London Chess Classic Round 6

A lot of excitement after the free day in London! Once more three decisive games, and the draws were very interesting too.

Wesley So keeps the lead with a sharp win over Veselin Topalov with the black pieces.

Vachier-Lagrave got into fifty percent after winning against Levon Aronian.

Last, but not least we had a very important game for the lead, overall Grand Chess Tour standing and the (second) top rating position. That was a game:

USA Championships

The USA championships finished yesterday in Saint Louis. There was no need of tie-breaks in both the events. In the men's part Fabiano Caruana proved superior to the field, scoring 8.5/11, a clear point ahead of his closest rivals Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura.
One of the important games of the event was played in round three:

[Event "U.S. Championship 2016"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.04.16"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2773"]
[BlackElo "2795"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "184"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:06:48"]
[BlackClock "0:07:21"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. e3 e6 5. d4 d5 6. a3 a6 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. b4
Bd6 9. Bb2 O-O 10. cxd5 exd5 {[%csl Yd5] Diagram [#] A typical picture for the
Semi-Tarrasch. The isolated pawn on d5 might be both strenght and weakness.}
11. Be2 Be6 12. O-O Qe7 {Intending both Ra8-c8 and Rf8-d8. And something more.}
({Another way to play it is the immediate} 12... Rc8 {which gives an
additional option of Bd6-b8 followed by battery on the h2-b8 diagonal. This
however also leaves more options to White.} 13. Rc1 Qe7 14. Qd3 (14. Na4 {
is the other idea.}) 14... Rfd8 15. Rfd1 b5 {Le,Q (2703)-Pelletier,Y (2587)
Belfort 2012}) 13. Rc1 {Intending Nc3-a4-c5. But now Black reveals the other
ideabehind his Qd8-e7 maneuver.} a5 {[%csl Ya3][%cal Ga1c1] Diagram [#] The
pawn on a3 was left loose and Caruana makes use of it.} (13... Rfd8 14. Na4 Ne4
15. Nd4 Nxd4 16. Qxd4 $14 {led to a typical slightly better position for White
in Guimard,C (2410)-Agdamus,J (2200) Santos Lugares 1977}) 14. Nb5 $146 {
So sacrifices a pawn for initiative. A predecessor saw} (14. b5 Ne5 (14... Nb8
$5 {is another route to d7.}) 15. Qa4 Ned7 {and White had problems with his
queenside, Lee,F-Sergeant,E Scarborough 1909}) 14... axb4 (14... Bb8 15. bxa5
Nxa5 16. Nbd4 {is good for White.}) 15. Nxd6 Qxd6 16. axb4 Qxb4 17. Bxf6 gxf6
18. Rb1 Qe7 19. Rb5 {[%csl Yb7,Yd5,Yf6,Yf7,Yh7] Diagram [#] As a result White
managed to destroy all the black pawns and he may try to profit from this in
two ways- attack the weaken kingside or patiently try to harvest all the crop.
The problem with the latter is that if he even wins both "b" and "d" pawns
(for free) he will have to trade some pieces and there is a very good chance
that Black reaches an endgame four versus three on the same flank which is an
easy draw. In fact, the presence of double "f" pawns makes the draw easier!}
Rfd8 20. Nd4 {Nothing gives:} (20. Qb1 d4 21. Rxb7 Qa3 22. Nxd4 Nxd4 23. exd4
Rxd4 $11) 20... Kg7 21. Re1 {In the light of the above-mentioned I have the
feeling that White should have tried to play for more with} (21. Bd3 Nxd4 22.
exd4 {although I do not really see a way for White to capture both "b" and "d"
pawns for free.}) 21... Nxd4 22. Qxd4 Bf5 $1 {[%csl Gg7][%cal Gf5g6,Rb7b5,
Rb5b4,Rb4b3,Rb3b2,Rb2b1] Diagram [#] Now Caruana practically takes away the
loss as a possible result from the board. The only one who can play for the
win in the endgame is black.} 23. Rxd5 Rxd5 24. Qxd5 Be4 25. Qd1 Qb4 26. Rf1
Ra2 27. Qd7 {There are still problems for White in the line:} (27. Bf3 b5 28.
Bxe4 Qxe4 29. Qb3 Qa4 30. Qd5 Ra1 $15) 27... Bg6 {The position of the black
king is secured and the "b" pawn is quite fearsome thanks to the support of
all the black pieces.} 28. Bf3 b5 29. h4 $1 {[%csl Yg7][%cal Gh4h5] Diagram [#]
So tries to open the king again to saveguard a draw.} (29. Bc6 Rb2 {followed
by Rb2-b1 seems bad for White.}) 29... Rd2 (29... Qxh4 30. Qxb5 $11) 30. Qh3 h5
31. Qg3 ({Black still pushing after} 31. g4 hxg4 32. Bxg4 Qc5 (32... Be4) (
32... Kh6)) 31... Qd6 {In the coming time trouble Caruana decided to
completely secure himself. In the line} (31... Qc5 32. Ra1 b4 33. Qb8 b3 $4 34.
Ra8 {Black gets under mating attack all of a sudden.}) 32. Qxd6 Rxd6 33. Rd1
Rb6 {Black's active pieces are his main advantage.} (33... Rxd1+ 34. Bxd1 {
is a draw.}) 34. e4 {Since the bishop cannot be blocked, it made sense to
bring the white one out first with} (34. Bd5 $5 b4 35. Bb3 Rc6 36. Rd4 Rc1+ 37.
Kh2 Rb1 38. Bd5 ({Not} 38. Rxb4 Bc2) 38... Rb2 ({And not} 38... b3 $2 39. Rb4
b2 40. Ba2) 39. Kg3 Bf5 $11) 34... b4 35. Rd2 f5 36. exf5 Bxf5 37. Bxh5 b3 38.
Rb2 Bc2 {[%csl Yb2][%cal Rb6a6,Ra6a2,Ra2b2] Diagram [#] The white rook is
trapped and Black intends Rb6-a6-a2 trapping it.} 39. Bf3 (39. Kf1 $2 {loses to
} Ra6) (39. Be2 Rb4 {will win the pawn easier.}) 39... Rb5 $1 {A clever way to
win the "h" pawn.} (39... Ra6 40. Bd5 {gves nothing to Black here.}) 40. Be2
Rb4 41. Bf3 Rxh4 42. Bd5 Rb4 {Caruana won the pawn back and managed to keep
the rook on b2 locked, but the reduced material allows a chance to So to
defend.} 43. Kf1 f5 44. Ke2 Kf6 45. f4 $1 {[%csl Yf5][%cal Gg2g4] Diagram [#]
Stops the black king and fixes the pawn on f5 in order to swap it off.} Ke7 (
45... Rxf4 46. Bxb3 $11) 46. Bg8 Kf8 47. Bd5 Kg7 48. Ke3 (48. g3 {is also
possible.}) 48... Kg6 49. Bf3 Kf6 50. Bd5 {So is patient and this is good. The
hasty} (50. g4 $6 {leads to trouble after} fxg4 51. Bxg4 Re4+ 52. Kf3 $2 Ra4 $1
$19) 50... Kg6 51. Bf3 Rc4 52. g4 {Diagram [#] Now it is good. Although White
can also hold after} (52. Bd5 Rc3+ 53. Kd4 Rd3+ 54. Ke5) 52... Rc3+ 53. Kf2 Bd3
54. Bd1 Bc4 55. Ke1 Rg3 (55... fxg4 56. Bxg4 Rg3 57. Bd1 {would be similar to
the game.}) 56. Kf2 Rh3 57. Ke1 Be6 58. Re2 (58. gxf5+ Kxf5 59. Kd2 {should be
OK too.}) 58... Bc4 59. Rb2 Kf6 60. Kd2 Rd3+ 61. Kc1 Rc3+ 62. Kd2 Rg3 63. gxf5
Kxf5 64. Kc1 Kxf4 65. Rh2 Ke3 66. Kb2 {Now that the king made it to the "b"
pawn the draw is unavoidable.} Kd4 67. Rh4+ Kc5 68. Ka3 Bd5 69. Rh5 Kd4 70.
Rxd5+ {Diagram [#] Stirring the game into theoretical draw. The white king is
where it is needed-in the correct corner.} Kxd5 71. Bxb3+ Kd4 72. Kb2 Rg2+ 73.
Ka1 Kc3 74. Ba2 Rg7 75. Bb1 Rb7 76. Ba2 Kc2 77. Bd5 {The only danger for the
defender in this endgame is to keep his bishop too close to the enemy king.} (
77. Bc4 $4 Rb1+ 78. Ka2 Rb4 {[%csl Rc2,Yc4,Rd3][%cal Rc4d3] Diagram [#] loses
only because the white bishop cannot give a check to the black king.}) 77...
Re7 (77... Rb1+ 78. Ka2 Rb5 79. Be4+ $11 {is the crucial difference in
comparison to the previous line.}) 78. Bg8 Re1+ 79. Ka2 Rh1 80. Bd5 Rh4 81.
Bb3+ Kc3 82. Be6 Rf4 83. Bg8 Rf2+ 84. Kb1 Rb2+ 85. Ka1 Kc2 86. Bh7+ Kc1 87. Bg8
Rb1+ 88. Ka2 Rb8 89. Bf7 Rb2+ 90. Ka1 Rb7 91. Bd5 Ra7+ 92. Ba2 Kc2 {Diagram [#]
} 1/2-1/2

Report.

Endgame Symphony

After Carlsen's quick draw against Karjakin in round eight of Tata Steel many believed that the co-leadership between the Norwegian and Fabiano Caruana will stay before the second free day. The American managed to equalize in the opening and seemed to hold on his own until David Navara started his endgame symphony:

[Event "Tata Steel Chess - Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.24"]
[Round "8.5"]
[White "Navara, David"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2730"]
[BlackElo "2787"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "1:07:41"]
[BlackClock "0:05:50"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. Nf3 c5 6. dxc5 Na6 7. g3 Nxc5 8.
Bg2 Nce4 9. O-O Nxc3 10. bxc3 Be7 11. e4 d6 12. e5 dxe5 13. Nxe5 Qc7 14. Qe2 {
Diagram [#] Navara revealed that he had tried this line with a friend of his
in December in a couple of blitz games.} ({In one of them he committed a
mistake} 14. Bf4 $2 {After which Black went for} Nh5 {"and he was immediately
better"} (14... g5 {instead would have won a piece, but this is a blitz game,
remember?})) 14... Nd7 ({Another plan is} 14... Ne8 15. Bf4 Bd6 16. Rfd1 f6 17.
Nd3 Qxc4 18. Qb2 Rb8 19. Be3 {with initiative for the pawn in Dreev,A (2638)
-Ivanisevic,I (2662) Kragujevac 2015}) 15. Bf4 Nxe5 16. Bxe5 Bd6 17. Rfe1 Rb8 (
{"The principled continuation is"} 17... Bxe5 18. Qxe5 Qxc4 {when after say}
19. Red1 {[%csl Yc8][%cal Gd1d8,Gb1b8,Gg2a8] Diagram [#] "White has enough
compensation for the pawn, but not more" (Navara)}) 18. Rad1 Bxe5 19. Qxe5 Qxe5
20. Rxe5 b6 21. c5 f6 22. cxb6 axb6 23. Re2 $146 {[%csl Yb6][%cal Ge2b2,Gd1b1,
Gb1b6] Diagram [#] Navara was surprised to learn at the press conference that
he had made a novelty with his last move.} ({Two games saw instead} 23. Re3 b5
24. f4 Kf7 25. Red3 {one of them very fresh- Basso,P (2466)-Horvath,J (2533)
Spoleto 2016}) 23... Kf7 24. f4 {The only try to play for something, but this
idea is connected with a blunder . Instead} (24. Rb2 e5 25. Rdb1 Bf5 $11) ({And
} 24. Rd6 e5 25. Rb2 Be6 26. Rdxb6 Rxb6 27. Rxb6 Bxa2 {lead to equality.})
24... e5 25. fxe5 Bg4 26. e6+ Kg6 {Diagram [#] Ambitious play by Caruana. If
he wanted to draw, the move} (26... Bxe6 {would suffice. For example} 27. Rd6
Bc4 $11 ({But not} 27... Rfe8 $2 {To which Navara gave the study-like idea} 28.
Rdxe6 (28. Rexe6 $1 {is easier} Rxe6 29. Bd5 Rbe8 30. Rxb6 $18) 28... Rxe6 29.
Bd5 Rbe8 30. g4 h6 31. h4 g6 32. a4 f5 33. g5 {and Black is running out of
moves (Navara).})) 27. Be4+ ({White's original idea was to play} 27. Rdd2 Bxe2
28. Rxe2 {with the idea Bg2-d5 and c3-c4 with compensation, but he realized
that he had missed the simple} Rbc8 {after which teh whole plan does not work.}
) 27... f5 (27... Kh6 $1 {[%csl Yc3,Rd1,Re2,Ye6,Gh6][%cal Gg6h6] Diagram [#]
was stronger when the only one to play for the win will be Caruana. Although
Navara believed he should have enough compensation after} 28. Rdd2 Bxe2 29.
Rxe2 Rbc8 (29... Rfc8 $1 {is stronger though.}) 30. Bd5 {and White wins the
tempo to play c3-c4 due to the threat} Rxc3 $6 31. e7 Re8 32. Bf7) 28. e7 (28.
Rd6 Rf6 $11) 28... Bxe2 29. Rd6+ Kg5 {Navara's brilliant idea is seen in the
line} (29... Rf6 30. Rd8 Bb5 (30... Re6 31. Rxb8 Rxe7 32. Rxb6+ {just wins a
pawn for White.}) 31. Bd5 $3 {[%csl Yb5,Yb8,Gd5,Gd8,Ge7,Yf6,Yg6] Diagram [#]
with complete domination.}) 30. exf8=R Rxf8 31. Bd5 {White's initial thought
was to force a draw with} (31. Kf2 fxe4+ 32. Kxe2 {but then he realized he has
some chances for the win.}) 31... Rf6 32. Rd7 Kh6 33. Kf2 (33. c4 f4 $11) 33...
Bb5 34. Rc7 Rd6 {An inaccuracy. The Czech GM believed} (34... f4 {[%cal Rf4g3,
Rg3f4] Diagram [#] to be mandatory in order to activate the black pieces. The
position is indeed drawish after} 35. g4 Rd6 36. c4 Bd7 $11 (36... Rd7 37. Rc8
Kg5 $11)) 35. c4 Be8 36. Rc8 Bd7 {One more inaccuracy after which White's
chances get even higher.} (36... Ba4 {instead should be enough for counterplay
and equality} 37. Ke3 Kg5 38. Kd4 (38. Rc7 Rd7 39. Rxd7 Bxd7 $11) 38... Rh6 {
(Navara)}) 37. Rd8 Kg6 38. Ke3 Kf6 39. Kd4 {[%csl Yd6,Yd7][%cal Gd4e5] Diagram
[#] Now that the king is centralized White threatens to break in anytime.} (39.
Rf8+ {was worse} Ke5 40. Rf7 Be6 ({Or} 40... Bc6 {(Navara)})) 39... Ke7 40. Rg8
Rg6 41. Ke5 Rg5 ({One more study line by the Czech genius-} 41... h5 42. Rh8
Rg5 43. Bf3 Be8 44. Rxe8+ $1 Kxe8 45. Kf4 $1 {[%csl Rg5] Diagram [#] and White
wins the brilliancy price.}) 42. Rb8 {The first player is obviously dominating
but there is no direct way in.} ({White did not like the line} 42. Rh8 Rh5 43.
h4 Rh6 44. Rg8 Rg6 45. h5 Rg5 ({But not} 45... Rxg3 $2 46. h6 $1 {when White
reaches the h7 pawn.}) 46. Rb8 {with possible draw.}) 42... Rg6 43. Rh8 Rh6 44.
h4 Be6 ({The other defense was} 44... Rg6 45. Rxh7 Rxg3 46. h5 Kd8 47. Kd6 Be8
{but it is questionable if Black can survive this.}) 45. Ra8 $1 {No rook
endgames!} (45. Bxe6 Rxe6+ 46. Kxf5 Rc6 47. Rxh7 Kf7 $11 {(Navara)}) 45... Bd7
({Taking note on the above-mentioned Caruana could have tried his chances in
the rook endgame after} 45... Bxd5 46. cxd5 ({Better than} 46. Ra7+ Bb7) 46...
Rg6 47. Ra7+ Kd8 48. Ra3 Kd7 ({And not} 48... Rf6 $2 49. Ra8+ Ke7 50. Ra7+ Kf8
51. d6 $18 {(Navara)})) 46. Rh8 Be6 47. a4 Bd7 48. Ra8 ({Once more rejecting}
48. Rg8 Rg6 49. h5 Rg5 (49... Rxg3 $2 50. h6 $1 $18) 50. Rb8 Rxh5 51. Rxb6 f4+
52. Kxf4 Bxa4 {when Black should hold.}) 48... Rg6 49. Ra7 Rxg3 {Diagram [#]
This move loses.} (49... Kd8 50. h5 (50. c5 bxc5 51. a5 {is another winning
attempt.}) (50. a5 bxa5 51. c5 a4 $11 {(Navara)}) 50... Rh6 51. Bf3 Re6+ {
was the best defense and Navara was not sure if he has realistic winning
chances.} 52. Kf4 (52. Kxf5 Rf6+ 53. Ke4 Bc6+)) 50. a5 $1 {Thanks to the
newborn passer White tips the scales in his favour.} (50. Bc6 Rd3 $11) 50...
bxa5 51. c5 Kd8 52. h5 $1 {[%csl Gd6,Yg6][%cal Gh5g6,Ge5d6] Diagram [#]
Secures the d6 square for the king.} f4 53. Kd6 Bc8 54. c6 Rg5 ({The last
microscopic chance was} 54... Rd3 {but White wins after} 55. Rxg7 ({Navara saw
the trap though} 55. c7+ $2 Ke8 56. Ra8 Rxd5+ 57. Kxd5 Kd7 $11 {Diagram [#]}))
55. Bf7 {The combination of the white king, rook, bishop and pawn reminds me
of the famous game Alkhine-Teichman, Berlin 1921.} 1-0

Report.

Chinese Perfection

The fourth round of Tata Steel was extremely interesting. Fabiano Caruana came very close to increasing his lead even further but slipped in the rook endgame and only drew to Anish Giri.
Somewhat surprising, but fully deserved the pack of followers was joined by the former women world champion Hou Yifan. She played a true masterpiece:

[Event "Tata Steel Chess - Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.19"]
[Round "4.4"]
[White "Hou, Yifan"]
[Black "Navara, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2673"]
[BlackElo "2730"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:54:33"]
[BlackClock "0:38:20"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 {The Advanced line of the Caro Kann was considered
inferior for White up to the 1990-ies. Nowadays it is the main choice of the
top players.} Bf5 {It is all about this bishop- is it better placed outside
the pawn chain or not?} 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Nd7 6. O-O Bg6 7. Nbd2 Nh6 8. Nb3 Nf5
9. Bd2 {Diagram [#]} ({Navara had also faced} 9. a4 a6 10. a5 c5 11. dxc5 Bxc5
12. Nxc5 Nxc5 13. c3 {Grischuk,A (2774)-Navara,D (2734) Berlin 2015}) 9... Be7
10. g4 Nh4 {A small surprise. Previously, the Czech GM had only tested} (10...
Nh6 {for example} 11. Ne1 O-O 12. Ng2 c5 {as in Motylev,A (2649)-Navara,D
(2734) Berlin 2015}) 11. Nxh4 Bxh4 12. f4 {This is what the Advanced line is
all about. White has strong center and likes to attack on the kingside. The
black bishop(s) helps her providing some extra tempos.} f5 13. c4 {An
interesting move that Hou had prepared before, but checked only briefly as
"David plays many openings".} (13. exf6 {is more common. Caruana had played it
in 2011.}) ({And} 13. Bd3 {has been seen as well.}) 13... a5 $146 {[%cal Ga5a4]
Diagram [#] A sharp novelty in comparison to} (13... Be7 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Rc1
O-O {Mortensen,E (2450)-Rasmussen,K (2466) Denmark 2008}) 14. a4 {Hou fixes
the pawn on a5. To more tactical play will lead:} (14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Bb5 {
When White considered} Be7 ({While Navara intended to go for} 15... O-O 16.
Bxa5 Rxa5 17. Nxa5 Nxe5 {with huge complications.}) 16. a4 O-O 17. g5 {with
some advantage for White after} h6 (17... Nb8 18. Rc1) 18. h4) 14... O-O ({
Black could have transposed to the line from above with} 14... Be7 15. cxd5
cxd5 ({Weaker is} 15... exd5 16. Qc2 O-O 17. Bd3 {when the f5 square will be
cracked.}) 16. Bb5 {and this was probably the lesser evil for Black.}) 15. g5 {
[%csl Yh4][%cal Ga1c1,Gc1c3,Gc3h3,Gh3h4] Diagram [#] With the idea
Ra1-c1-c3-h3 to trap the bishop (Hou).} h6 ({In case of} 15... dxc4 16. Bxc4
Re8 {White planned} 17. Rc1 ({Although} 17. Qf3 {with the idea} Nb6 18. Be2 h6
19. gxh6 gxh6 20. Bxa5 {is equally good.}) 17... h6 18. gxh6 gxh6 {with
advantage for White.}) 16. gxh6 gxh6 17. Kh1 {White's position is extremely
promising. Navra had to open the kingside in order to save the bishop and this
only strengthened Hou's attack.} Kh7 18. cxd5 {Before White starts the attack
she saveguards her center.} ({The computer suggests the direct approach} 18. c5
b6 19. Rg1 $1 {[%csl Yg6,Yh7][%cal Ge2h5] Diagram [#] with the tactical point}
bxc5 20. Bh5 Rg8 21. Bxg6+ Rxg6 22. Qh5 Nf8 23. Nxc5 {and White is in total
command.}) 18... cxd5 19. Rc1 b6 {This weakens the c6 square but takes away
the c5 one from the white knight.} ({If Navara had foreseen what is coming
next, he would have chosen} 19... Rg8 20. Rc3 Be8 {in order to build some
kingside barricades although it is questionable if his position is bulletproof
enough.}) 20. Rc6 {[%csl Ye6][%cal Gc6e6] Diagram [#]} Rc8 {This was Black's
idea as} (20... Bf7 21. Qc2 (21. Bb5 $5 {with the idea} Rc8 $2 22. Rd6 {
also looks nice for White.}) 21... Rc8 22. Rc1 {is awful from positional point
of view.}) 21. Rxe6 $3 {How is not afraid to sacrifice the rook! Black would
be happy after both} (21. Rxc8 Qxc8) ({And} 21. Qc2 Nb8 (21... Rxc6 22. Qxc6
Nb8)) 21... Bf7 22. Rd6 Be7 23. Bd3 {[%csl Yf5,Rh7][%cal Gd3f5] Diagram [#] So
far all moves are forced. White had also considered:} (23. Nxa5 bxa5 24. Bxa5
Qxa5 25. Rxd7 {but abandoned this line for} Rc7) 23... Bxd6 24. Bxf5+ Kh8 25.
Qg4 $1 {Diagram [#] Super-precision. If} (25. exd6 {then} Rg8 {will
significantly slow White's attack.}) 25... Rc7 ({In the other principled line}
25... Rg8 26. Qh3 Bf8 27. Bxd7 {Hou charmingly admitted that she missed} Bg6 {
Still, her position is so strong that her advantage is indisputable after} 28.
Bf5 Rc6 29. Bxg6 Rcxg6 30. f5 Qc8 31. Be3 {(Hou) is also good for big advantage
} (31. Bf4 {followed by Nb3-d2 and e5-e6 will soon win for White.}) 31... Qc2
32. Nd2) 26. Qh3 $1 {[%csl Yh6,Rh8][%cal Yh6h5] Diagram [#] Insted of taking
the bishop with a tempo this! Another cool move that weakens the black king
further.} (26. exd6 Rb7 27. Qh3 {would actually transpose.}) 26... h5 27. exd6
Ra7 28. Be6 $1 {[%cal Gf4f5,Yd2f4,Yf4e5,Yf4g5,Yg5h6] Diagram [#] With the idea
f4-f5 in order to insert the dark-squared bishop in the attack.} ({Not} 28.
Bxd7 Qxd7 29. f5 {with the idea Bd2-f4-e5+ and mating attack due to the strong
resource} Bg6 $1 {(Hou) when tables will be turned in Black's favour.}) (28.
Nc1 Nf6 29. Nd3 Qxd6 30. Ne5) 28... Nf6 {A bit more stubborn was} (28... Qe8 {
Although after} 29. Re1 Nf6 30. d7 $1 Qe7 31. Bf5 Qd6 32. Nc1 {White is
winning since} Nxd7 {leads to mate after} 33. Re6 $1 {Diagram [#]} Bxe6 34.
Qxh5+ Kg7 35. Qg6+ Kh8 36. Qh7#) ({A cute mate will happen after} 28... Bxe6
29. Qxh5+ Kg7 30. Rg1+ Kf6 31. Qg6#) 29. f5 Qxd6 30. Bf4 Qd8 31. Be5 {Black is
completely paralized and the rest is curtains.} Bg8 (31... Kh7 32. Rg1) 32.
Qxh5+ Rh7 33. Qg5 Qe7 34. Nc1 $1 {[%csl Re7,Rf8,Rh8][%cal Gc1d3,Gd3f4,Gf4g6]
Diagram [#] The last piece joins the action.} Qg7 35. Qxg7+ Rxg7 36. Nd3 Rg4
37. Nf4 {[%csl Rg4][%cal Gf4g6,Gh2h3] Diagram [#] As a desert- a rook trap.}
Kh7 38. h3 Rg3 39. Ng6 Rxh3+ 40. Kg2 {A model game by Hou!} 1-0

Report.

Clear Leaders

The third round of Tata Steel Chess saw new leaders. Aleksey Dreev won third straight win to seize the lead in the Challenger's section, while Fabiano Caruana was lucky enough (and very stubborn)to flip a worse position into a win:

[Event "Tata Steel Chess- Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.18"]
[Round "3.5"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2787"]
[BlackElo "2744"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:18:28"]
[BlackClock "0:28:49"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. e3 Bb7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O d5 {
Diagram [#] The Nimtzo-Indian defense had served well the English top GM, but
this particular line had rarely occurred in his games. Here he deviates from
his early predecessor} (7... c5 8. Na4 cxd4 9. a3 Bd6 10. exd4 Bxf3 11. Qxf3
Nc6 12. Be3 e5 13. c5 exd4 14. cxd6 dxe3 15. Qxe3 Re8 {as in Arnaudov,P (2471)
-Adams,M (2720) Eilat 2012}) 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Ne5 Nbd7 10. f4 c5 11. Ne2 c4 ({
Black can also capture on d4} 11... cxd4 12. exd4 Be7 13. Be3 Ne4 14. Rc1 Ndf6
{which leads to slightly passive, but defendable position, Lysyj,I (2684)
-Efimenko,Z (2641) Bilbao 2014}) 12. Bf5 {After seven minutes of thought Adams
came with a strong novelty} g6 $146 {Diagram [#]} ({Prior to this game Black
had only tested} 12... b5 13. b3 (13. a4 $5) 13... Nb6 14. Rb1 Qd6 15. Ng3 Rfe8
{with unclear game, Gschnitzer,O (2475)-Piskov,Y (2520) Germany 1993}) {
Caruana sank into deep thought and came up with} 13. Qa4 {This looks dubious
to me. White's hopes of an advantage will be most likely connected with the
retreat} (13. Bc2) 13... gxf5 14. Qxb4 Ne4 {[%csl Ge4,Ye5][%cal Yf7f6] Diagram
[#] As a result we have a situation similar to the game Bok-L'Ami from
yesterday. The knight on e4 is the king of the board, while the one on e5 will
soon have to step back after f7-f6.} 15. a4 f6 16. Nf3 ({Black's play is very
easy after} 16. Nxd7 Qxd7 {but objectively speaking this might have been
stronger than the text move.}) 16... Nb8 $1 {[%csl Rb3,Rd3][%cal Gb8c6,Gc6a5,
Ga5b3,Rc6b4,Rb4d3] Diagram [#] The second knight is heading towards the d3 or
b3 outposts via b4 or a5 squares. The opening was huge success for Adams who
firmly took command of the game.} 17. Qe1 Nc6 18. Bd2 Kh8 {The only place
where White can show some activity is the king's flank., but Black can also
make good use of the half-open "g" file.} 19. Nh4 Qd7 20. Nc3 Rae8 {Adams
wants to keep the e4 square available for his pieces. Another idea was:} (20...
Nb4 21. Nxe4 Nd3 ({Rather than} 21... Nc2 22. Qd1 Nxa1 23. Ng3 Nb3 24. Bb4 {
when the white light pieces come into life.}) 22. Nxf6 (22. Qe2 fxe4) 22...
Rxf6 23. Qe2 Re8 {when Black will return the pawn with some advantage} 24. Bc3
Qe6) 21. Nxe4 Rxe4 22. Qd1 Rg8 {With the idea Rg8-g4.} 23. Qh5 {Caruana did
great under the circumstances and created his own play on the kingside. Still,
it should not be sufficient for full equality.} Bc8 24. Rf3 Qe8 25. Qh6 {
Places the queen in a very dangerous position.} ({The endgame deprives White
of his attacking chances.} 25. Qxe8 Rgxe8) 25... Qf7 {Adams intends Nc6-e7,
Rg8-g7(g4) and Ne7-g8 to trap the queen.} 26. b4 $1 {[%cal Rd2b4,Rb4f8,Yb4b5,
Gc1c8] Diagram [#] Caruana secures some squares for his dark-squared bishop as
otherwise Black can simply play a7-a5 in a certain moment.} (26. Rg3 Ne7 27.
Nf3 Rg4 {is good for Black.}) 26... Ne7 ({Perhaps} 26... cxb3 27. Rh3 (27. Rc1
Bd7) 27... Bd7 28. Rb1 Ne7 29. Rxb3 Rg7 {was simpler and better.}) 27. Rh3 Rg4
{Adams had an interesting idea instead:} (27... c3 $1 {with the tactical point}
28. Bxc3 $2 ({Objectively best according to the computer is} 28. Bc1 {where
the bishop is obviously badly misplaced.}) ({Black is clearly better after} 28.
Be1 Rg4 29. Nf3 Bd7 {Prepares the capture on e3.} ({But not the hasty} 29...
Rxe3 $2 30. Ng5 $1 Rxe1+ 31. Rxe1 fxg5 32. Rxc3 $18 {when all of a sudden
Black can not adequately meet the threats Rc3-c7 and Re1xe8+.}) 30. Rc1 (30.
Bf2 Be8 31. Rg3 Ng8 32. Qh3 Qe7 $17) 30... Rxe3 31. Ng5 Rxe1+ 32. Rxe1 fxg5)
28... Rg4 29. Nf3 Ng8 30. Qh5 Qxh5 31. Rxh5 Rxe3 {[%csl Yc3,Yf3][%cal Re3c3,
Re3f3] Diagram [#] and double attack against the light pieces wins one of them.
}) (27... Rg7 {was not bad neither.}) 28. Nf3 Bd7 29. Kf2 Be8 {Instead Black
was clearly better after} (29... Ng8 $1 30. Qh5 Qg7 31. Rg3 Nh6 {Diagram [#]
With the threat, say} 32. b5 Rxg3 33. hxg3 Ng4+ 34. Ke2 c3 $1 {and wins.}) 30.
Rg3 Ng8 31. Qh3 Bd7 ({Here} 31... Qg7 32. Ng1 Nh6 {is not as effective due to}
33. Ne2) 32. b5 {The idea behind the b2-b4 move is revealed. The bishop can
finally breath.} Re8 33. Ng1 $1 {[%cal Gg1e2,Ge2c3,Rd2b4,Gg3f3] Diagram [#] A
nice regroupment by White. He intends Bd2-b4 as well as Ng1-e2-c3. More
importantly- he opened the f3 square for his rook.} a5 ({If Black tries to
reroute his knight to e4 with} 33... Ne7 34. Ne2 Nc8 {then} 35. Bb4 {comes
just in time.}) ({Similar is} 33... Ra8 34. Ne2 a6) 34. bxa6 Ra8 35. Ne2 Rxa6
36. Bb4 Kg7 ({The black king migth be vulnerable as the following line shows}
36... b5 37. a5 Ne7 38. Rb1 Nc6 39. Be1 b4 40. Bxb4 Nxb4 41. Rxb4 Rxa5 42. Rxg4
fxg4 43. Qh6 $16) (36... h5 37. Nc3) ({Perhaps it was time to secure half a
point with} 36... Rxa4 37. Rxa4 Rxg3 38. Nxg3 Bxa4 39. Qxf5 $11 {Diagram [#]})
37. Nc3 h5 38. Kg1 {Opens the road for the kingside rook.} (38. Rf3 {at one
was more precise.}) 38... Nh6 $6 {After this the white rook gets back into
play and tables are turned into Caruana's favour. There was better idea:} (
38... Ne7 {Diagram [#]} 39. Bxe7 (39. Rf3 Nc6) 39... Qxe7 {When tactics seem
to work for Black} 40. Nxd5 (40. Qxh5 $2 Rxg3 41. hxg3 Qxe3+) 40... Qe4 41. Nc3
Qc2 42. e4 b5 $1 {and it seems as Black is happier thanks to his more active
queen.}) 39. Rf3 $1 {Now that the rook comes out of the prison it becomes
clear that the one on g4 is lost in the translation.} Ra8 40. Rf2 Kh7 41. Qf3 {
[%csl Yb6,Yd5,Yf5,Yh5][%cal Gf3d5,Rf2b2,Ra1b1,Rb1b6] Diagram [#] It was not
only the rook that came into the game...} Bc6 42. Rb2 h4 43. Ba3 {Black has
too many things to worry about- b6, d5, f5 and h4 pawns are too weak.} Rag8 (
43... Bxa4 44. Qxd5 $16) 44. Kh1 Ba8 45. Rg1 Qe6 46. Rb5 R4g7 47. Bc1 $1 {
[%csl Yh4][%cal Gc1d2,Gd2e1,Ge1f2] Diagram [#] The bishop looked active on a3,
but on e1 it will become and effective piece.} Rg6 48. Bd2 R8g7 49. Rb2 Nf7 50.
h3 {The weaknesses can no longer be held.} Rg3 (50... Nh6 51. Be1 $1) (50...
Rh6 51. Rgb1 $1) 51. Qh5+ Nh6 52. Qxh4 Qg8 53. Be1 R3g6 54. Qh5 {[%csl Yb6,Yd5,
Yf5,Rh6,Rh7] Diagram [#]} ({White could have taken the pawn at once, but
Caruana knows it has nowhere to go} 54. Rxb6 Rxg2 55. Rxg2 Rxg2 56. Bf2) 54...
Re7 55. Bf2 Reg7 56. Qf3 Qd8 57. Bh4 Qd6 58. Rgb1 {Diagram [#] It is amazing
how quickly Black's promising position detoriated...} Qa3 59. Be1 Qe7 60. g3
Nf7 61. Rxb6 Rh6 62. Ra6 Qe8 63. Kg2 Qc8 64. Rbb6 1-0

Report.

A Good Start

The start of the super-tournament Wijk an Zee could not have been better! Three games in the Master section were decisive and none of teh Challengers games ended in a draw! Probably the most exciting battle of this first round was the following one:

[Event "Tata Steel Chess - Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.16"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2787"]
[BlackElo "2760"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:03:18"]
[BlackClock "0:01:00"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 {Diagram [#] Caruana was a bit
surprised by this capture. "I do not think he had ever played this way."} 5. e4
Bb4 6. Bxc4 {A topical pawn sacrifice in the Vienna variation. The main line
goes} (6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 {which leads to huge
complications, heavily explored by both men and machines. The result of this
co-operation- most often a draw.} 10. Bb5+ Nbd7 11. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12. Kf1 gxf6 13.
h4 a6 14. Rh3 Qb4 15. Be2 Ne5 16. Rb1 Qd6 $11 {Giri,A (2773)-Aronian,L (2780)
Stavanger 2015}) 6... Nxe4 7. O-O Nf6 ({The other approach for Black is to try
and delay 0-0 until he is certain in king's safety. One fresh example went}
7... Nxc3 8. bxc3 Bd6 (8... Bxc3 {looks too greedy, although Black held
confidently after} 9. Rb1 c5 10. dxc5 Qxd1 11. Rxd1 Bf6 12. Bb5+ Bd7 13. Bxd7+
Nxd7 14. Rxb7 Nxc5 15. Rc7 Na6 16. Rb7 Nc5 17. Rc7 Na6 18. Rb7 Nc5 {1/2-1/2
(18) Chandra,A (2495)-Bodek,M (2425) Saint Louis 2015}) 9. Bd3 Nd7 10. Qe2 Qe7
11. Re1 h6 12. c4 c5 13. d5 e5 14. Nd2 O-O 15. f4 f5 {with excellent prospect
for Black in Korobov,A (2709)-Naiditsch,A (2689) Reykjavik 2015}) 8. Bg5 O-O 9.
Qe2 {[%csl Yc7] Diagram [#] Funnily, similar position without the c7 pawn will
arise in plenty of lines- the QGA, Nimtzo-Indian and Panov attack in the Caro
Kann. As a compensation for that pawn White has some extra tempos though.} h6
(9... Be7 {at once is also possible with the idea} 10. Rad1 Nbd7 11. Ne5 Nd5 {
(Caruana)}) 10. Bh4 Be7 11. Rad1 Nbd7 12. Ne5 Nb6 ({In case of the immediate}
12... Nd5 {Caruana planned} 13. Nxd5 Bxh4 14. Nf4 Nxe5 15. dxe5 {with nice
development and attacking possibilities.}) 13. Bd3 Nfd5 {Just like in the
lines where Black plays against the isolated pawns he is happy to trade as
many pieces as possible.} 14. Bg3 Bd7 $146 {Diagram [#]} ({A novelty in
comparison to the risky} 14... f5 15. h3 Bd6 16. Rfe1 Qg5 17. Qf3 Nf6 18. Bf4 {
with strong pressure for White, Mamedyarov,S (2719)-Kramnik,V (2772) Moscow
2009}) 15. Ne4 {Slightly provocative move.} (15. Qe4 $2 f5 16. Qf3 f4) 15...
Ba4 $1 {[%csl Rc3][%cal Rd5c3,Yb2b3,Yd1c1] Diagram [#] And a provocative
answer in return. Eljanov wants to kick the rook away from the "d" file or to
provoke the weakening b2-b3 move.} ({Black cannot win a piece after} 15... f5
$2 16. Nc5 f4 17. Nexd7 $18) 16. Rc1 (16. b3 Be8 {with the threat f7-f5 and
Nd5-c3 is annoying.}) 16... Nd7 $1 {The knight was doing nothing on b6 plus
you remember that the second player wants to trade pieces, do not you?} 17. b3
{At this stage of the game Caruana did not quite like his position.} (17. Nc5
Bxc5 18. dxc5 Nxe5 19. Bxe5 Bc6 {is not fully compensating for the pawn
(Caruana)}) 17... Nxe5 18. dxe5 Bc6 19. Rfd1 $6 {Diagram [#]} (19. Bb1 $5 {
with the idea to build battery on the b1-h7 diagonal seems more dangerous for
Black. The ultimate goal is to weaken the black king} Ba3 (19... a5 20. Qc2)
20. Rcd1 Qe7 21. Qc2 {[%csl Rh7][%cal Rc2h7,Gd1d5,Ge4f6] Diagram [#] when
either g7-g6 or f7-f5 is forced now.} Nb4 $4 22. Nf6+ gxf6 23. Qh7#) 19... a5 {
The effect of the provocation. Interestingly Caruana considers this a mistake
as he is not getting a tempo after his next move.} ({Instead the American GM
suggested the immediate} 19... Qe8 {with the idea to meet} 20. h4 {with} h5 21.
Qxh5 ({However, Caruana missed in his preliminary calculations the pretty
sacrifice} 21. Nf6+ $1 gxf6 22. Qxh5 f5 23. Rc4 $3 {[%csl Yg8][%cal Rc4g4]
Diagram [#] with the unstoppable Rc4-g4+ and mate.}) 21... f5 22. Qxe8 Raxe8 {
and Black is good.}) 20. a4 $1 {Naturally, Caruana does not want to allow any
counter-play on the queenside. In the future he wants to swing his rook along
the fourth rank for kingside attack with Rc1-c4-(g4) and he is happy that
Black has no Bc6-b5 resource.} Qe8 21. h4 ({In case of} 21. Nf6+ {Diagram [#]
Eljanov has a pleasant choice of playing on with} Nxf6 ({Black can accept the
draw if he wishes} 21... gxf6 22. Qg4+ Kh8 23. Qh3 Kg7 $11) 22. exf6 Bxf6 23.
Bxc7 $15) 21... Rd8 22. h5 (22. Nf6+ Nxf6 23. exf6 Bxf6 24. Bxc7 Rd5 $15) 22...
Nb4 $1 {Clears the road for the rook and takes away the c2 and d3 squares for
the battery.} 23. Bb1 Kh8 {Not a bad move but there was a better one! After
great defense Eljanov starts to play over cautiously and this will finally
lead him to real problem. The king stepped away from the check on f6 and this
is useful, but it was far more useful to regroup with} (23... Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1
Qa8 $1 {[%cal Gb7b6,Gf8d8,Ra8h1] Diagram [#] followed by Rf8-d8 and b7-b6.
Black's position will be clearly better in this case.} ({Now instead of the
suggested move by Caruana} 24... Bd5 {which might lead indeed to a forced draw
after} 25. Nf6+ gxf6 26. Qg4+ Kh8 27. Qf4 Kg7 ({But not} 27... f5 28. Qxh6+ Kg8
29. Rd4 $1 {with the familiar checkmate after Rd4-g4!}) 28. Qg4+ Kh8 $11)) 24.
Bf4 {With the idea to sacrifice on h6.} Rg8 25. Bd2 Rd5 $6 {Diagram [#]
Inaccuracy.} ({In case of} 25... Rd4 {Caruana planned} 26. Bc3 ({Not} 26. Bxb4
Rxb4) 26... Rxd1+ 27. Rxd1 Nd5 28. Bxa5 f5 29. exf6 gxf6 {with unclear play.})
(25... Qf8 $5 {would be a good follow up of Black's kingside regroupment.}) 26.
Bxb4 axb4 ({White believed} 26... Rxd1+ {is a bit more accurate} 27. Rxd1 axb4
28. Qd3 g6 (28... f5 {is better}) 29. Qe3 (29. Nf6 $5 Bxf6 30. exf6) 29... Qf8
{Although it seems as he missed the strong move} 30. Nf6 $1 {with clear edge
for White.}) 27. Rxd5 exd5 (27... Bxd5 28. Qc2 $1 {is strong for White. For
example} Bxe4 29. Qxe4 g6 30. Qxb7) 28. Ng3 {[%csl Rh7,Yh8][%cal Gg3f5,Ge5e6,
Ge2d3,Ge2c2,Rc2h7,Yc6d5,Ye7b4] Diagram [#] "This is positionally very
desirable for me" (Caruana)} Bg5 29. Re1 g6 30. Qg4 (30. hxg6 fxg6 31. e6 {
was unclear.}) 30... Qe7 {Perhaps Eljanov had to give the pawn back-} (30...
Qe6 31. Qxb4 $11 {Diagram [#]}) 31. Qd4 $1 {An excellent spot for the queen.}
b6 {The losing move.} ({White is better after} 31... Rg7 32. e6 $1 (32. hxg6
fxg6 33. Ne2 $1 {with the idea f2-f4.}) 32... fxe6 33. hxg6 {when the black
king is not safe enough.}) ({But it was not too late for} 31... Qe6) 32. e6+ {
Diagram [#]} Bf6 (32... Kh7 33. Nf5 $1 {is brutal.}) ({In case of} 32... Rg7 {
White has the fabulous sacrifice which would make Mr Afek happy} 33. exf7 $3 {
Diagram [#]} Qxe1+ 34. Kh2 Qe7 35. hxg6 Bf6 36. Nf5 Bxd4 37. Nxe7 {Diagram [#]
and this is perhaps the line that Caruana saw during the game and which he
could not remember at the press conference...}) 33. Qf4 g5 (33... Kg7 34. hxg6
fxg6 35. Bxg6 Kxg6 36. Qf5+ Kg7 37. Nh5+ {Diagram [#] is another pretty finish.
}) 34. Qf5 Rg7 35. Qc2 Qc5 36. Qxc5 bxc5 37. Nf5 Rg8 (37... Bc3 38. Re2 {
changes nothing.} Rg8 39. exf7 Rf8 40. Re6 {with lethal threats.}) 38. exf7 {
Diagram [#]} 1-0

Report.

Perfect Play

Wesley So's slow start in Dortmund prevented him to play for the highest spot in the event. Despite the fact that he was the only player to defeat the future winner Fabiano Caruana he struggled to find his optimal play, but towards the end of the event he showed what he is capable of. His game against Vladimir Kramnik was one of the jewels in the event.

[Event "Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.07.05"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2778"]
[BlackElo "2783"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "151"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:26:58"]
[BlackClock "0:02:17"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Diagram [#] Some years ago when Vladimir
Kramnik prepared the Berlin for his historical match with Garry Kasparov there
was a popular story in the chess circles. Kramnik's second and guiding light
in the line was GM Aleksej Aleksandrov of Belarus. His friends would regularly
ask him "Aleksej, what will happen after Garry tears your Berlin into small
pieces? You will be left with no Black opening?" To which he will reply "I am
not even sure that the move 1.e4 will exist after the match."} 4. O-O Nxe4 5.
d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ne7 10. Nc3 Bd7 ({A recent
example goes} 10... h6 11. Ne4 b6 12. b3 Bd7 13. Bb2 Kc8 14. Rad1 a5 {Caruana,
F (2772)-Carlsen,M (2843) Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2012}) ({While Kramnik previously
preferred} 10... Ng6) 11. Ng5 $146 {Diagram [#] Wesley So tries to prove that
it still exists.} ({In comparison, one of Aleksandrov's games saw} 11. Ne4 Ng6
12. Nfg5 Ke8 13. f4 Nh4 14. Kf2 Be7 15. Be3 h6 16. Nf3 Bf5 {Zhigalko,A (2600)
-Aleksandrov,A (2617) Minsk 2010}) 11... Ke8 12. e6 {The point behind White's
play. The typical pawn sacrifice opens the road for the white rooks.} Bxe6 ({
Better than} 12... fxe6 13. Re1 {when White regains the pawn at once.}) 13.
Nxe6 fxe6 14. Re1 Kf7 {[%csl Yc6,Yc7,Ye6][%cal Ge1e8,Gd1d8] Diagram [#] For
the pawn White has obvious compensation, but it is much more difficult to
regain it than it seems at a glance.} 15. Ne4 h6 16. Rd1 e5 {Black develops in
an active way.} (16... Ke8 $2 {drops the pawn after} 17. Nc5) ({There was
another possibility} 16... Nd5 {when} 17. c4 Nf6 18. Nxf6 Kxf6 19. Bd2 {is
compensation for a pawn without much risk for White.} (19. Rd7 Bd6)) 17. Rd7
Rc8 18. Bd2 b6 ({Once more} 18... Ke6 $2 19. Nc5+ {is bad for Black.}) ({And}
18... Ke8 19. Rd3 Rd8 20. Rxd8+ Kxd8 {was possible with approximate equality
after both} 21. Bc3 ({Or} 21. Nc5 Kc8 22. Re1 Ng6 23. Nd3 Bd6 24. Bc3 Re8)
21... Ng6 22. Rd1+ Kc8) 19. Re1 {In the following stage of the game both
players find optimal moves. White develops naturally and puts pressure in the
center, Black carefully finishes the development of his troops.} Ke6 20. Rd3 c5
21. f4 Nc6 22. Rg3 Re8 {[%csl Ge8][%cal Ge8e6,Ge6e5] Diagram [#] An excellent
defensive move.} 23. fxe5 ({The point of Black's maneuver is revealed in the
line} 23. Rg6+ Kd7 24. Rd1 Re6) 23... g5 $5 {Kramnik sacrifices the pawn back
and takes the initiative. This is better than} (23... Nxe5 24. Bc3 ({Similar is
} 24. Nf2 Kd7 25. Bc3 Nc6 26. Rxe8 Kxe8 27. Bxg7 Bxg7 28. Rxg7) 24... Kd7 25.
Nd2 Nc6 26. Rxe8 Kxe8 27. Bxg7 Bxg7 (27... Rg8 28. Re3+) 28. Rxg7 Kd8 {and
White is better in the arising endgame.}) 24. h4 Bg7 25. hxg5 Bxe5 26. Rf3 hxg5
27. Bxg5 ({Simlar to the game is} 27. Nxg5+ Kd7) ({While the computer suggest
the curious} 27. Nf6 $5 {to take away the d7 and d5 squares of the black king,
and thus win time to stop Be5-d4 check. The game is about even after} Re7 28.
c3) 27... Bd4+ 28. Nf2+ Kd5 {[%csl Yg1][%cal Ge8e1,Gh8h1,Rd4g1] Diagram [#]
Now Black enjoys some pressure although there is nothing concrete yet.} 29. Rd1
Rhg8 {If Black wants, he can force a draw with} (29... Ne5 30. Rf5 Rhf8 31.
Rxf8 Rxf8 32. c3 Rxf2 33. cxd4 Ng4 34. dxc5+ Kxc5 35. Rd2 $11) 30. Bf4 Re2 {
Kramnik sacrifices a piece. Instead:} (30... Kc4 31. c3 Bxf2+ 32. Kxf2 Ne5 33.
Bxe5 Rxe5 $11 {was a draw.}) 31. c3 Rxb2 32. cxd4 Nxd4 33. Be3 Rxa2 34. Rf4 Ra4
{For the piece Black has three pawns and this is usually more valuable in the
endgames. Any of the three can become a queen, something that the knight is
obviously not capable of. On the other hand White's forces are very active
and the pawns too far from the promotional squares.} 35. Ne4 {[%csl Yd5][%cal
Rd1d5,Rf4d4,Rf4a4] Diagram [#] The pin is annoying, which means that Black may
part with one of his pawns.} Kc6 36. Nc3 Ra3 37. Bxd4 cxd4 38. Ne2 d3 {This
one went too far from the supporting team and will be soon off-board.} 39. Rf3
Ra2 40. Nf4 d2 41. Kf2 b5 42. Rc3+ Kb7 43. Nd5 Rg7 44. Rb3 a6 45. Nb4 Ra4 46.
Rxd2 {[%csl Ga6,Gb5,Gc7] Diagram [#] White won one of the pawns but the
remaining started moving.} c5 47. Nd5 Rd7 ({Also good is} 47... Rag4 48. Ne3
Rf7+ 49. Ke2 (49. Kg1 Re4) 49... Re4 $11) 48. Rf3 {So finds a very nice way to
activate his pieces.} Re4 ({In the line} 48... Rd4 49. Rxd4 cxd4 50. Rf5 {the
d pawn gets separated fro the remaining pawns. We already know what happens in
similar situations.}) 49. Rf6 $1 {Creates a strong hidden threat.} Ka7 $1 {
Which Kramnik avoids.} ({For example, the natural} 49... c4 50. Rb6+ Ka7 51.
Ra2 $1 {[%csl Ra7] Diagram [#] will lead to mate.}) 50. Rd3 $1 {One more great
maneuver to improve the second rook and saev it from the pin.} c4 ({The rook
is defended in the line} 50... Re5 51. Nb4 Rxd3 52. Nxd3 Rd5 53. Nf4) 51. Rh3
$1 Rd4 ({Thanks to the active rook, the knight is untouchable} 51... Rxd5 $4
52. Rh7+ Kb8 53. Rf8+ {Diagram [#]}) 52. Nb4 R4d6 53. Rhh6 Rxf6+ 54. Rxf6 {
White did great and forced his opponent into defense.} Rd2+ 55. Kf3 {Diagram
[#] So's play in the endgame is perfect and his opponent starts to experience
problems. But Black's resources are not over yet.} a5 ({One way to defend the
position was} 55... Kb7 $5 {with the idea} 56. Nxa6 (56. Rxa6 $6 {will still
lead to a draw but it will be White who has to find it after} Rb2 57. Nd3 cxd3
58. Rd6 d2 59. Ke2 $11) 56... c3 57. Nc5+ Kc7 58. Nb3 c2 $11) 56. Ra6+ Kb7 57.
Rxa5 {A second pawn disappears from the pawn and nevertheless, Black is still
not losing.} Kb6 58. Ra2 Rd7 59. Ra8 Kc5 {It is only after this move that we
can say definitely that Black is in trouble. Instead Kramnik should have opted
for} (59... Rf7+ $1 {[%csl Gb5,Gc4,Yf3,Rg2][%cal Gf3e3,Gf3g3,Gc4c3,Gb5b4]
Diagram [#] In order to force the white king to make a decision. Since it is
needed for both kingside support and to help in the fight against the passers
the game should stay undecided. For example} 60. Ke3 Rg7 $1 61. Nd5+ ({Or} 61.
Kf2 Rf7+ 62. Kg1 Kc5 {and in comparison to the game the white king is far away.
}) 61... Kc5 62. Nf4 Re7+ 63. Kd2 Rd7+ 64. Kc2 b4 {Now the white king does not
help the g pawn and Black should be able to capture it in return for his two
pawns at some moment.}) 60. Nc2 $1 {White achieved the perfect queenside
set-up.} Rc7 61. Rf8 c3 (61... b4 62. Rf5+ {drops the pawn at once.}) 62. Rf5+
Kb6 ({Or} 62... Kc4 63. Ne3+ Kb3 (63... Kb4 $2 64. Nd5+) 64. Rxb5+) 63. g4 {
Diagram [#] The black pawns are stopped and the white one is faster.} Ka5 64.
g5 Ka4 65. Ke3 Rd7 {Nothing changes} (65... Re7+ 66. Kd3 Rd7+ 67. Nd4 c2 68.
Rf1) ({Nor} 65... Kb3 66. Kd3) 66. g6 b4 67. Rf4 Kb3 68. Nxb4 Re7+ 69. Re4 Rg7
{The pawn endgame is lost for one tempo} (69... Rxe4+ 70. Kxe4 Kxb4 71. Kd3 Kb3
72. g7 c2 73. g8=Q+ {check!}) 70. Rg4 Re7+ 71. Kf3 Rg7 72. Nc6 Rg8 73. g7 c2
74. Nd4+ Kc4 75. Nxc2+ Kd5 76. Rg6 {Diagram [#] A great achievement for Wesley
So who managed to outplay Vladimir Kramnik on his own territory!} 1-0

Report.

When it Rains...

It pours, some people say. This is exactly what happened in the game between Georg Meier and Fabiano Caruana from round three of the super-tournament in Dortmund.

[Event "43rd GM 2015"]
[Site "Dortmund GER"]
[Date "2015.06.30"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Meier, Geo"]
[Black "Caruana, F."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "2654"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2015.06.26"]

1. Nf3 d6 2. d4 g6 3. e4 Bg7 {The Modern Defense is becoming more and more
fashionable way to fight for the win with the black pieces when a higher-rated
player wants to avoid the beaten tracks and risk against a lower-rated one.
The results though are somewhat questionable.} 4. Be2 Nd7 5. c4 {Meier prefers
to steer the game into the KID.} e5 6. Nc3 Ne7 7. h4 h6 8. g4 {[%csl Yf5][%cal
Gh4h5,Gg4g5,Rf7f5,Re4f5,Rg4f5] Diagram [#] An idea by J. Piket, or more if we
have to be more exact to Y. Averbakh. This move can be called an aggressive
prophylaxis. It cardinally prevents the typical kingside play} ({possible after
} 8. Be3 f5 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. g3 fxe4 11. Nxe4 Nf5 {as in Akobian,V (2626)
-Mamedov,R (2645) Lubbock 2009}) 8... Nb6 {A new more for an over-the-board
game. Caruana forces his opponent to make a decision.} 9. g5 {Which is not bad
for White at all. In fact he is very happy to close the kingside and to
concentrate on the other wing where he is better by default.} hxg5 $146 {
Diagram [#] This is the actual novelty.} ({An email game saw} 9... Bg4 10. dxe5
(10. d5 {is in the spirit of the line.}) 10... Bxf3 11. Bxf3 Bxe5 12. Qd3 h5
13. Be3 Qd7 14. O-O-O Nc6 $14 {Ruggeri Laderchi,G-Goodman,C SEMI email 2000})
10. Bxg5 Bg4 {Black does not want to allow the closure of the center, but the
continuation} (10... exd4 11. Nxd4 {leaves him no reasonable moves.}) 11. d5 f6
{In case that Black tries to castle long with} (11... Qd7 $6 {he would lose a
pawn} 12. Nxe5 $1 Bxe2 13. Nxd7 Bxd1 14. Nxb6 axb6 15. Kxd1 $16) ({The pawn on
c4 is untouchable as well} 11... Bxf3 12. Bxf3 Nxc4 $2 13. Qa4+) 12. Be3 Bh6 {
Naturally, this bishop is weaker than the one on e3 and should be traded.} 13.
Qd3 Bh5 {Black can also castle long} (13... Bxf3 14. Bxf3 Bxe3 15. fxe3 Qd7 {
although White will keep pleasant edge thanks to the pressure on the half-open
"f" and "g" files.}) 14. O-O-O Kf7 15. Rdg1 Qd7 16. Bxh6 Rxh6 {Diagram [#] It
seems as Caruana did everything right, exchanged the bad bishop, put the
bishop on the nice h5 stand, connected the rooks and yet, his position is
quite unpleasant. Black lacks any realistic counterplay and the knight on b6
is very poor.} 17. Bf1 $1 {Transfers the bishop to an excellent position.} Rah8
$6 {A serious inaccuracy.} ({The computer recommends the brave} 17... Bxf3 18.
Qxf3 (18. Bh3 f5 {transposes}) 18... Rah8 19. Bh3 (19. Qg3 $5) 19... f5 {but a
human would be terrified to open his king that easily. Still, this was Black's
best chance.}) 18. Bh3 Qd8 19. Ne1 {[%csl Yd1,Ye2,Yf3,Yg4][%cal Yh5d1] Diagram
[#] Now the black bishop remains empty and because of it the rooks suffer. Add
to that the knight on b6 and you will understand how Caruana felt at this
moment of the game.} (19. Nd2 $5) 19... c6 20. b3 {Meier is not in a hurry and
slowly prepares the queenside assault.} (20. Kb1 $5) 20... Nd7 21. Qe3 cxd5 22.
cxd5 ({There is absolutely no need to allow any counterplay} 22. exd5 f5 23.
Qxa7 Qc7) 22... Nc5 23. b4 {Meier went for the pawn.} ({White's position is so
good that he has a choice on which side to attack} 23. f4 $5 {for example} Qb6
{(with the threat Nxb3+)} 24. Rg3 Kg7 25. Rf1 {and after some prep- capture on
e5.}) 23... Nd7 24. Qxa7 Qc7 25. Qe3 {Diagram [#]} (25. Be6+ $5 {looked great
as well} Kg7 26. Rg3 Rc8 27. Nc2 $16) 25... Nb6 26. Kb1 Kg7 {Around this point
both players were very short of time.} ({Caruana avoided the possible endgame
after} 26... Nc4 27. Be6+ Kg7 28. Nb5 Nxe3 {presumably because in the line} (
28... Qd8 29. Qd3) 29. Nxc7 Nd1 30. Rg2 Nc3+ 31. Kb2 {Black cannot win the pawn
} Nxe4 $2 32. f3 {since the knight will be trapped.}) 27. Nb5 Qd8 28. f3 Rf8
29. Rg2 f5 $1 {[%cal Rf8f1] Diagram [#] A wise, practical decision. It is time
to go fishing while it is possible, or else Meier will make it to the time
control and will slowly finish the game.} 30. Rc2 {The deadly threat is
Nbb5-c7, but Rc2-c7 is painful enough.} Na8 31. Qa7 {White wins another pawn.
The end is getting close...} fxe4 32. fxe4 Rf4 33. Bg2 ({If White had some
extra minutes left he would have wrapped up the game with the stylish} 33. Qxb7
Rxe4 34. Nd3 Re3 35. Rc8 $1 {Diagram [#]}) 33... Bd1 34. Rd2 Bg4 35. Qxb7 Rf7
36. Qa6 {Only few seconds are left on the clock and White avoids any
discovered attack. After the cool} (36. Nd3 {game would be soon over as} Nf5
37. Qc6 {leads Black nowhere.}) 36... Nb6 37. Nd3 Nc4 38. Rc2 {It is hard to
put a question mark on this move but it misses a long move backwards. This is
happening quite often with experienced players (inexperienced too!)The reason-
the brain is looking forward when attacking rather than backward.} (38. Rf2 $1
{to trade the active rook was mandatory.}) 38... Bc8 $1 {All of a sudden, the
black pieces co-operate well. The black queen gets into the game along the
black squares and nothing is clear anymore.} 39. Qa8 $2 {Diagram [#] When it
rains, it pours. A very unfortunate square for the queen.} (39. Qa4 Ne3 40. Re2
Nxg2 41. Rxg2 Qb6 {is very unclear but way better than in the games the queen
will defend the b5 knight.}) 39... Ne3 40. Re2 Nxg2 41. Rxg2 Qb6 {The time
trouble is over and the devastated Georg Meier cannot adjust to the new
situation.} 42. a4 (42. Nc3 Ba6 {with the threat Rh6-h8 almost traps the
white queen.}) ({I can only speculate but it seems as White rejected the line}
42. Qa5 Qe3 43. Rd1 {because of the trick} Rf1 $5 (43... Qxe4 {might in fact
be better with a possible line} 44. Rgg1 Nf5 {when Black regains both pawns
and is more active, but there is still a lot of play.}) 44. Rxf1 Qxd3+ 45. Kb2
Qxf1 46. Rc2 {but this position is not clear at all.}) 42... Qe3 $1 {[%csl Yb1,
Yd3] Diagram [#] All of a sudden, White loses the knight!} 43. Rd1 (43. Kc2 {
does not help neither} Qxe4 44. Rhg1 Bf5 45. Rg3 Qc4+ 46. Kd2 Bxd3 47. Rxd3
Rxh4) 43... Rf1 ({The computer advocates instead} 43... Qxe4 44. Rc2 Qf3 45.
Rdd2 e4 46. Ne1 Qg3 {Diagram [#] and claims that Black is much better.}) 44.
Rxf1 Qxd3+ 45. Rc2 Qxf1+ 46. Kb2 Qe1 {The culmination of the game.} 47. Qa7 $2
{White blunders for the last time.} ({After} 47. Nc3 $1 {nothing would be
clear at all.}) 47... Qxb4+ 48. Ka2 Kf6 49. Rf2+ Nf5 50. exf5 Bxf5 51. Qa8 Rxh4
{Diagram [#] I suspect that Meier missed from far away that the balck king
escapes the checks after} (51... Rxh4 52. Qd8+ Kg7 53. Qe7+ Kh6 54. Qf8+ Kg5
55. Qe7+ Kg4 56. Rg2+ Kh3) 0-1

Report.

Trouble in the Najdorf

The traditional tournament in Dortmund gathered together some of the leading world players and the best German players. In the second round two of the rating favorites had an interesting clash.

[Event "Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.06.28"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2778"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "138"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:01:43"]
[BlackClock "0:30:15"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. e4 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 {This line has
similarities with the Fianchettoe line, but White wants to be trickier than
there and win a tempo by advancing his pawn directly to g4.} e5 7. Nde2 b5 8.
g4 {Diagram [#] This is the what the line is all about. Another idea is} (8.
Ng3 Bb7 9. Bg5 Nbd7 10. a4 b4 11. Nd5 Bxd5 12. exd5 Be7 13. a5 {as in
Harikrishna,P (2729)-Shankland,S (2661) Tsaghkadzor. Normally, if the d5
square is occupied by a white pawn Black feels OK. In this particular position
though White can play for the advantage as the b4 pawn got separated from the
remaining pawns.}) 8... b4 9. Nd5 Nxd5 10. exd5 h5 $5 $146 {[%csl Rh1][%cal
Gh5g4] Diagram [#] Good preparation for So. Although this move is a novelty it
should not have come as surprise for Caruana. The h7-h5 advance is a very
common theme in the Najdorf. Check the recent match Short-Kasparov where the
former world champion used it successfully.} ({Two other games saw} 10... Be7 {
for example} 11. Bg2 (11. Ng3 {might be more subtle.}) 11... O-O 12. Ng3 a5 13.
O-O Na6 14. f4 {with double edged play, Yankelevich,L (2340)-Kvetny,M (2295)
Magdeburg 2014}) 11. gxh5 {Practically forced as} (11. Ng3 $2 hxg4 12. hxg4
Rxh1 13. Nxh1 Qh4 {looks grim for White.}) ({And} 11. g5 Be7 12. h4 Bg4 {is
anything but inspiring for the first player.}) 11... Rxh5 12. a3 {Diagram [#]
Caruana destroys the queenside in return and sharpens further the game.} bxa3
13. Rxa3 Nd7 14. Bg2 Nf6 15. O-O {Probably White should have delayed the
castling for one more move to see what is his opponent doing first. After all}
(15. f4 {is a mandatory move for him. Then in case of} Rb8 {like in the game,
he can chose} ({And} 15... Be7 $2 {will be simply wrong due to} 16. Ng3 Rh8 17.
fxe5 dxe5 18. d6 $1 {with material gain.}) 16. Ng3 Rh7 17. Qe2 {and castle
later.}) 15... Rb8 {Moves away the rook from the long diagonal.} 16. f4 Be7 17.
c4 Qb6+ {Black underlines the fact that the white king is not particularly
safe.} 18. Rf2 {[%cal Gf2a2,Rb6g1] Diagram [#] White not only covers the king
but prepares the future regroupment Ne2-g3, Bc1-e3 and possibly c4-c5. In this
line the rook defends the b2 pawn.} ({Or else White has to reckon with the
possible Nf6-g4 jump.} 18. Kh1 Ng4 $5 (18... Kf8 {to castle by hand makes
perfect sense too.})) 18... Rh4 {Moves the rook away from the tempo and
pressurizes on f4 and c4.} (18... Kf8 {was possible as well though} 19. Ng3 Rh4
20. Be3 Qb4 {with unclear play.}) 19. Rc3 {Caruana wants to support his c4
pawn, but the rook is vulnerable here.} (19. Qc2 {was a safer option.}) 19...
Bd7 $2 {Misses a tactical blow.} (19... Bxh3 $5 {was already possible and good
as in the lines} 20. Bxh3 (20. Rxh3 Ng4 21. Qf1 (21. Rhf3 e4) 21... Rxh3 22.
Bxh3 Nxf2 23. Qxf2 Qxf2+ 24. Kxf2 exf4) 20... Ne4 21. Qf1 Nxf2 22. Qxf2 Qxf2+
23. Kxf2 exf4 24. Nxf4 Bf6 25. Re3+ Kd8 {Black wins a second pawn in addition
to the RP he already has for the two light pieces.}) 20. b3 $2 {Caruana
returns the favour.} (20. c5 $1 {[%cal Rd5d6] Diagram [#] was very strong
instead} dxc5 {Or else the pawn will advance further to c6.} 21. fxe5 {The
white central duo is huge. For example} Ne4 22. Bxe4 Rxe4 23. d6 Bh4 24. Ng3
Rb4 (24... Rd4 25. Qh5) 25. Qh5 Be6 26. Rd3 {with serious threats against the
black king.}) 20... Bxh3 $1 {Now this is even stronger than in a move ago as
the b3 pawn drops at once.} 21. Bxh3 {The only move.} (21. Rxh3 Rxh3 22. Bxh3
Ne4 23. Qf1 Bh4 {loses material.}) 21... Ne4 22. Qe1 (22. Rcf3 Nxf2 23. Rxf2
Rxh3) 22... Nxc3 23. Qxc3 Qxb3 24. Qxb3 Rxb3 $17 {Diagram [#] As a result of
the small combination So won material. Rook and two pawns are usually much
better than two light pieces in the endgame. The reasons- more room for the
rooks to operate and the higher value of the pawns.} 25. Bc8 e4 ({White was
hoping for the same pawn duo after} 25... a5 26. c5 $1 dxc5 27. fxe5) ({
Another reasonable way to play it was} 25... exf4 $5 26. Bxf4 Ra3 {with
advantage for Black.} (26... a5 27. Nd4 $1)) 26. Bxa6 ({White could have gone
for the more dangerous pawn on e4, but the position after} 26. Bf5 Bd8 (26...
e3 27. Rf3) 27. Kg2 Bb6 28. Rf1 g6 29. Bxe4 Rbh3 {looked too dangerous for him.
Perhaps he can survive it after} 30. f5 Rh2+ 31. Kf3 Rxe2 32. Kxe2 Rxe4+ 33.
Kd3 {Perhaps no.}) 26... Bd8 $1 {The last black piece gets activated to the
maximum.} 27. c5 $1 {The best defense. White cannot allow the black bishop an
access to the a7-g1 diagonal.} ({For example} 27. Kg2 Bb6 28. Rf1 Rg4+ 29. Kh2
f5 {with decisive attack along the "h" and "g" files.}) 27... dxc5 28. Rg2 g6 (
{If} 28... c4 {to open the diagonal again then} 29. Rg3 $1 {is strong.}) 29.
Rg3 {Diagram [#] As a rule, the trades favour the side with the rook, but
White needed to saveguard his king.} Rxg3+ 30. Nxg3 Rg4 31. Kh2 f5 32. Ne2 (32.
Bb5+ $5 {deserved attention, to advance the pawn a bit further} Kf7 (32... Ke7
33. Kh3 {intends to trap the rook with Bb5-e2.}) 33. d6 {with good chances for
survival.}) 32... Rh4+ 33. Kg2 Bc7 34. Bc8 $6 {Time-trouble inaccuracy. White
had to activate the other bishop instead} (34. Bb2 $1 {[%cal Gb2e5,Gd5d6]
Diagram [#] and then put it on e5 after} Ke7 35. Be5 Bd6 {when Black options
are more limitted in comparison to the game. In particular, the black rook
lacks the h8 square and cannot easily swing to the queenside.}) 34... Kd8 35.
Be6 Ke7 36. Be3 (36. Bb2 Bxf4) 36... Bd6 {Now Black has more freedom in
comparison to the position with white bishop on e5.} 37. Bf2 Rh8 38. Be1 c4 39.
Bc3 Ra8 40. Be5 {We know the saying: "better late then never". But stragely
enough, this is not optimal here. White should have opted for passive defense
with} (40. Kf2 Ra3 (40... Ra2 41. Ke1) 41. Ke1 {and Ke1-d2.}) 40... Ra2 41. Kf1
(41. Kf2 {loses to} Bxe5 42. fxe5 c3 43. Ke3 Rd2 {followed by Rd2-d1 and
c3-c2-c1.}) 41... Rd2 $1 {[%cal Gd2d3,Re4e3,Rc4c3] Diagram [#] The rook
manages to get to the optimal d3 square.} 42. Bc3 ({The white king cannot
approach} 42. Ke1 Bb4 $1) ({Black's idea is revealed in the line} 42. Bg8 Rd3
$1 43. Be6 Bxe5 44. fxe5 c3 {and pawns are unstoppable.}) 42... Rd3 43. Ba5 (
43. Be5 Bxe5 44. fxe5 c3 {transposes to the line above.}) 43... Ba3 (43... Ra3
$5 {with the idea} 44. Bc3 Rb3 {and Bd6-b4 to break the blockade made sense.})
44. Bg8 Bd6 45. Be6 Bc5 46. Ke1 {Finally, the white king made it to the center
but at a very high price.} Rb3 47. Kd2 Rb2+ 48. Kd1 Bb4 $1 {Diagram [#]} 49.
Bxb4+ Rxb4 {The trade of the bishop made White's defense much harder. Now the
white K+N have to stope the black R and pawns. Should be mission impossible.}
50. Kc2 Rb3 51. Nc3 e3 52. Bg8 Rb6 53. Ne2 Ra6 54. d6+ (54. Nc3 g5 {would be
similar to the game.} ({But Black has an additional choice} 54... Kd6 $5))
54... Rxd6 55. Bxc4 Kf6 {[%cal Gg6g5] Diagram [#] Next g6-g5 is coming.} 56.
Bd3 {Now the game is essentially over.} (56. Nc3 $1 {was White's last chance
to get the king in the defense as fast as possible} Rd2+ (56... g5 57. Nd5+ Kg7
58. Nxe3 $11) 57. Kc1 Rd4 58. Nd5+ Kg7 59. Nxe3 Rxf4 60. Kd2 {is this position
defendable is another story.}) 56... g5 57. fxg5+ Kxg5 58. Ng3 Rc6+ 59. Kd1 f4
60. Nf1 Rb6 61. Nh2 (61. Ke2 Rb2+ 62. Ke1 Kg4 {leads to a position similar to
the game.}) 61... Kh4 62. Ke1 Kg3 63. Nf1+ Kf3 64. Nh2+ Kg2 65. Nf1 Re6 {With
the threat f4-f3.} 66. Bc4 Re5 67. Ba6 Ra5 68. Bb7+ Kg1 69. Nxe3 Re5 {Diagram
[#] Fabiano Caruana still experience great difficulties against the Najdorf.}
0-1

Report.

Humans Too

The last tournament from the Grand Prix series is in progress in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
Fabiano Caruana is leading before the free day with 3/4, but it could have been different if Evgeny Tomashevsky had won his game in round two. This game proved that the top GM are also human beings, tending to make mistakes.

[Event "FIDE Grand Prix - Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.05.15"]
[Round "2.5"]
[White "Tomashevsky, Evgeny"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2749"]
[BlackElo "2780"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "147"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:03:00"]
[BlackClock "0:11:03"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. h3 {The Bagirov's is
Tomashevsky's beloved weapon against the KID.} e5 7. d5 Nh5 8. g3 {Diagram [#]
Tomashevsky's pet move. He is the guiding force behind the whole line and the
creator of the theory here.} (8. Nh2 {is considered to be the main line.}) 8...
Qe7 {Quite an unusual move by Grischuk that forced his opponent into some
thought. However, I doubt that it will attract any followers.} ({If you have
missed the last issue of the Master bulletin, then you missed a lot! GM
Abhijeet Gupta annotated extensively the topical theory after} 8... f5 9. exf5
gxf5 10. Nh4 Nf4 (10... Nf6 {is the other option.}) 11. Bd2 Qe7 12. Qc2 Na6 13.
a3 Bd7 14. O-O-O {Tomashevsky,E (2716)-Kasimdzhanov,R (2705) Tbilisi GEO 2015})
({The other main move is also covered there} 8... a5 9. Be2 Na6 10. Nh2 Nf6 11.
Ng4 {Ipatov,A (2592)-Bacrot,E (2711) Jerusalem ISR 2015}) 9. Nh2 Na6 $146 {
This is a novelty.} ({The only predecessor saw the illogical} 9... Nf6 10. Bg5
h6 11. Be3 Kh7 $16 {Stromer,A (2272)-Bremond,E (2300) Etang Sale 2001}) 10. Be3
{Tomashevsky proceeds with development.} (10. Be2 Nf6 {looks less convincing.})
10... Nc5 11. h4 $1 {[%csl Yf7][%cal Gg3g4,Gh4h5] Diagram [#] White's idea is
to gain space on the kingside and to basically kill any counterplay there. A
very mean strategy!} (11. Be2 {leads White nowhere after} Nf6 12. f3 Nh5 $1)
11... a5 12. Be2 Nf6 13. Qc2 c6 14. g4 {This is the position that White is
heading for. He is now better on both flanks. In comparison to some lines of
the Averbakh sistem Black did not have time to push the b pawn, or at least
bring his queen on a5.} Na6 ({If} 14... cxd5 {White can simply recapture} 15.
cxd5 ({but there is an even more decent option} 15. Bxc5 $1 dxc5 16. g5 Ne8 17.
Nxd5 {followed by Be2-g4 and total domination.})) (14... Bd7 15. g5 Ne8 16. h5
{is also great for White.}) 15. g5 Ne8 (15... Nd7 16. h5 $16) 16. h5 Nb4 17.
Qd2 cxd5 18. cxd5 Bd7 19. O-O-O {[%csl Yd7][%cal Gc1b1,Yd1c1,Yc1c2,Yh1c1,Ya2a3,
Re2b5] Diagram [#] White finished his development and intends to strengthen
the position with Kc1-b1, doubling of the rooks along the c file and of
course- trade of the light squared bishop via b5 whenever possible.} f5 {
Grischuk tries to counter attack.} 20. Kb1 b5 (20... f4 21. Bb6 {would leave
Black completely paralized.}) 21. hxg6 {White completely ignores the
opponent's provocations on the other wing.} ({Instead} 21. Bxb5 $2 Bxb5 22.
Nxb5 f4 23. Bb6 Qb7 {would drop a piece for White.}) ({And} 21. Nxb5 $6 Rb8 22.
Nc3 f4 {would work well for Black as well.}) 21... hxg6 22. f3 Nc7 23. Rc1 {
The kingside is stable, it is time to take care of his "own" one.} Nba6 24. Bd3
b4 25. Ne2 Nb5 {Grischuk need one more more to play Rf8-c8 and things would
not be that clear but...} 26. Rc6 $1 {[%csl Gc6][%cal Rb3g8,Rh1h8] Diagram [#]
Splendid!} Rfb8 ({The rook is not delicious} 26... Bxc6 27. dxc6 Nbc7 28. Bc4+
Ne6 {would lead to a completely helpless position for Black, e.g.} 29. Rd1 {
(not the only winnning move)} Kh8 (29... Rfd8 30. Bb6) 30. Qxd6 Qxd6 31. Rxd6 {
and White wins.}) 27. Rhc1 f4 (27... Bxc6 28. dxc6 d5 29. exf5 {is again bad
for Black.}) 28. Bf2 Bf8 (28... Qxg5 29. Bxb5 Rxb5 30. Rxd6 $18) 29. Ng4 {The
game is practically over. However, at the stage appears his Majesty, the
Time-Trouble.} Qxg5 30. Rh1 Qe7 ({Please note that the rook always invincible
due to the weakness of the light squares} 30... Bxc6 31. dxc6 Be7 32. Bc4+ Kg7
33. Qd5 {and in order to save the checkmate Black will have to give up the
knight on b5.}) 31. Bxb5 Rxb5 {Diagram [#]} 32. Nxf4 $1 {So far so good,
Tomashevsky acurately calculated the win.} Bxg4 ({The choice is decisive
attack for White after} 32... exf4 33. Bd4 Bg7 34. Nh6+ Kf8 (34... Bxh6 35.
Rxh6) 35. Qxf4+ Ke8 36. Bxg7 Qxg7 37. Qxd6 $18) 33. Nxg6 Qf6 34. Nxf8 Rxf8 35.
Rg1 {With seconds on the clock White plays it safe.} ({A more spectacular win
would have been} 35. Rxd6 Qxd6 36. Qg5+ Kf7 37. Rh7+ Ke8 38. Qxg4 Rb8 39. Qh5+
Kd8 40. Bh4+ Kc8 41. Qg4+) 35... Qxf3 36. Qg5+ Kf7 37. Rxg4 Ke8 (37... Qxf2 38.
Qg7+ Ke8 39. Rc8#) 38. Qg6+ Qf7 {Two more moves and the time trouble will be
over. Almost everything wins for White. Tomashevsky fevereshly calculates the
capture on d6 but at the last moment looks at the clock and realizes that
there are only four seconds left. He grabs the first available piece instead...
} 39. Qxf7+ {Which also wins.} (39. Qxd6 {is forced mate instead} Rb8 (39...
Qxf2 40. Rc8+ Kf7 41. Rxf8#) 40. Qxe5+) 39... Rxf7 {Diagram [#]} 40. Be3 $4 {
If the previous move had thrown away the mate, this one throws away the win!} (
{One more check would have done the job} 40. Rg8+ Kd7 41. Rxa6 {as the knight
is invincible} Rxf2 42. Ra7+ Rb7 43. Rxb7#) 40... Nc5 $2 {And Grischuk returns
the favour! Needless to say, he was also in time trouble.} (40... Rf1+ $1 {
would be a draw instead} 41. Rc1 {Best or else Black might get better.} (41.
Bc1 $2 Rc5 {is very good for Black.}) (41. Kc2 {fails to} b3+ 42. axb3 $2 Nb4+)
41... Rxc1+ 42. Bxc1 b3 $11) 41. Rg8+ {The time trouble is over, both players
have time to take breath and reasses the situation. Tomashevsky is still
winning, but miracles are not yet over...} Kd7 42. Ra8 Rb7 43. Bxc5 (43. Bg5 $1
{would have been better! The only way to stop the checkmate is} Rf1+ 44. Kc2
Rf2+ 45. Kd1 Ne6 {when White wins a piece and the game after} 46. dxe6+ Kxc6
47. e7 Rxe7 48. Bxe7 Rxb2 49. Rxa5 b3 50. a3 $1) 43... dxc5 44. Rxc5 {Diagram
[#] The wrong pawn!} (44. Rxa5 $1 {was still good enough for the full point as}
Rf4 45. Rh6 $1 {leaves Black no time to capture the pawn} Rxe4 46. Rh7+ Kc8 47.
Ra8+ Rb8 48. Rh8+) 44... Rf1+ 45. Rc1 Rxc1+ 46. Kxc1 b3 $1 {Grischuk creates
counterplay! We all know that "the rooks endgame are always draw".} 47. a3 Rc7+
48. Kd2 Rc2+ 49. Kd3 Rxb2 50. Rxa5 Rh2 51. Rb5 Rh3+ 52. Kd2 Kd6 $1 {Black
activated all his pieces and managed to hold the draw later.} 53. a4 Rh2+ 54.
Kc3 Rh3+ 55. Kd2 (55. Kb2 Re3 56. Rb4 Kc5 $11) 55... Rh2+ 56. Kc3 Rh3+ 57. Kc4
Re3 58. Rb6+ Kc7 59. Rxb3 Rxe4+ 60. Kc5 Rxa4 61. d6+ Kd7 62. Rb7+ Ke6 63. Re7+
Kf5 64. d7 {Diagram [#]} Rd4 65. Kc6 e4 66. Re8 Kf4 67. d8=Q Rxd8 68. Rxd8 e3
69. Kd5 e2 70. Re8 Kf3 71. Kd4 Kf2 72. Kd3 e1=Q 73. Rxe1 Kxe1 74. Kd4 {A
delightful conclusion- the top Grandmasters are human beings too!} 1/2-1/2

Report.

Stubborn Defense

Fabiano Caruana significantly improved his tournament situation in Shamkir after an important win with the Black pieces against the former world champion Vladimir Kramnik.The Italian GM had to survive at first the strong pressure that his opponent put on him. The moment in which Kramnik decided to open up the game was not chosen right and the tables have turned into Caruana's favour.

[Event "Shamkir Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.04.23"]
[Round "6.5"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2783"]
[BlackElo "2802"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:10"]
[BlackClock "0:09:02"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 {Just like Carlsen the other day, Vladimir Kramnik also
decided to avoid the Gruenfeld.} g6 3. Bg5 Bg7 4. c3 O-O 5. Nbd2 d5 {This is
considered the most reliable move against teh Torre Attack.} 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Be2
c5 {Diagram [#] The Torre Attack represents in this case the reversed Slav
defense. To which Caruana replies with something like a reversed Catalan. My
tongue got reversed as well.} 8. O-O b6 9. a4 {A standard reaction to the
fianchettoe similar to the one that Carlsen used against the same Caruana in
round three.} a6 ({Alternatively} 9... a5 {weakens the light squares and the
pull for White} 10. Bb5 Ba6 11. Bxa6 Rxa6 12. Qe2 $14 {Petrosian,T (2649)
-Gopal,G (2522) Golden Sands 2013}) 10. b4 {White shows aggression on the
queen's flank but his plan is deeper than that. Kramnik wants to force his
opponent to close that side of the board in order to concentrate his forces in
the center and the kingside.} Bb7 11. a5 $146 {Diagram [#] A novelty, in the
spirit of the above-mentioned plan. Previously only} (11. bxc5 bxc5 12. Qb3 {
has been tried without much success for White} Bc6 13. Qa3 h6 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15.
dxc5 e5 {with good compensation for a pawn in Bogdanovski,V (2435)-Mista,A
(2579) Paracin 2013}) 11... cxb4 {Now Caruana will have at least one open file
to keep his opponent busy .} 12. cxb4 b5 13. Rc1 Ne8 {Carlsen already proved
in his game with Mamedyarov earlier that the structure arising after} (13...
Ne4 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Nd2 {favours White.}) 14. Nb3 Nd6 {Both parties seek and
find the optimal squares for their pieces.} 15. Ne1 Nc4 16. Nd3 $14 {Diagram
[#] It becomes apparent that White has a lot of small advantages in comparison
to his opponent. To start with- the space advantage. The little pawn on a5
takes away the b6 square from the black Nd7 while the white knights are
feeling very comfortable. White's bishops are also more active and all of
this leads us to the conclusion that Kramnik succeeded with his opening
strategy. Now he starts slowly torturing his opponent. The grand plan is to
prepare and carry out the e3-e4 advance. Caruana's position lacks any
weaknesses, but is passive and it is overall quite unpleasant to play.} Ra7 (
16... Rc8 {is less precise as after} 17. Nbc5 Nxc5 18. Nxc5 {the pawn on a6
will hang.}) 17. Bh4 Ba8 18. Bf3 ({Also interesting is} 18. Re1 {intending
Be2-f1, f2-f3 and later e3-e4 but the former world champion prefers a more
aggressive set up.}) 18... Nf6 19. Qe2 Ne8 20. g4 $5 {[%cal Gh4g3,Gf3g2,Rf2f3,
Re3e4,Rf3f4] Diagram [#] Intending Bf3-g2, Bh4-g3 (the point behind g2-g4) and
further advance of the f and e pawns.} Ned6 21. Bg2 Qc8 22. Nbc5 Re8 23. Bg3
Qd8 {Caruana prepared his position as much as he could for the possible
assault.} 24. Rcd1 ({White could have also provoked a weakening with} 24. Be5
$5 {as} Nxe5 25. dxe5 Ne4 26. f4 {is good for him.}) 24... e6 25. f3 Qe7 26.
Kh1 Bh6 {Black does not want to change the pawn structure and play with
isolated pawn after} (26... e5 $5 {but this definitely interesting.}) 27. Nf4 {
The time trouble is approaching and Kramnik decided that this is a good moment
to complete his idea. However, as he later confessed at the press-conference
he missed an important tactical detail.} ({He did not like} 27. Bf2 {due to} f5
{"and Black holds" (Kramnik), but White still has better position without any
risk after say} 28. Ne5 fxg4 29. Nxg4 Bg7 30. e4) 27... Nb7 28. Ncd3 {Or else
Black might take on c5 and put his bishop on c6.} Nd8 $1 {Strong maneuver
before the decisive central clash.} 29. e4 Nc6 $1 {Diagram [#] The point. Now
it is not clear who attacks more.} 30. exd5 (30. Qf2 {simply loses a pawn} Nxb4
) 30... Nxb4 31. dxe6 {Only here did Kramnik realize that he had missed a
strong queen sacrifice.} ({His original intention was} 31. d6 {but then he saw}
Nxd3 $5 ({Caruana on his turn thought that} 31... Qf6 {is also good for him.
Indeed after} 32. Nh5 gxh5 33. Nxb4 Bf4 34. Nd3 Bxd6 35. Be5 Bxe5 36. dxe5 Qg5
{Black seems in good shape.}) 32. dxe7 Nxf4 {[%csl Gc4,Ye2,Gf4] Diagram [#]
and Black in complete control.}) 31... Nxd3 32. Rxd3 {The black pieces came
into life and his position is stronger now.} fxe6 ({Even better was} 32... Qf6
33. Re1 Rae7 {with clear advantage for the second player.}) 33. Qe1 Qd8 {There
are too many weaknesses in White's camp and he tries to compensate with
kingside activity.} 34. h4 Rf7 ({Kramnik suggested a more simple alternative}
34... Bxf4 $1 35. Bxf4 Bd5 36. Qg3 Qxa5 37. h5 Rf7 {with clear edge for Black.}
) 35. g5 Bg7 36. Bh3 $6 {In time trouble Kramnik blunders for the second time.}
({However, his position is already difficult even after his analyzes suggestion
} 36. Rd1 Qxa5 37. Qe2 (37. Qxa5 Nxa5 38. Ra1)) 36... Rxf4 $1 {Diagram [#] A
powerful central blow. Caruana opens the archers.} 37. Bxf4 e5 38. Bg3 e4 39.
Rd1 Bd5 ({Not} 39... exf3 $2 40. Be6+ Kh8 41. d5 $16 {which they both saw.})
40. Be5 exf3 41. Qf2 (41. Kg1 $5 {was suggested by Black as a more tenacious
alternative, but Black is much better anyway.}) 41... Qxa5 42. Bg4 Rf8 {For
the exchange Black has two pawns and strong central grip.} 43. Rd3 ({Instead}
43. Rfe1 {allows "my most typical trick" (Caruana)} Nb2 $1 44. Rd2 Nd3 $1 45.
Rxd3 {Diagram [#] with the idea} Qxe1+ $1 46. Qxe1 f2+ {and wins.}) 43... Qb4
$1 {Kramnik spend a lot of time here calculating pretty much everything but
could not find salvation. Below are given some of the beutiful lines that the
opponents calculated during the game:} (43... Bxe5 $6 {may lead to a darw after
} 44. dxe5 Nxe5 45. Qd4 Qa2 46. Qxd5+ Qxd5 47. Rxd5 Nxg4) (43... Be4 $2 {loses
to} 44. Be6+ Kh8 45. Bxg7+ Kxg7 46. d5) (43... Nxe5 44. dxe5 Bc4 $6 {stumbles
on} 45. Rxf3 Rxf3 (45... Bd5 46. Be6+ $1) (45... Rd8 46. e6 $1) 46. Qxf3 Bxf1
$4 47. Be6+ Kh8 48. Qa8+ {and mate (Kramnik)}) 44. Bg3 {Some more lines by
Kramnik and Caruana:} (44. Bxg7 Kxg7 45. Bxf3 (45. Qg3 Qe7 $1 46. Bxf3 Qe2 $3 {
is especially cute.}) {and now the key move is} 45... Be4 $3 {Diagram [#]} ({
Rather than} 45... Rxf3 46. Rxf3 Nd2 47. Qe1 $1)) (44. Bxf3 {is answered in a
similar way} Rxf3 45. Rxf3 Bxe5 46. Qg2 Ne3 47. Rf8+ Qxf8 48. Rxf8+ Kxf8 $19) (
{Black also wins after} 44. Bf6 Bxf6 45. Bxf3 Bxf3+ 46. Rxf3 Bg7) 44... h5 $1
45. gxh6 Bxh6 {Now the knight gets a chance to come closer to the kingside
with Nc4-e3(d2). The end is getting closer.} 46. Kh2 {Nothing helps:} (46. Ra1
Nd2 $1) (46. Bxf3 {is simlar as above} Rxf3 47. Rxf3 Nd2 48. Qe1 Qf8 (48... Qb3
{also wins})) 46... Nd2 $1 47. Ra1 Ne4 {Diagram [#] Without the dark-squared
bishop White's position falls apart.} 48. Qc2 Nxg3 49. Rxa6 Be4 50. Bxf3 Qe1
51. Qb3+ Kh8 52. Bxe4 Rf2+ 53. Kh3 (53. Kxg3 Qg1+ 54. Kh3 Rh2#) 53... Qf1+ 54.
Kg4 Rf4+ {Kramnik resigned before the mate. Overall, he had the advantage,
led the game, but a couple of inaccuracies proved enough for Fabiano Caruana
to show his best qualities- stubborness in defense and iron nerves. I believe
that this was Black's first win in the event.} (54... Rf4+ 55. Kxg3 Qf2+ 56.
Kh3 Rxh4# {Diagram [#]}) 0-1

Report.

The Clash of the Top Seed

Round three of the Gashimov Memorial saw the long-awaited clash of the world's top players. The Stonewall suited Carlsen well again after his memorable win against Vishy Anand in Baden-Baden earlier this year. Caruana's time trouble prevented him from splitting the point, which would not been that difficult otherwise.

[Event "Shamkir Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.04.19"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2802"]
[BlackElo "2863"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:43:20"]
[BlackClock "1:02:50"]

{This was the third encounter between the former number two and the world
champion after the incredible Sinquefield tournament this summer. After the
memorable string of seven wins plenty of people hurried to claim that Fabiano
Caruana is the main threat for the world champion. Magnus Carlsen is obviously
well stimulated by these statements and wants to prove that there is no
rivalry at the moment.} 1. d4 {In the last two games Caruana chose 1.e4 but
did not get much out of the opening.} f5 {The Dutch is a recent addition to
Carlsen's repertoire which show his real intentions. No slow, boring positions
but real battle.} 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. c4 c6 {Carlsen also used the
Stonewall to defeat his great predecessor in February.} 5. Nf3 (5. Nh3 {
remains a viable option for White.} d6 6. O-O Be7 7. b3 e5 {Zhou,J (2625)-Wang,
Y (2702) Xinghua 2012}) 5... d5 6. O-O Bd6 7. b3 Qe7 {Diagram [#] To stop
Bc1-a3 with favourable trade of the dark-squared bishops.} 8. Bb2 {Caruana
decided to play solid.} (8. Ne5 {was Anand's choice and after} O-O 9. Nd2 a5 {
[%csl Yb4][%cal Ga5a4]} 10. Bb2 Nbd7 11. Qc2 a4 12. Ndf3 Ne4 {Anand came up
with a novelty} 13. e3 {which however did not yield White much, Anand,V (2797)
-Carlsen,M (2865) Baden-Baden 2015}) ({Another solid plan is the bishop trade
after} 8. a4 O-O 9. Ba3 Bxa3 10. Nxa3 b6 11. Qc1 Bb7 12. Nc2 a5 $11 {Vachier
Lagrave,M (2745)-Radjabov,T (2713) Beijing 2013}) 8... b6 9. Ne5 Bb7 10. Nd2
O-O 11. Rc1 a5 {The same move as in the game with Anand.} 12. e3 Na6 13. Nb1 ({
Also possible is} 13. Qe2 a4 14. bxa4 Bxe5 15. dxe5 Nd7 16. a5 Nac5 17. Bc3 {
when instead of} bxa5 {Possible improvements would be} (17... Ba6 $1) ({Or}
17... Na4 $5) 18. Nb3 Nxb3 19. axb3 $14 {So,W (2656)-Reinderman,D (2573) Wijk
aan Zee 2010}) 13... Bxe5 14. dxe5 Ne4 15. Qe2 {Diagram [#]} a4 $146 {
Carlsen's novelty. It is funny how similar his ideas are so far in comparison
to the game with Anand.} ({Previously only} 15... Nc7 {has been seen} 16. f3
Ng5 {but this does not look active enough and White is somewhat better after}
17. Nc3 ({Instead of} 17. h4 Nf7 18. e4 fxe4 19. fxe4 dxc4 20. Qxc4 c5 21. Rfd1
{with a draw, Komarov,D (2575)-Gleizerov,E (2540) Leeuwarden 1995})) 16. Nc3
axb3 17. axb3 Qb4 $132 {Black generated enough counter play on the queenside.}
18. Nxe4 {This more or less should have forced a draw. the next moves are very
logical and push the game towards the logical outcome.} dxe4 (18... fxe4 {
would weaken the c8-h3 diagonal and will be favourable for White after} 19. Bh3
Nc5 20. Bd4 $14) 19. Qc2 Nc5 20. Bc3 Qxb3 21. Qxb3 Nxb3 22. Rb1 Nc5 23. Rxb6
Na4 {[%csl Yb6,Yc3] Diagram [#] The bishop pair is taken off the board and
Black has a strong knight versus a relatively passive bishop. This however
should not be for very long and White has an active rook as compensation. One
problem for Caruana was that he was getting low on time.} 24. Rxb7 Nxc3 25. Re7
Rfe8 26. Rxe8+ {An easier draw would have been} (26. Rc7 Rec8 27. Re7 Re8 28.
Rc7 {as if the other rook attacks} Rac8 {it will no longer has an open file}
29. Ra7 $11) 26... Rxe8 27. Ra1 (27. f3 {"was an immediate draw. I was very
surprised the way that the things have happened". (Carlsen)}) 27... Rd8 28. Bf1
c5 {[%csl Gc3,Yf1] Diagram [#] "I thought that the position was a draw no
matter what I play and then I somehow drifted. The next idea was a disaster"
(Caruana)} 29. Ra3 (29. Ra5 {should draw indeed in the line that both the
players showed at the press conference} Rd1 ({Caruana was more concerned about
} 29... Rd2 {but Carlsen did not think he has anything after} 30. Rxc5 Nd1 31.
Rc8+ Kf7 32. Rc7+ Kf8 33. Rc8+ Ke7 34. Rc7+ Kd8 35. Rxg7 Nxf2 36. c5 Ng4 37.
Bb5 $11) 30. Rxc5 Nb1 31. Rc6 (31. Rc8+ Kf7 32. Kg2 Nd2 33. Rd8 {was also
equal.}) 31... Nd2 32. Rd6 Rxf1+ 33. Kg2 Rd1 34. c5 Rc1 35. Rxd2 Rxc5 $11 {"I
could not see anything better" (Carlsen)}) 29... Nb1 30. Ra1 Nd2 {Now White is
in trouble and the lack of time does not contribute to solving his problems.}
31. Be2 ({Or else White loses a pawn after} 31. Kg2 Nf3 32. Ra5 Rc8) 31... Nf3+
32. Bxf3 (32. Kg2 Nxe5) 32... exf3 {The endgame is difficult for White and the
world champion plays very neatly.} 33. h3 h5 $1 {[%csl Yg1][%cal Rh5g4,Rf5g4]
Diagram [#] It is important to keep the white king in a box.} 34. g4 (34. Ra5
Rd1+ 35. Kh2 Rf1 36. Rxc5 Rxf2+ 37. Kh1 (37. Kg1 Rg2+) 37... Rf1+ 38. Kh2 Rc1 {
and the f pawn promotes.}) 34... fxg4 35. hxg4 h4 $1 {Now the king is trapped
forever.} 36. Kh2 ({There is no way out} 36. g5 Kh7 37. Kh2 Kg6 38. Kh3 Kh5 $1)
36... Rd2 37. Kh3 g5 38. e4 Rd4 {Carlsen avoids the rampant rook idea possible
after} (38... Rxf2 $4 39. Ra8+ Kg7 40. Ra7+ Kg6 {Diagram [#]} 41. Rg7+ $1 Kh6
42. Rh7+ Kxh7 {and stalemate.}) 39. Ra8+ Kf7 40. Ra3 ({The players also
discussed the line after} 40. Ra7+ {but cme to the conclusion that Black is
winning anyway.}) 40... Rxc4 41. Rxf3+ Ke7 42. Re3 Rd4 {The rest is a matter
of technique for the world champion.} 43. f3 c4 44. Ra3 Rd3 45. Ra7+ Kd8 46.
Kg2 c3 47. Ra4 c2 48. Rc4 Rd2+ 49. Kh3 Kd7 50. Rc5 Rf2 51. f4 (51. Rc3 Rxf3+)
51... Rf3+ 52. Kh2 Rxf4 {Diagram [#] A somewhat misterious win by the world
champion.} 0-1

Report.

Vachier Lagrave with Positional Masterpiece

Tata Steel ended as nicely as it started. Traditionally, more than half of the last round game proved decisive and one of them was an excellent effort by the second player, Maxime Vachier Lagrave of France:

[Event "Tata Steel Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.01.25"]
[Round "13.2"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2820"]
[BlackElo "2757"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:01:08"]
[BlackClock "0:34:33"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {Maxime is one of the
greatest speacialist in the Najdorf.} 6. h3 {Fabiano deviates from the
discussion they both had a couple of months ago after} (6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8.
Be3 Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O Nbd7 11. g4 b5 12. Rg1 {Caruana,F (2844)-Vachier
Lagrave,M (2757) Tashkent 2014}) 6... e5 7. Nde2 h5 {Since White wants to
fianchettoe the bishop with g2-g4 this restricting move makes a lot of Black
actually wnats to lay on the kingside in most of the cases in this line and
the h5-h4 resourse is useful for both attacking and strategical aims (to
weaken the dark squares for example).} 8. g3 ({A very original idea was
introduced recently} 8. Ng1 $5 b5 9. Nf3 Bb7 10. Ng5 {[%csl Gg5] and White was
trying to prove that h7-h5 had somewhat weakened the kingside in
Nepomniachtchi,I (2714)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2758) Beijing 2014 Still, the loss
of so many tempos in the opening can hardly be great.}) 8... Be6 9. Bg2 Nbd7
10. a4 Be7 11. O-O Rc8 12. Be3 Nb6 $146 {A novelty! Maxime came well prepared
for the game and uncorked a nice positional sacrifice of a pawn.} ({All of
this have been seen already and Black was always reacting with} 12... O-O {for
example} 13. a5 Re8 14. Qd2 Rc7 15. f4 Bc4 16. Rfd1 Qc8 {with long maneuvering
game, Riccio,E (2477)-Kotlyanskiy,E (2565) FICGS email 2010}) 13. b3 {Blocks
the Nb6-c4 maneuver.} (13. a5 Nc4 {which would be very good for Black.}) {But
allows the main idea} 13... d5 $1 {Diagram [#] The d6-d5 break is the key
theme in all the Sicilians. In this case Maxime's sacrifice is justified for
two reasons: 1) He removes the strong e4 pawn which gives him pawn majority
on the kingside and great attacking chances. 2) Domination on the dark
squares.} 14. Bxb6 {Practically forced.} ({Both} 14. a5 d4 $1) ({and} 14. exd5
Nbxd5 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Bd2 O-O {are excellent for Black.}) 14... Qxb6 15. Nxd5
{Perhaps the other capture} (15. exd5 {is a better version for White as Black
now have more difficulties when attacking on the kingside (too many pieces on
the f file). Still, Vachier will have rich compensation after} Bf5 16. a5 Qd6)
15... Nxd5 16. exd5 Bd7 $1 {The optimal square for the bishop.} (16... Bf5 {
looks more active but the bishop will stay on the road of his own f pawn.} 17.
c4) 17. c4 Qd6 ({Black does not show his intentions yet. Another perspective
option is} 17... h4 18. g4 f5 19. gxf5 Bxf5 20. Nc3 Bc5 21. Ne4) 18. a5 {The
fire cannot be stopped with fuel. After} (18. h4 {Black can start the attack
with} g5 $1 19. hxg5 Bxg5 20. Nc3 f5 21. Re1 Kf7) 18... f5 19. Qd3 ({Once again
} 19. h4 {is dangerous for White only} g5 20. hxg5 Bxg5 21. f4 Bf6 22. fxe5
Bxe5) 19... h4 $1 {[%csl Ga3,Yb3,Gb4,Yc4,Gc5,Yd5,Rf2,Rg3][%cal Rd6c5,Rc5g1,
Rh4g3,Rh8h1] Diagram [#] This softens the black squares. Black's play is very
easy and natural, he simply advances the pawns on the kingside and creates
weaknesses along the dark squares. Fabiano will be happy to play b3-b4
followed by c4-c5 but this is impossible due to the blockade.} 20. g4 {This
looks like the best defense. White can also stay still with} (20. Rab1 {but
then Black might consider even entering an endgame sometimes} e4 21. Qd2 hxg3
22. fxg3 O-O {Even} (22... Qb4 {is good for Black} 23. Qxb4 Bxb4 24. Ra1 Bc5+
25. Kh2 Ke7 {foolowed by g7-g5.}) 23. Rfc1 Qb4 24. Qxb4 Bxb4 25. Ra1 g5) 20...
O-O ({Maxime dismisses the pawn regain} 20... fxg4 21. Nc3 $1 gxh3 22. Bxh3 {
Indeed the blockade on the lihgt squares will be favourable for White.}) 21.
Nc3 $6 {But this is wrong. Allowing e5-e4 leads to further problems along the
b8-h2 diagonal. Corerct was} (21. gxf5 {to fight for the e4 square} Bxf5 22.
Qd2 Qg6 (22... e4 {can be now answered} 23. Nd4 $1 Bd8 24. Nxf5 Rxf5 25. Bxe4
Bc7 26. f4) 23. Kh1 {Black still has plenty of compensation but nothing
decisive yet} Be4 24. f3 ({But not} 24. Bxe4 $6 Qxe4+ 25. Kh2 Rf3)) 21... e4 $1
22. Qe3 {Diagram [#]} Bd8 $1 {[%csl Rh2][%cal Gd8c7,Rc7h2] Nice regrouping.
Black hits where it hurts.} 23. Bxe4 {Desperation Fabiano figured that the
alternatives are even worse} (23. Rfe1 Bc7 24. gxf5 Qh2+ 25. Kf1 Bf4 26. Qxe4
Bxf5 27. Qe7 Bxh3 {already wins the white queen.}) (23. f4 exf3 24. Rxf3 Bc7
25. g5 (25. gxf5 Qh2+ 26. Kf1 Bxf5 {is decisive attack on the open files and
diagonals.}) 25... Rfe8 26. Qf2 Qh2+ 27. Kf1 Bd6 {[%cal Gd6c5] followd by
Bd6-c5 is also grim for White.}) 23... fxe4 24. Nxe4 Qf4 25. Qxf4 Rxf4 26. f3
Be7 {In the endgame the value of the pawns increases and normally 3 pawns
should be good enough to fight the bishop. However, in this particular
situation the bishop pair and the many useful half open files speak of the
undisputable advantage for Black.} 27. Kf2 Rcf8 28. Ke3 $6 {Caruana's desire
to activate the king is understandable but the rooks and bishops can now
create tactical headache.} ({Correct was to stay still with} 28. Kg2) 28... Be8
{Another nice regroupment. The threat is Be8-g6.} 29. c5 {It is hard to
critice White for his decisions as the position is most likely lost anyway} (
29. Rad1 {does not help neither} Bb4 (29... Bg6 30. d6) 30. Ng5 Bd7 31. Ne6
Bxe6 32. dxe6 R4f6) ({After} 29. d6 Bd8 {the light-squared bishop will pop up
on c6.}) 29... Bb5 30. b4 $1 {The last chance. In the line} (30. Rf2 {Diagram
[#]} Rxe4+ $1 {Black wins by force} 31. Kxe4 Bxc5 32. Rd2 Re8+ 33. Kf5 (33. Kf4
Be3+ 34. Kf5 Bd7+ 35. Kg6 Re5 36. f4 Be8#) 33... Bd7+ 34. Kg5 Be3+ (34... Be7+)
) 30... Rxe4+ $1 {Maxime is alert!} ({Things are not clear in the line} 30...
Bxf1 31. Rxf1 Bd8 32. Rf2 {due to the blocked character of the position.}) 31.
Kxe4 Re8 $1 {A nice ambush which wraps up the game.} 32. Kf4 ({Or} 32. Rfe1
Bxc5+ 33. Kf4 Rf8+ 34. Kg5 Bxb4 35. Re4 Bc3 36. Ra3 Bf6+ 37. Kg6 Be8+) 32...
g5+ 33. Kf5 Kf7 $1 {Once again ignores the bishop and concentrates on the king.
Checkmate is near.} 34. Rfe1 {Now it is proper mate, or else it would be a
prosaic win} (34. Rad1 Bd7+ 35. Ke4 Bxc5+ 36. Kd3 Bb5+) 34... Bd3+ 35. Re4 Bf6
{Diagram [#] A beautiful finish of a nice positional game. Mate is inevitable.
This was not Fabiano's best tournament, but Maxime had fantastic performance
with shared second place, just half point away from the winner. This game in
particular was a potional masterpiece!} (35... Bf6 36. Rae1 Re5#) 0-1

It is not big news that Magnus Carlsen won the event outright but the fact that no less than four players finished just half a point away from him speaks about the intensive battles we witnessed. The presence of the Chinese prodigy Wei Yi in the next edition of the tournament will certainly add favour to the event. Full report.

Revenge

In September Fabiano Caruana stole the show from the world champion in Saint Louis. He not only won the tournament, but he also defeated Magnus in their personal mini-match and created history with the unthinkable start 7/7.
The new year came though and Magnus Carlsen got the chance for a revenge in Wijk aan Zee.

[Event "Tata Steel Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.01.16"]
[Round "6.4"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2820"]
[BlackElo "2862"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:02"]
[BlackClock "0:20:17"]

1. e4 {The games between the actual number one and two in the world are always
epic battles. Fabiano Caruana is one of the most unpleasant opponents for
the current world champion and his outstanding performance at the Sinquefield
cup in September established him as Magnus Carlsen's main rival at the moment.
Quite understandably, the world champion would use every single opportunity to
prove who is the boss in his kingdom.} c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {Fabiano decided
not to continue the theoretical dispute from their last game where the
Accelarated Dragon took place} (3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 7. f3
Nxd4 8. Qxd4 Bg7 9. Be3 O-O 10. Qd2 {Caruana,F (2801)-Carlsen,M (2877) Saint
Louis 2014}) 3... g6 {Surprise! The last time Carlsen played this was back in
2005. The two big C's have tested another move in their personal encounter} (
3... Nf6 4. Nc3 e5 5. O-O d6 6. d3 Be7 7. Bg5 O-O 8. Bxf6 Bxf6 {Caruana,F
(2774)-Carlsen,M (2864) Moscow 2013}) 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Bg7 6. h3 Nf6 7. Nc3
b6 {A slightly unusual move order. In most of the cases Black starts his
typical regrouping with the one of the following moves} (7... e5 {not fearing}
8. Nxe5 Nxe4) ({Or} 7... Nd7) 8. Be3 {One of the reasons why Black avoids the
early b7-b6 move is that White can go for the active} (8. Bf4 Nd7 9. Qd2 {Then
when Black plays} h6 {he might have trouble castling short at least for the
time being. I wonder how Carlsen would have answered this. Possibly} ({Now}
9... e5 {would be answered} 10. Bh6) 10. a3 (10. O-O {is another move}) 10...
e5 11. Be3 Qe7 {with the idea Nd7-f8-e6 as in Chadaev,N (2574)-Alekseev,E
(2691) Irkutsk 2010 Indeed, in this game Bc1-f4 did not prove dangerous at all
for Black.}) 8... e5 {Hmmm. Is this really happening?} 9. O-O {Yes, it is and
it seems as a moment have been missed here by Caruana! If in the previous line
the capture on e5 was innocuous, now with the extra moves Bc1-e3 and b7-b6
moves added it has much more venom inside} (9. Nxe5 $1 {Diagram [#] seems
strong and was tried by Macieja roughly twenty years ago} Nxe4 10. Qf3 {and now
} {Alternatively} Bxe5 (10... f5 {can be met with} 11. Bf4 ({And} 11. O-O-O {
deserves attention as well} Nxc3 12. Qxc6+ Bd7 13. Nxd7 Rc8 14. Qe6+ Qe7 15.
Qxe7+ Kxe7 16. bxc3 Kxd7 17. Kd2 {with solid extra pawn for White}) 11... Qe7
12. Nxc6 (12. dxe4 {might be even better} Bxe5 13. O-O-O) 12... Qe6 13. dxe4
Qxc6 14. Nd5 {with advantage for White in Macieja,B (2430)-Pyda,Z (2305)
Polanica Zdroj 1996}) 11. Qxe4 f6 12. f4 ({Or} 12. Bf4 O-O 13. Bxe5 Re8 14.
O-O-O Rxe5 15. Qxc6) 12... Bf5 13. Qxc6+ Bd7 14. Qd5 {also wins a pawn for
White. Did they both miss this opportunity, or there is something deep that I
do not see?}) 9... O-O 10. a3 Qe7 {Now we are back to a more conventional
position. White's chances are connected with the b2-b4 and f2-f4 advances,
while Black is trying to establish a knight on d4 after say Rf8-e8 followed by
Nf6-d7-f8-e6-d4. If the latter happens he will have indisputable advantage,
therefore White needs to hurry.} 11. Qb1 $146 {Diagram [#]} ({A novelty in
comparison to the game of my former teammate Valentin Fougerit where he placed
his queen under a tempo} 11. Qe2 $6 {and after} Nh5 12. Rfb1 Nf4 13. Qd2 Ne6 {
Black was better, Fougerit,V (2233)-Desbonnes,S (2332) France 2009}) 11... Nh5
12. b4 f5 $5 {Carlsen chooses a risky strategy and is ready to sacrifice his
queen's flank.} (12... Nf4 $5 {seems more solid when after} 13. bxc5 bxc5 14.
Qb3 Ne6 15. Qc4 Re8 $5 {Black seems to have good play. For example} ({Better
than the immediate} 15... Nd4 16. Bxd4 cxd4 17. Qxc6 Be6 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. Qxd5
Rac8) 16. Na4 Nd4 17. Bxd4 cxd4 {with the idea} 18. Qxc6 Bd7 19. Qa6 Rec8 {
with obvious compensation for the pawn.}) 13. bxc5 {Caruana also chooses a
risky strategy and allows the f5-f4 advance!} ({It is generally desirable to
trade the pawns first} 13. exf5 cxb4 (13... e4 $2 {does not even create a
threat} 14. dxe4 Bxc3 15. Qb3+) 14. axb4 Bxf5 15. Ng5 Nf4 16. Nge4 {but this
position seems easier for Black to play.}) 13... f4 14. Bd2 bxc5 15. Qb3+ ({
The other way of attacking the pawn allows the set up with Rb8-b5 after} 15.
Na4 Be6 ({But not} 15... c4 16. Bb4 $1) 16. Qb2 Rab8 ({Here} 16... Rac8 {would
be too slow} 17. Qc3 g5 18. Qxc5 Qf6 19. Bc3 {and Black's positon falls apart.}
) 17. Qc3 Rb5 {and it is difficult to make progress as White, for example} (
17... c4 $5) 18. Rab1 Bf6 {and if} 19. Rxb5 $2 cxb5 20. Nxc5 $2 Rc8 {traps the
knight.}) 15... Be6 16. Qa4 {Diagram [#] The plans of both sides are clear.
Fabiano will win the weak pawns on the queenside sooner or later, Magnus will
open up the white king on the other wing. The question is who is faster.} Rac8
(16... Qd7 {looks more frightening with the idea} 17. Ng5 ({However, White can
react with} 17. Kh2 $1 {which stops the sacrifice on h3 and now Black can no
longer advance on the kingside.}) 17... f3 $1 18. Nxf3 Rxf3 $1 19. gxf3 Rf8 {
and very strong attack.}) 17. Qa5 g5 ({The tempting} 17... c4 {weakens the
diagonal and White can play} 18. Na4 $1 {which stops} g5 ({Alternatively} 18...
c5 {allows} 19. Rab1 (19. Bc3) 19... g5 20. Qa6 g4 21. Rb7 {with initiative})
19. Bb4 $1) 18. Na4 g4 19. hxg4 ({Or} 19. Qxc5 Qf6 20. hxg4 Bxg4 {which
transposes into the game}) 19... Bxg4 20. Qxc5 Qf6 {Diagram [#] The
culmination of the battle. Fabiano won a pawn but has to stop the ferocious
attack of the world champion.} 21. Nh2 $6 {And the way that he does it is not
the most precise one.} ({Better was} 21. Rfe1 Qg6 (21... Bxf3 22. gxf3 {[%cal
Gf1e2,Gg1f1]}) 22. Kf1 {with the idea Kf1-e2 saveguarding the king. Then White
can continue his play on the queenside and this seems advantageous for him!})
21... f3 $1 {Magnus takes his chance.} 22. Nxg4 Qg6 23. Qe7 $1 {The only move.
White gets checkmated after} (23. Ne3 $2 Nf4 24. g3 {The alternatives are no
better} (24. Rfe1 Nxg2 25. Nf1 Nf4+ 26. Ng3 Qg4 $1) (24. Rfb1 Ne2+ 25. Kf1 Qh5
26. gxf3 Nd4 $19) 24... Ne2+ 25. Kh2 Qh5#) 23... fxg2 $1 ({White is OK after}
23... Qxg4 24. Qg5 Qxg5 25. Bxg5) 24. Rfb1 Qxg4 25. Qg5 $1 {Once more an only
move as otherwise the black queen will mate.} Qe2 26. Qe3 ({A small
demonstration of Black's attacking potential is the line} 26. Be3 Nf4 27. Bxf4
Rxf4 28. Qg3 Qh5 {and wins.}) 26... Qg4 27. Qg5 ({White cannot avoid repetition
} 27. Nc5 $4 Nf4 $1) 27... Qxg5 $1 {But Black can!} 28. Bxg5 Nf4 29. Bxf4 $2 {
It seems as White's trouble should be left behind with the queen swap, but
Carlsen finds strong attacking resources in the endgame too.} ({The most
resilent defense was} 29. Kh2 h6 30. Bh4 h5 31. Rg1 Bf6 32. Bg3 Kf7 {although
Black is calling the shots here as well.}) 29... exf4 30. Kxg2 {There is no
other way. After} (30. Ra2 $2 f3 {Black threatens to shift a rook on the h
file.}) (30. c3 $2 {is bad due} f3 31. d4 Rf4 32. Kh2 Rxe4) 30... f3+ 31. Kf1 (
{According to the computer the most resilent defense is} 31. Kh3 {but I doubt
that Caruana would have saved the game after} Bxa1 32. Rxa1) (31. Kg3 {is
worse in comparison to Kg2-h3 due to} Bxa1 32. Rxa1 Rc7 $1) 31... Rf4 $3 {
Diagram [#] A grand champion's move! Instead of trading the bishop for the
useless rook, Magnus creates decisve attack in the endgame.} (31... Bxa1 32.
Rxa1 h5 33. Ke1 {was what Fabiano was hoping for with serious chances for
survival.}) 32. c3 ({Or} 32. Ke1 Rd8 33. Ra2 Rh4 34. Kd2 ({Checkmate is
inevitable after} 34. Rb7 Bh6 $1) 34... Rxe4 {and Black wins}) 32... Rd8 33. d4
Bh6 (33... Rxe4 {should also do.}) 34. Ke1 Rxe4+ 35. Kd1 c5 $1 {It's over.
Black wins material and the game.} 36. Kc2 cxd4 37. Kd3 Re2 38. c4 Rxf2 39. Rd1
Re2 {A nice game by the world champion who risked but did not stop attacking
until the very end!} 0-1

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