodass ?e5 wird nicht möglich ist.} (14... Rxg7 15. Rfe1 Bd7 16. Rab1 Kf8 17. Ne5 Be8 18. Bb5 b6 19. a4 Qf5 20. Qd1 $14 {1-0 Huebner,R-Hinks Edwards,T/Cannes 2005/CBM 105 ext (28)}) 15. Nd2 Qf5 (15... Rxg7 16. Ne4 $14 (16. Bb5+ $14)) 16. Qxf5 (16. Qb2 Bd7 $11) 16... exf5 17. Rfe1+ Be6 {Stufenweise strebt Schwarz die Beendigung seiner Entwicklung an.} 18. Re5 $14 {[%csl Ge5][%CAl Ge5c5]} b6 (18... Nd7 19. Re3 $14) 19. Nb3 (19. Bxe6 fxe6 (19... Nxe6 20. Rxf5 O-O-O 21. Ne4 Rxg7 $16) 20. Nb3 Nxb3 21. axb3 Kf7 $11) 19... O-O-O 20. Bxe6+ (20. Nxc5 Bxc4 21. Rxf5 Rxg7 $11) 20... Nxe6 21. Rxf5 Rxg7 {Schwarz hat einen Bauern weniger, aber er hat eine aktive Stellung und der ?c3 ist schwach.} 22. f3 gxf3 (22... Rd3 23. fxg4 Rxc3 24. Raf1 $16) 23. Rxf3 a5 24. a4 (24. Rc1 a4 25. Nd4 Nxd4 26. cxd4+ Kb7 27. Rc4 b5 28. Rb4 Rd5 $14) 24... Rd7 {[%mdl 256] Schwarz verteidigt vorher den f7-Bauern und möchte den g7-Turm befreien.} 25. h3 Rh7 $1 {[%csl Gh7][%CAl Gh7h4,Gh4a4] Schwarz möchte seinen Turm über h4 ins Spiel bringen.} 26. Rb1 (26. Raf1 Rh4 27. Rxf7 Rxa4 $132) 26... Rh4 27. Nd4 {Der ?b3 war nicht der Stolz der weißen Stellung, so dass Weiß den Bauern zurück gibt.} Nxd4 28. cxd4 Rhxd4 29. Rxb6 Kd8 (29... Rxa4 $11) 30. Rbf6 Ke8 31. R3f4 Rb4 32. Kh2 (32. Rxb4 axb4 33. Rb6 Rd4 34. Kh2 b3 35. Rxb3 Rxa4 $14) 32... Rdb7 33. h4 Kf8 34. R6f5 (34. h5 Rxf4 35. Rxf4 Rb4 36. Kg3 Kg7) 34... Rxf4 35. Rxf4 Rb3 36. g3 (36. Rf5 Rb4 37. Rxa5 Rxh4+ $14) 36... Rb4 $1 37. Kh3 Rxf4 38. gxf4 f5 $11 39. Kg3 Kg7 40. h5 Kh7 (40... Kh6 $4 41. Kh4 $18) 41. Kh3 (41. Kh4 Kh6 $11) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Dos Hermanas"] [Site "Dos Hermanas"] [Date "1997.04.01"] [Round "1"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2765"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "1997.04.01"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 059"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1997.08.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1997.08.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bd7 {Das ist ein von Morozevich in die Tuernierpraxis eingeführter Zug.Ribli.} (8... Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 (10... Nbd7 11. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12. Kf1 gxf6 13. h4 a6 14. Rh3 Qa5 15. Be2 O-O $146 16. Rc1 $1 Ne5 17. Qb3 {1-0 Stefansson,H-Petursson,M/Reykjavik 1996 (31)}) 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Qb3 a6 13. Be2 Nc6 14. O-O Qc7 15. Rad1 Rc8 16. Qa3 $1 {1-0 Beliavsky,A-Lukacz,P/AUT-chT9697 1997 (23)} (16. Qb2 Nxd4 17. cxd4 Qc2 $11)) 9. O-O (9. e5 $6 Qa5 10. exf6 Qxg5 (10... Bxc3+ $6 11. bxc3 Qxc3+ $2 12. Qd2 Qxa1+ 13. Ke2 {Weiß spielt wie Andersen vor 150 Jahre.Ribli.} Qxh1 14. fxg7 Rg8 15. Nf5 $40) 11. fxg7 Rg8 12. O-O Rxg7 13. g3 Nc6 $13 {Die Bauernstruktur von Schwarz ist etwas angegriffen, aber er hat das Läuferpaar und große Aktivität.Ribli.}) 9... Nc6 10. Rc1 h6 (10... a6 11. a3 $1 Be7 12. Nf3 $14 Ng4 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Qe2 Qf6 15. Rcd1 h5 16. h3 Nce5 $1 17. Nxe5 Qxe5 18. g3 {½-½ Azmaiparashvili,Z-Morozevich,A/Madrid 1996 (31)}) 11. Bf4 $1 $14 {[%csl Rd6][%CAl Gf4c7] Weiß hat Raumvorteil und seine Figuren stehen sehr gesund. Sein ?f4 steht besonders stark.Ribli.} O-O 12. e5 Qb8 13. Bg3 (13. Bxh6 Nxe5 14. Bf4 Bd6 $13 {Die schwarze Königsstellung ist ein wenig geschwächt, aber Schwarz hat ein sehr gutes Springerfeld auf e5.Ribli.}) 13... Nxe5 $8 {Führt zum Qualitätsverlust, ist aber dennoch die einzig spielbare Möglichkeit.Ribli.} 14. Re1 Bd6 15. Ndb5 {[%csl Rd6][%CAl Gg3b8]} Nxc4 (15... Bxb5 16. Nxb5 Nxc4 17. Nxd6 Nxd6 18. Bxd6 $16) 16. Nxd6 Nxd6 17. Bxd6 Qd8 18. Bxf8 Kxf8 {Weiß hat klaren Vorteil. Es überrascht mich ein wenig, daß Kramnik diese Stellung nicht gewinnen konnte. Eine Qualität mehr für nichts sollte sich früher oder später entscheidend bemerkbar machen. Andererseits hat Schwarz keine Schwächen und einen Bauern für die Qualität.Ribli.} 19. b4 $6 {Dieser Zug gefällt mir nicht. Da das nur zu späterem Abtausch führt -was Anands Remischancen erhöht-, sollte Weiß die Stellung geschlossener halten und langsamer spielen.Ribli.} (19. Qd6+ Qe7 20. Red1) 19... a6 20. a4 Be8 21. Qxd8 Rxd8 22. Red1 Rb8 $1 $14 {Schwarz muß diese Türme auf dem Brett halten.Ribli.} (22... Rxd1+ 23. Rxd1 $16) 23. f3 {Das ist der beste Bauernaufbau, wenn der Gegner ?c6 spielen kann.Ribli.} Bc6 24. b5 axb5 25. axb5 Be8 26. Ra1 g5 $1 {Schwarz hat eine Bauernmajorität am Königsflügel, das heißt er kann dort aktiv spielen. Es gehen zwar keine konkreten Drohungen von diesem Zug aus, aber Schwarz gewinnt Raum.Ribli.} 27. Ra7 Kg7 28. Rda1 Rc8 29. R1a3 Rc7 {[%csl Gc7] Ich glaube, Anand spielt die besten Züge der ganzen Partie nach dem Qualitätsverlust. Der Turm steht aktiv auf c7 und verteidigt gleichzeitig ?b7.Ribli.} 30. b6 Re7 31. R3a5 Bc6 {[%csl Gc6]} 32. Rc5 Re8 (32... Kg6 $4 33. Rxc6 $18) 33. Ne2 Bd5 34. Rc7 Rd8 35. Kf2 (35. Raxb7 Bxb7 36. Rxb7 $11) 35... Rd6 36. Nc3 Rxb6 37. Nxd5 Rb2+ 38. Kg1 (38. Kg3 Nxd5 (38... exd5 39. Raxb7 Nh5+ 40. Kg4 Rxb7 41. Rxb7 Kg6 42. Rb6+ f6 43. g3 (43. Rd6 Nf4 44. g3 $4 h5#) 43... Ng7 44. f4 (44. Rd6 Nf5) 44... Nf5) 39. Raxb7 $14 {Ich denke aber, daß diese Stellung näher am Remis als am weißen Gewinn ist.Ribli.}) 38... Rb1+ 39. Kf2 Rb2+ 40. Kg1 Rb1+ 41. Kf2 {Und Remis durch Zugwiederholung.Ribli.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "ESP-chT Honor Gp1 49th"] [Site "Merida"] [Date "2005.08.25"] [Round "2"] [White "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Black "Sargissian, Gabriel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2639"] [BlackElo "2611"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2005.08.24"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "CBM 109"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.11.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.11.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qa5 9. Bb5+ Bd7 10. Bxf6 (10. Bd2 $2 Bxb5 11. Ndxb5 Nxe4 12. Nxe4 Qxb5 13. Nc3 Qe5+ 14. Kf1 Nc6 {0-1 Salzgeber,F-Horvath,A/Pfaeffikon 2003/(27)}) 10... gxf6 11. O-O (11. Qd3 $6 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 a6 13. Bxd7+ Nxd7 14. Nb3 Qc7 15. O-O Ne5 16. Qe3 O-O-O 17. Rfd1 {½-½ Shulman,Y-Atalik,S/San Francisco 2002/CBM 92/(37)}) (11. Bxd7+ Nxd7 12. Nde2 Ne5 13. O-O Rg8 14. Kh1 Rd8 15. Qc2 Ke7 {½-½ Gyimesi,Z-Horvath,A/ Hungary (ch) 2003 (23)}) 11... Bxb5 {Meiner Meinung nach bietet die Alternative 11...?xc3 Schwarz mehr Hoffnungen auf Ausgleich.} (11... Bxc3 12. Bxd7+ Nxd7 13. bxc3) 12. Ncxb5 Nc6 (12... a6 13. a3 $1 Be7 14. b4 Qb6 15. Nc3 O-O 16. Na4 Qd8 17. Rc1 $16) 13. a3 Nxd4 (13... Be7 14. Rc1 (14. Qh5 $5 $36) 14... Rg8 (14... Rd8 15. Qh5 e5 (15... Rxd4 16. Rxc6 $1) 16. Ne6 $16) 15. Nxc6 bxc6 16. Nd6+ Kf8 17. Rxc6 (17. Nc4 $5 Qa6 18. Qh5 Kg7 19. Rc3 $40) 17... Rd8 18. Rc8 (18. Qd4 $5) 18... Kg7 19. Nb7 {½-½ Beliavsky,A-Georgiev,K/Bled (ol) 2002/(116)}) 14. axb4 (14. Qxd4 $5 Qxb5 15. Qxf6) 14... Qxb5 15. Qxd4 $36 {[%csl Gd4,Re8] Die ?d4 ist aktiv und der schwarze König steht angreifbar in der Mitte.} Ke7 (15... Qe5 16. Qxe5 (16. Rxa7 $6 Qxd4 17. Rxa8+ Ke7 18. Rxh8 Qxe4) (16. Qc5 Qxc5 17. bxc5 Kd7) 16... fxe5 17. Ra5 $16) 16. Ra5 Qd7 (16... Qb6 17. Rc5) 17. Qe3 b6 18. Rh5 Rhg8 (18... Rad8) 19. g3 (19. Rxh7) 19... Rad8 20. Ra1 {[%csl Ga1,Ge3,Re7,Gh5][%mdl 2048] Weiß verfügt über ein ausgezeichnetes Figurenspiel; Schwarz kann hingegen nur die unmittelbaren Drohungen verteidigen, er hat keine Chancen auf aktives Spiel.} Rg7 21. Qf4 (21. e5 $36) 21... e5 22. Qf3 (22. Qh4 $16) 22... Qc7 23. b5 Rd6 (23... Rd4) 24. Rh6 Qd7 25. Kg2 Qb7 26. Ra4 $1 {[%csl Re7][%CAl Rf3a3,Ra3a7,Ra3e7][%mdl 128] Ein ausgezeichneter positioneller Zug: die tödliche weiße Drohung ist 27.?a3. Schwarz kann sich nicht gegen den weißen Angriff verteidigen.} Ke8 27. Rxf6 $18 {Weiß gewinnt einen wichtigen Bauern und die Partie, während Schwarz große Schwierigkeiten mit der Figurenkoordination hat.} Rg6 28. Rxd6 Rxd6 29. Qh5 {[%CAl Rh5e5,Rh5h7]} Qe7 30. Qxh7 1-0 [Event "EU-chT (Men) 15th"] [Site "Gothenburg"] [Date "2005.08.01"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Jobava, Baadur"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2621"] [BlackElo "2724"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2005.07.30"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SWE"] [SourceTitle "CBM 109"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.11.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.11.14"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Georgia"] [BlackTeam "Armenia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GEO"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARM"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. e5 {Diese Fortsetzung ist nicht so populär, wie die Hauptvariante 7.?xc4.} h6 8. exf6 hxg5 9. fxg7 Rg8 10. dxc5 {Dieser Zug führt zu Vereinfachungen, wonach Schwarz bequemes und ausgeglichenes Spiel erhält. Die Alternative 10.?c2 führt zu spannendem Kampf.} Qxd1+ 11. Rxd1 (11. Kxd1 Rxg7 12. Ne4 Nd7 13. a3 (13. Nexg5 Bxc5 14. h4 b5 $17) 13... Bxc5 14. Nxc5 Nxc5 15. Bxc4 $11) 11... Rxg7 12. Bxc4 Nc6 13. Ke2 (13. O-O Bxc5 14. Ne4 Be7 15. g4 Bd7 16. Nd6+ Bxd6 17. Rxd6 Ke7 18. Rfd1 Be8 {½-½ Goldin,A-Nielsen,P/Moscow 2001/CBM 86/[Heine Nielsen] (35)}) 13... Bxc5 14. Ne4 Be7 $11 {Schwarz hat das Läuferpaar und keine Schwächen; Weiß hingegen hat Entwicklungs- und Raumvorteil.} 15. h4 $2 {[%mdl 16384] Das ist ein gewönlicher Zug in solchen Stellungen, aber hier weniger günstig, da Schwarz seinen g7-Turm aktivieren kann.} (15. Bb5 Bd7 16. Nd6+ Bxd6 17. Rxd6 g4 $15) (15. g4 f5 16. gxf5 exf5 17. Nd6+ Bxd6 18. Rxd6 $11) (15. Nd6+ Bxd6 16. Rxd6 g4 17. Ne1 $11 (17. Nd4 Ne5 18. b3 Ke7 19. Rd1 Nxc4 20. bxc4 Kxd6 21. Nf5+ Kc5 22. Nxg7 b6 $17)) (15. h3 $5 $11) 15... gxh4 {[%CAl Gg7g2]} 16. Bb5 (16. Nxh4 $4 Rg4 $19 {[%CAl Rg4h4,Rg4e4]}) 16... Bd7 (16... Rxg2 $5 17. Ne5 Kf8 18. Nxc6 (18. Bxc6 bxc6 19. Nxc6 Bb7 20. Nxe7 Bxe4 21. Rxh4 f5 22. Rd7 (22. Rh7 f4 $19) 22... Ke8 23. Rc7 Kd8 24. Rxe4 fxe4 25. Rb7 $17) 18... bxc6 19. Bxc6 Rb8 $17) 17. Kf1 O-O-O $17 {Endlich steht der schwarze König in Sicherheit und er hat einen Bauern mehr.} 18. Be2 (18. Nxh4 Rg4 {[%CAl Rg4h4,Rg4e4]} (18... f5) 19. Nd6+ Kc7 20. Nxf7 Rxh4 21. Rxh4 Bxh4 22. Nxd8 Bxd8 $17) 18... Nb4 {[%CAl Gd7c6]} 19. Nxh4 (19. a3 Bc6) 19... Rh7 (19... Bc6 $5 {Bei materiellem Gleichgewicht hat Schwarz eine sehr aktive Stellung.}) 20. a3 (20. g3 Bc6 21. Rxd8+ Kxd8 22. Bf3 Nxa2) 20... Bc6 (20... Rxh4 21. Rxh4 Bxh4 22. axb4 Be7 $17) 21. Rxd8+ Kxd8 22. Ng3 (22. f3 Nd5) 22... Rxh4 23. Rxh4 Bxh4 24. axb4 Bf6 {[%mdl 4096]} (24... Bxg3 25. fxg3 Ke7 $15) 25. b3 (25. b5 Bd5 26. b4 Bc3 $17) 25... b5 $1 {[%csl Rb3,Rb4] Auf diese Weise blockiert Schwarz die weißen Bauern auf der b-Linie.} 26. Bd3 (26. Bh5 Ke7 $17) 26... Be7 27. Ne2 a6 (27... Bxb4 28. Nd4) 28. Nd4 Bd5 29. g4 Bxb4 30. Nc2 Bc3 (30... Be7) 31. b4 Bf3 (31... Bb3) 32. g5 Ke7 33. Ne1 Bd5 34. Nc2 Bd2 35. g6 f5 $19 {[%csl Rg6]} 36. Ke2 Bc3 37. Ne3 Bb3 38. Bc2 Ba2 0-1 [Event "Norway Chess 7th"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2019.06.04"] [Round "1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2875"] [BlackElo "2767"] [Annotator "Lupulescu,Constantin"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "2019.06.04"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "CBM 191"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2019.08.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.08.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 {Compared to other QGD positions, the Vienna has been a rather rare guest in supertournaments lately.} 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Nb5 {An interesting sideline.} (10. Bd2 {was almost a novelty when the world champion employed it succesfully against Aronian:} O-O 11. Qe2 e5 12. Nb3 Qc7 {with a complex struggle in: Carlsen,M (2845)-Aronian,L (2763) Karlsruhe/Baden Baden GER 2019, 1-0 (38).}) (10. Bb5+ {it is the most common move with many forced variations to follow.}) 10... Nxe4 11. Qd4 O-O 12. Qxe4 a6 13. O-O (13. Bd3 f5 14. Qe2 axb5 15. O-O {is a more usual move order.}) 13... axb5 14. Bd3 f5 15. Qe2 Nc6 (15... Bd7 {was also played quite often.}) 16. Bd2 Qc7 {The first new move of the game.} (16... e5 17. Bxb5 Be6 18. a4 Qc7) 17. Bxb5 f4 {An interesting move, playing against White's dark-squared bishop while also preparing to enhance his own bishop's scope. However, it implies a strategic risk by handing White the e4 square.} (17... e5 {was a more conservative approach with the idea} 18. f3 Be6 19. Rfe1 (19. a4 Na5 $13 {[%CAl Ga5b3]}) 19... e4 $1) 18. f3 {Obviously White cannot allow f4-f3.} e5 19. Rfe1 Bd7 20. a4 $1 {We can say that the World Champion got the position he wanted from the opening: not so much to begin with, but plenty of play left to outplay his impressive opponent.} (20. Bxc6 {would most likely have called it a day even with Carlsen's fantastic technical abilities:} Bxc6 21. Qxe5 Qf7 $1 {The most precise as Black's queen will be more useful than White's.} (21... Qxe5 {is also possible:} 22. Rxe5 Rad8 {Black also has good drawing chances in view of White's split queenside pawns and the drawing tendencies of the opposite coloured bishops.}) 22. Qe6 Rad8 23. Qxf7+ Rxf7 24. Re2 g5 $44) 20... Kh8 21. Rad1 (21. Bxc6 Bxc6 22. Qxe5 Qxe5 23. Rxe5 Rxa4 24. Rxa4 Bxa4 {would not give many winning chances as the only way to get f4 would be via a rook swap:} 25. Re4 (25. h4 Bc6 26. Rc5 h6 $11 {[%CAl Gg7g5]}) 25... Bc6 26. Rxf4 Rxf4 27. Bxf4 Kg8 {with a trivial draw.}) 21... Rae8 (21... h6 {to defend against back rank threats was safer for Black:} 22. Bc1 Bf5 23. Ba3 Rf6 $13) 22. Bc1 {Now it is not that easy to find a good plan for Black.} e4 {Here this thematic idea doesn't achieve its aim as the game is too open.} 23. fxe4 Ne5 24. Bxd7 Nxd7 25. Rf1 $1 {White shows that also f4 can be a weakness.} Nc5 26. Ba3 $1 {The point of the World Champion's idea.} Rxe4 27. Qb5 $6 {A very natural move but it allows Black to escape to an easily drawn endgame.} (27. Qh5 $1 {would give good winning chances:} Re5 (27... b6 28. a5 $16) 28. Rxf4 Rg8 (28... Rfe8 29. Rdf1 $1 {White needed to see this in advance.} Kg8 30. Qg4 $16) 29. Qf3 (29. Rf7 Rxh5 30. Rxc7 Nxa4 31. c4 b5 (31... b6 32. Rd5 $16 {again puts Black in trouble.}) 32. Rd5 $16) 29... Ne6 30. Bd6 Qb6+ 31. Qf2 Qb3 32. Bxe5 Qxd1+ 33. Qf1 Qd5 34. Rf5 $16) 27... Re5 28. Rde1 (28. Bxc5 Qxc5+ $1 (28... Rxc5 29. Rxf4 Rg8 30. Rf7 $1 Rxb5 (30... Qxf7 31. Qxc5 {With queens on Black is in trouble.}) 31. Rxc7 $16 {A different version as White's rooks are now very active.}) 29. Qxc5 Rxc5 30. Rxf4 Kg8 31. Rb4 (31. Rxf8+ Kxf8 {is very similar to the game.}) 31... Rxc3 32. Rxb7 h6 {Thanks to his very active rooks Black shouldn't have much trouble drawing.}) 28... Rc8 29. Rxe5 Qxe5 30. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 31. Qxc5 Rxc5 32. Rxf4 h6 33. Rf3 (33. Rb4 Rxc3 34. Rxb7 Ra3 {would also be trivial for Black.}) 33... Kg8 {Anand confidently shows the endgame is an easy draw.} 34. Rd3 Ra5 35. Rd7 Rxa4 36. Rxb7 Ra2 37. h4 Kh7 38. Kh2 Rd2 39. Rc7 Kg6 40. Kg3 (40. Kh3 {would not change much, for example} h5 41. Kg3 Kf6 42. Kf3 g6 43. g3 Rd3+ 44. Kf4 Ke6 {and White can hardly make any progress.}) 40... Kh5 41. Rc5+ g5 42. Kh3 Rd3+ 43. g3 Re3 44. Kg2 Rd3 45. Rc4 Re3 46. hxg5 hxg5 47. Kh3 Rd3 48. Rc8 g4+ 49. Kg2 Rd2+ 50. Kf1 Rc2 51. c4 Kg5 52. c5 Kf6 53. c6 Ke7 54. c7 Kd6 55. Rd8+ Kxc7 56. Rd4 Kc6 57. Kg1 Kc5 58. Rxg4 Kd5 {The longest game of the first round that probably left the World Champion thinking he could have achieved more.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2011.09.17"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"] [Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2768"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2011.08.28"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "CBM 145"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2011.11.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2011.11.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Nbd7 11. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12. Kf1 gxf6 13. Nxe6 $2 {This "brilliant" blow is a well-known mistake. Ruslan Ponomariov obviously mixed something up.} (13. h4 {is the main move}) (13. Rc1 {is also possible}) 13... Qe5 {Of course, not} (13... fxe6 $4 14. Rc1 Qe5 15. Rxc8+ $18) 14. Nd4 (14. Ng7+ Kf8 15. Nf5 (15. Bxd7 $142 Bxd7 16. Nf5 $15) 15... Qxb5+ 16. Kg1 Qe5 $1 17. h4 Rg8 18. Rh3 Rg6 19. Rc1 Nb6 20. Qd8+ Qe8 21. Qd6+ Kg8 22. Re3 Be6 23. h5 Rg5 $17 {0-1 Lobron,E (2545)-Polgar,Z (2500)/Dortmund 1990/CBM 018/[Polgar,Zsu] (38)}) 14... O-O {White has regained the pawn, but Black now completes his development and obtains a clear advantage due to White's uncastled king.} (14... a6 $143 $6 15. Ba4 O-O 16. Nf3 Qe7 17. Qe2 Ne5 18. Nxe5 Qxe5 19. Re1 Be6 20. Bb3 Bxb3 21. axb3 Rac8 22. h4 Rc3 23. Rh3 Rd8 24. Kg1 Rxh3 25. Qg4+ Kh8 26. Qxh3 $11 {1-0 Malakhatko,V (2568)-Galinsky,T (2424)/Kiev 2000/CBM 077/[Ribli] (62)}) 15. Qd3 {Or else:} (15. Rc1 Nb6 $1 {[%CAl Rf8d8]} 16. Qd3 $8 a6 $17 (16... Rd8 $143 17. Nf3)) (15. Rb1 Nc5 16. Nf3 Qxe4 17. Rc1 b6 18. Qd6 Be6 19. Re1 Qb4 20. Be2 Rfd8 $19 {0-1 Gormally,D (2471)-Wells,P (2485)/Halifax 2003/CBM 097 ext (27)}) (15. Be2 Nc5 16. Nf3 Qxe4 17. Qd6 Ne6 18. h4 Nf4 19. Re1 Be6 20. Ba6 Qa4 21. Bxb7 Rad8 $17 {1/2 Prakash,G (2435)-Lahiri,A (2426)/Sangli 2000/EXT 2001 (49)}) (15. a4 Rd8 16. Nf5 Nf8 17. Qg4+ Ng6 18. Re1 a6 19. Be2 Rd4 20. Bf3 Bxf5 21. Qxf5 Rxa4 $17 {0-1 Szuhanek,R (2450)-Rezan,S (2337)/Rijeka 2001/EXT 2002 (37)}) (15. Qg4+ Kh8 16. Rd1 Nc5 17. Qh4 (17. Nf5 Bxf5 18. Qxf5 Nxe4 19. Qxe5 fxe5 20. Re1 Nc3 21. Rxe5 Nxa2 22. Re7 Nc3 23. Bc4 b5 24. Bxf7 Rfd8 $17 {0-1 Somogyi,I (2243)-Galyas,M (2371)/Budapest 2001/CBM 082 ext (36)}) 17... Ne6 $1 18. Bc4 (18. Be2 Rd8 $1 (18... Nxd4 $143 19. f4 Qd6 20. e5) 19. Nxe6 Rxd1+ 20. Bxd1 Bxe6 $17) 18... Nxd4 (18... Rd8 19. Bd5 Nxd4 20. f4 Nf5 $1 21. exf5 Qxf5 $19) 19. f4 Qd6 20. e5 fxe5 21. fxe5 Qxe5 22. Rxd4 Bf5 $17 {0-1 Schmidt,H (2332)-Slobodjan,R (2521)/Saarbruecken 2002/CBM 093/[Ribli] (44)}) 15... Nc5 16. Qg3+ Kh8 (16... Qxg3 17. hxg3 Rd8 18. Nb3 Nxe4 $17 {was quite possible, too.}) 17. Qxe5 fxe5 18. Nf3 a6 {Other options:} (18... f6 19. Nd2 Rd8 20. Ke2 Be6 $15) (18... Nxe4 19. Nxe5 Be6 $17 {[%CAl Ye4c3] was probably the strongest.}) 19. Bc4 Nxe4 20. Nxe5 f6 21. Nf3 Bf5 22. h3 (22. Nd4 Bg6 $1 (22... Nd2+ 23. Ke2 Nxc4 24. Nxf5 $11) 23. Bd5 Nd2+ $1 24. Ke2 Rad8) 22... b5 23. Bb3 Nc3 24. Nd4 Bd3+ 25. Kg1 a5 {[%csl Ga5,Gb5]} 26. Kh2 a4 27. Bd1 Bc4 (27... b4 28. Bf3 Rac8 29. Nc6 b3 30. axb3 axb3 31. Ra3 $1 Be4 32. Rxb3 $1 Bxf3 33. Ne7 $1 Bd5 $1 34. Rxc3 Rxc3 35. Nxd5 $11) 28. a3 Rad8 29. Nc6 Rd2 30. Bf3 Rxf2 {Black has won a pawn, but it is very difficult to convert it.} 31. Rhc1 Na2 32. Re1 Rc8 33. Re7 (33. Ne7 $1 Rd8 34. Nf5 $15) 33... Nc3 34. Nb4 f5 35. Rae1 $6 (35. Re3 $142 $15) 35... Rg8 {[%CAl Gg8g2]} 36. R7e5 (36. Rd7 Ne4 $1) 36... Be2 $1 {White overlooked this strong move.} 37. Rxf5 $2 {[%mdl 8192]} (37. Bc6 Ne4 38. Rg1 Bf1 39. Re8 Rxe8 40. Bxe8 f4 41. Bc6 Nd2 $19) (37. R1xe2 Nxe2 38. Nd3 Rxf3 39. gxf3 Nd4 40. Ne1 {was the only way to continue resistance.}) 37... Bxf3 38. Rxf3 Rgxg2+ 39. Kh1 Rh2+ 40. Kg1 Ne2+ 0-1 [Event "Olympiad-38"] [Site "Dresden"] [Date "2008.11.21"] [Round "8"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2719"] [BlackElo "2678"] [Annotator "Gelfand,Boris"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2008.11.13"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "CBM 128"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2009.01.28"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2009.01.28"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Israel"] [BlackTeam "Germany"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ISR"] [BlackTeamCountry "GER"] {This Olympiad was memorable for my team-mates and myself - we got Olympic medals for the first time in history! We didn't start well, but then picked up the pace and won 6 matches in a row. The match vs Germany was very important as the victory would bring us to 2nd place with only 3 rounds to go.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. d4 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Nbd7 {This system is almost forgotten and during recent years Black has mostly played 10...?d7 and tried to equalise. Probably Arkady had rejected it after his painful loss to Gustafsson in Dortmund earlier this year. The text move is very risky - Black is winning a pawn, but seriously lagging in development. On the other hand he'll have an extra pawn and White has to act very resolutely to set him some problems.} 11. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12. Kf1 gxf6 13. h4 a6 14. Rh3 Qb4 (14... Qa5 15. Be2 {is another line.}) 15. Be2 Ne5 $5 {Quite a rare move.} ({Black normally chooses} 15... O-O {but recent practice shows that Black's task is far from being easy.} 16. Rb1 Qd6 17. Rg3+ Kh8 18. Qd2 Rg8 19. Rbb3 Rxg3 20. Rxg3 b6 21. Bh5 Bb7 22. Bxf7 $1 Rf8 23. e5 $1 Nxe5 24. Bxe6 f5 25. Rg7 $3 Be4 26. Qh6 f4 27. Qf6 {1-0 Werle,J-Wells,P/London ENG 2008 (27)}) 16. h5 $5 {After a long thought I decided to make a useful move and to take the g6-square away from the ?e5, as in some lines it was ready to go to g6 and then carry on to f4. It turned to be a novelty. Previously 16.?b1 and ?c1 were played.} Bd7 $2 {It was not easy to find a proper solution during the game. Black is giving up a pawn in order to complete his development, but he is left without his main trump - extra material.} (16... O-O 17. Rb1 Qd6 18. Qd2 {with a dangerous attack.}) (16... b6 {is suspect:} 17. f4 Nc4 18. Nc6 Nd2+ 19. Kg1 Qc5+ (19... Qxe4 20. Qxd2 Qxc6 21. Rc3) 20. Kh1 Qxc6 21. Qxd2) ({The best would be} 16... Qd6 $1 {which I am sure will soon be tested in tournament practice.}) 17. Rb3 Qd6 18. Rxb7 {White has won the pawn back and has an advantage.} Rd8 19. Nb3 {It was not easy to choose beetween the text move and} (19. Nf3 Bc6 (19... Qc6 20. Qb3) 20. Qxd6 Rxd6 {, but I preferred to keep ?s on the board.}) 19... Qc6 $2 ({it was better to exchange queens} 19... Bc6 20. Qxd6 Rxd6 {even though the endgame is clearly in White's favour} 21. Rb8+ (21. Rc7 $5) 21... Rd8 22. Rb4) 20. Rb4 Qc7 (20... Qa8 21. Qc2 {also leaves the advantage in White's hands.}) 21. Rc1 Nc6 (21... Bc6 22. Qc2) 22. Kg1 ({An alternative was} 22. g3 {I was worried about} e5 {but} 23. Qc2 $1 {underlines White's edge.}) 22... Qf4 (22... Qe5 23. Rc5) 23. Rbc4 O-O ({Also bad is} 23... Rg8 24. Nc5 Ne5 25. Rd4 Ke7 26. Rc3) 24. R1c3 ({I missed the strong possibility of} 24. e5 $1 Qxe5 25. Qd2 $1 f5 (25... Ne7 26. Rd4 Nd5 27. Bf3) 26. Nc5 Be8 27. Nd3 $18 {winning 2 pieces for the ?}) ({I had to avoid trap} 24. Nc5 Ne5 25. Rd4 $2 ({better is} 25. Nb7) 25... Ba4 $1 {winning the queen.}) 24... a5 $2 ({I was expecting} 24... Be8 25. Qc1 Qxc1+ 26. Rxc1 Ne5 27. Rb4 Bb5 (27... Nd3 28. Bxd3 Rxd3 29. h6) 28. Bxb5 axb5 29. Rxb5 $16 {when White has to show technique to win the game.}) 25. Qc1 $6 ({Not so clear is} 25. Rf3 Qh6 26. Rd3 Ne5 27. Rg3+ Kh8 28. Rd4 a4 29. Nc5 Rc8 $16) ({I had felt that the right solution would be} 25. e5 $1 Qxe5 {but failed to spot} 26. Qd2 $1 {when Black has no defence, for example:} ({I only considered} 26. Rd3 Nb4 $1) 26... Ne7 27. Re3 Qb8 28. Rg3+) 25... Qxc1+ 26. Rxc1 Ne5 $2 {This is the decisive mistake.} ({Black should give up a pawn and keep drawing chances by} 26... Nb4 27. Nxa5 Ra8 28. Rxb4 Rxa5 29. Rc2 (29. h6 Rxa2 30. Bh5 Ra5 $1) 29... Kg7 $16) 27. Rd4 (27. R4c3 $5 a4 28. Nc5 Be8 29. Rd1) 27... a4 {Other moves are not better:} (27... Bc6 28. Rxd8 Rxd8 29. f4 a4 30. fxe5 axb3 31. Rxc6) (27... Nc6 28. Rxd7 Rxd7 29. Rxc6 a4 30. Nc5 (30. Nc1 $5) 30... Rd2 31. Bc4) 28. Nc5 (28. Na5 $5) 28... Bc6 (28... Bc8 29. Rxd8 ({or} 29. Rcd1 Rxd4 30. Rxd4 $18) 29... Rxd8 30. Nxa4 {leaves Black a pawn down and no chances of survival.}) 29. Rxd8 Rxd8 30. f4 Rd2 ({if} 30... Nd7 {then} 31. Nxe6) 31. fxe5 Rxe2 32. exf6 {Suddenly Black is helpless against mating threats.} h6 33. Rd1 Kh7 34. Rd8 Bxe4 {Losing a piece, but the position is hopeless.} (34... Rxa2 35. Nxe6) 35. Kf1 1-0 [Event "World-ch Anand-Kramnik +3-1=8"] [Site "Bonn"] [Date "2008.10.24"] [Round "8"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2772"] [BlackElo "2783"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2008.10.14"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "CBM 127"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2008.11.13"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2008.11.13"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Vladimir Kramnik was three points down so this game was actually his last chance to come back in the match.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qa5 9. Bb5+ Bd7 10. Bxf6 Bxb5 $5 $146 {[%mdl 8] A very unusual move order.} (10... Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 gxf6 12. Bxd7+ Nxd7 13. O-O a6 {leads to a well-known theoretical line}) (10... gxf6 $143 11. O-O Bxb5 $6 12. Ncxb5 $1 Nc6 (12... a6 13. a3 $1 Be7 14. b4) (12... Na6 13. Qf3 Be7 14. e5 Qb6 15. exf6 Bc5 16. Rfd1 $16 {1-0 Vaganian,R (2590)-Portisch,L (2512)/Bazna 2007/CBM 118 ext (22)}) 13. a3 Be7 (13... Nxd4 14. axb4 Qxb5 15. Qxd4 {[%csl Gd4,Re8] Die ?d4 ist aktiv und der schwarze König steht angreifbar in der Mitte.} Ke7 16. Ra5 Qd7 17. Qe3 b6 18. Rh5 $36 {1-0 Eljanov,P (2639)-Sargissian,G (2611)/Merida 2005/CBM 109/[Ribli] (30)}) 14. Rc1 Rg8 15. Nxc6 bxc6 16. Nd6+ $36 {1/2 Beliavsky,A (2650)-Georgiev,K (2658)/Bled 2002/EXT 2003 (134)}) 11. Ndxb5 (11. Nb3 $5 {S.Shipov} Qb6 12. Bxg7 Rg8 13. Bd4 Bxc3+ 14. Bxc3 (14. bxc3 Qc6) 14... Nc6 $44 {[%csl Re1]}) 11... gxf6 12. O-O Nc6 13. a3 Bxc3 14. Nxc3 $11 {Quite a simple position has arisen. Black's double pawns are not a sufficient reason for White to claim any advantage here.} Rg8 (14... O-O $5 $11) 15. f4 Rd8 16. Qe1 (16. Qe2 $5 Qc5+ 17. Kh1 Nd4 $11 18. Qf2 $140 Nb3) 16... Qb6+ 17. Rf2 Rd3 $6 (17... Kd7 {[%CAl Yd7c8] A.Korotylev} 18. Rc1 Kc8 19. Na4 Qd4 20. Nc5 Kb8 21. b4 $36) (17... Nd4 $5 18. Kh1 Nb3 19. Rd1 Rxd1 20. Nxd1 Ke7 $11 {S.Shipov}) (17... h5 $5 {[%CAl Yh5h4,Yh4h3]}) 18. Qe2 Qd4 19. Re1 (19. Nb5 $1 Qe3 (19... Qd8 20. e5) 20. Qxe3 Rxe3 21. Rd1 {[%csl Re3][%CAl Rb5c3]} Rb3 22. Nc3 $36 Ke7 $140 23. Rd3 {[%CAl Rc3d5]}) 19... a6 $6 (19... Ke7 $5 20. Nb5 Qc4 $11 {A.Korotylev}) (19... Kf8 $5 {S.Shipov} 20. g3 $5 (20. Nb5 Qd8 21. e5 fxe5 22. fxe5 Rd5 $1) 20... Kg7 21. e5) 20. Kh1 (20. Nd5 $5 exd5 21. exd5+ Kd7 22. dxc6+ Kxc6 23. g3 $14 {(now Black's double pawns are isolated)}) 20... Kf8 21. Ref1 Rg6 {This rook risks to find itself out of play.} (21... Kg7 $5 22. f5 exf5 $5 (22... Kh8 $5 23. fxe6 fxe6 24. Rxf6 $140 Rd2) 23. Rxf5 Rd2 $132) 22. g3 $1 {[%csl Rg6]} (22. f5 exf5 23. exf5 (23. Rxf5 $4 Rd2) 23... Rg4 $11) 22... Kg7 (22... Rh6 23. Rd1 $1) (22... f5 $5 23. e5 (23. exf5 exf5 $11) 23... Kg7 $11) 23. Rd1 $5 {White wants to regain the d-file.} Rxd1+ 24. Nxd1 Kh8 25. Nc3 (25. Qc2 {[%CAl Yf2d2] looks more accurate. Fortunately for Black, he has enough time to consolidate his position:} Rg8 26. Rd2 Qb6 27. Qc3 (27. Rd7 Rd8 $1 28. Rxf7 $4 Kg8 29. Rxf6 Qd4) 27... Kg7 28. Ne3 Rd8 29. Nc4 Qc7 $11 {(A.Korotylev). White probably saw this variation and decided to try something else.}) 25... Rg8 26. Kg2 Rd8 {Black has kept control of the d-file and White's kingside threats are only enough for a draw.} 27. Qh5 Kg7 28. Qg4+ Kh8 29. Qh5 Kg7 30. Qg4+ Kh8 31. Qh4 Kg7 32. e5 (32. f5 $5 Qe5 33. Qg4+ Kf8 34. Qh5 Kg7 35. Rf4 Rd2+ 36. Kh3 Rxb2 37. Nd1 Rb3 (37... Ra2 $143 38. Nf2 exf5 39. Rxf5 Qb2 40. Qg4+ Kf8 41. Qh4 $36) 38. Ne3 {S.Shipov} (38. Kg2 $2 exf5 39. Rh4 Kf8) 38... Qxf4 $1 39. gxf4 Rxe3+ 40. Kg2 Rxe4 $11) 32... f5 (32... fxe5 33. Qg5+ Kh8 34. f5 $36 {S.Shipov}) 33. Qf6+ Kg8 34. Qg5+ (34. h4 Qe3 {[%CAl Yd8d3]} 35. Qg5+ Kf8) 34... Kh8 35. Qf6+ (35. h4 $6 Qe3 36. h5 Rd2 $1 37. Rxd2 Qxd2+ 38. Kf1 Qc1+ 39. Ke2 Qxb2+ 40. Kd3 Qb6 41. h6 Qd8+) 35... Kg8 36. Re2 Qc4 37. Qg5+ (37. h4 Rd3 {[%CAl Rd3c3]} 38. Rf2 Qc5 $11) 37... Kh8 38. Qf6+ Kg8 39. Qg5+ Kh8 1/2-1/2 [Event "Croatia GCT"] [Site "Zagreb"] [Date "2019.06.30"] [Round "5"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2774"] [BlackElo "2752"] [Annotator "Pelletier,Yannick"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2019.06.26"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "CRO"] [EventCategory "22"] [SourceTitle "CBM 191"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2019.08.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.08.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 d5 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. Bg5 dxc4 {Levon Aronian really enjoys playing the Vienna Variation of the Queen's Gambit, but only under certain conditions. For instance, he does not play the classical move order 1.d4 ?f6 2.c4 e6 3.?f3 d5 4.?c3 dxc4, because of the dangerous pawn sacrifice 5.e4 ?b4 6.?xc4 which has become so fashionable at the highest level. Reaching the Vienna through the Ragozin move order is indeed popular nowadays, especially with the move order 5.?g5 dxc4. The line with ?a4+ is a specialty of Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, but it has a dubious reputation. Only a player with such a refined sense of the initiative as the Azeri star can actually hope to fall back on his feet in these positions.} 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 Qd5 {If White were to gain back the c4 pawn without effort, he would stand better. The weakening of the pawn structure after the exchange on f6 is not troublesome for Black, who intends to strenghten his extra pawn with b5.} 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. g3 Bd7 ({In my recent Chessbase DVD on the Vienna, I rather recommend} 10... e5 {here, following a game Jurcik,M (2474)-Winants,L (2540) Rogaska Slatina 2011. I haven't managed to find full equality for White, but I am sure that Mamedyarov had an idea on how to keep the game in muddy waters in order to get decent practical counter chances.}) 11. Qc2 Na5 12. e4 (12. Bg2 Nb3 13. Rb1 Bc6 14. O-O O-O-O $15 {leads to a rather healthy advantage for Black.}) 12... Qd6 13. Bg2 Nb3 14. Rd1 ({Mamedyarov is not the kind of players who would put his rook on a sad sqaure in order to protect a poor little pawn. Indeed, after} 14. Ra2 e5 $5 15. O-O O-O-O {, White lacks activity.}) 14... Qxa3 15. O-O O-O-O ({Pushing the newly created passed pawn with} 15... a5 {is tempting, but Aronian is rightly concerned about the safety of his king.}) 16. Qe2 Bb5 17. Rb1 c6 (17... a6 {looks like a natural and compact way of organizing Black's play. A sensible plan could, then, consist in preparing c5 with ?b8 and a queen retreat.}) 18. Rfd1 a5 19. Nd2 Nxd4 $5 ({Levon Aronian plays very consistently. Even though} 19... Nxd2 20. Qxd2 Qe7 {may secure Black an edge, trading knights is not quite in the spirit of the position.}) ({After} 19... Qa2 20. Qe1 {the black queen seems to have lost its way near the corner.}) 20. cxd4 Rxd4 {In return for the knight, Black has now 4 pawns and dominates the board. He is clearly better, but the position is messy enough.} 21. Ra1 (21. Qe3 Rd3 $5 (21... Qxe3 22. fxe3 Rd7 $17) 22. Qa7 Rhd8 {is almost winning. The lonely ?a7 should not worry Black, provided he has spotted the resource} 23. Rxb5 cxb5 24. e5 R8d5 $1 25. Bxd5 Rxd5 {, which leaves White without hope for salvation.}) 21... Qb2 (21... Qb4 $5 {was perhaps a tad more accurate, as Black's queen sacrifice is more effective in the variation} 22. Rab1 c3 23. Qf3 Rhd8 $1 24. Rxb4 axb4 25. Qxf6 Rxd2 26. Rxd2 Rxd2 $1 27. Bf3 c2 28. Qa1 Rd3 29. Kg2 Rc3 30. Qc1 b3 $19 {It is easy to find this line with an engine showing -5 at around move 24... Over the board, understanding that Black is winning before going for 21...?b4 is far from obvious.}) 22. Rab1 c3 23. Qf3 Rxd2 24. Rxb2 cxb2 25. Bf1 $6 (25. Rb1 $142 Rhd8 26. Bf1 {leading to the game}) 25... Rhd8 ({I am not sure if Aronian missed} 25... Be2 $1 {altogether, or if he thought that the game continuation was easier. In any case, Black is winning after} 26. Qxf6 (26. Bxe2 $2 Rxd1+ 27. Bxd1 b1=Q) (26. Rxd2 Bxf3 27. Rxb2 Rd8 $19) 26... Bxd1 27. Qxh8+ Kd7 28. Qc3 b1=Q 29. Qxd2+ Kc8) 26. Rb1 Bxf1 (26... Bd3 27. Bxd3 R8xd3 28. Qg4 Rc3 $19) 27. Kxf1 Rc2 $2 ({The danger when everything seems to be winning is that you start being careless and forget hidden ressources. Things become more complicated now for the Armenian.} 27... R8d3 {would have won in similar fashion as 26...?d3}) 28. Kg2 Rdd2 29. Qxf6 $1 a4 {Threatening to take on f2. But this move also weakens some squares which can be used by the white queen to harass the enemy king.} 30. Kh3 $1 Rxf2 ({Perpetual check will be delivered after} 30... a3 31. Qxf7 Rc1 (31... a2 $2 32. Qxe6+ $18 {[%CAl Ge6a2]}) 32. Qxe6+ Kc7 33. Qe7+ Kc8 (33... Rd7 $6 34. Qe5+ $16 {[%CAl Gb1b2]}) 34. Qe6+ Kb8 35. Qe5+ {etc}) 31. Qh8+ Kc7 32. Qd4 f6 ({Things have clearly gone out of control with Black's king exposed, and Aronian plays a line which leads to perpetual check. He did not feel like going for an adventurous king march with} 32... b5 33. Qa7+ Kd6 {, even though this still allows Black to play for a win .}) 33. Qxa4 $6 (33. Kg4 $1 {was the right way to play,} a3 $140 34. Qb4 $1 $11) 33... Rxh2+ ({It is hard to tell if Aronian had already resigned himself to a draw. The complications following} 33... h5 34. Qa5+ b6 $1 {are enormous, but Black seems to keep good winning chances, e.g.} 35. Qa7+ Kd6 36. e5+ (36. Rd1+ Ke5 37. Qc7+ Kxe4 38. Re1+ Kd5 $1 39. Rd1+ Rfd2 40. Rxd2+ Rxd2 41. Qxb6 c5 $17) 36... Kc5 37. Qa3+ Kd4 38. Qd6+ Ke4 39. Re1+ Kf5 40. Rf1 $1 Rxf1 41. Qd3+ Kxe5 42. Qxf1 c5 $17) 34. Kg4 h5+ 35. Kf4 Rhf2+ 36. Ke3 Rfe2+ 37. Kf3 Rf2+ 38. Ke3 Rfe2+ 39. Kf3 Rf2+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Croatia GCT"] [Site "Zagreb"] [Date "2019.06.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2875"] [BlackElo "2767"] [Annotator "Pelletier,Yannick"] [PlyCount "155"] [EventDate "2019.06.26"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "CRO"] [EventCategory "22"] [SourceTitle "CBM 191"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2019.08.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.08.31"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 {Magnus Carlsen has had to face the Vienna Variation of the Queen's Gambit several times in 2019. In each game he came up with a different poisonous idea, which he had probably all prepared for his World Championship match against Fabiano Caruana.} 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 ({In Wijk aan Zee, he tried the dangerous pawn sacrifice} 6. Bxc4) 6... c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ ({Some months later against Levon Aronian, he came up with the "hit and run" novelty} 10. Bd2) ({Finally, a few weeks before the present game, Carlsen tried} 10. Nb5 Nxe4 11. Qd4 {against the same opponent, and tortured him for quite a long time.}) 10... Bd7 ({Who would like to test the World Champion in the main line} 10... Nbd7 {?}) 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Bxd7+ Nxd7 13. O-O Qxc3 ({This has been tried a few times by Alexander Morozevich and Radoslaw Wojtaszek in the past, and more recently by Wei Yi and Alexander Bluebaum. The main move} 13... a6 14. Rb1 {is considered holdable for Black, though not without considerable suffering.}) 14. Qa4 O-O 15. Nxe6 (15. Qxd7 $6 Rad8 16. Qxb7 Qxd4 $11 {let Black equalize too easily in Leitao-Morozevich, World Teams Championship Bursa 2010}) 15... Nb6 16. Qd4 Rfc8 (16... Qxd4 17. Nxd4 $14 {Antic-Zontakh, Jagodina 1998}) 17. Qxc3 Rxc3 {My own preparation simply ended on an equal sign here. However correct this assessment may objectively be, Magnus Carlsen understands that Black will have to solve practical problems. Indeed, in endgames with rook(s) and knight, activity and king safety are important factors.} 18. Nf4 (18. Nd4 Rc4 19. Rfd1 Na4 $1 $11 {Gajewski,G (2616)-Wojtaszek,R (2706) Warsaw 2012}) 18... Rc5 19. Rfd1 ({Black held the balance after} 19. g4 Kf8 20. Nh5 Ke7 21. Ng3 Rd8 22. Rfc1 Na4 23. Rd1 Nc3 $11 {Ponomariov,R (2758)-Morozevich,A (2737) Saratov 2011}) 19... f5 20. exf5 Rac8 ({I do not quite get Anand's logic behind delaying the capture on f5, as he actually slightly worsens his position compared with the line} 20... Rxf5 21. g3 (21. Rd4 Rc8) 21... Rc8 22. Rd3 Rc2 23. Ra3 a6 $11) 21. f6 $1 Rf5 22. g3 Rxf6 23. Rd3 {Now the difference is clear: the ?c8 cannot leave the back rank because of ?d8+ and ?h5+. This nuance allows White to grab the initiative.} Rfc6 24. Ra3 Rc1+ 25. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 26. Kg2 Nc8 ({After} 26... a6 27. Rb3 Rc6 28. Kf3 $14 {, both black pieces have difficulties to move.}) 27. Rd3 Rc7 28. Rd8+ Kg7 29. h4 Ne7 30. Nh5+ Kh6 $6 ({It is understandable that Vishy Anand rejected} 30... Kg6 {because of the dangerous line} 31. g4 f5 32. Nf4+ (32. Rd6+ Kf7 33. gxf5 Rc5 34. Rf6+ Kg8 35. Ng3 Ra5 $11) 32... Kf7 33. Rh8 fxg4 (33... Kg7 34. Rb8 Kf7 35. g5 $14) 34. Rxh7+ Kg8 35. Rh5 {. But Black should actually be able to hold after} Rc2 36. Ra5 b6 37. Rxa7 Nf5 $13 {The game continuation is definitely more unpleasant for him.}) 31. Nf6 Kg6 $6 ({Anand starts drifting and the position gets from unpleasant to worse. Obviously, no one will teach him that activity is paramount in endings. There must be something he did not like in the line} 31... Rc2 32. Rd7 Nf5 33. Ne4 Kg7 {, for instance} 34. Kf3 Rxa2 35. Kf4 Ra5 36. h5 {, but he should certainly have preferred this over the game continuation.}) 32. Ne8 Rc6 33. Rd7 Re6 (33... Nc8 34. f4 $16) 34. h5+ $1 ({Remember what I wrote about activity?} 34. Rxb7 Nc8 35. Nc7 Re7 {paralyzes both white pieces. White can still try to disentangle with} 36. g4 {, but after} h5 $1 {, things are anything but clear.}) 34... Kh6 35. Nd6 f5 (35... Kxh5 36. Nxf7 $16) 36. Nxb7 (36. Rxe7 $2 Rxd6 37. Rxb7 Ra6 $11) 36... Ng8 37. Nd6 Nf6 38. Nxf5+ Kg5 39. Nd4 (39. Ng7 Ra6 {is less convincing}) 39... Nxd7 ({It is always difficult to choose between variations which all lead to a worse position. Anand decides to exchange rooks right away in order to reduce his opponent's activity. The alternative} 39... Ra6 40. f4+ $1 Kxh5 41. Rg7 Rxa2+ 42. Kh3 Ra5 43. Nc6 Kh6 44. Rxh7+ Kxh7 45. Nxa5 {would lead to another knight ending where White is a clear pawn up. Assessing over the board whether it is winning is very difficult. I believe that Anand's feeling was right, and that the game continuation offers better practical chances.}) 40. Nxe6+ Kxh5 41. Kf3 Kg6 42. Kf4 $6 (42. Ke4 Kf6 43. Nd8 h5 44. Nc6 a6 45. Kd5 Kf5 46. f3 {was perhaps more unpleasant for Black, as his king is restricted.}) 42... Kf6 43. Ng5 h6 44. Ne4+ Ke6 45. Kg4 Ke5 46. f3 Kd4 $1 {This surprising idea might have been underestimated by Carlsen when he chose his 42nd move.} 47. Kf5 (47. Kf4 a5 $1 48. g4 Ne5 $132) 47... Ke3 $1 48. f4 h5 49. Ng5 (49. Nf6 $2 Nxf6 50. Kxf6 Kf3 51. Kg5 Kxg3 52. f5 h4 53. f6 h3 54. f7 h2 55. f8=Q h1=Q $11) 49... Nc5 (49... Kf2 50. g4 hxg4 51. Kxg4 Ke3 {is a draw as well.}) 50. Kg6 Kf2 51. f5 Kxg3 52. Ne6 $5 (52. Kxh5 Kf4 53. Kg6 Nd7 $11) 52... Nd7 53. Kxh5 Kf3 54. Kg5 Ke4 55. Nc7 a5 56. Nb5 Kd3 57. Kg6 a4 58. Kf7 Ne5+ 59. Kf6 Nf3 60. Ke7 Kc2 61. f6 Ng5 (61... Kb2 62. a3 Ng5 $11 {would have been possible as well}) 62. Nd4+ {My engine now proudly shows an evaluation of around +8 ... Evidently a case for programmers to work on! The position is still a draw.} Kb2 63. Ne6 Nh7 64. f7 Kxa2 65. Ng5 a3 66. Nxh7 Kb1 67. f8=Q a2 {Well done, Vishy! The white knight is so far away that this endgame can be evaluated exactly as a queen ending.} 68. Qf5+ Kb2 69. Qe5+ Kb1 70. Qe4+ Kb2 71. Qe2+ Kb1 72. Nf6 a1=Q 73. Nd5 Qg7+ 74. Kd6 Qf8+ 75. Ke5 Qe8+ 76. Kd4 Qxe2 77. Nc3+ Ka1 78. Nxe2 {A formidable battle, where Magnus Carlsen was close to inflicting yet another endgame defeat to Vishy Anand. But this time, the Indian managed to hold a draw. With hindsight, it is hard to point out a moment where White missed a win. Perhaps the alternative on move 42 would have been more difficult to deal with for Black.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Corus"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2002.01.17"] [Round "5"] [White "Dreev, Alexey"] [Black "Piket, Jeroen"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2683"] [BlackElo "2659"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2002.01.12"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "18"] [SourceTitle "CBM 087"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2002.03.21"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2002.03.21"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 {In der letzten Zeit ist die sogenannte Wiener Variante sehr populär. Schwarz strebt lebendiges Figurenspiel an, aber es ist in der Regel Weiß, der zu Entwicklungsvorteil kommt.} 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. e5 {GM Dreev spielt gerne diese Variante, die Mehrheit den Großmeister spielt hingegen lieber 7.?xc4.} (7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 {Das ist eine kritische (Grund)Stellung der Variante 7.?xc4.}) 7... h6 {Das ist eine Nebenvariante - die Hauptfortsetzung lautet 7...cxd4.} (7... cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qa5 9. exf6 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qxg5 11. fxg7 Qxg7 12. Qd2 O-O 13. Bxc4 Rd8 (13... Bd7 14. O-O Nc6 (14... Rc8 15. Bb3 Rc5 16. f4 Nc6 17. Rad1 Rc8 18. Rf3 {1-0 Dreev,A-Morozevich,A/Moscow 1996/CBM 52 ext (38)}) 15. f4 Nxd4 16. cxd4 Bc6 (16... Rac8 17. Bb3 Rfd8 18. Rf3 Kh8 19. Rg3 Qf6 {½-½ Tkachiev,V-Tukmakov,V/Solin CRO 1999/[Ribli] (29)}) 17. Rad1 Rad8 18. Rf2 Ba4 {½-½ Shchekachev,A-Bauer,C/France 2000/EXT 2001/(18)}) (13... a6 $5 14. O-O b5 15. Bb3 b4) 14. Qe3 Bd7 15. O-O Nc6 16. Nf3 Ne7 17. Ne5 Ng6 18. f4 Nxe5 (18... Rac8) 19. fxe5 Bc6 $11 {½-½ Dreev,A-Xu Jun/Shanghai 2001/CBM 85/[Ribli] (31)}) 8. Bd2 (8. exf6 hxg5 9. fxg7 Rg8 10. dxc5 Qxd1+ 11. Rxd1 Rxg7 $11) 8... Bxc3 (8... Nd5 {Dieser natürliche Springerzug wird selten gespielt, aber vielleicht ist er gar nicht schlechter als die Partiefortsetzung.} 9. Bxc4 Nb6 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Bxd7+ N6xd7 12. Ne4 Bxd2+ (12... Qb6 13. Nd6+ Ke7 14. O-O cxd4 15. Nc4 Qc5 16. Bxb4 Qxb4 17. Rc1 Nc6 18. Nxd4 Nxd4 19. Qxd4 Rhd8 20. a3 Qc5 21. Qh4+ Kf8 22. b4 Qb5 23. Rfd1 $14) 13. Qxd2 O-O 14. Nxc5 $1 $14 (14. dxc5 Qc7 15. Qc3 Qc6 $44)) 9. bxc3 Ne4 10. Bxc4 Bd7 {Schwarz bereitet 11...?c6 vor.} (10... Nc6 11. O-O Nxd2 (11... O-O $6 12. Be1 $1 Ng5 $6 (12... cxd4 $5 13. cxd4 Ng5 $14) 13. Nxg5 hxg5 14. Qe2 $1 {1-0 Dreev,A-Giorgadze,G/Tbilisi 1989/CBM 12/[Bulletin] (41)}) 12. Qxd2 O-O 13. Bd3 cxd4 14. cxd4 b6 15. Qf4 Bb7 16. Qe4 g6 17. Qf4 Nb4 $1 18. Qxh6 Bxf3 19. Bxg6 fxg6 20. Qxg6+ Kh8 21. Qh6+ {½-½ Khalifman,A-Magem Badals,J/Dos Hermanas 1993/CBM 36/[Ftacnik] (21)}) 11. d5 O-O (11... exd5 12. Bxd5 Bc6 13. Bxe4 Bxe4 14. Qa4+ Bc6 15. Qg4 $36) 12. O-O (12. dxe6 Bxe6 13. Bxe6 fxe6 14. O-O Nc6 $15 (14... Rxf3 $2 15. Qxf3 Nxd2 16. Qxb7 $14)) 12... exd5 13. Bxd5 Bc6 14. Bxe4 Bxe4 15. Be3 {Weiß hat leichten Raumvorteil, aber die schwarze Bauernstruktur ist besser.} Qxd1 $6 (15... Nd7 $142 $5 $13) 16. Rfxd1 b6 17. Rd6 $14 {[%csl Gd6] Der weiße Turm steht ausgezeichnet auf d6 - es ist nicht leicht für Schwarz, die Entwicklung abzuschließen.} Rc8 {Schwarz muss 18...?c6 erst vorbereiten, denn auf das sofortige 17...?c6? folgt 18.?d2 mit Figurengewinn.} (17... Bxf3 18. gxf3 $14 {Anschließend kann Weiß f3-f4 und ?g2-f3 spielen - mit spürbarem positionellen Druck.}) 18. Nd2 {Der Springer geht weg, um die Mobilisierung der weißen Bauernmehrheit am Königsflügel einzuleiten.} Bf5 19. h3 h5 (19... Nc6 20. g4 Be6 21. f4 $14 {[%csl Ge5,Gf4,Gg4]}) 20. Bg5 $1 $146 {[%csl Gg5] Das ist die (wahrscheinlich vorbereitete Neuerung von Dreev). Der Läufer steht aktiv auf g5, nun kann Schwarz auf absehbare Zeit nicht ?d8 ziehen.} (20. f4 Nc6 21. Kf2 Na5 22. g4 hxg4 23. hxg4 Bxg4 24. Rg1 Be6 25. Rg5 Nb7 26. Rd3 Rd8 27. Rxd8+ Rxd8 28. f5 {1-0 Shchekachev,A-Piket,J/Amsterdam NED 2001/(53)}) 20... Nc6 (20... Kf8 21. Nf1 $14 {[%CAl Gf1e3,Gf1g3]}) 21. f4 Na5 (21... b5 22. Nf1 $14 {[%CAl Gf1e3,Gf1g3]}) 22. Re1 Re8 (22... Nb7 23. Rd5 (23. Nc4 b5 $17) 23... Be6 24. Rd3 (24. c4 $2 Bxd5 (24... b5 $5) (24... Na5 $5) 25. cxd5 c4 $17) 24... Bxa2 (24... c4 25. Rd4 $14 {[%csl Gd4]}) 25. Rd7 $1 (25. c4 Na5) 25... Na5 26. f5 $44) 23. Kf2 Re6 (23... Nb7 $5 24. Rd5 Be6 25. Rd3 Bxa2 26. Rd7 $44) 24. Rd5 Rae8 {?} 25. g4 $5 {[%mdl 512] Mit diesem Bauernopfer öffnet Weiß die g-Linie.} hxg4 26. hxg4 Bxg4 27. Rg1 Bf5 28. Bf6 $44 Bg6 (28... g6 29. Rh1 (29. Rd6 $2 Rxd6 30. exd6 Re6 31. d7 Nc6 $17) 29... Rxf6 30. exf6 $14) 29. Bh4 Bf5 $6 {Schwarz möchte sich gegen 30.?d7 verteidigen.} (29... Nc6 $142 $13 {[%CAl Gc6e7,Ge7d5,Ge7f5]}) 30. Rg5 Rh6 $6 (30... g6 31. Rg1 $44) (30... Bc2 $5) 31. Rxf5 Rxh4 32. Rd7 {[%csl Gd7][%CAl Rd7a7,Rd7f7][%mdl 2048]} f6 (32... Rf8 33. Ne4 $36 {[%CAl Ge4d6,Ge4g5] Und der Rückgewinn des Bauern (mit besserer Stellung für Weiß) ist abzusehen.}) 33. exf6 gxf6 34. Rxf6 $14 {Die Stellung ist materiell wieder ausgeglichen, aber der ?a5 steht weit ab vom Ort des Geschehens. Weiß hat eindeutig die Initiative am Königsflügel.} Rf8 $6 (34... Rh2+ $142 35. Kf3 Rhe2) 35. Rxf8+ Kxf8 36. Kg3 Rh1 37. Rxa7 $16 {Jetzt hat Weiß schon einen Bauern mehr, aber da das Material reduziert ist, bekommt Schwarz Remischancen.} Rd1 (37... Ra1 38. Ne4 Rxa2 39. f5 Ra3 40. f6 Nc4 41. Rc7 Ra1 42. Ng5 Rg1+ 43. Kh4 (43. Kf4 Rf1+ 44. Kg4 Rxf6 45. Nh7+ $18) 43... Nd6 44. Kh5 Rf1 45. Rd7 $18 (45. Kg6 $2 Rxf6+ 46. Kxf6 Ne8+ $11 {[%CAl Re8c7,Re8f6]}) (45. Ne6+ Kg8 46. Kg6 $18)) 38. Ne4 Nc4 39. f5 Rf1 $2 $138 (39... Rg1+ $142 40. Kf4 Rf1+ 41. Kg5 Re1 42. Nf6 $16) 40. f6 Ne5 $2 (40... Rf5 $16) 41. Ng5 $1 $18 (41. Ng5 Rxf6 (41... Ke8 42. Re7+ $18 {[%CAl Re7e8,Re7e5]}) 42. Nh7+ $18 {[%CAl Rh7f6,Rh7f8]}) 1-0 [Event "Grand Slam Final 3rd"] [Site "Bilbao"] [Date "2010.10.14"] [Round "5"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2800"] [Annotator "Edouard,Romain"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2010.10.09"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "22"] [SourceTitle "CBM 139"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.11.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.11.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qa5 $5 (8... Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 {is more common.}) 9. Bd2 (9. Bb5+ {and}) (9. Bxf6 {are the 2 other options.}) 9... Qc5 (9... O-O {is also possible.}) 10. Bb5+ Bd7 (10... Nbd7 11. Nb3 Qb6 12. O-O Bxc3 13. Bxd7+ Bxd7 14. Bxc3 Nxe4 15. Bxg7 Rg8 16. Bd4 Qb5 {was critical recently: Grischuk-Morozevich 2009, Moiseenko-Romanov 2010.}) 11. Nb3 Qe7 12. Bd3 Nc6 13. O-O O-O 14. a3 Bd6 15. Kh1 $5 $146 {This prophylactic move could make some differences in many lines.} (15. f4 e5 16. f5 Nd4 17. Bg5 Bc6 18. Bc4 Qd8 19. Nd5 Bxd5 20. Bxd5 Be7 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Kh1 Rc8 23. Rc1 Qb6 24. Rc3 Rxc3 25. bxc3 Nxb3 26. Bxb3 Qe3 27. Qf3 Qxf3 28. Rxf3 Rc8 29. a4 Rc5 30. g3 Kf8 31. Rd3 {½-½ Wang-Gelfand, Romania 2010}) (15. Bg5 h6 16. Bh4 Bf4 17. Ne2 e5 $6 18. Nxf4 exf4 19. f3 Be6 20. Bf2 Rfd8 21. Nc5 Ne5 22. Qb1 Bc4 23. Rd1 Rac8 24. Bxc4 Nxc4 25. Rxd8+ Qxd8 26. Qc1 Ne3 27. Bxe3 fxe3 28. Qxe3 $18 {and Kramnik eventually beat Lautier in a blind game in Monte Carlo, 1998.}) 15... Be5 $5 {Strange at first sight, but played very fast by Anand. This looks like the same scenario as their first game. Tere Anand was White, played a novelty, and Kramnik drew with much more time on clock.} 16. f4 Bxc3 17. Bxc3 e5 18. f5 Rfd8 19. Qe2 b6 20. Nd2 ({Launching an attack like} 20. g4 {would be met by} h6 21. Rg1 (21. h4 Nh7 22. Be1 a5 $132) 21... Nd4 $1 22. Nxd4 exd4 23. Bxd4 Bc6 24. Bxf6 Qxf6 $44) 20... Bc8 21. Nf3 Bb7 22. Rae1 a6 23. Bc4 b5 24. Ba2 h6 25. Bd5 $5 {Here I guess Kramnik realized that he has no advantage, and tried this shot in spite of the fact it's only making draw.} Nxd5 26. exd5 Rxd5 27. f6 $1 {?} Qxf6 ({Of course not} 27... gxf6 $2 {which would be terrible because of} 28. Nh4 {and a winning attack (?h5, ?e3).}) 28. Nxe5 Qe6 29. Nxf7 Qxe2 30. Rxe2 Rd7 {The coolest move, making a draw at once. Here let's just write down some funny computer ideas.} (30... Rf8 $6 {would give White a chance:} 31. Ref2 $1 (31. Kg1 $11) 31... Re8 32. Nxh6+ $1 gxh6 33. Rf7 Re7 $8 34. Rf8+ Kh7 35. Rh8+ Kg6 36. Rf6+ Kh5 (36... Kg7 37. Rxc6+ Ree5 $8 38. Rc7+ Kxh8 39. h3 $1 $16) 37. Rhxh6+ Kg5 38. h4+ Kg4 39. Kh2 Ne5 40. Rh8 Rg7 41. Re6 Kf5 42. Rxe5+ Rxe5 43. Rh5+ Kg4 44. Rxe5 Kxh4 45. Re2 $14 {is given by the computer at a decent depth, which should be drawn anyway.}) (30... a5 31. Re6 $1 b4 32. Nxh6+ $1 gxh6 (32... Kh7 $5 33. Bxg7 $1 Ba6 34. Rfe1 Bb7 35. Rf1 $1 $11) 33. Rg6+ Kh7 34. Rg7+ Kh8 35. Bf6 Rf8 36. Rf7+ Kg8 37. Rg7+ Kh8 38. Rg6+ Kh7 39. Rg7+ Kh8 $11) 31. Ne5 Re7 32. Ree1 Nxe5 33. Rxe5 Rxe5 34. Bxe5 Re8 35. Re1 Kh7 36. Bc3 Rxe1+ 37. Bxe1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates Tournament"] [Site "Berlin"] [Date "2018.03.14"] [Round "4"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2794"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "136"] [EventDate "2018.03.10"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "GER"] [EventCategory "22"] [SourceTitle "CBM 184"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2018.05.16"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2018.05.16"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 {It's always interesting to follow Aronian's games from an event like the Candidates. So much is at stake here, his unfulfilled ambition to get a match for the world title, it goes without saying that the Armenian comes well prepared to his games.} 5. Bg5 dxc4 {Now we are in Vienna territory.} (5... h6 {or ?bd7 is more common in the Ragozin.}) 6. e4 c5 7. Bxc4 (7. e5 cxd4 8. Qa4+ (8. exf6 gxf6 9. Bh4 Nc6 $15) 8... Nc6 9. O-O-O Bd7 10. Ne4 Be7 11. exf6 gxf6 $44) 7... cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ (8... Qa5 {White has the additional option here to play} 9. Bd2 $5 Qc5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Nb3 $11 {/+=}) 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Nbd7 11. Bxf6 (11. O-O $6 Nxe4 $15) 11... Qxc3+ 12. Kf1 gxf6 13. h4 {The main move in the position. The idea is to activate the rook via h3.} (13. Rc1 Qb4 14. Rxc8+ (14. h4 {is another line albeit less popular.}) 14... Rxc8 15. Bxd7+ Kxd7 16. Nf5+ Kc7 $19) 13... Qb4 $5 {This has been played before by Aronian against Wesley So in Tata Steel 2017. Even Harikrishna had tried it against Giri in March 2017. So we can be sure that Sergey would not have been unprepared.} 14. Rb1 $6 {Sergey mixes up his moves.} (14. Rh3 {is the main line} a6 15. Be2 Ne5 16. Rb1 Qd6 {we reach a position that it quite interesting and has been seen in many of the top level games.} 17. Rc3 $13) 14... Qd6 15. Rh3 a6 16. Be2 Nc5 $1 {Aronian immediately understands that Karjakin has made an error in the move order and takes full advantage of the same. Let us try to understand why the knight is ideally placed on c5. Firstly the main threat is to play e5 and hit the knight on d4 and the rook on h3 and at the same time exchange the queens. At the same time the knight on c5 attacks the pawn on e4.} (16... Ne5 {would lead to the main line, but now there is no need for this. The knight is much better placed on c5.}) 17. Rc3 (17. Nb3 {is quite a timid move and after} Qxd1+ 18. Rxd1 Nxe4 19. Rhd3 Ke7 $1 $15 {Black should be better, although to convert this into a win is an altogether different matter.}) 17... Nxe4 {As Karjakin said after the game - It is quite depressing to have the white pieces and be worse just ten minutes into the game!} 18. Rd3 {Black is quite underdeveloped, but White has no real tactics. If White cannot stir up anything soon, two extra pawns will soon tell.} O-O 19. Qc1 (19. Nf5 Qh2 $19) (19. Kg1 e5 20. Nf5 Qc5 $17) 19... Qe5 (19... Qh2 20. Rh3 Qe5 $17 {was more accurate.}) 20. Bf3 f5 21. Qh6 $6 {This allows Black to exchange the queens.} (21. Qe3 {This is of course, not so great for White, but it keeps up the pressure and keeps the game going.}) 21... Qf6 $1 22. Qxf6 (22. Qe3 Qxh4 $17 {Giving up another pawn would be a bit too much.}) (22. Qf4 e5 $19) 22... Nxf6 23. Bxb7 Bxb7 24. Rxb7 {White has recovered a pawn, but the position has simplified and this makes Aronian's task of converting the extra pawn quite easy.} Rac8 25. Rg3+ Kh8 26. Rgb3 Ne4 27. Rb2 Rfd8 {Black is fully mobilised.} 28. Nb3 (28. Rxf7 Rxd4 29. Rbb7 Rc1+ 30. Ke2 Rd2+ 31. Ke3 Re1+ 32. Kf4 Rxf2+ 33. Ke5 Rxg2 $19) 28... Rd1+ 29. Ke2 Nc3+ 30. Ke3 Kg7 $1 {Black is not only a pawn up, but also has the more active pieces.} 31. g3 Kf6 (31... a5 $1 32. Nxa5 Rd5 $1 {Threatening the knight and also ?d1+}) 32. Ra7 Rc6 33. Kf3 Nb5 34. Ra8 e5 35. Kg2 e4 36. a4 Na3 37. Rd2 Rxd2 38. Nxd2 e3 $1 39. Nf3 (39. fxe3 Rc2 40. Rxa6+ (40. Rd8 Nc4 $19) 40... Kg7 41. Kf3 Rxd2 42. Kf4 Rf2+ 43. Ke5 $19 {This should be winning for Black.}) 39... Rc2 40. Rxa6+ Kg7 41. Nd4 Rxf2+ 42. Kg1 Nc2 43. Nxc2 Rxc2 44. Kf1 Rf2+ 45. Ke1 Rg2 46. Rb6 Rxg3 47. Rb4 Rg2 48. Rf4 Kg6 49. Rf3 Rg4 50. Rxe3 Rxa4 51. Kf2 Rxh4 {Although the remaining pawns are f- and h-pawns, the fact that Black has doubled f-pawns means that he is clearly winning.} 52. Re8 Rg4 53. Kf3 Kg7 54. Re5 Kf6 55. Re8 h5 56. Rh8 Kg6 57. Kf2 Rg5 58. Kf3 Kg7 59. Ra8 h4 60. Kf2 h3 61. Ra3 Rh5 62. Kg1 Kg6 63. Kh2 f4 64. Ra7 f3 65. Ra1 f2 66. Rf1 Rf5 67. Kxh3 Kg5 68. Kg3 Rf4 0-1 [Event "Dortmund SuperGM 38th"] [Site "Dortmund"] [Date "2010.07.16"] [Round "2"] [White "Le, Quang Liem"] [Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2681"] [BlackElo "2684"] [Annotator "Le,Quang Liem"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2010.07.15"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "GER"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 138"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.09.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.09.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 {As expected, Naiditsch chose the sharp Vienna Variation, which he uses quite often. So, there is nothing surprising at all.} 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Bxd7+ Nxd7 13. O-O a6 {We both followed the main line.} 14. Rb1 Qc7 15. Qf3 $5 {This move is not a novelty itself, since it was played once in 2008. I prepared this line a month before the tournament, and found some interesting ideas. The idea is just to develop my queen to an active square, protect c3 and attack f6 at the same time, thus preventing Black's knight from activating. Obviously this move took my opponent out of his preparation, as he started spending a lot of time...} ({The aggressive} 15. Qh5 Nc5 16. Rb4 {is considered to be the main line, with long theoretical lines. People have tried it many times, but in my opinion Black has enough resources to hold}) 15... O-O-O $146 {A logical decision. Black took the oppotunity to castle long, which may look safe for his king} ({Wittmann,W played} 15... Rc8 {against Kosic,D, but after} 16. Rfd1 b6 17. Ne2 {White got a better position. His pieces are more active than Black's, moreover, Black's king may feel uncomfortable in the centre. Eventually White managed to win.}) ({There are some alternatives, such as} 15... O-O {or 15...?g8. Here we are in totally new territory. This whole line starting with White's 15th move deserves more attention. Only further practical games can prove whether White stands better. From my analysis I think it is at least playable.}) 16. Rb4 {Of course my plan was to double rooks on the b-file, putting pressure on b7} Nc5 $6 {My opponent did not react so well.} ({Better is} 16... Ne5 {,followed by} 17. Qxf6 Ng4 (17... Qxc3 18. Qxe5) (17... Nd3 18. Rbb1 Qxc3 19. Qxf7 Rd7 20. Ne2 {and White is a pawn up}) 18. Qh4 Qxc3 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Rb3 Qg7 21. Qg3 $36 {with a complicated battle. White regains the knight soon, but probably Black can achieve a draw with some good moves.}) 17. Rfb1 e5 $2 {Here came the mistake! After this move I had a winning position, but my hasty play blew it away.} ({At home I thought} 17... Rhg8 {was the best move, and perhaps that is true, though White is still much better after} 18. Rc4) 18. Rc4 $2 {I mixed up my preparation with another move order (see my notes to Black's 17th move). I played it without checking fully over the board, because I believed I was still in my homework.} ({Indeed, a quick look at} 18. Qxf6 {can easily bring us to the conclusion that White is just winning} exd4 19. cxd4 Nd7 (19... Ne6 20. Rxb7 Qxb7 (20... Qf4 21. Qe7) 21. Rxb7 Kxb7 22. Qxf7+ Nc7 23. d5 $18 {White has too many pawns}) 20. Qh6 $1 {threatening ?c1 and preventing ...?b8 simultaneously. Black has no satisfactory defence.}) 18... Rd6 ({Of course not} 18... b5 {, because of} 19. Nxb5 axb5 20. Rxb5 $18) 19. Nb3 b6 {Here I was still much better, however, the task was no longer simple.} 20. Qf5+ $6 ({During the game I underestimated} 20. a4 {, but in fact it would have given White the best chances to play for a win} Rhd8 (20... a5 {is not possible in view of} 21. Nxc5 bxc5 22. Rb5) 21. a5 ({The computer's suggestion} 21. h4 {does not look convincing to me, as after} Rc6 22. a5 Nxb3 23. axb6 Qd7 (23... Qxb6 {loses to} 24. Qxf6) 24. Rxc6+ Qxc6 25. Rxb3 Kb7 {White is a pawn up, but it is not so easy to make use of that. Black has important counterplay after all: the passed a-pawn!}) 21... Qd7 $8 22. Nd4 $1 exd4 23. axb6 (23. e5 Rd5 24. cxd4 b5 25. Rxc5+ Rxc5 26. dxc5 Qd5 $14) 23... dxc3 24. Rxc5+ Kb8 25. Qf4 Ka8 26. g3 Rb8 27. Rc1 Rbxb6 28. R1xc3 $16 {Despite the balance of material, White has a nice advantage here, due to his active pieces and Black's exposed king. Black is not yet lost, though.}) 20... Kd8 {I think that after this move, Black has every reason to hope for a draw.} 21. Nxc5 ({I do not believe that} 21. f4 Re8 22. a4 Ree6 23. Nxc5 bxc5 {can give anything for White. It is hard to see how White can free his c4-rook, which now turns to be misplaced.}) (21. a4 {does not work because of} Qd7) 21... bxc5 22. h4 (22. f4 Re8 23. Qxh7 Rd2 {does not look promising for White either.}) 22... Ke7 23. Rxc5 (23. g3 Rb6 24. Rd1 Rd6 $11) 23... Qxc5 24. Rb7+ Ke8 25. Rb8+ Ke7 26. Rxh8 Rd1+ 27. Kh2 Rd2 28. Rc8 (28. Rxh7 Rxf2 29. Qg6 Qc4 30. Qg8 Re2 31. Rh8 Rxe4 32. Qd8+ Ke6 33. Qb6+ Ke7 34. Rd8 Rxh4+ 35. Kg1 Rh1+ 36. Kxh1 Qh4+ {would also lead to perpetual check anyway.}) 28... Qxf2 29. Rc7+ Kf8 30. Qc8+ Kg7 31. Qg4+ Kf8 32. Rc8+ Ke7 33. Rc7+ Kf8 34. Rc8+ Ke7 35. Rc7+ {So I had to make the repetition, since I had no more advantage. In general, my preparation for this game was quite successful, as I almost got a winning position after the opening. But then I played carelessly, missed a couple of chances and allowed my opponent to hold it.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Hoogovens"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "1998.01.24"] [Round "7"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Polgar, Judit"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2670"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "1998.01.16"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "17"] [SourceTitle "CBM 063"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1998.03.26"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1998.03.26"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 {Die sogenannte Wiener Variante des Damengambits, die dem Schwarzen gute taktische Gegenchancen bietet. Nach meiner persönliche Meinung ist das ganze System ein wenig verdächtig, aber bis jetzt ist keine Widerlegung bekannt.} 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qa5 $5 {Eine interessante Zugfolge. Normalerweise spielt Schwarz 8...?xc3 9.bxc3 ?a5, aber dort ist 10.?b5 gefährlich für Schwarz.} 9. Bd2 {Durch andere Züge - 9.?xf6 oder 9.?b5 ?bd7 10.?xf6 - kann Weiß mit Zugumstellung die Hauptvarianten erreichen.} (9. Bxf6 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qxc3+ 11. Ke2 Qxc4+ 12. Kf3 Qc3+ 13. Kg4 e5+ 14. Nf5 Bxf5+ 15. exf5 gxf6 16. Kh5 Qc7 17. Kh6 Nc6 18. Rc1 Qd7 19. Qh5 O-O-O 20. Rhd1 Qe7 21. Qf3 Rxd1 22. Qxd1 Rg8 23. g4 Rg5 {0-1 Daly,C-Stummer,A/Budapest FS06 IM-B 1994}) (9. Bb5+ Nbd7 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Rc1 a6 12. Ba4 Ke7 13. O-O Rd8 14. Nb3 Qe5 15. Bxd7 Bxd7 16. f4 Qd6 17. Qh5 Qb6+ 18. Kh1 Bc6 19. f5 e5 {0-1 Welin,T-Rantanen,Y/FIN-SVE 1988 (33)}) (9. Ndb5 $6 Nbd7 $5 10. Nd6+ Ke7 $15) 9... Qc5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Nb3 (11. Bxd7+ Nbxd7 $11) 11... Qe7 $11 (11... Qb6 12. Bd3 O-O 13. O-O e5 $6 (13... Nc6 $5) 14. Be3 Qd8 15. Nd5 $16 {Dautov,R-Levin,F/USSR 1987}) 12. Bd3 (12. Qe2 O-O 13. Bxd7 Nbxd7 14. a3 Nc5 15. Nxc5 Bxc5 16. O-O {½-½ Zueger,B-Kishnev,S/Gelsenkirchen 1991}) (12. Bxd7+ Nbxd7 $11) 12... Nc6 13. a3 Bd6 (13... Bxc3 $5 14. Bxc3 e5 {Nach meiner Meinung ist das weiße Läuferpaar nicht von Bedeutung und auch der b3-Springer steht nicht gut.} (14... O-O 15. e5 Nd5 $11) 15. O-O O-O 16. f4 Ng4 {[%CAl Rg4e3,Re3f1,Re3d1]} (16... exf4 17. Rxf4 Ne5 18. Bb4 $16) 17. Qe2 exf4 18. Rxf4 Nge5 $11) 14. O-O $5 $146 (14. Be3 a6 15. O-O O-O 16. f4 e5 17. f5 Nd4 18. Nxd4 exd4 19. Bxd4 Bc5 20. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 21. Kh1 Bc6 22. Qf3 Rfe8 23. Qg3 Rad8 {½-½ Gelfand,B-Tkachiev,V/FIDE-Wch k.o. 1997}) 14... Rd8 (14... O-O 15. f4 e5 16. Nd5 (16. Nb5 exf4 (16... Bc5+) 17. Nxd6 Qxd6 18. Bxf4 Ne5 $11) 16... Nxd5 17. exd5 Nd4 18. Re1 $14 {[%CAl Ge1e7]} (18. fxe5 Bxe5 (18... Qxe5 19. Bf4 Qxd5 (19... Qf6 $2 20. Bxd6 Qxd6 21. Nxd4 $18) 20. Bxd6 Qxd6 21. Bxh7+ Kxh7 22. Qxd4 $11) 19. Bb4 Qh4 20. g3 Bxg3 21. hxg3 Qxg3+ 22. Kh1 Nxb3 23. Qxb3 Qh3+ $11)) 15. f4 $14 Bc8 {[%CAl Gd8d1]} 16. e5 Bc5+ 17. Kh1 (17. Nxc5 $2 Qxc5+ 18. Kh1 Rxd3 (18... Nd5 $2 19. Ne4 $14) 19. exf6 gxf6 20. Ne4 Qd4 $17) 17... Rxd3 18. exf6 gxf6 19. Qe2 $44 {Durch den schwarzen König in der Mitte hat Weiß Spiel für den geopferten Bauern.} Qd8 $8 (19... Rd8 20. Nxc5 Qxc5 21. Ne4 Qe7 (21... Qd4 22. Bc3 $18) 22. Bc3 Nd4 23. Qc4 $14) 20. Rad1 (20. Nxc5 Rxd2 $132) 20... Be7 21. Be3 Rd7 $5 (21... Rxd1 22. Rxd1 Bd7 23. Nc5 Bxc5 24. Bxc5 $44 {[%csl Gc5][%CAl Gc5f8]}) 22. f5 (22. Nc5 Bxc5 23. Bxc5 b6) (22. Ne4) 22... Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Qc7 {Es ist interessant, daß Weiß trotz besserer Entwicklung und der schwarzen Königsstellung in der Mitte nichts konkretes hat.} 24. fxe6 (24. Nb5 Qe5 $13 (24... Qb8)) (24. Nc5 b6) 24... Bxe6 (24... fxe6 $4 25. Qh5+ Kf8 26. Bh6+ $18) 25. Nd4 (25. Nc5 Bxc5 26. Bxc5 Qe5) 25... Nxd4 26. Bxd4 Rg8 {Schwarz hat einen Mehrbauern und das Läuferpaar, aber die weiße Initiative gibt etwa gleiche Chancen.} 27. Qf2 {[%csl Ra7,Rf6]} (27. Nb5 Qc4 $5 (27... Qc6 28. Nxa7 Qc4 (28... Qa4 29. Qb5+ Qxb5 30. Nxb5 $14) 29. Qxc4 Bxc4 $11) (27... Qf4 28. Nxa7 Bg4 29. Qd2 $11) 28. Qxc4 Bxc4 29. Nxa7 Bd5 {[%csl Gd5]} 30. Rd2 Rg5) 27... Rg5 $15 {[%CAl Gg5a5]} 28. Ne4 (28. Bxf6 $2 Rf5 $19) (28. Bxa7 $5 Rh5 (28... Rf5 29. Qh4 $13) 29. h3 Qc6 30. Kg1 Bxa3 31. Qxf6 Be7 $13) 28... Rf5 29. Qe3 Qc4 {[%CAl Rf5f1]} 30. Kg1 Rd5 {Schwarz hat wirklich aktives Figurenspiel, aber wegen seiner strukturellen Schwächen hat Weiß hat gute Ausgleichschancen.} 31. b3 Qc7 32. Rf1 f5 33. Nf6+ $11 Bxf6 34. Bxf6 Qc5 {Die Anwesenheit der ungleichfarbigen Läufer bietet immer gute Remischancen für den Verteidiger. Schwarz hat nur theoretischen Vorteil.} 35. Qxc5 Rxc5 36. Rd1 {[%CAl Rd1d8] Die letzte Drohung in der Partie.} Rd5 37. Rxd5 Bxd5 38. b4 {Die Stellung ist natürlich remis. Ribli.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE-Wch k.o."] [Site "Groningen"] [Date "1997.12.12"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Piket, Jeroen"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2630"] [BlackElo "2745"] [Annotator "Ris,Robert"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "1997.12.09"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "NED"] [SourceTitle "CBM 208"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2022.06.30"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.06.30"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,55,27,29,27,29,22,6,6,4,51,51,10,18,31,31,38,33,57,57,87,34,28,28,25,25,41,33,48,40,69,41,37,25,37,29,72,72,296,333,296,246,389,389,389,381,374,447,491,500,328,490,2012,2589,29979,29980,29981,907]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 (6. Bxc4 {is another popular way of meeting the Vienna, which has been popularized by Topalov amongst others in later years. ist ein weiterer beliebter Weg, der Wiener Variante zu begegnen, der in späteren Jahren unter anderem von Topalov popularisiert wurde.}) 6... c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 ({In recent years In den letzten Jahren ist} 10... Nbd7 {has become the new main line. Aronian has been doing very well with Black and recently even managed to win with Black: ist die neue Hauptvariante geworden. Aronian hat sich mit Schwarz sehr gut geschlagen und kürzlich sogar einen Sieg mit Schwarz errungen:} 11. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12. Ke2 (12. Kf1 {is the main move, but various games have ended in a draw by force, e.g. ist der Hauptzug, aber verschiedene Partien endeten mit einem forcierten Remis, z. B.} gxf6 13. h4 a6 14. Rh3 Qb4 15. Be2 Ne5 16. h5 (16. Rb1 $5 {was seen in three games between Radjabov and Aronian. wurde in drei Partien zwischen Radjabov und Aronian gesehen.}) 16... Qd6 17. Qd2 Nc6 18. Rd3 Qh2 19. f4 Rg8 20. Bf3 Bd7 21. Ne2 Qh1+ 22. Ng1 Nd4 23. Rxd4 Bb5+ 24. Kf2 Qh4+ 25. Ke3 e5 26. fxe5 Qg5+ 27. Kf2 Qg3+ 28. Ke3 Qg5+ 29. Kf2 Qg3+ 30. Ke3 Qg5+ {½-½ Anand-Kramnik, Khanty-Mansiysk 2014. ½-½ Anand-Kramnik, Khanty-Mansiysk 2014.}) 12... Qb2+ 13. Qd2 Qxd2+ 14. Kxd2 gxf6 15. Rac1 O-O 16. Rc7 Rd8 17. Ke3 Nb6 18. Nb3 f5 19. Bd3 Rb8 20. f4 e5 21. fxe5 f4+ 22. Kd2 Be6 23. Kc3 Rbc8 24. Rxc8 Rxc8+ 25. Kd4 Na4 {0-1 Vachier Lagrave-Aronian, Bucharest 2022.}) 11. Bxf6 gxf6 (11... Qxc3+ $4 {is a well-known blunder, because of ist ein bekannter Fehler wegen} 12. Kf1 gxf6 13. Rc1 {and in view of the threat of Rc8+, Black had to give up her queen in Malakhov-Kosteniuk, Moscow 2005. und angesichts der Drohung Tc8+ musste Schwarz die Dame geben in Malakhov-Kosteniuk, Moskau 2005.}) 12. Qb3 a6 13. Be2 (13. Bxd7+ Nxd7 14. Nxe6 Rc8 $1 {is unproblematic for Black. ist für Schwarz unproblematisch.}) 13... Nc6 14. O-O Qc7 15. Qa3 Rc8 16. Rad1 {Various other rook moves have been tried here as well. Piket keeps the other rook on f1 to possibly launch the f-pawn or place it on e1. Verschiedene andere Turmzüge wurden hier ebenfalls ausprobiert. Piket hält den anderen Turm auf f1, um möglicherweise den f-Bauern vorzurücken oder ihn auf e1 zu stellen.} Na5 17. Qc1 $146 {Ftacnik: White loses no time and strives to attack black's main weakness, the pawn f6, since practice has shown that the control of the a3-f8 diagonal brings no fruits. Ftacnik: Weiß verliert keine Zeit und strebt danach, die schwarze Hauptschwäche, den Bauern f6 anzugreifen, da die Praxis gezeigt hat, dass die Kontrolle der Diagonale a3-f8 keine Früchte bringt.} ({A novelty at that time. As a kid, I remember when I was very impressed with the idea of transferring the queen via c1 to h6. An earlier game saw Eine Neuerung zu dieser Zeit. Ich erinnere mich, dass ich als Kind von der Idee, die Dame über c1 nach h6 zu bringen, sehr beeindruckt war. In einer früheren Partie geschah} 17. Rd3 {and now in Lobron-Brunner, Garmisch Partenkirchen 1994, Black may have considered und jetzt hätte Schwarz in Lobron-Brunner, Garmisch Partenkirchen 1994} Nc4 18. Qc1 Ne5 $13 {in Betracht gezogen haben.}) 17... Ke7 $2 ({The black king is used to stay in the centre in this opening, but here Topalov clearly underestimated White's attacking plan. Der schwarze König ist es gewohnt, in dieser Eröffnung im Zentrum zu bleiben, aber hier unterschätzte Topalov eindeutig den Angriffsplan von Weiß.} 17... Qxc3 $2 {is strongly met by wird stark begegnet mit} 18. Qh6 Ke7 19. e5 $1 fxe5 20. Nf5+ $1 exf5 21. Qd6+ Ke8 22. Qxd7+ Kf8 23. Bh5 Qc7 24. Qxf5 {with a decisive attack. mit einem entscheidenden Angriff.}) (17... e5 $2 {chronically weakens the light-squares and White is advised to make use of it by going for schwächt chronisch die weißen Felder und Weiß ist gut beraten, dies auszunutzen mit} 18. Nc2 {[%CAl Yc2b4,Yc2e3]}) ({The critical move, before placing the king on e7, is Der kritische Zug, bevor der König nach e7 gestellt wird, ist} 17... h5 $5 {when at least the white queen can no longer reach h6. wonach zumindest die weiße Dame nicht mehr h6 erreichen kann.}) 18. Qh6 $1 {Black's position is already very suspicious. White is about to play f2-f4 and planning to open up the kingside. However, Black's next move is a serious blunder as it allows White to strike instantly. Die Stellung von Schwarz ist bereits sehr verdächtig. Weiß ist dabei, f2-f4 zu spielen und plant, den Königsflügel zu öffnen. Der nächste Zug von Schwarz ist jedoch ein schwerer Fehler, da er Weiß ermöglicht, sofort zuzuschlagen.} Bc6 $4 {} 19. Nxe6 $1 {Ftacnik: Chessplayers dreams are made of similar stuff, shield around black king is shattered in one blow. The game is thus already decided, even though black fights on. Ftacnik: Schachspielerträume sind aus ähnlichem Stoff, der Schild um den schwarzen König wird mit einem Schlag zerbrochen. Die Partie ist damit bereits entschieden, auch wenn Schwarz weiter kämpft.} Qe5 (19... fxe6 {leads to mate after führt zum Matt nach} 20. Qg7+ Ke8 21. Bh5+) (19... Kxe6 20. Bg4+ ({Starting with Zuerst} 20. e5 {is also possible. ist ebenfalls möglich.}) 20... Ke7 (20... Ke5 21. f4+ Kxe4 22. Rfe1#) 21. e5 $1 Qxe5 (21... fxe5 22. Qg5+ Ke8 23. Bxc8 Qxc8 24. Qxe5+ {and White wins. und Weiß gewinnt.}) 22. Rfe1 Be4 {and here White has multiple ways to win, the simplest being und hier hat Weiß mehrere Möglichkeiten zu gewinnen, die einfachste ist} 23. f4 Qc5+ 24. Rd4 f5 25. Bxf5 Qxf5 26. Rexe4+ $18) 20. Nd4 Rcg8 (20... Bxe4 21. Bf3 f5 22. Rfe1 {is hopeless for Black too. ist auch für Schwarz hoffnungslos.}) 21. f4 ({Of course, White shouldn't be tempted to go for Natürlich sollte Weiß nicht der Versuchung} 21. Nf5+ $4 {in view of erliegen wegen} Qxf5 22. exf5 Rxg2+ 23. Kh1 Rg6+ $19) 21... Qc5 ({Once again, opening the e-file with Erneut ist das Öffnen der e-Linie mit} 21... Qxe4 22. Bf3 {is lost for Black as well. ist auch für Schwarz verloren.}) 22. Kh1 Rg6 23. Qh3 Bxe4 ({In case of Im Falle von} 23... Bd7 {Piket probably had in mind to simplify with hatte Piket wohl im Sinn, die Sache zu vereinfachen mit} 24. Qxd7+ $1 Kxd7 25. Nb3+ Kc6 26. Nxc5 Kxc5 27. Rd5+ Kb6 28. Rb1+ {and White will be a piece up. und Weiß wird eine Figur mehr haben.}) 24. Bf3 Bxf3 (24... f5 25. Rfe1 Kf8 26. Bxe4 fxe4 27. f5 Rd6 28. Rxe4 {followed by Rde1, gives White a crushing attack. gefolgt von Tde1, verschafft Weiß einen vernichtenden Angriff.}) 25. Rxf3 {Ftacnik: Blacks king would have to be on the queenside to be in the safe haven, instead he sits under fire in the center. Ftacnik: Der schwarze König müsste am Damenflügel stehen, um im sicheren Hafen zu sein, stattdessen steht er im Zentrum unter Feuer.} Qc7 (25... Nc4 26. Re3+ $1 Nxe3 27. Qxe3+ Kf8 28. Ne6+ fxe6 29. Qxc5+ {is a cute tactical idea. ist eine nette taktische Idee.}) (25... Rc8 26. Re3+ Kf8 27. Qxh7 $18) (25... Re8 26. f5 Rg7 (26... Rg5 27. Re3+ Kf8 28. Qh6+ $18) 27. Qh6 $18) 26. Nf5+ Kf8 27. Rfd3 Nc6 28. Rd7 {and here Black had seen enough. On the next move the queen will either go to d3 or e3 when the threats against the black king will become unbearable. und hier hatte Schwarz genug gesehen. Im nächsten Zug wird die Dame entweder nach d3 oder e3 gehen, wonach die Drohungen gegen den schwarzen König unerträglich werden.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE-Wch k.o."] [Site "Groningen"] [Date "1997.12.16"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Vaganian, Rafael A"] [Black "Akopian, Vladimir Eduardovic"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2640"] [BlackElo "2660"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "1997.12.09"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "NED"] [SourceTitle "CBM 063"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1998.03.26"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1998.03.26"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 dxc4 {Es ist interessant, daß Akopian die Wiener Variante wählt, obwohl seine Hauptwaffe sonst die Slawische Verteidigung ist. Andererseits hat er die Wiener Variante häufig schon mit Weiß gespielt. Ribli.} 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bxf6 (10. Bb5+ $5) 10... Qxc3+ 11. Kf1 gxf6 12. Bb5+ Ke7 13. Rc1 {Dieser alte Zug bietet nach meiner Meinung dem Weißen keinen Vorteil.} (13. h4 {[%CAl Gh1h3,Gh3b3] verbunden mit der Idee ?h3 und der Turm kommt auf der 3. Reihe ins Spiel ist hier die beste weiße Möglichkeit.}) 13... Qa5 14. Qc2 $5 {[%CAl Rc2c5,Rc5e7]} (14. e5 $5 {das ist die Grundstellung der bekannten Remisvariante.} fxe5 15. Qh5 Nd7 16. Qg5+ Kf8 (16... Kd6 $2 17. Be2 {[%csl Rd6]} a6 18. h4 h6 19. Qg7 Rf8 20. Nb3 Qd8 21. Qxh6 a5 22. Rh3 $40 {[%CAl Rh3d3,Rd3d6]}) 17. Rxc8+ (17. Qh6+ $6 Ke8 18. Qg7 Rf8 19. Qxe5 Qd2 20. Nb3 Qb4 21. Qh5 a6 22. Bd3 b5 23. Re1 Nf6 24. Qe5 Nd5 25. Nd4 Bb7 26. h4 Rd8 {0-1 Kaidanov,G-Ivanchuk,V/Lvov 1987 (34)}) 17... Rxc8 18. Bxd7 Qd8 $1 19. Nxe6+ fxe6 20. Qh6+ Kf7 21. Qxe6+ Kf8 22. Qf5+ Ke7 $10 {= Oll,L-Dokhoian,Y/Vilnius 1988}) 14... Qb6 (14... Na6 $5 15. Bxa6 (15. Qc4 Bd7 (15... Rd8 $2 16. Bxa6 Qxa6 17. Qxa6 bxa6 18. Nc6+ $16) 16. Bxd7 Kxd7 {[%csl Rd7] Der schwarze König steht in der Mitte, aber es ist nicht leicht für Weiß, konkrete Drohungen zu schaffen.}) (15. Qd3 Rd8 16. Bxa6 e5 $1 (16... Qxa6 17. Qxa6 bxa6 18. Nc6+ $16) 17. Qb5 Qxb5+ 18. Nxb5 bxa6 19. Nc7 Rb8 20. Nd5+ $15) (15. h4 Rd8 {[%csl Rb5,Rd4]} 16. Bxa6 Qxa6+ $15) (15. a4 $5) 15... Qxa6+ 16. Kg1 Qa5 (16... Rd8)) (14... Rd8 $2 15. Qc5+ Rd6 16. Qxc8 Rxd4 17. Qxb7+ $18 (17. Rc7+ Nd7 18. Rxd7+ $18) (17. Qe8+ Kd6 18. Qf8+ Ke5 19. Rc5+ $18)) 15. Qc3 Bd7 $146 (15... Rd8 16. Qa3+ Qd6 17. Rc7+ Bd7 $1 18. Qxd6+ Kxd6 19. Rxb7 Bxb5+ 20. Rxb5 Kc7 21. Rc5+ Kb6 22. Rc4 e5 23. Nc2 Rd1+ 24. Ne1 Nc6 $17 {Ftacnik,L 0-1 Arkell,K-Wells,P/London WFW 1991 (46)}) 16. Qb4+ (16. Bxd7 Nxd7 17. Qa3+ Qd6 18. Qxd6+ Kxd6 $15) 16... Qd6 (16... Kd8 17. Qc4 $44 {[%csl Rd8]} (17. Rd1 a6 18. Qa4 $13)) (16... Ke8 $2 17. Rc8+ $18) 17. Qxd6+ Kxd6 $15 {Schwarz kann mit dem Eröffnungsergebnis zufrieden sein. Nach dem Damentausch ist der weiße Angriff natürlich weniger gefährlich.} 18. Ke2 {[%CAl Gh1d1,Gd1d6]} Nc6 (18... a6 19. Bxd7 (19. Rhd1 axb5 20. Nc6+ (20. Nf5+ Ke5 21. Rc5+ Kf4 $19 {Der schwarze König steht sehr schlecht, aber es gibt nichts Konkretes.} (21... Kxe4 $4 22. Rd4#)) (20. Nxb5+ Ke7 $19) 20... Kc7 21. Nxb8+ Bc6 $17) 19... Nxd7 20. Rhd1 Ke7 21. Rc7 $14) 19. Rhd1 Kc7 (19... Ke7 $6 20. Bxc6 bxc6 21. Nxc6+ Bxc6 22. Rxc6 Rhc8 23. Rdc1 $14) 20. Rd3 {[%CAl Rd3c3,Rc3c7]} Rhg8 (20... Rac8 $5) 21. Rdc3 $1 (21. g3 Rac8 $15 (21... Rg5 22. Rdc3 $14 {[%CAl Rc1c7]}) (21... e5 22. Nxc6 bxc6 23. Rdc3 (23. Rxd7+ Kxd7 24. Bxc6+ Kd6 25. Bxa8 Rxa8 $11) 23... Rab8 24. Bxc6 Rb2+ 25. Ke3 $14)) 21... Rxg2 22. Nxc6 Bxc6 23. Bxc6 bxc6 24. Rxc6+ Kd7 25. Rc7+ Ke8 26. Rb7 $11 {[%csl Re8][%CAl Rc1c7] Weiß droht 27.?cc7 mit Turmverdoppelung auf der 7. Reihe, was eine starke Kompensation für den Bauern bedeutet.} a5 27. Rcc7 Rg7 $8 {Schwarz steht sehr passiv, aber Weiß kann keine Fortschritte machen.} 28. a4 (28. Ra7 $2 Rxa7 29. Rxa7 Rg5 $15) 28... h5 29. h4 Kf8 {Der schwarze König hat in dieser Partie stets Probleme. Jetzt strebt er zum Königsflügel, nachdem es zu gefährliche wäre, auf e8 zu bleiben.} 30. Ke3 Kg8 31. f3 (31. Ra7 Rxa7 32. Rxa7 Rg4 33. Rxa5 Rxh4) 31... e5 32. Rc6 (32. Ra7 Rxa7 33. Rxa7 Rg2 34. Rxa5 Ra2 $11) 32... Rg6 33. Rbc7 (33. Rcc7 Rg7 $11) 33... Kg7 34. Rc8 Rxc8 35. Rxc8 Rg2 36. Rc5 {und es wurde in gleicher Stellung remis vereinbart. Ribli.} (36. Rc5 Rh2 37. Rxa5 Rxh4 38. Rb5 Rh1 39. a5 Ra1 (39... Kg6) 40. f4 $11) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Dortmund SuperGM 38th"] [Site "Dortmund"] [Date "2010.07.25"] [Round "10"] [White "Leko, Peter"] [Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2734"] [BlackElo "2684"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2010.07.15"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "GER"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 138"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.09.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.09.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Bxd7+ Nxd7 13. O-O a6 14. Rb1 Qc7 15. Qh5 Nc5 16. Rb4 Qe5 {For this line - see CBM 131, annotations to Kramnik - Naiditsch.} 17. Qh4 (17. Qh6 {is the main alternative.}) 17... Rd8 (17... Qg5 18. Qh3 h5 $1 (18... Rg8 $6 19. g3 (19. Rc4 b5 20. Rxc5 Qxc5 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Qxe6+ Kf8 23. Qxf6+ Ke8 24. Qe6+ {1/2 Khismatullin,D (2584)-Nielsen,P (2629)/Plovdiv 2008/CBM 124}) 19... h5 20. Rc4 Rc8 21. Nxe6 (21. Nb3 b6 22. Nxc5 Rxc5 23. f4 Qg4 24. Qxg4 hxg4 25. Rxc5 bxc5 26. Rb1 Kf8 27. f5 Kg7 28. fxe6 fxe6 29. Rb6 e5 30. Rxa6 Rd8 $11 {1/2 Werle,J (2582)-Macieja,B (2600)/Germany 2008/CBM 126 Extra (36)}) 21... fxe6 22. Rxc5 Rxc5 23. Qxe6+ Kf8 24. Rd1 Kg7 25. h4 Qg6 26. Qe7+ Kh6 27. Qxc5 Qxe4 28. Rd6 $18 {1-0 Meier,G (2664)-Acs,P (2550)/Paks 2009/CBM 133 (39)}) (18... Qe5 19. Re1 Rd8 20. Qe3 Rg8 21. Nf3 $1 Qc7 22. Rd4 Nd7 23. Red1 Ke7 24. g3 $14 {1/2 Gelfand,B (2736)-Jakovenko,D (2710)/Moscow 2007/CBM 122 (42)}) 19. Rc4 (19. f4 Qg4 20. Qe3 Rg8 21. Rb2 Rc8 22. Rd2 h4 23. Nf3 h3 24. g3 Kf8 25. Rd4 Kg7 26. Rfd1 {1/2 Sasikiran,K (2684)-Macieja,B (2606)/Warsaw 2008/CBM 126}) 19... Rc8 20. Nb3 b6 21. Nxc5 Rxc5 22. Qd3 O-O 23. f4 Qg6 24. f5 Qg5 25. Rxc5 bxc5 26. Qxa6 (26. Kh1 $5) 26... Qe3+ 27. Kh1 Qxe4 $11 {1/2 Meier,G (2558)-Macieja,B (2600)/Kallithea 2008/CBM 127 (37)}) 18. f4 $5 $146 ({After} 18. Nf3 Qxc3 19. e5 {Black apparently holds his ground:} Rg8 $1 (19... f5 $143 20. Rc4 Qa5 21. Ng5 $1 Ne4 22. Rxe4 fxe4 23. Qf4 Rf8 24. Nxh7 Rh8 25. Ng5 Rf8 26. Nxe4 $16 {1-0 Tkachiev,V (2661)-Balogh,C (2562)/Khanty Mansiysk 2007/CBM 122 (30)}) 20. Qxh7 Kf8 (20... Ke7 21. Rf4 f5 22. Qh4+ Ke8 23. g3 Ne4 24. Rxe4 fxe4 25. Qxe4 Rd5 26. Qf4 Qc2 27. Ng5 Qf5 28. Qxf5 exf5 29. Nh7 Rg6 30. Nf6+ Rxf6 31. exf6 Rd6 32. Re1+ Kf8 33. Re5 Rxf6 {1/2 Gelfand,B (2733)-Aronian,L (2754)/Nalchik 2009/CBM 130}) 21. Rf4 f5 22. Qh6+ Ke8 23. Qh7 Kf8 24. Ng5 Rxg5 25. Qh4 Ne4 26. Rxe4 fxe4 27. Qxg5 Rd5 $1 $11 {1/2 Radjabov,T (2740)-Leko,P (2735)/Astrakhan RUS 2010/The Week in Chess 810 (31)}) 18... Qxe4 19. Re1 Qd5 $6 {Probably the least fortunate retreat. The queen is surprisingly passive in the centre!} (19... Qd3 {and}) (19... Qg6 {need detailed analysis.}) 20. Qxf6 Rg8 21. g3 Rg6 (21... Ne4 22. Qh4 Nxc3 23. Qxh7 Kf8 24. f5 $1 $40) 22. Qh8+ Ke7 23. Qe5 Qxe5 (23... Rd7 24. f5 Rf6 25. Qe3 $36) 24. Rxe5 Rc8 $6 (24... Rd5 25. Rxd5 exd5 {leads to a positional plus for White but the text move loses a pawn.}) 25. Nb3 $1 Nd3 {It is hard to say whether it was better to go for a rook ending:} (25... Nxb3 26. Rxb7+ Kf6 27. Rxb3 {In both cases White has winning chances, and Black has drawing chances.}) 26. Rxb7+ Kf8 27. Rh5 $1 Rg7 28. f5 $1 Nf4 (28... Rxc3 $4 29. f6) 29. Rh4 Ne2+ 30. Kf2 Nxc3 31. fxe6 fxe6 32. Rxh7 Rxb7 33. Rxb7 {[%mdl 4096]} e5 (33... Nxa2 $6 34. h4 e5 35. h5 {, and the white pawns are stronger.}) 34. Rb6 Nxa2 35. Rxa6 Rc2+ 36. Kg1 Nc3 37. Rf6+ $1 Kg7 38. Rf2 Ne2+ 39. Kg2 Kg6 40. Na5 (40. Nc1 Nf4+ $1 41. gxf4 Rxc1 42. fxe5 Re1 $11) 40... Kh5 41. Nb7 (41. Nc6 Nf4+ $1 42. gxf4 Rxc6 43. fxe5 Re6 44. Re2 Kg4 $11) 41... e4 42. Kf1 Nd4 43. Rxc2 Nxc2 44. h3 Nd4 45. Kf2 Ne6 46. Nd6 Ng5 47. Kg2 e3 48. g4+ Kg6 49. Nc4 e2 50. Ne5+ Kh6 (50... Kf6 $5 51. Nd3 Ne4 {, and White can hardly win, e.g.} 52. h4 Nc5 53. Ne1 Nd7 54. Kf2 Ne5 55. Kg3 Kg7 56. Kf4 Ng6+ 57. Kg5 Nf8 {- he can't make progress without his knight.}) 51. Nd3 Nf7 (51... Ne4 $1 52. h4 Nc5 53. Ne1 Nd7 54. Kf2 Ne5 55. Kg3 Kg7 $1 {- see previous line.}) 52. Kf2 Kg5 53. Kg3 Ne5 54. Ne1 Kg6 55. Kf4 {Surprisingly, the king is worse placed on g6 than on g7!} Kf6 56. Ke4 Ng6 $2 {Black finally goes astray.} (56... Nf7 $1 57. Ke3 Ng5 $1 58. h4 Nf7 59. Kf4 (59. Kxe2 Ne5 60. g5+ Kf5 $11 {[%CAl Yf5g4]}) 59... Kg7 {- even here I don't see a win for White!}) 57. Ke3 Kg5 58. Nf3+ Kf6 59. Kf2 Nf4 60. h4 {[%CAl Rf2e3] Black loses his e2-pawn without blocking White's passed pawns. Then White wins easily.} 1-0 [Event "Lubbock SPICE Cup-A 5th"] [Site "Lubbock"] [Date "2011.10.21"] [Round "6"] [White "Le, Quang Liem"] [Black "Shulman, Yuri"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2717"] [BlackElo "2608"] [Annotator "Le,Quang Liem"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2011.10.15"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "USA"] [EventCategory "17"] [SourceTitle "CBM 145"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2011.11.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2011.11.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 {The Vienna variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined. It is already a small surprise, as my opponent very seldom chooses this opening.} 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 {The sharpest main line. Both of us were ready for a big fight!} c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qa5 (8... Bxc3+ {is played more frequently. Shulman once went for this line against Novikov in 2006 and made a draw eventually.}) 9. Bd2 Qc5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Nb3 Qe7 12. Bd3 Nc6 13. O-O O-O 14. a3 Bd6 15. Kh1 {So far the game is following a fresh idea of V. Kramnik, who introduced this subtle king move in his game against V. Anand. Until now I could only find 3 games with this position, all played at top level.} (15. f4 {is premature in view of} e5 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. exd5 Nd4 $11 {Black gets a fully playable position.}) 15... Ne5 (15... Be5 16. f4 Bxc3 17. Bxc3 e5 18. f5 Rfd8 19. Qe2 b6 20. Nd2 Bc8 21. Nf3 Bb7 22. Rae1 a6 23. Bc4 b5 24. Ba2 h6 $11 {Kramnik - Anand, Grand Slam Final Masters, 2010. The game soon ended in a draw. Of course there is room for improvements.}) 16. Be2 $146 ({The computer recommends} 16. Bg5 {This is also the choice of GM Grischuk earlier in this year. However, in my opinion it is more natural to keep the bishops on the board.} h6 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. f4 Ng6 19. Qd2 Rfd8 20. Qe3 Bc6 21. Bb5 Bxb5 22. Nxb5 Bb8 23. Rf3 a6 24. Nc3 Ba7 {Grischuk - Gelfand, Amber Rapid, 2011. The game finished in a draw at move 57.}) 16... Ng6 17. f4 e5 18. f5 Nf4 19. Bf3 {The criticial position for evaluation. The f4-knight will soon be pushed back to the verge of the board. The question is whether Black has enough activity for it.} Bc6 $6 (19... h6 $5 20. Be3 Bc6 (20... Rfd8 21. g3 Nh3 22. Bg2 Ng5 23. h4 Ngh7 24. g4 $36) 21. Na5 (21. Qc2 Rfc8 22. Rac1 a5 $13) 21... Bc5 22. Nxc6 bxc6 23. Bxc5 Qxc5 24. Rc1 Qa5 25. Qc2 Rad8 26. g3 Nh3 27. Bg2 Ng5 28. h4 Ngh7 29. Bf3 Rd4 30. Rfd1 {White has a pleasant position.}) (19... Nd3 {is not playable because of} 20. Bg5 Nxb2 21. Qc1 Nd3 22. Qd2 $18) (19... Rac8 {doesn't help much. After} 20. Be3 {Black has to deal simultaneously with the threats g3 and ?xa7.}) 20. Qc2 ({I missed this strong move} 20. Na5 $1 Rfd8 21. Nxc6 bxc6 22. Qc2 $14 {White is clearly better thanks to his superior pawn structure and bishop pair. This is the reason why I suggest 19...h6 as an improvement for Black (see my notes above). Compared to that line, here White doesn't have to exchange dark-squared bishops, which is obviously in his favour.} Bc5 {The attempt to bring Black's knight to d3 does not quite work} 23. Na4 Nd3 24. Bg5 Bb6 25. Rad1) 20... Rfc8 {To avoid being passive, Black gives up his queen for a rook and two minor pieces. The next few moves are forced.} (20... h6 21. Na5 Rac8 22. Nxc6 Rxc6 23. Bxf4 exf4 24. e5 Bxe5 25. Bxc6 bxc6 26. Rae1 $14) 21. g3 Ne2 22. Nxe2 Bxe4 23. Bxe4 Rxc2 24. Bxc2 Qc7 25. Nc3 Qc6+ 26. Kg1 {This position is quite difficult to judge. Practically White's pieces should outweigh Black's queen, but at the moment White's king is vulnerable and his pieces are not so well-coordinated. Black's activity may just be temporary, so he must act correctly. If Black manages to create counterplay (e.g push a5, b7-b5-b4) he may even be better.} Bc5+ $6 {Making White's task easier. Of course White is happy to exchange a couple of minor pieces.} (26... Bc7 $5 27. h3 e4 28. Kh2 h5 (28... Nh5 29. Be1) 29. Bg5 Be5 {Black is at least not worse.}) (26... a5 27. a4 (27. Be3 a4 28. Nd2 Ng4 29. Be4 Qa6 30. Bf2 Nxf2 31. Kxf2 Qb6+ 32. Ke2 Qxb2 $15) 27... Bc7 28. h3 (28. Be3 Ng4) 28... e4) 27. Nxc5 Qxc5+ 28. Kg2 Qb6 29. Rab1 Rd8 30. Bc1 (30. Rf2 $4 Qxf2+ 31. Kxf2 Rxd2+ 32. Kf3 Rxc2 $17) 30... h6 (30... Qc6+ 31. Kh3 b5 (31... Qc4 32. Be3) 32. Bd1 $1 (32. Bg5 h6 $1 33. Bxf6 Rd2 34. Be4 Qxf6 35. Rfd1 Rf2 36. Rf1 Rd2 $11) (32. Be3 a5 33. Rbc1 b4 34. axb4 axb4 35. Nd1 h5) 32... a5 33. Bg5 b4 34. axb4 axb4 35. Bf3 Qc8 36. Bxf6 gxf6 37. Nd5 $14) (30... Ng4 31. h3 Ne3+ 32. Bxe3 Qxe3 33. Rbd1 $16) (30... Nd5 31. Nxd5 Rxd5 32. Be4 Rd7 33. Re1 $16) 31. Re1 {Step by step White is improving his pieces, while Black has no clear plan.} Qc6+ 32. Kg1 Ng4 $6 {Missing White's 34th move.} 33. Re2 Qf3 34. Bg5 (34. Be4 {would fall into a nice tactical trap} Rd1+ 35. Nxd1 Qxe2 $19) 34... Rd4 (34... Nxh2 $2 35. Bh4 $18) 35. Rf1 Qc6 36. Bc1 Qc5 37. Kg2 b5 38. Be4 a5 39. Bf3 {White successfully regroups his pieces to the optimal state of harmony (just in time to answer b4 with ?e4). Now he is just winning.} Qc4 40. Ne4 (40. Rfe1 Nf6 41. Rxe5 b4 42. axb4 axb4 43. Ne4 $18 {may win faster.}) 40... Nxh2 41. b3 Qd3 (41... Qxe2+ 42. Bxe2 Nxf1 43. Kxf1 Rxe4 44. Bxb5 $16 {should be a technical win for White.}) 42. Nc5 Qc3 43. Kxh2 Qxc5 44. Be3 a4 45. Rc1 Qd6 46. Bxd4 Qxd4 {Black's queen is in no match for White's three pieces once they are not misplaced. The rest is simple.} 47. bxa4 bxa4 48. Kg2 Qd7 49. Rb1 Kh7 50. Rxe5 Qd3 51. Rb8 Qxa3 52. Ree8 g5 53. Rg8 Qd3 54. f6 Qc2+ 55. Kh3 Qf5+ 56. Kh2 1-0 [Event "World Cup"] [Site "Barcelona"] [Date "1989.03.??"] [Round "12"] [White "Ribli, Zoltan"] [Black "Beliavsky, Alexander G"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2625"] [BlackElo "2640"] [Annotator "Bulletin"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "1989.03.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "17"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "15"] [SourceTitle "CBM 012"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1989.10.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1989.10.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 (7. e5 cxd4 (7... h6 $5 8. Bd2 $5 {? Dreev,A-Georgadze,G/URS-YM Tbilisi/1989/1-0/41/ ? CBM 12 (kommentiert) ? Polugaevsky,L-Petursson,M/New York op/1989/½-½/23/ ? CBM 12} (8. exf6 $6 hxg5 9. fxg7 Rg8 10. dxc5 (10. Bxc4 g4 11. d5 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 gxf3 13. Qxf3 e5 {Cebalo,M-Ruban,V/Belgrade GMA-op/1988/0-1/30/ ?CBM10/S.68}) 10... Qxd1+ 11. Rxd1 Rxg7 $10 {? CBM11/S.68})) 8. Qa4+ (8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. exf6 Qxg5 11. fxg7 Qxg7 12. Qf3 O-O $1 $14) 8... Nc6 9. O-O-O Bd7 10. Ne4 (10. Nxd4 $2 Bxc3 11. Nxc6 Qc7 12. Qxc4 Qxc6 13. bxc3 Ne4 14. Be3 Nxc3 {Marin,M-Horvath,J/Dresden/1988/0-1/34/ ?CBM11/S.68}) 10... Be7 11. exf6 gxf6 12. Bh4 Rc8 (12... Nb4 13. Qxb4 Bxb4 14. Nxf6+ Kf8 15. Rxd4 Be7 $1 $10 {Greenfeld,A-Kortschnoj,V/Beersheba/1988/½-½/22/ ? CBM9/S.65}) 13. Kb1 Na5 14. Qc2 e5 15. Nxd4 exd4 16. Rxd4 Qb6 17. Nxf6+ Bxf6 18. Qe4+ Kf8 $1 {N} (18... Kd8 19. Be2 Rc7 20. Qe5 $1 Kc8 21. Qxf6 $16) 19. Bxf6 Qxf6 20. Rxd7 Re8 21. Qd4 Re1+ 22. Kc2 Qxd4 23. Rxd4 Ke7 24. g3 Rd8 25. Bg2 $1 $14 {Kasparov,G-Ribli,Z/Barcelona WCup/1988/½-½/40/}) 7... cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 11. Kf1 gxf6 12. Rc1 Qb4 {'?' Bulletin. Bulletin: 'N'} (12... Qa5 13. h4 $1 (13. Bb5+ Ke7 14. e5 fxe5 15. Qh5 Nd7 16. Qg5+ Kf8 17. Rxc8+ Rxc8 18. Bxd7 Qd8 $1 $10 {Ribli,Z-Tukmakov,V/München/1988/½-½/ ? CBM7 Oll,L-Dokhoian,Y/URS-YM Vilnius/1988/½-½/24/ ?CBM7/S.47}) 13... Ke7 14. Rh3 {? CBM11/S.68}) 13. Bxe6 {'!' Bulletin.} Nc6 14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. Bxc8 Rxc8 16. h4 {'!' Bulletin.} O-O 17. Qg4+ Kh8 18. Rh3 c5 19. Rhc3 c4 {'?!' Bulletin. Bulletin: '? 19...?d4(!) ?'} 20. Kg1 Rfd8 21. Qf5 {'!' Bulletin.} Qd6 22. Rxc4 Rxc4 23. Rxc4 Qd1+ 24. Kh2 Qd6+ 25. g3 Kg7 26. a4 Qe5 27. Qxe5 fxe5 28. Rc5 Rd4 29. Rxe5 Rxa4 30. Kh3 a5 31. Kg4 Ra2 32. f4 a4 33. Rg5+ Kf8 34. Ra5 Ra3 35. f5 f6 36. Ra7 Kg8 37. h5 h6 38. e5 fxe5 39. f6 Rb3 {'+-?' Bulletin.} (39... e4 $1 $18 40. Kf5 Rxg3 41. Ke6 Rf3 42. Ra8+ Kh7 43. Rxa4 e3 44. Re4 Kg8 45. Ke7 Kh7 46. f7 Kg7 47. f8=Q+ Rxf8 48. Rg4+ Kh7 49. Kxf8 $18) 40. Kf5 a3 41. g4 1-0 [Event "Astrakhan FIDE GP"] [Site "Astrakhan"] [Date "2010.05.23"] [Round "12"] [White "Akopian, Vladimir Eduardovic"] [Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2694"] [BlackElo "2741"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "2010.05.10"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 137"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.07.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.07.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. Bxc4 c5 9. O-O cxd4 10. e5 Qd8 11. Ne4 {This line was examined in annotations to Grischuk - Aronian (CBM 135).} Nc6 (11... O-O 12. Qe2 Bd7 (12... Qb6 $5 13. a3 Be7 14. Rad1 Rd8 15. h4 Bd7 {1/2 Malakhatko,V (2549)-Gharamian,T (2609)/Cannes FRA 2010/The Week in Chess 800}) 13. Rfd1 Nc6 14. a3 $5 Be7 15. b4 Qb8 16. Ng3 b5 17. Bxb5 Nxe5 18. Bxd7 Nxd7 19. Nxd4 $14 {1/2 Grischuk,A (2736)-Aronian,L (2781)/Linares 2010/CBM 135/[Krasenkow] (101)}) 12. a3 Be7 13. Qe2 O-O 14. Bd3 $1 {A new and probably strong plan. White starts a kingside attack without setting up one of his rooks on d1.} g6 (14... Qd5 15. Ng3 $5) 15. h4 {[%mdl 132]} Kg7 (15... Bxh4 16. Nxh4 Qxh4 17. Nf6+ Kh8 18. f4 $36) 16. h5 g5 (16... Qd5 {looks more accurate. Black can later choose between ...g6-g5 and ...g6xh5:} 17. Ng3 (17. Ned2 gxh5) 17... g5 {Of course, White has a strong initiative in any case.}) 17. Ned2 Rh8 18. Nh2 b6 19. f4 gxf4 20. Rxf4 Bg5 21. Raf1 $1 {[%mdl 512] Of course, Black's main defending piece - his g5 bishop - is worth a rook.} Bxf4 22. Rxf4 a5 23. Ng4 {Black's resignation is definitely premature here but it is indeed difficult for him to organse the defence of his king. A rare kind of game in which Black lost without making an obvious mistake! Here are some possible variations in the final position:} (23. Ng4 Qc7 $5 {trying to prevent ?g4-f6} (23... Ra7 24. Nf6 Rc7 25. Qe4 {[%CAl Rf6h7]} Kf8 26. Nc4 Ke7 27. Nd6 Nxe5 $8 28. Qxe5 Qxd6 29. Nd5+ (29. Ng8+ Rxg8 30. Rxf7+ Kxf7 31. Qxd6) 29... Qxd5 30. Qf6+ Kd6 31. Rxd4 {, and White should win}) 24. Nc4 $1 {[%CAl Rc4d6]} b5 $1 (24... Ba6 25. Nd6 $18) 25. Nd6 f5 $8 26. exf6+ Kf8 27. Nxc8 $1 Rxc8 (27... Qxc8 28. Ne5) (27... Qxf4 28. Qxe6 Qc1+ 29. Kh2 Qf4+ 30. Kh3 $18) 28. Qxe6 Re8 29. Qf5 $18 {?}) 1-0 [Event "World Cup"] [Site "Skelleftea"] [Date "1989.08.??"] [Round "13"] [White "Karpov, Anatoly"] [Black "Huebner, Robert"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2605"] [Annotator "Bulletin"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "1989.08.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "15"] [EventCountry "SWE"] [EventCategory "16"] [SourceTitle "CBM 014"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1990.02.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1990.02.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 11. Kf1 gxf6 12. Rc1 Qa5 13. h4 Nc6 14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. Rh3 Ke7 16. Rd3 Rd8 17. Rxd8 Qxd8 18. Qh5 Qd4 19. Qxh7 {'??!' Bulletin.} (19. Kg1 $5 Rb8 $6 (19... c5 $5 20. Be2 Rb8 21. Qxc5+ Qxc5 22. Rxc5 Bd7 23. Bd3 Rb4 24. Rh5 Rd4 25. Bc2 Rc4 26. Bb3 Rxe4 {Cebalo,M-Govedarica,R/Belfort op/1989/0-1/53/}) 20. Bb3 Bd7 $2 (20... Rb4 $5 21. Rxc6 (21. Qxh7 Qxe4 22. Qxe4 Rxe4 23. Rxc6 Bd7 24. Rc4 f5 25. Rxe4 fxe4 26. g4 f6 $10 {Khenkin,I-Yakovich,V/Podolsk GMA-qual/1989/½-½/56/}) 21... Bd7 22. Rc7 Qd6 23. Rxa7 Rxe4 24. Qa5 Re5 25. Qc3 Qb6 26. Rc7 Rf5 27. Qg3 Qb4 28. Qc3 Qb6 $10 {Dreev,A-udasin,L/URS-FL Simferopol/1988/37/ ? CBM11}) (20... Qxe4 21. Qc5+ Ke8 22. Qxa7 $13 Rb7 23. Qa8 Rc7 24. Ba4 Kf8 25. Bxc6 Qb4 26. Rd1 Kg7 27. g3 Qb6 28. Bf3 Rc2 29. Rf1 Ba6 30. Be4 Rc8 {0-1; Shabtai,R-Flear,G/Tel Aviv/1989/}) 21. Rd1 Qe5 22. Qxh7 Be8 (22... Rb4 $2 23. Rxd7+ Kxd7 24. Qxf7+ Kd8 25. Qf8+ $19) (22... c5 $5 23. Rxd7+ Kxd7 24. Qxf7+ Kd6 25. Qxa7 Qa1+ 26. Kh2 Rxb3 27. Qa6+ Kc7 28. Qa5+ Kc6 29. Qa8+ Rb7 {Vegh,E-Schoen,W/Budapest Elekes/0-1/}) 23. Qh6 $1 Qxe4 24. Qd2 Qb4 25. Qd3 $16 {h-Bauer}) 19... Rb8 (19... c5 $1 $15 {? 20...?b7}) 20. Bb3 Ba6+ 21. Kg1 Bd3 22. Qg7 Bxe4 23. Qg3 {'!' Bulletin.} Rh8 {Bulletin: '23...?d8'} 24. Rc4 Qa1+ 25. Kh2 f5 26. Ra4 Ra8 27. Qc7+ Kf6 28. Qg3 Ke7 29. Qc7+ Kf6 30. Qg3 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Cup"] [Site "Reykjavik"] [Date "1991.??.??"] [Round "1"] [White "Ljubojevic, Ljubomir"] [Black "Timman, Jan H"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2600"] [BlackElo "2630"] [Annotator "Salov,Valery"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "1991.09.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "15"] [EventCountry "ISL"] [EventCategory "16"] [SourceTitle "CBM 026"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1992.02.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1992.02.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 {Ernst Ftacnik} Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Nbd7 11. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12. Ke2 $5 {TN} (12. Kf1 gxf6 13. h4 $1 (13. Nxe6 $2 Qe5 $1 14. Nd4 (14. Ng7+ Kf8 15. Nf5 Qxb5+ 16. Kg1 Qe5 17. h4 Rg8 $19 {Lobron,E-Polgar,Zsu,Dortmund 1990}) 14... O-O 15. Rc1 Nb6 $17) (13. Rc1 Qb4 14. h4 a6 $1 (14... e5 {Ftacnik} 15. Rc4 Qd6 16. Rh3 exd4 17. Rxd4 Qe6 18. Rhd3 Qxa2 19. e5 fxe5 20. Bxd7+ Bxd7 21. Rxd7 O-O $13 {Smejkal,J-Fauland/Novi Sad ol/1990/}) 15. Be2 (15. Ba4 Ke7 16. Rh3 Nc5 17. Bb3 Bd7 18. Rc4 Qa5 19. Qc2 Rac8 20. Rhc3 b6 21. a4 Rhd8 $17 {Nikolic-Gelfand,Sarajevo(m/4)1991}) 15... O-O {- ,Smejkal-Chernin,Altensteig 1990} (15... Ne5 16. Rh3 O-O 17. Nf3 Nxf3 18. Rxf3 e5 19. Rc4 Qb2 $4 20. Rb3 Qxa2 21. Ra4 {1-0,Campos-Martin Gonzalez,Barcelona Vulca 1991}) 16. Rh3 Kh8 17. Rg3 Rg8 18. Rcc3 Ne5 19. Rxg8+ Kxg8 20. Rg3+ $44 {Wegner-Khalifman,Hamburg 1991}) (13. Nf5 exf5 (13... Qe5 14. Nd6+ Kf8 15. g3 Ke7 $5 16. Nxc8+ Rhxc8 17. Qxd7+ Kf8 $44 {Zueger-Costa,Bern 1991}) 14. Rc1 Qb2 15. Rxc8+ Rxc8 16. Qxd7+ Kf8 17. Qxc8+ Kg7 18. Qxf5 Qc1+ 19. Ke2 Qxh1 20. e5 Qxg2 (20... fxe5 $4 21. Qg5+ Kf8 22. Qf6 Rg8 23. Bc4 $18) 21. Qxf6+ Kg8 $10) 13... a6 $1 (13... Ke7 14. Rh3 Qa5 15. Rb1 Rd8 16. Qc1 Ne5 17. Qc5+ $1 (17. f4 Rxd4 18. Qc5+ Rd6 19. fxe5 fxe5 20. Qxe5 Bd7 21. Qg5+ $40 {Lobron-Yudasin,Munich 1991}) 17... Rd6 18. Rd1 $1 Qb6 19. Nc6+ $1 bxc6 20. Qxd6+ Ke8 21. Rg3 Qxb5+ 22. Kg1 {1-0,Adorjan-Chernin,Debrecen 1990}) 14. Rh3 $1 Qa5 15. Be2 Nc5 16. Nb3 Nxb3 17. Qxb3 Qc7 18. Rd1 Bd7 19. Qb2 O-O-O $6 (19... e5 $142) 20. Rc1 Bc6 21. Bxa6 $16 {Akopian-Horvath,C,Niksic 1991}) 12... gxf6 $6 (12... Qb2+ $5 13. Kf1 (13. Kf3 {Ftacnik} Qc3+) 13... gxf6 $13) 13. Rc1 Qb4 $8 (13... Qa5 $4 14. Rxc8+ Rxc8 15. Bxd7+ Kxd7 16. Nb3+ $18) 14. Rc4 Qe7 (14... Qd6 $2 15. Nb3 $1 (15. Qc2 {Ftacnik} O-O 16. Rd1 $16) (15. Qc1 {Ernst} O-O 16. Rd1 Ne5 $13) 15... Qe7 $8 16. Nc5 a6 17. Bxd7+ Bxd7 18. Qxd7+ Qxd7 19. Nxd7 Kxd7 20. Rd1+ Ke8 21. Rc7 Rd8 22. Rxd8+ Kxd8 23. Rxb7 $18) 15. Qc1 O-O 16. Rc7 (16. Rd1 {Ftacnik} Ne5 17. Rc7 Qb4 $132) (16. Qh6 {Ftacnik} Kh8 17. Rc3 Rg8) 16... a6 (16... Qd6 $142 $5 17. Rd1 Ne5) 17. Ba4 Qd6 (17... b5 {Ftacnik} 18. Qc6 Rb8 19. Bb3 $16) 18. Rd1 Ne5 (18... Nb6 {Ftacnik} 19. Rc3 Nxa4 20. Rg3+ Qxg3 21. hxg3 $18) 19. Nf5 Qb4 (19... Qxd1+ 20. Qxd1 exf5 21. f4 Ng6 (21... fxe4 22. Rxc8 Raxc8 23. fxe5 $18) 22. g3 fxe4 23. Qd4 $16) (19... Qb6 {Ftacnik} 20. Ne7+ Kg7 21. Nxc8 $18) 20. Rd4 Qb6 21. Ne7+ Kg7 (21... Kh8 {Ernst} 22. Qh6) 22. Qc3 Ng6 (22... Nc6 23. Qg3+ Kh8 24. Nxc6 bxc6 25. Qd6 $18 (25. Qd6 {Ernst} Bb7 26. Rb4)) (22... Rb8 {Ftacnik} 23. Rd2 $18) 23. Nxg6 (23. Nxc8 $2 {Ftacnik} Raxc8 24. Rxc8 Rxc8 25. Qxc8 Qxd4 $19) 23... hxg6 24. e5 $1 (24. Rdc4 Qb1 (24... Qd6 {Ftacnik} 25. Rxc8 b5 26. Rxa8 Rxa8 27. Rc6 Qxh2 28. Bc2 Qxg2 $14) 25. Bc2 Qb5 (25... Qxa2 26. Ra4 $18)) 24... fxe5 $2 (24... f5 25. h4 $16 (25. Rdc4 Qb1 26. Bc2 Qxa2 27. Rxc8 Raxc8 28. Rxc8 Rxc8 29. Qxc8 Qd5 $13) (25. Rdc4 $18 {Ftacnik})) 25. Rd3 $1 $18 Kg8 (25... Qb1 {Ftacnik} 26. Qxe5+ Kg8 27. Rh3 f6 28. Qe3 Qxa2+ 29. Bc2 Rf7 30. Qh6 $18) 26. Qxe5 Qb4 27. Rh3 f6 28. Qe3 {? h3-h8} (28. Rhh7 Rf7 $1) 28... Qb2+ (28... Rf7 29. Rh8+ Kxh8 30. Qh6+ Kg8 31. Qxg6+ Kh8 32. Qh5+ $18) 29. Kf3 g5 (29... Qe5 {Ftacnik} 30. Rg7+ (30. Rh8+ Kxh8 31. Qh6+) 30... Kxg7 31. Qh6+ Kf7 32. Qh7#) 30. Rhh7 Rd8 31. Rcg7+ Kf8 32. Qc5+ 1-0 [Event "CHN-RUS Summit Men 1st"] [Site "Shanghai"] [Date "2001.09.07"] [Round "1"] [White "Dreev, Alexey"] [Black "Xu, Jun"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2646"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2001.09.07"] [EventType "schev"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "CHN"] [SourceTitle "CBM 085"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2001.11.13"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2001.11.13"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 {Dieser Zug ist sehr populär in letzter Zeit, und in einigen Partien probierte selbst Kasparov diese Fortsetzung aus.} 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. e5 {Dieser Zug wird heutzutage weniger gespielt - die Hauptvariante ist 7.?xc4.} cxd4 (7... h6 {Dieser Zug ist weniger populär, aber auch gut spielbar.}) 8. Nxd4 (8. Qa4+ Nc6 9. O-O-O Bd7 10. Ne4 Be7 11. exf6 gxf6 12. Bh4 Rc8 {Das ist die Grundstellung der anderen Hauptvariante. Hier hat Weiß eine Figur mehr, aber Schwarz hat drei Bauern.}) (8. exf6 $6 gxf6 9. Bh4 Nc6 10. Nxd4 Nxd4 11. Bxc4 Ke7 $5 $15) 8... Qa5 9. exf6 Bxc3+ (9... Qxg5 $4 {Ein unglaublicher Fehler von einem Internationalem Schachmeister.} 10. Qa4+ Nc6 11. Nxc6 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Bd7 13. Qb4 {[%CAl Rb4e7]} Qxf6 14. Nd4 {Piket,Je-Karolyi,T/Lvov/1988/1:0/}) 10. bxc3 Qxg5 11. fxg7 Qxg7 (11... Rg8 12. h4 Qe5+ (12... Qxg7 13. Rh3 {[%CAl Gh3e3]} Na6 14. Re3 Bd7 15. Nf5 Qf6 16. Nd6+ Ke7 17. Nxc4 $16) 13. Be2 Rxg7 14. O-O $14) 12. Qd2 {Großmeister Dreev spielt diese Variante gern. Die weiße Hauptstrategie ist das Spiel am Königsflügel.} (12. Qf3 Nd7 13. Bxc4 O-O 14. Bb3 Nc5 $11) 12... O-O {Die Partiefortsetzung ist logisch, aber die sofortige Springerentwicklung ist auch spielbar.} (12... Nc6 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. Bxc4 Qe5+ 15. Kf1 Bb7 16. Rd1 O-O 17. h4 Rad8 $1 18. Qxd8 Rxd8 19. Rxd8+ Kg7 20. Rh3 c5 {½-½ Portisch,L-Huebner,R/Skelleftea WCup 1989/CBM 14/[Ribli] (28)}) 13. Bxc4 Rd8 {[%CAl Gd8d2]} (13... Nd7 14. O-O Ne5 15. Bb3 Ng6 16. f4 Bd7 17. Rad1 Rac8 18. Nf5 exf5 19. Qxd7 {½-½ Volzhin,A-Richter,M/Senden 1999/EXT 2000 (42)}) (13... Bd7 {Dieser Zug ist eine gute Möglichkeit für Schwarz - im folgenden möchte er 14...?c6 spielen und im Falle von 15.?xc6 kann er mit dem Läufer auf c6 nehmen.} 14. O-O Nc6 (14... Rc8 15. Bb3 Rc5 16. f4 Nc6 17. Rad1 Rc8 18. Rf3 Ne7 19. Rg3 Ng6 20. Nf3 Be8 21. Ne5 a5 22. h4 Qh6 23. Qf2 {1-0 Dreev,A-Morozevich,A/Moscow PCA Qual 1996 (38)}) 15. f4 (15. Nf3 Rfd8 16. Rad1 Be8 17. Qe3 Ne7 18. Ne5 Ng6 19. f4 Nxe5 20. fxe5 Bc6 $11 {½-½ Sakaev,K-Arkhipov,S/Dubai UAE 2000/(62)}) 15... Nxd4 16. cxd4 Bc6 (16... Rac8 17. Bb3 Rfd8 18. Rf3 Kh8 19. Rg3 Qf6 {½-½ Tkachiev,V-Tukmakov,V/Solin CRO 1999/[Ribli] (29)}) 17. Rad1 Rad8 18. Rf2 Ba4 {½-½ Shchekachev,A-Bauer,C/France 2000/EXT 2001/(18)}) 14. Qe3 Bd7 15. O-O Nc6 16. Nf3 Ne7 (16... Be8 17. Bd3 h6 $10) 17. Ne5 Ng6 18. f4 {Das ist die gewöhnliche Strategie für Weiß in dieser Variante - nach Springertausch auf e5 kann Weiß fxe5 spielen.} Nxe5 {[%mdl 4]} (18... Rac8 19. Be2 Nxe5 20. fxe5 Bc6 21. Bf3 Bd5 22. Rab1 b6 23. Rb4 $1 Bxf3 24. Rxf3 Rd1+ 25. Kf2 Rcd8 26. Rd4 R1xd4 27. cxd4 Kh8 28. Rg3 $14 {0-1 Dreev,A-Kharlov,A/Novosibirsk 1995/CBM 50/[Belov] (44)}) 19. fxe5 Bc6 $11 {[%csl Gc6] Jetzt wir haben ähnliche Stellung wie in der Variante 13...?d7 14.0-0 ?c6 15.?f3 ?fd8 16.?ad1 ?e8 17.?e3 ?e7 18.?e5 ?g6 19.f4 ?xe5 20.fxe5 ?g6. Der einzige Unterschied ist - in unsere Partiefortsetzung hat Weiß hat nicht den Zug ?ad1.} 20. g3 Rd7 {[%CAl Ga8d8,Gd8d1,Gd7f7] Mit diesem Zug kann Schwarz im folgenden die Türme auf der d-Linie verdoppeln und den außerdem den f7-Bauern verteidigen.} 21. Rf4 {[%CAl Ga1f1,Gf1f7][%mdl 32] Diese Stellung ist ein gutes Beispiel zum Thema: dynamischer Ausgleich. Weiß hat einige Bauernschwächen, aber die schwarze Königsstellung ist angreifbar.} Kh8 22. Raf1 Rg8 (22... Rad8 $11) 23. Rd4 (23. Qxa7 $2 Qxe5 $17) 23... Rxd4 24. cxd4 {Mit diesem Tausch verbessert Weiß seine Bauernstellung. Aber Schwarz hat genügend Gegenspiel - sein c6? steht ausgezeichnet und er hat aktive Chancen am Königsflügel.} (24. Qxd4 Qg6 $11 {[%CAl Gg6c2]}) 24... Qg6 {[%CAl Gg6c2]} 25. Bd3 Qh5 26. Be4 {Es ist logisch, dass Weiss die beste schwarze Figur tauscht.} Rc8 (26... Bxe4 27. Qxe4 Rc8 28. Qxb7 Rc2 29. Rf2 Rxf2 (29... Qd1+ 30. Rf1 $2 (30. Kg2 Rxf2+ 31. Kxf2 Qxd4+ $11) 30... Qe2 $19) 30. Kxf2 Qxh2+ $11) 27. Rc1 {[%CAl Gc1c8]} Kg7 28. Bxc6 (28. Bf3 Qh6 $11) 28... Rxc6 29. Rxc6 bxc6 {Endlich ist es Weiss, der die bessere Bauernstellung hat, aber in diesem Endspiel hat das keine Bedeutung.} 30. Kg2 f5 31. a3 (31. exf6+ Kxf6 $11) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Corus-B"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2005.01.16"] [Round "2"] [White "Onischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Nielsen, Peter Heine"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2652"] [BlackElo "2648"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2005.01.15"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "13"] [SourceTitle "CBM 105"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.04.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.04.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 {GM Nielsen spielt gerne die Wiener Variante des Damengambits.} 7. e5 h6 (7... cxd4) 8. exf6 hxg5 9. fxg7 Rg8 10. a3 {Dieser Zug wird heute selten gespielt; die Hauptfortsetzung ist 10.dxc5.} (10. dxc5) (10. Qc2 cxd4 11. Qh7 Ke7 12. O-O-O Bxc3 (12... d3) (12... Nc6) 13. bxc3 Qa5 14. Qxg8 Qxc3+ 15. Kb1 Qb4+ 16. Kc2 Qc3+ {½-½ Van Wely,L-Naiditsch,A/Bundesliga 2004/05}) 10... Bxc3+ (10... Ba5 11. dxc5 (11. Bxc4 $6 g4) (11. Qc2) 11... Qxd1+ 12. Rxd1 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 Rxg7 14. h4 g4 15. Ng5 Nd7 16. Rd4 Ne5 $1 17. Ne4 Ke7 18. Nd6 Bd7 19. Nxb7 $6 (19. Nxc4 Nxc4 20. Rxc4 Rc8 $11) 19... Rb8 20. Nd6 Ba4 $1 $36 {0-1 Van Wely,L-Agrest,E/Leon 2001/[Agrest,E] (52)}) 11. bxc3 Nc6 $146 {Dieser Springerzug stellt eine theoretische Neuerung dar, bis jetzt spielte Schwarz 11...cxd4.} (11... cxd4 12. Nxd4 Nc6 (12... Qd5 13. h4 gxh4 14. Rxh4 Bd7 15. Qe2 Nc6 16. Rd1 Qa5 17. Qxc4 Qe5+ 18. Be2 O-O-O {1-0 Gunina,V-Yildiz,B/Heraklio GRE 2004/(46)}) 13. Bxc4 Nxd4 14. cxd4 Qa5+ 15. Kf1 Bd7 16. h4 gxh4 17. Rxh4 Qg5 18. Qg4 Qxg4 19. Rxg4 Rc8 20. Be2 Ke7 21. Bf3 Bc6 22. Bxc6 {½-½ Sakaev,K-Aronian,L/Bundesliga 2003 (22)}) 12. Bxc4 cxd4 (12... Rxg7 13. O-O $36 (13. d5 exd5 14. Bxd5 Qe7+ 15. Qe2 Qxe2+ 16. Kxe2 Bd7 $11)) 13. Qd3 {[%CAl Rd3h7,Rh7g8]} (13. cxd4 $6 g4) (13. Nxd4 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 Qxd4 15. cxd4 Rxg7 $11) 13... Rxg7 (13... dxc3 $2 14. Qh7 Ke7 (14... Ne7 15. Bb5+ Bd7 16. O-O-O $18) 15. O-O $36 {Weiß verfügt über eine überlegene Initiative für den Minusbauern.}) (13... Qf6 $6 14. Nxd4 Qe5+ 15. Kf1 Nxd4 16. cxd4 Qxg7 17. Re1 $36) 14. O-O (14. Nxd4 Nxd4 (14... Ne5 15. Qh3 $36) 15. cxd4 Qa5+ 16. Ke2 (16. Qd2 Qxd2+ 17. Kxd2 Bd7 $11) 16... Bd7 17. Rhc1 Bc6 $11) 14... Bd7 (14... dxc3 $6 15. Qxc3 $44 {[%csl Re8] Weiß hat großen Entwicklungsvorteil und mehr als Kompensation für den Bauern.}) 15. Nxd4 (15. cxd4 g4 16. Ne5 Nxe5 17. dxe5 Bc6 $11) 15... Ne5 (15... Nxd4 16. cxd4 Bc6 17. Rfe1 $16 {[%CAl Ge1e8]}) 16. Qh3 {[%CAl Rh3h8,Rh8g7,Rh8e8] Weiß beschäftigt sich nicht mit der Deckung des c4-Läufers; nach 17.?h8+ droht Qualitätsgewinn.} (16. Qe2 Qc7 17. Bb5 O-O-O $11 (17... Rh7 $5)) 16... Rg8 (16... Qe7 $5 17. Be2 (17. Qh8+ $2 Qf8 $15) 17... O-O-O 18. Qe3 Qf6 19. Nf3 (19. Nb5 Bxb5 20. Bxb5 Kb8 21. Rad1 Rgg8 22. Rd4 $11) 19... Nc6 $11 (19... Nxf3+ 20. Bxf3 Kb8 21. Bxb7 $1 Kxb7 22. Rab1+ $18)) {?} 17. Nxe6 $13 {[%mdl 512] Das weiße Springeropfer führt zu großen Komplikationen.} (17. Qh7 Rf8 (17... Ke7 18. Ba2 Qc7 19. Rfe1 $36) 18. Bb5 Qc7 $11) 17... Nxc4 (17... fxe6 $6 18. Bxe6 Qf6 19. Bxd7+ Nxd7 20. Rfe1+ Kd8 21. Rad1 $44) (17... Qc8 $5 18. Qh7 Ke7 19. Nd4 Qxc4 20. Qe4 $44 {Weiß hat Initiative für die Figur, aber die Stellung ist sehr unklar.}) 18. Qh7 (18. Nxd8 Bxh3 $19) 18... Bxe6 19. Qxg8+ Kd7 20. Rfd1+ Nd6 21. Qg7 {Nach diesen forcierten Zügen ist eine Stellung erreicht, in der Schwarz mit zwei Leichtfiguren gegen Turm und Mehrbauern spielt, was materiell als ausgeglichen gilt, jedoch steht der schwarze König unsicher.} Kc6 (21... Qe7 22. Qe5 Kc6) 22. Qe5 Qe7 $11 {Die Stellung ist in einem dynamischen Gleichgewicht; Weiß verfügt über ein aktiveres Figurenspiel, jedoch über keine konkreten Drohungen.} 23. Rd4 Rd8 24. a4 (24. Rad1 f6 25. Qe2 Kc7 $15) 24... Nf5 $2 {Schwarz möchte die Stellung vereinfachen, aber mit diesem Zug verliert er einen Bauern.} (24... f6 $142 25. Qa5 (25. Qe2 Kc7 26. Rad1 Qf7 27. c4 Rd7 $11) 25... Qc7 (25... b6 26. Qb4 $11) 26. Qxa7 Nc8 27. Qa8 Nd6 $11) 25. Qb5+ Kc7 26. Qa5+ Kc8 27. Rxd8+ Qxd8 28. Qxa7 $14 Qd5 29. f3 (29. c4 $1 Qd4 (29... Qxc4 30. Rd1 $40) 30. Qa8+ Kc7 31. Rb1 Nd6 32. Qa5+ Kc6 (32... Kb8 33. c5 $16) 33. Qxg5 Qxf2+ 34. Kxf2 Ne4+ 35. Ke3 Nxg5 36. h4 $16) 29... Bd7 {[%CAl Gd7c6]} (29... Qe5 {[%CAl Ge5b8]}) 30. a5 Bc6 31. a6 bxa6 32. Qxa6+ Kd7 33. Qa7+ (33. Qa5) 33... Ke6 34. Qa5 Ne3 35. Qxd5+ Nxd5 $11 {[%mdl 4096] Weiß hat einen Turm und zwei Bauern gegen zwei schwarze Leichtfiguren. Die weiße Stellung ist als etwas aussichtsreicher anzusehen, aber sein Freibauer auf c3 ist nicht stark.} 36. Rc1 Nf4 37. Re1+ (37. Kf1 Kd5 $11 {[%CAl Gd5c4]}) 37... Kd6 38. Rd1+ Kc5 39. Kf2 Nd5 40. Rc1 Kc4 41. g3 Nf6 (41... Nxc3 $2 42. Ke3 Kb4 43. Kd2 $18 {[%csl Rc3,Rc6][%CAl Rc1c6]}) (41... Kd3 $11) 42. Rb1 Bd7 43. Rb6 Be6 44. Rc6+ Kd5 45. Ra6 (45. Rc7 g4 $11 (45... Kd6 $11)) 45... Kc4 46. Rc6+ Kd5 47. Rc7 g4 (47... Kd6 $11) 48. Ra7 Kc4 49. Rc7+ Kd3 50. fxg4 (50. fxg4 Nxg4+ 51. Kg1 Bc4 $11) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Hoogeveen Essent Crown"] [Site "Hoogeveen"] [Date "2003.10.14"] [Round "3"] [White "Karpov, Anatoly"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2693"] [BlackElo "2649"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2003.10.12"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "18"] [SourceTitle "CBM 098"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2004.02.03"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2004.02.03"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 {Der junge armenische Großmeister spielt die sogenannte Wiener Variante des Damengambits, was zu lebhaftem Figurenspiel führt, mit scharfem taktischem Kampf.} 5. e4 {Das ist die prinzipielle Fortsetzung, aber 5.e3 ist auch möglich. Mit Übergang zum angenommenen Damengambit.} Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Nb5 {Das ist des Ex-Weltmeisters Lieblingsvariante. Die Alternativen sind 10.?xf6 und hauptsächlich 10.?b5+.} Nxe4 11. Bf4 {Der Läuferzug ist die prinzipielle Fortsetzung für Weiß, aber 10 Jahre früher spielte Karpov 1.?d4, was zu interessantem taktischem Kampf führte, aber Weiß keinen Vorteil brachte.} (11. Qd4 O-O $1 12. Qxe4 a6 13. Be7 axb5 14. Bb4 Qc7 15. Bxb5 Bd7 16. Bd3 g6 17. O-O Re8 18. Qe3 Nc6 19. Bc5 Ne7 20. Be4 Nf5 21. Bxf5 exf5 22. Qd4 Re4 {½-½ Karpov,A-Timman,J/NED/INA 1993/CBM 36/[Ftacnik] (28)}) 11... O-O 12. O-O {Weiss hat einen Bauern weniger, aber er hat positionellen Druck am Damenflügel und das Läuferpaar.} Bd7 {Dieser Läuferzug ist eine gute Ausgleichmöglichkeit für Schwarz, aber die Springerzüge - 12...?d7 und besonders 12...?c6 kommen auch stark in Betracht.} (12... Nd7 13. Re1 $1 $44 {Karpov} (13. Nc7 $6 e5 14. Nxa8 exf4 $17 {1-0 Karpov,A-Timman,J/NED/INA 1993/CBM 36/[Ftacnik] (53)}) 13... Ndf6 14. a4 (14. Bc7 b6 15. Qd4 Ba6 16. a4 Bxb5 17. Bxb5 Qxc3 18. Qxc3 Nxc3 19. Ba6 Ncd5 {0-1 Pert,N-Wells,P/British Rapidplay, Halifax ENG 2003 (59)}) 14... b6 15. f3 Nc5 16. Be5 a6 17. Nd6 Ncd7 18. Bd4 Qh5 19. Rb1 $44 {½-½ Karpov,A-Piket,J/Monte Carlo 1999/CBM 70/[Ribli] (45)}) (12... Nc6 13. Qf3 (13. Bc7 b6 14. Qf3 (14. a4 {½-½ Khenkin,I-Schenk,A/France 2003/CBM 94(14)}) 14... f5 15. Rfe1 a6 {½-½ Epishin,V-Maksimenko,A/Graz 1998/EXT 99 (15)}) 13... e5 14. Qxe4 exf4 15. Rfe1 $5 $36 Be6 16. Bxe6 Qxb5 17. Bd5 {½-½ Shchekachev,A-Schenk,A/France 2003/CBM 95/[Ribli] (57)}) 13. a4 (13. Bc7 b6 14. a4 a6 15. Ra2 axb5 16. axb5 Qxc3 17. Rxa8 Qxc4 18. Bd6 (18. Bxb8 Bxb5 19. Re1 Bc6 $19) 18... Nxd6 19. Qxd6 Qd5 {0-1 Epishin,V-Richter,M/Nova Gorica 2000/CBM 74 ext (41)}) (13. Nc7 e5 14. Nxa8 exf4 15. Qd5 Nc5 $17) 13... Bc6 (13... Bxb5 14. axb5 Qxc3 15. Qe2 $44) 14. Bc7 $44 {Das ist Karpovs Verbesserung. Gegen Lautier war er erfolgreich mit 14.?g4, aber ich glaube - er hatte Angst vor der möglichen häuslichen Verbesserung des Gegner, so weicht er von seiner eigenen Partie ab.} (14. Qg4 Nf6 15. Qe2 a6 16. Nc7 Ra7 17. Qe3 b6 18. Nxe6 $1 Nd5 19. Qg3 fxe6 20. Bxb8 $14 {1-0 Karpov,A-Lautier,J/Biel 1997/CBM 60/[Ribli] (40)}) (14. f3 Bxb5 15. axb5 Qb6+ 16. Qd4 Qxd4+ 17. cxd4 Nf6 {½-½ Nikolic,P-Gelfand,B/Monte Carlo 1999/CBM 69 ext (26)}) (14. Qd4 Na6 $13 {[%CAl Ga8d8,Gd8d4]}) (14. Be5 Nd7 15. Bc7 b6 $13) 14... b6 15. Bd6 $1 {[%csl Ra5][%CAl Gd6f8,Rd6b4,Rb4a5]} Nxd6 16. Qxd6 {[%csl Ra5,Gb5,Gd6]} a6 17. Nc7 Qg5 (17... Ra7 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Bxe6+ Raf7 20. Rab1 $36) 18. Qg3 (18. g3 $2 Qf6 {[%CAl Rf6f3,Rc5h1]} 19. f3 Ra7 $17) 18... Qxg3 19. fxg3 Ra7 20. Nxe6 $1 $14 {[%mdl 512] Das ist die Pointe des weiße Spiels. Mit diesem Springeropfer bekommt er die Initiative.} Rc8 (20... fxe6 21. Bxe6+ Raf7 (21... Rff7 $2 22. Rad1 $18) 22. Rad1 (22. Rxf7 Rxf7 23. Rf1 Be8 24. Bxf7+ Bxf7 25. Rd1 Nc6 26. Rb1 b5 27. axb5 Bg6 28. Rb3 axb5 29. Rxb5 $14) 22... Nd7 23. a5 bxa5 24. Rd6 Ba4 (24... Bb5 25. c4 Ba4 26. Rxa6 $14) 25. Rxa6 $14) 21. Ng5 Be8 22. Rae1 {[%csl Gc4,Gg5][%CAl Ge1e8,Gc4f7]} h6 {?} 23. Rxe8+ Rxe8 24. Rxf7 (24. Bxf7+ Rxf7 25. Nxf7 Re3 (25... Re6 26. Nd8 Rd6 27. Nf7 Re6 $11 (27... Rc6 28. Ne5 Rxc3 29. Rb1 $14)) 26. c4 Nd7 27. Nd6 Nc5 $132) 24... Rxf7 25. Bxf7+ Kf8 26. Bxe8 Kxe8 27. Ne6 {[%mdl 4096] Im Springerendspiel Weiss hat einen Bauern mehr, aber das Material ist reduziert, so Schwarz hat gute Remischancen.} (27. Nf3 $2 Nd7 $15 {[%csl Ra4][%CAl Gd7c5,Gc5a4]}) (27. Ne4 Nd7 28. Kf2 Ke7 29. Ke3 Ke6 $14) 27... Kf7 28. Nc7 a5 {[%CAl Gb8d7,Gd7c5,Gc5a4] Mit diesem Zug Schwarz vorbereitet die Moeglichkeit 29...?d7 - er moechte endlich seinen Springer entwickeln.} 29. Kf2 Nd7 30. Ke3 Nc5 31. Kd4 Nxa4 32. Nd5 b5 $5 {Mit diesem Zug Schwarz moechte die Stellung vereinfachen und das Remis erzielen.} (32... Ke6 33. c4 Kd6 34. g4 Nc5 (34... Kc6 35. Ne7+ Kd7 36. Nf5 Nc5 37. Nxg7 Ne6+ 38. Nxe6 Kxe6 39. h4 $18) 35. Nxb6 a4 36. Nd5 a3 37. Nb4 $14) 33. Nc7 b4 34. cxb4 axb4 35. Kc4 Nc3 36. Kxb4 Ne4 $11 {Wegen seinen Doppelbauern auf der g-Linie Weiss kann nicht seinen Materialsvorteil entwerten. Anderseits ?+3? gegen ?+2? in einem fluegel waere gewoenlich auch Remis.} 37. Nb5 Nd2 38. Nd4 Nf1 39. Nf3 Kf6 {[%CAl Gf6f5,Gf5g4]} 40. Kc4 (40. g4 Ne3 $11) 40... Kf5 41. Kd3 Kg4 (41... Kg4 42. Ke2 Nxh2 43. Nxh2+ Kxg3 $11) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Grenke Chess Classic 6th"] [Site "Karlsruhe/Baden Baden"] [Date "2019.04.27"] [Round "7"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2845"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2019.04.20"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "GER"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 190"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2019.06.30"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.06.30"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,75,19,8,20,-14,3,4,4,4,64,46,44,54,68,58,43,17,35,35,82,-20,28,51,39,6,23,22,37,38,37,30,33,29,17,17,24,19,23,5,27,0,1,0,0,-16,-13,-1,0,-1,2,16,26,31,76,95,88,76,77,82,132,125,128,117,117,108,163,165,174,167,198,176,270,170,223,229,256,249]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bd2 $5 $146 {[%mdl 8] An absolutely new move in this well-known position!} (10. Bb5+) (10. Bxf6) (10. Nb5 {have been seen in hundreds or even thousands of games.}) 10... O-O (10... Nxe4 11. Qg4 $1 Nxd2 12. Qxg7 {is White's idea although the position after} Rf8 (12... Nxc4 13. Qxh8+ Ke7 $1 14. O-O {[%csl Re7] with good attacking prospects for White}) 13. Kxd2 Qc5 {is far from clear}) 11. Qe2 e5 12. Nb3 Qc7 13. O-O Bg4 $6 {Black has a lot of other options like} (13... Re8 {[%CAl Yc8e6]}) ({or} 13... b6) {The position he goes for is strategically risky.} 14. f3 Rc8 15. Bd5 Nxd5 16. exd5 {[%csl Gd5]} Bh5 (16... Bf5 17. Rac1 {[%CAl Yc3c4]}) 17. c4 $1 {The pointe! This pawn is invulnerable, and White's protected d5 passer becomes strong.} Nd7 18. Rfc1 b6 19. a4 $36 {?} a5 {[%csl Rb6]} (19... Qd6 $5 20. a5 $140 $6 b5) 20. Qf2 Qd6 21. Be3 Bg6 22. Qd2 f6 23. Qb2 Rc7 24. Nd2 Nc5 25. Qa3 Rd8 $6 (25... Qf8 $1 26. Rc3 Rb8 $14 {A.Tukhaev}) 26. Rc3 f5 $6 {This wrong advance weakens Black's position.} (26... Rb7) 27. Re1 $1 {[%csl Re5]} e4 28. fxe4 fxe4 29. Bxc5 Rxc5 30. Nxe4 Qe5 31. Rce3 {Black has lost a pawn without compensation.} Rcc8 (31... Rxc4 32. Nd2 $18) 32. h3 Qc7 (32... Qd4 33. Nd6) 33. Nd2 Re8 34. Re7 $1 Rxe7 35. Rxe7 Qd8 (35... Qf4 36. Qc3 Bf7 {was better but hopeless enough.}) 36. Qe3 Rc7 37. Re6 Rc5 38. Qb3 {[%csl Rb6]} 1-0 [Event "Moscow Aeroflot op-A"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2005.02.17"] [Round "3"] [White "Akopian, Vladimir Eduardovic"] [Black "Izoria, Zviad"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2693"] [BlackElo "2607"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2005.02.15"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "CBM 106"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.06.06"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.06.06"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ {Das ist die übliche Fortsetzung. Schwarz gibt das Läuferpaar auf, aber verschlechtert die weiße Bauernstruktur. Der Alternativzug 8...?a5 führt zu ruhigem positionellem Spiel.} 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 {Heutzutage ist dieser Zug modern, aber die Alternative ist auch spielbar.} 11. Bxf6 gxf6 (11... Qxc3+ $4 12. Kf1 gxf6 13. Rc1 $18) 12. Bxd7+ {Diese alte und neue Fortsetzung ist bekannt seit der Partie Gulko,B - Salov,V Linares 1990.} Nxd7 13. O-O a6 14. Rb1 Qc7 15. Qd2 $5 {[%csl Gd2][%CAl Gd2h6,Gf1d1,Gd1d7] Ein logischer Zug: Weiß kann auf der d-Linie mittels Tfd1 seinen Angriff verstärken und droht eventuell ?h6.} (15. f4 h5 16. Qf3 Rc8 17. e5 b6 18. exf6 Qxc3 19. Qe4 Nxf6 20. Qe5 Rh6 21. f5 Ng4 {½-½ Chatalbashev,B-Gustafsson,J/Calvia ESP 2004/(27)}) (15. Qh5 Nc5 16. Rb4 {? ?c4,?e6} Qe5 17. Qxe5 fxe5 18. Nb3 Nxb3 19. axb3 O-O-O 20. f4 $1 $14 {½-½ Gulko,B-Salov,V/Linares 1990/CBM 17/(58)}) (15. Qg4 h5 16. Qh3 Ke7 17. f4 h4 18. Qf3 Rac8 19. e5 Qxc3 20. exf6+ Kxf6 21. Qxc3 Rxc3 {½-½ Kramnik,V-Anand,V/Dortmund 88/(377) 2003 (21)}) (15. Qe2 O-O 16. Rfd1 Kh8 17. Rd3 Rg8 18. Nf3 Nc5 19. Rd4 e5 20. Rdb4 Rad8 {½-½ Gyimesi,Z-Hoelzl,F/Balatonlelle (open) 2002 (51)}) 15... O-O {Schwarz hat keine Befürchtungen vor dem weißen Angriff am Königsflügel.} (15... Rc8 16. Rfd1 b5 17. f4 Nc5 18. Qe3 {1-0 Smirnov,P-Popov,V/Moscow 2005/CBM 106 (26)}) (15... h5 $5 {Auf diese Weise verhindert Schwarz die Dameneindringung auf h6, aber nach diesem Zug kann er nicht mehr kurz rochieren.}) 16. Rfd1 {[%CAl Gd1d7] Droht sofort 17.?xe6 mit Gewinn.} Rad8 17. Qh6 {[%csl Gh6] Die Dame steht aktiv auf h6, da unmittelbar 18.?d3 nebst ?h3 droht.} Kh8 18. Rd3 Rg8 19. Ne2 $1 $14 {[%csl Rd7][%CAl Gb1d1,Gh6d2,Gd1d8,Ge2g3,Gg3h5,Ge2f4,Gf4h5][%mdl 32] Ein guter strategischer Zug von Weiß: der Springer ist auf d7 gebunden, da sonst ?f6 angegriffen ist. Weiß droht somit mit ?bd1 und ?d2. Die andere Idee des Springerzugs ist die Besetzung der Felder f4, g3 nebst h5.} (19. Rh3 Rg7) 19... Rg6 (19... Rc8 20. Nf4 $1 $14 (20. Rbd1 Rg6 21. Qd2 (21. Qh4 Nc5 22. Nf4 Nxd3 23. Nxg6+ Kg7 $1 24. Rxd3 Qb6 $1 $15 (24... hxg6 25. Rh3 f5 26. exf5 exf5)) 21... Ne5 $11 (21... Nc5 $11))) 20. Qd2 Rgg8 21. Ng3 $1 (21. Rd1 $2 Ne5 $1 $11 {Das ist die Pointe der schwarzen Verteidigung.} 22. Rxd8 $4 Nf3+ {[%CAl Rf3d2,Rf3g1]}) 21... Ne5 $6 (21... Nc5 $142 $5) 22. Rxd8 Qxd8 (22... Rxd8 23. Qh6 (23. Rxb7 $2 {Das wäre eine naive Fortsetzung.} Qc8 (23... Rxd2 24. Rxc7 Rxa2 $15) 24. Qf4 Rd1+ 25. Nf1 Qxb7 26. Qxf6+ Kg8 27. Qxe5 Qb5 $17) 23... Ng4 24. Qh4 Qf4 25. Nf1 Qg5 26. Qxg5 fxg5 27. Rxb7 $16) 23. Qxd8 Rxd8 24. f4 Ng6 (24... Nc4 25. Rxb7 Rd1+ 26. Kf2 Kg7) (24... Ng4 25. h3 Ne3 26. Rxb7 (26. Kf2 $2 Nd1+ $132) 26... Rd2 27. Nh5 Rxg2+ 28. Kh1 $16) 25. Rxb7 Nxf4 26. Rxf7 $16 {[%mdl 4096] Weiß hat einen Mehrbauern im Endspiel, aber die technische Verwertung des Materialvorteils ist nicht leicht..} Rd2 27. Rxf6 e5 (27... Rxg2+ $2 28. Kf1 $18) (27... Nxg2 $2 28. Rf2 $1 Rxf2 29. Kxf2 Nf4 30. Ne2 Ng6 31. Ke3 $18) 28. Nf5 {[%CAl Rf6f8,Rf8h8]} (28. Rxa6 Rxg2+ 29. Kf1 Rxh2 30. Nf5 $16) 28... Kg8 (28... Rxg2+ 29. Kf1 h5 30. Rxa6 Rxh2 31. a4 $16) 29. Rxa6 Rxg2+ 30. Kf1 Rxh2 31. Ra8+ Kf7 32. a4 Rh1+ (32... h5 33. a5 $16) 33. Kf2 Rh2+ 34. Kf1 (34. Kg3) 34... Rh1+ 35. Kf2 Rh2+ 36. Kg3 Rh3+ 37. Kg4 h5+ $14 {Aufgrund des reduzierten Materials verfügt Schwarz über taktische Gegenchancen.} (37... Rxc3 38. Ra7+ Ke6 39. Re7+ Kf6 40. Rxh7 $16) 38. Kg5 Ne6+ 39. Kh6 Rxc3 40. Kxh5 Nc5 {[%csl Gc5][%CAl Gc5e4,Gc5a4]} 41. a5 Ra3 $2 (41... Nxe4 $1 42. Kg4 Nf2+ 43. Kh5 Rh3+ 44. Kg5 Ne4+ 45. Kg4 Nf2+ $11) 42. Nd6+ Ke6 43. Nb5 Rh3+ $6 (43... Rb3 $142) 44. Kg4 Re3 45. Rc8 $16 Nxe4 (45... Rxe4+ 46. Kh5 $18 {[%csl Rc5]}) 46. a6 {[%csl Ga6]} Nf2+ 47. Kh5 Rh3+ 48. Kg6 Rg3+ 49. Kh7 $18 {[%csl Ga6,Gh7][%CAl Ra6a7,Ra7a8]} Rh3+ 50. Kg7 Rg3+ 51. Kf8 Rh3 52. Rc3 Rh1 (52... Rh8+ 53. Kg7 Rd8 54. a7 $18) 53. a7 Ne4 54. Ra3 Rf1+ 55. Ke8 Rh1 (55... Nf6+ 56. Kd8 $18) 56. Ra6+ Kd5 57. a8=Q+ 1-0 [Event "Madrid"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "1996.05.08"] [Round "1"] [White "Azmaiparashvili, Zurab"] [Black "Morozevich, Alexander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2660"] [BlackElo "2625"] [Annotator "Azmaiparashvili,Zurab"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "1996.05.08"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "17"] [SourceTitle "CBM 053"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1996.08.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1996.08.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. d4 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bd7 $5 $146 9. O-O (9. e5 Qa5 10. exf6 Qxg5 (10... Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Qxc3+ 12. Qd2 Qxa1+ 13. Ke2 Qxh1 14. fxg7 Rg8 15. Nf5) 11. fxg7 Rg8 12. O-O Rxg7 13. g3 $13) 9... Nc6 10. Rc1 a6 11. a3 (11. Nxc6 Bxc6 12. Qxd8+ Rxd8 13. e5 Rd4 14. exf6 Rg4 $1 15. f3 Rxg5 16. fxg7 Rg8) 11... Be7 (11... Bd6 12. Nf5 Bxh2+ 13. Kxh2 exf5 14. exf5 O-O 15. Nd5 Bxf5 16. Nxf6+ gxf6 17. Qxd8 Rfxd8 18. Bxf6 $16) 12. Nf3 Ng4 13. Bxe7 (13. Bf4 Bf6 (13... e5 14. Bg3 h5) 14. Bd6 Nge5 $10) 13... Qxe7 14. Qe2 Qf6 15. Rcd1 h5 16. h3 Nce5 $1 17. Nxe5 Qxe5 (17... Nxe5 18. Ba2 $140 {f4-e5}) 18. g3 (18. hxg4 $2 hxg4 19. f4 Qc5+) 18... Nf6 19. Qe3 h4 20. g4 (20. f4 $1 Qc7 21. Be2 hxg3 22. e5 Rxh3 (22... Nh5 23. Ne4 Bc6 24. Nd6+ Ke7 25. f5) 23. Kg2 Rh2+ 24. Kxg3 Rxe2 25. Qxe2) 20... g5 21. Rfe1 Bc6 $6 (21... Rc8 22. Bb3 Bc6 23. Nd5 Nd7 24. Rc1) 22. Bd5 $1 (22. Nd5 Nd7) 22... Rc8 (22... exd5 23. exd5 Qxe3 24. Rxe3+) 23. Bxc6+ Rxc6 24. Qa7 O-O 25. Qxb7 Rfc8 26. Nd5 $6 (26. Qa7 $142 R8c7 27. Qd4 Nd7 $16) 26... Kg7 $1 (26... Rc2 27. Nb4) 27. Nb4 (27. Nxf6 Qxf6) (27. Ne7 Rc2 28. Nxc8 Qf4 29. Qb6 Nxg4 30. hxg4 Qxg4+ 31. Kh2 Qf4+ 32. Kg1 Qg4+ 33. Kh2) 27... Rc4 28. Nd3 Qa5 29. Nb4 $138 Qe5 30. Nd3 Qa5 31. Nb4 Qe5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Tata Steel-A 76th"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2014.01.19"] [Round "7"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2812"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2014.01.11"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 159"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2014.03.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.03.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. a4 c5 {A rare continuation, compared to the normal} (7... c6) {This is a bit illogical: Black loses his b5-pawn but doesn't achieve any considerable benefits compared to the positions arising when he plays 6...c5 at once. On the other hand, it is very difficult for White to make use of his doubled extra pawn.} 8. axb5 (8. e5 cxd4 9. exf6 gxf6 10. Bxf6 Qxf6 11. Qxd4 Nd7 12. axb5 Qxd4 13. Nxd4 Nb6 14. Nc6 Bxc3+ 15. bxc3 a6 $11 {1/2 (25) Burnett,R (2371)-Bick,J (2201) Tulsa 2008}) 8... cxd4 9. Bxf6 (9. Nxd4 {is quite possible, and Black has yet to find a convincing way to equality. Here are some practical examples:} Bb7 (9... Qb6 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Bxc4 O-O {0-1 (56) Stempin,P (2390)-Panczyk,K (2410) Poznan 1985} 12. O-O Kh8 13. Na4 $16) (9... e5 10. Nc2 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Nbd7 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. Bxc4 Bb7 14. Bd5 Bxd5 15. Qxd5 Nb6 16. Qb3 $16 {1-0 (63) Chernikov,O (2460)-Shereshevski,M Belarus 1983}) 10. f3 (10. Nc2 $14) 10... O-O 11. Bxc4 Qc7 12. Qb3 Bd6 13. b6 Qxb6 14. Qxb6 axb6 15. Rxa8 Bxa8 16. Ke2 $14 {1-0 (44) Staniszewski,P (2405)-Panczyk,K (2375) Bytom 1986}) 9... gxf6 (9... Qxf6 10. Qxd4 Bb7 11. Qxf6 gxf6 12. Nd2 a6 13. Bxc4 axb5 14. Bxb5+ Ke7 15. Rxa8 Bxa8 16. Ke2 Nc6 17. Bxc6 Bxc6 18. Ra1 $14 {1-0 (41) Rashkovsky,N (2520)-Arencibia,J (2405) Eger 1989}) 10. Qxd4 Nd7 {Hardly an improvement on the following old game:} (10... Qxd4 11. Nxd4 Bb7 12. f3 Nd7 13. Nc2 Bc5 14. Bxc4 Rg8 15. g3 Ke7 {1/2 (15) Glek,I (2400)-Sveshnikov,E (2505) Moscow 1983}) 11. Qxc4 Bc5 12. Be2 Bb7 13. O-O Rc8 14. Qd3 Bb6 {[%mdl 32]} (14... Ne5 $5 {, forcing the exchange of queens, was probably a better option.}) 15. Na4 {And for White it was better to keep queens on the board since Black's king is less safe:} (15. Rad1 Nc5 $140 16. Qb1 Qc7 17. b4 Nd7 18. Na4 $14) 15... Nc5 $1 16. Qxd8+ Rxd8 17. Nxc5 (17. Nxb6 axb6 18. e5 Bxf3 19. Bxf3 fxe5 $11) 17... Bxc5 18. Rfc1 Bb6 {Black's bishop pair fully compensates his material deficit. Pay attention to White's passive e2-bishop: he would probably prefer to have a knight instead.} 19. Rc4 Ke7 20. Kf1 Rd6 21. e5 Rd5 22. exf6+ Kxf6 23. Rf4+ Ke7 24. Bc4 Rh5 25. h3 Rc8 26. b3 Bc7 {Provoking an exchange sacrifice.} (26... Rd8 $44 {was quite possible.}) 27. Rxa7 Bxf4 28. Rxb7+ Rc7 29. Rb6 {White's position is solid enough to hold on but playing for a win is out of question.} Rd7 30. Ke2 Bd6 31. Ra6 Bb4 32. h4 Rc5 33. Ra8 Bc3 34. g3 h6 35. Bd3 Rcc7 36. Ra6 Rd6 37. Ra8 Bd4 $6 {Black's bishop was a precious piece holding White's b5-pawn; it was not a good idea to trade it.} (37... Rd8 $142) 38. Nxd4 Rxd4 39. Bc4 Rd8 40. Rxd8 {And for White it was better to decline the exchange offer, thus keeping some chances to make use of his b-pawns:} (40. Ra2 $142) 40... Kxd8 41. g4 {The endgame is objectively equal.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Dos Hermanas-A"] [Site "Dos Hermanas"] [Date "2005.04.02"] [Round "2"] [White "Azmaiparashvili, Zurab"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2671"] [BlackElo "2646"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2005.04.01"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "16"] [SourceTitle "CBM 107"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.08.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.08.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ {Das ist die chancenreichste Fortsetzung für Weiß - die Alternativen 10.?xf6 und 10.?b5 sind weniger populär.} Bd7 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Bxd7+ {Dieser Zug ist wieder in Mode gekommen; früher war 12.?b3 die Hauptvariante.} (12. Qb3 $5 a6 13. Be2) 12... Nxd7 13. O-O a6 (13... Qc7 14. Qd2 Nc5 15. Rae1 O-O-O 16. Qe3 a6 17. f4 Rd7 18. e5 f5 19. Nb3 Ne4 {0-1 Krivoshey,S-Donchenko,A/Frankfurt 2004/EXT 2005 (34)}) (13... Nc5 14. Qh5 Qc7 15. Rab1 Qe5 16. Qh3 Qxe4 17. Rfe1 Qd5 18. Nf5 Rd8 {0-1 Granero Roca,A-Palac,M/Lorca ESP 2001/(28)}) 14. Rb1 Qc7 15. Qd2 {[%CAl Gf1d1,Gd1d8,Gd2h6]} (15. Qh5 Nc5 16. Rb4 {? ?c4,?e6} Qe5 17. Qxe5 fxe5 18. Nb3 Nxb3 19. axb3 O-O-O 20. f4 $1 $14 {½-½ Gulko,B-Salov,V/Linares 1990/CBM 17/(58)}) (15. Qg4 h5 16. Qh3 Ke7 17. f4 h4 18. Qf3 Rac8 19. e5 Qxc3 20. exf6+ Kxf6 21. Qxc3 Rxc3 {½-½ Kramnik,V-Anand,V/Dortmund 88/(377) 2003 (21)}) (15. Qe2 O-O 16. Rfd1 Kh8 17. Rd3 Rg8 18. Nf3 Nc5 19. Rd4 e5 20. Rdb4 Rad8 {½-½ Gyimesi,Z-Hoelzl,F/Balatonlelle 2002/(51)}) 15... O-O (15... Rc8 16. Rfd1 b5 17. f4 Nc5 18. Qe3 Rg8 19. Ne2 Na4 20. Kh1 $44 {1-0 Smirnov,P-Popov,V/Moscow 2005/(26)}) (15... h5 16. f4 Rc8 17. Rf3 b5 18. Re1 Nb6 19. Qf2 h4 20. Rh3 Na4 21. Rxh4 Rg8 22. Rh7 Qxc3 23. e5 {½-½ Gelfand,B-Topalov,V/Monte Carlo 2005/CBM 105 ext (39)}) 16. Rfd1 {[%CAl Gd1d7] Die weiße Drohung ist jetzt 17.?xe6.} Ne5 $5 $146 {[%mdl 4] Die Eröffnungstheorie entwickelt sich sehr schnell: statt der schablonenhafter Fortsetzung 16...?ad8 verbessert Schwarz sofort seine Springerstellung.} (16... Rad8 17. Qh6 Kh8 18. Rd3 Rg8 19. Ne2 $14 Rg6 20. Qd2 $1 {1-0 Akopian,V-Izoria,Z/Moscow RUS 2005/(57)}) 17. Qh6 Ng6 18. Rd3 Qf4 $1 {Das ist die Pointe des Zugs 16...?e5!? - Schwarz tauscht die Damen.} 19. Qxf4 Nxf4 20. Rf3 e5 21. Nf5 {[%csl Rc3,Gf5,Rf6,Rf7] Der ?f5 steht ausgezeichnet und die schwarzen Doppelbauern auf f7 und f6 sind immer schwach. Der ?c3 ist jedoch ebenfalls eine Schwächung.} (21. g3 $2 Nh3+ 22. Kg2 Ng5 $17) 21... b5 22. h4 (22. g3 Ne6 (22... Nh3+ 23. Kg2 Ng5 24. Re3 Rfd8 25. a4 bxa4 (25... Rab8 $4 26. Ne7+ Kf8 27. Nc6 $18) 26. Ra1 Ne6 27. Rxa4 $14) 23. Ne7+ Kg7 24. Nd5 Rfd8 25. Nxf6 Rac8 $11) 22... Rfd8 $11 {[%CAl Gd8d1]} 23. c4 $5 {Weiß opfert einen Bauern, um seinen b1-Turm zu aktivieren.} (23. g3 Ne6 24. Ne7+ Kg7 25. Nd5 Nc5 26. Nxf6 Rd6 27. Ng4 Nxe4 28. Nxe5 f6 29. Rb4 Rd1+ 30. Kg2 Nxf2 31. Rxf2 fxe5 $11) 23... bxc4 (23... Rab8 $2 24. Ne7+ Kf8 25. Rxf4 (25. Nc6 Ne2+ 26. Kf1 Nd4 27. Nxd8 Nxf3 28. gxf3 Rxd8 29. cxb5 axb5 30. Rxb5 Ra8 31. Rb2 $14) 25... exf4 26. Nc6 Rdc8 27. Nxb8 Rxb8 28. Kf1 $16) 24. Rb7 Rd3 (24... c3 25. Rc7 Rd2 26. Kh2 Kh8 27. Rfxc3 (27. Rxf7 Rg8 28. g3 c2 29. Rc7 Ne2 $19) 27... Rg8 28. Rg3 h5 $11 (28... Rxg3 29. fxg3 Rxg2+ (29... Ne6 30. Rxf7 $18) 30. Kh1 $18)) 25. Rxd3 cxd3 {[%mdl 4096] Schwarz hat einen Bauern mehr, aber dieser hat keine Bedeutung, da die weißen Figuren sehr aktiv stehen.} 26. Rd7 Kf8 (26... Ne2+ 27. Kf1 Nc3 28. Rxd3 Nxe4 29. Ke2 $11) 27. g3 Ke8 28. Re7+ (28. Rd6 Ne2+ 29. Kg2 Rd8 (29... Nc3 30. Rxd3 Nxe4 31. Kf3 $11) 30. Ng7+ Ke7 31. Nf5+ Ke8 $11) 28... Kf8 29. Rd7 (29. gxf4 Rd8 30. Rb7 d2 31. Ne3 d1=Q+ 32. Nxd1 Rxd1+ 33. Kg2 Rd2 (33... exf4) 34. Rb6 Rxa2 35. Rxf6 exf4 36. Rxf4 $11) 29... Ke8 30. Re7+ Kf8 31. Rd7 {Und Remis durch Zugwiederholung.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Dortmund SuperGM 33rd"] [Site "Dortmund"] [Date "2005.07.09"] [Round "2"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2612"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2005.07.07"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "GER"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 108"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.09.26"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.09.26"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. e5 cxd4 8. Nxd4 (8. Qa4+ Nc6 $13) 8... Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. exf6 Qxg5 11. fxg7 Qxg7 12. Qd2 {Dieser Damenzug scheint mir logischer, als die Alternative 12.?f3.} O-O (12... Nc6 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. Bxc4 Qe5+ 15. Kf1 Bb7 16. Rd1 O-O 17. h4 Rad8 $10 {Portisch,L-Huebner,R/Skelleftea WCup/1989/0,5/28/}) 13. Bxc4 a6 {Interessant ist zu bemerken, dass vor ein paar Monaten Topalov mit Schwarz dieselbe Variante spielte, aber statt dem Bauernzug die Alternative 13...?d8 wählte.} (13... Rd8 14. Qe3 Bd7 15. O-O Nc6 16. Nf3 Ne7 17. Ne5 Ng6 (17... Bc6 18. Nxc6 Nxc6 19. Bd3 (19. f4 $5) 19... Ne7 20. Be4 Nd5 21. Bxd5 Rxd5 22. Rad1 Qe5 {½-½ Van Wely,L-Topalov,V/Monte Carlo C 2005/(29)}) 18. f4 Rac8 19. Be2 Nxe5 20. fxe5 Bc6 21. Bf3 Bd5 22. Rab1 b6 23. Rb4 $1 Bxf3 24. Rxf3 Rd1+ 25. Kf2 {0-1 Dreev,A-Kharlov,A/Novosibirsk 1995/CBM 050/[Belov] (44)}) 14. O-O {Weiß hat einige Bauernschwächen am Damenflügel, aber Entwicklungsvorteil.} Rd8 $6 (14... b5 15. Bb3 (15. Be2 Bb7 16. Bf3 Bxf3 17. Nxf3 Nc6 $11) 15... b4 16. Rac1 (16. Rad1 $5 {Das wäre eine mögliche Verbesserung für Weiß.} bxc3 (16... Rd8 17. Qf4 Bb7 (17... bxc3 18. Nxe6 $18) (17... e5 18. Nf5 Rxd1 (18... exf4 19. Rxd8+ Qf8 20. Ne7+ $18) 19. Nh6+ $18) 18. Nf3 $1 $36) 17. Qxc3 Bb7 (17... Nd7 18. Rd3 Ne5 19. Rg3 Ng6 20. h4 Qh6 21. Qf3 $1 {[%CAl Rh4h5,Rf3a8]}) 18. Qh3 Kh8 (18... Nc6 19. Nxe6 $1) 19. Ba4 $5 $36) 16... Rd8 17. Qe3 Bb7 18. f3 bxc3 19. Rfd1 Nc6 20. Nxc6 Rxd1+ 21. Bxd1 Bxc6 22. Rxc3 Bd5 23. Bb3 Bxb3 24. axb3 {½-½ Ribli,Z-Acs,P/Hungary/ 2002 (57)}) 15. Qf4 b5 $6 (15... e5 16. Qh4 $36) (15... Bd7 $142 16. Rae1 Nc6 17. Re3 Ne7 (17... e5 18. Qh4 exd4 19. Rg3 Bf5 20. Rxg7+ Kxg7 21. Qg3+) 18. Rg3 Ng6 19. Qg5 $36) 16. Qc7 $1 $36 {[%csl Gc7] Das Eindringen der Dame in die gegnerische Stellung ist sehr stark; Schwarz hat große Schwierigkeiten mit der eigenen Figurenentwicklung.} Qf8 (16... Qf6 17. Bd3 {[%csl Gc7,Gd3][%CAl Rd3e4,Re4a8]}) 17. Bd3 Rd7 (17... Qd6 18. Bxh7+ $1 Kg7 (18... Kxh7 19. Qxf7+ Kh8 (19... Kh6 20. Nf3 $1 Qf8 21. Ne5 Qg7 22. Qf4+ Kh7 23. Qh4+ $18) 20. Rad1 Qf8 21. Qh5+ Kg8 22. Nxe6 Bxe6 23. Qg5+ $18) 19. Qxd6 Rxd6 20. Be4 Ra7 21. Rad1 $16) 18. Qf4 Bb7 19. Rae1 {[%CAl Re1e3,Re3g3,Rg3g8][%mdl 2048] Weiß bringt den Turm ins Spiel, seine Drohung ist ?e3-?g3.} Qg7 $6 (19... Nc6 20. Re3 Ne7 21. h4 $1 $40) 20. Be4 $16 Kh8 (20... e5 21. Bxb7 f6 (21... exf4 22. Re8+ $18) 22. Qf3 Rxb7 23. Nf5 Qc7 24. Nh6+ Kg7 25. Qg4+ Kxh6 26. Re3 $18) 21. Re3 Bxe4 (21... e5 22. Bxb7 $1) 22. Qxe4 Rd5 (22... Raa7 23. Qf4 Rac7 24. Rg3 e5 25. Qf5 exd4 26. Re1 $18) (22... Rda7 23. Rg3 Qf6 24. Nf3 Nd7 25. Ng5 Qg6 (25... Nf8 26. Nxf7+ $1 Rxf7 (26... Qxf7 27. Qe5+ $18) 27. Qxa8 $18) 26. Qd4+ e5 (26... f6 27. Nxh7 $1) 27. Qd5 Nb6 (27... Rf8 28. Nxh7 $18) 28. Qf3 $1 f5 29. Nxh7 $18) {?} 23. Nxe6 $3 {[%mdl 512] Mit diesem Figurenopfer vernichtet Weiß die schwarze Bauerverteidigung und erhält deutlichen Angriff.} fxe6 24. Qxe6 $18 {[%csl Ge3,Ge6,Rg7,Rh8][%CAl Re3g3,Rg3g7]} Rd7 (24... Rd8 25. Rg3) 25. Rg3 Qf8 26. Re1 $1 {[%csl Ra8,Rb8,Ge1,Ge6,Gg3] Die letzte weiße Figur kommt ins Spiel - Schwarz ist machtlos.} Raa7 (26... Rg7 27. Rxg7 Kxg7 (27... Qxg7 28. Qc8+ Qg8 29. Re8 $18) 28. Qg4+ Kh8 29. Qd4+ Kg8 30. Qd5+ $18) 27. Qf6+ $1 (27. Qf6+ Qxf6 28. Re8+ $18) 1-0 [Event "Skopje Karposh op"] [Site "Skopje"] [Date "2013.03.16"] [Round "9"] [White "Kozul, Zdenko"] [Black "Georgiev, Kiril"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2608"] [BlackElo "2657"] [Annotator "Schulz,Andre"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2013.03.09"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "MKD"] [SourceTitle "CBM 153 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2013.04.22"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2013.04.22"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 {Das ist die Ragorin-Variante des Damengambits.} h6 {Eine Spezialvariante von Georgiev. Kramnik und Ivanchuk haben so vor ein paar Jahren auch gelegentlich gespielt.} ({Häufiger sieht man} 6... c5) 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. Bxc4 c5 9. O-O cxd4 10. e5 (10. Nb5 $5 Qe7 11. Qxd4 O-O 12. Nxa7 Bc5 13. Nxc8 Rxc8 14. Qd3 Nc6 15. Qe2 Nd4 16. Nxd4 Bxd4 17. Bb3 Qf6 18. Rad1 Bxb2 19. f4 Ba3 20. f5 e5 21. Rd7 Be7 22. Rxb7 Ra7 23. Qb5 Rxb7 24. Qxb7 Rc3 25. Rd1 Bc5+ 26. Kh1 Bd4 27. Rb1 h5 28. Qd7 Bc5 29. Qe8+ Bf8 30. Rd1 Qe7 31. Qxe7 Bxe7 32. g3 Kf8 33. Rd7 Rc6 34. Rb7 g6 35. fxg6 fxg6 36. Kg2 g5 37. h3 h4 38. a4 Rc3 39. gxh4 gxh4 40. a5 Rg3+ 41. Kh2 Bc5 42. a6 Bg1+ 43. Kh1 Bd4 44. Ba4 Rxh3+ 45. Kg2 Rg3+ 46. Kh2 Rg7 47. Bd7 Bg1+ 48. Kh1 Bf2 49. a7 {1/2-1/2 (49) Papin,V (2569)-Georgiev,K (2666) Aix-les-Bains 2011}) 10... Qe7 ({Beliebter ist} 10... Qd8 {z.B.:} 11. Ne4 O-O 12. Qe2 Nd7 13. Rad1 Qb6 14. g4 f6 15. exf6 Nxf6 16. Nxd4 Nd5 17. Nxe6 Bxe6 18. Bxd5 Rae8 19. Qc4 Kh8 20. Bxe6 Rxe6 21. Qd4 Qb5 22. f3 Ba5 23. Kg2 Bb6 24. Qd2 Ba5 25. Qd7 Qxb2+ 26. Rf2 {Notation endet hier in Bacrot,E (2705)-Pelletier,Y (2604) Nancy 2013, 1-0 (26)} (26. Rf2 Qb6 27. Nd6 Ref6 $11)) 11. Ne4 {Weiß lässt sich mit dem Wiederschlagen auf d4 Zeit.} Nc6 12. Qe2 O-O 13. a3 Ba5 14. Rad1 Bd7 15. b4 Bc7 16. Nc5 Rfc8 {Ein neuer Zug gegenüber} (16... Bc8 17. Bb5 Bb6 18. Bxc6 bxc6 19. Qc4 Bxc5 20. bxc5 a5 21. Qxd4 Ba6 22. Rfe1 Rfd8 23. Qc3 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Be2 25. Rd6 Bxf3 26. Qxf3 Qg5 27. g3 Qxe5 28. Rxc6 Rd8 29. Rd6 Rc8 30. Rd7 f5 31. c6 Qc5 32. h4 Qxc6 33. Qxc6 Rxc6 34. Ra7 Rc5 35. Kg2 g6 36. f4 Kf8 37. a4 h5 38. Kf3 e5 39. fxe5 Rxe5 40. Kf2 Rc5 41. Kf3 Rc3+ 42. Kg2 Rc5 43. Kf3 Re5 44. Kf2 Kg8 45. Kf3 {1/2-1/2 (45) Kohlweyer,B (2436)-Georgiev,K (2675) Benasque 2010}) 17. Qe4 Be8 18. Bd3 g6 19. Qf4 (19. Nxb7 Nxe5 20. Nxe5 Bxe5 21. Qxe5 Qxb7 22. Be4 Bc6 $11) 19... Kg7 (19... a5 $5 {mit der Idee} 20. Qxh6 axb4 21. Ng5 Bxe5) 20. Rc1 (20. Nxb7 $5) 20... Rab8 21. Ne4 a6 22. Nf6 Bd7 (22... Nxe5 23. Nxe8+ Rxe8 24. Nxe5 f6 25. Qg3 Bxe5 26. Qxg6+ $16) 23. Ng4 (23. Qe4 $5) 23... Rh8 24. h4 h5 25. Ngh2 Rbc8 26. Rfe1 f5 27. Nf1 (27. exf6+ $2 Qxf6 28. Qxf6+ Kxf6 {und nun sieht Weiß den Bauern d4 nicht wieder.}) 27... Rhd8 28. Ng3 Bb8 29. Ne2 Kh8 30. Qg3 Qg7 31. Nf4 Rg8 32. Bc4 Rce8 ({In Betracht kam} 32... Bxe5 $5 33. Bxe6 (33. Nxe5 Nxe5 34. Rxe5 b5) 33... Bxf4 34. Qxf4 Bxe6 35. Rxe6 Rge8 36. Rce1 Rxe6 37. Rxe6 $14) 33. Ba2 Bc8 34. Rcd1 Re7 35. Rc1 Bd7 36. Qg5 Ree8 37. Nd3 (37. Rxc6 $5 Bxc6 38. Nxd4 Bd7 39. Nfxe6 Bxe6 40. Nxe6 Qe7 (40... Qh7 41. Qf6+ $18) 41. Qe3 {Mit starker weißer Initiative.}) 37... Kh7 38. Qf4 Kh8 39. Nc5 Bc8 40. Ng5 {Das Thema der Partie, Springer- gegen Läuferpaar, tritt nun deutlich zutage.} Bxe5 {Nach dieser Abwicklung kommt Schwarz materiell in Nachteil.} 41. Rxe5 Nxe5 42. Qxe5 Qxe5 43. Nf7+ Kh7 44. Nxe5 g5 45. Ncd3 ({Natürlicher sieht} 45. hxg5 Rxg5 46. Ncd3 {aus.}) 45... gxh4 46. Nf4 Re7 47. Kf1 Kh6 48. Bb3 Kg5 49. Nfd3 Kf6 50. Rc4 b5 51. Rxd4 Bb7 52. f3 Bd5 53. Bxd5 exd5 54. Rxd5 Rc8 55. Nd7+ Kg5 56. N7c5 Rc6 57. Ne4+ Kh6 58. Rxf5 Rc2 59. Nf4 Rd7 60. Kg1 Rd1+ 61. Kh2 Ra1 ({Nötig war} 61... Rc6 $18) 62. Rf6+ Kh7 63. Ng5+ (63. Ne6 Kh8 64. N4g5 Rc8 65. Rh6+ Kg8 66. Rg6+ Kh8 67. Nf7+ Kh7 68. Rg7#) 63... Kg7 64. Nxh5+ Kg8 65. Rf7 1-0 [Event "WchT 7th"] [Site "Bursa"] [Date "2010.01.05"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Leitao, Rafael Duailibe"] [Black "Morozevich, Alexander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2620"] [BlackElo "2732"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2010.01.05"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "TUR"] [SourceTitle "CBM 134"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.01.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.01.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Brazil"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "BRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Bxd7+ Nxd7 13. O-O Qxc3 $6 {A rare continuation considered risky but almost untested in practice.} (13... a6 {is usually played.}) 14. Qa4 {White's other options, apparently more dangerous for Black, are still waiting for tests:} (14. Nb5 Qc6 15. Nd6+ (15. a4 Nc5) 15... Ke7 16. Nxf7 $1 Rhc8 $1 (16... Kxf7 $2 17. Rc1 Qb5 18. a4) 17. Qh5 Qxe4 $13) (14. Rb1 $5 Rd8 $1 (14... O-O $2 15. Nxe6) 15. Nb5 Qc6 16. Nd6+ Kf8 17. Qd4 $36) (14. Rc1 $5 Qb4 15. a3 Qa5 16. Qg4 $36) 14... O-O $1 15. Qxd7 $6 {Practically forcing a draw.} (15. Nxe6 $142 Nb6 $1 (15... fxe6 16. Qxd7 Qc6 17. Qxc6 bxc6 18. Rac1 $14) 16. Qd4 Rfc8 $1 (16... Qxd4 17. Nxd4 Rfd8 18. Nf5 $16 {1-0 Antic,D (2460)-Zontakh,A (2545)/Jagodina 1998/CBM 065 ext (73)}) 17. Qxc3 Rxc3 18. Nf4 Kg7 $14 {P.Masic}) 15... Rad8 16. Qxb7 Qxd4 $11 17. Rab1 Rd7 18. Qc6 $146 {This "novelty" changes nothing, of course.} (18. Qb2 Rc8 19. Rfe1 $11 {Damjanovic,D (2247)-Masic,P (2399)/Beograd 2001/Inf 80/[Masic,P]}) 18... Rfd8 19. h3 Qe5 20. f4 Qa5 21. f5 Rc7 22. Rb5 Rxc6 23. Rxa5 a6 24. fxe6 Rxe6 25. Rf3 Rd1+ 26. Kh2 Re1 27. Rfa3 R1xe4 28. Rxa6 f5 29. R6a5 Rg6 30. Rxf5 Re2 31. Rg3 Rxg3 32. Kxg3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Aeroflot op-A"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2005.02.19"] [Round "5"] [White "Bologan, Viktor"] [Black "Kharlov, Andrei"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2683"] [BlackElo "2614"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2005.02.15"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "CBM 106"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.06.06"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.06.06"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 {Mit Schwarz spielt Kharlov gerne das Angenommene Damengambit.} 5. e4 {Statt dieser natürlichen Fortsetzung kann Weiß 4.e3 ziehen, und das Angenommene Damengambit einleiten.} Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. e5 {Heutzutage wird dieser Zug weniger gespielt; die Hauptfortsetzung ist 7.?xc4.} h6 (7... cxd4 8. Qa4+ (8. Nxd4 Qa5) 8... Nc6 9. O-O-O Bd7 10. Ne4 Be7 11. exf6 gxf6 12. Bh4 Rc8 $13) 8. exf6 hxg5 9. fxg7 Rg8 10. dxc5 (10. Qc2 cxd4 11. Qh7 Ke7 12. O-O-O Bxc3 13. bxc3 Qa5 14. Qxg8 Qxc3+ 15. Kb1 Qb4+ 16. Kc2 Qc3+ {½-½ Van Wely,L-Naiditsch,A/Bundesliga/2004/05}) 10... Qxd1+ 11. Rxd1 Rxg7 12. Rd4 (12. Bxc4 Nc6 (12... Nd7 $5 13. c6 bxc6 14. O-O $11) 13. O-O Bxc5 14. Ne4 Be7 15. g4 Bd7 16. Nd6+ Bxd6 17. Rxd6 Ke7 18. Rfd1 Be8 {½-½ Goldin,A-Nielsen,P/Moscow 2001/CBM 86/[Heine Nielsen] (35)}) (12. h4 g4 13. Nd2 Nd7 14. Nxc4 Nxc5 15. Rd4 Ke7 16. Ne5 Bxc3+ 17. bxc3 g3 18. h5 Bd7 19. h6 {½-½ Knott,S-Rowson,J/Torquay 2002/CBM 91 (56)}) 12... Bxc3+ {[%mdl 4] Schwarz nimmt nicht den c5-Bauern, da er das Läuferpaar aufgeben würde. Mit dem Textzug verschlechtert er darüber hinaus die weiße Bauernstruktur.} (12... Bxc5 13. Rg4 (13. Rxc4 Nd7 14. Rg4 Be7 15. h4 f5 16. Rg3 g4 17. Nd4 Nb6 $11 {1-0 Williams,S-Shchekachev,A/Salzburg 2004/CBM 102 ext/(47)}) 13... Bd7 14. Bxc4 Be7 (14... f6 $5 15. h4 Rh7 {[%CAl Gh7h1]} 16. Re4 Kf7 17. Nd4 Bxd4 18. Rxd4 Ke7 $11) 15. h4 f5 16. Rxg5 $1 Bxg5 17. hxg5 Ke7 18. Rh8 $44 {[%csl Ra8,Rb8][%CAl Gh8a8] 1-0 Chiburdanidze,M-Schenk,A/Lippstadt 2003/CBM 097/[Ribli] (35)}) 13. bxc3 Nc6 (13... Bd7 $6 14. Ne5 Bc6 15. h4 $16) 14. Rg4 (14. Rxc4 e5 $44) 14... f6 15. h4 Rh7 {[%CAl Gh7h1]} (15... e5 16. Rxc4 (16. hxg5 $6 Bxg4 17. Rh8+ Ke7 18. gxf6+ Kxf6 19. Rxa8 Bxf3 20. gxf3 Rg1 $15) 16... Rh7 17. Bd3 Rh6 {Auf diese Weise ist mit Zugumstellung die Partiefortsetzung erreicht.}) 16. Rxc4 (16. Bxc4 e5 17. Rg3 Bf5 $44) 16... e5 17. Bd3 Rh6 18. h5 Be6 $44 {Schwarz hat einen Bauern weniger, aber seine Stellung ist gesund; hingegen ist die weiße Bauernstruktur am Damenflügel schlecht.} 19. Bg6+ Kd7 {Der König strebt nach c7.} 20. Ra4 Rah8 {Jetzt droht 21...?xg6 mit Figurengewinn.} 21. Ke2 Kc7 {[%csl Gc7] Wieder droht 22...?xg6. Alles ist verteidigt in der schwarze Stellung; der entfernte weiße Freibauer auf h5 stellt keine Gefahr dar.} (21... Rxg6 $2 22. Rd1+ $18) 22. Rd1 Rd8 23. Rxd8 Nxd8 (23... Kxd8 24. g4 $14) 24. Rxa7 (24. g4 $2 Bd7 {[%csl Ra4][%CAl Gd7a4,Gd7g4]}) 24... Bg4 {Schwarz gewinnt den h5-Bauern zurück.} 25. Ke3 Bxh5 26. Bf5 (26. Bxh5 Rxh5 $44) 26... Nc6 $11 {[%CAl Gc6e7,Ge7f5] Schwarz bereitet 27...?e7 vor, um den weißen Läufer von f5 zu verjagen und seine Bauern am Königsflügel zu mobilisieren.} 27. Ra8 {Droht einzügiges Matt 28.?c8#.} Ne7 28. Be6 Bxf3 29. Kxf3 {[%mdl 4096]} f5 {[%csl Ge5,Gf5,Gg5]} 30. Bb3 g4+ (30... Rc6 31. Re8 g4+ 32. Ke3 Kd7 33. Rb8 Kc7 $11) 31. Ke3 Kc6 32. Rb8 Nd5+ (32... Rh7 33. f4 gxf3 34. gxf3 $11) 33. Bxd5+ Kxd5 34. c4+ (34. Rxb7 f4+ 35. Kd3 e4+ 36. Ke2 Ra6 37. Rb2 Kxc5 38. g3 fxg3 39. fxg3 Rf6 $11) 34... Kxc4 35. Rxb7 Kxc5 36. Rf7 Ra6 37. Rxf5 Kd5 38. Rg5 (38. Rg5 Ra4 39. Ke2 Rxa2+ $11) 1/2-1/2 [Event "FRA-chT Top 16 GP Haute"] [Site "Port Barcares"] [Date "2005.05.06"] [Round "10"] [White "Bacrot, Etienne"] [Black "Delchev, Aleksander"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2731"] [BlackElo "2614"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "2005.05.04"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "4"] [EventCountry "FRA"] [SourceTitle "CBM 107"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.08.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.08.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Paris NAO"] [BlackTeam "Nice"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "FRA"] [TimeControl "40/6000+30:20/3000+30:600+30"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qa5 {Der bulgarische Großmeister favorisiert diese Fortsetzung. Die Hauptidee des Damenzugs besteht darin, das Nehmen auf c3 hinauszuzögern.} 9. Bd2 (9. Bb5+ Bd7 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. O-O (11. Qd3) (11. Bxd7+) 11... Bxc3 12. Bxd7+ Nxd7 13. bxc3 {Auf diese Weise haben wir eine bekannte Stellung erreicht, die auch mit der Zugfolge 8...Bxc3 9.bxc3 Qa5 10.Bb5+ entsteht.}) 9... Qc5 $5 (9... O-O 10. Qe2 (10. Nc2 Bxc3 11. Bxc3 Qg5 12. Qe2 Qxg2 13. O-O-O Qxe4 14. Rhg1 g6 15. Ne3 e5 16. f4 (16. Nd5 Qxe2 17. Nxf6+ Kg7 18. Bxe2 Kxf6 19. f4 Kg7 20. Bxe5+ Kg8 $15) 16... Be6 17. Bxe6 fxe6 18. fxe5 Nd5 19. Rxd5 exd5 20. e6 Rf3 21. Re1 Nc6 22. e7 Re8 23. Qd2 {0-1 Chatalbashev,B-Delchev,A/Reggio Emilia 2004}) 10... e5 (10... Rd8) 11. Nc2 Nc6 12. a3 Nd4 13. Qd3 Nxc2+ (13... Bxc3 14. Bxc3 Nxc2+ 15. Qxc2 Qc7 16. Qe2 Bg4 17. f3 Rac8 18. Ba2 Bd7 19. O-O Qb6+ 20. Qf2 Qxf2+ 21. Kxf2 $14) 14. Qxc2 Qc7 15. Bb3 Be7 16. O-O (16. Rc1 Qb6 17. Be3 Qa6 18. Qe2 b5 19. Nxb5 Rb8 20. Bc4 Be6 21. Bd3 Nxe4 22. O-O Ng3 23. hxg3 e4 24. Bxe4 Qxb5 25. Qxb5 Rxb5 26. b4 {1-0 Azmaiparashvili,Z-Delchev,A/Nova Gorica 2005/ (58)}) 16... Bd7 17. Bg5 Rac8 18. Rfd1 b5 19. Qe2 Bc6 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Nd5 Bxd5 22. Rxd5 {1/2-1/2 Jankovic,A-Delchev,A/Cannes 2005/CBM 105 ext (53)}) 10. Bb5+ Bd7 (10... Nbd7 11. Nb3 Qb6 12. Qe2 a6 13. Bd3 $14) 11. Nb3 Qe5 $5 {Auf den ersten Blick scheint es, dass die schwarze Dame auf e5 exponiert steht, aber in dieser konkreten Stellung bekommt Schwarz gute taktische Gegenchancen.} (11... Qe7 12. Bd3 Nc6 13. O-O O-O 14. a3 Bd6 (14... Bxc3 $5 15. Bxc3 e5 {Weiß besitzt das Läuferpaar, aber sein Springer b3 und der Läufer c3 stehen nicht so gut.}) 15. f4 e5 16. f5 {[%csl Yd4,Yd5]} Nd4 17. Bg5 {[%CAl Gg5e7] Die Felder d4 und d5 sind beiderseitig schwach. Dank der Fesselung des Springers f6 steht Weiß besser.} Bc6 18. Nd2 $1 {[%CAl Gd2c4,Gc4e3,Ge3d5] Weiß verbessert seine Springerstellung.} Rfd8 $146 19. Kh1 $1 (19. Nc4 Bc5 20. Kh1 Nb5 $11) 19... Bc7 (19... h6 20. Bh4 Rac8 21. Bc4 Bc5 22. Nd5 Bxd5 23. Bxd5 $14 {[%csl Gd5]}) 20. Bc4 Qd6 21. Bd5 $14 {1-0 Bacrot, E-Fressinet,L/Meribel 1998/CBM 67/[Ribli] (44)}) (11... Qb6 12. Bd3 Nc6 13. Be3 Bxc3+ 14. bxc3 Qc7 15. f4 Na5 16. O-O Nc4 17. Bd4 e5 18. Bxc4 Qxc4 19. Bxe5 Nxe4 20. Re1 {1-0 Teske,H-Donchenko,A/Muehlhausen 2003/EXT 2005 (44)}) 12. Bd3 (12. f4 Qc7 13. Bd3 Bxc3 14. bxc3 (14. Bxc3 Qxf4) 14... Bc6 15. Qe2 Nbd7 16. O-O e5 17. Kh1 O-O 18. Rae1 Rfe8 19. Qf3 a5 20. Be3 Rad8 {0-1 Notkin,M-Vescovi, G/2004/ (43)}) 12... Na6 {[%CAl Ga6c5][%mdl 4] Schwarz bringt seinen Springer durch c5 ins Spiel.} (12... Nc6 13. a3 $14) 13. f4 (13. a3 Nc5 $11) (13. O-O Nc5 14. Nxc5 (14. f4 Qd6 (14... Qc7 15. Nxc5 Qxc5+ 16. Kh1 $14) 15. Nb5 Qb6 (15... Qxd3 16. Nc7+ Kd8 (16... Ke7 $2 17. Bxb4 $18) 17. Bxb4 Qxd1 18. Raxd1 Kxc7 19. Nxc5 $14) 16. Nd6+ Qxd6 17. Bxb4 Nfxe4 (17... Qxd3 18. Nxc5 Qxd1 19. Rfxd1 Bc6 20. Rac1 $14) 18. Bc2 Qxd1 19. Raxd1 Rc8 20. Nxc5 Nxc5 $15) 14... Bxc5 $11 {[%csl Gc5][%CAl Gc5g1]}) 13... Qd6 14. Bc2 $6 (14. Qe2 $1 Bxc3 15. bxc3 (15. Bxc3 Qxf4) 15... e5 (15... Nc5 16. Nxc5 Qxc5 17. e5 Nd5 18. Qf2 Qxf2+ 19. Kxf2 $14) 16. O-O O-O 17. fxe5 Qxe5 18. Bf4 Qxc3 19. Rac1 $44) 14... Qb6 $11 {[%CAl Gb6g1] Schwarz hat eine bequeme, gleiche Stellung - er hat keine Schwächen; hingegen kann Weiß nicht rochieren.} (14... e5 $11) 15. e5 $6 (15. Qe2 $11) (15. Qf3 $11) 15... Nd5 16. Nxd5 (16. Qf3 Bc6 17. Qg3 O-O $11) 16... exd5 $15 17. Qe2 Rc8 18. Bd3 (18. Rc1 Rc4 $15 (18... O-O $15)) 18... O-O 19. Qf2 Bxd2+ (19... Nc5 20. Nxc5 Bxc5 21. Qh4 h6 $17) 20. Qxd2 Nb4 $17 {[%csl Gb4,Gc8,Re1]} 21. Bb1 Ba4 {[%mdl 2048] Schwarz hat ausgezeichnetes Figurenspiel. weil der weiße König in der Mitte unsicher steht.} 22. Ke2 {Kein sinnvoller Zug, aber guter Rat ist teuer.} (22. a3 Bxb3 23. axb4 Rc4 $17) 22... f6 $19 {Mit diesem Zug öffnet Schwarz die Stellung, worauf Weiß hat keine sinnnvolle Verteidigung besitzt.} 23. Qd4 $2 (23. exf6 Rxf6 $19) (23. e6 Bxb3 24. axb3 Qxe6+ 25. Kf3 Qb6 $19) 23... Bxb3 (23... Bxb3 24. Qxb6 Bc4+ $19) 0-1 [Event "Dortmund SuperGM 37th"] [Site "Dortmund"] [Date "2009.07.12"] [Round "10"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2697"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2009.07.02"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "GER"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 131"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2009.07.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2009.07.15"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Bxd7+ Nxd7 13. O-O a6 14. Rb1 Qc7 15. Qh5 Nc5 16. Rb4 Qe5 17. Qh6 {A new twist in this well-known position, first applied by Leko earlier in Dortmund. Previous games have seen:} (17. Qxe5 fxe5 18. Nb3 Nxb3 19. axb3 O-O-O 20. f4 exf4 21. Rc4+ Kb8 22. Rxf4 $14 {?} Rd7 (22... Rd1+ $5 23. Kf2 Rd2+ 24. Kf3 Rhd8) 23. Rd4 Rc7 24. Rd3 Rg8 25. Kf2 a5 $1 26. c4 Ka7 27. Rh3 Rg7 28. Rh5 Ka6 29. Rfh4 a4 $1 30. bxa4 Rxc4 {Ftacnik,L 1/2 Gulko,B (2610)-Salov,V (2645)/Linares 1990/CBM 017/[Ftacnik] (58)}) (17. Qh4 Qg5 (17... Rd8 18. Nf3 Qxc3 19. e5 Rg8 $1 (19... f5 20. Rc4 Qa5 21. Ng5 $16 Ne4 22. Rxe4 fxe4 23. Qf4 Rf8 24. Nxh7 Rh8 25. Ng5 Rf8 26. Nxe4 $18 {1-0 Tkachiev,V (2661)-Balogh,C (2562)/Khanty Mansiysk 2007/CBM 122 (30)}) 20. Qxh7 Ke7 21. Rf4 f5 22. Qh4+ Ke8 23. g3 Ne4 24. Rxe4 fxe4 25. Qxe4 Rd5 26. Qf4 Qc2 27. Ng5 Qf5 28. Qxf5 exf5 29. Nh7 Rg6 30. Nf6+ Rxf6 31. exf6 Rd6 32. Re1+ Kf8 33. Re5 Rxf6 {1/2 Gelfand,B (2733)-Aronian,L (2754)/Nalchik RUS 2009/The Week in Chess 755}) 18. Qh3 Rg8 (18... Qe5 19. Qh4 Qg5 20. Qh3 Qe5 21. Re1 Rd8 22. Qe3 Rg8 23. Nf3 Qc7 24. Rd4 Nd7 25. Red1 Ke7 26. g3 $14 {1/2 Gelfand,B (2736)-Jakovenko,D (2710)/Moscow 2007/CBM 122 (44)}) (18... h5 19. Rc4 (19. f4 Qg4 20. Qe3 Rg8 21. Rb2 Rc8 22. Rd2 h4 23. Nf3 h3 24. g3 Kf8 25. Rd4 Kg7 26. Rfd1 {1/2 Sasikiran,K (2684)-Macieja,B (2606)/Warsaw 2008/CBM 126}) 19... Rc8 20. Nb3 b6 21. Nxc5 Rxc5 22. Qd3 O-O 23. f4 Qg6 24. f5 Qg5 25. Rxc5 bxc5 26. Qxa6 (26. Kh1 $5) 26... Qe3+ 27. Kh1 Qxe4 28. Qd6 Ra8 $132 {1/2 Meier,G (2558)-Macieja,B (2600)/Kallithea 2008/CBM 127 (37)}) 19. g3 (19. Rc4 b5 20. Rxc5 Qxc5 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Qxe6+ Kf8 23. Qxf6+ Ke8 24. Qe6+ {1/2 Khismatullin,D (2584)-Nielsen,P (2629)/Plovdiv 2008/CBM 124}) 19... h5 20. Rc4 Rc8 21. Nb3 b6 22. Nxc5 Rxc5 23. f4 Qg4 24. Qxg4 hxg4 25. Rxc5 bxc5 26. Rb1 Kf8 27. f5 Kg7 28. fxe6 fxe6 29. Rb6 e5 30. Rxa6 Rd8 $11 {1/2 Werle,J (2582)-Macieja,B (2600)/Germany 2008/CBM 126 Extra (36)}) (17. Qf3 Rd8 18. Nb3 Nxb3 19. axb3 b5 (19... Rd7 $5) 20. Qe3 O-O 21. Rd4 a5 22. f4 Qh5 $6 (22... Qc5 $142) 23. Qd3 Rxd4 24. Qxd4 Qg6 25. Ra1 (25. Rf3 Kh8 26. Rg3 Qh6 27. e5 $14) 25... Ra8 26. c4 bxc4 27. bxc4 Qh6 28. Qd2 a4 29. c5 a3 $132 {1/2 Romanov,E (2576)-Sargissian,G (2678)/Moscow RUS 2009/The Week in Chess 746 (37)}) 17... Rc8 18. Nf3 $5 $146 {[%mdl 8]} (18. a4 Qxe4 19. Qxf6 Rg8 20. Qf3 Rg4 21. Qh3 h5 22. Nb3 Qg6 23. Nxc5 Rxc5 24. Qf3 Rd5 25. g3 Rxb4 26. cxb4 Qc2 27. Qf4 Qxa4 {1/2 Leko,P (2756)-Naiditsch,A (2697)/Dortmund GER 2009}) 18... Qxc3 19. Rd4 Ke7 20. e5 Nd7 21. Qh4 $44 {White has obtained unpleasant pressure for the sacrificed pawn, In practice it is difficult for Black to defend.} Rhg8 22. Kh1 b5 23. h3 Rc4 (23... Rgd8 $5) 24. Rxd7+ $5 Kxd7 25. Qxf6 Qd3 {Of course, it was not easy to find} (25... Ke8 26. Rd1 Rc8 27. Ng5 Qc7 $1 (27... Rxg5 $143 28. Qxg5 Qc2 29. Rd2 Qg6 30. Qh4 $36) 28. Ne4 (28. Nxh7 $2 Qc2) 28... Kf8 $1 29. Ng5 Rxg5 (29... Ke8 $5) 30. Qxg5 Qc2 {with sufficient counterchances. After the text move White obtains formidable passed pawns and a formal material plus but the position remains complicated.}) 26. Qxf7+ Kc6 27. Qxe6+ Kb7 28. Re1 Rg6 29. Qf7+ Rc7 30. Qf4 Rc4 31. Qf8 Rc8 32. Qe7+ Rc7 33. Qh4 Qc4 $6 (33... Qd5 $13) (33... Rcg7 $13) 34. Nd4 $1 {The knight paves the way for the pawns.} Qxa2 $2 {This unnecessary capture enables White to centralize his position and obtain an advantage.} (34... Qd5 $6 35. Qe4 Qxe4 36. Rxe4 {[%CAl Rf2f4]}) (34... Rd7 $142 $1 35. Nf5 $1 (35. e6 Qxd4 36. Qxd4 Rxd4 37. e7 Rg8 38. e8=Q Rxe8 39. Rxe8 Rd2 $44) 35... Qd5 36. Re4 {, and only now} Qxa2 $13) 35. Qe4+ {[%csl Gd4,Ge4,Ge5]} Kb6 (35... Kb8 36. e6 $16 Qxf2 $140 37. Rd1 {[%CAl Rd4c6]}) 36. Qe3 $1 (36. e6 $6 Qxf2) 36... Kb7 37. Qf3+ Kb6 38. Nb3 $1 {[%csl Ra2] Cutting off the black queen.} Rc2 $2 {This "active" move loses at once. Black has no time to create counterplay.} (38... Qa3 39. e6 $16 {[%csl Ge6] It is important that the f-pawn will join its neighbour in due time.}) 39. Qe3+ Kb7 40. e6 Rxf2 41. Qe4+ Kb6 42. Qd4+ {White mates first, e.g.} (42. Qd4+ Kb7 43. Qd5+ Kb6 44. e7 Rfxg2 45. Qd8+ Kb7 46. Qc8+ Kxc8 47. e8=Q+ Kb7 48. Re7+ Kb6 49. Qd8+ Kc6 50. Qd7+ Kb6 51. Qb7#) 1-0 [Event "Corus"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2001.01.17"] [Round "4"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Van Wely, Loek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2718"] [BlackElo "2700"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2001.01.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 081"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2001.03.20"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2001.03.20"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 dxc4 {Der holländische GM spielt gerne diese Variante - und zwar mit beiden Farben.} 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ {Das ist die prinzipielle Fortsetzung, aber 8...?a5 ist auch spielbar.} 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ {Es gibt so viele Partien in dieser Variante, doch es scheint, dass dieses Läuferschach die beste Fortsetzung für Weiß darstellt. Die Alternativen 10.?xf6 und 10.?b5 werden seltener gespielt.} Nbd7 (10... Bd7) 11. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12. Kf1 gxf6 13. h4 {[%CAl Gh1h3,Gh3a3] Das ist noch eine bekannte theoretische Stellung. Weiß bringt seinen Turm über h3 ins Spiel.} a6 14. Rh3 Qa5 (14... Qb4) 15. Be2 Nc5 (15... O-O 16. Rc1) (15... Ke7 16. Nb3 Qb6 17. Qc1 Rd8 18. Rd3 Nf8 19. Qa3+ Ke8 20. Rxd8+ Qxd8 21. Na5 $40 {Hier bekommt Weiß mehr als ausreichende Kompensation für den Bauern.}) 16. Nb3 {Weiß tauscht den guten schwarzen Springer ab. Die zugrundeliegende positionelle Regel ist auch in dieser konkreten Stellung gültig .} Nxb3 17. Qxb3 (17. Rxb3 Ke7 18. Qc1 Rd8 19. Rab1 Qd2 20. Qc7+ Rd7 21. Qg3 b5 22. Qg7 Rc7 23. Rd3 Rc1+ 24. Rxc1 Qxc1+ 25. Rd1 Qc5 26. Qxh7 Bb7 27. f3 Qe5 {½-½ Pogorelov,R-Kolev,A/Villarrobledo 2000/EXT 2001 (57)}) 17... b6 $1 {Das ist bei weitem die beste Verteidigung für Schwarz. Anschließend kann er mit dem Entwicklungszug ?b7 den ?e4attackieren.} (17... Qc7 18. Rd1 Bd7 19. Qb2 $1 O-O-O $8 20. Rc1 Bc6 21. Bxa6 $1 {1-0 Akopian,V-Horvath,C/Niksic 1991/Inf 51/[Akopian,V] (34)}) (17... e5 18. Rf3 Qd8 19. Rc1 $1 $16 {1-0 Kramnik,V-Kaidanov,G/Groningen 1993/Inf 59/[Kramnik,V] (31)}) 18. Rd1 (18. Rb1 Bb7 19. Qxb6 Qxb6 20. Rxb6 Bxe4 21. Bxa6 f5 22. Rc3 Ke7 23. f3 Bd5 24. Rc7+ Kf6 25. a4 Rhb8 26. Rxb8 Rxb8 {½-½ Van Wely,L-Movsesian,S/Polanica Zdroj 2000/CBM 79 no vc (46)}) (18. Rc1 $6 Bb7 19. Qb2 (19. Rc7 Bxe4 20. Re3 Bd5 21. Qb2 b5 22. Rec3 Rd8 23. Rc1 e5 24. a3 O-O 25. R7c3 Kh8 26. Rg3 Rg8 27. Rcc3 Rxg3 28. Rxg3 Be6 {0-1 Schmidt,W-Khenkin,I/Lubniewice 1998/EXT 2000 (28)}) 19... Qe5 20. Qxb6 Bxe4 21. Rg3 f5 22. Rd1 Rb8 23. Qa7 Rb7 24. Qxa6 Ke7 25. Qa3+ Kf6 26. Qc1 h6 27. Bd3 Rc7 28. Qa1 Qxa1 29. Rxa1 f4 {0-1 Nielsen,P-Khenkin,I/Germany 1999/EXT 2000 (57)}) 18... Bb7 19. Qb2 (19. Rf3 O-O (19... Qe5 $5) 20. Rg3+ Kh8 21. Qe3 Rg8 22. Qh6 Rxg3 23. Qxf6+ Rg7 24. Rd8+ {½-½ Solozhenkin,E-Khenkin,I/Reggio Emilia 2000}) (19. Rd6) 19... Qe5 (19... Rg8 $5) 20. Qxb6 Bxe4 {Dieser Tausch ist nicht schlecht für Schwarz - er bekommt den Zentrumsbauern auf e4 für den schwachen ?b6.} 21. Rg3 (21. Re3 $2 O-O 22. f3 Rfb8 $17) 21... f5 22. Kg1 $146 {Das ist die - natürlich vorbereitete - Neuerung. Die Idee des Zugs ist, dass Weiß seinen ?g3 befreit, denn in vielen Varianten besteht das schwarze Gegenspiel - nach einem Turmzug - im Eindrignen der Dame nach h2. Das früher gespielte 22.?xa6 verschafft Weiß keinen Eröffnungsvorteil. Insgesamt jedoch bleibt die Stellung - wie die ganze Variante - unklar, mit vielen taktischen Möglichkeiten.} (22. Bxa6 Ke7 $1 23. Qb4+ Kf6 24. Qd2 f4 $1 (24... h6 $2 25. f4 Qc5 $6 26. Qb2+ Ke7 27. Rg6 $3 {1-0 Dautov,R-Schlosser,P/Lippstadt 2000/CBM 78/[Dautov] (43)}) 25. Rg4 Rxa6 26. Rxf4+ Bf5 27. g4 Rg8 28. gxf5 Qb5+ 29. Qd3 Qxd3+ 30. Rxd3 e5 31. Rff3 Rg4 $15 {Dautov}) 22... h6 {[%mdl 256] Ein prophylaktischer Zug - Schwarz verteidigt das Feld g5, um nach f5-f4 nicht mit ?g5 rechnen zu müssen.} (22... Ke7 23. Qb4+ Kf6 24. Rd7 Rae8 25. Bxa6) 23. Qb4 {[%CAl Gb4f8]} (23. Bxa6 Ke7 $13) 23... f4 $13 {Der ?g3 muss sich entscheiden - entweder für die g-Linie oder für die 3.Reihe. Schwarz hat einen Mehrbauern, aber sein König steht unsicher in der Mitte.} 24. Rg4 Rb8 25. Qa3 (25. Qa4+ Ke7 $13) 25... a5 {[%CAl Gb8b4] Schwarz bereitet 27...?b4 vor, er möchte seinen König endlich in Sicherheit bringen.} 26. Bf3 Rb4 $5 $15 {[%mdl 2048]} (26... Bxf3 27. Qxf3 Rb4 28. Qc6+ Ke7 29. Rd7+ Kf6 30. Rxf7+ Kxf7 31. Qd7+ Kf8 32. Qd8+ Kf7 $11) 27. Qc1 Ke7 28. Rxf4 Bxf3 29. Rxf3 (29. Rxb4 $2 axb4 30. gxf3 Rg8+ $19) 29... Rxh4 {Schwarz hat einen Mehrbauern, aber die Realisierung des Materialvorteils ist keineswegs leicht, da Schwarz prinzipiell Probleme bei der Platzierung seines Königs behält.} 30. g3 Re4 31. Rc3 $44 {[%csl Re7][%CAl Gc1c7,Gd1d7]} Rg8 {Schwarz kümmert sich nicht um die Verteidigung des ?h6, sondern aktiviert den Turm.} 32. Rc7+ Kf6 33. Qxh6+ Rg6 $11 {Nach großen Komplikationen haben wir nun eine ausgeglichene Stellung erreicht. Die weiße Stellung scheint minimal aktiver, Schwarz kann sich leicht verteidigen.} 34. Qh8+ Rg7 35. Rcc1 (35. Qh6+ Rg6 $11) 35... Kg6 36. Kg2 Rh7 37. Qg8+ (37. Qxe5 Rxe5 $11) 37... Rg7 38. Qd8 (38. Qh8 $11) 38... Re2 39. Rc4 $1 {[%CAl Rc4g4,Rg4g6]} f5 (39... Rxa2 $2 40. Rg4+ Kf5 41. Rxg7 Qxg7 42. Rd4 $18 {[%csl Rf5]}) (39... Re4 40. Qd3 f5 41. Rxe4 Qxe4+ 42. Qxe4 fxe4 43. Rd4 (43. Rd6 Kf6 44. Ra6 Rg5 $11) 43... Kf5 44. Ra4 Ra7 45. Kf1 $16 {[%csl Re4]}) 40. Rh4 {[%csl Gh4] Der Turm steht gut auf h4, er verteidigt die weiße Königsstellung gegen ?e4+ und droht auf der h-Linie.} Qb2 (40... Qe3) 41. Kg1 Qc3 42. a4 Qf3 (42... Re1+ 43. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 44. Kg2 Qc3 45. Qe8+ $18) 43. Rf4 Qc6 44. Qd3 {[%CAl Gf4g4,Gg4g6]} (44. Rh4 Qf3 $11) 44... Rh7 45. Rg4+ Kf7 46. Qd7+ {Weiß hat nichts besseres als den Damentausch. Nun ist die Stellung sofort remis.} (46. Rh4 Rxh4 47. gxh4 Re4 $17) 46... Qxd7 47. Rxd7+ Kf6 48. Rxh7 fxg4 49. Ra7 (49. Ra7 Re5 $11) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Rubinstein Memorial 37th"] [Site "Polanica Zdroj"] [Date "2000.08.24"] [Round "7"] [White "Van Wely, Loek"] [Black "Movsesian, Sergei"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2643"] [BlackElo "2666"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2000.08.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "POL"] [EventCategory "17"] [SourceTitle "CBM 079"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2000.11.21"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2000.11.21"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 {Ftacnik} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 {Heutzutage, da die Taktik eine wichtigere Rolle im Schach einnimmt als früher, spielt man gerne die Wiener Variante.} 5. e4 {Anstelle dieser Fortsetzung kann Weiß auch 5.e3 spielen, aber der Textzug hat mehr für ihn zu bieten.} Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ {In der Großmeisterpraxis ist diese Fortsetzung beliebt, aber die Alternativen (10.?b5, 10.?xf6) sind - obwohl weniger gut - ebenfalls spielbar.} Nbd7 (10... Bd7) 11. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12. Kf1 gxf6 13. h4 {Weiß hat einen Bauern weniger, dafür steht sein König auf f1 relativ sicher, während sein schwarzer Gegenüber in Gefahr zu geraten droht. Mit dem Textzug beabsichtigt Weiß, den Turm mittels ?h3 zu aktivieren.} a6 14. Rh3 Qa5 15. Be2 Nc5 16. Nb3 {Das ist die beste Strategie für Weiß - er tauscht den Springer und damit die beste schwarze Figur ab.} Nxb3 17. Qxb3 b6 (17... Qc7 18. Rd1 Bd7 19. Qb2 O-O-O 20. Rc1 Bc6 21. Bxa6 $1 $14) 18. Rb1 Bb7 {'!?' Ftacnik.} (18... b5 {Ftacnik} 19. Qb2 Qd8 20. Ra3 (20. Rd3 Qe7 21. Rc3 Bd7 22. Rbc1 e5 $13) 20... Rb8 21. Rd3 Qe7 22. e5 f5 23. g3 $13) 19. Qxb6 Qxb6 20. Rxb6 Bxe4 21. Bxa6 {Ftacnik: 'From the opening players have jumped directly into interesting ending, white's activity and a passed pawn offer him somewhat better chances.' Wir haben eine materiell ausgeglichene Stellung vor uns, in der Weiß aufgrund des Freibauern auf der a-Linie leichten Vorteil besitzt. Andererseits hat Schwarz angesichts des bereits reduzierten Materials sehr gute Remischancen.} (21. Rxa6 Rxa6 22. Bxa6 Rg8 23. f3 (23. Rg3 {Ftacnik} Rxg3 24. fxg3 Kd7 $11) 23... Bd5 24. a4 Ke7 $11) 21... f5 $1 $11 {[%mdl 4096] Damit schafft Schwarz auf f6 ein Schlupfloch für seinen König und sichert die Stellung des ?e4.} (21... Rg8 22. Bb7 (22. f3 Bd5 23. a4 Kd7 24. Kf2 Ra7 $15) 22... Bxb7 23. Rxb7 Rg4 $132 (23... Rg4 {Ftacnik} 24. a3 Rga4 25. Rg3 Kf8 26. Rd3 Rxa3 27. Rdd7 $14)) 22. Rc3 {'!' Ftacnik.} (22. Bb7 Rb8 23. Rhb3 Ke7 24. a4 Rxb7 25. Rxb7+ Bxb7 26. Rxb7+ Kf6 27. a5 Ra8 $11) 22... Ke7 23. f3 Bd5 {[%csl Gd5] Der Läufer ist gut zentralisiert auf d5.} 24. Rc7+ Kf6 25. a4 Rhb8 {'!' Ftacnik.} 26. Rxb8 (26. Rb5 {Ftacnik} Bb3 $1 27. Rxb8 Rxb8 28. Bb5 Ra8 $11) 26... Rxb8 27. Bb5 e5 {'!' Ftacnik. Schwarz hat zwar einen Doppelbauern auf der f-Linie, dennoch muss er seine Bauernmehrheit am Königsflügel mobilisieren.} 28. Kf2 h5 (28... h6 29. Ra7 $14 {[%CAl Ga7a6,Ga6h6]}) (28... f4 {Ftacnik} 29. Bd3 h5 30. a5 Rb2+ 31. Rc2 $14) 29. g3 Ke6 {'?!' Ftacnik.} (29... f4 {Ftacnik} 30. gxf4 exf4 31. Rc5 Ke6 32. Bc4 $14) 30. f4 {'?!' Ftacnik.} (30. Ra7 $5 {Ftacnik} f4 (30... Rb6 31. Ke3 $16) (30... Bb3 31. Ra6+ Ke7 32. Rh6 Ra8 33. Rxh5 Bxa4 34. Bxa4 Rxa4 35. Rxf5 Ra2+ 36. Ke3 Ke6 37. g4 $16) (30... Kf6 31. Ra6+ Be6 32. f4 exf4 33. gxf4 Rg8 34. Be2 $16) 31. Ra6+ Ke7 32. gxf4 exf4 33. Rh6 Rc8 34. Rxh5 Rc2+ 35. Ke1 Bxf3 36. Rf5 $14) 30... exf4 (30... e4 $6 31. Ra7 $14 {[%CAl Ga7a6,Ga6h6]}) 31. gxf4 {Weiß hat wegen des schwarzen Doppelbauern auf der f-Linie eigentlich einen Bauern mehr. Aber da die g-Linie geöffnet ist, bekommt Schwarz Gegenspiel.} Rg8 $132 {[%CAl Rg8g4,Rg4f4,Rg4h4][%mdl 256] '!' Ftacnik.} 32. Be2 {Weiß unterbindet natürlich das Eindrignen des Turms nach g4.} (32. a5 $6 Rg4 33. Ke3 Rxh4 34. a6 Rh3+ $15 {[%CAl Gh3a3]}) (32. Bf1 {Ftacnik} Rg4 $11) 32... Rg2+ 33. Ke3 (33. Kf1 {Ftacnik} Rh2 $11) 33... Rh2 34. Bxh5 Kd6 (34... Rh3+ 35. Kd4 (35. Kd2 Rxh4 $11) 35... Rxh4 36. Bxf7+ Kd6 37. Ra7 Bxf7 38. Rxf7 Rxf4+ 39. Ke3 $11) 35. Rc8 (35. Ra7 {Ftacnik} Rh3+ 36. Kd4 Rxh4 37. Ra6+ Bc6 $11) 35... Rh3+ 36. Ke2 Rh2+ (36... Rxh4 37. Bf3 Rh2+ $11) 37. Ke3 Rh3+ 38. Kf2 Rxh4 39. Bf3 Rxf4 {'!' Ftacnik. Der ?f3 ist gefesselt, aber auch der ?d5 ist angreifbar.} (39... Bxf3 {Ftacnik} 40. Kxf3 Rh3+ 41. Kf2 Ra3 42. Rc4 $14) 40. Rd8+ Kc6 (40... Ke6 $11) 41. Rxd5 Rxf3+ 42. Kxf3 Kxd5 {Das Bauernendspiel ist natürlich Remis - die Großmeister spielen nur weiter, um die Partie zu verlängern.} 43. Kf4 Kc5 44. Kxf5 Kb4 45. Kf6 Kxa4 46. Kxf7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Foros Aerosvit"] [Site "Foros"] [Date "2007.06.19"] [Round "2"] [White "Ivanchuk, Vassily"] [Black "Nisipeanu, Liviu Dieter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2729"] [BlackElo "2693"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2007.06.18"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "UKR"] [EventCategory "18"] [SourceTitle "CBM 119"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2007.08.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2007.08.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 dxc4 4. Nc3 e6 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. e5 cxd4 8. Qa4+ Nc6 9. O-O-O Bd7 10. Ne4 Nxe4 $5 {Ivanchuk is such a versatile player, that it is not easy to play well known positions against him. The main continuation is 10...?e7, but Nisipeanu gives preference to the value of surprise and the fruits of his home analyses.} 11. Bxd8 Rxd8 12. Nxd4 Bd2+ (12... Nxf2 13. Bxc4 $5 (13. Nxc6 Nxd1 14. Qxb4 Bxc6 15. Bxc4 Nf2 16. Rf1 $16) 13... Nxd1 14. Rxd1 Bc5 15. Nxc6 Bxc6 16. Bb5 $16) 13. Rxd2 Nxd2 (13... Nxd4 14. Qxa7 Nxd2 15. Qxd4 Bc6 16. Qc5 Rd5 17. Qa3 $16) 14. Nxc6 (14. Kxd2 $6 Nxd4 15. Qxa7 Bc6 $14) 14... Bxc6 15. Qa3 $1 {[%mdl 1024] A very subtle and important move, which prevents Black's castling and shows that the defender has not obtained sufficient compensation for the queen. Even though he retains some drawing chances, Nisipeanu's ordeal is not to be envied.} Nxf1 16. Rxf1 Rd3 (16... f5 $5 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Qxa7 Kf7 19. Qb6 Rhg8 20. g3 $16) 17. Qb4 a5 (17... a6 18. f3 Rd8 19. Rd1 Bd5 20. Kc2 $16) 18. Qxc4 Rd5 (18... Rd8 19. Rd1 Rc8 20. Kb1 $16) 19. Rd1 (19. Re1 O-O 20. Qc2 Rfd8 21. g3 $16) 19... O-O (19... Rxe5 20. Qd4 Rd5 21. Qxg7 $16) 20. Rxd5 Bxd5 21. Qa4 Bxg2 (21... b6 22. f3 g6 23. Kd2 $16) 22. Qxa5 Bd5 23. f4 (23. b3 f6 24. exf6 Rxf6 25. Qc5 $16) 23... f6 (23... f5 24. Qc3 h6 25. h4 Ra8 26. a3 $16) 24. f5 $5 {The battle bears a distinctly technical nature, but the genius from the Ukraine is trying to exploit some amusing tactical features. This surprising move opens up the space to create a passed pawn.} (24. exf6 Rxf6 25. Qa4 $16) 24... fxe5 25. fxe6 Bxe6 26. b3 $1 (26. Qxe5 $2 Bxa2 $14) 26... e4 (26... Rf5 27. Qb6 Kf7 28. Qxb7+ Kf6 29. Qb6 $16) 27. Qb5 Bf7 (27... e3 28. Qb6 Rf1+ 29. Kb2 Kf7 30. Qxb7+ Kf6 31. Qe4 Rf2+ 32. Ka3 $18) 28. Qxb7 e3 29. Qb5 {Slowing down the black pawn on the e file became a key feature in the position. Success would enable White to start advancing his own candidates for promotion.} (29. Qe4 $2 Re8 $13) 29... h6 (29... Re8 30. Kd1 $16) 30. Kd1 g5 31. Qe2 Rd8+ 32. Ke1 (32. Kc1 Rd2 33. Qxe3 Rxa2 34. Qe5 Ra6 35. b4 $16) 32... Rd2 33. Qxe3 Rxa2 34. b4 Rxh2 {Nisipeanu is literally annihilating the enemy pawns, but the main danger on the b file remains out of reach.} (34... Ra1+ 35. Kf2 Ra2+ 36. Kg3 Rb2 37. Qb6 Rb3+ 38. Kg4 Kg7 39. Kf5 $18) 35. b5 Rb2 36. b6 g4 (36... Bd5 37. Qc5 Rb1+ 38. Kd2 Be4 39. Qc4+ Kg7 40. Qd4+ Kf7 41. Qxe4 Rxb6 42. Qh7+ Kf8 43. Kd3 $18) 37. Qxh6 {The queen is too strong a piece in this open position and Black stands no chance to achieve coordination of his pieces.} Rb1+ (37... g3 38. Qg5+ Kh7 (38... Kf8 39. Qd8+ Kg7 40. Qd4+ $18) 39. Qh4+ $18) 38. Kf2 Rb3 39. Qc6 (39. Qc6 g3+ 40. Kg2 Rd3 41. Qc8+ Kg7 42. b7 Bd5+ 43. Kh3 g2+ 44. Kh2 $18) 1-0 [Event "Linares 27th"] [Site "Linares"] [Date "2010.02.19"] [Round "6"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2781"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "201"] [EventDate "2010.02.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 135"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.03.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.03.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. Bxc4 c5 9. O-O cxd4 (9... O-O {- see Kramnik-Ivanchuk in this issue.}) 10. e5 (10. Qa4+ Nc6 11. Bb5 O-O 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Qxb4 dxc3 14. Rab1 cxb2 15. e5 Qg6 16. Rxb2 Ba6 17. Rd1 Rfd8 18. Rd6 Bd3 $1 $15 {0-1 Goglidze,V-Alatortsev,V/Leningrad 1936/EXT 1998 (31)}) (10. Nb5 $5 Qe7 11. Qxd4 (11. a3 Bc5 12. b4 Bb6 13. e5 O-O 14. Nbxd4 Rd8 15. Ra2 Qc7 16. Bb3 Nc6 17. Rd2 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Qc3 $15 {1/2 Kiss,P (2420)-Labahn,W (2225)/Eger 1993/EXT 1997 (22)}) 11... O-O 12. Nxa7 Bd7 13. Nb5 Nc6 14. Qe3 (14. Qd1 Na5 15. Bd3 Rfd8 16. Qe2 Be8 17. a3 Nb3 18. Rad1 Bc5 19. Bc2 Bxb5 20. Qxb5 Nd4 21. Nxd4 Bxd4 {1/2 Wahlbom,M-Polgar,I/Dresden 1969/EXT 2003}) 14... Rfc8 15. Qe2 Bc5 16. Rad1 Be8 17. a3 Na5 18. Ba2 Bxb5 19. Qxb5 Nc6 20. g3 Rd8 21. Kg2 g5 22. h3 Nd4 23. Nxd4 Bxd4 24. Rd2 $16 {1-0 Antic,D (2488)-Solomunovic,I (2416)/Bar 2005/CBM 105 ext (38)}) 10... Qd8 (10... Qe7 11. Ne4 (11. Qxd4 O-O 12. Bd3 Bxc3 13. Qe4 g6 14. bxc3 Nd7 15. Rad1 Nc5 16. Qe3 Kg7 17. Bb5 b6 18. Rd4 Bb7 19. Rfd1 Rfd8 $11 {0-1 Bellanger,M-Mujica,H/LSS 2007/Telechess CBM 129 (42)}) 11... O-O (11... Nc6 12. a3 Bc5 13. b4 Bb6 14. Nd6+ Kf8 15. Re1 Bd7 16. b5 Nxe5 17. Nxe5 Qxd6 18. Qf3 Be8 19. Ng6+ Kg8 20. Nxh8 Kxh8 21. Qxb7 $16 {1/2 Zangiev,P (2315)-Bondarev,B/Krasnodar 1998/EXT 2000 (72)}) 12. Qxd4 Nc6 13. Qe3 Bd7 14. Bd3 Ba5 15. a3 Bc7 16. Rac1 Rac8 17. Nc5 Be8 18. Qe4 f5 19. exf6 Rxf6 20. Qh7+ Kf8 21. Qh8+ Kf7 22. Rfe1 $16 {1-0 Van der Sterren,P (2500)-Petursson,M (2530)/Munich 1989/CBM 013 (26)}) 11. Ne4 (11. Nxd4 Bxc3 12. bxc3 a6 $6 (12... O-O) 13. Qg4 O-O 14. Rae1 Qc7 15. Bd3 Nc6 16. Nxc6 Qxc6 17. Re3 f5 18. exf6 Rxf6 19. Rg3 Rf7 20. Qg6 $18 {1-0 Krivoshey,S (2478)-Bordin,I (1919)/Frankfurt 2004/EXT 2005 (26)}) 11... O-O 12. Qe2 {We now get a position from Kramnik-Ivanchuk with 12.?e4 instead of 12.?ad1.} Bd7 13. Rfd1 (13. Rad1 {again leads to Kramnik-Ivanchuk.}) 13... Nc6 14. a3 $5 {A new idea. Before starting his kingside attack, White seizes space on the queenside.} Be7 15. b4 Qb8 {Black looks for counterplay.} ({To} 15... Qb6 {White replies in quite a typical way:} 16. Ng3 Rfd8 17. Qe4 {[%CAl Yc4d3,Yh2h4] etc.}) 16. Ng3 b5 (16... Rd8 17. Qe4 Be8 18. h4 $1 $40 {[%CAl Yc4d3]}) 17. Bxb5 {White must change his plan, but still obtains the better prospects.} (17. Bd3 a5 $1 $132) 17... Nxe5 18. Bxd7 Nxd7 19. Nxd4 Ne5 20. Nb3 $6 {This is too passive, but it is not easy to find a way for an advantage.} (20. f4 Ng6 21. Nxe6 $2 Qb6+ 22. Nd4 Bf6) (20. Nh5 g6 $1 21. f4 Nc6 $1 22. Nxe6 (22. Nxc6 Qb6+ 23. Nd4 gxh5 $13 {[%CAl Yf8d8,Ye7f6]}) 22... Qb6+ 23. Kh1 fxe6 (23... gxh5 24. Qxh5 fxe6 25. Qg6+ Kh8 26. Qxh6+ Kg8 27. Qg6+ Kh8 28. Rd3 $18) 24. Qxe6+ Kh7 25. Rd7 (25. Rac1 Rad8 $1) (25. Rdc1 Qd4 $1) 25... gxh5 26. f5 Rad8 $1 27. Qg6+ Kh8 28. Qxh6+ Kg8 $11) (20. Qe4 $5 $36 {was probably the best option, e.g.} Rd8 21. h3 {[%CAl Yf2f4,Yd4c6]}) 20... a6 21. Ne4 Qb5 22. Qxb5 axb5 23. Nd4 Rfd8 (23... Rfb8 $5 24. Nc3 (24. f4 Nc4 25. Nc6 Rb7) 24... Bf6 $1 25. Ndxb5 Nc6 $44) 24. Nxb5 Rxd1+ 25. Rxd1 Nc4 26. Nec3 (26. Nc5 {doesn't win either:} Rb8 27. Na7 (27. Rc1 Nxa3 $1 28. Nxa3 Rxb4 29. Nc2 Bxc5 30. Nxb4 Bxb4 $11) (27. Rd4 Ne5 28. Nd6 (28. a4 Nc6 29. Rd7 Bf8 {[%CAl Rc6b4]}) 28... Rd8 29. Ncb7 Rd7 {[%csl Rb7,Rd6]}) 27... Ra8 28. Nc6 Bxc5 29. bxc5 Rxa3 30. Rc1 Kf8 $1 $14) 26... Nxa3 27. Ra1 Bxb4 $1 28. Nb1 Nxb5 29. Rxa8+ Bf8 {, and Black confidently hold this endgame:} 30. h4 Nc7 31. Rc8 Nd5 32. Nd2 g6 33. Nc4 Kg7 34. g3 h5 35. Kg2 Bb4 36. Rb8 Kf6 37. Rb7 Bf8 38. Kf3 Bc5 39. Nd2 Kg7 40. Ne4 Be7 41. Ng5 Kf8 42. Ke2 Nf6 43. Kd3 Ng4 44. Nh7+ Ke8 45. Rb8+ Kd7 46. Ke2 Bd6 47. Rb7+ Ke8 48. Ng5 Nh6 49. Ne4 Nf5 50. Nxd6+ Nxd6 51. Ra7 Kf8 52. Kf3 Kg7 53. Rd7 Nf5 54. Kg2 Kf6 55. f3 Nh6 56. Kh3 g5 57. hxg5+ Kxg5 58. Rd8 Kg6 59. Kg2 Kg7 60. Kf2 Nf5 61. Ra8 Kh7 62. Ra1 Kg6 63. Rg1 Kg5 64. Ke2 Kf6 65. Kd3 Ke5 66. Rg2 Kd5 67. g4 hxg4 68. fxg4 Nd6 69. Rf2 Ke5 70. g5 Nf5 71. Rf1 Kd6 72. Ra1 Ke7 73. Ra8 Nh4 74. Ke3 Ng6 75. Rg8 Kd7 76. Kf3 Nh4+ 77. Kf4 Ke7 78. Ra8 Nf5 79. Ke4 Nh4 80. Kf4 Nf5 81. Ke5 Ne3 82. Rc8 Nd5 83. Ke4 Kd7 84. Ra8 Ke7 85. Kf3 Nb6 86. Rb8 Nc4 87. Kg4 Ne3+ 88. Kf4 Nf5 89. Ke5 Ne3 90. Rb7+ Kf8 91. g6 (91. Kf6 $4 Ng4#) 91... fxg6 92. Kxe6 Nf5 93. Kf6 Ke8 94. Kxg6 Nd6 95. Rh7 Kd8 96. Kf6 Ne8+ 97. Ke6 Nc7+ 98. Kd6 Ne8+ 99. Kc6 Nf6 100. Rf7 Ne8 101. Rd7+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Corus"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2010.01.27"] [Round "10"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2749"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,Michal"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2010.01.16"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 135"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2010.03.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2010.03.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. Bxc4 c5 9. O-O O-O (9... cxd4 {is a common alternative but the whole line is quite rare.}) 10. e5 Qd8 11. Qe2 {Or else:} (11. a3 cxd4 12. axb4 dxc3 13. bxc3 Qc7 (13... Qxd1 $6 14. Rfxd1 Bd7 15. Bd3 Rc8 16. c4 Bc6 17. Nd4 b6 18. Nb5 a5 19. Nd6 $16 {1-0 Schoen,W (2405)-Martin,A (2415)/Gausdal 1989/EXT 1997 (31)}) 14. Qe2 Bd7 15. b5 Be8 16. Bd3 Nd7 17. Qe4 g6 18. Qe3 Kg7 19. Ra3 Qc5 20. Qxc5 Nxc5 21. Be2 a5 22. bxa6 bxa6 23. Rfa1 Rc8 {1/2 Bogoljubow,E-Tartakower,S/Maehrisch Ostrau 1923/HCL}) (11. Ne4 cxd4 12. a3 Be7 13. Qxd4 (13. Nxd4 $2 Qc7) 13... Qxd4 14. Nxd4 Nd7 15. f4 Nc5 16. Nc3 Rd8 17. Rad1 Bd7 18. Rd2 Rac8 19. Ba2 Na4 $11 {1-0 Sharavdorj,D (2441)-Jahedi,S (2106)/Berkeley 2008/CBM 127 Extra (53)}) (11. d5 $5 exd5 $2 (11... Bxc3 $1) 12. Bxd5 $2 (12. Nxd5 $1 $16) 12... Bxc3 13. bxc3 Nc6 (13... Qc7 $5) 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Qa4 Qc7 16. Rfd1 Be6 17. Qa3 c4 18. Rd6 Bd5 19. Nd4 Qe7 20. f4 Qh4 21. Rf1 Qg4 22. Qb2 Rab8 23. Qf2 $14 {1/2 Gligoric,S-Karaklajic,N/Sarajevo 1951/EXT 2002 (61)}) (11. dxc5 $5 {K.Sakaev} Qxd1 12. Rfxd1 Bxc5 13. Rac1 $36) 11... cxd4 12. Rad1 (12. Rfd1 Nc6 13. Qe4 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Bd7 15. cxd4 Ne7 16. Bd3 g6 17. Qf4 Kg7 18. Be4 Nd5 19. Bxd5 exd5 20. Rdc1 Be6 21. Rab1 {1/2 Fressinet,L (2658)-Movsesian,S (2711)/Heidelberg GER 2010/The Week in Chess 799}) (12. Ne4 Bd7 13. Rfd1 $5 Nc6 14. a3 Be7 15. b4 Qb8 16. Ng3 b5 17. Bxb5 Nxe5 18. Bxd7 Nxd7 19. Nxd4 $14 {1/2 Grischuk,A (2736)-Aronian,L (2781)/Linares ESP 2010/The Week in Chess 798 (101)}) 12... Bd7 (12... Nc6 $5 13. Nb5 Bc5 14. Qe4 Bd7 15. Nbxd4 Qe7 (15... Nxd4 $5 16. Nxd4 Qb6 $11) 16. Bd3 g6 17. Nb3 Bb6 18. Qf4 Kg7 19. h4 Nb4 20. Be4 Bb5 21. Rfe1 Rfd8 22. Nbd4 Ba4 23. b3 Be8 $11 {0-1 Guimard,C-Fine,R/New York 1951/MCL (40)}) 13. Ne4 $5 {White transfers his knight to the kingside to create an attack.} (13. Rxd4 $5 {, with play in the centre, was a worthy alternative:} Nc6 14. Rd3 Qc8 15. Rfd1 Rd8 16. Bb3 Be8 17. Nb5 $14 {[%csl Rd6]}) 13... Nc6 14. Ng3 Qc7 (14... Qa5 $5 15. Bd3 $140 Qxa2) 15. Bd3 Ne7 {[%mdl 256]} (15... Rfd8 16. Qe4 g6 17. h4 $36) 16. Rc1 $1 (16. Qe4 g6 17. Nxd4 Rfd8 18. Nh5 Nd5 $132) 16... Bc6 17. Nxd4 Rad8 $5 (17... Rfd8 $5 18. Rc4 Qb6 19. Qg4 Bd2 $1 (19... Bd5 $2 20. Nh5 g6 21. Nf6+ Kh8 22. Qf4 Ng8 23. Nxd5 exd5 24. Rxb4 Qxb4 25. Qxf7 $1 $18) 20. Rd1 Qxb2 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Qxe6+ Kh8 23. Rc2 Qb4 24. Rcxd2 Ba4 25. a3 $1 Qxa3 26. Bc2 Rxd2 27. Rxd2 Bxc2 28. Rxc2 Qa1+ 29. Nf1 Nc6 $11 {K.Sakaev}) 18. Rc4 Qb6 19. Qg4 Bc5 $5 (19... Bd5 20. Nh5 g6 21. Nf6+ Kh8 22. Qh4 (22. Qf4 $2 g5 $1 23. Nxd5 exd5 {, and the f7 pawn is protected - that's the difference from 17...?fd8}) 22... Ng8 23. Nxd5 Rxd5 $11 {K.Sakaev}) 20. Nh5 g6 21. Bxg6 $6 {Logical but probably wrong!} (21. Nxc6 bxc6 22. Qg3 Bd4 $132) 21... Nxg6 (21... fxg6 $143 22. Nf6+ Kh8 23. Nxe6 Bxf2+ 24. Rxf2 Rd2 25. Rd4 $1 Rxf2 26. Kxf2 Qxb2+ 27. Qe2 Qxe2+ 28. Kxe2 Rc8 29. Kf2 $14 {[%csl Ge6,Gf6]}) 22. Nxe6 Be7 $1 23. Nxd8 (23. Nhf4 Kh7 24. Nxg6 (24. Qf5 Qb5 $1) 24... fxg6 25. Rf4 Rde8 26. Nxf8+ Rxf8 27. Rxf8 Bxf8 $17 {K.Sakaev}) 23... Qxd8 $1 (23... Rxd8 $143 24. e6 Bd5 25. exf7+ Bxf7 26. Re4 $36 {K.Sakaev}) 24. e6 Qd5 $1 25. exf7+ Kh7 {White's attack is parried so he decides to liquidate into a gloomy endgame. In the middlegame Black's minor pieces would be stronger than White's rook, too.} 26. Qxg6+ ({Or} 26. Nf4 Qxf7 27. Nxg6 Qxg6) 26... Kxg6 27. Nf4+ Kxf7 28. Nxd5 Bxd5 $17 {The material balance is nominally equal but Black's bishop pair is extremely strong.} 29. Rc7 Kf6 30. Re1 Bb4 31. Rd1 Bc6 32. Rd4 $6 {This leads to new positional concessions but moves like} (32. Kf1 {are easier to recommend than to make.}) 32... Re8 33. h4 Re1+ 34. Kh2 Bc5 (34... Be7 $1 $19 {[%csl Rc7][%CAl Re1e2,Rf6e6]}) 35. Rd2 (35. Rf4+ $5 Ke5 (35... Ke6 36. Rh7) 36. Rcf7 Bd4 37. R7f6 (37. b4 Ke6) 37... Bxb2 $17) 35... a5 36. Rc8 $6 (36. a3) 36... a4 (36... Bb4 $1 37. Rd3 Re2) 37. Rg8 (37. Kg3 $142) 37... Re4 38. Kh3 Re1 39. Kh2 Re4 40. Kh3 Re1 $4 {Overlooking a triple repetition in an almost winning position.} (40... Bb4 41. f3 (41. Rd3 Re2 42. a3 Bc5) 41... Bxd2 42. fxe4 Ke5 43. g4 Bxe4 $17 {- White's g-pawn will not move too far.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE-Wch"] [Site "NED/INA"] [Date "1993.??.??"] [Round "8"] [White "Karpov, Anatoly"] [Black "Timman, Jan H"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2620"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "1993.09.??"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "NED"] [SourceTitle "CBM 036"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1993.10.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1993.10.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Nb5 Nxe4 $5 $146 11. Qd4 O-O $1 (11... Nxg5 12. Qxg7 Rf8 (12... Nf3+ 13. gxf3 Rf8 14. Rd1 $18) 13. Qxg5 Nc6 14. Rd1 $18) 12. Qxe4 a6 13. Be7 (13. Bd3 f5 14. Qb4 axb5 15. Qxa5 Rxa5 16. Be7 Re8 17. Bb4 Ra8 18. Bxb5 Nc6 $10) 13... axb5 14. Bb4 (14. Bxf8 Qxc3+ 15. Ke2 bxc4 16. Bd6 Nc6 $44) 14... Qc7 15. Bxb5 (15. Bxf8 Kxf8 16. Bd3 Qxc3+ 17. Ke2 Qb2+ $44) 15... Bd7 16. Bd3 (16. Bxd7 Nxd7 17. Bxf8 Qxc3+ 18. Ke2 Qb2+ 19. Kf3 Nxf8 $40) 16... g6 (16... f5 17. Qd4 Rd8 $132) 17. O-O (17. Bxf8 Qxc3+ 18. Ke2 Qb2+ 19. Ke3 Ra4 $17) 17... Re8 18. Qe3 (18. c4 Nc6 19. Bc3 e5 $13) 18... Nc6 19. Bc5 Ne7 20. Be4 (20. Bd4 Nd5 21. Qe5 (21. Qf3 Bc6 {? e5}) 21... Qxe5 22. Bxe5 f6 $10) 20... Nf5 21. Bxf5 exf5 22. Qd4 Re4 23. Qd6 Qxd6 24. Bxd6 f6 25. f3 Re2 26. Rf2 Rae8 27. a4 $1 Re1+ 28. Rf1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates m4"] [Site "Sarajevo"] [Date "1991.??.??"] [Round "4"] [White "Nikolic, Predrag"] [Black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2620"] [BlackElo "2700"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "120"] [EventDate "1991.01.??"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "8"] [EventCountry "BIH"] [SourceTitle "Candidates"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceVersion "2"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Nbd7 11. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12. Kf1 gxf6 13. Rc1 (13. Nxe6 Qe5 $1 14. Nd4 O-O $13) (13. h4 Ke7 14. Rh3 Qa5 15. Rb1 Rd8 16. Qc1 $40 {Adorjan,A-Chernin,A/Debrecen/1990/ ?CBM 20}) 13... Qb4 $1 (13... Qa5 $2 14. Rxc8+ Rxc8 15. Bxd7+ Kxd7 16. Nb3+ $18) 14. h4 a6 15. Ba4 Ke7 16. Rh3 Nc5 17. Bb3 Bd7 18. Rc4 Qa5 19. Qc2 Rac8 20. Rhc3 b6 $15 21. a4 Rhd8 22. Kg1 e5 23. Nf5+ Bxf5 24. exf5 Rd6 25. Rg4 $2 (25. f4 $1 $36) 25... Rf8 $2 (25... Rd2 $3 26. Rxc5 (26. Qxd2 Nxb3 $19) 26... Rxc2 27. Rxa5 Rc1+ 28. Kh2 bxa5 29. Rg7 Rf8 30. Rxh7 Rc3 $19) 26. Kh2 Rd4 $6 (26... h5 $1 27. Rgg3 Rd4 $17) 27. Rxd4 exd4 28. Rg3 Qb4 29. Bc4 $1 Qxa4 30. Qe2+ Kd7 31. Rg4 Rd8 32. Rxd4+ Kc7 33. Rg4 $2 (33. Qe7+ Rd7 34. Qxf6 Rxd4 35. Qxd4 Qd7 36. Qf6 Qd6+ 37. Qxd6+ Kxd6 38. Bxf7 $10) 33... Qd1 $1 34. Rg7 Qxe2 35. Bxe2 Rf8 36. Rxh7 Kd6 37. Rg7 b5 38. Rg4 Ke5 39. h5 Kxf5 40. Rb4 Ne6 41. Kg3 Kg5 42. f4+ Kh6 43. Kf2 Rc8 44. Ke3 Rc3+ 45. Kd2 Ra3 46. Bf3 f5 47. Kc1 Rd3 48. Kc2 Rd4 $6 (48... Rd6 49. Kc3 Rb6 50. g3 Ng7 $17) 49. Kc3 Rxf4 $2 (49... Rd6 $1) 50. Bb7 Rxb4 51. Kxb4 Kxh5 52. Bxa6 Kh4 53. Bxb5 Kg3 54. Bc6 Nf4 55. Bd7 Ne6 56. Bc6 Nf4 57. Bd7 Nd5+ 58. Kc5 Ne3 59. Kd6 f4 60. Be8 Kxg2 {Ftacnik,L} (60... Kxg2 61. Bxf7 f3 62. Bh5 f2 63. Be2 $10) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Corus-B"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2005.01.18"] [Round "4"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Nielsen, Peter Heine"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2657"] [BlackElo "2648"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2005.01.15"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "13"] [SourceTitle "CBM 105"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.04.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.04.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ {Heutzutage ist diese Variante sehr populär.} Bd7 {Die Alternative 10...?bd7 ist ebenfalls spielbar aber der Läuferzug bietet Schwarz bessere Ausgleichchancen.} (10... Nbd7) 11. Bxf6 gxf6 (11... Qxc3+ $4 12. Kf1 gxf6 13. Rc1 $18 {Verlässt die Dame die c-Linie, so folgt 14.?c8+ mit Gewinn.}) 12. Qb3 O-O (12... a6) 13. O-O Bxb5 14. Nxb5 Nc6 15. c4 (15. Rad1 Rad8 16. Nd6 Qe5 $1 $10) 15... Rad8 16. Qg3+ (16. c5 Nd4 17. Nxd4 Rxd4 18. Qg3+ Kh8 19. Qf4 Qxc5 20. Qxf6+ Kg8 21. Rac1 Rc4 22. Rce1 Rc8 23. Re3 Rc1 $11 24. Ree1 Rxe1 25. Rxe1 Qc1 26. Rf1 Qd2 {½-½ Schandorff,L-Nielsen,P/Esbjerg 2003 (26)}) 16... Kh8 17. Qh4 Kg7 18. f4 {Mit diesem Zug bringt Weiß neue Kraft in seinen Angriff. In einigen Stellungen muss Schwarz mit dem Durchbruch e4-e5 rechnen. Ich weise darauf hin, dass Weiß die Option der Zugwiederholung besitzt; er hat immer die Möglichkeit z.B. 18.?g3+ ?h8 19.?h4.} Qd2 $146 {[%csl Gd2][%mdl 4] Diese theoretische Neuerung ist natürlich die Frucht häuslicher Analyse des dänischen Großmeisters. Diese Partie ist sehr wichtig, da beide Spieler Spezialisten dieser Variante sind - Mamedyarov mit Weiß, Nielsen mit Schwarz.} (18... Rd3 19. e5 $1 (19. Rae1 a6 20. e5 axb5 21. Qxf6+ Kg8 22. Qg5+ Kh8 23. Qf6+ Kg8 24. Qg5+ Kh8 25. Qf6+ {½-½ Azmaiparashvili,Z-Agrest,E/Plovdiv BUL 2003/(25)}) 19... Qd8 20. Qh5 $1 {[%csl Yd6,Gh5][%CAl Gb5d6]} a6 $1 (20... Kg8 21. Rae1 a6 22. Nd6 {[%csl Gd6,Ge5,Gh5]} fxe5 23. c5 $1 f5 24. fxe5 b5 25. Rf3 $16 {1-0 Mamedyarov,S-Bluvshtein,M/Mallorca 2004/CBM 104/[Ribli Zoltan] (35)}) 21. Nd6 fxe5 22. fxe5 Nxe5 23. Qxe5+ f6 24. Nxb7 fxe5 25. Nxd8 Rfxd8 {½-½ Tregubov,P-Landa,K/Paris 2004/CBM 101 ext (35)}) 19. e5 (19. Rad1 $6 Qxd1 20. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 21. Kf2 Rfd8 $15) (19. Rf3 $5 Rg8 20. e5 (20. Rh3 $2 Kf8 $19 {[%CAl Rd2g2,Rg8g1] Jetzt sehen wir die Idee von 18...?d2; es droht Matt auf g2.}) 20... fxe5 21. fxe5 Rd7 $11 (21... Nxe5 22. Rf2 Qh6 (22... Qe3 23. Qf6+ $18) 23. Qg3+ Ng6 24. Nd6 Rd7 25. Qc3+ Kf8 26. Raf1 $18)) 19... fxe5 20. Qg5+ (20. fxe5 Qe3+ 21. Kh1 Qxe5 22. Rae1 Qc5 23. Nxa7 $5 (23. Qf6+ Kg8 24. Re4 Ne7 $11) 23... Ne7 (23... Nxa7 24. Qf6+ Kg8 25. Re5 Qxe5 26. Qxe5 $18) (23... Qxa7 24. Qg5+ Kh8 25. Qf6+ Kg8 26. Rf3 Qb8 27. Rg3+ Qxg3 28. hxg3 $16) 24. Nb5 Ng6 $11) 20... Kh8 21. Qf6+ Kg8 22. Qg5+ Kh8 23. Qf6+ {Weiß riskiert nichts, er hat Dauerschach.} Kg8 24. Rae1 a6 (24... exf4 25. Qg5+ Kh8 26. Qf6+ $11) 25. Qg5+ Kh8 26. Qf6+ Kg8 27. Re4 Qc2 {[%csl Gc2][%CAl Rc2e4][%mdl 256] Es hängt der Turm auf e4 und die schwarze Dame unterstützt die Verteidigung.} (27... axb5 28. Qg5+ (28. fxe5 Rd4 $19) 28... Kh8 29. Qf6+ $11) 28. Qg5+ (28. Re3 Rd3 $11) 28... Kh8 29. Qf6+ Kg8 30. Nc3 Rd2 (30... Qxc3 31. fxe5 Rd4 $11) 31. Qg5+ Kh8 32. Qf6+ Kg8 33. Qg5+ Kh8 34. Qf6+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Dortmund SuperGM"] [Site "Dortmund"] [Date "2000.07.14"] [Round "7"] [White "Akopian, Vladimir Eduardovic"] [Black "Piket, Jeroen"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2660"] [BlackElo "2649"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2000.07.07"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "GER"] [EventCategory "17"] [SourceTitle "CBM 078"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2000.10.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2000.10.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qa5 9. Bd2 O-O 10. Qe2 Rd8 11. Nb3 Qc7 12. O-O Nc6 13. Rad1 (13. Rac1 Bd7 14. Nb5 Qe5 15. Bxb4 Nxb4 16. Nc3 Rac8 $11) 13... Ne5 (13... a6 14. Bg5 $14) 14. Bb5 (14. Nb5 Qxc4 15. Bxb4 Rxd1 16. Rxd1 Bd7 17. Qxc4 Nxc4 18. Nd6 Nxb2 19. Rd2 Na4 $15) 14... Bd7 {Piket plays inventively with his pieces, but probably misses a chance to equalize with 14...a6!?} (14... a6 $5 15. f4 Ng6 (15... axb5 16. fxe5 Qxe5 17. Bf4 $18) (15... Neg4 16. Bd3 Qb6+ 17. Kh1 Rxd3 $2 18. Qxd3 Nf2+ 19. Rxf2 Qxf2 20. Be3 Qxb2 21. Qd8+ Bf8 22. Bc5 $18) 16. Bd3 e5 17. f5 Bxc3 18. bxc3 Ne7 19. c4 b6 $11) 15. Bxd7 (15. f4 Ng6 (15... Bxc3 16. Bxc3 Bxb5 17. Qxb5 Neg4 18. Rde1 $14) 16. Bxd7 Rxd7 17. Rc1 Qd8 $11) 15... Bxc3 (15... Qxd7 16. Bg5 $14) 16. Bxc3 Rxd7 17. Rc1 (17. f4 Rxd1 18. Rxd1 Ned7 19. Qe3 b6 $13) 17... Nc6 (17... Nd3 $2 18. Bxf6 Nxc1 19. Qg4 Ne2+ 20. Kh1 g6 21. Qxe2 $18) (17... Neg4 $2 18. e5 Rd5 19. Rfe1 $18) (17... Qb8 18. Nc5 $16) 18. Nc5 Re7 (18... Rdd8 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Qg4+ Kh8 21. Qh4 Qe7 22. Rc3 (22. Nxb7 Qxb7 23. Qxf6+ Kg8 24. Qg5+ (24. Rc3 Ne7 $17) 24... Kf8 25. Qh6+ Ke8 26. Qxh7 Nd4 $13) 22... Rg8 23. Rfc1 $14) 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Rc3 {Black kingside shield was compromised, even though that should not bee too serious a problem.} Kh8 (20... Qf4 21. Qh5 f5 22. Rh3 f6 23. Nxe6 Qxe4 24. Re3 $18) 21. f4 (21. Qh5 Qe5 $14) 21... Rg8 22. Kh1 Qd6 23. e5 (23. Nd3 Rd7 24. Rfc1 $14) 23... fxe5 (23... Qd5 24. exf6 Rc7 25. Ne4 $16) 24. Ne4 Nd4 $2 {[%mdl 8192] A cheap shot, that takes away the knight from the defense of the black's position. At the same time white could have only made draw after the correct 24...Qc7.} (24... Qc7 25. Nf6 Rg6 26. fxe5 (26. Qh5 Rxf6 27. Rh3 h6 28. Qg5 Rg6 29. Rxh6+ Kg7 $19) (26. Nxh7 $6 Kxh7 27. Rh3+ Kg7 (27... Rh6 28. Qg4 Qd6 $17) 28. Qh5 Kf8 $1 29. fxe5 Nxe5 $19) 26... Qxe5 27. Qxe5 Nxe5 28. Rc8+ Kg7 29. Rg8+ Kh6 30. Rc8 Kg7 $11) (24... Qb8 25. Nf6 Rg6 26. fxe5 Nxe5 $2 (26... Qxe5 $11) 27. Qh5 h6 28. Qxe5 $1 Qxe5 29. Rc8+ $18) 25. Qf2 $1 (25. Qf2 Qa6 26. Nf6 (26. fxe5 Nf5 27. Nf6 Rd8 28. Rh3 h6 29. Qf4 $18) 26... Rg6 27. Rc8+ Kg7 28. Rg8+ Kxf6 29. fxe5+ Kxe5 30. Qf4+ Kd5 31. Rd8+ Kc6 32. Rc1+ $18) 1-0 [Event "Bundesliga 0405"] [Site "Germany"] [Date "2004.11.27"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Nikolic, Predrag"] [Black "Nielsen, Peter Heine"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2676"] [BlackElo "2663"] [Annotator "Ribli,Zoltan"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "2004.11.12"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [EventRounds "15"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "CBM 105"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2005.04.11"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2005.04.11"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Solingen"] [BlackTeam "Wattenscheid"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GER"] [BlackTeamCountry "GER"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 Bb4+ 5. Nc3 dxc4 6. e4 {Mit Zugumstellung haben wir die Wiener Variante erreicht; die gewönliche Zugfolge lautet 4...dxc4 5.e4 ?b4 6.?g5.} c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Nb5 {GM Nikolic spielt gern diese Fortsetzung, die von der eigentlichen Hauptvariante (10.?b5+) abweicht, jedoch kommt es damit zu einem interessanten taktischen Kampf.} Nxe4 $5 {Diese scharfe Fortsetzung ist die beste Möglichkeit für Schwarz.} (10... a6 11. Nd6+ Ke7 12. Qd2 Nc6 13. Rd1 Rd8 14. f4) 11. Qd4 {Das ist die alte Variante - meiner Meinung nach bietet die Alternative 11.?f4!? Weiß mehr Chancen auf einen Eröffnungsvorteil.} (11. Bf4 $5) 11... O-O 12. Qxe4 a6 13. Be7 (13. Bd3 f5 14. Qb4 Qxb4 15. cxb4 axb5 16. Bxb5 Nc6 (16... Bd7) 17. O-O Nd4 18. Bd3 e5 19. f3 Bd7 20. Rfe1 Rfe8 21. Be3 {½-½ Paschall,W-Szabo,K/Budapest HUN 2004/ (66)}) 13... axb5 14. Bb4 Qc7 15. Bxf8 (15. Bxb5 Bd7 (15... Rd8) 16. Bd3 (16. Bxd7 Nxd7 17. Bxf8 Qxc3+ 18. Ke2 Qb2+ 19. Kf3 Qc3+ 20. Ke2 Qb2+ 21. Kf3 Qc3+ 22. Ke2 {½-½ Nill,J-Kosintseva,N/Dresden 2004/(22)}) 16... g6 17. O-O Re8 {Das ist ein Schlüsselzug für Schwarz, im folgenden kann er ?c6-e7 ziehen.} 18. Qe3 Nc6 19. Bc5 Ne7 20. Bb6 Qxc3 21. Bd4 Qa5 22. Rac1 e5 {½-½ Sturua,Z-Horvath,J/Bern SUI 2000/(37)}) 15... Kxf8 {Nach forcierten Zügen haben wir eine Stellung erreicht, in der Schwarz eine Qualität weniger besitzt, aber dafür Initiative erhält.} 16. Bb3 (16. Bxb5 $2 Qxc3+ 17. Ke2 Qb2+ $19) 16... Qxc3+ 17. Ke2 Qb2+ 18. Kf3 (18. Ke3 Qc3+ 19. Qd3 Qe5+ 20. Qe4 Qc3+ 21. Ke2 Qb2+ 22. Ke3 {½-½ Schandorff,L-Rasmussen,K/Horsens DEN 2003/(22)}) 18... Qc3+ 19. Qe3 Qf6+ 20. Qf4 Qc3+ 21. Ke2 Qb2+ {Bis jetzt ist alles Theorie. Es scheint, dass die Partie schnell mit Dauerschach endet.} 22. Kd3 $2 $146 {[%mdl 4] Weiß spielt riskant - es wäre besser, mit Zugwiederholung Remis zu halten.} (22. Kf3 $11) 22... Nc6 {Schwarz hat zwei Bauern für die Qualität, und der weiße König steht exponiert in der Mitte.} 23. Rhc1 (23. Rhd1) 23... Ne5+ 24. Ke3 Nc4+ 25. Bxc4 (25. Kf3 e5 $36) 25... bxc4 {[%CAl Ra8a3,Ra3e3]} 26. a4 {Mit diesem Zug verteidigt sich Weiß gegen 26....?a3+.} (26. Qxc4 $2 Ra3+ $19) 26... Ra5 {[%csl Ga5][%CAl Ga5h5] Der Turm kommt auf der 5. Reihe ins Spiel.} 27. Qxc4 Re5+ 28. Kf4 Rf5+ 29. Kg4 (29. Kg3 Qxf2+ $19) 29... Bd7 $40 {[%csl Gb2,Gd7,Gf5,Rg4][%CAl Gd7g4] Schwarz verfügt über einen überlegenen Angriff; der weiße König befindet sich in großer Not.} 30. Rd1 (30. Qd3 Qxf2 $19) 30... Qxf2 $19 31. Ra2 Rf4+ $1 {[%mdl 64] Ein sehr schönes Opfer, das sofort gewinnt.} (31... Qe3 $19) 32. Qxf4 e5+ {[%CAl Rd7g4,Rf2f4]} (32... e5+ 33. Rxd7 Qxf4+ 34. Kh3 Qf5+ $19 (34... h5 $19)) 0-1 [Event "FIDE-Wch"] [Site "NED/INA"] [Date "1993.??.??"] [Round "6"] [White "Karpov, Anatoly"] [Black "Timman, Jan H"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2620"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,Lubomir"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "1993.09.??"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "NED"] [SourceTitle "CBM 036"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1993.10.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1993.10.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Nb5 $5 Bd7 $146 (10... O-O 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Qg4+ Kh8 13. Qh4 Nd7 14. Rd1 a6 15. Rd3 $1 {Razuvajev,Y-Drasko,M/Protvino/1988/}) (10... a6 11. Nd6+ Ke7 12. Qd2 Nc6 13. Rd1 $5 Rd8 14. O-O (14. f4 $5) 14... Qc5 $1 (14... h6 $5) 15. e5 Qxe5 16. Bf4 Qc5 17. Qb2 b5 $1 18. Be3 Qe5 19. Qa3 Ng4 $3 {Kuzmin,A-Akopian,V/URS-ch/1991/}) 11. Nd6+ Ke7 12. Qd2 Bc6 13. f4 Nbd7 14. Rd1 $1 (14. e5 $2 Nxe5 15. fxe5 Qxe5+) (14. O-O-O Kf8 $13) 14... Rhd8 15. Qd4 $1 (15. e5 $2 Nxe5 $1) 15... h6 16. Bh4 Qh5 (16... g5 $5) 17. Bf2 Kf8 18. e5 Nd5 $6 (18... Ng4 19. Be2 $1 $16) (18... Bxg2 $2 19. Rg1 $18) (18... Ne8 $5) 19. O-O Qg4 $2 20. h3 $1 Qh5 (20... Qxf4 $2 21. Nxf7 $1 Qxf7 22. Bxd5 Bxd5 23. Bh4 Nf6 24. Bxf6 $18) 21. f5 $1 Kg8 22. Rd3 $1 (22. Nxf7 Qxf7 23. fxe6 Qxe6 24. Bxd5 Bxd5 25. Qxd5 Qxd5 26. Rxd5 $16) 22... N7b6 23. Bxd5 Bxd5 24. Rg3 Rd7 (24... exf5 25. e6) (24... Bc4 25. Re1 $16) 25. Be3 Bc4 26. Rf4 f6 $6 27. exf6 e5 28. Qxe5 Qd1+ 29. Kh2 Qxd6 30. f7+ $1 Kxf7 31. Qxg7+ Ke8 32. Qh8+ Ke7 (32... Qf8 33. Re4+ Re7 34. Rxe7+ Kxe7 35. Bc5+ $18) 33. Re4+ 1-0