[Event "Sigeman & Co 28th "] [White "Gelfand,Boris"] [Black "Svidler,Peter"] [Site ""] [Round ""] [Annotator "Svidler,Peter"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2023.05.05"] [WhiteElo "2678"] [BlackElo "2683"] [PlyCount "70"] {This being my first classical tournament since the Grand Swiss 2021, I had a customary (somewhat intentional) quiet first round game vs Mishra, and then had the fun assignment of preparing for a Black game vs Boris. I've been facing that task for far longer than most of the field of the Tepe Sigeman 2023 has been alive, and despite that, I tend to fail at it. And so it came to pass.} 1. Nf3 {I was ready to play 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6, so this move is giving me an out - I could still play 1...c5 here, or anything, really.} Nf6 2. c4 d6 { But no, I was pretty set on this idea, having noticed that Boris appears to dislike allowing the 3.Nc3 e5 4.d4 e4 lines, meaning I was very likely to get} 3. d4 g6 4. Nc3 Bf5 {...this position, in which he has been playing 5.d5 fairly consistently in recent years. Black isn't doing all that hot there, either, but at least I had some kind of an idea there.} 5. Qb3 {Not here though.} Qc8 6. h3 $1 {There is really no excuse I can offer for not looking at this before the game, this is far from a novelty, and the engines love it, too.} c6 $6 {There aren't any good choices as such, but this is a little bit too artificial.} (6... Bg7 7. g4 Bd7 8. e4 O-O 9. Be3 {is pretty bad, too - but at least the Black pieces don't get in the way of each other as much here.} )7. g4 Be6 {I went for this with some vague dreams of creating enough of the distraction by hinting at b7-b5, maybe to deter Boris from the most straighforward development, but it was never going to be a realistic proposition.} 8. e4 Bg7 (8... b5 {makes sense, we badly want to trade some pieces off, and deleting parts of White's gorgeous centre is extremely important, too, but it just doesn't work tactically.} 9. Ng5 $1 ({the simplistic} 9. d5 bxc4 10. Bxc4 cxd5 {actually does give Black about as decent of a game as can be hoped for} )Bxc4 {No choice, otherwise the position just crumbles.} 10. Bxc4 bxc4 11. Qxc4 {and the weakness on f7, combined with general lack of development, should decide the game fairly soon} )9. Ng5 $1 { Very nice move, making sure b5 is unplayable and preparing to grab more space with f4.} c5 {Incredibly ugly choice, but I couldn't see any way not to play this.} ({Lines such as} 9... O-O 10. f4 Na6 11. e5 Ne8 {seemed worse after} 12. Bg2 )10. Nxe6 $6 {This gives White a massive edge.} ({But I was much more worried about} 10. d5 Bd7 11. f4 {, where I was genuinely fearful of not making it to move 20. My plan was to play} h5 12. e5 Nh7 {, hoping to at least make it into a mess, but then after the simple} 13. exd6 $1 Nxg5 14. fxg5 exd6 15. Bf4 {Black's position would start collapsing.} )fxe6 11. d5 O-O { Black is still in a lot of trouble, but at least I could now hope to fight for some dark square control.} 12. Be3 ({The quiet} 12. Bg2 Na6 13. O-O Nc7 14. a4 {leaves Black with very little counterplay, since trying to open things up with exd5 and e6 is very likely to result in White's edge increasing dramatically due to the Bishops getting much more operational freedom.} )Nfd7 $5 {I felt like I couldn't wait quietly for White to improve, and decided to try and get the Bishop to d4 asap.} 13. f4 {Still fine, but based on a miscalculation.} ({After} 13. Be2 Bd4 14. Nb5 e5 {White would have a very important additional resource of} 15. g5 $1 {aiming to put the bishop on g4, while Black, apart from a very nicely placed Bd4, doesn't have much at all to write home about} )Bd4 {Boris played 13.f4, thinking this move is impossible due to 14.dxe6.} 14. Nb5 $6 ({He realized after} 14. dxe6 {I can reply with} Nb6 $1 (14... Bxe3 $2 15. Nd5 )15. Bd2 Qxe6 {He lost track a little bit here and failed to consider the move I was worried about the most: 14.Bd2!, after which Black is still struggling to generate counterplay. I wanted 14... Nf6 but Black is in a lot of trouble after both 15.Bd3 and even 15.0-0-0!?, finishing development and inviting Black to open some files for the White pieces by grabbing the e4 pawn with 15...Bxc3} 16. Bd3 )(14. Bd2 $1 Nf6 15. Bd3 (15. O-O-O $5 Bxc3 ))e5 15. f5 a6 {since 16.Na3 doesn't look all that hot we're at least forcing White to give us a protected passer on d4 - and perhaps even more importantly, some squares for our knights.} 16. Nxd4 exd4 {Giving myself the e5 square for the knights, which makes the kingside a bit more defended, at least optically.} (16... cxd4 17. Bh6 a5 $5 {was my original plan. I felt like I absolutely don't care about the rook on f8, and the d7 knight belongs on c5, therefore securing it from being kicked with b4 later down the road is very important. However, I became very worried I could get mated on the kingside if White keeps the bishop on h6, castles kingside and just starts amassing the forces to attack my king directly. Looking at it now, with the engine's help, I feel like both parts are sort of true, if that makes any sense: the position is extremely dangerous, but only if White plays very precisely.} 18. Be2 Nc5 19. Qg3 $5 (19. Qf3 Nbd7 20. Qg2 Qd8 21. O-O Qb6 { does give Black legitimate counterchances, for example} )Nbd7 20. O-O { and the idea of landing the queen on h4, and perhaps g5 afterwards, is quite potent, meaning that White can just ignore the fact the e4 pawn is hanging} )17. Bf4 $5 ({I'm pretty sure, Boris spent the sum of total of 3 seconds on deciding not to play} 17. Bh6 Ne5 18. Bxf8 Qxf8 19. Qxb7 Nbd7 {which suddenly gives Black full control over the dark squares, and plenty of counterplay} )Nf6 $2 ({I didn't like} 17... Ne5 18. Bxe5 dxe5 {since my knight is still too far away from the action and we've also closed down the best square we had for our knights. It's not a bad general assessment: after} 19. fxg6 hxg6 20. g5 {, with the h4 and Bh3 follow up, Black is indeed in trouble. However, the text move is worse.} )18. Qf3 $2 {continues a sequence of mistakes, but we were both down to below half an hour on the clock, and had to navigate by instinct in a very weird landscape - I know I have never seen anything like this structure before, and I suspect, neither had Boris.} (18. e5 $1 {Somehow neither of us realized just how strong this is.} dxe5 19. Bxe5 Nbd7 20. Bf4 { The bishop calmly returns and Black is just stuck. The only source of 'counterplay' is} b5 {, but after the simple} 21. O-O-O {it turns out, it's all ephemeral, and with Re1 and Bd3 coming in, the position is about to collapse. In more general terms, I think it's completely decisive that Black no longer has access to the e5 square, and there are more files open than you will see in the game.} )Nbd7 {Now Black is well and truly back in the game.} 19. Bd3 b5 $6 {This looks pseudo-active, but in fact it was cleaner to establish a beachhead on e5 before doing this.} (19... Qc7 20. O-O Ne5 21. Qg3 Nfd7 {would have led to a fairly balanced position.} )20. b3 {My problem now is that I have to keep at least some brain cells occupied by the question 'Is my b5 pawn hanging?' I would like to have access to the b-file for later.} Rb8 {I wasn't at all happy to be spending a full tempo on this in a very concrete position, and having to hope that my indiscretion won't be punished too much.} (20... bxc4 21. Bxc4 {is potentially not that great either for Black.} )21. O-O Ne5 22. Qg3 $2 {Harsh to call this a mistake, but it was much more testing to play 22.Qe2.} (22. Qe2 $1 {, and Black seems to be a tempo away from achieving the best setup because it turns out that b5 is hanging and we don't much like the prospect of} bxc4 (22... Nfd7 {runs into} 23. cxb5 $1 {, and the naive} Nxd3 24. Qxd3 axb5 {loses to} 25. fxg6 hxg6 26. e5 $1 )(22... Qd7 {is perhaps the best choice, but after} 23. Rac1 {introducing an additional threat of Bxe5, cxb5 and Rxc5, Black would struggle to coordinate his pieces properly} )23. Bxc4 Nxc4 24. bxc4 {, and the threat of e4-e5, combined with general weakness of my kingside, gives White a very serious edge} )bxc4 $6 {we both thought the text move forces 23.bxc4.} ({Starting with} 22... Nfd7 {was much cleaner.} )23. bxc4 $6 ({It's hard to criticize Boris for not realizing how strong} 23. Bxc4 $1 Nxe4 24. Qg2 $1 Nxc4 25. bxc4 Nf6 26. Bh6 Rf7 27. Qe2 { was - I don't think it's very obvious at all even when I'm staring at the computer evaluation, telling me the game is basically lost. The 'simple' problem is - White will play Qe6, and there will be no good way to react to that.} )Nfd7 {Now Black is doing completely fine, for the first time in the game. The b-file is open, meaning White has to pay at least some attention to the queenside, while creating an attack on the other side of the board is difficult, with the Nd7+Ne5 tandem providing ample cover.} 24. Bg5 {We were both very short on time by the point, and this is a very understandable move, trying to create immediate questions to answer.} ({The engine suggestion} 24. Be2 Rb2 25. Rae1 {, completely abandoning the queenside and intending to play g5 and then try to get that bishop to g4, by hook or by crook, is a hard thing to consider even in time trouble.} )Rf7 $6 {This is a good move, but played with a very panicky wrong idea. I left myself less than 5 minutes here, and finally decided on a course of action which gave White a draw if he wanted it, or a mess if he didn't. The engine completely disagrees with this generosity and says 'you're already better, be thriftier'} ({After} 24... Qd8 $1 {White has no logical ways of continuing to press on the kingside, and has to switch to defence.} )25. fxg6 hxg6 26. Rxf7 Kxf7 $2 (26... Nxf7 $1 27. Bxe7 Qc7 $1 {gives Black a massive edge because even with White to move, the impending Nf7-Ne5 setup covers absolutely everything, e.g.} 28. Rf1 Nde5 29. Bf6 Qa5 $1 {, and despite a very scary looking Bf6, there is just no attack, while the threat of Qc3 basically decides the game. I don't believe, I spent more than 10 seconds on any of that, though...} )27. Rf1+ Ke8 28. Bc2 $1 { Doesn't change the evaluation, but full marks to Boris for realizing just how scary the thought of landing this bishop on a4 is. I assumed, his choices were a draw after 28.Bxe7} (28. Bxe7 Kxe7 29. Qh4+ Ke8 {, completely missing that even here White can try} 30. Bc2 $1 {which would have forced me to find} Qc7 $1 31. Ba4 Qa5 {and shockingly even with the bishop on a4 White still can't deliver mate vs those two majestic knights.} )({or a more ambitious, and also weaker,} 28. Qh4 $6 Kd8 29. Bxe7+ Kc7 {where despite being a pawn down, I was pretty sure, I was in control now that my king is safe} )Kd8 $1 {Played with maybe 2 minutes left on the clock, this is the best move.} ({The engine somehow holds the position after} 28... Qb7 29. Ba4 Qb2 30. Qf4 Kd8 31. Bxe7+ Kxe7 32. Qg5+ Ke8 33. Qf6 Rb5 $3 {but I will leave it to its conscience.} )29. Bxe7+ Kc7 (29... Kxe7 30. Qh4+ Ke8 31. Ba4 {is completely lost.} Qb7 32. Qf6 $18 )30. Ba4 {creating a threat of Bxd6! Kxd6 Bxd7 and Rf6+} Qe8 (30... Rb4 $5 31. Bxd6+ Kxd6 32. Bxd7 Qb8 $3 {, and the ideas of Kxd7 or Rb1 give Black enough play for the pawn we had to give up. However, I don't think it's realistic to find this when moves like Qe8, which gives up precisely none of our remaining structure, exist.} )31. Bf6 (31. Bg5 Nxc4 32. Bxd7 Qxd7 33. Bf4 { is also very far from clear, with the Black king not nearly as safe on c7 as I thought during the game, but the text move doesn't do any harm yet.} )Rb4 32. Bxe5 $4 {But this one does. Boris was down to seconds at this point, which is the only way you can explain his making such an unappealing move.} ({ It took us a while during the post-mortem to convince ourselves that after} 32. Bxd7 Nxd7 33. Qd3 {Black has no way to collect any of the White pawns in the centre without allowing massive counterplay, but we finally decided it must be true, and the engine confirms Black isn't even a little bit better here since trying to gang up on the c4 pawn will inevitably result in allowing e4-e5, often with disastrous consequences. The easiest way to make sure Black isn't worse either is to play} Rb2 34. Qa3 Rb6 {, and the queen will have to go back to protecting e4} 35. Qd3 Rb2 36. Qa3 Rb6 $11 )Qxe5 {Now White is simply lost.} 33. Qa3 (33. Qxe5 Nxe5 34. Bb3 a5 {and everything crumbles.} )d3 { The cleanest. If} 34. Bxd7 Rb2 $1 35. Qa5+ Kxd7 $19 0-1