Untypical Miss

Vladimir Kramnik is famous for his great technique, but even the best can sometimes miss a chance. This is exactly what happened in his game against Liviu- Dieter Nisipeanu from round six of the Sparkassen Chess Meeting.

[Event "43rd GM 2015"]
[Site "Dortmund GER"]
[Date "2015.07.04"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Kramnik, V."]
[Black "Nisipeanu, LD."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A13"]
[WhiteElo "2783"]
[BlackElo "2654"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Doggers"]
[PlyCount "165"]
[EventDate "2015.06.26"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. b3 c5 5. Bb2 Nc6 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bb5 Bd6 8. d4
{It is curious that so far Vladimir Kramnik follows a game of his great rival
Veselin Topalov.} cxd4 ({Nisipeanu deviates from this game, which went} 8...
O-O 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. O-O Bg4 11. Nc3 Rc8 12. Rc1 a6 {and here instead of} 13.
Be2 {that was played in the game, White had the strong shot} (13. Nxd5 $1 Qxd5
14. Qxd5 Nxd5 15. Rxc5 Ncb4 (15... axb5 16. Rxd5) 16. Rxc8 Rxc8 17. Bc4 {with
an extra pawn.}) 13... Ba7 14. h3 Bh5 15. Nh4 Bg6 16. Nxg6 hxg6 {Topalov,V
(2793)-Karjakin,S (2767) Stavanger 2013}) 9. Nxd4 O-O 10. O-O Qc7 11. h3 $146 {
[%csl Rg4][%cal Rh3g4] Diagram [#] A logical novelty which prevents the
possible pin of the Nf3. In comparison the stem game saw} (11. Nf3 $6 Bg4 $1
12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Nc3 ({Or else White loses the exchange} 13. h3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3
Be5) 13... Bxh2+ 14. Kh1 Be5 15. Nxd5 Qd6 16. Nf4 Bxf4 17. exf4 Qxf4 18. Bxc6
bxc6 {when Black was on top, Agzamov,G (2485)-Geller,E (2545) Yerevan 1982})
11... Bh2+ 12. Kh1 Be5 13. Qc2 Bd7 14. Nf3 $1 {[%csl Yb2,Ye5] Diagram [#] The
trade of the dark-squred bishop is huge achievement for the side which plays
against the isolated d5 pawn. This significanlty lowers the attacking
potential of the black pieces and guarantees the strong d4 outpost for the
white pieces.} Bxb2 15. Qxb2 {Kramnik got the type of position he loves most.
Slight advantage without any risk. Now the inquisition begins.} Rac8 16. Rc1 {
An accurate move. In comparison, the immediate} (16. Nc3 $6 {allows
counterplay along the c file after} Ne5 $1 17. Nxe5 (17. Bxd7 $2 Nxf3 18. gxf3
Qxd7 19. Kg2 d4 $1 {will see White's position in flames.}) 17... Qxe5 18. Bxd7
Rxc3 19. Bb5 Rxe3 $1 (19... Rfc8 $5)) 16... Qd6 17. Nc3 Ne5 ({White is also
slightly better after} 17... Ne4 18. Bxc6 Bxc6 19. Nd4 $14) 18. Be2 Nxf3 19.
Bxf3 Qe5 20. Qd2 Be6 {[%csl Rd5,Ye6][%cal Ye6d5] Diagram [#]} ({It looks as
the c6 square is better for the bishop} 20... Bc6 21. Ne2 (21. Rd1 Ne4) 21...
Ne4 22. Bxe4 (22. Qe1 Rfe8) 22... dxe4 23. Rc3 Rfd8 {with chances for
counterplay along the open file. Black can also try to lift a rook along the
sixth rank.}) 21. Nb5 Bd7 22. Qd4 {Kramnik's play against the isolated pawn is
a classical exmple of what to do in these positions. First he trades a pair of
light pieces, then the queens, thus completely immobilizing the d pawn.} (22.
Nxa7 $4 {self-traps the knight} Ra8) 22... Qxd4 23. Nxd4 a5 ({Black could have
slowed down his opponent's plan with the move} 23... h5 $5) 24. g4 $1 {This
pawn is more than annoying as it always threatens to kick the black knight
away from the isolani.} h6 ({This is what can happen if Black does not pay
respect to the white pawn} 24... Rxc1+ 25. Rxc1 Rc8 26. Rxc8+ Bxc8 27. g5 Ne4
28. Bxe4 dxe4 29. Kh2 {followed by a king march to f4 and e4.}) 25. Kg2 Rxc1
26. Rxc1 Rc8 {[%csl Gc1,Gc8] Diagram [#]} 27. Rb1 $1 {The signature of a great
master. White needs the rook to pressurize the pawn on d5 and voluntarily
gives away the open file. Please, not though that there are no entry squares
for the black rook there.} Ra8 ({It made sense to bring the king to center as
soon as possible.} 27... Kf8 $5) 28. Ne2 {Bent Larsen once said that the
isolated pawns have to be taken, not blocked. This is one of those cases.} g5 {
Stops the knight from the f4 square, but there is another one.} 29. Nc3 Be6 30.
Rd1 Rd8 31. e4 $1 {[%csl Yd5] Diagram [#] Reveals the point behind the move 27.
Rb1! The isolated pawn cannot survive.} d4 32. Kg3 (32. Nb5 d3 {complicates
matters.}) ({But White can win the pawn with} 32. Rd3 {as well.}) 32... Rc8 ({
White has to be careful not to fall in a trap after the crafty} 32... Kg7 33.
Nb5 ({The automatic} 33. Rd3 $4 {will lead to a cold shower as} dxc3 34. Rxd8 {
is not coming with a check and Black promotes after} c2) 33... d3 34. e5 $1 {
with large advantage for White.}) 33. Nb5 Nd7 34. Nxd4 {White won a pawn and
the rest should be "a matter of technique."Indeed, the former world champion
plays flawlessly until a certain point.} Ne5 35. Be2 Rc3+ 36. f3 Kg7 37. Rd2
Kf6 38. Nf5 $1 {[%csl Ye6,Gf5] Diagram [#] It seems illogical to trade the
super-knight and to leave the bishop. However, 1) This destroys Black's
defensive central set-up. 2) There are not bad bishops as even the worst
bishop can be always traded for a knight (Kasparov).} Bxf5 (38... Kg6 39. Nd6)
39. exf5 Ke7 40. Rd5 Nc6 41. Bb5 b6 42. h4 f6 43. Bxc6 {There you go!} Rxc6 44.
hxg5 hxg5 45. a4 Rc3 46. Rb5 Rc6 47. f4 $1 Rc3+ 48. Kf2 gxf4 49. Rxb6 Kf7 {
After a fantastic endgame it's time to cash in, but from this point Kramnik
seems to be missing a few chances to win.} 50. b4 ({White could also play} 50.
Rb5 Kg7 51. Rxa5 Rxb3 52. Ra8 {[%cal Ga4a5,Ga5a6,Ga6a7,Yg4g5,Rf5f6,Rf6f7,Rf7f8]
Diagram [#] with the idea to put the pawn on a7 and then play g4-g5 to create
a (winning) f-pawn:} Ra3 53. a5 Kh7 54. a6 Kg7 ({a bit more complicated is}
54... Kh6 55. a7 Ra2+ 56. Ke1 Ra1+ 57. Kd2 Ra2+ 58. Kd1 Ra1+ 59. Kc2 Kg7 60.
Kd2 Ra2+ 61. Ke1 Ra1+ 62. Kf2 Ra2+ 63. Kf3 Ra3+ 64. Kxf4) 55. a7 Ra4 56. g5 $1
fxg5 57. f6+ $1 Kf7 {and now the standard trick that White was playing for all
along:} 58. Rh8 $1 Rxa7 59. Rh7+) 50... Rc2+ 51. Kf3 Rc3+ (51... Ra2 52. b5
Rxa4 53. Rb7+ Kf8 54. Ra7 Rb4 55. Rxa5 Kg7 56. Ra7+ Kh6 57. Ra8 $1 Kg7 (57...
Rxb5 58. Rg8) 58. Rb8 {and again White will create a free f-pawn.}) 52. Kf2 $6
({The win is} 52. Kxf4 Ra3 (52... Rc4+ 53. Kf3 {I suspect that Kramnik missed
in the line} axb4 (53... Rc3+ 54. Ke2 axb4 55. Rxb4 Ra3 56. Kd2) 54. a5 Rc3+
55. Ke4 $1 Ra3 56. a6 b3 {that he does not need to trade the pawns and has the
move} 57. Kd3 $1 {with the idea Rb6-b7+ followed by a6-a7 and wins.}) 53. g5 $1
{Diagram [#]} fxg5+ 54. Kxg5 Rxa4 (54... Rg3+ 55. Kh4 Ra3 56. b5 Rxa4+ 57. Kg5)
55. Rb7+ Ke8 56. b5 Ra1 57. Ra7 Rb1 58. Rxa5 {is a theoretical win.}) 52...
Rc2+ 53. Ke1 Rc1+ 54. Kd2 f3 55. Ke3 Rc3+ 56. Kf2 axb4 57. Rxb4 Kg7 58. Kg3 $2
{After this superficial analysis the conclusion is that Kramnik only gave away
the win with this move.} (58. Rb8 $1 Rc4 (58... Ra3 59. Ra8 Kf7 60. a5 {can be
compared to the note to White's 50th move.}) 59. a5 Rxg4 60. Kxf3 Ra4 61. Rb5
Kf8 62. Ke3 Ke7 {and now} 63. Rd5 $1 {[%csl Ye7][%cal Ge3d3,Gd3c3,Gc3b3,Gb3b4,
Gb4b5,Rd1d8] Diagram [#] looks like a winning ending:} Rc4 64. Kd3 Rc1 65. Kd4
Rc6 66. Rb5 Ra6 67. Kc5) 58... Ra3 59. Rb7+ Kh6 60. Ra7 f2+ $1 {Diagram [#]}
61. Kxf2 Kg5 62. Ke2 Kxg4 63. Ra5 Kf4 64. Kd2 Ke4 65. Kc2 Kd4 66. Ra6 Rc3+ (
66... Ke5 67. Kb2 Rg3 68. Ra5+ Kd4 $11) 67. Kb2 Rc4 68. Ra5 Rb4+ 69. Ka3 Kc4 {
Diagram [#]} 70. Ra6 Rb3+ 71. Ka2 Rb4 72. Ra8 Kc5 73. Ka3 Rf4 74. Rb8 Rf1 75.
Rb5+ Kc4 76. Kb2 Rf2+ 77. Kb1 Kc3 78. a5 Kc4 79. Rb7 Rxf5 80. a6 Ra5 81. a7 Kc5
82. Rf7 Kb6 83. Kc2 {Diagram [#]} 1/2-1/2

Report.

Magnus Grabs the Lead

Round five of the Gashimov Memorial was crucial for the leaders. Wesley So suffered his first loss to the former world champion Vishy Anand who showed his best chess so far in Azerbaijan. In the meanwhile the reigning champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway produced a real masterpiece to take the sole lead. His opponent in this game Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France also appreciated the greatness of the game and did not look too disappointed at the end of it. Instead the two players spend a lot of time analyzing the game at a press-conference full of benevolence and positivness.

[Event "Shamkir Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.04.21"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2863"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:15:45"]
[BlackClock "0:41:19"]

1. Nf3 {Magnus Carlsen managed to get his opponent away from his beloved
Gruenfeld early in the opening.} Nf6 2. g3 b5 3. Bg2 ({The two players spent a
lot of time analyzing some interesting possibilities after} 3. c3 e6 4. Qb3 {
an idea typical for the Sokolsky opening with colors reversed} a6 5. a4 Bb7 6.
axb5 Bd5 {an old trick, said Carlsen} 7. Qc2 (7. c4 $2 Bxc4 $1 {this is the
point} 8. Qxc4 axb5 $17) 7... axb5 8. Rxa8 Bxa8 9. Qb3 Bxf3 10. exf3 c6 {with
about equal position.}) 3... Bb7 4. Na3 {Diagram [#] A fresh position arose on
move number four!} a6 ({The immediate} 4... b4 {was also possible when after}
5. Nc4 a5 6. d3 {[%cal Ge2e4] "I liked my knight on c4" (Carlsen)}) 5. c4 b4 {
"I decided to play b5-b4 as in the QID the knight is not very well placed on
c2"(Vachier-Lagrave), "Yeah, but then you have to waste a lot of moves"
(Carlsen)} (5... e5 {was teh othe rmove that the two players analyzed. They
had a lot of fun in the arising original lines with Carlsen appologizing at
the end that they are wasting the time of the journalists.} 6. O-O e4 7. Nd4 (
7. Nh4 d5 8. cxd5 Qxd5 9. d3 g5 {Diagram [#]} 10. Nf3 $5) 7... d5 8. d3 (8.
cxb5) 8... c5 9. Nf5 g6 10. Ne3 d4 11. Nd5 Nxd5 12. Bxe4 Bg7 {with equality.})
6. Nc2 e6 ({It is somewhat surpring but this has already been seen before in a
total of 26 games. Here is a recent one} 6... c5 7. O-O e6 8. d4 cxd4 9. Ncxd4
$14 {Efimenko,Z (2648)-Moiseenko,A (2707) Dubai 2014}) 7. d4 a5 {The players
agreed that White is somewhat better after} (7... Be7 8. a3 bxa3 9. b3 $14) 8.
O-O Be7 9. d5 Na6 10. Nfd4 Nc5 11. Re1 $146 {[%cal Ge2e4] Diagram [#] Only
this is a novelty. White prepares e2-e4.} ({Another recent game saw} 11. dxe6
fxe6 12. Bxb7 Nxb7 13. Bf4 O-O 14. Nb5 Ne8 15. e4 {with slight edge for White,
Neiksans,A (2559)-Kulaots,K (2563) Wroclaw 2014}) 11... O-O {Carlsen was
surprised that his opponent allowed the move e2-e4 that easily and suggested
instead} (11... Nfe4 12. f3 (12. Nb3 Nxb3 13. axb3 Nc5 14. e4 e5) 12... Nd6 13.
e4 O-O (13... Nxc4) 14. b3 e5 {with a better version to what had happened in
the game later.}) 12. e4 e5 ({Maybe} 12... d6 13. dxe6 Nfxe4 {but this is what
I was unhappy about (Vachier)} 14. Qg4 Nf6 15. Qe2 $16) 13. Nf5 d6 14. Bg5 $1 {
[%csl Yg5][%cal Rf6d5] Diagram [#] A wonderful positional sacrifice of a pawn.}
({The immediate} 14. f4 {is also possible but less appealing to the world
champion} Nfd7 15. Nxe7+ Qxe7 16. f5 c6 {"too many loose ends, should be OK
for Black" (Carlsen)}) 14... Nxd5 {Vachier decided to bite the bullet. "So
Magnus, you were considering this move?" asked the jounalist and WGM Elmira
Mirzoeva. "I am capable of missing it, but not today..."(Carlsen)} (14... Bc8
15. Nce3 h6 16. Bh4 {looks terrible for Black (Carlsen)}) 15. Bh6 $1 {The
point of White's sacrifice. In return for the pawn he will ruin the black
castle and cement the knight on the wonderful outpost on f5. He will also
dominate on the light squares.} gxh6 16. Qg4+ (16. cxd5 Kh8 17. Qh5 {also
looks fun for White.}) 16... Bg5 17. cxd5 Kh8 18. h4 $1 {[%csl Yg5][%cal Gg2h3,
Yg4f3,Gh3g4,Gg4h5,Gc2e3] Diagram [#] The beginning of a nice regroupment on
the light squares that clearifies the situation.} Bf6 19. Nce3 Bc8 20. Qf3 Bg7
21. Bh3 $1 Rg8 22. Bg4 Qf6 23. Bh5 {With the bishop coming out all the white
pieces stand nicely. Now he can think of including the rooks into the battle.}
Bxf5 24. Nxf5 c6 {"If you do not play this then you will lose at some moment
because of the rook coming on f3" (Carlsen). "Even rook on the g file and
g3-g4 I thought. And g4-g5 at some moment" (Vachier).} 25. dxc6 Rac8 26. Qd1
Rxc6 (26... Nxe4 {does not work due to} 27. Bg4 $1) 27. Qd5 Rgc8 28. Rad1 Bf8
29. Qxf7 (29. Bxf7 Na4 {did not appeal to the Norwegian although this also
looks close to winning for White.}) 29... Qxf7 30. Bxf7 {White won the pawn
back and kept the dominant position of his pieces. He owes everything- the
bread, the butter and the knife.} Na4 31. Re2 Rc1 32. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 33. Kg2 Nc5
34. b3 {[%csl Gb3] Diagram [#] "I was very happy to play this move and to stop
any counterplay" (Carlsen). "I am playing a bishop and a king down" (Vachier).}
Rc3 35. Kh3 Nd7 36. Be6 Nc5 37. Bd5 Nd7 38. Ne3 Nf6 39. Be6 Rc5 40. Nc4 Kg7 ({
Vachier was always looking for counter-play but it never worked. Here for
instance} 40... a4 {fails to} 41. bxa4 d5 42. Ne3 (42. Nxe5 {should do as well}
)) 41. f3 $1 {Even in such a great position the world champion does not lose
focus! He rejected his original plan} (41. Kg2 {after seeing the tactical
continuation} Nxe4 $1 42. Rxe4 Kf6 43. Bg8 d5 {Diagram [#] which would have
complicated matters.}) 41... Ne8 42. Rd2 Nc7 43. Bg4 {It is over, Black's
position falls appart.} a4 (43... Nb5 44. Nxa5 {drops a pawn.}) 44. Nxd6 Bxd6
45. Rxd6 a3 46. Bd7 ({Vachier Lagrave suggested an alternative win after} 46.
Rd7+ Kf8 47. Rxh7 Rc2 48. f4 exf4 49. gxf4 Nb5 50. e5 Rxa2 51. e6) 46... Rc2 {
The last chance for Black is connected with the sacrifice of the knight.} 47.
Bc6 Rxa2 48. Rd7+ Kf6 49. Rxc7 Rc2 50. Rxh7 Kg6 (50... Rxc6 51. Rxh6+) 51. Rc7
{Now White is waiting for the pawn to come on a2 to play Rc7-a7.} Kf6 52. h5 $1
{Finishes the game in style with checkmate.} Rc1 53. Rh7 a2 54. Bd5 {[%csl Rf6]
[%cal Gh7f7] Diagram [#] Vachier resigned due to the checkmate.} (54. Bd5 a1=Q
55. Rf7+ Kg5 56. Rf5# {What a game by the world champion!}) 1-0

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