[Event "FIDE World Cup-C"]
[Site "Hyderabad"]
[Date "2002.10.11"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Sasikiran, Krishnan"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "2670"]
[BlackElo "2755"]
[Annotator "Horn,Pe"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2002.10.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[EventCategory "16"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 092"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.02.06"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2003.02.06"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 4. O-O Bg4 5. d3 Nbd7 6. Nbd2 e6 7. b3 Bc5 8. Bb2
O-O 9. a3 a5 10. e4 b5 11. Qe1 Ne8 12. h3 Bh5 13. Kh1 Nc7 14. c4 $146 {
Insbesondere mit dem Bc5 macht der Zug Sinn, da Pd3-d4 etl. mit Tempo erfolgen
kann,} (14. e5 {Für diesen Vorstoß ist Schwarz gut gerüstet.} Bb6 15. Nh2 c5
16. g4 Bg6 17. f4 f5 18. exf6 Nxf6 19. Nhf3 $13 {Bezold,M-Kipper,J/Muenster
1996}) 14... dxc4 {aus dem Zentrum zu schlagen, birgt ein gewisses Risiko} ({
es gab diverse Alternativen, z.B.:} 14... bxc4 $5) 15. d4 Be7 16. bxc4 {
Weiß hat das Zentrum besetzt. Schwarz ist in der Pflicht, sich Maßnahmen
auszudenken.} b4 (16... c5) 17. Qe3 Na6 (17... c5 18. d5 $14) 18. Rfc1 e5 {
Eine radikale Lösung.} ({Schwarz konnte auch vorher den Bh5 tauschen, um die
folgende Aussperrung zu verhindern:} 18... Bxf3 19. Nxf3 e5 20. dxe5 Bc5 21.
Bd4 Re8 $14 (21... Bxd4 22. Nxd4 Nxe5 23. f4 c5 24. Nf5 Nc6 $14)) 19. g4 Bg6 ({
Der Zwischenzug hilft Weiß:} 19... exd4 $2 20. Nxd4 $16) 20. dxe5 Re8 ({
Der Alternative} 20... Bc5 {traue ich auch nicht vollständig:} 21. Bd4 {z.B.:}
bxa3 22. Bxc5 Naxc5 23. Rxa3 Re8 24. Nd4 $16 {[%cal Yf2f4]}) 21. Nb3 Nac5 (
21... bxa3 22. Bxa3 Bxa3 23. Rxa3 Nb4) 22. axb4 Nxb3 23. Qxb3 Bxb4 24. Qe3 h5 (
24... Bc5 25. Bd4 Qb6 (25... Bxd4 26. Nxd4 Nxe5 27. f4 $16)) 25. g5 Bc5 26. Bd4
Qe7 (26... Bxd4 27. Nxd4 c5 (27... Nxe5 28. f4 c5 29. Nb5 Nd3 30. Rf1 $16) 28.
Nf3 $16) 27. Rd1 (27. e6 $5 fxe6 28. Rd1 e5 29. Bxc5 Nxc5 30. Nh4 $14) 27... a4
$2 (27... Bxd4 {sieht wie eine Rettung aus:} 28. Nxd4 (28. Rxd4 Nxe5 29. Nxe5
Qxe5 30. f4 Qc5 {[%cal Ya5a4]}) (28. Qxd4 Nc5) 28... Nxe5 29. f4 (29. Ra4 Red8)
29... Nxc4 30. Qc1 Bxe4 $1 31. Qxc4 Bxg2+ 32. Kxg2 Qe4+ $132) 28. e6 $1 Bxd4 (
28... fxe6 $2 29. Bxc5 Nxc5 30. Ne5 $18) 29. Nxd4 (29. exf7+ Qxf7) 29... Nf8 (
29... Ne5 30. f4 Nxc4 31. Qc3 $18) (29... fxe6 30. e5 $16 (30. Nxc6 $16)) 30.
f4 ({Weiß konnte auch einen P gewinnen; danach spielt der Bg6 aber wieder mit:
} 30. exf7+ $5 Bxf7 31. Nxc6 Qc7 32. e5 $18) 30... Nxe6 31. f5 Nxd4 32. Qxd4
Bh7 33. h4 {[%csl Rh7]} Red8 $2 (33... Reb8 34. Qd6 $16) {Das war Anand wohl
entgangen} 34. Rxa4 $1 Rab8 (34... Rxd4 35. Rxa8+ $18) 35. Qa1 Rxd1+ 36. Qxd1
Qe5 37. Rb4 Ra8 38. Ra4 Rb8 39. Ra3 Qf4 40. Qe1 g6 41. f6 Kh8 42. Qg3 Qc1+ 43.
Kh2 Rb1 44. Qd6 Bg8 45. Kh3 Rb8 46. Rg3 Qb2 47. c5 Rb3 48. Rxb3 Qxb3+ 49. Kh2
Qe3 50. Qf8 Qf4+ 51. Kg1 Qe3+ 52. Kf1 Qd3+ 53. Kf2 (53. Kf2 Qd2+ 54. Kf3 Qd3+
55. Kf4 Qd2+ 56. Ke5 Qb2+ 57. Kd6 Qd4+ 58. Kc7 Qe5+ 59. Kb7 Qb2+ 60. Kc8 $18)
1-0

[Event "Sofia MTel Masters 3rd"]
[Site "Sofia"]
[Date "2007.05.16"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Sasikiran, Krishnan"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2690"]
[BlackElo "2734"]
[Annotator "ChessBase II"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2007.05.10"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 118"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2007.05.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2007.05.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Bg2 c6 8. Bc3
d5 9. Ne5 Nfd7 10. Nxd7 Nxd7 11. Nd2 O-O 12. O-O Rc8 13. e4 b5 14. Re1 dxe4 15.
Nxe4 bxc4 16. Qe2 Rb8 17. Bf1 Nf6 18. Nc5 Nd5 $2 {[%mdl 8192]} 19. Nxa6 Nxc3
20. Qxc4 Nb5 (20... Rb6 21. Qxc3 {[%cal Gf1a6]}) 21. Nxb8 Qxb8 22. a4 Nd6 23.
Qxc6 Nf5 24. Rad1 Bf6 25. Qe4 Qxb3 26. d5 Nd6 27. Qe3 Qxe3 28. Rxe3 e5 29. Rc3
Bd8 30. Rc6 Nf5 31. d6 Bb6 32. d7 Rd8 33. Rc8 Kf8 34. Rd5 1-0

[Event "Sofia MTel Masters 3rd"]
[Site "Sofia"]
[Date "2007.05.17"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Black "Sasikiran, Krishnan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A21"]
[WhiteElo "2757"]
[BlackElo "2690"]
[Annotator "Sasikiran,K"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2007.05.10"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 118"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2007.05.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2007.05.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 e5 2. g3 d6 3. Bg2 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. d3 f5 6. e4 (6. e3 a5 7. Nge2 Nf6 8.
O-O O-O 9. b3 c6 10. Ba3 Na6 11. Rc1 Rb8 12. Bb2 Bd7 13. d4 (13. Qd2 $142 b5
$140 14. cxb5 cxb5 15. Nd5 $11) 13... e4 14. d5 (14. Qd2 $142 $13) 14... Qe7
15. dxc6 (15. Qd2 $142 Nb4 $5 (15... c5) 16. Rcd1 (16. Nf4 g5 17. Nh3 Ng4 $15)
16... Nd3 17. Ba3 c5 $13) 15... bxc6 16. Qd2 Rfd8 17. Rcd1 Be8 18. Na4 Nb4 19.
Nc1 c5 20. Nc3 (20. a3 Nc6 (20... Bxa4 $2 21. bxa4 Na6 (21... Nc6 $2 22. Bxf6
Bxf6 23. Qd5+ $18) 22. Bc3 $14) 21. Bxf6 $5 Bxf6 22. f3 $5 (22. Nc3 Bxc3 $1 23.
Qxc3 Ne5 $15) 22... exf3 23. Bxf3 Bg5 24. Rfe1 Ne5 25. Bd5+ Bf7 26. Nc3 $5 a4
$5 $15) 20... d5 $1 $17 21. Nxd5 Nfxd5 22. Bxg7 Nc7 23. Bd4 Ne6 24. Ne2 a4 25.
Qb2 cxd4 26. exd4 axb3 27. axb3 Nd3 {0-1 Markowski,T (2568)-Sasikiran,K (2573)/
Istanbul TUR 2000/The Week in Chess 314}) 6... Nf6 7. Nge2 a5 $2 {Played
quickly in analogy with the above mentioned game. Here there is an important
difference. White intends to play in the centre with exf5 followed by f4 or d4.
Schnell gespielt in Analogie mit der oben erwähnten Partie. Hier gibt es einen
wichtigen Unterschied. Weiß will mit exf5 im Zentrum agieren, gefolgt von f4
oder d4.} (7... O-O) 8. exf5 $1 gxf5 {A difficult decision. Eine schwierige
Entscheidung.} ({Having understood my mistake on my previous move, I was
considering the pawn sacrifice for developing my queenside pieces by means of
Nachdem ich meinen Fehler im vorigen Zug begriffen hatte, erwog ich das
Bauernopfer für die Entwicklung meiner Damenflügelfiguren mittels} 8... Bxf5 9.
Bxb7 Nbd7 10. O-O Rb8 11. Bc6 $5 O-O {But after Aber nach} 12. d4 {Black's
compensation is insufficient. Hence I decided to maintain material equality
for the time being, hoping that the rook on a8 might come in useful via a6!
reicht die schwarze Kompensation nicht aus. Daher beschloss ich, das
materielle Gleichgewicht aufrechtzuerhalten in der Hoffnung, dass der Turm auf
a8 sich über a6 nützlich machen könnte!}) 9. d4 $1 O-O 10. Bg5 Qe8 (10... h6
11. dxe5 hxg5 12. exf6 Bxf6 13. Qd5+ Kg7 14. h4 Nc6 (14... g4 15. O-O-O Nc6 16.
Nf4 Ne5 17. c5 $1 $36) 15. O-O-O gxh4 16. Nf4 {with a dangerous initiative
against the black king. mit gefährlicher Initiative gegen den schwarzen König.}
) 11. O-O h6 (11... e4 12. f3 $1 Nc6 13. Bxf6 exf3 (13... Rxf6 14. fxe4 fxe4
15. Rxf6 Bxf6 16. Bxe4 Bg4 17. Qd2 $16) 14. Rxf3 Bxf6 15. Nd5 Bd8 16. Qd2 $16)
12. Bxf6 $1 (12. dxe5 $6 dxe5 13. Be3 Nc6 14. Nd5 Qf7 15. Nec3 Rd8 {and
although White has some advantage nothing decisive is apparent. und obwohl
Weiß einigen Vorteil hat, ist nichts Entscheidendes in Sicht.}) 12... Bxf6 13.
c5 $1 {Shakhriyar correctly opens the position for exploiting his development
advantage. None of the other continuations promised anything concrete.
Shakhriyar öffnet richtigerweise die Stellung, um seinen Entwicklungsvorteil
zu nutzen. Keine der anderen Fortsetzungen versprach irgendetwas Konkretes.} ({
For example Zum Beispiel} 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Qd2 (14. Re1 c6 15. Nf4 Nd7 16. Qe2
Qf7) 14... Kh7 15. Nd5 Bd8 16. Nec3 c6 17. Ne3 Na6 $11) (13. Nb5 Qe7 14. Nec3
c6 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Nd6 Be6 $132) 13... Nc6 $8 (13... dxc5 $6 14. dxe5 Qxe5 (
14... Bxe5 15. Re1 $1 Nd7 (15... c6 $2 16. Nf4 $18) 16. Nf4 {and the
light-squared weaknesses around the black king and the pin on the e-file
should be decisive. und die weißfeldrigen Schwächen um den schwarzen König
sowie die Fesselung in der e-Linie sollten sich als entscheidend erweisen.})
15. Nf4 $40) (13... e4 14. cxd6 cxd6 15. Nd5 Bd8 16. f3 $1 $40) 14. Nb5 Qe7 15.
Nec3 Qg7 $5 {I felt the impending danger on my position, but decided to
maintain the two bishops in case of Nd5. Ich spürte die Gefahr, die sich über
meiner Stellung zusammenbraute, entschloss mich aber, im Fall von Nd5 das
Läuferpaar zu behalten.} (15... Nxd4 16. Nd5 Qd8 17. Ndxc7 Nxb5 18. Qd5+ $1 (
18. Nxa8 Nd4 $1 $44) 18... Kh7 19. Nxa8 $16) 16. cxd6 (16. Nd5 Bd8 17. Re1 a4
$5 $14) 16... cxd6 17. d5 Nd4 18. Nxd4 (18. Nxd6 e4 $5 (18... Bd7 $5 19. Nxb7
Rab8 20. Nc5 (20. Nxa5 Rxb2 21. Rb1 Rxb1 22. Nxb1 e4 $44) 20... Rxb2 21. Rb1
Rxb1 22. Qxb1 Rc8 23. Nxd7 (23. Qb6 Bd8 24. Qa7 Be8) 23... Qxd7 24. Nd1 $14)
19. Re1 Ra6 $5 20. Nxc8 Rxc8 {with some counterplay on the dark squares mit
einigem Gegenspiel auf den dunklen Feldern.}) 18... exd4 19. Nb5 f4 $5 ({
The alternative was Die Alternative war} 19... Ra6 20. Rc1 Rb6 21. Nc7 Rxb2 22.
Ne6 Bxe6 23. dxe6 $16 {Though Black is a pawn up he has no counterplay, and
after the exchange of the rook on b2 White can continue playing for a win
without any risk. Obwohl Schwarz einen Mehrbauern hat, ist er ohne Gegenspiel,
und nach dem Tausch des Turms auf b2 kann Weiß risikolos auf Gewinn spielen.})
20. Nxd6 Bg4 21. Qd3 {Allowing Black to shut out the bishop on h1 (at least
temporarily). Erlaubt Schwarz, den Läufer auf h1 auszusperren (zumindest
zeitweilig).} (21. Bf3 Bh3 (21... Bxf3 22. Qxf3 Be5 23. Qe4 $1 Bxd6 24. Qe6+
Rf7 25. Qxd6 Ra6 26. Qc5 $16) 22. Re1 Be5 23. Ne4 Rac8 24. Qd3 $16) 21... Be7
22. Nb5 (22. Nxb7 $5 f3 23. Bh1 Rf7 (23... Ra7 24. d6 Rxb7 25. dxe7 Rxe7 26.
Rfe1 Re2 27. Rxe2 fxe2 28. Re1 Qf6 29. Bd5+ Kg7 30. f3 $16) 24. Rac1 Bg5 25.
Nd6 Bxc1 26. Nxf7 Bxb2 27. Nd6 $16) 22... f3 23. Bh1 Bc5 24. d6 Kh8 25. Rad1 $6
(25. Rfe1 $5 Bf5 (25... Rf7 26. Rac1 b6 27. Nc7 $16) 26. Qb3 (26. Qc4 Rac8 27.
Re7 Qf6 28. Qd5 d3 29. Rf1 Bxf2+ $3 30. Kxf2 Qxb2+ 31. Kg1 Rc1 (31... Bh3 32.
Bxf3 Rc1 33. Ree1 Bxf1 34. Rxc1 Be2 35. Qd4+ Qxd4+ 36. Nxd4 d2 37. Rd1 Bxd1 38.
Bxd1 $16) 32. Bxf3 Rxf1+ 33. Kxf1 Bh3+ 34. Ke1 Qc1+ 35. Kf2 Qd2+ 36. Kg1 Qc1+
$11) 26... d3 27. Bxf3 $16) ({Much more accurate was Viel genauer war} 25. Rae1
$1 {threatening Re7 drohend Re7} Rad8 26. Re7 Rf7 27. Rfe1 Bxd6 28. Re8+ Rxe8
29. Rxe8+ Bf8 30. Nxd4 $18) 25... Rad8 26. a3 $2 (26. Rfe1 $1 Bxd6 27. Nxd6
Rxd6 28. Qa3 Rdd8 29. Re7 Qf6 30. Rxb7 d3 31. Qxa5 $16) 26... Bb6 $2 $138 {
Approaching time pressure, I did not want to leave the bishop hanging. However,
it was more important to eliminate the passed pawn and give more space to the
bishop. Bei nahender Zeitnot wollte ich den Läufer nicht in der Luft hängen
lassen. Wichtiger aber war es, den Freibauern zu eliminieren und dem Läufer
mehr Raum zu verschaffen.} (26... Bxd6 $1 27. Qxd4 Be5 28. Qb6 Qf6 29. Qxa5
Bxb2 30. Qb4 h5 31. Rfe1 $14) 27. Rfe1 $1 Bf5 (27... Rd7 $5 {was a better
defensive try. war ein besserer Verteidigungsversuch.}) 28. Qd2 Qf6 29. Re7 Bd7
(29... d3 $142 $5 30. Rxb7 Rb8 31. Rxb8 Rxb8 32. Qc3 Qxc3 33. bxc3 Rf8 $1 34.
a4 (34. c4 Rc8 35. d7 Bxd7 36. Nd6 Rf8 37. Rxd3 Bc6 38. Nb5 Bc5) 34... Be4 35.
c4 Bc5 36. Nc3 Bh7 37. d7 $18 Rd8 38. Bxf3 Rxd7 39. Nd5 Rb7 40. Nf4 Rb3 {
and Black can hope to hold the balance due to the activity of his pieces and
the d3-passed pawn. und aufgrund der Aktivität seiner Figuren und des
d3-Freibauern kann Schwarz das Gleichgewicht halten.}) 30. Rde1 (30. Qc2 $6 Bf5
31. Qb3 Bc5 32. Rxb7 d3 33. Qc3 Qxc3 34. bxc3 Bxd6 35. Nxd6 (35. Bxf3 Bc5 36.
Rc7 Bb6 37. Rc6 Bxf2+ 38. Kxf2 Be4 39. Rxh6+ Kg7 40. Rd6 Rxf3+ 41. Kg1 Rxd6 42.
Nxd6 Bg6 43. c4 Kf6 44. Nb7 a4 45. Nc5 Ke5 46. Nxa4 Kd4 $132) 35... Rxd6 36.
Bxf3 Rc8 $14) 30... Qg5 31. Qd3 Qf5 32. Qd2 $2 {This is hard to understand. If
White wanted to take on f5, it was better to do this immediately and Black has
to make two additional moves to the time control. Dies ist schwer zu verstehen.
Wenn Weiß auf f5 nehmen wollte, hätte er dies sofort tun sollen, wonach
Schwarz bis zur Zeitkontrolle noch zwei Züge mehr machen muss.} Qg5 33. Qc2 Qf5
34. Qxf5 Rxf5 35. Nc7 d3 36. Rd1 Rc5 $1 37. Bxf3 Rc2 38. Rf1 $2 {Now Black has
at least a draw. Nun hat Schwarz mindestens Remis.} (38. Nd5 Bxf2+ 39. Kh1 Bc6
40. Rxd3 Rxd6 41. Be4 Kg8 $14 {and although White is a pawn up, the conversion
might be difficult because of the activity of the black pieces. und obwohl
Weiß einen Bauern mehr hat, könnte die Verwertung aufgrund der Aktivität der
schwarzen Figuren schwierig sein.}) 38... Bh3 $1 39. Ne6 $1 Bxf2+ $1 40. Kh1
Bxf1 {Having made it to the time control, I felt a sense of relief, noticing
the draw after Nxd8. Nachdem ich die Zeitkontrolle geschafft hatte, verspürte
ich ein Gefühl der Erleichterung, da ich das Remis nach Nxd8 erkannte.} 41. d7
$4 {This is hard to explain. Either Shakhriyar overlooked Bg2+ or wanted to
make an extra move just in case. Dies ist schwer zu erklären. Entweder übersah
Either Shakhriyar Bg2+ oder er wollte sicherheitshalber noch einen Extrazug
machen.} (41. Be4 $2 Bd4 $1 42. h4 Bg2+ $1 43. Bxg2 Rxg2 $1 44. Kxg2 d2 45.
Nxd8 d1=Q $19) (41. Nxd8 Rc1 42. Nf7+ Kg8 43. Nxh6+ Kf8 44. Rf7+ Ke8 45. Re7+
$11) 41... Rg8 (41... Rg8 42. Be4 Bg2+ $1 43. Bxg2 (43. Kxg2 Bc5+ 44. Kh3 Bxe7)
43... Rc1+ 44. Bf1 d2 $19) 0-1

[Event "WchT 7th"]
[Site "Bursa"]
[Date "2010.01.07"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Sasikiran, Krishnan"]
[Black "Gashimov, Vugar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E31"]
[WhiteElo "2653"]
[BlackElo "2759"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2010.01.05"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "TUR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 134"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.01.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.01.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "India"]
[BlackTeam "Azerbaijan"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "IND"]
[BlackTeamCountry "AZE"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bg5 c5 5. d5 h6 6. Bh4 d6 7. e3 exd5 8. cxd5
Nbd7 9. Bd3 Qa5 10. Nge2 Nxd5 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3 O-O 13. Bc2 Nxc3 14. Nxc3
Qxc3 15. Rc1 Qb4 16. Qd3 g6 17. Be7 Re8 18. Qxd6 a5 19. Bd3 c4 20. Rxc4 Qxd6
21. Bxd6 Ne5 22. Re4 Bf5 23. Rxe5 Bxd3 24. Rd1 Bc4 25. a3 b5 26. h4 g5 27. hxg5
Rxe5 28. Bxe5 hxg5 29. Rd6 Kh7 30. Rc6 Be6 31. Rb6 Rd8 32. Bc3 b4 33. axb4 Rd3
34. Bd4 a4 35. Rb5 Kg6 36. Ra5 a3 37. b5 a2 38. b6 Rb3 39. Kh2 Rb4 40. g4 Rb1
41. f4 gxf4 42. exf4 Bxg4 43. Rg5+ Kh6 44. Rxg4 Rxb6 45. Rg1 Rb4 46. Bc3 Rb3
47. Ba1 f5 48. Bg7+ Kh5 49. Ra1 Kg6 50. Be5 Ra3 51. Kg2 Kf7 52. Kf2 Ke6 53. Rd1
Ra5 54. Ke2 Ra6 55. Ra1 Kd5 56. Kd3 Ra3+ 57. Kc2 Kc4 58. Kb2 1-0

[Event "WchT 7th"]
[Site "Bursa"]
[Date "2010.01.09"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Sasikiran, Krishnan"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D15"]
[WhiteElo "2653"]
[BlackElo "2781"]
[PlyCount "138"]
[EventDate "2010.01.05"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "TUR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 134"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.01.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.01.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "India"]
[BlackTeam "Armenia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "IND"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ARM"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. g3 dxc4 6. a4 e6 7. Bg2 c5 8. dxc5
Qxd1+ 9. Nxd1 Bd7 10. Ne5 Bc6 11. Nxc6 Nxc6 12. Bd2 Nd5 13. Rc1 Bxc5 14. Rxc4
Be7 15. Ne3 O-O-O 16. O-O Kb8 17. Nxd5 exd5 18. Rc3 Rhe8 19. Re3 Bf6 20. Rxe8
Rxe8 21. e3 d4 22. Rc1 Bg5 23. Bxc6 bxc6 24. Rxc6 dxe3 25. Bxe3 Bxe3 26. fxe3
Rxe3 27. Rxa6 Rb3 28. Rd6 Kc7 29. Rd2 Rb4 30. Rc2+ Kd7 31. Rd2+ Kc7 32. Rc2+
Kd7 33. a5 Rb5 34. Rd2+ Kc7 35. Rc2+ Kd7 36. b4 Rxb4 37. Ra2 Kc7 38. a6 Kb8 39.
Rf2 f6 40. Re2 h5 41. Re8+ Ka7 42. Re7+ Kxa6 43. Rxg7 Kb6 44. Rf7 h4 45. Rxf6+
Kc7 46. Rf4 Rb1+ 47. Kg2 hxg3 48. hxg3 Kd7 49. Re4 Rb8 50. Re3 Rh8 51. Kf3 Rf8+
52. Kg4 Kd6 53. Kg5 Rg8+ 54. Kf6 Kd5 55. Re5+ Kd6 56. Re3 Kd5 57. Re5+ Kd6 58.
Rg5 Rf8+ 59. Kg7 Rf3 60. g4 Rf4 61. Kh6 Ke7 62. Rg7+ Kf8 63. g5 Rf1 64. Ra7 Rg1
65. Kg6 Rg2 66. Ra8+ Ke7 67. Ra5 Kf8 68. Ra8+ Ke7 69. Rg8 Kd6 1-0

[Event "Olympiad-39"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2010.09.28"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Navara, David"]
[Black "Sasikiran, Krishnan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B85"]
[WhiteElo "2722"]
[BlackElo "2681"]
[Annotator "Sasikiran,K"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2010.09.21"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 139"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.11.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.11.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Czech Republic"]
[BlackTeam "India"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "CZE"]
[BlackTeamCountry "IND"]

{This game contains a training question at one of the critical moments. Please
"enable training" in order to try to solve this question} 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3.
f4 {A small surprise. I have not had much experience against the Grand Prix
Attack and in my practice I remembered two games. In both of these I did not
experience any opening problems. Nevertheless I spent 10 minutes before
playing my next move wondering where David wanted to catch me} e6 (3... Nc6 4.
Nf3 (4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. d3 e6 7. Nh3 Nge7 8. Be3 b6 9. O-O O-O 10. Kh1 Qd7
11. Bg1 Bb7 12. Qd2 Rae8 13. Rae1 f5 14. Ng5 Nd4 15. Nf3 {Nh3-g5-f3 is hardly
a way to play for a advantage, but certainly Hikaru was not playing for one :)}
Nec6 {1-0 Nakamura,H (2708)-Sasikiran,K (2653)/Bursa TUR 2010 (46)} (15... Nxf3
16. Bxf3 d5 $1 {gave good chances of an advantage.})) 4... g6 5. Bb5 Bd7 6. O-O
Bg7 7. d3 a6 8. Bxc6 Bxc6 9. Qe1 Qd7 10. Bd2 f5 $6 {Provocative. 1/2-1/2 Gomez,
J (2501)-Sasikiran,K (2686)/Subic Convention Center,Subic 2010 (38)} (10... Nh6
{is safer})) 4. Nf3 Nf6 (4... a6 5. g4 $5 d5 6. d3 Nf6 7. g5 dxe4 8. Ne5 Nfd7
9. Nxe4 Nxe5 10. fxe5 Qd4 11. Bg2 Nc6 12. c3 Qxe5 13. O-O $44 {1-0 Macieja,B 
(2588)-Kempinski,R (2595)/Polska 2001 (35)}) 5. d4 {After a few minutes
thought. At this point I felt that somehow my move order had the desired
effect.} (5. e5 dxe5 6. fxe5 (6. Nxe5 Bd6 7. Bb5+ Nbd7 8. d4 O-O 9. Be3 Qc7
$132) 6... Nfd7 7. d4 cxd4 8. Qxd4 Nc6 9. Qf4 a6 {with complex play.}) 5...
cxd4 6. Nxd4 a6 {Back to familiar waters.} 7. Be2 Qc7 8. O-O Be7 9. a4 Nc6 10.
Be3 O-O 11. Kh1 Re8 12. Bf3 Bf8 {After many transpositions we have reached one
of the main positions of the Scheveningen system.} 13. Qd2 Bd7 $5 {During the
game I vaguely remembered that I was following a game of Rybka. Rb8 and Na5
are more popular alternatives} 14. Qf2 $5 (14. Nxc6 $6 {allows Black to
organize his pieces properly.} Bxc6 15. a5 Nd7 16. Rfb1 Rac8 17. b4 e5 18. b5
axb5 19. Nxb5 Bxb5 20. Rxb5 exf4 21. Bxf4 Nc5 22. Qd5 g6 23. Rab1 Ra8 24. Bd2
Re7 25. Kg1 Bg7 26. Bf4 Be5 $132 {0-1 Hiarcs 12 2CPU (2985)-Rybka 3 64-bit
2CPU (3178)/CCRL 2008 (81)}) (14. Nb3 b6 15. g4 Bc8 16. g5 Nd7 {leads to
complex play}) 14... Rab8 $5 {[%mdl 8] preparing b6.} (14... Rac8 $5 15. Nb3 g6
16. a5 (16. g4 $5 Bg7 17. Bb6 Qb8 18. Rad1 Ne7 19. Bd4 $1 $14) 16... Bg7 17.
Na4 e5 18. Nb6 Rcd8 19. Nd5 Nxd5 20. exd5 Nd4 21. fxe5 dxe5 22. Nxd4 exd4 23.
Bxd4 Bxd4 24. Qxd4 Qxc2 {1/2-1/2 Lakos,N (2287)-Korneev,O (2583)/Ortigueira
2002/CBM 089 ext}) 15. a5 $5 {Quite an interesting concept .White initiates
the following forced sequence which exchanges a flank pawn for a centre pawn
and also secures him a better pawn structure. However Black obtains
counterplay against White's e4-pawn and his pieces can breathe more freely.} (
15. g4 $5 {is the other critical move especially considering Black's bishop is
occupying the f6-knight's retreat square. Also worth noting is the x-ray
attack on f7 with queen and rook piled up on the f-file.} e5 16. Nxc6 $5 (16.
Nf5 exf4 17. Bxf4 Be6 18. g5 (18. Rad1 Ne5 19. g5 Nfd7 20. Bg2 Rbc8 21. Nd4 g6
22. Nd5 (22. Nxe6 fxe6 23. Bh3 Bg7 $13) 22... Bxd5 23. exd5 Bg7 24. Bh3 Re7
$132) 18... Nd7 19. Nd5 Bxd5 20. exd5 Nce5 21. Bg2 g6 22. Nd4 (22. Nh6+ Bxh6
23. gxh6 f5 {and Black's knights controlling various central squares are in no
way inferior to bishops( which are blocked by their own pawns)}) 22... Bg7 {
with Re7 and Rbe8 to follow. Black's stronghold on e5 guarantees him
counterplay.}) 16... bxc6 17. f5 $1 (17. h3 exf4 18. Bxf4 Be6 $15 {followed by
Nd7-e5}) (17. g5 Ng4 18. Bxg4 Bxg4 19. f5 Bh5 $5 20. Qh4 g6 $15) 17... d5 $1
18. g5 Nxe4 19. Nxe4 dxe4 20. Bxe4 Rb4 21. Qg2 g6 $5 (21... Rxb2 $6 22. g6 {
is too dangerous}) 22. b3 (22. c3 Rxe4 23. Qxe4 Bxf5 24. Rxf5 gxf5 25. Qxf5 c5
26. Kg1 e4 {Although Black's pawn structure is broken, the e4-passer provides
sufficient counterplay.}) 22... Qc8 23. fxg6 (23. Qf3 Rxe4 (23... gxf5 24. Bxf5
Bxf5 25. Qxf5 Qxf5 26. Rxf5 Re4 27. Rf3 $14) 24. fxg6 (24. Qxe4 $2 gxf5 $17)
24... Rf4 25. Bxf4 exf4 26. gxf7+ Kxf7 27. Qxf4+ Kg8 28. Qf7+ Kh8 29. Rae1 Bg7
{is unclear}) 23... hxg6 24. Qf3 Be6 {with complex play}) (15. Nb3 b6 16. g4
Bc8 17. g5 Nd7 18. Bg2 Bb7 $13) 15... Nxa5 16. Nxe6 Rxe6 17. Bb6 Qc8 (17... Qc4
$5 {appears more active and I was considering it during the game. However in
most variations the queens will come off the board (likely exchange on c5) and
Black has to defend accurately in the endgame. The game continuation is
objectively slightly worse but the game remains complex.} 18. Bxa5 (18. Rxa5 $6
Bc6 19. f5 Re5 20. Rxe5 dxe5 $15) 18... Bc6 19. b3 Qc5 20. Qxc5 dxc5 21. e5
Bxf3 22. Rxf3 b6 23. Bxb6 (23. exf6 bxa5 24. Nd5 (24. fxg7 Bxg7 25. h3 c4 26.
bxc4 Rb2 27. f5 Re8 28. f6 Bf8 29. Rg3+ Kh8 30. Nd5 Rxc2 31. Ne7 (31. Rxa5 $4
Bd6 $19) 31... Bxe7 32. fxe7 (32. Re1 Rxc4 33. Rge3 Rc6 34. Rxe7 Rf8 35. Rf1 h6
$15) 32... Rxe7 33. Rxa5 $11) 24... a4 $1 25. bxa4 Re2 26. c4 Ra2 27. Rff1 Rbb2
$132) 23... Rexb6 24. exf6 Rxf6 25. Nd5 Re6 (25... Rd6 26. c4 $14) 26. h3 Re2
27. c4 Rb2 28. Rxa6 R2xb3 29. Rxb3 Rxb3 30. f5 Rb1+ 31. Kh2 Rc1 32. Ra8 f6 $11)
18. Rxa5 (18. Bxa5 $142 Bc6 19. Rfe1 Qe8 20. Qd4 Rc8 21. Bb4 g6 22. Rad1 Bg7
23. Qd3 Bf8 $5 $14) 18... Bc6 19. Qd4 (19. Re1 Qe8 20. f5 (20. Qe3 Qe7 $1 (
20... d5 $6 21. e5 Bb4 22. Raa1 Ne4 23. Bd4 {White has a clear plan of moving
the central pawns with f5 etc and it is not clear how Black can oppose it.})
21. f5 Re5 22. Qd2 Re8 $132) 20... Re5 21. Rxe5 dxe5 22. Nd5 Bxd5 23. exd5 e4
24. Bd4 Qd8 $1 25. Bxf6 (25. Bxe4 Nxe4 26. Rxe4 Qxd5 $11) 25... Qxf6 26. Bxe4
Qxb2 $11) 19... Qe8 20. Re1 (20. Nd5 Bxd5 21. exd5 Re1 22. Ra1 Rxf1+ 23. Rxf1
Rc8 $132) 20... g6 $5 {Seeking to activate the dark coloured bishop via g7 or
h6. However it was better to bring the rook on b8 to e8 to bring pressure on
e4.} (20... Nd7 21. Bg4 Rh6 22. Nd5 Nxb6 23. Qxb6 Be7 24. Qf2 Qd8 25. Raa1 $14)
(20... Qe7 $142 $1 21. Rd1 $5 {Avoiding the pin and setting a veiled trap.} Rc8
$1 {provides counterplay as Black now threatens to take the pawn.} (21... Re8
$6 22. f5 Re5 (22... Rxe4 23. Nxe4 Nxe4 24. Kg1 g6 {Although Black has good
compensation in the form of a centralised piece, he is the one who is fighting
for a draw.}) 23. Bd8 $1 Qd7 24. Rxe5 Rxe5 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. Ne2 $14) (21...
Nxe4 22. Bxe4 Rxe4 (22... Bxe4 $2 23. f5 $18) 23. Nxe4 Bxe4 24. c4 Qe6 $14))
21. Raa1 $6 {White wants to connect rooks and protect the back rank. However
it has a small tactical flaw.} (21. Qd3 $5 Rc8 22. Bd4 Bg7 23. Re2 Qd7 24. Ra1
Qc7 25. Rae1 (25. Rd1 Rce8 $132) 25... Rce8 26. b4 b5 $132) 21... Nd7 22. Ba7
Ra8 23. Qf2 {[%tqu "En","Please enter a move for Black","The line-up on the
e-file allows a typical Sicilian breakthrough ( albeit at some cost)","",
"f8g7","",0,"a8a7","",10]} Bg7 $2 {Black is a bit cramped and some exchanges
might free his position. However the dark coloured Bishop is the wrong piece
to exchange, simply because Black's king feels weak on the dark squares after
having played g6 already.} (23... Rxa7 $1 {Eliminating the key piece at the
cost of the exchange.} 24. Qxa7 d5 25. Qd4 dxe4 26. Nxe4 (26. Bxe4 $4 Nf6 $19)
(26. Be2 Bc5 27. Qc4 Qe7 $15) 26... f5 27. Qc4 fxe4 28. Bg4 Nc5 29. b4 h5 $5 (
29... Qf7 $5 30. bxc5 Rf6 31. Qxf7+ Kxf7 32. Rad1 Ke8 {Of course Black cannot
let White exchange bishops on d7.} 33. Bf3 Re6 34. Be2 Bxc5 35. Bc4 Re7 36. Bd5
Bxd5 37. Rxd5 b6 38. g3 a5 39. Kg2 a4 40. Ra1 e3 41. c3 a3 {Although Black's
pawns give compensation, he still will have to fight for a draw.}) 30. Bh3 (30.
Bxh5 Qf7 31. Bg4 Rf6 32. Qxf7+ Kxf7 33. bxc5 Bxc5 $132) 30... Qf7 31. bxc5 Rf6
32. Qxf7+ Kxf7 33. Rad1 Ke8 34. g3 Bxc5 35. Bg2 Re6 {and the chances are
roughly balanced because Black's passed e- and a-pawns compensate for the
material deficit.}) (23... Nc5 $6 24. Bxc5 dxc5 25. e5 $1 Bxf3 (25... f6 $2 26.
Nd5 $18) 26. Qxf3 $16 {White will plant the knight on d5 dominating Black's
position.}) 24. Bd4 $1 Bxd4 25. Qxd4 Nf6 (25... Qe7 26. Bg4 f5 27. Be2 fxe4 28.
Bc4 Nf6 29. Ra5 $1 (29. Bxe6+ Qxe6 30. Rad1 d5 31. h3 $14) 29... d5 (29... b5
30. Bxe6+ Qxe6 31. Qb6 $1 Qc8 (31... d5 32. Nxb5 $18) 32. Rea1 $16) 30. Nxd5
Bxd5 31. Rxd5 $36) 26. Re2 $5 (26. g4 h6 27. h4 Nd7 (27... Qe7 28. g5 Nh5 29.
Bxh5 gxh5 30. Ra5 $1 Re8 31. Rd5 f5 (31... f6 32. Rg1 Kh8 33. Kh2 $36) 32. Rg1
(32. Rxf5 Bxe4+ 33. Nxe4 Rxe4 34. Qxe4 Qxe4+ 35. Rxe4 Rxe4 36. Rf6 hxg5 37.
hxg5 a5 $132) 32... Kh7 33. Kh2 Bxd5 34. Nxd5 Qf8 35. c3 $5 $40) (27... g5 $6
28. f5 $16) 28. g5 h5 29. Bg2 Nc5 30. b4 Na4 31. Nxa4 Bxa4 32. c4 Re7 $5 33.
Kg1 (33. Qxd6 Bc6 $132) 33... Rc8 $14) 26... Qe7 27. Rae1 Re8 28. h3 Qd8 29.
Nd1 h5 $5 {I was not really sure whether this move was required. But time
trouble was approaching and it was a bit scary to let a white piece on to g4 
(bishop or knight).} 30. Nf2 Qc7 $2 {Blinking. A close look at position shows
that both sides have placed their pieces on the optimal squares except for the
black queen. (White's queen stands in the centre looking at Black's king and
is ready to help the attack)} (30... Nd7 $1 {prepares Qf6 or Qb6 challenging
the white queen and Black can count on equality.} 31. Nd3 (31. g4 $2 Qf6 $1 $36
) 31... Qb6 32. Qxb6 Nxb6 $11) 31. g4 $5 (31. Nd3 a5 32. f5 gxf5 33. exf5 Rxe2
34. Bxe2 (34. Rxe2 Bxf3 35. Rf2 Ne4 36. Rxf3 Qxc2 37. Kh2 Qc7 $15) 34... Qd8
35. Qf4 Kh7 $11) 31... hxg4 32. hxg4 g5 $2 {Black wishes to obtain the
e5-square for his pieces, however this weakens the kingside irreparably.} ({
A stronger alternative was} 32... Bb5 $5 33. Nd3 $1 (33. Re3 Qxc2 34. Kg2 g5
35. e5 gxf4 36. Qxf4 dxe5 37. Rxe5 Rxe5 38. Rxe5 Rxe5 39. Qxe5 Nd7 40. Qg5+ Kf8
41. Bxb7 $11) (33. Rd2 d5 34. e5 g5 35. Kg2 (35. Rg1 Ne4 36. Bxe4 dxe4 37. Nxe4
Bc6 $132) 35... gxf4 36. Qxf4 Rxe5 37. g5 R5e7 38. Qxc7 Rxc7 39. Rxe8+ Nxe8 40.
Bxd5 Kg7 {with a slightly passive but perfectly defendable position.}) 33... d5
(33... g5 34. f5 Re5 {transposes to the game}) (33... Qc4 34. Qxc4 Bxc4 35. g5
Nd5 36. exd5 Bxd5 37. Bxd5 Rxe2 38. Rxe2 Rxe2 39. Bxb7 a5 40. c3 $14 {With Ba6
to follow securing the pawns. White can then try to evict the black rook by
moving the king towards the centre.}) 34. e5 Ne4 35. Rh2 Qb6 (35... g5 36. Nb4
$16) 36. Qe3 $1 (36. Qxb6 Rxb6 37. Nb4 Bc4 38. c3 g5 39. Nxd5 Bxd5 40. Bxe4
Bxe4+ 41. Rxe4 gxf4 $11) 36... Qxe3 37. Rxe3 Rb6 38. Kg1 Rd8 (38... g5 39. f5
$16) 39. Bg2 (39. Bxe4 dxe4 40. Reh3 Kf8 41. Rh8+ Ke7 42. Rxd8 Kxd8 43. Nc5 e3
$132) 39... Bd7 40. Reh3 Kf8 41. Bf3 $14) 33. f5 (33. fxg5 Nh7 34. Nh3 Re5 $11)
33... Re5 34. Nd3 $6 {Now Black can organise some defence as White's queen is
not ideally placed.} (34. Qd2 $1 {was the most precise way.} Nh7 35. Nd3 R5e7 (
35... Bb5 36. Rh2 Bxd3 37. cxd3 $16 {is no improvement.}) 36. Nb4 a5 37. Nxc6
bxc6 38. Kg2 {White's only weakness on e4 is securely defended and now he can
concentrate on Black's weaknesses on a5, d6 and play along the h-file.}) 34...
Bb5 35. Qe3 Nh7 36. Rh2 $2 {Time trouble. White would like to snare the black
king with Rh7-Qg5 or by moving his queen to the h-file, but forgets that his
king is also exposed.} ({It was not too late for} 36. Qd2 $1 Bxd3 (36... d5 37.
Nxe5 Bxe2 38. Rxe2 Rxe5 39. exd5 Rxe2 40. Qxe2 Nf6 41. c4 $16 (41. Qd2 $2 Qg3
$11)) (36... R5e7 37. Rh2 f6 (37... d5 38. Rxh7 Kxh7 39. Qxg5 f6 40. Qg6+ Kh8
41. Qxf6+ Rg7 42. e5 Qxc2 43. Nf4 Qd2 44. Ng6+ Kh7 45. Qh4+ Qh6 46. Kg2 Qxh4
47. Nxh4 $18) 38. Nb4 $16) 37. cxd3 Qa5 38. Qe3 $1 (38. b4 Qa3 39. Rc1 Rb5 40.
Rc4 a5 41. bxa5 Rb3 42. Re3 Ra8 $132) 38... Rb5 39. d4 Qb6 40. Qd2 Rb3 41. Kg2
a5 42. Rd1 $14 {White holds all the trumps and can plan the e5-break at his
leisure.}) 36... Rxe4 $1 37. Bxe4 Rxe4 38. Qh3 (38. Qg3 Rxe1+ 39. Qxe1 Qc4 $1
40. Qb4 (40. Nf2 Qxc2 $11) 40... Qc6+ 41. Kg1 Bxd3 42. cxd3 Qc1+ 43. Kf2 Qc2+
44. Kg1 Qd1+ 45. Kf2 Nf6 46. Rg2 Qxd3 47. Qxb7 Ne4+ 48. Kg1 Qd4+ 49. Kh2 Qh8+
$11) 38... Bxd3 $1 39. Qxh7+ Kf8 $138 {And here David lost on time failing to
make the last move to the time control. An undeserved win, no doubt,
considering that the last position is equal and Black had to make few precise
moves to acheive a draw. However in this game both players were hardly in
their best form as White's advantage swung to and fro and Black was close to
equality many times and even had a chance to take the initiative .} (39... Kf8
40. Qh8+ Ke7 41. Rxe4+ Bxe4+ 42. Kg1 d5 $1 {I had calculated this while my
opponent was pondering his 40th move.} 43. Qc3 Qxc3 44. bxc3 Bf3 $1 {The last
accurate move eliminating White's Kingside pawns.} 45. Kf2 Bxg4 46. Rg2 Bxf5
47. Rxg5 Ke6 48. Rg8 Kd6 $11) 0-1

[Event "WchT 8th"]
[Site "Ningbo"]
[Date "2011.07.17"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Black "Sasikiran, Krishnan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C95"]
[WhiteElo "2726"]
[BlackElo "2681"]
[Annotator "Sasikiran,K"]
[PlyCount "170"]
[EventDate "2011.07.17"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CHN"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 144"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.09.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.09.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Hungary"]
[BlackTeam "India"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "HUN"]
[BlackTeamCountry "IND"]

1. e4 {My games against Zoltan Almasi has always been uncomprimising and
complex. The current game is no exception.} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6
5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12.
Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 g6 15. b3 c6 16. Bg5 Bg7 17. Qd2 Qe7 18. a4 Qf8 {
A fairly standard position for me. I have played three classical games 
(against, Svidler, Bauer, & Federov) and many other rapid and blitz games. The
placement of the queen is somewhat awkward. However, now White's kingside plan
of exchanging the dark coloured bishops to follow it up with attack is no
longer possible. The Classical centre (e4-d4) offers a slight advantage in
space to White with chances to play on either wing. Black's main play
concentrates on the centre. His plan is to resolve the central tension and
achieve equality.} 19. Be3 $5 {An usual concept. Black's freeing break in the
centre is connected with the d5 break. Now White can respond this with an
exchange on e5 followed by Bd4 (if necessary to neutralise Bg7) or as happened
in the game.} Rac8 $5 {[%mdl 8]} (19... exd4 20. cxd4 c5 {is another way of
resolving the central tension, transposing to similar structures occuring in
the Benoni Opening.} 21. d5 b4 {Although the computer assesses this position
as equal, it is not very appealing to humans. Black's majority on the
queenside can be easily neutralised by controlling the c4-square, whereas
White has a free hand on the kingside to expand with f4-e5. However, in view
of what follows later, this may have been the most prudent decision.}) 20. Bd3
$1 {Keeping an eye on b5 and discouraging the plans with ...exd4 followed by ..
.c5.} d5 $2 {A dangerous decision, however one that is typical of team
championships. You want to exchange a few pieces and resolve the tension 
(especially when playing Black). After the text move, White's advantage in
space stabilises and Black is left without any counterplay which puts him in
the brink of defeat. The natural question is how a grandmaster with so much
experience in the opening (Ruy Lopez Breyer) can get into a losing position so
quickly. The answer lies in the fact that even if you are familiar with
typical pawn breaks, the various ways to resolve the tension, every position
has to be assessed/calculated on a case to case basis. One cannot rely on
experience alone.} (20... Rc7 $5 {waiting for White to show his hand is more
logical.} 21. Ra2 $5 Rec8 22. Rc1 Qe8 {and the waiting game continues.
Nevertheless White has slightly the better of it, as he can continue to expand
on queenside with b4 and c4, whereas Black's choice of plan is limited to
waiting.}) 21. dxe5 Nxe5 (21... dxe4 22. Bxe4 $1 (22. exf6 Nxf6 23. Be2 exf3
24. Bxf3 $14) 22... Nxe5 23. Nxe5 Rxe5 24. Bd4 Rd8 (24... Qd8 25. Qb2 Re7 26.
c4 Rd7 27. Be5 bxc4 (27... b4 28. Rac1 Ne8 29. Bxg7 Nxg7 30. Bf3 f5 31. c5 $16)
28. bxc4 Ba8 (28... a5 $2 29. Bf5 gxf5 30. Nxf5 c5 31. Ra3 $1 {and White's
attack is irresistable.}) 29. c5 $14) 25. Qf4 Nd5 26. Bxd5 Rexd5 27. Ne4 Bxd4
28. cxd4 f5 29. Ng5 Rxd4 30. Qc1 $1 Bc8 31. Qxc6 R4d6 32. Qc7 R6d7 33. Qa5 Rd5
34. axb5 axb5 35. Qc7 R5d7 36. Qb6 $14 {The weakened position of the Black
King and the possibility of establishing a knight on e5 gives a lasting edge
to White.}) 22. Nxe5 Rxe5 23. f4 $5 {Although White maintains some slight edge
after the text, 23.Bd4 forcing the exchange of the dark coloured bishops is
more logical. Black's bishop on b7 cannot be activated easily and hence the
exchanges in the centre favours White.} (23. Bd4 $1 Nd7 (23... Re6 24. exd5
Nxd5 (24... Rxe1+ 25. Rxe1 Nxd5 26. Bxg7 Kxg7 (26... Qxg7 27. Ne4 Rd8 28. Bf1
$1 Qf8 29. c4 f5 30. Ng5 Nc7 31. Qa5 $16) 27. c4 bxc4 28. bxc4 Nb4 29. Qc3+ Kg8
30. Re3 $1 Rd8 (30... Nxd3 31. Nf5 h5 32. Ne7+ Kh7 33. Nxc8 Nxf2 34. Kxf2 Bxc8
35. Qf6 $16) 31. Nf5 f6 32. Ne7+ Kf7 33. Qxb4 Rd7 34. Nxc6 Bxc6 35. c5 $16) 25.
Rxe6 fxe6 26. Bxg7 Qxg7 27. Ne4 Rf8 (27... b4 28. Rc1 bxc3 29. Nxc3 Qd4 30. Ne4
Rf8 31. Rc4 Qe5 32. Nc5 $16) 28. Re1 $16) (23... Ree8 24. b4 $1 Re6 (24... dxe4
25. Bc5 Bh6 26. Qa2 Qg7 27. Bxe4 $1 $16) 25. e5 Nd7 26. axb5 cxb5 27. f4 Qd8 (
27... Bh6 28. Qf2 $16) 28. Nf1 $14 {with Ne3 to follow.}) 24. Bxe5 Bxe5 25.
exd5 cxd5 26. Ne2 bxa4 27. bxa4 Nc5 28. Rab1 Qd6 29. Nd4 Bh2+ 30. Kh1 Bf4 31.
Qe2 $14) 23... Ree8 24. e5 Nd7 25. axb5 $5 {This does not seem necessary as it
opens the c-file for the black rook. However, it does not spoil anything.} (25.
b4 f6 26. e6 Rxe6 27. f5 Rxe3 28. Qxe3 Ne5 29. Ne2 Bh6 30. Qg3 Qg7 31. Rf1 $14)
25... cxb5 26. b4 f6 $5 {Otherwise Black will get squashed if White is allowed
to play Bd4 next. The text involves an exchange sacrifice.} 27. exf6 $2 {
Now Black is no longer worse. The black knight will reach the e4-square and
White has worry about the weakness of the c3-pawn.} (27. e6 $1 {was the most
critical continuation.} Rxe6 28. f5 Rxe3 (28... Rd6 29. fxg6 hxg6 30. Bxg6 f5
31. Bxf5 Bxc3 32. Qf2 Re8 (32... Bxa1 33. Rxa1 $18) 33. Bd4 $1 Bxe1 34. Rxe1
Rxe1+ 35. Qxe1 Kf7 36. Bxd7 Rxd7 37. Nf5 Rc7 38. Qe5 Rc6 39. Kh2 $5 $18 {
The weakened position of Black's king does not offer any hopes for survival.})
29. Qxe3 Ne5 {I judged this position to be slightly better for White having in
mind that the knight on e5 and two bishops as some compensation.} (29... Rxc3
30. Ne2 Rc7 31. Nf4 $18) {But} 30. Bc2 $1 {dispels any illusions. White marks
the d-pawn as the prime target and intends to continue with Bb3 and Rad1. The
other plan is Ne2-d4 (or f4) threatening to jump on to e6. I think Black is
lost here.} Kh8 (30... Qf7 31. Bb3 Nc4 32. Bxc4 Rxc4 33. Ne2 $1 $16) 31. Bb3
Bh6 32. Qd4 Qg8 33. Kh1 $16) 27... Nxf6 28. Bd4 Ne4 29. Bxe4 dxe4 30. Ne2 Rcd8
31. Qe3 Bh6 $5 {One of the important ideas, when playing with the pair of
bishops, is to retain both of them so that the control over both square
complexes are maintained. In the present case Black targets the f4-pawn which
somewhat upsets the co-ordination of White's pieces. Nevertheless the bishop
on d4 cannot be underestimated as it cements White's position by defending the
c3-pawn and looking at the black king.} (31... Qf7 {was possible} 32. Rad1 (32.
Bxg7 $6 Rd3 $1 (32... Kxg7 33. Nd4 $14) 33. Qc5 Qxg7 34. Nd4 e3 $15) 32... Bh6
$5 33. Rf1 {transposes back to the game.}) 32. Rf1 Qf7 33. Rad1 Rd5 $6 {
Planless play. Both players were approaching time trouble and I did not want
to change the situation. However, it is more natural to activate the light
coloured bishop via c4 and this would have put some pressure on White.} (33...
Bd5 $1 34. Ra1 Qb7 35. Ng3 Bc4 36. Rf2 Rd6 {and Black's position is easier to
play even in time trouble.}) 34. Ng3 Rd7 35. Rde1 Qd5 36. Ne2 Rf7 37. Rd1 Qc6
$5 (37... Rd8 38. Qg3 Bf8 39. Rd2 Qf5 {with an even position.}) 38. Bc5 $1 Rd7
$6 {Threatening a cheap trick with ...Rd3. However it was important to stop
Nd4.} (38... Qc7 39. Kh2 (39. h4 Rf5 $13) 39... Rd8 40. g3 Qc8 {is unclear.})
39. Bd4 $6 {White fails to exploit the chance opportunity.} (39. Nd4 Qf6 40.
Rf2 Bd5 41. g4 Bg7 42. Kh2 (42. Ra1 $5) 42... Bb7 (42... Rf7 43. Nxb5 axb5 44.
Rxd5 Qxc3 45. Qxc3 Bxc3 46. Rc2 Bf6 47. Kg3 $14) (42... Rc8 43. f5 Qe5+ (43...
Rf7 44. Rg2 $5 $14) 44. Kg1 $14) 43. Kg3 {and White can further expand on the
kingside with h4-g5-f5. Black's position is not very pleasant.}) 39... Rf8 40.
Rf2 Qc7 41. Qg3 Rf5 $6 {The Rook is quite vulnerable here as Ng3 will always
come with a tempo.} (41... a5 {was the logical idea trying to undermine the
bishop on d4.} 42. bxa5 Qxa5 43. f5 Qc7 44. fxg6 Qxg3 45. Rxf8+ Kxf8 46. Nxg3
hxg6 47. Rb1 Bc6 $11) 42. Rff1 Qc4 43. Qg4 Rdf7 (43... Rd6 44. Be5 Rd5 45. Rfe1
e3 46. Bd4 Rf7 47. Bxe3 Rxd1 48. Rxd1 Bf8 49. Rd8 Qc7 50. Qg5 $14) 44. Bc5 $6 (
44. Be5 $1 Rf8 45. Qh4 Bg5 (45... Bg7 46. Bxg7 Kxg7 47. Nd4 R5f6 48. f5 Bc8 49.
Qxe4 gxf5 50. Qe5 $14) 46. fxg5 Qxe2 47. Rfe1 Qa2 48. Rd7 R5f7 49. Rxf7 Rxf7
50. Bf6 $40 {The opposite coloured bishops enhances White's advantage (secure
king position).}) 44... Bf8 $6 {Allowing the white rook to enter after which
the black king comes under a devastating attack.} (44... Rd5 45. Rxd5 Qxd5 46.
Bd4 Bf8 47. Rd1 $13 {and the game would have continued with dynamic equality.})
45. Rd8 Rxc5 {Sacrificing the exchange for some counterplay. However, the
black king is very weak and hence nothing serious comes out of it.} (45... Kg7
46. Bxf8+ Rxf8 47. Rd4 Qc6 48. Rfd1 Kg8 (48... R5f6 49. Rd7+ R8f7 50. Rxf7+
Rxf7 51. Rd8 $14) 49. Rd6 Qe8 50. Qg3 R5f6 (50... e3 51. R1d3 $16) 51. h4 $14)
46. bxc5 Kg7 $2 {Both players were down to the last seconds and were mainly
playing on the thirty second increment and hence the last part of the game is
full of errors.} (46... Qxc5+ 47. Nd4 Qb6 (47... Qxc3 48. f5 Bc8 49. Qxe4 Bxf5
(49... Qc7 50. Qh4 Qc5 51. fxg6 hxg6 52. Rf6 $16) 50. Qe5 h6 51. Rf3 Qc1+ 52.
Kh2 Qg5 53. Ra8 Kh7 54. Nxf5 gxf5 55. Rxa6 $16) 48. Qh4 e3 (48... Kg7 49. Re8
$40 {with f5 to follow.}) 49. Re1 g5 50. Rxf8+ Rxf8 51. Qxg5+ Qg6 52. Rxe3 Qxg5
53. fxg5 Bd5 54. h4 Bc4 55. Nc6 $14 {although White has an extra pawn, Black's
outside passer gives him good hopes for a draw.}) 47. f5 $6 (47. Nd4 Qxc5 48.
f5 {would have won on the spot.}) 47... Be7 48. Rd7 Qxc5+ 49. Nd4 Bc8 50. f6+
Bxf6 51. Rxf7+ $5 (51. Rxf6 Rxd7 52. Rc6 Rxd4 53. Rxc5 Bxg4 54. cxd4 Be2 55.
Rc7+ $1 {The key check in a long forcing line. Hari (Pentala Harikrishna) and
me discovered this possibility when we were analysing this position blindfold
immediately after the game finished. Now Black is forced to put his king on f8
(otherwise Black loses his a-pawn).} (55. Kf2 Bd3 56. Rc7+ Kf8) 55... Kf8 (
55... Kf6 56. Kf2 Bc4 57. Rc6+ Ke7 58. Rxa6 $18) (55... Kh6 56. d5 $18) 56. Kf2
Bd3 57. Ke3 b4 58. Kd2 h5 59. h4 $1 {and White should eventually win, because
Black will not be able to cover all the weaknesses (g6-e4 etc.).}) 51... Kxf7
52. Qh4 Bf5 53. Qxh7+ Ke8 54. Kh1 $2 {Now the game begins afresh and I am not
sure whether White has a clear win. In all the variations Black seems to be
fighting.} (54. Qg8+ Ke7 55. Rd1 $1 b4 56. Kh1 Bxd4 57. cxd4 Qd6 58. Qg7+ Kd8
59. Rc1 e3 60. Re1 Bd7 61. Rxe3 Kc7 62. Rf3 Qe6 63. Qf8 Qd6 64. Qa8 Qxd4 65.
Qxa6 Bf5 66. Qa5+ Kc6 67. Qa4+ Kc5 68. Rf1 $16) 54... Qc4 55. Rd1 (55. Rg1 Bxd4
56. cxd4 Qxd4 57. Qb7 b4 58. Qxa6 (58. Rb1 a5 59. Qb5+ Kf8 60. Qxa5 e3 61. Rxb4
Qd1+ 62. Kh2 Qd6+ $11) 58... e3 59. Re1 Kf7 60. Qc6 Be4 61. Qc7+ Kg8 62. Qg3 b3
63. Rxe3 b2 64. Qb8+ Kh7 65. Rxe4 Qxe4 66. Qxb2 Qf4 $11) 55... Bxd4 56. cxd4 e3
57. Qh8+ Kf7 58. Qh7+ Ke8 59. Qh6 e2 60. Rc1 $4 {A blunder squandering the
draw. Now Black's pieces will co-ordinate perfectly and the queenside pawns
will romp home.} (60. Qh8+ $11) 60... Qxd4 61. Re1 Bd3 62. Qd2 Qf2 $5 63. Kh2
Bc4 {With the bishop protected and no file for the white rook, the rest does
not require much commentary.} 64. Ra1 Qf6 (64... g5 $1 {threatening ...Qf4+
followed by the advance of the b-pawn was the fastest way to victory.}) 65.
Qe3+ Kd8 66. Re1 Qd6+ 67. Kg1 a5 68. Qa7 a4 69. Qa8+ Kd7 70. Qb7+ Qc7 71. Qe4
Qb6+ 72. Kh2 a3 73. Qg4+ Qe6 74. Qf3 Qd6+ 75. Kh1 a2 76. Qb7+ Qc7 77. Qe4 Qc6
78. Qd4+ Qd6 79. Qc3 Ke6 80. Qc2 Kf6 81. Qc3+ Qe5 82. Qa3 Kg7 83. Qa7+ Kh6 84.
Qa3 b4 85. Qc1+ Kg7 {This win enabled us to draw the match.} 0-1

[Event "RUS-chT 19th"]
[Site "Sochi"]
[Date "2012.04.14"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Vitiugov, Nikita"]
[Black "Sasikiran, Krishnan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E12"]
[WhiteElo "2709"]
[BlackElo "2703"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2012.04.09"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 148"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.05.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.05.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "St Petersburg Chess Fed"]
[BlackTeam "Moscow Navigator"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RUS"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. Bg5 Be7 7. Qa4+ c6 8. Bxf6
Bxf6 9. cxd5 exd5 10. g3 O-O 11. Bg2 Qe7 12. O-O Rd8 13. Rfd1 Na6 14. e3 c5 15.
Rd2 Nc7 16. Rad1 c4 17. Qc2 g6 18. Re1 b5 19. h4 Rab8 20. Rde2 a6 21. e4 dxe4
22. Nxe4 Ne6 23. Neg5 Bxf3 24. Rxe6 fxe6 25. Rxe6 Qd7 26. Rxf6 Bxg2 27. Ne6 Qd5
28. Rxg6+ Kh8 29. Rh6 Be4 30. Qc3 Rd7 31. Qe3 Re8 32. Qf4 Bf5 33. Rf6 Bxe6 34.
Rf8+ Rxf8 35. Qxf8+ Bg8 36. Qf6+ Rg7 0-1

[Event "Amsterdam ACP Golden Classic"]
[Site "Amsterdam"]
[Date "2012.07.15"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Jobava, Baadur"]
[Black "Sasikiran, Krishnan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2730"]
[BlackElo "2707"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2012.07.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 150"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.09.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.09.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Bb6 5. d3 Nf6 6. O-O d6 7. Nbd2 Ne7 8. Bb3
c6 9. Nc4 Bc7 10. Bg5 Ng6 11. Nh4 Nf4 12. Nf5 Bxf5 13. exf5 Qd7 14. Ne3 N4d5
15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Bxd5 cxd5 17. Qf3 f6 18. Be3 Qf7 19. a4 a5 20. d4 O-O 21. Ra3
e4 22. Qe2 Qd7 23. g4 g6 24. Qb5 Qf7 25. Rb3 gxf5 26. gxf5 Kh8 27. Qe2 Rg8+ 28.
Kh1 Qg7 29. f4 b6 30. Rb5 Qd7 31. Rxd5 Qxa4 32. Rb5 d5 33. Rxd5 Rg7 34. Bf2
Bxf4 35. Qxe4 Re8 36. Qf3 Reg8 37. Re1 Qc6 38. Bh4 Rg4 39. Bf2 Rg2 40. Bg1 Rxb2
41. c4 Qc7 42. Rb5 Ra2 43. d5 Be5 0-1

[Event "Poikovsky Karpov 20th"]
[Site "Poikovsky"]
[Date "2019.06.08"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Sasikiran, Krishnan"]
[Black "Artemiev, Vladislav"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B80"]
[WhiteElo "2673"]
[BlackElo "2761"]
[Annotator "Sasikiran,K"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2019.06.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 197 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2020.09.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.09.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,69,19,29,40,50,99,76,76,38,26,24,57,33,64,40,64,46,37,66,41,17,-3,-22,
-25,-56,43,13,13,13,74,79,-23,-19,-24,-31,53,53,135,135,135,130,163,163,175,60,
53,132,132,-1,78,62,256,0,669,787,467,1088,1094,1115,1115,1115,1115,1343,1830,
2292,29975,29976,29995,29996,29999,-30000] This game was dubbed the "Nameless
Immortal" in the internet. Perhaps it was not easy to pin point an exact theme
to this game.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e6 7.
Be3 b5 8. Qd2 b4 9. Na4 Nbd7 10. O-O-O $5 Qa5 11. b3 Bb7 12. a3 Qc7 13. axb4 d5
14. Bf2 $5 {I had analysed this line in 2006 myself, though I never got a
chance to test until now.} (14. Kb1 {used to be the main line in
correspondence chess, but recently White has had a hard time proving an
advantage there.} dxe4 15. b5 Nd5 $1 16. b6 Qc8 (16... N7xb6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18.
Bxb6 Nxb6 19. Nxb6 Rd8 20. Qxd8+ Qxd8 21. Rxd8+ Kxd8 22. fxe4 Kc7 23. Na4 Bxe4
$11 {corr. 2018}) 17. fxe4 Bb4 18. Qf2 Nxe3 19. Qxe3 Nc5 20. Nf5 (20. Nb5 $5 {
An interesting trick but Black has many resources.} O-O (20... axb5 21. Bxb5+
Bc6 22. Rd8+ $5 Kxd8 23. Nxc5 Ke7 24. b7 Bxb7 25. Qg5+ Kf8 26. Nd7+ Kg8 27.
Nf6+ Kf8 $11) 21. Na7 Rxa7 22. bxa7 Nxa4 23. bxa4 Bc5 24. Qc3 Qc7 $11 {White
has to be more careful as his king is much weaker.}) 20... Nxa4 (20... exf5 $2
21. exf5+ Kf8 22. Qd4 $1 a5 23. f6 $1 $40) 21. Nxg7+ Ke7 22. Nf5+ exf5 23.
exf5+ Kf8 24. Qh6+ Ke8 25. Bb5+ axb5 26. Rhe1+ Bxe1 27. Rxe1+ Kd7 28. Rd1+ $11
{Shablinsky,M (2446)-Mendl,M (2525) ICCF 2016}) 14... Bd6 $2 {My opponent was
not familiar with this line and played this after a long thought. Black cannot
allow the exchange of the dark-squared bishops.} (14... e5 15. Nf5 g6 16. Nh6
Rc8 17. Bc5 Nxc5 18. Nxc5 Bxc5 19. bxc5 Qxc5 20. Kb2 Ke7 $1 $11 {connecting
the rooks and ready the bring the h8 rook to play - Mercader Martínez,J (2396)
-Cusicanqui,M (2417) ICCF 2017}) (14... dxe4 $5 15. Bg3 e5 16. Bc4 g6 17. Rhf1
$5 (17. Kb1 h5 18. h4 Bg7 19. Rhf1 O-O 20. Ne2 exf3 21. gxf3 Rad8 $11 {corr.
2017}) (17. Ne2 exf3 18. gxf3 Rc8 $1 {I think this the most accurate move
order.} (18... Be7 19. Rhe1 Rc8 20. Nd4 $1 O-O 21. c3 $1 $16 {Black was
already in big trouble as White has the better coordination and the white king
can safely hide on b2. Johansen,J (2345)-Johansen,A (2048) ICCF 2015}) 19. Qc3
(19. Rhe1 $143 Bxf3 $1 $15 {being the point.}) 19... Bh6+ 20. Kb1 O-O $13)
17... h5 $8 $13 {This was the only move according to my 2006 notes and Black
was surviving somehow.}) (14... g6 $6 15. Bg3 e5 16. exd5 Nxd5 17. Bc4 Bxb4 18.
c3 $16) 15. Bg3 $5 {The engine was quite optimistic about this rather than
exd5 which was played by Nakamura. But i think it is more a matter of taste.} (
15. exd5 $5 Nxd5 (15... Bf4 16. Be3 Bxe3 17. Qxe3 Nxd5 18. Qd2 O-O 19. c4 $16)
16. Bg3 Rc8 17. c4 Bxb4 18. Qg5 Qa5 19. Qxg7 Rf8 20. Nc2 $1 Bc6 21. Qa1 $1 $16
{Nakamura-Grandelius 2018}) 15... Bxg3 (15... Ne5 $2 {Black cannot avoid the
exchange of the dark-squared bishops.} 16. exd5 Nxd5 17. c4 Bxb4 18. Qe2 Bd6
19. Kb1 $18) 16. hxg3 dxe4 (16... Qxg3 17. exd5 Nxd5 18. c4 N5f6 19. Bd3 $18 {
and the black king is in big danger.}) {[#]} 17. g4 $1 {My first think of the
game although I clearly remembered the text move from my analysis} Nd5 $5 {
A practical approach but not necessarily the best.} (17... exf3 $5 {might have
been the lesser evil exchanging queens and hoping to defend the endgame.} 18.
gxf3 Nd5 (18... Ne5 19. Rh3 $1 {Stopping queenside castling.} Ng6 (19... O-O-O
20. Qe1 $1 $18 Kb8 21. Nc5) (19... O-O 20. Qh2 $18) 20. Nc5 O-O-O 21. Bxa6 Bxa6
22. Nxa6 $16) 19. Kb2 Qf4 20. Qxf4 Nxf4 21. b5 h6 22. Rh2 $1 $16 {Still Black
has many problems to solve as the initiative is firmly with White.}) (17... O-O
$2 18. g5 $1 $18 {being the point.}) 18. Bc4 $5 {At this point i had already
spent 25 minutes trying to make 18.fxe4 work and could not come to a definite
conclusion. Hence I decided to connects the rooks.The open h-file makes
castling on the kingside extremely dangerous.} (18. fxe4 $1 {The strongest but
over the board it was not easy to find all nuances.} N5f6 19. g5 (19. Bd3 Qe5 (
19... Nxg4 20. Bb5 $1 Ngf6 21. Bxd7+ Nxd7 22. Rh3 $1 $16 {Preparing Rc3 and
Black is in big danger as the knight on d7 is hanging in many lines.}) 20. c3
Nxg4 21. Bc2 $16) 19... Nxe4 20. Qe3 Qg3 (20... Qe5 21. g6 $1 fxg6 22. Bc4 Bd5
{I stopped my analysis here. Felt White was much better but then nothing
decisive was apparent as the knight on d4 cannot move.} {I missed} 23. Rde1 $1
Ndf6 (23... O-O 24. Rh4 $1 $18 {and the pin on the e-file is decisive.}) 24.
Nc5 a5 25. Nxe4 Bxe4 26. Rh4 $18) 21. Nf3 Qf2 22. Qf4 Qg3 {I did not want to
exchange queens as i thought Black's king didn't have a safe haven anywhere.}
23. Rh4 $1 $18 {Missed this move while calculating the line. Despite the
exchange of queens, Black is under severe pressure as White has a development
edge and Nc5 is always in the air.}) 18... Ne5 $2 {Pressured by the clock and
in a tough position, my opponent makes a fatal error.} (18... exf3 $1 19. gxf3
O-O $1 (19... Qf4 $6 {Exchanging queens. Over the board, I thought this might
be alright for Black but it is not.} 20. Rhe1 (20. Nf5 $5 Qxd2+ 21. Rxd2 exf5
22. Re1+ $1 Ne7 23. Bxf7+ Kxf7 24. Rxd7 Be4 25. gxf5 $1 $18) 20... O-O-O 21.
Bxd5 Qxd2+ 22. Rxd2 Bxd5 23. c4 Ba8 24. b5 $18 {and White's initiative is much
faster.}) 20. Bd3 g6 (20... h6 21. g5 $1 $40) 21. Kb2 Rfd8 22. Be4 $16 {
Black is worse (weaker king and bad pawn structure) but it is still a fight.})
(18... e3 $2 19. Qe1 Qe5 20. Rh5 $18) (18... Rc8 19. Bxd5 Bxd5 20. fxe4 Bxe4
21. Rhe1 Bg6 22. Nf5 $18) (18... N7b6 19. Nxb6 Nxb6 20. Bxe6 fxe6 21. Nxe6 Qe5
22. Qd6 $1 Qxd6 23. Rxd6 Nd7 24. Rhd1 $18) {[#]} 19. Bxd5 $1 {I just spent
four minutes on this move as I felt my development advantage was the most
important factor and I cannot play slowly.} (19. Nc5 $5 {is the engine's
recommendation and could have been stronger.}) 19... exd5 (19... Bxd5 20. fxe4
Bxe4 21. Nc5 $1 (21. Rhe1 $4 Nd3+ $1 $19) 21... Bg6 22. Rhe1 O-O 23. Qf4 f6 24.
Ndxe6 $18) 20. fxe4 $1 {Again the most direct but more so because I wanted to
stop Black from castling queenside.} dxe4 (20... O-O-O 21. Rh3 $1 {It was
precisely for this move i took on e4.} Kb8 22. Rc3 Qd6 23. Nf5 $18) (20... O-O
21. Nf5 $1 $18) 21. Nf5 $1 {I spent 10 minutes on this natural move as I
understood I was winning and did not want to botch it ( as it happened I
messed up three winning positions towards the end of the event).} O-O (21...
Nd3+ $2 22. Kb1 g6 23. Ng7+ Kf8 24. Qh6 Kg8 (24... Qe5 25. Nf5+ Ke8 26. cxd3
gxf5 27. Nc5 $1 $18) 25. Nh5 $1 Qe5 26. Rdf1 $18) {[#]} 22. Qc3 $5 {A simple
trick, but much more incisive was Rxh7.} (22. Rxh7 $5 Kxh7 23. Rh1+ Kg8 24. Qg5
f6 25. Qh5 Rac8 26. Nc5 $1 {However, this move had to be spotted at the start
of the line. White simply improves the position and guards e6 square and waits
with the check on h7.} a5 27. g5 $1 fxg5 28. Qh7+ Kf7 29. Qxg7+ Ke8 30. Qxg5 $1
$18) 22... Rfc8 (22... Qxc3 $4 23. Ne7+ Kh8 24. Rxh7+ Kxh7 25. Rh1+ Qh3 26.
Rxh3#) (22... Rac8 23. Nc5 f6 24. Rxh7 $5 Kxh7 25. Qh3+ Kg8 26. Rh1 Kf7 27. Qh7
$18) 23. Nc5 $1 {Activating my last piece which was out of play.} (23. Rd8+ $4
Qxd8 24. Qxe5 Qg5+ $1 $19) 23... f6 (23... e3 24. Rd7 Qxd7 25. Qxe5 f6 26. Ne7+
$1 $18) (23... h6 24. Rxh6 gxh6 25. Nxh6+ Kh7 26. Nf5 $18) 24. Qh3 (24. Nd6 {
was already winning material but I wanted to finish with an attack on the king,
especially with the knight on f5.}) 24... h6 25. g5 $1 {The necessary prelude
to the following combination opening the way for the queen to e6.} fxg5 (25...
Nd3+ 26. cxd3 Qe5 27. d4 $18) {[#]} 26. Rd7 $3 {Spent six minutes on this move
as I wanted to make sure it was working alright.} (26. Nxh6+ gxh6 27. Qe6+ Qf7
28. Qxe5 $18 {was the easiest.}) 26... Nxd7 27. Nxh6+ $1 gxh6 (27... Kf8 28.
Nxd7+ Ke7 29. Nf5+ Kxd7 30. Nd4+ $18) (27... Kh8 28. Ng8+ $1 Kxg8 29. Qe6+ Kf8
30. Rh8#) 28. Qe6+ Kg7 29. Qxh6+ Kf7 30. Qe6+ Kg7 31. Qe7+ Kg6 32. Qh7+ Kf6 33.
Nxd7+ Ke6 34. Qg6+ $1 {This had to be seen from afar.} Kd5 {My opponent
decided to be sportive and to allow checkmate in the centre of the board. It
is to his credit that he rebounded from this loss to share first place in the
event.} (34... Kxd7 35. Rh7+ Kd8 36. Qg8#) 35. Rd1# 1-0

