The Miracle is a Fact!

Perhaps nobody believed this after the disastrous start of the match (0-2) that Karjakin will make it to the rapid and blitz tie-breaks. None, but his wife I suspect, maybe even Sergey had huge doubts.
But he did it, in style in the last, fourth classical game in Baku:

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.10.04"]
[Round "58.1"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2753"]
[BlackElo "2727"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:12:23"]
[BlackClock "0:15:27"]

1. Nf3 {Diagram [#] In the decisive game of the match Karjakin decides to
avoid the open games. Wise decision, especially taking into account the fact
how well Svidler did there at this tournament. Another argument about
Karjakin's opening choice is the fact that he also avoids the Gruenfeld.} d5 2.
d4 c5 {Svidler had already played like that, in a rapid game against
Nepomniachtchi.} 3. c4 cxd4 4. cxd5 Nf6 5. Qxd4 {The above-mentioned game saw:}
(5. Nxd4 Nxd5 6. e4 Nf6 7. Nc3 e5 8. Ndb5 a6 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. Na3 Be6 {and
Black solved his opening problems, Nepomniachtchi,I (2702)-Svidler,P (2740)
Nizhnij Novgorod 2013}) 5... Qxd5 6. Nc3 Qxd4 7. Nxd4 {Diagram [#] Curiously,
this position was discussed in the match for the world championship between
Lasker and Tarrasch, roughly 100 years ago!} Bd7 {The second main move and the
beginning of Black's problems. Tarrasch reacted with} (7... e5 {but this also
allowed the white knight the b5 squre. After} 8. Ndb5 Kd8 9. Be3 Nc6 10. g3 Bd7
11. Rd1 Kc8 12. Bg2 {White had an edge, Lasker,E-Tarrasch,S Berlin 1916}) ({
The main move is} 7... a6) 8. Ndb5 Kd8 {Or} (8... Na6 9. Bf4 g6 10. e4 Bg7 11.
O-O-O Bc6 12. f3 {with advantage for White, Lindberg,B (2426)-Berkell,P (2249)
Sweden 2004}) 9. Be3 $1 {[%csl Ya7,Rb6][%cal Re3b6,Rb6a7] Diagram [#] Support
the white knight on b5.} Nc6 ({Black does not have the move} 9... a6 10. Bb6+
Kc8 11. Nc7) 10. f3 $146 {A novelty. The idea is to limit the black knights.} (
{A recent GM game saw Black demolished in mere seventeen moves after} 10. g3
Ng4 11. Bd2 Nb4 ({However, Black had plenty of improvements along the way, for
example here} 11... a6 12. Na3 e5) 12. Rc1 Nxa2 13. Nxa2 Bxb5 14. Bg2 e6 15.
Ba5+ Ke8 16. Bc7 Bc6 17. Rxc6 {[%csl Ya8,Ye8] Diagram [#] 1-0 (17) Grigoriants,
S (2606)-Gleizerov,E (2501) Dresden 2015}) 10... h5 {Stops the positional
threat g2-g4.} 11. O-O-O Kc8 12. Bg5 {[%csl Gb5,Gd1,Yf8,Gg5,Yh8] Diagram [#]
White can be very happy with the opening. He has better development, extra
space and on the top of this Black has huge difficulties in bringing his
dark-squared bishop out.} g6 {A sad choice but the alternatives were no better:
} ({Bad is} 12... e6 13. e4 Be7 14. Nd6+ Bxd6 15. Rxd6 $16) ({Even worse is
the attempt to get rid of the annoying knight:} 12... a6 13. Na4 axb5 14. Nb6+
Kb8 15. Nxa8 Kxa8 16. Bxf6) 13. Nd6+ exd6 14. Bxf6 Rg8 15. e4 {[%csl Yd6]
Diagram [#] One more advantage is added to white's position- the isolated d6
pawn.} Be6 16. Kb1 Kd7 17. Nd5 Bg7 18. Bxg7 Rxg7 19. Bb5 {The pins along the
a4-e8 diagonal and the half-open d file make Black's position very difficult.
White intends to double his rooks along the d file (or sometimes along the c
one too!) The e4-e5 threat is always in the air and the g7 rook is stuck on
this ugly square.} Kd8 $1 (19... Rd8 20. Rd2) (19... Bxd5 $2 20. exd5) 20. Rd2
Bxd5 21. Rxd5 Kc7 22. Rc1 Re8 $1 23. Rd4 ({Another idea was} 23. Bd3 {
intending to meet} Re5 {with} 24. f4 Re6 25. b4 $1) 23... Re5 {[%csl Yc1][%cal
Ga8e8,Ge8e5,Ge5c5] Diagram [#]} 24. Ba4 {The bishop is clearly superior to the
knight and Karjakin wants to keep it on board. The endgame of this game has
similarities with the one that the Russian GM won against P. Eljanov at the
decisive second rapid game of their tie-break.} ({The rook endgame promises
good drawing chances to Black} 24. Bxc6 bxc6 25. Rdc4 c5 26. f4 Re6 27. e5 g5
28. exd6+ Kxd6 29. Rxc5 gxf4) 24... b5 25. Bb3 Rc5 26. Rd5 Rxc1+ 27. Kxc1 a6 {
Svidler did the best that he could-traded one of the active white rooks, got
rid of the pins, but his position still remains clearly worse.} 28. Rd3 g5 {
Black plays for fortress.} (28... f5 $1 {[%csl Rg1][%cal Rg8g1] Diagram [#] to
exchange pawns and open files was better, for example} 29. Bd5 (29. exf5 gxf5
30. g3 h4) 29... Nb4 30. Rc3+ Kd7 31. Bb3 fxe4 32. fxe4 Re7 {with excellent
chances for a draw.}) 29. Kd2 h4 30. Rc3 Kb6 31. Rd3 Kc7 32. Ke3 f6 33. Rc3 Kb6
34. Rd3 {Karjakin does not hurry.} Kc7 35. Rc3 Kb6 36. Bd5 Ne7 37. Kd4 Rh7 38.
Be6 $1 {[%csl Rc8,Yd6,Rf5][%cal Gd4d5,Gd5d6,Re6c8,Re6f5] Diagram [#] All the
white pieces are optimally placed. The bishop took under control important
squares (c8 in particular) and opened the road for the white king. It is time
to somehow break the black fortress.} Rh8 39. a3 Rd8 {Perhaps Black should
have tried to take the open file with} (39... Ra8 40. Rc2 Ra7 41. g3 hxg3 42.
hxg3 Rc7) 40. Rc2 $1 {[%cal Gc2f2,Gf3f4] The idea is to open a second front
after Rc2-f2 and f3-f4!} Rh8 41. Rf2 Ng6 $1 {The best defense. Otherwise f3-f4
would be played but now the white king gets in.} 42. Kd5 Rd8 {With the threat
Ng6-f4xe6.} 43. Bf5 Nf4+ 44. Kd4 {Diagram [#]} Re8 $2 {This loses. The
critical line was} (44... d5 $1 45. e5 fxe5+ 46. Kxe5 d4 {It seems as Black
will soon lose this pawn and the last hope, but the position somehow holds.
For example} 47. Rd2 Kc5 48. Rc2+ Kb6 49. Be4 d3 50. Rd2 Kc5 51. g3 hxg3 52.
hxg3 Nh5 53. Bxd3 Nxg3 54. Rc2+ Kb6 {Diagram [#] A lot of pawns have been
traded and what is best, White does not have time to win the g5 one-} 55. Bg6
Rf8 {and Black should hold this.}) 45. g3 Ne6+ 46. Bxe6 $1 {Diagram [#]
Probably Svidler has spent most of his time calculating the line} (46. Kd5 hxg3
47. hxg3 Nc5 48. Kxd6 g4 $1 49. Bxg4 (49. fxg4 Rxe4 50. b4 Nb7+ 51. Kd7 $16)
49... Rxe4 50. fxe4 Nxe4+ 51. Ke6 Nxf2 52. Bf5 Kc5 {and maybe he found a draw
there, but Karjakin found a better way.} (52... b4 $5)) 46... Rxe6 47. Kd5 {
White wins a pawn which together with the active pieces secures him the win.}
Re5+ 48. Kxd6 hxg3 49. hxg3 g4 50. fxg4 Rxe4 51. Rf4 $1 {[%cal Gg4g5,Gg5g6,
Gg6g7,Gg7g8] Diagram [#] Much better than} (51. Rxf6 Rxg4 52. Ke5+ Ka5 53. Rf3
Rg8 54. Kf5 Rf8+ 55. Kg4 Rg8+ 56. Kh3 b4) 51... Re3 52. Rxf6 Rxg3 53. Ke5+ Kb7
54. Kf5 Rb3 55. g5 Rxb2 56. g6 Rg2 57. Ke6 {[%csl Yg2][%cal Ge6f7,Gg6g7,Gg7g8,
Rf6a6] Diagram [#] Followed by Ke6-f7 and wins the rook. An important detail
is that the white rooks cuts the black king along the sixth rank and Black
cannot create a dangerous passer.} 1-0

Report.

Miracles in Game Three

Those of you who have followed closely the matches from the World Cup remember how easily Svidler went through the semi-final. After a win with the black pieces in game one against Anish Giri, he simply did not let a single chance to his opponent in game two by choosing an ultra-solid opening line as White. Soon many of the pieces disappeared and the Russian GM comfortably went into the final.
Many people expected a similar scenario in game three of the final match. Svidler needed only a draw to win the event outright after the furious 2-0 start. At the beginning everything seemed fine with his strategy, although Karjakin tried to complicate matters at an early stage of the game:

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.10.03"]
[Round "57.1"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2727"]
[BlackElo "2753"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:12:32"]
[BlackClock "0:16:45"]

1. e4 c5 {In a must-win situation Karjakin probably did not even consider the
Berlin as an option.} 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 {Diagram [#] The last time
Svidler played this solid was back in 1999 against Garry Kasparov.} a6 5. c4
Nc6 6. Qe3 Nf6 7. h3 g6 8. Nc3 Bg7 9. Be2 Nd7 {[%cal Gg7a1] Diagram [#] Sooner
or later this knight will step back to open up the bishop and get to a better
position. Black can also start with the castling:} ({Relevant:} 9... O-O 10.
O-O Rb8 11. Rd1 Nd7 12. Rb1 Qb6 13. Qd2 Nde5 {as in Lagarde,M (2540)-Edouard,R
(2634) Saint Quentin 2015}) 10. Rb1 {White carefully finishes the development.}
Nde5 11. O-O O-O 12. Rd1 Nxf3+ 13. Bxf3 {Both sides achieved what they wanted-
approximate equality. However, we should not forget that Karjakin is in a
must-win situation.} f5 {The typical Accelerated Dragon counter-play.} 14. exf5
$146 {[%csl Re7][%cal Re1e7,Rd1d8] Diagram [#] And a standard reply which
appears to be a novelty. Svidler does not want to allow the f5-f4 advance. In
correspondence game another player with the white pieces did:} ({Predecessor:}
14. Nd5 e6 15. Nf4 e5 16. Ne2 f4 17. Qa3 Qg5 18. Rxd6 Bxh3 {with complications
in Szymanski,R (2372)-Chomicki,H (2229) ICCF email 2011. Karjakin definitely
would not mind these.}) 14... Bxf5 15. Be4 Qd7 16. Nd5 Qe6 17. Bxf5 Qxf5 {
Diagram [#] One more light piece disappeared. At least Black got some activity
along the half-open f file.} 18. Bd2 {Of course not} (18. Nxe7+ $4 Nxe7 19.
Qxe7 Rae8 20. Qxd6 Qxf2+ 21. Kh1 Re1+ 22. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 23. Kh2 Be5+ $19) 18...
Rae8 19. Bc3 e6 20. Nb6 d5 $1 {[%csl Yb6,Rg1] Diagram [#] The only chance to
complicate matters. Black starts an attack through the center while the white
knight is away from the main battlefield.} 21. Bxg7 Kxg7 {Third light piece
leaves the board...} 22. Qc5 ({Black is somewhat better in the endgame after}
22. cxd5 $6 exd5 23. Qc5 d4 24. Qxf5 Rxf5 25. Rd2 $15) 22... Rf6 {A risky
decision, the only real chance to play for a win! If this was an ordinary game
Karjakin would have opted for} (22... dxc4 23. Qxf5 exf5 24. Nxc4 Re7 $11 {
Diagram [#]}) 23. b4 {With the idea b4-b5. Once again the d5 pawn is poisoned
due to} (23. cxd5 exd5 24. Nxd5 Re2 25. Qb6 Qxf2+ 26. Qxf2 Rfxf2 {and the
rooks rock.}) 23... Ne5 24. cxd5 Nd3 {This was the position that Karjakin had
in mind. He will regain the pawn on f2 and open up the white king. True, in
the process his knight might get trapped, but did he have anything to lose?}
25. Qe3 ({Another way to defend is} 25. Qc7+ $5 {when Black has to choose
wisely where to go with the king. The obvious square} Kg8 $2 {is a bad choice
because of} (25... Kh8 {is better but then the line} 26. Qc3 Nxf2 ({White has
risk-free advantage in the line} 26... Qxf2+ 27. Kh1 e5 28. Qxd3 Qxb6 29. d6
$14) 27. Nd7 {is good for White.}) ({According to the computer, the best move
is} 25... Kh6 {but then White can win a tempo with a timely check against the
enemy king as in the line} 26. Qg3 Nf4 27. Qh4+ $1 {(away from the fork on e2)}
Kg7 28. dxe6 g5 29. Qg4 $11) 26. Nd7 Qxf2+ 27. Kh2 Rf7 28. Rf1 Qxf1 29. Rxf1
Rxf1 30. dxe6) 25... Nxf2 {The match situation is not about rational decisions
any more! Once again, from objective perspective best was} (25... Qxf2+ 26.
Qxf2 Nxf2 27. Re1 Nd3 28. Re3 Nf4 {Diagram [#] with a draw.}) 26. Rf1 {The
knight is trapped.} Qe4 27. Rbe1 {Svidler plays according to the position. He
had probably calculated the line which happened later in the game. A draw
could have been achieved by simple means with} (27. Qxe4 Nxe4 28. dxe6 Rfxe6
29. Nd5 Nd2 30. Nc7 $11) 27... exd5 (27... Ref8 28. Qxe4 Nxe4 29. Rxf6 Nxf6 $16
{leaves Black no hint of a chance.}) 28. Rxf2 $6 {Diagram [#] Not yet a
mistake but a huge step forward it. White could have won the knight with} (28.
Qd2 Nxh3+ 29. gxh3 Rxf1+ 30. Rxf1 {Diagram [#] when Black has chances for a
draw. But only in this game, not in the match...}) 28... Qh4 {Probably Svidler
was hoping for the nice line:} (28... Qxe3 29. Rxe3 Rxe3 30. Rxf6 Kxf6 31.
Nxd5+) 29. Qd2 $4 {[%csl Re1] Diagram [#] Unbelievable! The exhausting matches
and the final pressure came too much for Svidler. He blunders the game away.} (
{Instead} 29. Qxe8 Qxf2+ 30. Kh2 Qxb6 {would give some winning chances for
Black but should be still a draw with careful play. For example} 31. Re7+ Kh6
32. Rd7 Qxb4 33. Qg8 Qf4+ 34. Kh1 Qe5 35. Rxh7+ Kg5 36. Qd8 {followed by
Rh7-d7. Black cannot win with his king that exposed.}) 29... Rxf2 30. Qc3+ (30.
Qxf2 Rxe1+) 30... d4 {Diagram [#] Svidler resigned due to} (30... d4 31. Qc7+
Rf7) 0-1

Report.

Almost There

Peter Svidler made a huge step towards the overall win at the FIDE World Cup 2015. He was successful in the second game against Sergey Karjakin. Excellent opening preparation gave him a chance to almost effortlessly equalize and when the game was heading to the logical result...Karjakin blundered badly:

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.10.02"]
[Round "56.1"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2753"]
[BlackElo "2727"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:14:23"]
[BlackClock "0:02:37"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {Diagram [#] The Ruy Lopez was the most expected
opening in this game. It served very well Svidler so far and Karjakin would
not mind the complex, rich positions that he can get.} a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7
6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d6 9. h3 Nb8 {Diagram [#] Today's choice is the
Breyer line. Black reroutes the c6 knight to d7 and opens up the bishop on b7.
The other one may go to g7 in order to open the e file and put more pressure
on white's center. This line was a favorite one to the twelfth world champion-
Anatoly Karpov in the mid-seventies and the beginning of the 1980-ties.} 10. d4
Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. a4 Bf8 14. Bd3 c6 15. Qc2 ({Another plan is}
15. Nf1 Qc7 16. Ng3 g6 17. Bg5 {as in Dominguez Perez,L (2732)-Adams,M (2742)
Baku 2015}) 15... Rc8 16. axb5 axb5 17. b4 c5 $1 $146 {[%csl Rc2][%cal Rc8c2]
Diagram [#] "A very new interesting, sharp idea which probably solves Black's
problems" Svidler. The Russian GM revealed also that this was an idea of a
friend(s) of his which he received in a conversation through Skype. The name(s)
of the helper(s) remained a secret.} ({Previously Black had developed with}
17... Qc7 18. Bb2 Ra8 19. Rad1 Nb6 20. c4 {as in the game...Karjakin,S (2767)
-Carlsen,M (2868) Stavanger 2013. Svidler also mentioned that he lost a
similar position to his opponent before and was aware how strong Karjakin is
in these type of positions.}) 18. bxc5 {The only move to play for the
advantage. Both} (18. dxc5 dxc5 19. Bxb5 cxb4) ({And} 18. Bxb5 cxb4 {promise
White no advantage at all.} (18... cxd4)) 18... exd4 19. c6 $5 {[%csl Gc6]
[%cal Gc5c6] Diagram [#] A surprise for Svidler, who criticized himself for
the following play.} ({The main line which he analyzed was} 19. Nxd4 {when
Black should continue} b4 {and then} 20. c6 {is best and might have transposed
to the game. Instead, the obvious} (20. cxb4 $6 dxc5 21. bxc5 $2 {loses to}
Bxc5 {and White cannot escape with the d4 knight due to the discovered check
on f2.})) 19... dxc3 {Black believed this should lead to a forced draw.
Otherwise he would have gone back into the main line of his analyzes with} (
19... Bxc6 20. Nxd4 b4 {Let's go a bit further here} 21. Ba6 (21. cxb4 {is
immediately equal after} Bxe4 22. Qb3 Bxd3 23. Rxe8 Nxe8 24. Qxd3 Qb6 $11) {
Now I suspect that the main line was this-} 21... bxc3 ({Although Black may go
as well for} 21... Rc7 22. cxb4 Bxe4 (22... Bb5 $5) 23. Qd1 {The computer
claims slight advantage for White but since ,amy pawns were already traded and
the queen's flank pawns have almost disappeared completely, Black should hold.
And Black had definitely analyzed this further.}) 22. Bxc8 cxd2 23. Bxd2 Bxe4
24. Bxd7 Bxc2 25. Bxe8 Nxe8 {Diagram [#]}) 20. cxb7 ({Not} 20. cxd7 cxd2 21.
Qxd2 Nxd7 {where White has to hold.}) 20... cxd2 21. Qxd2 $1 {Diagram [#]
Clearly better than} (21. bxc8=Q dxe1=Q+ 22. Nxe1 Qxc8 23. Bxb5 Qxc2 24. Nxc2
Rxe4 {when everything disappears and the game peters out to a draw.}) 21... Rb8
22. Bxb5 Qb6 {From far away Svidler was planning} (22... Rxb7 23. Bc6 Rb6 24.
Nd4 ({But here he saw the unpleasant resource} 24. Ra8 $1 {Diagram [#] and
dismissed the line. Actually, after} Qc7 25. Rxe8 Nxe8 26. Ba4 Nef6 {the
position will be very similar to the one in the game.}) 24... Qc7 $11) 23. Rb1
Qxb7 24. Bd3 Qa8 25. Rxb8 Rxb8 26. Bb2 {Plenty of things have been traded but
Black is not yet quite there. Karjakin owes the bishop pair and the pawn on d6
might be a target, thus Svidler has to play energetically.} Qa2 $1 {[%cal
Ga2b2] Diagram [#]} 27. Re2 $1 {[%csl Gb2,Gd2,Gd3,Ge2] The best move to keep
as many pieces on the board as he can.} (27. Bd4 Qxd2 28. Nxd2 g6 {should be a
draw.}) 27... h6 {Svidler wanted to trade off everything after} (27... d5 {but
was not sure about the line} 28. e5 (28. Bxf6 Qxd2 29. Rxd2 Nxf6 30. exd5 $14 {
was fine with Black, he knew he can hold this.}) 28... Ne4 {It seems as Black
is fine indeed-} 29. Qc2 Ndc5 30. Bd4 Qxc2 31. Bxc2 Ne6 $11) 28. Qc1 {[%csl
Ya2][%cal Rb2f6] Diagram [#] Karjakin regroups and creates a simple threat in
the process Bb2xf6} Qb3 29. Bc4 Qb7 30. Qd1 {A tough position for both the
players. White has a slight edge but no real way to increase it. Black on his
turn has no safe path to the draw. On the top of that Svidler was getting low
on time.} ({Nothing gives} 30. Qf4 Qc6 {when the bishop has no good squares-}
31. Ba2 Qa6 $1 {(Svidler) Although this is a draw after} 32. Qe3 Qxa2 33. Bxf6
$11) ({An important resource for him is} 30. Bxf6 Nxf6 31. e5 Qb1 $1 $11 {
(Svidler)}) (30. e5 dxe5 31. Nxe5 Nxe5 32. Bxe5 Qb1 $11) 30... Re8 {The
pressure on the e4 pawn forces White to trade pieces.} 31. Bxf6 Nxf6 32. e5
dxe5 33. Nxe5 Re7 34. Qd4 ({Karjakin suggested the semi-waiting move} 34. g3 {
in the post-mortem, but also showed what he did not like} Nd7 35. Bd5 Qb5 36.
Bc6 Qxe5 (36... Qc5 $11 {is easier}) 37. Rxe5 Nxe5 {with a fortress.}) ({Low
on time and close to his aim Svidler saw ghosts in the lines after} 34. Qd8 Qb4
{is a third way to defend.} (34... Qc7 35. Nxf7 $1 {Diagram [#] he thought
this is winning for White but Black has the cold-blooded} Qxc4 36. Rxe7 Qc1+
37. Kh2 Qf4+ {with perpetual.}) ({And in the beautiful line that he had
calculated} 34... Qb1+ 35. Kh2 Qf5 36. Ng6 $1 {White indeed wins after the
obvious} Rxe2 ({But} 36... Re8 $1 {Diagram [#] which Svidler also saw (but was
not sure about) was a forced draw} 37. Rxe8 Nxe8 38. Qxe8 Qxg6 $11) 37. Qxf8+
Kh7 38. Bxf7 $18 {as Black has only one check (Svidler).})) 34... Nd7 35. Nxf7
{Which is OK. A more interesting attempt was} (35. Rb2 $5 {when Black has to
avoid} Qxb2 $2 ({And has to defend with} 35... Qc7 {White can still try
various things, say} 36. Bxf7+ Rxf7 37. Nxf7 Kxf7 38. Qd5+ Kg6 39. Qe4+ Kf7 40.
Rb7 Qd6 41. Qf5+ Ke8 {but Black should hold.}) 36. Bxf7+ $1 {Diagram [#]
(Svidler)}) 35... Rxf7 36. Rb2 Qc6 {The critical position of the game and
maybe the match. The game was heading towards the draw which meant that
Karjakin will have only one white color till the end to try and level the
score. He tried} 37. Rb5 $4 {[%csl Yb5][%cal Rc4f7,Rc4b5] Diagram [#] A
tragical mistake!} ({It was time to force a draw with} 37. Qd5 Qxd5 38. Bxd5 g5
39. Rb7 Ne5 $11) 37... Kh8 $1 {All of a sudden, Black wins a piece. With two
minutes on the clock Svidler almost went for the prepared drawish line after} (
37... Nf6 $11) 38. Rd5 {Makes things easier, but Black was already winning
anyway after} (38. Bxf7 Qxb5) 38... Nb6 {Diagram [#] It is over, Black wins a
whole rook.} 0-1

Report.

Svidler Takes the Lead in Baku

Peter Svidler managed to make an important step towards the overall win of the World Cup 2015. Yesterday, he was more creative and outwitted his compatriot Sergey Karjakin to take an early lead in their match of four games:

[Event "FIDE World Chess Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.10.01"]
[Round "55.1"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2727"]
[BlackElo "2753"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:22:20"]
[BlackClock "0:02:14"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. d3 O-O {Diagram [#]} (5... c5 6. e4
$5 Nc6 7. Qe2 O-O 8. e5 Nd7 9. c4 d4 10. h4 $5 {Svidler,P (2758)-Karjakin,S
(2766) Khanty-Mansiysk 2014 CBM 160}) 6. Nbd2 c5 7. e4 Nc6 8. Re1 b5 9. exd5 {
Diagram [#]} ({The two players have also discussed the positions arising after:
} 9. e5 Nd7 10. Nf1 b4 (10... Bb7 11. h4 Qc7 12. Bf4 Rfc8 13. Ne3 Qd8 14. Ng4
Bf8 15. c4 Ne7 16. b3 Bc6 17. h5 h6 18. Ne3 Nb6 19. Qe2 bxc4 20. dxc4 dxc4 21.
bxc4 Na4 22. Qc2 Rab8 23. Reb1 Qa5 24. Rb3 Nb6 25. Qe2 Nd7 26. Rab1 Qc7 27. g4
Be4 28. Rxb8 Rxb8 29. Rxb8 Qxb8 30. Nf1 Bc6 {1/2-1/2 (30) Karjakin,S (2753)
-Dominguez Perez,L (2734) Khanty-Mansiysk 2015}) 11. h4 a5 12. Bf4 a4 13. a3
bxa3 14. bxa3 Ba6 15. Ne3 Rb8 16. c4 dxc4 17. Nxc4 Nb6 18. Nd6 Nd5 19. Qxa4 Rb6
20. Rac1 Nxf4 21. Qxf4 Nxe5 22. Nxe5 Bxd6 23. Qe3 Rb3 24. a4 Qc7 25. Nc4 Be7
26. Ne5 Bd6 27. Nc4 Be7 28. Ne5 {1/2 (28) Svidler,P (2756)-Karjakin,S (2772)
Loo RUS 2014}) 9... Nxd5 {A slight surprise.} ({"Generally, Sergey takes"} 9...
exd5 {"which is fine for Black." Obviously Svidler put his efforts in the
study of that line.}) 10. Ne4 ({"I suppose I should play"} 10. a4 {Diagram [#]}
b4 11. Nc4 {"But then Black simply develops with Qd8-c7, Bc8-b7, Ra8-d8 and I
am not sure what is my plan." Svidler}) 10... Bb7 11. c3 $146 {Diagram [#]} ({
Predecessor saw:} 11. Bd2 Qc7 12. c4 bxc4 13. dxc4 Ndb4 14. Bc3 {Grossmann,S
(1886)-Lindenberg,G (1889) Greifswald 2003}) (11. Bg5 f6 12. Bd2 e5) 11... a6 (
{Svidler suggested instead} 11... h6 {[%csl Rf7,Yg5][%cal Rf7e6] Diagram [#]
to rule out Bc1-g5 and to keep the pawn on f7 thus depriving White of targets.
After the possible} 12. d4 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 {he explained that
without the dark-squared bishops on the board his position would be better,
but since it is still alive he would rather prefer to have the black pieces.})
12. a4 {Before White does anything he wants to weaken the black queenside.} ({
White considered teh curious idea} 12. Bg5 f6 13. Bc1 $5 {Not to obstruct the
queen in its support for the d3-d4 break. However, he could not convince
himself that he is better in the line} e5 ({Some preparatory move like} 13...
Qd7 $5 $11 {Diagram [#] though looks good for Black. He can bring his rooks
first on d8 and e8 and play e6-e5 later.}) 14. d4 cxd4 ({Another option for
Black is} 14... exd4 $5 15. cxd4 c4 {with good position.}) 15. cxd4 f5 16. Nc5
Bxc5 17. dxc5 e4 {However, in the final position White has the strong} 18. Ng5
{and if} Qd7 19. f3 $1 {to break open his bishops with advantage.}) 12... b4 {
This is not forced at all. A reasonable alternative was} (12... h6 {followed
by Qd8-c7 with equality.}) 13. Bg5 f6 14. Bd2 e5 15. Rc1 {[%csl Rc5][%cal
Rc1c5] Diagram [#] For a moment White felt optimistic as he has targets on the
queenside.} Rf7 {Svidler suggested as a better defense the move} (15... Rc8 $1
{With the idea to take control of the c5 square. The point becomes obvious in
the line} 16. d4 ({Probably Karjakin was afraid of the move} 16. Bh3 {and after
} f5 {Either} {Or} 17. Neg5 (17. Nfg5 {However, if he is careful with} Qd7 $1 {
he should be fine. The main thing Black needs to avoid is greediness after} (
17... fxe4 $2 18. Be6+ Kh8 19. Nxh7 $1 {[%csl Yh8] Diagram [#] A typical trick
as} Kxh7 20. Qh5#)) 17... Qd6 {but in both cases Black holds.}) 16... cxd4 17.
cxd4 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 exd4 {and in comparison to the game c5 is under control.})
16. d4 $1 {White got the initiative and what followed next was connected with
oversight by Black.} bxc3 17. bxc3 cxd4 18. cxd4 {Diagram [#]} Nxd4 $2 {
Svidler did not mention this but that move might be the worst mistake Karjakin
did today. The fact that these two knights were traded was very favourable for
White who made excellent use of his fianchettoed bishop.} (18... exd4 $1 {
Instead was more tenacious. White still keeps an edge but he has to play first
of all very energetically with} 19. Qb3 Rb8 20. Nfg5 $1 fxg5 21. Nc5 Ncb4 22.
Nxb7 Rxb7 23. Bxb4 Rxb4 24. Qxd5 Rb8 25. Qc4 {And then it is not yet clear of
the opposite bishop position after} d3 $1 {[%cal Rd3d2] Diagram [#]} 26. Bd5 (
26. Rcd1 d2 27. Re2 Rb1 28. Rxb1 d1=Q+ 29. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 30. Bf1 Qd6 {is also
better for White but maybe hold able.}) 26... d2 27. Bxf7+ Kh8 28. Qxa6 Bc5 $5
$16 {is actually won for White.}) 19. Nxd4 exd4 20. Qb3 ({Karjakin only
expected} 20. Nc5 Bxc5 21. Rxc5 Nc3 {with massive liquidations and a draw after
} 22. Bxc3 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 dxc3 $11) 20... Rb8 $6 {Objectively, a mistake. From
far away Karjakin considered this a good move and good position for him, but
White's next reply clarifies the situation.} ({Better was} 20... Qd7 $1 {
Diagram [#] although after} 21. Rc4 {White is clearly better. For example} f5
22. Ng5 Bxg5 23. Bxg5 Nf6 $1 {to break the pin at once} 24. Bxb7 Qxb7 25. Qxb7
Rxb7 26. Bxf6 gxf6 27. Rxd4 $16 {Although White keeps winning chances Black
has hopes to hold this endgame.}) 21. Rb1 $1 {[%csl Yb7,Rb8,Yd5,Rg8][%cal
Rb1b8,Rg2a8,Ra2g8] Diagram [#] This pin is more than annoying.} Qd7 (21... Rf8
22. Bf4 $1 {reveals one point behind the pin.}) 22. Rec1 ({Worse is the greedy
} 22. Ng5 fxg5 23. Bxd5 Bxd5 24. Qxb8+ Rf8 {[%csl Gd5,Yg1] Diagram [#] with
huge compensation for a pawn (Svidler).}) 22... Qe6 {The last mistake
according to White. Svidler was afraid of the move} (22... h6 {Diagram [#]
when he could not see a clear win. True, after} 23. Nc5 ({Or} 23. Rc4 {which
would practically lead to the same after} f5 24. Nc5 ({As} 24. Rxd4 fxe4 25.
Bxe4 Bc5 {is good only for Black.}) 24... Bxc5 25. Rxc5 Nc3) 23... Bxc5 24.
Rxc5 ({Once again White should avoid capturing the exchange} 24. Bxd5 $2 Bxd5
25. Qxb8+ Rf8 {with a win for Black actually!}) 24... Nc3 25. Bxc3 dxc3 {
Diagram [#] Now Svidler considered two winning attempts:} {White can take the
exchange} 26. Bd5 ({The quiet} 26. Rxc3 {when Black is completely tied up but
it is not that easy to pick up the black bishop as Black is always threatening
to move away his rook with a tempo, or sacrifice the exchange:} Kh7 {If White
tries to triple his pieces along the b file there is} 27. Qc2+ (27. Qb2 Bxg2 ({
Or even the preparatory} 27... Re7 28. Rb3 Bxg2 29. Rxb8 Be4 (29... Qh3 $5 {
looks good too.})) 28. Qxb8 Be4 {and White still has to prove his win.}) 27...
f5 28. Rcb3 $2 Rc8 $1 $11) 26... Bxd5 27. Qxb8+ Rf8 (27... Kh7 28. Rd1) 28. Qc7
{And Black can still fight} (28. Qf4 $1 {is best with decent winning chances.})
28... Qe6 {In all these lines White is close to winning but there is still
plenty of play going on.} ({But Karjakin has to avoid E. Miroshnichenko's
discovery} 28... Qf5 $2 29. Rb7 $1)) 23. Nc5 Bxc5 24. Rxc5 Rd8 25. Ba5 $1 {
Diagram [#]} Rd6 ({In case of} 25... Rdd7 {Svidler saw the beautiful win after}
26. Re1 Qf5 ({But he was not so sure about the line} 26... Qd6 {when he had to
find an even more stunning win} 27. Bb4 $3 {[%csl Gb4] Diagram [#] when Black
is doomed, since} Nxb4 28. Re8+ {loses the queen to start with.}) 27. Qxb7 Rxb7
28. Re8+ Rf8 29. Bxd5+) 26. Qc4 {White is completely dominating and Rb1xb7 is
a deadly threat. Unstoppable.} Nc3 27. Rxb7 ({Svidler saw another win} 27. Qxe6
Rxe6 28. Bxc3 Bxg2 29. Rc8+ Rf8 30. Rxf8+ Kxf8 31. Bb4+ Kf7 32. Kxg2 Rb6 33.
Rb2 $18) 27... Qe1+ 28. Bf1 Ne2+ 29. Qxe2 {Diagram [#]} 1-0

Report.

A Win in the Last Round

The last round of the Russian Super Final saw no huge surprises. Evgeny Tomashevsky comfortably drew his game with the white pieces against Peter Svidler and this proved enough for a clear first place as his nearest riva, Sergey Karjakin could not win as black against D. Jakovenko.
The already former Russian champion Igor Lysyj managed to score his only win in the event:

[Event "Russian Championship Superfinal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.08.20"]
[Round "11.1"]
[White "Lysyj, Igor"]
[Black "Artemiev, Vladislav"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2673"]
[BlackElo "2671"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:17:56"]
[BlackClock "0:24:31"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 Be6 {Diagram [#]
"An obvious idea. Somehow nobody had played like that and I did not seriously
analyze it." Lysyj} 7. Qa4+ $6 {Now Artemiev's opening play will be pure
success and he will get a chance to fight for the bronze medal.} ({White can
also consider grabbing a pawn with} 7. Qb5+ {and I suspect that this is the
way that White should fight for the advantage. One example} Bd7 8. Qxb7 Nc6 9.
Qb3 O-O {although Black has compensation thanks to his better development,
Agdestein,S (2637)-Lei,T (2450) Warsaw 2014}) 7... Bd7 8. Qc2 $146 {[%csl Yc2]
Diagram [#]} ({In all three predecessors White continued} 8. Qb3 {but had
horrible results.}) (8. Qa3 $5 {might be an option although it is evident that
White has less than nothing out of the opening.}) 8... c5 9. d5 ({Black is at
least equal after} 9. dxc5 Na6 10. e4 Nxc5) 9... O-O 10. e4 e6 11. Be2 exd5 12.
exd5 {Lysyj made an interesting parallel with the line of the English opening,
in which White has much better version of this line with his queen on d1 and
the black bishop on c8 instead of d7.} Na6 13. Bg5 {From far away Lysyj
thought that he could castle but here he realized that} (13. O-O {is strongly
met with} Nb4 14. Qb3 {[%csl Yb3] Diagram [#]} Nfxd5 $1 15. Nxd5 Be6 $17) 13...
Bf5 14. Qb3 Nb4 15. O-O h6 ({Once again Artemiev could have won a pawn after}
15... Nbxd5 16. Nxd5 Qxd5 17. Bc4 Qc6 18. Rfe1 {Diagram [#] and although White
has some compensation for it, it is hardly sufficient.}) 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Rac1
{White can be happy for not losing the pawn but it is still his opponent who
is calling the shots.} a6 ({Black has plenty of choice, e.g} 17... Nd3 18. Bxd3
Bxd3 19. Rfe1 c4 {looks tempting.} 20. Qxb7 Rfb8 21. Qc7 Rxb2 {to open up the
bishops.}) 18. Rfd1 b5 19. Ne1 {Lysyj believed his opponent missed this
resource. Now the knight on b4 is in danger.} Rfe8 $2 ({The easiest way to
save the knight was} 19... Qe7 {Diagram [#]} 20. a3 Bxc3 21. bxc3 Nxd5 22. Qxd5
Qxe2 23. Qxc5 Rfd8 {with advantage to Black.}) 20. a3 Bf8 ({Artemiev suggested
after the game} 20... Na2 $5 21. Qxa2 b4 {Indeed, in the complication after}
22. axb4 cxb4 23. Nf3 bxc3 24. bxc3 Be4 {Black has compensation for the pawn.})
21. Rd2 $1 {[%csl Yb4] Diagram [#] Now the knight remains in trouble and Black
has to demonstrate resourcefulness.} ({But not} 21. axb4 $6 cxb4 22. Bf3 bxc3
23. Qxc3 Qxc3 24. bxc3 Ba3 {with clear edge in the endgame.}) 21... Nd3 22.
Nxd3 c4 23. Qd1 cxd3 24. Bxd3 {Black did everything he could, but lost a pawn
in the process.} Bd6 ({Perhaps Black's best chance was to at least keep the
bishop pair on board after} 24... Bd7) 25. g3 Re5 26. Bxf5 Qxf5 27. Kg2 {[%csl
Rc5,Rc6,Gd5] Diagram [#] "I understood that the situation of the pawn on b5
will make it much easier for me to convert the extra pawn" Lysyj. The c6 and
c5 squares in particular are of paramount importance for White.} Rae8 28. Qf3
Qd7 29. h4 Qb7 (29... h5 $5) 30. Re2 $1 {[%csl Gd5,Ye2,Ye5] Diagram [#] The
rook swap makes it easier to White to co-ordinate his forces as the d5 pawn is
no longer a huge target.} Rxe2 31. Nxe2 Be5 32. b4 Rd8 33. Rd1 $1 {The correct
set up. The rook is placed behind the passer and next the knight goes to the
wonderful outpost on c5.} (33. Rc6 Qd7 {complicates matters} 34. Rxa6 Qxd5 35.
Qxd5 Rxd5 36. Ra5 Bf6 {as in the R+B versus R+N endgame the latter usually has
the advantage over the former combination and in many cases they manage to
compensate for the extra pawn.}) 33... h5 34. Nc1 {[%csl Gc5][%cal Gc1b3,Gb3c5]
Diagram [#]} Rd6 35. Nb3 Rf6 36. Qe4 Bd6 37. Qe8+ Kg7 38. Nc5 {In addition to
the extra pawn White added more active pieces. All of them are optimally
placed to help the pawn go forward.} Qa7 39. Ne4 Rf5 40. Qc6 Bc7 41. d6 Bd8 42.
d7 a5 43. Rd5 axb4 44. axb4 Qa2 45. Rxf5 gxf5 46. Qc3+ Kg6 47. Nc5 Qd5+ 48. Qf3
Qd6 49. Qa8 Qb6 ({White wins everything in the line} 49... Bb6 50. Qg8+ Kf6 51.
Qg5+ Ke5 52. Qxh5 Bxc5 53. Qh8+) 50. Qd5 {Diagram [#] Vladislav Artemiev could
not make it to the medals but proved that has bright future, while the already
former Russian champion Igor Lysyj won his first game at the end of the event.}
1-0

Report.

Karjakin with an Important Win

Round nine of the Russian Super Final saw Sergey Karjakin scoring an important win in the battle for the medals.

[Event "Russian Championship Superfinal"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.08.18"]
[Round "9.4"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2753"]
[BlackElo "2739"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:29:02"]
[BlackClock "0:37:58"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 {The forced
nature of the Arkhangelsk line makes it preferrable option at top level.} 7. c3
d6 8. a4 Rb8 9. d4 Bb6 10. axb5 axb5 11. Na3 O-O 12. Nxb5 Bg4 13. d5 ({Giri
opted instead for slight and lasting advantage after} 13. Bc2 exd4 14. cxd4 d5
15. e5 Ne4 16. Ra3 f6 17. exf6 Qxf6 18. Nc3 Bxf3 19. gxf3 Nxc3 20. bxc3 Qxf3
21. Qxf3 Rxf3 22. Kg2 {Giri,A (2773)-Nakamura,H (2802) Stavanger 2015}) 13...
Ne7 14. Bc2 Qd7 {[%cal Rd7h3] Diagram [#] "I got a little bit upset that he
played like that as I believe that Black equalizes after that" Karjakin.} 15.
c4 Ng6 16. h3 {This practically forces Black to sacrifice a piece.} ({Worse is
} 16. Qd3 Nh5) 16... Bxh3 (16... Bh5 17. Qd3 {proveides no compensation
whatsoever for the pawn.}) 17. gxh3 Qxh3 18. Ng5 Qg3+ 19. Kh1 Qh4+ 20. Kg2 Nf4+
{[%csl Gf4] Diagram [#] Better than} (20... h6 21. Nh3 Nxe4 22. Qe2 f5 23. Ra3
{with advantage for White as proven in the game Karjakin,S (2672)-Radjabov,T
(2729) Cap d'Agde 2006}) 21. Bxf4 exf4 22. Nf3 Qg4+ 23. Kh1 {For the piece
Black will get soon a second pawn and will enjoy attacking possibilities.} Rfe8
24. Ra3 {A very important move in White's set-up without which he would be
simply worse.} Nxe4 25. Bxe4 Rxe4 26. Rc3 {Diagram [#]} Ba5 {A somewhat
misterious bishop move.} ({Perhaps Black should just go into an endgame with}
26... Qh5+ 27. Nh2 Qxd1 28. Rxd1 Bxf2 {where his pawns might become quite
dangerous as well.}) (26... Rbe8 $5 {deserves serious attention too. Karjakin
considered the position as approximately equal.}) 27. Rc1 $146 {Diagram [#]} ({
The only predecessor saw:} 27. Rc2 Rbe8 ({But Karkjakin was afraid of the
cunning} 27... Be1 $5 {which separates the white heavy pieces and might be
quite annoying. Obviously, the bishop is untouchable} 28. Rxe1 $4 (28. Nxe1 $4
Qxd1) 28... Rxe1+ 29. Qxe1 Qxf3+ 30. Kg1 Qg4+ 31. Kf1 Qh3+ 32. Kg1 f3 $19) 28.
Nh2 Qh3 29. Qf3 Qh6 30. b4 {with advantage for White in Lopez Martinez,J (2550)
-Bellia,F (2405) San Sebastian 2008}) 27... Rbe8 28. Nh2 Qh4 29. Nd4 $1 {[%csl
Gd4][%cal Gh2f3,Gd4f3] Diagram [#] After this move it becomes evident that
Black misses his bishop on the a7-g1 diagonal. The knights cement White's
position and provide time to consolidate the position.} h5 ({There is no
counterattack after} 29... Re1 $2 30. Qa4 Qxf2 31. Qxe8+ $1 {[%csl Yf2][%cal
Rf1f2] Diagram [#] (Karjakin)}) ({But maybe Svidler should have sent the
bishop back to where it belonged} 29... Bb6 30. Ndf3 Qe7 31. b4 Re2 $16) 30.
Qd3 {Better than} (30. Qa4 Bb6 {when the trick} 31. Ne6 $2 {does not work due
to} Rb8 32. Qc2 f3 $1 33. Ng5 Qxg5 {with mate threat which prevents White from
snatching the rook (Karjakin).}) 30... Qf6 {Svidler could have brought the
bishop back again} (30... Bb6 {to which White intended to continue with} 31.
Ndf3 (31. Ne6 $2 f3 $1) 31... Qe7 32. b4 {with advantage. For example} Re2 33.
Rc2 Rxc2 34. Qxc2 Qe2 35. Qf5 Bxf2 (35... g6 36. Qxf4 Re4 37. Qf6 $16) 36. Ng5
Bg3 37. Qxf7+ Kh8 38. Ngf3 $1 $16 ({A funny line is} 38. Nhf3 Qxf1+ 39. Ng1
Qxg1+ (39... Qd1 $4 40. Qxe8#) (39... Qe1 40. Qxh5+ Kg8 41. Qf7+) 40. Kxg1 {
[%csl Yg1] Diagram [#]} Re1+ 41. Kg2 Re2+ $11 {with study-like perpetual.}))
31. Nc6 Bb6 32. b4 f3 {The last attempt for counter-play which White
mercilessly refutes.} 33. Qxf3 Rf4 34. Qc3 ({But not} 34. Qxh5 $2 Rh4 {when
the threat Qf6-f4 will force White to part with his queen.}) 34... Qxc3 35.
Rxc3 Bxf2 36. Rf3 $1 {[%csl Rf4][%cal Gc4c5,Gb4b5] Diagram [#] Trades one of
the active rooks and the remaining one is neither capable of creating of its
own, nor good enough to stop the white passers.} (36. c5 {was also playable
though} Re2 37. cxd6 cxd6 38. Rf3 Rxf3 39. Nxf3 $16 {(Karjakin)}) 36... Rxf3
37. Nxf3 Re2 38. Ng5 $1 {The white horses made good job today.} f6 ({The
knight cannot be trapped after} 38... Bh4 39. Nxf7 Re8 40. Rf4 Bf6 41. Nh6+ {
(Karjakin)}) 39. Ne6 h4 ({Or} 39... g5 40. Nxc7 g4 41. Ne8 g3 42. Nxf6+ Kf7 43.
Nxh5 {and White is just in time (Karjakin).}) 40. Nxc7 Bg3 {Black last chance
was} (40... h3 {when if White is not careful things might end in perpetual.
Svidler however saw the following study} 41. Rxf2 $1 ({For example} 41. b5 {is
only a draw after} Bg3 42. b6 Rh2+ 43. Kg1 Rg2+ 44. Kh1 Rh2+ $11) 41... Rxf2
42. b5 Rb2 43. c5 $1 {[%cal Gd5d6,Gb5b6,Gb6b7,Gd6d7,Gd7d8,Gb7b8] Diagram [#]}
dxc5 44. d6 Rd2 45. Nd5 $1 Kf7 46. b6 Rxd5 47. b7 Rd1+ 48. Kh2 Rb1 49. d7 $18)
41. Ne6 Rc2 ({Now on} 41... h3 {the simplest is} 42. Nf4 Rh2+ 43. Kg1 g5 44.
Nxh3 Rxh3 45. Kg2 g4 46. Rxf6 {Diagram [#] and Black is completely stuck.}) 42.
b5 {Sergey Karjakin will play tomorrow decisive game with the white pieces
against the tournament leader Evgeny Tomashevsky.} (42. b5 Kf7 43. b6 Rb2 44.
b7 $18) 1-0

Svidler and the Bluff

The last round of the Khanty-Mansiysk Grand Prix defined the winners of the event. But perhaps the most interesting game was the one between Peter Svidler and Baadur Jobava. Especially the comments of teh Russian GM:

[Event "FIDE Grand Prix - Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.05.26"]
[Round "11.5"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Jobava, Baadur"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2734"]
[BlackElo "2699"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "131"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:21:34"]
[BlackClock "0:29:09"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 {Jobava switched back to the Rubinstein French.}
4. Nxe4 Bd7 5. Nf3 Bc6 6. Bd3 Nd7 7. Qe2 Be7 8. Neg5 {[%csl Ye6,Yf7,Yh7]
Diagram [#] This move is connected with a blunder as Svidler explained at the
press-conference. One of the key ideas for White in these set-ups to sacrifice
the knight on either e6 or f7. Svidler saw that in the line} (8. c4 {(to get
control of the d5 square)} Ngf6 9. Neg5 h6 10. Nxe6 fxe6 11. Bg6+ Kf8 12. Qxe6
{Black does not have the move Bc6-d5, but has anotehr way to save himself} Bb4+
{followed by Qd8-e7 and wins.}) 8... Bxg5 {But while thinking, the Russian GM
realized that in the line} (8... h6 $1 9. Nxe6 ({He also desperately considered
} 9. Qxe6 hxg5 10. Nxg5 Nh6 11. Bg6 {which however is refuted by the simple}
O-O) ({Therefore, he should have opted for the sad} 9. Ne4 {and as he mocked
himself after the game "I would sit here and explain to you how important is
to have the b1-h5 diagonal weakend and how deep my idea is to deliver
checkmate later". Svidler is an amazing annotator!}) (9. Nh3 {is horrible
after} g5) 9... fxe6 10. Bg6+ Kf8 11. Qxe6 {Black for some reason still has
the move} Bb4+ {:)}) 9. Nxg5 h6 $146 ({Previosly only} 9... Ngf6 10. c4 O-O 11.
O-O {has been played in Fluvia Poyatos,J (2450)-Lopez Martinez,J (2440) Spain
2004}) 10. Nf3 ({Bad is} 10. Qh5 Qe7 11. O-O Ngf6 12. Qh3 O-O-O 13. Nf3 g5 {
with pleasant attack for Black (Svidler).}) 10... Qf6 11. Ne5 $5 {[%csl Rg2]
Diagram [#] The only way to fight for the advantage. Black is very comfortable
after} (11. Be4 Bxe4 12. Qxe4 O-O-O $11) 11... Nxe5 ({White has ample
compensation for a pawn after} 11... Bxg2 12. Rg1 Bc6 13. Bd2) 12. Qxe5 ({
White did not like} 12. dxe5 Qh4 {[%cal Gg8e7,Ge7f5] with the idea Ng8-e7-f5
and very nice position for Black.}) 12... O-O-O {Jobava plays for more than
equality which he has after} (12... Qxe5+ 13. dxe5 Ne7 $11 {[%csl Gd5,Gf5]
Diagram [#]}) 13. Be3 Qe7 $6 {Again the trade of the queens is objectively best
} (13... Qxe5 14. dxe5 Ne7 $11) 14. O-O-O Nf6 15. f3 $14 {Now the bishop pair
provides some advantage to White.} g5 ({Black cannot equalize with} 15... Nd5
16. Bd2 Nb4 17. Bxb4 Qxb4 18. Qxg7 $16 {(Svidler)}) 16. c4 b6 17. Bd2 ({Some
more preparation was possible} 17. Rhe1 Nd7 18. Qg3 f5 19. Qf2 f4 20. Bd2 Nc5
21. Bc2 {with advantage for White (Svidler)}) 17... Nh5 {[%csl Yg5,Rh5,Yh6]
Diagram [#] The problem for Black is that he has to sit and wait while his
opponent is preparing the central break d4-d5.} 18. d5 f6 19. Qe2 {White's
advantage grew and Jobava tries to muddy the waters with} Ba4 20. b3 Bd7 ({The
piece sacrifice} 20... Qa3+ 21. Kb1 Bxb3 {fails to} 22. Bc1 $1 Bxd1 23. Qxe6+ {
(Svidler, Jobava).}) 21. g4 Ng7 {Now the knight is stranded. Svidler believed
that Black should have sacrificed a pawn instead} (21... Nf4 22. Bxf4 gxf4 23.
dxe6 Bxe6 24. Qe4 Kb8 25. Qxf4 a5 {with chancesto survive.}) 22. Kb1 ({Better
is} 22. Bc3 Kb8 23. h4 {with pressure on the dark squares. White will very
much like to conduct the play on the color of the bishop that the opponent
does not have.}) 22... h5 {Generates useful pressure along the h file.} 23. h3
Qf7 24. Bc3 Kb8 25. Be4 (25. Qb2 $5) 25... Bc8 26. Rhe1 {Diagram [#]} ({In
case of} 26. Qb2 {White did not like} Ne8 (26... e5 27. b4 Bb7 28. Qb3 {
followed by c4-c5 is excellent for White.}) 27. dxe6 Rxd1+ 28. Rxd1 Qxe6 29.
Rd8 $6 (29. Bd5 {keeps an edge for White instead.}) 29... hxg4 $1 30. hxg4 $2
Rh1+ {and wins.}) 26... hxg4 27. hxg4 Bb7 28. dxe6 Bxe4+ 29. Qxe4 Rxd1+ 30.
Rxd1 Nxe6 31. Qf5 {Black managed to trade one of the bishops, but his brother
still dominates the knight. Badly.} Rh6 ({Jobava saw the line} 31... Rf8 32.
Re1 Ng7 33. Qh7 $1 {[%cal Gf3f4,Gg4g5] followed by f3-f4 and g4-g5!}) 32. Rd2
Qg6 33. Qxg6 Rxg6 {[%csl Yf6][%cal Gd2d5,Gd5f5,Gf5f6] Diagram [#] In order to
relieve the pressure Black has to exchange the queens, but now he inevitably
loses the pawn on f6.} 34. Rd5 Rh6 35. Rf5 Rh1+ 36. Kb2 Rh2+ 37. Kb1 Rh1+ 38.
Kb2 Rh2+ 39. Ka3 a5 (39... Rf2 {would be similar to the game} 40. Bxf6 {This
is better than} (40. Rxf6 Nf4 41. Rf8+ Kb7 42. Bf6 Nd3 43. Bxg5 a5 44. Rd8 Rxf3
) 40... a5 $16) 40. Rxf6 Re2 41. Rf5 Rf2 42. Re5 Nf4 ({Worse is} 42... Rxf3 43.
Bxa5 $1 bxa5 44. Rxe6 Rf4 45. Re5 {where the three connected pawns easily
prevail.}) 43. Rxg5 Rxf3 44. Kb2 ({In case of} 44. Bd4 Nd3 45. Rg8+ Kb7 46. g5
{Jobava suggested} Rg3 (46... c5 $5 {Svidler}) 47. g6 Rg2 {when Black indeed
has a lot of counterplay after} 48. g7 Nb4 {Mate is threatened!} 49. Bb2 {and
here instead of the Georgian's sugegstion} Nc2+ ({Black can do} 49... c6 $1 {
[%csl Ya3][%cal Rb6b5,Rb4c2] Diagram [#]} 50. Rf8 b5 {when White has to find
the draw} 51. Rf7+ (51. cxb5 $2 {loses after} cxb5 52. Rf7+ Kc6 53. Rf6+ Kd7
54. Rf7+ Kd6 55. Rf6+ Ke7) (51. g8=Q $4 Nc2#) 51... Ka6 52. cxb5+ cxb5 53. Rc7
$11) 50. Ka4 Nd4) ({Svidler also considered the amusing} 44. Bxa5 bxa5 45. Rf5
{but quickly figured it a draw after} Kb7 46. g5 Rg3 47. Rxf4 Rxg5 $11) 44...
Nd3+ 45. Kc2 Nb4+ 46. Bxb4 axb4 47. Rf5 Rg3 48. g5 {The rook endgame is very
unplesant for Black. The passer on g5 is extremely good. But as we know "all
rook endgames are draw", are not they?} Kc8 $1 {Black cannot hold with the
rook only, he needs to bring on all the reserves.} (48... Rg2+ 49. Kd3 Rxa2 50.
Ke4 Re2+ 51. Kf4 $1 {followed by Re5-e3 wins for White.}) 49. Kd2 Kd7 50. Ke2
Ke6 51. Rb5 Rg2+ 52. Kf3 Rxa2 53. Rxb4 Ra1 $6 {Diagram [#] Up to now Black had
defended very well, but this is a serious step in the wrong direction.} ({
Jobava should have activated the rook as soon as possible} 53... Rd2 $1 54. Rb5
Rd4 {with reasonable drawing chances.}) 54. Rb5 Kf7 55. Ke4 Rd1 $6 {Another
inaccurucy. Better was} (55... Re1+ 56. Kd5 (56. Kd4 Rd1+ 57. Ke5 Re1+) 56...
Re6 $1 57. Kd4 c5+ 58. Kd5 Ke7 {and Black should hold.}) 56. b4 Re1+ 57. Kd5
Re6 58. Kd4 {Without the c7-c5 resourse Black is in trouble.} Re1 59. c5 Rd1+
60. Ke4 Re1+ 61. Kd5 $1 Re6 62. Kd4 $1 {Diagram [#] Zugzwang!} Rg6 (62... Ke7
63. cxb6 cxb6 64. Re5) (62... Kg6 63. cxb6 cxb6 64. Re5 Rd6+ 65. Kc4) 63. cxb6
cxb6 64. Re5 Rc6 65. Kd5 Rc1 66. Kd6 {The b6 pawn drops and tehnblack king can
do nothing to stop the b4 one.} ({The official recording says that White
played here} 66. Ke4 {but is not likely to be the truth. Probably the king was
placed on e4 at the moment of Black's resignation.}) 1-0

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