Activity in the Endgame

I teach my students three easy steps to evaluate and play endgames.
1) Activity of pieces.
2) Activity of kings.
3) Pawn structure.
Pieces are priority as they have the power and can compensate for material deficit.
Have a look now how Vladimir Kramnik (not my student;) used the force to save himself in his round three encounter against the Italian GM Daniele Vocaturo in Doha:

[Event "Qatar Masters Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.12.22"]
[Round "3.6"]
[White "Vocaturo, Daniele"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2597"]
[BlackElo "2796"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:04:30"]
[BlackClock "0:05:23"]

1. e4 e5 {It seems as Kramnik had given up the Pirc for good. Against the
talanted and sharp Vocaturo he wants to play it save.} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {
Diagram [#] What else would you expect from Italian GM?!} Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3
d6 6. Bb3 a6 7. O-O h6 {Black often retreats the dark-squared bishop early in
the game, but Kramnik is not afraid of the d3-d4 advance.} 8. Nbd2 {Black has
no problems at all after} (8. d4 Ba7 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Nxe5 dxe5 11. Qxd8+ Kxd8
12. Nd2 (12. Bxf7 Rf8 $1) 12... Ke7 13. h3 Be6 {Bisby,D (2288)-Jones,G (2644)
England 2013}) 8... O-O 9. Re1 Be6 10. Bxe6 {An ultra-solid aproach by White
too.} ({Roughly two months ago Ivanchuk preferred to swap the bishops off on
b3, but got nothing out of the opening after} 10. Nf1 Bxb3 11. Qxb3 Re8 12. Be3
Bxe3 13. Nxe3 Qd7 14. h3 Ne7 15. Nh2 c6 16. Rad1 d5 {Ivanchuk,V (2726)-Kramnik,
V (2777) Skopje 2015}) 10... fxe6 11. b4 Ba7 12. Nf1 $146 {Diagram [#] A
novelty which does not change the evaluation of the position-it is equal. The
predecessor saw a quick draw after} ({Predecessor:} 12. a4 Qd7 13. Nb3 Rf7 14.
b5 Ne7 15. bxa6 bxa6 16. d4 Nc6 17. h3 Rb8 {1/2-1/2 (17) Bok,B (2587)-Vishnu,P
(2477) Moscow 2015}) 12... Qe8 {Black's plan is easy- Nf6-h5-f4 or
Nc6-e7-g6-f4 and attack along the half-open"f" file. If White is not careful,
he may easily get into big trouble. Fortunately, A. Karpov is here to help.
The former world champion demonstrated the optimal set-up on the kingside
which every "Italian" player knows.} 13. a4 Ne7 {[%cal Ge7g6,Gg6f4,Yf6h5,Yh5f4]
Diagram [#]} ({Also good is} 13... Nh5 14. Be3 Nf4 ({As if} 14... Bxe3 15. fxe3
{takes away the f4 square from the black knight.})) 14. Be3 Bxe3 15. Nxe3 ({
Here} 15. fxe3 {is also possible but Vocaturo is more ambitious.}) 15... Ng6
16. Ra2 {[%csl Yf2][%cal Ga2d2,Gd3d4,Yd2f2] Diagram [#] To shift the rook in
the center. White could have already started Karpov's set up with.} (16. g3)
16... Rd8 17. Rd2 Qf7 {White's reply would be the same no matter what.} (17...
Nh5 18. Kh1) (17... Nf4 18. Kh1) 18. Kh1 {[%cal Gf3g1,Gf2f3,Gg2g3] Diagram [#]
The king steps away to free the g1 square for the knight. Then once that it
goes back White can repel the active black knights with f2-f3 and g2-g3. This
is what Anatoly Yevgyenievich did against Artur Jussupow in 1986.} b5 {Kramnik
plays all over the board.} (18... Nf4 19. Ng1) 19. Qc2 Nf4 20. axb5 {White
opens the file only to abandon it.} (20. c4 $5 {makes more sense to me.}) 20...
axb5 21. Ng1 (21. Ra1 Ra8 $11 (21... Qh5)) 21... d5 {Now the more experienced
player enjoys some initiative. Still, the game did not leave the boarders of
equality.} 22. f3 ({Or} 22. g3 Ng6 23. f3 $11) 22... Qd7 {Keeps the tension
and creates an obvious threat of capturing on e4.} ({Black could have taken
the open file too} 22... Ra8) 23. Nf1 $1 {[%csl Rd5,Ye5][%cal Re4d5,Ge1e5]
Diagram [#] A nice maneuver which forces Kramnik to clarify his intentions in
the center. Vocaturo threatens to capture on d5.} d4 {This was Kramnik's
general idea. The pawn will separate the b4 trooper form the remaining forces.}
(23... dxe4 24. dxe4 $11) 24. g3 {Better than both} (24. cxd4 Qxd4) (24. Rc1 $6
dxc3 25. Qxc3 Nxd3 {when the black knight is too active on f4.}) 24... Ng6 25.
Rc1 $1 {Vocaturo plays with great precision.} Ra8 $6 {[%csl Yb5,Yc7] Diagram
[#] This leads to difficulties for Black. It was time for Kramnik to think
about equality with} (25... Ne7 26. cxd4 Qxd4 {when} 27. Qxc7 $2 {drops
material to} Rc8) 26. cxd4 Qxd4 ({Or else Black's pawn structure will be
horrific-} 26... exd4 $2 27. f4) 27. Qc5 $1 {One more precise move and White
proves that he has the better pawn structure.} (27. Qxc7 Qxb4 {should be OK
for Black.}) 27... Qxc5 (27... Rfb8 28. Qxd4 exd4 29. Rxc7 $16) 28. Rxc5 Rfb8
29. Rxc7 Ra4 30. Rb2 Ra3 31. Nd2 Rxd3 32. Nb3 {[%csl Yb5,Ye5,Ye6,Rf6,Rg6][%cal
Gc7h7,Gc7a7,Rb3c5,Rc5e6] Diagram [#] The forced play is over and White enjoys
serious advantage thanks to his more active pieces.} Nf8 33. Nc5 Rd1 34. Re7
Re8 {An inaccuracy which could have costed Kramnik dearly. The immediate
activation of the rook was mandatory} (34... Ra8 35. Kg2 Ne8 $1 ({Better than}
35... N6d7 36. Nxe6 Nxe6 37. Rxe6 Rd3 $16) 36. Nxe6 Nxe6 37. Rxe6 Nd6 {[%cal
Gd6c4] Diagram [#] with serious chances to survive.}) 35. Rb7 Ra8 $1 {Better
late than never. The former world champion is too good to stay passive and
wait.} 36. Kg2 g5 {Activity is the slogan for Black's survival.} ({It is too
late for} 36... Ne8 37. Rxb5 Nd6 38. Ra5 $16) 37. Rxb5 Rad8 ({Or} 37... g4 38.
fxg4 Nxg4 39. Nf3 {and White is close to winning.}) 38. Nb3 ({My bet is that
Kramnik would have chosen the solid} 38. Nh3 $5 R8d2+ (38... g4 39. Nf2) 39.
Rxd2 Rxd2+ 40. Nf2 {if he had had the white pieces here.}) 38... g4 $1 {
The best practical chance, or else White will consolidate (both positionally
and on the clock!)} 39. Rxe5 Ng6 40. Rxe6 Kf7 {[%csl Gb4,Ge4,Gf3] Diagram [#]
Black is three pawns down but is ready to show his knights.} 41. Nc5 ({Perhaps
White needed to swap offf a pair of rooks to relieve the pressure} 41. Rc6 Ne5
42. Rc1 (42. Rc7+ Kg6 43. Rc1) 42... Rxc1 43. Nxc1 Nc4 44. Rb3 gxf3+ 45. Nxf3
Nxe4 46. b5 ({Or} 46. Ne2 {in both cases White should be winning.})) 41... h5
42. e5 $2 {Only this move can be definitely claimed a mistake. Why give these
knights squares?} (42. f4 R1d2+ 43. Rxd2 Rxd2+ 44. Kf1 {looked way easier.})
42... Nd5 {[%csl Re6,Rg2][%cal Rg6f4,Rd5f4] Diagram [#] All of a sudden
Kramnik has a threat.} 43. Kf2 ({Say} 43. b5 $2 {and there it comes} Ndf4+ 44.
gxf4 Nxf4+ 45. Kf2 Nxe6 $17) ({White will be very happy to activate his rook,
however} 43. Ra2 {is met by} Rb8 $1 ({But not} 43... Nxb4 $2 44. Ra7+) (43...
Ndf4+ $2 44. gxf4 Nxf4+ 45. Kf2 Nxe6 46. Ra7+ $18)) ({Finally,} 43. fxg4 {
leads to another draw after} Ndf4+ 44. gxf4 Nxf4+ 45. Kf2 Nxe6 46. gxh5 $11)
43... Ra8 $1 {[%csl Rf2,Rg1][%cal Ga8a1,Rd1f1,Rf1g1,Ra1g1] Diagram [#] All the
black pieces are active, he is save now.} 44. Ra6 ({A bit better was} 44. fxg4
hxg4 45. Ra6 Rxa6 46. Nxa6 Nxe5 {but should be also a draw.}) (44. b5 Raa1 45.
b6 Rxg1 46. b7 Raf1+ 47. Ke2 Rg2+ 48. Kxf1 Rxb2 {and Black is better.}) 44...
Rxa6 45. Nxa6 Nxe5 46. Nc5 {The alternatives leave no winning chances to White
neither} (46. Rb3 Rd2+) (46. Rc2 Rb1 $11) 46... Nc4 47. Re2 Nce3 {Diagram [#]
The mating threat forces either perpetual} 48. Re1 ({Or all the material will
disappear after} 48. Rxe3 Nxe3 49. Kxe3 Rxg1 50. fxg4 hxg4 51. Kf4 Rg2 $11)
48... Rd2+ 49. Re2 Rd1 50. Re1 Rd2+ 51. Re2 1/2-1/2

When it Rains...

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

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

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

Report.

Was the Initiative Enough?

Round three in Tashkent saw three decisive games. In the following one White sacrificed a pawn early in the opening. Was the sacrifice good enough for an advantage? Or at least for a level game?
Check out for yourselves:

[Event "Tashkent FIDE GP"]
[Site "Tashkent UZB"]
[Date "2014.10.23"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Kasimdzhanov, R."]
[Black "Jobava, Ba"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C10"]
[WhiteElo "2706"]
[BlackElo "2717"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2014.10.20"]

1. e4 e6 {Baadur Jobava came to Tashkent immediately after the Unive
tournament in Netherlands. He replaced the Iranian GM Ghaem Maghami as the
Tehran withdraw from hosting one of the events at the very last moment. The
Iranian capital was replaced by the Georgian one as a host city and this
certainly added flavour to the current Grand Prix. Jobava is an extremely
original player.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bd7 5. Nf3 Bc6 6. Bd3 Nd7 7. O-O
Ngf6 8. Ng3 g6 {[%cal Gf8g7] Diagram [#] A very interesting idea of the
Swedish GM Hillarp Persson. It should not come as a surprise for Kasimdzhanov
as his opponent had already used it twice this year.} (8... Be7 {is the common
choice for the second player. Later he will capture on f3 and build a solid
wall with the move c7-c6. That position will be solid, but passive though and
it is not to everyone's liking.}) 9. c4 {White starts an immediate attack in
the center.} ({Probably the calmer development offers more-} 9. b3 Bg7 10. Ba3
Bxf3 11. Qxf3 c6 12. c4 {with some advantage for White in Solak,D (2632)
-Jobava,B (2713) Tromsoe 2014}) ({The stem game saw} 9. Qe2 Bg7 10. Ne5 Nxe5
11. dxe5 Qd5 12. f4 Ng4 13. h3 Qd4+ 14. Kh1 h5 15. c3 {1/2 (15) Hellers,F
(2652)-Hillarp Persson,T (2562) Sweden 2001}) 9... Bg7 10. d5 {The point.
White opens up the center and spoils the castling of the black king.} exd5 11.
Re1+ Kf8 {[%csl Yf8] Diagram [#]} 12. cxd5 $146 {This move is a novelty.
Jobava have previously faced:} (12. Nd4 Kg8 13. Qc2 Nf8 14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. Qa4 {
White has a pair of bishops and light-square compensation for the pawn in
Karjakin,S (2772)-Jobava,B (2706) Loo 2014}) 12... Bxd5 ({Better than} 12...
Nxd5 13. Bg5 Bf6 14. Bh6+ Bg7 15. Qd2 {and the black pieces are stuck.}) 13.
Qc2 $5 {An interesting decision. Rustam is not afraid to spoil his pawn
structure in return for the mighty black bishop.} c6 $1 ({In case of} 13...
Bxf3 14. gxf3 c6 {White can start advancing the pawn on the king's side} 15. f4
Kg8 16. f5 $36) 14. Ng5 {Kasimdzhanov revealed at the press conference that he
thought at first that his position is easier to play but somewhere around this
point he understood that it might be the other way round. Indeed, Black
simply wants to finish the development, hide the king on h7 after h7-h6 and
Kf8-g8-h7 and then convert the extra pawn.} Kg8 {Sooner or later Jobava has to
play this. It makes no sense to target the knight on g5 which does not attack
anything anyway.} (14... h6 15. Nh3 {only pushes it to a better position, for
example} Kg8 16. Nf4 {and White is ready to sacrifice on g6} h5 17. Bxg6 $5
fxg6 18. Nxg6 Rh7 {with a pleasant to choice for White to force a draw with}
19. Ne7+ ({Or continue the attack} 19. Nf5 $5) 19... Kh8 (19... Kf7 $2 {loses
to} 20. Qg6+ Kf8 21. Nxd5 cxd5 22. Nf5 $18 {[%csl Re7,Rg7][%cal Re1e7,Rf5g7]
with the dual threat of Nf5xg7 and Re1-e7.}) 20. Ng6+ $11) 15. Bf4 (15. Bd2 {
was also an idea but Black was afraid of} Ng4 $5 16. h3 Nxf2 $1 17. Kxf2 Bd4+
18. Kf1 Qf6+ {with powerful attack.}) 15... Nf8 16. Rad1 Qa5 {Black wisely
finishes the development first. The rook is coming on d8 and this reinforces
the center.} ({Jobava did not like} 16... h6 17. N5e4 Ne6 18. Be5 Nxe4 19. Bxe4
Bxe5 20. Bxd5 cxd5 21. Rxe5 $11) 17. a3 $6 {[%csl Yb3] Only here did White
commit a mistake. The b3 square is very important in some lines.} ({Correct was
} 17. N3e4 $1 {[%csl Yf6][%cal Ge1e8,Gd1d8] Diagram [#] This knight is the
only white piece that can do better and it makes sense to trade it. White
also needed some air for his pieces to prove the compensation. After} Nxe4 ({
Jobava also considered the sudden retreat} 17... Ne8 {but then White is just
better after taking the bishop} 18. Nc3 $1 h6 19. Nxd5) 18. Bxe4 {and now} {
Which leaves the move} Rd8 {when White can force a draw with} (18... Bxe4 $2 {
is a mistake which leaves all the open files for White} 19. Qxe4 Qf5 20. Qf3
$16 ({and even the endgame is better for White} 20. Qxf5 gxf5 21. Re7)) (18...
h6 $6 {allows White to convert development advantage into something tangible}
19. Bxd5 cxd5 20. Nf3 $14) 19. Bc7 $5 Qxc7 20. Bxd5 Bf6 21. Bxf7+ Kg7 22. Ne6+
Nxe6 23. Bxe6 $11) ({Also} 17. b3 Rd8 18. Be5 {was better than the move in the
game.}) 17... Rd8 18. Bd2 (18. Re7 Rd7 {is good for Black.}) ({But} 18. N3e4 $5
{was still possible} Nxe4 19. Nxe4 (19. Bxe4 {is weaker this time as Black has
enough central control} h6) 19... Ne6 20. Bg3 $44 {[%cal Ge4d6]}) 18... Qb6 $1
({Jobava does not allow the bishop a chance to occupy the long diagonal.} 18...
Qc7 19. Bc3 h6 20. N5e4 {is good for White.}) 19. Be3 ({White loses the
exchange after} 19. Bc3 Bb3 {and this is where we see why a2-a3 was inaccurate!
}) 19... Qc7 ({Rustam mentioned the pretty tactics} 19... Qb3 20. Bxg6 $1) 20.
h3 ({Unfortunately for White} 20. Bd4 Ne6 $1 21. Nxe6 Bxe6 22. Bc3 Nd5 {does
not bring the desired effect on the long diagonal as the black knight controls
the c3 square.}) 20... h6 21. N5e4 Ne6 22. Nxf6+ Bxf6 23. Be4 Kg7 $17 {Jobava
managed to consolidate his position and can now start converting his extra
pawn.} 24. Bxa7 $2 {A tactical oversight which eases Black's task. Rustam
thought that he forces a draw but missed a very strong in-between move.} ({Both
} 24. b4) ({or} 24. Rd2 {would have prolonged the game.}) 24... b6 25. Bxd5 ({
The engames after} 25. Rxd5 cxd5 26. Qxc7 Nxc7 {are hopeless for White} 27.
Bxb6 Rd7 ({or also} 27... dxe4 28. Bxc7 Rd7 29. Ba5 Bxb2) 28. Bxc7 Rxc7 29.
Bxd5 Bxb2 $19) 25... Nd4 $1 ({One draw is achieved after} 25... Rxd5 26. Rxd5
cxd5 27. Qxc7 Nxc7 28. Bxb6 $11) 26. Qa4 (26. Rxd4 Bxd4 27. Bb3 Qxg3 $19) 26...
Rxd5 27. Qa6 {[%csl Ya7][%cal Ra7b6,Ra6b6] Diagram [#]} Qd7 $3 {This is what
teh Uzbek GM missed! The threat Nd3-f3 forces a win for Black.} ({Kasimdzhanov
calculated the beautiful lines} 27... Ra8 28. Bxb6 Qb8 ({and the sweet draw
after} 28... Qxg3 29. Qxa8 Nf3+ 30. Kf1 Nh2+ $11) 29. Bc7 $1 {where White
escapes with a draw.}) 28. Rxd4 {The alternatives lose more material} (28. Bxb6
Nf3+ $19) (28. Kh1 Ra8 $19) 28... Bxd4 29. Bxb6 c5 30. Ba5 Bxb2 31. Qc4 Bd4 32.
Bc3 Ra8 33. Re3 Rxa3 {White started an early attack of the enemy king which
stayed in the center a bit longer than usual. This was worth the central pawn
but then Kasimdzhanov missed to open more room for his active pieces.
Whenever you have development advantage do try to open as many files and
diagonals as you can.} ({White resigned due to the line} 33... Rxa3 34. Bxd4+
Rxd4 35. Qxc5 Rxe3 36. fxe3 Rd1+ 37. Kh2 Qd6) 0-1

Playing at home is not an advantage for the chess players. There are plenty of distractions and the audience cannot cheer you up. However I hope that Kasimdzhanov will be back in the tournament and show better play.