The Value of a Blunder

The fifth round of Grenke Classic was once again quite eventful. The most dramatic game turned to be this one:

[Event "3rd GRENKE Chess Classic"]
[Site "Baden Baden GER"]
[Date "2015.02.07"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2777"]
[BlackElo "2797"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2015.02.02"]

1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 d5 4. d4 Bb4 {The Ragozin line. We are skipping the
opening phase as all of the moves have been played three weeks ago by Levon
with the back pieces in his game with Magnus Carlsen from Wijk aan Zee.} 5.
cxd5 exd5 6. Qa4+ Nc6 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. e3 O-O 10. Be2 a6 11. O-O Be6
12. Rfc1 Bd6 13. a3 {Diagram [#] Levon came well prepared for the game. White
immediately starts the minority attack. This move is not as common as} (13. Qd1
{which was Carlsen's chose in Tata. Then after} Ne7 14. a3 Rfd8 15. b4 Nc8 {
was Levon's novelty from Wijk an Zee. It did not work with Magnus, but Anand
obviously thrusts this position and belives he can develop his pieces better
than in the abovementioned game. There are also early improvements for Black
in the position.} 16. Na4 {We will have to wait and see what Anand had in mind
when choosing this line. Was it an improvement earlier, or the one I suggested
in this position Now} b6 $6 {led to problems for Black in Carlsen,M (2862)
-Aronian,L (2797) Tata Steel Masters 2015} (16... b5 $5 17. Nc5 Nb6 18. a4 ({
In case of} 18. Nb7 Rdb8 19. Nxd6 cxd6 {the doubled pawn on d6 will cover the
vital e5 and c5 points.}) 18... Nxa4 19. Nxa4 bxa4 20. Rxa4 Rab8 21. Ne1 Bxb4
22. Nd3)) 13... Ne7 {The knight belongs to the kingside as Black will attack
there. Vishy also prepares his next move.} 14. b4 c6 {This somewhat slows the
attack, but White can regroup.} 15. Qb3 g5 ({A game by another Grenke Classic
participant saw White successfully conducting the Minority Attack after} 15...
h5 16. Na4 h4 17. Nc5 Rab8 18. Qd1 Bc7 19. a4 Bg4 20. Nd2 Bf5 21. b5 axb5 22.
axb5 Qd6 23. Nf1 $1 {White is solid on the kingside and is already creating
weaknesses on the other side in Bacrot,E (2723)-Grandadam,N (2286) Basel 2011})
16. Qb2 $1 $146 {[%csl Ye2,Yf2][%cal Gb2e2,Ge2f2] Diagram [#] A deep
profilactical novelty. White defends...the bishop on e2!} ({The only
predecessor saw} 16. g3 {but this weakens the kingside and after} g4 17. Ne1 h5
18. Qd1 Nf5 19. Ng2 Rae8 20. Na4 Kg7 21. Nc5 Bc8 22. Nd3 Rh8 23. Ndf4 Bxf4 24.
Nxf4 h4 {when Black had serious threats on the kingside, Mirzoev,A (2510)
-Peralta,F (2590) Navalmoral 2011}) ({White idea is revealed after careful
study of the most natural move} 16. Na4 {Then Black has this tricky idea in
his disposal} g4 $1 17. Nd2 (17. Ne1 Bxh2+ $1 18. Kxh2 Qxf2 19. Bd3 Nf5 {looks
scary for White, to say at least.}) 17... a5 $5 {with the idea} (17... Bxh2+ $6
{would be too early as the queen is trapped after} 18. Kxh2 Qxf2 19. Nf1 $1
Qxe2 $2 20. Ng3 Qb5 (20... Qf2 21. Rf1 $18) 21. Rc5 {and White wins.}) (17...
h5 {is also interesting for Black.}) 18. b5 Bxh2+ $1 19. Kxh2 Qxf2 20. Bd3 ({
Now} 20. Nf1 {does not work due to} Qxe2 21. Ng3 Qxb5) 20... cxb5 21. Bxb5 Nf5
{with strong attack for the piece.}) 16... Qg7 {Vishy regroups as} (16... g4
17. Nd2 Bxh2+ 18. Kxh2 Qxf2 19. Nf1 {is no longer appealing for Black.}) ({
Another possibility is} 16... h5 {but then} 17. Na4 Rae8 (17... Ng6 18. Nc5)
18. Nc5 Bc8 19. Ne5 {looks a bit better for White.}) ({Perhaps the immediate}
16... Rae8 $5 {is most accurate. First Black will secure the queenside} 17. Na4
Ng6 18. Nc5 Bc8 {and only then Black will decide which pawn he wants to
advance first.}) 17. Na4 Rae8 18. Nc5 Bc8 19. g3 ({In case of} 19. a4 {Black
gets counterplay with} f5 20. b5 axb5 21. axb5 f4 {but this was preferrable to
what happened in the game.}) 19... Nf5 {Not a bad move, but the
straightforward attack looks even better} (19... f5 20. Bf1 f4 21. exf4 gxf4
22. Bg2 h5 {and Black looks faster.}) 20. Bd3 Qf6 {With the threat Nf5xf3,
thus the next move for White.} 21. Rf1 h5 22. Rac1 h4 {Vishy played logically
and strong and his attack is growing fast. He now intends to open up the h
file and checkmate with his heavy pieces.} 23. Qd2 ({Perhaps White should have
defended with} 23. Ne1 {in order to recaptureon g3 with the f pawn} hxg3 24.
fxg3) 23... Nh6 $2 {[%csl Yg5] Diagram [#] So far Black had played logically
and strong and achieved extremely promising position. Now Anand chose a
tempting but tactically wrong idea. After the consistent} (23... hxg3 24. hxg3
Kg7 {Black has tremendous attack. For example} 25. Kg2 Rh8 26. Rh1 {[%csl Ye3,
Yf2,Rg2,Yg3] Diagram [#]} Nxe3+ $3 27. fxe3 Bh3+ $1 28. Rxh3 (28. Kf2 g4) 28...
Rxh3 29. Kxh3 Qxf3 {and mate along the h file.}) 24. e4 $1 {Very strong! Now
tables are turned into White's favor. Once that this pawn jumps to e5 Black
can no longer attack the kingside.} Bxc5 {One mistake often lead to another.
This makes things easier for White.} ({Anand probably missed} 24... Qxf3 25.
Qxg5+ Kh7 26. e5+ Bf5 (26... f5 27. exf6+ Bf5 28. Qg7#) 27. Bxf5+ Nxf5 {and
now the only but sufficient move for White} (27... Qxf5 28. Qxf5+ Nxf5 29. exd6
Nxd6 30. Nd7 $1) 28. Rc3 $1 {and if} Nxd4 29. Qxh4+ Kg7 30. Qxd4 Bxc5 31. bxc5
{with extra material for Aronian.}) ({The most resilent continuation is} 24...
Be7 {to defend the pawn although here too White should be better after} 25. Ne5
(25. e5 Qxf3) 25... dxe4 26. Nxe4 Qg7 27. Nc5) 25. e5 $1 Qg7 {Now it is over.}
({White is clearly better after} 25... Bxb4 26. axb4 Qg7 27. Nxg5 Bf5 {but
this was the most stubborn continuation.}) 26. bxc5 f6 27. exf6 Rxf6 28. Nxg5 {
Diagram [#] There is nothing left from Black's attack and he is a pawn down.
The rest is easy for Aronian.} Bf5 29. Rce1 Rff8 30. Rxe8 Rxe8 31. Nf3 Bxd3 32.
Qxd3 Re4 33. Re1 hxg3 34. hxg3 {A painful defeat for Vishy Anand who played
consistently and strong until he blundered badly in a very promising position.}
1-0

Report.

Keeping the Promise

Magnus Carlsen stroke back after the painful loss in the third round of the Grenke Chess Classics. In the fourth the Norwegian faced his old rival Vishy Anand. With risky and aggressive play Carlsen put serious pressure on his opponent with the black pieces until he finally blundered. Thus, the World Champion kept his hidden promise of further wins after the third round.

[Event "GRENKE Chess Classic 2015"]
[Site "Baden-Baden"]
[Date "2015.02.06"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A90"]
[WhiteElo "2797"]
[BlackElo "2865"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]

1. d4 {The game betweent the world champion of now and his predecessor is
always a great show.} f5 {This was not quite a shock as Magnus had played like
that previously. His former coach S. Agdestein is a great aficionado of the
Dutch as well.} 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. c4 c6 {But that is a surprise! The
Stonewall have never been seen in Magnus' games before.} 5. Nf3 {It was
generally considered that the best position for this knight is on h3. After} (
5. Nh3 {White intends to develop his knights in Petrosian's favourite way- the
one from h3 goes to f4 and d3, the one from b1- to d2 and f3. Then they both
have excellent view of the e5 spot. Petrosian claimed that this set up paid
his flat in Moscow... Leaving the nice sense of humour of the ninth world
champion aside I can only add that Black had found interesting ways to fight
against this set up, for example} 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 {To stop Bc1-a3 with
favourable trade of the dark-squared bishops.} 8. Ne5 {Vishy takes control of
the strong outpost at once.} ({Another move is} 8. Bb2 {Then a game of Salo
Flohr saw the idea that Vishy performed in the game} O-O 9. Qc2 Bd7 10. Ne5 Na6
11. Nxd7 $1 {It seems weird to trade the excellent knight for the bad bishop
but the latter is an important defender of the light squares. After} Qxd7 12.
Nd2 g5 13. Nf3 Qg7 14. Qc1 g4 15. Ne5 Nb8 16. Ba3 Bxa3 17. Qxa3 {White is
ready to break the barricades on the light squares, Flohr,S-Goldberg,G Moscow
1949}) ({White can insist on swapping the bishops off with} 8. a4 O-O 9. Ba3
Bxa3 10. Nxa3 {Although now his knight is somewhat displaced (too far away
from the e5 square that is!)} b6 11. Qc1 Bb7 12. Nc2 a5 $11 {1/2-1/2 (43)
Vachier Lagrave,M (2745)-Radjabov,T (2713) Beijing 2013}) 8... O-O 9. Nd2 a5 {
[%csl Yb4][%cal Ga5a4] Diagram [#] Black grabs space on both flanks. This move
is usually an active defense, although the little pawn might have deeper
thoughts.} 10. Bb2 Nbd7 11. Qc2 a4 12. Ndf3 Ne4 13. e3 $146 {Diagram [#] A
solid move, which is also a novelty.} ({Previously only} 13. bxa4 {had been
seen. Looks ugly, but White wants to exert pressure along the b file} Bxe5 14.
dxe5 (14. Nxe5 $5 Nxe5 15. dxe5 {might be better}) 14... Nb6 $1 15. cxd5 exd5
16. Rab1 Nc4 {Black had an excellent position in Goganov,A (2550)-Sandipan,C
(2590) Moscow 2013}) 13... a3 ({A solid reply for Black is mentioned by Magnus
} 13... Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bd7 {with an OK position for the second player.}) 14. Bc3
Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Bd7 {Black finishes the development. Magnus disliked} (15... Bxe5
16. dxe5 b5 (16... b6 {might be better}) 17. cxb5 cxb5 {because of the strong}
18. Rfc1 Ba6 (18... Nxc3 19. Qxc3 Bd7 {is a risk-free edge for White.}) 19. Be1
Rfc8 20. Qd3 {and Black cannot play b5-b4} b4 21. Rxc8+ {(Carlsen)}) 16. Nxd7 {
Flohr's idea from above. The bishop could become dangerous after Bd7-e8-h5.}
Qxd7 17. c5 Bc7 {Magnus confidently levelled the game.} 18. b4 {White's plan
is clear. Ra1-b1, b4-b5, open the queenside, penetrate on the seventh...} ({Or
} 18. Be1 e5 19. f3 Ng5 {with approximate equality.}) 18... h5 {In terurn
Black shows activity on the other wing.} 19. Be1 {[%csl Ge1,Gg2][%cal Rf2f3,
Re3e4] Diagram [#] Vishy plays for the win but this allows the freeing central
advance! In case of} (19. f3 {Black will need to trade the kngiht for the
bishop} Nxc3 20. Qxc3 h4 21. f4 g5 {"This should be sufficient counterplay."
(Carlsen) The presence of the light-squared bishops should be an indicator of
a likely draw.}) 19... e5 $1 {The threat is e5xd4 followed by f5-f4.} 20. dxe5
Bxe5 21. Rd1 {Now the knight on e4 is hanging.} Qe6 (21... h4 22. Bxe4 fxe4 23.
Qxe4) 22. f3 {The knight is unbearable and White also wants to open up the
game for the bishops.} Nf6 23. Bh3 g6 24. e4 $1 dxe4 25. fxe4 {All of this was
pretty logical and forced. Magnus had to make a decision- to play calm and
solid moves or to go for a risky line. He chose the latter!} Bb2 $5 {[%csl Ya2,
Ga3,Rg8][%cal Ye6a2,Ga3a2,Ga2a1] Diagram [#]} ({Black is doing fine after}
25... Ng4 26. exf5 Rxf5 27. Rxf5 gxf5) ({Naturally,} 25... Nxe4 $4 {is not
great} 26. Qxe4) 26. exf5 Qxa2 {"I might have overestimated my position" said
Magnus at the press conference. Indeed, the position of his king is scary, but
if he manages to trade the queens, his pawn will get promoted. The analyzes
showed that with correct play by both sides the game should have ended in a
draw.} 27. Bf2 ({Carlsen saw that the lines with the pawn capture are always
good for him} 27. Kh1 Rad8 28. fxg6 $4 (28. Rxd8 Rxd8 29. fxg6 $2 Qd5+ 30. Bg2
Qd3) 28... Rxd1 29. Qxd1 Qd5+ {In both cases he trades the queens and promotes
a new one!}) 27... g5 28. Rfe1 $1 {Correctly centralizing his troops. Anand
needs to attack the enemy king to survive.} Qf7 29. Re6 {Now White threatens
to shift the bishop from h3 to c4. Magnus has to force matters.} (29. Bf1 $2 {
does not work yet due to} Nd5 {[%csl Yf5] and the f5 pawn falls.}) 29... Ng4 {
Opens further the king, but as Carlsen said at the press conference he could
not find anything decisive for White after thorough calculation.} (29... Rad8
$5 {was another interesting idea, but the world champion obviously does not
want to move the rook away from the a file. After} 30. Rxd8 Rxd8 31. Bf1 Nd5
32. Rg6+ Kf8 33. Bc4 Nxb4 $5 34. Qb3 Nd5 {the game remains unclear.}) 30. Bxg4
hxg4 31. Rg6+ Kh7 {[%csl Rh7][%cal Ga3a2] Diagram [#] The culmination of the
battle.} 32. Rd7 $4 {Anand blunders. Correct was} (32. Re6 {For example} Qxf5 {
leads to another perpetual} (32... Bf6 33. Rxf6 $1 {This leaves to perpetual} (
33. Qa2 $5 {(Carlsen)}) 33... Qxf6 34. Rd7+ Rf7 (34... Kg8 35. Bd4 a2 {is bad
due to} 36. Qc4+ Kh8 37. Bxf6+ Rxf6 38. Rd1 a1=Q 39. Rxa1 Rxa1+ 40. Kg2 {where
White should win.}) 35. Bd4 Qxd4+ 36. Rxd4 a2 37. Rd1 a1=Q 38. Rxa1 Rxa1+ 39.
Kg2 Re1 $11) (32... Rae8 $2 33. Rdd6) 33. Rd7+ Kg8 34. Rg6+ Kh8 35. Rh6+ ({The
spectacular} 35. Qxb2+ axb2 36. Bd4+ {fails to} Rf6 {as mentioned by Carlsen.})
) 32... Qxd7 33. f6 Qd1+ $1 {The neatest road to the win. The black king
easily escapes the checks and the little a pawn loudly presents itself to the
world!} 34. Qxd1 Kxg6 35. Qd3+ Kh6 36. h4 gxh3 {Carlsen is back into the
contest for the tournament win.} 0-1

Report.

The Black Cat Naiditsch

Arkadij Naiditsch turns into a very serious trouble to the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen. At least for the last two games. However, while at the last Olympiad Arkadij won from a suspect (to say at least) position yesterday he managed to convincingly outplay his rival at the the Grenke Classics.

[Event "GRENKE Chess Classic 2015"]
[Site "Baden-Baden"]
[Date "2015.02.04"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "2706"]
[BlackElo "2865"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]

{A couple of years ago Arkadij revealed that his favourite player ever was
Magnus Carlsen. "I do not see how to beat him", added he with a smile. The
last two games between these two proved that things have changed. At least for
the second statement.} 1. e4 g6 {Carlsen did not use the Pirc since 2012 and
with a good reason as his results are not great here. It seems as he was ready
to risk more than usual in this game.} 2. d4 Bg7 ({The exotic} 2... Nf6 3. e5
Nh5 4. Be2 {did not anywhere in Adams,M (2728)-Carlsen,M (2826)
Khanty-Mansiysk 2010}) 3. Nc3 d6 4. Be3 a6 5. a4 Nf6 6. h3 O-O 7. g4 ({A
quiter plan is} 7. Nf3 e5 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. Qxd8 Rxd8 10. Bc4 Nc6 11. O-O {
although this did not provide anything significant to White, Jakovenko,D (2729)
-Kempinski,R (2610) Plovdiv 2012}) 7... e5 ({The great Pirc specialist Zurab
Azmaiparashvili prefers the move} 7... c5 {here and this might be the better
choice.}) 8. d5 c6 9. Nge2 $146 {A logical novelty. White wants to bring the
knight on g3 as quick as possible to kill any counterplay related with the
f7-f5 advance.} ({Previously only} 9. Bg2 Qa5 10. Nge2 cxd5 11. exd5 Nbd7 {was
seen in Nikolova,A (2341)-Tonel,G (2036) Rijeka 2014}) 9... cxd5 10. exd5 Bxg4
{Diagram [#] An unexpected move to say at least... "I was of course quite
shocked when he played this but maybe it is not such a bad practical chnce as
I was already threatening Ne2-g3". (Naiditsch)} ({After} 10... Nbd7 11. Ng3 {
[%csl Ge4][%cal Gg4g5,Gg3e4] "followed by g4-g5 and Ng3-e4 White has clear
positional advantage. Of course, one should be desperate to sacrifice on g4".
(Naiditsch)}) 11. hxg4 Nxg4 12. Qd2 {Not the best move according to the winner.
} ({Arkadij spend a lot of time calculating the following line} 12. Bd2 Qb6 13.
Ne4 f5 14. N2c3 h5 15. a5 Qa7 16. Bh3 (16. Qe2 {might be more subtle with the
idea} fxe4 17. Nxe4 Qd4 18. f3 Nf6 19. Bc3 Qxd5 20. Rd1 Qc6 21. Rxd6 Qc7 22.
Qc4+ Qxc4 23. Bxc4+ Kh8 24. Bd3 {where White is completely dominating.}) 16...
fxe4 17. Nxe4 Qd4 (17... Nxf2 $4 18. Be6+ Kh7 19. Rxh5+ gxh5 20. Qxh5+ Bh6 21.
Qxh6#) 18. Qe2 {"White's advantage is massive as he is checkmating" (Naiditsch)
.}) 12... Nd7 13. Ne4 {White is slowing dow the opponent's pawns in the center.
} (13. O-O-O {is also possible but for understandable reasons White does not
feel like doing it anytime soon.}) 13... f5 14. Bg5 Qb6 15. Bh3 Ndf6 16. Nxf6+
Nxf6 17. Nc3 {With the idea to castle long.} ({Naiditsch considered less
promising the continuation} 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. c3 Rac8) (17. O-O-O {at once is
not clear after} Ne4 18. Be3 Nxd2 19. Bxb6 Nc4 20. Be3 b5 {whe the black pawns
look scary.}) ({I have the feeling though that the white king is best placed
on the kingside} 17. Bg2 $5 Qxb2 18. O-O Rac8 19. Rfc1 Rc7 20. Rab1 Qa3 21. Qa5
{should be better for White.}) 17... Qxb2 18. Rb1 Qa3 19. Rxb7 ({Objectively
better was} 19. Rb3 Qc5 20. O-O {with slight advantage for White.}) 19... Rf7 {
Magnus was afraid of the line} (19... Rab8 20. Rxg7+ $5 ({Instead} 20. Rxb8
Rxb8 21. Bg2 Rc8 {should be still little better for White.}) 20... Kxg7 21.
Bxf5 gxf5 22. Bxf6+ Kxf6 {Diagram [#] which looks indeed horrifying for a
human being. The poor king lacks any defence and is attacked by both teh queen
and the rook. Still, the cold-blooded machine finds no more than a draw after
both} 23. Rxh7 ({Or} 23. Qh6+ Ke7 24. Qe6+ Kd8 25. Rxh7 Qxc3+ 26. Kf1 Qc4+ 27.
Kg2 Qg4+ 28. Kh2 Qf4+ $11) 23... f4 24. Qd3 Qc1+ 25. Ke2 Rf7 26. Rxf7+ Kxf7 27.
Qf5+ Kg8 28. Qg6+) 20. Rb3 Qc5 21. Qe3 $1 {The king will be safe without the
queens on the board.} Qc7 22. Qb6 e4 23. Qc6 $5 {Naiditsch lures the rook on
c8.} Rc8 {The only move as after} (23... Qxc6 24. dxc6 Rc8 25. Bxf6 Bxf6 26.
Nd5 Rxc6 {White has the nice trick} 27. Bxf5 $1 gxf5 28. Rg1+ Kf8 (28... Rg7
29. Nxf6+) 29. Rb8+ Bd8 30. Rxd8#) 24. O-O {Arkadij calculated that he wins
the pawn back. The trick} (24. Bxf6 Bxf6 25. Nxe4 $4 {fails to} Qa5+) 24...
Qxc6 25. dxc6 Rxc6 {"Endgame should be close to winning for White" (Naiditsch)}
26. Rfb1 h6 27. Bxf6 $1 {White is happy to have the rook on f7. Another
tempting continuation was} (27. Rb8+ Kh7 28. Bxf6 Bxf6 29. Nd5 {with the idea}
Rxc2 $4 ({But Black can defend after} 29... Be5) 30. Nxf6+ Rxf6 31. R1b7+ Rf7
32. Rxf7#) 27... Bxf6 {Diagram [#]} 28. Nxe4 $1 {[%csl Yf7,Yg8][%cal Gh3e6]
The point behind White's previous play! White regains the pawn and destroys
the black pawn chain.} Be5 (28... fxe4 {is hopeless after} 29. Be6 Kg7 30. Bxf7
Kxf7 31. Rb6 {as White wins both d6 and a6 pawns.}) 29. Nd2 Rxc2 30. Nf3 Ra2
31. Bg2 {A slip for which Arkadij was furous about. He could have won with} (
31. Nxe5 $1 dxe5 32. Rb4 $1 ({Rather than the sugegsted by many commentators}
32. Rb6 {which he also calculated but felt correctly should be a clear win
after} Rxa4 33. Rxg6+ Kh7 34. Rbb6 Rh4 35. Kg2 Rh5 $1 {White has only one gold
pawn left and is anything but sure of winning} 36. Rbf6 Rxf6 37. Rxf6 Kg7 38.
Rxf5 (38. Rxa6 {gives some practical chances but hardly a win.}) 38... Rxf5 39.
Bxf5 Kf6 {followed by Kf6-g5-f4 (Naiditsch)}) 32... a5 33. Rc4 {Next the
bishop comes to f1, White slowly improves and takes the a pawn and the game
home.}) 31... Bf6 32. Nh2 Kg7 {Now the game starts again. White is still
better but has to maneuver a lot to prove that.} 33. Bd5 Re7 34. Rb4 Rd2 35.
Bc4 a5 36. Rb7 Rd4 37. Rxe7+ Bxe7 38. Bb5 h5 39. Nf3 Rf4 40. Kg2 h4 ({Perhaps}
40... Bf6 41. Rd1 Rg4+ 42. Kf1 Rf4 43. Rd3 g5 {was a better defense.}) 41. Rd1
{Intending to swap off the rooks after Rd1-d4.} Rg4+ 42. Kf1 h3 43. Rd3 $1 {
[%csl Gf1,Yf3][%cal Gf1g1,Gg1h1,Yh2f1,Yf1e3,Ye3c4,Ye3d5,Yf3h2] A nice
regroupment. The white king goes to the h file to deal with the Black's
complex of a dangerous passer and rook behind it. The knight is set free for
greater deeds.} Bf6 44. Nh2 Rh4 45. Kg1 Bd4 46. Rf3 Kf6 47. Nf1 Be5 $6 ({A
much more resilent defense is} 47... Ke5 48. Nd2 d5 {trying to keep the knight
blocked. For example} ({Not} 48... g5 $2 49. Bd7) 49. Rg3 Kf6 50. Nf3 $2 Bxf2+
$1 51. Kxf2 h2 52. Nxh2 (52. Nxh4 h1=Q 53. Rxg6+ Kf7 54. Rh6 Qh2+ $11) 52...
Rxh2+ 53. Ke3 Rh4 {with a draw. Naturally, White can improve his play in this
line, but he will still have to work very hard to win (if this is even
possible).}) 48. Ne3 Kg5 49. Kh1 Kf6 $6 {The last chance for teh World
Champion was the line} (49... Rf4 50. Rxf4 (50. Rg3+ Kh4 51. Rxg6 Rxf2 52. Rh6+
Kg3 53. Nf1+ Kg4 $11) 50... Kxf4 51. Nc4 Bc3 52. Nxd6 Kf3 53. Be8 Bb4 {when it
is not yer certain if this is a win for White.}) 50. Nc4 g5 51. Nxa5 g4 52. Rd3
f4 53. Nc4 Rh7 54. Nxe5 $1 {[%cal Ra4a5,Ra5a6,Ra6a7,Ra7a8,Rb5c6,Rd3a3] Diagram
[#] Without the bishop on the board Black cannot stop the white passer. The
game is essentially over although some accuracy is still needed.} dxe5 55. a5
Rc7 56. Ra3 $1 {The last subtle move. Rook behind the pawnpromotes it
authomatically. It also kills the black counter-chances related with his
strong pawns. Worse is} (56. Rd1 Rc5 57. Rb1 g3 58. fxg3 fxg3 59. a6 Rc2 60.
Ra1 Rh2+ 61. Kg1 Rg2+ 62. Kf1 Rf2+ 63. Ke1 $4 (63. Kg1 $11) 63... e4 $1 {
(Gustafsson) when it is Black who wins!} 64. Bc6 e3 65. a7 g2) 56... Rc1+ 57.
Kh2 Rc2 58. a6 Rxf2+ 59. Kh1 g3 60. a7 Rd2 61. Ra1 {Arkadij Naiditsch won his
second game in a row against the World Champion Magnus Carlsen and can be
proud with the game that he had played!} 1-0

Report by Kostya Kavutskiy.

Carlsen Takes Early Lean in Baden-Baden

The world champion Magnus Carlsen took an early lead at the Grenke Super tournament after defeating Michael Adams in a typical, positional style. Mickey was Magnus'second at the recent WC match in Sochi, which did not prevent the Norwegian from surprising him in the opening. The novelty promised Carlsen slight, but durable positional advantage:

[Event "GRENKE Chess Classic 2015"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.02.03"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2865"]
[BlackElo "2738"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:37:54"]
[BlackClock "0:28:40"]

1. c4 e5 {The reversed Sicilian that is.} 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 {The
reversed Rossolimo line.} 5. Nd5 (5. Bg2 {is considered the main line but the
move in the game scoes better for White, at least by percentage.}) 5... Bc5 6.
Bg2 d6 7. O-O O-O 8. d3 ({Adams has experience in this line. A couple years
ago he drew comfortably against the current number three in the world after} 8.
e3 a6 9. d3 Ba7 10. Nxf6+ Qxf6 11. Bd2 Qg6 {Grischuk,A (2785)-Adams,M (2752)
Warsaw 2013}) 8... Nxd5 9. cxd5 Nd4 {Mickey trades the second knight, thus
freeing his position a bit.} (9... Ne7 {is the other option.}) 10. Nxd4 exd4 {
The idea is to create counter play against the backward pawn on e2.} ({The
other capture is also possible} 10... Bxd4 11. e3 Bb6 {Next both the sides are
trying to grab space on the kingside with f2-f4-f5 for White and f7-f5-f4 for
Black!} 12. Kh1 Bd7 13. Bd2 Qe8 14. a4 a5 15. f4 f5 16. Re1 Qf7 {and
approximate equality in Grachev,B (2705)-Mchedlishvili,M (2626) Tashkent 2012})
11. Bd2 {Magnus wants to expand on the queenside, but Black is alert.} a5 12.
e4 {Naturally, the World Champion does not want to wait and see the black
heavy pieces piled towards his pawn.} dxe3 13. fxe3 Qg5 14. Rf4 $146 {A
novelty, technically speaking. All of this has been seen previously with White
continuing} (14. d4 {first and only after} Bb6 15. Rf4 {After} Bd7 16. Qc2 a4
17. Raf1 Qe7 {Black seemed very stable in Kiselev,V (2505)-Garakov,M (2412)
Lugansk 2007}) 14... Bd7 ({Perhaps it made sense for Black to avoid the game
continuation with} 14... a4 $5 15. Qc2 Bd7 {which would most likely transpose
into the previously played game after} 16. d4 Bb6) 15. a4 $1 {Diagram [#] In
fact this is the actual novelty in comparison to the game Kiselev-Garakov from
above. Magnus' idea is to fix the pawn on a5 and attack the queenside later
with b2-b4.} Rae8 ({Looking into the future it made sense for Adams to keep
the queenside rook where it was to anticipate White's play there} 15... Rfe8 $5
) 16. d4 Bb6 17. Qb3 $1 ({The immediate} 17. b4 {does not give much after} Ra8
(17... axb4 18. a5) 18. Qb3 Qe7 19. bxa5 (19. Qc4 $2 axb4 20. Qxb4 Ba5 $15)
19... Bxa5 20. Bxa5 Rxa5 {as White does not have time to win the pawn} 21. Qxb7
Qxe3+) 17... Qd8 18. Qc4 {[%cal Gd1b3,Gb3c4,Rb2b4] The point behind Carlsen's
maneuver. The queen is optimally placed and actively supports the queenside
attack.} Re7 ({The queen is not as good a defender as the rook} 18... Qa8 19.
b4 axb4 20. a5 Bxa5 21. Bxb4 b6 22. Qxc7 {is advantageous for White.}) 19. b4
axb4 ({White also has a pull after} 19... Qa8 20. Qc3 axb4 21. Qxb4 $14) 20. a5
Ba7 21. Qxb4 $14 {[%csl Ga5,Gd5][%cal Ga5b6,Gd5c6] The opening strategy of the
World Champion succeeded. The advanced pawns on a5 and d5 squeeze the black
forces and White has annoying pressure on the queenside. Mickey tries to free
himself at once.} c5 $1 (21... Bc8 22. Rc1 {looks grim for Black.}) 22. dxc6
Bxc6 23. Qb3 Bxg2 24. Kxg2 Qd7 {[%csl Ya5,Yb7,Yd6,Ye3,Gf1,Gf4][%cal Gd2a5,
Gd2e3,Ga1f1,Gf1f7,Gb1b7] The situation had changed. The doubled d pawn is gone
and the black b and d pawns were separated, thus they became clear targets. On
the other hand, the white bishop is seemingly not the greatest piece ever, but
so is his counterpart. White keeps pressure thanks to the fact that his
heavy pieces are more active and exert pressure. They are actively assisted by
the "poor" bishop that effectively shuts both the a and e semi-open files for
Black.} (24... d5 $4 {is positionally sound but tactically wrong} 25. Bb4) 25.
Raf1 Rc8 26. Rf5 {This prevents d6-d5 and prepares rook transfer along the
fifth rank.} h6 {Adams did not feel the danger. Correct was} (26... g6 27. Rb5
(27. Rf6 d5) 27... h5 {which would have stopped White's activity on the
kingside. The pawn weaknesses on b7 and d6 are very close to each other and
can be defended relatively easily.}) 27. R1f2 Bb8 28. Bb4 Qc6+ 29. R2f3 {The
queen swap will lead to a draw after} (29. Qd5 Qxd5+ 30. Rxd5 Rxe3 31. Bxd6 Rd8
32. Bf4 Rxd5 33. Bxe3 Rxa5 34. Rb2 b5 35. Kf3 $11) 29... Rcc7 30. Be1 Qe8 {It
was not too late to go for} (30... g6 $1 31. Rd5 h5 $11) 31. g4 $1 {Diagram [#]
Now the bishop can be actively used on the h4-d8 diagonal. Magnus also intends
to further advance the pawns on the kingside and open the game there. Thus, he
will create one more weakness- the black king and thanks to the extra space he
can be much more effective in maneuvering on both sides of the board.} Re4 32.
h3 Rce7 33. Bf2 R4e6 $2 {A blunder. However, White was making progress after
both} (33... Rc7 34. Rb5 Ree7 35. Rb6 Red7 36. Qd5 $16) ({Perhaps,} 33... Ba7 {
was the lesser evil} 34. Rb5 Qc8 35. Qd5 $14 {Although White is better here as
well.}) 34. Rb5 Bc7 {The pawn cannot be saved} (34... Qc8 35. a6) (34... Qc6 $4
35. d5) 35. Rxb7 Qa8 {Adams decided that this is the lesser evil in comparison
to the absolute pin after} (35... Bxa5 36. Rb8 Bd8 37. Bh4 Rd7 38. Qb5 {[%csl
Rd7][%cal Rb5d7]} f6 39. Qd5) 36. Rb5 $16 {Diagram [#] The long grinding was
effective as usual with Magnus. He won a pawn and now starts converting it.}
Re8 37. Qd5 Qxd5 38. Rxd5 Rb8 39. Bg3 g6 40. h4 Ra8 41. Be1 Re4 42. g5 h5 {A
strange decision. The defender should trade pawns as a rule} (42... hxg5 43.
hxg5) 43. Rb5 Ra7 44. Kf1 Re8 45. Ke2 Rea8 46. Rf6 Ra6 (46... Bxa5 47. Rxa5
Rxa5 48. Bxa5 Rxa5 49. Rxd6 {leads to the same.}) 47. Bb4 {Magnus correctly
evaluated the rook endgame as won.} Bxa5 48. Rxa5 Rxa5 49. Bxa5 Rxa5 50. Rxd6
Kf8 51. Rf6 Ra3 52. Kf3 Ke7 53. Ke4 Ra5 ({Or} 53... Ke8 54. Rf4 ({Worse is} 54.
d5 Ra4+ 55. Ke5 Rxh4) 54... Ke7 55. d5 Kd6 56. Rf6+ $1 Ke7 57. Rb6 Ra4+ 58. Ke5
Rxh4 59. d6+ Kd7 60. Rb7+ Ke8 61. Re7+ Kf8 62. Kf6 $18) 54. Rf4 $1 {[%cal
Gd4d5,Ge4e5] Diagram [#] The rook defends the fourth rank and enables the
further reinforcement of the position with d4-d5 and Ke4-e5. The game is
decided.} Rb5 55. d5 Rb3 56. Kd4 Ra3 57. e4 Rb3 58. Ke5 Rd3 59. Rf1 $1 Rh3 60.
Ra1 Rxh4 61. d6+ Kd7 62. Ra7+ Ke8 63. Ra8+ Kd7 64. Rf8 {A nice positional win
for the World Champion who takes the sole lead.} 1-0

Report.