[Event "Prague Masters 2nd"] [Site "Prague"] [Date "2020.02.12"] [Round "1"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Shankland, Samuel L"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E52"] [WhiteElo "2721"] [BlackElo "2683"] [Annotator "Vidit,S"] [PlyCount "63"] [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"] {[%evp 0,63,34,29,27,4,4,0,24,24,28,21,16,20,20,16,22,21,23,19,47,6,6,13,17,22, 16,16,18,9,25,18,86,-20,94,91,91,112,112,112,112,104,114,114,92,112,140,140, 135,132,132,130,244,269,255,237,237,237,216,289,420,425,496,496,747,808] At the opening ceremony, I was surprised to find out that 'Prague Masters' was a category 19 event, only one category short of the traditional Tata Masters tournament. It's rare to see closed tournaments for 2700-2740 rating, so I hope this fantastic initiative continues for many years!} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd2 b6 6. Nf3 Bb7 7. Bd3 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Rc1 Re8 { Blitzed out instantly. On the other hand I was spending time on each move (don't ask why!).} (9... Be7 {followed by ...c5 and the immediate 9...a6 with the idea of Bd6 are more popular.}) 10. Nb5 {A novelty. I didn't fancy the lines after 10.0-0 Bf8. In such lines if White doesn't know what he is doing, it can get messy.} (10. O-O Bf8 11. Ne5 c5 12. f4 Nc6 13. Nxd5 Qxd5 14. Bc4 Qxg2+ $5 15. Kxg2 Nxe5+ 16. Kg1 Nxc4 17. Rxc4 Ba6 18. Rc1 Bxf1 19. Qxf1 Rad8 $132 {0-1 (142) Bluebaum,M (2644)-Karjakin,S (2754) Moscow 2019}) 10... Nc6 { It seems strange to play Nc6 which hinders the pawn advance c5. The point is to exchange the b4 B in a way which will help Black to achieve counterplay or if White declines, then to keep the bishop.} ({The obvious alternative is} 10... Bxd2+ 11. Qxd2 c6 12. Nc3 {It doesn't seem much, but White clearly has a typical edge for this line. Or in modern terms they would say it's 0.10-0.20 :) }) 11. O-O (11. Bxb4 Nxb4 12. Bb1 ({The pawn is a taboo obviously:} 12. Nxc7 $2 Nxd3+ 13. Qxd3 Rc8 $19) 12... c5 $1 {Compared to exchange of the bishops on move 10, Black has more active pieces.}) 11... Bf8 12. a3 $1 {Played after 18 minutes of thought. Usually it's stupid to be down to 47 minutes after move 12, but on that day it worked out fine. The idea is to expand on the Qside.} (12. Ne5 {This looked like the most natural way to proceed. For example} Nxe5 ({ But suddenly I noticed that} 12... Rxe5 $1 {is very powerful:} 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Be2 c5 {In fact, Black is even better. White is uncoordinated and Black can just roll ahead with the pawns.}) 13. dxe5 Rxe5 14. Nxc7 (14. Bc3 d4 $1 15. Bxd4 Rg5 $132) (14. Rxc7 Ba6 $132) 14... Rc8 15. Nb5 {leads to small advantage for White. He can blockade on d4 or play around the IQP.}) 12... a6 13. Nc3 Bd6 14. b4 {I started to blitz out my moves to cover the time difference.} Nb8 { The first think of the game for Sam. So far he had used only 3 minutes. The main problem in Black's position is the knight on c6. If he can reroute it, he should be fine.} (14... Ne7 {was the alternative.}) 15. Qb3 c6 $4 {A typical idea for White in such position is to play a4-b5, which creates a bind on the Qside. Sam didn't want to allow that, but the downside is huge. White simply breaks through with e4, after which Black is in real trouble. I feel he missed that he can't play 16..Qe7 to stop e4} (15... Nbd7 16. b5 Qe7 17. a4 {would have been the normal continuation.}) 16. Qb1 {Good but not the best.} (16. e4 $1 dxe4 17. Ng5 Bxh2+ 18. Kh1 $1 (18. Kxh2 Qc7+ $1 {Black defends the f7 pawn}) 18... Nd5 19. Bxe4 h6 20. Bh7+ Kf8 21. f4 $1 hxg5 22. fxg5 {and White's attack is irresistible}) 16... Bc8 {Looks too slow to be good.} (16... Nbd7 { sacrificing the pawn seemed like relatively the best defense.} 17. e4 dxe4 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. Bxe4 Nf6 20. Bxc6 Bxc6 21. Rxc6 Nd5 {White is obviously better, but Black can resist.}) (16... Qe7 {doesn't really stop e4:} 17. e4 $1 dxe4 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. Bxe4 $1 Qxe4 20. Rfe1 $18) 17. e4 dxe4 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. Bxe4 h6 20. Rfd1 $1 {Very precise! It looks like it's just a normal move, but it has a subtle point. More often than not, such moves win the game!} ({Initially it looked natural for me to play} 20. Bc3 {with the idea to play Ne5, but I struggled to see a continuation after} Be6 21. Ne5 Bd5 22. Bxd5 cxd5 {Black will play Ra7 next and things don't seem so bad for him.}) (20. Rfe1 Ra7 { Although White's position looks really active, I didn't see a clear way to improve.}) 20... Ra7 (20... Bg4 21. h3 Bxf3 22. Bxf3 Ra7 23. g3 $18 {Black can't develop the b8 N ever :)}) ({The main point is after} 20... Be6 21. Ne5 Bd5 22. Bxd5 cxd5 {White has} 23. Nxf7 $1 Bxh2+ (23... Kxf7 24. Qf5+ $18) 24. Kxh2 Kxf7 25. Qf5+ Kg8 26. Bxh6 $1 $18) 21. Ne5 Rc7 22. h3 $1 {Another powerful move. I renew the threat of Nxc6 and don't give Black the time to regroup with Be6-d5. After the last three precise moves, Black's position seems close to lost, as he is deprived of any play.} (22. Nxc6 $2 Nxc6 23. Bxc6 Bxh2+ $1 24. Kxh2 Qd6+ $11) 22... Qh4 (22... Be6 23. Nxc6) 23. Re1 $1 Rce7 { This loses material, but it was already inevitable.} 24. Bh7+ $1 {Energetic! Tactics always work in good positions :)} Kf8 25. Re4 Qf6 $2 {Loses immediately.} (25... Qh5 26. Bg6 $1 ({Also good is} 26. Rf4 $5 Bxe5 27. dxe5 Qxe5 28. Re4 Qf6 29. Bc3 $40) (26. g4 Qxh3 27. Rc3 Qh4 {- here the Q escapes.}) 26... fxg6 27. g4 Qxh3 28. Rc3 {and the Q is trapped.} Bxe5 29. Rxh3 Bh2+ $1 30. Kxh2 Rxe4 31. Re3 Rxe3 32. Bxe3 {White's winning obviously, but he would still need to play well to convert.}) 26. Rf4 $18 {The rest is easy.} Bxe5 27. Rxf6 Bxf6 28. Bf4 Bg5 29. Bd6 g6 30. Bxg6 fxg6 31. Qxg6 Nd7 32. Rc3 1-0 [Event "Geneve Masters GpA"] [Site "Geneve"] [Date "2013.06.28"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Pelletier, Yannick"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E14"] [WhiteElo "2803"] [BlackElo "2574"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2013.06.26"] [EventType "tourn (rapid)"] [EventRounds "3"] [EventCountry "SUI"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "CBM 155 Extra"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2013.08.26"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2013.08.26"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,102,28,27,15,-10,-10,-10,13,13,37,23,40,40,36,19,32,15,31,11,3,3,3,14, 8,8,31,15,33,23,23,20,35,30,36,31,38,31,31,21,18,22,14,26,99,104,130,130,111, 113,183,165,180,184,187,185,165,157,201,193,196,198,207,207,209,149,151,151, 156,162,155,135,133,135,162,137,108,108,120,126,119,126,149,138,144,154,152,88, 85,88,131,96,96,96,95,97,97,102,129,199,265,304,438,552,890]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. e3 b6 4. d4 Bb7 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. b3 Bd6 8. Ba3 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Bxd6 Qxd6 11. Nc3 a6 12. Rc1 Nbd7 13. Bf5 Nf8 14. Qc2 g6 15. Bh3 Re7 16. Rfd1 Bc8 17. Bxc8 Rxc8 18. Qd3 Ra8 19. Rc2 Ne6 20. h3 c6 21. Na4 Rb7 22. Rdc1 Nd8 23. Ne5 c5 24. Nf3 c4 25. bxc4 dxc4 26. Qxc4 b5 27. Qc5 Qe6 28. Ng5 Qe8 29. Nb6 Nd7 30. Nxd7 Qxd7 31. Ne4 Qe6 32. Qd5 Qxd5 33. Nf6+ Kg7 34. Nxd5 Ne6 35. Nc7 Nxc7 36. Rxc7 Raa7 37. Rxb7 Rxb7 38. Kf1 a5 39. Ke2 b4 40. Kd3 Kf6 41. Rc6+ Ke7 42. Kc2 Rb5 43. Rc5 Rxc5+ 44. dxc5 Ke6 45. Kb3 Kd5 46. Ka4 Kxc5 47. Kxa5 Kc4 48. Ka4 g5 49. g4 h6 50. f4 f6 51. f5 Kd5 1-0 [Event "Corus"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2003.01.12"] [Round "2"] [White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E46"] [WhiteElo "2734"] [BlackElo "2807"] [Annotator "Ftacnik,L"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2003.01.11"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "18"] [SourceTitle "CBM 093"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2003.04.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2003.04.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,75,19,9,42,-10,-16,3,4,30,26,9,-6,12,1,22,10,15,30,-2,14,3,-6,-10,-10, -17,9,-5,-5,-13,2,0,13,18,31,25,40,21,26,11,21,7,30,26,57,13,6,8,10,6,26,37,33, 33,33,33,34,33,39,39,35,37,42,33,41,36,12,28,41,40,41,0,35,35,300,262,429,1242] } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nge2 d5 6. a3 Be7 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Bd2 Nd7 9. g3 b6 {Kramnik is transfering the game into queen's indian pawn structure with a feeling, that nothing much can endanger him.} 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Bg2 Nf6 (11... c6 12. Rc1 Bb7 13. O-O Nf6 14. Bb4 $13) 12. O-O Ne4 13. Rc1 Bb7 (13... Bf5 14. Nf4 Re8 15. Bb4 $13) 14. Qc2 Rc8 (14... Nxd2 15. Qxd2 Re8 16. Nf4 c6 $11) 15. Rfd1 Bd6 16. Bb4 $5 {[%mdl 32] The original strategical solution, for which Ponomariov in the end got the coveted point from the world champion of the company Braingames.} Qf6 (16... c5 17. dxc5 bxc5 18. Be1 Qe7 19. Nc3 $14) (16... Bxb4 17. axb4 Qd6 18. b5 a5 19. bxa6 Bxa6 20. Nf4 $14) 17. Nc3 Nxc3 (17... Bxb4 18. axb4 $14) (17... c5 18. dxc5 Bxc5 (18... bxc5 19. Ba5 (19. Nxe4 dxe4 20. Bc3 Qe6 $11) 19... Qe6 20. Qb3 $14) 19. Bh3 Rc7 20. Qe2 Rd8 $11) 18. Qxc3 (18. bxc3 Ba8 19. Bxd6 Qxd6 $11) 18... c6 (18... c5 19. dxc5 Be5 (19... Qxc3 20. Bxc3 Rxc5 21. e4 Rfc8 22. exd5 $16) 20. Qb3 Rfd8 21. Bc3 $16) 19. Bxd6 Qxd6 20. b4 Rc7 21. a4 (21. b5 Rfc8 (21... c5 22. dxc5 Rxc5 (22... bxc5 23. Bxd5 $1 Bxd5 24. e4 $16) 23. Qd3 Rd8 $14) 22. Bh3 Re8 23. bxc6 Rxc6 24. Qb4 $14) 21... Bc8 22. a5 (22. b5 Bg4 23. Re1 Rfc8 $11) 22... Ba6 23. Ra1 Bb5 (23... Bc4 24. axb6 axb6 25. Bf1 (25. e4 Re8 26. Re1 Rce7 $11) 25... b5 26. Ra6 $14) 24. Rdc1 Re8 25. axb6 axb6 26. Bf1 $1 {White is keeping small advantage, but for winning chances he has to eliminate the strong black bishop. } (26. Ra3 h6 27. Rca1 Rce7 28. Bf1 $14) 26... Bxf1 27. Kxf1 Rb8 28. Ra6 Qd7 29. Kg1 h6 30. Qa3 Rcc8 (30... Qc8 31. Qa2 Qe6 32. Ra1 $14) 31. h4 (31. Ra1 $14 ) 31... Qf5 32. Ra7 g5 33. h5 $1 {Due to the passivity of black rooks Ponomariov has achieved serious progress, exact move 33.h5! is for black very unpleasant.} (33. hxg5 $2 hxg5 34. Qa6 Kg7 35. Qf1 $11) 33... Qf3 34. Qd3 Kh8 ( 34... Qxh5 35. Qf5 Qg6 36. Qxg6+ fxg6 37. Rd7 Ra8 38. Rd6 b5 39. Rxg6+ Kh7 40. Rgxc6 Rxc6 41. Rxc6 Ra4 42. Rc5 Rxb4 43. Rxd5 $16) 35. Qa6 (35. Ra3 $5 Rc7 36. Qa6 Qxh5 37. Rac3 Qg6 38. b5 c5 39. dxc5 $16) 35... Kg7 $6 (35... Qxh5 36. Rb7 Ra8 37. Qxb6 Qf3 38. b5 Ra2 39. Rf1 Kg7 40. bxc6 Rc2 (40... Qf6 41. Qb3 Qxc6 42. Rxf7+ Kxf7 43. Qxa2 $16) 41. c7 Qf5 42. Qd6 Qe6 43. Rb6 $16) 36. b5 $1 c5 ( 36... Qf6 37. bxc6 Rxc6 38. Rxf7+ Kxf7 39. Qa7+ Qe7 40. Qxe7+ Kxe7 41. Rxc6 b5 42. Rxh6 b4 43. Ra6 b3 44. Ra1 $18) 37. dxc5 bxc5 38. Qg6+ {This move was nearly for sure overlooked by Kramnik, under duress even the best players are committing nice mistakes.} (38. Qg6+ Kf8 39. Qxh6+ Kg8 40. Qxg5+ Kf8 (40... Kh8 41. Ra6 $18) 41. h6 $18) 1-0 [Event "Moscow Tal Memorial 8th"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2013.06.18"] [Round "5"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E46"] [WhiteElo "2864"] [BlackElo "2786"] [Annotator "Krasenkow,M"] [PlyCount "57"] [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"] {[%evp 0,57,28,30,30,-10,-10,-10,18,18,33,0,5,10,15,20,21,24,24,-13,16,-13,1, -4,6,0,0,5,14,-10,10,2,17,9,14,14,21,23,80,45,48,56,74,64,86,152,114,132,126, 146,135,138,142,145,140,146,152,131,172,155]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nge2 d5 6. a3 Be7 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Bd2 Nd7 9. g3 b6 {Alternatives seen in practice:} (9... N7f6) (9... N5f6) (9... N5b6) (9... Nxc3) 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Bg2 Bb7 {[%csl Rb7] The bishop will be passive here.} (11... Nf6 12. O-O Bf5 {This is a better square for the bishop.} (12... Bb7 13. Bb4 {was probably the best of all} (13. Qc2 Bd6 (13... a5 $5) 14. Bb4 a5 15. Bxd6 Qxd6 16. Rac1 c6 17. Rfd1 Rac8 18. Nc3 g6 {1/2 (25) Bischoff,K (2561)-Tischbierek,R (2507) Austria 2004} 19. Qb3 $14) (13. Rc1 Qd7 (13... a5 {again was appropriate }) 14. Qc2 Bd6 15. Bb4 Bxb4 16. axb4 c6 17. Nf4 a6 18. Qc3 Qd6 19. f3 Rfe8 20. Rfe1 Rad8 21. Rcd1 Nd7 22. e4 $14 {0-1 (44) Janssen,R (2484)-Tiviakov,S (2601) Dieren 2004})) (12... Ne4 13. Rc1 Bb7 (13... Bf5 $5) 14. Qc2 Rc8 15. Rfd1 Bd6 16. Bb4 $5 Qf6 17. Nc3 Nxc3 18. Qxc3 c6 19. Bxd6 Qxd6 20. b4 Rc7 21. a4 Bc8 22. a5 Ba6 23. Ra1 $14 {1-0 (38) Ponomariov,R (2734)-Kramnik,V (2807) Wijk aan Zee 2003 CBM 093 [Ftacnik,L]}) 13. Bb4 (13. Nf4 Qd7 14. Qb3 Rfd8 15. Rac1 Rac8 16. Rfd1 a5 17. Be1 a4 18. Qc3 c6 19. Qd2 Bd6 20. Qe2 Bxf4 21. exf4 Bh3 $11 { 1/2 (26) Grigoriants,S (2594)-Wells,P (2499) Dresden 2007}) 13... a5 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Rc1 h6 16. Nc3 Qd7 17. Re1 Rfe8 18. Qb3 Rad8 19. Qb5 Qd6 20. Qb3 Qd7 21. Qb5 Qd6 22. Qe2 Qd7 23. Qb5 {1/2 (23) Martinovic,S (2515)-Papp,G (2534) Chur 2010}) 12. Bb4 $1 {[%mdl 32] White decides to get rid of his passive bishop at once, not giving Black a chance to prevent this exchange by means of ...a7-a5.} (12. O-O Re8 (12... a5 $5 13. Qc2 Nf6) 13. Qc2 Bd6 14. Rac1 Qe7 15. Nc3 Nf6 16. Nb5 c6 17. Nxd6 Qxd6 18. f3 Nd7 19. Rfe1 c5 20. Bc3 $14 {1-0 (45) Milov,V (2632)-Cheparinov,I (2550) Dos Hermanas 2004 CBM 099 ext [Milov,V]}) 12... Nf6 (12... c5 13. dxc5 bxc5 14. Bc3 Nf6 15. O-O {[%CAl Yb2b4]} Ne4 16. Nf4 $5 $14) 13. O-O Re8 14. Rc1 c6 (14... Bxb4 $5 15. axb4 c6 {makes sense after White has removed his rook from a1}) 15. Bxe7 Rxe7 16. Re1 Qd6 17. Nf4 $14 Bc8 $6 {This idea to improve the position of the bishop simply doesn't work. Alas, Black shouls defend passively, e.g.} (17... Rc7) 18. Qa4 Rc7 { It was probably better for Black to admit his mistake and play} (18... Bb7) 19. f3 $1 Be6 20. e4 dxe4 $6 ({The position after} 20... Qd7 21. Nxe6 Qxe6 22. e5 Ne8 23. f4 {[%csl Ge5,Gf4] is difficult for Black, according to GM A.Korotylev, but the text move is even worse.}) 21. fxe4 Qd7 (21... b5 22. Qd1 Qd7 23. e5 Nd5 24. Nd3 $16 {[%CAl Yd3c5] A.Korotylev}) 22. d5 $1 cxd5 23. Qxd7 Rxd7 24. Nxe6 $1 fxe6 25. Bh3 $1 Kh8 26. e5 Ng8 27. Bxe6 Rdd8 ({After} 27... Re7 28. Bxd5 Rd8 {White should convert his extra pawn but it was more stubborn than allowing White's rook to invade the 7th rank.}) 28. Rc7 d4 29. Bd7 $1 {Black decided that further resistance was senseless.} ({In the event of} 29. Bd7 Ne7 30. Rd1 Nd5 31. Rb7 Rdb8 32. Rxb8+ Rxb8 33. Rxd4 Ne7 34. Bb5 {White wins a pawn, and his rook again breaks to the 7nd rank.}) 1-0 [Event "URS-ch20 Final"] [Site "Moscow (Russia)"] [Date "1952.12.09"] [Round "8"] [White "Botvinnik, Mikhail"] [Black "Keres, Paul"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D36"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "1952.11.29"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "19"] [EventCountry "URS"] [SourceTitle "URS-ch"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,73,16,28,29,-16,-10,-10,-10,-36,-19,-1,26,17,23,29,49,31,50,14,47,35, 28,24,11,-9,-5,-12,46,10,40,29,47,30,30,27,34,24,41,40,54,58,55,68,56,56,74,78, 128,137,132,132,118,120,129,129,159,138,137,183,354,328,328,393,429,406,406, 384,387,399,721,742,742,789,985,618]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. Qc2 Re8 9. Nge2 Nf8 10. O-O c6 11. Rab1 Bd6 12. Kh1 Ng6 13. f3 Be7 14. Rbe1 Nd7 15. Bxe7 Rxe7 16. Ng3 Nf6 17. Qf2 Be6 18. Nf5 Bxf5 19. Bxf5 Qb6 20. e4 dxe4 21. fxe4 Rd8 22. e5 Nd5 23. Ne4 Nf8 24. Nd6 Qc7 25. Be4 Ne6 26. Qh4 g6 27. Bxd5 cxd5 28. Rc1 Qd7 29. Rc3 Rf8 30. Nf5 Rfe8 31. Nh6+ Kf8 32. Qf6 Ng7 33. Rcf3 Rc8 34. Nxf7 Re6 35. Qg5 Nf5 36. Nh6 Qg7 37. g4 1-0