[Event "Dortmund SuperGM 41st"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "2013.07.28"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2796"]
[BlackElo "2740"]
[Annotator "Adams,M"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2013.07.26"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 156"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2013.09.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2013.09.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 {
Although I have spent an unhealthy amount of my life analysing the endgame
arising from the Berlin variation my only previous outing on the Black side
against Peter Leko occurred back in 2004. The 101 moves of suffering didn't
encourage me to rush into a second outing.} 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 {The new
fashion which enables White to advance his kingside pawns very rapidly in some
variations.} Bd7 10. Rd1 Kc8 11. g4 Ne7 12. Ng5 Be8 13. f4 h5 14. Kf2 ({
I was only aware of the previously played} 14. f5 {and}) (14. Kg2 {This
novelty is quite clever as the king is ready to cover the g-pawn but avoids
possible bishop checks on the light squares. White's positional assets looked
rather daunting over the board but his king will not feel comfortable for some
time.}) 14... b6 ({The pawn is safe for now as} 14... hxg4 15. hxg4 Rh2+ 16.
Kg3 Rxc2 17. Nh7 {wins material. My move improving Black's king position seems
logical.}) 15. f5 Kb7 16. Nc3 ({If White can complete development without
incident his advanced pawns will be a crucial asset} 16. c4 {was the
alternative.}) 16... hxg4 ({Accepting the challenge as} 16... Nd5 17. Nxd5 cxd5
18. Kg3 {looks pleasant for White.}) 17. hxg4 Rh2+ 18. Kg3 Rxc2 19. Nh7 {
My bishop is destined to perish on its starting square but my other pieces
become very active.} ({Play remains murky after the alternative} 19. e6 f6 20.
Nh7 c5 21. Nxf8 Bc6 22. Ng6 Nxg6 23. fxg6 Rg2+ 24. Kf4 Rf2+) 19... c5 20. Nxf8
({If White wants to play for a win I think} 20. Rd2 Rxd2 21. Bxd2 Bc6 22. Rd1 {
which offers good compensation for a pawn is worth a try.}) 20... Bc6 21. f6 ({
Unusually my opponent seriously miscalculates; I was expecting the better} 21.
Bg5 Nxf5+ 22. gxf5 Rg2+ 23. Kf4 Rf2+ 24. Kg4 (24. Ke3 Rxf5 25. Nh7 Rh8 {
is ok for Black}) 24... Rg2+ {repeating}) ({White is also in difficulties after
} 21. Nd7 Rg2+ 22. Kf4 Rh8 23. Nxc5+ bxc5 24. Rd2 Rg1) 21... Rg2+ 22. Kf4 ({
White is already in dire straits as his king can't find a safe spot} 22. Kh4
gxf6 23. exf6 Nf5+ 24. gxf5 Rxf8 {wins}) (22. Kh3 gxf6 23. Bh6 f5 24. g5 f4 {
is also bad.}) 22... gxf6 23. exf6 Rf2+ 24. Ke3 (24. Ke5 Re8 {forces mate in 2}
) (24. Kg5 Rxf8 25. fxe7 Rg8+ 26. Kh4 Rg2 {only lasts a little longer.}) 24...
Rxf6 25. Nh7 Rf3+ 26. Kd2 ({The alternative} 26. Ke2 Rh8 27. Ng5 Rh2+ 28. Ke1
Rff2 29. Be3 (29. Rd2 Rxd2 30. Bxd2 Rh1+) 29... Rfg2 {is no better.}) 26...
Rd8+ 27. Kc2 ({Or} 27. Ke1 Rh8 28. Ng5 Rh1+ 29. Kd2 Rh2+) 27... Rxc3+ 28. bxc3
Ba4+ 29. Kb2 Rxd1 {With 2 extra pawns and the better position the rest is
simple.} 30. Bg5 Nc6 31. Rxd1 ({If} 31. Bf4 Rd3) 31... Bxd1 32. Bf4 (32. Nf6
Ne5 {wins another pawn.}) 32... Bxg4 33. Nf6 Bf3 34. Ne8 Na5 35. Nxc7 Bc6 {
Now the white knight is dominated.} 36. Kc2 Kc8 37. Kd3 Kd7 38. Kc2 Nc4 39. Na6
Bb7 40. Nb8+ Kc8 41. Kd3 b5 0-1

[Event "EU-chT (Men) 20th"]
[Site "Reykjavik"]
[Date "2015.11.20"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Fressinet, Laurent"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2750"]
[BlackElo "2712"]
[Annotator "Adhiban,B"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2015.11.13"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 170"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Russia"]
[BlackTeam "France"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "FRA"]

{Having won with White against Eljanov the previous day, feeling invincible 
(or perhaps lucky) Fressinet decides to go for the Berlin himself.} 1. e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8
9. h3 {Grischuk is one of the most loyal fightere for White's cause in this
endgame and his results in this are equal even to the great "Berlin slayer Don
Fabi". (You can trust me on this one, since I took a survey!)} h6 10. Rd1+ Ke8
11. Nc3 Ne7 12. b3 Bf5 13. Nd4 Bh7 14. Nce2 Rd8 15. Bb2 a6 (15... Nd5 16. c4
Nb4 17. Nf4 {was (Caruana-Carlsen 2015) which ended in a clean victory for
White.}) 16. c4 c5 17. Nf3 Nc6 18. Nf4 Bc2 19. Rxd8+ Nxd8 20. e6 $1 {Against
Grischuk you need to take great care not to allow this break which efficiently
tears apart the Berlin wall formation.} f6 (20... Nxe6 21. Re1 Rg8 22. Nxe6
fxe6 23. Rxe6+ {with the better endgame for White according to normal human
view while its totally equal according to computer view (0.10 to be exact) and
Berlin experts.}) 21. Rc1 $1 {An important move forcing the bishop to a more
vulnerable square where it can be targetted later on.} ({Also} 21. Re1 {
looks like a big advantage.}) 21... Bf5 $6 {Falling into White's plan.} (21...
Bh7 22. Re1 Nc6 23. Nh5 $36 {Only with initiative, since I am not "allowed" to
give an advantage against the Berlin.}) 22. Re1 Bd6 23. Nh4 $1 Bc2 24. Nh5 Rh7
25. f4 $1 {Since the pieces had reached their maximum potential, its time to
bring on the mighty pawns.} Nc6 26. g4 Nd4 27. f5 a5 28. Kf2 a4 {The typical
Berlin break but here White has achieved so much on the kingside that he can
totally laugh at it and proceed on the other wing.} 29. bxa4 Bxa4 30. Re3 b6
31. Ng6 {Saying goodbye to the rook, who didn't do anything wrong in life yet
had to suffer this sad fate.} Kd8 32. Rd3 Kc8 33. Ke3 (33. Ra3 $5 {was more
forcing.} Bc6 34. e7 Kb7 35. Re3 Be8 36. Bxd4 cxd4 37. Re6 $18) 33... Bc2 34.
Ra3 Nxe6 35. fxe6 Bxg6 36. Ra8+ Kb7 37. Rg8 f5 38. Bxg7 Bxh5 39. gxh5 Kc6 40.
a4 $1 {Preventing the only threat that Black had.} Kb7 41. Bf6 Kc6 42. Rg7 Rh8
(42... Rxg7 43. Bxg7) 43. Rxc7+ {Once again White prevailed in the fight for
truth in the Berlin!} 1-0

[Event "Sharjah Masters 2nd"]
[Site "Sharjah"]
[Date "2018.04.17"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Adhiban, Baskaran"]
[Black "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2661"]
[BlackElo "2700"]
[Annotator "Adhiban,B"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2018.04.12"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 186"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2018.09.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.09.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{This game was personal as I looking to avenge my loss against him in the Tata
Steel Masters 2017.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {I decided it was time I
refuted the Berlin!} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Ba4 $5 {I had wanted to try this
out for a while already. At this point while I was roaming around Safarli came
up to me and said, "I will use your lines and you use mine :)!" to which I
replied, "Deal". And also it was hilarious to see the funny expression of Wang
Hao who had more or less labelled me as "Crazy Patzer" and I have done nothing.
..but just confirm that fact :).} e4 ({Let us have a look at the games of some
of the experts in this line.} 6... exd4 7. c3 $1 {Yes this is how it's done!}
Be7 ({The following game is dedicated to greedy people like my dear friend
Vidit.} 7... dxc3 8. Nxc3 Be7 9. Nd5 O-O 10. Re1 Bf6 11. Bf4 Ne8 12. Rxe8 $1
Qxe8 13. Nxc7 Qe4 14. Bd6 Rb8 15. Bc2 Qg4 16. Bxf8 Kxf8 17. Qd6+ Be7 18. Re1 $1
g6 19. Qd2 Qh5 20. Nd5 Bd8 21. Qc3 f6 22. Nxf6 Ba5 23. Nxd7+ Bxd7 24. Qf6+ Kg8
25. Bb3+ Qd5 26. Bxd5+ Be6 27. Bxe6# {1-0 (27) Showalter,J-Pillsbury,H New
York 1897, and this game is a good example of why greediness is bad for life.})
(7... d3 8. Qxd3 Be7 9. Bf4 O-O 10. c4 (10. Re1 {was stronger.}) 10... Ne8 ({
Both the players missed this enterprising defensive resource:} 10... Nb4 $1 11.
Qe2 (11. Qc3 Ne4) (11. Qb3 a5 $1 {followed by b6 next.}) 11... b6 {and the
bishop gets activated via the long diagonal.}) 11. Nc3 d6 12. h3 Be6 13. Rad1
Nf6 14. Rfe1 Nh5 15. Bc1 g6 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Nd4 Qd7 18. Qf3 Bxc4 19. Nxc6 Be6
20. Bh6 Rfe8 21. g4 Ng7 22. Ne4 f5 23. Nc5 fxg4 24. Qc3 Bf6 25. Qxf6 Qf7 26.
Qxf7+ Bxf7 27. Nd7 Rxe1+ 28. Rxe1 Be6 29. Nf6+ Kf7 30. Nxh7 {1-0 (30) Safarli,
E (2680)-Vignesh,N (2411) Dubai UAE 2017}) 8. cxd4 {The following is a
masterpiece by one of the creators of this system!} O-O 9. Nc3 Nf5 10. d5 Nb8
11. d6 $1 {Oh yes!! Played like a true gambiteer!} Nxd6 12. Bc2 {Study the
classics they said...Win games they said....} Ne8 13. Re1 Nc6 14. Nd5 g6 15.
Bh6 Ng7 16. Rxe7 Nxe7 17. Bg5 Re8 18. Nf6+ Kh8 19. Qd4 Rf8 20. Nxh7 Kxh7 21.
Qh4+ Kg8 22. Bxe7 Qe8 23. Ng5 Nh5 24. Qxh5 {1-0 (24) Ganguly,S (2579)
-Ismagambetov,A (2420) New Delhi 2006}) 7. Ne5 Be7 (7... b5 8. Bb3 Na5 9. Bxf7+
Nxf7 10. Nxf7 Kxf7 11. Qh5+ {is a funny trick which is completely winning but
still Black managed to draw in (Safarli-Balogh 2015)}) ({The first official
world champion chose} 7... g6 $5 {in a simul but around 100 years ago in 1907!!
} 8. Nc3 (8. f3 Bg7 9. fxe4 O-O 10. Bb3 Nxe5 11. dxe5 Bxe5 12. Qd5 Qe7 13. Bh6
Bxh2+ 14. Kxh2 Qh4+ 15. Kg1 Qxh6 16. Nc3 Qg7 17. Rf3 Ne8 18. Raf1 c6 19. Qg5 d5
20. exd5 Nd6 21. dxc6 bxc6 22. Qc5 Nf5 23. Qxc6 Qd4+ 24. R1f2 Bd7 25. Qd5 Be6
26. Qxd4 Nxd4 27. Rf6 Nxb3 28. axb3 Kg7 29. Na4 Rac8 30. R6f4 Rfd8 31. b4 Rd1+
32. Kh2 Bf5 33. c3 h5 34. Rf1 Rcd8 35. Rxd1 Rxd1 36. Rf2 Kf6 37. Nc5 h4 38.
Ne4+ Ke7 39. Ng5 Re1 40. Nf3 Re4 41. b5 Rf4 42. b3 Be4 43. Re2 Kd6 44. Nd4 g5
45. Ra2 f5 46. Ra6+ Kd5 47. Rg6 g4 48. Kg1 Bd3 49. Kh2 Rf1 {0-1 (49) Showalter,
J-Lasker,E USA 1901}) 8... Bg7 9. Re1 O-O 10. Nxe4 Nxe4 11. Rxe4 Qe7 $1 ({
Another possibility is} 11... Nxe5 12. dxe5 d5 13. exd6 Qxd6 $1 14. Qxd6 cxd6
15. Bb3 Bf5 16. Re7 a5 $5 17. a4 Rab8 {should end in a draw.}) 12. Re1 Qd6 $1 {
A funny manoeuvre which gives full equality.}) 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Re1 a6 $5 ({
The suspicious looking} 9... f5 {is the preference of the computer}) 10. Nxe4 (
10. Bb3 Na5 11. Bd5 (11. Nd5 c6) 11... c6 12. b4 cxd5 13. bxa5 f6 ({The
computer doesn't appreciate our analysis and gives} 13... Qxa5 14. Bd2 Nf5 15.
Nxe4 Qa4 $1 {as completely advantageous for black.}) 14. Ng4 Qxa5 15. Bd2 Nc4
16. Nxe4 Nxd2 17. Nxd2 Bb4 18. c3 $1 Bxc3 19. Nh6+ {was a fun line which we
found in Post-mortem. Yes this was more entertaining than the game itself :).}
Kh8 (19... gxh6 20. Qg4+ Kf7 (20... Kh8 21. Re7 Rg8 22. Qf5)) 20. Nf7+ $11)
10... Nxe4 11. Rxe4 Nxe5 12. dxe5 (12. Rxe5 d5 {is also nothing.}) 12... d5 13.
exd6 Bxd6 14. Bf4 Bxf4 15. Rxf4 {For some reason I was bit worried in this
position, I think I should study lots of simple positions (for ex Ulf
Andersson games) and play training games in that. Maybe it was because I got
nothing out of the opening?} (15. Qxd8 Bxh2+ (15... Rxd8 16. Rxf4 Be6) 16. Kxh2
Rxd8 17. Re7 Be6 18. Rxc7 b5 19. Bb3 Rac8 20. Rxc8 Rxc8 21. Bxe6 fxe6 22. c3
Rd8 23. Re1 Kf7 24. Re2) 15... Be6 ({Also fine is} 15... Qg5 16. g3 (16. Qf3
Be6 17. g3 $5 (17. Bb3) 17... Qe5 $11) 16... Be6 $11) 16. Bb3 (16. Qxd8 Raxd8
17. Bb3 Rd2 {was uncalled for :).}) 16... Qxd1+ 17. Rxd1 Rad8 18. Rfd4 Rxd4 19.
Rxd4 Bxb3 (19... c5 20. Re4 Rd8 21. Kf1 Bxb3 22. axb3 Kf8 $11) 20. axb3 Re8 21.
Kf1 Kf8 22. Rd7 Re7 23. Rd8+ Re8 24. Rd7 Re7 25. Rd8+ Re8 {At least I tried...}
1/2-1/2

[Event "EU-chT (Men) 20th"]
[Site "Reykjavik"]
[Date "2015.11.19"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Fressinet, Laurent"]
[Black "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2712"]
[BlackElo "2753"]
[Annotator "Adhiban,B"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2015.11.13"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 170"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "France"]
[BlackTeam "Ukraine"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "UKR"]

{"Beating the super solid Eljanov is a nice achievement and even more
impressive is the fact that Fressinet managed to do so in the unbreakable
Berlin wall" Written before seeing the full game hence please don't judge me :)
!} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5
Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 {Lately the topical way to aim for an edge.} Be7 10.
Nc3 Nh4 11. Nd4 ({Grischuk in the 4th round opted for} 11. Nxh4 Bxh4 12. Ne2
Bf5 13. Nd4 Bd7 14. f4 Be7 15. f5 Bc5 16. Be3 ({But} 16. c3 $5 {would be
paradoxical:} Re8 17. Bf4 {maintaining the pawn wedge} Kc8 18. g4) 16... Re8
17. e6 (17. Rae1) 17... fxe6 18. Nxe6+ (18. fxe6 $5 {opening more files} Bxd4
19. Bxd4 Bxe6 20. Bxg7 b5) 18... Bxe6 19. Bxc5 Bd5 20. Rad1 b5 21. b3 Kc8 22.
Rde1 Kd7 23. Bd4 g6 24. f6 {and Black managed to hold in (Grischuk-Eljanov).})
11... c5 12. Nde2 c6 {"If Black has to make this move in the Berlin then it is
definitely not a good sign"- Respectable human. "I don't give a damn about
your thoughts or feelings, so why don't you prove it?"- Indecent engine.} 13.
Ne4 Kc7 14. Bf4 Be6 {Black's new setup doesn't seem so bad but the d6-weakness
remains.} 15. Bh2 Rad8 16. Nf4 Bf5 17. Rfe1 Kb6 18. Bg3 g5 (18... Ng6 19. Nh5 {
and it will be very difficult to get rid of this guy from h5.} Rhg8 20. Nd6 $5
Bxd6 21. exd6 Bxc2 22. Rac1 Bf5 (22... Bd3 23. Re3 $1 c4 24. b3 $16 {and White
regains the pawn with interest.}) 23. f3 $1 $40 {[%cal Gg3f2] with attack?! Is
this symbol even allowed to exist in the Berlin :D.}) 19. Nh5 {To be honest, I
chose this game for three reasons 1) White won 2) Against Eljanov 3) In 32
moves 4) In the Berlin 5) In the Berlin (no this is not a typing error) The
result was just too misleading!!!} Rd4 (19... Bxe4 20. Rxe4 Nf5 {Black is
clearly superior.}) 20. Nd6 Bxc2 21. Nxf7 Rf8 22. Nd6 Nf5 23. Nxf5 Bxf5 24. Ng7
Rf7 {This seems like a waste of time.} (24... Bc8 $5 {was possible and the
knight would be left looking stupid on g7.}) 25. Nxf5 Rxf5 {Black looks
totally fine.} 26. Rad1 Kb5 27. e6 Kc4 28. Rc1+ Kd5 29. Rc2 h5 30. f3 h4 $6 ({
Of course knowing how the game ended its easy to suggest} 30... Rd3 {and say
Black is totally fine.}) (30... b6 {is met by the greedy} 31. Bb8 $1 {winning
a pawn or two :).}) 31. Bf2 Rd3 $2 (31... Rf8 $5 {would have allowed Black to
put up a strong resistance thanks to the centre pawn mass and the advanced
king.}) 32. Bxc5 1-0

[Event "Vojvodina-ch 6th"]
[Site "Novi Sad"]
[Date "2015.07.28"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Lukovic, Vladimir"]
[Black "Atalik, Suat"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2417"]
[BlackElo "2564"]
[Annotator "Atalik,S"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2015.07.25"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "YUG"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2016"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.10.08"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.10.08"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 (5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1
{became topical once again.}) 5... Be7 {The so called Rio de Janeiro Variation.
} 6. Re1 $5 (6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. dxe5 Nb7 {are the main lines.}) 6...
Nd6 7. dxe5 Nxb5 8. a4 d6 9. axb5 Nxe5 10. Nxe5 dxe5 11. Qxd8+ Kxd8 12. Rxe5
Bd6 13. Re2 Bg4 14. f3 Bf5 15. Na3 $146 (15. Be3 Re8 16. Kf2 b6 17. Na3 Kc8 18.
Nc4 Bf8 $15 {is known by the established theory.}) 15... Re8 (15... Bd7 $142 $5
) 16. Rxe8+ Kxe8 17. Be3 Bxa3 $6 {My winning attempt was really meek.} (17...
a6 18. Nc4) (17... b6 18. Nc4 Bf8 19. Bf4 Bc5+ 20. Kh1 Kd8 21. Ne5 f6 22. Nc6+
Kc8 23. Rd1 Bd7 24. h4 a6 25. c4 axb5 26. cxb5 Ra2 27. Kh2 Bd6 28. Bxd6 cxd6
29. Re1 $11 {is a line which is composed of moves being far from nor forced,
neither convincing.}) 18. bxa3 (18. Rxa3 Bxc2 19. Bf4 (19. Rc3 Ba4 20. Rxc7 b6
$11 {even this should be equal with this much activity.}) 19... c6 20. bxc6
bxc6 $11 {Equal but still a lot of play.}) 18... a6 19. Bf4 $1 (19. c4 $2 Be6
20. bxa6 Rxa6 21. c5 Kd7 $17 {This may be something to play on.}) 19... axb5 (
19... Kd7 $2 20. Rd1+ Kc8 21. Rd5 $1 {is absolutely not the way to play for
Black.} (21. b6 cxb6 22. c4 $44)) 20. Bxc7 b4 (20... Bxc2 21. Bd6 $11) 21. Bd6
bxa3 22. Rxa3 {White has to exchange the rooks.} (22. Bxa3 $2 Bxc2 23. Re1+ Kd8
$17) 22... Rxa3 23. Bxa3 Bxc2 24. Kf2 Bd3 25. Ke3 Bf1 26. g3 Kd7 (26... Bh3 $5)
27. h4 g6 28. f4 Bh3 29. Kd4 Ke6 30. Bb4 Kf5 31. Ke3 Bg2 32. Ba3 Kg4 33. Kf2
Be4 34. Bb4 h5 35. Ba3 b5 36. Bb4 f5 37. Bd6 Bd5 38. Be7 Bf7 39. Bd6 Bd5 40.
Be7 {This is what Black gets the most but he needs his pawn on b3 for a real
try.} g5 41. Bxg5 $1 ({Unnecessary but even} 41. hxg5 h4 42. gxh4 Kxf4 43. h5
Bf7 44. g6 Be8 45. g7 Bf7 46. h6 Bg8 47. Bf6 $11) ({or} 41. fxg5 f4 42. gxf4
Kxh4 43. g6+ Kg4 44. Bd6 $11 {are doomed to end up as draws.}) 41... b4 42. Bf6
b3 43. Be5 Be4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Bhopal op"]
[Site "Bhopal"]
[Date "2017.12.24"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Sangma, Rahul"]
[Black "Atalik, Suat"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2311"]
[BlackElo "2545"]
[Annotator "Atalik,S"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "2017.12.21"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 183"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2018.03.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.03.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5
8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 (10. Re2 $5 b6 11. Re1 {is fashionable.}) 10...
Re8 11. Rxe8+ Nxe8 12. d5 d6 13. c3 $146 Bg5 (13... c6 $5) 14. Nd2 (14. f4 Bh6
$5) 14... Bd7 (14... Nf6 15. Nc4) 15. h3 (15. Nc4 Bxc1 16. Rxc1 Qg5) 15... Nf6
16. Nc4 Bxc1 17. Rxc1 a5 (17... Qe7 18. Qd4) 18. Ne3 (18. Qd4 Qe7) 18... Qb8 (
18... Qe7 19. Qb3) 19. Qd4 (19. Qf3 Qe8 $1 (19... Qa7 20. Bd3 Re8 21. g4) 20.
Qf4 (20. Bd3 Qe5) 20... Qe4 $11) 19... Qa7 20. Qxa7 (20. Rd1 $142 Qxd4 21. Rxd4
h5 $11) 20... Rxa7 21. Rd1 {Nothing to write home about.} (21. Rd1 Ra8 $11)
1/2-1/2

[Event "GRE-chT 36th"]
[Site "Kallithea"]
[Date "2008.07.09"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Gavrilakis, Nikolaos"]
[Black "Atalik, Suat"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2429"]
[BlackElo "2585"]
[Annotator "Atalik,S"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2008.07.06"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 125"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2008.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 O-O 8.
d4 Nf5 {This time I have delayed the exchange.} (8... Nxe5 9. Rxe5 Bf6 10. Re1
$11) 9. c3 Nxe5 10. Rxe5 d6 11. Re1 Be6 $6 (11... d5 12. Nd2 c6 13. Nf3 Nh4 $11
) (11... c6 12. Nd2 d5 13. Nf3 Nh4 $11 {are sister lines leading to complete
equality.}) 12. d5 $1 $14 {An unexpected thrust by my opponent!} Bd7 13. Nd2 {
Now White enjoys a space advantage and he is better.} g6 14. Ne4 Ng7 15. Bh6 f5
16. Nd2 $1 (16. Qd4 Rf7 17. Nd2 Bf6 $11) 16... Bg5 17. Bxg5 Qxg5 18. Nf3 Qf6
19. Qb3 $1 $16 b5 $5 {Positionally this one is the only move.} (19... Rab8 20.
Bb5 Bxb5 21. Qxb5 c5 $1 $16 {and this line's existence escaped my attention.})
20. Nd4 $6 {It may turn out to be the case that at this particular point he
lost his advantage.} (20. c4 bxc4 21. Qxc4 Rfc8 22. b4 $16) ({Even} 20. Bxb5
Rab8 21. Bxd7 Rxb3 22. axb3 $16 {is possible.}) 20... a6 21. Ne6 $5 {This
looked impossible before he did it.} Rfc8 (21... Nxe6 22. dxe6 Bc6 23. c4 Rfe8
24. cxb5 Bxb5 25. Bxb5 axb5 26. Rac1 (26. e7+ Kg7 27. Re6 Ra3 $5 28. Qxb5 Rxa2
$13) 26... c5 27. Rcd1 Qe7 $14 {with an acceptable position for Black.}) (21...
Bxe6 22. dxe6 Qe7 (22... Rfe8 $6 23. a4 c6 24. axb5 axb5 25. Rxa8 Rxa8 26. c4
b4 27. Qxb4 c5 28. Qb6 Nxe6 29. Qxd6 Kf7 30. b4 $16 {and White is clearly
better.}) 23. a4 (23. c4 c6 (23... b4 $2 24. c5 $1 $16)) 23... c6 24. axb5 axb5
25. Rxa8 Rxa8 26. c4 b4 27. Qxb4 Nxe6 $14 {is the difference compared to 22...
Rfe8?!}) 22. Nxg7 {He chickened out and clarified the situation at once.} (22.
g3 c5) (22. Re2 c5 23. Rae1 Re8 24. g3 a5 $132) 22... Kxg7 23. Re2 Re8 24. Rae1
Rxe2 (24... f4 25. c4 $1 $132 (25. f3 Rxe2 26. Rxe2 Re8 27. Rxe8 Bxe8 28. Bd3
Qe5 29. Be4 c5 $15)) 25. Rxe2 {And he offers a draw.} (25. Rxe2 Re8 26. Rxe8
Bxe8 27. Qa3 Qe5 28. Qxa6 Qxd5 29. Qc8 Qc6 {or} (29... Qf7 $11 {leads to a
balanced position.})) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Kalamaria op 7th"]
[Site "Kalamaria"]
[Date "2010.08.28"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Zdebskaja, Natalia"]
[Black "Atalik, Suat"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2383"]
[BlackElo "2607"]
[Annotator "Atalik,S"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2010.08.25"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 138 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.10.29"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.10.29"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{An interesting day since my opponent's hubby GM Drozdovskij was playing on
the second board against Katya. How should we call these, a family duel?} 1. e4
e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O (4. d3 $5 d6 5. O-O Be7 $5 6. c3 O-O 7. Nbd2
Bd7 8. Re1 Re8 9. Nf1 Bf8 $13 {is another interesting line.}) 4... Nxe4 5. Re1
$5 {A solid line.} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 (7. Bd3 $5 O-O 8. Nc3 (8. Qh5 f5)
8... Nxe5 9. Rxe5 c6 10. b3 Ne8 11. Qf3 d5 12. Bb2 Bf6 13. Re2 Nc7 14. Na4 (14.
Ba3 Re8) 14... Bxb2 15. Nxb2 Ne6 16. c3 Qd6 17. Rae1 Bd7 $11 {and Black
equalizes.}) 7... Nf5 $5 {A relatively new attempt} ({rather than the known} 
7... O-O 8. d4 Nf5 9. c3 Nxe5 10. Rxe5 d6 11. Re1 d5 12. Nd2 (12. Bf4 Nh4 13.
Nd2 Bf5 (13... c6) 14. Nf3 Ng6 $11) 12... Nh4 $11) (7... Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4
Bf6 10. Re1 Nf5 11. c3 d5 12. Bf4 Nh4 13. Nd2 c6 14. Bd3 Bf5 $11) 8. Bd3 $2 {
This is an overambitious attempt to refute Black's strategy. I assume any move
of this kind which is against the rules of chess strategy is condemned to be
refuted.} (8. c3 O-O 9. d4 d5 $5 {is a funny option.}) (8. Nf3 $5 {has its
points.} d5 9. d4 O-O 10. c3 Bd6 11. Bd3 Nce7 12. Nbd2 c6 $11) 8... d5 $1 {
I am not afraid of double pawns neither ghosts.} 9. Nxc6 (9. Qg4 Nxe5 10. Rxe5
g6 $15 {and no problem for Black.}) 9... bxc6 10. Qf3 (10. Bxf5 Bxf5 11. d3 O-O
12. Nd2 Bd6 (12... Bf6 $5) 13. Nf3 Qf6 $15) 10... Nd4 11. Qh5 Ne6 12. Nc3 g6
13. Qf3 (13. Qh6 Bg5 (13... Bf8 14. Qe3 Bg7 15. Qc5 Qd6 $15) 14. Qg7 Bf6 15.
Qh6 Qe7 $15) 13... O-O 14. b3 Bd6 (14... Bg5 $5 {is another good idea but it
is not directed towards the king.}) 15. Bb2 {Now it is clear that Black is
better, what matters is how to deliver a real punch.} Qg5 $6 {I have only
outsmarted myself} ({by not playing the obvious} 15... Qh4 $1 16. g3 Ng5 17.
Qe3 Qh5 18. Be2 Bg4 19. h4 Ne6 20. Bxg4 Qxg4 21. Ne2 c5 $17 {which is crystal
clear.}) 16. Ne2 f5 $1 {Black should keep the queens over the board.} (16...
Nf4 $6 17. Nxf4 Bxf4 18. h4 $1 Qg4 19. Qxg4 Bxg4 20. f3 Be6 $13) 17. Rad1 Qh4 (
17... Qh6 18. Ng3 (18. g3 $2 f4) 18... f4 19. Ne4 $1 Be7 (19... dxe4 20. Rxe4
$44) 20. Bf1 $13 {and it is amazing that the knight stands right there and it
is not easy to touch it.}) 18. g3 Qg4 $1 {With the weaknesses on f3 and h3
queen exchange became a real possibility.} 19. Nd4 (19. Qxg4 fxg4 20. Nd4 Ng5
21. Kg2 Bd7 $17) 19... Ng5 $6 (19... Nxd4 20. Qxg4 fxg4 21. Bxd4 Bf5 22. Bxf5
Rxf5 $11 {is possible.}) 20. Qg2 f4 21. f3 Qh5 $1 (21... Qd7 22. g4 Qg7 23. Rb1
(23. Bc3 Bc5) 23... Bc5 24. c3 $13 {and Black's attack fades away.}) 22. g4 Qh4
23. Nxc6 Bd7 ({Obvious tactics do not work immediately.} 23... Nh3+ $2 24. Kf1
Bxg4 25. Ne7+ Bxe7 26. Rxe7 Qxe7 27. Qxg4 $18) 24. Ne7+ $3 {This one loses the
exchange but it is a great move!} (24. Nd4 a6 $1 25. Kf1 c5 26. Ne2 h5 $17) ({
However} 24. Ne5 $1 {is possible.} Rae8 25. Bf1 (25. Kf1 Bxe5 26. Bxe5 h5 27.
h3 hxg4 28. hxg4 c6 $5 (28... Nxf3 29. Qxf3 Bxg4 30. Qxd5+ Kh7 31. Qc6 Bh3+ 32.
Kg1 Rf6 $3 33. Qf3 $1 (33. Bxf6 $2 Qg3+ 34. Kh1 f3 35. Qxc7+ Qxc7 36. Rxe8 Bg2+
37. Kg1 Qb6+ 38. Re3 Qxf6 $19) 33... Rfe6 34. Re3 $3 Qg5+ 35. Kh2 Bg4 36. Qxf4
Qxf4+ 37. Bxf4 Rxe3 38. dxe3 Bxd1 39. Kg3 $44) 29. Bxg6 Nxf3 30. Qxf3 Bxg4 31.
Qf2 Qh1+ 32. Qg1 Qf3+ $11) 25... Bxe5 26. Rxe5 h5 27. h3 Rxe5 28. Bxe5 d4 $1
$40 {and Black opens all the roads to White's king.}) 24... Bxe7 25. Rxe7 Nh3+
(25... Nxf3+ $4 26. Qxf3 Qxe7 27. Qxd5+ Qe6 28. Bc4 $18 {is what we call a
flash of stupidity.}) 26. Qxh3 Qxe7 27. Qh6 $1 $132 {Now during the time
scrable I have become exteremely nervous remembering that in a similar
situation after having picked up an exchange I was stone cold lost against
Katya.} Rab8 {Black has to play Bb5 to get rid of pair of bishops.} 28. Kg2 $2
$138 ({And I was right to be nervous.} 28. Bxg6 $1 Rb6 29. Ba3 $1 c5 30. Bxh7+
Qxh7 31. Qxh7+ Kxh7 32. Bxc5 Rc8 33. Bxb6 axb6 34. Re1 Kg6 35. Re7 Bc6 36. Kf2
Kf6 37. Rh7 d4 $13 {and Black also has some chances.}) 28... Qf7 $2 $138 (28...
Rf7 $142 $1 {would have parried all the threats.} 29. Kh3 (29. Bxg6 $2 Qe2+ $19
) (29. c4 d4) 29... Rb6) 29. Bd4 $2 {She errs again.} ({White is still better
after either} 29. Re1 Rfe8 30. Re5 Rxe5 31. Bxe5 Bb5 32. Bxb5 Rxb5 33. Qg5 Rb8
34. Bxf4 Rf8 35. Kg3 $16) ({or} 29. c4 $40) 29... Bb5 30. c4 $2 {A very bad
move exposing the bishops on the d-line.} (30. Bxa7 $2 Bxd3 31. Bxb8 Qe7 $1 $19
) 30... dxc4 31. bxc4 (31. Be4 Rfd8 $19) 31... Rbd8 $17 32. Bc5 $4 {This one
was gross!} (32. cxb5 Rxd4 33. Bc2 Qe7 34. Bb3+ Kh8 35. Re1 Rxd2+ 36. Kh3 Qg7
37. Qxg7+ (37. Qg5 Qb2) 37... Kxg7 38. Re7+ Kh6 $17) 32... Rxd3 33. Bxf8 (33.
cxb5 Rfd8 34. Bb4 Qc4 $19) (33. Qxf8+ Qxf8 34. Bxf8 Bc6 {is similar.}) 33...
Bc6 $1 0-1

[Event "Panormo zt"]
[Site "Panormo"]
[Date "1998.10.28"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Kotronias, Vasilios"]
[Black "Atalik, Suat"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2555"]
[BlackElo "2585"]
[Annotator "Atalik,S"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "1998.10.24"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2002"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.11.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.11.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 Ne7 11. Re1 Ng6 (11... Nd5 12. Bd2 $1 (12. Ne4
Nb4 13. Re2 Bf5 14. Nd4 Bxe4 15. Rxe4 Bc5 16. c3 Bxd4 17. cxd4 Kd7 $15)) 12.
Ne4 h6 13. Nd4 c5 $1 14. Nb5 Kd7 15. f4 Kc6 16. a4 Be7 17. g4 $2 h5 18. Nf2 Nh4
$2 (18... Bh4 19. f5 Ne7 20. e6 fxe6 21. fxe6 hxg4 22. hxg4 Rf8 23. Be3 Nd5 $17
) 19. Re3 g6 20. Rc3 b6 21. b4 a6 $2 (21... Kb7 22. bxc5 Bxc5 23. Ba3 (23. Rb1
hxg4 24. hxg4 Be6 $17) 23... a6) 22. Nd4+ Kb7 $4 (22... Kd5 23. Nb3 c4 24. Ba3
$1 (24. Be3 Nf3+ 25. Kg2 Bb7 $3 26. Kxf3 Bxb4) 24... hxg4 25. Rd1+ Kc6 26. b5+
Kb7 27. Bxe7 cxb3 28. bxa6+ Rxa6 29. cxb3 gxh3 30. Bf6 $16) (22... Kd7 23. bxc5
Bxc5 24. Nb3 (24. Rd3 Bxd4 25. Rxd4+ Ke8 26. Ra3 Bb7 27. Rdd3) 24... Bxf2+ 25.
Kxf2 hxg4 26. hxg4 Bb7 $16 (26... Ke8 $2 27. Kg3 $18)) 23. bxc5 Be6 (23... Bxc5
24. Rxc5 bxc5 25. Rb1+ Ka7 26. Nc6#) 24. Ba3 Bxc5 25. Bxc5 bxc5 26. Rb1+ Kc8
27. Nxe6 fxe6 28. Ne4 Kd7 29. Nxc5+ Ke7 30. Ne4 Ra7 31. Kf2 g5 32. Nxg5 Ng6 33.
Ke3 hxg4 34. hxg4 Rh4 35. Kf3 Nf8 36. Kg3 Rh6 37. Rb8 Nd7 38. Rc8 c5 39. a5 Rb7
40. Rb3 Ra7 41. Ne4 Rg6 42. Nd6 Nf6 43. exf6+ 1-0

[Event "Negroponte op"]
[Site "Chalkis"]
[Date "2010.08.14"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Andriasian, Zaven"]
[Black "Atalik, Suat"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2588"]
[BlackElo "2607"]
[Annotator "Atalik,S"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2010.08.09"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 137 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.09.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.09.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 {I have also picked up
the Berlin Wall!} 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 $5 10. h3 (
10. Re1 $6 Bb4 11. Bd2 Be6 12. a3 Bxc3 13. Bxc3 h6 14. Rad1 c5 $11) (10. Bf4
Be6 11. Rad1 h6 12. a3 Rd8 13. h3 Be7 $132) (10. Ne4 {It is very doubtful if
the knight belongs to e4.} Be6 11. Re1 h6 12. h3 (12. g4 Ne7 13. h3 Rd8 14. Ng3
c5 15. Nh5 Nd5 16. a3 a5 17. Bd2 a4 18. Rad1 b5 $13) 12... Rd8 $132) (10. Ne2 {
This one is a real move.} Ne7 (10... b6 11. Nf4 Bb7 12. Rd1 Rd8 13. Rxd8+ Kxd8
14. g4 Ne7 15. Ng5 Ke8 $11) (10... Be7 11. h3 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 $14) 11. h3 Ng6
12. b3 a5 13. a4 h5 $13) (10. b3 a5 11. Bb2 Bb4 12. Ne4 a4 13. a3 Be7 14. b4
Be6 $132 {probes some weaknesses in the queenside.}) (10. Rd1 Ne7 $5 11. Nd4
Ng6 12. f4 Bc5 13. Ne4 Bxd4+ 14. Rxd4 Bf5 15. Be3 $14) (10. Bd2 {It is not
clear why this move has never been tried.} Be6 11. Ng5 Nd4 12. Nxe6 fxe6 13.
Rac1 Bb4 {may well be the reason.}) (10. a3 $5 Be6 11. Bf4 h6 12. Rad1 Rd8 13.
h3 Be7 14. Rfe1 Nh4 15. Nxh4 (15. Nd4 $2 Bxh3) 15... Bxh4 $14 {is possible.})
10... Be6 $5 {I am happy with this combination of moves.} 11. b3 $5 {Usually
White does not go for this.} (11. g4 Ne7 12. Ng5 (12. Nd4 Bd7 13. Re1 h5 14. e6
fxe6 15. Nxe6 Bxe6 16. Rxe6 hxg4 17. hxg4 Kd7 18. Re2 Nd5 19. Ne4 Bd6 20. c4
Nf6 $132 {is similar to the game.}) 12... Bc4 (12... Bd7 13. Rd1 Rd8) (12...
Bc8 $5 13. Bd2 h6 14. Nge4 h5 15. f3 Ng6 $132) 13. Re1 Nd5 14. Bd2 h6 15. Nge4
h5 16. Kg2 hxg4 17. hxg4 Rd8 18. b3 Nxc3 19. Bxc3 Be6 20. Kg3 Be7 21. Rad1 Rxd1
22. Rxd1 Bd5 $132) (11. Bf4 Bb4 $132) 11... a5 $5 {Which one to play first?} (
11... Bb4 12. Bb2 (12. Ne2 Bd5) 12... Bxc3 13. Bxc3 Bd5 14. Ne1 (14. Nd2 c5)
14... h5 $11) 12. g4 Ne7 $6 {This is a dangerous retreat.} (12... Bb4 $142 13.
Bb2 ({For some reason I was worried about} 13. gxf5 $2 Bxc3 14. fxe6 Bxa1 15.
Bd2 Bb2 $19) (13. Ne4 $6 Bd5 14. Ned2 Bc3 $15) 13... Bxc3 14. Bxc3 Ne7 15. Kg2
Nd5 16. Bd2 c5 $11) 13. Nd4 {White also had a choice.} (13. Ng5 $142 $5 Bc8 (
13... Bd7 14. Rd1 Rd8 (14... Nd5 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. Rxd5 Bc6 17. Rd3 h6 18. Nf3
Be4 19. Re3 Bxc2 20. Nd4 Bh7 21. Bb2 Bc5 22. Rc1 b6 $132) 15. f4 (15. Ba3 h5
16. f3 hxg4 17. hxg4 f6 18. e6 fxg5 19. exd7+ Rxd7 20. Rxd7 Kxd7 21. Ne4 Nd5
$132) 15... h5 16. f5 hxg4 17. hxg4 Rh4 18. e6 fxe6 19. fxe6 Rxg4+ 20. Kf2 Bc8
21. Rxd8+ Kxd8 $13 {is playable.}) 14. f4 h5 (14... f6 $2 15. exf6 gxf6 16. Bb2
$3 fxg5 17. Ne4 $18) 15. f5 Nd5 16. Nxd5 cxd5 17. Kg2 Be7 $14) 13... Bd7 14.
Bf4 $5 (14. f4 h5 15. f5 hxg4 16. hxg4 Rh4 17. Rf4 Nd5 18. Nxd5 cxd5 $11) (14.
Re1 h5 15. e6 fxe6 16. Nxe6 Bxe6 17. Rxe6 Kd7 18. Re2 hxg4 19. hxg4 Nd5 20. Ne4
Bd6 21. c4 Nf6 $11) 14... h5 15. f3 hxg4 {I have felt that I had to rush with
this exchange.} (15... Nd5 16. Nxd5 cxd5 17. Kg2 $11) (15... Ng6 16. Bg3 Bc5
17. Rad1 (17. Nce2 Kf8) 17... Rd8 18. Ne4 Bb6 19. c3 $14) 16. hxg4 Nd5 17. Nxd5
cxd5 18. e6 $5 (18. a4 Bc5 19. c3 Ra6 $40) 18... Bxe6 (18... fxe6 19. Bxc7) 19.
Bxc7 (19. Nb5 Kd7) 19... Bc5 20. Rad1 (20. c3 Kd7 21. Bf4 Bxd4+ 22. cxd4 $11)
20... Kd7 {I have thought quite a long time here.} (20... Rc8 $5 21. Bxa5 Bxd4+
22. Rxd4 Rxc2 23. Rd2 (23. Rf2 $2 Rh1+ $1 24. Kxh1 Rxf2 $17) 23... Rxd2 24.
Bxd2 d4 25. Rd1 Bd5 26. Kg2 Kd7 27. Bb4 Ra8 28. a3 Bxb3 29. Rxd4+ $11) 21. Bf4
Rhc8 22. Rf2 b5 23. Kg2 {The position is equal.} (23. Kg2 b4 24. Re2 Bxd4 25.
Rxd4 Rc6 26. a3 Rac8 (26... bxa3 27. c4) 27. axb4 Rxc2 28. Rxc2 Rxc2+ 29. Kg3
axb4 30. Rxb4 Kc6 $11) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sigeman & Co 12th"]
[Site "Malmo/Copenhagen"]
[Date "2004.05.03"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Rozentalis, Eduardas"]
[Black "Aagaard, Jacob"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2619"]
[BlackElo "2400"]
[Annotator "Atlas,V"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2004.04.30"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "SWE"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 101"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2004.07.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2004.07.27"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. b3 Kc8 11. Bb2 Be7 12. Ne4 c5 13. h3 Bc6 14. Rfe1
h5 15. Nfg5 Rf8 16. Rad1 a5 17. a4 c4 18. g4 Nh4 19. Re3 Ng2 20. Rc3 hxg4 21.
hxg4 Nf4 $2 ({Not the best choice. Better was Nicht die beste Wahl. Stärker war
} 21... Nh4 {, and it seems risky to capture the c4-pawn: , wonach das
Schlagen des c-Bauern riskant erscheint:} 22. Rxc4 Bxg5 23. Nxg5 Nf3+ 24. Nxf3
Bxf3 25. Rd3 ({Of course, not natürlich nicht} 25. Rdd4 $4 Rh8 {, with
inevitable mate. mit undeckbarem Matt.}) 25... Be2 26. Rf4 Bxd3 27. cxd3 Ra6
28. Ba3 Re8 29. Rxf7 Rb6 {, and the compensation for the exchange is
insufficient. , und die Kompensation für die Qualität ist nicht ausreichend.})
22. Rxc4 Bxg5 23. Nxg5 Rh8 24. f3 Nh3+ 25. Nxh3 Rxh3 26. Rd3 $1 {The most
convincing way to retain White's advantage. Der überzeugendste Weg, den weißen
Vorteil zu behaupten.} Rxf3 (26... Bxf3 $2 {loses after verliert nach} 27. Kf2)
(26... Ra6 {falls short of scheitert an} 27. Rf4 Be8 28. Rfd4 $1 {, winning.
mit Gewinn.}) 27. Rxf3 Bxf3 {[%tqu "En","Black has restored the material
balance, but his pieces lack coordination. How can White exploit this?",
"Expoit the weakness of Black's back rank.","Sacrifice your pawn to open the
f-file!","e5e6","This strong move decides the game for White.",6,"De","Schwarz
hat das materielle Gleichgewicht wiederhergestellt, aber seinen Figuren
mangelt es an Koordination. Wie kann Weiß dies ausnutzen?","Schlagen Sie
Kapital aus der schwarzen Grundreihenschwäche.","Opfern Sie einen Bauern, um
die f-Linie zu öffnen!","e5e6","Dieser starke Zug entscheidet die Partie für
Weiß.",6]} 28. e6 $1 {[%csl Ra8,Gc4,Rc8,Rf3,Rf8] After this thematic blow
Black is doomed. Nach diesem Themazug ist Schwarz verloren.} (28. Rf4 {is
strongly met by findet die starke Erwiderung} Bd5 {, with equality. mit
Ausgleich.}) 28... Bd5 $2 (28... fxe6 {fails to scheitert an} 29. Rf4 Bd5 30.
Rf8+ {, winning the rook. mit Turmgewinn.}) (28... f6 {was more stubborn,
although after war zäher, wenngleich nach} 29. Rf4 Bd5 (29... Bc6 30. g5 {
, winning.}) 30. e7 Bc6 31. g5 {White has excellent winning prospects. Weiß
vorzügliche Gewinnaussichten hat.}) 29. e7 $1 {Winning a piece and the game.
Gewinnt eine Figur und die Partie.} Kd7 30. Rd4 Ke6 ({Or Oder} 30... c6 31. c4
{, winning the bishop. mit Läufergewinn.}) 31. c4 Bc6 32. Rd8 {, and Black
resgined in view of the loss of his bishop. und Schwarz gab auf, denn er
verliert seinen Läufer.} 1-0

[Event "SCG-ch 1st"]
[Site "Kopaonik"]
[Date "2005.04.02"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Djukic, Nikola"]
[Black "Pavlovic, Milos"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2509"]
[BlackElo "2475"]
[Annotator "Atlas,V"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2005.04.02"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "YUG"]
[EventCategory "11"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 107"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 a5 10. b3 Ke8 11. h3 Bb4 12. Ne4 Be6 13. c4 a4 14. Bb2 h5
15. Nfg5 axb3 16. axb3 Ke7 17. g4 hxg4 18. hxg4 Nh6 19. f3 Rhd8 20. Rxa8 Rxa8
21. Ra1 Rxa1+ 22. Bxa1 Bc8 23. Kf2 Ng8 24. Nh7 b6 25. Bd4 c5 26. Be3 Ke8 27.
Bg5 Ne7 $2 ({This natural but imprudent move is severely punished by White.
After} 27... Bb7 {Black would retain good counterchances.}) {[%tqu "En",
"Black's last move looks reasonable, but in fact it's a very bad slip. How to
punish Black for it?","Exploit a shaky position of Black's e7-knight.",
"Sacrifice your knight!","e4f6","This nice sacrifice yields White a decisive
advantage.",5]} 28. Nef6+ $1 {[%csl Re7,Re8,Gf6,Gg5,Gh7][%cal Gg5e7] White
doesn't miss his chance! This remarkable sacrifice wins a pawn and the game.}
gxf6 (28... Kd8 {fails to} 29. Nd5 {, winning immediately.}) 29. Nxf6+ Kd8 ({Or
} 29... Kf8 30. Bh6#) 30. Nd5 Be6 31. Bxe7+ Kd7 32. Bg5 {The ending is easily
won for White.} Kc6 33. Nf4 Bc8 34. Ke2 b5 35. Kd3 Be1 36. Nd5 Be6 37. Nf6
bxc4+ 38. bxc4 Bc8 39. Ne4 Bb4 40. Be3 {, with the decsive threat 41.Ng5.} 1-0

[Event "POL-ch 57th"]
[Site "Plock"]
[Date "2000.05.09"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Kuczynski, Robert"]
[Black "Grabarczyk, Miroslaw"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2451"]
[BlackElo "2522"]
[Annotator "Baburin,A"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2000.04.28"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 078"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2000.10.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2000.10.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8.
dxe5 Nb7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Re1 Re8 11. Qc4 Nc5 12. Ng5 $5 Bxg5 13. Bxg5 Qxg5 14.
Qxc5 Bb7 15. Qb4 Rab8 16. Ne4 $1 {[%csl Gb7,Rc5] White needs to control the
c5-square in order to keep the enemy bishop passive.} Qg6 (16... Qxe5 17. Nc5
Qd6 18. Red1 Qf8 19. Rxd7 Re5 20. Nd3 $16) 17. Nc5 Ba8 18. Qc3 d6 19. Na6 c5
20. f3 Rbc8 {[%tqu "En","How would you continue?","Try to use the existing
tension on the e-file.","Exploit some weakness of Black's back rank and the
fact that his queen and bishop are idle.","a6c7","This is a true little
combination a la Capablanca!",8]} 21. Nxc7 $3 {This is a true little
combination a la Capablanca!} Red8 (21... Rxc7 22. exd6 Rcc8 23. d7 Rxe1+ 24.
Rxe1 Rf8 25. Qxc5 Qb6 26. Qxb6 axb6 27. Re8 $18) 22. Nxa8 Rxa8 23. Rad1 dxe5
24. Qxc5 Rdc8 25. Qxe5 Qxc2 26. Rd7 Rf8 27. a3 a5 28. h4 $1 Rab8 $2 {[%tqu
"En","Black's previous move was a serious mistake. How to punish it?","Use the
shaky position of the b8-rook.","Use your active d7-rook.","d7f7","Yet another
crash on the f7-square!",3]} 29. Rxf7 $1 Qg6 (29... Kxf7 30. Qe6#) (29... Rxf7
30. Qxb8+) 30. Rxf8+ Rxf8 31. Qxa5 h6 32. Qe5 Qb6+ 33. Kh2 Qf2 34. Kh3 Rf6 35.
Re2 Qf1 36. Kh2 Rf8 37. Rc2 Rf6 38. h5 Qa6 39. Rc7 Qa4 40. Rc8+ Kh7 41. Qe4+
1-0

[Event "Krasnodar"]
[Site "Krasnodar"]
[Date "1995.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Berelowitsch, Alexander"]
[Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2485"]
[BlackElo "2510"]
[Annotator "Belov,I"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "9"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 047 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1995.09.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1995.09.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Be6 (9... h6 10. b3 Be6 11. Bb2 Ke8 12. Ne2 Bd5 13. Nfd4
Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Bc5 15. Rad1 Bxd4 16. Rxd4 Be6 $10 {Vokac,M-Keitlinghaus,L/Lazne
Bohdanec/1995/0:1/60/}) 10. Rd1+ Kc8 (10... Ke8 11. Ng5 (11. b3 Bb4 12. Bb2
Bxc3 13. Bxc3 Rd8 14. Ng5 c5 15. Rxd8+ Kxd8 16. Rd1+ Ke7 $10 {Arakhamia,
K-Panno,O/Aruba/1992/0:1/50/}) 11... Bc8 (11... Bc4 12. b3 Bb4 13. bxc4 $1 Bxc3
14. Rb1 b6 15. g4 Nh4 16. f4 h6 17. Ne4 $14 {Dvoirys,S-Aleksandrov,A/Smolensk/
1991/1:0/39/}) (11... Be7 12. Nxe6 fxe6 13. Ne4 Rd8 14. Rxd8+ Bxd8 15. c3 $14 {
Polgar,J-Smyslov,V/Monako/1994/1:0/50/}) 12. h3 Be7 13. b3 h5 14. Nce4 f6 15.
exf6 gxf6 16. Bb2 Rh6 $13 {Dvoirys,S-Ionov,S/Cheliabinsk/1991/0:1/50/}) 11. g4
Ne7 12. h3 Ng6 (12... h5 $5 13. Nd4 Ng6 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. Re1 Be7 $10) 13. Kh2
$1 h5 14. Kg3 hxg4 15. hxg4 f6 16. Nd4 $1 (16. exf6 $6 Bd6+ 17. Kg2 gxf6 18.
Ne4 Bd5 19. Nxd6+ cxd6 20. Kg3 Kc7 21. Be3 Rag8 $10) 16... Bf7 (16... Bg8 $5
17. exf6 Bd6+ 18. f4 gxf6 19. Nf5 $14) 17. e6 c5 (17... Bg8 18. Re1 Bd6+ 19. f4
Ne7 20. Ne4 $16) 18. exf7 cxd4 19. Rxd4 Ne5 20. Bf4 Nxf7 21. Re1 $16 Bc5 22.
Rc4 b6 (22... Bd6 $5 23. Nd5 Bxf4+ 24. Nxf4 (24. Kxf4 c6 25. Ne7+ (25. Re7 Ne5
26. Rc7+ Kb8 27. Rb4 b6 $19) 25... Kc7 26. Nf5 (26. Nxc6 Nd6 27. Re7+ Kb6 $146)
26... Ne5 27. Rd4 g5+ 28. Kg3 Rhd8 $10) 24... Ne5 25. Rd4 $14) 23. Rxc5 $1 bxc5
24. Re7 Ne5 (24... Nd6 25. Nd5 Ne8 26. Nxc7 Nxc7 27. Rxc7+ Kd8 28. Rxg7 $16)
25. Bxe5 fxe5 26. Rxg7 (26. Nd5 c6 (26... Rd8 27. Nxc7 Rb8 28. Ne6 Rxb2 $8 29.
Nxd8 Kxd8 30. Rxg7 Rxa2 $16) 27. Rc7+ Kd8 28. Rxc6 Rc8 29. Rd6+ Ke8 30. Re6+
Kf7 31. Rxe5 Rhe8 $14) 26... Kb7 27. Nd5 Kc6 28. c4 Rab8 29. b3 Kd6 30. Rg6+ (
30. Nxc7 $5 Rhg8 31. Nb5+ Ke6 32. Rxa7 $18) 30... Kd7 31. Rg7+ Kc6 32. Rg6+ (
32. Rxc7+ Kd6 33. g5 $16) 32... Kd7 33. g5 $6 c6 34. Nf6+ Ke6 35. Rg7 Rh1 (
35... Kf5 36. Ng4 Rh1 37. Nh6+ Ke6 38. Rg6+ Kd7 39. Ng4 Rg1+ 40. Kf3 Rf8+ 41.
Nf6+ Ke6 $14) 36. Ne4 $1 Rbh8 37. Kf3 $1 Rf8+ 38. Ke2 Rh4 39. Ke3 Rff4 40. f3
Rh3 41. Nxc5+ Kd6 42. Nb7+ Ke6 43. Nd8+ Kf5 $2 (43... Kd6 44. Nf7+ Ke6 45. Nd8+
Kd6 46. Rg6+ Kd7 47. Nxc6 Rhxf3+ 48. Ke2 Rf2+ 49. Kd3 R2f3+ 50. Kc2 Re4 $13)
44. Rf7+ Kg6 (44... Kxg5 45. Ne6+ Kg6 46. Rxf4 $18) 45. Rxf4 exf4+ 46. Kxf4 $18
c5 47. Ne6 Rh4+ 48. Ke5 Rh2 49. Nxc5 Rxa2 50. Ne4 (50. f4 $6 Rf2 51. Ne6 Re2+
52. Kd6 Rd2+ 53. Ke7 Kf5 $132) 50... Rb2 51. c5 Rxb3 52. f4 a5 53. c6 Rb8 54.
c7 Rc8 55. Nc5 $6 (55. Kd6 Kf5 56. Kd7 Rxc7+ 57. Kxc7 Kxe4 58. g6 $18) 55...
Kh5 $2 (55... Rxc7 56. f5+ Kf7 57. g6+ Kg8 58. Ne6 Ra7 59. f6 a4 60. Nd8 a3 (
60... Ra6 61. f7+ Kg7 62. Ne6+ Rxe6+ 63. Kxe6 a3 64. Ke7 $18) 61. f7+ Rxf7 62.
gxf7+ Kg7 63. Ke6 a2 64. Ke7 a1=Q 65. f8=Q+ Kg6 $16) 56. Ne6 Kg4 57. g6 a4 58.
g7 1-0

[Event "New York op"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1998.03.21"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Bologan, Viktor"]
[Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2580"]
[BlackElo "2615"]
[Annotator "Bologan,V"]
[PlyCount "120"]
[EventDate "1998.03.16"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 064"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.06.02"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.06.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 $1 (10. b3 a5 $1 11. a4 Bb4 12. Bb2 Be6 13. Rd1
Bd5 (13... Rd8 $142 $11) 14. Nbd2 Rd8 (14... Bxd2 $5 15. Nxd2 c5 $10) 15. c3 $1
{0-1 Kuzmin,G-Aleksandrov,A/Nikolaev zt 1995/CBM 47 (58) [Wedberg]}) 10... a5
11. Re1 $5 Bb4 12. Bd2 Be6 13. a3 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 c5 (14... h5 $1 {Prophylaxe})
15. g4 $1 Ne7 16. Kh2 Kd7 $1 {Der König verteidigt den Damenflügel} 17. Ng5 h6
18. Ne4 Kc6 19. f4 g6 20. Bd2 $1 {[%cal Ye3c5]} b6 21. Be3 Nd5 22. Kg3 Rad8 23.
Bf2 c4 24. Rad1 b5 25. Rd4 Ne7 26. c3 Rxd4 27. Bxd4 {[%cal Yf4f5]} Rb8 28. Nc5
Ra8 29. Rf1 Rg8 30. Kf2 Nd5 31. Kf3 Ne7 32. Ke3 Rh8 33. Kf3 Bd5+ 34. Kg3 Rg8
35. Re1 Be6 36. Re2 Rd8 37. Rd2 Rg8 38. Bf2 Bd5 39. Re2 Be6 40. Rd2 Bd5 41. Rd1
Ra8 42. Be3 Rb8 43. Rf1 Rg8 44. Kh4 $1 Be6 45. Bd4 Ra8 46. Ne4 $6 (46. Rf2 $5 {
[%cal Gf2b2]}) 46... b4 47. axb4 (47. Ng3 $5 bxa3 48. bxa3 Rb8 49. f5 Bd5 50.
e6 gxf5 51. exf7 f4 52. Kh5 Bxf7+ 53. Kxh6 fxg3 54. Rxf7 Nd5 55. Rf3 $14) 47...
axb4 48. Ng3 b3 49. f5 Bd5 50. e6 gxf5 51. exf7 $4 (51. gxf5 $142 fxe6 52. f6
Nf5+ 53. Nxf5 exf5 54. Kh5 Be6 55. Kxh6 $16) 51... f4 $1 (51... Bxf7 52. Nxf5
Nxf5+ 53. Rxf5 $16) 52. Kh5 (52. Rxf4 Ng6+ $17) 52... Bxf7+ 53. Kxh6 fxg3 54.
Rxf7 Nd5 55. g5 (55. Rf3 Ra2 56. Rxg3 (56. g5 Rxb2 57. g6 Rh2 58. g7 Rxh3+ 59.
Kg5 Ne7 60. Rf1 g2 61. Rg1 b2 62. Rb1 Rh1 63. Rxb2 g1=Q+ 64. Bxg1 Rxg1+ 65. Kf6
Kd7 $19) 56... Rxb2 57. g5 Rc2 58. Rg1 Nxc3 59. g6 Nd5 60. g7 Ne7 $17 61. Rg6+
$145 $11 Kd5 (61... Kd7 62. Bf6 Ng8+ 63. Kh7 Nxf6+ 64. Rxf6 Rg2 65. Rf7+ (65.
Rg6 Rxg6 66. Kxg6 b2 67. g8=Q b1=Q+ $17)) 62. Bf6 Nf5+ (62... Ng8+ 63. Kh7
Nxf6+ 64. Rxf6 Rg2 65. Rg6 Rxg6 66. Kxg6 b2 67. g8=Q+ $18) 63. Kg5 Nxg7 64.
Rxg7 b2 65. Bxb2 Rxb2 66. Rxc7 $11) 55... g2 56. g6 Rh8+ 57. Rh7 Re8 58. g7 Ne3
59. g8=Q Rxg8 60. Bxe3 Rg3 $1 0-1

[Event "Canadian op"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2005.07.12"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Shabalov, Alexander"]
[Black "Bologan, Viktor"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2631"]
[BlackElo "2700"]
[Annotator "Bologan,V"]
[PlyCount "152"]
[EventDate "2005.07.09"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 107 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.09.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.09.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 (5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Nxe5 7.
Rxe5+ Be7 8. Bf1 O-O 9. d4 b6 10. Re1 {N} Bb7 11. Bf4 Nf5 12. c3 c5 $1 13. dxc5
bxc5 14. Nd2 d5 15. Bd3 Nh4 16. Qh5 g6 17. Qh6 Bf6 18. Be5 Re8 19. Bxf6 Qxf6 {
= Mastrovasilis Dimitrios 2563 - Bologan Viktor 2700 , Warsaw 1. 7.2005 Ch
Europe}) 5... Nd6 6. dxe5 Nxb5 7. c4 (7. a4 Nbd4 $1 {} (7... d6 8. e6 Bxe6 (
8... fxe6 9. axb5 Ne7 10. Nc3 Nf5 11. Nd4 Nxd4 12. Qxd4 c5 13. bxc6 bxc6 14.
Re1 a6 15. Ne4 e5 16. Qc3 Qc7 17. f4 $1 {Guseinov G 2573 - Aleksandrov A 2635 ,
12. 4.2005 7th Open}) 9. axb5 Ne5 10. Nd4 Bd7 11. f4 Ng6 12. Qf3 {N} Be7 13.
Qxb7 (13. f5 Ne5 14. Qxb7 O-O (14... Rb8 15. Qe4 Bxb5 16. Nxb5 Rxb5 17. Nc3 Rb8
18. Rxa7 c6) 15. Nc3 Bf6 $13) 13... O-O 14. Nc3 Bf6 15. Be3 Re8 16. Qf3 Nh4 {
Predojevic Borki - Bologan Victor Viorel, Sarajevo 25. 5.2005 35th
International}) 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 d5) 7... d6 $1 (7... Nbd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9.
Qxd4 d6 10. Bf4 $16) (7... a6 8. cxb5 axb5 9. Nc3 b4 10. Nd5 d6 11. Bg5 $1) 8.
e6 (8. cxb5 Nxe5 9. Nd4 Be7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. f4 Ng6 12. Nd5 Bf6 $15) 8... Bxe6
$5 (8... fxe6 $1 9. cxb5 Ne7 10. Re1 Nf5 {!} 11. Ng5 Be7 12. Nxe6 Bxe6 13. Rxe6
O-O 14. Nc3 Qd7 15. Re2 {1/2-1/2, Suetin A - Faibisovich V, 1969 USSR 8/222})
9. cxb5 Ne5 10. Nd4 Bd7 $5 (10... Be7 11. f4 Nd7 12. Qe2 O-O 13. Nxe6 fxe6 14.
Qxe6+ Kh8 15. Nc3 Bf6 $15 {Polzin Rainer 2497 - Tischbierek Raj 2507 , Germany
2003 Bundesliga 2003/04}) 11. f4 Ng6 12. Qf3 Be7 13. Qxb7 O-O 14. Nc3 Bf6 $15
15. Be3 Re8 (15... Rb8 16. Qf3 a6 17. a4 (17. Nc6 Bxc6 18. Qxc6 axb5 19. Nd5
Bxb2 $17) 17... axb5 18. axb5 Nh4 19. Qf2 Bxd4 20. Bxd4 Bxb5 21. Nxb5 Rxb5 22.
Bc3 $15) 16. Qf3 a6 17. a4 Nh4 18. Qf2 axb5 19. axb5 Rb8 (19... Ng6 $5) (19...
Rxa1 20. Rxa1 Bxd4 21. Bxd4 c5 22. bxc6 Bxc6 23. Qg3) 20. Rfe1 Bxd4 (20... Nf5
21. Nxf5 Bxf5 22. Bd4 Rxe1+ 23. Rxe1 Bxd4 24. Qxd4 $11) 21. Bxd4 Rxe1+ 22. Qxe1
Nf5 23. Ba7 Rc8 24. Bf2 h5 25. Qe2 h4 26. h3 Rb8 27. Qd3 Be6 $15 28. Ra7 Ra8
29. Ra6 Rb8 30. Ra7 d5 31. Bc5 Ra8 (31... d4 32. Ne4 Ra8 33. Ra6 Qd5 34. b4 Re8
$15) 32. Ra6 Rc8 33. Ne2 Qf6 34. Qc3 Qg6 35. Qd3 Re8 36. Kh2 f6 $2 (36... Qf6
$11) 37. Bf2 Bf7 38. Ra7 Qh5 $6 (38... Rc8 39. Qc3 Qh5 40. Nd4 Nxd4 41. Bxd4
Qf5 42. Be3 $14) 39. Ng1 Nd6 40. Rxc7 Bg6 {Предыдущей игрой на победу, ~~ерные
серьезно осложнили свое положение.} (40... Qh6 41. Ne2 Bh5 42. Qxd5+ Nf7 43. b6
$18) 41. f5 $1 (41. Qb3 $5) 41... Ne4 (41... Qxf5 42. Qxf5 Bxf5 43. b6 Rb8 44.
Ne2 $18) 42. Qxd5+ Bf7 43. Qd7 (43. Qd4 Qxf5 44. Be3 Ng3) 43... Nxf2 44. b6 $18
g5 $5 (44... Rf8 45. b7 Qg5 46. Ne2 $18) 45. b7 g4 46. Nf3 (46. Ne2 g3+ 47. Kg1
Kf8 48. Qb5 Nxh3+ 49. Kf1 Ng5 50. Rc8 h3 51. Rxe8+ Kg7 52. b8=Q hxg2+ 53. Ke1
Nf3+ 54. Kd1 Qh1+ 55. Kc2 g1=Q 56. Nxg1 Nd4+ 57. Kd2 Nxb5 58. Qxg3+ Kh7 59. Re7
$18) 46... gxf3 (46... g3+ 47. Kg1) 47. Rc8 fxg2 (47... Qg5 48. Rxe8+ Kg7 49.
Rg8+ Kxg8 50. b8=Q+ Kg7 51. gxf3 Qc1 52. Kg2 Qc2 53. Qbc7 $18) 48. Rxe8+ Bxe8
49. Qd5+ $6 (49. b8=Q g1=Q+ 50. Kxg1 Nxh3+ 51. Kf1 Qf3+ 52. Ke1 Qe3+ 53. Kd1
Nf2+ 54. Kc2 Qe2+ 55. Kb3 Kf8 56. Qbd6+ $18) (49. Qe6+ Kg7 50. b8=Q $18) 49...
Kh7 50. Qxg2 (50. b8=Q g1=Q+ 51. Kxg1 Nxh3+ $16) 50... Nxh3 51. b8=Q Ng5 52.
Qf4 h3 53. Qgf1 Bf7 (53... Qf7 54. Q1c4 Qd7 55. Qcc7) 54. Qd3 Qh6 55. b4 (55.
Qfe3 Qh4) 55... Qf8 56. Qh4+ (56. Qfd6 Qa8 57. Qc2 Qf3 58. Qg3 Qd5 59. Qf4 $16)
56... Kg8 57. b5 Qa8 58. Qf2 Ne4 59. Qg1+ Ng5 60. Qf2 Qb8+ 61. Kg1 Qe5 {!} 62.
Qfe2 Qc5+ $2 (62... h2+ $1 63. Qxh2 Qa1+ 64. Kg2 (64. Qf1 Nf3+) 64... Qa8+ 65.
Kf2 (65. Kg3 Qb8+) 65... Qa7+ 66. b6 (66. Qe3 Ne4+ 67. Kf3 Ng5+ {=}) 66...
Qxb6+ {=}) 63. Qee3 Qb4 64. b6 Qb2 65. Qde2 Qb1+ 66. Kh2 Qb4 67. Qc2 Qd6+ 68.
Kg1 Qb4 69. Qc8+ (69. Qc6 $1 {Yermolinsky} Qb2 70. b7 Kh7 71. Qf4 Qb1+ 72. Kf2
Qb2+ 73. Kg3 Qb3+ 74. Kh4 $18) 69... Kh7 70. Qc7 Qb1+ 71. Qcc1 Qa2 (71... Qxf5
72. Qf4 Qd5 $16) 72. Qg3 Kg7 73. Qcc3 $4 (73. Qce3 $18) 73... h2+ $1 74. Qxh2 (
74. Kh1 Bd5+) 74... Qb1+ 75. Kg2 (75. Kf2 Qxf5+ {!} 76. Ke2 Qg4+ 77. Kf1 Qd1+
$19) 75... Bd5+ 76. Kf2 $8 (76. Kg3 Ne4+ 77. Kh3 Qf1+ (77... Nxc3 78. Qc7+ Kh6
79. Qf4+) 78. Kg4 Nxc3 $19) ({Kg1 Qb1+ Nf3+} 76. Qf3 {Qxh2+ Kxh2} Bxf3+ 77. Kg3
Be4 78. Kf4 Bb7 79. Kg4 {=}) 76... Qa2+ {time} (76... Qxb6+ 77. Ke2 Bc4+ $3 78.
Qxc4 (78. Kd1 Qb1+ 79. Kd2 Qa2+) 78... Qb2+ $19) 0-1

[Event "EU-chT (Men) 20th"]
[Site "Reykjavik"]
[Date "2015.11.13"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Bologan, Viktor"]
[Black "Leko, Peter"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2630"]
[BlackElo "2708"]
[Annotator "Bologan,V"]
[PlyCount "148"]
[EventDate "2015.11.13"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 170"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Moldova"]
[BlackTeam "Hungary"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "MDA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "HUN"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ $5 {The idea of this move is to keep the king on the
kingside, and to try to exploit the disconnection of the black rooks.} Ke8 10.
Nc3 Ne7 11. h3 {Trying to compensate the lack of the light-squared bishop.} Ng6
12. b3 {I've also tried the immediate improvement of the knight:} (12. Ne2 $5 {
which after} Be6 13. Ned4 Bd5 14. b3 Rd8 15. Bg5 Be7 16. Bxe7 Nxe7 17. c4 Bxf3
18. Nxf3 Ng6 19. Kf1 {brought me a slight advantage} Ke7 20. g3 c5 21. Ke2 a5
22. a4 Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Nf8 24. Nh4 g6 25. f4 Ne6 26. Nf3 h5 27. Ke3 Ng7 28. Ke4
b6 {Bologan 2732 - Carlsen,M 2837, 10.7.2012 World Blitz Final. Here I could
go for} 29. g4 $1 hxg4 30. hxg4 Rh3 31. Ng5 Rxb3 (31... Rh8 32. Rd2) 32. f5 $14
) (12. Nd4 {with the plan of taking under control the centre with f4 and Ne4}
Be7 13. f4 h5 14. Ne4 Nh4 $1 {the typical way of stopping f5} 15. Ng3 a6 16.
Be3 c5 17. Nde2 Nf5 18. Nxf5 Bxf5 19. Nc3 c6 20. Rd2 Rd8 21. Rad1 Rxd2 22. Rxd2
b5 $11 {Sutovsky,E 2642 - Volokitin,And 2640, Austria AUT 5.11.2015 TCh-AUT
2015-16}) 12... Be7 (12... Bb4 {was played in the last round of the competition
} 13. Ne2 Bf5 14. c3 Be7 15. Ng3 Bd7 16. Nh5 $1 {I always liked this knight on
h5 as White, since is not so easy to get rid of it while it is exerting
pressure} Rg8 17. c4 c5 18. Bb2 Bc6 19. Ne1 Nf8 {Palac,M 2577 - Dvirnyy,D 2561,
Reykjavik ISL 22.11.2015 20th European Teams} 20. Nf4 Ne6 21. Nd5 Rd8 22. Nc2
$14) 13. Bb2 h5 {Typical idea. Black takes under control the white squares on
the kingside impeding the possible g4.} (13... Bf5 $5 {provoking} 14. Nd4 Bd7
15. Re1 Rd8 16. e6 Bc8 17. Nf5 Bf6 18. Na4 Bxb2 19. Nxb2 Rg8 (19... Rd5 20.
exf7+ Kxf7 21. Ne3 Re5 22. Nd3 Re7 23. f3 h5 24. g4 b6 25. Ng2 c5 26. Rxe7+
Nxe7 27. Ngf4 g6 28. Re1 Nc6 29. Nd5 $14 {Volokitin,And 2646 - Vocaturo,D 2579,
Jerusalem ISR 1.3.2015 16th ch-EUR Indiv 2015}) 20. exf7+ Kxf7 21. Ng3 {
with a very slight edge for White.}) 14. Ne4 a5 {Actually this small nuance
allowed White to take the initiative for the rest of the game. Nowadays the
price of a tempo is very high!} (14... h4 {was played against me by another
top player Aronian} 15. Re1 Kf8 16. Rad1 Rh5 (16... Bf5 17. Nd4 Bxe4 18. Rxe4
Rd8 19. Rde1 Rh5 20. Kf1 Kg8 21. Nf3 Nf8 22. Rd4 $14 {Bologan,V 2681 - Aronian,
L 2815, Beijing CHN 14.12.2012 SportAccord Rapid Men 2012}) 17. Nd6 $1 Be6 18.
Nxb7 Bd5 (18... a5 19. c4 a4 20. Bd4 $16) 19. Re3 (19. Bd4 $5) 19... Rb8 20.
Na5 Rb5 21. Bc3 Bc5 {Czarnota Pawel (POL) 2554 - Kryvoruchko Yuriy (UKR) 2581,
Polanica Zdroj (Poland)} 22. a4 $1 $14) 15. Re1 {The rook did its job on d1 by
cutting off the king; now it creates another critical construction opposing
the king and leaving room for another rook to come to d1.} Kf8 ({On} 15... a4 {
I would also go to d6 since the check on f6 yields nothing to White} 16. Nd6+
Kf8 (16... cxd6 17. exd6 f6 18. Ba3 $1 axb3 19. axb3 Kf7 20. dxe7 Re8 21. Nd2
Nxe7 22. Nc4 $18) 17. Nxc8 Rxc8 18. bxa4 Ra8 19. Re4 $16) (15... Be6 16. Nd4
$14 {exchanging the light-squared bishop is always to White's benefit.}) 16.
Rad1 {With the idea Nd6. This idea was mentioned to me just before the game by
my teammate Dmitrii Svetushkin. Afterwards I also saw that it had been played
in similar situations few times.} h4 (16... Bf5 {looks like this provocation
is one of the few possible ideas for Black in this position} 17. Nd4 Bc8 18. e6
fxe6 19. Nf3 $1 {If I am not mistaken we had this position over the board the
same morning} a4 20. Ne5 $1 Nxe5 21. Bxe5 $44) 17. Nd6 $1 {Black either has to
give up his light-squared bishop or material.} Rh5 (17... Be6 18. Nxb7 a4 (
18... Bd5 19. Bd4 Bxf3 20. gxf3 Rh5 21. Re4 Rf5 22. Nc5 Rxf3 23. Be3 Rf5 24.
Nd3 $14) 19. Bd4 $16) (17... cxd6 18. exd6 Bxd6 (18... Bd8 19. d7 $16) 19. Rxd6
$16) 18. Nxc8 Rxc8 19. Re4 $14 {Now white feels much more comfortable on the
white squares, the plan is to prepare f5, while Black will always have to keep
an eye on h4 as well as solving the problem of the rook on h5.} (19. Bc3 {
some times it is important to provoke b6 I was still not sure about that} b6
20. Re4 Rd8 21. Rde1 $14) 19... Rd8 20. Rxd8+ Bxd8 21. Kf1 {King to the centre!
} c5 22. Rg4 Ke7 {It's difficult to criticise Peter for this move, since Black
can not play the endgame without the king.} 23. Ng5 ({Another tactical motif
was} 23. e6 $5 Kxe6 24. Bxg7 Rd5 25. Ke2 Kd7 26. c4 Rd6 27. g3 Re6+ 28. Kf1 $14
) 23... f5 $6 {Already at this moment Leko was in severe time trouble, so his
desire to simplify things is quite understandable.} (23... b5 {Instead. there
was the more solid} 24. Nxf7 (24. a4 c6 25. c4 b4 26. Nxf7 Kxf7 27. e6+ Kxe6
28. Rxg6+ Bf6 29. Bxf6 gxf6 30. Rg4 f5 31. Rg6+ Ke5 32. Rxc6 Kd4) 24... Kxf7
25. e6+ Kxe6 26. Rxg6+ Bf6 27. Bxf6 gxf6 28. Rg4 $14) 24. exf6+ gxf6 25. Re4+
$1 {An important intermediate move.} Kd7 26. Ne6 Be7 27. Ng7 $1 {Somehow it's
a bad sign for Black if the white knight gets to g7 - it means the kingside is
destroyed.} Rh7 (27... Rd5 28. Rg4 Rg5 29. Ke2 Rxg4 30. hxg4 Nf4+ 31. Kf3 h3
32. gxh3 Nxh3 33. Ke3 Ng5 34. Nh5 Ke6 35. f4 $16) (27... Rg5 28. Bc1 Rd5 29.
Ke2 f5 30. Re6 Nf8 31. Rh6 $16) 28. Nf5 Bd8 29. Ke2 Rh5 30. Rg4 $1 {Another
intermezzo.} Rxf5 31. Rxg6 Ke6 32. Rh6 $16 {Black is losing the pawn on h4
which opens the gates for White's win.} Rg5 33. Kf1 Rd5 34. Rxh4 Rd2 {Here I
saw two ways of neutralising the rook, and I chose the more complicated one.}
35. Re4+ (35. Rc4 {!} Be7 36. Ke1 Rd5 37. Re4+ Kf7 38. g4 $18) 35... Kf7 36.
Re2 Rd1+ 37. Re1 Rd2 38. Rc1 c4 39. bxc4 ({Here after} 39. Ke1 Rd6 {I could
speculate with the exchange of rooks} 40. Rd1 Re6+ 41. Kf1 cxb3 42. cxb3 Be7 (
42... Ke8 43. Re1 $18) 43. Rd7 $18) 39... Be7 40. Bc3 Rd6 41. Re1 (41. Bxa5 Rc6
42. Bd2 Rxc4 43. c3 Ra4 44. Rc2 f5 $16) 41... Rc6 42. Re4 a4 43. Ke2 a3 44. g4
{The position should be completely winning for me but my technique was not on
the highest level.} Rb6 45. Rd4 (45. Kd3 $18 {was more elegant.}) 45... Bd6 46.
Rd5 Rb1 47. Rf5 Be7 48. g5 ({A more accurate way would be} 48. h4 c6 49. h5 Rb2
50. Kd3 Rxa2 51. g5 Rb2 52. g6+ Kg7 53. Rg5 Rb1 54. h6+ $18) 48... Kg6 49. gxf6
Bd6 50. Rf3 (50. Rb5 Rc1 51. c5 Bf8 52. Rxb7 Rxc2+ 53. Kd3 Rxa2 54. Rxc7 Rxf2
55. c6 $18) 50... Kf7 51. Rd3 Rc1 52. c5 $1 Bf8 {Here I almost played Kd2 but
something stopped me, asat the last moment I saw the check on h6. For sure
tiredness and the final time control started to play their role. The only good
news for me was that Leko was in the same position.} (52... Bxc5 53. Rd7+ Ke6
54. Rxc7 Bd6 55. Bd2 $1 Ra1 56. Rxb7 Rxa2 57. Rb6 Rb2 58. Ra6 a2 59. Kd3 $18)
53. Rd2 (53. Rd7+ Ke6 54. Rxc7 Rxc2+ 55. Kd3 Rxa2 56. Bd4 $1 $18) (53. Kd2 $4
Bh6+ {=}) 53... Ke6 54. Bd4 $2 ({Initially I was going to play} 54. f4 Bxc5 {
and} 55. f5+ $1 Kf7 (55... Kxf5 56. Rd5+) 56. Rd7+ Ke8 57. Rxc7 $18) 54... Bh6
55. Be3 Bxe3 56. fxe3 Kxf6 {Another confirmation for the saying that all rook
endgames are drawn. The only chance was that we were both in time trouble.} 57.
Kd3 Rh1 58. Kc4 Ke6 59. Rd3 Rxh3 60. Rxa3 Kd7 61. Kb5 Rh5 62. Rd3+ Kc8 63. a4 {
My pawns are too weak.} b6 (63... Re5 {instead would simply prove to be a draw.
} 64. a5 Re4 65. c6 Re5+ 66. Kb4 b6 67. Ra3 Kb8 68. axb6 cxb6 69. Rc3 Kc7 70.
Kc4 Re8 71. Kd5 Rd8+ {and the head-on attack doesn't allow the e4-pawn to
advance} 72. Ke6 Re8+ 73. Kf7 Re4 74. Kf6 Re8 $11) 64. Rc3 Re5 (64... Kb7 65.
Kb4 Re5 66. cxb6 Kxb6 67. Kc4 c6 68. Kd4 Rd5+ 69. Ke4 Rd8 70. Ra3 $16) 65. a5
bxc5 $2 $138 {The decisive mistake.} ({There was very little chance I would
manage to win after} 65... bxa5 66. Kxa5 Kb7 67. Kb5 c6+ 68. Kc4 Kc7 69. Kd3
Rd5+ 70. Ke4 Rh5 $14) 66. Kc6 c4 67. Ra3 c3 68. a6 $18 Kb8 69. a7+ Ka8 70. Rxc3
Re7 71. Ra3 Re6+ 72. Kd5 Rd6+ 73. Ke4 Rd2 74. c4 c6 1-0

[Event "URS-ch U26"]
[Site "Tbilisi"]
[Date "1989.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Dautov, Rustem"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2450"]
[BlackElo "2535"]
[Annotator "Bulletin"]
[PlyCount "106"]
[EventDate "1989.01.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[EventCategory "9"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 012"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1989.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1989.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. b3 a5 11. Bb2 h6 12. Ne2 Ne7 13. Nfd4 a4 14. Rad1
Nd5 15. c4 Nb4 16. Nf4 a3 17. Ba1 Nxa2 18. e6 $1 Rg8 $1 19. exf7+ Kxf7 20. Nf3
Bd6 21. Nd3 Nb4 22. c5 Nxd3 23. cxd6 Bf5 24. dxc7 Rge8 25. Nd4 Bh7 26. f4 Be4
27. f5 Rac8 28. Ne6 Rxe6 29. fxe6+ Kxe6 30. Rd2 (30. Bxg7 Rxc7 31. Bf8 $14)
30... Rxc7 31. Ra2 b5 32. Rxa3 c5 33. Ra6+ Kd5 34. Rb6 $2 {>= 34.Rf8} Ra7 $1
35. Rd1 $1 Ra2 36. Rb7 Rxg2+ 37. Kf1 Rf2+ 38. Kg1 Rg2+ 39. Kf1 Rxh2 40. Rxg7
Rh1+ 41. Rg1 Rh2 42. Rg8 h5 43. Bh8 $5 Ke6 44. Rd8 Rh3 45. Bg7 Ke7 46. Rb8 Rf3+
47. Ke2 Nf4+ 48. Ke1 Re3+ 49. Kf2 Rf3+ 50. Ke1 Rxb3 51. Ra1 $1 Nd3+ 52. Kd2 Ke6
53. Rh8 Kf7 1/2-1/2

[Event "URS-ch46 First League"]
[Site "Ashkhabad"]
[Date "1978.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Beliavsky, Alexander G"]
[Black "Mikhalchishin, Adrian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2545"]
[BlackElo "2460"]
[Annotator "Bulletin"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "1978.10.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "MCL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8.
dxe5 Nf5 (8... Nb7) 9. Qe4 g6 10. Nd4 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 d5 (11... O-O 12. Bh6 Re8
13. Nc3 c5 14. Qd2 d6 $14 {Gligoric-Trifunovic, Budapest 1948}) 12. Nc3 Bf5 13.
Na4 O-O 14. b3 Qb8 (14... Bxc2 15. Bh6 Re8 16. Rac1) 15. Bh6 Re8 16. g4 Be6 17.
h3 Qb5 18. Be3 Qe2 19. Qd1 Qxd1 20. Raxd1 h5 21. f3 f6 22. exf6 Bxf6 23. Rfe1
Kf7 24. Bf4 Re7 25. Kg2 Rae8 26. Bg3 d4 $10 27. Nc5 Bd5 28. Rxe7+ Rxe7 29. Re1
Rxe1 30. Bxe1 Be7 31. Na6 hxg4 32. hxg4 Bd6 33. Bg3 c5 34. Nxc7 Bxc7 35. Bxc7
c4 36. Kf2 Ke6 37. b4 d3 38. cxd3 cxd3 39. Ke3 d2 40. Kxd2 Bxf3 41. b5 Bxg4 42.
Bb8 a6 1/2-1/2

[Event "Bugojno"]
[Site "Bugojno"]
[Date "1978.03.05"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Tal, Mihail"]
[Black "Ivkov, Borislav"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2625"]
[BlackElo "2515"]
[Annotator "Bulletin"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "1978.02.27"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "YUG"]
[EventCategory "14"]
[SourceTitle "MCL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. dxe5 O-O 7. Qe2 (7. Be3
a6 8. Bc4 d6 9. Bd5 Bf5 10. Nd4 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 dxe5 12. Qxe5 Nd6 13. Nc3 $1 $14
{Romanishin-Knezevic, Leningrad 1977}) 7... Nc5 8. Be3 Ne6 9. Nc3 f6 10. exf6 (
10. Bxc6) 10... Bxf6 11. Bc4 Kh8 (11... Re8 12. Ne4 $5) 12. Bxe6 dxe6 13. Rad1
Qe8 (13... Qe7 14. Ne4) 14. Nb5 Qe7 15. Qc4 e5 16. Nc3 (16. Bc5 Qf7) 16... Be6
$10 17. Qb5 Rfb8 18. Rfe1 a6 19. Qa4 Qb4 20. Bg5 Qxa4 21. Nxa4 Bg4 22. Bxf6
gxf6 23. Rd2 $5 (23. c3) 23... Bxf3 24. gxf3 Nd4 25. Re3 Rg8+ 26. Kf1 Rg7 (
26... Rg5 $5 27. f4 exf4 $13) 27. Nc3 Rag8 28. Ne2 c5 29. Nxd4 exd4 (29... cxd4
$5) 30. Re6 Rg2 31. b4 $1 cxb4 32. Rxd4 Rxh2 33. Rxb4 b5 34. Rxa6 Rgg2 35. Ra8+
Kg7 36. Rg4+ Rxg4 37. fxg4 Rh4 38. a4 (38. f3 Rh2 39. Rc8 b4 40. Ke1 Kg6 41.
Rc5 Rg2 42. Kd1 Rf2 43. Rf5 h5 $10) 38... bxa4 39. Rxa4 f5 40. Kg2 fxg4 41. Rc4
(41. Kg3 Rh3+ 42. Kxg4 Rc3) 41... Kf6 42. Kg3 Rh1 43. Rf4+ {*} Ke5 44. Rxg4 h5
45. Rh4 Rg1+ 46. Kf3 Rc1 47. Rxh5+ Kd6 48. Rh6+ Kd7 49. Rh4 Rxc2 50. Re4 Rc8
51. Kg4 Rg8+ 52. Kh5 Kd6 53. f4 Kd5 54. Re7 Kd6 55. Re4 Kd5 56. Re5+ Kd6 57.
Rg5 Rf8 58. Kg4 Ke6 59. Re5+ Kf6 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tashkent FIDE GP"]
[Site "Tashkent"]
[Date "2014.10.26"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Andreikin, Dmitry"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2726"]
[BlackElo "2722"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2014.10.21"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "UZB"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 163"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.11.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.11.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Radjabov, Teimour ½-½ Andreikin, Dmitry Radjabov's novelty on move 22 of a
fashionable line of the Berlin was not impressive at all. Andreikin equalized
easily and Radjabov had to force a perpetual before he ended up worse.} 1. e4
e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8.
Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. Rfe1
Bb4 15. g4 hxg4 16. hxg4 Ne7 17. Nxe6 Rxe6 18. Kg2 Bxc3 19. bxc3 Rd8 20. Rxd8+
Kxd8 21. Rh1 Nd5 22. Rh8+ {A novelty on move 22. Anand-Karjakin from the
Candidate's was the game they were following.} Kd7 (22... Re8 {is the computer
suggestion, saying Black is slightly better, but surely Radjabov had some deep
preparation in this line}) 23. Bg3 g5 24. Rg8 Nf4+ 25. Bxf4 gxf4 26. Rg5 Rg6
27. Rh5 Rxg4+ 28. Kf3 Rg1 29. Kxf4 Rf1 {White doesn't have any real winning
chances in this endgame.} 30. Ke3 Ra1 31. f4 Rxa2 32. f5 Rxc2 33. Rh7 Ke8 34.
Kf4 f6 35. e6 a5 36. Rh8+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tashkent FIDE GP"]
[Site "Tashkent"]
[Date "2014.10.27"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2768"]
[BlackElo "2726"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2014.10.21"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "UZB"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 163"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.11.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.11.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. g3
(14. Rfe1 Bb4 15. g4 hxg4 16. hxg4 Ne7 {was the game Radjabov played yesterday
with White.}) 14... Bxg5 15. Bxg5 Rg6 16. h4 f6 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bf4 Nxh4 19.
f3 Rd8 20. Kf2 Rxd1 21. Nxd1 Nf5 22. Rh1 Bxa2 23. Rxh5 Be6 24. g4 {The novelty.
} (24. Bxc7 Rh6 25. Rxh6 Nxh6 26. g4 {was drawn at thist m oment in the game
Alekseev-Grachev from this year.}) 24... Nd6 25. Rh7 f5 (25... Nf7 {is the
computer's suggestion, as it is not a big fan of the c7 pawn.}) 26. g5 (26.
Rxc7 Nb5 27. gxf5 Bxf5 28. Rxb7 Bxc2 {looks unwinnable, though the computer
claims W hite is better.}) 26... Nf7 27. Rh5 Rg8 {White's down a pawn but his
g5 passer is the most dangerous thing on the board. That being said it is
blocked. This game isn't going anywhere.} 28. Kg3 Rh8 29. Rxh8+ Nxh8 30. Bxc7
Ng6 31. Nc3 Kd7 32. Bb8 a5 33. Na4 Kc8 34. Bf4 b5 35. Nc5 Ba2 36. c3 a4 37. Bd6
Bd5 38. f4 Kd8 39. Kf2 Nh4 40. Ke3 Ke8 41. Nd3 Be4 42. Nf2 Bd5 43. Ba3 Kf7 44.
Kd4 Ke6 45. Nd3 Ng6 46. Nc5+ Kf7 47. Na6 Nxf4 48. Ke5 Nd3+ 49. Kxf5 c5 50. g6+
Kg8 51. Nxc5 Nxc5 52. Bxc5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2016.03.12"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2757"]
[BlackElo "2780"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2016.03.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 172"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.05.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.05.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5
8. Rxe5 O-O {Diagramm [#] Eine auf allerhöchstem Niveau extrem beliebte
Variante. Die Remisquote ist auch extrem - hoch!} 9. Nc3 {Weiß versucht
zunächst, den Zug d7-d5 für Schwarz zu erschweren. Dessen Durchsetzung
ließe letztlich eine "Französische Abtauschvariante" entstehen - früher die
"Remisvariante" schlechthin.} Ne8 10. Nd5 Bd6 11. Re1 c6 12. Ne3 Be7 13. c4 Nc7
14. d4 d5 {Diagramm [#] Dauerhaft verhindern ließ es sich nicht.} 15. cxd5 Bb4
{Ein neuer Zug Topalovs.} 16. Bd2 (16. dxc6 $2 {funktioniert offensichtlich
nicht:} Bxe1 17. cxb7 Bxf2+ 18. Kxf2 Bxb7) 16... Bxd2 17. Qxd2 Nxd5 18. Nxd5
Qxd5 {Diagramm [#] Weiß verfügt über eine leichte Initiative.} 19. Re5 Qd6
20. Bc4 Bd7 21. Rae1 b5 ({In der e-Linie einen Turm entgegenzustellen wäre
nicht wirklich zielführend, da Weiß ggfs. auf e5 mit dem Bauern schlagen
würde:} 21... Rae8 22. Qe3 Rxe5 23. dxe5 $14) 22. Bb3 a5 {Der schwarze
Angriff am Damenflügel hindert den Weißen daran, über einen Zug wie Te7
auch nur nachdenken zu können.} 23. a4 {Diagramm [#] Jetzt löst sich in
Windeseile alles in Wohlgefallen auf.} bxa4 24. Bxa4 Be6 25. Rxa5 Rxa5 26. Qxa5
Qxd4 27. Bxc6 Qxb2 28. Bd5 Bxd5 29. Qxd5 Qf6 30. g3 g6 1/2-1/2

[Event "EU-ch 11th"]
[Site "Rijeka"]
[Date "2010.03.12"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Vuckovic, Bojan"]
[Black "Efimenko, Zahar"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2630"]
[BlackElo "2640"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "2010.03.06"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "CRO"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 136"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.05.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.05.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 Be6 11. b3 Bb4 12. Bb2 Bxc3 13. Bxc3 Bd5 14.
Ne1 h5 15. Nd3 h4 16. Rfe1 Be6 17. Nc5 b6 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Rad1 c5 20. Rd3 Rd8
21. Rxd8+ Kxd8 22. Bd2 Kd7 23. Bg5 b5 24. Re4 a5 25. a4 c4 26. axb5 cxb3 27.
cxb3 Rb8 28. Bxh4 Rxb5 29. Bg5 {#} Rxb3 $2 ({Whether due to an adrenaline rush,
or a simple oversight, Black missed his best chance by rushing for the pawn.
Better opportunities would arise from} 29... c5 30. Bd2 Rxb3 31. Bxa5 Kc6 32.
Re1 c4 33. Rc1 Kc5 {and the onus is on White to save the game.}) 30. Ra4 Rb5
31. Bd2 Rb1+ 32. Kh2 Rb2 33. Bxa5 Rxf2 34. Rc4 Rxg2+ 35. Kh1 c6 36. Rxc6 Re2
37. Rc7+ Ke8 38. Bc3 Rc2 39. Ba5 Rxc7 40. Bxc7 Kd7 41. Ba5 Kc6 42. Kg2 Kd5 43.
Kf3 Kxe5 44. Bc3+ Kd5 45. Kf4 Nd4 46. Kg5 Kc4 47. Bb2 e5 48. Kg6 e4 49. Bc1 Ne2
50. Bg5 Ng1 51. Kxg7 Nxh3 52. Bh6 Kd3 53. Kf6 Ke2 54. Kf5 Kf3 55. Bc1 Nf2 56.
Bd2 Nd3 57. Bh6 e3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Grand Slam Final 3rd"]
[Site "Bilbao"]
[Date "2010.10.09"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2749"]
[BlackElo "2800"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2010.10.09"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 139"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.11.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.11.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 11. b3 {Though b3 is not an unusual idea in
the Berlin, it is normally played in the place of h3.} Be7 12. Bb2 Be6 13. Rad1
a5 14. a4 b6 15. Ne4 c5 16. c4 Rd8 17. Rxd8+ Kxd8 18. Rd1+ Kc8 19. Kf1 Rd8 {
The last major pieces come off, and the draw is clearly on the horizon.} 20.
Rxd8+ Kxd8 21. Ke2 Ke8 22. Kd3 Bd8 23. Bc1 f6 24. g4 hxg4 25. hxg4 Nd4 26. Nxd4
cxd4 27. exf6 gxf6 28. g5 c5 29. Nxf6+ Bxf6 30. gxf6 Bf5+ 31. Kd2 Bb1 32. Kd1
d3 {#} 33. Kd2 (33. Bf4 Bc2+ 34. Kd2 Bxb3 35. Bc7 Kf7 36. Kxd3 Bxa4 37. Bxb6
Kxf6 {would be much the same as the game, albeit by a different move order.})
33... Kf7 34. Kc3 Kxf6 35. Bf4 Ke6 36. Bc7 Ba2 37. Bxb6 Kd6 38. Bxa5 d2 39.
Kxd2 Bxb3 40. Kd3 Bxa4 41. Ke4 1/2-1/2

[Event "CRO-chT1A 20th"]
[Site "Sibenik"]
[Date "2011.10.10"]
[Round "7.5"]
[White "Bologan, Viktor"]
[Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2656"]
[BlackElo "2707"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2011.10.04"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CRO"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 144 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.10.28"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.10.28"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Slavonski Brod"]
[BlackTeam "Rijeka Liburnija"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "CRO"]
[BlackTeamCountry "CRO"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O (4. Qe2 {avoids the queenless middlegame
and like 4 d3, which could equally be played, aims for a less technical
struggle.} Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. d3 Re8 7. h3 d5 8. Ba4 a6 9. Nbd2 b5 10. Bc2 Bb6
11. Nf1 b4 12. Ng3 bxc3 13. bxc3 d4 14. Ba4 Bd7 15. Bxc6 Bxc6 16. c4 Ba5+ 17.
Bd2 Bxd2+ 18. Qxd2 Nd7 19. Qa5 Qe7 20. O-O Qc5 21. Qd2 Rab8 22. Nf5 f6 23. Nh2
Nf8 24. f4 Ng6 25. fxe5 Nxe5 26. Qf2 Re6 27. Ng4 Nxg4 28. hxg4 Rd8 29. g5 Qe5
30. Qh4 Rf8 31. Rf3 Be8 32. Raf1 Kh8 33. Nxg7 Kxg7 34. Qh6+ Kg8 35. gxf6 Rf7
36. Rf5 Qd6 37. Rg5+ Kh8 38. Rg7 {1-0 Gashimov,V (2760)-Nielsen,P (2681)/
Khanty Mansiysk 2011}) 4... Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+
Kxd8 9. Nc3 {I will look at this position optimistically from White's point of
view. I have a kingside pawn majority, which I hope to make the main feature
of the position with a gradual advance. I can perhaps make it inconvenient for
the Black King stuck in the centre. Turning the board round I see patience
will be needed. The Black King can hold his own in the middle,so Black's first
task will be to create counterplay, maybe on the queenside, maybe against the
slowly advancing kingside pawns. But all this must come slowly. Altogether I
think this is a system suitable as Black ONLY for masters. I don't see average
players enjoying Black's defensive task at all.} h6 10. h3 Bd7 (10... Ne7 {
has been preferred by Magnus Carlsen:} 11. Be3 (11. Bf4 Ng6 12. Bh2 Bb4 13. Ne4
Bf5 14. Ng3 Bd7 15. Nh5 Rg8 16. g4 Ke8 17. Bg3 Be6 18. Nd4 Bc4 19. Rfd1 Ne7 20.
a3 Ba5 21. Nb3 Bxb3 22. cxb3 Bb6 23. Kh2 Nd5 24. f4 Rd8 25. f5 {1/2-1/2
Jakovenko,D (2716) -Sargissian,G (2658)/Rogaska Slatina 2011}) 11... Ke8 12.
Rad1 Bd7 13. a3 Rd8 14. Rfe1 a6 15. Ne4 Bf5 16. Nc5 Rxd1 17. Rxd1 Bc8 18. Nd3
Ng6 19. Nf4 Nxf4 20. Bxf4 Be7 21. Nd4 Bc5 22. Be3 Bxd4 23. Rxd4 {# Anand has
done most of what is expected of him, but the position is very dry.} Ke7 24. f3
Rd8 25. Rxd8 Kxd8 26. g4 h5 27. Kf2 g6 28. Bg5+ Ke8 {1/2-1/2 Anand,V (2817)
-Carlsen,M (2823)/Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2011 This sort of game is acceptable at the
highest level, but of course, it is utterly dull.}) 11. b3 c5 12. Rd1 Kc8 13.
Nd5 a5 14. a4 $14 {I like White's position. he has blocked the queenside, to a
degree closed down the Black Bishops and is getting ready slowly for the
eventual advance of those pawns. The game will not win a beauty prize, but
Bologan will say ' so what'?} Ne7 (14... g5 15. Bb2 Be6 16. c4 b6 17. Kh2 Ne7
18. g4 Ng6 19. Kg3 Be7 $14 {is still a bit better for White,yet he contrived
to lose in a few more moves:} 20. Nf6 Kb7 21. Nh5 Rhg8 22. Ng1 Rad8 23. Ne2 Bd7
24. Rd2 $4 {Unprotected pieces cause problems.....even for the greatest.} Bxa4
25. Rxd8 Rxd8 {0-1 Svidler,P (2735)-Ponomariov,R (2733)/Astrakhan 2010 Black's
Rook is about to appear on d2.}) 15. c4 Bf5 16. Ra2 Ra6 $1 17. Ne3 Be4 18. Nd2
Bh7 19. f4 Nc6 20. g4 {There is no doubt about it: Black has counterplay. To
advance the kingside pawns at this time is a bit loose, but Bologan's courage
is rewarded on this occasion.} (20. Nf3 Be4 21. Kf2 {was more circumspect,but
Black is well in the game after} g5 $5 $132) 20... Nb4 21. Ra1 h5 ({Surely} 
21... Nd3 $1 {was better:} 22. f5 Nxe5 23. Ne4 Rb6 (23... Nf3+ 24. Kf2 Nd4 $132
) 24. Ra3 Nf3+ 25. Kf2 Nd4 $132 26. Nd5 Rc6 $13 (26... Rxb3 27. Rxb3 Nxb3 28.
Bf4 $16)) 22. f5 {The point is to shut in the Bishop on h7 for good.} hxg4 23.
hxg4 f6 24. exf6 ({Bologan might have preferred} 24. e6 g6 25. Ba3 {but Black
has plenty of counterplay after} gxf5 26. gxf5 Nd3 27. Nf3 Rg8+ 28. Kf1 Rd6)
24... Rxf6 25. Ne4 Rh6 26. Bb2 Rh3 {The game is flaring up, but Black is
fighting with his hands tied whilst the Bishop on h7 is getting in the way.}
27. Kf2 Bg8 28. f6 Rh2+ 29. Ng2 R8h3 (29... Bh7 30. fxg7 Bxg7 31. Bxg7 Rg8 32.
Nf6 Rxg7 33. Rh1 $1 Rxh1 34. Rxh1 $16) 30. Be5 $1 Bh7 31. Bxh2 Bxe4 32. Bg3 {
The smoke clears and White has emerged material ahead.} gxf6 33. Nf4 Rh8 34.
Re1 Bc6 35. Rad1 Nc2 {The struggle in the queenless middlegame is heavy duty
and not suitable for the average player at all from either side of the board.
I prefer 4 d3 or 4 Qe2 from White's perspective, which offer chances of a
full-blooded game, with all the pieces on the board.} 1-0

[Event "Grenke Chess Classic 3rd"]
[Site "Baden-Baden"]
[Date "2015.02.08"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2811"]
[BlackElo "2865"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2015.02.02"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 165"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.03.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.03.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 h6 10. Rd1+ Ke8 11. Nc3 Ne7 12. Bf4 Ng6 13. Bh2 Bb4 14. Ne2
Be7 15. Nfd4 Nf8 16. g4 h5 17. Nf5 Ne6 18. Kg2 b6 19. f3 c5 20. Bg3 Bg5 (20...
Bb7 {was also perfectly possible.}) 21. h4 hxg4 {and now the draw is forced}
22. hxg5 gxf3+ 23. Kxf3 Nxg5+ 24. Kf4 (24. Kg4 Nh3 {is risky for White:} 25. e6
Bxe6 26. Nf4 g6 27. Nxe6 gxf5+ 28. Kxf5 fxe6+ 29. Kg4 e5 $1 {with this key
move the knight from h3 is rescued and Black remains out a pawn, though
probably one that is very hard to convert.} 30. Bxe5 (30. Rd5 Ke7 $15) (30. Re1
Kd7 $1 $17) 30... Nf2+ $17) 24... Nh3+ 25. Ke4 Ng5+ 26. Kf4 Nh3+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "ESP-ch ko"]
[Site "Ayamonte"]
[Date "2007.11.09"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Llaneza Vega, Marcos"]
[Black "Oms Pallisse, Josep"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2426"]
[BlackElo "2506"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "266"]
[EventDate "2007.11.09"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2008"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2007.11.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2007.11.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qe2 {rehusando entrar en 8.Dxd8+} Nd4 9. Qd1 Nxf3+ 10. Qxf3 Qh4 11. Re1 (11.
Bf4 Be7 12. Nc3 Qg4 13. Qe3 Bf5 14. f3 Qg6 15. Ne4 O-O 16. Rfe1 b6 17. Kh1 Rad8
18. Rad1 Bxe4 19. Qxe4 Qxe4 20. fxe4 Rxd1 21. Rxd1 Rd8 22. Rd3 Rxd3 23. cxd3
Bc5 24. e6 fxe6 25. Bxc7 Bd4 26. b3 Kf7 27. g3 Ke7 28. Kg2 Kd7 29. Bb8 c5 30.
Kf3 Kc6 31. Ke2 Kb5 32. a4+ Kc6 33. h3 a6 34. Kd2 b5 35. axb5+ Kxb5 {1/2-1/2
Fucek-Scarella/Villa Ballester 1997}) 11... Qg4 12. Qe3 Qg6 13. c4 Be6 14. b3
b6 15. Nc3 O-O-O 16. Ne4 Bb4 17. Bd2 Bxd2 18. Nxd2 Qd3 {persiguiendo con
empeño el esquema estratégico de la variante berlinesa} 19. Ne4 Qxe3 20. Rxe3
h6 21. h4 Rd4 22. Rae1 Rhd8 23. f3 a5 24. a4 c5 25. Kf2 Bf5 26. g4 Be6 27. Kg3
h5 28. Ng5 $11 Kd7 ({No está suficientemente justificado esta entrega; podía
jugarse} 28... Rh8) 29. gxh5 Ke7 30. Nxe6 Kxe6 31. f4 Rh8 32. Kg4 g6 33. hxg6
fxg6 34. Kg5 Rdd8 35. Rg1 Rdf8 36. Rd1 Rf5+ 37. Kg4 Rhf8 38. Rf3 Rh8 39. Rh3
Rhf8 40. Rf3 Rh8 41. Rd5 Rhf8 42. Rf2 R5f7 43. Rf3 Rf5 44. Rd2 Rh8 45. Rg3 Ke7
46. Rgd3 Rhf8 47. Rf3 Ke6 48. Rg2 R8f7 {Diagrama #} 49. Kh3 {esta entrega de
peón conduce a...} Rxf4 50. Rxf4 Rxf4 51. Rxg6+ Kxe5 {...este final
aparentemente ventajoso, pero...} 52. Rg4 $6 ({Una jugada ilógica, mejor} 52.
h5 Rf1 53. Kg4 Rg1+ 54. Kh4 Rh1+ 55. Kg5 Rh3 56. Rc6 (56. h6 Rg3+ 57. Kh5 Rh3+
58. Kg4 Rh1 59. Rc6 Rh2 $11) 56... Rg3+ 57. Kh6 (57. Kh4 Rxb3 58. h6 Rb1 59.
Rxc7 Kf5 60. h7 Rh1+ 61. Kg3 Kg6 62. Kf4 $16)) 52... Rd4 53. h5 Kf5 54. h6 $2 (
{se imponía} 54. Rg1 Rd6 55. Kh4 Rd4+ 56. Kh3) 54... Rd1 55. Rg7 Rh1+ 56. Kg3
Rxh6 57. Rxc7 Rd6 58. Kf2 Rd2+ 59. Ke3 Rb2 60. Rc6 Rxb3+ 61. Kd2 Ke5 62. Rh6
Ra3 63. Rxb6 Kd4 64. Kc2 Rxa4 65. Rh6 Kxc4 66. Rh4+ Kb5 67. Rh8 Rg4 68. Rb8+
Kc4 69. Kb2 Rg3 70. Rb7 a4 71. Rc7 Rb3+ 72. Kc2 Rb6 73. Rc8 a3 74. Ra8 Rb2+ 75.
Kc1 Rb3 76. Kc2 Rb2+ 77. Kc1 Kb3 78. Rb8+ Kc3 79. Rh8 Rg2 80. Kb1 c4 81. Ra8
Kb3 82. Rb8+ Kc3 83. Ra8 Rb2+ 84. Kc1 {Diagrama #} Rb3 $2 ({ganaba} 84... Kb3
85. Rb8+ Ka2 86. Rc8 Rh2 87. Rb8 (87. Rxc4 Kb3 88. Rc8 Rh1+ 89. Kd2 a2 $18)
87... c3 88. Rb7 Rb2 89. Rc7 Kb3 $18 {a estos efectos recomiendo el libro de
Jesús De la Villa, "Los 100 finales que hay que saber"}) 85. Ra7 Kb4 86. Rb7+
Kc5 87. Ra7 Rh3 88. Kb1 Kd4 89. Ra8 Rg3 90. Ra7 Rd3 91. Ra4 Rb3+ 92. Kc2 Kc5
93. Ra8 Rb2+ 94. Kc3 Rb3+ 95. Kc2 Rg3 96. Rc8+ Kd5 97. Rd8+ Ke6 98. Ra8 Rd3 99.
Ra4 Kd5 100. Ra8 Re3 101. Rd8+ Ke4 102. Rc8 Kd4 103. Rd8+ Kc5 104. Rc8+ Kb5
105. Rb8+ Ka5 106. Ra8+ Kb6 107. Ra4 Kb5 108. Ra8 Kb6 109. Ra4 Kc5 110. Kc1 (
110. Ra8) 110... Rh3 111. Kb1 Kd4 112. Ra8 Kd3 113. Rd8+ Kc3 114. Rd1 $2 (114.
Ka2 Rd3 115. Rh8 Rd7 116. Kb1 Ra7 117. Ka2) 114... Kb3 115. Rc1 Rh2 116. Ka1
Ra2+ 117. Kb1 Rb2+ 118. Ka1 Rg2 119. Rb1+ Kc3 120. Rc1+ Rc2 121. Rh1 Kb3 122.
Rb1+ Rb2 123. Rc1 Re2 124. Rb1+ Kc2 125. Rc1+ Kd3 126. Rd1+ Rd2 127. Rh1 c3
128. Rh3+ Kc4 129. Rh8 c2 130. Rc8+ Kd3 131. Rd8+ Ke2 132. Re8+ Kd1 133. Rc8
Rd7 0-1

[Event "Norway Chess 4th"]
[Site "Stavanger"]
[Date "2016.04.25"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2788"]
[BlackElo "2851"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "129"]
[EventDate "2016.04.19"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 172"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.05.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.05.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14.
Rfe1 Bb4 15. g4 hxg4 16. hxg4 Ne7 17. f3 ({The most popular move here is} 17.
Nxe6) 17... Bxc3 18. bxc3 Bxa2 19. Ne4 Rh8 20. e6 Bxe6 21. Bxc7 Nd5 ({One
wonders how Vachier-Lagrave wanted to improve a game between Anish Giri and
Sergey Karjakin which continued with} 21... b5 22. Be5 Rg8 23. Nc5 Nd5 24. f4
Bxg4 25. c4 f6 26. Rb1 Nb6 27. Bxf6+ Kf7 28. Bg5 Nxc4 29. Re7+ Kg6 30. Rbe1 Bf5
31. Kf2 Rad8 32. Nd3 a5 33. Rg1 Rd7 34. Bh4+ Kh7 35. Rxd7 Bxd7 36. Ne5 Nxe5 37.
fxe5 Re8 38. Re1 a4 39. Kf3 a3 40. Bf2 Rf8+ 41. Kg3 Be6 42. Bc5 Ra8 {0-1 (42)
Giri,A (2734)-Karjakin,S (2776) Beijing 2013}) 22. Be5 Kf8 23. Nc5 b5 24. c4
bxc4 25. Rd4 Re8 26. Rxc4 Rh6 27. Ra4 Kg8 (27... Ra8 28. Rea1 $14) 28. Rxa7 Bc8
29. Bg3 Rxe1+ 30. Bxe1 Rd6 {Black has to take measures against the threat of
Ra8.} 31. Ba5 {[#]} Bxg4 $5 {Carlsen liquidates into an endgame which he knows
from his World Championship match against Vishy Anand.} (31... Be6 32. Ne4 Rd7
33. Ra8+ Kh7 {apparently was not to his liking.}) 32. fxg4 Rg6 33. Kf2 Rxg4 34.
Bd2 ({Another attempt was} 34. Nd3 Rc4 35. Ne1 Ra4 36. Ke2 g5) 34... Rc4 35.
Ra8+ Kh7 36. Nd7 Rxc2 {The last remaining white pawn vanished from the board.}
37. Ke2 f6 38. Kd3 Rb2 39. Nf8+ Kg8 40. Ne6+ Kh7 41. Ra7 Rb3+ 42. Kd4 Rg3 43.
Kc5 Rg2 44. Ba5 Ne3 45. Kxc6 Nf5 46. Bb4 Re2 47. Kd7 Re4 48. Bc5 Kg6 49. Ra1
Re5 50. Bd6 Nxd6 51. Kxd6 Rb5 52. Rg1+ Kh6 53. Nf4 Kh7 54. Nd5 g5 55. Ke6 Kg7
56. Rf1 Ra5 57. Nxf6 Kg6 58. Nd5 Ra6+ 59. Ke5 Ra8 60. Ne7+ Kh5 61. Rh1+ Kg4 62.
Rg1+ Kh5 63. Rh1+ Kg4 64. Rg1+ Kh5 65. Rh1+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tashkent FIDE GP"]
[Site "Tashkent"]
[Date "2014.10.31"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2726"]
[BlackElo "2844"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2014.10.21"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "UZB"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 163"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.11.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.11.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Bb4 {actually kind of rare. We have
seen a lot of duels recently with 11...Be7, but with the amazing draw rate in
that line it is refreshing to see something slightly different.} 12. Ne4 (12.
Ne2 Be6 13. Rfd1 Bd5 {Bacrot-Sargissian, 2014}) 12... Be6 13. c3 Be7 14. Rfe1
Rd8 15. Neg5 Bxg5 16. Nxg5 Ke7 17. Ne4 Rd5 18. Rad1 b6 19. b3 h4 20. c4 Rd4 21.
g4 (21. Bg5+ Kd7 22. Rxd4+ Nxd4 23. Rd1 c5 24. Be3 Kc6 25. Bxd4 Rd8 $11) 21...
hxg3 22. fxg3 c5 23. h4 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Nd4 25. Kf2 Bf5 26. Nc3 Ke6 27. Rd2 Rc8
28. Ne2 Nc6 29. Bg5 Bg4 30. Nf4+ Kxe5 31. Nd5 Ke4 32. Bf4 Ne5 33. Nc3+ Kf5 34.
Nd5 Ke4 35. Nc3+ Kf5 36. Nd5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sinquefield Cup 4th"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2016.08.14"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2819"]
[BlackElo "2771"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2016.08.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 174"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.09.13"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.09.13"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "60"]

1. e4 {(2s)} e5 {(1s)} 2. Nf3 {(5s)} Nc6 {(2s)} 3. Bb5 {(2s)} Nf6 {(4s)} 4. O-O
{Sich in einer Must-Win-Situation auf das Berliner Endspiel einzulassen wurde
von Kasparov kritisiert - wer könnte es besser wissen als der russische
Ex-Weltmeister, der im Jahre 2000 den Titel an Kramnik abgeben musste und dies
unter anderem aufgrund der Tatsache weil er sich in seinen Weißpartien die
Zähne an der Berliner Mauer ausbiß (4s)} Nxe4 {(2s)} 5. d4 {(4s)} Nd6 {(2s)} 6.
Bxc6 {(4s)} dxc6 {(2s)} 7. dxe5 {(5s)} Nf5 {(2s)} 8. Qxd8+ {(5s)} Kxd8 {(2s)}
9. h3 {(5s)} Ke8 {(3s)} 10. Nc3 {(3s)} h5 {(2s)} 11. Bg5 {(6s)} (11. Bf4 Be7
12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. Rfe1 {probierte MVL in der 7. Runde gegen Nakamura
}) 11... Be6 {(8s)} 12. Rad1 {(3s)} (12. a3 {war MVLs Wahl in einer Partie
gegen Nielsen 2011.} Bd5 13. Nh4 Be6 14. Rad1 Be7 15. Nf3 Rd8 16. Rxd8+ Kxd8
17. Rd1+ Kc8 18. Bxe7 Nxe7 19. Ng5 Ng6 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. b3 Rf8 22. Rd3 h4 23.
Rd4 Rd8 24. Rg4 Nxe5 25. Rxh4 Rd2 26. Rh8+ Kd7 27. Rh7 Rxc2 28. Rxg7+ Ke8 29.
Ne4 Nf7 30. h4 c5 31. Ng5 Nxg5 32. Rxg5 c4 33. bxc4 Rxc4 34. h5 c5 35. g3 {
1-0 (35) Vachier Lagrave,M (2710)-Nielsen,P (2693) Beijing 2011}) 12... Be7 {
(1439 s)} 13. b3 {(7s)} a5 {(195s)} (13... h4 {wurde bisher zweimal von
Kramnik gespielt, doch So weicht verzichtet auf den Raumgewinn am Königsflügel.
Der Bauer auf h4 sichert die Postion des Sf5 endgültig, doch kettet diesen
allerdings auch an die Verteidigung des Bauern.} 14. Ne4 (14. Rfe1 Rd8 15.
Rxd8+ Kxd8 16. Ne4 b6 17. Bf4 Kc8 18. Neg5 Bxg5 19. Bxg5 Bd5 20. Nh2 c5 21. Rd1
Bc6 22. c3 a5 23. Ng4 Bd7 24. f3 a4 25. Kf2 {1/2-1/2 (25) Aronian,L (2820)
-Kramnik,V (2801) Zuerich 2012}) 14... a5 (14... b6 15. c4 a5 16. Rd2 Rd8 17.
Rfd1 Rxd2 18. Bxd2 c5 19. Bf4 a4 20. Nc3 axb3 21. axb3 Bd8 22. Kf1 Rg8 23. Ne4
Bc8 24. Ra1 Bb7 25. Neg5 f6 26. exf6 gxf6 27. Ne4 Kd7 28. Rd1+ Kc8 29. Re1 Rg7
30. Nfd2 Nd4 31. f3 Bc6 32. Nf2 Bd7 33. Ng4 Bf5 34. Kf2 Kd7 35. Ne3 Bh7 36. Nd5
Bc2 37. Ne3 Bd3 38. Nd5 Nxb3 39. Nxb3 Bxc4 40. Nxc5+ bxc5 41. Rd1 Kc8 42. Nc3
Rd7 43. Rc1 Bd3 44. Na4 c4 45. Nb2 Rd5 46. Nxc4 Rc5 47. Nb2 Rxc1 48. Bxc1 Bb5
49. g3 hxg3+ 50. Kxg3 Kd7 51. Nd1 Ke6 52. Nc3 Be8 53. Be3 Be7 54. h4 c5 55. Kf2
c4 56. Ke2 Bg6 57. Bd4 f5 58. f4 Bxh4 59. Ke3 Bf7 60. Bg7 Kd6 61. Bf8+ Kc6 62.
Ne2 Be1 63. Nd4+ Kd5 64. Nxf5 c3 65. Kd3 Bg6 66. Ke2 Bxf5 67. Kxe1 {1/2-1/2 
(67) Aronian,L (2815)-Kramnik,V (2795) London 2012}) 15. a4 b6 16. Bf4 c5 17.
Neg5 Bxg5 18. Nxg5 Nd4 {1/2-1/2 (38) Caruana,F (2781)-Karjakin,S (2780) Wijk
aan Zee 2013 und Weiß muss sich schön langsam um Ausgleich bemühen}) 14. Rd3 {
(13s)} Rd8 {(289s)} 15. Rxd8+ {(36s)} Bxd8 {(9s)} (15... Kxd8 {um den König
auf den Damenflügel zu bringen ist hier vermutlich weniger gut. Prinzipiell
verträgt sich der König auf c8 schlecht mit dem Vorstoß h5, da der f7 einer
Deckung bedarf.} 16. Rd1+ Kc8 17. Bxe7 Nxe7 18. Ng5 Rd8 19. Rxd8+ Kxd8 20.
Nxe6+ fxe6 21. f4 $14) 16. Rd1 {(8 s)} Bxg5 {(37s)} 17. Nxg5 {(7s)} Ke7 {(60s)}
18. Ne2 {Weiß bewegt den Sc3 in Richtung f4, von wo aus der Druck auf den Le6
ausübt und nach möglichem Sxe6 den Bauern zum zurückschlagen zwingt. (699s)}
Nh4 $1 {(274s)} (18... Bc8 19. Nf4 {und dieser Konstellation kann Schwarz
keine Fortschritte machen, während Weiß langsam die Stellung verbessern kann.}
g6 (19... f6 20. Ng6+ $18) 20. g3 $14 {[%cal Gg1g2,Gg2f3]}) 19. g3 {(920s)} (
19. Nf4 $2 Bf5 20. c4 f6 $1 $17) 19... Ng6 20. Nxe6 {(4s)} (20. f4 Bc8 $132)
20... fxe6 $1 {(488s)} (20... Kxe6 21. f4 {und Schwarz kann die dominante
Königsstellung nicht aufrecht erhalten, Weiß droht Sd4-Sf5} c5 22. Kf2 $14) 21.
f4 {(6s)} Rf8 {[%cal Gh5h4]} (21... h4 22. g4 Rf8 23. Rd4 c5 24. Re4) 22. Rd4 {
(766s)} (22. h4 {würde alle dynamischen Ansätze zunicht machen} Rd8 $5 23. Rxd8
Kxd8 $11) 22... c5 {(96s)} 23. Re4 {(16s)} Rd8 $1 {(6s)} (23... b6 24. Kf2 {
[%cal Gf2f3,Gg3g4]}) 24. Kf2 {(5s)} Rd1 {nun kommt So zu Gegenspiel. Dies ist
auch notwendig, da bei passiver Verteidigung die weißen Bauern am Königsflügel
wohl dennoch gefährlich geworden wären. (344s)} 25. g4 {(451s)} hxg4 {(544s)}
26. hxg4 {Diagramm [#] (24s)} b5 {So möchte seine eigene Bauernmehrheit in
Bewegung setzen, da weißes f5 ohnehin schwer zu verhindern ist. (5s)} (26...
Kf7 {hätte ebenso das Gleichgewicht gehalten} 27. f5 Ne7 (27... exf5 $5 28.
gxf5 Ne7 29. Ng3 Rd2+ 30. Re2 Rxe2+ 31. Kxe2 g6 $11) 28. fxe6+ Kxe6 29. Nf4+
Kd7 30. e6+ Kd6 31. Re2 $13) 27. f5 {(483s)} (27. a4 $5 {so könnte Weiß die
Kontrolle besser behalten und das Spiel in weniger forcierte Bahnen lenken.}
Rd2 (27... c6 28. Ke3 Ra1 29. Nc3 $14) 28. Ke3 Rxc2 29. Kd3 Rb2 30. Kc3 Ra2 31.
axb5 $13) 27... Nh4 {(285s)} 28. Ng3 {(32s)} Ra1 {(1029s)} 29. a4 {(434s)} Ra2
{(14s)} 30. axb5 {(7s)} Rxc2+ {(4s)} 31. Re2 {(6s)} Rxe2+ {(400s)} 32. Kxe2 {
[%cal Ge2d3,Gd3c4,Gc4c5] Diagramm [#] dieses Endspiel sollte bei genauem Spiel
Remis sein - Wesley So zeigt in dieser wichtigen Partie keine Nerven und zeigt
Übersicht und saubere Rechenleistung.} c4 $1 {So erkennt, dass seine einzige
Chance auf eine Freibauernbildung sofort genutzt werden muss. Mittels des
gefährlichen a-Bauern lenkt er den weißen König an den Brettrand. (3s)} 33.
bxc4 {(7s)} a4 {(2s)} 34. Kd3 {(234s)} Nf3 {(62s)} 35. f6+ {(184s)} Kf7 $1 {
(57s)} (35... gxf6 {wäre ebenso Remis gewesen, doch der Partiezug macht die
schwarze Aufgabe wesentlich leichter} 36. exf6+ Kxf6 37. Ne4+ Ke5 38. Nc3 a3
39. c5 Kf4 $1 40. Kc4 Ne5+ 41. Kb3 Kxg4 42. Kxa3 Kf4 (42... Kf5 $2 43. Kb4 Kf6
(43... Nd3+ $142 44. Kc4 Ne5+ 45. Kd4 Nf3+ 46. Ke3 Ne5 47. Na4 $14) 44. Ka5 Ke7
45. Ka6 Kd7 46. Kb7 $18) 43. Kb4 Nd3+ $1 44. Kc4 Ne5+ 45. Kd4 Nf3+ $1 $11) 36.
fxg7 {(27s)} Nxe5+ {(23s)} 37. Kc3 {(4s)} a3 {(4s)} 38. c5 {Diagramm [#] (16s)}
Nd3 $1 {der letzte genaue Zug und alle Klippen sind umschifft (339s)} 39. Kb3 {
(3s)} Nxc5+ {(3s)} 40. Kxa3 {(0s)} Kxg7 {(0s)} 41. Kb4 {(0s)} Nd3+ {(404s)} 42.
Kc4 {(52s)} Ne5+ {(387s)} 43. Kc5 {(6s)} Kh6 {(36s)} 44. Ne2 {(88s)} c6 $1 {
(124s)} 45. bxc6 {(6s)} (45. b6 Nd7+ 46. Kxc6 Nxb6 47. Kxb6 Kg5) 45... Nxc6 {
(3s)} 46. Kxc6 {(2s)} Kg5 {(5s)} 47. Kd6 {(1s)} Kxg4 {(4s)} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Norway Chess 4th"]
[Site "Stavanger"]
[Date "2016.04.21"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2788"]
[BlackElo "2765"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2016.04.19"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 172"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.05.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.05.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {The starting position of the Berlin Defense. Black has the two
bishops, White has a mobile pawn majority on the kingside.} 9. h3 ({Currently
the main move is} 9. Nc3 {and literally thousands of game have been played
with this line.}) 9... Be7 (9... Ke8 10. Nc3 {transposes to the main line.})
10. Nc3 Nh4 11. Nxh4 Bxh4 12. Be3 (12. Ne2 Bf5 13. Nd4 Bd7 14. f4 Be7 15. f5
Bc5 16. Be3 Re8 17. e6 fxe6 18. Nxe6+ Bxe6 19. Bxc5 Bd5 20. Rad1 b5 21. b3 Kc8
22. Rde1 Kd7 23. Bd4 g6 24. f6 Rxe1 25. Rxe1 Re8 26. Rxe8 Kxe8 27. Bxa7 Kf7 28.
a4 bxa4 29. bxa4 Kxf6 30. a5 Ke6 31. Kf2 h5 32. Be3 Kd7 33. a6 Kc8 34. Bc5 Be4
35. c3 Bd3 36. a7 Kb7 37. Kf3 Bf1 38. Kf2 Bd3 39. Kf3 Bf1 40. Kf2 Bd3 {1/2-1/2
(40) Grischuk,A (2750)-Eljanov,P (2753) Reykjavik 2015}) 12... h5 13. Rad1+ Ke8
14. Ne2 Be7 15. Rfe1 a6 16. Bf4 g5 17. Be3 Bf5 18. Nd4 Bg6 19. e6 Rd8 20. exf7+
Kxf7 21. Nf3 Bxc2 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. Nxg5+ Kf6 24. Ne6 Rd1 (24... Kxe6 25. Bg5+
Kf5 26. Bxe7 Rd4 $11) 25. Bg5+ Kf7 26. Rxd1 Bxd1 27. Bxe7 Kxe6 {White's pawn
majority on the kingside became even more pronounced but the opposite-colored
but the opposite-colored bishops prevent White from making serious winning
attempts.} 28. Bd8 Kd6 29. f3 c5 30. Kf2 b5 31. Ke3 b4 32. g4 hxg4 33. fxg4 a5
34. Kf4 c4 35. Bf6 c5 36. h4 Ke6 37. Bh8 Kf7 38. h5 a4 {White cannot make
progress on the kingside.} 39. a3 Be2 40. Be5 ({Black might have dreamt of} 40.
axb4 $2 cxb4 41. Bd4 $2 c3 42. bxc3 $4 b3 43. c4 a3 $19) 40... c3 41. bxc3 bxa3
42. c4 {White must control the diagonal.} Bxc4 43. g5 {But now Black must be
careful.} Bd3 (43... Be2 $4 44. g6+ Kg8 45. h6 $18) 44. g6+ Bxg6 45. hxg6+ Kxg6
{[#] With a draw.} 46. Ke4 c4 47. Ba1 c3 48. Kd3 a2 49. Kxc3 a3 50. Kb3 Kh7 51.
Kxa2 Kg8 52. Kxa3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Wch U20 54th"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2015.09.12"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Duda, Jan Krzysztof"]
[Black "Abasov, Nijat Azad"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2645"]
[BlackElo "2511"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2015.09.02"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2016"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.10.08"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.10.08"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rfe1 Be6 13. Ne4 h4 (13...
Rd8 14. c3 c5 15. Nfg5 Rh6 16. b3 Bd5 17. Rad1 Rg6 18. Kf1 Rd7 19. c4 Bxg5 20.
Nxg5 Bxg2+ 21. Kxg2 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 f6 23. exf6 gxf6 24. Rd5 fxg5 25. Rxf5 gxf4+
26. Kf3 {1/2-1/2 (26) Milov,L (2465)-Zwahr,P (2327) Deizisau 2015}) 14. c3 Rh5
15. Nfg5 Rd8 16. g4 hxg3 17. fxg3 Rh6 18. Nxe6 Rxe6 19. Rad1 Rd5 20. Kf2 Kd7
21. c4 Rxd1 22. Rxd1+ Kc8 $6 (22... Ke8 23. c5 $14) 23. g4 Bh4+ 24. Kf3 Ne7 $2
(24... Nh6 $16) 25. Bg5 (25. Bg5 Bxg5 26. Nxg5 {Nun fällt f7, danach droht
Matt auf d8.} Rg6 27. Nxf7 b5 28. Rd8+ Kb7 29. Re8 Nc8 30. h4 $18) 1-0

[Event "EU-chT (Men) 20th"]
[Site "Reykjavik"]
[Date "2015.11.16"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2744"]
[BlackElo "2781"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2015.11.13"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 170"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "England"]
[BlackTeam "Armenia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ENG"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ARM"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Ne2 Be7 12. Bg5 Be6 13. Nf4 Bd5 14. Nxd5
({Eine andere Spielweise ist} 14. Bxe7 Kxe7 15. Ng5) 14... cxd5 {Damit ist die
schwarze Bauernmehrheit am Damenflügel wieder verwertbar, das schwarze
Läuferpaar aber halbiert.} 15. Rad1 c6 16. Rfe1 h4 17. Rd3 Rh5 18. Bxe7 {
Der erste neue Zug.} (18. Bf4 g6 19. a4 Rd8 20. Red1 Ng7 21. Be3 Ne6 22. a5 a6
23. c3 {1/2-1/2 (23) Karjakin,S (2747)-Pashikian,A (2639) Khanty-Mansiysk 2010}
) 18... Kxe7 19. Red1 Rd8 20. c4 d4 21. b4 b6 22. Kf1 c5 23. bxc5 bxc5 24. Ra3
Rd7 25. Ne1 Rh6 {[#]} 26. Nd3 {Gemäß klassischer Lehre. Der Springer
blockiert den Freibauern. Weiß hat gutes Spiel am Damenflügel.} Rc6 27. Rb1
Rdc7 28. Nf4 Rd7 29. Rb8 g5 $2 {Schwächt f6.} (29... a6 30. Nd5+ Ke6 31. Re8+
Ne7 32. Ke2 f6 33. exf6 gxf6 {ist nicht schön, aber auch nicht sofort
verloren.}) 30. Nd5+ Ke6 31. Re8+ Ne7 32. Ke2 {[#] Schwarz gehen die Züge aus.
} Rb6 {Das Opferangebot lehnt Weiß erst einmal ab. [#]} 33. Kd3 {Der Plan
lautet: Kd3-e4, Tf3-f6#} Rb2 34. Ra6+ Rb6 35. Nxb6 {Nun aber...} axb6 36. Rxb6+
Kxe5 37. Rc6 Kf5 38. Rxc5+ Kf6 39. Rb8 Ng6 40. Rb6+ Ke7 41. Rxg5 Nf4+ 42. Ke4 (
42. Ke4 d3 (42... Ne2 43. Rd5 $18) 43. Kxf4 d2 44. Re5+ Kf8 45. Rb1 d1=Q 46.
Rxd1 Rxd1 47. a4 $18 {mit reichlich weißen Mehrbauern.}) 1-0

[Event "Olympiad-41"]
[Site "Tromsoe"]
[Date "2014.08.04"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2709"]
[BlackElo "2740"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "2014.08.02"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 162"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Germany"]
[BlackTeam "England"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteClock "0:11:04"]
[BlackClock "0:04:24"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Bd7 10. Rd1 Be7 {Schwarz verschafft dem Sf5 ein Feld auf
h4 und kann den mit 10. ...Kc8 eingeleiteten Abspielen aus dem Weg gehen.} (
10... Kc8 {ist ein riskanter Zug, mit dem Adams bereits gute Erfahrung gemacht
hat. 2013 besiegte er in Dortmund Caruana in einer spektakulären Partie.} 11.
g4 Ne7 12. Ng5 Be8 13. f4 {der schwarze Aufbau sieht sehr passiv aus, doch die
Figuren haben großes Potential, das sich in wenigen Zügen entladen kann. Dem
weißen König fehlt der Schutzwall und die offene Diagonale h1-a8 erweist
sich in Verbindung mit dem Sprengungszug} h5 {als sehr gefährlich für Weiß.}
({Das letzte Wort in dieser Variante ist natürlich noch nicht gesprochen, die
aktuellste Partie stammt von zwei weiteren hochkarätigen Teilnehmern dieser
Olympiade:} 13... b6 14. Kg2 h5 15. f5 c5 16. Nc3 g6 17. f6 Nc6 18. Nf3 Nb4 {
dieser Beutezug ist die konsequente Fortsetzung des mit 16. ...g6
eingeleiteten Spiels. Der gesamte schwarze Plan sieht für meinen Geschmack
wahnsinnig riskant aus. Aber wenn die Engine das ok gibt...} 19. Bf4 Nxc2 20.
Rac1 Nb4 21. a3 Nc6 22. Ne4 Bd7 23. Neg5 hxg4 24. hxg4 Bxg4 25. Nxf7 Rh5 26.
Kg3 Bf5 27. N7g5 Bh6 28. e6 Bxg5 29. Nxg5 Rxg5+ 30. Bxg5 Bxe6 31. Re1 Nd4 32.
Rcd1 Bf7 {und Schwarz konnte das Rems halten in: Lenier Dominguez Perez -
Nakamura, Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee 2014}) 14. Kf2 b6 15. f5 Kb7 16. Nc3 hxg4 17.
hxg4 Rh2+ 18. Kg3 Rxc2 19. Nh7 c5 20. Nxf8 Bc6 21. f6 Rg2+ 22. Kf4 gxf6 23.
exf6 Rf2+ 24. Ke3 Rxf6 $19 {0-1 (41) Caruana Fabiano - Adams Michael ,
Dortmund 2013}) 11. Bg5 {der Abtausch der schwarzfeldrigen Läufer ist für
Weiß wünschenswert. Um das zu erreichen, muss er allerdings auf den
aggressiven Aufmarsch des g- und f-Bauern verzichten.} (11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4
Bxh4 {passierte zum gleichen Zeitpunkt in der Partie Caruana Fabiano (2801)
-Negi Parimarjan (2645) Tromso 2014. Caruana überwand beim Gashimov Memorial
2014 Carlsens Berliner Mauer und gilt als einer der größten Experten in
dieser Eröffnung.} 13. Nd2 Kc8 14. Nf3 Be7 15. Rd3 (15. Bg5 Bc5 16. Rd3 Be6
17. Be3 Bxe3 18. Rxe3 Kd7 19. Rd1+ Ke7 20. Nd4 $11 {1/2-1/2 (33) Leko,P (2737)
-Adams,M (2743) Dortmund GER 2014}) 15... c5 (15... h6 $5 {um Lg5 aus der
Stellung zu nehmen}) 16. Bg5 c4 17. Rd4 Bc6 18. Bxe7 Bxf3 {das Endspiel mit
ungleichfarbigen Läufern ist eigentlich das Traumszenario des Schwarzspielers,
doch in dieser speziellen Stellung sind die schwarzen Felder durch den
Vorstoß c4 so geschwächt, dass der weiße Läufer das Geschehen dominieren
wird.} 19. Kh2 Re8 20. Bh4 c6 21. Re1 Bd5 22. f4 a5 23. c3 b5 24. Rd2 b4 25.
Bf2 bxc3 26. bxc3 Rb8 27. f5 $14 {es ist sehr instruktiv, wie Caruana seinen
Raumvorteil und den Stützpunkt c5 einsetzt, um Schwarz zu weiteren
Zugeständnissen zu zwingen.} a4 28. Bc5 Rb7 29. Kg3 Kd7 30. Ba3 Rb5 31. Kf4
Rbb8 32. h4 Rb5 33. h5 h6 34. Rdd1 f6 35. e6+ Kc7 36. Rb1 Reb8 37. Rb4 Ra8 38.
Reb1 Rab8 39. Ke3 Kb6 40. Rd1 Rxb4 41. Bxb4 Kc7 42. Re1 Kd8 43. Bf8 Rb7 44. e7+
Ke8 45. Re2 Rb1 46. Bxg7 Kxe7 47. Kf2+ Kf7 48. Bxh6 a3 49. Bf4 Rd1 50. Bd6 Rd3
51. Re7+ Kg8 52. h6 Rh3 53. Rg7+ Kh8 54. Rg6 Rxc3 55. Be7 Kh7 56. Bxf6 Rc2+ 57.
Kg3 {1-0}) (11. c4 {war Arkadijs Versuch gegen den gleichen Gegner wenige
Wochen zuvor in Dortmund. Adams reagierte sehr gut und Weiß musste schon bald
um den Ausgleich bangen.} Kc8 12. Nc3 b6 13. Bg5 Re8 14. g4 Bxg5 15. Nxg5 Nh4
16. f4 h6 17. Nge4 h5 18. gxh5 Rh8 19. Ng3 Bxh3 {die schwarzen Figuren sind im
Moment noch etwas unkoordiniert, doch das Schlüsselfeld f5 ist unter
Kontrolle und die weiße Bauernstruktur anfällig.} 20. Kf2 Nf5 $1 {Adams
findet eine optimale Figurenaufstellung und hat nun die besseren Aussichten.}
21. Nce4 (21. Rh1 $5 Nxg3 22. Rxh3 Nxh5 23. f5 Kb7 24. Rah1 g6 25. e6 Rhf8 26.
e7 Rg8 (26... Rfe8 27. Re1 Nf6 28. fxg6 fxg6 $44) 27. Rxh5 $1 gxh5 28. Ne4 {
wäre eine aktive (und gute) Alternative gewesen.}) 21... Nh6 22. Rh1 Be6 $15 {
der Königsflügel ist versiegelt und Weiß bleibt auf schwachen Bauern und
Feldern sitzen. ½-½ (49) Naiditsch,A (2705)-Adams,M (2743) Dortmund GER 2014}
) (11. Nc3 Kc8 12. Bf4 (12. g4 Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14. Be3 b6 15. Rd2 c5 16. Nd5
Re8 17. Rad1 {und Schwarz kann mit dem Eröffnungsverlauf zufrieden sein. 1-0 
(48) Caruana,F (2789)-Adams,M (2743) Dortmund GER 2014}) 12... b6 13. Rd2 Nh4
14. Nxh4 Bxh4 15. Ne4 h6 $11 {1/2-1/2 (38) Naiditsch,A (2705)-Caruana,F (2789)
Dortmund GER 2014}) 11... Kc8 (11... h6 $2 12. Bxe7+ Nxe7 13. e6 fxe6 14. Ne5
$18) 12. Nc3 (12. g4 h6 13. Bxe7 Nxe7 14. Kh2 Re8 15. Nbd2 b6 16. Re1 c5 17.
Ne4 Bc6 $11 {0-1 (44) Sutovsky,E (2692)-Hammer,J (2606) Aix-les-Bains 2011})
12... h6 13. Bxe7 Nxe7 {seit der vieldiskutierten 4. WM-Partie Anand-Carlsen
eine wohlbekannte Stellung} 14. Ne2 $146 {dieses typische Manöver gefällt
mir an dieser Stelle sehr gut. Schwarz kann die weiße Springerwanderung nicht
verhindern. Nachdem Arkadij in Dortmund keinen Vorteil gegen die Berliner
Mauer reklamieren konnte, kann er hier mit dieser Neuerung Adams unter Druck
setzen.} ({Anand hatte} 14. Rd2 {vorbereitet und opferte einen Bauern und für
gute Initiative} c5 15. Rad1 (15. Ne4 b6 16. Ng3 Bc6 17. Nh2 Ng6 18. Re1 Nf4
19. f3 Kb7 $11 {und Schwarz hat keine Probleme}) 15... Be6 16. Ne1 Ng6 17. Nd3
b6 18. Ne2 Bxa2 19. b3 c4 20. Ndc1 cxb3 21. cxb3 Bb1 $13 {Anand - Carlsen, Wch
Chennai 2013 (4)}) 14... Ng6 {der schwarze Springer hat seine Position
erreicht. Hier übt er Druck gegen e5 aus und verhindert gleichzeitig den
weißen Plan f4, g4.} 15. Ng3 c5 (15... h5 $2 {verhindert zwar Sh5 doch der
Preis ist zu hoch. Das Feld g5 ist geschwächt und auch der Bauer auf h5 bzw.
h4 kann ohne den schwarzfeldrigen Le7 schnell schwach werden.} 16. Re1 c5 17.
Ng5 Be6 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Ne4 b6 20. Rad1 $14) 16. Nh5 {von hier bindet der
Springer den schwarzen Turm an die Verteidigung des Bauern g7. Zudem
überdeckt er von dort das Feld f4 und kann so den Plan f4, g4 unterstützen.
Der dritte positive Effekt ist, dass schwarzes Gegenspiel mit ...h5
ausgeschaltet ist.} Rg8 17. Re1 {der Turm muss den e5 decken, damit Sf3
wegziehen kann.} a5 $5 {Adams findet eine interessante Möglichkeit seine
Figuren zu koordinieren und somit Gegenspiel am Damenflügel zu initiieren.
Dies ist objektiv wohl nicht der beste Weg, denn Weiß erhält nun Vorteil.} ({
der schematische schwarze Aufbau beginnt mit} 17... b6 18. Rad1 Bc6 {Sollte
Weiß nun unvorsichtig f4 spielen, kann der schwarze Läufer in Verbindung mit
Motiven wie ...Sh4, ...f6 oder gar ...g5 plötzlich äußerst wirkungsvoll
werden.} (18... Be6 $1 {hier steht der Läufer nicht so effektiv gegen den
weißen Plan, sorgt jedoch für Gegenspiel am Damenflügel, z.B.} 19. Nh2 Kb7
20. f4 Bxa2 $5 {ähnlich wie in Anand-Carlsen}) 19. Nh2 ({zur Illustration des
Potentials der schwarzen Stellung sei folgende Variante angeführt:} 19. Nd2
Kb7 20. f4 $2 Nh4 21. Ne4 f5 22. exf6 gxf6 $17 23. Rd2 Bxe4 24. Rxe4 Nf3+ 25.
Kf2 Nxd2 $19) (19. e6 $5 fxe6 20. Rxe6 Bxf3 21. gxf3 Nh4 22. Re7 Kb7 23. Rdd7
Rac8 24. Rxg7 Nxf3+ {und Schwarz sollte das Gleichgewicht halten können.})
19... Kb7 20. f3 Rae8 21. Ng4 $11 {/+=der Druck auf e5 behindert die weiße
Stellung. Dennoch kann Weiß mit Zügen wie Kf2 sorgfältig den Vorstoß
vorbereiten, Schwarz hat kein Gegenspiel.}) 18. Rad1 Ra6 19. Nd2 a4 20. Ne4 (
20. f4 {dieser konkrete Ansatz ist eine kritische Alternative. Es wird relativ
unübersichtlich und sehr genaue Kalkulation ist gefragt.} Be6 (20... Nh4 21.
Kf2 (21. g4 Be6 22. b3 axb3 23. axb3 g6 24. Nf6 Rd8 $132) 21... Be6 (21... Bf5
22. g4 Bxc2 23. Rc1 Bg6 24. Kg3 Rd8 25. Kxh4 Rxd2 26. Nxg7 {und der e-Bauer
wird gefährlich.}) 22. Ne4 $14) (20... Bc6 21. Kf2 Ne7 22. g4 Nd5 23. Ne4 c4 {
fixiert den b2 als Schwäche.}) 21. Ne4 (21. c4 Rd8 22. g4 Nh4 23. Kf2 Rb6 24.
b3 Rd4 25. f5 Nxf5 26. gxf5 Bxf5 {mit der Drohung ...Lc2} 27. Nf3 Rxd1 28. Rxd1
axb3 29. axb3 Rxb3 30. Nxg7 Bxh3 {und Schwarz hat genügend Bauern
eingesammelt um die Partie in der Remisbreite zu halten.}) 21... Rb6 22. b3 c4
23. Nc5 cxb3 24. cxb3 axb3 (24... Rb4 25. a3 Rxb3 26. Nxb3 axb3 27. g4 $14) 25.
axb3 $14) 20... Nxe5 (20... Rc6 $2 21. f4 Be6 22. b3 $16) 21. f4 (21. Nxc5 Rd6
22. Rxd6 cxd6 23. Ne4 Kc7 24. Nc3 $14 {Weiß hat die bessere Struktur, Schwarz
hat Bauernschwächen auf a4, d6 und g7, Weiß hingegen nur eine auf b2.
Schwarz stünde eine lange Verteidigung bevor.}) 21... Nc4 22. b3 (22. Rxd7
Kxd7 23. Nxc5+ Kc6 24. Nxa6 bxa6 25. b3 axb3 26. axb3 Nd6 $14) 22... Nd6 23.
Nxc5 Rc6 24. Nxd7 Kxd7 25. c4 Rc5 26. g4 b5 $6 {nachdem Schwarz sehr nahe am
Ausgleich ist, gibt er Weiß hier noch einmal Chancen.} (26... axb3 $142 27.
axb3 b5 28. Re5 Kc6 {mit einer verbesserten Version gegenüber der Partie. Am
Damenflügel entsteht nun kein weißer Freibauer mehr.}) 27. Re5 $1 Kc6 28.
cxb5+ Rxb5 29. Rc1+ Kd7 30. bxa4 Rxe5 31. fxe5 {Weiß hat nach den
Abwicklungen einen Mehrbauern und Schwarz hat immer noch Probleme mit der
Aktivierung seines Tg8} Nb7 $2 (31... Ne4 32. Kg2 Ng5 $14 {ist die logische
Springerroute nach e6. Von dort wird die einerseits die Schwäche g7
überdeckt, so dass Schwarz den Turn aktivieren kann und andererseits kann Se6
den aktiven Turm im Angriff gegen den weißen König unterstützen.}) 32. Rc2
$6 (32. Kf2 {ist der natürliche Zug} c5 (32... Nd8 33. Rd1+ $1 Kc8 (33... Kc6
34. Nxg7 Rxg7 35. Rxd8 $18) 34. a5 $16 Ne6 (34... Nc6 35. a6 Nxe5 36. Nxg7 $16)
35. a6 $16 Nc5 $140 $2 36. Nxg7 Rxg7 37. Rd8+ Kxd8 38. a7 $18) 33. Ke3 Kc6 34.
Rf1 $16) 32... Nd8 33. Rd2+ {nun offenbart sich das taktische Problem bei der
von Adams gewählten Route: Der schwarze König muss auf das passive c8 um den
Sd8 zu decken.} Kc8 (33... Kc6 $2 34. Nxg7 Rxg7 35. Rxd8 $16) 34. Kg2 (34. a5
Nc6 35. a6 Nxe5 36. Rb2 Kd7 37. Nxg7 Ra8 $132) (34. Rf2 $5 {bindet die
schwarzen Figuren an die Verteidigung} Re8 $6 35. Nxg7 Rxe5 36. Nf5 $16) 34...
Nc6 35. Rd5 Nb4 36. Rb5 (36. Rd4 $5 {der Gewinnversuch der Engine} Nc6 37. Re4
{von hier deckt der Turm ebenso die Bauern e5 und a4, zudem schränkt er den
schwarzen Springer ein und Weiß kann e6 spielen.} g6 (37... Kb7 $6 38. e6 fxe6
39. Rxe6 $16) 38. Nf4 Kd7 (38... Rd8 $2 39. e6 fxe6 40. Rxe6 $18 {und die
schwarzen Bauern am Königsflügel werden eingesammelt.}) 39. e6+ fxe6 40. Nxe6
$14) 36... Nc6 37. a5 {Weiß hat alle Bauern gedeckt, doch der schwarze Turm
kommt nun zu ausreichend Gegenspiel.} g6 $1 38. Nf4 Rd8 39. Rc5 (39. e6 g5 $1)
39... Rd2+ 40. Kg3 Nd4 41. a4 g5 42. Nd5 Ne6 43. Ne7+ Kb7 44. Rb5+ Ka6 45. Nc6
Rd3+ 46. Kf2 Rxh3 47. Nb4+ Ka7 48. a6 (48. Nc6+ $11) 48... Rc3 49. Rb7+ Ka8 50.
Nd5 Rc5 51. Ne7 Rc4 52. Rb5 Ka7 53. Ra5 Ka8 (53... Nd8 {so hätte Schwarz noch
Ambitionen zeigen können, doch aufgrund der Situation, dass England zu diesem
Zeitpunkt mit +1 in Führung lag, wäre dies natürlich ein riskantes
Unterfangen gewesen.} 54. Nc8+ Ka8 55. Rd5 $13) 54. Rb5 Ka7 {Arkadij Naiditsch
kann aus der Eröffnung heraus Druck erzeugen, sein erfahrener Gegner leitet
mit 17. ...a5 ein Gegenspiel am Damenflügel ein. In unübersichtlicher
Stellung gibt es dann verschiedene vielversprechende Möglichkeiten, das
entstehende Endspiel Turm+Springer ist eingangs sehr nahe am Ausgleich, doch
nach dem Fehler 31. ...Sb7 hat Arkadij gute Aussichten. Adams verteidigt mit
knapper werdender Zeit hervorragend und kann am Ende das Remis sichern.}
1/2-1/2

[Event "Sinquefield Cup 2nd"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2014.09.02"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2787"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2014.08.27"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "23"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 162"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5
8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 Ne8 10. Nd5 Bd6 {Nakamura repeats the variation that he
played against Carlsen in last year's Sinquefield Cup. He achieved nothing at
all in that game.} 11. Re2 {An interesting idea by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave that
he uncorked against Giri in the 2014 Biel tournament. That led to a beautiful
victory by MVL.} c6 12. Ne3 Be7 {Aronian's novelty.} (12... Bc7 13. Nf5 d5 14.
Ne7+ Kh8 15. Nxc8 Rxc8 {is almost equal, but Giri eventually went wrong and
lost.}) 13. Qe1 Bf6 14. Nf5 d5 15. Ne7+ Kh8 (15... Bxe7 16. Rxe7 Nd6 17. Re2 {
should also be approximately equal, but it makes more sense to keep the
dark-squared bishop rather than the light one due to the pawn chain being on
light squares.}) 16. Nxc8 Rxc8 17. g3 Qd7 {simply preventing Bh3.} 18. d3 Nc7 {
It's clear that if White has achieved anything, it isn't much. His only
long-term advantage is the pair of bishops.} 19. Qa5 Rfe8 $1 {A nice defensive
resource, Black ignores the pawn on a7.} 20. Qe1 {It's hard to believe a
player of Nakamura's caliber can play like this, but there you have it. Also
he took around 45 minutes to play these two moves, Qa5 and Qe1.} (20. Qxa7 Rxe2
21. Bxe2 Re8 22. Bf3 (22. Bf1 Re1 $132) 22... Nb5 23. Qa5 Nd4 $36) 20... Rxe2
21. Qxe2 b5 {Grabbing some space.} 22. c3 d4 $6 {Perhaps overzealous due to
Nakamura's loss of time, Aronian pushes the issue a little. I am not a fan of
the structural change that takes place in the game.} 23. c4 Re8 24. Qd1 bxc4
25. dxc4 {Now Black has a passed pawn, but it risks being blockaded. White has
the better chances of emerging favorably from the pawn structure changes that
can potentially happen.} Ne6 26. b4 d3 $6 (26... c5 27. a3 Be7 $14) 27. Rb1 Rd8
28. Bd2 $6 (28. Be3 $1 {Was far more precise. This lets White control the
important d4 square and his simple threat of Rb3-xd3 is nearly unstoppable.} d2
29. Rb3 $16) 28... Bg5 29. Rb2 (29. h4 Bxd2 30. Qxd2 {was still a little
better for White.}) 29... Qd4 {Now the counterplay is enough for a draw.} 30.
Rb3 Bxd2 31. Qxd2 Qxc4 32. Rxd3 Rxd3 33. Qxd3 Qxa2 (33... Qxd3 34. Bxd3 {
gives White realistic winning chances as the bishop is more powerful than the
knight in positions in which there are pawns on both flanks.}) 34. Qd7 Kg8 35.
Qxc6 g6 36. Bc4 Qb1+ 37. Kg2 Qxb4 38. Bxe6 fxe6 {The rest doesn't need
commentary.} 39. Qa8+ Qf8 40. Qxa7 h5 41. Qd7 Qf5 42. Qe8+ Kg7 43. Qe7+ Kg8 44.
Qe8+ Kg7 45. Qe7+ Kg8 {Not the most precise game, it feels as if Nakamura
could have tried to gain an advantage with more precision.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Biel Suri Memorial"]
[Site "Biel"]
[Date "2014.07.16"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Motylev, Alexander"]
[Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2698"]
[BlackElo "2726"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2014.07.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 162"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Bd7 10. Rd1 Be7 11. c4 Kc8 12. Nc3 Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14. b3
b6 15. Bb2 a5 16. a4 Bf5 17. Ne2 Kb7 18. g3 Be7 19. g4 Bc2 20. Rd7 Bc5 21. Ba3
Bxa3 22. Rxa3 Rhe8 23. Rd2 Be4 24. f4 Rad8 25. Raa2 g5 $2 (25... c5 {leaves
Black in an acceptable position.}) 26. Nc3 {Black's bishop is surprisingly in
trouble!} Bd3 27. Ra1 {Now the threat is to trap it with Rad1.} Rd7 28. Ne4 $1
{White's knight is untouchable due to the pin and the game is now winning for
White.} Red8 29. Nxg5 Kc8 30. Re1 b5 31. e6 fxe6 32. Nxe6 Re8 33. f5 bxc4 34.
bxc4 Rd6 35. Red1 Bxc4 36. Rxd6 cxd6 37. Rxd6 Bxe6 38. Rxc6+ Kd7 39. Rxe6 Rxe6
40. fxe6+ Kxe6 41. Kf2 Kd5 42. Ke3 Kc4 43. g5 Kd5 1-0

[Event "Jermuk FIDE GP (Women)"]
[Site "Jermuk"]
[Date "2012.07.24"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Hou, Yifan"]
[Black "Zhao, Xue"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2617"]
[BlackElo "2556"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2012.07.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ARM"]
[EventCategory "11"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 150"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.09.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.09.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{The world champion embarked on a creative approach in the middle game, and
established a slight advantage. However, at the critical moment, White slipped
and Black was able to salvage a half-point thanks to perpetual check.} 1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+
Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 11. Rd1 Be7 12. Ne4 Be6 13. Nfg5 Rh6 14. g4 hxg4 15.
hxg4 Bxg5 16. Nxg5 Nh4 17. f3 Bd5 18. Kf2 Ng6 19. Kg3 Kf8 20. b3 Nxe5 21. c4 f6
22. cxd5 fxg5 23. Bxg5 Rd6 24. Bf4 Re8 25. Rh1 $2 ({White's advantage could
have been sizeable after the following alternative} 25. Rac1 Re7 26. Bxe5 Rxe5
27. dxc6 Rxd1 28. Rxd1 bxc6 29. Rd7) 25... Re7 26. dxc6 Rxc6 27. Rad1 Ng6 28.
Bg5 Re5 29. Rd8+ Kf7 30. f4 Rc3+ 31. Kf2 Rc2+ 32. Kf3 Rc3+ 33. Kf2 Rc2+ 34. Kf3
Rc3+ 35. Kf2 1/2-1/2

[Event "AUT-chT 1516"]
[Site "Austria"]
[Date "2016.02.25"]
[Round "5.6"]
[White "Papp, Gabor"]
[Black "Volokitin, Andrei"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2608"]
[BlackElo "2640"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2015.11.05"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "AUT"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2017"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.10.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.10.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Ottakring"]
[BlackTeam "Jenbach"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "AUT"]
[BlackTeamCountry "AUT"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Bd7 10. Rd1 Be7 11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Nd2 Kc8 14.
Nf3 Be7 15. Rd3 h6 16. Nd4 Re8 17. b3 Bf8 18. Bb2 h5 19. Nf5 hxg4 20. hxg4 g6
21. Rad1 Be6 22. Ne3 Bh6 23. f3 Rh8 24. Ng2 b6 25. Kf2 Kb7 26. Kg3 Bg5 27. Bc1
Be7 28. Nf4 Bc8 29. Bb2 Rh7 30. Kg2 a5 31. a4 Bg5 32. Nh3 Be7 33. Nf4 Bg5 {
Diagramm [#]} 34. e6 $2 (34. Nh3 $11 {mit Zugwiederholung wäre die richtige
Alternative gewesen}) 34... Bxf4 35. e7 Rh2+ 36. Kg1 Re2 37. Bf6 Bd6 $19 {
und Schwarz behauptet die Mehrfigur, der Freibauer auf e7 kommt nicht voran.}
38. Rxd6 cxd6 39. Rxd6 Ka7 40. Rd8 Bb7 41. Kf1 Re6 42. g5 c5 43. Kf2 Bc6 44. c4
Kb7 45. f4 Kc7 46. Kg3 Rxf6 47. Rxa8 Re6 0-1

[Event "Gashimov Memorial-A 1st"]
[Site "Shamkir"]
[Date "2014.04.23"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2783"]
[BlackElo "2881"]
[Annotator "Caruana,F"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2014.04.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "AZE"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 160"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.05.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 h6 {In the match, Magnus played 9...Bd7. Perhaps he feared
preparation and was hoping to surprise me, but he made an unfortunate choice,
going for a line I knew well, as I had faced it last year against Ponomariov.}
(9... Bd7 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Nc3 {It's interesting that exactly 1 day before
Anand and Carlsen's game, Grischuk played the same variation against me during
the European Team Championship. I played 11.g4 and the game was eventually
drawn.} Kc8 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxe7 Nxe7 14. Rd2 c5 15. Rad1 Be6 16. Ne1 Ng6 17.
Nd3 b6 18. Ne2 {, and now Magnus grabbed a pawn with} Bxa2 $1 {Anand-Carlsen,
Chennai 2013; , held onto it and nearly won the game.}) 10. Rd1+ {Now Black's
king is forced to e8, which generally speaking is an awkward square.} Ke8 11.
Nc3 Bd7 12. Bf4 Rd8 13. Ne4 {This is the new move. In the aforementioned game
against Ponomariov, I played 13.e6 and didn't pose serious problems to my
opponent.} (13. e6 Bxe6 14. Bxc7 Rxd1+ 15. Rxd1 Be7 16. g4 Nh4 17. Nd4 Bd7 18.
Re1 Kf8 19. Bg3 g5 20. Bxh4 gxh4 21. Ne4 Kg7 {, although perhaps if I had
played more accurately here I could have counted on a minuscule advantage.})
13... Be7 {I was happy to see this move. After the trade of knights White's
position is very comfortable.} (13... c5 $5 {seems like the most critical move.
I was planning} 14. e6 Bxe6 15. Bxc7 Rc8 16. Bh2 {, with a small advantage,
but Black should be able to defend with accuracy.}) 14. g4 Nh4 15. Nxh4 Bxh4
16. Kg2 Be6 17. f3 b6 18. b3 c5 $6 {A strategic mistake. After the game,
Magnus said he wanted to use the d4-square but underestimated the importance
of the d5-square.} ({I was expecting} 18... Rd7 19. c4 Kd8 {If Black is given
time to play ...Kc8 and ...Rd8 he will have a fine position. White has to act
fast:} 20. Bg3 Be7 21. f4 g6 22. Rf1 $1 {, and the threat of f5 is very
unpleasant.}) 19. c4 ({Perhaps} 19. Bg3 Be7 20. c4 {was more accurate.}) 19...
Rd7 (19... Rd4 20. Be3 Rxd1 21. Rxd1 {doesn't solve Black's problems.}) 20. Bg3
Be7 21. Rxd7 Bxd7 {Understandably, Magnus wanted his bishop out of the way of
f4-f5.} ({However,} 21... Kxd7 {was a stronger alternative.} 22. f4 g6 23. Rf1
Kc8 24. f5 gxf5 25. gxf5 Bd7 {and it isn't easy to prove a clear advantage for
White.}) 22. Nc3 Kd8 $6 ({It made sense to set up a passive but solid
defensive formation.} 22... Bd8 23. Nd5 Bc8 {, and just sit and wait,
unpleasant though it may be.}) 23. Nd5 Re8 {Magnus played this and the next
move surprisingly quickly. He was probably already disgusted with his position.
} ({After} 23... c6 {, White should simplify into an opposite colored bishop
ending:} 24. Nxe7 Kxe7 25. f4 {, with good winning chances.}) 24. Rd1 Kc8 $4 {
Just losing a pawn for nothing. It's hard to say what Magnus overlooked.} (
24... c6 25. Nxe7 (25. Nc7 Rg8 26. e6 fxe6 27. Nxe6+ Kc8) 25... Rxe7 26. Bh4 g5
27. Bg3 {is awful for Black, but there was already no choice.}) 25. Nxc7 Rd8
26. Nd5 {Besides being up a pawn, White also has a commanding position.} Re8
27. Be1 Bd8 28. Bc3 g6 29. Kg3 ({I would prefer} 29. a4 $1 {, snuffing out any
hopes of counterplay.}) 29... b5 30. cxb5 Bxb5 31. Ne3 Re6 32. f4 Ra6 {Black
is trying to create counterplay any way he can, but White is too solid.} 33.
Rd2 h5 34. gxh5 gxh5 35. Nf5 Rg6+ 36. Kh2 Bc6 37. Nd6+ Kb8 38. f5 Rg8 39. f6 $1
{An important move, blocking the bishop's access to h4.} Bb6 40. Nc4 $2 {
With 2 minutes on my clock for the last move, I got spooked by Black's
counterplay with ...c4 and committed a serious inaccuracy.} (40. Nxf7 $1 c4 41.
h4 $1 {is the game.}) 40... Re8 $2 {Giving me a second chance! I calculated a
bit and decided to take the pawn.} (40... Bc7 41. Ba5 {is probably winning for
White, but he could have put up serious resistance.}) 41. Nd6 Rg8 42. Nxf7 $1 {
A pawn is a pawn, after all.} c4 43. h4 Rg4 44. e6 {This is what I hadn't seen
before the time control. The bishop will protect everything from e5.} Be3 45.
Be5+ Ka8 46. Rd8+ Kb7 47. Bg3 c3 48. Rb8+ Ka6 49. Rc8 Bd5 ({During the game I
spent some time figuring out what happens after} 49... Rc4 50. bxc4 c2 51.
Rxc6+ Ka5 52. Bc7+ Ka4 53. Ra6+ Kb4 54. Bd6+ Kc3 55. Ba3 {Good calculation,
but unfortunately I missed a mate in two with 52.Be1!}) 50. Rxc3 Bd4 51. Rd3
Re4 52. Rd2 Rxe6 53. Ng5 1-0

[Event "Nikolaev zt"]
[Site "Nikolaev"]
[Date "1993.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Frolov, Artur"]
[Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2530"]
[BlackElo "2530"]
[Annotator "Chekhov,V"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "1993.03.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 035"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1993.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1993.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Ernst} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Be6 (9... Ke8 10. Rd1 (10. h3 h6 11. b3 a5 $5 12.
Bb2 Bb4 13. Ne2 h5 $1 14. Nf4 a4 {Mainka-Dautov/Dortmund/1992/}) 10... a5 $146
(10... Be6 11. Ne2 Bd5 12. Ne1 h5 13. Nf4 Rd8 14. b3 Be7 15. Bb2 g5 16. Ne2 $14
{Anand-Salov/Reggio Emilia/1991/}) (10... h6 11. h3 Be7 12. Ne2 g5 13. b3 Be6
14. g4 Ng7 15. Ng3 c5 16. Ne4 Rd8 17. Ba3 $1 $16 {Yudasin-Rogers/Manila izt/
1990/}) 11. a4 h6 12. Ne2 Ne7 13. Ra3 $1 Nd5 14. Rad3 Bf5 15. R3d2 Bc5 16. Nfd4
Bh7 17. c3 Be7 18. g3 $14 {Frolov-Aleksandrov/Nikolaev m-2/1993/}) (9... h6 {
Ernst} 10. b3 $14) 10. Ng5 Bc4 (10... Ke7 $146 11. Rd1 h6 12. Nge4 Rd8 13. b3
Rxd1+ 14. Nxd1 Kd7 15. Bb2 c5 16. c4 Kc6 $10 {Timoshenko-Aleksandrov/Nikolaev/
1993/}) (10... Be7 {Ernst} 11. Nxe6+ fxe6 12. Ne4 Ke8 13. c3 Rd8 14. Bd2 Rd5
$15 {Hellers,F-Sherzer,A,New York 1993}) 11. Rd1+ (11. Re1 {Ernst} Ke8 12. Nce4
Bd5 $10 {Kruppa,Y-Aleksandrov,A,URS-chJ Kherson 1991}) 11... Kc8 $146 (11...
Ke8 12. b3 Bb4 13. Bb2 (13. bxc4 {Ernst} Bxc3 14. Rb1 b6 $10 {Jansa,
V-Keitlinghaus,L,Prague Chip 1992}) 13... Bxc3 14. Bxc3 Bd5 $10 {Ermenkov}) 12.
b3 Bb4 13. Bb2 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 Bd5 $10 15. f3 b6 16. Rd3 a5 17. a4 h6 18. Nh3 g5
19. Nf2 Be6 20. Rad1 c5 21. Bb2 c4 $2 (21... Ne7 {/\ Nc6,Kb7,Rad8=}) 22. bxc4
Bxc4 23. Rc3 Be6 24. Ba3 $1 Kb7 25. Ne4 Rad8 26. Rb1 $1 $16 {/\ 27.Nc5 Kc8 28.
Rb6! cb6 29.Ne6+-} Kb8 27. Kf2 Rhe8 28. g4 Nh4 (28... Nd4 29. Ke3 {/\ 30.Bc5})
29. Bd6 $1 cxd6 $8 30. Rxb6+ (30. Nxd6 {Ernst} Ka7 31. Rc7+ Ka6 32. Rb7 $2 Rxd6
$19) 30... Ka7 31. Rcc6 Re7 $2 (31... dxe5 32. Nd6 Rxd6 (32... Re7 33. Ra6+ Kb8
34. Rcb6+ Kc7 35. Rb7#) 33. Ra6+ Kb8 34. Rxd6 $16) (31... Rd7 {Ernst} 32. Nf6
$16) 32. exd6 Rb7 33. Ra6+ Kb8 34. Nc5 Rb2 35. Nd3 $1 Rb1 36. Rxa5 Bc8 (36...
Rc8 $5 37. Rxc8+ Bxc8 38. Nc5 Rd1 39. Rb5+ Ka8) 37. Nc5 Ng6 38. Nb3 $1 $18 Rd7
(38... Bb7 39. Rb6 {/\ Rab5,Nc5}) 39. Rb6+ Rb7 40. Rba6 R7xb3 $8 41. Ra8+ Kb7
42. cxb3 Rb2+ 43. Ke1 $1 (43. Kg3 $2 {Ernst} Nf4 $19) 43... Be6 44. R8a7+ Kc6
45. R5a6+ Kc5 46. d7 Bxd7 47. Rxd7 Rxb3 48. Ra8 Rxf3 49. Rc8+ Kb6 50. Rd5 Re3+
51. Kd2 Rh3 52. Rb5+ Ka6 $2 (52... Ka7 53. Rc7+ Ka6 54. Rxf7 $18) 53. Ra8# 1-0

[Event "Peristeri"]
[Site "Peristeri"]
[Date "1993.??.??"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Kotronias, Vasilios"]
[Black "Nikolaidis, Ioannis"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2590"]
[BlackElo "2440"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "131"]
[EventDate "1993.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[EventCategory "9"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 039 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1994.05.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1994.05.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke8 10. Nc3 h6 11. h3 Be7 12. g4 Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14.
Kg2 h5 15. f3 Be7 16. Ne2 a5 17. a4 hxg4 18. hxg4 f5 19. exf6 gxf6 20. Bf4 f5
21. g5 Rg8 22. Rg1 Kf7 23. Kf2 Be6 24. Rg2 Rg6 25. Rh1 Rag8 26. Rh7+ R8g7 27.
Rxg7+ Rxg7 28. Nc1 b5 29. b3 c5 30. axb5 c4 31. g6+ Kg8 32. Be5 Ba3 33. Bxg7
Kxg7 34. Ne2 cxb3 35. cxb3 Bxb3 36. Nf4 Be7 37. Nh5+ Kh6 38. g7 Bg8 39. Ng3
Bc5+ 40. Ke2 Bc4+ 41. Kd1 Bb3+ 42. Kd2 Bb4+ 43. Kd3 Kxg7 44. Nxf5+ Kf6 45. Nd4
Bd5 46. Nc2 Bc5 47. Ne3 Bb3 48. Ke4 a4 49. Nd5+ Kf7 50. Nxc7 a3 51. Na6 Be7 52.
b6 a2 53. Rxa2 Bxa2 54. Ke5 Bf6+ 55. Kd6 Be7+ $2 (55... Bd4 $142 56. Nc5 Be3
$10) 56. Kc6 Bc4 57. b7 Bxa6 58. b8=Q Bf1 59. Qe5 Bf6 60. Qe4 Kg7 61. Qg4+ Kf7
62. f4 Bc4 63. f5 Bb3 64. Kd7 Ba1 65. Qg6+ Kf8 66. f6 1-0

[Event "Match/Friendly Andersse-Zukertort+8-3=1"]
[Site "Berlin"]
[Date "1868.04.10"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Zukertort, Johannes Hermann"]
[Black "Anderssen, Adolf"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "1868.04.10"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2002"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.11.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.11.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {1)Von Gottschall: Adolf Anderssen. Der erste Wettkampf
Anderssen-Zukertort. Partiien 496-505 S.230-325. Den Charakter des
"Wettkampes" erhellt, dass während der Dauer dieser Auseinandersetzung
Anderssen verschiedene andere Partien spielte, auch gegen Zukertort.} e5 2. Nf3
Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. dxe5 Nb7 9. c4
O-O 10. Be3 f5 11. exf6 Bxf6 12. c5 d5 13. Nd4 Qe8 14. Qc2 Nd8 15. Nd2 Bxd4 16.
Bxd4 Ne6 17. Qc3 Nf4 18. Kh1 Ba6 19. Rfe1 Qd7 20. Nf1 Nd3 21. Re2 Qg4 22. f3
Qg6 23. Ng3 Rae8 24. Rxe8 Rxe8 25. Qa5 Bc8 26. Qxc7 Ne1 27. Rc1 Ba6 28. Bxg7
Qxg7 29. Qxc6 Qe5 30. Qxa6 Qxb2 31. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 32. Nf1 Qe2 33. Qc8+ Kg7 34.
Qg4+ Kh8 35. Qd4+ Qe5 0-1

[Event "Bad Woerishofen op 13th"]
[Site "Bad Woerishofen"]
[Date "1997.??.??"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Mainka, Romuald"]
[Black "Dautov, Rustem"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2480"]
[BlackElo "2590"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "1997.03.07"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2000"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.11.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.11.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. Rd1 Ne7 11. Nd4 a6 12. Ne4 h6 13. h3 b6 14. c4 Nf5
15. Ne2 Be7 16. b3 a5 17. Kh2 h5 18. Bg5 a4 $2 (18... Be6 {Dautov}) 19. N2c3
Ra5 20. f4 Be6 21. Nxa4 Bxc4 22. Nxb6 Bxb3 23. axb3 cxb6 24. Rac1 Bxg5 25. Nxg5
Rh6 26. Rd3 c5 27. b4 Ra8 28. bxc5 Rc6 29. Rb1 bxc5 30. Rb7 c4 31. Rdd7 c3 32.
Rxf7 Nh6 33. Rfe7+ Kd8 34. Ne6+ $4 $138 (34. Rbd7+ Kc8 35. e6 Kb8 $8 36. Rd8+
Rc8 37. Rxc8+ Kxc8 38. Re8+ Kb7 39. Rxa8 Kxa8 40. e7 $18) (34. e6 $18) (34.
Rxg7 c2 35. Nf7+ $1 Kc8 (35... Nxf7 36. Rg8#) (35... Ke8 36. Nxh6 $1) 36. Nd6+
$1 Rxd6 (36... Kd8 37. Rgd7#) 37. Rbc7+ $18) 34... Rxe6 $1 35. Rxe6 c2 36. Rc6
Rc8 37. Rxc2 Rxc2 38. Rxg7 Nf5 39. Rg5 Ne3 40. Kg3 Rxg2+ 41. Kh4 Rf2 1/2-1/2

[Event "Capablanca exhibition"]
[Site "Vienna"]
[Date "1914.03.15"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca, Jose Raul"]
[Black "Reti, Richard"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "1914.03.15"]
[EventType "simul"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "AUT"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 1999"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.11.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.11.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8.
dxe5 Nb7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Re1 $1 Nc5 11. Nd4 Ne6 12. Be3 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 c5 14. Be3
d5 15. exd6 Bxd6 16. Rad1 (16. Ne4 {Tarrasch-Lasker, WM 1910/}) 16... Qf6 17.
Qh5 Rb8 18. Bc1 Qf5 19. Qxf5 Bxf5 20. Ne4 Rfe8 (20... Bxe4 21. Rxe4 Rb4 22.
Rde1 h6 $11) 21. Nxd6 cxd6 22. Rxe8+ Rxe8 23. Be3 Re6 24. c3 a6 (24... a5) 25.
b4 cxb4 26. cxb4 h6 27. a4 Bc2 28. Ra1 Re4 29. b5 Rxa4 30. Rc1 Be4 31. b6 Kf8
$2 (31... Rb4 $11) 32. f3 $16 Bd5 33. Rc8+ Ke7 34. b7 Bxb7 35. Rc7+ Ke6 36.
Rxb7 Ra1+ 37. Kf2 Ra2+ 38. Kg3 a5 (38... g5) 39. Ra7 $18 (39. h4) 39... a4 40.
Ra6 g5 41. Bc5 Rd2 42. Ba7 f5 43. h4 f4+ 44. Kh3 Kf5 45. hxg5 hxg5 46. Rxa4 Rd1
47. g4+ fxg3 48. Kxg3 1-0

[Event "Wien Trebitsch Memorial-06"]
[Site "Vienna"]
[Date "1914.11.12"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Schlechter, Carl"]
[Black "Reti, Richard"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "1914.11.12"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "AUT"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 1999"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.11.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.11.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {1)Tenner,O in den Münchner Neuesten Nachrichten 2)DWS 1915,S.10,13
(Tablle). 8Spieler. Doppelrundig. 1.Spielmann 11,5/14 2.Kaufmann 11,0/14 3.-4.
Reti und Spielmann je 8,5/14 5.Albin 7/14} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4
5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. dxe5 Nb7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Nd4 Bc5 11. Rd1
Bxd4 12. Rxd4 d5 13. exd6 cxd6 14. b4 $1 Qf6 15. Be3 Bf5 16. Rad1 a6 17. g4 Qg6
18. Kh1 Bd7 19. h3 f5 20. Qd3 Qf7 21. Rf4 Qe6 (21... g5 22. Rg1 $1 gxf4 23.
gxf5+ Kh8 (23... Qg7 24. Rxg7+ Kxg7 25. Bd4+ Kf7 26. f6 $18) 24. Bd4+ $18) (
21... a5 22. a3 axb4 23. axb4 Qg6) (21... Qe8 22. g5 a5) 22. g5 Rfe8 (22... a5)
23. a3 Re7 (23... a5) 24. Kh2 $14 Qg6 25. h4 Be6 26. Ne2 c5 27. c4 cxb4 28.
axb4 Rc7 29. Nc3 Qf7 30. Nd5 Bxd5 31. Rxf5 Qe6 32. Rxd5 Rf8 33. Kg3 h5 $1 34.
gxh6 gxh6 35. Kh2 Rg7 36. Rg1 Rff7 37. Rxg7+ Rxg7 38. Qf5 Qxf5 39. Rxf5 Rg4 40.
Rf4 Rxf4 41. Bxf4 a5 42. bxa5 $2 (42. b5 $18) (42. Bd2 $18) 42... Nxa5 43. Bxh6
Nxc4 44. Kg3 Kh7 45. Bf4 d5 46. Kf3 Kg6 47. Ke2 $14 Na5 1/2-1/2

[Event "British CA-05 Grand Tournament"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "1862.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anderssen, Adolf"]
[Black "Steinitz, William"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "1862.06.13"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2000"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.11.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.11.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. d5 Nb8 (6... Nd6 {>=})
(6... Nd4 7. Nxd4 exd4 8. Qxd4 Nf6 9. Bf4 O-O 10. d6 cxd6 11. Nc3 $16) 7. Nxe5
O-O 8. Re1 Nf6 9. Nc3 d6 10. Nf3 c6 (10... Bd7 {>=}) 11. Ba4 Bg4 12. Qe2 Bxf3
13. gxf3 $1 Re8 14. Bg5 b5 (14... Bf8 $2 15. Bxf6 $1 $18) 15. Bxf6 gxf6 16.
dxc6 $1 $16 {+-} bxa4 17. c7 Qd7 (17... Qxc7 18. Nd5 Qd8 19. Nxe7+ {/\ 20.Qe4
+-}) 18. cxb8=Q Raxb8 19. Nd5 Kf8 (19... Rb7 20. Nxf6+) 20. Qe3 $1 Kg7 $3 (
20... Rb7 $4 21. Qh6+ Kg8 22. Rxe7 Rxe7 23. Nxf6+) 21. Nxe7 $2 (21. Kh1 $1 Bf8
22. Rg1+ Kh8 23. Nxf6 $18) 21... Rb5 $1 22. Nf5+ $6 (22. f4 Kf8 $1 23. f5 Rxe7
24. Qh6+ Kg8 $1 25. Qxf6 Rxe1+ 26. Rxe1 Rxf5 27. Re7 Qd8 28. Qh4 $18) 22...
Rxf5 23. Qd3 (23. Qxe8 Rg5+ 24. Kf1 Qh3+ 25. Ke2 Re5+ $19) 23... Ree5 $14 24.
Kh1 Rf4 25. Rg1+ Rg5 26. Rg3 Qf5 $2 (26... Qb7 $14 {=}) (26... h6 $14 {=}) 27.
Qxf5 Rfxf5 28. Rd1 Rb5 29. b3 axb3 30. axb3 Rbc5 31. c4 Rc6 32. f4 Rg6 33. f5
Rg5 34. f4 Rxg3 35. hxg3 Rc5 $4 36. Rxd6 Rxf5 37. b4 $18 {>< Rf5} h5 38. Ra6 h4
39. Kg2 hxg3 40. Kxg3 Rh5 41. Rxa7 Rh8 42. Rc7 1-0

[Event "FRG-ch 20th"]
[Site "Bad Neuenahr"]
[Date "1989.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mainka, Romuald"]
[Black "Hort, Vlastimil"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2410"]
[BlackElo "2580"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "1989.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "6"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 015"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1990.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1990.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. b3 h6 10. Bb2 Be6 11. c4 a5 12. Nc3 Bb4 13. Ne4 a4 14. h3 a3
15. Rad1+ Kc8 16. Bc1 Ra5 $1 17. Rd3 Rd8 18. Rfd1 Rxd3 19. Rxd3 Ne7 20. Bd2
Bxd2 21. Nexd2 c5 $1 22. g4 (22. Nb1 Bf5 23. Rd1 Bxb1 24. Rxb1 Nc6 25. Rd1 Nb4
26. Rd2 $16) 22... Nc6 23. Ne4 b5 $1 (23... Nb4 24. Rd2 $14) 24. cxb5 (24. Nxc5
$2 bxc4 25. Nxe6 cxd3 26. Nxg7 Nxe5 $19) 24... Nb4 25. Rd2 Bd5 $1 26. Rxd5 (26.
Re2 Bxe4 27. Rxe4 Nxa2 $19) 26... Nxd5 27. Nfd2 Rxb5 28. Nc4 $2 Rxb3 $1 0-1

[Event "Match Keres-Unzicker +4-0=4"]
[Site "Hamburg"]
[Date "1956.05.21"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Keres, Paul"]
[Black "Unzicker, Wolfgang"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "1956.05.20"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "MCL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 (
7... dxc6 8. dxe5 Nf5 9. Rd1 Bd7 10. e6 $1 {Keres} fxe6 11. Ne5 Bd6 12. Qh5+ g6
13. Nxg6 Ng7 14. Qh6 Nf5 15. Qh3 Rg8 16. Qxh7 Rg7 17. Qh5 Qf6 18. Ne5+ Ke7 19.
Ng4 Qg6 20. Qxg6 Rxg6 21. h3 e5 22. c3 $14) 8. dxe5 Nb7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Nd4 (10.
Re1 $1 {Prevents 10...d5} Nc5 11. Be3 (11. Nd4 Ne6 12. Be3 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 c5 14.
Be3 d5 15. exd6 Bxd6 $44) 11... Ne6 12. Rad1 d5 13. exd6 cxd6 14. Nd4 $14 {
Karpov,An-Kortschnoj,V (02)/Wch Meran/1981/1-0/}) 10... Bc5 (10... Nc5 11. Rd1
Qe8 12. Nf5 $14 f6 $2 13. Bh6) 11. Rd1 Bxd4 $6 (11... Re8 $1 12. Nxc6 (12. Qh5
$1 Qe7 $1 (12... g6 13. Qf3 Bxd4 14. Rxd4 Rxe5 15. Bf4 $40 {Kere,P-Tsintsadze/
Tbilisi/1946/}) 13. Bf4 Bxd4 14. Rxd4 d5 15. Ne2 (15. Bg3 Nd6 $1) 15... Nc5 16.
Rdd1 a5 17. Nd4 Bd7 $10) 12... Qh4 13. g3 Qh3 14. Nd4 d6 $44) 12. Rxd4 d5 (
12... Re8 13. Qh5) 13. exd6 (13. b4 $5 {/\b4-b5}) 13... cxd6 14. b4 {Fixing
Black's weak pawns.} Re8 (14... Qf6 15. Be3 Bf5 16. Rad1 a6 17. g4 $16 {
Schlechter,C-Reti,R/Wien/1914/1-0/}) 15. Be3 Be6 16. Qf3 (16. Qh5 Qf6 17. Ne4
Qe5) 16... Qd7 $2 (16... d5 $1 17. Bf4 $1 (17. b5 $6 c5 $1 (17... cxb5 $2 18.
Nxd5 $16) 18. Rdd1 d4 19. Qxb7 Qa5 $13) 17... Nd6 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 $14 {><c5,e5,d4
}) 17. Ne4 Bf5 $2 (17... Bd5 $5 18. c4 $1 (18. Nf6+ $2 gxf6 19. Rg4+ Kf8 $17)
18... Bxe4 19. Rxe4 a5 $14) 18. Ng3 $1 $18 Bxc2 (18... Bg6 19. h4 $1) 19. Rc1
Ba4 20. Nh5 $2 (20. Nf5 $1 Re6 21. Rh4 $1 {/\Qh3,Qh5,Bd4}) 20... f5 $1 {
><g4; protects g7.} (20... Re6 $2 21. Qg4 $18) 21. Rf4 (21. Bh6 Qe6 $1 (21...
gxh6 $2 22. Nf6+ $18)) 21... Re7 (21... Rf8 22. Bd4 $1 Rf7 23. Bxg7 Rxg7 $2 24.
Nf6+ $18) (21... Qe6 22. Rxf5 Rf8 23. Nxg7 $1 Kxg7 24. Qg4+ Kh8 25. Rxf8+ Rxf8
26. Qxe6 $18) 22. Rxf5 Rf7 23. Nxg7 $1 Rxg7 (23... Kxg7 $2 24. Bh6+ $18 (24.
Qg4+ $18)) (23... Raf8 24. Ne6 $1 Rxf5 (24... Qxe6 25. Qg4+ Qg6 (25... Kh8 26.
Bd4+ Rf6 27. Rxf6 Qxg4 28. Rxf8#) 26. Rg5 $18) 25. Qg4+ Kh8 26. Nxf8) 24. Bh6
$1 Qe7 {/\Rg6} (24... Rf7 25. Rg5+ Kh8 26. Qc3+ $18) (24... Re8 25. h4 {/\Bg7})
(24... Rg6 25. Rf8+ Rxf8 26. Qxf8#) 25. Bxg7 Qxg7 (25... Kxg7 26. Qc3+ $1 Kg8
27. Rf3 $36 (27. Re1 Qg7 28. Qxg7+ Kxg7 29. Re7+ Kg6 30. Rff7 Nd8 31. Rg7+ $18)
27... Qe5) 26. h4 {/\Rg5} h6 $2 (26... Rf8 27. Re1 $18 (27. Rxf8+ Qxf8 28. Qg4+
Kh8 29. Qd4+ Qg7 30. Qxa7 $18)) 27. Rc4 $1 1-0

[Event "Match/3 City Moscow Belgrade Prague"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1978.09.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian, Tigran V"]
[Black "Ivkov, Borislav"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2620"]
[BlackElo "2515"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "1978.09.??"]
[EventType "team-match"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2002"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.11.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.11.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {1)Shekhtman,E: The Games of T.Petrosian. vol.2, p.341} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3.
Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. dxe5 Nb7 9. c4 (9. Nc3
) (9. Nd4) 9... O-O 10. Nc3 Nc5 11. Be3 Ne6 12. Rad1 f6 13. Nd4 Nxd4 14. Bxd4
fxe5 15. Qxe5 Rf7 16. Qe4 Qe8 17. Rfe1 d6 18. c5 Bf5 19. Qe2 Qf8 20. f3 $14 (
20. Qa6 $5 $14 {[%csl Rc6]}) 20... dxc5 21. Be5 Bd6 22. Qa6 Bd7 23. Bg3 Re7 24.
Rxe7 Qxe7 {[#]} 25. Ne4 Bxg3 26. hxg3 $14 Bf5 27. Nf2 Qf6 28. b3 h6 29. Qc4+
Be6 30. Qxc5 Bd5 $2 $138 31. Rxd5 1-0

[Event "Match Janowski-Winawer +5-2=0"]
[Site "Vienna"]
[Date "1896.11.24"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Janowski, Dawid Markelowicz"]
[Black "Winawer, Szymon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "1896.11.12"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "AUT"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2006"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.11.24"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.11.24"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d4 Nxe4 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 Nd6 7. dxe5 Nxb5 8.
a4 Na3 9. Nxa3 O-O 10. Nc4 b6 11. Nd4 Nxd4 12. Qxd4 Bb7 13. Ne3 f6 14. Nf5 fxe5
15. Nxe7+ Qxe7 16. Rxe5 Qf6 17. Qe3 Qc6 18. Qb3+ Kh8 19. f3 Rfe8 20. Rxe8+ Rxe8
21. Be3 Qg6 22. Bf2 c5 23. a5 d5 24. axb6 axb6 25. Bxc5 bxc5 26. Qxb7 Qe6 27.
h3 h6 28. Qc7 Qe3+ 29. Kh2 Re5 30. Ra8+ Kh7 31. Qf7 Qg5 32. Qg8+ Kg6 {[#]} 33.
Ra6+ $18 Kh5 34. Qf7+ g6 35. Rxg6 $1 (35. Rxg6 Qxg6 36. g4+ Kg5 37. f4+ Kh4 38.
Qxg6) 1-0

[Event "World-ch01 Steinitz-Zukertort +10-5=5"]
[Site "USA"]
[Date "1886.03.12"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Steinitz, William"]
[Black "Zukertort, Johannes Hermann"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "1886.01.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "20"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "MainBase"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Games 10 to 20 were played in New Orleans.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4.
O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Nc3 Nxe5 9. Rxe5 c6 10. b3 Ne8 $1
{Steinitz: The correct defence. Die richtige Verteidigung.} 11. Bb2 d5 12. Qf3
Bf6 (12... g6 13. Rae1 Bf6 $4 14. Rxe8 Rxe8 15. Rxe8+ Qxe8 16. Qxf6 $18) (12...
Nd6 $5 13. Rae1 Be6 14. Ba3 (14. Rh5 $6 g6 15. Rh6 Bf6 $17) 14... Re8 15. Ne2
Bf8 16. Nf4 Bd7 $10 {Minckwitz}) 13. Re2 Nc7 $1 {Steinitz} 14. Ba3 Re8 15. Rae1
Ne6 16. Na4 Bd7 {16...b6 17.c4!-> Steinitz} 17. Nc5 Nxc5 18. Rxe8+ Bxe8 19.
Bxc5 b6 20. Ba3 {1h} Bd7 21. Qg3 {>= 21.c3 /\ Bb1,d4 Steinitz} c5 22. c3 Be6
23. Bb2 Qd7 24. Bc2 Re8 {>= Rc8! /\d4, c4 |^ Minckwitz 1h} 25. h3 b5 26. d4
cxd4 27. cxd4 Rc8 28. Bd3 Bf5 29. Bxf5 Qxf5 {/\ 30...Qc2} 30. Qg4 Qxg4 {
Zukertort offers a draw, but Steinitz prefers to play on.} 31. hxg4 h6 32. Re2
{2h} b4 33. g3 a5 $1 34. Kf1 {Steinitz offers a draw, but Zukertort prefers to
play on} a4 35. bxa4 Ra8 36. Re1 Rxa4 37. Ra1 {White's last four moves were
forced - Steinitz.} Kf8 38. Ke2 Ke7 39. Kd3 Ra6 40. a3 (40. Kc2 Rc6+ 41. Kb3
Rc4 $10 {Steinitz}) 40... bxa3 41. Rxa3 Rxa3+ 42. Bxa3+ Kd7 43. Bf8 Ke8 44. Bd6
g6 45. Be5 Bd8 46. Bg7 h5 (46... f6 $1 47. Bxh6 g5 48. f4 Kf7 49. f5 $1 {
Steinitz} Kg8 50. Kc3 Be7 51. Kb3 Kh7 52. Bxg5 fxg5 53. Ka4 Bf6 54. Kb5 Bxd4
55. Kc6 Kg7 56. Kxd5 Bb2 (56... Bf2 57. Ke6 Bxg3 58. Ke7 Bc7 59. Ke6 Bd8 60.
Kd6 Kf7 $10 {Steinitz}) 57. Ke6 Bf6 58. Kd6 Kf7 59. Kd5 Bc3 60. Kd6 Be1 61. Kd5
Bxg3 62. Ke4 Ke7 63. Kd5 Kd7 64. Kc5 Bh2 65. Kd5 Bd6 66. Ke4 Kc6 67. f6 $10 {
Hooper}) 47. gxh5 gxh5 48. Be5 Kd7 {Time: Steinitz: 2h 55min   Zukertort: 1h
21min Zeit: Steinitz: 2h 55min   Zukertort:1h 21min} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sarajevo"]
[Site "Sarajevo"]
[Date "1980.03.27"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Ivkov, Borislav"]
[Black "Knezevic, Milorad"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2530"]
[BlackElo "2500"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "31"]
[EventDate "1980.03.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "YUG"]
[EventCategory "8"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2002"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.11.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.11.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {The game was postponed.} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6
6. Nxe5 Nxe5 7. Rxe5+ Be7 8. Bf1 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Nf5 11. c3 d5 12. Bf4 c6
13. Nd2 Re8 14. Rxe8+ Qxe8 15. Qe2 Qxe2 16. Bxe2 1/2-1/2

[Event "World-ch01 Steinitz-Zukertort +10-5=5"]
[Site "USA"]
[Date "1886.02.26"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Steinitz, William"]
[Black "Zukertort, Johannes Hermann"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[EventDate "1886.01.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "20"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "MainBase"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Games 10 to 20 were played in New Orleans.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4.
O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Nc3 $5 {cf. 8th game of the
match vgl.8. Matchpartie} Nxe5 9. Rxe5 c6 10. b3 Re8 {10...Ne8!? Minckwitz 10..
.f6!? /\ Nf7, d5 Schallopp} 11. Ba3 {/\ 12.Re7 Qe7 13.Ne4+- Steinitz} Bf8 12.
Re3 (12. Qe2 $5 Re6 $14 {Steinitz} (12... f6 13. Bc4+ Kh8 (13... Nxc4 14. Rxe8
$18) 14. Rxe8 $18)) 12... Rxe3 13. fxe3 Ne4 $1 14. Bxf8 (14. Nxe4 Bxa3 15. Qh5
g6 16. Qe5 Be7 17. Nd6 (17. Rf1 d6 $10) 17... Qf8 $10 {Steinitz}) (14. Bb2 {
! Minckwitz}) 14... Nxc3 15. Qh5 $1 g6 16. Qe5 Qxf8 17. Qxc3 Qg7 $10 18. Qxg7+
Kxg7 19. e4 d6 20. Re1 Bd7 21. Kf2 Re8 {Time: Steinitz: 58 min   Zukertort: 23
min Zeit: Steinitz: 58 min   Zukertort: 23 min} 1/2-1/2

[Event "World-ch01 Steinitz-Zukertort +10-5=5"]
[Site "USA"]
[Date "1886.02.08"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Steinitz, William"]
[Black "Zukertort, Johannes Hermann"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[EventDate "1886.01.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "20"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "MainBase"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Games 6 to 9 were played in Saint Louis.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4.
O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 $1 {The best defence in this line Die beste
Verteidigung in dieser Variante} 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Qh5 {>= 8.Nc3 Steinitz} f5 $5 (
8... g6 9. Nxg6 fxg6 10. Bxg6 hxg6 (10... Rf7 11. Bxf7+ $40 Nxf7) 11. Qxg6+ Kh8
$10 12. b3 $6 (12. Re3 Nf5 13. Rh3+ Bh4 $17 {/\ Qf6}) 12... Nf5 13. Bb2+ Bf6
14. Re8 $8 Bxb2 15. Rxd8 Rxd8 16. Qxf5 Bxa1 $17 {Steinitz}) 9. Nc3 {>= 9.Nc6
then b3 Steinitz >= 9.Nc6 nebst b3 Steinitz} Nxe5 10. Rxe5 g6 11. Qf3 c6 (11...
Bf6 12. Qd5+ $6 (12. Re2 {leads back to the game. führt zurück zur Partie.})
12... Kh8 13. Re2 Nf7 14. b3 c6 15. Qf3 d5 $15 {Minckwitz}) 12. b3 Nf7 13. Re2
(13. Bc4 d5 $6 (13... Bf6 $1 $17) 14. Nxd5 cxd5 15. Rxd5 Qe8 16. Qc3 $18 {
Steinitz}) 13... d5 14. Bb2 Bf6 15. Rae1 Qd6 $1 $15 {Minckwitz, Steinitz} 16.
Re8 $1 (16. a3 Ng5 17. Qg3 (17. Qe3 d4 $19) 17... f4 18. Qh4 Nf3+ $19) 16...
Bd7 17. Rxa8 Rxa8 18. Nd1 {>= 18.Na4 /\Qd1 Steinitz` draw offer was declined
here Ein Remisangebot von Steinitz wird abgelehnt} Ng5 19. Qe2 Re8 20. Qf1 Bxb2
21. Rxe8+ Bxe8 22. Nxb2 {Zukertort's offer of a draw was accepted. 22...Qa3 23.
Qb1 and if Ne4 then Be4! with a better endgame (+/=) Steinitz. Time: Steinitz:
1h 15min, Zukertort: 20min. Remisangebot von Zukertort akzeptiert. 22...Qa3 23.
Qb1 und falls Ne4 dann Be4! mit besserem Endspiel (+/=) Steinitz. Zeit:
Steinitz: 1h 15min, Zukertort: 20min} 1/2-1/2

[Event "World-ch01 Steinitz-Zukertort +10-5=5"]
[Site "USA"]
[Date "1886.03.03"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Steinitz, William"]
[Black "Zukertort, Johannes Hermann"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "1886.01.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "20"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "MainBase"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Games 10 to 20 were played in New Orleans.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4.
O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bxc6 dxc6 8. Qe2 Be6 (8... O-O $2 9. Nxc6 $1
bxc6 10. Qxe7 Re8 11. Qxd8 $19) 9. d3 {Not d4, since Black gets the chance to
resolve his doubled pawns and would then have the better game thanks to his
bishop pair. Weiß spielt nicht d4, um Schwarz nicht die Chance zu geben, seine
Doppelbauern mit c5 aufzulösen, da dieser dann aufgrund des Läuferpaares das
bessere Spiel hätte.} Nf5 (9... O-O 10. Nxf7 $17) 10. Nd2 O-O (10... Nd4 $5 11.
Qd1 (11. Qe4 Nxc2 (11... f5 12. Qf4 g5 13. Qg3 f4 $19) 12. Nxc6 Qd6 $1 13. Nxe7
Nxe1 $19) 11... O-O 12. c3 Nb5 13. Ndf3 Bf5 14. Qe2 Bf6 15. Bd2 (15. Bf4 $2 g5
16. Bg3 g4 17. Nd2 Bxe5 18. Qxe5 Qxd3 $17) 15... Re8 $15 {Minckwitz}) 11. c3
Re8 12. Ne4 Qd5 $1 13. Bf4 Rad8 14. d4 Nd6 (14... c5 $2 15. dxc5 (15. c4 Qxd4
16. Rad1 $18 {Minckwitz}) 15... Bxc5 16. Rad1 $18 {Steinitz}) (14... f6 15. Nd3
Nd6 16. Nec5 Bc8 17. Nb4 {Minckwitz This position is very similar to the game
after the 17th move. Diese Stellung ist sehr ähnlich mit der Partiestellung
nach dem 17.Zug.}) (14... Bd6 $6 15. Ng4 $16 {Steinitz}) 15. Nc5 Bc8 16. Ncd3 {
1h} (16. Be3 Nf5 17. c4 Nxd4 18. cxd5 Nxe2+ 19. Rxe2 Bxc5 20. Bxc5 Rxd5 $1 21.
Rae1 f6 $40 {-/+ Steinitz}) 16... f6 17. Nb4 (17. Nf3 Bg4 $1 $15 {Schallopp})
17... Qb5 (17... Qe6 18. Nexc6 (18. Ned3 Qxe2 19. Rxe2 Bf8 $10) 18... Qxe2 19.
Rxe2 bxc6 20. Nxc6 Rd7 21. Nxa7 $2 Bb7 $19 {Minckwitz}) 18. Qxb5 Nxb5 (18...
cxb5 19. Ned3 c6 (19... a6 $2 20. Nd5 $1 $16) 20. Nc5 a5 21. Nbd3 b6 22. Nb3
Bf5 $17 {Minckwitz}) 19. Ned3 Bf5 $2 {1h} (19... a5 $1 20. Nc2 Bf5 21. Rad1 {
>= 21.Red1 Steinitz} a4 $17 {Minckwitz}) 20. a4 $1 Nd6 $2 (20... a5 $1 21. axb5
axb4 22. Nxb4 $1 (22. bxc6 $2 Bxd3 23. cxb7 Rb8 24. Ra8 Kf7 $19) 22... Bxb4 23.
cxb4 cxb5 $10 {Steinitz}) 21. a5 $1 $16 Nb5 $6 (21... a6 22. Nc5 $1 $40 {
Steinitz} Bc8 23. Ne6 (23. Nbd3 Bf8 $13) 23... Bxe6 24. Rxe6 Nb5 25. Rae1 Kf7
$14 {Minckwitz}) 22. a6 Bxd3 23. Nxd3 b6 24. Re3 Kf7 25. Rae1 Rd7 $2 {/\ Red8,
Bf8,c5} (25... Bd6 $1 {Steinitz, Minckwitz} 26. Rxe8 Rxe8 27. Rxe8 Kxe8 28.
Bxd6 $6 {>= 28.Be3 /\ c4+/-} cxd6 29. Nb4 Kd7 30. d5 cxd5 31. Nxd5 Ke6 32. Nb4
Kd7 $10 {Minckwitz}) (25... g5 $2 26. Bg3 h5 27. h4 $16) 26. Nb4 $1 g5 27. Bg3
f5 28. f4 (28. Nxc6 $1 f4 29. Ne5+ Ke6 30. Bxf4 gxf4 31. Rh3 $40 {+- Steinitz})
28... c5 29. Nc6 cxd4 30. cxd4 Kf8 31. Re5 Nxd4 32. Nxd4 $1 (32. Rxe7 Rdxe7 33.
Rxe7 Rxe7 34. Nxd4 gxf4 35. Bxf4 Re4 36. Bh6+ Ke7 37. Nb5 Ra4 38. Nxc7 Kd7 $13)
32... Rxd4 33. Rxf5+ Kg7 (33... Kg8 34. Rxg5+ Bxg5 35. Rxe8+ $18 {/\ Rc8, Ra8
Steinitz}) 34. fxg5 (34. Rxg5+ Bxg5 35. Rxe8 Bxf4 $18 {Steinitz The win would
be very wearisome. Der Gewinn wäre sehr langwierig.}) 34... Bc5 (34... Rd7 35.
h4 Kg6 (35... Bc5+ 36. Rxc5 {see the game. siehe: Partie}) 36. Rfe5 Kf7 37. h5
Bc5+ 38. Rxc5 bxc5 39. g6+ hxg6 40. hxg6+ Kf8 41. g7+ $18 {Steinitz}) 35. Rxc5
$1 (35. Rxe8 Rd1#) (35. Kf1 Rxe1+ 36. Kxe1 Kg6 $16) 35... Rxe1+ 36. Bxe1 bxc5
37. Bc3 Kg6 38. Bxd4 cxd4 39. h4 Kf5 40. Kf2 Ke4 (40... Kg4 41. g3 $18 {
/\ Ke2, Kg3, h5, g6}) 41. Ke2 c5 42. b3 Ke5 43. Kd3 Kf4 44. b4 {Time: Steinitz:
2h 39min   Zukertort: 1h 35min Zeit: Steinitz: 2h 39min   Zukertort: 1h 35min}
1-0

[Event "World-ch01 Steinitz-Zukertort +10-5=5"]
[Site "USA"]
[Date "1886.01.18"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Steinitz, William"]
[Black "Zukertort, Johannes Hermann"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "1886.01.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "20"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "MainBase"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Games 1 to 5 were played in New York City.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4.
O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 {5.d4!} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Nxe5 $6 7. Rxe5+ Be7 8. Bf1 {8.Nc3! cf.
6th match game. vgl. 6.Matchpartie} O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 (10... Nf5 $15
11. g4 $2 Nxd4 12. g5 Bxg5 13. Qxd4 Bxc1 14. Rxc1 Qg5+ $19) 11. c3 Rxe1 12.
Qxe1 Nf5 13. Bf4 d6 (13... d5 14. Bxc7 $1 Qxc7 15. Qe8#) 14. Nd2 Be6 {? 14...
g5! and then h5 -/+, Minckwitz . 14...g5? weakens the kingside too much.
Steinitz ? 14...g5! nebst h5 -/+ Minckwitz;  14...g5? schwächt zu sehr den
Königsflügel, Steinitz} 15. Bd3 Nh4 16. Ne4 Ng6 17. Bd2 (17. Nxf6+ Qxf6 18.
Bxg6 $10) 17... d5 18. Nc5 {>= 18.Ng3} Bc8 19. Qe3 b6 20. Nb3 $6 {>= 20.Na6 /\
Na6-b4-c2 possiblty to b2-b4-b5 >= 20.Na6 /\ Na6-b4-c2 evtl. nach b2-b4-b5} Qd6
$2 21. Qe8+ $6 (21. Bxg6 $1 hxg6 22. Qe8+ Kh7 $1 (22... Qf8 23. Qc6 $1) 23. Re1
(23. Qxf7 Be6 $19) 23... Qd7 24. Bf4 c6 25. Nc1 (25. Re3 Qb7 $1 $17 {/\ 26...
Be6}) 25... Qxe8 26. Rxe8 Bb7 27. Rxa8 Bxa8 28. Bb8 a6 29. Bc7 b5 30. Nb3 $16 {
/\ 31.Nc5 or 31.Na5 /\ 31.Nc5 oder 31.Na5}) 21... Nf8 (21... Qf8 $2 22. Qc6 $1)
22. Re1 Bb7 23. Qe3 Ne6 $6 {23...Rd8!=/+} 24. Qf3 Rd8 (24... c5 $2 25. Qf5 Nf8
(25... h6 26. Bxh6 $18) 26. Bf4 Qc6 27. dxc5 bxc5 28. Na5 Qb6 29. Nxb7 Qxb7 30.
Bd6 $16) 25. Qf5 Nf8 26. Bf4 Qc6 (26... Qd7 27. Qxd7 Rxd7 28. Bf5 Rd8 29. Bxc7)
27. Nd2 Bc8 28. Qh5 g6 29. Qe2 Ne6 30. Bg3 Qb7 {1h} 31. Nf3 $6 {31.Be5|^} c5
32. dxc5 bxc5 33. Ne5 c4 34. Bb1 $1 (34. Bc2 $2 Bxe5 (34... Qxb2 35. Nxf7 $1
$18) 35. Bxe5 Qxb2 36. Bf6 Re8 37. Qe3 Qxc2 (37... Qa3 38. Qh6 Qf8 $17) (37...
Ng7 38. Qxe8+ Nxe8 39. Rxe8#) 38. Qh6 Qf5 $19 39. Bd4 (39. Rxe6 Qb1+ $19))
34... Bg7 35. Rd1 {/\ 36.Nc4} Bd7 36. Qf3 {2h} Be8 37. Nxc4 $4 (37. Bc2 Qxb2 (
37... Bxe5 38. Bxe5 Qxb2 39. Qf6 $36) 38. Ba4 Bxa4 (38... Qb7 39. Bxe8 Rxe8 40.
Qxd5 $14) 39. Qxf7+ Kh8 40. Qxe6 $16 {/\ Ne5-f7-h6, Qg8, Nf7#}) 37... dxc4 38.
Rxd8 Nxd8 39. Qe2 Ne6 {Time:Total duration of this game: 3h 30min Zeit:
Gesamtdauer der Partie:3h 30min.} 0-1

[Event "Hastings International Masters"]
[Site "Hastings"]
[Date "1895.??.??"]
[Round "19"]
[White "Tarrasch, Siegbert"]
[Black "Lasker, Emanuel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "1895.08.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "21"]
[EventCountry "GBR"]
[SourceTitle "HCL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. Bd2 Be6 11. Ne2 c5 12. Bc3 g5 13. Nd2 Kd7 14. f4
Kc6 15. Rf2 Rg8 16. fxg5 hxg5 17. Ne4 Rd8 18. N2g3 Nd4 19. Bd2 Nxc2 20. Rc1 Nd4
21. Bxg5 Rd5 22. Be3 Bg7 23. Bxd4 Rxd4 24. Rxc5+ Kb6 25. Rfc2 Rd5 26. Rxd5 Bxd5
27. Nc3 Bc6 28. Rf2 Bxe5 29. Rxf7 Rd8 30. Nge4 Bxe4 31. Nxe4 Bxb2 32. g4 c5 33.
Kg2 c4 34. Rf2 Bd4 35. Rd2 Kb5 36. Nc3+ Kb4 37. Ne2 Bf6 38. Rxd8 Bxd8 39. Kf3
c3 40. Ke4 Kc4 41. Kf5 Kd3 $4 (41... c2 42. g5 Ba5 $19 {f.e.} 43. g6 Bc3 44.
Nc1 Bg7 45. Kg5 Kc3 46. a4 Kb4 47. h4 Bb2 48. Ne2 Kc4 49. Kg4 b6 50. Kf3 Kd3
51. h5 Bg7 52. Nc1+ Kc3 53. Ke4 Bh6 54. Ne2+ Kc4 55. Kf5 Kd3 56. Nc1+ Bxc1 57.
g7 Be3 58. g8=Q c1=Q $19) 42. Nxc3 $18 Kxc3 43. g5 Bb6 44. h4 Bd4 45. h5 b5 46.
h6 b4 47. g6 a5 48. g7 a4 49. g8=Q 1-0

[Event "World-ch01 Steinitz-Zukertort +10-5=5"]
[Site "USA"]
[Date "1886.02.03"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Steinitz, William"]
[Black "Zukertort, Johannes Hermann"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[EventDate "1886.01.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "20"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "MainBase"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Games 6 to 9 were played in Saint Louis.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4.
O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 (5... Nf6 $6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. d4 O-O 8. Nc3 $16) 6. Nxe5 Nxe5
{>= 6...Be7 cf. 12th match game vgl 12.Matchpartie} 7. Rxe5+ Be7 8. Nc3 $1 O-O
$1 (8... Nxb5 9. Nd5 $1 O-O (9... d6 10. Rxe7+ Kf8 11. Qf3 f6 12. Qh5 $18) (
9... Nd4 10. Rxe7+ Kf8 11. Qh5 $18) (9... Nd6 10. Nxe7 $16 {possibly +- evtl.+-
}) 10. Nxe7+ Kh8 11. Qh5 {/\ Qh7 then Rh5 mate nebst Rh5 Matt} g6 (11... h6 12.
d4 Kh7 (12... d6 13. Bxh6 g6 14. Bxf8+ $18) 13. Nf5 $1 $18) 12. Qh6 Re8 (12...
f6 13. Nxg6+ $18) 13. Rh5 $18) 9. Bd3 Bf6 (9... c6 10. Qh5 g6 11. Qf3 Ne8 $10 {
Tarrasch-Pillsbury Wien 1898}) 10. Re3 {/\ Bh7} g6 $6 {>= 10...Re8 Lasker} 11.
b3 Re8 $6 {>= 11...Ne8 Tchigorin} 12. Qf3 Bg5 $6 (12... Bd4 13. Rxe8+ Nxe8 14.
Bb2 d5 15. Re1 Be6 $10 {Steinitz}) 13. Rxe8+ (13. Bb2 $1 Bxe3 14. fxe3 {/\ Nd5}
c6 (14... f5 15. e4 $1 $40) (14... Re6 15. Rf1 {/\ Bc4->}) 15. Rf1 Qe7 16. Ba3
$40 {Lasker}) 13... Nxe8 14. Bb2 $1 c6 $1 {He leaves his original plan Er
nimmt Abschied von seinem Plan} (14... Bxd2 $2 15. Bc4 $1 (15. Ne4 Bg5 (15...
Bh6 16. Bc4 d5 {16...Qe7 leads to the variation 16...Qe7 führt zur Variante}
17. Bxd5 $1 (17. Nf6+ Nxf6 18. Bxf6 Qe8 19. Bxd5 c6 $10 {Minckwitz}) 17... Qxd5
18. Nf6+ Nxf6 19. Qxf6 Kf8 20. Re1 Be6 21. Qh8+ $18 {Neistadt}) 16. Bc4 $1 (16.
Nxg5 Qxg5 17. Re1 Ng7 $17 {Schallopp}) 16... d5 17. Nxg5 Qxg5 18. Bxd5 $18 {
Lasker}) 15... Qe7 (15... Nd6 16. Ne4 Nxc4 17. Nf6+ Kf8 18. Nxh7+ Ke8 19. Nf6+
Kf8 $40 {+/-/+-}) (15... Qf6 16. Qxf6 Nxf6 17. Nb1 Bg5 18. f4 $18) 16. Ne4 Bh6
(16... Ba5 17. Ng5 Nd6 18. Ba3 $18) 17. Re1 $1 $40 Kf8 18. Re2 {/\ Nf6!->+/-})
15. Ne4 Be7 16. Qe3 d5 17. Qd4 f6 18. Ng3 Be6 (18... c5 19. Qf4 $16 {->}) 19.
Re1 Ng7 {?! 19...Bf7 then Bf8 and Qd7 = Minckwitz ?! 19...Bf7 nebst Bf8 und
Qd7 = Minckwitz} 20. h4 Qd7 21. h5 {1h} Bf7 (21... gxh5 $2 22. Qf4 Rf8 23. Qh6
$18) 22. hxg6 Bxg6 (22... hxg6 23. Qh4 $1 $16) 23. Qe3 (23. Qf4 $6 Re8 $1 24.
Bxf6 $2 Bxf6 25. Rxe8+ Nxe8 $19) 23... Kf7 24. Qf4 Re8 (24... Bxd3 25. cxd3 Re8
26. Qh6 Kg8 27. Nh5 Nxh5 28. Qxh5 $16 {Neistadt}) 25. Re3 Ne6 {25...Bd8!?
Minckwitz 25...Bf8!? Euwe 1h} (25... c5 {Schallopp} 26. Qh6 Nf5 27. Bxf5 Bxf5
28. Nh5 $18 {Neistadt}) 26. Qg4 Nf8 27. Nf5 $1 Bc5 28. Nh6+ (28. Qh4 {! +-
Minckwitz} Re6 $1 $16 (28... d4 29. Bc4+ $18)) 28... Kg7 29. Nf5+ Kf7 (29...
Kg8 30. Rf3 $16 (30. Nh6+ {leads to the game führt zur Partie})) 30. Nh6+ Kg7
31. Nf5+ Kf7 32. Nh6+ Kg7 33. Nf5+ Kf7 34. Nh6+ Kg7 35. Bxg6 {2h} Qxg4 36. Nxg4
Rxe3 37. fxe3 {37.de! (Euwe) White gets a passed pawn. Weiß erhält einen
Freibauern} Kxg6 38. Nxf6 Bb4 39. d3 Ne6 40. Kf2 {40.Ng4! D.Hooper} h5 41. g4
h4 $2 {41...hg!+/-} 42. Nh5 $18 Bd6 (42... Kg5 43. Kf3 {/\ Bf6+-}) 43. Kg2 c5
44. Bf6 $1 Ng5 45. Bxg5 $1 Kxg5 46. Kh3 Be5 {/\ d4 and the N has no more
squares und der N hat keine Felder mehr} 47. Nf4 $1 {sealed move Abgabezug} d4
48. Ne6+ Kf6 49. exd4 cxd4 50. Nc5 Kg5 51. Nxb7 Kf4 52. Na5 {3h} Bf6 53. Nc6
Ke3 54. Nxa7 Kd2 55. Nc6 Kxc2 56. a4 Kxd3 57. Nb4+ $1 Ke2 (57... Ke3 58. Nd5+
Ke4 59. Nxf6+ Ke5 60. g5 d3 61. Ng4+ $18 {/\ Nf2}) (57... Ke4 58. a5 Be7 (58...
d3 59. Nxd3 $18) 59. a6 Bc5 60. Kxh4 $18) 58. a5 Be7 59. Nd5 $1 (59. a6 Bxb4
60. a7 d3 61. a8=Q d2 62. Qe4+ Kf2 63. Qd3 Ke1 $18) 59... Kf3 (59... d3 60.
Nf4+ Ke3 61. Nxd3 $18) (59... Bc5 60. g5 d3 61. Nf4+ Ke3 62. Nxd3 Kxd3 63. g6
$18) 60. Nxe7 d3 61. Nd5 {Time: Steinitz:3h 33min   Zukertort:1h 53min    
Zeit: Steinitz:3h 33min   Zukertort:1h 53min} 1-0

[Event "Paris FIDE GP"]
[Site "Elancourt"]
[Date "2013.09.27"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2756"]
[Annotator "ChessBase Website"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2013.09.22"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 157"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2013.11.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2013.11.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]
[WhiteClock "2:00:00"]
[BlackClock "2:00:00"]

1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Nc6 {
[%emt 0:00:07]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 4. O-O {[%emt 0:
00:06]} Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 5. d4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Nd6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 6.
Bxc6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} dxc6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 7. dxe5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Nf5 {
[%emt 0:00:08]} 8. Qxd8+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} Kxd8 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 9. h3 {[%emt 0:
00:07]} h6 {[%emt 0:00:16]} 10. Rd1+ {[%emt 0:00:22]} Ke8 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 11.
Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:24]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:00:38]} (11... a6 12. Bf4 Bd7 13. Rd3 Ne7 14.
Rad1 Be6 15. Nd4 Bc4 16. R3d2 c5 17. Nb3 b6 18. e6 fxe6 19. Bxc7 Nd5 20. Nxd5
Bxd5 21. Bxb6 c4 22. Nc1 c3 23. bxc3 Rc8 24. Ba5 Be7 25. Nb3 Bf6 26. Bb4 Kf7
27. Rd3 Rc7 28. Na5 Rhc8 29. c4 Bxc4 30. Rd7+ Rxd7 31. Rxd7+ Ke8 32. Rd6 Bxa2
33. Rxa6 Rxc2 34. Rc6 Rb2 35. Ba3 Rb1+ 36. Rc1 Rxc1+ 37. Bxc1 Bd5 38. Be3 Kd7
39. Kf1 Kc7 40. Bd2 Kb6 41. f3 {Karjakin,S (2779)-Carlsen,M (2837) Astana 2012
0-1}) 12. Bf4 {[%emt 0:01:55]} Rd8 {[%emt 0:00:28]} 13. e6 {[%emt 0:21:46]}
Bxe6 {[%emt 0:01:08]} 14. Bxc7 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Rxd1+ $146 {[%emt 0:05:20]} (
14... Rd7 15. Rxd7 Kxd7 16. Bh2 Bd6 17. Rd1 Ke7 18. Bxd6+ Nxd6 19. Nd4 Bd7 {
1/2-1/2 (19) Hanemann,I (2188)-Huisl,W (2284) Germany 2009}) 15. Rxd1 {[%emt 0:
01:19]} Be7 {[%emt 0:00:17]} 16. g4 {[%emt 0:26:56]} Nh4 {[%emt 0:02:08]} 17.
Nd4 {[%emt 0:00:18]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:14:07]} 18. Re1 {[%emt 0:05:13]} Kf8 {
[%emt 0:09:12]} 19. Bg3 {[%emt 0:01:10]} g5 {[%emt 0:10:12]} 20. Bxh4 {[%emt 0:
03:01]} gxh4 {[%emt 0:01:04]} 21. Ne4 {[%emt 0:02:55]} Kg7 $11 {[%emt 0:17:56]
[%cal Gh8d8] Caruana posed no problems to Ponomariov's Berlin Defence, and it
was even the black player that held a slight edge due to his pair of bishops
and then an extra (but crippled) pawn. It's hard to say that White was in any
real danger at any point but it was certainly Black that had the easier game.}
22. Kg2 {[%emt 0:30:55]} Rd8 {[%emt 0:05:16]} 23. c3 {[%emt 0:01:14]} h5 {
[%emt 0:09:49]} 24. f3 {[%emt 0:06:10]} Bc8 {[%emt 0:11:08]} 25. Nf5+ {[%emt 0:
06:56]} Bxf5 {[%emt 0:00:30]} 26. gxf5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Rd5 {[%emt 0:00:46]}
27. c4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Rxf5 {[%emt 0:02:55]} 28. Rd1 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Ra5 {
[%emt 0:05:56]} 29. Rd7 {[%emt 0:01:01]} Bf6 {[%emt 0:02:32]} 30. Nxf6 {
[%emt 0:02:38]} Kxf6 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 31. a3 {[%emt 0:00:45]} Rc5 {[%emt 0:04:
26]} 32. Rxb7 {[%emt 0:00:13]} Rxc4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 33. Rxa7 {[%emt 0:00:03]}
Rc2+ {[%emt 0:00:10]} 34. Kf1 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Rxb2 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 35. a4 {
[%emt 0:01:16]} Rh2 {[%emt 0:06:26]} 36. Rc7 {[%emt 0:00:17]} Rxh3 {[%emt 0:00:
44]} 37. Rxc6+ {[%emt 0:00:05]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 38. Rc3 {[%emt 0:00:45]}
Rh1+ {[%emt 0:01:29]} 39. Kg2 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Ra1 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 40. Rc4 {
[%emt 0:00:00]} Kg6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 41. Rxh4 {[%emt 0:00:29]} Kg5 {[%emt 0:00:
42]} 42. Rb4 {[%emt 0:00:20]} f5 {[%emt 0:00:21]} 43. Kg3 {[%emt 0:00:54]} Rg1+
{[%emt 0:00:18]} 44. Kf2 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Ra1 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 45. Kg3 {
[%emt 0:00:02]} Rg1+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} 46. Kf2 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Ra1 {[%emt 0:00:
08]} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2014.03.19"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2766"]
[Annotator "ChessBase Website"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2014.03.13"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 160"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.05.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]
[WhiteClock "0:51:11"]
[BlackClock "0:23:17"]

1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Nc6 {
[%emt 0:00:03]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 4. O-O {[%emt 0:
00:25]} Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 5. d4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Nd6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 6.
Bxc6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} dxc6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 7. dxe5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Nf5 {
[%emt 0:00:06]} 8. Qxd8+ {[%emt 0:00:08]} Kxd8 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 9. h3 {[%emt 0:
00:08]} Ke8 {[%emt 0:00:52]} 10. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:16]} h5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 11.
Bf4 {[%emt 0:00:17]} (11. Ne2 Be7 12. Re1 Be6 13. Ned4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Bc8 15.
Bf4 c5 16. Nb5 Bd8 17. e6 Bxe6 18. Rad1 Ke7 19. Nxc7 Bxc7 20. Bxc7 Rac8 21.
Bd6+ {1/2-1/2 (21) Fressinet,L (2710)-Giri,A (2749) Germany 2014}) 11... Be7 {
[%emt 0:01:20]} 12. Rad1 {[%emt 0:00:24]} Be6 {[%emt 0:00:54]} 13. Ng5 {
[%emt 0:00:42]} Rh6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 14. Rfe1 {[%emt 0:00:15]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:
48]} 15. g4 {[%emt 0:00:24] Anand prepared a long variation against the Berlin
endgame, but Karjakin responded in the most logical and ultra-solid way. The
Indian player was unable to prove any kind of advantage and the players agreed
to a draw in a position that already seemed completely locked up by Black's
passive but untouchable pieces.} hxg4 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 16. hxg4 {[%emt 0:00:08]
} Ne7 {[%emt 0:00:18]} 17. Nxe6 {[%emt 0:00:25]} Rxe6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 18. Kg2
{[%emt 0:00:12]} Bxc3 {[%emt 0:02:38]} 19. bxc3 {[%emt 0:01:14]} Rd8 {[%emt 0:
09:47]} 20. Rxd8+ $146 {[%emt 0:01:07]} (20. Rb1 b5 21. Kg3 Rd5 22. c4 Rc5 23.
Re4 a6 24. Rb3 Ng6 25. Ra3 f6 26. Rxa6 Nxf4 27. Kxf4 Rexe5 28. Rxe5+ fxe5+ 29.
Kf5 Kf7 30. Ra7 g6+ 31. Kg5 e4+ 32. Kh6 Rxc4 33. Rxc7+ Ke6 34. g5 Rxc2 35. Kxg6
Rxf2 36. Rxc6+ Kd5 37. Rb6 Kc5 38. Re6 Kd4 39. Rd6+ Kc5 40. Re6 Kd4 41. Rd6+
Kc5 42. Re6 {1/2-1/2 (42) Karjakin,S (2786)-Grischuk,A (2764) Moscow 2013})
20... Kxd8 {[%emt 0:01:17]} 21. Rh1 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Nd5 {[%emt 0:23:50]} 22.
Bg3 {[%emt 0:03:21]} g5 {[%emt 0:06:03]} 23. c4 {[%emt 0:09:49]} Nc3 {[%emt 0:
06:47]} 24. Kf3 {[%emt 0:14:47]} Rg6 {[%emt 0:23:40]} 25. a3 {[%emt 0:08:06]}
Na4 {[%emt 0:09:06]} 26. Ke4 {[%emt 0:05:28]} Nc5+ {[%emt 0:00:30]} 27. Kf5 {
[%emt 0:00:11]} Ne6 {[%emt 0:00:22]} 28. Rh8+ {[%emt 0:06:53]} Kd7 {[%emt 0:00:
16]} 29. c3 {[%emt 0:09:46]} Ng7+ {[%emt 0:03:45]} 30. Ke4 {[%emt 0:00:15]} Ne6
{[%emt 0:00:04]} 31. f3 {[%emt 0:02:04]} c5 {[%emt 0:00:37]} 32. Bf2 {[%emt 0:
00:19]} a6 {[%emt 0:02:22]} 33. Be3 {[%emt 0:00:56]} b6 {[%emt 0:00:05]}
1/2-1/2

[Event "Paris FIDE GP"]
[Site "Elancourt"]
[Date "2013.10.04"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2737"]
[BlackElo "2772"]
[Annotator "ChessBase Website"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2013.09.22"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 157"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2013.11.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2013.11.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]
[WhiteClock "2:00:00"]
[BlackClock "2:00:00"]

1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:39]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Nc6 {
[%emt 0:00:05]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 4. O-O Nxe4 {
[%emt 0:00:19]} 5. d4 {[%emt 0:01:30]} Nd6 {[%emt 0:00:16]} 6. Bxc6 {[%emt 0:
00:05]} dxc6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 7. dxe5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Nf5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 8.
Qxd8+ {[%emt 0:00:02]} Kxd8 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 9. h3 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Bd7 {
[%emt 0:00:08]} 10. Rd1 {[%emt 0:00:16]} Kc8 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 11. g4 {[%emt 0:
02:19]} Ne7 {[%emt 0:00:25]} 12. Ng5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Be8 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 13.
f4 {[%emt 0:01:10]} h5 {[%emt 0:00:49]} (13... b6 $5 {has been played by
Harikrishna.}) 14. Kf2 $146 {[%emt 0:00:57]} b6 {[%emt 0:02:52]} 15. f5 {
[%emt 0:04:10]} Kb7 {[%emt 0:03:28]} 16. c4 {[%emt 0:00:19]} c5 {[%emt 0:05:32]
} 17. Bf4 {[%emt 0:00:11]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:01:28]} 18. Nc3 {[%emt 0:05:30]} g6 {
[%emt 0:39:37]} 19. e6 {[%emt 0:05:53]} fxe6 20. Nxe6 {[%emt 0:10:34]} hxg4 $1
{[%emt 0:08:32] A very nice defensive move.'} (20... Rc8 {Romain Edouard} 21.
g5 gxf5 22. Nb5 Bf7 23. Nbxc7 Nd4 24. Nxf8 Rhxf8 25. Nb5 $16) 21. Nxc7 {
[%emt 0:03:01]} Bh6 $1 {[%emt 0:12:36]} 22. Bxh6 {[%emt 0:16:59]} (22. Bg3 $6
gxf5 $1 {is dubious for White will after}) (22. Bh2 $6 Be3+ $1 23. Kxe3 Rxh3+ {
Black is also alright, especially since} 24. Ke4 {is met by} gxf5+ 25. Kxf5
Nd4+ $1 $15) 22... Kxc7 {[%emt 0:00:57]} 23. Bf4+ {[%emt 0:03:58]} Kb7 {
[%emt 0:00:10]} 24. hxg4 {[%emt 0:08:00]} gxf5 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 25. g5 {
[%emt 0:06:43]} Rh4 $1 {[%emt 0:08:37] White seemed to be better, but actually
this move just draws by force.'} 26. Ne2 {[%emt 0:10:31]} Bh5 {[%emt 0:01:57]}
27. Rh1 {[%emt 0:03:03]} Rxh1 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 28. Rxh1 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Bxe2 {
[%emt 0:00:13]} 29. Kxe2 {[%emt 0:00:57]} Nd4+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} 30. Kd3 {
[%emt 0:07:03]} (30. Kf2 Ne6 31. Kf3 Rg8 {is a draw: White cannot breakthrough.
}) (30. Ke3 {seemed to me like the only chance, but is also a draw:} Re8+ 31.
Kf2 Re2+ (31... Ne6 $2 32. Re1 $16) 32. Kf1 (32. Kg3 Re4 $11) 32... Re4 (32...
Rxb2 $2 33. Rh7+ $16) 33. Rh4 (33. Rh7+ Ka6 34. Bb8 Nc6 35. Bd6 Rg4 $11) 33...
Nf3 34. Rh7+ Kc8 $1 (34... Ka6 $2 35. Bb8 $16) 35. g6 (35. Bc1 Rg4 $11) 35...
Rxf4 36. g7 Ne5+ $1 37. Kg2 Rg4+ 38. Kh3 Nxc4 $11) 30... Ne6 {[%emt 0:00:29]}
31. Rf1 {[%emt 0:01:20]} Rd8+ {[%emt 0:02:49]} 32. Kc3 {[%emt 0:01:13]} Rg8 {
[%emt 0:00:37]} 33. Be3 {[%emt 0:01:56]} f4 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 34. Bxf4 {[%emt 0:
00:05]} Nxf4 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 35. Rxf4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Rxg5 {[%emt 0:00:05]}
36. Rf7+ {[%emt 0:00:03]} Kb8 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 37. Rf8+ {[%emt 0:00:02]} Kb7 {
[%emt 0:00:04]} 38. Rf7+ {[%emt 0:00:02]} Kb8 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 39. Rf8+ {
[%emt 0:00:02]} Kb7 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Paris FIDE GP"]
[Site "Elancourt"]
[Date "2013.10.02"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"]
[Black "Fressinet, Laurent"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2757"]
[BlackElo "2708"]
[Annotator "ChessBase Website"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2013.09.22"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 157"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2013.11.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2013.11.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]
[WhiteClock "2:00:00"]
[BlackClock "2:00:00"]

1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Nc6 {
[%emt 0:00:04]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 4. O-O {[%emt 0:
00:37]} Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:38]} 5. d4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Nd6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 6.
Bxc6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} dxc6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 7. dxe5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Nf5 {
[%emt 0:00:03]} 8. Qxd8+ {[%emt 0:00:09]} Kxd8 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 9. h3 {[%emt 0:
03:48]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:00:31]} 10. Rd1 {[%emt 0:01:59]} Ke8 {[%emt 0:00:28]} 11.
Nc3 {[%emt 0:02:43]} h6 {[%emt 0:00:29]} 12. Bf4 {[%emt 0:01:43]} Rd8 {[%emt 0:
00:48]} 13. g4 {[%emt 0:01:12]} Ne7 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 14. Nd4 $146 {[%emt 0:00:
20]} (14. Kh2 Be6 15. Nd4 Nd5 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Nxd5 cxd5 {1/2-1/2 (17) Joecks,
C (2310)-Fischer Bad Orb 1989}) 14... Ng6 {[%emt 0:05:15]} 15. Bg3 {[%emt 0:01:
46]} h5 {[%emt 0:00:23]} 16. f3 {[%emt 0:00:29]} Bc5 {[%emt 0:25:55]} 17. Ne4 {
[%emt 0:00:24]} Bxd4+ {[%emt 0:07:40]} 18. Rxd4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} hxg4 {[%emt 0:
06:12]} 19. hxg4 {[%emt 0:02:04]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:02:45]} 20. Kf2 {[%emt 0:31:01]}
b6 {[%emt 0:13:58]} 21. Ra4 {[%emt 0:09:45]} Ra8 {[%emt 0:00:26]} 22. e6 {
[%emt 0:01:57]} fxe6 {[%emt 0:05:02]} 23. Ng5 {[%emt 0:16:20] The Frenchman
chose the ultra-solid Berlin defense. Dominguez tried the most typical
approach: go for the endgame and try to outplay Black in that position. His
only chance to obtain something in the position was to take on c7 on move 23,
but even then it seems that Black's position was solid enough and it would
have been hard to break through. Instead of that the inaccurate 23.Ng5
basically forced a draw as Black had no choice but to push e5 and then was
forced to defend it, creating a repetition.} e5 {[%emt 0:07:20]} 24. Re1 {
[%emt 0:01:03]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:39]} 25. Ne4+ {[%emt 0:00:46]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:01:
10]} 26. Ng5+ {[%emt 0:08:49]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 27. Ne4+ {[%emt 0:00:07]}
Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 28. Ra3 {[%emt 0:01:25]} c5 {[%emt 0:02:54]} 29. Ng5+ {
[%emt 0:01:57]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 30. Ne4+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:
07]} 31. Rae3 {[%emt 0:01:28]} Rae8 {[%emt 0:04:35]} 32. Ng5+ {[%emt 0:02:06]}
Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 33. Ne4+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 34. Ng5+ {
[%emt 0:12:08]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:18]} 35. Ne4+ {[%emt 0:00:05]} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Lisbon Masters"]
[Site "Lisbon"]
[Date "1996.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Rocha, Sergio MC"]
[Black "Galego, Luis"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2370"]
[BlackElo "2445"]
[Annotator "Costa,L"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "1996.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "POR"]
[EventCategory "4"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 051 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1996.05.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1996.05.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Qe2 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Qxe5+ Qe7
8. Qa5 Be6 9. d3 Qd7 $146 (9... Nf5 10. Bf4 Qb4 (10... O-O-O $2 11. Qxa7 Qb4
12. Ne5 {1-0 Winawer,S-Schmid,C/DSB-2.Kongress Berlin (17) 1881}) 11. Qxb4 Bxb4
12. Bxc7 Bd5 13. Nbd2 Kd7 14. Be5 Rhe8 15. c3 $14 {Leonardo,J-Galego,L/POR-ch 
(04) 1993 /1-0 (92)}) 10. Nd4 Bd5 11. Re1+ Kd8 12. c4 c5 13. Nb3 b6 14. Qc3 Bb7
15. d4 (15. Bg5+ Kc8 $13) 15... Qg4 16. f3 cxd4 17. Nxd4 Qh4 18. Be3 Be7 $6 (
18... c5 $5 $13) 19. Na3 Re8 20. c5 bxc5 21. Qxc5 $14 a6 22. Rac1 Rc8 23. Red1
{[#]} g6 $6 (23... h6) 24. Nc4 $1 $16 Qf6 $2 25. Na5 (25. Nxd6 $1 Bxd6 (25...
cxd6 $4 26. Qb6+ Kd7 27. Qxb7+ Kd8 28. Qxc8#) 26. Bg5 Bxc5 (26... Kd7 27. Bxf6
Bxc5 28. Rxc5 {+-}) 27. Bxf6+ Kd7 28. Rxc5 {+-}) 25... Ba8 26. h4 Kd7 (26...
Qxh4 $5) 27. Nac6 Bxc6 28. Qxc6+ Kd8 29. Bg5 Qh8 $4 (29... Qe5 {+-}) 30. Ne6+ (
30. Ne6+ fxe6 31. Rxd6+ cxd6 32. Qxc8#) 1-0

[Event "FRA-chT Top 16 GpA"]
[Site "Noyon"]
[Date "2005.04.02"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Apicella, Manuel"]
[Black "Dautov, Rustem"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2543"]
[BlackElo "2609"]
[Annotator "Dautov,R"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2005.03.31"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 106"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.06.06"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.06.06"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. dxe5 Nxb5 7. a4 Nbd4 8.
Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 d5 10. Nc3 {Wenn Weiß nur an Remis interessiert ist, ist 10.
exd6 für ihn die beste Wahl.} (10. exd6 Qxd6 11. Qe4+ Qe6 12. Qd4 Qd6 $11)
10... c6 11. Be3 $6 {Üblicherweise spielt Weiß hier 11.a5, um die Möglichkeit
Qd8-b6 auszuschalten.} (11. a5 Bf5 12. f4 Qd7 (12... Bxc2 13. f5 $44) 13. Rf2
Be7 14. Be3 O-O 15. Qa4 Rfd8 16. Rd2 Qe6 17. b4 f6 $132 {Polzin,R-Parker,J/
Rethymnon 2003}) 11... Bf5 12. f4 (12. Qd2 Bb4 $15) 12... Qb6 $1 {Nichts
sprach gegen 12...Qd7, aber der Textzug ist energischer. Das entstehende
Endspiel ist günstig für Schwarz, der das Läuferpaar besitzt.} (12... Qd7 $11)
13. Qxb6 (13. Qd2 Qxb2 (13... Bc5 14. Bxc5 Qxc5+ $11) 14. Rab1 Qxc2 15. Qxc2
Bxc2 16. Rxb7 d4 (16... a5 $5) 17. Bxd4 O-O-O 18. Rb2 Rxd4 19. Rxc2 Bc5 $11)
13... axb6 14. Bxb6 (14. Rfc1 Bc5 15. Bxc5 bxc5 $11) 14... Bxc2 15. f5 $6 {
Das war Apicellas Idee. Aber im Endspiel ist das zentrale weiße Bauernduo
längst nicht so gefährlich wie im Mittenspiel. Weiß sollte sich lieber auf
Blockade konzentrieren: 15.a5! mit der Idee Na4-c5.} (15. a5 Bf5 (15... f6 $5)
16. Na4 $11) 15... g6 $1 16. e6 (16. g4 $2 gxf5 17. gxf5 Rg8+ 18. Kh1 Rg5 $17)
16... fxe6 $1 {Der Freibauer auf e6 wird gleich empfindlich schwach. Dagegen
war 16...gxf5? weniger klar.} (16... gxf5 $2 17. Rf2 Bd3 18. Rd1 Bc4 19. Bd4
Rg8 20. exf7+ Kxf7 21. Rxf5+ Kg6 22. Rf6+ $36) 17. fxe6 Bf5 18. Rae1 (18. Ne2
Bd6 $1 (18... Bxe6 $2 19. Nd4 $36) 19. Nd4 Rf8 20. Nxf5 Rxf5 21. Rxf5 gxf5 22.
a5 Ke7 $17) (18. Bd4 Rg8 19. Rae1 h5 $1 $17) 18... h5 $1 {Sichert die Position
des Bf5 gegen das drohende g2-g4. Moglicherweise hat Weiß diesen ruhigen Zug
übersehen.} (18... Bd6 $2 19. g4 $1 Bxg4 20. Rf7 Be7 21. Bd4 Bxe6 22. Rg7 $1 (
22. Rf2 Kd7 23. Rfe2 Bh4 24. Rxe6 Bxe1 25. Rxe1 Rae8 26. Rd1 $15) 22... Kd7 23.
Bf6 Rhe8 24. b4 $11) 19. a5 {Es gibt für den Anziehenden kein Durchkommen, und
Schwarz kann seine Entwicklung beenden.} (19. Ne2 Rxa4 20. Nd4 Rb4 21. Nxf5
gxf5 $19) (19. Bd4 Rh7 $17) 19... Bb4 20. Kh1 O-O $1 {Die Rochade kommt etwas
spät, dafür mit großem Effekt. Weiß kann nun den Bauern e6 nicht halten.} (
20... Bxa5 $2 21. Ra1) 21. Rf4 Bd6 22. Rf2 Rae8 $19 23. Rfe2 Bg4 24. Re3 Bf4
25. e7 Rf7 26. h3 Bxe3 27. Rxe3 Bf5 28. Bc5 d4 29. Bxd4 Rexe7 {Schwarz hat
eine Qualität gewonnen, der Rest ist einfach.} 30. Rxe7 Rxe7 31. Kg1 Re1+ 32.
Kf2 Rc1 33. b4 Rc2+ 34. Kf3 Rb2 35. Kf4 Rxg2 36. h4 Rg4+ 37. Ke5 Rxh4 38. Bc5
Bd3 39. Kd6 Rf4 40. Kc7 Rf7+ 41. Kb6 h4 0-1

[Event "FIDE-Wch k.o."]
[Site "Las Vegas"]
[Date "1999.08.04"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2684"]
[BlackElo "2619"]
[Annotator "Dautov,R"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1999.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 072"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Wedberg} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 ({Vor zwölf Jahren demonstrierte Weiß
den gleichen Plan in der Partie Aseev-Dautov/Dresden 1987:} 10. Ne2 Ne7 11. h3
Bd7 {/\c5} 12. Re1 $1 c5 13. Ng3 $1 Nd5 $6 (13... h6 $1 14. Bd2 Nc6 {/\Be6=})
14. Bd2 Rd8 15. Rad1 Be6 16. Ng5 $14) 10... a5 {Dieser Zug, in der modernen
Spielpraxis häufig angewandt, gefällt mir nicht. M.E. verliert Schwarz dadurch
nur Zeit und muß bei den Plänen mit c6-c5 an der Schwäche des Punktes b5
leiden. Erst beim weißen Fianchetto b2-b3 ist a7-a5-a4 ratsam.} 11. Ne2 Ne7 {
Wedberg: This move is the fashionable way to play the Berlin these days.} 12.
Ng3 (12. Rd1 a4 13. Nf4 h5 14. Bd2 Nd5 15. e6 Bxe6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Re1 {
'~~' Wedberg. Wedberg: '1/2-1/2 Kunte,A-Aleksandrov,A/Elista 1998/CBM 66 ext 
(42)'} Be7 18. c4 Nb6 19. Rxe6 Kd7 20. Re4 Bf6 21. Bf4 $14 {Kunte,
A-Aleksandrov,A/Elista 1998}) 12... a4 $146 (12... h5 13. Bg5 c5 14. Rfe1 Be6
15. c3 b6 16. Nh4 Ng6 17. Nxg6 fxg6 18. h4 Be7 19. Ne4 $14 {Aseev,K-Tunik,G/St
Petersburg RUS 1998}) (12... c5 $1 {scheint mir die beste Aufstellung zu sein-
der schwarze Springer bekommt einen aussichtsreichen und sicheren Posten auf
c6 und der Bc8 wird nach h7-h6 auf e6 entwickelt, wo er nicht so leicht in die
Abtauschgefahr gerät.} 13. Be3 (13. Re1 Nc6 14. a3 h6 15. Bd2 Be6 $11) 13...
Nc6 14. Ne4 b6 $132 {/\Bf5}) 13. a3 Nd5 $2 {Vgl. mit der Anmerkung zum 10. Zug
von Weiß. Hier steht der schwarze Springer zwar schön, aber uneffektiv und
unsicher (c2-c4!). Es war noch nicht zu spät, zu 13...c5 nebst Nc6 zu greifen.}
14. Re1 $1 Be7 $6 {Zu langsam gespielt, Weiß hat bekommt ausreichend Zeit für
die optimale Figurenaufstellung. Schwarz unterbindet das Manöver Nf3-g5-e4,
aber 14... h6 eignete sich besser dafür.} (14... c5 15. Ng5 $1 h6 16. N5e4 {
/\f4-f5} h5 $5 17. Bg5 $14) (14... h6 $1 15. Bd2 (15. Nd4 c5 16. Nb5 Bd7 $13)
15... c5 16. Rad1 Be6) 15. Bd2 h6 (15... c5 16. Rad1 Be6 17. Bg5 $14 Bf8 $5)
16. Rad1 Kf8 $2 {'?!' Wedberg. Wedberg: 'Black decides to run to h7 with the K.
Very unusual indeed.'} (16... Be6 17. Nd4 Bc5 {'!?' Wedberg.} (17... c5 $5 {
Wedberg} 18. Nxe6 (18. Ndf5 Bf8 $11) 18... fxe6 $13) 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Ne4 Be7
20. f4 $14) ({Selbst hier war} 16... c5 $1 {/\Be6 noch möglich.} 17. Bxh6 $2 (
17. Nh5 $14) 17... Rxh6 18. Rxd5 Rb6 19. Rb1 c4 $44) (16... Bd7 {Wedberg} 17.
Nd4 Bc5 18. e6 $36) 17. Nd4 $16 {Nun ist die Lage des Nachziehenden äußerst
prekär, er hat keinerlei Gegenspiel und seine Figuren koordinieren nicht.} Kg8
(17... g6 $5) (17... g6 $5 {Wedberg}) 18. Ngf5 Bc5 19. e6 {'!' Wedberg.
Wedberg: 'With the goalkeeper gone the penalty kick must score.'} fxe6 (19...
Kh7 $5 20. c4 (20. exf7 g6) 20... Nb6 21. Bc3 $16 (21. exf7 Rf8 $13)) 20. Nxe6
Bxe6 21. Rxe6 Kh7 22. c4 {Führt forciert zu einer für Weiß gewonnenen Stellung.
} Rhf8 (22... Nb6 23. Bc3 (23. Be3 {Wedberg} Bxe3 24. Nxe3 $14) 23... Rhd8 24.
Rxd8 Rxd8 25. Bxg7 $16) 23. Re5 $1 $18 {'!' Wedberg.} Bd6 24. Nxd6 cxd6 25. Re4
Nb6 (25... Nf6 26. Re7 $18) 26. Bc3 {'+/-' Wedberg.} Nc8 27. f4 {Der Rest ist
einfach. Schwarz ist vollkommen hilflos.} b6 28. g4 {/\f5} g6 29. Rde1 Ra7 30.
Re8 Raf7 31. Rxf8 Rxf8 32. Re6 $1 Rd8 (32... Rxf4 $4 {Wedberg} 33. Re8 $18) 33.
Kf2 Rf8 34. Kg3 Rd8 35. h4 d5 36. cxd5 cxd5 37. Bd4 h5 38. f5 gxf5 39. g5 Kg8
40. Rh6 Kf7 41. Rxh5 1-0

[Event "GER CupT final"]
[Site "Baden-Baden"]
[Date "2005.04.17"]
[Round "?.3"]
[White "Lutz, Christopher"]
[Black "Dautov, Rustem"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2614"]
[BlackElo "2609"]
[Annotator "Dautov,R"]
[PlyCount "133"]
[EventDate "2005.04.17"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "1"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 106"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.06.06"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.06.06"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Porz"]
[BlackTeam "Baden Oos"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Back to the roots! Vor 15
Jahren habe ich regelmäßig die Berliner Variante gespielt, bevor mich die
klare Caro-Kann-Struktur für lange Zeit an sich gefesselt hat.} 4. O-O Nxe4 5.
d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 {Die moderne
Behadlung der Variante. Früher zog ich automatisch 9...Ke8, aber wie die
inzwischen vielzähligen Berliner-Spezialisten entdeckt haben und wie die
Partie bestätigen wird, gibt es für den schwarzen König bessere Routen.} 10. h3
h6 11. Bd2 $1 {Eine gute Neuerung. Vor kurzem hat Christopher sehr überzeugend
gegen Votava gewonnen, mit dem Textzug will er seinen Plan beschleunigen.} (11.
a3 Ng6 12. Re1 Bd7 13. Bd2 b6 14. Ne4 Kc8 15. Rad1 c5 16. Ng3 Be6 17. Nh5 Kb7
18. g4 Rd8 19. Bc3 Bd5 20. Nh2 Be7 21. f4 {Weiß hat seinen f-Bauern aufgerollt
und steht klar besser.} Rhg8 22. f5 Nh4 23. Nf4 $16 {Lutz,C-Votava,J/
Bundesliga 2004-05}) 11... Bf5 {Der Angriff auf den Bauern c2 sieht logisch
aus, aber auf f5 steht der schwarze Läufer recht unsicher.} (11... Bd7 12. Rfe1
$14) 12. Rac1 $1 (12. Nd4 Bg6 13. f4 c5 14. Nb3 b6 15. Rac1 h5 $15) 12... Ng6
$6 {Hier sollte Schwarz nach einer Verbesserung suchen, die Aufstellung
Bf5+Ng6 wirkt recht unharmonisch.} (12... Nd5 13. Ne2 $14) 13. Rfe1 {/\Nd4} c5
(13... Bb4 14. Nd4 Bd7 15. e6 c5 16. Nf5 fxe6 17. Nxg7 $16) 14. Ne4 $6 {
Zu schematisch gespielt. Christopher sollte seine Chance nutzen und den
f-Bauern direkt in Bewegung setzen.} (14. g4 $1 Bd7 15. Nh2 $1 c4 (15... h5 16.
f4 hxg4 17. hxg4 $14) 16. f4 Bc5+ 17. Kg2 Bc6+ 18. Kg3 h5 19. Nf3 h4+ 20. Kg2
Bd4 21. Rcd1 Ke8 22. Bc1 Bxc3 23. bxc3 Ne7 $14) 14... Be6 15. c4 $6 {Dieser
vorgerückte Bauer wird bald zur Zielscheibe des schwarzen Gegenspiels. Die
eventuelle Drohung Bxa2 sollte am besten mit dem vorsichtigen a2-a3 abgewehrt
werden.} (15. Ng3 $1 a5 $5 (15... Bxa2 $2 16. b3 c4 17. Re3 $16) 16. a3 Kd7 17.
Nh5 $13) 15... Be7 (15... Kd7 $142 $1) 16. b3 (16. Rcd1 $5 Kc8 17. b3 $11)
16... Kd7 $1 {Der schwarze König findet eine Traumposition auf c6.} 17. Rcd1 (
17. Nc3 Kc6 18. Be3 Rhd8 19. Red1 a6 20. a4 $11) (17. Ng3 $5) 17... Kc6 18. Ng3
Rhd8 $1 {Das ist viel besser als das standardmäßige 18...h5 mit Ausgleich.
Schwarz strebt nach mehr.} (18... h5 $11) 19. Nh5 Bf8 20. Bc3 a6 $15 {Alle
offensichlichen und versteckten Vorteile der Berliner Mauer kamen zum
Vorschein: das Läuferpaar, der aktive König, das aktive Spiel auf dem
Damenflügel.} 21. a4 b5 $2 {Verschenkt ein wertvolles Tempo.} ({Nach} 21...
Rxd1 $1 22. Rxd1 b5 23. axb5+ axb5 24. cxb5+ Kxb5 25. Nd2 $15 {steht der
schwarze Turm bereits richtig auf der a-Linie.}) 22. axb5+ axb5 23. cxb5+ Kxb5
24. Rxd8 Rxd8 25. Nd2 Ra8 {Auf der a-Linie hat der schwarze Turm die besten
Möglichkeiten. Weniger klar erschien mir das naheliegende 25...Rd3.} (25...
Bxb3 $2 26. Nxb3 Kc4 27. Re3 Kxb3 28. e6 $132) (25... Rd3 26. Rc1 Be7 27. f4 $1
$13 (27. Kf1 Bg5 28. Ke2 Bxd2 29. Bxd2 Rxb3 $15)) 26. g4 $1 {Weiß startet
rechtzeitig sein Gegenspiel. Die Drohung f4-f5 muß ernst genommen werden.} Ne7
$6 {Während der Partie dachte ich, daß Schwarz ohne diesen Springer seinen
Druck auf dem Damenflügel nicht verstärken kann. FRITZ dagegen sucht sofort
nach der Möglichkeit, einen Freibauern zu bilden, und es sieht so aus, als ob
er Recht hätte. Die günstige Matchsituation (Baden-Baden führte passend zur
Eröffnung dieser Partie nach Berliner Wertung) zwang mich hier dazu, Remis
anzubieten.} (26... Rd8 $5 {/\Rd3,><h3} 27. Re3 c4 28. bxc4+ Bxc4 29. Nxc4 Kxc4
30. Ba5 Rd1+ 31. Kg2 c5 $15) (26... Bxb3 $5 27. Nxb3 Ra3 28. Nxc5 Kxc5 29. Rc1
Kd5 $15) 27. Nf4 {Christopher sah, daß das Match für Porz kritisch steht und
beschloß deswegen weiter zu spielen.} (27. f4 $6 Nd5 28. f5 Bxf5 29. gxf5 Nxc3
$15) 27... g5 {Es fiel mir sehr schwer, den schönen weißfeldrigen Läufer
abtauschen zu lassen, aber ich wollte unbedingt die weißen Bauern fixieren.} (
27... Nd5 28. Nxd5 Bxd5 29. f4 Ra2 (29... Bxb3 30. Nxb3 Ra3 31. Rd1 Rxb3 32.
Rd8 Be7 33. Re8 $132) 30. Kf1 Rc2 31. Re3 $11) 28. Nxe6 fxe6 29. Nc4 Nd5 30.
Bd2 Ra2 31. Kg2 Nb6 32. Re4 $2 $138 {Hier steht der weiße Turm schlecht. Mit
dem genauen 32.Rc1! konnte Weiß ausgleichen, aber wir befanden uns bereits in
der gegenseitigen Zeitnotphase.} (32. Rc1 $1 Kc6 (32... Nxc4 33. bxc4+ Ka4 34.
Be3 Kb3 35. Kg3 Ra4 36. h4 $11) (32... Bg7 33. Be3 Nd5 34. Kf3 Kb4 35. Ke4 $11)
33. Be3 Kd5 34. Rd1+ Ke4 35. Rd8 Nxc4 36. bxc4 Bg7 $11) 32... Kc6 $2 $138 {
Die ungünstige Stellung des weißen Turmes ließ sich am besten mit 32...Sxc4!
ausnutzen.} (32... Nxc4 $1 33. bxc4+ Ka4 34. Be3 (34. Be1 Kb3 35. h4 Rc2 $17)
34... Kb3 35. h4 Be7 36. hxg5 hxg5 37. Kg3 Re2 $1 38. Kf3 (38. f4 $2 Kc2 39.
Kf3 Kd3 $19) 38... Rc2 $17) 33. Be1 Kd5 34. Kf3 Ra1 35. Ba5 $2 (35. Ne3+ Kc6
36. Nc4 $11) 35... Kc6 36. Bd2 Rh1 37. Kg2 Rd1 38. Ba5 $2 (38. Re2 $1 $11)
38... Rd3 $17 39. Re3 Rxe3 40. Nxe3 Kb5 $6 {Der letzte Zug vor der
Zeitkontrolle ist eine Ungenauigkeit. Mit 40...Bg7! könnte Schwarz den Bauern
e5 gewinnen.} (40... Bg7 $1 41. Bc3 (41. Nc4 Kb5 $17) (41. h4 Bxe5 42. hxg5
hxg5 43. Nc4 Bf4 44. Kf3 Kb5 $17) 41... Nd5 $17) 41. Bc3 c4 42. bxc4+ Nxc4 43.
Kf3 c5 $2 {Erneut war 43...Bg7! angezeigt. Nach dem Textzug kann sich Weiß mit
genauem Spiel retten.} (43... Bg7 $1 44. Ke4 Nxe3 45. Kxe3 Kc4 $17 46. Bb2 c5
47. f4 gxf4+ 48. Kxf4 Kd3 49. g5 c4 $19) 44. Ng2 $1 {Hier steht der Springer
goldrichtig, er unterstützt die beiden Bauernvorstöße h3-h4 und f2-f4.} (44.
Ke4 $2 Nxe3 45. Kxe3 Kc4 $17) 44... Nb6 (44... Ka4 45. Ke4 Kb3 46. Be1 $132 {
/\f4}) 45. h4 $1 Nd5 46. Bd2 Be7 47. hxg5 hxg5 48. Ke2 (48. Ke4 $5 c4 49. f4 c3
50. Bc1 gxf4 51. Nxf4 Bg5 52. Ne2 Bxc1 53. Nxc1 Kc4 54. g5 $11) 48... c4 49. f4
$1 (49. Ne1 $2 c3 50. Bc1 Kc4 51. Nf3 Nf4+ 52. Bxf4 gxf4 53. g5 Bf8 $17) 49...
c3 50. Bc1 gxf4 51. Nxf4 Nxf4+ 52. Bxf4 Kc4 {Hier hätte Lutz das Remis schwer
ablehnen können, aber ich wollte trotz der Befürchtungen meiner Teamkollegen
noch ein paar Gewinnversuche unternehmen.} 53. Bc1 $1 {Trotz knapper Zeit
spielt Christopher sehr genau. Das Feld c1 ist der richtige Platz für den
Läufer, der schwarze König darf nicht auf b1 gelangen.} (53. g5 Bf8 $1 (53...
Kb3 54. Kd3 Kb2 55. Kc4 $11) 54. g6 Bg7 55. Ke3 $2 (55. Bc1 $1 $11) 55... c2
56. Ke4 Kb3 57. Kd4 Ka2 58. Kc5 Bxe5 59. Be3 Kb1 60. Kc6 Bg7 $19) 53... c2 {
Auch das etwas listigere 53...Bf8 brachte keinen Gewinn.} (53... Bf8 54. g5 Bg7
55. g6 Kb3 (55... Bxe5 56. Bh6 c2 57. Kd2 Kb3 58. Kd3 $11) (55... Kd4 56. Bf4
Ke4 57. Bg3 Bh6 58. Be1 Kd4 59. Bf2+ $11) 56. Kd3 Bxe5 57. Bh6 $8 (57. Bg5 $2
Bg7 58. Bc1 e5 $19) 57... c2 58. Bc1 $11) 54. g5 Bf8 55. g6 Bg7 56. Kd2 Kb3 57.
Kd3 Bxe5 58. Kd2 $1 Bg7 (58... Bf4+ 59. Kd3 Bxc1 60. g7 $11) 59. Kd3 Bc3 60.
Bh6 Bb2 61. Bc1 Bg7 62. Kd2 e5 63. Kd3 Bf6 64. Kd2 Bg7 65. Kd3 Bf8 66. Kd2 Bg7
67. Kd3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Dortmund op-A"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Mainka, Romuald"]
[Black "Dautov, Rustem"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2455"]
[BlackElo "2610"]
[Annotator "Dautov,R"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "1992.04.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 029"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1992.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1992.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h6 11. b3 a5 $5 (11... Be6 12. Bb2 (12. g4 Bb4
13. Bb2 Ne7 14. Nd4 Bxc3 15. Bxc3 c5 16. Ne2 {1/4:1/4 Luther,T-Smeikal,J
Altensteig 1990}) 12... Bb4 13. Ne2 a5 14. Nf4 Bd5 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. g4 Ne7 17.
e6 fxe6 18. Bxg7 Rh7 19. Bb2 Ng6 20. Ne5 Nf4 21. Kh2 Ke7 22. Bc1 Ne2 23. f4 Bc3
24. Rb1 Nxc1 25. Rbxc1 Bxe5 26. fxe5 Rg8 $10 {Dolmatov,S-Smeikal,J Polaniza
Zdroj 1991}) 12. Bb2 Bb4 $5 13. Ne2 h5 $1 14. Nf4 a4 $10 {<=><<} 15. a3 $2 (15.
Nd3 $142 Be7 16. Nd2 h4 $10) 15... Be7 16. b4 Rh6 $1 $15 {/\g5} (16... g5 17.
e6 f6 18. Ng6 Rh6 19. Nxe7 Kxe7 20. Rfe1 Bxe6 21. g4 hxg4 22. hxg4 Ng7 23. Nxg5
Rah8 $13 (23... Rg6 $2 24. f4 $16)) 17. Rad1 g5 18. Ne2 $2 (18. Nd3 $142 $15)
18... c5 19. bxc5 Ra5 (19... Rc6 $5 $17) 20. Bc1 Rg6 21. Nc3 g4 (21... Rxc5 22.
Ne4 Rxc2 23. Bxg5 $132) 22. hxg4 hxg4 23. Nd2 $1 Rxc5 24. Nde4 Rc4 (24... Rxe5
25. Bf4 Ree6 26. Bxc7 Rc6 27. Bf4 Bxa3 28. Nxa4 Rxc2 29. Nac3 $44) 25. Rfe1 c6
$5 (25... Be6 26. Nd5 Bxd5 27. Rxd5 $132 {/\Ra5}) 26. Bb2 $2 (26. Nf6+ $142 Kf8
(26... Bxf6 $2 27. exf6+ Be6 28. Ne4 {/\Bf4-c7}) 27. Nce4 (27. Bb2 $2 g3 $1 $17
) 27... Rxc2 28. Rd3 Kg7 $1 29. Nh5+ (29. Red1 Bxf6 30. exf6+ Rxf6 31. Nxf6
Kxf6 $17) 29... Kh8 30. Red1 c5 $22 31. Nhf6 Nd4 32. Be3 Bf5 33. Bxd4 Bxf6 $17)
26... Re6 $1 27. Nd2 (27. Nf6+ Bxf6 28. exf6 b5 $17) 27... Rc5 28. Nxa4 Rxc2 {
/\b5} 29. Nb6 $2 g3 $19 30. Nxc8 Bc5 $1 0-1

[Event "BL2-West 9495"]
[Site "Germany"]
[Date "1995.??.??"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Haba, Petr"]
[Black "Dautov, Rustem"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2505"]
[BlackElo "2625"]
[Annotator "Dautov,R"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "1994.10.??"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "GER-chT2"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Porz II"]
[BlackTeam "Gelsenkirchen"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke8 10. Nc3 Be7 $5 {N} (10... h6 11. h3 $14) (10... Be6
11. Ng5 $14) 11. b3 a5 12. Bb2 h5 13. a4 (13. Ne4 a4 14. Neg5 c5 $10) (13. Ne2
a4 $10) 13... Be6 (13... Rh6 $5 {/\} 14. Ne4 c5 15. c4 Rb6 16. Rd3 Be6 17. Ba3
Rd8 $10) 14. Ne2 (14. Ne4 Bd5 15. Neg5 Rd8 16. c4 Be6 $10) 14... Bd5 15. Ne1
Rd8 16. c4 (16. Nf4 g5 17. Nxh5 $6 (17. Ne2 c5 $10) 17... Rxh5 18. g4 Rh4 19.
gxf5 Rf4 20. c4 (20. f6 $2 Bc5 21. Nd3 Rg4+ 22. Kf1 Bg2+ 23. Ke2 Re4+ 24. Kd2
Bxf2 $17) 20... Be4 21. Rxd8+ Kxd8 22. Rd1+ Ke8 (22... Kc8 $5) 23. Bc3 $1 (23.
f6 $2 Bc5 24. Rd2 Bb4 25. Re2 Bxe1 26. Rxe1 Rg4+ 27. Kf1 Bd3+ $19) 23... Bb4
24. Bxb4 axb4 25. f6 Rf5 26. Nd3 Bxd3 27. Rxd3 Rxe5 $10) 16... Be6 $10 {><b3,d4
} 17. Bc3 b6 18. Nc2 $6 (18. Nf3 {>=} Bc5 (18... c5 19. Nf4 c6 20. Nxe6 fxe6
$10) 19. Rxd8+ Kxd8 20. Rd1+ Kc8 (20... Ke7 $6 21. Bd2 $1) 21. Nf4 Be7 22. Nxe6
fxe6 $10) 18... Bc5 19. Rxd8+ (19. Ncd4 Bxd4 20. Nxd4 Nxd4 21. Bxd4 c5 22. Be3
Ke7 23. Bg5+ f6 24. exf6+ gxf6 25. Bf4 Rxd1+ 26. Rxd1 Rd8 27. Rxd8 Kxd8 $17 {
/\Bf5-c2}) 19... Kxd8 20. Nf4 Kc8 (20... Ke7 $2 21. Nd3 $16) 21. Nxe6 (21. Kf1
g5 22. Nxe6 fxe6 23. Ke2 Rf8 24. Rf1 Nh4 25. Ne1 Bb4 26. Bxb4 axb4 27. g3 Nf5
28. Nc2 c5 29. Rd1 Ne7 $17 {><e5}) 21... fxe6 22. Rd1 Rf8 {|^>>,פc2} 23. Rd2
g5 24. g3 {/\Kg2,f3} g4 25. Kg2 Kb7 26. h4 $2 (26. Rd7 $4 Nh4+ $1 $19) (26. Nd4
$2 Nxd4 27. Bxd4 Bb4 28. Re2 Rd8 29. Re4 c5 $17) (26. h3 $1 Rf7 27. hxg4 hxg4
28. Re2 Ka6 (28... Rd7 29. Rd2 Rf7 $10) 29. Be1 Rd7 (29... b5 $6 30. cxb5+ cxb5
31. axb5+ Kxb5 32. Re4 $14 {><g4}) 30. Rd2 Rf7 31. Re2 $10) 26... Rf7 {/\Ka6,b5
} 27. Ne1 Bb4 $1 $17 28. Bxb4 axb4 29. Nd3 (29. Nc2 c5 30. Rd8 Nd4 31. Nxd4
cxd4 32. Rxd4 Rf3 $17) 29... c5 30. Nf4 $2 $138 Nxh4+ $1 31. Kf1 Nf3 $19 32.
Rd8 Nd4 33. Rh8 Rf5 34. Rxh5 Nxb3 35. Rxf5 exf5 36. Ke2 Na5 37. Kd3 b3 $138 0-1

[Event "Brno Morava-A"]
[Site "Brno"]
[Date "1991.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Polgar, Judit"]
[Black "Dautov, Rustem"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2550"]
[BlackElo "2595"]
[Annotator "Dautov,R"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "1991.09.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CSR"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 026"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1992.02.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1992.02.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. b3 a5 10. Nc3 Ke8 11. h3 Bb4 12. Bb2 Bxc3 13. Bxc3 c5 $10 14.
Rad1 h6 15. Nd2 $5 (15. g4 $6 Ne7 16. Nh2 (16. e6 f6 $1 17. Rfe1 Ra6) 16... h5
17. f4 hxg4 18. hxg4 Rh3 $15) (15. e6 Bxe6 16. g4 Nd4 17. Bxd4 cxd4 18. Nxd4
Ke7 $10) 15... h5 $1 (15... Be6 $6 16. Ne4 b6 17. g4 Ne7 18. f4 h5 19. f5 Bd5
20. Rfe1 hxg4 21. Nf6+ gxf6 22. exf6 $36) 16. Ne4 b6 17. Ng5 Ke7 18. Rd2 (18.
Rd3 $5 {Polgar,J} Ba6 (18... a4 $1 19. Rfd1 (19. b4 $2 cxb4 20. Bxb4+ c5 21.
Bc3 Ba6 22. Rf3 Bxf1 23. Rxf5 Bc4 $17) 19... axb3 20. axb3 h4 {/\ Ra2 <=>}) 19.
Rf3 Nh6 20. Re1 Rhd8 21. e6 f6 22. Nh7 $1 $16 {/\ Nf6, /\ Rg3}) 18... h4 $1 {
/\ Rh5} (18... Be6 $6 19. Rfd1 Rhd8 20. Rxd8 Rxd8 21. Rxd8 Kxd8 22. Nxe6+ fxe6
$14) (18... a4 $6 19. b4 $1 cxb4 20. Bxb4+ c5 21. Bc3 {/\ Rb1}) 19. Rfd1 Rh5
20. Ne4 (20. f4 $6 Be6 21. Nxe6 Kxe6 $17) (20. Nf3 Be6 $6 (20... Ke6 $1 {
/\ ...Bb7=}) 21. Rd3 $1 g5 22. Bd2 Rg8 23. Nh2 {/\ Ng4-f6}) 20... Bb7 $1 21.
Rd7+ $2 (21. Re1 Rd8 22. Rxd8 Kxd8 23. f3 Ke7 {/\ ...Rh8-d8 =/+ >< c2}) 21...
Ke6 22. Nxc5+ bxc5 23. Rxc7 Rb8 $1 (23... Be4 24. f3 Bxc2 25. Rd2 Bb1 26. Rxc5
$15) 24. f3 Rg5 25. Rd3 Nd4 26. Bxd4 cxd4 27. Rxd4 $2 (27. Kf2 Rxe5 28. Rxd4)
27... Bxf3 $19 28. Rd6+ Kxe5 29. Rd2 f5 $1 30. Rc5+ Ke6 31. Rxa5 Ra8 32. Rc5 $2
Rxa2 33. b4 Be4 34. b5 Ra1+ 35. Kh2 Rg3 $1 {/\ 36...Rxh3+} 0-1

[Event "October Revolution 50years"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1967.05.31"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Tal, Mihail"]
[Black "Pachman, Ludek"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "Dolmatov,S"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "1967.05.21"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[SourceTitle "MCL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8.
dxe5 Nb7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Rd1 $6 (10. Re1 Nc5 11. Be3 Ne6 12. Rad1 $14) 10... d5
11. Nd4 (11. exd6 cxd6 $10) 11... Qd7 $5 (11... Bd7 $6 12. e6 Be8 13. Nf5 $16)
12. Rd3 $6 c5 13. Nf3 c6 14. e6 $6 (14. b3 Nd8 $15) 14... fxe6 (14... Qxe6 $2
15. Re3) 15. Ne5 Qc7 16. Rh3 Rf5 17. Rh5 Bd6 $6 (17... Rxh5 $6 18. Qxh5 Nd6 19.
Bf4 $15) (17... Nd6 $5 18. Rxf5 Nxf5 $17) 18. Rxf5 exf5 19. Bd2 Bd7 (19... Bxe5
$2 20. Bf4 $44) (19... Be6 20. Re1 (20. Nxc6 Bf7 $17) 20... Re8 $17) 20. Nxd7
Qxd7 21. Re1 c4 22. Na4 Rf8 23. b3 cxb3 24. axb3 $15 Rf7 25. Qf3 Re7 26. Rxe7
Bxe7 27. Qe3 Nd8 (27... c5 28. Qd3 Qe6 29. Nc3 d4 30. Nd1 $15) 28. Kf1 Bf6 29.
Bb4 Ne6 30. Nc5 Nxc5 31. Bxc5 Kf7 32. Qe2 $15 1/2-1/2

[Event "WchT 4th"]
[Site "Luzern"]
[Date "1997.10.31"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Kotsur, Pavel"]
[Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2500"]
[BlackElo "2725"]
[Annotator "Donev,I"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "1997.10.25"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 062"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.01.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.01.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Kazakhstan"]
[BlackTeam "Ukraine"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "KAZ"]
[BlackTeamCountry "UKR"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8.
dxe5 Nb7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Be3 d5 11. exd6 cxd6 {[%csl Yd5,Ye5][%cal Yc6d5,Yd6e5]
Weiß hat die bessere Bauernstruktur - zwei weiße gegen drei schwarze
Bauerninseln. Schwarz besitzt das Läuferpaar und kontrolliert die
Zentralfelder d5 und e5.} 12. Nd4 Bd7 13. b4 $6 {Weiß will versuchen den
eigenen b- mit dem gegnerischen c- Bauer zu tauschen. Diese Idee (b2-b4-b5)
gefällt mir nicht, weil dadurch die weiße und schwarze Bauernstruktur
gleichwertig werden. Außerdem wird die Stellung noch mehr geöffnet, und dies
wäre für das schwarze Läuferpaar ideal.} (13. Qf3 $142 d5 14. Rad1) 13... Re8
14. b5 cxb5 15. Ncxb5 Bf6 16. Rad1 a6 17. Nc3 Qa5 $1 $15 {Plötzlich sind die
schwarzen Figuren sehr aktiv geworden.} 18. Qf3 {[%cal Yc3d5,Yf3d5]
Selbstverständlich tauscht Ivanchuk den eigenen passiven Nb7 für den aktiveren
weißen Nc3, der übrigens nach d5 wollte.} Qxc3 19. Qxb7 Red8 20. Rd3 Qc4 21. a3
d5 ({Noch mehr hätte Schwarz nach:} 21... Rab8 $1 22. Qf3 Ba4 $17 {[%cal Ya4c2]
erreichen können.}) 22. Qb4 Rac8 23. Qd2 Re8 24. h3 Be7 25. Rb1 Bf8 26. Rbb3
Ba4 27. Rb2 Qc7 28. Bf4 Qe7 29. Be3 Rb8 30. Rxb8 Rxb8 31. Qa5 Rb1+ 32. Kh2 Qd6+
33. g3 Bd7 34. Nb3 Bf5 35. Bc5 (35. Rxd5 Be4 $19 {[%cal Ye4d5,Ye4h1,Yb1h1]})
35... Bxd3 $1 36. cxd3 ({Falls Weiß das Damenopfer annehmen würde, könnten wir
Zeugen eines hübschen Mattbildes werden:} 36. Bxd6 Be4 $1 {[%cal Yb1h1,Ye4h1]}
37. f3 Bxf3 38. g4 Bxd6#) 36... Qf6 37. Nd2 Rb5 0-1

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Ekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.21"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2767"]
[BlackElo "2777"]
[Annotator "Edouard,R"]
[PlyCount "106"]
[EventDate "2020.03.15"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 195"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2020.04.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.04.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 {This position is considered as
one of the critical ones in the Berlin endgame. Nakamura, Grischuk, Karjakin
have played it countless times! Add to these names Carlsen, Giri, and many
more, and it becomes clear the position is a tabya.} 12. Rad1 $5 (12. Rfe1 {
is the other critical option.} Be6 13. Ne4 h4 14. c3 Rd8 15. Nfg5 Rh6 16. Nxe6
Rxe6 17. g4 hxg3 18. fxg3 {This position has been reached in no less than five
high level games - but it seems Black does manage to equalize. Funnily enough,
Duda was always White! And Nakamura was often Black, as the two of them did
play an internet match in 2019.} c5 (18... Rd3 {seems unprecise:} 19. Kh2 c5
20. h4 c4 21. h5 Kf8 22. Nf2 Rd5 23. Rad1 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 g5 25. hxg6 Rxg6 26.
Ne4 Ra6 27. a3 Ng7 28. Kh3 Ne6 29. Kg4 $16 {1-0 (40) Duda,J (2730)-Nakamura,H 
(2745) chess.com 2019}) 19. Re2 {In 2019, Duda chose these move several times,
instead of 19.Kg2 he had played in 2018. So, it is surely a better one!} ({
After} 19. Kg2 c4 20. Re2 Rd3 21. Nf2 Rd5 22. h4 {Duda anyway managed to beat
Karjakin in two blitz games - but of course the position is close to equal.
Here perhaps 22...Kd7!?N could be tried.}) 19... Rd3 20. h4 $1 (20. Kh2 $6 g5
$1 21. Nxg5 Nxg3 $132 {½-½ (60) Duda,J (2730)-Nakamura,H (2745) chess.com
2019}) 20... c4 21. Kh2 Ra6 22. a3 Rb6 23. Rf1 Rd5 24. h5 Rdb5 25. Rff2 $16 {
1-0 (40) Duda,J (2730)-Nakamura,H (2745) chess.com 2019}) 12... Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6
14. Rfe1 $5 ({Other moves were played, but didn't bring White much, for
example:} 14. g3 Bxg5 15. Bxg5 Rg6 16. h4 $5 ({after} 16. Bf4 Nh4 17. Kh2 Nf3+
18. Kg2 {ended by great fight against Etienne Bacrot: ½-½ (18) Edouard,R 
(2638)-Bacrot,E (2699) Nimes 2018}) 16... f6 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bf4 Rc8 $5 (
18... Nxh4 19. f3 Rd8 20. Kf2 Rxd1 21. Nxd1 Nf5 22. Rh1 Bxa2 23. Rxh5 Be6 {
also led to several draws}) 19. Kh2 Kf7 20. Ne4 b6 21. Rfe1 Rgg8 22. b3 Rge8
23. f3 c5 24. c3 a5 $13 {½-½ (37) Vachier Lagrave,M (2785)-Nakamura,H (2787)
Gibraltar 2016}) 14... Bb4 15. a3 (15. g4 {was MVL's previous try.} hxg4 16.
hxg4 Ne7 17. f3 $5 ({The following amazing game was actually all prepared by
both players, White playing quick moves and Black trying to remember his notes:
} 17. Nxe6 Rxe6 18. Kg2 Bxc3 19. bxc3 Rd8 20. Rxd8+ Kxd8 21. Rh1 Nd5 22. Bg3
Rh6 23. Rxh6 gxh6 24. Kh3 Nxc3 25. Kh4 Nxa2 26. Kh5 Nc3 27. Kxh6 a5 28. f4 a4
29. f5 Ke8 30. g5 a3 31. e6 a2 32. Kg7 fxe6 33. f6 a1=Q 34. f7+ Kd7 35. Be5 Qa5
36. Bf6 Qc5 37. f8=Q Qxf8+ 38. Kxf8 Ne4 39. Kf7 Nxg5+ 40. Bxg5 Kd6 41. Kf6 e5
42. Kf5 Kd5 43. Bd8 Kd4 44. Bxc7 Kc3 45. Kxe5 Kxc2 {½-½ Vachier Lagrave,M 
(2791)-Karjakin,S (2773) Saint Louis 2017. One word: insane!}) 17... Bxc3 18.
bxc3 Bxa2 (18... Nd5 19. Bd2 Nb6 20. Nxe6 Rxe6 21. Kf2 Rd8 22. Bg5 Rxd1 23.
Rxd1 {was played three (!) times between MVL and Nakamura in one of their
online matches, ending in two draws in one win for MVL. However, that should
no longer be critical for theory.}) 19. Ne4 Rh8 20. e6 Nd5 (20... Bxe6 21. Bxc7
Nd5 22. Be5 Kf8 23. Nc5 b5 24. c4 bxc4 25. Rd4 Re8 26. Rxc4 Rh6 27. Ra4 $14 {
½-½ (65) Vachier Lagrave,M (2788)-Carlsen,M (2851) Norway 2016}) 21. exf7+
Kxf7 22. Bxc7 Nxc7 23. Rd7+ Kg6 24. Rxc7 Bd5 25. Nd2 Rhe8 26. Rxe8 Rxe8 27. Kf2
a5 $1 28. Rxb7 Ra8 29. Rb6 a4 30. c4 Be6 31. Rxc6 Kf7 32. Rb6 a3 33. Rb1 a2 34.
Ra1 Ra3 {and Black should make a draw relatively easily: ½-½ (51) Vachier
Lagrave,M (2796)-Giri,A (2771) Leuven 2017.}) 15... Bxc3 16. bxc3 h4 $1 (16...
Rd8 17. Rxd8+ Kxd8 18. g4 hxg4 19. hxg4 Ne7 20. Nxf7+ Bxf7 21. Bxh6 gxh6 22. e6
(22. f4 $5) 22... Bg6 23. Rd1+ Ke8 24. Rd7 Bxc2 25. Rxc7 b5 26. f4 Nd5 27. Rc8+
Ke7 28. f5 Bd1 29. Rg8 Nf6 30. Rg7+ Ke8 $11 {1/2-1/2 (37) Vachier Lagrave,M 
(2779)-Karjakin,S (2773) Saint Louis USA 2018}) (16... Rg6 17. Kh2 Ne7 18. Nxe6
Rxe6 19. g4 Nd5 20. Bd2 Nb6 21. f4 Nc4 22. Bc1 hxg4 23. hxg4 Rd8 24. Rxd8+ Kxd8
25. Kg3 f6 26. Rd1+ Ke8 27. exf6 gxf6 28. Kf3 Kf7 29. f5 Rd6 30. Rh1 Kg8 31. g5
Rd5 32. Kg4 Ne5+ 33. Kf4 fxg5+ 34. Kxg5 Nf7+ 35. Kf6 Kf8 36. Bf4 $18 {1-0 (79)
Karjakin,S (2773)-Nakamura,H (2777) Saint Louis 2018}) (16... Ne7 17. Nf3 Rh8 {
is also quite a solid line, as the two following high level games show:} 18.
Bg5 (18. Nd4 Nd5 19. Bg5 Nxc3 20. Rd3 Na4 21. f4 Nc5 22. Rc3 Na4 23. Rg3 c5 24.
Nxe6 fxe6 25. f5 Kf7 26. Bh4 Rag8 27. Rb1 $5 Nb6 28. fxe6+ Kxe6 29. Rg6+ Kf7
30. Rg5 Ke6 31. a4 Nxa4 32. Rxb7 Nc3 33. Rxc7 Ne4 34. Rg6+ Kf5 35. Ra6 g5 36.
Be1 Re8 37. Raxa7 Rxe5 38. Rf7+ Ke6 39. c4 Re8 40. Rg7 Kf5 41. Rgf7+ Ke6 42.
Rg7 Kf5 43. Rgf7+ {A great game by White, but by Black as well! ½-½ (43)
Topalov,V (2749)-Radjabov,T (2748) Shamkir 2018}) 18... c5 19. Nd2 Kf8 20. Nf1
Nf5 21. g3 Ne7 22. Kg2 Nd5 23. c4 Nb6 24. Ne3 Nxc4 25. Nxc4 Bxc4 26. g4 hxg4
27. hxg4 Bb5 28. Kg3 Re8 29. f4 b6 30. f5 Ba4 31. Rc1 Kg8 32. c4 Bc6 $11 {
Black is paralyzed but White has no breakthrough: ½-½ (55) Kramnik,V (2800)
-Karjakin,S (2763) Berlin 2018.}) 17. g4 $5 ({In the second round of the event,
Nepo played} 17. Kh2 {but it wasn't a big success:} Kf8 18. Rb1 b6 19. Rb4 Re8
$11 {½-½ (40) Nepomniachtchi,I (2774)-Grischuk,A (2777) Yekaterinburg 2020})
(17. Ne4 Rg6 18. g4 hxg3 19. fxg3 {Here Nakamura tried three different moves
against MVL.} Kf8 $1 {This seems to be the most precise.} (19... Ne7 $5 20. h4
Nd5 21. Bg5 Bf5 22. h5 Nxc3 $1 23. hxg6 Nxd1 24. Kg2 Bxg6 $2 25. Nc5 $1 b6 26.
Na6 Rc8 27. Rxd1 $18 {1-0 (98) Vachier Lagrave,M (2780)-Nakamura,H (2761)
Abidjan CIV 2019}) (19... Bd5 20. g4 Bxe4 21. Rxe4 Ne7 22. e6 $5 f5 23. Re5 Nd5
(23... fxg4 $6 24. Rh5 $1 $14) 24. Rxf5 Nxf4 25. Rxf4 Rxe6 26. Rdf1 Kd7 27.
Rf7+ Re7 {and although White can press, the position is close to a draw: ½-½
(53) Vachier Lagrave,M (2781)-Nakamura,H (2746) London 2018.}) 20. Kf2 (20. Kh2
Ne7 21. g4 Re8 $11 {½-½ (49) Vachier Lagrave,M (2778)-Karjakin,S (2750)
Saint Louis 2019}) 20... Ne7 21. h4 Nd5 22. Bg5 Bf5 23. h5 Nxc3 $1 24. hxg6
Nxe4+ {½-½ Vachier Lagrave,M (2775)-Nakamura,H (2754) Paris 2019}) 17... hxg3
$1 18. fxg3 Ne7 {Here, Grischuk had already spent 53 minutes, when MVL had
played all of his moves a tempo.} (18... Kf8 19. Kf2 $6 (19. Rf1 $5 $146 {
definitely makes sense, making ...Ne7 more difficut to play:} Ne7 20. Nxf7 $5
Rxh3 $8 21. Ng5 Rh6 22. Nxe6+ Rxe6 23. Rd7 Rc8 24. c4 Ke8 25. Rfd1 {and Black
won't have fun.}) 19... Ne7 20. g4 Nd5 21. Bd2 Nb6 22. Kg3 Nc4 23. Bc1 Bd5 24.
Re2 Re8 {was more than fine for Black in Giri,A (2779)-Nakamura,H (2754)
Zagreb 2019, ½-½ (39).}) (18... Rd8 $5 $146 {is the computer suggestion. I'm
pretty sure we will see it played pretty soon.}) 19. h4 $1 $146 {The engine
assess all these positions as equal, but actually Black's moves are much
harder to make.} (19. g4 $2 Nd5 20. Bd2 Nb6 $15 {½-½ (67) Vachier Lagrave,M 
(2779)-Nakamura,H (2777) chess.com 2018}) 19... Nd5 {The logical follow-up.}
20. Bc1 $1 {White sacs a pawn and gives priority to concrete initiative.} Nxc3
21. Rd3 Na4 $1 (21... Nd5 $6 22. Rf1 Rh8 23. Rdf3 b5 24. Nxf7 Rh5 25. Ng5 $14)
22. Rf3 Bd5 23. Rf4 Nb6 $1 (23... b5 $4 24. Nxf7 $3 Rg6 (24... Bxf7 25. Ref1
$18) 25. Ng5 $16) 24. Ref1 Rg6 $1 (24... Bc4 25. Nxf7 Bxf1 26. Nxh6 Bh3 27. Kh2
Be6 28. Nf5 $14) 25. Rf5 Bc4 26. Re1 Ke7 ({It is difficult to say who including
} 26... Rd8 {and} 27. Kh2 {would favour - but still I would bet on Black.} (27.
h5 $6 Rh6 28. g4 Rd4 $15)) 27. h5 $6 (27. e6 $5 f6 28. h5 Rh6 (28... Rxg5 29.
Bxg5 fxg5 $2 30. Rf7+ Kd6 31. Rxg7 $18) 29. g4 $1 {may have been a good try.})
27... Rh6 (27... Be6 $1 {would have solved Black's problems:} 28. Rf2 (28. Nxe6
$2 Kxe6 29. Rxf7 Kxf7 30. hxg6+ Kxg6 $17) 28... Rh6 29. g4 Nd7 $11) 28. g4 Rhh8
$6 ({Again} 28... Be6 $1 {may have been right:} 29. Nxe6 Rxe6 30. Bg5+ Kf8 31.
Ref1 Kg8 32. Rxf7 Nd5 $13) 29. a4 $1 {Now White is seriously taking over.} Nxa4
$2 {A natural reaction - but it's dangerous to accept such a gift by a top
player!} (29... Be6 {was necessary, but Black is already worse:} 30. Ba3+ Kd7
31. Rf4 Nd5 32. Rd1 b5 33. c4 bxc4 34. Nxe6 Kxe6 35. Rxc4 $14) 30. Ba3+ $2 {
No! Spending only three minutes to play, Maxime misses a forced win.} (30. Re4
$3 Be6 (30... b5 31. Rxc4 $1 bxc4 32. Rxf7+ Ke8 33. Rxc7 $18) 31. Nxe6 fxe6 (
31... Kxe6 $2 32. Rxa4 $18) 32. Bg5+ Ke8 33. Rf3 {followed with Ref4 and Rf7.})
30... c5 31. e6 (31. Re4 Be6 32. Nxe6 fxe6 33. Rg5 {may still have been best -
although the Re4 idea is obviously much less however if White doesn't have
Bg5+!}) 31... f6 32. Bxc5+ {Now the game is definitely heading towards a draw.}
Nxc5 33. Rxc5 fxg5 34. Rxc7+ Kd6 35. Rxc4 a5 36. Rd1+ $6 (36. Rd4+ {should
have been tried, but the outcome was likely to be the same:} Kc6 $1 37. Red1 (
37. Rd7 a4 38. Rxg7 a3 39. Rxg5 a2 40. Ra1 Kd6 41. Rg6 Rhe8 $11) 37... Rhe8 38.
Rd6+ Kc5 39. R6d5+ Kc4 40. Rxg5 Re7 $11 {Black's a-pawn is just too strong.})
36... Ke7 (36... Kxe6 {was also possible, but the text move is just good and
healthy.}) 37. Re4 Rhd8 38. Rb1 Rdb8 39. Rb5 a4 40. Rxg5 Rg8 41. h6 gxh6 (41...
a3 $5 42. h7 $8 Rge8 43. Rxg7+ Kf6 44. Rg8 $5 (44. Rf7+ Kg6 45. Rf1 $11) 44...
Rxg8 45. hxg8=Q Rxg8 46. Ra4 $11) 42. Rxg8 Rxg8 43. Rxa4 h5 44. Kf2 Rxg4 45.
Rxg4 hxg4 46. Kg3 Kxe6 47. Kxg4 Ke5 48. Kf3 Kd4 49. Ke2 Kc3 50. Kd1 b5 51. Kc1
b4 52. Kb1 b3 53. cxb3 Kxb3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Nanjing Pearl Spring 3rd"]
[Site "Nanjing"]
[Date "2010.10.29"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Gashimov, Vugar"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2719"]
[BlackElo "2800"]
[Annotator "Edouard,R"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2010.10.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CHN"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 139"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.11.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.11.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 $5 {Oh, a Carlsen's fan!} Nd6
6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 ({Anand tried} 7... Nf5 {against Carlsen, and this
time went for a more peaceful line.}) 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 (9. d4 {is the other
move, known as just equal. But who knows which were Carlsen's ideas two days
ago?}) 9... Ne8 $5 (9... Bf6 {is also possible, of course.}) 10. Nd5 Bd6 11.
Re1 c6 12. Ne3 Bc7 13. c4 $146 {A drawing novetly for my eyes, though the idea
itself is quite interesting.} (13. Nf5 d5 $11 {has been played several times.})
13... Nf6 14. b3 d5 15. cxd5 cxd5 16. Qf3 Be6 17. Ba3 Re8 18. Bb5 Bd7 19. Bxd7
Qxd7 20. Bb2 Be5 21. Bxe5 Rxe5 {Now Black equalized, and Anand played the rest
of the game quite fast.} 22. Nc2 Rae8 23. Rxe5 Rxe5 24. Qc3 Re8 25. Qd4 b6 26.
f3 Rd8 27. Ne3 Ne8 28. f4 (28. Rc1 Nc7 29. Nf5 Qxf5 30. Rxc7 h6 {would just be
equal, for instance:} 31. Rxa7 Qb1+ 32. Kf2 Re8 $1 {with clearly enough
counterplay to make a draw.}) 28... Nc7 29. f5 Ne8 30. Re1 Nf6 31. Ng4 Nxg4 32.
Qxg4 h6 33. Qf4 Re8 34. Rxe8+ Qxe8 35. Kf2 f6 36. g4 Qc6 37. Qe3 Kh7 38. a4 Qd6
39. Kg2 a5 40. Qe8 Qb4 41. Qg6+ Kg8 42. Qe8+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Grand Slam Final 4th"]
[Site "Sao Paulo/Bilbao"]
[Date "2011.10.07"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2817"]
[BlackElo "2753"]
[Annotator "Edouard,R"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2011.09.26"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "BRA"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 145"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.11.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.11.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. g3
Bxg5 15. Bxg5 Rg6 16. h4 f6 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bf4 Nxh4 19. f3 Rd8 20. Rxd8+
$146 (20. Kf2 {was played in Motylev-Malakhov 2011, with a draw a few moves
later.}) 20... Kxd8 21. Kf2 Nf5 22. Rh1 Ng7 23. Bd2 (23. b3 $5 {was the way to
keep all the pawns:} Bf5 24. Nd1 $1 {The c2-pawn is untouchable. But White's
knight is still far from the f4/h4-squares, and I believe Black should hold
just playing passively. For example:} Be6 (24... Bxc2 $2 25. Ne3 Bf5 {The only
move.} 26. Ng2 $1 $16) 25. Bc1 b6 {and Black will face} 26. Ne3 {by playing}
Bf7 ({or} 26... Rg5 $5) 27. Ng2 Ne8 28. Nf4 Rg5 {and I don't see how White can
get more than some strategical draw. Black's rook still has many squares,
especially f5.}) 23... Bf5 24. Nd1 Bxc2 25. Ne3 Bd3 26. Ng2 Ne6 {Black had to
give up the h-pawn, which is a good achievement by White (by far worth the
c2-pawn). Even so, Black is up a pawn, though I think the position is a dead
draw. White cannot risk too much on the kingside since he's a pawn down, and
Black cannot insist either, since White's majority is simply stronger than
Black's. Furthermore, White is simply much more active. My feeling is that the
position is equal.} 27. Rxh5 Rg7 28. Bc3 Ke7 29. Rh6 Rf7 30. g4 Bb1 31. a3 f5 {
A drawish move, and though he is not worse by any means, Black can never hope
for more.} 32. g5 $1 {Giving a second pawn, but White clearly has enough
activity to draw.} Nxg5 33. Nf4 Ke8 34. Rg6 Nh7 35. Rg8+ Rf8 36. Rg7 Rf7 {
Naka's famous comment after the game, "Thanks to Kramnik I was able to just
play something silly like the Berlin and draw against the World Champion
relatively effortlessly." actually says a lot : )} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Olympiad-39"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2010.09.29"]
[Round "8.4"]
[White "Efimenko, Zahar"]
[Black "Malakhov, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2683"]
[BlackElo "2725"]
[Annotator "Efimenko,Z"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[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 "Ukraine"]
[BlackTeam "Russia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "UKR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RUS"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 {So, the Berlin,
Variation, which has been very popular recently. Of course, in the main I had
prepared for the Rio de Janeiro variation, which Vladimir has played regularly
in recent times, but I also devoted some attention to the Berlin Wall.} (5...
Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. dxe5 Nb7) 6. Bxc6 dxc6 (6... bxc6 7. dxe5) 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. Ne2 {I decided to choose this rare
continuation, since in the main lines after 10.h3, Black has recently been
achieving good results. This was shown at the Olympiad itself, in the games
Caruana-Kramnik and Polgar-Karjakin.} Ne7 11. h3 Ng6 12. b3 h6 (12... Be7 13.
Bb2 a5 14. a4 c5 15. Nc3 Be6 16. Rad1 $14) 13. Bb2 c5 14. Rad1 Be6 15. Nc3 (15.
Nh2 $5 Be7 16. f4 Nh4 (16... Bf5 17. Ng3 Nh4 18. Nxf5 Nxf5 19. Rfe1 Rd8 20. Nf3
$14) 17. g4 g6 18. Nc3 $14) 15... Be7 (15... c6 16. Ne4 Rd8 17. Nfd2 Be7 18. f4
Nh4 19. g4 $16) 16. Nd5 Bd8 (16... Bxd5 17. Rxd5 Nf4 18. Rdd1 Rd8 19. Kh2 Ne6
20. Rfe1 $14) 17. c4 a5 18. a4 c6 19. Nc3 (19. Ne3 $5 Bc7 20. Nd2 $1 {I was
calculating the variation with Ne3, but I missed this strong move.} Nxe5 (20...
Rd8 21. Ne4 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 b6 23. Nd6+ Ke7 24. Nef5+ Kf8 25. f3 h5 26. Kf2 h4
27. Ke3 $14) 21. Ne4 f6 22. Nxc5 $16) 19... Be7 20. Ne4 Rd8 21. Rfe1 (21. Kh2
$5 Bf5 $132 22. Nfd2) 21... Rxd1 (21... b6 22. Nd6+ Kf8 23. Rd3 Nf4 24. Rd2 g5
25. Nh2 h5 26. Nf1 $14) 22. Rxd1 Nf4 (22... Bf5 23. Nd6+ (23. Re1 Kd8 24. e6 f6
25. Ng3 Bc2 26. Re3) 23... Bxd6 24. Rxd6 Nf4) 23. Ba3 $5 {Here I thought for a
long time, considering the many interesting variations given below. Also, at
this point it became clear that Karjakin of Russia had completely caught
Eljanov in a prepared line, and our team's position was bad. Therefore I
understood that I had to fight and do everything possible to save this very
difficult match against Russia.} (23. Kh2 $1 b6 24. Nd6+ Kf8 25. Ng1 $1 g5 26.
g3 Ng6 27. Ne2 h5 28. f3 $14) 23... b6 (23... Bf5 $5 {I spent most of my time
on precisely this continuation!} 24. Nd6+ $5 (24. Nxc5 $6 b6 $2 (24... Ne2+ $1
25. Kf1 (25. Kh2 Nc3 26. Rg1 Nb1 27. Nd4 Bh7 28. Rd1 Nxa3 29. Nxb7 c5 30. Nb5
Nxb5 31. axb5 Be4 32. Nxa5 Bd8 $15) 25... Nc3 26. Rc1 Nb1 $15) 25. Nb7 $1 Bxa3
26. Rd8+ $18) 24... Bxd6 25. exd6 Nd3 26. g4 Bh7 27. Rd2 b6 28. Re2+ Kd7 29.
Re7+ Kxd6 30. Rxf7 Rg8 31. Nd2 Ne5 32. Rb7 Nd7 33. f4 $132) 24. Nd6+ Kf8 25.
Kf1 (25. Kh2 $6 g5 26. Bc1 Ng6 27. g4 h5 $2 28. Kg3 $18) 25... g5 $5 (25... Ng6
26. Bb2 Kg8 27. Nd2 Kh7 28. N2e4 Rf8 29. Rd2 $14) 26. Bc1 Kg7 (26... Ng6 27. g4
Bd8 28. Kg2 Bc7 29. Kg3 $14) 27. Bxf4 (27. Nh4 {I thought a long time for this
move, but then decided against it. Though in this position is was the better
plan.} Bxd6 (27... gxh4 28. Bxf4 Rd8 29. Ke2 Kg6 30. Rd3 $14) 28. Rxd6 Nxh3 29.
Nf3 g4 30. Nh4 Ng5 31. Rxc6 Rd8 32. Ke2 Rb8 33. Ke3 $16) 27... gxf4 28. Nd2 $6
(28. Ke2 Rd8 29. Ne4 Rxd1 30. Kxd1 Bf5 31. Nfd2 {and White has better chances.}
) 28... Bxd6 $1 {Liquidating the strong knight just in time.} (28... f6 29.
exf6+ Bxf6 30. Re1 Bd7 31. Nf3 Kg6 32. Re4 $16 Bf5 33. Rxf4 Bc2 34. Ne4 Bg7 35.
Nfd2 $14) 29. exd6 Rd8 30. Ne4 f5 $2 {In mutual time-trouble, Vladimir commits
a serious strategic mistake.} (30... Bf5 $1 31. f3 f6 32. Kf2 Kf7 $11 {In this
position, neither side can strengthen their position and it is therefore drawn.
}) 31. Nc3 Kf6 32. Ke2 Bf7 33. d7 Bh5+ $2 {Practically the decisive mistake.} (
33... Ke6 34. f3 Rxd7 35. Rxd7 Kxd7 36. Kd3 Kd6 37. Ne2 Ke5 38. Kc3 Be8 39. h4
Bf7 40. Nc1 $16 {with good winning chances.}) 34. f3 Ke6 35. Ke1 $1 {This is
the resource that my opponent had overlooked. This was clear from his reaction
and the fact that he used up his last few minutes.} Bf7 36. Ne2 Ke5 37. Nc1 $1
{The white knight starts to attack the fixed black pawn weaknesses. Black's
position is close to being lost.} Be6 38. Nd3+ Kf6 39. Nxf4 Bxd7 40. Kf2 Ke7
41. Ng6+ Ke6 42. f4 Rb8 43. g4 $1 Be8 44. Nh4 $1 {The most accurate
realisation of the advantage. The knight now comes to f5, and the black king
is driven from the 6th rank, and White totally dominates.} fxg4 45. hxg4 b5 46.
Nf5 bxa4 47. bxa4 Rb4 48. Rd6+ Kf7 49. Rxh6 Rxa4 50. g5 Kg8 51. Nd6 (51. g6 $1
Rxc4 52. Kf3 Rc1 (52... Bd7 53. Ne7+ Kf8 54. Rh7 Be6 55. f5 $18) 53. g7 $18)
51... Bf7 52. Nxf7 Kxf7 53. f5 Rxc4 54. Kf3 Rb4 55. Rh7+ Kg8 56. g6 1-0

[Event "Foros Aerosvit 3rd"]
[Site "Foros"]
[Date "2008.06.17"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Volokitin, Andrei"]
[Black "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2684"]
[BlackElo "2687"]
[Annotator "Eljanov,P"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "2008.06.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "UKR"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 125"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2008.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 {In our previous encounter in the European
championship in Dresden 2007 I chose 9...Bd7. Now was the time for another
approach. Bei unserer letzten Begegnung bei der Europameisterschaft in Dresden
2007 wählte ich 9...Bd7. Nun war es Zeit für eine andere Herangehensweise.} 10.
h3 Ng6 11. Ne4 h6 12. b3 a5 (12... c5 13. Bb2 Bd7 14. Rad1 Kc8 15. Nfd2 Nf4 16.
Kh2 a5 17. g3 Ne6 18. a4 Ng5 19. f4 Nxe4 20. Nxe4 Bf5 21. Rfe1 h5 22. Ng5 Be7
23. Nxf7 Rg8 24. e6 Ra6 25. Rd7 Re8 26. Be5 Rc6 27. Red1 b6 28. Rxe7 Rxe7 29.
Rd8+ Kb7 30. Rf8 {1-0 Volokitin,A-Gyimesi Zoltan/Drzavna liga 2007 2007}) 13.
a4 c5 $146 (13... Bd7) 14. Bb2 Be6 15. Nfd2 $5 {It looks like this idea is
known to Andrei and he is happy to adopt it in our game as he did in the game
against Gyimesi! Diese Idee schien Andrei zu kennen und sich zu freuden, sie
unserer Partie anzuwenden, denn er hatte so auch schon gegen Gyimesi gespielt!}
Nf4 16. Kh2 g6 $1 {After thinking for a long time,I found the way to hold the
white expansion on the kingside. Nach langem Nachdenken fand ich den Weg, die
weiße Expansion am Königsflügel im Zaum zu halten.} ({In other cases White is
clearly better: Andernfalls steht Weiß klar besser:} 16... Be7 17. g3 Nd5 (
17... Nxh3 18. f4 Bf5 19. Rae1 $16) 18. c4 Nb4 19. Rad1 Kc8 (19... h5 20. Nxc5)
20. f4 g6 21. g4 $36) (16... Kd7 17. g3 Nd5 18. c4 Nb4 19. f4 $14) 17. Nc4 Kd7
$1 {c6 is the best square for the black king. c6 ist das beste Feld für den
schwarzen König.} (17... b6 18. Rad1+ Kc8 19. g3 (19. Ned6+ cxd6 20. Nxb6+ Kb7
21. Nxa8 d5 $1 $15) 19... Nd5 20. f4 h5 21. Ng5 $14) 18. g3 Nd5 (18... Nxh3 19.
f4 $16) 19. f4 h5 20. Rad1 Kc6 21. Ng5 Bg7 $5 {Another critical moment and
maybe this modest move is the best again as: Wieder ein kritischer Moment, und
vielleicht ist dieser bescheidene Zug erneut am besten, denn:} (21... Bh6 22.
Nxf7 $1 Bxf7 23. e6 Bxe6 24. Bxh8 Rxh8 25. Rfe1 $16) (21... Be7 22. Nxf7 $1
Rhf8 23. Ng5 Bxg5 24. fxg5 b6 $14 {Here Black is very solid, but without any
counterplay as my knight should secure the critical f6-square. Hier steht
Schwarz sehr solide, ist aber ohne jedes Gegenspiel, da mein Springer das
kritische Feld f6 zu sichern hat.}) (21... h4 $5 {I saw this idea and it was
also Evgeny Alekseev's suggestion in the press centre. But probably White can
hope for some advantage after Dies Idee hatte ich gesehen, und dies war auch
Evgeny Alekseevs Vorschlag im Pressezentrum. Aber vermutlich kann Weiß auf
etwas Vorteil hoffen nach} 22. g4 Bh6 23. Nxe6 fxe6 24. Bc1 (24. f5 gxf5 25.
gxf5 Rhg8 26. f6 Bf4+ 27. Kh1 Rg3 28. Rd3 $14) 24... Rhf8 25. g5 Bg7 $14) 22.
Nxe6 fxe6 23. Bc1 Bh6 24. Kg2 Rhf8 25. Na3 $6 {Till this moment the play of
both sides was very logical. Andrei created a few puzzles. I found the right
answers, so everything was balanced. But his last move is very strange and
gave me a pleasant choice. Bis zu diesem Moment verlief das Spiel beider
Seiten sehr logisch. Andrei stellte ein paar Rätsel, ich fand die richtigen
Antworten, daher befand sich alles im Gleichgewicht. Aber ein letzter Zug ist
sehr seltsam und gibt mir eine angenehme Wahl.} (25. Rf3 b6 26. Rdf1 Rf7 (26...
Rad8 27. g4 Nb4 28. R3f2 Rf7 29. Kg3) 27. g4 Raf8 28. Kg3 $2 Bxf4+ 29. Bxf4
Nxf4 30. Rxf4 h4+ 31. Kxh4 Rxf4 32. Rxf4 Rxf4 33. Kg5 Rf3 34. h4 Rg3 $19) 25...
Rf7 $6 {Solid but passive. I could try to cut across his initiative: Solide,
aber passiv. Ich hätte versuchen können, seine Initiative zu durchkreuzen.} (
25... Rad8 $5 26. c4 Nc3 27. Rd2 h4 28. gxh4 (28. g4 Ne4 29. Rxd8 Rxd8 $36)
28... Rxd2+ 29. Bxd2 Ne2 $132) (25... h4 $5 26. c4 (26. Rf3 hxg3 27. Kxg3 Rf5
$15) 26... Nc3 27. Rde1 $8 (27. Rd3 Ne2 $17) 27... Rad8 (27... hxg3 {I saw
that my knight cannot be trapped as he cannot protect the a2-square. But I
decided that the position is still unclear. Ich sah, dass man Springer nicht
gefangen werden kann, da er das Feld a2 nicht kontrollieren kann. Trotzdem
schien mir diese Stellung noch unklar.} 28. Rf3 (28. Nb5 Na2 29. Be3 Nb4 $15)
28... Na2 29. Be3 Nb4 30. Rd1 (30. Kxg3 Rad8) 30... Rad8 31. Rxd8 Rxd8 32. Rxg3
Nd3 $132) 28. Rf3 Na2 29. Be3 Rd3 30. gxh4 (30. Nb5 Nb4 $36) 30... Rxb3 31. Nb5
$13) 26. c4 Ne7 27. Rd3 Rg8 $5 {An interesting practical human decision - try
to get some fresh air, some counterplay! Eine interessante praktische
menschliche Entscheidung - Schwarz verlangt es nach frischer Luft, etwas
Gegenspiel!} ({The engine suggests the "strange" Die Engine rät zu dem
"seltsamen"} 27... h4 28. g4 Raf8 29. Rdf3 {with approximate equality. But I
think that White can count on something in the long run. mit ungefährem
Ausgleich. Aber meines Erachtens kann sich Weiß langfristig etwas erhoffen,} (
29. Nb5 Bxf4 30. Bxf4 Rxf4 31. Rxf4 Rxf4 32. Na7+ Kb6 33. Rd7 Nc6 34. Nxc6 Kxc6
35. Re7 $11)) 28. Rfd1 Nf5 29. Nb5 $2 {And here Andrei miscalculated and made
a serious mistake! Und hier verrechnete sich Andrei und beging einen ernsten
Fehler!} ({I felt that Andrei did not like Ich spürte, dass Andrei} 29. h4 {
as it's not in his creative uncompromising style! After the game he told me
that White has a big advantage here and some commentators also wrote something
like this. But I don't see any idea how to break through. missfiel, denn dies
passt nicht zu seinem kreativen kompromisslosen Stil! Nach der Partie sagte er
mir, dass Weiß hier großen Vorteil hat, und einige Kommentaren schrieben
Ähnliches. Ich sehe allerdings keine Idee, wie man durchbrechen kann.} b6 30.
Nb5 Re8 $1 {Ater it I just wait and I'm curious what White will do.} 31. Be3
Bg7 32. Bf2 Nh6 33. Nc3 (33. Rd8 Rxd8 34. Rxd8 Rf8 35. Rd3 Nf5 $11) 33... Ree7
$5 34. Rd8 Rf8 35. R8d2 Rff7 $11) (29. g4 Nd4 30. g5 Bg7 31. Nb5 Nf5 32. Nc3
Ra8 33. Ne4 Bf8 34. Nf6 Be7 35. Rd7 Rff8 $11) 29... g5 30. g4 (30. Rd8 Rxd8 31.
Rxd8 gxf4 32. gxf4 Nh4+ 33. Kg3 Ng6 $17) 30... gxf4 31. Kf3 Nh4+ 32. Ke4 b6 $1
{This is what Andrei missed. Mate is not available ever.  Dies hatte Andrei
übersehen. Aus dem Matt wird niemals was.} 33. gxh5 Rg2 $1 34. Nc3 (34. Rd8
Re2+ 35. Kd3 Rxe5 36. Kc2 Nf5 $19) 34... Nf5 35. Rd8 Rg3 36. Nb5 Rxb3 37. R1d3
Rxd3 38. Rxd3 f3 $1 {The last finesse. Die letzte Feinheit.} 39. Bxh6 f2 40.
Rd1 Ng3+ 41. Ke3 f1=R 42. Rxf1 Nxf1+ 43. Kd3 Ng3 44. h4 Rf3+ 45. Kd2 Rf5 46.
Bg5 Ne4+ 47. Ke3 Nxg5 48. hxg5 Rxg5 0-1

[Event "RUS-chT 17th"]
[Site "Dagomys"]
[Date "2010.04.04"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2656"]
[BlackElo "2736"]
[Annotator "Eljanov,P"]
[PlyCount "138"]
[EventDate "2010.04.01"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2020"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2019.10.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2019.10.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Sverdlovsk Ural region"]
[BlackTeam "Saratov Ekonomist SGSEU"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RUS"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. dxe5 Nxb5 7. a4 {
A harmless line, especially having in mind my humble statistics in the Berlin :
)} Nbd4 8. Nxd4 d5 $1 {A modern way to play this line, which restricts the
white possibilities.} (8... Nxd4 9. Qxd4 d5 {is the main line.}) 9. Nxc6 bxc6
10. Qd3 Qd7 $1 11. b3 a5 $11 {A logical novelty.} (11... Be7 12. Ba3 c5 13. Nc3
Bb7 14. Rfe1 (14. Rfd1 d4 15. Ne4) 14... O-O 15. Rad1 Rad8 16. Qg3 Qf5 17. Nb5
Rd7 {1/2 Bologan,V (2684)-Fressinet,L (2670)/Clichy FRA 2010/The Week in Chess
803}) 12. Re1 (12. Qg3 Qg4 13. Qxg4 Bxg4 14. Ba3 c5 15. Nc3 c6 $11) 12... Bb4
13. c3 Be7 14. Ba3 c5 15. f4 {This is dubious, but Black has already the more
pleasant position.} O-O 16. Nd2 Rb8 17. Rf1 g6 18. f5 $6 {White stirs up
trouble.} (18. c4 d4 19. Ne4 Qc6 $15) 18... gxf5 19. Rf3 Rb6 $6 {I was very
happy to find this manoeuvre and made it without hesitation. But my rook was
well enough placed.} ({I think White has almost no compensation after} 19...
Kh8 20. Raf1 Qc6 21. Rg3 Be6 $17) 20. Nf1 $1 Rxb3 21. Ne3 d4 (21... Rxa3 22.
Rxa3 c4 23. Qd4) 22. Nxf5 Rxc3 23. Qe4 Kh8 ({The brave computer don't mind of
mating threats:} 23... Bg5 $5 {however} 24. Raf1 (24. Qg4 Qd8 25. Rxc3 dxc3 26.
Bxc5 Qd2 $1 (26... c2 27. Be7 Qd2 28. Nh6+ Kh8 29. Bxg5 c1=Q+ 30. Rxc1 Qxc1+
31. Bxc1 Bxg4 32. Nxg4 Rd8) 27. Rf1 (27. Bxf8 Kxf8) 27... c2 28. Ba3 c5 $17)
24... Rxf3 25. Rxf3 d3 26. Rxd3 Qxf5 27. Qxf5 Bxf5 28. Rg3 h6 29. h4 Rd8 30.
hxg5 h5 31. Bxc5 Rd5 32. Be7 Rxe5 33. Bf6 Rd5 34. Rc3 {and the endgame is
drawish.}) 24. Nxe7 Qxe7 25. Rxc3 dxc3 26. Qe3 Qe6 27. Qxc3 Rg8 28. Bb2 c4 $6 (
{I wasn't sure, whether I could exploit the weakness of the long diagonal after
} 28... Bb7 29. g3 Rd8 30. Qxc5 Kg8 $1 31. Qb5 Ba8 $36 {, but probably I
underestimated something, as I have a pleasant iniative here.}) 29. Rf1 Qb6+
30. Kh1 Be6 31. h3 Qc6 32. Qd2 Rg6 33. Kh2 Kg7 34. Bc3 Qxa4 $11 {Draw offer. I
was sure, that Ian would take the a5-pawn, after I could plan to play a deadly
drawish endgame.} 35. Rf4 $2 {An incredible positional over-estimation of his
chances. Only Black can play for a win here.} (35. Bxa5 Qd7 36. Qxd7 Bxd7 37.
Bc3 Kf8 $11) 35... Qb3 $1 36. Rd4 Qb1 {Rather difficult to choose the best way
in time trouble.} ({But the cold blooded} 36... a4 $1 {was better} 37. Rd8 Qb7
38. Bb4 c5 (38... h6 39. Be7) 39. Bxc5 h6 $17) 37. Qf2 ({It is not in Ian's
style to calculate variations such as} 37. Rxc4 Bxc4 38. e6+ f6 39. Qd7+ Kh6
40. Bd2+ Rg5 41. h4 Qe4 42. hxg5+ fxg5 43. Qxc7 Qh4+ 44. Kg1 Qd4+ 45. Kh2 $11 {
just to make a draw.}) 37... a4 38. Rd7 $1 {A very nice trick.} Qc1 $1 (38...
Bxd7 39. e6+ f6 40. exd7 Qb8 41. Qe2 $132) 39. Bb2 Qg5 40. h4 Qxg2+ $5 {
I was happy to make this move as I'm out of danger now.} (40... Qh6 {was
objectively not worse at least} 41. Rxc7 Rg4 42. g3 Qg6 43. Ra7 {and White is
a bit worse, but the position remains complex.}) 41. Qxg2 Rxg2+ 42. Kxg2 Bxd7
43. e6+ Kf8 44. exd7 $4 {Each rule has its exception and this is here the
case! The pawn on f7 is much more important than such a powerful piece as the
bishop in this position!} (44. exf7 $1 {It's a fortress now!} Kxf7 45. Kf3 Ke6
(45... Kg6 46. Kf4 Kh5 47. Kg3 Be6 48. Bc3 a3 49. Ba1 Kg6 50. Kf4) 46. Ke3 Kd5
47. Kd2 Kc5 48. Bg7 Kb4 49. Bf6 Kb3 50. Be5 a3 51. Bf6 Ka2 52. Kc1 $11) 44...
Ke7 45. Kf3 Kxd7 $19 {Now, despite my pawns being isolated, White is unable to
hold them all.} 46. Bf6 (46. Kg4 Kc6 47. Kg5 Kb5 48. Kh6 Kb4 49. h5 a3) (46.
Ke4 Kc6 47. Kd4 Kb5 48. Kc3 f5 49. Bc1 Kc5 50. Bf4 c6 51. h5 Kd5 52. Bc1 Ke4
53. Kxc4 f4 54. Kc3 Kf3 55. Kd3 Kg3 56. Ke2 c5 $19) 46... Ke6 47. Bc3 Kf5 $1 {
I suppose this is not the only way to win here, but I like this one: before
the king marches to the queenside I'm strenghtening my position.} 48. Bb2 c6
49. Bc3 a3 50. Bb4 a2 51. Bc3 c5 52. Ba1 Ke6 53. Ke3 Kd5 54. Bc3 Kc6 55. Bf6
Kb5 56. Kd2 c3+ $1 57. Bxc3 f5 58. Kd3 h5 59. Be5 Kb4 60. Kc2 f4 61. Kb2 f3 62.
Bg3 Kc4 63. Bf2 Kd3 64. Kxa2 Ke2 65. Bxc5 f2 66. Bxf2 Kxf2 67. Kb2 Kg3 68. Kc2
Kxh4 69. Kd2 Kg3 {As usual - a tragedy of one tempo :)} 0-1

[Event "Bundesliga 1920"]
[Site "Germany"]
[Date "2019.11.24"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Engel, Luis"]
[Black "Georgiadis, Nico"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2519"]
[BlackElo "2529"]
[Annotator "Engel,Luis"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2019.11.23"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 193 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2020.01.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.01.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Hamburger SK"]
[BlackTeam "Bayern Muenchen"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

{[%evp 0,59,16,28,44,11,29,4,14,14,20,44,53,-8,-24,-16,22,31,36,-7,-23,-3,-1,
-5,8,-14,-8,-7,17,-33,-26,-21,-19,-19,-1,-8,-12,-47,7,-31,10,-10,0,0,-14,-13,0,
0,10,47,55,93,97,94,221,221,221,183,419,593,1022,1357]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3.
Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. dxe5 Nxb5 7. a4 Nbd4 8. Nxd4 d5 (8... Nxd4 9.
Qxd4 d5 10. exd6 Qxd6 11. Qe4+ Qe6 12. Qd4 Qd6 $11 {is a well-known line to
finish the game in a peaceful way, but that was neither Nico's, nor my
intention.}) 9. Nxc6 bxc6 {Now Black's pawn structure is slightly damaged, but
in exchange for that he gets active opportunities, as we will see in the game.}
10. Qd3 Rb8 $5 $146 {An interesting noveltry, found by Nico over the board.
Now I was out of my preparation and thought for a while, but I didn't manage
to find the best move:} (10... Qd7 {has been played a few times and leads to
an interesting and unbalanced position where both sides have their chances.})
11. Nd2 $6 {A slight inaccuracy. The knight is not well-placed here.} (11. b3 {
[%cal Gb1c3,Gb1d2] Is probably a better move, leaving the options of the
b1-knight still open.}) 11... c5 {[%csl Rd2] Now this is possible, as I am
unable to attack the weakness on d5.} 12. b3 Be7 13. Ba3 Qd7 14. Rad1 Qc6 {
Moving the queen out of the d-file.} ({I was hoping for} 14... O-O $6 15. Ne4
$1 {[%cal Rd5e4,Gd3d7] Thanks to the pin in the d-file, I can activate my
knight and target both the c5 and the d5-pawn. Unfortunately, Nico didn't fall
for this little trick:)}) 15. Rfe1 O-O {The opening is over, and I was not
happy at all about my position. My knight on d2 is pretty stupid and Black has
the pair of bishops. Objectively, it is already Black who can hope for an
advantage here.} 16. Nf1 Bb7 17. Qh3 Rfe8 $5 {An interesting move which I had
not anticipated.} ({I was most afraid of} 17... Qe6 $5 {which leads to a
better endgame for Black after} 18. Qxe6 fxe6 $15 {This position will probably
not be fun to play with White...}) 18. e6 $6 {I immediately took my chance to
set up a direct attack against the black king. In our analysis after the game,
Nico said that he hadn't thought about that option at all. But in fact, the
move is not very good and Black will be able to get an advantage. Actually, I
thought that I would seize the initiative now, but my evaluation was simply
wrong! Objectively, Black is better, but the position is still not easy to
play and very double-edged.} (18. f4 $13 {Was better, but I didn't even
consider this option.}) 18... d4 (18... fxe6 $1 19. Rxe6 Bd6 $15 {is another
way for Black to get an advantage.}) 19. f3 f6 $5 {I was surprised by this
move. My e6-pawn looks strong now, but I have to be very careful to not simply
lose it after for example ...Bd6, followed by Re7 and Rbe8.} (19... fxe6 20.
Qxe6+ Qxe6 21. Rxe6 Bf8 $15 {was probably a safer option that leads to a
slightly better endgame for Black.}) 20. Ng3 g6 {Of course! Again, my knight
on g3 seems out of play now, but anyway, it will play an important role in the
attack which followed in the game...} 21. Re4 $2 {Bringing another piece in
the attack and setting up some threats like ...Rh4. Unfortunately, the move is
not very good, as Black has enough defending resources. I have to admit that I
was playing these aggressive moves in account of Nico's time pressure, so I
tried to create practical difficulties for him.} (21. Qg4 {would have been the
only move to hold equality, according to Stockfish:)}) 21... Bd6 {Preparing to
meet Rh4 with Re7!} (21... Bf8 $5 $17 {was also possible, having the same idea
in mind.}) 22. Rde1 $6 {I was still dreaming of some attack, but objectively,
my position is almost lost after this move!} (22. Re2 {is preferred by the
engines, but who would ever play such a move?}) 22... Re7 $1 {Simple chess,
threatening Rbe8 followed by Bc8, collecting my pawn on e6.} 23. Qh4 Rf8 $2 {
This move, played unter time pressure, seems very logical, as it brings the
last piece into play. But know, I will get the attacking possibilities I was
hoping for all the time.} (23... f5 $1 {looks a bit risky, but none of my
sacrifices work.} 24. Re5 $5 {was my plan during the game, intending a
sacrifice on f5, but after something like} Rbe8 25. Nxf5 gxf5 26. Rxf5 Rg7 $17
{it seems like my attack is not strong enough to compensate the missing piece.}
) 24. Bc1 $1 {What else? Now Black is facing the threat of Bh6. This is
definitely not a position one would like to play with Black with only a few
minutes on the clock.} f5 (24... Qe8 $1 $15 {Amazing defence! But none of us
two found this computer move that leads to a slightly better position for
Black after} 25. R4e2 Ba6 $1 {But that is computer chess:)}) 25. R4e2 {Again,
a very difficult position has arisen. There's only one move that keeps the
balance...} c4 $6 {Aiming for counterplay, but it seems like Black is just one
move too late now.} (25... Ba6 $1 {is the best move, leading to a unclear
positon after something like} 26. Bg5 Rg7 27. e7 Re8 28. Re6 Bc8 $1 $13 {
But who would ever allow such a pawn on e7?}) 26. Bg5 Rfe8 $2 {This allows a
tactical blow after which my attack will be unstoppable. But the position is
better for me anyway.} (26... d3 $5 27. Bxe7 Qc5+ $1 {was an interesting idea
I was afraid of while considering his options. Luckily, I can reach a winning
endgame after} 28. Rf2 Bxe7 29. Qxc4 Qxc4 30. bxc4 Bc5 31. cxd3 $18 {and I'm
two pawns up.}) (26... Ree8 $16 {Probably the best defence, but it looks still
very dangerous for Black.}) 27. Nxf5 $1 {The knight, which was out of play all
the time, sacrifices itself to break through Black's defence.} gxf5 28. Bf6 $1
{The point! This quiet little move decides the game: there is no defence
against Qg5+. Suddenly the pawn on e6, which was vulnerable all the time,
plays a very important role in the attack in covering important squares and
cutting of Black's pieces from the defence.} d3 29. Qg5+ Kf8 30. Bd4 {And mate
will follow after Qf6+ Kg8 Qh8# A nice attacking game, but I have to admit
that in between I got outplayed by Nico and was almost lost at some point. So
I would consider the game as a lucky win for me.} 1-0

[Event "Hoogeveen Essent op"]
[Site "Hoogeveen"]
[Date "2004.10.21"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Erenburg, Sergey"]
[Black "Jonkman, Harmen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2537"]
[BlackElo "2417"]
[Annotator "Erenburg,S"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2004.10.15"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 102 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2004.11.03"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2004.11.03"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 18440]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6
dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Be7 {Berlin defence is very fashionable
nowadays. The continuation in the game became one of the most popular lines...}
10. h3 {White doesn't want to define the position of his kingside rook at this
stage. Maybe I'll need it on e1, or even on f1. More popular is} (10. Rd1+ Ke8
11. Bg5 {1-0 Anand,V-Ponomariov,R/Linares 2003/CBM 94/[Stohl] (64)}) 10... h5
$146 {preventing white's g2-g4. On the other hand, black weakens the g5 square.
In the previous games black tried:} (10... Be6 11. Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 Ke7 13.
Rad1 Bc4 14. Rfe1 h6 15. Nf3 g5 $5 16. g4 Ng7 17. Nd4 Be6 18. Ne4 Rad8 19. Ng3
c5 $5 20. Ndf5+ Bxf5 21. gxf5 f6 $1 $11 {Polgar,J-Ponomariov,R/Benidorm 5'
plof/2002/}) (10... Ke8 11. Rd1 Bd7 12. g4 Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14. Kg2 Rd8 15.
Be3 b6 16. f3 Be6 17. a4 a5 18. b3 c5 19. Nb5 Rd7 20. c4 Kd8 21. Rxd7+ Kxd7 22.
Rd1+ Kc8 23. Nc3 $14 {1-0 Korneev,O-Jonkman,H/Catalan Bay 2003/CBM 92 ext (55)}
) 11. Bg5 {The most logical reaction against last black's move. White is
willing to occupy the dark squares on the kingside with the knights.} Bxg5 ({
Maybe black shouldn't have hurried with the capture on g5:} 11... Be6 12. Rad1+
Ke8 13. Rd2 $14 {[%cal Yf1d1]}) 12. Nxg5 Ke7 13. Ne2 $1 {transfering the
knight to f4 and covering the d4 square, that can make possible the
breakthrough g2-g4.} h4 $6 {Logical decision to freeze white's kingside pawns,
but, it allows white to open up the game.} ({I would recommend} 13... Rd8 14.
Nf4 h4 15. Rfd1 Be6 {and black's chances to equalize are not so bad.}) {
[%tqu "En","Please find the best move for white.","","","g2g4","",10]} 14. g4
$1 {Strong continuation, which opens the "f" file for the rooks. Other moves
don't promise white anything special:} (14. Rfd1 Be6 $14 {/=}) (14. Nf4 Rd8 $14
{/=} (14... Nd4 $5)) 14... hxg3 (14... Nh6 {is too passive.} 15. f4 $16 {
In this case, black's knight is absolutely out of the game.}) 15. fxg3 Be6 {
The only move to defend the f7 pawn. Black cannot win the h3 pawn:} (15... f6
16. Nf4 $1 $16 {[%cal Yf4g6]} (16. exf6+ $5 gxf6 17. Nf4 $1 $16 {[%cal Ya1e1,
Gf4g6]})) 16. Rf2 $1 {Simple and strong. White adds another rook to create
more serious pressure along the "f" file, as well as he threats with g3-g4.} ({
Worse is} 16. g4 {, in view of} Ne3 17. Rf2 Nxc2 18. Raf1 Bxa2 $13 19. Rxf7+
Bxf7 20. Rxf7+ Ke8 21. Rxg7 Rd8 {and black keeps some chances...}) 16... Rad8 (
{Black doesn't succeed to equalize after} 16... Rhd8 17. g4 Ne3 18. Nf4 Rd1+
19. Rxd1 Nxd1 20. Rf3 Bxa2 21. b3 Bb1 22. e6 $1 $18 {[%cal Ye6f7,Yf4g6,Gg5f7]})
17. g4 {Now it is the right moment to use brilliant location of white pieces!}
(17. Nf4 {was strong enough as well:} Nxg3 (17... Rhg8 18. g4 Nh6 19. Ngxe6
fxe6 20. Ng6+ $16) 18. Ngxe6 fxe6 19. Ng6+ Kd7 20. Rf7+ Kc8 21. Nxh8 $18) 17...
Ne3 ({Doesn't change the evaluation of position:} 17... Nd4 18. Nf4 Bc4 19. e6
$1 Nxe6 20. Re1 $1 $18 {[%cal Gb2b3,Yf4e6,Yg5e6,Yg5f7,Ge1e6,Gf2f7]}) 18. Nf4
$18 {Now black is hopeless against white's pieces activity. White is going to
invade into the black camp through the f7 square.} Rhg8 {protecting the g7
pawn.} (18... Rh6 19. Nfxe6 fxe6 20. Rf7+ $18) 19. Nfxe6 fxe6 20. Rf7+ ({Maybe
} 20. Re1 $1 {was even exacter:} Nd5 21. c4 $18) 20... Ke8 21. Rxc7 Rd7 22.
Rc8+ Rd8 23. Rxd8+ Kxd8 24. Nxe6+ $2 {Inaccuracy, that gives black some
chances to survive...} ({Much better was} 24. Re1 $1 Nxc2 25. Rf1 $1 {[%cal
Yf1f7]} Re8 26. Rf7 Re7 27. Rxg7 Nb4 28. Rg8+ Kc7 29. h4 $18 {and white's
kingside pawns are unstoppable.}) 24... Ke7 25. Nd4 Rh8 $2 {missing his last
chance:} (25... Rd8 $1 26. c3 (26. Nf5+ Nxf5 27. gxf5 Rd2 28. Rf1 Rxc2 29. Rf2
Rc1+ 30. Kg2 Re1 31. e6 Kf6 {and black's chances for a draw are not bad at all.
}) 26... c5 27. Nf3 (27. Nf5+ Nxf5 28. gxf5 Rd2 $16) 27... Rd1+ 28. Rxd1 Nxd1
$16 {/+-}) 26. Re1 $1 Nd5 (26... c5 {is met by} 27. Nc6+ $1 $18 ({But not} 27.
Rxe3 cxd4 28. Rb3 b6 {and black is still alive.})) (26... Rxh3 27. Rxe3 Rxe3
28. Nf5+ $18) 27. Nf5+ {White is two pawns up in absolutely winning endgame.} (
27. Nf5+ Kf7 28. e6+ Kf6 29. e7 Re8 30. c4 Nf4 31. Nd6 Rxe7 32. g5+ $18) 1-0

[Event "NED-ch47"]
[Site "Eindhoven"]
[Date "1992.03.20"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Nijboer, Friso"]
[Black "Cifuentes Parada, Roberto"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2455"]
[BlackElo "2540"]
[Annotator "Ernst,T"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "1992.03.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 030"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1992.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1992.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 (9... Be6 10. b3 h6 11. Bb2 Bb4 12. h3 a5 13. Rad1+
Kc8 14. Ne2 a4 15. Nf4 Bc5 $1 {De Firmian - Hort, Biel 1989.} 16. Nxe6 $1 fxe6
17. g4 Ne7 18. Bd4 b6 $10) (9... Be6 10. b3 h6 11. Bb2 b6 12. Ne2 Bc5 13. Nd2 {
13.Sf4!} Kc8 14. Ne4 Be7 15. Nf4 h5 16. Rfd1 Kb7 17. Kf1 a5 18. Nxe6 $10 {
Tal,M-Kortschnoj,V/Reykjavik/1988/}) (9... h6 10. b3 Be6 11. Bb2 Kc8 12. Ne2 c5
13. Nf4 b6 14. Rad1 g5 15. Nxe6 fxe6 {Kindermann - Smejkal, München 1988.} 16.
g4 $5 Ne7 17. h4 gxh4 18. Nxh4 Rg8 19. f3 h5 20. Ng2 Kb7 21. gxh5 Nf5 22. Kf2
$14) 10. b3 h5 11. Ne2 (11. Rd1 Be7 12. Bg5 Nh6 $1 13. h3 Bf5 14. Bxe7 Kxe7 15.
Nd4 Rad8 16. Rd2 Bg6 17. Rad1 h4 18. b4 $1 $14 {Karpov - Miles, Biel 1990.})
11... Be7 12. Bg5 h4 13. h3 Be6 14. c4 Rd8 15. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 16. Rxd1 Bxg5 17.
Nxg5 Rh5 18. Nf3 Ke7 19. Nf4 Rh8 20. Ng5 Re8 21. Ngxe6 fxe6 22. Kf1 $16 c5 23.
Ke2 a5 24. Kf3 a4 25. Kg4 axb3 26. axb3 Ra8 27. Ng6+ Ke8 28. Nxh4 Nd4 29. Rb1
Ra2 30. f4 Rc2 31. Kh5 Kf7 32. Ra1 Rf2 (32... Nxb3 33. Ra7 $36) 33. Kg5 Nf5 34.
Nxf5 Rxg2+ 35. Kh4 exf5 36. Ra7 g5+ 37. fxg5 f4 38. Rxb7 f3 39. Rxc7+ Ke6 40.
Rc6+ Kxe5 41. Rf6 Ke4 (41... f2 42. Kh5 Ke4 43. g6 Ke3 44. h4 Ke2 45. Kh6 f1=Q
46. Rxf1 Kxf1 47. h5 $18) 42. Kh5 f2 43. h4 Ke3 44. g6 Rg3 45. Rxf2 Kxf2 46.
Kh6 Ke3 47. g7 Kd4 48. h5 Kc3 49. Kh7 Kxb3 50. g8=Q Rxg8 51. Kxg8 1-0

[Event "Reggio Emilia-A 9192 34th"]
[Site "Reggio Emilia"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Salov, Valery"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2650"]
[BlackElo "2665"]
[Annotator "Ernst,T"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "1991.12.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ITA"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 027"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1992.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1992.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke8 10. Nc3 Be6 11. Ne2 Bd5 12. Ne1 h5 13. Nf4 Rd8 14. b3
Be7 15. Bb2 (15. c4 $1 Be4 $6 16. Rxd8+ Kxd8 17. f3 Bc5+ 18. Kf1 Ne3+ 19. Ke2
Nc2 20. fxe4 Nxa1 21. Bb2 $18) 15... g5 16. Ne2 Rg8 17. c4 Be6 18. Nc2 a5 (
18... b5 $1 19. Ncd4 Nxd4 20. Nxd4 bxc4 21. Nxc6 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Bd7 {22.-cxb3?
23.La3!} 23. Nxe7 Kxe7 24. bxc4 $14) 19. Nc3 Rd7 20. Ne4 c5 $2 (20... b5 $1 $14
) 21. Kf1 Kd8 22. Ke2 Kc8 23. Rxd7 Kxd7 24. Rd1+ Kc6 25. a4 $1 b6 26. Ne1 Kb7
27. g3 Nh6 28. Nc3 Bg4+ 29. f3 Be6 30. Nd5 Bd8 31. Ne3 Be7 32. Bc3 c6 33. N1c2
Bd8 34. Rh1 g4 $2 {Ein Fehler in Zeitnot.} 35. f4 Nf5 36. Rd1 $1 Bc7 37. Nxf5
Bxf5 38. Ne3 Bc8 39. Kd3 h4 40. Ke4 hxg3 41. hxg3 Rh8 42. f5 Rh2 43. Nxg4 Re2+
44. Kf4 (44. Kf3 $2 Bxf5 $1 $13) 44... b5 45. Rd2 Re1 46. Ne3 f6 47. g4 Rb1 48.
Ke4 fxe5 49. Bb2 Re1 50. Rd3 Kb6 51. Bc3 Re2 52. Bxe5 Bxe5 53. Kxe5 bxc4 54.
bxc4 Kc7 55. Kf6 Ra2 56. g5 Rxa4 57. g6 Ra1 58. Rd1 1-0

[Event "Tata Steel-A 81st"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2019.01.14"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2777"]
[Annotator "Fernandez,D"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2019.01.12"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 188"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2018.12.21"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.12.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5
8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. c3 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 {So far, par for the
course. The battle in this line has tended to revolve around White's attempts
at playing an immediate d5- as if Black is allowed to play ...d5 himself, the
game is almost certain to be drawn.} Ne8 {Slightly more ambitious (or
'ashamed' at being happy with a draw) than, say, ...Qe8.} 13. d5 b6 (13... c6
14. Nd2 (14. Be3 cxd5 $5 15. Qd2 Nc7 16. Na3 d6 17. Nc2 Bf5 18. Nb4 Be4 {
and Black ultimately managed to maintain his grip on the pawn, against the
laws of physics. McShane,L -Radjabov,T Batumi 2018}) 14... cxd5 15. Nf3 d6 16.
Be3 Nc7 17. Qd2 Bd7 18. g3 Bc6 19. Bg2 Ne6 20. Rd1 Qa5 21. a3 h6 22. Nd4 Nxd4
23. Bxd4 Bxd4 24. Qxd4 Re8 25. Bxd5 Bxd5 26. Qxd5 Qxd5 27. Rxd5 Re2 28. b4 Rc2
29. Rxd6 Rxc3 30. Rd8+ Kh7 31. Rd7 Rxa3 32. Rxb7 $11 {Giri,A -Caruana,F Batumi
2018}) 14. Bf4 Bb7 15. Qd2 h6 16. c4 c6 17. Nc3 {It is at this point that
Kramnik begins playing the chess that we saw in Berlin last year: maximalist
and pushing for the tactics to work, even against an energy gradient.} cxd5 (
17... Bg5 {seems more natural, retaining the connected pawn structure for now,
and preferably until the queens come off.}) 18. cxd5 d6 19. Re1 Nc7 20. Bc4 {
The problem with Black's position here is not that it is worse, but just that
whatever he plays requires a stack of tactics to be present- and adequately
calculated- to avoid major calamity.} Bxc3 $5 (20... Qd7 21. Ne4 Be5 {is still
apparently equal, although human players would instinctively not be pleased at
the presence of Qxh6 motifs.}) 21. bxc3 Qf6 $1 (21... b5 22. Bb3 a5 23. a3 Qd7
$14) 22. h3 Rc8 {But this is a little strange. Clearly, Black wants ...b5 and .
..Na6-c5, but there are a number of answers to this.} (22... b5 23. Bb3 a5 24.
a3 a4 25. Ba2 Re8 $11 {leads to a position where White has no easy way of
freeing both his pieces from defending d5.}) 23. Re4 (23. Be3 $14) 23... b5 24.
Bb3 a5 25. a3 Qf5 (25... Re8 $14 {Compared with a few moves ago, White has the
extra chance of playing f3 so as to improve his structure during the rook
trade, but this isn't enough to make his advantage dramatic (Black could put
his knight on c5 in response.)}) 26. Rd4 Qb1+ {This move might look natural,
but with it, Black passes the point of no return.} (26... Qf6 $14 {was still
possible, albeit now White is in a position to play for a4 or c4.}) 27. Bd1 b4
28. cxb4 Nb5 29. Qd3 Qa1 30. Re4 Bxd5 {Presumably visualised when playing ...
Qb1+, but the follow-up is missing.} (30... Nc3 31. Re1 axb4 32. axb4 $14) 31.
Re1 $1 {As with most computer-precise chess games, it makes very little sense
that White's rook had to go to d4, and then back to e1. However, he is now
very much better, because of Black's total lack of co-ordination.} Bc4 32. Qf5
Rf8 33. Kh2 (33. bxa5 Qc3 34. Re3 Qd4 35. Bh5 {is too much computer chess})
33... g6 (33... Qd4 34. Bc2 g6 35. Qg4 Nxa3 36. Rd1 $1 $16) 34. Qe4 d5 35. Qe7
axb4 $2 {A blunder in a hopeless position.} (35... Qd4 36. Bxh6 Ra8 37. bxa5
Qxf2 38. Bg4 $18 {continues to avoid material loss, but Black's pieces are all
terrible and he must lose soon.}) 36. Be5 1-0

[Event "Sinquefield Cup 6th"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2018.08.26"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2767"]
[Annotator "Fernandez,D"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2018.08.18"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 186"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2018.09.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.09.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke8 10. Nc3 Be7 11. Ne2 $5 {I will hold my hands up and
admit I don't know much about the Berlin, but it seems obvious to me that this
move is not a critical one.} (11. Bg5 {is a move I'd seen before.} h6 $1 (11...
Bxg5 12. Nxg5 h6 (12... Ke7 $5 {Anand,V-Ponomariov,R Linares 2003}) 13. Nge4 g5
$5 (13... b6 $11) 14. b4 a6 (14... Ke7 15. b5 Be6 $1 $11 {is strategically
brave, but then so is the whole opening, and only Black can be better here.})
15. a4 Ke7 16. a5 Nh4 17. Nc5 $14 {Vachier Lagrave,M-Eljanov,P Biel 2015;
White had achieved his bind, which later became quite a significant advantage.}
) 12. Bxe7 Nxe7 13. Nd4 Bd7 (13... Nf5 $11) 14. Rd3 Rd8 15. Rad1 Nd5 16. Ne4 (
16. Nxd5 cxd5 17. Nb3 $14) 16... Nf4 17. R3d2 Ke7 18. f3 Bc8 19. Kf2 $14 {
Gashimov, V-Nielsen,P Khanty-Mansiysk 2011}) 11... Nh4 (11... b6 {and ...Ba6
also seems logical, notwithstanding that certain classic games have given
Black a phobia of the move e6 from White.} 12. Nf4 h5 $1 (12... Rg8 13. a4 g5
14. Nh5 h6 15. b3 Rg6 16. Bb2 c5 17. Nf6+ Kf8 18. a5 $14 {Bruzon Batista,
L-Anton Guijarro,D Tbilisi 2017; was indeed something for White.}) 13. b3 g5
14. Ne2 Rg8 $11) 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Nd4 a6 $1 $11 {Black is preparing ...c5,
and there is little chance of White's majority becoming particularly useful in
this game. Indeed, he proceeds to slide into a marginally worse position, as
quite often with the Berlin.} 14. Bf4 c5 15. Ne2 Bf5 16. c4 Rd8 17. Nc3 Rd7 18.
Be3 (18. Rxd7 Kxd7 19. Rd1+ Kc6 $15 {is vintage Berlin stuff.}) 18... b6 19.
Nd5 Kd8 (19... a5 $5 {fights for an advantage; Black never actually wants to
play ...c6, but he would like White to believe that he might.}) 20. g3 Be7 21.
a3 $6 (21. f3 {makes sense, patching the light-squared holes first.}) 21... Bc2
(21... Bg4 22. Rd2 Bf3 {is almost certainly something for Black (whose next
idea could be ... Re8, ...Bf8.)} 23. b4 b5 $5 24. Nxe7 Rxd2 25. Bxd2 Kxe7 26.
cxb5 axb5 27. bxc5 Ke6 $15) 22. Rd2 Bb3 {This is also maximalist, but not
quite as strong as the idea in the previous note.} 23. Rc1 a5 24. Rc3 a4 25. e6
$1 {White has to bail out, because he's getting tied up.} (25. Bf4 h6 $1 $15)
25... fxe6 26. Nxe7 Kxe7 27. Bg5+ Ke8 28. Rcd3 Rxd3 29. Rxd3 $11 {The exchange
of rooks is forced if White wants it, and Black has too many pawns on dark
squares to think about using his majority.} Rf8 30. Rd8+ Kf7 31. Rxf8+ Kxf8 32.
Bd8 Bxc4 33. Bxc7 b5 34. Bd6+ Kf7 35. Bxc5 e5 36. f3 Bd5 37. Kf2 g6 38. Bb4 Bc6
39. Bc5 Bd5 40. Bb4 Bc6 41. Bc5 Bb7 1/2-1/2

[Event "WchT 6th"]
[Site "Beersheba"]
[Date "2005.11.01"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Bruzon Batista, Lazaro"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2740"]
[BlackElo "2677"]
[Annotator "Finkel,A"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2005.11.01"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 110"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.01.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.01.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Russia"]
[BlackTeam "Cuba"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "CUB"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. h3 h6 {The plan with evacuating the king to
queenside is the most popular on the top level since the match
Kasparov-Kramnik 2000.} 11. Bf4 Kc8 12. Rad1 b6 (12... Bb4 13. Ne4 Be6 14. c3
Be7 15. b3 b6 16. g4 Nh4 17. Nxh4 Bxh4 18. Bg3 Be7 19. f4 h5 20. f5 Bd5 21. Rd4
hxg4 22. hxg4 Ba3 23. Kf2 a5 24. c4 Bxe4 25. Rxe4 $16 {Short,N-Sokolov,I/Wijk
aan Zee 2005}) 13. Ne4 {White has tried many different moves in this position
except the move in the game:} (13. a3 $5 Be6 14. g4 Ne7 15. Nd4 Bc4 16. Rfe1 c5
17. Nf5 Nc6 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. Rxd5 $14 {Carlsen, M-Nielsen,P/Warsaw 2005}) (13.
Rd3 Be6 14. Rfd1 Kb7 15. b3 g5 16. Bc1 c5 17. Nd5 Ne7 18. Nxe7 Bxe7 19. c4 Rag8
$13 {Anand,V-Topalov,V/Monte Carlo 2005}) (13. b3 Ne7 14. Bh2 a5 15. Rd2 Be6
16. Nd4 Nd5 17. Nce2 Bb4 18. Rd3 Bc5 19. a4 Nb4 20. Rg3 g5 21. c3 Nd5 22. Nxe6
fxe6 $15 {Polgar,J-Bruzon,L/Wijk aan Zee 2005}) 13... c5 (13... Be6 14. g4 Ne7
15. Nd4 Bd5 16. Nc3 Bc4 17. Rfe1 Kb7 18. b3 Be6 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Ne2 Re8 21.
Bg3 g5 22. Kg2 Bg7 23. Kf3 c5 24. Ke4 $16 {Timofeev,A-Mastrovasilis,A/Warsaw
2005}) 14. Rfe1 {This move appears to be a novelty. White's idea is to prepare
f4 hoping to exploit the extra pawn on the kingside.} (14. Bh2 Be6 15. g4 Ne7
16. Nfd2 g5 17. Nf6 Nc6 18. Nh5 Kb7 19. f4 $14 {Lanka,Z-Novkovic,M/Austria 2000
}) 14... Be6 15. a3 (15. b3 {is less accurate since Black might get
counterplay on the queenside by pushing a7-a5-a4 and opening up the a-file.})
15... Kb7 16. g4 Ne7 17. Bg3 Nc6 18. Nh2 {Diagram #} g5 {The most natural way
to deal with f4, but this may deserve attention.} (18... Be7 $5 19. f4 g6 20.
Kg2 (20. Nf3 $6 h5 21. Nfg5 Bxg5 22. Nxg5 hxg4 23. Nxe6 fxe6 (23... Rxh3 $2 24.
Ng5 Rxg3+ 25. Kf2 $18) 24. hxg4 Nd4 $15) 20... h5 {with an unclear position,
since it's very difficult for White to transfer f5.}) 19. Nf6 Be7 (19... c4)
20. Nh5 Rad8 21. f4 $14 {White's prospects are slightly better due to the
weakness of the pawn on h6, but I believe Black should hold this position.}
gxf4 (21... Nd4 $6 22. Rd2 Bd5 23. f5 $14) 22. Nxf4 Bc4 (22... c4 23. c3 $1 $14
) 23. Nf3 {In most of the cases transposition to the endgame with opposite
colored bishops is not a bad idea for the defending side, but an arising
endgame is clearly better for white due to the possibility to create a passer
on the h-file.} Bg5 $6 (23... Nd4 24. Nxd4 cxd4 25. e6 Rhe8 $1 $11) 24. Kf2 Nd4
25. h4 {Diagram #} Bxf4 $6 {It wasn't too late to admit a mistake and to come
back with the bishop.} (25... Be7) 26. Bxf4 Be6 27. c3 Nxf3 28. Rxd8 Rxd8 29.
Kxf3 $16 {The endgame is very tough for Black, but it's even more difficult to
hold it with very little time left on the clock.} Rh8 30. h5 Kc6 31. Bc1 $1 Kb5
$6 (31... Kd5 32. b3 (32. Kg3 Rg8) 32... a5 33. c4+ Kc6 34. a4 $16) (31... c4
$5) 32. Kg3 Kc4 33. Kh4 {Now everything is set up for g5.} Kd3 (33... Kd5 34.
g5 Rg8 35. Bf4 a5 36. Rg1 Ke4 37. Bh2 $16) 34. g5 Rg8 35. Bf4 a5 36. Re3+ Kc2
37. Rg3 {Diagram #} hxg5+ ({The last chance to put up some resistance was} 
37... Kxb2 {,but it seems that White is winning by force anyway:} 38. gxh6 (38.
g6 $6 fxg6 39. hxg6 Kxa3 40. Bxh6 b5 41. Kg5 Ka2 42. Kf6 Re8 $132) 38... Rh8
39. Kg5 Kxa3 40. Kf6 Rh7 41. Rg7 Rh8 42. Rxf7 Bxf7 43. Kxf7 Kb3 44. e6 a4 45.
e7 $18) 38. Bxg5 Re8 (38... Kxb2 $2 39. Bc1+ Kxc1 40. Rxg8 $18) 39. Rg2+ Kd3
40. Bf6 $18 Bf5 41. Rf2 Be4 42. Bg7 Re7 43. Kg5 Rd7 44. Kf6 b5 45. Bh6 Kc4 46.
Rd2 1-0

[Event "RUS-ch 66th"]
[Site "Nizhnij Novgorod"]
[Date "2013.10.07"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Andreikin, Dmitry"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2706"]
[BlackElo "2796"]
[Annotator "Friedel,J"]
[PlyCount "167"]
[EventDate "2013.10.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 157"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2013.11.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2013.11.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{For some reason, I always feel like Kramnik losing violates some basic law of
nature. Nevertheless, I'll do my best to explain how such a thing took place.} 
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Kramnik stuns the world by playing the Berlin.}
4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. dxe5 {This sideline is generally considered quite
tame.} (6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {is the infamous endgame which
Kramnik made popular by using it to hold Kasparov at bay.}) 6... Nxb5 7. a4
Nbd4 {This is the safest choice for Black.} (7... d6 8. e6 fxe6 9. axb5 {
is for folk who are less sound in the head.}) 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 d5 10. exd6
Qxd6 {I'm sure at this point most people were expecting the players to repeat
moves and take a nap.} 11. Qe3+ $5 {This strange looking move isn't a novelty,
but it is hard to believe it is a serious try for advantage.} (11. Qe4+ Qe6 12.
Qd4 Qd6 {is the forced draw which has occurred in countless games.}) 11... Be6
(11... Be7 12. Nc3 c6 {is another option for Black.}) (11... Qe6 {is idiotic
now due to} 12. Qg3 {and Black is under some pressure.}) 12. Nc3 a6 {It is
worth investing a tempo to take away the b5 square from White's knight.} 13.
Rd1 Qc6 14. Rd3 {This bizarre looking move has actually been tried before.} Rc8
$6 {This move is too deep for me, but I fear that it is also too deep for the
position. The idea is to defend the weak c-pawn while not committing the
bishop yet, but I think it is just too slow.} (14... Be7 {I'm curious what
Andreikin's prep was here} 15. Nb5 O-O 16. Nd4 Qd5 17. Nxe6 Qxe6 18. Qxe6 fxe6
19. Be3 {Maybe his plan was to play into this ending, though in my opinion
White's advantage is pretty much symbolic} Bf6 20. c3 Rfd8 21. Rad1 Rxd3 22.
Rxd3 Rd8 23. Rxd8+ Bxd8 24. g4 e5 25. Kg2 Kf7 26. Kf3 Ke6 27. Ke4 c6 28. f3 b5
29. b3 g6 30. c4 Be7 31. Bd2 Bd8 32. Bc3 Bc7 33. Bd2 Bd8 34. Bc3 Bc7 35. Bd2 {
1/2-1/2 (35) Jones,G (2635)-Fressinet,L (2693) Plovdiv 2012}) (14... Bc5 15.
Qg3 f6 {is another interesting possibility for Black.}) 15. Ne2 $1 {Andreikin
uses the opportunity to improve his knight.} Bc5 (15... Qxc2 16. Nd4 {would be
ill-advised.}) 16. Qg3 f6 17. Be3 {Andreikin's play is very straightforward.
Once he forces the bishop trade, Black's dark squares will be hurting.} Bd6 18.
Bf4 Bxf4 19. Nxf4 O-O {This drops the c7-pawn, but Black had no better options.
} 20. Rc3 Qd6 21. Nxe6 Qxe6 22. Rxc7 Rxc7 23. Qxc7 Rc8 24. Qxb7 Rxc2 {The dust
has settled, and while White is up a pawn, Black has clear compensation due to
his active pieces. All the same, it is clear White got what he wanted from the
opening, not something most can claim when playing Kramnik.} 25. h3 Qe2 26.
Qb8+ Kf7 27. Qa7+ Kg8 28. b4 h6 29. Qb8+ Kh7 30. Qf4 {Play has been quite
logical so far. Black is trying to keep White as passive as possible while
keeping the pawns at bay. The problem is that it is impossible to do this
indefinitely.} Qe6 31. Qd4 Qe2 32. Qf4 Qe6 33. Rb1 Qa2 {This move makes Black
go down a bit quicker, but it is an understandable try, as otherwise Black
will simply be forced into passivity once the pawns gets rolling.} 34. Qf5+ Kg8
35. Rd1 {Now that Black's queen is out of the center, White focuses his
attention on the weak king.} Qxa4 (35... Rd2 36. Rxd2 Qxd2 37. Qb1 {is
hopeless.}) 36. Rd8+ (36. b5 $1 {was the simplest way to end it, the point
being that if} axb5 37. Rd8+ Kf7 38. Qh5+ {leads to mate.}) 36... Kf7 37. Qd5+
Kg6 38. Qd3+ (38. Qd1 $1 {is crushing now, as Black is left without a good
move. This kind of move is difficult to spot over the board, however.} Qc6 39.
Qg4+ Kf7 40. Rd7+ Ke8 41. Rxg7 $18) 38... Kf7 39. Rd7+ Ke8 40. Rd8+ Kf7 41.
Rd7+ Ke8 42. Rxg7 {White missed a couple knockout blows, but he correctly
assessses the rook ending as a win. Don't believe your computers here, folks.}
Qa1+ 43. Kh2 Qe5+ 44. Qg3 Qxg3+ (44... Rxf2 45. Qxe5+ fxe5 46. Rg6 Rb2 47. Rxa6
Rxb4 48. Rxh6 {is an easy win.}) 45. Kxg3 Rb2 46. Rb7 (46. Rh7 {is also good.})
46... Kf8 (46... a5 {is a more active try, but it isn't quite good enough.} 47.
Rb6 $1 {and White will collect Black's entire kingside, as bxa5 is a threat
now.} (47. b5 a4 48. b6 a3 {will liquidate the queenside pawns leading to a
theoretically drawn ending.}) 47... axb4 (47... Rxb4 48. Rxf6 h5 49. f4 a4 50.
Rf5 Rb2 51. Rxh5 $18) 48. Rxf6 h5 49. Rh6 Kd7 50. Rxh5 Kc6 51. Rh8 Rd2 52. Rb8
$18) 47. Rh7 Rb3+ 48. f3 Rxb4 49. Rxh6 {In general, White's kingside majority
should be enough to win these endings. The idea is to advance the kingside
pawns while making sure White's rook can get behind the a-pawn. Andreikin's
technique is instructive.} Kg7 50. Rh5 Ra4 51. h4 Kg6 52. Rc5 a5 53. h5+ Kg7 (
53... Kh6 54. Kh3 Ra1 55. Kg4 {is an easy win.}) 54. f4 Ra2 55. Kf3 a4 56. Ra5
a3 57. g4 Kh6 58. Ra6 Kg7 59. Ra7+ Kg8 (59... Kh6 60. Rf7 $18) 60. Ke4 Rg2 61.
Kf5 a2 62. h6 Kh8 63. g5 fxg5 64. fxg5 Rb2 65. Kg6 Rb6+ 66. Kh5 Rb5 (66... Rb2
{doesn't improve Black's chances.} 67. Ra8+ Kh7 68. g6#) 67. Rxa2 {Now we've
reached a basic endgame every Russian schoolboy knows. The plan is to put the
rook on the e-file, get the king out, and eventually play g6.} Kh7 68. Ra7+ Kg8
69. Rg7+ Kh8 70. Rf7 Kg8 71. Rf6 Kh7 72. Re6 Ra5 73. Re7+ Kg8 74. Kg6 Ra6+ 75.
Kf5 Ra1 76. g6 {Black has a lot of checks here, but inevitably his rook will
get forced back to the 8th, and then White will force a rook trade.} Rf1+ 77.
Ke5 Re1+ 78. Kd6 Rd1+ 79. Kc5 Rc1+ 80. Kb4 Rc8 81. Kb5 Ra8 82. Kb6 Rb8+ 83. Ka7
Rd8 84. Rb7 {with Rb8 coming next, Kramnik resigned. Andreikin recovered from
yesterday's bad loss and avenged the World Cup final all in one go!} 1-0

[Event "Tata Steel-A 76th"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2014.01.17"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2718"]
[BlackElo "2812"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "2014.01.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 159"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.03.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.03.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. dxe5 {Naiditsch
deserves full credit for his willingness to fight against the Berlin Defence
with something more colourful than the pale line 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5.} Nxb5 7. a4
Nbd4 8. Nxd4 d6 9. exd6 {The immediate exchange of the knights on c6 creates
conditions for the speedy mobilisation of the black bishops. White players
have been unable to prove any advantage in tournament praxis.} (9. Nxc6 bxc6
10. Qf3 (10. Qh5 Be7 11. Rd1 O-O 12. Ra3 Qd7 13. Rc3 c5 14. b3 Qg4 15. Qxg4
Bxg4 16. f3 Be6 17. Ba3 Rfd8 18. Kf2 Rab8 19. Ke2 $11 {0-1 (33) Polzin,R (2514)
-Sargissian,G (2610) Germany 2006}) 10... dxe5 11. Qxc6+ (11. Rd1 Bd7 12. Qg3
Qf6 13. f4 Bc5+ 14. Kh1 e4 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. Qxe3 Qe7 17. Rd4 f5 18. Nd2 Be6 19.
Nf1 O-O 20. Qc3 c5 $15 {1/2 (46) Fernandez Cardoso,A (2463)-Quesada Perez,Y 
(2486) Santa Clara 2014}) 11... Bd7 12. Qe4 Bd6 13. f4 O-O 14. fxe5 Qe7 15. Bf4
Rab8 16. Kh1 (16. Nd2 Bc5+ 17. Kh1 Rb4 18. Qd3 Rxa4 19. Rxa4 Bxa4 20. Ne4 $16 {
1-0 (30) Guseinov,G (2573)-Pashikian,A (2461) Iran 2005}) 16... Bc5 17. b3 Rb4
18. Qe1 Bf5 19. Nc3 Qe6 20. Rc1 Rd8 21. Be3 Qxe5 $11 {1-0 (35) Petrosian,T 
(2599)-Minasian,A (2510) Yerevan 2005}) 9... Bxd6 {A true contribution by
Aronian, who is obliged to look in any line for playable positions. Black is
coming close to equality even after exchange of the knight on d4, but in that
case the first player has firm control of the initiative.} (9... Nxd4 10. Qxd4
Qxd6 11. Qe4+ (11. Qe3+ Be6 12. Nc3 a6 13. Rd1 Qc5 (13... Qc6 14. Rd3 Be7 15.
Nb5 O-O 16. Nd4 Qd5 17. Nxe6 Qxe6 18. Qxe6 fxe6 19. Be3 Bf6 20. c3 Rfd8 21.
Rad1 Rxd3 22. Rxd3 Rd8 23. Rxd8+ Bxd8 $11 {1/2 (35) Jones,G (2635)-Fressinet,L
(2693) Plovdiv 2012}) 14. Qf4 Rc8 15. Be3 Qc6 16. Qg3 f6 17. Ne2 Bd6 18. Bf4
Bxf4 19. Qxf4 O-O 20. Nd4 Qd7 21. Nxe6 Qxe6 $11 {1/2 (34) Filippov,A (2630)
-Romanov,E (2651) Tromsoe 2013}) 11... Qe6 12. Qd4 (12. Qf3 Bd6 13. Bf4 O-O 14.
Bxd6 Qxd6 15. Nc3 c6 16. Rad1 Qg6 17. Rd2 Bf5 18. Qd1 Rfe8 19. Ne2 Qg5 20. Ng3
Rad8 21. Rxd8 Rxd8 $11 {1/2 (47) Plat,V (2470)-Babula,V (2584) Brno 2013})
12... Qd6 13. Qe4+ Qe6 14. Qd4 {1/2 (14) Carlsson,P (2433)-Khenkin,I (2602)
Malmo 2006}) 10. Re1+ Be7 (10... Ne7 11. Nb5 Be6 12. N1c3 O-O 13. Nxd6 cxd6 14.
Bf4 Nf5 15. a5 Qd7 16. Ne4 Qc6 17. Qd3 h6 18. a6 d5 19. axb7 Qxb7 20. Nd6 Nxd6
21. Bxd6 Rfe8 22. Be5 $14 {1/2 (30) Huebner,R (2581)-Karpov,A (2616) Potsdam
2012}) 11. Nxc6 {Creating damage to the pawn structure is certainly bit more
ambitious than playing on in the symmetrical position without a bishop pair.} (
11. Bg5 f6 12. Be3 Nxd4 (12... Ne5 13. Qh5+ g6 14. Qe2 O-O 15. Nc3 Bg4 16. f3
Bd7 17. Rad1 Rf7 18. Bf4 Bd6 19. Ncb5 Qf8 20. Nxd6 Qxd6 21. Bxe5 fxe5 22. Nb5
Qb6+ 23. Qe3 $11 {1/2 (52) Burg,T (2479)-Georgiev,K (2636) Benasque 2013}) 13.
Bxd4 O-O 14. Qd3 Kh8 15. Qc4 Bf5 16. Bc5 Re8 17. Na3 {1/2 (17) Gopal,G (2611)
-Pashikian,A (2630) Martuni 2010}) 11... Qxd1 12. Rxd1 bxc6 13. Be3 (13. Bf4
Bf5 14. Na3 Rc8 15. Re1 Be6 16. Re4 g5 17. Be5 Rg8 18. b3 Rg6 19. Nc4 f5 20.
Re2 Bxc4 21. bxc4 Re6 22. Kf1 Kf7 23. Re3 {1/2 (23) Njili,K (2390)-Petkov,V 
(2567) Bejaia 2012}) 13... Bf5 14. Re1 O-O-O 15. Na3 Rhe8 16. Bxa7 Bxa3 {
Aronian has centralised all his pieces and thus could have even played on
without a pawn. The risk involved would have been a bit higher and thus the
transfer to the equal ending with opposite coloured bishops.} (16... Bf6 17. c3
Rxe1+ 18. Rxe1 Kb7 19. Bc5 Rd5 20. Bf8 Be6 $11) 17. Rxe8 Rxe8 18. bxa3 Re4 {
[%mdl 4096] A very subtle indication, that Black is a true master of the game.
Elimination of the c-pawn would not enable him to dream about complicating
matters and getting a position with chances.} (18... Bxc2 19. a5 Kb7 20. Bd4 g6
21. f3 $11) 19. c3 (19. a5 Ra4 20. Bc5 Rxa5 21. Bb4 Rd5 $11) 19... Rxa4 20. Bd4
g6 (20... f6 21. Bc5 Rc4 22. Bf8 g6 23. f3 Rxc3 24. Bg7 $11) 21. f3 Kd7 22. Kf2
Kd6 23. h3 c5 24. Bf6 Kd5 25. g4 Be6 {Black continues to combine safety with
the ambition to keep the chances for fighting alive. Naiditsch would have an
easy task after seemingly more active 25...Bd3.} (25... Bd3 26. Rd1 Kc4 27. Re1
Ra6 28. g5 Bf5 29. Re7 Be6 30. Rxc7 Rxa3 31. Rxc5+ Kxc5 32. Be7+ Kc4 33. Bxa3
$11) 26. Kg3 Kc4 27. Kh4 Bd5 28. f4 Ra6 29. Bg7 Re6 (29... f6 30. g5 f5 31. a4
Be4 32. Be5 $11) 30. a4 f6 31. a5 {White is definitely still staying in his
comfort zone, but he might have also considered advance of the f-pawn with
more simplifications.} (31. f5 gxf5 32. gxf5 Ra6 33. Ra3 Kd3 34. Bf8 Be4 35.
Bxc5 Kc4 36. Bf2 Bxf5 37. a5 $11) 31... g5+ $1 32. Kh5 (32. fxg5 fxg5+ 33. Kh5
Rg6 34. Bh6 Kxc3 35. Bxg5 Kb2 36. Rd1 Be4 37. Bf4 $11) 32... gxf4 {Aronian's
creative efforts have lead to the position, in which the tension is still
suprisingly high.} (32... Re3 33. h4 gxf4 34. Ra4+ Kxc3 35. Rxf4 Kb3 36. a6 c4
37. Rf5 $11) 33. Ra4+ Kxc3 34. Rxf4 Kb3 35. Rxf6 (35. Rf5 $1 c6 36. a6 Re7 37.
Bxf6 Ra7 38. Re5 Rxa6 39. Kh6 Ra7 40. Re3+ Kb4 41. h4 $11) 35... Re3 36. h4 {
If White had known more about the future outcome of this game he might have
started thinking about his own safety with 36.a6.} (36. a6 Rxh3+ 37. Kg5 c4 38.
Rf1 c3 39. Rb1+ Kc4 40. Rc1 $11) 36... c4 37. Rf5 Rd3 38. a6 c3 39. a7 c2 40.
Bh6 Bc6 41. Bg5 Rd6 42. Re5 (42. Bc1 Rd1 43. Be3 Ra1 44. Rc5 Be8+ 45. Kg5 c6
46. h5 Rxa7 47. Rxc2 $11) 42... Ba8 43. Rc5 c6 44. Rf5 $2 {The unbalanced
character of the pawns on the board makes it complicated for both players to
find onjectively best solutions. Naiditsch will deliver two inaccurate moves
and it will push the scales in his opponent's favour.} (44. Be3 $1 Rd3 45. Bg5
$11) 44... Rd7 (44... Kb2 45. Rf3 Rd5 46. Rf5 Rd7 47. Kh6 (47. Ra5 Rd5 $1 48.
Rxd5 cxd5 49. Kh6 d4 50. h5 d3 51. Kxh7 Kc3 52. Bf6+ Kd2 53. Kh6 Ke2 54. Bb2 d2
$19) 47... Rxa7 48. h5 Rd7 49. Bf4 Rd4 $17) 45. Rf3+ $2 (45. Ra5 $1 Rd5 46.
Rxd5 cxd5 47. Bd2 d4 48. Kh6 d3 49. Kxh7 Kb2 50. g5 c1=Q 51. Bxc1+ Kxc1 52. g6
d2 53. g7 Be4+ 54. Kh6 d1=Q 55. g8=Q Qd6+ 56. Kg7 $11) 45... Ka2 $1 {White
might have easily missed this subtle step of the black king. The prepared
defence with 46.Bf6+ is no longer valid and he will be tricked out of his
a7-pawn.} (45... Kb2 $6 46. Bf6+ Ka2 47. Rc3 Kb1 48. Rb3+ Kc1 49. Bg5+ Kd1 50.
Kh6 (50. Ra3 c1=Q 51. Bxc1 Kxc1 52. Kh6 Kb2 53. Ra5 Kc3 54. h5 Kb4 55. Ra1 c5
$17) 50... c1=Q 51. Bxc1 Kxc1 52. h5 Kd2 53. g5 Rxa7 54. Rb8 c5 55. Rc8 Be4 56.
Rxc5 $11) 46. Rf2 Kb2 47. Be3 Re7 48. Bf4 (48. Bb6 c5 49. g5 Re6 50. Bc7 (50.
Bxc5 Kb3 51. Rf1 c1=Q 52. Rxc1 Bf3#) 50... Ra6 51. Bf4 Be4 52. Rf1 Rxa7 53. Kh6
Ra4 54. h5 Bd3 $19) 48... Rxa7 {White is technically only one pawn down, but
the c2 black trump makes all the difference.} 49. Rf1 (49. g5 Ra4 50. Be3 Re4
51. Bc5 Rc4 52. Be3 c5 53. g6 hxg6+ 54. Kxg6 Rg4+ 55. Kf6 Rxh4 56. Bxc5 Rf4+
57. Rxf4 c1=Q $19) 49... c5 50. Kh6 Be4 51. h5 Bd3 52. Rg1 c4 53. g5 c3 54.
Bc1+ {The defender is unable to benefit from his advanced pawn on the kingside
as Black can simply give up the piece to stop him.} (54. g6 hxg6 55. hxg6 Ra6
$1 56. Kh5 Rxg6 $19) 54... Kb3 55. Be3 Re7 56. Bc1 Re2 57. Kg7 Rd2 {The
position is already beyong all hope forWhite. Aronian decides for the charming
transfer of the rook to d1 with decisive effect. Great players can turn even
endgames with bishops of opposite colour into an exciting spectacle.} (57...
Rd2 58. g6 (58. Bxd2 cxd2 59. g6 d1=Q $19) 58... Rd1 59. Rg3 Rxc1 60. Rxd3 Rg1
$19) (57... Rh2 58. Rg3 Rh1 59. Bf4 Kc4 60. g6 Rxh5 61. Rg1 Bxg6 $19) 0-1

[Event "New York Hudson"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1993.??.??"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Hellers, Ferdinand"]
[Black "Sherzer, Alex"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2565"]
[BlackElo "2465"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "1993.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 035"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1993.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1993.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 (9. Rd1+ Ke8 10. Nc3 h6 11. Ne2 a5 12. a4 $6 Ne7 13. h3
Nd5 14. Nfd4 $1 Bc5 15. b3 Ke7 16. c4 Nb4 17. Be3 b6 18. Rd2 Bd7 19. Rad1 Rad8
20. g4 $2 Bxd4 21. Bxd4 c5 22. Bc3 Bc6 $15 {Yermolinsky,A-Dautov,R/}) 9... Be6
$5 (9... h6) 10. Ng5 Be7 11. Nxe6+ fxe6 12. Ne4 Ke8 13. c3 $2 (13. Rd1 Rd8 (
13... Kf7 14. Bg5 Rad8 15. g4 $1 $14) 14. Rxd8+ Kxd8 15. Bg5 $1 Bxg5 16. Nxg5
Ke7 17. Rd1 c5 18. c3 $14) 13... Rd8 14. Bd2 Rd5 $1 15. f4 h5 16. g3 (16. Rae1
Kf7 17. Re2 Rhd8 18. Be1 c5 19. Bf2 $13) 16... Kf7 17. Rae1 Rhd8 18. Bc1 c5 19.
Kf2 c4 20. Ke2 Rd3 $1 21. Rf3 b5 22. Ref1 a5 23. h3 $2 (23. Bd2) 23... h4 $1
24. g4 Ng3+ 25. Nxg3 hxg3 26. Be3 (26. Rg1 Rxf3 27. Kxf3 Rd3+ 28. Ke2 Bc5 29.
Rg2 g6 30. Bd2 Bf2 31. a3 c5 32. h4 Kg7 $1 33. h5 (33. Bc1 b4 34. Bd2 bxa3 35.
bxa3 a4 $19) 33... gxh5 34. gxh5 Kh6 35. f5+ Kxh5 36. fxe6 Kg6 $19) 26... Bh4
$6 (26... g2 27. Rg1 b4 $17) 27. Rg1 (27. Rc1 $1 b4 (27... g2 28. Rg1 b4 29.
cxb4 axb4 30. Rxg2 Ra8 31. Bc5 $13) 28. cxb4 axb4 29. Rxc4 Rd1 30. Rxc7+ Kg8
31. Rc8 $1) 27... b4 $1 28. cxb4 axb4 29. Rff1 c3 30. bxc3 Rxc3 31. Rc1 Rdd3
32. Bd2 Rxc1 33. Rxc1 Ra3 34. Rxc7+ Kg8 35. Rc8+ Kh7 36. Bxb4 g2 $1 37. Rc1 (
37. Bc5 Rc3 $19) 37... Rxa2+ 38. Bd2 Be7 $1 39. Rg1 Bb4 40. Rxg2 Rxd2+ 41. Kf3
Rd3+ 42. Ke4 Rxh3 43. f5 (43. Rc2 Rg3 $1 44. Rc6 Rxg4 45. Rxe6 Bd2 $19) 43...
Rh1 44. fxe6 Kg6 45. Rc2 Rg1 46. Kf4 Be7 47. Rc7 Bg5+ 48. Kf3 Re1 49. Rc5 Re3+
50. Kf2 Ra3 51. Rd5 Ra6 52. Rd6 Ra5 0-1

[Event "Interpolis-03"]
[Site "Tilburg"]
[Date "1979.11.14"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Kavalek, Lubomir"]
[Black "Romanishin, Oleg M"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2590"]
[BlackElo "2560"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "46"]
[EventDate "1979.11.01"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[SourceTitle "MCL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 (9. b3 a5 10. Nc3 Ke8 11. h3 Bb4 12. Bb2 Bxc3 13. Bxc3 c5
$10 {Dautov}) 9... h6 (9... Ke8 10. h3 h6 11. b3 a5 12. Bb2 Bb4 $5 13. Ne2 h5
$1 14. Nf4 a4 $10 {Mainka-Dautov, Dortmund (op) 1992}) 10. Ne2 (10. Rd1+ Ke8
11. b3 Be6 12. Bb2 Be7 $6 (12... Bb4 $142) (12... Rd8 $142) 13. h3 h5 (13...
Rd8 14. g4 Nh4 15. Nxh4 Bxh4 16. f4 g6 17. Ne2 Be7 18. Nd4 $16) 14. Ne4 $6 (14.
g3 $1 g5 15. Ne4 g4 16. hxg4 hxg4 17. Nfg5 $16) 14... Rd8 $6 (14... h4 $1 $15)
15. c4 $6 (15. g3 $142) 15... Rxd1+ 16. Rxd1 h4 17. Bc1 b6 18. Kf1 {
Timoschenko-Tukmakow/Moskau/1990} f6 $1 19. exf6 gxf6 {/\20... Kf7=}) (10. h3
Be7 (10... a5 11. a4 $5 (11. Bd2 Be6 12. Rad1 $6 (12. g4 $1 Ne7 13. Nd4 Bc4 14.
Rfd1 c5 15. Ndb5 $14) 12... Kc8 13. g4 $6 (13. Rfe1 $10) 13... Ne7 14. Nd4 Bc4
15. Rfe1 c5 $1 16. Nf5 Nc6 17. Re4 (17. f4 Nd4 $15 {Van der Wiel}) (17. Ne3 Ba6
18. f4 Nd4 19. Kf2 Be7 $15 {Van der Wiel}) 17... Be6 {/\18... Lxf5 19.gxf5 Sd4}
18. Be3 {Van der Wiel-Hjartarson/Tilburg/1988} Nb4 $1 19. Rd2 Nxa2 20. Nxa2
Bxa2 21. b3 a4 $1 (21... b5 22. e6 fxe6 23. Rxe6 Kb7 24. Rd7 $13) 22. bxa4 g6
$15) 11... Be6 12. g4 Ne7 13. Nd4 g5 $6 (13... Bd7 $142 $10) 14. f4 $1 gxf4 15.
Nxe6+ fxe6 16. Bxf4 Ng6 17. Bg3 Bc5+ 18. Kg2 Ke7 19. Rf6 Rag8 20. Ne4 $1 $16 {
Djurhuus-Dumitrache/Haifa/1989}) (10... Be6 11. b3 b6 12. Bb2 Kc8 13. Ne2 Be7
14. Nf4 h5 15. Rfd1 Kb7 16. Kf1 a5 17. Nxe6 {1/2/Ehlvest-Korchnoi/Reykjavik/
1988}) 11. Ne2 Be6 12. Ned4 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 Bc5 14. Be3 Bxd4 15. Bxd4 {1/2/
Pantschenko-Galdunts/Moskau/1989}) 10... Be6 (10... Ke8 11. Nf4 Be6 $6 (11...
Ne7 $142 12. h3 Nd5 13. c3 Nxf4 14. Bxf4 {1/2/Gipslis-Spasski/Moscow/1967} Be6
15. b3 Bc5 16. Rfe1 Ke7 $10 {Balaschow-Filip/Sotschi/1973}) 12. b3 Bc5 13. Bb2
a5 14. Rad1 a4 15. g4 Ne7 16. h3 Nd5 17. Nd3 Be7 18. c4 Nb4 19. Nxb4 Bxb4 20.
Nd4 $14 {Timoschenko-Psachis/Tallinn/1989}) 11. Nf4 Bc5 $1 (11... Bd5 12. Nxd5
cxd5 13. g4 Ne7 14. Bf4 $16 {Gligoric-Neikirch/Portoroz izt/1958}) 12. Bd2 (12.
Nxe6+ fxe6 $10) 12... Bc4 13. Rfd1 Ke8 14. b3 Bd5 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. Ba5 c6 17.
c4 dxc4 18. bxc4 b6 19. Bc3 Rd8 20. g4 Ne7 21. Nh4 (21. Kg2 $142 {/\Kg3}) 21...
h5 $1 22. g5 Rg8 23. Kg2 Ng6 (23... Ng6 24. Nxg6 (24. Nf5 Nf4+ 25. Kf3 Ne6 {
/\26... g6=}) 24... fxg6 {/\Ke8-e6=}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sochi FIDE GP"]
[Site "Sochi"]
[Date "2008.08.14"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Jakovenko, Dmitrij"]
[Black "Cheparinov, Ivan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2709"]
[BlackElo "2687"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2008.07.31"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 126"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2008.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 {Black is playing an opening that has undergone huge
development since the Kramnik-Kasparov match in London 2000. Since then we
know that the black knight has an optimal place on the g6-square.} 10. h3 Ng6
11. Ne4 h6 12. b3 c5 13. Bb2 Be6 14. Nfd2 {Jakovenko is trying to improve on
the modern plan in the fight against the bishop pair. The threat of the
advance of the f-pawn is very unpleasant for Cheparinov.} h5 $6 {Advancing the
h-pawn one more step after a mere three moves is dubious. White will exchange
the bishop on e6 and will enjoy a real advantage.} (14... Nf4 $5 15. Kh2 Be7 (
15... Kd7 16. g3 Nd5 17. a3 Kc6 18. c4 Nb6 19. f4 g6 20. g4 Re8 21. f5 $16) 16.
g3 Nxh3 $5 (16... Nd5 17. a3 h5 18. c4 Nb6 19. f4 Bf5 20. Rfe1 $14) 17. f4 Bf5
18. Kg2 g5 19. fxg5 Be6 $11) 15. Ng5 $1 Be7 16. Nxe6+ fxe6 17. g3 h4 (17... Kd7
18. h4 Kc6 19. Rad1 $14) 18. Kg2 Kd7 19. Rae1 Rad8 20. Nf3 {Breaking through
the enemy's defences will not be easy, but in this position Black does not
have enough counterplay in return for his second rate pawn structure.} Ke8 (
20... Kc6 21. Re4 hxg3 22. fxg3 Rh7 23. Rg4 Nf8 24. Rf4 $14) 21. Rd1 a5 (21...
Kf7 22. c4 a6 23. Bc3 $14) 22. a4 Rd5 23. c4 Rd8 (23... Rd7 24. Bc1 Rf8 25.
Rfe1 $14) 24. Bc1 Rf8 25. Rfe1 Rf7 26. Rxd8+ Bxd8 27. Re4 $1 {The defender
will have no choice but to live with the presence of the real pawn majority on
the kingside.} hxg3 (27... Be7 28. gxh4 $16) 28. fxg3 Rd7 29. h4 Rd3 30. Re3
Rd7 (30... Rxe3 31. Bxe3 b6 32. h5 $16) 31. h5 Ne7 32. g4 Nc6 33. g5 Ne7 34.
Re2 Nf5 35. Rd2 Rf7 $1 {[%mdl 256] In comparision with other games from this
system White can celebrate quite a few successes. It seems that the exchange
of the rooks on d2 would not enable Black to hold the minor piece endgame.} (
35... Rxd2+ $6 36. Bxd2 b6 37. g6 $1 (37. Kh3 $2 Nd4 $1 38. Nxd4 cxd4 39. c5 $5
(39. Kg4 c5 40. Kf4 g6 41. h6 Kf7 $11) 39... bxc5 40. h6 gxh6 41. gxh6 Kf7 42.
Bxa5 Bg5 43. h7 Kg7 44. Kg4 Bd8 45. Kf3 Kxh7 46. Ke4 Kg6 47. b4 cxb4 48. Bxb4
c6 49. Kxd4 Kf5 50. Bd6 $16) 37... Be7 (37... Nd4 38. Nxd4 cxd4 39. c5 $1 bxc5
40. Bxa5 Bg5 41. Bxc7 Kd7 42. Bd6 $18) 38. Kh3 Kd7 39. Kg4 Ke8 40. Ng5 $1 (40.
Bg5 Bf8 $13) 40... Bxg5 41. Bxg5 Nh6+ 42. Kf4 Nf5 43. Bf6 Kf8 44. Bd8 $18) 36.
Rd3 Rf8 37. Kh3 c6 $2 {Cheparinov was truly suffering at the sight of his
dark-squared bishop and a number of pawns on squares of the same colour.
Despite that, this weakening move represents a decisive mistake.} (37... Nd4 $1
38. Nxd4 (38. Kg4 Nxf3 39. Rxf3 Rxf3 40. Kxf3 g6 $1 41. h6 (41. hxg6 Kf8 42.
Kg4 Kg7 43. Kh5 b6 44. Bd2 Be7 $11) 41... Kf8 42. Bd2 b6 43. Ke4 Kg8 44. Kd3
Kh7 45. Kc2 Kg8 $11) 38... cxd4 39. Rxd4 (39. h6 c5 40. g6 gxh6 41. g7 Rg8 42.
Bxh6 Kf7 43. Rf3+ Kg6 44. Rf8 Kh7 45. Kg4 Bc7 46. Kf4 Bd8 $11) 39... Rf1 40.
Bd2 Rh1+ 41. Kg4 Rg1+ 42. Kf3 Bxg5 43. Bxa5 b6 44. Rg4 Rf1+ 45. Ke2 Rf5 46. Bc3
Bh6 47. c5 Rxh5 48. cxb6 cxb6 49. Bd4 Rh3 $11) 38. Kg4 Bc7 39. Be3 b6 40. g6
Bd8 (40... Nxe3+ 41. Rxe3 Bd8 42. Re4 Be7 43. Rf4 $18) 41. Bf4 Bc7 42. Nd2 Nh6+
{It is understandable that the young Bulgarian player was not giving this
check with any joy. Passive defence was not enough, since White would create a
passed pawn on the g-file.} (42... Bd8 43. Ne4 Be7 44. Ng3 Nh4 (44... Nd4 45.
h6 gxh6 46. g7 Rg8 47. Bxh6 Kf7 48. Kh5 $18) 45. Rd1 Ng2 46. Bc1 Nh4 47. Rh1
Nf3 48. Bf4 Nd4 49. h6 gxh6 50. g7 Rg8 51. Bxh6 $18) 43. Bxh6 gxh6 44. Rd6 $1 {
Jakovenko is on top of the situation. This nice move is a decisive combination
with an unusual exchange sacrifice in the endgame.} Bxd6 (44... Ke7 45. Rxc6
Bxe5 46. Rxb6 Rf4+ 47. Kh3 Rf5 48. Rb7+ Ke8 49. Kg2 Rg5+ (49... Rxh5 50. Nf3
Kf8 51. b4 $1 cxb4 52. Rb5 $18) 50. Kf2 Rxh5 51. Nf3 Kf8 52. b4 $1 cxb4 53. Rb5
$18) 45. exd6 e5 (45... Kd8 46. Ne4 Rg8 47. Nf6 Rg7 48. Kf4 $18) 46. Ne4 Rf4+
47. Kg3 Rf1 (47... Rxe4 48. d7+ Kxd7 49. g7 Re1 50. Kf2 $18) 48. Kg2 Rf4 (48...
Rd1 49. Nf6+ Kf8 50. d7 Rd6 (50... Rd3 51. Nd5 $18) 51. g7+ Kxg7 52. Ne8+ $18)
49. Nf6+ $1 {Another impressive move which proves that the black pieces stand
no chance of coping with the white passed pawns.} Rxf6 (49... Kf8 50. d7 Rd4
51. Nd5 $18) 50. d7+ (50. d7+ Kxd7 51. g7 Rf5 52. g8=Q Rg5+ 53. Qxg5 hxg5 54.
h6 $18) 1-0

[Event "Rubinstein Memorial 37th"]
[Site "Polanica Zdroj"]
[Date "2000.08.20"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Krasenkow, Michal"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2746"]
[BlackElo "2702"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2000.08.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[EventCategory "17"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 079"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2000.11.21"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2000.11.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Wedberg} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. b3 $5 {Wedberg: 'Shirov deviates from
his game with Almasi two rounds earlier.'} (10. h3 {Wedberg} h6 11. Bf4 b6 12.
a4 a5 13. Rad1 Kc8 {1/2-1/2 Shirov,A-Almasi,Z/Polanica Zdroj 2000/CBM 79/
[Wedberg] (40)}) 10... h6 11. Bb2 Kc8 12. Rad1 (12. h3 {Wedberg} b6 13. Rad1
Ne7 14. Ne2 Ng6 15. Ne1 h5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Kasparov,G-Kramnik,V/London ENG 2000 
(25)}) 12... a5 ({In a later high profile game Black´s play was improved with} 
12... b6 {Wedberg} 13. Ne2 c5 14. c4 Bc6 15. Nf4 Kb7 16. Nd5 Ne7 17. Rfe1 Rg8
$13 {1/2-1/2 Kasparov,G-Kramnik,V/London 2000 (53)}) 13. h3 (13. Rd3 Be7 14.
Rfd1 Be6 $14) 13... b6 (13... Bb4 14. Ne2) 14. a4 Bb4 15. Ne2 {White needs a
good plan against black's idea of finishing artificial castling and improving
coordination of pieces.} (15. Ne4 Be6 16. c4 c5 $1) 15... Re8 $1 16. Nf4 (16.
g4 Ne7 17. Nf4 Ng6 $1 18. Nh5 Bf8 $13) 16... g6 (16... g5 $2 17. Nh5 Be7 18. g4
Nh4 19. Nxh4 gxh4 20. Rd3 $16) 17. g4 {'!' Wedberg.} Ng7 $1 (17... Ne7 18. c3
Bc5 19. Nd3 $14) 18. Rd3 Ne6 (18... h5 19. Rfd1 Ne6 20. Nxe6 Bxe6 21. Nd4 $16)
19. Nxe6 Bxe6 (19... Rxe6 20. Rfd1 Re7 21. Nd2 $14) 20. Nd4 Bd7 (20... Bd5 $2
21. c4 Be4 22. Re3 c5 23. Rxe4 cxd4 24. Bxd4 $16) 21. Ne2 $2 {'!' Wedberg.} (
21. Rfd1 Kb7 (21... Rxe5 22. Nxc6 Re1+ 23. Rxe1 Bxe1 24. Ne7+ Kd8 25. Bf6 $16)
22. Ne2 Bc8 $14) 21... Bd6 $1 (21... c5 22. c4 Bc6 23. Rfd1 $14) (21... Re7 {
Wedberg} 22. Rfd1 {The K is stuck on c8.}) (21... Be6 {Wedberg} 22. Rfd1 Kb7
23. Nf4 $16) 22. f4 $1 (22. exd6 $6 Rxe2 23. dxc7 (23. Rfd1 Rxc2 24. dxc7 Rxb2
25. Rxd7 Rb1 26. Rd8+ Kxc7 27. R8d7+ Kc8 $11) 23... Kxc7 24. Rfd1 Be6 $11) (22.
Rfd1 Bxe5 23. Bxe5 Rxe5 24. Rxd7 Rxe2 25. Rxf7 Rxc2 $15) 22... f5 $2 {[%mdl
256] Krasenkow opens a scope for better coordinated white pieces, opposite
coloured bishops are often a great boon in an attack.} (22... h5 23. Rfd1 Bc5+
24. Kh2 Be6 25. Kg3 $16) (22... f6 23. exd6 Rxe2 24. Bxf6 $18) (22... Bc5+ 23.
Kh2 f5 $13) 23. exd6 $1 {'+/-!' Wedberg.} Rxe2 24. dxc7 Kxc7 $6 (24... Rxc2 25.
Be5 fxg4 26. Rfd1 Bf5 27. Rd8+ Kb7 28. Rb8+ $18) (24... fxg4 25. Be5 gxh3 26.
Rfd1 h2+ (26... Bf5 27. Rd8+ Kb7 28. Rb8+ Ka7 29. Kf1 Rxe5 30. Rxa8+ Kxa8 31.
c8=Q+ Bxc8 32. fxe5 Kb7 33. Rd6 $16) 27. Kh1 Bg4 (27... Bf5 28. Rd8+ Kb7 29.
Rb8+ Ka7 30. Rxa8+ Kxa8 31. Rd8+ Ka7 32. c8=N+ Bxc8 33. Rxc8 Rxc2 34. Rg8 $16)
28. Rg3 Bf5 29. Rd8+ Kb7 30. Rb8+ Ka7 31. Rg2 $16) 25. Be5+ Kc8 26. Rfd1 Be6 $2
(26... Ra7 27. Rd6 fxg4 28. Rxg6 {'+-' Wedberg.} (28. hxg4 Bxg4 (28... Rxc2 29.
Rxg6 $18) 29. Rxc6+ Kb7 30. Rxg6 $18) 28... Bf5 29. Rxc6+ Kb7 30. Rf6 $1 $16)
27. Rd6 (27. Rd6 Bd5 28. c4 $18) 1-0

[Event "Interpolis-03"]
[Site "Tilburg"]
[Date "1979.11.06"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Spassky, Boris Vasilievich"]
[Black "Smyslov, Vassily V"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2640"]
[BlackElo "2560"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "29"]
[EventDate "1979.11.01"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[SourceTitle "MCL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8.
dxe5 Nb7 9. Nc3 (9. b3 O-O 10. Bb2 (10. Ba3 Re8 (10... Bxa3 11. Nxa3 Qe7 12.
Nc4 d5 13. Ne3 f5 $1 14. c4 f4 15. Nc2 Bg4 16. Ncd4 Nd8 17. h3 {
Romanischin-Knezevic/Erewan/1980} Bxf3 $1 18. Nxf3 Ne6 19. Rfd1 Qc5 $1 (19...
Rad8 $6 20. Nd4) 20. Qd2 dxc4 $1 21. Rac1 Rad8 22. Qe1 Rxd1 23. Qxd1 Rd8 24.
Qc2 c3 $1 $10) 11. Re1 Bxa3 12. Nxa3 d5 13. Qa6 Re6 14. Rad1 Qe7 15. Nd4 Nc5
16. Qa5 Nb7 17. Qa6 Nd8 18. Qa5 Rg6 $10 {Dschandschawa-Bareev/Lemberg/1987})
10... d5 11. Nbd2 $6 (11. exd6 $142 cxd6 $10 12. Nd4) 11... a5 (11... Re8 $143
12. c4 $6 (12. Nd4 $142 {/\13.f4}) 12... a5 $1 13. Rfe1 Bf8 14. Bc3 a4 15. b4
c5 16. b5 d4 17. Bb2 c6 $5 18. bxc6 Na5 19. Qe4 Ra6 20. Ba3 Nxc6 21. Qd5 Be6
22. Qxd8 Rxd8 23. Ne4 Nb4 24. Bxb4 cxb4 25. c5 Rc6 26. Nd6 Bd5 $1 27. Nxd4 Rxc5
28. f4 g6 29. Rab1 Bxd6 30. exd6 Rc4 31. Rbd1 Rxd6 32. Re8+ Kg7 33. Re5 Rd7 34.
Nf3 Bc6 35. Rxd7 Bxd7 36. Re7 Be6 37. Rb7 Rxf4 38. Ra7 a3 39. Kf2 Bxa2 40. Ke3
Rf6 41. Nd4 b3 {0-1/Renet-Sharif/France tt/1991}) 12. Nd4 Qd7 13. f4 c5 14. Nb5
(14. N4f3 Qg4) 14... c6 15. Nc3 {/\f4-f5} Qg4 $1 16. Rf3 (16. Qxg4 Bxg4 17. f5
(17. Rae1 Bf5) 17... Bg5 $1) (16. Qf2 c4 $1) 16... Qg6 $1 {/\17. ...Lg4,17. ...
Dxc2} 17. Rg3 (17. Qd3 Bf5) 17... Qxc2 18. Na4 Nd8 19. Rc1 Qf5 20. Rf3 Ne6 21.
Qf2 Ba6 22. h3 h5 23. Nf1 {/\24.Sg4, 25.f5} Bxf1 24. Rxf1 Rfb8 $1 25. Ba3 Rb4
$1 (25... Nd4 $2 26. Rg3 $1 Bh4 (26... h4 27. Rg4) 27. Rxg7+ Kxg7 28. Qxh4 $16)
26. Bxb4 axb4 27. Kh2 (27. g3 $5 Qxh3 28. f5 Ng5 29. Re3 Ne4 30. Rxe4 dxe4 31.
Qf4 c4 $1) 27... h4 $1 28. Qd2 c4 29. bxc4 Rxa4 30. cxd5 cxd5 31. Qxd5 Ra3 32.
Rxa3 bxa3 33. Qa8+ Kh7 34. Qf3 g6 35. Qg4 Qe4 $1 36. Kh1 Ng7 $1 37. Qf3 Qc4 38.
Qf2 Nf5 39. Re1 Bc5 40. Qf3 (40. Qd2 Ng3+ 41. Kh2 Nf1+) 40... Qxa2 41. Rc1 Qb2
42. Rxc5 a2 43. Ra5 a1=Q+ {0-1/Prandstetter-Pachmann/CSFR tt/1993}) 9... O-O
10. Re1 Nc5 (10... Re8 $6 11. Qc4 Nc5 12. Bg5 $6 (12. Ng5 Bxg5 (12... Ne6 13.
Nxe6 fxe6 14. Be3 Rb8 15. b3 Rb4 16. Qd3 d6 (16... d5 17. Na4 {Hübner}) 17. Ne4
$16) (12... Rf8 13. Nce4 $16) 13. Bxg5 Qxg5 14. Qxc5 Re6 15. Qd4) 12... Ba6 $2
(12... d5 $1 13. exd6 cxd6 14. Bxe7 Rxe7 15. Rxe7 Qxe7 16. Nd4 (16. b4 Be6 17.
Qd4 Nb7 $10 {Hübner}) 16... Qb7 17. b4 Be6 18. Nxe6 Nxe6 $10 {Hübner}) 13. Bxe7
Bxc4 (13... Qxe7 14. Qg4 $14) 14. Bxd8 Raxd8 15. Rad1 f6 16. exf6 {
Hübner-Spassky/Venedig m/1989} gxf6 17. Nd4 $14) 11. Nd4 Ne6 12. Nxe6 fxe6 13.
b3 Qe8 14. Bb2 Bb7 15. Qg4 1/2-1/2

[Event "London Classic 6th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2014.12.12"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2745"]
[BlackElo "2769"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2014.12.10"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 164"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.01.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.01.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 {
The rook move is definitely the main idea used in this position, but some
older analyses has been pleading for the bishop move 13...Bc4.} (13... Bc4 14.
Rfe1 Rd8 $1 15. Rxd8+ (15. b3 Ba6 16. Rxd8+ {-> 15.Rxd8}) 15... Bxd8 16. b3 Ba6
17. e6 Bxg5 18. exf7+ Kxf7 19. Bxg5 Re8 $11) 14. g3 (14. Nce4 c5 15. Nxe6 Rxe6
16. Rfe1 Rd8 17. Rxd8+ Kxd8 18. c3 $14 {Alekseev - Ponomariov, Saratov, 2011.})
14... Bc4 $146 {Black players are not experiencing problems in the Berlin
Defence, but thist does not exclude an active search for the best continuation
in every line. Kramnik is avoiding the immediate exchange on g5.} (14... Bxg5
15. Bxg5 Rg6 16. h4 (16. Bf4 Nh4 17. Kh1 Nf3 18. Kg2 (18. Rd3 $2 Bc4 19. Rxf3
Bxf1 $19) (18. h4 $2 Bh3 $19) 18... Nh4+ 19. Kh1 (19. Kh2 Nf3+ $11) 19... Nf3
20. Kg2 {1/2 (20) Grischuk,A (2747)-Anand,V (2817) Monte Carlo 2011}) 16... f6
17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bf4 Nxh4 19. f3 (19. Bxc7 Bg4 20. Rd3 Nf3+ 21. Kg2 h4 22. Ne4
Kf7 23. Nd6+ Kg8 $11) 19... Rd8 (19... Rg7 20. Ne4 Kf7 21. Kf2 Nxf3 (21... Nf5
22. Bxc7 $14) 22. Kxf3 Bg4+ 23. Kf2 Bxd1 24. Rxd1 $11 {0-1 (57) Efimenko,Z 
(2703)-Bacrot,E (2705) Poikovsky 2011}) 20. Kf2 (20. Rxd8+ Kxd8 21. Kf2 Nf5 22.
Rh1 Ng7 23. Bd2 (23. b3 Bf5 24. Nd1 $1 Be6 (24... Bxc2 $2 25. Ne3 Bf5 26. Ng2
$1 $16 Ne6 $2 27. Nh4 Nxf4 28. gxf4 $18) (24... Bd7 $1 25. c4 Be8 26. Bd2 Nf5
27. Bf4 Ng7 28. Ne3 Ne6 $1 29. Rxh5 Nxf4 (29... Rxg3 30. Rh8 Rg6 31. Bg3 Ng5
32. Bxc7+ Kxc7 33. Rxe8 Nh3+ 34. Ke1 Kb6 35. Re7 a5 $11) 30. gxf4 Rg2+ $1 31.
Kxg2 Bxh5 $11 {1/2 (59) Karjakin,S (2779)-Naiditsch,A (2700) Dortmund 2012/})
25. Bc1 b6 26. Ne3 Bf7 (26... Rg5 $5) 27. Ng2 Ne8 28. Nf4 Rg5) (23. Nd1 Bf7 24.
b3 b6 25. c4 Be8 26. Nc3 Ne6 27. Bc1 Rg8 28. Ne4 Ke7 29. Bb2 Rf8 30. Re1 Bg6
31. Ba3+ c5 32. Nxc5 bxc5 33. Bxc5+ Kd7 34. Rxe6 Kxe6 35. Bxf8 {1/2 (35)
Naiditsch,A (2718)-So,W (2719) Wijk aan Zee 2014}) 23... Bf5 24. Nd1 Bxc2 25.
Ne3 Bd3 26. Ng2 Ne6 27. Rxh5 Rg7 28. Bc3 Ke7 29. Rh6 Rf7 {1/2 (36) Anand,V 
(2817)-Nakamura,H (2753) Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2011}) (20. Rde1 Kf7 21. Kf2 Nf5 22.
Rh1 Ng7 23. Rd1 Rd7 24. Rxd7+ Bxd7 25. Bxc7 Bf5 26. Bb8 Bxc2 {1/2 (38) Motylev,
A (2687)-Bacrot,E (2721) Poikovsky 2014}) 20... Rxd1 21. Nxd1 Nf5 22. Rh1 Bxa2
23. Rxh5 Be6 24. g4 (24. Bxc7 Rh6 25. Rxh6 Nxh6 26. g4 Nf7 27. Ke3 (27. Nc3 f5
28. Kg3 fxg4 29. fxg4 Kd7 30. Bf4 Nd6 31. Bxd6 Kxd6 32. Kf4 {1/2 (32) Mozharov,
M (2557)-Gagunashvili,M (2579) Quezon City 2014}) 27... Kd7 28. Bb8 a5 29. Nc3
b5 30. Ne4 Ke7 $11 {1/2 (42) Solak,D (2610)-Bacrot,E (2739) Yerevan 2014})
24... Nd6 25. Rh7 Nf7 (25... f5 26. g5 Nf7 27. Rh5 Rg8 28. Kg3 Rh8 29. Rxh8+
Nxh8 30. Bxc7 $11 {1/2 (52) Giri,A (2768)-Radjabov,T (2726) Tashkent 2014}) 26.
Ne3 Kd8 27. Nf5 c5 $11 {1/2 (122) Carlsen,M (2863)-Anand,V (2792) Sochi 2014})
15. Rfe1 Rg6 16. Nce4 Rd8 {The former world champion is still working hard on
his openings. It seems that the move which saves the light-squared bishop
leads to comfortable equality for Black.} (16... Bd5 17. h4 Rd8 18. Nc3 Rd7 $11
) 17. Rxd8+ Bxd8 18. b3 Bd5 19. c4 Bxg5 {The exchange of the light squared
bishop must have appealed less to the great technical player.} (19... Bxe4 20.
Nxe4 Be7 21. Rd1 c5 $11) 20. Nxg5 Be6 21. Kg2 c5 22. Nxe6 {Adams has probably
given up any hope for an advantage and was simplifying towards a probable draw.
} (22. f3 Nd4 23. Ne4 b6 $11) 22... Rxe6 23. Rd1 Nd4 24. g4 (24. Be3 Rxe5 25.
Bxd4 cxd4 26. Rxd4 Re2 27. a4 Rb2 28. Rd3 $11) 24... hxg4 25. hxg4 Ra6 {
The best players in the world have problems achieving an advantage against
each other, but it does not usually prevent them from seeking ways to fight on.
It was much safer for Black to attack the exposed e5-pawn.} (25... Nc6 $5 26.
Kg3 (26. Bg3 Nxe5 27. Rd5 Nxg4 28. Bxc7 Rc6 $15) 26... b6 27. Rh1 Nxe5 28. Rh8+
Ke7 29. Rc8 Kd7 30. Rg8 g6 31. Rf8 Ke7 32. Rc8 $11) 26. Rd2 Ra3 27. Be3 a5 (
27... b6 28. Bxd4 cxd4 29. f4 c5 30. Kf3 a5 31. Ke4 Kd7 32. Kd5 a4 33. Rb2 axb3
34. axb3 Ra8 35. b4 Rd8 36. bxc5 Kc7+ 37. Ke4 bxc5 $11) 28. Bxd4 cxd4 29. Kf3
$1 a4 30. Rb2 axb3 31. axb3 Ra1 32. Ke4 Rd1 {[%mdl 4096] The d4-pawn needs
special protection, but Black should be able to use it for the purpose of
dfelecting the white pieces with full equality.} 33. b4 Ke7 (33... d3 $1 34.
Ke3 Kd7 35. Ra2 (35. Rd2 Rxd2 36. Kxd2 Ke6 37. f4 g5 $15) 35... g5 $11) 34. Rb3
b6 35. b5 Rg1 (35... Ke6 36. f4 Rg1 37. g5 g6 38. Rd3 Re1+ 39. Kxd4 Rf1 40. Ke3
Rc1 $11) 36. Rg3 Rf1 37. f4 g5 $6 {The impending time control plays on the
defender's nerves, Kramnik misses the most promising lines.} (37... g6 38. f5
d3 39. Rxd3 Rg1 40. Kf4 gxf5 41. gxf5 Rc1 42. Rd4 $14) 38. f5 (38. fxg5 Ke6 39.
Rh3 Re1+ 40. Kxd4 Rd1+ 41. Ke4 Re1+ 42. Re3 Rxe3+ 43. Kxe3 Kxe5 44. Kf3 Kd4 45.
Kf4 Kxc4 46. Ke5 Kxb5 47. Kf6 c5 48. Kxf7 c4 $11) 38... Rf4+ 39. Kd5 Kd7 $2 (
39... f6 $5 40. e6 d3 41. Rxd3 Rxg4 42. Rh3 $16) 40. c5 $2 {Anybody who
believes that the 40th move (time control) is not cursed has probably played
chess only for few weeks. Too many games have been spoiled and chances missed,
so it is not so surprising that Adams misses the very strong move 40.f6! with
excellent winning chances.} (40. f6 $1 Kc8 41. Rh3 Kb7 (41... Rxg4 $2 42. Kc6
$18) 42. Rd3 Rf1 (42... Rxg4 43. e6 fxe6+ 44. Kxe6 $18) 43. Rxd4 Re1 44. Rd2
Kc8 45. Rh2 Kd7 46. Rh8 $18) 40... bxc5 41. Kxc5 Re4 42. Kd5 Re3 43. Rg2 d3 44.
Rd2 (44. Kd4 Re2 45. Rg3 d2 46. Rd3 Kc8 $11) 44... Rg3 45. Rd1 (45. Kc5 Rf3 $11
) 45... Rxg4 46. Rxd3 Rf4 47. f6 {The key idea of the f-pawn advance comes way
too late under much less favourable conditions. Black will be able to hold
with precise defence.} (47. Kc5+ $5 Kc8 48. f6 g4 49. b6 cxb6+ 50. Kd6 Kd8 51.
e6 Ke8 52. Rc3 fxe6 53. Kxe6 Re4+ 54. Kf5 Re1 55. Kg6 Rf1 56. Kg7 g3 57. Rxg3
Kd7 $11) 47... Rf1 48. e6+ Ke8 (48... fxe6+ 49. Ke5+ Ke8 50. Kxe6 g4 51. Rc3
Kf8 52. Rxc7 Re1+ 53. Kf5 g3 54. b6 g2 55. b7 Rb1 56. Rg7 Rxb7 $11) 49. exf7+
Kxf7 50. Rc3 Rf5+ 51. Kc6 g4 52. Rg3 Rg5 53. Kxc7 Rxb5 54. Rxg4 1/2-1/2

[Event "RUS-ch 63rd"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2010.12.16"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Malakhov, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2722"]
[BlackElo "2712"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2010.12.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 140"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.01.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.01.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8.
dxe5 Nb7 {The retreat of the knight to the b7-square seems strange at first
sight, but practice gives the idea full approval. Black can afford to take
some liberties as he can fall back on his bishop pair.} 9. c4 O-O 10. Nc3 f6
11. Re1 fxe5 12. Qxe5 {Recapturing with the queen is tied to the sound idea of
transferring it to the kingside for attacking purposes. Centralisation of the
knight seems to be more natural, but Black tends to equalise.} (12. Nxe5 Bf6
13. Bf4 (13. Qh5 Nc5 14. Bf4 Ne6 15. Bg3 Bxe5 16. Rxe5 d6 17. Re3 Bd7 18. Rae1
Qf6 19. b3 Rae8 20. h3 Qf5 {1/2-1/2 Westerinen,H (2430)-Pachman,L (2485)/
Geneve 1977}) 13... Qe8 (13... Nc5 14. Bg3 Bxe5 15. Bxe5 d6 16. Bd4 Ne6 17.
Rad1 Nxd4 18. Rxd4 Qf6 19. Re4 Bd7 20. f3 Rfe8 21. Qd2 Rxe4 22. Nxe4 Qe5 23.
Qc3 Re8 $11 {1/2-1/2 Liberzon,V (2545)-Pachman,L (2510)/Biel 1980 (50)}) (13...
Bxe5 14. Bxe5 d6 15. Bd4 Qh4 (15... Bf5 16. Qd2 Qd7 17. Ne2 Rae8 18. b3 Nd8 19.
Ng3 Ne6 20. Be3 Bg6 21. Rad1 c5 22. f3 Qf7 23. Ne2 Rd8 24. Nc3 c6 25. Na4 Rfe8
$11 {1/2-1/2 Klovans,J-Liberzon,V/Alma-Ata 1968 (41)}) 16. Qd2 Qf4 17. Re3 Nd8
18. Ne4 Ne6 19. Bc3 Bd7 20. Rae1 Rae8 21. b3 Qh6 22. Rg3 Qxd2 23. Nxd2 Rf7 $14
{1/2-1/2 Tal,M (2615)-Dorfman,J (2405)/Moscow 1976 (41)}) 14. Qc2 Bxe5 15. Bxe5
Qf7 16. c5 d6 17. cxd6 cxd6 18. Bg3 Bf5 19. Qa4 Qd7 20. Rad1 d5 21. f3 Nc5 22.
Qa3 Ne6 23. Re5 Bg6 24. Qa4 Nc5 25. Qd4 Ne6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Mecking,H (2575)
-Panno,O (2580)/Petropolis 1973 (41)}) 12... Bf6 13. Qh5 {Adams retreated to
g3 right away since the queen can support the attack also from that square. It
certainly deserves attention as the candidate for the best move.} (13. Qg3 Nc5
14. Bg5 Nd3 15. Re3 Nxb2 16. Rae1 Bxg5 17. Nxg5 Qf6 18. Rf3 Qd8 19. Nce4 Ba6
20. Nxh7 Rxf3 21. gxf3 Kxh7 22. Ng5+ Kg8 23. Qh4 $18 {1-0 Adams,M (2723)
-Howell,D (2611)/London 2010 (28)}) 13... g6 14. Qh6 Bg7 15. Qh3 d6 16. Qg3 Qd7
{Black could easily face some problems, if he were to underestimate the
situation. The queen is heading to g4 in order to exchange with its
counterpart.} (16... Bd7 17. Bg5 Qb8 18. Ne4 Nd8 (18... d5 19. Rad1 dxe4 20.
Rxd7 Nd6 (20... exf3 21. Ree7 Bxb2 22. Qh3 $18) 21. Ne5 Qb4 22. Rf1 Bxe5 23.
Qxe5 Rf7 24. Rxf7 Nxf7 25. Qe6 Qd6 26. Qxd6 cxd6 27. Bf6 $14) 19. Be7 Rf5 20.
Nh4 Rf7 21. Ng5 $14) 17. h3 Nc5 18. Qh4 Ne6 (18... Rf7 19. Ng5 Bf6 20. Be3 Qe7
21. Qg3 $14) 19. Ng5 Nxg5 $2 {Only Malakhov can explain why he played this
reckless move. In a flash the white pieces became dominant and the defender
has no time to parry the main threats.} (19... Bf6 $1 20. Nce4 Bd8 21. Be3 c5
$11) 20. Bxg5 Rf7 (20... Re8 $2 21. Ne4 Qf7 22. Nf6+ Bxf6 23. Rxe8+ Qxe8 24.
Bxf6 $16) (20... Qf5 21. Re7 Rf7 22. g4 $1 Qd3 (22... Qf3 23. Re3 $18) 23. Rae1
$18) 21. Ne4 Bb7 22. c5 $1 {[%mdl 32] Black might easily have missed this fine
idea, that will create a critical weakness on the d6-square.} (22. Bf6 h6 23.
Bxg7 Kxg7 $14) 22... Raf8 (22... d5 23. Nf6+ Bxf6 24. Bxf6 Raf8 25. Bg5 $16)
23. cxd6 cxd6 24. Rad1 c5 {Both armies are finally fully mobilised, but the
second player faces the impossible task of solving the problem of the d6-pawn.}
(24... Be5 25. f4 Bxf4 26. Nf6+ Rxf6 27. Bxf6 $16) (24... d5 25. Nc5 Qf5 26.
Ne6 Qxf2+ (26... Rc8 27. Nxg7 Rxg7 28. Rd4 $16) 27. Qxf2 Rxf2 28. Nxf8 Rxf8 29.
Re7 $16) 25. Nxd6 {The genuine proof of the defender's misery lies in the fact
that even the seemingly dangerous capture with the rook was very strong.} (25.
Rxd6 $5 Qf5 (25... Qc7 26. Bd8 $1 Qc8 27. Ng5 $18) (25... Qb5 26. Nf6+ Bxf6 27.
Bxf6 Qb4 28. Qxb4 cxb4 29. Bd4 $16) 26. g4 Qf3 (26... Qe5 27. Nf6+ Rxf6 28.
Rxe5 Rxd6 29. Re1 Bd4 30. Be3 Bxe3 31. fxe3 Rd2 32. e4 $16) 27. Re3 $18) 25...
Rxf2 26. Qxf2 Rxf2 27. Kxf2 Bf8 {The fight of the black army against ideally
coordinated white pieces will be quite instructive.} (27... Bd4+ 28. Rxd4 cxd4
29. Re8+ Kg7 30. Re7+ $18) 28. Re8 $1 Qg7 (28... Kg7 29. Rd8 Qe6 30. Re1 Qxa2
31. Ne8+ Kg8 (31... Kh8 32. Kg1 Qa6 33. Rf1 $18) 32. Nf6+ Kg7 33. Rd7+ $18) 29.
Kg1 Bc6 30. Rc8 h6 (30... Bd7 31. Ne8 Bxe8 32. Rxe8 h6 33. Bc1 Kf7 34. Red8 $18
) 31. Rxc6 {Svidler must have been quite happy, since any sensible move would
keep the dominant position.} (31. Bf4 Bd7 32. Rb8 Bc6 33. Bg3 Kh7 34. Rc8 $18)
31... hxg5 32. Ne4 Qe5 (32... Be7 33. Rc8+ Kf7 34. Nxg5+ Bxg5 35. Rd7+ Be7 36.
Rxe7+ Kxe7 37. Rc7+ $18) 33. Nf6+ Kh8 (33... Kf7 34. Ng4 Qxb2 35. Rd7+ Be7 36.
Rcc7 $18) 34. Ng4 Qe8 35. Rc7 {Without the benefit of the bishop pair the
defence of Black's position will be simply impossible.} Bg7 (35... a6 $2 36.
Rh7+ $18) (35... Qb8 36. Rcd7 c4 37. Rd8 Qb6+ 38. Kh1 Qc5 39. Rf1 $18) 36. Rxc5
Qb8 (36... Bxb2 37. Rc7 Bg7 38. Rxa7 $18) 37. Kh1 Qxb2 (37... Bxb2 38. Rb1 Qf8
39. Rb5 $18) 38. Rc8+ Kh7 39. Rd7 Qb1+ 40. Kh2 Qb6 (40... Qf5 41. Rcc7 $18) 41.
Rf8 $1 {The final idea is very witty and actually merciful on the defender. He
has no chance to prevent the mating combination.} (41. Rf8 $1 a5 42. Nf6+ Kh6
43. Rh8+ Bxh8 44. Rh7#) 1-0

[Event "Jermuk FIDE GP"]
[Site "Jermuk"]
[Date "2009.08.20"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Alekseev, Evgeny V"]
[Black "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2714"]
[BlackElo "2716"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2009.08.09"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "ARM"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 132"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.09.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2009.09.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. h3 h6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 Ne7 13. Rad1 c5 14. Rd2
b6 15. Ne2 {White players are ready to use all sorts of wonderful moves in the
fight against the Berlin Defence, but they find it impossible to change the
basic setup. Black has for the worse pawn structure and cramped position, but
the advantage of two bishops and remarkable flexibility in defence.} (15. Rfd1
Be6 (15... Bf5 16. Nh2 Be6 17. f4 Kb7 18. g4 g6 19. Ne4 Bg7 20. c4 Rae8 21. Nf3
$14 {1/2-1/2 Morovic Fernandez,I-Mitkov,N/Poikovsky 2001/ (51)}) 16. Ne2 g5 17.
h4 (17. c4 Kb7 18. Nc3 Ng6 19. Nd5 {1/2-1/2 Volokitin,A (2654)-Eljanov,P (2686)
/Dresden 2007}) (17. Rd8+ Kb7 18. Rxa8 Kxa8 19. h4 g4 20. Ne1 Nc6 21. Nf4 Bf5
22. Nd5 Bg7 23. Nxc7+ {1/2-1/2 Smirin,I (2702)-Almasi,Z (2630)/Pula 2001})
17... g4 18. Nh2 h5 19. Rd8+ Kb7 20. Rxa8 Kxa8 21. Rd8+ Kb7 22. Nf4 Ng6 23.
Nxe6 (23. g3 c4 24. bxc4 Nxf4 25. gxf4 g3 26. Nf1 gxf2+ 27. Kh2 Bxc4 {0-1
Anand,V (2794)-Kramnik,V (2797)/Mainz 2001}) 23... fxe6 24. g3 Bh6 25. Rxh8
Nxh8 26. f3 gxf3 27. Kf2 Ng6 28. g4 Nxh4 29. gxh5 Kc6 30. Ng4 Bg5 31. h6 Kd7
32. h7 Ng6 33. Kxf3 {1-0 Grischuk,A (2748)-Eljanov,P (2693)/Odessa 2009 (53)})
15... Ng6 16. c4 {The advance of the white c-pawn sometimes simplifies the
opponent's counterplay on the queenside, so it is far from a universal idea.} (
16. Rfd1 Be6 17. h4 $1 (17. Ng3 Kb7 18. Nh5 Rg8 19. Rd8 Rxd8 20. Rxd8 c6 21. g4
Kc7 22. Rd1 Be7 23. Ne1 Nh4 24. Kh2 g5 25. f4 gxf4 26. Nxf4 Bg5 27. Bc1 c4 28.
Nxe6+ fxe6 29. Bxg5 hxg5 {1/2-1/2 Anand,V (2801)-McShane,L (2592)/Germany 2007
(39)}) (17. Rd8+ Kb7 18. Rxa8 Kxa8 19. Rd8+ (19. Ng3 Be7 20. Nh5 Rg8 21. c4 Nh4
22. Nxh4 Bxh4 23. Nf4 Rd8 24. Rxd8+ Bxd8 25. Nxe6 fxe6 26. g4 Bg5 27. Kg2 Bd2
28. h4 {1-0 Shirov,A (2732)-Panjwani,R (2350)/Edmonton 2009 (53)}) 19... Kb7
20. g4 Rh7 21. Nh2 Be7 22. Rd1 Bg5 {1/2-1/2 Baramidze,D (2551)-Naiditsch,A 
(2663)/Bad Koenigshofen 2007 (25)}) 17... Be7 (17... Bg4 18. Nh2 Bxe2 19. Rxe2
Nxh4 20. Re4 Ng6 (20... Nf5 21. Rf4) 21. e6 $36) 18. h5 Nh4 19. Nxh4 Bxh4 20.
Nf4 $3 Bg5 (20... Bf5 21. e6 $36) 21. Nxe6 Bxd2 22. Nxg7 Bg5 23. g3 Rd8 24.
Rxd8+ Kxd8 25. Nf5 {1-0 Grischuk,A (2712)-Marciano,D (2502)/France 2003/ (41)})
16... Bc6 17. Ne1 Kb7 18. f4 Re8 $6 {Eljanov will committ two serious
inaccuracies in the defence and that will be enough for tough punishment by
his opponent. The logical development of the bishop to e7 would keep the
chances roughly equal.} (18... Be7 $1 19. f5 (19. Nc3 Bh4 20. Nd3 Rad8 21. Kh2
Rhe8 22. g3 Be7 $11) 19... Bg5 20. fxg6 (20. Rd1 Nxe5 21. Bxe5 Rhe8 22. Nd3 f6
$17) 20... Bxd2 21. gxf7 Bd7 22. e6 Bxe6 23. Bxg7 Bxf7 24. Bxh8 Rxh8 25. Rxf7
Bxe1 26. Kf1 Bd2 $11) 19. Nf3 Ne7 (19... Be7 20. f5 Nh4 21. Nxh4 Bxh4 22. Nf4
Rd8 23. Re2 $14) 20. Ng3 b5 $2 {[%mdl 16384] The untimely advance of the
b-pawn is a nervous and faulty decision. It was necessary to concentrate on
passive, but tough to break defence.} (20... Rg8 21. f5 Bxf3 22. Rxf3 Nc6 23.
Re3 Be7 $14) 21. cxb5 Bxb5 22. Rc1 Ng6 (22... Bc6 23. f5 Nd5 24. Kf2 Rg8 25.
Ne4 Kb6 26. Rcd1 Nb4 27. Nc3 Kb7 28. Re2 $16) 23. Nh5 Bc6 24. Kf2 Kb6 25. Ba3
Be4 (25... Rg8 26. Rdc2 Rd8 27. Bxc5+ Bxc5+ 28. Rxc5 Ne7 29. R5c4 $16) 26. Rc4
Bb7 27. Rdc2 {The pawn on c5 is lost; the pressure as a result of Black's
mistakes is very tough.} f6 (27... Re6 28. Nxg7 (28. f5 Bxf3 29. gxf3 Rxe5 30.
Ng3 Ne7 31. Bxc5+ Ka6 32. Bd4 $18) 28... Bxg7 29. Bxc5+ Kc6 (29... Ka6 30. Ra4+
Kb5 31. Nd4#) 30. Bd6+ Kd7 31. Rxc7+ Ke8 32. Rxb7 $18) 28. Nxg7 $1 {Tactical
blows of this type constitute a very bad sign for the player trying to save a
slightly cramped position. Alekseev has decided to play for mate.} Rc8 (28...
Bxg7 29. Bxc5+ Kc6 30. Bxa7+ Kd7 (30... Kd5 31. f5 c5 32. Rd2+ Kc6 33. Rxc5#)
31. Rxc7+ Ke6 32. Nd4+ Kd5 33. Rxb7 $18) 29. exf6 Bd5 30. f5 Bxc4 31. Rxc4 (31.
Rxc4 Ne7 32. Bxc5+ Kb7 33. Bxe7 $18) 1-0

[Event "RUS-ch 63rd"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2010.12.19"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Kurnosov, Igor"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2676"]
[BlackElo "2760"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "126"]
[EventDate "2010.12.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 140"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.01.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.01.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 {The latest word ine chess fashion in thise
extremely popular line. Black is preventing White's activity on the kingside
and hopes to play a general sort of position with the advantage of the bishop
pair.} 11. Ne2 {The relocation of the knight from c3 aspires to the title of
the main line. The first player has a real problem finding any sensible plan
with which to fight for the advantage.} (11. Bg5 Be6 12. Rfd1 (12. a3 Be7 13.
Rad1 h4 14. Rfe1 Rd8 15. Rxd8+ Kxd8 16. Ne4 Bd5 17. Kh2 Bxg5 18. Nexg5 Ke7 19.
Rd1 a5 20. Nd4 Nxd4 21. Rxd4 Rh5 22. f4 f6 23. exf6+ gxf6 24. c4 {1/2-1/2
Amonatov,F (2602)-Karjakin,S (2747)/Moscow 2010}) 12... Be7 13. g3 (13. Rd2 Rd8
14. Rxd8+ Kxd8 15. Rd1+ Ke8 16. Ne2 Bd5 17. Bxe7 Kxe7 18. Ng5 f6 19. Nf4 Nh4
20. exf6+ Kxf6 21. Nxd5+ cxd5 22. Rxd5 Re8 23. g3 Re1+ 24. Kh2 c6 25. Ra5 b6
26. Rxa7 Kxg5 27. gxh4+ Kxh4 28. Rxg7 Re2 $14 {1/2-1/2 So,W (2669)-Wang Yue 
(2756)/Guangzhou 2010 (52)}) (13. Rd3 Rd8 14. Rad1 Rxd3 15. Rxd3 f6 16. Bf4 Bd8
17. exf6 gxf6 18. g3 Rh7 19. Kh2 b6 20. Rd1 Rd7 21. Rxd7 Kxd7 22. g4 hxg4 23.
hxg4 Ne7 24. Kg3 Nd5 $15 {1-0 Kotronias,V (2591)-Mastrovasilis,D (2580)/
Vrahati 2010 (51)}) 13... f6 14. exf6 gxf6 15. Bf4 Rc8 16. Kh2 Kf7 17. Rd2 Rcd8
18. Rxd8 Bxd8 19. Rd1 Re8 20. Nd4 Nxd4 21. Rxd4 Bf5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Anand,V (2804)
-Kramnik,V (2791)/London 2010 (39)}) (11. Ne4 Be6 12. Re1 Be7 13. b3 a5 14. Bb2
a4 15. Nfg5 Bxg5 16. Nxg5 c5 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Re4 axb3 19. cxb3 Rd8 20. Rc4 b6
21. b4 Rd2 22. Rb1 Rf8 23. bxc5 Ne3 24. fxe3 Rff2 $11 {1/2-1/2 Corrales
Jimenez,F (2597)-Korneev,O (2582)/Zaragoza 2010 (27)}) 11... b6 {The plan with
slowly advancing the pawn mass on the queenside is fairly standard. Black can
clearly play without any stress.} (11... Be7 12. Bg5 (12. Ned4 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 c5
14. Nb5 Kd7 15. c4 Kc6 16. Nc3 Be6 17. b3 Rhd8 18. Ne2 a5 19. Nf4 a4 20. Be3 g6
21. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Bf5 23. Nd5 Bf8 $17 {0-1 Shirov,A (2732)-Naiditsch,A 
(2697)/Villarrobledo 2009 (40)}) (12. Re1 a5 (12... Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14. Nd4
c5 15. Nb5 Kd7 16. Re4 Bd8 17. Be3 Kc6 18. a4 Be6 19. h4 Bd5 20. Rf4 g5 21.
hxg5 Bxg5 22. Rxf7 Bxf7 23. Bxg5 Be6 $15 {1/2-1/2 Berg,E (2616)-Cheparinov,I 
(2667)/Montcada 2009 (55)}) 13. Bg5 a4 14. a3 Be6 15. Nf4 Bd5 16. Nxd5 cxd5 17.
Rad1 c6 18. g4 hxg4 19. hxg4 Nh6 20. Bxe7 Kxe7 21. Rd4 g5 22. c4 dxc4 23. Rxc4
$16 {1/2-1/2 Timofeev,A (2671)-Inarkiev,E (2656)/Moscow 2009 (46)}) 12... Be6 (
12... b6 13. Rfe1 Ba6 14. Bxe7 Bxe2 15. Rxe2 Kxe7 16. g3 Rad8 17. Re4 Rd5 18.
Kg2 c5 19. c3 g6 20. Rae1 Ng7 21. R1e2 Rhd8 22. Ng5 Ne6 23. Nxe6 Kxe6 $11 {
1/2-1/2 Stellwagen,D (2612)-Wang Yue (2739)/Wijk aan Zee 2009 (32)}) 13. Nf4
Bd5 14. Bxe7 (14. Nxd5 cxd5 15. Rad1 c6 16. Rd3 h4 17. Re1 Rh5 18. Bf4 g6 19.
a4 Rd8 20. Red1 Ng7 21. Be3 Ne6 22. a5 a6 23. c3 {1/2-1/2 Karjakin,S (2747)
-Pashikian,A (2639)/Khanty Mansiysk 2010}) 14... Kxe7 15. Ng5 Nd4 16. Rad1 Ne6
17. Ngxe6 Bxe6 18. h4 a5 19. a3 a4 20. Rfe1 g6 21. f3 Ra5 22. c3 Rb5 $11 {
1-0 Carlsen,M (2772)-Jakovenko,D (2760)/Dortmund 2009/ (49)}) 12. Rd1 (12. Bf4
c5 13. Rad1 Bb7 14. Ng5 Rh6 15. Ng3 Nh4 16. f3 Be7 17. Rfe1 Rg6 18. N5e4 Bc6
19. Kh2 Nxg2 20. Kxg2 h4 21. c4 hxg3 22. Nc3 Rd8 23. Nd5 Rd7 24. b3 Bd8 25. Re4
Bb7 26. Bxg3 b5 $11 {1/2-1/2 McShane,L (2645)-Kramnik,V (2791)/London 2010 
(139)}) 12... Ba6 13. Ned4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 c5 15. Nf5 {The knights are moving
with the ambition of creating some weaknesses, Kurnosov is looking for a plan.}
(15. Nf3 Be7 $11) 15... Be2 (15... g6 16. Ne3 c6 17. b3 Rd8 18. Bb2 Bh6 $11)
16. Rd2 Bc4 17. Ne3 Be6 18. Nd5 Rc8 19. b3 c6 20. Ne3 {At this stage the
choices of the piece relocation were simply a matter of taste.} (20. Nc3 Bf5
21. Re2 Rd8 22. Bf4 Rd4 23. Be3 Rd8 24. Bf4 $11) 20... Rd8 21. Rxd8+ Kxd8 22.
Bb2 g6 23. Rd1+ Kc7 24. f3 (24. Kf1 Bh6 25. Ke2 Rd8 26. Rxd8 Kxd8 $11) 24...
Bh6 25. Kf2 a5 26. a4 (26. Bc1 a4 27. g4 Kb7 $15) 26... b5 27. axb5 $6 {
[%mdl 4096] White is a very strong player, so his risky decision is actually
an ambitious move. Objectively speaking the exchange of the pawns is a risky
proposition.} (27. Ke2 Ra8 28. h4 $11) 27... cxb5 28. Nd5+ Kc6 29. Nc3 (29. c4
bxc4 30. bxc4 Bg5 31. Bc3 Ra8 $15) 29... Bf8 30. Rd8 (30. Ra1 Kb6 31. Ne4 Be7
32. Ke2 Ra8 $15) 30... c4 $5 {Karjakin is trying to get to the very top in the
world hierarchy so it is only natural that he seeks every chance to benefit
from his bishop pair.} 31. Ke2 b4 {Black is hoping for more than just the
slightly better endgame after exchanges on the queenside.} (31... cxb3 32. cxb3
Bxb3 33. Nxb5 Bc4+ (33... Kxb5 34. e6 Bc4+ 35. Kd1 Rh7 36. Rxf8 Bxe6 37. Rb8+
$11) 34. Kd1 Bg7 35. Nd4+ Kc7 36. Rxh8 Bxh8 37. e6 Kc8 38. exf7 Bxf7 $15) 32.
Ne4 cxb3 (32... c3 33. Bc1 Bg7 34. Rd6+ Kb5 35. Be3 Rb8 36. Ba7 Rb7 37. Rxe6
fxe6 38. Nd6+ Ka6 39. Nxb7 Kxb7 40. Bd4 Kc6 41. Kd3 Kb5 $11) 33. cxb3 Bg7 (
33... Bxb3 $2 34. e6 $18) 34. Rd6+ (34. Rxh8 $2 Bxh8 35. Nd2 Bg7 $17) 34... Kb5
35. Rd3 $2 {White is missing his golden opportunity to cement parity on the
board with the ingenious combination 35.Nc5!} (35. Nc5 $1 Bf8 (35... Re8 36.
Nxe6 Rxe6 37. Rd5+ Kc6 38. Rxa5 Kb6 39. Ra4 Bxe5 40. Rxb4+ Ka5 41. Ra4+ Kb5 42.
Bxe5 Rxe5+ 43. Re4 $14) (35... Kxc5 $4 36. Bd4+ Kb5 37. Rb6#) 36. Nxe6 Bxd6 37.
Nd4+ Kc5 38. exd6 Re8+ 39. Kd3 Rd8 $11) 35... Bh6 36. Kd1 (36. Nd6+ Kb6 37. f4
Rd8 $15) 36... Ra8 37. Kc2 Rc8+ (37... a4 38. bxa4+ Rxa4 $15) 38. Kb1 Rc7 {
Even a moderately trained chess eye can attest that Black has achieved a very
pleasant position. Each and every endgame would now be difficult for his
opponent.} 39. g4 (39. Nd6+ Ka6 40. g4 Bf4 $17) 39... Bf4 40. Nd6+ Ka6 41. Ne8
(41. Ne4 hxg4 42. hxg4 Kb5 43. Nd6+ Kc6 44. Ne4 Rd7 $17) 41... Rd7 42. Rxd7
Bxd7 43. Nf6 (43. Nd6 Be6 44. Kc2 Bd5 45. Ne4 Bxe4+ 46. fxe4 hxg4 47. hxg4 Kb5
$19) 43... Be6 (43... hxg4 44. Nxd7 gxh3 45. Nc5+ Kb5 46. Ne4 h2 47. Nf2 Kc5
$19) 44. gxh5 {White is hoping to generate enough counterplay to keep Black's
ambitions under control.} (44. Kc2 h4 45. Bd4 Kb5 $17) 44... Bxb3 45. Bc1 Bxc1
46. Kxc1 gxh5 47. f4 (47. Nxh5 a4 48. h4 a3 49. Ng3 Bc4 50. h5 b3 $19) 47... a4
48. f5 a3 49. Nd7 {Kurnosov must dance about in lines which are hopelessly
lost. The knight is a weak counterpart to the bishop in endings where the pawn
structure is very assymetrical.} (49. Ne4 Kb5 50. e6 fxe6 51. f6 e5 52. f7 Bxf7
53. Nd6+ Kc5 54. Nxf7 e4 $19) 49... Bd5 50. e6 fxe6 51. f6 (51. fxe6 b3 52.
Nc5+ Ka5 53. Kb1 b2 54. e7 Bf7 $19) 51... e5 52. Nxe5 b3 53. f7 {It was not
possible to stop the pawns at any cost.} (53. Nd3 b2+ 54. Nxb2 a2 $19) 53...
b2+ 54. Kc2 Be4+ 55. Kd2 b1=Q 56. f8=Q Qc2+ 57. Ke3 (57. Ke1 Qc3+ 58. Kf2 a2
59. Qd6+ Ka5 60. Qd8+ Ka4 61. Qd7+ Kb4 62. Qd6+ Qc5+ $19) 57... a2 {Karjakin
is controlling vital squares on the board and enjoys the advantage of an
additional, passed pawn.} 58. Qd6+ Kb5 59. Qb8+ Kc5 60. Nd7+ (60. Qa7+ Kd5 61.
Qd4+ Ke6 62. Nd7 Qc1+ 63. Kxe4 Qe1+ 64. Kf3 Qf1+ 65. Ke4 a1=Q 66. Nc5+ Kf7 67.
Qd7+ Kg6 $19) 60... Kc6 61. Ne5+ Kd5 62. Nf7 Qc3+ 63. Kf4 Qf6+ {The epic
struggle is over. Black was able to use his bishop pair to the fullest
possible advantage.} (63... Qf6+ 64. Ke3 Qf3+ 65. Kd2 Qf2+ 66. Kc3 a1=Q+) 0-1

[Event "EU-ch 4th"]
[Site "Istanbul"]
[Date "2003.05.31"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Inarkiev, Ernesto"]
[Black "Georgiev, Kiril"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2568"]
[BlackElo "2647"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2003.05.30"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "TUR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 096"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.09.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2003.09.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. Re1 Ng6 11. Ne4 h6 12. h3 Be6 {Berlin defense was
included into repertoir of many players, white still doesn't have a way to
gain advantage.} (12... b6 13. Bd2 c5 14. Rad1 Ke8 15. a3 a5 16. Kh2 Be6 17. g4
Rd8 {1/2-1/2 Blehm,P-Markowski,T/Ohrid 2001/ (17)}) 13. b3 (13. Nd4 Bd5 (13...
Nxe5 14. Nxe6+ fxe6 15. Ng5 hxg5 16. Bxg5+ {1/2-1/2 Galkin,A-Aleksandrov,A/
Moscow op 2003/ (16)}) 14. Nf5 Nxe5 15. Bf4 Nd7 16. Nc3 g6 17. Nd4 Bb4 18. Nxd5
Bxe1 19. Bxc7+ Kc8 20. Rxe1 cxd5 21. Bd6 a5 22. Re7 Ra6 23. Nb5 a4 24. Ba3 f6
25. Nc3 Ne5 26. Nxd5 Rd8 {1/2-1/2 Topalov,V-Shirov,A/Prague 2002/ (31)}) 13...
c5 14. c4 b6 15. g4 (15. Be3 Be7 16. Rad1+ Kc8 $11) 15... Kc8 16. Kg2 Kb7 17.
Rd1 (17. Be3 Bd7 18. Nc3 Re8 $11) 17... Be7 18. Kg3 f5 19. gxf5 $2 {[%mdl
16384] Black's bishop pair will spring to life after this strategically
unfortunate move, the right idea was to exchange pawns on the square f6.} (19.
exf6 $1 gxf6 20. Bb2 Rhf8 21. Re1 Rae8 22. Re3 f5 23. gxf5 Rxf5 24. Rae1 $14)
19... Bxf5 20. Nc3 (20. Re1 Rad8 21. Re3 h5 $15) 20... Rhf8 21. h4 (21. Be3
Bxh3 22. Nd5 Be6 $15) 21... h5 22. Bg5 (22. Ng5 Nxe5 23. Nd5 Bd6 $17) 22... Bg4
23. Rd3 Rad8 $1 {Georgiev has already achieved winning position, since white
can not prevent loss of material.} 24. Rad1 (24. Re3 Rxf3+ 25. Rxf3 Bxf3 26.
Kxf3 Bxg5 27. hxg5 Rd3+ $19) (24. Rxd8 Rxf3+ 25. Kg2 Bxd8 26. Bxd8 Rxc3 $19) (
24. Nd5 c6 $19) 24... Bxg5 25. hxg5 (25. Nxg5 Bxd1 26. Rxd1 Rxd1 27. Nxd1 Nxe5
$19) 25... Rxd3 26. Rxd3 Bxf3 27. Rxf3 h4+ 28. Kg2 (28. Kg4 Nxe5+ $19) 28...
h3+ $1 {Small combination in a Capablanca style, the rest of the game is just
a consequence of Inarkiev's failure in the tactical duel of pieces.} 29. Rxh3 (
29. Kg3 h2 30. Rxf8 h1=Q $19) 29... Nf4+ 30. Kg3 Nxh3 31. Kxh3 Rf3+ 32. Kg4
Rxc3 33. Kf5 (33. f4 Kc6 34. f5 Rc2 35. Kh5 Rxa2 36. Kg6 Rf2 37. f6 gxf6 38.
exf6 Kd6 39. Kf7 Rf5 40. Ke8 Rxg5 41. f7 Re5+ 42. Kd8 Rf5 43. Ke8 Ke5 $19)
33... Rf3+ 34. Kg6 Kc6 35. Kxg7 Kd7 36. g6 Rxf2 37. Kh7 Rh2+ (37... Rh2+ 38.
Kg8 Rxa2 39. g7 Ke7 40. Kh7 Rh2+ 41. Kg6 Rg2+ 42. Kh7 Ke6 $19) 0-1

[Event "FIDE World Cup"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2011.09.03"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Polgar, Judit"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2699"]
[BlackElo "2788"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2011.08.28"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 145"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.11.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.11.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {Kramnik was able to eliminate Kasparov's white pieces in the
London 2000 match with the help of this ambitious defence. Black is playing
without castling and with the worse pawn structure, but he can lean back on
the advantage of the bishop pair.} 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 11. Rd1 {So far there
is no patent which leadis to the gaining of an advantage, so in every game
white players try to squeeze from the position some concrete benefits.} (11.
Bg5 Be7 12. Rfd1 Be6 13. g3 (13. Rd2 h4 (13... Rd8 14. Rad1 Rxd2 15. Rxd2 h4
16. Bxe7 Kxe7 17. Ne2 Bd5 18. Nfd4 Nxd4 19. Nxd4 g6 20. b3 a5 21. c4 Be6 $11 {
1-0 Anand,V (2788)-Karjakin,S (2723)/Moscow 2009 (51)}) 14. Rad1 Rh5 15. Bxe7
Nxe7 16. Nd4 Bd5 17. f4 a6 18. b3 b6 19. Kf2 Rc8 20. Rd3 $14 {1/2-1/2 Robson,R
(2560)-Bacrot,E (2710)/Khanty Mansiysk 2011 (26)}) 13... Rd8 14. Rxd8+ (14. Kg2
f6 15. Bf4 Bb4 16. exf6 Bxc3 17. f7+ Bxf7 18. bxc3 Rxd1 19. Rxd1 Bxa2 20. Ra1
Bd5 21. Rxa7 Rf8 22. Rxb7 $2 Nh4+ $19 {0-1 Zhigalko,A (2591)-Matlakov,M (2603)/
Sestao 2010 (26)}) 14... Bxd8 15. Rd1 Be7 16. b3 b6 17. Bxe7 Kxe7 18. Ne2 a5
19. Nf4 c5 20. Ng5 Rh6 21. c3 $16 {1-0 Navara,D (2722)-Kryvoruchko,Y (2635)/
Reykjavik 2010 (44)}) 11... Be7 12. Ne4 Bd7 (12... Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14. Ng5
Bf5 15. c4 Rf8 16. Rd4 Bxg5 17. Bxg5 f6 18. exf6 gxf6 19. Re1+ Kf7 20. Rf4 Kg6
21. Bh4 Rad8 22. Re3 $14 {1-0 Balogh,C (2595)-Delorme,A (2434)/Arinsal 2009 
(68)}) (12... Be6 13. Nfg5 Bd5 (13... Rh6 14. b3 Rg6 15. Bf4 Nh4 16. Nxe6 Rxe6
17. Bh2 Ba3 18. Rab1 a5 19. c3 Be7 20. a4 Rb8 21. b4 axb4 22. cxb4 $11 {
1/2-1/2 Szabo,K (2523)-Kovacs,G (2500)/Szombathely 2010 (126)}) 14. b3 Rd8 15.
c4 Bxe4 16. Rxd8+ Bxd8 17. Nxe4 h4 18. Bb2 Be7 19. Rd1 Rh6 20. Rd3 c5 21. Kf1
$14 {1-0 Vachier Lagrave,M (2710)-Gozzoli,Y (2524)/Marseilles 2010 (41)}) 13.
b3 h4 {Nobody is able to tell Black sensibly which danger should be addressed
as a priority. The fixing of the kingside pawns lowers the danger of the
advance of his majority. The other competing concept was to gradually advance
the queenside with the hope of generating real counterplay.} (13... c5 $5 14.
Bg5 b6 $14) 14. Bg5 Rd8 15. c4 b6 (15... Bxg5 16. Nfxg5 b6 17. Rd2 Be6 18. Nxe6
fxe6 19. Rxd8+ Kxd8 20. Rd1+ $14) 16. Rd2 Bc8 (16... Bxg5 17. Nfxg5 Be6 $14)
17. Rxd8+ Kxd8 (17... Bxd8 18. Bf4 (18. Rd1 Bxg5 19. Nfxg5 Ke7 $11) 18... c5
19. Rd1 Rh5 $14) 18. Rd1+ Ke8 19. Bf4 c5 (19... Be6 20. Kf1 $14) 20. e6 $5 {
[%mdl 32] A remarkable moment in the battle of two concepts. The white player
is seemingly illogically giving up the pawn majority on the kingside; the
black bishops automatically gain in importance. The curse of the defence is at
this moment the passive location of the rook on the other side of the board.}
Bxe6 $2 {Karjaking is a brilliant talent from the Ukraine, but currently
playing for Russia. The change of the federation did not come cheap - the
conditions for him had an implicit guarantee of the Russian government. The
goal is to groom a player with the potential to win the world championship
title. In World Cup he had the bad luck of meeting Judit Polgar who was coming
back after longish maternity leave at the height of her powers. The strongest
woman player in history is not afraid of any opponent. The Russian hope missed
the chance to apply an unusual solution. After the less appealing recapture
with a pawn chances would have remained balanced.} (20... fxe6 21. Bxc7 Bb7 22.
Nfg5 Rh6 23. Bb8 Rg6 24. f4 a6 $11) 21. Bxc7 f6 (21... Bc8 22. Nc3 Bb7 23. Nd5
Rh5 24. Bb8 Nd4 25. Nxd4 Bxd5 26. Nb5 Bb7 27. Bxa7 Rg5 28. Nc7+ Kf8 29. Nd5 $16
) 22. Bb8 a6 (22... Bd8 23. Bxa7 Bc7 24. Nc3 Kf7 25. Nb5 Ra8 26. Nxc7 Rxa7 27.
Nxe6 Kxe6 28. a4 $16) 23. Ba7 Bd8 (23... b5 24. cxb5 axb5 25. Bxc5 $16) 24. Nc3
Kf7 (24... Bc7 25. Na4 b5 26. Nxc5 Bc8 27. Rc1 $16) 25. Na4 $1 {The position
has significantly moved towards understandable problems without original
features. Black is losing a pawn and has to look for the most promising form
of resistance.} b5 26. Nxc5 Bc8 (26... bxc4 27. Nxe6 Kxe6 28. bxc4 Be7 29. Kf1
$16) 27. cxb5 axb5 28. a4 $5 (28. Ne4 Be7 29. Nc3 $14) 28... bxa4 (28... b4 29.
Nd2 Be7 30. Nc4 Bxc5 31. Bxc5 Be6 32. Na5 Kg6 33. Rd3 Rb8 34. g4 hxg3 35. fxg3
$18) 29. bxa4 Re8 {Knowledge of the course of the game enables us to guess,
that somewhat better chances for a real fight were offered by the idea of
opening the d-file for counterplay.} (29... Bc7 $5 30. Rb1 Rd8 31. Bb6 Rd5 32.
Bxc7 Rxc5 33. Bb6 Rc2 34. Rb4 g5 35. a5 Bb7 36. Nd4 $16) 30. Rb1 $1 g5 (30...
Bc7 31. Bb8 Bd8 32. Rb5 Be7 33. Bc7 $16) 31. Bb6 Be7 (31... Bxb6 32. Rxb6 Re2
33. a5 Ra2 34. Ne4 $18) 32. a5 Bxc5 {When the position is sliding the defender
should try keep das far away from the abyss as possible. Defence with both
bishops would have enabled Polgar to dream about the ideal location for the
knight on the c7-square.} (32... Nd6 33. Nd2 Nb7 34. Na6 Bf5 35. Ra1 Rc8 36.
Nc7 Bc5 37. Bxc5 Nxc5 38. a6 Rxc7 39. a7 Rxa7 40. Rxa7+ $18) 33. Bxc5 Re6 34.
Rb6 (34. Rb8 Ba6 35. Bb4 Rc6 $16) 34... Ng7 {The blockade on the light square
is seriously complicating the advance of the a-pawn, but Polgar will easily
refocus on the pawn weaknesses of the kingside.} (34... Rxb6 35. Bxb6 Ke6 36.
Nd2 Nd6 37. f3 Ba6 38. Bd4 f5 39. Nb3 $16) 35. Be3 (35. Nd4 Rxb6 36. axb6 Ne6
37. Nb3 Ke8 38. Bb4 f5 39. Na5 Nd8 40. f3 Kd7 41. Bd2 f4 42. Bc3 $18) 35... Nf5
(35... Rxb6 36. axb6 Nf5 37. Bc5 Ke6 38. Nd2 Kd5 39. Ba3 $16) 36. Rb8 Re8 (
36... Nxe3 37. Rxc8 Nd5 38. Rc5 $18) 37. Ra8 Bb7 {The choice of the endgame,
in which the defender could stand a chance to save the difficult position is a
very complicated task. The battle of the bishop against the knight in the
event of an exchange on e3 would not have been pretty for Black.} (37... Nxe3
38. fxe3 Bf5 39. Rxe8 Kxe8 40. Nd2 Kd7 41. e4 Be6 42. e5 fxe5 43. Ne4 Kc6 44.
Nxg5 Bd5 45. Nf3 $18) 38. Ra7 Re7 39. Bc5 Rd7 40. a6 Bc6 41. Rxd7+ Bxd7 42. Nd2
(42. Nd4 Nxd4 43. Bxd4 Ke6 44. a7 Bc6 45. f3 f5 46. Kf2 $16) 42... Ke6 43. Nc4
Bc6 {The last moment when the final part of the game might have developed
differently. Unfortunately also the fight of the black knight against the
bishop would have been hopelessly lost.} (43... Kd5 44. Na5 $1 Bc6 45. Nxc6
Kxc6 46. Kf1 Ng7 47. Be7 Nh5 (47... Ne8 48. Bd8 $18) 48. Ke2 $18) 44. Nb6 Nd6 (
44... Ng7 45. a7 Kf5 46. a8=Q Bxa8 47. Nxa8 Ne6 48. Bd6 $18) 45. Bxd6 Kxd6 46.
a7 Kc7 47. a8=Q Bxa8 48. Nxa8+ Kb7 49. f4 $1 {The charming finish is
reminiscent of the sharp intake of breath you experience at the moment, when
everything is beautiful around you. White will win the pawn endgame without
any effort, since the black king has to go to the far away a8-square.} (49. f4
$1 Kxa8 (49... gxf4 50. Kf2 Kxa8 51. Kf3 Kb7 52. Kxf4 Kc6 53. Kf5 $18) 50. fxg5
fxg5 51. Kf2 Kb7 52. Kf3 Kc6 53. Kg4 $18) 1-0

[Event "Berlin Mephisto 1st"]
[Site "Berlin East"]
[Date "1990.05.23"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Lau, Ralf"]
[Black "Smagin, Sergey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2460"]
[BlackElo "2520"]
[Annotator "Fuchs,R"]
[PlyCount "46"]
[EventDate "1990.05.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "DDR"]
[EventCategory "11"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 1997"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1996.11.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1996.11.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{SCHACH 6/1990} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6
bxc6 7. dxe5 Nb7 8. Qe2 Be7 9. Re1 O-O 10. b3 Nc5 11. Bb2 Ne6 12. Nc3 f6 13.
Rad1 Qe8 14. exf6 Bxf6 15. Na4 Qg6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Qc4 Kh8 18. Kh1 $6 Nf4 19.
Ne5 $2 d6 $1 20. Nd3 Nxg2 $1 21. Kxg2 Bh3+ $1 22. Kxh3 Qf3+ 23. Kh4 g5+ $1 (
23... g5+ {wegen} 24. Kxg5 Rf5+ {nebst matt}) 0-1

[Event "Poikovsky Karpov 10th"]
[Site "Poikovsky"]
[Date "2009.06.10"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Gashimov, Vugar"]
[Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2730"]
[BlackElo "2700"]
[Annotator "Gashimov,V"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2009.06.03"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 131"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2009.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {The Berlin Defence, my opponent's main weapon
against 1.e4 and one in which he has pretty good results. Die Berliner
Verteidigung, die Hauptwaffe meines Gegners gegen 1.e4, mit der er auch
ziemlich gute Resultate erzielt hat.} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. Ne4 {This move is very rarely seen, yet
even so, I was employing it for the fourth time already! Diesen Zug sieht man
sonst ziemlich selten, aber ich wandte ihn bereits zum vierten Mal an!} Ng6 11.
b3 $5 {Von dieseem Zug hat mir mein Trainer und Sekundant Viorel Jordacescu
bereits vor einem Jahr erzählt, aber erst in Runde 2 des aktuellen Turniers
kam ich dazu, diese Neuerung gegen Onischuk anzuwenden, in einer Partie, die
ich gewann. Already a year ago, my trainer and second, Viorel Jordacescu told
me about this move, but only in round 2 of the present tournament did I get to
employ this novelty against Onischuk, in a game I won.} ({Before this, I had
played Zuvor hatte ich} 11. Nfg5 {letztes Jahr gegen Alekseev und Aronian
gespielt, beide Partien endeten remis. against Alekseev and Aronian last year,
both games ending in a draw.}) 11... h6 ({Onischuk played Onischuk zog} 11...
Ke8) 12. Bb2 Bf5 13. Ng3 Bd7 14. Rad1 c5 $2 ({Probably Vermutlich war} 14...
Kc8 {was stronger. stärker.}) 15. e6 $1 {My opponent was playing very quickly,
and I was mystified as to what he had prepared, since Black's position is
already very bad. Mein Gegner spielte sehr schnell, und ich war verblüfft, was
er wohl vorbereitet hatte, denn die Stellung von Schwarz ist bereits sehr
schlecht.} fxe6 16. Rfe1 {The plan with h4-h5, playing for full domination,
was also interesting, but I wanted to bring the rook to e4-g4. Der Plan, mit
h4-h5 auf volle Dominanz zu spielen, war ebenfalls interessant, aber ich
wollte den Turm nach e4-g4 bringen.} Kc8 (16... Ke8 17. Re4 ({also possible is
möglich ist auch} 17. h4 Bc6 18. Rxe6+ Kf7 19. Re3)) 17. Rd2 $1 {Now White
switches to another plan. Jetzt schaltet Weiß auf einen anderen Plan um.} b5
18. Red1 Bc6 19. Rd8+ Kb7 20. Rxa8 Kxa8 21. Ne5 $1 (21. Rd8+ Kb7 22. Ne5 {
allows erlaubt} Be7 23. Rxh8 Nxh8 24. Nxc6 Kxc6 25. Bxg7 Nf7) 21... Nxe5 22.
Rd8+ Kb7 23. Bxe5 a5 {Before surrendering the exchange, Black advances his
pawns as far as possible. Bevor er die Qualität gibt, rückt Schwarz seine
Bauern so weit wie möglich vor.} (23... Bd6 24. Rxh8 Bxe5 25. f3 $5 {and then
Ne4. und dann Ne4.}) 24. Nf1 $5 ({Maybe Vielleicht war} 24. Nh5 {was stronger,
but I did not like the position after stärker, aber mir missfiel die Stellung
nach} Bd6 25. Rxh8 Bxe5 {when it was very difficult to calculate everything
out fully. Even so, post-game analysis showed that White is winning. wonach es
sehr schwer war, alles bis zum Ende zu berechnen. Dennoch, die
post-mortem-Analyse zeigte, dass Weiß auf Gewinn steht.}) 24... h5 $1 {Black's
best chance. Die beste Chance für Schwarz.} 25. h4 $1 {Not allowing ...h4, ...
Rh5. Lässt ...h4, ...Rh5 nicht zu.} Rg8 26. Bf4 {Another accurate move,
preventing g5, and not giving Black any counterplay. Wieder ein genauer Zug,
der g5 verhindert und Schwarz keinerlei Gegenspiel gibt.} e5 27. Be3 Be4 {
Black has no more waiting moves, as White is threatening 28.Bc5. Schwarz hat
keine Wartezüge mehr, da Weiß 28.Bc5 droht.} 28. Bxc5 Bxc5 29. Rxg8 Bxc2 30.
Rxg7 Bb1 31. g4 Bxa2 (31... hxg4 32. h5 Bxa2 33. Nd2 Bf8 34. Rg6 a4 35. bxa4
bxa4 36. h6 Bxh6 37. Rxh6 a3 38. Rh5 Bd5 39. Rxe5 a2 40. Re1 Kc6 41. Kf1 Kc5
42. Ke2 Kb4 (42... Kd4 43. Rc1 c5 44. Nf1 c4 45. Ne3 Be6 46. Kd2 c3+ 47. Rxc3
a1=N 48. Rd3+ Ke4 49. Kc3 Kf3 50. Rd6 Bg8 51. Rg6 Bh7 52. Rg7 Be4 53. Rf7+ $18)
43. Kd3 c5 44. Ra1 $1 c4+ 45. Kd4 c3 46. Kxd5 cxd2 47. Kd4 Kb3 48. Kd3 Kb2 49.
Rxa2+ Kxa2 50. Kxd2 Kb2 51. Ke3 Kc3 52. Kf4 $18) 32. gxh5 Bf8 (32... Bxb3 33.
h6 Bf8 34. Rg6 Bxh6 35. Rxh6 a4 36. Nd2 Bd5 37. Rh5 a3 38. Rxe5 a2 39. Re1 b4
40. h5 b3 41. Nxb3 Bxb3 42. h6 Bc2 43. Ra1 Bb1 44. Rxa2 $18) 33. Rf7 ({The
move Genauer war der Zug} 33. Rg8 {was more accurate. was more accurate.})
33... Bh6 34. Rf6 Bc1 (34... Bxb3 35. Rxh6 a4 36. Nd2 Bd5 37. Kh2 a3 38. Rg6 a2
39. Rg1 $18) (34... Bf4 35. Rxf4 $1 exf4 36. Nd2 $18) 35. h6 Bb1 36. Ne3 Bxe3 (
36... a4 37. bxa4 bxa4 38. Nc4 Bd3 39. Na5+ Ka7 40. Nc6+ Kb7 41. Nd8+ Kc8 (
41... Kb8 42. Ra6 $1 $18) 42. Ne6 $18) 37. fxe3 a4 38. bxa4 b4 39. Rf1 $1 Bd3 (
{Stronger would have been Stärker wäre gewesen} 39... Be4 40. Rc1 Kb6 41. Kf2 (
41. Rc4 c5 $1 42. Rxe4 $4 b3) 41... c5 42. Ke2 Kc6 (42... b3 43. Rc3) 43. Kd2
Kd5 44. a5 c4 45. a6 c3+ 46. Ke2 Kc4 (46... Kc6 47. Ra1 b3 48. a7) 47. a7 b3
48. h7 b2 49. Re1 c2 50. h8=Q b1=Q 51. Qc8+ Kb3 52. Qb8+ $18) 40. Rc1 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2011.09.10"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Gashimov, Vugar"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2760"]
[BlackElo "2764"]
[Annotator "Gashimov,V"]
[PlyCount "206"]
[EventDate "2011.08.28"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 145"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.11.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.11.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{I have never before analysed for for a magazine a game, which I lost. But
this game was important and I made many mistakes before and during the game.} 
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O $6 Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5
Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke8 10. Nc3 Ne7 11. Nd4 Bd7 12. Ne4 Ng6 13. f4 Be7 (
13... Rd8 14. f5 Bxf5 15. Bg5 Bxe4 16. Bxd8 Kd7 17. Nb3+ Kc8 18. Bg5 $14) 14.
Re1 c5 15. Nf3 Be6 {Here, I spent most of my time to calculate sharp lines.
But, it's always logical to stop the calculations and to check if there is
another (easy) possibilty for your opponent, and especially when you are
playing against Ponomariov.} 16. Nfg5 Bxg5 $1 (16... Bf5 17. Ng3 Bxc2 18. f5
$13 {no reason to continue, as right after my move, I understood that my
opponnent won't go to this line.}) 17. Nxg5 Bf5 18. Ne4 b6 $11 19. Ng3 Ne7 20.
Nxf5 Nxf5 21. c3 h5 22. Kf2 Rd8 23. Be3 Ke7 24. Rad1 f6 25. exf6+ Kxf6 26. Rxd8
Rxd8 27. Bc1 a5 28. a4 c4 29. g3 Rd3 30. Ke2 Ke6 31. Bd2 Rd5 32. Rf1 g6 33. Rf3
Kf7 34. Rf1 Rd8 35. Bc1 Ke6 36. Re1 Rd3 37. Bd2 Rd8 38. Kd1+ $2 {It was time
to stop, and to take a draw...!} Kf7 39. Re5 Nh6 40. Kc2 Ng4 41. Re2 Nf6 42.
Be1 Rd6 43. h3 Rd3 44. b3 Rf3 45. bxc4 h4 46. gxh4 Rxf4 47. c5 $2 {The problem
is, sometimes when you start making mistakes, then you continue making them...}
Rxa4 48. cxb6 cxb6 49. Re5 Re4 50. Rxe4 Nxe4 51. c4 Ke6 52. Kb3 Kd6 53. Kc2 Ke5
54. Kd3 Kf4 55. Kd4 Kf3 56. Kd3 Nc5+ 57. Kd4 a4 $2 (57... Ke2 $1 $19) 58. Bb4
Ke2 59. Kc3 Ke3 60. Ba3 Ne4+ 61. Kb4 Kd3 62. Kb5 Kc3 63. Be7 (63. Kxa4 $1 {
I was sure, one of the two options is a draw the other would lose. But it was
simply not my day.} Kxc4 64. Be7 Nf2 65. h5 gxh5 66. h4 b5+ 67. Ka3 Nd3 68. Ka2
b4 69. Kb1 b3 $11) 63... Kb3 64. Kxb6 Kxc4 65. Kc6 Ng3 66. Kd7 Kd5 67. Ke8 Ke6
68. Ba3 Nf5 69. Kf8 Nxh4 70. Kg7 Kf5 71. Kh6 Nf3 72. Be7 Ke6 73. Ba3 Kf6 74.
Bc5 Nh4 75. Bd4+ Kf5 76. Bc5 g5 77. Be7 Nf3 78. Kh5 Ng1 79. Bxg5 a3 80. Bc1 a2
81. Bb2 Nxh3 82. Kh4 Nf4 83. Kg3 Ke4 84. Ba1 Nd3 85. Kg2 Ke3 86. Kg3 Nc5 87.
Kg2 Ke2 88. Kg3 Na4 89. Kg2 Nb6 90. Kg3 Nc4 91. Kg2 Ne3+ 92. Kg3 Nd1 93. Kg2
Ke3 94. Kg3 Kd2 95. Kf3 Kd3 96. Kf4 Kc2 97. Ke4 Nb2 98. Ke3 Na4 99. Ke2 Kc1
100. Kd3 ({The last chance was} 100. Ke1 Nc5 $1 101. Ke2 Kb1 102. Kd1 Na4 $19)
100... Kb1 101. Kd2 Nb2 102. Kc3 Kxa1 103. Kc2 Nd3 {And I finished. I think
that my main problem was, that it was only my second knock-out tournament, I
played well, but not well enough. But I had to lose one such game to
understand what I must not do :)} 0-1

[Event "Mukachevo m"]
[Site "Mukachevo"]
[Date "2010.08.13"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Black "Efimenko, Zahar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2684"]
[BlackElo "2689"]
[Annotator "Golubev,M"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2010.08.12"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "UKR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 138"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.09.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.09.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. Bf4 $5 {Naiditsch already used this rare move.}
Be6 11. Rfd1 (11. a3 h6 12. Rad1 {occurred in Naiditsch-Jakovenko, Poikovsky
2010.}) 11... h6 12. g4 Ne7 13. h3 Nd5 ({If} 13... h5 14. Ng5 $1) 14. Bd2 Nxc3
{Preventing Ne4. Still, the exchange does not look necessary.} 15. Bxc3 c5 16.
Kg2 Be7 17. Ng1 $1 {A clever retreat. White is somewhat better.} h5 18. f3 Rd8
({Black could have tried} 18... Bc4 $5 {preventing Ne2. Then,} 19. b3 (19. f4
$5) 19... Ba6 20. e6 hxg4 $1 {, etc. is not dangerous for him.}) 19. Ne2 Rxd1
20. Rxd1 hxg4 21. hxg4 Bg5 22. a3 Ke7 23. Bd2 $1 Bxd2 24. Rxd2 b5 $2 {A wrong
move, which weakens the c5 pawn.} 25. Nc3 $1 Rb8 ({After} 25... b4 $6 {them
move} 26. Nd5+ $1 {is unpleasant, but not} (26. axb4 cxb4 27. Nb5 a5 $5 28.
Nxc7 Rc8)) 26. Ne4 $1 ({Nothing special is achieved by White after} 26. Nd5+
Bxd5 27. Rxd5 c4 28. f4 Ke6 29. Rc5 Kd7) 26... c4 ({After} 26... b4 $5 27. a4 {
, preserving the advantage. Weaker is} (27. Nxc5 bxa3 28. bxa3 Rb5)) 27. Kg3 a5
28. f4 $1 g6 $6 {Another weakening, after which Black's chances to save the
game are minimal.} ({More stubborn could have been} 28... c6 $5 {, preparing ..
.Bd5.}) 29. Kh4 $1 {The white king goes to g5, supporting f4-f5.} b4 30. axb4
axb4 31. Kg5 Rb5 {Preventing f4-f5, but now the black king is danger.} 32. Nf6
c3 33. bxc3 bxc3 34. Rh2 $1 {A decisive activation of the rook.} Bd5 ({White
is also winning after} 34... Rb2 35. Rh8 Bd7 36. Nd5+ {etc.}) 35. Rh3 $1 {
And the rest was easy for Naiditsch.} Bc6 36. Rxc3 Rb6 37. Rc5 Ra6 38. Kh6 Kf8
39. c4 Rb6 40. Nd5 Bxd5 41. cxd5 Rb7 42. d6 cxd6 43. exd6 1-0

[Event "EU-chT (Men) 11th"]
[Site "Pula"]
[Date "1997.05.??"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2595"]
[BlackElo "2615"]
[Annotator "Hecht,H"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "1997.05.05"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CRO"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 057 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1997.05.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1997.05.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Hungary"]
[BlackTeam "Belarus"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "HUN"]
[BlackTeamCountry "BLR"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. Rd1 a4 12. g4 Ne7 13. Kg2 Ng6 14. Rd4
Be7 15. Kg3 h5 16. Bg5 hxg4 17. hxg4 f6 18. Bf4 f5 19. g5 a3 20. b3 Be6 21. Ne2
Kf7 22. Rdd1 c5 23. Be3 c4 24. Nfd4 cxb3 25. axb3 c5 26. Nxe6 Kxe6 27. b4 Ra4
28. Rdb1 Rxb4 29. Rxb4 cxb4 30. f4 Rd8 31. Nd4+ Kd5 32. Kf3 Nh4+ 33. Kg3 Ke4
34. Re1 Rxd4 35. Bxd4+ Kxd4 36. Kxh4 {[#] Wenn mich nicht alles täuscht,steht
Schwarz klar auf Gewinn, wenn er g6 oder Kc3 spielt.} b3 $2 (36... g6 $1 {
[%cal Rd4c3,Rc3b2,Rc3c2]}) (36... Kc3 $5 37. Kh5 Kxc2 38. Kg6 b3 39. Kxg7 b2
40. Kf7 a2 41. g6 b1=Q 42. Rxb1 axb1=Q 43. g7 Qb3+ $19) 37. cxb3 g6 38. Rc1 Ke3
39. Kg3 Kd2 40. Rc4 b5 41. Rc7 Bc5 42. Rc6 a2 43. Ra6 Kc3 44. Rxa2 Kxb3 45. Ra6
b4 46. Rxg6 1-0

[Event "Vienna Bawag"]
[Site "Vienna"]
[Date "1996.??.??"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Kindermann, Stefan"]
[Black "Polgar, Sofia"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2575"]
[BlackElo "2495"]
[Annotator "Hecht,H"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "1996.05.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "AUT"]
[EventCategory "9"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 054"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1996.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1996.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h6 11. Ne2 Ne7 12. b3 a5 13. Bb2 a4 14. c4 Ng6
15. Nc3 a3 16. Bc1 Bb4 17. Bd2 Be6 18. Ne4 Bxd2 19. Nexd2 Ke7 20. Ne4 Rhd8 21.
Rfd1 Nf4 22. Nc5 b6 23. Nxe6 Kxe6 24. Kf1 c5 25. Ne1 Kxe5 26. Nc2 Nd3 27. Ke2
Nb4 28. Nxb4 cxb4 {[#] passive wTT, Raumvergrößerung durch Vorgehen der s
K-Flügelbauern} 29. Ke3 (29. Rxd8 Rxd8 30. Rd1 Rxd1 31. Kxd1 Kd4 32. Kd2 f5 33.
Kc2 f4 34. Kd2 g5 35. Kc2 h5 36. Kd2 g4 37. hxg4 hxg4 38. Kc2 g3 39. fxg3 fxg3
40. Kd2 c6 41. Ke2 Kc3 42. Ke3 Kb2 43. Kd2 Kxa2 44. Kc2 c5 $19) 29... g5 30. g3
h5 31. Rac1 c6 32. Ra1 f6 33. Rac1 Rac8 34. Ra1 Kf5 35. f3 $6 (35. Rd3) 35...
h4 36. g4+ Ke5 {[%csl Rf4]} 37. Rac1 c5 38. Ra1 Rd4 39. Rxd4 cxd4+ 40. Kf2 d3
41. Ke3 Rd8 42. Rd1 d2 (42... d2 43. Rxd2 Rxd2 44. Kxd2 Kf4 $1 (44... Kd4 45.
Ke2 Kc3 46. Ke3 Kb2 47. Kd2 Kxa2 48. Kc2 $10) 45. Ke2 Kg3 $19) 0-1

[Event "Governor's Cup"]
[Site "Kramatorsk"]
[Date "2001.10.07"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2684"]
[BlackElo "2646"]
[Annotator "Hecht,H"]
[PlyCount "146"]
[EventDate "2001.10.02"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "UKR"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 086"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.02.05"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.02.05"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. Ne2 a4 12. a3 Ne7 13. Ng3 c5 14. Re1 h6
15. Nh5 Bf5 16. c3 Nd5 17. g4 Be6 18. Nh4 g6 19. Nf6+ Nxf6 20. exf6 Kd7 21. Nf3
Re8 22. Bf4 Bd6 23. Rad1 Bb3 24. Rd2 g5 25. Bg3 Rxe1+ 26. Nxe1 Ke6 27. Ng2 Bxg3
28. fxg3 Kxf6 29. Ne3 Rc8 30. Nf5 Be6 31. Rf2 Rd8 32. Nxh6+ Kg6 33. Nf5 Rd1+
34. Kh2 Re1 35. Ne7+ Kh7 36. Rd2 Bxg4 37. hxg4 Rxe7 {[#] Lavieren und
feldweises Erkämpfen von Raum. Zugzwangmotive, schlechte weiße Bauernstruktur
und der ideelle Mehrbauer führen schließlich zu entscheidendem Bauerngewinn.}
38. Kg2 Kg6 39. Kf2 Re6 40. Kf3 (40. Rd7 $142 Rb6 41. Rxc7 Rxb2+ 42. Kf3 Rb3
43. Rxc5 Rxa3 44. Ke4 Rb3 $19 {[%csl Rg3,Rg4][%cal Yb7b5,Yb5b4,Yb3g3]}) 40...
Rd6 41. Re2 Rd3+ 42. Kf2 Kf6 43. Kg2 Rd6 44. Kf3 b6 45. Kf2 Re6 46. Rd2 Rd6 47.
Re2 Re6 48. Rd2 Ke7 49. Kf3 Rd6 50. Rg2 Ke6 {[%cal Re6d5,Rd5c4,Rc4b3]} 51. Ke4
Rd1 52. Re2 f6 53. Rg2 Re1+ 54. Kd3 Ke5 {[%cal Re1e4,Re4g4]} 55. Rf2 Rg1 56.
Re2+ Kd6 57. Re3 Rg2 58. Rf3 Ke6 59. Re3+ Kf7 {Am Ziel. Weiß ist ausgespielt
und versucht in der Folge unter radikalem Einsatz von König und Turm noch zu
Dauerschach oder gar Matt zu kommen.} 60. Kc4 Rxb2 61. Kd5 Rb3 62. Kc6 Rxa3 63.
Kd7 b5 64. Re7+ Kg6 65. Ke8 Rxc3 66. Kf8 {[%cal Rf8g8,Re7g7]} Rd3 $1 (66...
Rxg3 $2 67. Rg7+ $1 (67. Kg8 Rxg4 $19) 67... Kh6 68. Kf7 Rxg4 69. Rg8 $1 Kh7
70. Rg7+ Kh6 71. Rg8 $11) (66... f5 $2 67. Re6+ Kh7 68. Re7+ $11 Kh8 $4 69. Re2
Kh7 70. Kf7 $18) 67. Rg7+ Kh6 68. Rxc7 a3 69. Kf7 a2 70. Ra7 Rd7+ (70... Rd2
71. Ra8 Kh7 72. Kxf6 b4 73. Ra7+ (73. Kxg5 b3 $19) 73... Kh6 74. Ra8 Rf2+ $19)
71. Rxd7 a1=Q 72. Rd2 Qa7+ 73. Kxf6 Qg7+ 0-1

[Event "RUS-Cup6"]
[Site "Krasnodar"]
[Date "1997.03.16"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Galkin, Alexander"]
[Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2510"]
[BlackElo "2615"]
[Annotator "Hecht,H"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[EventDate "1997.03.11"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2000"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.11.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.11.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. Bf4 Be6 12. g4 Ne7 13. Nd4 Nd5 14. Nxe6
fxe6 15. Bd2 Bb4 16. Nxd5 cxd5 17. Be3 Kd7 18. a4 Be7 19. Kg2 c5 20. c4 Kc6 21.
b3 Ra6 22. Rab1 Rd8 23. Rfc1 dxc4 24. Rxc4 Rb6 25. Rc3 Rb4 26. f4 g6 27. Kf3
Rf8 28. h4 b6 29. g5 Kb7 30. Rd1 Rc8 31. h5 gxh5 32. Rh1 Rc7 33. Rxh5 Bf8 34.
Ke2 Rd7 35. Rd3 Rf7 36. Bd2 c4 37. Rdh3 Rxb3 38. Rxh7 Rxh7 39. Rxh7+ Kc6 40.
Be3 c3 41. Rh8 c2 42. Rxf8 Rxe3+ 43. Kd2 Ra3 44. g6 Rg3 45. Rg8 Rg2+ 46. Kc1
Kd7 47. g7 Ke7 48. Rb8 Rxg7 49. Rb7+ Kf8 50. Rxg7 Kxg7 {Weiß kommt als erster
zur Freibauernbildung mittels f5. Mit geschickter Königsführung kommt Schwarz
mit verzögertem b5 ebenfalls zur Dame. Ein Tempostücklein!} 51. Kxc2 Kf7 (51...
Kg6 52. Kd3 Kf5 53. Ke3 Kg6 54. Ke4 Kf7 55. f5 exf5+ 56. Kxf5 b5 57. axb5 a4
58. e6+ Kg7 (58... Ke7 59. b6 a3 60. b7 a2 61. b8=Q a1=Q 62. Qc7+ Ke8 63. Qd7+
Kf8 64. Qf7#) 59. e7 Kf7 60. b6 a3 61. b7 a2 62. e8=Q+ $18) 52. Kd3 Ke7 53. Ke4
Kd8 54. f5 exf5+ 55. Kxf5 b5 $1 56. axb5 (56. Kf6 bxa4 57. Kf7 a3 58. e6 a2 59.
e7+ Kc7 $15) 56... a4 57. b6 a3 58. b7 Kc7 59. e6 1/2-1/2

[Event "Chigorin Memorial 07th"]
[Site "St Petersburg"]
[Date "1999.11.06"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Yemelin, Vasily"]
[Black "Eliseev, Alexey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2500"]
[BlackElo "2327"]
[Annotator "Hecht,H"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "1999.11.02"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 074"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2000.02.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2000.02.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. Re1 Bb4 12. Bd2 Be6 13. Ne4 Bxd2 14.
Nexd2 a4 15. a3 b6 16. Ne4 Bd5 17. Rad1 h5 18. Nd4 Ne7 19. Nd6+ Kf8 20. c4 Be6
21. Nxe6+ fxe6 22. Ne4 Ke8 23. Rd3 h4 24. c5 b5 25. Ng5 Rh6 26. Re4 Nf5 27. Kf1
Ke7 28. Rg4 Rhh8 29. Nf3 Rad8 30. Rxd8 Rxd8 31. Nxh4 Nxh4 32. Rxh4 Rd5 33. Rg4
Kf7 34. Re4 Rxc5 35. f4 Rc2 36. Re2 {[#] Wir analysieren das Bauernendspiel in
der Variante:} Rc4 (36... Rxe2 37. Kxe2 c5 38. Kd3 Ke7 39. g4 g6 (39... Kf7 40.
h4 Ke7 41. h5 Kf7 42. f5 Ke7 43. g5 Kf7 44. fxe6+ Kxe6 45. h6 gxh6 46. gxh6 Kf7
47. e6+ $18) 40. h4 Kf7 41. h5 gxh5 42. gxh5 Kg7 43. f5 exf5 44. e6 $18) 37. g3
c5 38. Rd2 Ke7 39. Ke2 b4 40. Kd3 Rd4+ 41. Ke3 Rc4 42. Kd3 Rd4+ 43. Ke3 1/2-1/2

[Event "POL-ch 57th"]
[Site "Plock"]
[Date "2000.05.29"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Gdanski, Jacek"]
[Black "Blehm, Pawel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2535"]
[BlackElo "2494"]
[Annotator "Hecht,H"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[EventDate "2000.04.28"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 078"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2000.10.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2000.10.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 Ne7 11. Ne2 Ng6 12. Re1 a5 13. a4 h5 14. Nf4
Nxf4 15. Bxf4 Be6 16. Nd4 Bc5 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Rad1 Rd8 19. Rxd8+ Kxd8 20. Be3
Bxe3 21. Rxe3 {[#] Thema: der ideelle Mehrbauer.} h4 22. Kf1 Rh5 23. f4 Rf5 24.
Re4 Ke7 25. Ke2 Rf8 26. Ke3 c5 27. Rc4 b6 28. Rc3 Rd8 29. Rd3 Rf8 30. Ke4 Rf5
31. g4 hxg3 32. Rxg3 Kf7 33. Kf3 Rh5 34. Kg4 g6 35. h4 Rf5 36. b3 Rh5 37. Rh3
Ke7 38. Kf3 Kf7 39. Ke4 Rh8 40. Rh2 Ke7 41. Kf3 Kf7 42. Kg4 Rh5 43. Rd2 Ke7 44.
Rg2 Kf7 45. Rh2 Ke7 46. c3 Rh8 (46... Kf7 47. Rc2 $1 {[%csl Rc7][%cal Rb3b4,
Rc2c7]} Rh8 48. b4 axb4 49. cxb4 Ra8 50. bxc5 Rxa4 51. cxb6 cxb6 52. Rc7+ {
[%cal Gc7a7,Gc7h7,Rg4g5]} Kf8 53. Kg5 b5 54. Rb7 Rb4 55. Kxg6 Rxf4 56. h5 Rg4+
57. Kf6 Rf4+ 58. Kxe6 Rh4 59. Rxb5 Rxh5 60. Kd6 Rh1 61. Rb8+ Kg7 62. Ra8 $18 (
62. e6 Rd1+ 63. Ke7 Ra1 64. Ke8 Kf6 65. e7 Ra7 66. Rb6+ Kg7 67. Re6 $18)) 47.
h5 gxh5+ 48. Rxh5 Rg8+ 49. Rg5 Rh8 50. Rg7+ Kd8 51. c4 Rf8 52. Kg3 Rh8 53. Rf7
Rh1 54. f5 exf5 55. Kf4 Rb1 (55... Rh3 $142 56. Kg5 f4 57. Kf6 Rh6+ $1) 56. Kg5
f4 57. Kf6 Kc8 58. Ke7 Re1 (58... Rxb3 59. e6 Re3 60. Rf8+ Kb7 61. Rxf4 Kc8 62.
Rf8+ Kb7 63. Rf6 Kc8 64. Kf7 Kd8 65. Rf1 Re2 66. Rd1+ Kc8 67. e7 Rf2+ 68. Kg7
Rg2+ 69. Kf6 Rf2+ 70. Kg5 Rg2+ 71. Kf4 Rg8 (71... Rf2+ 72. Ke3 $18) 72. Kf5 c6
73. Kf6 Kc7 74. Kf7 Rh8 75. e8=Q Rxe8 76. Kxe8 b5 77. Rd7+ Kb6 78. Ke7 bxc4 (
78... bxa4 79. Rd3 $18) 79. Kd6 c3 80. Rc7 $18) 59. e6 Re4 60. Rf6 Kb7 61. Kf8
1-0

[Event "Brissago Dannemann m"]
[Site "Brissago"]
[Date "2003.02.01"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2456"]
[BlackElo "2547"]
[Annotator "Hecht,H"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2003.02.01"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 094"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.05.26"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2003.05.26"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 Be7 11. Rd1 Nh4 12. Nd4 Nf5 13. Nde2 h5 14. Ne4
h4 15. c4 a5 16. Bd2 a4 17. Nf4 Nd4 18. Bc3 Ne6 19. Nd3 b6 20. Re1 c5 21. f4
Rh5 22. Re3 Bb7 23. Rf1 Rd8 24. Nc1 Rf5 25. Ne2 Bxe4 26. Rxe4 g5 27. fxg5 Rxf1+
28. Kxf1 Rd1+ 29. Kf2 Bxg5 30. g3 hxg3+ 31. Kxg3 Rd3+ 32. Kg4 Bd2 33. Bxd2 Rxd2
34. b3 Rxa2 35. bxa4 Rxa4 36. h4 Nd4 37. h5 Nxe2 38. Rxe2 Rxc4+ 39. Kg5 {
Freibauern} Kf8 $5 (39... Rc1 $1 40. Rh2 Kf8 41. h6 Kg8 42. h7+ Kh8 43. Kf6
Rf1+ {Hier kann nur Schwarz gewinnen}) 40. h6 Kg8 $2 (40... Rc1 $1) 41. e6 $1
fxe6 (41... fxe6 42. Rxe6 Rc1 43. Re8+ {Dauerschach}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Mitropa Cup 19th"]
[Site "Baden"]
[Date "1999.04.07"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Acs, Peter"]
[Black "Plachetka, Jan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2521"]
[BlackElo "2395"]
[Annotator "Hecht,H"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "1999.04.01"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 071"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 Ne7 11. Ne4 Ng6 12. Re1 c5 13. Be3 b6 14. Rad1
Bb7 15. Bc1 Bxe4 16. Rxe4 Be7 17. Nh2 Rd8 18. Rxd8+ Kxd8 19. f4 f5 20. exf6
Bxf6 21. Nf3 Ne7 22. g4 g6 23. Kg2 Rf8 24. c3 Kd7 25. Re1 b5 26. Be3 Nd5 27.
Bxc5 Nxf4+ 28. Kg3 Rf7 29. Bxa7 Nd5 30. Bd4 Bxd4 31. Nxd4 {[#] Lavieren bei
einem weißen Mehrbauern. Taktikfinale: Turmbeherrschung} c6 32. Nf3 Kd6 33. Ng5
Ra7 34. a3 Nb6 35. Kf4 Nd5+ 36. Kg3 Nb6 37. Ne4+ Kd5 38. Nf6+ Kd6 39. Re2 Nc4
40. Kf4 Re7 41. Ne4+ Kc7 42. g5 Re5 43. b3 Rf5+ 44. Kg4 Ne5+ 45. Kg3 Rf3+ 46.
Kg2 Rd3 47. Nc5 Rd5 48. b4 {[#] Der weiße Springer steht dominant. Zu
versuchen war jetzt Sd3 oder Sc4. Der Textzug ist ein Fehler, der entscheidend
Material kostet.} Kd6 $2 49. Ne4+ Ke6 (49... Kc7 50. Nf6 $18) 50. Nf6 Rd3 51.
Ng4 Rd5 52. a4 $1 {[%cal Ra4a5][%mdl 4160]} bxa4 53. c4 1-0

[Event "Rishon Le Ziyyon"]
[Site "Rishon Le Ziyyon"]
[Date "1996.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Kotronias, Vasilios"]
[Black "Polgar, Sofia"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2610"]
[BlackElo "2495"]
[Annotator "Hecht,H"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "1996.02.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISR"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 053"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1996.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1996.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke8 10. Nc3 Ne7 11. h3 Ng6 12. Ne2 h6 13. Ng3 h5 14. b3
a5 15. a4 Bb4 16. Bb2 h4 17. Ne2 Rh5 18. Ned4 Nf4 19. c3 Be7 20. Rd2 Bd7 21.
Re1 c5 22. Nb5 Ne6 23. c4 Bc6 24. Nh2 Bg5 25. Rdd1 Bf4 26. Ng4 Bxb5 27. axb5
Ke7 28. Bc3 Rhh8 29. Rd5 c6 30. Rd6 Rhd8 31. bxc6 bxc6 32. Rxc6 Rd3 33. Ne3
Bxe3 34. Rxe3 Rxe3 35. fxe3 a4 36. b4 a3 37. b5 a2 38. Ra6 Nc7 39. Rxa8 Nxa8 {
[#] beiderseits Freibauern; Taktik, beweglicher sS} 40. Kf2 Nb6 41. Ke2 Nxc4
42. Kd3 Nb6 $6 (42... Na3 $5 43. b6 c4+ 44. Ke4 (44. Kd2 Nb1+ $19) (44. Kd4
Nb5+ 45. Kxc4 Nxc3 46. b7 a1=Q 47. b8=Q $15 Qa5)) 43. Ba1 Nd5 44. e4 Nf4+ 45.
Kc4 Nxg2 46. b6 Kd7 47. e6+ fxe6 48. Kb5 Ne1 49. b7 Kc7 50. Ka6 1-0

[Event "Capablanca Memorial Elite 34th"]
[Site "Havana"]
[Date "1999.05.17"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Bruzon Batista, Lazaro"]
[Black "Comas Fabrego, Luis"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2488"]
[BlackElo "2541"]
[Annotator "Hecht,H"]
[PlyCount "123"]
[EventDate "1999.05.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "CUB"]
[EventCategory "12"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 071"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. a3 Ne7 12. Re1 Be6 13. Ne4 Nd5 14. Nd4
Be7 15. Bd2 a4 16. f4 c5 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. c4 Nb6 19. Rac1 Kd7 20. Kf2 Kc6 21.
Ke2 Rad8 22. Be3 h6 23. Rf1 Rdf8 24. Rf3 g6 25. g4 Rf7 26. Nd2 Nd7 27. Rcf1 Rb8
28. Ne4 b5 29. cxb5+ Rxb5 30. Bc1 c4 31. Rc3 Nb6 32. Nd2 Rc5 33. Rff3 Nd5 34.
Rxc4 Rxf4 35. Rfxf4 Nxf4+ 36. Rxf4 Rxc1 {[#] Wüste Bauernholzerei, die Weiß am
Ende mit einem Freibauern auf a7sieht. Mit einem netten Sperrmotiv, verhilft
er dem Ba7 zur Metamorphose. Taktik pur bis zum "Matt auf dem Kopf".} 37. Rxa4
Kd5 38. Kd3 c5 39. Ra7 Bg5 40. Rd7+ Kxe5 41. Nc4+ Kf4 42. Rc7 Rh1 43. Rf7+ Kg3
44. a4 Kxh3 45. a5 Rd1+ 46. Ke2 Rd4 47. b3 Re4+ 48. Kd1 Rxg4 49. a6 Rg1+ 50.
Ke2 Ra1 51. a7 {[%cal Rc4b6] [#]} Bd8 52. b4 $1 {[%cal Rb4b5] Ein Blitz aus
heiterem Himmel!} Ra2+ 53. Kd1 cxb4 54. Rf3+ Kg4 55. Na3 (55. Ra3 bxa3 56. a8=Q
Ra1+ 57. Ke2 a2 58. Ne3+ $18) 55... Kxf3 56. a8=Q+ Kf4 57. Qb8+ Kf5 58. Qxb4 {
[%cal Rb4b1]} Ra1+ 59. Ke2 Bf6 60. Nc2 Ra2 61. Kf3 Rxc2 62. Qf4# 1-0

[Event "Mondariz zt 1.1"]
[Site "Mondariz"]
[Date "2000.09.10"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Nijboer, Friso"]
[Black "Narciso Dublan, Marc"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2537"]
[BlackElo "2507"]
[Annotator "Hecht,H"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[EventDate "2000.09.03"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 079"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2000.11.21"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2000.11.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. h3 Bd7 11. Bf4 Kc8 12. Rad1 Bb4 13. Ne4 Be6 14. g4
Bd5 15. gxf5 Bxe4 16. Nd4 Bd5 17. Kh2 g5 18. Bg3 b6 19. b3 c5 20. c3 Ba5 21. b4
cxb4 22. cxb4 Bxb4 23. Nc2 Bc4 24. Nxb4 Bxf1 25. Rxf1 Rd8 26. e6 fxe6 27. fxe6
Kb7 28. Re1 Rd2 29. Re5 Re8 30. Nd5 Rxa2 31. Nxc7 Kxc7 32. Re2+ Kb7 33. Rxa2
Rxe6 {[#] Freibauern als Kompensation für die Minusfigur.} 34. h4 a5 35. h5 Kc6
(35... Ka6 $5) 36. Kh3 Kc5 37. Kg4 Kb4 38. Kf5 Rc6 39. Rd2 b5 (39... a4 $5) 40.
Rd6 Rc5+ (40... Rxd6 41. Bxd6+ Kc4 42. Bf8 b4 43. Bxh6 a4 44. Bf8 a3 45. h6 a2
46. Bg7 $18) (40... Kc5 41. Rxc6+ Kxc6 42. f4 g4 43. Kxg4 b4 44. f5 Kd5 45. Bf4
b3 46. Bc1 a4 47. Kf4 $18) 41. Kg6 Kc4 42. Kxh6 b4 43. Kg6 b3 44. h6 b2 45. Rd1
Kb3 46. h7 Rc1 47. Rd3+ Kc4 48. h8=Q b1=Q {[#]} 49. Qd4+ Kb5 50. Qd5+ Ka6 51.
Qa8+ Kb5 52. Qb7+ Kc4 53. Qd5+ Kb4 54. Qe4+ Kb5 55. Rd5+ Kb6 56. Qxb1+ Rxb1 57.
Kxg5 a4 58. Be5 a3 59. Rd3 1-0

[Event "RUS-ch"]
[Site "Krasnodar"]
[Date "2002.08.27"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Geller, Jakov"]
[Black "Yemelin, Vasily"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2406"]
[BlackElo "2534"]
[Annotator "Hecht,H"]
[PlyCount "116"]
[EventDate "2002.08.27"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 091"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.11.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.11.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 h6 11. g4 Ng6 12. Kg2 Bd7 13. Bd2 Kc8 14. Rad1
Be7 15. Kg3 a5 16. Rfe1 a4 17. a3 b6 18. Nd4 Bh4+ 19. Kg2 c5 20. Nf5 Bxf5 21.
gxf5 Ne7 22. e6 Nxf5 23. exf7 Rf8 24. Re8+ Kb7 25. Rxa8 Kxa8 26. Nxa4 Rxf7 27.
c4 Nd6 28. Be1 Nxc4 29. b4 Nxa3 30. bxc5 b5 31. Nc3 Kb7 32. Ne4 Re7 33. Kf3 Kc6
34. Bc3 Nc4 35. Rg1 g5 36. Ra1 Ne5+ 37. Kg2 Nd3 38. f3 b4 39. Bd2 Kb5 40. Kf1
Re5 41. Rb1 Rxc5 42. Nxc5 Kxc5 43. Ke2 Nf4+ 44. Bxf4 gxf4 45. Rc1+ Kd6 {
[#] Die verbundenen Freibauern sind nur zum Remis gut!?.} 46. Rc4 $5 (46. Kd3
$142 c5 47. Kc4 Bf2 48. Rc2 Bd4 49. Rg2 Ke6 50. Rg6+ Kf5 51. Rxh6 Kg5 52. Rh7
Kg6 {sieht nach Remis aus}) 46... c5 47. Rxf4 Bg5 48. Re4 Bf6 49. Kd3 Kd5 50.
f4 $2 (50. Rc4 $142 Bd4 51. f4 h5 52. Rc2 b3 53. Rc1 b2 54. Re1 c4+ 55. Kc2 c3
56. f5 Be5 $11) 50... Bd4 51. Re8 c4+ 52. Kd2 b3 53. Rb8 Ke4 $6 (53... c3+ $1
54. Kd3 c2 55. Rd8+ (55. Rc8 Be3 56. Rxc2 bxc2 57. Kxc2 Ke4 58. f5 Kxf5 59. Kd3
Kf4 60. Ke2 h5 61. h4 Bb6 62. Kf1 Kg3 $19) 55... Ke6 56. Rc8 Be3 $19) 54. Rb4
Kd5 55. f5 (55. Rb8 c3+ $19) (55. Kd1 $142 {wonach c3 nicht mit Schach erfolgt.
}) 55... Bf6 56. Rb6 c3+ 57. Kc1 (57. Kd3 c2 $19) 57... Bg5+ 58. Kd1 c2+ 0-1

[Event "NED-ch57"]
[Site "Leeuwarden"]
[Date "2002.06.23"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Nijboer, Friso"]
[Black "Jonkman, Harmen"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2578"]
[BlackElo "2520"]
[Annotator "Hecht,H"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "2002.06.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 090"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.09.20"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.09.20"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. Ne4 Ng6 11. Re1 h6 12. Bd2 Bg4 13. Nd4 Nxe5 14.
Bc3 Nc4 15. a4 c5 16. Ne2 b6 17. Nf6 Bd7 18. a5 Kc8 19. Nh5 Rg8 20. axb6 cxb6
21. Nef4 Bc6 22. Nd3 Nd6 23. Ne5 Kb7 24. Re3 Nf5 25. Rd3 f6 26. Nxc6 Kxc6 27.
g4 Nd6 28. Re1 Nb5 29. Ng3 c4 30. Re6+ Kc7 31. Rd5 Nxc3 32. bxc3 Bc5 33. Ne4
Rgd8 34. Rxd8 Rxd8 35. Nxc5 bxc5 {[#] c-Bauern als Trennmauer} 36. Kf1 (36. Ra6
Kb7 37. Ra2 Ra8 38. f4 a5 39. Kf2 a4 40. Kf3 Kc6 41. Ke4 g6 42. h4 a3 43. h5 g5
44. Kf5 Kd5 45. Ra1 {mit vielleicht besserem hinhaltenden Widerstand.}) 36...
Rd6 37. Re7+ Rd7 38. Re4 Kb6 39. Rxc4 Kb5 40. Re4 a5 41. Re1 Kc4 {Der fehlende
Bauer c4 ermöglicht Schwarz nun die Königsinvasion} 42. Ra1 Kxc3 $1 (42... Ra7
43. Ra3) 43. Rxa5 c4 44. Rc5 Rd4 $19 {[%csl Rc2,Gc4,Rg4]} 45. Rc7 Rxg4 46. h3
Re4 47. Rxg7 Kxc2 48. Rf7 Re6 49. Rc7 c3 50. Kg2 Kd2 51. Rd7+ Kc1 52. Rc7 c2
53. f4 Rb6 54. Kg3 Rb5 0-1

[Event "World Women-ch k.o."]
[Site "Antakya"]
[Date "2010.12.16"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Hou, Yifan"]
[Black "Koneru, Humpy"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2591"]
[BlackElo "2600"]
[Annotator "Hou,Yifan"]
[PlyCount "155"]
[EventDate "2010.12.04"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "TUR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 140"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.01.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.01.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{This time we played against each other in the semi-finals again! (the last
time was in 2008)} 1. e4 {Kritz} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {A little surprise,
because Humpy had never played the Berlin Defence before, maybe she had seen
that my results against the Berlin are not good.} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6
dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. Ne2 {Kritz: 'Es ist verständlich,
dass Weiß die Hauptvarianten der Berliner Mauer nicht spielen will. Der
Partiezug bringt jedoch überhaupt keinen Vorteil.'} ({Some days ago, in the
Asian Games, I played} 10. h3 {with Harika, then} h5 11. Bf4 {, finally we
made a draw in a opposite-coloured bishop ending.}) 10... Be7 {Kritz: 'Mir
gefällt dieser Zug nicht. Die Alternativen 10...Be6 und 10...h5 finde ich
besser.'} ({In fact it is because several days ago I happened to see saw this
game, that I chose Ne2 during the game. The other game continued} 10... Ne7 11.
h3 Ng6 12. b3 h6 13. Bb2 c5 14. Rad1 Be6 15. Nc3 Be7 16. Nd5 Bd8 17. c4 a5 18.
a4 c6 19. Nc3 Be7 20. Ne4 Rd8 21. Rfe1 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 Nf4 23. Ba3 b6 24. Nd6+
Kf8 25. Kf1 g5 26. Bc1 Kg7 27. Bxf4 gxf4 28. Nd2 Bxd6 29. exd6 Rd8 30. Ne4 f5
31. Nc3 Kf6 32. Ke2 Bf7 33. d7 Bh5+ 34. f3 Ke6 35. Ke1 Bf7 36. Ne2 Ke5 37. Nc1
Be6 38. Nd3+ Kf6 39. Nxf4 Bxd7 40. Kf2 Ke7 41. Ng6+ Ke6 42. f4 Rb8 43. g4 Be8
44. Nh4 fxg4 45. hxg4 b5 46. Nf5 bxa4 47. bxa4 Rb4 48. Rd6+ Kf7 49. Rxh6 Rxa4
50. g5 Kg8 51. Nd6 Bf7 52. Nxf7 Kxf7 53. f5 Rxc4 54. Kf3 Rb4 55. Rh7+ Kg8 56.
g6 {1-0 Efimenko,Z (2683)-Malakhov,V (2725)/ Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2010/The Week
in Chess 830}) (10... Be6 {Kritz} 11. Nf4 (11. b3 Bd5 12. Nd2 c5 13. c4 Bc6 $15
{Schwarz steht schon besser!}) 11... Bd5 12. Nxd5 (12. Nd2 Rd8 13. c4 Be6 14.
Nxe6 fxe6 $132 {Weiß ist nicht entwickelt. Dazu hat Schwarz schon die d-Linie
erobert und hat gute Chancen, Dank der Schwäche des Feldes d3 die Initiative
zu übernehmen.}) 12... cxd5 13. g4 Ne7 14. Bf4 c6 $11) (10... h5 $5 {Kritz Das
ist ein Zug, der immer nützlich ist. Man wartet ab, was Weiß macht, und
entscheidet sich später, wie man die beiden Läufer entwickelt.}) 11. b3 a5 {
Kritz: 'Richtige Entscheidung! Es ist immer zugunsten von Schwarz, die
Bauernstruktur am Damenflügel so festzulegen, dass die weißen Bauern alle auf
weißen Feldern stehen.'} 12. a4 Be6 {Kritz: 'Grundsätzlich eine falsche
Entscheidung. Man sollte nach Möglichkeit versuchen, den weißfeldrigen Läufer
zu behalten. '} ({Another line is} 12... b6 {putting the bishop on the a8-h1
diagonal,} 13. Bb2 Bb7 14. Nfd4 Nxd4 15. Nxd4 Rd8 16. Nf5 g6 $5 {is almost
equal.}) (12... c5 {Kritz} 13. c4 h5 14. Bb2 Be6 $132 {Schwarz hat das Maximum
erreicht. Demnächst spielt er Rd8-g5 und fängt an, auf Gewinn zu spielen. Das
ist auch keine Überraschung, weil der Zug 10.Ne2 verdächtig ist.}) 13. Bb2 ({
At first I saw} 13. g4 $6 Nh4 (13... Bd5 14. Ned4 Nxd4 15. Nxd4 h5 16. g5 Rd8 {
is really ok for Black}) 14. Nxh4 Bxh4 15. h3 h5 16. Nf4 hxg4 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18.
hxg4 Rd8 19. Kg2 Rd5 20. f4 g5 {breaks through White's pawn chain, with
equality.}) 13... h5 ({Maybe she wanted to prevent g4, but maybe this is a
waste of time, actually she should play} 13... Rd8 $5 {first,} 14. Rfd1 h5 15.
Rxd8+ (15. Nfd4 Nxd4 16. Nxd4 Bc8 {better than the game; she can keep the two
bishops}) 15... Kxd8 16. Rd1+ Kc8 17. Nf4 Bd7 {unclear.}) 14. Nfd4 Nxd4 15.
Nxd4 Rd8 {Kritz: 'Das entstehende Endspiel ist wohl Remis, doch man sollte so
passive Stellungen in so wichtigen Partien vermeiden.'} (15... Bd7 $5 {Kritz}
16. Rfe1 (16. f4 Bc5 17. f5 Rd8 18. Rad1 Bc8 19. Kh1 g6 $1 {und Schwarz ist
wieder auf der Überholspur!}) 16... c5 17. Nb5 Bxb5 18. axb5 Rh6 (18... Kd7 19.
e6+ fxe6 20. Bxg7 Rhg8 21. Bc3 b6 22. Rad1+ Bd6 23. Re5 Rh8 24. Re4 $14) 19. c4
Kd7 $132) 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Rad1 {Kritz: 'Weiß macht alles richtig. Seine
besten Chancen liegen im Läuferendspiel.'} Kf7 18. g3 Bb4 $5 {A very
interesting idea.} ({But the simple} 18... g5 {is ok} 19. Kg2 Kg6 20. h3 Rhf8
$11 {White cannot improve her pawns.}) 19. Kg2 Bd2 20. Kf3 (20. f4 Rd5 21. Kf3
Rhd8 22. h3 Kg6 23. Rf2 Bb4 {with a drawing position.}) 20... Rd5 21. Ke2 Rhd8
22. c4 (22. f4 Kg6 23. Rf3 Kf5 24. h3 Bb4 25. Rfd3 Ke4 26. Re3+ Kf5 27. Red3)
22... R5d7 23. Bc1 {Kritz: 'Wichtige Wahl. Normalerweise ist das Turmendspiel
Remis, doch das Problem ist, dass es zum Bauernendspiel kommen kann.'} Bc3 (
23... Bxc1 $1 {Kritz Das Endspiel war Remis!} 24. Rxd7+ (24. Rxc1 $2 Rd2+ 25.
Kf3 R8d3+ $19) 24... Rxd7 25. Rxc1 Kg6 $1 {Ohne Angst kann Schwarz ins
Bauernendspiel gehen - es ist nicht nur ausgeglichen, sondern sogar gewonnen!
Der aktive König ist mehr als Kompensation für die schlechtere Bauernstruktur.}
26. Rd1 $4 (26. h3 {Bessere Spielweise.} Kf5 27. f4 Ke4 $1 $15 {Weiß hat keine
Chance zu gewinnen, eher zu verlieren.} (27... h4 $2 28. Ke3 hxg3 29. Rg1 $16))
26... Rxd1 27. Kxd1 Kf5 28. f4 g6 29. Ke2 Kg4 30. Kf2 Kh3 31. Kf3 (31. Kg1 c5
32. Kh1 h4 33. gxh4 Kxh4 34. Kg2 Kg4 $19) 31... c5) 24. Rxd7+ Rxd7 25. f4 g6 $6
{This allows White to reach the bishop ending. Kritz: 'Ein sehr schlechter
Zug! So kann man das Endspiel nicht spielen, obwohl es immer noch remislich
ist.'} ({A more active move is} 25... Kg6 $1 {Kritz: 'Der König gehört ins
Zentrum! Das ist wohl eines der wichtigsten Gesetze im Endspiel.'} 26. Rf3 (26.
h3 Kf5 27. g4+ hxg4 28. Rg1 gxh3 29. Kf3 Rd3+ 30. Be3 Bxe5 31. fxe5 Kxe5 32.
Rxg7 Rxb3 $11) 26... Bb4 (26... Bd4 27. Rd3 c5 28. Be3 Kf5 29. Kf3) 27. Rd3
Rxd3 28. Kxd3 Kf5 29. Ke3 (29. h3 Be1 $1 {what I missed during the game}) 29...
Kg4 30. Kf2 h4 {is totally equal.}) 26. Rf3 Bb4 27. Rd3 Rxd3 28. Kxd3 $14 {
Kritz: 'In dieser Stellung muss Schwarz den richtigen Aufbau finden. Die
ersten beiden Züge, die er macht, führen zu einer Verluststellung...'} Be7 29.
Be3 c5 $2 {After this move, Black has a bad bishop on e7, maybe she was afraid
of c4-c5, for example: Kritz: 'Diese Stellung ist nun verloren. Weiß hat es
sehr gut gezeigt. Eine Remisstellung entsteht, wenn man den Läufer auf b4 hält
und die Bauern nicht bewegt.'} (29... b6 30. c5 $1 Bd8 (30... b5 31. b4) 31.
Kc4 Ke7 32. h3 (32. b4 axb4 33. Kxb4 Kd7 $11) 32... Kd7 33. g4 hxg4 34. hxg4
Kc8 35. Kd3 Kd7 36. Ke4 {because Black's bishop has no waiting move; it always
has to stay on d8 to protect the b6-pawn, so White has good winning chances.})
(29... Bb4 {Kritz} 30. Ke4 Ke7 {Man wartet ab, bis Weiß seinen Plan am
Königsflügel realisiert.} 31. h3 Kf7 32. g4 hxg4 33. hxg4 Ke7 34. f5 gxf5+ 35.
gxf5 exf5+ $1 36. Kxf5 Ke8 $11 {Nun kann Weiß machen, was immer er will, er
kommt an der schwarzen Blockade nicht vorbei. Jedes Mal wenn er e6 zieht,
folgt Bd6.}) 30. Ke4 b6 31. Kf3 Bf8 32. g4 Be7 33. Kg3 c6 34. Kh3 Bd8 35. Bf2
$1 {That's why I didn't play h3 before.} Bc7 36. Bh4 hxg4+ 37. Kxg4 Kg7 38.
Bf6+ Kf7 39. Bh4 Kg7 40. Bf6+ Kf7 41. Kg5 b5 42. Kh6 bxa4 43. bxa4 Bb6 44. Be7
$2 {This plan is good, but the moment is not correct.} ({More accurate is} 44.
h4 $1 Bc7 45. Be7 {and we return to this plan, but already with one very
important tempo more. It will win easily.} Bb6 (45... Kxe7 46. Kxg6 Kf8 47. h5
Bd8 48. h6 Kg8 49. h7+ Kh8 50. Kf7 Kxh7 51. Kxe6 Kg7 52. Kd7 Bh4 53. f5 Kf7 54.
Kxc6 Bg3 55. e6+ Ke7 56. Kxc5 Kf6 57. Kc6 {White wins}) 46. Bd6 Bd8 47. h5 gxh5
48. Kxh5 Ke8 49. Bxc5 Kf7 50. Ba7 $1 Ke8 (50... Be7 51. c5) 51. c5 Kf7 52. Bb6
Be7 53. Kg4 Bf8 54. f5 Be7 55. f6 Bf8 56. Kh5 $18) 44... Bc7 $2 {Both of us
were thinking that this is the only move, but actually she should take my
bishop:} (44... Kxe7 45. Kxg6 Bd8 46. h4 Kf8 47. h5 Bh4 48. h6 (48. f5 Bg3 49.
Kf6 exf5 50. Kxf5 Kf7 51. h6 Be1 52. h7 Kg7 53. Ke6 (53. e6 Bh4 $1) 53... Bg3
54. Kd6 Kxh7) 48... Kg8 49. h7+ Kh8 50. Kf7 Kxh7 51. Kxe6 Kg8 52. Kd7 Kf8 53.
e6 Bf6 54. Kxc6 Bd8 55. Kxc5 Ke7 56. Kd5 (56. f5 Kf6 57. Kb5 Kxf5) 56... Kf6
57. c5 Ke7 58. f5 Kf6 59. Ke4 (59. Kc6 Be7 $1 60. Kb6 Bd8+ 61. Kb7 Kxf5) 59...
Be7 60. c6 Bd8 61. Kd5 Bc7 62. Kc4 Ke7 63. Kb5 Kd6 64. Ka6 Kxc6 65. f6 Kd6 66.
Kb7 Kxe6 67. Kxc7 Kxf6 {with a drawn position, but it is really difficult to
see all the way to the end during the game!}) 45. Bxc5 Bd8 46. Bf2 Be7 47. c5
Bf8+ 48. Kg5 Be7+ 49. Kg4 Ke8 50. Be1 Bxc5 51. Bxa5 Be7 52. Kf3 $2 {Actually I
thought that here White should win very easily, so I played very quickly; a
better move is} (52. Bc3 c5 53. a5 Kd7 54. h4 Kc7 55. h5 gxh5+ 56. Kxh5 c4 57.
Kg6 Bh4 58. a6 Kb6 59. Kf7 $18) 52... Kd7 53. Ke4 c5 54. Kd3 Kc6 55. Kc4 Bh4
56. Bd2 Bf2 57. h3 Bg1 58. Bc1 {Now both of us had only 2 or 3 minutes left,
so this made the game complicated. Here I again missed a good chance.} (58. a5
$1 Bf2 59. Bc1 Be1 60. a6 Bf2 (60... Kb6 61. a7 Kxa7 62. Kxc5) 61. a7 Kb7 62.
Ba3 $18) 58... Bf2 59. Bd2 Bg1 60. Kd3 Bf2 61. Be3 Be1 (61... c4+ 62. Kd4 Bxe3+
63. Kxe3 Kc5 64. a5 Kb5 $1 65. Kd4 Kb4 66. a6 c3 67. Kd3 Kb3 68. a7 c2 69. a8=Q
c1=Q 70. Qb7+ {White wins.}) 62. Kc4 Bb4 63. Bf2 Kb6 64. Be3 Kc6 65. Bg1 Kb6
66. Bf2 Kc6 67. Bh4 Bd2 68. Bg5 {Now I knew that I will win this game, I
prepare the h4-f5 breakthrough, Black's bishop has to leave the c1-h6 diagonal.
} Be1 69. Be7 Bf2 (69... Bb4 70. Bd6 Kb6 71. Bf8 Kc6 72. Be7 $1 Kb6 73. a5+ $1
Kxa5 74. Bxc5 {The black king is far away from the kingside.}) 70. a5 Be3 71.
Bg5 Bf2 72. h4 Bg3 73. a6 Bf2 74. h5 $1 gxh5 75. f5 exf5 76. e6 Bg3 77. e7 Kd7
78. a7 1-0

[Event "EU-chT 22nd"]
[Site "Batumi"]
[Date "2019.10.28"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Jones, Gawain C B"]
[Black "Onischuk, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2688"]
[BlackElo "2616"]
[Annotator "Jones,G"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2019.10.24"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GEO"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 193"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2019.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2019.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "England"]
[BlackTeam "Ukraine"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ENG"]
[BlackTeamCountry "UKR"]

{I noticed my opponent had just taken up the Berlin so I decided to test him
in a theoretical battle. Ich stellte fest, dass mein Gegner die Berliner
Verteidigung gerade erst aufgegriffen hatte, daher beschloss ich, ihn in einer
Theorieschlacht zu testen.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 {
This line used to have a very dull reputation but recently it's developed into
one of the absolute mainlines. Dieses Abspiel galt früher als ausgesprochen
öde, aber in letzter Zeit hat es sich zu einer der absoluten Hauptvarianten
entwickelt.} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11.
Bf4 {Offering the d-pawn for the first time, and deviating from my previous
game in the line. Bietet zum ersten Mal den d-Bauern an und weicht von meiner
früheren Partie in der Variante ab.} ({In the World Cup I tried Beim World
Cup versuchte ich} 11. Rxe8+ Nxe8 12. d5 b6 13. a4 Bb7 14. Na3 Nd6 15. c3 Bg5
16. g3 Bxc1 17. Rxc1 Qg5 18. Bg2 Re8 19. Nb5 $1 Nxb5 20. axb5 a5 21. bxa6 Bxa6
22. Ra1 $14 {and despite the limited material White has a pleasant advantage
with more space and ideas of d5-d6. Unfortunately I'd lost the first rapid
game and so had to win to level the match but ended up overpressing. Jones,G 
(2688)-Jakovenko,D (2681) Khanty-Mansiysk 2019. und trotz des beschränkten
Materials hat Weiß einen angenehmen Vorteil, mit mehr Raum und Ideen mit
d5-d6. Leider hatte ich die erste Schnellpartie verloren und musste gewinnen,
um das Match auszugleichen, wobei ich am Ende überzog. Jones,G (2688)
-Jakovenko,D (2681) Khanty-Mansiysk 2019.}) 11... Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 ({It's not
really advisable to take the pawn yet as Black's structure becomes compromised.
Es ist nicht wirklich ratsam, den Bauern zu schlagen, da die schwarze
Bauernstruktur kompromittiert wird.} 12... Bxd4 $6 13. Bxd6 cxd6 (13... Bxb2 $2
14. Bxc7 $1 {is a nice trick exploiting the back rank. ist ein netter Trick
zur Ausnutzung der Grundreihe.}) 14. Nc3 Be5 15. Nd5 b6 16. c3 Bb7 17. Rd1 $44
{White is risking nothing as his bind on the light squares and better
structure is worth at least the sacrificed pawn. In neither the high rated
battle Piorun,K (2638)-Kryvoruchko,Y (2714) Chartres 2017, nor the earlier
Correspondence game Palladino,M (1980)-Mercorelli,P (1971) ICCF email 2014
could Black hold. Weiß riskiert nichts, denn sein Griff auf den hellen
Feldern und seine bessere Struktur ist den geopferten Bauern mindestens wert.
Weder in dem hochklassigen Kampf Piorun,K (2638)-Kryvoruchko,Y (2714) Chartres
2017, noch der früheren Fernpartie Palladino,M (1980)-Mercorelli,P (1971)
ICCF email 2014 konnte Schwarz sich halten.}) 13. Nc3 $5 {The true pawn
sacrifice. Das wirkliche Bauernopfer.} Bxd4 {Black is obliged to take the pawn
or otherwise accept that White's opening has been a success. Schwarz ist
verpflichtet, den Bauern zu schlagen, ansonsten müsste er akzeptieren, dass
die Eröffnung von Weiß ein Erfolg gewesen ist.} ({An important point is that
Eine wichtige Pointe ist, dass} 13... d5 $2 {fails to an} 14. Nxd5 {and so
Black doesn't have time to fight for control of the centre. scheitert, und
Schwarz daher nicht die Zeit hat, um die Kontrolle des Zentrums zu kämpfen.})
14. Nd5 {So for the pawn White has a decent lead in development and various
threats, mainly exploiting the back rank tricks as it takes Black a while to
develop his c8-bishop. Für den Bauern hat Weiß somit ordentlichen
Entwicklungsvorsprung und diverse Drohungen, die vor allem Grundreihentricks
ausnutzen, da Schwarz eine Weile braucht, seinen c8-Läufer zu entwickeln.} d6
({An illustrative line can be seen if Black greedily grabs another pawn Ein
Mustervariante, wenn sich Schwarz gierig noch einen Bauern schnappt, zeigt
sich nach} 14... Bxb2 $2 15. Qb4 $1 Bf6 (15... Bxa1 16. Ne7+ Kh8 17. Nc6 {
wins the queen, as gewinnt die Dame wegen} dxc6 18. Qf8#) 16. Re1 {[%cal Ge1e8]
when Black doesn't have a good way of dealing with the threat of 17.Rxe8. ,
wonach Schwarz keinen guten Weg hat, der Drohung 17.Rxe8 zu begegnen.}) (14...
c6 {is the other way to defend the position. ist der andere Weg, die Stellung
zu verteidigen.} 15. Ne7+ Kf8 16. Nxc8 Qf6 $1 {Another murky position where
Black's been holding thus far. Wieder eine krumme Stellung, in der sich
Schwarz bislang halten konnte.}) 15. Bg5 f6 ({My teammate had been one of the
first to try this as White. In McShane,L (2706)-Kramnik,V (2801) Moscow 2012,
Kramnik tried defending with Mein Teamkamerad war einer der Ersten gewesen,
der dies als Weißer erprobte. In McShane,L (2706)-Kramnik,V (2801) Moskau
2012, versuchte Kramnik, sich mit} 15... Bf6 {accepting a compromised
structure. zu verteidigen, was eine kompromittierte Struktur in Kauf nimmt.}
16. Nxf6+ Nxf6 17. Bxf6 gxf6 ({Of course not Natürlich nicht} 17... Qxf6 $4
18. Qe8#) 18. Qe4 $44 {White won a long battle. Weiß gewann eine lange
Schlacht.} (18. Bd3 $5 {might be a more accurate start: könnte ein genauerer
Start sein:} f5 19. Qe3 Be6 20. Qf3 c6 21. Bxf5 Bxf5 22. Qxf5 $14 {Najer,E 
(2640)-Bacrot,E (2706) Plovdiv 2012 Najer,E (2640)-Bacrot,E (2706) Plovdiv 2012
})) 16. Bh4 Bxb2 {Black took 24 minutes to play this move, a clear sign he
couldn't remember the intricacies of the position. Für diesen Zug brauchte 24
Minuten, ein klares Zeichen, dass er sich an die Feinheiten der Stellung nicht
erinnern konnte..} ({The latest word in the variation is with the incredibly
sharp Das letzte Wort in der Variante ist das unglaublich scharfe} 16... g5 $5
{This isn't a move that you'd want to play without preparation, but it seems
to work out ok for Black. It was first played by Peter Leko a week or so
earlier and a game played a few days after mine also followed this route. Dies
ist kein Zug, den man ohne Vorbereitung machen möchte, aber er scheint für
Schwarz zu funktionieren. Er wurde erstmals von Peter Leko etwa eine Woche
zuvor gespielt, und eine ein paar Tage nach meiner Partie ausgetragene
Begegnung folgte ebenfalls dieser Route.} 17. Qe4 Bxb2 18. Re1 Be5 19. f4 gxh4
20. fxe5 dxe5 21. Bd3 Bf5 22. Qxf5 Qxd5 23. Qxh7+ Kf8 24. Qh6+ Ke7 25. Qh7+ Kf8
{The game between the young Indian prodigy Gukesh, D and Peter Leko was agreed
drawn here with a repetition but Guseinov tried playing on with In der Partie
zwischen dem jungen indischen Ausnahmetalent D. Gukesh und Peter Leko einigte
man sich hier auf Remis durch Zugwiederholung, aber Guseinov probierte es noch
weiter mit} 26. Kh1 $5 Rd8 27. Qh6+ Ke7 28. Qh7+ Kf8 29. Qxh4 {The material
deficit is down to one pawn but Black's managed to successfully regroup. The
position is still extremely complicated. Das Materialdefizit ist auf einen
Bauern geschmolzen, aber Schwarz hat es geschafft, sich erfolgreich
umzugruppieren. Die Stellung ist noch immer extrem kompliziert.} Qg8 30. Qb4+
Nd6 31. Qc5 Qf7 32. Qxa7 e4 33. Bf1 b6 34. c4 Re8 35. c5 bxc5 36. Qxc5 Re5 37.
Qc1 f5 ({My engine informs me that Black could hold equality with Meine Engine
informiert mich, dass Schwarz Ausgleich halten könnte mit} 37... e3 $1 38.
Rxe3 ({or or} 38. a4 Qa2) 38... Rxe3 39. Qxe3 Qxa2 $11) 38. a4 $1 $14 {
Guseinov,G (2660)-Georgiadis,N (2528) Batumi 2019 Guseinov,G (2660)-Georgiadis,
N (2528) Batumi 2019}) 17. Rb1 Be5 18. f4 {So a second pawn has dropped but
now White is fully developed and has a dangerous initiative. Es ist somit ein
zweiter Bauer gefallen, aber jetzt ist Weiß voll entwickelt und hat eine
gefährliche Initiative.} c6 $1 {Black is obliged to exchange his developed
piece for the d5-knight. Schwarz ist verpflichtet, seine entwickelte Figur
für den d5-Springer zu tauschen.} ({Instead Dagegen ist} 18... Bd4+ {is just
too risky, for example: einfach zu riskant, zum Beispiel:} 19. Kh1 c6 20. Ne7+
Kf8 21. Nxc8 Qxc8 22. Qe4 Bb6 23. Qxh7 Qe6 24. Bd3 $36 {White is just one pawn
down and has a lot of obvious trumps. It's not easy for Black to fully
coordinate with his knight on e8 either. Weiß hat nur einen Bauern weniger
und dafür eine Menge offensichtlicher Trümpfe. Auch fällt es Schwarz mit
seinem Springer auf e8 nicht leicht, sich vollständig zu koordinieren.}) 19.
fxe5 cxd5 20. exf6 Nxf6 21. Bd3 Bd7 $1 22. Qg3 $5 {Continuing to force Black
to find a narrow line to survive. Zwingt Schwarz weiter, einen schmalen
Überlebensweg zu finden.} ({Another recent game in this topical line had
continued with Eine andere kürzliche Partie in dieser aktuellen Variante war
weitergegangen mit} 22. h3 b5 $1 23. Bxb5 Qe8 24. Qxe8+ Bxe8 $11 {Kovalev,V 
(2661)-Karjakin,S (2760) Douglas 2019 Kovalev,V (2661)-Karjakin,S (2760)
Douglas 2019}) 22... Bc6 23. Bg5 $5 $146 {I have to give credit to Luke for
this novelty. The engines continue to flash 0.00 but this sets some fresh
defensive problems. Für diese Neuerung muss ich Luke Anerkennung zollen. Die
Engines blinken weiter 0.00, aber dies stellt ein paar frische
Verteidigungsprobleme.} ({The earlier game had seen In der anderen Partie
geschah} 23. Bf5 Kh8 24. Qh3 {when Black blundered with , wonach Schwarz
patzte mit} Qe7 $2 (24... Qc7 $1 {is probably an important improvement. ist
wahrscheinlich eine wichtige Verbesserung.}) 25. Bxh7 $1 {exploiting the
various pins. Muzychuk,M (2560)-Lagno,K (2559) Astana 2019 , was die
verschiedenen Fesselungen ausnutzt. Muzychuk,M (2560)-Lagno,K (2559) Astana
2019.}) 23... Kh8 $6 {After walking a narrow path to survival the pressure
finally gets to Onischuk, who errs with this natural looking move. I had over
an hour's time advantage at this point and spent over 25 minutes deciding on
the right follow up. Nachdem er auf einem schmalen Überlebensweg gewandelt
ist, macht sich der Druck schließlich bei Onischuk bemerkbar, denn sein
natürlich wirkender Zug ist ein Fehler. Ich hatte an dieser Stelle über eine
Sttunde Zeitvorteil und verbrauchte mehr als 25 Minuten, um die richtige
Fortsetzung festzulegen.} 24. Qh4 Qg8 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. Rb4 $6 {I couldn't
resist this rook swing but apparently this wasn't best. Ich konnte diesem
Turmschwenk nicht widerstehen, aber offenbar war dies nicht das Beste.} ({
The engine informs me that Die Engine informiert mich, dass} 26. Rf1 $1 {
would have been extremely strong. I didn't see anything I was totally happy
with after extrem stark gewesen wäre. Nach} d4 {but the computer calmly
reacts with sah ich nichts, was mich gänzlich zufriedenstellte, aber der
Computer reagiert ruhig mit} (26... Rf8 {immediately is apparently best, but
the ending after sofort ist offenbar am besten, aber das Endspiel nach} 27.
Rxf6 Rxf6 28. Qxf6+ Qg7 29. Qd8+ Qg8 30. Qxd6 {is extremely unpleasant. ist
extrem unangenehm.}) 27. g3 {and tells me White is completely winning. und
sagt mir, dass Weiß komplett auf Gewinn steht.}) 26... f5 $6 ({I expected
Onischuk to try Ich erwartete, dass Onischuk} 26... d4 27. Qxf6+ Qg7 {when
White has a choice of pleasant endings. versucht, wonach Weiß die Wahl
zwischen verschiedenen angenehmen Endspielen hat.} 28. Qxg7+ (28. Qxd4 $5)
28... Kxg7 29. Rxd4 Rd8 30. Rg4+ Kh8 31. Rh4 Rd7 32. Rh6 $16 {At least Black
isn't getting mated here but he'll have to suffer for hours. Wenigstens wird
Schwarz hier nicht mattgesetzt, aber er wird noch stundenlang leiden müssen.})
({Over the board I also couldn't refute Am Brett konnte ich auch} 26... Rf8 $1
{although it looked extremely dangerous. My mainline was nicht widerlegen,
obwohl es extrem gefährlich aussah. Meine Hauptvariante war} 27. Rg4 (27. Rf4
$44 {is also possible. ist ebenfalls möglich.}) 27... Qf7 28. Bxh7 $5 Qxh7 29.
Qf2 (29. Qg3 $2 {would allow würde} Rg8 {erlauben.}) 29... Be8 $1 (29... Qe7
$2 30. Rh4+ Kg8 31. Qg3+ {and the queen drops und die Dame fällt.} Kf7 (31...
Qg7 32. Rg4) 32. Rh7+) 30. Rh4 Bh5 31. g4 Qe4 32. Rxh5+ Kg7 33. Qf5 {An
ongoing tense position that's probably about level. Eine weiterhin
spannungsvolle Stellung, die wahrscheinlich etwa ausgeglichen ist.}) 27. Bxf5
Rf8 $6 {I imagine Black hoped he'd get counterplay down the f-file now but his
king is simply too exposed. Ich nehme an, Schwarz hoffte, nun Gegenspiel
entlang der f-Linie zu bekommen, aber sein König ist einfach zu exponiert.} (
27... d4 {was his last chance but this is just a worse version of 26...d4. war
seine letzte Chance, aber dies ist einfach eine schlechtere Version von 26...
d4.}) 28. Rg4 Qf7 29. Rg5 {The threat is simply to play Rg5-h5. Die Drohung
lautet einfach Rg5-h5.} Be8 (29... Rg8 {fails to scheitert an} 30. Bxh7) ({
While während} 29... Bd7 {is also not good enough due to ebenfalls nicht gut
genug ist wegen} 30. Qd4+ Qf6 31. Qxf6+ Rxf6 32. Bxd7) 30. h3 {Giving my king
luft and asking Black to make a move. Gibt meinem König Luft und ersucht
Schwarz, einen Zug zu machen.} ({I considered Gegen den folgenden Zug von
Schwarz wollte ich erst} 30. Bd3 {to play against Black's next but then
realised I have a sneaky trick. spielen, aber dann erkannte ich, dass ich
einen raffinierten Trick habe.}) 30... Rg8 $6 {Falling into the trap but
Black's position was already hopeless. Tappt in die Falle, aber die Stellung
von Schwarz war bereits hoffnungslos.} ({Attempting to sit won't save Black:
Abwarteversuche werden Schwarz nicht retten:} 30... a5 31. Kh2 $1 {Black is
completely paralysed. Schwarz ist komplett paralysiert.} b5 32. Bg6 Qe7 (32...
Qf4+ 33. Qxf4 Rxf4 34. Bxe8) 33. Bxh7 Qxh7 34. Qd4+ $18) 31. Be6 $1 {Black
resigned as everything is dropping. A nice quick win which helped turned my
tournament around after a bad start. Unfortunately we didn't manage to win
this match but still we succeeded in getting our first team medal in a
European Team Championship for a couple of decades. Schwarz gab auf, denn
alles fällt. Ein schöner schneller Sieg, der half, mein Turnier nach einem
schlechten Start zu wenden. Zwar konnten wir leider dieses Match nicht
gewinnen, aber trotzdem gelang es uns, unsere erste Teammedaille bei einer
Europamannschaftsmeisterschaft seit ein paar Jahrzehnten zu erringen.} (31. Be6
Qxe6 32. Qd4+ Qe5 33. Rxe5 dxe5 34. Qxe5+ Rg7 35. Qxe8+ {etc. etc.}) 1-0

[Event "World-ch Carlsen-Anand +3-1=7"]
[Site "Sochi"]
[Date "2014.11.17"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2863"]
[BlackElo "2792"]
[Annotator "Kasimdzhanov,R"]
[PlyCount "243"]
[EventDate "2014.11.08"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 164"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.01.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.01.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Nc6 {
[%emt 0:00:05]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 4. O-O {[%emt 0:
00:10]} Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 5. d4 {[%emt 0:00:06] After a very sucessful
Anti-Berlin in game 2, Magnus switches to the main line.} Nd6 {[%emt 0:00:07]}
6. Bxc6 {[%emt 0:00:15]} dxc6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 7. dxe5 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Nf5 {
[%emt 0:00:07]} 8. Qxd8+ {[%emt 0:00:09]} Kxd8 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 9. h3 {[%emt 0:
00:09]} Ke8 {[%emt 0:00:19]} 10. Nc3 {[%emt 0:03:15]} h5 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 11.
Bf4 {[%emt 0:01:20]} Be7 {[%emt 0:00:16]} 12. Rad1 {[%emt 0:02:15]} Be6 {
[%emt 0:01:04] The very main line these days; Black is solid, but does not
usually get many chances to win the game, and has to know his defences quite
exactly.} 13. Ng5 {[%emt 0:00:57]} Rh6 {[%emt 0:00:52]} 14. g3 {[%emt 0:01:30]}
(14. Rfe1 {is the main alternative, played by Vishy himself. Black had to
suffer to get a draw after} Bb4 15. g4 hxg4 16. hxg4 Ne7 17. Nxe6 Rxe6 18. Kg2
Bxc3 19. bxc3 Rd8 20. Rxd8+ Kxd8 21. Rh1 Nd5 22. Bg3 g5 23. c4 Nc3 24. Kf3 Rg6
25. a3 Na4 26. Ke4 Nc5+ 27. Kf5 Ne6 28. Rh8+ Kd7 29. c3 Ng7+ 30. Ke4 Ne6 31. f3
c5 32. Bf2 a6 33. Be3 b6 {in the game Anand,V (2770)-Karjakin,S (2766)
Khanty-Mansiysk 2014.}) 14... Bxg5 {[%emt 0:04:25] An introduction to the very
forced sequence.} 15. Bxg5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Rg6 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 16. h4 {
[%emt 0:00:57]} f6 {[%emt 0:00:29]} 17. exf6 {[%emt 0:00:21]} gxf6 {[%emt 0:00:
07]} 18. Bf4 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Nxh4 {[%emt 0:00:41]} 19. f3 {[%emt 0:02:20]} Rd8
{[%emt 0:00:45]} 20. Kf2 {[%emt 0:01:08]} Rxd1 {[%emt 0:00:41]} 21. Nxd1 {
[%emt 0:00:19]} Nf5 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 22. Rh1 {[%emt 0:00:48]} Bxa2 $1 {[%emt 0:
01:15] The point.} ({After} 22... Ng7 23. Ne3 {[%cal Ge3g2,Gg2h4] the rook on
g6 is in serious trouble.}) 23. Rxh5 {[%emt 0:00:13]} (23. b3 $2 Bb1) 23... Be6
{[%emt 0:00:12]} 24. g4 {[%emt 0:00:38]} (24. Bxc7 Rh6 {is just a draw.}) 24...
Nd6 {[%emt 0:05:03]} 25. Rh7 {[%emt 0:01:18]} Nf7 {[%emt 0:10:27] Only this
move is new, but in fact White's initiative is still quite nasty.} ({The
previous game saw} 25... f5 26. g5 (26. Rxc7 $1 {might be what Magnus had in
mind} Nb5 27. gxf5 Bxf5 28. Rxb7 Bxc2 29. Ne3 {there is not much material left,
but Black is in trouble because of his weak king and White's marching f-pawn})
26... Nf7 27. Rh5 Rg8 28. Kg3 Rh8 {led to an eventual draw in Giri,A (2768)
-Radjabov,T (2726) Tashkent 2014.}) 26. Ne3 {[%emt 0:01:45] Black is a pawn up,
but his position suffers from a serious lack of coordination; especially the
rook on g6 is out of play.} Kd8 {[%emt 0:08:54]} 27. Nf5 {[%emt 0:01:47]} c5 {
[%emt 0:05:33]} 28. Ng3 {[%emt 0:01:52] Around here Vishy sank into deep
thought; his position is quite precarious.} Ne5 $1 {[%emt 0:27:31] When played,
this looked like a major concession, but now I realise that, at least
practically speaking, this must be the correct choice. Alternatives look scary
over the board:} (28... Kd7 29. Nh5 Kc6 30. Be3 (30. Bxc7 Kxc7 31. Nf4 Rh6 32.
Nxe6+ Kd6 33. Rxf7 Kxe6 34. Rxb7 Rh2+ 35. Ke3 Rxc2 $11) 30... Ba2 $3 {but
clearly, nobody can see such lines over the board :)}) 29. Rh8+ {[%emt 0:24:53]
} Rg8 {[%emt 0:09:25]} 30. Bxe5 {[%emt 0:04:26]} fxe5 {[%emt 0:00:16]} 31. Rh5
{[%emt 0:00:08]} Bxg4 $1 {[%emt 0:05:05]} (31... Rf8 32. Ke3 Bd5 33. Ne4 Bxe4
34. Kxe4 {might be just lost} Rf4+ 35. Ke3 Rb4 36. Rxe5 Rxb2 37. Rxc5) 32. fxg4
{[%emt 0:00:31]} Rxg4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 33. Rxe5 {[%emt 0:00:30]} b6 {[%emt 0:
02:06] I spent some time looking at this ending; most probably it's drawn;
White's only chance is to go for c4, Nd5 and Re7, but before that Magnus
decides to shuffle around for a while.} 34. Ne4 {[%emt 0:00:26]} Rh4 {[%emt 0:
01:28]} 35. Ke2 {[%emt 0:00:25]} Rh6 {[%emt 0:04:13]} 36. b3 {[%emt 0:01:48]}
Kd7 {[%emt 0:00:31]} 37. Kd2 {[%emt 0:01:42]} Kc6 {[%emt 0:01:53]} 38. Nc3 {
[%emt 0:02:15]} a6 {[%emt 0:03:01]} 39. Re4 {[%emt 0:00:49]} Rh2+ {[%emt 0:00:
48]} 40. Kc1 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rh1+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} 41. Kb2 {[%emt 0:00:34]}
Rh6 {[%emt 0:04:49]} 42. Nd1 {[%emt 0:01:06]} Rg6 {[%emt 0:05:55]} 43. Ne3 {
[%emt 0:00:34]} Rh6 {[%emt 0:01:09]} 44. Re7 {[%emt 0:04:29]} Rh2 {[%emt 0:02:
44]} 45. Re6+ {[%emt 0:00:58]} Kb7 {[%emt 0:01:36]} 46. Kc3 {[%emt 0:12:38]}
Rh4 {[%emt 0:04:57]} 47. Kb2 {[%emt 0:04:24]} (47. Kd3 {was a more direct try}
Rd4+ (47... a5 48. c4 c6 49. Re7+) 48. Ke2 a5 49. c4 {and now Black has a
choice:} Rh4 (49... c6 50. Nf5 Rf4 51. Re7+ Kb8 $1 (51... Ka6 52. Nd6 a4 53.
Nc8) 52. Ne3 Rh4 53. Kd3 Rh3 54. Ke4 Rg3 55. Kf4 Rh3 {and suprisingly, even
this might not be enough for a win:} 56. Rg7 b5 57. Re7 Rh2 58. Ke5 Rd2 59. Rg7
Re2 60. Ke4 Rb2) 50. Kd3 Rh3 51. Ke4 Rh4+ 52. Ke5 Rh2 53. Re7 Rb2 54. Nd5 Rxb3
55. Rxc7+ Ka6 $1 (55... Kb8 56. Kd6) 56. Rg7 a4 57. Nc7+ Ka5 58. Nd5 Ka6 {
with a draw.}) 47... Rh2 {[%emt 0:02:33]} 48. Nd5 {[%emt 0:02:15]} Rd2 {
[%emt 0:03:02]} 49. Nf6 {[%emt 0:01:20]} Rf2 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 50. Kc3 {[%emt 0:
01:28]} Rf4 {[%emt 0:06:27]} 51. Ne4 {[%emt 0:04:36]} Rh4 {[%emt 0:05:58]} 52.
Nf2 {[%emt 0:00:59]} Rh2 {[%emt 0:01:05]} 53. Rf6 {[%emt 0:00:29]} Rh7 {
[%emt 0:02:15]} 54. Nd3 {[%emt 0:00:55]} Rh3 {[%emt 0:05:12]} 55. Kd2 {[%emt 0:
00:45]} Rh2+ {[%emt 0:00:07]} 56. Rf2 {[%emt 0:00:26]} Rh4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 57.
c4 {[%emt 0:00:50]} Rh3 {[%emt 0:02:02]} 58. Kc2 {[%emt 0:00:37]} Rh7 {[%emt 0:
00:07]} 59. Nb2 {[%emt 0:00:59]} Rh5 {[%emt 0:02:58]} 60. Re2 {[%emt 0:00:00]}
Rg5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 61. Nd1 {[%emt 0:04:31]} b5 $5 {[%emt 0:04:54] Vishy
changes his tactics and does not even let the knight on to d5 any more.} 62.
Nc3 {[%emt 0:02:01]} (62. Nb2 Kb6 63. Nd3 c6 64. Kc3 Rg3 {does not change much.
}) 62... c6 {[%emt 0:01:37]} 63. Ne4 {[%emt 0:03:16]} Rh5 {[%emt 0:00:46]} 64.
Nf6 {[%emt 0:01:35]} Rg5 {[%emt 0:06:30]} 65. Re7+ {[%emt 0:15:33]} Kb6 {
[%emt 0:00:16]} 66. Nd7+ {[%emt 0:12:36]} Ka5 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 67. Re4 {
[%emt 0:01:29]} Rg2+ {[%emt 0:08:09]} 68. Kc1 {[%emt 0:02:59]} (68. Kc3 b4+ 69.
Kd3 Rd2+ $1 70. Kxd2 {would have a picturesque finale.}) 68... Rg1+ {[%emt 0:
01:10]} 69. Kd2 {[%emt 0:00:23]} Rg2+ {[%emt 0:00:34]} 70. Ke1 {[%emt 0:00:37]}
bxc4 $1 {[%emt 0:08:48]} 71. Rxc4 {[%emt 0:01:24]} Rg3 {[%emt 0:02:22]} 72.
Nxc5 {[%emt 0:00:45]} Kb5 {[%emt 0:00:06] A very nice idea. White's knight on
c5 is not stable, so he can't hold on to his last pawn much longer.} 73. Rc2 {
[%emt 0:00:20]} a5 {[%emt 0:02:54]} 74. Kf2 {[%emt 0:03:41]} Rh3 {[%emt 0:00:
17]} 75. Rc1 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Kb4 {[%emt 0:00:31]} 76. Ke2 {[%emt 0:00:36]} Rc3
{[%emt 0:00:56]} 77. Nd3+ {[%emt 0:01:22]} Kxb3 {[%emt 0:00:07] And the
remaining moves can be skipped with a clear conscience.} 78. Ra1 {[%emt 0:00:
06]} Kc4 {[%emt 0:02:29]} 79. Nf2 {[%emt 0:02:24]} Kb5 {[%emt 0:00:30]} 80.
Rb1+ {[%emt 0:00:22]} Kc4 {[%emt 0:00:59]} 81. Ne4 {[%emt 0:00:31]} Ra3 {
[%emt 0:00:38]} 82. Nd2+ {[%emt 0:00:30]} Kd5 {[%emt 0:00:19]} 83. Rh1 {
[%emt 0:00:13]} a4 {[%emt 0:00:34]} 84. Rh5+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} Kd4 {[%emt 0:00:
51]} 85. Rh4+ {[%emt 0:00:13]} Kc5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 86. Kd1 {[%emt 0:00:23]}
Kb5 {[%emt 0:01:02]} 87. Kc2 {[%emt 0:00:27]} Rg3 {[%emt 0:01:37]} 88. Ne4 {
[%emt 0:00:23]} Rg2+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} 89. Kd3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} a3 {[%emt 0:00:
11]} 90. Nc3+ {[%emt 0:00:14]} Kb6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 91. Ra4 {[%emt 0:00:24]} a2
{[%emt 0:00:13]} 92. Nxa2 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Rg3+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} 93. Kc2 {
[%emt 0:00:06]} Rg2+ {[%emt 0:00:05]} 94. Kb3 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Rg3+ {[%emt 0:
00:14]} 95. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Rh3 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 96. Rb4+ {[%emt 0:00:12]}
Kc7 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 97. Rg4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Rh7 {[%emt 0:00:33]} 98. Kc4 {
[%emt 0:00:06]} Rf7 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 99. Rg5 {[%emt 0:00:28]} Kb6 {[%emt 0:00:
37]} 100. Na4+ {[%emt 0:00:09]} Kc7 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 101. Kc5 {[%emt 0:00:10]}
Kd7 {[%emt 0:00:37]} 102. Kb6 {[%emt 0:00:59]} Rf1 {[%emt 0:00:19]} 103. Nc5+ {
[%emt 0:00:08]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 104. Kxc6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Rd1 {[%emt 0:
00:08]} 105. Rg6 {[%emt 0:00:48]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:19]} 106. Rh6 {[%emt 0:00:16]
} Rg1 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 107. Kd5 {[%emt 0:00:18]} Rg5+ {[%emt 0:00:08]} 108. Kd4
{[%emt 0:00:05]} Rg6 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 109. Rh1 {[%emt 0:00:20]} Rg2 {[%emt 0:
00:23]} 110. Ne4 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Ra2 {[%emt 0:00:23]} 111. Rf1+ {[%emt 0:00:
17]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 112. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Rh2 {[%emt 0:00:33]} 113.
Nd5+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} Kd6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 114. Rf6+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} Kd7 {
[%emt 0:00:06]} 115. Nf4 {[%emt 0:01:37]} Rh1 {[%emt 0:00:17]} 116. Rg6 {
[%emt 0:00:25]} Rd1+ {[%emt 0:00:13]} 117. Nd3 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:
00:23]} 118. Ra6 {[%emt 0:00:29]} Kd7 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 119. Ke4 {[%emt 0:00:14]
} Ke7 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 120. Rc6 {[%emt 0:02:12]} Kd7 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 121. Rc1
{[%emt 0:00:07]} Rxc1 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 122. Nxc1 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Astrakhan FIDE GP"]
[Site "Astrakhan"]
[Date "2010.05.14"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Inarkiev, Ernesto"]
[Black "Jakovenko, Dmitrij"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2669"]
[BlackElo "2725"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2010.05.10"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 137"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 {Ich finde diese Variante besser, wenn man gezielt
auf Remis spielen will. Die Alternative mit der Überführung des schwarzen
Königs zum Damenflügel bietet beiden Seiten praktische Chancen.} ({Eine andere
prinzipielle Fortsetzung ist} 9... Bd7 10. h3 (10. b3 Kc8 11. Bb2 Be7 12. Rad1
a5 $132) 10... h6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Rd2 c5 15. Rfd1 Be6
$132) 10. Ne2 {Das sieht künstlich aus, ich glaube nicht, dass Weiß auf diese
Art einen Vorteil bekommen kann.} (10. h3 Be7 11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Kg2
h5 14. f3 Be6 ({Eine andere Verteidigungsmethode ist} 14... a5 {um die weißen
Bauern zu zwingen, weiße Felder einzunehmen.} 15. a4 b6 16. Rd1 Be7 17. Ne2 Bd7
18. Bf4 c5 19. Bg3 Rd8 20. c4 Bc8 21. b3 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 hxg4 23. hxg4 Bd8 $14 {
Kotronias - Kritz (Port Erin, 2007). Weiß hat einen symbolischen Vorteil und
Schwarz muss die ganze Partie leiden, doch bei korrekter Verteidigung kann man
Remis halten. Es ist jedoch zu empfehlen, wie Wang Yue gegen Adams zu spielen
- dort ist es einfacher, das Remis zu erreichen.}) 15. Be3 Be7 $11 {Adams -
Wang Yue (Dresden, 2008)}) 10... Be7 {Der Standardplan - Schwarz will mittels
Nh4 die Springer abtauschen und damit die Stellung vereinfachen.} (10... Ne7 {
Schwarz spielt gegen die weiße Idee - Überführung des Springers nach f4.} 11.
h3 (11. Nf4 Ng6 $11) 11... Ng6 ({Eine alternative Spielweise ist} 11... a5 12.
Re1 Nd5 13. Bd2 h6 14. Nfd4 a4 15. e6 fxe6 16. Nxe6 Bxe6 17. Nd4 Kf7 18. Nxe6
a3 19. bxa3 Bxa3 $132 {Gashimov - Efimenko (Poikovsky, 2009)}) 12. Re1 {
Dieser Turm soll auf e1 stehen, das Feld d1 bleibt frei für den anderen Turm.}
(12. Rd1 Be6 13. Ned4 Bd5 14. h4 Bc5 15. h5 Ne7 16. b3 Rd8 17. Bg5 h6 18. Bh4
Rd7 19. c4 Bxf3 20. Nxf3 Nf5 $11 {und Schwarz glich aus in Deep Junior -
Gelfand (Tel Aviv, 1999)}) 12... c5 $1 {Richtige Strategie. Man muss das Feld
e6 für den Läufer sichern, deswegen nimmt man den weißen Springern das Feld d4
weg.} 13. Nc3 h6 $1 {Die gleiche Idee wieder - das Feld g5 wird unter
Kontrolle genommen. Schwarz hat überhaupt keine Schwierigkeiten - Weiß hat
viel Zeit für seine Springermanöver verloren.} (13... Be6 $6 14. Ng5 $14) 14.
Be3 Be6 15. Rad1 Rd8 $1 $11 {Sjugirov - Fressinet (Khanty-Mansiysk, 2009). Es
ist immer gut, ein Paar Türme zu tauschen, um eine eventuelle Verdoppelung der
weißen Türme auf der d-Linie zu verhindern.}) 11. Rd1 (11. Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 h6
$11 {Man hat eine Stellung auf dem Brett, in der ein weißer Springer
üblicherweise auf c3 und der Bauer auf h3 steht, was wesentlich besser für
Weiß ist.}) 11... Nh4 12. Nxh4 (12. Nfd4 Bd7 $1 13. Be3 c5 14. Nb3 b6 $11 {
Schwarz kann sogar um Vorteil kämpfen, weil der weiße Springer b3 sehr
schlecht steht.}) 12... Bxh4 13. Be3 a5 $1 {Ein Standardmanöver. Schwarz will
die weißen Bauern nach vorne zwingen, so dass sie alle auf weißen Feldern
stehen und später im Endspiel Angriffsziele des schwarzen weißfeldrigen
Läufers werden können.} 14. a4 Bd7 (14... Bf5 {Es gibt keinen Grund, warum man
Zeit verlieren sollte.} 15. Nd4 Bd7 16. f3 $14) 15. h3 h5 16. f3 $1 {Weiß hat
einen einzigen Plan in dieser Stellung: g4 und später irgendwie f4-f5.} Rd8 17.
g4 hxg4 18. hxg4 Bc8 $1 {Einen Turm zu tauschen ist immer gut für Schwarz -
Weiß kann damit keinen Druck auf der d-Linie aufbauen.} 19. Kg2 Rxd1 20. Rxd1
Be7 {Die nächsten Züge haben nichts Wichtiges in sich - es ist eine Sache der
Zeit, wann endlich alle schwarzen Bauer am Damenflügel schwarze Felder
einnehmen, und alle weißen Bauern weiße Felder einnehmen.} 21. Bd2 b6 22. Bf4
Bd8 23. b3 Be6 24. Nd4 Bd7 25. c4 Rh7 26. Rd3 c5 {Es ist soweit, nun muss Weiß
einen Plan finden, um die schwarze Festung zu durchbrechen. Es gibt viele
Ideen in dieser Stellung, jedoch nur eine kann Weiß wirklich etwas versprechen:
man muss den Springer nach e3 stellen, den Turm auf die erste Reihe und danach
Bg3-f4-f5 spielen. Wenn Weiß das schafft, bekommt er einen großen Vorteil.} 27.
Nb5 $6 {Der Springer sieht nur gut aus, eigentlich macht er ja nichts.} (27.
Nc2 $5 Be6 (27... f5 28. exf6 gxf6 (28... Bxf6 29. Bxc7 $18) 29. Ne3 $14) 28.
Ne3 {Schwarz hat kaum was zu ziehen.} Rh8 (28... g5 29. Bg3 f6 30. exf6 Bxf6
31. Nd5 $14) (28... f6 29. exf6 gxf6 30. Bg3 Rd7 31. Rxd7 Kxd7 32. f4 $14) 29.
Bg3 $1 $14 {Der Springer muss auf e3 stehen, um den Bauern g4 zu verteidigen.
Schwarz hat dem Plan von Weiß wenig entgegenzusetzen.}) 27... Be6 $1 {Man muss
vorsichtig spielen, es drohte e6!} (27... Rh8 $2 {Das Warten kann teuer werden,
wenn man nicht aufpasst:} 28. e6 Bxe6 (28... Bxb5 29. exf7+ Kxf7 30. cxb5 $16)
29. Nxc7+ Ke7 (29... Bxc7 30. Bxc7 $18) 30. Re3 $16) 28. Na7 Bd7 $1 {Wieder
musste man aufpassen - es drohte Nc6!} (28... Rh8 29. Nc6 Be7 30. Nxe7 Kxe7 31.
Bg5+ f6 32. exf6+ gxf6 33. Bf4 $14) 29. Nb5 Be6 30. Rd1 Rh8 {Die nächsten Züge
bringen nichts Neues - Inarkiev hat es nicht geschafft, den richtigen Plan zu
finden.} 31. Rd2 Rh7 32. Rd3 Rh8 33. Rd1 Rh7 {Schwarz kann nun einfach warten
auf das, was Weiß macht.} 34. Kf2 (34. Rh1 Rxh1 35. Kxh1 Kd7 $11 {Schwarz hat
keine Schwierigkeiten, wenn sein König aktiviert wird.}) 34... Rh3 35. Bg3 Rh7
36. Na7 Bd7 37. Nb5 Be6 38. Kg2 Rh8 39. Bh2 Rh7 40. Bg3 Rh8 41. Nc3 Rh7 42. Nd5
Rh8 43. Nf4 Bc8 ({Die Stellung nach} 43... Rh7 {sollte auch Remis sein, aber
wozu sollte man den guten Läufer geben?} 44. Nxe6 fxe6 45. f4 g6 $11) 44. Re1 {
Weiß will e6 spielen - Schwarz hindert ihn daran:} Rh6 45. Nh5 (45. Re2 {
Ein Wartezug bringt gar nichts, Schwarz kann zumindest mit dem König ziehen.}
Kf8 $11) 45... Rh7 46. Rd1 Bg5 47. e6 {Verspricht keinen Vorteil, ganz im
Gegenteil - Weiß muss noch genau spielen, um auszugleichen.} g6 $1 (47... Bxe6
48. Bxc7 $16) 48. Rd5 (48. exf7+ $1 {wäre stärker gewesen.} Rxf7 49. Rd5 gxh5
50. Rxg5 hxg4 51. fxg4 Bb7+ 52. Kh3 Rh7+ $11) 48... gxh5 $6 {Schwarz geht in
das remisliche Endspiel über. Er hatte eine interessante taktische Chance:} (
48... f5 $5 49. Nf4 {der einzige Zug.} (49. Bf4 Rxh5 $1 50. gxh5 Bxf4 51. hxg6
Bxe6 $19) 49... Bxf4 50. Bxf4 Bxe6 51. Re5 Kd7 52. g5 $1 $11 {Man muss die
Diagonalen für den schwarzen Läufer sperren, dann kann man leicht Remis halten.
}) 49. Rxg5 Bxe6 50. Rxh5 (50. gxh5 f6 51. Rg6 Bf7 52. Rxf6 Bxh5 $11) 50...
Rxh5 51. gxh5 Kd7 $1 {Schwarz spielt drei genaue Züge und lässt Weiß keine
Gewinnchancen.} 52. Be5 Bf5 53. Kg3 Bc2 54. h6 Ke6 55. Bxc7 Kf6 56. Bxb6 Bxb3
57. Bxa5 Bxa4 58. Bb6 Bb3 59. Bxc5 Bxc4 60. Be3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Astrakhan FIDE GP"]
[Site "Astrakhan"]
[Date "2010.05.11"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2735"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2010.05.10"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 137"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O (4. d3 {ist eine alternative Fortsetzung.
Man bekommt spielbare Stellungen, doch keinen Eröffnungsvorteil.} Bc5 (4... d6
$5 5. O-O Be7 6. c3 O-O 7. Re1 a6 8. Ba4 b5 9. Bc2 Re8 $132 {Es entsteht ein
typischer Spanier mit d3.}) 5. Bxc6 (5. O-O d6 6. c3 O-O 7. Nbd2 a6 8. Ba4 Ba7
$132 {Wiederum hat Schwarz wenig zu befürchten.}) 5... dxc6 6. Be3 Qe7 (6...
Bxe3 $2 {verbessert die weiße Bauernstruktur und öffnet die f-Linie.} 7. fxe3
Qe7 8. O-O Ng4 9. Qd2 f6 10. Nh4 g6 11. Nc3 Bd7 12. Rf3 f5 13. g3 Nf6 14. exf5
g5 15. Ng2 e4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. dxe4 O-O-O 18. Qa5 $16 {Sutovsky - Carlsen 
(Crete, 2007)}) 7. Bxc5 Qxc5 8. Nc3 Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 O-O {Schwarz hat
keine Schwiriegkeiten.} 11. O-O-O a5 12. Qf5 Rfd8 13. Rhf1 a4 14. a3 b5 $132 {
Sutovsky - Aronian (Caleta, 2005)}) 4... Nxe4 5. d4 (5. Re1 {Das ist eine
bekannte Remisvariante:} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Nxe5 7. Rxe5+ Be7 8. Bf1 (8. Bd3 O-O 9.
Nc3 c6 10. b3 Ne8 11. Bb2 d5 12. Qh5 Nf6 13. Qh4 Be6 $11) 8... O-O 9. d4 Bf6
10. Re1 Nf5 11. c3 d5 $11 {Bei symmetrischer Bauernstruktur das Maximum, was
beide Seiten erreichen können, ist der kollektive Abtausch aller Figuren.})
5... Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 (9... Ke8 10. h3 Be7
11. g4 (11. Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 h6 $1 {Es is wichtig, den gegnerischen Springer
gleich zu vertreiben.} 13. Nf3 h5 14. Rad1 (14. Ne2 Ke7 15. Nf4 g6 $1 16. Rad1
Ng7 17. Rfe1 Rd8 18. Rxd8 Kxd8 19. Ng5 Ke7 20. Rd1 a5 21. a4 Bf5 $132 {Timman
- Kritz (Amsterdam, 2002)}) 14... Ke7 $11) 11... Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Kg2 h5
14. f3 Be6 $11 {Die schwarze Stellung ist zwar passiv, aber nicht zu brechen.})
10. h3 (10. Rd1+ {Das Problem dieses Zuges ist, dass Weiß eigentlich den
anderen Turm auf d1 stellen sollte.} Ke8 11. h3 a5 12. Bf4 Be6 13. g4 Ne7 14.
Nd4 Nd5 15. Nce2 Bc5 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. c4 Nb6 18. b3 a4 $132 {Kasparov -
Kramnik (London, 2000)}) (10. b3 $5 {Es macht Sinn, Zeit am Zug h3 zu sparen,
wenn man nicht mit g4 spielen will.} Bd7 11. Bb2 Kc8 12. Rad1 b6 13. Rd3 (13.
Ne2 c5 14. c4 Bc6 $11 {Kasparov - Kramnik (London, 2000)}) 13... Ne7 14. Rfd1 {
Weiß entwickelt nun eine unangenehme Initiative.} Bf5 15. Rd8+ Kb7 16. Rxa8
Kxa8 17. Nd4 Bg4 18. Nce2 c5 19. h3 Bc8 20. Nb5 Kb7 21. Nf4 $36 {Bruzon
Batista - Mitkov (Merida, 2008)}) 10... Bd7 11. b3 (11. Bf4 $5 Kc8 12. Rad1 $1
(12. a3 $2 {ist einfach zu langsam.} b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Rfe1 c5 $132 {Motylev
- Ponomariov (Motril, 2008). Schwarz plant Bc6-Kb7 mit guter Stellung.}) 12...
b6 13. Rd3 Be6 14. Rfd1 Kb7 15. b3 $14 {und Schwarz hatte Probleme mit seiner
Entwicklung in Anand - Topalov (Monte Carlo, 2005).}) 11... c5 $5 {Dieser Zug
wird selten gespielt. Die üebliche Fortsetzung ist 11....Kc8. Jedoch wie man
sieht, hat Schwarz nach 11....c5 noch keine Probleme gehabt.} (11... Kc8 12.
Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 c5 (13... Ne7 {gilt als Hauptzug. Weiß hat nun mehrere
Fortsetzungsmöglichkeiten.} 14. Rd2 {sieht am logischsten aus, aber auch
andere Ideen sind interessant.} (14. Ne2 Ng6 15. Ng3 (15. Ne1 h5 16. Nd3 c5 17.
c4 a5 18. a4 h4 $11 {Kasparov - Kramnik (London, 2000)}) 15... Nf4 16. Nd4 a5
17. a4 b5 18. Kh2 bxa4 19. bxa4 Nd5 20. Rd3 Nb6 $132 {Shirov - Kramnik (Astana,
2001)}) (14. Nd4 $5 c5 15. Nde2 a5 16. Rd2 Nc6 17. Rfd1 Be6 18. Nf4 Bf5 19. g4
$1 $16 {Efimenko - Naiditsch (Subotica, 2008)}) 14... c5 15. Rfd1 Be6 16. Ne2
g5 $132 {Anand - Kramnik (Mainz, 2001)}) 14. Rfe1 ({Nach} 14. Nd5 a5 $1 15. a4
c4 $1 {wurde Weiß praktisch gezwungen, den Bauer zu opfern:} 16. e6 fxe6 17.
Nf4 cxb3 18. cxb3 Bd6 19. Ng6 Rg8 20. Nfe5 Be8 $15 {Wonach Schwarz eindeutig
besser stand in Stellwagen - Efimenko (Wattenscheid, 2008).}) 14... a5 $5 $146
{Der Zug ist vielleicht nicht schlecht, aber mir gefällt die sofortige
Überführung des Springers nach g6 besser.} (14... Ne7 {Die Überführung des
Springers nach g6 ist ein typischer Manöver - von dort aus kontrolliert er das
Feld f4.} 15. Nd2 (15. Ne2 Ng6 $11 {Leko - Jakovenko (Jermuk, 2009)}) 15... Be6
16. Nde4 c4 17. Kh2 cxb3 18. cxb3 Ng6 19. Nb5 Bd7 20. Nec3 Bc5 21. Ba3 Bxa3 22.
Nxa3 Re8 $11 {Motylev - Volokitin (Wijk aan Zee, 2009)}) 15. a4 {Weiss kann
vielleicht erlauben, Schwarz a4 zu spielen.} (15. g4 $5 Ne7 16. Nd2 h5 17. f3
a4 18. Kg2 $14) 15... Ne7 {Nachdem die Züge a5 und a4 gespielt wurden, ist es
sogar noch besser für Schwarz.} 16. Ne2 Ng6 $132 {Und Schwarz hatte gutes
Gegenspiel in Motylev - Ponomariov (Khanty-Mansiysk, 2009)}) 12. Rd1 ({Es
verdient Betrachtung} 12. Bb2 $5 {mit der Idee, den anderen Turm nach d1 zu
stellen. Womöglich hat Schwarz die Möglichkeit 12....Nd4!?} Nd4 13. Nxd4 (13.
Rad1 Nxf3+ 14. gxf3 Kc8 15. Kg2 Be6 $15 {Schwarz kann nur besser stehen.})
13... cxd4 14. Ne4 c5 15. c3 $1 {Man muss dynamisch spielen, ansonsten wird
man einfacht schlecht stehen.} dxc3 16. Bxc3 Kc7 17. Rad1 Be7 18. Nd6 Bxd6 $3 (
18... Be6 19. f4 g6 20. Nxf7 $3 Bxf7 21. e6 Bxe6 22. Bxh8 Rxh8 23. Rfe1 $18)
19. exd6+ Kc6 20. Bxg7 Rhg8 21. Be5 Bxh3 22. Bg3 Be6 $11 {Es sieht so aus,
dass Schwarz sich halten kann.}) 12... Kc8 {Es ist offensichtlich, dass mit
dieser Zugfolge Schwarz etwas gewonnen hat, nämlich, dass der weiße Turm a1
nicht so leicht ins Spiel kommt.} 13. a4 (13. Bb2 Be6 14. Nd5 g5 15. c4 b6 16.
Rd2 Kb7 17. Rad1 Ne7 18. Nf6 {1/2-1/2 Motylev,A (2705)-Zhou Jianchao (2650)/
Ningbo CHN 2010/The Week in Chess 806}) 13... a5 14. Nd5 ({Auch nichts bringt} 
14. g4 Ne7 15. Rd3 Bc6 $1 $11 ({Aber nicht} 15... g5 $2 16. Bxg5 $1 hxg5 17.
Rad1 $18)) 14... g5 $1 {Schwarz kann das Feld f6 aufgeben - der weiße Springer
wird hübsch aussehen und keine Beschäftigung haben.} 15. Bb2 Be6 {Der Läufer
e6 ist unantastbar - die Felder d4 und f4 sind beide unter der Kontrolle der
schwarzen Bauern.} 16. c4 b6 17. Kh2 {Weiß bereitet den Standardplan,
g4-Kg3-h4 vor.} (17. g4 Ne7 18. Kg2 Ng6 19. Kg3 Kb7 20. h4 c6 $1 21. Ne3 gxh4+
22. Nxh4 Nxh4 23. Kxh4 Be7+ 24. Kg3 h5 $15) 17... Ne7 18. g4 Ng6 19. Kg3 Be7 {
Ponomariov will die Möglichkeit h4 ausschließen.} (19... Kb7 $5 {sieht auch
sehr vernünftig aus.}) 20. Nf6 (20. Nxe7+ Nxe7 21. Rd2 Kb7 22. Rad1 Rag8 $11 {
Weiß kann nichts machen.}) 20... Kb7 (20... Bxf6 {vereinfacht die Stellung und
führt zu einem remislichen Endspiel.} 21. exf6 Kb7 22. Rd2 Rad8 23. Rad1 Rxd2
24. Rxd2 Re8 $11 {Anscheinend wollte Schwarz mehr als nur ein einfaches Remis,
das man noch machen muss.}) 21. Nh5 {Die Idee ist, Ng7 zu spielen und den
Läufer anzugreifen. Wenn Weiß den Läufer e6 bekommt, kann er über das Feld d7
spielen.} Rhg8 $1 {Beste Entscheidung ist den Springer gar nicht nach g7 zu
lassen.} 22. Ng1 $6 {Sehr oft, wenn ein Zug schlecht aussieht, dann ist er
auch schlecht. Svidler will Nge2-f4 spielen, doch das bringt ihm nichts.} Rad8
23. Ne2 Bd7 24. Rd2 $4 {Ein Einsteller nach dem Weiß aufgeben muss.} ({
Schlecht ist auch} 24. f4 $2 gxf4+ 25. Nexf4 Bh4+ 26. Kh2 (26. Kf3 Bc6+ 27. Nd5
Rge8 $17) 26... Bc6 27. Nd5 Bxd5 28. Rxd5 (28. cxd5 Rde8 $17) 28... Ne7 $15) ({
Vielleicht das Beste, was Weiß machen kann, ist einzusehen, dass der Plan mit
der Überführung des Springers nicht funktioniert hat, und den Springer wieder
auf f3 zu stellen. Typisches Problem der Berliner Mauer ist es, wenn Weiß
nichts versucht, hat Schwarz auch kein richtiges Spiel.} 24. Ng1 $5 Bc6 25. Nf3
$11) 24... Bxa4 $1 25. Rxd8 Rxd8 {Nachdem Weiß den Läufer nimmt, kommt 26....
Rd2 und die schwarze Stellung ist gewonnen.} 0-1

[Event "Olympiad-38"]
[Site "Dresden"]
[Date "2008.11.17"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Volokitin, Andrei"]
[Black "Balogh, Csaba"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2659"]
[BlackElo "2616"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2008.11.13"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 128"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.01.28"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2009.01.28"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Ukraine"]
[BlackTeam "Hungary"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "UKR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "HUN"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h6 {Eine eher seltene, aber interessante
Fortsetzung. Schwarz steht ziemlich solide.} 11. Bf4 (11. Ne4 c5 $1 {Schwarz
bereitet unter anderem Nd4 vor, wonach er seine Bauernstruktur verbessern kann.
} 12. c3 (12. Rd1 b6 $11 {Offensichtlich hat Weiß den falschen Turm nach d1
gestellt. Schwarz kommt nach Bb7-Rd8 sogar zum besseren Spiel.}) (12. g4 Nd4
13. Nxd4 cxd4 14. Rd1 h5 15. f3 hxg4 16. hxg4 c5 17. c3 Be6 $1 18. Kg2 (18.
cxd4 Bd5 $1 19. dxc5 (19. Be3 Bxe4 20. fxe4 cxd4 21. Bxd4 Rh4 $11) 19... Bxe4
20. fxe4 Bxc5+ 21. Kg2 Ke7 22. Bg5+ Ke6 23. Rd5 Rac8 $11 {Der verdoppelte
Mehrbauer spielt keine große Rolle.}) 18... dxc3 19. bxc3 Be7 20. Be3 b6 $11
21. a4 f6 22. Nd6+ Bxd6 23. Rxd6 Kf7 24. Bf4 Rhd8 25. Rad1 Rxd6 26. Rxd6 Ke7
27. a5 Rd8 28. axb6 axb6 29. Rxb6 Rd3 30. Rb7+ Bd7 31. c4 Rd4 32. exf6+ gxf6
33. Bc1 Rxc4 34. Bb2 Ke8 35. Kg3 Rb4 36. Rxb4 cxb4 37. Bxf6 Kf7 38. Bb2 Kg6 {
1/2-1/2 Almasi,Z (2668)-Balogh,C (2624)/Nyiregyhaza HUN 2008}) 12... b6 13. Re1
Be6 14. g4 {1/2-1/2 Kasparov - Kramnik (London, 2000) Wegen der Schwäche der
weißen Felder im eigenen Lager hat Weiß keinen Vorteil.}) (11. g4 Ne7 12. Kg2 (
12. Nd4 h5 (12... c5 13. Ndb5 Kd7 14. Ne4 Kc6 15. c4 g5 $1 $132) 13. f3 Ng6 $15
) 12... Ng6 13. Ne4 Be6 14. Kg3 Rd8 15. Bd2 Be7 16. Rfe1 c5 17. Bc3 Kd7 18.
Rad1+ {1/2-1/2 Naiditsch - Slobodjan (Saarbruecken, 2002) Nachdem der schwarze
König aus dem Zentrum verschwindet, ist die Stellung ohne jeden Vorteil für
Weiß.}) (11. b3 a5 12. Bb2 h5 13. a4 h4 $11 {Stellwagen - Sargissian (Wijk aan
Zee, 2008)}) 11... Bb4 $1 {Diese Idee gefällt mir sehr! Zuerst erzwingt
Schwarz den Springerabzug und danach versucht er seinen weißfeldrigen Läufer
über d5 ins Spiel zu bringen. Sieht sehr logisch aus.} 12. Ne4 (12. Ne2 Be6 13.
Nfd4 (13. b3 Rd8 $11 {/\Kd7-Kc8}) 13... Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Bc4 15. Rfd1 Rd8 16. a3
Be7 17. Nf5 Rxd1+ 18. Rxd1 Bf8 $11) 12... Be6 13. c3 (13. a3 $2 {sieht
logischer aus, denn Weiß schwächt nicht den Punkt d3, doch dieser Zug hat
einen anderen Nachteil - das Feld e1 bleibt für einen kurzen Augenblick im
Visier des schwarzen Läufers.} Bd5 $1 {Nun, wie so oft in der Berliner Mauer,
muss sich Weiß mit einzigen Zügen retten:} 14. axb4 (14. Ned2 Bxd2 15. Nxd2 Nd4
$17 {xc2, e2}) (14. Ng3 Nxg3 15. Bxg3 Bc5 16. Nd2 Ke7 17. c4 Be6 18. Ne4 Bd4
19. Rad1 Rhd8 $15) 14... Bxe4 15. Ne1 Nd4 16. Be3 Nxc2 17. Nxc2 Bxc2 18. Rfc1
Be4 19. Bxa7 $11) 13... Be7 14. g4 Nh4 15. Nxh4 Bxh4 {Nach allen
Zugumstellungen kam die Partie fast zu der Hauptstellung der Variante 9....
Ke8-Be7 mit zwei Unterschieden: der weiße Bauer steht auf c3 und der weiße
Springer auf e4.} 16. Bg3 (16. Nc5 Bc4 17. Rfd1 b6 18. b3 Be7 19. Be3 Be2 20.
Rd2 Bf3 21. Na6 Rc8 $11) 16... Bd5 $6 {Die Verbesserung der Variante hat Csaba
Balogh 5 Tage später gefunden:} (16... Bxg3 17. Nxg3 g5 $1 {Sieht katastrophal
aus - das Feld f6 ist für immer geschwächt... Doch das macht überhaupt nichts
aus. Wenn der Springer nach f6 kommt, hat er dort wenig zu tun. Schwarz kann
um ihm herum spielen. Tatsächlich glaube ich, dass die Stellungsbewertung hier
zwischen = und =/+ pendelt.} 18. b3 a5 19. c4 a4 20. Rad1 Ke7 21. Nf5+ Bxf5 22.
gxf5 axb3 23. axb3 Rhd8 $15 {Quezada Perez - Balogh (Dresden, 2008)}) 17. Bxh4
Bxe4 {Das entstandene Endspiel ist etwas besser für Weiß. Das größte Problem
für Schwarz ist der König, der die Verbindung der schwarzen Türme stört.} 18.
f3 Bd5 19. b3 (19. f4 $2 {um g5 zu verhindern} g5 $1 20. Bg3 (20. fxg5 hxg5 21.
Bxg5 Rxh3 $15) 20... gxf4 21. Bxf4 h5 22. g5 (22. gxh5 Rxh5 23. Kh2 Ke7 24. Rg1
Rah8 $36) 22... Rd8 $11) 19... g5 20. Be1 $1 {Weiß kann nur dann Gewinnchancen
behalten, wenn er den schwarzen König einschränkt. Kommt Schwarz mit dem König
nach e6 - ist die Stellung total remis.} Rd8 (20... Ke7 {ist zwar keine
Tragödie, aber trotzdem eine Ungenauigkeit.} 21. c4 Be6 22. Bb4+ Ke8 23. a4 $1
(23. Kg2 a5 24. Bc3 a4 $11 {Schwarz aktiviert seinen Turm über die a-Linie.})
23... a5 24. Ba3 b6 $1 25. Rad1 c5 $11 {und sie schwarze Stellung ist in
Ordnung, nachdem ...Rd8 gespielt ist.}) 21. Rd1 c5 22. c4 Bc6 23. Rxd8+ Kxd8
$11 {Die Stellung ist ausgeglichen.} 24. f4 (24. h4 {Ein anderer Versuch mit
der Idee, dem Schwarzen eine statische Schwäche auf g5 zu machen.} h5 $1 {
Das Beste und Einfachste!} 25. hxg5 (25. gxh5 $2 Rxh5 26. hxg5 Rxg5+ 27. Kf2
Rxe5 $15) 25... hxg4 26. fxg4 (26. f4 $4 Rh1+ 27. Kf2 g3+ $19) 26... Rh1+ 27.
Kf2 Rxf1+ 28. Kxf1 Bf3 $11) 24... Ke7 $1 {Schwarz zeigt gute Nerven. Es gibt
keinen Grund, Angst vor 25.f5 zu haben.} (24... gxf4 25. Bh4+ Kd7 26. Rxf4 Rh7
27. Bf2 b6 28. Be3 $14) 25. Bf2 (25. f5 $2 {wäre ein böser Fehler gewesen.
Schwarz kommt sofort zum Gegenangriff - es ist niemals zu vergessen, dass die
weißen Bauern am Damenflügel sehr anfällig sind!} Rd8 26. Bf2 b6 27. Be3 Rd3
28. Kf2 Rc3 $15 {/\Be4}) 25... b6 26. Be3 gxf4 27. Rxf4 h5 28. Rf6 (28. gxh5
Rxh5 $15 {Beide weißen Bauern sind angegriffen.}) 28... Bd7 29. Bg5 Ke8 30. Rf2
Rg8 (30... hxg4 31. h4 {führt zur Partiestellung}) 31. Bf6 hxg4 32. h4 {
Trotz des Mehrbauern kann Schwarz nicht auf Gewinn spielen, weil der weiße
Läufer und der h-Bauer eine Gefahr darstellen.} g3 33. Rf3 Rg4 34. Rd3 (34. h5
$5 {würde das Partieergebnis wohl nicht ändern, aber Schwarz noch ein paar
kleinere Probleme stellen.} Bc6 35. h6 Be4 36. Re3 Bb1 37. Re1 Bf5 38. Rd1 Rd4
$11) 34... Rd4 35. Rxg3 Rg4 36. Kf2 Rxg3 37. Kxg3 Bf5 {Weiß bringt den Bauern
nach h6, Schwarz seinen König nach g8, wonach die beiden Läufer die
gegnerischen Bauern am Damenflügel erledigen.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Astrakhan FIDE GP"]
[Site "Astrakhan"]
[Date "2010.05.13"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Leko, Peter"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2735"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2010.05.10"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 137"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. Rd1+ {Das Problem dieses Zuges ist, dass Weiß
eigentlich den anderen Turm nach d1 stellen sollte.} Ke8 ({Der Versuch, in die
Variante mit der Überführung des Königs nach c8 überzugehen, endet mit eine
Katastrophe:} 10... Bd7 $2 11. g4 $1 (11. e6 fxe6 12. Ne5 Nd6 13. Rxd6 Bxd6 14.
Nf7+ Ke7 15. Nxh8 Rxh8 $19) 11... Ne7 12. e6 fxe6 13. Ne5 Nd5 14. Nf7+ Ke7 15.
Nxh8 $18) 11. h3 Ne7 {In dieser Stellung hat Weiß unterschiedliche Spielweisen
ausprobiert, doch keine scheint ihm was zu bringen.} (11... a5 12. Bf4 Be6 13.
g4 Ne7 14. Nd4 Nd5 15. Nce2 Bc5 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. c4 Nb6 18. b3 a4 $132 {
Kasparov - Kramnik (London, 2000)}) 12. Bf4 (12. Be3 {Der Läufer auf e3 sieht
ziemlich komisch aus.} Ng6 13. Ne2 Be6 14. Ned4 Bd5 15. Nd2 Bc5 16. c4 Bxd4 17.
Bxd4 Be6 18. b3 b6 19. Be3 Ke7 20. f4 h5 21. Ne4 h4 $11 {Kravtsiv - Gupta 
(Delhi, 2010). Schwarz stand zumindest mal nicht schlechter.}) (12. Nd4 Ng6 (
12... a6 $2 13. b3 {stellt eine Falle auf:} c5 $4 14. Ndb5 $1 axb5 15. Nxb5 Nd5
16. Rxd5 c6 17. Nc7+ Ke7 18. Nxa8 cxd5 19. Nb6 Be6 20. Ba3 $18) (12... Bd7 13.
Bf4 Ng6 14. Bg3 h5 15. e6 Bxe6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Bxc7 Be7 18. Ne4 $14 {Milov -
Naumann (Bad Wiessee, 2009)}) 13. f4 Bc5 14. Ne4 Bxd4+ 15. Rxd4 h5 $11) (12.
Ne4 Ng6 13. Re1 {Wenn man solche Züge machen muss, dann ist keine Rede von
Eröffnungsvorteil.} c5 14. Ng3 Be6 15. Nh5 Kd7 16. a4 Re8 17. Bd2 Bd5 18. Bc3
Bxf3 19. gxf3 Nh4 $15 {und Schwarz stand schon besser in Kosteniuk - Stefanova
(Beijing, 2008)}) 12... Ng6 13. Bh2 {Die Idee hinter diesem Manöver ist immer
die selbe - e6.} Bb4 $1 {Es ist gut, den Springer vom Feld e4 fern zu halten.}
(13... Be6 14. Nd4 $14) 14. Ne2 (14. Ne4 $2 Bf5 15. Rd4 c5 $15) 14... Bd7 15.
Nfd4 {Es droht e6, aber Schwarz kann es einfach zulassen.} Bc5 16. e6 Bxe6 17.
Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bxc7 {Hier kann man sehen, dass der Springer e2 eigentlich nicht
im Spiel ist. Schwarz hat genug Zeit, um seine Figuren zu aktivieren.} Rf8 19.
Bg3 Rd8 {Jeder Abtausch erleichtert Schwarz die Verteidigung.} 20. Nc3 (20.
Rxd8+ Kxd8 21. Rd1+ Kc8 22. Kf1 e5 $1 $11) 20... Rxd1+ (20... Bd4 {macht nicht
viel Sinn, weil Schwarz anschließend nicht auf b2 nehmen kann:} 21. Ne4 Bxb2 $2
22. Rxd8+ Kxd8 23. Rd1+ Ke8 24. Nd6+ Ke7 25. Nc4 $1 $18) 21. Rxd1 Nf4 {Der
Springer auf f4 steht sehr gut - er neutralisiert den weißen Läufer völlig.}
22. Ne4 Be7 23. Kf1 Rf5 24. c4 g5 {Schwarz hat Raumvorteil am Königsflügel und
er versucht ihn zu nutzen.} 25. b3 (25. Nd6+ Bxd6 26. Rxd6 Ke7 $11 {Weiß
bekommt nichts von dem Abtausch.}) 25... h5 26. Bxf4 ({In solchen Situationen
sollte man sehr langsam und geduldig spielen. Es scheint logisch, f3 zu
spielen, um den Läufer über f2 ins Spiel zu bringen.} 26. f3 $5 a6 27. Bf2 b5
$11) 26... Rxf4 27. Re1 {Nun ist nicht viel zu machen.} h4 $1 {Es sieht
komisch aus, dass Schwarz die Bauern auf schwarz stellt, doch eigentlich will
er im nächsten Zug g4 spielen, und am Königsflügel die Situation vereinfachen.}
28. Re3 (28. f3 Rf5 29. Rd1 Bb4 30. Ke2 Ra5 31. a4 Ke7 $11 {Es gibt einfach
kein Durchbrechen.}) 28... g4 $1 29. hxg4 Rxg4 {Nun ist der Bauer g2 schwach,
und muss ebenfalls abgetauscht werden.} 30. g3 hxg3 31. fxg3 $6 {Der einzige
mögliche Versuch, um Vorteil zu kämpfen. Jedoch hat Schwarz in diesem Endspiel
sogar etwas bessere Chancen. Es wäre einfacher, mit dem Springer zu nehmen und
gleich Remis anzubieten.} (31. Nxg3 $11) 31... Kf7 32. Kg2 e5 33. Re1 Ke6 $15 {
Wenn hier jemand aktiv spielen kann, dann nur Schwarz. Die Stellung ist
natürlich trotzdem noch im remislichen Bereich.} 34. Kf3 Kf5 35. Nf2 Rd4 36.
g4+ Ke6 37. Re4 Rd8 38. Re2 a5 ({Interessant ist} 38... b5 $5 {mit der Idee,
Linien zu öffnen.} 39. cxb5 Rf8+ 40. Kg3 cxb5 $15) 39. Ne4 Rd3+ 40. Re3 Rd1 41.
Re2 Rd3+ 42. Re3 Rd1 43. Re2 Rd3+ 44. Re3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tata Steel-A 74th"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2012.01.21"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Black "Navara, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2732"]
[BlackElo "2712"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2012.01.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 147"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.03.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.03.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 ({Wenig bringt} 11. Ne2 Be6 12. Nf4
Bd5 $1 {Schwarz bekommt eine problemlose Stellung.} 13. Nxd5 (13. Ng5 Be7 $15)
13... cxd5 14. Bf4 c6 15. g3 Be7 16. Rfe1 Rg8 17. g4 hxg4 18. hxg4 Nh6 19. Nh2
g5 20. Be3 Kd7 21. Rad1 Ke6 $132 {Bruzon - Miles (Varadero, 2000)}) 11... Be6 {
Ich denke, dass 11....Be7 besser ist. Nach Be6 muss Schwarz immer mit Ng5
rechnen.} (11... Be7 12. Rad1 Nh4 ({Spielbar ist auch} 12... Be6 $5 $146 {
Nach dem prinzipiellen} 13. Ng5 {gleicht Schwarz forciert aus:} Bc4 $1 14. Rfe1
Rd8 $1 15. Rxd8+ (15. b3 Ba6 16. Rxd8+ {->15.Rxd8}) 15... Bxd8 16. b3 Ba6 17.
e6 Bxg5 18. exf7+ Kxf7 19. Bxg5 Re8 $11) 13. Nd4 (13. Nxh4 $6 {Weiß kann nicht
besser stehen, besonders weil er nicht zu g4 kommt.} Bxh4 14. Ne2 Bd7 15. e6
Bxe6 16. Nd4 Bf6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bxc7 Rc8 19. Bf4 Ke7 $11 {Dominguez Perez -
Wang Yue (Wijk aan Zee, 2009)}) 13... Nf5 14. Nce2 Nxd4 $1 {Hat Schwarz die
Gelegenheit, den Springer abzutauschen, so soll er das ohne nachzudenken
machen! Der Grund dafür ist ganz einfach - Weiß hat Raumvorteil und eventuell
Initiative im Zentrum.} 15. Nxd4 (15. Rxd4 Bf5 16. Rd2 Rd8 17. Nd4 Bg6 $15)
15... a6 $1 {Und Weiß muss die Notbremse ziehen und e6 spielen.} 16. e6 (16.
Rfe1 c5 17. Nf3 Bf5 18. Rd2 Rd8 $15) 16... Bxe6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bxc7 Rc8 19.
Bb6 Bd8 20. Bd4 Bf6 $11 {Das Endspiel ist leicht Remis zu halten.}) 12. Rfd1
Be7 13. Ng5 $1 {Das ist eigentlich die einzige Chance von Weiß - er muss einen
der schwarzen Läufer nehmen.} Rh6 $2 {Es ist schwer zu glauben, dass die
Stellung immer noch ausgeglichen bleibt, nach dem Schwarz mit dem Turm auf e6
nimmt.} (13... Bc4 14. b3 Ba6 15. Nce4 $5 {und nun kann Schwarz nicht Rd8
spielen:} (15. e6 Bxg5 16. exf7+ Kxf7 17. Bxg5 Nd6 18. Rd4 $14) 15... Nh4 (
15... b6 16. e6 f6 17. Nf7 Rh7 18. Bxc7 $18) (15... Rd8 16. e6 $1 fxe6 17. Nxe6
Rxd1+ 18. Rxd1 $18 {Keine Verteidigung gegen Nxc7}) 16. c4 $14 {Der Läufer auf
a6 sieht nicht toll aus.}) (13... Bxg5 {Das kommt immer in Frage, aber die
Stellung von Weiß ist dann doch deutlich besser.} 14. Bxg5 Ne7 $1 {Sonst kommt
Rd2-Rad1...} 15. Rd2 Rd8 $1 {So schnell wie möglich muss Schwarz zumindest
einen Turm tauschen.} 16. Rxd8+ Kxd8 17. Rd1+ Ke8 18. Ne2 $14) 14. Nxe6 Rxe6
$16 {Wenn man sich nun fragt, warum Schwarz nicht einfach schlecht stehen soll,
findet man keine Antwort auf die Frage. Er hat einfach so seine stärkste Figur
getauscht und dafür nichts bekommen.} 15. Kf1 Rd8 16. Rxd8+ Bxd8 17. Ne4 Be7
18. Re1 {Weiß beeilt sich nicht - er hat alle Zeit der Welt. Sein Plan ist
klar - langsam aber sicher die Bauern am Königsflügel aufzurollen.} c5 $1 {
Das ist die beste Chance von Schwarz. Er will unter Umständen die weißen
Bauern mit seinem Turm angreifen.} 19. c4 Nd4 (19... Ra6 20. Nc3 Rb6 21. b3 $16
) 20. Nc3 {Der Springer verteidigt alles auf dem Damenfluegel. Ein anderes
Gegenspiel hat Schwarz nicht.} Ra6 21. Rd1 {Weiss will Be3 und danach Ke2
spielen. Schwarz muss sofort etwas machen, und er findet seine beste Chance.}
c6 $1 {Die Idee ist b5-b4!} 22. Be3 b5 23. a3 $1 {Die Beste Chance, auf den
Sieg zu spielen.} (23. Bxd4 cxd4 24. cxb5 (24. Rxd4 $1 b4 25. Ne4 Rxa2 26. b3
a5 $17) 24... cxb5 (24... dxc3 25. bxa6 cxb2 26. Ke2 $18) 25. Rxd4 b4 26. Nd5
Rxa2 27. Nxe7 Kxe7 28. Rxb4 g5 {/\Ke6-a5-a4-a3. Das Endspiel ist Remis.}) 23...
b4 (23... bxc4 24. Bxd4 cxd4 25. Rxd4 Rb6 26. Na4 Rb5 27. Rxc4 $16) 24. axb4
cxb4 25. Bxd4 bxc3 26. Bxc3 Ra4 27. Ke2 {Hier hatte Weiss gute Alternativen.} (
27. b3 Ra3 28. Rb1 Bc5 29. f4 a5 30. Bd2 Ra2 $44) (27. Rd4 $5 Bb4 28. Rd3 (28.
Bxb4 Rxb4 $11) 28... Bc5 (28... Bxc3 29. Rxc3 Ke7 30. Ke2 Ke6 31. f4 g5 32. Ke3
gxf4+ 33. Kxf4 $14) 29. b3 Ra2 30. Bd2 $14) 27... Rxc4 28. Ra1 Bc5 29. g3 $1 {
Nun droht Kd3 mit Turmgewinn.} (29. Kd3 Rf4 30. f3 h4 $11) 29... Bb6 {Schwarz
hat keine Wahl, er muss seine Figuren sehr passiv stellen.} 30. Kd3 Rc5 31. f4
{Weiss hat keinen materiellen Vorteil, aber seine Figuren stehen alle sehr
aktiv.} Rb5 (31... Rd5+ 32. Ke4 $16 {/\g4-f5.}) 32. b4 {Die Idee dieses Zuges
ist es, dem Turm alle Felder zu nehmen und auch a5 zu verhindern.} (32. Ke4 $5
{Sieht stark aus.} g6 33. g4 hxg4 34. hxg4 $16) 32... g6 33. g4 hxg4 34. hxg4
Kd7 35. f5 gxf5 36. gxf5 {Weiss hat das Maximum erreicht, jetzt waere Zeit
fuer die Realization gekommen, doch Schwarz hilft Weiss dabei gewaltig.} c5 $2
({Nach} 36... Ke8 $1 {haette Weiss noch zeigen muessen, wie er die schwarze
Verteidigung brechen kann.}) 37. Kc4 Kc6 (37... cxb4 38. Kxb5 bxc3 39. Kc4 Kc6
40. Ra3 $1 $18) 38. Rd1 $1 {Schwarz verliert forciert.} Bc7 (38... cxb4 39.
Rd6+ Kb7 40. Kxb5 bxc3 41. Rd1 $1 (41. Rc6 $4 a6+ $19) 41... Be3 42. Rd7+ Kc8 (
42... Kb8 43. e6 fxe6 44. fxe6 c2 45. e7 $18) 43. Rd3 $18) 39. Rd5 {Und
Schwarz verliert den Bauer, und mit dem Bauer auch die Partie.} a6 40. Rxc5+
Rxc5+ 41. bxc5 a5 42. f6 {Es droht e6.} Kd7 43. Kd5 a4 44. c6+ Kd8 45. Bb4 {
Keine Chance fuer Schwarz.} Bb8 46. e6 Ke8 47. Bd6 1-0

[Event "Tata Steel-A 73rd"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2011.01.21"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Smeets, Jan"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2662"]
[BlackElo "2814"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2011.01.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 141"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.03.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.03.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. h3 b6 {Das sieht schon wirklich gefährlich aus.
Das Feld g5 sollte man unter Kontrolle nehmen oder man hat wirklich alles bis
ins kleinste Details analysiert, was nach Rd1-Ng5 passiert.} 11. b3 (11. Rd1 $5
{Der direkteste Versuch, die Abwesenheit des Bauern auf h6 auszunutzen.} Kc8
12. g4 Ne7 13. Ng5 $1 f5 $1 14. e6 Be8 15. Nf7 Bxf7 16. exf7 Ng6 $1 17. gxf5
Nh4 18. Ne4 Be7 19. Rd3 Rf8 $13 {Navara - Hammer (Wijk aan Zee, 2011)}) 11...
Kc8 12. Bb2 h5 $5 {Wenn das geht, dann hat Schwarz einfach Zeit an h6 gespart
und steht sehr gut.} (12... Be7 13. g4 Nh4 14. Nxh4 Bxh4 15. f4 f5 16. exf6
gxf6 17. f5 $14 {Womacka - Harikrishna (Catalan Bay, 2004)}) 13. g3 {Das ist
natürlich kein Versuch, den schwarzen Aufbau zu widerlegen.} (13. Ng5 Be7 $1 {
Es entstehen einige hübsche Varianten.} 14. Nxf7 (14. Nce4 Be8 15. Rad1 Kb7)
14... Rf8 15. Rfe1 Be6 16. Nd6+ cxd6 17. exd6 Bh4 $1 18. Rxe6 (18. g3 Kd7 19.
gxh4 Nxh4 $11) 18... Bxf2+ 19. Kh2 $1 (19. Kh1 Kd7 20. Re5 Bd4 21. Ree1 Rae8
$15) 19... Bg3+ 20. Kg1 Bf2+ $11) 13... Be7 {Schwarz hat das Maximum erreicht,
was er in der Berliner Mauer erreichen kann.} 14. Rad1 a5 15. a4 {Es ist gut
für Schwarz, die Züge a5 und a4 einzuschließen, denn die weißen Bauern
c2-b3-a4 können später Angriffsziele des schwarzen weißfeldrigen Läeufers
werden. Doch Weiß muss a4 spielen, weil er nicht damit leben kann, dass
Schwarz jeder Zeit selbst a4 spielt.} Re8 16. Rd3 $2 {Es stellt sich heraus,
dass der Turm auf d3 sehr unglücklich steht. Ein prophylaktischer Zug wie Kh2
wäre besser gewesen.} (16. Kh2 $5 c5 17. Nd5 c4 18. Nxe7+ (18. g4 hxg4 19. hxg4
Nh6 20. g5 Nf5 21. Nxe7+ Rxe7 $15) 18... Rxe7 19. Rd2 Kb7 $11) 16... c5 {
Das ist ein Standardzug - man gibt das Feld d5 auf, bringt aber den Läufer
nach c6. Der Springer auf d5 steht schön, macht aber wenig.} 17. Nd5 c4 $1 {
Wenn ein solcher Zug in der Berliner Mauer gespielt wird, dann muss Weiß
sofort gewinnen oder er wird schlechter stehen. Sofort gewinnen kann er hier
nicht, also...} 18. Rc3 (18. Nxe7+ Nxe7 {Nun hängt der Bauer auf h3 auch noch.}
19. Rd2 (19. bxc4 Bxa4 $17) 19... cxb3 20. cxb3 Bxh3 $19) 18... Bc5 $1 {
Das war die Idee! Der Bauer c7 ist indirekt verteidigt, der andere auf g3
hängt! Schwarz hat großen Vorteil.} 19. Kh2 (19. Rxc4 Bc6 $1 {Man muss sehr
genau spielen!} (19... Nxg3 $2 20. Rd1 $1 {Es droht Rxc5 oder Ba3} Nf5 21. Ba3
Bxa3 22. Nxc7 $3 $18 {Nicht mit dem Turm - das ist die Idee.}) 20. Rd1 Rd8 21.
Rf4 Nxg3 $17) 19... Bc6 {Auch 19...cxb3 führt zum Vorteil.} (19... cxb3 20.
cxb3 Bc6 $15) 20. bxc4 Bxa4 $17 {Diese Stellung ist fast verloren für Weiß.
Schwarz hat das Läuferpaar, die bessere Bauernstruktur, einen entfernten
Freibauern und aktiv stehende Figuren. Und das nach nur 20 Zügen!} 21. Ra1 Bc6
22. Rf1 $2 {Man sieht, dass der Weißspieler die Partie schon psychologisch
aufgegeben hat.} a4 {Schwarz hat keine Schwiriegkeiten mit der Verwertung
seines Vorteils.} 23. Ba3 Ra5 24. g4 hxg4 25. hxg4 Ne7 (25... Nd4 $1 {würde
noch einfacher gewinnen.} 26. Bxc5 Rh8+ 27. Kg2 (27. Kg3 Ne2+ 28. Kg2 Rxc5 29.
Re3 Rxc4 30. Ne7+ Kb7 31. Nxc6 Rxg4#) 27... Rxc5 $3 28. Nxd4 (28. Ne7+ Kb7 29.
Nxc6 Nxc6 30. Re1 Ra8 31. Ree3 Raa5 $19) 28... Bxd5+ 29. Kg3 Rxc4 $19) 26. Nb4
{Das Nehmen auf e7 sieht auch nicht gut aus.} (26. Nxe7+ Bxe7 27. Ra1 Bxa3 28.
Raxa3 Rc5 $17) 26... Bb7 27. Kg3 Ng6 $19 {Alle schwarzen Figuren greifen an,
alle weißen sind am Verteidigen.} 28. Re1 Bxf3 {Einfachste Entscheidung.} 29.
Rxf3 Rxe5 30. Rd1 Re4 31. Rxf7 Rxg4+ 32. Kxg4 Ne5+ 33. Kg3 Nxf7 0-1

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2013.03.27"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2764"]
[BlackElo "2810"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2013.03.15"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 154"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2013.05.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2013.05.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. h3 (10. Rd1 Kc8 11. Ng5 Be8 12. b3 (12. e6 f6 13.
Nf7 Bxf7 14. exf7 Bd6) 12... b6 13. Bb2 Be7 14. Nge4 Kb7 15. Rd3 Rd8 16. Rad1
Rxd3 17. Rxd3 h5 $11 {1-0 Hovhannisyan,R (2615)-Pashikian,A (2607)/Yerevan
2013/CB03_2013 (61)}) 10... h6 $1 {Schwarz spielt prophylaktisch, um dem
Gegner nicht zu erlauben, eine Initiative am Königsflügel zu entfalten.} (10...
Kc8 11. g4 $1 Ne7 12. Ng5 Be8 13. f4 $14 {Das ist eine Traumstellung für Weiß!}
) 11. Rd1 {Das sieht am logischsten aus.} (11. b3 c5 12. Rd1 Kc8 13. Nd5 a5 14.
a4 Ne7 15. c4 Bf5 16. Ra2 b6 17. Nh4 Bh7 $11 {1/2-1/2 Solodovnichenko,Y (2559)
-Naiditsch,A (2706)/Deizisau 2013/CB13_2013 (102)}) (11. Bf4 {Der Läufer hat
hier nichts zu suchen.} Kc8 12. Rad1 b6 13. Rd3 Be6 14. Rfd1 Kb7 15. b3 g5 16.
Bc1 c5 17. Nd5 Ne7 18. Nxe7 Bxe7 $15 {1-0 Anand,V (2786)-Topalov,V (2757)/
Monte Carlo 2005/CBM 105 ext (46)}) 11... Kc8 {Nun kann Weiß nicht so aktiv am
Königsflügel werden, weil seinem Springer das Feld g5 genommen ist.} 12. a4 $6
{Normalerweise ist es nicht im Sinne von Weiß, alle Bauern auf weiße Felder zu
stellen. Es ist eher Schwarz, der solch eine Bauernstruktur anstreben muss.} (
12. b3 b6 13. Bb2 Ne7 14. Rd2 c5 15. Rad1 Be6 $11 {1-0 Grischuk,A (2736)
-Jakovenko,D (2736)/Moscow 2009/CBM 134 (44)}) 12... a5 {Der Zug a4 hat für
Weiß nur Nachteile - das Feld b4 wurde geschwächt, die Bauern können unter
Umständen schwach werden.} 13. b3 b6 {[%cal Rc8b7]} 14. Bb2 Ne7 $1 {Der
Springer hat normalerweise wenig zu tun auf f5. Die Idee von Schwarz ist es,
den Springer nach g6 zu bringen, sofort oder nach ...g5. Der weißfeldrige
Läufer geht nach e6, der Bauer nach c5 und nimmt dem weißen Springer das Feld
d4. Die schwarze Festung ist sehr solide.} 15. Rd2 c5 16. Ne2 (16. Rad1 Be6 $1
(16... Bc6 $2 17. e6 $1 fxe6 18. Ne5 Kb7 19. Nf7 Rg8 20. Nd8+ $16 {1-0
Grigoriants,S (2570)-Shen,Y (2447)/Moscow 2012/CBM 147 (26)}) 17. Rd8+ Kb7 18.
Rxa8 Kxa8 19. Rd8+ Kb7 $11 {Schwarz wird einfach ...Nc6 spielen und der weiße
Turm muss die 8. Reihe wieder verlassen.}) 16... Ng6 {Hier kann Schwarz weder .
..Be6 noch ...g5 spielen, so bleibt ihm nichts anderes übrig als das Feld f4
sofort unter Kontrolle zu nehmen.} (16... g5 $4 17. e6 $18) (16... Be6 17. Nf4
$14 {Wenn Weiß einen Springer gegen den weißfeldrigen Läufer tauschen kann,
hat Schwarz wenig Chancen auf Konter zu spielen. Seine Stellung bleibt jedoch
sehr schwer zu brechen.}) 17. Rad1 Be6 {Weiß muss mit ...c4 rechnen.} 18. c4 (
18. Rd8+ Kb7 19. Rxa8 Kxa8 20. Rd8+ Kb7 21. c4 Be7 22. Rxh8 Nxh8 23. Nf4 Bf5
$15 {Es ist nur Schwarz, der hier auf Sieg spielen kann. Man kann auch
deutlich sehen, warum die Bauernstruktur am Damenflügel günstig für Schwarz
ist.}) 18... Be7 19. Nc3 Kb7 {Das ist eine typische Stellung für diese
Variante. Schwarz hat alles geschafft, was er wollte. Weiß kann kaum auf
Gewinn spielen.} 20. Nd5 ({Der Versuch den König zu zentralisieren scheitert:} 
20. Kf1 Rad8 21. Ke2 $2 Nf4+ 22. Kf1 Rxd2 23. Rxd2 Bf5 $15) 20... Rad8 21. Nxe7
{Das führt zu einer gefährlichen Stellung für Weiß. Der Springer d5 ist
wesentlich stärker als der Läufer e7.} (21. Kh2 Bg5 $1 22. Nxg5 hxg5 23. Kg3
Rhe8 $11) 21... Rxd2 22. Nxd2 (22. Rxd2 Nxe7 23. Kh2 (23. g4 $2 h5 $1 24. Ng5
hxg4 25. Nxe6 fxe6 26. hxg4 Rh3 $1 {und Schwarz sollte gewinnen:} 27. Rd7 Nc6
28. Rxg7 Rxb3 29. Bc1 Rb1 $19) 23... g5 24. Kg3 Nf5+ 25. Kh2 Ne7 $11) 22...
Nxe7 23. Nf1 Kc8 $1 {Schwarz will in das Endspiel mit ungleichfarbigen
Läufern! Dann wird sein Läufer über f5-c2 alle weißen Bauern vernichten.} 24.
f3 g5 (24... Rd8 $5 25. Rxd8+ Kxd8 26. g4 Ng6 27. Kh2 (27. Kf2 Nf4 28. h4 $4
Nd3+ 29. Ke3 Nxb2 $19) 27... Nf4 28. Kg3 g5 $15 {Schwarz steht besser, weil
die Bauern b3 und e5 (nachdem der schwarze König näher ran kommt) schwach sind.
}) 25. Ng3 ({Der Springer konnte auch gut nach e3 gehen, um das Feld ...c2 zu
kontrollieren!} 25. Ne3 Rd8 26. Rxd8+ Kxd8 27. Kf2 Nc6 (27... Bf5 28. Ke2 $11)
28. Ng4 (28. Nc2 Bf5 29. Ne3 Bb1 $17) 28... Bxg4 29. hxg4 Nd4 30. Bxd4 cxd4 31.
Ke2 c5 32. g3 Ke7 33. Kd3 Ke6 34. Ke4 Kd7 35. Kd3 Ke7 36. f4 gxf4 37. gxf4 f6
38. exf6+ Kxf6 39. Ke4 Kg6 40. Kf3 h5 41. gxh5+ Kxh5 42. f5 Kg5 43. Ke4 Kf6 44.
Kf4 $11) 25... Rd8 26. Rxd8+ Kxd8 27. Kf2 Bf5 $5 {Schwarz ist bereit, seinen
Läufer zu geben. Das Problem ist, dass das Spiel nun fast forciert verläuft.} (
27... Ng6 $15) 28. Nxf5 $8 (28. Ke3 Bc2 $19 {Hier sieht man, warum das Feld c2
so wichtig ist.}) 28... Nxf5 29. g4 Nd4 30. Bxd4 $4 {Verliert sofort. Grischuk
hat wohl das Bauernendspiel falsch eingeschätzt.} ({Weiß konnte hier sogar die
Initiative übernehmen, aber dafür musste er den einzigen Zug finden, nämlich} 
30. Ke3 $1 {siehe die Analyse in der Endspielkolumne von Karsten Müller.})
30... cxd4 31. Ke2 Kd7 32. Kd3 c5 33. Ke4 (33. Ke2 Ke6 $19) 33... Ke6 34. f4
gxf4 35. Kxf4 d3 $1 36. Ke3 Kxe5 37. Kxd3 Kf4 $19 {... und der weiße König
schafft es nicht zum Königsflügel.} 38. Ke2 Kg3 39. Ke3 Kxh3 40. Kf4 Kh4 41.
Kf5 Kg3 $1 (41... f6 42. Kf4 Kh3 43. Kf3 Kh2 44. Kf2 $11) 0-1

[Event "Olympiad-38"]
[Site "Dresden"]
[Date "2008.11.23"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Wang, Yue"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2734"]
[BlackElo "2736"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2008.11.13"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 128"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.01.28"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2009.01.28"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "England"]
[BlackTeam "China"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ENG"]
[BlackTeamCountry "CHN"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Die Berliner Mauer wurde sehr populär nach dem
Londoner Match Kasparov - Kramnik, 2000. Bis heute tut sich Weiß sehr schwer,
die schwarze Verteidigung zu durchbrechen.} 4. O-O (4. d3 {ist eine
alternative Fortsetzung. Man bekommt spielbare Stellungen, doch keinen
Eröffnungsvorteil.} Bc5 (4... d6 $5 5. O-O Be7 6. c3 O-O 7. Re1 a6 8. Ba4 b5 9.
Bc2 Re8 $132 {Es entsteht ein typischer Spanier mit d3.}) 5. Bxc6 (5. O-O d6 6.
c3 O-O 7. Nbd2 a6 8. Ba4 Ba7 $132 {Wiederum hat Schwarz wenig zu befürchten.})
5... dxc6 6. Be3 Qe7 (6... Bxe3 $2 {verbessert die weiße Bauernstruktur und
öffnet die f-Linie.} 7. fxe3 Qe7 8. O-O Ng4 9. Qd2 f6 10. Nh4 g6 11. Nc3 Bd7
12. Rf3 f5 13. g3 Nf6 14. exf5 g5 15. Ng2 e4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. dxe4 O-O-O 18.
Qa5 $16 {Sutovsky - Carlsen (Crete, 2007)}) 7. Bxc5 Qxc5 8. Nc3 Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3
10. Qxf3 O-O {Schwarz hat keine Schwierigkeiten.} 11. O-O-O a5 12. Qf5 Rfd8 13.
Rhf1 a4 14. a3 b5 $132 {Sutovsky - Aronian (Caleta, 2005)}) 4... Nxe4 5. d4 (5.
Re1 {Das ist eine bekannte Remisvariante:} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Nxe5 7. Rxe5+ Be7 8. Bf1
(8. Bd3 O-O 9. Nc3 c6 10. b3 Ne8 11. Bb2 d5 12. Qh5 Nf6 13. Qh4 Be6 $11) 8...
O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Nf5 11. c3 d5 $11 {Bei symmetrischer Bauernstruktur ist
das Maximum, was beide Seiten erreichen können, der kollektive Abtausch aller
Figuren.}) 5... Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 {Die
"Neutralisierungsvariante". Schwarz stellt sich passiv hin, baut jedoch eine
unantastbare Festung auf. Auf Gewinn kann man diese Variante leider nicht
spielen, im Remissinne ist sie jedoch ideal.} ({Eine andere prinzipielle
Fortsetzung ist} 9... Bd7 10. h3 (10. b3 Kc8 11. Bb2 Be7 12. Rad1 a5 $132)
10... h6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Rd2 c5 15. Rfd1 Be6 $132) 10.
h3 Be7 (10... Ne7 {Zuletzt hat dieser Zug wieder an Popularität gewonnen, aber
ich verstehe nicht warum. Das ist eine verschlechterte Version der 10....Be7
Variante - Schwarz steht ebenfalls passiv, gibt dabei Weiß Chancen zu spielen.
Dagegen führt 10....Be7 die Partie bei normalem Spielverlauf zum
unausweichlichen Remisresultat.} 11. Ne4 Ng6 12. Re1 h6 13. Bd2 $14 {Weiß hat
sich entwickelt, Schwarz steht immer noch auf der Grundreihe.}) 11. g4 (11. Bg5
Bxg5 12. Nxg5 h6 $1 {Es is wichtig, den gegnerischen Springer gleich zu
vertreiben.} 13. Nf3 (13. Nge4 b6 14. Rfd1 Ke7 15. Kh2 h5 16. Ne2 Re8 17. Nf4
Kf8 18. Nxh5 Rxe5 19. Nhg3 Be6 20. Rd2 {1/2-1/2 Anand - Kramnik (Leon, 2002).
Ich denke, Schwarz steht hier sogar etwas besser. Der weiße h-Bauer ist sehr
weit von dem kritischen Feld h8 entfernt, während die schwarzen Türme mit dem
Läufer am Damenflügel für einige Unannaehmlichkeiten sorgen könnten.}) 13... h5
14. Rad1 (14. Ne2 Ke7 15. Nf4 g6 $1 16. Rad1 Ng7 17. Rfe1 Rd8 18. Rxd8 Kxd8 19.
Ng5 Ke7 20. Rd1 a5 21. a4 Bf5 $132 {Timman - Kritz (Amsterdam, 2002)}) 14...
Ke7 15. Ng5 Be6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Rd3 Rad8 18. Rfd1 Rxd3 19. Rxd3 h4 $11 {
Shirov - Alekseev (Moscow, 2008) Wie üblich in dieser Stellung: der schwarze
Bauer h4 neutralisiert die weiße Überlegenheit am Königsflügel und die
Stellung ist ausgeglichen.}) 11... Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Kg2 h5 14. f3 Be6 ({
Eine andere Verteidigungsmethode ist} 14... a5 {um die weißen Bauern zu
zwingen, weiße Felder einzunehmen.} 15. a4 b6 16. Rd1 Be7 17. Ne2 Bd7 18. Bf4
c5 19. Bg3 Rd8 20. c4 Bc8 21. b3 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 hxg4 23. hxg4 Bd8 $14 {
Kotronias - Kritz (Port Erin, 2007). Weiß hat einen symbolischen Vorteil und
Schwarz muss die ganze Partie leiden, doch bei korrekter Verteidigung kann man
Remis halten. Es ist jedoch zu empfehlen, wie Wang Yue gegen Adams zu spielen
- dort ist es einfacher, das Remis zu erreichen.}) 15. Be3 Be7 {Das is die
Grundstellung der gesamten Variante mit 9....Ke8-Be7.Es galt lange Zeit, dass
Schwarz den weißfeldrigen Läufer nicht geben sollte. Doch es scheint, dass man
in China das Endspiel bis zum Ende analysiert hat und rausgefunden hat, dass
sogar der Tausch auf e6 das Remis sichert. Das sind gute Nachrichten für die
Berlin-Anhänger!} 16. Ne2 Rd8 $1 (16... Bc4 17. Rfe1 Rd8 18. Nf4 hxg4 19. hxg4
$14 {Die Stellung ist nicht so einfach wie man denkt - hier hat Weiß nämlich
einen richtig unangenehmen Vorteil! Der Punkt ist, dass Schwarz noch nicht ein
Turmpaar getauscht hat und Weiß deswegen mittels 20.Rh1! über die h-Linie
kommen kann.}) 17. Nf4 g6 $1 {Wenn das wirklich funktioniert, ist die Variante
für Weiß geschlossen! Wenn die Stellung nach dem Nehmen auf e6 zu halten ist,
dann kann man hier nichts machen - außer dem Nehmen auf e6 hat Weiß keinen
Plan.} 18. Rfd1 (18. gxh5 $2 {Hier wird Weiß noch besser empfangen...} Bf5 $3
19. hxg6 fxg6 {/\g5! xh3} 20. Rh1 Bxc2 (20... Kf7 $5 21. Rac1 Rh4 $44) 21. Ne6
Rd3 22. Rae1 Bb4 23. Nf4 Rd7 24. Re2 Bf5 $15) (18. Nxe6 fxe6 {Dieser Stellung
werden wir später noch begegnen.}) 18... a6 19. b3 Rd7 20. Nd3 Kd8 21. Nc5 Rxd1
$1 ({Sehr verdächtig sieht das Endspiel nach} 21... Bxc5 22. Bxc5 b6 23. Rxd7+
Kxd7 24. Rd1+ Kc8 (24... Ke8 25. Be3 c5 26. Bg5 Bd7 27. Bf6 $16) 25. Be7 c5 26.
Bf6 Rg8 27. Kg3 $16 {aus. Weiß kommt mit dem König am Königsflügel. Falls
Schwarz auf g4 nimmt, nimmt Weiß mit dem f-Bauern zurück und startet mit h4-h5.
..}) 22. Rxd1+ Kc8 23. c4 {Eine Neuerung, die eher eine Verschlechterung der
Variante ist. Der beste Versuch von Weiß ist es, auf e6 zu nehmen, wie es
schon mal in einer Partie der beiden Kontrahenten einen Monat früher geschah.}
(23. Nxe6 fxe6 24. f4 (24. c4 b5 25. Kg3 Rh7 {Schwarz wartet den Zug f4 ab, um
auf g4 zu nehmen. Ohne f4 kann Weiß nicht zurechtkommen.}) 24... b5 25. Bf2 Rh7
26. Rd3 hxg4 27. hxg4 Rh8 28. Rh3 Rxh3 29. Kxh3 Kd7 {Das ist die kritische
Stellung. Ist das Endspiel remis, so ist die Variante sehr solide für Schwarz.
Ich sehe nicht, wie man das weiße Spiel verstärken könnte:} 30. c4 Bb4 31. Kg2
(31. Kh4 Be7+ $11) 31... Ke8 32. Kf3 Bd2 33. Ke4 Bb4 34. Bh4 Bd2 35. Bf2 Bb4
36. Kd3 Kd7 37. Be3 Ba5 38. Bd2 Bb6 39. Be3 Ba5 40. a3 Be1 41. Bc5 Bg3 42. Ke3
Bh4 43. Bb4 Kd8 44. Kf3 Kd7 45. Kg2 Ke8 46. Kf3 Kd7 47. Ke4 Bf2 48. f5 gxf5+
49. gxf5 exf5+ 50. Kxf5 bxc4 51. bxc4 Bd4 {Soweit kommt es mehr oder weniger
forciert. Beide Seiten können diese Stellung nicht vermeiden.} 52. Kf6 ({
Der andere Versuch zu gewinnen basiert auf dem Zug e6, früher oder später.} 52.
e6+ Ke8 53. Bd2 Bc5 54. a4 Bd6 55. Bf4 Kf8 $11) (52. a4 Be3 53. Be1 Bd4 54. Bg3
Ke7 55. Bh4+ Kd7 56. Bg3 Ke7 57. e6 Kd8 58. Kg6 Ke7 59. Kf5 Kd8 60. Bh4+ Ke8
$11 {Es gibt kein Durchkommen!}) 52... Bb2 53. Bc5 Bc3 54. Kf5 Bb2 55. Kf6 Bc3
56. Be3 Bb2 57. a4 Bc3 58. Bf4 Ke8 59. Ke6 Bb4 60. Be3 Ba5 61. Bc5 Bc3 62. Be3
Ba5 63. Bf4 {1/2-1/2 Adams,M (2734)-Wang Yue (2736)/Kallithea GRE 2008}) 23...
Bxc5 $1 {Jetzt ist die Spannung schnell vorbei!} 24. Bxc5 Rd8 $1 {Weiß kann
dem Turmentausch nicht ausweichen, das Endspiel mit ungleichfarbigen Läufern
ist ohne Türme absolut remis!} 25. Rxd8+ Kxd8 26. Kg3 b5 27. gxh5 gxh5 28. Kh4
Kd7 (28... bxc4 29. bxc4 $11 {ändert nichts an dem Partieergebnis.}) 29. Kxh5
Bxh3 30. Kg5 Ke6 (30... bxc4 31. bxc4 Bf1 32. Kf6 Bxc4 33. a3 $11) 31. Kf4 bxc4
32. bxc4 1/2-1/2

[Event "London Classic 2nd"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2010.12.15"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2804"]
[BlackElo "2791"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2010.12.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 140"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.01.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.01.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O (4. d3 {ist eine alternative Fortsetzung.
Man bekommt spielbare Stellungen, doch keinen Eröffnungsvorteil.} Bc5 (4... d6
$5 5. O-O Be7 6. c3 O-O 7. Re1 a6 8. Ba4 b5 9. Bc2 Re8 $132 {Es entsteht ein
typischer Spanier mit d3.}) 5. c3 {Weiß hat mehrere Möglichkeiten, jedoch
keine davon bringt ihm einen Eröffnungsvorteil.} (5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Be3 (6. Nxe5
$4 Qd4 7. Be3 Qxe5 8. d4 Qxe4 9. dxc5 Qxg2 $19) 6... Bd6 $1 {Der beste Weg zum
Ausgleich.} (6... Qe7 7. Bxc5 Qxc5 8. Nc3 Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 O-O {Schwarz
hat keine Schwiriegkeiten.} 11. O-O-O a5 12. Qf5 Rfd8 13. Rhf1 a4 14. a3 b5
$132 {Sutovsky - Aronian (Caleta, 2005)}) (6... Bxe3 $2 {verbessert die weiße
Bauernstruktur und öffnet die f-Linie.} 7. fxe3 Qe7 8. O-O Ng4 9. Qd2 f6 10.
Nh4 g6 11. Nc3 Bd7 12. Rf3 f5 13. g3 Nf6 14. exf5 g5 15. Ng2 e4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4
17. dxe4 O-O-O 18. Qa5 $16 {Sutovsky - Carlsen (Crete, 2007)}) 7. h3 c5 8. Nbd2
Nd7 9. Nc4 O-O $11 {Perunovic - Fressinet (Budva, 2009)}) (5. Nc3 d6 6. Na4 Bb6
7. O-O Bd7 8. c3 Ne7 9. Nxb6 axb6 10. Bxd7+ Qxd7 11. Bg5 Ng6 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13.
Nd2 f5 $11 {Carlsen - Wang Yue (Baku, 2008)}) (5. O-O d6 6. c3 O-O 7. Nbd2 a6
8. Ba4 Ba7 9. h3 Ne7 10. Re1 Ng6 11. Nf1 b5 12. Bb3 Re8 13. Ng3 (13. a4 Bb7 14.
Be3 Bxe3 15. Nxe3 h6 16. Nh2 d5 17. axb5 axb5 18. Rxa8 Bxa8 $11 {Leko -
Kramnik (Moscow, 2007)}) 13... Bb7 14. Be3 Bxe3 15. fxe3 d5 $11 {Anand -
Kramnik (Moscow, 2007)}) 5... O-O 6. Bg5 (6. O-O {->5.0-0}) 6... d6 7. Nbd2 Bb6
({Schwarz kann auch aktiv spielen:} 7... h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 Nh5 10. Bxc6 bxc6
11. d4 exd4 12. Nxd4 Nxg3 13. hxg3 Qf6 14. N2b3 Bb6 $132 {Svidler - Ivanchuk 
(Sochi, 2008)}) (7... Bd7 $1 {Meiner Meinung nach ist das die beste
Fortsetzung.} 8. Ba4 h6 9. Bh4 g5 10. Bg3 Nh5 11. d4 exd4 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13.
Nxd4 Nxg3 14. hxg3 Qf6 15. Qh5 Kg7 16. O-O-O Rae8 $132 {Azarov - Georgiev 
(Dresden, 2007)}) 8. Nc4 Ne7 $132 {Vachier Lagrave - Alekseev (Biel, 2009)}) (
4. Nc3 {führt zum Übergang ins Vierspringer-Spiel.} Bb4 (4... Nd4 $5 {ist
ebenfalls spielbar.}) 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 d6 7. Bg5 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Qe7 9. Re1 h6 10.
Bh4 a6 11. Bxc6 (11. Ba4 Nd8 $15 {Der weiße Läufer auf a4 steht sehr schlecht.}
) 11... bxc6 12. d4 Bg4 13. Qd3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 g5 15. Bg3 Nd7 $11 {Shirov -
Erenburg (Sochi, 2006)}) (4. Qe2 {Eine weitere Nebenvariante, die jedoch sehr
selten anzutreffen ist.} Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. d3 d6 $11 {Man gelangt in eine
typische Stellung hinein, wo der Zug Qe2 wenig Sinn macht.}) 4... Nxe4 5. d4
Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 ({Eine andere
prinzipielle Fortsetzung ist} 9... Bd7 10. h3 (10. b3 Kc8 11. Bb2 Be7 12. Rad1
a5 $132) 10... h6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Rd2 c5 15. Rfd1 Be6
$132) 10. h3 h5 {Zuletzt hat Schwarz gute Ergebnisse in dieser Variante gehabt.
} (10... Be7 {führt zu einer passiven, aber haltbaren Stellung.} 11. g4 (11.
Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 h6 $1 {Es is wichtig, den gegnerischen Springer gleich zu
vertreiben.} 13. Nf3 (13. Nge4 b6 14. Rfd1 Ke7 15. Kh2 h5 16. Ne2 Re8 17. Nf4
Kf8 18. Nxh5 Rxe5 19. Nhg3 Be6 20. Rd2 {1/2-1/2 Anand - Kramnik (Leon, 2002).
Ich denke, Schwarz steht sogar etwas besser hier. Der weiße h-Bauer ist sehr
weit von dem kritischen Feld h8 entfernt, während die schwarzen Türme mit dem
Läufer am Damenflügel für einige Unannehmlichkeiten sorgen könnten.}) 13... h5
14. Rad1 (14. Ne2 Ke7 15. Nf4 g6 $1 16. Rad1 Ng7 17. Rfe1 Rd8 18. Rxd8 Kxd8 19.
Ng5 Ke7 20. Rd1 a5 21. a4 Bf5 $132 {Timman - Kritz (Amsterdam, 2002)}) 14...
Ke7 15. Ng5 Be6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Rd3 Rad8 18. Rfd1 Rxd3 19. Rxd3 h4 $11 {
Shirov - Alekseev (Moscow, 2008). Wie üblich in dieser Stellung: der schwarze
Bauer h4 neutralisiert die weiße Überlegenheit am Königsflügel und die
Stellung ist ausgeglichen.}) 11... Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Kg2 h5 14. f3 Be6 ({
Eine andere Verteidigungsmethode ist} 14... a5 {um die weißen Bauern zu
zwingen, weiße Felder einzunehmen.} 15. a4 b6 16. Rd1 Be7 17. Ne2 Bd7 18. Bf4
c5 19. Bg3 Rd8 20. c4 Bc8 21. b3 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 hxg4 23. hxg4 Bd8 $14 {
Kotronias - Kritz (Port Erin, 2007). Weiß hat einen symbolischen Vorteil und
Schwarz muss die ganze Partie leiden, doch bei korrekter Verteidigung kann man
Remis halten. Es ist jedoch zu empfehlen, wie Wang Yue gegen Adams zu spielen
- dort ist es einfacher, das Remis zu erreichen.}) 15. Be3 Be7 $11 {Wie die
letzten Analysen zeigen, ist die Stellung ausgeglichen.}) (10... Ne7 {Zuletzt
hat dieser Zug wieder an Popularität gewonnen, aber ich verstehe nicht warum.
Das ist eine verschlechterte Version der 10....Be7-Variante - Schwarz steht
ebenfalls passiv, gibt dabei Weiß Chancen zu spielen. Dagegen bringt 10...Be7
die Partie bei normalem Spielverlauf zum unausweichlichen Remisresultat.} 11.
Ne4 Ng6 12. Re1 h6 13. Bd2 $14 {Weiß hat sich entwickelt, Schwarz steht immer
noch auf der Grundreihe.}) 11. Bg5 {Der logische Versuch, die Schwächung des
Feldes g5 auszunutzen.} (11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Nh4 ({Spielbar ist auch} 12...
Be6 $5 $146 {Nach dem prinzipiellen} 13. Ng5 {gleicht Schwarz forciert aus:}
Bc4 $1 14. Rfe1 Rd8 $1 15. Rxd8+ (15. b3 Ba6 16. Rxd8+ {->15.Rxd8}) 15... Bxd8
16. b3 Ba6 17. e6 Bxg5 18. exf7+ Kxf7 19. Bxg5 Re8 $11) 13. Nd4 (13. Nxh4 $6 {
Weiß kann nicht besser stehen, besonders weil er nicht zu g4 kommt.} Bxh4 14.
Ne2 Bd7 15. e6 Bxe6 16. Nd4 Bf6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bxc7 Rc8 19. Bf4 Ke7 $11 {
Dominguez Perez - Wang Yue (Wijk aan Zee, 2009)}) 13... Nf5 14. Nce2 Nxd4 $1
15. Nxd4 (15. Rxd4 Bf5 16. Rd2 Rd8 17. Nd4 Bg6 $15) 15... a6 $1 {und Weiß muss
die Notbremse ziehen und e6 spielen.} 16. e6 (16. Rfe1 c5 17. Nf3 Bf5 18. Rd2
Rd8 $15) 16... Bxe6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bxc7 Rc8 19. Bb6 Bd8 20. Bd4 Bf6 $11 {
Das Endspiel ist leicht Remis zu halten.}) ({Wenig bringt} 11. Ne2 Be6 12. Nf4
Bd5 $1 {Schwarz bekommt eine problemlose Stellung.} 13. Nxd5 (13. Ng5 Be7 $15)
13... cxd5 14. Bf4 c6 15. g3 Be7 16. Rfe1 Rg8 17. g4 hxg4 18. hxg4 Nh6 19. Nh2
g5 20. Be3 Kd7 21. Rad1 Ke6 $132 {Bruzon - Miles (Varadero, 2000)}) (11. Rd1 $2
{Dieser Turm hat auf der d-Linie nichts zu suchen. Schwarz bekommt so viel
Zeit wie er will, um seine Pläne zu verwirklichen.} Be7 {Sicherer Zug.} ({Auch
} 11... h4 {sieht nicht schlecht aus.} 12. Bg5 Be7 13. Rd2 Be6 14. Rad1 Rh5 15.
Bxe7 Nxe7 $132) 12. Ne2 {Die Überführung des Springers über e2 bringt wie
immer nichts. Man hätte besser zurück zu klassischen Stellungen kommen sollen.}
(12. g3 Be6 13. Ng5 Rd8 14. Rxd8+ Bxd8 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. Ne2 g5 17. Bd2 c5 18.
Bc3 c4 $11 {Inarkiev - Smirnov (Dagomys, 2009)}) (12. Bg5 Be6 13. Rd2 Rd8 $11
14. Rxd8+ Kxd8 15. Rd1+ Ke8 16. Ne2 Bd5 17. Bxe7 Kxe7 18. Ng5 f6 19. Nf4 Nh4
20. exf6+ Kxf6 21. Nxd5+ cxd5 22. Rxd5 Re8 23. g3 Re1+ 24. Kh2 c6 25. Ra5 b6
26. Rxa7 Kxg5 27. gxh4+ Kxh4 28. Rxg7 Re2 29. Rg2 c5 30. f3 Re3 31. Rf2 Kg5 32.
Kg3 h4+ 33. Kg2 Kf4 34. Rd2 Re1 35. a3 Ke3 36. Rf2 Kf4 37. Rd2 Ke3 38. Rd3+ Kf4
39. Rc3 Re2+ 40. Kf1 Rd2 41. a4 Kg3 42. f4+ Kxf4 43. a5 bxa5 44. Rxc5 a4 45.
Rc3 Ke4 46. Ke1 Rh2 47. b4 Kd4 48. Ra3 Kc4 49. Rxa4 Rxh3 50. Kf2 Rh2+ 51. Kg1
Rxc2 52. b5+ {1/2-1/2 So,W (2669)-Wang Yue (2756)/Guangzhou 2010/CB47_2010})
12... Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 {Die Stellung mit dem Läuferpaar kann Schwarz
theoretisch nicht verlieren, besonders wenn der Bauer schon auf h5 steht und
g4 verhindert.} 14. Bf4 Be7 (14... Be6 {ist ebenfalls nicht schlimm, aber wozu
auf zwei Ergebnisse spiele, wenn man kostenlos Gegenchancen haben kann?} 15.
Nd4 $14 {Nach dem Nehmen auf e6 wird Weiß einen symbolischen Vorteil haben,
das Endspiel ist jedoch sehr remislich.}) 15. Nd4 a6 {Typische Reaktion, wenn
man ...c5 vorbereiten will.} (15... c5 16. Nb5 Bd8 17. e6 Bxe6 18. Bxc7 $14)
16. e6 (16. c4 c5 17. Nf3 Bf5 $15) 16... Bd6 $1 (16... Bxe6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18.
Bxc7 Rc8 19. Be5 Bf6 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Rd6 Ke7 22. Rad1 Rc7 $11) 17. exf7+ Kxf7
$132 {Schwarz steht auf keinen Fall schlechter.}) 11... Be6 (11... Be7 {
ist ebenfalls gut spielbar} 12. Ne2 Be6 13. Nf4 Bd5 14. Bxe7 Kxe7 15. Ng5 Nd4
16. Rfd1 Ne6 $1 (16... Nxc2 17. Nxd5+ cxd5 18. Rac1 $1 $18) 17. Ngxe6 Bxe6 18.
h4 Rad8 19. f3 g6 20. Kf2 Bf5 21. c3 f6 22. exf6+ Kxf6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Hracek,Z 
(2629)-Kholmov,R (2464)/Pardubice CZE 1999 (37)}) 12. Rfd1 (12. Rad1 Be7 13.
Rd2 Rd8 $1 {Korrekte Entscheidung! Schwarz muss so schnell wie möglich den
Druck der weißen Türme auf der d-Linie neutralisieren.} (13... Bxg5 14. Nxg5
Rd8 (14... h4 15. Rfd1 $14) 15. Rxd8+ Kxd8 16. Nxe6+ fxe6 17. g3 $1 $14 {
Weiß hat h4 verhindert und damit die Beweglichkeit seiner Bauernstruktur
beibehalten. Das garantiert ihm einen kleinen Vorteil.}) 14. Rfd1 Rxd2 15. Rxd2
h4 $1 $11 {Leko - Alekseev (Elista, 2008). Damit ist der Königsflügel
zugemacht und der weiße Mehrbauer praktisch neutralisiert.}) 12... Be7 13. g3 {
Weiß kann nicht gleich g4 spielen, will den Vorstoß jedoch vorbereiten, indem
er zuerst Kg2 spielt. Wie man leicht sehen kann, hat Schwarz jedoch nichts zu
befürchten.} (13. g4 hxg4 14. hxg4 Nh6 15. Bxh6 gxh6 $1 16. Nh2 Rg8 17. f3 h5
$17) 13... f6 $5 $146 {Eine interessante Neuerung, bis jetzt wurde nur 13...
Rd8 gespielt.} (13... Rd8 14. Rxd8+ Kxd8 15. Rd1+ Ke8 16. Bf4 (16. Bxe7 Kxe7
17. Kg2 f6 $1 {ist wohl am einfachsten.} 18. exf6+ gxf6 $11) 16... Bb4 17. Ne2
Bd5 18. Nfd4 Nxd4 19. Nxd4 Be4 $132 {Svidler - Leko (Astrakhan, 2010)}) 14.
exf6 $6 {Diese Stellung kann man nicht auf Gewinn spielen. Die einzige Chance
ist 14.Bf4.} (14. Bf4 $5 Rc8 $1 {Schwarz muss dieselbe Strategie anwenden, als
wenn Weiß die Bauern getauscht hätte.} (14... g5 {Der Versuch aktiv zu spielen
kann nur Schwierigkeiten bringen.} 15. exf6 $1 (15. Bd2 g4 16. hxg4 (16. exf6
Bxf6 17. Ng5 (17. Ne4 Be7 18. Nfg5 Bd5 $132) 17... Bxg5 18. Bxg5 gxh3 $15)
16... hxg4 17. exf6 Bxf6 18. Ng5 Bd5 19. Nxd5 cxd5 20. Re1+ Kd7 $11) 15... gxf4
16. Ng5 $1 {Das ist der wichtige Trick!} (16. fxe7 fxg3 17. fxg3 Nxg3 18. Ng5
Kxe7 19. Re1 Rh6 20. Re5 Re8 $15) 16... fxg3 17. Nxe6 Kf7 18. fxe7 gxf2+ 19.
Kxf2 Kxe6 20. Re1+ Kf6 21. Rad1 Nxe7 22. Rd7 Nd5 23. Nxd5+ cxd5 24. Ree7 $14)
15. Re1 Kf7 $11) 14... gxf6 15. Bf4 Rc8 $1 {Am einfachsten. Der Turm steht
zwar passiv, aber das wird sich bald ändern.} (15... Bd6 16. Bxd6 cxd6 17. Ne4
Ke7 18. Re1 $36 {Weiß hat doch eine kleine Initiative, obwohl Schwarz mit
genauen Zügen ausgleichen kann. Doch die Partiefortsetzung ist genauer.}) 16.
Kh2 Kf7 {Weiß hat überhaupt keinen Vorteil.} 17. Rd2 Rcd8 ({Schwarz kann schon
daran denken, um Vorteil zu spielen:} 17... Bb4 $5 18. Re1 Rhe8 $132) 18. Rxd8
Bxd8 19. Rd1 Re8 $11 {Das Problem ist, dass Weiß keine Figur ziehen kann, ohne
Schwarz neue Möglichkeiten zu eröffnen. Der Springer c3 kontrolliert das Feld
d5, der Springer f3 hat kein Feld zu gehen, und der Läufer steht auf f4 am
besten. Doch etwas Konkretes kann man daraus nicht machen.} 20. Nd4 {Der
Springertausch ist immer zugunsten von Schwarz. Nachdem sich die Stellung
vereinfacht, kann er das Remis forciert erzwingen.} Nxd4 21. Rxd4 Bf5 22. Rd2
Be7 23. Nd1 {Wenn man den Bauern nimmt, dann ist es noch lange nicht klar, wer
um Vorteil spielen kann:} (23. Bxc7 Bb4 24. a3 Bxc3 25. bxc3 Re1 $1 {Es droht
Be4.} 26. f3 Rc1 $11 {Das Einfachste im Remissinne. Weiß hat auf jeden Fall
keine Gewinnchancen.}) 23... Rd8 $1 {Mit dem Läuferpaar geht Schwarz überhaupt
kein Risiko ein.} 24. Rxd8 Bxd8 25. Ne3 Be4 26. g4 hxg4 27. hxg4 Be7 {Dies
füehrt zu einem absolut remislichen Endspiel mit ungleichfarbigen Läufern. Ob
Schwarz auf mehr in dieser Stellung hoffen kann, ist zweifelhaft.} (27... Ke6
28. Kg3 c5 29. f3 Bg6 30. Kf2 $11) 28. Bxc7 Bc5 {Weiß kann den Springer nicht
wegziehen.} 29. c3 (29. Bf4 Bxe3 30. Bxe3 Bxc2 31. Bxa7 Kg6 $11) 29... Bxe3 30.
fxe3 $11 Ke6 31. Kg3 a6 32. Kf4 Bc2 33. e4 Bd1 34. a3 Be2 35. Bb6 Bd1 36. Bd4
Be2 37. Be3 Bd1 38. Bd4 Be2 39. Be3 Bd1 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tata Steel-A 74th"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2012.01.20"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2766"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2012.01.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 147"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.03.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.03.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Be6 {Dieser Zug wird sehr selten gespielt.} 10. Rd1+ (10.
Ng5 {Hier hat Schwarz etwas Verrücktes vorbereitet:} Ke7 $1 {Solch ein Zug
kommt wirklich unerwartet, doch schlecht ist er nicht!} 11. b3 (11. Nxe6 Kxe6
$1 $132 {Im Endspiel fühlt sich der König im Zentrum sehr wohl.}) 11... h6 12.
Ba3+ Kd7 (12... Ke8 13. Nxe6 fxe6 14. Bxf8 Rxf8 15. Rad1 Ke7 16. Rd3 Rad8 17.
Rfd1 $14 {Grigoryan - Hovhannisyan (Yerevan, 2011)}) 13. Rad1+ Kc8 {Mit seinen
Manövern hat Schwarz einen Tausch erzwungen.} 14. Nxe6 (14. Bxf8 hxg5 15. Ba3
g4 $1 16. Ne4 b6 17. Ng5 c5 $11) 14... Bxa3 15. Nf4 Re8 16. g4 (16. Nd3 a5 17.
Ne2 a4 $132 {Ter Sahakyan - Pashikian (Martuni, 2010)}) 16... Ne7 17. Nb1 Bc5
18. Nd3 Bb6 19. Kg2 a5 $132 {Ramesh - Aleksandrov (Dubai, 2001)}) 10... Ke8 (
10... Kc8 11. Ng5 Bc5 (11... Bc4 12. b3 Bb4 13. bxc4 Bxc3 14. Rb1 Bxe5 15. Nxf7
$14 {Balogh - Buhmann (Remagen, 2010)}) 12. b3 Bd4 $1 13. Bb2 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 Bd5
15. Nh3 b6 16. Nf4 Be6 17. f3 a5 18. a4 Ne3 19. Rd2 Rd8 20. Rc1 Kb7 $11 {
Azarov - Babula (Plovdiv, 2010)}) 11. Ng5 Bc8 {Es ist interessant, dass
Ivanchuk zuerst den Läufer dem Tausch entzieht, doch danach trotzdem gezwungen
wird, die Stellung mit dem Bauern auf e6 zu spielen.} (11... Be7 12. Nxe6 fxe6
13. Ne4 c5 14. c3 h5 15. Ng5 Bxg5 16. Bxg5 Ne7 17. Rd2 Rd8 18. Rxd8+ Kxd8 19.
Rd1+ Ke8 20. f4 Nc6 21. Kf2 g6 $11 {Georgiadis - Drazic (Kavala, 2007). Diese
Stellung mit dem Springer gegen Läufer ist bekannterweise remis.}) 12. Ne2 a5 (
12... Be7 13. h3 Nh4 14. Nd4 h6 15. Ne4 Ng6 16. f4 h5 17. Rd3 Bd7 18. Bd2 c5
19. Nf3 Bf5 20. Re1 b6 21. c4 {1/2-1/2 Sakaev - Kharlov (Zvenigorod, 2008)})
13. a4 $2 {Weiß spielt mit Schwarz, nicht gegen Schwarz. Die Bauern müssten
nur dann auf die weißen Felder gestellt werden, wenn sie dazu gezwungen sind.
Sonst muss man sich auf sein Spiel am Königsflügel konzentrieren.} b6 14. b3 c5
15. Bb2 Be7 16. Ne4 {Schwarz hat alles erreicht, was er nur erreichen konnte,
und Weiß hat kein Spiel bekommen.} Be6 {16....Bb7 kommt in Frage.} (16... Bb7
$5 17. N2g3 (17. N2c3 Nd4 $15) 17... Nxg3 18. Nxg3 Rd8 $11 19. Nf5 $6 {führt
zu Komplikationen, die besser für Schwarz sind.} Be4 $1 20. Nxg7+ Kf8 21. e6
Bxc2 22. Rd7 Rxd7 23. exd7 f6 24. Ne6+ Kf7 $15) 17. Nf4 h5 {Ivanchuk
entscheidet sich doch für die Stellung mit dem Bauern auf e6.} 18. g3 Rd8 19.
Rxd8+ Kxd8 20. Rd1+ Kc8 21. Nxe6 {Früher oder später, aber Weiß muss auf e6
nehmen.} fxe6 22. Kf1 Rd8 {Der Koenig am Damenfluegel sieht traurig aus. Der
Turmtausch ist der einzige Weg, ihn ins Spiel zu bringen.} 23. Rxd8+ Bxd8 {
Das ist eine typische Stellung fuer Berliner Mauer. Weiss kann schwarze
Festung nicht durchbrechen, doch Schwarz muss vorsichtig spielen. Das schlimme
fuer Schwarz ist, dass er sich passiv verteidigen muss.} 24. Ke2 Kd7 25. Kd3
Ne7 {Der Springer will nach d5 und dann weiter nach b4.} 26. f4 (26. c4 Nc6 $11
{Schwarz will, dass Weiss das Feld d4 schwaecht, so dass sein Springer dort
eindringen kann, falls der Laeufer von b2 weg zieht.}) 26... Nd5 27. c3 Be7 28.
Bc1 Bd8 29. Bd2 Kc6 30. c4 Ne7 {Natuerlich nicht Nb4!} (30... Nb4+ 31. Bxb4
cxb4 32. h3 Kd7 33. g4 hxg4 34. hxg4 g6 35. c5 Be7 36. cxb6 cxb6 37. Kc4 $16)
31. Ng5 Kd7 {Weiss hat einen einzigen Plan - h3-g4-f5.} 32. Ke4 Nf5 33. Nf3 Ke8
34. Be1 {Nun kommt Weiss zu h3.} Kf7 35. h3 Nh6 36. Bf2 Be7 37. Be3 g6 38. Nh2
{Schwarz kann g4 nicht verhindern, aber das muss er auch nicht.} Ke8 39. Nf3 (
39. g4 hxg4 40. hxg4 (40. Nxg4 Nf5 $11) 40... Bh4 $11) 39... Kf7 40. Ng1 Bd8
41. Ne2 Ke8 42. Nc3 Kd7 43. Kf3 {Was Weiss da macht ist nicht ganz klar...} Nf5
44. Ne2 Ne7 45. Ke4 Nf5 46. g4 $1 {Endlich!} hxg4 47. hxg4 Nh6 48. Kf3 Bh4 49.
Nc3 $1 {Weiss muss auch aufpassen, was er da macht.} (49. f5 $2 {Sieht so aus,
als ob Weiss gleich gewinnen wuerde, doch es ist nicht so eindeutig wie es auf
den ersten Blick aussieht.} g5 $1 50. f6 {Gezwungen.} (50. fxe6+ Kxe6 $17)
50... Nf7 51. Ke4 Nh6 52. Kf3 Nf7 $11 {Und Schwarz forciert Remis!}) 49... Be1
50. Ne4 Nf7 {Weiss kann nie zu f5 kommen, das ist das Problem.} 51. Ke2 Bh4 52.
g5 Nd8 53. Nf6+ Ke7 54. Ng4 Nc6 55. Nh2 Kd7 56. Nf3 Bg3 57. Kd3 {Auch den
Laeufer fangen kann Weiss nicht.} (57. Kf1 Ne7 58. Kg2 Nf5 $11) 57... Ne7 58.
Ke4 Nf5 {Keine Chance zum Gewinnen.} 59. Kd3 Kc6 1/2-1/2

[Event "London Classic 2nd"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2010.12.08"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2804"]
[BlackElo "2741"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "147"]
[EventDate "2010.12.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 140"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.01.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.01.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. h3 h6 11. b3 (11. Bf4 $5 Kc8 12. Rad1 $1 (12. a3
$2 {ist einfach zu langsam.} b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Rfe1 c5 $132 {Motylev -
Ponomariov (Motril, 2008). Schwarz plant Bc6-Kb7 mit guter Stellung.}) 12... b6
13. Rd3 Be6 14. Rfd1 Kb7 15. b3 $14 {und Schwarz hatte Probleme mit seiner
Entwicklung in Anand - Topalov (Monte Carlo, 2005).}) 11... Kc8 (11... c5 $5 {
Dieser Zug wird selten gespielt, doch er ist nicht viel schlechter als die
Partiefortsetzung.} 12. Rd1 ({Betrachtung verdient} 12. Bb2 $5 {mit der Idee,
den anderen Turm nach d1 zu stellen. Womöglich hat Schwarz die Möglichkeit 12..
..Nd4!?} Nd4 13. Nxd4 (13. Rad1 Nxf3+ 14. gxf3 Kc8 15. Kg2 Be6 $15 {Schwarz
kann nur besser stehen.}) 13... cxd4 14. Ne4 c5 15. c3 $1 {Man muss dynamisch
spielen, ansonsten wird man einfacht schlecht stehen.} dxc3 16. Bxc3 Kc7 17.
Rad1 Be7 18. Nd6 Bxd6 $3 (18... Be6 19. f4 g6 20. Nxf7 $3 Bxf7 21. e6 Bxe6 22.
Bxh8 Rxh8 23. Rfe1 $18) 19. exd6+ Kc6 20. Bxg7 Rhg8 21. Be5 Bxh3 22. Bg3 Be6
$11 {Es sieht so aus, dass Schwarz sich halten kann.}) 12... Kc8 {Es ist
offensichtlich, dass mit dieser Zugfolge Schwarz etwas gewonnen hat, nämlich
dass der weiße Turm a1 nicht so leicht ins Spiel kommt.} 13. a4 (13. Bb2 Be6
14. Nd5 g5 15. c4 b6 16. Rd2 Kb7 17. Rad1 Ne7 18. Nf6 {1/2-1/2 Motylev - Zhou
Jianchao (Ningbo, 2010)}) 13... a5 14. Nd5 ({Auch nichts bringt} 14. g4 Ne7 15.
Rd3 Bc6 $1 $11 ({Aber nicht} 15... g5 $2 16. Bxg5 $1 hxg5 17. Rad1 $18)) 14...
g5 $1 {Schwarz kann das Feld f6 aufgeben - der weiße Springer wird hübsch
aussehen und keine Beschäftigung haben.} 15. Bb2 Be6 {Der Läufer e6 ist
unantastbar - die Felder d4 und f4 sind beide unter Kontrolle der schwarzen
Bauern.} 16. c4 b6 $132 {Svidler (2735) - Ponomariov (Astrakhan, 2010)}) 12.
Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 {Dies gilt als Hauptzug, eine gute Alternative ist ...c5.
Weiß hat nun mehrere Fortsetzungsmöglichkeiten.} (13... c5 14. Rfe1 ({Nach} 14.
Nd5 a5 $1 15. a4 c4 $1 {wurde Weiß praktisch gezwungen, den Bauer zu opfern:}
16. e6 fxe6 17. Nf4 cxb3 18. cxb3 Bd6 19. Ng6 Rg8 20. Nfe5 Be8 $15 {, wonach
Schwarz eindeutig besser stand in Stellwagen - Efimenko (Wattenscheid, 2008).})
14... a5 $5 $146 {Der Zug ist vielleicht nicht schlecht, aber mir gefällt die
sofortige Überführung des Springers nach g6 besser.} (14... Ne7 {Die
Überführung des Springers nach g6 ist ein typisches Manöver - von dort aus
kontrolliert er das Feld f4.} 15. Nd2 (15. Ne2 Ng6 $11 {Leko - Jakovenko 
(Jermuk, 2009)}) 15... Be6 16. Nde4 c4 17. Kh2 cxb3 18. cxb3 Ng6 19. Nb5 Bd7
20. Nec3 Bc5 21. Ba3 Bxa3 22. Nxa3 Re8 $11 {Motylev - Volokitin (Wijk aan Zee,
2009)}) 15. a4 {Weiß kann vielleicht Schwarz erlauben, a4 zu spielen.} (15. g4
$5 Ne7 16. Nd2 h5 17. f3 a4 18. Kg2 $14) 15... Ne7 {Nachdem die Züge a5 und a4
gespielt wurden, ist es sogar noch besser für Schwarz.} 16. Ne2 Ng6 $132 {
und Schwarz hatte gutes Gegenspiel in Motylev - Ponomariov (Khanty-Mansiysk,
2009).}) 14. Rfe1 (14. Rd2 c5 15. Rfd1 Be6 16. Ne2 g5 $132 {Anand - Kramnik 
(Mainz, 2001)}) (14. Ne2 Ng6 15. Ng3 (15. Ne1 h5 16. Nd3 c5 17. c4 a5 18. a4 h4
$11 {Kasparov - Kramnik (London, 2000)}) 15... Nf4 16. Nd4 a5 17. a4 b5 18. Kh2
bxa4 19. bxa4 Nd5 20. Rd3 Nb6 $132 {Shirov - Kramnik (Astana, 2001)}) (14. Nd4
$5 c5 15. Nde2 a5 16. Rd2 Nc6 17. Rfd1 Be6 18. Nf4 Bf5 19. g4 $1 $16 {Efimenko
- Naiditsch (Subotica, 2008)}) 14... c5 15. Ne2 Ng6 16. h4 $2 {Erstaunlich. Es
gab schon eine Partie, in der Weiß h4 gezogen hat und überhaupt nichts hatte.
Die Schwächung der weißen Felder darf man nicht zulassen, selbst wenn der
Computer die Stellung als gut bewertet!} (16. Ng3 $5 Be6 (16... Bc6 $6 17. Re3
Kb7 (17... Be7 $2 18. Nf5 $14) 18. e6 $14) 17. Nh5 Rg8 18. g4 Be7 $132) 16...
Be7 {Eine Neuerung, unklar wozu man sie braucht, wenn Schwarz nach 16...Bg4
besser steht?!} (16... Bg4 $1 {Die nächsten Züge sind forciert, Weiß landet in
einem schlechten Endspiel.} 17. Nh2 (17. Rd3 $2 {hat keine selbstständige
Bedeutung, Weiß kann sowieso kein h5 spielen.} Kb7 $15) 17... Bxe2 18. Rxe2
Nxh4 {Schwarz will nun Rg8-g5-Bg7 spielen.} 19. Re4 Be7 20. e6 (20. g3 Ng6 21.
e6 f5 22. Ree1 Rg8 23. Rd7 Kb7 $15 {Die weiße Initiative kompensiert nicht den
Bauern.}) 20... fxe6 21. Rxe6 (21. Bxg7 $2 Rg8 $17) 21... Bd6 22. Bxg7 Rg8 23.
Rxh6 (23. Bxh6 $4 Rxg2+ 24. Kf1 Rxh2 25. Re8+ Kb7 $19) 23... Nxg2 24. Kxg2
Rxg7+ 25. Kf1 Kb7 $15 {Leko - Jakovenko (Jermuk, 2009). Schwarz hat klar die
besseren Aussichten. Bei richtigem Spiel muss sich Weiß jedoch verteidigen
können.}) 17. e6 {Eine interessante Abwicklung. Weiß bekommt am Ende das etwas
bessere Endspiel, doch es ist fraglich, ob es gewonnen ist.} (17. h5 $5 Nh4 (
17... Nf8 18. Nf4 Bg4 19. Kh2 Bxf3 20. gxf3 Kb7 21. Nd5 Bd8 22. f4 $14) 18.
Nxh4 Bxh4 19. e6 Bxe6 20. Bxg7 Rh7 21. Bc3 Kb7 $11 {und die schwarze Stellung
ist in Ordnung.}) 17... Bxe6 (17... fxe6 $2 18. h5 (18. Bxg7 Rh7 19. Bc3 Nxh4
20. Nxh4 Bxh4 21. Nf4 Kb7 22. Nxe6 Bc6 $132) 18... Nh4 19. Nxh4 Bxh4 20. Bxg7
Rh7 21. Be5 $16) 18. h5 $1 {Man kann auf g7 nicht gleich nehmen, weil der
Bauer h4 hängt.} (18. Bxg7 Rg8 $1 {Stärker als 18...Rh7, weil von nun an
Schwarz auf Vorteil spielt.} (18... Rh7 19. Bc3 Nxh4 20. Nf4 $1 Nxf3+ 21. gxf3
Kb7 22. Nxe6 fxe6 23. Rxe6 $11) 19. Bxh6 Nxh4 20. Nxh4 Bxh4 21. Nf4 Bf5 $15)
18... Nh4 19. Nf4 $1 (19. Nxh4 Bxh4 20. Bxg7 Rh7 (20... Rg8 21. Bxh6 Rh8 22.
Bc1 Rxh5 23. Nf4 $18) 21. Bb2 Bg4 22. Rd5 Kb7 $11) 19... Nxf3+ 20. gxf3 {
Das Problem für Schwarz ist, dass seine Läufer gefesselt sind.} Bd6 (20... Bf6
21. Bxf6 gxf6 22. Nxe6 Rg8+ 23. Kf1 (23. Kh2 fxe6 24. Rxe6 Rg5 25. Rxf6 Rxh5+
26. Kg3 Kb7 $11) 23... fxe6 24. Rxe6 Rg5 25. Rxf6 Rxh5 26. f4 Kb7 27. Rd7 $14)
21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Rxe6 Rf8 23. Bxg7 ({Vielleicht konnte man versuchen, auf
langzeitige Initiative zu spielen:} 23. Rd5 $5 Rf7 (23... Rxf3 24. Bxg7 $18)
24. Rg6 Bf8 25. Kg2 Kb7 26. Be5 Re8 27. f4 $14 {Offensichtlich hat Weiß einen
stabilen Vorteil, die schwierige Frage ist nun, wie man weiterkommt.}) 23...
Rf5 24. Re8+ {Es ist notwendig einen Turm zu tauschen, weil sonst der weiße
König unter Beschuss kommen wird.} (24. Rxh6 $4 Rg5+ $19) (24. Bxh6 Rxh5 25.
Kf1 (25. Re8+ {führt zu Zugumstellung, aber auch nicht weiter.}) 25... Kd7 26.
Rg6 Re8 $11) 24... Kb7 25. Rxa8 Kxa8 {Der andere Vorteil des Türmetausches ist,
dass der schwarze König nun so weit wie möglich vom Zentrum entfernt ist.} 26.
Bxh6 Rxh5 27. Be3 Kb7 28. c4 Kc6 29. Kg2 {Es gibt nichts Besseres. Weiß hat
die Absicht, mittels Rh1 die Türme zu tauschen, weil mit den Türmen seine
Chancen schlechter aussehen.} (29. f4 $2 Rf5 $11) (29. Rd3 a6 30. Kg2 Rh4 $11 {
/\b5 - es gibt kein Durchkommen für Weiß.}) 29... Rh2+ 30. Kf1 Rh1+ 31. Ke2
Rxd1 32. Kxd1 {Das entstehende Endspiel ist nun wirklich leicht zu halten: der
schwarze König kommt nach f5, Schwarz spielt a6-c6-b5, tauscht einen Bauer,
kann danach sogar den Bauern c5 aufgeben - der weiße König wird nicht in die
schwarze Stellung eindringen können.} Kd7 33. Bg5 Ke6 34. a4 c6 35. a5 $5 {
Weiß will a6 spielen, und den Bauern a7 fixieren, wonach er taktische Motive
wie Bd8-Bb6 haben wird.} bxa5 $1 {Richtige Entscheidung!} (35... Kf5 $4 36. Bd8
bxa5 37. Bxa5 Kf4 38. Ke2 $18 {Wenn die Bauern auf b3 und c4 stehen, ist das
Endspiel verloren. Wenn sie auf a4 und c4 stehen, dann ist es Remis.}) 36. Kc2
a4 $1 37. bxa4 Kf5 38. Be3 a6 $1 $11 {Nun kann Weiß machen was immer er will,
er wird die schwarzen Barrikaden nicht stürmen können.} 39. Kd3 Be7 40. Ke2 Bf8
41. Kf1 Be7 42. Kg2 Bd6 43. Kh3 Be7 44. Kg3 Bf6 $1 {Es ist viel wichtiger, dem
weißen König nicht zu erlauben, über die h-Linie bis nach h7 durchzukommen.} (
44... Bd6+ 45. Kh4 Be7+ 46. Kh5 Bd6 47. Kh6 Kf6 48. Kh7 Kf7 49. Bg5 Be5 50. Kh6
$18 {Der König kehrt zurück und Weiß kommt zu f4-f5.}) 45. Bxc5 Bd8 46. Be3 Be7
47. Kg2 Bd8 48. Kf1 Bc7 49. Ke2 Bd8 50. Kd3 Ba5 51. Kd4 Bb6+ 52. Kd3 Ba5 53.
Ba7 Be1 {Der weiße König kommt nicht nach d4 oder b4.} 54. Bb6 Kf4 {Schwarz
hat drei Felder für seinen König - e5, f5, und f4.} 55. Be3+ Ke5 56. Bc5 Kf4
57. Ke2 Ba5 58. Ba7 Kf5 59. Ke3 Be1 60. Bb6 Bc3 61. Bc7 Be1 62. Bd6 Bc3 63. f4
Be1 64. Be5 Ba5 65. Bd4 Bb4 66. Be5 Bc5+ 67. Bd4 Bb4 68. Ba7 Bc3 69. Kd3 Be1
70. Be3 Ba5 71. Kd4 Bb6+ 72. Kc3 Ba5+ 73. Kd3 Bc7 74. Kd4 1/2-1/2

[Event "World Cup"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2009.11.28"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Motylev, Alexander"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2695"]
[BlackElo "2739"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2009.11.21"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 134"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.01.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.01.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O (4. d3 {ist eine alternative Fortsetzung.
Man bekommt spielbare Stellungen, doch keinen Eröffnungsvorteil.} Bc5 (4... d6
$5 5. O-O Be7 6. c3 O-O 7. Re1 a6 8. Ba4 b5 9. Bc2 Re8 $132 {Es entsteht ein
typischer Spanier mit d3.}) 5. Bxc6 (5. O-O d6 6. c3 O-O 7. Nbd2 a6 8. Ba4 Ba7
$132 {Wiederum hat Schwarz wenig zu befürchten.}) 5... dxc6 6. Be3 Qe7 (6...
Bxe3 $2 {verbessert die weiße Bauernstruktur und öffnet die f-Linie.} 7. fxe3
Qe7 8. O-O Ng4 9. Qd2 f6 10. Nh4 g6 11. Nc3 Bd7 12. Rf3 f5 13. g3 Nf6 14. exf5
g5 15. Ng2 e4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. dxe4 O-O-O 18. Qa5 $16 {Sutovsky - Carlsen 
(Crete, 2007)}) 7. Bxc5 Qxc5 8. Nc3 Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 O-O {Schwarz hat
keine Schwierigkeiten.} 11. O-O-O a5 12. Qf5 Rfd8 13. Rhf1 a4 14. a3 b5 $132 {
Sutovsky - Aronian (Caleta, 2005)}) 4... Nxe4 5. d4 (5. Re1 {Das ist eine
bekannte Remisvariante:} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Nxe5 7. Rxe5+ Be7 8. Bf1 (8. Bd3 O-O 9.
Nc3 c6 10. b3 Ne8 11. Bb2 d5 12. Qh5 Nf6 13. Qh4 Be6 $11) 8... O-O 9. d4 Bf6
10. Re1 Nf5 11. c3 d5 $11 {Bei symmetrischer Bauernstruktur ist das Maximum,
was beide Seiten erreichen können, der kollektive Abtausch aller Figuren.})
5... Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 (9... Ke8 10. h3 Be7
11. g4 (11. Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 h6 $1 {Es is wichtig, den gegnerischen Springer
gleich zu vertreiben.} 13. Nf3 h5 14. Rad1 (14. Ne2 Ke7 15. Nf4 g6 $1 16. Rad1
Ng7 17. Rfe1 Rd8 18. Rxd8 Kxd8 19. Ng5 Ke7 20. Rd1 a5 21. a4 Bf5 $132 {Timman
- Kritz (Amsterdam, 2002)}) 14... Ke7 $11) 11... Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Kg2 h5
14. f3 Be6 $11 {Die schwarze Stellung ist zwar passiv, aber nicht zu brechen.})
10. h3 (10. Rd1+ {Das Problem dieses Zuges ist, dass Weiß eigentlich den
anderen Turm nach d1 stellen sollte.} Ke8 11. h3 a5 12. Bf4 Be6 13. g4 Ne7 14.
Nd4 Nd5 15. Nce2 Bc5 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. c4 Nb6 18. b3 a4 $132 {Kasparov -
Kramnik (London, 2000)}) (10. b3 $5 {Es macht Sinn, Zeit am Zug h3 zu sparen,
wenn man nicht mit g4 spielen will.} Bd7 11. Bb2 Kc8 12. Rad1 b6 13. Rd3 (13.
Ne2 c5 14. c4 Bc6 $11 {Kasparov - Kramnik (London, 2000)}) 13... Ne7 14. Rfd1 {
Weiß entwickelt nun eine unangenehme Initiative.} Bf5 15. Rd8+ Kb7 16. Rxa8
Kxa8 17. Nd4 Bg4 18. Nce2 c5 19. h3 Bc8 20. Nb5 Kb7 21. Nf4 $36 {Bruzon
Batista - Mitkov (Merida, 2008)}) 10... Bd7 11. b3 (11. Bf4 $5 Kc8 12. Rad1 $1
(12. a3 $2 {ist einfach zu langsam.} b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Rfe1 c5 $132 {Motylev
- Ponomariov (Motril, 2008). Schwarz plant Bc6-Kb7 mit guter Stellung.}) 12...
b6 13. Rd3 Be6 14. Rfd1 Kb7 15. b3 $14 {und Schwarz hatte Probleme mit seiner
Entwicklung in Anand - Topalov (Monte Carlo, 2005)}) 11... Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13.
Rad1 c5 (13... Ne7 {gilt als Hauptzug. Weiß hat nun mehrere
Fortsetzungsmöglichkeiten.} 14. Rd2 {Sieht am logischsten aus, aber auch
andere Ideen sind interessant.} (14. Ne2 Ng6 15. Ng3 (15. Ne1 h5 16. Nd3 c5 17.
c4 a5 18. a4 h4 $11 {Kasparov - Kramnik (London, 2000)}) 15... Nf4 16. Nd4 a5
17. a4 b5 18. Kh2 bxa4 19. bxa4 Nd5 20. Rd3 Nb6 $132 {Shirov - Kramnik (Astana,
2001)}) (14. Nd4 $5 c5 15. Nde2 a5 16. Rd2 Nc6 17. Rfd1 Be6 18. Nf4 Bf5 19. g4
$1 $16 {Efimenko - Naiditsch (Subotica, 2008)}) 14... c5 15. Rfd1 Be6 16. Ne2
g5 $132 {Anand - Kramnik (Mainz, 2001)}) 14. Rfe1 ({Nach} 14. Nd5 a5 $1 15. a4
c4 $1 {wurde Weiß praktisch gezwungen, den Bauern zu opfern:} 16. e6 fxe6 17.
Nf4 cxb3 18. cxb3 Bd6 19. Ng6 Rg8 20. Nfe5 Be8 $15 {, wonach Schwarz eindeutig
besser stand in Stellwagen - Efimenko (Wattenscheid, 2008)}) 14... a5 $5 $146 {
Der Zug ist vielleicht nicht schlecht, aber mir gefällt die sofortige
Überführung des Springers nach g6 besser.} (14... Ne7 {Die Überführung des
Springers nach g6 ist ein typisches Manöver - von dort aus kontrolliert er das
Feld f4.} 15. Nd2 (15. Ne2 Ng6 $11 {Leko - Jakovenko (Jermuk, 2009)}) 15... Be6
16. Nde4 c4 17. Kh2 cxb3 18. cxb3 Ng6 19. Nb5 Bd7 20. Nec3 Bc5 21. Ba3 Bxa3 22.
Nxa3 Re8 $11 {Motylev - Volokitin (Wijk aan Zee, 2009)}) 15. a4 {Weiß kann es
sich vielleicht erlauben, Schwarz a5-a4 spielen zu lassen.} (15. g4 $5 Ne7 16.
Nd2 h5 17. f3 a4 18. Kg2 $14) 15... Ne7 {Nachdem die Züge a5 und a4 gespielt
wurden, ist es sogar noch besser für Schwarz.} 16. Ne2 Ng6 17. h4 $2 {Es ist
unglaublich, dass man solch einen Zug nochmal spielt, nachdem man in der
Partie Leko - Jakovenko schon gesehen hatte, dass die Aufgabe der weißen
Felder nur zum Nachteil führen kann.} h5 (17... Bg4 18. Nh2 Bf5 19. h5 Ne7 20.
Rd2 Nc6 21. g4 Bh7 22. f4 $14) 18. g3 $2 {Wenn man "A" sagt, muss man auch "B"
sagen. Die einzige prinzipielle Fortsetzung ist Ng5} (18. Ng5 Be7 $1 19. Nxf7 (
19. e6 fxe6 20. Ng3 Bxg5 21. hxg5 h4 22. Ne4 e5 $11) 19... Rf8 20. Ng5 Bf5 $1
$132) 18... Be7 $11 {Schwarz hat mindestens ausgeglichen, ich wuerde seine
Stellung sogar als etwas aussichtsreicher einschätzen.} 19. c4 Bf5 {Die weißen
Felder im Lager von Weiß sehen furchtbar schwach aus.} 20. Nc3 Kb7 (20... Bc2
21. Rc1 Bxb3 (21... Bf5 22. Nd5 $11) 22. Nd2 $18) 21. Nd2 (21. Nd5 $2 Bc2 22.
Rc1 Bxb3 $17 {Der Bauer a4 ist nicht gedeckt - der Läufer kann nicht gefangen
genommen werden.}) 21... c6 22. Nf1 (22. Nde4 $4 Nxe5 $19) (22. Nce4 Rad8 $15 {
/\Rd3}) 22... Bg4 23. Rc1 Rad8 $15 {Schwarz hat eindeutig die Initiative
übernommen.} 24. Nd1 Rhe8 25. Nde3 Rd3 26. Bc3 (26. Nxg4 Rxb3 27. Rc2 hxg4 $15)
(26. Rc3 $4 Nxe5 $19) 26... Bc8 $1 {Den Läufer sollte man behalten.} 27. Nd1
Nf8 {Schwarz überführt den Springer nach d4.} 28. f4 Ne6 29. Nf2 Rdd8 30. Ne4
Nd4 31. Nfd2 Bf5 32. Kf2 Rd7 (32... f6 $5 {sieht sehr gefährlich für Weiß aus:}
33. exf6 gxf6 $17) 33. Nf6 $1 {Vielleicht die beste Chance. Ansonsten würde
Schwarz langsam aber sicher seinen gewaltigen positionellen Vorteil verwerten.}
Bxf6 (33... gxf6 $2 34. exf6 $11) 34. exf6 Rxe1 35. Rxe1 gxf6 36. Ne4 Bxe4 37.
Rxe4 f5 {Gibt den großen Teil des Vorteils weg.} (37... Nxb3 38. Bxf6 Nd2 39.
Re5 (39. Re7 Rxe7 40. Bxe7 f5 $19) 39... Kc7 40. Bh8 Nxc4 41. Rxh5 Rd2+ 42. Kf3
Rd3+ 43. Kf2 Kd7 44. Rg5 Nd6 $17 {Die Chancen von Schwarz sind viel größer.})
38. Re8 (38. Re5 $5 f6 39. Re8 Nxb3 40. Rh8 $132) 38... Nxb3 39. Rh8 Nd2 $2 {
Ein Fehler, der zum Remis führt.} (39... Rd3 $1 {würde sehr wahrscheinlich
gewinnen. Ponomariov wollte wohl kein Risiko eingehen.} 40. Be5 Nd2 41. Rxh5
Ne4+ 42. Ke1 f6 43. Rh7+ Ka6 44. Bb8 b5 45. axb5+ cxb5 46. cxb5+ Kxb5 47. h5 a4
48. h6 a3 49. Ra7 Rxg3 50. h7 Rh3 $19) 40. Bxd2 Rxd2+ 41. Ke3 Rd6 (41... Ra2
42. Rxh5 Ra3+ 43. Kf2 Rxa4 44. Rxf5 Rxc4 45. Rxf7+ Ka6 46. h5 $13 {Die Anzahl
der Bauern spielt keine Rolle - das entstandene Endspiel ist voll verrückt.})
42. Rxh5 Rf6 43. Rh8 b5 44. Rd8 Kc7 45. Rd2 b4 46. Kf3 Rd6 47. Rxd6 Kxd6 48.
Ke3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Dortmund SuperGM 40th"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "2012.07.16"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2726"]
[BlackElo "2779"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2012.07.13"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[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. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 {Weiß muss genau wissen,
wie er nach 5...Nf6 in Vorteil kommt:} (5... Nf6 6. d4 $1 {Der stärkste Zug.} (
6. Nxe5 Be7 7. d4 O-O 8. Nc3 a6 9. Be2 d6 10. Nf3 Re8 11. Bf4 Bf8 12. Qd2 h6
13. h3 Bf5 $11 {Carlsen - Anand (Kristiansund, 2010)}) 6... e4 7. d5 Be7 8. Ng5
(8. dxc6 bxc6 9. Bxc6 dxc6 10. Qxd8+ Bxd8 11. Nc3 O-O $15) 8... a6 9. Ba4 b5
10. Bb3 Ne5 11. Nc3 $14) 6. Nxe5 {Nicht mehr als die Möglichkeit, den Gegner
in eine Falle zu locken, bringt 6.Bxc6:} (6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Nxe5 Be7 8. Qe2 Be6
9. d3 Nf5 $1 (9... O-O $2 10. Nxf7 Rxf7 11. Qxe6 $16) 10. Nd2 O-O $11) 6... Be7
7. Bf1 (7. Bd3 O-O 8. Nc3 Nxe5 9. Rxe5 c6 10. b3 Ne8 11. Qf3 d5 12. Bb2 Bf6 13.
Re2 Nc7 14. Na4 Bxb2 15. Nxb2 Ne6 $11 {Shirov - Ivanchuk (Monte Carlo, 1995)})
7... Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 {Die Hauptvariante ist 9.d4, aber auch dann
gleicht Schwarz leicht aus.} (9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Nf5 11. c3 (11. d5 Re8 12. Nd2
Rxe1 13. Qxe1 d6 14. Ne4 Bd4 15. c3 Bb6 16. a4 a6 17. a5 Ba7 $11 {Popov - Ni
Hua (Dagomys, 2008)}) 11... d5 12. Bf4 c6 13. Nd2 Nh4 14. Bd3 Bf5 $11) 9... Bf6
10. Re1 c6 {Ich denke, dass Schwarz nach 10....Nf5 leicht ausgleicht.} (10...
Nf5 11. Nd5 c6 12. Nxf6+ Qxf6 13. c3 d5 14. d4 Nd6 15. Qh5 h6 $11 {Zinchenko -
Kryvoruchko (Rethymnon, 2010)}) 11. d4 Nf5 12. d5 $1 {Hier nutzt Weiß die
Stellung des schwarzen Bauern auf c6 aus.} d6 13. Ne4 {Die Alternativen
bringen wenig.} (13. Bd3 Be5 14. Be4 Bd7 15. Qd3 g6 $1 (15... Qf6 $2 16. g4 $1
Nh4 17. g5 Qd8 18. Bxh7+ Kh8 19. Re4 $16 {Guseinov - Sargissian (Porto Carras,
2011)})) (13. Bf4 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Qf6 15. c4 c5 16. Bd3 Nd4 17. Be3 h6 18. Qh5
Bd7 19. c3 Nf5 20. Bd2 Nh4 $11 {Fedorov - Sturua (Dubai, 2009)}) 13... Be7 {
Der Rückzug sieht etwas passiv aus. Mir gefällt der typische Zug ...Be5 besser:
} (13... Be5 14. c3 (14. f4 $2 Bd4+ 15. Kh1 cxd5 $15) 14... Qb6 {Schwarz
verhindert f4.} 15. dxc6 (15. Bc4 Bd7 16. Qb3 Rae8 17. Bg5 h6 18. Bd2 Qc7 $132
{Vishnu - Hess (Chalkis, 2010)}) (15. Kh1 cxd5 16. Qxd5 Be6 $36) 15... bxc6 16.
Nd2 Qd8 17. Nc4 Bf6 18. Bf4 d5 $11 {Asrian - Sargissian (Moscow, 2006)}) 14. c3
Nh4 {Der Springer macht Platz für den weißfeldrigen Läufer.} (14... cxd5 15.
Qxd5 Qb6 16. Bg5 Be6 17. Qd2 $14 {Guliyev - Meszaros (Bastia, 2010)}) 15. g3
Ng6 (15... cxd5 $6 16. Nd2 (16. Qxd5 Nf3+ $19) 16... Nf5 17. Nb3 Be6 18. Bg2
$14 {Weiß gewinnt den Bauern zurück und Schwarz verbleibt mit isoliertem Bauer
d6.}) 16. f4 f5 17. Nf2 c5 $11 {Das ist eine typische Stellung mit
gleichwertigen Chancen.} 18. Bd2 (18. c4 Bf6 $11) 18... Bf6 19. Qc2 Ne7 20. c4
$6 {Mir scheint der Zug verdächtig zu sein. Der Plan mit der Überführung des
Springers nach c4 sieht interessanter aus.} (20. Nd1 $5 Bd7 (20... Nxd5 $4 21.
Bc4 $18) 21. a4 Kh8 22. Ne3 Ng8 23. Nc4 $14) 20... Kh8 21. a4 (21. Bc3 Ng8 22.
Nd3 Bxc3 23. Qxc3 Nf6 $11) 21... Bd7 $1 {Schwarz lässt sich auf keine
Provokationen ein. Ein Fehler wäre es, ...a5 zu spielen:} (21... a5 22. Nd1 $14
{/\Nc3-Nb5}) 22. Bd3 Qc7 23. Kg2 Rae8 {Schwarz will Figuren tauschen und sich
damit das Leben leichter machen.} 24. Nh3 b6 (24... h6 25. Ng1 Qc8 26. Nf3 $14)
25. Bc3 {Wenn Weiß seinen Springer gegen den schwarzen Läufer tauschen lässt,
sind die Folgen gar nicht so eindeutig.} (25. Ng5 Bxg5 $5 26. fxg5 Ng6 27. Rxe8
Rxe8 28. Bc3 Ne5 $132) 25... Bxc3 26. Qxc3 Ng8 (26... h6 27. Ng1 Ng6 28. h4
Rxe1 29. Rxe1 Qd8 30. h5 Ne7 31. Qc2 $14 {/\Nf3-Nh4.}) 27. Ng5 Nf6 28. b3 (28.
Ne6 Bxe6 29. Rxe6 Rxe6 30. dxe6 Qc6+ 31. Kg1 Ne4 32. Bxe4 fxe4 $132) 28... h6 {
Schwarz will Weiß zu Ne6 zwingen.} 29. Nf3 (29. Ne6 Bxe6 30. Rxe6 Rxe6 31. dxe6
Qc6+ 32. Kg1 Ne4 33. Bxe4 fxe4 $132) 29... Kh7 $1 {Der Druck von Weiß wird
reduziert. Nun will Schwarz ...g6 spielen.} 30. h3 (30. Nh4 g6 31. Rxe8 Nxe8
32. Re1 Qd8 $11) 30... Qd8 31. Ra2 {Weiß hat sehr langsam gespielt, so dass
Schwarz überhaupt kein Problem hat. Er kann einfach alle Türme tauschen und
damit in ein gleiches Endspiel gehen.} Rxe1 32. Qxe1 Re8 33. Re2 Rxe2+ 34. Qxe2
g6 $11 {Schwarz hat keine Schwächen und die Stellung ist Remis.} 35. Nd2 Kg7
36. Nb1 Kf7 37. Nc3 Nh5 {Nun muss Weiß aufpassen, die schwarze Dame will nach
f6 und dann nach d4 gehen.} 38. Qe3 Qf6 39. Be2 Ng7 40. Kf2 g5 41. Bf3 g4 42.
Bg2 h5 43. h4 a5 44. Ke1 Qe7 45. Qxe7+ Kxe7 46. Bf1 Kf6 1/2-1/2

[Event "Dortmund SuperGM 41st"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "2013.07.27"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Andreikin, Dmitry"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2740"]
[BlackElo "2727"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2013.07.26"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 156"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2013.09.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2013.09.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Nh4 ({Spielbar ist auch
} 12... Be6 $5 {Nach dem prinzipiellen} 13. Ng5 {gleicht Schwarz forciert aus:}
Bc4 $1 14. Rfe1 Rd8 $1 15. Rxd8+ (15. b3 Ba6 16. Rxd8+ {->15.Rxd8}) 15... Bxd8
16. b3 Ba6 17. e6 Bxg5 18. exf7+ Kxf7 19. Bxg5 Re8 $11) 13. Nxh4 {Weiß kann
nicht besser stehen, besonders weil er nicht zu g4 kommt.} (13. Nd4 Nf5 14.
Nce2 Nxd4 $1 15. Nxd4 (15. Rxd4 Bf5 16. Rd2 Rd8 17. Nd4 Bg6 $15) 15... a6 $1 {
Und Weiß muss die Notbremse ziehen und e6 spielen.} 16. e6 (16. Rfe1 c5 17. Nf3
Bf5 18. Rd2 Rd8 $15) 16... Bxe6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bxc7 Rc8 19. Bb6 Bd8 20. Bd4
Bf6 $11 {Das Endspiel ist leicht Remis zu halten.}) 13... Bxh4 14. Ne2 Bd7 15.
Rfe1 (15. e6 Bxe6 16. Nd4 Bf6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bxc7 Rc8 19. Bf4 Ke7 $11 {
Dominguez Perez - Wang Yue (Wijk aan Zee, 2009)}) 15... Rd8 16. Nd4 Bc8 (16...
c5 17. e6 cxd4 18. exd7+ Kxd7 19. Rxd4+ Kc8 20. Rc4 c6 21. Be5 Bf6 22. Bxf6
gxf6 23. Re2 $14) 17. c3 Rd5 18. e6 Bf6 (18... Bxe6 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Rxe6+ Kd7
21. Ree1 Bf6 22. g3 $14) 19. exf7+ $1 {Komisch, aber dieser Zug ist eine
Neuerung. Es ist offensichtlich, dass das Nehmen auf c7 viel schwächer ist.} (
19. Bxc7 Bxe6 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Bf4 (21. Rxe6+ Kd7 22. Rxd5+ cxd5 $19) 21...
Ke7 $11 {1/2-1/2 Leko,P (2762)-Jakovenko,D (2742)/Nanjing 2009/CBM 133 (51)})
19... Kxf7 (19... Kd7 $2 20. Bxc7 $1 Kxc7 21. Re8 Rd8 22. Nb5+ cxb5 23. Rdxd8
$18) 20. Bxc7 $14 {Weiß hat einen Mehrbauer und relative risikofreie Stellung.}
g5 {Schwarz muss das Läuferpaar behalten.} (20... Bxd4 21. cxd4 Re8 22. Be5 c5
23. Re3 cxd4 24. Bxd4 Rxe3 25. fxe3 $16 {Der Läufer auf d4 ist sehr stark!}) (
20... Re8 21. Rxe8 Kxe8 22. Re1+ Kd7 23. Bb8 Bxd4 24. cxd4 Rxd4 25. Bxa7 Ra4
26. Rd1+ Ke6 27. Bd4 $16) 21. Nf3 (21. f4 gxf4 22. Bxf4 Rhd8 23. Rd2 Bxd4+ 24.
cxd4 Rxd4 $11) 21... Rxd1 22. Rxd1 Re8 23. Nd2 (23. Rd2 Be6 24. a3 Bd5 25. Nd4
Kg6 $44) 23... b5 24. f3 Bf5 25. Kf2 Re7 26. Bd8 Rd7 27. Bxf6 Bc2 28. Rg1 Rxd2+
29. Ke3 Rd5 $11 {Man kann nicht sagen, dass das Spiel forciert verläuft, aber
Weiß konnte auch nicht mehr als ein ähnliches Endspiel bekommen. Die schwarzen
Figuren sind sehr aktiv, während die weißen Figuren offensichtlich nicht gut
koordiniert sind.} (29... Rd3+ 30. Ke2 Rd5 31. Bd4 c5 32. Be3 $14) 30. Bh8 Kg8
31. c4 {Weiß hat keine Wahl, er muss den Bauer zurückgeben.} (31. Bf6 Kf7 32.
Bh8 $11) (31. Bd4 c5 32. Bf6 Kf7 $11) 31... bxc4 32. Bc3 {Es sollte kein
Problem sein, eine solche Stellung Remis zu halten...} Kf7 (32... g4 $2 33.
fxg4 hxg4 34. Rc1 Bf5 35. h4 $1 $14) 33. Rc1 Bd3 34. h4 $1 {Weiß muss
versuchen, einen freien Bauern am Königsflügel zu organisieren.} gxh4 35. Rh1
Rg5 (35... Rd7 $5 36. Rxh4 Kg6 37. Rf4 Re7+ 38. Kf2 Kg5 39. Rf8 Re2+ 40. Kg3
h4+ 41. Kh2 (41. Kh3 Bf5+ 42. Kh2 h3 43. Rg8+ Kf4 $11) 41... Bf5 42. Kg1 Kf4
$11) 36. Kf2 Rd5 37. Rxh4 Ke6 38. Rh2 a5 39. Kg3 a4 40. a3 Rg5+ 41. Kh4 Rd5 42.
Rh1 Kf7 43. Re1 {Es hat sich immernoch nichts verändert.} Bg6 44. Re3 Bd3 45.
Be5 Kg6 (45... Bf1 46. g4 (46. Kg3 Rd2 $15) (46. g3 Rd3 47. Re1 Rxf3 48. Kxh5
Bd3 $11) 46... hxg4 47. fxg4 Bd3 $11) 46. Re1 Bc2 47. Bc3 Kf7 48. Re2 Bd3 49.
Re3 Bg6 50. g4 {Auch hier ist nichts los.} c5 (50... hxg4 51. fxg4 $11) 51. Re1
hxg4 52. fxg4 Bc2 53. Rf1+ Ke7 54. Rf4 Bd3 55. Bg7 Ke6 56. Rf6+ Ke7 57. Rb6 Kf7
58. Bc3 Bc2 $4 {Das kann leicht passieren - Schwarz ist einfach
"eingeschlafen"... Er hätte um jeden Preis den Vorstoß des g-Bauern verhindern
müssen.} (58... Ke7 59. g5 Rd6 60. Rb5 Rc6 $11) 59. g5 $1 $18 {Plötzlich ist
die Stellung verloren - der g-Bauer ist nicht aufzuhalten.} Rd1 (59... Ke7 60.
g6 Rd6 61. g7 Bh7 62. Rb7+ Ke8 63. Ra7 $18) 60. g6+ Ke7 61. g7 Rg1 62. Rb7+ Ke6
63. Rb8 Bh7 (63... Kf7 64. Rf8+ $18) 64. Rh8 1-0

[Event "World Cup"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2009.11.22"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Sjugirov, Sanan"]
[Black "Fressinet, Laurent"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2612"]
[BlackElo "2653"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2009.11.21"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 134"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.01.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.01.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. Ne2 {Ich denke nicht, dass der Springerzug zum
Vorteil führen kann. Es ist einfach zu langsam.} (10. h3 Be7 11. g4 Nh4 12.
Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Kg2 h5 14. f3 Be6 ({Eine andere Verteidigungsmethode ist} 14...
a5 {, um die weißen Bauern zu zwingen, weiße Felder einzunehmen.} 15. a4 b6 16.
Rd1 Be7 17. Ne2 Bd7 18. Bf4 c5 19. Bg3 Rd8 20. c4 Bc8 21. b3 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 hxg4
23. hxg4 Bd8 $14 {Kotronias - Kritz (Port Erin, 2007). Weiß hat einen
symbolischen Vorteil und Schwarz muss die ganze Partie leiden, doch bei
korrekter Verteidigung kann man Remis halten. Es ist jedoch zu empfehlen, wie
Wang Yue gegen Adams zu spielen - dort ist es einfacher, das Remis zu
erreichen.}) 15. Be3 Be7 $11 {Adams - Wang Yue (Dresden, 2008)}) 10... Ne7 {
Schwarz spielt gegen die weiße Idee - Überführung des Springers nach f4.} 11.
h3 (11. Nf4 Ng6 $11) 11... Ng6 ({Eine alternative Spielweise ist} 11... a5 12.
Re1 Nd5 13. Bd2 h6 14. Nfd4 a4 15. e6 fxe6 16. Nxe6 Bxe6 17. Nd4 Kf7 18. Nxe6
a3 19. bxa3 Bxa3 $132 {Gashimov - Efimenko (Poikovsky, 2009)}) 12. Re1 {
Dieser Turm soll auf e1 stehen, das Feld d1 bleibt frei für den anderen Turm.}
(12. Rd1 Be6 13. Ned4 Bd5 14. h4 Bc5 15. h5 Ne7 16. b3 Rd8 17. Bg5 h6 18. Bh4
Rd7 19. c4 Bxf3 20. Nxf3 Nf5 $11 {und Schwarz glich aus in Deep Junior -
Gelfand (Tel Aviv, 1999)}) 12... c5 $1 {Die richtige Strategie. Man muss das
Feld e6 für den Läufer sichern, deswegen nimmt man den weißen Springern das
Feld d4 weg.} 13. Nc3 h6 $1 {Die gleiche Idee wieder - das Feld g5 wird unter
Kontrolle genommen. Schwarz hat überhaupt keine Schwierigkeiten - Weiß hat
viel Zeit für seine Springermanöver verloren.} (13... Be6 $6 14. Ng5 $14) 14.
Be3 Be6 15. Rad1 Rd8 $1 {Es ist immer gut, ein Paar Türme zu tauschen, um die
eventuelle Verdoppelung der weißen Türme auf der d-Linie zu verhindern.} 16.
Nb5 $2 {In den ersten 16 Zügen hat Weiß viermal denselben Springer gezogen,
ohne irgendeinen Nutzen daraus zu ziehen.} (16. Kh2 $5 {- die beste Chance für
Weiß ist es, sein Spiel am Königsflügel zu beginnen.} Be7 17. g4 $11) 16... Rd7
17. a4 {Der Bauer a7 ist unantastbar.} (17. Nxa7 $2 c6 $19 {Der Springer kommt
in dieser Partie sicherlich nicht mehr zurück.}) 17... a6 18. Nc3 a5 $1 {
Es ist nicht schlimm, dass das Feld b5 geschwächt wird, viel wichtiger ist es,
weiße Bauern auf weißen Feldern zu fixieren.} (18... Kd8 $6 19. a5 $14) 19. Nb5
Be7 $15 {Ich finde, die schwarze Stellung ist einfach besser. Weiß hat
überhaupt keinen aktiven Plan, seine Figuren sehen zwar gut aus, machen aber
eigentlich so gut wie gar nichts.} 20. Rd2 b6 21. Red1 Bd8 $1 {Stärker als Kd8.
} (21... Kd8 22. Na7 Rxd2 23. Rxd2+ Ke8 24. Nc6 $11) 22. Rxd7 Bxd7 23. Rd2 $2 {
Schwer zu verstehen, was will Weiß da eigentlich?} (23. b3 $5 Bc6 24. Nd2 Nxe5
$6 25. Bxc5 bxc5 26. Re1 f6 27. f4 Kf7 28. fxe5 f5 29. e6+ Kf6 30. Nc3 (30. Nc4
Bd5 31. Nxa5 c6 $19) 30... Re8 31. Nc4 $13) 23... Bc6 $1 24. Nh2 {Das Feld d2
steht dem Springer nicht mehr zur Verfügung.} Nxe5 25. Re2 (25. Bxc5 Nc4 $5 (
25... bxc5 26. Re2 f6 27. f4 Kf7 28. fxe5 Re8 29. Nf3 Bxf3 30. gxf3 fxe5 31.
Kf2 $15 {Weiß behält Remischancen, weil die schwarze Bauernstruktur schlecht
ist.}) 26. Re2+ Kd7 27. Bd4 f6 28. b3 Nd6 $15) 25... Bxb5 (25... f6 $5 26. Bxc5
Kf7 27. Be3 Re8 $15) 26. axb5 Kd7 27. Bxc5 (27. Bxh6 $2 Rxh6 28. Rxe5 Bf6 29.
Rf5 Ke6 30. Rf4 Bxb2 $19) 27... Re8 28. Rd2+ (28. Bd4 $4 Nf3+ $19) (28. Be3 Nc4
29. b3 Nxe3 30. Rxe3 Rxe3 31. fxe3 Kd6 $19) 28... Kc8 29. Bd4 Bf6 30. b3 Rd8 $6
{Der schwarze Vorteil wird nun minimal.} ({Sehr unangenehm war} 30... Bg5 $5
31. Rd1 Rd8 32. Kf1 c5 33. bxc6 Nxc6 34. Nf3 Bf6 $17) 31. Be3 Rxd2 32. Bxd2 c6
$1 {Die einzige Chance auf Gewinn zu spielen, ist es, einen entfernten
Freibauer zu organisieren.} 33. f4 Nd7 34. bxc6 Nb8 35. Be3 $4 {Es ist wohl
der schlechteste Zug, den man machen konnte. Die schwarze Idee ist b5-a4, Weiß
hilft ihm dabei! Viel besser wäre c4 oder Kf2.} (35. c4 Nxc6 36. Nf3 Kd7 37.
Kf2 $11) (35. Kf2 Nxc6 36. Ng4 Bd4+ 37. Ke2 $11 {Wenn der weiße König im
Zentrum ist, kann er die Bildung des schwarzen Freibauern effektiv stören.})
35... b5 $17 36. Ng4 Bb2 {Weiß ist nun machtlos - er kann den schwarzen Bauern
nicht mehr aufhalten und muss eine Figur dafür geben.} 37. Ne5 a4 38. bxa4 bxa4
39. Nxf7 (39. Bc5 a3 40. Bxa3 Bxa3 41. Nxf7 Nxc6 $19) 39... Nxc6 (39... Kc7 {
gewann ebenfalls} 40. Bc5 Nxc6 41. Kf1 a3 42. Bxa3 Bxa3 $19) 40. Nd6+ Kd7 41.
Nc4 a3 42. Nxa3 Bxa3 $19 {Der Rest ist nicht interessant, das Endspiel ist
verloren für Weiß.} 43. Kf2 Kd6 44. g4 Kd5 45. h4 Ke4 46. Bd2 Bc5+ 47. Kg2 Nd4
48. c4 Nf3 49. Bc3 Bd4 50. Bxd4 Nxd4 51. f5 Kf4 52. Kh3 h5 53. gxh5 Nxf5 54. c5
Ne7 55. Kg2 0-1

[Event "Moscow Tal Memorial 7th"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2012.06.14"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2835"]
[BlackElo "2825"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "120"]
[EventDate "2012.06.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 149"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. b3 Be6 {In dieser Stellung ist auch der von
Kramnik gespielte Zug Bb4 gut:} (10... Bb4 $1 11. Bb2 Bxc3 12. Bxc3 c5 13. Rad1
h6 14. h3 Be6 $132 {und Schwarz stand zumindest nicht schlechter in Howell -
Kramnik (London, 2002)}) (10... a5 {Das ist ebenfalls eine spielbare
Initiative.} 11. Bb2 Bb4 12. Rad1 Bxc3 13. Bxc3 c5 14. h3 h5 15. Rfe1 b6 16.
Ng5 Rh6 17. f4 h4 $132 {Solomon - Pashikian (Khanty-Mansiysk, 2010)}) 11. Bb2
Bb4 12. Ne2 (12. Rfd1 Bxc3 13. Bxc3 c5 14. Rd2 h6 $132 {mit gleichem Spiel wie
nach 10...Bb4, Fogarasi - Almasi (Hungary, 1995)}) 12... Bd5 13. Ne1 (13. Ned4
Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Rd8 15. Rad1 Bc5 16. Nf5 Be4 17. Rxd8+ Kxd8 18. Nxg7 Ke7 19. Re1
$132 {Guseinov - Pashikian (Ohrid, 2009)}) 13... h5 {Es sieht so aus, als ob
Schwarz hier mit 13....Rd8 ausgleichen konnte:} (13... Rd8 14. Nd3 Be7 15. Rad1
Be4 16. Rfe1 Bxd3 17. cxd3 c5 $11) 14. Nd3 Be7 15. Nef4 Rh6 (15... g5 $5 16. c4
$1 (16. Nxd5 cxd5 17. e6 Rh6 18. exf7+ Kxf7 19. f4 g4 20. Rfe1 Bd6 $11) 16...
Be6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Rad1 Rd8 $11) 16. c4 Be4 (16... Be6 17. g3 $1 (17. h3 h4
$11) 17... g5 18. Nxe6 Rxe6 19. h3 $14 {Weiß will Kg2-g4 spielen.}) 17. Rad1 (
17. Rfe1 Bxd3 18. Nxd3 Rd8 19. Rad1 c5 20. Nf4 Ra6 21. Rxd8+ Bxd8 22. Ra1 (22.
a4 Rb6 $15) 22... h4 $11) 17... g5 18. Rfe1 Bxd3 19. Nxd3 {Die Partie verlief
bisher nicht ganz typisch für die Berliner Mauer, jetzt wird es sogar noch
interessanter.} b5 $6 {Ich denke nicht, dass dieser Zug gut sein kann. Die
einzige Idee von b5 ist auf c4 zu nehmen, dann ...c5 zu spielen, und danach ...
Ra6. Weiß hat jedoch viele Wege, um dies zu verhindern.} 20. c5 (20. Re4 $5 {
Das sieht sehr logisch aus.} Rd8 21. Kf1 $14) 20... Ng7 {Der Springer geht
nach g7, um den Bauern c5 von e6 aus anzugreifen.} 21. b4 (21. Bc3 $5 a5 22. a3
Ne6 23. b4 axb4 24. axb4 Ra3 25. Bb2 Ra2 26. Ra1 Rxa1 27. Rxa1 $14) 21... a5
22. a3 Ne6 23. g3 (23. f3 $5 {Mit der Idee Kf2-g3-Ke3-f4.} Rd8 24. Kf2 $14)
23... g4 {Nun ist es nicht mehr so einfach für Weiß f2-f4 durchzuführen.} 24.
Kg2 Rg6 25. Nf4 Rg5 (25... Nxf4+ 26. gxf4 axb4 27. axb4 Ra2 28. Re2 $14 {
Die Idee f5 und danach f3 ist sehr unangenehm für Schwarz.}) 26. Bc1 (26. Nxe6
fxe6 $11 {Dieses Endspiel ist remis, weil Schwarz gutes Gegenspiel am
Damenflügel hat.}) 26... Rf5 27. h3 gxh3+ (27... axb4 $5 28. hxg4 hxg4 29. axb4
Ra2 $6 30. Rh1 $1 {Das ist sehr stark.} Rxe5 31. Nxe6 Rxe6 (31... fxe6 32. Rh8+
Kf7 33. Rd7 $18) 32. Rh8+ Bf8 33. Bf4 $16) 28. Nxh3 axb4 29. axb4 Ra4 {Schwarz
hat gewisses Gegenspiel, doch die Stellung von Weiß sieht besser aus.} 30. Bd2
Ra3 (30... Nd4 31. f4 Nc2 32. Re4 $14) 31. f4 $1 {Schwarz bekommt eine starke
Initiative nach 31.Nf4.} (31. Nf4 h4 $1 32. Nxe6 fxe6 33. g4 h3+ 34. Kg1 Rff3
35. Re3 Bh4 $36) 31... h4 32. Re3 Rxe3 $5 {Es sieht so aus, als ob Weiß in
Vorteil kommt, doch Schwarz spielt sehr dynamisch und gleicht die Stellung aus.
Auch 32...Ra2 war interessant.} (32... Ra2 $1 33. g4 (33. Kf3 hxg3 34. Kg4 Ng7
35. Rxg3 Rh5 36. Nf2 Rh4+ 37. Kf3 Nf5 38. Rg8+ Kd7 $1 $11) 33... Rxf4 34. Nxf4
Bg5 $1 35. Kf3 Bxf4 36. Rd3 Bxd2 37. R1xd2 Ra1 38. Rd1 Ra2 39. Rh1 Rb2 40. Rxh4
Rxb4 $44 {Schwarz hat ausgezeichnete Kompensation.}) 33. Bxe3 hxg3 34. Kxg3 {
Das Problem für Schwarz ist, dass er nicht genug Gegenspiel besitzt und nur
passiv warten kann.} Rh5 35. Bf2 (35. Kg4 $2 Rh4+ 36. Kg3 Ng7 $11 {Wenn die
weißen Bauern mit dem Springer blockiert sind, kann Weiß kaum durchbrechen.})
35... f5 (35... Ng7 36. Kg4 $14 {und Schwarz schafft es nicht, den Springer
nach f5 zu stellen.}) 36. exf6 (36. Be3 Rh7 37. Ng1 Rg7+ 38. Kf3 Rh7 39. Ne2
Rh3+ 40. Ng3 Bh4 $11) 36... Bxf6 37. Kg4 Rxh3 {Das sieht verdächtig aus,
obwohl, es kann sein, dass das Endspiel remis ist.} (37... Rd5 $5 38. Re1 (38.
Rxd5 cxd5 39. Kf5 Kf7 40. Ng5+ Nxg5 41. fxg5 Bc3 $11) 38... Kd7 $11 {Es sieht
so aus, dass Schwarz die Stellung halten kann.}) 38. Kxh3 Nxf4+ 39. Kg4 Nd5 {
Das Problem für Weiß ist, dass er die Läufer tauschen muss, weil der Bauer b4
schwach ist. Sonst, mit den Läufern, wäre das Endspiel sicherlich gewonnen.}
40. Bd4 (40. Rb1 Bc3 41. Be1 {Das ist der einzige Zug, um den Bauern zu halten.
} Bxe1 42. Rxe1+ Kd7 43. Re4 (43. Rb1 Ke6 44. Kf3 Ke5 $15 {Der König kommt
nach c4 und Weiß verliert beide Bauern.}) 43... Nf6+ 44. Kf5 Nxe4 45. Kxe4 Ke6
$11) 40... Kf7 (40... Bxd4 41. Rxd4 Kd7 {führt zum selben Endspiel wie in der
Partie.}) 41. Kf5 Ne7+ 42. Ke4 Bxd4 43. Kxd4 Ke6 44. Re1+ Kd7 45. Ke5 Nd5 46.
Re4 (46. Rd1 Kc8 47. Rxd5 $5 {Es sieht so aus, als ob Weiß eine Chance hätte,
doch auch das Bauernendspiel ist remis.} cxd5 48. Kxd5 Kd7 49. c6+ Ke7 50. Ke5
Kf7 51. Kd5 Ke7 52. Kc5 Ke6 53. Kxb5 Kd5 54. Ka6 Kxc6 55. b5+ Kc5 56. Kb7 Kxb5
57. Kxc7 $11) 46... Kc8 47. Ke6 Nc3 48. Rh4 Nd5 49. Rd4 Kd8 $1 ({Nach} 49...
Kb7 $2 {ist das Bauernendspiel gewonnen!} 50. Rxd5 $1 cxd5 51. Kxd5 Kc8 (51...
c6+ 52. Kd6 $18) 52. Kc6 Kd8 53. Kb7 Kd7 54. Kb8 Kc6 (54... Kd8 55. c6 $18) 55.
Kc8 Kd5 56. Kxc7 Kc4 57. c6 Kxb4 58. Kd6 Ka3 59. c7 b4 60. c8=Q $18) 50. Rg4
Kc8 51. Rh4 Kb7 52. Kd7 (52. Rd4 Kc8 $1 53. Rxd5 cxd5 54. Kxd5 Kd7 $11) 52...
Nf6+ 53. Kd8 Nd5 54. Rg4 (54. Rh7 Kb8 55. Rg7 Kb7 56. Rg4 {-> siehe die Partie.
}) 54... Kb8 55. Rd4 Kb7 {Weiß kann keine Fortschritte machen.} 56. Kd7 Nc3 57.
Ke6 Kc8 58. Rd3 Nd5 59. Rd4 Nc3 60. Rd3 Nd5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Dortmund SuperGM 40th"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "2012.07.15"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2700"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2012.07.13"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[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. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 {
Diese Variante wurde zuletzt oft gespielt, doch ich sehe kein Problem für
Schwarz nach dem einfachen 13...Bc4:} (13... Bc4 $1 14. Rfe1 Rd8 $1 15. Rxd8+ (
15. b3 Ba6 16. Rxd8+ {-> 15.Rxd8}) 15... Bxd8 16. b3 Ba6 17. e6 Bxg5 18. exf7+
Kxf7 19. Bxg5 Re8 $11) 14. g3 {Weiß hatte Vorteil auch nach 14.Nce4.} (14. Nce4
c5 15. Nxe6 Rxe6 16. Rfe1 Rd8 17. Rxd8+ Kxd8 18. c3 $14 {Alekseev - Ponomariov
(Saratov, 2011)}) 14... Bxg5 {Weiß hat Schwarz zu viel erlaubt, nun verläuft
die Partie forciert bis zu einem gleich stehenden Endspiel.} 15. Bxg5 Rg6 {
Der Turm muss selbstverständlich nach g6, denn sonst verliert der Zug ...Rh6
jeden Sinn.} 16. h4 (16. Bf4 Nh4 $1 {Schwarz erzwingt Zugwiederholung.} 17. Kh2
(17. Kh1 Nf3 18. Rd3 $2 (18. h4 $2 Bh3 $19) 18... Bc4 19. Rxf3 Bxf1 $19) 17...
Nf3+ 18. Kg2 Nh4+ 19. Kh2 Nf3+ $11) 16... f6 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bf4 Nxh4 19. f3
{Das Nehmen auf c7 führt zu nichts.} (19. Bxc7 Bg4 20. Rd3 Nf3+ 21. Kg2 h4 22.
Ne4 Kf7 23. Nd6+ Kg8 $11) 19... Rd8 {Das ist wesentlich stärker als ...Rg7.} (
19... Rg7 20. Ne4 Kf7 21. Kf2 Nxf3 (21... Nf5 22. Bxc7 $14) 22. Kxf3 Bg4+ 23.
Kf2 Bxd1 24. Rxd1 $16 {Efimenko - Bacrot (Poikovsky, 2011)}) 20. Rxd8+ Kxd8 21.
Kf2 Nf5 22. Rh1 Ng7 23. b3 {Überraschenderweise ist erst dieser Zug eine
Neuerung. In einer früheren Partie wurde 23.Bd2 gespielt:} (23. Bd2 Bf5 24. Nd1
Bxc2 25. Ne3 Bd3 26. Ng2 Ne6 27. Rxh5 Rg7 28. Bc3 Ke7 29. Rh6 Rf7 $11 {Anand -
Nakamura (Sao Paulo/Bilbao, 2011)}) 23... Bf5 24. Nd1 Bd7 $1 {In dieser
Stellung kann Schwarz nicht auf c2 nehmen:} (24... Bxc2 25. Ne3 Bf5 (25... Bd3
26. Rd1 $18) 26. Ng2 $3 {Weiß will gar nicht den Bauern, sondern den Turm g6.}
Ne6 $2 27. Nh4 Nxf4 28. gxf4 $18) 25. c4 {Obwohl Schwarz einen Mehrbauern hat,
sind seine Figuren sehr passiv und die Schwäche des Bauern h5 kompensiert Weiß
für das geopferte Material.} Be8 26. Bd2 Nf5 27. Bf4 (27. Rxh5 Nxg3 28. Rh7 Nf5
$15 {Weiß soll gegen den Bauern h5 spielen, aber ihn nicht tauschen, sondern
versuchen, zu gewinnen.}) 27... Ng7 28. Ne3 {Zum einen will Weiß die Züge
nicht wiederholen, zum anderen geht die Partie nun in ein absolut remises
Endspiel über.} (28. Bd2 Nf5 $11) 28... Ne6 $1 {Einfachste Entscheidung.} 29.
Rxh5 Nxf4 (29... Rxg3 30. Rh8 Rg6 31. Bg3 Ng5 32. Bxc7+ Kxc7 33. Rxe8 Nh3+ 34.
Ke1 Kb6 35. Re7 a5 $11) 30. gxf4 Rg2+ $1 {Mit den Türmen auf dem Brett steht
Weiß besser, weil der schwarze Turm keine Einbruchsfelder hat, während der
weiße nach h8 oder h7 gehen kann.} 31. Kxg2 Bxh5 32. b4 {Weiß stellt alle
seine Bauern auf schwarze Felder, so dass der schwarze Läufer sie nicht mehr
angreifen kann.} Kd7 33. c5 Ke6 34. Kg3 b6 35. a3 f5 $11 {Beide Seiten haben
keine Einbruchsmöglichkeiten. Der weiße König kann nicht nach h4 gehen, weil
er an die Verteidigung des weißen Bauern f3 gebunden ist.} 36. Kf2 (36. Kh4
Bxf3 37. Kg5 Be4 38. Kg6 Bd3 39. Kg5 Be4 $11 {Schwarz kann auch nichts machen.}
) 36... Bg6 37. Ke2 Bh5 38. Kf2 Bg6 39. Kg2 Bf7 40. Kh3 Bh5 41. Kg3 Kf6 {
Schwarz ist nicht im Zugzwang und muss seinen Läufer nicht wegziehen.} 42. Nc2
Be8 43. Nd4 Bd7 44. Kf2 (44. Kh4 Kg6 45. Nb3 Be6 46. Nd4 Bd7 $11) 44... b5 45.
Kg3 Kg7 46. Kf2 Kf6 47. Ke3 Be8 48. Kd2 Bd7 49. Kc3 Be8 50. Kb2 Bd7 51. a4 a6
$1 (51... bxa4 $2 52. Ka3 Kg6 $2 53. Kxa4 Kh5 54. Ka5 Kh4 55. Ka6 Kg3 56. Kxa7
Kxf4 57. Kb7 Ke3 58. Kxc7 Kxd4 59. Kxd7 Ke3 60. Kxc6 Kxf3 61. b5 $18) 52. a5
Be8 53. Kc3 Bd7 54. Nc2 Be6 55. Ne1 Bc4 56. Nd3 Bxd3 57. Kxd3 Ke6 58. Kd4 Kf6
59. Kd3 Ke6 1/2-1/2

[Event "Dortmund SuperGM 38th"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "2010.07.17"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2684"]
[BlackElo "2734"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "163"]
[EventDate "2010.07.15"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 138"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.09.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.09.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 (9... Ke8 10. h3 Be7 11. g4 (11. Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 h6
$1 {Es is wichtig, den gegnerischen Springer gleich zu vertreiben.} 13. Nf3 h5
14. Rad1 (14. Ne2 Ke7 15. Nf4 g6 $1 16. Rad1 Ng7 17. Rfe1 Rd8 18. Rxd8 Kxd8 19.
Ng5 Ke7 20. Rd1 a5 21. a4 Bf5 $132 {Timman - Kritz (Amsterdam, 2002)}) 14...
Ke7 $11) 11... Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Kg2 h5 14. f3 Be6 $11 {Die schwarze
Stellung ist zwar passiv, aber nicht zu knacken.}) 10. b3 {Die Idee dieses
Zuges ist es, die Zeit an h3 zu sparen und die Entwicklung vollenden.} (10. h3
Bd7 11. b3 (11. Bf4 $5 Kc8 12. Rad1 $1 (12. a3 $2 {ist einfach zu langsam.} b6
13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Rfe1 c5 $132 {Motylev - Ponomariov (Motril, 2008). Schwarz
plant Bc6-Kb7 mit guter Stellung.}) 12... b6 13. Rd3 Be6 14. Rfd1 Kb7 15. b3
$14 {und Schwarz hatte Probleme mit seiner Entwicklung in Anand - Topalov 
(Monte Carlo, 2005)}) 11... c5 $5 {Dieser Zug wird selten gespielt. Die
übliche Fortsetzung ist 11....Kc8. Jedoch wie man sieht, hat Schwarz nach 11...
.c5 noch keine Probleme gehabt.} 12. Rd1 ({Es verdient Betrachtung} 12. Bb2 $5
{mit der Idee, den anderen Turm nach d1 zu stellen. Womöglich hat Schwarz die
Möglichkeit 12....Nd4!?} Nd4 13. Nxd4 (13. Rad1 Nxf3+ 14. gxf3 Kc8 15. Kg2 Be6
$15 {Schwarz kann nur besser stehen.}) 13... cxd4 14. Ne4 c5 15. c3 $1 {
Man muss dynamisch spielen, ansonsten wird man einfacht schlecht stehen.} dxc3
16. Bxc3 Kc7 17. Rad1 Be7 18. Nd6 Bxd6 $3 (18... Be6 19. f4 g6 20. Nxf7 $3 Bxf7
21. e6 Bxe6 22. Bxh8 Rxh8 23. Rfe1 $18) 19. exd6+ Kc6 20. Bxg7 Rhg8 21. Be5
Bxh3 22. Bg3 Be6 $11 {Es sieht so aus, als ob sich Schwarz halten kann.}) 12...
Kc8 {Es ist offensichtlich, dass mit dieser Zugfolge Schwarz etwas gewonnen
hat, nämlich, dass der weiße Turm a1 nicht so leicht ins Spiel kommt.} 13. a4 (
13. Bb2 Be6 14. Nd5 g5 15. c4 b6 16. Rd2 Kb7 17. Rad1 Ne7 18. Nf6 {1/2-1/2
Motylev,A (2705)-Zhou Jianchao (2650)/Ningbo CHN 2010/The Week in Chess 806})
13... a5 14. Nd5 ({Auch nichts bringt} 14. g4 Ne7 15. Rd3 Bc6 $1 $11 ({Aber
nicht} 15... g5 $2 16. Bxg5 $1 hxg5 17. Rad1 $18)) 14... g5 $1 {Schwarz kann
das Feld f6 aufgeben - der weiße Springer wird hübsch aussehen und keine
Beschäftigung haben.} 15. Bb2 Be6 $11 {Svidler - Ponomariov (Astrakhan, 2010)})
(10. Rd1+ {Das Problem dieses Zuges ist, dass Weiß eigentlich den anderen Turm
auf d1 stellen sollte.} Ke8 11. h3 a5 12. Bf4 Be6 13. g4 Ne7 14. Nd4 Nd5 15.
Nce2 Bc5 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. c4 Nb6 18. b3 a4 $132 {Kasparov - Kramnik (London,
2000)}) 10... Be6 (10... Bd7 11. Bb2 Kc8 12. Rad1 b6 13. Rd3 (13. Ne2 c5 14. c4
Bc6 $11 {Kasparov - Kramnik (London, 2000)}) 13... Ne7 14. Rfd1 {Weiß
entwickelt nun eine unangenehme Initiative.} Bf5 15. Rd8+ Kb7 16. Rxa8 Kxa8 17.
Nd4 Bg4 18. Nce2 c5 19. h3 Bc8 20. Nb5 Kb7 21. Nf4 $36 {Bruzon Batista -
Mitkov (Merida, 2008)}) 11. Bb2 c5 {Schwarz muss nicht das Feld d5 sofort
aufgeben. Der Zug c5 wäre gut gewesen, wenn Schwarz zu c4 kommen würde, aber
das ist nicht der Fall.} (11... a5 12. Rad1+ (12. h3 Bb4 13. g4 Bxc3 14. Bxc3
Ne7 15. Rad1+ Kc8 16. Nd4 Bd5 $11 {Bosiocic - Svetushkin (Sarajevo, 2010)})
12... Kc8 13. a4 b6 14. Ne2 Bd5 15. Nd2 g5 16. c4 Be6 17. h3 h5 18. Ne4 Be7
$132 {Yemelin - Krasenkow (Rijeka, 2010)}) 12. Rad1+ Kc8 13. Nd5 {Sonst würde
Schwarz c4 spielen.} g5 $1 {Schwarz nimmt das Feld f4 unter Kontrolle und
erobert auch Raum am Königsflügel, so dass Weiß in Zukunft seine Bauernlawine
nicht leicht aufrollen kann.} (13... b6 14. Nf4 $14) 14. c4 b6 15. Nf6 {
Der Springer sieht auf f6 gut aus, aber was macht er denn da eigentlich?} Kb7 (
15... a5 $5 {Es macht immer Sinn, die Züge a5 und a4 einzuschließen.} 16. a4 (
16. g4 Ne7 17. Kg2 a4 $132 {und Schwarz hat Gegenspiel am Damenflügel.}) 16...
Kb7 {und weiter wie in der Partie.}) 16. g4 Ne7 17. Kg2 ({Nach} 17. h4 {
hat Schwarz eine Überraschung vorbereitet:} Ng8 $1 18. hxg5 (18. Nxg8 Rxg8 $19
{Der Bauer auf g4 ist nicht zu halten.}) 18... Nxf6 19. exf6 (19. gxf6 Bxg4 20.
Rd3 h5 $15) 19... Bd6 $1 (19... Bxg4 20. Ne5 Bxd1 21. Rxd1 hxg5 22. Nxf7 Rh7
23. Rd7 Kc8 24. Rd8+ Kb7 25. Rd7 $11) 20. g6 Bxg4 21. Kg2 fxg6 $15) 17... Ng6 (
{Gut sieht auch} 17... Ng8 $5 {aus} 18. Kg3 Nxf6 19. exf6 Bd6+ 20. Be5 Bxe5+
21. Nxe5 h5 22. h3 Rh6 $132) 18. Kg3 {Weiß will h4 spielen und danach den
f-Bauer aufrollen.} Be7 19. h4 (19. Nd5 Bd8 $11 {und Schwarz kontrolliert das
Feld h4.}) 19... Bxf6 (19... gxh4+ 20. Nxh4 Nxh4 21. Kxh4 Rag8 22. Rg1 $14) 20.
exf6 gxh4+ 21. Nxh4 Rhg8 ({Interessant ist die folgende Variante:} 21... Nxh4
22. Kxh4 Rhg8 (22... b5 $2 23. f4 $1 bxc4 24. f5 Bc8 25. bxc4 $16) 23. f3 b5 $5
24. cxb5 a6 $1 25. bxa6+ Rxa6 26. Ra1 Rga8 27. Kh5 Rxa2 28. Rxa2 Rxa2 29. Rf2
Bxb3 30. Kxh6 Be6 $132 {Das Endspiel sieht ja doch remislich aus.}) 22. f3 Nf8
$2 {Schwarz gewinnt zwar den Bauern, aber seine Stellung wird nun schlechter.}
23. Rfe1 $1 (23. Kf2 $2 h5 $1 24. gxh5 Rh8 $11) 23... h5 24. Re5 hxg4 25. f4 $1
{Das ist die Idee hinter dem Bauernopfer - Weiß gewinnt Raum durch den
Vormarsch des f-Bauern, und will danach an den Bauern f7 rankommen.} Re8 26. f5
Bd7 27. Re7 {Die Stellung von Schwarz ist kritisch.} Bc6 28. Ng2 $2 {Weiß
spielt völlig daneben und erlaubt Schwarz, zurück ins Spiel zu kommen.} (28.
Rd3 $1 {Gegen Rxf7 gibt es keine Verteidigung.} Nh7 29. Rxf7 Ng5 30. Re7 Ne4+
31. Kf4 $18) 28... Nh7 $1 {Nun ist der Bauer f7 indirekt verteidigt.} 29. Ne3 (
29. Rxf7 Ng5 30. Rg7 Ne4+ 31. Kf4 Nxf6 32. Bxf6 Bxg2 33. Kxg4 Rxg7+ 34. Bxg7
Re3 $1 35. Rg1 Bc6 36. f6 Rf3 37. Re1 Kc8 38. Re7 Kd8 $11) 29... Ng5 30. Nd5
Ne4+ 31. Kg2 Bxd5 (31... Rxe7 32. fxe7 Nd6 33. f6 Nf5 $11 {Es ist nicht zu
sehen, wie Weiß voran kommen kann.}) 32. Rxd5 Nd6 33. Bc1 {Stärker war 33.Be5.}
(33. Be5 {Schwarz muss nun ein paar einzige Züge finden.} Nxf5 $1 (33... Rxe7
34. fxe7 Kc6 35. f6 Kd7 36. Rd2 Ke6 37. Re2 Kd7 38. Kg3 $16) 34. Rxc7+ Ka8 35.
Bf4 (35. Rxf7 Ne3+ $19) (35. Rdd7 Rxe5 36. Rxa7+ Kb8 37. Rab7+ Ka8 38. Ra7+ $11
) 35... g3 $1 36. Rxf5 Re2+ 37. Kf3 (37. Kg1 Re1+ 38. Kg2 Re2+ $11) 37... Rf2+
(37... g2 38. Bh2 Re1 39. Rxf7 $18) 38. Ke4 Rxf4+ 39. Kxf4 g2 40. Rc8+ Rxc8 41.
Rg5 Kb7 42. Rxg2 Rd8 43. Rg7 Rd7 44. Ke5 Kc6 $11) 33... Kc6 34. Bh6 (34. Bf4 $2
Rxe7 35. fxe7 f6 $15) 34... b5 {Schwarz muss nicht unbedingt auf diese
Komplikationen eingehen.} (34... a6 35. a4 Rd8 36. Bf4 Rd7 $11) 35. Be3 Rxe7
36. fxe7 bxc4 37. Rxc5+ (37. bxc4 f6 38. Rxc5+ Kd7 39. Bd4 Ne4 40. Ra5 Kxe7 41.
Rxa7 Kd7 $11) 37... Kd7 38. f6 $1 {Richtige Entscheidung - Weiß riskiert wenig
mit dem Bauern auf e7.} (38. bxc4 f6 {-> 37.bxc4}) 38... cxb3 39. axb3 Ke6 (
39... Rb8 40. Bf4 {und Schwarz kann nicht den Bauern nehmen:} Rxb3 $4 41. Rxc7+
$1 $18) 40. Bd4 Ne8 {Schwarz entscheidet sich für den direktesten Weg - er
geht in das Endspiel R gegen R+B und hält sicher Remis.} 41. Ra5 Nxf6 $1 {
Erzwingt praktisch das Ergebnis.} 42. Ra6+ Kxe7 43. Bxf6+ Kd7 44. Bc3 (44. Rxa7
Rb8 45. Ra3 c5 $11 {In den nächsten Zügen werden die Bauern am Damenflügel
getauscht.}) 44... Rb8 45. b4 Rb5 $1 {Schwarz kann die Bauern des Damenflügels
forciert abtauschen.} 46. Rxa7 Kc8 47. Be1 (47. Ra5 $2 Rxa5 48. bxa5 $11 {
Sogar wenn Schwarz alle Bauern verliert, ist die Stellung wegen der falschen
Ecke Remis.}) 47... c5 48. bxc5 Rxc5 $11 {Der Rest ist Sache der Technik.
Ponomariov zeigt die Klasse, wie man dieses Endspiel Remis halten muss.} 49.
Rxf7 Rc7 50. Rf8+ Kd7 51. Kg3 Ke6 52. Ra8 Kf5 53. Ra5+ Ke4 54. Bd2 Rc4 55. Bf4
Rd4 56. Kxg4 Rd5 57. Ra8 Rd4 58. Re8+ Kd3 59. Kf5 Rd5+ 60. Be5 Ke3 61. Rh8 Rd3
62. Rh4 Kf3 63. Bd4 Rd2 64. Rf4+ Ke2 65. Ke4 Rc2 66. Rf3 Kd2 67. Rd3+ Ke2 68.
Bc3 Ra2 69. Re3+ Kd1 70. Rh3 Re2+ 71. Kd3 Rd2+ 72. Kc4 Rg2 73. Re3 Kc2 74. Re1
Rg4+ 75. Bd4 Kd2 76. Re8 Rg2 77. Bc3+ Kc2 78. Re4 Rf2 79. Rg4 Kd1 80. Bd4 Rc2+
81. Kb3 Rh2 82. Bc3 1/2-1/2

[Event "WchT 8th"]
[Site "Ningbo"]
[Date "2011.07.25"]
[Round "8.4"]
[White "Areshchenko, Alexander"]
[Black "Hess, Robert L"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2682"]
[BlackElo "2609"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[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 "Ukraine"]
[BlackTeam "US of America"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "UKR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. h3 (10. b3 {Die Idee dieses Zuges ist es, erst die
Zeit für h3 zu sparen und die Entwicklung zu vollenden.} Be6 (10... Bd7 11. Bb2
Kc8 12. Rad1 b6 13. Rd3 (13. Ne2 c5 14. c4 Bc6 $11 {Kasparov - Kramnik (London,
2000)}) 13... Ne7 14. Rfd1 {Weiss entwickelt nun unangenehme Initiative.} Bf5
15. Rd8+ Kb7 16. Rxa8 Kxa8 17. Nd4 Bg4 18. Nce2 c5 19. h3 Bc8 20. Nb5 Kb7 21.
Nf4 $36 {Bruzon Batista - Mitkov (Merida, 2008)}) 11. Bb2 a5 12. Rad1+ (12. h3
Bb4 13. g4 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 Ne7 15. Rad1+ Kc8 16. Nd4 Bd5 $11 {Bosiocic -
Svetushkin (Sarajevo, 2010)}) 12... Kc8 13. a4 b6 14. Ne2 Bd5 15. Nd2 g5 16. c4
Be6 17. h3 h5 18. Ne4 Be7 $132 {Yemelin - Krasenkow (Rijeka, 2010)}) (10. Rd1+
{Das Problem dieses Zuges ist, dass Weiß eigentlich den anderen Turm auf d1
stellen sollte.} Ke8 11. h3 a5 12. Bf4 Be6 13. g4 Ne7 14. Nd4 Nd5 15. Nce2 Bc5
16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. c4 Nb6 18. b3 a4 $132 {Kasparov - Kramnik (London, 2000)})
10... Be6 {Dieser Zug wird seltener gespielt als 10....Bd7. Sein größter
Nachteil ist, dass der Läufer nach g4-Nd4 angegriffen werden kann.} (10... Bd7
11. b3 (11. Bf4 $5 Kc8 12. Rad1 $1 (12. a3 $2 {ist einfach zu langsam.} b6 13.
Rad1 Ne7 14. Rfe1 c5 $132 {Motylev - Ponomariov (Motril, 2008). Schwarz plant
Bc6-Kb7 mit guter Stellung.}) 12... b6 13. Rd3 Be6 14. Rfd1 Kb7 15. b3 $14 {
und Schwarz hatte Probleme mit seiner Entwicklung in Anand - Topalov (Monte
Carlo 2005).}) 11... Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 {gilt als Hauptzug, eine gute
Alternative ist ...c5. Weiß hat nun mehrere Fortsetzungsmöglichkeiten.} 14.
Rfe1 (14. Rd2 {Sieht am logischsten aus, aber auch andere Ideen sind
interessant.} c5 15. Rfd1 Be6 16. Ne2 g5 $132 {Anand - Kramnik (Mainz, 2001)})
(14. Ne2 Ng6 15. Ng3 (15. Ne1 h5 16. Nd3 c5 17. c4 a5 18. a4 h4 $11 {Kasparov
- Kramnik (London, 2000)}) 15... Nf4 16. Nd4 a5 17. a4 b5 18. Kh2 bxa4 19. bxa4
Nd5 20. Rd3 Nb6 $132 {Shirov - Kramnik (Astana, 2001)}) (14. Nd4 $5 c5 15. Nde2
a5 16. Rd2 Nc6 17. Rfd1 Be6 18. Nf4 Bf5 19. g4 $1 $16 {Efimenko - Naiditsch 
(Subotica, 2008)}) 14... c5 15. Ne2 Ng6 $11 {Anand - Nakamura (London, 2010)})
11. Rd1+ {Das übliche 11.g4 sieht stärker aus.} (11. g4 $1 Ne7 12. Nd4 $1 Bd7
13. f4 (13. Ne4 Ng6 14. f4 h5 15. Ng5 $14 {Sebag - Vasilevich (Antakya, 2010)})
13... Nd5 14. Nxd5 cxd5 15. f5 c5 16. Nf3 $14 {Shirov - Vallejo Pons (Arvier,
2010)}) (11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13. Ne2 Bd5 14. Nfd4 Nxd4 15. Nxd4 Bc5 $11 {
Leitao - Valiente (Sao Paulo, 2004)}) 11... Kc8 12. b3 a5 {Ein neuer Zug, aber
er sieht nicht so gut aus.} (12... Bb4 13. Bb2 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 c5 $1 {um das
Feld d4 gleich unter Kontrolle zu nehmen, damit Weiß in Zukunft nicht g4-Nd4
spielen kann.} 15. g4 Ne7 16. Kg2 b6 17. Kg3 a5 $11 {Wang Pin - Gokhale 
(Calicut, 2003)}) 13. Bb2 Bb4 14. g4 $1 {Weiß setzt seine Hauptidee durch und
bekommt das Feld d4 für seinen Springer - Schwarz war einen Zug zu langsam.}
Bxc3 (14... Ne7 15. Nd4 Bxc3 16. Bxc3 {-> 14....Bxc3}) 15. Bxc3 Ne7 16. Nd4 $1
$14 c5 (16... Bd7 17. f4 c5 18. Nf3 $14 {Wie immer, wenn Weiss die Bauern am
Königsflügel aufrollen kann, ist seine Stellung besser.}) 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. a4
{Um dem Gegner kein Gegenspiel mittels a4 zu erlauben.} (18. f4 $6 Rf8 $1 19.
Rf1 a4 $36 {Weiß kann nicht f5 spielen und Schwarz hat schon gutes Spiel
bekommen.}) 18... Rf8 19. Bd2 $6 {Es ist fraglich, ob das der richtige Plan
ist.} (19. Kg2 Ng6 20. Kg3 Nf4 21. Rd2 $14) 19... Nc6 20. Be3 $5 (20. Kg2 $1 b6
(20... Nxe5 21. Bc3 $16) 21. Bc3 $14) 20... b6 21. f4 Nb4 {Nun verliert Weiß
forciert Material - es droht das Nehmen auf c2 und ...Nd5.} 22. Rd2 Nd5 23.
Rxd5 $1 (23. Kf2 Nxf4 24. Bxf4 Rxf4+ 25. Ke3 g5 $17) 23... exd5 {Dieses
Endspiel hat Weiß angestrebt. Der Vormarsch der weißen Bauern am Königsflügel
ist kaum zu stoppen.} 24. f5 Kb7 {Es ist nicht so einfach für Schwarz, etwas
aus seinem materiellen Vorteil zu machen.} (24... h5 {sieht auf den ersten
Blick ganz gut aus, doch kommt Weiß nach} 25. e6 $1 {(vorgeschlagen von R.
Knaak) in Vorteil:} (25. Kg2 d4 26. Bf4 g6 $1 $17) 25... Rh8 (25... g6 26. Bh6
Re8 27. f6 $16) 26. Bf4 $1 hxg4 27. hxg4 Rh4 28. Kg2 Rxg4+ 29. Kf3 Rh4 30. Rg1
Rh7 31. Be5 $16) 25. e6 $1 Rae8 $2 {Schwarz hat den richtigen Weg verloren. Er
hätte sein Gegenspiel am Damenflügel organisieren müssen, denn wenn er einfach
abwartet, werden die weißen Bauern am Königsflügel sehr schnell gefährlich
werden.} (25... Kc6 $1 {Die beste Idee ist es, schnell ...b5 zu spielen.} 26.
Re1 b5 $1 27. axb5+ Kxb5 28. Bxh6 $1 (28. Bf4 Kc6 (28... c4 29. Bxc7 cxb3 30.
cxb3 $14) 29. Be5 Rg8 30. Kg2 d4 31. Kf3 Kd5 $1 {Der Bauer c7 spielt keine so
große Rolle - es ist wichtiger, die Figuren aktiv zu stellen.} 32. Bxc7 a4 33.
bxa4 Rxa4 {Außer dem Turm g8 spielen alle schwarzen Figuren aktiv mit.} 34. e7
Re8 35. Bd8 Rc4 $17) 28... gxh6 29. e7 Rfe8 30. f6 c4 $1 {Schwarz bekommt auch
Freibauern!} 31. f7 (31. bxc4+ $2 {ist eher schlecht, weil Schwarz den
entfernten a-Bauer bekommt.} Kxc4 32. f7 a4 $1 33. h4 a3 34. g5 hxg5 35. hxg5
a2 36. fxe8=Q (36. g6 Rxe7 $19) 36... Rxe8 37. Ra1 Rxe7 38. Rxa2 Rg7 $17) 31...
cxb3 32. cxb3 Kc5 $11 {/\Kd6. Dieses Endspiel sollte remis sein.}) 26. Re1 Kc6
27. Bf4 {Im Vergleich zu 25....Kc6 hat Schwarz zu viel Zeit verloren.} Re7 28.
Re5 Rb8 {Nun kehrt er doch zu der Idee b5 zurück - zu spät.} 29. h4 b5 ({
Auch passives Spiel hilft nicht:} 29... Rf8 30. Kg2 d4 31. Kf3 Ree8 32. g5 hxg5
33. hxg5 Kd6 34. Kg4 {und Weiß besitzt gute Gewinnchancen.}) 30. axb5+ Rxb5 31.
Kg2 Rb4 32. Kf3 {Jetzt droht g5-f6.} c4 33. bxc4 Rxc4 (33... a4 34. cxd5+ Kc5
35. d6+ Kxd6 36. Rb5+ Rxf4+ 37. Kxf4 $18) 34. g5 hxg5 35. hxg5 Rxf4+ (35... Kd6
36. Re1+ Rxf4+ (36... Kc6 37. f6 gxf6 38. gxf6 $18) 37. Kxf4 {->35....Rxf4}) (
35... a4 36. f6 gxf6 37. gxf6 Re8 38. e7 $18) 36. Kxf4 Kd6 37. Re1 (37. c4 $1 {
gewann sofort:} dxc4 (37... c6 38. c5+ Kxc5 39. f6 $18) 38. Re1 Re8 39. Rd1+
Kc6 40. Ke5 $18) 37... a4 38. Ra1 g6 39. Rxa4 gxf5 40. Kxf5 $18 {Schwarz kann
nicht auf e6 nehmen, daher ist die Stellung verloren.} Re8 (40... Rxe6 41. Ra6+
c6 42. Rxc6+ Kxc6 43. Kxe6 $18) 41. g6 Rf8+ 42. Kg5 Rg8 43. Ra6+ c6 44. e7 Kxe7
45. Rxc6 d4 46. Rc7+ Kd6 47. Rf7 Rc8 48. Rf2 Ke7 49. g7 Rc3 50. Kh4 Rc8 51. Kh5
1-0

[Event "Zuerich m"]
[Site "Zuerich"]
[Date "2012.04.22"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2820"]
[BlackElo "2801"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2012.04.21"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 148"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.05.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.05.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Die Berliner Verteidigung ist eine der
solidesten Eröffnungen in der heutigen Praxis. Beide Spieler, Aronian und
Kramnik, sind die größten Experten dieser Eröffnung.} 4. O-O {Die Alternative
4.d3 wurde in der 6. Partie des Matches gespielt.} (4. d3 Bc5 5. Nbd2 d6 6. c3
O-O 7. O-O Ne7 8. Re1 c6 9. Ba4 Ng6 10. h3 Re8 $11 {Aronian - Kramnik (Zuerich,
2012)}) 4... Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Be6
$5 {Es gibt viele Wege für Schwarz. Kramnik selbst hat auch schon andere Züge
gespielt.} (9... Ke8 10. h3 Be7 11. Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 h6 13. Nge4 b6 14. Rfd1
Ke7 15. Kh2 h5 16. Ne2 Re8 17. Nf4 Kf8 $11 18. Nxh5 Rxe5 19. Nhg3 Be6 20. Rd2 {
1/2-1/2 Anand,V (2752)-Kramnik,V (2809)/Leon 2002/CBM 090}) (9... Ne7 10. h3
Ng6 11. Bg5+ Ke8 12. Rad1 Bd7 13. a3 h6 14. Be3 Be7 $11 {Leko - Kramnik 
(Dortmund, 2004)}) (9... Bd7 10. Rd1 Kc8 11. Ng5 Be8 12. b3 b6 13. Bb2 Be7 14.
Nge4 Kb7 15. Rd3 Rd8 16. Rad1 Rxd3 17. Rxd3 h5 $11 {Leko - Kramnik (Budapest,
2001)}) (9... h6 10. Rd1+ Ke8 11. h3 a5 12. Bf4 Be6 13. g4 Ne7 14. Nd4 Nd5 15.
Nce2 Bc5 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. c4 Nb6 18. b3 a4 $132 {Kasparov - Kramnik (London,
2000)}) 10. Rd1+ (10. Ng5 {Es sieht so aus, als ob sich Weiß eine günstige
Bauernstruktur sichert, jedoch...} Ke7 $3 {Dieser Zug sieht verrückt aus, ist
aber sehr stark.} (10... Bc4 11. Rd1+ Ke8 12. b3 Bb4 {Gezwungen.} (12... Ba6
13. e6 $1 fxe6 (13... f6 14. Nf7 Rg8 15. Rd7 Be7 16. Bf4 $18) 14. Bb2 Bd6 15.
Nce4 Ke7 16. g4 h6 17. gxf5 hxg5 18. f6+ $1 $16) 13. bxc4 (13. Bb2 Bxc3 14.
Bxc3 Bd5 $11) 13... Bxc3 14. Rb1 b6 15. g4 Nh4 16. f4 $14) 11. Rd1 (11. b3 h6
12. Ba3+ Kd7 13. Rad1+ Kc8 14. Nxe6 (14. Bxf8 hxg5 15. Ba3 a5 16. Bc1 g4 17. a3
c5 18. Ne4 b6 19. Ng5 Kb7 $11 {Holmsten - Rausis (Jyvaskyla, 1997)}) 14... Bxa3
15. Nf4 Bb2 16. Rd3 Re8 $11 {Aseev - Aleksandrov (Kstovo, 1994)}) 11... h6 12.
Nge4 (12. Nf3 Ke8 $11) (12. Nxe6 Kxe6 13. g4 Nh4 14. f4 h5 15. h3 hxg4 16. hxg4
f5 17. exf6 gxf6 18. f5+ Kf7 19. Ne4 Re8 20. Rd7+ Re7 21. Rxe7+ Bxe7 22. Kf1
Rg8 23. Nf2 Bc5 $15 {Kovalev - Hovhannisyan (Chennai, 2011)}) 12... Rd8 13. Bf4
b6 14. h3 g6 15. g4 Nd4 16. Bg3 g5 $132 {Shirov - Nakamura (Moscow, 2010)})
10... Ke8 11. Ng5 Bc8 $5 {Kramnik will den Läufer nicht tauschen lassen. Der
Rückzug des Läufers ist nicht so schlecht, weil der Springer sowieso auf g5
nichts zu suchen hat. Schwarz will Be7 und h6 spielen, und der Springer wird
zurück gehen müssen. Danach kann der Läufer zurückkehren, wenn er will.} 12. h3
(12. Ne2 a5 13. a4 b6 14. b3 c5 15. Bb2 Be7 $11 {Topalov - Ivanchuk (Wijk aan
Zee, 2012)}) 12... Be7 13. Bf4 {Ein neuer Zug, aber keine neue Idee. Weiß will
es mit e5-e6 versuchen - das klappt ein Mal von einer Million.} Nh4 {Noch ein
Zug und Schwarz wird Ng6-h6-Be6 spielen und alle weißen Figuren werden
zurückgedrängt.} 14. e6 $5 {Es bleibt sonst nichts übrig.} f6 $5 {
Überraschender Weise ist das Nehmen auf e6 mit dem Bauern ebenfalls gut.} (
14... Bxe6 {Hier hat Schwarz auch keine zu großen Sorgen.} 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16.
Bxc7 Rc8 17. Be5 Bf6 $14 {Man kann sagen, dass Weiß etwas besser steht, aber
das ist natürlich eher symbolisch.}) (14... fxe6 {Der Bauer c7 ist tabu wegen
dem Springer g5.} 15. Nge4 e5 $1 {Das ist ein kleiner Trick.} (15... Bd8 $4 16.
Rxd8+ Kxd8 17. Bg5+ $18) 16. Bxe5 Bxh3 $1 17. Bg3 (17. gxh3 Nf3+ 18. Kg2 Nxe5
19. Re1 Kf7 $17) 17... Bg4 18. f3 Be6 19. Bxc7 Kf7 20. Nd6+ Bxd6 21. Bxd6 Nf5
22. Bc5 b6 23. Bf2 Rad8 $11 {Weiß kann auf keinen Vorteil hoffen.}) 15. Nf7 Rg8
$1 {Hier musste Schwarz aufpassen.} (15... Rf8 $6 16. Bxc7 Bxe6 17. Nd6+ Bxd6
18. Bxd6 $14 {und Schwarz muss den Turm nach g8 stellen.} Rf7 $4 19. Re1 Kd7
20. Rad1 $18) 16. Bxc7 (16. Re1 $2 {Das verteidigt den Bauern ja gar nicht:}
Bxe6 $1 17. Rxe6 Kxf7 18. Rae1 Ng6 19. Bxc7 Ne5 {und Schwarz steht auf Gewinn.}
) 16... Bxe6 17. Nd6+ Bxd6 18. Bxd6 (18. Rxd6 Kf7 $11 {Im nächsten Zug folgt ..
.Nf5.}) 18... Kf7 {Die Stellung ist absolut Remis, es ist fraglich, warum die
beiden weitergespielt haben, wahrscheinlich wegen der Regeln.} 19. f3 Nf5 20.
Bc5 b6 21. Bf2 Rgd8 {Schwarz will einfach Rxd1-Ke7-Rd8 spielen.} 22. a4 $1 {
Die einzige Chance zumindest mal einen Ansatz auf Initiative zu bekommen.} Ne7
23. a5 c5 {Schwarz eliminiert die Wirkung des weißen Läufers. Eine
interessante Alternative war 23...Rxd1-bxa5} (23... Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 bxa5 $5 25.
Ra1 Bf5 $1 26. Rxa5 (26. Ne4 Bxe4 27. fxe4 Rb8 28. b3 Rb5 29. Bxa7 c5 30. Ra3
c4 31. bxc4 Rb1+ 32. Kh2 Nc6 33. Bc5 Re1 $132) 26... Bxc2 $11 27. Rxa7 Rxa7 28.
Bxa7 $11) 24. Nb5 {Die einzige Chance.} (24. Na4 Rxd1+ 25. Rxd1 Rb8 26. Rd6 Nc8
27. Rc6 Rb7 $11) 24... Nc6 25. Rxd8 Rxd8 26. axb6 {Nun wird alles abgetauscht.}
(26. Nxa7 $5 {Interessant, aber auch riskant.} Nxa7 27. axb6 Nc6 28. Bxc5 Bf5
29. c4 Ke6 $1 $11 {Nachdem der König sich den Bauern nähert, kann Weiß in
Schwierigkeiten kommen.}) 26... axb6 27. Ra6 Rd1+ 28. Kh2 Rd2 29. Rxb6 Rxc2 $1
{Schwarz muss das letzte Mal aufpassen, um nicht in eine Falle reinzufallen.} (
29... Rxf2 $2 30. Rxc6 Rxc2 31. Rc7+ $1 (31. Nd4 $2 Bd7 32. Rc7 Rxb2 33. Rxd7+
Ke8 34. Rd5 cxd4 35. Rxd4 $11) 31... Kg6 32. Nd4 $18) 30. Nd6+ (30. Rxc6 Rxf2
31. Rxc5 Rxb2 $11) 30... Ke7 31. Ne4 Nd4 32. Rb7+ Kf8 33. Rc7 (33. Bg3 $4 {
Der Versuch aktiv zu werden endet nicht gut:} Nxf3+ 34. Kh1 Rc1+ $19) 33...
Rxb2 {Es bleiben keine Figuren zum Spielen auf dem Brett.} 34. Rxc5 Nf5 35. Ng3
Rxf2 36. Nxf5 Bxf5 37. Rxf5 Ra2 {Das logische Ergebnis.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "EU-ch 13th"]
[Site "Plovdiv"]
[Date "2012.03.24"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Vuckovic, Bojan"]
[Black "Kabanov, Nikolai"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2628"]
[BlackElo "2502"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "131"]
[EventDate "2012.03.20"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 148"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.05.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.05.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O (4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O O-O 6. c3 d6 $11) (4.
Qe2 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O Re8 $11) 4... Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ $5 {Dieser Zug wird manchmal gespielt und hat einen
Vorteil und einen Nachteil gegenüber 9.Nc3. Der Vorteil ist, dass Schwarz
gezwungen ist, den König nach e8 zu stellen, und der Nachteil ist, dass der
Turm a1 nicht so leicht ins Spiel gebracht wird.} (9. Nc3 Bd7 (9... Ke8 {
ist natürlich auch spielbar.}) 10. h3 b6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 h5 13. Rad1 Be7 $11
{Movsesian - Leko (Sochi, 2012)}) 9... Ke8 (9... Bd7 10. g4 $1 (10. e6 $2 fxe6
11. Ne5 Nd6 12. Rxd6 Bxd6 13. Nf7+ Ke7 14. Nxh8 Rxh8 $19) 10... Nh6 11. h3 $1
$16 {Der Springer auf h6 steht sehr schlecht.}) 10. Nc3 Ne7 {Das ist eine der
vielen möglichen Aufstellungen.} 11. h3 Ng6 {Nun ist der Bauer e5 unter
Angriff genommen. Vielleicht ist jedoch 11...h6 etwas genauer, um Bg5 nicht
zuzulassen.} (11... h6 $5 12. Nd4 Ng6 13. f4 Bc5 14. Be3 h5 15. Ne4 Bxd4 16.
Rxd4 b6 $11 {Fedorchuk - Kayumov (Dubai, 2005)}) 12. Bg5 Be7 {Mehr oder
weniger erzwungen.} (12... Bd7 13. Rd2 h6 14. Rad1 $5 (14. Bh4 Bb4 15. Rad1
Nxh4 16. Rxd7 Nxf3+ 17. gxf3 Bd6 18. e6 fxe6 19. Rxg7 Be5 $11 {Korneev -
Bacrot (Corsica, 2005)}) 14... hxg5 15. Rxd7 Bd6 16. e6 Nf8 17. Rxf7 Nxe6 18.
Rf5 g6 19. Ra5 $14) 13. Bxe7 Nxe7 $2 {Dieser Zug ist unverständlich, 13...Kxe7
hat sich angeboten.} (13... Kxe7 14. Ne4 Re8 15. Re1 Kf8 16. Ng3 Be6 $11 {
Nepomniachtchi - Kurnosov (Moscow, 2010)}) 14. Nd4 (14. Ne4 $5 Bf5 (14... b6
15. Rd2 Bf5 16. Ng3 Rd8 17. Rxd8+ Kxd8 18. Rd1+ Ke8 19. Nxf5 Nxf5 20. g4 $14)
15. Nc5 b6 16. Na6 Rc8 17. Nd4 Bd7 $11) 14... h5 $4 {Schwarz muss sehr
aufmerksam spielen, ein ungenauer Zug und die Stellung kann zusammenbrechen.
In diesem Fall bricht sie zusammen - auf besonders hübsche Weise.} (14... Ng6
$5 {Das Wichtigste ist es, Weiß nicht zu f4 kommen zu lassen.} 15. Re1 Ke7 16.
Rad1 Rd8 17. Kh2 h5 $14 {Weiß hat starken Druck auf die schwarze Stellung
aufgebaut, aber Schwarz kann sich wohl halten, weil er keine Schwächen hat.})
15. Ncb5 {Etwas genauer wäre es, mit dem anderen Springer nach b5 zu gehen.} (
15. Ndb5 $18) 15... cxb5 (15... Nd5 {Schwarz hatte diese Chance, aber Weiß
sollte trotzdem gewinnen.} 16. c4 $1 a6 17. cxd5 cxb5 (17... axb5 18. dxc6 bxc6
19. Nxc6 $18) 18. Rac1 Kd8 19. e6 $18) 16. Nxb5 Bd7 (16... Nc6 17. Nxc7+ Ke7
18. Nxa8 $18 {Der Springer kehrt zurück.}) 17. Nxc7+ Kd8 18. Nxa8 Kc8 19. Rd6 {
Selbst wenn der Springer gefangen wird, hat Weiß zwei Bauern zusätzlich zu dem
Turm.} Be6 20. Rad1 Nc6 21. f4 {Wenn Schwarz nichts macht, dann wird Weiß
einfach die Bauern am Damenflügel aufrollen: a3-b4-b5 usw. Also muss Schwarz
den Springer nehmen.} Kb8 22. b4 $1 Kxa8 $2 {Verliert forciert.} (22... Rc8 $1
{war die einzige Chance, etwas weiter zu spielen.} 23. b5 Ne7 24. Rd8 Kxa8 25.
Rxc8+ Nxc8 26. a4 Kb8 $16 {Weiß hat zwar großen Vorteil, aber das Spiel ist
noch nicht aus.}) 23. b5 Nb8 24. Rd8 Rxd8 25. Rxd8 b6 (25... Bxa2 26. f5 Bc4
27. Kf2 Bxb5 28. e6 fxe6 29. fxe6 a5 30. e7 $18) 26. Rf8 $2 {Schwarz bekommt
eine weitere Chance.} (26. a4 $1 Kb7 27. Rg8 g6 28. Rg7 Nd7 29. g4 hxg4 30.
hxg4 $16) 26... g6 (26... Bxa2 $5 {Das wäre eine bessere Wahl!} 27. f5 Kb7 28.
Re8 Bc4 29. e6 fxe6 30. fxe6 Bxb5 31. Re7+ Kc8 32. Rxa7 Bc4 33. Rxg7 Bxe6 34.
Rh7 Bf5 35. Rh6 Nd7 36. c3 $16) 27. g4 hxg4 28. hxg4 Kb7 29. f5 gxf5 30. gxf5
Bc4 (30... Bxa2 31. e6 fxe6 32. Rf7+ (32. f6 Nd7 33. Rf7 Kc8 $19) 32... Kc8 33.
Rxa7 Bd5 (33... Bc4 34. f6 e5 35. f7 $18) 34. c4 (34. f6 Nd7 35. f7 Bb7 36. Kf2
$16) 34... Bxc4 35. f6 e5 36. f7 Bxf7 37. Rxf7 Nd7 38. Re7 Kc7 39. Re6 $16) 31.
a4 Nd7 32. Re8 Bd5 $2 {Wieder nicht die stärkste Fortsetzung.} (32... Nc5 $1 {
und Schwarz hätte bessere Chancen, Remis zu halten.} 33. e6 fxe6 34. f6 e5 35.
f7 Bxf7 36. Re7+ Kb8 37. Rxf7 Nxa4) 33. e6 fxe6 34. fxe6 Nc5 35. e7 Bf7 36. Rf8
Bg6 37. Rg8 Bf7 38. Rf8 Bg6 39. e8=Q Bxe8 40. Rxe8 Nxa4 41. Re7+ Kb8 42. Kf2 {
Das Endspiel ist leicht gewonnen. Es hat so lange gedauert, weil beide Spieler
wenig Zeit auf der Uhr hatten.} a6 43. bxa6 Nc5 44. a7+ Ka8 45. Ke3 Nb7 46. Kd4
Kxa7 47. Kd5 Ka6 48. c4 Na5 49. Re3 Kb7 50. Rh3 Kc7 51. Rh7+ Kc8 52. Rh3 Kc7
53. Rg3 Kb7 54. Ra3 Nc6 55. Rh3 Na5 56. Ra3 Nc6 57. Kd6 Na5 58. Ra4 Nb3 59. Ra2
Nc5 60. Re2 Nb3 61. Re7+ Ka6 62. Kd5 Na5 63. Rh7 Nb3 64. Rh3 Nc5 65. Kc6 Ka5
66. Rh5 1-0

[Event "WchT 7th"]
[Site "Bursa"]
[Date "2010.01.06"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Kotronias, Vasilios"]
[Black "Jakovenko, Dmitrij"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2599"]
[BlackElo "2730"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[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 "Greece"]
[BlackTeam "Russia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GRE"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RUS"]
[TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 ({Eine andere prinzipielle Fortsetzung ist} 9... Bd7
10. h3 (10. b3 Kc8 11. Bb2 Be7 12. Rad1 a5 $132) 10... h6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6
13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Rd2 c5 15. Rfd1 Be6 $132) 10. h3 h5 (10... Be7 {ist die
solideste Fortsetzung.} 11. g4 (11. Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 h6 $1 {Es is wichtig,
den gegnerischen Springer gleich zu vertreiben.} 13. Nf3 (13. Nge4 b6 14. Rfd1
Ke7 15. Kh2 h5 16. Ne2 Re8 17. Nf4 Kf8 18. Nxh5 Rxe5 19. Nhg3 Be6 20. Rd2 {
1/2-1/2 Anand - Kramnik (Leon, 2002). Ich denke, Schwarz steht sogar etwas
besser hier. Der weiße h-Bauer ist sehr weit von dem kritischen Feld h8
entfernt, während die schwarzen Türme mit dem Läufer am Damenflügel für einige
Unannehmlichkeiten sorgen könnten.}) 13... h5 14. Rad1 (14. Ne2 Ke7 15. Nf4 g6
$1 16. Rad1 Ng7 17. Rfe1 Rd8 18. Rxd8 Kxd8 19. Ng5 Ke7 20. Rd1 a5 21. a4 Bf5
$132 {Timman - Kritz (Amsterdam, 2002)}) 14... Ke7 15. Ng5 Be6 16. Nxe6 fxe6
17. Rd3 Rad8 18. Rfd1 Rxd3 19. Rxd3 h4 $11 {Shirov - Alekseev (Moscow, 2008).
Wie üblich in dieser Stellung: der schwarze Bauer h4 neutralisiert die weiße
Überlegenheit am Königsflügel und die Stellung ist ausgeglichen.}) 11... Nh4
12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Kg2 h5 14. f3 Be6 ({Eine andere Verteidigungsmethode ist} 
14... a5 {um die weißen Bauern zu zwingen, weiße Felder einzunehmen.} 15. a4 b6
16. Rd1 Be7 17. Ne2 Bd7 18. Bf4 c5 19. Bg3 Rd8 20. c4 Bc8 21. b3 Rxd1 22. Rxd1
hxg4 23. hxg4 Bd8 $14 {Kotronias - Kritz (Port Erin, 2007). Weiß hat einen
symbolischen Vorteil und Schwarz muss die ganze Partie leiden, doch bei
korrekter Verteidigung kann man Remis halten. Es ist jedoch zu empfehlen, wie
Wang Yue gegen Adams zu spielen - dort ist es einfacher, das Remis zu
erreichen.}) 15. Be3 Be7 $11 {Wie die letzten Analysen zeigen, ist die
Stellung ausgeglichen.}) (10... Ne7 {Zuletzt hat dieser Zug wieder an
Popularität gewonnen, aber ich verstehe nicht, warum. Das ist eine
verschlechterte Version der 10....Be7-Variante - Schwarz steht ebenfalls
passiv, gibt dabei Weiß Chancen zu spielen. Dagegen bringt 10....Be7 die
Partie bei normalem Spielverlauf zum unausweichlichen Remisresultat.} 11. Ne4
Ng6 12. Re1 h6 13. Bd2 $14 {Weiß hat sich entwickelt, Schwarz steht immer noch
auf der Grundreihe.}) 11. Rd1 $2 {Dieser Turm hat nichts zu suchen auf der
d-Linie. Schwarz bekommt so viel Zeit wie er will, um seine Pläne zu
realisieren.} (11. Bg5 {Der logische Versuch, die Schwächung des Feldes g5
auszunutzen.} Be6 (11... Be7 {ist ebenfalls gut spielbar} 12. Ne2 Be6 13. Nf4
Bd5 14. Bxe7 Kxe7 15. Ng5 Nd4 16. Rfd1 Ne6 $1 (16... Nxc2 17. Nxd5+ cxd5 18.
Rac1 $1 $18) 17. Ngxe6 Bxe6 18. h4 Rad8 19. f3 g6 20. Kf2 Bf5 21. c3 f6 22.
exf6+ Kxf6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Hracek,Z (2629)-Kholmov,R (2464)/Pardubice CZE 1999 
(37)}) 12. Rad1 Be7 13. Rd2 Rd8 $1 {Korrekte Entscheidung! Schwarz muss so
schnell wie möglich den Druck der weißen Türme auf der d-Linie neutralisieren.}
(13... Bxg5 14. Nxg5 Rd8 (14... h4 15. Rfd1 $14) 15. Rxd8+ Kxd8 16. Nxe6+ fxe6
17. g3 $1 $14 {Weiß hat h4 verhindert und damit die Beweglichkeit seiner
Bauernstruktur beibehalten. Das garantiert ihm einen kleinen Vorteil.}) 14.
Rfd1 Rxd2 15. Rxd2 h4 $1 $11 {Leko - Alekseev (Elista, 2008). Damit ist der
Königsflügel zugemacht und der weiße Mehrbauer praktisch neutralisiert.}) ({
Wenig bringt} 11. Ne2 Be6 12. Nf4 Bd5 $1 {Schwarz bekommt eine problemlose
Stellung.} 13. Nxd5 (13. Ng5 Be7 $15) 13... cxd5 14. Bf4 c6 15. g3 Be7 16. Rfe1
Rg8 17. g4 hxg4 18. hxg4 Nh6 19. Nh2 g5 20. Be3 Kd7 21. Rad1 Ke6 $132 {Bruzon
- Miles (Varadero, 2000)}) 11... Be7 {Ein sicherer Zug.} ({Auch} 11... h4 {
sieht nicht schlecht aus.} 12. Bg5 Be7 13. Rd2 Be6 14. Rad1 Rh5 15. Bxe7 Nxe7
$132) 12. Ne2 {Die Überführung des Springers über e2 bringt wie immer nichts.
Man hätte besser zurück zu klassischen Stellungen kommen sollen.} (12. g3 Be6
13. Ng5 Rd8 14. Rxd8+ Bxd8 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. Ne2 g5 17. Bd2 c5 18. Bc3 c4 $11 {
Inarkiev - Smirnov (Dagomys, 2009)}) (12. Bg5 Be6 13. Rd2 Rd8 $11) 12... Nh4
13. Nxh4 Bxh4 {Die Stellung mit dem Läuferpaar kann Schwarz theoretisch nicht
verlieren, besonders wenn der Bauer schon auf h5 steht und g4 verhindert ist.}
14. Bf4 Be7 (14... Be6 {ist ebenfalls nicht schlimm, aber wozu auf zwei
Ergebnisse spiele, wenn man kostenlos Gegenchancen haben kann?} 15. Nd4 $14 {
Nach dem Nehmen auf e6 wird Weiß einen symbolischen Vorteil haben, das
Endspiel ist jedoch sehr remislich.}) 15. Rd3 $6 {Eine misslungene Provokation.
} (15. Nd4 a6 {Typische Reaktion, wenn man c5 vorbereiten will.} (15... c5 16.
Nb5 Bd8 17. e6 Bxe6 18. Bxc7 $14) 16. e6 (16. c4 c5 17. Nf3 Bf5 $15) 16... Bd6
$1 (16... Bxe6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bxc7 Rc8 19. Be5 Bf6 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Rd6 Ke7
22. Rad1 Rc7 $11) 17. exf7+ Kxf7 $132) 15... Bf5 16. Rb3 $2 {Man sollte sich
besser zurückziehen. Es ist offensichtlich, dass solche Ideen zu nichts Gutem
führen können.} (16. Rd2 Rd8 17. Nd4 Bh7 18. Rad1 $11) 16... Bc5 $1 {Widerlegt
die weißen Pläne.} (16... b6 $2 17. Nd4 Bd7 18. a4 a5 19. e6 fxe6 20. Bxc7 $16)
17. a4 (17. Rxb7 Bb6 {/\Bc8} 18. e6 Kd8 $3 {Das ist vermutlich der Zug, den
Weiß übersehen hatte.} (18... Bxe6 19. Bxc7 Bc8 20. Rb8 Rxb8 21. Bxb8 $16) 19.
exf7 Rf8 $17 {gefolgt von Kc8 oder zuerst Rxf7 und dann Kc8.}) 17... b6 $15 {
Nun ist das Feld d4 unter Kontrolle, Schwarz steht schon mit großem Vorteil da.
} 18. Rg3 Rg8 (18... h4 {führt auch zu gutem Spiel für Schwarz.} 19. Rxg7 Kf8
20. Rg5 Bxc2 $15) 19. Be3 Be7 {Besser wäre wohl das Nehmen und Erobern der
d-Linie.} (19... Bxe3 $5 20. Rxe3 Rd8 21. c3 c5 $15) 20. a5 {Weiß zieht die
ganze Zeit daneben. Er musste sich konsolidieren:} (20. Nd4 Bd7 21. Bf4 (21.
Bg5 $4 h4 $19) 21... g5 22. h4 $1 g4 23. Rc3 c5 24. Nb5 Bxb5 25. axb5 Bxh4 26.
Rca3 $14) 20... Rc8 21. axb6 axb6 {Die Aufgabe der a-Linie ist nicht schlimm -
Weiß kann damit nichts anfangen.} 22. Bg5 $2 {Strategische Aufgabe. Wieder war
Nd4 besser.} (22. Nd4 Be4 23. Bg5 c5 24. Nb5 $11 {Der Bauer c2 ist wegen der
Drohung Nxc7-Ra8+ unantastbar.}) 22... Bxc2 23. Bxe7 Kxe7 24. Rc3 Be4 25. Ng3
Bd5 26. Nxh5 $17 {Diese Stellung entstand forciert als Folge des 22. Zuges von
Weiß. Schwarz hat den besseren König im Endspiel, und der Läufer ist in
solchen Stellungen natürlich viel stärker als der Springer.} c5 {Man muss sein
Spiel spielen - in diesem Fall muss Schwarz seine Bauern am Damenflügel nach
vorne bringen.} 27. g4 {Weiß beschäftigt sich mit demselben.} Ra8 28. Rxa8 Bxa8
29. b4 $2 {Weiss hilft Schwarz, einen Freibauern zu organisieren. Stattdessen
hätte er besser seinen König ins Zentrum gebracht oder f4 gespielt.} (29. f4 g6
30. Nf6 Rd8 31. b4 $1 {Jetzt ist es eine andere Sache - Weiß hat seine Figuren
aktiviert.} Ke6 (31... cxb4 32. Rxc7+ Ke6 33. Kf2 $13) 32. bxc5 b5 33. Kf2 $13)
29... Ke6 30. bxc5 b5 31. c6 (31. f4 Kd5 $19 {Im Vergleich zu 29.f4 steht der
weiße Springer immer noch am Rand, der weiße König auch, dafür dominiert sein
schwarzer Kollege das Zentrum.}) 31... Kd5 32. Rf3 b4 33. Rxf7 b3 $19 {Weiß
hat keine Chance, den schwarzen Bauer aufzuhalten.} 34. Nf4+ Kc4 35. Rd7 b2 36.
Rd1 Rb8 37. Rb1 Bxc6 38. Ne6 Be4 39. Rxb2 Rxb2 40. Nxg7 c5 41. f4 Kd3 42. e6 c4
43. e7 Bc6 0-1

[Event "Elista FIDE GP"]
[Site "Elista"]
[Date "2008.12.27"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Leko, Peter"]
[Black "Alekseev, Evgeny V"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2715"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2008.12.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 128"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.01.28"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2009.01.28"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 {Die "Neutralisierungsvariante". Schwarz stellt sich
passiv hin, baut jedoch eine unantastbare Festung auf. Auf Gewinn kann man
diese Variante leider nicht spielen, im Remissinne ist sie jedoch ideal.} ({
Die andere prinzipielle Fortsetzung ist} 9... Bd7 10. h3 (10. b3 Kc8 11. Bb2
Be7 12. Rad1 a5 $132) 10... h6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Rd2 c5
15. Rfd1 Be6 $132) 10. h3 h5 $5 (10... Be7 {ist die solidste Fortsetzung.} 11.
g4 (11. Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 h6 $1 {Es is wichtig, den gegnerischen Springer
gleich zu vertreiben.} 13. Nf3 (13. Nge4 b6 14. Rfd1 Ke7 15. Kh2 h5 16. Ne2 Re8
17. Nf4 Kf8 18. Nxh5 Rxe5 19. Nhg3 Be6 20. Rd2 {1/2-1/2 Anand - Kramnik (Leon,
2002). Ich denke, Schwarz steht sogar etwas besser hier. Der weiße h-Bauer ist
sehr weit von dem kritischen Feld h8 entfernt, während die schwarzen Türme mit
dem Läufer am Damenflügel für einige Unannehmlichkeiten sorgen könnten.}) 13...
h5 14. Rad1 (14. Ne2 Ke7 15. Nf4 g6 $1 16. Rad1 Ng7 17. Rfe1 Rd8 18. Rxd8 Kxd8
19. Ng5 Ke7 20. Rd1 a5 21. a4 Bf5 $132 {Timman - Kritz (Amsterdam, 2002)})
14... Ke7 15. Ng5 Be6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Rd3 Rad8 18. Rfd1 Rxd3 19. Rxd3 h4 $11
{Shirov - Alekseev (Moscow, 2008). Wie üblich in dieser Stellung: Der schwarze
Bauer h4 neutralisiert die weiße Überlegenheit am Königsflügel und die
Stellung ist ausgeglichen.}) 11... Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Kg2 h5 14. f3 Be6 ({
Die andere Verteidigungsmethode ist} 14... a5 {um die weißen Bauern zu zwingen,
weiße Felder einzunehmen.} 15. a4 b6 16. Rd1 Be7 17. Ne2 Bd7 18. Bf4 c5 19. Bg3
Rd8 20. c4 Bc8 21. b3 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 hxg4 23. hxg4 Bd8 $14 {Kotronias - Kritz 
(Port Erin, 2007). Weiß hat einen symbolischen Vorteil, und Schwarz muss die
ganze Partie leiden, doch bei korrekter Verteidigung kann man Remis halten. Es
ist jedoch zu empfehlen, wie Wang Yue gegen Adams zu spielen - dort ist es
einfacher, das Remis zu erreichen.}) 15. Be3 Be7 $11 {Wie die letzten Analysen
zeigen, ist die Stellung ausgeglichen.}) (10... Ne7 {Zuletzt hat dieser Zug
wieder an Popularität gewonnen, aber ich verstehe nicht warum. Das ist eine
verschlechterte Version der 10...Be7-Variante - Schwarz steht ebenfalls passiv,
gibt dabei Weiß Chancen zu spielen. Dagegen bringt 10....Be7 die Partie bei
normalem Spielverlauf zum unausweichlichen Remisresultat.} 11. Ne4 Ng6 12. Re1
h6 13. Bd2 $14 {Weiß hat sich entwickelt, Schwarz steht immer noch auf der
Grundreihe.}) 11. Bg5 {Der logische Versuch, die Schwächung des Feldes g5
auszunutzen.} ({Wenig bringt} 11. Ne2 Be6 12. Nf4 Bd5 $1 {Schwarz bekommt eine
problemlose Stellung.} 13. Nxd5 (13. Ng5 Be7 $15) 13... cxd5 14. Bf4 c6 15. g3
Be7 16. Rfe1 Rg8 17. g4 hxg4 18. hxg4 Nh6 19. Nh2 g5 20. Be3 Kd7 21. Rad1 Ke6
$132 {Bruzon - Miles (Varadero, 2000)}) 11... Be6 (11... Be7 {ist ebenfalls
gut spielbar} 12. Ne2 Be6 13. Nf4 Bd5 14. Bxe7 Kxe7 15. Ng5 Nd4 16. Rfd1 Ne6 $1
(16... Nxc2 17. Nxd5+ cxd5 18. Rac1 $1 $18) 17. Ngxe6 Bxe6 18. h4 Rad8 19. f3
g6 20. Kf2 Bf5 21. c3 f6 22. exf6+ Kxf6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Hracek,Z (2629)-Kholmov,R
(2464)/Pardubice CZE 1999 (37)}) 12. Rad1 Be7 13. Rd2 Rd8 $1 {Korrekte
Entscheidung! Schwarz muss so schnell wie möglich den Druck der weißen Türme
auf der d-Linie neutralisieren.} (13... Bxg5 14. Nxg5 Rd8 (14... h4 15. Rfd1
$14) 15. Rxd8+ Kxd8 16. Nxe6+ fxe6 17. g3 $1 $14 {Weiß hat h4 verhindert und
damit die Beweglichkeit seiner Bauernstruktur beibehalten. Das garantiert ihm
einen kleinen Vorteil.}) 14. Rfd1 Rxd2 15. Rxd2 h4 $1 {Damit ist der
Königsflügel zugemacht und der weiße Mehrbauer praktisch neutralisiert.} 16.
Bxe7 Nxe7 17. Ng5 Bc8 ({Auch die Stellung nach} 17... Nf5 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Ne4
b6 20. Ng5 Ke7 $11 {ist ausgeglichen.}) 18. f4 Nf5 $11 {Totaler Ausgleich.
Weiß hat nicht mal den Ansatz auf einen Vorteil. Der Königsflügel ist völlig
blockiert, und am Damenflügel hat Schwarz einen Bauern mehr.} 19. Kf2 Ke7 20.
Nd1 b6 21. Ne3 a5 22. Nxf5+ Bxf5 23. Ke3 Rh6 24. Nf3 c5 {Mit dem weißfeldrigen
Läufer ist es immer richtig, die Bauern so aufzustellen. Die einzige Chance
von Weiß würde darin bestehen, den Springer nach d5 zu bringen. Doch der Weg
ist zu lang - Schwarz startet dann ein Gegenspiel mittels Rg6-Rg3.} 25. Ng5 Rh8
26. Nf3 Rh6 27. Ng5 Rh8 28. Nf3 Rh6 {Es ist bewundernswert, wie leicht Schwarz
in dieser Nebenvariante ausgeglichen hat.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Elista FIDE GP"]
[Site "Elista"]
[Date "2008.12.20"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2719"]
[BlackElo "2720"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "157"]
[EventDate "2008.12.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 128"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.01.28"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2009.01.28"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O (4. d3 {ist eine alternative Fortsetzung.
Man bekommt spielbare Stellungen, doch keinen Eröffnungsvorteil.} Bc5 (4... d6
$5 5. O-O Be7 6. c3 O-O 7. Re1 a6 8. Ba4 b5 9. Bc2 Re8 $132 {Es entsteht ein
typischer Spanier mit d3.}) 5. Bxc6 (5. O-O d6 6. c3 O-O 7. Nbd2 a6 8. Ba4 Ba7
$132 {Wiederum hat Schwarz wenig zu befürchten.}) 5... dxc6 6. Be3 Qe7 (6...
Bxe3 $2 {Verbessert weisse Bauernstruktur und oeffnet die f-Linie.} 7. fxe3 Qe7
8. O-O Ng4 9. Qd2 f6 10. Nh4 g6 11. Nc3 Bd7 12. Rf3 f5 13. g3 Nf6 14. exf5 g5
15. Ng2 e4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. dxe4 O-O-O 18. Qa5 $16 {Sutovsky - Carlsen (Crete,
2007)}) 7. Bxc5 Qxc5 8. Nc3 Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 O-O {Schwarz hat keine
Schwierigkeiten.} 11. O-O-O a5 12. Qf5 Rfd8 13. Rhf1 a4 14. a3 b5 $132 {
Sutovsky - Aronian (Caleta, 2005)}) 4... Nxe4 5. d4 (5. Re1 {Das ist eine
bekannte Remisvariante:} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Nxe5 7. Rxe5+ Be7 8. Bf1 (8. Bd3 O-O 9.
Nc3 c6 10. b3 Ne8 11. Bb2 d5 12. Qh5 Nf6 13. Qh4 Be6 $11) 8... O-O 9. d4 Bf6
10. Re1 Nf5 11. c3 d5 $11 {Bei symmetrischen Bauernstruktur das Maximum, was
beide Seiten erreichen können, ist der kollektive Abtausch aller Figuren.})
5... Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Be7 ({Eine andere
prinzipielle Fortsetzung ist} 9... Bd7 10. h3 (10. b3 Kc8 11. Bb2 Be7 12. Rad1
a5 $132) 10... h6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Rd2 c5 15. Rfd1 Be6
$132) (9... Ke8 $5 {ist im Prinzip eine andere Variante, die jedoch in dieser
Partie zu Zugumstellung führt.}) 10. Rd1+ {Ich verstehe nicht, warum man
diesen Zug spielen soll. Der f-Turm steht auf d1 eindeutig falsch. Besser ist
das traditionelle 10.h3.} (10. h3 h6 11. b3 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. g3 Be7 14. g4
h5 15. f3 Ke8 16. Ne4 a5 17. a4 Be6 $11 {Amonatov - Deviatkin (Novokuznetsk,
2008). Weiß steht symbolisch besser, jedoch ohne wirklichen Chancen auf einen
Sieg.}) 10... Ke8 11. g4 {Das kann kein ernsthafter Versuch sein, auf Vorteil
zu spielen.} (11. Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 Ke7 13. Rd2 (13. Rd3 h6 14. Nf3 g6 15. Rad1
Ng7 16. h3 h5 $1 $11) 13... h6 14. Nf3 Rd8 15. Rxd8 Kxd8 16. Rd1+ Ke8 17. h3
Be6 18. Kh2 Rd8 19. Rxd8+ Kxd8 20. g4 Ne7 21. Kg3 Kd7 22. Ne1 g5 $1 $132 {
Das Wichtigste für Schwarz ist es, Weiß nicht zu erlauben, seine Bauernlawine
am Königsflügel zu weit nach vorne zu bringen.}) (11. g3 h6 12. b3 Be6 13. Bb2
Rd8 14. h3 g5 $1 15. g4 Ng7 16. Ne4 Bd5 17. Nf6+ Bxf6 18. exf6 Ne6 $132 {
Topalov - Ponomariov (Wijk aan Zee, 2003)}) 11... Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. h3 {
Man hat im Endeffekt eine Stellung aus der 9....Ke8-Variante bekommen, wo Weiß
statt den Läufer nach f4 zu entwickeln, Rd1 gespielt hat, was kaum besser sein
kann.} Be7 (13... h5 {Vielleicht ist dies auch spielbar, aber Weiß bekommt
eine Zusatzmöglichkeit. Der Partiezug führt zur traditionellen Stellung der
Variante.} 14. g5 $5 {mit der Idee nach 15.Rd4 den Läufer zu fangen.} f6 $1 (
14... c5 $2 15. Nd5 $18) 15. exf6 gxf6 16. Ne4 fxg5 17. Bxg5 Bxg5 18. Nxg5 Rg8
19. h4 Bf5 20. Re1+ Kf8 21. c3 Re8 22. Rxe8+ Kxe8 23. Kg2 $14) 14. Kg2 h5 15.
f3 hxg4 $6 {Die mit diesem Zug verbundene Idee gefällt mir nicht sehr. Warum
soll man einen Bauern opfern, wenn man auch so eine gute Stellung hat?!} (15...
a5 $1 16. Bf4 (16. a4 Be6 $11 {es entsteht eine unantastbare Festung, die Weiß
nicht zerstören kann.}) 16... a4 17. a3 Ra5 $132 {Eine der wenigen Positionen
in der Berliner Verteidigung, wo Schwarz bei Gelegenheit ein vollwertiges
Gegenspiel bekommen kann, und nicht nur passiv abwarten.}) 16. hxg4 f5 {
Wenn man nun zu dem Plan mit a5 oder mit Be6 zurückkehrt, dann gerät die
Öffnung der h-Linie zum schwarzen Nachteil.} (16... a5 17. Bf4 a4 18. Rh1 Rxh1
19. Rxh1 $14) 17. exf6 (17. gxf5 $2 Bxf5 18. Ne4 Rh4 $15 {und Schwarz steht
besser.}) 17... gxf6 (17... Bxf6 18. Ne4 Be6 (18... Be5 19. f4 Bxg4 20. Re1
Bh3+ 21. Kg3 Bd4 22. Ng5+ $18) 19. Nxf6+ gxf6 20. Bf4 Rc8 21. Kg3 $14 {Das
Endspiel wäre Remis ohne Türme, aber mit Türmen auf dem Brett hat Weiß gute
Gewinnchancen.}) 18. Bf4 Be6 ({Sehr schlecht ist das passive} 18... Bd8 $2 19.
Rh1 Rxh1 20. Rxh1 Be6 21. Bxc7 $1 $18) (18... f5 {Ein Versuch, das Spiel
lebendig zu gestalten, endet mit demselben Misserfolg.} 19. Rh1 $1 (19. gxf5
Bxf5 20. Ne4 Kf7 $1 21. Rh1 Rag8+ 22. Kf2 Bd8 $11) 19... Rxh1 (19... Rg8 20.
Rh7 $16) 20. Rxh1 fxg4 21. Rh8+ Kf7 22. Rh7+ Ke8 23. fxg4 Bxg4 24. Bg5 $3 Bf8
25. Ne4 $1 $16) 19. Bxc7 f5 20. gxf5 ({Zu unklaren Folgen führt} 20. Rd4 $5 c5
$5 21. Rd3 fxg4 22. fxg4 Bxg4 23. Nd5 $1 {Die weiße Initiative entwickelt sich
sehr schnell.} Be6 24. Re1 Rh6 25. Bg3 Bxd5+ 26. Rxd5 Rd8 27. Rxc5 Rd2+ $13 {
Obwohl Schwarz gewisse Kompensation hat, sind die weißen Chancen besser.})
20... Rg8+ (20... Bxf5 21. Ne4 Kf7 22. Rh1 Rag8+ 23. Kf2 Bh4+ 24. Ke3 $14) 21.
Kf2 (21. Bg3 $5 {Bringt eher wenig.} Bxf5 (21... Bh4 $2 22. Ne4 Bxf5 $4 23.
Nd6+ $18) 22. Ne4 Bxe4 $1 {Der forcierte Weg, ein remisliches Endspiel zu
erreichen.} (22... Kf7 23. Kf2 $14) 23. fxe4 Bh4 24. Rd3 Rd8 (24... Bxg3 $2 25.
Rxg3 Rxg3+ 26. Kxg3 Rd8 27. Rh1 Rd2 28. Rh2 $16) 25. Rxd8+ Kxd8 26. Rd1+ Ke7
27. Rd3 Ke6 28. Kh3 $1 (28. Kf2 $2 Rxg3 29. Rxg3 Ke5 30. Kf3 Bxg3 31. Kxg3 Kxe4
32. Kf2 $11) 28... Bxg3 29. Rxg3 Rd8 30. Rd3 Rg8 $11) 21... Bc5+ 22. Ke2 Rg2+ (
22... Bc4+ $5 23. Kd2 Rg2+ 24. Kc1 Rf2 25. Ne4 Be3+ 26. Kb1 Rxf3 27. a4 $1 $14
{Nachdem der weiße Turm über a3 ins Spiel kommt, wird die schwarze
Kompensation sehr schnell schmelzen.}) 23. Kd3 Bxf5+ 24. Ne4 {Einer Serie von
Schachgeboten folgt die Abwesenheit eines Planes. Weiß hat sich sicher
verteidigt, behält einen Mehrbauern, und kommt ins Endspiel, wo es nur zwei
Ergebnisse geben kann.} Ke7 $2 {Das gibt Weiß einen großen Vorteil. Die beste
Chance war die Fortsetzung des dynamischen Spiels:} (24... Bxe4+ $5 25. fxe4 (
25. Kxe4 Rxc2 26. Rac1 Rxc1 27. Rxc1 Be7 $11) 25... Kd7 26. Bf4 (26. Be5 Ke6
27. Bc3 b5 $1 $36) 26... Rf8 27. Rd2 $1 (27. Kc4+ Ke6 28. Rd2 Rg4 $11) 27...
Rg4 $1 28. Be3 Bxe3 29. Kxe3+ Ke6 30. Rh1 Rg3+ 31. Ke2 Rg4 $44 {Schwarz behält
gute Remischancen.}) 25. Rd2 Rxd2+ (25... Rag8 26. Re1 $14) 26. Kxd2 Bxe4 27.
fxe4 Rg8 {Das ist nicht das Gleiche wie nach 24....Be4. Mit einem Turm und
Läufern auf dem Brett steigern sich die Gewinnchancen exponentiell} 28. Rh1 $1
Bd4 (28... Rg2+ 29. Kd3 $16 {Der weiße König kommt nur näher zum Zentrum, die
schwarze Stellung verschlechtert sich nur.}) 29. b3 Rg2+ 30. Kd3 Bg7 31. Bf4
$16 {Das Endspiel ist wahrscheinlich nicht zu halten.} b5 (31... Ke6 32. a4 $16
) 32. Rh5 a6 33. a4 $1 (33. Rg5 $6 {Ein grober Fehler ist der Turmentausch!}
Rxg5 34. Bxg5+ Ke6 $11 {Es entsteht eine Stellung, wo die schwarzen Bauern
zusammen mit dem Läufer und dem König eine Festung bilden.}) 33... Rg4 34. Be3
Rg3 35. c4 $1 {Weiß spielt sehr stark. Man muss keine Angst vor dem
Bauerntausch haben. Ganz im Gegenteil, Weiß muss dem Schwarzspieler eine
Schwäche kreieren, die er angreifen kann. Damit wird die schwarze
Verteidigungszone ausgedehnt.} Kd7 (35... bxa4 36. bxa4 $16 {Nach wenigen
Zügen befreit sich Weiß aus der Fesselung und greift den Bauern a6 an.}) 36.
Ke2 bxa4 {Erzwungen - es gibt keine Alternative.} (36... Rg2+ 37. Kf3 Rb2 (
37... Rg6 38. axb5 axb5 39. cxb5 cxb5 40. Rxb5 $18) 38. Rh7 $18) 37. bxa4 {
Nun ist die Schwäche im schwarzen Lager bestimmt - der Bauer a6.} Bc3 38. Rh7+
Ke6 (38... Rg7 39. Rh3 $16 {demnächst folgt Kf3 usw.} (39. Rxg7+ Bxg7 {das
Endspiel sieht immer noch remislich aus.})) 39. Rc7 $6 {Ungenauigkeit! Schwarz
bekommt Chancen.} (39. Bf4 $1 {würde zum entscheidenden Vorteil führen.} Rg2+
40. Kf3 Ra2 41. Rh6+ Ke7 (41... Kd7 42. Rd6+ $18) 42. Rxc6 Rxa4 43. c5 $18)
39... Ke5 (39... Kd6 $4 40. Bf4+ Be5 41. Bxg3 $18) 40. Rxc6 Bd4 (40... Kxe4 $1
{Ich sehe nicht, wie Weiß diese Stellung gewinnen kann.} 41. Re6+ (41. Bf2 Rg2
42. Re6+ (42. Rxa6 Bd4 43. Re6+ Kf4 44. Kd3 Bxf2 $11) 42... Be5 43. Kf1 Kf3 44.
Rxe5 Rxf2+ 45. Ke1 Rc2 $11) 41... Be5 42. Bb6 Kf5 43. Re7 (43. Rxe5+ Kxe5 44.
Bc7+ Kd4 45. Bxg3 Kxc4 46. a5 Kb5 47. Bc7 Kc6 $11) 43... Ra3 44. a5 Ra2+ 45.
Kd3 Ra3+ $11) 41. Bd2 (41. Bxd4+ Kxd4 42. Rxa6 Kxe4 $11 {Auf dem Brett ist
eine theoretische Remisstellung.}) 41... Ra3 42. Bc1 Ra1 $1 (42... Rxa4 $2 43.
Kf3 $1 Ba1 44. Bf4+ Kd4 45. Be3+ Ke5 46. Bc5 $18) 43. Kd2 a5 44. Rh6 Rb1 $2 (
44... Kxe4 $1 {Wieder brachte das Nehmen auf e4 ein Remis.} 45. Rh4+ Ke5 46.
Kd3 (46. Rxd4 Kxd4 47. Bb2+ Kxc4 48. Bxa1 Kb4 $11) 46... Rxc1 47. Rh5+ Kd6 48.
Kxd4 Rd1+ 49. Kc3 Kc6 $11 {Die Stellung mit den a- und c-Bauern ist
bekannterweise Remis.}) 45. Rh4 Bf2 46. Rg4 Kd4 47. Kc2 Rb7 48. e5+ Kxe5 49.
Bb2+ $2 {Wieder ein Fehlgriff, 49.Bd2 bot gute Gewinnchancen.} (49. Bd2 $1 Bd4
(49... Ra7 50. Rg5+ Ke4 51. Bxa5 $18) (49... Bb6 50. Rg5+ Kd6 51. Rg6+ Kd7 52.
Kd3 $16 {/+-}) 50. Bxa5 Rb2+ 51. Kc1 $18 {Es droht Rxd4 und Bc7+.}) 49... Kf5
50. Rg8 Bc5 51. Rd8 Bb4 {Diese Stellung ist schon kaum zu gewinnen.} 52. Rd5+
Ke6 53. Bc3 Bxc3 54. Kxc3 Rb1 55. Kd4 Ra1 56. Rxa5 Kd6 57. Ra6+ Kc7 58. Kc5 Kb7
$11 {Auf dem Brett ist eine theoretische Remisstellung, die in vielen
Endspielbüchern analysiert wird. Doch in der Praxis ist es manchmal sehr
schwer, die genauen Züge zu machen, um sich zu halten. Vor allem im Zeitnot
sind die praktischen Gewinnchancen sehr groß.} 59. Rb6+ Kc7 60. Rb4 Rh1 61. Kb5
Rh5+ 62. c5 Rh1 63. a5 Kb7 64. a6+ Ka7 65. Rd4 Rb1+ 66. Kc6 Rh1 67. Rd8 Rh5 $2
(67... Rh2 $11) 68. Kb5 Rh7 69. Rd5 Rh1 70. Rd7+ Kb8 71. c6 Rb1+ 72. Kc5 Rc1+
73. Kb6 Rb1+ 74. Kc5 Rc1+ 75. Kd6 Rd1+ 76. Ke7 Rc1 77. Rd8+ Ka7 78. Kd7 Rd1+
79. Kc8 1-0

[Event "WchT 8th"]
[Site "Ningbo"]
[Date "2011.07.17"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Nabaty, Tamir"]
[Black "Sargissian, Gabriel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2584"]
[BlackElo "2663"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "134"]
[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 "Israel"]
[BlackTeam "Armenia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ISR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ARM"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O (4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. Nbd2 Bb6 7. O-O
O-O $132) 4... Nxe4 5. d4 (5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Nxe5 7. Rxe5+ Be7 8. Bf1 O-O 9.
d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Nf5 11. c3 d5 $11) 5... Nd6 6. Bg5 $6 {Eine seltene und auch
keine gute Variante. Schwarz muss nur wissen, dass er 6....Be7 und nicht 6....
f6 spielen sollte. Hauptvariante ist 6.Bxc6.} (6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8.
Qxd8+ Kxd8 $132) 6... Be7 $1 {Das gleicht leicht aus.} (6... f6 7. dxe5 Nxb5 8.
exf6 gxf6 9. Re1+ Kf7 10. Qd5+ $44 {Weiß steht nicht besser, aber seine
Initiative ist ziemlich unangenehm.}) 7. Bxe7 Qxe7 8. Bxc6 dxc6 9. dxe5 Nf5 {
Die Stellung sieht fast wie die typische Berliner Mauer aus, nur mit dem
Unterschied, dass die Damen auf dem Brett sind und dass Schwarz rochieren kann.
} 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Qd3 $6 {Ungenau. Später spielt Schwarz Rd8 und greift die
Dame an, es wäre daher besser gewesen, nach e2 zu gehen.} (11. Qe2 Be6 12. Rad1
Rad8 13. h3 h6 $11) 11... Be6 12. Rad1 Rad8 13. Qe4 $6 {Die Dame steht auf e4
schlecht - dieses Feld muss für den Springer reserviert bleiben.} (13. Qe2 h6
$11) 13... h6 14. Ne2 {Weiß will Nf4 spielen. Doch mit genauen Zügen
verhindert Schwarz diesen Springermanöver.} Rxd1 15. Rxd1 Rd8 $1 {Obwohl Weiß
die etwas bessere Bauernstruktur hat, kann Schwarz alle Türme tauschen.} 16.
Rxd8+ Qxd8 {Es droht ...Qd1+ - also keine Zeit für Nf4.} 17. Nc3 Qd7 $1 {
Schwarz verteidigt den Springer f5 und ist zu ...Bd5 bereit.} 18. h3 b6 19. Kh2
a5 $1 {Weiß hat keinen Plan, also rollt Schwarz die Bauern am Damenflügel auf.}
20. b3 {Man sollte sicherlich nicht die Bauern auf weiße Felder stellen.
Stärker ist 20.a3, um den weißfeldrigen Läufer von Schwarz wirkungslos zu
machen.} (20. a3 $5 Bd5 21. Qd3 Qe6 22. Ne4 $11) 20... Bd5 21. Qd3 Qe6 22. Ne4
{Weiß versucht, auf Vorteil zu spielen, doch es war Zeit einzusehen, dass die
Stellung ausgeglichen ist und einfach in das remisliche Endspiel mittels des
Nehmens auf d5 einzugehen.} (22. Nxd5 cxd5 23. g4 Ne7 24. c3 Ng6 25. Qe3 $11)
22... Ne7 23. c4 Qf5 $1 (23... Bxe4 24. Qxe4 f5 25. Qe3 c5 26. h4 $14) 24. cxd5
cxd5 25. Qb5 $6 {Stärker war 25.Nfd2.} (25. Nc5 bxc5 $19) (25. Nfd2 Kh7 $3 (
25... dxe4 26. Qd8+ (26. Nxe4 Qxe5+ $17) (26. Qxe4 Qxf2 $17) 26... Kh7 27. Qxe7
Qf4+ 28. Kg1 Qxd2 29. Qxf7 $16) 26. f4 dxe4 27. Qxe4 Qxe4 28. Nxe4 Nd5 29. Kg3
Kg6 $11) 25... dxe4 {Nun steht Schwarz etwas besser.} 26. Qe8+ Kh7 27. Qxe7
Qf4+ $1 {Richtiges Zwischenschach.} (27... exf3 28. Qxc7 Qf4+ 29. Kh1 $11) 28.
Kg1 $2 {Wahrscheinlich der Verlustzug.} (28. Kh1 $1 exf3 29. Qxc7 fxg2+ 30.
Kxg2 $11 {Das Endspiel ist etwas angenehmer für Schwarz, muss jedoch haltbar
sein.}) 28... exf3 29. Qxc7 Qg5 $1 {Das ist der Unterschied zwischen 28. Kg1
und Kh1.} 30. g4 (30. g3 Qd2 31. Qc4 Qe1+ 32. Qf1 Qe2 $19) 30... Qd2 31. Qxb6 (
31. Qc4 Qe1+ 32. Qf1 Qxf1+ $1 33. Kxf1 Kg6 34. Ke1 Kg5 35. Kd2 Kh4 36. Ke3 Kxh3
37. Kxf3 g5 $19) 31... Qe1+ 32. Kh2 Qxe5+ 33. Kg1 Qe1+ 34. Kh2 Qf1 {Schwarz
gewinnt forciert einen Bauern und damit eigentlich schon die Partie.} 35. Kg3
g5 $1 {Erzwingt Kxf3.} 36. Kxf3 Qxh3+ 37. Ke2 Qxg4+ 38. Kf1 Qd1+ 39. Kg2 Qd5+
40. Kg1 Qe5 $19 {Der Rest ist Sache der Technik. Schwarz rollt seine Bauern am
Königsfluegel auf und nähert sich mit dem König dem Zentrum. Die weißen
Figuren sind überlastet und können die Stellung nicht halten.} 41. a4 (41. a3
$2 Qa1+ 42. Kg2 Qxa3 $19) 41... h5 42. Qb5 (42. b4 Qe1+ 43. Kg2 Qxb4 44. Qxb4
axb4 45. a5 b3 46. a6 b2 47. a7 b1=Q $19) 42... f6 43. Kf1 Qc3 44. Qe8 h4 45.
Qf7+ Kh6 46. Qf8+ Kg6 47. Qg8+ Kf5 48. Qd5+ Kf4 49. Kg2 g4 50. Qd6+ Qe5 51.
Qd2+ Kf5 52. Qd7+ Kg5 53. Qg7+ Kf4 54. Qh6+ Qg5 55. Qh7 Qd5+ 56. Kg1 Qd1+ 57.
Kg2 h3+ 58. Kh2 Qd6 59. Kg1 Qd1+ 60. Kh2 Qd6 61. Kg1 Qe5 62. Qh6+ Ke4 63. Qd2
Qd5 64. Qc2+ Ke5 65. Qc7+ Kd4 66. Kf1 Qh1+ 67. Ke2 Qf3+ 0-1

[Event "Biel GM 42nd"]
[Site "Biel"]
[Date "2009.07.27"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2703"]
[BlackElo "2670"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2009.07.19"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 132"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.09.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2009.09.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Berliner Mauer ist eine der solidsten
Eröffnungen gegen 1.e4 überhaupt.} 4. O-O (4. d3 {ist die populärste
Nebenvariante.} Bc5 5. c3 {Weiß hat mehrere Möglichkeiten, jedoch keine davon
bringt ihm einen Eröffnungsvorteil.} (5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Be3 (6. Nxe5 $4 Qd4 7.
Be3 Qxe5 8. d4 Qxe4 9. dxc5 Qxg2 $19) 6... Bd6 $1 {Der beste Weg zum Ausgleich.
} (6... Qe7 7. Bxc5 Qxc5 8. Nc3 Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 O-O {Schwarz hat keine
Schwierigkeiten.} 11. O-O-O a5 12. Qf5 Rfd8 13. Rhf1 a4 14. a3 b5 $132 {
Sutovsky - Aronian (Caleta, 2005)}) (6... Bxe3 $2 {verbessert die weiße
Bauernstruktur und öffnet die f-Linie.} 7. fxe3 Qe7 8. O-O Ng4 9. Qd2 f6 10.
Nh4 g6 11. Nc3 Bd7 12. Rf3 f5 13. g3 Nf6 14. exf5 g5 15. Ng2 e4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4
17. dxe4 O-O-O 18. Qa5 $16 {Sutovsky - Carlsen (Crete, 2007)}) 7. h3 c5 8. Nbd2
Nd7 9. Nc4 O-O $11 {Perunovic - Fressinet (Budva, 2009)}) (5. Nc3 d6 6. Na4 Bb6
7. O-O Bd7 8. c3 Ne7 9. Nxb6 axb6 10. Bxd7+ Qxd7 11. Bg5 Ng6 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13.
Nd2 f5 $11 {Carlsen - Wang Yue (Baku, 2008)}) (5. O-O d6 6. c3 O-O 7. Nbd2 a6
8. Ba4 Ba7 {'<=>' Wiederum hat Schwarz wenig zu befürchten.} 9. h3 Ne7 10. Re1
Ng6 11. Nf1 b5 12. Bb3 Re8 13. Ng3 (13. a4 Bb7 14. Be3 Bxe3 15. Nxe3 h6 16. Nh2
d5 17. axb5 axb5 18. Rxa8 Bxa8 $11 {Leko - Kramnik (Moscow, 2007)}) 13... Bb7
14. Be3 Bxe3 15. fxe3 d5 $11 {Anand - Kramnik (Moscow, 2007)}) 5... O-O 6. Bg5
(6. O-O {-> 5.0-0}) 6... d6 7. Nbd2 Bb6 ({Schwarz kann auch aktiv spielen:} 
7... h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 Nh5 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. d4 exd4 12. Nxd4 Nxg3 13. hxg3
Qf6 14. N2b3 Bb6 $132 {Svidler - Ivanchuk (Sochi, 2008)}) (7... Bd7 $1 {
Meiner Meinung nach ist das die beste Fortsetzung.} 8. Ba4 h6 9. Bh4 g5 10. Bg3
Nh5 11. d4 exd4 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Nxd4 Nxg3 14. hxg3 Qf6 15. Qh5 Kg7 16. O-O-O
Rae8 $132 {Azarov - Georgiev (Dresden, 2007)}) 8. Nc4 Ne7 $132 {Vachier
Lagrave - Alekseev (Biel, 2009)}) (4. Nc3 {führt zum Übergang ins
Vierspringerspiel.} Bb4 (4... Nd4 $5 {ist ebenfalls spielbar.}) 5. O-O O-O 6.
d3 d6 7. Bg5 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Qe7 9. Re1 h6 10. Bh4 a6 11. Bxc6 (11. Ba4 Nd8 $15 {
Der weiße Läufer auf a4 ist sehr schlecht.}) 11... bxc6 12. d4 Bg4 13. Qd3 Bxf3
14. Qxf3 g5 15. Bg3 Nd7 $11 {Shirov - Erenburg (Sochi, 2006)}) (4. Qe2 {
Eine weitere Nebenvariante, die jedoch sehr selten zu treffen ist.} Bc5 5. c3
O-O 6. d3 d6 $11 {Man kommt in eine typische Stellung hinein, wo der Zug Qe2
wenig Sinn macht.}) 4... Nxe4 5. d4 (5. Re1 {Das ist eine bekannte
Remisvariante:} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Nxe5 7. Rxe5+ Be7 8. Bf1 (8. Bd3 O-O 9. Nc3 c6 10.
b3 Ne8 11. Bb2 d5 12. Qh5 Nf6 13. Qh4 Be6 $11) 8... O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Nf5
11. c3 d5 $11 {Bei symmetrischen Bauernstruktur das Maximum, was beide Seiten
erreichen können ist der kollektive Abtausch aller Figuren.}) 5... Nd6 6. Bxc6
dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 ({Eine andere prinzipielle
Fortsetzung ist} 9... Bd7 10. h3 (10. b3 Kc8 11. Bb2 Be7 12. Rad1 a5 $132)
10... h6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Rd2 c5 15. Rfd1 Be6 $132) 10.
h3 h5 (10... Be7 {füehrt zu einer passiven, aber haltbaren Stellung.} 11. g4 (
11. Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 h6 $1 {Es is wichtig, den gegnerischen Springer gleich
zu vertreiben.} 13. Nf3 (13. Nge4 b6 14. Rfd1 Ke7 15. Kh2 h5 16. Ne2 Re8 17.
Nf4 Kf8 18. Nxh5 Rxe5 19. Nhg3 Be6 20. Rd2 {1/2-1/2 Anand - Kramnik (Leon,
2002). Ich denke, Schwarz steht sogar etwas besser hier. Der weiße h-Bauer ist
sehr weit von dem kritischen Feld h8 entfernt, während die schwarzen Türme mit
dem Läufer am Damenflügel für einige Unannehmlichkeiten sorgen könnten.}) 13...
h5 14. Rad1 (14. Ne2 Ke7 15. Nf4 g6 $1 16. Rad1 Ng7 17. Rfe1 Rd8 18. Rxd8 Kxd8
19. Ng5 Ke7 20. Rd1 a5 21. a4 Bf5 $132 {Timman - Kritz (Amsterdam, 2002)})
14... Ke7 15. Ng5 Be6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Rd3 Rad8 18. Rfd1 Rxd3 19. Rxd3 h4 $11
{Shirov - Alekseev (Moscow, 2008). Wie üblich in dieser Stellung: der schwarze
Bauer h4 neutralisiert die weiße überlegenheit am Königsflügel und die
Stellung ist ausgeglichen.}) 11... Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Kg2 h5 14. f3 Be6 ({
Eine andere Verteidigungsmethode ist} 14... a5 {um die weißen Bauern zu
erzwingen, weiße Felder einzunehmen.} 15. a4 b6 16. Rd1 Be7 17. Ne2 Bd7 18. Bf4
c5 19. Bg3 Rd8 20. c4 Bc8 21. b3 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 hxg4 23. hxg4 Bd8 $14 {
Kotronias - Kritz (Port Erin, 2007). Weiß hat einen symbolischen Vorteil und
Schwarz muss die ganze Partie leiden, doch bei korrekter Verteidigung kann man
Remis halten. Es ist jedoch zu empfehlen, wie Wang Yue gegen Adams zu spielen
- dort ist es einfacher, das Remis zu erreichen.}) 15. Be3 Be7 $11 {Wie die
letzten Analysen zeigen, ist die Stellung ausgeglichen.}) (10... Ne7 {Zuletzt
hat dieser Zug wieder an Popularität gewonnen, aber ich verstehe nicht warum.
Das ist eine verschlechterte Version dern 10....Be7 Variante - Schwarz steht
ebenfalls passiv, gibt dabei Weiß Chancen zu spielen. Dagegen bringt 10....Be7
die Partie bei normalem Spielverlauf zum unausweichlichen Remisresultat.} 11.
Ne4 Ng6 12. Re1 h6 13. Bd2 $14 {Weiß hat sich entwickelt, Schwarz steht immer
noch auf der Grundreihe.}) 11. Bf4 (11. Bg5 {Der logische Versuch, die
Schwächung des Feldes g5 auszunutzen.} Be6 (11... Be7 {ist ebenfalls gut
spielbar} 12. Ne2 Be6 13. Nf4 Bd5 14. Bxe7 Kxe7 15. Ng5 Nd4 16. Rfd1 Ne6 $1 (
16... Nxc2 17. Nxd5+ cxd5 18. Rac1 $1 $18) 17. Ngxe6 Bxe6 18. h4 Rad8 19. f3 g6
20. Kf2 Bf5 21. c3 f6 22. exf6+ Kxf6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Hracek,Z (2629)-Kholmov,R 
(2464)/Pardubice CZE 1999 (37)}) 12. Rad1 Be7 13. Rd2 Rd8 $1 {Korrekte
Entscheidung! Schwarz muss so schnell wie möglich den Druck der weißen Türme
auf der d-Linie neutralisieren.} (13... Bxg5 14. Nxg5 Rd8 (14... h4 15. Rfd1
$14) 15. Rxd8+ Kxd8 16. Nxe6+ fxe6 17. g3 $1 $14 {Weiß hat h4 verhindert und
damit die Beweglichkeit seiner Bauernstruktur beibehalten. Das garantiert ihm
einen kleinen Vorteil.}) 14. Rfd1 Rxd2 15. Rxd2 h4 $1 $11 {Leko - Alekseev 
(Elista, 2008) . Damit ist der Königsflügel zugemacht und der weiße Mehrbauer
praktisch neutralisiert.}) ({Wenig bringt} 11. Ne2 Be6 12. Nf4 Bd5 $1 {Schwarz
bekommt eine problemlose Stellung.} 13. Nxd5 (13. Ng5 Be7 $15) 13... cxd5 14.
Bf4 c6 15. g3 Be7 16. Rfe1 Rg8 17. g4 hxg4 18. hxg4 Nh6 19. Nh2 g5 20. Be3 Kd7
21. Rad1 Ke6 $132 {Bruzon - Miles (Varadero, 2000)}) 11... Be7 12. Rad1 Nh4 ({
Spielbar ist auch} 12... Be6 $5 $146 {Nach dem prinzipiellen} 13. Ng5 {gleicht
Schwarz forciert aus:} Bc4 $1 14. Rfe1 Rd8 $1 15. Rxd8+ (15. b3 Ba6 16. Rxd8+ {
->15.Rxd8}) 15... Bxd8 16. b3 Ba6 17. e6 Bxg5 18. exf7+ Kxf7 19. Bxg5 Re8 $11)
13. Nd4 (13. Nxh4 $6 {Weiß kann nicht besser stehen, besonders weil er nicht
zu g4 kommt.} Bxh4 14. Ne2 Bd7 15. e6 Bxe6 16. Nd4 Bf6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bxc7
Rc8 19. Bf4 Ke7 $11 {Dominguez Perez - Wang Yue (Wijk aan Zee, 2009)}) 13...
Nf5 14. Nce2 g5 $2 {Man kann nur staunen, wie viele Menschen die Berliner
Mauer spielen, ohne dabei elementare Grundlagen dieser Stellung zu begreifen.
In der Vorgängerpartie Inarkiev - Najditsch wurde bereits nach 14....g5? das
Remisresultat fixiert.} (14... Nxd4 $1 {Hat Schwarz die Gelegenheit, den
Springer abzutauschen, so soll er das ohne Nachzudenken machen! Der Grund
dafür ist ganz einfach - Weiß hat Raumvorteil und eventuell Initiative im
Zentrum.} 15. Nxd4 (15. Rxd4 Bf5 16. Rd2 Rd8 17. Nd4 Bg6 $15) 15... a6 $1 {
Und Weiß muss die Notbremse ziehen und e6 spielen.} 16. e6 (16. Rfe1 c5 17. Nf3
Bf5 18. Rd2 Rd8 $15) 16... Bxe6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bxc7 Rc8 19. Bb6 Bd8 20. Bd4
Bf6 $11 {Das Endspiel ist leicht Remis zu halten.}) 15. Bh2 a6 {Schwarz
spielte zu langsam.} (15... Nxd4 {wäre immer noch die bessere Wahl gewesen,
wobei der Zug g5 natürlich die schwarze Stellung geschwächt hat.} 16. Nxd4 a6
17. e6 Bxe6 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Bxc7 Rc8 20. Be5 $14) 16. e6 $1 {Jetzt ist es
eine ganz andere Geschichte!} Nd6 (16... Nxd4 17. exf7+ Kxf7 18. Nxd4 $14) (
16... Bxe6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bxc7 Rc8 19. Be5 $14 {Mit Springern auf dem Brett
ist der weiße Vorteil noch größer.}) 17. Rfe1 $1 {Weiß spielt sehr gut - er
forciert nicht die Varianten, sondern verbessert schrittweise seine Stellung.}
Rh6 (17... fxe6 18. Nc1 Kf7 19. Nd3 $44 {Mit klarer Kompensation, die
schwarzen Figuren bewegen sich gar nicht.}) 18. exf7+ (18. Bxd6 $5 {führt zu
einem kleinen Vorteil, ist aber zu konkret. Weiß muss die Stellung nicht
forcieren.} Bxd6 (18... cxd6 19. Nf5 Rxe6 20. Ng7+ Kf8 21. Nxe6+ Bxe6 22. Nd4
$14) 19. Nf5 Rg6 20. Nxd6+ cxd6 21. Rxd6 Bxe6 (21... Rxe6 22. Rxe6+ Bxe6 23.
Ng3 Rd8 (23... h4 24. Ne4 $18) 24. Nxh5 Rd2 25. Ng7+ $18) 22. Ng3 h4 23. Ne4
Ke7 24. Rd3 Rd8 25. Rxd8 Kxd8 26. Nc5 Kc7 27. Nxe6+ fxe6 $14) 18... Kxf7 19.
Nf3 {Vom Gefühl her steht Weiß fast schon auf Gewinn. Alle seine Figuren
spielen mit, der schwarze König ist geschwächt usw.} g4 20. Ne5+ Kg7 21. Bf4
Rh7 (21... Rh8 {macht keinen großen Unterschied} 22. hxg4 hxg4 23. Ng3 $16) 22.
hxg4 hxg4 23. Ng3 $16 {Schwarz hat große Schwierigkeiten mit seiner
Entwicklung, so hat der Läufer c8 kein Feld.} Bf6 (23... Be6 $4 24. Nxg4 $18)
24. Nd3 {Der Springer wird nach c5 überführt.} Nf5 $2 {Der letzte Fehler, der
zu einer verlorenen Stellung führt.} (24... Kf7 25. b3 a5 26. Nc5 Bc3 27. Re2
Bb4 28. Nd3 $16) 25. Ne4 $1 ({Natürlich nicht} 25. Nxf5+ $2 Bxf5 26. Bxc7 Rah8
27. Kf1 Bxd3+ 28. Rxd3 Rh1+ 29. Ke2 Re8+ 30. Re3 Rxe1+ 31. Kxe1 Rxe3+ 32. fxe3
Bxb2 $11) 25... Be7 26. Bxc7 $18 {Weiß hat einen gesunden Mehrbauern und dazu
einen gewaltigen Entwicklungsvorsprung. Dazu haben alle seine Figuren ideale
Positionen im Zentrum eingenommen.} Be6 {Endlich kommt der Läufer raus, aber
es ist schon zu spät.} 27. Nf4 (27. Be5+ $5 Kf7 28. Bc3 $18) 27... Bf7 28. Rd7
Re8 29. Ng5 ({Sehr leicht gewinnt} 29. Be5+ Kg8 30. Rxb7 Bd8 31. Nd3 $18) 29...
Rh6 (29... Bxg5 $2 30. Rxe8 $18) 30. Be5+ Kg8 31. Nxf7 Kxf7 32. Bc3 (32. Rxb7
$18 {wäre wieder am einfachsten.}) 32... g3 (32... b5 33. Re5 Nd6 34. Bb4 Nc8
35. Rc7 $18) 33. Re5 gxf2+ 34. Kxf2 Nd6 35. Bb4 {Die weißen Figuren machen,
was sie wollen.} Nc8 36. Rxb7 Rh4 37. Bxe7 Rxf4+ 38. Ke3 1-0

[Event "Jermuk FIDE GP"]
[Site "Jermuk"]
[Date "2009.08.17"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Leko, Peter"]
[Black "Jakovenko, Dmitrij"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2756"]
[BlackElo "2760"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "242"]
[EventDate "2009.08.09"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "ARM"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 132"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.09.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2009.09.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Die Berliner Mauer wurde sehr populär nach dem
Londoner Match Kasparov - Kramnik, London 2000. Bis heute tut sich Weiß sehr
schwer, die schwarze Verteidigung zu durchbrechen.} 4. O-O (4. d3 {ist eine
alternative Fortsetzung. Man bekommt spielbare Stellungen, doch keinen
Eröffnungsvorteil.} Bc5 (4... d6 $5 5. O-O Be7 6. c3 O-O 7. Re1 a6 8. Ba4 b5 9.
Bc2 Re8 $132 {Es entsteht ein typischer Spanier mit d3.}) 5. Bxc6 (5. O-O d6 6.
c3 O-O 7. Nbd2 a6 8. Ba4 Ba7 $132 {Wiederum hat Schwarz wenig zu befürchten.})
5... dxc6 6. Be3 Qe7 (6... Bxe3 $2 {verbessert die weiße Bauernstruktur und
öffnet die f-Linie.} 7. fxe3 Qe7 8. O-O Ng4 9. Qd2 f6 10. Nh4 g6 11. Nc3 Bd7
12. Rf3 f5 13. g3 Nf6 14. exf5 g5 15. Ng2 e4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. dxe4 O-O-O 18.
Qa5 $16 {Sutovsky - Carlsen (Crete, 2007)}) 7. Bxc5 Qxc5 8. Nc3 Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3
10. Qxf3 O-O {Schwarz hat keine Schwierigkeiten.} 11. O-O-O a5 12. Qf5 Rfd8 13.
Rhf1 a4 14. a3 b5 $132 {Sutovsky - Aronian (Caleta, 2005)}) 4... Nxe4 5. d4 (5.
Re1 {Das ist eine bekannte Remisvariante:} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Nxe5 7. Rxe5+ Be7 8. Bf1
(8. Bd3 O-O 9. Nc3 c6 10. b3 Ne8 11. Bb2 d5 12. Qh5 Nf6 13. Qh4 Be6 $11) 8...
O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Nf5 11. c3 d5 $11 {Bei symmetrischen Bauernstruktur das
Maximum, was beide Seiten erreichen können ist der kollektive Abtausch aller
Figuren.}) 5... Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 {Die
beste Alternative zu der Partiefortsetzung ist 9....Ke8} (9... Ke8 10. h3 Be7
11. g4 (11. Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 h6 $1 {Es is wichtig, den gegnerischen Springer
gleich zu vertreiben.} 13. Nf3 h5 14. Rad1 (14. Ne2 Ke7 15. Nf4 g6 $1 16. Rad1
Ng7 17. Rfe1 Rd8 18. Rxd8 Kxd8 19. Ng5 Ke7 20. Rd1 a5 21. a4 Bf5 $132 {Timman
- Kritz (Amsterdam, 2002)}) 14... Ke7 $11) 11... Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Kg2 h5
14. f3 Be6 $11 {Die schwarze Stellung ist zwar passiv, aber nicht zu brechen.})
10. h3 (10. Rd1+ {Das Problem dieses Zuges ist, dass Weiß eigentlich den
anderen Turm nach d1 stellen sollte.} Ke8 11. h3 a5 12. Bf4 Be6 13. g4 Ne7 14.
Nd4 Nd5 15. Nce2 Bc5 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. c4 Nb6 18. b3 a4 $132 {Kasparov -
Kramnik (London, 2000)}) (10. b3 $5 {Es macht Sinn, Zeit den Zug h3
einzusparen, wenn man nicht mit g4 spielen will.} Bd7 11. Bb2 Kc8 12. Rad1 b6
13. Rd3 (13. Ne2 c5 14. c4 Bc6 $11 {Kasparov - Kramnik (London, 2000)}) 13...
Ne7 14. Rfd1 {Weiß entwickelt nun eine unangenehme Initiative.} Bf5 15. Rd8+
Kb7 16. Rxa8 Kxa8 17. Nd4 Bg4 18. Nce2 c5 19. h3 Bc8 20. Nb5 Kb7 21. Nf4 $36 {
Bruzon Batista - Mitkov (Merida, 2008)}) 10... Bd7 11. b3 {Die Kombination der
Züge h3-b3 ist nicht logisch. Wozu braucht man den Zug h3 dann überhaupt? Weiß
muss so schnell wie möglich seine Entwicklung beenden, denn falls der schwarze
König sich auf b7 versteckt und Weiß immer noch keine Drohungen aufstellt,
wird Schwarz einfach besser stehen.} (11. Bf4 $5 Kc8 12. Rad1 $1 (12. a3 $2 {
ist einfach zu langsam.} b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Rfe1 c5 $132 {Motylev -
Ponomariov (Motril, 2008). Schwarz plant Bc6-Kb7 mit guter Stellung.}) 12... b6
13. Rd3 Be6 14. Rfd1 Kb7 15. b3 $14 {und Schwarz hatte Probleme mit seiner
Entwicklung in Anand - Topalov (Monte Carlo, 2005)}) 11... Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 {
Beide Seiten führen ihre Pläne durch: Schwarz evakuiert den König, Weiß
vollendet die Entwicklung, und versucht, auf die schwarze Stellung Druck
auszuüben.} 13. Rad1 c5 $5 {Ein seltener Zug, der jedoch logisch erscheint.} (
13... Ne7 {gilt als Hauptzug. Weiß hat nun mehrere Fortsetzungsmöglichkeiten.}
14. Rd2 {sieht am logischsten aus, aber auch andere Ideen sind interessant.} (
14. Ne2 Ng6 15. Ng3 (15. Ne1 h5 16. Nd3 c5 17. c4 a5 18. a4 h4 $11 {Kasparov -
Kramnik (London, 2000)}) 15... Nf4 16. Nd4 a5 17. a4 b5 18. Kh2 bxa4 19. bxa4
Nd5 20. Rd3 Nb6 $132 {Shirov - Kramnik (Astana, 2001)}) (14. Nd4 $5 c5 15. Nde2
a5 16. Rd2 Nc6 17. Rfd1 Be6 18. Nf4 Bf5 19. g4 $1 $16 {Efimenko - Naiditsch 
(Subotica, 2008)}) 14... c5 15. Rfd1 Be6 16. Ne2 g5 $132 {Anand - Kramnik 
(Mainz, 2001)}) 14. Rfe1 $6 {Ein neuer und relativ sinnloser Zug. Der Turm
sieht nur gut aus auf e1, eigentlich hat er dort überhaupt keine Funktion,
weil Weiß keine Zeit hat, um zu e6 zu kommen.} ({Nach} 14. Nd5 a5 $1 15. a4 c4
$1 {wurde Weiß praktisch gezwungen, den Bauer zu opfern:} 16. e6 fxe6 17. Nf4
cxb3 18. cxb3 Bd6 19. Ng6 Rg8 20. Nfe5 Be8 $15 {wonach Schwarz eindeutig
besser stand in Stellwagen - Efimenko (Wattenscheid, 2008)}) 14... Ne7 {
Die überführung des Springers nach g6 ist ein typisches Manöver - von dort aus
kontrolliert er das Feld f4.} 15. Ne2 Ng6 16. h4 $2 {Solche Züge darf man in
so einer Stellung nicht machen. Weiß hat keinen weißfeldrigen Läufer und
schwächt dabei freiwillig die weißen Felder.} (16. Ng3 $5 Be6 (16... Bc6 $6 17.
Re3 Kb7 (17... Be7 $2 18. Nf5 $14) 18. e6 $14) 17. Nh5 Rg8 18. g4 Be7 $132)
16... Bg4 {Die nächsten Züge sind forciert, Weiß landet in einem schlechten
Endspiel.} 17. Nh2 (17. Rd3 $2 {hat keine selbstständige Bedeutung, Weiß kann
sowieso kein h5 spielen.} Kb7 $15) 17... Bxe2 18. Rxe2 Nxh4 {Schwarz will nun
Rg8-g5-Bg7 spielen.} 19. Re4 Be7 20. e6 (20. g3 Ng6 21. e6 f5 22. Ree1 Rg8 23.
Rd7 Kb7 $15 {Die weiße Initiative kompensiert nicht den Bauern.}) 20... fxe6
21. Rxe6 (21. Bxg7 $2 Rg8 $17) 21... Bd6 22. Bxg7 Rg8 23. Rxh6 (23. Bxh6 $4
Rxg2+ 24. Kf1 Rxh2 25. Re8+ Kb7 $19) 23... Nxg2 24. Kxg2 Rxg7+ 25. Kf1 Kb7 $15
{Schwarz hat klar bessere Aussichten. Bei richtigem Spiel muss sich Weiß
jedoch verteidigen können.} 26. Nf3 Rf8 27. Rd3 Rgf7 {Schwarz spielt sehr
korrekt. Zuerst begrenzt er maximal die Beweglichkeit der weißen Figuren.} 28.
Ke2 c4 $1 {Und dann kreiert er neue Schwächen im Lager von Weiß.} (28... a5 29.
c4 $1 {und die weiße Stellung ist in Ordnung.} (29. a4 $2 c4 $17 {Der Bauer
auf a4 steht sehr schlecht.})) 29. bxc4 $8 {Weiß muss seine Bauernstruktur
endgültig ruinieren.} (29. Re3 Bf4 $19) (29. Rc3 Bb4 30. Rxc4 Rxf3 31. Rxb4
Rxf2+ 32. Kd1 Rf1+ 33. Ke2 R8f2+ 34. Kd3 Rd1+ 35. Kc3 Rdd2 36. a4 (36. Rc4
Rxc2+ 37. Kd3 Rxc4 38. Kxc4 Rxa2 $19) 36... Rxc2+ 37. Kd3 Rfd2+ 38. Ke3 Rd1 $17
{Das entstandene Endspiel ist viel schlechter als die Alternative, die von
Leko vorgezogen wurde.}) 29... Rf4 30. Rh4 $1 {Es ist sehr wichtig für Weiß,
dass er es schafft einen Turm zu tauschen.} Rxh4 31. Nxh4 Rf4 32. Nf3 Rxc4 33.
c3 {Wieder der einzige Zug.} (33. Kd2 $2 Ra4 $19) 33... Be7 (33... Ra4 34. Rd2
Ra3 35. Kd3 $15) 34. Kd1 Bc5 35. Kc2 $1 {Richtige Entscheidung! Man sollte
sich nicht an den Bauern f2 klammern, weil er nicht die wichtigste Schwäche im
weißen Lager ist.} Bxf2 36. Kb3 b5 $2 {Mir gefällt der Zug nicht, weil er das
Spiel forciert - Weiß kann einen weiteren Bauern tauschen und das Feld c4 für
seinen Springer gewinnen.} (36... Re4 $1 37. Rd5 a6 $17 {Mit dem langsamen
Spiel hat Schwarz mehr Chancen.}) 37. Nd2 Rh4 38. c4 $1 Kb6 ({Sehr remislich
sieht es aus nach} 38... c6 39. cxb5 cxb5 40. Rf3 $15) ({Bessere Chancen hatte
Schwarz jedoch nach} 38... a6 39. a4 bxc4+ 40. Nxc4 Bd4 $17 {Der Bauer auf a4
steht schlechter als auf a2.}) 39. cxb5 Kxb5 40. Nb1 c5 41. Na3+ Kc6 42. Nc4 {
Weiß hat eine sehr solide Festung aufgebaut. Der schwarze Läufer hat überhaupt
keine Angriffsziele, ich denke, diese Stellung ist objektiv gesehen Remis.} Bd4
43. Rg3 Rh5 44. Ne3 Kd6 (44... Bxe3 45. Rxe3 $11 {Das Turmendspiel ist sogar
ohne den weißen a-Bauern theoretisch Remis.}) 45. Kc4 Ke5 46. Nc2 Bf2 47. Ra3
Rh4+ 48. Kb5 Rh7 49. Kc4 Rg7 50. Ra6 Bg1 51. Ra5 Rh7 52. Ra6 Rf7 53. Ra5 Ke4
54. Ra6 Rf2 55. Kc3 Rf7 56. Kc4 Ke5 57. Ra5 Rg7 58. Ra6 Rh7 59. Ra5 Ke4 60. Ra4
Kf3 61. Kc3 Re7 62. Ra6 Ke2 63. Rd6 Bf2 64. Rd2+ Kf3 65. Rd3+ Ke4 66. Kc4 Kf4 {
Schwarz kann keinen wirklichen Fortschritt erzielen.} 67. Ra3 Bg1 68. Ra6 Kf3
69. Rd6 Bf2 70. Kc3 Bh4 71. Rd5 Bf2 72. Kd3 Kf4 73. Rd6 Ke5 74. Rd8 Rg7 75.
Re8+ Kd6 76. Rd8+ Kc6 77. Rc8+ Kb7 78. Rf8 Rg3+ 79. Kc4 Rg4+ 80. Kc3 Bh4 81.
Rf3 Kc6 82. Ne3 Be1+ 83. Kc2 Rd4 84. Rf1 Bb4 85. Rd1 Re4 86. Kd3 Rh4 87. Rg1
Kb5 88. Rg4 Rh3 89. Re4 a5 90. Kc2 Rh2+ 91. Kb1 a4 92. Nd5 Ba5 93. a3 Rd2 {
Schwarz hat einiges erreicht, aber sein Problem ist nun, dass der Bauer a4
immer hängen bleibt, solange die Türme auf dem Brett sind.} 94. Ne3 Bc7 95. Nc4
Rd4 96. Rxd4 cxd4 97. Nb2 $11 {Remis. Schwarz kommt nicht mehr voran.} Bd6 98.
Ka2 Bf8 99. Nd3 Kc4 100. Nb2+ Kb5 101. Nd3 Bd6 102. Nb2 Be7 103. Nd3 Bf8 104.
Nb2 Bh6 105. Nd3 Bg5 106. Nb2 Bf4 107. Kb1 Bc7 108. Ka2 Bd8 109. Kb1 Be7 110.
Ka2 Ka5 111. Nc4+ Ka6 112. Nb2 Kb5 113. Nd3 Kc4 114. Nb2+ Kc3 115. Nxa4+ Kc2
116. Nb2 Bd8 117. a4 Bc7 118. Nc4 d3 119. a5 Bxa5 120. Nxa5 d2 121. Nc4 d1=N
1/2-1/2

[Event "Bundesliga 0203"]
[Site "Germany"]
[Date "2003.01.11"]
[Round "8.2"]
[White "Lautier, Joel"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2670"]
[BlackElo "2610"]
[Annotator "Lautier,J"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2002.10.19"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 093"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2003.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Luebeck"]
[BlackTeam "Wattenscheid"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

1. e4 {Wedberg} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 a5 10. h3 a4 $6 11. a3 Be6 {'?!' Wedberg.
Wedberg: 'This move means taking some risk for Black since White can win time
by hitting the B.'} (11... h6 {Wedberg}) 12. g4 $1 {Wedberg: 'Excellent, Black
has some retreating to do now. The R is perfectly placed on f1 to support a P
storm. Lautiers plan is one of the most dangerous that Black has to counter in
the Berlin defence.'} (12. Ng5 Ke8 13. Nxe6 fxe6 {/\ Nd4} 14. Ne4 Nd4 15. c3
Nb3 16. Rb1 Nc5 17. Nxc5 Bxc5 $11) (12. Re1 {Wedberg} Kc8 13. g4 Ne7 14. Ng5
Nd5 15. Nce4 h6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Be3 Be7 18. c4 Nxe3 19. Rxe3 Ra5 {Konguvel,
P-Aleksandrov,A/Goodricke 2002/0-1 (45)}) 12... Ne7 13. Ng5 $1 (13. Nd4 Bd7 14.
f4 h5 (14... Nd5 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. f5 Bc5 17. Be3 Bb6 $14) 15. f5 hxg4 16. hxg4
Rh4 (16... g6 17. e6 $16) 17. Rf4 Nd5 18. Nxd5 cxd5 19. Nf3 Bc5+ 20. Kg2 Rh8
21. Bd2 $14) 13... Bc4 {'?!' Wedberg.} (13... Nd5 14. Nce4 h5 15. f4 $1 Ke8 (
15... hxg4 $2 16. f5 $18) 16. f5 Bc8 17. Kg2 $16) (13... h5 $5 {(Wedberg)
Trying to get some counterplay going before White has completely taken over
with f4-f5.} 14. Nxe6+ fxe6 15. Ne4 hxg4 16. hxg4 Nd5 17. c4 (17. Kg2 {Wedberg}
b5) 17... Nb6 18. Ng5 Ke7 19. Bd2 c5 20. Rac1 Nd7 21. Nf3 $14) 14. Re1 Ke8 (
14... h6 15. Nge4 $1 (15. Re4 {'!' Wedberg.} Bd5 $1 (15... b5 16. Rxc4 hxg5 17.
Rd4+ Ke8 18. Bxg5 Rxh3 19. Rad1 $16) (15... hxg5 16. Rxc4 Rxh3 (16... f6 {
Wedberg} 17. Kg2 $16) 17. Bxg5 $16) 16. Nxd5 cxd5 17. Nxf7+ (17. Rxa4 $2 Rxa4
18. Nxf7+ Ke8 19. Nxh8 g5 20. e6 Re4 $17) 17... Ke8 18. Rf4 Rh7 19. Rf3 (19. e6
Ra6) (19. g5 Ng6 20. Rf5 Ra6 $132 {/\ Nh4-g6} (20... Nh4 21. Rf4 (21. e6 $2
Nxf5 22. g6 Rh8 23. Nxh8 Ra6 $17) 21... Ng6 $11)) 19... Ng6 {/\ Nh4} 20. e6 Ra6
21. Re3 Nf4 22. Re1 Nxe6 23. Ne5 g5 $11) 15... Nd5 (15... Ng6 16. f4 Nh4 17.
Kf2 $16) (15... h5 16. Bg5 $16) 16. f4 (16. Bd2 g5) 16... h5 (16... Nxc3 17.
Nxc3 Bc5+ 18. Be3 Bxe3+ 19. Rxe3 $16) 17. f5 hxg4 18. hxg4 Be7 {/\ Rh4} 19. Kg2
Rh4 20. Kg3 Rh8 21. Bg5 $16) 15. f4 $1 {Wedberg: 'White is ready to storm. The
P:s are rolling and the pieces can mass behind them. Black must look for the
panic brake.'} (15. e6 f6 16. Nf7 Rg8 17. Bf4 Bxe6 18. Rxe6 Kxf7 19. Re2 Nd5
20. Nxd5 cxd5 21. Bxc7 Bc5 22. Rd1 Rac8 23. Bg3 d4 $11 (23... Rgd8 24. Red2 d4
(24... Ke6) 25. c3 Rd5 26. cxd4 Rcd8 $11)) (15. b3 axb3 16. cxb3 Be6 (16...
Bxb3 17. Rb1 Bc4 18. Rxb7 $36) 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Ne4 Nd5 $13) (15. Bf4 h6 (
15... Ng6 16. Bg3 Be7 17. Nge4 Nh4 $2 18. Nf6+ $16) 16. Nge4 Nd5 17. Bg3 Nxc3
18. Nxc3 Bc5 19. Rad1 Be6 20. Kg2 (20. Ne4 Bb6) 20... h5 $11) 15... h5 (15...
h6 16. Nf3 Nd5 17. Ne4 $16) (15... f6 16. exf6 (16. Nf3 $6 f5 $1) 16... gxf6
17. Ne6 Bxe6 18. Rxe6 Kf7 19. f5 h5 20. Ne4 Bg7 21. Kg2 (21. Bd2 hxg4 22. hxg4
Rh4 23. Nf2 Rd8 $132) 21... hxg4 22. hxg4 Rh4 23. Kg3 Rah8 (23... Rh1 24. Nf2
$1 $16) 24. Nf2 Bf8 (24... Nd5 {/\ Bf8-d6} 25. c4 Nb6 26. Bf4 Nxc4 27. Bxc7 $16
) 25. c4 (25. Bf4 Nd5) 25... Nc8 26. Bf4 Bc5 27. Ne4 Bd4 28. Rd1 c5 29. Rxd4
$16) 16. Nf3 $5 (16. b3 $6 axb3 17. cxb3 Bxb3 18. Rb1 Bd5 19. Rxb7 hxg4 20.
Nxd5 Nxd5 21. hxg4 Rh4 $132) (16. Kg2 $6 hxg4 17. hxg4 f6 $1 (17... Nd5 18.
Nce4 $16) 18. exf6 gxf6 19. Ne6 (19. Nge4 Kf7 $13) 19... Bxe6 20. Rxe6 f5 (
20... Kf7 21. f5 Nd5 22. Ne4 $36) 21. gxf5 Kd7 22. Ne4 (22. Re5 $2 Bg7) 22...
Nxf5 23. Re5 Nh4+ 24. Kf2 Bd6 25. Nf6+ Kd8 26. Re4 (26. Re6 Nf5 27. Be3 Rf8
$132) 26... Be7 27. Ng4 Rg8 28. Ne3 Bc5 $132) (16. f5 $1 hxg4 17. hxg4 Nd5 (
17... Rh4 18. Re4 Bd5 19. Nxd5 cxd5 20. Rf4 Nc6 21. Nf3 Bc5+ 22. Kg2 Rh8 23.
Bd2 $16 {/\ Re1}) (17... g6 18. f6 Nd5 19. Nce4 Nb6 (19... Rh4 20. Kg2 $1 $16)
20. Kg2 Ra5 21. Kg3 Nd7 22. Bf4 $16) 18. Nce4 (18. e6 $6 f6 19. Nf7 Rh4 20. Re4
b5 $132) 18... Be7 (18... Rh4 19. Kg2 $1 Rxg4+ (19... Be7 20. Kg3 $16) 20. Kh3
$16) 19. Kg2 $16) 16... hxg4 17. hxg4 f5 {Wedberg: 'A bid for freedom, but
Black has the tactics stacked against him here.'} (17... Nd5 18. Ne4 $16) 18.
exf6 gxf6 19. Ne4 Kf7 (19... Bg7 20. f5 Rg8 (20... Kf7 21. Bf4 Nd5 22. Bxc7 $16
) 21. Kf2 (21. g5 $6 Ra5 $1 {/\ Rf5}) 21... Kf7 22. Bf4 Nd5 23. Bg3 (23. Bxc7
Bf8) 23... Bh6 24. g5 Bxg5 25. Nexg5+ Rxg5 26. Nxg5+ fxg5 27. Re4 $16) 20. g5
$1 Bg7 $6 {'?' Wedberg.} (20... Bd5 $142 21. gxf6 (21. Bd2 $36 {[%cal Yd2c3]
Wedberg}) 21... Bxe4 22. Rxe4 Kxf6 23. Bd2 Nd5 24. c4 Bc5+ 25. Kg2 Rag8+ (25...
Rhg8+ 26. Ng5 Nxf4+ 27. Bxf4 Bd6 28. Be3 Rxg5+ 29. Bxg5+ Kxg5 30. c5 Kf5 31.
Rae1 Bf4 32. Kf3 $18) 26. Ng5 Nxf4+ 27. Bxf4 Bd6 28. Be3 Rh2+ 29. Kf3 Rxg5 30.
Bxg5+ Kxg5 31. c5 Rh3+ 32. Kg2 Rh2+ 33. Kg1 Rh4 34. Rxh4 Bxc5+ 35. Kg2 Kxh4 36.
Re1 Kg4 (36... b5 $2 37. Re4+ Kg5 38. Re5+ $18) 37. Re4+ Kf5 38. Rxa4 $16) 21.
gxf6 Bxf6 22. Nxf6 Kxf6 23. b3 $1 {Wedberg: 'White wins material. Both black
minor pieces are targets.'} Rhg8+ (23... Bd5 $142 24. Bb2+ Kf5 25. Nd4+ (25.
Bxh8 Rxh8 26. Rxe7 Bxf3 27. Kf2 Bd5 28. c4 Bg8 29. bxa4 Bxc4 30. Rb1 Rh2+ 31.
Kg3 Ra2 32. Re5+ Kf6 33. Re3 b6 $16) 25... Kxf4 26. Bc1+ Kg3 27. Re3+ Kg4 28.
Rxe7 Rh1+ 29. Kf2 Rf8+ 30. Ke2 Rff1 31. Rg7+ Kh3 32. Rh7+ Kg4 33. Rxh1 Rxh1 34.
b4 b6 35. Kd3 c5 36. bxc5 bxc5 37. Ne2 $18) 24. Kf2 $1 (24. Ng5 axb3 25. cxb3
Bxb3 26. Bb2+ Kf5 27. Rxe7 Kxf4 28. Bc1+ Kf5 29. Rxc7 Rxg5+ 30. Bxg5 Kxg5 31.
Rxb7 Bd5 $16) 24... Bd5 (24... axb3 25. Bb2+ Kf7 26. Ne5+ $18) 25. Ng5 $1 $18 (
25. Bb2+ Kf7 26. Ng5+ Rxg5 27. fxg5 axb3 28. cxb3 Bxb3 $16) 25... Rxg5 (25...
Nf5 26. Bb2+ Kg6 27. c4 Bf7 28. Re5 $1 (28. Rg1 Nh6 $1 $16) 28... Rad8 (28...
Rae8 29. Nxf7 $18) 29. Nf3 axb3 30. Rg1+ Kh7 31. Rh1+ Nh6 (31... Kg6 32. Nh4+
$18) 32. Ng5+ Kg6 33. Rxh6+ $18) (25... Ng6 26. c4 axb3 27. cxd5 cxd5 28. Rb1
Ra4 29. Rxb3 Nxf4 30. Bb2+ Kg6 31. Ne6 $18) (25... Rae8 {Wedberg} 26. c4 Bf7
27. Bb2+ Kg6 28. Nf3 $40 {[%csl Rg6]}) 26. fxg5+ Kf7 27. c4 Be6 28. Ra2 $1 Bf5
(28... Ng6 29. Kg3 $18) 29. Kg3 Ng8 (29... axb3 30. Rf2 Ra5 31. Bd2 $18) 30.
Rf2 Kg6 31. Re5 (31. b4 Rd8) 31... Bd7 32. b4 b5 33. cxb5 cxb5 34. Rc2 Rc8 35.
Bf4 Kf7 36. Rd5 Ke6 37. Re5+ Kf7 38. Rd5 Ke6 39. Rd1 Be8 40. Re1+ Kf7 41. Bd6
$1 {>< e7, >< Ng8} Bd7 42. Bc5 Kg6 43. Rd2 Bf5 44. Kf4 Ra8 45. Rd5 Bh3 (45...
Bh3 46. Re3 Bg2 (46... Bc8 {Wedberg} 47. Rd8 $18) 47. Rd7) 1-0

[Event "WchT 11th"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2017.06.24"]
[Round "7.4"]
[White "Li, Chao B"]
[Black "Fedoseev, Vladimir1"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2720"]
[BlackElo "2703"]
[Annotator "Lenderman,A"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2017.06.17"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 179"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2017.07.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2017.07.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "China"]
[BlackTeam "Russia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RUS"]

{Today, despite the fact that there were many other intriguing battles, in the
end I decided to choose the decisive game in the pivotal match for first place,
which was won very nicely by a very strong Chinese board 4, Li Chao, against
the strong 2700 Russian player, Vladimir Fedoseev, who was one of the heroes
in the previous round, and whose win was featured in my round 6 Game of the
Day annotations.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {The Berlin Wall. As I
already mentioned in the previous round, Fedoseev can play many openings,
including the Berlin Wall, which he's also played frequently, and actually not
with such great results, especially of late.} 4. O-O (4. d3 {Lately the move 4.
d3 has also gathered quite a lot of popularity since many elite players don't
like their chances trying to break the Berlin Wall.}) 4... Nxe4 5. d4 (5. Re1 {
This is also a very popular line these days.}) 5... Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5
Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 {Recently, in another important game for Fedoseev, he
faced 9.Nc3.} (9. Nc3 Bd7 10. h3 Be7 11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. f4 h5 14. f5
hxg4 15. hxg4 g6 16. fxg6 fxg6 17. Ne4 Kc8 (17... Ke7 {would be a bit safer}
18. Bg5+ Bxg5 19. Nxg5 Raf8 20. e6 Rxf1+ 21. Rxf1 Bxe6 22. Re1 Kf6 23. Nxe6 Re8
24. g5+ Kf7 25. Rf1+ Kxe6 26. Rf6+ Ke7 27. Rxg6 Kf7 $11 {is just equal.}) 18.
Bg5 Bxg5 19. Nxg5 Bxg4 20. Rf7 b6 21. e6 Kb7 22. e7 $36 {Shirov,A (2673)
-Fedoseev,V (2667) Moscow RUS 2016, and White has a very strong passed pawn on
e7, which more than compensates for his pawn deficit. Black's position is
difficult here and White won very soon after that.}) 9... Bc5 $6 {This seems
like a strange move to me and according to the database this move is also
extremely rare, and has never been played at grandmaster level. Fedoseev spent
6 minutes here, according to Playchess, which tells me it was probably his
creative innovation. That said, I'm not really sure what exactly is the point
of putting the bishop on c5 instead of let's say on e7. Furthermore, why make
a commitment with the bishop just now?} (9... Ke8 {is the most popular. Many
other moves have been tried as well, like 9...Be7!? which was featured between
MVL and Adams, which I covered for the Gibraltar Game of the Day, though I
don't remember which round.}) (9... Bd7) (9... Be7) (9... h5) 10. Nc3 Be6 11.
b3 Kc8 12. Rd1 {Perhaps slightly inaccurate.} (12. Ne4 $5 {seemed strong,
challenging the bishop on c5, asking it where it will go and basically
discouraging ...Be7, while ...Bb6 is also not the most attractive.} Be7 (12...
Bd4 13. Rb1 $14) (12... Bb6 13. Bb2) 13. g4 Nh4 (13... Bd5 14. Ned2 Nh4 15.
Nxh4 Bxh4 16. c4 Be6 17. f4 $14) 14. Nxh4 Bxh4 15. Bg5 Bxg5 16. Nxg5 $14) 12...
b6 $6 {Missing the opponent's idea.} (12... Be7 {was still fine for Black,
preparing to meet g4 with ...Nh4.} 13. g4 Nh4 14. Nxh4 Bxh4 $11) 13. g4 $1 Ne7
14. Na4 {Now the poor placement of the bishop on c5 shows. Black's pawn
structure becomes terrible. If I dare say so, Black's position might already
be close to strategically lost.} h5 15. Nxc5 bxc5 16. Ng5 $1 {Another
important move. Without this move Black would have sufficient counterplay.}
hxg4 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. hxg4 Ng6 19. Re1 {A good move but objectively speaking,
Komodo finds something even more brilliant here.} (19. Kg2 $3 {It was actually
more important to prevent the counterplay with ...Rh3 than to defend the pawn
on e5.} Nxe5 20. Kg3 $1 {Wow, this is very hard to see: to sacrifice a pawn,
and then to just make a quiet move. However, Black is in very bad shape here
with many weaknesses and is probably lost.} Nf7 21. Bb2 e5 (21... Rg8 22. Re1
Kd7 23. Rad1+ Ke7 24. Re3 $18) 22. Re1 Re8 23. Re3 $16 {Eventually the e5-pawn
will fall, and White basically has a 2-to-1 advantage on the kingside in a
potential rook endgame.}) 19... Kb7 $6 {A natural move but Black desperately
had to create quick counterplay here before it was too late.} (19... Rh3 20.
Re4 $6 (20. Bg5 Kb7 21. Re4 Rah8 22. Rc1 {White is still better, but at least
Black can fight here. White has to make some difficult moves.}) 20... Rc3 $132)
20. Re4 Rh3 21. Be3 {Now it's too late. White was able to consolidate and put
his pieces in optimal spots.} Rah8 22. Kg2 c4 (22... Rh2+ 23. Kf3 R8h3+ 24. Ke2
$16 {wasn't much help for Black.}) 23. bxc4 a5 24. Rb1+ Ka6 25. Rd1 Kb7 26.
Rb1+ {Probably just getting closer to the time control.} Ka6 27. a3 Rh2+ 28.
Kf3 Rf8+ 29. Ke2 Rhh8 30. Rf1 {Black's position is lost. Now White just needs
to get to move 40 and slowly but surely nurture his advantage since Black has
no counterplay here.} Rh4 31. Rd1 Rh7 32. Kd2 Rhh8 33. Kc3 Rf7 34. Rf1 Rh4 35.
Kd4 $6 (35. Rb1 {was more accurate.} Nf8 36. Rb8 Nd7 37. Re8) 35... Nf8 36. Rb1
Nd7 {Now at least Black was able to reposition his knight to a better
defensive position.} 37. Kc3 (37. c5 {Maybe this was better, to restrict
Black's knight.}) 37... Rh3 38. Kd2 Nb6 (38... c5 $5 {might've been another
defensive try. Black's position is tough but maybe he has some defensive
chances here since White's technique hasn't been perfect in time pressure.})
39. Ke2 Rh8 40. Rb3 Rh1 41. Rd3 Rg1 42. g5 Rh1 $6 {Now Black is totally lost
again. He allowed the white rook to get very active.} (42... Nd7 $16 {and
Black is still fighting a little bit.}) (42... Ra1 $5 {also deserved attention
to tie White down to the a3-pawn,} 43. Rd8 Rxa3 44. Re8 $18 {but White is
winning here anyway.}) 43. Rd8 Re7 44. Rf4 Kb7 45. c5 Nd7 (45... Nd5 46. Rff8 {
is practically mate.}) 46. Ra4 Nb8 47. Rxa5 $18 {The rest is simple.} Rh4 48.
Rd3 Na6 49. f4 Ka7 50. Rd4 Rh2+ 51. Bf2 g6 52. Rda4 Reh7 53. Rxa6+ Kb7 54. Ra7+
{A critical win by Li Chao, but Fedoseev struggled this game. Possibly an
opening like the Berlin doesn't suit his aggressive and creative style. At
least not yet. This game shows that in fact the Berlin is far from easy to
play, even at the high level despite the fact that it's been studied so deeply
already.} 1-0

[Event "Gibraltar Masters 15th"]
[Site "Caleta"]
[Date "2017.01.30"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2796"]
[BlackElo "2751"]
[Annotator "Lenderman,A"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2017.01.24"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "GGB"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 177"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2017.03.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Welcome everyone! This is GM Alex Lenderman with the report of the round 7
Game of the Day for the Gibraltar Festival. It was not easy to choose between
many great games this round, but in the end I decided to choose a key battle
between two elite players on board 2, since I thought Maxime (Or MVL) played a
very nice game against the Berlin against a very strong and solid GM Michael
Adams, who has a lot of experience in the Berlin with both colours.} 1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 {So, with that move white basically is
willing to go into the true Berlin endgame. Lately this approach has sort of
gone out of fashion since Black has been doing quite well lately in the Berlin
endgame, and White has been trying his luck with 4.d3 after 3...Nf6, or 5.Re1
after 4...Nxe4, not to mention the Giuoco Pianno (Italian Game) which has
become quite topical at the top level and is very similar to 4.d3 Ruy Lopez.} (
5. Re1 {was featured twice in the Magnus Carlsen against Sergey Karjakin match,
and in the first game in that line (third game of the match), Magnus got a
slightly more pleasant position, put pressure on Sergey, and came very close
to winning that game before the game ended as a draw.}) 5... Nd6 6. Bxc6 {
Not entirely forced, but it's by far the most popular move here of course.
White has some sidelines here as alternatives but most likely with proper play
for Black, they don't give much for White.} (6. dxe5 Nxb5 7. a4) (6. Bg5 {
are some possible alternatives.}) 6... dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {And now
we have the tabiya of the Berlin Endgame. Both White and Black have tried many
different approaches from here on.} 9. h3 {In an earlier round MVL also had
this position with White against Indian Grandmaster Gupta, and Gupta chose 9..
.Ke8. Black seemed to have a decent position before somewhere around moves
20-25 he started to lose the thread. But I think MVL probably had subtle
improvements over that game also. MVL is one of the biggest specialists in the
pure Berlin endgame from the White side as far as I know and does not lose
faith in White's position despite practice showing good results for Black.} Be7
$5 {This move isn't all that popular. However, it has been played several
times at a high level, in particular by top GM and theoretician, GM Pavel
Eljanov. Now, the interesting thing here is first that Pavel Eljanov played
this move with Black against Adams in the Tata Steel, and in fact Pavel
outplayed Michael in that game and was in fact completely winning before the
game ended in a draw. Then, Pavel also played this move against MVL. So, it's
obvious that both these players are very familiar with 9...Be7. So therefore
this game is a true theoretical debate.} (9... Ke8 {This move is a much more
frequent guest at the top level.} 10. Nc3 h6 11. Rd1 Bd7 12. Bf4 Rd8 13. a4 $5
{Interesting plan, which frankly I haven't seen too frequently in the Berlin
before.} h5 14. a5 Be7 15. a6 b6 16. Ng5 Bc8 17. Rxd8+ Bxd8 18. Rd1 Be7 19.
Nce4 h4 20. Re1 Kf8 21. c3 f6 (21... c5) 22. Nf3 Kf7 (22... Bd8) 23. exf6 gxf6
24. Bxc7 Bxa6 25. Ra1 Bd3 26. Neg5+ $1 {Maybe Gupta missed this.} fxg5 27. Ne5+
Ke6 28. Nxd3 Nd6 29. Bxd6 Bxd6 30. Rxa7 c5 31. Kf1 c4 32. Ne1 Bc5 33. Nf3 Rg8
34. Ra1 g4 35. Re1+ Kd6 36. hxg4 Rxg4 37. Re8 b5 38. Rh8 {From here on it's a
technical win for White.} b4 39. Rxh4 Rxh4 40. Nxh4 Kc6 41. Ke2 Be7 42. Nf5 Bf6
43. Ne3 {1-0 (43) Vachier Lagrave,M (2796)-Gupta,A (2645) Caleta ENG 2017}) 10.
Nc3 (10. Rd1+ {(Adams-Eljanov)} Ke8 11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Nc3 h5 14. f3
f5 15. exf6 gxf6 16. Ne2 Kf7 17. b3 Re8 18. Nf4 hxg4 19. fxg4 f5 {And we can
safely say that Black has solved all his opening problems. In fact if anyone
can be better it is Black since the game opens up and Black's bishops become
very strong.} 20. Rf1 Bf6 21. Rb1 Bd4+ 22. Kh1 $6 (22. Kg2 fxg4 23. hxg4 Bxg4
$2 24. Nd3+ $1) 22... fxg4 23. Bb2 (23. hxg4 Bxg4 24. Nd3+ Kg6 25. Rf4 Re4 $1 {
That's the point. And Black consolidates his extra pawn.}) 23... Bxb2 24. Rxb2
Re3 $17 {1/2 (85) Adams, M (2744)-Eljanov,P (2760) Wijk aan Zee NED 2016})
10... Nh4 {This move to trade off the knights is the main idea of 9...Be7 as
far as I understand.} 11. Nxh4 Bxh4 12. Be3 h5 {As far as I understand the
point of this move is to try to stabilise the bishop on f5 on the next move.} (
{Stockfish says} 12... Bf5 {is playable in one go, but after it thinks for a
little bit, it realises that perhaps White can sacrifice the pawn on c2 for a
strong initiative.} 13. g4 $5 Bxc2 14. Rac1 Bg6 15. f4 $44 {and most likely
the top players have analysed this position as being quite dangerous for Black
from a practical point of view. White is threatening f5, shutting down Black's
bishop.} f5 16. Ne2 $1 {And somehow the f5-square is still not going to be
very stable, while the black king can still find itself be a little bit
vulnerable.}) 13. Rad1+ Ke8 14. Ne2 {Eljanov-MVL, Norway 2016 The purpose of
14.Ne2 is to discourage ...Bf5 by preparing to meet ...Bf5 with Nd4!} b6 {
And now Adams takes a different route from Eljanov.} (14... Bf5 15. Nd4 Bh7 16.
f4 {and White is probably slightly better.}) (14... Be7 {This move was
Eljanov's choice against MVL.} 15. Rfe1 {There might be better alternatives
here around moves 15-20 for White as well.} a6 16. Bf4 g5 17. Be3 Bf5 18. Nd4
Bg6 19. e6 {As far as I know if White gets the e6-move in, in the Berlin very
often he's happy.} Rd8 20. exf7+ Kxf7 21. Nf3 Bxc2 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. Nxg5+ Kf6
24. Ne6 Rd1 25. Bg5+ Kf7 26. Rxd1 Bxd1 27. Bxe7 (27. Nd8+ $5) 27... Kxe6 28.
Bd8 Kd6 29. f3 c5 {Black eventually held a draw here, but in fact this endgame
was quite unpleasant for Black. He had to play extremely precisely to hold the
draw.} 30. Kf2 b5 31. Ke3 b4 32. g4 hxg4 33. fxg4 a5 34. Kf4 c4 35. Bf6 c5 36.
h4 Ke6 37. Bh8 Kf7 38. h5 a4 39. a3 Be2 40. Be5 c3 41. bxc3 bxa3 42. c4 Bxc4
43. g5 Bd3 44. g6+ Bxg6 45. hxg6+ Kxg6 46. Ke4 c4 47. Ba1 c3 48. Kd3 a2 49.
Kxc3 a3 50. Kb3 Kh7 51. Kxa2 Kg8 52. Kxa3 {1/2 (52) Vachier Lagrave,M (2788)
-Eljanov,P (2765) Stavanger NOR 2016}) 15. a4 $5 $146 {According to my
database, this is the first novelty, and probably a good one. These days, in
such a topical line as the Berlin Endgame, finding a good novelty as early as
move 15 is considered a great accomplishment. Although honestly speaking I'm
still not 100% sure what the main idea of this novelty is, as I have never
analysed this position, and am not familiar with all the subleties here. Most
likely it's just an all-around flexible move, which doesn't declare White's
intentions as to his plans and waits for Black to make a committal decision.} (
15. f4 $6 {(Almasi-Melkumyan) Despite the final result, it was clear the
opening was a success for Black, as he quickly solved all his problems and
even stood better at times.} Ba6 $1 16. Rd2 Rd8 17. Rxd8+ Bxd8 18. Re1 c5 19.
Nc3 Bc8 20. Rd1 Bf5 21. Rd2 c6 (21... f6 $1 $15) 22. Kf2 Rh6 23. Kf3 Be7 24.
Ne4 h4 25. c4 Rg6 26. b3 Rh6 27. Nf2 Rg6 28. Ng4 a5 29. Bf2 Bc8 30. Ne3 Rh6 31.
Rd1 Rh5 32. Be1 Be6 33. Rd3 Bc8 34. Bc3 Be6 35. Ke4 Bc8 36. Rd1 Bd7 37. Rf1 Bc8
38. f5 Bd8 39. Rf2 Rg5 40. Rf4 Rg3 41. Be1 Rxe3+ 42. Kxe3 Bg5 43. Bxh4 Bxf4+
44. Kxf4 a4 45. Bf2 g6 46. g4 gxf5 47. gxf5 a3 48. Be3 Ba6 49. h4 b5 50. cxb5
Bxb5 51. Bxc5 Bd3 52. Bxa3 Bb1 53. h5 {1-0 (53) Almasi,Z (2689)-Melkumyan,H 
(2622) Bastia FRA 2015}) (15. Nc3 Bf5) 15... c5 ({Here} 15... Ba6 {would
simply be met by} 16. Rfe1) 16. Nc3 {Now that Black weakened the b5-square by
playing the move 15...c5, White gets in there with his knight.} Bf5 17. Nb5 Bd8
{Practically Black's only move.} (17... Bxc2 $4 18. Rd2 {is a non-starter.}) (
17... Rc8 $2 18. Nxa7 {also isn't good for Black.}) 18. Rd2 a6 19. Nc3 h4 {
Fixing White's kingside structure. Though, since White wasn't threatening to
expand on the kingside just yet, perhaps it was worth taking prophylactic
measures against White's queenside play first.} (19... a5 $5) 20. a5 $1 {
Now Black's queenside seems vulnerable.} Rh5 21. Rfd1 {Strictly mathematically
speaking maybe not the best move, but from a practical point of view I feel
like this is the most human move and I think almost all the top players would
play this move.} (21. axb6) (21. f4) (21. Ra1 {are all computer choices, but I
still like Maxime's choice much more.}) 21... Bh7 $6 {Objectively probably
Black's first inaccuracy. But the best solution for Black is probably almost
impossible for any human to find.} (21... bxa5 $1 {Apparently this is the
computer's top choice, but it seems so unconventional to spoil your structure
for no specific reason. And in fact, this is indeed not a good line for Black
unless Black finds a very strong follow-up, and this ...bxa5!-move, then this
follow-up is probably something that is almost impossible for a human to find.}
22. Bxc5 Rh6 $3 {This is the key point. Now suddenly Black creates counterplay
on the queenside and still has a decent game. Without this move Black is much
worse.} (22... Bg5 $6 23. Nd5 $1 Bxd2 (23... Rc8 24. f4 Bd8 25. Ne3 $16) 24.
Nxc7+ Kd7 25. Nxa8 Kc6 26. Rxd2 (26. Bd6 $5) 26... Kxc5 27. Nc7 {is much
better for White, and while Black maybe has drawing chances, even this line is
very hard for Black to evaluate, sitting at the board instead of at home with
the computer :)}) (22... Be6 $6 23. Re2 $14 {is just a solid positional plus.})
23. Be3 Rc6 $132 {With the rooks on strong semi-open b- and c-files, suddenly
Black creates enough counterplay. So that's why Black spoiled his pawn
structure to open up the b- and c-files. To help his pieces become more active.
What a brilliant solution!}) 22. Nd5 $6 {Now it's Maxime's turn to slightly
return the favour.} (22. f4 $14) 22... Be4 $6 {But Mickey again plays a solid
move and doesn't take advantage of a possible unconventional move.} (22... bxa5
$1 {and again, Black has this unconventional move which according to Stockfish
creates enough counterplay.} 23. Bxc5 (23. f4 c6 24. Nc3 g5 $1 25. fxg5 Bxg5
26. Bxg5 Rxg5 {Picturesque position. Black has a terrible pawn structure but
still since he's up a pawn and has active pieces he's doing fine.}) 23... Rxe5
24. c4 f6 $11) 23. c4 Rb8 (23... bxa5 $1 {Even now, this move is strong.} 24.
Bxc5 Bxd5 $1 (24... Rxe5 25. Bd4) 25. Rxd5 c6 26. Rd6 Rc8 {and Black is still
more or less holding.}) (23... Rxe5 $6 24. Bf4 $1 $16 {is very strong for
White and probably will win the exchange or will give White a very strong
positional advantage.}) (23... Bxd5 {It's also probably a good idea to get rid
of this knight, as later on this knight will do lots of damage in the game.}
24. Rxd5 Rf5 {and Black is close to equal still.}) 24. f4 Rf5 (24... bxa5) (
24... Bxd5 {were once again alternatives.}) 25. Nc3 $1 {Now White gets to keep
his knight, so from a practical standpoint I think Black's position became
more difficult to play.} Bb7 26. axb6 cxb6 27. Rd6 (27. Ne2 $5) 27... Bc7 28.
Rd7 Bd8 $6 {After this inaccuracy it seems like Black's position starts to get
even more unpleasant. Here Black had to come up with a difficult decision
which involved evaluating some key positions and probably the players are
somewhat low on time here and certainly it's hard to blame them for not
evaluating all the lines perfectly.} (28... Rc8 $1 29. Ne2 Bc6 30. Rxc7 {
Possibly Mickey was afraid of this but it turned out Black is doing fine.} (30.
R7d2 Rh5 {is a better version than the game.}) 30... Rxc7 31. g4 hxg3 32. Nxg3
Bd7 $1 (32... g6 33. Nxf5 gxf5 34. Rd6 $14 {is a very unpleasant endgame for
Black.}) (32... Rd7 $2 33. Ra1 $1 {also doesn't work for Black.}) 33. Rxd7 Rxd7
34. Nxf5 Rd1+ 35. Kf2 Kf8 $132 {and Black gets enough counterplay for equality
according to Stockfish.}) 29. Ne2 $1 Rh5 {The only way to defend from the
g4-threat, trapping Black's rook.} (29... Be7 $2 30. g4 hxg3 31. Nxg3 $18) 30.
e6 $1 {And now the white rook gets very active. Perhaps it's still possible
for Black to defend his position with perfect play but it's becoming more and
more unpleasant and difficult for him.} (30. R1d6 {was also a possible
approach but probably not as effective as Stockfish thinks at first.} Rh6 31.
Rxh6 Kxd7 32. Rh7 Be4 33. Rxg7 Bg6 34. Rg8 (34. Nc3 Be7 35. Nd5 Ke6 $11) (34.
f5 Bxf5 35. Rxf7+ Ke6) 34... Bc7 35. Rxb8 Bxb8 {where Black has very good
defensive chances due to active pieces and White has some pawn weaknesses such
as the c4-pawn.}) 30... Be7 $6 {And this move turned out to not be the best.} (
30... fxe6 $1 31. Rxg7 Be7 $1 32. Rg8+ Bf8 33. f5 $1 {A line like this looks
scary but Black can still defend here.} Rxf5 34. Nf4 Kf7 35. Rg4 Be7 36. Rd7
Ke8 37. Rc7 Bd6 38. Rg8+ Rf8 39. Rxf8+ Kxf8 40. Rd7 Bxf4 41. Bxf4 Bc6 $14 {
is by no means an absolute forced line, but a line like this shows that
Black's position is still probably defensible.}) 31. Rc7 Bc8 32. exf7+ (32. g4
$5 hxg3 33. Nxg3 Rxh3 34. Nf5 Bxe6 35. Rxe7+ Kf8 36. Rb7 $1 Re8 37. Nd6 Rxe3
38. f5 $1 $16 {would also be promising for White, but White has to find a lot
of very difficult moves here in this line, and it's not strictly necessary to
look for such complicated solutions when a simple one is available, especially
in time pressure.}) 32... Kf8 33. f5 $1 {A very nice move, activating White's
remaining pieces, the knight and bishop, at the cost of a measly weak pawn.}
Bxf5 $6 {This is already definitely a losing move.} (33... Rxf5 34. Nf4 Rf6 $1
{was Black's only defence.} 35. Nd5 Bd8 $1 36. Nxf6 Bxc7 {And now White has to
find the only move to even retain an advantage, and it's not a very easy move.}
37. Rf1 $1 {Maybe Maxime saw this all in advance a few moves ago. After all,
as far as I know he's one of the best calculators in chess or so I have heard.}
gxf6 38. Rxf6 Be6 39. Bh6+ Ke7 40. f8=Q+ Rxf8 41. Rxf8 Be5 42. b3 $16 {and I
believe White still has good winning chances here, since he will most likely
be able to win the h4-pawn, and then passed pawns are especially very strong
in positions with an extra exchange. But still this was Black's best chance.})
34. g4 {The most straightforward} (34. Ra7 {This move should also win.}) 34...
hxg3 35. Nxg3 Bc2 36. Rdd7 Re5 37. Bf4 Bf6 38. Nh5 (38. Ra7 $5) (38. Bxe5 $4
Bxe5 {would be a terrible way to spoil a very well-played game. Here the
tables would be turned.}) 38... Re1+ 39. Kf2 Bh4+ 40. Ng3 {White has made move
40, and the rest of the game should be a matter of technique. White has
extremely active pieces with a very strong passed pawn on f7.} Re6 41. Bd6+ $6
{But I'm not so sure about this approach. It might be a bit hasty which gave
unnecessary chances to Black.} (41. Ra7 $1 {Probably this would be a bit more
accurate, disturbing Black's harmony. Black's rook on b8 is actually quite
well placed, but now the same idea for White as in the game will work even
better for White.} Rc8 (41... Rd8 42. Rxd8+ Bxd8 43. Ra8 Kxf7 44. Rxd8 $18 {
This should also be an easy win for White.}) (41... Rf6 $5 42. Ke3 Rc8 {
would be a good trap} 43. Bd6+ $4 ({But after} 43. Ne4 {White is completely
winning.} Re6 44. Bd6+) 43... Rxd6 44. Rxd6 Bxg3) 42. Bd6+ Rxd6 43. Rxd6 Bf6
44. Rxb6 $18 {Now, with the pawn on b6 hanging Black's position is completely
hopeless.}) 41... Rxd6 42. Rxd6 Bf6 {Now Black gets at least a little bit of
counterplay. Black had other tries, but they probably should objectively be
not quite enough to save the game.} (42... b5 43. cxb5 Rxb5 44. Rxa6 Rb8 45. b4
$18 {isn't quite sufficient.}) (42... Be4 $5 {This move might be the most
sturdy defence, since it stops Kf3, and White doesn't have easy progress right
away. But I think that slowly but surely White should break through here.}) 43.
Rxf6 $6 {Trying to simplify, but I'm not 100% sure if this endgame is winning
with perfect defence for Black.} (43. Rd5 $3 {When I gave the computer a
chance to think about this position for longer, it found this move, but if
White is now forced to find moves like this to win cleanly, clearly then, 41.
Ra7! was much cleaner.} Bg6 (43... Bxb2 44. Nh5 Bd4+ 45. Kf3 $1 Bd1+ 46. Kg2
$18 {[%cal Gh5f4,Gf4e6,Gf4g6]}) 44. Nh5 $1 {is the point. Black's harmony is
disturbed.} Bxb2 (44... Be7 45. Nf4 Bxf7 46. Rdd7 Re8 47. Kg3 $18 {Here White
wins because Black is pinned down.}) 45. Rg5 Bxh5 46. Rxh5 g6 47. Rh6 Kg7 48.
Rh7+ Kf8 49. Rc6 $18 {and White wins.}) 43... gxf6 44. Nh5 Rd8 45. Nxf6 Bf5 $6
{I think not the best defence here.} (45... Rd6 $1 {Honestly speaking, after
this strong defence which disturbs White's harmony, I actually don't see a
clear win for White anymore. In fact it's quite possible that it's not there
anymore, and White has blown the win. That's why in chess it's very important
to fight until the very end and keep looking for chances, and it's important
too even if you have a dominant position to try to not give your opponent
unnecessary chances.} 46. Ng4 (46. Nd7+ Kxf7 47. Nxb6+ (47. Nxc5+ Kf6 48. Nxa6
Rd2+ 49. Ke1 Rh2 {and Black has enough counterplay for a draw here.} 50. Rc6+
Ke5 51. Rxb6 Kd4 $1 {and thanks to Black's very active pieces and possible
mating threats, White can't win anymore.}) 47... Ke6 48. Nd5 Ke5 $1 49. Rxc5 (
49. Ke3 Rg6 $1 (49... Rh6 $6 50. Nf4) 50. Rxc5 Rg3+ 51. Kd2 Kd4 $11) 49... Kd4
50. b4 Be4 {and even though White still has some winning chances I think the
position is closer to a draw now than White winning.}) 46... Re6 $1 47. Kg3 Bg6
48. Nh6 Kg7 {looks like very close to a draw to me.}) 46. Kg3 $1 {Now the
white king gets into the game with a tempo and White starts to consolidate his
position. Perhaps it is still possible to save the position but now it would
require practically computer-like only moves and still I'm guessing this
position is more likely to see White winning than a draw.} Rd6 {Unfortunately
a move too late.} (46... Rd2 $5 47. Kf4 ({But after} 47. Ng4 $1 {I think White
should still win the rook endgame.} Bxg4 48. hxg4 $1 Rxb2 49. g5 $18) 47...
Rf2+ {To be able to meet Kf4 with ...Rf2+ with some counterplay.}) (46... Kg7 {
Perhaps this was still a chance for Black.} 47. Ne8+ (47. Ng4 Rd3+ $1 48. Kf4
Bxg4 49. hxg4 Rd4+ $132) 47... Kf8 48. Kf4 Be6 (48... Bxh3 $2 49. Nf6 $18) 49.
Ke5 Bxf7 (49... Bxc4 50. Nd6 Bf1 51. h4) 50. Nd6 $16 {and White still has
excellent winning chances thanks to his domination but Black is still fighting
here.}) (46... Rd4 47. Ng4 Bxg4 48. hxg4) (46... Bg6 47. Nd7+ Kxf7 48. Nxb6+
Ke6 49. Rxc5 $16 {is still not over for Black, but of course it's a much
better version than the lines we looked at earlier after ...Rd6 instead of ...
Bf5}) 47. Ng4 {Now I really think Black's position is beyond salvation,
although I am never sure in such endgames.} Rd4 (47... Re6 48. Kf4 {Now the
same defence fails. White king is just in time to be able to get into the game
and ...Bg6 will be met with Ne5!} Bg6 49. Ne5 $18) 48. b3 b5 49. Ne5 $1 ({
Of course NOT} 49. Rxc5 $2 Bxg4 50. hxg4 bxc4 51. bxc4 Kxf7 {with a draw.})
49... Re4 50. Rxc5 bxc4 51. Rd5 Rxe5 52. Rxe5 Bd3 53. b4 $1 {The simplest.
White keeps as many pawns on the board as possible, as the black passed c-pawn
is harmless with White's active rook stopping it from behind.} c3 54. Rc5 c2
55. Rc7 {A very nice fight between two great players. I really admire MVL's
principled approach of going to the Berlin Endgame game after game and not
backing down from the challenge even after some unsuccessful games from the
White side, and even despite the fact that fashion seems to have gone in the
other direction. Even though this wasn't a perfect game, considering the
complexity of this game I think this game was played at a very high level. I
really enjoyed analysing this game and commenting on it.} 1-0

[Event "USA-ch"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2012.05.12"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Black "Akobian, Varuzhan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2741"]
[BlackElo "2625"]
[Annotator "Let's Check Training"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2012.05.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "16"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 149"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke8 10. Nc3 h6 11. b3 Ne7 12. h3 Ng6 13. Ne2 a5 14. a4
Be6 15. Bb2 Bc5 16. Nd2 Rd8 17. Ne4 Rxd1+ 18. Rxd1 Be7 19. f3 h5 20. Kf2 Bd5
21. N4g3 Bc5+ 22. Bd4 Bf8 23. c4 Be6 24. Ne4 b6 25. Bc3 c5 26. Bb2 Be7 27. N2c3
c6 28. Nd6+ Kf8 29. Nce4 h4 30. Nb7 Ke8 31. Nf6+ gxf6 32. exf6 Rg8 33. Ke3 Nf8
34. Rd2 Nd7 35. fxe7 Kxe7 36. Nd6 f6 37. Kf4 Nf8 38. Bc3 Ng6+ 39. Ke4 Nf8 40.
Ke3 Rg6 41. Kf2 Rg8 42. Ne4 Nh7 43. Kf1 Rg6 44. Re2 Nf8 45. f4 Nd7 46. Be1 Rh6
47. f5 $1 Bf7 48. Bd2 Rh8 {[%tqu "En","","","","e4f6","",10]} 49. Nxf6+ $1 Kd8
(49... Kxf6 50. Bc3+ Kxf5 $18) 50. Bg5 $18 1-0

[Event "EU-ch 12th"]
[Site "Aix les Bains"]
[Date "2011.03.25"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Sutovsky, Emil"]
[Black "Grigoryan, Avetik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2692"]
[BlackElo "2608"]
[Annotator "Marchand,A/Primel,D"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2011.03.22"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 142 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.06.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.06.27"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 (9. Nc3) 9... Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bg5 (11. Bf4) 11... Be7
12. Rad1 Be6 13. b3 Rd8 14. Rxd8+ Kxd8 15. Rd1+ Ke8 16. Bc1 Nh4 $146 ({RR} 
16... f6 17. Ne2 Bd5 18. exf6 gxf6 19. Ne1 Bd6 20. Bb2 Kf7 21. Nc3 Ne7 22. g3
Rg8 23. Nxd5 cxd5 24. Ng2 c6 25. c4 Ke6 26. Ne3 f5 27. cxd5+ cxd5 28. Kf1 f4
29. gxf4 Bxf4 30. Re1 Kd7 31. Bf6 {Vocaturo,D (2570)-Bluvshtein,M (2590)/Wijk
aan Zee 2011/CBM 141/1-0 (73)}) 17. Nxh4 Bxh4 18. Be3 Bf5 19. Rd2 Be7 20. Ne2
a6 21. Nd4 Bc8 22. Nf3 Bf5 23. Bg5 $1 Bxg5 (23... c5) (23... a5) 24. Nxg5 Ke7
25. f4 a5 26. Nf3 c5 27. Nh4 (27. Kf2 a4 $5) 27... Bd7 28. f5 $14 Rh6 29. Rd3
Rb6 $6 (29... c4 $5) 30. Rg3 {[%csl Gf5,Rg7,Gh4]} Rb4 (30... Kf8 {Plus souple})
31. c4 {[%csl Rb4]} Kf8 32. Rg5 a4 (32... b5 33. Rxh5 bxc4 34. e6) 33. Rxh5 Kg8
34. Rg5 Rxb3 $4 (34... Kf8) 35. e6 $1 {Le coup intermédaire oublié par les
Noirs} (35. axb3 $4 a3 {[%csl Rg5]}) 35... Rb1+ 36. Kh2 Be8 37. f6 $18 g6 38.
e7 c6 39. Nf5 Rd1 40. Ng7 Bd7 41. Re5 Rd6 42. e8=Q+ Bxe8 43. Nxe8 Rd8 44. Nc7
Rc8 45. Re7 Kf8 46. h4 Rb8 47. a3 b5 48. Na6 1-0

[Event "EU-ch 12th"]
[Site "Aix les Bains"]
[Date "2011.03.31"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Inarkiev, Ernesto"]
[Black "Hammer, Jon Ludvig"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2674"]
[BlackElo "2606"]
[Annotator "Marchand,A/Primel,D"]
[PlyCount "157"]
[EventDate "2011.03.22"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 142 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.06.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.06.27"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O (4. d3 {La grande mode actuelle pour
éviter le mur de Berlin} Bc5 5. c3 (5. O-O) 5... O-O 6. O-O d6 7. h3 a6 8. Bxc6
bxc6 9. Re1 Re8 10. Nbd2 d5 $132) 4... Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 {La variante du Mur de
Berlin qui donne des positions très techniques} (5... Be7 {L'alternative se
joue moins aujourd'hui} 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. dxe5 Nb7 (8... Nf5 9. Qe4
$14)) (5... a6 $5 {La recommandation de Keres ne semble pas poser trop de
problèmes aux Noirs pour égaliser} 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Qe2 Bf5 $132) 6. Bxc6 dxc6
7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 (9. h3 {Joué par le norvégien а la ronde 6}
Bd7 {Sutovsky,E (2692)-Hammer,J (2606) EU-ch 12th Aix-Les-Bains 2011 (6) 0-1})
9... Bd7 (9... Ne7 10. h3 Ng6 (10... h6)) (9... Ke8 {La grande ligne} 10. b3 (
10. h3) 10... a5 11. Bb2 Bb4 12. Ne4 $1 {[%csl Gb2,Gc8];Habu,Y (2342)-Marcelin,
C (2452) 2ème tournoi de maîtres NAO 2002 (3) 1-0 (Joël LAUTIER) Il est connu
que l'echange du fou de cases noires contre un cavalier blanc facilite la
defense des noirs, puisqu'ils obtiennent aussitot une finale avec fous de
couleur opposee.}) (9... h6 10. h3 Bd7) 10. Rd1 {94} (10. h3 Kc8 (10... h6 {
La grande ligne}) (10... b6 11. Rd1 (11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 h5 13. Rad1 Be7 14. Bc1
a5 15. Bg5 Bb4 16. Ne2 a4 (16... c5 $5 {Movsesian}) 17. c3 {Movsesian,S (2702)
-Leko,P (2720) RUS-chT 19th 2012 (7) 1-0}) 11... Kc8 12. g4 Ne7 13. Ng5 f5 14.
e6 (14. Nf7 $5 {Cabrilo inf 111} Rg8 15. Re1) 14... Be8 {Navara,D (2708)
-Hammer,J (2647) Tata Steel-B 73rd 2011 (4) 1/2}) 11. b3 b6 12. Rd1 Be7 13. Bg5
h6 14. Bxe7 Nxe7 15. Kh2 c5 {Ivanchuk,V (2739)-Hammer,J (2636) GRE-chT Div-A
38th 2010 (7) 1-0} (15... Re8 $142 $1 16. Rd3 c5 17. g4 {Kotronias "the
Grandmaster battle manual"})) 10... Kc8 {93} (10... Ke8 11. h3) 11. Ng5 {
[%csl Rf7]} (11. h3 b6 12. g4 Ne7 13. Ng5 f5 14. e6 {Navara,D (2708)-Hammer,J 
(2647) Tata Steel-B 73rd 2011 (4) 1/2} (14. Nf7 $5 Rg8 15. Re1 {Cabrilo inf 111
})) 11... Be8 12. Nge4 {94} (12. b3 b6 13. Bb2 Be7 14. Nge4 Kb7 15. Rd3 Rd8 16.
Rad1 ({RR} 16. Rxd8 Bxd8 17. Rd1 Kc8 18. g4 Nh4 19. f4 h5 20. h3 hxg4 21. hxg4
Bd7 22. Nf2 f5 23. g5 Ng6 24. Ne2 Nf8 25. Kg2 Ne6 26. Kg3 c5 27. c4 Bc6 28. Nc3
a5 29. Nd5 Be8 30. a4 c6 {Bologan,V (2684)-Hammer,J (2636)/Peristeri 2010/0-1 
(44)}) 16... Rxd3 17. Rxd3 h5 18. Bc1) 12... b6 {80 Fin de la préparation des
Noirs} ({RR} 12... h6 13. b3 b6 14. Bb2 Kb7 15. Rd3 a5 16. a4 Ne7 17. Ne2 c5
18. Nf4 Bc6 19. Ng3 Ng6 20. Nfh5 Re8 21. f4 Nh4 22. Rd2 c4 23. bxc4 Bb4 24. Re2
Rhg8 25. Bd4 Bxg2 26. Rxg2 Nf3+ 27. Kh1 {Shukh,N (2438)-Chuprov,D (2520)/
Taganrog 2011/0-1 (52)}) 13. f3 $146 {[%cal Gg1f2] 94 Une préparation maison} (
13. h3 Kb7 14. g4 Ne7 15. Bf4 (15. f4 c5 16. f5 Nc6 17. Bf4 Nd4 18. Rac1 h5)
15... h5 16. f3 c5 17. Kf2 Nc6 18. Nd5 Nd4 19. c3 Ne6 20. Bg3 ({RR} 20. Be3
hxg4 21. hxg4 Rh2+) 20... Bc6 21. Rd2 (21. f4 Rd8 22. c4) 21... hxg4 22. hxg4
c4 23. Kg2 Rd8 24. Rad1 Ba4 25. Re1 Bc6 26. Red1 Ba4 27. Re1 Bc6 {1/2-1/2
Kasparov,G (2827)-Kramnik,V (2797)/Zuerich 2001/[Wedberg]}) (13. b3 c5 14. Bb2
Nd4 15. Rd2 (15. Nd5 Nxc2 16. Rac1 Nb4 17. Nxb4 cxb4 18. Nd6+ Bxd6 19. exd6 c5
20. Re1 (20. Bxg7 Rg8 $132 {[%csl Rg2][%cal Ge8c6]})) 15... Kb7 16. Nd5 Rd8 17.
c4 Bc6 18. Bxd4 cxd4 19. Rxd4 Ba3 {RR} 20. Rd2 Rhe8 21. Re1 f6 22. exf6 Bb4 23.
f7 Rxe4 24. Rxe4 Bxd2 25. Re7 Bxd5 26. Re8 Bxf7 27. Rxd8 Bc3 28. Rd3 Bf6 29. f4
Bg6 30. Rd1 h5 31. Kf2 Bc2 32. Rd2 Bb1 33. Kf3 a5 34. g3 Bc3 {Leko,P (2743)
-Kramnik,V (2770)/Budapest 2001/0-1 (56)}) 13... c5 {[%csl Rd5][%cal Gf5d4] 78}
(13... Kb7 14. Kf2 c5 15. Nd5 Rd8 $6 16. Bg5 $36 {Hou,Y (2605)-Stefanova,A 
(2493) EU-Cup (Women) 17th 2012 (2.4) 1-0}) 14. Nd5 {[%cal Gc2c3] 93} Kb7 {76}
(14... c6 15. Ne3 $14) 15. Kf2 {81 Probablement la fin de la préparation des
Blancs même si c'est la suite logique de la poussée f3} h6 {81} (15... Bc6 $5 {
[%cal Ga8d8] Le P"f7" n'est peut-être pas prenable et l'option d'activer le B
est intéressante.} 16. Ng5 (16. Bg5 h6) (16. g4 Nd4 $132 {[%csl Gd4]}) (16. c4
Nd4 {[%csl Gd4]}) 16... c4 {[%cal Gf8c5]} 17. Nxf7 Bc5+) 16. g4 {45 Joué après
une longue réflexion} (16. a4 $5 {[%cal Ga4a5,Ga5a6]}) 16... Ne7 {62} 17. c4 h5
18. h3 hxg4 19. hxg4 f5 20. exf6 {29} Nxd5 {45} 21. cxd5 Bg6 22. Bf4 $1 $32 {
[%csl Rc7,Gd5,Gh2] 22} Bxe4 {Egalité au temps} 23. fxe4 gxf6 24. Rh1 $1 c4 (
24... Bd6 25. Bxd6 cxd6 {[%csl Re4]}) 25. Rxh8 Bc5+ 26. Kg3 Rxh8 27. Rc1 b5 28.
b3 Ba3 $6 {Quelques coups plus tard le Ba3 sera mal placé} (28... a5 $142 29.
bxc4 b4 $44 {[%csl Gc5] Le sacrifice du P se fait dans des meilleures
conditions que dans la partie}) 29. Rc2 {Les Blancs ont une bonne finale} a5
30. bxc4 {12} b4 {[%csl Ra3] 10} 31. Be3 (31. g5 {[%csl Ge4][%cal Ge4e8]} Rg8)
31... Rh1 32. c5 {[%csl Gc5,Gd5]} a4 {[%csl Gc5,Gd5]} 33. c6+ $1 {[%csl Ra3,
Rb7,Gc6,Rc7][%cal Gd5d6] Les Noirs ont maintenant 02 pièces mal placées} Kc8 {
Malgré le matériel réduit, le K Noir est en danger.} (33... Ka6 {[%csl Ra6,Ge3]
} 34. e5 $1 {[%cal Gd5d6,Gc6c7] Kc8 joué dans la partie a pour but de parer
cette menace e4e5}) 34. Rc5 $1 $40 {[%csl Ra4,Rc8][%cal Gc5b5,Gc5a5] Un fort
coup multifonction:  la R gagne un tempo décisif en menaçant d'un Mat du
couloir pour placer la R derrière le P passé et la position Noire est déjà
critique. C'est une nouvelle illustration du fait que la présence de B de
couleurs opposées favorise l'attaque tant que les R ne sont pas échangées.} b3
35. Ra5 {[%csl Gc6][%cal Ga5a8]} Bd6+ 36. Kg2 Rh2+ 37. Kf3 Rh3+ (37... Rxa2 38.
Ra8#) 38. Ke2 Kd8 39. axb3 axb3 40. Rb5 Rh2+ 41. Kd3 b2 (41... Rg2 42. g5 fxg5
43. Rxb3 Ke7 44. Rb8 {[%cal Gb8d8,Gd8d7]}) 42. g5 $1 Ke7 43. gxf6+ Kxf6 44.
Bd4+ Be5 45. d6 $1 {[%csl Gc6] Une belle technique!} cxd6 46. Bxe5+ dxe5 47.
Rxb2 $1 (47. c7 $2 Rh8 $11 {[%cal Gf6e6,Ge6d7]}) 47... Rxb2 48. c7 Rb3+ 49. Kc2
Rb4 50. c8=Q Rxe4 51. Kd3 $1 {Les espoirs Noirs de construire une forteresse
seront vains car le Pe5 est mal placé. En effet, la finale serait
théoriquement nulle si le P était resté sur sa case d'origine e7 comme l'avait
démontré Philidor} Rd4+ 52. Ke3 Rf4 53. Qc6+ {C'est la grande différence avec
un Pe7 qui aurait permi aux Noirs de ramener le K en 08ème rangée pour annuler.
Dans cette position, le K Noir est contraint de monter en 05ème rangée et les
Blancs ont réalisé la première partie du plan de gain; La seconde plus
difficile sera de gagner un tempo permettant au K Blanc de traverser la 4ème
rangée pour se placer derrière le P noir.} Kf5 54. Qd5 Kf6 55. Qd6+ Kf5 56. Qe7
Re4+ 57. Kf3 Rf4+ 58. Kg3 Rg4+ 59. Kh3 Rd4 {La R n'a que deux cases f4 et d4
disponibles sous peine d'être perdue} 60. Qf7+ Kg5 61. Qe6 Rd3+ {La R va
manquer de protection} (61... Kf4 62. Qg4+ Ke3 63. Qf5 Re4 64. Kg3 Kd4 {
[%cal Ge4f4]} 65. Qd7+ Kc5 (65... Ke3 66. Qd5 {[%csl Re4,Re5]}) 66. Qe6 Kd4 67.
Qd6+) 62. Kg2 Kf4 63. Kf2 Rd2+ 64. Ke1 Rd3 65. Ke2 Re3+ 66. Kd2 Rg3 67. Qf6+
Ke4 68. Qh4+ {Illustrant le problème de la R non protégée} Kf3 69. Kd3 $1 {
Après le passage du K Blanc, la position noire va s'effondrer} Kf2+ 70. Ke4 {
C'est fini} Kg2 71. Kxe5 Ra3 72. Qg4+ Kf2 73. Qd4+ Kf3 74. Qd1+ Kg3 75. Ke4 Kh2
76. Qd2+ Kh3 77. Kf4 Ra4+ 78. Kf3 Ra3+ 79. Kf2 1-0

[Event "Baku FIDE GP"]
[Site "Baku"]
[Date "2014.10.03"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Kasimdzhanov, Rustam"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2706"]
[BlackElo "2726"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2014.10.02"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "AZE"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 163"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.11.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.11.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Bd7 10. Rd1 Be7 11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Nd2 Kc8 14.
Nf3 Be7 15. Rd3 b5 $146 {From the structural point of view, a unusual move,
but Black had some concrete ideas in mind.} ({The more natural} 15... c5 {
has the drawbacks of taking the c5-square away from the bishop, allowing its
exchange with} 16. Bg5 {as in the recent game Caruana,F (2801)-Negi,P (2645)
Tromso 2014 CBM 162 [Marin,M] (1-0, 57)}) 16. Bg5 Bc5 17. Be3 {White insists
with his idea, but Black's novelty allows Black to maintain the coherence of
his play.} Bb6 (17... Be7 $6 {would offer White a developing tempo for free.})
18. Ng5 {This knight incursion is typical for the Berlin Defence, but in this
position it is has more venom than usual.} h6 {The most common way of
answering the attack against f7. In most cases, the knight is trapped
somewhere deep in Black's territory.} ({The alternative is not too appealing:} 
18... Be6 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Rad1 Bxe3 21. Rxe3 Rd8 {This ending may be
defensible, but it is not too pleasant to play it with Black.}) 19. Nxf7 Rf8
20. Nd8 $3 {[%cal Ge5e6,Ge6e7] The hidden point behind the knight incursion.
Amazingly, the knight is not easy to get.} Bxe3 (20... Kxd8 21. e6 Bxe3 22.
Rxd7+ Ke8 23. fxe3 $16) (20... Rxd8 21. Rad1 Bxe3 22. fxe3 {[%cal Ge5e6]} Re8
23. Rxd7 Rxe5 24. Rxg7 Rxe3 25. Rdd7 $16) 21. fxe3 Bxg4 $5 {The only way of
avoiding the aforementioned endings.} 22. Rf1 {After this move the game will
enter an approximately equal rook ending.} ({White could have tried} 22. Nxc6
Bxh3 23. a4 $14 {Pawns are equal and in the long run Black's connected passers
could become dangerous. However, for the time being White has a strong
queenside initiative.}) 22... Rxf1+ 23. Kxf1 Bxh3+ 24. Kf2 Bd7 {After it has
completed its kamikaze mission, the bishop retreats in order to restart the
fight against the knight.} 25. e6 ({The knight would not have a future after} 
25. Nf7 {Black could choose between a whole series of useful moves, my
favourite being} c5 $5) 25... Kxd8 ({Black should not avoid the rook ending
either. If} 25... Be8 $2 26. e7 $18 {the king cannot free the rook since ...
Kb7 is impossible. The immediate threat is Ne6 followed by Rd8, which is not
parried by} Bd7 27. Ne6 $1) 26. Rxd7+ Ke8 27. Rxg7 Rd8 28. Rxc7 {Starting the
mutual pawn massacre.} (28. Ke2 Rd6 $11) 28... Rd2+ 29. Kf3 Rxc2 30. Rxa7 Rxb2
31. Kf4 Rb4+ 32. Ke5 {With the pawn on e5 still, White would have had
excellent winning chances based on the king's intrusion to e6, but the way it
is he cannot make headaway in the centre.} Ra4 33. Rc7 Rxa2 34. Rc8+ Ke7 35.
Rc7+ Ke8 36. Rxc6 h5 37. Rc8+ Ke7 38. Rc7+ Ke8 39. Rc8+ Ke7 40. Rc7+ Ke8 41. e4
b4 42. Rb7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Foros Aerosvit"]
[Site "Foros"]
[Date "2007.06.28"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"]
[Black "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2678"]
[BlackElo "2686"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "122"]
[EventDate "2007.06.18"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "UKR"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 119"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2007.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. h3 h6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Nd4 {
This move, designed by Shirov, has caused Black a lot of trouble lately.} a5
$146 {An interesting (but possibly unsound) attempt to activate the a8-rook
without moving it.} ({The initial game went} 14... Ng6 $6 {Shirov,A (2706)
-Rizouk,A (2464)/Moscow 2001/CBM 086/[Wedberg] (1-0, 28)}) ({Shirov was again
successfull with his line last year:} 14... Nf5 15. Nde2 {Since the f5-knight
is not too stable it makes little sense exchanging it.} (15. Nce2 Nxd4 16. Nxd4
c5 17. Ne2 h5 18. Nf4 Bf5 19. Rd2 Kb7 20. Rfd1 h4 $132 {Bartel,M (2417)
-Grabarczyk,M (2484)/Warsaw 2002/CBM 089 (0-1, 33)}) 15... Be7 16. Ne4 Rd8 17.
g4 Nh4 18. f4 c5 19. c4 Kb7 20. N2c3 Bc6 21. Nd5 Bf8 22. f5 $16 {Shirov,A 
(2709)-Stefansson,H (2585)/Dresden 2006/CBM 110 ext (1-0, 35)}) (14... Kb7 $6
15. e6 Be8 16. Rfe1 Rd8 17. exf7 Bxf7 18. Ne6 Rxd1 19. Nxd1 Bxe6 20. Rxe6 $14 {
is the typical better ending White is aiming for, De Vreugt,D (2477)-Pedersen,
N (2458)/Amsterdam 2002/CBM 089 ext (1-0, 39)}) (14... c5 $5 {may be an
interesting try, freeing Black from any worries regarding the pawn break e6.
On the other hand, the d5- and b5-squares become available to the enemy
knights.} 15. Nde2 a5 16. a4 Nc6 17. Nb5 (17. Nd5 $5) 17... Bf5 18. Rd2 h5 19.
Nf4 Kb7 20. Nd5 Rc8 21. f4 h4 22. Ne3 Rh5 $11 {Black has safely blocked the
position. Tischbierek,R (2519)-Pinter,J (2518)/Austria 2003/CBM 097 ext (1/2-1/
2, 28)}) 15. e6 {This seems to work out well.} ({However,} 15. Rfe1 {deserves
serious attention, too, maintaining e6 in reserve.}) 15... fxe6 16. Rfe1 Nd5
17. Nxe6 Bb4 ({A more logical way to make use of the presence of the pawn on
a5 was} 17... Nxc3 18. Bxc3 Bb4 {but it does not seem to work properly:} 19.
Bxb4 (19. Bxg7 Re8 20. c3 Rxe6 21. Rxe6 Bxe6 22. cxb4 axb4 23. Rd2 h5 $13 {
The structure is highly asymmetrical and the final outcome of the battle
unpredictable.}) 19... axb4 20. Nxg7 Rxa2 {If White defends his c2-pawn, the
position would be unclear, but after the more resolute} 21. Re7 Rd8 22. f4 $16
{the f-pawn is very dangerous.}) 18. Nxd5 $1 {It appears that the pin can be
ignored..} cxd5 (18... Bxe1 $2 19. Ne7+ Kb7 20. Rxd7 $18) 19. Re3 Re8 20. Nf4
$1 (20. Nxg7 $6 {would be less clear because of} Rxe3 21. fxe3 a4 $44 {, when
the knight would be somewhat out of play and the queenside - rather weak.})
20... Rxe3 21. fxe3 Bc5 22. Kf2 g6 23. Nxd5 Bc6 (23... a4 {is not working now
because of} 24. b4 $1) 24. a4 Kb7 25. c4 $16 {White has a sound extra pawn,
but the technical process is not simple. Thus, Shirov's challenge remains open.
} Re8 26. Bd4 Bd6 27. Ke2 Re6 28. Rf1 Be8 29. Nf6 Bc6 30. Nd5 Be8 31. Rf6 Rxf6
32. Nxf6 Bf7 33. Kd3 c6 34. e4 Be7 35. Nd7 Kc7 36. Nxb6 g5 37. Kc2 Bg6 38. Kd3
Bf7 39. c5 Bxb3 40. Be5+ Kb7 41. Nc4 Bd8 42. Bd6 Kc8 43. Nb6+ Bxb6 44. cxb6 Kb7
45. Bc5 Bxa4 46. Kc3 Bd1 47. e5 g4 48. e6 gxh3 49. gxh3 Be2 50. Kd4 Bf3 51. h4
Be2 52. Ke5 a4 53. Kf6 a3 54. Kg6 a2 55. Bd4 c5 56. Bc3 Kxb6 57. e7 Bb5 58.
Kxh6 Be8 59. Kg5 Kc6 60. h5 Bxh5 61. Kxh5 Kd7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sinquefield Cup 3rd"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.28"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2816"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2015.08.23"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 168"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.09.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.09.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"]

1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Nc6 {
[%emt 0:00:05]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 4. O-O {[%emt 0:
00:20]} Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:27]} 5. d4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Nd6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 6.
Bxc6 {[%emt 0:00:09]} dxc6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 7. dxe5 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Nf5 {
[%emt 0:00:06]} 8. Qxd8+ {[%emt 0:00:05]} Kxd8 {[%emt 0:00:06];Polgar,J (2735)
-Topalov,V (2788) FIDE-Wch San Luis 2005 (6) 0-1 Even though Topalov's
trademark opening is the Najdorf Sicilian, the Berlin defence, a "discovery"
of his former World title rival, occupies a solid place in his repertoire. He
has used it twice on his way to the supreme title in San Luis 2010. He scored
an important win in the early rounds in} {and a safe draw to secure his first
place in the penultimate round in} 9. h3 {[%emt 0:02:24];Kasimdzhanov,R (2670)
-Topalov,V (2788) FIDE-Wch San Luis 2005 (13) 1/2} h6 {[%emt 0:02:44]} 10. Rd1+
{[%emt 0:02:42]} Ke8 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 11. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Ne7 {[%emt 0:01:
33] The paradox of this opening is that with the exception of his knight Black
is even worse than completely undeveloped, since he has lost the right to
castle in the meanwhile. What makes things even more weird is that he can keep
moving around with the same knight which has consumed four tempi over the
first eight moves! Quite naturally, developing moves have also been tried here.
} (11... Bd7 12. Bf4 Rd8 {Caruana,F (2783)-Carlsen,M (2881) Shamkir 2014 CBM
160 [Caruana,F] (1-0, 53)}) (11... Be7 {was the choice of a Berlin
non-specialist, even though one of the greatest players ever!} 12. Ne2 Nh4 13.
Nxh4 Bxh4 14. Be3 Bf5 15. Nd4 Bh7 16. g4 Be7 17. Kg2 h5 18. Nf5 Bf8 19. Kf3 {
Polgar,J (2681)-Kasparov,G (2838) Moscow (Russia vs World, rapid) 2002 CBM 091
[Wedberg] (1-0, 42)}) ({In view of the permanent danger of a pawn break in the
centre,} 11... Be6 {looks as a solid option. The only problem is that Black
has to give up the bishops' pair soon.} 12. g4 Ne7 13. Nd4 Rd8 14. Bf4 ({
The prophilactic} 14. Kg2 $5 {might have been better. By evacuasting the back
rank White threatens Nxe6, in order to meet ...Rxd1? (without check) with
Nxc7+, winning a pawn.} Bc8 15. Bf4 {This looks like a more active version of
the game continuation.}) 14... Nd5 $1 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. Ne2 b5 ({Black could
have ignored the threat c2-c4, weakening the d4- and d3 squares with} 16... Kf7
{for instance} 17. c4 Nxf4 18. Nxf4 Bc5 $132) 17. b3 (17. Bg3 $5) 17... Bc5 (
17... Kf7 $5) 18. c4 bxc4 19. bxc4 Nb6 20. Rxd8+ Kxd8 21. h4 Ke7 22. g5 {
In Ni,H (2703)-Sasikiran,K (2640) Danzhou 2015 (1-0, 48) Black should have met
White's original pawn break with} Rf8 23. Kg2 Rf5 {[%csl Gc4,Gf2]}) 12. Nd4 {
[%emt 0:06:18] Deviating from two recent games of the main Berlin player
Caruana.} (12. Bf4 Ng6 13. Bh2 Be7 14. Nd4 Nf8 15. Rd3 h5 16. Re1 Ne6 {allowed
Black a safe regrouping in Caruana,F (2803)-Dominguez Perez,L (2734)
Khanty-Mansiysk 2015 CBM 167 [Marin,M] (½-½, 40)}) (12. b3 Bf5 13. Nd4 Bh7
14. Bb2 {Caruana,F (2805)-Carlsen,M (2876) Stavanger 2015 CBM 167 [Wagner,D] 
(1-0, 45)}) 12... Ng6 {[%emt 0:10:19] It is essential to clear the e7-square
for the king for reasons which will be revealed in the lines below.} (12... a6
{is clumsily preparing the losing ...c6-c5.} 13. a3 {This does not make much
sense, it only invited Black to take the byte.} (13. Ne4 $14 {would be a more
useufl way of preventing ...c5.}) 13... c5 $2 (13... Ng6 14. f4 {would lead to
similar play as in the game.}) 14. Ndb5 $1 axb5 15. Nxb5 {In view of the
threat Nxc7 mate Black loses material. Now is when the unavailibility of the
e7-square is relevant.} Nd5 16. Rxd5 c6 17. Nd6+ Kd7 18. Rd3 $18 {Bobras,P 
(2576)-Korneev,O (2651) La Laguna 2008 (½-½, 57)}) ({And a neutral move like
} 12... h5 $2 {would allow the same trick:} 13. Ndb5 $1 $18) 13. f4 {[%emt 0:
02:36]} ({With the e7-square free, the combination} 13. Ndb5 $6 {does not
really work:} cxb5 14. Nxb5 Rb8 15. Nxc7+ Ke7 16. b3 Bd7 17. Ba3+ Kd8 18. e6 {
Coleman,M (2201)-Parry,M (2292) Cherry Hill 2007 (1-0, 55)} Kxc7 19. Rxd7+ Kc6
$15 {White does not have enough compensation for the knight. Due to his
hanging bishop, he has no time to play Rxf7, which would change the situation
quite a lot.}) 13... Bc5 {[%emt 0:00:17] Planning the exchange on d4 in order
to increase Black's control over the e6- and f5-squares. But this will allow
White achieve a very active position, while the g6-knight is not of much use
for the blockade anyway. Unless Black intends to spend two more tempi with it
to return to f5.} ({If} 13... a6 14. Be3 c5 $2 {White already has an
alternative to the familiar combination:} 15. Nd5 $1 Kd7 16. Nb3 Kc6 17. Na5+)
(13... f6 {was a worthy alternative to the game move, aiming to neutralize
White's space advantage.} 14. exf6 (14. e6 Bc5 15. f5 Nh4 {leaves the pawns
hanging.}) 14... gxf6 {Black plans ...Kf7, ...h5-h4 and if} 15. f5 Nh4 16. g4
h5 {he has reasonable counterplay.}) 14. Be3 {[%emt 0:04:02]} h5 {[%emt 0:01:
12]} 15. Ne4 {[%emt 0:11:13]} Bxd4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} (15... Bb6 {would more or
less force Black take on d4 anyway after} 16. c4) (15... Be7 {is just a loss
of time, allowing White to slowly increase the pressure with} 16. Rd2 $14) 16.
Rxd4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} h4 {[%emt 0:03:44]} 17. Rad1 {[%emt 0:10:01] If Black
could regroup with ...Ne7-f5 followed by ...Be6 he would achieve a dream
position, with perfect blockade on light squares. But he does not have the
time for pursuing such dreams due to the threat 18.Rd8+ Ke7 19.Bc5+} Bf5 {
[%emt 0:00:44]} (17... Be6 {runs into} 18. Nc5 b6 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Rd7 {
when the tricky} Ne7 {fails o equalize:} 21. Rxc7 Nd5 22. Rxd5 cxd5 23. Rxg7 {
with two pawns for the exchange and a very active position.}) 18. e6 {[%emt 0:
01:57] So far, both players had spent some time on several moves, but White
played his last move after less than two minutes. This type of pawn break is
thematic and when it works it can cause Black some trouble.} Bxe6 $6 {[%emt 0:
29:40] Topalov was visibly surprized by the last move, as he answered after
half an hour. He was possibly living under the illusion that the light suqars
are all "his". But the last move does not solve Black's problems completely.} (
{True} 18... Bxe4 $6 {is not entirely satisfactory either:} 19. Rxe4 ({The
hurried} 19. exf7+ {only speeds up Black's development:} Kxf7 20. Rxe4 Rad8 21.
Rxd8 Rxd8 22. f5 Rd1+ 23. Kf2 Ne7 $11 {[%csl Gf5,Gh4]}) 19... f5 (19... fxe6 $2
20. f5 Nf8 21. fxe6 $18) 20. Rb4 b6 21. Rd7 $36) ({But} 18... fxe6 {is not at
all easy to refute, even though White's compensation is beyond any doubt.} 19.
Ng5 {[%cal Gd4d7]} Ne7 20. c4 (20. Rd7 Nd5) 20... c5 21. R4d2 (21. Rd7 Nd5 22.
Rxg7 Nxe3 23. Rdd7 {leads only to a draw by perpetual.}) 21... b6 $44 {White's
position is more active, but Black is solid and has an extra pawn. The game is
rather one-sided (Black cannot generate counterplay too easily) but it is not
obvious how could White break the black fortress.}) 19. Nc5 {[%emt 0:01:44]}
Rh5 $146 {[%emt 0:09:01] Most probably, an over-the-board novelty.} (19... b6
20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Rd7 $16 {Saric,I (2609)-Sulava,N (2565) Marija Bistrica 2011
(1-0, 33)}) (19... Bc8 {is too passive to be good:} 20. Re4+ $1 Ne7 21. Bd4 {
[%cal Gd1e1,Gd4g7]} f5 22. Re2 Kf7 23. Bxg7 $16) 20. Nxb7 {[%emt 0:07:34]
Black has chronical weaknesses on the queenside, but Topalov had thought up a
way to mend the pawns.} Rd5 $6 {[%emt 0:05:13] This will eventually rid Black
of his double pawns, but not of the weak c5-square.} (20... Rb5 $5 21. Nd8 $8
Rxb2 22. Nxc6 {Threatening Rd8+ followed by mate.} f5 {[%csl Ge5,Gg5]} ({
The strategically more desirable} 22... f6 $2 {fails tacctically to} 23. Re4
Kf7 24. Nd8+) 23. R4d3 Rxa2 24. Nd4 Bd7 25. Rc3 c6 26. Nf3 $44 {White surely
has the initiative due to the weakness of the dark squares and the presence of
opposite-coloured bishops, but Black is not without counterchances.}) 21. b3 {
[%emt 0:08:26]} Rb8 {[%emt 0:05:18]} 22. Rxd5 {[%emt 0:00:10]} cxd5 {[%emt 0:
00:19]} 23. Nc5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} c6 {[%emt 0:02:07]} 24. Rd4 {[%emt 0:03:22]
White has a perfect blockade and threatens to win the a7-pawn.} Bc8 {[%emt 0:
07:59] This looks a bit passive.} ({True, Black had to remove the bishop from
e6, for instance:} 24... Ne7 $2 25. Ra4 Ra8 26. Nxe6 fxe6 27. Rxa7 $18) ({But} 
24... Bf5 {looks a bit more active even though} 25. c4 {may be similar to the
game.}) 25. Ra4 {[%emt 0:01:06]} Ra8 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 26. c4 {[%emt 0:07:57]}
dxc4 $6 {[%emt 0:04:17] A heavy positional concession.} (26... Ne7 27. cxd5
cxd5 $14 {[%cal Ge7f5] would still have been playable for Black. In fact, the
knight manoeuvre gives meaning to the bishop retreat to c8 rather than f5.})
27. Rxc4 $16 {[%emt 0:01:47]} Bf5 {[%emt 0:01:33]} ({Even now} 27... Ne7 {
made some sense.}) 28. Nb7 {[%emt 0:01:04] Sudenly, White switches to the
attacking mode.} Kd7 {[%emt 0:02:28]} 29. Rd4+ {[%emt 0:02:22]} Kc7 {[%emt 0:
03:11]} 30. Nd6 {[%emt 0:00:40]} Bb1 {[%emt 0:00:52]} (30... Be6 31. f5 Bd5 32.
Nb5+ (32. Nxf7 $5) 32... cxb5 33. Rxd5 Ne7 34. Rxb5 $18) 31. Nxf7 {[%emt 0:05:
57]} Re8 {[%emt 0:07:42]} (31... Bxa2 32. f5 Nf8 33. Rb4 {[%csl Ra2][%cal
Ge3f4] threatens the devastating Bf4+ while leaving the a2-bishop in off-side.}
) 32. Kf2 {[%emt 0:01:13]} Bxa2 $2 {[%emt 0:05:42] Giving away the control of
the f5-square makes things simpler for White.} (32... a6 {, removing the pawn
from the e3-bishop's range would have offered some hopes still.} 33. Ra4 Re4
34. Rxe4 (34. Rxa6 Nxf4 {offers some shadow of counterplay.}) 34... Bxe4 35.
Ng5 Bb1 36. a3 Kd6 37. b4 Kd5 {and a win is not obvious for White yet.}) 33. f5
$18 {[%emt 0:02:14]} Nf8 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 34. Ra4 {[%emt 0:05:37]} Bxb3 {
[%emt 0:00:05]} 35. Rxa7+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} Kb8 {[%emt 0:00:17]} 36. Nd6 {
[%emt 0:00:09]} Rd8 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 37. Rxg7 {[%emt 0:01:52][%cal Ge3g5,Gg5h4]
} (37. Rxg7 Rxd6 38. Bf4) 1-0

[Event "Foros Aerosvit 3rd"]
[Site "Foros"]
[Date "2008.06.19"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Volokitin, Andrei"]
[Black "Alekseev, Evgeny V"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2684"]
[BlackElo "2711"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2008.06.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "UKR"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 125"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2008.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 Ng6 11. Ne4 Ke8 {The king returns to its
initial square, where it will remain for more than 20 moves before coming
under serious attack.} ({Earlier in the same tournament, Volokitin was
confronted with the more fashionable plan of transferring the king to the
queenside, but got an advantage anyway.} 11... h6 12. b3 a5 13. a4 c5 14. Bb2
Be6 15. Nfd2 Nf4 16. Kh2 g6 17. Nc4 Kd7 18. g3 Nd5 19. f4 h5 20. Rad1 Kc6 21.
Ng5 Bg7 22. Nxe6 fxe6 23. Bc1 Bh6 24. Kg2 Rhf8 25. Na3 Rf7 26. c4 Ne7 27. Rd3
Rg8 28. Rfd1 Nf5 {Volokitin,A (2684)-Eljanov,P (2687)/Foros 2008/CBM 125 (0-1,
48)} 29. h4 $14) 12. Re1 h6 13. Bd2 $5 {An apparently modest move, aiming for
rapid piece development without weakening the queenside.} (13. Nd4 {Brodsky,M 
(2530)-Van den Doel,E (2547)/Wijk aan Zee 1999/CBM 069/[Wedberg] (1-0, 43)}) (
13. b3 a5 14. a4 c5 15. c4 Be6 16. Bb2 Kd7 17. Rad1+ Kc6 18. Nc3 Be7 19. Nd5
Rad8 20. Nxe7+ Nxe7 21. Kf1 Ng6 22. Bc3 b6 $11 {Iuldachev,S (2511)-Berzinsh,R 
(2472)/Bled 2002/EXT 2003 (1/2-1/2, 48)}) 13... c5 14. Rad1 {Now, the black
king can forget about reaching c6.} (14. Ng3 Be6 15. Nh5 {is slightly too slow,
allowing Black to regroup with} Kd7 $1 16. Nh2 Kc6 17. f4 Rd8 18. Be3 Ne7 19.
g4 g6 20. Nf6 Bg7 21. Nf3 Nd5 22. Nxd5 Bxd5 23. Kf2 h5 24. Kg3 hxg4 25. hxg4 f6
$11 {Short,N (2684)-Bacrot,E (2712)/playchess.com INT 2004/EXT 2005 (1/2-1/2,
48)}) ({However,} 14. a4 {has confronted Black with problems:} a5 ({The
further advance of the a-pawn should be prevented.} 14... Be6 $6 15. a5 $1 Rd8
16. Be3 b6 17. Nc3 Ra8 18. Red1 Be7 19. Nb5 Bd8 20. axb6 cxb6 21. Nxa7 Bd7 22.
c4 Ke7 23. b4 $1 cxb4 24. c5 $1 $16 {Fressinet,L (2536)-Jonkman,H (2424)/
Mondariz 2000/CBM 079 (1-0, 39)}) 15. h4 (15. Rad1 $5) 15... b6 (15... Bg4 $5)
16. h5 Ne7 17. Nd6+ $1 $36 cxd6 18. exd6 Be6 19. dxe7 Bxe7 20. Ne5 Bd6 21. Bf4
Rd8 22. Rad1 $32 {White's advance in development is threatening and Black has
to simplify to a worse ending.} Bxe5 23. Bxe5 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 f6 25. Bc7 $14 {
Kulaots,K (2491)-Yemelin,V (2510)/Tallinn 2000/CBM 077 ext (1/2-1/2, 50)})
14... Be6 15. a3 $146 {White gets his pawns out of the range of the enemy
light-squared bishop, giving up any queenside ambitions. His hopes are mainly
connected with the right half of the board now.} (15. b3 Rd8 16. c4 Be7 17. Ng3
h5 18. Ne4 b6 19. Nc3 Rd7 20. Bg5 {Gelashvili,T (2506)-Ovsejevitsch,S (2529)/
Korinthos 2001/EXT 2002 (1/2-1/2, 50)} Rxd1 21. Rxd1 Nxe5 22. Nxe5 Bxg5 23. Nb5
Bd8 24. Nc6 Bd7 $11 {Gelashivili}) 15... Rd8 16. Ng3 Bd5 ({If Black wishes to
exchange one pair of knights,} 16... Be7 {/\...Nh4, /\...h5 comes into
consideration, too. In certain cases, this would get him two extra tempi, but
it is hard to say whether the remaining white knight was better placed on g4 
(in the game) than on g3.}) 17. Nh2 Nh4 18. f3 Be6 19. Ng4 Nf5 20. Nxf5 Bxf5
21. Ne3 Be6 22. f4 $36 {White's pawns look threatening, but, with the white
king around, the attack is not so easy to carry out.} g6 23. g4 {This move
will allow the activation of Black's kingside pieces.} (23. Kf2 h5 $11 {
[%cal Gh5h4]}) (23. Kh2 $5 h5 24. g3 Be7 25. Bc3 $13 {would have maintained
the tension, but it is far from clear yet whether White has an advantage. His
plan would be to exchange one pair of rooks, place the remaining rook on f1
and play f5 without the help of the g-pawn.}) 23... h5 24. f5 (24. Kg2 hxg4 25.
hxg4 Be7 26. Bc3 Bd7 $132 {[%cal Gd7c6,Ge7h4]} 27. g5 $8 $11) 24... gxf5 (24...
Bc8 $5 {[%cal Gh5g4,Gg6f5]}) 25. gxf5 Bc8 26. Bc3 Rxd1 27. Rxd1 c6 $2 {[%csl
Gd6] A serious mistake, losing a tempo and weakening the d6-square.} ({The
ocupation of the d5-square by the knight would have been dangerous, indeed,
after} 27... Bh6 $6 28. Nd5 $1 Bxf5 29. e6 Rg8+ 30. Kh2 Bg5 31. Nxc7+ Kf8 32.
Rf1 $36) ({However,} 27... Rg8+ 28. Kf2 Be7 {looks entirely playable:} 29. Kf3
Bg5 30. Rg1 Kf8 31. Rd1 Ke8 $5 $11 (31... Bxe3 $2 32. Rd8+ Kg7 33. e6+ f6 34.
e7 $18)) 28. Kf2 Rg8 29. Kf3 Be7 30. Ke4 $14 {White has achieved strong
centralisation now.} Rg3 $6 (30... b5 $6 {[%csl Gc4]} 31. f6 Bd8 32. Nf5 $16) (
30... Bg5 31. Nc4 Be7 $14) 31. e6 $1 $16 {A thematic pawn break, taking
advantage of the high activity of all White's forces.} (31. Rh1 b5 32. Be1 $14)
31... Bg5 (31... fxe6 $6 32. f6 Bf8 33. Be5 Rxh3 34. f7+ $1 Kxf7 (34... Ke7 $2
35. Bd6+ Kxf7 36. Bxf8 Kxf8 37. Rd8+ $18) 35. Rd8 $16) (31... Rxh3 $2 32. f6
$18) 32. Nc4 fxe6 (32... Be7 $5 33. Be5 $1 (33. f6 $2 Bxe6 $1) 33... Rg8 (33...
Rxh3 34. Rg1 Rh4+ 35. Bf4 Rg4 36. exf7+ Kf8 37. Rf1 $16) (33... Rg2 34. Ne3 {
/\f6} Rf2 35. Rg1 Kf8 36. Rg7 fxe6 37. f6 Bxf6 38. Bxf6 Rxf6 39. Rc7 $18) 34.
f6 Bxe6 35. fxe7 Bxc4 36. Rd8+ Kxe7 37. Bf6+ $1 (37. Rxg8 $2 f5+ $1 $11) 37...
Kxf6 38. Rxg8 $18) 33. f6 b5 (33... Rxh3 34. Ke5 {[%csl Rc8][%cal Gc4d6]} (34.
Nd6+ $6 Kf8 35. Nxc8 $4 Re3#) 34... Bf4+ $5 35. Kxf4 Rh4+ 36. Ke5 Rxc4 37. Rh1
h4 38. Rg1 $18) 34. Nd6+ Kf8 35. Bd2 Bd7 36. Bf4 Bxf4 37. Kxf4 Rxh3 38. Ne4 $18
e5+ 39. Kxe5 Be8 40. Rd8 Re3 41. Kf4 Re1 42. Nd6 Rf1+ 43. Kg5 Rg1+ 44. Kh6 Rg6+
45. Kh7 1-0

[Event "Morelia/Linares 25th"]
[Site "Morelia/Linares"]
[Date "2008.02.28"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2008.02.15"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 123"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2008.04.02"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 {As we shall soon see, this is not
a prelude to the Berlin variation, but an invitation to transpose to the Open
variation. Usually, Carlsen employs the "normal" move order (3...a6, etc.) but
in Corus Ivanchuk had surprised him with the exchange variation, which he
plays only occasionally. Although the game ended in a draw, Carlsen seems to
have had his reasons to avoid this course of events. Did he feel uncomfortable
about the exchange variation, or did he just want to avoid early
simplifications with an increased probability of a draw?...} 5. d4 a6 6. Bxc6 {
So, whatever Carlsen's thoughts had been, he guessed correctly that Ivanchuk
was not going to allow the Open variation.} dxc6 {Theory is not too
well-settled in this variation. Black's position certainly looks dangerous and
his move order at least provocative, but in practice things have been rather
unclear.} 7. Qe2 Bf5 8. Re1 {A very rare move. Among other things, White
threatens to win material with Qd3. After the present game, people may start
asking themselves why this line was not tried more frequently... Black
certainly needs to find a strong improvement somewhere.} (8. Rd1 Be7 9. dxe5
Qc8 {Black's position looks a bit cramped and his e4-knight unstable. However,
White is not too well developed and Black's good control of the light squares
offers him adequate play. Just compare this with the Berlin variation where he
needs several tempi to get castled artificially...} 10. Nd4 (10. b3 O-O 11. Bb2
Re8 12. Nbd2 Ng5 {In fact, the capture on d2 would be more restrictive,
although it could eventually transpose to the game.} 13. Nxg5 Bxg5 14. Nf3 Be7
15. h3 Bg6 16. c4 a5 17. Bc3 c5 18. Nh2 $13 {1/2-1/2 Savon,V (2420)-Buturin,V 
(2415)/Alushta 1992/EXT 97} Qe6 {With all his pieces well placed, Black has no
problems. The direct attack} 19. f4 a4 20. g4 {is not dangerous because of} f5
$1) (10. Rd4 {Apparently, White is just helping the knight improve its
position with gain of time, but he has some tactical play in mind.} Nc5 11. Bg5
$5 Ne6 12. Bxe7 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 Kxe7 14. Qh5 Rd8 15. Qh4+ Kf8 16. Nd2 c5 17. N4f3
Qe6 $17 {Rausis,I (2551)-Wedberg,T (2473)/Upplands Vasby 2000/CBM 081 (0-1, 47)
. Black has completed his development, maintaining his material advantage.}) (
10. Be3 O-O 11. Nbd2 Nxd2 12. Rxd2 h6 13. Rad1 c5 14. Qc4 b6 15. a3 Qb7 $11 {
In the Berlin variation, this square is usually occupied by the king, not
without some efforts.} 16. Qf4 Be6 17. Nh4 $6 g5 $1 18. Qf3 Qxf3 19. Nxf3 Kg7
20. h3 Kg6 21. Nh2 h5 $15 {Aroshidze,L (2401)-Mastrovasilis,D (2568)/Korinthos
2004/CBM 101 ext (1/2-1/2, 58). With all his pieces well placed, Black has a
favourable form of the Berlin variation. In the absence of queens, the plan of
a kingside expansion is strategically sound.}) 10... Bg6 11. Be3 {Opening
expert Geller tries to improve upon an older game of his opponent.} (11. f3 Nc5
12. b3 O-O 13. Bb2 Ne6 14. Nxe6 Qxe6 {Kupper,J-Kaplan,J (2470)/Lugano 1968/MCD
(0-1, 42). with comfortable play for Black.}) 11... O-O 12. Nd2 Nxd2 13. Rxd2
c5 14. Nb3 b6 {White's manoeuvre has only left the knight passive on b3,
requiring further loss of time. Black was going to play ...b6 and ...c5 anyway!
} 15. Rad1 Qf5 16. Qc4 Qe4 17. Qxe4 Bxe4 18. f3 Bf5 19. Nc1 {The sign that
something had gone wrong. As we know from previous examples, the control of
the d-file has a sterile character, because there are no squares available for
infiltration, while Black can exchange rooks with ...Rd8, whenever he wants.}
Rfd8 20. c3 Be6 21. Kf2 a5 22. Rxd8+ Bxd8 23. g3 Be7 {1/2-1/2 Geller,E (2610)
-Kaplan,J (2460)/Amsterdam 1974/MCL. Black's pressure against the queenside
prevents White from starting active operations on the other wing.}) ({The more
forcing line} 8. g4 Bg6 9. Nxe5 Qxd4 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. Nc3 f5 12. Bf4 O-O-O 13.
Rad1 Qf6 14. Nxe4 fxe4 15. Rxd8+ Kxd8 16. Qxe4 {was at one time supposed to
offer White the slightly better chances. Indeed, certain endings would favour
him, but the following recent game saw Black drawing without problems.} Bd6 17.
Rd1 Re8 18. g5 Rxe4 19. gxf6 gxf6 20. Bxd6 cxd6 21. Rxd6+ Ke7 22. Rd3 Ke6 {
1/2-1/2 Womacka,M (2423)-Matamoros Franco,C (2544)/Olomouc 2006/CBM 113 ext.
Only Black can be microscopically better here, because of his more compact
kingside structure.}) 8... Bb4 $5 $146 (8... Be7 9. g4 Bg6 10. Nxe5 f5 11. Nc3
(11. gxf5 Bxf5 12. Qf3 $16 {wins two pieces for a rook, because after} Nd6 $2
13. Bg5 $18 {Black is in even bigger trouble, not being able to fre himself
from the pin. For instance} O-O 14. Qb3+ $1 Kh8 15. Bxe7 Qxe7 16. Ng6+ $1 $18)
11... O-O 12. Nxg6 hxg6 13. Qc4+ Kh7 14. Nxe4 fxe4 15. Rxe4 Bh4 16. Be3 $16 {
Georgiev,K (2480)-Piket,J (2550)/Corfu 1991/EXT 97 (0-1, 31). White has won a
pawn, but later went terribly wrong and lost.}) (8... Bd6 9. Qd3 O-O 10. Rxe4
Bxe4 11. Qxe4 exd4 12. Qxd4 Be5 $5 13. Qc4 Qd1+ 14. Qf1 Qxf1+ 15. Kxf1 Rad8 16.
Nbd2 Rfe8 17. Nxe5 Rxe5 $16 {Simmelink,J-Van Wieringen,C/NED-ch28 corr9899
1998/Corr 2000 (1-0, 45). White certainly faces some problems completing his
development, but when this has been accomplished, he will retain good chances
for a win.}) 9. c3 Bd6 {I am not entirely sure whether weakening the d3-square
has improved Black's position that much, but according to Carlsen he was just
improvising, not being able to remember "theory".} 10. Qc2 {It looks logical
to make use of this square that has just become available.} ({However,} 10. Qd3
{does not look bad either.}) 10... Qd7 11. dxe5 Bc5 12. Rxe4 O-O-O $16 {
White has won material, "according to the plan", but he still faces some
problems completing his development and getting out of the pin. Besides,
Ivanchuk had spent a lot of time already.} 13. Nbd2 Qd5 14. Kf1 Rhe8 15. b3 {
According to Carlsen, this might be too slow.} (15. c4 $5 Qd7 16. Nb3 $16 {
[%cal Gc1f4]}) 15... g5 16. Bb2 g4 17. Nd4 Bxd4 $5 {Striving for counterplay.}
({Simplifying with} 17... Bxe4 {would have meant struggling for a draw after}
18. Qxe4 Qxe4 19. Nxe4 Rxe5 20. Nxc5 Rxc5 21. f3 $14) 18. cxd4 c5 19. Rae1 cxd4
20. Qc4 $6 {Offering Black undeserved counter-chances.} (20. Qd1 $16 Bxe4 21.
Rxe4 d3 22. Qxg4+ $16) 20... Bxe4 21. Rxe4 Rxe5 22. Rxg4 Rde8 23. Nf3 Qxc4+ 24.
bxc4 Re2 $132 {Things have become completely irrational now.} 25. Bxd4 Rxa2 26.
Rg7 a5 27. Rxf7 Rc2 28. g4 a4 29. g5 a3 30. Rxh7 a2 31. Rh8 Rxh8 32. Bxh8 Rxc4
33. h3 c5 34. Ne1 Rc1 35. g6 Kd7 36. Bb2 Ke6 37. h4 c4 38. h5 c3 39. Bxc1 a1=Q
40. Nd3 0-1

[Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE GP"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2015.05.14"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2803"]
[BlackElo "2734"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2015.05.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 167"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.07.13"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.07.13"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:35]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:47]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:35]} Nc6 {
[%emt 0:00:36]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:33]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:54]} 4. O-O {[%emt 0:
00:52]} Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:39]} 5. d4 {[%emt 0:00:35]} Nd6 {[%emt 0:00:43]} 6.
Bxc6 {[%emt 0:00:35]} dxc6 {[%emt 0:00:35]} 7. dxe5 {[%emt 0:00:37]} Nf5 {
[%emt 0:00:36]} 8. Qxd8+ {[%emt 0:00:35]} Kxd8 {[%emt 0:00:37] It takes some
courage to play this way against the Berlin's greatest slayer, but as we will
see Dominguez did not come to the game empty-handed.} 9. h3 {[%emt 0:00:43]} h6
{[%emt 0:02:21]} 10. Rd1+ {[%emt 0:01:04] This is a very committal move, since
the rooks should in principle stay on e1 and d1.} ({Against the more natural} 
10. Nc3 {Black usually transfers his king to the queenside with} Bd7 {as in
the dramatical World championship game Carlsen,M (2863)-Anand,V (2792) Sochi
2014 CBM 164 [Nielsen,PH] (1-0, 45)}) 10... Ke8 {[%emt 0:00:37]} ({The king
has to stay in the centre, being slightly exposed to X-ray attacks along the
e-file and offering the rooks fewer or no chance to re-connect along the back
rank. In certain cases, this could prove a higher committment than the rooks'
temporary misplacement.The blunder} 10... Bd7 $2 {has been played in just one
game so far:} 11. g4 ({An important intermediate move before delivering the
small tactical blow. The immediate} 11. e6 {is less clear:} fxe6 12. Ne5 Ke8 {
13.Nxd7 Rd8 or} 13. Rxd7 Bd6 14. Rxd6 cxd6) 11... Ne7 12. e6 {Djukic,N (2551)
-Jovicic,J SRB-chT Kragujevac 2013 (9.5) 1-0} {Black resigned in view of} fxe6
13. Ne5 {[%csl Gd7,Gh8][%cal Ge5f7]}) 11. Nc3 {[%emt 0:01:00]} Ne7 {[%emt 0:00:
38] Caruana is known for making the best of the kingside expansion with g2-g4,
so Dominguez decides to remove the knight from the unstable position at once.}
({Caruana had twice faced} 11... Bd7 {over the past years:} 12. Bf4 Rd8 13. Ne4
(13. e6 Bxe6 14. Bxc7 {offered White very little after} Rxd1+ 15. Rxd1 Be7 16.
g4 Nh4 17. Nd4 Bd7 $11 {Caruana,F (2779)-Ponomariov,R (2756) Elancourt 2013
CBM 157 [ChessBase Website] (1/2-1/2, 46)}) 13... Be7 14. g4 Nh4 15. Nxh4 Bxh4
16. Kg2 Be6 17. f3 b6 18. b3 c5 19. c4 Rd7 20. Bg3 Be7 21. Rxd7 Bxd7 22. Nc3
Kd8 23. Nd5 Re8 24. Rd1 Kc8 25. Nxc7 $16 {Caruana,F (2783)-Carlsen,M (2881)
Shamkir 2014 CBM 160 [Caruana,F] (1-0, 53), and White converted his extra-pawn
confidently.}) 12. Bf4 {[%emt 0:01:06]} Ng6 {[%emt 0:00:38]} 13. Bh2 {[%emt 0:
00:55]} Be7 {[%emt 0:00:41]} ({Deviating from another Caruana-Carlsen game:} 
13... Bb4 14. Ne2 Be7 15. Nfd4 Nf8 16. g4 ({With the rooks still misplaced,
this will prove premature. It would have made sense to play} 16. Rd2 $5 {
followed by either Re1 or R1d1.}) 16... h5 $1 17. Nf5 Ne6 18. Kg2 b6 19. f3 c5
20. Bg3 Bg5 $5 (20... hxg4 21. hxg4 Bg5 {also looks OK, since the opening of
the h-file is not dangerous for Black:} 22. Rh1 Rxh1 23. Rxh1 Bb7 $11) 21. h4 {
Not really a piece sacrifice, since play ends in a draw by repetition by force.
} hxg4 $1 22. hxg5 gxf3+ 23. Kxf3 Nxg5+ 24. Kf4 (24. Kg4 $6 Nh3 $1 {[%cal
Gg7g6]} 25. e6 $8 Bxe6 26. Nf4 g6 27. Nxe6 gxf5+ 28. Kxf5 fxe6+ 29. Kg4 e5 $1
$15 {[%csl Rf2][%cal Gh3f4]}) 24... Nh3+ {1/2-1/2 (26) Caruana,F (2811)
-Carlsen,M (2865) Baden-Baden 2015} 25. Ke4 Ng5+ 26. Kf4 Nh3+ {1/2-1/2 (26)
Caruana,F (2811)-Carlsen,M (2865) Baden-Baden 2015}) 14. Nd4 {[%emt 0:03:55]}
Nf8 $146 {[%emt 0:00:55] A well timed regrouping, anticipating White's Re1.} ({
After} 14... Bd7 15. Re1 {Black suddenly fears some problems:} Bb4 (15... Nf8
16. e6 $1 Nxe6 17. Nf5 Kd8 (17... Rc8 18. Rad1 Rg8 19. Ne4 b6 20. Be5 $36) 18.
Nxe7 Kxe7 19. Bxc7 Rhc8 20. Bg3 $14 {[%csl Rd6][%cal Gc3e4,Gf2f4,Ga1d1]}) 16.
e6 $1 fxe6 17. Nxe6 Kf7 (17... Bxe6 18. Rxe6+ Kf7 19. Re3 $14 {[%csl Rc7,Gf2,
Gg2,Gh3] The c7-pawn needs permanent defence while the white kingside majority
promises an advantage in all kind of endings.}) 18. Nxc7 Rad8 19. Re4 Bxc3 20.
bxc3 {Piorun,K (2513)-Miton,K (2616) Warsaw 2011 (1-0, 35), White has won a
pawn and the c7-knight is impossible to endanger, as it is safely defended by
the bishop.}) 15. Rd3 {[%emt 0:14:58] After having completed the development
of all other pieces, Caruana hurries to correct the rooks' position.} h5 {
[%emt 0:02:02]} (15... Ne6 16. Nce2 h5 {would be another possible move order.})
16. Re1 {[%emt 0:20:11] By creating the potential threat e5-e6, White intends
to provoke ...Ne6, after which his central knight will get the f5-square.} ({
However, this could have been achieved with} 16. Rad1 {, too,. True, it is not
clear whether the tempo saved with respect to the game would offer White
anything concrete.} Ne6 (16... Bd7 $6 {would still run into} 17. e6 Nxe6 18.
Nf5 Bc8 19. Re1 $36) 17. Nce2 c5 18. Nf5 h4 19. Nc3 Rh5 20. Ne3 b6 21. Ncd5 Bb7
22. Nxe7 Kxe7 23. Rd7+ Ke8 {with no obvious problems for Black.}) 16... Ne6 {
[%emt 0:27:13]} (16... Bd7 $6 17. e6 $1 Nxe6 (17... Bxe6 18. Bxc7 Rc8 19. Be5
Rg8 20. Nce2 $16 {[%cal Ge2f4]}) 18. Nf5 $36 {[%cal Gh2c7] In this line Black
seems to have an extra tempo over the similar one above, but in fact the
bishop is more exposed on d7 than o c8, making things by one tempo worse for
him!} g6 (18... Rc8 19. Red1 Nc5 20. Nxg7+ Kf8 21. Rxd7 Nxd7 22. Rxd7 Kxg7 23.
Rxe7 $18) 19. Be5 f6 (19... Rg8 20. Nxe7 Kxe7 21. Ne4 $40) 20. Nxe7 Kxe7 21.
Bxf6+ Kxf6 22. Rxd7 $16) 17. Nce2 {[%emt 0:08:50] Maintaining the tension
around the e6-file and inviting Black to give up the control over the d5- and
b5-squares.} c5 {[%emt 0:05:06]} 18. Nf5 {[%emt 0:34:05]} h4 {[%emt 0:34:54]
Dominguez makes sure as soon as possible that Caruana does not get a chance to
carry out his favourite kingside expansion.} ({However, he could have delayed .
..h5-h4 since after, for instance,} 18... b6 19. g4 $2 {would lead to troubles
for White:} hxg4 20. hxg4 c4 21. Rdd1 (21. Rg3 Bc5 $17 {[%cal Gc5f2,Gc8b7]})
21... Ng5 $17) 19. c4 {[%emt 0:01:06]} b6 {[%emt 0:06:24]} 20. Red1 {[%emt 0:
09:40] There was nothing the rook could threaten on the e-file already.} Rh5 {
[%emt 0:09:33]} 21. Ne3 {[%emt 0:02:31]} Bb7 {[%emt 0:06:54]} 22. Nd5 {[%emt 0:
02:11] White has obtained an active regrouping but as so many times in the
Berlin Black's position is almost impossible to break.} Bg5 {[%emt 0:05:08]
One of the few possible moves. Black avoids Nxe7 and takes the f4-square under
control, anticipating White's N2f4, aiming at exchanging the blocking knight.}
(22... Rc8 $5 23. Nxe7 Kxe7 24. Rd7+ Ke8 $11) 23. f3 {[%emt 0:05:49] Caruana
makes a couple of useful moves before starting the drawish simplifications.} ({
Even with the king on e8, Black's queenside is solid enough after} 23. Nec3 a6
24. a4 Bc6 ({Only not} 24... a5 $2 25. Nb5 Bd8 26. Nxb6 $1 cxb6 27. Nd6+) 25.
a5 b5 26. b3 Kf8 $11) (23. f4 {weakens the white structure without clear
prospects of playing f4-f5 under favourable circumstances.} Be7 ({The engines'
slight favourite is} 23... Bh6 {but I find this a bit speculative. The problem
is that ...g7-g6 is dangerous once the f6-square has lost its defender, while
otherwise Black has to rely on concrete play to stop f4-f5.}) 24. Rf1 g6 $11)
23... Rd8 {[%emt 0:06:59]} 24. Kf2 {[%emt 0:07:35]} Bc6 {[%emt 0:02:38]} 25.
Nef4 {[%emt 0:04:17] Equivalent to a draw offer.} ({While going through the
line} 25. f4 Be7 26. Kf3 {I found an amusing possibility:} f6 27. Kg4 f5+ $1
28. Kxh5 $2 Kf7 $19 {[%cal Gd8h8]}) 25... Bxf4 {[%emt 0:01:49]} 26. Nxf4 {
[%emt 0:00:34]} Rxd3 {[%emt 0:00:36]} 27. Rxd3 {[%emt 0:00:36]} Rf5 {[%emt 0:
04:57]} 28. Nxe6 {[%emt 0:02:56]} fxe6 {[%emt 0:00:34]} 29. Ke1 {[%emt 0:00:45]
} a5 {[%emt 0:01:54]} 30. Re3 {[%emt 0:00:58]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:01:30] The king
hurries to defend the only real weakness - the h4-pawn.} 31. Kd2 {[%emt 0:00:
47] And White hurries to do the same, before the enemy bishop gets to attack
the queenside pawns.} Kg6 {[%emt 0:01:25]} 32. Kc3 {[%emt 0:00:41]} Rf7 {
[%emt 0:00:52]} 33. Rd3 {[%emt 0:01:49]} Rd7 {[%emt 0:00:44]} 34. Rxd7 {
[%emt 0:00:35]} Bxd7 {[%emt 0:00:36]} 35. Bg1 {[%emt 0:00:42]} Kh5 {[%emt 0:02:
28]} 36. Be3 {[%emt 0:00:59]} Be8 {[%emt 0:01:02]} 37. b3 {[%emt 0:00:40]} Bg6
{[%emt 0:00:57]} 38. a4 {[%emt 0:00:44]} Bf5 {[%emt 0:00:43]} 39. Bd2 {[%emt 0:
00:37]} Bg6 {[%emt 0:00:39]} 40. Be3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Bf5 {[%emt 0:00:00]}
1/2-1/2

[Event "Olympiad-39"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2010.09.25"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Timofeev, Artyom"]
[Black "Pashikian, Arman"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2690"]
[BlackElo "2639"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[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 "Russia II"]
[BlackTeam "Armenia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ARM"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 {After a whole decade of intense practice
with the Berlin defence, Black has learned that sometimes he can afford
becoming ambitious on the wing where White has a pawn majority. The last move
is currently considered as entirely viable and offering Black approximate
equality in a complicated position. The main strategic threat is to spoil the
mobility of White's majority with ...h4. The obvious drawback of this move is
the weakening of the g5-square.} 11. Rd1 ({The alternative plan is to
concentrate the minor pieces on the kingside, in an aim to establish a
blockade on dark squares.} 11. Ne2 Be7 12. Bg5 Be6 13. Nf4 {As we will see in
a comment below, White has to permanently count with ...f6 when his bishop is
on g5. The point behind the last move is to avoid this circumstance, but Black
can take advantage of the fact that this knight has jumped around quite a lot
already.} Bd5 {The unpleasant threat of ...Bxf3 forces White to release the
tension. He has two possible ways of doing it.} 14. Nxd5 {This has been
White's main choice at the Olympiad. He maintains the blockade on g5, but
helps Black improving his structure.} (14. Bxe7 Kxe7 {Although the bishops
exchange favours White strategically, it also helps Black solving his problems
of coordination. Having got the e7-square for his king, he can play with his
rooks connected, something not very common in the Berlin defence. Also, the
king gets one step closer to the e5-pawn, which generates some constant
discomfort for White.} 15. Ng5 Nd4 {From this point, we have two twin games 
(only for their first part, since in one of them Black went astray at some
point and lost an equal ending).} 16. Rad1 (16. Rfd1 Ne6 17. Ngxe6 Bxe6 18. h4
g6 19. f3 a5 $1 {The start of a beautiful plan of activating rooks along the
fifth rank. White should not prevent the further advance of the a-pawn, since
a2-a4 would leave his own pawn vulnerable.} 20. a3 a4 21. Rd2 Ra5 22. Re1 Rb5
23. c3 Ra8 24. Re4 Raa5 $132 {Volokitin,A (2671)-Alekseev,E (2716)/Dagomys
2009/CBM 130 (1/2, 29)}) 16... Ne6 17. Ngxe6 Bxe6 18. h4 a5 {The same plan as
in the twin game.} 19. a3 a4 20. Rfe1 g6 21. f3 Ra5 22. c3 Rb5 23. Re2 Ra8 24.
Rd4 Raa5 25. Kf2 {White is ready to give up his central pawn in order to get
some activity.} Rxe5 26. Rxe5 Rxe5 27. Rxa4 Rb5 28. b4 $11 {Carlsen,M (2772)
-Jakovenko,D (2760)/Dortmund 2009/CBM 131/[Mueller,Karsten] (1-0, 49)}) 14...
cxd5 15. Rad1 c6 16. Rd3 h4 17. Re1 Rh5 {The most accurate move, fighting for
every inch of space.} (17... Bxg5 18. Nxg5 Rh5 19. f4 {means some little
progress for White, although the position remains unclear.} Ke7 20. c4 dxc4 21.
Rd2 Rd8 22. Rxd8 Kxd8 23. Nxf7+ Ke7 24. Ng5 Rh8 $13 {Ganguly,S (2650)-Miton,K 
(2629)/Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 (0-1, 61)}) 18. Bf4 (18. Bxe7 Kxe7 {would allowe
the activating of the king.}) 18... g6 19. a4 Rd8 20. Red1 Ng7 21. Be3 Ne6 22.
a5 a6 23. c3 {1/2 Karjakin,S (2747)-Pashikian,A (2639)/Khanty-Mansiysk 2010.
The structure has become inert and both sides face problems displaying any
form of activity.}) 11... Be7 12. Ne2 ({In this position, too, White has
offered the bishops' exchange.} 12. Bg5 Be6 13. g3 (13. Rd2 h4 14. Rad1 f6 {
A typical pawn break, getting space for the king.} 15. exf6 gxf6 16. Re1 Kf7
17. Rde2 fxg5 18. Rxe6 Bf6 19. R6e2 Rae8 {Black's space advantage and active
pieces proved being an adequate compensation for the double pawns in Hou,Y 
(2557)-Melkumyan,H (2507)/Gaziantep 2008/CBM 125 Extra (1/2, 63)}) 13... Rd8
14. Kg2 (14. Rxd8+ {Svidler,P (2735)-Leko,P (2735)/Astrakhan 2010/CBM 137/
[Marin,M] (1/2, 28)}) 14... f6 15. Bf4 Bb4 $5 {Black gives up a pawn for the
sake of spoiling the white queenside structure.} 16. exf6 Bxc3 17. f7+ $6 {
After this intermediate move, losing a tempo, Black has no problem at all.} ({
The critical continuation is} 17. bxc3 gxf6 18. Bxc7 Rd7 19. Bb8 a5 $44 {
In the presence of opposite coloured bishops, the weakness of the queenside
pawns and of the long light diagonal offers Black adequate compensation for
the pawn. In case of simplifications, White may well lose one of his c-pawns
anyway.}) 17... Bxf7 18. bxc3 Rxd1 19. Rxd1 Bxa2 20. Ra1 $6 (20. Bxc7 {looks
safer. White restores the material equality and wins a tempo by creating the
threat of Rd8+.}) 20... Bd5 21. Rxa7 $2 ({The last chance to stay in the game
was} 21. c4 {, for instance} Bxf3+ 22. Kxf3 a6 23. Bxc7 $13) 21... Rf8 $17 {
The focused pressure against the f3-knight is hard to resist.} 22. Rxb7 $2 {
Allowing an elegant combination.} Nh4+ $1 23. gxh4 Rxf4 $19 {Zhigalko,A (2591)
-Matlakov,M (2603)/Sestao 2010/CBM 138 (0-1, 26)}) 12... Be6 13. Nf4 {The most
natural regrouping move, which is not without drawbacks, though.} ({In Khanty
Mansiysk, White did not get much with} 13. Ned4 {either. true, on the black
side he had the no 1 specialist of the Berlin defence.} Rd8 14. Bf4 Nxd4 15.
Nxd4 Bc8 16. e6 Bxe6 17. Bxc7 Rd5 18. c4 Rd7 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Bb8 Bc5 21. Rxd7
Kxd7 22. Rd1+ Kc8 23. Be5 Rf8 24. Rd2 g6 25. Kf1 Rd8 26. Rxd8+ Kxd8 {and White
has no ways of breaking through, Caruana,F (2700)-Kramnik,V (2780)/
Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 (1/2, 44).}) 13... Bc8 $1 {Getting out of the knights
reach in order to create the threat of ...g5. We can notice that the
beautifully placed knight obstructs the own bishop, losing control over the
g5-square.} 14. b3 $146 {An ambitious, but unfortunate novelty.} ({This line
usually leads to a draw by repetition with} 14. Ne2 Be6 {, something that
happened also in Polgar-Karjakin, Khanty Mansiysk 2010.}) 14... g5 15. Ne2 Rg8
{Black has gained space and time. Soon, he will expand his domination in the
centre as well.} 16. a4 $6 {This is just losing time and weakening the
queenside structure.} (16. Bb2 {looks more natural, but it does not improve
White's position greately.} Be6 (16... Bd7 $5) (16... c5 17. Nc3 Be6 18. Nd5
Bxd5 19. Rxd5 g4 $132) 17. Nfd4 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Bd7 {[%cal Gc6c5]} 19. a4 (19.
Re1 Rg6) 19... Rd8 20. Rd3 Bc8 21. Rad1 a6 $5 {Black has regrouped perfectly
and is ready to expulse the enemy knight from d4. Later, the vulnerability of
the white queenside will come to tell, in similar way as in the game.}) 16...
Be6 17. Nfd4 Rd8 $1 {The pin along the d-file allows Black win time in
comparison with the previous variation.} 18. Bb2 Bc8 $15 {White has no active
plan, but faces the permanent danger of being left with a vulnerable queenside.
} 19. Rd3 $6 {This makes things worse, but it is hard to suggest anything
constructive.} c5 20. Nxf5 (20. Nb5 Rxd3 21. cxd3 c6 $17) 20... Bxf5 (20...
Rxd3 $2 21. Nxe7 $18) 21. Rxd8+ Kxd8 22. Rc1 $17 {Sad necessity.} ({The
seemingly more active} 22. Rd1+ Kc8 23. Rd2 {loses big part of the queenside
pawns after} Rd8 $19) 22... Kc8 23. Ng3 Bg6 24. Nf1 g4 $1 {[%cal Ge7g5]
Gaining space with the concrete threat of ...Bg5.} 25. hxg4 hxg4 26. Bc3 Rd8 $1
{Preparing ...Bg5.} (26... Bg5 {is premature because of} 27. Bd2 $1 $15) 27.
Ne3 Bg5 28. Kf1 g3 $1 {Opening a new front of attack, the g-file.} 29. Ke2 gxf2
30. Kxf2 Kd7 $1 {Since Black does not mind the rook swap (which piece is going
to defend c2 after that), now is a good moment to activate the king.} 31. Rd1+
Ke6 32. Rxd8 (32. Rc1 Be4 33. Ke2 Rg8 $19) 32... Bxd8 33. Bb2 Bg5 34. c4 Be4
35. g3 a5 36. Nd5 ({White cannot hold the opposite bishops ending after} 36.
Ke2 Bxe3 37. Kxe3 Bc2 38. Kd2 Bxb3 39. Kd3 Bxa4 40. Bc3 b6 41. Ke3 Bb3 42. Kd3
a4 43. Bb2 c6 $19 {[%cal Gb6b5]}) 36... Bxd5 37. cxd5+ Kxd5 {This also is
hopeless.} 38. Kf3 c6 39. Kg4 Be3 40. Bc3 b6 41. Kf5 Bd4 42. Be1 Bxe5 43. g4
Bd4 0-1

[Event "FIDE World Cup"]
[Site "Baku"]
[Date "2015.09.15"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Sargissian, Gabriel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2758"]
[BlackElo "2679"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2015.09.11"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "AZE"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 169"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.11.10"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.11.10"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 {
One of those lines in which it is more pleasant to play with White, but
leading to a draw in most cases. Black will need to spend some time to clear
the path for the c8-bishop and one of White's main hopes is getting the bishop
pair with chances for a persistent, even though many times symbolic, endgame
advantage. It is hard to prove an advantage right out of the opening, but
players with good technical skills may hope to win a game once in a while.}
Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 {Speaking of White's intention to exchange the knight
for one of the enemy bishops.} ({More popular but not really effective is} 9.
d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. c3 {Carlsen,M (2870)-Anand,V (2775) Chennai 2013 CBM
158 [Szabo,Kr] (1/2-1/2, 33)}) 9... Ne8 ({A few days later Vachier faced} 9...
Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. Nd5 (11. d4 $5 {is also interesting} Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Bxd4 13.
Bf4 Ne8 14. Nd5 $44 {Kravtsiv,M (2565)-Kryvoruchko,Y (2692) Jerusalem 2015 (1/
2-1/2, 24)}) 11... Rxe1 12. Qxe1 b6 13. d3 Bb7 14. Nxf6+ Qxf6 {White has
exchanged the other bishop from that in our main game. At the moment, Black's
superior development and lack of weaknesses seems to fully compensate for the
bishop pair, but if he does not achieve anything concrete White will be better
in the long run, as actually happened in the game.} 15. Qb4 Nf5 16. c3 Re8 17.
Bd2 c5 18. Qf4 h6 19. Re1 Rxe1 20. Bxe1 d6 21. h4 $5 {An interesting pawn
sacrifice.} g6 (21... Nxh4 22. Qxf6 gxf6 23. Bd2 $14 {[%cal Gd2f4]}) 22. Bd2 h5
23. Qa4 a6 24. Qd7 Qe7 25. Qxe7 Nxe7 26. Bf4 Nf5 27. f3 $14 {Black has not
done anything really wrong, but we can feel the aforementioned trend: White
has obtained a very pleasant ending. True, in Vachier Lagrave,M (2744)-So,W 
(2773) Baku 2015 (1/2-1/2, 41) he did not manage to get the full point.}) 10.
Nd5 Bd6 11. Re1 ({More natural than} 11. Re2 {White has little chance to speed
up doubling his rooks on the e-file, while blocking the queen's access to f3
encourages Black to start active play with ...f7-f5.} c6 12. Ne3 Bc7 13. Nf5 d5
14. Ne7+ Kh8 15. Nxc8 Rxc8 16. d3 f5 17. g3 Qf6 $11 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2766)
-Giri,A (2750) Biel 2014 CBM 162 [Sagar Shah] (1-0, 61)}) 11... c6 12. Ne3 Bc7
({This gives up the control of the e7-square, but} 12... Be7 {has other
drawbacks: the bishop is hanging in some lines, allowing White to gain space
in the centre:} 13. c4 Nc7 (13... d5 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Nxd5 $14 {wins a pawn
since Black cannot trap the enemy rook easily:} Qxd5 16. Rxe7 Be6 17. b3 b6 18.
Bb2 Qd6 19. Qf3 $16) 14. d4 d6 (14... d5 15. cxd5 Bb4 {The only way to avoid a
somewhat inferior position with symmetrical structure.} 16. Bd2 Bxd2 17. Qxd2
Nxd5 18. Nxd5 Qxd5 19. Re5 Qd6 20. Bc4 $14 {[%csl Gc8,Gf7][%cal Ga1e1]}) 15. g3
Bf6 16. Bg2 g6 17. Qd3 d5 18. cxd5 cxd5 19. b3 Be6 20. a4 $14 {Karjakin,S 
(2762)-Aronian,L (2784) Skopje 2015 (1/2-1/2, 40), White is more active, even
though Black's position is hard to break.}) 13. Nf5 d5 14. Ne7+ Kh8 15. Nxc8
Rxc8 {White has achieved his opening aim, but the light-squared bishop is
restricted by the central pawns. In order to endanger Black's position it is
necessary to exchange most of or all major pieces, in order to attack the
Achilles heel with Bc8. But that is not easy to achieve.} 16. d3 (16. g3 Nd6
17. Bh3 f5 {Nakamura,H (2772)-Carlsen,M (2862) Saint Louis 2013 CBM 157 
[Ramirez Alvarez] (½-½, 32), where it gradually solved Black's problems.})
16... Qf6 ({A few weeks later Vachier did not achieve anything after the more
ambitious} 16... f5 17. Qf3 Nf6 18. Bf4 Bxf4 19. Qxf4 Qc7 20. Qxc7 Rxc7 21. d4
g6 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2758)-Kryvoruchko,Y (2710) Berlin (rapid) 2015 (1/2-1/2,
31)}) 17. Qg4 Nd6 {The fastest way to start fighting for the only open file.} (
17... Bb6 18. Re2 Nc7 {is slower but more harmonious, since the knight is
heading for the optimal e6-square.} 19. c3 Rce8 20. Qg5 Qxg5 21. Bxg5 Rxe2 22.
Bxe2 Re8 23. Kf1 Ne6 24. Bd2 Bc7 25. g3 g6 26. b4 $14 {Guseinov,G (2621)
-Bacrot,E (2702) Fujairah 2012 (½-½, 30), This ending looks pleasant for
White, but the game ended in a draw without any special problems for Black.})
18. c3 Rce8 19. Bf4 $5 $146 {After Black's inaccuracy on move 21, the pin
created by this bishop will play an important part.} (19. Bd2 {led to an
uneventful draw:} Kg8 20. Qg5 Qxg5 21. Bxg5 Rxe1 22. Rxe1 Re8 23. Rxe8+ Nxe8
24. Be3 a6 25. f4 f5 26. g3 Kf7 27. Kf2 Nf6 28. Kf3 g6 {Van Delft,M (2424)
-Klein,D (2489) Wijk aan Zee 2013 (1/2-1/2, 42)}) 19... Re6 20. g3 (20. Rxe6 {
is premature because of} fxe6 $1 {[%csl Gf2]} 21. Be3 e5 $132) 20... Rfe8 21.
Rxe6 Qxe6 $2 {Black must have completely lost the feel for danger, especially
that the line is considered to have a drawish character.} (21... fxe6 $6 {
is less convenient under the changed circumstances. After} 22. Re1 e5 23. Qh5
Nf7 24. d4 $14 {Black comes under a unpleasant system of pins.}) ({But} 21...
Rxe6 $1 {[%csl Gb2,Gf2] offeres good chances for equalising completely. The
main point is that the black queen exerts some X-ray pressure against f2 and
b2, thus preventing the thematic opening of the centre with c3-c4.}) 22. Qxe6
Rxe6 23. c4 $1 $16 {Suddenly Black has concrete problems. His pieces lack
harmony and the light-squared bishop is threatening to become active.} dxc4 (
23... d4 24. c5 {[%csl Gb7]} Ne8 25. Bh3 Re7 26. Bd2 Nf6 27. Bc8 b6 28. Rc1 b5
29. Re1 {[%csl Gc6] is hopeless for Black.}) (23... Ne8 24. cxd5 cxd5 25. Be3
Bb6 26. Bh3 Re7 (26... Rd6 27. Rc1 $16) (26... Rc6 $2 27. Bd7 $18) 27. Bxb6
axb6 28. Rc1 $16 {Black has problems defending his weaknesses against White's
better coordinated pieces.}) 24. dxc4 Ne8 $6 {This passive retreat makes
things worse.} (24... Bb6 25. Rd1 Ne4 {is more active and offers better
chances for surviving.} 26. Be3 g6 27. Bxb6 axb6 28. Rd7 Nd6 29. f4 {Preparing
b2-b4.} (29. b4 {is premature due to} c5 30. bxc5 bxc5 31. Bg2 $6 Re1+) 29...
Kg7 (29... c5 30. b3 $16 {[%cal Gf1g2,Gg2h3]}) 30. b4 c5 31. bxc5 bxc5 32. Bg2
$16 {for instance} b6 33. Bd5 Rf6 34. a4) 25. Bxc7 Nxc7 26. Rd1 {White's
attack is decisive already.} Re7 27. Rd8+ Ne8 (27... Re8 28. Rd7 $18) 28. Bh3
Kg8 29. Ra8 g6 (29... a6 30. Bc8 Kf8 31. Rb8 $18) 30. Rxa7 {White has won a
pawn and retains the initiative.} Nd6 31. c5 Nb5 32. Ra4 Nc7 33. Rd4 f5 34. Bf1
Kf8 35. Bc4 Re1+ 36. Kg2 Ke7 37. Bg8 Re4 38. Rd2 h5 39. Rd6 g5 40. Rg6 g4 41.
Rg7+ Kd8 42. Rg5 Re8 43. Bc4 1-0

[Event "World Cup"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2009.11.21"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Negi, Parimarjan"]
[Black "Milov, Vadim"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2620"]
[BlackElo "2652"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2009.11.21"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 134"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.01.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.01.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. h3 Bd7 11. b3 a5 ({Deviating from a recent game at
top level, which went} 11... Kc8 {Svidler,P (2754)-Ponomariov,R (2739)/Moscow
2009/CBM 133/[Marin,M] (1/2, 31)}) 12. Bb2 Kc8 13. Rad1 b6 14. a4 Ne7 15. Rfe1
c5 16. Ne2 $146 {White takes the f4-square under control in advance, preparing
to meet the inevitable black next move with the advance of the h-pawn.} (16.
Ne4) (16. Nd2) 16... Ng6 17. h4 Bg4 18. Nh2 Bf5 19. h5 Ne7 20. Rd2 Rg8 21. Nf4
Be6 22. c4 $14 {White has managed to consolidate his space advantage.} Kb7 23.
Nxe6 fxe6 24. Rd7 Nc6 25. Re4 Re8 26. Rg4 Kc8 27. Rd3 Ne7 28. Kf1 Nf5 29. Nf3
Rd8 30. Ke2 Be7 31. Rg6 Rxd3 32. Kxd3 Rd8+ 33. Ke2 Bf8 34. Rxe6 Ne7 35. Nh4 Kd7
36. Rg6 Nxg6 37. Nxg6 Ke8 38. f4 Be7 39. g4 c6 40. Bc3 Kf7 41. e6+ Kxe6 42.
Bxg7 Bf6 43. Bxh6 Kf7 44. Bg5 Re8+ 45. Kf3 Bd4 46. Be7 b5 47. f5 bxa4 48. bxa4
Rb8 49. h6 Rb3+ 50. Ke4 Rc3 51. g5 Rxc4 52. Ne5+ Bxe5+ 53. Kxe5 Kxe7 54. h7 Rh4
55. g6 1-0

[Event "Olympiad-39"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2010.10.03"]
[Round "11.2"]
[White "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Black "Bruzon Batista, Lazaro"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2705"]
[BlackElo "2679"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "165"]
[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 "US of America"]
[BlackTeam "Cuba"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "CUB"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 $5 {Possibly intended as a tricky move order.} (9. Nc3 Ke8
10. h3 h5 {offers Black good counterplay, as examined in the notes to Timofeev,
A (2690)-Pashikian,A (2639)/Khanty-Mansiysk 2010/CBM 139/[Marin] (0-1, 43)})
9... h6 ({To tell the truth, I cannot see why Black could not play} 9... h5 $5
$146 {here, too. In any case, in practice this has never been tried.}) 10. Rd1+
Ke8 11. Nc3 Ne7 {The idea of this manoeuvre has been introduced in grandmaster
practice by Zoltan Almasi, many years ago. Black anticipates the threat of
g2-g4 and transfers the knight to a more stable square. Truly in the spirit of
the Berlin defence, where Black usually plays being several tempos behind in
development.} 12. b3 (12. Nd4 {leads to simplifications, allowing Black set up
a safe blockade on light squares.} Ng6 13. f4 Bc5 14. Be3 h5 15. Nce2 Ne7 16.
Bf2 Bxd4 17. Nxd4 Nf5 18. Nf3 Be6 19. b3 (19. g4 hxg4 20. hxg4 Nh6 $15 21. f5
$2 Bd5 $17) 19... b6 20. Rd2 Rd8 21. Rad1 Rxd2 22. Rxd2 h4 $11 {Brenjo,S (2495)
-Pashikian,A (2663)/Novi Sad 2009/CBM 133 (1/2, 36)}) (12. Be3 {has been a
World Champions' favourite, but does not look too threatening.} Ng6 13. a3 Be7
14. Rd2 h5 (14... a6 15. Re1 Nh4 {Kramnik,V (2754)-Anand,V (2786)/Monte Carlo
2005/CBM 105 ext (1/2, 24)}) 15. Re1 h4 $13 {Anand,V (2788)-Landa,K (2600)/
Germany 2005/CBM 111/[Postny] (1-0, 62)}) 12... Ng6 13. Ne2 Be7 (13... a5 14.
a4 Bf5 15. Nfd4 Bd7 {Black's play in this game is very instructive. With
apparently passive moves, he slowly regroups, trying to catch up in
development. If White will not find a constructuve way of opening the position
before Black achieves his aim, the advantage will be Black's.} 16. Ng3 h5 (
16... Nxe5 $2 17. Re1 $18) 17. Ne4 Be7 (17... Nxe5 $6 18. Re1 $36 {is
precisely the kind of things Black should avoid.}) 18. Re1 Kf8 19. Ng5 Kg8 20.
Ndf3 $6 {Missing the only chance to open the position.} (20. e6 fxe6 21. Ndxe6
Bf6 22. Rb1 {or}) (20. Nxf7 Kxf7 21. e6+ Bxe6 22. Nxe6 {offered chances for an
advantage.}) 20... Nf8 $1 {Everything is rock solid now.} 21. Be3 c5 22. Rad1
Bf5 23. Re2 h4 24. Ne1 b6 25. Ngf3 Ne6 26. Red2 Kh7 27. Rd7 Rhe8 $15 {Once
Black has completed his regrouping, he can start enjoying his positional
advantage, consisting of the vulnerability of the white queenside and of the
space advantage on the other wing, Wang Zili (2580)-Wu Wenjin (2570)/HeiBei
2001/EXT 2002 (0-1, 49)}) 14. Bb2 h5 $5 $146 {Even with the loss of a tempo,
the advance of the h-pawn is effective.} (14... c5 {Swicarz,M (2268)-Garrido
Dominguez,J (2341)/Olomouc 2006/CBM 113 ext (1-0, 48)}) 15. a4 a5 16. c4 h4 17.
Bc3 c5 18. Bd2 Bf5 19. Nc3 {[%cal Gc3d5]} c6 {[%csl Gd6] Black restricts the
enemy knight, reckoning with the fact that his opponent will need a lot of
time to take advantage of the weakness of the d6-square.} (19... Bc2 20. Rdc1
Bxb3 $2 21. Nd5 Bd8 22. Ra3 $18) (19... Nf8 20. Nd5 Ne6 $11) 20. Re1 Rd8 21.
Ne4 b6 22. Re3 Be6 23. Bc3 Rh5 24. Nd6+ Kd7 $1 {The king is transferred to the
wing that needs its protection most.} 25. Rd1 Kc7 $11 {It is very hard to
immagine how any of the players could make progress in this position. The next
phase of the game is a clear illustration of this, but then things will become
hectic at White's wish.} 26. Kf1 Rhh8 27. Rde1 Rh5 28. Re4 Rhh8 29. Nh2 Rhg8
30. Nf3 Rh8 31. Bb2 Rh7 32. R1e3 Rhh8 33. Bc3 Rh7 34. Ke2 Rh5 35. Kf1 Rh7 36.
Re2 Rh5 37. Rd2 Rh7 38. Re1 Rh5 39. Red1 Rhh8 40. Ne4 $6 $15 {White finally
decides to undertake something concrete, obviously unhappy with a draw by
mutual boring. However, allowing the rooks' excchange will leave his queenside
in danger.} Rxd2 41. Rxd2 Rd8 42. Nfg5 Bf5 43. Ke2 Rxd2+ 44. Kxd2 Kd7 45. Ke3
Bxg5+ 46. Nxg5 Bc2 $1 {Picking up the gauntlet and rightly so.} (46... Ke7 47.
Ne4 Ke6 $11) 47. Nxf7 Bxb3 48. Nd6 Bxa4 49. f4 Ne7 $6 {The advance of the
f-pawn is imminent, but the e7-square is very unfortunate, as we will see.} (
49... Bc2 50. f5 Nf8 51. Kf4 a4 52. Kg5 a3 53. Kxh4 Bxf5 $1 (53... g6 $5 {
[%csl Ge6]}) 54. Nxf5 b5 $17 {The advance of the queenside pawns will retrieve
material with interest.}) 50. f5 b5 ({In case of} 50... Bc2 51. Kf4 a4 {
White has the unexpected resource} 52. e6+ $1 Kd8 (52... Kxd6 $2 53. Be5# {
This is where the knight's misplacement becomes obvious.}) 53. Bxg7 $18) 51.
Bxa5 Bc2 52. Kf4 bxc4 53. Kg5 Bd3 54. Be1 $16 {Play has become one-sided now.}
Nd5 55. Nb7 Ke7 56. Bxh4 c3 57. Nxc5 Bf1 58. Kg6+ Kf8 59. Bg5 Bxg2 60. h4 c2
61. f6 gxf6 62. exf6 Nxf6 63. Kxf6 Kg8 64. h5 Kh7 65. h6 Bd5 66. Bc1 Bc4 67.
Ke5 Bd5 68. Kd4 Bf7 69. Ne4 Kg6 70. Kc3 Be6 71. Nd6 Bg8 72. Kxc2 Bh7 73. Kc3
Kf6 74. Kd4 Ke6 75. Kc5 Bd3 76. Kxc6 Kf6 77. Kd7 Kg6 78. Ke7 Bb1 79. Nf7 Bc2
80. Ne5+ Kh7 81. Nd7 Bd3 82. Nf6+ Kg6 83. h7 1-0

[Event "Abu Dhabi op 14th"]
[Site "Abu Dhabi"]
[Date "2004.08.21"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Dzhumaev, Marat"]
[Black "Kayumov, Sergey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2520"]
[BlackElo "2404"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "129"]
[EventDate "2004.08.14"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 103"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2004.11.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2004.11.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bg5 Be7 7. Bxe7 Nxe7 8.
dxe5 Nxb5 9. a4 d5 10. axb5 Bg4 11. h3 Bh5 12. Nc3 O-O 13. Qd3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 f6
15. e6 Qd6 16. Rfe1 f5 17. Ne2 a6 18. bxa6 Rxa6 19. Rxa6 Qxa6 20. Nf4 Qd6 21.
h4 c6 22. Qg3 Re8 23. Qg5 h6 24. Qg3 Kh7 25. c3 Ra8 26. Qf3 Ra4 27. b4 c5 28.
Rd1 cxb4 29. Nxd5 Nxd5 30. Qxf5+ Kh8 31. Qxd5 Qxd5 32. Rxd5 Ra1+ 33. Kh2 Re1
34. cxb4 Rxe6 35. Rb5 b6 {A typical ending where besides his material
advantage (an extra pawn on the king side) White has the more active rook.
Besides, with his next move he will win space on the king side. White's win
will never be put under doubt in any moment. Ein typisches Endspiel, wo Weiß
neben seinem Materialvorteil (ein Mehrbauer am Königsflügel) auch noch den
aktiveren Turm hat. Zudem wird er mit seinem nächsten Zug Raum am Königsflügel
gewinnt. Der Sieg des Anziehenden steht zu keinem Moment in Zweifel.} 36. h5
Kg8 37. Kg3 Rf6 38. f3 Kf7 39. Kg4 {Both sides aim to activate their kings,
but White has better prospects of centralisation, since the black king cannot
cross the 5th rank. This is a first consequence of having the more active rook.
Beide Seiten trachten danach, ihre Könige zu aktivieren, aber Weiß hat bei der
Zentralisierung die besseren Aussichten, da der schwarze Monarch die fünfte
Reihe nicht überschreiten kann. Dies ist eine erste Konsequenz., wenn man den
aktiveren Turm hat.} Rc6 40. Kf5 Ke7 41. g4 Kd7 42. Re5 Rf6+ 43. Ke4 Kd6 44.
Rf5 Re6+ 45. Kd4 Re7 46. Rf8 {[%csl Yb6,Yg7] In the next phase, the rook will
try to create threats on both wings, but Black will easily defend. In der
nächsten Phase wird der Turm versuchen, Drohungen auf beiden Flügel
aufzustellen, aber Schwarz wehrt diese leicht ab.} Kc6 47. Kc4 Rd7 48. Rf5 Re7
49. Kd4 Kd6 50. f4 {The right plan. White makes further progress on the king
side. Der richtige Plan. Weiß macht weitere Fortschritte am Königsflügel.} Ra7
51. Rd5+ Ke6 52. Rd8 Rc7 53. Re8+ Kd7 54. Rb8 Kc6 55. Ke5 Kb5 56. g5 hxg5 57.
fxg5 Rd7 (57... Kxb4 58. Rxb6+ {is hopeless for Black, since his king will not
be able to defend the king side. ist hoffnungslos für Schwarz, da sein König
von der Verteidigung des Königsflügels abgeschnitten ist.}) 58. Kf5 Rc7 59. Kg6
Rd7 60. Rg8 {The direct consequence of the advantage in space is that Black's
queen side counterplay will be too slow. Die direkte Konsequent des
Raumvorteils ist, dass das schwarze Gegenspiel am Damenflügel zu langsam sein
wird.} Kxb4 61. Rxg7 Rd6+ 62. Kh7 Rd5 63. h6 Kc5 64. g6 Kc6 65. Rf7 1-0

[Event "World Cup"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2007.11.30"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Jakovenko, Dmitrij"]
[Black "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2710"]
[BlackElo "2691"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "203"]
[EventDate "2007.11.24"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 122"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2008.01.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.01.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. h3 Be7 $5 {Almost a novelty.} (10... h6 {is
authomatically played here. The main line goes} 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1
Ne7 14. Nd4 {Dominguez Perez,L (2678)-Eljanov,P (2686)/Foros 2007/CBM 119/
[Marin,M] (1/2-1/2, 61)} (14. Rfe1 $5 {Adams,M (2729)-Georgiev,K (2649)/Kemer
2007/CBM 121/[Marin,M] (1-0, 72)})) 11. Rd1 $146 (11. Ne4 b6 12. Rd1 Kc8 13. a4
Nh4 (13... c5 $5) 14. Nxh4 Bxh4 15. Bg5 $14 {Zapata,A (2543)-Cuartas,C (2292)/
Cali 2003/CBM 095 ext (1-0)}) 11... Kc8 12. Bg5 $1 {Almasi probably considered
the exchange of bishops not to be too dangerous. However, the further course
of the game will show that, even if Black's position seems to be OK, the
absence of the dark-squared bishops makes the danger of transposing to an
ending with a white N vs a black B, with a stable advantage for White is quite
big.} h6 {Black plans to transfer his knight to f4.} ({However, he could also
have considered} 12... Bxg5 13. Nxg5 h6 14. Nge4 (14. Nxf7 Re8 $1 $44 {[%csl
Gf7]} (14... Rf8 15. e6 Bxe6 16. Ne5 $14)) 14... b6 15. Rd2 (15. f4 Ne3 16. Rd2
Nc4) 15... c5 16. f4 Bc6 $132 {when the knight seems to be well placed on its
actual location.}) 13. Bxe7 Nxe7 14. Rd2 c5 15. Ne4 b6 16. Ng3 Bc6 17. Nh2 Ng6
18. Re1 Nf4 19. f3 Kb7 20. Kf2 Rad8 21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. Nhf1 {Both sides have
effectuated natural moves and Black continues to have an active position.
However, the pressure exerted over White's position is rather sterile; there
is no way to take advantage of the control of the d-file or of the long
diagonal. Almasi's next move is symptomatic: it is not easy to find a way to
improve Black's position...} g6 23. Ne2 {However, White has a clear "plan": to
trade pieces.} Ne6 24. Ne3 Bb5 25. Nc3 Rd2+ 26. Kg3 Bc6 ({Black would not
achieve anything with} 26... Nd4 {becauseof} 27. Rd1 Rxd1 28. Ncxd1 {
maintaining everything defended. Black's insistence to maintain his initiative
despite the exchange of rooks could lead to trouble, for instance} Ba4 29. c3
$1 (29. b3 {would expose the queenside to further attacks of the bishop.})
29... Ne2+ 30. Kh4 $1 {Not a very natural, but rather strong move. The king
approaches the vulnerable black kingside.} (30. Kf2 Nc1) (30. Kg4 Bd7+) 30...
Nc1 31. Nf2 $1 (31. a3 $2 Nd3 $17) 31... Nxa2 32. Nfg4 {and suddenly the
entire black kingside is in danger, while the creation of a queenside passed
pawn will be rather consuming.}) 27. Rd1 Rd4 28. Kf2 Kc8 29. Ne2 Rxd1 30. Nxd1
Nd4 31. c3 Kd7 ({I assume that the real move order was} 31... Nxe2 32. Kxe2 Kd7
33. Ne3) 32. Ne3 Nxe2 33. Kxe2 $14 {Now, play takes a one sided character.
White has an extra-pawn on the kingside, while Black cannot create a passed
pawn on the other wing.} Ke6 34. f4 g5 35. g3 Be4 36. Ng4 gxf4 37. gxf4 h5 ({
Black's attempt to remain active does not promisse him easy life. For instance
} 37... Bf5 38. Kf3 (38. Nxh6 Bxh3 {would simplify Black's defence.}) 38... h5
39. Nf2 Bb1 40. a3 Kd5 41. h4 Bf5 (41... Kc4 {leads nowhere because of} 42. Ne4
$1 Kb3 $2 43. Nd2+ Kxb2 44. Nxb1 Kxb1 45. f5 $18) 42. Ke3 a5 43. Ne4 $1 Bg6 (
43... Bxe4 44. c4+ $1 $18) 44. Nf6+ Kc4 45. Kd2 a4 ({Or} 45... Kb3 46. Kc1 Kc4
47. Ng8 {[%cal Gg8e7]}) 46. Ne8 Kd5 47. Ke3 (47. Nxc7+ Ke4 $1 $132) 47... Kc4
48. Ng7 {[%cal Gf4f5]} Kb3 49. f5 $1 Bxf5 50. Nxf5 Kxb2 51. Kd2 $1 Kxa3 52. Kc2
b5 53. Nd6 $1 b4 54. cxb4 cxb4 55. Kb1 b3 56. Nxf7 b2 57. Nd8 Kb3 58. Nc6 a3
59. Nd4+ Kc4 60. e6 $18) 38. Nf6 Bg6 39. Kf3 c6 40. Ne8 f5 {Black has built a
fortress, but with two pawns blocked on light squares and structural deffects
on the queenside he has to suffer.} 41. Nd6 h4 42. a4 Bh5+ 43. Ke3 Bd1 44. a5
$1 $16 bxa5 45. c4 Bb3 46. Kd3 Bd1 47. Ke3 Bb3 48. Kd3 Bd1 49. Nb7 Bf3 50.
Nxc5+ Ke7 51. Nb3 Bg2 52. Nd4 Bxh3 53. Nxc6+ Kd7 54. Nd4 Bf1+ 55. Ke3 h3 56.
Nf3 Bxc4 57. Kf2 Bd5 58. Kg3 h2 59. Nxh2 Kc6 60. Nf1 Kc5 61. Kf2 Kd4 62. Ng3
Be6 63. Nh5 Kd3 64. Ng7 Bc8 65. e6 Kc2 66. e7 Bd7 67. Nxf5 Kxb2 68. Nd6 a4 69.
f5 a3 70. f6 a2 71. f7 a1=Q 72. f8=Q Qa2 73. Qf6+ Kc1+ 74. Kg3 Qb3+ 75. Kf4
Qb4+ 76. Ne4 Qb8+ 77. Kg5 Qb5+ 78. Kh4 Qb4 79. Qf4+ Kb2 80. Qe5+ Kb1 81. Kg5 a5
82. Nc3+ Kc2 83. Nd5 Qb5 84. Kh6 a4 85. Qe4+ Kb2 86. Qd4+ Kc2 87. Ne3+ Kb3 88.
Qd1+ Kc3 89. Nd5+ Kc4 90. Ne3+ Kc3 91. Qc2+ Kd4 92. Qd2+ Ke4 93. Nc4 Qd5 $2 ({
As pointed out by Dorian Rogozenco, Black could have achieved a draw here with
} 93... Qb8 94. Qxd7 ({or} 94. Nd6+ Ke5 95. Qe3+ Kf6 96. Ne4+ Kf5 $1) 94...
Qh8+ 95. Kg5 (95. Kg6 Qg8+ 96. Kf6 Qh8+ 97. Ke6 Qh6+) 95... Qg7+ 96. Kh4 Qf6+
97. Kg4 (97. Kg3 Qf3+) 97... Qf4+ 98. Kh5 Qf7+ 99. Kg5 Qg7+ $11) 94. Qe3+ Kf5
95. Qg5+ Ke4 96. Qe3+ Kf5 97. Qg5+ Ke4 98. Qg6+ Kd4 99. Nb6 Qh1+ 100. Kg7 Bc6
101. Qd6+ Ke3 102. Nd5+ 1-0

[Event "Morelia/Linares 24th"]
[Site "Morelia/Linares"]
[Date "2007.02.22"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Morozevich, Alexander"]
[Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2741"]
[BlackElo "2750"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2007.02.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 117"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2007.03.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2007.03.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. h3 Kc8 11. b3 Be7 12. Bb2 h5 13. Rad1 a5 14. a4 b6
15. Ne2 c5 16. Nf4 Bc6 17. Nd5 Kb7 18. c4 Rad8 19. Rd2 h4 20. Rfd1 Rde8 {
Each side has fulfilled its programmed tasks and the position can be evaluated
as equal. The game will end in a draw in a rather uneventful way.} 21. Re1 Bd8
22. Re4 Kc8 23. Kf1 Bd7 24. Rde2 Rh7 25. Bc1 Rhh8 26. Bb2 Rh7 27. Ke1 Rh6 28.
Kd1 Rg6 29. Nf4 Rh6 30. Nd5 Rg6 31. Ke1 Rh6 32. Kf1 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates sf"]
[Site "Elista"]
[Date "2007.05.29"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Malakhov, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2717"]
[BlackElo "2679"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2007.05.27"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 119"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2007.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 {A double surprize.
Malakhov not only refrains from his favourite Sicilian (which had led him to
defeat in the first game of the match) but also deviates from the highly
fashionable Berlin Defence.} 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. dxe5 Nb7 {This is the
starting point of the so-called Brazilian Variation, a really ancient setup.
About one century ago, it was famously submitted to intense theoretical and
practical discussion on the occasion of the match Lasker-Tarrasch. With his
characteristic dogmatism, Tarrasch could not agree that moving around with the
same knight would be a viable plan. However, the variation suited Lasker's
style perfectly well: Black tempts White to launch a premature attack in order
to take advantage of the weakneses left behind. We can already notice such a
relative weakness: the e5-pawn has left the f5- and d5-squares insufficiently
well defended, while Black enjoys the prospect of installing one of his minor
pieces on the stable e6-square. For the sake of truth, it should be said that
the general score in this opening was in Tarrasch' favour (+1). In modern
times, the variation has never been too popular, although some strong players
occasionally employed it in the 70s. In 1981, Korchnoi made an attempt to
rehabilitate it on the occasion of his Wch match against Karpov. His position
after the opening was acceptable, but he eventually lost, which (possibly
prematurely) put an end to the whole story.} 9. Nd4 ({Karpov preferred} 9. Nc3
O-O 10. Rd1 {which is the main alternative to Grischuk's optically more
aggressive choice.}) 9... O-O 10. Nc3 Bc5 11. Rd1 {Generally speaking, the
other rook belongs here, but for concrete reasons this move should be
preferred here.} ({The more natural} 11. Be3 {will imply weakening the own
position with a further f4.} Qe8 (11... Re8 12. f4 d6 {is also good.}) 12. f4
d5 13. Rae1 Bb6 14. Nb3 f6 {Marco & Schlechter-Charousek & allies/Vienna 1897 
(1-0/0-1, 45/61)}) 11... Re8 12. Bf4 (12. Nxc6 $2 Qh4 $1 13. g3 Qh3 14. Nd4 d6
$36) 12... Bxd4 13. Rxd4 d5 {An important position. Optically, White has the
more active position. However, Black only needs a couple of tempi in order to
organize his apparently uncoordinated army. The bishop should go to f5 and the
knight to e6, eventually followed by central expansion. White should divide
his attention between two possible plans. The kingside attack should not be
too dangerous in itself, but it could distract part of Black's forces. This
should (hopefully) allow White to block the central pawns on their actual
squares (preferably, with Nc5). We can see that the position is quite complex.}
14. b4 {White immediately declares his intention to block the enemy pawns, but
now he will face the permanent danger of ...a5.} (14. Bg3 Nc5 (14... Nd6 15.
exd6 $5 Rxe2 16. dxc7 Qe7 17. Nxe2 $44 Qxe2 18. Rb4 a5 19. Rb8 Qa6 20. Re1 $36)
15. Qh5 (15. b4 Ne6 16. Rh4 {Klovans,J-Yudovich,M/Moscow 1966/MCD (1-0, 43)} a5
$1 $132) 15... Ne6 (15... Qd7 16. Re1 Qf5 {1/2-1/2 Huebner,R (2600)-Portisch,L
(2630)/Tilburg 1988/CBM 009}) 16. Rh4 $6 (16. Rd2 $10) 16... h6 17. f4 Nd4 18.
Bf2 Nf5 (18... Nxc2 $2 19. Rd1 $44) 19. Rh3 g6 20. Qe2 h5 21. Bc5 $2 (21. Qd2)
21... Ng7 22. Rg3 h4 23. Rd3 (23. Re3 Ne6 24. Na4 Nxf4 $17) 23... Ba6 24. Qg4
Bxd3 25. cxd3 Nf5 26. Re1 a5 27. b3 Rb8 $15 {1/2-1/2 Gheorghiu,F-Filip,M/
Moscow 1967/MCL/[Dolmatov]}) (14. Qh5 {According to Dr. Tarrasch' views, this
move cannot be too dangerous: White moves with the queen for the second time
along the same diagonal before having completed his development. However, in
practice this line has been seen quite frequently.} Qd7 {[%cal Yd7f5] This
slightly unnatural move is almost authomatically played.} ({However,} 14... Nc5
$5 {[%cal Yc5e6] deserves serious attention.} 15. Bg5 Rxe5 16. f4 Rf5 17. g4
Qe8 $132) 15. Rd2 (15. b4 Nd8 16. Rd2 Ne6 17. Be3 a5 18. Qh4 Qd8 19. Qg4 f5 $1
20. Qxf5 $2 axb4 21. Ne2 c5 $17 {Markovic,M (2575)-Piket,J (2605)/Elista 1998/
CBM 066 ext (0-1, 39)}) 15... Qf5 (15... Nd8 $5 {[%cal Rd8e6]} 16. Ne4 Qe7 $1 {
[%csl Gc5]}) 16. Qxf5 Bxf5 17. Ne2 Nc5 18. f3 (18. Nd4 Ne6 19. Be3 Nxd4 20.
Bxd4 $14) 18... Ne6 19. Bg3 a5 20. Rc1 Reb8 21. c3 a4 22. Bf2 h5 23. h3 Ra5 24.
g4 hxg4 25. hxg4 Bh7 26. Nd4 Nxd4 27. cxd4 Rab5 $132 {Benjamin,J (2545)-Sharif,
M/Cannes 1989/TD (1/2-1/2, 38)}) 14... a6 ({Now that the b4-square has been
occupied by a pawn,} 14... Nd6 {does not allow the queen sacrifice anymore.
However, Malakhov's move is better from the point of view of long term
planning. He stabilizes the queenside situation (by preventing b5) and
prepares the transfer of the knight to e6.}) 15. Qd2 $146 (15. Qh5 Qd7 16. Rad1
Qf5 17. Qxf5 Bxf5 18. R4d2 Nd8 19. Ne2 Ne6 20. Be3 a5 21. a3 axb4 22. axb4 Ra2
23. c3 Rxd2 24. Rxd2 {1/2-1/2 Smrcka,F-Yudovich,M/corr 1969/Corr 2000}) 15...
Qe7 16. Bg3 Nd8 17. Rh4 ({It could seem more logical to complete the
development first with} 17. Re1 {[%csl Ge5]} Ne6 ({White's aproach would be
entirely justified after the careless} 17... Bf5 $6 18. Bh4 $1 Qd7 19. Bxd8
Raxd8 20. Na4 $16) 18. Rh4 a5 (18... Nf8) 19. b5 (19. a3 axb4 20. axb4 Ba6 21.
f4 f5 $1 $132) 19... d4 (19... cxb5 20. Nxd5 $40) 20. Ne2 cxb5 21. Nxd4 Nxd4
22. Rxd4 Be6 $11) 17... Bf5 18. Ne2 Ne6 {Black has completed his regroupment
and has a nice position. With his bishop rather passively placed on g3, White
will not be able to maintain the control of the c5-square.} 19. Nd4 Nxd4 20.
Rxd4 a5 21. c3 Be6 22. Bh4 Qf8 23. Rc1 c5 24. bxc5 Qxc5 $11 {/=/+. Black's
position is easier to play already.} 25. h3 Rab8 26. a4 Rb3 27. Bg5 Reb8 28. c4
dxc4 29. Rd8+ Rxd8 30. Qxd8+ Qf8 31. Rd1 Rb8 32. Qxc7 h6 33. Qxb8 Qxb8 34. Rd8+
Qxd8 35. Bxd8 Bd7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Norway Chess 2nd"]
[Site "Stavanger"]
[Date "2014.06.09"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2771"]
[BlackElo "2881"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2014.06.03"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 161"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.07.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.07.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Bd7 10. Rd1 Be7 11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Nd2 Kc8 14.
Ne4 $146 {aiming to force events.} (14. Nf3 {leads to more consistent play.}
Be7 15. Rd3 h6 16. Nd4 Re8 17. Bf4 c5 18. Nf5 Bf8 19. c4 a6 20. Ne3 b5 21. b3
g5 22. Bg3 Be6 23. Rad1 Kb7 24. h4 Kc6 25. h5 Reb8 26. f3 a5 $132 {Caruana,F 
(2782)-Grischuk,A (2785) Warsaw 2013 (1/2-1/2 , 42). Both sides are well
regrouped and have their achievements on opposite wings.}) 14... b6 15. Bg5
Bxg5 16. Nxg5 h6 17. Nxf7 {The start of a spectacular sequence resulting in
almost complete simplifying.} Re8 18. f4 Be6 19. Nxh6 gxh6 20. f5 Bxf5 (20...
Bd5 21. e6 {looks slightly dangerous for Black. He probably should give away
the bishop with ...Bxe6 anyway, now or in the near future.}) 21. gxf5 Rxe5 22.
Rf1 Kd7 $1 {The king's activity will keep trouble away despite the
"half-a-pawn" disadvantage.} 23. Rad1+ Ke7 24. Rfe1 Kf6 25. Rxe5 Kxe5 26. Rd7
c5 27. Kf2 Rf8 28. Rxc7 Rxf5+ 29. Kg3 Rg5+ 30. Kf2 Rf5+ 31. Ke2 Rh5 32. Rxa7
Rxh3 33. Rb7 Rh2+ 34. Kd3 Kd5 35. Rxb6 Rh3+ 36. Kd2 Rh2+ 37. Kd3 Rh3+ 38. Kd2
Rh2+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tata Steel-A 74th"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2012.01.17"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Navara, David"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2712"]
[BlackElo "2769"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "120"]
[EventDate "2012.01.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 147"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.03.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.03.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 {This reaction to h2-h3 has almost become
the rule lately.} 11. Bg5 Be6 12. Rfd1 (12. Rad1 {Leko,P (2747)-Alekseev,E 
(2715)/Elista 2008/CBM 128/[Kritz] (1/2, 28)}) 12... Be7 13. b3 ({Black can
prevent ...h4 with} 13. g3 {but this weakens the kingside light squares, see
for instance Anand,V (2804)-Kramnik,V (2791)/London 2010/CBM 140/[Kritz] (1/2,
39)}) ({I find} 13. Rd2 {more constructive than the game move, although White
did not achieve much either after} h4 14. Rad1 Rh5 15. Bxe7 Nxe7 16. Nd4 Bd5 {
Robson,R (2560)-Bacrot,E (2710)/Khanty-Mansiysk 2011/CBM 145 (1/2, 26)}) 13...
h4 14. Rd3 ({In the last round, Ivanchuk tried to improve with} 14. Kf1 $146 {
However, Black had easy play:} a5 15. a4 Rh5 16. Bc1 Bb4 17. Ne2 Bd5 18. Ne1
Rd8 $11 {Ivanchuk,V (2766)-Karjakin,S (2769)/Wijk aan Zee 2012/CBM 147 (1/2,
22)}) 14... Rd8 15. Rxd8+ $146 (15. Rad1 Rxd3 16. Rxd3 a5 17. Ne2 Bd5 18. Bxe7
Kxe7 19. Nd2 a4 $132 {Sengupta,D (2572)-Shyam,S (2457)/Aurangabad 2011/CBM 144
Extra (1/2, 43)}) 15... Bxd8 16. Rd1 Be7 {It is interesting to follow the way
both sides maintain the tension. Black does not need to allow Nxg5, while
White avoids the activation of the black king with ...Kxe7.} 17. Bf4 $5 (17.
Bxe7 Kxe7 {would put the e5-pawn in some danger.}) 17... Rg8 18. Ng5 ({It is
interesting to check whether ...g5 was such a threat:} 18. Kf1 g5 19. Bc1 g4
20. hxg4 Rxg4 {White cannot continue his regrouping without allowing some form
of black counterplay:} 21. Bb2 {This weakens the f4-square.} (21. Ne2 {allows
the standard} Bd5 {, when} 22. Ne1 {can be met by the pseudo-sacrifice} Bxg2+
23. Nxg2 h3 24. Nef4 $8 hxg2+ 25. Nxg2 Nd4 $132) 21... h3 $5 22. gxh3 Rf4 23.
Rd3 Nh4 24. Nd4 (24. Ne1 Bc5 25. Nd1 Ng6 $44) 24... Bxh3+ 25. Rxh3 Rxd4 $132 {
In all these lines, Black's pieces are active, while the white pawns are
likely to be blocked soon.}) 18... Bc8 19. Nce4 Rh8 {Hurrying to h5, in order
to question the stability of White's minor pieces.} ({It is interesting to
follow the way in which Karjakin waits for the right moment to play ...c5. For
instance,} 19... c5 {may be premature. After} 20. Nc3 {the only way to prevent
Nd5 would be} c6 {but then the knight could head for d6 with} 21. Nce4 {
A curious line in which one weaknesses provokes another one.}) 20. c4 b6 21.
Nf3 Rh5 22. Kf1 Bd8 $5 {A somewhat mysterious move. The bishops stand well
like this, acting in tandem and leaving the space available for other pieces.
The c7-pawn is well defended, making White forget about e5-e6, while the
manoeuvre ...Ne7-g6 becomes a possibility.} 23. Nfg5 {Let us check how play
could have continued in the event of more neutral moves.} (23. Rd3 Ne7 {
[%cal Ge7g6]} 24. Bg5 Bf5 25. Nfd2 Rxg5 $1 26. Rxd8+ Kxd8 27. Nxg5 Ng6 28.
Nxf7+ Ke7 29. Ng5 Nxe5 {White's majority is not dangerous yet, while the
kingside pawns may become vulnerable.}) (23. Ke2 c5 $1 24. Nc3 Ne7 25. Nd5 Nxd5
26. cxd5 g5 27. Bh2 g4 28. hxg4 Bxg4 $132 {In these lines, it is clear that
White's pieces are vulnerable on light squares.}) ({This leaves us with} 23.
Rd2 $5 {, but I wonder what would White do next if Black does not fall for} Ne7
$6 24. Bg5 $1 {[%csl Gh4]} Bf5 25. Nc3 $16) 23... Be7 (23... c5 $2 24. Nxf7 $1)
24. Nf3 Bd8 25. Nfg5 Be7 26. Rd3 c5 $1 {Finally a good moment for this move,
since the immediate Nc3 is impossible.} 27. Nf3 Bb7 28. Nc3 Bxf3 $1 {A
favourable exchange at the last available moment.} 29. Rxf3 Nd4 30. Rd3 (30.
Re3 Kd7 $15 {[%cal Gd7e6]}) 30... Ne6 (30... Kd7 $2 31. Nb5) 31. Bh2 {Black
has regrouped perfectly. Famously, the knight is the best blocking piece.
White's majority is not easy to promote and the e5-pawn may become a weakness.}
a6 32. f4 c6 33. Kf2 Nd4 34. Ke3 {Preparing to offer the exchange of the
central knight.} (34. Ne4 Kd7 35. b4 Ke6 36. bxc5 bxc5 37. Ra3 Rh8 38. Rxa6 Rb8
$44) (34. Ne2 {does not hreaten to win a pawn because of the possible ...Bc5.}
f6 $5 35. exf6 Bxf6 {with active play for Black.}) 34... Rh6 {[%cal Gh6g6]
Targetting g2.} 35. Ne2 Rg6 36. Nxd4 {This leads to an inferior ending, but
White's life was not easy already.} (36. g4 hxg3 37. Bxg3 (37. Nxg3 Rh6 $1)
37... f6 $5 (37... Nxe2 38. Kxe2) 38. exf6 Bxf6 $132) 36... cxd4+ 37. Kf3 c5
38. g4 (38. f5 $2 Rg5) 38... hxg3 39. Bxg3 f5 $15 {Both sides have a protected
passed pawn, but Black's structure is more compact.} 40. exf6 {Giving up his
main trump, probably fearing that the central pawn would become weak later.} ({
The difference between the structural quality of each side is revealed after} 
40. Bf2 Kf7 41. b4 Rh6 42. Kg2 g5 $15 {From the two pawn breaks, Black's
obviously is the most effective, since Pf4 cannot be supported by a colleague.}
) 40... Rxf6 41. b4 Rh6 42. Kg4 Re6 43. Kf3 g6 44. Bf2 Kd7 45. Ra3 $6 {
Careless.} cxb4 $1 46. Rd3 Bf6 $17 47. Bxd4 $2 {Suicidal.} Rd6 48. Ke3 Bxd4+
49. Rxd4 Rxd4 50. Kxd4 Kd6 $19 51. Kd3 a5 52. a3 bxa3 53. Kc3 Kc5 54. h4 a2 55.
Kb2 Kxc4 56. f5 gxf5 57. h5 f4 58. h6 f3 59. h7 f2 60. h8=Q a1=Q+ $1 (60...
a1=Q+ 61. Kxa1 f1=Q+ 62. Kb2 Qe2+ 63. Kc1 Qe3+ 64. Kc2 Qd3+ 65. Kb2 Qb3+ 66.
Kc1 Qc3+) 0-1

[Event "World-ch Carlsen-Anand +3-1=7"]
[Site "Sochi"]
[Date "2014.11.20"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2863"]
[BlackElo "2792"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[EventDate "2014.11.08"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 164"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.01.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.01.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Nc6 {
[%emt 0:00:05]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 4. O-O {[%emt 0:
00:09]} Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 5. d4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Nd6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 6.
Bxc6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} dxc6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 7. dxe5 {[%emt 0:00:20]} Nf5 {
[%emt 0:00:07]} 8. Qxd8+ {[%emt 0:00:08]} Kxd8 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 9. h3 {[%emt 0:
00:06] This has been Carlsen's constant choice in this match.} Ke8 {[%emt 0:00:
10]} ({In the next Berlin game, Anand deviated with} 9... Bd7 $5 {Carlsen,M 
(2863)-Anand,V (2792) Sochi 2014 CBM 164 [Nielsen,PH] (1-0, 45). From the
course of the game this proved an attempt to level the score and, to a certain
point, quite a consistent one.}) 10. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} h5 {[%emt 0:00:09] A
logical reaction to White's unmasked intentions to gain kingside space with
g2-g4.} ({But the plan of developing the queen's bishop in the fianchetto is
possible without paying attention to the kingside, as in the recent game} 10...
b6 11. Rd1 Bb7 {Grischuk,A (2797)-Andreikin,D (2722) Baku 2014 CBM 163 [Marin,
M] (1/2-1/2, 77)}) 11. Ne2 {[%emt 0:00:37]} ({Carlsen is the first to deviate
from the previous Berlin game, in which, rather non-typically, his opening
preparation was better than Anand's, and quite impressively so!} 11. Bf4 {
Carlsen,M (2863)-Anand,V (2792) Sochi 2014 CBM 164 [Kasimdzhanov,R] (1/2-1/2,
122)}) 11... b6 {[%emt 0:00:59];Caruana,F (2801)-Negi,P (2645) Tromso ol (Men)
41st 2014 (3.1) 1-0 This is a generally useful move in the Berlin Defence.
Black prepares to place his queenside pawns on dark squares in order to
restrict the enemy bishop and ensure the highest mobility of his light-squared
bishop. A good example of what can happen if Black does not stick to this
policy is offered by the game} ({The most popular move in this still not that
heavily explored position is} 11... Be7 12. Re1 (12. Bg5 {Carlsen,M (2772)
-Jakovenko,D (2760) Dortmund 2009 CBM 131 [Mueller,Karsten] (1-0, 49)}) 12...
Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14. Nd4 Be7 15. Bf4 g5 16. Bh2 Rh6 17. Rad1 a6 {[%csl Rb5]
[%cal Gc6c5]} 18. e6 Bxe6 19. Bxc7 c5 20. Nxe6 Rxe6 21. Rxe6 fxe6 22. Be5 $14 {
This is the kind of position which may not be too pleasant to play with Black,
but does not guarantee White very clear winning chances, Sutovsky,E (2642)
-Bacrot,E (2721) Poikovsky 2014 (1/2-1/2, 33). Still, it does not look like
something one would like to get against Carlsen!}) 12. Rd1 {[%emt 0:04:43]
White hurries to take the control over the open file, but this will lead tu
unnatural development.} (12. Bf4 c5 13. Rad1 {looks more harmonious, since the
king's rook basically belongs on e1, but after} Bb7 14. Ng5 Rh6 {Black managed
to regroup in time in McShane,L (2645)-Kramnik,V (2791) London 2010 CBM 140 
[Postny,E] (1/2-1/2, 139)}) ({The main threat created by the last move is
occupying the d4-square with the knight(s). Its immediate occupation would be
premature:} 12. Nfd4 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 c5 $1 14. Nb5 Kd7 $1 {[%cal Gd7c6] This is
why White needs controlling the d-file!}) 12... Ba6 $5 {[%emt 0:02:50]} ({If} 
12... Bb7 13. Nfd4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 {White has some chances of retaining the
initiative.} Be7 (14... c5 $2 15. Nb5 $16) 15. Bf4 (15. Nf5 Bc8 16. Nxe7 Kxe7
17. Bg5+ Ke6 18. g4 hxg4 19. hxg4 Bb7 20. Kg2 c5+ 21. f3 Rh7 $132 {Volokitin,A
(2722)-Hracek,Z (2615) Austria 2013 (1/2-1/2, 31)}) 15... Rd8 16. Nf5 Rxd1+ 17.
Rxd1 Bc8 18. Nxe7 Kxe7 19. Bg5+ Ke6 20. Bd8 Kxe5 21. Bxc7+ Kf5 22. Bb8 a6 23.
Ba7 b5 24. Rd6 Rh6 25. Rd8 Be6 26. b3 Bd5 27. f3 a5 28. Bd4 Re6 {Grischuk,A 
(2763)-Jakovenko,D (2722) Moscow 2012 (1/2-1/2, 87). White retains only a
symbolic advantage based on his active pieces. This should not be enough to
counter-balance the drawish tendency yielded by the opposite bishops.}) 13. Nf4
{[%emt 0:13:35]} ({With the b5-square over-protected,} 13. Ned4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 {
is not dangerous due to} c5 $1 {for instance:} 15. Nf5 Be2 16. Rd2 Bc4 17. Ne3
Be6 18. Nd5 Rc8 19. b3 c6 20. Ne3 Rd8 21. Rxd8+ Kxd8 22. Bb2 g6 23. Rd1+ Kc7
24. f3 Bh6 25. Kf2 a5 26. a4 b5 $132 {Kurnosov,I (2676)-Karjakin,S (2760)
Moscow 2010 CBM 140 [Ftacnik,L] (0-1, 63)}) 13... Bb7 $5 $146 {[%emt 0:06:08]
This aparent loss of time is not without logic. After accomplishing the
mission of avoiding Ned4, the bishop was not doing much on a6, being also
exposed to a4-a5. The last move prepares its activating with a well-timed ...
c6-c5.} (13... Rd8 14. Bd2 (14. Rxd8+ $1 Kxd8 15. e6 fxe6 16. Ne5 $44) 14...
Nd4 (14... Bc8 $5) 15. Nxd4 Rxd4 16. a4 Bc8 (16... g5 $1 {[%csl Rf4][%cal
Ga6e2]} 17. a5 gxf4 18. axb6 axb6 19. Rxa6 Bg7 $11 {[%cal Gd4d1]}) 17. a5 $36 {
Dominguez Perez,L (2726)-Ponomariov,R (2741) Leon 2012 (1-0, 66)}) 14. e6 {
[%emt 0:16:00] White cannot achieve much with such a radical move while his
development is incomplete as yet. But this mainly means that Anand's novelty
was a good antidote to 13.Rd1.} ({If} 14. b3 {, hoping to catch up in
development, Black can start fighting for kingside space:} Be7 15. Bb2 (15. e6
g5 {is similar.}) 15... g5 $1 16. e6 Rh6 $1 (16... f6 $6 17. Ng6 Rh6 18. Nxe7
Nxe7 19. h4 $36 {Black is weak on the dark squares.}) 17. exf7+ Kxf7 18. Ne2 (
18. Ne5+ Kg8) 18... c5 $13) 14... Bd6 {[%emt 0:01:20] The simplest solution.
The best way of maintaining the lead in development is... making a developing
move!} ({Black is not prepared for the over-ambitious} 14... f6 $2 {, hoping
to win the e6-pawn:} 15. Rd7 Bd6 16. Ng6 Rg8 17. Bf4 $1 {Suddenly, Black
cannot hold his position anymore.} Bc8 18. g4 $1 hxg4 19. hxg4 Nh6 20. Bxd6
Bxd7 21. exd7+ Kf7 {The last hope for avoiding material losses:} 22. Bxc7 Kxg6
23. Nd4 $1 Rad8 24. Bxd8 Rxd8 25. Ne6 $18 {Ironically, it is the king's
position that dooms Black. But the king HAD to capture the knight on d6...}) ({
There is no clear refutation to} 14... fxe6 {White surely has a strong
initiative for the pawn, but Black's ability to defend his centre with the
help of the king should not be underestimated, for instance:} 15. Ng6 Rg8 16.
Bf4 c5 17. Ng5 Bd6 18. Rd3 Kd7 19. Rad1 Bd5 (19... h4 $5) 20. b3 Rae8 {Black
has completed his development and the dangers are not too obvious.} 21. c4 Ba8
22. Nf7 (22. g4 Nd4 $15) 22... Nd4 23. Rxd4 {Less effective than it may look
at first sight.} cxd4 24. Rxd4 e5 $3 {A strong defence, clearing the e-file
for the rook.} 25. Bxe5 Kc8 26. Bxd6 (26. Nxd6+ cxd6 27. Bxd6 Re4 {[%cal Gg8d8]
} 28. Rxe4 Bxe4 29. Nf4 Kd7 $15) 26... Re1+ $1 {This is the point! The rook
escapes the fork with gain of time, using the open e-file.} 27. Kh2 cxd6 28.
Nxd6+ Kb8 29. Nf4 h4 $13 {White may be able to prove his compensation for the
exchange, but only Black could play for a win already. WHite will face
problems defending both his wings against the attack of the enemy rook(s).})
15. exf7+ {[%emt 0:10:08]} ({Keeping the tension with} 15. Re1 {could already
be met with} f6 {(not the only move, but quite an ambitious one, endangering
the far advanced pawn).}) 15... Kxf7 {[%emt 0:00:16][%cal Ga8e8,Gh5h4,Gc6c5]
Black is well developed and has a clear plan of strengthening his position.
Little wonder that, behind in development but leading on the score table,
Carlsen decides to force a draw.} 16. Ng5+ {[%emt 0:00:12]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:16]
} 17. Ne4+ {[%emt 0:00:10]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 18. Ng5+ {[%emt 0:01:32] 92}
Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:50]} 19. Ne4+ {[%emt 0:00:12]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 20. Ng5+ {
[%emt 0:00:06]} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Moscow Tal Memorial 4th"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2009.11.10"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2754"]
[BlackElo "2739"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2009.11.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 133"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.11.19"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2009.11.19"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. h3 Bd7 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 c5 14. Nd5 a5
15. a4 c4 16. g4 {If White plans to break with e6, it makes sense to drive the
knight away at once.} ({Here is a concrete justification:} 16. e6 fxe6 17. Nf4
cxb3 18. cxb3 Bd6 19. Ng6 Rg8 20. Nfe5 Be8 21. g4 Bxe5 22. Nxe5 Ne7 23. Rfe1
Nd5 $132 {[%csl Gf4] Stellwagen,D (2605)-Efimenko,Z (2680)/Germany 2008/CBM
126 Extra (1/2, 78). Now that there is a pawn on e6, the knight can safely
land on d5.}) 16... Ne7 17. Nf4 Nc6 $5 $146 {The d5-square is not available
yet and the knight has to move to a less favourable location, in order to open
the diagonal for the undeveloped f8-bishop. The only question is whether it
makes sense to exchange on b3 previously.} (17... cxb3 18. cxb3 Nc6 {was
played in a recent game.} 19. e6 ({Probably Ponomariov feared that White could
make use of the d3-square with} 19. Rd3 {[%cal Gf1d1] and if} Nb4 {then} 20.
Rd2 $14 {, when ...Bb4 is not possible any more.}) 19... fxe6 20. Ne5 Nxe5 21.
Bxe5 Rh7 22. Ng6 Bc5 23. Kg2 Be8 24. Nf4 Bd7 25. Ng6 Be8 {1/2 Adams,M (2682)
-Bacrot,E (2709)/Novi Sad 2009}) 18. e6 fxe6 19. Ng6 Rg8 20. Nfe5 Nxe5 (20...
Be8 $5 {would maintain the tension.} 21. Nxf8 (21. Nxc6 $6 Bxg6 $15 {[%csl Gc2]
}) (21. Rfe1 Nxe5 22. Nxe5 cxb3 23. cxb3 g5 $15) 21... Nxe5 22. Nxe6 Nf3+ 23.
Kg2 Bc6 24. Kg3 g5 25. Nd4 $11) 21. Nxe5 Be8 22. Nxc4 b5 $132 23. axb5 Bxb5 24.
Rd4 a4 25. Ra1 Rb8 26. Ba3 axb3 27. cxb3 Bxc4 28. bxc4 Ra8 29. Bb2 Rxa1+ 30.
Bxa1 Bd6 31. Re4 1/2-1/2

[Event "EU-Cup 23rd"]
[Site "Kemer"]
[Date "2007.10.07"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Georgiev, Kiril"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2729"]
[BlackElo "2649"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "143"]
[EventDate "2007.10.03"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "TUR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 121"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2007.11.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2007.11.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Merida Linex Magic"]
[BlackTeam "Alkaloid"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ESP"]
[BlackTeamCountry "MKD"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. h3 Bd7 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 {In this
highly fashionable position, White has tried several moves.} 14. Rfe1 $5 {
Without being a novelty, this is a rare move, especially at a high level.
However, it looks quite logical to me: White brings the last forces into play,
obtaining a harmonious position. The concrete threat is Nd4 followed by e6,
opening the position before Black completes his development.} (14. Ne2 Ng6 15.
Ng3 (15. Ne1 {Kasparov,G-Kramnik,V/London 2000/CBM 80/[Wedberg] (1/2-1/2, 25)})
15... Nf4 $1 {Shirov,A (2722)-Kramnik,V (2797)/Astana 2001/CBM 084/[Wedberg] 
(1/2-1/2, 41)} (15... c5 {Sharma,D (2385)-Kharlov,A (2639)/Dubai 2001/CBM 083/
[Wedberg] (1/2-1/2, 88)})) (14. Rd2 {Wedberg: 'Doubling up on the d-file seems
to be White's best option against the Bd7-line.'} c5 15. Rfd1 Be6 16. Ne2 g5 {
Anand,V (2794)-Kramnik,V (2797)/Mainz 2001/CBM 084/[Atlas,V] (0-1, 27)} (16...
Ng6 {Grischuk,A (2712)-Marciano,D (2502)/France 2003/CBM 094/[Wedberg] (1-0,
41)})) (14. Nd4 {Dominguez Perez,L (2678)-Eljanov,P (2686)/Foros 2007/CBM 119/
[Marin,M] (1/2-1/2, 61)}) 14... c5 {Denying the knight's access to d4.} (14...
Ng6 $6 15. Nd4 Nf4 16. Nce2 $1 {The fight for the e6-square continues.} Ng6 (
16... Ne6 17. Nxe6 Bxe6 18. Nf4 $14) 17. Nc3 Nf4 18. Nce2 Ng6 19. Nc3 $6 (19.
Ng3 $1 Nf4 20. Re4 Ne6 21. f4 $14) 19... Nf4 {1/2-1/2 Luther,T (2568)-Miles,A 
(2562)/Havana 2001/CBM 084}) 15. Ne2 $146 {White renews the threat of a
central break with Nf4 and e6.} ({Previously, a less logical knight
regroupment has been played (true, not at such a high level):} 15. Nd2 Be6 {
The bishop feels comfortable here now.} 16. Nf1 Kb7 17. g4 $6 h5 18. Ne3 Ng6
19. Ne2 hxg4 20. hxg4 Nh4 21. Rf1 g5 22. f3 Bg7 $36 {Cornette,M (2383)-Rizouk,
A (2442)/Montpellier 2001/EXT 2003 (0-1, 34)}) 15... Ng6 ({The seemingly active
} 15... Bc6 {has the drawback of leaving the e6-square insufficiently defended.
White probably can ignore the optically unpleasant threat ...Bxf3 with} 16. e6
(16. Nd2 $6 Ng6 17. f4 $2 Nh4 $1 18. g4 Ng2 19. Rf1 Ne3 $17) 16... Bxf3 17.
gxf3 fxe6 18. Nf4 {, when White's advance in development and his harmonious
placement of forces is obvious.} Nf5 19. Nxe6 Bd6 (19... Kb7 20. Rd7 $16) 20.
Rd5 Nh4 21. Re4 Nxf3+ 22. Kg2 Nd4 23. Bxd4 cxd4 24. Nxg7 Rg8 25. Rg4 Bc5 26.
Ne6 $16 {[%csl Rc5,Rd4]}) 16. h4 $1 {This move implies a pawn sacrifice, but
enables White to develop a strong initiative on the kingside and in the centre,
while Black still needs to complete his queenside regroupment.} Bg4 (16... h5
17. Ng5 $14) (16... Be7 17. e6 Bxe6 18. h5 Nh4 19. Nf4 Nxf3+ 20. gxf3 Bf6 21.
Bxf6 gxf6 22. Nxe6 fxe6 23. Rxe6 Kb7 {White's rook activity along the central
files offers him chances for maintaining an edge. Here,} 24. f4 $5 {might be
best, restricting Black's counterattacking possibilities based on a rook's
transfer to g5.}) 17. Nh2 Bxe2 18. Rxe2 Nxh4 19. Re4 Be7 20. g3 Ng6 (20... Nf5
21. Rf4 g6 22. g4 $16) 21. e6 {In view of Black's accurate defence, this move
might be premature.} ({The main alternative was} 21. f4 $5 {, followed by
massive gain of space with f5 and/or e6, depending on Black's play.}) 21... f5
$1 (21... f6 22. Rg4 $18) 22. Re3 Bf6 $1 23. Bxf6 gxf6 {Black has somewhat
simplified the position and White will need some time to reestablish the
material equality. Besides, the e6-pawn is not that dangerous yet.} 24. Rf3 Rd8
{This move allows White maintain a minimal but stable edge.} (24... Ne7 $5 {
would have retained chances for a double edged fight.} 25. Rd7 (25. g4 Kb7 26.
gxf5 Rag8+ 27. Kh1 Rg5 $132) 25... Re8 26. Nf1 Nc6 {[%csl Rd7,Rf3][%cal Gc6e5]}
(26... Kb7 27. Ne3 Nc6 28. Nd5 Rac8 29. Re3 Nd4 30. e7 Nxc2 31. Rd3 Nb4 32.
Nxb4 cxb4 33. Kg2 $16 {[%csl Rb7,Rc8,Re8][%cal Gg2f3,Gf3f7]}) 27. Rxf5 Rxe6 28.
Rf7 Nd4 29. R5xf6 Rxf6 30. Rxf6 Nxc2 31. Rxh6 Kd7 $13 {White's kingside passed
pawns are not that easy to be advanced, mainly because of White's far from
optimal coordination. Black is more active and has strong counterplay on the
other wing (...a5-a4 or ...Nb4-c2-d4)}) 25. Rxd8+ Kxd8 26. Rxf5 Ke7 27. Ng4 Rf8
28. Rh5 Kxe6 29. Rxh6 Ne7 30. Ne3 a5 31. a4 {White has managed to stabilize
the queenside, while keeping an extra pawn on the opposite wing. Every
player's dream in the Berlin Defence.} Nd5 $6 {Black's decision to clear the
position from the last "tactical impurities" can hardly be recommended. Now,
he will be doomed to passive defence, whereas the presence of knights on board
would have offered him chances for counterplay, especially because of his
well-centralised king.} 32. Nxd5 Kxd5 33. Rh4 c6 34. Kf1 b5 (34... Re8 $5 {
[%csl Rf1]}) 35. Ke2 Re8+ 36. Kd3 Rd8 37. Re4 $1 (37. c4+ Ke6+ (37... bxc4+ {
offers White the additional possibility of} 38. Rxc4 $5) 38. Kc3 b4+ $5 (38...
bxa4 39. bxa4 Rb8 40. Rh5 f5 41. Rh6+ Kd7 42. Rf6 $16) 39. Kc2 Rd4 $5) 37...
c4+ (37... Rd7 38. c4+ $1 bxc4+ (38... Kd6 $2 39. cxb5 cxb5 40. axb5 $18) 39.
Rxc4 $16) (37... Rb8 $5 {would have prevented White's queenside plan, but then
he could improve his position gradually on the opposite wing with} 38. g4) 38.
bxc4+ Kc5+ 39. Kc3 bxa4 ({Black's queenside strategic advantage after} 39...
b4+ 40. Kb3 {is of temporary nature and not too relevant.} Rd6 (40... Rd4 41.
Re6 $1) 41. Rf4 Kb6 42. Rf5 c5 43. Rd5 Re6 44. c3 $16) 40. Rf4 $16 {Black
probably overlooked the fact that he cannot find an adequate way of defending
his f6-pawn because of the vulnerable position of his king.} Rd1 (40... Rd6 $2
41. Rf5+ Kb6 42. c5+ $18) (40... Rf8 41. Rf5+ Kb6 42. g4 Rg8 43. f3 Rg6 44. Kb2
$18 {[%csl Rg6][%cal Gb2a3,Ga3a4]}) 41. Rf5+ Kb6 42. Kb2 Rd4 43. Rxf6 Rxc4 {
[%csl Rc2][%cal Ga4a3] /\...a3} 44. Rf3 $1 Rb4+ 45. Ka3 Kb5 46. Rc3 c5 {
It is curious that White will win by advancing his f-pawn only. However, the
g3-pawn will prove useful by keeping the f4-square defended.} 47. f4 {[%cal
Gg3f4]} Kc6 48. Rd3 Re4 49. f5 {[%cal Re4f4]} Re2 50. Rf3 Kd7 51. f6 Ke8 52. c4
Rc2 53. Rf4 Rc3+ 54. Kxa4 Rxg3 55. Rf5 Rg4 56. Rxc5 Rf4 57. Kxa5 Kd7 58. Kb6
Rxf6+ 59. Kb7 {Good endgame knowledge. The endgame is winning, according to
books and... tablebases.} Rf4 60. Rc7+ Kd8 61. c5 Rb4+ 62. Kc6 Rc4 63. Rh7 Rc1
64. Rh8+ Ke7 65. Rc8 Rc2 66. Kb7 Rb2+ 67. Kc7 Ra2 68. c6 Ra7+ 69. Kb6 Ra1 70.
Rh8 Rb1+ 71. Kc7 Ra1 72. Rh2 1-0

[Event "Olympiad-41"]
[Site "Tromsoe"]
[Date "2014.08.04"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Negi, Parimarjan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2801"]
[BlackElo "2645"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "2014.08.02"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 162"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Italy"]
[BlackTeam "India"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ITA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "IND"]

{One of the main problems of modern opening preparation is how to break
Black's walls in a series of fashionable hyper-solid lines. At first sight,
this may seem to be a perennial problem, but things have not always been like
this. Fashion and general approach change with the alternation of generations.
In the best years of Tal and Kasparov, for instance, one common question was
how to avoid being smashed tactically in the King's Indian! Moreover, some of
Black's most reliable openings of today enjoyed a rather questionable
reputation in the past.  ** After the supposedly warming-up days, the third
round scheduled matches between teams of similar strength already, which makes
natural the emergence of solid variations. The good news for those believing
in the inexhaustible character of our favourite game is that in a few
important games between strong players Black's walls did not withstand White's
pressure. The first game of the today's selection features what may be the
main source for White's nightmares: the Berlin Defence. In the past, this was
considered a modest variation, suited only for players wth good defensive
skills in desperate need of a draw with Black. Things have changed quite a lot
over the past decades...} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6
6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Bd7 {Actually, this is a
questionable opening choice against the Italian super GM, who has obtained a
few important victories against it.} ({Among other, he has caused Carlsen's
only Berlin defeat in a game at classical time rate. It is interesting to
mention that just as in the current game, Caruana met ...Bf8-e7 with g2-g4:} 
9... h6 10. Rd1+ Ke8 11. Nc3 Bd7 12. Bf4 Rd8 13. Ne4 Be7 14. g4 {Caruana,F 
(2783)-Carlsen,M (2881) Shamkir 2014 CBM 160 [Caruana,F] (1-0, 53)}) 10. Rd1
Be7 11. g4 ({Earlier this year, Caruana had delayed the advance of the g-pawn
for one move:} 11. Nc3 Kc8 12. g4 Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14. Be3 (14. Ne4 b6 15. Bg5
Bxg5 16. Nxg5 h6 17. Nxf7 Re8 18. f4 Be6 19. Nxh6 gxh6 20. f5 Bxf5 21. gxf5
Rxe5 {Karjakin,S (2771)-Carlsen,M (2881) Stavanger 2014 CBM 161 [Marin,M] (1/
2-1/2, 38)}) 14... b6 15. Rd2 c5 16. Nd5 Re8 17. Rad1 Bc6 18. Bf4 h6 19. Kg2
Kb7 20. c4 a5 (20... Re6 21. Re1 Rae8 22. Re3 f6 23. exf6 Bxf6) 21. Re1 Rad8
22. Bg3 Bxg3 23. Kxg3 f6 24. f4 $14 {Caruana,F (2789)-Adams,M (2743) Dortmund
2014 (1-0, 48)}) 11... Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 {The knight exchange has a few
positive consequences for White. The f-pawn will be easier to advance while
Black's chances for counterplay are reduced to the minimum.} 13. Nd2 $5 {
This is where Caruana truly deviates from his game against Adams. The knight
hurries to unblock the kingside and prepare the exchange of the dark-squared
bishops.} Kc8 14. Nf3 Be7 15. Rd3 {Activating the rook without defining
anything yet.} ({With the c5-square available,} 15. Bg5 {did not prove too
effective:} Bc5 $5 16. Rd3 Be6 17. Be3 Bxe3 (17... Be7 18. Nd4) 18. Rxe3 Kd7
19. Rd1+ Ke7 20. Nd4 Rad8 21. Red3 g6 22. Nxe6 Rxd3 23. Rxd3 Kxe6 24. f4 h5 25.
Kg2 hxg4 26. hxg4 a5 27. Kg3 Rh1 28. Rd8 g5 {Leko,P (2737)-Adams,M (2743)
Dortmund 2014 (1/2-1/2, 33)}) 15... c5 $146 {This is a thematic move,
restricting the knight and preparing for ...Bc6. Its drawback is taking the
c5-square away from the other bishop. This kind of dilemma was long ago
highlighted by Rudolf Spielmann. After 1.d4 d5 2.c4, he said, Black has to
choose which bishop to activate in the opening, but he cannot do it with both
at the same time.} ({However, it makes sense to prevent White's next move with
} 15... h6 16. Nd4 Re8 17. Bf4 c5 18. Nf5 Bf8 19. c4 a6 20. Ne3 b5 21. b3 g5
22. Bg3 Be6 23. Rad1 Kb7 24. h4 Kc6 25. h5 Reb8 26. f3 a5 {Caruana,F (2782)
-Grischuk,A (2785) Warsaw 2013 (1/2-1/2, 42). Despite White's optically
impressive kingside progress, Black is solid, perfectly regrouped and ready
for queenside counterplay.}) ({I would also consider the equally thematic} 
15... b6 $5 {keeping the possibility of meeting} 16. Bg5 {with} Bc5) 16. Bg5 {
It is worth mentioning that with the king on e8 this move would rather help
Black who would get the e7-square for his king, with chances to attack the far
advanced e5-pawn.} c4 $6 {With his development incomplete, Black should have
abstained from displaying dynamic ambitions. Weakening the queenside dark
squares will have a decisive influence in the final part of the game.} ({
The cautious} 16... Re8 $5 {would have not offered Black real chances to get
some counterplay against the e5-pawn, but might have been a better alternative:
.} 17. Bxe7 Rxe7 18. Re1 Bb5 19. Rd2 b6 20. Nh4 g6 21. f4 Kb7 22. Kf2 Rf8 23.
Kg3 a5 24. Nf3 $14 {With good chances for White on the kingside.}) 17. Rd4 Bc6
18. Bxe7 Bxf3 {Black must have overestimated the drawish tendencies of the
rooks and opposite colured bishops ending. White can advance his massive
kingside majority without having any kind of worries on the opposite side of
the board.} 19. Kh2 Re8 20. Bh4 c6 21. Re1 Bd5 22. f4 a5 23. c3 b5 $6 {Same
complaint as after ...c5-c4. Black does not get any real counterplay, but
weakens his dark squares even more.} (23... a4 $5 24. a3 b6 {would secure the
queenside and the centre, restricting White's area of activity.} 25. f5 Ra7 $14
) 24. Rd2 b4 25. Bf2 bxc3 26. bxc3 Rb8 27. f5 a4 (27... Rb5 $5 {[%csl Gc5]} 28.
Kg3 (28. a4 $6 Rb3 $132) 28... a4 29. Kf4 $14) 28. Bc5 {All through this phase,
we can notice the high mobility of the white bishop, a direct consequence of
the impatient ...c5-c4 and ...b7-b5. I assume that by now Black's position is
very hard to save.} Rb7 29. Kg3 Kd7 30. Ba3 Rb5 31. Kf4 Rbb8 32. h4 Rb5 33. h5
h6 {From a practical point of view, it is very hard to decide which would be
the best defensive structure. Black is doomed to passivity and can only hope
not to make things even worse for himself.} 34. Rdd1 f6 {Another committal
decision. Black was probably worried about the threat f5-f6, but his move
leaves the whole kingside weak transforming the e-pawn into a dangerous passer.
} 35. e6+ Kc7 36. Rb1 Reb8 37. Rb4 Ra8 38. Reb1 Rab8 39. Ke3 Kb6 40. Rd1 Rxb4
41. Bxb4 Kc7 42. Re1 $1 {An instructive zugzwang position. Black's
possibilities are strongly retsricted. He has to defend the b-file against the
enemy rook's intrusion and the back rank against Bf8. This more or less
imobilises the king and rook, while the bishop has only one move at its
disposal!} Kd8 {The alternatives are no better.} (42... Bg2 {exposes the
bishop, allowing White to gain a decisive tempo in the following variation:}
43. Rb1 $1 {Threatening Bd6!+} Kc8 44. Rg1 $1 {Unpinning the bishop.} Bd5 45.
Bf8 {With similar play as in the game.}) ({Or if} 42... Re8 43. Rb1 {the rook
invades through the b-file since} Rb8 {is impossible due to} 44. Bd6+ $1) 43.
Bf8 Rb7 44. e7+ Ke8 45. Re2 $5 {According to classical standards, a technical
move, preventing any second rank counterplay.} ({But White's position was so
strong that he could have done without it by playing} 45. Kf4 $5 {followed by
Bxg7 soon.}) 45... Rb1 46. Bxg7 Kxe7 47. Kf2+ Kf7 48. Bxh6 a3 49. Bf4 Rd1 50.
Bd6 {The start of the decisive attack.} Rd3 51. Re7+ Kg8 52. h6 Rh3 53. Rg7+
Kh8 54. Rg6 Rxc3 55. Be7 Kh7 56. Bxf6 {There is no defence against the mating
attack based on g4-g5 and Rg7+.} Rc2+ {The last "revenge check".} 57. Kg3 1-0

[Event "Dortmund SuperGM 41st"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "2013.07.27"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2710"]
[BlackElo "2784"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2013.07.26"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 156"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2013.09.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2013.09.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5
8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 Ne8 10. Nd5 Bd6 11. Re1 c6 12. Ne3 Bc7 13. Nf5 d5 14. Ne7+
Kh8 15. Nxc8 Rxc8 {White has got the bishop pair, but his delay in development
prevents him from claiming a palpable advantage. Especially against Kramnik!}
16. d3 (16. d4 Nf6 17. g3 Qd7 18. Qd3 Rce8 19. Be3 a6 20. f3 Re7 21. Bg5 Rfe8
22. Rxe7 Rxe7 23. b4 h6 24. Bxf6 gxf6 {White's position certainly is pleasant
to play, but a win proved impossible in Polgar,J (2698)-Akopian,V (2687)/
Istanbul 2012/CBM 151 (1/2, 94)}) 16... Nf6 17. c3 $146 (17. Qf3 Qd6 18. g3 {
Vallejo Pons,F (2696)-Hansen,S (2552)/Novi Sad 2009/CBM 133 (1/2, 57)}) 17...
Qd7 18. g3 Rce8 19. Bd2 Qf5 20. Kg2 Ng4 $132 21. f3 {Black will soon take the
initiative.} Ne5 22. Bf4 g5 23. Bxe5+ Rxe5 24. Rxe5 Qxe5 25. d4 Qe3 26. Qc2 f5
27. Bd3 g4 28. Rf1 f4 29. Qe2 Re8 30. Rf2 fxg3 31. hxg3 Kg7 32. Qxe3 Rxe3 33.
Bf5 h5 34. Bc8 b6 35. Bb7 Re6 36. Bc8 Re3 37. Bb7 Re6 38. Bc8 Re3 39. Bb7
1/2-1/2

[Event "Olympiad-39"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2010.09.25"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2707"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[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 "Russia"]
[BlackTeam "Hungary"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "HUN"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. Rd1 (10. h3 h6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 Ne7
14. Ne2 Ng6 15. Ng3 Nf4 16. Bc1 Ne6 17. Nd4 h5 18. c4 Nxd4 19. Rxd4 Be7 20.
Rfd1 Be6 $11 {[%cal Gc8b7,Ga8d8] Rasmussen,A (2530)-Roussel Roozmon,T (2484)/
Khanty-Mansiysk 2010/CBM 139 (1/2, 36)}) (10. b3 Kc8 11. Bb2 Be7 12. Rad1 b6
13. h3 h5 14. Ne4 c5 15. Nc3 a5 16. Nd5 Bd8 17. a4 c4 {Getting rid of the
double pawns and weakening the b3-square.} 18. Rfe1 Re8 19. Re4 cxb3 20. cxb3
Be6 21. Rd3 Ne7 22. Nxe7+ Bxe7 $11 {Socko,B (2657)-Harikrishna,P (2645)/
Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 (1/2, 29)}) 10... Kc8 11. Ng5 Be8 12. b3 a5 13. a4 b6 14.
Bb2 Be7 15. Nge4 Kb7 16. Rd3 Rd8 17. Rxd8 Bxd8 18. Rd1 Kc8 19. f3 h5 {After
having completed his regrouping, Black starts taking measures against White's
kingside expansion.} 20. Ne2 {White has a slightly unusual piece placement,
but this does not change the character of the position.} Bd7 21. Kf2 c5 22. c4
Re8 23. Nf4 h4 24. Nd5 Re6 25. Nf4 {White decides to take a draw. In order to
make progress, he would need playing g2-g4, but this is not easy to be
achieved under favourable circumstances.} (25. g4 hxg3+ 26. hxg3 Rh6 $132) (25.
f4 Rh6 26. Kf3 Be6 27. Nf2 Rg6 $5 $11 28. Ng4 $2 Rxg4 $19) 25... Re8 26. Nd5
Re6 27. Nf4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Astrakhan FIDE GP"]
[Site "Astrakhan"]
[Date "2010.05.16"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Leko, Peter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2735"]
[BlackElo "2735"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2010.05.10"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 137"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 $5 {A radical way of slowing down White's
kingside expansion.} 11. Bg5 Be6 12. Rfd1 Be7 13. g3 $146 {Preventing ...h4.} (
13. Ne2 Bd5 14. Bxe7 Bxf3 15. gxf3 Kxe7 16. Rd3 Rad8 17. Rad1 Rxd3 18. Rxd3 Ke6
$11 {Black has blocked the kingside and even can display certain ambitions in
the endgame. In Klovans,J (2465)-Gorbatow,A (2350)/Schwarzach 1999/EXT 2000 
(1-0, 58) he eventually went too far and lost, but this has little to do with
the outcome of the opening.}) (13. Rd2 Rd8 14. Rad1 Rxd2 15. Rxd2 Bxg5 16. Nxg5
Ke7 17. b3 h4 {Black has achieved an optimal kingside configuration.} 18. Nce4
Bc8 19. f4 b6 20. Kf2 a5 21. c4 f6 22. Nf3 Be6 $132 {Ibarra Jerez,J (2517)
-Delorme,A (2434)/Pamplona 2009/CBM 131 Extra (1/2, 36)}) 13... Rd8 14. Rxd8+
Kxd8 15. Rd1+ Ke8 16. Bf4 Bb4 17. Ne2 Bd5 18. Nfd4 Nxd4 19. Nxd4 Be4 20. f3 Bg6
21. Kg2 Ke7 22. c3 Bc5 23. Bg5+ f6 24. Be3 Bxd4 25. Bxd4 b6 $11 {The resence
of oposite-coloured bishops ensure Black a draw.} 26. exf6+ gxf6 27. Be3 Rd8
28. Rxd8 Kxd8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Reggio Emilia 54th"]
[Site "Reggio Emilia"]
[Date "2012.01.06"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2775"]
[BlackElo "2758"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "133"]
[EventDate "2011.12.27"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "ITA"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 146"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.01.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.01.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 {Funny
coincidence! In the last round of the Bazna 2011 tournament, Nakamura also
chose to play with doubled pawns against Ivanchuk (who was just as out of form
as in Reggio), and failed to hold a slightly worse ending.} 7. dxe5 Nf5 8.
Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 11. Rd1 (11. Bg5 Be6 12. Rfd1 {Svidler,P (2735)
-Leko,P (2735)/Astrakhan 2010/CBM 137/[Marin,M] (1/2, 28)}) (11. Bf4 Be7 12.
Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 {Anand,V (2817)-Nakamura,H (2753)/Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2011/
CBM 145/[Edouard,R] (1/2, 36)}) 11... Be7 12. Ne2 (12. Ne4 Bd7 13. b3 h4 14.
Bg5 {Polgar,J (2699)-Karjakin,S (2788)/Khanty-Mansiysk 2011/CBM 145/[Ftacnik] 
(1-0, 49)}) 12... Bd7 $6 $146 {A somewhat slow plan of solving the problem of
the unconnected rooks by exchanging one of them.} (12... Be6 13. Nf4 Bc8 14. b3
g5 15. Ne2 Rg8 {Timofeev,A (2690)-Pashikian,A (2639)/Khanty Mansiysk 2010/CBM
139/[Marin,M] (0-1, 43)}) 13. Bg5 Rd8 14. Nf4 Bc8 ({Now and on the next moves,
it would not be possible to trap the bishop with} 14... f6 {because of the
intermediate} 15. Ng6 Rg8 ({After} 15... fxg5 16. Nxh8 {there is no way to
prevent the knight from coming out. The threat is Ng6xe7, while the bishop
cannot move because it has to defend g5, which is supposed to keep the net
tight against the knight.}) 16. Nxe7 Kxe7 17. Bf4 $14) 15. Rxd8+ Kxd8 16. Rd1+
Ke8 17. g3 Rh7 $5 {Finally creating the threat of ...f6, thus inducing the
following exchange.} ({A similar position could have been reached after} 17...
Bxg5 18. Nxg5 Rh6 19. h4 c5 20. c3 a5 {The only difference comes from the
black knight's placement. It is understandable that Nakamura preferred to keep
the d5-square defended, although} 21. Nd5 Rc6 {is nothing special for White.})
18. Bxe7 Nxe7 19. Ng5 Rh6 20. h4 {Tying the rook up to the defence of the
h5-pawn.} c5 21. c3 a5 22. Rd2 Be6 {There was no way of transferring the rook
to the queenside, but Black can use the third rank activity to occupy the
blocking e6-square. Still, the resulting ending is very much on the edge for
Black.} ({Maybe he should have preferred something neutral such as} 22... a4) (
{or} 22... Bf5 {, leaving White with the task of proving an active plan.}) 23.
Ngxe6 (23. a3 Bc4) (23. b3 Bf5 $5 {[%csl Ga2,Gb3]}) 23... fxe6 {Berlin Wall
specialists tend to know by heart which endings are drawn and which are
dangerous for them. I am not sure of having seen this ending before, R + N vs
R + N. Nakamura defended well in the next phase of the game, but Ivanchuk's
play could be improved upon in at least two ways suggested by Rainer Knaak.}
24. Kg2 Nc6 25. Re2 Nd8 {There was little to be done on the queenside, so that
the knight hurries to contribute to the kingside stability.} 26. Kh3 ({Rainer
Knaak suggested the king's transfer to e4 as an improvement. Here is a
possible continuation:} 26. Kf3 Nf7 27. Re1 Ke7 28. Ke4 Ke8 29. a4 Ke7 30. b3 {
White will need the d3-square for his knight slightly later.} b6 31. Rh1 Kf8
32. f3 Ke7 33. Nd3 {Black's aim at preventing being pushed back would have
been be ...g5 at a slightly earlier moment, aiming for a repetition with ...
Ng5+ Ke3 ...Nf7 (><e5) Ke4. Still this also weakens h5, so the active defence
may well fail.} Rh8 34. g4 hxg4 35. fxg4 Ng5+ 36. Kf4 Nf7 37. g5 {and White
kept making progress.}) 26... Nf7 27. Re3 Kd7 (27... g5 $2 28. hxg5 Nxg5+ 29.
Kh4 $18) 28. f3 b6 29. a3 Kc6 {Not really threatening with queenside
counterplay, but just marking time.} 30. g4 ({In principle, it would be nice
to carry out this pawn break at a moment when ...hxg4 can be adequately met
with fxg4. White needs to retreat the knight from f4, but not before taking
the d5-square under control in order to safely prevent ...Kd5. Here is a
possible line:} 30. c4 a4 31. Nd3 Rh8 32. g4 hxg4+ 33. fxg4 Kd7 34. Kg3 Ke7 35.
g5 Rd8 $132 {Black's counterplay is stronger than White would have wished,
which explains Ivanchuk's decision to keep his knight on f4, defending the
fourth rank and preventing the rook's activation.}) 30... hxg4+ 31. Kxg4 ({
As strange as it may seem, after} 31. fxg4 g5 32. Nh5 Rg6 {the weakness of the
e5-pawn causes White big problems with making progress:} 33. Nf6 gxh4 34. Kxh4
Rg5) 31... Kd7 $1 {The king retreats to the defence of the e6-pawn, an
essential defensive step.} (31... Kb5 $6 32. h5 (32. Re4 $5) 32... Nh8 (32...
Kc4 33. Ng6 Kb3 34. Re2 b5 35. f4 $40 Rh7 $6 {[%cal Gf7h6,Gh6f5]} 36. Nf8 $1)
33. Re2 (33. Rd3 $6 Nf7 34. Ng6 $2 Rxg6+ $1) 33... Kc6 34. Rd2 Nf7 35. Ng6 $16
{[%cal Gf3f5]}) 32. h5 Rh8 33. Rd3+ Kc6 34. Ng6 Re8 {This is Black's best
regrouping. The rook guards e7, and the king prevents Rd7. Surprisingly, the
knight alone should be able to defend the kingside.} (34... Rd8 $2 35. Ne7+ $1
Kb5 36. Rxd8 Nxd8 37. Kg5 $18) 35. f4 $2 {As pointed out by Rainer Knaak, this
move unnecessarily takes the f4-square away from his own knight.} ({White
could have played a consolidating move like} 35. a4 {and then put Black in a
series of partial zugzwangs:} Nh6+ (35... Rb8 $2 36. Ne7+ Kb7 37. f4 Re8 38.
Rd7 $16) 36. Kf4 Nf7 37. Rd2 Nh6 38. Ke4 Nf5 39. Rg2 Kd7 40. Nf4 {Black cannot
hold his position any more.} Re7 41. Nxe6 $1 Nd6+ $8 (41... Kxe6 42. Rg6+ $18)
42. exd6 Rxe6+ 43. Kd3 (43. Kf5 Rf6+) 43... Rxd6+ 44. Kc4 {with good winning
chances.}) 35... b5 36. a4 Nh6+ 37. Kg5 Nf7+ 38. Kh4 b4 {Not spoiling anything
yet, but giving up any hopes for counterplay.} (38... bxa4 $5 39. c4 Nh6 40.
Ra3 Nf5+ 41. Kg5 Rb8 $132) 39. c4 Nh6 40. Kg5 Nf7+ 41. Kg4 Nh6+ 42. Kh4 {
It may seem that Black is in some sort of zugzwang, but there are moves left
still. The only way to find them is by the method of elimination.} Nf7 $2 (
42... Rb8 $2 43. Ne7+ Kb7 44. Rg3 Re8 45. Rxg7 Rxe7 46. Rxe7 Nf5+ 47. Kg5 Nxe7
48. h6 $18) (42... Nf5+ $6 43. Kg5 Nd4 (43... Rg8 $2 44. h6 $1 gxh6+ 45. Kf6
$18) (43... Rb8 44. Nh4 $16) (43... Nh6 44. Nh4 $16) 44. h6 gxh6+ 45. Kf6 $36)
(42... Kb7 $1 43. Rd7 (43. Kg5 Nf7+) 43... Kc6 {[%csl Ge7,Gg7,Gh4][%cal Gh6f5]}
) (42... Kb6 $1 {is similar.}) 43. f5 $1 {Grabbing his chance.} exf5 44. Rd5 b3
$6 {Black will fail to generate any queenside counterplay, and the b3-pawn
will be lost soon. It would have been somewhat better to aim for the same
position, but with the pawn on b4.} (44... Nd8 45. Kg5 Ne6+ 46. Kxf5 Nd4+ 47.
Ke4 {Still, White's advantage would be unquestionable.}) 45. Kg3 Ng5 46. Kf4
Ne6+ 47. Kxf5 Nd4+ 48. Ke4 Ne6 49. Rd3 Ng5+ (49... Nd4 50. Nf4 Re7 51. Rg3 $16)
50. Ke3 Ne6 51. Rxb3 Nd4 52. Rd3 Rb8 53. b3 $1 {The pawn is taboo for the time
being, but even its elimination would fail to create a black passed pawn.} Kd7
(53... Rxb3 54. Rxb3 Nxb3 55. Nf8 $1 {[%csl Gd7][%cal Gf8e6]} Nd4 $8 56. Kf4
$18) (53... Nxb3 $2 54. Ne7+ $1 $18) 54. Ke4 c6 (54... Rxb3 55. Rxb3 Nxb3 56.
Nf4 {looks like a very promising (probably won) knight ending.}) 55. Nh4 Ke6
56. Rg3 Kf7 57. Nf5 Ne6 58. Rd3 Ng5+ 59. Kf4 Ne6+ 60. Kg4 Nd4 {A desperate
attempt. The threat of a rook invasion was too strong.} 61. Nxd4 cxd4 62. Rxd4
Rxb3 63. Rd7+ Ke6 (63... Kg8 64. e6 $18) (63... Kf8 64. Kf5 Rf3+ 65. Ke6 $18)
64. Rxg7 Rb4 (64... Kxe5 65. Rg5+ $18 {[%csl Ga5]}) 65. h6 Rxc4+ 66. Kh5 Rc1
67. Rg4 1-0

[Event "RUS-ch 64th"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2011.08.10"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2788"]
[BlackElo "2781"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[EventDate "2011.08.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 144"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.09.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.09.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 {Kramnik popularised this plan of aiming to transfer
the king to b7 by using it against Kasparov, on the occasion of their historic
match. In the meantime, he has tried other plans, too.} 10. h3 b6 {[%cal Gd8c8,
Gc8b7]} ({Earlier this year, a game between the same players went} 10... h6 11.
b3 c5 12. Nd5 ({Karjakin also had this position with Black:} 12. Bb2 Nd4 13.
Nxd4 cxd4 14. Nd5 c5 15. f4 Bc6 16. c4 {Black is doing fine, but the next move
must have been caused by a miscalculation.} dxc3 $6 17. Bxc3 $1 {He may have
missed this! One move earlier, the d-file was obstructed and the knight could
not have stayed on d5 undefended.} Bxd5 18. Rad1 Kc7 19. Rxd5 Be7 20. Rfd1 Kc6
21. e6 $1 $16 {Shirov,A (2742)-Karjakin,S (2739)/Odessa 2010/CBM 136 Extra 
(1-0, 43)}) 12... c6 13. Nf4 g5 14. Bb2 Rg8 (14... gxf4 15. e6 Bg7 16. Bxg7
Nxg7 17. exd7 Kxd7 18. Rfe1 $44) 15. e6 Bxe6 16. Rad1+ Kc7 17. Nxe6+ fxe6 18.
g4 Bg7 19. Bxg7 Nxg7 20. Ne5 Rad8 21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. f4 gxf4 23. Rxf4 $36 {
Karjakin,S (2776)-Kramnik,V (2785)/Monte Carlo 2011/CBM 142 (1-0, 44). Despite
his extra pawn, Black is struggling. His knight is very passive.}) 11. a4 $146
{The moves a2-a4 and ...a7-a5 are frequently played in the Berlin Variation 
(sometimes in reversed order), but in this concrete position the last move is
a novelty.} (11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 h5 (12... Be7 13. Rad1 a5 14. a4 h5 15. Ne4 c5
16. c4 Bc6 17. Nfg5 Kb7 $11 {Lahno,K (2518)-Bok,B (2453)/Wijk aan Zee 2011/CBM
141 (1-0, 58)}) 13. g3 Be7 14. Rad1 a5 15. a4 {Smeets,J (2662)-Carlsen,M (2814)
/Wijk aan Zee 2011/CBM 141/[Kritz] (0-1, 33)}) (11. Bf4 Kc8 12. Rad1 h6 13. Bh2
a5 14. g4 Ne7 15. Nd4 h5 16. e6 fxe6 17. Rfe1 hxg4 18. hxg4 Rh6 19. g5 Rh5 20.
Nxe6 Bxe6 21. Rxe6 Rxg5+ 22. Kf1 Rf5 23. a4 $44 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2715)
-Carlsen,M (2814)/Wijk aan Zee 2011/CBM 141 (1/2, 42)}) (11. g4 Ne7 12. Ng5 Ke8
(12... Be8 {would be similar to the main game.}) 13. Bd2 h5 (13... h6 14. Nge4
h5 {may have been better. Black wanted to attack the knight with the other
pawn, but this will leave him with weaknesses.}) 14. f3 f6 15. exf6 gxf6 16.
Nge4 Bg7 17. Rae1 Kf7 18. Ne2 Rae8 19. Nf4 $14 {Negi,P (2618)-Hammer,J (2606)/
Dubai 2011/CBM 141 Extra (1-0, 41). White has the better structure and a
perfect regroupment.}) 11... a5 12. g4 Ne7 13. Ng5 Be8 (13... Ke8 {is possible
here, too, but Kramnik sticks to his initial plan, of transferring the king to
b7.}) 14. f4 (14. e6 {does not offer anything special:} fxe6 15. Nxe6+ Kd7 16.
Nxf8+ (16. Re1 Nd5) 16... Rxf8 17. Rd1+ Kc8 18. f4 Kb7 19. Be3 c5) 14... h6 15.
Nf3 {White has an impressive pawn majority. (I remember that the first time I
came across this pawn formation, h3-g4-f4-e5 was on the occasion of the 13th
game of the Fischer-Spassky match.) During the next phase of the game, Kramnik
will constantly prevent the dangerous threat f4-f5.} g6 16. b3 (16. Ne4 {
can be answered with} c5 $1 {preventing the e8-bishop from being trapped.})
16... Kc8 17. Bb2 Bg7 18. Ne4 c5 {A familiar idea already.} 19. Ng3 {It seems
that White is ready for his attack, but the king is not entirely safe for that.
} Rg8 $1 20. Kh2 Bd7 {For the time being, f4-f5 has been stopped and Black
intends to complete his development with ...Kb7 and ...Rad8. It may seem that
the black bishop is hanging on d7, but that is not true.} 21. c4 {It is
interesting to notice that even in a slow opening like the Berlin Defence,
time is important. White is short of just one tempo to prevent Black's
regrouping.} ({In principle, he would have liked to prevent ...Kb7 with} 21.
Rad1 {, but this would have allowed} c4 $1 $132 {for instance:} 22. Ne4 (22.
Nd2 cxb3 23. cxb3 Kb7 24. Nc4 Rad8) 22... Nc6 23. Kg3 cxb3 24. cxb3 Be6) 21...
Kb7 {Taking advantage of the tempo offered on the previous move.} 22. Rad1 Rad8
{Black has little to fear now.} 23. Rd3 Bc8 $1 {Keeping the bishop, which can
be useful if Black gets to play ...h5.} (23... Bc6 $5 {would get the control
of the open file at the cost of giving up the bishop for a knight:} 24. Rfd1
Rxd3 25. Rxd3 Bxf3 26. Rxf3 Rd8 27. Bc3 Nc6 28. Kg2 Rd1 $132 {The intended
f4-f5 is not possible yet, because the e5-pawn is hanging.} 29. Ne4 (29. Rf1
Rd3 30. Rf3 $11) 29... Nd4 30. Bxd4 cxd4 $11) 24. Rfd1 Rxd3 25. Rxd3 Re8 $6 {
Missing an excellent chance for counterplay.} (25... h5 $1 26. gxh5 Bh6 27. Bc1
Rh8 28. Nh4 (28. hxg6 Nxg6 $15) 28... gxh5 29. Be3 Ng6 30. Nxg6 fxg6 $15) 26.
Ne4 Nc6 27. Kg3 Kb8 {Slightly mysterious. The king should remain closer to the
centre. So far, Black has kept his bishop watching f5, so that it makes little
sense to prepare ...Bb7.} (27... Rd8 28. Rxd8 Nxd8 29. Nh4 $14) ({Any waiting
move, such as} 27... Rh8 {would have left White with the problem of proving a
constructive plan.}) 28. Bc3 Rd8 $6 {After the rook exchange, White gets
better possibilities of attacking on the kingside.} (28... Kb7) 29. Rxd8 Nxd8
30. e6 $5 {This is the kind of moves Black should permanently take into
account when playing the Berlin. Psychologically, it leads to an unpleasant
change of the course of the game. White gets an unexpected initiative in what
is supposed to be a slow-motion game.} ({Objectively,} 30. Nh4 {/\ f5, is at
least not worse:} Bb7 31. Kf3 Ne6 32. Ke3 g5 33. Ng2 $14) 30... Nxe6 (30...
Bxc3 $2 31. e7 $18) 31. Bxg7 Nxg7 32. Ne5 f5 $1 (32... Be6 33. Nf6 Kc8 34. Ng8
h5 35. Nh6 $16) 33. Nf6 {Black's kingside is in big danger. With the black
king far away on the queenside, White is practically a piece up.} g5 $6 (33...
fxg4 $5 34. hxg4 h5 {was a good opportunity to get some counterplay against
the white queenside pawns.} 35. f5 {A logical attempt to prevent Black from
getting the f5-square for his pieces.} Nxf5+ $1 36. gxf5 Bxf5 37. Nf3 Bc2 38.
Nd2 $13 {This position is not easy to assess, but Black is very much in the
game.}) 34. Nc6+ {Just winning some time.} (34. Nf7 $1 {transposes to the line
from the next comment.}) 34... Kb7 35. Nd8+ Kb8 36. Nc6+ Kb7 37. Nd8+ Kb8 38.
fxg5 $2 {Helping Black to get rid of a weakness (h6).} (38. Nf7 $1 $16 {
leads to a very harmonious regrouping and retrieves the pawn under favourable
circumstances.} fxg4 39. hxg4 Nf5+ {does not work out well now:} 40. gxf5 Bxf5
41. Kf3 Bc2 (41... gxf4 42. Ne4 $18) 42. Ne4 {/\...f5} gxf4 43. Nd2 $18) 38...
hxg5 39. Nh7 (39. Nf7 {is not effective anymore:} fxg4 40. hxg4 Ne6 41. Ne4 Nd4
42. Nd2 Nc2 43. Ne4 (43. Nxg5 Ne3 $15) 43... Nd4 $11) 39... c6 $2 {Missing his
last chance:} (39... fxg4 40. hxg4 Nf5+ $1 41. gxf5 Bxf5 42. Nxg5 Bc2 43. Nc6+
Kc8 44. Ne5 Bxb3 45. Kf4 Bxa4 46. Ke3 Kd8 47. Ne4 Ke7 48. Nc3 Be8 {With three
pawns for a knight and a mobile bishop, Black is at least not worse.}) 40. Nxg5
Kc7 41. Ndf7 b5 {This counterplay is too slow.} 42. Kf4 fxg4 43. hxg4 Ne6+ 44.
Nxe6+ Bxe6 45. Ne5 Kd6 46. g5 bxa4 47. bxa4 {The queenside situation has
stabilised and the g-pawn decides.} Ke7 48. Nxc6+ Kd6 49. Nxa5 Kc7 50. Ke5 Bg8
51. Nb3 Bxc4 52. Nxc5 Kb6 53. Ne4 Bb3 54. Nc3 Bc2 55. Kf6 Kc5 56. g6 Kb4 57. g7
Bb3 58. Ne4 Bg8 59. Ke7 1-0

[Event "Tata Steel-A 76th"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2014.01.18"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2754"]
[BlackElo "2789"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2014.01.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 159"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.03.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.03.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Bd7 10. Rd1 {Both players have had some experience with
this line. The psychological opening duel is made even more interesting by the
fact that the Berlin lines are highly transpositional.} Kc8 ({Deviating for
good from} 10... Ke8 11. Nc3 h6 12. Bf4 Rd8 {Dominguez Perez,L (2757)
-Fressinet,L (2708)/Elancourt 2013/CBM 157/[ChessBase Website] (1/2, 35)}) 11.
g4 Ne7 12. Ng5 Be8 13. f4 b6 ({Nakamura had played the plan based on ...h7-h5
and ...g7-g6 before, but in a completely different move order than in the game:
} 13... h5 14. Kf2 b6 15. f5 Kb7 16. c4 (16. Nc3 hxg4 17. hxg4 Rh2+ 18. Kg3
Rxc2 {Caruana,F (2796)-Adams,M (2740)/Dortmund 2013/CBM 156/[Adams,M] (0-1, 41)
}) 16... c5 17. Bf4 Nc6 18. Nc3 g6 {Giri,A (2737)-Nakamura,H (2772)/Elancourt
2013/CBM 157/[ChessBase Website] (1/2, 39). We see that in this game Nakamura
played ...g7-g6 only after thorough preparation.}) 14. f5 ({If White does not
play this quickly, he may well never get to play it:} 14. Nc3 c5 15. Kf2 h6 16.
Nf3 g6 17. Be3 Bc6 18. a4 Kb7 19. a5 Re8 20. Nd2 Nd5 21. Nxd5 Bxd5 22. Nf3 Be6
23. Rd3 Be7 24. Rad1 h5 25. Kg3 hxg4 26. hxg4 Rh7 $15 {Sutovsky,E (2700)
-Harikrishna,P (2669)/Ningbo 2011/CBM 144 (0-1, 59)}) 14... h5 $146 {This has
not been played before in this concrete position, but the game could have
transposed to known paths later.} (14... c5 15. Nd2 h6 16. Ngf3 Bc6 17. Kf2 Kb7
18. b3 g6 19. f6 Nd5 20. Bb2 Nb4 21. Rdc1 a5 22. a3 Nd5 23. Kg3 g5 24. a4 Nb4
25. Nc4 Be4 26. Ne3 c4 $15 {Caruana,F (2779)-Nakamura,H (2783)/Rhodes 2013/CBM
157 (1/2, 91)}) 15. Kg2 $146 {But I believe that this move also has the right
to be called a novelty!} (15. Kf2 {would take us back to the games mentioned
in the comments to 13...b6, but instead of 15...Kb7, Nakamura might have
played the same way as in the game:} c5 {with similar ideas.}) 15... c5 {
This move clears the c6-square, which makes us think of Nakamura's intention
to activate his bishop. As we will see, though, ...Bc6 is not his main
priority; he actually prepares this square for his knight in view of the
subsequent pawn break. So, unoficially, we could also call the plan behind
this last move a novelty... but then we would really get too many of them in
the same game!} 16. Nc3 g6 17. f6 Nc6 {White has achieved a huge space
advantage, but the main question is whether he can play e5-e6 under favourable
circumstances. If Black manages to block the e-pawn properly, he may even get
an advantage. As we will see, Nakamura's decision to leave his king on c8 is
not casual: in certain lines, ...Bd7 is possible.} 18. Nf3 $6 {Possibly
confronted with a surprise, Dominguez reacts too timidly. His last move
defends the e5-pawn and prevents ...Nd4, but gives up the fight for the
e6-square, at least for a while.} (18. e6 {looks premature:} fxe6 19. Nxe6 Bd7
20. Nxf8 Rxf8 21. g5 Nd4 22. Bf4 Bf5 $132) (18. Bf4 $5 {may be stronger.} Bh6 (
18... Nd4 19. Nce4 {may transpose below}) 19. Nce4 {The last two moves were
directly connected with the e6-square issue. Black now has a choice of plans.}
Nd4 {probably the critical move, but nothing to be scared of.} (19... Kb7 {
is a bit too slow, allowing White to regroup properly:} 20. Kf2 {[%cal Gf2e3]}
(20. c3 Nd8 21. Kf2 Bc6 22. Bg3 Re8 $11) (20. e6 fxe6 21. Nxe6 Bxf4 22. Nxf4
Nd4 $132 {[%cal Ge8c6,Gd4c2,Gc2e3]}) 20... Nd8 21. Ke3 $14 Bc6 $2 22. Rxd8 $1
Rhxd8 23. Nxf7 $18) (19... Nd8 20. Kg3 ({A necessary change of plans. If} 20.
Kf2 Bc6 21. Ke3 Bd7 {and the g4-pawn is not easy to defend.}) 20... Kb7 21. h4
$14) 20. Kf2 (20. c3 Bc6 21. cxd4 Bxg5 22. Bxg5 Bxe4+ 23. Kg3 hxg4 24. hxg4 Re8
25. Kf4 Bd5 26. dxc5 c6 {with a reliable blockade on the light squares and a
probable draw.}) 20... Nxc2 21. Rac1 Nb4 (21... Nd4 22. b4) 22. a3 Nc6 23. b4
a5 (23... cxb4 24. axb4 $40 {[%csl Gc7][%cal Ge5e6,Gb4b5]} Bxg5 25. Nxg5 hxg4
26. e6 fxe6 27. f7 Bd7 28. b5 $18) 24. bxc5 b5 25. Ke3 b4 26. e6 $14 {Both
sides have created passed pawns, but White's looks more dangerous.}) 18... Nb4
19. Bf4 Nxc2 20. Rac1 Nb4 21. a3 Nc6 22. Ne4 {The whole sequence is familiar
to us already, but since White will have to go with one of his knights to g5,
we can safely say that he has lost two tempi! Remarkably, Nakamura does not
find the right way of making use of the offered time.} Bd7 $2 {Weakening the
f7-pawn for nothing.} ({Time had come to make some progress with the general
development:} 22... Kb7 $1 23. Neg5 (23. Nfg5 Nd4 {[%cal Gd4e2]}) 23... Nd8 24.
Kg3 Bh6 $132) 23. Neg5 hxg4 $2 {Black comes close to losing now.} (23... Nd8 {
would have been better, but it would not have spared Black problems:} 24. Rxd7
$1 Kxd7 25. e6+ fxe6 (25... Nxe6 26. Ne5+ Kc8 27. Nxe6 fxe6 28. Nxg6 Rg8 29.
gxh5) 26. Ne5+ Kc8 (26... Ke8 27. f7+) 27. Nxg6 Rh6 28. gxh5 $14) 24. hxg4 Bxg4
({After the opening of the h-file, the blockading plan does not work anymore:} 
24... Nd8 25. Rh1 $18) 25. Nxf7 Rh5 26. Kg3 Bf5 27. N7g5 {White still is a
pawn down, but his connected and far advanced passers should decide the game
quickly. Something which did not happen at all.} Bh6 28. e6 {Winning the
exchange and keeping one dangerous pawn.} Bxg5 29. Nxg5 Rxg5+ 30. Bxg5 Bxe6 {
For some reason, White does not pay attention to the queenside. Playing on
both sides is always a good idea.} 31. Re1 (31. b4 $1 Kb7 (31... c4 32. b5 Na5
33. Re1 Bg8 34. Re7 $18) 32. bxc5 Rf8 33. Re1 $18) 31... Nd4 32. Rcd1 (32. b4
$1 cxb4 33. Bf4 c6 (33... c5 34. axb4 $18) 34. Rcd1 Nf5+ 35. Kf2 $18) 32... Bf7
33. Be3 Nf5+ 34. Kg4 Kb7 35. Bf4 Kc6 36. Rh1 Rf8 37. Rh7 Nd4 $16 {Black has
managed to reach an almost survivable position, but only the next mistake
throws White's advantage away:} 38. Rf1 $2 Be6+ $1 39. Kg5 Bc4 $1 {Suddenly,
White's pieces are hanging.} 40. Rxc7+ (40. Rf2 Ne6+ {[%csl Gc7]} 41. Kg4 (41.
Kxg6 Bd3+) 41... Rxf6 $15) 40... Kb5 41. Rf2 Ne6+ 42. Kg4 Nxc7 $11 {In the
rook and opposite coloured bishops, ending the strong f6-pawn compensates for
the small material disadvantage.} (42... Rxf6 43. Rxa7 $14) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Moscow Tal Memorial 7th"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2012.06.16"]
[Round "7"]
[White "McShane, Luke J"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2706"]
[BlackElo "2801"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "187"]
[EventDate "2012.06.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 149"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 {This line usually leads to
slightly freer white play, without too many real chances for an advantage,
however.} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 ({In my article for CBM 124 I analysed} 7. Nc3
O-O 8. Bd3 {, which aims for active piece play. The main merit of the game
continuation is that it leaves the path free for the d-pawn.}) 7... Nxe5 8.
Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 ({Both players had some experience with Black
against} 10... Nf5 11. d5 {Gaining space in the centre and hoping to take
advantage of the relative instability of Black's developed minor pieces.} (11.
c3 {is too passive to cause Black any problems:} d5 12. Bf4 c6 13. Nd2 Nh4 14.
Bg3 Bf5 15. Nb3 b6 $11 {Kasimdzhanov,R (2690)-Kramnik,V (2785)/Moscow (blitz)
2007/EXT 2008 (1/2, 37)}) 11... d6 12. Nd2 Nh4 13. g3 Ng6 14. a4 Ne5 15. Ra3 a5
16. Ne4 Be7 17. f4 $14 {With considerable space advantage for White in Anand,V
(2804)-McShane,L (2645)/London 2010/CBM 140 (1/2, 41)}) 11. Bf4 $5 {A new
trend, bringing some life into a static position. Other moves leave Black with
no trouble equalising.} (11. c3 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Nf5 13. Bd3 ({In a preclassic
game, White played the provocative} 13. Bf4 d6 14. Nd2 {In Steinitz,
W-Zukertort,J/USA 1886/MainBase/[ChessBase] (0-1, 39), Black could have
reacted with} g5 15. Bg3 h5 $132 {Of course, Steinitz would evaluate the
position as completely winning for White, because of the black kingside
weaknesses.}) 13... d5 14. Bf4 c6 15. Nd2 Nh4 16. Qe2 Bf5 17. Bxf5 Nxf5 18. Nf3
Qe7 19. Re1 Qxe2 20. Rxe2 {1/2 Nakamura,H (2751)-Kramnik,V (2784)/Wijk aan Zee
2011/CBM 141. In fact, Nakamura needed a draw in this game to ensure his
overall win in the tournament, so the game is not relevant for White's chances
for an advantage.}) (11. Rxe8+ Nxe8 {This helps the knight to get closer to
the f6-square.} 12. d5 d6 13. Nd2 Bf5 14. Nc4 Bg5 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. Nxe3 Bd7 17.
Qd4 a5 18. c3 Nf6 19. Re1 Qb8 20. Bd3 Qa7 21. Qxa7 Rxa7 22. f3 Kf8 {1/2 Polgar,
J (2701)-Kramnik,V (2791)/Hoogeveen 2011/CBM 145}) 11... Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 (
12... Bxd4 {would most likely transpose:} 13. Nc3 (13. Bxd6 $44 {is also
possible, since} Bxb2 $2 {loses to} 14. Bxc7 $1 $18) 13... g6 $6 (13... Ne8 {
leads to the game position.}) 14. Nd5 $36) 13. Nc3 {The most ambitious move,
aiming for rapid piece development.} (13. c3 {allows Black to complete his
development and exchange his passive queen's bishop.} d5 14. Bd3 g6 15. Nd2 Ng7
16. Nf3 (16. Qe2 c6 17. Nb3 b6 18. Re1 Bf5 $11 {Nepomniachtchi,I (2711)
-Riazantsev,A (2688)/Khanty-Mansiysk 2011/CBM 145 (1/2, 88)}) 16... c6 17. Qd2
Bf5 18. Re1 Bxd3 19. Qxd3 Qd7 20. Be5 Bxe5 21. Nxe5 {White's advantage is
purely symbolic.} Qf5 22. Qxf5 Nxf5 23. Nd3 Kf8 24. Nc5 Nd6 $11 {Salgado Lopez,
I (2621)-Bruzon Batista,L (2694)/Quito 2012/CBM 148 (1/2, 30)}) 13... Bxd4 {
This pawn was important, since it threatened to gain space in the centre.
Besides, the black dark-squared bishop experienced some space problems.} (13...
c6 14. d5 $14) 14. Nd5 d6 {Development above all!} (14... Bxb2 $2 {loses to
some active moves with the heavy pieces:} 15. Qb4 $1 Bf6 (15... Bxa1 $2 16.
Ne7+ Kh8 17. Nc6 $1 $18 {[%cal Gb4f8]}) 16. Re1 d6 17. Rxe8+ Qxe8 18. Nxc7 $18)
15. Bg5 Bf6 {Aiming for piece exchanges.} (15... f6 {leaves White with a
dangerous initiative.} 16. Be3 $5 Bxb2 (16... Bxe3 17. Qxe3 c6 18. Re1 $40) (
16... Be5 17. f4) 17. Rb1 c6 (17... Ba3 18. Qc3 Bc5 19. Bxc5 dxc5 20. Re1 $32)
18. Bc4 Be5 19. Nc7+ d5 20. Nxa8 dxc4 21. Rd1 Qe7 22. Bxa7 $14 {White ensures
the knight's retreat via b6. With his knight on the back rank Black does not
seem to have entirely adequate compensation, although the position remains
complicated.}) 16. Nxf6+ Nxf6 (16... gxf6 17. Bh4 $5 $16 {[%csl Rf6][%cal
Ge1c3]}) 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Qe4 $5 $146 ({Slightly earlier, White obtained some
advantage with} 18. Bd3 f5 19. Qe3 Be6 20. Qf3 c6 21. Bxf5 $14 {Najer,E (2640)
-Bacrot,E (2706)/Plovdiv 2012/CBM 148 (1/2, 69)}) 18... f5 (18... d5 19. Qf4 $5
{[%csl Rd5,Rg8][%cal Ga1d1,Gd1d3]}) 19. Qe3 Be6 {It may seem that White has
simply lost a tempo (Bf1-d3 is missing) with respect to the last quoted game.
McShane seems to have thought that the bishop stands well enough on f1, and
that the third rank should be left available for the attack.} 20. Qg3+ Kf8 {
The start of a deep plan. The king abandons the weakened kingside and seeks
refuge under the compact pawn shelter from the queenside.} (20... Kh8 21. Qc3+
Kg8 22. Re1 {[%cal Ge1e3,Ge3g3]} c6 (22... d5 23. Qg3+ Kh8 24. Qe5+ Kg8 25. Re3
$16) 23. Re3 f4 24. Re4 Qg5 25. Qb4 $36 {[%csl Gb7,Gd6,Gf4]}) 21. Qc3 Ke7 $1 (
21... Kg8 {would transpose above.}) 22. Re1 Kd7 23. Bc4 {Exchanging an
important defensive piece (Be6), which kept Black's wings together.} Qh8 24.
Bxe6+ fxe6 25. Qb3 Re8 26. Qxb7 Rb8 27. Qxa7 Qxb2 {White has retrieved the
pawn and the black king is in the centre. However, there is no real danger for
His Majesty. Black's superior piece activity and his more compact structure
make his position slightly preferable.} 28. Qa4+ Qb5 29. Qh4 Qa5 30. Qxh7+ Kc6
31. Rc1 (31. Rf1 $5) 31... Qxa2 (31... Qd2 32. Rf1 Qxc2 33. Qg6 Kd5 $5 $15 {
Of course, during the game it is not easy to decide upon such an exotic
regrouping.}) 32. Qh5 Qb2 33. Qd1 Kd7 34. g3 e5 35. c4 {At last some activity
for White. The threatened c4-c5 will weaken the enemy king's defence.} Ke7 36.
Qe1 Rb3 37. c5 $132 d5 {Tempting, but maybe not best. Less than ten moves
later, White will have the initiative already.} (37... e4 38. cxd6+ cxd6 $13 {
would keep the king better defended. In the game, the king will be vulnerable
along the seventh and sixth rank.}) 38. Rd1 c6 39. Qa5 {Suddenly, the king
does not feel so comfortable any more. From a practical point of view, Black's
position starts being more difficult to play. I cannot help remembering the
fifth game of the 1910 Lasker-Schlechter match, where the material situation
was similar to that in the current game. The then reigning World Champion
played in similar style to Kramnik, using his king for active purposes, but
then lost the thread and eventually came under decisive threats. A similar
scenario as in the Moscow 2012 game.} Kd7 40. Qa4 Rb5 41. Qh4 Rxc5 42. Qh7+ Kd6
43. Qg6+ Kc7 44. Qxf5 e4 45. h4 $36 {Black's initiative has come to a dead end,
while the h-pawn has started running. In a practical game, things remain
complicated, which explains some of White's hesitations in the next phase of
the game.} Rc3 46. Qe5+ Kb7 47. h5 Rb3 48. Qe7+ Kb6 49. Qd8+ Kb7 50. Qd7+ (50.
h6 $1 e3 {The only possible counterplay.} 51. Qe7+ Kb6 52. fxe3 Qe2 53. Ra1
Qxe3+ {The only way to parry the threatened attack with Qa7+.} 54. Qxe3+ Rxe3
55. Kf2 Re8 56. g4 $18 {White's pawns are far more advanced than Black's.})
50... Kb6 51. Qd8+ Kb7 52. Qe7+ Kb6 53. Qe8 Kb7 $6 (53... e3 $5 {may have
complicated the game a bit.}) 54. h6 Rf3 55. Qe7+ Ka6 {The king has to stay
away from the g1-a7 diagonal.} ({After} 55... Kb6 56. Rf1 e3 57. h7 Rxf2 {
White has} 58. Qxe3+ {with check.}) 56. Qc5 (56. Rf1 e3 {is harder to meet now.
}) 56... Kb7 57. Qe7+ (57. h7 $1 e3 58. h8=Q $1 Qxh8 59. Rb1+ $18 {with a
decisive attack.}) 57... Ka6 58. Qc5 Kb7 59. Rc1 Rf6 60. h7 Rh6 61. Kg2 $2 {
Only this seems to be a real mistake; the other inaccuracies had not spoiled
anything for White.} (61. Qe7+ Ka6 62. Rf1 $18 {Black cannot resist against
the threats on the opposite wings for too long.}) 61... Qb3 $2 ({Missing his
chance with:} 61... Qf6 $1 {[%cal Gf6f3,Gh6h7]} 62. Qb4+ Kc8 63. Qa3 Qf3+ 64.
Qxf3 exf3+ 65. Kxf3 Kc7 {and Black seems to be able to reach a draw.}) 62. Qe7+
Kb6 63. Qd8+ Kb7 64. Qd7+ Kb6 65. Rxc6+ {Not the only win, but a natural one.}
Rxc6 66. Qd8+ Ka7 67. Qd7+ Kb6 68. Qd8+ Ka7 69. h8=Q Qf3+ 70. Kh3 Rh6+ 71. Qxh6
Qh1+ 72. Kg4 Qxh6 73. Qxd5 {The forced sequence has come to an end and the
ending is technically won.} Qf6 74. Qf5 Qd4 75. Qf4 Kb7 76. Kf5 Qd5+ 77. Qe5
Qf7+ 78. Qf6 ({According to the tablebases, the ending after} 78. Kxe4 Qxf2 {
is also won, but who would give up one of the connected pawns in a practical
game?!}) 78... Qd5+ 79. Kf4 Qd2+ 80. Kxe4 Qe2+ 81. Kd5 Qa2+ 82. Kd6 Qa3+ 83.
Ke6 Qa2+ 84. Ke7 Qe2+ 85. Kf7 Qh5+ 86. Kg7 Qg4+ 87. Qg6 Qd4+ 88. Qf6 Qg4+ 89.
Kh6 Qe2 90. Kg5 Kc7 91. f4 Qf3 92. Qe5+ Kd7 93. f5 Qf1 94. f6 1-0

[Event "Bucharest m"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2006.04.06"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Nisipeanu, Liviu Dieter"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2693"]
[BlackElo "2801"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2006.04.06"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 111 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.05.09"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.05.09"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {This move has been efectuated by the President of Romania, Traian
Basescu, who mentioned in his characteristic cheerful manner that he had
received very clear indications to advance the king's pawn with two squares.
Later, reporter Florin Orban from Radio Romania International speculated about
the matter about who would the President receive "indications" from.} e5 2. Nf3
Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {
By refraining from his beloved Najdorf Sicilian and choosing the rock-solid
Berlin variation, Topalov gave the sensation that he aimed to take some
preliminary contact with a player whom he had only faced some 15 years ago in
a youth event, which also took place in Romania. However, this might be pure
speculation, since the Berlin variation occurs with increasing frequency in
the FIDE World Champion's games.} 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. Ne4 h6 11. Nd4 $5 ({
Surprising ly, this active move has never been played before. The knight
enjoys only temporary stability in the centre, because after taking the
b5-square under control Black will be able to drive it away with ...c5. The
outcome of the battle greatly depends on White's possibility of provoking some
damage to the enemy position with the help of this knight, before it gets
attacked. The more common continuation is} 11. h3 Ng6 12. Re1) ({I have found
a game where, in spite of a different move order, White managed to obtain an
improved version of White's position after 14 moves. However, this was only as
a consequence of Black's careless play at some moment.} 11. Bf4 Ng6 12. Bg3 Be7
$6 ({Black should have prepared the transfer of the king to the queen side with
} 12... Bd7 $1) 13. Rad1+ Ke8 14. Nd4 Bd7 15. Rfe1 {Now, all White's pieces
are optimally placed, while the black king feels quite uncomfortable.} c5 16.
Nb3 b6 17. Nf6+ $1 gxf6 18. exf6 {with better chances for White, Dervishi-Zaja,
Austria 2003}) 11... b6 12. Rd1 ({This is a small concession White has to make
in order to prevent the enemy king from reaching absolute safety on the queen
side. Of course, he would prefer to place his rooks on the central files (d1
and e1), but} 12. Bf4 {(preparing the same setup as in the aforementioned game)
could be met by} c5 13. Nb5 Be6 14. Rad1+ Kc8 {and Black has little to
complain about.}) 12... Ke8 13. Bf4 Ng6 14. Bg3 ({White could threaten win a
pawn and threaten mate in one with} 14. Nxc6 $2 {just to resign one move later
after} Bb7 {when all his minor pieces would be handing.}) 14... Bb7 {White's
advantage of space and activity look impressive, but this is usually a
delusive sensation in the Berlin variation.} 15. f4 ({Nisipeanu decides to
include more forces into the attack. The tempting} 15. e6 {would have been
also double edged, because it would give up the advantage of space and would
help Black develop his king. For instance} a6 ({Threatening ... c5, with
simultaneous attack on both knights. If played immediately,} 15... c5 $2 {
would lead to disaster after} 16. Nb5 Bxe4 17. Nxc7+ Ke7 18. Rd7+ Kf6 19. Rxf7+
Kg5 20. Nxa8 {with some material advantage and, more important, a crushing
domination for White.}) 16. f3 $5 {(This move was suggested by Topalov
immediately after the game. White intends to maintain some stability in the
centre.)} c5 17. exf7+ Kxf7 18. Nf5 Ke6 19. Ne3 Rc8 ({The more radical} 19...
Bxe4 20. fxe4 c6 {is also entirely playable for Black. His king would feel
very comfortable under the shelter offered by the enemy e-pawn, while his
compact queen side mass of pawns could become dangerous if advanced gradually.}
) 20. Rd2 Be7 {and Black has a comfortable position because of his active pair
of bishops and the centralised king.}) 15... a6 16. f5 $5 ({White decides to
start concrete action, hoping to take advantage of his advance in development.
In the press centre,} 16. Re1 Rd8 17. Nf5 {was considered to be a better
alternative, but Nisipeanu indicated that Black can evacuate the dangerous
zone with} Kd7 {when the concentration of white forces on the king side has a
rather sterile character.}) 16... c5 {Once the long diagonal has been opened
for the bishop, Black can hope for adequate counterplay.} 17. fxg6 cxd4 18.
Rxd4 ({The only way to maintain the initiative.} 18. gxf7+ {would have the
drawback of allowing the enemy king to be activated with} Kxf7 {. The position
would suddenly become double-edged, for instance} 19. e6+ $5 ({An interesting
resource, suggested by IM Mircea Pavlov. After} 19. Rxd4 $6 Ke6 {Black is
definitely not worse in spite of his small material deficit. His king enjoys
safe centralisation, while his pair of bishops is more active than White's
minor's pieces. As for the e5-pawn, it will most likely be lost after the
previsible exchange of all rooks.}) 19... Kg6 $1 (19... Kxe6 $6 {looks
slightly risky. After} 20. Rxd4 {the king feels slightly uncomfortable in the
absence of the e-pawn. The attempt to win material with} c5 $6 {would only
weaken Black's sixth rank when after} 21. Rd2 Bxe4 22. Re1 {White would
recuperate the piece maintaining the more active position.}) {and now, in view
of the threat ...Re8, it would be time for White to think about equalitywith}
20. Rxd4 c5 21. Rd2 Bxe4 22. Re2 Bf5 23. e7 {when the prese nce of opposite
coloured bishops in a symmetrical position would make a draw the most probable
result.}) 18... fxg6 {With his poor development, Black cannot afford to
maintain the tension in this area.} 19. e6 ({White opens the diagonal for his
bishop, putting the whole black queen side under some danger. He would have no
winning chances after} 19. Rad1 Bxe4 20. Rxe4 Bc5+ 21. Kf1 Rf8+ 22. Ke2 Rd8 {
either. His central pawn can be easily blocked and does not present any danger
even in the case of exchanging all rooks.}) 19... Rd8 $1 ({Black defends his
c7-pawn by indirect means and forces the exchange of one pair of rooks, which
reduces White's attacking potential. The other possible way to simplify the
position wouldbe} 19... Bxe4 $6 20. Rxe4 Bc5+ {(driving the king further from
the centre)} 21. Kh1 Bd6 22. Bxd6 cxd6 {but after} 23. e7 Ra7 24. Rae1 {
Black would have big problems with the activation of his king's rook. White
would most likely find a favourable way to exchange his e-pawn for any Black
pawn from the sixth rank in order to obtain a better single-rook endgame.}) 20.
Rad1 Rxd4 21. Rxd4 Bxe4 {Now, this e xchange is well timed for reasons that
will be highlighted in the next comment.} 22. Rxe4 Bc5+ 23. Kf1 ({The king has
to get out of his castle because after} 23. Kh1 {Black would win a tempo with}
Rf8 {anyway in view of the weakness of the first rank, not protected by
White's other rook any more.}) 23... Rf8+ 24. Ke1 (24. Ke2 {looks more active,
but would hardly chance anything if Black plays in the same way as in the game.
Instead of that,} Ke7 $2 {would be bad because after} 25. Bxc7 Rf2+ 26. Kd3
Rxg2 27. b4 {the bishop have to leave his king alone against the concentrated
action of White's pieces, for instance} Bg1 28. Bd6+ $1 Kd8 29. Rf4 Rf2 {
and now, apart from the fact that the bishop ending is easily winning for
White, the forced sequence} 30. Rf8+ Rxf8 31. e7+ $1 {queens immediately.})
24... Bd6 25. Bxd6 cxd6 {In spite of the mass simplifications, White seems to
maintain some initiative.} 26. Rc4 ({White has no better way to attack the
enemy queen side.} 26. Rb4 {(suggested by IM Vlad Barnaure) can be met by} b5
27. a4 ({In case of} 27. c4 $6 Rf4 28. b3 d5 {White can get the worse position
already.}) 27... Rf5 {and White cannot make any progress.}) 26... Rf5 $1 {
This simple move solves all Black's problems.} 27. Rc8+ ({White's intended} 27.
Rc6 {can be adequately met by} Rc5 {with general exchanges and an obvious draw.
}) 27... Ke7 28. Rc7+ Kxe6 29. Rxg7 Re5+ {Remarkably, the black rook is
supported by the own pawns along the whole fifth rank. In order to escape from
checks, the king has to hide passively behind his pawns, which would hardly
look like a winning attempt. I am not sure whether a draw was agreed here or
after some more checks, because after Black's 25th move the electronic
transmission of the moves was broken.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Baku FIDE GP"]
[Site "Baku"]
[Date "2014.10.10"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Andreikin, Dmitry"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2797"]
[BlackElo "2722"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "153"]
[EventDate "2014.10.02"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "AZE"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 163"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.11.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.11.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 b6 $5 {In the Berlin Defence, the
light-squared bishop usually spends the first phase of the game on the c8-h3
diagonal, defending or occupying the e6-square. Much later, it would be just
too happy to get on to the long diagonal, so the desire of some players 
(including the modern godfather of the variation, former World Champion
Vladimir Kramnik) to put it in the fianchetto from the beginning is
understandable. But ...Bb7 is not the only possible way of developing the
bishop, White neds to worry about ...Ba6, too. In certain cases, the bishop
could become hyper-active, dominating several white pieces, including the
rooks!} 11. Rd1 {Evacuating the f1-a6 diagonal in advance.} ({The natural
developing move allows Black to start his counterplay at once:} 11. Bf4 Bb4 {
[%cal Gb4c3]} 12. Ne4 Ba6 13. Rfc1 Be2 14. Nh2 (14. Nfd2 Bxd2 15. Nxd2 Nd4 16.
Be3 Nf5 17. Bf4 Nd4 18. Be3 Nf5 19. Bf4 Nd4 {1/2-1/2 Topalov,V (2772)-Carlsen,
M (2877) Saint Louis 2014}) 14... Rd8 15. c3 (15. g4 Rd4 16. Ng3 Nxg3 17. Bxg3
Bd2 18. Rcb1 h5 19. c3 Rd3 $17 {Shirov,A (2739)-Kramnik,V (2785) Moscow (blitz)
2007 (0-1, 45)}) 15... Be7 16. Re1 Bc4 17. g4 Nh4 18. Bg3 Ng6 19. f4 (19. Nf6+
Kf8 20. Nh5 Rd2 21. b3 Be2 $5) 19... Rd3 20. f5 Bd5 21. Nf1 Nh4 22. Re2 Nf3+
23. Kf2 {[%cal Ge4f6] Karjakin,S (2727)-Kramnik,V (2788) Moscow (blitz) 2008 
(0-1, 49)} Bg5 $5 {[%cal Gh7h5]}) (11. Re1 Bb4 12. Bd2 {is very comfortable
for Black. The positions with opposite-coloured bishops are known to offer
White as good as nothing.} Be6 13. g4 Ne7 14. Kg2 Rd8 15. a3 Bxc3 16. Bxc3 c5
17. Rad1 Rxd1 18. Rxd1 a5 {Anand,V (2791)-Ivanchuk,V (2779) Linares 2009 (1/
2-1/2, 32)}) ({Preventing ...Bb4 with} 11. a3 {is a bit premature, offering
Black a tempo for carrying out his main plan:} Bb7 12. Bf4 Rc8 ({Actually I do
not see the reason why Carlsen deviated from his previous game:} 12... c5 13.
Rad1 Bxf3 14. gxf3 c6 15. Be3 Rd8 16. Ne4 Be7 17. f4 f6 {Radjabov,T (2751)
-Carlsen,M (2786) Kallithea 2008 (1/2-1/2, 31)}) 13. Rfe1 c5 14. Nd2 (14. Ne4
Nd4 15. Nxd4 cxd4) 14... Nd4 15. Rac1 Be7 {Berg,E (2594)-Carlsen,M (2801) Oslo
2009 (0-1, 45). With very good play for Black in both cases.}) 11... Bb7 ({If} 
11... Ba6 {White can already play} 12. a3 $1 Rd8 (12... Bb7 $5 13. Bf4 c5 14.
Nb5 $18 {[%cal Gd1d8] White's extra tempo, Rfd1, is essential, preventing 14...
Bxf3 15.gxf3 Kd7.}) 13. Bf4 Bc8 14. Rxd8+ Kxd8 15. Rd1+ Ke8 {Grischuk,A (2763)
-Jumabayev,R (2525) Astana 2012 (1-0, 26)} 16. e6 $5 Bxe6 17. Bxc7 {[%cal
Gd1d8,Gd8a8]} Be7 18. Ne5 c5 19. Nc6 $16 {[%csl Ga7,Gb6]}) 12. Bf4 Bb4 {
This is consistent with the ...b7-b6 plan.} (12... Rc8 13. e6 fxe6 $6 (13...
Bd6 $5 14. exf7+ Kxf7) 14. Ng5 $36 {Shirov,A (2718)-Cori Tello,J (2522) St
Petersburg 2012 (1-0, 36)}) 13. Ne2 Be7 14. Ned4 ({With the g5-square defended,
} 14. e6 {fails to impress after} fxe6 15. Bxc7 c5 {with active play for Black.
}) 14... Nxd4 15. Nxd4 Rd8 16. Nf5 {This looks natural, but I allowed myself
to check what would happen if White delays the knight move by making some
useful moves on another sector of the board.} (16. a4 g6 (16... a5 $2 17. e6 {
[%csl Gb6,Gc7]} Bd6 18. e7 $5 Kxe7 19. Nf5+ $36) 17. a5 a6 $5 {[%csl Gb5][%cal
Gc6c5]} 18. e6 c5 19. Ne2 Rxd1+ 20. Rxd1 fxe6 21. Bxc7 b5 $13 {The knight is
far from e5 yet and the bishop pair is quite active, compensating for the
minor structural defect.}) 16... g5 {The only reasonable defence.} (16... g6 $2
17. Ng7+ Kf8 18. Bh6 Kg8 19. Rxd8+ Bxd8 20. Rd1 $18) 17. Be3 {White needs the
bishop on the c1-h6 dagonal in order to attack the g5-pawn and keep fighting
for the initiative.} ({If} 17. Bg3 {Black can think of} Bc8 {when the forced
line} 18. e6 Bxe6 19. Ng7+ Kf8 20. Nxe6+ fxe6 21. Bxc7 {leads to only symbolic
advantage for White.} Rd5 22. c4 Rxd1+ 23. Rxd1 Kf7 24. Rd7 Ke8 25. Rd3 Rf8 $11
) 17... Rg8 18. c4 $146 {This new move does not bring in anything new in the
evaluation of the position as equal.} (18. a4 c5 19. Nxe7 Rxd1+ 20. Rxd1 Kxe7
21. a5 Ke6 22. f3 h5 (22... Kxe5 $2 23. Rd7) 23. Kf2 Bc6 24. g3 Kf5 (24... Kxe5
25. Bxg5 $1 $14 Rxg5 $2 26. f4+) 25. Rd2 h4 $1 26. Re2 (26. g4+ Kxe5) (26. gxh4
gxh4 {[%csl Ge5,Gf3,Gh3][%cal Gg8g3]}) 26... hxg3+ 27. Kxg3 Bd5 $15 {/=
Smirnov,P (2518)-Sakaev,K (2612) Belgorod 2010 (½-½, 43)}) 18... c5 19. f3
Bc8 20. g4 f6 21. Nxe7 Kxe7 22. exf6+ Kxf6 {If compared with other typical
opposite-coloured bishops endings in this opening, White is in a slightly
better position due to the potential weakness on g5. It is not enough for
anything concrete, though.} 23. Kf2 Kg6 24. b3 Rgf8 25. Rxd8 Rxd8 26. Re1 Rd3
27. Ke2 Rd8 28. Kf2 Rd3 29. Ke2 Rd8 30. Rd1 Rd6 $5 {An ambitious move,} ({
but I failed to find any danger for Black after the rook exchange:} 30... Rxd1
31. Kxd1 Kf6 32. Bf2 Be6 33. Bg3 c6 34. Kd2 (34. a4 b5 35. axb5 cxb5 36. cxb5
Bxb3+ 37. Kd2 Ba4 $11) 34... b5 35. Kc3 bxc4 36. bxc4 Bf7 37. Bd6 a6 38. Bxc5
Ke5 39. Be3 h6 40. Kb4 Bg6 {[%cal Gg6d3,Gd3e2]}) 31. Rd3 (31. Rxd6+ cxd6 $11)
31... Bb7 32. Rc3 Re6 33. Kf2 Rf6 34. Bd2 Rd6 35. Ke2 Bc6 36. Re3 Kf7 {[%cal
Gd6e6]} 37. Rc3 Rh6 $6 {This will result in some slight trouble for Black.} (
37... h6 $11) 38. Bxg5 Rxh3 39. Bf4 h5 40. gxh5 Rxh5 41. Bxc7 {White has won a
pawn, but the opposite-coloured bishops and Black's good coordination allow
him count on holding the draw.} b5 42. Kf2 a6 43. Kg3 Rg5+ 44. Kf4 Kg6 45. Ke3
Rf5 46. Bf4 Kf7 47. Rc2 bxc4 48. Rxc4 Bb5 49. Rc1 Rd5 50. Kf2 Ke6 51. Be3 Kd6
52. Rh1 Bd3 53. Bd2 Bg6 54. Ke3 Rh5 55. Rg1 Bf7 56. Rg7 Ke7 57. Rg4 Bd5 58.
Rg7+ Bf7 59. f4 Rh3+ 60. Ke4 Kf6 61. Rg2 c4 62. bxc4 Bxc4 63. Be3 Rh5 64. Bd4+
Ke6 65. Rg6+ Kf7 66. Rf6+ Ke7 67. Be5 Bxa2 68. Rxa6 Be6 69. Ra7+ Bd7 70. Kd5
Rf5 71. Kd4 Rh5 72. Ke4 Ke6 73. Ra6+ Ke7 74. Bf6+ Kf7 75. Bg5 Rh1 76. Ra7 Re1+
77. Kd4 1/2-1/2

[Event "HUN-GER m"]
[Site "Budapest"]
[Date "2004.09.16"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Balogh, Csaba"]
[Black "Kritz, Leonid"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2513"]
[BlackElo "2541"]
[Annotator "Marin,M/Stoica"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2004.09.16"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "HUN"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 104"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.01.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.01.27"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Hungary"]
[BlackTeam "Germany"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "HUN"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 Be7 11. Bf4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Ne4 Be7 14.
Rfe1 Be6 15. Bg5 Rd8 16. f4 Bxg5 17. Nxg5 Rd2 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Rac1 Rf8 20.
Re4 h5 21. Kh2 h4 22. Kg1 Kf7 23. Rc4 Kg6 24. Re1 Rfd8 25. Re3 R8d4 26. Rxd4
Rxd4 27. Rf3 Rd1+ 28. Kh2 Rd2 29. Rb3 b6 30. Rc3 c5 31. a3 Kf5 32. b4 Kxf4 33.
bxc5 b5 34. Rf3+ Kxe5 35. Rf7 Rxc2 36. Rxc7 g5 37. Rxa7 Rxc5 38. a4 bxa4 39.
Rxa4 Kf5 {The fact that the extra-pawn was quite close from the main group of
pawns is overweighted by Black's advantage of space.} 40. Ra2 $6 ({Attacking
from the eight rank would have also failed to save the game:} 40. Ra8 e5 41.
Rf8+ Ke4 42. Rg8 (42. Rf3 Kd4) 42... Kf4 43. Rf8+ Ke3 44. Rg8 e4 $19 {Luiza
Marin}) ({White should have gained some space on the king side, before the
e-pawn starts to advance and the game acquires the contours of the game
Malakhatko-Bogza. A possible saving line would have been} 40. g4+ $5 Ke5 41.
Kg2 Rc2+ 42. Kg1 Kd5 43. Ra5+ Rc5 {The pawn is not sufficiently advanced to
ignore the threat against the g5-pawn.} 44. Ra6 e5 (44... Ke5 45. Rb6) 45. Rg6
Rc3 46. Kg2 (46. Kh2 $2 e4 47. Rxg5+ Kd4 48. Rg8 Rc2+ 49. Kg1 Ke3 {and the
penetration of the king decides:} 50. g5 Rf2 51. g6 Rf6 52. g7 Rf7 $19 {
with a similar winning construction as in the game Malakhatko-Bogza.}) ({
However,} 46. Rxg5 $5 {looks playable} Rxh3 47. Rg8 Kd4 48. Kf2 $1 e4 49. g5
e3+ 50. Ke2 Rh2+ 51. Ke1 {transposing to the main line.}) 46... Rg3+ 47. Kf2 $1
(47. Kh2 $2 e4 48. Rxg5+ Kd4 49. Rg8 e3 $19) 47... Rxh3 48. Rxg5 Kd4 49. Rg8 e4
50. g5 e3+ 51. Ke2 Rh2+ 52. Ke1 h3 53. g6 Rg2 54. g7 h2 55. Rd8+ Ke4 56. Re8+
Kf4 57. Rf8+ Ke5 58. Rh8 $11 {-see the analysis from 79.Rg5 Rf3 80.Rg8, in the
game Malakhatko-Bogza,A}) 40... Rc3 41. Rf2+ Ke4 42. Rf8 Rc5 43. Rg8 Rf5 $6 ({
Black shouldn't have allowed the freeing move g4.} 43... Kf4 $142 {/\ e5-e4-/+}
) 44. g3 $6 ({Once again, more chances would have been offered by} 44. g4 $5
Ra5 (44... Rf2+ 45. Kg1 Ra2 (45... Rf3 46. Kg2 Rg3+ 47. Kf2 Rxh3 48. Rxg5) 46.
Rxg5 Kf4 47. Rb5 e5 48. Rb8 e4 49. Kf1 e3 (49... Kf3 50. Rf8+ Ke3 (50... Kg3
51. g5 Kxh3 52. Re8 $11) 51. Rb8 {and it is not clear how Black could makeany
further progress.}) 50. Rf8+ Kg3 51. g5 Kxh3 52. Rf3+ Kg4 53. Rxe3 Kxg5 54. Re2
Ra4 55. Kg2 $11 {Luiza Marin}) 45. Rg6 Ra2+ 46. Kg1 e5 47. Rxg5 Kf4 48. Rf5+
Kg3 49. Kf1 Ra1+ (49... e4 50. g5 Kxh3 51. Re5 $11 {NV}) 50. Ke2 Kxh3 51. Rxe5
(51. g5 $2 Kg4 52. Rxe5 h3 53. Re7 h2 $19) 51... Kg2 (51... Kxg4 52. Kf2 Kh3
53. Rh5 $11) 52. g5 Ra4 53. g6 Rg4 54. Rf5 $1 {Remarkably, this position would
be winning in the absence of the g-pawn. Black would play 54...Re4+, driving
the enemy king away, but the tempo needed to eliminate the passed pawn proves
of decisive importance.} Rxg6 55. Rf2+ Kg1 56. Rf1+ Kh2 57. Rf2+ Rg2 58. Kf1 h3
59. Rf3 $11) 44... Kf3 $1 $17 45. gxh4 ({Now} 45. g4 {would have come one move
too late:} Ra5 46. Rf8+ Ke3 47. Rf6 e5 48. Rf5 Ra2+ 49. Kg1 e4 50. Rxg5 Kf3 (
50... Rf2 $6 51. Rf5 $1) 51. Rg8 e3 52. Rf8+ Ke2 $1 (52... Kg3 $6 53. Kf1) 53.
g5 Ra5 $19 {with the same winning plan as in the game Malakhatko-Bogza.}) 45...
gxh4 46. Ra8 e5 47. Ra3+ Kf4 48. Ra1 e4 $19 49. Rf1+ Ke5 50. Re1 Rf2+ 51. Kg1
Rf3 52. Kg2 Kf4 53. Ra1 Rg3+ 54. Kh2 e3 55. Ra4+ Kf3 56. Rxh4 e2 0-1

[Event "Lausanne YM 4th"]
[Site "Lausanne"]
[Date "2003.09.19"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "McShane, Luke J"]
[Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2619"]
[BlackElo "2585"]
[Annotator "McShane,L"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2003.09.17"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 098"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2004.02.03"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2004.02.03"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 h6 11. b3 Ng6 12. Bb2 Ke8 13. Ne4 Bd7 14. Rfe1
c5 15. Rad1 Rd8 16. c4 Nf4 17. Bc1 Ne6 18. Nc3 Be7 19. Nd5 Bc6 20. Rd3 Bxd5 (
20... Bg5) 21. Rxd5 c6 (21... Nd4) 22. Rxd8+ (22. Rdd1) 22... Kxd8 23. Rd1+ Kc7
24. Bb2 (24. g4 {[%cal Yg1g3]}) 24... b5 25. Kf1 Rb8 26. Bc3 Kc8 27. g3 Rb6 28.
Ra1 f5 29. Ke2 b4 30. Bb2 a5 31. a4 (31. a3) 31... Rb7 (31... bxa3 32. Rxa3 a4
33. Nd2 axb3 34. Rxb3 Ra6 35. Ra3 Rb6 36. Bc3) 32. Ne1 Rd7 33. Ng2 Bf8 (33...
Ng5 34. Nf4 Ne4 35. Nd3 Bg5 36. h4 Bd2) 34. Nh4 f4 35. Ng6 fxg3 36. fxg3 (36.
f4 Rf7 37. Ke3 Nd4 (37... Be7 {[%cal Ye6f4]} 38. Rg1 Nxf4 39. Nxe7+ Kd7 40. e6+
) 38. Bxd4 cxd4+ 39. Kd3) 36... Rf7 37. Rd1 Kc7 38. h4 Be7 39. Rd3 Kc8 (39...
Nf8 40. e6 Nxe6 41. Ne5 Bf6 42. Nxf7 Bxb2 {[%csl Rb3][%cal Ye6d4,Yb2c3]}) 40.
Nh8 (40. Rf3 Rxf3 41. Kxf3 Kd7 42. Ke4) 40... Rf8 41. Ng6 Re8 (41... Rf7) 42.
Rf3 Bd6 43. Rf7 (43. exd6 Nd4+ 44. Kf2 Re2+ (44... Nxf3 45. Kxf3) 45. Kf1 Rxb2
46. Rf7 Rxb3 47. Ne5 Rb1+ (47... Re3 48. Rc7+ Kb8 49. Nd7+ Ka8 50. Nxc5) 48.
Kg2 Re1 49. Rf8+ (49. Rc7+ Kb8 50. Nd7+ Ka8 51. Nxc5) 49... Kb7 50. d7 Ne6 51.
Re8 Rxe5 52. Rxe6) 43... Bc7 (43... Nd4+ 44. Bxd4 cxd4 45. Rf5 (45. Kd3 Bxe5
46. Nxe5 Rxe5 47. Kxd4 Re1 48. Kc5 Re3)) 44. Ne7+ Kb7 45. Nf5 Kb6 46. Nxg7 (46.
Ke3 Nd4) (46. Re7 Rxe7 47. Nxe7 Bd8) 46... Nxg7 47. Rxg7 Bxe5 48. Bxe5 Rxe5+
49. Kf2 Rf5+ 50. Kg2 Re5 51. Rf7 h5 52. Kf2 Re8 53. Rf4 (53. Rf5 Rd8 54. Rxh5
Rd2+ (54... Rd3 55. Re5 Rxb3 56. h5)) (53. Rf3 Rd8 (53... Rg8) 54. g4 Rd4 (
54... hxg4 55. Re3) 55. g5) 53... Rd8 54. Ke2 (54. g4 hxg4 55. Rxg4 Rd2+) 54...
Re8+ 55. Kd3 Rg8 56. Rf3 (56. g4 hxg4 57. Ke2 g3 58. Kf1 g2+ 59. Kg1 Rg3 60. h5
Rh3) 56... Kc7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Dortmund 44th"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "2016.07.16"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2798"]
[BlackElo "2706"]
[Annotator "Mekhitarian,K"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2016.07.09"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 174"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.09.13"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.09.13"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 {A solid approach against
the Berlin variation of the Ruy Lopez. White regains the pawn, maintaining a
symmetric structure but keeping the more comfortable position since Black has
to place his knight on the awkward d6-square. Most of the time, Black
equalizes with a few precise moves.} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9.
d4 (9. Nc3 Ne8 10. Nd5 Bd6 11. Re1 c6 12. Ne3 Bc7 13. Nf5 d5 14. Ne7+ Kh8 15.
Nxc8 Rxc8 {White has gained the bishop pair, but Black is left with a very
solid position.} 16. d4 Nf6 17. Be3 Qd7 18. f3 Rce8 19. Qd2 Kg8 20. Bf2 Nh5 21.
Rxe8 Rxe8 22. Re1 Rxe1 23. Qxe1 g6 24. a4 Nf4 25. b4 a6 26. a5 {1/2-1/2 (26)
Shirov,A (2676)-Kryvoruchko,Y (2711) Al Ain 2015}) 9... Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. Nc3
$5 $146 {A novelty in this position which already occured once by a
transposition of moves. White sacrifices the d4-pawn in order to obtain some
initiative.} (11. c3 {is the normal move, after what Black gets time to solve
his development issues} Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 13. Bf4 d5 14. Bd3 g6 15. Nd2 Ng7 16.
Nf3 Bf5 $11 {1/2-1/2 (30) Carlsen,M (2834)-Kramnik,V (2796) Doha 2015}) 11...
Rxe1 12. Qxe1 b6 (12... Bxd4 {has to be the most challenging. Black wasn't in
the mood to check his opponent's preparation and didn't accept the sacrifice.}
13. Bf4 (13. Nd5 $5 $146 c6 14. Bf4 cxd5 15. Bxd6 Bxb2 16. Rb1 Bf6 17. Qd1 Be7
18. Qxd5 Bxd6 19. Qxd6 Qf8 20. Qc7 $44) 13... Ne8 14. Nd5 c6 (14... d6 15. Bg5
f6 16. Bc4 fxg5 (16... Kh8 17. Qe4) 17. Nxc7+ Kh8 18. Nxa8 $13) 15. Ne7+ Kf8
16. Nxc8 Qf6 17. Bg3 (17. Qb4+ $5 c5 18. Qd2 Rxc8 19. Re1 $44) 17... Rxc8 18.
Qb4+ d6 19. Qxb7 Rc7 20. Qb8 Bxb2 21. Bxd6+ Qxd6 22. Qxb2 Re7 {and Black was
able to equalize -} 23. Rb1 Qc5 24. Bd3 {1/2-1/2 (24) Kravtsiv,M (2565)
-Kryvoruchko,Y (2692) Jerusalem 2015}) (12... c6 {allows something like} 13. d5
$5) 13. Bf4 Bb7 14. Bxd6 cxd6 {Now White has a clear plan: play against this
weakened structure, limiting especially the b7-bishop.} 15. Qe3 {Re1 is coming,
I don't see many options for Black besides ...Qe7.} Qe7 16. Qxe7 Bxe7 17. g3
Kf8 18. a4 $5 (18. Bg2 $5 {is a possible idea, Black would have to play} Bc6 {
, and then something like a4 would be similar to the game I guess.}) 18... Bc6
(18... a6 19. Bg2 Bxg2 (19... Bc6 20. Nd5 Bd8 (20... Bxd5 21. Bxd5 $16 {
with an excellent endgame.}) 21. c3 $14 {keeping the better chances}) 20. Kxg2
{is very bad for Black, the threat is Nd5, totally dominating the passive
bishop:} Rc8 21. Kf3 d5 {The only move to avoid suffocation.} 22. Ke3 Rc4 23.
Kd3 Bf6 24. Ne2 $16) 19. a5 (19. Ba6 $5 Rb8 (19... d5 20. Nb5 Bxb5 21. Bxb5 Bf6
22. c3 Ke7 23. a5 Rb8 24. Re1+ Kd6 25. a6 $14 {is comfortable for White,
though it's not easy to make progress.}) 20. d5 Bb7 21. Bxb7 Rxb7 22. Nd1 $14)
19... bxa5 20. d5 Bb7 21. Rxa5 a6 22. Ra3 Bf6 23. Na4 $5 Ke7 24. c4 (24. Nb6 $5
Rb8 (24... Bxb2 25. Re3+ Kd8 26. Nxa8 $18) 25. c3 Kd8 26. Bh3 Bc8 27. Nc4 Kc7
28. Ra2 Bb7 29. Bg2 $14) 24... Kd8 25. Re3 a5 26. Be2 Ba6 27. Kf1 Rb8 28. b3 {
At the cost of weakening many dark squares, White has succeeded in leaving the
a6-bishop totally out of the game. The next part of the game still is very
complicated.} g5 $6 {I don't get this idea, besides the fact that it
potentially creates serious weaknesses on the kingside.} (28... g6 $13 {
With a move like this one I don't know exactly how White would improve his
position, even though he clearly has the best chances. Maybe taking his king
to the queenside and then somehow relocating the knight from a4 could be an
idea, but then ...a4 from Black has to be observed.}) 29. Ke1 Bd4 30. Rf3 Ke7
31. Bd1 h6 32. Kd2 Rb4 33. Kd3 Ba7 34. Rf5 {Highlighting one of the problems
with 28...g5?!} f6 35. Nc3 Bc5 36. f4 Rb8 37. fxg5 fxg5 38. Kc2 Bg1 $6 (38...
Rf8 $5 {was required, entering an awkard endgame, but I don't see clearly how
White can convert it into a full point. For example:} 39. Rxf8 Kxf8 40. Kd3 Ke7
41. Ne4 Bg1 42. h3 Bh2 43. Bh5 Bg1 (43... Bb7 $2 44. Kc3 $18 {Kb2-Ka3-Ka4 is
coming}) 44. g4 $1 Bh2 45. Nc3 Kf6 46. Ne2 Be5 $1 (46... Ke5 47. Nd4 Kf6 48.
Nf5 Bf4 49. Be8 Bc8 50. Nxh6 Ke7 51. Bg6 $18) 47. Nd4 Bxd4 48. Kxd4 Bb7 49. Kc3
Ba6 50. Be8 Ke7 51. Bg6 Kd8 $11 {running to b6, to avoid Kb2-Ka3-Ka4.}) 39. Bh5
$6 (39. Rf1 $1 {would avoid the rook exchange - if Black takes on h2, then he
has problems to escape with his bishop -} Bc5 {and now start all over with Bg4
or Bh5.} (39... Bxh2 40. Re1+ Kd8 41. Ne4 a4 42. Kc3 axb3 43. Bxb3 Kc7 44. Rh1
Re8 45. Kd4 Rxe4+ 46. Kxe4 Bxg3 47. Rxh6 $16 {with good winning chances.}))
39... Bxh2 $2 (39... Rf8 40. Rxf8 Kxf8 41. h3 {would transpose to 38...Kf8 and
was definitely a better chance than the game continuation, which involved
enormous risks and is actually simply lost for Black.}) 40. Rf7+ Kd8 41. Bg4 $1
Rb7 (41... Bxg3 42. Ne4 Be5 43. Rxd7+ Ke8 44. Nxd6+ $18 {and everything
collapses.}) 42. c5 $6 (42. Ne4 $1 a4 (42... Rc7 43. Nxd6 a4 44. Nb5 $1 Bxb5 $2
(44... axb3+ 45. Kb2 Rxc4 46. Rxd7+ Kc8 47. Nd6+ Kb8 48. Nxc4 $18) 45. d6 $18)
43. c5 $1 axb3+ 44. Kb2 $18 dxc5 45. d6 {with mate to follow.}) 42... Bxg3 43.
Ne4 dxc5 (43... Rc7 $5 44. Nxg3 Rxc5+ 45. Kb2 Bb5 $16 {with chances to survive.
}) 44. Nxg3 d6 45. Rf8+ Ke7 46. Ra8 Rb6 $2 (46... Bd3+ $1 47. Kc3 (47. Kxd3 $2
Rxb3+ 48. Ke4 Rxg3 {and Black has hopes to escape}) 47... Bg6 {threatening to
'run' with ...Kf6-Ke5} 48. Rxa5 Kf6 49. Ra1 $16) 47. Kc3 $18 {Now White has a
deadly attack.} Bb7 48. Nf5+ Kf6 49. Rf8+ Ke5 50. Ne3 Ke4 51. Nc4 Ra6 {A
classy finish - Ponomariov allows a very pretty checkmate in the center of the
board!} 52. Bf3# 1-0

[Event "Bundesliga 0809"]
[Site "Germany"]
[Date "2008.10.26"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Stellwagen, Daniel"]
[Black "Efimenko, Zahar"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2605"]
[BlackElo "2680"]
[Annotator "Meyer,CD"]
[PlyCount "155"]
[EventDate "2008.10.03"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 126 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2008.11.05"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.11.05"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Solingen"]
[BlackTeam "Werder Bremen"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. h3 Bd7 11. b3 b6 12. Bb2 Kc8 13. Rad1 c5 {Eine
bekannte Stellung aus dem berühmten Endspiel der Berliner Variante im Spanier,
doch diese frühe Schwächung des Feldes d5 wurde bisher meistens vermieden und
fast ausschließlich durch 13...Ne7! ersetzt, womit Schwarz die Umgruppierung
c5/Bc6/Kb7 plant, vorerst aber Weiß an Nd5 hindert.} ({Eine andere Möglichkeit
mit zurückgehaltenem ...c5 ist} 13... a5 {, z.B.} 14. Rd3 (14. a4 $5 Ne7 15.
Rd2 c5 16. Rfd1 $14 {, Coenen-Yeke, Izmir 2004}) 14... Be7 15. Rfd1 Rd8 16. a4
Be6 17. Ne2 Rxd3 18. Rxd3 c5 $14 {, Dominguez-Dzhakaev, Linares 2002, ECO/C5})
14. Nd5 {Zu dieser Stellung liegen bislang nur wenige Erfahrungen vor.} a5 ({I
} 14... Bc6 15. c4 Kb7 16. g4 Ne7 17. Nh4 Bxd5 18. cxd5 Rd8 19. d6 (19. e6 $5
f6 20. Ng2) 19... cxd6 20. Rxd6 Nc6 (20... Rxd6) 21. Rxd8 Nxd8 22. f4 $14 {
remis/45, Mista,A (2467)-Deszczynski,A (2341), Wysowa 2003}) ({II} 14... Rg8
15. Rd2 (15. Rd3 Ne7 16. Nf4 Nc6 17. e6 fxe6 18. Re1 Bd6 19. Nxe6 g6 (19... g5)
20. a3 a5 21. Nd2 Re8 22. Rde3 a4 23. Nc4 axb3 24. cxb3 b5 25. Nxd6+ cxd6 26.
Nf4 Rxe3 27. Rxe3 g5 28. Nd5 Kb7 29. g4 Re8 30. Rf3 $2 Re1+ 31. Kg2 Ne5 (31...
Nd8 $1 32. Re3 Rb1 $17) 32. Rf6 $4 Bc6 $19 33. Rxd6 Nf7 {0-1/44, Zhornik,N 
(2292)-Kilimar,V (2050), Simferopol 2004}) (15. c4 $5) 15... Bc6 16. c4 Kb7 17.
Kh2 a5 18. a4 Re8 19. g4 Ne7 20. Nh4 h5 21. f4 (21. g5) 21... hxg4 22. hxg4 Rd8
23. Rfd1 g5 24. fxg5 Rxg5 (24... Bxd5) 25. Nxe7 Rxd2+ 26. Rxd2 Bxe7 27. Nf5 Bf8
28. Kg3 Kc8 29. Rh2 $14 {1-0/41, Rudolf,H (2346)-Suchin,D (2276), Germany 2005}
) 15. a4 ({Die Standardreaktion, um a5-a4 nebst Öffnung der a-Linie zu
vermeiden, indes ermöglicht sie ohne weiteres den folgenden Hebel. Auf} 15. Rd2
{kann durchaus} a4 $132 {folgen, z.B.} 16. Rfd1 Bc6 (16... Be6 $5) 17. c4 axb3
18. axb3 Kb7 19. g4 Ne7 20. Kg2 Ra2 21. Kg3 $6 (21. e6 $142 $5 {trotz der
Fesselung} fxe6 (21... Bxd5 22. cxd5 f6 23. Nh4) 22. Nf4) 21... b5 $2 (21...
Nxd5 22. cxd5 Bxd5 23. Rxd5 Rxb2 24. Rd8 g5 25. Re8 f6 $1 26. Rdd8 fxe5 27.
Rxf8 Rxf8 28. Rxf8 Rxb3 29. Kg2 c4 $15) 22. Nc3 Ra5 23. cxb5 Bxb5 24. Rc2 (24.
Rd8) (24. Nxb5) 24... Bc6 25. Nd2 Ng6 26. Nc4 Ra8 27. Nd5 $14 {1-0/54,
Zhigalko,A (2538)-Podolchenko,E (2429), Minsk 2007}) 15... c4 $5 ({Diese
Auflösung des Doppelbauern mit Lockerung des weißen Damenflügels plus
Diagonalöffnung für den Bf8 wirkt konsequent, zumal Weiß dort die Stellung
nach beispielsweise} 15... Ne7 {mit} 16. c4 {geschlossen halten könnte;
andererseits kostet das schwarze Vorgehen auch Zeit, die Weiß aufgrund seines
Entwicklungsvorsprungs energisch nutzen sollte.}) 16. e6 $6 ({Zu forsch,
besser war der Einschub von} 16. g4 $142 Ne7 17. Nf4 $14 {, was das schwarze
Konzept eher in Frage gestellt hätte} (17. e6)) 16... fxe6 (16... Bxe6 17. Nf4
(17. bxc4 $6) 17... Bd7 18. Ne5 Nd6 19. Rfe1 Bf5 $13) 17. Nf4 cxb3 18. cxb3 Bd6
19. Ng6 Rg8 20. Nfe5 Be8 21. g4 Bxe5 22. Nxe5 Ne7 23. Rfe1 Nd5 $15 {Nun läuft
Weiß seinem Minusbauern hinterher und ist bemüht, ausreichend Kompensation zu
finden.} 24. Nf3 Nf4 25. Nd4 Bd7 $6 ({Hier war konkrete Variantenberechnung
angesagt:} 25... Nxh3+ $1 26. Kg2 (26. Kf1 $2 Rf8 27. Rd2 Bd7 28. Nxe6 Rf7)
26... Nf4+ 27. Kg3 g5 28. Nxe6 (28. Bc1 Bd7) 28... Nxe6 29. Rxe6 Bf7 30. Rxh6 (
30. Re3 Rg6) 30... Bxb3 31. Rc1 Kb7 $15 (31... Bxa4 $6 32. Rxb6)) 26. Bc1 {
Wonach sich der kleine schwarze Vorteil verflüchtigt.} Rf8 (26... Nxh3+ 27. Kg2
Ng5 28. Kg3 Re8 29. Bxg5 hxg5 30. Nf3 $13 {/=}) 27. Bxf4 Rxf4 28. Rd3 Rf6 29.
Rde3 Kb7 30. Nxe6 $11 g5 31. Kg2 c5 32. Kg3 Rc8 {Um die Schattenseite des
Zuges a2-a4 mit dem Hebel c4 aufzuzeigen.} 33. f4 $1 {Mobilisiert rechtzeitig
seine Bauernmajorität am Königsflügel.} gxf4+ (33... Bxe6 34. fxg5 hxg5 35.
Rxe6 Rxe6 36. Rxe6 c4 37. bxc4 Rxc4 38. Re5 Rxa4 39. Rxg5 $13 {/=}) 34. Nxf4 c4
35. Re7 $6 ({Bei nahender Zeitkontrolle beginnt Weiß plötzlich zu schwächeln.
Nach} 35. Rd1 $142 Rf7 (35... Be8 36. Re7+ Ka6 37. Nd5 $13 {/=}) 36. Nd5 h5 37.
Re7 Rcf8 38. bxc4 hxg4 39. hxg4 Rxe7 40. Nxe7 Bxa4 $13 {/= dürfte das
Gleichgewicht in etwa gewahrt sein.}) 35... Rd6 36. bxc4 Rxc4 37. R1e4 $2 ({
Ein Knackpunkt: Erforderlich war das resolute} 37. h4 {zwecks unverzüglicher
Schaffung eines Freibauern:} Ka6 (37... Rxa4 38. g5 $11) 38. g5 hxg5 39. hxg5
Bxa4 40. g6 Bb3 (40... Rxf4 41. Kxf4 Rxg6 42. R7e6 Rxe6 43. Rxe6 $11 {Datenbank
}) 41. g7 a4 $15) 37... Rxe4 38. Rxe4 Bc6 39. Rc4 Rd1 40. h4 ({Dies sollte
jetzt zu spät kommen, während} 40. Ne6 {wegen} Bd5 41. Rd4 (41. Nd8+ Ka6) 41...
Bb3 42. Re4 Ra1 43. h4 (43. Nd4 Bxa4) 43... Rxa4 $17 {/-+ ebenso unzureichend
erscheint.}) 40... Rg1+ 41. Kh3 Ra1 42. g5 (42. Ne6 Bxa4 (42... Rxa4 $4) 43.
Rc7+ Ka6 44. Rh7 Bc2 45. Rxh6 a4 $17 {/-+}) 42... hxg5 43. hxg5 Rxa4 $2 ({
Mit dieser Unachtsamkeit tappt Efimenko in eine tückische Falle und bringt
sich um die Früchte seiner Mühen. Korrekt war das Zwischenschach} 43... Ra3+ $1
{, und nach} 44. Kh4 (44. Kg4 Bd7+ 45. Kh4 {/Kh5} Rxa4) 44... Rxa4 45. Rxa4
Bxa4 {mit dem Plan Bb3, a4 stünde der schwarze Gewinn außer Frage.}) 44. Rxc6
$8 {!! Eine prächtige Riposte, die Schwarz völlig übersehen hatte. Plötzlich
bildet der g-Bauer ein ausreichendes Gegengewicht.} Rxf4 ({Mit Übergang in ein
Turmendspiel, das zumindest wesentlich chancenreicher und gehaltvoller ist als
} 44... Kxc6 45. g6 {mit forciertem Remis:} Ra3+ (45... Re4 $2 46. g7 $8 Rxf4 (
46... Re8 $2 47. Ng6 $8 Kd6 48. Nf8 $18) 47. g8=Q Rb4 $11 {/Rd4=/Rf3=, lt.
Datenbank}) 46. Kh2 Ra2+ 47. Kg1 Ra3 48. Kf2 Ra2+ 49. Ke3 Ra3+ 50. Nd3 Ra1 51.
Kf2 Ra2+ 52. Kf1 $11 (52. Kf3 $4 Rd2)) 45. Rf6 $8 ({Ein tödlicher Tempoverlust
wäre} 45. Rc1 $2 {wegen} b5 46. g6 Rf8 47. Kh4 b4 48. Kh5 Ka6 (48... Kb6) 49.
g7 Rg8 50. Kh6 a4 $19 (50... b3 $19)) 45... Rd4 46. g6 Rd8 47. g7 Rg8 48. Rf7+
Ka6 (48... Kc6 {bringt auch nicht mehr:} 49. Kg2 (49. Kh4 $2 b5 50. Kh5 (50.
Kg5 b4 51. Kf5 b3 $19) 50... b4 51. Kh6 b3 52. Rf8 Rxg7 53. Kxg7 a4 $19 54. Rb8
Kc5 55. Kf6 Kc4 56. Ke5 Kc3 (56... a3) 57. Rc8+ Kb2 58. Kd4 a3 $8 59. Kc4 Ka2
$8 60. Kb4 b2 $8 61. Rc2 Ka1 $8 {und gewinnt}) (49. Kg4 b5 50. Kf5 b4 51. Ke4
Kb5 52. Kd3 Ka4 53. Kc2 Ka3 54. Kb1 $11) 49... a4 (49... b5 50. Kf2 Kc5 (50...
b4 51. Ke2 a4 52. Kd2 $11) 51. Ke2 Kc4 52. Kd2 Kb3 53. Kc1 a4 54. Kb1 $11) 50.
Kf2 a3 (50... b5 51. Ke2 $11) 51. Ke3 a2 52. Ra7 Rxg7 53. Rxa2 $11 {und hier
fehlt Schwarz zum Sieg ein Tempo.}) 49. Kg2 $2 ({Nun ist die Chose richtig
kompliziert geworden. Indes hat Weiß die falsche Rollenverteilung gewählt,
denn hier mußte der König seinen Bauern g7 unterstützen und mit dem Turm den
a-Bauern stoppen, um haarscharf den Remishafen zu erreichen:} 49. Kh4 $1 {/Kg4!
} a4 (49... b5 50. Kh5 b4 51. Kh6 b3 52. Rf8 Rxg7 53. Kxg7 a4 {, doch während
dieselbe Stellung nur mit dem schwarzen König auf c6 statt auf a6 für Schwarz
gewonnen wäre - siehe die Variante 48...Kc6 49.Kh4?/53...a4 -, hält Weiß hier
remis, weil der schwarze König auf der a-Linie abgeklemmt ist und nicht vor
seine Bauern gelangt:} 54. Rb8 $11 {, z.B.} Ka5 55. Kf6 b2 (55... a3 56. Rxb3
Ka4) 56. Rxb2 a3) 50. Kh5 {/Kg5 und nun:} a3 ({oder} 50... b5 51. Kh6 {/Kg6} b4
52. Rf8 (52. Kh7 $4 Rxg7+ 53. Rxg7 b3 $19) 52... Rxg7 53. Kxg7 $11 {, z.B.} a3
54. Rb8 Ka5 55. Ra8+ Kb5 56. Kf6 Kc4 57. Ke5 b3 (57... Kb3 58. Kd4) 58. Rxa3 b2
59. Ra4+ $8 Kc3 60. Ra3+ $8 Kb4 (60... Kc2 61. Ra2) 61. Ra8) 51. Kh6 a2 52. Rf1
Kb5 53. Kh7 Ra8 54. g8=Q Rxg8 55. Kxg8 $11 {, z.B.} Kc4 56. Kf7 (56. Ra1) 56...
b5 57. Ra1 Kb3 58. Ke6 $8 Kb2 59. Rd1 (59. Rxa2+ $4) 59... a1=Q 60. Rxa1 Kxa1
61. Kd5 $11) 49... a4 50. Kf2 b5 $2 ({Zum Leidwesen der Werderaner gehen damit
beide Mannschaftspunkte verloren. Efimenko verpaßt zum zweiten Mal den
Gewinnweg, der jetzt allerdings äußerst schmal ist und über} 50... a3 $8 {
! geht, z.B.} 51. Rf3 (51. Ke3 a2 {In der vorigen Variante 48...Kc6/49.Kg2/51..
.a2 konnte Weiß mit Ra7 remis halten, im vorliegenden Fall kommt er mit dem
umständlichen Prozedere Rf1 plus Ke3-d3-c3 um das entscheidende Tempo zu spät.}
52. Rf1 (52. Rf8 Rxg7 $19 (52... a1=Q $19)) 52... Rxg7 $19 53. Kd3 (53. Ra1 Rg2
54. Kd3 Ka5) 53... Kb5 54. Kc3 Ra7 55. Ra1 Ra3+ {usw.}) 51... Rxg7 52. Rxa3+
Kb5 {Zwar "-+ " lt. Datenbank, aber bei bester Verteidigung ist die
Beweisführung sehr schwierig, man sehe:} 53. Ra1 (53. Rb3+ Kc5 54. Rb1 (54. Ke2
Rd7 $8 55. Rc3+ Kb4 $8 56. Rc1 b5 $19) 54... b5 55. Ke3 (55. Rc1+ Kb4 56. Rb1+
Kc4 57. Rc1+ Kd3 58. Rb1 Rb7 59. Ke1 b4 60. Kd1 Rd7 (60... Kc3) 61. Ke1 Kc3 62.
Rc1+ Kb2 63. Rc8 b3 {usw.}) 55... Rg3+ $8 56. Kd2 Kc4 $8 57. Rc1+ Kb4 58. Rb1+
Rb3 59. Rh1 Ka3 60. Kc1 b4 61. Rh2 Rg3 62. Rh1 Ka2 63. Rh2+ Ka1 64. Rh4 Rb3 65.
Kc2 Ka2 66. Rc4 Rb1 67. Kd3 b3 {usw.}) (53. Ke2 Kb4 $8 (53... Rd7 $2 54. Ra1
$11 Kb4 55. Rb1+ Kc5 56. Rc1+ Kd5 57. Rd1+ Kc6 58. Rxd7 Kxd7 59. Kd3 Kc6 60.
Kc4) 54. Ra1 Rg2+ 55. Kd3 Rb2 56. Kd4 b5 57. Rc1 Rd2+ 58. Ke3 Rd5 59. Ke4 Rh5
60. Kd3 Rh3+ 61. Kd4 Ka3 62. Ra1+ Kb2 63. Rg1 b4 64. Rg2+ Ka3 65. Rg8 b3 66.
Kc4 Kb2 {usw.}) 53... Kc4 54. Rc1+ Kd3 $8 55. Rb1 Rb7 56. Ke1 b5 57. Kd1 Kc3 $8
58. Rc1+ Kb3 $8 59. Rc8 b4 60. Kc1 Rh7 61. Rb8 Rh1+ 62. Kd2 Rb1 {usw. mit
technischem Gewinn}) 51. Ke2 a3 52. Kd3 a2 53. Rf1 Rxg7 ({Oder} 53... Ka5 54.
Kc3 $11 {/Kc2=} (54. Rf7 $4 Kb4 $19) 54... Rxg7 55. Kb2 (55. Kb3 Rg2 56. Ra1
Rh2 57. Rc1 (57. Rxa2+ $4 Rxa2 58. Kxa2 Ka4 59. Kb2 Kb4 $19) 57... Rg2 58. Ra1)
55... Rg2+ 56. Ka1 b4 57. Rf2 Rxf2 {patt}) 54. Ra1 $11 {Trotz zweier
Mehrbauern ist dies eine Remisstellung, ähnlich wie vorher gezeigt, doch
Schwarz kann freilich noch etwas bohren.} Ka5 (54... Rg2 55. Kc3 $8 Ka5 56. Kb3
$8 Rf2 57. Ka3 (57. Rc1)) 55. Kc3 $8 ({Bloß nicht} 55. Rxa2+ $2 Kb4 $19 {, z.B.
} 56. Ra1 (56. Rb2+ Ka4) 56... Rg3+ 57. Kd2 Rg2+ 58. Kd3 Kb3 59. Rb1+ Rb2 60.
Rc1 b4 61. Rc8 Rh2 62. Rb8 Ka3 63. Kc4 Rh4+ 64. Kd3 b3 {usw.}) 55... Rg3+ 56.
Kb2 Ka4 57. Rf1 Ra3 58. Ka1 b4 59. Rf8 Kb5 60. Rf5+ Kc6 61. Rf6+ Kd5 62. Rf5+
Ke4 63. Rb5 Ra4 64. Rb8 Kd4 65. Rh8 Ra6 66. Rh4+ Kc5 67. Rh5+ Kc4 68. Rh4+ Kb5
69. Rh5+ Ka4 70. Kxa2 Rg6 71. Rh3 Rg2+ 72. Kb1 Re2 73. Rg3 b3 74. Rg8 b2 75.
Ra8+ Kb4 76. Rb8+ Kc4 77. Rxb2 Rxb2+ 78. Kxb2 {Bis zur letzten Patrone
ausgekämpft und von Daniel Stellwagen bravourös verteidigt!} 1/2-1/2

[Event "October Revolution 60years"]
[Site "Leningrad"]
[Date "1977.07.16"]
[Round "15"]
[White "Balashov, Yuri S"]
[Black "Knezevic, Milorad"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2565"]
[BlackElo "2500"]
[Annotator "Moiseev,V"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "1977.06.25"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "MCL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8.
dxe5 Nb7 9. Re1 O-O 10. Nc3 Nc5 (10... Re8 $6 11. Qc4 Nc5 {Huebner,R-Spassky,B/
Venezia(m/1)/1989/1:0/ (42) Inf 47/408/} 12. Ng5 Ne6 (12... Bxg5) 13. Nxe6 fxe6
14. Be3 Rb8 15. b3 Rb4 16. Qd3 d6 (16... d5 17. Na4 $16) 17. Ne4 $16 {Huebner/}
) 11. Be3 (11. Bf4 $5 Ne6 12. Bg3 Rb8 {N} (12... d5 13. exd6 cxd6 14. Rad1 $16)
13. b3 f5 14. exf6 Bxf6 15. Ne5 Bxe5 16. Qxe5 d6 17. Qa5 $5 a6 18. Rad1 $14 {
Geller,E-Benko,P/Bad Woerishofen/1992/ Inf 57/331/}) 11... Ne6 12. Rad1 d5 (
12... Rb8 $5) 13. exd6 cxd6 14. Nd4 Nxd4 (14... Bd7 $5 15. Nf5 d5 16. Nxe7+
Qxe7 17. Qd2 Rfd8 $5 18. Ne2 Qf6 $10 {Lau,R-Sharif,Me/Mitropa-Cup/1988/0,5/ 
(18)}) 15. Bxd4 Re8 (15... Be6 16. Qf3 d5 17. Qg3 Bf6 18. Ne2 $14 {Krogius/})
16. Qf3 d5 17. Na4 Bf8 18. Qc3 (18. Bc5 $1 Rxe1+ (18... Bd7 19. Qc3 $16) 19.
Rxe1 Bg4 20. Qxg4 (20. Qc3 $5) (20. Qe3 $5) 20... Qa5 21. c3 Bxc5 22. Nxc5 Qxc5
23. Qd7 $16 {Tal,M-Portisch,L/Bruxelles/1988/0,5/ (27) Inf 45/375/}) 18... Bd7
$6 (18... Rxe1+ $5 19. Rxe1 Qg5 $1 {Yudovich/} 20. h3 (20. Qxc6 $2 Bh3 21. g3
Rc8 22. Qa6 Qd2) (20. Be3 Qg6 $10) 20... Bf5 $10) 19. Rxe8 Qxe8 20. Re1 $16 Qb8
(20... Be6 21. Re3 $16) 21. Bc5 Bd6 22. h3 Bh2+ $6 (22... h6 $16) 23. Kh1 Bf4
24. Bd4 f6 25. Nc5 Qd6 26. Nd3 Bh6 27. Bc5 Qb8 28. Re7 Bf5 29. Bd4 Qd6 30. Qe1
$5 (30. Rxa7 $16) 30... Be4 (30... Bd7 31. Bc5 Qc7 32. Qe6+ Bxe6 33. Rxc7 $18)
31. Bc5 Qb8 32. f3 Bf5 (32... Bxd3 33. Qe6+ Kh8 34. cxd3 $18) 33. Bxa7 $1 $18
Qc8 34. Bc5 g6 35. Qh4 Bg7 36. a3 g5 37. Qg3 Bxd3 38. cxd3 Bf8 39. Rc7 Qe6 40.
Bxf8 Rxf8 41. d4 Qe2 42. b4 Qd1+ 43. Kh2 Qxd4 44. Rxc6 Re8 45. b5 Kf7 46. b6
Re7 47. a4 Kg6 (47... Qxa4 48. Rc7 $18) 48. a5 Qa1 49. f4 h6 (49... Qxa5 50.
Qxg5+ $18) 50. f5+ Kxf5 51. Qd3+ 1-0

[Event "Al Ain op 4th"]
[Site "Al Ain"]
[Date "2015.12.27"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Wang, Hao"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2676"]
[BlackElo "2707"]
[Annotator "Mokal,P"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2015.12.23"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 170"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{With Wang Hao on 5/5 and Shirov half a point behind, this game was expected
to display some fireworks. But as has been the custom since the year 2000,
Black used the Berlin Wall to douse any fire before it even got started.} 1. e4
e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 {For now, Shirov chooses one of
the many possible ways to avoid the Q exchanges.} ({He declines the offer of
debating the Berlin endgame with} 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+
Kxd8) 5... Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 (9. d4 {is much more
popular, grabbing some space and central control, although Black has good
chances of equalising here too.}) 9... Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. Nd5 {An off-beat
choice which has been used as a one-time surprise by a couple of top players.}
({Topalov vs Grischuk went straight to an endgame after} 11. Rxe8+ Nxe8 (11...
Qxe8 12. d4 {gives White space in favourable conditions.}) 12. Nd5 Bg5 (12...
Bh4 13. g3 {1/2-1/2 Vallejo Pons,F (2697)-Ponomariov,R (2734)/Sestao 2010;
ended in a premature draw.}) 13. c4 c6 14. Nc3 Nf6 15. d4 Bxc1 16. Rxc1 d5 17.
Qb3 dxc4 18. Bxc4 Qe7 19. a4 b6 20. d5 cxd5 21. Nxd5 Nxd5 22. Bxd5 Be6 23. Bxe6
Qxe6 24. Qxe6 fxe6 {[%csl Re6] One of those R_|_ where Black is slightly worse
but he can draw with active play. That is exactly what Grischuk did -} 25. Kf1
(25. Rc7 Rd8 26. g3 Rd2 27. b3 Rd3 28. Rxa7 Rxb3 $11) 25... Rd8 26. Rc4 Rd2 27.
b4 a6 28. Rc6 Ra2 29. Rxe6 Rxa4 30. Rxb6 a5 31. b5 Rb4 32. g3 a4 33. Kg2 a3 34.
Ra6 Rxb5 35. Rxa3 Kf7 36. Ra2 h5 37. f4 g6 38. Kh3 Kf6 39. Kh4 Rc5 40. Ra7 Rc2
41. Ra6+ Kg7 42. h3 Rc4 43. Re6 Kh6 44. Rf6 Ra4 45. g4 Rxf4 46. Rxf4 g5+ 47.
Kg3 gxf4+ 48. Kxf4 hxg4 49. Kxg4 {1/2-1/2 Topalov,V (2767)-Grischuk,A (2780)/
Beijing CHN 2013/The Week in Chess 975}) 11... Rxe1 12. Qxe1 b6 13. d3 ({
Here Adams had tried} 13. g3 {but failed to get any advantage after} Bb7 14.
Bg2 c6 15. Ne3 Qe7 16. d3 Nf5 17. c3 d5 18. Bd2 Nxe3 19. Qxe3 Qxe3 20. Bxe3 $11
{1/2-1/2 Adams,M (2710)-Kramnik,V (2795)/London 2012 (38)}) ({Aronian chose} 
13. Nxf6+ Qxf6 14. f3 {to beat Anand in Zurich in February 2015, but since it
was a blitz game, one cannot make too much out of it.} Bb7 15. Qf2 Re8 ({
It would probably make sense to stop d4 with} 15... Nf5 16. c3 c5 {White can
still try to prove something because of his ^^ with} 17. b3 {but it should not
be that bad for Black.}) 16. d4 h6 (16... h5 $5) 17. Bd2 Nf5 (17... Bd5 $5 18.
b3 {[%cal Gc2c4]} (18. Re1 Rxe1 19. Bxe1 Bxa2 20. b3 Nf5 $15 {[%csl Ra2] White
cannot really win the B.}) 18... c5 19. Re1 Rxe1 20. Bxe1 cxd4) 18. c3 $14 {
[%csl Gd2,Gd4,Gf1]} Nh4 19. Bd3 Ng6 20. Re1 Rxe1+ 21. Qxe1 Qe6 22. Qxe6 dxe6
23. c4 Kf8 24. Kf2 Ke8 25. Bc2 Ne7 26. g4 Ba6 27. Bd3 f6 28. h4 $16 {1-0
Aronian,L (2777)-Anand,V (2797)/Zurich 2015. (43)}) 13... Bb7 14. Nxf6+ Qxf6
15. Qc3 ({Previously White tried but failed to get any advantage with} 15. Qb4
Nf5 16. c3 Re8 17. Bd2 c5 18. Qf4 h6 19. Re1 Rxe1 20. Bxe1 d6 21. h4 g6 22. Bd2
h5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Vachier Lagrave,M (2744)-So,W (2773)/Baku 2015 (41). This
combination of Bb7 and Nf5 keeps things under perfect control.}) 15... Qxc3 16.
bxc3 {It seems really tough to find an ambitious plan for White here. Black's
position is really very solid structure-wise and all his pieces are doing good
jobs. Meanwhile, White does not have a good way to utilise his double Bs.} Nf5
{If attacked with g4 the N will go to h4 and create problems for White on the
f3-square.} 17. f3 Re8 18. Kf2 Bc6 19. Bf4 d6 20. d4 f6 {White cannot play c4
with the d4-pawn hanging and trying to dislodge Black's pieces from good posts
will require some structural concessions.} 21. Bd3 ({It does not help to play} 
21. g4 g5 (21... Nh4 22. Bg3 (22. Be2 g5) 22... g5 {is also possible.}) 22.
Bxg5 (22. Bd2 Nh4 $11) 22... fxg5 23. gxf5 Kg7 24. Bd3 Kf6 $11 {as White's
weaknesses give Black easy equality. He threatens to just take back the pawn
with ...Bd7-Bf5.}) (21. Bc4+ Kh8 (21... d5 22. Ba6 Re7 23. Bd3 g6 24. Bxf5 gxf5
25. Re1 Kf7 26. Rxe7+ Kxe7 27. Bxc7 Ba4 {also looks equal.}) (21... Kf8 {
may be avoided as it allows a check in one sequence.} 22. Bd3 (22. d5 Bd7)
22... g6 23. g4 Nh4 24. Bh6+ Kg8 25. Bc4+ Kh8 26. Be2) 22. Bd3 g6 {and it is
similar to the game.}) 21... g6 22. a4 a5 {[%csl Ra4]} 23. Bxf5 gxf5 $11 {
Opposite coloured bishops with one structural weakness for both sides. There
is nothing left in the game now.} 24. c4 Rb8 25. c3 Kf7 26. c5 bxc5 27. dxc5
Rb2+ 28. Kg3 Rc2 29. cxd6 cxd6 30. Bxd6 Rxc3 31. Re1 Rd3 32. Re7+ Kg6 33. Bc5
Bxa4 34. Ra7 Bd7 35. Rxa5 Rd5 1/2-1/2

[Event "London Classic 7th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2015.12.06"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2750"]
[BlackElo "2778"]
[Annotator "Mokal,P"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2015.12.04"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 170"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 {Grischuk rarely shies away
from the Berlin endgame. The last time he tried something different was in
2006.} Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Ne2
{There are many alternatives for White, all played by strong players.} ({
Restricting ourselves to the recent World Championships we can recollect that
Carlsen played} 11. Bf4 {in game 7 of the World Championship match 2014. After}
Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. g3 Bxg5 15. Bxg5 Rg6 16. h4 f6 17. exf6 gxf6
18. Bf4 Nxh4 19. f3 Rd8 20. Kf2 Rxd1 21. Nxd1 Nf5 22. Rh1 {½-½ (122) Carlsen,
M (2863)-Anand,V (2792) Sochi 2014. White had a very tiny edge but Anand
resourcefully obtained a draw (fortress) by sacrificing a piece for 2 pawns a
few moves later.}) 11... b6 12. Bg5 (12. Nfd4 {does not bring anything because
after} Nxd4 13. Nxd4 c5 $1 14. Nb5 {Black has the key move} Kd7 $1 {[%cal
Gd7c6]}) ({Keeping the g5-square for the N did not achieve anything special
for White, as after} 12. Bf4 {[%csl Gf3,Gg5]} c5 13. Rad1 Bb7 14. Ng5 {[%csl
Gh6] Kramnik cleverly used the h6-square to manoeuvre his R with} Rh6 {[%cal
Gh6g6] McShane,L (2645)-Kramnik,V (2791) London 2010 CBM 140 [Postny,E] (½-½,
139), and even took over the initiative soon.}) ({Game 9 of the World
Championship Match 2014 saw Carlsen try} 12. Rd1 Ba6 13. Nf4 Bb7 14. e6 {
which looked scary at first, but Anand was well prepared and secured a short
and easy draw after} Bd6 15. exf7+ Kxf7 16. Ng5+ Kf6 17. Ne4+ Kf7 18. Ng5+ Kf6
19. Ne4+ Kf7 20. Ng5+ {1/2-1/2 Carlsen,M (2863)-Anand,V (2792)/Sochi 2014/CBM
164}) 12... c5 {[%csl Gd4] Black controls the d4-square...} ({Previously Black
had tried} 12... Bb7 {in Grischuk vs Caruana which was well analysed by Postny.
It went} 13. Rad1 Be7 (13... c5 $142 14. Nc3 {which would transpose to the
main game of 12...c5.}) 14. Bxe7 (14. e6 $5) 14... Kxe7 15. Nf4 c5 16. Ng5 Rh6
$2 (16... Rad8 $2 17. e6 $16) (16... Rhd8 $142 $1) 17. c3 $16 {[%cal Gf1e1,
Ge5e6] 1-0 Grischuk,A (2774)-Caruana,F (2796)/Skopje 2015/CBM 169/[Postny,E] 
(49); and Grischuk went on to score an impressive victory.}) 13. Nc3 {[%csl
Gb5,Gd5] White goes for the b5- and d5-squares.} ({White did not achieve
anything more than equality when he tried to protect his pawn structure -} 13.
Rad1 Bb7 14. Rd3 Be7 15. Bxe7 Kxe7 16. Rfd1 Rad8 17. Rxd8 Rxd8 18. Rxd8 Kxd8
19. Ng5 Ke7 20. Nf4 h4 {Black was very comfortable in the correspondence game
Myakutin vs Andersen, 2012, which was drawn after 37 moves.}) 13... Bb7 14.
Rad1 {[%cal Gc3b5]} Bxf3 15. gxf3 {[%cal Gc3d5,Gc3b5]} c6 {Black controls the
b5- and d5-squares...} 16. Ne4 {[%csl Gd6] White goes for the d6-square!} Be7
17. f4 Bxg5 (17... Rd8 $5) 18. fxg5 Ke7 19. Nd6 Ke6 ({Generally in the Ruy
Lopez Exchange structures, and the Berlin Variation, the pawn ending is
usually winning for White. So Black could not think about exchanging both the
rooks -} 19... Nxd6 20. Rxd6 Rhd8 21. Rfd1 Rxd6 22. Rxd6 Rd8 23. Rxd8 Kxd8 24.
f4 Ke7 25. Kf2 Ke6 26. Kf3 Kf5 27. Ke3 $18 {Eventually Black runs out of moves,
as due to his bad pawn structure on the queenside, White's 3 pawns easily
block Black's 4 pawns. Then it is just an extra pawn on the kingside for White.
Grischuk mentioned that he had studied this kind of endgame and knew it was
winning for White, although it may not be so obvious at the beginning of the
K+P ending.}) 20. f4 {Grischuk thought for 1 hour 20 minutes before making
this move!} (20. Nxf5 Kxf5 21. Rd7 Rhf8 $11 {is nothing for White. The near
perfect placement of the Black K compensates for the 7th rank placement of the
White R.}) (20. Rfe1 $2 Nd4 $1 {[%cal Gd4f3,Gd4c2] is great for Black.}) (20.
c3 Nxd6 (20... Rad8 21. Rfe1) 21. Rxd6+ (21. exd6 Kd7 $15) 21... Kxe5 $11)
20... Rad8 $2 {A mistake, but the problem for Grischuk was that having spent a
long long time working out the critical variations with 20...Nd6, he ran into
time trouble now.} (20... Ne3 $6 21. f5+ Ke7 22. f6+ $1 gxf6 23. exf6+ Kf8 24.
Nxf7 $3 ({Grischuk's first guess was} 24. Nf5 Nxd1 25. Rxd1 $14 {but it is
likely that he would have found 24.Nxf7 had the position arisen on the board.})
24... Kxf7 25. Rd7+ Kf8 (25... Ke8 26. Re7+ $18) 26. Rf3 $16 {[%csl Gf6,Gg5]
[%cal Gg5g6,Gg6g7]}) ({According to Grischuk the most critical reply was} 20...
Nxd6 {and this is the move that made him think for a long time.} 21. Rxd6+ (21.
exd6 $6 Kd7 $15) 21... Kf5 {"If White had his K on g2 here and he could play
Kf3 then Black would just have to resign, but White is not in time to achieve
this. After working out 22.Kg2 and 22.Rc6 and not finding anything, I realised
that 22.Rd7 would be my best chance here" (Grischuk)} 22. Rd7 (22. Rxc6 Rac8 $1
23. Rxc8 (23. Rd6 Rhd8 $132) 23... Rxc8 24. Kg2 Rd8 $15) (22. Kg2 Rad8 23. Kf3
Rxd6 24. exd6 Ke6 $15 (24... Rd8 25. Re1 Rxd6 26. Re7 f6 27. Rxg7 Rd4 $11))
22... Rhf8 23. Kg2 {[%cal Gg2f3]} Rad8 (23... a5 24. Kf3 Rad8 25. Rfd1 $16) 24.
Rxa7 Rd2+ 25. Rf2 Rxf2+ 26. Kxf2 Kxf4 27. Rc7 (27. e6 $5 fxe6 28. Rxg7 Rd8 29.
Ke2 (29. g6 $5) 29... Kg3 $132 {were Giri's thoughts.}) (27. a4 Kxe5 28. Rb7 b5
29. axb5 (29. a5 Ra8 30. Rxf7 Rxa5 31. Rxg7 Ra2 $11) 29... cxb5 30. Rxb5 Kd6
$11) 27... Kxe5 (27... Kxg5 $5 28. Rxc6 Rb8 29. Rc7 Rf8 $13) 28. Rxc6 Rb8 29.
Rc7 $14 {and it is still a bit unpleasant for Black. This in-depth analysis
was done over the board by Grischuk, as he showed in the press conference.}) (
20... Rhd8 21. Rfe1 Nd4 $13) 21. Rfe1 g6 (21... Nd4 22. Kh1 $5 {[%cal Gc2c3] /
\c3 as in the game.} Nxc2 $143 $2 23. f5+ Ke7 24. f6+ Ke6 (24... Kf8 25. Nf5 $1
$18 {[%csl Rd8,Rg7]}) 25. fxg7 Rhg8 26. Rf1 Nd4 (26... Rxg7 27. Rf6+ Kxe5 28.
Nc4+ Ke4 29. Rxd8 $18) 27. Rf6+ Kd5 (27... Kxe5 28. Nxf7+ $18) 28. Nxf7 Rd7 29.
Rd6+ Rxd6 30. exd6 $18) 22. Kf2 Nd4 23. c3 Nf5 24. Kf3 $16 {Black is almost
helpless now. But he has has one thing on his side - time.} Ng7 25. Rd2 Ke7 26.
Red1 Rhg8 27. a4 a6 (27... Ne6 28. h4 Ng7 29. f5 gxf5 30. Kf4 Ke6 31. Nxf5 $1
$18 {[%cal Gd2d8,Gf5g7] Grischuk}) 28. Nc4 (28. h4 $5 Nf5 29. Nxf5+ gxf5 30.
Rxd8 Rxd8 31. Rxd8 Kxd8 32. a5 $1 bxa5 (32... b5 33. b4 $1 cxb4 (33... c4 34.
Ke3 $18 {is the same}) 34. cxb4 Kd7 35. Ke3 Kd8 36. Kd4 Kd7 37. Kc5 Kc7 38. e6
fxe6 39. g6 $18) 33. Ke3 Kd7 34. Kd3 Ke6 35. Kc4 Kd7 36. Kxc5 a4 37. Kb6 $18)
28... Rxd2 29. Rxd2 b5 30. Na5 Rc8 31. Rd6 bxa4 32. Rxc6 $6 ({The simplest way
was} 32. Nxc6+ $1 Ke8 33. Ke4 Nf5 (33... Ne6 34. h4 c4 35. f5 $18) 34. Kd5 $1 (
34. Rf6 $5 $18) 34... Nxd6 35. exd6 c4 36. h4 Ra8 (36... Kd7 37. Ne5+ Kd8 38.
d7 Rc7 39. Kd6 $18 {[%cal Ge5f7]}) 37. Kxc4 Kd7 38. Kd5 $18 {[%cal Gc6e5,Gc3c4,
Gc4c5]}) 32... Rd8 $5 (32... Rxc6 33. Nxc6+ $16) 33. Nc4 $6 (33. Rxa6 $142 $1
$16 Rd3+ 34. Ke4 Rxh3 35. Ra7+ Kf8 (35... Ke6 36. Nc6 $18 {[%cal Ga7e7,Gc6d8]})
36. Nc4 Nf5 37. Nd6 $18) 33... a3 34. bxa3 $6 (34. Rc7+ $142 Ke6 35. Nxa3 Rd3+
36. Ke4 Rxh3 37. Nc4 $16) 34... Rd3+ $1 $132 {Now Black gets enough
counterplay to hold the position.} 35. Ke4 Rxc3 36. Nd6 Rxa3 37. Rc7+ Ke6 38.
Rxf7 Ne8 $1 {The move that Grischuk underestimated in his time pressure. Anish
Giri "This is what happens when you use up too much time. When cheap tricks
appear on the board there is not enough time to spot them."} 39. Rf8 Nxd6+ 40.
exd6 Ra4+ 41. Ke3 Kxd6 42. Rf6+ Kd5 43. f5 Ra3+ 44. Kf4 Ra4+ 45. Ke3 Ra3+ 46.
Kf4 Ra4+ 47. Ke3 {An unfortunate result for Grischuk who obtained a winning
position out of the early middlegame but could not convert it. The spectators
got a taste of Giri's sense of humour. When Daniel King asked the players to
pinpoint the moment where White missed his win, Giri replied, "I think he
missed the win when he thought for 1 hour 20 minutes for a move. If he had
thought for 1 hour 10 minutes then he would have won easily with the extra 10
minutes!"} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tata Steel-A 73rd"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2011.01.25"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2715"]
[BlackElo "2814"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi,E"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2011.01.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 141"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.03.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.03.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{A nice game by both parties in which once again the world number one proved
the "Berlin Wall" continues to stand strong!} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4.
O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 {#This
move has become popular over the last year.} 10. h3 b6 11. Bf4 Kc8 12. Rad1 h6
{#By a curious transposition, we have reached a famous typical position, which
has been examined several times before, even by Carlsen!} 13. Bh2 {White's
bishop clears the way for the pawn's majority march!} (13. Rd3 Be6 14. Rfd1 Kb7
15. b3 g5 16. Bc1 c5 17. Nd5 Ne7 18. Nxe7 Bxe7 19. c4 Rag8 20. Nd2 g4 21. hxg4
Rxg4 22. Nf1 Rhg8 23. Rg3 h5 24. Re1 a6 25. Rxg4 hxg4 26. Rd1 Kc6 27. Bf4 Rd8
28. Rxd8 Bxd8 29. Ne3 b5 30. Kf1 bxc4 31. bxc4 Kb6 32. Ke2 Ka5 33. Kd3 c6 34.
f3 gxf3 35. gxf3 Ka4 36. Bh6 Ka3 37. f4 Kxa2 38. Kc2 f5 39. Bf8 Bb6 40. Be7 a5
41. Bh4 a4 42. Be1 Bd8 43. Nd1 Ka3 44. Nb2 Be7 45. Bc3 Bf8 46. Nd3 {1-0 Anand,
V (2786)-Topalov,V (2757)/Monte Carlo 2005/CBM 105 ext}) (13. a3 Be6 14. g4 Ne7
15. Nd4 Bc4 16. Rfe1 c5 17. Nf5 Nc6 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. Rxd5 g6 20. e6 gxf5 21.
exf7 Bd6 22. Bxh6 Kb7 23. Bg7 Rh7 24. Rxd6 Rxg7 25. Rxc6 fxg4 26. Rxb6+ cxb6
27. Re7+ Kc6 28. f8=Q Rxf8 29. Rxg7 gxh3 30. Rh7 Rd8 31. Rxh3 Rd1+ 32. Kg2 Rc1
33. Rc3 {1-0 Carlsen,M (2548)-Nielsen,P (2653)/Warsaw 2005/CBM 108 (49)}) 13...
a5 14. g4 Ne7 15. Nd4 h5 16. e6 $5 {A typical temporary pawn sacrifice which
seems just sufficient for "compensation" in this particular position, however
one should not forget about the practical difficulties Black has to face.} fxe6
17. Rfe1 hxg4 18. hxg4 Rh6 19. g5 Rh5 20. Nxe6 Bxe6 21. Rxe6 Rxg5+ {Black is
totally safe now.} 22. Kf1 Rf5 23. a4 Rb8 24. Rd3 Rf7 25. Kg2 b5 26. axb5 cxb5
27. Ra6 b4 28. Nd5 Nxd5 29. Rxd5 b3 30. c3 Ba3 31. Re6 Re7 32. Rxe7 Bxe7 33.
Rxa5 Kd7 34. Be5 Bd6 35. Bd4 Bf4 36. Kf3 Bc1 37. c4 g5 38. Ke4 Rf8 39. Rd5+ Kc6
40. Rc5+ Kd7 41. Rd5+ Kc6 42. Rc5+ Kd7 {A neat draw!} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Grenke Chess Classic 4th"]
[Site "Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden"]
[Date "2017.04.15"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Hou, Yifan"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2649"]
[BlackElo "2817"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi,E"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2017.04.15"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 178"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2017.05.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2017.05.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "60"]

1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:00] In this game, Fabiano kept his decisive-result streak by
losing to Hou Yifan. This is the second time a lady has beaten a 2800, if my
recollection of chess history is still working!} e5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 2. Nf3 {
[%emt 0:00:00]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:
00] Fabiano opts for the solid Berlin. His Spanish adventure in the Breyer
went sour against Zherebukh in the US championship.} 4. O-O {[%emt 0:00:38]}
Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 5. Re1 {[%emt 0:00:28] Hou Yifan goes for an ultra solid
line. This is the problem with the Berlin these days. If White so decides, he
or she can kill all of Black's counterplay and reduce his winning chances to
zero!} Nd6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 6. Nxe5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Be7 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 7.
Bf1 {[%emt 0:00:07]} O-O {[%emt 0:02:22]} 8. d4 {[%emt 0:01:35]} Nf5 {[%emt 0:
00:39]} 9. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:22]} 10. c3 {[%emt 0:00:43]} Bd6
{[%emt 0:02:58]} 11. Nbd2 {[%emt 0:00:00] A rare line after some thought.
Black hopes to achieve a setup with ...Qf6, ...h6 and Nc6-e7, but White is
planning to play Bd3 and Nd2-f1-Ng3 to kill all Black's activity on the
kingside. The tricky thing about this move is that it is hard to understand if
White wants to concede a draw or still has some ambition to play on in this
position.} Nce7 {[%emt 0:07:34]} 12. Qc2 $146 {[%emt 0:07:09]} c6 {[%emt 0:05:
30]} 13. Bd3 {[%emt 0:04:07] Transposes to Topalov-Nakamura.} g6 {[%emt 0:02:
12]} 14. Nf1 {[%emt 0:02:19]} f6 $6 {[%emt 0:08:40] I am not sure if I can be
a fan of this move. It certainly covers the e5-square but it damages Black's
king for the rest of the game and almost kills the idea of any breakthrough or
active plan for Black. Now White has a simple play: occupy the e-file and wait!
} (14... Ng7 15. Ng3 f6 16. Bh6 Re8 17. Nh4 Bxg3 18. hxg3 Nef5 19. Qd2 g5 20.
Rxe8+ Qxe8 21. Re1 Qd8 22. Nxf5 Nxf5 23. Bxf5 Bxf5 24. Qe2 Kf7 25. g4 Bd7 26.
f4 Kg6 27. fxg5 fxg5 28. Qe5 Qf6 29. Qh2 Bxg4 30. Re5 Bf5 31. g4 Bxg4 32. Rxg5+
Qxg5 33. Bxg5 Kxg5 34. Qxh7 b6 35. Qb7 Rc8 36. Qxa7 b5 37. b3 Kf4 38. Kf2 Bf5
39. a4 bxa4 40. bxa4 Ke4 41. a5 Rh8 42. Qc7 Kd3 43. a6 {1-0 (43) Topalov,V 
(2760)-Nakamura,H (2779) Saint Louis 2016}) 15. h3 {[%emt 0:01:59]} Rf7 {
[%emt 0:16:03]} 16. Bd2 {[%emt 0:07:09]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:14:10]} 17. Re2 {[%emt 0:
00:00]} c5 $2 {[%emt 0:05:11] A strange decision by Fabiano, which was made
too quickly. Black is already in a difficult situation and misses what turns
out to be a decisive moment. Caruana's choice does not really cause White any
trouble and only exacebrates his own tenuous situation.} ({Black needed to
prepare his ...c5 idea with} 17... b6 $1 {If White lashes out with} 18. c4 {
then Black plays} dxc4 19. Bxc4 Nd5 20. Rae1 Rc8 {and Black should be ok.}) 18.
dxc5 {[%emt 0:09:31]} Bxc5 {[%emt 0:00:04] Now Black is also saddled with an
isolated pawn with no obvious compensation.} 19. Bf4 {[%emt 0:00:21]} (19. Ne3
{is also annoying.}) 19... Rc8 {[%emt 0:07:46]} 20. Rae1 {[%emt 0:06:20]} g5 $6
{[%emt 0:14:37]} (20... b5 {followed by ...a5 would have been my choice in
this position. Nevetheless, the position remains really bad for Black. Caruana,
however decides to go for a 'make or break' direction in my opinion.}) 21. Ng3
$1 {[%emt 0:23:24] A very strong move after a long think. Hou Yifan eliminates
Black's only active piece and takes away all of Black's possible play, leaving
him with numerous weaknesses.} Nxg3 {[%emt 0:01:11]} 22. Bxg3 {[%emt 0:00:04]}
a5 $6 {[%emt 0:06:04] Although I could say this move is weakening, the truth
is that it is hard to suggest anything for Black. These pawn moves are more
aimed at stopping White than expanding for Black.} 23. Qd2 {[%emt 0:03:04]} a4
{[%emt 0:08:01]} 24. b4 {[%emt 0:02:12]} axb3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 25. axb3 {
[%emt 0:00:03] White's advantage is near decisive. h4, b4, or even c4 may lead
to opening the game into an uncomfortable situation for Black.} Ng6 {[%emt 0:
00:00]} 26. h4 {[%emt 0:07:03]} (26. b4 Bf8 27. Bc2 Bc6 (27... Bb5 28. Re3 f5
29. Re6 f4 30. Bxg6 hxg6 31. Bh2 {and White is almost attacking every single
pawn in Black's camp}) 28. Nd4 $18) 26... gxh4 {[%emt 0:00:39]} 27. Nxh4 {
[%emt 0:00:22]} Nxh4 {[%emt 0:00:57]} 28. Bxh4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Qf8 {[%emt 0:
00:00]} 29. Qf4 {[%emt 0:05:33]} Bd6 {[%emt 0:00:46]} 30. Qd4 {[%emt 0:00:17]
It is really hard to suggest a good move for Black!} Rd8 {[%emt 0:00:18]} 31.
Re3 {[%emt 0:08:17]} Bc8 {[%emt 0:02:23]} 32. b4 $1 {[%emt 0:03:24] World
women No. 1 player takes her time.} Kg7 {[%emt 0:01:29]} ({She sees that after
} 32... Be5 33. Rxe5 fxe5 34. Rxe5 Re8 35. Rxd5 {Her attack on Black's king is
decisive.}) 33. Bb5 {[%emt 0:01:17] Now Re8 is a threat that cannot be
prevented.} Bc7 {[%emt 0:00:39]} 34. Re8 {[%emt 0:02:07]} (34. Be8 {is simpler
and it also looks cute!}) 34... Qd6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 35. Bg3 {[%emt 0:03:54]}
Qb6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 36. Qd3 {[%emt 0:00:11]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:01:10]} 37. Bxd7 {
[%emt 0:04:03]} Rdxd7 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 38. Qf5 $1 {[%emt 0:00:11] The Chinese
star had seen through these lines when she played Qd3.} Bxg3 {[%emt 0:00:47]}
39. Qg4+ {[%emt 0:00:05]} Kh6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 40. Qh3+ {[%emt 0:00:00] A
great victory for Hou Yifan.} 1-0

[Event "EU-ch 15th"]
[Site "Yerevan"]
[Date "2014.03.06"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Motylev, Alexander"]
[Black "Kovalev, Vladislav"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2656"]
[BlackElo "2548"]
[Annotator "Motylev,A"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2014.03.03"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ARM"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 160"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.05.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Nowadays the e4-player has hanging over his or her head the sword of Damocles
that is the Berlin Defence. This makes it all the more pleasant to win a good
game against that specific threat.  Heutzutage hängt über den e4-Spielern das
Damoklesschwert der Berliner Verteidigung. Um so angenehmer ist es, gerade
dagegen eine gute Partie zu gewinnen.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O
Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 {I was still
more or less prepared for the Berlin endgame (apart from the fact that I could
only find one game of my opponent's in it). But for inexplicable reasons I had
assumed that Black would bring his king to the queenside and thus I had
forgotten to take another look at the relevant variations in Grischuk's games.
Für das Berliner Endspiel war ich noch mehr oder minder präpariert (ungeachtet
der Tatsache, dass von meinem Gegner dazu nur eine Partie vorlag). Aber aus
unerfindlichen Gründen war ich davon ausgegangen, dass Schwarz seinen König
auf den Damenflügel bringen würde und hatte daher vergessen, mir die
entsprechenden Varianten aus Grischuks Partien noch einmal anzuschauen.} 10.
Nc3 h5 11. Rd1 Be7 12. Ne2 Be6 13. Nf4 Bc8 14. e6 $5 {A fresh idea, played by
Alexander Grischuk in the last team WCh in Turkey against Vladimir Akopian. It
usually happens as follows: whenever a good idea becomes known, new games
appear with it literally from the very next day. But in this case, amusingly,
nobody had yet repeated the pawn sacrifice and the present encounter was just
the second one in this variation. At this point my adversary thought for
almost half an hour and played the quite interesting Eine frische Idee, die
Alexander Grischuk bei der letzten Mannschafts-WM in der Türkei gegen Vladimir
Akopian spielte. Gewöhnlich ist es so: wenn eine gute Idee bekannt wird,
tauchen buchstäblich vom nächsten Tag an neue Partien damit auf. Aber in
diesem Falle hatte komischerweise noch niemand das Bauernopfer wiederholt und
die vorliegende Begegnung war erst die zweite in dieser Variante. Mein
Kontrahent dachte hier fast eine halbe Stunde nach und spielte ziemlich
interessant.} Bf6 $5 (14... Bxe6 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. Re1 Bf6 17. Bf4 Bxb2 18.
Rab1 Bc3 19. Rxe6+ Kd7 20. Re2 b6 21. Rb3 Bf6 22. g4 hxg4 23. hxg4 Nd6 24. g5
Bd8 25. Ne5+ Kc8 26. Nxc6 Rf8 27. Bxd6 cxd6 28. Nxd8 Kxd8 29. Rbe3 Rc8 30. Re6
Rc4 31. Rxd6+ Kc7 32. Rg6 Rg4+ 33. Kf1 Rf7 34. Ke1 Kd7 35. c3 Rgf4 36. Rd2+ Kc7
37. Re6 R4f5 38. g6 Rd7 39. Rde2 Rd6 40. Re7+ Rd7 41. R2e4 Rf6 42. R7e6 Rxe6
43. Rxe6 Kd8 44. Ke2 Rc7 45. Kd3 Kd7 46. Re4 Rc6 47. Ra4 Rxg6 48. Rxa7+ Kd6 49.
Ra4 Rg1 50. Rb4 Kc5 51. a4 Rd1+ 52. Ke2 Rc1 53. Rb5+ Kc6 54. Kd3 Rd1+ 55. Ke3
Rc1 56. Kd2 Ra1 57. Rb4 Ra2+ 58. Ke3 Rc2 59. Rc4+ Kd5 60. Rc7 g5 61. f3 Kd6 62.
Rc8 Kd5 63. Kd3 Rf2 64. Rf8 Ra2 65. Rf5+ Kc6 66. Rxg5 Rxa4 67. Rg4 Ra1 68. Re4
b5 69. Re3 Kd5 70. f4 Rf1 71. Re5+ Kd6 72. Ke4 Rc1 73. Rd5+ Ke7 74. Rc5 Rb1 75.
Kd3 Rb2 76. Re5+ Kd6 77. Re2 Rb1 78. Rf2 Ke6 79. Kc2 Ra1 80. Kb2 Ra4 81. f5+
Kf6 82. Kb3 Rh4 83. Rf1 Rg4 84. Rf3 Rh4 85. Ka3 Ra4+ 86. Kb2 Rh4 87. Kb3 Rg4 {
1/2 (87) Grischuk,A (2785)-Akopian,V (2681) Antalya TUR 2013}) 15. exf7+ ({
During the game I thought that play would now have to transpose after Während
der Partie dachte ich, dass das Spiel nun nach} 15. Re1 {into the Grischuk
game. in die Grischuk-Partie übergehen müsste.} {But it now became clear to me
that as well as Jetzt ist mir aber klar geworden, dass Schwarz außer} Bxe6 {
Black can also play auch} (15... Nd6) (15... Nd4) ({and even und sogar} 15...
g5 {spielen kann.})) 15... Kxf7 16. Nd3 Re8 $1 17. Bf4 Nd6 18. c3 {As usual
White has got nothing against the Berlin Defence, but at least I had half an
hour more on the clock. Wie üblich hat Weiß gegen die Berliner Verteidigung
nichts herausgeholt, aber wenigstens hatte ich eine halbe Stunde mehr auf der
Uhr.} a5 $5 {An interesting move. Ein interessanter Zug.} ({Another
possibility was Möglich war auch} 18... Bf5 19. Nc5 Rab8 {but here Black has
to give some thought as to how he should react to aber hier muss sich Schwarz
Gedanken machen, wie er auf} 20. Re1 {. reagieren soll.}) 19. Re1 $1 (19. a4 $6
{is a move I definitely did not want to play. wollte ich ganz und gar nicht
ziehen.}) ({And even afterwards, gobbling up a pawn with Und auch danach, mit} 
19. Bxd6 $6 cxd6 20. Nf4 {and playing with two knights against two bishops is
not something which I felt much like doing. einen Bauern zu verspeisen und mit
zwei Springern gegen zwei Läufer zu spielen, verspürte ich kein großes
Verlangen.} {Obviously the most precise move for Black was Am genauesten für
Schwarz war darauf offenbar} Rh8 $1 21. Rxd6 g5 22. Ne2 g4 23. hxg4 hxg4 24.
Ne1 Be5 {and the second player has a slightly more pleasant game. und der
Nachziehende steht etwas angenehmer.}) 19... Rxe1+ $5 {Black follows his idea.
Schwarz zieht seine Linie durch.} ({After Auf} 19... Bf5 {he has to give some
thought to what he will do after muss er darüber nachdenken, was er auf} 20.
Nde5+ {followed by Nd4. gefolgt von Nd4 tun will.}) ({Possibly from Black's
point of view Möglicherweise war aus Sicht von Schwarz} 19... a4 {was slightly
more precise and after etwas genauer und nach} 20. Rxe8 Kxe8 21. Re1+ {one can
play kann man} Kf8 $5 (21... Kf7 {transposes to the text geht zum Text über})
22. Be5 Ra5 $1 {and here Black most likely has equality, although after
spielen und am ehesten hält Schwarz hier das Gleichgewicht, obgleich Weiß nach}
23. Nf4 {White can lay claim to something of an initiative. etwas Initiative
behauptet.}) 20. Rxe1 a4 {White's queenside pawn structure is not very
pleasant, so energetic play is called for. After I had thought about matters
for half an hour I managaed to find a strong move which built up some tension
around the black king.  Die Struktur der weißen Damenflügelbauern ist wenig
angenehm, deshalb muss energisch gehandelt werden. Nachdem ich eine halbe
Stunde nachgedacht hatte, gelang es mir, einen starken Zug zu finden, der eine
Spannung um den schwarzen König herum aufbaute.} 21. g4 $1 hxg4 ({It was worth
considering Beachtung verdiente} 21... a3 22. Nfe5+ ({but (schlecht ist} 22. g5
{is bad on account of wegen} Bf5) ({but another possibility is aber möglich
ist auch} 22. Nde5+ Kg8 23. b3) 22... Kf8 23. b3 {and in my opinion White is
slightly better here. und meiner Ansicht nach steht Weiß hier etwas besser.}) (
{The immediate Fragwürdig ist das unverzügliche} 21... Nc4 $2 {is dubious on
account of wegen} 22. g5 $1 {(the g4-square is under control) (das Feld g4 ist
unter Kontrolle)} Bd8 {and here even und hier sogar} 23. b3 $5 Nd6 24. Nde5+
Kg8 ({The white steeds prance around very prettily in this variation: Sehr
schön hüpfen die weißen Springer in dieser Variante:} 24... Kf8 25. Ng6+ Kf7
26. Nfh4 $3 Bxh3 27. Bxd6 cxd6 (27... Bxg5 28. Bxc7 $18) 28. Nh8+ $1 Kf8 (28...
Kg8 29. Re8+ Kh7 30. g6+ Kh6 31. Nf7#) 29. N4g6+ Kg8 30. Re8+ Kh7 31. Nf8+ $3
Kg8 (31... Kxh8 32. g6 $1 {with unavoidable mate mit unausweichlichem Matt})
32. Ne6+ Kh7 33. g6+ Kh6 34. Nxd8 {winning mit Gewinn}) 25. Nxc6 bxc6 26. Bxd6
{with a superior position. mit Übergewicht.}) 22. hxg4 Nc4 ({There was the
stronger Stärker war} 22... Kg8 $1 23. g5 (23. Nfe5 Be6) 23... Bf5 $1 24. gxf6
Bxd3 25. fxg7 (25. Ne5 Bf5 26. fxg7 Kxg7 27. f3 Kf6 $11) 25... Kxg7 26. Re7+
Kf6 27. Rxc7 {and White ought hardly to be able to make his extra pawn tell.
und Weiß dürfte es kaum gelingen, seinen Mehrbauern zu verwerten.}) 23. g5 Bg4
$1 ({After Nach} 23... Bd8 {White's position is superior in view of the simple
hat Weiß wegen des einfachen} 24. Kg2 {. Übergewicht.}) ({in the event of im
Falle von} 23... Bf5 {White obtains an advantage: erhält Weiß Vorteil:} 24.
gxf6 Bxd3 25. b3 Nb2 26. fxg7 $16) 24. Kg2 $1 ({If White does not pay
attention he can be mated after Wenn der Anziehende nicht aufpasst, kann er
nach} 24. gxf6 Bxf3 25. b3 (25. fxg7 Kxg7 $11) 25... Rh8 $1 {, but fortunately
there is the defence matt gesetzt werden, aber zum Glück findet sich ja die
Verteidigung} 26. Bh2 {though after aber nach} Rd8 $1 {Black would be slightly
better. stünde Schwarz etwas besser.}) 24... Rd8 $1 ({But Zu optimistisch wäre
} 24... a3 $2 {would be too optimistic. White could decide whether he wants an
extra piece or two minor pieces for the rook. und Weiß könnte sich aussuchen,
ob er eine Mehrfigur oder zwei Leichtfiguren für den Turm haben will.} 25. gxf6
(25. b3 Bxf3+ 26. Kxf3 Bxc3 27. Rc1 Nd2+ 28. Kg4 Bb2 29. Bxd2 Bxc1 30. Bxc1 Rd8
$1 $14) 25... Bxf3+ 26. Kxf3 axb2 27. Rb1 Rxa2 28. Ne5+ Nxe5+ 29. Bxe5 gxf6 30.
Bxc7 Ra3 31. Rxb2 Rxc3+ 32. Ke2 $16) 25. Nc5 $1 ({At first it seemed to me
that White wins here after Zuerst schien es mir, dass Weiß hier nach} 25. Rd1
Bf5 26. gxf6 Rxd3 27. Rxd3 Bxd3 28. b3 {It was only some time later that I
noticed that Black immediately plays gewinnt. Erst einige Zeit später bemerkte
ich, dass Schwarz sofort} Nb2 $1 {(without the exchange on b3, so that after
29. Bc1 the move a3! works) spielt (ohne Tausch auf b3, damit auf 29. Bc1 der
Zug a3! geht)} (28... axb3 $2 29. axb3 Nb2 30. Bc1) {Then Man muss dann} 29.
fxg7 (29. Bc1 a3) 29... Kxg7 30. Nd2 {must be played, but it is clear that
White cannot win this sort of position. I had to invest some thinking time
convincing myself that White really has nothing here and that I would have to
change to 25.Nc5. The result was that of my 40 minutes only 10 were left.
Terrible time management! But at least I had now hit on the correct choice
which clearly promised me more winning chances. spielen, aber es ist klar,
dass Weiß so eine Stellung nicht gewinnen kann. Diese Variante war eine große
Enttäuschung für mich. Ich musste einige Bedenkzeit investieren, um mich davon
zu überzeugen, dass Weiß hier wirklich nichts hat und dass ich auf 25. Nc5
umsteigen musste. Im Ergebnis waren mir von 40 Minuten nur noch 10 verblieben.
Ein schrecklicher Zeithaushalt! Aber wenigstens traf ich nun die richtige Wahl,
die mir deutlich mehr praktische Gewinnchancen versprach.}) 25... Be7 $2 ({
According to my calculations, I was rather worried by the move Bei meinen
Berechnungen beunruhigte mich ziemlich der Zug} 25... a3 $5 {but afterwards I
understood that White has the simple aber danach verstand ich, dass Weiß das
einfache} 26. bxa3 $1 ({not nicht} 26. b3 $2 Bxc3 27. Rc1 Bxf3+ 28. Kxf3 Ne5+)
(26. gxf6 axb2 27. fxg7 Bf5 $44) 26... Bxc3 27. Rc1 Bxf3+ 28. Kxf3 Ne5+ {
and after that can at least play hat und danach mindestens} 29. Bxe5 Bxe5 30.
Nxb7 $14 {. spielen kann}) ({Notwendig war} 25... Rd5 $1 {was required (25...
Bf3 26.Kf3 Rd5!) (25...Bf3 26.Kf3 Rd5!)} 26. gxf6 (26. Nxa4 Bxf3+ 27. Kxf3 Bxg5
28. Bxc7 Rd2 29. b3 Rxa2 30. Nc5 b6 31. Nd3 Ra7 $11) 26... Bxf3+ 27. Kxf3 Rxc5
28. fxg7 Kxg7 29. b3 axb3 30. axb3 Nd6 31. c4 {White is of course slightly
better, but Black should hold this endgame. Weiß steht natürlich etwas besser,
aber Schwarz sollte dieses Endspiel halten.}) 26. g6+ $1 Kf8 27. Nxb7 $5 ({
In my introductory calculations I examined the ending which arises after In
meinen einleitenden Berechnungen untersuchte ich das Endspiel, das nach} 27.
Rxe7 Kxe7 28. Bg5+ Ke8 29. Bxd8 Kxd8 {, but I decided against it and that
decision was totally correct, since after entsteht, aber ich entschied mich
dagegen und das völlig zu recht, denn nach} 30. Nxb7+ Ke7 31. b3 Bxf3+ 32. Kxf3
Nd2+ 33. Ke2 axb3 (33... Nxb3 $2 34. Kd1 $3 $18) 34. axb3 Nxb3 35. Kd3 c5 $1 {
Black holds on. hält Schwarz sich.}) ({A good alternative was Eine gute
Alternative war} 27. Bg5 $1 {but here I missed the pretty move 31.Kg4! which
comes at the end of the following variation: aber hier entging der hübsche Zug
31.Kg4! meiner Aufmerksamkeit, der am Ende der folgenden Variante steht:} Bxf3+
(27... Re8 $142 28. Re4 Bxf3+ 29. Kxf3 Bxc5 30. Rxc4 $16) 28. Kxf3 Bxg5 29.
Ne6+ Ke7 {and here White has a fantastic resource: und hier hat Weiß eine
phantastische Ressource:} 30. Nxg5+ $1 Kf6 31. Kg4 $3 {mit Gewinn mit Gewinn}
Kxg6 (31... Rd6 32. Ne4+) (31... Ne5+ 32. Rxe5) 32. Re6# {But after the text
move too, White is on the whole better on account of the endangered position
of the black king. Aber auch nach dem Textzug steht Weiß aufgrund der
gefährdeten Lage des schwarzen Königs überall besser.}) 27... Rd3 {Here we
both had less than five minutes on the clock. Black was facing a choice which
was far from simple. Hier hatten wir beide weniger als fünf Minuten auf der
Uhr. Schwarz stand vor einer nicht einfachen Wahl.} (27... Bxf3+ 28. Kxf3 Rd3+
29. Kg2 Nxb2 30. Re6 $1 Rxc3 31. Bxc7 $18) (27... Rb8 28. Re4 $1 Nxb2 29. Ng5
$1 (29. Na5 $16) 29... Bf5 (29... Rxb7 30. Nh7+ Ke8 31. Bg5 $18) 30. Nh7+ Ke8
31. Re2 Bxg6 32. Rxb2 Bxh7 33. Nd6+ $16) ({Possibly Möglicherweise war} 27...
Rd5 {was stronger, although here too White has a decent advantage: stärker,
obgleich Weiß auch hier über einen anständigen Vorteil verfügt:} 28. b3 axb3
29. axb3 Rf5 30. Re4 (30. bxc4 $5 Rxf4 31. Ne5 $16) 30... Nd6 31. Nxd6 cxd6 32.
Nh4 Rd5 33. Bxd6 Rxd6 34. Rxg4 Bxh4 35. Rxh4 Rxg6+ 36. Kf3 $16) 28. Nd4 ({
Another good move was Ein weiterer guter Zug war} 28. Ng5 $5 Bxg5 29. Bxg5 Bf3+
30. Kh2 Rd1 31. Re7 $1 Rh1+ 32. Kg3 Rg1+ 33. Kf4 Rg4+ 34. Kxf3 Rxg5 35. Rxc7
Rxg6 36. Nc5 Nxb2 37. Rb7 a3 38. Ra7 Nc4 39. Ra4 $16) 28... Nxb2 {A human move.
Ein menschlicher Zug.} ({The computer suggests that Der Computer schlägt als
bestes} 28... Bh3+ 29. Kh2 Bc8 30. Ne6+ $1 Bxe6 31. Rxe6 Rf3 32. Bg3 Rf6 33.
Re4 Nd6 34. Nxd6 Bxd6 35. f4 $16 {is best, with a difficult endgame for Black.
mit schwierigem Endspiel für Schwarz vor.}) 29. Bxc7 $1 {The white pieces are
quietly closing in on the black king. Leise dringen die weißen Figuren zum
schwarzen König vor.} (29. Ne6+ Bxe6 30. Rxe6 $16) 29... Rxc3 (29... Bh3+ 30.
Kh2 Bd7 31. Ne6+ Bxe6 32. Rxe6 Ke8 33. Nc5 Rd5 34. Bg3 $16) 30. Bd6 $1 Bxd6 31.
Nxd6 Bd7 ({During the game I was worried about an intermediate check: Während
der Partie beunruhigte mich ein Zwischenschach:} 31... Bh3+ 32. Kh2 Bd7 {
and the h-file is blocked. But Houdini shows a pretty win. und die h-Linie ist
verstellt. Aber Houdini zeigt einen hübschen Gewinn.} 33. Ne6+ $1 Ke7 34. Nc5+
$1 Kd8 (34... Kxd6 35. Ne4+) 35. Ndb7+ Kc8 36. Re7 $18) 32. N4f5 $1 {Playing
for mate! Ein Spiel auf Matt!} ({Analogous to the previous variation, there
was also a win with In Analogie mit der vorangegangenen Variante gewann auch} 
32. Ne6+ Ke7 33. Nc5+) 32... Nc4 (32... Rc5 33. Re7 Rxf5 34. Nxf5 Bxf5 35. Rf7+
$18) (32... Nd3 33. Re7 Nf4+ 34. Kh2 Rh3+ 35. Kg1 $18) 33. Rh1 $1 Be6 (33...
Kg8 34. Nf7) 34. Rh8+ Bg8 35. Ne4 {Black resigned. An interesting game full of
tactical subtleties. Schwarz gab auf. Eine interessante Partie voller
taktischer Finessen.} 1-0

[Event "Dortmund SuperGM 37th"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "2009.07.06"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2772"]
[BlackElo "2697"]
[Annotator "Mueller,Karsten"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2009.07.02"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 131"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2009.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. h3 Ne7 11. Bf4 Ng6 12. Bg3 Ke8 13. Rad1 Bb4 14. Ne2
h5 15. Ned4 h4 16. Bh2 Nf8 17. Bf4 Bd7 18. Bg5 Be7 19. Rfe1 c5 20. e6 $1 {
[%mdl 32] A strong opening up of the position by Magnus Carlsen in a way
typical for the position. On account of his lead in development and the poor
coordination of the black pieces, he gets dangerous compensation. Eine starke
Stellungsöffnung von Magnus Carlsen in stellungstypischer Manier. Er erhält
aufgrund seines Entwicklungsvorsprungs und der schlechten schwarzen
Koordination gefährliche Kompensation.} (20. Bxe7 $6 Kxe7 21. Nb3 Ne6 {
achieves nothing for White. bringt Weiß nichts ein.}) 20... fxe6 (20... Nxe6 $2
21. Nf5 $16) (20... Bxe6 $2 21. Nb5 $16) 21. Bxe7 Kxe7 22. Nf5+ Kf6 23. Ne3 Be8
24. Ng4+ Ke7 25. Nge5 Bg6 26. Rd5 {A spectacular move. Ein spektakulärer Zug.}
({However, I prefer the alternative Mir gefällt allerdings die Alternative} 26.
Re3 $36 {. noch etwas besser.}) 26... b6 27. Rd2 Bf5 28. Ng5 Kf6 29. f4 Ng6 $2
({The prophylactic Das prophylaktische} 29... Re8 {was safer. war sicherer.})
30. Nd7+ Ke7 31. Nxe6 $2 {After this, White cannot count on any hope of
winning against good defence. Danach kann Weiß gegen gute Verteidigung keine
Gewinnhoffnungen mehr hegen.} (31. Rd5 $1 Rhe8 32. b3 $36 {would have left
Black in a very uncomfortable situation. hätte Schwarz in eine sehr unbequeme
Lage gebracht.}) 31... Bxe6 32. f5 Nf4 33. fxe6 Rhd8 $1 ({It is not necessary
to go in for Es gibt keine Notwendigkeit, sich auf} 33... Nxe6 $6 34. Ne5 Rh6
35. Ng4 Rg6 36. Ne3 Kf7 37. Nf5 {. einzulassen.}) 34. Rf2 g5 35. Kh2 a5 (35...
Nxe6 $2 36. Ne5 $16) 36. a4 Rg8 37. Ne5 Rae8 $1 {[%mdl 256] A strong defensive
move which makes it clear that the e-pawn will fall without one of the white
rooks being able to penetrate. Ein starker Verteidigungszug, der klarstellt,
dass der e-Bauer fallen wird, ohne dass einer der weißen Türme eindringen kann.
} (37... Nxe6 $2 38. Rf7+ Ke8 39. Rh7 $18) (37... Kxe6 $2 38. Ng6+ Kf5 39. Ne7+
$18) 38. Nf3 Nxe6 39. Re5 Kd6 40. Rd2+ Kc6 41. Rde2 Kd6 $2 {Just after the
time control. Naiditsch makes the decisive mistake. Kurz nach der
Zeitkontrolle begeht Naiditsch den entscheidenden Fehler.} ({He should content
himself with the draw after Er sollte sich mit} 41... Kd7 $1 42. Rd2+ Kc6 43.
Rde2 {. und remis zufrieden geben.}) 42. Nxg5 $1 $16 Ng7 43. Rxe8 Rxe8 44. Rxe8
Nxe8 45. Nf3 c4 46. Nxh4 c3 $2 {This deprives Black of many chances for
counterplay and bnreakthrough. In addition, all White has to worry about now
is the weak c2-pawn. Dies nimmt Schwarz viele Gegenspiel und
Durchbruchsmöglichkeiten. Außerdem muss sich Weiß nun nur noch um den
schwachen Bauern c2 kümmern.} (46... Ke5 {offered better practical chances,
but should also lose in the long run, e.g.: bot bessere praktische Chancen,
sollte aber langfristig ebenfalls verlieren, z.B.} 47. Nf3+ (47. Kg3 $6 Ke4 48.
Kf2 b5) 47... Kf4 48. c3 Nd6 49. Nd2 Ke3 (49... c6 50. h4 Kg4 51. g3 b5 52. Kg2
$16) 50. Nb1 Kf4 51. Na3 c6 52. g3+ Ke4 53. h4 b5 54. h5 Kf5 55. g4+ Kg5 56.
Kg2 $16) 47. b3 Kc5 48. Nf5 Kb4 49. g4 Ka3 50. Kg3 Kb2 51. Ne3 {... and it is
obvious that the white passed pawns will decide the day.: ... und es ist klar,
dass die weißen Freibauern den Tag entscheiden werden:} Kc1 52. Kf3 Kd2 53. h4
Ng7 54. h5 Ne6 55. h6 c6 56. Ke4 b5 57. Ke5 Ng5 58. Kf5 Nf7 59. h7 Kxe3 60. g5
1-0

[Event "Sigeman & Co 12th"]
[Site "Malmo/Copenhagen"]
[Date "2004.05.03"]
[Round "4"]
[White "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Black "Nielsen, Peter Heine"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2542"]
[BlackElo "2628"]
[Annotator "Mueller,Karsten"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "2004.04.30"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "SWE"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 101"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2004.07.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2004.07.27"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. Rd1 Kc8 11. Ng5 Be8 12. h3 b6 13. g4 Nh4 14. f4
Be7 15. Nge4 h5 16. Kf2 Ng6 17. Kg3 Bh4+ 18. Kf3 Be7 19. Kg3 Bh4+ 20. Kf3 Be7
21. Nf2 f6 22. exf6 gxf6 23. f5 Ne5+ 24. Kg3 Rg8 25. Nce4 c5 26. Bf4 Nc6 27. c3
a5 28. Kf3 a4 29. Ng3 hxg4+ 30. hxg4 Ra5 31. Rd2 c4 32. a3 Ne5+ 33. Bxe5 Rxe5
34. Nfe4 Bc6 35. Kf4 Rh8 36. Rf1 Rh3 37. Rff2 Rh8 38. Rh2 Re8 39. Rh7 Bxa3 40.
Nxf6 Bc5 41. Nxe8 Rxe8 42. Rd4 Bxd4 43. cxd4 b5 44. f6 b4 45. f7 Rf8 46. g5 Bd5
47. g6 c3 48. bxc3 b3 49. Ke5 Rd8 50. Ne4 b2 51. Nd2 a3 52. Rh8 $5 {A last
despairing try, but Nielsen is on his guard: der letzte verzweifelte Versuch.
Doch Nielsen ist auf der Hut:} {[%tqu "En","And what did Black have up his
sleeve?","","","d5f7","",4,"d8h8","",0,"De","Welche Keule hatte Schwarz in
petto?","","","d5f7","",4,"d8h8","",0]} Bxf7 $1 (52... Rxh8 $2 53. Kxd5 a2 54.
g7 Rd8+ 55. Ke6 b1=Q 56. Nxb1 axb1=Q 57. f8=Q {and astonishingly enough it is
not clear whether Black can win. und es ist erstaunlicherweise nicht klar, ob
Schwarz gewinnen kann.}) 53. Rxd8+ Kxd8 54. gxf7 Ke7 (54... Ke7 55. Nb1 a2 $19)
0-1

[Event "Bundesliga 0506"]
[Site "Germany"]
[Date "2005.12.10"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Vogt, Lothar"]
[Black "McShane, Luke J"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2484"]
[BlackElo "2605"]
[Annotator "Mueller,Karsten"]
[PlyCount "106"]
[EventDate "2005.10.21"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 111"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.04.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.04.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Leipzig Gohlis"]
[BlackTeam "Werder Bremen"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke8 10. Nc3 Ne7 11. h3 Ng6 12. Re1 Bb4 13. Bd2 Bxc3 14.
Bxc3 Be6 15. Rad1 c5 16. a3 a5 17. Ng5 b6 18. Kh2 h6 19. Ne4 h5 20. Bd2 Bf5 21.
Bg5 Nf8 22. c3 Ne6 23. h4 c4 24. f3 Kf8 25. Rd5 Re8 26. Ng3 Bd3 27. b3 Kg8 28.
bxc4 Bxc4 29. Rd7 Bb5 30. Rd5 Bc6 31. Rd2 Kh7 32. f4 Nxg5 33. hxg5 Kg6 34. Kh3
h4 35. Ne2 Bb7 36. Nd4 Bc8+ 37. Kh2 Rd8 38. Ree2 Bg4 39. Rf2 Rhe8 40. Nb5 Rxd2
41. Rxd2 Re7 42. Rd8 Kf5 43. g3 h3 44. Nd4+ Ke4 45. Nc6 $2 {[%mdl 4096] Eine
Fehleinschätzung des folgenden Abtauschs.} ({Nach} 45. Nb5 {[%cal Gb5c7] ist
es für Schwarz nicht so leicht, Fortschritte zu machen.}) 45... Rd7 $1 {
Ohne seinen Turm ist der Springer beim Kampf auf beiden Flügeln gleich viel
hilfloser.} 46. Rxd7 Bxd7 47. Nd8 Kd5 48. Nxf7 b5 49. Nd8 $2 {Danach ist es
aus. Die letzte Chance bestand in} (49. Nh6 Ke4 $1 (49... c5 $2 50. f5 Kxe5 51.
f6 gxf6 52. g6 Be6 53. g7 b4 54. cxb4 cxb4 55. axb4 axb4 56. Ng4+ Kd4 57. Nf2
f5 (57... b3 58. Nd1 Kd3 59. Nb2+ Kc3 60. Na4+ Kb4 61. Nb2 Ka3 62. Nd1 b2 63.
Nc3 Kb3 64. Nb1 Kc2 65. Na3+ Kd3 66. g4) 58. Nd1 (58. Kxh3 $2 Ke3 $19) 58...
Ke5 59. Kxh3 Kf6 60. Kg2 Kxg7 61. Kf3 Kf6 62. Kf4 b3 63. Nb2 {und in beiden
Fällen leistet Weiß noch Widerstand.}) 50. Nf7 c5 51. Nd6+ Kd5 52. f5 Kxe5 53.
Nb7 Bxf5 54. Nxc5 a4 {und Schwarz sollte sich letztlich durchsetzen.}) 49... c5
50. Nb7 b4 51. cxb4 cxb4 52. axb4 axb4 53. Na5 Bg4 (53... Bg4 {und der b-Bauer
wird den weißen Springer kosten:} 54. Nb3 Kc4 55. Nd2+ Kd3 56. Nb3 Kc3 57. Nc5
b3 58. Nxb3 (58. e6 Bxe6 59. Nxe6 b2 $19) 58... Kxb3 $19 {[%cal Gb3g3]}) 0-1

[Event "Dortmund SuperGM 37th"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "2009.07.02"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Jakovenko, Dmitrij"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2772"]
[BlackElo "2760"]
[Annotator "Mueller,Karsten"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2009.07.02"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 131"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2009.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 {A lot has been tried at this point: An
dieser Stelle wurde schon sehr viel probiert.} (10... a5 {has been the most
frequently played move, followed by wird am häufigsten gespielt, gefolgt von})
(10... Be7 {and und}) (10... Ne7) 11. Ne2 Be7 12. Bg5 Be6 13. Nf4 Bd5 14. Bxe7
Kxe7 15. Ng5 Nd4 16. Rad1 Ne6 17. Ngxe6 Bxe6 {Objectively speaking, the
position should still be drawish, but in practice White has certainly the
better chances because of his slight strategic initiative.  Objektiv sollte
die Stellung innerhalb der Remisbreite sein, aber in der Praxis hat Weiß
sicher auf grund seiner leichten strategischen Initiative die besseren Chancen.
} 18. h4 a5 19. a3 a4 20. Rfe1 g6 21. f3 Ra5 22. c3 Rb5 23. Re2 Ra8 24. Rd4
Raa5 25. Kf2 Rxe5 26. Rxe5 Rxe5 27. Rxa4 Rb5 28. b4 c5 29. Ra7 cxb4 30. cxb4
Kd7 $2 {Jakovenko wastes valuable time, because his king ends up going to d6
any way. Jakovenko verliert wertvolle Zeit, weil sein König letztlich doch
nach d6 zieht.} (30... Bc4 {intending mit der Idee} 31. Ke3 Kd6 {(Lilov auf
chessbase.com) nebst c7 ist aktiver und remisiert leicht, z.B. (Lilov auf
chessbase.com) and then c7 is more active and draws easily, e.g.} 32. Kd4 (32.
Ra8 c5 33. Rc8 b6 34. Kd2 Kd7 $11) 32... Rf5 33. g3 Bf1 $11 {because denn} 34.
Rxb7 $2 {runs into läuft in} g5 35. hxg5 h4) 31. Ne2 Rb6 32. Ke3 Bc4 33. Nd4
Kd6 34. Ra5 Ra6 $2 {Without the rook Black does not have the counterplay.the
side with the knight is always aiming for complete control, so that the slower
manoeuvres of the knight can be executed. In addition rook endings have a very
high drawing tendencey and the defensive possibility of liquidating to a rook
ending is now lost. Ohne den Turm fehlt Schwarz das Gegenspiel. Die
Springerpartei strebt ja stets nach voller Kontrolle, damit das langsamere
Manövrieren des Speingers durchgeführt werden kann. Außerdem haben
Turmendspiele eine recht hohe Remisbreite und die Verteidigungsmöglichkeit
einer Abwicklung ins Turmendspiel fällt nun weg.} (34... Be6 {offered better
drawing chances, e.g. bot bessere Remischancen, z.B.} 35. Kf4 Kd7 36. Rb5 (36.
Kg5 Rd6) (36. g4 hxg4 37. fxg4 Rd6 38. Nxe6 Kxe6) 36... Rd6 37. Nxe6 Rxe6 38.
a4 (38. Rxb7 Ra6) 38... b6) 35. Rxa6+ bxa6 36. g4 hxg4 $2 {The passed white
h-pawn which comes about now will decide the day, because, for example, it can
be used bring about the advantageous exchange of all the kingside pawns. Der
nun entstehende weiße h-Freibauer wird den Tag entscheiden, weil er unter
anderem dazu genutzt werden kann, die gesamten Königsflügelbauern vorteilhaft
abzutauschen.} (36... Ke5 {was the final chance. In any case, White ought now
to have good winning chances. war die letzte Chance. Allerdings sollte Weiß
nun ohnhin gute Gewinnaussichten haben.}) 37. fxg4 Ke5 (37... c5 38. bxc5+ Kxc5
39. h5 gxh5 40. gxh5 f6 41. h6 Bg8 42. Ne6+ Kc4 43. Nf8 Kb3 44. Kf4 Kxa3 45.
Nd7 Bh7 46. Nxf6 Bg6 47. Kg5 Bb1 48. Nd7 a5 49. Nf8 a4 50. Ng6 $18) 38. Nc6+
Kf6 (38... Kd6 39. h5 $18) 39. Kf4 Ke6 40. h5 gxh5 41. gxh5 Bd3 $6 ({The
attempt to set up a barrier with Der Versuch mittels} 41... f6 {was more
stubborn, but in the long run it diod not help either, because White can
exchange the kingside pawns as in the game: eine Barriere zu errichten war
zäher, hilft aber letzlich ebenfalls nicht, weil Weiß wie in der Partie die
Königsflügelbauern abtauschen kann:} 42. Nd8+ Ke7 43. h6 Bd3 (43... Kf8 44. Kf5
Ke7 45. Ke4 Kf8 46. Kd4 $18) 44. Nb7 $1 {White must transfer the knight to the
kingside at once. An over-hasty penetration by the king Weiß muss den Springer
unverzüglich zum Königsflügel bringen. Das voreilige Eindringen mit dem König}
(44. Ke3 $6 Bf5 45. Nb7 $2 {loses control: verliert die Kontrolle:} Kf7 46. Nc5
Bc8 47. Kd4 f5 $1 (47... Kg6 $2 48. Kd5 Kxh6 (48... f5 49. Kc6 f4 50. Nd3 f3
51. Ne5+ Kxh6 52. Nxf3 $18) 49. Kc6 Bh3 50. Nxa6 f5 51. b5 f4 52. Nc5 Bf5 53.
Kxc7 Bc2 54. Nd7 Kg5 55. Ne5 Kf5 56. b6 Kxe5 57. b7 f3 58. b8=Q $18) (47... c6
$2 48. Ne4 Kg6 49. h7 Kxh7 50. Nxf6+ Kg7 51. Ne8+ Kf8 52. Nc7 Ke7 53. Kc5 Kd7
54. Kb6 $18) 48. Kd5 Kg8 49. Kc6 f4 {and Black's counterplay should be enough
for a draw. und das schwarze Gegenspiel sollte zum Remis reichen.}) 44... Kf7
45. Nc5 Bf1 (45... Bc4 46. h7 Kg7 47. Kf5 $18) 46. h7 Kg7 47. Ne6+ Kxh7 48. Kf5
$18) 42. Ke3 Bf1 (42... Bc4 43. Kd4 Bb3 44. Nb8 $18) 43. h6 Kf6 44. Ne5 Bb5 45.
Kd4 Ba4 ({After Nach} 45... Be8 46. Kc5 {Black is in zugzwang, because ist
Schwarz in Zugzwang, weil} Kxe5 {fails to an} 47. h7 {scheitert.}) 46. h7 Kg7
47. Nxf7 Kxh7 48. Ng5+ Kg6 49. Ne6 {...and Jakovenko resigned because sooner
or later he will lose both pawns. ...und Jakovenko gab auf, weil er früher
oder später beide Bauern verliert.} 1-0

[Event "St Petersburg Four Masters"]
[Site "St Petersburg"]
[Date "1895.12.25"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Pillsbury, Harry Nelson"]
[Black "Lasker, Emanuel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "Mueller,Karsten"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "1895.12.13"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "18"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "Tournaments"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2004.03.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2004.03.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Diese Partie ist bei weitem nicht so bekannt wie Lasker Sieg gegen Pillsbury
mit Schwarz aus demselben Turnier. Doch das atemberaubende Endspiel verdient
aufgrund des paradoxen Sieges des Springers gegen den langschrittigen Läufer
trotz Spiels auf beiden Flügeln Beachtung. Ich habe mich daher hauptsächlich
auf die Analyse des Endspiel konzentriert:} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4.
O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 {diese Variante ist heutzutage nur noch sehr
sporadisch anzutreffen. Zu Laskers Zeiten war sie jedoch sehr populär, wie die
zitierten Partien zeigen.} Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. dxe5 Nb7 9. b3 O-O 10. Bb2 d5 (
10... a5 11. a4 d5 12. exd6 cxd6 13. Nbd2 Re8 14. Rfe1 Bd7 $11 {1/2-1/2 Geller,
E-Gipslis,A/Budva 1967/EXT 99 (34)}) (10... Nc5 $6 11. Nd4 Ba6 12. c4 $14 {
1-0 Pillsbury,H-Showalter,J/New York 1893/HCL (39)}) 11. exd6 (11. Nbd2 c5 12.
Rfd1 Bf5 13. Rac1 Qc8 14. Nf1 Qe6 15. Ne3 Be4 16. Nd2 Bg6 17. f4 f6 18. Qf3
fxe5 19. Qxd5 Qxd5 20. Nxd5 Bd8 21. Bxe5 c6 22. Ne3 Bb6 23. Ndc4 {1-0 Lasker,
E-Mueller,O/London 1891/EXT 99 (23)}) (11. Nd4 Qd7 12. Nd2 c5 13. N4f3 Qf5 14.
Rac1 c6 15. Rfe1 a5 16. a4 Nd8 17. Nf1 Ne6 18. Ng3 Qg6 19. Qd2 h5 20. Ne2 Qf5
21. Ba3 Re8 22. Qe3 h4 23. h3 Ba6 24. Kh1 d4 25. Qd2 Red8 26. Neg1 Nf4 27. Bxc5
Bxc5 28. Nxh4 Qg5 29. Ngf3 Bb4 30. Qxb4 Qxh4 31. Qd2 Qh6 32. Re4 Ne6 33. Qe1 d3
34. cxd3 Nf4 35. Qe3 Nxd3 36. Qxh6 gxh6 37. Rc2 Bc8 38. Nd4 c5 39. Nb5 Be6 40.
Nd6 Rab8 41. f4 Bxb3 42. Rd2 c4 43. f5 Nc5 44. Rg4+ Kh7 45. Nxc4 Rxd2 46. Nxd2
Re8 47. Nf3 Nd3 48. Rg3 Bd5 49. e6 fxe6 {0-1 Teichmann,R-Lasker,E/Nuremberg
1896/HCL (49)}) 11... cxd6 (11... Bxd6 12. Nbd2 Re8 13. Qc4 Re6 14. Rfe1 Rg6
15. Qh4 Qf8 16. Ne5 Rh6 17. Qc4 Nc5 18. Ndf3 Be6 19. Qd4 Rd8 20. Qe3 Bd5 21. c4
Bxf3 22. Qxf3 Rf6 23. Qg4 Bxe5 24. Bxe5 Rg6 25. Qf5 Ne6 26. Bc3 Rg5 27. Qf3 Qc5
28. Rad1 Rd6 29. Qe2 Rxg2+ 30. Kxg2 Nf4+ 31. Kf1 Nxe2 32. Kxe2 Qh5+ 33. f3
Qxh2+ 34. Ke3 Qc2 35. Rxd6 Qxc3+ 36. Kf2 Qxe1+ 37. Kxe1 cxd6 38. b4 Kf8 {
0-1 Marco,G-Tarrasch,S/Vienna 1898/HCL (38)}) 12. Nbd2 Bf6 (12... Re8 13. Rfe1
Bd7 14. Ne4 (14. Qf1 Qc7 15. Re3 Bf8 16. Rae1 Rxe3 17. Rxe3 Re8 18. Rxe8 Bxe8
19. Qe2 Bd7 20. Qe3 Nd8 21. a4 f6 22. h3 Nf7 23. c4 Ne5 24. Nxe5 dxe5 25. Ne4
Bf5 26. Ng3 Bc8 27. Kf1 Qd7 28. Ke2 h6 29. Qd3 Qxd3+ 30. Kxd3 Kf7 31. Bc3 Ke6
32. f3 f5 33. Nf1 h5 34. Bd2 Be7 35. Be3 a6 36. Bd2 c5 37. Ng3 h4 38. Ne2 g5
39. Nc3 Bb7 40. Ke2 g4 41. Kf2 gxf3 42. gxf3 f4 43. Ke2 Kf5 44. Be1 e4 45.
fxe4+ Bxe4 46. Nd5 Bg5 47. Bf2 Bc2 48. Bxc5 Bxb3 49. Nb6 Ke4 50. Bf2 f3+ 51.
Ke1 Bd8 52. c5 Be6 53. c6 Bxh3 54. Na8 Ba5+ 55. Kd1 Kd5 56. Bxh4 Kxc6 {0-1
Schiffers,E-Tarrasch,S/Vienna 1898/HCL (56)}) 14... d5 15. Ned2 Ba3 16. Be5 f6
17. Qa6 fxe5 18. Qxa3 e4 19. Nd4 Qf6 20. c3 Rf8 21. f3 Qg5 22. Qc1 Nc5 23. Nf1
Qg6 24. Re3 Nd3 25. Qd1 Nf4 26. Ng3 h5 27. Nde2 Nxg2 28. Kxg2 exf3+ 29. Rxf3
Bh3+ 30. Kxh3 Qg4+ 31. Kg2 Qxf3+ 32. Kg1 h4 33. Nh1 Qe3+ {0-1 Porges,M-Lasker,
E/Nuremberg 1896/HCL (33)}) 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. Rfe1 Nc5 ({Unternehmungslustiger
zeigte sich Schwarz in folgender moderner Großmeisterpartie:} 14... Qg6 15. Nd4
c5 16. Nc6 Qxc2 17. Rac1 Qxa2 18. Ne7+ Kh8 19. Rc4 Be6 20. Rh4 Qc2 21. Qh5 h6
22. Ne4 Qb2 23. Qg5 Kh7 24. Rxh6+ gxh6 25. Nf6+ Qxf6 26. Qxf6 Rae8 27. Re4 {
1-0 Psakhis,L-Fedorov,V/Nimes 1991/EXT 97 (27)} (27. Rxe6 $18 {gewinnt
schneller.})) 15. Ne4 {sehr zahm gespielt von Pillsbury.} (15. b4 $5 {wäre ein
Versuch mehr Pfeffer ins Spiel zu bringen.}) 15... Nxe4 16. Qxe4 Bd7 17. c4 ({
Auch nach} 17. Qe7 {vermag Schwarz mit} Qxe7 18. Rxe7 Rad8 19. Rd1 Rfe8 20.
Rxe8+ Bxe8 {das Gleichgewicht zu wahren.}) 17... Rfe8 18. Qd4 Rxe1+ 19. Rxe1
Qxd4 20. Nxd4 Kf8 {das entstandene Endspiel sollte in etwa ausgeglichen sein.}
21. Kf1 a5 22. a4 Re8 23. Rxe8+ Kxe8 24. Ke2 Kd8 25. Kd2 Kc7 26. Kc3 Kb6 27. f4
({Natürlich nicht} 27. b4 $4 axb4+ 28. Kxb4 c5+ $19) 27... h5 28. h3 Kc5 29. f5
$6 g6 $2 {auf diese Unachtsamkeit Laskers sind viele seiner folgenden Probleme
zurückzuführen. Vermutlich unterschätzte er die Wendigkeit des weißen
Springers.} ({Nach} 29... d5 $1 {wäre es Schwarz, der auf Gewinn spielen
könnte.}) 30. f6 $1 {dieser Bauer geht im Folgenden zwar verloren, doch Weiß
gewinnt soviel Zeit, daß seine Trümpfe am Damenflügel zuerst stechen.} d5 31.
cxd5 Kxd5 (31... cxd5 {sollte auch spielbar sein, z.B.} 32. Nf3 Be6 33. h4 Bd7
34. Ng5 Be8 35. g3 d4+ 36. Kd3 Kb4 37. Ne4 Kxb3 38. Nd6 Bxa4 39. Nxf7 Bb5+ 40.
Kxd4 a4 41. Nd6 a3 $11) 32. Nf3 Ke6 33. Nd2 Kxf6 34. Nc4 h4 $6 (34... Kg5 {
ist viel genauer.}) 35. Nxa5 Ke5 $2 {erlaubt Weiß, seinen Springer unter
Tempogewinn umzugruppieren.} ({Besser ist} 35... Kg5 $1 {zum Beispiel:} 36. Kd4
Kf4 37. Nc4 Kg3 38. Nb6 Bg4 39. a5 Be2) 36. Nc4+ $18 {[%mdl 4096] Pillsbury
führt das Endspiel vortrefflich.} Kf4 ({Nach} 36... Kd5 $6 {kann Weiß ins
Bauernendspiel abwickeln:} 37. a5 c5 (37... Kc5 38. a6 Bc8 39. b4+ $18) 38.
Nb6+ Kc6 39. Nxd7 Kxd7 40. Kc4 Kc6 41. a6 $18) 37. Nb6 Bf5 ({Auch nach dem
spektakulären} 37... Bxh3 $5 {behält Weiß die Oberhand:} 38. gxh3 g5 39. Kd2 $1
(39. a5 $2 g4 40. a6 gxh3 41. a7 h2 42. a8=Q h1=Q $14) 39... g4 40. Ke2 Kg3 41.
Kf1 Kxh3 (41... gxh3 42. Kg1 $18) (41... f5 42. Kg1 $18) 42. Kg1 Kg3 43. a5 h3
44. Nc4 h2+ 45. Kh1 Kf2 46. Ne5 g3 47. Ng4+ Kf1 48. Nxh2+ $18) (37... Be8 $6
38. Kd4 $18) 38. Kd4 Be4 39. a5 c5+ (39... Bxg2 {kann auf zwei Arten gekontert
werden. Zum einen das spektakuläre} 40. Nd5+ ({und zum anderen das sichere} 40.
a6 c5+ 41. Kxc5 $18) 40... Bxd5 (40... cxd5 41. a6 $16) 41. a6 Bg2 42. Kc5 $16)
40. Kxc5 Bxg2 (40... Kg3 41. a6 Kxg2 42. Nd5 $18) (40... g5 41. a6 g4 (41...
Bxg2 42. Nd5+ Ke5 43. Ne3 $18) 42. Nd5+ ({Nach} 42. a7 $2 Bb7 {hat Schwarz die
Lage wieder im Griff, weil der Springer zu weit vom Königsflügel entfernt ist,
z.B.} 43. Nd5+ (43. hxg4 Kg3 $11) (43. a8=Q $6 Bxa8 44. Nxa8 Kg3 $15) 43... Kg3
44. Ne3 gxh3 45. gxh3 Kxh3 46. b4 Kg3 47. Nf5+ Kg4 48. Nxh4 Kxh4 49. Kd6 f5 $11
) 42... Ke5 43. Ne3 f5 (43... Bxg2 44. Nxg2 gxh3 45. Nxh4 $18) 44. b4 $18) 41.
a6 g5 (41... Ke5 {hilft auch nicht:} 42. Nc4+ Ke6 43. b4 Kd7 (43... Bxh3 44.
Ne3 $18) 44. b5 Kc8 45. Nd6+ Kb8 46. Kb6 Bxh3 47. a7+ Ka8 48. Ne8 Bg2 49. Nc7#)
42. Nd5+ Ke5 43. Ne3 $1 Bf3 44. b4 Ke6 45. b5 Be2 (45... Ba8 46. b6 Kd7 47. b7
$18) 46. Nd5 $1 (46. Nd5 $1 Bxb5 (46... Bf3 47. b6 Bxd5 48. b7 $18) 47. Kxb5
Kxd5 48. a7 $18) 1-0

[Event "Elista FIDE GP"]
[Site "Elista"]
[Date "2008.12.14"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Jakovenko, Dmitrij"]
[Black "Wang, Yue"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2737"]
[BlackElo "2736"]
[Annotator "Mueller,Karsten"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "2008.12.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 128"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.01.28"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2009.01.28"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 Be7 11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Rd1 Be7 14.
Kg2 h5 (14... Be6 15. Be3 a5 16. Ne2 h5 17. f3 a4 18. Nf4 g6 19. Rd2 Rd8 20.
Rxd8+ Kxd8 21. Rd1+ Ke8 22. Nxe6 fxe6 23. Rd4 b5 24. Rd3 Rh7 25. b3 axb3 26.
cxb3 $6 (26. axb3 $142) 26... Ba3 27. Bg5 Rd7 $1 $11 {Now the resulting bishop
ending is a relatively easy draw because of the passed black c-pawn which will
arise: Nun ist das entstehende Läuferendspiel wegen des entstehenden schwarzen
Freibauern auf der c-Linie relativ leicht remis:} 28. Rxd7 Kxd7 29. f4 hxg4 30.
hxg4 c5 31. Kf3 c4 32. bxc4 bxc4 33. Ke4 c5 34. f5 gxf5+ 35. gxf5 exf5+ 36.
Kxf5 c3 37. e6+ Ke8 38. Ke4 c2 39. Kd5 c1=Q 40. Bxc1 Bxc1 41. Kxc5 {1/2-1/2
Karjakin,S (2727)-Wang Yue (2704), Sochi 2008}) 15. f3 Be6 16. Ne2 Rd8 17. Be3
a6 18. Nf4 g6 19. Rxd8+ (19. b3 Rd7 20. Nd3 Kd8 21. Nc5 Rxd1 22. Rxd1+ Kc8 23.
Nxe6 fxe6 24. f4 b5 25. Bf2 Rh7 26. Rd3 hxg4 27. hxg4 Rh8 28. Rh3 Rxh3 29. Kxh3
Kd7 30. c4 Bb4 31. Kg2 Ke8 32. Kf3 Bd2 33. Ke4 Bb4 34. Bh4 Bd2 35. Bf2 Bb4 36.
Kd3 Kd7 37. Be3 Ba5 38. Bd2 Bb6 39. Be3 Ba5 40. a3 Be1 41. Bc5 Bg3 42. Ke3 Bh4
43. Bb4 Kd8 44. Kf3 Kd7 45. Kg2 Ke8 46. Kf3 Kd7 47. Ke4 Bf2 48. f5 gxf5+ 49.
gxf5 exf5+ 50. Kxf5 bxc4 51. bxc4 Bd4 {This ending too is very easy to draw
because White cannot get at the black c-pawns: Auch dieses Endspiel ist recht
leicht remis zu halten, weil Weiß an die schwarzen c-Bauern nicht herankommt:}
52. Kf6 Bb2 53. Bc5 Bc3 54. Kf5 Bb2 55. Kf6 Bc3 56. Be3 Bb2 57. a4 Bc3 58. Bf4
Ke8 59. Ke6 (59. Kf5 Ke7 60. e6 Kd8 61. Be5 Ba5 62. Kf6 Ke8 $11) 59... Bb4 60.
Be3 Ba5 61. Bc5 Bc3 62. Be3 Ba5 63. Bf4 {1/2-1/2 Adams,M (2734)-Wang Yue (2736)
, Kallithea 2008}) 19... Kxd8 20. Rd1+ Kc8 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. f4 b5 23. b3 Rh7
24. Bf2 hxg4 25. hxg4 Rh8 26. Rh1 Rxh1 27. Kxh1 Kd7 28. Kg2 Bb4 29. Kf3 Ke8 30.
Ke4 Ke7 31. Bh4+ Ke8 32. f5 gxf5+ 33. gxf5 exf5+ 34. Kxf5 Bc3 35. Bf2 Ke7 36.
e6 Ke8 37. Bg3 Ba5 38. Be5 Bb6 39. c3 c5 40. c4 {With this setup White has
very good practical winning chances. In dieser Konstellation hat Weiß sehr
gute praktische Gewinnchancen.} Ba5 $2 {[%mdl 4096] After this the penetration
of the queenside by the white king will bring about the win. Danach wird der
weiße König gewinnbringend am Damenflügel eindringen.} (40... bxc4 41. bxc4 c6
{was required: war vonnöten:} 42. Bd6 Ba5 43. Bxc5 (43. e7 $6 Kf7 $11) (43. Kf6
$6 Bc3+ 44. Be5 Be1 45. e7 Bh4+ $11) 43... Be1 {and I haven't found a way to
crack open the black fortress. und ich habe keinen Weg gefunden, die schwarze
Festung zu knacken, z.B.} 44. Ke4 Bc3 45. Kd3 Be5 46. Kc2 (46. Bb4 Bf6 47. Kc2
Bh4 48. Kb3 a5 (48... Bg3 $2 49. Ka4 Bc7 50. a3 $18) 49. Bxa5 Ke7 50. Bb6 Kxe6
51. a4 Kd7 52. a5 Kc8 53. a6 Kb8 $11) 46... Bf6 47. Kb3 a5 $1 (47... Bd8 $2 48.
Bd6 Ba5 49. Ka4 Be1 50. Bb4 $18) 48. Bd6 (48. Bb6 Ke7 49. Ka4 Bc3 50. Bxa5 Bd4
51. Bc7 Bc3 52. Kb3 Be1 53. Bb6 Kxe6 54. a4 Kd7 55. a5 Kc8 56. a6 Kb8 $11)
48... Bd4 49. Ka4 Bc3 50. Bc7 Ke7 51. Bxa5 Bd4 52. Bc7 Bc3 53. Kb3 Be1 54. a4
Kxe6 55. a5 Kd7 56. Bb6 Kc8 57. a6 Kb8 $11) 41. Kf6 c6 (41... bxc4 42. bxc4 Kf8
43. Bb2 $1 c6 (43... Bb4 44. Ke5 Ke7 45. Bc1 a5 46. Bg5+ Ke8 47. a4 $18) 44.
e7+ Ke8 45. Be5 Bd2 46. Bc7 Be1 47. Ke6 Bh4 48. Kd6 $18) 42. e7 Be1 43. Ke6 Bh4
44. Kd6 Bxe7+ 45. Kxc6 bxc4 46. bxc4 Kd8 47. Bd6 Bh4 (47... Bxd6 48. Kxd6 Kc8
49. Kxc5 Kc7 50. a4 Kb7 51. Kd6 Kc8 52. Kc6 $18) 48. Bxc5 Kc8 49. Kb6 a5 50.
Kxa5 Kb7 51. Kb5 Bg3 52. a4 Ka8 53. Be3 Bd6 54. Bd2 Kb7 (54... Kb7 55. Bb4 Bg3
56. c5 Be5 57. c6+ Ka7 (57... Kc7 58. a5 Kc8 59. Kc4 Bc7 60. Kd5 $18) 58. Kc4
Kb6 59. Kd5 Bc7 60. Bc3 Bg3 61. Bd4+ Ka6 62. Ke6 Bc7 63. Kd7 Bg3 64. Bc5 $18)
1-0

[Event "EU-ch 6th"]
[Site "Warsaw"]
[Date "2005.06.25"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Kharlov, Andrei"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2548"]
[BlackElo "2628"]
[Annotator "Mueller,Karsten"]
[PlyCount "131"]
[EventDate "2005.06.18"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 108"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.09.26"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.09.26"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Be6 10. Ng5 Ke7 11. f4 h5 12. Rd1 Rd8 13. Rxd8 Kxd8 14.
Nxe6+ fxe6 15. Ne4 Be7 16. Kf2 c5 17. Be3 b6 18. Rd1+ Kc8 19. Ke2 Kb7 20. Bf2
c4 21. Kf3 Kc6 22. g3 a6 23. h3 g6 24. g4 hxg4+ 25. hxg4 Rh3+ 26. Ke2 Nh6 27.
Rg1 b5 28. Be3 b4 29. Nf2 Rh2 30. Kf3 Bh4 31. Rh1 Rxh1 32. Nxh1 Kd5 33. Bf2
Bxf2 34. Nxf2 a5 35. c3 b3 36. a3 Ng8 37. Nd1 Ne7 38. Ne3+ Kc5 39. Ke4 a4 40.
Nf1 Kb5 41. Nd2 Kc5 42. Nf3 Kc6 43. Nd4+ Kd7 44. Ne2 Kc6 45. Nd4+ Kd7 46. f5
exf5+ 47. gxf5 c5 48. e6+ Ke8 49. Ne2 Nxf5 50. Nf4 Ne7 51. Ke5 g5 52. Nh5 Kd8
53. Kd6 Nf5+ 54. Ke5 Ne7 55. Kf6 Nc6 $2 {Nach diesem passiven Zug bekommt
Schwarz kein Bein mehr auf den Boden.} (55... Nd5+ {war vonnöten:} 56. Kf7 (56.
Kxg5 $2 Nxc3 $19) 56... g4 57. Ng3 Ne7 $11) 56. Kxg5 Ke7 57. Nf4 Kd6 (57... Na7
58. Kf5 Nb5 59. Nd5+ Kd6 60. Ne3 Ke7 61. Nxc4 Nc7 62. Ke5 Nxe6 63. Nb6 $18) 58.
Kf6 Ne7 59. Kf7 Nc6 60. Kf6 Ne7 (60... Ne5 61. Nd5 Ng4+ 62. Kg5 Ne5 63. e7 Kd7
64. Kf6 Ng4+ 65. Kf7 Ne5+ 66. Kg7 Nc6 67. Kf8 $18) 61. Ng2 Ng8+ 62. Kg7 Ne7 (
62... Kxe6 63. Kxg8 Ke5 64. Ne3 Ke4 65. Nxc4 Kd3 66. Nb6 Kc2 67. Nxa4 $18) 63.
Kf7 Nc6 64. Kf6 Nd4 (64... Ne7 65. Ne3 Ng8+ 66. Kg7 Ne7 67. Kf7 Nc8 68. Kf6 $18
) 65. e7 Kd7 66. Kf7 1-0

[Event "Paris Congres International"]
[Site "Paris"]
[Date "1867.06.07"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Neumann, Gustav Richard"]
[Black "Winawer, Szymon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "Neumann,GV"]
[PlyCount "123"]
[EventDate "1867.06.04"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "24"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2002"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.11.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.11.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 $1 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 exd4 (5... Be7 $142 6. d5 (
6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 $1 8. dxe5 Nb7 $11 {Neumann,G-Anderssen,A Berlin m1
1864 1/2}) 6... Nd6 7. Be2 e4 8. dxc6 exf3 9. Bxf3 $11 (9. cxd7+ {Robey,
J-Anderssen,A BCA-05.Kongress 1862 0-1})) 6. Re1 f5 7. Nxd4 Nxd4 8. Qxd4 Be7 (
8... c6) 9. Qxg7 Bf6 10. Qh6 Qe7 $11 (10... c6) 11. Nc3 $16 c6 12. Bf4 Bxc3 13.
bxc3 d5 $2 (13... Qe6) 14. Be2 Be6 15. Bh5+ Kd7 16. f3 Nc5 17. Be5 Rhg8 18. Bd4
b6 19. Bxc5 bxc5 20. Re5 Raf8 21. Rb1 $1 $40 {[%csl Rd7][%cal Gb1b7]} Qf6 22.
Qxh7+ Kd6 23. Rbe1 Qxe5 24. Rxe5 Kxe5 25. Qe7 f4 26. Bg4 Rxg4 27. fxg4 Rf7 28.
Qe8 f3 29. gxf3 Rxf3 30. Kg2 Rf4 31. h3 d4 32. Kg3 Re4 33. c4 Re3+ 34. Kh4 Rc3
35. Qxc6 Rxc4 36. Qg2 Rc3 37. Kg5 Bd5 38. Qh2+ Ke6 39. Qe2+ Re3 40. Qa6+ Kd7
41. Qxa7+ Kd6 42. h4 Rc3 43. h5 Be4 44. h6 Rh3 45. Qb6+ Kd5 46. a4 Bxc2 47. a5
Kc4 48. a6 Be4 49. a7 Ra3 50. Kf4 Bd5 51. h7 Rf3+ 52. Ke5 Re3+ 53. Kf6 Rf3+ 54.
Kg7 Rf7+ 55. Kg6 Rf8 56. Qf6 Re8 57. Kg7 Be4 58. h8=Q Rxh8 59. Kxh8 Bd5 60.
a8=Q Bxa8 61. Qa6+ Kc3 62. Qxa8 {Temps des blancs 45mns et des noirs 01h45
Deutsche Schachzeitung 1867, p. 295; The Chess World 1867/68, p. 207} 1-0

[Event "World-ch Carlsen-Anand +3-1=7"]
[Site "Sochi"]
[Date "2014.11.23"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2863"]
[BlackElo "2792"]
[Annotator "Nielsen,Peter Heine"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2014.11.08"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 164"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.01.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.01.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{With the score being 51/2-41/2 to Carlsen with 2 games to go, the match has
reached its crucial moment. Yet still there maybe was an expectation of
silence before the storm? A draw in this game at first seemed like a good
result for both, as Carlsen would guarantee himself a playoff, while Anand
could gamble everything with the white pieces in game 12. In tournaments
situations might often arise in which both player have mutual interests in a
draw, but in matches it is important to remember that what is good for your
oppenent, is bad for you! The discussions about the right strategy in these
situations reflect that its probably a very close decision, with no obvious
"correct" answer. In Brissago 2004, against Leko, Kramnik choose the Benoni as
Black, in order to gamble, while here Anand choose the Berlin, seemingly happy
to make a draw.} 1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:
06]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 4. O-O {
[%emt 0:00:09]} Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 5. d4 {[%emt 0:01:03] Carlsen hesitated
here for a few minutes, possibly contemplating the safer 5.Re1, as employed in
Chennai a year before, succesfully drawing and thus preserving his lead. There
however he was on +2, making a draw even more valuable.} Nd6 {[%emt 0:00:07]}
6. Bxc6 {[%emt 0:00:13]} dxc6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 7. dxe5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Nf5 {
[%emt 0:00:06]} 8. Qxd8+ {[%emt 0:00:05]} Kxd8 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 9. h3 {[%emt 0:
00:08]} Bd7 $5 {[%emt 0:00:18] Anand is the first to deviate from games 7&9
where he went 9...Ke8. It might seem a bit strange that after getting into
trouble in game 7 he repeated ...Ke8, while after securing an easy draw in
game 9, he changed. However not doing the obvious, is an excellent way of
surprising, and springing this "mini" surprise, might be an indication that
despite the choice of the Berlin, he is not against a fight.} 10. Nc3 $5 {
[%emt 0:00:08] A slightly surprising decision. In the previous match in
Chennai, Anand as White choose:} (10. Rd1 {which is part of the point behind 9
h3, as now if Black wants to get his king to c8, he has to enter the
complications after 10...Kc8 11.g4 Ne7 12.Ng5 Be8 13.f4 h5. Recently however
Black has done well here, as well as the general trend in this match is Anand
welcoming, and Carlsen avoiding forced lines.} Be7 {was Carlsen's own choice
in the previous match, when he came close to winning game 4 after} 11. Nc3 (11.
g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Nd2 Kc8 14. Ne4 b6 15. Bg5 Bxg5 16. Nxg5 h6 17. Nxf7
Re8 18. f4 Be6 19. Nxh6 gxh6 20. f5 Bxf5 21. gxf5 Rxe5 {was drawn after a
couple of exact defensive moves by Black in Karjakin-Carlsen, Shamkir 2014.})
11... Kc8 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxe7 Nxe7 14. Rd2 c5 15. Rad1 Be6 {with Black having
solved his opening problems in the abovementioned game 4 of the 2013 WC-match.}
) 10... h6 {[%emt 0:00:48]} 11. b3 {[%emt 0:00:32]} Kc8 {[%emt 0:01:11]} 12.
Bb2 {[%emt 0:01:12]} c5 $5 {[%emt 0:01:30] Technically speaking a very rare
move, but in harmony with the current trend in this line, that Black will play
a quick ...c5.} (12... b6 {is the original concept, played by Kramnik in the
2000 WC-match against Kasparov, who got nowhere after} 13. Rad1 Ne7 (13... c5 {
Leko's move order, and would transpose to the main game.}) 14. Ne2 Ng6 15. Ne1
h5 16. Nd3 c5 17. c4 a5 18. a4 h4 {and Kasparov both in this game, as in the
match in general, did not manage to make any headway against the Berlin.}) 13.
Rad1 {[%emt 0:04:07]} b6 {[%emt 0:01:01] Despite the slight improvement in the
move order by Anand, it has now transposed into a recent game between Kokarev
and Leko from the Russian league. With Leko being one of Anand's seconds for
the previous match, one can guess at that it was preparation for Chennai. By
controlling the d4-square, Black avoids the White tries now considered maybe
most critical after 13...b6 starting with 14.Nd4!?, however at the cost at
giving white access to the d5-square. Optically it looks like an excellent
post for a white knight, but as the game shows, things are not as simple as
that.} 14. Rfe1 {[%emt 0:10:11]} (14. Nd5 a5 15. Nd2 Ne7 $1 {Contesting the
strong knight on d5 is part of Black's plan. If 16 c4, then ...a4 gives
excellent counterplay.} 16. Ne3 Nf5 17. Nd5 Ne7 18. Ne3 Nf5 {and the game was
drawn by repetition.}) 14... Be6 $5 {[%emt 0:09:58] Bologan and Jakovenko have
played ...Ne7 here, Ponomariov ...a5. Both decent moves, but so is Anand's,
getting ready to put his king on b7, and for the time being not retreating the
knight voluntarily.} 15. Nd5 {[%emt 0:02:42]} g5 {[%emt 0:01:35] Not allowing
a white Nf4, harassing the bishop on e6. It does create a "hole" on f6, but
gains space, and makes it more difficult for White to immediately expand on
the kingside.} 16. c4 {[%emt 0:10:30]} Kb7 {[%emt 0:09:49] A very principled
position, where both players have their intended setup. White's argument will
be that space does matter, that d5 is an outpost of value, and that he can
roll forward eventually on the kingside, while Black will claim his position
is solid, and that potentially White's queenside structure soon fixed on white
squares is vulnerable.} 17. Kh2 {[%emt 0:13:27] Not hesitating, Carlsen's
prepares for expanding on the kingside.} a5 {[%emt 0:14:59]} 18. a4 {[%emt 0:
01:37] Of course weakening b3, but allowing ...a4, would give Black immediate,
counterplay.} Ne7 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 19. g4 {[%emt 0:02:23]} Ng6 {[%emt 0:06:53]
A good defensive move, taking precautions against White's plan of Kg3+h4.
However already here instead of defense, being aggressive with: 19...b5!?
would have been an interesting try, as after 20.axb5 a4 Black has serious
counterplay.} 20. Kg3 {[%emt 0:02:59]} Be7 {[%emt 0:02:16] In line with the
idea of stopping a white h4.} 21. Nd2 {[%emt 0:09:31]} ({If} 21. Nxe7 Nxe7 22.
h4 $2 {then} gxh4+ $1 {followed by 23...Rag8 when it's Black who benefits from
the immediate opening of fire on the kingside.}) 21... Rhd8 {[%emt 0:07:06]}
22. Ne4 {[%emt 0:01:51]} Bf8 {[%emt 0:00:35] An interesting position. At first
sight it looks like Black is solid, but passive, and the defining factor will
be if White is able to break through on the kingside. However as shown by the
game, Black has a powerful resource in ...b5 creating counterplay on the
queenside. Thus the task for White here is to find a prophylactic measure,
preventing ...b5 but keeping the long-term prospects on the kingside. Easier
said than done.} 23. Nef6 {[%emt 0:09:34]} ({During the game I thought} 23. Bc3
$5 {was the right move, but even there after} b5 {Black has counterplay after}
24. axb5 c6 25. bxc6+ Kxc6 {when it's not easy for White to keep Black's
potential under control. In the game it's an even more difficult task, but
Carlsen manages it extremely well!}) 23... b5 $1 {[%emt 0:09:48] A strong and
thematic move. The idea is that after 24.axb5 a4 25.bxa4 Rxa4 Black has more
than sufficient compensation for the pawn, due to the a-file and the weakness
of the pawn on c4. An even worse move is 24.cxb5 c6! 25.bxc6+ Kxc6 undermining
the knight on d5, and thus the pawn on b3 will fall. However Carlsen adapts
very well to the situation, not panicking but instead very much adapting to
the circumstance with a realistic defensive move. Despite the momentum having
swung in Anand's favour, it is however worth noting that Carlsen's chances of
winning the game have also improved. For a while Black now gets chances, the
stakes have risen, and any mistake can turn the tables, while without ...b5
both players' margin of error was bigger.} 24. Bc3 $5 {[%emt 0:08:39] Getting
out of the way of a black rook soon to be in the b-file, as well as eying the
pawn on a5 too.} bxa4 {[%emt 0:03:59]} 25. bxa4 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Kc6 {[%emt 0:
00:19]} 26. Kf3 $6 {[%emt 0:07:38] Much praised and combined with 23.Nef6
maybe match winning inaccuracies! Because while objectively Black now has the
chance to get the upper hand, Carlsen does seek to put pressure on his
opponent by marching forward with his king.} Rdb8 $6 {[%emt 0:21:53] Logical,
but letting a big chance slip.} ({With} 26... Be7 $1 {Anand could have given
the match a dramatic turn. The game would not at all be decided yet, but Black
keeps a stabe edge. It might seem pardoxical that Anand would play ...Be7
earlier in this game, instead of the maybe more obvious looking ...Bg7, but
there it had the specific point of preventing a white h4. Here however looks
just strange, but has the advantage that Nh5 is not with tempo, as indeed
would be the case after ...Bg7. The tactical problem is that after} 27. Ke4
Bxf6 $1 28. exf6 Bxd5+ $1 29. cxd5+ Kd6 {it's the black king which feels safe
and comfortable in the centre, as the d5-pawn provides him excellent cover,
while its white counterpart suddenly feels very awkwardly placed. Carlsen
certainly has ways to fight on after 26...Be7, and objectively the position
most likely is drawn, but he would be facing an uphill struggle, while now
certainly all 3 results are in play.}) 27. Ke4 {[%emt 0:02:54]} Rb4 $6 {
[%emt 0:03:22] As Anand admitted at the press conference his emotions got the
better of him, and he erred first. The stakes do simply not get higher, and
the pressure on the players obviously is immense. Anand tries maximising the
pressure on Carlsen, but while it does put pressure, the move lacks just a bit
in objective quality. The idea is right, the execution however flawed.} (27...
Rb3 $1 {is the better move.} {Thus} 28. Rb1 {is logical, but then Black has
the pleasant choice of either} ({If} 28. Rd2 {or 28.Rd3 then} Bg7 {will start
undermining the white centre.} (28... Kb7 $5)) {And} 28... Rb4 $5 {also
certainly makes sense, as the white rook obviously is placed worse on b1 than
on d1, after White accepts the offered exchange.} (28... Ra3 29. Ra1 Rb3 {
with a repetition} ({or} 29... Rxc3 {as an interesting exchange sacrifice.})))
28. Bxb4 {[%emt 0:00:42]} cxb4 $2 {[%emt 0:00:10] While the least move might
be sub-optimal, this one however is a clear mistake. It might look tempting to
get the c5-square for either the bishop or even the king, but now with very
concrete action, Carlsen manages to prove that Black's plan is too slow.} ({
With} 28... axb4 $1 {Black stays very much in the game. The positional
compensation with the pair of bishops as well as the the better structure
means that e.g. a passive approach like} 29. Ra1 ({It would be more
challenging if White plays for a direct f4 with} 29. Nh5 {similar to the game,
but after} Rxa4 30. Ra1 Rxa1 31. Rxa1 Bxd5+ $1 32. cxd5+ Kb5 {Black's passed
pawns are ready to march forward with a very complicated struggle ahead.})
29... Bg7 {is very playable for Black, who could even be better.}) 29. Nh5 $1 {
[%emt 0:09:58] As always Carlsen is a master in adopting to the circumstances,
and immediately jumps at his chance. Black's position does have potential, but
by attacking it immediately and with great force it's game, set and match.} Kb7
{[%emt 0:01:49]} 30. f4 {[%emt 0:01:21]} gxf4 {[%emt 0:00:38]} (30... Bd7 $5 {
looked a possible figthing chance, but after} 31. f5 Bxa4 32. fxg6 fxg6 33.
Nhf6 Bxd1 34. Rxd1 c6 {White do not retreat his knight, when the black pawns
indeed would become dangerous, but decides the game with} 35. Nd7 $1 {when the
white knights will either block the pawns, or after} cxd5+ 36. cxd5 {the white
pawns win the race, as} b3 37. Nxf8 a4 38. Nd7 {the white knight will return
in time.}) 31. Nhxf4 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Nxf4 {[%emt 0:00:25]} 32. Nxf4 $1 {
[%emt 0:00:58] Again very much to the point. Of course allowing Black to take
on c4 gives him connected passed pawns, but keeping up the pace of the attack
is of much higher relevance. Now the bishop on e6 is attacked, and after...}
Bxc4 {[%emt 0:01:14]} 33. Rd7 $1 {[%emt 0:00:08] ...is the deciding point. The
c7-pawn is the target, and when it falls, the whole black position crumbles.} {
So Anand tries one last trick:} Ra6 $5 {[%emt 0:05:45] The rook aims for c6,
where it protects the weak pawn on c7, as well as the bishop on c4, meaning
that e.g. 34.Rc1 is parried. It almost works, but White do have one concrete
way of breaking through...} ({After} 33... Kc6 {White will simply retreat with}
34. Rd2 {when Rc1 next will decide.}) 34. Nd5 $1 {[%emt 0:01:23]} Rc6 {[%emt 0:
01:17]} 35. Rxf7 $1 {[%emt 0:00:51]} Bc5 {[%emt 0:00:38]} 36. Rxc7+ $1 {
[%emt 0:03:06] The final blow, netting an extra pawn as well as exchanging the
c6-rook that kept the black position together.} Rxc7 {[%emt 0:00:22]} 37. Nxc7
{[%emt 0:00:01]} Kc6 {[%emt 0:03:48]} ({Anand's misfortune is that after} 37...
Kxc7 38. Rc1 b3 39. Rxc4 b2 40. Rxc5+ {is check, gaining the decisive tempo
allowing Rb5 next, stopping the passed pawn.}) 38. Nb5 $1 {[%emt 0:01:28]
Allowing Black 2 connected passed pawns, but correctly judging that White's
one passer will prevail.} Bxb5 {[%emt 0:00:22]} 39. axb5+ {[%emt 0:00:07]} Kxb5
{[%emt 0:00:06]} 40. e6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} b3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 41. Kd3 {[%emt 0:
02:22]} Be7 {[%emt 0:01:34]} 42. h4 $1 {[%emt 0:01:29]} a4 {[%emt 0:02:21]} 43.
g5 {[%emt 0:00:38]} hxg5 {[%emt 0:00:31]} 44. hxg5 {[%emt 0:00:45]} a3 {
[%emt 0:00:09]} 45. Kc3 {[%emt 0:00:55] Stopping the passed black pawns, and
despite the fact that 45...Bb4+ wins the white rook on e1, what matters is the
pawns. 46.Kxb3 Bxe1 47.e7 and the pawn queens. Anand had no choice, but to
resign the game and thus the match. A very interesting last game. Like in game
9 in Chennai, Anand might have shown how to successfully attack Carlsen, but
by doing that he also forced him to display excellent defensive
resourcefulness once again netting him a full point!} 1-0

[Event "Norway Chess 6th"]
[Site "Stavanger"]
[Date "2018.05.30"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2843"]
[BlackElo "2764"]
[Annotator "Nielsen,Peter Heine"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2018.05.28"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 185"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2018.07.13"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.07.13"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 {In round one Magnus won a good game against Fabiano Caruana
with 2.Bc4, but that move at top level is almost exclusively seen as an
anti-Petroff move order.} Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 $5 4. O-O ({In round one Anand
continued} 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d5 6. Bd2 O-O 7. O-O Re8 8. exd5 a6 $1 {when while
not only springing an excellent novelty, Aronian also managed to amuse in the
confession booth saying he forgot to play it at move 3, and now seemed at good
moment to correct the mistake! Even so, his switch from Marshall to Berlin
seemed more than just a fling.}) 4... Nxe4 5. Re1 {The most solid of lines,
suiting well that Magnus actually was the sole leader at this point.} Nd6 6.
Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 {By far the main move, but
in the New York match vs. Karjakin, Magnus did put the rook on e2, an idea of
Caruana's second Kasimdzhanov, and had some pressure before the game was
eventually drawn.} Nf5 $5 {Also the latest trend.} ({People used to go} 10...
Re8 {and while that still makes a solid apperance, the preference by the
experts has been for this slightly more aggressive move.}) 11. d5 {Grabbing
space, or from Black's perspective, slightly weakening White's pawn chain.
Less ambitious but more solid is 11.c3 d5, with numerous games being drawn
shortly thereafter.} Re8 {Here everybody routinely played the standard move,
till Caruana in Baden tried 12.Bd3 against Aronian. Magnus' next move was
intended to be a novelty:} 12. Rxe8+ $5 {But to my surprise this had already
been played by Palac in 2005, against me! The unimpressive continuation being
12...Qxe8 13.Nd2 d6 draw agreed.} Qxe8 13. Qd3 $5 {Putting the bishop on d3
similar to Caruana looks like a normal move, while this somewhat goes against
chess principles. First developing your queen, and only then figuring out how
to proceed next is not excactly what is recommended in the beginners' books.
But apart from the primitive threats of taking the knight on f5, more
relevantly it supports the e4-square planning to transfer the knight there
eventually as well and in general having much more scope. Aronian seemed
surprised but after some thought played the obvious reply.} d6 14. Nd2 {
Intending Ne4, followed by c3 Bd2 Re1. The good thing about White's position
is that it has a lot of room for improvement! For Black it's more difficult,
and probably, especially in light of White not being fully developed, 14...
c6!? switching the position to an isolani-style type after a white dxc6 or a
black ...cxd5 would assure counterplay. But Black has an almost perfect pawn
structure so voluntarily ruining it is not an easy over the board decision.}
Bg5 $6 {A very logical move, assuring the exchange of the dark-squared bishops
and at the same time eliminating the Ne4 threat.} 15. Nf3 {A case (the
engines!) could be made for including g3+h4 to gain a bit of time, but Magnus
Magnus either wanted to assure himself of the following favourable exchanges,
or perhaps as the games later shows the relevance of, rather would not lose
the flexibilty on how to put his pawns on the kingside.} Bxc1 16. Rxc1 Bd7 17.
Re1 {At first sight it looks like a typical quick Re1 Berlin draw is in
progress. Rooks will be exchanged in the e-line and White has absolutely
nothing constructive to do with his moderate space advantage. But details do
matter! After 17...Qf8 White will immediately attack Black's queenside with
moves like 18.Qb3 or 18.Qc4, when Black face a passive defence using his rook
to defend the weakness on especially c7. Perhaps a small difference, but with
a huge effect. Black has no way of getting the neccesary echanges and is
doomed to passive defence. His position is so solid that the chances of sucess
obviously is there, but White's edge, as indicated by the engines, is
certainly larger than it looks at first sight.} Qd8 18. Qc4 g6 19. h3 Ng7 20.
Re3 {A nice setup, the rook might be used to attack the vulnerable spots on
the queenside, or more directely, the black kingside as in the game. It does
however give Aronian a chance to change the structure play with an isolani.} a5
({After} 20... c5 $1 21. dxc6 Bxc6 {Black obviously is slightly worse, but in
a less suffocating way than the game.}) 21. a4 {Now ...c5 would leave the
b5-square weak, thus 21...c6!} Ne8 22. Qd4 {An ideal square for White's queen.
Normally ...Qf6 would chase it away, but with the pawn already on g6, White
always has the small tactic Rxe8+! meaning Black will never achieve a Qf6+Kg7
setup.} Ng7 23. g4 $5 {Logical and strong. Magnus cntrols the f5-square, not
allowing ...Nf5 attacking his queen. Weakening his own king is not a concern
due to Black's passivity, but even so the engine does seem to think White
would optimize his edge with the less compromising 23.Bd3.} c6 {At last, and
with the logical justification that White's last move has changed the battle
from a positional one to a tactical, Aronian stops caring about his pawn
structure but tries creating counterplay.} (23... Qf8 {intending 24...Re8
looks solid and logical, but} 24. Ng5 $1 {becomes alarming as if} Re8 ({
Suffice it to say that the engines suggests} 24... Qd8 $1) {then} 25. Ne4 $1 {
gets access to the f6-square with immediate disaster for Black.}) 24. c4 Ne8 {
With all this suffering , why not at least have a pawn for it?} (24... c5 25.
Qf4 Bxa4 {is possible, when White has excellent compensation in numerous ways,
the engines preferring} 26. Ra3 $5 Bd7 27. Rb3 {eyeing the b6-square!}) 25. Qf4
Kg7 {Adding to his misery, Levon was also now desperately short of time, and
Magnus now pulls off an almost basketball like trick, first looking to one
side, but the attacking fiercly on the other:} 26. Rb3 {Just a decoy.} Rb8 27.
Ng5 $1 Nf6 $2 (27... Qf6 {still defends, as while} 28. Qd2 {does attack the
a5-pawn Black can defend with} h6 29. Ne4 Qd8 {without facing disaster. Now
however swift tactics decide.}) 28. Rf3 $1 h6 {Not even a blunder, as Black
has no meaningful defence anyway.} ({The d6-pawn is attacked, and} 28... Qe7
29. Re3 Qf8 {leaves White so many options that the engine does not even
mention that 30.Qxf6+?! followed by Nxh7+ wins a pawn. Easiest is} 30. Qd4 $1 {
with a crushing pin.}) 29. Ne4 $1 Nxe4 30. Qxf7+ Kh8 31. Qxg6 {And with the
combined threats to the knight in e4 and the h6-pawn as well as Rf7 mating,
Aronian resigned.} 1-0

[Event "Bazna Kings 5th"]
[Site "Medias"]
[Date "2011.06.13"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Nisipeanu, Liviu Dieter"]
[Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2659"]
[BlackElo "2776"]
[Annotator "Nisipeanu,LD"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2011.06.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 {A pleaseant surprise for two
reasons: I have never lost with White in the Berlin and computer analysis is
not possible here.} 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7
10. Ne4 Ng6 11. b3 Ke8 12. Bb2 c5 {A logical novelty, played very quickly by
my opponent.} ({The game Gashimov-Onischuk went} 12... Bf5 13. Rfe1 Nf4 14. g3
Ne6 15. Nh4 Bg4 16. f3 Bh5 17. f4 $14) 13. Nfd2 $5 {An interesting idea found
over the board. I thought that the best square for this knight is e3 and I
decided to switch it there as soon as possible.} h5 {Played very quickly again.
Black had many possibilities and I was really taken aback by the speed of
Ivanchuk's decisions.} ({After the logical} 13... Bf5 {I was intending} 14. f3
{with the idea Nc4-e3, allthough I am not sure how good it really is.}) 14. Nc4
b6 15. f4 Ne7 ({Possibly better was} 15... Bf5 16. Rae1 ({During the game} 16.
Ng3 {seemed strong to me, but after} Bxc2 17. f5 Ne7 18. f6 Nc6 19. e6 g6 $1 {
the position is unclear.}) 16... h4 17. Ng5 $14) 16. Ne3 Nf5 17. Nd5 Bb7 18.
Rfd1 Bxd5 19. Rxd5 $14 {White has deprived Black of his bishop pair and now
enjoys a risk-free small advantage.} a5 $6 (19... Ne3 20. Rd2 Rd8 21. Rxd8+
Kxd8 22. c4 $14 {was a tougher defence.}) 20. Re1 $1 $16 {Now, besides the
positional problems, Black has to face some tactical ones as well.} Rd8 (20...
Rh6 $2 {loses to the amusing} 21. Nf6+ Ke7 22. Ng8+) (20... c6 {is what the
program suggests, but every Berlin player knows that this move is not a good
sign for Black. It takes away the best square for the black king and it
weakens the d6-square as well.}) 21. Nf6+ Ke7 22. e6 $5 {A nice tactical
stroke, which nets White a pawn.} (22. Red1 Rc8 23. Ne4 Ke8 24. Kf2 $16 {
was also good, possibly even better then the game continuation, but with time
trouble approaching, I wanted to force the issue a bit.}) 22... Rxd5 23. Nxd5+
Kd6 24. exf7 Kxd5 25. Re5+ Kd6 26. Rxf5 Ke6 27. Rg5 Kxf7 28. Be5 {After a
sequence of forced moves we reached a position which I evaluated as winning
for White. Unfortunately Ivanchuk's move brought me back down to earth.} c4 $1
{Of course!} ({I was hoping for} 28... c6 29. c4 Rg8 30. f5 Be7 31. Rg6 Bf6 32.
Bxf6 gxf6 33. Rxg8 Kxg8 34. Kf2 {with a winning pawn ending}) 29. Bxc7 Bc5+ 30.
Kf1 Rc8 (30... g6 $1 31. Rd5 cxb3 32. cxb3 Rc8 33. Be5 Ke6 34. Rd2 Kf5 35. g3
h4 {would have given Black decent chances for a draw.}) 31. Be5 g6 32. f5 $1
gxf5 33. Rxh5 $1 (33. Rxf5+ {is not good:} Ke6 34. Rxh5 Rf8+ 35. Ke1 Rf2 {
with strong counterplay.}) 33... Rd8 34. Bc3 cxb3 35. cxb3 (35. Rxf5+ {was
better:} Kg6 36. Rf6+ Kg5 37. cxb3 Rd1+ 38. Ke2 Rg1 39. h4+ Kxh4 40. Rg6 Kh5
41. Rg8 $16 {but I was too low on time to see that.}) 35... Kg6 36. Rh8 Rd3 37.
Rh3 Be3 $2 {A blunder} (37... Rd1+ 38. Ke2 Rc1 39. Rg3+ Kh5 40. Kd3 $16) 38.
Be1 $4 (38. Be5 {with the idea Bf4 would have won immediately, but this move
never really occurred to me in the few seconds I had on the clock to reach the
time control.}) 38... f4 39. Ke2 Rd8 40. g3 Rc8 {Now the win is quite
problematic, if at all possible.} 41. gxf4 (41. a4 {was interesting, since} b5
$2 42. axb5 Rb8 43. Kf3 Rxb5 44. gxf4 Rxb3 45. Ke4 {is losing for Black. On
the other hand ...b5 constantly remains a threat after pushing the pawn to a4.}
) 41... Bxf4 42. Rc3 {Even if this move allows Black to draw by force, I can't
'award' it a question mark, since I think that it was the best chance in over
the board play.} (42. a4 Re8+ 43. Kf1 Re5 44. Rd3 b5 {is probably a draw.})
42... Re8+ ({It seems that Black had a draw with} 42... Rxc3 $1 43. Bxc3 Bxh2
44. Kd3 Kf5 45. Kc4 Ke6 46. Bd4 (46. Kb5 Bg1 47. Kc6 Bf2 48. a4 Bg1 49. Be1 Ke5
50. Bg3+ Kd4 51. Kxb6 Kc3+ 52. Kxa5 Kxb3 53. Kb5 Bb6 $1 $11) 46... a4 47. b4
Bd6 48. Kb5 Bxb4 49. Kxb4 Kd5 50. Bf2 Kc6 51. a3 {and according to the
tablebases, this is a draw.}) 43. Kd1 Rd8+ 44. Kc2 Re8 ({Now the bishop ending
is winning for White after} 44... Bxh2 45. Rc6+ Rd6 46. Rxd6+ Bxd6 47. Kd3 Kf5
48. Kc4 Ke6 49. Kb5 Bc5 50. Bxa5 $1) 45. Bg3 Be3 $2 ({I could not find a win
for White in the rook ending} 45... Bxg3 $1 46. Rxg3+ (46. Rc6+ Kf7 47. hxg3
Re2+ 48. Kb1 b5 49. Rc5 Re1+ 50. Kb2 Re2+ 51. Rc2 Re5 52. Ka3 Rg5 $11) 46...
Kf5 47. h4 Re2+ 48. Kb1 Rh2 49. Rg5+ Ke4 50. Rb5 Rxh4 51. Rxb6 Kd4 52. Rc6 (52.
a4 Kc3 53. Ka2 Rh2+ 54. Ka3 Rh1 55. Rc6+ Kd4 56. Kb2 Rh2+ 57. Rc2 Rxc2+ $11)
52... Kd5 53. Rc8 a4 54. Kb2 axb3 55. axb3 Rh7 56. b4 Kd6 57. Kb3 Rc7 $11) 46.
Kd3 Bc5 47. Kc4 $16 {Now the king reaches the dream square b5 and Black's fate
is sealed.} a4 48. Kb5 axb3 49. axb3 Re2 50. Bc7 Re6 51. b4 Be7 52. Rc4 Kf5 53.
Bxb6 Bd6 54. Bc7 1-0

[Event "RUS-Cup01 Chigorin Memorial"]
[Site "St Petersburg"]
[Date "1996.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Yemelin, Vasily"]
[Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2460"]
[BlackElo "2550"]
[Annotator "Notkin,M"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "1996.11.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 056 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1997.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1997.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke8 10. Nc3 a5 (10... Be6) (10... h6) 11. h3 $6 (11. a4
h6 12. Ne2 Ne7 13. Ra3 $6 Nd5 14. Rad3 Bf5 15. R3d2 Bc5 16. Nfd4 Bh7 $10 {
Frolov,A-Aleksandrov,A/Nikolaev/1993/1:0/71/}) (11. b3 Bb4 12. Bb2 Bxc3 13.
Bxc3 c5 14. Rd2 h5 15. Rad1 Ke7 16. h3 b6 $10 {Tolnai,T-Mandl,R/Kecskemet/1992/
0,5/26/}) 11... a4 $1 (11... Ne7 12. Ne2 Nd5 13. Nf4 Nxf4 14. Bxf4 Bc5 15. a3
a4 16. Rd2 h6 {Kuczynski,R-Mokry,K/Manila/1992/0,5/20/}) 12. Bg5 (12. Ne2)
12... Be6 13. g4 $2 (13. a3 h6 14. Bd2 Be7 $10) 13... Ne7 14. Nd4 Nd5 15. Ndb5
(15. Nce2 h6 16. Bd2 h5 17. f3 $15) 15... Rc8 (15... cxb5 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17.
Rxd5 c6 18. Rd3 $14) 16. Nxd5 cxd5 17. Nc3 (17. c4 h6 $1 (17... dxc4 $4 18.
Nxc7+ Rxc7 19. Rd8#) (17... c6 18. cxd5 cxd5 (18... cxb5 19. dxe6 fxe6 20. Rac1
$16) (18... Bxd5 19. Nc3 a3 20. Nxd5 cxd5 21. bxa3 $16) 19. Rac1 $14) 18. Be3 (
18. cxd5 $2 Bd7) 18... dxc4 19. f4 h5 20. f5 Bd7 $17) 17... h6 18. Be3 $2 (18.
Bf4 $15) 18... h5 $1 $17 19. g5 (19. f3 hxg4 20. hxg4 Rh3 $22 21. Kg2 Bxg4 $1)
19... Rd8 20. h4 c5 $1 21. Nxa4 (21. Bf4 d4 22. Ne2 Be7 $17 {/\f6/}) 21... d4
22. Bd2 (22. Bf4 b5 23. Nb6 Rb8) 22... Ra8 $1 (22... b5 23. Nb6 Rb8 24. Ba5 Be7
25. a4 Bd8 (25... b4 26. b3 Bd8 27. Nc4) 26. axb5 Ke7 27. b4 $13) 23. b3 b5 24.
Nb2 c4 25. Be1 (25. c3 Ba3) (25. Bc1 Bc5) 25... Ba3 26. Rab1 (26. Rdb1 Kd7 $5
$17) 26... Bf5 $19 27. bxc4 Bxc2 28. cxb5 (28. Rdc1 Bxb1 29. Rxb1 Bxb2 30. Rxb2
bxc4) 28... Bxb2 29. Rxb2 Bxd1 30. b6 Kd7 31. Rd2 Bg4 32. Rxd4+ Kc6 33. Rd6+
Kb7 0-1

[Event "Bilbao Masters 9th"]
[Site "Bilbao"]
[Date "2016.07.19"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Wei, Yi"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2696"]
[BlackElo "2785"]
[Annotator "Pavlovic,M"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2016.07.13"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 174"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.09.13"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.09.13"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {The Berlin endgame is so popular that it is now considered as
one of the best defences for Black against 1.e4. Together with the Najdorf
Sicilian and the Spanish Marshall Attack they build a trio that gives a
serious challenge for White how to claim an advantage after the most dangerous
and direct move 1.e4.} 9. h3 h5 10. Nc3 Be7 11. Bf4 Be6 12. Rad1+ Kc8 {Trying
to profit from the fact that White gave a check on d1 one move later than
usual.} ({The alternative is considered best, played by all including Anand
and the world champion:} 12... Ke8 {I will give here one of the latest
examples:} 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. Rfe1 Bb4 15. g4 hxg4 16. hxg4 Ne7 17. f3 Bxc3 18.
bxc3 Bxa2 19. Ne4 Rh8 20. e6 Bxe6 21. Bxc7 Nd5 22. Be5 Kf8 {1/2-1/2 (65)
Vachier Lagrave,M (2788)-Carlsen,M (2851) Stavanger 2016. The world champion
got a good position.}) 13. Ng5 Bxg5 14. Bxg5 b6 {In my opinion the alternative
looks more to the point.} (14... c5 $1 15. Ne2 b6 16. g4 (16. Rfe1 Kb7 17. a3
Rae8 $132) 16... Bc4 17. Rfe1 hxg4 18. hxg4 Bxe2 19. Rxe2 Nd4 20. Re3 Kb7 {
This is fine for Black.}) 15. g4 $1 hxg4 16. hxg4 Nh4 17. Bxh4 Rxh4 18. f3 Kb7
19. Kg2 Rah8 20. Rh1 Rxh1 21. Rxh1 Rxh1 22. Kxh1 c5 {The alternative is
interesting as Black wants to stop the Ne4 idea, it seems that it is possible
to do just that.} (22... Bd5 23. Kg2 (23. Nxd5 cxd5 24. f4 Kc6 25. f5 a5 26.
Kg2 (26. g5 Kd7 $17) 26... g5 $1 27. Kf3 Kd7 {would lead to an equal pawn
endgame.}) 23... Kc8 24. Kg3 g5 {again with equal chances.}) 23. Kg2 Kc6 24. a4
a6 25. Kg3 b5 26. axb5+ axb5 27. f4 b4 28. Ne4 {This endgame is clearly in
White's favor.} Ba2 29. Nd2 Kd5 30. c3 bxc3 (30... g5 31. c4+ Kd4 32. e6 $1 $18
) 31. bxc3 g5 32. Kf3 {White could have won with a nice idea...} (32. c4+ $1
Kd4 33. e6 $1 $18 {Exellent motiv!}) 32... Ke6 $2 {The alternative would
prolonge the game, but the outcome would be the same.} (32... c4 33. Ke3 Ke6
34. Ne4 gxf4+ 35. Kxf4 Bb1 36. Nc5+ Ke7 37. Ke3 Bc2 38. Kd4 Bd1 39. g5 Be2 40.
Kd5 Bf1 41. Kc6 Be2 42. Kxc7 Bf1 43. Kc6 {Coming back wih the king and then
having the knight on e3 let's say will win for White.}) 33. c4 $18 {The bishop
is trapped and the game is over.} gxf4 34. Kxf4 f6 35. exf6 Kxf6 36. g5+ Kg6
37. Kg4 Kh7 38. g6+ Kg7 39. Kg5 c6 40. Kh5 Kg8 41. Kh6 1-0

[Event "London Classic 6th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2014.12.14"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2745"]
[BlackElo "2793"]
[Annotator "Pavlovic,M"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2014.12.10"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 164"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.01.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.01.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {The Berlin is probably the most popular choice
after 1.e4 in top level tournaments.} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 {The main defensive system for
Black. White has many options and many games had been played in recent years.}
11. Rd1 (11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 {this is considered as a main
line of the Berlin, but theory changes quickly so I wouldn't be surprised that
something else takes a lead in that matter.}) 11... Be7 12. g3 {At this moment
not a most popular line, but the idea is well known. White restricts the black
knight and prepares slowly to progress with Kg2-g4.} b6 {A popular idea
nowadays. Black can also play in a usual manner:} (12... Be6 13. Bg5 (13. Kg2
Rd8 14. Bf4 Rd7 $5 15. Rxd7 Kxd7 16. Rd1+ Kc8 17. Bg5 f6 18. exf6 gxf6 19. Re1
Bf7 20. Bd2 Re8 21. b3 b6 22. Ne2 Bd6 23. Nf4 Rg8 $13) 13... Rg8 14. Kh2 f6 15.
exf6 gxf6 16. Bf4 Rc8 17. Ne2 Nd6 18. Ned4 Bd7 19. Nh4 Rd8 20. Rd3 Kf7 21. Rad1
Rge8 22. b3 c5 23. Ne2 Bc8 (23... Bc6 $5 $13) 24. c4 Ne4 25. Be3 Rxd3 26. Rxd3
Bd6 $13 {1-0 (70) Kamsky,G (2681)-Ragger,M (2657) Bilbao 2014}) 13. a4 Bb7 $5
$146 {it seems that this is a novelty. Black opted for different play before..}
(13... a5 14. Bf4 Rg8 15. h4 $5 (15. Ng5 Bb7 $5 16. Rd3 (16. e6 f6 $13) 16...
Ba6 17. Rd2 Rd8 18. Rad1 Bc8 19. Kh2 Rxd2 20. Rxd2 Bd8 21. h4 Ne7 $1 22. Be3
Ng6 23. f4 Bxg5 24. hxg5 h4 25. Bf2 hxg3+ 26. Bxg3 Ne7 $15 {0-1 (43) Efimenko,
Z (2689)-Bacrot,E (2705) Germany 2012}) 15... Be6 (15... Bb7 16. e6 $1 $36) 16.
Ng5 Bxg5 17. Bxg5 Ne7 18. Rd2 Rd8 19. Rxd8+ Kxd8 20. Rd1+ Ke8 21. f3 Bd7 22.
Kf2 Ng6 23. Ne4 Nxe5 24. Re1 Be6 25. Bf4 Nc4 26. b3 Nd6 27. Nxd6+ cxd6 28. Rd1
$5 Ke7 29. Bxd6+ Kd7 $11) 14. a5 c5 15. Nd5 Bd8 16. Bg5 Rf8 {The idea is to
play ...f6 at some point.} 17. c4 {Lots of comentators criticised this move
although it's a logical one.} ({The alternative is} 17. c3 $5 {when the
complications that can arise are not easy to be solved during the game, and
Adams for that reason probably opted for the more safe text.} Rc8 (17... f6 18.
Bf4 Ne7 (18... g5 19. Bc1 g4 20. hxg4 hxg4 21. Nh2 Bxd5 22. Rxd5 Ne7 23. Rd1 f5
24. Nf1 Nc6 25. axb6 cxb6 26. Rd6 Na5 27. Ra4 $1 $36) 19. exf6 $5 Nxd5 20. a6
Bc6 21. Re1+ Be7 22. fxe7 Rf6 23. Ne5 Nxf4 24. gxf4 Bd7 25. Nxd7 Kxd7 26. Re5
Re6 27. Rxh5 Kxe7 {pawn up but it looks holdable for Black}) 18. axb6 axb6 19.
Ra7 Bxd5 20. Rxd5 Bxg5 21. Nxg5 Ne7 22. Rd1 Nc6 23. Ra4 Ke7 24. f4 Rcd8 $132)
17... Bxd5 $5 {It is clear that by playing this move Anand perfectly
understands what has to be done in this position.} 18. Rxd5 (18. cxd5 Bxg5 19.
Nxg5 Ke7 20. Nf3 f6 21. Re1 Kd7 22. Kg2 Rae8 23. axb6 axb6 $11 {Black has
enough play in the centre.}) 18... Bxg5 19. Nxg5 Ke7 20. Kg2 Nd4 21. Rd1 Rad8
22. Nf3 (22. b4 {Such an attempt doesn't bring any advantage to White:} Rxd5
23. cxd5 Rd8 24. axb6 axb6 25. d6+ cxd6 26. exd6+ Rxd6 27. bxc5 bxc5 28. Ne4
Rc6 29. Nxc5 Rxc5 30. Rxd4 $11) 22... c6 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. Ng5 b5 25. cxb5 cxb5
26. Ne4 Nc6 27. Rxd8 Kxd8 28. e6 $2 {This move is an obvious mistake, after
which he will face a tough time even to save the game. White has a safe
position in the event of 27.f4 as we will see.} ({After} 28. f4 $1 {Black can
try two possibilities and it seems he is ok in both :} c4 (28... Nxa5 29. Nxc5
Nc6 (29... Nc4 30. b3 Na5 31. Kf3 Nc6 32. Ke4 a5 33. f5 Ke7 34. g4 hxg4 35.
hxg4 Nb4 36. g5 Nc2 37. f6+ gxf6 38. gxf6+ Ke8 39. Kd5 Nb4+ 40. Kd6 Nc2) 30.
Kf3 a5 31. Ke4 a4 32. f5 Ke7 33. g4 hxg4 34. hxg4 f6 35. exf6+ (35. e6 Ne5 $1
$132) 35... gxf6 $11) 29. Nd6 a6 30. Nxf7+ Ke7 31. Nd6 Nxa5 32. Kf3 Nb3 33. Ke4
Nc5+ 34. Kd5 Na4 35. Nf5+ Kf8 36. Kd6 c3 37. bxc3 Nxc3 38. Kd7 Ne4 39. Kd8 Nc5
40. Nd4 g6 41. e6 Nb7+ 42. Kc7 Nc5 43. Kd6 (43. Kb6 Nd3 $1 $11) 43... Ne4+ 44.
Ke5 Nxg3 45. Kf6 Nf5 46. Nc6 b4 47. Nxb4 a5 48. Nd5 a4 49. Nc3 a3 50. Kxg6 Ne7+
51. Kf6 Ng8+ $1 52. Kg6 Ne7+ 53. Kxh5 Nd5 $1 $11) 28... fxe6 29. Nxc5 Ke7 $17 {
Now Black is better as the white pawns on the queenside are vulnerable and the
black king is marching fast to the centre .} 30. Nb3 Kd6 31. Kf3 Kd5 32. Kf4
Kc4 33. Nc1 Nxa5 $19 34. Kg5 Nb3 35. Ne2 b4 36. Kxh5 a5 {White resigned in a
lost position.} 0-1

[Event "Tata Steel-A 78th"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2016.01.24"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2744"]
[BlackElo "2760"]
[Annotator "Pavlovic,M"]
[PlyCount "169"]
[EventDate "2016.01.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 171"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.03.14"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.03.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 {The most popular move order; White indeed wants a fast g4,
Ng5.} Be7 $5 10. Rd1+ Ke8 11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Nc3 h5 14. f3 f5 $5 15.
exf6 gxf6 16. Ne2 ({Another possible line might be:} 16. Bf4 hxg4 17. hxg4 f5
18. g5 Rg8 19. Rd2 Kf7 20. Rg2 Be6 21. Rd1 Rae8 22. b3 b6 23. Ne2 c5 24. c4 Bc8
25. Nc3 Bb7 26. Nd5 Bxd5 27. cxd5 Rg7 {It looks as if Black is ok here.}) 16...
Kf7 17. b3 (17. Bf4 hxg4 18. fxg4 f5 $1 {We see that this move actually twice
simply diminishes White's chances for any advantage in this line.} 19. g5 Be6
20. Nd4 Rag8 21. Nxe6 Kxe6 22. Rd3 Bxg5 23. Re1+ Kf7 24. Bxg5 Rxg5+ 25. Kf2
Rhg8 {1/2-1/2 (45) Sutovsky,E (2635)-Lysyj,I (2671) Poikovsky 2015. Black is
fine.}) 17... Re8 18. Nf4 hxg4 19. fxg4 f5 $1 20. Rf1 Bf6 21. Rb1 Bd4+ 22. Kh1
fxg4 23. Bb2 Bxb2 24. Rxb2 Re3 25. c4 Rf3 26. Rxf3 gxf3 27. Rf2 Bf5 28. Kh2 Be4
{A simple strategy which brought Black an easy game.} 29. Nd3 Ke6 {Introducing
a nice manoeuvre with the king.} 30. Ne1 Kd6 $1 31. Kg3 Kc5 32. Nxf3 Kb4 $1 33.
Kf4 Bb1 34. Rb2 Rf8+ 35. Ke3 Bf5 36. Rh2 Ka3 $1 37. h4 Bb1 38. h5 Bxa2 39. Nd2
$2 {The alternative was best in order to keep some balance:} (39. h6 $1 Bxb3
40. h7 Rh8 41. Kd4 a5 42. Ne5 $44) 39... Bxb3 {Unpleasant play for White at
this point, Black is better.} 40. Kd4 Bc2 $6 (40... Kb4 $1 {Preventing Kc3 was
essential in order to play for a win.} 41. h6 c5+ 42. Kd3 a5 43. h7 Rh8 $19)
41. Kc3 $1 {Now it is much harder but still Black is not without chances to
win.} Bh7 42. Rh1 Ka2 43. Rh2 b6 44. Ne4+ Ka3 45. Ng5 Bb1 46. Rh1 Ba2 47. Rh3
$6 (47. h6 b5 48. h7 b4+ 49. Kd4 b3 50. Ne4 b2 51. Nd2 Rh8 52. Kc3 c5 53. Kc2
b1=Q+ 54. Nxb1+ Bxb1+ 55. Kxb1 Kb3 56. Rh4 $11) 47... b5 48. Ne6 Rg8 49. h6
Bxc4 50. Nd4 Bd5 $17 {Black got his chances again in this game.} 51. h7 Rh8 52.
Nc2+ Ka4 53. Kd4 b4 54. Kc5 a5 55. Rh4 Kb3 56. Nd4+ Ka3 57. Nc2+ Kb2 58. Rh2 b3
59. Ne3+ Ka3 60. Nd1 a4 61. Nc3 b2 62. Rh3 Be6 63. Re3 Bf5 $6 (63... Rxh7 $1 {
was much easier:} 64. Rxe6 Rh3 65. Nb1+ Kb3 66. Nd2+ Kc2 67. Re2 a3 $19) 64.
Nd5+ Ka2 65. Nb4+ Ka1 66. Ra3+ Kb1 67. Rf3 Kc1 68. Rf1+ Kd2 69. Rf2+ Ke3 70.
Rxb2 Rxh7 71. Ra2 Rh1 72. Ra3+ Ke4 $2 {This is the final mistake which costs
Black all chances of a win:} (72... Kd2 $1 73. Kxc6 (73. Nxc6 Rc1+ 74. Kd5 Bd7
75. Nd4 Rc3 $19) 73... Rc1+ 74. Kb5 Bd7+ 75. Ka5 Rc5+ 76. Ka6 Rc3 {still
offered very good chances to win.}) 73. Na2 $1 Ke5 74. Rxa4 Be4 75. Ra8 Bg6 (
75... Bd5 $1 76. Re8+ Be6 77. Kxc6 Rb1 $3 {Difficult to see, or to realise the
potential.} 78. Kxc7 {Rook and bishop versus rook endgame}) 76. Rf8 Ra1 77. Rf2
Be4 78. Re2 Kf4 79. Nc3 Bf3 80. Re7 Rc1 81. Kd4 c5+ 82. Kd3 c6 83. Ne2+ Bxe2+
84. Rxe2 Kf5 85. Re8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Gibraltar Masters 14th"]
[Site "Caleta"]
[Date "2016.02.02"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Bruzon Batista, Lazaro"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2666"]
[Annotator "Pavlovic,M"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2016.01.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "GGB"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 171"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.03.14"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.03.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 h6 10. Rd1+ Ke8 11. Nc3 Ne7 {Back has many plans as to how
to conduct endgame in the Berlin, and each is a a story in itself.} 12. Bf4 {
At this place this move represents most popular choice for white.} Ng6 13. Bg3
Be7 {Another idea seen recently is:} (13... Bb4 14. Nd4 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Be6 $5 ({
If:} 15... Nf8 16. f4 Bd7 17. c4 c5 18. Nb5 Bxb5 19. cxb5 Ne6 20. Rd3 g6 21.
Rad1 {It looks to me that white has some pressure here.}) 16. Rab1 b6 $5 {
An interesting pawn sacrifice.} 17. Nxc6 Ne7 18. Nd4 Nf5 19. Nxe6 (19. Nb5 Ke7
20. Nxc7 Rad8 21. Nxe6 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 fxe6 23. Rd3 Rc8 24. Bf4 Rc5 {Again
Black has counterplay.}) 19... fxe6 20. Bh2 Rd8 21. Rd3 Ne7 22. Kf1 (22. c4
Rxd3 23. cxd3 c5 24. Kf1 h5 25. Bf4 Nc6 {A pawn up for White, but the position
is not at all simple. Black has assets to create counterplay.}) 22... Rd5 23.
Rbd1 Kf7 24. c4 Rc5 {1-0 (63) Hammer,J (2651)-Hagen,A (2412) Reykjavik 2015
Black has some compensation.}) 14. Nd4 Nf8 15. Rd3 $5 {This seems like a new
idea.} ({In a recent example we saw a less logical idea:} 15. a4 a6 16. a5 Bd7
17. e6 Nxe6 18. Nxe6 {1/2-1/2 (18) Raschun,G-Wiesinger,J corr. 2015 with equal
chances}) 15... h5 16. Rad1 h4 17. Bh2 Ne6 {Although logical thus requires
precise play later on. The alternative, though, looks solid:} (17... Be6 18.
Nxe6 (18. Ne4 Rd8 19. b3 a6 20. Kf1 Rh5 {It seems that Black has managed to
develop harmoniously.}) 18... Nxe6 19. Ne4 Rd8 20. Rxd8+ Bxd8 21. Kf1 Be7 22.
Ke2 Rh5 {Black is ok here.}) 18. Nce2 $1 c5 19. Nf5 $1 b6 20. Nxe7 Kxe7 21. Nf4
{An important phase of the game.} g5 {I dont like this move so much; sooner or
later we will get an opposite coloured bishops situation, and the pawn on g5
and weak squares like f6 can create problems for Black in practical play. The
alternatives appear to me more sound:} (21... Nxf4 22. Bxf4 Bf5 (22... Ke6 $5
23. Bg5 Kxe5 $1 24. Rd8 Be6 25. Rxa8 Rxa8 26. Bxh4 Kf5 27. a3 Re8 28. g4+ Kg6
29. Bg3 Re7 {Black came close to getting a draw.}) 23. Bg5+ Ke6 24. Rd7 Bxc2
25. R1d2 Bb1 26. a4 Kf5 27. Bd8 Ba2 28. Bxc7 Be6 {It looks to me that Black
should be ok here.}) (21... Re8 22. Nd5+ Kf8 23. f4 Bb7 24. c3 (24. f5 Bxd5 25.
Rxd5 Nd4 26. f6 g5 27. c3 Ne6 $11) 24... g6 25. Nf6 Red8 {Again Black is ok.})
22. Nd5+ Kf8 23. f4 $1 gxf4 24. Nxf4 {Despite its simplified appearance, this
position is full of dangerous possibilities.} Kg7 (24... Rg8 25. R1d2 Rg5 26.
Rf2 {Black is having certain problems in generating play.}) 25. Rf3 Nxf4 (25...
Nd4 $5 26. Rf2 Bf5 27. c3 (27. Rdf1 Rad8 28. c3 Ne6 $11) 27... Ne6 28. Nd5 Bg6
{Black is ok .}) 26. Bxf4 Rh5 $6 {It was necessary to play with the king first:
} (26... Kg6 $1 27. e6 (27. Be3 Bf5 28. Rdf1 Rh5 29. g4 hxg3 30. Rxg3+ Kh7 {
Black is fine}) 27... Bxe6 28. Be5 Rhd8 29. Re1 Re8 30. Rf6+ Kg5 {Probably
Bruzon gave up the idea entering such a position, which doesn't come as a
suprise: it looks dangerous at least for humans in a tournament game; the
engines are actually not impressed with White's chances here!}) 27. g4 $1 {
Now the initiative is clearly on White's side.} hxg3 28. Rxg3+ Kh7 29. Rd8 Bb7
30. Rd7 Rf5 31. Bg5 Rg8 32. h4 Bc8 (32... a5 33. c4 Bc8 34. Rxc7 Be6 35. Rc6
$16) 33. Rxc7 $16 {This is a very difficuilt position to defend for Black.} Be6
34. Rxa7 Rxe5 35. Kf2 Rf5+ 36. Ke1 b5 37. a3 Re8 38. Re3 Kg6 39. Ra6 Kh5 40.
Rb6 c4 41. Kd2 Rc8 42. Kc3 Rcc5 43. Rg3 Rc8 44. Kb4 Ra8 45. Be7 c3 46. b3 Rf2
47. Rxb5+ f5 48. Rg5+ Kh6 49. Rb6 1-0

[Event "Tata Steel-A 78th"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2016.01.29"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Wei, Yi"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2706"]
[BlackElo "2769"]
[Annotator "Pavlovic,M"]
[PlyCount "145"]
[EventDate "2016.01.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 171"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.03.14"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.03.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 {Although at
first sight it looks harmless, actually such a approach is very popular
against Berlin. White enjoys an early lead in development and is trying to
profit from that fact.} Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 {Another way of playing this line is
was seen just few days previously:} (7... Nf5 8. Nf3 O-O 9. d4 d5 10. c3 Bd6
11. Bd3 Nce7 12. Nbd2 c6 13. Nf1 Ng6 14. Qc2 Nfh4 15. Nxh4 Qxh4 16. g3 Qh3 17.
f4 Bg4 $6 (17... Ne7 $5 18. Ne3 Re8 19. Qf2 (19. Bd2 Bd7 20. f5 f6 $13) 19...
Bf5 $1 $132) 18. f5 Ne7 19. Ne3 Bf3 20. Qf2 Qh5 21. Rf1 $18 {½-½ (36) Anand,
V (2784)-Nakamura,H (2787) Zurich (blitz) 2016}) 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 Ne8 10. Nd5
{This is a popular position for both sides. White will get the bishop pair but
Black will have harmonius development.} Bd6 11. Re1 c6 12. Ne3 Be7 {This is a
less common idea, usually the bishop goes to c7:} (12... Bc7 13. Nf5 d5 14.
Ne7+ Kh8 15. Nxc8 Rxc8 16. d3 f5 17. Qf3 Nf6 18. Bf4 Bxf4 19. Qxf4 Qc7 20. Qxc7
Rxc7 21. d4 g6 22. Re6 Kg7 23. Rae1 Kf7 24. f3 Rd8 {1/2-1/2 (41) Yu Yangyi 
(2736)-Kramnik,V (2796) Doha 2015. Black is fine.}) 13. c4 Nc7 14. d4 d6 15. g3
Bf6 16. Bg2 g6 17. Qd3 (17. d5 c5 {Black gets a nice version of a Benoni, it
is interesting how openings can be transpositional!}) 17... d5 {Black decides
to stabilise the centre.} 18. cxd5 cxd5 19. b3 Be6 20. Bb2 {Actually we have
seen Karjakin play this from both sides!} (20. a4 Be7 21. Ba3 Bxa3 22. Rxa3 Ne8
23. Rc1 Nf6 24. Ra2 Qd7 25. Rac2 Rfc8 26. h4 h5 27. Qd2 b6 28. Rc3 Qd6 $11 {
1/2-1/2 (40) Karjakin,S (2762)-Aronian,L (2784) Skopje 2015}) 20... Qd7 21.
Rac1 Rac8 22. f4 $1 {Now we have a game, the position gets a different dynamic
approach, White is going for the dangereous f5 idea.} Bg7 23. Rc2 Na6 24. Rf2
Nb4 25. Qd1 {I think an alternative was more precise:} (25. Qd2 Nc6 26. f5 gxf5
27. Ref1 Kh8 (27... f4 28. Rxf4 $36) (27... Bh6 28. Nxd5 $1 $14) 28. Nxf5 Rg8
29. Ba3 $14) 25... Nc6 26. f5 gxf5 27. Ref1 Ne7 28. Ba3 Bh6 29. Qd3 Rfe8 30.
Bxe7 Qxe7 $6 (30... Bxe3 31. Qxe3 Qxe7 32. Qf4 {Perhaps it is not so terrible
for Black after all just a bit passive, White doesn't have an obvious
breakthrough.}) 31. Nxf5 Bxf5 32. Rxf5 Qe2 33. Qf3 Qxf3 34. Bxf3 Re7 35. Kg2
Be3 36. Bxd5 Rcc7 {White is better and Black will have a difficult task to
defend this.} 37. Rd1 Rc1 38. Rxc1 Bxc1 39. Bc4 Rd7 40. d5 Ba3 41. g4 Kg7 42.
Rg5+ Kh8 43. Rh5 Kg7 44. Bd3 h6 45. g5 $1 hxg5 46. Rxg5+ Kh6 47. Rf5 Kg7 48.
Kf3 {White somehow for a long time doesn't push his h-pawn which is his best
asset to play for a win.} (48. h4 Re7 $1 49. h5 Re3 50. Bb5 f6 51. Bc4 Bc5 52.
a4 a6 {Still not that much, but I feel it was better at least to run with the
h-pawn.}) 48... Rd6 49. Rg5+ Kh6 50. Kg4 Bc1 51. Re5 Bb2 52. Rh5+ Kg7 53. Rg5+
Kf8 54. Rh5 Kg7 55. Kf4 Rf6+ 56. Ke3 Ba3 57. h4 Bc5+ 58. Ke4 Rf2 59. Ke5 {
It looks nice to have the king in the centre, but doesn't really do much.} Rd2
60. Rg5+ (60. Bc4 Rd1 61. Rg5+ Kf8 62. Rf5 Re1+ 63. Kf4 Bd6+ 64. Kf3 Ra1 65. a4
Rh1 66. h5 Kg7 {Black can defend this position.}) 60... Kf8 61. Rg3 Rh2 62. Rg4
Ke7 63. a4 Rh3 64. Bc2 Bd6+ 65. Kf5 Rf3+ 66. Kg5 Be5 67. Rb4 b6 68. h5 Rh3 69.
Rc4 Bf6+ 70. Kh6 Be5 71. Kg5 Bf6+ 72. Kh6 Be5 73. Kg5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Linares 15th"]
[Site "Linares"]
[Date "1998.03.06"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2690"]
[BlackElo "2740"]
[Annotator "Petursson,M"]
[PlyCount "133"]
[EventDate "1998.02.22"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 064"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.06.02"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.06.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. Rd1 Ne7 11. Nd4 Ng6 12. f4 (12. Ne4 Be7 13. f4 {
This in a way looks impressive, but the problem is how to ever achieve the
thrust f5.} Bg4 14. Rd3 Rd8 15. h3 Bd7 16. Be3 c5 17. Ne2 b6 18. c4 h5 {
1/2-1/2 Peng Xiaomin-Almasi,Z/FIDE-Wch k.o. 1997/CBM 63 [Wedberg] (33)}) 12...
Bc5 13. Ne4 (13. Be3 Bxd4 14. Rxd4 Bf5 15. Rc1 b6 16. b4 Ne7 17. Bf2 Rd8 18.
Rxd8+ Kxd8 19. Bh4 Ke8 20. Ne2 Ng6 21. Bg3 h5 {Ye Jiangchuan-Rausis,I/Lee Cup
1996/EXP 54/1/2-1/2 (48)}) 13... Bxd4+ 14. Rxd4 b6 15. Be3 h5 16. Re1 Be6 17.
Ng5 Bf5 18. Rc4 Ne7 19. Rd1 a5 20. Bf2 c5 21. Rc3 Ng6 22. Re1 Rg8 (22... Ke7
$142 23. Z0 Rhd8) 23. a3 a4 24. e6 f6 25. Ne4 h4 26. Rc4 Ke7 $2 (26... Ra5 $142
$11) {[%tqu "En","Can you find the strongest move for White in this position?",
"Break through on the dark squares!","Sacrifice your knight!","e4c5","",20]}
27. Nxc5 bxc5 28. Rxc5 Nxf4 (28... Bxe6 29. f5 Ne5 30. fxe6 $16) (28... Bg4 29.
h3) 29. Rxf5 Nxe6 30. Bxh4 $16 Rgb8 31. Rc5 Kd6 32. Rc3 Rxb2 33. Bg3+ Kd7 34.
Rd1+ Ke8 35. Rc6 Kf7 36. Rd7+ Ke8 37. Rd1 Kf7 38. Re1 Re8 39. Re4 Ra2 40. Rxa4
Rd8 41. Re4 Rd1+ 42. Kf2 Nd4 43. Rxc7+ Kg6 44. Rg4+ Kf5 45. Rc5+ Ke6 46. Re4+
Kf7 47. Rc7+ Kg6 48. Rg4+ Kf5 49. Rc5+ Ke6 50. Rxg7 Nxc2 51. Rc6+ Kf5 52. Rc5+
Ke6 53. Kf3 Nd4+ 54. Kg4 Rxa3 55. Rc8 Ra4 56. Re8+ Kd5 57. Rd7+ Kc4 58. Bf2 Kc3
59. Bxd4+ Rdxd4+ 60. Rxd4 Kxd4 61. Kf5 Ra2 62. g4 Rf2+ 63. Kg6 Rf4 64. Kh5 f5
65. g5 Re4 66. Rf8 Ke5 67. Kg6 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2005.11.30"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Kotronias, Vasilios"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2710"]
[BlackElo "2626"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "131"]
[EventDate "2005.11.27"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 111"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.04.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.04.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. h3 Ne7 $6 {Obviously, black's main problem in the
"Berlin defense" is the uncastled king. Therefore, he should try to solve this
problem at the first place. If black wants to hide his king on the queenside,
then he can play immediatly 10...Kc8 or 10...h6 followed by 11...Kc8. Another
plan is moving the king to e8. However, in this case preferable continuations
are 9...Ke8 or 9...Ne7, while there is no point of developing the bishop to d7,
at least at such an early stage. Therefore, I don't like this mix of two plans
adopted by Kotronias in the current game.} 11. Ne4 (11. Rd1 Ng6 12. Bg5+ Be7
13. Rd2 Ke8 14. Rad1 Be6 15. Bxe7 Kxe7 16. Kh2 h5 17. Ne4 Bd5 18. Neg5 Rad8 $11
{1/2-1/2 Karjakin,S (2566)-Zhang Zhong (2639)/Moscow 2004/CBM 100 (47)}) 11...
Ng6 12. Nfg5 $5 $146 {Very interesting and dynamic idea. Shirov does not
bother himself with long manoeuvres, while trying to create threats against
the black king as soon as possible.} (12. Re1 Kc8 13. Bd2 h6 14. Rad1 a5 15.
Ng3 c5 16. Nh5 Bf5 17. c4 Be6 18. Re4 a4 19. Bc3 c6 20. g4 b5 21. cxb5 cxb5 22.
a3 Ra7 $15 {0-1 Dervishi,E (2502)-Aleksandrov,A (2659)/Mallorca 2004/CBM 104
no vc (51)}) (12. b3 Kc8 13. Bb2 h6 14. Rad1 a5 15. Rd2 Bb4 16. c3 Be7 17. Rfd1
Rd8 18. c4 Nf4 19. Kh2 a4 20. g4 Ne6 $132 {1/2-1/2 Kosteniuk,A (2490)-Nielsen,
P (2648)/Wijk aan Zee NED 2005/The Week in Chess 534 (56)}) 12... Ke8 ({
Quite risky, but probably playable is:} 12... Nxe5 13. f4 (13. Bf4 h6 14. Bxe5
hxg5 15. Rad1 Kc8 $13) 13... f6 (13... h6 $6 14. fxe5 hxg5 15. Rxf7 $16) 14.
fxe5 fxg5 15. Bxg5+ Ke8 16. Rad1 Be6 $14) 13. f4 h6 14. Nf3 h5 15. Re1 Bf5 16.
Nd4 Bxe4 17. Rxe4 Bc5 18. Be3 Ne7 (18... Bxd4 19. Bxd4 Nh4 (19... Ne7 20. g4
$16) 20. e6 $16) 19. Nf3 $1 {Black was threatening 19...Bxd4 followed by 20...
Nf5. White must keep his knight to be able to remove black's blockade on the
kingside.} Bxe3+ 20. Rxe3 {White has now stable advantage, since black has no
compensation for white's kingside pawn majority.} Nf5 21. Rb3 b6 22. Rc3 Rh6 {
A typical rook manoeuvre in Berlin defense.} 23. Rd1 Rd8 {Black must exchange
one pair of rooks to avoid the penetration along the "d" file.} (23... a5 24.
Rcd3 {[%cal Gd3d7]}) 24. Rxd8+ Kxd8 25. b4 $1 {[%csl Ra7][%cal Gc3a3,Ga3a7]
Preventing a7-a5. Black's Pa7 is actually doomed to fall.} a6 26. Kf2 h4 27.
Ng5 Ke7 28. Ra3 Nd4 29. Rxa6 f6 $1 (29... Nxc2 $2 30. Ra7 Kd7 31. Nxf7 Rh5 32.
Kf3 Nxb4 33. Ng5 $18) 30. Nf3 (30. c3 $6 Nb5 {[%csl Rc3]}) 30... Nxf3 31. gxf3
$1 {Correct recapture. Black will have to exchange on e5 anyway and white will
get connected pawns in the centre.} fxe5 32. fxe5 Rg6 33. Ra7 Kd7 34. Ra3 Ke6
35. Re3 b5 $1 {Now, it will be difficult for white to create a passed pawn on
the queenside.} 36. Re4 Rh6 (36... Rg5 37. Rxh4 Rxe5 38. Re4 $18) 37. Rg4 Kxe5
38. Rxg7 Rd6 $2 {After this move the endgame is beyond saving for black.} ({
It was necessary to run with the king:} 38... Kd4 39. Rxc7 Kc3 40. a3 Kxc2 41.
Re7 Kb2 42. Re3 Rf6 43. Ke2 Rf8 {and there is no clear win for white.}) 39. Ke3
$18 Re6 40. Rg4 Kf5+ 41. Re4 Rh6 {Black is forced to put his rook in a passive
position.} 42. Kd4 {White's king march to the queenside decides the game.} Rd6+
43. Kc5 Kg5 44. a3 Rd2 45. Kxc6 Rh2 (45... Rxc2+ 46. Kxb5 Rc3 47. a4 Rxf3 48.
Rg4+ Kh5 49. Rc4 $18) 46. f4+ Kf5 47. Re3 Rxc2+ 48. Kxb5 Kxf4 49. Rb3 c6+ 50.
Kb6 Rg2 51. a4 Rg3 52. Rb1 Rxh3 53. Kxc6 {Obviously, white's two connected
passed pawns worth more than black's lonely passer.} Ra3 54. a5 h3 55. Kb6 h2
56. a6 Rb3 57. Rf1+ Kg3 58. b5 Kg2 59. Rc1 Rc3 60. a7 Rxc1 61. a8=Q+ Kf2 62.
Qa2+ Kg1 63. Qg8+ Kf2 64. Qf7+ Kg3 65. Qg6+ Kf2 66. Qf5+ 1-0

[Event "EU-Cup 21st"]
[Site "Saint Vincent"]
[Date "2005.09.20"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Bologan, Viktor"]
[Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2700"]
[BlackElo "2612"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2005.09.18"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "ITA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 110"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.01.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.01.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Tomsk 400"]
[BlackTeam "Eynatten"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "BEL"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 h6 11. Ne4 (11. Re1 Ng6 12. Ne4 c5 13. Be3 b6
14. Rad1+ Bd7 15. c4 Kc8 16. Nc3 Be6 17. b3 Be7 18. Nd5 Bd8 19. Bc1 a5 20. Nc3
Kb7 21. Nh2 h5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Lupulescu,C (2546)-Naiditsch,A (2626)/Warsaw 2005/
CBM 108 (66)}) (11. Be3 {A rare move. I don't think that this is the best
square for the bishop, since it blocks the "e" file. Usually white develops
his bishop with help of 11.b3.} Ng6 12. Rad1+ Ke8 13. a3 Be7 14. Rfe1 h5 15.
Nd4 h4 (15... Nxe5 $2 16. Bf4 $16) 16. f4 Rh5 {[%csl Yf5] A typical manoeuvre.
The rook helps to block white's kingside pawns.} 17. Ne4 Bd7 18. c4 b6 19. b4
$1 $14 {1-0 Motylev,A (2675)-Harikrishna,P (2645)/Tiayuan 2005/CBM 108/[Postny]
(37)}) 11... Ng6 12. b3 a5 (12... Ke8 13. Bb2 a5 14. a4 Nf4 15. Rfe1 Bb4 16. c3
Be7 17. Rad1 Ne6 18. c4 Bb4 19. Re3 Bd7 20. Nh4 Rd8 21. Nf5 Bc8 22. Rxd8+ Kxd8
23. Rd3+ Ke8 24. g4 $14 {1-0 Karjakin,S (2591)-Kramnik,V (2770)/Dortmund 2004/
CBM 103 (90)}) 13. a4 $1 $146 {The right move. White should prevent the
advance a5-a4.} (13. Bb2 a4 14. c4 Bd7 15. Rfd1 Kc8 16. Kh2 Rg8 17. g4 Be7 18.
Ng3 c5 19. Nh5 Ra6 $132 {0-1 Netzer,J (2370)-Pavasovic,D (2592)/Salzburg 2004/
CBM 102 ext (52)}) 13... Bd7 14. Bb2 {Probably more precise is 14.Re1, not
allowing yet the move that now follows...} Nf4 $1 {Transfering the knight to
an ideal e6 square.} 15. Rad1 Ke8 16. Kh2 Rd8 17. Rfe1 Ne6 {Till now black
made half of his moves with this knight! However, it's very hard to find a
clear-cut advantage for white.} 18. Nh4 $6 {This manoeuvre is not the best one.
} (18. Ng3 {[%cal Gg3h5] is preferable.}) 18... c5 {[%cal Gc5c4]} 19. c4 Bc6
20. Rxd8+ Kxd8 {It can be concluded that black has solved his opening problems.
} 21. g3 $6 {This move weakens the dark squares in white's camp, which will
become apparent very soon.} (21. Nf5 g6 22. Nfg3 $11) 21... Kc8 22. f4 Be7 23.
Nf5 Bd8 24. Nf2 ({Does not work:} 24. Nxg7 $2 Nxg7 25. e6 f6 26. Nxf6 Nf5 27.
Nd5 (27. g4 Nd4 $17) 27... Nd4 28. e7 Nf3+ 29. Kh1 Nxe1 30. Bxh8 Bxe7 $19) (24.
Nc3 g6 25. Ne3 Nd4 {[%csl Rb3]}) 24... g5 $1 $15 {Black achieved all that he
wanted. All his pieces are harmoniously placed, while white failed in
advancing his pawn majority.} 25. Bc1 (25. Ne4 gxf4 26. gxf4 h5 $15 (26... Nxf4
$2 27. e6 {[%csl Rh8]})) 25... gxf4 26. Bxf4 (26. gxf4 Rg8 27. Rg1 Rxg1 28.
Kxg1 h5 $15) 26... Bg5 27. Nd3 $2 {Probably the decisive mistake. It was
necessary to keep the knight on f2, covering the vital d3 square.} (27. Be3 $15
) 27... Rd8 28. Bxg5 Rxd3 29. Bxh6 Nd4 $1 (29... Rxb3 $2 30. Ne7+ $1 Kd7 31.
Nxc6 Kxc6 32. h4 {[%csl Gh4] and white's "h" pawn is very dangerous.}) 30. Nxd4
cxd4 31. Rb1 Be4 32. Rb2 Kd7 {White is a pawn up, but his pieces dominate the
board completely.} 33. Rf2 (33. Rd2 c5 $1 $19 {[%csl Rb3]}) 33... Rf3 $1 34.
Rxf3 Bxf3 {At the moment, white is even a pawn up, but he is not able to save
most of his queenside pawns.} 35. Bd2 b6 {[%csl Ra4,Rb3,Rc4][%cal Gf3d1]} 36.
b4 (36. c5 bxc5 37. Bxa5 Bd1 $19) 36... axb4 37. Bxb4 c5 38. Bd2 Be2 39. g4
Bxc4 40. Kg3 Bd3 41. Kf4 c4 {Black's two connected passers decide the game.}
42. Bb4 c3 43. h4 Ke6 44. h5 Kd5 45. a5 bxa5 46. Bxa5 Kc4 47. e6 {The last
chance...} fxe6 48. Ke5 Bh7 49. g5 d3 50. Bxc3 Kxc3 51. g6 d2 $1 {[%mdl 4096]}
(51... d2 52. gxh7 d1=Q 53. h8=Q Qd4+ $19) 0-1

[Event "American Continental 3rd"]
[Site "Buenos Aires"]
[Date "2005.08.09"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Vescovi, Giovanni P"]
[Black "Granda Zuniga, Julio E"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2640"]
[BlackElo "2601"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2005.08.06"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ARG"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 109"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.11.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.11.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 {A standard manoeuvre. The knight will be transfered
to g6, where it attacks White's advanced Pe5. The diagonal c8-h3 is now free
for the light-squared bishop.} 10. Bf4 $6 {This manoeuvre is a rare one to see
in "Berlin". White's idea connected with the breakthrow e5-e6 at an
appropriate moment, when the bishops attacks the Pc7. On the other hand, while
the white bishop is on the kingside, it might obstruct White's basic plan of
advancing his kingside pawn majority.} (10. Re1 h6 11. h3 Ng6 12. Ne2 c5 13. b3
Be6 14. Bb2 Kd7 15. h4 Bg4 16. e6+ fxe6 17. Nf4 Nxf4 18. Ne5+ Ke8 19. Nxg4 h5
20. Ne5 Rh6 21. Rad1 Be7 22. c4 Rd8 23. Rxd8+ Bxd8 24. g3 Ng6 25. Nd3 $16 {
[%csl Rc5,Re6,Rg7] 1-0 Adams,M-Almasi,Z/Mallorca 2004 (53)}) (10. h3 Ng6 11.
Bg5+ Ke8 12. Rad1 Bd7 (12... Be6 {- see the annotated game Motylev,A-Zhang
Zhong/Tiayuan 2005/CBM 108 [Postny,E]}) 13. a3 h6 14. Be3 Be7 15. Rd2 b6 16.
Rfd1 Rd8 17. Ne2 c5 18. Nc3 Bc6 19. Nd5 Rd7 20. c4 {1/2-1/2 Leko,P-Kramnik,V/
Dortmund 2004}) (10. b3 {appeared in practice as well.}) 10... Ng6 11. Bg3 $146
(11. Rad1+ Ke8 12. Bg3 Bg4 13. Rd3 Bf5 14. Rd2 Bb4 $11 {1-0 Ninov,N-Van
Hoolandt,P/Cutro 2005 (35)}) 11... Bb4 {Black wins some tempi to complete his
retarded development.} 12. Ne4 Ke7 13. Nd4 $6 (13. a3 Bf5 $1 $11) (13. c3 Ba5
14. Rfe1 {was a preferable option.}) 13... c5 14. Nb3 (14. Nb5 Bf5 $1 {and
Black is fine again.}) 14... c4 15. Nd4 Ba5 $1 {As a result of White's
inaccurate play black's bishop will comfortably set on b6. Black solved his
opening problems.} 16. c3 Bb6 17. Rad1 Rd8 18. Rfe1 Kf8 19. Rd2 $6 {White's
play certainly lacks creativity. It was necessary to go for the typical
breakthrough e5-e6.} (19. e6 Bxd4 $2 (19... fxe6 20. Ng5 Bxd4 21. Rxd4 Rxd4 22.
cxd4 h6 23. Nxe6+ Bxe6 24. Rxe6 Kf7 25. Re4 c6 $11) (19... h6 $5 20. exf7 Kxf7
$11) 20. exf7 Bxf2+ (20... Bf6 $2 21. Nxf6 Rxd1 22. Nxh7+ Kxf7 23. Rxd1 $18)
21. Kxf2 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 Bf5 23. Bxc7 $1 Rc8 (23... Bxe4 24. Rd7 Ne7 25. Bd6 $18)
24. Ba5 $1 Bxe4 25. Rd7 b6 26. Bb4+ Rc5 27. Rxa7 Ne5 28. Bxc5+ bxc5 29. a4 $16
{[%csl Ga4]}) 19... h6 {Covering g5 square.} 20. Red1 {[%csl Rd8][%cal Gd4e6]}
Rd5 $1 {[%csl Re5]} 21. b3 $2 {Giving a pawn without a fight.} (21. f4 Bg4 22.
Re1 Rad8 $17 {[%csl Rd4]}) (21. Nf3 Rxd2 22. Nexd2 Be6 $15) 21... Nxe5 22. h3
f5 $1 {White's knight is trapped in the centre.} 23. Ne2 (23. Nxf5 Rxd2 24.
Nxd2 Bxf5 25. Bxe5 Rd8 $19) 23... Rd3 24. Bxe5 fxe4 25. Nf4 $2 {White's
position is bad, but there was no need to lose so quickly.} (25. Kf1 $17) {
[%tqu "En","Please enter a move for Black.","","","b6f2","",5]} 25... Bxf2+ $1
$19 26. Kh1 (26. Kxf2 e3+ $19) 26... Be3 27. Nxd3 Bxd2 28. bxc4 e3 29. Bf4 Kg8
0-1

[Event "FIDE World Cup"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2005.11.28"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Frhat, Ali"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2306"]
[BlackElo "2724"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2005.11.27"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 111"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.04.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.04.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Ba4 {This rare
continuation appeared for the first time far back in 1897! Nowadays, it has
been realived and appeares from time to time on high level as well.} ({The
main line leads to a so popular nowadays "Berlin endgame":} 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8) 6... e4 {The safest continuation.} (6... exd4 7. c3 d3
8. Qxd3 Be7 9. Bc2 g6 10. Bh6 Nf5 11. Qd2 d6 12. Re1 Be6 13. Ba4 Nxh6 14. Qxh6
Bf8 15. Qe3 Bg7 16. Ng5 Qd7 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Qxe6+ Qxe6 19. Rxe6+ $11 {
1/2-1/2 Ganguly,S (2596)-Ivanchuk,V (2752)/Edmonton 2005/The Week in Chess 558}
) 7. Re1 Be7 8. Ne5 O-O 9. Nc3 f6 (9... Bf6 10. Bf4 Nf5 11. Rxe4 Nfxd4 12. Ng4
Ne6 13. Nxf6+ Qxf6 14. Nd5 Qd8 15. Qh5 $44 {0-1 Showalter,J-Pillsbury,H/New
York 1897/EXT 99 (28)}) 10. Nxc6 (10. Ng4 f5 11. Ne5 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Nf7 13. Bb3
Kh8 14. Bxf7 Rxf7 15. Bf4 d6 16. Qd5 Rf8 17. exd6 Bxd6 18. Rad1 Bd7 19. Bxd6
Bc6 20. Qe5 cxd6 21. Rxd6 Qh4 $11 {1/2-1/2 Kotronias,V (2599)-Georgiev,K (2625)
/Mallorca 2004/CBM 104 no vc (31)}) 10... dxc6 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Rxe4 f5 13.
Re1 f4 {Aronian already played this line successfully last year.} 14. Qf3 $146
(14. c3 Bd6 15. Qh5 Bf5 16. c4 Kh8 17. Bd2 Bc5 18. Bxf4 Bxd4 19. Rad1 Bg6 20.
Qg4 Qf6 21. g3 Bc5 $17 {0-1 Sutovsky,E (2697)-Aronian,L (2675)/Mallorca 2004/
CBM 104 no vc (31)}) (14. Qh5 Bd6 15. Bb3+ Kh8 16. c4 g6 (16... Bf5 $142) 17.
Qf3 Qh4 18. c5 Bg4 19. Qc3 Be7 20. g3 fxg3 21. hxg3 Qf6 22. Bf4 $18 {1-0
Ganguly,S (2583)-Roktim,B (2389)/Dhaka 2005/The Week in Chess 544 (26)}) 14...
Kh8 15. Bd2 a5 16. Bb3 Bd6 17. Be6 {After the exchange of light-squared
bishops white's position becomes completely safe.} Bxe6 18. Rxe6 Qd7 19. Rae1
Rae8 20. R6e4 Rxe4 21. Rxe4 {The position looks deadly equal. Therefore, it's
instructive to follow how Aronian managed to create problems to his opponent.}
h6 22. a4 (22. Bxa5 $6 Ra8 {and black's rook penetrates to 2nd rank.}) (22.
Bxf4 Bxf4 23. Rxf4 Rxf4 24. Qxf4 Qe6 25. h3 Qxa2 $11) 22... b5 {Opening files
on the queenside.} 23. b3 bxa4 24. bxa4 Qf7 25. Bxa5 Ra8 26. Bd2 (26. Bc3 Rxa4
27. h3 Ra3 {and the pin across the 3rd rank is unpleasant for white.}) 26...
Rxa4 27. h3 Ra3 28. c3 Ra1+ 29. Kh2 g5 30. Re1 Ra2 31. Qd3 Qh7 32. Re4 ({After
} 32. Qxh7+ Kxh7 33. Rd1 Kg6 {black is slightly better thanks to his active
rook.}) 32... g4 $1 {Objectively speaking, this move does not bring black any
advantage, but it's a nice practical chance which fully paid off in the game.}
33. hxg4 h5 34. g5 f3+ 35. Kh3 $2 {White didn't manage to calculate the
variations precisely and cracked under pressure. The move in the text loses a
piece.} (35. g3 $1 h4 (35... Rxd2 $4 36. Re8+ Kg7 37. Qxd2 h4 38. Re5 hxg3+ 39.
Kxg3 Qh1 40. Qe3 Qg2+ 41. Kf4 $18) 36. Kh3 (36. Bf4 Rxf2+ 37. Kg1 Re2 38. g6
Qxg6 39. Be5+ Bxe5 40. Rxh4+ Kg7 41. Qxg6+ Kxg6 42. dxe5 $11) (36. Re8+ Kg7 37.
Qxh7+ Kxh7 38. Bf4 Rxf2+ 39. Kh3 Re2 40. Be5 f2 41. g6+ Kxg6 42. Re6+ Kh7 43.
Rf6 hxg3 44. Bxd6 Re1 45. Kxg3 f1=Q 46. Rxf1 Rxf1 47. Bxc7 {The endgame is
drawish.}) (36. Qxf3 $2 hxg3+ 37. Kg2 Qh2+ 38. Kf1 g2+ 39. Qxg2 Qxg2+ 40. Kxg2
Rxd2 $19) 36... hxg3+ (36... Rxd2 37. Re8+ Kg7 38. Qxd2 hxg3+ 39. Kg4 g2 40.
Re1 g1=Q+ 41. Rxg1 Qe4+ 42. Kh3 Qh7+ 43. Kg4 Qe4+ {and black gives a perpetual
check.}) 37. Rh4 Qxh4+ 38. Kxh4 g2 39. Qxf3 g1=Q 40. Qf6+ {and white gives a
perpetual check.}) {[%tqu "En","How can Black win a piece?","","","a2d2","",5]}
35... Rxd2 $1 36. Qxf3 ({The variation} 36. Re8+ Kg7 37. Qxd2 Qf5+ 38. Kh4 Qg4#
{shows the main drawback of 35.Kh3.}) 36... Qg6 {Black's extra bishop gives
him an easy win.} 37. g3 Rxf2 38. Qxf2 Qxe4 39. Qf6+ Kg8 40. Qd8+ Bf8 {No
chance for a perpetual check for white.} 41. Kh2 Qe2+ 42. Kg1 Qe7 43. Qc8 Qxg5
44. Qxc7 Qe3+ 45. Kg2 Qxc3 46. Qe5 Qc2+ 47. Kh3 Qg6 48. Qe3 Bd6 49. Qb3+ Kg7
50. Qf3 Qxg3+ {The simplest.} 51. Qxg3+ Bxg3 0-1

[Event "EU-ch 13th"]
[Site "Plovdiv"]
[Date "2012.03.27"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Azarov, Sergei Nikolaevich"]
[Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2667"]
[BlackElo "2702"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "145"]
[EventDate "2012.03.20"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 148"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.05.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.05.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 h6 11. Rd1+ Ke8 12. Bf4 {One of the ideas
behind this move is the e5-e6 thrust, exchanging White's central pawn for the
Pc7. Opening the e-file might emphasise the fact that Black's king can't
castle anymore.} (12. b3 {is the standard way of developing the bishop.}) 12...
Be6 {Arkadij deviates from his game vs Emil Sutovsky and blocks the e-pawn. On
the other hand the bishop will get attacked by the white knight.} (12... Ng6
13. Bh2 Bb4 14. Ne2 a6 (14... Bd7 15. Nfd4 Bc5 16. e6 Bxe6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18.
Bxc7 Rf8 19. Bg3 Rd8 20. Nc3 Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Nf4 22. Ne4 $14 {1/2-1/2 Leko,P 
(2735)-Ponomariov,R (2733)/Astrakhan 2010/CBM 137 (44)}) 15. Nfd4 Be7 16. e6 $1
c5 17. Nf5 Bf6 18. Bxc7 Bxe6 19. Neg3 h5 20. Bb6 Bxb2 21. Nd6+ Kf8 22. Rab1 Bd4
23. c3 Bxc3 24. Bxc5 Kg8 25. Rxb7 Bxa2 26. Nge4 Be5 27. Ng5 $36 {1-0 Sutovsky,
E (2690)-Naiditsch,A (2707)/Rogaska Slatina 2011/CBM 145 (50)}) 13. Nd4 Nd5 14.
Nce2 ({An interesting way to fight for the initiative is:} 14. Nxd5 Bxd5 15.
Nb5 $1 Rc8 (15... cxb5 16. Rxd5 c6 17. Rd3 Rd8 18. Rxd8+ Kxd8 19. Rd1+ Kc8 20.
Be3 b6 21. f4 $14) 16. e6 fxe6 17. Nxc7+ Kf7 (17... Kd7 18. c4 Bd6 19. Nxe6
Kxe6 20. cxd5+ cxd5 21. Re1+ Kd7 22. Be3 $14) 18. c4 Bxc4 19. Rd7+ Kg6 20. b3
Bd5 21. Re1 Bb4 22. Re3 $36) 14... g5 15. Bd2 Bg7 16. c4 Nb6 $2 {The knight is
misplaced here.} (16... Ne7 $1 {This is a natural square for the knight in the
Berlin Defence.} 17. Nxe6 (17. b3 Rd8 $1 (17... Bxe5 18. f4 gxf4 19. Bxf4 $44)
18. f4 gxf4 19. Bxf4 Ng6 $132) 17... fxe6 18. f4 gxf4 19. Nxf4 Bxe5 20. Re1 (
20. Nxe6 Kf7 21. Nf4 Rad8 $11) 20... Bxb2 21. Rab1 Bd4+ 22. Be3 Nf5 23. Bxd4
Nxd4 24. Rxb7 Kd7 25. Nd3 Rhb8 $11) 17. b3 $1 (17. Nxe6 $6 fxe6 18. b3 Bxe5 {
and White has to spend a tempo on moving his rook, allowing Black to
coordinate his forces.}) 17... Bxe5 $6 {What could be more obvious than taking
the central pawn? However, it was preferable to bring the misplaced knight
into play as quickly as possible.} (17... Nd7 18. f4 gxf4 19. Nxf4 (19. Bxf4 $6
Nxe5 $132) 19... Bxe5 20. Bc3 Ke7 (20... Bxf4 $6 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Bxh8 e5 {
[%csl Rh8]} 23. Rf1 Ke7 24. Rae1 Kd6 25. Bg7 h5 26. Rxf4 $1 exf4 27. Bh6 $16)
21. Rf1 Rae8 22. Rae1 Bxd4+ 23. Bxd4 Rhg8 24. Nh5 {Black is under pressure,
but his position is defendable.}) 18. f4 gxf4 (18... Bf6 19. Bc3 Ke7 20. Bb4+
Ke8 21. Rd3 $1 Rd8 22. Re1 Be7 23. Bxe7 Kxe7 24. Rf3 $1 c5 25. Nxe6 fxe6 26.
fxg5 hxg5 27. Ng3 $16) 19. Bxf4 Bxf4 $2 (19... Nd7 20. Bxe5 Nxe5 21. Nf4 Rd8
22. Ndxe6 Rxd1+ 23. Rxd1 fxe6 24. Re1 Nd7 25. Nxe6 Kf7 26. Nf4 {The endgame is
difficult for Black, as he is practically a pawn down, but with tenacious
defence he might still save the day.}) 20. Nxf4 Bd7 (20... Rd8 21. Rd3 Rd7 22.
Re1 $16) 21. Rf1 $1 {Placing both rooks ideally on the f- and e-files.} c5 22.
Rae1+ Kd8 23. Nf3 Be8 24. Ne5 {White has an overwhelming position. Black's
extra pawn has no significance at all, while all his pieces are badly placed,
especially the king which is causing the lack of coordination between the
rooks.} Nc8 25. Nfd3 Nd6 (25... b6 26. Rxf7 Nd6 27. Rf6 {is not really a
relief for Black.}) 26. Nxc5 a5 27. Ne4 f5 28. Ng3 $18 Rg8 29. Kh2 Ra6 30. c5
Ne4 31. Nxe4 $6 (31. Nxf5 Nxc5 32. Rd1+ Nd7 33. Rd5 {[%csl Rd7] was winning by
force.}) 31... fxe4 32. Rxe4 Re6 33. Rfe1 {Now White has still to work hard to
convert his extra pawn into a full point.} Rf6 34. a3 h5 35. Rd4+ Kc8 36. Red1
Bb5 37. R1d2 Rf5 $6 (37... Re6 38. Nf7 Ree8 $16) 38. Ng6 $1 {The knight is
going to f4 and the Ph5 becomes a real target.} Rf7 39. Nf4 Kb8 40. Nxh5 Rf5
41. Rd5 Rxd5 42. Rxd5 Bc6 43. Rd2 Rg5 44. g4 Rxc5 45. Nf6 {White's passed
pawns decide the outcome.} Rc3 46. g5 Ka7 47. g6 Rc1 48. Rg2 $1 a4 49. g7 Bxg2
50. g8=Q Bc6 {Black's resignation wouldn't be premature, but since Azarov was
in severe time-scramble, Naiditsch continued to fight. In time-trouble
anything can happen!} 51. Qf7 Rc2+ 52. Kg1 Rg2+ 53. Kf1 Rg3 54. Qxc7 Rf3+ 55.
Ke2 axb3 56. Nd7 Rf5 57. Qb6+ Ka8 58. Qd8+ Ka7 59. Qb8+ Ka6 60. Qc7 Ka7 61. Ne5
Bb5+ 62. Ke3 Rh5 63. Qa5+ Ba6 64. Qc5+ ({Only a nervous atmosphere could
explain why Azarov didn't play} 64. Nc6+) 64... Ka8 65. Qf8+ Ka7 66. Nc6+ {
A slightly more complicated version of the same idea.} (66. Nd7 {leads to a
forced mate.}) 66... Kb6 67. Qd8+ Kc5 (67... Kxc6 68. Qe8+ $18 {[%csl Rc6,Rh5]}
) 68. Nb4 Rxh3+ 69. Kd2 Rh2+ 70. Kc3 b2 71. Qd4+ Kb5 72. a4+ Ka5 {[%tqu "En",
"I am sure that you can spot the mate in two.","","","b4c6","",3,"b4c6","",0]}
73. Nc6+ $1 (73. Nc6+ bxc6 74. Qb4#) 1-0

[Event "Sanjin Hotel Cup 2nd"]
[Site "Tiayuan"]
[Date "2005.07.12"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Ni, Hua"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2629"]
[BlackElo "2645"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2005.07.09"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "CHN"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 108"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.09.26"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.09.26"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 {A side line which usually
leads to a totally equal position.} ({The main line is} 5. d4) 5... Nd6 6. Nxe5
Be7 7. Bd3 ({Another option is} 7. Bf1 {which does not yield white any
advantage as well.}) 7... Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 c6 10. b3 (10. Qf3 g6 11. b3
Ne8 12. Bb2 d6 13. Re3 Bf6 14. Rae1 Ng7 15. Ba3 Bf5 16. Ne4 Bxe4 17. Rxe4 a5
18. c3 Bg5 19. Bc2 Re8 20. Rxe8+ Nxe8 $11 {1/2-1/2 Zhao Jun-Fontaine,R/
Shenzheng 2005 (65)}) 10... Ne8 $1 {[%cal Gd7d5] This position appeared as
long ago as in the first world championship match Steinitz-Zukertort!} 11. Qf3
(11. Bb2 d5 12. Qh5 Nf6 13. Qh4 h6 14. Rae1 Bd6 15. R5e2 Be6 16. Nd1 Nd7 17.
Qh5 Nf6 18. Qh4 Nd7 19. Qh5 Nf6 {1/2-1/2 Torre,E-Gelfand,B/Moscow 1994}) 11...
d5 12. Bb2 Bf6 13. Re2 Nd6 $146 {This move looks a bit awkward to me.
Previously appeared 13...Nc7.} (13... Nc7 {This is a more natural
continuaation, the knight is going to be comfortably placed on e6.} 14. Ba3 (
14. Na4 Bxb2 15. Nxb2 Ne6 16. c3 Qd6 17. Rae1 Bd7 18. Bb1 Rae8 19. d4 Nf4 20.
Re3 g6 21. b4 Rxe3 22. fxe3 Nh5 23. e4 dxe4 24. Bxe4 Qe6 25. Ra1 Re8 26. Bd3
Qf6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Shirov,A-Ivanchuk,V/Monte Carlo 1995 (61)}) 14... Re8 15. Rae1
Rxe2 (15... Ne6 16. Na4 Bd7 17. Nc5 Nxc5 18. Rxe8+ Bxe8 19. Bxc5 b6 20. Ba3 Bd7
$11 {1/2-1/2 Steinitz,W-Zukertort,J/USA 1886 (48)}) 16. Nxe2 Ne6 17. Ng3 g6 18.
Bd6 Kg7 19. Be5 Bxe5 20. Rxe5 Qf6 21. Qxf6+ Kxf6 22. Re1 a5 $15 {0-1 Zhao,
Z-Postny,E/Athens 2001 (68)}) 14. Ba3 Be7 15. Qf4 (15. Rae1 Be6 {is similar to
the game.}) 15... Be6 16. Rae1 Qd7 17. Re5 ({A possible alternative is} 17. Nd1
{[%cal Yd1e3] trying to transfer the knight to a better pastures.}) 17... b6 {
[%csl Yc5][%cal Yb6c5] Probably Karjakin was a bit concerned about possible
transfer of white's dark-squared bishop by Ba3-c5-d4.} (17... Rfe8 $11) 18.
R1e3 {White is consequently playing for an attack against the black, but
black's position is very solid...} Rfe8 19. Bb2 (19. Rh5 $5 f5 (19... g6 $2 20.
Qh6 $18) (19... h6 $2 20. Rg3 $18) 20. Reh3 h6 21. Rxh6 Nf7 {[%csl Ra3,Rh6]} (
21... gxh6 22. Qxh6 $18) 22. Bxe7 Nxh6 23. Bf6 Ng4 24. Bg5 Qf7 25. f3 Nf6 26.
Qh4 $44 (26. Ne2 $44)) 19... Bf8 20. Rh5 f5 $1 21. Reh3 h6 22. Rg3 Nf7 (22...
g5 $4 {would be a suicide:} 23. Rhxg5+ $1 hxg5 24. Qxg5+ Bg7 25. Nb5 $1 $18)
23. Ne2 c5 24. Bf6 $2 {Ni Hua obviously got worried about the positional
threat d5-d4 shutting down the dark-squared bishop. However, the move in the
text loses the other bishop...} ({The only playable continuation was:} 24. Rg6
d4 $1 (24... c4 $2 25. Qd4 $1 {[%csl Rg7]}) 25. Qg3 Kh7 26. Rxe6 Rxe6 27. Bxf5+
g6 28. Qxg6+ Rxg6 29. Bxd7 Nd6 $13) 24... c4 $19 25. Qd4 f4 $1 {[%mdl 256]
Very strong defensive resource, which actually kills white's attack.} 26. Nxf4
cxd3 27. Nxd3 (27. Bxg7 Bg4 $1 {The point of 25...f4.} 28. Nxd3 Bxg7 29. Rxg4
Ng5 30. Rhxg5 hxg5 31. Rxg5 Rac8 {and black's rook is obviously stronger than
white's four pawns.}) 27... Nd6 {White has no compensation for the piece, the
point g7 is well protected. The rest is an agony.} 28. Ne5 Qc7 29. Qf4 Qxc2 30.
h3 Qd1+ 31. Kh2 Qxh5 32. Rg6 Kh7 33. g4 Bxg4 34. Rxg4 Qf5 0-1

[Event "RUS-ch sf 58th"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2005.09.06"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Belov, Vladimir"]
[Black "Bezgodov, Alexei"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2596"]
[BlackElo "2548"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2005.09.03"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 109"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.11.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.11.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 {This continuation is a
bit out of fashion nowadays.} (5... Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8
{leads to so popular "Berlin endgame".}) 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 dxc6 {The theory
does not recommend this recapture, but the recent game Svidler-Morozevich (see
below) certainly added some credit to this side line.} ({The main line is} 7...
bxc6 8. dxe5 Nb7 {with somewhat passive, but playable position for black. This
was employed among others by Kortschnoj against Karpov in the World
championship match 1981.}) 8. dxe5 Nf5 9. Rd1 Bd7 10. e6 $1 {The most
principled strike. White is intending to harass black's uncastled king. The
play is becoming forced for a while.} (10. g4 Nh4 11. Nxh4 Bxh4 12. g5 Qe7 13.
Qh5 Qb4 14. Nd2 Qg4+ 15. Qxg4 Bxg4 16. f3 Bh5 17. Nb3 h6 $15 {0-1 De la Villa,
J-Payen,A/Linares 2005 (46)}) (10. Nc3 O-O 11. Ne4 Qc8 12. h3 c5 13. Bg5 Bc6
14. Bxe7 Nxe7 15. Nxc5 Ng6 16. Nd3 Re8 17. Re1 b6 18. Nh2 Qf5 19. Qg4 Qxg4 20.
Nxg4 Bb5 21. Nb4 h5 22. Ne3 Rxe5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Geller,E-Bronstein,D/Moscow 1967
(42)}) 10... fxe6 11. Ne5 Bd6 12. Qh5+ g6 13. Nxg6 Ng7 14. Qh6 Nf5 15. Qh5 Ng7
16. Qh6 {Gaining some time on the clock.} Nf5 17. Qh3 Rg8 18. Qxh7 Rg7 19. Qh5
Qf6 {After a forced sequence white has a tough choice now. He has to be
careful, since Black has considerable development advantage, which compensates
the lack of pawn.} 20. Nf4+ {Deviating from the game Svidler-Morozevich.} (20.
Ne5+ Ke7 21. Ng4 (21. Nxd7 Kxd7 22. Nc3 Rag8 23. g3 Nxg3 24. fxg3 Rxg3+ 25.
hxg3 Rxg3+ 26. Kh1 Qf2 27. Qh7+ Kc8 28. Qh8+ Bf8 {0-1 Wechselmann,P-Pahl,K/
Berlin 1920}) 21... Qg6 22. Qxg6 Rxg6 23. h3 e5 24. Nd2 (24. Nc3 Nd4 25. Ne4
Bxg4 26. hxg4 Nxc2 27. Bg5+ Rxg5 28. Nxg5 Nxa1 29. Rxa1 Rg8 30. Ne4 Rxg4 $15 {
1/2-1/2 Ivkov,B-Trifunovic,P/Sarajevo 1963 (37)}) 24... Nd4 25. c3 Nc2 26. Rb1
Bxg4 27. hxg4 Rxg4 28. Nf1 Rf8 29. b4 $14 {[%csl Rc2] 1/2-1/2 Svidler,
P-Morozevich,A/Wijk aan Zee 2005 (41)}) (20. Nh4+ Ke7 21. Nxf5+ Qxf5 $2 (21...
exf5 $44 {[%cal Ga8h8]}) 22. Qxf5 exf5 23. Nc3 Rh8 24. g3 Rgh7 25. Bg5+ Kf8 26.
h4 $16 {1-0 Weiss,M-Burille,C/USA 1889 (35)}) ({Very risky for white:} 20. Qh8+
$6 Kf7 $1 21. Qxa8 Qxg6 22. g3 Qh5 23. Nc3 Qh3 $40) 20... Rf7 $1 $146 {Black
is preparing to castle queenside.} (20... Ke7 21. Nc3 Bxf4 (21... Rag8 $142)
22. Bxf4 Rh8 23. Ne4 Be8 24. Bg5 {1-0 Huebner,R-Vogel,R/Bundesliga 1986}) 21.
Nc3 (21. Nd3 {[%cal Gc1g5]} O-O-O $1 22. Bg5 Bxh2+ $1 23. Kxh2 Rh8 (23... Qh8
$6 24. Qxh8 Rxh8+ 25. Kg1 Rfh7 26. Kf1 Nd4 27. Ke1 Nxc2+ 28. Kd2 Nxa1 29. Nc3
$14) 24. Bxf6 Rxh5+ 25. Kg1 Rxf6 $132 {[%cal Gf6h6]}) 21... Ng7 {[%csl Rf4,Rh5]
} 22. Qh8+ Rf8 23. Qh7 Bxf4 24. Bxf4 Qxf4 25. Qxg7 Qxf2+ 26. Kh1 O-O-O {
Black has gained back a pawn, and the position is rather unclear now.
Obviously, White should strive for an endgame, because his two connected
kingside pawns are potentially strong. Black should avoid any exchanges and
try to create threats against White's king.} 27. Ne4 Qf5 28. Ng3 Qf7 $2 {
This move I fail to understand. I doubt if this move should be considered at
all. White has two connected passers on the kingside and this certainly will
play the decisive role in the endgame. Black, obviously must keep the queens
on the board, since in the middlegame he has chances to create threats against
the white king.} ({For example:} 28... Qf2 {was perfectly playable.} 29. Rf1 (
29. Rd3 $6 c5 $1 30. Rad1 Qxc2 31. Rxd7 $4 Qxd1+) 29... Qc5 30. Rxf8 Rxf8 $132)
29. Qxf7 Rxf7 30. Kg1 $18 {[%csl Yf2]} c5 31. Rd2 Bc6 32. Rxd8+ Kxd8 33. Nf1 $1
{The knight was obstructing it's own pawns on g3, while on e3 it will be
perfectly placed.} a5 34. Ne3 a4 35. Rf1 {All exchanges favour white.} Rh7 36.
a3 b5 37. h3 Rh4 38. Ng4 Be4 39. Rf2 Ke7 40. Kh2 Rh8 41. Ne3 Kd6 42. g4 {
White's pawns are on the way to promotion.} Ke5 43. g5 Bg6 44. Kg3 b4 45. Ng4+
{The knight is going to f6. Black has no chance to block the pawns.} Kd5 46.
Rd2+ Ke4 47. h4 bxa3 48. bxa3 Rb8 49. Rh2 Rb1 50. Nf6+ Kf5 51. Rf2+ Ke5 52.
Re2+ Kf5 53. Ng8 $1 {[%cal Gg8e7,Gg8h6]} Rg1+ 54. Kh2 1-0

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Berlin"]
[Date "2018.03.11"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2800"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2018.03.10"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 184"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2018.05.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.05.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 {Going for the principled
line.} ({The line} 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 {is also a frequent guest in
top level events. The structure is symmetrical and most of the games end in a
draw here.}) 5... Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3
h5 {There are a lot subtleties in this endgame. Currently, this method is
Black's main path to equality. The move weakens the g5-square, but fights
against the advance of White's pawn majority on the kingside.} 11. Bf4 Be7 12.
Rad1 Be6 (12... Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14. Ne2 Bd7 15. Rfe1 Rd8 16. Nd4 Bc8 17. c3
Rd5 18. e6 Bf6 19. exf7+ Kxf7 20. Bxc7 $14 {1-0 (64) Adams,M (2740)-Andreikin,
D (2727) Dortmund 2013}) 13. Ng5 Rh6 {Both players already had experience in
this position.} 14. Rfe1 (14. g3 Bc4 (14... Bxg5 15. Bxg5 Rg6 16. h4 (16. Bf4
Nh4 17. Kh2 Nf3+ 18. Kg2 Nh4+ {is a draw that appeared in numerous games.})
16... f6 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bf4 Nxh4 19. f3 Rd8 20. Kf2 Rxd1 21. Nxd1 Nf5 22.
Rh1 Bxa2 23. Rxh5 Be6 24. g4 Nd6 25. Rh7 Nf7 26. Ne3 {Anand has played this
position with both colours!} Kd8 (26... b6 27. Ng2 Rg8 28. Bxc7 Rh8 29. Rxh8+
Nxh8 30. Ne3 Nf7 31. Bg3 Nh6 32. Bf4 Nf7 33. Bg3 Nh6 {1/2-1/2 (33) Anand,V 
(2803)-Giri,A (2778) London 2015}) 27. Nf5 c5 28. Ng3 Ne5 29. Rh8+ Rg8 30. Bxe5
fxe5 31. Rh5 Bxg4 32. fxg4 Rxg4 33. Rxe5 b6 $16 {1/2-1/2 (122) Carlsen,M (2863)
-Anand,V (2792) Sochi 2014}) 15. Rfe1 Rg6 16. Nce4 Rd8 17. Rxd8+ Bxd8 18. b3
Bd5 19. c4 Bxg5 20. Nxg5 Be6 21. Kg2 c5 22. Nxe6 Rxe6 $11 {1/2-1/2 (54) Adams,
M (2745)-Kramnik,V (2769) London 2014}) ({In the event of} 14. Nxe6 Rxe6 {
the kingside rook get into play quite effectively. Black experienced no
problems in several games.}) 14... Bb4 15. a3 {Vladimir doesn't mind ruining
his structure on the queenside.} (15. g4 hxg4 16. hxg4 Ne7 17. Nxe6 Rxe6 18.
Kg2 Bxc3 19. bxc3 Rd8 $11 {1/2-1/2 (45) Vachier Lagrave,M (2791)-Karjakin,S 
(2773) Saint Louis 2017}) (15. Bd2 Rd8 16. Nce4 Bxd2 17. Rxd2 Rxd2 18. Nxd2 Bc8
19. f4 c5 20. Kf2 Ke7 $11 {1/2-1/2 (26) Dunlop,G (2578)-Stalmach,K (2557) GER
email 2016}) 15... Bxc3 16. bxc3 Ne7 17. Nf3 Rh8 18. Bg5 $146 {Kramnik made
this move instantly, clearly still in his preparation.} (18. Nd4 a6 19. Bg5 c5
20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. c4 Rd8 22. Rxd8+ Kxd8 $11 {0-1 (50) Yu,Y (2724)-Malakhov,V 
(2706) China 2015}) 18... c5 {After long meditation Karjakin reacts in a most
logical way - covering the d4-square.} (18... Nd5 {was a decent alternative.
The black knight can jump all over the queenside.} 19. c4 Nb6 20. c5 Na4 21.
Be3 Nc3 22. Rd4 Rd8 23. Bd2 Rxd4 24. Nxd4 Nb5 {and Black should equalise.}) 19.
Nd2 Kf8 {In general Black has two major problems in the Berlin endgame: 1) He
can't castle; 2) He has to deal with White's pawn majority on the kingside.}
20. Nf1 Nf5 21. g3 Ne7 22. Kg2 {Kramnik spent a lot of time on this move.} (22.
Ne3 Bxh3 23. Bxe7+ Kxe7 24. Nd5+ Kf8 25. Nxc7 Rc8 26. e6 {doesn't yield White
more than equality.} fxe6 (26... Bxe6 $2 27. Nxe6+ fxe6 28. Rd7 $16) 27. Nxe6+
Bxe6 28. Rxe6 Kf7 $11) 22... Nd5 23. c4 $1 (23. Bd2 $2 {is too passive and
would clearly indicate a failure of White's plan.}) 23... Nb6 24. Ne3 Nxc4 25.
Nxc4 (25. Nd5 c6 (25... Nb2 26. Nxc7 Nxd1 27. Nxa8 Nc3 28. Nc7 $14) 26. Nc7 Rb8
27. Nxe6+ fxe6 28. Rd7 Kg8 29. Re4 Nxa3 30. Be7 b6 31. Rxa7 Nxc2 32. Bd6 Kh7 $1
33. Bxb8 Rxb8 $13) 25... Bxc4 {Black has even won a pawn, but still he is the
one fighting for equality. His forces are not well coordinated and his extra
pawn on the queenside is not so significant.} 26. g4 ({Doubling the rooks
along the d-file is not so effective:} 26. Rd7 Rc8 27. Red1 Kg8 $11) 26... hxg4
27. hxg4 Bb5 28. Kg3 Re8 $6 (28... Ba4 $1 29. Rd2 (29. f4 Bxc2 30. Rd7 Rc8 31.
f5 Kg8 32. e6 fxe6 33. fxe6 Ba4 34. Rd5 Bc6 35. Rxc5 Rh1 $1 $11 {An exchange
of one pair of rooks will reduce White's attacking potential.}) 29... Kg8 30.
f4 Re8 {[%cal Gf7f6]} 31. f5 f6 32. Bf4 g6 $1 33. e6 gxf5 34. gxf5 Rh7 {
and Black should hold this one.}) 29. f4 $6 (29. Bd8 $1 {was a nice way to
level the number of pawns.} Ba4 30. Bxc7 Kg8 31. Rd2 {and then White can
continue his plan of pushing forward his kingside pawns. This means that Black
will suffer for nothing.}) 29... b6 $6 (29... Ba4 $1 {Surprisingly, the Pc2
can't be defended in a satisfactory way.} 30. f5 (30. Re2 $2 f6 {is a problem
for White.}) 30... Kg8 (30... Bxc2 $2 31. Rd7 $16) 31. e6 (31. Rd2 {transposes
to the line mentioned after 28...Ba4.}) 31... fxe6 32. fxe6 Bxc2 33. Rd7 Ba4
34. Rxc7 Bc6 {Black is passive, but White can't improve his position. The
bishop on c6 is very stable, also emphasizing the downside of the move 29...b6.
}) 30. f5 $6 (30. Bd8 $1 {was again a good chance for Vladimir.} Ba4 31. Bxc7
Rh6 (31... Bxc2 32. Rd7 Kg8 33. Bd6 {is also clearly better for White. His
rook has got to seventh rank, which is a serious achievement.}) 32. Rd2 Bxc2 $5
(32... Kg8 33. f5 Bc6 34. g5 Rh1 35. Rxh1 Bxh1 36. Kf4 $16) 33. g5 (33. Rxc2 $2
Rc6 {trapping the bishop.} 34. Bd6+ $2 Rxd6 $17 {[%cal Ge8e1]}) 33... Rc6 34.
Bd6+ Kg8 35. Kg4 $16) 30... Ba4 31. Rc1 (31. e6 f6 32. Bf4 Rc8 33. g5 Bxc2 34.
Rd7 Bxf5 35. Bxc7 Re8 36. gxf6 gxf6 37. Rf7+ Kg8 38. Rxf6 Rxe6 $1 39. Rexe6
Rh3+ 40. Kf4 Bxe6 41. Rxe6 Kf7 {and on the next move Black will capture
White's last pawn.}) (31. Rd2 f6 32. Bf4 fxe5 33. Rxe5 Kf7 $11) 31... Kg8 32.
c4 Bc6 33. Rcd1 Ba4 34. Rc1 Bc6 35. Bh4 Ba4 36. Rc3 Bc6 37. Rce3 Rh6 {White is
sort of dominating, but can't break through.} 38. Bg5 ({After} 38. g5 Rh5 {
the white bishop looks ridiculous.}) 38... Rh7 39. R3e2 Ba4 40. Re3 Rh8 41. Bh4
Rh6 42. e6 {There is no other sensible idea, but it leads to simplifications.}
fxe6 43. g5 Rh8 44. Rxe6 Rf8 45. R6e5 Bc2 46. f6 (46. Kg4 $2 Bxf5+ $1 47. Rxf5
Rxh4+ 48. Kxh4 Rxf5 $17) 46... gxf6 47. gxf6 Rh7 48. Rg5+ Kh8 49. Re7 Rg8 50.
Rxh7+ Kxh7 51. Rxg8 Kxg8 {Now it's a drawish opposite coloured bishops ending.}
52. Kf2 Bb3 53. Bg3 Bxc4 54. Bxc7 Bd5 55. Bb8 {[%mdl 4096]} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sanjin Hotel Cup 2nd"]
[Site "Tiayuan"]
[Date "2005.07.14"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Motylev, Alexander"]
[Black "Zhang, Zhong"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2675"]
[BlackElo "2608"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2005.07.09"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "CHN"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 108"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.09.26"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.09.26"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 Ng6 11. Bg5+ Ke8 12. Rad1 {Threatening mate in
one.} Be6 (12... Bd7 {appeared more often in the games of several top players
including Kramnik.}) 13. Nd4 Bc4 {Basically, black should keep this bishop out
of the exchange.} (13... Bb4 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. Ne4 Nxe5 16. Bf4 Nf7 17. Bxc7
Rc8 18. Bg3 $14 {1-0 Ivanchuk,V-Shirov,A/Monte Carlo 1998 (59)}) 14. Rfe1 h6
$146 (14... Bb4 15. Nf5 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Rg8 17. a3 h6 18. Bc1 Be6 19. Nd4 Ne7 20.
f4 h5 21. Kf2 Rd8 22. Be3 b6 23. Rd2 c5 24. Nxe6 Rxd2+ 25. Bxd2 fxe6 $11 {
1/2-1/2 Leko,P-Kramnik,V/Dortmund playoff 2004 (34)}) 15. Bd2 Rd8 16. Re4 {
[%csl Rc4][%cal Gd4c6]} Bd5 17. Nxd5 cxd5 18. Ree1 {In spite of that black's
pawn structure got repaired, he did not solve his opening problems completely.
White keeps a slight edge thanks to a better coordination of his forces.} Bc5 {
With a positional threat to exchange the knight, which will leave white with a
bad bishop.} 19. Nf5 Rg8 20. Be3 Bxe3 21. Nxe3 Ne7 22. f4 c6 23. g4 (23. f5 $6
d4 24. Nc4 Nxf5 25. Nd6+ Nxd6 26. exd6+ Kd7 27. Re7+ Kxd6 28. Rxb7 c5 $11)
23... g6 24. Kf2 Kd7 25. c4 Ke6 26. Kf3 h5 $2 {After this move black's
position could hardly be saved. Instead, black had two playable options:} (
26... d4 27. Nf1 c5 28. Nd2 b6 $14) (26... dxc4 27. Nxc4 Rxd1 28. Rxd1 Nd5 $14)
27. Nc2 $1 {[%cal Gc2d4]} c5 28. cxd5+ Nxd5 29. Ke4 {[%cal Gf4f5] After the
pawn moved to c5, black's d5 outpost is no longer defended.} hxg4 30. hxg4 f5+
(30... Rh8 31. f5+ gxf5+ 32. gxf5+ Ke7 33. Rh1 Rxh1 34. Rxh1 Nb6 35. Rh7 Rd2
36. Ne3 Rd4+ 37. Kf3 Nd7 (37... Nd5 38. e6 $1 Rd3 39. Ke4 $1 Nf6+ (39... Rd4+
40. Ke5 Nxe3 41. f6+ Kd8 42. exf7 $18) 40. Kxd3 Nxh7 41. Nd5+ Ke8 42. Ke4 $18)
38. Ng4 (38. e6 $2 Ne5+) 38... Rd5 39. Kf4 Rd4+ 40. Kg5 Re4 41. Nf6 Rxe5 (41...
Nxf6 42. exf6+ Ke8 43. Rh8+ Kd7 44. Rf8 $18 {[%csl Rf7]}) 42. Nxd7 Kxd7 43.
Rxf7+ Kc6 44. Rh7 Re2 45. f6 Rxb2 46. f7 Rf2 47. Rh6+ Kd5 48. Rf6 $18) 31. exf6
Nxf6+ 32. Kf3+ Kf7 33. Ne3 Rh8 ({More stubborn would have been:} 33... Rge8 34.
Rh1 (34. Nc4 Rxe1 35. Rxe1 Rd3+ 36. Re3 Rxe3+ 37. Nxe3 Ke6 $11) (34. g5 Nd5 $1
35. Ng4 Rxe1 36. Rxe1 Ne7 37. Ne5+ Kg7 38. Rc1 Rd2 (38... b6 $6 39. b4 $1 Rd5
40. bxc5 Rxc5 41. Rxc5 bxc5 42. Ke4 {with a winning endgame thanks to the
great activity of both remaining pieces.}) 39. Rxc5 Rxb2 40. Rc7 Kf8 {and
black should hold the endgame.}) 34... Rd4 (34... b5 35. g5 Nh5 36. Ng4 $18 {
[%cal Gg4e5]}) 35. Rxd4 cxd4 36. Nc4 $16) 34. Nc4 {White can simply ignore the
invasion of black's rook.} Rxd1 (34... Rh3+ 35. Kg2 Rdh8 36. Ne5+ Kg7 37. Nf3
$1 Nxg4 38. Rd7+ Kf8 39. Ree7 $18) 35. Rxd1 Rh2 36. g5 Nh5 37. Ne5+ {Black can
not save the Pg6.} Ke6 38. Nxg6 Rxb2 39. Kg4 Ng7 40. f5+ {[%mdl 4096]} 1-0

[Event "Sanjin Hotel Cup 2nd"]
[Site "Tiayuan"]
[Date "2005.07.16"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Motylev, Alexander"]
[Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2675"]
[BlackElo "2645"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2005.07.09"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "CHN"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 108"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.09.26"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.09.26"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 h6 11. Be3 {A rare move. I don't think that
this is the best square for the bishop, since it blocks the "e" file. Usually
white develops his bishop with help of 11.b3.} Ng6 12. Rad1+ Ke8 13. a3 (13.
Nd4 Bb4 14. f4 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Bd7 16. f5 Nxe5 17. Bf4 f6 18. Bxe5 fxe5 19. Nf3
Bxf5 20. Nxe5 Rf8 21. Rfe1 Rf6 22. g4 Be6 23. Nd7 Rg6 24. Ne5 Rf6 25. Nd7 Rg6
26. Ne5 {1/2-1/2 Horvath,A-Pavasovic,D/Zalaegerszeg 2004}) 13... Be7 14. Rfe1
h5 (14... Bd7 15. Ne4 b6 16. Bd2 Be6 17. Nd4 c5 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. f4 Rf8 20. g3
$14 {1-0 Volokitin,A-Jonkman,H/Bundesliga2 2003 (41)}) 15. Nd4 h4 (15... Nxe5
$2 16. Bf4 $16) 16. f4 Rh5 {[%csl Yf5] A typical manoeuvre. The rook helps to
block white's kingside pawns.} 17. Ne4 Bd7 18. c4 b6 19. b4 $1 $146 {Motylev
improves his own play. Usually, in Berlin defense white does not move forward
his queenside pawns, but this move is directed against c6-c5 which could drive
away the white knight from it's active position. Few rounds earlier he didn't
succeed to break throw Karjakin's defense.} (19. a4 Rd8 20. Ne2 Bf8 21. a5 Bb4
22. Bd2 Be7 23. Be3 Bb4 24. Bd2 Be7 25. Be3 Bb4 {1/2-1/2 Motylev,A-Karjakin,S/
Tiayuan 2005}) 19... Nf8 $2 {Already the decisive mistake.} ({Possible was} 
19... a5) {[%tqu "En","Black's last move was a mistake. How can White take
advantage on it?","","","f4f5","If this move becomes possible, than black's
position is really bad.",10]} 20. f5 $1 {If this move becomes possible, than
black's position is really bad.} c5 ({Harikrishna probably missed that he
can't take on f5:} 20... Bxf5 {[%tqu "En","How can White win material?","","",
"g2g4","",5]} 21. g4 $1 hxg3 22. Nxg3 {[%csl Rf5,Rh5] winning the exchange.})
21. f6 $1 {The decisive breakthrow.} gxf6 (21... cxd4 22. fxg7 {[%csl Gg7] and
the pawn queens.}) 22. exf6 cxd4 23. fxe7 Nh7 24. Bxd4 $18 Rh6 25. Nc3 Rc8 26.
Be5 Kxe7 (26... Be6 27. Nb5 Kxe7 28. Nxc7 $18) 27. Bxc7+ Be6 28. Nd5+ Kf8 29.
Bf4 Rg6 (29... Rh5 30. Bd6+ Kg7 31. Nf4 $18) 30. Bd6+ Kg7 31. Ne7 {[%csl Rc8,
Rg6]} Rxc4 32. Be5+ Kh6 33. Nxg6 Kxg6 34. Rd4 {The exchange of rooks kills
black's last hope.} Ng5 35. Rxc4 Bxc4 36. Bd4 Ne6 37. Bf2 1-0

[Event "EU-Cup 31st"]
[Site "Skopje"]
[Date "2015.10.22"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2774"]
[BlackElo "2796"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2015.10.18"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "MKD"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 169"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.11.10"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.11.10"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Siberia"]
[BlackTeam "Socar"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "AZE"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 {Caruana himself prefers to start with 9.h3 as White.
This is a matter of taste, as there are too many nuances in this endgame.} Ke8
10. h3 h5 {Black's main idea is to block White's pawn majority on the kingside.
The only drawback of this move - the weakening of the g5-square.} 11. Ne2 {
Not the main move, but in general a standard manoeuvre. The knight is heading
to f4, where it will eye up the Ph5 and support the e5-e6 thrust. Nevertheless,
the main move 11.Bf4 seems to pose more problems for Black.} (11. Bf4 Be7 12.
Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. g3 Bxg5 (14... Bc4 15. Rfe1 Rg6 16. Nce4 Rd8 17. Rxd8+
(17. b3 {seems to be more precise.} {The point is that after} Bd5 18. c4 Bxg5
$4 19. Bxg5 {[%csl Rd8] the rook is hanging.}) 17... Bxd8 18. b3 Bd5 19. c4
Bxg5 20. Nxg5 Be6 21. Kg2 c5 22. Nxe6 Rxe6 $11 {½-½ (54) Adams,M (2745)
-Kramnik,V (2769) London 2014}) 15. Bxg5 Rg6 16. h4 f6 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bf4
Nxh4 19. f3 Rd8 20. Kf2 (20. Rde1 Kf7 21. Kf2 Nf5 22. Rh1 Ng7 23. Ne4 Rc8 24.
Nc5 $14 {1/2-1/2 (37) Bacrot,E (2711)-Anand,V (2797) Baden-Baden 2015}) 20...
Rxd1 21. Nxd1 Nf5 22. Rh1 Bxa2 23. Rxh5 Be6 24. g4 Nd6 25. Rh7 Nf7 26. Ne3 Kd8
27. Nf5 c5 28. Ng3 $14 {1/2-1/2 (122) Carlsen,M (2863)-Anand,V (2792) Sochi
2014}) 11... b6 12. Bg5 (12. Rd1 Bb7 13. Ned4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Be7 (14... h4 $5 {
is a possible improvement. In some cases the kingside rook may enter the game
via h5.}) 15. Bf4 Rd8 16. Nf5 Rxd1+ 17. Rxd1 Bc8 18. Nxe7 Kxe7 19. Bg5+ Ke6 20.
Bd8 Kxe5 21. Bxc7+ Kf5 22. Bb8 $1 a6 23. Ba7 b5 24. Rd6 Rh6 25. Rd8 Be6 26. b3
$14 {1/2-1/2 (87) Grischuk,A (2763)-Jakovenko,D (2722) Moscow 2012}) 12... Bb7
13. Rad1 $146 ({In the only preceding game Black achieved a good position after
} 13. Nf4 $6 c5 14. Nh4 Nxh4 15. Bxh4 Be7 16. Bxe7 Kxe7 {1/2-1/2 (43)
Volokitin,A (2695)-Hovhannisyan,R (2600) Plovdiv 2012}) 13... Be7 (13... c5 14.
Nc3 Bxf3 15. gxf3 c6 16. Ne4 Be7 {is also perfectly playable for Black.}) 14.
Bxe7 (14. e6 {This idea is standard and always deserves some attention. Black
should reply with} f6 (14... fxe6 $2 15. Nf4 $36) 15. Bf4 c5 $1 (15... Bd6 $6
16. Ng3 $1 Nxg3 17. Bxg3 $14) 16. Bxc7 g5 {with good compensation for the pawn.
}) 14... Kxe7 15. Nf4 c5 16. Ng5 Rh6 $2 {This move appears to be bad enough to
call it a decisive mistake!} (16... Rad8 $2 17. e6 $16) (16... Rhd8 $1 {
was the only right choice. It's psychologically not easy to sacrifice a pawn
in an endgame, so I don't find this move obvious at all.} 17. Nxh5 (17. e6 $2
f6 18. Ng6+ Ke8 {That's why it was important to put the kingside rook on d8.})
17... Ba6 $1 18. Rxd8 (18. Rfe1 $2 Rxd1 19. Rxd1 Be2 $17 {[%csl Rd1,Rh5]})
18... Rxd8 19. Rc1 Rd5 20. f4 (20. Nf3 $6 Be2 $15) 20... Rd2 21. Ne4 Re2 22.
Neg3 Nxg3 23. Nxg3 Rd2 24. Nf5+ Kf8 25. Re1 Rxc2 26. Rd1 Ke8 27. Nxg7+ Kf8 28.
Nf5 Ke8 {White doesn't have more than a repetition.}) 17. c3 {As simple as it
is strong. Now White's plan is simple: to put the rook on e1 and push e5-e6.
So, Black's next move is practically forced.} f6 18. exf6+ Kxf6 (18... gxf6 $2
19. Rfe1+ Kf8 20. Nge6+ $18) 19. Nfe6 $1 Rg6 (19... Re8 20. Rfe1 Bc6 21. g3 {
White is in full control.}) 20. f4 Ne3 21. Rd7 {Threatening mate in one, so
Black's reply is forced.} Rxg5 22. Nxg5 Nxf1 23. Kxf1 Rc8 24. g4 {A dream
position for White in the Berlin variation!} hxg4 (24... Bc6 25. Rf7+ Kg6 26.
Kf2 hxg4 27. hxg4 {makes no difference.}) 25. hxg4 Bc6 26. Rf7+ Kg6 27. Kf2 $1
(27. Re7 $6 {would allow} Rf8 {[%csl Rf4] and the white knight will have to go
back to h3.}) 27... Bd5 28. Rd7 Bxa2 {This pawn is of little significance.} (
28... Bc6 29. Re7 $18) 29. Kg3 {All White's forces are superbly coordinated.}
a5 30. Ne4 $1 Bb1 (30... Kh7 31. Nf6+ Kh8 32. Nh5 Rf8 33. f5 Rf7 34. Rd8+ Kh7
35. Nf4 $18 {[%cal Gf4g6]}) (30... a4 31. f5+ Kh7 32. Kf4 {Slowly, but surely
White will prevail.}) 31. f5+ Kh6 32. Nd2 Bc2 33. Nf3 Be4 34. Ne5 (34. g5+ $1 {
would finish it quicker.} Kh5 35. Kf4 Bxf3 36. Rd2 $1 {[%cal Gd2h2] mating.})
34... Kg5 35. Nf7+ Kf6 36. Kf4 {[%cal Gg4g5] Mating net completed, so Black
has to give up a piece.} Bxf5 37. gxf5 g6 38. fxg6 Kxg6 {If the black king
were on the queenside, Caruana could hope for an escape "à la" Carlsen-Anand,
game seven of the 2014 Wch match, but not this time.} 39. Rd8 {The easiest way.
} Rxd8 40. Nxd8 Kf6 41. c4 Ke7 42. Nc6+ Kd6 43. Ne5 b5 44. Ke4 c6 45. b3 Kc7 (
45... a4 46. bxa4 bxa4 47. Nd3 a3 48. Nc1 $18) 46. Kd3 a4 47. bxa4 Kb6 48. Kc3
Ka5 49. Kb3 {Excellent play by Alexander Grischuk!} 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2005.11.30"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Sadvakasov, Darmen"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2612"]
[BlackElo "2724"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2005.11.27"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 111"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.04.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.04.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. Ne4 h6 ({Other popular continuations are:} 10...
Ng6 11. Re1 h6) ({and} 10... Ke8) 11. h3 Bf5 12. Re1 b6 {[%cal Yd8c8,Yc8b7]
Covering c5 square and preparing a shelter for black's king.} (12... Nd5 13.
Nd4 Bg6 14. Bd2 c5 15. Nb5 a6 16. Na3 Kc8 17. Rad1 Nb4 18. Bxb4 cxb4 19. Nc4 a5
20. Rd5 b6 21. Ned6+ $36 {0-1 Shirov,A-Almasi,Z/Monte Carlo 2003/CBM 93 ext 
(30)}) 13. g4 Bh7 $6 $146 {In the Berlin defense it's unusual to see black's
bishop hiding on h7. I think that the previously played 13...Bd7 is preferable.
} (13... Bd7 14. Bf4 (14. Ng3 c5 15. Nh4 Nc6 16. c3 Be7 17. Ng2 Re8 18. f4 Kc8
19. Be3 $14 {1-0 De Firmian,N (2549)-Hess,R (2278)/Minneapolis 2005/CBM 107 
(53)}) 14... Kc8 (14... h5 $6 15. Neg5 Ke8 16. Nxf7 Kxf7 17. e6+ Bxe6 18. Ng5+
Kg8 19. Nxe6 $16 {Wedberg}) 15. Rad1 a5 16. Bg3 c5 17. Nh4 a4 18. Ng2 (18. f4
$5 {[%cal Yf4f5] Wedberg}) 18... a3 19. b3 $14 {0-1 Bologan,V (2679)
-Aleksandrov,A (2679)/Poikovsky 2004/CBM 100/[Wedberg] (57)}) 14. Bf4 $1 {
It's important for white to solve the problem of his dark-squared bishop.
Sadvakasov trasfering the bishop to g3, where it will support white's central
Pe5 and at the same time won't obstruct white's other pieces.} Kc8 15. Bg3 c5
16. c3 Nc6 17. Nfd2 Kb7 18. f4 {White is clearly better now, as he succeeded
to roll forward his kingside pawn majority, while black didn't achieve any
real counterplay yet. Moreover, black's light-squared is in danger to be
locked after f4-f5, emphasizing the drawback of 13...Bh7.} Rd8 19. Nf3 c4 20.
Kg2 Rd5 21. Rac1 {This move is somewhat misterious.} ({It was possible to move
forward right now:} 21. f5) 21... Nb8 $6 {This move is even more misterious
and also a provocative one.} ({What was wrong with} 21... Be7 {?}) 22. f5 Ra5
23. a3 g6 24. f6 (24. Nf6 $2 gxf5 25. Nxh7 fxg4 {and black is okay.}) 24... g5
$8 {Otherwise white would play g4-g5 locking the Bh7 forever.} 25. e6 $2 {
White had several attractive continuations, but this one is definitely not the
best choice.} (25. Nexg5 $2 hxg5 26. Nxg5 Bg6 27. Nxf7 Bxf7 28. e6 Bg6 29. h4
Bh6 30. Rcd1 Rb5 $17) ({Good enough was} 25. Ned2 {[%csl Rc4]} Bd3 {and only
now} 26. e6 $1 fxe6 27. Ne5 $16 {[%csl Rc4]}) ({Also possible} 25. Rcd1 Rb5 26.
Rd2 {not forcing the matters at the moment.}) 25... fxe6 26. Ne5 Rd5 27. Nf2 (
27. Nxc4 Nd7 $132) 27... Bc5 28. Ne4 Bf8 (28... Bxe4+ $2 29. Rxe4 Rd2+ 30. Kh1
Rxb2 31. f7 $16 {[%csl Gf7]}) 29. Nxc4 $5 {Sadvakasov decided not to repeat
moves, but his advantage has gone already...} Nd7 30. Re2 Bg6 31. Rce1 Rg8 32.
Rf2 Bf7 {Aronian has managed to block white's passed pawn and consolidate his
position. White's position gradually deteriorates.} 33. Ne3 Rd3 34. Rfe2 {
White's pieces are placed seemingly active, but he has no concrete plan.
Black's position is much better in the long run.} e5 {Opening the diagonal for
the light-squared bishop.} 35. Nf5 Rg6 36. Nf2 Bd5+ 37. Kh2 Rf3 38. Rd2 Bc6 39.
f7 (39. Bxe5 Nxe5 40. Rxe5 Rxf6 41. Ne4 Rf7 $15) 39... Rf6 40. Ne4 $2 {This
looks like a nervous move, typical for time-trouble..} (40. Bxe5 {was
necessary.}) 40... Rxf7 41. Rde2 a5 42. Re3 Rxe3 43. Rxe3 a4 44. c4 Nc5 45.
Nxc5+ Bxc5 46. Rxe5 {White captured this pawn anyway, but now it's too late...}
Rd7 {The following penetration of black's rook is decisive. Black's bishops
control the whole board and the white king is in a mating net.} 47. Re2 Bf3 48.
Rc2 Rd1 49. Be5 Be4 50. Re2 Bg1+ 0-1

[Event "Morelia/Linares 23rd"]
[Site "Morelia/Linares"]
[Date "2006.02.18"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2765"]
[BlackElo "2801"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "133"]
[EventDate "2006.02.18"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 112"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.06.07"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.06.07"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 1]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 Ng6 11. Bg5+ {This check does not
allow black to hide his king on the queenside. The black king is forced to
stay in the centre where it might be vulnerable.} Ke8 12. Rad1 Bd7 {Topalov
already played this position also as white.} (12... Be6 13. Nd4 Bc4 14. Rfe1
Bb4 15. Nf5 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Rg8 17. a3 h6 18. Bc1 Be6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Leko,P (2741)
-Kramnik,V (2770)/Dortmund 2004/CBM 103 (34)}) 13. Nd4 (13. Rd2 Be6 14. Rfd1
Be7 15. Ne2 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 Bxg5 17. f4 Be7 18. Nd4 Bc5 19. Kh2 Bxd4 20. Rxd4 f6
$15 {1/2-1/2 Svidler,P (2727)-Kramnik,V (2770)/Dortmund 2004/CBM 103 (25)}) (
13. a3 h6 14. Bc1 Rd8 15. Rfe1 Be7 16. Ne4 Be6 17. Rxd8+ Kxd8 18. Nd4 Bd7 19.
f4 Nh4 20. Kf2 h5 21. g3 Nf5 22. Nf3 c5 23. Rd1 Ke8 24. Nc3 Nd4 25. Nd5 Bd8 26.
Nxd4 cxd4 27. Rxd4 Bxh3 $11 {1/2-1/2 Topalov,V (2735)-Vallejo Pons,F (2662)/
Benidorm 2003/CBM 99 (61)}) 13... h6 14. Be3 h5 $146 {Black is fighting
against white's pawns offensive on the kingside. Also, after the forthcoming
h5-h4 black's rook gets a chance to join the battle via h5.} ({The plan
adopted by Almasi is probably safer:} 14... Bb4 15. f4 Bxc3 16. bxc3 c5 17. Ne2
b6 18. Ng3 h5 19. f5 Nxe5 20. Bf4 f6 21. Rfe1 Ba4 {1/2-1/2 Shirov,A (2715)
-Almasi,Z (2644)/Monaco 2002/CBM 087 ext (21)}) 15. f4 h4 16. f5 $3 {[%mdl 512]
A very deep and sound pawn sacrifice based mainly on intuition. At the price
of a pawn Svidler seizes the initiative.} (16. Rd3 Bc5 17. Rfd1 Bxd4 18. Rxd4
Bf5 $11) 16... Nxe5 17. f6 $1 {[%mdl 32] It's very important to prevent from
black to play f7-f6, so that the knight won't have a stronghold on e5.} Rh5 18.
Ne4 g6 (18... Nc4 19. Bf4 Nxb2 20. Rb1 {is bad for black.}) 19. Bf4 c5 (19...
Bd6 $2 20. g4 $1 hxg3 21. Nxg3 Rxh3 22. Rde1 Kf8 23. Rxe5 Bxe5 24. Bxe5 $16)
20. Nf3 Nxf3+ 21. Rxf3 {Black's main problem is his king which is highly
vulnerable in the centre and disconnected rooks. In my opinion, the position
remains playable for black, but from psychological point of view it's much
easier to be on the offensive side.} Be6 (21... Rf5 $6 22. Re3 $1 Be6 ({
A spectacular mate is after} 22... Rxf4 23. Nd6+ Kd8 24. Re8+ $1 Bxe8 25. Nxf7+
Kc8 26. Rd8#) 23. Bxc7 c4 24. Re2 $1 Rc8 25. Red2 Rd5 26. Rxd5 Bxd5 27. Rxd5
Rxc7 28. Kf2 {[%csl Rh4] with a good winning chances for white.}) 22. Rfd3 ({
After} 22. Ng5 $6 Rd8 23. Re1 c4 24. Nxe6 fxe6 25. Rxe6+ Kf7 {[%cal Gd8d1,
Gf8c5] white loses all his trumps.}) 22... c4 23. R3d2 c6 24. Ng5 Bc5+ 25. Kh2
Bd5 $6 {This moment was rather critical.} (25... c3 $1 26. bxc3 Bxa2 {Looks
rather risky for black, but some concrete variations does not confirm that
white has more than equality here. For instanse:} 27. Rd7 ({Not dangerous for
black:} 27. Ne4 Bf8) ({Or:} 27. Re1+ Kf8 28. Rd7 Bf2) 27... b6 28. Rb7 (28. Ne4
$2 Be6 29. Nxc5 $2 (29. Rc7 Rd5 30. Nxc5 bxc5 31. Re7+ Kf8 $15) 29... Bxd7 30.
Nxd7 Rf5 $1 31. Bc7 Rd5 {and after the exchange of rooks black is simply
winning.}) 28... Bd5 29. Re1+ (29. c4 $5 Bxc4 30. Rdd7 (30. Ne4 Rd5 31. Re1 Kf8
32. Nxc5 bxc5 33. Ree7 Rf5 34. Rxa7 Rxa7 35. Bh6+ Kg8 36. Re8+ Kh7 37. Bg7 Rxf6
$8 38. Bxf6 g5 {black saves his king and even gets some winning chances.})
30... Rxg5 31. Bxg5 a5 32. Be3 Bxe3 33. Re7+ Kf8 34. Rxe3 b5 $132 {[%csl Ga5]})
29... Kf8 30. c4 Bxc4 31. Ree7 a5 (31... Bxe7 $2 32. fxe7+ Kg7 (32... Ke8 33.
Ne4 {mating.}) 33. Be5+ $1 Kh6 34. Bb8 $18) 32. Rxf7+ Bxf7 33. Rxf7+ Ke8 (33...
Kg8 $2 34. Rg7+ Kf8 35. Ne6+ Ke8 36. f7+ $18) 34. Rg7 (34. Rb7 $2 Rxg5 $1 35.
Bxg5 Kf8 36. Rh7 Kg8 37. Rg7+ Kh8 $17 {[%csl Ga5]} (37... Kf8 $4 38. Bh6 $18))
34... a4 35. f7+ Ke7 36. f8=Q+ Kxf8 37. Ne6+ Ke8 38. Nc7+ Kf8 39. Ne6+ Ke8 $11)
26. Re2+ Kf8 27. Rde1 b5 ({Here} 27... c3 {was not so sound due to simple} 28.
b3 {and the Pc3 will be a target.}) 28. c3 a5 29. a3 Rc8 30. g4 {The only way
to make progress.} hxg3+ 31. Kxg3 Be6 $6 ({The bold} 31... Ra8 $1 {would have
been patient. Ok, white has the initiative, but I don't see a clear plan of
improvement.}) 32. h4 $1 (32. Nxe6+ fxe6 33. Rxe6 Kf7 34. Bd6 (34. Kg4 Rf5 $11)
34... Rg5+ $1 35. Kf3 Rf5+ 36. Kg4 Bxd6 37. Rxd6 Rc7 $11) 32... Kg8 $2 {
Topalov is really eager too change the course of the game, but after the move
in the text his position is beyond saving.} ({It was necessary to come back
with the bishop:} 32... Bd5) 33. Re5 $1 (33. Nxe6 fxe6 34. Rxe6 Rf5 {with good
drawish chances.}) 33... Bf8 (33... Bd6 34. Rxe6 $1 Bxf4+ 35. Kxf4 fxe6 36. Kg4
{followed by 37.Rxe6. Despite being an exchange down, white has a winning
position. Black's rooks are actually out of play.}) 34. Nxe6 {Now it's the
right time for this capture, since black's Rh5 won't come out.} fxe6 35. Rd1 $1
{It's very important to control the "d" file.} Rh7 (35... Kf7 36. Bg5 {[%csl
Yh5] locking the rook.}) 36. Rxe6 Rb7 37. Re4 {Preventing black's possible
counterplay with b5-b4.} Kf7 38. Bg5 Re8 39. Rxe8 Kxe8 40. Kg4 Rh7 (40... Rd7
$2 41. f7+ $1 Rxf7 42. Rd8#) (40... a4 {might be an improvement, but from
psychological point of view it was obviously hard for Topalov to make such a
move which deprives of any counterplay.}) 41. Re1+ Kd7 42. a4 $1 {Breaking
black's pawns chain, Svidler gets additional targets for his rook.} bxa4 43.
Re5 c5 44. Bf4 Rh8 45. Bg3 $1 {Black is actually in zugzwang.} Bh6 46. Re7+ Kc6
47. Bf4 Bxf4 48. Kxf4 Rh5 (48... Rxh4+ 49. Kg5 $18) 49. Re5 Rxh4+ 50. Kg5 $1
Rh5+ 51. Kxg6 Rxe5 52. f7 {Black can't stop the pawn, but white still has to
be precise in the forthcoming queen vs rook endgame.} Re6+ 53. Kg5 Re5+ 54. Kg4
Re4+ 55. Kg3 Re3+ 56. Kf2 a3 $1 57. f8=Q axb2 (57... a2 58. Qc8+ $1 (58. Qh6+
$2 {might still spoil it:} Kb5 59. Qh1 Rh3 $1 60. Qa1 a4 61. Qxa2 Rh1 $1 {
locking the queen. White can't win this position!}) 58... Kb5 (58... Kb6 59.
Qd8+ Ka6 60. Qd6+ Kb7 61. Qd7+ Kb6 62. Qa4 $18 {just like after 58...Kb5.}) 59.
Qd7+ Kb6 60. Qa4 Rh3 61. Qxa2 Kb5 62. Qb1 $18) 58. Qc8+ Kb5 $1 {The last
chance is stalemate!} 59. Qb7+ Ka4 60. Kxe3 (60. Qxb2 $4 Rf3+ $11) 60... Ka3
61. Qb5 a4 62. Qxc5+ Kb3 63. Qb4+ Kc2 64. Qxa4+ Kxc3 65. Qa5+ Kc2 66. Qf5+ Kc1
67. Qf1+ {[%mdl 4096] Perfect endgame technique by Svidler!} 1-0

[Event "Bundesliga 0506"]
[Site "Germany"]
[Date "2006.02.18"]
[Round "10.1"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "McShane, Luke J"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2788"]
[BlackElo "2605"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "140"]
[EventDate "2005.10.21"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 112"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.06.07"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.06.07"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Baden-Baden"]
[BlackTeam "Werder Bremen"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 {This knight manouevre became very fashionable.} 10.
h3 Bf5 {A rare and somewhat risky move. Black attacks the Pc2 and intends to
hide his king on a safe queenside. On the other hand, black's bishop might
become a target for whhite's pawns and knights.} ({More often seen in practice:
} 10... Ng6) ({and} 10... Ke8) 11. Rd1+ (11. g4 $5 {This pawn sacrifice is
definitely a deserving alternative. At a price of a pawn white wins several
tempoes for advancing his pawn majority on the kingside.} Bxc2 12. Nd4 Bg6 13.
f4 c5 14. Nf3 $1 f5 15. Nh4 $1 $44 {1-0 Parligras,M (2560)-Aleksandrov,A (2635)
/Warsaw 2005/CBM 108_01/[Postny,E] (44)}) 11... Kc8 12. Nd4 (12. Rd2 h6 13. b3
b6 14. Bb2 Kb7 15. Rad1 Ng6 16. Ne2 a5 17. Ng3 Be6 18. Nh5 c5 19. a4 Rg8 20. c4
Be7 21. g4 Rae8 22. Kg2 Nf8 23. Ng1 g6 24. Nf6 Bxf6 25. exf6 g5 $132 {1/2-1/2
Ehlvest,J (2631)-Mitkov,N (2539)/Mallorca 2004/CBM 104 (48)}) 12... Bg6 13. Bf4
(13. Bg5 c5 14. Ndb5 a6 15. Nd6+ cxd6 16. exd6 f6 $1 17. dxe7 Bxe7 18. Nd5 Bd8
19. Be3 b6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Izoria,Z (2652)-Sorokin,M (2560)/Moscow 2006/CBM
112_01 (26)}) 13... b6 $6 ({The critical continuation is} 13... c5 14. Nf3 ({
Does not work:} 14. Ndb5 $6 a6 15. Nxc7 (15. Nd6+ cxd6 16. exd6 Nc6 17. Na4 Kd8
) 15... Kxc7 16. e6+ Kb6) 14... Bxc2 $6 (14... Nc6 $142) 15. Rd2 Bg6 16. Rad1
Nc6 17. e6 fxe6 18. Ne5 Nd4 19. Nxg6 hxg6 20. Nb5 $1 $16) 14. e6 $1 Kb7 15. Re1
{Now white is threatening to take on f7 followed by Nd4-e6.} (15. exf7 $6 Bxf7
16. Re1 Nd5 $11) 15... f6 (15... Rd8 $2 16. Rad1 c5 17. Ndb5 Rxd1 18. Rxd1 fxe6
19. Rd7 $18) 16. Rad1 Rc8 17. Rd2 {Black's position looks totally cramped, but
in fact, white does not have any decisive manoeuvre.} h5 18. Bh2 {Anand moves
his bishop away before black plays g7-g5 with tempo.} (18. Nf3 Be8 {[%cal
Gg7g5]}) 18... h4 19. Nf3 Be8 $1 20. Rd4 $6 {This move is actually a waste of
time. The rook on d4 is vulnerable, while black ws intending to play g7-g5
anyway.} (20. Ne4 {was more to the point preventing from black to play g7-g5
developing the kingside pieces.} {Probably Anand was concerned about} Rh5 {
but, I think that after} 21. c4 {white keeps a stable advantage.}) 20... g5 21.
Ne4 Rh6 22. Rdd1 Nf5 {Black's pieces are coming out one after another. White's
advantage is not so obvious anymore.} 23. Nd4 Nxd4 24. Rxd4 Be7 25. f4 {
Breaking black's pawns chain.} gxf4 26. Bxf4 Rg6 27. Rd2 Rg7 28. Kh1 Rd8 $2 (
28... c5 $14) 29. Rxd8 Bxd8 30. Bd6 $1 {I guess that this small tactics was
overlooked by McShane. Suddenly, white's "e" pawn become a mobile passer.} (30.
g4 hxg3 31. Nxg3 Bg6 $132) 30... f5 31. e7 $1 (31. Bf8 Rh7 32. Nd2 Bf6 33. c3
c5 34. Nf3 Kc6 {is not clear at all.}) (31. Nc5+ bxc5 32. e7 Kc8 33. Bxc5 a6
$14) 31... Bxe7 32. Bxe7 fxe4 33. Bxh4 (33. Rxe4 $2 Bg6 34. Re2 Rh7) 33... Bg6
{Objectively, white's position is winning thanks to the connected passed pawns.
But, from now on, Anand starts a long series of mistakes which caused a total
turnover.} 34. c3 $6 (34. Kh2 Rf7 35. g4 Rf3 36. Kg2 $18) 34... Rf7 35. Kg1 $6
(35. Kh2 $18 {[%cal Gg2g4]}) 35... c5 36. Bg5 $6 (36. g4 $2 Rh7 {[%cal Gh7h3]})
({Again} 36. Kh2) 36... Kc6 37. Be3 Kb5 38. Rd1 $2 {After this move the
initiative finally goes to McShane's side.} (38. g4 Rf3 39. Kg2 Kc4 40. h4 Kd3
41. h5 Bf7 42. h6 Bg6 43. Bg5 {[%cal Ge1d1,Gd1d7] was still clearly in white's
favour.}) 38... Kc4 39. Kh2 a5 40. Kg3 a4 41. a3 Bh5 42. Rd2 Rf1 43. Kh4 Re1
44. Bf4 Be8 45. Bg3 Rb1 46. Bf4 Kb3 {In the last 10 moves white didn't make
any step forward, while black is already triumphing on the queeenside.} 47. g4
Rxb2 48. Rd8 Bb5 49. Kg5 Rg2 50. c4 Bxc4 51. Bxc7 b5 52. Bb6 Kxa3 53. Bxc5+ Kb3
{The position looks completely lost for white, but luck goes with the
strongest!} 54. Re8 a3 55. Rxe4 a2 56. Bd4 Rg1 57. h4 a1=Q 58. Bxa1 Rxa1 59. h5
Rh1 60. Kh6 Kc3 61. Re3+ $1 Kd2 ({A nice escape could arise after} 61... Bd3
62. g5 b4 63. g6 b3 64. g7 Rg1 {[%tqu "En","White can resign or...","","",
"e3g3","",10]} 65. Rg3 $3 Rxg3 66. g8=Q $1 Rxg8 {stalemate!}) 62. Re7 Be2 63.
Re4 Kd3 64. Rf4 Kc3 65. Re4 Bd1 66. Kg7 b4 (66... Bxg4 $2 67. h6 (67. Rxg4 $2
Rxh5 $19) 67... Bf5 68. Re5 Bd3 69. Rxb5 Bxb5 70. h7 $11) 67. h6 b3 $4 {
This blunder appears to be rather crucial for the whole Bundesliga season. If
McShane would have won this, then his team Werder Bremen would have won the
match against his main rival for the title - Baden Oos...} (67... Bc2 68. Re6
Rg1 {was winning rather easily.}) 68. Re3+ Kd4 69. Rxb3 Bxb3 70. h7 Rxh7+
1/2-1/2

[Event "World-ch Carlsen-Anand +3-0=7"]
[Site "Chennai"]
[Date "2013.11.13"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2775"]
[BlackElo "2870"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2013.11.09"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 158"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.01.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 {Carlsen decided not to repeat the Caro-Kann as in game 2. This time
he goes for the Berlin Defence - the opening that will serve him well until
the end of the match as his main weapon against 1.e4.} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4.
O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 {Not the main
line, but quite fashionable. In previous years 9.Nc3 or 9.Rd1 was played
nearly automatically.} Bd7 10. Rd1 Be7 {This move was employed several times
by grandmaster Hammer, one of Carlsen's seconds.} ({A really complicated and
double-edged position arises after} 10... Kc8 11. g4 Ne7 12. Ng5 Be8 13. f4 h5
14. Kf2 b6 15. f5 Kb7 16. c4 c5 17. Bf4 Nc6 18. Nc3 $13 {1/2-1/2 (39) Giri,A 
(2737)-Nakamura,H (2772) Paris 2013}) 11. Nc3 ({The following game from the
European team championship was played just one day prior to the World
championship encounter:} 11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Nd2 Kc8 14. Nf3 Be7 15.
Rd3 h6 16. Nd4 Re8 17. Bf4 c5 18. Nf5 Bf8 19. c4 a6 20. Ne3 b5 21. b3 g5 22.
Bg3 Be6 23. Rad1 Kb7 $11 {1/2-1/2 (42) Caruana,F (2782)-Grischuk,A (2785)
Warsaw 2013}) (11. Bg5 Kc8 12. g4 $6 {Too early.} (12. Nc3 {would transpose to
our game Anand-Carlsen.}) 12... h6 13. Bxe7 (13. Bd2 Nh4 14. Nxh4 Bxh4 15. Bc3
h5 $15 {1-0 (67) Ganguly,S (2651)-Hammer,J (2647) Wijk aan Zee 2011}) 13...
Nxe7 14. Kh2 Re8 15. Nbd2 b6 16. Re1 c5 17. Ne4 Bc6 18. h4 Kb7 $15 {0-1 (44)
Sutovsky,E (2692)-Hammer,J (2606) Aix-les-Bains 2011}) 11... Kc8 12. Bg5 {
After witnessing many games in this line, it seems that both sides are
satisfied with the exchange of dark-squared bishops.} h6 13. Bxe7 Nxe7 14. Rd2
(14. a4 a5 15. Rd2 c5 16. Rad1 Bc6 17. e6 $1 fxe6 18. Ne5 Re8 19. Nb5 Bxb5 20.
axb5 Nd5 21. c4 Nb6 22. h4 $14 {[%cal Gd2d3,Gd3g3,Gd3f3] 1/2-1/2 (33) Berg,E 
(2587)-Hammer,J (2630) Achaea 2012}) 14... c5 15. Rad1 $146 (15. Ne4 b6 16. Ng3
Bc6 17. Nh2 Ng6 18. Re1 Nf4 19. f3 Kb7 20. Kf2 Rad8 21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. Nhf1 g6
$11 {1-0 (102) Jakovenko,D (2710)-Almasi,Z (2691) Khanty-Mansiysk 2007}) 15...
Be6 16. Ne1 $6 {Clearly, a step in the wrong direction.} ({In a very recent
game an attempt to improve White's play was made:} 16. Ne2 Ng6 (16... Bxa2 $2
17. b3 c4 18. Nfd4 c5 19. Nb5 cxb3 20. cxb3 Bxb3 21. Rb1 c4 22. Ned4 {with a
strong initiative.}) 17. Ng3 b6 18. Nh5 Rg8 19. a3 a5 20. Re1 Kb7 21. Nh2 Ne7
22. f4 g6 23. Nf6 Rgd8 24. Red1 Rxd2 25. Rxd2 Kc6 $11 {1-0 (49) Gorbatov,A 
(2360)-Pranizin,G (2187) Khanty-Mansiysk 2013}) 16... Ng6 17. Nd3 (17. Re2 {
was possible, but then the whole idea of doubling the rooks along the d-file
makes little sense.}) 17... b6 18. Ne2 $6 {Inviting the opponent to take the
risky decision. Objectively, it was bettter not to allow Carlsen to grab the
pawn. Perhaps, Anand just didn't believe that the move that now follows would
work so well for Black.} (18. b3 {was, objectively, the safest.} c4 19. bxc4
Bxc4 20. f4 Kb7 (20... Bxd3 $6 21. Rxd3 Nxf4 22. Rf3 g5 23. g3 Nxh3+ 24. Kg2 g4
25. Rxf7 Ng5 26. Re7 $44) 21. a4 {White is slightly worse, but the material
balance is not broken.}) ({The aggressive attempt} 18. f4 $6 {will leave White
a pawn down, fighting for a draw.} c4 19. Rf1 (19. Nb4 Nxf4 20. Nc6 Re8 $15)
19... cxd3 20. f5 Nxe5 21. fxe6 fxe6 22. Re1 (22. cxd3 Rd8 23. Re2 Nxd3 24. Rf7
e5 25. Rxg7 Kb7 $15) 22... Nc6 23. Rxd3 Re8 24. Rg3 Re7 $15) 18... Bxa2 $1 {
Accepting the challenge.} (18... c4 $6 19. Ndf4 Nxf4 20. Nxf4 c3 21. Nxe6 $1 (
21. bxc3 Bxa2 $15) 21... cxd2 22. Nxg7 Rd8 23. f4 Kb7 24. Kf2 {with good
compensation for the exchange. The Pd2 will, most likely, fall.}) 19. b3 c4 20.
Ndc1 cxb3 21. cxb3 Bb1 {The bishop is coming out, so White should desperately
look for some compensation.} 22. f4 (22. Rd7 Rg8 $3 {A great prophylactic move,
shown immediately by the engine.} ({After} 22... Nxe5 $6 23. Re7 {White will
get back one of the pawns, and keep the activity.}) 23. Nc3 Nxe5 $1 {This also
requires precise calculation.} 24. R7d5 Bc2 25. R1d2 Nc6 26. Rxc2 Nb4 27. Re2
Nxd5 28. Nxd5 Rd8 $17 {Rook + two pawns should overcome White's knights.}) (22.
e6 fxe6 23. Nc3 Bf5 24. Rd7 (24. g4 Ne5 25. gxf5 Nf3+ 26. Kg2 Nxd2 27. fxe6 $1
Rd8 28. e7 Re8 29. Rxd2 Rxe7 $17) 24... Nf4 25. Rxg7 Rh7 26. Rdd7 Rxg7 27. Rxg7
Kb7 $17) 22... Kb7 23. Nc3 ({After} 23. Nd3 Bxd3 24. Rxd3 Rhe8 25. Rg3 Re7 {
White's compensation is not sufficient.}) 23... Bf5 24. g4 Bc8 $17 25. Nd3 h5 {
Opening the h-file is one of the basic ideas for Black in the Berlin endgame.}
26. f5 Ne7 ({An attempt to break White's kingside pawn chain straight away is
not recommended:} 26... Nh4 $6 27. Kf2 g6 28. Rc1 $1 hxg4 29. hxg4 gxf5 30. Nb5
c5 31. Nd6+ Kb8 32. b4 fxg4 33. bxc5 {In such a mess anything can happen,
White is really active.}) 27. Nb5 hxg4 $6 {This is an important moment. At
first sight it looks that Black can open the h-file first and then figure out
the right move. In fact, Magnus should have played 27...a6 without delay, it's
important to kick away White's active knight.} (27... a6 28. Nd4 hxg4 29. hxg4
a5 $1 30. Rc1 (30. e6 fxe6 31. fxe6 Re8 $1 $17 {[%csl Re6]}) 30... a4 31. Nb5 (
31. bxa4 Rxa4 32. Nf2 Ra5 $17) 31... Nc6 32. Nb4 Nxb4 33. Rxc7+ Kb8 34. Rd6 Nd5
$1 35. Rxd5 a3 36. Rd6 (36. Rc1 a2 37. Rdd1 Bb7 38. Kf2 Ra5 39. Nd6 Rxe5 $19)
36... Bb7 37. Rxb6 Ra7 38. Rbxb7+ Rxb7 39. Rxb7+ Kxb7 40. Nxa3 Kc6 $19) 28.
hxg4 $6 {Anand automatically recaptures, missing an interesting tactical
opportunity.} (28. Rc1 $1 Nd5 $1 {is the best reply. Now White has two options.
In both cases he is objectively fighting for a draw, but, with correct play
should eventually make it.} (28... Nc6 $2 29. Rdc2 Bxf5 (29... Bd7 30. Nb4 $1
Nxb4 $140 $2 31. Rxc7+ Ka6 32. Nd6 $18 {[%csl Ra6][%cal Gc1a1]}) 30. Rxc6 Bxd3
31. Rxc7+ Ka6 32. Nd6 Ka5 33. hxg4 $36 {[%csl Ra5]}) 29. Nc5+ (29. e6 fxe6 30.
Ne5 a5 $1 (30... a6 $4 {runs into a spectacular mate:} {[%tqu "En","Can you
spot the combination?","","","c1c7","",3]} 31. Rxc7+ $1 Nxc7 32. Nd6+ Ka7 33.
Nc6#) 31. hxg4 c5 32. Nf7 Rf8 33. Re1 $1 exf5 34. Nbd6+ Kc6 35. gxf5 Ra7 $1 36.
Nxc8 Raxf7 37. Re6+ Kc7 38. Nd6 Rxf5 39. Nxf5 Rxf5 40. Rg6 $15) 29... bxc5 30.
Rxd5 gxh3 (30... Bxf5 $6 31. Rdxc5 Rac8 32. Nxc7 $132) 31. Rdxc5 h2+ 32. Kh1
Kb8 $1 {[%cal Gc8b7]} 33. Nd4 Bb7+ 34. Nc6+ Kc8 35. Rd5 Bxc6 36. Rxc6 Rb8 37.
Rdc5 Rb7 38. e6 fxe6 39. fxe6 $15) 28... Rh4 $6 {Again Black should have
kicked away the knight.} (28... a6 29. Nd4 a5 30. Rc1 a4 31. bxa4 Rxa4 $17 {
is the position Black should strive for. Both of his rooks are in the action.})
29. Nf2 Nc6 (29... a6 $2 {is now runs into} 30. Nd6+ $1 cxd6 31. exd6 Nc6 32.
d7 {winning back the piece and White is not worse anymore.}) 30. Rc2 a5 $1 {
[%cal Ga5a4]} (30... g6 31. Kf1 $3 {is extremely difficult to figure out for a
human player.} (31. Rdc1 $2 Bd7 32. Nd4 Nxd4 33. Rxc7+ Kb8 34. Rxd7 Ne2+ {
is the problem for White.}) 31... gxf5 32. Rdc1 Bd7 (32... Rh6 33. g5 Rg6 34.
Nd6+ $1 cxd6 35. Rxc6 Be6 36. Rc7+ Ka6 37. exd6 $44) 33. Nd4 Nxd4 34. Rxc7+ Ka6
({No more fork on e2 after} 34... Kb8 $2 35. Rxd7 $16) 35. Ra1+ Kb5 36. Rxd7
$132) (30... a6 31. Rdc1 Bd7 32. e6 fxe6 33. fxe6 axb5 (33... Be8 $2 34. Nd4 {
would lose a piece as White's knight is taboo.}) 34. exd7 Rh6 35. Nd3 Rah8 (
35... Rd8 $2 36. Ne5 $1 Nxe5 $2 37. Rxc7+ Ka6 38. Ra1#) 36. Rxc6 $1 Rxc6 37.
Rxc6 Kxc6 38. Ne5+ Kc5 39. Nf7 Rf8 40. d8=Q Rxd8 41. Nxd8 Kb4 42. Ne6 Kxb3 43.
Nxg7 b4 44. Nf5 Kc3 45. g5 b3 46. Ne3 Kd3 47. Nd1 Kc2 48. Ne3+ $11) 31. Rc4 $1
{An immediate doubling of the rooks would give White no benefit, so Anand
finds a useful move, preventing the advance a5-a4.} (31. e6 $6 fxe6 32. fxe6
Bxe6 33. Rxc6 Kxc6 34. Nd4+ Kd7 $1 35. Nf3+ Kc8 36. Nxh4 Bxb3 {It's difficult
to give a clear estimation of this position, but three connected passers are
really dangerous.}) (31. Rdc1 $6 Bd7 32. e6 fxe6 33. fxe6 Be8 $17) 31... g6 (
31... Bxf5 $6 32. Rxc6 $1 Kxc6 33. Nd4+ Kb7 34. Nxf5 $132) 32. Rdc1 {Now White
must pay great attention to specifics as his kingside chain of pawns is about
to collapse.} Bd7 33. e6 (33. Nd4 $2 Nxd4 34. Rxc7+ Ka6 35. Rxd7 Ne2+ $19)
33... fxe6 34. fxe6 Be8 35. Ne4 $1 {[%mdl 2048] An excellent resource, not
obvious at all, as White allows his opponent to capture a pawn with check!}
Rxg4+ 36. Kf2 Rf4+ $6 (36... Rd8 $1 {would make White's task more difficult.}
37. Ke3 Rd5 (37... Rg2 38. Rh1 $1 Rd5 39. Rh7 $1 Rxb5 40. Nd6+ Ka6 41. Nxb5
Kxb5 42. Rh8 {The bishop is trapped.} Rg3+ 43. Kd2 Rxb3 44. Rg4 {With the next
move White will capture the bishop and the Pe6 will not allow Black to advance
his queenside pawns comfortably. With correct play this mess should end in a
draw.}) 38. Nbc3 Re5 39. Kf3 Rgxe4 40. Rxe4 Rxe6 $1 41. Rxe6 Nd4+ 42. Ke3 Nxe6
{In this endgame White's chances for a draw are higher than Black's for a win,
but against Magnus this won't be easy to prove.}) 37. Ke3 Rf8 (37... g5 38. Nd4
Nb4 39. Ne2 $1 (39. Rxc7+ $6 Ka6 {[%cal Gb4d5]} 40. Rg7 Nd5+ 41. Kd3 Rd8 42.
Rxg5 Rh4 {[%csl Rd3,Rd4,Re4] and all White's centralised pieces, including the
king, are under serious pressure.}) 39... Bc6 40. Nxf4 gxf4+ 41. Kxf4 Nd3+ 42.
Kf5 Nxc1 43. Rxc1 {[%csl Ge6] The strong passed pawn guarantees White
sufficient counterplay.}) 38. Nd4 Nxd4 39. Rxc7+ Ka6 40. Kxd4 Rd8+ {The time
trouble has passed and White can be definitely happy with the latest
developments. He is still a pawn down, but not worse anymore thanks to his
active pieces and the strong e6-passer.} 41. Kc3 $5 {Anand goes for the safest
move, protecting the Pb3 and already having in mind the forthcoming exchange
of the minor pieces. The alternative 41.Ke3 was more ambitious, from a human
point of view more risky for both sides! Objectively, the position would
remain equal as well.} (41. Ke5 $4 Rf5#) (41. Ke3 {Here Black's general idea
is to sacrifice the bishop for the e-pawn, to grab the Pb3 and roll forward
two connected passed pawns. Here is a sample line:} Rd5 42. Rh7 (42. e7 $2 Rf7
$17) 42... Bb5 43. Rf7 Rh8 44. Rcc7 Rd3+ 45. Kf2 (45. Kf4 Be8 46. Rfe7 Rh4+ 47.
Ke5 Re3 48. Rxe8 Rhxe4+ 49. Kf6 Rxb3 50. e7 Rf3+ 51. Kxg6 Rfe3 52. Ra8+ Kb5 53.
Kf7 Rf3+ 54. Kg6 Rfe3 $11) 45... Be8 46. Rf3 Rh2+ 47. Kg3 Rh3+ 48. Kxh3 Rxf3+
49. Kg4 Rxb3 50. Rc8 Ba4 51. Kf4 Rb1 52. Nd6 Ka7 53. Rc7+ Ka6 54. Rc8 $11)
41... Rf3+ 42. Kb2 Re3 43. Rc8 {This is the way minor pieces will be exchanged.
The forthcoming double rook endgame is drawish, since Black's extra pawn has
no significance.} Rdd3 $1 {Magnus is trying the last practical chance. Keeping
all the rooks on the board, Black is hoping to target the Pb3.} (43... Rxc8 44.
Rxc8 Rxe4 45. Rxe8 {The e- and g-pawns will be swapped and the position is
completely drawish.}) 44. Ra8+ Kb7 45. Rxe8 Rxe4 46. e7 Rg3 47. Rc3 Re2+ 48.
Rc2 Ree3 {[%csl Rb3]} 49. Ka2 $1 {Now Black can't capture the Pb3, as he
always has to keep an eye on the e-pawn.} g5 50. Rd2 Re5 51. Rd7+ Kc6 52. Red8
Rge3 53. Rd6+ Kb7 54. R8d7+ Ka6 55. Rd5 Re2+ (55... g4 56. Rxe5 Rxe5 57. Rd4 g3
58. Rg4 $11) 56. Ka3 Re6 57. Rd8 g4 58. Rg5 Rxe7 59. Ra8+ $1 ({It's never too
late to go astray:} 59. Rxg4 $2 Rf2 60. Ra8+ Kb7 61. Rag8 Re1 {could give
Black winning chances.}) 59... Kb7 60. Rag8 {Now the rook is trapped for an
exchange, the draw is inevitable.} a4 (60... Rf2 61. R8g7 $11) 61. Rxg4 axb3
62. R8g7 Ka6 63. Rxe7 Rxe7 64. Kxb3 {A very rich in content, hard-fought
battle.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Moscow Aeroflot op-A"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2006.02.12"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Izoria, Zviad"]
[Black "Sorokin, Maxim"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2652"]
[BlackElo "2560"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2006.02.08"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 112"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.06.07"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.06.07"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 {This knight manouevre is very common nowadays. The
knight goes to g6 attacking white's far advanced Pe5.} 10. h3 Bf5 {This move
is natural, but somewhat risy. Black attacks the Pc2 and intends to hide his
king on a the queenside. On the other hand, black's bishop might get under
attack by white's pawns and knights.} ({More popular continuations are:} 10...
Ng6) ({and} 10... Ke8) 11. Rd1+ (11. g4 $5 {This pawn sacrifice is definitely
a deserving alternative. At a price of a pawn white wins several tempoes for
advancing his pawn majority on the kingside.} Bxc2 12. Nd4 Bg6 13. f4 c5 14.
Nf3 $1 f5 15. Nh4 $1 $44 {1-0 Parligras,M (2560)-Aleksandrov,A (2635)/Warsaw
2005/CBM 108_01/[Postny,E] (44)}) 11... Kc8 12. Nd4 (12. Rd2 h6 13. b3 b6 14.
Bb2 Kb7 15. Rad1 Ng6 16. Ne2 a5 17. Ng3 Be6 18. Nh5 c5 19. a4 Rg8 20. c4 Be7
21. g4 Rae8 22. Kg2 Nf8 23. Ng1 g6 24. Nf6 Bxf6 25. exf6 g5 $132 {[%cal Gf8g6]
1/2-1/2 Ehlvest,J (2631)-Mitkov,N (2539)/Mallorca 2004/CBM 104 (48)}) 12... Bg6
13. Bg5 ({The following game was played 1 week later in the key Bundesliga
match:} 13. Bf4 b6 14. e6 Kb7 15. Re1 f6 16. Rad1 Rc8 17. Rd2 h5 18. Bh2 h4 19.
Nf3 Be8 20. Rd4 g5 21. Ne4 Rh6 22. Rdd1 Nf5 23. Nd4 Nxd4 24. Rxd4 Be7 $14 {
1/2-1/2 Anand,V-McShane,L/Germany 2006/CBM 112_01/[Postny,E] (70)}) 13... c5
14. Ndb5 $5 {Izoria does not want to retreat and goes for a concrete idea.} (
14. Nde2 h6 $11 (14... Bxc2 $2 15. Rd2 Bf5 16. Rad1)) 14... a6 15. Nd6+ {
The point of white's previous manoeuvre.} cxd6 16. exd6 f6 $1 {This is the
only defense.} (16... Nc6 $2 17. d7+ Kb8 18. d8=Q+ Nxd8 19. Rxd8+ Ka7 20. Rad1
Bxc2 21. Rxa8+ Kxa8 22. Rd8+ Ka7 23. Be3 $1 Kb6 (23... b6 $2 24. Rd7+ Kb8 25.
Nd5 $18 {[%csl Rb8]}) 24. Rc8 $1 Bf5 25. Bxc5+ Bxc5 26. Rxh8 {and white should
win.}) 17. dxe7 Bxe7 18. Nd5 Bd8 19. Be3 b6 20. b4 {The only chance to fight
for the initiative before black consolidates his pieces.} Kb7 $1 $11 {[%mdl
256] Again, Sorokin finds the most accurate defense.} (20... cxb4 21. Nxb4 (21.
Bxb6 Rb8) 21... Bc7 22. Nd5 Rd8 23. a4 (23. Nxb6+ Bxb6 24. Bxb6 Rxd1+ 25. Rxd1
Bxc2 26. Rc1 Kb7 $11) 23... Kb7 (23... Bxc2 24. Nxc7 Rxd1+ 25. Rxd1 Ra7 $8 26.
Nb5 Bxd1 27. Nxa7+ Kb7 28. a5 Kxa7 $11) 24. Nxc7 Rxd1+ 25. Rxd1 Kxc7 26. Rb1
$14) 21. bxc5 bxc5 22. Bxc5 (22. Rab1+ Kc6 {yields white nothing.}) 22... Rc8
23. Rab1+ Ka8 {The black king arrived to a safe corner.} 24. Bb6 Bxc2 25. Rdc1
Bf5 26. Rxc8+ {The position is drawish.} (26. Rxc8+ Bxc8 27. Bxd8 Rxd8 28. Nb6+
Ka7 29. Nxc8+ Rxc8 $11) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Bundesliga 0506"]
[Site "Germany"]
[Date "2005.12.11"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Landa, Konstantin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2788"]
[BlackElo "2600"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "123"]
[EventDate "2005.10.21"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 111"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.04.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.04.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Baden-Baden"]
[BlackTeam "Muelheim Nord"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. Rd1+ {With this check white does not allow the
black king to hide on the queenside by Bc8-d7 and Kd8-c8. On the other hand,
white limits his options as well, since white's rooks are usually placed on e1
and d1.} Ke8 11. h3 h6 12. Be3 {In Berlin defense white always has a problem
to solve about where to develop his bishop. Anand decided not to go for a more
common b2-b3.} ({Appeared in practice as well:} 12. Ne2) ({and} 12. Nd4) 12...
Ng6 (12... Bf5 13. Rd2 Rd8 14. Rad1 Rxd2 15. Rxd2 Ng6 16. a3 Be7 17. Nd4 Bd7
18. f4 h5 19. Ne4 h4 20. Kf2 f5 21. Nc3 Nf8 $11 {0-1 Fontaine,R (2525)-Komarov,
D (2565)/playchess.com INT 2004/CBM 099 ext (52)}) 13. a3 {Restricting the
possibilities of black's dark-squared bishop.} Be7 14. Rd2 {Anand already
played this position recently, being on the black side and defending
successfully.} h5 $1 $146 {A good move. Even with a waste of tempi it's
recommended for black to fix white's kingside pawns and prepare the
development of kingside rook via h5.} (14... a6 15. Re1 Nh4 16. Nxh4 Bxh4 17.
Ne2 Be7 18. Nf4 h5 19. e6 Bd6 20. e7 Kxe7 21. c4 Bxf4 22. Bxf4+ Be6 23. Bg5+
Kf8 24. b3 Kg8 {1/2-1/2 Kramnik,V (2754)-Anand,V (2786)/Monte Carlo 2005/CBM
105 ext}) (14... a5 15. Rad1 a4 16. Ne4 Ra5 17. Nd6+ cxd6 18. exd6 f6 19. dxe7
Kxe7 20. Rd4 Kf7 21. Nd2 Rd5 22. Rxd5 cxd5 23. Nf3 $14 {1/2-1/2 Lanka,Z (2465)
-Berzinsh,R (2445)/Germany 2004/CBM 100 ext (37)}) 15. Re1 h4 $1 {Fixing
white's kingside and preparing the development of the rook via h5.} 16. Ne4 Be6
17. Bg5 (17. Nd4 Nxe5 (17... Bd5 18. Nb5 Rc8 (18... cxb5 19. Rxd5 c6 20. Nd6+
Kf8 21. Rdd1 Nxe5 22. Nxb7 $16) 19. Nec3 Be6 20. Nd4 Nxe5 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Bd4
Nc4 23. Rde2 Kf7 24. Rxe6 $14) 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Bf4 Nc4 20. Rd4 b5 (20... Nxb2
21. Ng5 Rd8 22. Rxd8+ Bxd8 23. Nxe6 Nc4 24. Nc5+ Kf7 25. Nxb7 Nxa3 $11) 21. Ng5
$16) (17. Bc5 Rh5 18. Bxe7 Kxe7 {leads to identical position as in the game.})
17... Rh5 $1 18. Bxe7 Kxe7 19. Neg5 {Obviously, it's highly recommended for
white to exchange black's strong bishop. On the other hand, black does not
experience any problems with his king anymore. The position is equal.} a5 (
19... Bd5 20. e6 $1 f6 21. c4 Bxc4 22. Rd7+ Kf8 23. Rxc7 $1 fxg5 $140 24. e7+
Ke8 25. Nd4 {[%cal Gd4f5]} g4 26. hxg4 Rg5 27. Nf5 Rxf5 28. gxf5 Nf4 29. Re4
Nd5 30. Rxb7 Ba6 31. Rb3 $16) 20. Rd4 c5 21. Rd3 Ra6 {Landa managed to develop
both rooks in an unusual way.} 22. Nxe6 Rxe6 23. Rde3 Rb6 $6 (23... a4 $1 {
Fixing white's queenside.} 24. Re4 Rb6 25. Rb1 Ke6 26. Rxa4 Nxe5 27. Nxe5 Rxe5
28. Rxh4 Re2 29. Rc4 Kd5 30. b3 Rf6 {with sufficient compensation.}) 24. b3 Nf8
(24... a4 {Now it's worse than on the previous move.} 25. bxa4 Ra6 26. Re4 {
Black does not get sufficient compensation for the pawn.}) 25. Re4 {[%csl Rh4]}
g5 $6 {After this move the rook on h5 looks miserable.} ({I think, it was
better to admit the mistake and come back with the knight:} 25... Ng6 $14) 26.
Rg4 {[%csl Rg5]} Rg6 27. Nd2 {The knight goes for a long route, which will
cause disharmony in black's forces.} Ne6 28. Nc4 b6 29. Ne3 Rh8 30. Nf5+ (30.
Nd5+ {looks also good, but Anand's choice is more accurate since the knight
from f5 covers an important d4 square.}) 30... Ke8 31. Rd1 f6 {The only way to
realive black's passive rooks.} 32. Re4 Rh7 33. exf6 Rxf6 34. Ne3 Rd7 35. Re1 {
Correctly avoiding the exchange of rooks.} Rd6 36. Nc4 Rc6 37. a4 $1 {Fixing
the queenside. All black's pieces are passive, but it's not so easy to make
progress for white as well.} Kd8 38. Re5 Kc8 (38... Nd4 $4 39. Re8+ Kd7 40.
R1e7#) 39. c3 {Covering d4 square.} Kb7 40. g3 {White is going to organize a
passed pawn on the kingside.} hxg3 41. fxg3 Rg6 {Preventing h3-h4 for a while.}
42. Kg2 $6 ({An immediate} 42. Rf1 {would have been much more precise.}) 42...
Ng7 43. Rf1 (43. R1e4 Rcf6 $1 (43... Nh5 44. Rg4 Nf6 45. Rgxg5 Rxg5 46. Rxg5
Ne4 47. Re5 Nxc3 48. h4 $18 {[%csl Gg3,Gh4]}) 44. Rg4 $6 (44. Rd5 Rf8 45. Ne3
$16) 44... Nf5 45. Nd2 Rf8 46. Nf3 Rgf6 47. Rxg5 Nd4 $1 48. cxd4 (48. Nxd4 $4
Rf2+ 49. Kh1 Rf1+ 50. Kh2 R8f2#) 48... Rxf3 49. h4 cxd4 $132) (43. Rd5 $5)
43... Rce6 44. Rf7 Rxe5 45. Nxe5 Re6 {Black got reasonable drawing chances,
since his rook is now active.} 46. Nc4 Ne8 47. Rf5 Re2+ 48. Rf2 Re1 (48...
Rxf2+ $2 49. Kxf2 $18 {[%csl Gh3][%cal Gh3h4]}) 49. h4 gxh4 50. gxh4 Re4 (50...
Nd6 {Black should strive to a rooks endgame!} 51. Nxd6+ cxd6 52. h5 Re5 53. h6
Rh5 54. Rf7+ Kc6 55. h7 d5 56. Kf3 d4 57. cxd4 (57. c4 Kd6 58. Kg4 Rh1 $11)
57... cxd4 58. Kg4 Rh1 $11) 51. Kh3 Kc6 $2 {After this move black's position
seems to be beyond saving. It was the last chance to play 51...Nd6.} (51... Nd6
52. Nxd6+ cxd6 53. h5 c4 54. bxc4 Rxc4 55. h6 Rxc3+ 56. Kg4 b5 57. h7 Rc8 58.
Rh2 (58. Rb2 b4 59. Rh2 Rh8 60. Kg5 Kc6 61. Kg6 Kc5 {with sufficient
counterplay.}) 58... Rh8 59. Kg5 bxa4 60. Kg6 Kc6 61. Kg7 Rd8 62. h8=Q Rxh8 63.
Rxh8 Kb5 64. Kf6 a3 $11) 52. h5 Kd5 53. h6 Re6 54. Rf5+ Ke4 {[%tqu "En","How
should White continue?","","","f5e5","With this small tactics Anand transforms
the game to an easily won knights endgame.",10]} 55. Re5+ $1 {With this small
tactics Anand transforms the game to an easily won knights endgame.} Rxe5 56.
Nxe5 Nf6 57. Nd7 $1 Nh7 (57... Kf5 58. Nxf6 Kxf6 59. c4 Kg6 60. Kg4 $18) 58.
Kg4 c4 {The last desperate attempt.} (58... b5 59. axb5 c4 60. bxc4 a4 61. Nc5+
$18) 59. bxc4 Kd3 60. Kf5 Kxc4 61. Kg6 b5 62. axb5 (62. axb5 a4 63. b6 cxb6 64.
Nxb6+ Kb5 65. Nxa4 $18) 1-0

[Event "Bundesliga 0506"]
[Site "Germany"]
[Date "2005.11.12"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Bacrot, Etienne"]
[Black "Gyimesi, Zoltan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2725"]
[BlackElo "2624"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2005.10.21"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 110"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.01.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.01.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Baden-Baden"]
[BlackTeam "Eppingen"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 Ng6 11. Bd2 {Bacrot chooses a quiet move,
which should not be that dangerous for black. More common and tempting is 11.
Bg5.} (11. Bg5+ Ke8 12. Rad1 {Threatening mate in one.} Be6 (12... Bd7 {
appeared more often in the games of several top players including Kramnik.})
13. Nd4 Bc4 {Basically, black should keep this bishop out of the exchange.} (
13... Bb4 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. Ne4 Nxe5 16. Bf4 Nf7 17. Bxc7 Rc8 18. Bg3 $14 {
1-0 Ivanchuk,V-Shirov,A/Monte Carlo 1998 (59)}) 14. Rfe1 h6 $146 (14... Bb4 15.
Nf5 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Rg8 17. a3 h6 18. Bc1 Be6 19. Nd4 Ne7 20. f4 h5 21. Kf2 Rd8
22. Be3 b6 23. Rd2 c5 24. Nxe6 Rxd2+ 25. Bxd2 fxe6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Leko,P-Kramnik,
V/Dortmund playoff 2004 (34)}) 15. Bd2 Rd8 16. Re4 {[%csl Rc4][%cal Gd4c6]} Bd5
17. Nxd5 cxd5 18. Ree1 $14 {1-0 Motylev,A (2675)-Zhang Zhong (2608)/Tiayuan
2005/CBM 108/[Postny] (40)}) 11... h6 $146 (11... Be7 12. Rad1 Ke8 13. Rfe1 a6
14. Ne4 Kf8 15. a3 c5 16. Be3 b6 17. Nc3 Bf5 18. Rd2 h6 19. Nd5 Bd8 20. a4 a5
21. Red1 Ke8 22. Nc3 Nf8 {1/2-1/2 Lutz,C (2609)-Khenkin,I (2603)/Eppingen GER
2005/The Week in Chess 573}) 12. Rad1 Bd7 13. Ne4 c5 14. Ng3 $1 {The right
manoeuvre. White's knight is heading to h5.} Kc8 15. Rfe1 Be7 16. Bc3 {[%cal
Gc3g7] Threatening e5-e6.} Rg8 17. Nh5 $1 {This knight is always very
unpleasant for black in the "Berlin wall" setup. Black's rook is now tied to
defend the Pg7.} Be6 18. a4 b6 19. Nh2 {Preparing the advance of the kingside
pawn majority.} Nf8 20. g4 g6 21. Nf6 $5 {This decision is controversial.} (21.
Nf4 $14 {After the elimination of black's light-squared bishop, white gets a
small, but long-lasting advantage.}) 21... Bxf6 22. exf6 g5 23. Nf3 Ng6 24. Ne5
Nxe5 $6 {After this exchange black has no active counterplay whatsoever.} ({
Black seems to be okay after} 24... Nf4 25. Kh2 Nd5) 25. Rxe5 Kb7 26. Kg2 Kc6 {
Black managed to solve the problem of his king and connect both rooks. However,
his pawn chain h6-g5 is quite vulnerable, so white has considerable advantage
here.} 27. Kg3 Rg6 28. Re3 Rag8 29. Red3 (29. f4 $2 gxf4+ 30. Kxf4 Bxg4 $1 31.
hxg4 Rxg4+ 32. Kf3 Rg3+ 33. Ke2 Rg2+ 34. Ke1 Rh2 35. Kf1 Rh1+ 36. Ke2 Rh2+ 37.
Kf3 Rh3+ 38. Kf4 Rh4+ $11) 29... h5 {Trying to create some counterplay along
the "h" file.} 30. f3 hxg4 31. fxg4 $1 {Correcting the pawn structure.} Rh8 32.
Rd8 Rh4 ({After} 32... Rxd8 $2 33. Rxd8 {[%csl Rg6] white is simply winning
since black's rook is locked.}) 33. Re1 Rh7 34. Re2 Rgh6 35. Rh2 Rh4 {[%cal
Ge6g4]} 36. Rdd2 R7h6 $2 (36... R4h6 {keeping a worse, but probably defendable
position.}) 37. Rde2 {Suddenly, white has two threats 38.Rxe6 and 38.Bd2.} Rh8
(37... Bc4 38. Re7 $18) 38. Rxe6+ $1 fxe6 39. f7 $4 (39. Bd2 {was winning
easily. After the capture of Pg5 white will just roll his three connected
passed pawns.}) 39... R4h7 $4 ({Why not} 39... Rf8 {[%csl Rf7] ?}) 40. Bxh8
Rxh8 41. Rf2 Rf8 42. h4 {[%csl Gg4][%cal Gg4g5,Gg5g6,Gg6g7]} 1-0

[Event "Poikovsky Karpov 11th"]
[Site "Poikovsky"]
[Date "2010.06.03"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2739"]
[BlackElo "2686"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2010.06.02"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 137"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. Ne4 h6 ({An attempt to do without the move ...
h7-h6 wasn't successful:} 10... Ng6 11. b3 Ke8 12. Bb2 Bf5 13. Rfe1 Nf4 14. g3
Ne6 15. Nh4 Bg4 16. f3 Bh5 17. f4 Rd8 18. f5 Nc5 19. Nf2 Rd2 20. Rac1 $16 {
[%cal Gg3g4] 1-0 Gashimov,V (2730)-Onischuk,A (2684)/Poikovsky 2009/CBM 131 
(28)}) 11. Rd1+ {Normally White plays h2-h3 in this system, but in the current
game Karjakin tries to do without it in order to save a tempo.} (11. h3 Ng6 12.
Re1 {has appeared in practice many times.}) 11... Ke8 12. Nd4 Ng6 13. f4 Nh4 {
The typical battle in the Berlin Defence is on. White is trying to push
forward his kingside pawn majority, while Black is trying to block it.} 14. b3
{I am not sure that this move is necessary. Worth considering is 14.Kf2; the
king can actually help in the kingside offensive.} Bg4 15. Re1 c5 (15... Nf5
16. Ne2 $1 $14 {White must not exchange knights. It is well known that such an
exchange favours Black in this kind of position.}) 16. Nb5 Kd7 $1 {The king is
going to c6, one of the typical manouevres.} 17. c4 Kc6 18. Kf2 {[%csl Rg4,Rh4]
[%cal Gf2g3]} Be7 $2 {After this Black can't stop White's pawns advance in any
satisfactory way.} (18... Be6 $1 19. g4 $1 {The most principled, otherwise
Black has nothing to complain about.} Ng6 $1 (19... h5 20. f5 Bc8 21. h3 hxg4
22. hxg4 g6 23. f6 $1 Bxg4 24. Ng5 Be6 25. Nxe6 fxe6 {leads to a position
which is strategically won for White thanks to the powerful passed Pf6.}) 20.
f5 (20. Rg1 Bd7 $132 {[%cal Gh6h5] The point is that White can't play f4-f5 as
the Pe5 is hanging.}) 20... Nxe5 21. Kg3 (21. fxe6 Nd3+ 22. Ke2 Nxe1 23. Kxe1
a6 24. Nbc3 f6 $1 ({Of course not} 24... fxe6 $2 {which ruins Black's
structure.}) 25. Ne2 Re8 26. Nf4 Bd6 27. Nxd6 cxd6 28. Bb2 g5 29. Nh5 Rxe6+ 30.
Kd2 Rhe8 31. Ng3 d5 32. cxd5+ Kxd5 {In this endgame Black is at least not
worse.}) 21... Bd7 $1 (21... Bc8 22. Bf4 $1 Nd3 23. Nxc7 Nxe1 24. Rxe1 Rb8 25.
Nb5 Ra8 26. Ned6 Bxd6 27. Nxd6 {[%cal Ge1e7] White is an exchange down, but
dominating.}) 22. Nxc5 Bxc5 23. Rxe5 Rad8 24. b4 Bxb4 25. Nxa7+ Kb6 26. Rb1
Kxa7 27. Rxb4 Rhe8 $11) 19. h3 Bd7 20. g4 h5 (20... Ng6 21. Ng3 Bh4 22. Kf3 {
and White achieves the desirable f4-f5.}) 21. f5 hxg4 22. hxg4 Nxf5 $1 {
This is the best practical chance.} 23. gxf5 Rh2+ $6 (23... Bh4+ 24. Ng3 Bxf5 {
Here White's task would be not easy at all. For instance:} 25. Bg5 (25. Bf4 a6
26. Nc3 Rad8 27. Rad1 {is another option, but White still has to work hard to
win this.}) 25... Bxg5 26. Nxf5 a6 27. Nc3 $1 (27. Rg1 $2 Rh2+ 28. Kf3 Bd2 29.
Ne7+ ({After} 29. Na3 Bc3 {Black can get too many pawns for a piece.}) 29...
Kd7 30. Nxc7 Kxc7 31. Nd5+ Kc6 32. Rxg7 Re8 33. Rxf7 Rxe5 34. Rc7+ Kd6 35. Rxb7
Rg5 $11) 27... Bd2 28. Red1 Rae8 (28... Bxc3 $2 29. Ne7+ Kb6 30. Nd5+ $18) 29.
Rxd2 Rh2+ 30. Ke3 Rxe5+ 31. Ne4 Rxd2 32. Kxd2 Rxf5 33. Rg1 {and White should
win.}) 24. Kg1 Rah8 25. Ng3 $18 R2h3 26. Bf4 a6 (26... Bg5 27. Ne2 Bxf4 28.
Nxf4 Rh1+ 29. Kg2 R1h2+ 30. Kf3 Bxf5 31. Rg1 $18) 27. Na7+ $1 {Karjakin finds
the solution.} Kb6 28. e6 {The knight on a7 is trapped, but also the bishop on
d7!} Bd6 (28... fxe6 29. fxe6 Bg5 30. exd7 Bxf4 31. Nc8+ $1 Kc6 32. Ne7+ $1
Kxd7 33. Rad1+ Bd6 34. Nef5 $18 {Amazing knight!}) 29. Bxd6 cxd6 30. exd7 Rxg3+
31. Kf2 Rgh3 {The last attempt for a perpetual check.} 32. Re8 Rh2+ 33. Ke1 {
The king runs away to the shelter on a3.} Rh1+ 34. Kd2 R8h2+ 35. Kc3 Rh3+ 36.
Kb2 1-0

[Event "ARM-ch 66th"]
[Site "Yerevan"]
[Date "2006.03.19"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Petrosian, Tigran L"]
[Black "Minasian, Ara"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2558"]
[BlackElo "2487"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2006.03.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ARM"]
[EventCategory "11"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 112"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.06.07"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.06.07"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 1]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Qe2 {This move was
popular in the 19th century.} (5. d4 {is the main line.}) 5... Ng5 $6 {This
retreat is risky. Both 5...Nf6 and 5...Nc5 are sufficient for equality.} (5...
Nf6 6. d4 e4 7. Nc3 Be7 8. Nxe4 Nxe4 9. Qxe4 d5 10. Qe5 O-O 11. Qg3 Bf5 $11 {
1/2-1/2 Van der Weide,K (2452)-Jonkman,H (2446)/Utrecht 2000/EXT 2002 (51)}) (
5... Nd6 {This is the main retreat.} 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Qxe5+ Be6 (7... Qe7 8. Qa5
Qd8 9. Qe5+ Be6 10. Ng5 Qf6 11. Re1 O-O-O 12. Nxe6 Re8 13. Qxf6 gxf6 14. b3
Rxe6 15. Rxe6 fxe6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Luther,T (2571)-Ivanchuk,V (2704)/Istanbul
2003/CBM 096 (32)}) 8. Ng5 Nc4 9. Nxe6 Nxe5 10. Nxd8 Kxd8 11. Nc3 Kd7 $11 {
1/2-1/2 Luther,T (2604)-Georgiev,K (2695)/Germany 2001/EXT 2003 (34)}) 6. Nxg5
$1 $146 (6. Bxc6 $6 dxc6 7. Nxg5 Qxg5 8. d4 Qe7 9. dxe5 Bf5 10. Na3 Qe6 11. Nc4
Bc5 12. Kh1 O-O-O $15 {0-1 Tessier Desrosiers,O (2141)-Jonkman,H (2425)/
Kapuskasing 2004/CBM 101 ext (30)}) 6... Qxg5 7. d4 {White wins some tempos,
getting a clear advantage in development.} Qe7 8. dxe5 Nd4 (8... Qxe5 $2 9.
Qxe5+ Nxe5 10. Re1 f6 11. f4 {wins a piece.}) 9. Qd3 Qxe5 10. Bd2 $1 Ne6 (10...
Qxb5 11. Re1+ Kd8 12. Qxd4) (10... Nxc2 11. Qxc2 (11. Bc3 $5) 11... Qxb5 12.
Qxc7 {In all the cases White has more than sufficient compensation for the
pawn.}) 11. Re1 Qd6 12. Qh3 Be7 13. Bd3 c6 {Preparing the development of the
queenside.} 14. Nc3 Qc7 15. f4 g6 16. g4 $1 {[%mdl 128]} ({The immediate 16.f5
was much worse:} 16. f5 $2 gxf5 17. Qxf5 d5 18. Rf1 Ng5 19. Qf2 Rg8 20. Bxg5
Bxg5 21. Rae1+ Be6 22. Bf5 Qb6 23. Bxe6 fxe6 24. Rxe6+ Kd7 $15) 16... O-O {
Black's king goes right into the fire. On the other hand, the alternatives are
probably not better.} (16... d5 17. f5 gxf5 18. gxf5 Nc5 19. Rxe7+ Qxe7 20. Re1
Be6 21. fxe6 fxe6 22. Bf5 Kd7 23. Na4 $1 Nxa4 24. Rxe6 $18) (16... Nxf4 $2 17.
Bxf4 Qxf4 18. Re4 $18 {[%csl Re7,Re8][%cal Ga1e1]}) (16... h5 17. f5 $40) 17.
f5 Ng5 18. Qe3 Bf6 19. Rf1 $1 (19. h4 $4 Bd4 20. Qxd4 Nf3+ {winning the queen.}
) 19... d5 20. fxg6 $1 d4 (20... fxg6 21. Rxf6 Rxf6 22. Qxg5 $18) 21. gxh7+ Kg7
22. Qe1 $1 dxc3 23. Bxc3 {Black is a piece up, but White's attack is ferocious.
} Qb6+ (23... Bxc3 24. Qxc3+ f6 25. Rxf6 Rxf6 26. Qxf6+ Kxf6 27. h8=Q+ Ke7 28.
Qg7+ Kd6 (28... Nf7 29. Re1+ Be6 30. Bf5 $18) 29. Qd4+ Ke7 30. Qc5+ Qd6 31.
Qxg5+ $18) 24. Kh1 Bd4 25. Qh4 Ne6 {[%tqu "En","Find the most spectacular
winning continuation for White.","","","h4f6","The most spectacular finish.",
15,"f1f7","",0]} 26. Qf6+ $3 {[%mdl 512] The most spectacular finish.} (26.
Rxf7+ $1 Kxf7 (26... Rxf7 27. h8=Q#) 27. Rf1+ Ke8 28. Rxf8+ Nxf8 29. Bxd4 Qxd4
30. h8=Q $18 {was quite convincing as well.}) 26... Bxf6 27. Bxf6+ Kh6 28. Rf5
Ng7 {Readers should also thank Black for not ruining such a rare and glorious
mating construction.} (28... Ng5 29. Rxg5 Bxg4 30. Rxg4 Qf2 31. Rf1 $18) (28...
Qc5 29. Raf1 $1 {[%cal Rf1f3]}) {[%tqu "En","Can you spot the mate in two?","",
"","f5h5","",5]} 29. Rh5+ $1 Nxh5 30. g5# {Glorious game by Tigran Petrosian!
It's very hard to point out where Black made the decisive mistake.} 1-0

[Event "Moscow Tal Memorial 6th"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2011.11.18"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2775"]
[BlackElo "2802"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "2011.11.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 146"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.01.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.01.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 {One of the main crossroads for Black,
whether to put the pawn on h5 or h6. The alternative 10...h6 is cautious,
while the move in the text is directed to fight against White's pawn offensive
on the kingside. Its only drawback is the weakening of the g5-square.} 11. Bf4
(11. Bg5 Be6 {is another line that has appeared recently at the top level.})
11... Bd7 $146 {Another novelty from Levon. Black is going to develop his
queenside rook before continuing the development of the other flank.
Previously, Black automatically played 11...Be7.} (11... Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 (
12... Nh4 13. Nd4 Nf5 14. Nce2 g5 15. Bh2 Nxd4 16. Nxd4 Rh6 17. Rfe1 Bc5 18. e6
Bxe6 19. Nxe6 Rxe6 20. Rxe6+ fxe6 21. Bxc7 Ke7 {+/=/= 1/2-1/2 Caruana,F (2714)
-Jakovenko,D (2732)/Mulhouse 2011/CB22_2011 (43)}) 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. g3 Bxg5 15.
Bxg5 Rg6 16. h4 f6 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bf4 Nxh4 19. f3 Rd8 $11 {1/2-1/2 Anand,V 
(2817)-Nakamura,H (2753)/Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2011/CB40_2011 (36)}) 12. Rad1 Rd8
13. b3 (13. Ne4 Be7 14. Rfe1 Be6 15. Nfg5 Rxd1 16. Rxd1 Bc8 {This seems to be
playable for Black. Later on he can drive White's outposted knight by f7-f6.})
13... Be7 14. Rfe1 $6 {Allows the move that now follows.} (14. Ne4 Be6 15. c4 {
As long as White keeps more minor pieces on the board he can fight for an
advantage.}) 14... Bb4 {The pin itself is not so frightening for White.
However, the point is that Black will now exchange his dark-squared bishop.
This will solve his development problems.} 15. Bd2 Bc8 16. Ne2 Bxd2 17. Nxd2
Ne7 {An important square for the knight.} 18. Nc4 (18. c4 Ng6 19. f4 Ke7 $11)
18... Nd5 {[%cal Gd5b4]} 19. a3 Ke7 20. f3 {Trying to slowly prepare the
offensive on the kingside.} h4 {Fixing the kingside and at the same time
preparing the rook manoeuvre that follows on the next move.} 21. Kf2 Rh5 {
In the "Berlin endgame" the problem of developing this rook is often very
apparent for Black. This is one of the possible ways to solve it.} 22. Rd2 Re8
23. Nd4 Kf8 24. a4 {Ivanchuk is seeking to slightly improve his position also
on the other side of the board.} a6 25. a5 Nb4 26. Ne2 Nd5 27. Nd4 Ne7 {
Levon is not in the mood to repeat moves!} 28. Re4 Rh6 $6 {Even if this
provocation worked out well, it would have been objectively safer to go back
28...Nd5 with equality.} 29. f4 $6 (29. e6 $1 {This is a typical idea and was
a good chance to seize the initiative.} Bxe6 (29... fxe6 30. Ne2 (30. Ne5 $44)
30... Nd5 31. Ne5 $44) 30. Nxe6+ Rxe6 (30... fxe6 31. Rf4+ Nf5 32. Ne5 $14) 31.
Rxe6 fxe6 32. Ne5 Rc8 33. Rd4 Nf5 34. Rb4 Rd8 35. Nd3 $14 {[%csl Rb7]}) 29...
Nd5 30. Kf3 $6 {Vassily clearly overestimated his chances.} (30. Nf3 Bf5 31.
Red4 Nc3 32. Ng5 c5 33. Rd8 f6 34. Ne3 fxg5 35. Nxf5 Ne4+ 36. Ke2 Nxd2 37.
Rxe8+ Kxe8 38. Nxh6 Nxb3 39. cxb3 gxh6 40. f5 b5 $11) 30... Rg6 {With the very
unpleasant threat 31...Rg3+ 32.Kf2 f5!} 31. f5 Rh6 32. Re1 $2 (32. Kf2 c5 (
32... Rh5 33. Nf3 Bxf5 34. Rxh4 Rxh4 35. Nxh4 $15) 33. Nf3 Bxf5 34. Rxh4 Rxh4
35. Nxh4 Be6 $15) 32... c5 $6 (32... Rh5 $1 {was much stronger.} 33. Ke4 (33.
Kg4 g6 $19) 33... Nc3+ 34. Kd3 Nb5 $17 {[%csl Rf5]}) 33. Ne2 Ne7 $1 {This
knight jumps forward and back throughout the whole game, but very effectively.
White's centre is collapsing.} 34. Nf4 $6 (34. f6 $1 gxf6 35. Nf4 {was the
least of the evils with some counterchances.}) 34... Nxf5 {Now Black is a
healthy pawn up.} 35. c3 Ne7 36. Red1 Ng6 37. Nd3 (37. Rd5 Nxf4 38. Kxf4 Rc6
$17 {[%cal Gc8e6]}) 37... Be6 38. Re1 Rh5 39. Kf2 (39. Nxc5 Bxc4 40. Nd7+ Kg8
41. bxc4 Rf5+ 42. Ke2 Nxe5 43. Kd1 f6 $19) 39... Rf5+ 40. Kg1 Bxc4 41. bxc4
Nxe5 {White could already resign.} 42. Rde2 f6 43. Re4 (43. Nxc5 Nf3+ 44. gxf3
Rxe2 45. Rxe2 Rxc5 46. Rb2 Rxc4 47. Rxb7 Rxc3 $19) 43... b6 44. axb6 cxb6 45.
Rxh4 {White has won back one pawn, but the endgame is hopeless.} Ng6 46. Rhe4
Rxe4 47. Rxe4 Kf7 48. Re2 Ne5 49. g4 Rf3 50. Nxe5+ fxe5 51. Kg2 Rxc3 52. Rf2+
Kg6 53. Rb2 a5 54. Rxb6+ Kg5 55. Rb5 a4 {Two passed pawns decide.} 56. Rxc5 Kf4
57. Ra5 a3 0-1

[Event "Corus-B"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2006.01.24"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Cheparinov, Ivan"]
[Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2625"]
[BlackElo "2657"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2006.01.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 111"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.04.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.04.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 h6 11. Bf4 {This way of developing the
dark-squared bishop is very rare. The plan connected with b2-b3 and Bc1-b2 is
far more common.} (11. Ne4 Ng6 (11... b6 12. b3 Bd7 13. Bb2 c5 14. Ng3 Be6 15.
Nh5 g5 16. Nd2 Ng6 17. c4 Kd7 18. Ne4 Kc6 19. g4 a6 $132 {1/2-1/2 Shirov,A 
(2736)-Topalov,V (2735)/Monaco 2004/CBM 099 ext (42)}) 12. b3 a5 13. a4 Bd7 14.
Bb2 Nf4 15. Rad1 $14 {0-1 Bologan,V (2700)-Naiditsch,A (2612)/Saint Vincent
2005/CBM 110_01 [Postny,E] (51)}) (11. b3 Ng6 12. Bb2 Bd7 13. Rad1 Kc8 14. Rfe1
Nf4 15. Nd4 a5 16. Nce2 Ne6 17. Nxe6 Bxe6 18. Nd4 $14 {1-0 Anand,V (2753)
-Almasi,Z (2676)/Monte Carlo 2003/CBM 093 ext (93)}) 11... Bd7 $6 {Naiditsch
wants to hide his king on the queenside. However, in this case the move 9...
Ne7 was not necessary. The mix of two ideas is rather risky for black when he
is far behind in development.} ({Another plan is:} 11... Ng6 12. Bg3 Ke8) 12.
Rad1 Kc8 13. Rd2 $1 $146 {Cheparinov is intending to double the rooks along
the "d" file.} (13. Bh2 Ng6 14. Nd4 c5 15. Nde2 Bc6 16. Nd5 b5 17. f4 Kb7 18.
Nec3 Rd8 19. f5 Ne7 20. Ne3 $16 {1-0 Kaminski,M (2559)-Kamberi,S (2348)/Dallas
2001/EXT 2005 (40)}) 13... Be6 14. Nd4 Bc4 {Black must keep this bishop away
from an exchange.} 15. Rfd1 Ng6 16. Bg3 Bb4 17. Nf5 {The position becoming
sharp now, but white has more grounds to be on top, since all his pieces are
taking part in the game.} Bxc3 18. bxc3 Bxa2 19. Nxg7 b5 $8 (19... Bd5 $2 20.
c4 $1 Bxc4 21. Rd7 {[%csl Rc7][%cal Cc4e6,Ce6d7,Ge5e6]} Be6 $8 22. Nxe6 fxe6
23. Rg7 Nf8 24. Bh4 b6 25. Rd8+ Kb7 26. Rxa8 Kxa8 27. Rxc7 $18) 20. Rd7 Nf8 ({
Risky but interesting is:} 20... Kb7 $5 21. e6 fxe6 22. Rxc7+ (22. Bxc7 Nf8 23.
Re7 Ng6 24. Rf7 e5 {[%csl Rf7] kicking the rook away from 7th rank.}) 22... Kb6
23. Rdd7 Rhd8 24. Rb7+ Kc5 25. Rxd8 Rxd8 26. Rxa7 $14) 21. Rd8+ Kb7 22. Rxa8
Kxa8 23. Rd8+ Kb7 24. f4 {White looks clearly winning, but the matters are not
yet clear.} Rh7 $1 (24... Rg8 25. Nf5 $18) (24... a5 25. Bf2 a4 26. Bc5 Ng6 27.
Rxh8 Nxh8 28. f5 $18 {[%csl Ge5,Gf5,Rh8][%cal Ca2b1,Cb1c2,Ge5e6]}) 25. Ne8 $1 (
25. Nh5 $6 Ne6 26. Rg8 f5 $8 27. exf6 Nxf4 28. Rg7 Rxg7 29. Nxg7 Ne2+ 30. Kf2
Nxc3 31. Be5 Ne4+ 32. Ke3 Ng5 33. h4 Nf7 34. Bf4 a5 {and the following pawns
race is rather hard to access.}) 25... Bd5 $2 {This loses quickly.} (25... Ne6
{was the only move.} 26. Rd7 Kc8 27. Nf6 (27. f5 $2 Kxd7 28. Nf6+ Kd8 29. Nxh7
Nc5 $15) 27... Rh8 28. f5 Nc5 (28... Ng7 $2 29. e6 $18 {[%csl Rc7]}) 29. Rd1
Bc4 30. Bf2 Na4 31. Ra1 $16) 26. f5 $18 {Now it's all over for black, since
his knight can't come out from f8.} a5 27. Bf2 Rh8 28. Nf6 b4 29. cxb4 ({After
} 29. cxb4 a4 {white can choose between many winning continuations, for
example:} 30. Nxd5 cxd5 31. e6) 1-0

[Event "London Classic 2nd"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2010.12.10"]
[Round "3"]
[White "McShane, Luke J"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2645"]
[BlackElo "2791"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "278"]
[EventDate "2010.12.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 140"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.01.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.01.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {This year the famous "Berlin Wall" got a new boost.} 9. Nc3 Ke8
{Kramnik chooses the plan of keeping the king in the centre. The other main
alternative goes with 9...Bd7 followed by transferring the king to the
queenside.} 10. h3 h5 {It's impossible to cover all the possible lines, but,
believe me, both sides have enough reasonable alternatives on every move.
Years ago, I used to play 10...Ne7 myself, transferring the knight either to
g6, or d5, according to circumstances. This plan, however, consumes a lot of
time, and is out of fashion nowadays.} 11. Ne2 {I find this move already a
slight inaccuracy. This manoeuvre is rather typical, and might be recommended
if Black hade played 10...h6 instead of 10...h5. In that case the knight would
be heading to h5. In our case the manoeuvre Ne2-f4 would be met by Bf8-e7
followed by g7-g5 driving the knight away.} (11. Rd1 {This seems like a better
try. At least, it forced Kramnik to show some accurate defence in order to
neutralise White's initiative.} Be7 (11... b6 12. Bf4 Bb7 13. e6 fxe6 14. Bxc7
$14) 12. Ne2 Be6 13. Nf4 Bc8 14. Ne2 Be6 15. Ned4 Rd8 16. Bf4 Nxd4 17. Nxd4 Bc8
18. e6 Bxe6 19. Bxc7 Rd5 20. c4 Rd7 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Bb8 Bc5 23. Rxd7 Kxd7 24.
Rd1+ Kc8 25. Be5 Rf8 26. Rd2 g6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Caruana,F (2700)-Kramnik,V (2780)/
Khanty Mansiysk 2010/CBM 139 (46)}) 11... b6 {Black used to play 11...Be7 in
preceding games, but the move in the text seems to me more flexible.} 12. Bf4 (
12. Rd1 Bb7 13. Nf4 Be7 $1 $11 {with the afore-mentioned idea g7-g5.}) ({
Black doesn't experience any problems either after} 12. Bg5 Bb7 13. Nf4 c5)
12... c5 13. Rad1 Bb7 {The bishop is excellent on the long diagonal.} 14. Ng5
Rh6 $1 {A good way to bring the rook into play.} 15. Ng3 Nh4 {The exchange of
knights is perfectly playable for Black, but Kramnik has grounds to play for
more than equality.} 16. f3 Be7 17. Rfe1 (17. e6 fxe6 18. N5e4 Rg6 19. Bxc7
Nxg2 20. Kxg2 h4 21. Rfe1 hxg3 22. c4 $11) 17... Rg6 18. N5e4 Bc6 $1 (18...
Nxg2 19. Kxg2 Bxe4 (19... h4 $4 {loses to} 20. Nd6+ $1) 20. Rxe4 h4 {leads to
a worse version of what Black achieved in the game later on.}) 19. Kh2 {
White couldn't make a more useful move.} (19. Rd2 $6 Nxf3+ $1 20. gxf3 h4 $15)
19... Nxg2 $1 20. Kxg2 h4 21. c4 (21. Nd6+ $1 {With this "punch in the air"
White is hunting the dark-squared bishop in order to equalise.} Kf8 22. Ndf5
hxg3 23. Nxe7 Kxe7 24. e6 Rxe6 25. Bxc7 {Opposite coloured bishops promise
White an easy draw.}) 21... hxg3 22. Nc3 Rd8 23. Nd5 Rd7 24. b3 Bd8 25. Re4 $6
{This move covers the h4-square, thus enabling White to capture the Pg3 on the
next move. However, it allows Black to regroup his pieces and drive away
White's centralised knight very soon.} (25. Rd3 {The plan of doubling the
rooks along the d-file looks more sensible. The Pg3 won't run away. Here is a
sample line:} Kf8 (25... Bb7 $4 26. Nf6+ $1 gxf6 27. exf6+ $18) 26. Red1 Bh4
27. Ne3 Rxd3 28. Rxd3 Ke8 29. Ng4 {White is still slightly worse, though, but
I find this position better than in the game.}) 25... Bb7 26. Bxg3 b5 $1 {
Undermining the knight, and, at the same time clearing the rest of the 6th
rank for Black's rook.} 27. Kf2 Rh6 28. h4 Kf8 29. Ke2 Ra6 30. Rd2 bxc4 31.
bxc4 c6 32. Nc3 Rxd2+ 33. Kxd2 Bc8 {The bishop comes into play via another
diagonal. White is going to suffer cause of his numerous pawn weaknesses.} 34.
Bf2 Be7 35. Re1 Bf5 36. Kc1 Be6 ({I must admit that I couldn't figure out what
was wrong with} 36... Bd3 37. Rd1 Bxc4 $17 {. The penetration to the 7th rank
yields White nothing.}) 37. Re4 Rb6 $2 {This allows White to activate the
knight.} ({The strategy of slow improvement would have been the most
unpleasant for White. For example:} 37... g6 38. Kd2 Ke8 39. Kc1 Kd7 40. Kd2
Ra3 {White is practically in zugzwang.}) 38. Na4 Rb4 39. Nb2 (39. Nxc5 Bf5 (
39... Rxc4+ 40. Rxc4 Bxc4 41. Kb2 $11) 40. a3 Rb8 41. Re2 Rb1+ 42. Kd2 Ra1 43.
e6 Ra2+ 44. Ke1 Rxa3 45. Nd7+ Ke8 46. exf7+ $1 Kxd7 47. Rxe7+ $1 Kxe7 48. Bc5+
Kxf7 49. Bxa3 $11) 39... g6 40. a3 $2 {Unnecessarily giving access to the
b3-square.} ({It was the right moment to activate the rook:} 40. Re3 $1 g5 41.
h5 Kg7 42. Ra3 Rb7 43. Ra6 {with sufficient counterplay.}) 40... Rb3 41. Re3
Rb7 {Kramnik correctly keeps the rook on the board.} 42. Rc3 Bf5 $17 43. Na4 (
43. Nd3 Kg7 {wouldn't change much.}) 43... Kg7 44. Kd2 (44. Nxc5 $4 Rb1+ 45.
Kd2 Rb2+ 46. Ke1 Rxf2 47. Kxf2 Bxc5+ $19) 44... Bd8 $1 {[%cal Gd8a5]} 45. Ke2
Rb1 46. Bxc5 Bxh4 {All Black's pieces have reached maximal activity.} 47. Bxa7
Re1+ 48. Kd2 Rh1 49. Ke2 Re1+ {Gaining some time on the clock is always useful.
} 50. Kd2 Rh1 51. Ke2 Rh2+ 52. Kd1 Bg5 53. Nc5 Bf4 54. Nb3 g5 55. Nd4 Bh3 56.
Rc2 Rh1+ 57. Ke2 Bd7 58. Bb8 $2 (58. Bc5 Bxe5 {is in Black's favour, but
nothing decisive.}) 58... c5 $19 59. e6 $1 {The only chance to stir up
complications.} ({The variation} 59. Nb5 Bf5 60. Rc3 Rh2+ 61. Kd1 g4 62. fxg4
Bxg4+ 63. Ke1 Bd2+ $19 {shows the remarkable domination of Black's bishops.})
59... Ba4 60. Bxf4 gxf4 $2 {Kramnik grabs the wrong piece.} (60... Bxc2 $1 61.
e7 Rh8 62. Ne6+ Kf6 $1 63. Nxg5 Re8 $19) 61. Nf5+ Kf6 62. exf7 Rh8 63. Rd2 Kxf5
64. Rd5+ Kf6 65. Rxc5 Bc2 (65... Rf8 66. Kd3 Rxf7 67. Ke4 {and Black's last
pawn won't survive.}) 66. Rd5 Kxf7 67. Rd4 Rh2+ 68. Ke1 Ke6 (68... Rh4 69. c5 {
Black can't win with such a passive rook, and will have to part with his last
pawn anyway.}) 69. Rxf4 Ke5 70. Rf7 Kd4 71. Re7 Bd3 72. a4 Ra2 73. a5 Bxc4 74.
Re4+ Kd3 75. Re5 Kc3 76. Re7 Bd3 77. Re8 Kd4 78. Re7 Bb5 79. Re4+ Kd3 80. Re6
Bc4 81. Re5 Rb2 82. Re7 Bb5 83. Re6 Ra2 84. Kf1 Bc4 85. Re7 Bd5 86. Rd7 Kc4 87.
Ke1 Bxf3 88. Rd2 Ra3 89. a6 Bd5 90. Rc2+ Kd3 91. Rd2+ Ke4 92. Re2+ Kf4 93. Kd2
Be4 94. a7 Ra2+ 95. Ke1 Rxa7 {From now on White needs to survive fifty more
moves. One should know that in practice it's not easy at all to prove the
theoretical draw. I can recall enough examples from titled players' practice
when the defensive side didn't make it. In the current game McShane didn't go
astray.} 96. Kf2 Rd7 97. Rb2 Rd3 98. Ra2 Rf3+ 99. Ke1 Rh3 100. Rf2+ Bf3 101.
Rb2 Rh8 102. Kd2 Rd8+ 103. Kc3 Ke3 104. Rb6 Rc8+ 105. Kb4 Kd4 106. Rd6+ Bd5
107. Rb6 Rc1 108. Rb5 Bc6 109. Rb6 Kd5 110. Ka5 Ra1+ 111. Kb4 Ra8 112. Kc3 Kc5
113. Rb2 Bd5 114. Rf2 Ra3+ 115. Kd2 Kd4 116. Rf4+ Be4 117. Rf2 Bf3 118. Ke1
Re3+ 119. Kd2 Rd3+ 120. Kc2 Kc4 121. Rh2 Be4 122. Re2 Bf5 123. Kc1 Rd8 124. Rd2
Bd3 125. Rf2 Kc3 126. Rc2+ $1 {An important defensive trick.} Kd4 127. Rb2 Ke3
128. Rb6 Rd4 129. Kb2 Kd2 130. Ka3 Bc2 131. Rb8 Kc1 132. Ra8 Rc4 133. Ra7 Kd2
134. Rb7 Rh4 135. Rb6 Kc1 136. Ra6 Rc4 137. Ra7 Kd2 138. Rb7 Kc3 139. Rb3+ {
[%mdl 256]} Bxb3 {An exhausting marathon!} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Cuernavaca Young Masters"]
[Site "Cuernavaca"]
[Date "2006.02.07"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Volokitin, Andrei"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2665"]
[BlackElo "2660"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2006.02.03"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "MEX"]
[EventCategory "16"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 112"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.06.07"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.06.07"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 h6 11. Be3 ({More common way of play is} 11. b3
{developing the bishop to b2.}) 11... Nd5 {This way black is trying to solve
his problems on the spot.} (11... Ke8 12. Rad1 Bd7 13. Rfe1 Rd8 14. Ne4 Bf5 15.
Nc5 b6 16. Na6 Nd5 17. c4 Nxe3 18. Nxc7+ Ke7 19. fxe3 Rd7 20. Na6 Bc2 21. Rxd7+
Kxd7 22. Nb8+ Kc7 23. Nxc6 Kxc6 24. Nd4+ Kc5 25. Nxc2 Kxc4 $14 {1-0 Smirnov,P 
(2601)-Aronian,L (2645)/Tripoli 2004/CBM 102 (62)}) (11... Bd7 12. Rad1 Kc8 13.
Rd2 b6 14. Rfd1 Be6 15. Nd4 Nd5 16. Nxc6 Nxc3 17. Rd8+ Kb7 18. bxc3 Bd6 19.
Rxh8 Rxh8 20. exd6 Kxc6 21. dxc7 Kxc7 $11 {1/2-1/2 Polgar,J (2732)-Ponomariov,
R (2695)/Sofia BUL 2005/The Week in Chess 550 (29)}) (11... Ng6 12. Rad1+ Ke8
13. a3 Be7 14. Rfe1 h5 (14... Bd7 15. Ne4 b6 16. Bd2 Be6 17. Nd4 c5 18. Nxe6
fxe6 19. f4 Rf8 20. g3 $14 {1-0 Volokitin,A (2558)-Jonkman,H (2456)/
Bundesliga2 2003 (41)}) 15. Nd4 h4 16. f4 Rh5 17. Ne4 Bd7 18. c4 b6 19. a4 Rd8
20. Ne2 Bf8 21. a5 Bb4 22. Bd2 Be7 23. Be3 Bb4 24. Bd2 Be7 25. Be3 Bb4 {
1/2-1/2 Motylev,A (2675)-Karjakin,S (2645)/Tiayuan 2005}) 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Nd4
$146 {A very interesting and concrete idea. Volokitin does not mind to spoil
his pawn structure. It's quite important for white to eliminate black's
light-squared bishop.} (13. Ne4 Bf5 14. Rd4 Ke8 15. Bc1 Rd8 16. Re1 c5 17. Nd6+
cxd6 18. Rxd5 Be6 19. Rd3 Be7 20. exd6 Rxd6 $11 {1-0 Shen Yang (2326)-Ruan
Lufei (2345)/Beijing CHN 2005/The Week in Chess 573 (71)}) 13... Nxe3 14. fxe3
$1 (14. Nxe6+ $6 Ke7 15. fxe3 (15. Nxc7 $2 Nxd1 16. Nxa8 Nxc3 17. bxc3 Ke6 $19
{White's knight can't come out.}) 15... Kxe6 16. Ne2 Bc5 17. Nd4+ Bxd4 18. exd4
Rhd8 $11) 14... Ke8 $2 {Karjakin wanted to keep the diagonal opened for his
dark-squared bishop. However, it was more important not to split the kingside
pawn and to activize the king.} (14... Ke7 $1 15. Nxe6 Kxe6 16. Ne2 {- see 14.
Nxe6.}) 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. Ne2 $16 {White lost his pawn majority on the
kingside, but his knight is far more mobile than thee black bishop. Black's
Pe6 and light squares on the kingside are vulnerable.} Bc5 17. Rf3 Rf8 18. Kf2
Rf5 (18... Rd8 19. Rxd8+ Kxd8 20. Nf4 Kd7 21. Ng6 Rxf3+ 22. gxf3 {White has
excellent winning chances here.}) 19. Rxf5 exf5 20. Kf3 Ke7 21. e4 g6 (21...
fxe4+ 22. Kxe4 Rf8 23. Nf4) (21... Rf8 22. Nf4 {In both cases black can not
bee satisfied with his position.}) 22. exf5 ({But not} 22. Nf4 $2 g5 23. Ng6+
Ke6) 22... gxf5 23. Nf4 Rg8 24. g4 fxg4+ 25. hxg4 {White achieved the main
dream in "Berlin defense" - a strong passed pawn in the centre!} Rg5 26. Rh1
Kf7 27. Rh5 $1 (27. e6+ Kg7 28. e7 Kf7 29. Ne6 Re5 {with chances to survive.})
27... Be7 (27... Rxh5 28. gxh5 Bd4 29. Nd3 {followed by Ke4, c3, Nf4 and Kf5
+-.}) 28. Nh3 Rg6 29. Nf4 Rg5 30. Ng2 $1 {A starting point for white's knight
where ffrom it can be transfered either to f5 or to f3.} Rg6 31. Nh4 Re6 32.
Kf4 c5 33. Kf5 Ra6 34. Nf3 Bf8 35. g5 $1 {The triumph of Volokitin's strategy.
White's combined forces create a decisive attack against the black king.} Ke8 (
35... hxg5 36. Rh7+ Ke8 37. Rxc7 $18) 36. e6 $1 hxg5 37. Rh8 Ke7 (37... Rxa2
38. Ne5 $1 Ra1 39. Ng6 Rf1+ 40. Kg4 $18 {[%cal Re6e7]}) 38. Ne5 (38. Ne5 {
[%cal Ge5g6]} Bg7 39. Ng6+ Kd6 40. Rd8+ Kc6 41. e7 $18) 1-0

[Event "EU-ch 6th"]
[Site "Warsaw"]
[Date "2005.06.22"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Parligras, Mircea Emilian"]
[Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2560"]
[BlackElo "2635"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2005.06.18"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 108"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.09.26"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.09.26"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 Bf5 {A highly provocative move.} ({More common
continuations are:} 10... Ng6) ({and} 10... Ke8) 11. g4 $1 {The most
principled continuation. At a price of a pawn, white gains several tempoes to
advance his kingside pawns and grab more space. Current game gives a lot of
credit to this sacrifice.} (11. Nd4 Bg6 12. Be3 Nd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Rad1 Kc8
15. f4 Be4 16. Ne2 c6 17. c3 f5 18. exf6 gxf6 19. Ng3 Bg6 20. f5 Bf7 21. Ne2
Bd6 22. Nf4 Re8 {1/2-1/2 Sokolov,A-Fontaine,R/2005}) (11. Rd1+ Kc8 12. Rd2 h6
13. b3 Nd5 14. Nxd5 cxd5 15. Rxd5 Bxc2 16. Bb2 {1/2-1/2 Ehlvest,J-Bacrot,E/
Moscow 2005}) 11... Bxc2 12. Nd4 Bg6 13. f4 $146 (13. Rd1 Kc8 14. f4 c5 15.
Nde2 f5 16. exf6 gxf6 17. f5 Bf7 18. Ne4 Nc6 19. Nxf6 Bg7 20. Bg5 a5 21. Nf4
Ra6 22. Kg2 h6 23. Bh4 Nb4 24. Ne4 Bxb2 25. Nxc5 Rc6 26. Rab1 Be5 $15 {1/2-1/2
Iordachescu,V-Georgiev,Ki/Budva 2004 (52)}) 13... c5 14. Nf3 $1 {[%mdl 4]} f5
15. Nh4 $1 fxg4 $6 {Black had a tough choice, but this one could hardly be the
best one. Now, white gets a free hand on the kingside, as there is no blockade
anymore.} (15... Kd7 16. Rd1+ Ke6 17. Nb5 Rc8 18. Nxa7 Ra8 19. Nb5 Rc8 20. Be3
Nc6 21. gxf5+ Bxf5 22. Nxf5 Kxf5 23. Rd7 $16) ({An interesting attempt would
have been:} 15... h6 $5 {[%cal Gg6h7]} 16. Be3 (16. Nxg6 $140 Nxg6 17. gxf5 Nh4
{[%csl Rf5]}) 16... b6 17. Rad1+ Kc8 18. Nxg6 Nxg6 19. gxf5 Nh4) 16. Rd1+ Kc8
17. hxg4 Nc6 (17... h5 18. f5 Be8 19. g5 {with total domination.}) 18. f5 Be8
19. Nf3 Nd4 ({Deserved attention} 19... h5 $5 20. g5 h4 {[%cal Ge8h5]}) 20.
Nxd4 cxd4 21. Ne4 c5 22. b4 $1 Bc6 $2 {After this black's position is already
beyond saving.} ({The only reasonable was:} 22... Ba4 $1 23. Rd2 Bc6 24. Nxc5
b6 25. Ne6 Bxb4 {Compared to the continuation in the game, here black takes
the pawn with tempo.} 26. Rc2 Kb7 27. Bd2 Ba3 {and the matters are not that
clear yet.}) 23. Nxc5 b6 24. Ne6 Bxb4 25. Bb2 $18 Re8 26. Bxd4 Rxe6 $1 {
This is black's last practical chance to eliminate white's proud knight and
central pawns by the exchange sacrifice.} 27. fxe6 Kb7 28. Rf1 Rd8 29. Rf7+ Ka6
30. a3 $1 {Parligras is playing precisely.} Bd2 31. Bf2 Bg5 32. Rxg7 h6 33. Re1
Rd3 34. Rc7 Ba4 35. e7 {This pawn will cost black a piece.} Rxa3 36. Re4 (36.
e6 $1 {[%cal Gc7d7] was quicker.}) 36... Bb5 37. Rb4 Be8 38. Rd4 Bg6 39. Rc6
Bf7 40. Re6 Ra1+ 41. Kg2 Ra2 42. e8=Q Bxe8 43. Rxe8 Be3 44. Ra4+ (44. Ra4+ Rxa4
45. Bxe3 Rxg4+ 46. Kf3 {[%csl Ge5] with an easy win.}) 1-0

[Event "EU-ch 6th"]
[Site "Warsaw"]
[Date "2005.06.30"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nielsen, Peter Heine"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2548"]
[BlackElo "2653"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2005.06.18"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 108"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.09.26"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.09.26"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. h3 Bd7 {The plan with evacuating the king to
queenside is the most popular on the top level since the match
Kasparov-Kramnik 2000.} 11. Bf4 Kc8 12. Rad1 b6 (12... Bb4 13. Ne4 Be6 14. c3
Be7 15. b3 b6 16. g4 Nh4 17. Nxh4 Bxh4 18. Bg3 Be7 19. f4 h5 20. f5 Bd5 21. Rd4
hxg4 22. hxg4 Ba3 23. Kf2 a5 24. c4 Bxe4 25. Rxe4 $16 {1-0 Short,N-Sokolov,I/
Wijk aan Zee 2005 (48)}) 13. a3 (13. Rd3 Be6 14. Rfd1 Kb7 15. b3 g5 16. Bc1 c5
17. Nd5 Ne7 18. Nxe7 Bxe7 19. c4 Rag8 20. Nd2 g4 21. hxg4 Rxg4 22. Nf1 Rhg8 23.
Rg3 h5 24. Re1 a6 25. Rxg4 hxg4 26. Rd1 Kc6 $15 {1-0 Anand,V-Topalov,V/Monte
Carlo 2005 (46)}) (13. b3 Ne7 14. Bh2 a5 15. Rd2 Be6 16. Nd4 Nd5 17. Nce2 Bb4
18. Rd3 Bc5 19. a4 Nb4 20. Rg3 g5 21. c3 Nd5 22. Nxe6 fxe6 $15 {1/2-1/2 Polgar,
J-Bruzon,L/Wijk aan Zee 2005 (55)}) 13... Be6 (13... Ne7 14. Rfe1 Ng6 15. Bg3
Be7 16. Nd4 Nf8 17. Bf4 Kb7 18. Be3 Re8 19. f4 h5 20. Ne4 c5 21. Nf3 Bf5 22.
Bc1 Ne6 23. c3 h4 24. Neg5 Nxg5 25. Nxg5 Bxg5 26. fxg5 a5 $15 {1/2-1/2
Kasimdzhanov,R-Sasikiran,K/Jodhpur 2003 (53)}) 14. g4 $146 {Sooner or later,
white has to follow his main plan of advancing his pawn majority on the
kingside.} (14. Rfe1 Be7 15. Ne2 g5 16. Bc1 c5 17. g4 Ng7 18. Nc3 Kb7 19. Nd5
Bxd5 20. Rxd5 Ne6 21. Kg2 Kc6 22. Rdd1 b5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Horvath,T-Petran,P/
Austria 2000 (32)}) 14... Ne7 15. Nd4 Bc4 16. Rfe1 c5 17. Nf5 Nc6 (17... Be6
18. Nxe7+ Bxe7 19. Nd5 $14) 18. Nd5 (18. Kg2 $5) 18... Bxd5 19. Rxd5 g6 20. e6
$1 {It's always curious to see a piece sacrifice in the endgame, but this one
is actually forced.} (20. Ng3 $2 Nd4 $17 {[%csl Rc2,Rd5][%cal Gd4f3,Gc7c6]})
20... gxf5 21. exf7 Bd6 $1 (21... Ne7 22. Rde5 Kd7 23. Rd1+ Kc8 24. Rde1 Kd7
$11) 22. Bxh6 $6 {[%cal Gd5d6] This is too optimistic.} (22. Re8+ Kd7 23. Rxa8
Rxa8 24. Bxh6 Ke6 (24... fxg4 25. f8=Q Rxf8 26. Bxf8 Ke6 27. Rxd6+ (27. Bxd6
Kxd5 28. Bxc7 gxh3 29. Kh2 Ke4 30. Kxh3 Kf3 $15) 27... cxd6 28. hxg4 Ne5 $11)
25. Rxd6+ cxd6 26. f8=Q Rxf8 27. Bxf8 fxg4 28. hxg4 Ne5 $11) 22... Kb7 $4 {
The king goes wrong way.} (22... Rxh6 $2 23. Rxd6 $18) ({After the correct} 
22... Kd7 $1 {black is on top. For example:} 23. g5 (23. Bg7 Nd4 24. Bxh8 Rxh8
25. Kg2 fxg4 26. hxg4 Nxc2 (26... Rh2+ $6 27. Kf1 Rh1+ 28. Kg2 Rh2+ $11) 27.
Rh1 Rf8 28. Rh7 Ke6 29. Rf5 Nd4 $19) 23... Ne7 24. Rd2 Ng6 (24... Rxh6 $2 25.
gxh6 Rf8 26. h7 Ng6 27. Re8 Rxe8 28. fxe8=Q+ Kxe8 {[%tqu "En","Find the
winning move.","","","f2f4","",7]} 29. f4 $1 $18 {[%csl Rg6,Gh7][%cal Gd2g2,
Gg2g6]}) 25. Rde2 Nf4 26. Re3 Raf8 27. Bxf8 Rxf8 $17) 23. Bg7 $6 ({More
convincing would have been} 23. g5 $1 Nd4 24. Rxd6 cxd6 25. Kf1 Nf3 26. Re7+
Kc6 27. g6 Rxh6 (27... Ne5 28. Rxe5 dxe5 29. g7 $18) 28. g7 Rhh8 29. gxh8=Q
Rxh8 30. Re8 $18) 23... Rh7 24. Rxd6 $1 Rxg7 25. Rxc6 fxg4 (25... Kxc6 $2 26.
Re8 Rxf7 27. Rxa8 $18) 26. Rxb6+ {?? I assume that this is a mistake in the
scoresheet, because the refutation of this is pretty much obvious to miss it...
} (26. Rxc7+ Kxc7 27. Re7+ Kc6 {should be the correct order of moves.}) 26...
cxb6 {??} (26... axb6 $19) 27. Re7+ Kc6 28. f8=Q Rxf8 29. Rxg7 gxh3 30. Rh7 {
After some wild complications, both sides landed in the endgame where white'
passed "f" pawn should decide the outcome of the game in his favour.} Rd8 (
30... Rf3 31. Kf1 $18 {[%cal Gf1e2]}) 31. Rxh3 Rd1+ 32. Kg2 Rc1 33. Rc3 b5 34.
Kf3 Kd5 35. Ke2 c4 36. Kd2 Rb1 37. Rh3 $1 Rf1 (37... Rxb2 $2 38. Kc1 Ra2 39.
Kb1 $18 {[%csl Ra2]}) 38. Rh5+ Kd4 $2 ({Much better was} 38... Kc6 {, but I
believe that after} 39. Rf5 {white has great winning chances.}) 39. Ke2 Rc1 40.
Kd2 Rf1 41. Ke2 Rc1 42. c3+ Ke4 43. f3+ Kf4 44. Rxb5 $18 Rc2+ 45. Kd1 Rh2 46.
Kc1 Kxf3 47. Rc5 Rh4 48. Kb1 Ke3 49. Rc7 {White is winning the second pawn.}
1-0

[Event "CHN-chT"]
[Site "China"]
[Date "2015.07.27"]
[Round "11.21"]
[White "Wan, Yunguo"]
[Black "Wang, Hao"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2477"]
[BlackElo "2713"]
[Annotator "Primel,D"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2015.04.10"]
[EventType "team-match"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "CHN"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2019"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2018.10.10"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.10"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Heibei"]
[BlackTeam "Beijing"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"]
[BlackTeamCountry "CHN"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Le Top GMI veut jouer une partie technique
mais la cadence rapide est un peu incompatible avec les longues manoeuvres du
mur de Berlin} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 $5 {Cette variante a connu un regain de
popularité depuis quelques années.} (5. d4 {La grande ligne}) 5... Nd6 6.
Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 (7. Bd3 $5) 7... O-O (7... Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 Bf6 10. Re1
Re8 11. Nd5 Rxe1 12. Nxf6+ Qxf6 13. Qxe1 b6 14. d3 Bb7 15. Qb4 Re8 16. Qf4 Qg6
17. Bd2 h6 18. b4 c5 19. bxc5 bxc5 20. Be3 Rc8 21. Rb1 Qe6 22. c4 g5 23. Qg3
Nf5 24. Qg4 Nxe3 25. Qxe6 dxe6 26. Rxb7 Nf5 27. Rxa7 g4 28. h3 h5 29. hxg4 hxg4
30. Be2 Nh6 31. Ra5 Kg7 32. a4 Kf6 33. Rb5 Ke5 34. a5 Kd4 35. a6 Ra8 36. Ra5
Ra7 37. Kh2 {Giri,A (2768)-Anand,V (2793) London 2014 1/2-1/2}) (7... Nf5 8.
Nf3 O-O 9. d4 d5 10. c3 Bd6 $132) 8. d4 Nf5 9. d5 (9. Nf3 d5 10. c3) 9... Nxe5
10. Rxe5 d6 11. Re1 Re8 $146 {Un coup naturel mais un peu passif} (11... Bf6
12. Nd2 Nh4 {Anand,V (2804)-McShane,L (2645) London Classic 2nd 2010 (5) 1/2} (
12... Bg5 13. Ne4 Bxc1 14. Rxc1 $32)) 12. Nc3 Nh4 (12... Bf6 13. Ne4) 13. Ne4
$1 {Empêche Bf6 ou Bg5} Bd7 (13... Bf8 14. Bg5 (14. Qh5 {[%csl Rf7,Rh4,Rh7]
[%cal Ge4g5,Gc1g5]}) 14... Be7 15. Qh5 Bxg5 16. Nxg5 $18 {[%csl Rf7,Rh4,Rh7]})
14. Qh5 $14 g6 15. Qh6 Bf8 16. Qg5 $1 {[%csl Rh4][%cal Ge4f6]} Kg7 {Le signe
que la position Noire n'est pas trés saine} (16... Bg7 17. Qxd8 Raxd8 18. Bg5
{[%csl Rh4]}) 17. Qg3 $36 {[%csl Rh4][%cal Gc1g5]} Nf5 $2 (17... h6 {Un
moindre mal}) 18. Qc3+ $1 {Comme souvent le couple N+Q est redoutable dans
l'attaque du K adverse} Kg8 19. Bg5 $40 {[%csl Rf6,Rg8,Rh6][%cal Ge4f6]} Bg7
20. Nf6+ Kh8 21. Nxe8 $1 Bxc3 22. Bxd8 Rxd8 23. Nxd6 $1 {[%cal Gd6f7] La
pointe car la menace Nf7 regagne la qualité} cxd6 24. bxc3 Kg7 (24... Rc8 25.
c4 Nd4 26. Rac1 Bf5 27. Bd3) 25. Reb1 b6 26. a4 Rc8 27. c4 1-0

[Event "POL-chT 66th"]
[Site "Katowice"]
[Date "2010.09.04"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Kravtsiv, Martyn"]
[Black "Navara, David"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2559"]
[BlackElo "2722"]
[Annotator "Primel,D"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2010.09.04"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2016"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.10.08"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.10.08"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Prokonex"]
[BlackTeam "Katowice Szopienice"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "POL"]
[BlackTeamCountry "POL"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O (4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 (5. O-O) 5... O-O 6. Bg5
h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. Nbd2 d6 9. Bg3 Nh5 10. O-O Nxg3 {Fedorchuk,S (2641)-Bindrich,
F (2512) Cappelle op 26th 2010 (5) 1-0} (10... Bg4 11. h3 Nxg3 $11)) 4... Nxe4
5. d4 (5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 Ne8 10. Nd5 Bd6
11. Re2 c6 12. Ne3 Bc7 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2766)-Giri,A (2750) Biel Suri
Memorial 2014 (5) 1-0} (12... Be7 13. Qe1 (13. Nf5 Bf6 14. Qe1 d5 15. Ne7+ Bxe7
16. Rxe7 Nd6 17. Re2 Qb6 {M VACHIER LAGRAVE}) 13... Bf6 {Nakamura,H (2787)
-Aronian,L (2805) Sinquefield Cup 2nd 2014 (6) 1/2})) 5... Nd6 {Toujours à la
mode à haut niveau depuis le match de Londres 2000.} 6. Bxc6 (6. Bg5 f6 7.
dxe5 Nxb5 8. exf6 gxf6 9. Re1+ Kf7 10. Qd5+ Kg7 11. Bf4 Nd6 12. Nh4 {Lautier: 
Jusqu'a ce coup, mon adversaire avait à peine utilisé quelques minutes de
reflexion.  J'eus toutefois la prémonition que mon prochain coup lui avait
échappé.} Rg8 $1 {Lautier: Simple et fort: le roi noir trouve un refuge
ideal en h8, dans le coin de l'échiquier.} 13. Nc3 Kh8 14. Qh5 $2 (14. Rad1
$142 {[%cal Gd5h5,Gc3d5]}) 14... Nd4 $1 {Lautier; Ce cavalier va devenir la
piece maitresse du jeu noir. Les blancs n'auraient pas du permettre ce
regroupement, c'est la raison pour laquelle Rad1 etait bien meilleur, suivi du
plan mentionne plus haut, soit Qh5 et Nd5.}) 6... dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+
Kxd8 9. Nc3 (9. h3) 9... h6 (9... Ke8 {La grande ligne} 10. h3 h5 11. Rd1 Be7
12. Ne4 (12. Ne2 a5 13. a4 b6 14. Bf4 c5 {Quesada Perez,Y (2401)-Otero Acosta,
D (2440) Guillermo Garcia Memorial-A 20th 2011 (13) 0-1} (14... Be6 15. Ng5))
12... Bd7 {Polgar,J (2699)-Karjakin,S (2788) FIDE World Cup 2011 (3.1) 1-0} (
12... Be6 13. Nfg5 Rh6 14. b3 Rg6 15. Bf4 Nh4 (15... Bd5 16. c4 Bxe4 17. Nxe4
Rd8 $11))) (9... Be6 10. h3 Bb4 11. Bd2 Kc8 12. g4 {Zaitsev,I (2405)
-Aleksandrov,A (2450) URS-ch58 Moscow 1991 (11) 0-1} (12. a3 $143 Bxc3 13. Bxc3
Bd5 $1 14. g4 Bxf3 15. gxf5 Be4 16. e6 {Mastrovasilis})) (9... Bd7 {Zhigalko,S
(2640)-Kryvoruchko,Y (2635) 66th POL-ChT 2010 (2) 1/2}) (9... Ne7 10. Ne4 Ng6
11. h3 h6 12. b3 a5 (12... Be6 13. Bb2 c5 14. c4 Be7 15. Ng3 h5 16. Ne4 Ke8 17.
Nc3 (17. Rfd1 a5 (17... Rd8 18. Rxd8+ Kxd8 19. Rd1+ (19. Nfg5 Bxg5 20. Nxg5 Ke7
21. Rd1 h4 {[%csl Rg2][%cal Gh8h5]})) 18. Kf1 a4 $11) (17. Rad1 Rd8) 17... Rd8
$11 {David,A (2573)-Bacrot,E (2715) FRA-chT Top 16 GpA 2005 (5) 0-1})) (9... h5
10. b3 Be7) 10. Rd1+ (10. h3) 10... Ke8 11. h3 Ne7 12. Nd4 (12. b3 Bf5 13. Nd4
Bh7 14. Bb2 Rd8 15. e6 Nc8 16. Nce2 Bd6 17. c4 Ne7 18. Rac1 b6 19. g4 f6 20. f4
a6 21. Nf3 Rf8 22. Ng3 Rg8 23. Ne2 Rf8 24. Kg2 g6 25. Ng3 f5 26. Ne5 fxg4 27.
Nf7 gxh3+ 28. Kxh3 Rxf7 29. exf7+ Kxf7 30. Be5 c5 31. Ne4 Nf5 32. Nf6 Bg8 33.
Nd5 Bxe5 34. fxe5 Rc8 35. Re1 Kg7 36. e6 Nd4 37. e7 Be6+ 38. Kg3 Kf7 39. Nf4
Re8 40. Nxe6 Nxe6 41. Re5 Nd4 {Polgar,J (2689)-Howell,D (2644) Warsaw 2013 1/
2-1/2 (65)}) (12. Bf4 Ng6 13. Bh2 Bb4 $132) 12... Ng6 13. f4 (13. Be3 Nxe5 14.
Bf4 f6 15. Re1 $44 {Rausis,I (2527)-Kovar,V (2347) CZE-chT 0910 2009 (4.5) 1-0}
) 13... h5 14. Be3 $146 (14. Ne4 a6 15. c4 c5 16. Nf3 Be6 17. b3 Be7 18. Be3 b6
19. Rd2 Rd8 20. Rad1 h4 21. Nc3 Rxd2 22. Rxd2 Bd8 23. Nd5 a5 24. a3 Ne7 25. Kf2
Nf5 26. Ng5 Bxd5 27. cxd5 Bxg5 28. fxg5 g6 29. Bf4 Kd7 30. e6+ fxe6 31. dxe6+
Kc6 32. Rd7 Re8 33. Rxc7+ Kd5 34. Rd7+ Kc6 35. Rf7 Rxe6 36. Rxf5 gxf5 37. g3
hxg3+ 38. Kxg3 Kd7 39. h4 Ke7 40. h5 Kf7 41. g6+ Kf6 42. Kf3 b5 43. a4 bxa4 {
Kjartansson,G (2306)-Johannesson,I (2344) Reykjavik 2007 0-1}) 14... a6 15. Ne4
$32 {L'avantage de développement des Blancs est souvent difficile à
exploiter face à un mur de Berlin} (15. Rd2 Be7 16. Rad1 h4) 15... Be7 16. Rd2
h4 {[%csl Rg2]} 17. Rad1 {Le doublement des R Blanches n'est pas trés utile
faute de cases d'accès dans le camp Noir} Rh5 $5 18. a3 $6 (18. Nf3 $142 {
[%cal Gf3e5,Gf3h4]} Bf5 (18... Be6) 19. Nf2) 18... Nxe5 $1 19. Re2 (19. fxe5 $6
Rxe5 {[%csl Re3,Re4]}) 19... Nc4 {[%csl Gc4]} 20. Rde1 Nxe3 21. Rxe3 {[%cal
Ge3e7]} Be6 22. Nf2 (22. f5 $5) 22... Bf6 23. Nxe6 fxe6 24. Rxe6+ Kf7 25. Nd3
Rb5 26. a4 Rd5 27. R6e4 Rad8 28. Kf2 Rxd3 $5 29. cxd3 Rxd3 30. R1e2 Kg6 31. Ke1
Kf5 $44 {[%csl Re1,Gf5]} 32. R4e3 Rd4 33. b3 c5 34. Rc2 Rd5 35. Rf3 b5 36. axb5
axb5 37. Ke2 Bd4 38. Ra2 Rd6 39. Ra5 b4 40. Ra2 Ke4 41. Ra8 Rg6 42. Re8+ (42.
Kf1 c4 43. bxc4 Rb6 {[%csl Gb4]}) 42... Kd5 43. Rd8+ Kc6 44. Kf1 Re6 {[%csl
Rf1]} 45. g3 hxg3 46. Rxg3 Re4 47. f5 c4 $1 48. bxc4 Bf6 (48... Kc5) 49. Rb8
Kc5 50. Rg4 Rxg4 (50... Rxc4 51. Ke2 c6 52. Kd2) 51. hxg4 Kxc4 {[%csl Gb4] Les
Noirs ont des meilleures perspectives à l'aile-dame} 52. Ke2 b3 (52... c5 53.
Rb7 (53. Kd1 Kc3 54. Kc1 c4 $15 55. Rb7 b3 56. g5 Bxg5+) 53... b3 54. Kd1 Kc3
55. Kc1 c4) 53. Kd1 Bg5 (53... c5 54. Kc1 Kc3 55. Rb7 c4 56. Kb1 Kd3 57. Rd7+
Ke4 58. g5 Bxg5 59. Rxg7 Kxf5) 54. Rb7 c5 55. Rxg7 Kc3 $1 56. Rh7 c4 57. Rh2
Kb4 58. Rf2 $1 {La R arrive à temps sur cette position idéale ou elle peut
à la fois soutenir sa majorité de l'aile-roi tout en controlant la majorité
adverse sur l'aile opposée.} c3 {[%csl Gb3,Gc3]} 59. f6 c2+ (59... Bd2 $4 60.
Rxd2 $1) 60. Rxc2 $1 1/2-1/2

[Event "Andorra op 20th"]
[Site "Andorra"]
[Date "2002.07.10"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Psakhis, Lev"]
[Black "Narciso Dublan, Marc"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2574"]
[BlackElo "2460"]
[Annotator "Psakhis,L"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2002.07.06"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "AND"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 089 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.09.10"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.09.10"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {[%mdl 4096]} 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 Ng6 11. Bg5+ Ke8 12. Rad1 Bd7 (
12... Be7 13. Bxe7 Kxe7 14. Nd4 Nf4 15. Ne4 Rd8 16. Rfe1 Rd5 17. c4 Rd8 18. Kh2
a5 19. g4 a4 20. Kg3 Ne6 21. Nf5+ Kf8 22. f4 {1/2-1/2 Shirov,A-Vallejo Pons,F/
Linares SuperGM 2002/CBM 88 (33)}) 13. Rd2 Be7 (13... h6 14. Rfd1 hxg5 15. Rxd7
Bd6 16. e6 Nf8 (16... Ne7 17. Ne4 fxe6 18. Nxd6+ Kxd7 19. Ne5+ $1) 17. Rxf7
Nxe6 18. Rf5 $16) (13... Bb4 14. Rfd1 Nf8 15. e6 fxe6 16. Ne5 h6 (16... Bd6 17.
Rxd6 $3 cxd6 18. Ne4 Ng6 19. Nxd6+ Kf8 20. Nxd7+ Kg8 21. Nxb7 $18) 17. Bh4 Bxc3
(17... Bd6 18. Nxd7 Nxd7 19. Ne4 $16) 18. bxc3 g5 19. Bg3 Rh7 (19... Bc8 20.
Rd8+ Ke7 21. f4 $16) 20. Ng4 Kd8 21. Be5 $36 {[%csl Gd1,Gd2,Ge5,Gg4]}) 14. Bxe7
Kxe7 15. Nd4 Nf4 $146 (15... Rhd8 16. f4 c5 17. Nb3 Bc6 18. Re2 b6 19. f5 Nh4
20. Rf4 g5 21. Rff2 Rg8 22. Kh2 Rad8 23. Rd2 g4 24. hxg4 Rxg4 {1/2-1/2
Ivanchuk,V-Almasi,Z/Monaco Amber rapid 2002/The Week in Chess 386 (37)}) 16.
Kh2 Rhd8 17. Kg3 g5 18. Ne4 h6 (18... Bxh3 19. Rfd1 Be6 20. Nxg5 Rxd4 21. Rxd4
Ne2+ 22. Kf3 Nxd4+ 23. Rxd4) 19. h4 (19. Rfd1 Be6) 19... Be6 20. Rfd1 (20. Re1
$5 Nh5+ 21. Kh2 gxh4 22. Nc5) 20... Nh5+ (20... Rxd4 $142 $1 21. Rxd4 Ne2+ 22.
Kh2 Nxd4 23. Rxd4 $14) 21. Kh2 (21. Kf3 g4+ 22. Ke3 Rd5) 21... gxh4 22. Nc5 Rd5
$8 (22... Rab8 23. Ndxe6 fxe6 24. Rxd8 Rxd8 25. Rxd8 Kxd8 26. Nxb7+ Ke7 27. Nc5
Nf4 28. Nd3 $18) 23. Nxb7 Kf8 24. Nxc6 Rb5 25. Nbd8 $1 Rxb2 26. c4 $5 Rb6 (
26... Rxd2 $5 27. Nxe6+ fxe6 28. Rxd2 Ke8 29. Rd4 $18) 27. Rd4 (27. Nxe6+ fxe6
28. Rd8+ Rxd8 29. Rxd8+ Kf7 30. Rd7+ Kg6 31. Rxc7 Rb2) 27... Ng7 28. Rxh4 Nf5
29. Rf4 Kg7 30. g4 $18 Nh4 31. Nxe6+ fxe6 32. Rd7+ Kh8 (32... Kg6 33. Rf6+ Kg5
34. Rg7+) 33. Nd8 $1 Kg8 34. Rf6 Rb1 35. Nxe6 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup"]
[Site "Tbilisi"]
[Date "2017.09.04"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Motylev, Alexander"]
[Black "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2675"]
[BlackElo "2633"]
[Annotator "Quintiliano,R"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2017.09.03"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "GEO"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 181"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2017.11.10"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2017.11.10"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {After a draw in the first game, Xiong looks
for the Berlin's solidity instead of his sharp Sicilian Najdorf.} 4. O-O Nxe4
5. Re1 {Motylev has tried many things against the Berlin, most often heading
for the endgame. But recently he has employed this line which has the
reputation of being free of risk for White, with prospects of getting a tiny
advantage.} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 ({Later, he played} 
9. d4 Bf6 10. Re2 $5 b6 11. Re1 Bb7 12. Bf4 Ne4 13. Nd2 Nxd2 14. Qxd2 d6 15. a4
a6 16. c3 Qd7 17. a5 b5 18. Bg5 $11 {Motylev,A (2675)-Giri,A (2772) FIDE World
Cup 2017 (2.1) 1/2}) 9... Ne8 (9... Bf6 {is also solid} 10. Re1 Re8 11. Nd5
Rxe1 12. Qxe1 b6 {White is going to be left with the bishop pair, although it
is difficult to claim an advantage because of this. it is, however, a reason
to keep playing}) 10. Nd5 Bd6 11. Re1 c6 12. Ne3 Be7 {This move is showing
good results for Black.} (12... Bc7 {is most played} 13. Nf5 d5 14. Ne7+ Kh8
15. Nxc8 Rxc8 16. d3 f5 $11) 13. c4 {The best attempt, since Black should play
d5 to continue the development, White aims to create an isolani.} ({White can
also pursue the bishop pair} 13. Nf5 Bf6 14. Qe2 d5 15. Ne7+ Kh8 16. Nxc8 Rxc8
{Yu,Y (2721)-Nakamura,H (2816) Las Vegas Millionaire op KO rapid 2015 (1.1) 1/
2 but Black is always fine, and the queen is not well placed on e2 -}) 13...
Nc7 {[%cal Yd7d5]} 14. d4 (14. Nf5 $146 Bf6 15. Nd6 {leads White to nowhere}
Bd4 $1 {[%csl Gd4]} (15... Ne8 16. Nxc8 Rxc8 17. d4 d5 $11) 16. Nf5 (16. Qg4
Ne6 17. Rxe6 $2 {Actually, White is the one who is losing material} Bxf2+ $1
18. Kxf2 fxe6+ 19. Ke1 Rxf1+ $1 20. Kxf1 Qf8+ 21. Kg1 Qxd6 $15) 16... Bf6 17.
Nd6 Bd4 $11) 14... d5 15. cxd5 Bb4 {Black plays this to leave the isolani in
White's camp, but in return Motylev can quickly develop his pieces along the
e-file.} (15... Nxd5 16. Nxd5 cxd5 {This position has been played 3 times.
Although White went to win the first of these encounters, the two subsequent
games showed Black is ok} 17. Bf4 Be6 (17... Bf6 18. Be5 Bxe5 19. Rxe5 {
[%csl Gc8,Gd5] The reason why White would expect an easier game is that the
d5-pawn is fixed on a light square, which makes the Bc8 a slightly bad one.
But in modern times, good preparation compensates for this.} Re8 20. Rxe8+ Qxe8
21. Qb3 (21. Rc1 $5) 21... Qc6 22. Bb5 Qb6 $1 23. Qxd5 a6 $1 24. Bd3 Be6 25.
Qe4 g6 26. d5 Bf5 27. Qe2 Bxd3 28. Qxd3 Qxb2 29. Re1 Rd8 30. d6 Rd7 $1 {
Carlsen,M (2850)-Caruana,F (2787) London Classic 7th 2015 (2) 1/2 and Black
was able to hold the passed pawn -}) 18. Qb3 Bf6 19. Be5 Bxe5 20. Rxe5 Qb6 $1 {
Even with White trying to press in the endgame, Black is doing fine} (20... Qd7
$2 {left Black in an unpleasant position} 21. Rae1 g6 22. h4 $14 {[%cal Yh4h5];
Areshchenko,A (2656)-Bacrot,E (2695) Porticcio op 2nd 2015 (9) 1-0}) 21. Qxb6
axb6 22. Re3 Rfc8 23. Rb3 Rc6 24. Bb5 Rc7 {Anand,V (2770)-Aronian,L (2792)
Leuven GCT rapid 2016 (2) 1/2 despite a slight advantage for White, it is not
enough to make serious improvements -}) 16. Bd2 Bxd2 17. Qxd2 Nxd5 18. Nxd5
Qxd5 19. Re5 Qd6 20. Bc4 {White is looking for some slight pressure, but the
position has simplified and Black should be able to neutralise this with
correct play.} Bd7 21. Rae1 Rae8 {Objectively Black still is fine, but now
White can look for an advantage.} (21... b5 $1 {has been played in 10 games,
and Black has always managed to draw} 22. Bb3 a5 23. a4 (23. a3 a4 24. Ba2 Rae8
$11 {Georgiadis,N (2496)-Bacrot,E (2715) Biel GM 50th 2017 (3) 1/2 Compared to
the game, the fixed queenside is better for Black} 25. Qe3 Rxe5 26. dxe5 Qe7
$11) 23... bxa4 24. Bxa4 Be6 $1 {[%cal Ge6d5]} 25. Rxa5 Rxa5 26. Qxa5 Qxd4 27.
Bxc6 Qxb2 28. Bd5 Bxd5 29. Qxd5 $11 {Svidler,P (2757)-Topalov,V (2780) FIDE
Candidates 2016 (2) 1/2}) 22. Qe3 $1 $146 {Motylev shows good knowledge of the
position, as this is the only way for White try to extract some advantage.} (
22. Qc3 Rxe5 23. dxe5 Qe7 {was harmless for Black, for example} 24. Qa5 (24.
Rd1 Be6 25. Bxe6 Qxe6 26. Qa5 b5 $1 27. Qxa7 Qxe5 $11 {So,W (2771)-Caruana,F 
(2807) Sinquefield Cup 4th 2016 (8) 1/2}) 24... a6 25. Qb6 {Vachier Lagrave,M 
(2788)-Caruana,F (2795) chess.com qf blitz 1m+1spm 2016 (20) 1/2} Bc8 $11)
22... Rxe5 (22... h6 $5) 23. dxe5 Qb4 24. b3 (24. Bb3 {was played in the same
tournament} Be6 25. Rd1 Bxb3 26. axb3 Qe7 27. f4 Rd8 28. Rxd8+ Qxd8 $11 {
Najer,E (2707)-Caruana,F (2807) FIDE World Cup 2017 (3.3) 1/2}) (24. e6 $1 {
was the right continuation} Bxe6 25. Bxe6 fxe6 26. Qxe6+ Kh8 27. Qe7 $1 Qf4 28.
f3 $14 {and White keeps an easier game}) 24... Qb6 $6 {Xiong didn't find the
right way to deal with the pressure, and accepts having to play an inferior
endgame.} (24... Be6 $142 $1 25. Bxe6 fxe6 26. Rd1 Qa5 27. a4 Rd8 $11) 25. Qxb6
axb6 26. Rd1 Bf5 27. a4 $1 Re8 28. f4 $14 {White controls the open file and
the kingside majority gives good chances to play for a win.} Kf8 29. Kf2 Ke7
30. h3 h5 $2 {Now Black's position is in real danger.} (30... Ra8 $1 {was
correct now, one move earlier} 31. Kf3 Ra5 $1 {A clever way to improve the rook
} 32. g4 Be6 33. Bxe6 Kxe6 34. Ke4 b5 $132) 31. Kg3 $1 {[%cal Gg3h4] The
invasion by White's king on the dark squares makes Black's task much harder.}
Ra8 $2 {This manoeuvre doesn't solves Black's problems anymore.} (31... f6 32.
Kh4 fxe5 (32... Rh8 33. e6 $1 {[%cal Gd1d7]}) 33. fxe5 Rh8 (33... Be4 34. Rd2
g6 35. Kg5 $16) 34. Kg5 Bd7 35. Rd4 $16 {[%cal Yd4f4,Yd4h4]}) 32. Kh4 Ra5 (
32... g6 33. Rd6 {[%cal Yd6f6]} Be6 34. Bxe6 fxe6 35. Kg5 Rf8 36. g4 $1 hxg4
37. hxg4 Rg8 38. Rd4 $18 {[%cal Rd4b4]}) 33. Kxh5 $18 {White is winning and
Motylev realises his advantage without great problems.} Rc5 34. g4 Be6 35. Bxe6
Kxe6 36. Rd6+ Ke7 37. Rd3 $1 {[%cal Yd3b3,Yd3h3] This is the perfect square
for the rook.} b5 (37... Ke6 38. Kg5 f6+ $2 39. Kg6 {[%csl Rg7]}) 38. axb5 Rxb5
39. Kg5 Ke6 40. Rd6+ Ke7 41. Rd3 c5 {There's no good defence for Black.} (41...
Ke6 42. h4 Rd5 43. Re3 Ke7 44. f5 b5 45. h5 c5 46. f6+ $1 gxf6+ 47. Kf5 c4 48.
bxc4 bxc4 49. h6 c3 (49... Rxe5+ 50. Rxe5+ fxe5 51. h7) 50. Rxc3 Rxe5+ 51. Kf4
Ra5 52. h7 Ra8 53. Rh3 Rh8 54. Kf5 $22 $18) 42. f5 Ke8 (42... c4 43. bxc4 Rxe5
44. Rb3 {[%csl Rb7]}) 43. Re3 Rb6 44. f6 $1 {Forcing the creation of a distant
passed pawn, with decisive effect.} Re6 45. fxg7 Rg6+ 46. Kf5 Rxg7 47. h4 Rg6
48. h5 Rc6 49. e6 Ke7 50. exf7+ Kxf7 51. g5 b5 52. g6+ Kg7 53. Kg5 Rc8 54. h6+
Kh8 55. h7 1-0

[Event "Syre Memorial op 34th"]
[Site "Issy les Moulineaux"]
[Date "2011.06.04"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Roser, Kevin"]
[Black "Karim, Ismael"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2436"]
[BlackElo "2389"]
[Annotator "RR"]
[PlyCount "34"]
[EventDate "2011.06.03"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2012"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.11.24"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.11.24"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {01h30} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 (9... Ke8 {La grande ligne du Mur de Berlin})
10. h3 {01h27} b6 {[%cal Gd8c8,Gc8b7] Une ligne secondaire} (10... h6) 11. Rd1
{[%cal Gd1d8]} Kc8 12. Ng5 (12. g4 {McShane,L (2592)-Ivanchuk,V (2704) Sigeman
& Co 11th 2003 (2) 1/2}) 12... Be8 13. b3 $146 (13. g4 Nh4 {De Firmian,N (2542)
-Nielsen,P (2628) Sigeman & Co 12th 2004 (4) 0-1}) 13... Be7 {01h30 continuant
а jouer а tempo} 14. Nge4 Bd7 {01h25 01er coup hors préparation} 15. Ne2 {
58" A son tour, l'isséen est hors préparation} (15. g4 Nh4 16. Rd3 {[%csl Gf3]}
Ng6 {[%cal Gg6e5]} 17. f4 h5 $132 {[%csl Gh8]}) 15... a5 $1 {[%cal Ga5a4] 01h16
} 16. a4 (16. Kf1 a4 $132) (16. Bg5 $5) 16... c5 17. Bb2 {47" L'intérêt de
connaitre le temps passé est de voir qu'il ne s'agit pas d'une nulle de salon.}
Bc6 {01h12} 1/2-1/2

[Event "HUN-ch"]
[Site "Budapest"]
[Date "1997.10.29"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Leko, Peter"]
[Black "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2635"]
[BlackElo "2615"]
[Annotator "RR"]
[PlyCount "106"]
[EventDate "1997.10.21"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "HUN"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 062"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.01.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.01.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 2]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. Rd1 Ne7 11. Nd4 Ng6 12. Ne4 Be7 13. Re1
c5 14. Nb3 b6 15. Nf6+ $6 $17 (15. Nd6+ $11) 15... Kf8 16. Nd5 Bd8 17. Nd2 c6
18. Ne3 Nxe5 19. Nec4 Ng6 20. Nf3 Bc7 21. Nce5 f6 22. Nxg6+ hxg6 23. h3 Kf7 24.
Be3 g5 25. Nh2 Bf5 26. c3 Rae8 27. Ng4 Be6 28. f3 Kg6 29. Bf2 Bf4 30. Ne3 Re7
31. a4 Rhe8 32. Nf1 Bb3 33. Rxe7 Rxe7 34. a5 Re2 35. axb6 axb6 36. Ra6 Bc7 37.
Bg3 Bd8 38. Bd6 Re6 39. Bg3 Bc4 40. Ra8 Be7 41. Ra1 f5 42. Re1 Rxe1 43. Bxe1
Bd3 44. Bf2 Bd6 45. Be3 Kf6 46. Nd2 Bg3 47. Nf1 Bc7 48. Nd2 c4 49. g4 c5 50.
gxf5 Kxf5 51. Kf2 Bf4 52. Bxf4 Kxf4 53. b3 b5 0-1

[Event "Vandoeuvre op 11th"]
[Site "Vandoeuvre"]
[Date "2014.12.28"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Fedorchuk, Sergey A"]
[Black "Gharamian, Tigran"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2669"]
[BlackElo "2658"]
[Annotator "RR"]
[PlyCount "33"]
[EventDate "2014.12.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2017"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.10.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.10.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 {90} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1
Nf5 (7... Nxe5 {La grande ligne}) 8. c3 Nxe5 {86} 9. Rxe5 d6 10. Re1 O-O 11. d4
d5 12. Nd2 c6 (12... Bd6) 13. Nf3 Nh4 {continuant de suivre une partie jouée
par l'ukrainien deux mois plus tôt} 14. Nxh4 Bxh4 15. Bf4 Bg5 16. Bg3 {
Fedorchuk,S (2673)-Antoniewski,R (2552) CRO-chT1A Bol 2014 (8.3) 1/2} Bh4 17.
Bf4 {Une nulle de salon} 1/2-1/2

[Event "POL-chT 66th"]
[Site "Katowice"]
[Date "2010.09.05"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Zhigalko, Sergei"]
[Black "Kryvoruchko, Yuriy"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2640"]
[BlackElo "2635"]
[Annotator "RR"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2010.09.04"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2016"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.10.08"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.10.08"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Dankowice"]
[BlackTeam "Gorzow Wielkopolski"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "POL"]
[BlackTeamCountry "POL"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 $5 {Une ligne secondaire qui avait été utilisée
lors du match de Londres 2000 qui avait relancé le mur de Berlin} (9... Ke8 {
La grande ligne}) (9... h6 {Kravtsiv,M (2559)-Navara,D (2722) 66th POL-ChT
2010 (1) 1/2}) 10. h3 h6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 Ne7 (12... b6 13. Rad1 c5 14. Nd5
a5 15. Nd2 Ne7 16. Ne3 Nf5 17. Nd5 Ne7 18. Ne3 Nf5 {1/2-1/2 (18) Kokarev,D 
(2621)-Leko,P (2730) Loo 2014}) 13. Ne2 a5 $1 (13... Ng6 14. Rfe1 a5 15. a4 Bb4
16. Red1 Re8 17. Ng3 Nf4 18. e6 Bxe6 19. Bxg7 Bd5 20. Bxh6 Nxh3+ 21. Kf1 Bxf3
22. gxf3 Rg8 23. Be3 Bd6 24. Rd2 b6 25. Rad1 Kb7 26. Kg2 {1/2-1/2 (26)
Karjakin,S (2772)-Bruzon Batista,L (2682) Poikovsky 2011}) 14. a4 {[%csl Rb4]}
c5 15. Nf4 Bf5 16. c4 g5 (16... Bc2 $11 {[%csl Rb3]}) 17. Nh5 Be6 18. Nd2 Ng6
19. g4 Be7 20. Rad1 Rg8 {Un coup assez mystérieux} (20... Rd8 {Plus naturel})
21. Ne4 b6 22. Nef6 Bxf6 23. exf6 (23. Nxf6) 23... Kb7 $132 {Les R Noires sont
liées et l'ukrainien a patiemment égalisé} 24. Kh2 Rad8 25. Kg3 Rd6 26. f4
gxf4+ 27. Nxf4 Nxf4 28. Kxf4 Rgd8 {L'idée de Rhg8 restera inexpliquée} 29.
Rde1 c6 30. Rf3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sautron op 13th"]
[Site "Sautron"]
[Date "2013.10.27"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Migot, Tangi"]
[Black "Le Roux, Jean Pierre"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2354"]
[BlackElo "2571"]
[Annotator "RR"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2013.10.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2016"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.10.08"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.10.08"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"]
[WhiteClock "1:30:00"]
[BlackClock "1:30:00"]

1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e5 {[%emt 0:03:34]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nc6 {
[%emt 0:00:25]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:18]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:01:37]} 4. O-O {[%emt 0:
02:20]} Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:44]} 5. Re1 {[%emt 0:00:18]} (5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 bxc6 (
6... dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 (9. Nc3 Ke8 10. Bf4 Be6 11. Rfd1 h6
12. h3 Be7 13. g4 $1 Nh4 14. Nxh4 Bxh4 15. Kg2 Be7 16. f3 Rd8 17. Ne2 $14 {
[%cal Ge2g3,Gg3f5,Gg3h5];Naiditsch,A (2715)-Wagner,D (2499) Grenke Chess
Classic 2nd 2014 (6) 1-0}) 9... Bd7 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Nc3 Kc8 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxe7
Nxe7 14. Rd2 c5 15. Rad1 Be6 16. Ne1 Ng6 17. Nd3 b6 18. Ne2 Bxa2 19. b3 c4 20.
Ndc1 cxb3 21. cxb3 Bb1 22. f4 Kb7 23. Nc3 Bf5 24. g4 Bc8 25. Nd3 h5 {Anand,V 
(2775)-Carlsen,M (2870) World Championship 2013 (4) 1/2} (25... Ne7 $142 26. f5
Nc6 {Anand})) 7. dxe5 Nb7 8. Qe2 Be7 9. c4 O-O 10. Nc3 f6 11. Re1 fxe5 12. Qxe5
Bf6 13. Qg3 Nd6 14. c5 {Stellwagen,D (2635)-Erdos,V (2576) Bundesliga 1011
2010 (9.3) 1/2} (14. Bf4 Nf5 {Erdos})) 5... Nd6 {[%emt 0:00:47]} 6. Nxe5 {
[%emt 0:00:42]} Be7 {[%emt 0:00:18] La variante de Rio de Janeiro} 7. Bf1 {
[%emt 0:00:47]} (7. Bd3 $5) 7... Nxe5 {[%emt 0:02:16]} (7... Nf5 {[%csl Gd4]}
8. c3 Nxe5 9. Rxe5 d6 10. Re1 O-O 11. d4 d5 12. Bf4 Bd6 13. Qf3 Nh4 14. Qg3 Nf5
$11 {Mastrovasilis,D (2604)-Hammer,J (2610) GRE-chT 39th 2011 (7.4) 1/2}) 8.
Rxe5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:03]} 9. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:53]} Bf6 {
[%emt 0:02:26]} (9... Ne8 10. Nd5 Bd6 11. Re1 c6 12. Ne3 Bc7 13. Nf5 d5 14.
Ne7+ Kh8 15. Nxc8 Rxc8 16. g3 Nd6 17. Bh3 f5 18. d3 Qf6 19. c3 Rce8 20. Bd2 Nf7
21. Rxe8 Rxe8 22. Qf1 f4 23. Re1 Rf8 24. Qe2 h6 25. Kh1 Ng5 26. Bg4 Bd6 27. h4
Nh7 28. Kg2 Qg6 29. Bh5 Qf5 30. Bg4 Qg6 31. Bh5 Qf5 32. Bg4 Qg6 {1/2-1/2 (32)
Nakamura,H (2772)-Carlsen,M (2862) Saint Louis 2013}) 10. Re1 {[%emt 0:02:23]}
Re8 {[%emt 0:01:02]} 11. Nd5 {[%emt 0:10:14]} Rxe1 {[%emt 0:03:01]} 12. Qxe1 {
[%emt 0:00:05]} b6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 13. g3 {[%emt 0:10:43]} Bb7 {[%emt 0:00:13]
} 14. Bg2 {[%emt 0:00:24]} Bxd5 $5 $146 {[%emt 0:00:56]} (14... c6 15. Ne3 Qe7
16. d3 Nf5 17. c3 d5 18. Bd2 Nxe3 19. Qxe3 Qxe3 20. Bxe3 Ba6 21. d4 Re8 22. a4
h6 23. h4 Bc8 24. b4 Bf5 25. a5 b5 26. Re1 g5 27. hxg5 hxg5 28. f3 Bd8 29. Kf2
Bc7 30. Bd2 Rxe1 31. Bxe1 f6 32. Bd2 Kg7 33. Bf1 a6 34. Be2 Kf7 35. Be3 Kg7 36.
Bd2 Kf7 37. Be3 Kg7 38. Bd2 Kf7 {1/2-1/2 (38) Adams,M (2710)-Kramnik,V (2795)
London 2012}) 15. Bxd5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} c6 $11 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 16. Bg2 {
[%emt 0:02:36]} Qf8 {[%emt 0:00:32][%cal Ga8e8]} 17. c3 {[%emt 0:07:28]} Re8
$32 {[%emt 0:11:00][%csl Ra1,Rc1,Re1]} 18. Qf1 {[%emt 0:02:45]} Qe7 {[%emt 0:
12:54]} 19. d3 {[%emt 0:05:39]} Bg5 {[%emt 0:13:38]} 20. f4 {[%emt 0:05:50]}
Bf6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 21. Bd2 {[%emt 0:00:20]} Nb7 {[%emt 0:08:08]} (21... Qe2
22. Qxe2 Rxe2 23. Rd1 $132 {[%csl Rb2,Ge2]}) 22. Re1 {[%emt 0:06:49]} Qd8 {
[%emt 0:01:51]} 23. Bf3 {[%emt 0:05:35]} Rxe1 {[%emt 0:07:30]} 24. Bxe1 {
[%emt 0:01:34]} d5 {[%emt 0:02:12]} 25. Qe2 {[%emt 0:04:52]} Nd6 {[%emt 0:05:
40]} (25... Kf8) 26. Bf2 {[%emt 0:01:51]} g6 {[%emt 0:01:30]} 27. Qc2 {[%emt 0:
09:35]} h5 {[%emt 0:09:23]} 28. Kg2 {[%emt 0:01:51]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:02:13]} 29.
h3 {[%emt 0:01:14]} Nf5 {[%emt 0:03:08]} 30. Qe2 {[%emt 0:07:06]} Qd6 {[%emt 0:
02:23]} (30... Qe7) 31. g4 {[%emt 0:04:20]} hxg4 {[%emt 0:01:47]} 32. hxg4 {
[%emt 0:00:05]} Nh4+ {[%emt 0:00:30]} 33. Bxh4 {[%emt 0:00:39]} Bxh4 {[%emt 0:
00:05]} 34. Qe5+ {[%emt 0:01:07] Après l'échange des Q, le GMI aura du mal
à jouer pour le gain} Qxe5 {[%emt 0:00:42]} 35. fxe5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Bg5 {
[%emt 0:02:38]} 36. c4 {[%emt 0:01:14]} dxc4 {[%emt 0:00:30]} 37. dxc4 {
[%emt 0:00:04]} Bc1 {[%emt 0:00:17]} 38. b3 {[%emt 0:00:32]} c5 {[%emt 0:00:32]
} 39. Bd5 {[%emt 0:00:26]} Bb2 {[%emt 0:00:52]} 40. e6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} fxe6 {
[%emt 0:00:00]} 41. Bxe6 {[%emt 0:00:11]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:28]} 42. Bd7 {
[%emt 0:02:18]} Ke5 {[%emt 0:00:33]} 43. Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:16]} Bc1 {[%emt 0:00:
31]} 1/2-1/2

[Event "POL-chT 66th"]
[Site "Katowice"]
[Date "2010.09.12"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Szelag, Marcin"]
[Black "Balogh, Csaba"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2464"]
[BlackElo "2608"]
[Annotator "RR"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2010.09.04"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2016"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.10.08"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.10.08"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Poznan Pocztowiec"]
[BlackTeam "Wroclaw Polonia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "POL"]
[BlackTeamCountry "POL"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h6 11. b3 a5 12. Bb2 h5 13. Rad1 Be7 $5 {
Le hongrois a beaucoup d'expérience avec ce mur de Berlin et il essaye
d'améliorer une partie qu'il avait jouée quelques mois plus tôt.} (13... h4
14. Ne2 Be7 15. Nf4 Rh6 16. Rfe1 a4 17. c4 g5 18. Ne2 Ng7 19. Nfd4 Nf5 20. Nf3
Ng7 21. Nh2 axb3 22. axb3 Ra2 23. Bc1 Rg6 24. Rd2 Ra1 25. Red1 Bf5 26. Ng4 Bxg4
27. hxg4 Ne6 28. Bb2 Rxd1+ 29. Rxd1 f6 30. f3 fxe5 31. Bxe5 Bc5+ 32. Kf1 Ke7
33. g3 Rh6 34. gxh4 Rxh4 35. Ng3 Ke8 36. Kg2 Rh7 37. Ne4 Be7 38. b4 Kf7 39. c5
Kg6 40. Ra1 b6 41. Ra6 Bd8 42. Ra7 Be7 43. Ra8 {Ivanchuk,V (2739)-Balogh,C 
(2628) Peristeri 2010 1-0 (91)}) 14. Rfe1 Be6 15. Re2 (15. Ne2 a4 16. Bc3 c5
17. Nf4 Rh6 18. g4 hxg4 19. hxg4 Nh4 20. Nxh4 Rxh4 21. f3 axb3 22. axb3 c4 23.
Nxe6 fxe6 24. bxc4 Ra3 25. Rd3 Ra4 26. Re4 Ra2 27. Re2 Ra4 {1/2-1/2 (27)
Bromberger,S (2530)-Balogh,C (2608) Germany 2011}) 15... Rd8 16. Rxd8+ Kxd8 17.
Bc1 c5 18. Rd2+ Kc8 {[%cal Gh8d8,Ge7d8]} 19. Nd5 {[%cal Gg2g4]} Bd8 {[%cal
Gc7c6]} 20. Rd1 Nd4 $1 21. Nxd4 Bxd5 22. Nf5 Be4 23. Ne3 (23. Nxg7 $4 Rg8 {
[%csl Rg2,Rg7]}) 23... Re8 24. f3 Bh7 (24... Bc6 $2 25. Nf5 {[%csl Rg7]}) 25.
f4 {[%cal Gf4f5]} (25. Bb2 Bg5 {[%csl Rc2]}) 25... g5 $1 26. g3 gxf4 27. gxf4
Rg8+ 28. Kh2 Bh4 $1 29. Rg1 $8 Rxg1 30. Kxg1 Be4 $17 {Les Noirs ont une bonne
finale} 31. Bd2 b6 32. c3 Kd7 33. Kf1 $2 Bg3 34. Ng2 Ke6 35. Ne3 Bxf4 36. Ke2
Bxe5 37. Nc4 Bg3 38. Bg5 f6 39. Bh6 Bg2 40. Ne3 Bxh3 41. Kf3 Be5 42. c4 Bf5 0-1

[Event "London Classic 2nd"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2010.12.08"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Howell, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2611"]
[Annotator "RR"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2010.12.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 140"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.01.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.01.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8.
dxe5 Nb7 9. c4 O-O 10. Nc3 f6 11. Re1 fxe5 12. Qxe5 Bf6 13. Qg3 Nc5 14. Bg5 Nd3
$2 ({Geboten ist} 14... d6) 15. Re3 $1 Nxb2 16. Rae1 $1 Bxg5 $2 {Nach diesem
zweiten Fehler ist Schwarz schon verloren.} ({Auch} 16... Nxc4 $2 {verliert
nach} 17. Re7 $1 Bxe7 18. Rxe7 {schnell.}) ({Dagegen bietet} 16... Ba6 $5 {
praktische Chancen, Weiß hat noch keinen klaren Gewinn, eine Möglichkeit wäre}
17. Ne4 Bxg5 18. Nexg5 Qf6 19. Ne5 h6 20. Ngf7 Rxf7 21. Rf3 Qg5 22. Qxg5 hxg5
23. Nxf7 {und das Endspiel sollte gewonnen sein.}) 17. Nxg5 Qf6 18. Rf3 Qd8 ({
Oder} 18... Qd6 19. Qh4 h6 20. Nf7 $1 Rxf7 21. Re8+ {mit Gewinnstellung.}) 19.
Nce4 Ba6 20. Nxh7 $1 Rxf3 ({Oder} 20... Kxh7 21. Ng5+ Kg8 22. Rxf8+ Qxf8 23.
Qh3 {mit baldigem Matt.}) 21. gxf3 Kxh7 22. Ng5+ Kg8 23. Qh4 Bxc4 24. Qh7+ Kf8
25. Re5 $1 Be6 26. Qh8+ Ke7 27. Qxg7+ Kd6 28. Ne4# 1-0

[Event "CHN-ch"]
[Site "Xinghua"]
[Date "2015.05.21"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Wei, Yi"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2718"]
[BlackElo "2757"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,A"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2015.05.18"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "CHN"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 167"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.07.13"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.07.13"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Bd7 10. Rd1 Be7 11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Nd2 Kc8 14.
Nf3 Be7 15. Rd3 h6 16. Nd4 b6 17. Rf3 Be8 18. Nf5 Bf8 19. b3 Bd7 20. Bb2 Be6
21. Nd4 Bd5 22. Re3 Bc5 23. c4 Be6 24. f4 g6 25. Rf1 Kb7 26. Kg2 Rad8 27. Rd3
$1 {This move is the start of an excellent concept. It seems as if White is
pinning himself, but this is not the end of the story.} h5 (27... Bxd4 28. Rxd4
Rdg8 $1 {Preventing the move f5, would have given Black excellent chances to
draw the game. However, h5 seemed so tempting...}) 28. Nxe6 {The point:} Rxd3
29. Nxc5+ bxc5 30. e6 {A simple attack on the rook, but it is not so easy to
deal with.} Rhd8 (30... Rf8 $2 31. Bg7 {loses instantly.}) 31. exf7 {The pawn
on f7 is still quite powerful. Black has a tough defense ahead of him.} Rd2+ $2
(31... Rf8 32. f5 $1 gxf5 33. g5 Rxf7 34. g6 Rf8 35. g7 Rg8 36. Be5 $1 {
Still is unpleasant for Black.} (36. Rxf5 $6 Rd2+ 37. Rf2 Rxb2 38. Rxb2 Rxg7+
$11)) (31... h4 32. Rf3 $1 (32. Bg7 Rg3+ 33. Kf2 Rd2+ 34. Ke1 Rgg2 {is a
computer-like draw.})) 32. Rf2 Rxf2+ 33. Kxf2 Rf8 34. f5 $1 Rxf7 35. Kg3 $1 {
This is the point of the combination.} gxf5 36. g5 {Despite Black's
overwhelming material advantage, he is completely powerless against the simple
g6-g7 followed by the forward king march. Black simply resigned before getting
zugzwnaged to death.} (36. g5 Kc8 37. g6 Rf8 38. g7 Rg8 39. Kf4 Kd7 40. Kxf5
Ke7 41. Kg6 Ke6 {and White has many ways to win. He can play Ba3-xc5-f8 and
then Kh7, trapping the rook and winning when Black runs out of moves, or
taking on h5 and making way for the h-pawn.}) 1-0

[Event "Biel GM 48th"]
[Site "Biel"]
[Date "2015.07.20"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2723"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,A"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 168"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.09.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.09.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke8 10. Nc3 Be7 11. Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 h6 13. Nge4 g5 $5 {
An interesting approach. Black severely wekens the f6 square, but he halts the
advance of White's pawns on the kingside. The computer seems to approve of
this idea, though computers aren't always the most reliable in the Berlin.} 14.
b4 {White takes a similar approach on Black's queenside pawns! However, if
this is the best MVL can do, Black should be ok.} a6 15. a4 Ke7 16. a5 Nh4 17.
Nc5 Ng6 18. f3 b6 19. Nd3 Bf5 20. Na4 Rhb8 21. Nab2 Rd8 22. Kf2 Rd4 23. Ke3 Rh4
24. h3 Ke6 25. c3 Nxe5 26. Nxe5 Kxe5 {Black managed to pick up the e-pawn, but
with an awkward rook on h4 and some problems with his queenside structure
there is no way to claim an advantage.} 27. axb6 cxb6 28. Na4 b5 (28... Rb8 $5
29. Nb2 c5 30. Rxa6 cxb4 31. c4 $1 $11) 29. Nc5 Rc4 30. Ra3 Ra7 31. g4 Bg6 32.
Nd7+ Ke6 33. Nc5+ Ke5 34. Nd7+ Ke6 35. Nc5+ Ke7 {Playing for a win, but Black
doesn't have anything real here.} 36. Rd4 Rxd4 37. Kxd4 Bc2 38. Ra2 Bd1 $6 {
this is even over-ambitious.} 39. Ke3 Ra8 40. f4 f6 41. f5 (41. Ra1 $1 gxf4+
42. Kxf4 Bc2 43. h4 $14) 41... h5 42. Ra1 Ba4 43. Nxa4 bxa4 44. Rxa4 hxg4 45.
hxg4 Kd6 {Black has an uncomfortable endgame to defend, but it is still a draw.
} 46. Kd4 Rh8 47. Rxa6 Rh4 48. b5 Rxg4+ 49. Kd3 Rg3+ 50. Kc4 Rg4+ 51. Kb3 Kc5
52. Rxc6+ Kxb5 53. Rxf6 Rf4 54. Rf8 g4 55. Rg8 Rxf5 56. Rxg4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sinquefield Cup 1st"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2013.09.14"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2772"]
[BlackElo "2862"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,A"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2013.09.09"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 157"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2013.11.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2013.11.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5
8. Rxe5 {Nakamura uses a line that has given Carlsen some problems in the past,
both sides seemed to have been very well prepared.} O-O 9. Nc3 Ne8 10. Nd5 Bd6
11. Re1 c6 12. Ne3 Bc7 13. Nf5 d5 14. Ne7+ Kh8 15. Nxc8 Rxc8 16. g3 {Only this
move is actually new. Moving the bishop to the h3-f5 diagonal can cause Black
some problems, or at least that was the American's original plan. Carlsen
ignores this and obtains an acceptable position.} Nd6 (16... Qd7 17. d3 Nf6 18.
Qf3 {is slightly more pleasant for White due to the pair of bishops, without
it being anything special.}) 17. Bh3 f5 18. d3 (18. d4 $6 {takes control of e5,
but is not as important as the fact that it loses control of e4.}) 18... Qf6
19. c3 (19. Bf4 Qxb2 20. Be5 Qa3 21. Qh5 Kg8 22. Qg5 {gives White some
compensation, but of course Black doesn't have to take on b2.}) 19... Rce8 20.
Bd2 Nf7 21. Rxe8 Rxe8 22. Qf1 f4 23. Re1 Rf8 24. Qe2 h6 25. Kh1 Ng5 26. Bg4 Bd6
{Black has solved most of his problems because White has to consistently pay
attention to his kingside. The only way of kicking the knight out of g5 is
with h4, which will weaken g3 and increase the power of the d6-bishop.} 27. h4
Nh7 28. Kg2 Qg6 29. Bh5 Qf5 30. Bg4 Qg6 31. Bh5 Qf5 32. Bg4 Qg6 {Neither side
is really playing for anything, and with White's kingside weaknesses it's
fully understandable that he immediately agreed to a draw. With this important
results Carlsen goes into the last round with an extra half a point.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Paris FIDE GP"]
[Site "Elancourt"]
[Date "2013.09.29"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"]
[Black "Bacrot, Etienne"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2757"]
[BlackElo "2723"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,A"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2013.09.22"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 157"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2013.11.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2013.11.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]
[WhiteClock "2:00:00"]
[BlackClock "2:00:00"]

1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:14]} Nc6 {
[%emt 0:00:06]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 4. O-O {[%emt 0:
00:47]} Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 5. d4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Nd6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 6.
Bxc6 {[%emt 0:00:15]} dxc6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 7. dxe5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Nf5 {
[%emt 0:00:06]} 8. Qxd8+ {[%emt 0:00:08]} Kxd8 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 9. h3 {[%emt 0:
00:07]} Ke8 {[%emt 0:00:31]} 10. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:36]} h5 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 11.
Bf4 {[%emt 0:00:57]} Be7 {[%emt 0:01:43]} 12. Rad1 {[%emt 0:00:16]} Be6 {
[%emt 0:01:29]} (12... Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14. Ne2 Bd7 15. Rfe1 Rd8 16. Nd4 Bc8
17. c3 Rd5 18. e6 Bf6 19. exf7+ Kxf7 20. Bxc7 g5 21. Nf3 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 Re8 23.
Nd2 b5 24. f3 Bf5 25. Kf2 Re7 26. Bd8 Rd7 27. Bxf6 Bc2 28. Rg1 Rxd2+ 29. Ke3
Rd5 30. Bh8 Kg8 31. c4 bxc4 32. Bc3 Kf7 33. Rc1 Bd3 34. h4 gxh4 35. Rh1 Rg5 36.
Kf2 Rd5 37. Rxh4 Ke6 38. Rh2 a5 39. Kg3 a4 40. a3 Rg5+ 41. Kh4 Rd5 42. Rh1 {
Adams,M (2740)-Andreikin,D (2727) Dortmund 2013 1-0 (64)}) 13. Ng5 {[%emt 0:00:
27]} Rh6 {[%emt 0:03:15]} 14. Rfe1 Bb4 {[%emt 0:05:08]} 15. g4 {[%emt 0:00:50]}
hxg4 {[%emt 0:00:44]} 16. hxg4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Ne7 {[%emt 0:25:10]} 17. Nxe6 {
[%emt 0:08:33]} Rxe6 {[%emt 0:01:06]} 18. Re3 $146 {[%emt 0:00:10]} (18. Kg2
Bxc3 19. bxc3 Rd8 20. Rb1 b5 21. Kg3 Rd5 22. c4 Rc5 23. Re4 a6 24. Rb3 Ng6 25.
Ra3 f6 26. Rxa6 Nxf4 27. Kxf4 Rexe5 28. Rxe5+ fxe5+ 29. Kf5 Kf7 30. Ra7 g6+ 31.
Kg5 e4+ 32. Kh6 Rxc4 33. Rxc7+ Ke6 34. g5 Rxc2 35. Kxg6 Rxf2 36. Rxc6+ Kd5 37.
Rb6 Kc5 38. Re6 Kd4 39. Rd6+ Kc5 40. Re6 Kd4 41. Rd6+ Kc5 42. Re6 {1/2-1/2 (42)
Karjakin,S (2786)-Grischuk,A (2764) Moscow 2013}) 18... Rg6 {[%emt 0:04:07]}
19. Rg3 {[%emt 0:05:39]} Bxc3 {[%emt 0:04:51] This Berlin defense went in
completely the wrong way for the Cuban. His structure was shattered in the
queenside early on while Black's pieces became active. With his kingside pawn
expanse blocked on the light squares and being saddled with a dark squared
bishop, it was only Black that had any hopes of being better. However Bacrot
seemed to think that White's position was solid enough and forced a repetition
in a position where maybe he could have at least played on for a few more
moves.} 20. bxc3 {[%emt 0:00:17]} Rd8 {[%emt 0:00:23]} 21. Rxd8+ {[%emt 0:49:
19]} Kxd8 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 22. Kg2 {[%emt 0:03:05]} c5 {[%emt 0:08:56]} 23. Bc1
{[%emt 0:04:32]} Ra6 {[%emt 0:11:56]} 24. a3 {[%emt 0:00:29]} Ra4 {[%emt 0:00:
28]} 25. f4 {[%emt 0:03:42]} g6 {[%emt 0:07:24]} 26. Rd3+ {[%emt 0:09:27]} Ke8
{[%emt 0:00:08]} 27. Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:34]} b6 {[%emt 0:05:35]} 28. Rd1 {[%emt 0:
08:24]} Rc4 {[%emt 0:02:07]} 29. Bd2 {[%emt 0:01:50]} Ra4 {[%emt 0:06:50]} 30.
Bc1 {[%emt 0:00:47]} Rc4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 31. Bd2 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Ra4 {
[%emt 0:00:05]} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tashkent FIDE GP"]
[Site "Tashkent"]
[Date "2014.10.21"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Kasimdzhanov, Rustam"]
[Black "Jakovenko, Dmitrij"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2706"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,A"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[EventDate "2014.10.21"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "UZB"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 163"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.11.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.11.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5
8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 Ne8 10. Nd5 Bd6 11. Re2 c6 12. Ne3 Bc7 13. Nf5 d5 14. Ne7+
Kh8 15. Nxc8 Rxc8 16. d3 Nf6 {A brilliant novelty changing the evaluation of
the Berlin Defense. No, just kidding, the position is still just equal.} (16...
f5 17. g3 Qf6 18. Bd2 Nd6 19. Bc3 d4 $2 {Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime - Giri, Anish;
Biel 2014 1-0}) 17. g3 Ng4 18. h3 (18. Bh3 f5 {and the computers are giving
White an edge, but I do not know why.}) 18... Nf6 19. Bd2 Qd7 20. Bg2 Rce8 21.
Rxe8 Rxe8 22. Qf3 Kg8 23. Re1 Rxe1+ 24. Bxe1 Qe6 25. Kf1 g6 26. Qe2 h5 27. Bd2
Ne8 28. c4 Be5 29. b3 Nf6 30. Qe3 a6 31. Bb4 Kg7 32. a4 Bb2 33. Bd2 Qd6 34. b4
Nd7 35. cxd5 cxd5 36. a5 Nf6 37. Bf3 Qd7 38. Kg2 Qf5 39. Qe2 Bd4 40. g4 hxg4
41. hxg4 Qe6 42. g5 Ng8 43. Bg4 Qxe2 44. Bxe2 Ne7 45. Bd1 f6 46. gxf6+ Kxf6 47.
Ba4 Nf5 48. b5 axb5 49. Bxb5 Nh4+ 50. Kf1 Nf3 51. Bb4 g5 52. Ke2 Ne5 53. Bd2
Kf5 54. Ba4 Kf6 55. Bb3 Ke6 56. Ba4 Kf6 57. Bb5 Kf5 58. Be8 Kf6 59. Ba4 Kf5 60.
f3 Kf6 61. Bb3 1/2-1/2

[Event "St Petersburg Four Masters"]
[Site "St Petersburg"]
[Date "1896.01.23"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Pillsbury, Harry Nelson"]
[Black "Lasker, Emanuel"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "Rogozenco,D"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "1895.12.13"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "18"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "Tournaments"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2004.03.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2004.03.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 {Although in his second
round game versus Pillsbury Lasker reached an almost equal position, he lost
that game and now he decided to go a different way. However, it is interesting
is that Lasker is again ready to play a slightly inferiour endgame, despite
the fact that in the second round Pillsbury played very well the endgame and
outplayed the World Champion. This proves that Lasker didn't lose his
confidence even after that painful defeat.} (5... Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6
8. dxe5 Nb7 9. b3 O-O 10. Bb2 d5 11. exd6 cxd6 12. Nbd2 Bf6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14.
Rfe1 Nc5 15. Ne4 Nxe4 16. Qxe4 Bd7 17. c4 $14 {/=. 1-0 Pillsbury,H-Lasker,E/St
Petersburg (2) 1895 (46)}) 6. Bg5 (6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {
Main line, which nowardays gained back some popularity thanks to Vladimir
Kramnik. Lasker played it before St. Petersburg several times and probably
thanks to the given below game from 1890 played in Berlin the whole line is
named "The Berlin Defence".} 9. Bg5+ (9. Nc3 h6 10. Bd2 Be6 11. Ne2 c5 12. Bc3
g5 13. Nd2 Kd7 14. f4 $14 {1-0 Tarrasch,S-Lasker,E/Hastings 1895 (49)}) 9...
Ke8 10. Nc3 h6 11. Bd2 Be7 12. Ne2 Be6 13. b3 Rd8 14. Rad1 Bd5 15. Ne1 c5 16.
c4 Bc6 17. Nc2 Be4 18. Ne3 Nd4 19. Nf4 Bg5 20. Nfd5 c6 21. f4 Bh4 22. Ba5 b6
23. Nxb6 axb6 24. Bxb6 Ne2+ 25. Kh1 Rxd1 26. Rxd1 Nxf4 27. Bxc5 Nd3 {0-1 Scha/
Schneppe/Schone-Lasker,Em/Ked/Wolff/Berlin 1890}) (6. dxe5 Nxb5 7. a4 d6 8.
axb5 (8. e6 $1 Bxe6 9. axb5 Ne5 10. Nd4 {ECO}) 8... Nxe5 9. Re1 Be7 $11 {
/=/+. 0-1 Baird,D-Lasker,E/New York(sim) 1892 (58)}) 6... Be7 7. Bxc6 Bxg5 8.
dxe5 dxc6 9. Nxg5 Qxg5 10. exd6 cxd6 11. Re1+ Be6 12. Qxd6 Rd8 13. Qa3 a6 14.
Nc3 Qe7 15. Qxe7+ Kxe7 16. Ne4 b6 17. Ng5 Rd5 (17... Rd2 18. Rac1 $11) 18. Nxe6
fxe6 19. Re2 Rhd8 20. Rae1 R8d6 21. f4 {The endgame is equal. It is amazing
that Pillsbury succeeded to create some chances even in this position. But of
course Lasker drew it rather confidently.} Rd2 22. Kf2 Kf6 23. Kf3 Rxe2 24.
Rxe2 Rd5 25. g4 a5 26. Re3 Rd2 27. Rc3 c5 28. Rb3 Rxh2 29. Rxb6 g6 30. c3 h5
31. Rb5 hxg4+ 32. Kg3 Rd2 33. a4 c4 34. Rxa5 Rxb2 35. Rc5 Ra2 36. Rxc4 g5 37.
fxg5+ Kxg5 38. Rxg4+ Kf5 39. Kf3 Ra3 40. Rc4 Ke5 41. Ke3 Kd5 42. Kd3 e5 43. Rb4
Ra2 44. c4+ Kc6 45. Kc3 e4 46. Kb3 Ra1 47. Rb5 e3 48. Re5 Rb1+ 49. Kc3 Ra1 50.
Rxe3 Rxa4 1/2-1/2

[Event "London Classic 7th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2015.12.04"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2750"]
[BlackElo "2793"]
[Annotator "Roiz,M"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2015.12.04"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 170"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 Be6 {One of many possible setups in the Berlin.
The position of theBe6 is rather unstable, but it is not easy for White to
benefit from that.} (10... h5 {is the most popular continuation here.}) 11. g4
{Alexander chooses the most ambitious way of handling the position. White
manages to make some progress on the k-side, but Black now gets some targets
for an attack too.} (11. Rd1 {, as was played by Vishy against Magnus Carlsen
in the same event looks somewhat more flexible here.}) 11... Ne7 12. Nd4 ({
Another way to challenge the bishop is} 12. Ng5 {, but Black shouldn't face
any problems, as was proved in 2 games of GM Arkadij Naiditsch:} Bc4 (12... Bd7
13. f4 h5 14. f5 hxg4 15. hxg4 Rh4 16. Rf4 Nd5 $132 {0-1 Volokitin,A (2695)
-Naiditsch,A (2712)/San Sebastian 2012}) 13. Re1 Nd5 14. e6 f6 15. Nf7 Nxc3 16.
bxc3 Rg8 $15 {0-1 Bobras,P (2535)-Naiditsch,A (2710)/Germany 2014}) 12... Bd7 {
Keeping the light-squared bishop on the board is almost necessary. Now Black
is ready to put some pressure on White's pawn chain by means of 13...h5.} 13.
Kh2 {A consistent, but somewhat slow approach. The king is coming to support
the vulnerable Pg4.} ({The other possibilities have been tested on the highest
level:} 13. f4 h5 14. f5 hxg4 15. hxg4 Rh4 16. Rf4 Nd5 17. Nxd5 cxd5 18. Nf3
Rh8 19. Be3 (19. Bd2 a5 20. Re1 Ra6 21. g5 Rh5 22. Bc3 Bc5+ 23. Kg2 d4 $132 {
Sutovsky,E (2700)-Iordachescu,V (2646)/Baku 2011}) 19... c5 20. c3 g5 21. Nxg5
Bh6 22. Rf2 Rg8 $11 {Karjakin,S (2762)-Mamedyarov,S (2736)/Baku AZE 2015}) (13.
Re1 h5 14. e6 fxe6 15. Nxe6 Bxe6 16. Rxe6 Kd7 17. Re2 hxg4 18. hxg4 Ng6 19. Bg5
Bd6 $11 {Caruana,F (2829)-Nakamura,H (2775)/London ENG 2014}) 13... c5 ({
There was nothing wrong also with} 13... Nd5 14. Ndb5 Kd8 15. Rd1 Kc8 16. Nxd5
cxd5 17. a4 c6 $11 {, but Hikaru's choice is more ambitious.}) 14. Ndb5 {
This retreat is the most aggressive, but White's setup is not harmonious now.}
({It was better to keep the balance by means of} 14. Nde2 h5 15. Kg3 Nc6 16.
Nd5 Rc8 17. Bf4 Nd4 18. Nxd4 cxd4 19. Rad1 c5 20. Bg5 $1 $11) 14... Kd8 {
Obviously, the Nb5 is poorly placed now.} 15. Be3 $146 {This novelty doesn't
change the unfavourable course of the game, but it is still a clear
improvement over the preceding game.} ({The following attempt to change the
character of the battle} 15. e6 $6 fxe6 16. Bf4 a6 {fails to} 17. Nxc7 Rc8 $2
$17 {Jarmula,L (2368)-Loetscher,R (2439)/Panevezys LTU 2015}) 15... a6 {
The Nb5 is misplaced and doesn't bother Black, so this move wasn't necessary.}
({Possibly, a more unpleasant move for Grischuk would be} 15... b6 $5 16. Rad1
Kc8 17. f4 h5 18. Kg3 g6 $15) 16. Na3 b6 17. Ne4 {Leaving the Na3 out of play
for a long time is very risky.} ({It was worth paying serious attention to} 17.
f4 $5 h5 18. Kg3 Nc6 (18... Kc8 19. Nc4 Bb5 20. b3 Nc6 21. Rad1 $132) 19. Nc4
Be7 20. Rad1 $132 {with complex double-edged play.}) 17... h5 18. Kg3 hxg4 19.
hxg4 Bc6 20. Ng5 $6 {Alexander moves another knight in a wrong direction.
Perhaps, he had underestimated Black's strong 21st move.} (20. Rad1+ {was much
better:} Ke8 21. Nc3 f5 22. exf6 gxf6 23. Nc4 $11) 20... Ke8 21. f4 $6 {
This aggressive advance leaves the king much more exposed.} (21. Rad1 Nd5 22.
Bc1 Be7 23. Rfe1 {with a slightly worse, but solid position.}) 21... f5 $1 {
Taking control over the f5-square. Now White is in trouble.} 22. Rad1 ({
Opening-up the g-file would definitely suit Black here:} 22. exf6 gxf6 23. Nf3
({The most ''aggressive''} 23. Ne6 $6 {invites more troubles:} Kf7 $1 24. f5 (
24. Nxc7 Ra7 $17) 24... Nd5 25. Bf4 Nxf4 26. Nxf4 b5 $1 $19 {[%csl Ra3,Rg3]
[%cal Gf8d6]}) 23... Rg8 24. Nh4 Kf7 $36 {Still, it was the lesser evil for
Alexander...}) 22... g6 $1 23. Ne6 fxg4 $1 {As a result of Black's powerful
play, the position is winning for Hikaru.} (23... Rc8 $6 {would be less
energetic:} 24. g5 Nd5 25. Bd2 Be7 26. c4 Kf7 27. cxd5 Bxd5 28. Nxc5 Bxc5 29.
Be3 $15) 24. Nxc7+ Kf7 25. e6+ ({The greedy} 25. Nxa8 {loses on the spot:} Nf5+
26. Kf2 Rh2+ 27. Ke1 Nxe3) 25... Kg8 26. Kxg4 Ra7 {A definite inaccuracy,
though it doesn't spoil the win yet.} ({A much simpler way was} 26... Rc8 $1
27. Nxa6 (27. Rd7 Nf5 28. Bf2 Bd6 $19) 27... Nf5 28. Bf2 Rh2 $19 {with
complete domination.}) 27. Rd7 $1 {The awkward placement of Ra7 leaves White
some hopes.} Nf5 28. Bf2 {The only defence.} Nh6+ 29. Kg3 Nf5+ 30. Kg4 Be7 $1 {
The most precise. White is going to lose the rook anyway.} (30... Bxd7 {
would be less convincing:} 31. exd7 Be7 32. Nd5 Rxd7 33. Nxb6 $17) 31. Rfd1
Nh6+ {A practical decision - it always makes sense to repeat the moves in
order to get some extra time.} 32. Kg3 Nf5+ 33. Kg4 Nh6+ $2 {However,
reepating the moves twice is an indisputable mistake.} ({GM Nakamura fails to
exploit the vulnerablity of the opponent's king by means of} 33... Rh5 $1 34.
Rxe7 ({But} 34. Rd8+ {is hopeless:} Bxd8 35. Rxd8+ Kg7 36. Ne8+ Kf8 37. Nf6+
Ke7 38. Nxh5 Kxd8 $19) ({There is also no time for slow play like} 34. Nc4 Nh6+
35. Kg3 Bh4+ 36. Kh2 Bxf2# $19) 34... Nxe7 35. Rd8+ Kh7 36. Rd7 Bxd7 37. exd7
Nc6 38. Ne6 Rd5 39. Nc4 Rb7 $19 {Despite the activity of all White's pieces,
Black should be able to convert the material advantage into a full point.}) 34.
Kg3 Rh7 $2 {Another step in the wrong direction.} ({The only way to
consolidate the position and keep some material advantage was:} 34... Kf8 $1
35. Nd5 ({Probably} 35. Nc4 {is worse:} Nf5+ 36. Kg4 Rh5 37. Rd8+ Bxd8 38.
Rxd8+ Ke7 39. Rc8 Rh2 $17) 35... Bxd7 36. exd7 Nf5+ 37. Kf3 Rxd7 38. Nc4 Bd8
39. Ne5 Rd6 40. Nc4 Re6 41. Ndxb6 Bxb6 42. Nxb6 Rh3+ 43. Kg2 Ne3+ 44. Bxe3
Rhxe3 $17) 35. Nc4 {The poor knight is coming back, so the main problem of
Alexander has been solved!} Nf5+ 36. Kg4 Nh6+ {Accepting a draw looks like a
reasonable decision now.} ({Now} 36... Rh5 {is much less effective than before:
} 37. Rd8+ $1 Bxd8 ({After} 37... Kg7 38. R1d7 {Black has to force a draw by
pereptual.}) 38. Rxd8+ Kg7 39. Ne8+ Kf8 ({Nor is anything achieved by} 39...
Bxe8 40. Rxe8 Re7 41. Rxe7+ Nxe7 42. Nxb6 $11) 40. Nf6+ Ke7 41. Rc8 Bb7 42.
Ng8+ Kxe6 43. Rf8 {the lack of harmony in Black's camp yields White sufficient
counterplay.}) 37. Kg3 Nf5+ 38. Kg4 Nh6+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "London Classic 7th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2015.12.06"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2803"]
[BlackElo "2850"]
[Annotator "Roiz,M"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2015.12.04"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 170"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 Be6 11. Rd1 Bc5 {Magnus chooses a somewhat
dubious, but unexplored theoretical continuation. This position had been seen
in only 1 game before.} ({The most common alternatives are} 11... Bb4 12. Ne2
Bd5 13. Ned4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Rd8 15. Bd2 (15. Be3 $5) 15... Bc5 16. Nf5 Bf8 17.
Be3 b6 18. f3 Be6 19. g4 Rd5 $11 {1/2 Vachier Lagrave,M (2722)-Fressinet,L 
(2698)/Caen 2011}) ({and} 11... h6 12. b3 Rd8 13. Bb2 Bb4 14. Ne2 Bd5 15. Nfd4
Be4 16. c4 Nxd4 17. Nxd4 Ke7 18. f3 Bg6 $11 {1/2 Hou Yifan (2671)-Mamedyarov,S
(2736)/Baku AZE 2015}) 12. g4 $1 $146 {This natural advance is a novelty. It
definitely makes sense to make progress on the kingside as soon as possible.} (
{In the preceding game Black didn't experience any problems after} 12. Bf4 h6
13. a3 Rd8 $11 {Parma,B-Bisguier,A/Caracas 1970}) 12... Ne7 13. Ng5 Bd5 ({
It looks like} 13... Ng6 {doesn't fully solve the problems either:} 14. Kg2 $1
({After} 14. Nce4 Be7 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. f4 Rf8 17. Rf1 Rd8 18. Be3 b6 19. Kg2 {
White's position is more pleasant, but it would bew very difficult to make any
progress}) 14... Be7 (14... h5 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. f4 Rf8 17. Ne4 Be7 18. Rf1 Rd8
19. Be3 $14) 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. f4 Rf8 17. Ne2 Rd8 18. Be3 $14) 14. Nge4 ({
The following line} 14. Nxd5 $5 cxd5 15. e6 f6 16. Nf7 Rf8 17. Bf4 Rc8 18. Rd3
$14 {looks somewhat scary for White - the Nf7 has no vacant squares. However,
Black's position is very passive here, so it was an option worth considering.})
14... Bb6 {Black experiences some problems with connecting the rooks.} 15. Kg2
{Vishy doesn't hurry with any ''drastic'' decisions.} ({A more energetic way
of handling the position was} 15. a4 $5 a5 16. Nxd5 cxd5 17. Ng3 $14) 15... Rd8
16. Bf4 ({For some reason, Anand rejected the most natural} 16. Kg3 Ng6 17. f4
{, though White's position looks quite attractive here. For instance,} h5 18.
Nxd5 Rxd5 19. Bd2 $14) 16... Ng6 17. Bg3 h5 ({The immediate attempt to connect
the rooks is dubious:} 17... Ke7 $6 18. f4 $1 Rhe8 19. Nxd5+ cxd5 20. Nc3 d4
21. Ne4 $16) 18. f4 hxg4 19. hxg4 {One of Black's rooks has a job to do along
the h-file, but their position is still rather passive.} Ke7 {One more risky
decision. The king is getting vulnerable now.} (19... Nh4+ 20. Bxh4 Rxh4 21.
Kg3 Rh8 22. Rh1 Ke7 23. Rxh8 Rxh8 24. Rd1 Rd8 25. Ng5 $14) 20. Rh1 ({Another
possible move was} 20. Nxd5+ $5 cxd5 21. Nc3 c6 (21... d4 22. Na4 f6 23. Nxb6
axb6 24. exf6+ Kxf6 25. f5 $14) 22. Rh1 {White's pieces are somewhat more
active, so Black is under pressure. For instance,} Bc7 23. Ne2 f6 24. e6 $14)
20... Bd4 21. Nxd5+ cxd5 22. Nc3 (22. Ng5 $5 Rxh1 (22... Bxb2 23. Rxh8 Nxh8 24.
Rb1 Bd4 25. f5 $16) 23. Rxh1 Rh8 24. Rd1 Be3 25. Kf3 d4 26. Ne4 $14) 22... Bxc3
23. bxc3 {Black has been able to simplify matters and damage White's pawn
structure, but the poor placement of theNg6 and vulnerablity of his king make
the position very dangerous.} Kd7 24. f5 Ne7 25. Rae1 $6 {Spoiling the lion's
share of his advantage.} ({A much more energetic and stronger move would be} 
25. Rhf1 $1 Nc8 (25... Rde8 26. Rad1 Kc8 27. c4 $1 $16 dxc4 $140 28. e6 fxe6
29. fxe6 Nc6 30. Rf7 $18) 26. e6+ fxe6 27. fxe6+ Kc6 28. Rf7 Nd6 29. Rxg7 Rdg8
30. Rxg8 Rxg8 31. Kf3 $16) 25... Rde8 26. Kf3 $6 {Mistakes rarely come alone!}
({The precise} 26. Bf4 {would keep Black under pressure:} Rxh1 27. Rxh1 Nc6 28.
Rh7 Rg8 29. Kf3 $14) 26... Rxh1 27. Rxh1 Nc6 {Now it is obvious, that the K is
misplaced on f3.} 28. Re1 {Alas, leaving the open file is the only way to
fight for a win now.} ({Indeed, after} 28. Rh7 Nxe5+ {Black manages to solve
all his problems:} 29. Bxe5 (29. Kf4 f6 30. Rxg7+ Re7 $11) 29... Rxe5 30. Rxg7
Ke7 $11) 28... g5 {An interesting move - now White has less space for the
pieces.} ({Another possibility was} 28... Na5 29. g5 Nc4 30. Kg4 b6 31. g6 fxg6
32. e6+ Ke7 33. Bh4+ Kd6 $11) 29. a4 a6 30. Kg2 ({Another, more aggressive way
of handling the position was} 30. c4 $5 dxc4 (30... Nd4+ 31. Kf2 Nxc2 32. Rd1
d4 33. Rd2 Nb4 34. Rxd4+ Kc8 35. Kf3 $14) 31. Rd1+ Ke7 32. Ke4 $44 {obtaining
excellent compensation for a pawn.}) 30... Kc8 31. Kf2 b6 32. Kf3 Kd7 {It is
very difficult for either side to make any progress now.} 33. Kf2 Kc8 34. Re3
$6 {For some reason, Vishy deviates from repeating the moves, but letting
Black put the knight on c4 is a serious mistake.} (34. Kf3 $11) 34... Na5 $1 {
Suddenly White finds himself in a difficult situation.} 35. Re1 (35. e6 fxe6
36. fxe6 Rf8+ 37. Kg2 Nc4 38. Re1 Re8 39. Bf2 Kd8 40. Be3 Rg8 $17) 35... Nc4
36. Kf3 Kd7 $6 {This natural move seems to be inaccurate, though the
refutation isn't trivial...} (36... a5 {was stronger} {and if} 37. Rh1 {then}
Nxe5+ 38. Bxe5 Rxe5 39. Rh7 Re7 40. Rh5 b5 {and the a-passer should decide the
game:} 41. Rxg5 bxa4 42. f6 Re6 43. Rxd5 Rxf6+ 44. Ke3 Kb7 $19) 37. Kg2 $6 ({
It was the right moment for liquidating into a rook ending at the cost of a
pawn:} 37. Rh1 $1 Nxe5+ 38. Bxe5 Rxe5 39. Rh5 Re4 40. Rxg5 Rxa4 41. Rh5 {
with sufficient counterplay.}) 37... a5 38. Kf2 $2 {The waiting strategy isn't
a successful approach here.} ({The active way of defending was more to the
point:} 38. Rh1 $1 Nxe5 39. Rh7 b5 $1 (39... Kd8 40. Bxe5 Rxe5 41. Rxf7 Re2+
42. Kf3 Rxc2 43. Rg7 Rxc3+ 44. Kf2 $11) 40. axb5 a4 41. Bxe5 Rxe5 42. Rxf7+ Re7
43. Rf6 Re4 44. Kf3 {White's position seems difficult here, but the limited
material balance offers definite drawing chances.}) 38... c6 39. Kg2 b5 40. Rb1
Rh8 $2 {Returning the favour.} ({There was no reason for rejecting} 40... Nxe5
41. axb5 Nxg4 {and Black should be able to convert the extra pawn into the
full point. For instance,} 42. b6 Ne3+ 43. Kf3 g4+ 44. Kf4 f6 45. Bf2 Kc8 46.
b7+ Kb8 47. Kg3 a4 48. Ra1 Re4 $19) 41. Bf2 $1 {Vishy doesn't miss the golden
opportunity to activate his bishop.} Nxe5 ({White is doing OK also after} 41...
Rb8 42. Bd4 Kc7 43. Kg3 $132 bxa4 $140 $2 44. Rxb8 Kxb8 45. e6 fxe6 46. f6 $18)
42. axb5 Nxg4 ({The b-passer offers White sufficient counterplay after} 42...
Nc4 43. b6 Rb8 44. Bc5 Rb7 45. Ra1 $11) 43. bxc6+ Kxc6 44. Bd4 Re8 45. Kg3 {
Now all White's pieces are perfectly placed.} Ne5 ({Nor was anything promised
by} 45... Re4 46. Rb6+ Kc7 47. Ra6 Ne3 48. Bxe3 Rxe3+ 49. Kg4 Rxc3 50. Kxg5
Rxc2 51. Rxa5 Kd6 52. Ra7 d4 53. Kf4 $11) 46. Rb6+ Kc7 47. Rf6 Kd7 ({Or} 47...
a4 48. Bxe5+ Rxe5 49. Rxf7+ Kb6 50. Rf6+ Kb5 51. Rf8 $11) 48. Bxe5 Rxe5 49. Kg4
({There was nothing wrong with} 49. Rxf7+ Re7 50. Rf6 $11) 49... Ke7 50. Kxg5 {
There is no way to avoid a draw now.} Re1 (50... Re3 51. Ra6 f6+ 52. Kg4 Rxc3
53. Rxa5 $11) 51. Ra6 f6+ 52. Kg4 Rg1+ 53. Kf4 Rf1+ 54. Kg4 Rg1+ 55. Kf4 Rf1+
56. Kg4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Redbus KO"]
[Site "Southend"]
[Date "2000.??.??"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Rowson, Jonathan"]
[Black "Miles, Anthony John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2499"]
[BlackElo "2579"]
[Annotator "Rowson,J"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2000.04.21"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 076"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2000.05.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2000.05.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 4101]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6
7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {Miles has been playing this system for decades with
an intimidating success rate. It was no surprise that he should wheel it out
against me in the context of a two game match because Black has excellent
winning chances if White plays inaccurately but retains fair drawing chances
even if White plays very well. That said, I had heard Mickey Adams comment
that "strong players always win this ending as White" and it has recently
become fairly clear how White should set about playing this ending.} 9. Nc3 Ke8
{[%csl Ra2,Rb2,Rc2,Re8][%cal Gc8e6,Ge6d5,Gf8b4] I think the reason that so
many players mess up this ending when playing White is that they confuse it
with an exchange Ruy Lopez where White is trying to exchange pieces and slowly
win with the "extra" pawn on the kingside. Such an approach ignores the most
pertinent factors in this position, namely the vunerability of black's king
(despite being on e8, it still can't castle-it's easy to forget this, but
important to remember!), White's space advantage(hard for Black to find good
posts for all three minor pieces) White's light sqaured weaknesses(pawn fixed
on e5, no light squared bishop) and Black's long term superiority on the
queenside(4v3; Black cannot force a passed pawn, but can create weaknesses by
gaining space there). In general White should be trying to prevent the Black
pieces from coordinating effectively(e.g avoid being forced to defend c2 or e5
passively), keep both knights on the board(good for hassling the bishops and
keeping control of the light squares) and avoid the exchange of rooks(keeps
pressure on the black king). Whilst doing so, White should wait for a suitable
moment to advance the kingside pawns without allowing counterplay based on ...
h5 or...f5.} 10. h3 $1 {[%cal Gg2g4] Trendy and effective. g4 is now a serious
option and Black has to commit himself. I prefer this to} (10. b3 {which is
also playable but then White loses some flexibility on the queenside.}) 10...
Bb4 11. Ne4 $1 (11. Bd2 $2 Bxc3 12. Bxc3 c5 $11 {This is typical of what White
should avoid. Black's light square control renders the white kingside majority
rather useless and, because of the e5 pawn, black's remaining bishop is much
more effective than white's.}) 11... Be6 12. c3 $1 {[%csl Ra2,Rd3,Re8] From a
structural point of view this is not a move White wants to play because a2 is
now awkward to defend(when the pawn is still on c2 I can trap the munching
bishop on a2 with b3) and d3 is weakened. However, it is important to keep the
initiative and this seems the only way to do it.} (12. Bd2 Bd5 13. Rfe1 Bxd2
14. Nfxd2 h5 {[%cal Gh5h4,Ge8e7] was approximately equal in Plaskett-Miles,
4NCL, Birmingham, March 2000. I think Black should have followed up with a
quick h5-h4 crippling the white kingside after which Black's "vunnerable" king
in the centre could yet prove to be an important asset. Indeed, the relative
strength/weakness of the Black king is in some ways a microcosm of this line
as a whole. As long as White has the initiative the king is vulnerable but as
soon as the initiative is soaked up the Black king can be very well placed in
the centre.}) 12... Bf8 $6 {Perhaps too ambitious. What follows are just some
plausible lines if Black played the more natural retreat.} (12... Be7 13. g4 (
13. Re1 $14 h6 14. b3 (14. Bf4 $5 a5 (14... h5 15. Bg5 $14) 15. g4 Nh4 16. Nxh4
Bxh4 17. Bg3 Be7 18. f4 $36) 14... Rd8 15. Bb2 Kd7 $5 $13) 13... Nh4 14. Nxh4
Bxh4 15. Bg5 (15. Bf4 $5) 15... Bxg5 16. Nxg5 Bd5 {Black is not worse here.
The main problem for White is that the e pawn has travelled too far too fast
and Black's centralised king can easily take care of it. This variation gives
a further example of the dangers of applying the wisdom of the exchange Ruy
Lopez(where the pawn is on e4 and the black king is, normally, on the
queenside) to this, distinctive ending.} 17. f4 (17. Rfe1 h5 18. Ne4 hxg4 19.
hxg4 Ke7 $15 {Black's active pieces more than compensate for White's potential
kingside majority.}) 17... h5 18. Nf3 hxg4 19. hxg4 Ke7 20. Kg2 Rad8 21. Rad1
Bxa2 22. Ra1 Bc4) 13. g4 $1 {Time is on Black's side; it is important to make
full use of the initiative.} Ne7 14. Ng3 $1 {[%csl Gh5][%cal Rh7h5,Gg3h5] An
imporant move which keeps Black cramped. Curiously, I remember that GM Paul
Motwani told me in 1993 that the reason he didn't like this ending for Black
was because of the manouvre Nc3-e4-g3-h5 after which Black's king on e8 can
feel very uncomfortable.} Ng6 ({In the first ten minute play-off, Miles tried
to improve with} 14... Bd5 {However, after} 15. Nd4 c5 16. Nc2 f6 17. exf6 gxf6
18. Bf4 Rc8 19. Ne3 Bc6 20. Rfe1 Kf7 21. Nh5 Ng6 22. Bg3 Bd6 23. Bxd6 cxd6 24.
Nf5 Rhd8 25. Nh6+ Kf8 26. Re6 {Black's king wasn't any happier.}) 15. Re1 Bd5
16. Nd4 Nh4 17. Bg5 Nf3+ 18. Nxf3 Bxf3 {[%cal Gf3d5,Gd5e6]} 19. c4 $1 {[%csl
Rf3] An important move, keeping e5-e6 as a dangerous threat while preventing
any blockade based on ...Bd5-e6.} c5 $2 {This non-developing pawn move is
asking a bit much of Black's position and looks like the decisive mistake.} (
19... Bb4 {is the safest move.} 20. Re3 Bd2 21. Rxf3 Bxg5 22. Ne4 Be7 23. Rd1
$16 {White is firmly in the driving seat here and Black has very little to be
happy about. Nonetheless, with careful defence Black has reasonable drawing
chances.}) (19... h6 20. Bd2 Rd8 21. Bc3 b5 {is a much more energetic defence
but} 22. Re3 Rd1+ 23. Rxd1 Bxd1 24. b3 $5 {leaves White at least a little
better-Black still has problems developing and defending the kinside.}) 20. Nh5
$1 {[%csl Re8] Black is in a bit of tangle and his pieces are not helping each
other.} h6 {This doesn't seem to help, but how else can Black deal with the
crude threat of doubling on the d-file and mating on d8?} (20... Rg8 21. Re3
Bc6 22. Rd1 Be7 (22... h6 23. Nf6+ gxf6 24. exf6+ Be7 25. Rxe7+ Kf8 26. Bxh6+)
23. Bxe7 Kxe7 24. Red3 $16 {This is worse than it looks for Black, and it
doesn't even look very good.}) 21. Bh4 $1 {I was pleased with this move
because it is much more effective than it is pretty and in general I am easily
swooned by pretty chess. Here I dearly wanted to keep the "wholesome harmony"
with Bd2-c3 but I was sure that this may let Black off the hook. Moreover, I
didn't see any alternative to moves he now comes up with after Bh4 and he has
more options against Bd2.} (21. Bd2 Rd8 22. Bc3 Ke7 $5 23. e6 Rg8 {A further
reason to avoid such a line is that these peculiar defensive moves seem to
come very naturally to my opponent.} 24. Nf4 g5 25. Nh5 Rg6 {What can you say?
At the risk of relative mundacity, Black seems to be holding here.}) 21... g5
22. Bg3 Be7 23. e6 $1 {The most convincing way to release the latent energy in
White's position.} fxe6 24. Rxe6 Kd7 (24... Kf7 {gives me all sorts of
promising ideas, but it may have been a more stubborn defence.} 25. Rae1 Rae8
26. R6e5 $5 (26. Ng7 Kxg7 27. Be5+ Bf6 $1 28. Bxf6+ Kf7 29. Be7 Bc6 30. R6e5
$16) 26... Rhf8 27. Rf5+ Kg8 28. Rfe5 Kf7 29. R5e3 Bc6 30. Bxc7 $16 b6 {
Black should be lost, but it's not so easy to make him resign in the near
future.}) 25. Rae1 Bd8 (25... Bd6 26. Nf6+ Kc6 27. Bxd6 cxd6 28. R6e3 $18 {
I was pleasantly amused by this cheeky line, where the wayward bishop gets
what it deserves.}) 26. Rg6 b6 27. Re3 Bb7 28. f4 $1 {Adding a passed pawn(or
two) to my opponent's list of woes.} Rh7 {Not ideal, but otherwise the
kingside collapses.} 29. f5 $18 Be7 30. Rd3+ Ke8 31. Rg8+ $1 {Exchanging rooks
is the simplest way to do it. I hadn't seen right to the end, but this puts
his pieces into such disarray that I assumed some sort of combination would
show up.} Kf7 32. Rxa8 Bxa8 33. Rd7 Kg8 {only way to deal with threat of f6.}
34. Rxc7 Be4 35. Bd6 $1 {The cleanest kill. Black resigns.} Bd8 (35... Kf8 36.
Rxe7 Rxe7 37. f6) (35... Bxd6 36. Nf6+ Kf8 37. Nxh7+ Ke8 38. Nf6+ Kd8 39. Rd7+)
36. Rc8 Rd7 37. Nf6+ 1-0

[Event "EU-Cup 18th"]
[Site "Kallithea"]
[Date "2002.09.27"]
[Round "6.5"]
[White "Rozentalis, Eduardas"]
[Black "Yemelin, Vasily"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2564"]
[BlackElo "2534"]
[Annotator "Rozentalis,E"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2002.09.22"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 092"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.02.06"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2003.02.06"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Warsaw Polonia"]
[BlackTeam "Kiseljak"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "POL"]
[BlackTeamCountry "BIH"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h6 11. Ne2 g6 $6 $146 {[New move. Black wants
to move his knight to e6 via g7. On the other hand, f6 square is weak now.]}
12. b3 (12. g4 Ng7 {[xe6]}) 12... Be6 (12... Ng7 {would be too slow:} 13. Bb2
Ne6 14. Ng3) 13. Nf4 Bd5 14. Nxd5 cxd5 15. Bb2 Rg8 ({After} 15... Bg7 16. Rad1
c6 17. c4 dxc4 18. bxc4 Rd8 19. g4 Ne7 20. Ba3 {White also has some pressure.})
16. Rad1 Rd8 17. Rd3 ({It is better than} 17. c4 dxc4 18. bxc4 Be7 $14) 17...
Be7 18. Rfd1 c6 19. c4 dxc4 20. Rxd8+ (20. bxc4 $6 Rxd3 21. Rxd3 Ng7 22. Nd2
Ne6 23. Ne4 Nc5 $11) 20... Bxd8 21. bxc4 Be7 ({Or} 21... Ng7 22. Nd2 Ne6 23.
Ne4 $16) 22. Bc1 (22. Nd2 Kd7) 22... g5 (22... h5 23. Ng5 $16) 23. g4 Ng7 24.
Be3 b6 25. Rd3 (25. Nd2 Kd7) ({The best was} 25. Nd4 Kd7 26. Nb5+ Kc8 27. Nd6+
({but not} 27. Nxa7+ $2 Kc7 28. Rb1 Bc5 $1) 27... Bxd6 28. Rxd6 Ne6 29. Rxc6+
$16) 25... Ne6 26. Nd2 f6 (26... Nc5 27. Bxc5 Bxc5 28. Ne4 $16) 27. exf6 Bxf6
28. c5 $1 ({Immediate} 28. Rd6 {is bad:} Ke7 29. Ne4 Be5 30. Rxc6 $2 Rd8 $1 (
30... Kd7 $2 31. Rd6+ $1) 31. c5 Rd1+ 32. Kg2 Kd7 $17) 28... bxc5 29. Rd6 Ke7
30. Rxc6 Bd4 31. Ra6 Rb8 32. Ne4 (32. Rxa7+ {gives Black some counterplay after
} Kf6 {or} (32... Kd6)) 32... Rb7 33. Kg2 (33. Bxd4 Rb1+ (33... cxd4 $2 34.
Rxe6+ $18) 34. Kg2 cxd4 35. Rxa7+ Kd8 36. Kf3 d3 {and Black again gains good
counterplay.}) 33... Bxe3 ({Black can't hold the position also in case of} 
33... Rc7 34. Nd6 Bxe3 35. fxe3 c4 36. Nb5 Rb7 37. a4 $1 (37. Rxa7 $2 Rxa7 38.
Nxa7 c3 39. Nc6+ Kd6 40. Nb4 Kc5) 37... Nc5 38. Rxh6 $18) 34. fxe3 Rc7 35. Nc3
{[xd5]} Rd7 36. Kf3 Kf7 37. Ne4 Rd1 ({Active pieces are dominating. Black is
loosing:} 37... Ke7 38. Rxe6+ $18) (37... c4 38. Nd6+ $18) (37... Rc7 38. Nd6+
Ke7 39. Nb5 $18) 38. Rxa7+ Kf8 39. Rh7 c4 40. Rxh6 Kf7 41. Ke2 Rd5 (41... Ra1
42. Nd6+) 42. Rf6+ (42. Rf6+ Ke7 43. Rf5 $18) 1-0

[Event "Hoogeveen Unive Crown 16th"]
[Site "Hoogeveen"]
[Date "2012.10.21"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2775"]
[BlackElo "2693"]
[Annotator "Safarli,E"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2012.10.21"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 151"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.11.13"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.11.13"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5
8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. c3 {White chooses a solid continuation.
Recently 11.Bf4 has become extremely popular.} (11. Bf4 $5 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8
13. Nc3 Bxd4 14. Nd5 c6 $5 15. Ne7+ Kf8 16. Nxc8 Qf6 17. Qb4+ c5 18. Qd2 Rxc8
19. c3 Be5 20. Bxe5 Qxe5 21. Qxd7 Qc7 22. Rd1 Qxd7 23. Rxd7 Rc7 24. Rxc7 Nxc7
25. Bd3 h6 26. f4 Ne8 27. Kf2 Nd6 28. Ke3 Ke7 29. g3 b6 30. Be2 Ke6 31. Bg4+
Ke7 32. Be2 Ke6 33. Bg4+ Ke7 34. Be2 {1/2-1/2 Kasimdzhanov,R (2684)-Leko,P 
(2737) London ENG 2012}) 11... Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Nf5 (12... Qe8 13. Qxe8+ Nxe8 14.
Bf4 {is just very slightly better for White.}) 13. Bf4 c6 ({Of course not} 
13... d5 $4 {and White wins.}) 14. a4 $5 {is interesting. White wants to gain
more space on the queenside.} (14. Nd2 d5 15. Bd3) 14... a5 {Black is
weakening his pawn structure. It looks a bit dubious to me because a4-a5 was
not dangerous for Black. I like 14...d5. For example :} (14... d5 15. a5 (15.
Nd2 Nh4) 15... Nh4 16. Nd2 Bf5 17. Nb3 h6 18. Nc5 b6 19. axb6 axb6 20. Nb7 Qf8)
15. Bc7 $5 Qf8 16. Bd3 (16. Nd2 d5 17. Nb3 Bd8 $1 $11) 16... d5 17. Bb6 (17.
Nd2 {was probably better. White's idea is just to bring his rook into the game
after Qe2, Re1 and probably Nf3 or Nb3 with a normal position where White
stands slightly better.} Nh4 ({Black doesn't have} 17... Nd6 $4 {17...Nd6 as
in the game because of} 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. Qe8+ Qf8 20. Bxh7+ $1 $18) (17... Bd7
18. Nb3 Bd8 19. Bxd8 Qxd8 20. Nc5 b6 21. Nxd7 Qxd7 22. Qb1 $5) 18. Qe2 Bf5 19.
Bxf5 Nxf5 20. Re1 $14) 17... Nd6 18. Nd2 Be6 ({After} 18... Bf5 {White has
some initiative:} 19. Bxf5 Nxf5 20. Nb3 Bd8 21. Bc5 Be7 22. Qe5 $5) 19. Qb1 $5
{An interesting try.} (19. Nb3 Bd8 20. Bxd8 Qxd8 21. Nc5 Bc8 {followed by ...
b6 with an equal position}) 19... g6 20. b4 axb4 21. Qxb4 Bf5 22. Bc5 {At
first glance I thought White could take advantage of Black's weaknesses, but
now it looks like Black can hold the position.} (22. Bxf5 Nxf5 23. Bc5 Qc8 24.
Rb1 Kg7 $11) 22... Bxd3 23. Bxd6 Qe8 $5 (23... Qc8 24. Nb3 (24. Re1 Qd7 25. Nf3
Ba6 {followed by ...Re8 with equality}) 24... Qd7 25. Nc5 Qxd6 26. Qxb7 Rb8 27.
Qd7 Qf4 28. Nxd3 Qd2 29. Qd6 Rb3 30. Qxf6 Qxd3 $11) 24. Nf3 ({Now} 24. Nb3 $6 {
is not so good because of} b6 $1 $15 25. h3 (25. Qxb6 Rxa4 $1)) (24. Qxb7 Rxa4
25. Qb2 Rxa1+ 26. Qxa1 Bb5 $15 {/=}) 24... Ba6 25. Be5 Be7 {It seems soon the
game will end in a draw by repetition.} (25... Bd8 $5 26. Re1 Qd7 27. Bf4 (27.
Bd6 Bf6 28. Be7 Bg7 29. Ne5 Qf5) 27... Bf6 28. Qb1 Re8 29. Ne5 $11) 26. Bd6 Bf6
27. Re1 {Nakamura thought for a while and played Re1. He actually thinks that
he can play on. Well, the position was balanced, so now let's just see what
happens next.} Qd7 28. Be7 Bg7 29. Ne5 Qf5 $6 ({I think that after} 29... Qe6
$1 {Black wouldn't face any problems. It looks very strong - the black queen
controls the d6-square and will be playing ...Re8 next.} 30. Nf3 (30. Nd3 Qf5 (
30... Qd7 $6 31. Nc5 $1) 31. Nc5 Re8 32. g3 (32. Nxa6 bxa6) 32... Bf6 33. Nxa6
bxa6 34. Re3 $11) 30... Qd7 31. Ne5 Qe6 $11) 30. Qd6 $1 {Now White has a small
initiative.} (30. h3 f6 31. Ng4 (31. g4 Qc8 32. Nf3 Qd7 33. Qd6 Rd8 34. Qxd7
Rxd7) 31... h5 32. Ne3 Qd7) 30... Re8 (30... h6 31. h3 (31. Bd8 $5)) (30... f6
$4 31. g4) (30... Qe6 31. Qxe6 fxe6 32. Nd7) 31. h3 Qe6 {Black chooses a
passive defence in the endgame. It's probably a reasonable decision, since he
stands slightly weaker. However, the position is still quite defensible.} 32.
Qxe6 fxe6 $14 33. Bc5 (33. Bb4 {was better.}) 33... g5 $6 {I don't like this
move. It creates new weaknesses and also in the future White may play g4, Kg2,
Kg3, h4 or f4.} ({Probably it was better to take on e5:} 33... Bxe5 {But
anyway, playing a position like this with Black is quite tough} 34. Rxe5 Kf7
35. f3 Bc4 36. a5 $14) 34. Bb4 $5 (34. g4) 34... h6 35. Nd7 $1 Kf7 36. Re3 $1
Kg6 37. Bd6 $1 $16 h5 38. Nc5 Bf6 39. g4 ({It was possible just to take the
pawn, but White chose to play 39.g4 and slowly strengthen the position after
Kg2-Kg3 etc.} 39. Nxe6 h4 $5) 39... hxg4 40. hxg4 Kf7 41. Kg2 Ra8 42. a5 Re8
43. Re1 $6 {This move doesn't cost the advantage, but I think just 43.Kg3
would be better.} ({Black can't take the a5-pawn, for example} 43. Kg3 Bd8 44.
Rf3+ Kg7 (44... Kg8 45. Nxe6 $1) 45. Nd7 $1 Be2 (45... Bxa5 46. Be5+ Kh6 47.
Rf6+ Kh7 48. Nf8+ Kg8 49. Nxe6) 46. Be5+ Kg8 47. Re3 Bb5 48. Nf6+ Bxf6 49. Bxf6
Ra8 50. Bxg5 $18) (43. Bc7 $5 $16) 43... Bd8 $1 44. Ra1 (44. Rb1 Bxa5 45. Nxb7
Bxc3) 44... Rh8 45. Be5 Rh7 46. Bd6 Rh8 47. f3 Rh6 48. Be5 $6 (48. Rb1 Bxa5 49.
Rb3 $1 $16) 48... Rh7 49. Kg3 Rh6 $2 ({Anish didn't take his last chance. Most
probably after} 49... Be7 $1 {it was a draw.} 50. Nxb7 (50. Nxa6 bxa6 51. c4 (
51. Rb1 Bd8 $1 52. Rb7+ Kg6) 51... dxc4 52. Rc1 Bd8 53. Rxc4 Bxa5 54. Rxc6 Be1+
$1 55. Kg2 a5) 50... Bxb7 51. a6 Bxa6 52. Rxa6 c5 53. Ra7 Kg6) 50. Rb1 Bxa5 51.
Nxb7 Bxb7 (51... Bxc3 52. Nd6+ Ke7 53. Rb6 $1) 52. Rxb7+ Ke8 53. Rg7 $1 Bd8 (
53... Bxc3 54. Rxg5 Rh1 55. Rg6 Kf7 56. Rg7+ Ke8 57. Rc7 $18) 54. Kg2 $6 {
This is just a waste of time. After 54.Rg8 White could easily win.} (54. Rg8+
$1 Kd7 55. f4 gxf4+ 56. Bxf4 Rh1 57. Kg2 Rb1 58. g5 $18) 54... Be7 55. Rg8+ Kd7
56. Ra8 c5 {After White's inaccuracy on the 54th move, Black has chances to
survive again.} 57. Rg8 cxd4 58. cxd4 Rh7 59. f4 gxf4 $2 {In time trouble both
players took turns making mistakes.} (59... Rh4 $1 60. Kg3 (60. Kf3 Rh3+ $1 61.
Kf2 gxf4 62. g5 Bd6 63. Bf6 Rg3 64. g6 e5 $1) 60... gxf4+ 61. Kxf4 Rh1 62. g5
Bd6 63. Rg7+ Kc6 64. g6 Rg1 65. Rg8 Kd7 {with a draw.}) 60. g5 Bd6 (60... f3+
61. Kxf3 Rh3+ 62. Kf4 Bd6 63. Rg7+ Kc6 64. g6 $18) 61. Bf6 (61. g6 Rh6 62. Rg7+
Kc6 63. Kf3 Rh1 64. Rg8 Bxe5 65. dxe5 Rg1 66. g7 (66. Kxf4 Kc5) 66... Kb7 67.
Kxf4 d4 68. Ke4 Rg4+ 69. Kd3 Ka7 $11) 61... Be7 (61... Rf7 62. Kf3) ({Black
had good chances to save the game after} 61... f3+ $1 62. Kxf3 Rh4 $1 63. Ra8
Rf4+ 64. Kg2 Rh4 (64... Rf5 65. Ra7+ Ke8 66. Kh3) 65. Rd8+ Kc7 66. Rg8 Rf4 67.
Bh8 $5 {However, I am not sure if it's a draw} Rg4+ 68. Kh3 Rg3+ 69. Kh4) 62.
g6 f3+ 63. Kxf3 Rh5 (63... Rh3+ 64. Kg4 Bxf6 65. Kxh3 Ke7 66. Kg4 $1 Bxd4 67.
Kh5 $18) 64. Be5 1-0

[Event "Biel Suri Memorial"]
[Site "Biel"]
[Date "2014.07.18"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2766"]
[BlackElo "2750"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "122"]
[EventDate "2014.07.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 162"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {This move has been one of the biggest
headaches that White is facing against 1...e5. Should he go in for the Berlin
endgame or not? Maxime Vachier Lagrave decides not to go into that territory.}
4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 {This takes the game into a very dull and dry symmetrical
position but MVL had an idea prepared there.} (5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5
Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {is the Berlin Endgame.}) 5... Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8.
Rxe5 O-O {The pawn structure is symmetrical and usually the games end in draws.
In fact Carlsen used this opening with White when he was already leading in
the match against Anand in 2013 and the players reached a king and pawn
endgame in just 28 moves.} 9. Nc3 {In this drawish line, this can be the most
ambitious move, as White gets the bishop pair here.} (9. d4 {is the main move
in this position. Play usually continues in the following way.} Bf6 10. Re1 Nf5
11. c3 d5 12. Bf4 c6 $11 {When the position is totally symmetrical and nothing
much is happening.}) 9... Ne8 (9... c6 $6 {preventing Nd5 is not so good.} 10.
d4 Ne8 {is too slow.} (10... Bf6 11. Re1 Nf5 12. d5 $14 {White has a nice edge.
}) 11. d5 $1 $14) 10. Nd5 Bd6 11. Re2 $5 $146 {This novelty looks surprising
but does have some thought put into it. The rook on a1 has absolutely nothing
to do on that square and the only open file in this position is the e-file.
Hence it makes sense to retreat the rook to e2 and keep a place for the
a1-rook to come to e1. This doesn't change the objective evaluation of the
position. It is still equal. But MVL had seen this position at home and Giri
most probably hadn't. That's a small psychological edge for White. After this
game was played on 18th July, this novelty was tried twice by two strong
players within two months.} ({The most common way to play for White was} 11.
Re1 c6 12. Ne3 Bc7 13. Nf5 d5 14. Ne7+ Kh8 15. Nxc8 Rxc8 16. d3 f5 {with play
similar to the game, just that the rook is on e1 instead of e2.}) 11... c6 (
11... Nf6 {is the other way to play and the Black player equalised easily:} 12.
Ne3 Re8 13. d4 Bf8 14. Nc4 d5 15. Ne5 Ne4 16. f3 Nd6 17. Bf4 Be6 18. Qd2 c6 19.
b3 Qb6 20. Bg3 Nf5 21. Bf2 c5 22. c3 cxd4 23. cxd4 Bb4 24. Qb2 Rac8 25. Rd1 Bc3
26. Qb1 Nxd4 27. Re3 Nb5 28. a4 d4 29. Re4 Na3 30. Qc1 Qxb3 31. Bd3 Bf5 32. Rh4
Rxe5 {0-1 (32) Motylev,A (2686)-Fedoseev,V (2677) Moscow RUS 2014}) 12. Ne3 Bc7
13. Nf5 d5 14. Ne7+ Kh8 15. Nxc8 {The knight makes six moves to capture a
bishop which hasn't moved even once. This helps Black to finish his
development but White gets the long term edge of the bishop pair.} Rxc8 16. d3
{This move keeps the e4-square under control.} (16. d4 Nd6 {[%cal Gd6e4]})
16... f5 {The f-pawn can be used as a way to launch a kingside attack with
f5-f4-f3.} (16... Nd6 17. c3 Qf6 18. Qa4 a6 19. Be3 Rce8 20. Rae1 $14 {The
advantage of keeping the rook on e2.}) 17. g3 Qf6 (17... f4 {would have helped
White to activate the light-squared bishop.} 18. Bh3) 18. Bd2 Nd6 (18... Qxb2
19. Rb1 Qxa2 20. Bb4 $1 (20. Rxb7 $44) 20... Rf7 21. Ra1 Qb2 22. c3 $18) 19.
Bc3 $1 {Forcing Black to put one of his pawns on the same colour as his bishop
on c7. In this way the bishop will be hampered in the endgame by its own pawns.
} d4 $6 (19... Qf7 20. Qd2 (20. Be5 Rce8 21. Qd2 $6 Ne4 $11) 20... Nb5 21. Rae1
Nxc3 22. Qxc3 $11 {should be equal.}) 20. Bd2 Nf7 {Giri looks to activate his
knight via g5 or e5 but MVL stops it with his next move.} 21. f4 $1 {Not only
stopping the black knight but also making some room for the white king. After
Bg2 and Qf1, White intends to double his rooks on the e-file.} Rce8 22. Bg2 Nd6
23. a3 {What could be the point of this move on the side of the board? I think
MVL must have thought of the following variation.} (23. Qf1 Rxe2 24. Qxe2 Re8
25. Qf2 Qe6 {Now the rook cannot come to e1 because the a2-pawn is hanging.
But the invasion on e2 can be prevented by means of} 26. Bf3 {The pawn on a2
however has to be moved if the rook wants to participate in the game and hence
it was a good decision by MVL to play the move a3 directly.}) 23... Bb6 (23...
Rxe2 24. Qxe2 Re8 25. Qf2 Qe6 26. Re1 {White is a tempo up compared to the
above variation because he did not waste time on moving the queen to f1.} Qa2
27. Bb4 $1 $16) 24. Rxe8 Rxe8 25. Qf1 Kg8 26. Re1 Re6 27. a4 $1 {White
snatches more space on the queenside and aims to get in a5 followed by b4.} a6
28. Bf3 $1 {[%csl Gd2,Gf3][%cal Rd2e3,Rd2e1,Rf3e2] After the eventual exchange
of the rooks, the white queen can wander away now because all the points of
entry on the e-file are defended by the white bishops.} g6 29. Kg2 {Improving
the position of the king.} Kf7 30. Rxe6 Qxe6 {White has a few trumps in this
endgame.  1. He has the bishop pair.  2. He has more space on the queenside
thanks to his pawn on a4 and can grab even further space with b4. 3. The black
knight does not have any good outposts in the position.  4. The d4-pawn can
become a weakness in the future.  White's advantage might not be too huge but
it is stable and good enough to press for a few moves.} 31. Qa1 Bc5 $6 {
This move looked pretty pointless to me. It was definitely better to transfer
the bishop to another diagonal.} (31... Bd8 $5 32. b4 Bf6 {When the bishop
looks more useful than it was on b6.}) 32. b4 Bb6 33. Be1 $1 {Transferring his
bishop to f2 from where it can attack the d4-pawn.} Nc8 {Black has to make
some arrangements to meet the threat on the d4-pawn with Bf2. At the same time
if his bishop on b6 is undefended then c3 can be quite irritating. Nc8 defends
the Bb6.} 34. Bf2 Qd7 (34... Qd6 35. b5 axb5 36. axb5 cxb5 37. Bxb7 $14) 35. h3
$1 {I like how MVL tries to keep his options open and threatens to play on
both sides of the board. He could have gone b5 directly but that would have
been one weakness less to worry about for Black.} h5 {This makes the g6-pawn a
little weak but g4 had to be stopped.} 36. b5 $1 {The queen now invades the
black position after this break.} axb5 (36... cxb5 37. axb5 Qxb5 38. Bxb7 a5 $5
39. Bf3 $14 {With the double bishops and the queen, White can launch an attack
on the black king. But the a-pawn must not be underestimated. It is definitely
more potent than the b-pawn that was left in the game.} (39. Bxc8 $2 Qc6+ $11))
37. axb5 cxb5 38. Qa8 Bc5 (38... Nd6 {trying to save the b7-pawn is badly
refuted with} 39. Bd5+ Ke7 40. Qg8 $18 {with a decisive attack.}) 39. Bxb7 (39.
Qxb7 Qxb7 40. Bxb7 Nd6 {This endgame is also promising for White but now the
black king feels much safer and the drawing chances are much higher.}) 39...
Nb6 (39... Nd6 40. Bd5+ $18) 40. Qa2+ Kg7 (40... Qe6 41. Qa5 {is similar to
the game.}) 41. Qa6 b4 42. Bf3 {The b4- and the d4-pawns are quite weak but
Black is clinging on. The next thing on the agenda is to now open a second
front keeping in mind the principle of two weaknesses with the move g4.} Kf8
43. Qa5 Qe7 44. Kf1 Kf7 45. Kg2 {Just probing a bit and trying to wear the
opponent down by repeating the position. This was a favourite mechanism of
Karpov in winning positions.} Kf8 46. g4 $1 hxg4 47. hxg4 fxg4 $6 ({Maybe it
was better to keep the pawn structure symmetrical and after} 47... Qd6 48. gxf5
gxf5 49. Bh4 {Black will have to worry about his king. In the game Giri tried
to retain the g6-pawn, which gave more protection to the black king but
weakened the e4-square.}) 48. Bxg4 Qc7 49. Bf3 Kg7 50. Qb5 Nc8 51. Qc4 {
Threatens the d4-pawn.} Qb6 (51... Qd6 $14 {preventing the queen invasion was
more tenacious.}) 52. Qd5 {Now the combination of White's queen threatening to
check on e5 followed by the bishop coming to d5 or Bh4 will be extremely
dangerous. Hence Giri, goes for the queen exchange but it leads to a lost
endgame.} Qd6 53. Qe5+ (53. Qxd6 $2 Nxd6 $14) 53... Qxe5 (53... Kh7 54. Qe8 $18
) 54. fxe5 {In spite of the paucity of material, this position is very
difficult for Black to hold. First of all, the e5-pawn does a fantastic job of
stopping the black king from coming to f6. Secondly, the knight too is robbed
of a nice square on d6. Now, we can witness the power of White's unopposed
bishop.} Na7 {The knight threatens to go to a3 via b5 and attack the weak
c2-pawn.} 55. Bd5 $6 (55. Bh4 {was stronger.} Nb5 56. Bf6+ Kf8 57. Bd5 Na3 58.
Bb3 $18) 55... Nb5 $2 (55... g5 $5 {was much better preventing the bishop from
being activated via h4.} 56. Kf3 Nb5 {[%cal Gb5c3]} 57. Kg4 Nc3 58. Bf3 Kg6 {
White is better but Black can hold.}) 56. Bh4 {Now things are back on track.}
g5 (56... Nc3 57. Bf6+ Kh6 58. Bb3 Nd1 59. e6 Ne3+ 60. Kf3 Nf5 61. Ke4 $18) 57.
Bxg5 Kg6 58. Bd8 Kf5 59. e6 Na3 (59... Nd6 60. e7 Kg6 61. Kf3 Kg7 62. Kf4 {
The white king entering on e5 will end the game.}) 60. Bb3 Nxc2 61. Bxc2 Kxe6 {
It is futile to continue here. White's king will make its way up to e4 and
then the black pawns will fall. A beautiful game by MVL. A nice little novelty
in the opening followed by some Capablanca like endgame play earned him the
full point.} 1-0

[Event "Shenzhen Du Te Cup 3rd"]
[Site "Shenzhen"]
[Date "2019.04.23"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Harikrishna, Pentala"]
[Black "Jakovenko, Dmitrij"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2719"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2019.04.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CHN"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 190"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2019.06.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2019.06.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,87,69,4,89,-8,56,9,37,36,32,17,17,19,24,4,-1,27,4,-4,-7,-7,3,7,3,17,
21,-7,-7,-25,42,48,44,41,31,35,42,44,43,7,10,10,2,0,-1,-6,35,16,36,8,40,29,64,
77,72,74,158,155,155,137,146,127,144,152,152,162,166,159,151,156,169,170,178,
192,192,175,191,196,208,168,184,216,239,156,174,177,186,176,169,165]} 1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 {I have never really felt
that White can seriously try to play for a win in this symmetrical system. Of
course, I am mistaken as Harikrishna shows in the game!} Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8.
Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 (10... Nf5 11. c3 (11. d5 {is also very popular
now.}) 11... d5 {is another way to play.}) 11. c3 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 13. d5 {
This had been played by Nepomniachtchi against Kramnik at the Tata Steel
Masters 2019. Before that Anish Giri had essayed it against Fabiano Caruana.}
b6 14. c4 {This is the first new move of the game.} (14. Bf4 {was
Nepomniachtchi's choice as he went on to beat Kramnik.}) 14... Qe7 $6 {This
looks logical, but it allows White to complete his development and at the same
time keep the space advantage intact.} (14... Ba6 15. Nc3 c6 {is another
possible way for Black to play.}) 15. Qxe7 Bxe7 16. Nc3 Bf6 17. Bd2 c6 18. Re1
{Somehow Harikrishna's play looks very easy.} Bb7 19. dxc6 dxc6 20. c5 $5 {
The typical Harikrishna move! For the engines it doesn't matter because such a
move doesn't change the evaluation of the position. But for humans, it matters
because it creates some kind of a tension in the position that a player has to
resolve.} Nc7 (20... bxc5 21. Na4 $16) 21. b4 Ba6 (21... Re8 22. Rxe8+ Nxe8 23.
Ne4 $14 {would also be a small edge for White.}) 22. Ne4 Be7 (22... Bd4 $11 {
was much more accurate.}) 23. Nd6 Kf8 (23... Bf8 {is once again a better
choice.}) 24. Nf5 Bxf1 $6 (24... Bf6 25. Bxa6 Nxa6 26. Bf4 bxc5 27. bxc5 g6 28.
Bd6+ Kg8 29. Ne7+ Bxe7 30. Rxe7 Nb4 31. a3 Nd5 $13) 25. Nxe7 Bc4 $6 (25... Ne6
$1 26. Nxc6 Bb5 27. Ne5 Rd8 28. Be3 bxc5 29. bxc5 f6 30. Nf3 Rd3 {Black is
close to equality.}) 26. Nxc6 Bxa2 27. Bf4 $1 Nd5 (27... Ne6 28. Bd6+ Ke8 29.
Ra1 $16) 28. Bd6+ Kg8 29. Nb8 $1 {Threatening a backrank mate.} f6 30. c6 $1 {
The c-pawn is extremely strong.} a5 31. bxa5 bxa5 32. c7 Nxc7 33. Bxc7 {
White has won a piece and the rest is just a matter of technique which
Harikrishna shows in good measure.} a4 34. Bd6 Bd5 35. Re3 Bb3 36. Re8+ Kf7 37.
Rf8+ Ke6 38. Ba3 Kd5 39. Rc8 Ke4 40. Rd8 Bc4 41. h4 Bb5 42. Kh2 Ra7 43. f3+ Ke5
44. Rd6 1-0

[Event "Dortmund SuperGM 43rd"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "2015.07.05"]
[Round "7"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2778"]
[BlackElo "2783"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "151"]
[EventDate "2015.06.27"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 167"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.07.13"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.07.13"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Wesley had been having a topsy turvy tournament in Dortmund. Wins against
Caruana and Nepo were compensated by losses against Nisipeanu and Naiditsch.
But his final round victory against Kramnik would have been especially sweet
because he beat the former World Champion in his favourite Berlin Defence.} 1.
e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8.
Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 {These opening moves require no explanation for active chess
player. The Berlin wall has been played many times in the fast few years but
the move h3 is the product of trying to find the best move order. h3 instead
of Nc3 is the much more fashionable move these days. White keeps his options
open. Sometimes the N goes to f3 via d2.} Ne7 10. Nc3 Bd7 {Kramnik uses a line
that has only been played ten times in the past and one in which Black players
haven't scored a win. But it was never been tried by a 2700+ player.} (10...
Ng6 {is the main move.}) (10... h6 {is the second most played move in the
position.}) 11. Ng5 $146 {This is a new move in the position. A clear
indication that this was not prepared by Wesley is the fact that he used seven
and a half minutes for this move.} Ke8 12. e6 $5 {Played after 20 minutes of
thought. Wesley definitely was trying to weigh the pros and cons of this
sacrifice. On one hand he loses a pawn but on the other he get a very nice
initiative and squares like e4 for his knight.} Bxe6 (12... fxe6 13. Re1 Nf5
14. Nxe6 Bxe6 15. Rxe6+ Kf7 $11 {was also a possible line.}) 13. Nxe6 fxe6 14.
Re1 Kf7 {The computer already likes Black's position but in a practical game
things are not so simple. So would like to place his knight on e4 and create
some problems for the king on f7.} 15. Ne4 h6 {Of course, preventing Ng5.} 16.
Rd1 {Nine and a half minutes for this move. It would definitely not have been
easy for Wesley to play it. But he realises that the d-file is more important
than the e-file.} (16. Nc5 {with a double attack on e6 and b7 is met by} Nd5 $1
17. Nxb7 Rb8 18. Na5 Bb4 $1 19. Nxc6 Bxe1 20. Nxb8 Rxb8 $17) 16... e5 (16...
Nd5 17. c4 Nf6 18. Nxf6 Kxf6 19. Bd2 (19. Rd7 Bd6 $15) 19... Bd6 20. Bc3+ e5
$11 {Black doesn't have too many problems here. A very interesting line could
go something like this.} 21. b4 b6 22. f4 Rhe8 23. Re1 g5 $1 24. fxe5+ Bxe5 25.
Rxe5 Rxe5 26. Re1 Rae8 27. g4 R8e6 28. Kg2 Re7 29. a4 a6 $11 {Black is all
tied up but there is absolutely no way for White to deliver the final blow.})
17. Rd7 Rc8 18. Bd2 b6 {After the c5-square is controlled, Black now threatens
Ke6.} (18... Ke6 $2 19. Nc5+ $14) 19. Re1 Ke6 20. Rd3 c5 ({Maybe it's not such
a huge inaccuracy to play c5, but it made more sense to play g5 followed by
Bg7 to finish the development.} 20... g5 {and with this move Black also
prevents White's f4 which would open up the king in the center.}) 21. f4 $1 Nc6
22. Rg3 Re8 (22... Nd4 23. c3 Nf5 24. Rg4 $13 {[%csl Re5][%cal Ge4g3,Ge1e6]})
23. fxe5 g5 (23... Nxe5 24. Bc3 Kd5 {The king looks pretty cool in the center
of the board. Unlike Bruzon's king against Wei Yi from one of the best games
of 2015, this one is way safer!} 25. Nd2 c4 $13) 24. h4 Bg7 25. hxg5 Bxe5 26.
Rf3 hxg5 27. Bxg5 $6 {The game had reached the pinnacle of excitement with
both players making excellent moves. Here Bxg5 is not the most accurate.
Better would have been} (27. Nf6 $5 Ref8 28. Bxg5 Nd4 $2 (28... Rf7 $142 $11)
29. Rxe5+ $1 Kxe5 30. Nd7+ Kd6 31. Rxf8 Rh5 $1 32. Nxc5 $1 bxc5 (32... Rxg5 $2
33. Ne4+ $16) 33. Bf6 Nxc2 34. g4 $14) 27... Bd4+ $1 28. Nf2+ Kd5 29. Rd1 Rhg8
(29... Ne5 $5 30. Rf5 (30. c3 $2 Nxf3+ 31. gxf3 Rhg8 32. f4 Re2 33. cxd4 cxd4
$17) 30... Rhf8 31. Rxf8 Rxf8 $15) 30. Bf4 Re2 $5 {Kramnik might have assessed
the piece sacrifice in his favour. Objectively White should be better but
practically it's easier to play as Black as the pawns on the queenside just
have to be pushed whereas So has to find the accurate setup of pieces.} (30...
Kc4 $1 31. c3 Be5 $11 {Black has absolutely no problems here.}) 31. c3 Rxb2 32.
cxd4 Nxd4 33. Be3 (33. Ra3 $5 {would have been definitely preferable to retain
the a2-pawn.} Rf8 34. Be3 a5 35. Rd2 Rxd2 36. Bxd2 c4 $44 {Even though Black
has just two pawns for the piece, his co-ordination is excellent and the game
should most probably end in a draw.}) 33... Rxa2 34. Rf4 Ra4 35. Ne4 Kc6 36.
Nc3 Ra3 37. Bxd4 cxd4 38. Ne2 d3 39. Rf3 Ra2 (39... dxe2 40. Rc1+ $18) 40. Nf4
d2 41. Kf2 b5 42. Rc3+ Kb7 43. Nd5 Rg7 44. Rb3 {At this point, we have reached
a critical juncture. The b-pawn is attacked and Black has to decide whether he
must play a6 to defend the b5 and follow it up with c5-c4 or to play c6 and
then push the a-pawn. This important point was brought forward to me by one of
the ChessBase website editors Albert Silver who said that Kramnik's plan of
playing a6 followed by c5-c4 was practically incorrect because it left his
king weak and open to horizontal checks. If instead he would have played his
pawn to c6 and then a5-a4, the c6-pawn would have shielded the king against
the side attacks and given him a nice square on b6. A thought provoking
observation.} a6 (44... c6 $1 45. Nb4 Ra4 46. Rxd2 a5 47. Nd3 Rag4 48. g3 Kb6
49. Ne5 R4g5 50. Re3 a4 51. Rd6 Rc7 {You can see how the c6 pawn shields the
black king and he is pretty safe over there.} 52. g4 (52. Re4 a3 $1) 52... b4
53. Re4 a3 54. Rxb4+ Kc5 55. Rxc6+ Rxc6 56. Nxc6 Kxc6 $11) 45. Nb4 Ra4 46. Rxd2
{White has won an important pawn but now the c-pawn moves ahead with a few
tempi.} c5 47. Nd5 Rd7 {The game is still nicely balanced. It is interesting
to see how top two players in the world are actually playing this weird
material balance to the best of their abilities.} 48. Rf3 Re4 49. Rf6 {Though
the position is equal, Black has to be very alert and accurate because his
king is a little exposed and the rook on f6 is very well placed.} Ka7 50. Rd3
c4 51. Rh3 Rd4 (51... Rxd5 52. Rh7+ Kb8 53. Rf8+ $18) 52. Nb4 R4d6 53. Rhh6
Rxf6+ 54. Rxf6 Rd2+ 55. Kf3 a5 (55... Kb7 $1 56. Nxa6 (56. Rxa6 $2 Rb2 $15)
56... c3 57. Nc5+ Kc7 58. Ke3 (58. Nb3 c2 $11) 58... Rxg2 $11) 56. Ra6+ Kb7 57.
Rxa5 Kb6 58. Ra2 Rd7 (58... Rd8 {It was better to prevent the rook
infiltration to a8.} 59. g4 Kc5 60. Na6+ Kb6 61. g5 c3 62. Kg4 Rd2 $11 {
and white has to be careful not to lose this position.}) (58... Rxa2 59. Nxa2
Kc5 60. g4 b4 61. Ke4 $1 b3 62. Nc3 Kb4 63. Kd4 $18) 59. Ra8 Kc5 60. Nc2 $16 {
The knight and the rook have now started to co-ordinate really well. The
knight prevents, the black king from entering the position and the white rook
will start checking from behind. A deadly combo.} Rc7 61. Rf8 $1 c3 (61... b4
$2 62. Rf5+ $18) 62. Rf5+ Kb6 (62... Kc4 63. Ne3+ $18) 63. g4 $18 {The
queenside pawns have been blockaded and the g-pawn marches ahead!} Ka5 64. g5
Ka4 65. Ke3 Rd7 66. g6 b4 67. Rf4 Kb3 68. Nxb4 Re7+ 69. Re4 Rg7 (69... Rxe4+
70. Kxe4 Kxb4 71. Kd3 $1 {was a cute little point.} Kb3 72. g7 c2 73. g8=Q+ $18
) 70. Rg4 Re7+ 71. Kf3 Rg7 72. Nc6 Rg8 73. g7 c2 74. Nd4+ Kc4 75. Nxc2+ Kd5 76.
Rg6 {A beautiful game by both sides. Firstly So for finding this brilliant
idea with Ng5 and e6 to sacrifice a pawn for initiative in the opening. Then
Kramnik who sacrificed a piece for this mass of queenside pawns. And in the
end, So for using his knight and rooks so well to keep things under control.
An absolute world class contest.} 1-0

[Event "London Classic 7th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2015.12.05"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2850"]
[BlackElo "2787"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah/CB Website"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2015.12.04"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 170"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 {Magnus goes for a pretty
sedate line, trying to get a small edge.} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5
O-O 9. Nc3 Ne8 10. Nd5 Bd6 11. Re1 c6 12. Ne3 Be7 13. c4 Nc7 14. d4 d5 15. cxd5
Nxd5 16. Nxd5 cxd5 17. Bf4 {All of this has been seen before in the game
Areshechenko-Bacrot in June 2015. White won that game. The position is very
symmetrical. However, White seems to have a small edge due to the better
placement of his pieces, like the rook being on e1 and the bishop on f4.
However, this is nothing much.} Bf6 {.} 18. Be5 Bxe5 19. Rxe5 {One of the
reasons why White should have a small edge here is because the d5-pawn is on a
light square, which means that the bishop on c8 is slightly a bad piece.} Re8
20. Rxe8+ Qxe8 21. Qb3 {Magnus was playing his moves pretty quickly and
confidently.} Qc6 22. Bb5 Qb6 {Black is ready to sacrifice his d5 pawn in
order to get some counterplay.} (22... Qd6 23. Rc1 (23. Re1 Be6 $11) 23... Be6
{also looks fine. But Caruana wanted to be more precise and hence chose ...Qb6
over ...Qd6.}) 23. Qxd5 a6 $1 {Very accurate.} (23... Be6 24. Qc5 $1 Qxc5 25.
dxc5 $16 {is just an extra pawn.}) 24. Bd3 {Magnus retreats to a square where
he can create some mating threats with Bd3.} Be6 25. Qe4 g6 26. d5 {It seems
as if White has things going his way but Caruana has everything under control.}
Bf5 27. Qe2 Bxd3 28. Qxd3 Qxb2 {Black recovers the pawn. However, the d5-pawn
is not at all a unit that should be underestimated.} 29. Re1 Rd8 30. d6 Rd7 {
Stopping the pawn in its tracks. This is not all easy to defend but Caruana
does a fine job.} (30... Qxa2 31. Qd4 $1 {looks pretty dangerous with Qf6
coming up next.}) 31. g3 $5 {Magnus takes out time to secure his back rank.}
Qf6 32. Rd1 Qe5 33. Qa3 a5 34. f4 {This move might well be strong practically,
however in the end it was this move that led to the perpetual check.} Qe2 35.
Qc1 Qe6 36. Qc5 b5 37. Qxb5 (37. Qe5 $11 {Anand and Aronian analysed this move
in their press conference and it is also equal.}) 37... Rxd6 $1 {Caruana is
tactically alert and sacrifices his rook in order to get a perpetual check.}
38. Qb8+ Kg7 39. Qxd6 Qe3+ 40. Kg2 Qe2+ 41. Kg1 Qe3+ 42. Kg2 Qe2+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "London Classic 7th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2015.12.08"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2765"]
[BlackElo "2778"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah/CB Website"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2015.12.04"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 170"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2016.01.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. g3
{All this has been seen in many games at the top level. Even in the
Carlsen-Anand match from 2014. Here mainly everyone takes on g5 but Kramnik in
his game against Adams had tried a new move 14...Bc4. Giri had an improvement
on Kramnik's play and went for the same line.} Bc4 {.} 15. Rfe1 Rg6 16. Nce4
Rd8 17. Rxd8+ Bxd8 18. b3 Bd5 19. c4 {We are still following Adams-Kramnik.
Here Kramnik took the knight on g5 with ...Bxg5. While watching that game Giri
had a logical doubt in his mind: Why not ...Nd4? Of course he worked on this
move at home and decided that it was not at all bad.} Nd4 $1 $146 (19... Bxg5
20. Nxg5 Be6 {Adams-Kramnik, London 2014.}) 20. cxd5 cxd5 21. Nd6+ {Maxime
goes for the most critical approach.} (21. Kg2 dxe4 22. Nxe4 {is another way
to play although after} Ra6 $11 {Black shouldn't have any problems.}) 21...
cxd6 22. exd6+ Ne6 23. Nf3 Bf6 24. Be3 Kd7 25. Bxa7 Rh6 $1 {Black gets his
rook back into the game via h8.} 26. Rd1 Kxd6 27. Bb8+ Kc6 28. Rc1+ (28. Be5 {
was an option but after} Rh8 29. Bxf6 gxf6 $13 {Both sides have their trumps.
Black's structure is mangled but his pawn on d5 shepherded by the king on c5
would be very strong.}) 28... Kd7 29. Rd1 Kc6 30. Rc1+ Kd7 31. Rd1 {A very
correct game, you could say!} 1/2-1/2

[Event "EU-Cup 16th"]
[Site "Neum"]
[Date "2000.09.25"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Luther, Thomas"]
[Black "Sakaev, Konstantin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2547"]
[BlackElo "2627"]
[Annotator "Sakaev,K"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2000.09.24"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "BIH"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 080"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.01.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.01.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Graz Merkur"]
[BlackTeam "St Petersburg"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "AUT"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RUS"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. b3 h6 11. Bb2 b6 12. Rad1 Kc8 13. h3 a5 14. Rd3
$146 Bb4 15. Rfd1 Be6 (15... Bxc3 $2 16. Rxd7 $3 (16. Bxc3 Be6 $11) 16... Bxb2
17. Rxf7 Nd4 18. Nxd4 (18. Rxd4 Bxd4 19. Nxd4 Kb7 $132) 18... Rd8 19. Rxc7+ Kb8
20. Rf7 Bxd4 (20... Rxd4 21. Rxd4 Bxd4 22. e6 $18) 21. e6 Ra7 22. Rxa7 Kxa7 23.
e7 Re8 24. Rxd4 Rxe7 25. f4 $18) 16. g4 $6 (16. Ne2 Ne7 $13) (16. Ne4 Bd5 $11)
16... Ne7 17. Nd4 Bxc3 18. Bxc3 Kb7 $15 19. Be1 (19. Nxe6 $142 fxe6 20. Rd7 Nd5
) 19... Nd5 20. Rf3 g5 $1 $17 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. c4 Nf4 23. Kh2 h5 (23... Rad8
$5 $17) 24. gxh5 Rxh5 25. Rd7 Rah8 26. Bd2 Rxh3+ 27. Rxh3 Rxh3+ 28. Kg1 Rd3 29.
Rxd3 Nxd3 30. Bxg5 Nxe5 31. Kf1 b5 32. Bd2 Kb6 (32... a4 $17) 33. c5+ $6 (33.
Be3+ Kb7 34. Bd2 $17) 33... Kxc5 34. Bxa5 Kd6 35. Ke2 c5 36. Bd2 b4 37. Bf4 Kd5
38. Ke3 c4 $2 (38... c6 39. Bxe5 Kxe5 40. Kd3 Kd5 41. f4 (41. f3 e5 42. Ke3 Ke6
43. Ke4 Kf6 $19) 41... e5 42. fxe5 (42. f5 e4+ 43. Ke3 Ke5 44. f6 Kxf6 45. Kxe4
Ke6 46. Ke3 Kd5 47. Kd3 c4+ $1 48. bxc4+ Kc5 49. Kd2 Kxc4 50. Kc2 c5 $19) 42...
Kxe5 43. Kc4 (43. Ke3 Kd5 44. Kd3 c4+ $1 $19) 43... Kd6 44. Kd3 Kd5 $19) 39.
Bxe5 cxb3 (39... Kxe5 40. bxc4 c5 (40... Kf5 41. Kd4 Kf4 42. Kc5 $11) 41. f4+
Kf5 42. Kf3 $11) 40. Ba1 $2 (40. f4 bxa2 41. Kd3 c5 42. Kc2 c4 43. Kb2 c3+ (
43... b3 44. Kc1 Ke4 45. Kd2 Kf3 46. Bb2 Kxf4 47. Kc3 $11) 44. Kxa2 Kc4 45. Kb1
Kd3 46. Bd6 b3 47. Bb4 Kd4 48. Ba5 Kc4 49. Bc7 Kd3 50. Ba5 b2 51. Bb4 Kc4 52.
Ba3 Kb3 53. Bxb2 cxb2 54. f5 $11) 40... bxa2 41. Kd3 c5 42. f3 c4+ 43. Kc2 e5
44. Kb2 c3+ (44... c3+ 45. Kxa2 Kc4 $19) 0-1

[Event "Congres International playoff-1"]
[Site "Paris"]
[Date "1878.07.31"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Winawer, Szymon"]
[Black "Zukertort, Johannes Hermann"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "Schallopp,E"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "1878.07.27"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2019"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2018.10.10"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.10"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Entscheidungskampf um den ersten und zweiten Preis . 119 Spanische Partie .} 
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8.
dxe5 Nb7 9. Nd4 O-O 10. Nc3 Nc5 11. Rd1 Qe8 12. Nf5 f6 13. Qg4 Ne6 14. Bh6 Rf7
15. Be3 Kh8 {[#]  Weiß versucht es diesmal auf eine andere Art.} 16. Nxe7 ({
In der zweiten Partie geschah} 16. f4) 16... Qxe7 17. exf6 Rxf6 18. Qh4 (18.
Qa4 {hätte den nun folgenden guten Entwicklungszug des Gegners noch für
längere Zeit unmöglich gemacht.}) 18... d5 $1 19. Re1 Qf7 20. Ne2 (20. Rad1 {
scheint aus manchen Rücksichten den Vorzug zu verdienen.}) 20... c5 21. c3 Ba6
{Dieser Angriff, und was sich daran knüpft, ist verfehlt.} ({Es sollte einfach
} 21... Bd7 {geschehen.}) 22. Ng3 d4 23. Bg5 Rxf2 {Dies hätte bei richtiger
Fortsetzung doch wol die Partie kosten müssen.} 24. Rxe6 Bb7 {[#]} 25. Ne4 $2
{Hiernach erlangt Schwarz entscheidenden Angriff.} (25. Re2 {hätte den
Offizier behauptet, zum Beispiel} Rf8 26. cxd4 Bxg2 27. Be7 {etc.}) ({Auch} 25.
Re4 {hätte Vorteil gesichert.} Rf8 26. Be7 Rxg2+ 27. Kxg2 Qf3+ 28. Kh3 Bc8+
29. Qg4 ({Weniger gut} 29. Rg4 {wegen eingeklemmten Spiels.})) 25... Rxg2+ $1
26. Kxg2 Qxe6 27. Re1 Re8 28. Kf3 h6 29. Bd2 Kg8 {Dieser ausgezeichnete
Königszug hält für den geeigneten Moment, wenn die weiße Dame vor ihrem
König steht, dem Turm das Feld f8 bereit.} 30. h3 {Ein ganz zweckloser Zug.
Weiß sollte lieber den Offizier sofort wieder aufgeben und den König aus dem
Angriff zu entfernen suchen.} Qf5+ 31. Qf4 Qxh3+ 32. Kf2 Rf8 33. Qxf8+ Kxf8 34.
Bf4 Qf5 0-1

[Event "Congres International playoff-1"]
[Site "Paris"]
[Date "1878.07.28"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Winawer, Szymon"]
[Black "Zukertort, Johannes Hermann"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "Schallopp,E"]
[PlyCount "146"]
[EventDate "1878.07.27"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2019"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2018.10.10"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.10"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Entscheidungskampf um den ersten und zweiten Preis . 117 Spanische Partie .} 
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8.
dxe5 Nb7 (8... Nf5 {ist an dieser Stelle sehr zu empfehlen.}) 9. Nd4 ({Früher
kannte man hier nur die Fortsetzung} 9. Rd1) ({Dann wurde} 9. c4 {als stärker
befunden.}) {Der Zug im Text geschah in beiden Epochen erst später. Und doch
scheint Weiß ein wesentliches Tempo zu gewinnen, wenn er den Zug, wie es hier
der Fall ist, sofort tut.} 9... O-O 10. Nc3 ({Gegen} 10. Rd1 Qe8 11. Nf5 {
dürfte allein} Kh8 {Verteidigung bieten.}) 10... Nc5 11. Rd1 Qe8 12. Nf5 f6 ({
Wir würden auch hier} 12... Kh8 {vorziehen.}) 13. Qg4 Ne6 14. Bh6 Rf7 15. Be3
Kh8 (15... fxe5 {war, trotz Qualitätsverlustes, sehr zu erwägen.}) 16. f4 d5
({Auf} 16... Nf8 {könnte} 17. Nxe7 Qxe7 18. Bd4 d5 19. exf6 {die Folge sein.})
({Aber} 16... fxe5 17. fxe5 Bc5 {käme in Betracht.}) 17. Nxe7 ({Stärker
dürfte es sein, zuvor den Bauern} 17. exd6 {en passant zu schlagen.}) 17...
Qxe7 18. f5 d4 $1 ({Mit} 18... fxe5 {würde Schwarz wegen} 19. fxe6 Bxe6 20.
Qg5 d4 21. Qxe7 Rxe7 22. Bg5 {die Figur ohne Ersatz verlieren.}) {[#]} 19. exf6
({Auf} 19. fxe6 {folgt einfach} dxc3) 19... Qxf6 20. Bxd4 Nxd4 21. Qxd4 Bxf5
22. Qxf6 Rxf6 23. Rd2 Rd6 24. Rf2 g6 25. Re1 Rad8 26. Ree2 h5 27. h3 c5 28. Re7
Rd2 29. Rxc7 Rxf2 30. Kxf2 Rd2+ 31. Kf3 Rxc2 32. Nd5 Rxb2 (32... g5 {darf in
diesem Moment wegen} 33. Ne3 {nicht geschehen.}) 33. Nf6 g5 34. Rxc5 Bg6 35.
Rxg5 Kg7 36. Nd5 $1 (36. Nxh5+ {kostet natürlich wegen} Kh6 {einen Offizier})
36... Kh6 37. Re5 Rxa2 38. Nf4 Ra3+ 39. Kf2 Bf7 40. Re7 Bg8 41. Re5 Bf7 42. g4
hxg4 43. hxg4 a5 44. g5+ Kg7 45. Re7 Kf8 46. Ra7 a4 47. g6 {[#]} Bxg6 {Das
Opfer führt am einfachsten das Remis herbei.} (47... Bc4 {hätte bei
vorsichtiger Fortsetzung wahrscheinlich denselben Erfolg.}) ({Gegen} 47... Be8
{würde Weiß mit} 48. Ne6+ Kg8 49. Rg7+ Kh8 50. Rf7 {gewinnen.}) 48. Nxg6+ Ke8
49. Ne5 {Wozu das Weiterspielen führen soll, ist nicht ersichtlich.} Kd8 50.
Ke2 Kc8 51. Kd2 Kb8 52. Nc6+ Kc8 53. Kc2 Rh3 54. Rxa4 Kc7 55. Ne5 Kd6 56. Nd3
Kc6 57. Rb4 Rg3 58. Kc3 Rh3 59. Rc4+ Kd6 60. Rd4+ Ke6 61. Re4+ Kd5 62. Re5+ Kd6
63. Rg5 Rh4 64. Nc5 Kc6 65. Nb3 Kd6 66. Nd4 Rh1 67. Nc2 Rh4 68. Kd3 Ra4 69. Nd4
Ra1 70. Nb5+ Ke6 71. Nc3 Rh1 72. Kd4 Ra1 73. Re5+ Kd6 {Die Partie wurde noch
zwanzig (!) Züge weiter fortgesetzt und dann als remis abgebrochen.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Stockholm"]
[Site "Stockholm"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Wedberg, Tom Birger"]
[Black "Benjamin, Joel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2480"]
[BlackElo "2560"]
[Annotator "Schussler,H"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "1990.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "SWE"]
[EventCategory "11"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 022"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1991.06.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1991.06.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. h3 Be6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13. g4 $16 {White`s
logical set-up is a serious threat against this variation of the Berliner.} Ne7
14. Nd4 g5 15. f4 gxf4 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Rxf4 Nd5 18. Nxd5 cxd5 19. Raf1 Kb7
20. Kg2 Be7 21. Rf7 Bh4 22. Ba3 h5 23. Rg7 hxg4 24. hxg4 Rag8 25. Rff7 Rxg7 26.
Rxg7 Kc6 27. g5 d4 28. Be7 Kd5 29. Bf6 Ke4 30. g6 Rh6 31. Bxh4 Rxh4 32. Kg3 Rh1
33. Kg4 Kxe5 34. Rf7 $18 Rg1+ 35. Kh5 Rh1+ 36. Kg5 Kd6 37. g7 Rg1+ 38. Kh6 Rh1+
39. Kg6 Rg1+ 40. Kh7 Rh1+ 41. Kg8 Rg1 42. Kf8 e5 43. g8=Q Rxg8+ 44. Kxg8 e4 45.
Kg7 a5 46. Kf6 d3 47. cxd3 exd3 48. Rf8 Kd5 49. Kf5 Kd4 50. Kf4 1-0

[Event "Tatran Cup"]
[Site "Stary Smokovec"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Horvath, Jozsef"]
[Black "Knezevic, Milorad"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2540"]
[BlackElo "2445"]
[Annotator "Schussler,H"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "1990.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "CSR"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 021"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1991.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1991.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8.
dxe5 Nb7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Re1 Nc5 11. Be3 Ne6 12. Rad1 d5 13. exd6 cxd6 14. Nd4
Nxd4 $5 (14... Bd7 15. Nf5 d5 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. Na4 $14 {Shamkovic-Lein,
Soviet Union 1969/70.}) 15. Bxd4 Be6 16. Qf3 Qd7 17. Qg3 f6 18. Bc5 Rfd8 19. h3
Bf7 20. Ne4 d5 21. Bxe7 Qxe7 22. Ng5 Qd7 23. Nxf7 Qxf7 24. Rd3 Re8 25. Rde3 Qd7
26. Kf1 c5 27. b3 a5 28. Rxe8+ Rxe8 29. Rxe8+ Qxe8 30. Qd6 Qb5+ 31. Kg1 d4 32.
Qd5+ Kf8 33. Qd6+ Kf7 34. Qd5+ Kf8 35. Qd6+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "WchT 2nd"]
[Site "Luzern"]
[Date "1989.??.??"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Chandler, Murray G"]
[Black "Brunner, Lucas"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2585"]
[BlackElo "2505"]
[Annotator "Schussler,H"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "1989.10.27"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 016"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1990.06.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1990.06.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "England"]
[BlackTeam "Switzerland"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ENG"]
[BlackTeamCountry "SUI"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. dxe5 Nxb5 7. a4 d6 (
7... Nbd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 d5 10. Nc3 c6 11. a5 Bf5 12. f4 Qd7 $5 $10 {
Nunn-Salov, Haifa 1989.}) 8. e6 $1 fxe6 9. axb5 Ne7 10. Nc3 Ng6 11. Qd4 $1 {
This move is more testing than the old move 11. Ng5.} Qf6 $6 12. Qc4 $1 Qd8 13.
Ng5 $16 Ne5 14. Qe4 Qe7 15. Be3 {15. Nxh7!?} h6 16. Nh3 Qf7 17. b6 cxb6 18.
Bxb6 Bd7 19. Qxb7 $14 {19. f4!?} Bc6 20. Qxf7+ Kxf7 21. Bxa7 Be7 22. Nf4 Rhc8
23. Nfe2 Rc7 24. Bd4 Ng6 25. Rxa8 Bxa8 26. Ra1 Bc6 27. Ra7 Rxa7 28. Bxa7 Nh4
29. f3 e5 30. Ne4 g5 31. c4 g4 32. Kf2 gxf3 33. gxf3 d5 34. cxd5 Bxd5 35. N2g3
Kg6 36. Bb8 Bf6 37. b4 Bc6 38. Nxf6 Kxf6 39. Ne4+ Ke6 40. Nd2 Kd5 41. Ba7 Nf5
42. Bc5 h5 43. Kg2 Bb7 44. Kf2 Bc6 45. Ne4 Kc4 46. Nf6 Nh4 47. f4 Ng6 48. Nxh5
Nxf4 49. Nxf4 exf4 50. Bd6 f3 51. Ke3 Kd5 52. Bg3 Ke6 53. Kf4 Kd5 54. h4 Kc4
55. h5 Be8 56. h6 Bg6 57. Be1 f2 1/2-1/2

[Event "Groningen"]
[Site "Groningen"]
[Date "1989.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hellers, Ferdinand"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2560"]
[BlackElo "2555"]
[Annotator "Schussler,H"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "1989.12.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "11"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 016"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1990.06.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1990.06.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8.
dxe5 Nb7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Re1 Nc5 (10... Re8 11. Qc4 Nc5 12. Bg5 {
Hübner-Spasskij, Venice (m1) 1989.}) 11. Be3 Ne6 12. Rad1 {White delays Nf3-d4
so that Black cannot answer this with Ne6xd4 followed by c5 and d5. In the
game he can only play d5.} d5 13. exd6 cxd6 14. Nd4 Nxd4 15. Bxd4 Re8 16. Qf3
d5 17. Na4 {The control of c5 gives White a slight advantage.} Bf8 18. Bc5
Rxe1+ 19. Rxe1 Qa5 20. b4 Qd8 {If 20. - Qxa4 then 21. Re8 Bb7 22. Qe2.} 21.
Bxf8 Qxf8 22. Qc3 Bd7 23. a3 h6 24. f3 Qd8 25. Nc5 a5 26. bxa5 Bf5 27. Nb3 Qd6
28. Qb4 c5 29. Nxc5 Rb8 30. Qd4 Rb5 31. a6 Rxc5 32. Re8+ Kh7 33. a7 Rc4 34. Qf2
Rxc2 35. a8=Q Rxf2 36. Kxf2 Qc5+ 37. Kg3 Qc7+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tilburg"]
[Site "Tilburg"]
[Date "1990.09.17"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Timman, Jan H"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2660"]
[BlackElo "2680"]
[Annotator "Schussler,H"]
[PlyCount "132"]
[EventDate "1990.09.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "16"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 020"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1991.02.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1991.02.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Be6 10. b3 Bb4 11. Bb2 Bxc3 12. Bxc3 Bd5 13. Rad1 Ke7 14.
Bb4+ Ke8 15. Nd4 Nxd4 16. Rxd4 a5 17. Bd2 $14 Be6 18. Ra4 b6 19. b4 Rd8 20. Bg5
Rd4 21. c3 Rc4 22. Ra3 Kd7 23. bxa5 bxa5 24. Rxa5 Rxc3 25. Rb1 c5 26. h3 c4 27.
Rbb5 Rd3 28. a4 Rb3 29. Rc5 Rhb8 30. Ra7 R8b7 31. Ra8 Rb8 32. Ra7 R3b7 33. Ra6
Rb6 34. Raa5 c6 35. Ra7+ R6b7 36. Rca5 Bd5 37. Be3 Ke6 38. R7a6 Kf5 39. Rc5 Rb4
40. Ra7 Ke4 41. e6 fxe6 42. Rxg7 Rxa4 43. Rxh7 Kd3 44. Rg7 Rb5 45. Rg3 Kc2 46.
Rg4 Kb3 47. h4 Rxc5 (47... Raa5 $5 48. h5 Rxc5 49. Bxc5 Rxc5 50. h6 c3 $19) 48.
Bxc5 c3 49. Rxa4 Kxa4 50. h5 c2 51. Be3 Kb3 52. f3 e5 53. Kf2 Kb2 54. g4 Bf7
55. Kg3 c1=Q 56. Bxc1+ Kxc1 57. Kh4 c5 58. g5 c4 59. g6 Be8 60. Kg5 c3 61. Kf6
Ba4 62. h6 c2 63. h7 Kb2 64. h8=Q c1=Q 65. Qb8+ Bb3 66. Qxe5+ Ka2 {2.58-3.18}
1/2-1/2

[Event "Biel"]
[Site "Biel"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Black "Miles, Anthony John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2730"]
[BlackElo "2595"]
[Annotator "Schussler,H"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "1990.07.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[EventCategory "14"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 019"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1990.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1990.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. b3 h5 $6 11. Rd1 Be7 12. Bg5 $14 Nh6 13. h3 Bf5
14. Bxe7 Kxe7 15. Nd4 Rad8 16. Rd2 Bg6 17. Rad1 h4 18. b4 Nf5 19. Nce2 Nxd4 20.
Nxd4 f6 21. exf6+ Kxf6 22. Nb3 Rxd2 23. Rxd2 b6 24. Rd7 Rc8 25. Rd4 Bxc2 26.
Rxh4 Re8 27. Rf4+ Ke5 28. Rf7 Bxb3 29. axb3 Kd4 30. Rxg7 Kc3 31. Rxc7 Kxb4 32.
Rxc6 Kxb3 33. f4 Rf8 34. g4 $1 $18 Rxf4 35. g5 b5 36. g6 Rf8 37. g7 Rg8 38. Rc7
a5 39. h4 a4 40. h5 a3 41. h6 a2 42. Ra7 1-0

[Event "Dortmund op-A"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Lutz, Christopher"]
[Black "Keitlinghaus, Ludger"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2540"]
[BlackElo "2440"]
[Annotator "Schussler,H"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "1992.04.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 029"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1992.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1992.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8.
dxe5 Nf5 9. Qe4 g6 10. Nd4 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 d5 $5 {New.} (11... O-O 12. Bh6 Re8
13. Nc3 c5 14. Qd2 d6 $14 {Gligoric-Trifunovic, Budapest 1948}) 12. exd6 O-O
13. Bh6 Bf6 14. Qb4 Re8 15. dxc7 Qxc7 16. Nc3 Bf5 17. Rac1 Qb6 $6 (17... Rab8
18. Qa3 {18.Qc4 Be6, 18.Qc5 Re5} Be7 $13 {18. - Qe7!?}) 18. Qa3 Rab8 19. Na4
Qd4 20. Be3 $14 Qh4 21. Bxa7 Rb7 22. Rfe1 $6 {22.Be3} Ra8 23. Bc5 Bxb2 24. Nxb2
Rxa3 25. Re8+ Kg7 26. Bf8+ Kf6 27. Bxa3 Qd4 28. Nd1 Bxc2 29. Ne3 Rb1 $10 30.
Rxb1 Bxb1 31. Be7+ Kg7 32. Bf8+ Kf6 33. Be7+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "World Women-ch"]
[Site "Manila"]
[Date "1991.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Xie, Jun"]
[Black "Chiburdanidze, Maia"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2465"]
[BlackElo "2495"]
[Annotator "Schussler,H"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1991.09.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "16"]
[EventCountry "PHI"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 026"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1992.02.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1992.02.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 {
Gegen die gute Taktikerin Xie Jun hat Chiburdanidze eine Eröffnung vorbereitet,
mit deren Hilfe sie von der Eröffnung direkt ins Endspiel kommt. -> Polgar,
J-Dautov,R/Brno/1991/0-1/ CBM 26} 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. b3 (9. Nc3 Be6 10. b3 Bb4
11. Bb2 Bxc3 12. Bxc3 Bd5 13. Rad1 Ke7 14. Bb4+ Ke8 15. Nd4 Nxd4 16. Rxd4 a5
$10 {Timman,J-Gelfand,B/tilburg/1990/1/2-1/2/66/}) 9... Ke8 (9... h6) (9... a5
$5 {Dautov}) 10. Bb2 (10. c4 a5 $1 11. Nc3 Bb4 12. Bb2 Bxc3 13. Bxc3 a4 $10 {
Ambroz}) 10... a5 11. Nc3 Be6 12. Rfd1 Be7 13. h3 h5 14. a4 f6 15. Ne2 Bd5 16.
Ne1 Kf7 17. Nf4 Rad8 18. c4 Be6 19. Nf3 Bc8 (19... Rxd1+ 20. Rxd1 g5 $2 21.
exf6 Bxf6 22. Nxg5+ $1 Bxg5 23. Nxe6 $18) 20. Re1 $5 g5 21. e6+ $6 {Der Bauer
kann schwach werden} Ke8 22. Ng6 Rg8 23. Nxe7 Kxe7 24. g4 (24. Re2 Rd3 (24...
g4 25. hxg4 Rxg4)) 24... hxg4 25. hxg4 Ng7 (25... Rd3 26. Ne5 $1 (26. Kg2 Nh4+
27. Nxh4 gxh4 $17) (26. gxf5 Rxf3 $17) 26... Rxb3 27. gxf5 (27. Ba3+ Rxa3 28.
Rxa3 Nd4) 27... Rxb2) 26. Nd4 c5 27. Nf5+ Nxf5 (27... Ke8 28. Nxg7+ Rxg7 29.
Bxf6) 28. gxf5 $13 {Der Bauer e6 ist stark, aber nicht der Bauer f5. Ausserdem
droht Weiss in der h-Linie Gefahr.} Rh8 29. Kg2 b6 30. Rad1 Rdg8 31. Kg3 Rh4
32. Rh1 Rgh8 33. Rxh4 gxh4+ (33... Rxh4 $5 {/\ 34...Rf4} 34. Rd3 Rf4 (34... Rh1
35. Kg4 Rb1 36. Bc3) 35. Rf3) 34. Kh3 Rh5 35. Rd5 $1 (35. Kg4 Rg5+ 36. Kf4 h3
37. Rh1 Rg2 $17) 35... c6 36. Bxf6+ $1 Kxf6 37. Rd8 Rxf5 (37... Bb7 38. Rf8+
Ke7 39. Rf7+ Ke8 40. Rxb7 Rxf5 41. Rxb6) (37... Bxe6 38. fxe6 Kxe6 39. Rb8) 38.
Rxc8 Rf3+ 39. Kxh4 Rxb3 40. Rxc6 Rb4 41. Kg3 (41. Kg3 Rxc4 (41... Rxa4 $10) 42.
f4 Re4 $1 $10) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Linares 08th"]
[Site "Linares"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Ljubojevic, Ljubomir"]
[Black "Salov, Valery"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2625"]
[BlackElo "2645"]
[Annotator "Schussler,H"]
[PlyCount "110"]
[EventDate "1990.02.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "16"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 017"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1990.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1990.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h5 10. Bg5+ Be7 {With his last two moves Salov chooses an
odd strategy. Instead of trying to keep his bishop-pair he intends to prove
that the strength of his white- squared bishop gives him enough compensation
for White`s better pawn-structure} 11. Rad1+ Ke8 12. Ne2 Nh6 13. h3 Bf5 14. Rd2
Rd8 15. Rfd1 Bxg5 16. Nxg5 Ke7 17. Nd4 Bc8 18. c4 f6 19. exf6+ Kxf6 20. h4 Rhe8
21. f3 Nf5 22. Nxf5 Rxd2 23. Rxd2 Bxf5 24. Kf2 $14 c5 25. Kg3 Bb1 26. a3 b6 27.
Kf4 Re7 28. Rd5 g6 29. Ne4+ Kg7 30. Nd2 Bc2 31. Re5 Rd7 32. Ke3 a5 33. Rd5 Re7+
34. Ne4 Ba4 35. Rd8 Be8 36. Kd3 Bd7 37. Nc3 Bf5+ 38. Kd2 Be6 39. Nd5 Bxd5 40.
Rxd5 Kf6 41. a4 Rh7 42. Ke3 Re7+ 43. Kf2 Rh7 44. b3 Re7 45. Rd3 Kf5 46. Rd8 Kf6
47. Rd5 Kg7 48. g4 hxg4 49. fxg4 Re4 50. Rd7+ Kf6 51. Kf3 Rd4 52. Rxc7 Rd3+ 53.
Ke4 Rd4+ 54. Kf3 Rd3+ 55. Kf4 Rd4+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Leon"]
[Site "Leon"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Magem Badals, Jordi"]
[Black "Sanz Alonso, Francisco Javier"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2460"]
[BlackElo "2450"]
[Annotator "Schussler,H"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "1990.06.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "9"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 020"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1991.02.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1991.02.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8.
dxe5 Nb7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Re1 Re8 11. Qc4 Nc5 12. Bg5 Bxg5 13. Nxg5 Qxg5 14. Qxc5
Qe7 15. Qxe7 Rxe7 16. f4 Rb8 17. b3 Rb4 18. g3 Rd4 19. Rad1 Rxd1 20. Rxd1 f6
21. exf6 gxf6 22. Kf2 d6 23. Rd2 Kf7 24. Nd1 c5 25. Ne3 $14 1/2-1/2

[Event "World-ch Carlsen-Karjakin +2-2=10"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "2016.11.28"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2857"]
[BlackElo "2769"]
[Annotator "Seirawan,Y"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2016.11.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 176"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2017.01.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2017.01.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{While both players have much to lament, each receiving a sympathetic ear,
let's face it: The arbiters have been brilliant. They have been out of sight
and nary a word about them has been spoken. Out of the spotlight they have
treble checked that bane of all chess players - the clock. The battery is
functioning (good), the time control has been set to the right one (very good),
the board and pieces have been set up correctly (most excellent).  And so it
all comes down to this: After eleven hard fought games the twelfth and final
game would be played for all the marbles. I wanted to describe the situation
as high drama. But my 'Spidey sense' began to tingle as I considered the word.
Blessed with a heightened sense of caution I decided to look up the current
definition of the word. You see the English language changes. Nearly every day
in fact. Just like the FIDE rules committee that loves to change the rules of
chess, so to do the committees that define words in the English language. It
can get pretty confusing.  To assuage my internal warnings I double-checked
and learned something new while bringing myself up-to-date: drama: Top
definition: "Something women and especially teenage girls thrive on.
Consisting of any number of situations that have an easy solution, which would
bring a fairly good outcome, but these girls choose another, shitty, bad way
to deal with it, again consisting of backstabbing, blackmailing/gossiping/
betraying their friends, or the all-too-common, "I want to break up with him
but I still love him!" It drives men and what I like to call "normal" girls
nuts." Urban Dictionary. Hmm. Right. Just as expected a surprising change. Oh
boy, I'm already in trouble and this is before annotating move one. Somehow, I
can't quite put my finger on it but the (for me) new definition just feels a
tiny bit to be politically incorrect. I confess I'm not the most astute in
such matters. Therefore, let us put high drama aside for a moment and instead
set up the situation from a different point of view...  Many fans and even
non-fans have asked me the question, "What makes one grandmaster stronger than
another?" A fair question. Once when describing himself against his colleagues
World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik saw himself, "As first amongst equals." It
seems the top grandmasters know all the various chess skills and instead to
find an answer to such a question we should consider the intangibles:
Confidence; ambition; determination; good health; a supportive team; good food;
a strong stomach; a working internet connection; staying regular and other key
factors.  The twelfth game would require a supreme effort by both players
featuring nerves of steel coupled with boundless energy. They would before the
gong imagine a long, hard fought game where conquering their nerves and
remaining calm at those crucial moments is vital. They would review their
preparation to the best of their abilities while hoping to out-calculate their
opponent in the heat of battle. Doing all the things that grandmasters do so
well. But there is another intangible to consider as well: At such a moment
are you capable of getting a good night's sleep? Don't laugh. It is an
important question. Imagine yourself in the role of Challenger Sergey Karjakin.
You are to have a career defining moment. An opportunity to become World Chess
Champion. A dream come true. With so many thoughts and emotions racing through
your mind, will you be able to recharge your battery for the biggest contest
of your life?  But which player is carrying the bigger pressure? Same
questions for Magnus Carlsen, the World Champion. Experts, pollsters and fans
had all been unanimous predicting an easy match win. They were stone-cold
wrong. Lucky to be at a level score, what risks should Magnus take to try to
clinch the match? To go all in as White in the final game? As did Veselin
Topalov with White against Viswanathan Anand in 2010? A decision which cost
him the match... So many questions. So many worries and all you really want is
to rest and recharge your battery. To sleep peacefully with pleasant dreams of
victory. Perhaps such an ability, that one, to cast aside your concerns and
get a good night sleep, is what makes one grandmaster stronger than another?
Before the battle commenced, I wondered, would we see a real drama? Wait, now
I'm certain that's not the word I want to use. In this preamble I've got it
all wrong entangling myself in knots. I think National Basketball Association
legend Michael Jordan said it best at such moments, "Go out and just enjoy the
game. Don't think about the consequences. If you do, you'll freeze."} 1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O {A first indication that perhaps the "decisive"
final Classical game in the match might not be all that decisive after all.} ({
For Game 10, Magnus played} 4. d3 {keeping all the pieces on the board.}) 4...
Nxe4 5. Re1 {Uh oh. The second indication the game is about to fizzle out.} Nd6
6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 {Not repeating Game 3,
where Magnus tried:} (10. Re2 $5 {A move that didn't promise much but almost
brought him great success.}) 10... Re8 {All according to modern theory as well
as strategic principles. The e-file is open and therefore the chopping block
for the major pieces.} 11. Bf4 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 {The first moment of
"excitement" quickly passes. I'm a notorious pawn-grabber but the d4-bait is
poisonous:} (12... Bxd4 $6 13. Bxd6 cxd6 (13... Bxb2 $4 14. Bxc7 {simply wins
for White}) 14. Nc3 {When I much prefer White's position. Black has
difficulties developing while White's moves play themselves:} Rb8 15. Rd1 Be5
16. Nd5 {White's initiative is getting serious.}) 13. c3 d5 14. Bd3 g6 {
Practice has proven that the symmetry in the position is hard to crack. With a
draw being the most likely result.} 15. Na3 $6 {A confounding move. After all,
where is the knight heading? I will certainly not claim that after the
standard:} (15. Nd2 Ng7 16. Qe2 c6 17. Re1 Bf5 18. Bxf5 Nxf5 19. Nb3 {It is
all "blue sky" for White. Truly, there is not much in the position but the
chances for a pull lay in this direction.}) 15... c6 16. Nc2 Ng7 17. Qd2 {
This one also had me perplexed. Trying my best to channel my "inner Magnus" I
wrongly thought his knight maneuver was designed to cover the f5-square:} (17.
Ne3 {seemed to be his intended follow-up. True, it does stop Black's ...Bc8-f5
plan but allows another in its stead:} Nh5 $1 18. Bh6 Bg5 19. Bxg5 Qxg5 {
with a knight coming to the f4-square Black has solved all his opening
problems.}) 17... Bf5 18. Bxf5 Nxf5 19. Ne3 Nxe3 20. Qxe3 Qe7 21. Qxe7 Bxe7 {
The mutual hacking continues. The board is nearly empty. Just one last trade
along the chopping block remains.} 22. Re1 Bf8 {I'm sorely tempted to give
this move an exclamation mark. After all I'm a paid commentator and I have to
earn my keep. That would make one for the whole game. In truth Black had a
perfectly decent alternative as well.} (22... Re8 {Grandmasters do not make
such moves: Walking into a "self-pin." However, there is no way for White to
exploit the moment:} 23. Bg5 Kf8 24. Bh6+ Kg8 {Black is ready to play: ...
f7-f6, and ...Kg8-f7, releasing the pin, with the time honored ritual of
signing the scoresheets to follow.}) 23. Kf1 f6 24. g4 {This bold thrust does
not hold the promise of a vicious attack, so hold the trumpets. Actually it is
actually quite safe.} Kf7 25. h3 $1 {At last, I'm in a generous mood, "Give
the man an exclam!" The text shows "understanding." In a bishop ending, pawns
should be on the opposite colored squares from the bishop. The text also
insures against adversity: The possibility of blundering a pawn is greatly
reduced.} Re8 26. Rxe8 Kxe8 {The tasks along the chopping block have all been
completed. The play must continue until move thirty. At least.} 27. Ke2 Kd7 28.
Kd3 Ke6 29. a4 a6 30. f3 Be7 {Draw agreed. Oh boy. My preamble was longer than
my notes to the game. Likely for good reasons. I'll leave it to other more
gifted writers to share their thoughts on this downer. Instead, I'll just
boldly state the obvious: A very disappointing conclusion to an intense World
Championship match. Such games do not kindle interest in our glorious sport.
Maybe I pegged it right after all? Perhaps Magnus did not get enough sleep?
Now another rest day follows and on Wednesday the tension will be at its
zenith as the title of who will be World Chess Champion will be decided by
tiebreaks.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "World-ch Carlsen-Karjakin +2-2=10"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "2016.11.14"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2857"]
[BlackElo "2769"]
[Annotator "Seirawan,Y"]
[PlyCount "156"]
[EventDate "2016.11.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 176"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2017.01.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2017.01.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Match play is all about the result. Would have, could have, should have,
explanations all fall before the final score. To get a result a player has to
first establish the real battleground: In which lines of opening play will the
match be decided? Match play competition is also an exchange of information.
The players start by making informed, educated guesses about their opponent's
primary defense, their secondary defense and so on. A player will play their
primary defense until a disaster before switching to a back-up defense. For
Game One Magnus chose the Trompovsky Opening and in the process learned
precisely nothing about Sergey's primary Queen Pawn defense. In a similar vein,
Sergey learned something about Magnus's primary defense to the king pawn
opening but by opting out with the safe: 6.d3, instead of 6.Re1, in a Ruy
Lopez, he didn't learn enough. The first pair of games were soft, two draws
where the balance was barely disturbed. The match was now reduced to a ten
game match. Would Game Three finally produce the clash that chess fans were
anxious for?} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Amongst the elite king pawn
opening players the Berlin Defense has been a huge problem. How to get any
advantage as well as how to get play?} 4. O-O {The other main try is:} (4. d3 {
which can be well met by either the active:} Bc5 {as well as:} (4... d6 {
transposing into a Classical Ruy where White has committed himself with the
d2-d3, tempo.})) 4... Nxe4 5. Re1 {Disappointing. Okay the "Berlin Endgame"
that appears after:} (5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {
may not be everybody's cup of tea but the imbalances can lead to rich
strategic games.}) 5... Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10.
Re2 {Stop the presses! Novelty of the year! Mmm, no. The text has been chosen
a few times over the "standard" move:} (10. Re1 {Presumably the difference
being that when Black readies a rook swap down the e-file, recapturing on the
e2-square is to be preferred. Hmm, such a nuanced difference strikes me as
insufficient for a pull.}) 10... b6 ({Instead, I'll surmise that against the
standard move} 10... Nf5 {Magnus had planned to advance his d-pawn:} 11. d5 $5
b6 12. c4 $5 Ba6 13. Na3 c6 14. Rd2 {is a line of play where the rook might
find a purpose along the second rank. Personally, I'm skeptical about White's
play as it feels artificial.}) 11. Re1 {Having coaxed Black into playing: ...
b7-b6, the e2-rook moves yet again, this time to avoid: ...Bc8-a6, which would
favor Black with a bishop trade.} Re8 12. Bf4 $1 Rxe1 13. Qxe1 Qe7 (13... Bxd4
$2 14. Bxd6 cxd6 15. Qe4 Bxb2 16. Qxa8 Qf8 17. Nc3 Bxa1 18. Nd5 Bf6 19. Nxf6+
gxf6 20. Qxa7 {would leave Black's structure in tatters.}) 14. Nc3 Bb7 15. Qxe7
Bxe7 16. a4 a6 {"Before the Endgame, the Gods have placed the Middle-game. And
I thank those Gods." So said Tal. The position at hand queries this adorable
quote. It feels as if the players have magically avoided a middle-game and
embraced an Ending. Perhaps White has a smidgen of something but it sure feels
balanced to me.} 17. g3 {Perhaps angling for an opportunity to play: Bf1-h3,
hitting the d7-pawn at an inconvenient moment.} g5 {An active rejoinder to be
sure that helps Black resolve the problem of his misplaced d6-knight. The
downside to this pleasant move is that the f5-square is weakened. Magnus was
quick to pounce.} 18. Bxd6 $1 Bxd6 19. Bg2 $1 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 {Imperceptibly
after these trades White does have something in the position. If he can
maneuver his knight to the f5-square, back it up with his g-pawn, he might yet
find a serious pull.} f5 $1 {Nipping the idea in the bud before it could take
shape. Not as convincing would be:} (20... Re8 21. Nd5 Re2 22. Ne3 $1 Rd2 23.
Rd1 Rxd1 24. Nxd1 {when White has the more agreeable play.}) 21. Nd5 Kf7 22.
Ne3 Kf6 {Sergey has "met" Magnus well and appears to be closing in on a boring
draw.} 23. Nc4 Bf8 24. Re1 Rd8 $6 {A "mysterious rook move" an echo of Game
Two where Magnus played: Ra8-c8, backing up a c7-pawn. I suppose the idea is
to discourage: Nc4-e5, by preemptively defending the d7-pawn. Very
sophisticated indeed. The brutes among us might not have been so caring:} (
24... d5 25. Ne5 Bd6 $11 {strikes me as just fine for Black.}) 25. f4 gxf4 26.
gxf4 b5 27. axb5 axb5 28. Ne3 c6 29. Kf3 {It is easy to get lulled to sleep
and imagine that nothing is happening but the swap of four pawns has opened up
the a-file and the g-file ensuring play for the rooks. On closer inspection a
problem has crept into Black's position: The f5-pawn is a greater target than
any White pawn. White is ready to seize one of the open files and prepare an
invasion. White is now spoiled for choice.} Ra8 30. Rg1 Ra2 $5 {A highly
optimistic move to be sure. My concern is that it could be badly timed. The
threat of: Rg4-g5, picking off the f5-pawn needs to be taken seriously.} ({
Therefore} 30... Bh6 $1 31. Rg3 d5 $1 32. Rh3 Bg7 $1 {is a nice way to keep
White at bay. If White persists in his attempts to win the f5-pawn he could
well miss the mark:} 33. Rh5 Ra2 34. b3 (34. Rxf5+ Kg6 35. Rg5+ Kf7 {Black
will win back his pawn.}) 34... h6 35. Rxf5+ Kg6 {White has managed to tangle
up his own pieces.}) 31. b3 c5 $2 {Sergey cracks. Up to now, nothing has gone
seriously wrong but the text is born from excessive worry. The threat of:
Rg1-g5xf5+, is stronger than its execution. Upon cold reflection the best was
the simple:} (31... d5 $1 32. Rg5 Ke6 $1 33. Rxf5 Bg7 {with a variation
similar to the previous note. Black's counter-attack against the d4-pawn gives
sufficient counterplay for holding the draw:} 34. Rh5 Bxd4 35. Rh6+ Kd7 36.
Rxh7+ Ke6 {seems to be finely balanced.}) 32. Rg8 $1 Kf7 33. Rg2 cxd4 34. Nxf5
d3 35. cxd3 Ra1 $5 {When I don't understand a move I tend to reward it with a 
(!?) mark as a sign of respect for the player's sophistication. In truth this
one is a bit beyond my comprehension. Sergey has jettisoned a pawn for active
play or what the real cognoscenti would call "dynamic factors." Cool! So why
not play actively?} ({Direct, good and compelling was} 35... Ra3 $1 36. Rb2 Bb4
$1 37. Ne3 Bc3 38. Rb1 b4 {when thanks to Black's active pieces it would be a
real technical challenge to win this one.}) 36. Nd4 b4 37. Rg5 Rb1 38. Rf5+ Ke8
39. Rb5 {From an arid desert Magnus has managed to find an oasis. He has
consolidated his extra pawn, now, remarkably, he has created real winning
chances. Unlike the previous note, the f8-bishop is now passive as well as a
potential tactical target.} Rf1+ 40. Ke4 Re1+ 41. Kf5 Rd1 42. Re5+ {By no
means a bad move. But around these parts Magnus missed a more incisive
continuation:} (42. Rb8+ $1 Ke7 (42... Kf7 $6 43. Nf3 $1 $16) 43. Ke4 Re1+ 44.
Kd5 Rd1 45. Nf5+ Kf7 46. d4 Rd3 {when appearances can be deceiving. At first
blush it seems that there has been a lot of to-and-froing without much
happening. In truth, things are going great for White. All his pieces are
active and his once dormant d-pawn and f-pawns are playing fine supporting
roles. This is laid bare after:} 47. Rd8 $1 Rxb3 48. Rxd7+ Kg6 49. Ng3 Re3 50.
f5+ Kg5 (50... Kh6 51. Rf7 $1 {Did I mention the f8-bishop could become a
target?} Re8 52. Ne4 {White is close to winning now.}) 51. Ne4+ Kf4 52. Rxh7 b3
53. Nc5 {with good winning chances for White.}) 42... Kf7 43. Rd5 Rxd3 44.
Rxd7+ Ke8 45. Rd5 {Trading off the d-pawns has benefitted Black. With the
reduced material Black need only make a few more pawn swaps and he will be
home free to make a draw.} Rh3 46. Re5+ Kf7 {Natural. But likely wrong.
Black's king is more of a target on the kingside than a stern blockader. For
reasons as we will see in the game, there is less danger for Black's king on
the d7-square. In addition covering the c6-square is important.} (46... Kd7 47.
Re2 Bc5 48. Ne6 Be7 {when White has a hard task to convert ahead of him.}) 47.
Re2 Bg7 48. Nc6 $1 {This is the rub. White defends the b3-pawn indirectly by
creating a mating net against Black's king.} Rh5+ {Doubtlessly played with a
heavy heart. Sergey had covertly eyeballed the b3-pawn dreaming that it would
soon be his! Not so:} (48... Rxb3 $4 49. Nd8+ Kf8 50. Ne6+ Kf7 51. Ng5+ {
with a forced checkmate to follow.}) 49. Kg4 Rc5 50. Nd8+ $1 {Obviously, White
wants to keep the game alive.} ({Again, a trade of pawns} 50. Nxb4 $2 Rb5 51.
Re4 h5+ 52. Kf3 Bf8 53. Nd3 Rxb3 {is helpful to Black's cause.}) 50... Kg6 51.
Ne6 h5+ 52. Kf3 Rc3+ 53. Ke4 Bf6 54. Re3 h4 55. h3 $2 {A careless slip when
once again Magnus was close to tightenng the noose.} ({An opportunity was
present to include the king into the attack by forcibly vacating the f5-square:
} 55. Nf8+ $1 Kf7 56. Nd7 {threatening a winning king and pawn ending.} Rc2 (
56... Bd8 57. Ne5+ Ke6 58. Nd3 $1 Bb6 59. Rh3 $1) 57. Kf5 $1 Bg7 58. h3 {
is a superior version of the game.}) 55... Rc1 56. Nf8+ Kf7 57. Nd7 Ke6 $1 {
The difference between the two lines is now clear: White is prevented from
playing: Ke4-f5.} 58. Nb6 Rd1 59. f5+ Kf7 60. Nc4 Rd4+ 61. Kf3 Bg5 $2 {After
fighting so tenaciously Sergey makes an egregious slip which endangers all his
hard work. With the draw nearly in sight the simple method was also a direct
one, keep attacking the f5-pawn:} (61... Rd5 $1 62. Ke2 Kg7 $1 63. Rf3 {
and only now} Bg5 $1 {Black's king is ready to sweep away the f5-pawn and
secure the coveted draw.}) 62. Re4 Rd3+ 63. Kg4 {And just like that Magnus is
back in business.} Rg3+ {In such positions, there is the "human element" of
wanting to eliminate all of White's pawns at the cost of a bishop and to play
K&R versus a K,R&N position. Where possible, you calculate where such an
escape might lie. At first blush there appears to be an "easy" draw in view:} (
63... Bf6 64. Re6 Rg3+ 65. Kf4 Bg5+ 66. Ke4 Rxh3 67. Ne5+ Kf8 68. f6 Rxb3 {
Exactly at this moment, Black is a happy camper. Just one move away from the
goal!} 69. Kf5 (69. f7 $1 Be7 70. Rg6 $1 $18) 69... Bxf6 $1 70. Kxf6 Kg8 {
Mission accomplished. A draw is in the offing. How cruel is the scorpion's
sting. Go back to move sixty-nine and play: 69.f7! Be7 70.Rg6!, instead. When
Black is just lost. Yikes.}) 64. Kh5 Be7 65. Ne5+ Kf6 66. Ng4+ $1 {During the
time that this phase of the game was being played I was having dinner at the
Closing of the "Showdown" in Saint Louis tournament. In my nearest vicinity
was Fabiano, Hikaru and Vishy. We all scrunched around Fabi's smart-phone to
follow the cut and thrust. In rapid-fire succession, one defense after another
was defeated. The verdict of the table was clear: Magnus was now winning. Our
mirth attracted the attention of Veselin Topalov as well. I was beginning to
feel out-rated but followed their analysis closely.} Kf7 {The plausible
alternative:} (66... Kxf5 {was defeated by the important zwischenzug:} 67. Re5+
$1 Kf4 68. Rxe7 Rxh3 69. Rf7+ $1 {when Black's king is forced to go into the
path of his rook.} Kg3 70. Nf2 $1 ({while} 70. Rb7 {is also good, the text is
much stronger}) 70... Rh2 71. Ne4+ Kh3 72. Rf3+ Kg2 73. Rf2+ {forcing the
trade of rooks is the easiest win.}) 67. Re6 Rxh3 68. Ne5+ {Black is now
forced to part with his bishop.} Kg7 69. Rxe7+ Kf6 70. Nc6 Kxf5 $2 {A move the
dinner table had rejected. The conversation had centered on a study-like
position that arises after:} (70... Rc3 $3 71. Re6+ Kxf5 72. Nd4+ Kf4 73. Kxh4
Rd3 $1 {The "collective wisdom" of the table was having a devil of a time here.
The analysis continued:} 74. Ne2+ Kf3 $1 (74... Kf5 $4 75. Rb6 $18) 75. Nc1 Rd1
$3 (75... Rc3 76. Re1 Kf2 77. Rd1 {Black's king is cut-off from the queenside
and White's king will march to victory.}) 76. Rc6 Ke3 77. Rc2 {At this moment,
the table was reasonably sure that the game was won, as again, Black's king
appears to be cut-off and another victorious white king march was in the
offing. Vishy forced us away from our dinners with another offering:} Rd2 $1
78. Rc6 Rd1 {and no matter how we tried, the win, if it exists proved elusive.}
) 71. Na5 $6 {Missing a golden opportunity to clinch the game:} (71. Re1 $3 {
comes with splendid timing. The text renders any tricks based on: ...Rh3-h1,
and pushing the h4-pawn harmless. Secondly, White is ready to play: Ra1-b1,
and then collect the b4-pawn. Finally, the king on the h5-square is poised to
keep an eye on the h4-pawn. Play might continue:} Kf4 ({This time, the move} 
71... Rc3 $2 {has a cruel failing:} 72. Ne7+ $1 {and Black's king is forced to
move into a fatal fork.}) 72. Rf1+ $1 Ke4 73. Na5 $1 {winning. The key
difference is that in this line of play White has managed to bring his rook to
the first rank with gain of tempo. Black is unable to prevent future pawn
pluckings.}) 71... Rh1 72. Rb7 $4 {Tragedy after a supreme effort. With this,
the win definitely slipped away. Last chances were still to be had:} (72. Rf7+
$1 Ke6 73. Rf2 $1 h3 74. Kh4 Ra1 {The plausible alternative:} (74... h2 $2 75.
Ra2 $1 {is a rather pretty picture}) 75. Nb7 Ra3 76. Rd2 $1 Ke5 77. Nc5 h2 78.
Rxh2 Kd5 79. Rc2 $1 {At long last, White is winning.}) 72... Ra1 $1 {Sergey
seizes his chance to save the game with a study-like finish:} 73. Rb5+ Kf4 $1 {
Otherwise the h4-pawn is removed from the board.} 74. Rxb4+ {What else? White
cannot capture the h4-pawn:} (74. Kxh4 $4 Rh1# {is spine chilling.}) 74... Kg3
$1 75. Rg4+ Kf2 76. Nc4 h3 77. Rh4 Kg3 78. Rg4+ Kf2 {Oh my what a game! The
collective wisdom of the table was that if Magnus had won this game 'out of
nothing' Sergey would have lost a lot of confidence, conversely thanks to this
incredible save we now have a great match in store.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "FIDE World Cup"]
[Site "Baku"]
[Date "2015.09.15"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Sethuraman, SP."]
[Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2640"]
[BlackElo "2737"]
[Annotator "Sethuraman,SP"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2015.09.11"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "AZE"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 169"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.11.10"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.11.10"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{After holding a tough and long duel in the first game with the black pieces
which lasted almost 74 moves, I had a tough choice of what to do against "the
Berlin Wall" as do most people nowadays :)} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {
The rock solid Berlin Wall has been the top choice of most of the players in
the World Cup including myself as I played it with both colours in my mini
match against Sjugirov and here as well. Surprisingly I won both the crucial
games in the Berlin in this World Cup. Perhaps a good sign!?} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4
Nd6 6. Bxc6 {Entering into the theoretical endgame which surprised my opponent
to some extent since I had always preferred to play 4.d3 avoiding the endgame
in my previous games facing the Berlin.} dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 {
If you need to get inspiration as to how to play this endgame and hope to get
something out of the opening there is one player whom you can follow in recent
years (ie) the contribution of GM Caruana and his second Mr Chuchelov to this
opening is phenomenal these days. They have demonstrated many interesting
ideas and plans for both sides. Even the World Champion Magnus Carlsen had
tough time facing it against Caruana in their recent encounters.} b6 {After
quite a long thought my opponent refrained from the usual sytem he always
plays with 9...Bd7 and 10...Be7.} (9... Bd7 10. Rd1 Be7 11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4
Bxh4 {is the recent trend nowadays.}) 10. Rd1+ (10. Nc3 Ke8 11. Rd1 {more or
less comes to the same position} (11. Bf4 Bb4 $1)) 10... Ke8 11. Nc3 h6 $6 {
A rare occurrence of moves 9...b6 and ...h6 together although I didn't exploit
it in the right way. Usually Black prefers to develop his bishop immediately
to b7 as in the games of Grischuk-Andreikin 2014 and Polgar-Carlsen 2010. Or
if he goes 9...h6 instead of 9...b6 he carries out the plan with ...Ne7. In
either way it is unusual to see the combination of both ...b6 and ...h6 moves
back to back.} (11... Bb7 12. Bf4 Bb4 (12... Rc8)) 12. b3 {I was confused in
the game where to develop my bishop - to b2 or f4. Perhaps considering the
dubious play of Black in the opening it was stronger to develop the bishop on
f4 with the idea of e5-e6 sometimes rather than the slow 12.b3-Bb2.} (12. Bf4
Be7 (12... Bb7 13. e6 $5 (13. g4 Ne7 14. Nd4)) 13. g4 Nh4 14. Nxh4 Bxh4 15. Kg2
Be7 16. f3 Be6 17. Ne2 Bc4 18. Nd4 c5 19. Nf5 $14 {1-0 (41) Volokitin,A (2627)
-Postny,E (2654) Austria 2014}) 12... Bb7 13. Bb2 Rd8 14. Rxd8+ $2 {Giving
easy play for Black to develop his pieces comfortably.} ({Here there are lots
of interesting ideas for White other than what I played in the game:} 14. g4
Ne7 15. e6 (15. Kh2 Ng6 16. Kg3 Be7 17. h4 h5) (15. Nd4 h5 $1) (15. Ne2 c5 16.
Ne1 h5) 15... f6 (15... fxe6 16. Ne5 (16. Rxd8+ Kxd8 17. Ne5 Rg8 18. Rd1+ Kc8
19. Ne2) 16... Rxd1+ 17. Rxd1 Nd5 18. Ne2 Bd6 19. c4 Ne7 20. Nf4) 16. Nd4 {
Now the difference is his king is stuck on e8}) (14. Ne2 c5 15. Ne1) 14... Kxd8
15. Rd1+ (15. g4 Ne7 16. e6 f6 $1 {I was worried about this idea with ...f6
whenever White attempts to carry out an agressive e6 since in the longer run
the white pawn on e6 could be a weakness.}) 15... Kc8 16. g4 (16. Ne4 Be7 17.
c4 c5 18. Nc3 Rd8 {and Black is totally fine} 19. Nd5 Bxd5 20. cxd5 Bf8 {
[%csl Rd5][%cal Gf5e7]}) (16. Ne2 Be7 17. Nf4 c5 18. Ne1 (18. c4 Bxf3 19. gxf3
Nh4) 18... Rd8) 16... Ne7 (16... c5 17. gxf5 Bxf3 18. Rd3 Bc6 19. Nd5 Bd7 20.
Rf3 {[%csl Ge5,Gf5]}) 17. Kh2 (17. e6 f6) 17... Ng6 18. Kg3 Be7 {This is the
problem in the Berlin. Once Black gets his pieces coordinated, his two bishops
begin to make their voices heard.} 19. Ne4 (19. h4 h5 20. gxh5 Rxh5 21. Kg4 Rh8
22. h5 Nf8 $15) 19... c5 20. Re1 h5 $6 {I was bit relieved after this move
since now my knights find the appropriate squares to tie the black pieces to
defence.} ({I was more worried about} 20... Rd8 21. h4 Nf8 $15 {[%cal Gf8e6]
and Black has clear ideas whereas it was very unpleasant for White to make
moves since any advance of his pawns on the kingside would only weaken his own
side.}) 21. Nfg5 h4+ 22. Kh2 Rf8 23. f3 {From a general point of view it looks
like the white pieces are tied up but in fact it is Black whose pieces are
kept in defence of the f7-pawn and it is hard to touch the two knights on e4
and g5.} Bc6 24. Kg1 $1 {Co-ordinating all my pieces.} Nf4 $6 (24... a5 {
was necessary} 25. Kf2 Nf4 26. Bc1 Nd5 27. a3 f5 28. exf6 Nxf6) 25. Bc1 Nd5 (
25... Ne6 26. Nxe6 fxe6 27. Bg5 Kd7 28. Bxe7 Kxe7 29. Ng5 Rd8 30. Kf2 Rd2+ 31.
Re2) 26. a3 $1 {[%csl Rd5]} f5 27. exf6 Nxf6 28. Ne6 (28. Ng3 $1 $16) 28... Rg8
29. N4g5 Bd6 30. Bf4 {Getting rid of the two bishops.} a5 31. Bxd6 cxd6 {
From here on we were in mutual time trouble.} 32. Nf4 a4 33. Nf7 (33. Ng6 $1 {
Its just nice to see the knight jumps all over the place.}) 33... axb3 34. cxb3
Kd7 $2 (34... Nd5 {It was difficult to find this only defence with less time}
35. Nxd6+ Kc7 36. Nb5+) (34... g5 35. Nh5) 35. Rd1 d5 36. g5 Nh7 37. Nxd5 Ke6
38. g6 Nf6 39. Nxf6 gxf6 40. Nd8+ {Finally the knight has reached its
destination :)} Kf5 41. Nxc6 Rxg6+ 42. Kf2 Rg3 43. Ne7+ Kf4 44. Nd5+ Ke5 45.
Rd3 b5 46. Nc3 {My opponent resigned here. I was very happy to have won this
mini match allowing me to advance further and also letting me demonstrate the
power of the knights :)} 1-0

[Event "Canadian op"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2009.07.15"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Panjwani, Raja"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2732"]
[BlackElo "2350"]
[Annotator "Shabalov,A"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2009.07.11"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 132 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.11.03"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2009.11.03"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. h3 Bd7 11. b3 b6 12. Bb2 Kc8 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Rd2
c5 15. Rfd1 Be6 16. Ne2 Ng6 {The choice is between this move and} (16... g5 17.
c4 (17. Nh2 Ng6 18. Ng4 Bg7 19. Nf6 Kb7 20. Ng3 {1/2-1/2 Haba,P (2596)
-Bindrich,F (2401)/Czechia 1/2-1/2 Haba,P (2596) -Bindrich,F (2401)/Czechia})
17... Kb7 18. Nc3 Ng6 19. Nd5 {1/2-1/2 Volokitin,A (2654)-Eljanov,P (2686)/
Dresden 1/2-1/2 Volokitin,A (2654)-Eljanov,P (2686)/Dresden}) 17. Rd8+ Kb7 18.
Rxa8 Kxa8 19. Ng3 {New plan by Alexey and it seems to lead to an advantage.} (
19. Rd8+ Kb7 20. g4 Rh7 21. Nh2 Be7 22. Rd1 Bg5 23. Nf3 Be7 24. Nh2 Bg5 25. Nf3
{1/2-1/2 Baramidze,D (2551)-Naiditsch,A (2663)/Bad Koenigshofen 2007/CBM 116
ext}) 19... Be7 20. Nh5 Rg8 21. c4 Nh4 22. Nxh4 Bxh4 23. Nf4 Rd8 24. Rxd8+ Bxd8
25. Nxe6 fxe6 26. g4 Bg5 27. Kg2 Bd2 28. h4 g6 29. h5 {logical continuation,
but forcing black to play h5 after} (29. Kf3 Kb7 30. Ke2 Bf4 31. Bc3 {
threatening Bd2, was also interesting.}) 29... g5 30. Kf3 Kb7 31. Ke2 Bf4 32.
Bc3 Kc6 33. b4 cxb4 34. Bxb4 Kd7 35. Kd3 {Again Alexey changes his mind in the
middle of variation.Ask him if} (35. Bf8 Ke8 36. Bxh6 Kf7 37. Kd3 c5 38. Kc2 a6
39. Kd3 Kg8 40. a4 a5 41. Ke4 Kf7 42. Bxg5 Bxg5 43. f4 {was winning. It
certainly looks that way.}) 35... c5 36. Bd2 Bxe5 37. Ke4 Bg7 $1 {best move
for a draw.} (37... Bd6 38. Bc3 Ke8 39. Bg7 Bf8 40. Be5 Kd7 41. a4 {led to
some difficulties.}) 38. f4 gxf4 39. Bxf4 a6 $6 {It is not that easy to
realize that black should not play this position for a win.} (39... Ke7 40. Bb8
Kd8 {held an easy draw.Now white suddenly gets good winning chances.}) 40. a4
Kc6 41. Be5 Bf8 42. Bf6 b5 43. Ke5 $1 {White wins} Kd7 44. cxb5 axb5 45. axb5
Bd6+ 46. Ke4 Bf8 47. g5 hxg5 48. Bxg5 Kc7 49. Kd3 e5 50. h6 Kb6 51. Kc4 e4 52.
Be3 Kb7 53. h7 1-0

[Event "Sarajevo Bosnia 29th"]
[Site "Sarajevo"]
[Date "1999.05.25"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Sokolov, Ivan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2726"]
[BlackElo "2624"]
[Annotator "Shirov,A"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "1999.05.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "BIH"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 071"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 4097]} 1. e4 {Wedberg} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6.
Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. Bf4 Be6 12. a3 $5
$146 {Wedberg: 'The latest twist for White in the Berlin is to put the P on a3
rather than on a4 (or a2). The reason is that White does not want to wander
away with Nc3, so he has to prevent Bb4. The plan is instead to play g4 and
Nd4.'} (12. g4 Ne7 13. Nd4 Nd5 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. Bd2 Bb4 $1) 12... Bc5 13. Rad1
h6 14. g4 Ne7 15. Nd4 Bxd4 {Wedberg: 'In principle opposite coloured B:s is OK
for Black,'} (15... Nd5 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Ne2 $14 (17. Ne2 {Wedberg} b5 $13) (
17. Nxd5 cxd5 $11)) 16. Rxd4 c5 {Wedberg: 'Maybe alright in itself, but it´s
part of a plan that gives White a splendid game.'} (16... h5 $5 {Wedberg}) 17.
Rd2 Nc6 18. Nd5 Bxd5 $6 (18... Rc8 19. Ne3 $5 $14) (18... Rc8 $142 {Wedberg
Keeping the blockade of the e5-P is paramount in this line.}) 19. Rxd5 b6 (
19... Nd4 $2 20. Be3 $1 Nxc2 21. Bxc5 $18) 20. e6 $1 $16 {'!' Wedberg. Wedberg:
'By opening up the position White changes the structure in favour of the B.
Compare to Lutz-Kortschnoj above.'} fxe6 21. Re1 Rd8 (21... Nd4 22. Kg2 c6 23.
Rd6 Rf8 (23... Nxc2 24. Rdxe6+ Kf7 25. Re7+ Kf8 26. R1e4 $16) (23... Rd8 24.
Rxd8+ Kxd8 25. c3 $18) 24. Bg3 $1 (24. Be5 Nxc2 (24... Ke7 $2 25. Rd1 $1) 25.
Re4 Nd4 26. Bxd4 (26. Bxg7 Ke7) 26... cxd4 27. Rxc6 Rd8 $1 $14) 24... Ke7 25.
Rd1 $1 (25. c3 e5 $1 26. Bxe5 Nf3 27. Re3 Nxe5 28. Rd2 Kf6 29. Rd6+ Ke7 $11)
25... Rfd8 26. Rxd8 Rxd8 27. Bc7 Rd5 28. Bxb6 $1 (28. c4 $5 Rd7 29. Bxb6 Nb3
30. Rxd7+ Kxd7 31. a4 $1 $16) 28... Nxc2 29. Rc1 Nd4 30. Rxc5 $16) 22. Rxe6+
Kf7 23. Rxd8 Nxd8 24. Re3 $3 {Wedberg: 'White is better due to two factors:
more flexible P-formation and the advantage of B against N in an open position.
'} (24. Re4 Ne6 25. Be3 Rd8 $132) 24... Ne6 25. Be5 $1 {Wedberg: 'The B is a
giant on e5.'} h5 $1 (25... Rd8 26. Rd3 Rxd3 27. cxd3 g5 28. Kg2 $18) 26. Rd3
$5 (26. Kg2 hxg4 27. hxg4 Rd8 28. Rd3 Rxd3 29. cxd3 $16) 26... hxg4 27. hxg4 c4
28. Rd1 $1 Ke7 (28... Re8 29. Rd7+ Re7 30. Rxe7+ Kxe7 31. f4 g6 32. Kf2 $18)
29. Kg2 Rf8 30. Kg3 g5 31. f3 Rf7 32. Kf2 $6 (32. Rh1 $142 $16) 32... Rh7 33.
Ke3 Rh3 34. Rd2 Rh1 35. Ke4 Rf1 $6 (35... Re1+ 36. Kf5 Re3 37. Bf6+ Ke8 (37...
Kf8 {Wedberg} 38. Rf2 $16) 38. Rf2 $16) 36. Rh2 $1 Kd7 37. Rh7+ Kc6 38. Rh6 Kd7
39. Rh7+ Kc6 40. Kf5 $1 Nc5 41. Rh3 $1 {Wedberg: 'Connected passed Ps should
win, but Black is fast too, so the race is on.'} (41. Rxc7+ {Wedberg} Kd5 $13)
41... Rf2 (41... Kd5 $142 42. Bxc7 $16) 42. Kxg5 Rxc2 43. Rh2 $1 Rxh2 (43...
Rc1 44. Kf5 $18) 44. Bxh2 Nd3 45. Kh6 $1 $18 (45. Kf5 $6 Nxb2 46. g5 Kd7 47. g6
Ke8) (45. Kh5 $18) 45... b5 (45... Nxb2 46. g5 Nd3 47. g6 c3 48. Bg1 $18) 46.
g5 b4 47. g6 $1 c3 48. bxc3 b3 {Wedberg: 'To protect the N from b1.'} (48...
bxa3 49. g7 a2 50. g8=Q a1=Q 51. Qg6+ $18) 49. g7 b2 50. g8=Q b1=Q 51. Qa8+ Kd7
(51... Qb7 52. Qe8+ $18) 52. Qd5+ Ke7 (52... Kc8 53. Qxa5 $18) 53. Bxc7 Qc1+
54. Kg6 {Wedberg: 'The only way to prevent mate is to exchange Q:s.'} (54. Kg6
{Wedberg} Qg1+ 55. Kf5 Qc5 (55... Qf1 56. Bd6+ Kd7 57. Bf4+ Ke8 58. Qe6+ Kd8
59. Qd6+ Ke8 60. Kf6 {and mate.}) 56. Qxc5+ Nxc5 57. Bxa5 $18) 1-0

[Event "Tilburg Fontys"]
[Site "Tilburg"]
[Date "1996.10.12"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2685"]
[BlackElo "2650"]
[Annotator "Shirov,A"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "1996.10.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "16"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 056"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1997.02.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1997.02.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Wedberg} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 {It's strange that
although this variation normally brings Black good practical results, it's not
being practised so much. Almasi has been employing it regularly last years. My
only experience with White was against another variation's expert Rustem
Dautov (Tbilisi 1989).} 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3
(9. Rd1+ {Wedberg} Ke8 10. Nc3 Ne7 11. Nd4 a6 (11... Ng6 12. Bg5 (12. f4 Bc5
$10) 12... Bd7 13. Re1 h6 14. Bd2 Bc5 15. Nb3 Be7 16. Ne4 Nxe5 17. Bc3 $13 {
1-0 Almasi,Z-Dumitrache,D/Odorheiu zt 1995 (67)}) 12. h3 Ng6 13. f4 Bc5 14. Be3
h5 15. Nce2 Ne7 {=/Leko,P-Almasi,Z/Wijk op/1995/ Wedberg: This game is an
example of Black succeding to equalize with the Ne7-idea. Compare it to our
main game Shirov-Almasi.}) 9... Ne7 {Wedberg: This is a fairly unusual
manouvre. Blacks main line of deploying his forces include the moves h6, Be6
and Bb4. Ne7 opens for a different setup with Ng6, Bf5 and Bc5. In such a
wellknown position this move has occured only a few times. This just proves
that chess is a rich game.} 10. Nd4 $5 $146 {Shirov keeps his R on f1 to get
more power behind the f-P. The K on d8 can also be a tactical liability in
many cases. Compare this with Lekos play in the comment to move 9. I had a
feeling that to fight for the opening advantage I should play very
energetically.} (10. h3 Ke8 11. b3 Nd5 {Wedberg: Another idea made possible by
Ne7.} 12. Bb2 Bb4 13. Ne2 a5 14. a4 h5 $10 {(Brustman,A-Polgar,S/Yerevan wom
ol (10) 1996) was a tipical draw story for this variation. However with the
text I didn't prove much either.} (14... h5 {Wedberg} 15. Nfd4 Bc5 16. Kh2 Bd7
17. Rad1 Ne7 18. Nf4 Bxd4 {1/2-1/2 Brustman,A-Polgar,S/Erevan olw 1996})) 10...
Ng6 11. f4 $5 {I also considered} (11. Bg5+ {but the position after} Ke8 $5 (
11... Be7 12. Bxe7+ Kxe7 13. f4 $14) 12. Rad1 Bd7 {didn't apply to me.}) 11...
Bc5 12. Be3 Bb6 $1 {A very good move. Bishop feels very comfortable on this
diagonal and if White takes it, capturing on b6 with 'a' pawn should improve
Black's pawn structure. Not in the present game, though.} (12... Bxd4 13. Bxd4
Bf5 14. Nd1 $1 Bxc2 15. Ne3 Bd3 16. Rf2 $44 {was what I was hoping for.
White's attack is extremely strong for just one doubbled pawn.}) (12... Nh4 $2
{Wedberg} 13. Nxc6+ $18) 13. Rae1 $5 {This move, preparing 14.e6 in fact
shouldn't yield White anything. But I don't see an improvement.} Nh4 $5 {
After the game Almasi was very unhappy about this move but I think it doesn't
spoil anything. Yet his suggestion Wedberg: If Black is allowed to play Nf5
the position would be approximately equal. Blacks excellent blockade on the
white squares makes it very difficult for White to get his P-majority rolling
on the K-side.} (13... Ne7 $5 {might even be an improvement on the game. Now}
14. e6 {can be met by} c5 $1 (14... fxe6 $6 {is as wrong as in the game in
view of} 15. Nxe6+ Bxe6 16. Bxb6 Bc4 {(or 16...axb6 17.Rxe6 Nd5 18.Rd1 Kc8 19.
Nxd5 cxd5 20.a3+/-)} 17. Bxc7+ $1 Kd7 18. Rf2 $16) 15. Nb3 Bxe6 16. Nxc5 Bc4
17. Rd1+ Kc8 18. Rfe1 Ba5 19. Bd2 Bb6 20. Be3 Ba5 {and White would better
repeat moves.}) 14. e6 $5 {Maybe again I should try to sacrifice a pawn e.g.
This tactic breaks the spell. Blacks cumbersome manouvering with the N leaves
him with nothing. He has to settle for a bigger than usual opening
disadvantage.} (14. Ne4 $5 {and if} Nf5 15. Nxf5 Bxf5 {then} 16. Ng3 Bxc2 17.
Rf2 $44) 14... fxe6 $2 {A fatal error. After} (14... c5 {Black's position
would be not much to worry about, for instance} 15. Nb3 (15. e7+ Kxe7 16. Nb3 (
16. Ndb5 $6 Kd7 $15) (16. Bf2+ $6 Kf8 $15) 16... Kd6 17. Nxc5 Bxc5 18. Ne4+ Kc6
19. Nxc5 $10 {or}) 15... Bxe6 16. Nxc5 Bxc5 17. Bxc5 Kd7 18. Rd1+ Kc6 19. Bf2
Nf5 20. g4 Nd6 21. f5 Bc4 22. Rfe1 Rae8 23. b3 Ba6 $10) (14... Bxd4 {Wedberg}
15. Bxd4 Nf5 16. e7+ Ke8 (16... Kd7 17. Bc5 Re8 18. Re5 Nd6 19. Rfe1 $16) 17.
Be5 $16) 15. Nxe6+ $1 {Since I was not sure that the forthcoming knight ending
would be winning I was also seriously considering a positional pawn sacrifice
with} (15. Ne4 {But then I saw that after} c5 $1 16. Nb5 Bd7 {there would be
nothing clear and preferred a secure way.}) 15... Bxe6 16. Bxb6 {An important
thing is that tempting} axb6 (16... Bh3 {fails to} 17. Bd4 $1 Nxg2 (17... Bxg2
18. Bxg7 Bxf1 19. Bxh8 $18) 18. Rd1 $1 Kc8 19. Rd3 Bf5 20. Kxg2 $16) (16... Bc4
{Wedberg} 17. Bf2 Ng6 18. Rd1+ Kc8 19. Rfe1 $16) (16... cxb6 {Wedberg Wedberg:
This creates a better P-structure, but weakens the d6-square.}) 17. Rxe6 Kd7
18. Rfe1 Rae8 {Wedberg: Or else White would win in the attack.} 19. Rxe8 Rxe8
20. Rxe8 Kxe8 21. Kf2 $16 {White is a clear pawn up on the kingside and
Black's extra 'c' pawn doesn't seem to play a sufficient role. According to
the endgame laws White should be winning but I believe that there could be a
tougher resistance than what was demonstrated in the game. Wedberg: Whites
superior P-structure gives him a clear plus. If the old saying that a N-ending
in principle is lika a P-ending is applicable, then White is already winning.}
Nf5 22. Ne4 c5 {The pawn ending after} (22... Nd6 23. Nxd6+ cxd6 24. c4 $1 {
is hopeless.}) 23. g4 Nh6 $6 {When my opponent put his knight to to the edge I
got a feeling that the game was won. However} (23... Ne7 24. Kf3 {would be
very unpleasant as well.}) 24. Kf3 Nf7 25. h4 Ke7 $2 {Now White wins
immediately. Tougher would be} (25... h6 {although after} 26. h5 {White should
win.}) 26. Ng5 $18 Nd6 (26... Nxg5+ 27. hxg5 $18) 27. Nxh7 Nc4 28. f5 {Wedberg:
It takes years for Black to set up anything on the Q-side, so White simply
pushes forward with his winning plan.} Nxb2 29. g5 Nc4 30. h5 b5 31. Kf4 Na3 (
31... Nd6 {Wedberg} 32. h6 gxh6 33. g6 Ne8 34. Ke5 $18) 32. h6 gxh6 33. g6 Nc4
34. f6+ Ke6 35. f7 Ne5 36. f8=N+ {An example for underpromotion collectors.
Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "Croatia GCT"]
[Site "Zagreb"]
[Date "2019.07.04"]
[Round "8"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2754"]
[BlackElo "2754"]
[Annotator "So,Wesley"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2019.06.26"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "CRO"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 191"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2019.08.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2019.08.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Please allow me to start by thanking the Croatian Chess Federation and GM
Zlatko Klaric for a well run and amazingly well attended tournament. Croatians
as it turns out are really educated in chess and make a fantastic audience.
They actually follow the games over the board instead of standing in the hall
following chess engines on their phones. I salute the Croatian chess fans!
Before this game I'd been developing an urge to go for a 5.Re1 Berlin. Not
only because Sergey Karjakin played it against me the day before, but also
because I'd done some research of my own on these lines. Still, I was not sure
which line to hit Hikaru with. He has an ever solid Black repertoire based on
Berlin 1...e5 against 1.e4 and the Nimzo/ QGD 🕓e7 against 1.d4. And he does
not seem to mind regularly repeating his lines as they are well checked by the
computer and by his reliable second Kris Littlejohn. Here in this tournament
his repertoire was put under serious pressure. Twice in a fashionable QGD 4.
Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 he lost to Caruana and Carlsen. Karjakin was also pressing
against him in Round 3. Later he was able to repair the lines and in Round 4
he opted for the QGA which he plays rarely. Therefore even though 1.d4 seems
to be a very attractive option against him, I decided to play 1.e4 this time,
just to try my hand in a Berlin.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {I had also
looked at some lines in the Sicilian Dragon just in case because a few months
earlier he easily beat Robson with it. Nevertheless Nakamura tends to stick to
his main repertoire, as he considers it dangerous to test openings when in bad
form.} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 (6. a4 {is what Sergey played against me
the day before. There are so many lines against the Berlin these days! I first
saw this line because Dubov played it in a tournament in Israel.} Be7 7. Nc3 a6
8. Bf1 e4 9. Nxe4 Nxe4 10. Rxe4 d5 11. Re1 {and I failed to equalize. Perhaps
8...Nf5 is a better try. Anyway in this game Sergey was slightly better for
most of the game, but he let me off the hook when we both blundered.}) 6... Be7
7. Bf1 Nf5 8. Nf3 d5 9. d4 O-O 10. Nc3 {As I said I wanted to try Berlin 5.Re1,
even though White usually does not get more than a slight initiative at best.
Hikaru has a lot of experience with 7...Nf, defending it in more than 30 games.
Hence I chose a rare sideline.} Nh4 ({Nh4 is fine and he's played it before
but I like} 10... Bb4 {even more. Black does not even have to take on c3, but
can redeploy the bishop to the h2-b8 diagonal after the preparatory moves Nce7
and c6.} 11. a3 Ba5 ({Although also fine is} 11... Bxc3 12. bxc3 Nd6) 12. h3
Nce7 {c6 comes next, coming close to equality.}) 11. Nxh4 Bxh4 12. Bb5 {
Clearly with the idea to double his pawns. Hikaru paused to think here but
then played very well for the next few moves.} Ne7 (12... Bf5 13. Bxc6 bxc6 14.
Bf4 {seems to me quite unpleasant for Black over the board.}) 13. Bd3 {Now
that there is no pressure on d4 the bishop returns to the right diagonal.} Bf6
14. Qh5 {I have to act quickly and attack, otherwise Black consolidates easily
and equalizes.} g6 15. Qf3 Bg7 ({Taking the pawn looks dangerous after} 15...
Bxd4 16. Bg5 f6 17. Bh6 Bxc3 (17... Rf7 $2 18. Nxd5 $1) 18. bxc3 Rf7 19. Rad1)
16. Bg5 f6 ({Black should also equalize after} 16... Be6 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Nxd5
Qd8 19. Nf4 {but it looks more complex.}) 17. Bd2 c6 (17... Bf5 18. Rxe7 Qxe7
19. Bxf5 gxf5 20. Nxd5 Qd7 21. Bc3 {looks easier to play for me.}) 18. Ne2 Nf5
19. g3 {Preventing Nh4-f5 and hinting to attack his kingside with h4. Here I
remembered that all Black has to do is exchange the bishops with Bh6 in order
to gradually equalize. So I was waiting to see if Hikaru would find it.} Nh6 {
Putting the wrong piece on h6.} ({I like} 19... Bh6 {The idea is that without
the bishop he gets the g7-square for his king. With the kingside firmly
defended Black can now fight for the e-file.} 20. Bxh6 Nxh6 21. Nf4 Bg4 22. Qe3
Re8 23. Qd2 Nf7) (19... Re8 20. h4 Bh6 {might be even better, with equality.})
({But not} 19... Qb6 20. c4 $36 {which should be good for me due to my lead in
development.}) 20. c4 {Breaking through the center is the only way to take
advantage of my lead in development.} Bg4 21. Qg2 dxc4 ({More accurate is} 
21... Nf7 {to meet cxd5 with Ng5, I could play} 22. f3 Bc8 {I have some weak
squares on the kingside but so does Black.} 23. cxd5 Qxd5 {should be better
for White but I have to play precisely.}) 22. Bxc4+ Kh8 (22... Nf7 23. Bc3 Kh8
24. Nf4 Ng5 25. Re3 $16 {gives White a persistent advantage.}) 23. d5 {Perhaps
a bit hasty. I could also play unconventionally. After the game Hikaru
suggested 23.f3 with a big advantage for White. I probably underestimated my
position. His king is stuck in the corner on h8 which could have been be used
to my advantage.} (23. f3 Bc8 (23... Bf5 {does not do anything due to} 24. g4)
24. Qf2 {with the idea of Nf4. I have very annoying pressure on the
light-squares in return for the isolated pawn.}) (23. Bc3) 23... Nf7 24. Nf4 (
24. h3 $5 {deserves attention, but White has to find Qh1 after} cxd5 25. Bxd5
Bxh3 26. Qh1 $1 {when the pressure on the center and along the h-file gives me
the advantage.} Ne5 27. Nf4 Bf5 28. Bxb7 Rb8 29. Bc3 $16 {but of course its
not simple to assess the position over the board, without computer assistance.}
) 24... Ne5 25. Be2 Bd7 {Black could just trade the bishops, or play Qd7 here
with a slightly worse position.} 26. Rad1 cxd5 27. Bc3 Bc6 28. Nxd5 {Regaining
the pawn and threatening f4.} (28. Ne6 {does not work because of d4 I thought,
but in fact even stronger is} Qc8 $1 {when due to the threat of d4 I have to
retreat.}) 28... f5 29. f4 $6 {All according to plan, but this allows Black to
defend.} (29. Bxe5 Bxe5 30. Bf3 {was much stronger. I still have some pressure
due to the control on the open files. After} Bxb2 (30... Bg7 31. Nf4 $16) 31.
Nf4 {is very unpleasant. I underestimated my initiative here as I didn't want
to give him the bishop pair but at the same time my piece activity compensates
for it.}) 29... Nd7 $6 ({He could have equalized with} 29... Ng4 $1 30. Bxg7+
Kxg7 31. Bxg4 fxg4 {when major trades are coming along the open files. Black
should hold the draw.}) 30. Bxg7+ Kxg7 31. Bf3 (31. Qf2 Nf6 32. Nb4 Qa5 33.
Nxc6 bxc6 {seems to me almost equal.}) 31... Nf6 32. Nxf6 Qxf6 33. Bxc6 bxc6 {
Around here I realized that Black was slowly consolidating, but it does not
matter, for I just want to play on and make some good moves.} 34. Rd7+ Rf7 35.
Qd2 {Threatening to trap his queen with Rd6, just in case.} Rxd7 36. Qxd7+ Kf8
$2 {The losing mistake! We both thought for a long time here, but missed that
36...Kh6 is enough for a draw!} ({We missed that} 36... Kh6 37. Re7 Rh8 38. Rf7
Qxb2 39. Qe7 {seems like mate, but Black defends with} Qb1+ 40. Kg2 Qe4+ $1 {
trading queens, as easy as that! Suffice it to say that Hikaru was not in the
best form in Croatia, and I on the tired side playing my 4th tournament in a
row.}) 37. Re5 {This looks very active and it cuts off the Black queen, but
perhaps the simple 37.Re2 is even stronger.} (37. Re2) 37... Rd8 38. Qxh7 Re8
$2 ({Here we both calculated} 38... Rd1+ 39. Kf2 Rd2+ 40. Ke3 Rxb2 41. Qd7 $1
Rb8 42. Qxa7 Qd6 43. Qc5 Qxc5+ 44. Rxc5 {and since this rook ending arises
almost by force, the most important thing is to be able to assess it. I assume
Hikaru thought this is losing for him, but in fact} Rb2 $1 {might just be
enough for him to draw in a very difficult ending.}) 39. Qh6+ Kf7 40. Qh7+ Kf8
41. Qc7 $1 Rxe5 42. Qxe5 $2 {Too hasty. I thought it wins, and so I happily
made this move. It does win even against best defense, but only if you have an
engine with you! Practically its almost impossible for any player to calculate
it all the way to the end.} ({Therefore} 42. fxe5 {is so much simpler, when I
should win without much problems.} Qe7 (42... Qg5 43. Qb8+ Kg7 44. Qxa7+ Kh6
45. Qd4 $18) (42... Qe6 43. Qd6+) (42... Qf7 43. Qd6+ Kg7 44. e6 Qf6 45. e7
Qxd6 46. e8=N+) 43. Qd6 $1 {is the only thing I need to see. Now White wins as
easy as counting 1, 2, 3.} Qxd6 (43... Kf7 {is met by 44.h4 or 44.Kf2.}) 44.
exd6 Kf7 45. Kf2 Ke6 46. Kf3 Kxd6 47. Kf4 Ke6 48. Kg5 Kf7 49. h4 $18) 42...
Qxe5 43. fxe5 Kf7 44. h4 Ke6 45. Kf2 Kxe5 46. Kf3 $2 {This draws.} ({White
wins here with} 46. Ke3 $1 {but it really is a very hard study! I don't think
even Carlsen would find this over the board. Only the ChessBomb geniuses could
do it!} c5 47. Kf3 ({It is counter intuitive to let his pawn advance one
square further, but} 47. b3 a5 {is only a draw.}) 47... c4 48. Ke3 a5 (48... a6
49. a3 $1 a5 50. a4) 49. a4 $1 Kd5 50. Kf4 Kd4 (50... Kc5 51. Kg5 Kb4 52. Kxg6
Kxa4 53. h5 Kb3 54. h6 c3 55. bxc3 a4 56. h7 a3 57. h8=Q a2 58. c4) 51. Kg5 Kd3
52. Kxg6 Kc2 53. h5 Kxb2 54. h6 c3 55. h7 c2 56. h8=Q+) 46... c5 47. b3 (47.
Ke3 {does not win now because of} c4 48. Kf3 Kd4 $1 {when compared to 46.Ke3,
Black wins a tempo as his king is already on d4 instead of d5.}) 47... Ke6 $2 {
Hikaru still had a lot of time here, but he miscalculated something.} (47... a6
$1 {draws. In fact I saw it does draw, but I was still hoping for some miracle.
The draw is pretty straightforward, I'm sure Hikaru would find it 8 times out
of 10.} 48. Ke3 a5 49. Kf3 ({I was going to try} 49. a3 Kd5 (49... Kd6 {
is also okay.} 50. Kf4 Kd5 $11) 50. Kd3 Kc6 (50... Ke5 51. Kc4 Kd6) 51. Kc4 {
but even here he draws:} Kd6 52. Kb5 Kd5 53. Kxa5 Ke4 $1 54. Kb5 Kf3 $11) 49...
Kd4 50. Kf4 Kc3 51. Kg5 a4 52. Kxg6 axb3 53. axb3 Kxb3 54. h5 c4 55. h6 c3 56.
h7 c2 57. h8=Q c1=Q {as they say, all queen and rook endgames are drawn.}) (
47... a5 $2 {loses to} 48. Ke3 {when Black is in zugzwang. He has to move his
king, and he loses by a tempo as he does not have Kd4.}) 48. Kf4 Kf6 49. a3 a6
(49... a5 50. a4 {Zugzwang.}) 50. b4 c4 (50... cxb4 51. axb4 {is also mutual
zugzwang.}) 51. a4 Ke6 52. Ke3 Kd5 53. Kd2 Kd4 ({Maybe he missed a5 from afar
after} 53... Kc6 54. Kc3 Kd5 55. a5) 54. Kc2 c3 55. b5 {I'm quite pleased to
win against the current USA Champion Hikaru Nakamura. It's not often that I
beat him and in a clear game as well. It's obvious that he was not in the best
of form in this tournament, losing to Caruana and also blundering against
Carlsen when he almost equalized. On my part this was my 4th tournament in a
row. I started in May in Abidjan, had subsequently played Moscow and Norway
and at this point was clearly lacking energy and still had Latvia ahead of me.
I was willing to fight, but I was worried that my form was starting to worsen
from fatigue.} 1-0

[Event "London Classic 10th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2018.12.16"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2781"]
[BlackElo "2746"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2018.12.11"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 188"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2018.12.21"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.12.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O ({MVL goes for the Berlin endgame, but
in his practice he also used the Antiberlin line} 4. d3 {After} Bc5 5. c3 {
we have a topical position:} {Aronian in London tried the still quite rare} d5
$5 (5... O-O 6. O-O d5 ({The standard} 6... d6 {remains the most popular
continuation.}) {is similar, but now White can also play} 7. Nbd2 dxe4 8. Nxe4
$5 Nxe4 9. dxe4 Qf6 10. Qe2 Bg4 11. h3 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 Qxf3 13. gxf3 Ne7 14. f4
c6 15. Bc4 exf4 16. Bxf4 Ng6 17. Bg3 Rfe8 18. Rfe1 Rad8 19. Rad1 Rxd1 20. Rxd1
Rxe4 21. Rd8+ Nf8 22. Bd3 $44 {Radjabov,T (2735)-Carlsen,M (2733) Morelia/
Linares 2008.}) 6. exd5 (6. Nxe5 O-O $32 {/\} 7. Nxc6 $6 bxc6 8. Bxc6 Bxf2+ 9.
Kxf2 Ng4+ $36 {[%csl Rf2][%cal Rd8f6]}) (6. Nbd2 dxe4 {and contrary to the
position with both sides castled from the note above, now taking with the N is
inferior. After} 7. dxe4 O-O 8. O-O {Black has come up with} a5 $5 {and} 9.
Bxc6 bxc6 10. Nxe5 Re8 11. Nxc6 Qd7 12. Nd4 Bxd4 13. cxd4 Qxd4 {wins material
only temporarily:} 14. Re1 Nxe4 15. Nxe4 Rxe4 16. Be3 Qxd1 17. Rexd1 Be6 18. a3
Rc4 19. Rac1 c6 20. Rxc4 Bxc4 21. Rd7 h5 22. f3 a4 $11 {Karjakin,S (2760)
-Sethuraman,S (2673) Douglas 2018}) 6... Qxd5 7. Bc4 Qd6 8. b4 Bb6 9. Nbd2 O-O
10. a4 ({Last year Caruana and Grishchuk tested} 10. O-O Bf5 11. Qc2 Rad8 12.
a4 a5 13. b5 {and Black was under some pressure after} Ne7 14. Qb3 (14. Qa2 Ng6
15. Ba3 Bc5 16. Bxc5 Qxc5 17. d4 Qd6 18. Rfe1 exd4 19. cxd4 Nf4 20. Rac1 N6d5
21. Qb3 Nb6 $11 {Caruana,F (2799)-Grischuk,A (2782) Saint Louis blitz 2017})
14... Ng6 15. Ba3 Bc5 16. Bxc5 Qxc5 17. d4 Qd6 (17... exd4 18. cxd4 Qd6 19.
Rfe1 Nf4 20. Re5 Bg6 21. Rae1 Qb4 {Salem,A (2660)-Nakamura,H (2746) St
Petersburg rpd 2018} 22. Rc5 $14) 18. Rfe1 Rde8 19. Bf1 {Caruana,F (2799)
-Grischuk,A (2782) Saint Louis rpd 2017} exd4 20. Nxd4 Ng4 $132) {Probably the
best is} 10... Bf5 $142 $5 (10... a5 11. b5 e4 12. Ba3 (12. dxe4 $142 $1 Ne5
13. Ba3 Bc5 14. Bxc5 Qxc5 15. Nxe5 Qxe5 16. O-O $14) 12... Bc5 13. dxe4 Ne5 14.
Nxe5 Qxe5 15. Bxc5 Qxc5 16. Qe2 $6 (16. O-O $5 Bg4 17. Qc1 Rad8 18. Bb3 Qg5 (
18... Rfe8 {or}) (18... Rd3 $5 $44 {seem stronger}) 19. Nc4 Qxc1 20. Rfxc1 Nxe4
21. Nxa5 $14) 16... Re8 17. f3 Be6 18. Bxe6 Rxe6 19. Rc1 Nd7 20. Nb3 Qa3 21.
Rb1 Nc5 22. Nxc5 Qxc5 23. Rd1 f5 24. Rd4 Qxc3+ 25. Qd2 Qa1+ 26. Qd1 Qc3+ {
½, Caruana,F (2832)-Aronian,L (2765) London 2018}) (10... e4 11. Nxe4 $5 (11.
dxe4 $6 Ne5 12. Qe2 a5 13. O-O Bg4 14. bxa5 Rxa5 15. Ba3 Bc5 16. Bb4 Bxb4 17.
cxb4 Qxb4 18. Rfb1 Qd6 19. h3 Bxf3 20. Nxf3 b6 21. Bb5 Raa8 $11 {Caruana,F 
(2807)-Karjakin,S (2773) Saint Louis 2017}) 11... Nxe4 12. dxe4 Qf6 13. Qc2 Bg4
(13... Nxb4 14. cxb4 Qxa1 15. O-O $16 {[%cal Ra4a5,Rc1b2]}) 14. a5 Bxf3 15.
gxf3 {and the engine claims Black will not have enough for the piece.}) 11. Ba3
(11. a5 Bxf2+ 12. Kxf2 Bxd3 $44 {and White will have serious problems with his
exposed K.}) 11... e4 12. dxe4 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 Bxe4 14. Qxd6 cxd6 15. O-O-O Rac8
16. Bd5 Bxd5 17. Rxd5 Ne5 18. Nxe5 dxe5 19. Kb2 Bxf2 $6 (19... f6 $142 $11 {or}
) (19... Rfd8 {holds the balance.}) 20. Rxe5 Bh4 21. Rd1 Bf6 22. Re3 Rc7 23. b5
Rfc8 24. Bb4 h5 25. Kb3 $36 {Caruana,F (2832)-Aronian,L (2765) London rpd 2018}
) 4... Nxe4 5. d4 ({After} 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 {Nakamura lately
preferred} Nf5 (7... Nxe5 {is the more usual option.}) 8. Nf3 d5 9. d4 O-O 10.
g3 (10. c3 Re8 11. Bd3 Bd6 12. Nbd2 Bd7 13. Nf1 Rxe1 14. Qxe1 Qe7 15. Qxe7
Nfxe7 16. Bd2 Bf5 17. Bb5 a6 18. Ba4 Na5 19. Ne3 Be6 20. Re1 h6 21. Bc2 Nc4 22.
Bc1 Nxe3 23. Bxe3 Bf5 $11 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2780)-Nakamura,H (2763) chess.
com blitz 2018}) 10... Re8 11. Nc3 Be6 12. Ne2 g5 $5 13. Bg2 h6 14. c3 Bf8 ({
In 2016 Hikaru in 2 blitz games against MVL played} 14... Bf6 {Although he won
both, he was possibly worried about} 15. g4 $5 Nd6 16. h3 $14 {/\Ng3}) 15. Nd2
Qd7 16. Nf1 Bg7 17. Ne3 Nxe3 18. Bxe3 Ne7 19. Nc1 Nf5 20. Bd2 b6 21. Nd3 f6 22.
Qb3 c6 23. a4 Nd6 24. Qd1 Bg4 25. f3 Bf5 26. Nf2 Nc4 $11 {Vachier Lagrave,M 
(2781)-Nakamura,H (2746) London blitz 2018}) 5... Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 {This flexible move has become White's main option in the
past few years; even after the once standard} (9. Nc3 Ke8 {, White more often
than not continues} 10. h3 {, transposing back into the game.}) 9... Ke8 {
Nowadays the elite plays mainly the text-move.} ({Currently the second popular
option is} 9... Be7 10. Nc3 Nh4 11. Nxh4 Bxh4 {and now:} {In the London
semifinal we saw} 12. Re1 $5 (12. Be3 h5 13. Rad1+ (13. Ne2 Be7 14. f4 f5 $5
15. exf6 gxf6 16. Rad1+ Ke8 17. f5 Kf7 18. Rd2 a5 19. a4 h4 20. Kh2 Rh5 21. g4
hxg3+ 22. Nxg3 Rh4 23. Rf4 Rxf4 24. Bxf4 b5 25. axb5 cxb5 26. Bxc7 a4 27. c3 a3
$132 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2780)-Karjakin,S (2760) Batumi olm 2018}) 13... Ke8
14. Ne2 Be7 15. f4 (15. Rfe1 a6 16. Bf4 g5 17. Bh2 Rh6 18. e6 Bxe6 19. Bxc7 Rc8
20. Ba5 c5 21. Nc3 Rc6 22. Nd5 Bxd5 23. Rxd5 Rhe6 $11 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2779)
-So,W (2780) Saint Louis 2018}) 15... g6 ({Possibly more solid is Karjakin's} 
15... f5 $5) 16. Nd4 Bd7 17. f5 Bxf5 18. Nxf5 gxf5 19. Rxf5 h4 20. Kf2 a5 21.
Kf3 a4 22. Rd4 Rh7 23. Rff4 a3 24. b3 Ra5 25. Rg4 Rd5 26. Ke4 Rxd4+ 27. Kxd4
Kd7 28. Rg8 Ke6 $132 {Karjakin,S (2760)-Adams,M (2712) Batumi olm 2018}) 12...
b6 (12... h6 13. b3 Bf5 14. Bb2 Bxc2 15. e6 Ke8 {Liepold,S (2168)-Londyn,R 
(2426) Germany 2017} (15... Ke7 $5 $13) 16. Ne4 $1 $36) (12... Bf5 13. Ne4 $5
$13 {/+/=} (13. g4 Bxc2 14. Re2 Bg6 15. f4 f5 $13)) ({Interesting in the
analoguos} 12... h5 $5) 13. g4 Be7 14. Be3 Bd7 15. Rad1 Kc8 16. Ne2 Re8 17. Nf4
Bf8 18. Bc1 g6 19. Re2 Bg7 20. Rde1 Kb7 21. e6 fxe6 22. Nxe6 Bf6 23. c3 c5 (
23... Bh4 $5) 24. Bf4 Bxe6 25. Rxe6 Rf8 26. R1e4 Rf7 27. g5 Bd8 28. h4 b5 29.
c4 $16 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2781)-Aronian,L (2765) London rpd 2018}) ({The sharp
} 9... Bd7 10. Rd1 Kc8 11. g4 Ne7 12. Ng5 Be8 13. f4 h5 {went out of fashion:}
14. Kg2 $5 (14. Kf2 b6 15. f5 Kb7 16. Nc3 (16. c4 $142 $5) 16... hxg4 17. hxg4
Rh2+ 18. Kg3 Rxc2 19. Nh7 c5 20. Nxf8 Bc6 $44 {Caruana,F (2796)-Adams,M (2740)
Dortmund 2013}) 14... c5 15. Nc3 b6 16. Be3 Kb7 17. Rd2 f6 18. Ne6 fxe5 19. f5
hxg4 20. hxg4 Bc6+ 21. Kg3 Ng8 22. Bg5 $44 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2780)-Klein,D 
(2492) chess.com rpd INT 2019}) (9... h6 {has also become rare, although it's
probably playable:} 10. Rd1+ Ke8 11. Nc3 Ne7 12. b3 Ng6 $5 (12... Bf5 13. Nd4
Bh7 14. Nce2 Rd8 15. Bb2 a6 16. c4 c5 17. Nf3 Nc6 18. Nf4 Bc2 19. Rxd8+ Nxd8
20. e6 f6 (20... Nxe6 $5 21. Re1 Kd7 22. Ne5+ Ke8 23. Nxf7 Kxf7 24. Nxe6 Bd6
25. Nxg7 Rg8 26. Nh5 Re8 $1 $44 {[%csl Ra2,Rb3,Gc2,Rc4,Gd6] <=>}) 21. Rc1 Bf5
$2 ({Necessary was} 21... Bh7 $1 22. Re1 Nc6 23. Nh5 Rg8 24. Bxf6 (24. Nh4 Bd6
25. f4 Ke7 26. f5 Nd4 27. g4 g6 $132) 24... Bg6 25. e7 Bxh5 26. exf8=Q+ Kxf8
27. Be5 Bxf3 28. gxf3 Nxe5 29. Rxe5 Kf7 $5 30. Rxc5 c6 {/\Rd8}) 22. Re1 Bd6 23.
Nh4 Bc2 24. Nh5 Rh7 25. f4 Nc6 26. g4 Nd4 27. f5 $16 {Grischuk,A (2750)
-Fressinet,L (2712) Reykjavik 2015}) 13. Ne2 (13. Bb2 Be7 14. Ne4 c5 15. Nc3
Nf4 16. e6 $2 f6 17. Re1 Nxe6 18. Nd5 Kf7 19. Nh4 Rd8 20. Nxe7 Kxe7 $17 {
Grischuk,A (2750)-Carlsen,M (2832) chess.com blitz INT 2017}) 13... Be7 14. Bb2
h5 15. Rd2 (15. a4 a5 16. c4 h4 17. Bc3 c5 18. Bd2 Bf5 19. Nc3 c6 20. Re1 Rd8
21. Ne4 b6 22. Re3 Be6 23. Bc3 Rh5 24. Nd6+ Kd7 25. Rd1 Kc7 26. Kf1 Rhh8 27.
Rde1 Rh5 $11 {Kamsky,G (2705)-Bruzon Batista,L (2679) Khanty-Mansiysk olm 2010}
) 15... h4 16. Rad1 Rh5 17. Ned4 a6 18. c4 Nf4 19. Bc3 Rh6 20. Ne2 Nxe2+ 21.
Rxe2 Be6 22. Nd4 Rd8 23. Red2 Bc8 24. Ne2 Rxd2 25. Bxd2 Rh5 26. Bc3 Rh6 27. Bd2
Rh5 $11 {Ni,H (2670)-Dominguez Perez,L (2739) chess.com rpd INT 2018}) 10. Nc3
h5 {Today the almost universal reaction.} ({A decade ago Black used to play} 
10... Be7 {and this also isn't refuted, although newer examples are mainly
from postal games:} 11. g4 ({Na} 11. Rd1 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Be3 h5 14. Rd2
Bf5 15. Ne2 Rd8 16. Nd4 Bc8 17. Rad1 Be7 18. c3 a6 19. b4 g5 20. Ne2 Rxd2 21.
Rxd2 h4 22. a4 Rh6 23. Nc1 a5 $1 24. bxa5 c5 $132 {½, Brodda,W (2581)-Straka,
Z (2584) email 2016}) ({Interesting is} 11. Bf4 $5 {, but White still didn't
get a tangible edge after} Be6 12. g4 Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14. Kg2 Be7 15. Rad1
Rd8 16. b3 h5 17. f3 a5 18. a4 c5 19. Nb5 Rd7 20. c4 hxg4 21. hxg4 Kd8 22. Bd2
b6 23. Na7 f5 24. exf6 Bxf6 25. Bf4 g5 26. Bg3 Rhh7 $11 {/+/=, Ljubicic,L 
(2592)-Brodda,W (2581) email 2016}) 11... Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Rd1 Be7 14. Kg2
h5 15. f3 Be6 16. Ne2 Rd8 17. Rxd8+ (17. Be3 a6 18. Nf4 g6 19. Rxd8+ Kxd8 20.
Rd1+ Kc8 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. f4 b5 23. b3 Rh7 24. Bf2 hxg4 25. hxg4 Rh8 26. Rh1
Rxh1 27. Kxh1 Kd7 28. Kg2 Bb4 29. Kf3 Ke8 30. Ke4 Ke7 31. Bh4+ Ke8 32. f5 gxf5+
33. gxf5 exf5+ 34. Kxf5 Bc3 35. Bf2 Ke7 36. e6 Ke8 37. Bg3 Ba5 38. Be5 Bb6 39.
c3 c5 40. c4 {Jakovenko,D (2737)-Wang,Y (2736) Elista 2008} {Now Mueller in
CBM 128 pointed out} bxc4 41. bxc4 c6 {war vonnöten:} 42. Bd6 Ba5 43. Bxc5 Be1
{creates a fortress.}) 17... Bxd8 18. Nf4 hxg4 19. hxg4 Bc8 20. Nh5 Kf8 21. Be3
f5 22. exf6 gxf6 23. Bxa7 b6 24. a4 f5 $132 {Versili,M (2362)-Vekelis,G (2349)
email 2015}) ({In 2018 only Anand tried} 10... b6 {against MVL, but he lost
both games.}) 11. Bf4 {Let's check the alternatives:} (11. Ne2 {was tested by
MVL in the rapids, now} b6 $5 (11... Be7 12. Bg5 Be6 13. Nf4 Bd5 14. Nxd5 cxd5
15. Rad1 c6 16. Rfe1 h4 17. Rd3 b5 $5 $146 18. c3 a5 19. Kh2 Rh5 20. Bxe7 Kxe7
21. g4 hxg3+ 22. fxg3 Rah8 23. h4 R5h6 24. Kh3 Rg6 25. Nd4 Nxd4 26. cxd4 $14 {
Sasikiran,K-Magalhaes,L (2537) email 2014}) {has the best reputation:} 12. Bg5
(12. Rd1 Ba6 13. Nf4 Bb7 14. a4 Be7 15. e6 Bd6 16. exf7+ Kxf7 17. Ng5+ Kf6 18.
Ne4+ Kf7 19. a5 c5 20. Nxd6+ cxd6 21. c4 Bc6 22. Ra3 {Kramnik,V (2811)
-Malakhov,V (2712) Sochi 2017} b5 $5 23. cxb5 Bxb5 $11) 12... c5 13. Nc3 Bb7
14. Rfd1 (14. Rad1 Bxf3 15. gxf3 c6 16. Ne4 Be7 17. f4 Bxg5 18. fxg5 Ke7 19.
Nd6 Ke6 20. f4 Rhd8 21. Rfe1 Nd4 22. Re4 Rd7 23. c3 Nf5 24. Kf2 Rad8 $11 {
Torosyan,N (2365)-Mikaelyan,A (2448) Yerevan 2016}) 14... Bxf3 15. gxf3 c6 16.
Rd3 Be7 17. Ne4 Rd8 18. Rad1 Rxd3 19. Rxd3 Bxg5 20. Nxg5 Ke7 21. Kf1 h4 22. f4
f6 23. Ne4 Ke6 24. Nd6 Ne7 {and White already bailed out with} 25. f5+ Nxf5 26.
Nxf5 Kxf5 27. exf6 gxf6 28. Rd7 $11 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2781)-Nakamura,H (2746)
London rpd 2018}) ({We saw long manoeuvring with} 11. Bg5 Be6 12. Rfd1 (12.
Rad1 Be7 13. b3 h4 14. Rfe1 a5 15. Rd3 Rd8 16. Rxd8+ Kxd8 17. Ne2 Bd5 18. Bxe7+
Kxe7 19. Ned4 Nxd4 20. Nxd4 Be6 21. c4 a4 22. c5 axb3 23. axb3 g6 24. Re4 Bd5
25. Rg4 Rh5 26. f4 Rh8 $11 {/=/+, So,W (2822)-Caruana,F (2817) Saint Louis 2017
}) 12... Be7 13. Rd2 Rd8 14. Rxd8+ Kxd8 (14... Bxd8 $5 15. Rd1 Bxg5 16. Nxg5
Bc8 17. f4 f6 18. Nf3 Ne7 19. Kf2 Ng6 20. exf6 gxf6 21. Ne2 Kf7 22. c4 {
½, Jones,K (2305)-Cvak,R (2322) email 2016} c5 $11) 15. Rd1+ Ke8 16. b3 h4 17.
Bc1 (17. Bf4 Rg8 $1 {leads nowhere}) 17... a5 ({It's difficult to prove any
advantage even if Black just stays put with} 17... Bc8 $5 18. Ne2 b6 19. c4 Bb7
20. Nf4 Bc8 $11 {Hesse-Karpeshov, email 2017.}) 18. Ne2 Bd5 19. Ne1 Be6 20. Nf4
Bc8 21. Nf3 Rh6 22. Nh2 Rh8 23. Ng4 Nh6 24. Ne3 Nf5 25. Nc4 g5 26. Ne2 b6 27.
Nd2 {bring success only die to the passive} Ng7 $6 (27... Rh6 $1 28. Ne4 (28.
Nf3 Rg6 $11) 28... Re6 $132) 28. Ne4 Ne6 29. Nf6+ Bxf6 30. exf6 Rg8 31. f3 $36
{[%csl Gf6] Aronian,L (2767)-Karjakin,S (2773) Saint Louis 2018}) 11... Be7 12.
Rad1 (12. Rfe1 Be6 13. Ne4 h4 14. c3 Rd8 15. Nfg5 Rh6 16. g4 hxg3 17. fxg3 c5
18. Nxe6 Rxe6 19. h4 c4 20. Kg2 Rd3 21. Nf2 Rd5 22. Re2 {Duda,J (2737)
-Karjakin,S (2773) chess.com blitz INT 2018} Kd7 $11 {he is OK.}) 12... Be6 13.
Ng5 {A natural sortie.} ({After the restrained} 13. b3 {Black can play} Rd8 $5
(13... h4 14. Ne4 a5 15. Neg5 Rh6 16. Nxe6 Rxe6 17. a4 c5 18. Rfe1 Rd8 19.
Rxd8+ Bxd8 20. Re4 Rc6 21. Rc4 b6 22. Bd2 Re6 23. Bc3 Kd7 24. Rf4 g6 25. Kf1
Re8 26. Re4 Ke6 27. Ke2 Be7 28. Bd2 Rd8 29. c3 c6 30. Ng5+ Bxg5 31. Bxg5 Rb8
32. Bxh4 b5 33. Bf6 c4 34. bxc4 bxa4 {Caruana,F (2796)-Navara,D (2734) Skopje
2015} 35. Kd3 $1 $16) 14. Kh2 (14. Ne4 Rxd1 15. Rxd1 Bd5 16. Re1 Kd7 17. c4
Bxe4 18. Rxe4 Ke6 19. g4 hxg4 20. hxg4 c5 21. Bg5 Nd4 22. Nxd4+ cxd4 23. Bxe7
Kxe7 24. Rxd4 Rh3 $11 {[%csl Gh3] Sasvari,T (2547)-Babic,D (2463) email 2016})
(14. Bg5 h4 15. Bf4 c5 16. Rxd8+ Kxd8 17. Rd1+ Kc8 18. Nd5 Bd8 19. c4 b6 20.
Bc1 Kb7 21. Nc3 f6 22. Ne4 fxe5 23. Nxe5 Re8 24. Bb2 Bg8 $132 {Hiltunen,R 
(2421)-Romm,M (2473) email 2016}) 14... Bc8 $5 15. Ne4 b6 16. c4 c5 17. Nc3 Nd4
18. Nxd4 cxd4 19. Nb5 c5 20. Nxa7 Bb7 (20... Bf5 $5) 21. Nb5 g5 22. Bd2 Kd7 23.
a4 Be4 $44 {Shirov,A (2691)-Andreikin,D (2723) Sochi 2015}) 13... Rh6 14. Rfe1
({Many practical and email games have featured} 14. g3 Bxg5 15. Bxg5 Rg6 16. h4
(16. Bf4 Nh4 17. Kh2 Nf3+ $11) 16... f6 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bf4 Nxh4 19. f3 Rd8
20. Kf2 Rxd1 21. Nxd1 Nf5 22. Rh1 Bxa2 23. Rxh5 Be6 24. g4 (24. Bxc7 Rh6 $11)
24... Nd6 25. Rh7 Nf7 26. Ne3 b6 $5 ({Even more convincing than} 26... Kd8 27.
Nf5 c5 28. Ng3 Ne5 29. Rh8+ Rg8 30. Bxe5 fxe5 31. Rh5 Bxg4 $5 32. fxg4 Rxg4 33.
Rxe5 b6 $11 {Carlsen,M (2863)-Anand,V (2792) WCh Sochi 2014}) 27. Ng2 Rg8 28.
Bxc7 Rh8 $11 29. Rxh8+ Nxh8 30. Ne3 Nf7 31. Bg3 Nh6 32. Bf4 Nf7 33. Bg3 Nh6 $11
{½, Anand,V (2803)-Giri,A (2778) London 2015}) 14... Bb4 15. a3 {Kramnik
shifted the attention to the text-move in 2018.} ({Earlier White extensively
tested} 15. g4 {, but found no advantage after} hxg4 16. hxg4 Ne7 17. Nxe6 Rxe6
18. Kg2 Bxc3 19. bxc3 Rd8 20. Rxd8+ Kxd8 21. Rh1 Nd5 22. Bg3 Rh6 23. Rb1 (23.
Rxh6 {seems exhausted by} gxh6 24. Kh3 Nxc3 25. Kh4 Nxa2 26. Kh5 Nc3 27. Kxh6
a5 28. f4 a4 29. f5 Ke8 30. g5 a3 31. e6 a2 32. Kg7 fxe6 33. f6 a1=Q 34. f7+
Kd7 35. Be5 Qa5 36. Bf6 Qc5 37. f8=Q Qxf8+ 38. Kxf8 Ne4 39. Kf7 Nxg5+ $11 {
Vachier Lagrave,M (2791)-Karjakin,S (2773) Saint Louis 2017}) 23... b6 24. c4
Nc3 25. Rb3 Ne2 26. c5 g5 27. Ra3 a5 28. Bh2 b5 29. Rxa5 Nd4 30. c3 Ne6 {
½, Tanti,J (2172)-Barkov,K email 2015}) 15... Bxc3 16. bxc3 h4 {Limits
White's P-majority, but Black has tried other moves as well:} (16... Rd8 17.
Rxd8+ Kxd8 18. g4 hxg4 19. hxg4 Ne7 20. Nxf7+ Bxf7 21. Bxh6 gxh6 22. e6 (22. f4
$5 $36 {is indicated by engines as more dangerous.}) 22... Bg6 23. Rd1+ Ke8 24.
Rd7 Bxc2 25. Rxc7 b5 26. f4 Nd5 27. Rc8+ Ke7 28. f5 Bd1 29. Rg8 Nf6 $11 {
Vachier Lagrave,M (2779)-Karjakin,S (2773) Saint Louis 2018}) (16... Rg6 17.
Kh2 Ne7 18. Nxe6 $6 ({Activating the Rh6 is antipositional.} 18. Nf3 $142 $5)
18... Rxe6 19. g4 Nd5 20. Bd2 Nb6 (20... hxg4 $5) 21. f4 (21. gxh5 $5) 21...
Nc4 22. Bc1 hxg4 23. hxg4 Rd8 24. Rxd8+ Kxd8 $13 {[%csl Rc1,Gc4] /=/+,
Karjakin,S (2773)-Nakamura,H (2777) Saint Louis blitz 2018}) (16... Ne7 17. Nf3
Rh8 18. Bg5 (18. Nd4 Nd5 (18... a6 19. Bg5 $14) 19. Bg5 Nxc3 20. Rd3 Na4 21. f4
Nc5 22. Rc3 Na4 23. Rg3 c5 24. Nxe6 fxe6 25. f5 Kf7 26. Bh4 Rag8 27. Rb1 Nb6
28. fxe6+ Kxe6 29. Rg6+ Kf7 30. Rg5 Ke6 31. a4 Nxa4 32. Rxb7 Nc3 33. Rxc7 Ne4
34. Rg6+ Kf5 35. Ra6 g5 36. Be1 Re8 $11 {Topalov,V (2749)-Radjabov,T (2748)
Shamkir 2018}) 18... c5 (18... Nd5 19. c4 Nb6 20. c5 Na4 {costs a lot of time,
interesting is the sacrifice} 21. Nh4 $5 Nxc5 22. f4 $44) 19. Nd2 Kf8 20. Nf1
Nf5 21. g3 Ne7 22. Kg2 Nd5 23. c4 Nb6 24. Ne3 Nxc4 25. Nxc4 Bxc4 26. g4 hxg4
27. hxg4 Bb5 28. Kg3 {Kramnik,V (2800)-Karjakin,S (2763) Berlin candidates 2018
} {Now} Ba4 $1 $132 {according to Postny would have held the balance. See his
notes in CBM 184}) 17. Ne4 $146 {[%mdl 8]} ({A novelty, MVL improves upon the
move-order from} 17. g4 $6 hxg3 18. fxg3 Ne7 19. g4 Nd5 20. Bd2 Nb6 21. Kg2 Rd8
22. Kg3 Nc4 $15 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2779)-Nakamura,H (2777) chess.com blitz
INT 2018}) 17... Rg6 18. g4 hxg3 19. fxg3 Bd5 {More or less forces the
follow-up, but doesn't completely solve Black's problems.} ({The alternative is
} 19... Ne7 {, after} 20. h4 Nd5 21. Bg5 {Black must rescue the Rg6 with
tactics:} Bf5 22. h5 Nxc3 $1 (22... Re6 $2 23. Nc5) {The computer line runs}
23. hxg6 (23. Nd6+ cxd6 24. exd6+ Kf8 25. Be7+ Kg8 26. hxg6 Nxd1 27. Rxd1 Bd7
$11 {is drawish.}) (23. g4 Nxe4 24. hxg6 Bxg6 (24... Nxg5 25. gxf7+ Kf8 $1 26.
gxf5 Nf3+ 27. Kf2 Nxe1 28. Kxe1 Kxf7 29. Rd7+ Kg8 {[%cal Ya8e8,Ye8f8] should
also hold}) 25. Bh4 Nc5 $11) 23... Nxd1 24. Kg2 $1 {[%cal Ye4c5,Ye1h1] /\Nc5,
Rh1} fxg6 25. e6 (25. Nc5 $6 Nc3 26. Rh1 Kf7) 25... Kf8 26. Kf3 $1 Bxe4+ 27.
Kxe4 Nb2 28. Kd4 Na4 29. Rf1+ Kg8 30. Rf7 Re8 31. Rxc7 Rxe6 32. Rxb7 Rd6+ 33.
Kc4 Nb6+ 34. Kb3 $11 {/+/=}) 20. g4 Bxe4 (20... Ne7 21. Nc5 $36 {is unpleasant,
by flicking in the exchange Black strives for a blockade.}) 21. Rxe4 Ne7 {
[%cal Yg6e6]} 22. e6 $1 {The only way to fight for an advantage.} f5 (22...
Rxe6 23. Rxe6 fxe6 24. Bxc7 Nd5 25. Be5 $14) 23. Re5 Nd5 ({Hikaru said he
realized only now that} 23... fxg4 $2 24. h4 $18 {/\Bg5}) ({However,} 23... Rd8
$5 {deserved attention, only Black has to calculate further:} 24. Rxd8+ Kxd8
25. Kh2 fxg4 26. Bg5 gxh3 27. Kxh3 c5 28. Kg4 (28. c4 $2 Ke8 29. Kg4 Nc6 $17 {
is too slow}) 28... c4 29. Kh5 Ke8 30. Re3 b5 31. Re5 a5 {and despite the
trapped R he has <=>.}) 24. Rxf5 Nxf4 25. Rxf4 Rxe6 26. Rdf1 Kd7 27. Rf7+ Re7
28. h4 (28. Kg2 Rh8 29. Kg3 g5 30. R1f5 Rg8 31. h4 $14 {is pleasant, but why
not prevent the advance of the Pg7?}) 28... Rh8 29. h5 Ke8 30. Rxe7+ Kxe7 31.
Kg2 {[%mdl 4096] Black's K is cut off, while White's heads for g5. The
situation is serious and Nakamura finds the only way to generate counterplay
and save the endgame.} g6 $1 32. hxg6 Rg8 33. Rf7+ {It's hard to resist this
natural move.} ({However, the modest} 33. Rf5 $5 Rxg6 34. Kg3 $14 {retains the
tension and gives White more practical chances.}) 33... Ke6 34. Rxc7 Rxg6 35.
Kg3 Rg5 $1 $132 {The key move, despite being down on material Black's active R
saves the day.} 36. Kh4 {White supports his o^.} (36. Rxb7 Rc5 37. Rxa7 (37.
Rb3 Ke5 38. Kh4 a5 39. a4 Rc4 40. Ra3 Kf6 41. Kh5 Rc5+ $11 {and White gets
nowhere}) 37... Rxc3+ 38. Kf4 Rc4+ ({or} 38... Rxc2 $11 {is a TB draw.})) 36...
Rc5 37. g5 Rxc3 38. g6 Rxc2 39. Kg5 Rg2+ 40. Kh6 Rh2+ 41. Kg7 Ra2 42. Kf8 Rxa3
43. Rxb7 (43. g7 Rg3 (43... Rf3+ $11) 44. g8=Q+ Rxg8+ 45. Kxg8 a5 $11 ({or} 
45... Kd5 $11 {we are in the TB again. This goes also for the final phase of
the game.})) 43... Rf3+ 44. Rf7 Rb3 45. Rc7 (45. Rxa7 c5 $11) 45... Rb8+ {
The simplest, but Black already had a choice.} (45... Rf3+ $11) ({and} 45...
Kd5 $11 {also draw.}) 46. Kg7 Kd5 47. Rxa7 c5 48. Kf7 c4 49. g7 c3 50. Rc7 Kd4
51. Rxc3 Kxc3 52. g8=Q Rxg8 53. Kxg8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Linares 20th"]
[Site "Linares"]
[Date "2003.02.22"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2753"]
[BlackElo "2734"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2003.02.22"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 094"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.05.26"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2003.05.26"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Nowadays the hight of fashion, after Kramnik's
success with the Berlin against Kasparov in 2000 a lot of people started
playing it (Ponomariov in the last months of 2002 and was successful with it
in Wijk 2003).} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 (5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bd3 O-O $11 {
was played already in the first World title match Steinitz-Zukertort in 1886!
The symmetric position doesn't promise White much.}) 5... Nd6 6. Bxc6 (6. Bg5 {
practically disappeared from practice after the strong novelty} f6 $1 7. dxe5
$6 Nxb5 8. exf6 gxf6 9. Re1+ Kf7 10. Qd5+ (10. Bf4 $142 $5) 10... Kg7 11. Bf4
Nd6 12. Nh4 Rg8 13. Nc3 Kh8 14. Qh5 Nd4 15. Nd5 b6 16. Nxf6 (16. Rad1 $142 $15)
16... Qxf6 17. Be5 Bg7 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Re3 Bb7 20. Rg3 Rae8 21. Kh1 Ne4 22.
Ng6+ Rxg6 23. Rxg6 Nxf2+ 24. Kg1 Ne2+ 25. Kf1 Nf4 26. Rxf6 Nxh5 27. Rxf2 Kg7
$19 {Socko,B-Lautier,J/EU-chT Leon/2001/}) 6... dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8
9. Nc3 {[%csl Gc8,Ge6,Gf5,Gf8,Gg4] The basic Berlin position. White has a lead
in development and a better P-structure, but a clear road to an advantage is
hard to find. This is because Black has also some trumps-his solid setup has
no visible weaknesses, he has the ^^ and last, but not least firmly controls
the light squares on the >> (e6,f5,g4).} Be7 {One of the many possible
alternatives. Black started playing like this only recently and practice has
proven his setup is viable even without the ^^. All in all the Berlin defence
is not so much about concrete moves and forced variations, but about long-term
plans. Especially Kramnik has studied the nuances of the whole system very
deeply, as the following examples prove:} (9... h6 10. b3 Ke8 (10... Bd7 11.
Bb2 Kc8 12. Rad1 b6 13. h3 Ne7 {is not so ideal, after} 14. Rd2 c5 15. Rfd1 Be6
16. Ne2 g5 17. Rd8+ Kb7 18. Rxa8 Kxa8 19. h4 g4 20. Nh2 h5 21. Rd8+ Kb7 22. Nf4
Ng6 23. g3 c4 24. Nxe6 fxe6 25. bxc4 $14 {Socko,B-Kharlov,A/EU-ch Batumi/2002/
Black is still far from full equality.}) 11. Bb2 Be7 12. Rad1 a5 13. a4 h5 14.
Ne2 Be6 15. c4 Rd8 16. h3 b6 17. Nfd4 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 c5 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Rxd8+
Kxd8 21. Bc1 Kc8 22. Rd1 Rd8 23. Rxd8+ Kxd8 24. g4 g6 $1 {and Black's fortress
seems unbreakable, e.g.} 25. f4 (25. h4 $6 hxg4 26. Bg5 Bxg5 27. hxg5 Ke8 28.
Kg2 {1/2, Deep Fritz-Kramnik,V/Manama m/2002/}) 25... Ke8 26. Kg2 hxg4 27. hxg4
Kf7 28. Kf3 (28. Kh3 Kg7 29. Be3 Kh7 30. Bf2 Kg7 31. Bh4 Bxh4 32. Kxh4 Kh6 33.
Kg3 Kg7 34. Kf3 Kf7 35. Ke4 Ke7 36. f5 g5 $1 37. Ke3 Kf7 $11 {and the extra c6
tempo saves Black}) 28... Bd8 (28... Bh4 29. Ke4 Be1 30. f5 gxf5+ 31. gxf5 Ke7
32. Bg5+ Kd7 {is possibly also sufficient}) 29. Ke4 g5 $5 (29... Be7 30. f5 Bd8
31. Bh6 {[%cal Re4f4,Rh6g5] /\Kf4,Bg5+-}) 30. f5 c6 31. Be3 Kg7 32. fxe6 Kg6
$11 {and as the << break with b4 is insufficient, White has no visible way to
improve his position.}) ({But Black's whole defence hangs on a thin thread and
even a slight change of the P-structure can render the _|_ untenable, as
witness} 9... Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. a3 h6 12. Re1 Be7 13. Ne4 Be6 (13... a4 $142 $5
$132) 14. g4 Nh4 15. Nxh4 Bxh4 16. Nc5 a4 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Re4 Be7 19. Be3 c5
20. Rd1 Rf8 21. Kg2 Rf7 22. Kg3 b5 23. h4 Rd8 24. Rxd8+ Kxd8 25. h5 Kd7 26. c4
c6 27. Rf4 $1 Ke8 28. Rxf7 Kxf7 29. Kf3 g5 30. Bc1 b4 31. b3 $1 axb3 32. a4 $18
{Anand,V-Almasi,Z/Bundesliga 0203/2003/ and after picking up the Pb3 White
went on to win.}) ({Later Almasi tried} 9... Ne7 10. h3 h6 11. b3 (11. Ne4 Bf5
12. Re1 Nd5 13. Nd4 Bg6 14. Bd2 c5 15. Nb5 a6 16. Na3 Kc8 17. Rad1 Nb4 18. Bxb4
cxb4 19. Nc4 a5 20. Rd5 b6 21. Ned6+ Kb8 22. Nb5 Bc5 23. Rd7 Rc8 $13 {Shirov,
A-Almasi,Z/Monte Carlo blind/2003/}) 11... Ng6 12. Bb2 Bd7 13. Rad1 Kc8 14.
Rfe1 Nf4 15. Nd4 a5 16. Nce2 Ne6 17. Nxe6 Bxe6 18. Nd4 a4 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Re4
axb3 21. axb3 Ra2 22. Bc3 b5 23. Rd2 Be7 24. g3 c5 25. Rde2 Rd8 26. Kg2 Rd1 27.
Be1 g5 28. c4 Rxe2 29. Rxe2 bxc4 30. bxc4 Rd4 31. Rc2 Re4 32. Bd2 $16 {Anand,
V-Almasi,Z/Monte Carlo blind/2003//\} Rxe5 $2 33. g4 $1 Re4 34. Be3 Kd7 35. Kf3
$18) 10. Rd1+ ({Pono's first experience woith the line was} 10. h3 Be6 (10...
h6 {or}) (10... Ke8 {can lead to the above mentioned positions.}) 11. Bg5 Bxg5
12. Nxg5 Ke7 13. Rad1 Bc4 14. Rfe1 h6 15. Nf3 g5 $5 16. g4 Ng7 17. Nd4 Be6 18.
Ne4 Rad8 19. Ng3 c5 $5 20. Ndf5+ Bxf5 21. gxf5 f6 $1 $11 {Polgar,J-Ponomariov,
R/Benidorm 5' plof/2002/}) (10. Bg5 Bxg5 11. Nxg5 Ke7 $11 {/+/= enables Black
to save a tempo in comparison with the game, on the other hand it's to White's
advantage to occupy the <->d with his Ra1, leaving the other R to support his
>>P.}) 10... Ke8 11. Bg5 (11. g3 h6 12. b3 Be6 13. Bb2 Rd8 (13... g5 $5 $13)
14. h3 g5 15. g4 Ng7 16. Ne4 Bd5 17. Nf6+ Bxf6 18. exf6 Ne6 19. Ne5 Nf4 20. Re1
Be6 21. Bc1 Nxh3+ (21... Nd5 $2 22. Nd3 b6 23. c4 $1 Nxf6 24. Nb4 c5 25. Bb2
cxb4 26. Bxf6 $16 {Topalov,V-Ponomariov,R/Wijk aan Zee/2003/}) 22. Kg2 Nf4+
$132) 11... Bxg5 12. Nxg5 Ke7 13. Rd3 h6 14. Nf3 $146 {[%cal Rg2g4][%mdl 8] /
\g4 The text is new, but at best only a slight improvement compared to} (14.
Nge4 Rd8 15. Rxd8 Kxd8 16. Rd1+ Ke7 17. f4 $6 {This is premature.} (17. h3 $142
$5 $14) 17... Ne3 18. Rd2 Bf5 19. Ng3 Bh7 20. Kf2 Ng4+ 21. Kg1 Ne3 22. Kf2 Nc4
{Black already spurns a draw by repetition, but White retains enough
counterchances.} 23. Rd4 b5 24. b3 Na3 25. Nce4 Nxc2 26. Rd2 Bxe4 27. Nxe4 Nb4
28. a3 Nd5 29. Kf3 $44 {Grischuk,A-Ponomariov,R/Wijk aan Zee/2003/}) 14... g6 (
{The active} 14... g5 $5 15. Rad1 Ng7 16. Nd4 Nf5 {has its positive (gains
space on the >>) and negative (also weakens the >>) sides, it's difficult to
say if it's better than the text.}) 15. Rad1 Ng7 16. h3 ({The seemingly
promising} 16. Nd4 Nf5 $5 {probably didn't seem enough to Anand, the text fits
his plans as well.}) 16... Be6 17. Nd4 Rad8 18. f4 (18. Nxe6 Rxd3 $142 (18...
Nxe6 19. Rxd8 Rxd8 20. Rxd8 Kxd8 (20... Nxd8 21. f4 Ne6 22. Ne2 $14 {is similar
}) 21. Ne2 g5 22. g3 $14 {_|_ gives White a pleasant _|_, which he can play
for a win without any risk.}) 19. Rxd3 (19. Nxg7 $2 Rxd1+ 20. Nxd1 Rg8 $19)
19... Kxe6 $5 (19... Nxe6 20. Ne4 $14 (20. Ne2 Nc5 $132)) 20. f4 g5 $132) ({
However, the immediate advance of the Pf2 is rather committal, deserving
attention was} 18. Ne4 $5 $14) 18... Bc4 $1 19. R3d2 c5 20. Nf3 (20. Ndb5 Nh5
$11 {[%csl Rf4] and White can't protect the important Pf4.}) 20... Nh5 21. b3 (
21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. Rxd8 Kxd8 23. b3 Ba6 24. Ne4 Nxf4 25. Nxc5 Ne6 $5 $11) 21...
Rxd2 (21... Be6 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. Rxd8 Kxd8 24. Ne2 c4 25. b4 $14) 22. Rxd2 {
Logical, but interesting was also the other recapture} (22. Nxd2 $5 Be6 23. Rf1
{/\} Ng3 24. Rf2 Rd8 25. Kh2 Nf5 26. Nde4 $14) 22... Be6 23. Ne2 c4 $1 $132 {
Black exchanges his doubled P and is close to full equality.} 24. Kf2 $1 (24.
g4 Ng7 {/\h5} (24... cxb3 $5 {is also playable, but hardly necessary}) 25. Kf2
{-24.Kf2}) ({Even after} 24. b4 c3 25. Rd4 Bxa2 26. Nxc3 Be6 27. g4 Ng7 $132 {
/= White's advantage is more or less illusory.}) 24... cxb3 25. cxb3 {White
has more space and potentially a more dangerous P majority, but the f5-square
is under strong control.} (25. axb3 a5 {[%csl Ga5][%cal Gb7b5] gives Black
chances to create a more dangerous outside o^ on the a<->.}) 25... c5 $6 (25...
Rd8 $142 $5) 26. g4 Ng7 27. Nc3 h5 {[%csl Rg5] In the future the weakening of
g5 will play a major role, but it's difficult to recommend passive waiting
moves.} (27... Rd8 {is already not ideal due to} 28. Rxd8 Kxd8 29. Nb5 $36 {
e.g.,} a6 30. Nd6 {[%cal Rf3h4,Rf4f5] /\Nh4,f5->}) 28. Kg3 hxg4 29. hxg4 Rd8 $2
{[%mdl 18432] This is however a more serious positional mistake, now Anand
coordinates his pieces ideally and shows precise technique.} ({More in keeping
with Black's 27-th move was} 29... Rh1 $5 30. Nb5 a6 31. Nd6 b6 $14 {<=>}) 30.
Rxd8 Kxd8 31. Ng5 {First improve the Nf3...} Ke7 32. Nge4 b6 (32... c4 33. bxc4
Bxc4 34. Nd6 $18 Ba6 35. Nd5+ Ke6 36. Nc7+ $16 {/+-}) 33. Kh4 {[%cal Rh4g5,
Re4d6,Rf4f5] /\Kg5,Nd6,f5 Then the K...} Bd7 {Prevents the aforementioned plan,
but now White activates also his Nc3.} 34. Nd5+ Kf8 ({More active, but weaker
is} 34... Ke6 $143 35. Ndf6 Ke7 (35... Bc6 36. Nd6 {[%cal Rh4g5,Rg5h6] /\Kg5-h6
} Ke7 (36... b5 37. Kg5 Ke7 38. f5 gxf5 39. gxf5 Ne8 40. Nc8+ $18) 37. f5 gxf5
38. gxf5 Ne8 {and White can afford even a P_|_:} 39. Nfxe8 Bxe8 40. Nxe8 Kxe8
41. Kg5 {a plausible line is} b5 (41... Ke7 42. Kf4 Kd7 43. Ke4 Kc6 44. a4 a6
45. f6 Kd7 46. Kd5 $18) 42. Kf4 f6 (42... Kd7 43. Ke4 Kc6 44. f6 $18) 43. e6
Ke7 44. Ke4 Kd6 45. a3 Kc6 46. a4 a6 47. axb5+ axb5 48. e7 Kd7 49. Kd5 c4 50.
bxc4 bxc4 51. Kxc4 Kxe7 52. Kc5 $18) 36. Nxd7 $5 Kxd7 37. Kg5 Ke7 (37... Ne8
38. Nf6+ $1 $18 {-see above.}) 38. f5 gxf5 39. gxf5 Ne8 (39... Kf8 40. Nd6 $18)
40. f6+ $1 Kf8 (40... Ke6 41. Kf4 {[%cal Re4g5] /\Ng5+-}) 41. e6 $1 fxe6 42.
Kg6 $18 {[%csl Gf6] and the o^f6 will cost Black his N.}) 35. Nd6 Ne8 (35...
Ne6 $142 $5 36. f5 gxf5 37. gxf5 Bc6 (37... Nd4 38. Kg5 Kg7 39. Nf6 Nf3+ 40.
Kf4 Bc6 41. Nc8 Ne1 42. Ng4 $16 {is also no bed of roses}) 38. Ne3 Nd4 39. Kg5
Kg7 40. Nc8 {loses material, but Black would get at least a whiff of <=>. Now
he will be practically pushed of the board.}) 36. Nc4 b5 (36... Be6 37. Nce3 {
[%csl Re8][%cal Rh4g5,Rf4f5] /\Kg5,f5,פe8}) 37. Nce3 Ng7 38. Kg5 Bc6 39. Nc7
$1 {[%csl Rc5] ><c5} (39. f5 $16 {/+- was also possible, but Anand targets a
new >< and for the time being avoids exchanges.}) 39... a5 (39... Ke7 40. f5
gxf5 41. gxf5 Kd7 42. Na6 $18) 40. f5 gxf5 41. gxf5 Bd7 (41... Ne8 42. Nxe8
Kxe8 43. Kf6 {[%cal Re5e6] /\e6+-}) 42. Na6 c4 43. Nc5 Bc8 $8 {The only move,
but now White has achieved full domination.} (43... cxb3 44. Nxd7+ Ke7 45. f6+
$18) 44. bxc4 bxc4 45. Ne4 {[%cal Re4d6] /\Nd6} Bd7 46. Nc5 Bc8 (46... Bb5 47.
a4 $18 {loses both <<P.}) 47. e6 $1 $18 {Despite the simplification this break
is decisive.} c3 (47... fxe6 48. f6 Nf5 (48... Ne8 49. Nxc4 $18 {[%csl Gf6]
[%cal Rc4e5] /\Ne5,o^f6}) 49. Nxc4 {/\} e5 (49... Kf7 50. Nxa5 $18 {[%cal
Ra5c6] /\Nc6}) 50. Nb6 Nd6 51. Nxc8 Nxc8 52. Kg6 Nd6 53. Nd7+ Ke8 54. Nxe5 a4
55. a3 $22 (55. f7+ Ke7 56. a3 $2 Nxf7 $1 57. Nxf7 Ke6 $11) 55... Kf8 56. Nd7+
Ke8 57. Nb6 $18 {[%cal Rb6a4] /\Na4}) 48. e7+ $1 Ke8 (48... Kxe7 49. f6+ Kf8
50. fxg7+ Kxg7 51. Ne4 Be6 52. a3 $18 {and the last Pa3 will decide the game.})
(48... Kg8 49. f6 Ne8 50. Ne4 $18 {[%csl Rc3] loses the o^c3}) 49. f6 Ne6+ 50.
Nxe6 Bxe6 (50... fxe6 $2 51. Nc4 $18) 51. Kf4 {The B must cover d5 and f5 and
is tied to e6.} Kd7 52. Ke5 $1 Bg4 (52... Bxa2 53. Nf5 c2 54. Nd6 c1=Q 55.
e8=Q+ Kc7 56. Qc8+ Kb6 57. Qb7+ Kc5 58. Qb5#) 53. Kd4 Bd1 54. Kxc3 Ba4 {
Now Black can activate his K, but he will lose a piece in the process and
Anand's N will be back on time.} 55. Kd4 Ke6 56. Nd5 Kf5 57. Kc5 Ke5 58. a3 (
58. Nc7 $18) 58... Ke6 59. Nc7+ Kxf6 60. e8=Q Bxe8 61. Nxe8+ Ke6 62. Kb5 Ke5
63. Kxa5 f5 64. Ng7 (64. Ng7 f4 65. Nh5 f3 66. Ng3 Kf4 67. Nf1 $18 {The Pf3 is
going nowhere and the Pa3 will decide the game.}) 1-0

[Event "EU-chT (Men) 13th"]
[Site "Leon"]
[Date "2001.11.08"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Socko, Bartosz"]
[Black "Lautier, Joel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2564"]
[BlackElo "2653"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "122"]
[EventDate "2001.11.06"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 086"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.02.05"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.02.05"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Poland"]
[BlackTeam "France"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "POL"]
[BlackTeamCountry "FRA"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {The Berlin Defence became popular after
Kramnik's success in the London 2000 match against Kasparov.} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4
Nd6 ({Hardly anyone nowadays plays} 5... Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. dxe5
Nb7 {although the road to White's advantage is not so clear:} 9. Nc3 O-O 10.
Re1 Nc5 11. Nd4 Ne6 12. Nxe6 $5 fxe6 13. b3 Qe8 14. Be3 Rf5 15. Ne4 Bb7 $5 {
/\c5~~} (15... a5 $2 16. Bd4 a4 17. c4 Bb7 18. Ng3 Rf4 19. Be3 Rf7 20. c5 $1
Ba6 21. Qd2 $16 {Anand,V-Timman,J/Wijk aan Zee/1999/ and both Black's B are
limited and paralysed.})) 6. Bg5 {A sideline, which may disappear after this
game. Critical is} (6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 ({Moves as
} 9... a5 $5) (9... Ne7) (9... Ke8 {without h6 have also been tested.}) 10. h3
Bd7 11. b3 {but Black has been doing OK lately after} Kc8 (11... Ke8 12. Bb2
Rd8 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Rfe1 Ng6 15. Ne4 Nf4 16. e6 Nxe6 17. Nd4 c5 18. Nf5 Rh7
19. Bf6 Rc8 20. Bxg7 $1 Bxg7 21. Nxg7+ Rxg7 22. Nf6+ Ke7 23. Nxd7 $16 {
Kasparov,G-Kramnik,V/Astana/2001/}) 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Ne2 Ng6 15. Ng3
(15. Ne1 h5 16. Nd3 c5 17. c4 a5 18. a4 h4 19. Nc3 Be6 20. Nd5 Kb7 21. Ne3 Rh5
22. Bc3 Re8 23. Rd2 Kc8 24. f4 Ne7 25. Nf2 Nf5 $11 {1/2,Kasparov,G-Kramnik,V/
London BGN WCh/2000/}) 15... Nf4 16. Nd4 a5 17. a4 b5 18. Kh2 (18. Bc1 $142 $5)
18... bxa4 19. bxa4 Nd5 20. Rd3 Nb6 $132 {Shirov,A-Kramnik,V/Astana/2001/})
6... f6 $1 $146 {[%mdl 8] A novelty, clearly prepared at home, where a
computer provides the necessary defensive assistance. Socko was not against
repeating} (6... Be7 7. Bxe7 Qxe7 8. Bxc6 dxc6 9. dxe5 Nf5 10. Nc3 O-O (10...
Be6 11. Qd2 Rd8 $13) 11. Qd2 Nh4 (11... Be6 $5) 12. Nxh4 Qxh4 13. f4 Bf5 14.
Qf2 Qe7 15. Rfe1 Qb4 16. Rab1 Rad8 17. a3 Qc4 18. Rbd1 a5 19. Re2 Bg4 20. Rxd8
Rxd8 21. Rd2 Rxd2 22. Qxd2 $14 {Socko,B-Cyborowski,L/Warsaw POL-ch/2001/
although later on White went on to lose this pleasant _|_.}) 7. dxe5 $6 {
White can't avoid complications anyway and chooses a risky piece sacrifice. He
had 2 alternatives:} (7. Bxc6 dxc6 (7... fxg5 $2 8. Bd5 $16) {More testing is}
8. Nxe5 $5 {but in this move-order Black can even decline the offer:} (8. dxe5
fxg5 9. exd6 Bxd6 10. Re1+ Kf7 11. Nc3 (11. Qd4 Rf8 $15) 11... g4 12. Ne5+ Bxe5
13. Rxe5 Qxd1+ 14. Rxd1 Kf6 {/\Bf5=/+ enables Black to finish his development
unscathed and retain winning chances.}) 8... Be6 (8... Bf5 $5) 9. Re1 (9. Qh5+
g6 (9... Nf7 $5) 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. Qxg6+ Bf7 12. Qxf6 (12. Re1+ Qe7 $1 13.
Rxe7+ Bxe7 $17) 12... Qxf6 13. Bxf6 Rh6 $15) 9... Be7 10. Nf3 Bd5 $15 {[%csl
Gd5,Ge7] ^^}) ({If White wants to force Black to accept the sacrifice, a
better way to do so is} 7. Nxe5 $1 fxg5 (7... Nxe5 8. dxe5 Nxb5 $2 9. exf6 $18
{/\} gxf6 10. Qh5+ Ke7 11. Bxf6+ $1 Kxf6 12. Qh4+) 8. Bxc6 (8. Qh5+ g6 9. Nxg6
hxg6 10. Qxh8 Nxb5 $19) 8... dxc6 9. Qh5+ g6 10. Nxg6 Bg4 $1 (10... hxg6 11.
Re1+ Kf7 12. Qxh8 $13) 11. Re1+ Be7 12. Qxg5 (12. Qh6 $2 Nf7 $19) 12... hxg6
13. Qxg6+ Kf8 $5 ({Black's K can hardly hide on the << anyway, so} 13... Nf7
14. Qxg4 Qd6 15. h3 Rd8 16. Nc3 $13 {is somewhat weaker.}) 14. Qxg4 Rh4 $32 {
=/+,/\Nf7 In this sharp position Black's pieces are better coordinated and he
can fight for an advantage.}) 7... Nxb5 8. exf6 (8. Bh4 {will probably win
some material back, but after} Be7 $1 9. a4 (9. c4 fxe5 {is similar.}) 9...
fxe5 10. axb5 Bxh4 11. bxc6 dxc6 12. Qe2 Bf6 $17 {White's compensation is
insufficient.}) 8... gxf6 9. Re1+ {Chases Black's K to safety.} (9. Qd5 $2 fxg5
10. Re1+ Be7 11. Nxg5 Nd6 12. Nxh7 Nf7 $19 {leads nowhere.}) (9. Bf4 $142 {
[%cal Rd1e2] /\Qe2} Nd6 (9... Be7 10. Nh4 $5 $15 {/~~}) 10. Re1+ Kf7 (10... Be7
11. Bxd6 $5 cxd6 12. Nc3 $15 {and developing the << is not going to be so easy.
}) 11. Nh4 Rg8 12. Qh5+ $15 {Here White at least saves a tempo, as his Q goes
directly to h5 and the position remains more tense, than in the game.}) 9...
Kf7 10. Qd5+ $6 (10. Bf4 $142 $1 Nd6 (10... d5 11. Nh4 Kg8 12. Qh5 $132) 11.
Nh4 {leads to the above note.}) 10... Kg7 11. Bf4 ({White must keep pieces on
the board,} 11. Qxb5 $143 $2 fxg5 12. Nxg5 d5 $19) 11... Nd6 12. Nh4 Rg8 {
[%mdl 256] An important defensive move, freeing h8 for the K.} 13. Nc3 (13.
Bxd6 Bxd6 14. Nf5+ Kh8 15. Nxd6 cxd6 16. Qxd6 b6 $17) 13... Kh8 14. Qh5 Nd4 {
[%cal Rd4e6,Rd4c2]} ({Interesting, although possibly not ideal. Black probably
didn't like the solid} 14... b6 15. Nd5 Bb7 16. Rad1 $17 {and although White
has no direct threats, it's not so easy to untangle and realize the extra
piece. Lautier seeks activity and is willing even to return material.}) 15. Nd5
$1 {Otherwise Ne6 snuffs out White's initiative.} b6 {Probably an intuitive
decision.} (15... Nxc2 16. Nxf6 Qxf6 (16... Rg7 $4 17. Ng6+ $18) 17. Be5 Bg7 (
17... Qxe5 18. Qxe5+ Bg7 19. Qh5 Bf6 {leads to the same position.}) 18. Bxf6
Bxf6 19. Qf3 $1 {the inactive << gives White tactical chances:} Bxb2 (19... Rf8
20. Qh5 Kg8 21. Ng6 $1 Rf7 22. Ne5 Rg7 23. Rad1 $1 Rg5 (23... Nxe1 $2 24. Rxd6
Rxg2+ 25. Kf1 $18) 24. Qf3 $13 {[%cal Rf3f6,Rf3b3] /\Qf6,Qb3} Kg7 $2 25. Ng4
Rf5 26. Qh3 $18) 20. Qe2 Bxa1 21. Qxc2 $44 {/\Qc7}) 16. Nxf6 (16. Rad1 $142 $5
Ne6 (16... Nc6 {is possible, but Black has lost a tempo compared to 14...b6.})
17. Nxf6 Qxf6 18. Be5 Qxe5 19. Qxe5+ Bg7 20. Qe3 Rf8 $13 (20... Bb7 $4 21. Ng6+
hxg6 22. Qh3+ $18) (20... Bf6 $2 21. Rxd6 $1 cxd6 22. Qf3 $16)) 16... Qxf6 17.
Be5 Bg7 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 {[%mdl 2048] /\Nc2 Although the material balance has
changed, Black is still on top with his coordinated piece play.} 19. Re3 $6 {
Socko should have tried to get rid of Black's N with} (19. Rad1 Bb7 20. Rxd4 $5
(20. c3 Ne6 {/\Nf4 also forces an exchange sacrifice in less favourable
circumstances.}) 20... Bxd4 21. Re7 Be4 ({po} 21... Rg7 $6 22. Rxg7 Bxg7 23.
Ng6+ Kg8 24. Ne7+ $11 Kf8 $6 25. Qxh7 $36) 22. c3 Bf6 23. Rxd7 Rad8 $17 {
is good for Black, but in the game White will fare even worse.} (23... Rae8 $5)
) 19... Bb7 (19... Nxc2 $2 20. Rh3 {[%cal Rh4g6] /\Ng6} Rg7 21. Rc1 $18 {
/\Rc2,Qf3 and White wins material.}) 20. Rg3 (20. Rae1 Bxh4 (20... Nxc2 $2 21.
Re7 Bxe7 $2 22. Rxe7 Rg7 23. Qe5 $16) ({Maybe even better is} 20... Ne6 $5) 21.
Qe5+ Rg7 22. Qxd4 Rag8 $1 $17 {/\Bg2,Nf5}) 20... Rae8 21. Kh1 (21. Rxg8+ Rxg8
22. c3 Bxh4 (22... Ne6 $5) 23. Qe5+ Rg7 24. Qxd4 (24. cxd4 $2 Nc4 $17) 24...
Bxg2 $1 25. Qxh4 (25. Qxg7+ Kxg7 26. Kxg2 Bf6 $19 {is similar.}) 25... Be4+ $1
26. Kf1 Bd3+ 27. Ke1 Ne4 28. Qd8+ Rg8 $19 {and White must give his Q to avoid
mate, which leads to a technically lost _|_.}) 21... Ne4 22. Ng6+ (22. Rxg8+
Rxg8 {[%csl Rf2]} 23. f3 (23. Rf1 Ba6 $19) 23... Nd6 $1 (23... Nxc2 $6 24. Rc1
$13) {cuts off White's Q and wins nearly by force:} 24. c3 Ne6 25. Qh6 {
(inak Vg5 alebo Jf4 ziskava damu)} Bg5 26. Qh5 Nf4 27. Qg4 Bc6 28. Qg3 Nd3 $19
{and White will lose at least a piece.}) 22... Rxg6 $5 {Attractive, but there
was also a second solution} (22... Kg7 23. Nf4+ Nxg3+ 24. fxg3 Re7 $19) 23.
Rxg6 Nxf2+ 24. Kg1 Ne2+ $1 25. Kf1 (25. Kxf2 $6 Bd4+ 26. Kf1 Nf4 27. Rg8+ $8 (
27. Qb5 $2 hxg6 {/\Bg2,Ba6#}) 27... Rxg8 28. Qf7 {gives Black a wide choice of
attacking continuations.} Bxg2+ (28... Nxg2 $5 $19) 29. Ke1 Bxb2 $19) 25... Nf4
26. Rxf6 (26. Qf5 $143 Ba6+ 27. Kxf2 Bd4+ 28. Kg3 Nxg6 $40) 26... Nxh5 (26...
Bxg2+ $5 27. Kxf2 Nxh5 28. Rh6 (28. Rf5 Ng7 29. Rf7 Bc6 $19) 28... Nf4 29. Kg3
Re4 {was also playable, but Black doesn't want to disrupt the coordination of
his pieces for a single P, as the _|_ after the text is also won in the long
run.}) 27. Rxf2 Kg7 $19 {Black has 2 pices for a R and no weaknesses, he will
win by gradually creating a o^.} 28. c4 ({Passivity was more resilient} 28. Rd2
$142) 28... Nf6 29. Rd1 Bc6 30. Re2 Ne4 $1 {[%cal Rb6b5] /\b5 Lautier
postpones the exchange of R and wants to profit from his active pieces.} 31.
Kg1 (31. Ke1 $142) 31... a5 32. Rf1 Re6 33. Rf4 h5 34. Re3 Kg6 35. h4 $6 (35.
g4 h4 $1 36. h3 Ng5 {[%csl Rh3] ><h3}) ({Socko wants to play g4 without
allowing h4, but Black can prevent this. Passivity was indicated, e.g.,} 35. b3
) 35... Nf6 $1 36. Rxe6 dxe6 {[%csl Ge6] o^e} 37. Rd4 Bd7 38. c5 b5 39. Rd3 e5
(39... Bc6 $19 {[%cal Yc6d5] /\Bd5}) 40. c6 Be6 41. Rg3+ Ng4 42. Rc3 ({White's
R remains passive even after} 42. b3 e4 43. Rc3 e3 44. Kf1 a4 $19) 42... Bxa2
43. Ra3 Bc4 44. b3 Be2 45. Rxa5 Nf6 46. Ra8 Kf7 47. Rc8 Nd5 48. Kf2 Bg4 49. Rh8
Ke7 (49... e4 $1 $19) 50. Rh6 b4 (50... e4 {[%cal Re4e3,Rd5b4] /\e3,Nb4 was
quicker.}) 51. Ke1 e4 52. g3 Ne3 53. Rh8 Kd6 54. Kd2 Nd5 55. Rh6+ Kc5 56. Rg6
Kd4 57. Ke1 Kc3 58. Rg5 Ne3 59. Kf2 Nf5 60. Ke1 e3 61. Rg8 Nd4 0-1

[Event "Nanjing Pearl Spring 3rd"]
[Site "Nanjing"]
[Date "2010.10.27"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2826"]
[BlackElo "2800"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "136"]
[EventDate "2010.10.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CHN"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 139"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.11.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.11.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O ({Anand has started playing the Berlin
more regularly only recently. In Bilbao Carlsen (after losing to Kramnik in
round 1) didn't feel confronting the famous endgame and opted for the quiet} 4.
d3 d6 5. O-O Be7 6. c3 O-O 7. Nbd2 Bd7 8. Re1 Re8 9. Nf1 Bf8 10. Ba4 h6 11. Ng3
Ne7 12. Bb3 Ng6 13. d4 c5 14. h3 Qc7 15. a4 a6 16. a5 cxd4 17. cxd4 exd4 18.
Nxd4 d5 $1 19. exd5 Rxe1+ 20. Qxe1 Re8 (20... Ne7 21. Bd2 Nexd5 22. Rc1 Re8 $1
$11) 21. Qc3 Qxc3 22. bxc3 Re1+ 23. Kh2 Bd6 (23... Ne5 24. Nc2 Neg4+ $11) 24.
Nc2 Rf1 25. Be3 Rxa1 26. Nxa1 Be5 27. Bd4 Bxd4 28. cxd4 Ne7 $11 {Carlsen,M 
(2826)-Anand,V (2800)/Bilbao/2010/ Is he now going to face the challenge?})
4... Nxe4 5. Re1 {Having a comfortable lead in the tournament at this point,
White doesn't want to bang his head against the (Berlin) Wall.} ({Getting an
edge after} 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 {
is no mean task:} {The most usual continuation is} 10. h3 (10. Ne2 Ne7 (10...
Be7 11. Rd1 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Be3 a5 14. a4 Bd7 15. h3 h5 16. f3 Rd8 17. g4
hxg4 18. hxg4 Bc8 19. Kg2 Rxd1 20. Rxd1 Be7 21. Bd2 b6 22. Bf4 Bd8 23. b3 Be6
24. Nd4 Bd7 25. c4 Rh7 26. Rd3 c5 27. Nb5 Be6 $14 {/=,Inarkiev,E (2669)
-Jakovenko,D (2725)/Astrakhan/2010/ and Black is still pretty solid.}) 11. h3
Ng6 12. b3 h6 13. Bb2 c5 14. Rad1 Be6 15. Nc3 Be7 16. Nd5 Bd8 17. c4 a5 18. a4
c6 19. Nc3 Be7 20. Ne4 Rd8 21. Rfe1 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 Nf4 23. Ba3 b6 24. Nd6+ Kf8
25. Kf1 g5 26. Bc1 Kg7 27. Bxf4 gxf4 28. Nd2 (28. Ke2 $5) 28... Bxd6 $1 29.
exd6 Rd8 30. Ne4 {Efimenko,Z (2683)-Malakhov,V (2725)/Khanty-Mansiysk olm/2010/
Here} Bf5 $1 31. f3 f6 32. Kf2 Kf7 33. Rd2 Ke6 34. Re2 Kf7 $11 {would have
drawn the game and won the critical match between the best teams of the
olympiad.}) {and} 10... Be7 {to mention just the main ones, played by the
elite GM's.} ({Carlsen himself with Black prefers the rather rare} 10... b6 11.
Rd1 (11. a3 Bb7 12. Bf4 c5 13. Rad1 Bxf3 14. gxf3 c6 15. Be3 Rd8 16. Ne4 Be7
17. f4 f6 18. Rxd8+ Kxd8 19. Ng3 Nh4 20. Rd1+ Kc8 21. Kf1 c4 22. Ke2 Rd8 23.
Rd4 Rxd4 24. Bxd4 c5 25. Bc3 fxe5 26. fxe5 Kd7 27. Ke3 Ke6 28. Ke4 g6 29. a4 a6
30. f4 Nf5 $11 {Radjabov,T (2751)-Carlsen,M (2786)/ECC Kallithea/2008/}) 11...
Bb7 12. Bf4 Rc8 13. a4 Ne7 (13... c5 14. a5 Bxf3 15. gxf3 Nd4 16. axb6 axb6 17.
Nd5 c6 18. Nxb6 Rb8 {Saric,I (2567)-Efimenko,Z (2683)/Khanty-Mansiysk olm/2010/
} 19. Nd7 $1 $36) 14. a5 c5 15. Nb5 (15. axb6 axb6 16. Nb5 $36) 15... a6 16.
Nd6+ cxd6 17. exd6 Nd5 18. c4 Nxf4 19. d7+ Kd8 20. Ne5 Be7 21. axb6 Ne2+ 22.
Kf1 Nd4 23. dxc8=Q+ Kxc8 {Polgar,J (2682)-Carlsen,M (2826)/Kristiansund rpd/
2010/} 24. Re1 Rf8 $1 25. Ng6 $13) ({However, Anand recently played} 10... h5
11. b3 Be7 12. Bb2 Be6 13. Rad1 a5 14. a4 b6 15. Ne4 c5 16. c4 Rd8 17. Rxd8+
Kxd8 18. Rd1+ Kc8 19. Kf1 Rd8 20. Rxd8+ Kxd8 21. Ke2 Ke8 22. Kd3 Bd8 23. Bc1 f6
$5 24. g4 hxg4 25. hxg4 Nd4 $11 {Shirov,A (2749)-Anand,V (2800)/Bilbao/2010/})
({Here Black has quite a number of moves, which have been tested extensively
in the past decade:} 10... Ne7) (10... a5)) 5... Nd6 ({Definitely the main
move this time. Two months earlier, Anand was probably surprised by Carlsen's
5-th move and went for the slightly dubious} 5... Nf6 $6 6. Nxe5 Be7 (6... Nxe5
7. d4 $1 $36) 7. d4 O-O 8. Nc3 a6 9. Be2 (9. Ba4 $5) 9... d6 10. Nf3 (10. Nxc6
bxc6 11. h3 $14) 10... Re8 11. Bf4 Bf8 12. Qd2 h6 13. h3 Bf5 14. d5 Ne7 15. a4
Qd7 16. Bf1 Ng6 17. Be3 Ne4 18. Nxe4 Bxe4 19. Nh2 Nh4 20. f3 Bh7 21. Bf2 Ng6
22. a5 Rxe1 23. Rxe1 Re8 24. Rxe8 Qxe8 25. Qb4 Qc8 {Carlsen,M (2826)-Anand,V 
(2800)/Kristiansund rpd/2010/}) 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 {The more contemporary
approach, leaving the Pd2 free to join the fray.} (7. Bd3 {was tested already
in the first World Championship match in 1886! After} O-O 8. Nc3 Nxe5 9. Rxe5
c6 10. b3 {already Zuketort found the best defence} Ne8 $1 11. Qf3 (11. Bb2 d5
12. Qh5 Nf6 13. Qh4 h6 14. Rae1 Bd6 15. R5e2 Be6 16. Nd1 Nd7 17. Qh5 Nf6 18.
Qh4 Nd7 19. Qh5 Nf6 {1/2,Torre,E (2535)-Gelfand,B (2680)/Moscow olm/1994/})
11... d5 12. Bb2 Bf6 13. Re2 Nc7 ({Less harmonious is} 13... Nd6 14. Ba3 Be7
15. Qf4 Be6 16. Rae1 Qd7 17. Re5 b6 $6 18. R1e3 Rfe8 {Ni Hua (2629)-Karjakin,S
(2645)/Tiayuan/2005/} 19. Rh5 f5 20. Rg3 Nf7 21. Bxe7 Qxe7 22. h3 Qf6 23. Bxf5
g6 24. Qf3 $1 $16) 14. Na4 (14. Ba3 Re8 15. Rae1 Ne6 16. Na4 Bd7 17. Nc5 Nxc5
18. Rxe8+ Bxe8 19. Bxc5 b6 20. Ba3 Bd7 21. Qg3 c5 22. c3 Be6 23. Bb2 Qd7 24.
Bc2 Re8 25. h3 b5 26. d4 cxd4 27. cxd4 Rc8 28. Bd3 Bf5 {Steinitz,W-Zukertort,J/
WCh USA/1886/}) 14... Bxb2 15. Nxb2 Ne6 16. c3 Qd6 17. Rae1 Bd7 18. Bb1 Rae8
19. d4 Nf4 20. Re3 g6 $11 {Shirov,A (2710)-Ivanchuk,V (2700)/Monte Carlo
blindfold rpd/1995/}) ({Harmless is} 7. Ba4 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Nc4 $1 10.
Re1 d5 11. Nd2 Nb6 12. Bb3 Bd6 13. Qh5 Re8 14. Nf3 Rxe1+ 15. Nxe1 c6 16. c3 g6
17. Qf3 Bf5 18. Bf4 Nc8 19. Qg3 Bxf4 20. Qxf4 Qd6 21. Qxd6 Nxd6 22. f3 h5 23.
Kf2 a5 24. Rc1 {1/2,Ye Jiangchuan (2670)-Ivanchuk,V (2719)/Shenyang/2000/})
7... Nf5 {From the 3 plausible options Anand chooses the least usual one.} (
7... Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 {Two rounds later the World Champion went for} Ne8
(9... c6 10. d4 Ne8 11. d5 d6 12. Re1 Nf6 13. Bf4 Bg4 14. Qd2 Qd7 15. Bc4 Rfe8
16. h3 Bh5 17. a4 Bf8 18. a5 Bg6 {Meier,G (2659)-Onischuk,A (2688)/Lubbock/
2010/} 19. a6 $5 $36) (9... Bf6 10. Re1 c6 (10... Re8 11. Rxe8+ Nxe8 12. Nd5
Bh4 13. g3 {1/2 Vallejo Pons,F (2697)-Ponomariov,R (2734)/Sestao 2010/The Week
in Chess 825} c6 14. gxh4 cxd5 15. Qg4 $13 {/+/=}) 11. d4 Nf5 12. d5 d6 13. Ne4
(13. Bf4 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Qf6 15. c4 c5 16. Bd3 Nd4 17. Be3 h6 18. Qh5 Bd7 19. c3
Nf5 20. Bd2 Nh4 21. Re3 Rfe8 22. Rae1 {Fedorov,A (2611)-Sturua,Z (2514)/Dubai/
2009/} Ng6 $11) 13... Be5 14. c3 Qb6 15. Bc4 Bd7 16. a4 cxd5 17. a5 Qc7 18.
Bxd5 Bc6 19. Bxc6 Qxc6 20. a6 Rfe8 21. axb7 Qxb7 22. g3 $14 {Jansa,V (2521)
-Bindrich,F (2401)/CZE-chT/2006/}) 10. Nd5 (10. d4 Bf6 11. Re1 d5 $11) 10...
Bd6 11. Re1 c6 12. Ne3 Bc7 13. c4 $146 ({This novelty leads nowhere, but also} 
13. Nf5 d5 14. Ne7+ Kh8 15. Nxc8 Rxc8 {isn't much - in a symmetrical and
relatively closed position with only one open <-> the ^^ doesn't promise White
a tangible pull.} 16. d3 Nf6 17. Qf3 Qd6 18. g3 Rce8 19. Bd2 Kg8 20. Bh3 Qc5
$11 {Vallejo Pons,F (2696)-Hansen,S (2552)/EU-chT Novi Sad/2009/}) 13... Nf6
14. b3 d5 15. cxd5 cxd5 (15... Nxd5 16. Ba3 Bd6 $11) 16. Qf3 Be6 17. Ba3 Re8
18. Bb5 Bd7 19. Bxd7 Qxd7 20. Bb2 Be5 21. Bxe5 Rxe5 22. Nc2 Rae8 23. Rxe5 Rxe5
24. Qc3 Re8 25. Qd4 b6 26. f3 Rd8 27. Ne3 Ne8 28. f4 Nc7 29. f5 Ne8 $1 30. Re1
Nf6 $11 {Gashimov,V (2719)-Anand,V (2800)/Nanjing/2010/}) ({Another safe line
is} 7... O-O 8. d4 (8. Nc3 Nxe5 9. Rxe5 {-7...Ne5}) 8... Nf5 9. c3 (9. Nf3 d5 {
transposes into our game.}) 9... Nxe5 10. Rxe5 (10. dxe5 d6 $11) 10... d6 (
10... g6 11. Nd2 d5 12. Nf3 c6 13. Re1 Bd6 14. Bg5 f6 15. Bd2 Ng7 16. Bd3 Be6
17. Bh6 Qd7 18. Nh4 Rae8 19. Qc2 Bf7 20. g3 b6 $11 {Al Modiahki,M (2556)
-Aronian,L (2737)/Sochi/2008/}) 11. Re1 d5 $1 (11... c6 12. Nd2 (12. d5 $5 Bf6
13. Na3 $13 {is the only attempt to bring some imbalance into the position.})
12... d5 13. Nf3 Nh4 14. Nxh4 Bxh4 15. Bd3 Bf6 16. Bf4 Be6 17. Qf3 Qd7 18. Be5
Bxe5 19. Rxe5 f6 20. Re3 Rae8 21. Rae1 Bf7 {Ragger,M (2528)-Aronian,L (2741)/
Heraklio EU-chT/2007/}) 12. Bf4 (12. Nd2 Nh4 13. Nf3 Bg4 14. Be2 Re8 15. Nxh4
Bxe2 16. Qxe2 Bxh4 $11 {Neubauer,M (2453)-Sargissian,G (2673)/EU-chT Heraklio/
2007/}) 12... Bd6 $11 (12... Nh4 $11)) 8. Nf3 $5 {[%mdl 2080] Carlsen
indicates he wants to keep more pieces on the board and attempts to develop a
pull without any risk. Glancing ahead, he will be surprisingly successful in
the positional manoeuvring struggle.} (8. c3 Nxe5 9. Rxe5 d6 10. Re1 O-O 11. d4
d5 $11 {once again transposes into the 7...0-0 line from the previous note.})
8... O-O (8... Ncd4 9. c3 Nxf3+ 10. Qxf3 Nh4 11. Qe4 Ng6 12. c4 O-O 13. d4 d6
14. Nc3 c6 15. f4 $6 (15. Qc2 $11 {/+/=}) 15... Bf6 16. Be3 Re8 17. Qd3 d5 18.
cxd5 cxd5 19. Kh1 Ne7 20. Bg1 Be6 21. Rac1 g6 $15 {Llaneza Vega,M (2514)
-Pashikian,A (2652)/EU-ch Rijeka/2010/}) 9. d4 d5 10. c3 (10. g3 {It seems
worth forcing c3 after all and after} Bf6 $5 (10... Re8 11. Nc3 Be6 12. Ne2 g5
13. c3 Ng7 14. Bg2 f6 (14... h6 $142) 15. Nd2 Qd7 16. Nf1 Bf8 17. h4 $1 gxh4
18. Nf4 Bf7 19. Rxe8 Rxe8 20. Ne3 hxg3 21. fxg3 $16 {[%csl Rd5] ><d5,Baklan,V 
(2654)-Buhmann,R (2591)/AUT-chT/2010/}) (10... Bd6 11. Nc3 Nfe7 12. Nb5 Bf5 13.
Nxd6 Qxd6 14. Nh4 Be6 15. c3 Qd7 16. Bg2 Ng6 17. Nxg6 hxg6 18. Bf4 Rfe8 19. h4
Re7 20. Qa4 Rae8 21. Qb5 $36 {Baklan,V (2654)-Grandelius,N (2515)/Reykjavik/
2010/}) 11. c3 Re8 $11 {the tension should gradually dissipate.}) (10. Bf4 Bd6
11. Qd2 (11. Bxd6 Nxd6 12. c3 Ne7 {1/2,Jovanovic,Z (2535)-Brkic,A (2544)/
CRO-chT Sibenik/2009/}) 11... Bxf4 12. Qxf4 Qd6 13. Qd2 Qf6 14. c3 Nd6 15. Ne5
Ne4 16. Qe3 Nxe5 17. dxe5 Qb6 18. Qxb6 axb6 19. c4 {Sprenger,J (2511)-Pliester,
L (2383)/NED-chT/2009/} Nc5 20. Nc3 dxc4 21. Bxc4 Be6 $11) 10... Bd6 {The most
natural, but not the only and perhaps not even the best move.} (10... g6 11.
Bf4 Bd6 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Nbd2 Be6 14. Qb3 Rab8 15. Qa4 Bd7 16. Qc2 a5 17. Nb3
b6 18. Qd2 Rbe8 19. Rxe8 Rxe8 20. Re1 Re7 21. Nc1 f6 22. Bd3 g5 23. Re2 h5 24.
Qc2 Rxe2 25. Nxe2 Nce7 $11 {Kovacevic,A (2582)-Hammer,J (2633)/Khanty-Mansiysk
olm/2010/}) (10... Nh4 11. Nxh4 Bxh4 12. Nd2 Bf6 13. Bd3 Ne7 14. Nf3 Bf5 15.
Bg5 Bxg5 16. Nxg5 Bxd3 17. Qxd3 {1/2,Luther,T (2545)-Buhmann,R (2563)/
Khanty-Mansiysk olm/2010/} Ng6 18. Qf5 c6 {/\Qc8=}) 11. Bd3 (11. Nbd2 Qf6 $1
12. Bd3 h6 13. Nf1 Be6 14. Bd2 Rae8 15. Qc2 Nfe7 16. b4 Ng6 17. Ng3 Bg4 18.
Rxe8 Rxe8 19. Re1 Rf8 $5 20. Be2 Nf4 $11 {Nijboer,F (2562)-Meier,G (2663)/
EU-ch Rijeka/2010/ was already very comfortable for Black.}) 11... Nce7 (11...
Re8 12. Rxe8+ Qxe8 13. Qc2 g6 14. Nbd2 Qd8 15. Nf1 Nh4 16. Nxh4 Qxh4 17. Bd2
Be6 $11 {Kreisl,R (2380)-Jovanic,O (2552)/Zadar/2009/} 18. Re1 $11 {/+/=}) 12.
Nbd2 (12. g4 $6 Nh6 {is too wild, but apart from the text-move}) (12. Qc2 g6
13. Nbd2 {is interesting as well.}) 12... c6 $146 (12... Ng6 13. Nf1 Nfh4 14.
g3 $1 (14. Ne5 f6 15. Nxg6 Nxg6 16. Ng3 f5 $1 17. Qh5 Qf6 18. Qf3 Qf7 19. Ne2
Nh4 20. Qh3 Ng6 21. Qf3 f4 22. Bxg6 hxg6 23. g3 g5 24. g4 c6 $17 {McEwan,K 
(2142)-Cox,J (2378)/BCF-chT/2010/}) 14... Nxf3+ 15. Qxf3 c6 16. Ne3 Re8 (16...
f5 17. Ng2 $14) 17. Bd2 $14 {[%cal Yb2b3,Yc3c4,Yh2h5,Ye3f5] /+/=,/\Nf5,h4-h5,
b3,c4 is a better version of the game position and White still has a nagging
pull.}) 13. Nf1 {Structurally the position is symmetrical like an exchange
French, or Petroff. Therefore getting anything tangible requires extra effort,
on the other hand Anand perhaps enjoyed a false sense of security of the
"nothing cah happen here" type. In fact it's still Black who has to tread with
some care.} Ng6 14. Qc2 (14. g3 $5 h6 15. h4 {deserves attention - this, just
as the alternative on move 12, prevents the simplifying Nh4.}) 14... Nfh4 15.
Nxh4 Qxh4 16. g3 Qd8 {Seems unnecessarily passive.} (16... Qf6 $142 $5 17. Ne3
Re8 {is solid, for example} 18. Qe2 Bd7 19. Qh5 Nf8 20. Bd2 g6 21. Ng4 Bxg4 22.
Qxg4 h5 $11 {and as in Vallejo-Hansen above, the ^^ have no direct targets and
Black should hold the balance.}) 17. Ne3 Re8 18. Bd2 Nf8 19. Nf5 {[%csl Gf5]}
Bc7 (19... Bxf5 20. Rxe8 Qxe8 21. Bxf5 g6 22. Re1 Qd8 23. Bh3 $14 {is already
more unpleasant than the line above, so Black decides to suffer the intruder
on f5. Objectively both moves are roughly equivalent and White already has
some pressure.}) 20. Rxe8 Qxe8 21. Re1 Be6 22. Qc1 (22. f4 {[%cal Rf5g7,Rf4f5]
/\Ng7,f5} Qd8 23. Ne3 $14) (22. Qd1 $14) 22... f6 (22... Qd7 $2 23. Nxg7 $1 {/\
} Kxg7 24. Bh6+ Kh8 25. Qg5 f5 26. Qf6+ Kg8 27. Rxe6 $1 Nxe6 28. Bxf5 Re8 29.
Bxe6+ $18) (22... Qd8 $5 $14 {postpones weakening the >>, now} 23. Bg5 f6 {
wins a tempo.}) 23. Qd1 (23. Nxg7 $2 Kxg7 24. Bh6+ Kf7 25. Qd1 Kg8 $17 {
is too inconcrete.}) 23... Qd7 24. Qf3 Re8 25. h4 Bf7 {With hindsight one can
recommend the immediate swap} (25... Bxf5 $142 26. Bxf5 Rxe1+ 27. Bxe1 Qe8 {
, although even here White can definitely continue probing after} 28. Bd2 $14 (
28. Qe3 $5)) 26. Rf1 $1 {An excellent move, avoiding simplification is more
important than the <->e, on which Black has no points of entry anyway.} Bg6 ({
After some thought Anand discarded} 26... h5 27. g4 $1 hxg4 28. Qxg4 $36 {
and decides to eliminate the Nf5 after all.}) 27. h5 Bxf5 28. Bxf5 Qf7 29. Kg2
(29. Bd3 g6 {tranposes, as} 30. g4 $6 Ne6 31. Re1 Re7 {allows Black <=> in
connection with Ng5.}) 29... g6 30. Bd3 f5 31. Rh1 {Now Black will have a
tactical defence, so this was the right time for} (31. g4 $142 $1 $36) 31...
Ne6 32. hxg6 (32. g4 Bf4 (32... fxg4 $5 33. Qxg4 Rf8 34. f3 g5 35. Re1 Nf4+ 36.
Bxf4 Qxf4 37. Re7 Qxg4+ 38. fxg4 Rf7 39. Rxf7 Kxf7 40. Bxh7 Bf4 $11) 33. hxg6 {
-32.hg6}) 32... hxg6 33. g4 (33. Be3 Qf6 {/\Ng5}) 33... Bf4 $1 (33... f4 34.
Qh3 $36) 34. Be3 (34. gxf5 Bxd2 35. fxe6 Qxf3+ 36. Kxf3 Rxe6 $11) (34. Bxf4 $6
fxg4 35. Rh8+ $8 Kxh8 36. Be5+ Kg8 37. Qxg4 Nf8 38. f4 Qh7 $15) 34... fxg4 $6 {
After this slip White retains a pull.} (34... Bxe3 $142 {/\} 35. fxe3 (35. Qxe3
$2 fxg4 36. Qh6 Qf3+ 37. Kg1 Ng7 $1 $19) 35... Ng5 36. Qf4 fxg4 $1 37. Rh6 (37.
Qxg5 $4 Qf3+ 38. Kg1 Qg3+ 39. Kf1 Rf8+ 40. Ke2 Qg2+ $19) (37. Qxg4 Rxe3 38. Rh6
Qf3+ 39. Qxf3 Nxf3 $11) 37... Qxf4 38. exf4 Re3 39. Bf1 Ne6 40. Rxg6+ Kf7 41.
Rxg4 Re1 $11) 35. Qxg4 Kg7 36. Rh5 $1 {[%cal Rh5f5] Due to the threat Rf5
Black can't maintain his blockade on f4} Bxe3 (36... Kf6 37. Qh4+ g5 38. Qg4
$16 (38. Qh3 $16)) 37. fxe3 Nf8 ({More active was} 37... Rf8 $5 38. Rf5 Qe7 39.
Re5 Qf6 40. Qg3 $14 (40. Qxg6+ Qxg6+ 41. Bxg6 Nxd4 $11)) 38. Rh3 (38. Qg5 Qf6
39. Qh6+ Kg8 40. Rh3 Re7 41. Rf3 Qg7 $14) 38... Kg8 $6 $138 {Now Black's
coordination gets disrupted even more.} (38... Qf6 $142 39. Rf3 Qd6 40. Qh4 Re6
$5 41. Rh3 Rf6 42. e4 Qf4 (42... dxe4 $2 43. Bc4 $18) 43. Qxf4 Rxf4 $14) 39.
Rf3 Qe6 40. Qf4 (40. Qg3 $16 {[%cal Yd3c2,Ye3e4,Rd3f5] /\Bf5,Bc2,e4|^}) 40...
Kg7 ({Not ideal, somewhat better and more resilient was} 40... Qe7 $16) 41. b3
$6 {[%cal Yc3c4] /\c4} ({Strategically sound, but} 41. Rh3 $142 Qf6 42. Qh6+
Kg8 43. Bxg6 $1 $16 {/+- wins a healthy P.}) 41... Qe7 (41... b5 $6 42. Rh3)
42. c4 Rd8 43. Rh3 (43. c5 $1 {()}) 43... Rd6 44. Qh6+ Kg8 (44... Kf7 $142 45.
cxd5 cxd5 46. Rf3+ Kg8 (46... Rf6 $2 47. Qg5 Rxf3 48. Qxd5+ $18) 47. e4 g5 $1
48. Qh5 Kg7 49. exd5 (49. e5 $2 Rh6 50. Qg4 Ne6 $36) 49... Ng6 (49... Rh6 50.
d6 $1 Rxd6 51. Rg3 Rd5 52. Rh3 $16) 50. Kf2 $14 {/+/-}) 45. cxd5 cxd5 46. e4 $1
$16 {This break wins more space and gives White a permanent strategic
advantage due to his superior P-structure.} Qg7 47. Qe3 Qe7 (47... dxe4 $2 48.
Bc4+ Ne6 49. Qxe4 $18) 48. e5 {[%csl Rd5,Ge5,Rg6]} Rc6 49. Qh6 Qg7 50. Qh4 a6 (
50... Ne6 51. Qg4 {[%cal Yg2f2,Yf2e3] /\Kf2-e3 forces the N back sooner or
later anyway.}) 51. Rf3 Qd7 {Black must temporize.} (51... g5 52. Qh5 Ng6 53.
Bxg6 Qxg6 54. Qxg6+ Rxg6 55. Kg3 $18) 52. b4 $5 b5 53. a3 Qc7 54. Kg3 Kg7 55.
Bb1 $1 {Getting ready to target ><d5.} Nh7 56. Ba2 $6 (56. Kg2 $142 $1) 56...
Qd7 $6 ({The only chance was} 56... Rc1 $1 57. Bxd5 Ng5 $14 {/<=> , but after
about 5 hours of play it's very difficult to find such computer-like ideas.})
57. Bb3 Rc1 58. Kh2 Rb1 59. Bc2 Rb2 60. Rc3 $18 {[%csl Rb2] Now the Rb2 is cut
off and White is virtually winning...} Qf7 61. Kg3 (61. e6 $1 Qxe6 62. Rc7+ Kf8
63. Qh6+ (63. Qxh7 Qe2+ 64. Kg3 Rb3+ $1 65. Bxb3 Qe3+ 66. Kg4 Qe4+ 67. Kg5 Qf5+
$11 68. Kh6 $4 Qh5#) 63... Ke8 64. Qxh7 $18 {and now there is no perpetual, as
Black's K doesn't control g7 anymore.}) 61... Nf8 62. Rf3 Qe6 63. Qd8 $2 (63.
Rf6 Qe8 (63... Qg8 64. Rf2 Nh7 (64... Qe6 65. Rh2 Kf7 66. Qh8 Ke7 67. Qg7+ $18
{/\} Qf7 68. Qxf7+ Kxf7 69. Bxg6+) 65. Qe7+ Kh8 66. Qd6 $18) 64. Rf2 Ra2 (64...
Qe6 65. Rh2 $18 {-63...Qg8}) 65. Qf6+ Kg8 66. Qd6 $5 (66. Bb3 Rxa3 67. Rf3 Rxb3
68. Rxb3 Ne6 69. Kf2 $1 $18) 66... Rxa3+ 67. Kh2 Ne6 (67... Rc3 68. Bb3 $1 $18)
68. Rf6 Ra2 69. Rxe6 Rxc2+ 70. Kg3 Rc3+ 71. Kh4 g5+ 72. Kxg5 Rg3+ 73. Kf4 Rf3+
74. Kg4 $1 (74. Kg5 $2 Rf5+ 75. Kxf5 Qh5+ $11) (74. Kxf3 $2 Qh5+) 74... Qf8 (
74... Qf7 75. Qd8+ Kh7 76. Qh4+ Kg8 77. Qg5+ Kf8 78. Qh6+) 75. Qxf8+ Rxf8 76.
Rxa6 $18) 63... Nd7 64. Rf2 $2 (64. Bd3 $5 Rb3 65. Be2 $16 {still keeps
White's winning chances alive.}) 64... Ra2 {Now Black has enough <=>, as
White's K is vulnerable as well.} 65. Kh2 (65. Rh2 $2 Rxa3+ 66. Kf2 Qf7+ 67.
Ke1 Ra1+ 68. Bd1 Nf8 $17) 65... Qg4 $11 (65... Nxe5 66. dxe5 (66. Qf8+ Kh7 67.
dxe5 Qxe5+ 68. Kh3 Rxa3+ 69. Rf3 Qh5+ 70. Kg2 Qg5+ $11) 66... Qxe5+ 67. Kh1 (
67. Kg2 Rxc2 68. Qf8+ Kh7 69. Rxc2 Qe4+ 70. Kf1 Qxc2 71. Qe7+ $11 {and already
White has to give a perpetual.}) 67... Qh5+ 68. Kg2 Qg4+ $11) 66. Qe7+ Kh6 67.
Qd8 (67. Qe8 Qh4+ $11 {is the same.}) (67. e6 $4 Rxa3 $19) 67... Qh5+ 68. Kg2
Qg4+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "POL-chT 66th"]
[Site "Katowice"]
[Date "2010.09.09"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Baklan, Vladimir"]
[Black "Navara, David"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2621"]
[BlackElo "2722"]
[Annotator "Stohl/Primel,D"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2010.09.04"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2016"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.10.08"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.10.08"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Lublin"]
[BlackTeam "Katowice Szopienice"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "POL"]
[BlackTeamCountry "POL"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nf5 $5
{Une vieille idée de Miles qui a connu un regain de popularité récemment} (
7... Nxe5 {La grande ligne}) 8. Nf3 (8. c3 Nxe5 9. Rxe5 d6 10. Re1 O-O 11. d4
d5 12. Nd2 c6 13. Nf3 Nh4 14. Nxh4 Bxh4 15. Bd3 Bf6 16. Bf4 Re8 17. Qh5 g6 18.
Qf3 Bd7 19. Rxe8+ Qxe8 20. Bd2 Bg7 21. Re1 Qf8 22. Qg3 Re8 23. Rxe8 Qxe8 24.
Kf1 Qc8 25. Qd6 Bf8 26. Qe5 Bg7 27. Qd6 Bf8 28. Qe5 Bg7 29. Qd6 {1/2-1/2 (29)
Inarkiev,E (2706)-Aronian,L (2770) Sochi 2015}) 8... O-O 9. d4 d5 10. g3 $5 {
L'ukrainien avait joué plusieurs parties sur cette variante en 2010} (10. c3
Bd6 {Carlsen,M (2826)-Anand,V (2800) Nanjing Pearl Spring 3rd 2010 (7) 1/2})
10... Bf6 {[%csl Rd4]} (10... Bd6 11. Nc3 Nfe7 {Baklan,V (2654)-Grandelius,N 
(2515) Reykjavik op 2010 (9) 1-0}) (10... Re8 11. Nc3 Be6 {Baklan,V (2654)
-Buhmann,R (2591) AUT-chT 0910 2009 (4.3) 1-0}) 11. c3 Nd6 (11... Re8 $11 {
the tension should gradually dissipate. (Stohl)}) 12. Ne5 Re8 13. Nxc6 {
Curieusement alors que cette partie n'était pas dans les bases ni publiée
par TWIC, elle a fait l'objet d'une tentative d'amélioration quelques
semaines plus tard face à l'ancien Champion du Monde TOPLAOV.} (13. Bf4 Bf5
14. Nd2 g5 15. Nxc6 bxc6 16. Be3 Bg6 17. Bh3 Rb8 18. b4 h5 19. Nb3 Nc4 20. Nc5
Qd6 21. Nd7 Nxe3 22. fxe3 Rbd8 23. Nc5 Ra8 24. Bg2 Re7 25. e4 dxe4 26. Nxe4
Bxe4 27. Rxe4 Rae8 28. Rxe7 Rxe7 29. Qf3 Bxd4+ 30. Kh1 g4 31. Qd3 Bg7 32. Qc4
Qd2 33. Rf1 Qxc3 34. Qxc6 Qxc6 35. Bxc6 Bd4 36. h3 gxh3 37. Kh2 Kg7 38. Kxh3
Kg6 39. Rf4 Be5 40. Re4 Kg5 41. a4 f6 42. Re3 Re6 {Leon Hoyos,M (2570)-Topalov,
V (2786) Mexico City 2010 0-1}) 13... Rxe1 14. Qxe1 bxc6 15. Nd2 a5 $1 {
[%cal Ga5a4] Malgré la structure, les Noirs n'ont pas de problème et ils
vont lentement égaliser} 16. Nb3 {[%csl Gc5]} Ne4 $1 {[%csl Rc3][%cal Ga5a4,
Ga4a3] Empêche Nb3c5 et les Noirs menacent la poussée a4} 17. Nd2 (17. Be3 $6
a4 $36 {[%csl Rb2,Rb3,Rc3]}) 17... Ng5 18. h4 Ne6 19. Nf3 c5 20. Be3 cxd4 $11
21. Nxd4 Ba6 22. Bg2 Nxd4 {Début d'une phase de simplification qui va aplanir
la position} 23. Bxd4 Bxd4 24. cxd4 a4 25. Rc1 Rb8 $132 {[%csl Rb2]} 26. Rc5 $6
Bc4 {[%csl Rb2,Rc5]} 27. b3 axb3 28. axb3 Bxb3 29. Qe5 Qd6 30. Bxd5 Qxe5 31.
dxe5 Bxd5 32. Rxd5 Kf8 (32... Rc8 {[%cal Gc7c1]}) 33. Rd7 $1 {[%csl Rf7,Rf8]}
Rc8 34. Kf1 h5 $1 (34... Ke8 $6 35. e6 $1 {[%cal Gd7g7]}) 35. Ke2 g6 36. Ke3 c5
37. Kd3 Ra8 (37... Ke8) 38. Rc7 Ra2 39. Ke3 Ra3+ 40. Kf4 Ra4+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "EU-Cup 27th"]
[Site "Rogaska Slatina"]
[Date "2011.10.01"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Sutovsky, Emil"]
[Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2690"]
[BlackElo "2707"]
[Annotator "Sutovsky,E"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2011.09.25"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "SLO"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 145"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.11.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.11.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "SOCAR"]
[BlackTeam "Baden-Baden"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "AZE"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

{The game was played in the last round of the European Club Cup. Baden-Baden
was leading, and my team, Socar, needed to win in order to fight for the gold
medals. Such a tense situation guaranteed fighting chess on all the boards.
And indeed, all six games were decisive - Socar won 4:2. Here is my effort
against Arkady Naiditsch.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {That was expected.
Nowadays, I encounter the Berlin in every second game I play with White. Even
people who never play 1...e5 tend to choose it facing me. As for Arkady - it's
his main weapon against 1.e4, so I just had to be well-prepared for the
different Berlin setups.} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8.
Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ne7 10. Nc3 h6 {One of the popular systems, favoured by
Naiditsch and Bacrot. In my opinion, it is a bit too slow, and White has time
to put his pieces on the optimal squares.} 11. Rd1+ Ke8 12. Bf4 Ng6 13. Bh2 (
13. Bg3 {was played in a similiar position in the game Carlsen-Naiditsch.
However, the retreat to h2 seems to be more logical, because it doesn't come
under attack after the typical ...h6-h5. As for the eventual possibility of
the back-rank mate... Well, it is too eventual to be taken seriously.}) 13...
Bb4 14. Ne2 a6 (14... Bd7 15. Nfd4 Bc5 16. e6 Bxe6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bxc7 {
was better for White in Leko-Ponomariov, although Ruslan managed to hold it.
Arkady's move looks quite logical, as he wants to meet Nd4 with c6-c5, but...})
15. Nfd4 $1 Be7 ({Now} 15... c5 {is strongly met by} 16. a3 $1 (16. Nb3 c4 17.
Nbd4 Ke7 {and Black manages to consolidate.}) 16... Ba5 17. b4 Bb6 (17... cxb4
18. axb4 Bxb4 19. Nb5 $1) 18. bxc5 (18. Nb3 cxb4 19. axb4 Ke7 20. Ned4 $14)
18... Bxc5 19. a4 {and Black still has some problems.}) 16. e6 {The most
direct approach.} ({Another possibility was} 16. c4 $5 {and after} c5 17. Nc2 {
the white knight heads to d5.}) 16... c5 17. Nf5 Bf6 18. Bxc7 Bxe6 19. Neg3 h5
(19... Kf8 20. Nd6 Bxb2 21. Rab1 Bd4 22. Rxb7 Kg8 {was probably the lesser
evil, although my intuition (supported by Houdini's evaluation) says, that
White has a rather serious advantage here.}) 20. Bb6 {Forcing matters.} ({
I considered also} 20. Ne3 h4 21. Ne4 {but found it a bit slow. Admittedly, my
silicon friend disagrees, promising White quite a significant advantage in
this line.}) 20... Bxb2 21. Nd6+ Kf8 22. Rab1 Bd4 (22... Be5 23. Bxc5 b5 $1 24.
Nxb5+ Kg8 {is a computer recommendation. Still, after 25.Nd6 or 25.Nd4 Black's
life is far from easy.}) 23. c3 Bxc3 24. Bxc5 Kg8 {A very interesting point.
Here I had to choose between the move in the text and 25.Nge4. After 25.Nge4
Be5 26.Rb7 he could play 26...f6, and I didn't see anything decisive. On the
other hand, I saw that after 25.Rb7 he has a powerful defensive resource. But
it felt so natural just to take back on a2...} 25. Rxb7 (25. Nge4 Be5 26. Rxb7
{was objectively stronger, but in my calculations I couldn't find that after}
f6 {White just plays} 27. a3 {or 27.a4, retaining a tangible advantage.}) 25...
Bxa2 {Without any hesitation. In fact, Black had a very strong defence:} (25...
h4 $1 26. Nge4 Rh5 $1 27. Be3 Be5 $1 28. Ng5 Bxa2 {and although the black
pieces are spread all over the board, he retains a dynamic equality.}) 26. Nge4
Be5 27. Ng5 Rd8 {Natural and... losing.} ({Black's only chance was} 27... f6
28. Ngf7 Bxf7 29. Nxf7 Rh7 {Understandably, Naiditsch wanted to avoid such a
cramped position, but the continuation in the game just loses.}) 28. Rd2 $1 {
Probably he missed this one.} Bxd6 ({The natural} 28... Be6 {loses on the spot
to} 29. Ndxf7 $1 Rxd2 30. Nxe5 {and mate is inevitable.}) 29. Rxd6 Re8 {
Here I spent some 15 minutes and found the clear path to win.} 30. Rxa6 Bd5 31.
Rd7 Be6 32. Rda7 Bd5 33. Rd6 {Just to gain a bit more time on the clock.} Be6
34. Rda6 Bd5 35. Rxg6 $1 fxg6 36. Bd4 Rh7 (36... Kf8 37. Bxg7+ Kg8 38. Bd4 $1 {
is equally hopeless for Black.}) 37. h4 $1 {White is in no hurry. I should
bring my king closer to the action, and only then, it will the time be ripe.}
Kh8 38. Rd7 Bg8 39. Kh2 Rf8 40. Kg3 Bb3 {Loses at once.} ({However, after} 
40... Re8 41. f3 {Black gets in a zugzwang anyway.}) 41. Nxh7 Kxh7 42. Rxg7+
Kh6 43. Rb7 Bf7 44. Rc7 $1 {44.f4 wins as well, but it's a good idea to avoid
committal moves in the endgame.} Rd8 45. Bf6 Rf8 46. Bc3 $1 {Now the bishop
can't be attacked, and Black finds himself in a deadly zugzwang.} g5 47. hxg5+
Kg6 48. Rc6+ Kxg5 49. Bf6+ Kf5 50. Bg7 1-0

[Event "EU-Cup 30th"]
[Site "Bilbao"]
[Date "2014.09.16"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Sutovsky, Emil"]
[Black "Ragger, Markus"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2632"]
[BlackElo "2657"]
[Annotator "Sutovsky,E"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2014.09.14"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 163"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.11.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.11.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Odlar Yurdu"]
[BlackTeam "Solingen"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "AZE"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Markus has recently started to employ Berlin.
Well, as Dmitry Jakovenko puts it - why to study anything else, if there is a
Berlin? I'd respectfully disagree with such an opinion. Yes, objectively Black
is OK, but White has a lot of different ideas and set-ups that must be met
with a great precision. So, my advice to the younger generation: don't avoid
Berlin, analyse it on board along with the computer analysis, and prepare 3-4
different set-ups for White. At the end of the day, if you will exhaust all
the ideas (which is hardly possible), you can start playing it with Black!} 4.
O-O {Of course! Although 4.d3 served me well for quite some time, and even
allowed to beat the-then World Champion, Vladimir Kramnik, I keep believing in
the most principled lines.} Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+
Kxd8 9. Rd1+ {Nowadays, 9.h3 is the most popular line. It has to be said, that
the first GM-game in the 9.h3 system belongs to yours truly (Sutovsky-Kalod,
2009) - after developing the whole concept of the early kingside expansion
together with Andrey Volokitin, I have played many games in that line, and the
results were not too bad, but as it was mentioned above - finding new ideas
and move orders is essential fighting the Wall.} Ke8 10. Nc3 Ne7 11. h3 Ng6 {
As expected, Markus is well-prepared, and here I opted for the rarely played
move -} 12. b3 Be7 13. Bb2 a5 {One of the typical plans - but not the
strongest move according to the theory. The critical one is 13...f6, where
white needs to come up with some powerful ideas in order to pose any serious
problems. But if he does, then Black got to be very resourceful to get out of
it.} 14. Re1 {Another typical motif. It is a bit surprising to see this move
to be the strongest in many similar positions.} Be6 (14... Bb4 {is what Black
would have loved to play, but after} 15. e6 Bxe6 16. Nd4 {Black's defensive
task will be really unpleasant.}) 15. Nd4 Bb4 {Now if Black will be in time to
take on c3 and stabilize, he can hold. But...} 16. Re4 {very concrete, but
possibly not the strongest.} ({The more subtle} 16. Re3 Bxc3 17. Rxc3 {
preventing any ideas with c6-c5} a4 18. Rd1 axb3 19. axb3 Ke7 20. Bc1 {is
clearly better for White, although after} Rhd8 21. Bg5+ f6 22. exf6+ gxf6 23.
Be3 Kf7 {I'd rather bet on draw.}) 16... Bxc3 17. Bxc3 Bd5 {And this natural
move is a serious mistake.} ({Markus had to go for} 17... c5 $1 18. Nxe6 (18.
Nb5 Kd7 {is a typical dream scenario for Black}) 18... fxe6 19. Rd1 Ne7 {
where Black is very solid, even if slightly worse.}) 18. Rg4 {That was
tempting, although 18.Ree1 was not less strong.} Rg8 19. Rd1 $1 {The best move,
preparing for the following sequence.} a4 20. Bb4 Rd8 (20... b6 21. e6 {
the most typical way to deal with Black's threats in such a position.} Bxe6 22.
Nxe6 fxe6 23. Re4 c5 24. Bc3 axb3 25. axb3 Ke7 {it seems like Black parried
all the threats, but here comes the second avalanche.} 26. Rde1 Nf8 27. f4 {
the position is surprisingly unpleasant for Black. If you disagree with such
an evaluation, give a position a deeper look :)}) 21. e6 {Finally!} b6 (21...
Bxe6 22. Re1 axb3 23. axb3 Kd7 24. Nxe6 fxe6 25. g3 $1 (25. Rd4+ Kc8 26. Rxd8+
Rxd8 27. Rxe6 Nf4 {lets Black to activate his pieces, although it may be still
insufficient - after 28.Re4 White has a very good chances to convert his edge.}
) 25... Ne7 26. Rd4+ Kc8 27. Rxd8+ Kxd8 28. Rxe6 Nd5 29. Bd2 Kd7 30. Re5 {
and Black will suffer till the end of the game - and I am far from being sure
this suffer will be rewarded...}) 22. Nxc6 $1 {I spent a lot of time here,
trying to properly evaluate the ensuing ending. It actually turns out to be
winning!} Bxc6 23. Rxd8+ Kxd8 24. exf7 Rh8 25. bxa4 {It may be not necessary,
but in principle, you should always consider to break your own pawns' chain,
while having an advantage in the endgame - then you will have more
possibilities for a breakthrough!} Bxa4 26. Bc3 Bd7 27. Rxg6 hxg6 28. Bxg7 Ke7
29. Bxh8 Kxf7 {Now, that's winning. If I had the pawn on h4, it could be a
draw, as I can't create passed connected pawns on the kingside.} 30. g4 b5 31.
a3 Ke6 32. f4 {Wrong in principle. First the king should be getting to g3, and
then choosing between Kf4 and Kh4. Probably , White is still winning after the
move in the text, but Kg2 was still stronger!} Kd5 33. Kf2 c5 34. c3 {Another
time-trouble move. Of course, I should not have worried about b5-b4, and just
play Kg3. Even if I were to lose my c2-pawn, I'd be quicker in any pawn race,
and an option to sacrifice a bishop was always there. But the clock was
counting seconds and I made the most solid move. It made no difference this
time, but as a rule one should always consider sacrificing such a pawns in
order to get an extra tempo.} Ke4 {Wrong direction. But it seems like black is
lost anyways:} (34... Ke6 35. c4 $1 {remember this idea to disconnect the
pawns? Here it tells!} b4 36. axb4 cxb4 37. Kg3 Bc6 38. Bb2 b3 39. Bc3) (34...
c4 35. Kg3) (34... Bc6 35. Kg3 Ke6 36. c4 $1) 35. Kg3 Be6 36. Be5 Bc4 37. Kh4
Bf1 {The only chance, but this attempt is refuted easily.} 38. Bd6 c4 (38...
Kd5 39. Be7 c4 40. f5 {is again easily winning.}) 39. f5 (39. Kg5 Bxh3 40. Bb4
$1 {is a cute alternative - White wins thanks to zugzwang!}) 39... gxf5 40. g5
Kd5 41. g6 $1 Ke6 42. Kg5 Bxh3 43. Kh6 f4 44. g7 {Berlin is alive, of course,
but so does chess! And of course, the ensuing endgame positions are full of
play and actually not as boring as they may look!} 1-0

[Event "Tata Steel-A 81st"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2019.01.26"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Fedoseev, Vladimir1"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2724"]
[BlackElo "2777"]
[Annotator "Svidler,P"]
[PlyCount "138"]
[EventDate "2019.01.12"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 188"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2018.12.21"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.12.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{This game was played in the penultimate round of the tournament - in terms of
results, an easy frontrunner for the worst tournament of Vladimir Kramnik's
life. He lost half of the first ten games, with no wins - all the while
completely determined to not allow himself back to the comfort zone of playing
'correct chess'. We've seen this from him before, but this time around, it
utterly failed to work. Knowing what we know now, it's much easier to
understand what he was trying to do, but watching (and commenting on) it live
was a very weird and jarring experience - a player I greatly admired
throughout my career seemingly losing his way. As a slight uptick in his
fortunes, he won in Rd 11, and in the game you have before you, he was playing
an opponent perhaps uniquely suited for him - Vladimir Fedoseev is also a
player who tries his damnedest to stir things up in every game he plays.} 1. e4
e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 {In most other cases, this
would be very bad news - the Re1 Anti Berlin is perhaps the driest of all the
trendiest openings. However, you could trust these two not to keep it buttoned
up for very long.} 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re2 $5 {
This move has been briefly made famous by Magnus playing it vs Karjakin in
their WC match - and then, somewhat surprisingly, it stayed silent for much of
2017, with no real traction among the top players. However, it is currently
enjoying a bit of a revival - MVL played it in the World R&B in 2017, and
Karjakin himself, Vitiugov, Navara, and Fedoseev himself employed it in 2018 -
with very good results.} Nc4 {The move chosen by Kramnik is also very sensible.
Black uses the fact that the c4 square is available temporarily to make sure
White doesn't have the d4-d5 options available to him, and establishes the
typical symmetry in the center. The knight will go to b6, and from there can
be rerouted to a number of posts.} (10... Nf5 11. d5 d6 12. Nd2 Bg5 13. c3 Bd7
14. Ne4 Bxc1 15. Rxc1 Nh4 16. Qd2 Ng6 {was seen in Vachier Lagrave-Wang Hao,
Riadh 2017}) ({But the main move remains} 10... b6 11. Re1 {, and now Black
chooses between and} Bb7 (11... Re8 12. Bf4 Rxe1 13. Qxe1 Qe7 14. Nc3 Bb7 15.
Qd2 $5 (15. Qxe7 Bxe7 16. a4 a6 {as in Carlsen,M (2857)-Karjakin,S (2769) New
York 2016 should be fine for Black, although Magnus was close to winning later
in the game}) 15... Ne4 16. Nxe4 Qxe4 17. Bxc7 Qxd4 18. Qxd4 Bxd4 19. c3 Rc8
20. Bf4 Bf6 21. a4 d5 22. Be3 {, and White was a bit better in Navara-Sargsyan,
Batumi 2018}) 12. Bf4 (12. c3 Bg5 13. Na3 Bxc1 14. Qxc1 Qh4 {, and Black was
very comfortable in Karjakin-Nakamura, Kolkata 2018}) 12... Ne4 {, which looks
the most natural. White scored 2.5/3 in the recent games, but I feel it's not
entirely to do with the results of the opening:} 13. Nd2 (13. c3 Bg5 14. Qc1
Bxf4 15. Qxf4 Qf6 16. Qxf6 Nxf6 17. f3 {- White eventually won in
Vitiugov-Ragger, Germany 2018, but Black has to be completely fine here}) (13.
Be3 Re8 14. Nd2 d6 15. Bd3 Qd7 16. Nf1 c5 $11 {Fedoseev,V (2724)-Karjakin,S 
(2763) Moscow 2018}) 13... Re8 14. c3 d6 15. Bb5 Re7 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 17. d5 Bf5
18. Bc6 Rb8 19. Qa4 a5 20. Bd2 Bd7 21. Rxe7 Bxc6 22. Qxc6 Bxe7 23. Re1 $14 {
1-0 (36) Fedoseev,V (2719)-Vokhidov,S (2480) St Petersburg 2018}) 11. b3 Nb6
12. c3 (12. a4 {is well met by} Nd5 $1 (12... d5 13. a5 Nd7 14. c3 Be7 15. Ba3
Bxa3 16. Nxa3 Nf6 17. f3 {is also not horrible, but you can make an argument
this is about as much as you can hope for in this line:}) 13. Re1 d6 $11) (12.
Nc3 d5 13. Ba3 Re8 14. Rxe8+ Qxe8 15. Qd2 Bf5 16. Re1 Qd7 $11) 12... d5 13. Re1
{It feels a bit sad to spend this tempo if White will have to take on e8 next,
but the rook just doesn't belong on e2.} Re8 14. Rxe8+ Qxe8 15. a4 Be6 (15...
Bf5 {was also perfectly fine. However, there is not a lot to be said about
this position is things go according to 'norm'. White generally develops the
c1 bishop to f4, the knight goes to d2 and f3, and the only open file provides
for further simplifications. However, doing things quietly wasn't high on the
list of priorities for this game.}) 16. Na3 {This doesn't create any lasting
harm, but objectively I do believe something along the lines of} (16. Bf4 Qd7
17. Nd2 Nc8 18. Nf3 Nd6 {, and things are very level, was a wiser choice.})
16... Nc8 17. Bf4 Qd7 18. Bd3 (18. Nb5 Bd8 {achieves nothing, and White
changes tack.}) 18... c6 19. Nc2 Ne7 20. Qd2 (20. Ne3 {would be a logical
follow up, but it allows} c5 {, and Black is instantly fine}) 20... Bf5 {
I think it's possible to take some stock here. Black has achieved the exact
thing he aims to in these positions - he either trades the light squared
bishops, or forces White to give up the b1-h7 diagonal - and he will have the 
(slightly) better of the remaining bishops. White is still fine, but you can
see the outlines of how Black will be playing for a win later,.} 21. Nb4 {
Swinging this knight over to d3 seems sensible, but resolving the issue of the
f4 bishop should probably take precedence. It's notable that the computer
begins suggesting to move it all the way to a3, for instance:} (21. Bxf5 Qxf5
22. g3 $5 {preemptively safeguarding the kingside from the jumps of the g6
knight} (22. Re1 {(or} Ng6 23. Bd6 h5 24. g3 h4 25. Ba3 h3 26. Ne3) 22... Ng6
23. Bd6 Rd8 24. Ba3 Bg5 25. Qe2 {, and with the bishop out of the way, White
can fight for the control over the e file - or trade along it.}) 21... Ng6 22.
Bg3 ({Sadly, trading all the bishops off is not an options anymore:} 22. Bg5 $2
a5 $1 23. Bxf6 axb4 24. Bg5 bxc3 25. Qxc3 Bxd3 26. Qxd3 Qg4 {and Black is
significantly better.}) 22... Re8 23. a5 h5 24. h3 h4 25. Bh2 {Another five
moves, and Black has assumed control, but the big issue remains - the
structure is so symmetrical, and the material so limited, that it's hard to
make any significant progress.} Bxd3 ({An interesting little turning point. It
makes definite sense to start with} 25... a6 {, and there will be lines where
the a5 pawn will cause White issues, but it also locks the queenside
completely. After} 26. Bxf5 (26. Re1 $2 {would be a mistake:} Rxe1+ 27. Qxe1
Bd8 $1 {, and White's in trouble} 28. Bxf5 Qxf5 29. Qe8+ Kh7 30. Qxd8 Qb1#)
26... Qxf5 27. Nd3 {White will never have any real active ideas - the knight
on d3 needs to watch for the incursions via the f4 square, and won't really
reach c5 - but there is no way to make inroads, and White should hold
comfortably.}) 26. Nxd3 (26. Qxd3 Bg5 {is not an improvement.}) 26... Qf5 27.
a6 {And Fedoseev bites. This move has obvious merits - in endgames the fixed
pawn on a7 and ideas of Bb8 will be important sources of counterplay - but it
also gives Black new ideas, c6-c5 in particular.} ({After} 27. Qd1 Bg5 28. Ra2
{Black would still struggle to come up with a plan.}) 27... b6 28. Bd6 ({
You can understand why Fedoseev didn't want to wait passively, but the
inclusion of a6 and b6 gave him an option of going for forced lines:} 28. Re1
Rxe1+ 29. Nxe1 {would still hold:} Qc8 (29... Qb1 30. Bb8 Qa1 31. Qe2 b5 32.
Kh2 {- a typical idea here, White is more interested in activating his pieces
than in keeping immediate material balance} Qxa6 33. Qe8+ Kh7 34. Qxf7 Qa2 35.
Nf3 {, and White is fine now that all of his pieces are in play.}) 30. Qe2 b5
31. Nf3 Qxa6 32. Qe8+ Kh7 33. Be5 Qb7 34. b4 {, and once again the piece
activity easily compensates for the loss of the a pawn.}) 28... Bg5 29. Qd1 Qe4
{Black is fully extended, but he's still struggling to make inroads. However,
with time trouble encroaching, White starts to go astray.} 30. Ra2 {A logical
move, but also one that creates a temporary issue with the back rank.} Qe6 $1 {
A very unpleasant move to be facing in time trouble.} 31. Bc7 $2 ({It was easy
to see that} 31. Bh2 {is bad because it allows} c5 $1) ({However, steeling
yourself to play} 31. Qg4 $1 {is not easy. It would have held, though: after
the queen trade the bishop on d6 becomes very good, and} Qxd6 32. Qxg5 Re4 33.
Ra1 $1 {is also fine - White is in time to start fighting for the e-file, and
force more trades.}) 31... c5 $1 {Now White is in real trouble. The bishop on
c7 is badly misplaced, and White is struggling to re-establish coordination.
The immediate threat is 32...Bf6, and the White center will start crumbling.
You also need to watch out for c4 ideas.} 32. Qg4 (32. dxc5 bxc5 33. Nxc5 Qc6 {
loses on the spot.}) 32... Qe7 33. dxc5 ({Perhaps White hoped to play} 33. Bd6
{here, but it runs into} Qxd6 34. Qxg5 c4 $1 35. bxc4 dxc4 36. Qb5 Qe6 $1 37.
Nb4 Nf4 {, and White is under severe pressure on the abandoned kingside.})
33... bxc5 34. Ba5 {This natural move ought to have lost the game quite
quickly, but even after the best} (34. Ra1 $1 Bd2 $1 35. Ba5 $8 Ne5 36. Qf5
Nxd3 37. Qxd3 Bf4 $1 38. Rf1 Qe6 {White is in a lot of pain:} 39. b4 c4 40. Qd4
Bb8 41. Qxh4 Qxa6 {, and the bishop on a5 is a sorry sight.}) 34... Ne5 35.
Nxe5 (35. Qd1 Nxd3 36. Qxd3 Qe1+ 37. Qf1 Bf6 $1 {is hardly an improvement -
the bishop is once again totally out of play, and Black should win comfortably}
38. Ra1 Qe4) 35... Qxe5 36. Ra1 Re6 {Very natural and strong - cutting the d7
square from the queen, improving the rook position, hitting the a6 pawn. But
mainly it's impossible to suggest a move for White.} 37. Rd1 (37. Bc7 Qxc3 $1 {
is hopeless.}) 37... Bd2 $2 {But in severe mutual time trouble, Kramnik goes
for a pretty move which gives White new hope. After the quiet} (37... Be7 $1 {
, creating the unstoppable threat of Bd6, White would be hard pressed to get
to the time control alive.}) 38. Qxh4 Rxa6 (38... Rf6 39. Bc7 $1 {this typical
idea, distracting the queen so that the bishop on d2 can be taken, saves White
here:} Qe2 40. Qg4 $1 Qxf2+ 41. Kh2 $11) 39. g3 $2 {Zeitnot mistakes continue.
Fedoseev decides he needs more breathing space for his king, using the fact
that Qd8+ indirectly protects the bishop on a5. But there is no time for that.
He needed to bring the bishop back into play asap: after} (39. Qd8+ $1 Kh7 40.
Bc7 Qe4 (40... Qe2 {is well met by} 41. Qh4+ Rh6 42. Qg4 $1 Qxg4 43. hxg4 Bxc3
44. Rxd5 $11) 41. Kh2 $1 {(once again recreating the threat of Rxd2)} Qe2 42.
Rg1 Qxf2 43. Qxd5 {White will hold.}) 39... f6 $2 {A very logical move - but a
wrong one. However, it's hard to criticize that decision since the way to
refute it is almost impossible to find on move 40, under severe pressure.} ({
Instead,} 39... Rf6 $1 {would have won on the spot - it turns out that g3 is a
fatal weakness, since the threat of Qe2 is now much much stronger.} 40. Bc7 (
40. Qg4 Be1 $1 {is a variation on the same theme}) 40... Qe2 41. Rf1 Bxc3 {
, and Black will win easily}) 40. Bc7 $2 {This looks very logical, but turns
out to lose by force - and Kramnik won't make any more mistakes. White needed
to play} (40. Qa4 $1 {- but a move like that, voluntarily pinning your own
queen, is extremely difficult to even consider. However, it turns out that
Black can't really improve here:} Qe2 (40... Re6 41. Qg4 {, and White is
suddenly fairly well coordinated}) (40... c4 41. Qd7 $1 (41. Qb5 Re6 42. bxc4
Be3 {is much riskier}) 41... Kh7 (41... cxb3 $2 42. Qc8+) (41... Rxa5 42. Qd8+)
42. Bc7 {, and once again the White pieces start to play together.}) 41. Qg4 $1
{, and the queen triumphantly returns to its best outpost, with equality.})
40... Qxc7 $1 {Seems strange at first - allowing the bishop trade that White
begged for - but the remaining two heavy pieces are enough to create a winning
mating attack.} 41. Rxd2 Ra1+ 42. Kg2 Qe5 $1 {With this move, it becomes
obvious White's pieces are too poorly placed to prevent the incursion along
the 1st rank.} 43. Qf4 $8 (43. Qg4 Qe1 44. Qc8+ Kh7 45. Qf5+ g6 $1 46. Qd7+ Kh6
{is NOT a perpetual}) 43... Qe1 44. Kf3 Qh1+ 45. Kg4 Re1 $1 {This, and the
next move, are the only winning moves Black has - but they're very logical.
The deadly threat of Re4 forces White to make further concessions.} 46. Qd6 ({
We will see the position after} 46. f3 Re5 {later.}) 46... Qe4+ {Black had an
immediate win here:} (46... Re5 $1 47. f4 d4 $3 48. Qd7 (48. cxd4 Re3 {[%emt 0:
00:09] is mate in 9 - the point of including d4 was to deny White the saving
49.Qxd5+ here}) (48. fxe5 Qe4+ 49. Kh5 Qf5+ 50. Kh4 Qg5#) 48... Qe4 {and the
king will get hunted down. But the text move spoils nothing.}) 47. Qf4 Qh1 48.
f3 {A somewhat curious decision not to repeat in a bad position - perhaps
Fedoseev had seen the Re5 f4 d4 line by that point? However, this is also very
bad.} Re5 $1 49. h4 a5 {This move, while perfectly fine, will force Black to
make a couple of precise decisions. Instead, he could have chosen} (49... Qb1
$1 {, which leads to an almost zugzwang position - White has no constructive
ideas at all, and Black will have a choice of winning by going after the king,
or picking up on b3 at his leisure}) 50. Rd3 $1 {Now the threat of Qd2 demands
attention, but Kramnik is more than equal to the task:} Kf7 $1 51. Qd2 (51. Re3
{loses to two very different things: a brute force approach - 51...g5! - wins
the rook, while} Qc1 $1 52. Rxe5 Qxf4+ 53. Kxf4 fxe5+ 54. Kxe5 c4 $1 55. bxc4
a4 $1 {creates an unstoppable passer}) 51... Kg6 $1 {Locking the king on g4
even further.} 52. Re3 $8 (52. Rxd5 f5+ 53. Kf4 Re4+ 54. fxe4 Qxe4#) 52... Rg5+
$1 53. Kf4 (53. hxg5 Qh5+ 54. Kf4 Qxg5#) 53... Rf5+ 54. Kg4 Rg5+ 55. Kf4 Qh3 $1
{After gaining some time, Kramnik goes in for the kill} 56. g4 Qxh4 57. Qc2+
Kf7 58. Re2 g6 (58... Qh3 $1 {, creating an unstoppable threat of Rxg4, was
cuter:} 59. Qb1 (59. Ke3 Rxg4) 59... Rxg4+ $1 60. fxg4 g5+ 61. Kf5 Qh7# {
But Kramnik's move is just as winning.}) 59. Qd1 Re5 60. Rxe5 Qh2+ ({Or} 60...
fxe5+ 61. Ke3 (61. Kxe5 Qf6+ $1 62. Kxd5 Qd8+) 61... d4+ 62. Ke4 Qf2 {, and
White is helpless.}) 61. Ke3 Qxe5+ 62. Kd3 {This endgame has to be winning for
Black if he plays slowly - but the ex-World Champion had a concrete idea when
aiming for it:} d4 $1 {The final blow - creating more threats before White has
time to consolidate} 63. Qd2 {Loses quite simply, but keeping the queens on
didn't give any hope either:} (63. Kc2 dxc3 64. Qd7+ Kf8 65. Qd8+ Kg7 66. Qd7+
Kh6 $19) 63... dxc3 64. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 65. Kxc3 Ke6 66. Kc4 Kd6 {As is often the
case, the side with an extra pawn wins the pawn endgame.} 67. f4 (67. Kb5 Kd5
68. Kxa5 c4 {requires no explanation.}) 67... Kc6 68. f5 gxf5 69. gxf5 Kd6 {
And once again. White resigned. A typical Kramnik game in many respects - a
solid opening, followed by subtly outplaying his opponent from a seemingly
very even position. After the horror show of the first ten rounds of Wijk 2019,
the two wins in a row brought back the memories of Vladimir's best chess.
However, Round 13 did not continue the trend - with White against Shankland,
he pressed very hard, got into trouble, then saved the game by very
resourceful defence, only to throw it all away by declining an obvious draw in
a position he must have known he had no hopes of ever winning. Covering it
live, we were completely flummoxed - why would he do that to himself? And then,
a few days after the event was over, we got our answer. Wijk aan Zee was to be
Kramnik's final classical tournament. Knowing he decided to retire before the
tournament even started, it's much easier to understand the 'all-in' approach
he stuck to throughout the event, even if watching it live was at times
difficult. The announcement also means that, unless he decided to reverse this
decision, the game you've just played thru is the last ever classical victory
Kramnik will produce - a great pity, since the chess world is much the richer
with Kramnik playing well (or, if we're honest, simply playing). It's been a
privilege to watch him play, and sometimes play alongside him - and I'm still
struggling to imagine the chess world without VK in it.} 0-1

[Event "Dortmund SuperGM 42nd"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "2014.07.19"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2789"]
[BlackElo "2743"]
[Annotator "Szabo,Kr"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2014.07.12"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 162"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 {They are both big experts in the
Berlin line.} 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 {Caruana
is still waiting for the Nc3.} Bd7 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Nc3 Kc8 {Usually Black's K
goes to the queenside. He prepares for b6, protects the d7 B and then will
play Kb7.} 12. g4 {Of course White will play on the kingside quickly.} Nh4 13.
Nxh4 Bxh4 14. Be3 $146 {A novelty by Caruana.} ({Before} 14. Ne4 {was tried} b6
15. Bg5 Bxg5 16. Nxg5 h6 17. Nxf7 (17. Ne4 {was the alternative} h5 18. f3 c5
$13 {with an unclear position.}) 17... Re8 18. f4 Rf8 19. Rxd7 Kxd7 20. f5 Ke7
21. e6 Rxf7 22. exf7 Rd8 23. Re1+ Kxf7 24. Kf2 Rd2+ 25. Re2 Rd1 $11 {with an
equal R endgame, Dominguez Perez-Navara, Linares 2013.}) 14... b6 15. Rd2 c5 (
15... h5 $5 {was also possible} 16. Rad1 (16. f3 $2 {does not work because of}
Bg3 $1 {and the e5 P is lost.}) 16... Be6 17. g5 f6 {should be an equal
endgame.}) 16. Nd5 {Caruana immediately occupies the centre with his N.} (16.
f4 $5 {was an interesting alternative.}) 16... Re8 (16... h5 $5) 17. Rad1 ({
The natural} 17. f4 {could have been met by} f6 18. exf6 Bxf6 19. Nxf6 (19. c3
h5 $1) 19... gxf6 20. Bf2 (20. Kf2 h5) 20... f5 {with an approximately equal
position.}) 17... Bc6 18. Bf4 ({In the event of} 18. f4 f6 $1 $132) 18... h6 (
18... Kb7 {was also fine.}) 19. Kg2 Kb7 20. c4 a5 ({The engine suggests} 20...
Re6 21. Re1 (21. Rd3 f6) 21... f6 22. Kf1 Rd8 {and Black looks OK.}) 21. Re1
Rad8 ({Now} 21... f6 $6 {is dubious, as} 22. e6 {and White's P is very
unpleasant for Black.}) 22. Bg3 Bxg3 ({Keeping the tension with} 22... Be7 {
looks a little bit passive} 23. f4 h5 24. Red1 hxg4 25. hxg4 Rh8 26. Kf2 Rde8
27. Nxe7 Rxe7 28. Rd8 Rxd8 29. Rxd8 {and still Black is under pressure.}) 23.
Kxg3 f6 24. f4 Re6 25. Rdd1 {White protects the e1 R, now the f6-pawn is
hanging.} fxe5 26. Rxe5 ({Of course not} 26. fxe5 $6 Rde8 27. Kf4 g5+ 28. Kf5
Bd7 {and Black is fine.}) 26... Red6 27. f5 a4 $6 {This still isn't a mistake,
but it is a little bit slow.} (27... b5 $1 {was more logical} 28. b3 Bxd5 29.
Rdxd5 (29. cxd5 Kb6 $11) 29... Rxd5 30. cxd5 ({the P endgame with} 30. Rxd5
Rxd5 31. cxd5 c4 ({or} 31... Kb6 {and Black can lose.})) 30... c4 31. bxc4 bxc4
32. Kf3 c6 {with a drawish R endgame.}) 28. Kf4 $1 {Now already White's K is
too active.} b5 29. b3 a3 (29... axb3 30. axb3 Bxd5 31. Rdxd5 Rxd5 32. cxd5 Rd7
33. h4 c4 {and White's position looks slightly better, but R endgames always
give some hope for a draw.}) 30. Ke4 ({Probably} 30. h4 $1 {was more accurate}
Bxd5 31. Rdxd5 Rxd5 32. cxd5 b4 33. g5 {and White is very fast.}) 30... b4 ({
In the event of} 30... Bxd5+ 31. Rdxd5 Rxd5 32. Rxd5 (32. cxd5 b4 $1 {and c4
is always an unpleasant threat.}) 32... Re8+ 33. Kf3 b4 (33... bxc4 34. bxc4
Re1 35. Rd3 Rc1 36. h4 Rxc4 37. g5 {and it is still not easy for Black.}) (
33... Re1 34. Rxc5) 34. h4 {transposes to the 31...Bxd5 line.}) 31. h4 R6d7 $6
({Maybe} 31... Bxd5+ $1 {was the most precise} 32. Rdxd5 (32. Rexd5 Kc6 33.
Rxd6+ cxd6 $11) 32... Rxd5 33. Rxd5 (33. cxd5 $2 {does not work because of} c4
$1) 33... Re8+ 34. Kf3 Re1 35. g5 hxg5 36. hxg5 Rf1+ 37. Kg2 Rf4 38. Kg3 Rf1
39. Rxc5 Rg1+ 40. Kh4 Rg2 41. Rb5+ Kc6 42. Rxb4 Rxa2 43. Ra4 Rh2+ 44. Kg3 Ra2 {
and Black can still hope for the draw.}) 32. Rd2 ({The computer suggests} 32.
Re6 $1 {and now} Bxd5+ {is too late, as} 33. cxd5 {and Black's position is
very unpleasant.}) 32... Rf7 ({Still} 32... Bxd5+ $1 33. Rdxd5 (33. cxd5 c6 $11
) 33... Rxd5 {transposes to 31...Bxd5.}) 33. g5 hxg5 34. hxg5 Rh8 35. Kf4 Rh1
$6 (35... Rh4+ $1 {was better} 36. Kg3 Rh1 37. Rf2 Rf8 $1 38. Ne7 Rfh8 $1 {
This is the point! Now Black is not losing.}) 36. Rf2 Rg1 37. Ne7 $1 {A strong
move. Now Black is in a difficult situation.} Bh1 $6 (37... Bd7 {was tougher,
and now} 38. g6 Rf8 39. Rd2 (39. Rxc5 $2 Re1 $1) 39... Rf1+ 40. Kg4 Be8 {
and it is still not so easy for White.}) 38. g6 $1 Rf6 39. Rxc5 Rd6 40. Rb5+
Ka6 41. Nd5 Bxd5 42. Rxd5 Rxd5 $2 {Loses immediately, but Black's position was
already difficult.} (42... Rf6 {was the best chance} 43. Ke3 Re1+ 44. Kd4 $16)
43. cxd5 $18 Kb6 44. f6 $1 gxf6 45. Kf5 Kc5 46. Kxf6 Kxd5 47. g7 c5 48. Rf5+ {
followed by Rg5, so Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "World-ch Carlsen-Anand +3-0=7"]
[Site "Chennai"]
[Date "2013.11.19"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2870"]
[BlackElo "2775"]
[Annotator "Szabo,Kr"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2013.11.09"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 158"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.01.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {This is the first time 1.e4 was played by Carlsen during the match. He
had already tried 1.Nf3 and 1.c4.} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Another Berlin
Defence! This is the 4th time in the match already, but it is the first time
from Anand with Black.} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 {A very solid decision by Carlsen.
He has 2 points advantage, the draw is good for him, so it was a logical
opening choice.} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 ({Recently
Carlsen himself played the another line with} 9... Ne8 10. d5 Bc5 (10... d6 11.
Re1 Bg5 {White has some space advantage due to his d5 P, but that's all.
Exchanging the dark-squared B is favourable for Black.} 12. Nc3 Bxc1 13. Rxc1
Nf6 14. Qd4 Bd7 15. Ne4 Re8 16. Nxf6+ Qxf6 17. Qxf6 gxf6 18. Red1 a5 19. f3 Kg7
20. Kf2 a4 21. Rd4 Ra5 22. Rcd1 Rc5 23. R1d2 Ra8 {the computer considers the
position to be slighty better for White, but in the game Black could hold his
position, Leko-Carlsen, Wijk aan Zee 2013.}) 11. Re1 d6 12. Nc3 Bf5 13. Bd3
Bxd3 14. Qxd3 Nf6 15. Na4 Re8 16. Bd2 Rxe1+ 17. Rxe1 Qd7 18. Nxc5 dxc5 19. c4
Re8 $11 {with an equal endgame, Karjakin-Carlsen, Moscow 2013.}) 10. Re1 Re8 (
10... Nf5 {is another main move.}) 11. c3 {This move shows that Carlsen is
happy with the draw.} (11. Bf4 {was the only critical move} Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 (
{The greedy} 12... Bxd4 $5 {could have been met by} 13. c3 (13. Bxd6 $5 cxd6
14. Nc3 $44 {was also interesting.}) 13... Bf6 14. Bxd6 cxd6 15. Qe4 $1 d5 $1 {
Otherwise Qd5.} 16. Qxd5 d6 17. Na3 Rb8 {and Black's two bishops give some
counterplay for his weaknesses.}) 13. Nc3 $1 {Otherwise Black can play d5 and
equalise more easily.} Bxd4 ({Now} 13... d5 $2 {is not working, as} 14. Nxd5 $1
$16) 14. Nd5 c6 (14... d6) 15. Ne7+ Kf8 16. Nxc8 Qf6 $1 17. Qb4+ c5 18. Qd2
Rxc8 19. c3 (19. Re1 g5 $1 20. Bxg5 Bxf2+ $1 21. Qxf2 Qxg5 22. Bb5 Nd6 23. Bxd7
Rd8 $11 {Guseinov-Sargissian, Warsaw 2013}) 19... Be5 20. Bxe5 Qxe5 21. Qxd7
Qc7 (21... Rc7 $11) 22. Rd1 Qxd7 23. Rxd7 Rc7 24. Rxc7 Nxc7 $11 {with a
completely drawish endgame, Kasimdzhanov-Leko, London 2012.}) 11... Rxe1 12.
Qxe1 Ne8 $1 {A typical idea. Black wants to equalise with d5.} 13. Bf4 d5 14.
Bd3 {Of course... White doesn't want to allow Bf5.} ({For example} 14. Nd2 {
could have been met by} Bf5 $1 $11) 14... g6 {Anand prepares for Ng7 then Bf5.}
15. Nd2 Ng7 16. Qe2 {White improves his pieces and he has a positional trick
too.} c6 $1 {A great deep move!} ({The immediate} 16... Bf5 {could have been
met by} 17. Bxf5 Nxf5 18. Qb5 $1 $14 {and White created some unpleasant
threats on the queenside.}) 17. Re1 $146 {Basically this is the first novelty
in the game, but in this positional line it does not determine the result.} ({
Before} 17. Be5 {was tried} Bxe5 18. Qxe5 Bf5 19. Bxf5 Nxf5 20. Re1 Qd6 21. Nb3
Qxe5 22. Rxe5 f6 23. Re2 Kf7 $11 {with a symmetrical drawish endgame,
Rozentalis-Bruzon, Montreal 2013.}) 17... Bf5 18. Bxf5 Nxf5 19. Nf3 Ng7 $1 {
Another good positional move. Anand prepares for Ne6 or sometimes in the Qd7
then Re8 plan is also useful.} 20. Be5 {Carlsen doesn't mind the exchange of
pieces.} Ne6 21. Bxf6 Qxf6 22. Ne5 Re8 23. Ng4 {Carlsen creates some threats
on the dark squares. Now Anand needs to play some exact moves.} Qd8 $1 ({
In the event of} 23... Qg7 {White has a nice initiative after} 24. Qf3 $1) 24.
Qe5 ({Now} 24. Qf3 {White can answer with} Ng5 $1 25. Nf6+ Kf8 26. Rxe8+ Qxe8
$11 {and Black is OK.}) 24... Ng7 25. Qxe8+ $1 {The only move, but it wasn't
so difficult for Carlsen. Now all the pieces will be exchanged.} ({Of course} 
25. Nf6+ $4 Qxf6 $1 $19) (25. Nh6+ $4 Kf8 $19) 25... Nxe8 26. Rxe8+ $1 Qxe8 27.
Nf6+ Kf8 28. Nxe8 Kxe8 29. f4 f5 30. Kf2 b5 31. b4 Kf7 32. h3 h6 33. h4 h5 {
A high level positional game!} 1/2-1/2

[Event "WchT 9th"]
[Site "Antalya"]
[Date "2013.12.02"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Black "Akopian, Vladimir Eduardovic"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2727"]
[BlackElo "2681"]
[Annotator "Szabo,Kr"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2013.11.26"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "TUR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 158"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.01.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Germany"]
[BlackTeam "Armenia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ARM"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Qe2 {Naiditsch employs a rare
line against the notorious Berlin.} Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Qxe5+ Qe7 8. Qa5 Qd8 9.
Qc3 ({White can draw with} 9. Qe5+ Qe7 10. Qa5 $11 {like in many games.}) 9...
Be6 10. Re1 Qd7 $146 {A novelty from Akopian.} (10... Nb5 11. Qe3 Qd5 12. Nc3
Nxc3 13. bxc3 Bc5 14. d4 Bd6 15. Ng5 O-O (15... O-O-O $5 {was more exact} 16.
Nxe6 Rhe8 {and Black looks fine.}) 16. c4 $1 Qf5 (16... Qxc4 17. Qe4 $1 g6 18.
Qh4 h5 19. Ne4 {with a great initiative for White.}) 17. c5 Be7 18. Nxe6 fxe6
19. Qxe6+ Qxe6 20. Rxe6 Bf6 21. c3 $14 {Jones-Hammer Dresden 2008.}) (10... Nf5
11. Qb3 Bd6 (11... Be7 $1 {was better} 12. Qxb7 Bd5 $1 $132 {with strong
counterplay.}) 12. Qxb7 O-O 13. Nc3 Qd7 14. Qa6 Rae8 15. Qf1 (15. Ne4 $5) 15...
Bb4 (15... c5 $5) 16. d3 Bd5 17. Rxe8 Rxe8 18. Nxd5 cxd5 19. c3 Bd6 20. Bd2 $14
{Adamson-V.Mikhalevski, Philadelphia 2008. with a healthy P up for White,}) 11.
Ng5 O-O-O 12. Nxe6 fxe6 $6 {Black accepts the corrupting of his P structure.} (
12... Re8 $1 {would have been better,} 13. Qh3 (13. Qb3 Nf5 $1 14. d3 Nd4 15.
Qa4 Rxe6 16. Rxe6 Qxe6 17. Be3 Qg4 $1 18. Nc3 Nf3+ 19. Kh1 Qxa4 20. Nxa4 Nh4
$11 {with a drawish endgame.}) 13... g6 $1 {a cheeky and a resourceful move!
Black prepares for Nf5 followed by Rxe6, because he doesn't want to mess up
his P structure.} (13... Rxe6 14. Rxe6 Qxe6 15. Qxe6+ fxe6 16. d3 $14 {and
White's P structure is much better.}) 14. d3 Nf5 15. Nc3 Rxe6 16. Rxe6 Qxe6 $11
{and Black equalised.}) 13. d3 Be7 14. Nd2 Bf6 15. Qb3 Nf5 16. Ne4 Be7 (16...
Qd5 17. Bd2 $14) 17. Bd2 $14 {White has a very comfortable position. He has
finished his development, his N has a very strong base on e4 and the P
structure is also favourable for White.} Qd5 18. Bc3 Rhe8 19. Re2 {White can
improve his pieces more easily.} b5 (19... c5 {was better, for example} 20.
Rae1 Nd4 21. Bxd4 Qxb3 22. axb3 cxd4 {and Black tries to hold.}) 20. Ng3 (20.
Nd2 $5 {was also interesting} Bf6 21. Nf3 $14 {with also a small advantage for
White.}) 20... Nxg3 $6 {Only helps White.} ({In the event of} 20... Bf6 21.
Rae1 Nd4 22. Bxd4 Qxd4 23. Rxe6 Rxe6 24. Qxe6+ Kb7 {Black looks very active,
but} 25. Rb1 $14 {followed by Ne4 and White has a healthy P up.}) 21. hxg3 Bf6
22. Bxf6 $1 gxf6 23. Qc3 $1 {Suddenly the position is changed. White gave up
his strong N's position, because he wants to attack on the queenside with a4!}
e5 24. a4 $1 {This is the point!} a6 ({Maybe} 24... Kb8 {was tougher} 25. Qa3 (
25. Ree1 $5) 25... Qd4 26. Re4 Qb6 27. Qc3 $36 {, but White's position is also
promising.}) 25. axb5 axb5 26. Ra7 $1 {A strong penetration.} Kd7 27. Qa5 Rc8
28. Re4 {White's major pieces start to attack the black K.} Re7 29. Qd2 Rg8 30.
c4 $1 Qd6 31. Rh4 $6 {This move allows interesting counterplay for Black.} (31.
Qa5 $1 {was a stronger way to continue the attack.}) 31... e4 $6 {Another
error.} (31... bxc4 $1 {was the correct answer} 32. Rxc4 {and only now} e4 $1 {
and Black has some practical counterchances.}) 32. cxb5 cxb5 33. Qa5 $1 Rg5 34.
dxe4 Rc5 ({The computer suggests} 34... Rh5 {, but} 35. Rxc7+ Qxc7 36. Qxc7+
Kxc7 37. Rxh5 $18 {and White has 2 Ps up, the endgame is easily winning.}) 35.
Kh2 Qd3 36. Qe1 {Too careful, but still not a mistake.} ({The pretty} 36. Qb6
$1 {was more accurate} Rc6 37. Qb8 Rxe4 38. Ra8 Rxh4+ 39. gxh4 Qd6+ 40. g3 $18
{and Black's position is hopeless.}) 36... Rc2 37. Ra1 $6 {This is an
inaccuracy.} ({White should go back with} 37. Qa5 $1 $18 {and continue his
attack against the black K.}) 37... Qe2 $2 {A mistake, probably in time
trouble.} (37... Re2 38. Qb4 R2xe4 39. Rxe4 Rxe4 40. Qf8 Qd6 $16 {and Black's
position is difficult, but still it is not the end.}) 38. Qb4 $1 $18 {Suddenly
the white Q is very active again, the game has been decided.} Qxf2 39. Qxb5+ c6
40. Qb7+ Ke6 41. Qc8+ Kd6 42. e5+ $1 {A pretty solution!} Kxe5 43. Rh5+ f5 44.
Ra5+ Ke4 45. Rh4+ Ke3 46. Ra3+ Ke2 47. Qa6+ Ke1 48. Ra1+ Kd2 49. Qa5+ 1-0

[Event "Capablanca Memorial Elite 49th"]
[Site "Havana"]
[Date "2014.05.09"]
[Round "2"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2700"]
[Annotator "Szabo,Kr"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2014.05.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CUB"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 161"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.07.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.07.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. b3 Kc8 11. Bb2 b6 {A very typical move in this
type of position. Black prepares for Kb7 followed by a5 and c5 and he tries to
create some weaknesses on the queenside.} 12. Rad1 h6 13. h3 a5 (13... Ne7 {
is more popular.}) 14. Rd3 (14. a4 {is another main move.}) 14... Ne7 {Another
typical move by Vallejo. The N wasn't useful on f5, so he frees that square
for his B and sometimes Ng6 is also possible to put under pressure the e5 P.}
15. Rfd1 Bf5 16. R3d2 $146 {The first new move in the game.} (16. Rd8+ {
was tried in a correspondence game,} Kb7 17. Rxa8 Kxa8 18. Nd4 Bc8 19. e6 f6
20. Re1 Kb7 21. g4 h5 22. Nf5 hxg4 23. hxg4 Ka6 24. Kg2 $14 {and White is
slightly better, Hybl-Nejtek, ICCF 2010.}) 16... c5 (16... Kb7 $5 {was also an
interesting alternative.}) 17. Nb5 Nc6 18. Nh4 Be6 19. f4 g6 20. g4 Be7 21. Ng2
Kb7 (21... Rd8 $1 {was more accurate. This move relieves the pressure on the
d-file and he avoids White's strong reply.} 22. Ne3 (22. a4 c4 $1) 22... Rxd2
23. Rxd2 a4 $132 {and Black has counterplay on the queenside.}) 22. Nd6+ $1 {
A very strong move by So! This temporary piece sacrifice deprives Black of his
B pair and he opens the long diagonal for the b2 B.} cxd6 ({If Black ignores
it with} 22... Ka6 23. f5 $1 gxf5 24. gxf5 Bxb3 25. axb3 cxd6 26. exd6 Bg5 27.
Re2 {and White's position is more comfortable.}) 23. exd6 Rhd8 {Black couldn't
save his e7 B, so he would like to exchange the Rs on the d-file.} 24. dxe7
Rxd2 25. Rxd2 Nxe7 26. a4 {The position looks completely drawish, but White
has a slight initiative, so still Black needs some exact moves in order to
equalise.} Nc6 (26... Nd5 $5 {was an alternative to avoid the Ne3,} 27. c4 Nb4
28. Ne3 Re8 29. Kf2 h5 {and White looks slightly better, but with accurate
moves Black should equalise.}) 27. Ne3 Re8 ({In the event of} 27... Rd8 28.
Rxd8 Nxd8 29. f5 gxf5 30. gxf5 Bd7 31. Kf2 Nc6 32. Kf3 Ne7 33. Kf4 {and this
is a very difficult endgame for Black.}) 28. Kf2 f5 {Otherwise White plays f5.}
29. Bg7 $1 {A nice move. White provokes some weaknesses on the kingside,
because Black's P will be more attackable on h5.} h5 30. gxh5 gxh5 31. c4 {
First White completely fixes the queenside and then he would like to start the
main plans on the kingside.} Rg8 32. Bc3 Kc7 33. Be5+ Nxe5 (33... Kb7 $6 {
was dubious, as there is} 34. Rd6 $1 Re8 35. Kg3 $16 {followed by Kh4 and
White is better.}) 34. fxe5 h4 $2 {The decisive mistake. After this White will
gain the initiative.} (34... f4 $1 {was the only chance} 35. Nd5+ Bxd5 36. cxd5
Rg3 $1 37. d6+ Kd8 $1 (37... Kd7 $2 {is losing, because of} 38. e6+ Kxe6 39. d7
$18) 38. e6 Rxh3 39. e7+ Kd7 $11 {and Black equalises.}) 35. Rd6 {Now Black is
in big trouble.} (35. Nd5+ {was also strong.}) 35... Re8 36. Kf3 f4 37. Nd5+
Bxd5+ 38. Rxd5 $18 {White is completely winning; the rest is easy.} Rf8 39. Rd2
Rf7 40. Rd1 Rf8 41. Rd2 Rf7 42. e6 1-0

[Event "Sinquefield Cup 2nd"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2014.09.05"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2801"]
[BlackElo "2787"]
[Annotator "Szabo,Kr"]
[PlyCount "110"]
[EventDate "2014.08.27"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "23"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 162"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 ({In the previous round Topalov played} 
10... Ne7 {against Nakamura} 11. Ne4 Ng6 12. Re1 h6 13. Kh2 c5 {with a
difficult game; later Black managed to win.}) 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5
Rh6 14. Rfe1 Bb4 15. g4 hxg4 16. hxg4 Ne7 17. Nxe6 Rxe6 18. Kg2 Rd8 $146 {
A novelty by Nakamura.} ({Karjakin has had a few games with} 18... Bxc3 19.
bxc3 Rd8 (19... Nd5 20. Bd2 b5 21. f4 Kd7 22. f5 Ree8 23. Re4 {looks a little
bit more comfortable for White, Caruana-Karjakin, Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2012.}) 20.
Rxd8+ (20. Rb1 b5 21. Kg3 Rd5 22. c4 Rc5 23. Re4 a6 $11 {Karjakin-Grischuk,
Moscow rapid 2013.}) 20... Kxd8 21. Rh1 Nd5 22. Bg3 g5 $13 {Anand-Karjakin,
Khanty-Mansiysk 2014.}) 19. Rxd8+ Kxd8 20. Rd1+ Kc8 ({In the event of} 20...
Ke8 $6 21. Ne2 $1 Ng6 22. Bg3 Nxe5 23. Nd4 $36) 21. Bg3 ({Now} 21. Ne2 $6 {
could have been met by} Ng6 22. Bg3 Nxe5 23. Nd4 Re8 $15 {and Black is a
healthy P up.}) 21... Bxc3 {A logical decision. If Black doesn't take it,
White can play with his N and the b4 B is out of play.} ({For example:} 21...
f6 22. exf6 (22. f4 $5) 22... gxf6 23. Nb1 $1 $14 {and thanks to the virtual P
advantage, White is slightly better.}) 22. bxc3 {White's idea is f4-f5, so
Black has to avoid it.} Rg6 (22... f6 $6 {is dubious as} 23. f4 $1 fxe5 24. f5
$36 {and White looks nicely placed.}) (22... Nd5 $5 {was also possible,} 23.
Rd3 b5 24. f4 Rh6 {followed by Kd7 and Black can hold the position.}) 23. Rd4 {
This active move protects the g4-pawn and he prepares for Rf4 too.} f5 $5 {
A brave decision, Black would like to disrupt White's kingside's play with
this move.} 24. Bh4 (24. exf6 gxf6 25. Kf3 f5 26. gxf5 Nxf5 $11 {should be an
equal endgame.}) 24... c5 $1 {The only move.} ({Of course} 24... Nd5 $2 {
does not work because of} 25. c4 $1 $18 {and the N is lost.}) ({or} 24... Re6
$2 {is also bad, as} 25. gxf5 Rxe5 26. f4 $18 {and White is winning.}) 25. Rf4
Nd5 26. Rxf5 Rxg4+ 27. Bg3 Kd8 {Black has played well and he has equalised,
but in this type of practical game Black still remains under pressure.} 28. Kh3
Rg6 (28... Re4 $1 {was more active behind the e-pawn and he also avoids c3-c4,}
29. Rg5 Ke7 $1 30. Rxg7+ Ke6 {Suddenly Black's K becomes very active.} 31. Rg4
Re2 {with some counterplay,} ({or} 31... Rxg4 32. Kxg4 c4 33. f4 Ne3+ 34. Kg5
Nf5 {and Black can hold the position on the light squares.})) 29. c4 Ne7 $6 {
A logical move, but it is an inaccuracy.} (29... Nc3 $1 {was the best, but
this is not a human move,} 30. Rf7 Ne2 $1 {Black's N is very cheeky!} 31. Bh2 (
31. e6 Nxg3 32. Rd7+ $1 Kc8 33. Re7 Kd8 $11) 31... Nd4 32. f4 Rh6+ 33. Kg3 Rg6+
34. Kh3 (34. Kf2 Ra6 $132 {with unpleasant counterplay.}) 34... Rh6+ {and a
draw.}) 30. Rf8+ Kd7 31. f4 $1 {Suddenly White is very fast with his f-pawn.}
Ke6 $2 {Black would like to put his N to f5, but White is very fast. After
this mistake Black's position becomes almost losing.} (31... Rh6+ {was more
solid, but} 32. Kg4 g6 33. Bh4 Nf5 34. Bg5 Rh7 35. Rg8 Rg7 36. Rd8+ Ke6 37. Bf6
Rh7 38. Kg5 $16 {and Black is in trouble.}) 32. Bh4 $1 Rh6 (32... Nf5 $2 {
could have been met by} 33. Bg5 $18 {and Black has no hope.}) 33. Re8 g5 34.
fxg5 Rg6 35. Kg4 Kf7 36. Rh8 Ra6 37. Rh7+ Kf8 38. Rh6 ({Probably} 38. Bf2 $1 {
was stronger,} b6 39. e6 Rxa2 40. Bg3 Rxc2 41. Rh8+ Ng8 42. e7+ $18 {and White
is winning.}) 38... Ng6 39. Kf5 ({The pretty} 39. e6 $1 $18 {was immediately
winning for White.}) 39... Kg7 $6 (39... Kf7 40. Bf2 Ne7+ 41. Ke4 $18) (39...
Ne7+ 40. Kg4 Ng6 {was a repetition, but after the 40th move White has extra
time again and he can find the win.}) 40. Bf2 $2 {Caruana missed the immediate
win in time trouble.} (40. Rxg6+ $1 {was the elegant sacrifice,} Rxg6 41. e6 $1
Kh7 42. e7 Rg8 43. Kf6 $18 {and Black can resign.}) 40... Ne7+ {After the time
control, Black survives the most difficult problems, but still White's chances
are better.} 41. Ke4 ({The engine suggests} 41. Kg4 Rxa2 (41... Ra4 $2 42. Kh5
$18 Rxc4 43. g6 $18) 42. Bxc5 {and still White's pressure is hard.}) 41... Ra4
$1 {Nakamura finds the only practical chance.} 42. Re6 $6 {After this move
Black will make a draw.} (42. Kd3 $1 {was the last possibility} Ng6 (42... Nc6
43. e6 $16) 43. e6 $1 {and still White has good chances.}) 42... Nc6 $1 43. Kf5
Rxc4 44. Rg6+ Kf8 45. Rf6+ Kg8 $1 46. g6 Rxc2 47. Be3 Nd4+ $1 {Black forces
the R ending, which will be an easy draw.} 48. Bxd4 cxd4 49. Rf7 d3 50. Rd7
Rf2+ 51. Kg5 Rg2+ 52. Kf6 Rf2+ 53. Kg5 Rg2+ 54. Kf6 Rf2+ 55. Kg5 Rg2+ {What a
great battle!} 1/2-1/2

[Event "George Marx Memorial 4th"]
[Site "Paks"]
[Date "2006.08.01"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Efimenko, Zahar"]
[Black "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2632"]
[BlackElo "2672"]
[Annotator "Szabo,Kr"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2006.07.28"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "HUN"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 113 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.09.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.09.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. b3 Be7 11. Bb2 a5 12. Rad1 Kc8 13. a4 (13. h3 Re8
(13... h5 14. g3 Ra6 $5 15. Bc1 Re8 16. Bg5 Bb4 17. Rd3 Ne7 {Shirov,A-Kramnik,
V, Monte Carlo rapid, 2001}) 14. Rd3 c5 15. Rfd1 Bc6 16. Nd5 Bxd5 17. Rxd5 a4
18. g4 Nh6 19. Nd2 $14 {Efimenko,Z-Komliakov,V, Kramatorsk, 2001}) 13... h5 (
13... b6 14. h3 h5 15. Ne4 Be8 16. Nfg5 h4 17. Rd3 Rh5 18. g4 hxg3 19. fxg3
Bxg5 20. g4 Be3+ 21. Kh2 Rh8 22. Rxf5 Bh6 23. Rf2 f6 24. exf6 gxf6 25. g5 Bg6
26. gxh6 Bxe4 27. Re3 Bh7 28. Re7 Kb7 29. Bxf6 Rae8 30. Rfe2 {1-0 Almasi,Z-Tu
Hoang Thong, Bled ol, 2002}) 14. Rd3 b6 15. Rfd1 Be8 (15... Be6 16. Ne4 c5 17.
c4 (17. Nfg5 c4) 17... Kb7 18. Nfg5 Bxg5 $1 19. Nxg5 Rae8 20. g3 Rhf8 $11 {
Ponomariov-Kramnik, ROW - Russia rapid, 2002}) 16. h3 Kb7 17. Ne2 c5 18. c4 Bc6
19. Nc3 Rae8 20. Nd5 $14 Bd8 21. Re1 Rhg8 22. Nd2 Nh4 23. g3 (23. Ne4 Ng6 24.
Rf3 (24. Ng3 h4 25. Nf5 Bd7 26. Rf3 f6 $15)) 23... Ng6 24. h4 (24. f4 f6 (24...
Bd7)) 24... Re6 25. Ree3 Rge8 26. f4 Ne7 27. Nxe7 R6xe7 $11 28. Kf2 Bd7 {
Diagram #} (28... Rd7 29. f5 Kc8) 29. e6 Rxe6 (29... Bxe6 30. Bxg7 Bf5 31. Rxe7
Bxe7 $11) 30. Rxe6 Bxe6 31. Bxg7 Bg4 32. Re3 Rxe3 1/2-1/2

[Event "George Marx Memorial 4th"]
[Site "Paks"]
[Date "2006.07.30"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Harikrishna, Pentala"]
[Black "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2682"]
[BlackElo "2672"]
[Annotator "Szabo,Kr"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2006.07.28"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "HUN"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 113 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.09.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.09.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 h6 11. Be3 Bf5 $5 12. Rad1+ Kc8 (12... Ke8 13.
Nd4 Bd7 14. f4 Nd5 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. Nb3 Bf5 17. Rxd5 Bxc2 18. Rc1 c6 19. Rd4
Bxb3 20. axb3 a6 21. Kf2 Rd8 22. Rcd1 Rxd4 23. Bxd4 Bb4 24. Kf3 Ke7 25. Bb6 g6
26. Ke4 h5 27. g3 {1/2-1/2 Leitao-Granda Zuniga, Villa Martelli 2005 94/(244)})
13. Nd4 Bh7 14. e6 (14. f4 c5 15. Nf3 Bxc2 16. Rd2) 14... c5 15. Ndb5 a6 (15...
fxe6 16. Bf4) 16. Rd7 (16. Na3) (16. Nxc7 Kxc7 17. Bf4+ Kb6) 16... axb5 17.
Nxb5 (17. Rfd1 $1 Nc6 18. Nxb5 Ra5 19. c4) 17... Nd5 (17... fxe6 $142 {(Almasi,
I)} 18. Rxc7+ Kb8 19. Bf4 Nd5 20. Rd1 Ra4 $8 21. c4 $1 (21. Rxd5 $5 exd5 22.
Bg3 Be7 $5 $13) 21... Bd6 $5 $13) 18. Rxd5 fxe6 19. Rd2 Rxa2 20. Rfd1 Be7 21.
Rd7 Bd6 $2 (21... Bd8 {(Almasi,I)} 22. Bxc5 (22. Rxg7 Bxc2 23. Rd2 Rxb2 24. Na3
Bf5 $1 25. Rxb2 $140 Bf6) 22... Bxc2 23. R1d2 Be4 $132 24. Na7+ $140 $2 Rxa7
25. Bxa7 b6) 22. Nxd6+ Kxd7 (22... cxd6 23. R1xd6) 23. Nf7+ Ke7 24. Nxh8 b6 25.
Bf4 Ra8 26. Bxc7 Rxh8 27. Bxb6 $16 Rc8 28. Rd2 c4 29. Ba5 Be4 30. Bb4+ Ke8 31.
Bc3 g6 32. f3 Bd5 33. Kf2 Ra8 34. Rd1 Kf7 35. Ke3 g5 36. h4 gxh4 37. Rh1 Rg8
38. Kf2 h5 39. Rxh4 Rg5 40. Rh1 e5 41. Bd2 Rf5 42. Ra1 Be4 43. Ra4 Bxc2 44.
Rxc4 Bd3 45. Rc7+ Kg6 46. Ke3 Bf1 47. Rc1 Bb5 48. Ke4 $1 h4 49. Rc5 Bf1 50.
Rc6+ Rf6 51. Rxf6+ Kxf6 52. Be1 h3 (52... Kg5 53. Kxe5 Bxg2 54. f4+ Kg4 55.
Bxh4 Kxh4 56. f5 $18) (52... Bxg2 53. Bxh4+ Ke6 54. Bg3 Bf1 (54... Bh1 55. Bxe5
Bxf3+ 56. Kxf3 Kxe5 57. Ke3 $18) 55. Bxe5 Bc4 56. f4 Bb3 57. Kd4) 53. gxh3 Bxh3
54. Bc3 1-0

[Event "Sinquefield Cup 2nd"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2014.09.04"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2787"]
[BlackElo "2772"]
[Annotator "Szabo,Kr"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "2014.08.27"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "23"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 162"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 Ne7 11. Ne4 Ng6 12. Re1 h6 13. Kh2 $5 {A very
useful move. White's idea is g4 and his K is ready to go to g3.} (13. b3 c5 14.
Bb2 Be6 15. Ng3 a5 16. a4 Nf4 17. Bc1 Nd5 18. Bd2 c4 19. bxc4 Nb4 $132 {
with a double-edged fight, Robson-Onischuk, Saint Louis 2014.}) 13... c5 14. c4
$146 {A novelty by Nakamura.} (14. g4 {has also been played} Be6 15. Nc3 Be7
16. Be3 Kd7 17. Kg3 Kc6 {Usually the c6-square is a nice base for Black's K.}
18. Rad1 Rad8 19. Rxd8 Bxd8 20. Rd1 Be7 21. Rd2 b6 22. b3 a6 23. Rd1 h5 $36 {
and Black has a comfortable position, Bokros-Postny, Oropesa del Mar 1999.})
14... Be6 15. b3 {This is a typical Berlin position. White has a space
advantage, while Black has two Bs, his position is solid and his P structure
is also strong.} b6 16. g4 {The ambitious reaction, White continues his plan
on the kingside.} h5 $1 {Topalov immediately tries to create counterplay on
the h-file.} 17. Kg3 Rd8 18. Neg5 $6 {This move starts a wrong plan.} (18. Bg5
{was better,} Rd3 (18... Be7 19. Re3 {and White is solid.}) 19. Re3 Rxe3 20.
Bxe3 {with an equal position.}) 18... Bc8 $1 {The right move. Black doesn't
want to give up his B and he isn't afraid of e6!} 19. Bb2 ({Probably Nakamura
wanted to play} 19. e6 $2 {, but this does not work because of} Bd6+ 20. Kg2 f6
$1 21. Nf7 hxg4 22. hxg4 Bb7 $1 {This is the point!} 23. Nxh8 Nxh8 $1 $17 {
and White can't avoid the really unpleasant pin of the N on f3 and Black is
threatening to play Ng6 followed by Nh4.}) 19... Be7 {The most natural reply.}
20. Rad1 Rxd1 21. Rxd1 hxg4 (21... Bb7 $5 {was also possible to keep the
tension.}) 22. hxg4 f6 $1 {A good move. Black opens the position and the
g-file, the g4 P will be weak, moreover Black is ready to play Rg8.} 23. exf6 (
23. Nh3 Kf7 ({or} 23... f5 {and Black is slightly better.})) 23... gxf6 24. Re1
{An interesting tactical choice, but it isn't dangerous for Black.} (24. Ne4
Kf7 {is similar to the game.}) 24... Kf8 $1 {The best reply!} ({In the event of
} 24... fxg5 25. Bxh8 Nxh8 26. Nxg5 Ng6 27. f4 {and White won't lose.}) 25. Ne4
Kf7 26. Bc1 {It is difficult to find any useful move for White.} Rg8 $1 {
White's K is under X-ray attack, he has to face some unpleasant threats.} 27.
Rh1 $6 {An inaccuracy, but it is difficult to hold White's position.} (27. Bd2
{was tougher, but} Bb7 {and White's position is very unpleasant.}) 27... Bb7 $1
28. Re1 (28. Rh7+ Ke6 29. Nfd2 Ne5 30. f3 Nd3 31. Ba3 f5 $17 {and White is in
a big trouble.}) 28... Re8 $1 {Topalov is playing the strongest moves.} 29.
Nfd2 {The only move, otherwise Black immediately wins material.} Ne5 $1 {
Black's activity is very strong.} 30. Bb2 $6 (30. Rh1 {was tougher, but} Nd3
$17 {and Black is better.}) 30... Nd3 31. Rb1 Rg8 32. Kf3 Nxb2 33. Rxb2 Bc8 {
White cannot protect the g4 P. White has no hope.} 34. g5 f5 35. Nf6 Rxg5 36.
Nd5 Bb7 37. Rb1 Rg4 38. Rh1 Bd6 39. Ke2 Rd4 40. Rh7+ Kg6 41. Rd7 Bxd5 42. cxd5
Rxd5 $6 (42... b5 $1 $19 {was much better and White can resign.}) 43. Nc4 b5
44. Nxd6 cxd6 45. Rxa7 b4 {Black should be much better, but R endgames always
give some practical chances.} 46. a4 bxa3 47. Rxa3 Re5+ 48. Kd3 Kg5 49. Ra6 Re1
(49... Kf4 50. Rxd6 Kf3 {was also strong.}) 50. Kd2 Re6 51. Rb6 (51. Ra4 f4 52.
Kd3 Kg4 {is also hopeless for White.}) 51... Kg4 52. b4 cxb4 53. Rxb4+ Kf3 54.
Kd1 f4 55. Rd4 Re4 56. Rd2 d5 57. Ra2 Kg2 {A very nice victory by Topalov!} 0-1

[Event "World-ch29 Karpov-Kortschnoj +6-2=10"]
[Site "Merano"]
[Date "1981.10.03"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Black "Kortschnoj, Viktor Lvovich"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2690"]
[BlackElo "2650"]
[Annotator "Unzicker,W"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "1981.10.01"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "18"]
[EventCountry "ITA"]
[SourceTitle "MainBase"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Dieser Zug, den man die "Berliner
Verteidigung" nennt, ist eine vollwertige Entgegnung auf den spanischen
Läuferzug.} 4. O-O Nxe4 {Außer diesem Zug kommt vor allem noch der von
Steinitz bevorzugte 4...d6 in Frage, Vielleicht ist dieser Zug sogar sicherer.}
5. d4 Be7 (5... Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 {Die
schwarze Stellung ist unbequem, aber noch akzeptabel.}) 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6
{Schlecht wäre es, hier mit dem Damenbauern wiederzunehmen (s.Var.).} (7...
dxc6 8. dxe5 Nf5 9. Rd1 Bd7 10. e6 $1 fxe6 11. Ne5 Bd6 12. Qh5+ g6 13. Nxg6 {
usw.}) 8. dxe5 Nb7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Re1 Nc5 11. Be3 Ne6 12. Rad1 d5 13. exd6 cxd6
14. Nd4 Bd7 (14... Nxd4 15. Bxd4 Be6 16. Qf3 d5 17. Qg3 Bf6 18. Bxf6 Qxf6) 15.
Nf5 d5 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 {Weiß hat nun einen kleinen Vorteil.} 17. Qd2 $1 {
Ein wichtiger Zug. Er verhindert 17...Db4.} Qh4 {Besser war z.B. 17...Tfe8.}
18. Ne2 Rfe8 19. b3 Re7 {Es drohte 20.c4!} 20. Ng3 Qf6 21. f3 Be8 22. Ne2 h6
23. Bf2 Qg6 {Besser war 22...Ted7, gefolgt von 23...Dd8.} 24. Nc1 d4 {Dieser
Zug wäre gut, wenn der c-Bauer nach c5 gelangen könnte. Karpov läßt ihn aber
nicht dahin kommen. Besser war 24...Se6-g5.} (24... Ng5 25. Bg3 Rxe1+ 26. Rxe1
Qf6) 25. Nd3 Qf6 {Schlecht wäre 25.Ld4: gewesen, da nach 25...Td7 die
Fesselung des Läufers auf der d-Linie zum Nachteil für Weiß führt.} (25... c5
26. Nxc5) 26. Bg3 Rd7 (26... c5 27. Bd6) 27. Re5 Qd8 28. Rde1 Rd5 29. Rxd5 Qxd5
30. Re5 Qd7 31. Qe1 Rc8 32. b4 Qd8 33. Ra5 Qd7 34. h3 f6 $2 {Ein ganz grobes
Versehen, das der Partie viel an Wert nimmt. Es sollte 34... Tc8-a8 geschehen.}
35. Rxa7 Qd5 (35... Qxa7 36. Qxe6+ Bf7 37. Qxc8+ Kh7 38. Qf5+ Bg6 39. Qa5 Qxa5
40. bxa5 Bf5 41. a6 Bc8 42. a7 Bb7 43. Nc5 Ba8 44. Nd7 c5 45. Nb6 Bc6 46. a8=Q
Bxa8 47. Nxa8 c4 48. Nb6 d3 49. cxd3 cxd3 50. Kf1 d2 51. Ke2 d1=Q+ 52. Kxd1)
36. Ra5 Qd7 37. Ra7 Qd5 38. Ra5 Qd7 39. Qe4 Bf7 40. Qf5 Re8 41. Kh2 Qb7 {
Hier wurde die Partie unterbrochen.} 42. a3 Rd8 43. h4 h5 44. Nf2 {Um sich die
Möglichkeit vorzubehalten,den Springer über e4 nach d6 zu bringen.} Qd7 45. Ra6
Qe8 46. Qa5 Bg6 47. Nd3 Kh7 48. Qb6 Rc8 49. a4 Bf5 50. a5 c5 (50... Qg6 51. Qb7
Nd8 52. Qe7 Bxd3 53. cxd3 Qxd3 54. Ra7 Qg6 55. Qd7 d3 56. Be1 Rb8 57. Qc7 {usw.
}) 51. bxc5 Bxd3 52. cxd3 Nxc5 53. Ra7 Qg6 (53... Nxd3 54. Qxf6 Qg6 55. Qxd4)
54. Rc7 Rxc7 55. Bxc7 Nxd3 56. Qxd4 Ne5 (56... Ne1 57. Qe4 Qxe4 58. fxe4 Nd3
59. a6 Nc5 60. a7 Na6 61. a8=Q Nxc7 62. Qc6) 57. Bxe5 1-0

[Event "NED-ch56"]
[Site "Leeuwarden"]
[Date "2001.06.22"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Van der Wiel, John"]
[Black "Van den Doel, Erik"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2493"]
[BlackElo "2574"]
[Annotator "Van den Doel,E"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2001.06.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "12"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2018"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.13"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2017.10.13"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {The Berlin Wall yielded me many points. Contrairy to what many
people think we are still in the middlegame, not in an endgame.} 9. Nbd2 {
This move has the advantage that White can still play c2-c4 later. It's
disadvantage is that the knight doesn't control the d5-square.} h6 10. b3 a5
11. a4 Be6 12. Ba3 Bxa3 $1 {No problem to give up the pair of bishops.} 13.
Rxa3 Kc8 14. Rd1 Rd8 15. Raa1 b5 $1 {Taking the initiative on the queenside.
The temporarily weakness of the c5-square is not a problem as it can be
covered by moving the king to b6.} 16. Kf1 Kb7 17. Ne4 Kb6 18. Ke1 {White has
no plan.} Bd5 19. Ned2 b4 20. Ke2 Re8 {When one's opponent has no plan one
should improve one's position as much as possible, before taking action.} 21.
Kf1 Rad8 22. Rac1 c5 {[%tqu "En","What should black play now?","","","h2h3","",
10]} 23. h3 g5 $1 {Stopping a future attempt to defend the pawn on e5 by f2-f4.
} 24. Re1 (24. g3 Nd4 25. Nxd4 cxd4 26. f4 gxf4 27. gxf4 Rg8 {Wins for black.})
(24. c3 {was the best try, even though it weakens the pawn at b3.} Ne7 25. Re1
Ng6 {idea: Re6 and Rde8.} 26. cxb4 cxb4 27. Nc4+ Bxc4+ 28. Rxc4 Rd5 29. Rce4
Nf4 30. g3 Ne6 {and Black is still better.}) 24... Nd4 25. Nxd4 cxd4 26. Rcd1 (
26. g3 Re6 {and the rook can go to c6.}) 26... Re6 27. Ne4 Bxe4 (27... Rxe5 28.
Rxd4 Rde8 29. f3 f5 30. Red1 Bxb3 31. cxb3 fxe4 32. fxe4 Rxe4 {would have been
better.Black is winning.}) 28. Rxe4 c5 29. Rd3 (29. g3 {was better.} Rde8 30.
f4 Kc6) 29... f5 30. Re2 c4 $2 (30... Rde8 {is just winning. Now White gets
the opportunity to play g3 and f4, supporting his weak pawn.}) 31. bxc4 Kc5 32.
Rf3 $2 (32. g3 Kxc4 33. f4 gxf4 34. gxf4 Kd5 {and most of the advantage is
gone.}) 32... f4 33. g3 fxg3 34. fxg3 Kxc4 35. Re4 Rd5 36. Rd3 Rexe5 37. Rdxd4+
{A very picturesque position!} Kc3 {The white queenside collapses.} 38. Rc4+
Kb2 39. Rxe5 Rxe5 40. Kf2 Ka3 41. Rc6 Kxa4 42. g4 Ka3 43. Rxh6 Rc5 0-1

[Event "Prague Masters 1st"]
[Site "Prague"]
[Date "2019.03.07"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Vitiugov, Nikita"]
[Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2726"]
[BlackElo "2730"]
[Annotator "Vitiugov,N"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2019.03.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CZE"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 189"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2019.04.29"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2019.04.29"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{This game was played in the second round. I had an idea in the Berlin Defence,
and I thought it was a good moment to try it. Diese Partie wurde in der
zweiten Runde gespielt. Ich hatte eine Idee in der Berliner Verteidigung und
fand, es wäre ein guter Moment, sie auszuprobieren.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3.
Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. dxe5 Nxb5 7. a4 {Back in 2003, I played a
training game. My opponent surprised me with a sideline (for me) in the Ruy
Lopez (I mean 3...Nf6). Mostly I chose 1.d4 at that time and I had to find
something over the board. I was very proud of myself after coming up with 6.
dxe5 Nxb5 7.a4!, and only later on I realized it was just a way to deal with
Berlin, playable, but not the greatest. Damals im Jahr 2003 trug ich eine
Trainingspartie aus. Mein Gegner erwischte mich mit einer (für mich) seltenen
Variante im Spanier auf dem falschen Fuß (ich meine 3...Sf6). Seinerzeit
spielte ich überwiegend 1.d4 und musste am Brett improvisieren. Ich war sehr
stolz auf mich selbst, 6.dxe5 Sxb5 7.a4! gefunden zu haben, und stellte erst
hinterher fest, dass es einfach nur ein Weg war, die Berliner Verteidigung zu
behandeln, spielbar, aber nichts Besonderes.} Nbd4 ({There are several ways to
get in trouble. Like Es gibt diverse Wege, in Schwierigkeiten zu geraten. Etwa
} 7... d6 $6 8. e6 $1 fxe6 9. axb5 Ne7 10. Nc3 Nf5 11. Nd4 Qf6 12. b6 $1 cxb6
13. Ndb5 Qd8 14. g4 $36 {Sarana - Khismatullin, Yaroslavl 2018 Sarana -
Khismatullin, Yaroslavl 2018}) ({Or Oder} 7... Nd6 $2 8. Bg5 f6 9. Re1 Nxe5 10.
Nxe5 Be7 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Qh5+ Kf8 13. Ng6+ $18 {Guseinov - Deac, Batumi 2018
Guseinov - Deac, Batumi 2018}) 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 ({After Nach} 8... d5 {Naiditsch 
(an expert in this line) recently played two games against Kryvoruchko.
Without great success. spielte Naiditsch (ein Experte in dieser Variante)
unlängst zwei Partien gegen Kryvoruchko. Ohne großen Erfolg.} 9. Nxc6 bxc6
10. Nd2 Rb8 11. b3 ({Probably, an improvement. At least, it was their second
game. Wahrscheinlich eine Verbesserung. Zumindest war es ihre zweite Partie.} 
11. Qf3 c5 12. Rd1 Be6 13. Nf1 Qd7 14. h3 Be7 15. Qg3 g6 16. Bh6 Rxb2 17. Rab1
Rxb1 18. Rxb1 Qxa4 19. Rb8+ Bd8 $17 {1/2-1/2 (53) Naiditsch,A (2736)
-Kryvoruchko,Y (2698) Hungary HUN 2018 1/2-1/2 (53) Naiditsch,A (2736)
-Kryvoruchko,Y (2698) Hungary HUN 2018}) 11... Bf5 12. Re1 Bb4 13. Ba3 Bxa3 14.
Rxa3 O-O 15. Nf1 c5 16. Ng3 Be6 17. Qd2 Rb4 $11 {0-1 (86) Naiditsch,A (2721)
-Kryvoruchko,Y (2695) Batumi 2018 0-1 (86) Naiditsch,A (2721)-Kryvoruchko,Y 
(2695) Batumi 2018}) (8... d6 {is a bit passive: ist ein wenig passiv:} 9. Nxc6
bxc6 10. Re1 dxe5 11. Rxe5+ Be6 12. Qf3 Qd7 13. Nc3 Bd6 14. Re2 O-O 15. h3 Bc4
16. Re1 Rfe8 17. Bf4 Rad8 18. Rxe8+ Qxe8 19. Rd1 f6 20. Bxd6 Rxd6 21. Qf4 $14 {
1-0 (36) Naiditsch,A (2710)-Adams,M (2708) Astana KAZ 2019 1-0 (36) Naiditsch,
A (2710)-Adams,M (2708) Astana KAZ 2019}) 9. Qxd4 d5 10. Qd3 c6 11. a5 {
Nothing new so far. The move a5 is always useful to prevent b6 or to disturb
Black's queenside with a6. Bislang nichts Neues. Der Zug a5 ist immer
nützlich, um b6 zu verhindern oder mit a6 den schwarzen Damenflügel zu
behelligen.} Be6 {This move was played by Peter Leko, which means a very
simple thing - it is the best, or at least the most solid in this position. Of
course, I checked it before the game. Dieser Zug wurde von Peter Leko gespielt,
was etwas sehr Einfaches heißt - es ist der beste oder zumindest der
solideste in dieser Stellung. Natürlich hatte ich ihn vor der Partie geprüft.
} (11... Qd7 12. f4 (12. Be3 $5) 12... Qf5 13. Qc3 Bd7 14. Qb3 $6 Bc5+ 15. Be3
Bxe3+ 16. Qxe3 Qxc2 17. Qa3 Bf5 18. Qb4 Qe4 19. Qc5 Qc4 $15 {Grischuk -
Nakamura, Leuven 2018 Grischuk - Nakamura, Leuven 2018}) 12. Nc3 (12. f4 g6 13.
Nd2 c5 14. Nf3 Qd7 15. Be3 Be7 16. Bf2 Bf5 17. Qd2 Be4 {and Black has a very
comfortable position, Lomasov,S (2553)-Leko,P (2669), Moscow 2018. und Schwarz
hat eine sehr bequeme Stellung, Lomasov,S (2553)-Leko,P (2669), Moskau 2018.})
12... Qd7 13. Ne2 Bf5 14. Qc3 Be7 {Black is reacting in a very natural way.
But... Schwarz reagiert auf sehr natürliche Weise. Aber...} 15. Bh6 $1 {
Nice, but of course it was found during the prep. From this moment on the
black king is not comfortable anymore. Hübsch, wurde aber natürlich bei der
Vorbereitung entdeckt. Von diesem Moment an fühlt sich der schwarze König
nicht mehr wohl.} d4 $2 {It is very difficult to play against a prepared
opponent in a complex position. Hari is seeking for simplifications, but
that's not the way to go. In einer komplexen Stellung gegen einen
vorbereiteten Gegner zu spielen, ist äußert schwierig. Hari strebt
Vereinfachungen an, aber das ist nicht der angezeigte Weg.} ({Nothing critical
has happened - Noch ist nichts Kritisches passiert -} 15... Rg8 {and White has
a choice: , und Weiß hat die Wahl:} 16. Bxg7 ({or oder} 16. Bd2 c5 17. b4 cxb4
18. Qe3 Rc8 19. Nd4 $13) 16... Rxg7 17. e6 Rxg2+ 18. Kxg2 fxe6 $44) 16. Nxd4
gxh6 17. e6 Bxe6 18. Nxe6 Rg8 19. Nf4 (19. Ng7+ $6 {is just wasting time: ist
nur Zeitverschwendung:} Kf8 20. Nh5 Rd8 $14) 19... Qf5 ({Maybe Vielleicht war} 
19... O-O-O {was better, but after besser, aber nach} 20. a6 b5 21. g3 Bd6 22.
Rad1 Qc7 23. Nd3 {Black's position is very bad, practically lost. ist die
schwarze Stellung sehr schlecht, praktisch verloren.}) 20. Ra4 $1 {Energetic
play, a6 is coming. Energisches Spiel, a6 wird kommen.} Qf6 21. Qd3 ({The good
alternative was Die gute Alternative war} 21. Qe3 $5) 21... Rd8 22. Qxh7 {
Just in case, if White fails to win on the spot, it is gonna be a good
endgame! Sicherheitshalber; falls Weiß es nicht schafft, sofort zu gewinnen,
wird es ein gutes Endspiel sein!} Rg7 (22... Kd7 $5) 23. Qe4 Qxb2 $6 {All
moves are bad in a bad position, but now it is definitely over. In einer
schlechten Stellung sind alle Züge schlecht, aber jetzt ist es definitiv
vorbei.} 24. Re1 Rd7 25. a6 $1 {There were other ways, but I liked this. As
the great Russian writer Chekhov said once, if in the beginning of the play
the gun hangs on the wall, then (by the end of the play) it should shoot. Es
gab andere Wege, aber dies gefiel mir. Wie der große russische Schriftsteller
Tschechow einmal sagte, wenn zu Beginn des Stücks das Gewehr an der Wand
hängt, dann sollte es (am Ende des Stücks) auch schießen.} Rg5 {The last
trap. Die letzte Falle.} (25... b5 26. Qxc6 bxa4 27. Nd5 $18) 26. h4 ({The
idea was Die Idee war} 26. axb7 Re5 $1 {but, surprisingly, even here White is
winning: , aber überraschenderweise gewinnt Weiß selbst hier:} 27. Rb4 Rxe4
28. b8=Q+ Rd8 29. Qxd8+ Kxd8 30. Rd1+ $1 $18) 26... Rb5 27. axb7 {That's it.
Das war's.} Rbxb7 28. Qxc6 Kf8 29. Qxh6+ Qg7 30. Ne6+ 1-0

[Event "Albena-08"]
[Site "Albena"]
[Date "1976.09.06"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Vogt, Lothar"]
[Black "Filip, Miroslav"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2480"]
[BlackElo "2495"]
[Annotator "Vogt,L"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "1976.09.01"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]
[EventCategory "7"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2005"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2004.11.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2004.11.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. b3 h6 10. Bb2 Be6 11. Nbd2 c5 12. Ne4 b6 13. h3 Kc8 14. c4 g6
15. g4 Ne7 16. Ne1 Bg7 17. f4 h5 18. Ng5 hxg4 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. hxg4 Rh4 21.
Kg2 Kb7 22. Kg3 Rah8 23. Nf3 Rh3+ 24. Kg2 g5 25. Bc1 gxf4 26. Bxf4 Ng6 27. Bg3
R3h6 28. Rad1 Kc6 29. Rfe1 Rf8 30. Re4 Ne7 31. Rd3 Ng6 32. a3 Rhh8 33. b4 Rd8
34. b5+ Kb7 35. Ree3 Bh6 36. g5 Bg7 37. Rxd8 Rxd8 38. Nh4 $2 (38. Kf2) 38...
Nxh4+ 39. Bxh4 Rd4 40. Kg3 (40. Kh3 Rxc4 41. g6 Rc1 42. Bf6 (42. Kg4 Rg1+ 43.
Kh5 Rh1 $17) 42... Bh6) 40... Rxc4 41. g6 Rc3 42. Kf3 Rxe3+ 43. Kxe3 Bxe5 44.
Ke4 Bg7 45. Bg3 c4 46. Be5 1/2-1/2

[Event "EU-ch 16th"]
[Site "Jerusalem"]
[Date "2015.03.01"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Volokitin, Andrei"]
[Black "Vocaturo, Daniele"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2646"]
[BlackElo "2579"]
[Annotator "Volokitin,A"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2015.02.24"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ISR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 166"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.05.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.05.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Eine Überraschung. Mein Gegner hat früher nie
die Berliner Mauer gespielt.} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8.
Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ {Ich entschied, den Plan mit Rd1+ zu spielen.} Ke8 {Es gibt
jetzt keinen Plan mit ...Bd7 und ...Kc8! Der schwarze König muss im Zentrum
bleiben.} 10. Nc3 Ne7 {Der Springerzug öffnet den Läufer c8.} 11. h3 Ng6 12. b3
{Weiß entwickelt seine Figuren sehr typisch.} Be7 13. Bb2 ({Wahrscheinlich ist
genauer} 13. Ne4 {und} Bf5 $140 $2 {ist hier schwach} 14. Ng3 Bxc2 15. Rd2 $18)
13... Bf5 {Vocaturo folgt meiner Partie gegen Ragger aus der Bundesliga.} ({
Auch möglich ist} 13... f6 {mit der Idee ...Kf7.}) 14. Nd4 Bd7 15. Re1 $1 {
In der Partie gegen Ragger habe ich schwächer gespielt:} (15. Ne4 $6 Nxe5 $1
16. Ng3 f6 17. Ndf5 Bf8 $1 18. Rd2 Bxf5 $1 19. Nxf5 Rd8 $1 $15 {und Schwarz
steht sogar etwas besser.}) 15... Rd8 ({Der Zug} 15... Nf4 {verhindert e6,
aber löst nicht alle Probleme. Zum Beispiel} 16. Rad1 Rd8 17. Ne4 {Es droht Sf6
} Bc8 18. Bc1 Ne6 (18... Ng6 19. Bg5 Bxg5 20. Nxg5 Ke7 21. e6 fxe6 22. Ngxe6
Bxe6 23. Rxe6+ Kf7 24. Ree1 $14) 19. Nf5 $14) 16. e6 $1 {Ein typischer Vorstoß.
Sonst kann Schwarz einfach ...c5 spielen - mit gutem Spiel.} (16. Ne4 c5) 16...
Bc8 {Logisch.} ({Nach} 16... fxe6 17. Nxe6 Bxe6 18. Rxe6 Kf7 19. Rae1 {
beurteile ich die Stellung als etwas besser für Weiß, aber mit großen
Schwierigkeiten die Partie zu gewinnen.}) 17. Nf5 $1 ({Nach} 17. exf7+ Kxf7 {
hat Schwarz das Läuferpaar als genügende Kompensation für die schlechte
Struktur.}) 17... Bf6 ({Nach} 17... fxe6 {hat Weiß zwei Möglichkeiten:} {
Zweitens ist einfach den Bauern zurückgewinnen:} 18. Nxg7+ ({Erstens den
Läufer zu schlagen:} 18. Nxe7 $1 Kxe7 19. Ne4 {Weiß gewinnt sehr schnell den
Bauern zurück.} e5 (19... Rhg8 20. Ba3+ Ke8 21. Ng5 Rd5 22. Nxe6 Bxe6 23. Rxe6+
Kf7 24. Re2 $14) 20. Ng5 h6 21. Nf3 Rhe8 22. Re3 $1 $14 {Weiß hat die
Möglichkeit mit Springer oder Läufer auf e5 zu nehmen.}) 18... Kf7 19. Nh5 Rhg8
20. Ne4 Nh4 21. Nhg3 b6 $11 {Hier hat Schwarz als Kompensation für seine
schlechte Struktur: Läuferpaar, offene g-Linie und nach ...Bb7, ...c5 ist die
Stellung dynamisch ausgeglichen.}) 18. Na4 Bxb2 ({Hier habe ich auch gerechnet:
} 18... fxe6 $6 19. Nxg7+ Bxg7 20. Bxg7 Rg8 21. Be5 $1 Rd2 22. Rac1 {Die
zeitweise Aktivität der schwarzen Figuren kompensiert nicht die schlechte
Struktur und den passiven Läufer.} Nh4 (22... Nxe5 23. Rxe5 Rf8 24. f3 Rg8 25.
g4 Rf8 26. Re3 $14 {Der Springer geht nach e4 mit großem Vorteil.}) 23. Kf1 $1
{Eine taktisch Nuance.} Rxg2 ({Nach} 23... Nxg2 24. Re4 {geht der Springer
verloren.}) 24. Bg3 Rxg3 25. fxg3 Nf5 26. Nc3 Nxg3+ 27. Kg1 $14) 19. Nxb2 Rd5 {
Ein Tempoverlust.} ({Stärker war} 19... Rg8 $142 $1 {und Weiß muss sowieso auf
f7 nehmen.} 20. exf7+ Kxf7 21. Ng3 $14 {Ich beurteile diese Stellung als etwas
besser für Weiß. Der Plan ist alle Türme zu tauschen, die Figuren zu
zentralisieren und die Königsflügelbauern nach vorne zu ziehen.}) 20. exf7+ ({
Sinnvoll war ein nützlicher Zug:} 20. g4 $1 Rg8 21. exf7+ Kxf7 22. Ne3 $14)
20... Kxf7 21. Ne3 Re5 $6 {Ein seltsamer Zug. Schwarz verliert noch ein Tempo.}
({Besser war} 21... Rdd8) 22. Nd3 Re7 23. f3 {Weiß bereitet Kf2 vor, mit der
Idee alle Türme zu tauschen.} h5 24. g4 ({Nach} 24. Kf2 {hat mir die Fixierung
der weißen Struktur nicht gefallen.} h4 $1) 24... b6 25. Ng2 c5 26. Rxe7+ ({
Auch möglich war} 26. Kf2 hxg4 27. hxg4 {mit typischem Vorteil für Weiß.})
26... Nxe7 27. Ngf4 g6 $2 {Nach diesem Zug haben die Probleme für Schwarz
begonnen. Der Bauer auf g6 kann attackiert werden.} ({Nach dem richtigen} 27...
hxg4 {ist das Endspiel immer etwas besser für Weiß, aber Schwarz kann mit
richtigem Spiel Remis halten.} 28. fxg4 $5 ({Oder} 28. hxg4 Nc6 29. Re1 Rd8)
28... g5 29. Nh5 Nc6 30. Rf1+ Ke7 31. Re1+ Kf7) 28. Re1 Nc6 29. Nd5 $1 hxg4 ({
Die besten Chancen auf Remis bot} 29... Rd8 $1 30. Nxc7 Nb4 $1 {Schwarz opfert
einen Bauern für die Aktivität seiner Figuren.} 31. Nxb4 cxb4 32. Re4 Rd2 33.
Rxb4 Rxc2 34. Nb5 Bd7 $1 $14) 30. hxg4 Ba6 $2 {Dieser Zug ist einfach schwach.
Schwarz verbessert die Stellung der weißen Figuren.} ({Besser war} 30... Rd8 $1
31. Nxc7 Nb4 32. Nxb4 cxb4 33. Re4 Rd2 34. Rxb4 Rxc2 35. Nb5 $14) 31. N3f4 $1
$16 {Jetzt ist das Endspiel für Schwarz sehr unangenehm und ich glaube sogar
verloren.} Bb7 (31... Rd8 $5 32. c4 Bc8 33. Kg2 $16) 32. Re6 $1 $18 {Weiß
benutzt das schwache Feld f6 und muss die Bauern und die Partie gewinnen.} g5
33. Rf6+ Ke8 34. Ng6 $1 {Stark. Ich habe gerechnet, dass Schwarz Probleme mit
dem Turm hat.} Rg8 (34... Rh6 35. Nxc7+ Kd8 36. Ne6+ Kc8 37. Nxg5 $18) 35. Rxc6
$1 {Die kleine schöne Kombination am Ende.} Bxc6 36. Nf6+ Kf7 ({Oder} 36... Kd8
37. Nxg8 Bxf3 38. Nf6 Bd1 39. c4 Bc2 40. Ne5 Bb1 41. Nf3 $1 Bxa2 42. Nd2 $18 {
mit der Idee Nd5-c3und Schwarz verliert den Läufer.}) 37. Nxg8 Ke6 38. Kf2 1-0

[Event "Norway Chess 3rd"]
[Site "Stavanger"]
[Date "2015.06.17"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2876"]
[Annotator "Wagner,D"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2015.06.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 167"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.07.13"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.07.13"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{This game was played in the 2nd round of the Norway Chess tournament in
Stavanger. It has to be mentioned that Carlsen entered this game with a
certain psychological handicap, as he had lost his game in round one against
Veselin Topalov on time in a winning position, because he didn't know the time
control.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Definitely not for the first time
the two experts have chosen the Berlin as their battleground.} 4. O-O Nxe4 5.
d4 {Caruana is principled enough to enter the ending.} Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5
Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 h6 $5 {That's the third time Carlsen has chosen this
setup against Caruana. The move h6 controls the important g5-square, but has
the drawback that White can seize space with g4 at the appropriate moment.} (
9... Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 {is the mainline.}) 10. Rd1+ Ke8 11. Nc3 Ne7 (11... Bd7 {
led to another disaster for Carlsen against the same opponent.} 12. Bf4 Rd8 13.
Ne4 Be7 14. g4 Nh4 15. Nxh4 Bxh4 16. Kg2 Be6 17. f3 b6 18. b3 c5 19. c4 Rd7 20.
Bg3 Be7 21. Rxd7 Bxd7 22. Nc3 Kd8 23. Nd5 Re8 24. Rd1 Kc8 25. Nxc7 $16 {
1-0 (53) Caruana,F (2783)-Carlsen,M (2881) Shamkir 2014}) 12. b3 $1 {I think
that the b3-setup is the most promising against the line with h6 and Ne7.} (12.
Bf4 {Apparently Caruana wasn't content with the result of their last game in
this line.} Ng6 13. Bh2 Bb4 14. Ne2 Be7 15. Nfd4 Nf8 16. g4 h5 17. Nf5 Ne6 18.
Kg2 b6 19. f3 c5 20. Bg3 Bg5 21. h4 hxg4 22. hxg5 gxf3+ 23. Kxf3 Nxg5+ 24. Kf4
Nh3+ 25. Ke4 Ng5+ 26. Kf4 Nh3+ {1/2-1/2 (26) Caruana,F (2811) -Carlsen,M (2865)
Baden-Baden 2015}) 12... Bf5 {Carlsen immediately activates his light-squared
bishop.} (12... Ng6 $5 {is an alternative.} 13. Bb2 Be7 14. Ne2 (14. Ne4 Nf4
15. Nd4 Bd7 16. Ng3 c5 17. Nde2 Nxe2+ 18. Nxe2 Rd8 $11 {1/2-1/2 (37)
Svetushkin,D (2597)-Kryvoruchko,Y (2676) Achaea 2012}) 14... h5 15. a4 a5 16.
c4 $14 {1-0 (83) Kamsky,G (2705)-Bruzon Batista,L (2679) Khanty-Mansiysk 2010})
13. Nd4 Bh7 14. Bb2 Rd8 15. Nce2 $1 (15. e6 {is rather harmless, if Black
reacts precisely.} Nd5 $1 $11 (15... Nc8 16. Nce2 Bd6 17. c4 Ne7 (17... f6 18.
g4 h5 $11) 18. Rac1 b6 19. g4 f6 20. f4 {1/2 (65)-1/2 (65) Polgar, J (2689)
-Howell,D (2644) Warsaw 2013; with a complicated position, where White has the
initiative.}) 16. Nxd5 (16. Nce2 Bd6 17. c4 Nb4 18. Bc3 Rg8 $132) 16... cxd5
17. exf7+ Kxf7 18. Nf3 Bd6 19. Ne5+ Bxe5 20. Bxe5 c6 $11) 15... Nd5 (15... g5 {
is another idea, but creates some further weaknesses.} 16. c4 (16. e6 Rg8 $1
$11) 16... Bg7 17. Ng3 Bg6 18. Re1 a6 (18... Kd7 19. e6+ fxe6 20. Rad1 Kc8 21.
Nxc6 Nxc6 22. Rxd8+ Kxd8 23. Bxg7 Rh7 24. Bc3 $14) 19. Nf3 Rg8 20. Ne4 Bxe4 21.
Rxe4 c5 22. h4 $1 gxh4 23. Rxh4 Ng6 24. Re4 $14 {White is slightly better,
because of his mobile kingside majority, but Black can hope to compensate for
this with his control of the d-file.}) 16. c4 Nb4 17. Nf4 Rg8 18. g4 {I
already like White's position. The knight on b4 is out of the game, while
Black is still far away from active counterplay. Anyway, Black should still be
ok here.} Na6 $2 {But that´s the start of major problems.} (18... g5 $6 19. Nh5
Be7 20. Nf5 $14) (18... Nc2 $1 {Black can hope to survive by exchanging his
bad knight.} 19. Nxc2 Rxd1+ 20. Rxd1 Bxc2 21. Rd2 Bb1 22. Bc3 Be7 23. Ne2 {
might be the best try, since Black can't attack ths knight on this square.} (
23. Kg2 Bg5 $1 {with a good exchange for Black} 24. Kg3 Bxf4+ 25. Kxf4 Ke7 $11)
(23. Nh5 Bg6 24. Kg2 Bxh5 25. gxh5 Bg5 26. Rd4 c5 27. Rd5 g6 28. Rxc5 gxh5 29.
Kf3 c6 $11) 23... Ba3 24. Kg2 Ke7 25. Nd4 Rd8 26. Nf5+ Bxf5 27. gxf5 Rxd2 28.
Bxd2 $14) (18... Be7 $5 {is also possible.} 19. Nf5 (19. Bc3 Nc2 20. Nxc2 Rxd1+
21. Rxd1 Bxc2 22. Rd2 Bg5 $11) 19... Bg5 20. Ne2 c5 21. Rxd8+ (21. f4 Bxf5 22.
gxf5 Bh4 23. Rxd8+ Kxd8 24. Rd1+ Kc8 $11) 21... Kxd8 22. Rd1+ Kc8 23. a3 Nc6
24. Kg2 {with a double-edged position where Black should be able to defend
successfully.}) 19. Nf5 Nc5 20. Rxd8+ (20. Kg2 $5 {is also good, e.g.} Ne6 21.
Nxe6 fxe6 22. Rxd8+ Kxd8 23. Rd1+ Kc8 24. Nd4 Kd7 25. Ne2+ Ke7 26. Kf3 $14)
20... Kxd8 21. Rd1+ Kc8 22. Ba3 $5 {Setting a cunning trap...} Ne6 $2 {...
which Carlsen runs into!} (22... Bxf5 $6 23. gxf5 g6 24. fxg6 (24. f6 g5 (24...
Ne6 25. Nxe6 Bxa3 26. Ng7 Bb2 27. f4 g5) 25. Nh5 Ne6 26. Bxf8 Rxf8 27. Kg2 Re8
28. Kg3 $14) 24... Ne6 25. Bxf8 Nxf4 (25... Nxf8 26. Kg2 Nxg6 27. Nxg6 Rxg6+
28. Kf3 $14) 26. g7 Ne6 27. Kh2 Nxf8 28. gxf8=Q+ Rxf8 29. Kg3 $14 {with a
dangerous edge in the rook ending.}) (22... b6 $5 {is more pleasant for White,
but nothing decisive of course.}) 23. Nxe6 Bxa3 {A sad necessity.} ({Probably
Carlsen had planned} 23... fxe6 {but overlooked the strong reply} 24. Be7 $3
$18) 24. Nexg7 Bf8 25. e6 $1 Bxf5 26. Nxf5 fxe6 27. Ng3 $16 {This is a
nightmare for every Berlin-player. The black structure has even worsened and
White can exploit the kingside majority without the slightest risk.} Be7 28.
Kg2 Rf8 29. Rd3 $1 {[%cal Gd3f3] A great square for the rook.} Rf7 30. Nh5 Bd6
31. Rf3 Rh7 (31... Rxf3 32. Kxf3 Kd7 33. Ke4 {is also just bad.}) 32. Re3 Re7
33. f4 {The rest is a matter of technique.} Ba3 34. Kf3 Bb2 35. Re2 Bc3 36. g5
Kd7 37. Kg4 Re8 38. Ng3 Rh8 39. h4 b6 40. h5 c5 41. g6 Re8 42. f5 exf5+ 43. Kf4
Rh8 44. Nxf5 Bf6 45. Rg2 {A convincing technical game by Caruana and a tough
start for the World Champion.} 1-0

[Event "YUG-ch 57th"]
[Site "Banja Koviljaca"]
[Date "2002.03.23"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Savic, Miodrag R"]
[Black "Abramovic, Bosko"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2469"]
[BlackElo "2524"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2002.03.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "YUG"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 089"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.08.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.08.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Nxe5 {Innocent
looking, but considered more risky than the alternative.} ({The theory runs
something like this:} 6... Be7 7. Bd3 (7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O {and Bf6 =.})
7... O-O 8. Nc3 (8. Qh5 f5 $11) 8... Bf6 $11) 7. Rxe5+ Be7 8. Bd3 (8. Nc3 {
is sometimes given an !, but it only leads to a transposition after} O-O ({
but not} 8... Nxb5 $2 9. Nd5 $1 $40) {since} 9. Nd5 Bf6 10. Nxf6+ Qxf6 11. Qe2
Nxb5 12. Qxb5 d6 {is dead equal. 1/2-1/2 Neal,L-Gooding,G/London,Canada 1995/
EXT 2001 (56)}) 8... O-O 9. Nc3 Bf6 10. Re3 Re8 $6 (10... g6 $5 11. b3 b6 12.
Ba3 (12. Qg4 Bb7 13. Bb2 Ne8 (13... Bg7 14. Rae1 f5 15. Qh3 Re8 $11 {1/2-1/2
Smyslov,V-Koblencs,A/Moscow 1945/URS-ch (25)}) 14. Rh3 d5 15. Qf4 Bg5 16. Qe5
Bf6 17. Qf4 Bg5 18. Qe5 Bf6 19. Qf4 Bg5 {1/2-1/2 Kasparov,G-Vasilienko/Tbilisi
1976/EXT 2001 (19)}) 12... Bb7 13. Qg4 (13. Bxd6 $5) 13... c5 14. Rae1 Re8 $11
{0-1 Yu Shaoteng-Zhang Zhong/Moscow 2001/CBM 86 (25)}) 11. Nd5 $146 {Black has
problems here. He has to develop and defend at the same time. White will at
least get a slight advantage with the pair of B:s.} (11. b3 Rxe3 12. fxe3 Bxc3
13. dxc3 b6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Janowski,D-Walbrodt,C/Berlin 1897/EXT 99 (34)}) 11...
Bg5 $6 (11... Bd4 12. Rxe8+ Nxe8 13. Qg4 Bb6 14. Qe4 g6 15. b4 $40) (11... Re6
$142 $5) 12. f4 $1 Rxe3 13. dxe3 Bh6 14. Qh5 $40 Ne8 15. g4 $1 $18 {Game over.}
c6 16. Nc3 Nf6 17. Qh4 d5 18. g5 Ng4 19. h3 d4 20. hxg4 dxc3 21. bxc3 Be6 22.
Qh5 Qd5 23. Kf2 g6 24. Qxh6 Bxg4 25. e4 Qc5+ 26. Be3 Qxc3 27. Rh1 1-0

[Event "Odorheiu Secuiesc zt"]
[Site "Odorheiu Secuiesc"]
[Date "1995.??.??"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Black "Dumitrache, Dragos Nicolae"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2590"]
[BlackElo "2530"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "135"]
[EventDate "1995.03.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 047"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1995.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1995.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ (9. Nc3 $142) 9... Ke8 10. Nc3 Ne7 11. Nd4 Ng6 (11... a6
12. h3 Ng6 13. f4 Bc5 14. Be3 h5 15. Nce2 Ne7 {=/Leko,P-Almasi,Z/Wijk op/1995})
12. Bg5 (12. Ndb5 $6 cxb5 13. Nxb5 Rb8 14. Nxc7+ Ke7 15. Bg5+ f6 16. exf6+ gxf6
17. Nd5+ Kf7 18. Bxf6 Rg8 $15) (12. f4 Bc5 $10) 12... Bd7 (12... h6 13. Ndb5
hxg5 14. Nxc7+ Ke7 15. Nxa8 $16) 13. Re1 h6 14. Bd2 Bc5 15. Nb3 Be7 16. Ne4
Nxe5 (16... b6 17. Nf6+ gxf6 18. exf6 Be6 19. fxe7 Kxe7 20. Nd4 $14) (16... Be6
17. Nbc5 b6 18. Nxe6 fxe6 $13) 17. Bc3 f6 18. Bxe5 fxe5 19. Nec5 Bc8 (19... b6
$2 20. Rxe5 bxc5 21. Rae1 $18) 20. Nd3 (20. Rxe5 Kf7 $15) 20... Rf8 21. Nxe5
$36 Rf6 22. Re2 Kf8 23. Rae1 Bd6 24. Nd4 Kg8 25. c3 a6 26. Nc4 Bd7 27. Nxd6
cxd6 28. Re7 Rf7 29. Nb3 Rxe7 30. Rxe7 Rd8 31. Na5 Kf8 32. Re3 Bc8 33. f3 c5
34. Nc4 b5 35. Nd2 Kf7 $10 36. a3 a5 37. Kf2 Be6 38. Ne4 Bd5 39. h4 Rd7 (39...
Bxe4 $10) 40. g4 a4 41. Nd2 Rb7 $6 42. Rd3 Ke6 43. f4 $36 Bc6 44. f5+ Ke7 45.
Re3+ Kf7 46. Kg3 Rb8 (46... b4 47. Nc4 $40) (46... d5 47. Nf3 $40) 47. Kf4 Rd8
48. g5 hxg5+ 49. hxg5 b4 50. g6+ Kf8 51. Rh3 $16 bxa3 52. bxa3 Bd5 53. Kg5 Re8
54. c4 Bg8 55. Rd3 Ke7 56. Ne4 Bxc4 57. Rxd6 Rc8 58. Rb6 Rc7 59. Kf4 Bb3 60.
Ke5 c4 61. Nc3 Rc5+ 62. Nd5+ Kd7 63. Rd6+ Ke8 64. Kd4 Rc8 65. f6 gxf6 66. Rxf6
c3 67. g7 Bxd5 68. Rf8+ 1-0

[Event "Linares 19th"]
[Site "Linares"]
[Date "2002.02.26"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2742"]
[BlackElo "2629"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2002.02.22"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 088"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.03.21"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.03.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 {This move is 'old' compared to the fashionable Bd7.
The manouvre Ne7-g6 was a revelation some six years ago. Now it´s considered
standard.} 10. b3 {White has tried a number of alternatives but all the
evidence points to the fact that b2 is the best square for the B in the Berlin.
The reasons are: 1) The B is out of the way in the centre. 2) The B is well
shielded and cannot be attacked by the black N. 3) The long term threat e5-e6
is stronger with the B on the long diagonal.} (10. Ne4 Ke8 11. h3 Ng6 12. Re1
h6 13. b3 a5 14. a4 c5 15. Be3 b6 16. Rad1 Be7 17. c4 Bb7 18. Bc1 Rd8 19. Rxd8+
Kxd8 $15 {1/2-1/2 Georgiev,K-Miles,A/Saint Vincent 2000/CBM 78 (48)}) (10. h3
Ng6 11. Re1 (11. Bg5+ $5 {see Shirov - Vallejo Pons, Linares 2002.}) 11... Bb4
12. Bd2 Be6 13. Rad1 Ke8 14. a3 Bxc3 15. Bxc3 c5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Feher,G-Sherzer,
A/HUN 1998/EXT 2000 (100)}) (10. Re1 h6 11. h3 Ng6 12. Bd2 Bd7 $13 {1/2-1/2
Anand,V-Vallejo Pons,F/Linares 2002/CBM 88_01 (29)}) 10... Bg4 $146 {A new try.
} (10... Ng6 11. h3 (11. Bb2 Ke8 12. Ne4 h6 13. h3 c5 14. Kh2 Be6 15. Rae1 Kd7
16. Ng1 Kc6 17. f4 Ne7 18. g4 g6 19. c4 b6 20. Re3 h5 $132 {1/2-1/2 De Vreugt,
D-Markowski,T/Germany 2001/EXT 2002 (31)}) 11... Ke8 12. Bb2 h5 13. Ne4 h4 14.
Rae1 Nf4 15. Nd4 Rh5 16. Kh2 Bd7 17. Bc1 Ne6 18. Nxe6 Bxe6 19. Ng5 Rd8 20. Nxe6
fxe6 $11 {1-0 De Vreugt,D-Markowski,T/Ohrid 2001/CBM 84 (51)}) 11. Ng5 Ke8 12.
Bb2 Nd5 13. h3 Bf5 14. g4 Bd7 (14... Bxc2 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. Rac1 $16) 15. Ne2
h5 $6 {White is allowed to keep his strong N on g5.} (15... h6 $142 $5 16. Ne4
(16. e6 hxg5 17. exd7+ Kxd7 $17) 16... h5 17. c4 Nb4 18. f3 $13) 16. c4 Nb4 17.
Rad1 $1 $36 {[%mdl 2048]} hxg4 18. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 (18... Rxh3 $2 19. Nf4 Rf3 20.
e6 Rxf4 (20... Bxe6 21. Nxe6 Rxf7 22. Rfe1 $18) 21. exd7+ Kxf7 22. d8=Q Rxd8
23. Rxd8 $16) 19. Rxd7+ Ke6 20. Rxc7 Nd3 21. Bd4 Rxh3 22. Be3 g5 23. Rxb7 Nxe5
24. Kg2 $14 {White seems to be better here, so the draw is somewhat surprising.
} (24. Kg2 Bd6 25. Rxa7 Rxa7 26. Bxa7 Nf3 27. Nd4+ Nxd4 28. Bxd4 Rh2+ 29. Kg1
g3 30. fxg3 Rxa2 31. Rf2 Ra3 32. Rf3 $14) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Linares 19th"]
[Site "Linares"]
[Date "2002.03.01"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2715"]
[BlackElo "2629"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2002.02.22"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 088"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.03.21"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.03.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 Ng6 11. Bg5+ Ke8 12. Rad1 Be7 $146 (12... Bd7
13. Rd2 Be7 14. Rfd1 Rd8 15. Ne4 h6 16. Bxe7 Kxe7 17. Nc5 Bc8 18. b4 Rxd2 19.
Rxd2 Re8 20. Kh2 Kf8 $11 {1/2-1/2 Konguvel,P-Markowski,T/Biel 2001/CBM 83 ext 
(40)}) (12... Be6 13. Nd4 Bb4 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. Ne4 Nxe5 16. Bf4 Nf7 17. Bxc7
$14 {1-0 Ivanchuk,V-Shirov,A/Monte Carlo 1998/CBM 63 ext (59)}) 13. Bxe7 Kxe7
14. Nd4 $5 Nf4 (14... Nxe5 {risky} 15. Rfe1 Kf6 16. b3 $1 {with a lasting
initiative for White.}) 15. Ne4 $14 {There is no doubt that White has a slight
advantage here. The question is how serious it will get.} Rd8 16. Rfe1 Rd5 17.
c4 $5 Rd8 (17... Rxe5 $5 {looks dubious, but might well be the best move.} 18.
Nf3 Re6 19. g3 $5 (19. Nfg5 Re5 20. Nf3 $11) 19... Nxh3+ 20. Kg2 $36 {[%csl
Rh3]}) 18. Kh2 a5 19. g4 a4 20. Kg3 Ne6 21. Nf5+ Kf8 22. f4 $16 {Now white´s
advantage is real and menacing. Black has a poor position.} b6 23. Rxd8+ Nxd8
24. Ne3 (24. Nd4 $5 $16 {keeping everything centralized and hitting c6 looks
good.}) 24... Ne6 25. f5 Nd4 26. Kf4 (26. Ng5 $5 $16 {[%cal Yg5f3]}) 26... Bb7
27. c5 a3 $1 28. b3 Ba6 $1 $132 {Finally Black is drummimng up some
counterplay. Vallejo proved to be quite a fighter i this tournament.} 29. cxb6
cxb6 30. Nd6 Rd8 31. Ndc4 Bxc4 32. Nxc4 b5 33. Nd6 f6 $1 $13 1/2-1/2

[Event "Capablanca Memorial Elite 31st"]
[Site "Cienfuegos"]
[Date "1996.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Hernandez Guerrero, Gilberto Eduardo"]
[Black "Miles, Anthony John"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2555"]
[BlackElo "2635"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "124"]
[EventDate "1996.05.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "CUB"]
[EventCategory "12"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 054"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1996.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1996.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 e5 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nbd2 Ke8 (9... h6 10. Nb3 c5 11. Rd1+ Ke8 12. g4 Ne7 13. h3 b6
14. Kg2 g5 15. Kg3 Ng6 16. Bd2 Bb7 17. Bc3 Bg7 $15 {Emunds,H-Keitlinghaus,L/
Münster (10) 1992/0-1 (70)}) 10. Re1 (10. b3 a5 11. a4 Bb4 12. Bb2 (12. Ne4 $5)
12... Bxd2 13. Nxd2 Be6 14. Rfd1 Rd8 15. h3 h5 16. Ne4 b6 17. Ng5 Ke7 18. g4
hxg4 19. hxg4 Nh6 20. f3 Rd5 21. c4 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Rb8 23. Kf2 $14 {Dolmatov,
S-Karaklajic,N/Belgrade GMA-op 1988/1-0 (53)}) 10... h6 11. h3 (11. Nb3 Be6 12.
Nbd4 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 Bc5 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. Rxe3 Rd8 $10 {Link,
M-Bjornsson,B/Reykjavik op (04) 1994/1/2-1/2 (54)}) 11... c5 12. Ne4 b6 13. Bf4
Be6 14. Rad1 Rd8 15. Rxd8+ Kxd8 16. g4 Ne7 17. Bg3 Nc6 18. a3 Be7 19. Nh4 Kc8
$1 {This effectively stops Whites planned action with the advance f4-f5.} 20.
Nf3 (20. Nf5 $2 Bxf5 21. gxf5 Nd4 $17) (20. f4 $2 Nd4 21. Kf2 g5 $17) (20. Kg2
$2 Bxh4 21. Bxh4 Nxe5 22. Nxc5 Bd5+ 23. Ne4 Nc4 $17) 20... Rd8 21. Kg2 Kb7 22.
Nfd2 h5 23. f3 Nd4 $15 {White is worse due to Blacks pair of bishops.} 24. c3
Nc6 25. Nf1 Na5 26. Ne3 Nc4 27. Nxc4 Bxc4 28. f4 Rd3 $6 (28... h4 $5) 29. gxh5
$1 Be6 30. Re2 Rd8 31. Bf2 Kc6 32. Be1 (32. a4 a5 {/\Bb3xa4}) 32... Kb5 33. Ng3
Ka4 34. f5 Bd5+ 35. Kf2 Bh4 36. c4 $5 $132 (36. Rd2 Kb3 $17) 36... Bxc4 37. Re4
Rd4 38. Ke3 Bg5+ $2 (38... Rxe4+ 39. Kxe4 Kb3 $17) 39. Kf2 Bd3 40. Rg4 Bh6 41.
Bc3 Rf4+ 42. Rxf4+ Bxf4 43. e6 f6 44. Kf3 Bh6 45. Ne4 {Black has allowed White
to get a very active position, with b2 well defended and a threatening passed
pawn on e6. It certainly looks difficult for Black.} Kb3 46. a4 (46. e7 Bb5 47.
h4 (47. Nxf6 $2 gxf6 48. Bxf6 c4 49. Bc3 Be8 50. Kg4 c5 $19) 47... Be8 48. Kg4
Bb5 49. Kf3 Be8 $10) 46... Bc2 47. a5 Bd3 (47... Bd1+ 48. Kf2 Bxh5 49. Bxf6 $1
$16) (47... Kc4 $2 48. axb6 axb6 49. Bd2 $1 $16) 48. axb6 axb6 49. h4 $2 (49.
Bd2 $1 Bxd2 (49... Bxe4+ 50. Kxe4 Bxd2 51. e7 $18) (49... Kxb2 50. Bxh6 gxh6
51. Nxf6 Bb5 52. Ng4 $18) 50. Nxd2+ Kxb2 51. Ne4 Bb5 52. Nxf6 c4 53. Ne4 Bc6 (
53... c3 54. Nxc3 Kxc3 55. f6 $18) 54. Kf4 Bxe4 55. Kxe4 c3 56. e7 c2 57. e8=Q
c1=Q 58. Qe5+ $16) 49... Bc2 50. Ng3 (50. Bxf6 gxf6 51. Nxf6 Kxb2 52. e7 Ba4
53. e8=Q Bxe8 54. Nxe8 c4 $19) (50. Bd2 Bxd2 51. Nxd2+ Kxb2 52. h6 gxh6 53. Ne4
c4 $19) 50... Kc4 51. e7 Ba4 52. Ne4 Bc6 53. Kg4 Kd5 54. Nxf6+ $2 (54. Ng5 Kd6
55. Nf7+ Kxe7 56. Nxh6 gxh6 57. Bd2 Ba4 58. Bxh6 Bd1+ 59. Kf4 Bxh5 60. Ke4 $10)
54... gxf6 55. Bxf6 Bd7 $1 $19 56. Bg5 Bg7 57. h6 Bxb2 58. e8=Q Bxe8 59. f6
Bxf6 $1 60. Bxf6 Bg6 61. Kg5 Bd3 62. Bd8 b5 0-1

[Event "Politiken Cup 18th"]
[Site "Copenhagen"]
[Date "1996.??.??"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Rozentalis, Eduardas"]
[Black "Kortschnoj, Viktor Lvovich"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2605"]
[BlackElo "2645"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "1996.06.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "DEN"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 054"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1996.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1996.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Hecht Chekhov} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 a6 6. Bd3 (6.
Ba4 {Chekhov} b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6) (6. Bxc6 {Chekhov} dxc6 7. Re1 (7. Qe2
Bf5 8. g4 Bg6 9. Nxe5 Qxd4 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. Nc3 f5 12. Bf4 O-O-O 13. Rad1 Qf6
14. Rxd8+ Kxd8 15. Nxe4 fxe4 16. Qxe4 Bd6 17. Rd1 Kc8 $132 {Maljutin,
E-Rublevsky,S/Sochi/1990/1|0/52/}) 7... Nf6 8. Nxe5 Be7 9. Qe2 Be6 10. Nc3 O-O
11. Nxf7 Rxf7 12. Qxe6 Qxd4 13. Be3 Qh4 14. h3 Bd6 15. Rad1 Re8 16. Qb3 b5 $10
{Velikhanli,F-Litinskaya,M/Manila/1992/0,5/61/}) 6... d5 7. Nxe5 (7. c4 Nxd4 8.
Nxd4 (8. Nxe5 {Chekhov} Bd6 9. Bxe4 Bxe5 10. cxd5 O-O 11. Nc3 Qd6 12. f4 Bf6
13. Kh1 Re8 14. Qd3 g6 $10 {Moroz,A-Buturin,V/Kiev/1986/0,5/41/}) 8... exd4 9.
cxd5 Nf6 10. Re1+ Be7 11. Bc4 O-O 12. a4 c6 13. Qxd4 Nxd5 14. Bxd5 cxd5 15. Nc3
Be6 $15 {Marco,G-Gunsberg,I/Hastings 1895/1/2-1/2 (58)}) (7. dxe5 {Chekhov} Bg4
8. Bf4 Be7 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 O-O 11. h3 Bh5 12. Re1 Qd7 $10 {Johansson,
J-Ornstein,A/Borlange/1992/0|1/36/}) 7... Nxe5 (7... Nxd4 8. Re1 Be6 9. c3 Nc6
10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Qa4 Qd7 12. Bxe4 dxe4 13. Qxe4 Bd6 14. Nd2 O-O 15. Nf3 Bd5
$10 {Paulsen,L-Morphy,P (2)/USA-ch 1857/1/2-1/2 (53)}) 8. dxe5 Bf5 $146 (8...
Be6 9. Nc3 $16 {Maroczy}) 9. Qe2 Qd7 10. Nd2 Nc5 (10... Nxd2 $5 {Chekhov} 11.
Bxd2 Bc5 $10) 11. Bxf5 Qxf5 12. Nb3 O-O-O (12... Nxb3 13. axb3 Bc5 $10) 13. Re1
h5 14. Nd4 Qg4 15. Qe3 Be7 16. h3 Qg6 17. b4 Ne6 18. c3 Kb8 (18... Nxd4 19.
Qxd4 Kb8 20. Be3 $16) 19. a4 Bg5 $2 (19... Rhe8 $142) 20. Qg3 $1 Nxd4 21. cxd4
(21. Bxg5 {Chekhov} Nc2 22. Bxd8 Rxd8 23. Qxg6 fxg6 $14) 21... Bxc1 22. Qxg6
fxg6 23. Raxc1 $16 {Hecht: beiderseitige B-Schwächen, starker w Freibauer,
Taktik} Rhf8 24. b5 Rf4 (24... axb5 {Chekhov} 25. axb5 Rf4 26. Red1 Kc8) 25.
bxa6 Rxd4 (25... bxa6 26. Rc6 (26. Red1 $5 Kb7 27. Rc5 c6 28. a5 $16) 26...
Rxd4 27. Rxa6 $16 (27. Rxg6 {Chekhov} Rxa4 {[%cal Yc7c2,Yd5d2]} 28. Rxg7 $16))
26. a7+ Ka8 $6 (26... Kxa7 27. Rxc7 Rxa4 (27... Rc4 {Hecht} 28. Rxg7 d4 29. Rb1
d3 30. Rbxb7+ Ka6 31. Rbd7 Rd4 32. Ra7+ Kb6 33. Rgb7+ Kc5 34. Rb1 $13) 28. Rb1
(28. Rxg7 $18 {Chekhov}) 28... Rb8 29. Rxg7 Re4 30. Rxg6 Re8 31. Rg7 Rb8 32.
Re7 $16) 27. Rxc7 Rc4 28. Rxg7 d4 29. e6 d3 30. Rd7 {Hecht: mit sKa7 ginge
jetzt Txd7 nebst Td4} Rcc8 (30... Rxd7 {Chekhov} 31. exd7 Rd4 32. Re8+ $18 (32.
Re8+ {Hecht} Kxa7 33. d8=Q $18)) 31. Rd1 Re8 32. e7 Kxa7 33. R1xd3 Ka6 34. Kh2
Rc6 35. Re3 b6 (35... Rcc8 {Hecht} 36. Re6+ Ka5 37. Rxg6 $18) (35... Rb6 {Hecht
}) (35... b5 {Hecht}) (35... b6 {Hecht} 36. Rd8 $18) 1-0

[Event "Corus"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2001.01.18"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2849"]
[BlackElo "2772"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2001.01.13"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 081"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.03.20"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.03.20"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 Be7 {Highly unusual. Normally Black avoids
exchanging the black squared Bs. Here he invites it whole-heartedly.} 11. Bg5 {
The thematic response.} (11. Bf4 Be6 12. g4 Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14. Kg2 Be7 15.
a3 Rd8 16. Rad1 h5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Jenni,F-Mantovani,R/SUI 1999/EXT 2001 (76)})
11... Bxg5 $146 {[%mdl 8] Kramniks idea is to put the K on e7, connecting the
Rs and then to contain the white P majority along the diagonal e6-f5-g4.} (
11... Bb4 {cat and mouse} 12. Ne4 Be6 13. c3 Bf8 14. g4 Ne7 15. Nd4 Bd5 16. Nd2
c5 17. Nb5 Kd7 18. Bf4 Kc6 $13 {0-1 Van den Doel,E-Miles,A/Groningen 1997/CBM
62 ext (29)}) 12. Nxg5 h6 13. Nge4 b6 14. Rfd1 (14. Rad1 Ba6 15. Rfe1 Ke7 {
with an OK position for Black.}) 14... Ne7 (14... Ba6 15. a4 {is a bit
unpleasant for Black.}) 15. f4 Ng6 16. Rf1 h5 17. Rae1 Bf5 18. Ng3 Ne7 $1 {
Cautious play.} (18... Bxc2 $6 {allows White to expand} 19. f5 Nf8 20. Rf2 Bd3
21. Rd2 Ba6 22. e6 $5 {prevents Rd8 and allows White to develop his attack.} h4
(22... fxe6 23. fxe6 $40 {[%cal Yg3f5]}) (22... f6 23. h4) 23. Nge2 {[%cal
Ye2f4,Ye2d4]} Bxe2 (23... Rh6 24. Nd4 Bb7 25. Ne4 $36) (23... fxe6 24. fxe6 Rd8
25. Rxd8+ Kxd8 26. Nd4 $16) 24. exf7+ Kxf7 25. Rdxe2 $14 {[%cal Ye2e7,Ye7c7,
Ye7f7]}) 19. Nxf5 Nxf5 20. Kf2 Nd4 21. Rc1 (21. Rd1 $5 Rd8 (21... Nxc2 22. Rd2
Nb4 23. Rfd1 $36) 22. Rd2 {is Kasparovs suggestion for an improvement in his
express commentary at www.kasparovchess.com.}) 21... Rd8 22. Rfd1 Ke7 23. Ne4 (
23. g3 $5) 23... h4 $1 24. b4 Rh5 $2 {Threatening Rf5.} (24... Nf5 $142) 25.
Ng5 {Not the best.} (25. g4 $1 {Both players seem to have missed this rather
simple combination - so strong was their delusion that g4 was unplayable that
they reportedly missed it in the post mortem as well. It wasn´t missed on ICC
though. The waves of discussion went high when 25.Ng5 came up on the screens.
"Kasparov missed a win in one" was the typical reaction.} Rhh8 (25... hxg3+ $2
26. Nxg3 Rxh3 27. Rxd4 Rxd4 28. Nf5+ $18) 26. f5 {With a tremendous position
for White. No doubt Kasparov would have won this and shaken a few ghosts from
his shoulders at the same time.}) 25... Rhh8 (25... f6 26. c3 fxg5 27. cxd4
gxf4 28. Rxc6 $16) 26. Rd3 Ne6 27. Nxe6 Kxe6 28. Rcd1 Rd5 29. c4 Rxd3 30. Rxd3
$16 {This ending is difficult for Black.} a5 31. bxa5 Ra8 32. Ra3 Kf5 33. Kf3
Ra6 $1 34. c5 f6 $2 (34... bxc5 $142) 35. Re3 $1 Rxa5 36. e6 Ra8 37. e7 Re8 38.
a4 Kg6 39. Re6 Kf7 40. Rxc6 $6 (40. f5 $1 {was the right path} Rxe7 41. Rxc6
bxc5 42. a5 $18) 40... Ra8 $1 41. cxb6 cxb6 42. Rxb6 Rxa4 43. Re6 Ke8 44. Re4
Ra3+ 45. Re3 Rxe3+ 46. Kxe3 f5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Nikolaev zt"]
[Site "Nikolaev"]
[Date "1995.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Kuzmin, Gennadi P"]
[Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2545"]
[BlackElo "2510"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "116"]
[EventDate "1995.03.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "UKR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 047"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1995.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1995.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Hecht} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. b3 (10. Nc3 $142) 10... a5 $1 11. a4 Bb4
$1 12. Bb2 Be6 13. Rd1 Bd5 (13... Rd8 $10) 14. Nbd2 Rd8 (14... Bxd2 $5 15. Nxd2
c5 $10) 15. c3 $1 Bc5 16. c4 Bxf3 17. Nxf3 Ng3 $5 18. Rxd8+ Kxd8 19. Re1 (19.
Rd1+ Ke7 20. Nd4 Bxd4 21. Bxd4 Ne2+ 22. Kf1 Nxd4 23. Rxd4 $14) 19... Ke7 20.
Bc3 b6 21. Bd2 (21. Nd4 $2 Bxd4 22. Bxd4 Nf5 23. Bc3 Rd8 $17) 21... h6 22. e6
$1 fxe6 23. Ne5 Re8 24. Bc3 Nf5 25. g4 Nh4 26. Nxc6+ Kd7 27. Ne5+ Kc8 28. Kf1
$6 (28. Rd1 Rf8 29. Nd3 $14) 28... Rd8 29. Rc1 g5 30. Ke2 Ng2 $132 31. Nd3 Bd4
32. c5 Kb7 33. c6+ Ka6 34. Kf3 Nh4+ 35. Ke4 Bxc3 36. Rxc3 Ng6 37. f4 Rf8 38.
Rc2 $2 (38. fxg5 hxg5 39. Rc1 Rh8 40. Rh1 $13 (40. Rf1 Rxh3 41. Rf7 $4 Rxd3 $19
)) 38... gxf4 39. h4 (39. Rf2 e5 40. Nxe5 $2 Re8 $19) 39... f3 40. h5 Ne7 41.
Nf4 Nd5 $1 $17 42. Nxe6 f2 $19 43. Rxf2 Nc3+ 44. Kd3 Rxf2 45. Kxc3 {Hecht:
N<->R. 5<->4 Bauern, Bauern auf beiden Flügeln. Aktiver sR gegen w
Bauernschwächen. Schwierige Technik wegen passiven s K.} Rf7 46. Kc4 b5+ 47.
Kc5 (47. axb5+ {Hecht} Kb6 48. g5 hxg5 49. Nxg5 Rf4+ 50. Kc3 Kxb5 51. Ne6 Rf3+
$19) 47... bxa4 48. bxa4 Ka7 49. Nd4 Rf4 50. Ne6 Rf7 51. Nd4 Rg7 52. Ne6 Re7
53. Kd5 Kb6 54. Nf8 Re1 55. Nd7+ Ka6 56. Ne5 Ra1 57. Nd7 Ka7 58. Nc5 Rg1 0-1

[Event "Bundesliga 0102"]
[Site "Germany"]
[Date "2002.04.28"]
[Round "15.8"]
[White "Nijboer, Friso"]
[Black "Gross, David2"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2551"]
[BlackElo "2463"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2001.10.06"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 089"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.08.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.08.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Porz"]
[BlackTeam "Tegernsee"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. Rd1 Kc8 11. Ng5 Be8 12. b3 b6 13. Bb2 Be7 14. Nh3
$5 {[%cal Yh3f4,Yc3e4][%mdl 8] The N is going to f4 rather than to e4 where to
the other N is heading. A logistical solution well worth remembering. Still it
might be merely cosmetical since Nh3-f4 and Se4 takes just as many moves as
Nge4 and Ne2-f4.} (14. Nge4 Kb7 15. Rd3 (15. Ne2 a5 16. a4 Rd8 17. Rxd8 Bxd8
18. Rd1 Kc8 19. Nf4 h5 {1/2-1/2 Stefansson,H-Almasi,Z/Ohrid 2001/CBM 84 (19)})
15... Rd8 16. Rad1 Rxd3 17. Rxd3 h5 18. Bc1 $14 {1-0 Leko,P-Kramnik,V/Budapest
2001/CBM 81/[Wedberg] (62)}) 14... Bd7 (14... Kb7 {intending Rd8 is the
alternative.}) 15. Ne4 h6 16. Nf4 Rd8 17. h3 g6 18. g4 Ng7 19. Ng2 h5 20. f3
hxg4 (20... c5 21. Kf2 Kb7 22. Ke3 Bc6 $132) 21. hxg4 Kb7 22. Kf2 Ne6 23. Ke3
a5 24. a4 c5 25. Nf4 Nxf4 26. Kxf4 $14 Be6 {Here the B is passive. It's better
to put it on c6.} (26... Bc6 $5) 27. c4 Rxd1 28. Rxd1 Rh8 29. Kg3 c6 30. Bc1 b5
31. Bg5 $16 Bxg5 32. Nxg5 Re8 33. Ne4 Kc7 34. axb5 a4 (34... cxb5 35. Nd6 $18)
35. bxa4 cxb5 36. cxb5 Bb3 37. Rc1 Bxa4 38. Rxc5+ Kb6 39. Nd6 Kxc5 40. Nxe8 Kd5
1-0

[Event "Linares 19th"]
[Site "Linares"]
[Date "2002.02.24"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2757"]
[BlackElo "2629"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2002.02.22"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 088"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.03.21"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.03.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. Re1 ({For} 10. b3 {see Adams - Vallejo Pons from
the same event.}) ({and for} 10. h3 {check Shirov - Vallejo Pons, also from
Linares 2002.}) 10... h6 11. h3 (11. Ne4 Ng6 12. h3 b6 13. Bd2 c5 14. Rad1 Ke8
15. a3 a5 16. Kh2 Be6 17. g4 Rd8 {1/2-1/2 Blehm,P-Markowski,T/Ohrid 2001/CBM
84 (17)}) 11... Ng6 12. Bd2 (12. b3 Bb4 13. Bb2 Ke8 14. a3 Bxc3 15. Bxc3 c5 (
15... Be6) 16. b4 cxb4 17. axb4 Nf4 18. e6 fxe6 19. Be5 Rf8 20. Nd4 c6 21. b5
Bd7 {1/2-1/2 Smetankin,S-Markowski,T/Leon 2001/CBM 86 (21)}) 12... Bd7 13. Ne4
Kc8 14. Ng3 c5 15. Nh5 b5 $1 {Black gains space and shows his opponent that he
wants more than just development with say 15. - b6.} 16. Nh2 Kb7 17. f4 Nh4 18.
Re2 (18. g3 Nf5 19. g4 Nd4 20. Rac1 Rd8 $13) 18... Bc6 19. c3 g6 20. Nf6 Be7
21. Be1 Nf5 22. Ne4 Ng7 23. Ng4 Rad8 24. Ngf2 h5 25. Bd2 h4 26. Be3 Ne6 {
[%mdl 32] Vallejo has sung his part of this duet with great musicality. He has
made the right active moves on both flanks. Anand on the other hand has missed
a few notes. The situation is still under control, but it's White who must be
careful.} 27. Nf6 a5 28. N2e4 b4 29. Ng5 Rd3 $6 (29... Nxg5 30. fxg5 Rd3 $36) (
29... Rd3 $6 30. Nxf7 $1 Rf8 31. Ng5 Nxg5 32. fxg5 bxc3 (32... Bb5 33. cxb4
axb4 34. Rc1 c4 35. Bf2) 33. Rc1 $1 $14) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Astana"]
[Site "Astana"]
[Date "2001.06.01"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2827"]
[BlackElo "2797"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2001.05.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 084"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.09.13"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.09.13"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. h3 Bd7 11. b3 Ke8 {Definitely a big surprise - the
K takes a step in the "wrong" direction. Kramnik wants to prove the
versatility of the Bd7 move. Here the idea is not to bring the K to safety but
to release the R via d8.} 12. Bb2 Rd8 13. Rad1 Ne7 {This has become a standard
manouvre in the Berlin since Zoltan Almasi introduced it six years ago against
Peter Leko in Wijk aan Zee.} (13... Bb4 14. Ne2 $1 (14. Ne4 Be6 15. g4 Bd5 $132
) 14... Be6 15. Nf4 $36 {The exchange of R:s on d1 proves to be of little
value here.}) 14. Rfe1 Ng6 {Kramniks play is slow but constructive. Eventually
he is going to get the pieces to the right squares and then start exchanging
to reach the right kind of ending. But he is playing against one of the
strongest attacking players in the history of chess...} (14... Bf5 15. Nd4 Bg6
16. e6 $16) 15. Ne4 Nf4 {Black seems to be on the right track to a very safe
setup with Ne6, Be7 and then Bc8. But Kasparov is not very impressed by all
this.} 16. e6 $3 {[%mdl 5] Kasparov himself doesn't give this move even a
single ! so I have to give it two to compensate. It's a beautiful move
refuting Black's setup. White's play is also a nice model for treating the
type of slow build-up practised by Kramnik here.} Nxe6 17. Nd4 $16 {Black has
a slight material plus, but White has all the activity and the K on e8 is
trapped in the middle of it. Clearly Black is in grave trouble here.} (17. Be5
Rc8 18. Nh4 {followed by f4-f5 was even stronger according to Kasparov.}) 17...
c5 $6 {This move cost Kramnik one hour on the clock leaving only 18 minutes
for the rest of the game. A sign of the problems facing Black here.} ({The
best chance was} 17... Rh7 18. f4 c5 19. Nf3 (19. Nxe6 $5 Bxe6 20. Bf6 Rxd1 21.
Rxd1 Bd6 22. Bh4 $14) 19... Bc6 20. Rb1 {The key move according to Kasparov,
but it looks a bit passive.} Bxe4 21. Rxe4 g6 22. g4 Rd5 (22... Be7 23. f5 $18)
(22... Bg7 23. f5 $18) 23. c4 (23. Kg2 Kd8 $13) 23... Rd3 24. Ne1 Rd2 $5 {
Black sacs a piece and goes for activity.} (24... Rxh3 25. f5 $16 {Kasparov})
25. f5 gxf5 26. gxf5 Bg7 27. Bc1 (27. Bxg7 Rxg7+ 28. Kh1 (28. Kf1 Rd4 $17)
28... Rf2 $11) 27... Bd4+ 28. Kh1 Rd1 29. fxe6 f5 (29... Rg7 30. exf7+ Kxf7 $11
) 30. Re2 Rg7 31. Kh2 Bg1+ 32. Kh1 Bd4 $11) 18. Nf5 Rh7 19. Bf6 Rc8 20. Bxg7 $5
(20. f4 $1 {keeping the pressure was better according to Kasparov} Bc6 21. Nfg3
$40 (21. Bh4 c4 $1 22. bxc4 Bxe4 23. Rxe4 Bc5+ $13)) 20... Bxg7 21. Nxg7+ Rxg7
22. Nf6+ Ke7 23. Nxd7 Rd8 {Black has survived the first wave, but White is
still slightly better on the board and much better on the clock.} 24. Ne5 Rxd1
25. Rxd1 Nf4 (25... Nd4 26. c4 $14) 26. Kh1 $1 Rg5 (26... Nxg2 $4 27. Rg1 $18)
(26... Rxg2 $4 27. Nd3 $18) 27. Ng4 Rd5 28. Re1+ Kf8 29. Nxh6 Rd2 30. Re5 $1 {
[%cal Ye5f5]} Rxf2 $2 (30... Rxc2 $142 31. Rf5 Rxf2 32. Ng4 Rxg2 33. Rxf4 Rxa2
$14) 31. Rf5 Kg7 32. Ng4 Rxg2 33. Rxf4 Rxc2 34. Rf2 $18 Rc3 35. Kg2 b5 36. h4
c4 37. h5 cxb3 38. axb3 Rc5 39. h6+ Kf8 40. Nf6 Rg5+ 41. Kh1 1-0

[Event "Horgen-B"]
[Site "Horgen"]
[Date "1995.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Kindermann, Stefan"]
[Black "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2565"]
[BlackElo "2630"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "1995.10.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[EventCategory "11"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 050"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1996.02.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1996.02.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. c4 $6 {This is hard to understand, since it later helps Black
to get his pawns rolling on the queenside.} (9. Nc3 {Followed by h3, g4, Nd4
and f4 is the only really good plan for White in this position.}) 9... Be6 10.
b3 a5 $1 {Excellent, Black gets on with it rather than waste tempi on nice
looking development moves.} 11. Nc3 (11. a4 Bb4 $15) 11... Bb4 12. Ne4 a4 13.
h3 h5 (13... axb3 14. Bg5+ $132) 14. Bd2 (14. Bg5+ Kc8 {And b6, Kb7 gives
Black a good game.}) 14... Bxd2 15. Nfxd2 b6 16. Nf3 Ke7 17. Rfd1 axb3 18. axb3
Rhd8 19. Neg5 Rxa1 20. Rxa1 Rd3 $17 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Rb1 c5 23. b4 cxb4 24.
Rxb4 Nd4 25. Ng5 Nc6 26. Ra4 Rd4 27. Ra3 Rxc4 $19 28. g3 b5 29. Rf3 Nxe5 30.
Re3 Kd6 31. f4 Rc1+ 32. Kf2 Rc2+ 33. Ke1 Nc4 34. Rxe6+ Kd5 35. Re8 b4 36. Rb8
Rb2 37. f5 b3 38. Ne6 Rb1+ 39. Ke2 b2 40. Rb5+ Kd6 41. Kd3 Na3 0-1

[Event "FIDE-Wch k.o."]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2001.11.27"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Rizouk, Aimen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2706"]
[BlackElo "2464"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2001.11.27"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 086"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.02.05"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.02.05"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. h3 h6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 Ne7 13. Rad1 b6 14. Nd4
$1 $146 {[%mdl 8] If we consider the plan f4-f5, and then e6 or f6, optimal
for White, then d4 is an excellent square for the white N. True, the N can be
kicked by c5, but then there is an intreesting circuit e2-g3-e4-(g5) depending
on what actions Black take. All in all Shirov's novelty open up new
interesting vistas for the white side.} (14. Ne2 Ng6 15. Ng3 (15. Ne1 {was
Kasparovs choice in the match against Kramnik. It has been tired a few times
since then, but Black seems to have no problems.} h5 16. Nd3 (16. f4 Ne7 17.
Ng3 (17. Nf3 Nf5 18. Rd3 Bc5+ 19. Nfd4 a5 20. a4 Bxd4+ 21. Nxd4 c5 22. Nxf5
Bxf5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Arutunian,D-Kamadadze,Z/Batumi 2001/EXT 2002 (37)}) 17... Nf5
18. Rxd7 Nxg3 19. Rxf7 Bc5+ 20. Rf2 Ne2+ 21. Kf1 Ng3+ 22. Kg1 {1/2-1/2 Yagupov,
I-Belikov,V/Alushta 2001/EXT 2002 (22)}) 16... c5 17. c4 (17. Ndf4 Nxf4 18.
Nxf4 a5 19. Rd2 Bf5 20. Rfd1 Kb7 21. a4 h4 $11 {1-0 Van den Doel,E-Jonkman,H/
Leeuwarden 2001/CBM 80 ext (46)}) 17... a5 18. a4 h4 19. Nc3 Be6 20. Nd5 Kb7
21. Ne3 Rh5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Kasparov,G-Kramnik,V/London 2000/CBM 80/[Wedberg] (25)
}) 15... Nf4 16. Nd4 a5 17. a4 b5 $13 {1/2-1/2 Shirov,A-Kramnik,V/Astana 2001/
CBM 84/[Wedberg] (41)}) (14. Rd2 c5 15. Rfd1 Be6 16. Ne2 g5 17. h4 g4 18. Nh2
h5 $13 {0-1 Anand,V-Kramnik,V/Mainz 2001/CBM 84 (27)}) (14. Ne1 a5 15. a4 h5
16. Nf3 Bf5 17. Nd4 Bg6 18. Rd2 Kb7 19. Rfd1 Re8 20. Nce2 Bh7 21. e6 f6 $13 {
0-1 Nijboer,F-Van den Doel,E/Leeuwarden 2001/CBM 84 (34)}) 14... Ng6 $6 {
Black wants to defend against f4-f5 by hitting e5. Eventually this doesn't
work, so somewhere we need to look for an alternative. But it´s not a big
surprise that Black has more problems against an active central move like Nd4
than against moves like Ne1.} (14... c5 {is the major alternative.} 15. Nde2 c4
$5 {suggested by Alexey Bezgodov on Club Kasparov} (15... h5 16. Ne4 Bf5 17.
N2g3 Bg6 (17... Bh7 18. Ng5 Bxc2 19. Nxf7 $36) 18. f4 h4 19. f5 Bh7 20. f6 $36)
(15... Bf5 16. Rd2 h5 17. Ng3 Bg6 (17... h4 18. Nxf5 Nxf5 19. Ne4 Be7 20. g4 $5
$36) 18. f4 h4 19. f5 Bh7 20. Nge4 $1 (20. f6 gxf6 21. exf6 Bh6 22. Re2 Nc6
$132) 20... Bxf5 (20... Nxf5 21. Ng5 $16) 21. Ng5 f6 22. exf6 gxf6 23. Nd5 $36)
16. bxc4 Nc6 {[%csl Rc4][%cal Yc6a5,Ya5c4,Yf8c5,Yd7e6,Ye6c4]} 17. Nd5 (17. Ne4
Na5 18. c5 Nb7 $1 $132) 17... Na5 18. Ne3 Be6 (18... Bc5 19. Nd4 $16) 19. Nf4
Bxc4 (19... Nxc4 $2 20. Nxe6 Nxb2 21. Rd8+ Kb7 22. Rxa8 Kxa8 23. Nxc7+ $16) 20.
Nxc4 Nxc4 21. Bc3 $14 {[%cal Ye5e6]}) 15. f4 a5 (15... Bc5 16. Ne4 Bxd4+ 17.
Rxd4 Re8 18. g4 $16) (15... c5 16. Nde2 h5 17. Ne4 {[%cal Yf4f5,Ge4g5] White
is rolling.}) 16. a4 {If Black is allowed to push a4 he gets too much
counterplay.} h5 (16... c5 17. Nde2 Bf5 18. Rd2 h5 19. Nd5 $16 {[%cal Yd5e3,
Yf4f5]}) (16... Bc5 17. Ne4 Bxd4+ 18. Rxd4 c5 19. Rd2 Bc6 20. Ng3 $16) 17. Ne4
Be7 {Black is holding up the f5 thrust, but Shirov finds another active
approach.} 18. Ng5 $1 (18. Ne2 Re8 19. f5 Nxe5 $1 20. Bxe5 Bf8 $13) 18... c5 (
18... Bxg5 19. fxg5 Nxe5 20. Nf5 {Blacks position crumbles.} Ng6 21. Nxg7 $18)
19. Nxf7 $1 $16 Rf8 (19... cxd4 20. f5 Rf8 21. fxg6 $16) 20. e6 cxd4 (20...
Rxf7 21. exd7+ Kxd7 22. Nf5+ Bd6 23. Nxg7 Rxf4 24. Nxh5 $18) 21. f5 (21. exd7+
Kxd7 22. Rxd4+ $16) 21... Nh4 22. exd7+ Kxd7 23. Ne5+ Kc8 24. Nc6 Bc5 25. Bxd4
Rxf5 26. Rxf5 Nxf5 27. Bxc5 bxc5 28. Rd5 1-0

[Event "Astana"]
[Site "Astana"]
[Date "2001.05.29"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2722"]
[BlackElo "2797"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2001.05.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 084"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.09.13"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.09.13"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. h3 h6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Ne2 (
14. Rd2 $5 c5 15. Rfd1 Be6 16. Ne2 g5 17. h4 g4 18. Nh2 h5 $13 {0-1 Anand,
V-Kramnik,V/Mainz 2001/CBM 84 (27)}) 14... Ng6 15. Ng3 $146 {[%cal Yg3h5][%mdl
8] A new try. The threat is Nh5 with a bind on Black's K-side.} (15. Ne1 h5 16.
Nd3 c5 17. c4 a5 18. a4 h4 19. Nc3 Be6 20. Nd5 Kb7 21. Ne3 Rh5 22. Bc3 Re8 23.
Rd2 Kc8 24. f4 Ne7 25. Nf2 Nf5 {1/2-1/2 Kasparov,G-Kramnik,V/London 2000/CBM
80/[Wedberg] (25)}) 15... Nf4 $1 (15... h5 $2 16. Ng5 Be7 (16... Be8 17. e6 $36
) 17. Nxf7 $1 Rf8 18. Rfe1 Nf4 (18... Be6 19. Nd6+ $18) 19. e6 Bxe6 20. Ne5 $36
{[%cal Ye5c6,Ye5g6,Ye1e6]}) 16. Nd4 (16. Rfe1 c5 17. Re4 Ne6 $13) 16... a5 17.
a4 b5 $5 18. Kh2 $6 {Odd move.} (18. Bc1 $5 Ne6 (18... Ng6 19. f4 $36) (18...
Nd5 19. Nxb5 $16) 19. Nxe6 Bxe6 20. f4 $36) 18... bxa4 $1 19. bxa4 Nd5 20. Rd3
{[%cal Yf2f4,Yf4f5,Ye5e6]} Nb6 $1 {Kramnik is making the most of his activity.
White would like to get in a few free moves like f4, f5 and e6, but there is
no time.} 21. Re1 (21. f4 $5) 21... Nxa4 22. Ba1 c5 23. e6 fxe6 24. Nxe6 Bd6 (
24... c4 $5 25. Rf3 Bb4 26. Re2 Bxe6 27. Rxe6 c3 $13 {[%csl Ra1]}) 25. Nxg7 (
25. Bxg7 Rg8 26. Bxh6 $2 Rg6 $19) 25... Rf8 $132 26. Kg1 c4 27. Rdd1 Bb4 28.
Re3 Ra6 29. Ne4 Rc6 30. Nh5 c3 31. Nhg3 Re6 32. Rde1 Rfe8 33. Nh5 Rf8 34. Nxc3
$4 (34. f4 Bc6 (34... Nc5 35. Nxc3 Rxe3 36. Rxe3 Ne6 37. Re4 $13) 35. g4 $13)
34... Rc6 $19 35. Nxa4 Bxe1 36. Rxe1 Rxc2 37. Bd4 Bxa4 38. Re5 Bd7 $2 (38...
Rd8 39. Be3 c5 40. Bxc5 Bc6 $19) 39. Rxa5 Rf5 40. Rxf5 Bxf5 41. Be3 Bg6 $15 (
41... Bg6 42. Nf6 h5 43. g4 hxg4 44. h4 $132) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tan Chin Nam Cup 7th"]
[Site "Shanghai"]
[Date "2001.07.13"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Zhang, Zhong"]
[Black "Sokolov, Ivan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2632"]
[BlackElo "2659"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "178"]
[EventDate "2001.07.09"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CHN"]
[EventCategory "16"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 085"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.11.13"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.11.13"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 {This idea has turned out to be a hard nut to crack.
From nowhere to World Championship status in just a few years. So who is the
inventor? The first game on record with Bd7 followed by a later Kc8 was played
in 1976 by Alexander Beliavsky, when he beat Ostos in a nice game.   But then
there was silence for nineteen years until the german Rolf Schlindwein started
experimenting with it in the mid 90's. In 1998 Ian Rogers played it. So far
the idea had gone largely unnoticed.   Then finally in 2000 the Berlin brew
had been simmering long enough. The renewed interest in the Berlin as a whole,
which led to a search for new ideas brought Bd7 to the limelight. Kosashvili,
Almasi and Krasenkow set the stage for Kramnik to bring Bd7 to the highest
level. Now you see Bd7 everwhere.} 10. b3 (10. Rd1 Kc8 11. Ng5 {Is one of the
more promising White tries to gain an advantage after Bd7.} Be8 12. b3 {
One of White's main ideas is to put the B on b2 and then later surprise Black
with e6 and Bxg7.} (12. Nge4 b6 13. h3 Kb7 14. g4 Ne7 15. Bf4 h5 $132 {1/2-1/2
Kasparov,G-Kramnik,V/Zuerich 2001/CBM 83/[Wedberg] (27)}) 12... b6 (12... c5
13. Bb2 Nd4 14. Nd5 h6 15. Ne4 Nf5 16. a4 $14 {1/2-1/2 Gdanski,J-Grabarczyk,M/
Warsaw 2001/CBM 82 (48)}) (12... a5 13. Bb2 b6 14. Rd3 Be7 15. Nge4 Bd7 16. a4
Rd8 17. Rad1 Nh4 18. Ne2 Bf5 19. Rxd8+ Bxd8 20. N2g3 Bg6 21. f3 Nf5 22. Nxf5
Bxf5 23. e6 Bxe6 24. Bxg7 $14 {1-0 Sutovsky,E-Grabarczyk,M/Ohrid 2001/CBM 84 
(37)}) 13. Bb2 Be7 14. Nge4 Kb7 15. Rd3 Rd8 16. Rad1 Rxd3 (16... Kc8 17. h3 h5
18. Bc1 $14 {1/2-1/2 Rowson,J-Miles,A/Scarborough 2001/CBM 83 ext (47)}) 17.
Rxd3 h5 18. Bc1 $14 {1-0 Leko,P-Kramnik,V/Budapest 2001/CBM 81 (62)}) 10... Kc8
11. Bb2 h6 12. Rad1 a5 (12... b6 13. Ne2 (13. h3 Ne7 14. Rd2 c5 15. Rfd1 Be6
16. Ne2 g5 17. Ng3 Nc6 18. c4 Rg8 19. Nh5 Be7 20. Nh2 Kb7 21. Ng4 Rad8 $132 {
1/2-1/2 Hernandez,G-Jonkman,H/Andorra 2001/CBM 83 ext (54)}) 13... c5 14. c4
Bc6 15. Nf4 Kb7 16. Nd5 Ne7 17. Rfe1 Rg8 $14 {1/2-1/2 Kasparov,G-Kramnik,V/
London 2000/CBM 80 (53)}) 13. h3 Be7 (13... b6 14. a4 Bb4 15. Ne2 Re8 16. Nf4
g6 17. g4 Ng7 18. Rd3 Ne6 19. Nxe6 Bxe6 20. Nd4 $14 {1-0 Shirov,A-Krasenkow,M/
Polanica Zdroj 2000/CBM 79 no vc (27)}) 14. Ne4 b6 15. g4 $1 {This reveals one
of the drawbacks of having the B on e7 - the N can't retreat.} Nh4 16. Nxh4
Bxh4 17. f4 {This looks more or less ideal for White. Black has not managed to
"castle" to the Q-side yet and White 's P's are rolling on the K-side.} Re8 18.
f5 c5 19. e6 $1 {[%mdl 4] White wastes no time waiting for Bc6 and Kb7. This
type of swift action using White's lead in development is a model for the
handling of the white side of the Berlin Defence.} fxe6 20. f6 gxf6 21. Nxf6 (
21. Bxf6 Bc6 $13) 21... Rd8 (21... Bxf6 22. Rxf6 $18) 22. Be5 $36 Bc6 23. Rxd8+
Kxd8 24. Ng8 a4 $1 {Finally Black opens his much needed counterplay. The pair
of B's and active R will bring relief.} 25. Rf8+ (25. Nxh6 $5) 25... Kd7 26.
Rf7+ Ke8 27. Rxc7 axb3 28. axb3 Be4 29. c4 (29. Bf6 Bxf6 30. Nxf6+ Kd8 $13)
29... Kf8 30. Nf6 Bxf6 31. Bxf6 Ra2 32. Bg7+ Ke8 33. Bxh6 Rg2+ 34. Kf1 Rg3 {
Black is slightly worse, but his activity makes a draw very likely.} 35. Bg5
Rxh3 36. Re7+ Kf8 37. Rxe6 Bc2 38. Rxb6 Bxb3 39. Kg2 Rd3 40. Bh6+ Kg8 41. g5
Bxc4 42. g6 Rd8 43. Kg3 Bd5 44. Bg5 Rf8 45. Rd6 Rf3+ 46. Kh4 Rd3 47. Bh6 Rd4+
48. Kg5 Be4 49. Rf6 Rd5+ 50. Kf4 Bxg6 $11 51. Rxg6+ Kf7 52. Rc6 Ke7 53. Ke4
Rd4+ 54. Ke5 Rd1 55. Rc7+ Kd8 56. Rxc5 Kd7 57. Bf4 Re1+ 58. Kf5 Rf1 59. Rc4 Ke7
60. Rc7+ Kd8 61. Rh7 Kc8 62. Ke5 Re1+ 63. Kd5 Rd1+ 64. Kc6 Rd7 65. Rh8+ Rd8 66.
Rh1 Rd7 67. Rb1 Rc7+ 68. Kd6 Rg7 69. Kd5 Rb7 70. Rg1 Kd7 71. Bd6 Rb5+ 72. Bc5
Rb7 73. Rh1 Kc7 74. Rh6 Kd7 75. Re6 Kc7 76. Rf6 Kd7 77. Rf8 Kc7 78. Ke6 Kc6 79.
Bd6 Rb3 80. Be5 Rd3 81. Rc8+ Kb5 82. Bc3 Kb6 83. Ke5 Kb7 84. Rc4 Rd7 85. Bd4
Rc7 86. Bc5 Kc8 87. Kd5 Rb7 88. Bd6+ Kd7 89. Rc5 Ke8 1/2-1/2

[Event "BCF-ch playoff"]
[Site "Hove"]
[Date "1997.08.15"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Emms, John M"]
[Black "Miles, Anthony John"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2530"]
[BlackElo "2595"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "126"]
[EventDate "1997.08.15"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 061"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1997.11.23"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1997.11.23"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{A very turbulent game. Miles plays hard for a win, but almost loses in the
tactical battle. In the ending phase White gives it all away.} 1. e4 {Hecht}
Nc6 2. Nf3 e5 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8.
Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 {The general view on this position is that White has an
advantageous ending due to the better P-position. But that might not hold.
Another view is that Black has a better ending, but at the moment this is
compensated by Whites lead in development and Blacks problem with his K
position. Therefor White should take immediate action, like advancing the
K-side P:s in this fasion: h3, g4, f4 and f5. Of course it takes some piece
moves as well, but the important notion is that time is important here. When
White waits Black can easily get the advantage.} Ke8 10. b3 (10. h3) 10... a5
11. Bb2 Bb4 12. Ne2 (12. Ne4 a4 13. a3 Be7 14. b4 Be6 15. Rfe1 (15. Rad1 Rd8
16. h3 h5 17. Nd4 Nxd4 18. Rxd4 Rxd4 19. Bxd4 b6 20. Re1 Kd7 $15 {Ansell,
S-Miles,A/BCF-ch 1997/EXP 59/0-1 (46)} (20... Kd7 21. Nc3 Bf5 22. Re2 Ke6 23.
f4 g5 24. fxg5 Bxg5 25. Kf2 Rd8 26. Be3 Bxe3+ 27. Kxe3 Kxe5 28. Nxa4 Ra8 29.
Nb2 Rxa3+ {Ansell,S-Miles,A/BCF-ch 1997/EXP 59/0-1 (46)})) 15... h6 16. h3 Rd8
17. Rad1 Rd7 18. Rxd7 Kxd7 19. g4 Nh4 20. Nxh4 Bxh4 21. Nc5+ $14 {1-0 Onischuk,
A-Miles,A/Biel SKA 1996/CBM 55/[Wedberg] (46)} (21. Nc5+ {Hecht} Kc8 22. Nxe6
fxe6 23. Re4 Rd8 24. Bd4 b6 25. Kf1 Rf8 26. Ke2 Be7 27. Be3 Kb7 28. f4 Kc8 29.
Rd4 Rd8 30. Rc4 Kb7 31. f5 Rd5 32. Re4 Kc8 33. c4 Rd7 34. fxe6 Rd8 35. Rf4 Rf8
36. Rf5 Kd8 37. c5 b5 38. Kf3 Ke8 39. Ke4 Bh4 40. Rxf8+ Kxf8 41. Kf5 Be1 42.
Bd4 Bd2 43. Bb2 Bg5 44. Kg6 Kg8 45. Bc1 Bxc1 46. e7 Bxa3 47. e8=Q# {1-0
Onischuk,A-Miles,A/Biel SKA 1996/CBM 55/[Wedberg]})) 12... a4 13. c4 h5 (13...
Bc5 14. Nd2 h5 15. Ne4 Be7 16. Nf4 b6 17. Rfe1 Be6 18. Bc3 g5 19. Nf6+ Bxf6 20.
Nxe6 fxe6 21. exf6 $36 {1-0 Jansa,V-Plachetka,J/Ostrava 1992/CBM 33 (37)} (21.
exf6 {Hecht} Kf7 22. Rad1 Rhd8 23. Be5 axb3 24. axb3 Nd6 25. Rd3 Ne8 26. Rg3 g4
27. h3 Nxf6 28. Bxc7 Rd2 29. hxg4 hxg4 30. Bxb6 Rb8 31. Bc7 Rg8 32. Bf4 Ra2 33.
Rd3 Nh5 34. Be5 Rg5 35. Rd7+ Kg6 36. Rd6 g3 37. fxg3 Kf5 38. Rxc6 {1-0 Jansa,
V-Plachetka,J/Ostrava 1992/CBM 33})) 14. Bc3 Be7 15. Nfd4 Bc5 16. Nxf5 Bxf5 17.
Rfd1 Bc2 18. Rdc1 Bf5 19. Rd1 Be7 {No draw.} 20. Nd4 Bg6 21. e6 $5 (21. f4 Bc5
(21... c5 22. Nb5 Bd8 23. bxa4 Rxa4 24. Rd5 $36) 22. b4 Bxd4+ 23. Rxd4 Rd8 24.
Rad1 Rxd4 25. Rxd4 Ke7 $11) 21... f6 22. f4 Be4 23. Re1 f5 24. Rad1 axb3 25.
axb3 Ra2 $6 (25... Bc5 {Is safer}) 26. Rxe4 $1 {White crashes through with an
exchange sacrifice. The play now becomes extremely sharp.} (26. Re2 Rxe2 27.
Nxe2 Rh6 $15) 26... fxe4 27. Nf5 Rh7 28. Rd7 $2 {Dropping the ball.} (28. Nxg7+
$5) (28. Nxe7 $1 Kxe7 29. f5 Ke8 30. Rd7 Rc2 31. Be1 Rc1 32. Kf2 $16) 28...
Bc5+ 29. Kf1 (29. Kh1 $2 Rc2 30. Bd2 g6 $3 $19) 29... Rf2+ 30. Ke1 Rxf4 31.
Nxg7+ Rxg7 $1 32. Rxg7 Bd6 {Black has survived the worst part and now the game
starts once more.} 33. c5 Be7 34. b4 b6 35. Be5 (35. Ke2 $1 bxc5 36. Ke3 Rg4
37. Rxg4 hxg4 38. bxc5 Bxc5+ 39. Kxe4 $16) 35... Rf5 36. Rg8+ Rf8 37. Rxf8+ $2
(37. Rg7 $142) 37... Kxf8 $17 {[#] Hecht This results in the endgame g-pawn
versus c- and e-pawns. Black wins, but the situation is not clear to me. See
the remarks at move 53. [#] Abwicklung in das Endspiel g gegen c+e. Schwarz
gewinnt, doch erscheint mir die sache nicht klar zu sein. Siehe Anmerkung zum
53.Zug.} 38. Ke2 bxc5 39. bxc5 Bxc5 40. Bxc7 Ke7 41. h3 Kxe6 42. g4 hxg4 43.
hxg4 Bd4 44. Bf4 c5 45. Bd2 c4 46. Bc1 Ke5 47. Bh6 c3 48. Bg7+ Kd5 49. Bf8 Bf6
50. Bh6 Be5 51. Bc1 Ke6 52. Ke3 Kd5 53. g5 {Is there a win for Black after the
renewed Ke2?! For example, after this prelude (Analyse!): Gibt es einen Gewinn
für Schwarz nach dem erneuten Ke2?! Z.B. nach dieser Einleitung: (Analyse!)} (
53. Ke2 {Hecht} Bd4 {[%cal Yd5e6,Ye6f7,Yf7g6,Yd4f6,Yf6g5]} 54. Ba3 Ke6 55. Bc1
Kf6 56. Bf4 Kg6 57. Bc1 Bf6 58. Ba3 Bg5 59. Kd1 {and now? -- Analyse! und nun?
- Analyse!}) 53... Bg7 54. g6 Ke5 55. Ba3 Bh6+ 56. Ke2 Kf6 57. g7 Kxg7 58. Kd1
Kg6 59. Bb4 Bg7 60. Kc2 Kf5 61. Bc5 Kf4 62. Bd6+ Kf3 63. Bc5 e3 0-1

[Event "Dubai op"]
[Site "Dubai"]
[Date "2001.04.15"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Sharma, Dinesh Kumar"]
[Black "Kharlov, Andrei"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2385"]
[BlackElo "2639"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "175"]
[EventDate "2001.04.15"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 083"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.07.05"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.07.05"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Hecht} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. h3 Bd7 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 (12... Ne7
13. Rad1 c5 (13... Ng6 14. Ne2 (14. Ne4 a5 15. Ne1 Nf4 16. a4 b6 17. Nd3 Nxd3
18. Rxd3 Bf5 19. Re1 Bb4 20. Re2 Kb7 $132 {1/2-1/2 Bruzon Bautista,L-Van den
Doel,E/Lisbon 2000/CBM 79 ext (50)}) 14... a5 15. a4 b6 16. Rd2 Bb4 17. c3 Be7
18. Rfd1 Rd8 19. c4 c5 20. e6 $1 $16 {1-0 Van den Doel,E-Narciso Dublan,M/
Mondariz 2000/CBM 79/[Wedberg] (40)}) 14. Rd3 b6 15. Rfd1 Bf5 16. R3d2 Kb7 17.
g4 Be6 18. Kg2 Ng6 19. Kg3 Be7 20. Ne4 a5 21. a4 c4 $132 {0-1 Szelag,M-Gdanski,
J/Zakopane 2000/CBM 78 ext (47)}) 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Ne2 Ng6 15. Ng3 $146 {
[%mdl 8] Sharma is playing in a more aggressive way than the surprised
Kasparov in the first game of his match against Kramnik.} (15. Ne1 h5 $11 {
1/2-1/2 Kasparov,G-Kramnik,V/London 2000 (25)}) 15... c5 (15... h5 $6 16. Ng5
$1 Be8 17. e6 f6 18. Nf7 Bxf7 19. exf7 $16) 16. Nh5 $1 {A nice post for the N.
It attacks g7, prevents h5 and supports the advance of the f-P.} Rg8 17. c4 Bc6
18. Ne1 Nh4 19. g4 {A bit daring.} (19. f4 Nf5 20. Rf2 $14 {[%cal Yg2g4]})
19... Kb7 (19... Nf3+ 20. Nxf3 Bxf3 21. Rd2 $14 {[%cal Yf2f4,Yf4f5,Gg1h2,Gh2g3]
}) 20. f4 Be7 21. f5 (21. e6 $5 f6 22. f5) 21... Bg5 $1 $132 22. Nf4 Rad8 23.
Nd5 Bxd5 $5 (23... Rge8 $13) 24. cxd5 Be3+ 25. Kh2 Bd4 26. Bxd4 $1 Rxd5 27. Bf2
Rxd1 28. Bxh4 Re8 {Hecht: '[#] Ungleiche Bauernverteilung und Schwarz wird
noch Bauernmaterial hinzugewinnen.  Ungefähres dynamisches Gleichgewicht,
wobei Weiß seinen Turm nicht tauschen soll.'} 29. f6 ({Mehr Dynamik verspricht
} 29. e6 {Hecht} fxe6 30. f6 Rd2+ 31. Ng2 gxf6 32. Bxf6 Rxa2 33. Bg7 Ra3 34.
Bxh6 Rxb3 35. h4 {mit vielleicht besseren Konterchancen, auch wenn Schwarz
klar im Vorteil sein sollte.}) 29... g5 30. Bg3 Rd2+ 31. Ng2 Rxa2 {From a
material point of view Black is more than OK. The problem is the f6-P. If
White can free it he has a strong game. There also appears to be some time
pressure involved.} 32. Rd1 Kc6 33. Kg1 Ra3 {'-/+' Hecht.} 34. Ne3 Rxb3 35. Kf2
a5 36. Nf5 Rf8 (36... Rh8 37. e6 $13) 37. Ne7+ (37. Nxh6 $5 {Hecht} a4 38. h4
a3 39. hxg5 (39. e6 {Hecht} gxh4 40. Be5 fxe6 41. g5 a2 42. g6 Rg3 43. Bxg3
Rxf6+ 44. Bf4 Rxg6 {mit schwer einzuschätzender Stellung}) 39... a2 40. Ra1 Ra8
41. Nxf7 Rb1 42. Nd8+ Kd5 43. f7 Rb2+ 44. Kf3 Rxd8 45. g6 Ke6 46. Bf4 Ra8 47.
Kg3 b5 48. Bh6 Rb3+ 49. Kh4 Rf3 50. f8=Q Rfxf8 51. Bxf8 Rxf8 52. Rxa2 Kxe5 53.
Kg5 $13 {ist ein weiteres Abspiel mit vermutlich unerkannten Fallstricken auf
dem Weg bis hierher....!}) 37... Kb5 38. Nd5 (38. e6 {Hecht} fxe6 39. Be5 Rxh3
40. Ng6 Rf7 41. Nh8 Rxf6+ 42. Bxf6 {erneut mit sechs Bauern für zwei Figuren})
38... a4 39. Nxc7+ Kc6 40. Nd5 (40. e6 {Hecht} fxe6 41. Be5 Rxf6+ 42. Bxf6 Kxc7
$17) 40... a3 41. e6 $1 $132 fxe6 42. Ne7+ Kb5 43. Be5 a2 44. Ra1 Ra3 45. Ng6
Rf7 46. Ke2 Kb4 47. Rf1 Rxh3 (47... Ra8 $5 {Hecht}) 48. Nh8 Rxf6 (48... Rf8 49.
Ng6 Rf7 50. Nh8 $11) 49. Bxf6 {Hecht: '[#] Nur 5 Bauern für zwei Figuren, aber
Schwarz steht sehr aktiv und seine Bauern am Damenflügel sind schnell.'} c4 $13
50. Ba1 Kb3 51. Nf7 b5 52. Ne5 (52. Nd8 $142 $5 {Hecht} Rg3 53. Nxe6 Rxg4 54.
Nd4+ Ka4 55. Rf6) (52. Rf3+ {Hecht} Rxf3 53. Kxf3 c3 54. Ne5 b4 55. Nd3 Kc4 56.
Ke3 b3 $11 {ähnlich der Partiefortsetzung}) 52... b4 53. Nf3 c3 54. Ne5 Rh2+
55. Ke3 Rb2 56. Nd3 Rb1 57. Rc1 Kc4 58. Ke4 Rxc1 {Hecht: 'Hier verpasst
Schwarz definitiv den Gewinn.'} (58... Rxa1 $1 {Hecht} 59. Rxa1 b3 60. Rc1 Kb5
$1 61. Rxc3 a1=Q 62. Rxb3+ Kc4 63. Rb4+ Kc3 $19) 59. Nxc1 b3 60. Nd3 b2 61.
Nxb2+ cxb2 62. Bxb2 {'=' Hecht.} Kb3 63. Ba1 $11 Kc2 64. Ke5 Kd3 65. Bd4 Ke2
66. Ke4 Kf1 67. Kf3 Ke1 68. Ke3 Kd1 69. Kf3 Kd2 70. Bg7 Kd3 71. Ba1 Kc2 72. Ke4
Kd2 73. Kf3 Kc1 74. Ke4 Kc2 75. Ke5 Kd3 76. Bd4 Ke2 77. Ke4 Kd2 78. Ba1 Ke1 79.
Kf3 Kd1 80. Ke4 Ke2 81. Bd4 e5 82. Ba1 Kf2 83. Bxe5 Kg2 84. Ke3 a1=R 85. Bxa1
Kg3 86. Bg7 Kxg4 87. Bxh6 Kf5 88. Bxg5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Dubai op"]
[Site "Dubai"]
[Date "2001.04.19"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Ramesh, Ramachandran B"]
[Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2458"]
[BlackElo "2610"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "2001.04.15"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 083"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.07.05"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.07.05"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Be6 10. Ng5 Ke7 {Aleksandrovs speciality. The basic
intuition is that taking on e6 is bad if Black can recapture with the K.} 11.
b3 {White goes for the counter trick Ba3+. This seems to be the critical test
of Aleksandrovs system.} (11. Rd1 h6 12. Nf3 (12. Nge4 Rd8 13. b3 Rxd1+ 14.
Nxd1 Kd7 15. Bb2 c5 16. c4 Kc6 $13 {1/2-1/2 Timoshenko,G-Aleksandrov,A/
Nikolaev 1993/CBM 35 (33)}) (12. Nxe6 Kxe6 13. g4 Nh4 14. f4 h5 15. h3 hxg4 16.
hxg4 f5 17. exf6 gxf6 18. f5+ Kf7 19. Rd7+ Be7 20. Ne4 Rag8 $36 {117/. 0-1
Daniliuk,S-Aleksandrov,A/Krasnodar 1995/CBM 47 ext (57)}) 12... Ke8 13. b3 (13.
h3 Bb4 14. Ne2 Bc5 15. b3 a5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Lau,R-Schroll,G/Vienna 1996/CBM 55
ext (42)}) 13... Bb4 14. Bb2 (14. Ne2 Bd5 15. Nfd4 Nxd4 16. Rxd4 Bc5 {1/2-1/2
Emms,J-Rausis,I/Gausdal 1995/CBM 47 ext (16)}) 14... Bxc3 15. Bxc3 c5 16. Rd2
Ne7 17. Ne1 Nd5 18. Bb2 c4 $132 {1-0 Zontakh,A-Aleksandrov,A/St Petersburg
1994/CBM 43 ext (71)}) (11. Nxe6 Kxe6 $132) 11... h6 12. Ba3+ (12. Nge4 Nd4 (
12... Ke8) 13. Ba3+ Ke8 14. Bxf8 Rxf8 15. Nc5 Bc8 16. Rad1 Nxc2 17. Rd2 Na3 18.
Rfd1 $13 {1/2-1/2 Kruppa,Y-Aleksandrov,A/Minsk 1996/CBM 54 (49)}) 12... Kd7 13.
Rad1+ Kc8 14. Nxe6 {[%mdl 4] In principle White is happy to exchange his
black-squared B.} (14. Bxf8 hxg5 15. Ba3 a5 16. Bc1 g4 17. a3 c5 18. Ne4 b6 19.
Ng5 Kb7 $15 {1/2-1/2 Holmsten,A-Rausis,I/Heart of Finland op 1997/EXT 99 (62)})
14... Bxa3 15. Nf4 Re8 (15... Bb2 16. Rd3 $6 (16. Nfe2 Re8 17. g4 Nh4 18. f4
$14) 16... Re8 17. Re1 Nd4 $1 $15 {0-1 Aseev,K-Aleksandrov,A/Kstovo 1994/CBM
42 ext (36)}) 16. g4 Ne7 17. Nb1 {White could have carried out the standard
plan of pushing his K-side majority.} (17. Nh5 $5 b6 (17... Bb2 18. Na4 $1 Bxe5
19. Rfe1 $40) 18. f4 Kb7 19. Ne4 $14) 17... Bc5 18. Nd3 Bb6 19. Kg2 a5 20. Rfe1
Nd5 21. a3 Bd4 22. Re4 (22. c4 Nc3 23. Nxc3 Bxc3 24. Re2 b6 25. f4 Kb7 $13)
22... Ba1 $5 23. c4 Nf6 24. Ree1 Nd7 (24... Nxg4 $2 25. h3 Nxe5 26. f4 $18) 25.
Rc1 c5 26. Nd2 (26. Nc3 $142 Bxc3 27. Rxc3 $14) 26... Bd4 27. a4 Ra6 $132 28.
f4 Rb6 29. Rb1 Bc3 30. Red1 f6 $36 31. Nf3 (31. Ne4 $5) 31... fxe5 32. fxe5
Nxe5 33. Nfxe5 Bxe5 34. Re1 Rbe6 35. Nxc5 R6e7 36. Rbd1 Bd6 $17 37. Nd3 Re4 (
37... Re2+ $1) 38. Kf1 Rxe1+ 39. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 40. Kxe1 Bxh2 41. Kf2 Bd6 42. Kf3
Kd7 43. Ke4 Ke6 44. Ne1 g6 45. Nf3 Bg3 46. g5 h5 47. Nd4+ Kd6 48. Ne2 h4 0-1

[Event "Mondariz GEMA m"]
[Site "Mondariz"]
[Date "2001.12.29"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"]
[Black "Sokolov, Ivan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2630"]
[BlackElo "2658"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2001.12.26"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 087"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.03.21"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.03.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. h3 Bd7 11. b3 b6 (11... Kc8 12. Bb2 Ne7 13. Rad1 b6
14. Nd4 $5 Ng6 $6 (14... c5 $142) 15. f4 $1 $36 {1-0 Shirov,A-Rizouk,A/Moscow
2001/CBM 86_03 (28)}) 12. Bb2 Kc8 13. Rad1 a5 14. a4 Ne7 15. Ne2 (15. Nd4 $5 {
copying Shirov - it might even be better with a5 and a4 in since White can put
a N on b5 without having to worry about a6 from Black.}) 15... Ng6 16. Ng3 {
Black is allowed to reach the ideal setup with the N on e6.} (16. Rd2 Bb4 $6 (
16... c5 $142) 17. c3 Be7 18. Rfd1 Rd8 19. c4 c5 20. e6 $1 $36 {1-0 Van den
Doel,E-Narciso Dublan,M/Mondariz 2000/CBM 79/[Wedberg] (40)}) 16... Nf4 $1 17.
Rfe1 (17. Rd2 c5 18. Rfd1 Bc6 19. Rd8+ Kb7 20. Rxa8 Kxa8 21. Rd8+ Kb7 22. Kh2
Ne6 {Black is not worse.}) 17... c5 18. Re4 Ne6 {[%csl Ge6][%mdl 4] With the N
securely posted on e6 Black has little to worry about.} 19. c4 Bc6 20. Re3 Kb7
21. Rd2 Be7 22. Nf5 Bg5 23. Nxg5 hxg5 24. f3 Rad8 25. Red3 Rde8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Pamplona 0102"]
[Site "Pamplona"]
[Date "2001.12.28"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Leitao, Rafael Duailibe"]
[Black "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2581"]
[BlackElo "2630"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2001.12.27"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "14"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 087"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.03.21"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.03.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. h3 Bd7 11. b3 Ke8 {Almasi is not discouraged by
Kramniks failure with this move against Kasparov.} 12. Bb2 Rd8 13. Rad1 Ne7 14.
Rfe1 Ng6 15. Ne4 c5 $146 {[%mdl 8] This is the intended improvement over
Kramniks play. Black makes a hopefully useful move and asks White to find
something similar. The main point is that the e6 break is ineffective with the
N still on g6 protecting Rh8.} (15... Nf4 $6 16. e6 $3 Nxe6 (16... Bxe6 $2 17.
Nf6+ Ke7 18. Ba3+ $18) 17. Be5 (17. Nd4 $16 {1-0 Kasparov,G-Kramnik,V/Astana
2001/CBM 84/[Wedberg] (41)}) 17... Rc8 18. Nh4 {intending f4-f5 gives White a
clear plus according to Kasparov.}) 16. Ng3 (16. e6 $6 Bxe6 17. Nf6+ gxf6 18.
Rxd8+ Kxd8 19. Bxf6+ Be7 20. Bxh8 Nxh8 $17) (16. c4 $5) 16... Nf4 {[%cal Yf4e6]
} 17. e6 $5 {Without this thrust White gets nowhere.} Bxe6 (17... Nxe6 18. Ne5
(18. Nf5 $5 $36) 18... Bd6 19. Nf5 Bxe5 20. Rxe5 Rg8 21. Nxg7+ Rxg7 22. Rxe6+
Bxe6 23. Rxd8+ Kxd8 24. Bxg7 h5 $11) 18. Be5 Ng6 (18... Rxd1 19. Rxd1 Nd5 20.
c4 Nb4) 19. Bxc7 Rxd1 20. Rxd1 $14 {White is active and Black is undeveloped.}
Be7 21. Bb8 (21. Ne4 f5 22. Nd6+ Kd7 $1 $13) 21... f5 $5 $132 {Counterplay
rather than trying to cling on to material.} (21... a6 22. Ne4 f5 23. Nd6+ Bxd6
24. Bxd6 $14) 22. Bxa7 Kf7 23. Bb6 Rc8 24. a4 Bf6 25. Ne2 f4 26. Ba5 Bf5 $44
27. Rd2 Re8 28. Bc7 c4 29. bxc4 Rc8 30. Bxf4 Rxc4 31. Be3 Rxc2 32. Rxc2 Bxc2
33. a5 Ne5 34. Nxe5+ Bxe5 35. Bd4 Bd1 36. Bxe5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Corus"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2003.01.21"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2743"]
[BlackElo "2734"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2003.01.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 093"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2003.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Be7 {The latest twist in the Berlin defence is to play
for exchanges with Nh4. Results are mixed so far. Gary Kasparov took a heavy
beating by Judit Polgar in this line (with h3 and h6 in), but that was only a
rapid game.} 10. Rd1+ (10. Bg5 Bxg5 $1 (10... h5 11. Rad1+ Ke8 12. Ne2 Be6 13.
Nf4 c5 14. Bxe7 Kxe7 15. Ng5 Bc4 16. Rfe1 Nd4 17. e6 $1 $16 {time. 1-0 Schmid,
L-Toran Albero,R/Munich 1958/MCD (36) time. 1-0 Schmid,L-Toran Albero,R/Munich
1958/MCD (36)}) (10... Be6 11. g4 Nh6 12. h3 Ng8 13. Bxe7+ Nxe7 14. Ng5 h5 15.
Nxe6+ fxe6 $14 {1/2-1/2 Astengo,C-Capata,I/Bratto 2001/EXT 2002 (47) 1/2-1/2
Astengo,C-Capata,I/Bratto 2001/EXT 2002 (47)}) 11. Nxg5 Ke7 12. Rad1 h6 13.
Nge4 b6 14. h3 Ba6 15. Rfe1 Rad8 $11 {1/2-1/2 Gligoric,S-Tot,B/Ljubljana 1947/
EXT 99 (30) 1/2-1/2 Gligoric,S-Tot,B/Ljubljana 1947/EXT 99 (30)}) (10. b3 $5 {
In general the b3-setup is not so popular any more due to the manouvre Bb4,
Bb2 Bxc3 =. Here Black has already played Be7 which makes it a little bit more
attractive to play b3.} Ke8 (10... Be6 11. Bb2 Kc8 12. Rad1 Rd8 13. h3 g5 14.
Rxd8+ Kxd8 15. g4 $36 {1/2-1/2 Letelier Martner,R-Donoso Velasco,P/La Serena
1972/EXT 99 (37) 1/2-1/2 Letelier Martner,R-Donoso Velasco,P/La Serena 1972/
EXT 99 (37)}) ({Perhaps} 10... a5 {planning Bb4.}) 11. Bb2 Be6 (11... h5 {
giving away g5 is risky.} 12. Rad1 a5 13. a4 Be6 14. Ne2 Rd8 15. Bc3 Bb4 16.
Bxb4 axb4 17. Nf4 c5 18. Rxd8+ Kxd8 19. Ng5 $14 {1-0 Mikhalchishin,A-Salov,V/
Lvov 1984/URS-ch (44) 1-0 Mikhalchishin,A-Salov,V/Lvov 1984/URS-ch (44)}) 12.
Ne2 Bd5 13. Nfd4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Bc5 15. Nf5 g6 $6 16. e6 $1 $16 {1-0 Sumets,
A-Fingerov,D/Odessa 2001/EXT 2002 (66) 1-0 Sumets,A-Fingerov,D/Odessa 2001/EXT
2002 (66)}) (10. Ne2 Be6 11. b3 Ke8 12. Bg5 $6 Bd5 $1 13. Bxe7 Bxf3 14. gxf3
Kxe7 $15 {1/2-1/2 Kapengut,A-Lazarev,E/Riga 1968/MCD (41) 1/2-1/2 Kapengut,
A-Lazarev,E/Riga 1968/MCD (41)}) 10... Ke8 (10... Bd7 $6 11. Ng5 $1 $36) 11. g3
$5 {[%mdl 8] A new idea. Topalov decides to rule out Nh4 completely. So far
White has always accepted the exchange on h4 since it costs Black some time.
The g3 move looks a bit "ugly" but it´s not clear how Black can profit from
this defect. White can always cover the white squares with Kg2 or later expand
with h3 and g4.} h6 12. b3 Be6 (12... a5 {is another try} 13. Bb2 Bb4 14. Ne4
Be6 15. a3 Bf8 $5 $132 (15... Be7 16. g4 Nh4 17. Nxh4 Bxh4 18. Nc5 Be7 19. Nxe6
fxe6 $13)) 13. Bb2 Rd8 {I don´t like this move much since it takes away the
option to play for a5-a4.} (13... a5) 14. h3 g5 $14 {[%csl Rf6] Weakening f6 -
Black is really on the defensive now.} 15. g4 Ng7 16. Ne4 Bd5 (16... h5 $2 17.
Nf6+ $18) 17. Nf6+ Bxf6 18. exf6 {The P on f6 is very strong making operations
against the Black K a real possibility.} Ne6 19. Ne5 Nf4 20. Re1 Be6 21. Bc1
Nd5 (21... Nxh3+ 22. Kg2 Nf4+ 23. Bxf4 gxf4 24. Re2 $14 {[%csl Rf4,Rh6][%cal
Yg2f3,Yf3f4,Ya1h1] White is better due to more options for active play.}) 22.
Nd3 b6 23. c4 $1 Nxf6 24. Nb4 c5 {Ponomariov goes for a defence an exchange
down.} (24... Kf8 25. Nxc6 Rd3 26. Bb2 Kg7 27. Rad1 Rxd1 28. Rxd1 $16) 25. Bb2
cxb4 26. Bxf6 Rf8 27. Bxd8 Kxd8 {White´s advantage cannot be in doubt. The win
is not certain yet though.} 28. c5 {This eventually helps Black create
counterplay on the Q-side.} (28. Kg2 $16 {[%cal Yg2g3,Yf2f4,Ya1d1]}) 28... Kd7
29. Rac1 Kc6 30. Re5 (30. cxb6+ Kxb6 31. Re5 $5 (31. f4 gxf4 32. Re4 a5 33.
Rxf4 Rd8 $132 {[%cal Yd8d3,Yd3d2]}) 31... Rd8 32. Rec5 $14) 30... b5 31. Rd1 a5
32. Rd4 Ra8 33. f4 gxf4 34. Rxf4 a4 $1 35. Rxb4 $2 (35. Rf6 $1 axb3 36. axb3
Ra3 37. Rxh6 Rxb3 38. g5 {[%cal Yg5g6]} Kd7 39. Kf2 $16 {[%cal Yg5g6]}) 35...
axb3 36. axb3 Ra3 37. h4 Bxb3 38. h5 Bc4 39. Kf2 Ra1 40. Rb2 f6 $1 {Black is
fighting well.} 41. Re7 (41. Rf5 Rf1+ 42. Ke3 Rxf5 43. gxf5 Kxc5 $13) 41... f5
42. Rh7 (42. gxf5 Rf1+ 43. Kg3 Rxf5 44. Kg4 $14) 42... fxg4 43. Rxh6+ Kxc5 44.
Rg6 Rh1 45. Rg5+ Kb6 (45... Kd4 $1 $11) 46. Kg3 c6 47. Rxg4 $1 {[%cal Yg4c4]}
Bd3 48. Rh2 Rxh2 49. Kxh2 c5 50. Rg6+ Ka5 51. Rc6 c4 52. h6 Kb4 53. Kg3 Kc3 54.
Kf4 b4 55. Rc7 b3 56. h7 Bxh7 57. Rxh7 Kc2 58. Ke3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Mondariz zt 1.1"]
[Site "Mondariz"]
[Date "2000.09.13"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Van den Doel, Erik"]
[Black "Narciso Dublan, Marc"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2547"]
[BlackElo "2507"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2000.09.03"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 079"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2000.11.21"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2000.11.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. h3 Bd7 11. b3 (11. Ne4 Kc8 12. a4 a5 13. g4 Ne7 14.
Ra3 Ng6 (14... h5 $5) 15. Rd3 Be6 16. Rfd1 Bb4 17. b3 Re8 18. Ng3 b6 19. Nh5
Bf8 $13 {0-1 Zoler,D-Kosashvili,Y/Israel 2000/CBM 77/[Wedberg] (75)}) (11. Bf4
b6 (11... Be7 12. Ne4 b6 13. Rad1 Nh4 14. Nxh4 Bxh4 15. Bg3 Bxg3 16. Nxg3 Ke7
17. f4 g6 18. Kf2 $14 {1/2-1/2 Greenfeld,A-Aseev,K/St Petersburg 1999/CBM 72 
(34)}) 12. a4 a5 13. Rad1 Kc8 {1/2-1/2 Shirov,A-Almasi,Z/Polanica Zdroj 2000/
CBM 79/[Wedberg] (40)}) 11... Kc8 12. Bb2 Ne7 (12... b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Ne2
Ng6 15. Ne1 h5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Kasparov,G-Kramnik,V/London 2000 (25)}) 13. Rad1
Ng6 14. Ne2 a5 15. a4 b6 16. Rd2 $5 {Doubling up on the d-file looks like an
interesting way to handle the White side. But in the first game of the
Championship match in London Kasparov prefered Ne1 in a similar position.} Bb4
$6 (16... c5 17. Rfd1 Be6 (17... Bc6 $2 18. Rd8+ Kb7 19. Rxa8 Kxa8 20. Rd8+ Kb7
21. e6 $1 fxe6 22. Ne5 $16) 18. c4 Be7 19. Nc3 $13 {[%cal Yc3d5]}) 17. c3 Be7
18. Rfd1 Rd8 (18... Be8 19. c4 c5 20. Ng3 $16 {[%cal Yg3f5]}) 19. c4 c5 20. e6
$1 {The e6-break is a sign that Black has made some mistake. Blacks carefully
constructed defence is toppled.} Bxe6 21. Rxd8+ Bxd8 22. Bxg7 h5 23. Bh6 Kb7
24. Ng5 Bxg5 25. Bxg5 Rg8 26. h4 Bg4 27. Rd2 Ne5 (27... f6 28. Bxf6 Bxe2 29.
Rxe2 Nf4 30. Re4 $16) 28. Ng3 Re8 29. Bf6 Nd7 30. Bb2 Re1+ 31. Kh2 Rd1 32. Rc2
c6 33. f3 Be6 34. Nxh5 b5 35. Ng7 bxa4 36. bxa4 Nb6 37. Nxe6 fxe6 38. h5 Rd7
39. h6 e5 40. Bxe5 1-0

[Event "Bundesliga 0203"]
[Site "Germany"]
[Date "2003.02.09"]
[Round "11.1"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2755"]
[BlackElo "2672"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2002.10.19"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 094"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.05.26"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2003.05.26"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Baden Oos"]
[BlackTeam "Kreuzberg"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. a3 {This is one of several ways to meet
the a5-move. On the plus side we can note that b4 is covered which limits the
scope of Bf8. On the minus side it allows a4 by Black and if Black can force
or induce c3, b3 will be a weakness. Take a look at the game Ponomariov -
Aleksandrov, Govenor's Cup 2001 for an illustration of that theme.} (11. Rd1 a4
12. g4 Ne7 13. Kg2 Ng6 14. Rd4 Be7 15. Kg3 h5 16. Bg5 hxg4 17. hxg4 f6 $132 {
1-0 Almasi,Z-Aleksandrov,A/Pula 1997/CBM 57 ext/[Hecht] (46)}) (11. a4 Be6 12.
Rd1 h6 13. g4 Ne7 14. Nd4 $36 {0-1 Ernst,T-Rausis,I/Aaland-Stockholm 1997/EXT
98 (50)}) (11. Ne2 Ne7 12. Nfd4 Nf5 13. a4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Bc5 15. Nb3 Be7 16.
Be3 h5 17. f4 g6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Rozentalis,E-Marciano,D/Belfort 1997/CBM 62/
[Wedberg] (28)}) 11... h6 (11... Be7 12. Re1 Be6 13. Ne4 Rd8 14. Bd2 b6 15. Bc3
h5 16. Nfg5 Bxg5 17. Nxg5 Nd4 18. Bxd4 Rxd4 19. Rad1 Rd5 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. c4
$14 {1/2-1/2 Galkin,A-Sandipan,C/Moscow 2002/CBM 88 (42)}) 12. Re1 {With a3
played this is a good square for the R since Bb4 is no option for Black.} Be7
$146 {The latest fashion in the Berlin is to play for an exchange of N:s on h4.
} (12... Bd7 13. Bf4 Be6 14. Rad1 Ne7 15. Nd4 Nd5 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Bd2 Bc5 18.
Ne4 Be7 19. f4 Rf8 20. g3 $14 {1-0 Sherzer,A-Jonkman,H/Hoogeveen 1998/EXT 99 
(55). (54)}) 13. Ne4 Be6 $6 ({Why not} 13... Nh4 {straight away? The B is not
comfortable on e6.} 14. Nd4 Nf5 15. Nf6+ {is just a gesture} Kf8 $1 $11) 14. g4
Nh4 15. Nxh4 Bxh4 16. Nc5 a4 (16... Bc8 17. e6 Bf6 18. exf7+ Kxf7 19. Nd3 $14 {
[%csl Rc7,Ge5][%cal Yc1f4,Yf4c7]}) 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Re4 $1 $14 {White's
advantage is not gigantic, but it is something. Black has few chances for
counterplay.} Be7 19. Be3 c5 20. Rd1 Rf8 21. Kg2 Rf7 22. Kg3 b5 23. h4 Rd8 24.
Rxd8+ Kxd8 25. h5 Kd7 26. c4 (26. b3 {to get a passed P on the a-file.} axb3
27. cxb3 Rf8 28. a4 $1 bxa4 (28... c4 $2 29. Rd4+ $1 $16) 29. bxa4 Kc6 30. f4
Kd5 31. Kf3 $14 {[%cal Ye3d2,Ya4a5]}) 26... c6 27. Rf4 Ke8 28. Rxf7 Kxf7 29.
Kf3 (29. g5 hxg5 30. Kg4 g6 31. Bxg5 Bf8 {Can White win this?}) (29. f4 $5)
29... g5 30. Bc1 $5 {[%mdl 4096] Anand plays this part of the game in a truly
enigmatic style. I don't think many players would have come up with the moves
he chooses in this ending.} b4 $2 {Falling into the trap.} (30... bxc4 {
[%csl Gb3,Gc3,Gd3,Gd4][%cal Ye7d8,Yd8a5]} 31. Bd2 (31. Be3 c3 32. bxc3 c4 $11)
(31. Ke2 c3 32. bxc3 c4 $11) 31... Bd8 32. Ke4 Kg7 {Drawish.}) 31. b3 $3 {
With white passed Ps on both wings Black's resources will quickly dry up. An
interesting case of a breakthrough with three against four.} axb3 (31... bxa3
32. bxa4 a2 33. Bb2 $18 {[%cal Yf3e2,Ye2d3,Yd3c2,Yc2b3,Yb3a2]}) 32. a4 Ke8 33.
Ke2 Bd8 34. Kd1 Bc7 35. Be3 $1 Bxe5 36. Bxc5 Bc3 37. Kc1 $18 {Black's extra P
cannot stave off defeat. The threat is to play a5 to force Kd7 and then to
pick h6 with Bf8..} Bg7 38. Bxb4 Bd4 39. Bd6 Bxf2 40. Kb2 Bd4+ 41. Kxb3 Bg7 42.
a5 Kd7 43. a6 Kc8 44. Kc2 1-0

[Event "World-ch Kramnik-Kasparov +2-0=13"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2000.10.08"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2849"]
[BlackElo "2770"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2000.10.08"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 080"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.01.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.01.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Nice choice of opening! Hardly expected by
Kasparov.The Berlin offers both simplification and reasonable chances if White
goes astry. Furthermore it´s an opening less suited for computer analysis,
which lately has been Kasparovs preferred battle ground.} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6
6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 $5 {As an extra twist
Kramnik chooses the latest black try. This move carries an immediate idea.
Black wants to bring the K to the Q-side as soon as possible.} 10. b3 ({Instead
} 10. h3 h6 11. Bf4 {is another way of developing the B, but} b6 12. a4 a5 13.
Rad1 Kc8 14. b3 Bb4 15. Ne4 Be6 16. c4 c5 17. g4 Ne7 18. Ne1 Bd7 19. Ng3 g5 20.
Be3 Ng6 21. Nd3 Bc6 {gave Black a reasonable position in 1/2-1/2 Shirov,
A-Almasi,Z/Polanica Zdroj 2000/CBM 79 (40)}) 10... h6 11. Bb2 Kc8 12. h3 ({
In his next game with white Kasparov chose} 12. Rad1) 12... b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 $1
{Black wants to play c5, Bc6 and Kb7, but first he prevents Nd5 from White.}
14. Ne2 Ng6 15. Ne1 {Aiming for f4-f5. But it´s a slow plan and more
importantly it´s impossible to realise. The move is a sign that White has
nothing from the opening.} h5 {Sometimes this is dubious due to the weakening
of g5, but here Black can easily cover g5 with Be7. Kramnik plays it to create
a white square blockade on f5. A typical strategy in the Berlin to hem White´s
K-side P majority.} 16. Nd3 (16. Nf3 Be7 {works, since} 17. e6 $6 {fails to}
Bxe6 18. Bxg7 Rg8 19. Bb2 Bxh3 $17) (16. f4 Ne7 {/\Nf5, h4}) 16... c5 17. c4 a5
18. a4 {Else Black plays a4 with counter play on the Q-side.} h4 19. Nc3 Be6 (
19... Bc6 $2 20. f4 $1 Ne7 21. f5 Rh5 22. f6 $36) 20. Nd5 Kb7 21. Ne3 Rh5 {
The important square to cover is f5.} 22. Bc3 (22. f4 Ne7 $11) 22... Re8 23.
Rd2 Kc8 24. f4 Ne7 25. Nf2 Nf5 {The position is to blocked to give either side
any real chances.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Rubinstein Memorial 37th"]
[Site "Polanica Zdroj"]
[Date "2000.08.18"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2746"]
[BlackElo "2668"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2000.08.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[EventCategory "17"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 079"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2000.11.21"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2000.11.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 4] An interesting example of the new black plan to quickly move the K
over to the Q side in the Berlin defence.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4.
O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 {[%cal
Yb7b6,Gd8c8,Gc8b7] This is the latest fashion. The B clears the way for the K
to escape to the Q side. Putting the B on e6 is more problematic since it runs
into Ng5 straight away or the plan h3, g4 and Nd4.} 10. h3 (10. Bf4 h6 11. Rad1
Kc8 12. Ne2 g5 13. Bd2 Bg7 14. Bc3 Re8 15. g4 Nh4 16. Nxh4 gxh4 17. e6 Rxe6 18.
Bxg7 Rxe2 $17 {0-1 Salai,L-Rogers,J/Senec 1998/EXT 99 (56)}) 10... h6 11. Bf4
b6 12. a4 a5 13. Rad1 Kc8 14. b3 Bb4 15. Ne4 Be6 16. c4 {[%csl Yd5][%cal Yc4d5]
} (16. g4 Bd5 $132) 16... c5 {[%csl Yd4][%cal Yc5d4]} 17. g4 Ne7 18. Ne1 Bd7 {
Planning to hit back on the K side with h5.} (18... h5 $6 19. Ng5 $14) 19. Ng3
g5 20. Be3 Ng6 21. Nd3 Bc6 22. f4 {It is interesting to note how Shirov in a
methodical fashion has carried through one of the main ideas for White, the f4
break. But the result is not too inspiring against the setup with Black´s K on
the Q side.} gxf4 23. Nxf4 (23. Nxb4 axb4 24. Bxf4 Kb7 $13 {[%cal Ya8e8]})
23... Bc3 $1 (23... Nxe5 $6 24. Nd5 $1 $36) 24. Nfe2 (24. Nxg6 fxg6 25. Rf6 Kb7
26. Rxg6 Bxe5 27. Nh5 Rae8 $36) 24... Bxe5 25. Rxf7 Kb7 26. Rff1 Rae8 $132 {
Black has very active play and the white K is a target.} 27. Rd3 Re6 28. Rf2
Rhe8 29. Bd2 Nh4 30. Kf1 Bd6 31. Nc3 Bxg3 32. Rxg3 Rd8 33. Bc1 Rde8 34. Bd2 Rd8
35. Bc1 Rd7 36. Bf4 Rde7 37. Bd2 Rd7 38. Bc1 Rde7 39. Bd2 Rd7 40. Bc1 Rde7
1/2-1/2

[Event "World-ch Kramnik-Kasparov +2-0=13"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2000.10.12"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2849"]
[BlackElo "2770"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "106"]
[EventDate "2000.10.08"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 080"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.01.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.01.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 {Kramnik shows confidence in his new weapon. The
question is what Kasparovs sessions in front of the computer has unearthed.}
10. b3 h6 11. Bb2 Kc8 12. Rad1 {A refinement over game 1, where h3 first was
played.} b6 $146 {[%mdl 8] Black goes for his main plan of creating a fox-hole
for his K on b7.} (12... a5 13. h3 b6 14. a4 Bb4 15. Ne2 Re8 16. Nf4 g6 17. g4
Ng7 18. Rd3 Ne6 19. Nxe6 Bxe6 20. Nd4 $14 {1-0 Shirov,A-Krasenkow,M/Polanica
Zdroj 2000/CBM 79 no vc (27)}) (12... Ne7 $5 {to meet Ne2 with Ng6 has yet to
be tested.}) 13. Ne2 c5 14. c4 {In the more dynamic lines with a subsequent e6
this is just a lost tempo, so White could try to do without this move.} (14.
Nf4 $5 Bc6 (14... c4 $6 15. bxc4 $16) 15. Nd5 (15. Rfe1 Bxf3 16. gxf3 Be7 17.
e6 Bd6 $13) 15... Ne7 (15... Nd4 16. Nxd4 Bxd5 17. Ne2 Bc6 18. f4 $36) (15...
Kb7 16. Rfe1 Ne7 (16... Re8 17. c4 Ne7 18. e6 $16) (16... Rd8 17. c4 Ne7 18.
Ne3 Rxd1 (18... Re8 $5) 19. Rxd1 $14 {[%cal Yd1d8]}) 17. Nxe7 Bxe7 18. e6 $36)
16. Nxe7+ (16. c4 Kb7 {is the game.}) 16... Bxe7 17. e6 $5 Bxf3 (17... fxe6 18.
Rfe1 $36) 18. gxf3 fxe6 19. Rfe1 Bf6 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Rxe6 $14) 14... Bc6 15.
Nf4 $5 {Kasparov has achieved a more active setup than in game 1. But Black is
still without any real weaknesses. Whites main idea is to try to push e6 at
the right moment.} Kb7 (15... Bxf3 $5 {strengthens the position of Nf5 by
taking away the possibility g4, but it gives up some white square control.} 16.
gxf3 Be7 (16... c6 17. Rfe1 $14 {[%cal Ye5e6]}) 17. e6 (17. Nd5 Re8 18. Ne3 Nh4
19. f4 g6 20. Rd3 Kb7 21. Rfd1 Rad8 $11) 17... Bd6 $5 18. Rd5 Nd4 (18... fxe6
19. Nxe6 Re8 20. Nxc7 Kxc7 21. Rxf5 $14) 19. Bxd4 Bxf4 (19... cxd4 20. Rxd4 g5
21. Nh5 $14) 20. Rf5 cxd4 21. Rxf4 fxe6 22. Rxd4 Rf8 23. Re1 Rxf3 24. Rxe6 Rf7
$11) 16. Nd5 (16. Rfe1 {has been suggested as an improvement, but} Bxf3 $5 17.
gxf3 Be7 {seems OK for Black} 18. Rd7 (18. e6 Bd6 19. Nh5 (19. Rd5 $2 Nh4 $17)
19... fxe6 20. Rxe6 Rhe8 $132) 18... Rad8 19. e6 fxe6 20. Rxd8 Bxd8 21. Nxe6
Bf6 $11) 16... Ne7 17. Rfe1 Rg8 $5 {[%mdl 256] Prophylaxis against a later e6
by White. Kramnik has chosen to play in a very restrained fashion, reminicent
of the the way Wilhelm Steinitz used to play. His basic idea was that without
weaknesses you can always defend.} (17... Bxd5 $6 18. cxd5 Rd8 19. d6 cxd6 20.
exd6 Nc6 21. d7 Kc7 22. Be5+ $16) (17... Rd8 18. Ne3 Re8 19. e6 $5 fxe6 20. Ne5
$36) 18. Nf4 (18. e6 {The logical follow up to the previous play, but it
doesn´t seem to deliver anything.} fxe6 19. Nxe7 (19. Rxe6 Rd8 $132) 19... Bxe7
20. Rxe6 (20. Ne5 Bf6 21. Nxc6 Bxb2 22. Rxe6 Rae8 23. Rde1 Rxe6 24. Rxe6 Rf8
$13) 20... Bxf3 21. gxf3 Bd6 $11) 18... g5 $1 {Black activates his R and stops
White´s intended push with the e-P.} 19. Nh5 Rg6 20. Nf6 Bg7 {Black is slowly
getting his pieces out. The worst seems to be over for him.} 21. Rd3 Bxf3 {
Clearing c6 for the N.} 22. Rxf3 Bxf6 23. exf6 Nc6 24. Rd3 Rf8 25. Re4 Kc8 {
Now Black is ready for positive action, like starting to exchange R:s, so the
pressure is on White to do something.} 26. f4 $6 (26. h4 $142 Nd4 27. Bxd4 cxd4
28. Rdxd4 Rxf6 29. hxg5 hxg5 {With a very slight advantage for White. Ulf
Andersson would be very happy with White here. Even though a draw is the
likely result.}) 26... gxf4 27. Rxf4 Re8 $132 {Now it´s an open game. The N is
in no way inferior to the B.} 28. Bc3 Re2 29. Rf2 Re4 30. Rh3 a5 31. Rh5 (31.
Bd2 $6 Ne5 {[%cal Ye5g4]}) 31... a4 32. bxa4 $5 {Active play, but also a sign
that White is under pressure. The situation is clearly dangerous for White
when he loses his Q-side P:s.} Rxc4 33. Bd2 Rxa4 34. Rxh6 Rg8 (34... Rxh6 $5
35. Bxh6 c4 $132) 35. Rh7 Rxa2 36. Rxf7 Ne5 37. Rg7 Rf8 38. h3 c4 (38... Nd3
39. f7 Kd7 (39... Nxf2 40. Rg8 Kd7 41. Rxf8 Ke7 42. Rd8 $16) 40. Rg8 Ra1+ 41.
Kh2 Nxf2 42. Rxf8 Ke7 43. Rc8 $14) 39. Re7 Nd3 40. f7 Nxf2 41. Re8+ Kd7 42.
Rxf8 Ke7 43. Rc8 (43. Rd8 Kxf7 44. Kxf2 c3 $11) 43... Kxf7 44. Rxc7+ Ke6 45.
Be3 Nd1 46. Bxb6 $14 c3 47. h4 $6 (47. Kh2 $142) 47... Ra6 48. Bd4 Ra4 $11 49.
Bxc3 Nxc3 50. Rxc3 Rxh4 51. Rf3 Rh5 52. Kf2 Rg5 53. Rf8 Ke5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Veterans-Women"]
[Site "Monte Carlo"]
[Date "1994.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Polgar, Judit"]
[Black "Smyslov, Vassily V"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2630"]
[BlackElo "2530"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "1994.06.??"]
[EventType "schev"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "MNC"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 042"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1994.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1994.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Be6 (9... h6) (9... Ke8) 10. Ng5 Ke8 11. Rd1 (11. Nxe6
fxe6 12. Ne4 {+/=/Gufeld-Shamkovich/Kislovodsk/1968}) 11... Be7 12. Nxe6 fxe6
13. Ne4 $14 Rd8 14. Rxd8+ Kxd8 15. c3 h6 16. h3 Kc8 (16... Nh4 $5 {/\ g5, Ng6})
17. Kf1 Rf8 18. Ke2 Nh4 19. g3 Nf3 20. Bf4 Nh4 (20... g5 $2 21. Kxf3 gxf4 22.
g4 $1 $16) 21. Be3 Nf3 22. Bc5 $1 Bxc5 23. Nxc5 Nxe5 24. Nxe6 Rg8 (24... Re8 $2
25. Nxg7 Re7 26. Nf5 $18) 25. Re1 b6 26. f4 Kd7 27. b3 Kxe6 28. Kf2 Rd8 29.
Rxe5+ Kf6 30. Ke2 $14 Rd5 31. Re8 Ra5 32. a4 b5 $2 (32... Rd5 $14) 33. Re5 $1
$16 Ra6 34. axb5 Ra3 35. Rc5 cxb5 (35... Rxb3 $2 36. Rxc6+ Kf5 37. Kf3 $18) 36.
Rxb5 a5 37. Kd3 Ke6 38. Kc4 a4 39. b4 Ra2 40. Ra5 a3 41. Kb3 Rh2 42. Rxa3 Rxh3
43. g4 Re3 44. f5+ Kd5 45. Ra5+ Kc6 46. Ra6+ Kb5 47. Rg6 c5 48. bxc5 Re7 49. c6
Kc5 50. Kc2 Kd5 51. Kd3 Kc5 52. c4 Ra7 53. Ke4 Kxc4 54. f6 gxf6 55. Rxh6 1-0

[Event "RUS-Cup6"]
[Site "Krasnodar"]
[Date "1997.03.11"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Turov, Maxim"]
[Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2425"]
[BlackElo "2615"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "1997.03.11"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2000"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.11.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.11.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Hecht} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. b3 ({Preferable is} 9. Nc3 {keeping the options open
for the B.}) 9... a5 10. Nc3 Ke8 11. h3 (11. Bb2 Bb4 (11... h6 12. Rad1 (12.
Ne2 Ne7 13. Nfd4 a4 14. Rad1 Nd5 15. c4 Nb4 $13 {Shirov,A-Dautov,R/URS-YM
Tbilisi 1989/1/2-1/2 (53)}) 12... Be6 13. h3 Bb4 14. a3 Bxc3 15. Bxc3 a4 16. b4
Rd8 17. Nd4 {1/2-1/2 Anand,V-Motwani,P/Thessaloniki olm 1988}) 12. Ne4 (12.
Rad1 Bxc3 $1 13. Bxc3 Be6 $15 {Gufeld,E-Karaklajic,N/Belgrade GMA ;TD 88\07
1988/1/2-1/2 (55)}) (12. Ne2 a4 13. c4 Bc5 14. Nd2 h5 15. Ne4 Be7 16. Nf4 b6
17. Rfe1 Be6 18. Bc3 $13 {1-0 Jansa,V-Plachetka,J/Ostrava (02) ;CBM 33 1992 
(38)}) (12. Rfd1 h6 13. a3 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 a4 15. b4 Be6 {1/2-1/2 Romero Holmes,
A-Cifuentes Parada,R/Wijk op (04) ;CBM 46 1995}) 12... a4 13. a3 Be7 14. b4 Be6
15. Rfe1 h6 16. h3 Rd8 17. Rad1 $14 {Onischuk,A-Miles,A/Biel SKA 1996/CBM 55/
[Wedberg]/1-0 (47)}) (11. a4 $5) 11... Bb4 12. Ne4 (12. Bb2 Bxc3 $1 13. Bxc3 c5
14. Rad1 (14. Rfe1 h6 15. g4 Ne7 16. e6 f6 17. Nh4 $6 Ra6 $1 $15 {0-1 Thipsay,
P-Miles,A/Sakthi (05) ;CBM 53 1996 (33)}) 14... h6 15. Nd2 h5 16. Ne4 b6 17.
Ng5 Ke7 18. Rd2 h4 $15 {0-1 Polgar,J-Dautov,R/Brno 1991 (35)}) 12... a4 13. Bb2
h5 14. Bc3 Be7 15. Rfe1 Be6 16. Nfg5 Bxg5 $1 $15 {Opposite coloured B:s favour
Black, especially since he already has managed to get a4 in.} 17. Nxg5 c5 18.
Rad1 axb3 19. axb3 Ra2 20. Rd2 Ke7 21. Red1 Nd4 $1 22. Bxd4 cxd4 23. b4 (23.
Nxe6 Kxe6 24. Rxd4 Rxc2 $17) 23... Rha8 24. Nf3 Rb2 25. Rxd4 Rxc2 26. R1d2 Rxd2
27. Nxd2 {Hecht: Taktik: Doppelangriff bzw. Fesselung} Ra4 $17 28. Ne4 b6 29.
Nc3 Ra3 30. Ne4 Ra4 31. Nc3 Ra1+ 32. Kh2 Rc1 33. Rd3 Bc4 34. Re3 Rc2 35. Nd1
Be6 36. Nc3 Bc4 37. Nd1 g6 38. Re4 Bb3 39. Kg3 Rd2 40. Ne3 Ke6 41. Nc4 Rc2 42.
Ne3 Rd2 43. Nc4 (43. f4 Rd3 44. Kf2 Bd5 45. Nxd5 Kxd5 46. Re2 Rd4 $19) 43...
Rd5 {[#]} 44. f4 $2 (44. Kf4 $1 {Hecht}) 44... Rd3+ 45. Kf2 (45. Ne3 {Hecht}
Bd5 $19) 45... Kd5 0-1

[Event "Moscow Petrosian Memorial"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1995.??.??"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Korneev, Oleg"]
[Black "Gorbatov, Alexej"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2540"]
[BlackElo "2410"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 046"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1995.06.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1995.06.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 (10. b3 h6 11. h3 Be6 12. Bb2 Bb4 13. Ne2 Rd8
14. Nf4 Bd5 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. g4 Ne7 17. Kg2 Ng6 18. Kg3 $16 {Ljubojevic,
L-kavalek/Reggio Emilia/1985}) 10... h5 11. Rd1 Be7 (11... Ne7 $5) 12. Ne2 h4
13. Bg5 $14 {When white manages to exchange his black squared B, he is at
least +/= in this line.} Be6 14. Nf4 Rd8 15. Rxd8+ Kxd8 16. Rd1+ Ke8 17. Bxe7
Kxe7 18. Ng5 Rh6 $6 (18... Ra8 $142 19. Rd3 a5 $132) 19. Rd3 a5 20. Nfxe6 fxe6
21. g4 $1 hxg3 22. fxg3 Rh8 23. Kg2 a4 24. g4 Nh6 25. Kg3 $16 Ra8 26. c4 Ra5
27. Kf4 Ra8 28. Nf3 Nf7 29. h4 Rf8 30. Kg3 Rb8 31. g5 b5 32. c5 b4 33. Rd4 Rb5
34. Rc4 Kd7 35. Kf4 Rb8 36. h5 Rf8 37. Kg4 Rb8 38. Rf4 Ke7 39. h6 $18 gxh6 40.
g6 Nh8 41. Kh5 a3 42. bxa3 Rg8 43. Nh4 bxa3 44. Kxh6 Rd8 45. Kh7 1-0

[Event "SWE-ch"]
[Site "Linkoping"]
[Date "2001.06.30"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Barkhagen, Jonas"]
[Black "Wedberg, Tom Birger"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2456"]
[BlackElo "2505"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2001.06.30"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "SWE"]
[EventCategory "8"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 085"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.11.13"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.11.13"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. Ne2 Ne7 ({The problem with} 11... a4 {
is that after} 12. g4 $5 Ne7 13. Ng3 {I see no counterplay for Black, since
the normal break h7-h5 is prevented. White on the other hand is free to
continue his K-side/central play with f4 and f5 precluded by some N manouvre
like Ng5-e4.}) 12. Re1 $5 {[%cal Ye2f4,Ye2d4,Re5e6] A very direct and
troublesome line for Black. White intends to push forward with e5-e6. The N on
e2 can support the thrust from eithr d4 or f4 depending on what Black plays.} (
12. g4 $2 {is of course a mistake due to} h5 $36) (12. Ng3 {is quite popular,
but the move in the game might be a more critical choice.}) 12... h6 $146 (
12... c5 13. Nf4 {[%cal Ye5e6]} Bf5 (13... Ng6 14. Nd5 $16) 14. c4 $14 {
[%cal Yf4d5,Ye5e6]}) (12... a4 13. a3 (13. Nf4 $5 {[%cal Ye5e6] playing for e6
seems more in accord with the previous moves.} {Now} Be6 $2 {is impossible} (
13... Ng6 $142) 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. Ng5 $18) 13... h6 14. Bd2 Be6 15. Nf4 Nd5 16.
Nxe6 fxe6 17. Be3 c5 18. Rad1 b5 19. Nd2 c4 $15 {0-1 Tseshkovsky,V-Aleksandrov,
A/Krasnodar 2000/EXT 2001 (29)}) 13. Nf4 (13. Ned4 c5 14. Nb5 Kd7 15. e6+ Kc6
$132) 13... g5 {Maybe too ambitious, but there was a lack of good alternatives.
The basic idea is to prevent e6.} (13... Bf5 14. Nd4 Rd8 15. Be3 $14 {[%cal
Ye5e6]}) (13... Be6 14. Nd4 $16) 14. Nh5 Nd5 15. Nf6+ $1 (15. c4 Nb4 16. Nf6+
Ke7 $13) 15... Nxf6 (15... Ke7 $6 16. b3 Bg7 17. Ba3+ Kd8 18. Rad1 $16) 16.
exf6+ Be6 17. Nd4 Bc5 (17... Bd6 18. Bd2 $14) 18. Be3 $5 (18. Nxe6 fxe6 19.
Rxe6+ Kf7 20. Re1 Rad8 $132) 18... Bd6 (18... Bxd4 19. Bxd4 Kd7 20. Rad1 Kc8
$14 {might be playable, but White has all the chances with the strong P on f6
and Black´s weaknesses on h6 and g5.}) 19. Rad1 Kd7 20. f4 $2 {White lets the
advantage fade away with a few inexact moves.} (20. Nxe6 $1 fxe6 21. Bd4 $14 {
and Black will have to fight long for a draw.}) 20... gxf4 21. Bxf4 Rae8 22.
Kf2 h5 23. Nf3 Bd5 $13 24. Rxe8 (24. c4 Bxf4 25. cxd5 c5 $13) 24... Rxe8 25.
Be3 Re4 $4 (25... b5 $1 26. b3 b4 27. Bd4 a4 $15) 26. b3 b5 27. Nd2 $1 {
White wins a piece on the d-file.} Rh4 $2 $138 (27... Re8 28. c4 bxc4 29. bxc4
Bxg2 30. c5 $16) (27... Re6 28. c4 Rxf6+ 29. Kg1 $16) 28. c4 bxc4 29. bxc4 Bxc4
30. g3 $18 Rxh3 31. Nxc4 Rh2+ 32. Kf3 Ke6 33. Rd2 Rh1 34. Nxa5 Rh3 35. Rxd6+
cxd6 36. Kg2 Rxg3+ 37. Kxg3 1-0

[Event "Linares Anibal op 04th"]
[Site "Linares"]
[Date "1997.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Garcia, Gildardo"]
[Black "Miles, Anthony John"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2485"]
[BlackElo "2550"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "1997.02.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 058"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1997.06.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1997.06.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 e5 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. Ne2 Ne7 11. Re1 (11. h3 Ng6 (11... Bf5 12. Ned4
Bd7 13. e6 Bxe6 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. Re1 Ng6 16. h4 Bd6 17. Rxe6+ Kd7 18. Re4 Rae8
$13 {Tseshkovsky,V-Karaklajic,N/Belgrade GMA 1988/TD 88\07/1/2-1/2 (60)}) 12.
Ned4 Be7 13. Re1 Nh4 $11 {1/2-1/2 Kuzmin,G-Keres,P/URS-ch41 Moscow 1973/URS-ch
(32)}) 11... Bg4 $1 12. Nfd4 c5 13. Nb5 Kd7 $1 {This move looks like it could
lead to danger, but it holds the Black position together beautifully. The K
will go to c6 in some lines.} 14. f3 (14. Bg5 Kc6 15. a4 Ng6 $15) 14... Bf5 15.
Be3 a6 16. Rad1+ Kc8 (16... Kc6 $2 17. Nbd4+ Kb6 (17... cxd4 18. Nxd4+ Kb6 19.
Nxf5+ $18) 18. Nxf5 Nxf5 19. Bf2 $16) 17. Nd6+ $2 (17. Na3 Nc6 $15 {White
lacks coordination.}) 17... cxd6 18. exd6 Nc6 19. Bxc5 b5 (19... Bxc2 {Is
probably good, but Black feels he needs to take no more risks.} 20. Rd2 Bg6 21.
Nc3 b5 22. Nd5 Kb7 $19) 20. g4 Bd7 21. Ng3 Kb7 22. Bf2 g6 23. Ne4 Bg7 24. Nc5+
Kc8 25. c3 h5 26. g5 Ne5 27. Kg2 Bc6 28. Kg3 Rd8 29. Bd4 Rxd6 30. h4 (30. f4
h4+ 31. Kh3 Nd7 32. Bxg7 Rxd1 33. Rxd1 Nxc5 $19) 30... Nd7 31. Re8+ (31. Nxd7
Bxd4 32. Nb6+ Bxb6 33. Rxd6 Bc7 $19) 31... Kc7 32. Re7 Bxd4 33. cxd4 Kd8 34.
Rde1 Nxc5 35. dxc5 Rd7 0-1

[Event "World-ch Kramnik-Kasparov +2-0=13"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2000.10.22"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2849"]
[BlackElo "2770"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2000.10.08"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 080"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.01.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.01.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 {Not Bd7 this time. A sensible change given Kasparovs
prowess in preparing against sitting ducks.} 10. Rd1+ {White loses some
flexibility with this check. He later will have to move the R to bring out Ra1.
} ({But} 10. h3 Bd7 {would have been a nice trick luring Kasparov away from
improving on game 3, where he played without h3.}) 10... Ke8 11. h3 a5 12. Bf4
({Kasparov refrains from the double edged} 12. g4 Ne7 13. Kg2 {after which
Black gets reasonable play with both} Ng6 ({and} 13... h5 14. Kg3 Ng6 15. Bg5
Be6 16. Re1 Be7 $13 {1/2-1/2 Sutovski,E-Wedberg,T/Sweden 1998 (35)}) 14. Kg3
Be7 15. Re1 Be6 16. Nd4 $6 Rd8 17. Nxe6 (17. Nf5 Bxf5 18. gxf5 Bh4+ 19. Kf3 Ne7
$17 {Ghinda,M-Sturua,Z/Komotini 1993}) 17... fxe6 $17) (12. Ne2 Bc5 13. g4 Ne7
14. Nf4 Be6 15. Nh5 Rg8 16. Nd4 Nd5 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. c4 Nb6 19. b3 a4 {
with play resembling the game at hand.0-1 Neurohr,S-Mokry,K/Germany 1994/
GER-chT2 (62)}) 12... Be6 13. g4 Ne7 14. Nd4 Nd5 15. Nce2 Bc5 $146 {[%mdl 8]} (
15... h5 {Pointless when White can exchange Be6.} 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. c4 Nb6 18.
b3 hxg4 19. hxg4 a4 20. Kg2 $14 {1-0 Galkin,A-Yarovik,Y/Novgorod 1999/CBM 69
ext (41)}) 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. c4 Nb6 18. b3 a4 {Black is active. White´s
counter activity on the other side is long in coming.} 19. Bd2 Kf7 20. Bc3 Rhd8
21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. Kg2 Rd3 23. Rc1 (23. f4 g6 $11) 23... g5 24. Rc2 axb3 25.
axb3 Nd7 26. Ra2 Be7 27. Ra7 Nc5 28. f3 Nxb3 29. Rxb7 Nc1 30. Nxc1 Rxc3 31. Ne2
Rc2 32. Kf1 Rxc4 33. Rxc7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Hastings 0203 78th"]
[Site "Hastings"]
[Date "2003.01.01"]
[Round "5"]
[White "McShane, Luke J"]
[Black "Nielsen, Peter Heine"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2546"]
[BlackElo "2620"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[EventDate "2002.12.28"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "12"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 093"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2003.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 {With this deviation from
the standard 5.d4 Luke McShane turns out to hit a weak spot in Peter Hiene
Nielsens usually superb preparations.} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Nc3 Nxe5
9. Rxe5 Bf6 10. Re3 Re8 $6 {Repeting a mistake we have seen before. Black's
best course is to steer for a setup with g6. There are two ways to achieve
this:} (10... g6 11. b3 (11. Nd5 Bd4 12. Ne7+ Kg7 13. Re2 Re8 14. Nxc8 Rxc8 15.
c3 Bf6 16. Bc2 Rxe2 17. Qxe2 c5 18. d3 Qb6 $15 {Ceresoli,L-Lanzani,M/Bratto
2002/0-1 (43)}) 11... b6 12. Ba3 Bb7 13. Qg4 c5 14. Rae1 Re8 $11 {0-1 Yu
Shaoteng-Zhang Zhong/Moscow 2001/CBM 86 (25). (25)}) (10... Bd4 11. Rh3 g6 12.
b3 b6 13. Bb2 Bb7 14. Qg4 Qf6 15. Rf1 c5 $13 {0-1 Janowski,D-Albin,A/Cologne
1898/EXT 2001 (59). (59)}) 11. Nd5 Bg5 {If White is allowed to exchange N for
B he can at least claim a slight advantage.} (11... Bd4 {gives White a strong
attack after} 12. Rxe8+ Nxe8 13. Qg4 Bb6 14. Qe4 g6 15. b4 $40) 12. f4 Bh6 {
An improvement, but not enough to make the line attractive to Black.} (12...
Rxe3 13. dxe3 Bh6 14. Qh5 Ne8 15. g4 $1 {gave White a winning game in Savic,
M-Abramovic,B/Banja Koviljaca 2002/ 1-0 (26)/CBM 89/[Wedberg]}) 13. Rh3 {
Natural but maybe not the critical move.} (13. Qh5 $1 c6 14. Nc3 Qf6 15. Ne2
$16 {[%csl Rh6]}) 13... c6 14. Ne3 Ne4 {Black gets to close the diagonal.} 15.
Bxe4 Rxe4 16. Nf5 Qb6+ (16... Bxf4 17. d3 Qb6+ 18. Kh1 Re5 19. Nxg7 $1 Bxc1 20.
Qxc1 d6 21. Rg3 Kh8 22. Qf4 $40) 17. d4 (17. Kh1 Qf2 $1) 17... Bxf4 $4 {
[%mdl 8192] Losing on the spot.} (17... d5 {[%cal Yc8h3,Yb6g1] and White´s
advantage is not that impressive.} 18. Rb3 (18. Nxh6+ gxh6 19. Rg3+ Kh8 20. c3
Bf5 $11) 18... Qc7 19. Nxh6+ gxh6 20. Rg3+ Kh8 21. Qh5 Qe7 22. Bd2 Qf6 23. c3
Bf5 $11) 18. Qh5 $1 $18 h6 19. Bxf4 Rxf4 20. Re1 $1 (20. Re1 Qd8 21. Nxh6+ $18)
1-0

[Event "FIDE-Wch k.o."]
[Site "New Delhi/Teheran"]
[Date "2000.11.28"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Hansen, Sune Berg"]
[Black "Kharlov, Andrei"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2545"]
[BlackElo "2627"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2000.11.27"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 080"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.01.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.01.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. Ne2 (10. h3) ({and} 10. Rd1+ {are the main
alternatives.}) 10... a5 $5 {This move is played more and more in the Berlin
defence. The main idea is to wait with the B:s on c8 and f8 to see what White
is going to do. But a5 is not just a pass. It can easily give Black active
play with a4 if White plays b3.} 11. h3 (11. a4 {Stopping the a-P is the
normal reaction.} Bc5 12. b3 Be6 13. Bb2 Kc8 14. Rfd1 (14. h3 $142) 14... b6
15. h3 Kb7 16. Nf4 Rad8 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Kf1 g5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Lau,R-Hjartarson,
J/Munich 1988/CBM 07 (27)}) 11... Bd7 {Kharlov plays the fashionable idea of
moving the K to the Q-side.} 12. Nf4 c5 13. Rd1 Kc8 14. c4 (14. a4 $142) 14...
a4 $1 15. Nd5 Be6 16. Bf4 b6 17. Rd2 Ne7 18. g4 $6 Nc6 19. Bg3 Kb7 20. Rc1 h5
21. Ne3 hxg4 22. hxg4 Be7 23. Nh2 $2 {The plan is clear: f4-f5. Still it´s a
terrible move inviting the N to d4. But the position was difficult to play for
White anyway.} Nd4 $1 $17 24. Kg2 Rad8 25. Rcd1 Bd7 26. f4 Bc6+ 27. Kf2 Rh3 $40
{Black gets everything he wants.} 28. Nd5 Bxd5 29. cxd5 Bh4 $1 30. Nf1 (30.
Bxh4 $142 Rxh2+ 31. Kg3 Rxd2 32. Rxd2 Rxd5 $17) 30... Bxg3+ 31. Nxg3 Rxd5 32.
Kg2 Rh4 33. Ne2 g5 $1 $19 (33... Rxg4+ 34. Kh3 Rh4+ 35. Kxh4 Nf3+ 36. Kg4 Rxd2
37. Rxd2 Nxd2 $19) 34. fxg5 Rxg4+ 35. Kh3 Rxg5 36. Nxd4 cxd4 37. Rxd4 Rxd4 38.
Rxd4 a3 39. bxa3 Rxe5 40. a4 Re3+ 0-1

[Event "Schacknytt GM"]
[Site "Upplands Vasby"]
[Date "2000.12.09"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Kulaots, Kaido"]
[Black "Wedberg, Tom Birger"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2491"]
[BlackElo "2473"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2000.12.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "SWE"]
[EventCategory "11"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 081"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.03.20"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.03.20"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. Ne2 {White now threatens to play g4
followed by Ng3, thereby preventing the standard counterplay with h7-h5.} Ne7
12. Ng3 (12. g4 $6 h5 $132) 12... c5 (12... h5 {gives away g5.} 13. Bg5 c5 14.
Rfe1 Be6 15. c3 b6 16. Nh4 Ng6 17. Nxg6 fxg6 18. h4 Be7 19. Ne4 {1-0 Aseev,
K-Tunik,G/St Petersburg 1998/CBM 67 ext (63)}) (12... a4 {might be more exact.}
13. a3 h6 (13... Nd5 14. Bd2 (14. Re1 Be7 15. Bd2 h6 16. Rad1 Kf8 $6 $14 {
1-0 Svidler,P-Aleksandrov,A/Las Vegas 1999/CBM 72/[Dautov] (41)}) 14... h6 15.
Rad1 Bc5 16. Rfe1 Be6 17. Bc1 Bb6 18. Nd4 Bxd4 19. Rxd4 c5 20. Rdd1 c4 $11 {
1/2-1/2 Georgiev,K-Aleksandrov,A/Batumi 1999/CBM 74/[Wedberg] (41)}) 14. Re1 (
14. Bd2 c5 15. Rad1 Be6 16. Bc1 Rd8 17. Nh5 Bc4 18. Rxd8+ Kxd8 19. Re1 Kc8 20.
g4 Nc6 21. c3 g6 22. Nf4 Be7 $15 {0-1 Nevostrujev,V-Aleksandrov,A/Smolensk
2000/CBM 77/[Wedberg] (43)}) 14... c5 15. Bd2 Be6 16. Rad1 Rd8 17. Ne4 Nd5 18.
g4 b5 19. Kg2 Kd7 20. c4 bxc4 21. Nc3 Kc6 {1/2-1/2 Zulfugaryi,M-Aleksandrov,A/
Minsk 2000/EXT 2001 (49)}) 13. Re1 (13. Be3 Nc6 14. Ne4 b6 $132 {/\Bf5 Dautov})
13... h6 14. Nh5 $1 {[%mdl 4] This eccentric placement of the N is quite
irritating for Black. The immediate threat is Nf6+. The attack on g7 cannot
easily be thwarted by Rg8 due to the tactic Bxh6 followed by Nf6+. I believe
this is an important idea for White that needs more attention.} Nd5 {The N is
quite active on d5 and it covers f4 so that Be6 can't be met by Nf4, but it is
also vulnerable to a later c4.} (14... Nc6 15. c3 Be6 (15... Rg8 16. Bxh6 Bxh3
17. Bxg7 Bxg7 18. gxh3 $16) 16. Nh4 $36 {[%cal Yf2f4,Yf4f5]}) (14... Be6 15.
Nf4 Bf5 16. c4 Rd8 17. g4 Bc2 18. e6 $36) (14... Bf5 15. c3 Ra6 16. Be3 Nd5 $2
17. Bxc5 $1 $16 {showing another feature of the N on h5.}) 15. a3 Be6 ({
Going for simplification with} 15... Bf5 16. Re2 Bg6 17. Nf4 Nxf4 18. Bxf4 {
[%cal Ye5e6]} Bf5 {doesn´t quite work due to} 19. e6 $1 {The key move.} Bd6 (
19... Bxe6 20. Bxc7 $14) 20. exf7+ (20. Bxd6 cxd6 21. Rd1 Bxe6 22. Rxd6 Ke7 23.
Rb6 $14) 20... Kxf7 21. Ne5+ Kf6 22. g4 Be6 23. Rae1 $14) 16. Bd2 (16. c4 $2
Nb6 17. b3 a4 $17) 16... a4 17. g4 Kd7 18. Re4 Kc6 $6 (18... b5 $5) 19. c4 $1
Nb6 20. Rc1 $14 {White has driven the N away from d5.} Rd8 21. Nf4 Be7 22. Kf1
Rd7 23. Ke2 Rhd8 24. Nxe6 fxe6 25. Bc3 Rd3 $2 (25... Rf8 $142 $132) 26. h4 Nc8
27. Rf4 $1 R3d7 28. h5 Rf8 $2 29. Rxf8 Bxf8 30. Nh4 $16 {[%cal Yf2f4,Yf4f5]} b5
31. Ng6 Be7 32. cxb5+ Kxb5 33. f4 c4 34. f5 $18 Bg5 35. fxe6 Rd8 36. Rf1 Kc6
37. Rf7 Re8 38. Rxg7 Rxe6 39. Kf3 Nb6 40. Nf8 Re8 41. Nh7 Bc1 42. Nf6 Rf8 43.
e6 Nd5 44. Rf7 Rb8 45. e7 Nxf6 46. Bxf6 Kd7 47. Rf8 Re8 48. g5 hxg5 49. Kg4
Rxe7 50. Bxe7 Kxe7 51. Rf2 Bf4 52. Rc2 1-0

[Event "Biel SKA"]
[Site "Biel"]
[Date "1996.07.29"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Onischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Miles, Anthony John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2605"]
[BlackElo "2630"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "1996.07.22"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[EventCategory "16"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 055"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1996.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1996.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Hecht} Nc6 2. Nf3 e5 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. b3 a5 11. Bb2 (11. a4 {This is the
principal answer to a5 in the Berlin defence. A statistical survey of the Mega
96 database shows that Black increases his winning chances from 27% to 47% 
(and his expected score from 0.48 to 0.65) if he is allowed to play a5-a4 in
the Berlin.} Bb4 (11... Be6 12. Bb2 h6 13. h3 Rd8 14. Rad1 Rxd1 15. Rxd1 h5 16.
Ne2 Be7 17. Bc1 h4 18. Bd2 b6 19. Bg5 $14 {1-0 Dvoirys,S-Tseshkovsky,V/Moscow
Alekhine op ;CBM 33 1992 (28)}) 12. Ne2 (12. Bb2 Bxc3 $1 $10) (12. Ne4 Be6 13.
Bb2 Bd5 $13) 12... Be6 13. Bb2 (13. Nf4 Bc3 14. Rb1 Nd4 15. Nxd4 Bxd4 16. Bb2
Bxb2 17. Rxb2 Rd8 $13) 13... Bd5 14. Nfd4 Nxd4 15. Nxd4 $14) 11... Bb4 (11...
h5 12. Rfe1 Be7 13. a4 Be6 14. Ne4 Rd8 15. Rad1 Rxd1 16. Rxd1 Rh6 $13 {1/2-1/2
Kovalev,A-Gorbatow,A/Cappelle op (05) ;EXP 51 1996 (35)}) 12. Ne4 $146 {
White should avoid the exchange on c3. If Black is allowed to play Bxc3 Whites
winning chances shrinks from 30% to 11% (and his expected score from 0.52 to 0.
39). All according to Mega 96. The reason behind these figures is the fact
that Black is very comfortable in the endings with opposite coloured B:s. The
P on e5 is blockaded and itself blocks Whites B.} (12. Rad1 Bxc3 $1 13. Bxc3
Be6 14. Rd3 a4 15. Rfd1 axb3 16. axb3 h6 17. h3 c5 18. Nd2 Ne7 19. Ne4 b6 20.
f3 Nc6 21. g4 h5 22. Kg2 hxg4 23. hxg4 Ra2 $10 {Gufeld,E-Karaklajic,N/Belgrade
GMA ;TD 88\07 1988/1/2-1/2 (55)}) (12. Ne2 a4 13. c4 Bc5 14. Nd2 h5 15. Ne4 Be7
16. Nf4 b6 17. Rfe1 Be6 18. Bc3 g5 $2 (18... Rh6 $13 {/\g5}) 19. Nf6+ Bxf6 20.
Nxe6 fxe6 21. exf6 Kf7 22. Rad1 Rhd8 23. Be5 $16 {1-0 Jansa,V-Plachetka,J/
Ostrava (02) ;CBM 33 1992 (38)}) (12. Rfd1 h6 13. a3 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 a4 15. b4
Be6 {1/2-1/2 Romero Holmes,A-Cifuentes Parada,R/Wijk op (04) ;CBM 46 1995}) (
12. h3 Bxc3 13. Bxc3 c5 14. Rfe1 h6 15. g4 Ne7 16. e6 f6 17. Nh4 $6 (17. Re4)
17... Ra6 $1 $15 {0-1 Thipsay,P-Miles,A/Sakthi (05) ;CBM 53 1996 (33)}) 12...
a4 13. a3 Be7 14. b4 {Onischuk correctly decides to keep the game closed on
the Q-side. White should not help Black in solving the problem with the
deployment of his R:s.} Be6 15. Rfe1 h6 16. h3 Rd8 17. Rad1 $14 {Whites space
advantage gives him a slight advantage.} Rd7 (17... Bd5 18. Nf6+ $1 gxf6 19.
exf6 Rg8 20. fxe7 Rd7 21. Ne5 Rxe7 22. Ng4 $14) 18. Rxd7 Kxd7 19. g4 $1 Nh4 20.
Nxh4 Bxh4 21. Nc5+ Kc8 22. Nxe6 {The exchange Nxe6 does not change the
statistics of this line. It only increases Whites overall expected score from
0.52 to 0.53. In this position though White is already better.} fxe6 {[#]
Hecht: Realisieren der K-Flügel-Mehrheit unter ständigem brettumfassendem
Raumgewinn auf beiden Flügeln Schwarz im positionellen Würgegriff.} 23. Re4 Rd8
24. Bd4 b6 25. Kf1 Rf8 26. Ke2 Be7 27. Be3 Kb7 28. f4 Kc8 29. Rd4 Rd8 $6 {
Black should have tried to hold up f4-f5 instead.} (29... g6 $142) 30. Rc4 $1 (
30. Rxd8+ Kxd8 31. f5 Bg5 32. Bxg5+ hxg5 33. Kd3 Ke7 $13) 30... Kb7 (30... Kd7
31. f5 $16) 31. f5 $16 Rd5 32. Re4 Kc8 33. c4 Rd7 (33... Rd8 $142) 34. fxe6 Rd8
35. Rf4 Rf8 36. Rf5 (36. Rf7 Rxf7 37. exf7 Kd7 38. g5 hxg5 39. Bxg5 Bf8 40. Kd3
Ke6 41. Ke4 g6 $14) 36... Kd8 37. c5 b5 (37... bxc5 {Hecht} 38. Bxc5 Bxc5 39.
bxc5 Ke7 40. Rxf8 Kxf8 41. Kd3 Ke7 42. Kc4 Kxe6 43. Kb4 Kxe5 44. Kxa4 Ke6 45.
Ka5 Kd7 46. Ka6 Kc8 47. Ka7 $18) 38. Kf3 Ke8 39. Ke4 Bh4 (39... g6 $142 {
This move gives White a chance to go wrong.} 40. Rf7 $1 (40. Rf2 $2 Bg5 41.
Rxf8+ Kxf8 42. Bxg5 hxg5 $10) (40. Rxf8+ $2 Bxf8 $10) 40... Rxf7 41. exf7+ Kxf7
42. Bxh6 Bd8 43. g5 Be7 44. h4 Bd8 45. Kf4 Be7 46. Kg4 Bd8 47. h5 $18) 40.
Rxf8+ Kxf8 41. Kf5 Be1 42. Bd4 Bd2 43. Bb2 Bg5 44. Kg6 Kg8 {Black has
protected everything - it seems.} (44... Ke7 45. Kxg7 Kxe6 46. h4 $18) 45. Bc1
$1 (45. e7 Bxe7 46. e6 $18) 45... Bxc1 (45... Be7 46. g5 $18) 46. e7 Bxa3 47.
e8=Q# 1-0

[Event "Leon"]
[Site "Leon"]
[Date "1997.06.07"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Sion Castro, Marcelino"]
[Black "Campora, Daniel Hugo"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2440"]
[BlackElo "2555"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "1997.06.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 060"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1997.09.29"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1997.09.29"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 bxc6 7. dxe5 Nb7
8. Nc3 (8. Bg5 Be7 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Re1 Nc5 12. Qd2 $14 {1-0
Andrijevic,M-Markovic,V/Pancevo 1989/EXT 89 (18)}) 8... Nc5 9. Nd4 Ne6 10. Nxe6
fxe6 (10... dxe6 11. Qxd8+ (11. Qg4 h5 12. Qg3 Qd4 $13 {0-1 Allen,A-Laird,C/
AUS-sf Brisbane 1995/EXT 95ch (31)}) 11... Kxd8 12. Be3 $16) 11. Qh5+ g6 12.
Qg4 d5 13. exd6 cxd6 14. Qc4 Bd7 15. Ne4 $1 $16 Be7 (15... Qc7 16. Rd1 $16) 16.
Qd4 O-O 17. Nxd6 c5 18. Qe5 Qb6 19. Bh6 Bf6 20. Qg3 Rfd8 21. Qf4 Qxb2 22. c3 $1
Rf8 (22... Bxc3 23. Qf7+ Kh8 24. Bg5 Rf8 25. Qxd7 Rxf2 26. Qb7 $18) (22... Qxc3
23. Ne4 $18) 23. Bxf8 Rxf8 24. Ne4 Bxc3 25. Qd6 Bc8 26. Rab1 Qc2 27. Nxc3 (27.
Nxc3 Qxc3 28. Rfc1 Qd4 29. Qxc5 $18) 1-0

[Event "HUN-ch"]
[Site "Budapest"]
[Date "1995.??.??"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Groszpeter, Attila"]
[Black "Gyimesi, Zoltan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2520"]
[BlackElo "2430"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "142"]
[EventDate "1995.01.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "HUN"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 046"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1995.06.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1995.06.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Hecht} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Be6 10. Ng5 (10. b3 h6 (10... Ke8 11. Bb2 Rd8 12.
Rad1 Be7 13. Ne2 h5 14. c4 a6 15. Nfd4 Nxd4 16. Nxd4 {1/2-1/2/Rodriguez,Am-Van
der Wiel,J/Luzern/1989}) 11. Bb2 b6 12. Ne2 Bc5 13. Nd2 Kc8 14. Ne4 Be7 15. Nf4
h5 16. Rfd1 Kb7 17. Kf1 a5 18. Nxe6 {1/2-1/2/Tal,M-Kortchnoy,V/Reykjavik/1988})
(10. g4 $5 Ne7 11. h3 h5 12. Ng5 $36) 10... Bc5 $6 (10... h5 11. Nxe6+ fxe6 12.
Ne2 Ke8 13. Nf4 Kf7 14. Rd1 Be7 15. Rd7 Rac8 $13) (10... Bc4 11. Rd1+ Ke8 12.
b3 Bb4 13. Nce4 $4 (13. Bb2 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 Be6 $10) 13... Be2 $19) 11. Nxe6+
fxe6 12. g4 $1 $14 {The key to success for white in this line is to advance
quickly with the K-side P-majority.} Nd4 (12... Ne7 $2 13. Ne4 Bb6 14. Ng5 Kd7
15. Rd1+ $18) (12... Nh4 13. Ne4 Be7 14. Ng5 Kc8 15. Nxe6 Nf3+ 16. Kg2 Nxe5 17.
h3 $16) 13. Na4 $1 Nf3+ $8 14. Kg2 Nh4+ 15. Kg3 Be7 16. f4 $1 $16 h5 17. h3 Ng6
18. Be3 b6 19. b3 Ke8 20. Nb2 Rd8 21. Nd3 Rd5 22. Rad1 hxg4 23. hxg4 Bh4+ 24.
Kf3 Bd8 25. Rh1 Rf8 26. Ke4 Ne7 27. c4 Rd7 28. Rh5 c5 29. Rdh1 g6 30. Rh7 a5
31. Ne1 Rd1 32. Nf3 Rxh1 33. Rxh1 Nc6 34. Rh7 Rf7 35. Rh8+ Rf8 36. Rh7 Rf7 37.
Rh6 Rg7 38. Bf2 Nb4 39. a4 Nc6 40. Rh8+ Kd7 41. Bh4 Bxh4 42. Rxh4 Ne7 43. Rh8
Nc6 44. Rf8 Ke7 45. Rc8 Kd7 46. Rh8 Ke7 47. Rh6 Kd7 48. Ke3 Ke7 49. f5 $1 gxf5
50. gxf5 Nd4 51. f6+ Kf7 52. Nxd4 cxd4+ 53. Kxd4 Rg4+ 54. Ke3 Rg3+ 55. Kf4 Rxb3
56. Rh7+ Kg6 57. Rg7+ Kh6 58. Rxc7 $18 Rb4 59. Rc6 Rxa4 60. Rxe6 Kg6 61. Rxb6 (
61. Rc6 $5 {Hecht} b5 62. Ke4 b4 63. Rc7 b3 64. Rg7+ Kh6 65. Rg1 Rxc4+ 66. Kf5
Kh7 67. f7 Rc8 68. Kf6 $18) 61... Rxc4+ 62. Ke3 a4 63. Rb8 (63. Rb7 {Hecht} Kf5
64. f7 Rc8 65. Re7 Rf8 66. e6 a3 67. Re8 a2 $1 $10) 63... a3 64. Rg8+ Kf7 65.
Rg7+ Ke6 66. Re7+ Kd5 67. f7 Rc3+ (67... Rc8 {Hecht} 68. Re8 a2 69. f8=Q Rxe8
70. Qd6+ Kc4 71. Qd4+ Kb3 72. Kd3 $18) 68. Kf2 Rc2+ 69. Kg3 Rc3+ (69... Rc8 {
Hecht} 70. Re8 a2 71. f8=Q (71. Rxc8 a1=Q 72. f8=Q Qg1+ 73. Kh4 Qh2+ 74. Kg5
Qg3+ 75. Kh6 Qh4+ 76. Kg6 Qg4+ 77. Kh7 Qh3+ 78. Qh6 Qd7+ $10) 71... Rxe8 72.
Qa3 $18) 70. Kg4 a2 71. Ra7 Rc7 (71... Rc8 {Hecht} 72. Kf5 $18) (71... Rc7 {
Hecht} 72. Ra5+ Rc5 73. Rxc5+ Kxc5 74. f8=Q+ $18) 1-0

[Event "RUS-ch"]
[Site "Krasnodar"]
[Date "2002.09.03"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Smirnov, Pavel"]
[Black "Kharlov, Andrei"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2539"]
[BlackElo "2609"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2002.08.27"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 091"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.11.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.11.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{This is an excellent fighting game.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O
Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 a5 10. h3 a4 {
Logical expansion - the threat is a3 which will be unpleasant whatever White
decides to do about it.} (10... h6 11. a3 Be6 12. Rd1+ Kc8 13. g4 Ne7 14. Nd4
Bd7 $13 {1/2-1/2 Lutz,C-Aleksandrov,A/Saint Vincent 2000/CBM 78 (54). (53)})
11. a3 Be6 {One should always be wary of putting the B on e6. The exchange
Ng5xe6 can be unpleasant.} (11... h6 {is often useful.}) 12. Bf4 (12. Ng5 Bc4 {
is OK for Black.}) 12... Ke8 13. Rad1 Bc5 {Black makes plausible moves, but he
seems to be lacking a plan here.} 14. Rfe1 Ne7 15. Ne4 Bb6 16. Nfg5 $1 h6 (
16... Bd5 17. Nf6+ $1 $16) 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. g4 $14 {White´s main trump is his
P majority on the K side. Black has no real chances for active play but has to
roll with the punches instead.} Rf8 19. Bg3 c5 20. Kg2 c4 21. c3 Ba7 22. h4 Nd5
{An excellent post for the N.} 23. h5 Kd7 24. Nd2 $1 {[%cal Yd2f3,Yf3h4,Yh4g6]
[%mdl 2048] Well played, White is increasing the pressure.} b5 25. Nf3 Kc6 26.
Nh4 Rfd8 27. Ng6 Bc5 {The Q side is not as dead as it looks. At some point
Black can initiate serious counterplay by sacrificing on a3 or c3.} 28. Bh4 Rd7
29. Kg3 Re8 30. f4 Rf7 31. Kf3 Ref8 $132 32. f5 $1 (32. Nxf8 Rxf4+ 33. Kg3 Bf2+
34. Kh3 Rxf8 35. Bxf2 Rxf2 $44) 32... Re8 (32... exf5 $2 33. Rxd5 $1 Kxd5 (
33... fxg4+ 34. Ke4 $18) 34. e6 fxg4+ 35. Kxg4 Rf1 36. Re5+ Kc6 37. Rxc5+ Kxc5
38. Nxf8 Rxf8 39. Be7+ $18) 33. Ke4 Bxa3 $5 {[%mdl 256] In the nick of time
Black plays his counter trump.} (33... Rd7 34. Nf4 Nxf4 35. Rxd7 Kxd7 36. Kxf4
{[%cal Yf5f6,Yg4g5] and White is close to winning.}) 34. fxe6 $6 (34. bxa3 $5
Nxc3+ 35. Kf4 Nxd1 36. Rxd1 b4 37. axb4 Kb5 38. Be1 a3 {Highly unclear, but
probably good for White.}) 34... Rxe6 35. Rxd5 Bxb2 $132 {The a-P is ready for
a walk.} 36. Bg3 a3 (36... Bxc3 $5) 37. Nf4 Re8 38. Kd4 Rxf4+ 39. Bxf4 a2 $6 (
39... Bxc3+ $5 40. Kxc3 Kxd5 $44) 40. e6 a1=Q 41. Rxa1 Bxa1 42. Rc5+ Kb6 43.
Bxc7+ Ka6 44. Rc6+ Kb7 45. Kc5 {White is on top again.} Bxc3 46. Kxb5 Bf6 47.
Bd6 Rxe6 48. Rb6+ Ka8 $1 (48... Kc8 $2 49. Kc6 Rxd6+ 50. Kxd6 c3 51. Rb4 $3 {
Beautiful zugzwang!}) 49. Kc6 Rxd6+ 50. Kxd6 c3 51. Rb5 Ka7 52. Kc7 (52. Kc6
Ka6 53. Rb4 Ka7 $11 (53... Ka5 $4 54. Rc4 $22 $18)) 52... Ka6 53. Rc5 Bd4 54.
Rc4 (54. Rc4 Kb5 $1 55. Rxd4 c2 56. Rd5+ Kb4 57. Rd4+ Kb3 58. Rd3+ Kb4 $11)
1/2-1/2

[Event "SWE-ch"]
[Site "Skara"]
[Date "2002.07.02"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Berg, Emanuel"]
[Black "Wedberg, Tom Birger"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2503"]
[BlackElo "2540"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2002.06.30"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "SWE"]
[EventCategory "9"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 091"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.11.12"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.11.12"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 a5 10. Ne4 h6 {It´s facinating in how many different ways
this opening can be played. The idea of h6 is to wait with the K on d8 for a
while. Maybe it´s later going to the Q side. By controlling g5 Black protects
the vulnerable f7 square.} (10... a4 11. a3 Ke8 {is another way to play. 1/2-1/
2 Hajek,M-Lechtynsky,J/CZE 1999/EXT 2000 (17)}) 11. h3 {Now White may have a
threat in g4 followed by Ng3.} Ne7 $146 (11... Be6 $6 12. g4 Bd5 13. Ned2 Ne7
14. c4 Be6 15. Nd4 Bd7 16. Ne4 Ng6 17. f4 $36 {1-0 Blehm,P-Karpatchev,A/
Cappelle la Grande 1998/CBM 63 ext (31). (31)}) (11... a4 $5 12. g4 Ne7 13. Ng3
{playing for f4-f5 is interestning.}) 12. Nd4 (12. g4 h5 {the typical counter}
13. Nfg5 Ke8 14. f3 Ng6 $15) 12... b6 {[%csl Yc5]} (12... Ng6 13. f4 c5 (13...
Bd7 14. Be3 Kc8 15. Rad1 Be7 16. Ng3 $14 {[%cal Yg3f5,Yg3h5]}) 14. Ne2 Kd7 15.
Be3 Kc6 {is also possible.}) 13. Rd1 Bd7 $1 {[%cal Yd8c8] This looks dangerous
for Black but there is no obvious way to exploit the pin on the d-file. The
black K is heading for safety on the Q-side.} 14. a4 (14. e6 fxe6 15. Nxe6+ Kc8
16. Nxf8 (16. Nxc7 $2 Kxc7 17. Bf4+ Kd8 18. Nd6 Ng6 $17) 16... Rxf8 $11 {
[%cal Yd7f5,Ye7d5,Ya8e8,Gc8b7,Yf8f7] Opposite coloured B:s and free play for
the black pieces guarantees fair chances. My opponent even considered this to
be slightly better for Black.}) 14... Kc8 15. f4 c5 {Black starts kicking back
the white pieces. From now on White loses grund with every move.} 16. Ne2 (16.
Nb5 $5 Bc6 17. Ng3 h5 18. c4 h4 19. Ne2 Nf5 $132) 16... Bc6 17. N4g3 h5 $1 {
Fighting for the f5 square and keeping the white P majority in check.} 18. Nc3
h4 19. Nge4 Nf5 20. Ng5 {Looking for some counterplay, but already Black has
several good options at his disposal.} Be8 {solid, but perhaps not best} (20...
Be7 $5 21. Nxf7 Rf8 {with activity for Black.}) (20... f6 21. Nf7 Rg8 {looks a
bit unclear, but White has no real threat so it might just be good for Black.})
21. Nd5 c4 {[%cal Yf8c5]} 22. Be3 {A real concession. Black´s pair of B:s will
be very strong.} Nxe3 23. Nxe3 Bc5 24. Kf2 (24. Re1 $142 {[%cal Yg1h1]}) 24...
Bc6 $1 {[%mdl 2048] The point is to keep the pin on Ne3 by preventing Ne4. The
loss of a P means nothing since White has no play and a very weak K to think
about.} 25. Nxf7 Rf8 26. e6 Kb7 $17 {[%cal Ya8e8,Yf8f2,Ye8e3,Yc5e3,Yc6g2]
White is in a real jam here.} 27. Re1 Rae8 28. f5 g6 {Black opens the position
against the white K.} 29. Kf1 (29. g4 {was slightly better} gxf5 30. gxf5 Be4
31. Kf1 Bxe3 32. Rxe3 Bxf5 $17) 29... gxf5 30. Nxc4 (30. Nxf5 Bd5 $19) 30...
Rg8 $1 {White is past salvation now.} 31. Re2 f4 32. e7 Rxe7 (32... Bd5 $1 $19)
33. Rxe7 (33. Nfd6+ cxd6 34. Rxe7+ Ka6 $19) 33... Bxe7 34. Nfe5 Bxg2+ 35. Ke2
Bc5 36. Nd3 f3+ 37. Kd2 Bd4 38. Ne3 Re8 39. Re1 Bxh3 40. c3 Bf6 41. Nf4 f2 0-1

[Event "NED-ch57"]
[Site "Leeuwarden"]
[Date "2002.06.21"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Van den Doel, Erik"]
[Black "Jonkman, Harmen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2583"]
[BlackElo "2520"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2002.06.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 090"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.09.20"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2002.09.20"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. Nd4 c5 $146 {[%mdl 8] More active than Almasi´s
Ng6. The weakening of b5 is a drawback though.} (10... Ng6 11. f4 Bc5 12. Be3
Bb6 13. Rae1 Nh4 (13... Ne7 $5) 14. e6 $13 {1-0 Shirov,A-Almasi,Z/Tilburg 1996/
CBM 56/[Shirov] (36)} (14. Ne4 $5)) 11. Nf3 $1 {[%cal Yf3g5,Yc3b5]} (11. Ndb5
$6 Bf5 (11... Kd7 $5 {[%cal Yd7c6]}) 12. Be3 b6 13. Rad1+ Kc8 $13 {No problems
for Black.}) 11... a6 (11... h6 $2 12. Rd1+ Bd7 (12... Ke8 13. Nb5 $18) 13. e6
fxe6 14. Ne5 $18) (11... Bf5 12. Ng5 Ke8 13. Nb5 Nd5 14. c4 Bd3 15. cxd5 Bxb5
16. Rd1 $14) 12. Be3 b6 13. Rfd1+ Ke8 14. a4 $1 {Now Black is experiencing
some difficulties on the Q-side.} Bb7 (14... a5 $4 15. Nb5 $18) (14... Bf5 15.
a5 $1 Bxc2 16. Rd2 Bb3 17. axb6 cxb6 18. Nb5 $1 $36) 15. a5 Nf5 16. axb6 cxb6 {
Straightening out the P-chain on the Q-side doesn´t necessarily mean an
improvement of Blacks position in the Berlin. The doubled c-P protects
important squares on the d-file. Now Black can get problems on d5, d6 and d7.}
17. Nd5 $1 Bxd5 18. Rxd5 $14 {White has an easier position to play.} Be7 $2 {
Her Black missed his best chance in the game.} (18... Nxe3 $142 19. fxe3 Be7
20. Nd2 {[%cal Yd2c4,Yd2e4]} h5 $5 {This might be the saving idea. Protecting
the Q-side and developing the R at the same time.} 21. Nc4 Rh6 $13) 19. Bf4 $16
{White has all the advantages and Black has no counterplay - remember that 0-0
is not allowed!} g6 20. Kf1 h6 21. Ke2 Ng7 22. Nd2 $1 {[%cal Yd2e4,Yd2c4]} Ne6
23. Be3 Bd8 24. Ne4 Bc7 25. f4 Ke7 26. Nf6 $40 {The intrusion on d7 is hard to
prevent.} Rhd8 (26... g5 27. Rd7+ Kf8 28. Nd5 (28. g3) 28... gxf4 29. Nxc7 Nxc7
30. Rxc7 fxe3 31. Rf1 $18) 27. Rad1 Rxd5 (27... Rac8 28. c4 {A terrible grip.})
28. Nxd5+ Kf8 29. g4 Bd8 30. f5 $18 {Winning material finally - Black is lost.}
Nd4+ 31. Bxd4 cxd4 32. Rxd4 Rc8 33. Kd3 Ke8 34. Rc4 Rxc4 35. Kxc4 gxf5 36. gxf5
Kd7 37. Kd4 Kc6 38. f6 Kd7 39. Ke4 b5 40. b4 a5 41. bxa5 Bxa5 42. Nf4 1-0

[Event "Hoogovens op"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "1995.01.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Leko, Peter"]
[Black "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2555"]
[BlackElo "2590"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "34"]
[EventDate "1995.01.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 046"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1995.06.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1995.06.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ $6 {Pointless.} Ke8 10. Nc3 Ne7 $5 {/\Bg4, /\Ng6} 11. Nd4
a6 (11... Ng6 12. Ndb5 $5) 12. h3 Ng6 13. f4 Bc5 {With opposite coloured B:s
black is never worse in this line.} 14. Be3 h5 15. Nce2 Ne7 16. Rd2 Bxd4 17.
Nxd4 Nf5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Dortmund SuperGM 26th"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "1998.07.02"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2690"]
[BlackElo "2710"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1998.06.26"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 066"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.09.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.09.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Shirov tries a new move and later manages to get his N secured on d4. Not
very common in the Berlin defence. Then he spoils the position by making a
dubious P-sacrifice. Svidlers excellent defence, which soon turns into an
attack, refutes the Black plan.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5.
d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. Rd1 Ne7 11. Nd4
Bg4 $146 (11... Ng6 12. Bg5 (12. f4 Bc5 13. Ne4 (13. Be3 Bxd4 14. Rxd4 Bf5 15.
Rc1 b6 16. b4 Ne7 17. Bf2 Rd8 18. Rxd8+ Kxd8 19. Bh4 Ke8 20. Ne2 $14 {1/2-1/2
Ye Jiangchuan-Rausis,I/Beijing 1996/EXP 54 (48)}) 13... Bxd4+ 14. Rxd4 b6 15.
Be3 h5 16. Re1 Be6 17. Ng5 Bf5 18. Rc4 $14 {1-0 Svidler,P-Topalov,V/Linares
1998/CBM 64 (67)}) (12. Ne4 Be7 13. f4 (13. Re1 c5 14. Nb3 b6 15. Nf6+ $6 $17 (
15. Nd6+ $11) 15... Kf8 16. Nd5 Bd8 17. Nd2 c6 18. Ne3 Nxe5 $17 {0-1 Leko,
P-Almasi,Z/Budapest 1997/CBM 62 (53)}) 13... Bg4 14. Rd3 Rd8 15. h3 Bd7 16. Be3
c5 17. Ne2 b6 18. c4 h5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Peng Xiaomin-Almasi,Z/FIDE-Wch k.o. 1997/
CBM 63 [Wedberg] (33)}) 12... Bd7 13. Re1 h6 14. Bd2 Bc5 15. Nb3 Be7 16. Ne4
Nxe5 17. Bc3 f6 18. Bxe5 fxe5 19. Nec5 Bc8 20. Nd3 $14 {1-0 Almasi,
Z-Dumitrache,D/Odorheiu Secuiesc zt 1995/CBM 47 (67)}) 12. f3 Bd7 13. Ne4 Ng6
14. f4 c5 {Fighting for control over f5, but it's not without drawbacks since
d5 and b5 becomes weak.} (14... Be7 15. Be3 Rd8 16. Rd2 h5 17. h3 $14 {/\Rad1})
15. Ne2 Bg4 16. Kf2 Nh4 17. N4c3 h5 18. h3 (18. Nb5 Rc8 19. Nxa7 Rd8 $132 {
[%csl Ra7,Re2,Rg2] פa7,><g2,פe2}) 18... Bd7 (18... Bf5 $2 19. Nb5 $16) 19.
Ng3 Rc8 20. Nd5 Nf5 21. Ne4 $14 {/\Ndf6+} (21. Nxf5 Bxf5 22. Ne3 Be4 23. f5 $6
h4 $1 {/\Rh5}) 21... Bc6 22. g3 $6 {Preventing h4, but creating a weakness on
h3 and letting Black put his N on d4.} (22. Be3 $5 {Simple chess.} b6 (22...
Nxe3 23. Kxe3 h4 24. c4 $14) 23. Rd2 $36) 22... Nd4 $1 23. c4 f6 $2 {Black
breaks loose at the cost of a P. In practice often a good decision, but here
there was a better option.} (23... Bxd5 $6 24. cxd5 Rd8 25. Nc3 $16) (23... Bd7
$1 {Playing this move for the third time might seem a bit too much, but there
is a new target on h3. By opening up an attack on the White K-side the R on h8
can become active without ever moving.} 24. Kg2 (24. Be3 Bxh3 (24... Nc2 $4 25.
Ndf6+ $18) (24... Bf5 25. Bxd4 cxd4 26. Rxd4 $1 c5 27. Ne3 cxd4 28. Nxf5 Kd7
29. Nfd6 Bxd6 30. Nxd6 $14) 25. Bxd4 cxd4 26. Rxd4 Bf5 $132) 24... Bf5 25. Ndc3
Be7 $15) 24. exf6 gxf6 25. Nexf6+ Kf7 26. Bd2 Bg7 27. Ne4 Rhe8 28. Re1 $1 $16 {
This move takes the sting out of Blacks activity.} (28. Nxc5 $2 Nc2 29. Rac1
Bd4+ 30. Kf1 (30. Kg2 $2 Re2+ 31. Kf3 (31. Kh1 Rd8 $19) 31... Rf2+ 32. Ke4 Bxc5
33. Rxc2 Bd7 $40) 30... Bxc5 31. Rxc2 Bd7 $1 $132) 28... Nc2 29. Ng5+ Kg6 30.
Rxe8 Rxe8 31. Rc1 Bd4+ 32. Kf1 Bxd5 33. Rxc2 Bc6 34. Bc3 h4 (34... Kf5 $142)
35. g4 Re3 36. Bxd4 cxd4 37. Re2 $18 Rg3 38. Re6+ Kg7 39. f5 d3 40. f6+ Kf8 41.
Re7 1-0

[Event "Cannes masters k.o."]
[Site "Cannes"]
[Date "2000.02.19"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Boudre, Jean Pierre"]
[Black "Markowski, Tomasz"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2334"]
[BlackElo "2531"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2000.02.19"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 076"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2000.05.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2000.05.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 4] In this game Markowski in a very instructive way shows us how Black
can slowly consolidate and then take the initiative in the Berlin defence.} 1.
e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8.
Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 Ne7 11. Re1 Ng6 12. Ne4 c5 13. a4 a5 {The logical
response.} (13... h6 14. a5 $1 Bf5 15. h4 $1 Be7 (15... h5 16. Bg5 $16) 16.
Nd6+ $1 cxd6 17. exd6 Be6 (17... Bxc2 18. dxe7 Nxe7 19. Be3 $36) 18. dxe7 Nxe7
$16 {1-0 Adams,M-Almasi,Z/Las Vegas 1999/CBM 72/[Wedberg] (44)}) 14. Nc3 {
It´s a pity to move the N away from e4.} (14. h4 $5 Bg4 (14... h5 15. Bg5 $14)
15. Nh2 Be6 16. h5 Nh4 17. g4 $36) (14. Ra3 $5) 14... h6 15. Nb5 {The N is not
really effective on b5 once Black has protected c7.} Kd7 $1 16. Ra3 Be7 $146 {
[%mdl 8]} (16... Kc6 17. Rc3 Kb6 18. Nd2 Be6 19. Nc4+ Kc6 20. f4 Ne7 21. Nd2
Rd8 22. Nb3 b6 23. N3d4+ Kb7 24. Nxe6 fxe6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Galkin,A-Marcelin,C/
Yerevan 1999/CBM 72 ext (30)}) 17. Rc3 b6 18. Nd2 (18. e6+ fxe6 19. Rxe6 Kxe6
20. Nxc7+ Kd6 21. Nxa8 Kc6 22. Rb3 Bd8 $17) 18... Kc6 19. Ne4 Kb7 $15 {That´s
the end of White´s initiative against Black´s K. Black already has the better
prospects.} 20. f4 h5 21. Rf3 h4 22. Nf2 Bf5 23. c4 Rad8 24. Nc3 c6 25. b3 Nf8
26. Ng4 Ne6 27. Ne3 Nd4 28. Rf2 g6 $17 {Black´s blockade on the K-side is
perfect.} 29. Bb2 Bd3 30. Rd2 Nxb3 31. Rdd1 Rhe8 32. Ncd5 cxd5 33. Rxd3 dxc4
$19 34. Rxd8 Rxd8 35. Nxc4 Nd2 36. Nd6+ Bxd6 37. exd6 Kc6 38. Bf6 Rxd6 39. Bxh4
c4 40. Bf2 f5 41. Rc1 b5 0-1

[Event "Hoogovens-B"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "1999.01.25"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Brodsky, Michail"]
[Black "Van den Doel, Erik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2530"]
[BlackElo "2547"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "1999.01.19"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "11"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 069"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 Ne7 11. Ne4 Ng6 12. Re1 h6 $146 (12... Be7 13.
Nd6+ cxd6 14. exd6 f6 15. dxe7 Nxe7 16. b3 Kf7 17. Ba3 $14 {1-0 Nisipeanu,
L-Grabarczyk,M/Koszalin 1998/CBM 65 ext (66)}) 13. Nd4 c5 $5 14. Nb5 Kd7 15. f4
Kc6 {If the K is safe on c6 Black should have a good game. Compared to normal
lines with the K grovelling around on the back rank, Black can bring his R:s
into play much easier.} 16. a4 {The position is similar to one in the game
Svidler - Timman/Elista olm/1998. In that game Black got the upper hand with
his active K. Compare also with the game Spasov - Zhang Zhong from the same
event.} Be7 17. Be3 Bf5 $6 {This triggers a series of cuts and thrusts around
the black K. Clearly a risky course.} (17... a6 18. Nbc3 (18. b4 Bf5 19. Ng3
Nh4 $15) 18... Nh4 19. Rad1 Be6 $15) 18. Ng3 Bxc2 19. Rec1 {[%cal Yc1c6]} Bxa4
20. Nd4+ (20. Nxc7 Kxc7 21. Rxa4 b5 (21... b6 22. b4 $40) 22. Re4 c4 23. f5 Nf8
$13) 20... Kd7 21. Rxa4 cxd4 22. Rxd4+ Kc8 23. Nf5 a5 $6 (23... Rg8 $142 24.
Rdc4 $140 c6 25. b4 a5 26. b5 a4 27. bxc6 b5 $132) 24. Nxg7 a4 25. e6 a3 (25...
Bf6 26. Rd7 c6 27. Rxf7 Bxb2 28. Rd1 $40) 26. bxa3 Rxa3 27. Re4 $16 {White's
initiative and central pressure is worth much more than Black's backward
passed P:s.} f6 28. Nf5 Ra2 29. Rd4 Ba3 30. Re1 Re8 31. Ra4 Kb8 (31... Rxe6 32.
Ra8+ Kd7 33. Rd1+ Kc6 34. Nd4+ $18) 32. Ba7+ Kc8 33. Be3 Kb8 34. Ba7+ Kc8 35.
Bd4 $18 Kb8 36. Re3 Nxf4 37. Rexa3 Rxa3 38. Ba7+ Kc8 39. Rxa3 Rxe6 40. Be3 Nd5
41. Bxh6 b5 42. Rd3 c6 43. Nd4 1-0

[Event "Hastings 9899"]
[Site "Hastings"]
[Date "1999.01.06"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Fressinet, Laurent"]
[Black "Sokolov, Ivan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2455"]
[BlackElo "2620"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "1998.12.29"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 069"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. Rd1 Ne7 11. Nd4 Ng6 12. h3 (12. f4 Bc5 13. Ne4
Bxd4+ 14. Rxd4 b6 15. Be3 h5 16. Re1 Be6 17. Ng5 Bf5 $11 {1-0 Svidler,
P-Topalov,V/Linares 1998/CBM 64/[Petursson] (67)}) (12. Ne4 Be7 13. f4 Bg4 14.
Rd3 Rd8 15. h3 Bd7 16. Be3 c5 17. Ne2 b6 18. c4 h5 {1/2-1/2 Peng
Xiaomin-Almasi,Z/FIDE-Wch k.o. 1997/CBM 63 [Wedberg] (33)}) 12... Be7 13. f4 h5
14. Be3 Bd7 15. Rd2 Rd8 16. Rad1 Bc8 17. Ne4 a6 18. Kf2 Nh4 {Blockading f5 is
the key to Black's defence.} 19. Ng3 f6 $5 {A counter in the right moment
before White get's f5 in.} 20. exf6 gxf6 21. f5 Kf7 22. Bf4 Bc5 $1 23. Bxc7
Rxd4 24. Rxd4 Nxf5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Groningen Festival"]
[Site "Groningen"]
[Date "1998.12.21"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Asrian, Karen"]
[Black "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2600"]
[BlackElo "2650"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "1998.12.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "16"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 069"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke8 10. Nc3 a5 11. a4 {This is the principal reaction to
a5.} (11. b3 Bb4 $1 12. Bb2 (12. Ne2 a4) 12... Bxc3 13. Bxc3 c5 $11 {1/2-1/2
Tolnai,T-Mandl,R/Kecskemet 1992/CBM 29 (26)}) (11. Ne2 Bc5 (11... a4 12. h3 a3
(12... h5) 13. b3 h5 14. Bg5 Be7 15. c4 h4 {1/2-1/2 Hardarson,R-Marciano,D/
Reykjavik 1993/CBM 35 (15)}) 12. Nf4 Ne7 13. Be3 Bxe3 14. fxe3 Bf5 15. Nd4 Rd8
16. e6 $14 {1/2-1/2 Thipsay,P-Sokolov,I/Elista 1998/CBM 66 ext (41)}) (11. h3
a4 12. g4 (12. Bg5 Be6 13. g4 (13. a3) 13... Ne7 14. Nd4 Nd5 15. Ndb5 Rc8 16.
Nxd5 cxd5 $13 {0-1 Yemelin,V-Aleksandrov,A/St.Petersburg 1996/CBM 56 ext/
[Notkin] (33)}) 12... Ne7 13. Nd4 Ra5 14. Bf4 Be6 15. b4 Ra8 16. b5 c5 17. Nxe6
fxe6 18. Be3 b6 $11 {1/2-1/2 De la Villa Garcia,J-Giorgadze,G/Mondariz 1997/
EXT 99 (99)}) 11... Bb4 (11... h6 12. Ne2 Ne7 13. Ra3 Nd5 14. Rad3 Bf5 15. R3d2
Bc5 16. Nfd4 Bh7 17. c3 $14 {1-0 Frolov,A-Aleksandrov,A/Nikolaev 1993/CBM 35 
(71)}) 12. Ne2 Ne7 13. h3 Ng6 14. b3 h5 (14... Be7 15. Bb2 c5 16. Nc3 (16. c4
Bf5 17. Ng3 Be6 18. Nh5 Rg8 19. Nd2 Rd8 20. Nf1 Bg5 21. Bc3 b6 $15 {0-1 Borge,
N-Miles,A/Cappelle la Grande 1998/CBM 63 ext (68)}) 16... Bf5 17. Nd5 Rc8 18.
Ne3 Be6 $13 {0-1 Herrera,I-Miles,A/Ubeda 1997/CBM 56 ext (60)}) 15. Bb2 h4 16.
Ne1 Bxe1 $6 {Getting opposite coloured B:s is usually in Blacks favour in this
line. White's B is more restricted than Black's because of the P on e5. Still,
in this specifik position the exchange may be a bit too orthodox.} (16... Be7
17. Nd3 c5 $13) 17. Rxe1 c5 18. Nc3 Bf5 19. Ne4 b6 (19... Bxe4 20. Rxe4 Ke7 21.
e6 f6 22. Rg4 $16) 20. e6 $1 $36 f6 21. Rad1 Nf8 22. f4 Bxe4 (22... Nxe6 23. g4
$1 $36) (22... Ke7 23. Rd2 Re8 (23... Nxe6 24. g4 Bxe4 25. Rxe4) 24. g4 hxg3
25. Nxg3 Bxh3 26. f5 $36) 23. Rxe4 Rh5 24. e7 (24. Rd3 Ke7 25. g4 hxg3 26. Rxg3
g6 $13) 24... Ng6 25. Kf2 (25. Rd3 $1 {/\g4} f5 26. Re1 Nxf4 27. Rf3 Ng6 28.
Bxg7 $14) 25... c6 26. Re6 (26. Rd6 Rc8 27. c4 Nxe7 28. Rde6 Rc7 $15) 26...
Nxf4 27. Rxc6 Rf5 $1 28. Kg1 Rb8 29. Kh2 Rd5 30. Rf1 Kd7 31. e8=Q+ $6 (31. Rxf6
$5 gxf6 32. Rxf4 $132) 31... Kxe8 32. Rc7 (32. Rxf4 Kd7 $17) 32... Nh5 33. Re1+
Kf8 34. Re4 Re8 35. Rxh4 Re2 $17 36. c4 Rg5 37. Rxh5 Rxh5 $19 38. Bc1 Rf5 39.
Kg3 Rff2 40. Be3 Rxg2+ 41. Kf3 Rh2 42. Bg1 Rhg2 43. Rb7 Rb2 44. Be3 Rh2 45. Kg3
Rhc2 46. Rxb6 Rc3 47. Kf4 g5+ 48. Ke4 f5+ 0-1

[Event "Petrov Memorial op"]
[Site "St Petersburg"]
[Date "2000.02.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Solovjov, Sergey"]
[Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2449"]
[BlackElo "2606"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "123"]
[EventDate "2000.02.05"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 076"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2000.05.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2000.05.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 {This is a sort of semi-waiting move. Black
has many ways to develop his B:s, but first he wants to see where White is
going with his pieces. Pushing the a-P gains space without weakening anything.}
11. Ne2 (11. a4 {is natural but it forfeits the possibility of putting the P
on a3.}) 11... Ne7 (11... a4 $5 12. a3 Ra5 {is a more experimental way of
treating the position.}) 12. Nfd4 {It´s hard to see White gaining any
advantage from a move like this, since Black is perfectly willing to exchange
pieces with 12. - Nf5.} a4 $146 {[%mdl 8]} (12... Nf5 {good enough.} 13. a4
Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Bc5 15. Nb3 Be7 16. Be3 h5 17. f4 g6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Rozentalis,
E-Marciano,D/Belfort 1997/CBM 62/[Wedberg] (28)}) 13. Nf4 Nd5 14. Nxd5 cxd5 15.
Nb5 Ra5 $6 {Probably thinking that the next move was unplayable.} (15... Kd7 $1
$15 {Black has a nice game.}) 16. Nxc7+ $1 {Any other move would lead to a
long difficult endgame with a slight but lasting advantage for Black.} Kd7 17.
Bd2 Rc5 18. Na8 Kc6 (18... Rxc2 19. Rfc1 $36 {Of course not clear, but with
lots of active chances for White whatever Black prefers to do.}) 19. Be3 Be6
20. b3 Be7 21. Nb6 $1 {The N wriggles out of the trap.} Rxc2 (21... Kxb6 $2 22.
b4 $18) 22. Rac1 (22. Nxa4 $5 Ba3 $13) 22... axb3 23. axb3 Rxc1 24. Rxc1+ Kb5
25. Rc7 Bb4 26. Na4 (26. Rxb7 Kc6 27. Ra7 Rb8 28. Na4 Bf8 $11) 26... Ka6 27.
Nc5+ (27. Bc5 $2 Ba5 28. Re7 Bd8 $19) 27... Bxc5 28. Rxc5 d4 $1 $11 29. Bxd4
Rd8 30. Bc3 b6 31. Rc7 Bxb3 32. f4 Rd1+ 33. Kf2 Rc1 34. Ke3 b5 35. Ba5 Rg1 36.
Bb4 Kb6 37. Rd7 Rxg2 38. f5 Rg5 39. Rd6+ Kb7 40. Kf4 Rh5 41. Kg4 g6 42. e6 fxe6
43. fxe6 Re5 44. Rd7+ Kc8 45. Rxh7 Rxe6 46. Kf4 Bc2 47. Re7 Rc6 48. Ke5 Rc4 49.
Bd6 b4 50. Re8+ Kd7 51. Re7+ Kd8 52. Rb7 b3 53. Kd5 Rc8 54. Be5 Ra8 55. Bd6 Ra1
56. Rb8+ Kd7 57. Rb7+ Ke8 58. Rb8+ Kf7 59. Rf8+ Kg7 60. Be5+ Kxf8 61. Bxa1 g5
62. Ke6 1/2-1/2

[Event "NED-ch53"]
[Site "Rotterdam"]
[Date "1998.07.01"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Nijboer, Friso"]
[Black "Piket, Jeroen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2580"]
[BlackElo "2575"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "1998.06.21"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "12"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 066"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.09.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.09.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. d5 $5 {An interesting
choice. White seems to get a slight advantage from this.} Nb8 (6... Nd6 7. Ba4
(7. Be2 $1 e4 8. dxc6 exf3 9. cxb7 Nxb7 (9... Bxb7 10. Bxf3 O-O 11. Nc3 Rb8 12.
Nd5 Bf6 13. Rb1 h6 14. Qd3 a5 15. b3 Bxd5 16. Bxd5 $14 {1-0 Kilpi,T-Paldanius,
P/FIN-chT 1990/EXT 90ch2 (42)}) 10. Bxf3 O-O 11. c4 Rb8 12. Nc3 Nc5 13. Be3 $14
{1-0 Kalod,R-Biolek,R/Prerov 1995/EXT 95ch (51)}) 7... e4 8. dxc6 exf3 9. cxd7+
Bxd7 10. Bxd7+ Qxd7 11. Qxf3 O-O $11 {1/2-1/2 Jonsson,H-Svenn,G/SVE-chT 9596
1996/EXT 97 (18)}) 7. Nxe5 O-O 8. Re1 Nf6 9. Be2 $146 {A new idea in a very
old, almost forgotten line. White plans to retreat Ne5 to c4 and to put the B
on f3.} (9. Nc3 d6 (9... h6 10. Nf3 a6 11. Ba4 Bc5 12. Be3 Bxe3 13. Rxe3 d6 14.
Qd4 Bd7 15. Bb3 Re8 16. Rae1 Rxe3 17. Qxe3 $16 {1-0 Tarrasch,S-Baird,J/Leipzig
1894/EXT 97 (36)}) 10. Nf3 Bd7 (10... c6 11. Ba4 (11. dxc6 bxc6 12. Ba4 d5 13.
Bg5 Bb7 14. Nd4 Bc5 15. Nf5 $14 {0-1 Demeter,I-Keitlinghaus,L/Dortmund 1992/TD
92\03 (97)}) 11... Bg4 12. Qe2 Bxf3 13. gxf3 $1 Re8 14. Bg5 b5 15. Bxf6 gxf6
16. dxc6 $1 $18 {1-0 Anderssen,A-Steinitz,W/London 1862/MAINB (42)}) 11. Qe2
Re8 12. Qd3 a6 13. Bxd7 Nbxd7 14. Bg5 $14 {1-0 Schlechter,C-Baird,J/Leipzig
1894/EXT 97 (32)}) 9... Re8 10. Nc4 d6 11. Nc3 Nbd7 12. f4 Bf8 13. Bf3 Rxe1+
14. Qxe1 Nb6 15. Ne3 Bd7 16. a4 {White has more space.} c6 17. a5 $5 (17. dxc6
bxc6 {/\d5}) 17... Nbxd5 (17... Nc8 18. a6 $16) 18. Nexd5 cxd5 19. Be3 (19.
Nxd5 Bc6 20. Qd1 Nxd5 21. Bxd5 Qe7 $11) 19... Bc6 20. Bd4 {White has
compensation for a P, the question is if he has more.} a6 21. Na4 Bxa4 22. Rxa4
Rc8 23. c3 Qd7 24. Qd1 Ne4 25. Bb6 Re8 26. Rb4 Qc6 27. Rd4 Qb5 28. Rb4 Qc6 29.
Qd4 g6 $1 30. g3 Bg7 {White seems to have less than nothing here.} 31. Qd3 h5
32. Kg2 f5 33. Bg1 Re7 34. Qd1 Kh7 35. Qd3 Kh6 36. Ba7 Nc5 $6 {This is
probably a winning try in time pressure.} 37. Qxd5 Re2+ 38. Kh3 Qxd5 39. Bxd5
Nd3 40. Rxb7 Nxb2 (40... Nxb2 41. Rb6 $16) 1-0

[Event "Hoogovens-B"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "1999.01.20"]
[Round "2"]
[White "De Vreugt, Dennis"]
[Black "Van den Doel, Erik"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2378"]
[BlackElo "2547"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "158"]
[EventDate "1999.01.19"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "11"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 069"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 4] White's setup in the opening is interesting. It can serve as a model
for White's play against the Berlin defence.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4.
O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. Ne4 {
Quite an unusual move at this point, even though the N often goes to e4 sooner
or later after the more common moves.} (10. h3) (10. b3) (10. Ne2) 10... Be6
11. b3 $5 (11. Re1 h6 12. g4 Ne7 13. h3 Rd8 14. Kg2 (14. Ng3 c5 15. Nh5 Nd5 16.
a3 a5 $13 {1/2-1/2 Stein,L-Spassky,B/Moscow 1967/MCL (23)}) 14... Nd5 15. c3 c5
16. Nh4 g5 17. Nf5 Kd7 18. c4 Nb4 $13 {1/2-1/2 Ljubojevic,L-Panno,O/Las Palmas
1973/MCD (32)}) 11... a5 (11... Bd5 12. Re1 h6 13. c4 Bxe4 14. Rxe4 Rd8 {
1/2-1/2 Boey,J-Kaplan,J/Siegen 1970/MCD (14)}) 12. a4 {always a good reaction
to a5 in this line} h6 (12... c5 $5 13. Bb2 (13. c4 Nd4 $132) 13... c4 14. Neg5
Bd5 15. Rad1 c6 $132) 13. Bb2 Rd8 14. h3 b6 {Black's passive handling of the
opening is dangerous. Especially since White has a very aggressive scheme in
mind.} 15. g4 $1 Ne7 16. Nd4 {White almost has a big advantage here. Given one
or two moves he could run Black over with f4-f5 and e6 or f6. But Black can
prevent an immediate collapse with some active moves.} Bd5 17. Ng3 c5 18. Nb5
Rd7 19. c4 (19. f4 {allows} c4 $132) 19... Bf3 20. Rae1 Ng6 21. Re3 Bb7 22. Nh5
(22. f4 $6 Rd2 $132) 22... Kd8 23. Bc3 Rg8 24. f4 $14 {White has a nice
aggressive position, but when he opens in the centre there is always the risk
of being counter attacked by Black's B:s.} Be7 25. Kf2 (25. e6 fxe6 26. Nxg7
Nf8 27. Nxe6+ Nxe6 28. Rxe6 Rd3 $132) 25... Nf8 26. Kg3 Kc8 27. f5 (27. h4 $5
Ng6 28. g5 $13) 27... Bg5 $132 28. Nf4 g6 $1 {White has suddenly lost control.
The B:s are out of their cages and White is on the defensive.} 29. h4 Bxf4+ 30.
Kxf4 gxf5 31. gxf5 Ne6+ $5 32. fxe6 fxe6 33. Ref3 (33. Ree1 Rd3 $40) 33... Rf8+
34. Ke3 Rxf3+ 35. Rxf3 Bxf3 36. Kxf3 Rd3+ 37. Ke4 {playing for safety} (37. Kg4
{playing for promotion of the h-P is risky} Kd7 38. Be1 Rxb3 39. Kh5 Re3 40.
Bd2 Rxe5+ 41. Kxh6 Re4 42. h5 Rxc4 43. Kg6 Rxa4 44. Bg5 Ra1 45. h6 Rh1 46. h7
Rxh7 47. Kxh7 $17) 37... Rh3 38. Be1 Rxb3 39. Nc3 Rb2 40. Kf4 Rg2 $15 {As
usual the R is stronger than B and N in the ending. White has very little
counterplay, so he has to rely on keeping everything protected.} 41. Kf3 Rg1
42. Bd2 h5 43. Bg5 Ra1 44. Ke2 Kd7 45. Kd3 Ke8 46. Kc2 Re1 47. Bf6 Rf1 48. Ne4
Rf4 49. Kd3 Rf3+ 50. Kd2 $2 (50. Kc2 {prevents the R from reaching b4}) 50...
Rb3 51. Nc3 Rb4 $1 52. Kd3 c6 {White finds himself in a sort of zugzwang. Only
the B can move.} 53. Bg5 Kf7 54. Bd8 Kg6 55. Ne2 Kf5 56. Ng3+ Kg4 57. Ne4 Rxa4
58. Bxb6 Ra3+ 59. Kd2 Kxh4 $19 {Passed P:s on both wings is a clear signal
that White is going down.} 60. Nxc5 Kg4 61. Nxe6 h4 62. Nc7 h3 63. e6 h2 64. e7
h1=Q 65. e8=Q Ra2+ 66. Kd3 Qd1+ 67. Ke4 Qf3+ $4 (67... Qb1+ $1 $19) 68. Kd4 {
A new lease on life} Qf2+ 69. Qe3 Rd2+ 70. Kc3 Rc2+ 71. Kd3 Qf5+ 72. Qe4+ (72.
Kd4 $5) 72... Qxe4+ 73. Kxe4 a4 (73... Rxc4+ 74. Kd3 $11) 74. Kd3 Rh2 75. Bd4
a3 76. Na6 a2 77. Nb4 Rh3+ (77... c5 78. Nxa2 cxd4 79. Nb4 $11) 78. Ke4 Ra3 79.
Nxc6 a1=Q 1/2-1/2

[Event "Hoogovens"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "1999.01.30"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Sokolov, Ivan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2700"]
[BlackElo "2610"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "1999.01.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "17"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 069"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. Re1 Bb4 $146 {[%mdl 8] An obvious
improvement on 11. - Ne7 and the reason why 11.Re1 does not promise White much.
} (11... Ne7 $6 12. Ne4 Ng6 13. Nd4 a4 14. Bd2 h6 15. Rad1 Bd7 16. c4 $16 {
1-0 Nisipeanu,L-Kosashvili,Y/Elista 1998/CBM 66 ext (66)}) 12. Bd2 Be6 13. Rad1
Rd8 14. a3 Bxc3 {Playing with opposite coloured B:s is one of Black's main
strategical ideas in this line.} 15. Bxc3 Rxd1 16. Rxd1 Bd5 17. Nd4 (17. Bxa5
b6 18. Bc3 Bxf3 19. gxf3 Ke7 $44 {The N is better than the B here.}) 17... Nxd4
18. Rxd4 b6 19. f4 f5 20. exf6 gxf6 21. f5 Rg8 22. g4 h5 23. Kf2 hxg4 24. hxg4
Kf7 25. Bd2 Re8 26. Bf4 Re4 $11 27. Rxe4 Bxe4 28. Bxc7 (28. Bxc7 Bxc2 29. Bxb6
a4 $11) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Capablanca Memorial Elite 35th"]
[Site "Varadero"]
[Date "2000.05.07"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"]
[Black "Miles, Anthony John"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2508"]
[BlackElo "2579"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2000.05.07"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "CUB"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 077"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2000.07.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2000.07.27"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 e5 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 Ne7 11. Ne4 Ng6 12. Re1 c5 13. a4 a5 (13... h6
14. a5 Bf5 15. h4 Be7 16. Nd6+ cxd6 17. exd6 Be6 18. dxe7 Nxe7 $16 {1-0 Adams,
M-Almasi,Z/Las Vegas 1999/CBM 72/[Wedberg] (44)}) 14. Nc3 (14. h4 $5) (14. Ra3
$5) 14... h6 15. Nb5 Kd7 16. e6+ $1 $146 {[%mdl 8] A drastic novelty. White
enters a maze of complications.This stroke comes close to refuting Blacks
egocentrical trip with the K from e8 to c6.} (16. Ra3 Be7 (16... Kc6 17. Rc3
Kb6 18. Nd2 Be6 19. Nc4+ Kc6 20. f4 $13 {1/2-1/2 Galkin,A-Marcelin,C/Yerevan
1999/CBM 72 ext (30)}) 17. Rc3 b6 18. Nd2 Kc6 19. Ne4 Kb7 $15 {0-1 Boudre,
J-Markowski,T/Cannes 2000/CBM 75/[Wedberg] (41)}) 16... fxe6 17. Rxe6 Kxe6 {
Black has to follow suite or White is clearly better.} 18. Nxc7+ Kd7 19. Nxa8
Kc6 {[%csl Ra8] Given some time Black would net the N and be better.} 20. Bf4
$3 {[%mdl 64] The brilliant follow up.} (20. Ra3 $6 {[%cal Ya3b3,Yb3b6]} Be7 $1
(20... Bd6 $2 21. Rb3 Bf5 22. Rb6+ Kd5 23. c4+ $18) 21. Rb3 Bd8 22. Be3 b6 $17
{[%csl Ra8]}) 20... Nxf4 21. Ne5+ Kd5 22. Re1 $1 $40 {White has a very nasty
attack.} Bf5 $1 23. Nc7+ Kd6 (23... Kd4 $2 24. c3#) 24. Nb5+ Ke6 (24... Kd5 25.
c4+ Ke6 26. Ng6+ $16) 25. Ng6+ Kf6 26. Nxh8 {[%csl Rh8] White is now riddled
with a trapped N in the other corner. Truly a strange tactical sequence! The
endgame looks promising for White even though the N might be lost.} (26. Nxf4
Bxc2 $13) 26... g5 27. Re8 Kg7 28. c3 Bd7 29. Rb8 Bc6 30. f3 Ne6 {There is
still plenty of play in the position, but I guess both players were happy with
their achievements. Dominguez Perez had presented his splendid novelty and
Miles had managed to survive.} (30... Ne6 31. Na7 $5 $36) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Hoogovens"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "1999.01.24"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Timman, Jan H"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2784"]
[BlackElo "2649"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "1999.01.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "17"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 069"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Hansen,Cu} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. Qe2 Nd6 7.
Bxc6 bxc6 8. dxe5 Nb7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Re1 Nc5 11. Nd4 Ne6 12. Nxe6 {A deviation
from the old main line. Since the main line 12.Be3 seems to yield only a
minute plus for White 12.Nxe6 is worth trying.} (12. Nf5 {allows Black to free
himself in the centre with} f6 ({or even} 12... d5 13. exd6 cxd6 14. Qf3 d5 15.
Qg3 Bf6 $11 {0-1 Belik,D-Bastian,H/BL2-S 1993/GER-chT2 (50)}) 13. Nxe7+ Qxe7
14. exf6 (14. f4 fxe5 15. Qxe5 d6 16. Qe4 d5 17. Qe5 Qf6 $11 {0-1 Shetty,
R-Prasad,D/Kasaragod 1996/EXT 98 (35)}) (14. b3 f5 15. Bb2 Rf7 16. Rad1 Bb7 17.
Qc4 a5 18. Qd3 Qh4 $13 {1/2-1/2 Van den Berg,C-Lehmann,H/Beverwijk 1966/MCD 
(31)}) 14... Qxf6 15. Ne4 Qg6 16. Ng3 d5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Leffmann,K-Schottlaender,
A/Nuernberg 1883/HCL (42)}) (12. Be3 {is the "official" main line} Nxd4 13.
Bxd4 c5 14. Be3 d5 15. exd6 Bxd6 {Is White better due to a more harmonious
P-formation or is Black OK with his pair of B:s?} (15... cxd6 $2 16. Bxc5 $1
$16) 16. Ne4 Bb7 17. Nxd6 (17. Bxc5 Bxc5 18. Nxc5 Bxg2 $11) 17... cxd6 18. Rad1
{d6 is a weak spot, but Black seems to be able to protect it by threatening to
attack g2. All in all a fairly even position.} (18. Qg4 Qf6 19. c4 Rfe8 20.
Rad1 Re6 21. Re2 Rae8 22. Red2 Qe5 23. Qg3 Qe4 24. Rd3 Rg6 $17 {0-1 Donoso
Velasco,P-Sanguineti,R/Winnipeg 1974/EXT 98 (56)}) 18... Qf6 19. c4 Rae8 (19...
Rfe8 20. Qg4 Bc6 21. Re2 Re4 22. Qg3 Qe6 23. h3 Rd8 24. Red2 Re5 25. Bh6 $16 {
1-0 Tarrasch,S-Lasker,E/Germany 1908/MainBase (32)}) 20. f3 Re6 21. Qf2 Rfe8
22. b3 h6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Marjanovic,S-Bastian,H/BL8889 1989/GER-chT (42)}) 12...
fxe6 {Hansen,Cu: 'How to evaluate this position? The critical question is what
black can do with his Bs - and especially Bc8. If he could open the /^ a8-h1
he would most probably be doing fine.'} 13. b3 {'?!' Hansen,Cu. Hansen,Cu: 'A
strange move. Black should at some point - as mentioned - play c6-c5. If white
puts his B on b2 black will have no problems. If white puts pressuce on d7
Bb7-c6 would be a good defensive move. The only chance would be to stop c6-c5
or after c6-c5 to attack the P instantly by Bc1-e3, and Qe2-c4 or maybe even
Nc3-a4. The idea would be to win c5 or at least force black to losen his
structure with d7-d6.'} (13. Ne4 d5 14. Ng3 Bc5 15. Be3 Qe7 16. Qg4 Bb6 $11 {
0-1 Chekhover,V-Gothilf,S/Leningrad 1938/HCL (41)}) (13. Be3 $5 {[%cal Ya1d1]
Hansen,Cu}) 13... Qe8 (13... Bb7 $5 {[%cal Yc6c5,Yb7c6] Hansen,Cu}) 14. Be3 (
14. Bb2 Bb7 15. Qg4 {1/2-1/2 Spassky,B-Smyslov,V/Tilburg 1979/MCL/[Ftacnik] 
(15)}) 14... Rf5 {'!' Hansen,Cu.} (14... Bb7 {Hansen,Cu} 15. Ne4 Qg6 (15... c5
16. Bxc5 $16 (16. Nxc5 Bxc5 17. Bxc5 Qg6 $36) 16... Bxe4 17. Bxe7 Bf3 $5 18.
gxf3 Qxe7 {is probably not quite enough compensation for the P}) 16. Bc5 $1 $16
{Blocking the /^ for Bb7 and securing white a clear positional advantage}) 15.
Ne4 a5 {'?!' Hansen,Cu.} ({The crude} 15... Rxe5 {gives White a plus after} 16.
Bf4 Rf5 17. Bxc7 {Hansen,Cu: 'and the weakness of d6 seems to give white a
clear advantage'} Qf8 (17... d5 $6 18. Nd6 Bxd6 19. Bxd6 $16) 18. Rad1 d5 19.
Ng3 Rf7 20. Be5 Bc5 21. Bd4 (21. Rf1 a5 22. a4 Ba6 23. c4 $13) 21... Bxd4 22.
Rxd4 e5 23. Qxe5 Rxf2 24. c4 $14) (15... Bb7 $5 {Recommended by Michael
Greengard (Mig) in his online column in The Week In Chess and he has a point.
Intending to create play against g2 seems a much better option than wasting
time on opening the a-file for White.} 16. Bd4 (16. Nc5 $2 Bxc5 17. Bxc5 d6 $1
18. Bd4 c5 19. Bb2 Qg6 $40) (16. c4 {Hansen,Cu This is probably whites best
chance for a slight advantage} Qg6 17. Bc5 $1) (16. Rad1 Rxe5 17. Bf4 Ra5 18.
Bxc7 Rxa2 19. Bd6 $44) (16. f4 c5 $132 (16... Qg6 17. Bc5 $14)) 16... Qg6 {
[%cal Yg6g2,Yb7g2]} (16... c5 $1 {This is a big difference compared to the game
} 17. Nxc5 (17. Bxc5 $2 Rxe5) 17... Bxc5 18. Bxc5 Qg6 $44 {[%cal Yb7h1,Yg6g1] /
^ a8-h1}) 17. Ng3 (17. f3 c5 18. Bb2 Raf8 $132) 17... c5 18. Bb2 Raf8 $132) 16.
Bd4 a4 17. c4 Bb7 18. Ng3 Rf4 19. Be3 Rf7 20. c5 $1 $16 {[%csl Rd7][%mdl 16]
'!' Hansen,Cu.  Gaining space and hemming both Black's B:s. From now on Pd7 is
permanently weak.  Hansen,Cu: 'The /^ was never opened for blacks white
squared B and now he has a very passive position'} Ba6 21. Qd2 Bh4 {'?!'
Hansen,Cu.} (21... Bb5 {Hansen,Cu} 22. Ne4 $16) 22. Ne4 Rf5 $6 23. Qd4 Be7 {
'?' Hansen,Cu.} (23... axb3 24. axb3 Be7 25. Red1 $16 {><d7}) 24. Ng3 Rf8 25.
Qxa4 {'+/-' Hansen,Cu. Anand is a P up for less than nothing.} h5 26. h3 (26.
h4 $5 {Hansen,Cu Seems to save a tempo over the game} Qd8 27. Qd4 Bxh4 28. Nxh5
$16) 26... Bd3 27. Qd4 Qg6 {Hansen,Cu: 'Black got his B out but he needs to
place it on d5 to have real compensation for the lost P'} 28. h4 Rfd8 29. Bg5 {
Hansen,Cu: 'Exchanging blacks "good" bishop'} (29. Nxh5 $5 {Hansen,Cu}) 29...
Bxg5 30. hxg5 Ra3 31. Qh4 Rda8 32. Nxh5 $18 Bc2 {Hansen,Cu: 'Black has managed
to drum up some counterplay. White cannot win on any positional advantage
anymore but concrete lines still seems to be clearly in his favour'} 33. Nf4
Qh7 34. Qg4 $1 $40 {While Black pick up some P:s on the Q-side White creates
play against Blacks K.} Bxb3 35. Re3 R8a4 (35... Rxa2 36. Rxa2 Rxa2 (36... Qb1+
{Hansen,Cu} 37. Kh2 Rxa2 (37... Qxa2 38. Qh4 $18 {[%cal Re3h3]}) 38. Qh5 $18 {
[%cal Rh5e8]}) 37. Rh3 Qb1+ 38. Kh2 Rxf2 39. Qh5 Rxf4 40. g6 $18) 36. Rh3 Qf5
37. Qxf5 exf5 38. g6 $1 {When the g7-P eventually falls this P will be Q.} Kf8
(38... Rxa2 39. Rb1 Rxf4 40. Rbxb3 Kf8 41. f3 Rc4 42. Rb8+ Ke7 43. Rg8 Rcc2 44.
Rxg7+ Ke6 45. Rg3 $18) 39. Rh8+ Bg8 40. Rd1 (40. Rd1 Rxf4 41. Rxd7 Rg4 42. Rf7+
Ke8 43. Rxg8#) 1-0

[Event "EU-ch 4th"]
[Site "Istanbul"]
[Date "2003.06.05"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Nijboer, Friso"]
[Black "Nielsen, Peter Heine"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2562"]
[BlackElo "2625"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "2003.05.30"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "TUR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 096"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.09.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2003.09.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Hecht} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. Rd1 ({For} 10. h3 {see the games McShane
- Ivanchuk and Timman - Nielsen in Malmoe 2003.}) 10... Kc8 11. Ng5 Be8 12. b3
b6 13. Bb2 Be7 14. Nge4 Kb7 15. Ne2 (15. Rd3 Rd8 16. Rad1 Kc8 17. h3 h5 18. Bc1
Rxd3 19. Rxd3 Bd7 20. Ne2 Re8 $132 {0-1 Bakre,T-Aleksandrov,A/Calcutta 2002/
CBM 88 (40)}) 15... c5 (15... a5 16. a4 Rd8 17. Rxd8 Bxd8 18. Rd1 Kc8 19. Nf4
h5 {1/2-1/2 Stefansson,H-Almasi,Z/Ohrid 2001/CBM 84 (19)}) 16. N4c3 Bc6 17. Nd5
Rhe8 18. Kf1 a5 19. a4 Rad8 20. c4 Bf8 {An interesting position. Can White
prove anything here or is Black already slightly better due to his active
pieces and pair of B:s?} 21. Bc3 Nd4 $1 {This move answers the previous
question. Black takes the initiative.} 22. Nxd4 Bxd5 23. cxd5 (23. Ne2 Be4 $15)
23... cxd4 24. Bxd4 Rxd5 $15 25. Bc3 Red8 26. Rxd5 Rxd5 27. Re1 (27. Ke2 Bb4 $1
) 27... Rd3 28. Re3 (28. Rc1 Bb4 29. Bxb4 axb4 30. Rb1 g5 $15) 28... Rxe3 29.
fxe3 {This looks seriously bad for White. Still Black must prove how he is to
win it.} g6 30. Ke2 Kc6 31. Kd3 Kc5 32. Ke4 Kc6 33. g4 Be7 34. Be1 Bb4 35. Bxb4
$2 {P-endings should never be evaluated - they must be calculated all through.}
(35. Bh4 $142) 35... axb4 {Hecht: 'Thema: schlechte weiße Bauernstruktur;
Zugzwang; der entfernte Freibauer. '} 36. g5 (36. Kd4 {Hecht} Kd7 37. Kc4 c5
38. a5 bxa5 (38... Kc6 39. axb6 Kxb6 40. g5 Kc6 41. e4 Kb6 42. Kd5 Kb5 43. h3
c4 44. bxc4+ Ka4 (44... Kb6 $2 45. c5+) 45. c5 b3 46. c6 b2 47. c7 b1=Q 48.
c8=Q Qd3+ 49. Kc6 Qxe4+ 50. Kd6 Qd4+ 51. Ke7 Qxe5+ 52. Kxf7 Qxg5 53. Qe8+ Kb3
54. Kg7 $11) 39. Kxc5 a4 40. Kxb4 axb3 41. Kxb3 Ke6 42. Kc4 Kxe5 {[#]
Variantendiagramm} 43. Kd3 Kf6 44. Ke4 Kg5 45. Ke5 $11) 36... Kd7 37. Kd5 c5 $1
{White is soon in zugswang since the K must watch the breaktrough with c4.} 38.
h3 Ke7 39. h4 (39. Kc6 c4 $19) 39... Kd7 40. a5 bxa5 41. Kxc5 a4 $1 42. Kxb4
axb3 43. Kxb3 Ke6 44. Kc4 Kxe5 {Hecht: '[#] Im Gegensatz zum Variantendiagramm
stehen die weißen Bauern g+h zu weit vorne, so dass Schwarz gewinnt. '} 45. Kd3
(45. Kc5 {Hecht} Ke4 46. Kd6 Kxe3 47. Ke7 Kf4 48. Kxf7 Kg4 49. Kg7 Kxh4 50. Kh6
Kg4 $19) 45... Kf5 46. Kd4 Kg4 47. Ke5 Kxh4 48. Kf6 Kg4 49. e4 (49. Kxf7 {Hecht
} Kxg5 50. Ke6 h5 51. e4 h4 52. e5 h3 $19 {um ein Tempo}) 49... Kf4 0-1

[Event "RUS-chT 07th"]
[Site "Smolensk"]
[Date "2000.04.15"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Nevostrujev, Vladimir"]
[Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2472"]
[BlackElo "2606"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2000.04.15"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 077"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2000.07.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2000.07.27"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Novokuznetsk"]
[BlackTeam "Smolensk TsEM"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RUS"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. Ne2 (11. Rd1 a4 12. g4 Ne7 13. Kg2 Ng6
14. Rd4 Be7 15. Kg3 h5 $132 {1-0 Almasi,Z-Aleksandrov,A/EU-chTM 1997/EXP 57/
[Hecht] (45)}) 11... Ne7 (11... a4 $5) 12. Ng3 (12. Rd1 a4 13. Nf4 h5 14. Bd2
Nd5 15. e6 $13 {Kunte,A-Aleksandrov,A/Elista 1998 (20)}) (12. Nfd4 a4 13. Nf4
Nd5 14. Nxd5 cxd5 15. Nb5 {1/2-1/2 Solovjov,S-Aleksandrov,A/St Petersburg 2000/
CBM 75/[Wedberg] (62)} Kd7 $15) 12... a4 (12... h5 13. Bg5 c5 14. Rfe1 Be6 15.
c3 b6 16. Nh4 Ng6 17. Nxg6 fxg6 18. h4 Be7 19. Ne4 $14 {Aseev,K-Tunik,G/St
Petersburg RUS 1998}) (12... c5 $1 13. Be3 Nc6 14. Ne4 b6 $132 {/\Bf5 Dautov})
13. a3 h6 $146 {[%csl Yg5][%cal Rh6g5][%mdl 8] Alexandrov refrains from
immediate development with Nd5 and plays another useful waiting move.} (13...
Nd5 {Played twice in recent games by Alexandrov. Dautov has pointed to the
fact that the N is better placed on c6 than on d5, where it can be driven away
by c4.} 14. Bd2 (14. Re1 Be7 15. Bd2 h6 16. Rad1 Kf8 $6 $14 {1-0 Svidler,
P-Aleksandrov,A/Las Vegas 1999/CBM 72/[Dautov] (41)} (16... c5 $5)) 14... h6
15. Rad1 Bc5 16. Rfe1 Be6 17. Bc1 Bb6 18. Nd4 Bxd4 19. Rxd4 c5 20. Rdd1 c4 $11
{1/2-1/2 Georgiev,K-Aleksandrov,A/Batumi 1999/CBM 74/[Wedberg] (41)}) 14. Bd2
c5 {[%csl Yd4][%cal Rc5d4]} 15. Rad1 (15. Ne4 $5 {[%cal Ye4c3,Yc3b5]}) 15...
Be6 {By preventing both Ng5 and Nd4 Black has gained e6 for the B.} 16. Bc1 Rd8
17. Nh5 Bc4 18. Rxd8+ Kxd8 19. Re1 Kc8 20. g4 Nc6 21. c3 g6 22. Nf4 Be7 $15 {
Blacks grip on the Q-side is more real than Whites possibilities on the other
side of the board.} 23. Nd2 (23. e6 $2 g5 $17) 23... Ba2 $1 {An excellent post
for the B.} 24. Kg2 (24. c4 Bg5 25. Ne4 b6 26. e6 Bxc4 $17) 24... Re8 25. Nf3
Bf8 26. h4 Bg7 {[%mdl 4] Alexandrovs handling of the black side certainly
deserves attention from anyone who wants to learn this system.} 27. Nd3 Bd5 $1
{[%csl Rg2][%cal Yd5g2]} 28. c4 Bxc4 29. Nxc5 Bd5 30. Rd1 Rd8 31. Kg3 Bxf3 32.
Rxd8+ Kxd8 33. Kxf3 Nxe5+ 34. Ke2 b5 35. h5 $2 (35. f3 $142 $17) 35... Nxg4 36.
hxg6 Bf8 $1 $19 37. Kf3 Ne5+ 38. Ke4 Nxg6 39. Nd3 Ne7 40. Ne5 Ke8 41. Nd3 Bg7
42. Nc5 f5+ 43. Kd3 Kf7 0-1

[Event "EU-ch 4th"]
[Site "Istanbul"]
[Date "2003.06.10"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Nijboer, Friso"]
[Black "Kritz, Leonid"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2562"]
[BlackElo "2468"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2003.05.30"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "TUR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 096"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.09.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2003.09.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 Be7 {This has been played by Kramnik among
others. Basic idea is to exchange N:s on h4.} 11. Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 h6 13. Nf3
(13. Nge4 b6 14. Rfd1 Ne7 15. f4 Ng6 16. Rf1 h5 17. Rae1 Bf5 18. Ng3 Ne7 $1 19.
Nxf5 Nxf5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Kasparov,G-Kramnik,V/Wijk aan Zee 2001/CBM 81/[Wedberg]
(46)}) 13... h5 (13... Bd7 14. Rad1 Rd8 15. b3 Bc8 16. Rxd8+ Kxd8 17. Rd1+ Ke8
18. Kh2 h5 19. Ne2 h4 20. Nf4 Ke7 21. Ng5 $14 {1/2-1/2 Nijboer,F-Georgiev,K/
Bischwiller 2003 (103)}) (13... Be6 14. Rad1 Rd8 15. b3 g5 16. Ne4 Bd5 17. Nf6+
Ke7 18. Nd4 Nxd4 19. Rxd4 Be6 20. Ra4 a6 21. f4 $14 {1-0 Topalov,V-Krasenkow,M/
Wijk aan Zee 2003 (58)}) 14. Ne2 Ke7 {The K has a good square to rest on now
that the black squared B:s are off the board.} 15. Nf4 g6 16. Rfd1 (16. Rad1
Ng7 17. Rfe1 Rd8 18. Rxd8 Kxd8 19. Ng5 Ke7 20. Rd1 a5 21. a4 Bf5 22. c3 Bc2 23.
Rd4 Bb3 $13 {1/2-1/2 Timman,J-Kritz,L/Amsterdam 2002/CBM 89 ext (47)}) 16...
Ng7 17. Rd2 Rd8 18. Rxd8 Kxd8 19. Kf1 Ke7 20. Ke2 a5 21. Kd2 Ne6 22. Nxe6 Bxe6
23. Ke2 a4 $15 {Black has the better chances with his B against N and R:s on.}
24. Ng5 Bf5 25. Rc1 c5 26. f4 c4 27. a3 c5 28. Rd1 b5 29. Rd5 $2 {An
interesting mistake that gives Kritz a shot at a brilliancy.} (29. c3 Bd3+ 30.
Ke3 b4 $36) 29... c3 $3 {[%mdl 4160] Ouch! Black plays a classical break
normally seen i P-endings.} 30. bxc3 (30. Rxc5 b4 $1 31. Rc4 (31. Rb5 b3 $1)
31... Rb8 32. bxc3 b3 33. cxb3 axb3 34. Nf3 b2 35. Nd2 b1=Q 36. Nxb1 Rxb1 $17)
30... b4 31. cxb4 cxb4 32. Rc5 (32. axb4 a3 33. Rd1 a2 34. Ra1 Bxc2 35. Ke3 Bb1
$19) 32... bxa3 33. Rc7+ Bd7 34. Rc3 Rc8 $1 35. Kd2 (35. Rxa3 Rxc2+ 36. Kf1
Bb5+ 37. Kg1 Bc6 $17) 35... Rxc3 36. Kxc3 h4 $1 37. Nf3 Bc6 38. Nxh4 Be4 $1 {
White´s pieces are being immobilized one after the other.} 39. g4 g5 $1 {
After this it´s all over. White will eventually run out of moves.} 40. fxg5 Ke6
41. Nf5 Bxf5 42. gxf5+ Kxf5 43. h4 Kg6 0-1

[Event "FIDE-Wch k.o."]
[Site "Groningen"]
[Date "1997.12.09"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Peng, Xiaomin"]
[Black "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2530"]
[BlackElo "2615"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "1997.12.09"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 063"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.03.26"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.03.26"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Zoltan Almasi once again demonstrates that the defence in the Berlin based on
the manouver Nf5-e7-g6 is sound.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5.
d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke8 10. Nc3 Ne7 11. Nd4
Ng6 (11... a6 12. h3 Ng6 13. f4 Bc5 14. Be3 h5 15. Nce2 Ne7 {=/Leko,P-Almasi,Z/
Wijk op/1995}) 12. Ne4 (12. Bg5 Be7 (12... Bd7 13. Re1 h6 14. Bd2 Bc5 15. Nb3
Be7 16. Ne4 Nxe5 17. Bc3 $44 {Almasi,Z-Dumitrache,D/Odorheiu Secuiesc zt 1995/
CBM 47/[Wedberg]/1-0 (68)}) 13. Bxe7 Kxe7 14. Re1 Rd8 15. Rad1 Be6 $11 {
1/2-1/2 Morovic Fernandez,I-Rausis,I/Las Palmas op 1995/EXT 97 (36)}) (12. f4
Bc5 13. Be3 Bxd4 14. Rxd4 Bf5 $11 {Ye Jiangchuan-Rausis,I/Lee Cup 1996/EXP 54/
1/2-1/2 (48)}) 12... Be7 (12... Nxe5 13. Re1 Be7 14. Bf4 f6 15. Ng3 Kf7 (15...
Bd6 16. Nf3 Kf7 17. Bxe5 fxe5 18. Nxe5+ Bxe5 19. Rxe5 $14) 16. Bxe5 fxe5 17.
Nf3 Re8 18. Nxe5+ Kg8 19. Re4 Bf6 20. Rae1 $14) 13. f4 $146 {This in a way
looks impressive, but the problem is how to ever achieve the thrust f5.} (13.
Re1 c5 14. Nb3 b6 15. Nf6+ $6 (15. Nd6+ $11) 15... Kf8 16. Nd5 Bd8 17. Nd2 c6
18. Ne3 Nxe5 $17 {Leko,P-Almasi,Z/HUN-ch 1997/CBM 62/0-1 (53)}) 13... Bg4 14.
Rd3 Rd8 15. h3 Bd7 16. Be3 c5 17. Ne2 b6 18. c4 (18. Rad1 h5 19. N2c3 Bf5 20.
Kf2 Rxd3 21. cxd3 $13 {/\d4}) 18... h5 $1 19. Rad1 h4 {With the white
P-majority blocked Black has no big problems.} 20. N2c3 Bf5 21. Kf2 Rxd3 22.
Rxd3 Rh5 23. b3 (23. Kf3 $5) 23... Bxe4 $5 {Else White might secure a space
advantage with K to f3.} 24. Nxe4 Rf5 25. g4 $2 (25. g3 hxg3+ (25... Nxe5 $2
26. Rd5 f6 27. g4 $18) 26. Kxg3 $11) 25... hxg3+ $2 (25... Nxf4 $1 26. Bxf4
Rxf4+ 27. Ke3 Rf1 $17) 26. Kxg3 $11 Rh5 27. Nc3 Bd8 28. Kg4 Rh4+ 29. Kg3 Rh8
30. Kg4 Rh4+ 31. Kg3 Rh8 32. Kg4 Rh4+ 33. Kg3 Rh8 1/2-1/2

[Event "ISR-chT"]
[Site "Ramat Aviv"]
[Date "2000.03.31"]
[Round "8.3"]
[White "Zoler, Dan"]
[Black "Kosashvili, Yona"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2525"]
[BlackElo "2548"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "149"]
[EventDate "2000.01.14"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ISR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 077"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2000.07.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2000.07.27"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Tel Aviv Univ"]
[BlackTeam "Rishon Le Zion Kasparov"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ISR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ISR"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 (9. Rd1+ {keeps the K in the centre}) 9... h6 10. h3 (10.
Rd1+ {prevents} Bd7 $2 {due to} 11. g4 $1 Ne7 12. e6 fxe6 13. Ne5 $18) 10...
Bd7 $5 {[%cal Gb7b6,Yd8c8,Yc8b7][%mdl 4] An interesting idea. Black opens a
route for the K to the Q side.} 11. Ne4 (11. g4 Ne7 12. Bf4 Kc8 13. Bg3 {
0-1 Dudek,R-Schlindwein,R/Germany 1996/GER-chT2 (41)} h5 $1 14. Ng5 hxg4 15.
hxg4 Bxg4 16. Nxf7 Rh5 $17) (11. Bf4 Be7 (11... Kc8 $5) 12. Ne4 b6 13. Rad1 Nh4
14. Nxh4 Bxh4 15. Bg3 Bxg3 16. Nxg3 Ke7 17. f4 g6 18. Kf2 $14 {1/2-1/2
Greenfeld,A-Aseev,K/St Petersburg 1999/CBM 72 (34)}) 11... Kc8 12. a4 a5 13. g4
Ne7 14. Ra3 Ng6 (14... h5 $5 {is quite irritating for White} 15. Neg5 hxg4 16.
hxg4 Bxg4 17. Nxf7 Rh3 $132) 15. Rd3 Be6 16. Rfd1 Bb4 17. b3 Re8 18. Ng3 b6 19.
Nh5 Bf8 20. Nf4 (20. c4 $142) 20... Nxf4 21. Bxf4 Bd5 $132 22. c4 Be4 23. Re3
Bh7 24. e6 fxe6 $1 (24... Rxe6 25. Rxe6 fxe6 26. Nd4 $13) 25. Nd4 Rd8 26. Ree1
g5 27. Bg3 Bb4 28. Nxe6 (28. Nxc6 Rxd1 29. Rxd1 Bc2 30. Rd8+ Kb7 31. Rxa8 Kxa8
32. Nd4 Bd1 $17) 28... Re8 29. Re2 Bg8 30. Nf4 Rxe2 31. Nxe2 b5 $36 32. axb5 a4
33. bxa4 c5 $13 {Black has active pieces and chances to get a strong passed P.
But the weak P:s on h6 and g5 should compensate White.} 34. Be5 Rxa4 35. Rc1
Ba5 36. Bg7 Bxc4 37. Ng3 Bd2 38. Rc2 Bf4 39. Nf5 Rb4 40. Nxh6 Rb1+ 41. Kg2 Bd5+
42. f3 Rd1 43. Nf5 Kb7 44. Rxc5 Rd2+ 45. Kf1 Kb6 46. Rc3 Kxb5 47. Nd4+ Kb4 48.
Nc2+ Ka4 49. Ne1 (49. Nd4 $5) 49... Kb5 50. Nd3 Bd6 $15 51. Ke1 Rh2 52. Be5
Rh1+ 53. Ke2 Rxh3 54. Bxd6 cxd6 55. Nf2 Rg3 56. Re3 Bc4+ 57. Ke1 d5 58. Re5
Rxf3 59. Rxg5 Re3+ 60. Kd1 Kb4 $40 {[%csl Rd1]} 61. Rh5 Re2 62. Rh2 Kc3 63.
Rh3+ Kd4 64. Rf3 Ra2 65. Kc1 Be2 66. Rf8 Kc3 67. Rc8+ Bc4 68. Nd1+ Kd4 69. g5
Rg2 70. Rg8 Bb3 71. Rb8 Bc4 72. Rg8 Bd3 73. Rc8 Rxg5 74. Kb2 Rg2+ 75. Kc1 $17
0-1

[Event "Olympiad-33"]
[Site "Elista"]
[Date "1998.10.12"]
[Round "13.1"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Timman, Jan H"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2710"]
[BlackElo "2655"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "1998.09.29"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 068"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.02.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.02.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Russia"]
[BlackTeam "Netherlands"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NED"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke8 10. Nc3 Ne7 11. Nd4 Ng6 (11... Nf5 12. Nde2 Be7 13.
b3 Bd7 14. Bb2 Rd8 15. Ne4 h5 16. c4 a5 17. Rd3 Bc8 18. Rad1 $14 {1-0
Matulovic,M-Karaklajic,N/Banja Vrucica 1991/EXT 97 (41)}) 12. Ne4 {The
negative aspect of the manouvre Nf5-e7-g6 is that White can establish a N on
d4. Together with the companion on e4 this gives a number of attacking
possibilities.} (12. f4 {this promises White nothing because Black can
exchange Bf8 for Nd4.} Bg4 (12... Bc5 13. Be3 Bxd4 14. Rxd4 Bf5 $11 {Ye
Jiangchuan-Rausis,I/Lee Cup 1996/EXP 54/1/2-1/2 (48)}) 13. Rd3 Rd8 14. Be3 Bc5
15. Rf1 h5 16. Rf2 Ne7 17. Rfd2 Bxd4 18. Rxd4 Rxd4 19. Bxd4 b6 $11 {0-1
Goloshchapov,A-Haba,P/Pardubice 1998/EXT 99 (87)}) (12. Re1 Bc5 13. Nb3 Bb4 $11
) 12... Be7 13. f4 (13. Re1 c5 {This looks a bit daring, but is a logical move
to fight for the control of the centre.} 14. Nb5 (14. Nb3 b6 15. Nf6+ $2 (15.
Nd6+ $11) 15... Kf8 16. Nd5 Bd8 17. Nd2 c6 18. Ne3 Nxe5 $17 {Leko,P-Almasi,Z/
HUN-ch 1997/CBM 62/0-1 (53)}) 14... Kd7 $1 15. Bg5 Re8 16. a4 a6 17. Bxe7 axb5
18. Bxc5 Rxa4 19. Rxa4 bxa4 20. Bd4 Kc6 21. c3 Kd5 $15 {1/2-1/2 Spasov,V-Zhang
Zhong/Elista 1998/CBM 66 ext (57)}) 13... Nh4 $146 {[%mdl 8] A logical and
seemingly strong novelty. The idea is to blockade Whites f-P and at the same
time to challenge the N on d4. Blacks plan is to play Nf5.} (13... Bg4 14. Rd3
{keeping the R on the d-file prevents the manouvre c5 followed by Kd7-c6.} Rd8
15. h3 Bd7 16. Be3 c5 17. Ne2 b6 18. c4 h5 19. Rad1 h4 $14 {1/2-1/2 Peng
Xiaomin-Almasi,Z/Groningen 1997/CBM 63/[Wedberg] (33)}) 14. Re1 {Perhaps
threatening to check on d6, but it also allows Black to develop in an
explosive way.} (14. Be3 Nf5 15. Bf2 Nxd4 16. Rxd4 Be6 $13) 14... c5 $5 (14...
Nf5 15. Nxf5 Bxf5 16. Nd6+ (16. Nf6+ Kf8 $15) 16... Bxd6 17. exd6+ Kd7 $11) 15.
Nb5 Kd7 {Shooting up the K from e8 to c6 is a powerful manouvre. If White
reacts timidly Black can soon get the upper hand. (see Spasov - Zhang Zhong/
Elista 1998 above). Svidler knows this and starts a series of aggressive moves.
} 16. b4 $5 Kc6 $1 (16... a6 17. Nbc3 cxb4 18. Rd1+ Kc6 19. Nd5 $132) (16...
cxb4 17. a3 Kc6 18. Nd4+ Kd5 19. Bb2 $5 (19. Nb5 $11) 19... bxa3 20. Bc3 Kc4
21. Red1 $13) 17. a4 b6 {Timman keeps a P on c5 to guard the vulnerable square
d4.} 18. bxc5 bxc5 19. Ba3 Nf5 20. Nf2 (20. g4 Nh4 21. Re3 a6 (21... Bxg4 22.
Rc3 $40) 22. Rc3 axb5 23. Bxc5 Bxc5+ 24. Rxc5+ Kd7 $17) (20. Rab1 $5) 20... a6
21. Nc3 Nd4 22. Rac1 g5 $1 $36 23. Nd3 gxf4 24. Nxf4 Bg5 25. Ncd5 Bf5 $17 {
A complex position, both sides are quite active. The question is whether the K
on c6 is strong or a liability. The answer is that the K is safe for the time
being, so the advantage goes to Black.} 26. Re3 {/\Rc3} Rad8 27. c4 Ne6 28. Rf1
$2 (28. g3 $142) 28... Nxf4 29. Nxf4 Rd4 30. Bb2 {White is now out on a
fishing expedition. His position is lost, but Black has to find out how to do
it.} Rxc4 (30... Rxf4 31. Rxf4 Bxf4 32. Rf3 Bxh2+ 33. Kxh2 Be6 $17) 31. e6 f6
$6 (31... Bxf4 32. Rxf4 (32. Ref3 Rb8 33. Rxf4 Rxf4 34. Rxf4 Bxe6 $19) 32...
Rxf4 33. Bxh8 Bxe6 $19) 32. g3 Re8 33. e7 Be4 (33... Rxa4 34. h4 Bxf4 35. Rxf4
Rxf4 36. gxf4 $15) 34. h4 Bxf4 35. Rxf4 Rxe7 36. Bxf6 Re6 37. a5 Kd5 38. Bc3
Rxc3 $6 {Strange decision, now White can play for a win.} (38... Ra4 $15) 39.
Rxc3 c4 40. Rf7 $132 c6 41. Kf2 Kd4 (41... Bd3 $142 42. Rd7+ Ke4 $13) 42. Re3
c3 43. Rd7+ Kc4 44. Ke1 h5 45. Rdd3 Bxd3 $1 46. Rxe6 Kb3 47. Rxc6 Kb2 48. Rc5
Bg6 49. Rc8 Bd3 50. Rc6 Bg6 $4 (50... Bf5 51. Rb6+ $18) (50... Bb5 $8 51. Rc7
Bd3 52. Kf2 Bb5 (52... c2 53. Ke3 $18) 53. Ke3 Bf1 54. g4 hxg4 55. h5 g3 56. h6
g2 57. Kf2 Bd3 58. h7 Bxh7 59. Rb7+ Ka3 60. Rxh7 c2 $11) 1-0

[Event "EU-Cup 15th final"]
[Site "Bugojno"]
[Date "1999.10.30"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Van den Doel, Erik"]
[Black "Yemelin, Vasily"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2528"]
[BlackElo "2500"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "1999.10.29"]
[EventType "team-k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "BIH"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2020"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2019.10.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2019.10.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Breda Panfox"]
[BlackTeam "St Petersburg"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NED"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RUS"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. a3 (11. Re1 Bb4 12. Bd2 Be6 (12... Bxc3
13. Bxc3 Be6 $11) 13. Ne4 Bxd2 14. Nexd2 a4 15. a3 b6 16. Ne4 Bd5 17. Rad1 h5
18. Nd4 $14 {1/2-1/2 Yemelin,V-Eliseev,A/St Petersburg 1999/CBM 74 no vc (43)})
11... Ne7 12. Re1 Ng6 (12... Be6 13. Ne4 Nd5 14. Nd4 Be7 15. Bd2 a4 16. f4 c5
17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. c4 Nb6 19. Rac1 Kd7 20. Kf2 Kc6 $13 {1-0 Bruzon,L-Comas
Fabrego,L/Havana 1999/CBM 71/[Hecht] (62)}) 13. Bd2 h6 14. Rad1 a4 15. Ne4 c5
16. Be3 b6 17. Nc3 Be7 18. Bc1 {White's manouvers don't impress Black much.
Not surpricingly Black is soon on top.} Nf8 19. Nd5 Ne6 20. Nh2 Bb7 21. Ng4 Rd8
22. Nge3 Bg5 {[%mdl 4] From the point of strategy it's intructive to note how
Black has deployed his forces. When White is passive Black should go for
something like the diagram.} 23. c4 Ba6 24. Nf5 (24. g3 Bxe3 25. Nxe3 Nd4 $17)
24... Bxc4 25. Nxc7+ {The tactics can't save White here.} Nxc7 26. Nd6+ Rxd6
27. exd6+ Ne6 28. f4 Bh4 29. f5 Bxe1 30. Rxe1 Kd7 31. fxe6+ Bxe6 32. Bf4 Re8
$17 {The P on d6 is basically a weakness. Black's plan is to create passed P:s
on both wings.} 33. h4 f6 34. Kf2 Bd5 $1 35. Rxe8 Kxe8 36. g4 Kd7 37. Bg3 Be6
38. Kf3 b5 39. g5 fxg5 40. hxg5 hxg5 $19 41. Ke3 Kc6 42. Ke4 g4 43. Be5 g6 44.
Bg3 Bd5+ 45. Ke5 b4 46. axb4 cxb4 47. Kd4 Be6 48. Bh2 b3 49. Kc3 Kd5 50. Kb4
Bd7 0-1

[Event "Linares 15th"]
[Site "Linares"]
[Date "1998.03.06"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2710"]
[BlackElo "2790"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1998.02.22"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 064"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.06.02"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.06.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{After both sides avoiding main lines in the opening, a fairly even position
arises. But Shirov is the more vigilant and takes full advantage of his
opponents small inaccuracies. As usual Shirov plays the ending brilliantly.} 1.
e4 {Cifuentes,R Hansen,Cu} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 {Hansen,Cu: Kramnik lost against
Shirov as black in his favorite Rauser-Sicilian in Wijk aan Zee i January,
which must be the reason for his unexpected choice of the Ruy Lopez.} 3. Bb5
Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 (5... Nd6 {is the Berlin defence proper.}) 6. dxe5 {
Shirov avoids main lines - and preparations.} (6. Qe2 {This leads to the
famous position with the K:s N fianchettoed on b7, championed by the great
Emmanuel Lasker. Kramnik is getting his inspiration from the best of sources.}
Nd6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. dxe5 Nb7) 6... O-O (6... d5 $5 {Cifuentes,R} 7. exd6 (7.
Nd4 Bd7 $13) (7. Nc3 Nxc3 8. bxc3 O-O 9. Re1 Bg4 $6 (9... Na5 $5 $11) 10. h3
Bh5 11. Rb1 Na5 12. Bf1 Bg6 13. Nd4 c5 14. Ne2 Bf5 15. Nf4 Be6 16. Bd3 c4 17.
Be2 Qd7 18. Bf3 Rad8 19. Qe2 Qc6 20. Rd1 $14 {Romanishin-Knezevic, USSR 1979})
7... Nxd6 8. Bxc6+ bxc6 9. Bf4 O-O 10. Nbd2 $14) 7. Re1 (7. Qd5 {The
alternative.} Nc5 8. Be3 a6 (8... Ne6 {Cifuentes,R} 9. Nc3 a6 (9... f6 10. exf6
Bxf6 11. Bd3 Ne7 12. Qe4 g6 13. Bc4 $14) 10. Ba4 b5 11. Bb3 Rb8 $1 (11... Bb7
12. Rad1 d6 13. exd6 $1 (13. Qe4 Na5 14. Bd5 Bxd5 15. Nxd5 Nc4 16. Bc1 dxe5 17.
Nb6 cxb6 18. Rxd8 Rfxd8 19. b3 Nd6 20. Qxe5 Bf6 $44 {Sax-Rivas, Thessaloniki 
(ol) 1988}) 13... Bxd6 14. Qh5 Ne7 15. Ng5 $1 Nxg5 16. Bxg5 $16) 12. Rad1 Na5
$11) (8... b6 9. Nc3 Rb8 10. Rad1 Qe8 11. Rfe1 a6 12. Bf1 Kh8 13. Qd2 Bd8 14.
Nd5 Ne6 15. c4 b5 16. cxb5 axb5 17. b4 Ne7 18. Nc3 c6 19. Ne4 Bc7 20. Nd6 $16 {
Nunn-Speelman, Hastings 1987/88}) 9. Bxc5 axb5 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. Nc3 b4 12. Nb5
Ra5 13. a4 b6 14. Rfe1 Ba6 (14... Nd8 15. Qc4 Ne6 16. c3 bxc3 17. b4 Ra8 18.
Nbd4 Bb7 19. Nf5 Qd8 20. Qxc3 $14 {Lanka-Asanov, USSR 1979}) 15. Rad1 Nb8 16.
b3 Re8 $13 {1/2-1/2 Polgar,J-Smyslov,V/VAM 1997/CBM 62 (31)}) (7. Qe2 {
Cifuentes,R} Nc5 8. Nc3 d6 9. Rd1 Bg4 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. h3 Bd7 12. Nd4 Qe8 13.
f4 a5 14. b3 f5 15. Ba3 d5 16. Bb2 Ne6 17. Nxe6 Bxe6 18. Qf2 g5 19. fxg5 f4 20.
Rd3 Qh5 $44 {Odeev-Nikitin, USSR 1989}) 7... d5 8. exd6 Bxd6 9. Nbd2 Bf5 $146 {
This position looks very drawish, but these fine gentlemen shows us that there
are always chances if you just play on. Hansen,Cu: This seems to me a
illogical move. The P-structure is symmetrical, blacks only problem is that
white might be able to win some time by attacking Ne4. Black does not have any
P-weaknesses, though white might be slightly more active. Why not get rid of
the main weakness - Ne4 ? :} (9... Nxd2 $1 {Simple and probably best.} 10. Bxd2
Qf6 (10... Be7 11. Bc3 {1/2-1/2 Russek,G-Fedorov,V/New York op 1992/TD 92\05})
(10... Bg4 $11 {Hansen,Cu}) (10... Bg4 11. Bc3 Bf4 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Qxd8 Rfxd8
14. Ne5 Bxe5 15. Rxe5 $14) 11. Bc3 Qh6 12. h3 Bf5 13. Bxc6 bxc6 14. Nd4 Bd7 (
14... Bxh3 $1 {Cifuentes,R} 15. gxh3 Qxh3 16. Nf3 Qg4+ 17. Kf1 Qh3+ $11) 15.
Qf3 Qg6 $11 {Djurhuus,R-Vladimirov,E/Gausdal Int 1990/TD 90\05/1/2-1/2 (91)} (
15... Qg6 16. Qe4 Rfe8 17. Qxg6 hxg6 18. Rxe8+ Rxe8 19. Re1 Rb8 20. a3 $14 {
Djurhuus-Vladimirov, Gausdal 1990})) 10. Nc4 $1 {[%csl Re4][%cal Yc4d6] With
no central pawns and no secure central squares to plant the N:s on, exchanging
a N for a B is a good thing. This explains White's initial reluctance to play
Bxc6. Hansen,Cu: Now white is threatening to get the ^^ and the not
sufficiently supported N on e4 could still give problems} (10. Bd3 Nxd2 11.
Bxf5 Nxf3+ 12. Qxf3 Nd4 $11) (10. Nxe4 Bxe4 11. Rxe4 $4 Bxh2+ $19) 10... Bb4 (
10... Bc5 11. Be3 Qf6 {looks reasonable.}) 11. c3 Qxd1 12. Rxd1 Bc5 13. Be3 Ne7
(13... Bxe3 14. Nxe3 Be6 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. Nd4 $14) 14. Re1 {[%cal Re3c5]} Bxe3
$6 {Simplifying into a problematic ending.} (14... Nd5 {The threat a6 followed
by b5 is handy in some lines, so Black could try to keep Nc4 in place.} 15.
Bxc5 (15. Rad1 Nxe3 16. Nxe3 Be6 $11) (15. Bd4 c6 16. Ba4 Nb6 17. Nxb6 Bxb6 18.
Bxb6 axb6 19. Bc2 Nd6 20. Bxf5 Nxf5 $11) 15... Nxc5 16. Ne3 (16. Re5 Be6 17.
Nd4 $6 c6 $15) (16. Nd4 Bd3 17. Rad1 a6 18. Nb6 Nxb6 19. Bxd3 Nxd3 20. Rxd3
Rfe8 $11) (16. Nce5 f6 17. Rad1 Rad8 18. Nd7 Nxd7 19. Rxd5 Ne5 $11) 16... Nxe3
17. Rxe3 $14 {Whits is quite comfortable in this position. The immediate
threat is Re5. But moves like Nd4, Rae1 and even b4 are are also troublesome.
I don't see a clear way for Black to reach equality here.}) 15. Nxe3 {White
has a slight but nice initiative here. All Blacks minor pieces are targets.}
Nd6 {Allowing White the advantage of B against N in an open position. But
there was no way to avoid it.} (15... Bg6 16. Nh4 {also gives White B for N.} (
16. Ne5 $14 {Hansen,Cu}) (16. Ne5 {Cifuentes,R})) (15... Bc8 16. Nf1 Bf5 17.
Nh4 {is even worse.}) (15... Be6 16. Nd4 $16) 16. Nxf5 Nexf5 17. Ba4 $16 {
[%cal Ya4e8] Hansen,Cu: Whites bishop is clearly stronger that a N in this
open position. And black has certain problems opposing white on the <->e
because Ba4 controls e8} g6 (17... c6 {Hansen,Cu} 18. g4 $5) 18. Re2 b5 {
Clearly a concession, but Black must oppose on the e-file, else White would
chase Nf5 away and penetrate to e7.} (18... h5 $5 {Hansen,Cu /\c7-c6, Tfe8}) (
18... c6 {[%csl Rd6]}) (18... Rad8 $142 {Kramnik} 19. Z0 Nc8 20. Z0 Nb6 21. Z0
Rfe8 22. Z0 Nd6) 19. Bc2 Rfe8 20. Rae1 Rxe2 (20... Ng7 {Cifuentes,R} 21. Ne5
$14) 21. Rxe2 a5 (21... Re8 22. Rxe8+ Nxe8 23. Bxf5 gxf5 24. Nd4 Nd6 25. Nc6 a6
26. Kf1 $16) (21... Kf8 {Cifuentes,R} 22. Ne5) (21... a6 {Cifuentes,R}) 22. Re5
$1 {[%csl Rc7][%cal Ye5c5] Black has many - probably too many - weaknesses for
White to probe. /\Bxf5//\g2-g4//\Re5-c5} b4 (22... h5 {Hansen,Cu} 23. Bxf5 gxf5
24. Rc5 $16) 23. Rc5 $1 {An excellent commanding post for the R.} bxc3 24. Rxc3
Nb5 (24... Ra7 $5) 25. Rc4 {[%csl Ra5,Rc7]} (25. Rc5 $6 {Cifuentes,R} Nfd4 26.
Nxd4 Nxd4 27. Rxc7 Rb8 28. b3 a4 $1 $132) 25... Rd8 26. Kf1 Ne7 27. a4 Nd6 28.
Rxc7 $18 Nd5 29. Rc5 Nb4 30. Bb3 Nd3 (30... Rc8 {Cifuentes,R} 31. Rxc8+ Nxc8
32. Ne5 Nd6 33. Ke2 $16) 31. Rxa5 Nxb2 32. Rd5 $1 {[%csl Rb2] Adding hurt to
injury. Now the N on b2 is doomed.} Rb8 33. Nd2 Rb6 34. Ke2 Ra6 35. Rd4 Nb7 36.
Ne4 Rb6 37. Bd5 Kg7 38. Kd2 Nd6 39. Nc3 Nf5 40. Rf4 Kf6 41. a5 1-0

[Event "Olympiad-33"]
[Site "Elista"]
[Date "1998.10.06"]
[Round "8.3"]
[White "Nisipeanu, Liviu Dieter"]
[Black "Kosashvili, Yona"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2575"]
[BlackElo "2580"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "131"]
[EventDate "1998.09.29"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 068"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.02.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.02.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Romania"]
[BlackTeam "Israel"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ROU"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ISR"]

{[%mdl 4]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7.
dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 {Which move is the best for Black? The good
thing about Ke8 is that it keeps a lot of options open. It protects f7 and
steps out of checks on d1 or g5. But there are some bad points too: it is not
obvious that the K should be on e8. In this line the black K often goes to the
Q-side along paths like c8-b7, or more daring d7-c6. Sometimes it goes to e7
or d7 to protect e6. On top of that it is quite fashionable for White to throw
in Rf1-d1+ at some point, why not wait for that check? Given all these
considerations it might be a good idea to wait a little before moving the K.
The next question is what other move to make.The theory has no answer. Black
has tried most of the other possible moves in the position. Right now 9. - a5
has recieved some attention.} 10. h3 a5 (10... Ne7 11. Re1 Ng6 12. Ne4 Be7 13.
Nd6+ cxd6 14. exd6 f6 15. dxe7 Nxe7 16. b3 Kf7 17. Ba3 Re8 18. Nd2 Bf5 19. Nc4
Nc8 20. Rxe8 Kxe8 21. Re1+ Kf7 22. Na5 $14 {1-0 Nisipeanu,L-Grabarczyk,M/
Koszalin 1998/CBM 65 ext (66)}) 11. Re1 {Just like in the previous comment
Nisipeanu places his R on e1. Given the black K on e8 this looks very
reasonable indeed. But there is a difference compared to that game that could
have eased Blacks game considerably.} (11. Rd1 a4 12. g4 Ne7 13. Kg2 Ng6 14.
Rd4 Be7 15. Kg3 h5 16. Bg5 hxg4 17. hxg4 f6 18. Bf4 f5 19. g5 a3 20. b3 Be6 $15
{1-0 Almasi,Z-Aleksandrov,A/Pula 1997/CBM 57 ext/[Hecht] (46)}) (11. a4 Be6 12.
Rd1 h6 13. g4 Ne7 14. Nd4 g5 15. Ne4 Bg7 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Nc5 b6 18. Nxe6 Bxe5
19. Ra3 $14 {0-1 Ernst,T-Rausis,I/Aaland-Stockholm 1997/EXT 98 (50)}) 11... Ne7
$6 {Black plays a fashionable manouvre, but in this position it is too slow.} (
11... Bb4 $1 {The negative aspect of the R on e1 is that Black can get
opposite coloured B:s. This is very often a good idea for Black since his B on
e6 is much stronger than the white counterpart on c3.} 12. Bd2 Bxc3 13. Bxc3
Be6 14. g4 Ne7 15. Nd4 h5 $132) 12. Ne4 Ng6 13. Nd4 $14 a4 14. Bd2 h6 15. Rad1
Bd7 16. c4 Rd8 17. Ba5 b6 18. Bc3 {[%mdl 4] White's setup is a model for
everything White can hope for in this line. True, it cannot be achieved unless
Black lends a hand.} Nf4 (18... Be7 19. Nf6+ $18) (18... c5 19. Nf6+ gxf6 20.
exf6+ Be6 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. f7+ Ke7 23. Rxd8 Kxd8 24. Rxe6 $18) 19. Nf6+ $1
gxf6 (19... Ke7 20. e6 $18) 20. exf6+ Be6 (20... Ne6 21. Nxe6 Bxe6 22. Rxe6+
fxe6 23. f7+ Kxf7 24. Rxd8 Rg8 (24... Rh7 25. Be5) 25. Rd7+ $18) 21. Nxe6 Rxd1
22. Nxc7+ Kd7 23. Rxd1+ Kc8 24. Be5 $18 Ng6 25. Bg3 a3 26. b3 Bb4 27. Na6 Bc3
28. Nb8 c5 29. Nc6 Bd4 (29... Bxf6 30. Na7+ Kb7 31. Rd7+ Ka6 32. Nb5 $18) 30.
Kf1 Kb7 31. Nxd4 Rd8 32. b4 cxd4 33. Rd3 Nf8 34. Be5 Ne6 35. f4 Re8 36. g3 b5
37. cxb5 Kb6 38. f5 Ng5 39. Bxd4+ Kxb5 40. Rxa3 Kxb4 41. Re3 Ne4 42. Kg2 h5 43.
Bb2 Kc4 44. a4 Kb4 45. Ba3+ Kc4 46. Kf3 Ng5+ 47. Ke2 Ne4 48. Be7 Kd4 49. a5 Rg8
50. Rd3+ Ke5 51. a6 Nxg3+ 52. Kd1 Ne4 53. Ra3 Kxf5 54. a7 Ra8 55. Ke2 Nxf6 56.
Rf3+ Ke6 57. Bxf6 Rxa7 58. Bg5 Ra2+ 59. Ke3 Rg2 60. Rf6+ Ke7 61. h4 Kf8 62. Rh6
Kg7 63. Rxh5 f6 64. Bf4 Kg6 65. Ra5 Rb2 66. h5+ 1-0

[Event "Dos Hermanas 10th"]
[Site "Dos Hermanas"]
[Date "1999.04.09"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Kortschnoj, Viktor Lvovich"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2716"]
[BlackElo "2673"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "1999.04.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 071"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. Rd1+ Ke8 11. h3 Bb4 (11... Be6 12. b3 Bb4 13. Ne2
Bd5 14. Ne1 Bxe1 15. Rxe1 a5 16. f3 Rd8 17. Kf2 c5 18. Bb2 h5 $11 {1/2-1/2
Anka,E-Riediger,M/Bayern 1994/EXT 99 (42)}) 12. Ne2 Be7 {On e7 the B
interferes with the movement of Nf5. Manouveres like Ne7-g6 or Ne7-d5 are
obstructed and White might threaten to go g4 forcing a N-exchange on h4 later
on.} ({Therefore} 12... Bc5 {is a more flexible choice.} 13. Nf4 Be6 14. b3 a5
15. a4 Rd8 16. Rxd8+ Kxd8 17. Bd2 b6 18. Nxe6+ fxe6 19. Bc3 Rf8 $11 {0-1 Prie,
E-Bauer,C/Narbonne 1997/CBM 61 (62)}) 13. b3 h5 14. Bg5 {This is the preferred
method to meet an early h5. Exchanging black-squared B:s is in White´s
interest. After the exchange White´s N:s can hop in on g5 and f4.} f6 {After
this concession it´s clear that White has an advantage. The fact that
Kortschnoj feels obliged to make such an ugly move makes the whole setup
unattractive.} (14... Be6 15. Nf4 {is also pleasant for White.}) 15. exf6 gxf6
16. Bf4 Nd6 17. c4 $14 {Black has too many weaknesses to be anything else than
worse. The pair of B:s is not enough compensation.} Kf7 18. Rac1 Bf5 19. Ng3
Bh7 20. Re1 Ne8 21. Rcd1 Bd6 22. Bxd6 cxd6 23. Rd2 $16 Ng7 {Black must go for
some activity.} (23... Rd8 24. Rde2 Rd7 25. Nxh5 $16) 24. Rxd6 Rhd8 25. Red1
Rxd6 26. Rxd6 Ke7 27. Rd2 a5 28. a3 a4 29. b4 b6 30. Nd4 c5 31. bxc5 bxc5 32.
Nb5 Bg8 33. Ne4 Bxc4 34. Nbd6 Be6 35. Nxc5 Rb8 36. Nxe6 Kxe6 37. Ne4 Ke5 38.
Nc5 Ra8 39. Rd7 $1 $18 Nf5 40. g3 Nd6 (40... Ra5 41. f4#) 41. f4+ Kd5 42. Nb7
Kc6 43. Rxd6+ Kxb7 44. Rd4 Kc6 45. g4 h4 46. Kf2 Rb8 47. Ke3 Kc5 48. Rxa4 Rb3+
49. Ke4 Rxh3 50. Ra6 Rg3 51. Kf5 h3 52. Rxf6 Rxa3 53. Rh6 Kd4 54. g5 Rg3 55. g6
Ke3 56. Ke5 1-0

[Event "Cappelle op 21st"]
[Site "Cappelle la Grande"]
[Date "2005.02.17"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Marcelin, Cyril"]
[Black "Stefansson, Hannes"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2464"]
[BlackElo "2561"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2005.02.12"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 106"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.06.06"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.06.06"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Qe2 {Quite unusual, but not
without some sting.} Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Qxe5+ Qe7 8. Qa5 {By preventing 0-0-0
white hampers Black´s development.} Be6 9. Re1 (9. d3 $5 Qd7 (9... Nf5 10. Bf4
Qb4 11. Qxb4 Bxb4 12. Bxc7 Bd5 13. Nbd2 Kd7 14. Be5 Rhe8 15. c3 $14 {1-0
Leonardo,J-Galego,L/Portugal 1993/TD (91)}) 10. Nd4 Bd5 11. Re1+ Kd8 12. c4 c5
13. Nb3 b6 14. Qc3 Bb7 15. d4 $36 {1-0 Rocha,S-Galego,L/Lisbon 1996/CBM 051
ext/[Costa,L] (29)}) 9... g6 (9... Nc4 10. Qc3 O-O-O 11. Nd4 Nd6 (11... Qf6 12.
Nxe6 Qxc3 13. Nxc3 Re8 14. d3 Nb6 15. Bf4 Rxe6 16. Rxe6 fxe6 17. Re1 $14 {
1-0 Solleveld,M-Giddins,S/Amsterdam 2002/CBM 089 ext (59)}) 12. Nxe6 fxe6 13.
Qe5 Nf5 14. c3 c5 15. Na3 Qd7 16. d3 Re8 17. Bf4 Bd6 18. Qe4 Rhf8 {1/2-1/2
Lemmers,O-Winants,L/Belgium 2000/CBM 081 ext (38)}) 10. Qe5 Rg8 11. d3 Bg7 12.
Qa5 h6 13. Nc3 g5 $1 {While White is waiting for Black to castle Q-side, Black
starts his own offensive on the other side of the board.} 14. Be3 Nf5 15. Bc5
Qd7 16. Ba3 Nd4 17. Nxd4 Bxd4 18. Ne4 b6 19. Qa6 f5 $1 20. Nd2 Kf7 {Whites
strategy has failed. Black has all the play there is.} 21. Nf3 Rge8 22. Kf1 c5
23. Nxd4 Qxd4 24. Qb7 Qd7 25. g3 $4 {Was this touch piece?} (25. Qf3) 25... Bd5
26. Qa6 Qc6 (26... f4 $19) 27. Re3 f4 0-1

[Event "Mitropa Cup 19th"]
[Site "Baden"]
[Date "1999.04.09"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Manik, Mikulas"]
[Black "Neubauer, Martin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2478"]
[BlackElo "2304"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "1999.04.01"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 071"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. Rd1 a5 11. h3 Ne7 {One of many possibilities.} (
11... a4 $5 12. g4 (12. Bg5 Be6 13. g4 $6 (13. a3) 13... Ne7 14. Nd4 Nd5 15.
Ndb5 Rc8 $15 {0-1 Yemelin,V-Aleksandrov,A/St.Petersburg 1996/CBM 56 ext/
[Notkin] (33)}) 12... Ne7 13. Nd4 Ra5 14. Bf4 Be6 15. b4 Ra8 16. b5 c5 $13 {
1/2-1/2 De la Villa Garcia,J-Giorgadze,G/Mondariz 1997/EXT 99 (99)}) (11... h5
$6 {><g5} 12. Ne2 Be7 13. Bg5 a4 14. Rd2 a3 15. b3 f6 16. exf6 gxf6 17. Bf4 $14
{1-0 Hansen,S-Nikcevic,N/Koszalin 1998/CBM 65 ext (31)}) (11... h6 12. b3 (12.
a3) 12... Bb4 13. Bb2 (13. Ne4) 13... Bxc3 $1 14. Bxc3 c5 $15 {0-1 Comp Fritz
5-Anand,V/Frankfurt 1998/EXT 99 (94)}) 12. Nd4 (12. Ne2 Nd5 13. Nf4 Nxf4 14.
Bxf4 Bc5 15. a3 a4 16. Rd2 h6 $11 {Kuczynski,R-Mokry,K/Manila/1992/0,5/20/})
12... Bd7 13. Bg5 Ng6 14. Re1 Bb4 15. Bd2 Bxc3 16. Bxc3 Ke7 $2 (16... Be6 17.
Nxe6 fxe6 18. Rad1 b6 19. Rd2 Rd8 20. Rxd8+ Kxd8 $11) (16... Nf4 17. e6 Nxe6
18. Nf5 Kf8 19. Rad1 $14) 17. e6 $1 $16 {[%mdl 16] This thrust must always be
taken seriously by Black. It changes the topology of the position completely.
The hampered B on c3 becomes a dragon.} fxe6 18. Nf5+ Kf7 19. Nxg7 Rhg8 20.
Rad1 Rad8 21. Nh5 e5 22. Bxe5 Nxe5 23. Rxe5 Be6 24. Rde1 Rge8 25. Rxa5 Rd2 26.
Rc5 Bxa2 27. Rf5+ Kg6 (27... Kg6 28. Rf6+ Kxh5 29. Rxe8 $18) 1-0

[Event "Dresden zt 1.2"]
[Site "Dresden"]
[Date "1998.04.28"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Wahls, Matthias"]
[Black "Ekstroem, Roland"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2605"]
[BlackElo "2490"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "1998.04.28"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 065"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.08.06"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.08.06"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Roland Ekstroem comes up with a clear improvement in the opening. Matthias
Wahls soon settles for a draw with White.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4.
O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Ne4 8. Qe2 Bf5 9. Rd1 (9. Be3 {is the
main alternative.}) 9... Qc8 10. Nd4 Bc5 11. b4 $5 (11. Be3 O-O 12. f3 Bxd4 13.
Bxd4 Ng5 14. Nc3 Re8 15. Rd2 Ne6 $11 {Hansen,C-Westerinen,H/Nordic-ch VISA
1997/CBM 62/[Wedberg]/1/2-1/2 (51)}) 11... Bb6 $146 {The N is trapped on e4,
but can White actually win it? An important question for the whole line.} (
11... Bxb4 {this is probably a mistake} 12. e6 $1 Bg6 (12... fxe6 13. Nxf5 exf5
14. f3 $16) 13. exf7+ Kf8 14. Qc4 $16 {1-0 Sulskis,S-Westerinen,H/Gausdal Int
1995/EXP 47 (41)}) 12. f3 (12. c4 c5 13. Nxf5 Qxf5 14. Qf3 Qxe5 15. Bb2 (15.
Re1 O-O $19) 15... Qxb2 16. Qxe4+ Kf8 $17) 12... Qd7 13. Bb2 {Now the N
escapes unscaved.} (13. Be3 O-O-O 14. c4 c5 15. fxe4 Bg4 16. e6 Bxe2 (16...
Qxd4 17. Rxd4 Bxe2 18. bxc5 $14) 17. exd7+ Rxd7 18. bxc5 Bxd1 19. cxb6 axb6 20.
Nc3 Bh5 $13) 13... Ng5 14. c4 Bxd4+ 15. Bxd4 O-O-O 16. Nc3 Ne6 17. Bf2 Qe7 18.
Qe3 b6 19. a3 Rxd1+ 20. Rxd1 Rd8 21. Rxd8+ Qxd8 22. c5 g5 23. h3 1/2-1/2

[Event "EU-chT (Men) 14th"]
[Site "Plovdiv"]
[Date "2003.10.19"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "Acs, Peter"]
[Black "Georgiev, Kiril"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2593"]
[BlackElo "2651"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2003.10.10"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 098"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2004.02.03"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2004.02.03"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Hungary"]
[BlackTeam "Macedonia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "HUN"]
[BlackTeamCountry "MKD"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 {The N heads for g6 and opens the diagonal for the B.}
10. h3 h6 (10... Ng6 {allows} 11. Bg5+ Ke8 12. Rad1 {but} Bd7 (12... Be7 13.
Bxe7 Kxe7 14. Nd4 Nf4 15. Ne4 Rd8 16. Rfe1 Rd5 17. c4 Rd8 18. Kh2 a5 19. g4 a4
20. Kg3 $16 {1/2-1/2 Shirov,A-Vallejo Pons,F/Linares SuperGM 2002/CBM 88 (33)})
13. Rd2 Be6 14. Rfd1 Be7 15. Ne4 Bd5 16. Re1 Bxg5 17. Nexg5 h6 18. Ne4 Rd8 19.
b3 a5 20. Rd4 Ke7 {proved satisfactory in 1/2-1/2 Anand,V-Vallejo Pons,F/
Linares 2003/CBM 94 (28)}) 11. Re1 Ng6 12. Ne4 (12. b3 Bb4 13. Bb2 Ke8 14. a3
Bxc3 15. Bxc3 c5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Smetankin,S-Markowski,T/Leon 2001/CBM 86 (21)}) (
12. Bd2 Bd7 13. Ne4 Kc8 14. Ng3 c5 15. Nh5 b5 16. Nh2 Kb7 17. f4 Nh4 18. Re2
Bc6 19. c3 g6 20. Nf6 Be7 21. Be1 Nf5 $13 {1/2-1/2 Anand,V-Vallejo Pons,F/
Linares 2002/CBM 88/[Wedberg] (29)}) 12... c5 (12... b6 13. Bd2 c5 14. Rad1 Ke8
15. a3 a5 16. Kh2 Be6 17. g4 Rd8 {1/2-1/2 Blehm,P-Markowski,T/Ohrid 2001/CBM
84 (17)}) 13. c4 Be6 14. b3 Be7 (14... b6 15. g4 Kc8 16. Kg2 Kb7 17. Rd1 Be7
18. Kg3 f5 19. gxf5 Bxf5 $17 {0-1 Inarkiev,E-Georgiev,K/4th IECC, Istanbul TUR
2003 (37)}) 15. Ng3 Kd7 $1 {Putting the K on c6 is an interesting and time
saving possibility in many situations in the Berlin defence. This is a fine
example of this idea.} 16. Nh5 Rhg8 17. Bb2 {A rather pointless move.} (17. Nh2
$5 {[%cal Yg2g4,Yf2f4,Yf4f5]}) 17... Kc6 18. Nd2 a5 19. a4 Rgd8 20. Nf1 Rd3 $15
{Black has excellent play against the weak white Q-side.} 21. Re3 Rad8 $1 {
Black has a strong initiative and calculates that he is faster on the Q-side
than White on the K-side.} 22. Nxg7 Bg5 23. Nxe6 fxe6 24. Rxd3 Rxd3 25. g3 Rxb3
26. Ra2 h5 27. f4 Bh6 28. Bc1 $2 (28. h4 {might be a better try.}) 28... Nxe5
$17 29. Re2 Nf3+ 30. Kg2 Nd4 31. Re5 Rc3 32. Be3 Rc2+ 33. Kh1 Rxc4 34. Rxh5 Bf8
35. Rh8 Bd6 36. h4 Rxa4 37. h5 e5 $1 38. fxe5 (38. h6 exf4 39. gxf4 Nf5 40. h7
Nxe3 41. Nxe3 Rxf4 42. Kg2 Rf7 $19) 38... Bxe5 39. Re8 Kd5 40. h6 Nf5 41. Bf4
Bxf4 42. h7 Bxg3 43. Kg1 Rh4 0-1

[Event "HUN-ch"]
[Site "Lillafured"]
[Date "1999.02.06"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Acs, Peter"]
[Black "Pinter, Jozsef"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2521"]
[BlackElo "2581"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "1999.02.01"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "HUN"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 070"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.06.08"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.06.08"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 4] This game is a model for the White side of the Berlin defence. Black
could have played better at several points, so the line is not in danger, but
White's advance on the K-side is very much to the point.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3
Ke8 {This is not absolutely necessary. Some white-players like to go Rd1+.
There is a good argument for waiting for this check.} (9... a5 $5) 10. h3 a5
11. g4 (11. a4 Be6 12. Rd1 h6 13. g4 Ne7 14. Nd4 g5 15. Ne4 Bg7 $13 {Ernst,
T-Rausis,I/Viking op 1997/EXT 97/0-1 (50)}) 11... Ne7 12. Kg2 (12. Nh2 h5 13.
f4 hxg4 14. hxg4 Nd5 15. Ne4 Nb4 16. Rf2 Be6 17. a3 Bd5 18. axb4 Bxe4 19. Re2
Bd5 20. bxa5 Rh3 $132 {1/2-1/2 Wahls,M-Almasi,Z/Germany 1997/GER-chT (95)})
12... h5 13. Kg3 Ng6 14. Ne4 $146 (14. Ne2 a4 15. Nf4 Nxf4 16. Bxf4 Be7 17.
Rfe1 c5 18. Bg5 Be6 $13 {0-1 Van Riemsdijk,H-Marciano,D/Elista 1998/CBM 66 ext
(45)}) (14. Bg5 $6 f6 $5 15. Be3 (15. exf6 Bd6+ 16. Kg2 hxg4 17. hxg4 Kf7 $40)
15... fxe5 16. Rfe1 Bd6 $15 {0-1 Yurtaev,L-Giorgadze,G/Elista 1998/CBM 66 ext 
(38)}) 14... Be7 (14... Be6) (14... a4) 15. Re1 Kf8 $6 {Black was afraid of a
check on d6 or f6, but there was nothing wrong with placing a B on e6.} (15...
Be6 $1 16. Neg5 (16. Bg5 a4 $132) 16... Bd5 17. Nd4 (17. e6 $2 Bd6+ $19) 17...
hxg4 18. hxg4 Kd7 $5 {Connecting R:s is important since there is an attack on
the h-file to be persued.} 19. Nf5 (19. e6+ $2 fxe6 20. Ndxe6 Bd6+ 21. f4 Rae8
$19) 19... Bxg5 20. Bxg5 Rh7 21. f4 Rah8 $17) 16. Bg5 Be6 17. Rad1 Bd5 18.
Bxe7+ Kxe7 19. Nd4 Rae8 $6 {This passive move allows White to advance the f-P.
Which by the way is White's main objective in this line.} (19... h4+ $1 20. Kh2
(20. Kf3 Nxe5+ 21. Kf4 f6 $17) 20... Rhd8 $13) 20. f4 Kf8 21. Nf5 $14 Be6 22.
Ne3 Bc8 (22... Bxa2 23. b3 a4 24. bxa4 $14) 23. Rd4 b6 24. Red1 Rh6 25. Rd8 Rh8
{Blacks game has backfired completely. A very unpleasant endgame is looming
around the corner.} 26. c4 hxg4 27. hxg4 Ke7 28. R8d4 Kf8 29. Rd8 Ke7 30. Rxe8+
Rxe8 31. Nf5+ Kf8 32. Nh4 {White is cleaning up the position as a preparation
for a general advance on the K-side.} Nxh4 33. Kxh4 a4 34. Nc3 Be6 35. b3 axb3
36. axb3 Bc8 37. Kg5 f6+ {Black was more or less in zugzwang.} (37... Ke7 38.
f5 $16) (37... Bb7 38. Rd7 $16) (37... Kg8 38. f5 $16) 38. exf6 gxf6+ 39. Kxf6
Bxg4 40. Rd3 b5 41. cxb5 cxb5 42. Nxb5 c6 43. Nc7 Rc8 44. Rd6 $1 $18 c5 45. Nd5
Rb8 46. Rb6 Rd8 47. Ne7 Ke8 48. Ng6 Rd4 49. Kg5 Bh3 50. Ne5 Rd5 51. Kf6 Kd8 52.
Rc6 Rd4 53. f5 Rb4 54. Rd6+ Ke8 55. Rc6 1-0

[Event "HUN-ch"]
[Site "Lillafured"]
[Date "1999.02.04"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Varga, Zoltan"]
[Black "Pinter, Jozsef"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2518"]
[BlackElo "2581"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "1999.02.01"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "HUN"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 070"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.06.08"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.06.08"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Qe2 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Qxe5+ Qe7
8. Qa5 {This line is not promising for White if Black is cautious. In reality
White has very little compensation for Blacks pair of B:s.} Qd8 (8... Be6 9. d3
Qd7 10. Nd4 Be7 11. Nxe6 Qxe6 12. Re1 Qd7 13. Bg5 f6 14. Bf4 O-O 15. Nd2 Rfe8
16. h3 Nb5 17. Nb3 Bd6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Luther,T-Plachetka,J/Portoroz 1998/EXT 99 
(42)}) 9. Re1+ (9. Qe5+ {Maybe the best move.} Qe7 10. Qa5 Qd8 {1/2-1/2
Wiersma,E-Schlindwein,R/Rotterdam 1998/EXT 99 (10)}) 9... Be7 10. d3 O-O 11.
Bg5 Bxg5 (11... f6 12. Bf4 Re8 $11) 12. Qxg5 Qxg5 13. Nxg5 Nf5 14. Nf3 Be6 15.
d4 Bd5 16. Nbd2 Rad8 17. g3 f6 18. b3 b6 19. g4 $6 (19. Rad1 $142) 19... Nh6 $6
(19... Bxf3 $1 20. Nxf3 (20. gxf5 Bg4 $17) 20... Nxd4 21. Nxd4 Rxd4 22. Rad1
$15) 20. h3 Rfe8 21. Rxe8+ Rxe8 22. Re1 Kf8 23. Rxe8+ Kxe8 24. Ne1 Nf7 25. f3
Nd6 26. Kf2 Bf7 27. c4 Kd7 28. Ke3 a5 29. f4 $11 a4 30. Nd3 axb3 31. axb3 Nb7
32. Ne4 Na5 33. Nd2 Ke7 34. Nb4 Kd7 35. Nd3 h6 {Equal, but Black wants to win.}
36. Ke4 Nb7 37. f5 Na5 38. Ke3 Ke7 39. Nb4 b5 40. d5 cxd5 41. cxd5 c5 $6 {
A clear mistake - perhaps still some timepressure problems.} (41... Kd6 42.
Ne4+ Kd7 (42... Ke5 $6 43. d6 cxd6 44. Nc3 d5 45. Nd3+ Kd6 46. Nxb5+ $14) 43.
Nc5+ Kd6 44. Ne4+ $11) 42. dxc6 Kd6 $2 (42... Nxb3 43. Ne4 $14) 43. Ne4+ Kc7
44. Nc3 Nxc6 (44... Kb6 45. Nxb5 $1 $16) 45. Nxb5+ Kb6 46. Nxc6 Kxb5 47. Nd4+
Kb4 48. h4 $18 Kc3 49. h5 Kb4 50. Ke4 Kc5 51. Ne6+ Kd6 52. b4 Be8 53. Nxg7 Bc6+
54. Kf4 Bb5 55. Ne6 Be2 56. Nc5 Ke7 57. Ne4 Ba6 58. Nc3 Bb7 59. b5 Kd6 60. Ne4+
1-0

[Event "Dresden zt 1.2"]
[Site "Dresden"]
[Date "1998.05.06"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Lutz, Christopher"]
[Black "Kortschnoj, Viktor Lvovich"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2595"]
[BlackElo "2625"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "1998.04.28"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 065"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.08.06"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.08.06"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 4424]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6
7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. Bf4 {This is an interesting
idea. White develops quickly and hopes for action on the f4-c7 diagonal. Two
negative aspects are: Bf4 blocks the white f-P and the B can be attacked with
the manouver Ne7-d5/g6.} Bb4 $146 (11... Be6 12. g4 Ne7 13. Nd4 Nd5 14. Nxe6
fxe6 15. Bd2 Bb4 $11 {Galkin,A-Aleksandrov,A/ RUS-Cup6 1997/ 1/2-1/2 (59)}) 12.
Ne4 Be6 13. c3 Bf8 14. Rfe1 h5 15. Neg5 Bd5 (15... Be7 16. Nxe6 fxe6 {is less
risky.}) 16. e6 $1 $36 {It's interesting to compare this game with
Wahls-Sokolov from the same tournament. Here White has used his advantage in
development to create some immediate play in the center.} f6 (16... fxe6 17.
Nxe6 Bxe6 18. Rxe6+ Kd7 (18... Kf7 19. Ng5+ Kg8 20. Bxc7 $18) 19. Rg6 $16) 17.
Nf7 Rh7 18. Bxc7 a4 $1 {A remarkably cool respons to Whites aggressive play.
Black accepts the loss of a P and moves on with his positional plans.} (18...
Bxe6 $2 19. Nd8 $1 $18) 19. Nd2 $6 {Now Black survives without much problem.} (
19. Nd4 $5 {Taking hold of the important d6-square.} Nxd4 20. cxd4 Bb4 (20...
a3 21. b3 Bb4 22. Re2 Ke7 23. Bb6 $1 Re8 24. Rae1 $16) 21. Re2 Ke7 (21... Bxe6
$2 22. Nd8 $18) 22. a3 $16) 19... Be7 20. Ne4 (20. c4 Bxe6 21. Rxe6 Kxf7 $11)
20... Bxe6 21. Ned6+ Nxd6 22. Nxd6+ Kd7 23. Rad1 Kxc7 24. Rxe6 g6 25. Ne4 Rf7
26. Re1 Rd8 27. Ng5 fxg5 28. Rxe7+ Rxe7 29. Rxe7+ Kb6 30. Kf1 Rd2 31. Re2 Rd1+
32. Re1 1/2-1/2

[Event "Corus"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2005.01.28"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Morozevich, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2735"]
[BlackElo "2741"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2005.01.15"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 105"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.04.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 {This line is not as
popular as the alternative} (5... Nd6) 6. Qe2 Nd6 7. Bxc6 dxc6 $5 {[%mdl 4]
This is the start of a very sharp line. Solid, but not very enterprising for
Black is} (7... bxc6 8. dxe5 Nb7) 8. dxe5 Nf5 9. Rd1 Bd7 10. e6 $5 {With this
White wants to punish Black with tactics. But the verdict on this line is not
at all clear. Because even though white wins some material, Black gets a very
active game.} fxe6 11. Ne5 Bd6 12. Qh5+ g6 13. Nxg6 Ng7 14. Qh6 Nf5 15. Qh3 Rg8
16. Qxh7 Rg7 17. Qh5 Qf6 18. Ne5+ Ke7 19. Ng4 {This position is the starting
point of this line. Black is a P down and has an inferior P-formation overall.
But he has compensation in the form of activity, development and the pair of B:
s. White's advantage - if he has any - is not very big. The last move is
important since it forces the exchange of Q:s. With Q:s on the board White
would surely be in trouble.} Qg6 (19... Qh4 20. Qxh4+ Nxh4 21. h3 e5 22. f3
Bc5+ (22... Bf5 $5) 23. Kf1 Bf5 24. Be3 Bd6 25. Rd2 e4 26. Bf2 Ng6 27. Ne3 (27.
Nc3 $14 {Khalifman}) 27... Be6 28. fxe4 Rf8 $44 {0-1 Taubenhaus,J-Pollock,W/
New York 1893/HCL (45)}) 20. Qxg6 Rxg6 21. h3 e5 22. Nd2 $5 {White wants to
bolster his threatened K-side.} (22. c4 {Khalifman} Nd4 23. c5 Nc2 24. Be3 Nxa1
25. Na3 Bxg4 26. hxg4 Rxg4 27. Rxa1 Rag8 28. g3 b6 29. cxd6+ cxd6 $13) (22. c3
$5 {suggests itself after seeing this game.}) 22... Nd4 23. c3 Nc2 $5 {Wins
back the P, but leaves the N in a very delicate position. It's difficult to
imagine that it will make any more moves in this game. At the same time it's
not all that easy for White to coordinate a defence on the K-side and to
successfully net the N.} (23... Ne2+ {was safer} 24. Kf1 Nf4 (24... Nxc1 25.
Raxc1 Bxg4 26. hxg4 Rxg4 $14) 25. Ne4 (25. Nxe5 $5 Bxe5 26. Nc4 Bd6 27. Nxd6
Nxg2 28. Nxb7 Bxh3 29. Ke2 Rf8 $13) 25... Bxg4 26. hxg4 Rxg4 27. g3 Nh5 28. Re1
Rag8 $11) 24. Rb1 Bxg4 25. hxg4 Rxg4 26. Nf1 Rf8 {[%csl Rf2][%cal Yd6c5]} (
26... Rag8 $5 27. g3 e4 28. Bd2 (28. b4) 28... Bc5 29. Kg2 Rf8 30. Rbc1 Rxf2+
31. Kh3 Rg8 32. Rxc2 Rh8+ 33. Kg4 Rg8+ 34. Kh5 Kf6 $11) 27. b4 a5 28. Rb2 {
The N survives after all.} Na3 29. Ne3 Rgf4 30. bxa5 Ra4 (30... Nb5 $5 31. Rb3
Ke6 $132 (31... Rxf2 32. a4)) 31. Rxb7 Ke6 32. Rd2 Ra8 33. Bxa3 Rxa3 34. Rb3
R3xa5 35. Rbb2 Rc5 36. Rbc2 Ra3 37. Nd1 Rd5 38. g3 Be7 39. c4 {White is a P up,
but Black is too active for him to have any real chances of activating his
position.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "EU-chT (Men) 12th"]
[Site "Batumi"]
[Date "1999.12.02"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Georgiev, Kiril"]
[Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2650"]
[BlackElo "2619"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1999.11.06"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GEO"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 074"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2000.02.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2000.02.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Bulgaria"]
[BlackTeam "Belarus"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "BUL"]
[BlackTeamCountry "BLR"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. Ne2 Ne7 12. Ng3 a4 (12... c5 $1 13. Be3
Nc6 14. Ne4 b6 $132 {/\Bf5 Dautov}) 13. a3 Nd5 {Weak according to Dautov. He
recommends a setup with c5, Nc6 and Be6 instead.} 14. Bd2 (14. Re1 Be7 (14...
h6 $1) 15. Bd2 h6 16. Rad1 Kf8 $2 (16... c5 $1) 17. Nd4 $16 {1-0 Svidler,
P-Aleksandrov,A/Las Vegas 1999/CBM 72/[Dautov] (41)}) 14... h6 15. Rad1 Bc5 16.
Rfe1 Be6 {Alexandrov has chosen a much more active and natural setup than in
the game against Svidler.} 17. Bc1 Bb6 18. Nd4 Bxd4 19. Rxd4 c5 20. Rdd1 c4 $11
21. f4 Ne7 (21... g6 $5) 22. Nh5 g6 23. Ng7+ Kf8 24. Nxe6+ fxe6 25. g4 (25. Rd7
Rc8 26. Red1 Ke8 {and White hasn´t achieved anything with the R on d7.}) 25...
Ke8 26. Kf2 h5 27. Kg3 hxg4 28. hxg4 Rd8 29. Rxd8+ Kxd8 30. Bd2 Nd5 $15 {
The good N gives Black some hopes.} 31. Re2 Rh1 32. c3 Ke7 33. Be1 Kf7 34. Kg2
Nxf4+ 35. Kxh1 Nxe2 36. Bd2 {Threatening to trap the N.} Ng3+ 37. Kg2 Ne4 38.
Be3 b6 39. Kf3 Nc5 40. Bxc5 bxc5 41. Ke4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Dresden zt 1.2"]
[Site "Dresden"]
[Date "1998.05.05"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Wahls, Matthias"]
[Black "Sokolov, Ivan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2605"]
[BlackElo "2625"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "1998.04.28"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 065"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.08.06"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.08.06"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 10444]} {This game is marred by a bad mistake by Matthias Wahls, but
even so it's an impressive performance by Ivan Sokolov. He plays the opening
excellently. Really a model game for Black in this line. The attack on the
white K with only a few pieces is worth studying too.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3.
Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8
10. h3 a5 11. Rd1 {Very popular move, but I don't know the point of it.
Perhaps White wants to prevent Blacks K to flee to the Q-side, but he played
Kd8-e8 two moves earlier. I prefer to keep the R behind the f-P.} (11. Ne2 Ne7
(11... Be6 12. Nf4 Bd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. g4 Ne7 15. Nd4 $16 {1-0 Fedorov,
V-Wagman,S/New York op 1993/TD 93\03 (34)}) 12. Nfd4 Nf5 13. a4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4
Bc5 15. Nb3 Be7 16. Be3 h5 17. f4 g6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Rozentalis,E-Marciano,D/
Belfort 1997/CBM 62/[Wedberg] (27)}) (11. a4 Be6 (11... Bb4 $5) 12. Rd1 (12. g4
$1 Ne7 13. Nd4 $36 {/\f4-f5}) 12... h6 13. g4 Ne7 14. Nd4 g5 15. Ne4 Bg7 16.
Nxe6 fxe6 17. Nc5 b6 18. Nxe6 Bxe5 19. Ra3 Kf7 $11 {Ernst,T-Rausis,I/Viking op
1997/EXT 97/0-1 (50)}) (11. Bf4 Be6 12. g4 Ne7 13. Nd4 Nd5 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15.
Bd2 Bb4 $11 {Galkin,A-Aleksandrov,A/RUS-Cup6 1997/CBM 59/[Hecht]/1/2-1/2 (59)})
11... a4 {Running down the a-P might seem a bit primitive, but it's actually a
very sensible way for Black to develop. It gains ground, starts mobilising the
Q-side P-majority and prepars the unusual but in many cases effective
development of the R via a5.} 12. g4 Ne7 13. Kg2 h5 $146 {Sokolov plays the
most natural move in the position. An important feature of the Black plan is
not to play an early Be6, since that allows the promising attacking scheme Nd4
and then f4-f5.} (13... Ng6 14. Rd4 Be7 15. Kg3 h5 16. Bg5 hxg4 17. hxg4 f6 18.
Bf4 f5 19. g5 a3 20. b3 Be6 21. Ne2 Kf7 $17 {1-0 Almasi,Z-Aleksandrov,A/
EU-chTM 1997/EXP 57/[Hecht] (45)}) 14. Kg3 hxg4 15. hxg4 Ng6 16. Bg5 Be7 17.
Bxe7 Kxe7 {Tricky position. Probably about equal, but Black has lots of
possibilities.} 18. Re1 Be6 19. Nd4 $2 (19. Ng5 $142 a3 20. b3 Rh4 21. f3) (19.
Rad1 $16 {/\ Nd4; Wahls}) 19... Bxg4 $1 $17 {This strips White of his K-side
play, leaving Black in control over the whole board.} 20. f4 (20. Kxg4 Rh4+ 21.
Kg3 Rxd4 $17) (20. Nxc6+ bxc6 21. Kxg4 Rh4+ $19 {/\ Rah8}) 20... Rad8 21. Re4
Bc8 22. Nxa4 {White has taken back the P, but Black has a very dangerous
attack on the h-file.} Rh3+ 23. Kf2 Rh2+ 24. Ke3 Rdh8 $40 (24... Nh4 $1 $19 {
Wahls}) 25. Rf1 R8h3+ (25... Bg4 $5 26. Kd3 R8h3+ 27. Re3 Rh4 $40) 26. Rf3
Rxf3+ 27. Kxf3 Nh4+ 28. Kg3 Rh3+ 29. Kf2 Nf5 30. Nf3 (30. Nxf5+ Bxf5 31. Re2
Bxc2 $17) 30... Ng3 31. Rb4 Nh5 $1 {Nice manouvering with the N. Now Black can
send in all his pieces against the white K.} 32. Nc3 Bg4 33. Nd2 (33. Ng5 $142
Rh2+ 34. Kg1 Rxc2 35. Rxb7 Nxf4 36. Rxc7+ Bd7 37. Nxf7 Rxb2 $17) 33... Rh2+ 34.
Ke3 b6 35. Rc4 c5 36. Ra4 Ng3 37. Ra7 Nf5+ 38. Kd3 Rh3+ 39. Kc4 Kd7 40. Nde4 (
40. a4 Kc6 $19) 40... Kc6 41. Ng5 (41. a4 Ne3+ (41... Nd6+) 42. Kb3 Be6+ 43.
Ka3 Nxc2#) 41... b5+ (41... b5+ 42. Kb3 (42. Nxb5 Be2#) 42... Nd4+ 43. Ka3 Kb6
44. Ra8 b4+ 45. Ka4 Bd7+ (45... Bd7+ 46. Nb5 Bxb5#)) 0-1

[Event "MK Cafe Cup-A"]
[Site "Koszalin"]
[Date "1999.08.06"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Blehm, Pawel"]
[Black "Pedzich, Dominik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2479"]
[BlackElo "2428"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "1999.08.03"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 073"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Be7 6. dxe5 O-O 7. Qd5 Nc5 8.
Be3 a6 9. Bxc5 axb5 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. Nc3 b4 12. Nb5 Ra5 13. a4 b6 (13... bxa3
14. Rxa3 Rxa3 15. bxa3 d6 16. exd6 cxd6 17. Re1 Be6 18. Qxd6 $16 {1/2-1/2
Schneider,L-Ivkov,B/Skara 1980/EU-chT (71)}) 14. Nd2 $5 $146 {[%mdl 8] Just
leaving the e-P to be eaten.} (14. Rfe1 {has been tried a couple of times
without much success.} Ba6 (14... Nd8 15. Qc4 Ne6 16. c3 bxc3 17. b4 Ra8 18.
Nbd4 Bb7 19. Nf5 Qd8 20. Qxc3 f6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Lanka,Z-Asanov,B/URS 1979/MCD 
(30)}) 15. Rad1 Nb8 $1 16. b3 Re8 {/\c6} 17. Qd2 Bxb5 18. axb5 Rxb5 $17 {
1/2-1/2 Polgar,J-Smyslov,V/Hoogeveen 1997/CBM 62 (32)}) 14... Ba6 $6 (14...
Nxe5 {perhaps the best move.} 15. Rae1 d6 (15... Re8 16. Nc4 $16) 16. f4 c6 (
16... Be6 17. Qb7 $16) 17. Qxd6 Qxd6 18. Nxd6 Nd7 19. Re7 Rd5 20. N2e4 f5 21.
Nxc8 Rxc8 22. Ng5 $36 {this position isn´t 100% clear, but Black has a hard
time to defend.}) (14... Qxe5 15. Qxe5 Nxe5 16. Nb3 Ra8 17. Nxc7 Ra7 (17... Rb8
18. Rfe1 Nc6 19. Rad1 $16) 18. Nb5 Ra8 19. Nd6 Ba6 20. Rfd1 $16) 15. Nc4 $1
Bxb5 16. axb5 Rxa1 17. Rxa1 Nd8 $16 {White has a clear plus here: active
pieces and a-file control.} 18. g3 Ne6 19. f4 f5 20. exf6 gxf6 21. f5 Qc5+ 22.
Qxc5 Nxc5 23. Ra7 d5 24. Nd2 Rc8 25. Nf3 Kf7 26. Nd4 {Tremendous N.} Ke7 27.
Nc6+ Kd6 28. Nxb4 Re8 29. Nc6 h5 (29... Re2 30. Ra8 $1 Ne4 31. b4 $18) 30. Ra1
Ne4 31. Rd1 Kc5 32. Nd4 Ng5 33. h4 Ne4 34. Ne6+ Kd6 35. c4 Nxg3 36. Rxd5+ Ke7
37. Nf4 Rg8 38. Kf2 Ne4+ 39. Kf3 Nd6 40. c5 Nxb5 41. Ng6+ Ke8 42. cxb6 c6 43.
b7 1-0

[Event "FIDE-Wch k.o."]
[Site "Las Vegas"]
[Date "1999.08.07"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2708"]
[BlackElo "2663"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "1999.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 072"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 1] This game is a very nice effort by Michael Adams. He plays a new
move in the opening, but from the play we can see that it´s not just a novelty
it´s a whole new concept. Black´s position crumbles under a combined attack on
both flanks and in the centre.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5.
d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 Ne7 11. Ne4 Ng6
12. Re1 c5 13. a4 $5 $146 {[%mdl 8] Very unusual! a2-a4 is almost exclusively
played as a reaction to a black a7-a5. So let´s try to figure out why Adams
plays it unprovoked in this position. I can see two possible reasons right
away. Firstly b6 can be met with a5 gaining some pull on the Q-side. If b6 is
unattractive Pc5 becomes slightly vulnerable. Secondly in a number of recent
games Black has surprised his opponent by playing the K from e8 to c6 via d7.
Now White is ready to meet this with a swift Ra3-c3, which would create a lot
of problems for Black. A further point is the possibility to develop the R 
(via a3) without having to find a square for Bc1.} (13. c4 Be6 14. b3 h6 (14...
Be7 15. Bg5 b6 16. Rad1 h6 17. Bc1 Rd8 $13 {1/2-1/2 Blehm,P-Postniy,E/Murek
1998/CBM 65 ext (61)}) 15. Be3 b6 16. Rad1 Be7 17. Nc3 Bd8 18. Bc1 c6 19. Ne4
Bc7 20. Bb2 Ke7 $15 {0-1 Peng Xiaomin-Almasi,Z/Las Vegas 1999/CBM 72_08 (49)})
13... h6 (13... a5 {seems like a natural reaction, with the idea of playing b6
later. The move Ra6 is also a resource if White gets violent with e6 at some
point.} 14. h4 $5 {in the spirit of the game continuation.} (14. e6 $6 Bxe6 15.
Neg5 Ra6 $1 $15) (14. Ra3 $5) 14... Bg4 (14... h5 15. Bg5 $14) 15. Nh2 Be6 16.
h5 Nh4 17. g4 $36) 14. a5 $1 {White gains space and threatens to attack c5
next move with Be3.} Bf5 15. h4 $1 {Bent Larsen used to attack like this with
both his R-P:s. White gains even more space and threatens to disturb Black´s
build up with h5.} Be7 (15... h5 16. Bg5 $16) 16. Nd6+ $1 cxd6 17. exd6 Be6 (
17... Bxc2 18. dxe7 Nxe7 19. Be3 $36) 18. dxe7 Nxe7 $16 {The smoke has cleared.
White has a clear advantage due to Black´s problematic K-position and lack of
development.} 19. Ne5 Nf5 20. Ra4 Ke7 21. Rf4 Rac8 22. b4 $1 {[%cal Yc1a3,
Ya3e7] Black´s K is the target.} b6 23. bxc5 bxc5 24. Ba3 g5 25. Rfe4 Nxh4 26.
Nxf7 {The cashing in has started.} Kxf7 27. Rxe6 Rhe8 {Breaks the attack, but
loses a number of P:s.} 28. Rxe8 Rxe8 29. Rxe8 Kxe8 30. a6 $1 $18 (30. Bxc5 a6
{gives Black some hope.}) 30... Kd7 (30... c4 31. Bc5 $18) 31. Bxc5 Kc6 32.
Bxa7 Kb5 33. Bc5 $1 Kxa6 34. Bf8 g4 (34... h5 35. Be7 $18) 35. Bxh6 Nf5 36. Bg5
Kb5 37. Bf6 Kc4 38. Kf1 Kd5 39. Ke2 Kc4 40. f3 gxf3+ 41. Kxf3 Kd5 42. g4 Nd6
43. Kf4 Ke6 44. Bd4 1-0

[Event "Nordic-ch VISA"]
[Site "Reykjavik"]
[Date "1997.10.12"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Hansen, Curt"]
[Black "Westerinen, Heikki MJ"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2600"]
[BlackElo "2410"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "1997.10.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 062"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.01.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.01.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{In this game Westerinen keeps Hansens K-side P:s under control with a typical
white-square blockade.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6.
Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Ne4 {This move has served Weserinen well over the years. He
has an even score in Megabase 98' in a line that has favoured White heavily.}
8. Qe2 {Compared to the Berlin Defence, 7. - Nf5, White gets nothing from
exchanging Q:s. On the other hand Black has no easy way to equalise against 8.
Qe2. In the Berlin Nf5-d4 gives Black equality without any trouble after 8.Qe2.
} Bf5 9. Rd1 (9. Be3 {The second option for White in this line. When Black
answered this with 9. - Bg6, White got some advantage. Nowadays Black plays 9.
- Bc5 and White gets nothing.} Bc5 10. Bxc5 Nxc5 11. Nc3 (11. Rd1 Qe7 12. Nd4
Bg6 13. Nc3 (13. Nd2 O-O 14. Qe3 Ne6 15. c3 Nxd4 16. cxd4 Rad8 $11 {1/2-1/2
Helenius,M-Westerinen,H/FIN-chT 1995/EXT 97 (31)}) 13... O-O 14. Rd2 Ne6 15.
Nxe6 Qxe6 16. Rad1 Rae8 17. f4 Qf5 18. Qf2 f6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Ernst,T-Westerinen,
H/Peer Gynt 1995/EXT 95op (27)}) 11... Ne6 12. Rad1 Qe7 13. Nd4 Nxd4 14. Rxd4
O-O $11 {0-1 Magem Badals,J-Garcia Padron,J/ESP-chT 1993/TD 93\10 (40)}) 9...
Qc8 10. Nd4 (10. Nh4 Be7 11. Nxf5 Qxf5 12. Rd4 (12. Nd2 O-O-O 13. Nxe4 Rxd1+
14. Qxd1 Qxe4 15. Be3 Rd8 16. Qe2 Qxe5 $17 {1-0 Malisauskas,V-Westerinen,H/
Oviedo rapid 1993/EXP 38 (38)}) 12... Nc5 13. Nc3 O-O 14. Rf4 Qe6 15. Rg4 Rad8
16. h3 Rfe8 $11 {Chandler,M-Christiansen,L/Wellington 1988/CBM 07/1/2-1/2 (50)}
) (10. g4 {Judit Polgars aggressive approach can be met in several ways} Bg6
11. Nh4 Nc5 (11... Qe6 {Lobron} 12. f4 (12. Rd4 Nf6 (12... Nc5 13. f4 Qe7 14.
Nf5 Bxf5 15. gxf5 $14) 13. Nc3 Nd7 14. Bf4 Bc5 $13) 12... Bc5+ 13. Kg2 Qe7 14.
Nf5 Bxf5 15. gxf5 Qh4 16. Rf1 Nf2 17. Rxf2 Bxf2 18. Qxf2 Qg4+ $11) 12. b4 Na6
13. Bg5 Qe6 14. f4 f5 15. a3 Be7 ({not} 15... h6 $2 16. Bf6 $1 gxf6 17. gxf5
Bxf5 18. Qh5+ Qf7 19. Qxf5 $16 {1-0 Polgar,J-Mortensen,E/Vejstrup 1989/CBM 15 
(39)}) 16. Bxe7 Qxe7 17. Nxf5 Bxf5 18. gxf5 O-O 19. Qg4 Qf7 20. f6 Qg6 21. Qxg6
{1/2-1/2 Penttinen,J-Westerinen,H/FIN-chT 1995/EXT 97}) 10... Bc5 11. Be3 (11.
b4 $5 {Stirring up trouble, the P must be taken. This line is one of the hopes
for White at this point.} Bxb4 (11... Bb6 $2 12. f3 $18) (11... Bxd4 12. Rxd4
$16) 12. e6 $1 Bg6 (12... fxe6 13. Nxf5 exf5 14. f3 Qe6 15. fxe4 fxe4 16. Rd4
$18) 13. exf7+ Kf8 (13... Kxf7 14. Qc4+ $18) 14. Qc4 Bd6 15. Ne6+ Ke7 16. f8=B+
Rxf8 17. Nxf8 Kxf8 18. f3 Nf6 19. Ba3 $14 {1-0 Sulskis,S-Westerinen,H/Gausdal
Int 1995/EXP 47 (41)}) 11... O-O (11... Bg6 12. Nb3 (12. c3 Be7 13. f3 Nc5 14.
Nd2 O-O 15. f4 h5 16. Qf1 f6 17. N2f3 f5 18. Bf2 $14 {1-0 Cullip,S-McKay,R/
Edinburgh op 1989/EXT 89op2 (34)}) 12... Bxe3 13. Qxe3 h6 14. Rd4 (14. f3 Ng5
15. Rd2 O-O 16. Nc3 Rd8 17. Rad1 Rxd2 18. Rxd2 Qe8 19. f4 Nh7 20. g4 f5 {
1/2-1/2 Unzicker,W-Santos,L/Almada 1988/EXT 88 (30)} 21. h3 $14) 14... Ng5 15.
f4 Nh7 16. Na3 O-O 17. h3 Re8 18. Re1 Nf8 19. Qf2 $13 {1-0 Huebner,R-Hort,V/
BL9091 1991/BL 90 (40)}) 12. f3 Bxd4 13. Bxd4 Ng5 14. Nc3 Re8 15. Rd2 Ne6 16.
Be3 Nf8 17. f4 Qe6 18. h3 Qg6 19. Kh2 h5 {[%csl Ye6,Yf5,Yg4][%cal Rg6g4,Rh5g4,
Rf5g4] Blacks blockade on the white squares makes it very difficult for White
to make use of his K-side P-majority.} 20. Rad1 (20. Rg1 Rad8 (20... h4 21. Qf2
Qh6 22. Rgd1) 21. g4 Rxd2 22. Bxd2 hxg4 23. hxg4 Bxc2 24. f5 Qh7+ 25. Kg2 Bxf5
26. gxf5 Qxf5 $15) 20... Ne6 21. Qf2 Rad8 22. b4 Rxd2 23. Rxd2 Rd8 24. Rxd8+
Nxd8 25. Bxa7 Bxc2 26. Be3 Qd3 27. Qd2 Qxd2 28. Bxd2 $11 f6 29. exf6 gxf6 30.
g4 hxg4 31. hxg4 f5 32. g5 Kf7 33. Kg3 Kg6 34. Be3 Nf7 35. Bc5 Nd8 36. Kf3 Bd3
37. Ke3 Bf1 38. Nb1 Bc4 39. a3 Ne6 40. Nd2 Bd5 41. Bd4 b5 42. Nb1 Ba2 43. Nc3
Bb3 44. Be5 Kh5 45. Ne2 Kg6 46. Ng1 Bd1 47. Nh3 Bb3 48. Nf2 Bc4 49. Kd2 c5 50.
bxc5 Nxc5 51. Bxc7 Ne4+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sigeman & Co 11th"]
[Site "Malmo"]
[Date "2003.04.30"]
[Round "2"]
[White "McShane, Luke J"]
[Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2592"]
[BlackElo "2704"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2003.04.29"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "SWE"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 095"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.07.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2003.07.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. h3 Kc8 11. Rd1 ({For} 11. b3 {see 0-1 Timman,
J-Nielsen,P/Malmoe 2003 (71). (71)}) (11. Bf4 b6 12. Rad1 h6 13. g4 $6 {
Only weakening here. g4 should only be played when White is attacking or can
prevent a conterstrike with h5 by Black.} Ne7 14. Bg3 c5 (14... h5 $5) 15. Rd3
Be6 16. Rfd1 Kb7 17. Nd2 h5 $36 {0-1 Span,P-Pedersen,N/Amsterdam 2002/CBM 89
ext (40)}) 11... b6 12. b3 a5 13. a4 Be7 14. Bb2 h5 {Black secures his N on f5,
since White can hardly allow an open h-file.} 15. Ne2 {A better route for the
N than e4-g5 tried in the game Timman - Nielsen in the same event.} c5 16. Nf4
Bc6 17. Nd5 {A good post for the N.} Kb7 18. c4 $11 {White is OK, but so is
Black.} Rae8 19. Rd3 Bd8 $1 {[%mdl 2048] What is the point of this? Wait and
see!} 20. Nd2 (20. Rad1 Rhg8 $13 {[%cal Yg7g5,Yg5g4]}) 20... Kc8 (20... g5 21.
Rf3 $5) 21. g3 Bd7 22. Re1 Ne7 23. Kg2 Nc6 24. Ne4 Be6 {[%cal Yc6d7,Yd7e6,
Gf5e7,Ge7c6] Ivanchuk has performed a little regrouping and now enjoys a rock
solid position. The B on e6 and the N on c6 are working in perfect harmony
with the P-formation.} 25. f4 Be7 26. Ne3 Nb4 27. Rdd1 Rd8 28. f5 Bd7 29. Bc3
Bc6 {[%csl Gd5][%cal Yc6g2,Ye6d7,Yd7c6,Gc6b4] Remarkable footwork by Ivanchuk
here. Study this closely. The B is back on c6 and suddenly Black is in control
over the important square d5 and attacking beautifully down the long white
diagonal.} 30. Kf3 Nd3 31. Re2 Rhe8 {White is close to getting inte serious
trouble now.} 32. Nd5 $1 {Luke McShane found the brake.} ({e.g.} 32. h4 $2 Bf6
$1 $17 {[%cal Yc6f3,Ye8e4,Yf6e5,Yd3e5]}) 32... Bxd5 33. Rxd3 Bc6 34. Rxd8+ Rxd8
35. Kf4 Rd3 36. Re3 Rd1 37. Re1 Rd3 38. Re3 Rd1 39. Re1 Rd3 40. Re3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Belfort"]
[Site "Belfort"]
[Date "1997.??.??"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Rozentalis, Eduardas"]
[Black "Marciano, David"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2645"]
[BlackElo "2470"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "1997.10.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 062"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.01.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.01.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 11. Ne2 (11. Rd1 a4 12. g4 Ne7 13. Kg2 Ng6
14. Rd4 Be7 15. Kg3 h5 $132 {1-0 Almasi,Z-Aleksandrov,A/EU-chTM 1997/EXP 57/
[Hecht] (45)}) (11. a4 Be6 12. Rd1 h6 13. g4 Ne7 14. Nd4 g5 15. Ne4 Bg7 16.
Nxe6 fxe6 17. Nc5 b6 18. Nxe6 Bxe5 19. Ra3 Kf7 $11 {Ernst,T-Rausis,I/Viking op
1997/EXT 97/0-1 (50)}) 11... Ne7 $5 $146 {This move is the fashionable way to
play the Berlin these days.} (11... Be6 12. Nf4 Bd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 {Undoubling
the c-P:s is seldom of any use to Black in the Berlin.} 14. g4 Ne7 15. Nd4 $16
{1-0 Fedorov,V-Wagman,S/New York op 1993/TD 93\03 (34)}) 12. Nfd4 Nf5 {Draw?}
13. a4 {No!} Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Bc5 15. Nb3 Be7 16. Be3 h5 17. f4 g6 $11 {If Black
could squeeze in b6 as well White would be in trouble.} 18. Bc5 $1 Be6 (18...
Bd8 19. Nd4 b6 20. Ba3 c5 21. Nb5 $14) 19. Bxe7 Kxe7 20. Nc5 b6 21. Nxe6 Kxe6
22. g3 Rhd8 23. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 b5 25. Ra1 Rd8 26. axb5 cxb5 27. Rxa5 c6
28. c4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Olympiad-36"]
[Site "Mallorca"]
[Date "2004.10.18"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Fontaine, Robert"]
[Black "Elsness, Frode"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2531"]
[BlackElo "2425"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2004.10.15"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 104"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.01.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.01.27"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "France"]
[BlackTeam "Norway"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NOR"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. dxe5 {This line is not
considered to be any problem for Black, but at least it avoids entering an
ending prematurely.} Nxb5 7. a4 Nbd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 d5 10. Nc3 c6 11. Be3
Bf5 (11... Be7 12. f4 g6 13. e6 Bf6 14. exf7+ Kxf7 15. Qb4 Re8 16. Bf2 Qe7 17.
Bc5 Qc7 18. a5 Bf5 19. Rf2 h5 20. h3 Re6 $13 {1-0 Ehlvest,J-Nielsen,P/Panormo
2002/CBM 090 ext (45)}) 12. f4 Qc8 {Preventing any tricks based on g4 and then
f5.} (12... Be7 13. Rf2 O-O 14. g4 $1 {an important resource} Be6 (14... Bxg4
15. f5 $16) 15. f5 $40 {1-0 Pachman,L-Fawcett/Pratten/Borlan/Southsea 1949/EXT
99 (24)}) (12... Qd7 13. Rf2 h5 (13... b6 14. b4 Rd8 15. Rd1 Qe6 16. a5 b5 17.
Ne2 Rc8 18. Qc3 Qd7 19. Nd4 $16 {1-0 Mueller,O-Zude,E/Germany 1990/GER-chT (24)
}) 14. a5 Rh6 15. Na4 Rg6 16. Rd1 Be4 (16... h4) 17. Qxe4 dxe4 18. Rxd7 Kxd7
19. f5 Rg4 20. h3 Rg3 21. Bf4 $16 {1-0 Sziva,E-Garcia Vicente,N/Saint Vincent
1999/CBM 070 ext (40)}) (12... a5 $5 13. Rf2 Bb4 14. Rd1 Qd7 15. Na2 Be7 16.
Nc1 O-O 17. Nb3 Qc8 $11 {0-1 Oppitz,P-Niklasch,O/Germany 1994/EXT 2003 (49)})
13. Qd2 Bb4 14. Qf2 b6 15. Ne2 Bxc2 {This is risky.} (15... O-O $5 16. Nd4 f6
$132) 16. f5 $1 Bd3 17. Rad1 Qa6 18. f6 g6 19. Nd4 Bxf1 20. Rxf1 {Fritz likes
this for Black, but for a human the White side might be easier to play.
Black's main problem is his K. There is no safe haven anywhere.} c5 (20... Qxa4
21. b3 Qa3 22. e6 $40) 21. Nb5 O-O-O 22. b3 Rhe8 23. Bf4 $44 {[%csl Gb5,Rc8,
Ge5,Gf6]} c4 (23... Qb7 $5) 24. Qf3 Bc5+ 25. Kh1 cxb3 26. Qxb3 Qa5 27. Rc1 Kb7
28. h3 Rd7 $2 29. Rxc5 $1 bxc5 30. Nd6+ Kc6 31. Nxe8 $16 Rb7 32. Qd1 Rb4 33. e6
$1 $18 fxe6 34. Qe1 Qxa4 35. Qxe6+ Kb5 36. Nc7+ Kc4 37. Qxd5+ Kc3 38. Bd2+ Kc2
39. Bxb4 Qxb4 40. f7 Qe1+ 41. Kh2 Qf2 1-0

[Event "Poikovsky Karpov 05th"]
[Site "Poikovsky"]
[Date "2004.03.17"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Bologan, Viktor"]
[Black "Aleksandrov, Aleksej"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2679"]
[BlackElo "2679"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "2004.03.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 100"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2004.06.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2004.06.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. Ne4 {One of several tries in this position. The
problem with the Berlin defence from a White perspective is simply how to get
at Black´s rock solid position. Given time to develop Black usually has very
few problems in this line, so its logical to try to use White´s lead in
development to do something right away. One way to try to create threats
against the black K is to sacrifice the P on e5 and then use the open lines in
the centre for an assault. After the active Ne4 this theme is quite often seen.
} Bf5 {This is slightly provocative since g4 can later follow with gain of
tempo. The alternatives are more prudent.} (10... Ng6 11. Re1 h6 12. h3 (12.
Bd2 Bg4 13. Nd4 Nxe5 14. Bc3 Nc4 15. a4 $13 {0-1 Nijboer,F-Jonkman,H/
Leeuwarden 2002/CBM 90/[Hecht] (54)}) 12... Be6 (12... b6 13. Bd2 c5 14. Rad1
Ke8 15. a3 a5 16. Kh2 Be6 17. g4 Rd8 {1/2-1/2 Blehm,P-Markowski,T/Ohrid 2001/
CBM 84 (17)}) 13. Nd4 (13. b3 c5 14. c4 b6 (14... Be7 15. Ng3 Kd7 16. Nh5 Rhg8
17. Bb2 Kc6 18. Nd2 a5 19. a4 Rgd8 $132 {0-1 Acs,P-Georgiev,K/Plovdiv 2003/CBM
98 no vc (43)}) 15. g4 Kc8 16. Kg2 Kb7 17. Rd1 Be7 18. Kg3 $13 {0-1 Inarkiev,
E-Georgiev,K/Istanbul 2003/CBM 96/[Ftacnik] (37)}) (13. Nd4 Bd5 (13... Nxe5 14.
Nxe6+ fxe6 15. Ng5 hxg5 16. Bxg5+ {1/2-1/2 Galkin,A-Aleksandrov,A/Moscow op
2003/ (16)}) 14. Nf5 Nxe5 15. Bf4 Nd7 16. Nc3 g6 17. Nd4 Bb4 $15 {1/2-1/2
Topalov,V-Shirov,A/Prague 2002/ (31)}) 13... Bd5 (13... Nxe5 14. Nxe6+ fxe6 15.
Ng5 hxg5 16. Bxg5+ {1/2-1/2 Galkin,A-Aleksandrov,A/Moscow 2003/CBM 94 (16)})
14. Nf5 Nxe5 15. Bf4 Nd7 16. Nc3 g6 17. Nd4 Bb4 $15 {1/2-1/2 Topalov,V-Shirov,
A/Prague 2002/CBM 89 (31)}) (10... Ke8 11. h3 Ng6 12. Re1 h6 13. b3 (13. h4 h5
14. Bg5 Bg4 15. Nd4 c5 16. Nb5 Kd7 17. a4 a6 18. Nbc3 Kc6 $15 {0-1 Apicella,
M-Yemelin,V/Chalkidiki 2002/CBM 92 (35)}) 13... a5 14. a4 c5 15. Be3 b6 16.
Rad1 Be7 17. c4 Bb7 18. Bc1 Rd8 19. Rxd8+ Kxd8 $15 {1/2-1/2 Georgiev,K-Miles,A/
Saint Vincent 2000/CBM 78 (48)}) 11. Re1 h6 12. h3 b6 $146 {Putting Black´s
Q-side P:s on black squares (a7/a5, b6, c7 and c5) has proven to be one of
Black´s most reliable ways to develop.} (12... Nd5 13. Nd4 Bg6 14. Bd2 c5 15.
Nb5 a6 16. Na3 Kc8 17. Rad1 Nb4 18. Bxb4 cxb4 19. Nc4 a5 20. Rd5 b6 21. Ned6+
$36 {0-1 Shirov,A-Almasi,Z/Monte Carlo 2003/CBM 93 ext (30)}) 13. g4 $1 Bd7 14.
Bf4 Kc8 (14... h5 $6 15. Neg5 Ke8 16. Nxf7 Kxf7 17. e6+ Bxe6 18. Ng5+ Kg8 19.
Nxe6 $16) 15. Rad1 a5 16. Bg3 c5 17. Nh4 a4 18. Ng2 (18. f4 $5 {[%cal Yf4f5]
looks like the logical continuation.}) 18... a3 19. b3 c4 $5 {An interesting
sacrifice. Black get´s some counterplay for a P. But my feeling is that White
should be better after this.} 20. bxc4 Ra4 21. Ne3 Be6 22. Nc3 Rb4 23. Nb5 (23.
f4 {also looks strong.} g6 24. Rd3 Nc6 (24... h5 25. Ncd5 $36) 25. Ncd5 Rb2 26.
f5 $36) 23... Nc6 $5 {Black gives another P and relies on his pair of B:s to
give him counterplay.} 24. Nxa3 Bc5 25. Nd5 Rb2 26. Nb5 h5 {Black is trying to
stir up some counterplay. In the end he succeeds, but White gives a helping
hand.} 27. Ndxc7 Rxc2 28. Nxe6 fxe6 29. Nd6+ Kc7 30. Ne4 (30. gxh5 $5) 30...
Nd4 31. Kg2 Kc6 32. Rd2 Rxc4 33. Red1 hxg4 34. hxg4 Nb5 35. Nxc5 bxc5 36. Rd7
$2 {Striking into thin air and giving away the advantage.} (36. f4 $16) 36...
Rxg4 37. a4 Rxa4 38. Rxg7 Nd4 $15 {The N is better than the B and the c-P is
the most likely candidate to become a Q in this position.} 39. Rb1 Rf8 40. Rbb7
Kd5 41. Rbc7 Ra6 42. Rgd7+ Kc4 43. Rd6 Ra5 44. Rb6 Kd3 45. Rd7 Kc3 46. Rbd6 Ra2
47. Rh7 Rd2 48. Rc7 c4 49. Ra6 Nf5 50. Kh3 Rh8+ 51. Kg4 Rg8+ 52. Kf4 Rd4+ 53.
Kf3 Rd3+ 54. Kf4 Rd4+ 55. Kf3 Rg6 56. Rf7 Rd3+ 57. Ke2 (57. Ke2 Rg5 $18) 0-1

[Event "Recklinghausen"]
[Site "Recklinghausen"]
[Date "1998.08.31"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Mainka, Romuald"]
[Black "Pinter, Jozsef"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2500"]
[BlackElo "2590"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "139"]
[EventDate "1998.07.25"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "12"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 067"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.11.30"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 4120]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6
7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 a5 (10... h5 11. Rd1 Be7 12. Bg5 (
12. Ne2 h4 13. Bg5 Be6 14. Nf4 Rd8 15. Rxd8+ Kxd8 16. Rd1+ Ke8 17. Bxe7 Kxe7
18. Ng5 Rh6 19. Rd3 a5 20. Nfxe6 fxe6 21. g4 $1 $16 {1-0 Korneev,O-Gorbatow,A/
Moscow 1995/CBM 46/[Wedberg] (45)}) 12... Be6 13. Rd2 Rd8 14. Rxd8+ Kxd8 15.
Rd1+ Ke8 16. Bxe7 Kxe7 17. Ng5 h4 18. Ne2 Ra8 (18... g6 19. Nf4 $14 {1/2-1/2
Gufeld,E-Gorbatow,A/Moscow 1992/EXT 92op (40)}) 19. Nf4 a5 20. Nfxe6 fxe6 21.
a4 b5 22. Nf3 Ke8 23. Ra1 b4 24. Rd1 $14 {1-0 Zagrebelny,S-Gorbatow,A/Moscow
1996/EXP 56 (53)}) 11. Rd1 h5 $146 {As far as I know new in exactly this
position, but the move and the idea are well known in similar positions. 11. -
h5 is aimed at preventing g4. The negative side of the move is the weakening
of g5. Sometimes Black would like to have the P on h6. The other principal
approach is to wait for g2-g4 and then to counter with h7-h5.} (11... a4 12. g4
Ne7 13. Kg2 h5 (13... Ng6 14. Rd4 Be7 15. Kg3 h5 16. Bg5 hxg4 17. hxg4 f6 18.
Bf4 f5 19. g5 a3 20. b3 Be6 21. Ne2 Kf7 $17 {1-0 Almasi,Z-Aleksandrov,A/
EU-chTM 1997/EXP 57/[Hecht] (45)}) 14. Kg3 hxg4 15. hxg4 Ng6 16. Bg5 Be7 17.
Bxe7 Kxe7 $13 {0-1 Wahls,M-Sokolov,I/Dresden 1998/CBM 65/[Wedberg] (41)}) 12.
Bg5 Be6 13. Ne2 $6 (13. Rd2 $142 {White should try to force the exchange of
black squared B:s and then play his N:s to g5 and f4. For this idea see the
game Zagrebelny-Gorbatow above.}) 13... Bd5 $1 14. Nfd4 Nxd4 15. Rxd4 Bc5 16.
Rd2 Be7 17. Bxe7 Kxe7 $11 18. Rad1 Be6 19. f4 g6 {Black has a typical
white-square blockade on the K-side. It´s not easy for White to do anything
here. But Black can't do much either.} 20. Kf2 Rhg8 21. Ng3 Bd5 22. h4 Be6 23.
Rd3 a4 24. a3 Ra5 25. c3 Rd5 26. Ne4 Rgd8 27. Rd4 b6 28. Nf6 Rxd4 29. Rxd4 Ra8
30. Ke3 Bf5 31. Rd2 Be6 32. g3 Bf5 33. Nh7 Ra5 34. Ng5 Bg4 35. Ne4 Be6 36. Rd4
Ra8 37. Rd1 Ra5 38. Rd2 Ra8 39. Nf6 Rb8 40. Rd4 Ra8 41. Ne4 Bf5 42. Rd2 Ra5 43.
Ng5 Bg4 44. Rd4 Ra8 45. Ne4 Be6 46. Nf6 Bf5 47. Rd2 Be6 48. Kf3 Rh8 49. Rd4 Ra8
50. g4 hxg4+ 51. Nxg4 Ra5 52. Nf6 Ra8 53. Kg3 Bf5 54. Nh7 Ra5 55. Ng5 Ra8 56.
Rd2 Rh8 57. Nf3 c5 58. Ng5 Rh5 59. Nf3 Rh8 60. Nh2 Rb8 61. Nf1 Ke6 62. Ne3 Be4
63. Ng4 Bc6 64. Nf6 Kf5 65. Nd5 Bxd5 66. Rxd5 Ke6 67. c4 Rh8 68. Kg4 Rg8 69.
Rd2 Rh8 70. Rd5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Olympiad-36"]
[Site "Mallorca"]
[Date "2004.10.29"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Mitkov, Nikola"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2740"]
[BlackElo "2539"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2004.10.15"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 104"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.01.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.01.27"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "England"]
[BlackTeam "Macedonia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ENG"]
[BlackTeamCountry "MKD"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 (9... Ke8 10. h3 Ne7 11. Ne4 Ng6 12. Re1 c5 (12... h6
13. b3 a5 14. a4 c5 15. Be3 b6 16. Rad1 Be7 17. c4 Bb7 18. Bc1 Rd8 19. Rxd8+
Kxd8 $15 {1/2-1/2 Georgiev,K-Miles,A/Saint Vincent 2000/CBM 78 (48)}) 13. a4 h6
14. a5 Bf5 15. h4 Be7 16. Nd6+ cxd6 17. exd6 Be6 18. dxe7 Nxe7 19. Ne5 $16 {
1-0 Adams,M-Almasi,Z/Las Vegas 1999/CBM 072/[Wedberg] (43)}) 10. b3 {Only a
few days earlier Adams won a nice game against Almasi in this line. But he
does not want to repeat the exact move order of that game.} (10. Re1 h6 11. h3
Ng6 12. Ne2 c5 13. b3 Be6 14. Bb2 Kd7 15. h4 Bg4 16. e6+ $1 {1-0 Adams,
M-Almasi,Z/Mallorca 2004/CBM 104/[Wedberg] (52)}) 10... Bg4 11. Ng5 Ke8 12. Bb2
Nd5 (12... h6 $5 13. Nge4 Nd5 14. Rfe1 Nxc3 15. Bxc3 a5 16. h3 Be6 17. f4 Bb4
$11 {1/2-1/2 Djukic,N-Ivanovic,B/Bijelo Polje 2004/CBM 101 ext (31)}) 13. h3
Bf5 14. g4 Bg6 {Mitkov varies from the game Adams - Vallejo Pons, Linares 2002.
Still this line seems to favour White. I think Black must drive Ng5 away with
h6, like Ivanovic did in the previous comment.} (14... Bxc2 $2 15. Nxd5 cxd5
16. Rac1 Bg6 17. Rxc7 $16) (14... Bd7 15. Ne2 h5 16. c4 Nb4 17. Rad1 hxg4 18.
Nxf7 Kxf7 19. Rxd7+ $16 {1/2-1/2 Adams,M-Vallejo Pons,F/Linares 2002/CBM 088/
[Wedberg] (23)}) 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. f4 Be7 17. e6 $1 {[%mdl 4] With the B on b2
this break is always desirable. Here it gives White a slight but lasting
advantage.} Bxg5 (17... f6 18. f5 $1 fxg5 19. fxg6 hxg6 20. Kg2 $16) 18. exf7+
Kd7 (18... Kxf7 19. fxg5+ Kg8 20. Rad1 c6 21. c4 Rd8 (21... Be4 22. cxd5 Bxd5
23. Rde1 $18 {[%cal Ye1e7]}) 22. cxd5 Rxd5 23. Rxd5 cxd5 24. Rc1 $16) 19. fxg5
Rhf8 20. Rad1 c6 21. Bxg7 Rxf7 22. Rxf7+ Bxf7 23. Kf2 $16 {A P more for White,
but some chances for a draw for Black with opposite coloured Bs. But he needs
to exchange Rs and that is not easy to achieve. The double P does not bother
White much since he can always break with g6 and then play h6 when Black takes.
} Re8 24. Kf3 Bg6 25. c4 Be4+ 26. Kf4 b5 $6 (26... Ke6 $5 {[%cal Ye6f7]}) 27.
cxb5 cxb5 28. h4 Rc8 {Black sets his hope on the counterplay with the R.} (
28... Ke6 29. Rc1 $16) 29. h5 Rc2 30. g6 $1 {The break decides the game.} hxg6
31. h6 g5+ (31... Rh2 32. Kg3 Rg2+ 33. Kh3 $18) 32. Kxg5 Ke6 33. Re1 Kf7 34.
Rf1+ Ke7 35. Rf4 Bh7 36. Bf6+ Ke6 37. Bd4 1-0

[Event "Harplinge"]
[Site "Harplinge"]
[Date "1998.08.18"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Sutovsky, Emil"]
[Black "Wedberg, Tom Birger"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2575"]
[BlackElo "2475"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "1998.08.15"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "SWE"]
[EventCategory "12"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 067"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.11.30"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h6 11. Rd1 a5 12. g4 Ne7 13. Kg2 h5 (13... Ng6
14. Kg3 Be7 15. Re1 Be6 16. Nd4 $6 Rd8 17. Nxe6 (17. Nf5 Bxf5 18. gxf5 Bh4+ 19.
Kf3 Ne7 $17 {Ghinda,M-Sturua,Z/Komotini 1993}) 17... fxe6 $17) 14. Kg3 Ng6 15.
Bg5 Be6 16. Re1 Be7 17. Rad1 Rd8 18. Rxd8+ Kxd8 19. Bxe7+ Kxe7 20. Nd4 (20. Ng5
h4+ 21. Kf3 (21. Kg2 Rd8 $15) 21... Bd5+ 22. Nxd5+ cxd5 $15) 20... hxg4 21.
Nxe6 $1 (21. hxg4 $2 Bxg4 22. Nxc6+ bxc6 23. Kxg4 Ke6 $15) 21... fxe6 (21...
Rxh3+ 22. Kxg4 Rh4+ 23. Kf5 Rh5+ (23... Rb4 24. Re4) 24. Ng5 Nh4+ 25. Kg4 Rxg5+
26. Kxh4 $18) 22. hxg4 Rf8 23. Re4 Rh8 24. Re1 Rf8 25. Re4 Rh8 26. f4 Rh1 27.
f5 Nh4 $11 28. Rf4 g5 29. fxg6 (29. f6+ Ke8 30. Rd4 Rg1+ 31. Kf2 Rg2+ 32. Ke3
Ng6 $15) 29... Nxg6 30. Re4 Rc1 31. Re2 Rg1+ 32. Kf3 Rf1+ 33. Kg2 Rc1 34. Kh2
Nf4 35. Rf2 Ng6 1/2-1/2

[Event "MK Cafe Cup-A"]
[Site "Koszalin"]
[Date "1999.08.03"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Bologan, Viktor"]
[Black "Kaminski, Marcin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2620"]
[BlackElo "2523"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "1999.08.03"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 073"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 Ne7 {A popular move, even though I haven´t
found any example of it being played in this exact position.} 11. Ne4 Ng6 12.
Re1 Be6 13. Nd4 Bd5 14. b3 Rd8 (14... Bb4 $5 {looks like a more active choice.
Black mustn´t allow White to do everything he wants in terms of setting up his
pieces on the right squares. In this game Black is a bit too placid.} 15. c3 {
This weakens the white position in several ways: the long black diagonal is
blocked and the square d3 becomes a target for Ng6.} (15. Bd2 Bxd2 16. Nxd2 Rd8
$132) (15. Re2 Bxe4 16. Rxe4 Bc3 17. Rb1 Rd8 $15) 15... Ba5 16. Bb2 Nf4 17.
Rad1 Rd8 $13) 15. Bb2 c5 $2 (15... Bb4 $142) 16. Nf5 $36 {The preceeding moves
have left Black without any trace of counterplay, while White is looking for
combinations with checks on d6 or f6 or the line clearing e6.} Be6 17. Ne3 Be7
18. g3 $1 {[%cal Yf2f4,Yf4f5][%mdl 128] This P-sacrifice challenges the
Black´s setup. Black would be worse even if he could play 0-0 here.} Bxh3 19.
f4 Bf8 $2 (19... Bc8 $142 20. f5 Nf8 21. f6 gxf6 22. exf6 (22. e6 Nxe6 23.
Nxf6+ Kf8 $17) 22... Bd6 23. Nf5 Ne6 24. Rad1 Rg8 25. Nexd6+ cxd6 26. Nxd6+ Kf8
$16) 20. f5 Ne7 21. f6 Nf5 22. e6 $1 {White wins material.} Nd4 (22... fxe6 23.
Nxf5 $18) 23. e7 $16 Bxe7 24. fxe7 Kxe7 25. Kf2 b6 26. b4 Ne6 (26... cxb4 27.
Ng5 $18) 27. bxc5 f5 (27... bxc5 28. Ba3 $16) 28. Nc3 Rd2+ 29. Re2 Rxe2+ 30.
Nxe2 bxc5 31. Nf4 $18 Rb8 32. Be5 Bg4 33. Nxe6 Kxe6 34. Bxg7 Rb7 35. c4 Kf7 36.
Bc3 1-0

[Event "Hoogovens"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "1999.01.19"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2700"]
[BlackElo "2751"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "1999.01.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "17"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 069"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 Ne7 11. Re1 {Eyeing the K on e8.} Nd5 12. Ne4
Nb4 $146 (12... c5 13. a3 h6 14. c4 Nb6 15. b3 Bf5 16. g4 Be6 17. Kg2 Rd8 18.
Be3 Nd7 19. Rad1 $14 {1/2-1/2 Schmid,L-Bisguier,A/Tel Aviv 1964/EXT 99 (30)})
13. Re2 Bf5 14. Nd4 (14. Bd2 $5 {would have bred more life into the position}
Nxc2 $140 15. Rc1 Nb4 16. Nd6+ $1 cxd6 17. exd6+ Be6 18. Bxb4 Rd8 19. Rd1 $36)
14... Bxe4 15. Rxe4 c5 16. a3 (16. Nb5 Nxc2 17. Nxc7+ Kd7 18. Nxa8 Nxa1 19. Ra4
a6 20. Rf4 Be7 21. Nb6+ Ke6 $15) 16... cxd4 17. axb4 Bxb4 18. Rxd4 Be7 {
White has a microscopic advantage, but Black is alright with careful play.} 19.
Be3 a6 20. Rad1 h5 21. c3 Rd8 22. Rxd8+ Bxd8 23. f4 f5 24. exf6 Bxf6 25. Kf2 g6
26. Kf3 Ke7 27. Bd4 Bxd4 28. Rxd4 a5 29. Rd5 b6 30. Ke4 a4 31. Re5+ Kf6 32. f5
gxf5+ 33. Rxf5+ Kg6 34. Rd5 Rf8 35. Ke3 1/2-1/2

[Event "FRA-chT Gp-A"]
[Site "France"]
[Date "2003.02.01"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Marciano, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2712"]
[BlackElo "2502"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2003.01.31"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 094"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.05.26"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2003.05.26"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Paris NAO"]
[BlackTeam "Monaco"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "FRA"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. h3 (10. Rd1 Kc8 11. Ng5 Be8 {is one of the lines
that has been tried here.}) 10... h6 (10... Kc8 11. Ng5 Be8 {is another way to
deal with Ng5.}) 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Rd2 {Doubling up on
the d-file seems to be White's best option against the Bd7-line.} (14. Rfe1 c5
15. Nd2 Be6 16. Nf1 Kb7 17. g4 h5 $132 {0-1 Cornette,M-Rizouk,A/Montpellier
2001/EXT 2003 (34). (34)}) 14... c5 15. Rfd1 Be6 $146 (15... Bf5 16. Nh2 Be6
17. f4 Kb7 18. g4 g6 19. Ne4 Bg7 20. c4 Rae8 21. Nf3 $14 {1/2-1/2 Morovic
Fernandez,I-Mitkov,N/Poikovsky 2001/CBM 84 (52). (51)}) 16. Ne2 Ng6 17. h4 $1 {
[%mdl 4] Quite an unusual move in this line. The idea is to gain ground with
h5. Black can counter with Bg4, but that opens for the thematic break e6.} Be7
(17... h5 $6 18. Ng5 $1 $36 Nxh4 $2 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Nf4 $18 {[%csl Re6,Rf8]})
(17... Bg4 18. Nh2 Bxe2 19. Rxe2 Nxh4 20. Re4 Ng6 (20... Nf5 21. Rf4) 21. e6
$36) 18. h5 Nh4 19. Nxh4 Bxh4 20. Nf4 $3 {[%mdl 512] Grischuk energetically
follows up with an exchange sacrifice that promises a long lasting initiative
on the K-side.} Bg5 (20... Bf5 21. e6 $36) 21. Nxe6 Bxd2 22. Nxg7 Bg5 23. g3
Rd8 24. Rxd8+ Kxd8 25. Nf5 {[%csl Rh6]} Kd7 26. f4 Rg8 $5 {Marciano tries to
break the White bind and free his R, but Grischuk is confident in the strength
of his position and declines.} 27. Kf2 $1 (27. fxg5 Rxg5 28. Nxh6 Rxg3+ 29. Kf2
Rg5 $132) 27... Ke6 28. Ne3 Bd8 29. Kf3 f5 30. g4 fxg4+ 31. Nxg4 Bg5 {Please
take it!} 32. Bc1 $1 $18 Rf8 33. Ke4 Bxf4 34. Bxf4 Rf5 35. Nf6 c6 36. Ne8 Rf7
37. Bxh6 Rf2 38. Bf4 Rxc2 39. h6 Rc3 40. Ng7+ Ke7 41. Nf5+ 1-0

[Event "USA-01 Congress Grand Tournament"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1857.10.30"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Paulsen, Louis"]
[Black "Morphy, Paul"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "106"]
[EventDate "1857.10.06"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2002"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.11.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.11.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Daniel Fiske: The First American Chess Congress New York 1857, p. 242}
e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 a6 $146 {First played by Morphy} 6.
Bd3 (6. Ba4 {Leads to Open Spanish} b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 $11) (6. Bxc6 dxc6
7. Re1 Nf6 8. Nxe5 Be7 $11) 6... d5 7. Nxe5 Nxd4 $1 {Played only by Morphy} ({
More often is played} 7... Nxe5 8. dxe5 Be6 (8... Bf5 $146 {Kortschnoj}) 9. Nc3
$16 {Maroczy}) 8. Re1 Be6 9. c3 Nc6 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Qa4 (11. Nd2 f5 $13)
11... Qd7 12. Bxe4 dxe4 13. Qxe4 Bd6 14. Nd2 (14. Bf4) 14... O-O 15. Nf3 Bd5
$15 {Two Bishops and good developement} 16. Qd3 Rae8 17. Bg5 Qg4 18. h3 Qh5 19.
Bd2 Re6 20. Ng5 (20. Rxe6 fxe6 21. Ng5 Be7 22. Ne4 Qg6 23. f3 Bxe4 24. Qxe4
Qxe4 25. fxe4 Bc5+ 26. Kh2 Rf2 $15) 20... Rg6 {Now it's starts to become
difficult for White} 21. Ne4 $4 {Already the big mistake, which should loose
the game immediately.} (21. c4 {Has to be tried} Bxg2 22. Kxg2 h6 23. c5 Bxc5
24. Rac1 Bd6 25. Qe2 Qxe2 26. Rxe2 hxg5 27. Rxc6 {Looks just even} g4 (27...
Rb8 28. b3 Rb6 29. Rxb6 cxb6 30. Re8+ Kh7 31. Ra8) 28. h4) 21... Rxg2+ $1 (
21... f5 $1 {Looks easier} 22. Ng3 Qh4 23. c4 Bxg3 24. cxd5 Bxf2+ 25. Kh2 Rg3
$19) 22. Kxg2 f5 23. f3 Qg6+ $4 (23... fxe4 $1 {Wins immediately Löwenthal:
"As soon as the second player had touched the Queen, he remarked that, had he
taken the knight, the contest could not have been prolonged a dozen moves.} 24.
Rxe4 (24. fxe4 Qg6+ 25. Kh1 Rf2 $19) 24... Qg6+ 25. Kh1 (25. Kf2 Bxe4 $19)
25... Rxf3 $19) 24. Ng5 $1 $16 h6 25. c4 Bf7 26. h4 Rd8 27. Qc2 hxg5 28. hxg5
Be6 29. Rh1 Be7 30. f4 c5 31. Rae1 Kf7 32. Rh3 Bc8 33. Kg1 Bb7 34. Bc1 Rd4 35.
b3 Bd6 36. Qe2 Re4 37. Qf2 Qe6 38. Rhe3 Qd7 39. Qh4 $1 Kg6 (39... Rxf4 $2 40.
g6+ Kxg6 41. Re6+ Kf7 42. Qh5+ Kg8 43. Bxf4 $18) (39... Bxf4 $2 40. Rxe4 Bxe4
41. Qxf4 $18) 40. Qh3 (40. Rh3 $142 $1 {Maroczy: Mit fast sicheren
Gewinnchancen.} Kf7 (40... Rxe1+ 41. Qxe1 Bf8 (41... Be7 42. Bb2 Qc6 43. Qe2
Kf7 44. Bxg7) 42. Rh8 Qc6 43. Qe2 Kf7 44. Bb2 $18) 41. Qh5+ (41. Rxe4) 41...
Ke7 42. Rxe4+ fxe4 43. Qh8 $18) 40... Be7 41. Rxe4 Bxe4 42. Qe3 (42. Rxe4 {
Maroczy: gewinnt} Qd1+ 43. Kf2 fxe4 44. Qe6+ Kh5 45. Qxe7 Qc2+ $1 $11 ({
Maroczy gibt nur} 45... Qxc1 46. Qxe4 $16) ({und} 45... Qf3+ 46. Ke1 Qg3+ 47.
Kd1 Qf3+ 48. Kc2 $18) 46. Kg3 Qd3+ {Mit Dauerschach}) (42. Qh2 Qd4+ 43. Be3 Qd6
44. Qd2 Qe6 45. Re2 Kf7 46. Rh2 {And White has improved his position. He has
good winning chances}) 42... Qd8 43. Qh3 Qd4+ 44. Be3 Qc3 45. Qf1 Qa5 46. Qf2
Qb6 47. Re2 Qc6 48. Bc1 Qd7 49. Rd2 Qe6 50. Qe3 Qc6 51. Bb2 Kf7 52. Qh3 Qg6 53.
Rh2 (53. Rd7 Qc6 (53... Ke8 54. Rxc7 $18) 54. Qh5+ Ke6 55. Rd2 {Is winning})
53... Qd6 {Maroczy: Die Partie wurde noch bis zum 56.Zug fortgeführt und dann
remis gegeben. Sie nahm drei Sitzungen in Anspruch and dauerte im ganzen 15
Stunden.  Three more unrecordet moves. Time 15 hours} (53... Qd6 {The position
should still be won for White. f.e. Showing no winning idea in this postion is
not a good proof of Paulsens chess power. Maybe he was tired from thinking too
much. He used about 14 of the 15 hours for thinking.} 54. Qe3 Qd1+ 55. Kf2 Qb1
56. Qe2 Bd3 (56... Qxa2 57. g6+) 57. g6+ Ke8 58. Rh8+ Kd7 59. Qd2 Kc6 60. Bxg7
Qf1+ 61. Kg3 Be4 62. Qf2 Qd1 63. Be5 $18) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Olympiad-36"]
[Site "Mallorca"]
[Date "2004.10.23"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Almasi, Zoltan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2740"]
[BlackElo "2650"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2004.10.15"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 104"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2005.01.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2005.01.27"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "England"]
[BlackTeam "Hungary"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ENG"]
[BlackTeamCountry "HUN"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 {Almasi decides to play slightly different this time.
He lost a remarkable game in the Berlin against Adams in the World
Championships in Las Vegas 1999. That game was more or less a brilliancy by
Adams.  Not moving the K keeps more options - like later playing the
interesting manouvre Kd7-c6.} (9... Ke8 10. h3 Ne7 11. Ne4 Ng6 12. Re1 c5 13.
a4 h6 14. a5 Bf5 15. h4 Be7 16. Nd6+ cxd6 17. exd6 Be6 18. dxe7 Nxe7 19. Ne5
$16 {1-0 Adams,M-Almasi,Z/Las Vegas 1999/CBM 072/[Wedberg] (43)}) 10. Re1 h6
11. h3 Ng6 (11... Bd7 12. Be3 b6 13. Rad1 Kc8 14. Nd4 Nf5 15. f4 h5 16. Ne4 Be7
17. Bf2 {1/2-1/2 Anand,V-Georgiev,K/Mallorca 2004}) 12. Ne2 $5 {The N strives
for d4 to force through e5-e6. White also avoids the pin Bb4.} (12. a3 Bd7 13.
Be3 b6 14. Rad1 Kc8 15. Kh2 Be7 16. Ne4 Re8 17. Bd2 Bf8 18. Bc3 c5 19. g4 Bc6
$13 {0-1 Bologan,V-Kramnik,V/Dortmund 2004/CBM 103 (38)}) (12. Bd2 Bd7 13. Ne4
Kc8 14. Ng3 c5 15. Nh5 b5 16. Nh2 Kb7 17. f4 Nh4 18. Re2 Bc6 19. c3 g6 20. Nf6
Be7 21. Be1 Nf5 {1/2-1/2 Anand,V-Vallejo Pons,F/Linares 2002/CBM 088/[Wedberg]
(29)}) 12... c5 13. b3 Be6 14. Bb2 Kd7 {So far so good for Black. The idea
here is to put the K on c6 - an unusual but often effective post since the K
gets out of the way of the other pieces. Adams decides its time to bring some
sparkle to the game before Black is fully developed.} 15. h4 $5 {The same
flank move he was so successful with in 1999.} Bg4 ({Since a white h5 would be
quite annoying, perhaps the simple} 15... h5 $5 {was playable. It gives away
the g5-square, but that might not be so important.}) 16. e6+ $1 {[%mdl 4]
Mixing it up! A classical break in this line. See the famous game Kasparov -
Kramnik from Astana in 2001.} fxe6 (16... Kc6 17. Nf4 Nxf4 18. Ne5+ Kb6 19.
Nxg4 Nxe6 20. Ne5 $16) (16... Bxe6 17. h5 Ne7 18. Nf4 $36) 17. Nf4 $1 Nxf4 18.
Ne5+ Ke8 19. Nxg4 h5 20. Ne5 {White has given a P, but the compensation is
obvious. All White's pieces are playing, while Black lacks organization.} Rh6
21. Rad1 Be7 22. c4 Rd8 23. Rxd8+ Bxd8 24. g3 Ng6 25. Nd3 $16 {[%csl Rc5,Re6,
Rg7] White's dominance is paying off. The coming ending is clearly better for
him.} b6 26. Bxg7 Rh7 27. Bc3 Kd7 28. Kg2 Be7 29. Kf3 Bd6 30. Ke4 Rf7 31. Re3
Ne7 32. Rf3 $1 {When Black has the pair of Bs the double P on the c-file is
not such a big problem. Here it makes all the difference - White has a solid
advantage.} Nf5 33. Ne5+ Bxe5 34. Kxe5 Rf8 35. Bd2 a6 36. Bh6 Rb8 37. Rd3+ Nd6
(37... Ke7 38. Bg5+ Kf7 39. Rd7+ $18) 38. Kf6 Rg8 39. Bf4 b5 40. Rd2 bxc4 41.
bxc4 Kc6 42. Bxd6 cxd6 43. Kxe6 $18 Re8+ 44. Kf5 Rg8 45. Rd3 Rg4 46. f4 Rg8 47.
Kf6 Re8 48. Kg6 Re4 49. Rc3 d5 50. cxd5+ Kxd5 51. Kxh5 Kd4 52. Rc1 c4 53. f5
1-0

[Event "Sigeman & Co 11th"]
[Site "Malmo"]
[Date "2003.05.06"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Timman, Jan H"]
[Black "Nielsen, Peter Heine"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2579"]
[BlackElo "2625"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "142"]
[EventDate "2003.04.29"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "SWE"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 095"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.07.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2003.07.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. h3 Kc8 (10... h6 {has been played, but maybe this
move is not necessary since f7 can always be protected by the B via e8.}) 11.
b3 ({For} 11. Rd1 {see 1/2-1/2 McShane,L-Ivanchuk,V/Malmoe 2003 (40). (39)}) (
11. Ng5 Be8 $13) 11... a5 12. Bb2 Be7 13. a4 (13. g4 $5 Nh4 14. Nxh4 Bxh4 15.
f4 h5 16. f5 {[%cal Yc3e4] and White is alive - and kicking.}) 13... h5 $5 {
Now we see one point of avoiding the move h6 earlier on - the P can jump to h5
in one go. This would be less attractive had White kept his B on the c1-h6
diagonal, but with the B on b2 it´s not so easy for White to use the square g5.
Timman goes for g5 anyway, but Heine Nielsen has a little surprise in store
for him.} 14. Ne4 (14. Rad1) 14... c5 {[%mdl 4] Playing c5 before b6 is yet
another refinement. As we will see the move Ra6 will be a resourse in some
line.} 15. Neg5 $6 {This meets with an excellent response.} (15. Rad1 $142)
15... Nh4 $1 {Turning point of the game. White´s offensive is broken and Black
secures a slight edge with his two B:s.} (15... Rf8 16. Rfe1) 16. Rfe1 (16.
Nxf7 $2 Nxf3+ 17. gxf3 Rf8 18. e6 (18. Rfe1 Be6 19. Nd6+ cxd6 20. exd6 Bf6 $17)
18... Bxe6 19. Rfe1 Ra6 $17) (16. Nxh4 Bxg5 17. Nf3 Be7 {is like the game.})
16... Nxf3+ 17. Nxf3 Be6 18. Rad1 g5 $1 {The exchange of N's only benefitted
Black since the placing of the black N can sometimes be a problem. He can now
attack on both wings with his strong B:s.} 19. Nd2 b6 20. Ne4 Kb7 21. Bc1 Bf5
22. Re2 g4 23. Bg5 {White breaks the pair of B:s, but it´s too late. Black is
firmly in command.} Bxg5 24. Nxg5 gxh3 25. Nxh3 Rad8 {[%csl Ra4,Rb3,Rc2,Gf5,
Rh3][%cal Yf5c2]} 26. Red2 Kc8 {Black just wins when all the R:s are gone.} 27.
Rxd8+ Rxd8 28. Rc1 Rd2 29. c4 Bc2 30. Kh2 Bxb3 31. f4 Bxa4 32. f5 Bc6 33. Nf4
h4 34. Kh3 Rf2 35. g3 hxg3 36. Kxg3 {Timman fights on, but even an optimist
like him can hardly believe that this is possible to save.} Rf3+ 37. Kg4 Re3
38. e6 fxe6 39. Nxe6 a4 40. Ng7 Re2 41. f6 Rf2 42. Kg5 Rg2+ 43. Kh6 Rf2 44. Kg5
Be4 45. Rc3 Rg2+ 46. Kf4 Bg6 47. Ra3 Bf7 48. Rxa4 Rc2 49. Ke5 Kd7 50. Ra1 Re2+
51. Kf5 Bxc4 $19 52. Rd1+ Kc6 53. Nh5 Be6+ 54. Kf4 Rf2+ 55. Ke5 Re2+ 56. Kf4 c4
57. Ng3 Rf2+ 58. Ke5 Bd7 59. Rf1 Rxf1 60. Nxf1 Be8 61. Kd4 Bf7 62. Nd2 Kd7 63.
Ne4 c6 64. Nc3 Bd5 65. Ke5 b5 66. Na2 Bg8 67. Nc3 Bd5 68. Na2 Ke8 69. Nb4 Kf7
70. Kf5 c3 71. Ke5 c5 0-1

[Event "Gashimov Memorial 4th"]
[Site "Shamkir"]
[Date "2017.04.29"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2783"]
[BlackElo "2751"]
[Annotator "Yermolinsky,A"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2017.04.21"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "AZE"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 178"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2017.05.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2017.05.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 {Anything but the Berlin!}
Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 (7... Nf5 8. Nf3 {is another popular line.}) 8.
Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Ne8 ({More common today is} 9... Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 {which
Karjakin himself played three times as Black, including Game 12 of the World
Championship match with Carlsen.}) 10. d5 {Of course, it's all about this push.
White has to try to get something.} Bc5 $1 11. Re1 d6 12. Nc3 Bf5 13. Bd3 Qh4 {
Eljanov seeks new ways.} ({Once again, a Karjakin-Carlsen game pops up, this
time from Tal Memorial, 2013. Magnus chose} 13... Bxd3 14. Qxd3 Nf6 15. Na4 Re8
16. Bd2 Rxe1+ 17. Rxe1 Qd7 18. Nxc5 dxc5 {stood slightly worse, but defended
with particular difficulty.}) 14. g3 ({It's interesting how White maintains a
little pull, even as pieces get vacuumed off, e.g} 14. Be3 Bxe3 15. Rxe3 Bxd3
16. Qxd3 Nf6 17. Ne4 $1 {The problem for Black is the eventual Qd3-b5.}) 14...
Qh3 15. Ne4 Bxe4 16. Rxe4 {Just as Karjakin obtained the bishop pair, and was
thinking long-term, there came the unexpected tactical twist.} Bxf2+ $1 17.
Kxf2 Qxh2+ 18. Kf3 Qh5+ 19. g4 Qh3+ 20. Ke2 Qg2+ 21. Ke1 Nf6 {Barring blunders
White doesn't really risk losing, but escaping the perpetual check is tough.}
22. Qe2 (22. Re2 Qg3+ 23. Kd2 Qf4+ 24. Ke1 ({no return from} 24. Kc3 $4 Nxd5+
25. Kb3 Qb4#) 24... Qg3+ 25. Kd2 (25. Kf1 Nxg4 {and it's already Black who
wants the game to continue.})) 22... Qg3+ $6 {The first inaccuracy by Black.} (
{A draw was well within his reach after} 22... Qh1+ 23. Qf1 ({or} 23. Kd2 Rae8
24. Rxe8 Rxe8 25. Qf1 Ne4+ 26. Kd1 Nf2+ 27. Kd2 $11) 23... Qh4+ 24. Qf2 (24.
Kd1 $2 {is a bad idea, and not only because it loses the g-pawn.} Nxe4 25. Bxe4
{Things would turn catastrophic for White after} f5 $1 26. Bxf5 Rae8 {e.g.} 27.
Bf4 g6 28. Be6+ Rxe6 29. dxe6 Qxg4+ 30. Qe2 Qxf4 31. e7 Re8 $19) 24... Qh1+ 25.
Qf1 $11) 23. Qf2 Nxe4 24. Qxg3 Nxg3 25. Kf2 {Just like that the knight is
trapped.} Rfe8 $2 {Leaving White with even one kingside pawn is dangerous, as
the continution of the game demonstrates.} ({Pavel had to seize his chance and
play} 25... f5 26. Kxg3 fxg4 27. Kxg4 Rae8 {The presence of two black rooks
makes the white king feel a bit worried, as seen from a sample line,} 28. Bf4
h6 29. Bf5 $6 g5 $1 30. Bg3 Re3) 26. Kxg3 Re5 27. Bc4 $1 {Karjakin is very
accurate.} (27. c4 {would leave Bd3 without support, which could be
troublesome:} Rae8 28. Kf2 {forced because of the ...Re3 threat.} Re1 29. b3 h5
$1 30. gxh5 Rh1 {The rooks are raging.}) 27... Re1 28. b3 f6 29. Bb2 Rxa1 30.
Bxa1 Kf7 31. Bd4 $14 {Objectively it has to be a draw, but in practice Black
just cannot relax.} a6 ({First question is, how to position the queenside
pawns.} 31... a5 32. a4 b6 {only seems safe at first glance. In reality, White
can further improve his position.} 33. Bb5 Ke7 34. Kh4 g6 (34... Rh8 35. Kh5 $1
{His majesty himself is doing a fine job paralysing Black's pawns.}) 35. c3 Rh8
36. b4 axb4 37. cxb4 {and here Black has to realise he can no longer just sit
on his position and, instead, must seek counterplay starting with} h5 $1) 32.
a4 Rh8 33. Be2 Re8 34. Kf2 Ke7 35. a5 {Now White has the eventual possibility
of c4-c5.} Rf8 36. Kg3 Kd7 37. b4 Re8 38. Bd3 Ke7 $6 {Giving up a pawn is not
going to help.} ({The right plan was} 38... Rh8 39. g5 fxg5 40. Bxg7 Rg8 41.
Bh6 {and then} c6 $1 {attacking the centre and trying to reduce the number of
pawns while White is busy mopping up the kingside.} 42. Bxh7 (42. dxc6+ Kxc6
43. Kg4 d5) 42... Rh8 43. Bf5+ Kc7 44. Bxg5 cxd5 45. Bd3 $16 {is still very
pleasant for White, but maybe there's a chance to hold.}) ({Of course, not} 
38... h6 $2 39. Kh4 {and the king is through.}) 39. Bxh7 $16 Kd8 40. g5 fxg5
41. Bxg7 Re3+ 42. Kg4 Ra3 43. Bd4 c5 $6 {Self-destruct.} ({Perhaps Pavel
didn't believe he could hold a fortress, but I suspect fatigue played a large
part. Like it or not, Black had to stay put.} 43... Kc8 44. Kxg5 Ra4 45. c3 Ra1
46. Kf6 Rf1+ 47. Bf5+ Kb8 48. Kg6 Rf3 49. Bf6 Rf1 50. Be6 Rg1+ 51. Kf7 Rf1 52.
Ke7 Rh1 53. Kd7 (53. c4 $2 {is one way for White to go wrong:} Rc1 54. b5 Rxc4
55. b6 c6 $1 {with the d5-pawn gone Black can even sac his rook for any of the
bishops and still make a draw!}) 53... Rc1 {and here there's an elegant
solution that involves a piece sac:} 54. Bf5 $1 Rf1 55. Bd8 Rxf5 56. Bxc7+ Ka8
57. Kxd6 Rh5 58. Ke6 Rh6+ 59. Kd7 Rh7+ 60. Kc8 Rh8+ 61. Bd8 {With the black
king totally out of commission, the d-pawn will win the game for White.}) 44.
dxc6 bxc6 45. Bb6+ Kc8 46. Be4 Ra4 47. c3 c5 $2 {Continuing in the same <I
just want to go home> fashion..} ({Still,} 47... d5 {would make White sweat it
out:} 48. Bf5+ Kb7 49. Kxg5 Ra1 50. Kf6 Rf1 51. Ke6 Rh1 52. Ke7 Rh5 53. Bd7
Rh7+ 54. Kd8 Rh8+ 55. Be8 Rg8 (55... Rh3 56. Bd4 Rh7 57. Bd7 Rh4 58. Bc8+ Kb8
59. Be5+ Ka7 60. Kc7) 56. Kd7 Rh8 57. Bd4 Rh6 (57... Rf8 58. Ke7 Rg8 59. Be5
Rg1 60. Kd6 {wins the c6-pawn.}) 58. Kd8 Rh7 59. Bd7 {finally getting to play
Bc8+}) 48. Bc2 Ra3 49. bxc5 dxc5 50. c4 Ra2 51. Bf5+ Kb7 52. Be4+ Kc8 53. Bc6
Rc2 54. Bd5 Ra2 55. Kxg5 Kd7 56. Bb7 Rb2 57. Bxa6 Kc6 58. Kf6 1-0

[Event "USA-ch"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2017.03.31"]
[Round "3"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2822"]
[BlackElo "2817"]
[Annotator "Yermolinsky,A"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "2017.03.29"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 178"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2017.05.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2017.05.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bg5 Be6 12. Rad1 Be7 13. b3 h4 14. Rfe1
a5 15. Rd3 Rd8 16. Rxd8+ Kxd8 17. Ne2 Bd5 18. Bxe7+ Kxe7 19. Ned4 Nxd4 20. Nxd4
Be6 21. c4 a4 22. c5 axb3 23. axb3 g6 24. Re4 Bd5 25. Rg4 Rh5 26. f4 Rh8 {
As it happens the Berlin endgame has gradually turned in Black's favour.
Seeing no way out for his rook Wesley went forward.} 27. f5 gxf5 28. Rf4 ({
The problem is that as soon as the rooks are traded the remote position of the
white king makes the ending dangerous for White, e.g.} 28. Rxh4 Rxh4 29. Nxf5+
Ke6 30. Nxh4 Bxb3 31. Nf3 Bd5 32. Kf2 {and here} Bxf3 33. Kxf3 Kxe5 {just wins.
} 34. h4 f5 35. h5 Kf6 36. Kf4 b5 $19) 28... Kd7 29. Rxf5 Rg8 30. Rf2 Rg5 {
Fabiano was getting short of time.} ({For that reason here he rejected the
more promising continuation} 30... Rg3 31. b4 Rc3) 31. Kh2 Rxe5 32. Rf4 Rg5 33.
Rg4 {A tough choice for Wesley.} ({The rook ending a pawn down after} 33. Nf3
Bxf3 34. Rxf3 Ke6 {didn't look safe for White, yet it may have been a better
choice. White has a plan to attack the black pawns:} 35. Rc3 Re5 36. Rc4 f5 37.
Rb4 Rxc5 38. Rxb7 Rb5 39. Rxc7 {reaching safety.}) 33... Rxg4 34. hxg4 Ke7 {
The king threatens to come out via f6.} 35. g3 $6 {Unnecessary.} ({The direct} 
35. g5 f6 36. g6 {would force Black to shed his kingside pawns:} f5 (36... Kf8
37. Kh3 Kg7 38. Kxh4 Kxg6 39. g4 {is easy}) 37. Nxf5+ Kf6 38. Nxh4 Bxb3 39. Kg3
Bc2 40. Kf4 Bxg6 {and here there's a fancy way to force a draw:} 41. Nf3 (41.
Ke3 Bc2 42. Kd4 {is also pretty reliable.}) 41... Ke6 42. g4 Kd5 43. Ne5 Bh7
44. Nd7 {The knight holds everything together.}) 35... Kf6 $6 {Time trouble.} (
{Fabiano could have posed serious problems had he found} 35... h3 $1 {Now} 36.
g5 {can be answered with} (36. Kxh3 {allows the king through in a situation
where White's counterplay on the kingside is much slower in coming:} Kf6 37. b4
Be4 38. Kh4 Ke5 39. Ne2 Bf3 40. Ng1 Bd5 41. Ne2 Bc4 42. Ng1 Kd4 {One sample
line goes as follows} 43. Nf3+ Kc3 44. Ne5 Kxb4 ({also,} 44... Bd5 {wins}) 45.
Nxc4 (45. Nd7 Be6) 45... Kxc4 46. Kg5 Kxc5 47. Kf6 b5 48. Kxf7 {Now we will
see new queens appearing and leaving the board in rapid succession.} b4 49. g5
b3 50. g6 b2 51. g7 b1=Q 52. g8=Q Qb3+ 53. Kf8 Qxg8+ 54. Kxg8 Kd6 $1 55. g4 c5
56. g5 c4 57. g6 c3 58. g7 c2 59. Kf8 c1=Q 60. g8=Q Qh6+ 61. Ke8 Qe6+) 36...
Bg2 37. b4 b6 38. g4 {Possibly, Caruana saw all this, but not the backdoor
entrance for his king:} Kd7 $5 39. Kg3 Kc8 {Trouble spot.} 40. Nf5 $1 {Only
this saves White.} (40. Ne2 Kb7 41. Nf4 Ka6 $19) 40... Kb7 41. Nh6 Bd5 42. Kxh3
Ka6 43. Kg3 Kb5 44. Kf4 Kxb4 45. cxb6 cxb6 46. Ke5 {The king joins the fray
just in time.}) 36. gxh4 Ke5 37. Nf5 Bxb3 38. h5 Kf6 39. Kg3 Kg5 40. h6 Kg6 41.
g5 {Now the far advanced h6-pawn guarantees a draw} Bc2 42. Nd4 Bb1 43. Kf4 f6
44. gxf6 Kxf6 45. Nb3 b6 46. Nd4 bxc5 47. Nxc6 Kg6 48. Ke5 Kxh6 49. Kd5 c4
1/2-1/2

