Anand and the Exchange Sacrifice

In Stavanger there are no boring games. Even the draws are agreed after complete and thorough battle:

[Event "Norway Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.06.17"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2773"]
[BlackElo "2804"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:46:51"]
[BlackClock "0:53:05"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 {Diagram [#] Despite
his convincing blitz win in the Italian game, Giri decided to choose the quiet
Reti.} c5 7. Bb2 Nc6 8. e3 b6 9. Nc3 Ba6 {The second main move in the position
but one that scores better than its "bigger brother". Black usually chooses} (
9... Bb7 10. cxd5 Nxd5 (10... exd5 {is also possible}) 11. Nxd5 Qxd5 12. d4)
10. Qe2 {This is also the second main line. White usually chooses} (10. d3 Rc8
11. Qe2 {For example} Qc7 12. Ne1 (12. Rac1 {Paunovic,D (2506)-Sanchez Juncal,
B (2206) Mondariz 2006}) 12... Qd7 13. Nc2 Nb4 14. e4 {with complex play,
Eljanov,P (2702)-Roiz,M (2617) Legnica 2013}) 10... Qd7 {Diagram [#] Anand
proceeds easily with his development and connects the rooks. We can see the
point behind the Ba6 move- White cannot trade on d5 easily and modify the pawn
structure in his favor by creating hanging pawns in the black camp later.} 11.
Rfd1 Rac8 12. Nb5 {Prepares the d2-d4 advance.} Rfd8 13. Rac1 {But here the
Dutch GM prolonged the preparation one move too many. In case of} (13. d4 {
Anand planned} cxd4 14. exd4 Qe8 {This was a better try for White's advantage
though, say after} 15. Ne5) 13... dxc4 {Anand seizes his chance to occupy the
outpost on d3.} 14. bxc4 Qd3 15. Qxd3 $146 {Diagram [#] The novelty.} ({The
only predecessor saw:} 15. Bf1 {which should hardly yield White any advantage-}
Qxe2 16. Bxe2 Ne8 (16... Bb7 $5 $11) 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. Bxe5 Rd7 (18... Bb7 $5)
19. a4 Rcd8 20. d3 {McNab,C (2420)-Thomson,C (2260) Edinburgh 1985}) 15... Rxd3
16. Bf1 ({At first Giri intended} 16. Ne5 {but then he realized that there is
not enough time to kick the rook back from it's active position} Nxe5 17. Bxe5
Rcd8 18. Rc2 Bxb5 19. cxb5 Nd5 20. Bf1 Ra3 {and "this is not very good" (Giri).
}) ({Perhaps White can fight for an advantage with} 16. a4 {as now} Rcd8 $2 {
loses material to} ({Also bad is} 16... Nb4 $6 17. Ne5 $16) 17. Ne1 Rxd2 18.
Rxd2 Rxd2 19. Bc3 $18) 16... Rd7 17. d4 Rcd8 $11 {[%csl Yd4] Diagram [#] Black
comfortably levelled the chances.} 18. a4 Bb7 $5 {An interesting approach by
the Indian GM. Instead of waiting passively he sacrifices the exchange for a
pawn and queenside passers.} ({Both} 18... Ne4 19. d5 Bf6 20. Bxf6 gxf6 $1 21.
Nd2 Nxd2 22. Rxd2 Ne5 $11) ({And even simpler} 18... cxd4 19. exd4 Ne4 {with
the idea Be7-f6 seemed perfectly comfortable for Black.}) 19. d5 exd5 ({Of
course not} 19... Nb4 $2 20. Ne5) 20. Bh3 dxc4 21. Bxd7 Nxd7 22. Nd6 Ba6 23.
Nxc4 f6 $1 {[%csl Yb2,Rf6,Rg7] Diagram [#] The point behind Anand's sacrifice.
He kills the bishop on b2 and intends to slowly advance on the queenside.} 24.
Rd2 {Giri self-criticized himself upon that move and suggested instead} (24. e4
$5 Bxc4 25. Rxc4 a6 26. Rc2 b5 27. axb5 axb5 {when in comparison to the game
he has an extra move e3-e4 and possibility to maneuver with his knight via the
d2 square. Indeed, here} 28. Nh4 {looks good for White with the idea} g6 29.
Rcd2 Nb6 30. Rxd8+ Nxd8 31. Bxf6 $1 Bxf6 32. Rd6 $16) 24... Bxc4 25. Rxc4 a6
26. Rc1 b5 27. axb5 axb5 28. Ba3 {Giri did not like the look of} (28. Rcd1 Nb6
29. Rxd8+ Nxd8 30. Nd2 Nc6 {"I am jealous at Black's position," although White
can always trade a light piece for the black queenside pawns and force a draw.}
) (28. Ra1 $5) 28... Kf7 29. Rxd7 $6 {Diagram [#] White decided to force a
draw but confused the move order.} ({"The easiest was"} 29. Bxc5 Nxc5 30. Rxd8
Nxd8 31. Rb1 $11 {(Anand)}) 29... Rxd7 30. Bxc5 Ne5 $1 {Missed by Giri "now I
have to suffer".} 31. Nxe5+ fxe5 32. Bxe7 Kxe7 {The outside passer provides
Black serious winning chances. White's problem is that he can never trade the
rooks as the resulting endgames are lost for him.} 33. Kf1 Kd6 34. Ke2 e4 35.
Rc8 $1 {[%csl Gc8][%cal Gc8b8,Gc8e8,Ge8e4] Diagram [#] Active rook is the
mantra of the rook endgames.} ({After} 35. f3 exf3+ 36. Kxf3 b4 37. Ke4 Rb7 38.
Kd4 b3 {White should fall into zugzwang soon.}) 35... Ra7 {A more serious
chance would have been} (35... Rc7 $5 {Both players analyzed the position in
the press conference and came to the conclusion that it should have ended in a
draw, but in far more difficult way than in the game:} 36. Rd8+ ({Or} 36. Rb8
Kc5 37. Kd2 Kb4) 36... Kc5 37. Rd4 b4 38. Rxe4 Rd7 ({Anand saw the nice line}
38... b3 39. Kd3 b2 40. Rc4+ Kb5 41. Rxc7 b1=Q+ 42. Ke2 {followed by h2-h4 and
rook transfer to d4 which will be a fortress.}) 39. Re8 b3 40. Rb8 Kc4 41. e4
Kc3 42. Rc8+ $1 {To force the king in front of the pawn and win some tempos}
Kb2 43. e5 Kb1 {when Black can win the rook, but White will have sufficient
counterplay after say} 44. Rb8 b2 45. Ke3 Ra7 46. Ke4 Ka2 47. Kd5 b1=Q 48. Rxb1
Kxb1 49. e6 Kc2 50. Kd6 $11) 36. Kd2 Ra2+ 37. Kc3 Rxf2 38. Rb8 Rxh2 ({The pawn
cannot be saved} 38... Kc6 39. Rc8+ Kb6 40. Rb8+) 39. Rxb5 Ke6 40. Kd4 Rg2 41.
Kxe4 Rxg3 42. Kf4 {Diagram [#] The White pieces are maximally activated. He
needs to trade any of the black pawns to achieve theoretically draw position.}
Rg1 43. Rb6+ Kf7 44. e4 h5 45. Rb7+ Ke6 46. Rb6+ Kd7 47. Kf5 Kc7 48. Rb2 Kd7
49. e5 Rf1+ 50. Kg5 Ke6 51. Kxh5 Kxe5 52. Kg4 g5 53. Kxg5 1/2-1/2

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The Exchange Sacrifice

Shamkir continues to please the chess lovers all over the world. Round seven saw an interesting battle between Vishy Anand and Mickey Adams. The Indian GM sacrificed the exchange and...

[Event "Shamkir Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.04.24"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2791"]
[BlackElo "2746"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:24:04"]
[BlackClock "0:30:18"]

1. c4 {These days the top players try to mainly surprise their opponents in
the opening and to avoid the heavy home preparation. To get some psychological
advantage too. This aproach is quite unpleasant against a player who is not
doing well in the opening. And Anand chooses the English opening which he
plays very rarely.} e5 2. g3 c6 {Adams also replies with a surprise in return.
He had used the reversed Alapin in 2008 and for Anand this is already new.} 3.
Nf3 ({That only game of the Englishman went} 3. d4 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+ 5. Qxd2 d6
6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Bg2 O-O 8. e3 Nbd7 $11 {Miezis,N (2540)-Adams,M (2735) Liverpool
2008}) 3... e4 4. Nd4 d5 5. cxd5 Qxd5 6. Nc2 Nf6 7. Nc3 Qh5 8. Ne3 {[%csl Ye4]
[%cal Gf1g2,Gg2e4,Gc3e4,Gd1c2,Gc2e4] Diagram [#] This position is already very
fresh and has been since only once in over-the-board game. White prepares to
pressurize the exposed e4 pawn and opens the road for the queen.} ({The
complications arising after} 8. d3 exd3 9. Qxd3 Na6 10. Bg2 Bh3 $5 11. Bf3 Qg6
12. Bxc6+ bxc6 13. Qxa6 Rd8 {are not everyone's cup of tea, Svidler,P (2753)
-Topalov,V (2772) Flor & Fjaere 2014}) (8. h3 {is another move.}) 8... Bc5 {A
solid reaction. In case of} (8... Bh3 9. Qb3 $1 b5 10. Qc2 Bxf1 11. Rxf1 Qe5
12. f3 exf3 13. Rxf3 $14 {Black's position has too many lose ends, Berkes,F
(2606)-Borisek,J (2508) Heraklio 2007}) (8... Na6 $5 {deserves attention in
order to torture the queen anytime it comes to c2.}) 9. Qc2 Bxe3 ({Or else
Black loses the pawn} 9... O-O 10. Nxe4) 10. fxe3 {[%csl Ye4,Rf6][%cal Gf1g2,
Gh1f1,Gf1f4,Gf4e4,Yf4f6] Diagram [#] Anand wants to use the half-open file to
possibly lift the rook on f4 and increase the pressure on e4. And for
something more...} Qe5 11. Bg2 Bf5 12. O-O O-O 13. b3 $146 {The novelty.} ({An
email game went} 13. b4 Nbd7 14. Bb2 Qe6 15. b5 Rac8 16. Qb3 Rfd8 17. Rac1 Nc5
18. Qxe6 Bxe6 19. Rc2 Bd7 20. bxc6 Bxc6 {and Black managed to solve the
problem of the e4 pawn, Littke,H (2254)-Kolek,P (2399) ICCF email 2011}) 13...
Nbd7 14. Bb2 Qe6 {One more move and Adams will cement his position for good
with Bf5-g6. But...} 15. Rxf5 $1 {Diagram [#] A nice positional sacrifice of
the exchange. White wins the cetral pawn for it and the bishop pair. It is
interesting that both players did not evaluate the position similarly. Adams
considered it perfectly OK, while Anand thought it is easier to play as White.}
Qxf5 16. Nxe4 Qg6 $1 {The best defense. Or else White will point his bishops
towards the kingside with} (16... Nxe4 17. Bxe4 Qh5 18. Rf1 {[%cal Gf1f4,Gf4h4,
Rc2h7,Rb2g7] followed by Rf4-h4 and attack (Anand).}) 17. Rf1 Rfe8 18. Bxf6 {
Tit for tat. White destroys the pawn structure in front of the enemy king.}
Nxf6 19. Nxf6+ gxf6 20. e4 Rad8 21. Rf4 {[%cal Gg2h3,Gh3f5,Rf4h4,Rh4h7,Yc2d2,
Yd2h6,Yd2d3] Diagram [#] Anand's plan is to bring the bishop on f5, play d2-d3,
bring teh rook to h4 and attack the kingside with Qd2-h6.} Qh5 $1 {Adams
hurries to escape from the danger zone.} 22. d3 Qe5 23. Bh3 Kg7 24. Kg2 h5 $5 {
An interesting pawn sacrifice. Black manages to temporary exclude the rook
from the game.} ({Something solid like} 24... Rh8 {was also possible.}) 25. Rf5
Qd4 26. Rxh5 {[%csl Yh5] Diagram [#]} Qe3 27. Rh4 ({One point behind the pawn
sacrifice is demonstrated by Anand. The rook cannot come back at once} 27. Rf5
$2 Rxe4 $1 {works well for Black with the idea} 28. dxe4 Rd2 29. Qc4 b5 30. Qc5
Rxe2+ 31. Kh1 Re1+ 32. Bf1 Rxf1+ 33. Kg2 Rf2+ 34. Kh3 Qh6+ {and Black wins.})
27... Re5 28. Rf4 {White's chances are connected with the kingside attack and
for this reason he should not allow any trades of the heavy pieces.} ({Another
problem is revealed by the line} 28. Bf5 Rh8 $1 29. Rf4 $2 ({Black would be
happy to trade the rooks and kill the attacking potential of his opponent} 29.
Rxh8 Kxh8 {when only Black can play for the win.}) 29... Rc5 30. Qb2 Rc1 {and
wins.}) 28... Rc5 29. Qb2 Rd6 30. Rf1 a5 {Adams placed his pieces in a very
good way and now improves the mobile pawns.} 31. Bf5 b5 32. h4 {Diagram [#]} ({
Anand also considered the pawn sacrifice} 32. b4 axb4 33. Rf3 Qd4 34. Qd2 {in
order to return to his original idea of kingside attack, but at the end
decided that it was too risky.}) 32... Rd8 $2 {"The decisive blunder" (Anand)
"Awful move" (Adams). The English GM missed a nice tactical regroupment.
Instead many moves lead to dinamic equality:} (32... b4 $5 $11) (32... a4 $5 {
In both case White cannot effectively use his queen in the attack due to the
weakness of the b3 and e2 pawns.}) ({They also considered} 32... Qd4 {good for
Black, but this is questionable as it allows the white queen a kingside sortie}
33. Qd2 Rd8 34. h5 {and White is definitely better.}) 33. a3 b4 34. axb4 axb4
35. Be6 $1 {[%csl Gc4,Rd8,Rf6,Yg7][%cal Ge6c4,Rb2f6,Rf6d8,Gb3c4,Gd3c4] Diagram
[#] The bishop is rerouted to the optimal c4 square from where it cements the
queenside while attacking the f7 pawn. Black's position immediately becomes
bad.} Rc3 ({The bishop is full of poison} 35... fxe6 36. Qxf6+ {is mate in
seven.}) ({Noweven the endgame is lost for Black as Anand explained} 35... Qd4
36. Qxd4 Rxd4 37. Bc4 {[%csl Ge3][%cal Gg3g4,Gg2f3,Gf3e3] followed by g3-g4,
Kg2-f3-e3, and later g4-g5 which will win the pawn on f7.}) 36. Bc4 {White
cemented the position and can get rid of the opponent's queen easily. After
that his queen comes into the game and the step-by-step attack is unstoppable.}
Ra8 37. Rf5 Ra7 38. Rf3 Qc5 (38... Qh6 $5 {was more stubborn.}) 39. Qd2 Qd6 40.
Qe3 {Diagram [#] The former world champion is not in a hurry.} (40. Rf5 {with
the threat Rf5-h5 was faster as if} Ra8 41. e5 $1 {destroys the barricades.})
40... Ra5 41. Rf2 Rc2 42. g4 Qd7 43. Qg3 Rc5 44. g5 $1 {The decisive break. It
is again the Bc4 to blame for Black's misery.} (44. e5 {would also do.}) 44...
fxg5 45. Rxf7+ Qxf7 46. Bxf7 Kxf7 47. Qf3+ Kg7 48. h5 {The rest is easy for
Anand.} Ra5 49. Kf2 Rb2 50. h6+ Kg6 51. h7 {Diagram [#] An inspired and
interesting battle!} ({Black resigned as he loses the rook} 51. h7 Kxh7 52.
Qf7+ Kh6 (52... Kh8) 53. Qf6+) 1-0

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