About Horses and Donkeys

After the powerful start in Wijk an Zee, the second round offered less action yesterday. All the games in the Masters section ended peacefully, although all players fought hard. The Challengers section though offered some spectacular pieces:

[Event "Tata Steel Chess - Challengers"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.17"]
[Round "2.5"]
[White "Bok, Benjamin"]
[Black "L'Ami, Erwin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2607"]
[BlackElo "2627"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:58"]
[BlackClock "0:00:35"]

1. Nf3 {Surprising first move by Bok, who is generally and 1.e4 player.} f5 {
Diagram [#] A small counter-surprise in return. L'Ami inserted the Leningrad
Dutch in his repertoire last year and according to my Megabase has only five
games played so far in it.} 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. d4 O-O 6. c4 d6
7. Nc3 c6 {The main move, although the Guru of the line Malanuik prefers} (7...
Qe8) 8. b3 {Diagram [#]} ({White can also try to advance this pawn more
aggressively with} 8. Rb1 Na6 9. b4 Ne4 {as in Kramnik,V (2783)-Caruana,F
(2811) Zurich 2015}) ({While the main line is} 8. d5 e5 9. dxe6 Bxe6 10. Qd3 {
one recent example-Harikrishna,P (2727)-Mamedyarov,S (2765) Beijing 2014}) 8...
Na6 (8... Qc7 {is another line} 9. Ba3 Ne4 {Karjakin,S (2760)-Caruana,F (2811)
Zurich 2015}) 9. Re1 Ne4 10. Bb2 d5 $146 {[%cal Gd5e4,Gf5e4] Diagram [#] A
novelty. An year earlier at this very place a game from the Masters section
saw:} (10... Nxc3 11. Bxc3 {When Caruana rerouted his knight towards the
center with} Nc5 {Which was met with an even more cunning knight maneuver} 12. Ng5
d5 13. Nh3 Ne4 {with complex battle ahead, Wojtaszek,R (2744)-Caruana,F (2820)
Wijk aan Zee 2015}) 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. Ne5 {[%csl Ya6,Gc3,Ye4,Ge5][%cal Gf2f3]
Similar positions may appear in the Fianchettoe line of the Gruenfeld defense.
The general difference between both positions is the situation of the knights.
While the one on e5 is on a stable outpost its collegue can be chased away
with f2-f3. And yes, the other black one is badly placed on the rim as well.}
Nb4 {Which is what L'Ami tries to change, but this comes at a certain price.} (
{A more patient way to level the energy of the white knights was connected with
} 12... Be6 13. f3 Nxc3 14. Bxc3 Rc8 {followed by Na6-b8-c6(d7).}) 13. Rc1 Be6
14. a3 Nc6 15. Nxc6 bxc6 {[%csl Yc6][%cal Rc1c6] Diagram [#] The bad knight
was swapped off, but a backward pawn on c6 is the price.} 16. Na4 {Bok decided
to keep the knight as he believes that after f2-f3 it will be still superior
to the black one.} ({Also good is} 16. f3 Nxc3 17. Rxc3 $14 {when White will
gang up against the "c" pawn after the preliminary e2-e3.}) 16... f4 $1 {
Black's only chance is activity or else the weaknesses will soon tell.} 17. f3
Nd6 $6 {But this retreat spoiled the plan. I have the feeling that L'Ami
should have gone for} (17... Ng5 18. Rxc6 Nh3+ 19. Bxh3 (19. Kf1 {looks riskier
} Bd7 20. Rc3 fxg3 21. hxg3 g5) 19... Bxh3 20. g4 Rc8 21. Rxc8 Qxc8 {[%csl Ya4,
Yb2,Yg1][%cal Gh7h5] Diagram [#] with compensation for the pawn.}) 18. Nc5 $1 {
There is no need to enter complications when you are better strategically.} (
18. Rxc6 Bd7 19. Rc1 Bxa4 20. bxa4 fxg3 21. hxg3 Nf5 {would be fun for Black
instead.}) 18... Bd7 (18... Bc8 {seems more accurate but still not fun.}) 19.
e4 $1 {Powerplay by Bok.} g5 ({After} 19... fxe3 $6 20. Rxe3 {White will add a
backward pawn on e7 and plenty of weak squares along the "e" file to his
treasure box.}) ({White will have strong center after} 19... fxg3 20. hxg3) 20.
exd5 cxd5 {White has serious positional advantage and cashes it in with cute
tactic:} 21. Re5 $3 {[%csl Yd5,Yg5][%cal Re5d5,Re5g5] Diagram [#] Double
attack.} e6 {Best chance is to try and make use of the poor position of the
white rook.} ({The rook is untouchable} 21... Bxe5 22. dxe5 Nf5 23. Qxd5+) (
21... h6 22. Rxd5) 22. Nxd7 Qxd7 23. Rxg5 Nf5 24. Qd3 Rab8 ({Maybe} 24... Qe7 {
with the idea} 25. Rh5 (25. gxf4 Kh8) 25... Qe8 26. g4 Qg6 {was worth a try.})
25. Bh3 Kh8 26. Rh5 Qf7 27. Bg4 h6 28. gxf4 {White simply takes everything
that he can but this weakens his position a bit.} Ne7 $1 {[%csl Yf4,Rh5][%cal
Ge7g6,Gg6f4] Diagram [#]} 29. Re1 ({In case of} 29. Rc7 Rfc8 30. Rxa7 {Black
has} Qf6 {with the idea Ne7-g6:f4 and it ain't over yet.}) 29... Ng6 30. Bc1
Nxf4 31. Bxf4 Qxf4 {L'Ami squeezed everything he could from the position but
two pawns are still a lot. Still, the arising mutual time-trouble gave him
some extra chances.} 32. Kg2 Rbc8 ({The pawn is poisoned} 32... Qxd4 $2 33.
Rxh6+ Kg8 34. Qh7+ Kf7 35. Qg6+) ({Or} 32... Bxd4 $6 33. Rxe6) 33. Bxe6 {
There was nothing wrong with} (33. Rxe6 Qc1 34. Qe3 Rc2+ 35. Kg3 Qxe3 36. Rxe3
Bxd4 37. Re7 {and White is close to winning.}) 33... Rce8 ({A trick is always
worth a try in lost positions. Here} 33... Rc2+ $1 {[%csl Rg2] Diagram [#]
would be both tricky and good} {The rook is not edible} 34. Qxc2 $4 (34. Re2 $1
{is best although Black has serious drawing chances after} Rxe2+ 35. Qxe2 Qf6
$1 {When tactics seem to work in Black's favour} ({Or even} 35... Qxd4 36. Bxd5
Qf6) 36. Bf5 ({Worse is} 36. Rxd5 Re8 37. Rd6 Qg5+ 38. Kf1 Qf4) ({While} 36.
Bxd5 $4 {drops a piece after} Qg6+) 36... Qxd4) 34... Qxf3+ 35. Kg1 Bxd4+ {
due to the mate.}) 34. Re2 (34. Rxd5 {was better.}) 34... Bxd4 35. Bg4 (35.
Rxd5 {is still best} Bg7) 35... Rd8 $2 {L'Ami gives the open file in the
crucial moment of the game and this loses instantly. Instead} (35... Rxe2+ 36.
Qxe2 Rd8 37. Be6 Bf6 $1 {[%csl Rg2,Yh5][%cal Gf6g5] Diagram [#] leads to a
position which is definitely not winning for White. For example} 38. Bxd5 (38.
Rxd5 $2 Rxd5 39. Bxd5 Qg5+ {drops a piece.}) 38... Bg5 {The white rook is
excluded and the threat Rd8-d2 forces White to play} 39. Qb2+ Kh7 40. Be4+ Kg8
41. Qc3 Rd2+ 42. Kf1 Rd1+ 43. Ke2 Rd2+ 44. Ke1 Rd8 {White still has two extra
pawns but the insecure position of his king is a primary factor.}) 36. Re7 Bg7
37. Qg6 {[%csl Rg7,Rh7][%cal Rg6g7,Gg4f5,Rf5h7] Diagram [#] Mate is
unstoppable.} Qd2+ (37... Rg8 38. Bf5) 38. Kh3 (38. Kh3 Rg8 39. Bf5) 1-0

Report.

Vishy Levels the Score!

Yesterday was a great day for chess! Former World Champion Vishy Anand showed what he is capable of and defeated the reigning champion Magnus Carlsen to level the score in the match.
Contrary to the expectations and fears of many of the chess fans all over the world this match looks nothing but one-sided!
Since I was travelling to India for a FIDE trainer's seminar, I had no physical ability to annotate the game.
I will use Erwin L'Ami's notes for chess.com instead:

[Event "Wch Sochi"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.11.11"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anand, Vishy"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[Annotator "EA"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]

{[Annotations by GM Erwin l'Ami]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 {Just as in Chennai,
Magnus does not stick to one opening but rather jumps from one to the other.
That means no Grunfeld today but a 'solid' Queen's Gambit.} 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3
Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 c6 {Diagram [#]} ({A small surprise as at the
top level this move is completely overtaken by} 7... Nh5 {taking the bishop on
f4. Having said that, Carlsen has used the text move in previous games and it
is of course a perfectly respectable line as well.}) 8. Bd3 ({[The game should
be compared with} 8. h3 b6 9. b4 a5 10. a3 Ba6 11. Bxa6 Rxa6 12. b5 cxb5 13. c6
Qc8 14. c7 b4 15. Nb5 a4 16. Rc1 Ne4 17. Nd2 Ndf6 18. f3 Ra5 19. Nxe4 Nxe4 20.
fxe4 Rxb5 21. Qxa4 Ra5 22. Qc6 bxa3 23. exd5 Rxd5 24. Qxb6 Qd7 25. O-O Rc8 26.
Rc6 (26. Qa6 Rb5 27. Rb1 Rb2 {Gyimesi,Z (2616)-Vaganian,R (2587) Germany 2006})
26... h6 27. Rfc1 Kh7 28. Qa6 Rf5 29. Bd6 Bh4 30. Qxa3 Bf2+ 31. Kh1 Rd5 32. Bf4
f5 33. Qc3 Bh4 34. Rb6 Bg5 35. Be5 Bd8 36. Rb8 {1-0 Tomashevsky,E (2646)
-Riazantsev,A (2656) Moscow 2008 - PD]}) 8... b6 9. b4 a5 10. a3 Ba6 {[%csl
Ya6,Yd3] One of the points behind Black's previous two moves, Magnus' bad
bishop can now be exchanged on a6.} 11. Bxa6 ({When this was played by Vishy
without a glitch I knew we would be in for an exciting day! Instead} 11. O-O
Qc8 {leads to much quieter play.}) 11... Rxa6 12. b5 {The only serious
follow-up, if Black gets to play Qa8 his position will be ultra-solid. The
game continuation tries to make use of the fact that after the exchange on a6
Black's forces have been slightly discoordinated.} cxb5 13. c6 Qc8 14. c7 {
[%csl Ya5,Yb5,Yb6,Rc7] Diagram [#] So far for the 'solid' Queen's Gambit!
Black has an extra pawn but in return Vishy has created a monster on c7,
paralysing Black's position. One can find about a dozen games featuring this
position and no doubt both players have spent there time on this position.
However, given how the game develops I expect Anand has spent considerably
more time on it then his opponent.} b4 ({I am no expert on this line, but I
feel} 14... Bxa3 $5 15. Nxb5 Bb4+ {deserves attention. After} 16. Ke2 {I want
to play} Nc5 $5 {the idea being} 17. dxc5 bxc5 {when the knight on b5 has lost
stability and with it White's entire position.}) ({Perhaps (} 14... Bxa3 {)}
15. O-O Bb2 16. Nxb5 {is the right idea, going all in with the pawn on c7.
Food for thought!}) 15. Nb5 a4 {Logical, Magnus is preparing to expel the
mighty knight with Ra5.} 16. Rc1 Ne4 ({White's previous move prevented} 16...
Ra5 {because of} 17. Bd6 {when} Rxb5 18. Bxe7 b3 19. Bxf8 Nxf8 20. O-O {
doesn't give Black enough compensation for the exchange.}) 17. Ng5 Ndf6 {It
was rather mystifying for me to see that Magnus took 32 minutes to play this
move. Although we are already on move 17, playing this sharp line with Black
means you have to know it much, much deeper than that.} 18. Nxe4 {Diagram [#]}
Nxe4 $2 ({The players were still following a game Aronian-Adams, Bilbao 2013
but Anand shows a strong improvement over that game. I am not sure what Vishy
had in mind after} 18... dxe4 {because} 19. Nd6 Bxd6 20. Bxd6 b3 21. Bxf8 Kxf8
{gives excellent compensation for the Exchange. At any rate Magnus had to go
for this because the game continuation lands him in serious trouble.}) 19. f3
Ra5 ({Magnus had two interesting alternatives though they both feel a bit
fishy. One is} 19... Nc5 20. dxc5 bxc5 21. axb4 cxb4) ({and the other is} 19...
Qd7 20. fxe4 Rc8 {after which White probably does best to return the piece with
} 21. exd5 exd5 22. O-O (22. Qd3 Ra5 $1) 22... Qxb5 23. Qg4 $1 Qe8 24. Rc6 $1 {
when there is serious pressure on Black.}) 20. fxe4 ({And that's it! This
simple capture - the first move of every engine - is a huge improvement over}
20. Qe2 Qd7 21. fxe4 Rc8 $1 {which was fine for Black in Aronian-Adams, Bilbao
2013. At the risk of repeating myself, it really makes me wonder where Magnus'
preparation ended.}) 20... Rxb5 21. Qxa4 Ra5 22. Qc6 bxa3 ({There is no time
to include} 22... dxe4 {because} 23. a4 $1 {followed by castle leaves Black
more or less paralysed.}) 23. exd5 {[%csl Ya3,Yb6,Gc7,Gd5] Diagram [#] "The
difference of pawns is what I'm playing for," said Anand, refering to a3 and
c7.} Rxd5 (23... exd5 $5 {was mentioned by match commentator Peter Svidler as
a possible improvement. The idea is to keep the a-file in Black's position. In
any case also here it is obvious that only one side is playing.}) 24. Qxb6 {
"Probably [this] was in my prep but maybe it goes further." (Anand)} Qd7 25.
O-O ({A small inaccuracy. It is curious to note that even this position
occured in practice, though with the white pawn standing on h3 instead of h2!
Surprisingly that makes a huge difference in the following line:} 25. Qa6 $1 {
(Anand did consider this as he said at the press conference)} Rc8 26. Rb1 $1
Rxc7 27. Rb8+ Bd8 28. Bxc7 Qxc7 29. Rc8 {and White wins. Now imagine White's
pawn being on h3 and suddenly 29...Qg3+! wins... for Black! Could it be that
Vishy mixed up the games and therefore didn't choose 25.Qa6?}) ({(} 25. Qa6 {
) Black's best is probably to retreat with} Qc8 {but after} 26. Qa4 {it just
looks awful, to put it mildly.}) 25... Rc8 26. Rc6 {Amongst other things
preventing Black from swapping bishops on d6.} g5 $5 ({An exclamation mark for
finding this and the following move. Insisting on trading the bishops with}
26... Bf6 27. Qa6 e5 28. dxe5 Bxe5 29. Bxe5 Rxe5 {is very strong were it not
for the tactical solution of} 30. Rfc1 Rd5 {[%csl Rc7][%cal Ra8h8] Diagram [#]}
31. Qxc8+ $3 (31. Qxa3 $2 Rd1+ 32. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 33. Kf2 Qd2+ 34. Kg3 Qe1+ 35. Kh3
g5 $1 {allows Black to escape.}) 31... Qxc8 32. Rb6 {and the weakness of the
back rank combined with the strength of the c7-pawn make matters hopeless for
Black.}) 27. Bg3 $6 (27. Be5 {was definitely worth considering, if only
because the game continuation} Bb4 {is now refuted by} 28. Qxb4 Qxc6 29. Qe7 $1
{with a huge attack.}) 27... Bb4 $1 {[%csl Rb4][%cal Rb4d2,Rb4a5] Diagram [#]
Extremely resourceful! Now both Bd2 and Ba5 are in the air. Vishy's response
is cool and collected. [Anand hadn't seen this - PD.]} 28. Ra1 $1 {During the
press conference Anand mentioned he was pleased with this move and rightly so!}
Ba5 $2 ({Having been under pressure for the entire game and running out of
time fast can be straining, even for the very best. In game 2 something very
similar happened to Vishy. Having been under huge pressure the whole game he
erred with 34...h5??. Blunders don't appear just like that! For completeness
sake I should mention that} 28... h5 {would have remained the status quo:
White is clearly better but by no means winning yet.}) 29. Qa6 Bxc7 30. Qc4 {
Pinning and winning! The remainder of the game is of little interest. Black is
simply losing heavy material.} e5 31. Bxe5 Rxe5 32. dxe5 Qe7 33. e6 Kf8 34. Rc1
{I believe it's fair to say the match is now wide open!} 1-0

It's a brad new match now!