[Event "GCT Paris Blitz 2021"] [Site "Paris"] [Date "2021.06.24"] [Round "15"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B30"] [WhiteElo "2714"] [BlackElo "2820"] [Annotator "TA"] [PlyCount "125"] [EventDate "2021.06.21"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "FRA"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 10,125,11,12,20,-35,52,19,138,139,150,140,193,200,196,208,279,249,255, 248,257,243,235,224,301,297,270,216,345,344,343,350,341,247,300,122,98,110,108, 52,61,0,0,-32,-11,-35,-20,-41,-4,-4,-4,-5,33,-5,-5,-45,-47,-38,-51,-52,-50,-52, -52,-54,-61,-41,-25,-34,-23,-152,-145,-184,-127,-170,-177,-174,-170,-176,-167, -193,-190,-196,-192,-205,-217,-231,-231,-243,-241,-285,-283,-304,-245,-261, -258,-247,-252,-270,-106,-108,-108,-100,-100,-135,-108,-258,-200,-224,-159, -216,0,-200,-214,-207,-225,-186,-185,-378]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 ( 3... g6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. f4 $1 {[%CAl Yg1f3] Here White gets a comfortable development of the kingside and has a chance to block Black's dark-squared bishop with e4-e5 at some point.}) 4. Nf3 e6 5. O-O a6 6. Bd3 Nc6 {[%csl Gc2, Gc7,Gd3,Gd6,Ge4,Ge5,Gf3,Gf6,Gg2,Gg7][%CAl Ge4d5,Gc6b7,Gc6b5,Gd5c4,Gc3b5,Gd3c4, Rd5e6,Re6d7,Ge4f5,Ge5d4,Gc3b2,Gc3b4,Gd4c5,Gc5b4,Gc5d4,Gc6d4,Gc6b4,Gf8c5] B30: Sicilian: 2...Nc6 3 Bb5, lines without ...g6.} (6... Ne7 7. Nxd4 cxd4 8. Ne2 Nc6 {Here Black has to spend some more time to protect his central pawn. I am not sure what Alexander had prepared, but it seems to me that the following two games are important:} 9. b3 (9. c3 Bc5 10. b4 Ba7 11. cxd4 Nxd4 $6 (11... O-O $5 12. a3 (12. b5 axb5 13. d5 exd5 14. exd5 Nb4 15. Bxb5 Nxd5 $11) 12... Nxd4 13. Bb2 Nc6 14. Rc1 d6 15. Bb1 $14 {[%CAl Yd2d4] /=}) (11... d5 $5 12. Bb2 O-O 13. Qb3 $14) 12. Bb2 $14 Qf6 $6 (12... Nxe2+ 13. Qxe2 O-O 14. Qg4 f6 15. Qh4 $14) 13. Kh1 $1 $16 {1-0 Baklan,V (2607)-Cherniaev,A (2501)/Istanbul 2003/ CBM 096 (36)}) 9... Bc5 10. Bb2 O-O 11. c3 dxc3 12. dxc3 d6 13. Nd4 e5 14. Nxc6 (14. Nf5 Bxf5 15. exf5 d5 $11) 14... bxc6 15. b4 Ba7 16. c4 a5 17. a3 Be6 $11 { 1/2-1/2 Vallejo Pons,F (2697)-Gelfand,B (2738)/Istanbul 2012/CB36_2012 (49)}) 7. Re1 (7. Be2 $11 b5 (7... Qc7 8. d4 {transforms the game to the Taimanov Variation.}) 8. d4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bb7 10. Nxc6 Bxc6 11. Qd4 Qc7 12. Re1 Bb7 13. Bf3 Rc8 14. Bg5 h6 15. Bh4 Qc5 16. Qd2 Be7 17. Bg3 d6 18. e5 d5 (18... Bxf3 19. exd6 Bc6 20. dxe7 Nxe7 21. Bd6 Qg5 22. f4 Qf6 $11) 19. Bf4 Qb4 20. Rab1 Bc5 21. Red1 Qa5 22. Be2 Ne7 $11 {1/2-1/2 Andreikin,D (2650)-Caruana,F (2697)/Biel 2010/CBM 138 (55)}) (7. b3 {The only constructive idea at White's disposal is to place the bishop on the long diagonal. Erenburg,S: 'leads to the game.'} d6 ({Gelfand was the sole leader before this game, so a draw was an OK result for him. In a different situation, he might have played} 7... g5 $5 8. Bb2 Bg7 9. Na4 {What else?} Bxb2 10. Nxb2 g4 11. Ne1 h5 12. f4 Nge7 $13 {[%CAl Yb7b5, Yc8b7]}) 8. Bb2 Nf6 9. Re1 Be7 $146 {Technically, that's a novelty. If Gelfand did not play (and heavily prepare for) the match against Anand, I would safely assume that both contenders were unaware of the preceding game, which went as follows:} (9... e5 10. Nd5 (10. Bc4 $5) 10... Be7 (10... g6 $5 11. c3 Bg7 12. Bc4 O-O $11) 11. c3 O-O 12. Nxe7+ Nxe7 13. Bf1 Ng6 14. d4 Qc7 15. g3 Bd7 16. Bg2 $14 {1-0 Trent,L (2423)-Emms,J (2502)/Southend 2006/CBM 111 ext (48)}) { That's right. White's only chance to win is to open up the game as soon as possible.} 10. e5 ({Now} 10. Bf1 {is already met by} e5) 10... dxe5 11. Nxe5 { Black has got some problems to solve. His king is still in the centre and the light-squared bishop is still not part of the game. Gelfand decides to maintain the status quo by playing} Bd7 $6 ({Black could have made White's rook move to e5 with} 11... Nxe5 12. Rxe5 {Here, on the one hand, the rook can join the attack on the kingside from the 5-th rank. On the other hand, it's a little awkward, since it blocks its own bishop and can become a target for Black's pieces. Here are some possible variations:} Bd7 13. Ne4 Rc8 (13... Bc6 $5 14. Nxc5 (14. Qe2 Bxe4 15. Bxe4 Nxe4 16. Rxe4 Bf6 $11) 14... Bd6 15. Rg5 Kf8 $3 (15... h6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Rxg7 $44) 16. Bf1 h6 17. Re5 Bxe5 18. Bxe5 Nd7 $13) (13... O-O 14. Nxf6+ Bxf6 15. Rh5 h6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Rxc5 $14) 14. Rb1 ( 14. Qf3 Bc6 15. Bc3 (15. Qg3 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Bf6) 15... Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Bf6 17. Rxc5 Bxe4 18. Rxc8 Qxc8 19. Qxe4 Bxc3 20. dxc3 Qxc3 $11) 14... Bc6 15. Nxc5 Bd6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Rxe6+ Kd7 18. Qe1 $1 (18. Qe2 Re8 19. Bf5 Kc7 $11) 18... Ne8 $1 $13) 12. Ne4 $1 {That's the point! Now White's bishop operates on the long diagonal and is ready to take on e5 in the event case of the trade.} Nxe5 13. Bxe5 Bc6 14. Qf3 Rc8 ({Black could sacrifice the c5-pawn and get some compensation, but I have some doubts whether it would be sufficient to equalise:} 14... O-O 15. Nxf6+ Bxf6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Qh5 g6 18. Qxc5 Rfd8 19. Rad1 $14) 15. Re3 $1 {Bringing the rook to the potential attack on the kingside.} b5 {Black is trying to drive away White's bishop from the active position. At this stage, it become clear that White's initiative is very dangerous.} (15... O-O $4 16. Nxf6+ Bxf6 17. Bxh7+ Kxh7 18. Qh5+ Kg8 19. Rh3 { with checkmate.}) ({The computer's suggestion might be the least of the evils, but it's tough to convince yourself that such moves can be playable when the king is still in the centre.} 15... h5 $5 16. h3 Nd5 17. Ree1 (17. Qg3 Rg8 18. Re2 h4 $13 {[%CAl Yd5b4]}) 17... f5 18. Bxg7 fxe4 19. Bxe4 Rg8 20. Qxh5+ Kd7 21. Qh7 $44) 16. Rae1 ({White could have stopped Black's c5-c4 and grabbed the d5-square, but I liked what Grischuk did even better.} 16. c4 $5 $14) 16... c4 {At this point, Black is unable to neutralise White's activity without material losses, so giving away the c-pawn is probably optimal.} (16... Nd5 { does not solve all the problems:} 17. R3e2 (17. Qg4 $5 Nxe3 18. Qxg7 Rf8 19. Rxe3 Bxe4 20. Bxe4 $44 (20. Rxe4 c4 $1 $13)) 17... O-O 18. Qh3 f5 (18... h6 $142 $14) 19. Qg3 g6 20. Nd6 Bxd6 21. Bxd6 f4 22. Qh3 Qxd6 23. Rxe6 Qd7 24. Bxg6 Rc7 25. Bxh7+ Qxh7 26. Rh6 $18) 17. bxc4 bxc4 18. Bxf6 Bxe4 (18... gxf6 19. Bxc4 $16 f5 $140 20. Qh5) 19. Rxe4 {It is well known that with the opposite coloured bishop, the attacking side gets better chances compared to the case with the same coloured bishops, so Grischuk decided to keep the queens on the board.} ({After} 19. Qxe4 {, Black finds the way to trade the queens after} gxf6 $1 20. Bxc4 f5 $14) 19... Bxf6 20. Bxc4 $14 {White is a pawn up, but the game is far from being over. It's going to be difficult for White to push pawns forward, so Gelfand would have had a fair shot at saving the game if he hadn't blundered on the next move.} Qxd2 $4 (20... O-O {was better:} 21. Rd1 $14) 21. Bxe6 $1 fxe6 22. Rxe6+ Kd7 $6 {Unfortunately, that was not Gelfand's game. With the king is the centre, White finishes the game off.} ({Surprisingly, Black has some chances of survival in the position though he is two pawns down:} 22... Kf7 $1 23. Qh5+ g6 24. Qf3 Rhf8 $1 (24... Qc3 25. Rxf6+ Qxf6 26. Qb7+ $18) 25. Rxf6+ Kg8 26. Rxf8+ Rxf8 27. Qb3+ $16 { /+-. The activity of Black's pieces grants him some good practical chances.}) 23. Qg4 $1 $18 {I suspect that Gelfand missed this move when decided to take on d2 on the 22nd move. Now, nothing can stop White's attack.} Kc7 (23... Kd8 24. Rd1 $18) 24. Qc4+ Kd7 (24... Kd8 25. Qxa6) 25. Qa4+ Kd8 26. Qxa6 {[%CAl Ye6d6]} Kd7 27. Qb5+ Kd8 28. Re8+ {1-0 (30) Grischuk,A (2754)-Gelfand,B (2738) London 2012 CBM 151 [Erenburg,S]} (28. Re8+ Rxe8 29. Rxe8+ Kc7 30. Qc5+ $18)) ( 7. e5 $5 d5 8. exd6 Bxd6 9. b3 Nb4 $1 10. Be2 (10. Ne4 Nxd3 11. cxd3 Be7 12. Bb2 Nf6 $11) 10... Nf6 11. Bb2 O-O 12. a3 Nc6 13. Bd3 Ne5 $1 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Degraeve,J (2548)-Jaracz,P (2483)/Germany 2007/CBM 123 (21)}) 7... b5 $5 {[%mdl 4] Exploring less charted territory.} (7... g5 $15 {Erenburg,S: '!?'} 8. g3 (8. Kh1 Bg7 9. Bf1 h6 (9... g4 10. Ng1 h5 11. d3 Nge7 12. Bg5 Qc7 13. Qd2 d6 14. Nge2 f6 15. Be3 e5 16. a3 Nd4 17. b4 Be6 18. bxc5 dxc5 19. a4 Rd8 20. Reb1 h4 21. Kg1 h3 22. Rb2 hxg2 23. Bxg2 Ng6 24. Rab1 Nh4 25. Kf1 Nhf3 26. Bxf3 Nxf3 27. Qc1 Bc8 28. Ng3 Rxh2 29. Nd5 Rxd5 30. exd5 f5 {0-1 (30) Sailer,D (2129)-Fantin,L (2271) Metz 2013 EXT 2016 [Metz Alekhine/Primel,D]}) 10. d3 Nge7 11. Ne2 d5 12. c3 dxe4 13. dxe4 Qxd1 14. Rxd1 b6 15. Ng3 Rg8 16. Nd2 Ne5 17. Nc4 Nxc4 18. Bxc4 Bb7 19. Kg1 Be5 20. f3 Nc8 21. Nh5 Ke7 22. Be3 Nd6 23. Bf1 Bc6 24. Rd2 Bb5 25. Rad1 Ra7 26. b3 Bxf1 27. Kxf1 f5 28. exf5 Nxf5 29. Rd3 Bxh2 30. Bf2 g4 31. f4 Kf7 32. g3 Kg6 33. Kg2 Kxh5 34. Kxh2 Rc7 35. Rd8 Rxd8 36. Rxd8 Rc6 37. a4 a5 38. Rb8 Kg6 39. Rg8+ Kf7 40. Rb8 Rd6 41. Rb7+ Kg6 42. Kg2 h5 43. Rb8 Kf7 44. Rb7+ Kf6 45. Rb8 Rd2 46. Kf1 Rd3 47. Rxb6 Nxg3+ 48. Kg2 h4 49. Bxc5 Rd2+ 50. Kg1 Nf5 51. Rb8 h3 52. Rh8 Rd1+ 53. Kf2 h2 {0-1 (53) Tseitlin,M (2472)-Avrukh,B (2595) Tel Aviv 2002 CBM 093 [Avrukh,B]}) 8... d6) ( 7... d6 8. Bf1 Nf6 (8... e5 $5) 9. d4 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Qc7 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Na4 c5 13. Bf4 Qc6 14. Nc3 Bb7 15. e5 dxe5 16. Bxe5 Be7 $11 {1-0 Tiviakov,S (2648) -Caruana,F (2549)/Vlissingen 2007/CBM 119 ext (73)}) 8. Bf1 $14 {[#]} Qb6 $146 (8... Qc7 $11 {keeps the balance.}) ({Predecessor:} 8... Bb7 9. d4 cxd4 10. Nxd4 d6 11. Nxc6 Bxc6 12. a4 bxa4 13. Nxa4 Nf6 14. Nc3 Qb6 {1/2-1/2 (39) Lahoche,D (2124)-Kirsch,L (2120) Tornelo INT 2021}) 9. a4 $1 $16 {[%CAl Ba2a4, Ba4a5][%mdl 32]} b4 {[#]} 10. Nd5 {[%CAl Rd5b6][%mdl 512]} exd5 (10... Qa7 $16 {might work better.}) (10... Qd8 11. d4) 11. exd5+ $18 Nce7 12. d4 d6 13. a5 Qc7 14. dxc5 Qxc5 15. c4 $1 bxc3 16. bxc3 f6 17. Ba3 Qc7 18. Nd4 Kf7 (18... g6 $142 19. Qf3 Bd7) 19. Ne6 Qd7 20. Rb1 Nh6 21. Rb6 Ng6 22. Nxf8 (22. Bd3 $18 { and White stays clearly on top.}) 22... Rxf8 $16 23. Rxd6 Qg4 24. Qxg4 ({ White should play} 24. f3 $16 Qg5 25. Rc6) 24... Nxg4 $14 25. Rc6 ({White should try} 25. Rb6 $14 Rd8 26. c4) 25... Rd8 $11 26. c4 {[%CAl Bc3c4,Bc4c5] [%mdl 32]} N4e5 27. Rb6 Bf5 28. d6 Nf4 {next ...Rac8 is good for Black.} (28... Bd3 $5 {[%CAl Rd3f1]} 29. c5 Bxf1 30. Kxf1 Rdc8 $15) 29. c5 {[#]} Nh3+ $1 30. Kh1 $1 Nxf2+ 31. Kg1 Nfd3 32. Rd1 Rac8 33. c6 Rxc6 34. Rxc6 Nxc6 35. Bxd3 Bxd3 36. Rxd3 Nxa5 $15 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KRB-KRN} 37. Rc3 Rd7 38. Kf2 Ke6 39. Ke3 (39. g4 $11) 39... Rb7 $17 40. Kd4 Kd7 (40... Rb3 $19 41. Rxb3 Nxb3+ 42. Kc4 Nd2+ 43. Kd4 Kd7) 41. Re3 Nc6+ 42. Kc3 Rb5 43. Rg3 g6 44. Rh3 h5 45. Rf3 Ke6 46. Rd3 {intending d7.} Rd5 47. Rg3 Ne5 48. h3 g5 49. Kc2 Nc4 50. Bb4 Rb5 ({ Don't play} 50... Nxd6 51. Re3+ Re5 52. Rf3 $19) 51. Rd3 {Black must now prevent d7.} Ne5 ({Less strong is} 51... Rxb4 52. d7 $15) 52. d7 Nxd7 ({ Stronger than} 52... Nxd3 53. d8=Q $11) 53. Rd6+ Kf5 $2 (53... Ke5 $19 { has better winning chances. ...Nc5 is the strong threat.} 54. Ba3 Ra5 $1) 54. Bc3 Ne5 55. Rxa6 Rd5 56. Ra4 h4 57. Rb4 (57. Ra6 $17) 57... Rd6 58. Ra4 Ng6 59. Bd2 (59. Ra5+ $17 {is a better defense.} Ke4 60. Bd2) 59... Ne5 60. Bc3 $1 Rc6 {Black is clearly better.} 61. Kd2 {[#]} Ng6 $1 62. Ra5+ {[#]} Ke6 $1 63. Ra8 $2 {Weighted Error Value: White=0.20/Black=0.25} (63. Ba1) 0-1