[Event "London FIDE GP 1st"] [Site "London"] [Date "2012.09.21"] [Round "1"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2738"] [Annotator "Erenburg,S"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "2012.09.21"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [EventCategory "20"] [SourceTitle "CBM 151"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2012.11.13"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2012.11.13"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 { Nakamura does not choose the most popular line to avoid Gelfand's quality preparation for the World Championship in which he played recently.} Nxd5 8. exd5 Nb8 {By retreating the knight to b8, Black hopes to occupy the c5-outpost one day.} 9. a4 {Once again, Nakamura avoids playing the main line 9.c4. His idea to have the a3-square available for the knight, from where it can be transferred to c4.} Be7 10. Be2 O-O 11. O-O Nd7 12. Kh1 {White has got a pawn majority on the queenside, while Black has one in the centre. So, Nakamura will try to develop an initiative on the queenside by pushing his pawns forward, while Gelfand will be advancing his e- and f-pawns. It is often the case that White has to stop Black's expansion with f2-f4 or f2-f3, which opens the g1-a7 diagonal, from where Black can create some tactical threats. That's why 12.Kh1 is a good prophylactic move. White has also tried:} (12. Be3 a6 13. Na3 f5 {By playing 12.Be3, White committed to meet f7-f5 with 14.f3, since otherwise it makes no sense to move the bishop twice.} 14. f3 (14. f4 exf4) 14... f4 15. Bf2 Qe8 {Now Black brings all his forces to the kingside.} 16. Nc4 Qh5 17. Kh1 Rf6 $36 {0-1 Rowson,J (2485)-Adams,M (2670)/London 1998/CBM 065 (29)}) (12. f4 a6 13. Na3 exf4 14. Bxf4 Bg5 $6 {In general, trading the dark-squared bishops is a typical idea for this kind of pawn structure, but in this particular position, White is better prepared for the open fight.} (14... Ne5 15. Kh1 f5 {leads to the game.}) 15. Bxg5 Qxg5 16. Nc4 Nb6 17. Qd4 Bh3 18. Rf2 Nxc4 19. Bxc4 $14 {1-0 Kaidanov,G (2596)-Kotronias,V (2611)/Gausdal 2008/ CBM 124 (37)}) 12... f5 13. f4 a6 14. Na3 exf4 {Gelfand is preparing the e5-outpost for his knight. In fact, Black is consistent with his strategy of taking control over the dark squares in the centre. The alternatives, which seem a little slower than the move in the text, are:} (14... Bf6 15. Nc4 Nb6 16. Nxb6 (16. fxe5 $5 dxe5 17. Nxb6 Qxb6 18. a5 Qc5 19. c4 e4 20. Ra3 (20. Qb3 Bd4 21. Bf4) 20... Be5 21. Be3 Qe7 22. c5 f4 23. Bc4 (23. d6 Qe8 24. Bd4 (24. Ra4 Bd7 25. Rxe4 Bc6 26. Bc4+ Kh8) 24... Bd7 25. Qb3+ Be6 26. Qb4 $14) 23... Kh8 24. d6 Qg5 $132 {0-1 Nataf,I (2583)-Antic,D (2512)/Vrnjacka Banja 2005/EXT 2006 (34)}) 16... Qxb6 17. a5 Qc7 18. c3 Bd7 19. Be3 Rae8 {1/2-1/2 Gallagher,J (2544)-Spasov,V (2551)/Gothenburg 2005/CBM 109}) (14... b6 $6 {That's exactly what White was waiting for: a clear target on the queenside.} 15. a5 $1 b5 16. c4 Qxa5 (16... bxc4 17. Nxc4 e4 18. Be3 Rb8 19. Rc1 Bb7 20. Qd2 $14) 17. Bd2 Qb6 18. Nxb5 Qb8 19. Nc3 exf4 20. Bxf4 Qxb2 21. Nb5 Qb4 22. Nc7 Rb8 23. Ne6 $44 {1-0 Gallagher,J (2565)-Cherniaev,A (2503)/Saas Almagell 2005/CBM 107 ext (65)} ) 15. Bxf4 Ne5 ({Black can always further expand on the kingside, but there is a cost to it: the king become more vulnerable due to potential weakness of the light squares in the black camp.} 15... g5 $5 16. Bc1 Ne5 17. c4 f4 18. Nc2 Bf5 (18... Bf6 19. Nd4 Qe7 20. Ra3 Bd7 $13) 19. Nd4 Qc8 20. Ra3 a5 21. Rc3 Bf6 22. c5 $1 dxc5 23. Nxf5 $14 {1/2-1/2 Sengupta,D (2466)-Reinderman,D (2560)/ Parramatta 2009/CBM 129 Extra (58)}) 16. Qd2 $146 {[%CAl Yd2b4] White connects the rooks and is about to bring the queen to the queenside.} ({In the preceding game, White got nothing special after} 16. Nc4 Nxc4 17. Bxc4 Bf6 18. c3 g5 19. Be3 Be5 20. Bd4 Qf6 21. Bxe5 dxe5 22. d6+ Be6 23. Qb3 Bxc4 24. Qxc4+ Rf7 25. Rad1 Rd8 26. Qd5 e4 $11 {1/2-1/2 Gallagher,J (2544)-Parligras,M (2571)/ Gothenburg 2005/CBM 109 (57)}) 16... Bd7 17. Qb4 {Nakamura is trying to prevent Black's normal setup of development, an essential part of which would be ...Bf6. In fact, he had a deeper idea in mind: Black is provoked to move his pawns on the queenside, which would create some weaknesses in his camp.} Rb8 $1 {No targets for White's attacks.} (17... a5 $6 18. Qb3 $14 {[%CAl Ye2b5, Ya3b5]} ({But not} 18. Qxb7 Rb8 19. Qa7 Rxb2)) (17... b6 $6 18. Bxe5 dxe5 19. d6 Bf6 20. Bxa6 $14) (17... Qc7 $4 18. Bxe5 a5 19. Qc3 $18) 18. c4 {White is trying to carry out the breakthrough on the queenside, but maybe he had to further build up for it.} (18. a5 $5 Be8 $1 {[%CAl Yg7g5]} (18... g5 19. Bxe5 dxe5 20. d6 Bf6 21. Nc4 {[%CAl Yc4b6]} e4 22. Nb6 Kh8 23. Rad1 $14) 19. Nc4 Bb5 20. Bxe5 dxe5 21. d6 Bxd6 22. Nxd6 Bxe2 23. Rxf5 Rxf5 24. Nxf5 Qf6 $11) 18... a5 $1 {Now that White's light squared bishop can not get to b5, Gelfand interrupts Nakamura's plans on the queenside.} 19. Qb3 {The threat of c4-c5 is now being created.} Ng6 (19... Bf6 $6 20. c5 dxc5 21. Nc4 $14) (19... b6 $5 20. Bxe5 $140 $6 dxe5 21. d6 Bf6 22. c5+ Kh8 $15) 20. Be3 b6 {Black has managed to fix the pawn structure on the queenside, which leaves White with no clear plan. Black, on the other hand, will continue his expansion on the kingside by occupying the dark squares in the centre.} 21. Nb5 ({I feel that White should have kept his knight on the board and brought it to the centre:} 21. Nc2 $5 { [%CAl Yc2d4]} Bf6 $11 {[%CAl Yg6e5]}) 21... Bxb5 22. axb5 Bg5 23. Bg1 Ne5 $15 { /=. Black has managed to neutralise White's activity on the queenside and occupy the dark squares in the centre. Although Black has a more comfortable game, White is not much worse yet. Nakamura has a pair of bishops, one of which creates some trouble for Black, namely the dark-squared one. Black's pawn on b6 is somewhat weak and requires some looking after by other pieces.} 24. Qa3 $6 {It may be the case that Nakamura overlooked next Black's move, which allowed Gelfand to bring the bishop to c5.} (24. Qc3 {was perhaps better: } Qc7 (24... Qf6 25. b4) 25. Bd4 (25. b4 axb4 26. Qxb4 Nd7 {[%CAl Yd7c5]}) 25... g6 $11 (25... Rbe8 26. Qg3 Bd2 $140 $2 27. Qf2 $16)) 24... Bd2 $1 25. Rad1 Bb4 26. Qh3 Qg5 (26... g6 {might have been slightly more precise.}) 27. Be3 Qf6 28. Bd4 ({White had to take advantage of his chance and equalise with} 28. g4 $1 {This forces Black to trade his excellent knight:} Nxg4 (28... g6 $4 29. gxf5 gxf5 30. Bd3 $1 $18) 29. Bxg4 fxg4 30. Rxf6 (30. Qxg4 Qxf1+ 31. Rxf1 Rxf1+ 32. Kg2 Rf6 $13) 30... gxh3 31. Rxf8+ Kxf8 32. Rf1+ Kg8 {[%CAl Yb4c5]} 33. Kg1 Rc8 $11) 28... Bc5 29. Bc3 Qg5 {At this point, Gelfand had little time, so I can imagine that he was trying to postpone any decisive actions until after the first time control. Nakamura, on the other hand, felt that it was his chance to mess things up, so he continued} 30. Bxe5 $6 ({Objectively speaking,} 30. Bd2 {, following the waiting strategy, was better:} Qf6 31. Bc3 g6 $15 {/=}) 30... dxe5 31. g4 {White has given up on the dark squares, but he hopes to activate his light-squared bishop.} fxg4 $6 {Under time pressure, Gelfand decides to keep things simple, even though he was clearly better after} (31... f4 32. Bd3 g6 33. Be4 Bd4 34. b3 Kg7 $36 {[%CAl Yf8h8]}) 32. Qxg4 Qxg4 33. Bxg4 Bd6 34. Be6+ Kh8 {The endgames with opposite coloured bishops have strong drawish tendencies. Also, Gelfand had just a few seconds to make his last 6 moves, so, it might be the case that Nakamura felt that he was out of danger. However, this endgame is tricky, and White has to play carefully to hold it. First of all, White's queenside pawns are completely useless: while he has the numerical advantage of 4 vs. 2, he can't create a single passed pawn. Black, on the other hand, has a pawn majority in the centre-kingside with 3 vs. 1. It should be obvious that White's best shot is the endgame without rooks on the board.} 35. Kg2 g6 36. b3 Kg7 37. h3 $6 {Nakamura places his pawns on the light squares, so that they couldn't be captured by Black's bishop.} ({However, it was more important to prevent the advance of Black's pawn in the centre with} 37. Rde1 {and White should hold this endgame.}) 37... e4 38. Bg4 $6 {At this point, it was absolutely necessary to force Black to trade ALL the rooks. Instead, Nakamura brings his light-squared bishop to a very passive position.} (38. Rde1 $1 Rxf1 (38... Bc5 39. Rxe4 Rxf1 40. Kxf1 Rf8+ 41. Ke1 Rf3 42. Kd2 Rxb3 $140 43. d6) 39. Rxf1 (39. Kxf1 Rf8+ 40. Kg2 Rf3) 39... Rf8 40. Rxf8 Bxf8 41. Kf2 Kf6 42. Ke2 Bc5 43. Kd2 Ke5 (43... Kg5 44. d6 Bxd6 45. Ke3) 44. Bg8 $1 h6 45. Bf7 $1 g5 (45... Kd4 46. Bxg6 e3+ 47. Kc2 e2 48. Kd2 e1=B+ 49. Kxe1 Kc3 50. Bf7 Bd6 51. c5 $1 Bxc5 (51... bxc5 52. b6 Kxb3 53. Bh5 Bf4 54. b7 a4 55. Bd1+ Kb4 56. d6 Bxd6 57. Kd2 $11) 52. d6 $1 $11) 46. Be8 Kd4 (46... Kf4 47. Bh5 Kg3 48. Bg4 h5 (48... Kf2 49. Kd1) 49. Bxh5 Kxh3 50. Bg6 g4 51. Bxe4 g3 52. Kd3 $1 Kh2 (52... g2 $2 53. Bxg2+ {[%CAl Yd3e4]}) 53. Bf3 Kg1 54. Ke4 Kf2 55. Bh1 $11) 47. Bh5 Bb4+ 48. Kc2 Ke3 49. Bg4 Kf2 50. Kd1 Bc5 51. Kd2 Kg3 52. d6 (52. Ke2 $11) 52... Bxd6 53. Ke3 h5 54. Bd7 g4 55. hxg4 hxg4 56. Kxe4 $11) 38... h5 39. Be2 $2 {It was absolutely crucial to keep control over the f5-square. After this mistake, White is lost.} (39. Be6 Bb4 40. Rxf8 Rxf8 41. Rf1 Rxf1 42. Kxf1 Kf6 43. Ke2 g5 44. Kd1 (44. Bd7 Ke5 45. Be8 h4 46. Bd7 Kd4) 44... Ke5 45. Ke2 (45. Bf7 g4) 45... Kd4 46. Bf7 Bd6 47. Bxh5 Kc3 48. Ke3 (48. c5 Bxc5 49. d6 Bxd6 50. Bf7 Bc5) 48... Kxb3 49. Kxe4 Kxc4) 39... Rf6 {A time trouble inaccuracy.} (39... Rf5 $1 {was stronger and was played on the next move.}) 40. Rde1 ({I think that even after} 40. Rxf6 Kxf6 41. Rf1+ Ke5 42. Rf7 Rf8 $19 {[%CAl Ye5d4,Yd4c3] Black is winning, since he gets access to White's b3-pawn.}) 40... Rf5 $1 {How many people in the world can stay cool when they have seconds to make the last move? Well, Gelfand definitely has the right genes! White is going to be forced to take on f5, and with the connected pawns, it's an easy win for the World Championship runner-up.} 41. Bd1 (41. Rxf5 gxf5 42. Bxh5 Kf6 $19) 41... Rbf8 42. Rxf5 { White has no better moves to play:} (42. Bc2 Rg5+ 43. Kh1 Rf3 $1 $19) 42... gxf5 43. Bxh5 Kf6 $19 {White is a pawn up, but completely lost. The quality overcomes the quantity. Nothing can stop Black's connected pawns and moreover, even the endgame with the opposite coloured bishops is lost for White.} 44. Rh1 (44. Rg1 Bc5 45. Rf1 Rg8+ 46. Kh1 Ke5 $19) 44... Kg5 45. Bd1 Kh4 46. Rf1 Rg8+ 47. Kh1 Rg5 48. Bc2 Kxh3 49. Rf2 Kg3 50. Rh2 Rg4 51. Rg2+ Kf4 52. Rf2+ Kg5 53. Rd2 Rg3 54. Re2 Rh3+ 55. Kg1 Kf4 56. Kg2 Rh2+ $1 57. Kf1 (57. Kxh2 Kf3+) 57... Rxe2 58. Kxe2 Ke5 0-1