[Event "Corus"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2008.01.26"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A30"]
[WhiteElo "2799"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "2008.01.12"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 122"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2008.01.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2008.01.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Before this game I had lost to Vishy in a complicated struggle, so for this
game I decided that I should just try and make a draw, (which is not an easy
task anyway) and not lose 3 out of the last four games, winning against van
Wely only by a miracle.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 {I must admit that I
rather expected the Catalan here, but possibly because I had defended quite
confidently against his Catalan in the Tal he decided to switch this time} c5
4. g3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7 7. d4 (7. Re1 d5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 {hasn't given
White much lately, neither after} 9. d4 ({Nor} 9. e4 Nb4 $1) 9... cxd4 {
As for instance in Aronian-Jakovenko} (9... Nxc3 10. bxc3 Be4 11. Ne5 Bxg2 12.
Kxg2 O-O 13. e4 {Was probably somewhat better for White in Carlsen-Aronian,
Elista 2007.})) 7... cxd4 8. Qxd4 d6 9. Rd1 a6 10. Ng5 {A fairly old line I
think, which is not considered especially dangerous for Black if he's well
prepared. Unfortunately I couldn't remember anything, and so I had to start
thinking from this point.} Bxg2 11. Kxg2 Nc6 {I didn't find a comfortable way
to put this guy on d7, so I came up with this move, which is part of a plan
which turned out to have a reasonably good reputation.} 12. Qf4 O-O 13. Nce4
Ne8 {Retreating is considered to be the normal reaction to Ne4. The black
position is now slightly awkward, but the white knights are not perfectly
placed either.} 14. b3 Ra7 15. Bb2 Rd7 {This move is probably not really
necessary, but I thought that there was no better square for the rook anyway,
and overprotecting the d6-pawn might turn out to be useful at some point. I
had already spent a lot of time here, 45 minutes, but he had also spent some
time, almost 40 minutes, which left me feeling relieved that he was not still
in his preparation. Still, things are not really easy for Black. His
coordination is somewhat worse than it usually is in the hedgehog, and I found
it hard to find constructive waiting moves.} 16. Rac1 {h4 or Nf3 could also be
considered, but the text is quite reasonable as well.} Nc7 {I spent quite some
time on this move, which has the purpose of protecting e6, preparing f5. There
were of course alternatives, the most natural being the more hedgehog-like} (
16... Qa8 17. Nf3 b5 {I rejected it because I wasn't sure whether bxc4 bxc4
would really improve my position. That is why I decided that going for f5 and
g5 was just according to the demands of the position.}) 17. Nf3 f5 18. Nc3 g5 {
Not especially aggressive or anything, just a normal continuation of the plan
starting with Nc7.} 19. Qd2 (19. Qe3 g4 20. Nd2 {Not} (20. Nd4 Bg5 21. Nxc6
Bxe3 22. Nxd8 Bxc1 {winning an exchange.}) 20... Bg5 21. Qxb6 {was another,
computer-like option. I thought that I would have very good counterplay after}
Qa8 22. f3 $8 {and now just 22...Ne5 or even 22...Rb8 23.Qf2 Ne5 gives Black
active piece play and good compensation for a pawn.}) 19... g4 20. Ne1 (20. Nd4
$6 {would be worse, since now} Bg5 21. e3 Ne5 {leaves the knight practically
untouchable on e5. Note that it also makes it more difficult to create active
play for White, since b4 and c5 would be almost impossible to carry out, as
Rxd4 and a knight move to f3 would probably be strong then.}) 20... Bg5 {
An important element in my plan. The weak f3-square will now be a constant
worry for White.} 21. e3 Rff7 {A good prophylactic move, preventing Na4 and c5
and preparing to redeploy the knight with Ne8-f6-e4 without having to worry
about Nd5.} 22. Kg1 Ne8 23. Ne2 {A natural manoeuvre. The diagonal is opened
for his bishop and the knight is transferred to a better square.} Nf6 24. Nf4
Qe8 {I would have liked to play Ne4 immediately, but I rejected it because of
the queen sac:} (24... Ne4 25. Nxe6 $2 Qe8 26. Nxg5 Nxd2 27. Nxf7 {I don't
really understand why though, since, as any engine points out,} Ne4 28. Nh6+
Kf8 {with the point that 29.Nxf5 Qf7 wins for Black.}) 25. Qc3 (25. Bxf6 {
was an option, but at the same time it's hard to see how White can play for an
advantage after giving up this bishop.}) 25... Rg7 {I really wanted to get
that thing to e4. I felt that the position was about equal or maybe slightly
better for White, but I was rather worried that I would blow it before the
time-control, as I only had 17 minutes left here. At the same time I saw that
Kramnik clearly was suffering from a cold and was feeling uncomfortable, which
comforted me a little (thinking about my chances in this game that is!).} 26.
b4 Ne4 27. Qb3 Rge7 28. Qa4 $6 ({Rybka's suggestion of} 28. f3 gxf3 29. Nxf3
Bf6 {really doesn't impress me much, but}) (28. h4 {as suggested by Nigel
Short during my press-conference after the round was probably an improvement
of the white position, and certainly better than the text. After only h4 I can
only repeat my evaluation after my 25th move: equal or slightly better for
White. The knight on e4 is certainly pretty, but the f4-knight is a good piece
as well. It's not easy to take advantage of my weakened king, and not easy to
make any clear progress for either side.}) 28... Ne5 29. Qxa6 $2 (29. c5 {
is well met by} Nc4 $1 {so White should rather admit failure with}) (29. Qb3 {
after gaining two tempi Black is obviously slightly better, but the white
position is certainly playable.}) 29... Ra7 30. Qb5 {Having seen that} (30.
Qxb6 Reb7 31. Qd4 Bf6 {would leave his queen trapped in the centre, Kramnik
was forced to make this move, which he actually accompanied with a draw offer.
I was slightly tempted of course, since I would have been happy with a draw
before the game, but I realised that my position was so much better that I
simply had to decline.}) 30... Qxb5 31. cxb5 Rxa2 32. Rc8+ Kf7 33. Nfd3 Bf6 34.
Nxe5+ (34. Bxe5 dxe5 35. Rc6 Ng5 {is winning for Black.}) 34... dxe5 (34...
Bxe5 {was probably better, but in time-trouble I was reluctant to allow} 35.
Bxe5 dxe5 36. Nd3 {which however is well met by} Kf6 37. Rf8+ Kg7 38. Rd8 (38.
Rb8 Rd7 $19) 38... Nc3 39. Rf1 (39. Nxe5 Nxd1 40. Rxd1 {is better but should
lose as well.}) 39... Rd2 $1 {and wins.}) 35. Rc2 (35. Nd3 {leaves Black with
a pleasant choice between} Nxf2 {and} (35... Ng5 {so White should rather
retreat.})) 35... Rea7 36. Kg2 (36. Kf1 {was better, the king later headed in
this direction anyway.}) 36... Ng5 37. Rd6 $2 {This pseudo-active move makes
matters much worse for White, but Black had a practically winning positional
advantage anyway.} e4 38. Bxf6 Kxf6 39. Kf1 (39. Rxb6 Ra1 40. Re2 Nf3 {loses
at once.}) 39... Ra1 40. Ke2 (40. Rcd2 Rb1 41. Rd1 Rxb4 42. Rxb6 Rb2 {leaves
White defenceless against the threats of Raa2 and Nh3.}) 40... Rb1 {I made
this move with only some 15 or so left on the clock, but I actually even spent
some seconds on Rb1, so I wasn't really worried about losing on time.} 41. Rd1
(41. Rxb6 {leads to mate after the computer-like} {or loses a piece after} Rd7
(41... Raa1 42. Kd2 (42. Ng2 Nf3 $19) 42... Rxe1)) 41... Rxb4 42. Ng2 Rxb5 {
Black is obviously winning now, and White might as well have resigned here. I
understand that Kramnik chose to play on for a while though, as he couldn't
have been especially happy about the way things turned out.} 43. Nf4 Rc5 44.
Rb2 b5 45. Kf1 Rac7 46. Rbb1 (46. Kg2 {allows the exchange of one rook, which
is desirable for Black.} Rc1 47. Rxc1 Rxc1 48. Rxb5 Nf3 49. Ne2 Re1 50. Rb2 Kg5
{and White is completely tied up, he cannot even play h4 due to gxh3 and Re2.
Black will win by playing e5 and h7-h5-h4.}) 46... Rb7 47. Rb4 Rc4 48. Rb2 b4
49. Rdb1 Nf3 50. Kg2 Rd7 $1 {The last good move, forcing the exchange of one
rook. The rest doesn't require any comments.} 51. h3 e5 52. Ne2 Rd2 53. hxg4
fxg4 54. Rxd2 Nxd2 55. Rb2 Nf3 56. Kf1 b3 57. Kg2 Rc2 {I was obviously elated
to win with Black against (a slightly weakened I have to add) Kramnik, I
almost couldn't believe it. After this I again shared the lead, and even
though I couldn't make anything of my slight advantage in the last game and
win the tournament outright, I'm obviously very happy with my shared victory
with Aronian.} 0-1

[Event "Foros Aerosvit 3rd"]
[Site "Foros"]
[Date "2008.06.08"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E97"]
[WhiteElo "2765"]
[BlackElo "2740"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[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. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 {Predicting the opening choice of Ivanchuk is
really difficult. Before the game I had tried to check everything he might
play against d4, but somehow the KID still came as a surprise to me. Die
Eröffnungswahl von Ivanchuk vorherzusagen, ist wirklich schwierig. Vor der
Partie hatte ich versucht, alles, was er gegen d4 spielen könnte, zu checken,
aber irgendwie kam KI trotzdem für mich überraschend.} 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6.
Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. b4 {I have admittedly played a lot of silly
sidelines against the KID, but this time I decided that enough was enough, and
went for the main line. Zugegebenermaßen habe ich gegen KI eine Menge alberner
Nebenvarianten gespielt, aber diesmal entschied ich, irgendwann reicht es, und
wählte das Hauptabspiel.} Nh5 10. Re1 f5 11. Ng5 Nf6 12. f3 {This has become
the main line after a lot of Van Wely-Radjabov games, in which both have had
their successes. Dies ist zum Hauptabspiel avanciert nach vielen
Wely-Radjabov-Partien, in denen beide ihre Erfolge gehabt haben.} Kh8 {
Ivanchuk follows the main line, which came as a surprise to me, as I had
expected him to come up with something original even earlier. Ivanchuk folgt
dem Hauptabspiel, was für mich überraschend kam, denn ich hatte erwartet, dass
er noch früher mit irgendwas Originallem aufwartet.} 13. b5 $6 {For some
reason, I decided against playing the main line, with Ne6 and came up with
this move instead, which clamps down on the black queenside. The move looked
interesting to me during the game, but now I don't like it anymore; it's
probably just too slow. Aus irgendeinem Grund entschied ich mich gegen das
Hauptabspiel mit Ne6 und kam stattdessen auf diesen Zug, welcher den schwarzen
Damenflügel einschnürt. Während der Partie sah mir der Zug interessant aus,
aber jetzt gefällt er mir nicht mehr; wahrscheinlich ist er einfach zu langsam.
} Ne8 {Ivanchuk came up with this interesting move after about half an hour.
Nh5 was also possible, with the same plan of rounding up the e6 pawn with Bf6
and Ng7.  Nach etwa einer halben Stunde verfiel Ivanchuk auf diesen
interessanten Zug. Nh5 war ebenfalls möglich, mit dem gleichen Plan, den
e6-Bauern mit Bf6 und Ng7 einzukreisen.} 14. Be3 $5 (14. c5 $5 {was another
option I considered quite seriously, but I didn't really believe that Black
could not be doing fine after war eine andere Option, die ich recht ernst in
Betracht zog, aber ich konnte nicht wirklich glauben, dass Schwarz nach} dxc5
15. Be3 Bh6 $1 (15... b6 16. Ne6 Bxe6 17. dxe6 {with excellent compensation
mit ausgezeichneter Kompensation}) 16. Nf7+ Rxf7 17. Bxh6 $13 {nicht
ordentlich stehen würde.}) (14. Ne6 Bxe6 15. dxe6 Qc8 16. Be3 Qxe6 17. c5 {
could also be considered, with some compensation. war auch zu überlegen, mit
einiger Kompensation.}) 14... Bf6 (14... f4 15. Bf2 Nxd5 16. Nxd5 Qxg5 17. c5 {
gives White the initiative and quite reasonable compensation. gibt Weiß die
Initiative und ganz vernünftige Kompensation.}) 15. Ne6 Bxe6 16. dxe6 Ng7 $1 {
I think that this is the strongest. Ich denke, das ist am stärksten.} (16... f4
17. Bf2 Ng7 18. c5 {was also possible of course, but here White has the
initiative instead of Black, which is the most important factor here. war
natürlich ebenfalls möglich, aber dann hat Weiß die Initiative und nicht
Schwarz, was hier der wichtigste Faktor ist.}) 17. Bh6 {Clearly the best, as
Black's prospect improves a lot when he doesn't have to play f4, closing the
centre and burying the black bishop. Eindeutig am besten, den die schwarzen
Aussichten verbessern sich deutlich, wenn er nicht f4 spielen muss, was das
Zentrum schließt und den schwarzfeldrigen Läufer begräbt.} Nxe6 {The logical
follow-up. Die logische Folge.} (17... Ng8 18. Bxg7+ Bxg7 19. c5 $1 dxc5 20.
Qb3 {looks good for White, but sieht gut aus für Weiß, aber}) (17... b6 $5 {
was an interesting option, even if hardly stronger than the text. war eine
interessante Möglichkeit, wenngleich kaum stärker als der Text.}) 18. Bxf8 Qxf8
19. c5 $1 {I think this is basically the only move, as the highest priority is
to activate the bishop. Meines Erachtens ist dies im Grunde der einzige Zug,
denn die höchste Prioriät besteht darin, den Läufer zu aktivieren.} Nxc5 {
After this the knight will be slightly sidelined. Nach wird der Springer
leicht im Abseits stehen.} (19... dxc5 {was probably better. I intended to
continue war womöglich besser. Ich wollte fortsetzen mit} 20. Qd7 (20. Bc4 Nd4
$13 {was also possible. was also possible.}) 20... Qc8 (20... Nd4 21. Qxc7 Nc2
22. Qxb7 {is somewhat better for White. ist etwas besser für Weiß.}) 21. Qxc8+
Rxc8 22. Bc4 {with an about equal ending. mit einem etwa ausgeglichenen
Endspiel.}) 20. Bc4 {Now the bishop is activated, and the knight, even if
quite nicely placed on c5, has few active prospects. Nun ist der Läufer
aktiviert, und der Springer, auch wenn er auf c5 ganz nett steht, hat wenig
aktive Aussichten.} Bg5 $1 21. Qe2 $1 Qh6 22. Rad1 {I am just in time the
prevent the further activation of the black bishop. Now that everything has
calmed down we can take stock and say that the position is about equal, as
neither side can actually do much. The knight on c5 stops most of the plans
White might have of attacking the c7-pawn, while it's hard to believe that
Black could really think of mating White here, and advancing the centre with
c6 and d5 doesn't seem very realistic either. Ich komme gerade rechtzeitig, um
die weitere Aktivierung des schwarzen Läufers zu verhindern. Nun, da sich
alles beruhigt hat, können wir Bilanz ziehen und sagen, dass die Stellung
ungefähr gleich ist, da eigentlich keine Seite viel unternehmen kann. Der
Springer auf c5 stoppt die meisten Pläne von Weiß für einen möglichen Angriff
auf den Bauern c7, während es schwer zu glauben ist, dass Schwarz wirklich
daran denken könnte, Weiß mattzusetzen; und das Zentrum mit c6 und d5 in
Bewegung zu setzen, scheint auch nicht besonders realistisch.} Rf8 23. a4 {
I was not quite sure if including a4 and b6 was a good idea, as the a4-pawn
will require constant attention now, but it has to be said that b6 is also
quite a concession here, as it gives up any dream of ever advancing the pawn
centre, and therefore leaves Black with few active possibilities.  Ich war
nicht ganz sicher, ob der Einschub von a4 und b6 eine gute Idee war, denn der
a4-Bauer wird nun ständiger Aufmerksamkeit bedürfen; andererseits ist zu sagen,
dass auch b6 ein ganz schönes Zugeständnis darstellt, da es jeden Traum
aufgibt, jemals das Bauernzentrum vorzurücken und daher Schwarz nur wenige
aktive Möglichkeiten belässt.} b6 24. g3 Qh3 {An annoying move, I am not
allowed to play Kg2, which would improve the harmony in my position.  Ein
lästiger Zug, ich komme nicht zu Kg2, was die Harmonie in meiner Stellung
verbessern würde.} 25. Qg2 Qh6 26. Qe2 Qh3 {It could be that Ivanchuk wanted
to just repeat moves to gain some time, but I actually think he was happy to
repeat moves here since the position is equal and a draw would suit him well.
Es könnte sein, dass Ivanchuk einfach die Züge wiederholen wollte, um etwas
Zeit zu gewinnen, aber eigentlich glaube ich, dass er hier mit der
Zugwiederholung zufrieden war, da die Stellung ausgeglichen ist und ihm ein
Remis gut passen würde.} 27. Kh1 {Well, I didn't rate my chances all that
highly, but I just didn't want to make a draw yet. Nun, ich schätzte meine
Chancen keinesfalls so hoch ein, aber ich wollte einfach noch kein Remis
machen.} Nd7 $6 {I don't really like this move. Better was probably just
Dieser Zug gefällt mir eigentlich nicht. Besser war vermutlich einfach} (27...
Qh6 28. Kg2 Kg7 {with equality. mit Ausgleich.}) 28. Ra1 $1 {I believe that
the rook is a little better placed on a2 than on d1, as it can now support a5,
and also go to c2 in some lines. Ich glaube, der Turm steht auf a2 einen Tick
besser als auch d1, denn jetzt kann er a5 unterstützen und auch in manchen
Abspielen nach c2 gehen.} Qh6 29. Ra2 (29. Nd5 Nxd5 30. Bxd5 Bd2 {is certainly
not something I should allow. ist sicher nichts, was ich zulassen sollte.})
29... Nf6 $6 {This is simply the wrong direction... There was still not much
wrong with the black position after Nc5. Das ist einfach die falsche Richtung..
. Nach Nc5 war an der schwarzen Stellung noch immer nicht viel auszusetzen.}
30. Kg2 Nh5 $6 (30... Nd7) 31. Nd5 Nxd5 32. Bxd5 {Now White is definitely
better. Nun steht Weiß definitiv besser.} Bf4 {This was his idea, but it's
really hard to believe that this could ever work.  Das war seine Idee, aber es
fällt schwer zu glauben, dass dies jemals funktionieren könnte.} 33. Qf2 fxe4
34. Bxe4 Qg5 35. Rc2 d5 $2 {Now the black position is completely ruined. Damit
ist die schwarze Stellung komplett ruiniert.} (35... Rf7 36. Bb7 $1 {intending
Bc8-g4 gives White a clear edge, but certainly nothing decisive. mit der
Absicht Bc8-g4 gibt Weiß ein klares Plus, aber gewiss nichts Entscheidendes.})
36. Bxd5 Bxg3 37. hxg3 Nf4+ 38. Kf1 Nxd5 39. Rce2 $1 {I really don't know what
Ivanchuk missed, as all this seems forced. Anyway, the conclusion is clear:
the black position is falling apart. Ich weiß wirklich nicht, was Ivanchuk
übersehen hat, da all dies forciert erscheint. Jedenfalls, das Fazit ist klar.
Die schwarze Stellung fällt auseinander.} Qf6 (39... Rf5 40. g4 {or oder}) (
39... Re8 40. f4 {doesn't help either. hilft auch nicht.}) 40. Rxe5 Qxf3 {
This loses quickly, but Black was lost anyway. Dies verliert schnell, doch
Schwarz war sowieso verloren.} 41. Qxf3 Rxf3+ 42. Ke2 Rf5 43. Rxf5 gxf5 44. Kd3
c5 45. Re5 Nb4+ 46. Kd2 {Black resigned as his pawns are falling and the
knight as cut off from the game. An interesting game, which unfortunately was
marred by Ivanchuk's self-destruction after move 30. Interestingly, but maybe
not too surprisingly, this game turned out to be the decisive one in the
tournament, as I ended up winning one point ahead of Ivanchuk, who made a
great comeback and ended up on +3. Schwarz gab auf, denn seine Bauern fallen,
und der Springer ist vom Spiel abgeschnitten. Eine interessante Partie, die
leider durch Ivanchuks Selbstzerstörung nach Zug 30 getrübt wurde. Vielleicht
nicht allzu überraschend erwies sich diese Begegnung als die entscheidende des
Turniers, denn ich gewann am Ende einen Punkt vor Ivanchuk, der ein großes
Comeback startete und auf +3 landete.} 1-0

[Event "Linares 26th"]
[Site "Linares"]
[Date "2009.03.05"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B85"]
[WhiteElo "2776"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "Giri,A"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2009.02.19"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 129"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.03.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2009.03.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {The Najdorf Defence - or
actually Attack. One of the most popular openings in the world.} 6. Be2 {
A calm reply, which was the favourite move of, among others, Anatoly Karpov.}
e6 {choosing a Scheveningen type of position. Anther popular move is e5.} 7.
O-O Be7 8. a4 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. f4 Qc7 11. Kh1 Re8 12. Bf3 {Now we are at a
very known position, which occured in about 2000 games and was even played in
the famous match Karpov-Kasparov.} Bf8 {One of main moves, the bishop goes
away and Black is preparing e5 at some point.} (12... Rb8 {is another main
move here. One which was played more often.}) 13. Qd2 {The standard manoeuvre:
the queen goes to f2.} ({Another typical queen manoeuver beginning with} 13.
Qe1 {is not dangerous now as after} Nxd4 14. Bxd4 e5 {Black gets good play.})
13... Rb8 (13... Na5 {is other move. Black wants to activate his knight and
bring it to c4.} 14. b3 {not allowing Nc4.} (14. Qf2 {leads to a very sharp
game after} Nc4 15. Bc1 e5 16. Nde2 d5 $1) 14... Bd7 {with a complicated
battle.}) 14. Qf2 e5 {The standard move, which was part of Black's plan,
beginning with the move 12...Bf8.} (14... Na5 $2 {would be a typical blunder}
15. Nxe6 $1 Bxe6 16. Bb6 {winning back the piece, and White is a pawn up.}) 15.
fxe5 $5 $146 {The novelty, which probably was prepared by Magnus.} (15. Nde2 {
is the main move here.} b5 16. axb5 axb5 {with an unclear position.}) 15...
dxe5 (15... Nxe5 {was of course an alternative.} 16. Bg5 (16. Be2 {allows} Neg4
17. Bxg4 Nxg4 18. Qf4 Nxe3 19. Qxe3 Qc5 {and with two bishops Black will not
have any problems I think.}) 16... Nfg4 17. Qg1 Nxf3 $5 {is tricky, but good I
think.} (17... Be6 18. Be2 {keeping the bishop. And the deeper I analyzed this
position, the more I liked it. I think White is better here.}) 18. gxf3 Qc5 $1
{attacking the guy on g5.} 19. Nd5 Re5 20. Bd2 Rxd5 21. exd5 Ne5 {with some
compensation for an exchange. The position is totally unclear.}) 16. Nb3 Nb4 {
The standard move in these positions. But it might not be the best.} (16... Be6
{was a great alternative. I actually prefer this move to the text.} 17. Bb6 (
17. Rad1 Nb4 18. Bb6 Qc8 {now we see the point of ...Be6! Black is totally
fine.}) 17... Qc8 18. Nd5 (18. a5 $5) 18... Bxd5 19. exd5 Nb4 20. c3 e4 21.
cxb4 exf3 22. Qxf3 Qd7 23. Bd4 Qxd5 24. Bxf6 Qxf3 25. Rxf3 gxf6 {with equality.
The line was of course not forced.}) 17. Ba7 {It is useful to force the rook
back to a8 before playing Bb6.} Ra8 18. Bb6 Qe7 (18... Qc6 {is not
satisfactory either.} 19. Na5 Qe6 20. Rad1 {and White keeps a clear advantage.
The bishop on c8 is probably wanting to go back to move 16... and play 16...
Be6!.}) 19. Rad1 {Good move: White develops his rook. Always useful!} Be6 {
The first really inaccurate move.} (19... Bg4 $1 {A very strong move, which
probably keeps equality.} 20. Bxg4 (20. Bc5 Qc7 21. Bxf8 Kxf8 $1 {and Black is
fine.}) 20... Nxg4 21. Qe2 (21. Qg3 Nf6 22. Bc5 Qe6 23. Bxf8 Kxf8 $1 {and
Black has no problems.}) 21... Nf6 22. a5 {with an unclear game, but in my
opinion Black is not worse.}) 20. Nd5 {Yes! Creating a dangerous passed pawn,
which will be really dangerous with the support of the nice bishop on b6.} Bxd5
21. exd5 e4 22. d6 Qe6 $6 {The idea of Grischuk was to exchange queens. He
will succeed, but the resulting endgame is very bad for him.} (22... Qe5 {
was stronger.} 23. d7 Nxd7 24. Rxd7 exf3 25. Qxf3 f6 26. Nd4 Qe4 27. Rxb7 Rac8
28. c3 (28. Qxe4 Rxe4 29. g3 Nxc2 30. Rc1 Re1+ 31. Rxe1 Nxe1 32. Ra7 Nd3 33.
Rxa6 Nxb2 34. a5 Nc4 35. Kg2 Re8 {and even though White's pawn looks dangerous,
Black probably can hold.}) 28... Nd3 29. Ba7 Qxf3 30. gxf3 g6 31. Kg1 {and
White is a pawn up, but Black still has some chances, as White's pieces are
not so well coordinated.}) 23. Nc5 Qf5 24. Be2 Qxf2 25. Rxf2 Nbd5 (25... Nfd5 {
was bad} 26. d7 Reb8 27. Nxb7 $1 Rxb7 28. d8=Q Rxd8 29. Bxd8 Ne3 30. Rd4 {
and White is just an exchange up.}) 26. a5 {This very natural and strong
looking move was a bit inaccurate.} (26. Rxf6 $1 {was the right move} Nxf6 (
26... Nxb6 {and now, just} 27. Rff1 {and Black is hopeless.}) 27. a5 Rec8 28.
b4 $1 {just pushing it, with a big advantage for White.} Rc6 {The only move to
force White to play d7.} 29. d7 Nxd7 30. Rxd7 {and White is almost winning. If
not winning.}) 26... Nxb6 27. axb6 Rab8 $2 {Mistake.} (27... Rec8 $1 {was very
strong and could give Black some chances.} 28. b4 $1 (28. Nxb7 Rxc2 29. g3 {
the only move, otherwise e3 comes.} Nd7 30. b4 Rb2 31. Nc5 Nxb6 32. Nxe4 Rxb4 {
and Black is at least OK.}) 28... Rc6 29. Nxb7 Rxb6 30. d7 Rxb7 31. d8=Q Rxd8
32. Rxd8 Rxb4 33. Kg1 {and White is better, for example:} e3 (33... Rb6 34. Rc8
$1 g6 35. Bc4 {with pressure on f7.}) 34. Rf5 Rb1+ 35. Rf1 Rb2 36. Bd3 {
and Re1-e3 to follow, with advantage for White.}) 28. Rxf6 $1 {Not difficult,
but nice.} gxf6 29. Nd7 {The point is the fork: f6 and b8 are hanging.} f5 30.
c4 {White is simply improving his position. Black cannot save himself anymore.}
a5 (30... Bg7 {does not help.} 31. Nxb8 Rxb8 32. c5 Bf6 33. Bxa6 {and White
wins, just like in the game.}) 31. c5 Bg7 32. Nxb8 Rxb8 33. Ba6 $3 {A
brilliant move, which wins on the spot!} Bf6 34. Bxb7 Rxb7 35. c6 Rxb6 36. Rc1
Bxb2 37. d7 1-0

[Event "Sofia MTel Masters 5th"]
[Site "Sofia"]
[Date "2009.05.13"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D43"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2812"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2009.05.13"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 131"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2009.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2009.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 Nd7 8. Bd3
dxc4 9. Bxc4 g6 10. O-O Bg7 11. e4 O-O ({Another option is Eine andere
Möglichkeit ist} 11... e5 12. d5 Nb6 {as Karjakin played against me in Nice.
The text usually leads to more complicated play, and therefore it's not
surprising that Topalov chose it. wie Karjakin gegen mich in Nizza spielte.
Der Textzug führt meist zu komplizierterem Spiel, daher ist es nicht
überraschend, dass Topalov ihn wählte.}) 12. e5 Qe7 13. Qe2 b5 {Not the most
usual, Black usually takes a more restrained approach by playing b6 here or on
the next move. The text is probably not bad either however.  Nicht das Übliche,
normalerweise schlägt Schwarz mit b6 hier oder im nächsten Zug eine
zurückhaltendere Gangart ein. Der Text ist aber wahrscheinlich auch nicht
schlecht.} 14. Bd3 Bb7 (14... b4 15. Na4 c5 {was an interesting, but risky
alternative. White should probably continue war eine interessante, aber
riskante Alternative. Weiß sollte darauf wahrscheinlich mit} 16. Rac1 (16. Be4
Rb8 17. Nxc5 Nxc5 18. dxc5 Qxc5 19. Rfc1 Qa5 {is absolutely fine for Black.
ist absolut in Ordnung für Schwarz.}) 16... cxd4 17. Qe4 Rb8 (17... Nb6 18.
Nxb6 Bb7 19. Nxa8 Bxe4 20. Bxe4 {must be better for White, as the knight can
escape via c7. muss besser für Weiß sein, denn der Springer kann über c7
entkommen.}) 18. Rc7 {with the initiative. fortsetzen, mit Initiative.}) 15.
Be4 Rfd8 $6 {I don't think he should have commited the rook this early, as it
might be needed on c8 soon. The immediate ...Rab8 was better. Ich glaube nicht,
dass er den Turm so früh hätte festlegen sollen, da dieser bald auf c8
gebraucht werden könnte. Das sofortige ...Rab8 war besser.} 16. Rac1 (16. Nxb5
Nxe5 $11 {is the tactical justification of Black's last move. ist die
taktische Rechtfertigung des letzten schwarzen Zuges.}) 16... Rab8 17. Rfd1 a6
18. h4 (18. Nb1 $5 {with the obvious idea of Nd2-b3 is a common plan in this
structure. There could follow mit der offensichtlichen Idee Nd2-b3 ist ein
geläufiger Plan in dieser Struktur. Es könnte folgen} Rdc8 19. Nbd2 Ba8 20. Qe3
$1 {A great preparatory move, shown by the engines. Ein großartiger
Vorbereitungszug, angezeigt von den Engines.} (20. Nb3 c5 21. Bxa8 Rxa8 {
with equality is what discouraged me from playing 18.Nb1. mit Ausgleich ist
das, was mich von 18.Nb1 abhielt.}) 20... c5 21. Bxa8 Rxa8 22. Ne4 {and since
22...cxd4 can now be met by Qxd4, White has a clear initative. und da 22...
cxd4 jetzt mit Qxd4 begegnet werden kann, hat Weiß eine klare Initative.})
18... Ba8 19. Rc2 $6 {Probably a little too slow. Vermutlich ein bisschen zu
langsam.} (19. h5 g5 20. Nh2 {with the idea of putting the knight on the
excellent square g4, was more consistent. mit der Idee, den Springer auf das
ausgezeichnete Feld g4 zu stellen, war konsequenter.}) 19... Rdc8 20. Rdc1 Qf8
$1 {A good prophylactic move, which Topalov made immediately. The idea can
clearly be seen in the line Ein guter prophylaktischer Zug, den Topalov sofort
spielte. Die Idee wird deutlich in dem Abspiel} (20... c5 21. Bxa8 Rxa8 22. Ne4
{when the pin on the c-file causes Black problems. , wonach die Fesselung auf
der c-Linie Schwarz Probleme bereitet.}) 21. a4 $6 {I was not sure of what to
do here, and decided to try and disturb his queenside play a little. However,
Ich war nicht sicher, was ich hier tun sollte, und beschloss zu versuchen,
sein Spiel am Damenflügel ein bisschen zu stören.} c5 $6 ({after the simple
Doch nach dem einfachen} 21... b4 22. Nb1 c5 23. Bxa8 Rxa8 24. dxc5 Rxc5 (24...
Nxc5 25. Qc4 $1) 25. Nbd2 Rxc2 26. Rxc2 Rc8 {Black even has a slight
initiative, thanks to the weaknesses on e5 and a4. It's hard to explain why
both players missed this. hat Schwarz sogar eine leichte Initiative dank der
Schwächen auf e5 und a4. Es ist schwer zu erklären, warum beide Spieler dies
übersahen.}) 22. axb5 {Now White is better again. Jetzt steht Weiß wieder
besser.} cxd4 23. Nxd4 Bxe4 $2 {A huge mistake, probably based on a tactical
oversight. Ein Riesenfehler, vermutlich basierend auf einem taktischen
Versehen.} (23... axb5 24. Bxa8 Rxa8 {would have kept White out of c6 for the
time being, and retained decent chances of counterplay after hätte Weiß
zunächst einmal von c6 ferngehalten und ordentliche Gegenspielchancen gewahrt
nach} 25. f4 Qd8 $1 {with ideas of ...Nxe5 and g5. mit Ideen wie ...Nxe5 und
g5.}) 24. Nxe4 Rxc2 25. Rxc2 axb5 (25... Bxe5 {would be desirable, and was
probably my opponent's intention, but it loses material to wäre wünschenswert
und war vermutlich auch die Absicht meines Gegners, doch dies verliert
Material nach} 26. Nc6 (26. Rd2 {is actually even better. ist sogar noch
besser.}) 26... Rxb5 27. Rd2 Qa8 (27... Qe8 {gives White a choice between
lässt Weiß die Wahl zwischen} 28. Nxe5 (28. f4 Bxf4 29. Rxd7 {and even und
sogar}) (28. Qxb5 axb5 29. Nxe5 {also winning material. , ebenfalls mit
Materialgewinn.}) 28... Rxe5 29. Nf6+)) 26. Nc6 Rb6 (26... Nxe5 27. Nxb8 Qxb8 {
loses in the long run. verliert auf lange Sicht.}) 27. f4 {Now Black can
hardly move. Nun kann Schwarz kaum ziehen.} Qa8 (27... Nb8 28. Na7 $1 {is
aesthetically pleasing and more or less decisive. ist etwas fürs Auge und mehr
oder weniger entscheidend.}) 28. Ne7+ Kh7 29. h5 Ra6 {The only active move
Black has. Der einzige aktive Zug, den Schwarz hat.} 30. hxg6+ fxg6 31. Rc7 $1
{A very pleasing move, after which Black is finished. Ein sehr angenehmer Zug,
nach dem Schwarz erledigt ist.} Ra1+ 32. Kf2 $2 {But now there is some
excitement again. Aber nun gibt es wieder ein bisschen Aufregung.} ({I thought
the most natural Ich dachte, das sehr natürliche} 32. Kh2 {would give Black
some unnecessary counterplay after gäbe Schwarz unnötiges Gegenspiel nach} Nxe5
{, but this fails to the simple , aber dies scheitert an dem einfachen} (32...
Qd8 33. Qd3 Qxe7 34. Nf6+ $1) 33. Nf6+ Bxf6 34. Nd5+ Bg7 35. Qxe5 Qf8 36. Rxg7+
Qxg7 37. Nf6+ {when Black is mated or loses the queen. wonach Schwarz
mattgesetzt wird oder die Dame verliert.}) 32... Qd8 33. Qd3 $1 {This is the
trick. Das ist der Trick.} Qxe7 (33... Qxc7 {The rook is taboo due to Der Turm
ist tabu wegen} 34. Ng5+ hxg5 (34... Kh8 35. Nf7+ Kh7 36. Qxg6#) 35. Qxg6+ Kh8
36. Qh5+ {and mates. und Matt.}) 34. Rxd7 (34. Nf6+ {was easily winning as
well. gewann ebenfalls leicht.}) 34... Qh4+ 35. Kf3 Qh5+ (35... Kh8 36. Rxg7
Kxg7 {Otherwise Rg8+ or Rh7+ might follow. Ansonsten könnte Rg8+ oder Rh7+
folgen.} 37. Nf6 Ra7 38. Qd8 {is also completely over. ist ebenfalls komplett
gelaufen.}) 36. Kg3 {Black has no more checks, and his king has no protection.
A great way to start the tournament! Schwarz hat keine Schachs mehr, und sein
König keinen Schutz. Ein toller Einstieg in das Turnier!} 1-0

[Event "Nanjing Pearl Spring 2nd"]
[Site "Nanjing"]
[Date "2009.09.28"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Leko, Peter"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C45"]
[WhiteElo "2772"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2009.09.28"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CHN"]
[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. d4 $1 {The Scotch. Judging by the time spent by my
opponent in the opening, as well as the position that arose, a good opening
choice for this game! Schottisch. Nach der Bedenkzeit zu urteilen, die mein
Gegner in der Eröffnung verbrauchte, sowie der Stellung, die sich ergab, eine
gute Wahl für diese Partie!} exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Be3 Qf6 6. c3 Nge7 7. Bc4 Ne5
8. Be2 Qg6 9. O-O d6 10. f4 $5 {An old move, seldom seen nowadays. Ein alter
Zug, heutzutage selten gesehen.} Qxe4 11. Bf2 Bxd4 {For those who want to know
why this and the next move are almost exclusively played here, I refer to
other sources :)  Für diejenigen, die wissen wollen, wieso dieser und der
nächste Zug an dieser Stelle fast ausschließlich gespielt werden, verweise ich
auf andere Quellen :)} 12. cxd4 N5g6 13. g3 {This move was introduced by
Morozevich against Kramnik, Monaco 2001. Dieser Zug wurde von Morozevich gegen
Kramnik in die Praxis eingeführt, Monaco 2001.} ({Earlier games mostly saw In
früheren Partien geschah überwiegend} 13. Nc3 Qxf4 14. Nb5 O-O 15. Nxc7 Rb8 {
after which Black seldom had any problems. The text is the start of a more
positional plan, aiming to clamp down on the black position with d5 and play
for long-term compensation with the bishop pair. , wonach Schwarz selten
irgendwelche Probleme hatte. Der Text ist der Auftakt zu einem positionelleren
Plan, der darauf abzielt, mit d5 die schwarze Stellung einzuengen und auf
langfristige Kompensation mit dem Läuferpaar zu spielen.}) 13... O-O $6 {
An inaccurate move. Leko explained afterwards that since he had already spent
quite a lot of time in the opening, he made this reflex move quicky, without
realizing that it would give him a difficult position. Ein ungenauer Zug. Leko
erklärte hinterher, dass er, da er bereits eine Menge Zeit in der Eröffnung
verbraucht hatte, schnell diesen Reflexzug machte, ohne zu realisieren, dass
er ihm eine schwierige Stellung einbringen würde.} (13... Bh3 14. Bf3 Qf5 15.
Re1 d5 16. Qb3 {Is the critical continuation. Now both ist die kritische
Fortsetzung. Möglich sind nun sowohl} O-O 17. Nc3 Bg4 18. Bxd5 {with a draw in
Nakamura-Grischuk, played slightly later at the ECC in Ohrid, or the
challenging 16... 0-0-0!? are possible. mit Remis in Nakamura-Grischuk,
gespielt kurz darauf beim Europa-Cup in Ohrid, oder das anspruchsvollere 16...
0-0-0!?.}) 14. Nc3 Qf5 15. d5 {This is the position I was aiming for. I do not
claim a real advantage for White here, but I think that it is much easier to
play White here, as he has a lot of space, while Black is cramped, and finds
it more difficult to find a way to arrange his pieces. Dies ist die Stellung,
die ich angestrebt hatte. Ich beanspruche keinen wirklichen Vorteil für Weiß
hier, aber ich denke, dass es hier wesentlich einfacher ist, Weiß zu spielen,
da er eine Menge Raum hat, während Schwarz beengt steht und es ihm schwerer
fällt, einen Weg zu finden, seine Figuren zu arrangieren.} a6 (15... Bd7 {
was played a few days later in Ganguly-Acs, but that game didn't shake the
evaluation of the position: Black was suffering in that game as well. geschah
ein paar Tage später in Ganguly-Acs, aber diese Partie konnte die Einschätzung
der Stellung nicht erschüttern: Auch in jener Partie hatte Schwarz zu leiden.})
16. Re1 Kh8 $5 {An interesting idea. The knight is seeking greener pastures
via the f6-square. Eine interessante Idee. Der Springer strebt über das Feld
f6 zu grüneren Weiden.} (16... b5 17. a3 {is hardly a solution to the problems,
as Black can never play ...Bb7 due to Bg4 Qf6 Bd4, trapping the black queen.
ist kaum eine Lösung der Probleme, da Schwarz nie ...Bb7 spielen kann wegen
Bg4 Qf6 Bd4 und die schwarze Dame ist gefangen.}) 17. Rc1 Bd7 18. Bf3 {A very
useful move, preparing Ne2-d4, where the knight will occupy a dominant
position. Ein sehr nützlicher Zug, Ne2-d4 wird vorbereitet, wo der Springer
eine dominante Stellung einnehmen wird.} Rac8 19. Qb3 b5 20. Ne2 Qh3 21. Nd4
Bg4 $2 (21... Ng8 $1 {would have been a better choice, as Leko pointed out
after the game. Black intends to play ...Nf6 without having to worry about Rc6,
which was very strong in the game. wäre eine bessere Wahl gewesen, wie Leko
nach der Partie hervorhob. Schwarz beabsichtig, ...Nf6 zu spielen, ohne sich
wegen Rc6 sorgen zu müssen, was in der Partie sehr stark war.} 22. Nc6 Nf6 23.
Bg2 Qf5 {and Black is definitely in the game. und Schwarz ist definitiv in der
Partie.} (23... Qh5 24. Bd4 $16 {is weaker. ist schwächer.})) 22. Bg2 Qh5 23.
h4 $1 {The key move. Now all the black pieces on the kingside look rather
stupid, while the black queenside pawns are ripe for harvest. Der Schlüsselzug.
Nun wirken alle schwarzen Figuren am Königsflügel ziemlich dämlich, während
die schwarzen Damenflügelbauern reif zur Ernte sind} Ng8 $6 {Leko was already
short on time, and desperately wanted to create counterplay. He missed my next
move, having only counted on 24.Qa3.  Leko war bereits knapp and Zeit und
wollte unbedingt Gegenspiel aufziehen. Er übersah meinen nächsten Zug, da er
nur mit 24.Qa3 gerechnet hatte.} 24. Rc6 $1 (24. Qa3 Nf6 25. Qxa6 Nxd5 26. Qxb5
c5 {when Black is doing very well. It has to be said that Black had a very
difficult position after other moves as well, as there is no simple way of
stopping Rc3 and Rec1, and c7 will drop. , wonach Schwarz sehr gut steht. Zu
sagen ist, dass Schwarz auch nach anderen Zügen eine sehr schwierige Stellung
hätte, da es keine einfache Möglichkeit gibt, Rc3 und Rec1 zu stoppen, wonach
c7 fallen wird.}) 24... Nf6 25. Rxa6 {Now b5 is also dropping, and White
should be winning. My only worry was that the rook would remain out of play on
a6, while black occupies the e-file. However, this is far-fetched, especially
as Black might have problems with the back rank in some lines. Nun fällt auch
noch b5, und Weiß sollte gewinnen. Meine einzige Sorge war, dass der Turm auf
a6 aus dem Spiel bleiben würde, während Schwarz die e-Linie besetzt. Dies ist
jedoch weit hergeholt, vor allem, da Schwarz in manchen Abspielen Probleme mit
der Grundreihe hat.} Bd7 (25... Rfe8 26. Rxe8+ Rxe8 27. Ra7 $1 {is hopeless
for Black. ist hoffnunglos für Schwarz.}) 26. Nxb5 Rb8 27. a4 Ng4 28. Bf3 Qh6 (
28... Qf5 29. Be4 (29. Ra7 Nxf4 (29... Rfe8 30. Rxe8+ Rxe8 31. Nd4 $1 Qb1+ 32.
Qd1) 30. gxf4 Nxf2 31. Kxf2 Qxf4 {is better for White, but gives some
counterplay. ist besser für Weiß, gibt aber etwas Gegenspiel.}) 29... Qh5 30.
Ra7 {looks like plain sailing for White. scheint für Weiß glatt zu laufen.})
29. Qc4 {I spent quite a bit of time around here, trying to allow as little
counterplay as possible. With this move I prevent ...Nxf2 Kxf2 Nxf4, while...
Hier etwa verbrauchte ich einiges an Zeit bei dem Versuch, so wenig Gegenspiel
wie möglich zu erlauben. Mit diesem Zug verhindere ich ...Nxf2 Kxf2 Nxf4,
während...} Nxh4 {Desperation, but what else? Verzweiflung, aber was sonst?} (
29... Nxf2 30. Kxf2 Nxh4 {is met by wird pariert mit} 31. Rh1 $1 (31. gxh4 $4
Qxh4+ 32. Kf1 Bh3+ {and Black wins, is not such a good idea. und Schwarz
gewinnt ist keine so gute Ideee.})) 30. Bxg4 Bxg4 31. gxh4 Bf3 32. f5 {Now
White is easily winning, and the only thing remaining was the pleasant task of
making it to move 40 without blundering anything. Nun gewinnt Weiß leicht, und
das Einzige, was noch blieb, war die angenehme Aufgabe, es bist zum 40. Zug zu
schaffen, ohne etwas einzustellen.} Qh5 33. Qf4 Bxd5 34. Nxc7 Bb7 35. Rb6 f6
36. Bd4 Qf7 37. Ne6 Rg8 38. Kf2 Rbc8 39. Bc3 Bd5 40. a5 Rc4 41. Nd4 Ba8 42.
Qxd6 Qh5 43. Qf4 Rcc8 44. Rbe6 {And Black finally resigned. My first win in a
classical game against Leko! Und Schwarz gab endlich auf. Mein erster Sieg in
einer klassischen Partie gegen Leko!} 1-0

[Event "London Classic"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2009.12.08"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A29"]
[WhiteElo "2801"]
[BlackElo "2772"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2009.12.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 134"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.01.18"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.01.18"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 {The English opening, obviously a fitting choice for the first round in
London, especially as it is exactly the same pawn as I picked in the drawing
of lots (n.1 obviously) Besides, I felt that chances were rather low that I
would get a worse position with the text than I got with 1.d4 against him in
Moscow Die englische Eröffnung, offensichtlich eine passende Wahl für erste
Runde in London, vor allem, da er genau derselbe Bauer ist, den ich bei der
Auslosung ergirff (Nr. 1 offensichtlich). Außerdem hatte ich das Gefühl, dass
die Chancen recht schlecht stünden, dass ich mit dem Textzug eine schlechtere
Stellung gegen ihn erhalten würde, als es mit 1.d4 gegen ihn in Moskau der
Fall war.} Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 {This has been Kramnik's choice
lately, and was what I expected. So far, White has (not surprisingly) not been
able to prove that having an extra tempo in the Dragon gives the first player
an advantage.  Die war Kramniks Vorliebe in letzter Zeit, und auch was ich
erwartet hatte. Bislang ist Weiß (wenig überraschend) nicht in der Lage
gewesen zu beweisen, dass das Innehaben eines Mehrtempos im Drachen dem
Anziehenen Vorteil gibt.} 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8. a3 {Other
moves here include Andere Züge hier sind unter anderem} (8. Rb1 {which can me
met by the sane , worauf das vernünftige} a5 {after which White has not been
able to gain an advantage, or the insane folgen kann, wonach Weiß bisher
keinen Vorteil herausholfen konnte, oder auch das verrückte} (8... g5)) (8. d3
{leading to more or less normal play. , was zu mehr oder weniger normalem
Spiel führt.}) 8... O-O 9. b4 Be6 10. Rb1 (10. b5 Nd4 11. Nxe5 $4 Bb3 {is a
well known trap, and not the best way to start the tournament! ist eine
bekannte Falle und nicht der beste Weg, das Turnier zu starten.}) 10... f6 11.
d3 a5 {This move, which Kramnik played very quickly, has recently been
overtaken by the immediate 11...Nd4 as the main move. The text complicates
play a bit: Black will gain an outpost on b3 for his bishop after an eventual
a4, as well as some pressure against a3, but on the other hand the c7-pawn is
now backward.  Dieser Zug, welchen Kramnik sehr schnell spielte, wurde als
Hauptzug in letzter Zeit von dem sofortigen 11...Nd4 abgelöst. Der Text
kompliziert das Spiel ein wenig: Schwarz wird nach eventuellem a4 den
Vorposten b3 für seinen Läufer erhalten und auch etwas Druck gegen a3, aber
andererseits ist jetzt der c7-Bauer rückständig.} 12. b5 Nd4 13. Nd2 Qc8 (13...
Bd5 {is the other main line here, while ist das andere Hauptabspiel hier,
während}) (13... Nd5 $4 14. Bxd5 Bxd5 15. e3 {is a well known trap: Black
loses a piece by force. eine bekannte Falle darstellt: Schwarz verliert
forciert eine Figur.}) 14. e3 Nf5 15. Qc2 {Here or on the next move ( I was
more or less out of book here) I considered playing a4 myself, which however
has the drawback of giving up the b4 square, where a black bishop might
eventually sit comfortably. Hier oder im nächsten Zug (ich war hier mehr oder
weniger aus dem Buch) überlegte ich, selber a4 zu spielen, was aber den
Nachteil hat, das b4-Feld preiszugeben, wo es sich eventuell ein schwarzer
Läufer bequem machen könnte.} Rd8 16. Bb2 a4 17. Rfc1 {Quite logically, White
is piling up the pressure in the c-file. Recht logisch, Weiß verstärkt den
Druck in der c-Linie.} Nd6 18. Nde4 Ne8 $1 {Even though this unlucky knight
ended up staying here for the rest of the game, I think this is a good move,
as the knight is protecting c7, while the white pieces are stepping on each
other's toes.  Obwohl dieser Unglücksspringer letztlich den Rest der Partie
hier stehen blieb, denke ich, es ist ein guter Zug, denn der Springer deckt c7,
während sich die weißen Figuren gegenseitig auf die Zehen treten.} 19. Qe2 $1 {
I liked this move. I bring the queen a bit closer to the kingside and increase
my influence over some light squares which will be important in the likely
event of White playing f4. Perhaps even more importantly though, it was hard
to find another useful move. Dieser Zug gefiel mir. Ich bringe die Dame ein
wenig näher an den Königsflügel und verstärke meinen Einfluss auf einige weiße
Felder im Zentrum, was wichtig sein wird in dem wahrscheinlichen Fall, dass
Weiß f4 spielt. Aber vielleicht wichtiger noch, es war schwer, einen anderen
nützlichen Zug zu finden.} (19. Ne2 $6 Bb3 {is awkward, since c7 is now
protected. ist lästig, da c7 jetzt gedeckt ist.} 20. Qc3 Qd7 $1 {winning a
pawn. mit Bauerngewinn.}) 19... Bf8 (19... Bh3 20. Bf3 {should be an
improvement of the position for White, as Black will now have to reckon with
g4. sollte für Weiß eine Verbesserung der Stellung sein, da Schwarz jetzt mit
g4 zu rechnen haben wird.}) 20. f4 {I felt that there was no other plan here.
20.f4 increases my central control, but does at the same time weaken my
position a bit. Ich fühlte, dass es hier keinen anderen Plan gab. 20.f4
verstärkt meine Zentrumskontrolle, schwächt aber gleichzeitig auch ein wenig
meine Stellung.} exf4 21. gxf4 Qd7 {Consistent, as it more or less forces my
next move.  Konsequent, da es meinen nächsten Zug mehr oder weniger erzwingt.}
22. d4 {I was aiming for this position, believing that I would have good
chances because of the dynamic possibilities connected with Nc5. I think
Kramnik was not too unhappy with it either, as yet another weakness is created
in my position. Diese Stellung hatte ich angestrebt in der Annahme, dass ich
gute Chancen hätte aufgrund der dynamischen Möglichkeiten in Verbindung mit
Nc5. Ich denke, Kramnik war ebenfalls nicht all unzufrieden damit, da in
meiner Position eine weitere Schwäche geschaffen wird.} c6 {This was more or
less the only move I considered, as I thought that Black had to something to
prevent b7 from collapsing completely. Dies war mehr oder minder der einzige
Zug, den ich in Betracht zog, denn ich dachte, dass Schwarz etwas tun müsste,
damit b7 nicht komplett kollabiert.} (22... Bc4 $5 23. Qf2 Bd3 {was actually
quite good, but Kramnik probably (if so, probably quite correctly) decided
that there was no reason to start concrete war tatsächlich recht gut, aber
womöglich entschied Kramnik (wenn, wahrscheinlich auch ganz korrekt), dass es
keinen Grund gab, zu Konkretem überzugehen.} 24. Nc5 $1 {looked strong to me
during the game, but Black is probably fine here after Schien mir während der
Partie stark zu sein, aber hier steht Schwarz wahrscheinlich ordentlich nach}
Bxc5 25. dxc5 Nc4 $1 (25... Bxb1 26. Rxb1 {gives White excellent compensation
for the exchange, as Black cannot play gibt Weiß ausgezeichnete Kompensation
für die Qualität, da Schwarz nicht} Nc4 {due to spielen kann wegen} 27. Bd5+)
26. Bxb7 Qg4+ 27. Qg2 Qxg2+ 28. Bxg2 Rab8 {and Black is absolutely fine. und
Schwarz steht absolut ordentlich.}) 23. Nc5 Bxc5 24. dxc5 Nc4 25. Rd1 Qc7 $6 {
The most solid move. This move also has some downsides though, as it doesn't
address the capture of c5 which would leave the passive knight on e8 an
excellent square on d6, as well as taking away the c7-square from the very
same knight. Der solideste Zug. Er hat allerdings auch ein paar Schattenseiten,
denn er verzichtet auf das Schlagen auf c5, wonach der passive Springer auf e8
ein ausgezeichnetes Feld auf d6 bekäme, und außerdem wird genau diesem
Springer das Feld c7 genommen.} (25... Nd2 {It took me a little time to refute
this crazy-looking move over the board, but fortunately it's not very hard:
Ich brauchte ein bisschen, um diesen verrückt aussehenden Zug am Brett zu
widerlegen, aber glücklicherweise ist es nicht sehr schwer:} 26. bxc6 bxc6 27.
Ne4 Nxb1 (27... Bg4 28. Qxd2 $1) 28. Rxd7 Rxd7 29. Nd6 $1 (29. Qe1 Rb8 30. Qxb1
Rdb7 {is not at all clear ist keineswegs klar}) 29... Nxd6 30. Bxc6 {with
decisive gains of material. mit entscheidendem Materialgewinn.}) (25... Qe7 {
Attacking c5 looked very risky to me during the game, but is probably possible:
Das Angreifen von c5 schien mir während der Partie sehr riskant zu sein, aber
es ist wahrscheinlich möglich:} 26. bxc6 bxc6 27. Bxc6 Rxd1+ (27... Rac8 28.
Rxd8 Qxd8 29. Bxa4 Rxc5 30. Ne4 Rc8 {should be a draw as well, as Black is
very active. sollte ebenfalls remis sein, da Schwarz sehr aktiv steht.}) 28.
Rxd1 Rc8 29. Nd5 Qxc5 30. Bd4 {I stopped my calculations here during the game,
thinking that White is winning material. However it turns out that after Hier
brach ich während der Partie meine Berechnungen ab, da ich meinte, dass Weiß
Material gewinnt. Es stellt sich jedoch heraus, dass nach} Qd6 31. Qxc4 Kh8 {
and surprisingly White has no way of remaining material up Weiß
überraschenderweise keinen Weg hat, das Mehrmaterial zu behaupten.} 32. Qxa4
Bxd5 33. Bxd5 Qxd5 {and due to White's weakened king and offside queen, Black
should not lose. und aufgrund des geschwächten weißen Königs und der abseits
stehenden Dame sollte Schwarz nicht verlieren.}) 26. Bc1 $1 {Bad bishops
protect good (potentially at least) pawns, and I need this one to protect e3
and a3! Additionally, the knight might now turn out to be exposed on c4, as
both Rd4 and Rb4 are in the air. However, I still don't think that White has
any real advantage, especially in a practical game, as White is still a bit
exposed. Schlechte Läufer decken gute (potentiell zumindest) Bauern, und
diesen brauche ich, um e3 und a3 zu beschützen! Außerdem könnte sich der
Springer auf c4 jetzt als exponiert erweisen, da sowohl Rd4 als auch Rb4 in
der Luft liegen. Ich glaube aber trotzdem nicht, dass Weiß irgendeinen realen
Vorteil hat, vor allem in einer praktischen Partie, da er noch immer ein
bisschen exponiert steht.} Na5 {Black needs to relocate this knight in order
to create counterplay.  Schwarz muss seinen Springer umsiedeln, um Gegenspiel
aufzuziehen.} 27. bxc6 bxc6 28. Nxa4 $6 {I was very happy to discover that
this move does not lose any material, even though it looks a bit loose. Ich
war sehr glücklich zu entdecken, dass dieser Zug kein Material verliert,
obwohl es ein bisschen locker wirkt.} (28. Rb4 {was another move I considered,
but I did not like war ein weiterer Zug, an dem ich überlegte, aber mir
missfiel} Nb3 (28... Bb3 29. Rxd8 Rxd8 30. Bf1 {and a4 is falling, without any
real compensation und a4 fällt, ohne wirkliche Kompensation}) 29. Nxa4 Nxc1 30.
Rxc1 f5 {when Black has some counterplay. However, White is probably still a
bit better, and I should probably have gone for this. , wonach Schwarz etwas
Gegenspiel hat. Trotzdem, Weiß steht vermutlich dennoch ein bisschen besser,
und ich hätte wahrscheinlich so spielen sollen.}) 28... Rxd1+ (28... Nb3 29.
Nb6 {looked good for White to me due to sah mir gut aus für Weiß wegen} (29.
Rxd8 Rxd8 30. Bb2 {is Rybka's first choice, but looks too risky to me ist
Rybkas erste Wahl, scheint mir aber riskant}) 29... Nxc1 (29... Ra5 {is what I
missed; now Black has good counterplay ist, was ich übersah, nun hat Schwarz
gutes Gegenspiel}) 30. Rbxc1 Rxd1+ 31. Qxd1 Rxa3 32. Qd4 {with some kind of
domination, though Black still retains some drawing chances. mit einer Art von
Dominanz, obwohl Schwarz noch immer einige Remischancen wahrt.}) 29. Qxd1 Rd8
30. Qc2 Qf7 31. Nc3 (31. Nb6 {was my original intention, but I eventually
rejected it because of war meine ursprüngliche Absicht, aber am Ende verwarf
ich dies wegen} Bb3 32. Qc3 Rd1+ 33. Kf2 Qh5 34. Rxb3 Nxb3 35. Qxb3+ Kh8 {
when it seemed to me that Black had too much activity. , wonach mir schien,
dass Schwarz zu viel Aktivität hätte.}) 31... Qh5 32. Ne2 {I was very happy
with my position here, thinking that I was on my way to consolidation Hier war
ich sehr zufrieden mit meiner Stellung, da ich glaubte, auf dem Weg zur
Konsolidierung zu sein.} Bf5 $2 {Perhaps his only real mistake in this game.
Vielleicht sein einziger wirklicher Fehler in dieser Partie.} ({He could have
retained dynamic equality with the amazing Er hätte dynamisches Gleichgewicht
wahren können mit dem verblüffenden} 32... Kf8 $3 {with the idea of ...Bb3
next. The point, which we probably both missed, is that White cannot play mit
der Idee ...Bb3 als nächstes. Die Pointe, die wir wahrscheinlich beide
übersahen, ist, dass Weiß nicht} 33. Nd4 {because of spielen kann wegen} Rxd4
34. exd4 Bf5 {and Black is at least not worse, as und Schwarz steht zumindest
nicht schlechter, denn} 35. Be4 {fails to scheitert an} Qg6+ 36. Qg2 Qxg2+ $1)
(32... Bg4 33. Ng3 Rd1+ 34. Qxd1 {is probably why he decided to play ...Bf5.
ist wahrscheinlich der Grund, weshalb er sich für ...Bf5 entschied.}) 33. e4
Bg4 34. Ng3 {Now however Black has nothing. Nun allerdings hat Schwarz gar
nichts.} Qf7 ({Kramnik had probably been hoping that Kramnik hatte womöglich
gehofft, dass} 34... Rd1+ {would be good here, but this is easily refuted by
the calm hier gut sein würde, aber dies wird einfach widerlegt durch das ruhige
} 35. Bf1 (35. Qxd1 $4 Qxc5+)) 35. Bf1 $1 Be6 36. Qc3 Ra8 37. Rb4 {Now White
is in complete control, with a positional as well as a material advantage. The
knight on e8 still has no prospects. Nun hat Weiß vollständig die Kontrolle,
bei positionellem wie auch materiellem Vorteil. Der Springer auf e8 hat noch
immer keine Perspektiven.} Qd7 38. f5 Bf7 39. Bf4 Qd1 40. Kf2 Nb3 {Desperation,
but it was either this or losing slowly without counterplay. Verzweiflung,
aber es hieß, entweder dies oder langsam verlieren ohne Gegenspiel.} 41. Be2
Qb1 42. Bc4 Rxa3 43. Ne2 {Black resigned as he is completely tied up and
defenceless against threats like Rb8 and Bxf7+. Schwarz gab auf, denn er ist
vollständig gebunden und wehrlos gegen Drohungen wie Rb8 und Bxf7+.} (43. Bxf7+
Kxf7 44. Qc4+ Kf8 45. Rb8 Ra2+ 46. Ne2 Rxe2+ 47. Qxe2 {would have won even
quicker, but would not have led to such a nice final position :-) hätte sogar
noch schneller gewonnen, dafür aber nicht zu einer schönen Schlussstellung
geführt :-)}) 1-0

[Event "Corus"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2010.01.27"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2720"]
[BlackElo "2810"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2010.01.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 135"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.03.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.03.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e6 $5 {The French Defence. In my younger years I used to consider it at
best a second-rate opening, and I once even lost a bet with one of my friends,
and as a result had to play 1... e6 in all my games with Black in a Super-GM
tournament. Fortunately my friend was greedy, and took money instead. I
believe that both 1...c5 and 1...e5! are better choices, but since I
desperately wanted to win this game (I was trailing the leaders Kramnik and
Shirov by 1 point at this stage) I decided to try something new.  Die
Französische Verteidigung. In meinen jüngeren Jahren pflegte ich sie als
bestenfalls zweitklassige Eröffnung zu betrachten, und einmal verlor ich sogar
eine Wette mit einem meiner besten Freunde, wodurch ich in all meinen Partien
mit Schwarz in einem Super-GM-Turnier 1...e6 spielen musste. Zum Glück war
mein Freund gierig und nahm lieber Geld. Ich glaube, dass sowohl 1...c5 als
auch 1...e5! bessere Züge sind, aber da ich diese Partie unbedingt gewinnen
wollte (zu diesem Zeitpunkt lag ich einen Punkt hinter den führenden Kramnik
und Shirov zurück), beschloss ich, etwas Neues zu versuchen.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3
Nf6 {The other main move here is 3...Bb4, which is rather more controversial.
Some think it gives Black good counterplay, while others regard it as a simple
positional mistake to give up the bishop too early.  Der andere Hauptzug hier
lautet 3...Bb4, was deutlich kontroverser ist. Manche denken, dass er Schwarz
gutes Gegenspiel gibt, während andere es für einen simplen positionellen
Fehler halten, den Läufer zu früh herzugeben.} 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6
7. Be3 Be7 {Other options here are the relatively slow 7...a6, or the more
concrete 7...cxd4 followed by ...Qb6 or 7...Qb6 immediately, both of which are
rated quite highly by Wesley So and his Rybka (see the previous issue of NiC).
Andere Optionen hier sind das relativ langsame 7...a6 oder das konkretere 7...
cxd4 nebst ...Qb6 bzw. 7...Qb6 sofort, was beides von Wesley So und seinem
Rybka recht hoch geschätzt wird (siehe vorige Ausgabe von NiC).} 8. Qd2 O-O 9.
Be2 a6 10. O-O b5 11. Kh1 $5 {An interesting, quite unusual move. 11.a3 or 11.
Nd1 are the most usual moves here. The text is actually a quite cunning
waiting move, as ...b4 and a5-Ba6 (the normal reply to Nd1) can now be met by
Na4, while ...Bb7 (one of several possible replies to a3) can be met by Nd1.
Then Black will probably have to play ...b4 and a5-Ba6 anyway, but with a
tempo less. Therefore I decided to be more flexible, and make a more or less
useful waiting move. Ein interessanter, recht ungewöhnlicher Zug. 11.a3 oder
11.Nd1 sind die üblichsten Züge hier. Der Text ist eigentlich ein ziemlich
schlauer Wartezug, denn auf ...b4 und a5-Ba6 (die normale Erwiderung auf Nd1)
kann nun Na4 folgen, während ...Bb7 (eine von mehreren möglichen Antworten auf
a3) mit Nd1 begegnet werden kann. Anschließend wird Schwarz wahrscheinlich
trotzdem ...b4 und a5-Ba6 spielen müssen, allerdings mit einem Tempo weniger.
Daher beschloss ich, flexibler zu sein und einen halbwegs nützlichen Wartezug
zu machen.} Qc7 12. a3 Bb7 13. Rad1 Rac8 14. Qe1 {A typical manoeuvre. White
intends to gradually start an attack on the kingside. Therefore I decided to
start counterplay in the centre immediately. Ein typisches Manöver. Weiß
beabsichtigt, allmählich einen Angriff am Königsflügel zu starten. Der
beschloss ich, sofort Gegenspiel im Zentrum einzuleiten.} cxd4 15. Nxd4 Nxd4
16. Bxd4 Bc5 17. Qh4 $2 {While this move might objectively speaking not
deserve a question mark, it was definitely a turning point in the game, as
after my reply, Karjakin became very uncomfortable with his position. Dieser
Zug verdient womöglich objektiv gesehen kein Fragezeichen, doch war er
definitiv ein Wendepunkt in der Partie, denn nach meiner Antwort wurde
Karjakin seine Stellung sehr unbehaglich.} (17. Qf2 {or something similar was
required, as the queen needs to have more influence in the centre after I play
...f6, which is bound to happen sooner or later. oder etwas Ähnliches war
erforderlich, denn die Dame braucht mehr Einfluss im Zentrum, nachdem ich ...
f6 spiele, was früher oder später geschehen wird.}) 17... Bxd4 18. Rxd4 f6 $1
19. Bd3 {This one probably doesn't help much either, but since it was part of
the plan with Qh4, I will not attach any mark to it. Dieser Zug hilft
wahrscheinlich auch nicht besonders, aber da er Bestandteil des Plans mit Qh4
war, werde ich ihm kein Kommentarzeichen geben.} h6 20. exf6 (20. Qg4 Qb6 $1 {
would not help White. würde Weiß nicht helfen.}) (20. f5 fxe5 21. Rg4 Nf6 {
stops any illusions of a white attack. stoppt jegliche Illusionen eines weißen
Angriff.}) 20... Rxf6 {Now it is clear that something has gone wrong for White.
The rook on d4 is exposed, f4 is weak, and he will be facing tactical problems
with ...e5 quite soon. The "bad" bishop on b7 is certainly no worse than the
white knight, which has dominated it in so many textbook games.  Nun wird klar,
dass für Weiß etwas schief gelaufen ist. Der Turm auf d4 steht exponiert, f4
ist schwach, und recht bald wird er sich taktischen Problemen mit ...e5
gegenübersehen. Der "schlechte" Läufer auf b7 ist gewiss nicht schwächer als
der weiße Springer, welcher ihn in so vielen Lehrbuchpartien dominiert hat.}
21. f5 (21. Rg1 Rcf8 22. Ne2 e5 23. fxe5 Nxe5 {would not have been much of a
relief; the black pieces are just much more active than their white
counterparts here. wäre keine große Erleichterung gewesen; die schwarzen
Figuren sind hier einfach wesentlich aktiver als ihre weißen Gegenüber.}) (21.
Qg3 Rcf8 22. Rf3 Nb8 $1 {leaves White on brink of disaster. bringt Weiß an den
Rand einer Katastrophe.}) 21... Rcf8 22. Rg1 Nc5 $1 {The most energetic. Am
energischsten.} ({The tempting Das verlockende} 22... e5 23. Nxd5 Bxd5 24. Rxd5
Nb6 {trapping the rook, gives White very good drawing chances after mit
Turmfang gibt Weiß sehr gute Remischancen nach} 25. Qe4 Nxd5 26. Qxd5+ Kh8 27.
Re1 {.}) 23. fxe6 Nxe6 24. Rg4 $6 (24. Nxd5 Bxd5 25. Rxd5 Nf4 26. Rd4 Qc5 {
forces White to give up the exchange with Rxf4, as zwingt Weiß zur Hergabe der
Qualität mit Rxf4, da} 27. c3 Nxd3 28. Rxd3 Qxg1+ 29. Kxg1 Rf1# {is mate. That
being said, it would probably have been a better try. Matt ist. Davon
abgesehen wäre es womöglich ein besserer Versuch gewesen.}) 24... Nf4 25. Qg3
Qe7 $1 {The last key move, after which Black is completely winning. The point
is to control e2, leaving the white knight without a good square after ...d4
next. The tactical justification, based on a slightly surprising queen sac, is:
Der letzte Schlüsselzug, nach dem Schwarz komplett auf Gewinn steht. Der
springende Punkt ist, e2 zu konrollieren, wodurch der weiße Springer nach
folgendem ...d4 kein gutes Feld bleibt. Die taktische Rechtfertigung,
basierend auf einem leicht überraschenden Damenopfer, ist:} 26. Rxf4 {After
this Black will only have to make a couple of more good moves to win the game,
but White was probably lost in any case. Danach wird Schwarz nur noch ein paar
gute Züge machen müssen, um die Partie zu gewinnen, aber Weiß war
wahrscheinlich in jedem Fall verloren.} (26. h3 d4 27. Re1 (27. Ne2 Nxe2 28.
Bxe2 Bc8 $1 {wins an exchange, while gewinnt eine Qualität, während}) ({nach} 
27. Nd1 Bc8 28. Re1 Qf7 29. Rh4 Bb7 30. Rg1 Nxg2 $1 (30... g5 {is also very
good of course ist natürlich auch sehr gut}) 31. Rxg2 Rf3 32. Qg4 Re8 {leaves
the uncoordinated white forces defenceless against the threat of ...Re1. die
unkoordinierten weißen Kräfte wehrlos gegen die Drohung ...Re1 sind.}) 27...
Qxe1+ $1 28. Qxe1 Nxd3 {and Black will be material up in every line. und in
jedem Abspiel bleibt Schwarz materiell im Vorteil.}) 26... Rxf4 27. Ne2 (27.
Qg6 R8f6 28. Qh7+ Kf7 {is obviously not dangerous. ist offensichtlich nicht
gefährlich.}) 27... Rf1 (27... Rh4 {with the idea of 28.Qg6 Rxh2+, mating was
tempting, but I could not refute the considerably stronger 28.c3. mit der Idee
28.Qg6 Rxh2+ und Matt war verlockend, aber ich konnte das wesentlich stärkere
28.c3 nicht widerlegen.}) 28. Nd4 {Now Black can force a queen exchange, but
Nun kann Schwarz einen Damentausch forcieren, aber} (28. h3 Rxg1+ 29. Kxg1 Qc5+
30. Kh2 d4 $1 {finally activating the bishop, was hardly much stronger. ,
wonach endlich der Läufer aktiviert wird, war kaum wesentlich stärker.}) 28...
Rxg1+ 29. Kxg1 Re8 {With queens on the board White could perhaps have hoped to
resist, but without queens the extra exchange is bound to count, even though
the knight on d4 is holding the position together for the moment. Mit Damen
auf dem Brett hätte Weiß vielleicht noch hoffen können, Widerstand zu leisten,
ohne Damen aber muss die Mehrqualität ins Gewicht fallen, obwohl der Springer
auf d4 die Stellung im Moment zusammenhält.} 30. h4 Qe1+ 31. Kh2 Qxg3+ 32. Kxg3
Kf7 33. Kf2 Kf6 34. g3 Bc8 35. c3 Bg4 36. Bc2 g5 37. hxg5+ hxg5 38. Bb3 Ke5 39.
Bc2 Rf8+ 40. Kg2 Bd7 41. Nf3+ Kf6 42. Bb3 g4 43. Nd4 Ke5 {Now the white king
is cut off, and the undermining a5+b4 cannot be prevented. Nun ist der weiße
König abgeschnitten, und das unterminierende a5+b4 ist nicht zu verhindern.}
44. Bc2 a5 45. Bd1 Ke4 {My best game in Corus 2010! Meine beste Partie beim
Corus 2010!} 0-1

[Event "Bazna Kings 4th"]
[Site "Medias"]
[Date "2010.06.21"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B35"]
[WhiteElo "2813"]
[BlackElo "2740"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2010.06.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 137"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2010.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {This was my best game in the tournament. After an interesting tactical
skirmish in the middlegame I kept the pressure on in the endgame, and it paid
off, as it often does :) Dies war meine beste Partie im Turnier. Nach einem
interessanten taktischen Scharmützel im Mittelspiel hielt ich den Druck im
Endspiel aufrecht, und es zahlte sich aus, wie so oft :)} c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3
g6 {Not really surprising, as Radjabov has frequently used the Dragon over the
past few years. Nicht wirklich überaschend, denn Radjabov hat den Drachen im
Lauf der letzten Jahre häufig angewendet.} 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7.
Bc4 Qa5 {This one, however, was rather unexpected. He refuses to transpose to
the Dragon after all. Das kam aber schon recht unerwartet. Er weigert sich
doch noch, in den Drachen überzugehen.} 8. O-O O-O 9. Bb3 d6 10. h3 Bd7 11. Re1
{The other main line here is 11.f4. Das andere Hauptabspiel hier ist 11.f4.}
Rfc8 12. Qe2 {Not the most usual move, but I recalled the game Akopian-Bacrot
from last year, where White was held convincingly and thought it would make
sense to deviate early on. Nicht der üblichste Zug, aber ich erinnerte mich an
die Partie Akopian-Bacrot aus dem letzten Jahr, wo Weiß überzeugend auf
Distanz gehalten wurde, und hielt es für sinnvoll, frühzeitig abzuweichen.} Qh5
{A normal manoeuvre in this line. After the queen swap Black would obviously
be fine with his extremely solid structure. Ein normales Manöver in diesem
Abspiel. Nach dem Damentausch stünde Schwarz mit seiner extrem soliden
Struktur offensichtlich gut.} 13. Nf3 h6 {This, in connection with his next
move, is also a well established plan. Dies, in Verbindung mit seinem nächsten
Zug, ist ebenfalls ein wohl etablierter Plan.} 14. Rad1 g5 15. Nd5 {There
really wasn't much else to do, as Black's plan of... g5-g4 had to be countered
somehow, and Nd4 clearly wasn't an option. Etwas anderes gab es eigentlich
nicht, denn der schwarze Plan ...g5-g4 musste irgendwie gekontert werden, und
Nd4 war eindeutig keine Möglichkeit.} Nxd5 (15... g4 {is now well met by 16.
Nh2. wird jetzt gut mit 16.Nh2 beantwortet.}) (15... Nxe4 16. Bd4 $1 {is also
inadvisable. ist ebenfalls nicht ratsam.}) (15... Qg6 {also deserves to be
mentioned, not for its merits, but for the refutation: 16.Ne5! ist verdient es
ebenfalls, erwähnt zu werden, nicht wegen der Güte des Zuges, sondern wegen
der Widerlegung: 16.Ne5!}) 16. Bxd5 $1 {Clearly the best practical decision. I
checked it for a while to make sure, that I am not worse in any of the main
lines. The move does not lead to an advantage for White, but it is much more
challenging for Black than Eindeutig die beste praktische Entscheidung. Ich
prüfte sie eine zeitlang, um sicherzugehen, dass ich in keinem der
Hauptabspiele schlechter stand. Der Zug führt zwar nicht zu einem Vorteil für
Weiß, stellt Schwarz aber vor wesentlich größere Aufgaben als} (16. exd5 Ne5
17. Nxe5 Qxe2 18. Rxe2 Bxe5 {which was actually played in an earlier game
Bologan-Malakhov. In fact, Black might even have a slight initiative here, as
he has a clear plan of pushing the queenside pawns, and 19.Bd4 can even be met
by 19... f6!? , was übrigens in einer früheren Partie Bologan-Malakhov
gespielt. Tatsächlich könnte Schwarz hier sogar eine leichte Initiative haben,
da er den klaren Plan besitzt, die Damenflügelbauern vorzustoßen, und 19.Bd4
kann sogar mit 19... f6!? beantwortet werden.}) 16... Bxb2 {Clearly the best
move, but as he spent quite a bit of time on it, his first real think in the
game, I felt quite good about my chances nevertheless. Klar der beste Zug,
aber da er dafür doch ein bisschen Zeit verbrauchte, sein erstes wirkliches
Nachdenken in der Partie, hatte ich trotzdem ein ganz gutes Gefühl bezüglich
meiner Chancen.} (16... e6 17. Bxc6 (17. Bb3 Bxb2 18. Rxd6 Be8 {is probably
okay for Black. ist wohl okay für Schwarz.}) 17... Bxc6 18. Bd4 e5 (18... Bf8
19. c4 $14) 19. Bc3 {should leave White with some advantage, as the many
weaknesses in the black position should be worth the price of giving Black the
bishop pair. sollte Weiß einigen Vorteil überlassen, denn die vielen Schwächen
in der schwarzen Stellung sollten den Preis wert sein, Schwarz das Läuferpaar
zu geben.}) 17. Rb1 (17. Qb5 {is harmless, as Black has the pleasant choice of
ist harmlos, denn Schwarz hat die angenehme Wahl zwischen} Be5 (17... Bf6 18.
Qxb7 Be8 {is the other decent option, when Black should have a good game due
to my relatively misplaced queen. ist die andere anständige Möglichkeit,
wonach Schwarz gutes Spiel haben sollte aufgrund meiner relativ deplatzierten
Dame.}) 18. Qxb7 Bxh3 19. gxh3 Qxf3 20. Bxc6 Qxh3 21. Qd7 g4 22. f4 $1 {
with a perpetual. mit Dauerschach.}) 17... Bc3 $1 {Once again the sharpest
move is also the best. Einmal mehr ist der schärfste Zug auch der beste.} (
17... Bf6 18. Rxb7 Be8 19. Qa6 {gives White the initative due to the neat
trick gibt Weiß die Initative wegen des feinen Tricks} e6 20. Rxa7 $1 (20. Bb3
{is probably better for White as well. ist wahrscheinlich auch besser für Weiß.
}) 20... Nxa7 21. Bxa8 Rxa8 22. Bxa7) 18. Rxb7 Bxh3 (18... Bxe1 {was the
obvious alternative, and naturally what I had calculated the most, as it at
least temporarily wins an exchange. In the end, it should probably lead to a
draw. war die offensichtliche Alternative und natürlich das, was ich am
meisten berechnet hatte, da es zumindest vorübergehend eine Qualität gewinnt.
Letztendlich sollte es wohl zu einem Remis führen.} 19. Rxd7 Bc3 20. Qb5 a6 {
A useful zwischenzug Ein nützlicher Zwischenzug} (20... Ne5 {gives White the
extra option of gibt Weiß die zusätzliche Möglichkeit zu} 21. Rxe7 Rab8 22. Qf1
$1 {retaining my active rook and clearly better chances , was meinen aktiven
Turm und klar bessere Chancen behauptet.}) 21. Qb6 Ne5 22. Rxe7 Rab8 23. Rb7
Rxb7 24. Qxb7 Rf8 25. Qc7 {and here I concluded that White would at least not
be worse after 25... Nxf3+ 26. gxf3 Be5 27.Kg2. In fact, White might be a bit
better here, as my bishops are really powerful. und hier folgerte ich, dass
Weiß nach 25... Nxf3+ 26. gxf3 Be5 27.Kg2 zumindest nicht schlechter stehen
würde. Tatsächlich könnte er hier ein bisschen besser stehen, denn meine
Läufer sind wirklich kraftvoll.} g4 $1 {However, as pointed out by the engines,
ruins things a bit. allerdings, wie von den Engines angezeigt, ruiniert die
Sache ein bisschen.} 26. hxg4 Qxg4 27. Kf1 (27. Nh2 Qd1+ 28. Nf1 Qg4 {leads to
the same result führt zu dem gleichen Resultat.}) 27... Bb4 $1 28. c3 Nxf3 29.
gxf3 Qxf3 {and as often happens in chess, perpetual check is the logical
result in the end. und wie es so oft im Schach geschieht, ist am Ende
Dauerschach das logische Resultat.}) 19. Nxg5 {I spent quite a bit of time on
this one, as I really wanted to make the tempting Hierfür verbrauchte ich
ziemlich viel Zeit, denn ich wollte unbedingt das verlockende} (19. gxh3 Bxe1
20. e5 {work. Unfortunately, it leads nowhere after the simple zum
Funktionieren bringen. Leider führt dies zu nichts nach dem einfachen} Nxe5 (
20... e6 21. Bxe6 {was my main point, which would lead to an elegant draw: war
meine Hauptpointe, was zu einem eleganten Remis führen würde:} Nxe5 $8 (21...
fxe6 22. Qd3 {and wins. und gewinnt.}) 22. Nxe5 Qxe2 23. Bxf7+ Kh8 {The only
move that doesn't lose immediately, but enough to force me to give perpetual
check Der einzige Zug, der nicht sofort verliert, aber genau, um mich zu
ewigem Schach zu zwingen.} 24. Ng6+ Kh7 $8 (24... Kg7 25. Bd4+ Qe5 26. Nxe5
dxe5 27. Bxe5+ Kf8 28. Be6 {and the white attacking forces are way too strong:
und die weißen Angriffskräfte sind viel zu stark:} Rxc2 29. Bd6+ Ke8 30. Rg7
Bxf2+ 31. Kf1 {and mates! nebst Matt!}) 25. Be8+ Kg8 $8 26. Bf7+ $11) 21. Rxe7
Bc3 $1 {and White has already run out of steam. und Weiß ist bereits der Dampf
ausgegangen.}) 19... Qxe2 20. Rxe2 {I still had hopes of retaining an
initiative here, but following his next move, made after a considerable amount
of thought, those hopes were more or less dashed. In general, I felt that we
both handled the complications that started on move 16 very well. Hier hatte
ich noch immer Hoffnungen, eine Initiative zu behaupten, aber nach seinem
nächsten Zug, gespielt nach beträchtlichem Nachdenken, waren diese Hoffnungen
mehr oder weniger dahin. Allgemein hatte ich das Gefühl, dass wir beide die im
16. Zug begonnenen Komplikationen sehr gut bewältigt hatten.} Bg4 $1 (20...
hxg5 21. gxh3 Bf6 22. f4 Nd4 23. Rf2 $5 {is what I was counting on. Even
though Black should still make a draw here, White has some chances as ist,
worauf ich gezählt hatte. Obwohl Schwarz hier noch immer Remis machen sollte,
hat Weiß einige Chancen, denn} (23. Rg2 {also forces some accurate play from
Black: verlangt Schwarz ebenfalls genaues Spiel ab:} Nxc2 24. Bd2 e6 25. Bb3
Nd4 26. fxg5 Bd8 $1 (26... Be5 27. g6 f6 28. h4 {is not a good idea for Black.
ist keine gute Idee für Schwarz.}) 27. g6 Rc7 28. Rxc7 Bxc7 29. gxf7+ Kxf7 {
and Black is relatively safe. und Schwarz steht relativ sicher.}) 23... Nxc2
24. fxg5 Nxe3 25. gxf6 Nxd5 26. exd5 {does not seem to be a 100% draw yet,
although a few more good moves will probably do the job for Black. scheint
noch kein 100-prozentiges Remis zu sein, obwohl ein paar gute Züge die Sache
für Schwarz wahrscheinlich klarmachen werden.}) 21. Nf3 {Retreating is the
only way to continue the fight, though with limited hope of success. Der
Rückzug ist der einzige Weg, den Kampf fortzusetzen, wenngleich mit begrenzten
Hoffnungen auf Erfolg.} (21. Nxf7 {is why I thought that 20...Bg4 wouldn't
work ist der Grund, weshalb ich dachte, dass 20...Bg4 nicht funktionieren
würde.} Bxe2 22. Ne5+ {and now every move but one would lead to the complete
collapse of the black position. Check for yourselves! und jetzt würde jeder
Zug außer einem zum kompletten Zusammenbruch der schwarzen Stellung führen.
Überlegen Sie selbst!} (22. Nxd6+ Kh8 23. Nxc8 Rxc8 {is obviously not a very
bright winning attempt ist offensichtlich kein besonders intelligenter
Gewinnversuch}) 22... Kh8 $1 {is once again the only move, and once again
entirely sufficient. I had missed this little detail in my preliminary
calculations. ist einmal mehr der einzige Zug, und einmal mehr völlig
ausreichend. Dieses kleine Detail hatte ich in meinen Vorausberechnungen
übersehen.} 23. Nxc6 e6 {This is the (relatively obvious) point, which would
not have been possible after any other king move. Now White is lucky to have a
bailout with Das ist die (relativ offensichtliche) Pointe, die nach jedem
anderen Königszug nicht möglich gewesen werde. Nun kann Weiß sich glücklich
schätzen, einen Rettungsanker zu haben mit} 24. Ne7 exd5 25. Ng6+ $11) 21... e6
22. Bxc6 Rxc6 23. Bxh6 Bxf3 24. gxf3 Ra6 {A very reasonable approach, steering
the game towards a rook ending that is almost certainly drawn. Eine sehr
vernünftige Herangehensweise, die Partie wird in Richtung eines Turmendspiels
gesteuert, das fast sicher remis ist.} (24... a5 {preparing ...Rac8 would also
have been a decent idea, as zur Vorbereitung von ...Rac8 wäre ebenfalls eine
vernünftige Idee gewesen, denn} 25. f4 Bg7 {looks like slightly improved
version of the game. wirkt wie eine leicht verbesserte Version der Partie.})
25. Rc7 Bg7 26. Bxg7 Kxg7 {On the other hand, I felt obliged to try at least a
little with my extra pawn and therefore nominal advantage. I was encouraged by
the fact that he had spent quite a bit of time on the preceding complication,
and had about 15 min left here. Even though that is not really time trouble,
it is not completely comfortable either if the position is just a little
complicated. Additionally, Gelfand looked set to beat Nisipeanu already, and
the prospect of a one-point lead instead of half a point was in no way
discouraging. Andererseits fühlte ich mich verpflichtet, mit meinem Mehrbauern
und ergo nominalem Vorteil es zumindest zu versuchen. Ermutigt wurde ich dabei
durch die Tatsache, dass er über der vorangegangenen Komplikation ziemlich
viel Zeit verbraucht und hier etwa noch 15 Minuten hatte. Auch wenn dies noch
keine richtige Zeitnot ist, ist es auch nicht völlig bequem, wenn die Stellung
nur ein bisschen kompliziert ist. Außerdem sah es bereits so aus, als würde
Gelfand Nisipeanu schlagen, und die Aussicht auf einen ganzen Punkt Vorsprung
statt eines halben war keineswegs demotivierend.} 27. c3 $5 {It might look
weird to move the pawn one square instead of two, but I thought I was being
quite clever as I would probably play f4 at some point anyway. Then it might
be a good thing that once the c-pawn is captured in some lines, the e4-f4 pawn
pair will not be in danger as well. Es mag seltsam wirken, den Bauern ein Feld
zu bewegen anstatt zwei, aber ich hielt mich für ziemlich clever, denn an
irgendeiner Stelle würde ich wahrscheinlich sowieso f4 spielen. Dann könnte es
eine gute Sache sein, dass, wenn der c-Bauer in einigen Varianten geschlagen
wird, das Bauernpaar e4-f4 nicht ebenfalls in Gefahr ist.} Rb8 28. f4 {The
only way to play for a win is to create some threats to his king at some point.
The text prepares Re3-g3, as well as e4-e5. Der einzige Weg, auf Gewinn zu
spielen, besteht darin, an irgendeinem Punkt ein paar Drohungen gegen seinen
König aufzustellen. Der Textzug bereitet Re3-g3 vor wie auch e4-e5.} Rbb6 {
Preparing a rook exchange with ...Rc6, when it would be a 100% certain draw.
Bereitet einen Turmtausch mit ...Rc6 vor, wonach es ein 100% sicheres Remis
wäre.} (28... Rb1+ 29. Kg2 Ra1 30. Rb2 Rb6 31. Rd2 Ra6 32. Rd3 {would be very
similar to the game. wäre ganz ähnlich der Partie.}) 29. Rd7 {The only way to
continue playing for a win. Der einzige Weg, weiter auf Gewinn zu spielen.} Rc6
30. Re3 Rxa2 31. e5 dxe5 32. fxe5 Rc5 $6 {Falling right in with my plans.
Fällt direkt auf meine Pläne herein.} (32... Kg6 $1 33. Rf3 Rc5 34. Rfxf7 Rxe5
35. Rxa7 Rxa7 36. Rxa7 Rc5 37. Ra3 Kf5 {would have brought the game to its
logical conclusion. hätte die Partie zu ihrem logischen Abschluss gebracht.})
33. Rg3+ $1 {Now Black is forced to the eight rank, Nun wird Schwarz auf die
achte Reihe gezwungen,} Kf8 ({as denn} 33... Kh6 $4 34. Rd8 Kh7 35. Rd4 {
would have been an inglorious end for Black. wäre ein unrühmliches Ende für
Schwarz gewesen.}) 34. Rf3 Rxe5 35. Rfxf7+ Ke8 {However, it's still a draw.
Trotzdem, es ist immer noch Remis.} 36. Rfe7+ Kf8 37. Rh7 Kg8 38. Rdg7+ Kf8 39.
Rb7 Kg8 $6 {Now Black's task is very complicated indeed. Jetzt ist die Aufgabe
von Schwarz tatsächlich sehr kompliziert.} (39... Rg5+ 40. Kf1 Kg8 41. Rxa7 (
41. Rhe7 Rf5 $1) 41... Rxa7 42. Rxa7 Rc5 43. Ra3 Kf7 44. Ke2 Kf6 45. Kd3 Rd5+ {
was still a relatively straightforward draw. war noch immer ein relativ
geradliniges Remis.}) 40. Rhg7+ Kh8 41. Rge7 Rg5+ 42. Kf1 Rc2 43. Rbc7 a5 $2 {
This seems to me to be the decisive mistake. Dies scheint mir der
entscheidende Fehler zu sein.} ({He could probably still have held the
position with Er hätte die Stellung wahrscheinlich immer noch halten können mit
} 43... Rg6 $1 44. Re8+ Rg8 45. Rxe6 Rf8 {which is the big difference compared
to the game , was der große Unterschied verglichen mit der Partie ist.} 46. Re2
Rc1+ 47. Kg2 Rg8+ 48. Kf3 Rg7 {It is hard to say whether this is winning for
White or not, but my feeling is that it is closer to a draw than a win for
White. Es ist schwer zu sagen, ob dies für Weiß gewonnen ist oder nicht, aber
mein Gefühl sagt, dass es einem Remis näher ist als einem Gewinn für Weiß.})
44. Rxe6 a4 45. Ra6 Rg4 (45... Rg7 {is probably what he had been counting on,
but after the accurate ist wahrscinlich, worauf er sich verlassen hatte, aber
nach dem genauen} 46. Rh6+ $1 Kg8 47. Rc8+ Kf7 48. Ra6 {now Black is still in
a real bind, as the g7-rook cannot move due to Rc7+ and Ra8 with mate. ist
Schwarz jetzt noch immer richtig gebunden, da der g7-Turm wegen Rc7+ und Ra8
mit Matt nicht ziehen kann.} Ra2 49. c4 a3 50. c5 Ra1+ 51. Ke2 a2 52. Kf3 {
and White should win. und Weiß sollte gewinnen.}) 46. c4 {This pawn naturally
cannot be taken by either rook due to the check on a8. Dieser Bauer ist
natürlich von keinem der beiden Türme zu nehmen wegen des Schachs auf a8.} Rg7
47. Rxg7 Kxg7 48. Rxa4 {This is a technical win. Dies ist ein technischer
Gewinn.} Kf6 49. Kg2 Ke5 50. Ra5+ $1 {My only problem was the passive rook on
a4. Now it will be activated either in front of, or the other side of the
c4-pawn. Mein einziges Problem war der passive Turm auf a4. Nun wird er
aktiviert, entweder vor dem oder auf der anderen Seite des c4-Bauern.} Ke6 (
50... Kf4 51. Rc5 $18) (50... Kd4 51. Rd5+ $1 Kxc4 52. Rd8 {cuts off the king
and wins easily: schneidet den König ab und gewinnt leicht:} Ra2 53. Kg3 Ra7
54. f4 Rg7+ 55. Kf3 Rf7 56. Kg4 Rg7+ 57. Kf5 $18) 51. Rc5 Kd6 52. Rd5+ Ke6 53.
Rd4 Ke5 54. Rh4 Rc3 55. c5 {Exploiting the opportunity to advance the pawn.
The pawn endings are always won. Nutzt die Gelegenheit, den Bauern vorzurücken.
Die Bauernendspiele sind immer gewonnen.} Kf5 56. Rh8 $1 {The most accurate.
Am genauesten.} Kf4 57. Rc8 Ke5 58. c6 Kd6 59. f3 {Preparing Kg3 and Kg4
followed by f4 and so forth. Bereitet Kg3 und Kg4 vor, gefolgt von f4 und so
weiter..} Rc5 60. Kg3 Rg5+ 61. Kh4 Rg1 62. f4 Ke7 63. c7 Rc1 {Sets a final
trap. Stellt eine letzte Falle.} (63... Kd7 64. Rd8+ Kxc7 65. Rd2 {wins easily.
gewinnt leicht.}) 64. Kg5 (64. Rh8 {or Rg8 was not to be recommended! oder Rg8
war nicht zu empfehlen!}) 1-0

[Event "Nanjing Pearl Spring 3rd"]
[Site "Nanjing"]
[Date "2010.10.22"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Wang, Yue"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C43"]
[WhiteElo "2826"]
[BlackElo "2732"]
[Annotator "Giri,A"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[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 {Everybody still remembers the King's Gambit game that Carlsen won,
and I think there is no doubt Magnus wants to keep his 100% score there, so...}
2. Nf3 $1 Nf6 {Wang has a very solid repertoire and Petroff is an essential
part of it.} 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nxd7 Bxd7 7. O-O Bd6 (7... Qh4
$5 {has lost its popularity nowadays, though my Dutch teammate Jan Smeets (I
am still in Olympiad mode...) tried it against Tiviakov in Corus 2010.}) 8. Qh5
$5 {Interesting try, that took the Chinese super-GM by surprise. Strangely,
though, since the move is relatively well known...} ({Statistically the main
move} 8. c4 {is normally chosen in order to force a draw}) 8... Nf6 {The
d-pawn was attacked, but now} 9. Re1+ {The point. Now Black has a choice} Kf8 {
Strange looking, but main. Black trusts his better development and hopes it
will compensate for the uncomfortable position of the king. After this game
though, I think this trust may be weakened.} (9... Be7 {is more solid, but
still, life is not so easy after let's say} 10. Qe2 Be6 11. Nd2 O-O 12. Nf3 Re8
13. Ne5 Nd7 14. f4 Nxe5 15. dxe5 {and Tiviakov got some (practical) advantage
against Socko this year. In the game Black managed to escape.}) 10. Qe2 $1 (10.
Qh4 {is played more often, but Black has a simple way to equalize:} Ng4 $1 {
and White has to change the queens. The arising endgame is deadly equal.})
10... Ng4 {Perhaps this logical move, which was also considered to be main, is
a bit over-optimistic after all..} ({The solid} 10... c6 $5 {deserves
attention and should be studied by those who are interested. Still after the
critical} 11. Nd2 Qc7 12. Nf3 Bg4 13. Qe3 $1 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 Bxh2+ 15. Kf1 Bd6
16. Bg5 {played twice by Sutovsky - maybe not without reason... Life isn't
that simple.}) 11. h3 Qh4 12. Qf3 Bh2+ (12... Nf6 {is main and more solid, but
I believe after} 13. Nc3 c6 14. Ne2 {Black has no attack, but a little bit
uncomfortable king, so White should be slightly better with no risk.}) 13. Kf1
Nxf2 {The whole operation is conducted in the spirit of the position, with the
white queenside still undevelopped, but in fact the black pieces are also not
perfect with the rook on h8 and the king on f8, eager to swap places.} 14. Qxf2
Bg3 15. Qd2 Qf6+ 16. Kg1 Bxe1 17. Qxe1 Qxd4+ 18. Kh2 Re8 19. Qg3 Qe5 {Leads to
a lost endgame, which though at first sight seems interesting for Black.
However there was already no way back, because if White develops, the position
is just lost for Black.} 20. Qxe5 Rxe5 21. Bf4 $1 {I was about to write
"fearless Magnus", but I think "well prepared Magnus" is more appropriate here.
} Re1 22. Bxc7 {Here I first thought that the computer doesn't understand that
his queenside is stuck, but then I realized that in fact the threat is Ba5-d2
followed by Be2 kicking out or winning the rook.} a6 {Only try. Black wants to
change the potentially dangerous d3 bishop, but White has a logical antidote:}
23. Ba5 Rd1 24. a4 $1 {Now there is nothing Black can do against Bd2, followed
by Be2, or} Ke7 25. Bd2 Rc8 26. c3 $1 {With idea Bc2! Now Black is clearly
lost and the rest is easy.} d4 27. c4 g6 28. Be2 Bxa4 29. Bb4+ Ke6 30. Bxd1
Bxd1 31. Nd2 Be2 32. b3 f5 33. Kg3 Rd8 34. Kf2 d3 35. Bc3 Kf7 36. Nf3 f4 37.
Ng5+ Kg8 38. Ne6 1-0

[Event "London Classic 2nd"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2010.12.11"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A21"]
[WhiteElo "2802"]
[BlackElo "2741"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[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. c4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d6 4. Nc3 g6 5. e3 {After a less than perfect start
it seemed appropriate not to discuss topical theory today, even in the Dutch
Defence. Nach einem weniger als perfekten Start schien es angemessen, heute
keine aktuelle Theorie zu diskutieren, nicht einmal in der holländischen
Verteidigung.} Bg7 6. Nge2 O-O 7. O-O e5 8. b3 Nbd7 (8... Nc6 {would lead to a
well-known position from the closed Sicilian, with White a tempo up obviously.
Whether the extra tempo actually makes a difference is, of course, an entirely
different matter. würde zu einer bekannten Stellung aus dem Geschlossenen
Sizilianer führen, wobei Weiß offensichtlich ein Tempo mehr hat. Ob das
Extratempo tatsächlich einen Unterschied macht, ist, natürlich, eine ganz
andere Frage.}) 9. d3 {I thought it would be sensible to postpone the
devolopment of the bishop, and for that purpose I also prepared another
waiting move, Qd2. I thought that d4 here or during the next few moves would
be wrong, as Black can simply answer e4. I would then have to play f3 and
later try to get e4 in, but it seemed to me that Black is always ready for
this Ich hielt es für vernünftig, die Entwicklung des Läufers zu verzögern,
und zu diesem Zweck bereitete ich auch noch einen weiteren Wartezug vor, Qd2.
Die Fortsetzung d4 hier oder in den nächsten paar Zügen hielt ich für falsch,
da Schwarz einfach e4 antworten kann. Darauf würde ich f3 spielen und später
versuchen müssen, e4 durchzusetzen, aber mir schien, dass Schwarz immer dafür
gewappet ist.} c6 10. Ba3 Qc7 (10... Qe7 {is also possible, but it makes sense
not to put the queen in the line of fire of the white bishop. ist ebenfalls
möglich, aber es ist sinnvoll, die Dame nicht in die Schusslinie des weißen
Läufers zu stellen.}) 11. Qd2 Re8 {White is well prepared for a pawn storm on
the kingside, as g5 can always be met with f4. Therefore, putting this rook on
e8, and later the other one on d8, makes perfect sense. Für einen Bauernsturm
am Königsflügel ist Weiß gut gewappnet, da g5 immer mit f4 beantwortet werden
kann. Daher ist das Platzieren dieses Turmes auf e8 und später die des anderen
auf d8 absolut sinnvoll.} 12. Rae1 {I was very unsure of where to put the rook.
Basically, White has three ways of breaking in the centre, d4, e4 and f4. As I
said, I felt that d4 is usually not very good.  Clearly, the rook would be
better placed on the d-file if I'm going to play e4, but I think Black is well
prepared for this: Ich war sehr unsicher, wo ich den Turm hinstellen sollte.
Im Grunde hat Weiß drei Möglichkeiten, im Zentrum durchzubrechen, d4, e4 und
f4. Dabei schien mir, wie gesagt, dass d4 meist nicht sehr gut ist.  Wenn ich
e4 spielen will, stünde der Turm eindeutig besser in der d-Linie, aber ich
denke, dass Schwarz dafür gut gewappnet ist.} (12. Rad1 Nc5 13. e4 (13. d4 Nce4
14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. Qc2 Nf6 $1 16. d5 c5 {looks excellent for Black sieht
ausgezeichnet aus für Schwarz.}) 13... a5 (13... f4 $5 {with the idea of mit
der Idee} 14. gxf4 Bh6 15. d4 Ne6 $1 16. dxe5 dxe5 17. Bd6 Qf7 18. Bxe5 Nh5 {
also might be interesting könnte ebenfalls interessant sein.}) 14. exf5 {
The idea behind my previous move. Maybe h3, which would be very useful in the
following line would be more prudent, but then the f4!? idea becomes even more
tempting for Black. Die Idee hinter meinem vorigen Zug. Womöglich ist h3, was
in dem folgenden Abspiel sehr nützlich wäre, klüger, aber dann wird die Idee
f4!? noch verlockender für Schwarz.} Bxf5 15. d4 Nd3 16. h3 h5 {and Black is
just too active. und Schwarz ist einfach zu aktiv.}) 12... Nc5 13. h3 {I was
very happy with this prophylactic move. Mit diesem prophylaktischen Zug war
ich sehr zufrieden.} ({The problem with the immediate Das Problem bei dem
sofortigen} 13. f4 {is ist} e4 14. Bxc5 dxc5 15. dxe4 fxe4 16. h3 h5 {when the
Pe4 cannot be won, and White is stuck with a relatively passive position due
to the cramping effect of that very same pawn. With the pawn already on h3, it
all would be very different, as White would then have g4, followed be either
Ng3 or g5, rounding up the e4-pawn. , wonach der Pe4 nicht erobert werden kann,
und Weiß aufgrund der einengenden Wirkung eben jenes Bauern eine relativ
passive Stellung am Hals hat. Mit dem Bauern bereits auf h3 wäre alles ganz
anders, da Weiß dann g4 hätte, gefolgt von entweder Ng3 oder g5, mit
Einkreisung des e4-Bauern.}) 13... e4 {My opponent decides to simplify the
position a bit, possibly due the fact that he had already spent quite a bit of
time. Mein Gegner beschließt, die Stellung ein wenig zu vereinfachen,
womöglich aufgrund der Tatsache, dass er bereits einiges an Zeit verbraucht
hatte.} ({Mobilising the rest of his army with Das Mobilisieren seiner
restlichen Armee mit} 13... Bd7 14. f4 a5 {was obviously quite reasonable as
well, and Black is quite ok. war offenbar ebenfalls ganz vernünftig, und
Schwarz steht recht ordentlich.}) 14. dxe4 (14. Bxc5 dxc5 15. dxe4 fxe4 16. g4
{looks much less convincing now that the white pawn is not on f4, but even
here Black has to act quickly because Ng3 is coming. wirkt weit weniger
überzeugend jetzt, da der weiße Bauer nicht auf f4 steht, doch selbst hier
muss Schwarz schnell handeln, da Ng3 kommt.} Qe5 (16... Bxg4 17. hxg4 Nxg4 18.
Ng3 Qe7 {is something I didn't see at all during the game, and is probably
worse due to ist etwas, was ich während der Partie überhaupt nicht sah, und
vermutlich auch schlechter wegen} 19. Bh3 Ne5 20. Qc2 Nf3+ 21. Kg2 Nxe1+ 22.
Rxe1 Bxc3 23. Qxc3 {and White must be better. und Weiß muss besser stehen.})
17. Rd1 (17. Ng3 Nxg4) 17... h5 18. gxh5 Qxh5 {and I thought that Black must
be doing quite well. True, the engines point out und ich dachte, dass Schwarz
recht gut stehen muss. Schön, die Engines weisen auf} 19. Qd6 {when Bxh3 is
met by Nf4, but the follow up with Qh2 somehow fails to convince me... hin,
worauf Bxh3 mit Nf4 beantwortet wird, aber die anschließende Fortsetzung mit
Qh2 kann mich irgendwie nicht überzeugen...} (19. Ng3 Qh4)) 14... Nfxe4 (14...
fxe4 15. Rd1 Bf8 16. g4 {is clearly not to be recommended for Black. ist
eindeutig nicht zu empfehlen für Schwarz.}) 15. Qc2 (15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Bxe4
fxe4 17. Bxd6 Qf7 18. Kh2 g5 {gives plenty of compensation for the pawn, and
is not something to enter when there is a very reasonable alternative. gibt
jede Menge Kompensation für den Bauern und ist nichts, worauf man sich
einlassen sollte, wenn es eine sehr vernünftige Alternative gibt.}) 15... Nxc3
16. Nxc3 Be6 17. Rd1 Rad8 {Now we have reached a type of position which is
quite typical for the Leningrad Dutch. It looks a little better for White, who
has no real weaknesses and a harmonious enough position, but in reality it's
probably closer to equal, as Black has enough influence in the centre, and his
only weakness on d6 can be easily defended.  Damit haben wir einen
Stellungstyp erreicht, der für den holländischen Leningrader ziemlich
charakteristisch ist. Es sieht ein bisschen besser aus für Weiß, der keine
echten Schwächen hat und harmonisch genug steht, in Wirklichkeit aber ist es
vermutlich eher ausgeglichen, da Schwarz genügend Einfluss im Zentrum hat und
sich seine einzige Schwäche auf d6 leicht verteidigen lässt.} 18. Bb2 Bf7 19.
Rd2 {While the d6-pawn is certainly not falling any time soon, piling up the
rooks on the d-file to keep Black on his toes certainly can't hurt. Obwohl der
d6-Bauer in nächster Zeit bestimmt nicht fallen wird, kann das Verdoppeln der
Türme in der d-Linie, um Schwarz auf Trab zu halten, gewiss nicht schaden.} a5
20. Rfd1 Be5 21. Ne2 a4 {Hikaru, true to his style, decides to sharpen the
game a bit. With a weakness on b3 I would certainly not have anything real, so
in a sense my next move is forced. Hikaru, seinem Stil treu, beschließt, die
Partie ein wenig zu verschärfen. Mit einer Schwäche auf b3 hätte ich sicher
nichts Reales, daher ist mein nächster Zug gewissermaßen erzwungen.} (21... Qb6
22. Bc3) 22. b4 Nd7 (22... Bxb2 23. Qxb2 Ne4 24. Bxe4 fxe4 (24... Rxe4 25. c5
d5 26. Nc3 {wins a pawn. gewinnt einen Bauern.}) 25. Qc2 {seems to leave Black
with more weaknesses than White, and Black is not active enough to exploit the
absence of my g2-bishop scheint bei Schwarz mehr Schwächen zu hinterlassen als
bei Weiß, und Schwarz steht nicht aktiv genug, um die Abwesenheit meines
g2-Läufers ausnutzen.}) 23. Bd4 Nb6 {An interesting point, as White has three
different options. Ein interessanter Punkt, denn Weiß hat drei verschiedene
Optionen.} 24. Bxb6 (24. Bxe5 dxe5 25. Rxd8 Rxd8 26. Rxd8+ Qxd8 27. c5 Nc4 28.
Qxa4 Qd2 {clearly isn't worth going for, misplacing the queen and activating
the black pieces is too high a price for the a-pawn. lohnt eindeutig keinen
Versuch; das Deplatzieren der Dame und Aktivieren der schwarzen Figuren ist
ein zu hoher Preis für den a-Bauern.}) (24. c5 {however, is rather more
demanding for Black, and something I considered very seriously dagegen ist
deutlich anspruchsvoller für Schwarz, und etwas, was ich sehr ernsthaft erwog.}
dxc5 25. bxc5 Nc4 26. Rd3 Bxd4 27. exd4 {Now Black will have to act quickly,
as if the black knight gets kicked from c4 or White gets in d5, Black will be
in serious trouble Nun wird Schwarz schnell handeln müssen, denn wenn sein
Springer von c4 vertrieben wird oder Weiß zu d5 kommt, wird er ernsthaft in
der Klemme sitzen.} (27. Rxd4 Qa5 $1 {is very much ok for Black ist vollauf
okay für Schwarz.}) 27... a3 $1 (27... Qa5 {is also quite interesting, as Rc3
can now be met with Rxe2. However White will now have time to get in a3 and
deny the black knight the b2-square. ist ebenfalls recht interessant, da auf
Rc3 nun Rxe2 folgen kann. Doch Weiß wird jetzt Zeit haben, zu a3 zu kommen und
dem schwarzen Springer das b2-Feld zu verwehren.} 28. Rb1 Re7 29. a3 $1 Rde8
30. Bf1 {and White is very close to achieving something real. und Weiß steht
dicht davor, etwas Reales zu erreichen.}) 28. Rb1 (28. d5 Nb2) 28... Ra8 $1 {
The only move as otherwise Rc3 would be very unpleasant. Now however, Black
seems to have enough counterplay with precise play. Der einzige Zug, denn
andernfalls wäre Rc3 sehr unangenehm. Jetzt dagegen scheint Schwarz bei
genauem Vorgehen genug Gegenspiel zu haben.} 29. d5 Nb2 30. Rd4 {I stopped
around here, as I could not really figure out what was going on, and the game
continuation looked quite good. Additionally this is the kind of messy
position my opponent is considered to excel in. However, the position is quite
dangerous for Black if White can coordinate his pieces. Hier irgendwo stoppte
ich, da mir nicht wirklich klar wurde, was los war, und die Partiefortsetzung
ganz gut aussah. Außerdem ist diese Art von undurchsichtiger Stellung genau
das, worin mein Gegner als überragend gilt. Allerdings ist die Position
ziemlich gefährlich für Schwarz, wenn Weiß seine Figuren koordinieren kann.}
Re5 $1 (30... Rad8 31. d6 Qa5 32. Nc1 $8 Re1+ 33. Kh2 {with Nb3 to come looks
good for White. nebst Nb3 sieht gut aus für Weiß.}) (30... Qe5 31. dxc6 $1) (
30... cxd5 31. Bxd5 Bxd5 32. Rxd5 Qf7 33. Nf4 Rad8 34. Qb3 {looks promising
for White. wirkt aussichtsreich für Weiß.}) 31. Nf4 (31. Nc3 Qa5 32. dxc6 bxc6
33. Bxc6 Qxc5 34. Bxa8 Qxd4 $15) 31... Qa5 32. Kh2 Rae8 33. h4 {with a
complicated position, but it's probably easier to play for White. mit
komplizierter Stellung, die allerdings wohl für Weiß leichter zu spielen ist.})
24... Qxb6 25. Rb1 {Now the game has changed character a bit. Black has gained
a serious asset, the bishop pair, but in return my bishop has become quite a
bit stronger, especially in connection with b5 at some point. Additionally,
while I always have watch out for Bxg3 if the knight moves, the white king
will almost certainly be the safer one when the position inevitably opens up.
Nun hat die Partie einen etwas anderen Charakter angenommen. Schwarz hat einen
ernsten Trumpf erobert, das Läuferpaar, aber dafür ist mein Läufer ein ganzes
Stück stärker geworfen, vor allem in Verbindung mit b5 an irgendeinem Punkt.
Außerdem muss ich zwar Bxg3 aufpassen, wenn der Springer zieht, doch wird der
weiße König von Weiß fast garantiert der sicherere sein, wenn sich die
Stellung unweigerlich öffnet.} Qc7 (25... a3 {was a sharper, but not very good
try: war ein schärferer, aber nicht besonders guter Versuch:} 26. Nd4 {,
otherwise Bb2 might be unpleasant , ansonsten könnte Bb2 unangenehm sein} d5 {
, the point, now that the knight has been lured to d4 , die Pointe, jetzt, da
der Springer nach d4 gelockt wurde.} 27. c5 Qc7 28. b5 {and White is clearly
on top. und Weiß ist klar obenauf.}) 26. Nd4 Rc8 $1 {A nice prophylactic move.
Ein hübscher prophylaktischer Zug.} (26... Qe7 {immediately would be
considerably weaker due to b5, when the white squares in the black camp are
really soft. sofort wäre beträchtlich schwächer wegen b5, wonach die weißen
Felder im schwarzen Lager wirklich weich sind.}) 27. Rc1 {Now I'm threathening
to take the a4-pawn. Nun drohe ich, den a4-Bauern zu nehmen.} Qe7 28. Rd3 {
Qxa4 obviously failed to Bxg3. Qxa4 scheiterte offensichtlich an Bxg3.} c5 $1 {
It turned out that that there was also another idea connected with Rc8. It is
also essentially the only move, as Es stellte sich heraus, dass mit Rc8 auch
noch eine andere Idee verbunden war. Es ist auch im Kern der einzige Zug, denn}
(28... Ra8 29. b5 {leaves Black under serious positional pressure. belässt
Schwarz unter ernstem positionellen Druck.}) 29. bxc5 Rxc5 30. Qxa4 Rec8 $6 {
The most obvious move, which my opponent played very quickly. However, now
White retains some pressure without any risk. Der offensichtlichste Zug,
welchen mein Gegner sehr schnell spielte. Nun aber behält Weiß einigen Druck
ohne jedes Risiko.} (30... d5 {was more interesting. war interessanter.} 31.
Ne2 (31. Nf3 b5 $1) 31... dxc4 32. Rd7 Ra5 $1 33. Qd1 Qf6 34. Bxb7 Ra7 35. Bf3
Rxd7 36. Qxd7 Rd8 37. Qb5 Rd2 {and Black should not lose. und Schwarz sollte
nicht verlieren.}) 31. Rb1 $1 (31. Rb3 {looks tempting, but after wirkt
verlockend, aber nach} Rxc4 32. Rxc4 Rxc4 33. Qa8+ Qf8 {it's just a draw. ist
es einfach remis.}) 31... Rxc4 32. Qd1 {Now Black has some problems as White
is once again well coordinated, and b7 and d6 are weak. Hikaru was also
getting seriously short on time. Nun hat Schwarz einige Probleme, da Weiß
wieder gut koordiniert ist und b7 sowie d6 schwach sind. Außerdem wurde bei
Hikaru die Zeit ernstlich knapp.} b6 ({Exchanging with Abtauschen mit} 32...
Bxd4 33. Rxd4 Rxd4 34. Qxd4 Qe5 35. Qb6 Bxa2 36. Qxb7 Be6 37. Rd1 {doesn't
really solve all Black's problems either as he will inevitably lose the
d6-pawn. löst nicht wirklich alle Probleme, da er unweigerlich den d6-Bauern
verlieren wird.}) 33. Nb5 R4c5 $6 (33... Rd8 {was indicated by Hikaru after
the game as stronger. wurde von Hikaru nach der Partie als stärker angegeben.}
34. f4 (34. a4 Rc5 35. f4 Bc4 $1 36. fxe5 Bxd3 37. Qxd3 dxe5 38. Qe2 Qd7 {
must be fine for Black. muss ordentlich sein für Schwarz.}) 34... Bf6 35. Nxd6
Rc3 36. Rxb6 Qc7 37. Rxc3 Qxb6 {This is probably the strongest. Dies ist
vermutlich am stärksten.} (37... Qxc3 {is what we looked at after the game,
but here White keeps serious pressure with ist, was wir nach der Partie
betrachteten, aber hier behält Weiß ernsten Druck mit} 38. Qe2 Bd4 $1 39. exd4
Qxd4+ 40. Qf2 Rxd6 41. Rxd6 Qxd6 42. Qf3 $1 {and White will keep the extra
pawn with winning chances und Weiß wird den Extrabauer behaupten, mit
Gewinnchancen} (42. Qa7 g5 {gives Black counterplay gibt Schwarz Gegenspiel.}))
38. Rd3 Bxa2 39. Qd2 Be6 40. Nb5 Rxd3 41. Qxd3 {and while White can certainly
try, is unlikely that it's enough to win. und während Weiß es sicher versuchen
kann, ist unwahrscheinlich, dass es zum Gewinn reicht.}) 34. Nxd6 {I have to
take, as Ich muss nehmen, denn} (34. Rd2 Rd8 {followed by d5 is just too
little. nebst d5 ist einfach zu wenig.}) 34... Bxd6 35. Rxd6 Bxa2 36. Ra1 {
Now White will win a pawn. Nun wird Weiß einen Bauern gewinnen.} Rc1 (36... Bf7
37. Rxb6 {also leaves Black with the cheerless task of defending a pawn down,
although with real chances of success. beschert Schwarz ebenfalls die
freudlose Aufgabe, sich mit Minusbauern zu verteidigen, allerdings mit realen
Chancen auf Erfolg.}) 37. Rxc1 Rxc1 38. Rxg6+ {Without this interpolation 
(which Hikaru had missed when he went for the line with R4c5) it would
obviously just have been a draw. Black still has drawing chances, but it's
very difficult now. Ohne diese Einschaltung (welche Hikaru übersehen hatte,
als er das Abspiel mit R4c5 einschlug) wäre es offensichtlich einfach remis.
Schwarz hat noch immer Remischancen, aber jetzt ist es sehr schwierig.} hxg6
39. Qxc1 Qd6 40. h4 Bf7 $6 {After this typical 40th move inaccuracy Black is
probably lost. Nach dieser typischen Ungenauigkeit im 40. Zug ist Schwarz
wahrscheinlich verloren.} (40... Be6 {was considerably more tenacious. Hikaru
feared that an endgame after Qc6 would be lost here, but I am still not sure
about that. I would probably have gone for e4 here, which is met by war
erheblich hartnäckiger. Hikaru fürchtete, dass ein Endspiel nach Qc6 an dieser
Stelle verloren wäre, aber ich bin da noch immer nicht so sicher. Ich hätte
hier vermutlich e4 gewählt, was mit} 41. e4 fxe4 42. Bxe4 Bf7 {and it might
still be within the drawing range. beantwortet wird, und es könnte noch immer
innerhalb der Remisbreite sein.}) 41. h5 $1 Kh7 (41... Qc5 {is the move I had
to calculate while making my last move. However, since the Black passer will
now be on c5, where it's considerably easier to approach for the white king,
White must be winning now. ist der Zug, den ich bei meinem letzten Zug
berechnen musste. Doch da der schwarze Freibauer jetzt auf c5 steht, wo der
weiße König beträchlich leichter an ihn herankommt, muss Weiß jetzt auf Gewinn
stehen.} 42. Qxc5 bxc5 43. hxg6 Bxg6 44. Kf1 Kf7 45. Ke2 Ke7 46. f4 Kd6 47. Kd3
Bf7 48. e4 fxe4+ 49. Bxe4 {and White wins.}) 42. hxg6+ Kxg6 43. Qc2 b5 (43...
Kf6 44. Qb2+ Kg6 45. Bf3 {can hardly be held either, as the black king is too
weak for him to create any real counterplay. ist auch kaum zu halten, da der
schwarze König zu schwach steht, als dass er reales Gegenspiel aufziehen
könnte.}) 44. g4 Qe5 (44... b4 45. Qxf5+ Kg7 46. Qg5+ Kf8 47. Be4 b3 48. Qf5 b2
49. g5 {and Black's pawn will not go any further, as Kg7 with the idea of Bg6
is met by Qh7+. und der schwarze Bauer kommt nicht mehr weiter, da Kg7 mit der
Idee Bg6 durch Qh7+ beanwortet wird.}) 45. gxf5+ Kg7 46. Qe4 $1 {Without this
move, which kicks the black queen from its dominating position, it would not
have been easy to win. It's not immediately apparent that the bishop ending is
won, but, as becomes clear in the game, the black pawn can be stopped. Ohne
diesen Zug, welcher die schwarze Dame aus ihrer dominierenden Stellung kickt,
wäre es nicht einfach gewesen zu gewinnen. Es springt nicht sofort ins Auge,
dass das Läuferendspiel gewonnen ist, aber, wie in der Partie klar wird, der
schwarze Bauer kann gestoppt werden.} Qd6 47. Qh4 Bc4 (47... b4 48. f6+ {
was the point of my previous move. Black has to take on f6, after which it's
obviously plain sailing. war die Pointe meines vorigen Zuges. Schwarz muss auf
f6 nehmen, wonach die Sache offensichtlich klar ist.}) 48. Bf3 Qf6 (48... Qe5 {
was the last try. war der letzte Versuch.} 49. Qg5+ Kf8 50. Qh6+ Ke7 51. e4 {
and White will gradually win. Importantly, und Weiß wird allmählich gewinnen.
Wichtig ist, dass} b4 52. Qb6 $1 b3 53. Qb4+ Kd8 54. Qxc4 Qa1+ 55. Kg2 b2 56.
Qd5+ Kc7 57. Qc5+ {wins for White, for instance für Weiß gewinnt, zum Beispiel}
Kd7 58. f6 $1 {with Bg4 to come. und es kommt Bg4.}) 49. Qxf6+ Kxf6 50. Be4 {
The endgame is easily winning, thanks to a little trick. Das Endspiel ist
leicht gewonnen, dank eines kleinen Tricks.} Ba2 51. f4 b4 52. Kf2 b3 53. Bd5
$1 Kxf5 54. Kf3 {And there are no chances left for Black. Und es gibt keine
Chancen mehr für Schwarz.} Kf6 55. e4 Kg6 56. Ke3 Kh5 57. Kd4 Kg4 58. f5 Kg5
59. Ke5 1-0

[Event "Bazna Kings 5th"]
[Site "Medias"]
[Date "2011.06.18"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2815"]
[BlackElo "2776"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "143"]
[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. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Qc2 c5 8.
dxc5 h6 9. Bd2 {This variation is naturally not especially dangerous for Black.
However, as the game shows, White has some chances for a small, stable edge.}
O-O 10. e3 Bxc5 11. Rc1 Qe7 12. Be2 a6 13. Qd3 {An important move; Black
should not be allowed to play ...b5 and ...Bb7 with easy play. Qb3 with the
same idea was also possible, but I felt that the queen would be better on d3.}
Nb6 14. O-O Bg4 {Frankly, I didn't understand why he wanted to provoke Nd4, as
in general exchanges favour White here.} (14... Be6 {was perfectly sensible.})
15. Nd4 Bd7 {I don't think it was necessary to withdraw the bishop immediately
as after} (15... Rac8 16. Bxg4 (16. b3 {is probably more accurate, but should
hardly trouble Black much either}) 16... Nxg4 17. Nf3 Ne5 18. Nxe5 Qxe5 {
Black is fine:} 19. b3 d4 20. f4 dxe3 $1 21. fxe5 exd2+ 22. Kh1 dxc1=Q 23. Rxc1
Rfd8 24. Qf3 Bd4 25. Ne2 Rxc1+ 26. Nxc1 Bxe5 $11) 16. Bf3 Rfe8 17. b3 Ba3 (
17... Ne4 18. Nxd5 {just loses a pawn.}) 18. Rc2 Rac8 (18... Ne4 19. Nce2 {
does not change too much.}) 19. Nce2 {Now White is definitely better. However,
it is still difficult to make any substantial progress.} Rxc2 20. Qxc2 Be6 {
Very sensible, as Ba5 was an annoying threat. The text gives the knight a
square on d7.} 21. Bc1 Rc8 (21... Bd6 {would be desirable, but gives White
some time to regroup:} 22. Bb2 Rc8 23. Qb1 Nbd7 24. Nf4 Ne5 25. Be2 {with a
very pleasant position.}) 22. Bxa3 Qxa3 23. Qd2 Bg4 $1 {An important move.
After the bishops are gone, White will not have too many resources left, and
the temporary lack of coordination in the black camp (the knights on b6 and g4
are loose, and even the rook might be hanging in some lines) cannot be
exploited.} (23... Nbd7 24. Nf4 Qe7 25. Rc1 Rxc1+ 26. Qxc1 Ne5 27. Be2 {
would give White the kind of position he's aiming for.}) 24. Bxg4 Nxg4 25. Nf5
Nf6 26. h3 {I spent a lot of time on this and the next few moves, looking for
a way to increase my advantage, but everywhere Black defends easily enough.}
Kh7 27. Qd4 Nbd7 28. Qf4 Nf8 {The most natural.} (28... Qxa2 29. Ned4 Qa3 {
looks risky, but is probably also playable:} 30. g4 (30. Nd6 Rc1 31. Rxc1 Qxc1+
32. Kh2 Qc7 $11) (30. Nxg7 Kxg7 31. Nf5+ Kg6 32. b4 Qc3 {leads nowhere}) 30...
Rc1 31. Rxc1 Qxc1+ 32. Kg2 g5 33. Qd6 Qc5 {and Black is ok.}) 29. Neg3 (29.
Nxh6 $2 {was tempting, but doesn't quite work:} Ne6 30. Qf5+ (30. Qh4 g5 31.
Qg3 Ne4 $1 (31... Kxh6 32. f4 {is actually quite dangerous}) 32. Qf3 Kxh6 33.
Qxf7 Qd6 34. Ng3 Ng7 35. Nxe4 dxe4 36. Qxb7 Rc6 {and only Black can be better})
30... Kxh6 31. g4 Qb2 32. Ng3 g5 $1 (32... g6 {is what I calculated, and is
also quite sufficient:} 33. g5+ Kg7 (33... Nxg5 34. Qxc8) 34. gxf6+ Qxf6 35.
Qxd5 Rc2 $11) 33. f4 Rc1 {and White is busted} (33... gxf4 34. g5+ Nxg5 35.
Qxf4 Rc1 36. h4 Rxf1+ 37. Kxf1 {might be enough for a draw})) (29. Ned4 Ng6 30.
Qd6 Qxd6 31. Nxd6 Rc7 {and it's unclear what the knight is doing on d6.}) 29...
Ng6 (29... Ne6 {was possibly even more precise. It looks weird to give the
white queen such a nice post on e5 for free, but after the cool} 30. Qe5 Rc6 $1
{White has nothing} 31. Nxg7 Nxg7 {shows the point of ...Rc6.}) 30. Qd4 Qc5 {
The only move (the threath of Nxg7 was very unpleasant). Now White has to
exchange queens.} 31. f3 Qxd4 32. Nxd4 Ne5 33. Rd1 g6 34. Kf2 Kg7 35. Nge2 Kf8
36. g4 {White is still a little better here, but since the only black weakness
is well defended and Black is active enough, there are no real winning chances.
} Nc6 37. Rc1 Ke7 (37... Ne7 {was quite possible. Short on time, I was
intending to repeat moves once, and then think about whether to exchange rooks
or knights. I would probably have chosen the first option.}) 38. h4 Kd6 39. h5
{There is not really anything else. In order to have any chances for a win, I
need to create a weakness on the kingside, and there h6 is the target.} Ne7 (
39... gxh5 40. Nf5+ $1 (40. gxh5 Nxh5 41. Rh1 Nxd4 42. Nxd4 Ng7 43. Rxh6+ Ne6
$11) 40... Kd7 41. gxh5 Nxh5 42. Rh1 Nf6 43. Rxh6 {would be unpleasant for
Black.}) 40. Rh1 gxh5 41. gxh5 Rg8 {Since the exchange of queens Ivanchuk had
been playing more or less at blitz speed, and I was wondering whether he
considered the position an easy draw, or was simply not in the mood for a
painstaking defence. Anyway, White certainly has something to play for here,
even though there is no doubt that Black should hold with sensible play.} 42.
Ng3 Rg5 43. b4 (43. f4 Rg8 44. Kf3 Kd7 {leads nowhere. I thought it would be
useful to postpone f4, as one of my knights or even the rook might want to use
that square.}) 43... Kd7 44. Rh4 Ne8 45. Rf4 Nd6 46. a4 b6 {This was not
necessary.} (46... Re5 {was quite ok. I don't see any serious was to play for
a win here} 47. Rg4 Nef5 $1) 47. a5 {Naturally, I should not let the
opportunity to create a potential weakness on a6 go, even though my own pawn
on a5 might also be weak in some lines.} bxa5 48. bxa5 f5 $6 {I thought this
was a serious inaccuracy during the game. There is no real need to leave this
pawn as a target for both my knights. Staying put with ...Re5 was probably
still fine.} 49. Rh4 Nc4 $2 (49... Rg8 50. Nge2 Rb8 51. Rh1 Rb2 52. Kg3 Ra2 53.
Nf4 Rxa5 54. Ng6 {gives White a serious initative, as the king suddenly has a
square on f4, and the black king might start to feel uncomfortable after a
timely Ne5.}) 50. f4 Rg4 51. Rh3 {An ugly move, but I didn't want to allow} (
51. Rh1 Nxe3 52. Kf3 Rg8 53. Rb1 Nc4 {which did not look clear to me at the
board. Probably though, the position after} 54. Rb7+ Kd6 55. Ndxf5+ Nxf5 56.
Nxf5+ Kc5 57. Rc7+ $1 Kb4 58. Ne7 {still offers winning chances, but it looked
really messy.}) 51... Nd6 52. Rh1 Rg8 (52... Ne4+ 53. Nxe4 dxe4 54. Rb1 {
just helps White, who is dominating.}) 53. Rb1 Ra8 54. Kf3 Kc7 55. Ne6+ {
Once again, I was a little short of time, and wanted to repeat moves before
going for Rb6.} (55. Rb6 {wins, as the following instructive variation shows:}
Kd7 (55... Nec8 56. Ne6+ Kd7 57. Nc5+ Kc7 58. Rxa6 Rb8 59. Ne2 $18) 56. Nb3 Kc7
57. Nc5 Nc6 58. Nxa6+ Kd7 59. Nc5+ Kc7 60. Ne6+ Kd7 61. a6 $1 Kxe6 62. Rxc6 Kd7
63. Rc5 Rxa6 64. Ne2 $1 {and with Nd4 and Rxd5 to come, White should win.})
55... Kc8 {I was a little upset that I allowed him this extra option, but
White is still winning.} 56. Nc5 Rb8 (56... Nc6 57. Rb6 Kc7 {would transpose
to the variations after 55.Rb6, and}) (56... Nc4 57. Rb7 {loses trivially.})
57. Rxb8+ Kxb8 58. Nxa6+ Kb7 59. Nb4 {White is winning here, as Black doesn't
have enough time to gobble up the a-pawn.} Nc4 60. a6+ Kb6 61. Ke2 Nd6 62. Kd3
Nb5 63. Ne2 Ka5 (63... Nc7 64. Nd4 Nxa6 65. Nxa6 Kxa6 66. Ne2 {with Kd4 and an
easy win to come.}) 64. Nc3 Nc7 65. Nbxd5 $1 {A nice finishing touch. The king
invasion is completely decisive, even a knight down!} Nexd5 66. Nxd5 Nxd5 67.
a7 Nc7 68. Kd4 Kb6 69. Ke5 Kxa7 70. Kxf5 Nd5 71. Kg6 Nxe3 72. Kxh6 {Black is
several tempi short here, so he resigned. I am happy with the way I conducted
this endgame, although some of Ivanchuk's decisions and especially his time
management left something to be desired.} 1-0

[Event "Biel Accentus"]
[Site "Biel"]
[Date "2011.07.26"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2714"]
[BlackElo "2821"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2011.07.18"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 144"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.09.16"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.09.16"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{I decided to annotate this game as it was quite typical for the Biel
tournament: Interesting, fighting, and far from faultless.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 {After thinking for a few minutes Shirov decided that he
didn't feel like playing the Berlin endgame that day.} Bc5 {I played d6
against Ivanchuk in Bazna and got a decent position, but a little change never
hurts.} 5. c3 O-O 6. Bg5 {As far as I could remember not much had happened in
this line since Anand-Topalov, San Luis 2005, where Topalov played h6 and g5
and got a good position. However, I was not particularily interested in
finding out what Shirov had prepared there.} h6 7. Bh4 Be7 {Once the white
bishop is on h4 this loss of tempo is considered to be justified.} 8. Nbd2 (8.
Bxc6 {It is important to note that this doesn't win a pawn due to the standard
trick} bxc6 (8... dxc6 9. Bg3 {is trickier, but probably also quite playable:}
Bg4 $1 10. Bxe5 Nd7 11. Bg3 Nc5) 9. Nxe5 Nxe4 $1) 8... d6 9. Nf1 Nb8 {Another
loss of tempo, but since White has spent a few tempi with the knight, and
because of the closed nature of the position, I felt that I could afford to
take such liberties. For those interested in alternatives, I refer you to my
engine and it's top choices of: 9...Rb8 and 9...a5.} 10. Ne3 Ng4 (10... Nbd7 {
was my first intention, not in connection with the usual plan of ...Re8, ...
Bf8 and so on, but rather "trapping" the white bishop with ...Nb6. However, I
was not sure about what to do after} 11. Ba4 $1 (11. O-O Nb6 $1 12. Bxf6 Bxf6
13. d4 c6 {with a perfectly satisfactory position.}) (11. Nf5 {might look
tempting, but after} Nb6 12. g4 (12. Nxe7+ Qxe7 13. O-O Bg4 14. h3 Bh5 {
with comfortable equality}) 12... Bxf5 13. gxf5 d5 {Black takes over the
initiative. e.g.} 14. Nxe5 c6 15. Ba4 Nxe4 $17)) 11. Bg3 {I was sort of
expecting this. Exchanging on e7 would have led to dull equality, which was
not Shirov's plan} Nxe3 12. fxe3 Nd7 13. d4 {Somewhat suprisingly, this was
the last chance for White to castle kingside comfortably in this game. However,
his desire to play this move before I can play ...Nf6 is perfectly
understandable, since Black would have fairly easy play after that:} (13. O-O
Nf6 14. Qc2 $6 (14. Bc4 Be6 $11 {Is better}) 14... a6 15. Ba4 b5 16. Bb3 Bb7 {
Black is intending c5, and White already has to be a little careful, as Nh4 is
met by ...Nxe4.}) 13... Nf6 $5 {This move, starting some concrete play, is
maybe not completely sound, but looked too interesting not to go for.} (13...
Bf6 14. O-O Qe7 {with a solid position was quite reasonable as well.}) 14. Bd3
Ng4 {The logical follow-up.} 15. Qe2 Bg5 16. dxe5 {I was a little surprised to
see this, as in the resulting positions only Black can be better.} (16. h3 {
This move, which forces Black to take on e3 and leave his knight stranded was
the critical option. In view of that, one might argue that Black is not really
threatening anything. However, as castling either way runs into a bishop check
on e3, and White doesn't have too many other useful moves, it makes sense to
force the issue.} Nxe3 17. dxe5 (17. h4 Bf4 18. Bf2 exd4 19. cxd4 Nf5 $1) 17...
dxe5 18. h4 Bf4 (18... Nxg2+ 19. Qxg2 Qxd3 20. hxg5 Bg4 21. Nxe5 Qe3+ 22. Kf1
f5 23. gxh6 fxe4+ 24. Bf2 {leaves Black powerless}) 19. Bf2 Nxg2+ (19... Ng4
20. g3 {wins a piece under much better circumstances for White}) 20. Kf1 Qf6
21. Kxg2 Qg6+ 22. Kf1 Bg4 23. Rg1 Qh5 24. Rxg4 (24. Nd4 f5 $1 {with a
dangerous attack} (24... Bxe2+ 25. Bxe2)) 24... Qxg4 25. Ke1 $1 {and with the
king running to safety, White should have the better long-term prospects.})
16... dxe5 17. Bxe5 (17. h3 Nxe3 18. h4 {would have transposed to the
variations after 16.h3.}) 17... Bh4+ {It's useful to weaken White's light
squares on the kingside and possibly give my light-squared bishop a nice
foothold on g4 or h3.} (17... Bxe3 18. Bd4 {did not look too appealing.}) 18.
g3 Nxe5 19. Nxe5 Bf6 20. Nf3 Qe7 21. O-O-O (21. O-O Bg4 {is very comfortable
for Black. With the weakening g3 the white king might not feel particularily
comfortable in the future.}) 21... c6 $6 (21... Bg4 {is not that appealing as
White can immediately challenge my bishop with} 22. h3 {This is the key
difference between long and short castling} Bxf3 23. Qxf3 {and with the bishop
coming to c4, White can look to the future with confidence.}) (21... a6 {
however, was very interesting. Unfortunately I didn't notice this idea until
the next move, when I had already wasted a move on c6} 22. Bc2 {The best} (22.
Nd4 c5 23. Nf5 Bxf5 24. exf5 b5 {is the key idea. White cannot activate his
bishop, and Black has an easy attack on the queenside}) 22... Rb8 $1 {and
Black has the initiative.} (22... b5 $2 23. e5 Bxe5 24. Qd3 g6 25. Qe4 $18))
22. Nd4 a6 {Even with the loss of a tempo, this is best.} (22... g6 {was my
intention, but then I noticed} 23. Rhf1 Bg7 24. Bc4 {and due to a little trick
White manages to activate his bishop, which is what I should avoid at any cost}
Qxe4 25. Rf4 Qe7 26. Rdf1 {and it's clear that Black has wasted too much time.}
) 23. Rhf1 c5 24. Nf5 Bxf5 25. Rxf5 b5 26. Bc2 c4 {I've managed to execute my
plan, and his bishop will now remain passive for a long time. On the other
hand, White has activated his rooks, and is after all a pawn up, so the
position is probably balanced.} 27. Rfd5 Be5 {In combination with my next move
the move makes a slightly akward impression. However, I felt that it was very
important to cover the d6-square, to keep my queen from being constantly
harassed by Rd7, Rd6 and so on.} 28. Qh5 Rae8 29. a3 Qa7 {Utilising a simple
tactical trick to put my queen on the excellent b8-square, where it supports
the a5-b4 break. I was very optimistic at this point, but his next move
dispelled my illusions. It is worth while to mention that if my pawn were
still on h7 my prospects would be drastically improved, as I would be able to
kick his queen away with g6.} (29... Bxc3 30. bxc3 Qxa3+ 31. Kd2 b4 32. cxb4
Qxb4+ 33. Ke2 Qb2 34. Kd2 Qb4+ {with a draw did not really tempt me,
especially as I only saw it after I had played ...Qa7.}) 30. Kd2 {I had simply
missed this idea. By transferring the king to e2 White takes the sting out of
the a5-b4 idea.} (30. Rxe5 $2 Qxe3+ 31. Kb1 g6 32. Rxe8 gxh5 33. Re5 Qe2 {
and White has a difficult defensive task ahead was obviously not what my
opponent was aiming for.}) 30... Qb8 31. Ke2 Re6 32. Qh4 Qb6 33. Rd8 Ree8 34.
Rxe8 Rxe8 35. Rd5 Qc7 36. a4 {A committal move, but far from a bad one. White
could just have stayed put of course, when it's hard for either side to
undertake any active operations.} Qb6 37. axb5 axb5 38. Qh5 (38. Rd7 {
immediately was the best move as far I could see. It's hard to find a
convenient way for Black to avoid the exchange of rooks, when there will not
be much left to fight for} Qe6 39. Rd8 Kh7 40. Rxe8 Qxe8 $11) 38... Qb8 39. Rd7
$6 {This was not necessary at all. Shirov was probably induced into it by the
fact that we were both short on time here, but my next move is pretty obvious
as with the white queen misplaced on the kingside the b4-break will grow
considerably in strength.} g6 40. Qf3 (40. Qxh6 b4 {looks pretty dangerous for
White, and not really worth the risk, since the text keeps White well within
the drawing zone.}) 40... Rf8 {Now there is no way to stop b4.} 41. Kf2 (41.
Rd5 b4 42. cxb4 Qxb4 $1 43. Rxe5 Qxb2 {[%cal Rb2e5,Rb2c2]}) 41... b4 42. Qe2
bxc3 43. bxc3 Qc8 (43... Qb2 {was an interesting attempt} 44. Bd3 Qa1 {
unfortunately I missed this cunning idea} (44... Qb5 45. Rd5 cxd3 46. Rxb5 dxe2
47. Rxe5 Rc8 $11) 45. Bxc4 Qh1 46. Qg4 $1 Qxh2+ 47. Kf3 {and there is no win
for Black:} Qh1+ (47... Kg7 48. Rxf7+ Rxf7+ 49. Bxf7 Kxf7 50. Qd7+) 48. Kf2 Rb8
49. Bxf7+ Kf8 50. Bb3 Qh2+ 51. Kf1 $11) 44. Qd2 Bxc3 45. Qd5 Qa6 {I saw that
this would lead to a draw more or less by force, but there was nothing better
anyway.} (45... Bg7 46. e5 c3 47. Kg2 {and White is too active for Black to
hope for anything real.}) 46. e5 $2 (46. Bd1 $1 {was the last chance to
maintain equality} Qf6+ 47. Kg2 Rb8 (47... Rc8 48. Be2 Qe6 49. Rd8+ Rxd8 50.
Qxd8+ Kg7 51. Qd5 $11) 48. Qxc4 Rb2+ 49. Be2 Be1 50. Kh3 {and Black has
nothing as} Qf2 $2 {even loses:} 51. Rd8+ Kh7 52. Qd4 $18) 46... Qa2 47. Qe4
Bxe5 {Now it's very difficult for White.} 48. h4 Re8 49. Kg2 h5 $1 {I came to
this move by elimination after a long period of thought.} (49... Re6 $2 {
is what I mainly calculated, and rejected for the wrong reasons.} 50. Rd8+ Kg7
51. Ra8 $1 (51. Rd7 h5 52. g4 hxg4 53. h5 Kh6 (53... Bd6 54. Qxe6 Qxc2+ {
actually wins by force, but since there was a serious flaw in my calculations
even earlier in this line, let's focus on what I actually saw...}) 54. Rxf7
Kxh5 55. Rh7+ (55. Rf5+ Kh4 {and the king march might actually end victoriously
}) 55... Kg5 56. Rg7 $1 Bxg7 57. Qf4+ Kh5 58. Qh2+ $11) 51... Qb2 52. Qxc4 $15)
(49... Qa8 {is another option I considered, but I didn't like} 50. Rb7 {
when my queen is clearly misplaced.}) 50. Kh3 {Now the rest is fairly easy.} ({
The key move I had to calculate was} 50. g4 hxg4 51. h5 Qa8 52. hxg6 fxg6 $1
53. Rb7 (53. Rd5 Bg7 54. Qxc4 Rc8 {and the pins work out in Black's favour} 55.
Qb3 Rxc2+ 56. Kg1 Qa2 $19) 53... Kf8 $1 {with ...Re7 to come, and Black is
winning.}) 50... c3 51. Rd5 Qa6 {The cleanest way.} 52. Bd3 (52. Rxe5 Qf1+ 53.
Kh2 Rxe5 54. Qxe5 Qf2+ 55. Kh3 Qxc2 {is easily winning for Black, of course.})
52... Qc8+ 53. Kg2 Bg7 (53... Bxg3 {was eminently playable of course, but in
the interest of king safety I did not want to remove the bishop from the long
diagonal. Besides, I had not seen his next move, and thought he would resign
after the text.}) 54. Rc5 Qd7 55. Qc4 (55. Qd5 Qxd5+ 56. Rxd5 Rxe3 {would have
prolonged the fight, but not by any means changed the result.}) 55... Rxe3 56.
Rc7 (56. Bxg6 Be5 57. Rd5 Qe6 {is also quite simple} (57... Rxg3+ 58. Kf2 Qa7+
{wins immediately, but such "long" moves are hard to spot.})) 56... Rxg3+ 57.
Kxg3 (57. Kf2 Bd4+ {would not have any other impact than preventing White from
transposing to the game as Kxg3 Qg4+ etc mates.}) 57... Be5+ 58. Kf2 Qxc7 59.
Qxc7 Bxc7 60. Kf3 {Shirov made the time-control with 1 second left, but
understandably decided not to continue the fight.} 0-1

[Event "Grand Slam Final 4th"]
[Site "Sao Paulo/Bilbao"]
[Date "2011.10.10"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E21"]
[WhiteElo "2823"]
[BlackElo "2765"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[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"]

{[%mdl 2]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. Qc2 {This apparently
came as a suprise to Ivanchuk, even though I played it against Anand in round
6. It might have something to do with the fact that I achieved very little in
that game.} Bb7 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. Qxc3 {All of the three main moves here, d6, 0-0
and Ne4, were tried against me in Bilbao. Regrettably, I did not show the same
versatility, only employing two of the three possible setups from this
position (no e3, Be2 and so on).} Ne4 8. Qc2 f5 9. g3 Nf6 {A case could be
made for including 9... 0-0 10.Bg2 before making this move, which will anyway
be necessary because of Ng5 or Nd2.} 10. Bh3 {Suddenly experiencing a burst of
creativity, I decided to try and exploit the extra opportunity. The main idea
behind this move is to be able to drive away the black bishop from e4 after ...
Be4 Q somewhere, without exchanging bishops.} O-O 11. O-O a5 {A far from
obvious move, which Ivanchuk made immediately.} (11... Qe8 12. d5 {is similar
to the game.}) (11... Be4 12. Qc3 Qe8 {was quite interesting however. Now Nd2
is bad due to ...Qh5, so I was going to continue playing creatively with} 13.
Rd1 Qh5 14. Bf1 {with good chances of fighting for an advantage.}) 12. Rd1 Qe8
13. d5 Na6 14. Bf4 (14. dxe6 dxe6 15. Bf4 {looks a little bit better for White,
but I was looking for something more interesting.}) 14... exd5 $2 {After this
move Black is in serious trouble.} (14... d6 {looked much more logical to me}
15. dxe6 (15. Ng5 Nc5 16. b4 h6 17. bxc5 hxg5 18. Bxg5 Ne4 {Is not that clear})
15... Be4 16. Qc3 Nc5 (16... Qh5 17. Bf1 Nc5 18. Nd4 {just transposes}) 17. Nd4
Qh5 (17... Nxe6 18. Nxe6 Qxe6 19. f3 Bb7 20. e4 $16) 18. Bf1 Rfe8 19. f3 Bb7
20. b4 Nxe6 21. Nxe6 Rxe6 22. c5 dxc5 23. bxc5 Qf7 {and Black is more or less
ok.}) (14... Qh5 15. Bg2 exd5 16. Nd4 g5 {was given as interesting by online
commentators. My decision to not delve deeper into it should be attributed to
laziness, not arrogance.}) 15. Bxf5 dxc4 (15... Ne4 16. Bh3 {looks pretty cool
for White too.}) 16. Ng5 $1 {The point. Now all kinds of tricks are possible.}
Qh5 {More or less forced. Black can hardly afford to give up the h7-pawn, and}
(16... h6 17. Bxd7 Qe7 (17... Qh5 18. g4 Qh4 19. Qxc4+ Kh8 20. Nf7+ Rxf7 21.
Qxf7 $18) 18. Qxc4+ Kh8 19. Qe6 $1 {is pretty straightforward.}) 17. Rxd7 {
This move was so tempting that I hardly looked at others.} ({With a slightly
cooler head, I might have come close to considering} 17. Rd4 $1 Rae8 18. Bd2 {
when Rh4 next will be hard to meet.}) 17... Kh8 {I quickly realised that this
was the only move, but I thought there should still be some relatively easy
way to win here.} (17... Nxd7 18. Bxh7+ Kh8 19. Bg6 Qg4 (19... Qh6 20. Nf7+
Rxf7 21. Bxh6) 20. h3 {loses trivially.}) 18. Re7 $6 {Objetively speaking, a
mistake. Unfortunately, I was not able to coolly give up the exchange without
finding a forced win.} (18. Rad1 $1 Nxd7 19. Rxd7 Nc5 {What else?} 20. Rxc7
Rad8 21. f3 {and White is dominating.}) 18... Nd5 19. Bg4 $6 {Another step in
the wrong direction.} (19. Re5 Nxf4 20. gxf4 {would still retain a clear
advantage.}) 19... Qg6 20. Nf7+ Kg8 21. Bf5 Qxf5 $1 {A nasty suprise.} (21...
Qh5 $145 22. g4 Qh4 23. Bg3 $1 Qxe7 24. Bxh7+ Kxf7 25. Qg6#) 22. Qxf5 Nxe7 23.
Nh6+ gxh6 24. Qg4+ Ng6 25. Bxh6 {Fortunately, White can still fight for an
advantage here, and with the open black king White certainly has the easier
game.} Rf7 26. Rd1 Re8 (26... c3 {would have been an interesting try, but it's
probably no better than the game continuation} 27. h4 $1 (27. bxc3 Nc5 {
is fine for Black}) 27... c2 28. Rd7 Nc5 29. Rxf7 Kxf7 30. Qc4+ Ke7 31. Qxc2 {
and White is clearly on top.}) 27. h4 Nc5 28. h5 Bc8 29. Qxc4 Ne5 30. Qh4 {
By now Ivanchuk had got really short on time, which was not making his job any
easier.} Nc6 $2 {After this Black can hardly defend.} ({The best chance was} 
30... Ne6 31. f4 (31. Rd5 Rf5 $1 {is the key}) 31... Nd7 32. e4 Kh8 {when
there is still all to play for.}) 31. Rd5 Ne6 32. Qc4 (32. Qa4 {would have
been even stronger, but for some reason I did not consider this move at all.
My idea with the text was to win the e5-square for my rook.}) 32... Ncd8 $2 (
32... Ne7 {would have held out much longer, but after} 33. Re5 Nf5 34. Qg4+
Nfg7 35. Qe4 {Black is pretty tied up, and White should win gradually.}) 33.
Qg4+ {Surprisingly the fact that the c8-bishop is unprotected becomes the
decisive factor.} Ng7 {Ivanchuk was visibly shocked when I captured his bishop,
but} (33... Kh8 34. Bd2 $1 {would have been equally bad.}) 34. Qxc8 1-0

[Event "Moscow Tal Memorial 6th"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2011.11.17"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D12"]
[WhiteElo "2826"]
[BlackElo "2744"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[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. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 {No QGD today. Kein Abgelehntes Damengambit heute.} 3. Nf3
Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 {But admittedly, this line is pretty solid
too. Doch auch dieses Abspiel ist zugegebenermaßen ziemlich solide.} 7. Nxg6
hxg6 8. Bd3 Nbd7 9. O-O Bd6 10. h3 {All very logical, but seldom played.
Probably because most sensible people don't want to come under the kind of
onslaught that happened in the game. Alles sehr logisch, aber selten gespielt.
Vermutlich, weil sich die meisten vernünftigen Menschen nicht der Art von
Überfall aussetzen wollen, zu dem es in der Partie kam.} dxc4 11. Bxc4 Nb6 12.
Bb3 {I thought about this one for a while. Just a waste of time really, as I
realised pretty early on that I wanted to put my bishop on b3 here, and that I
most likely was not going to change my mind. Darüber dachte ich eine Weile
nach. Eigentlich reine Zeitverschwendung, da mir ziemlich früh klar wurde,
dass ich hier meinen Läufer auf b3 stellen wollte und ich es mir
höchstwahrscheinlich nicht anders überlegen würde.} e5 13. Qc2 {Now Black will
not be able to castle kingside, and he's more or less forced to either castle
queenside and play for an attack, or put the king on f8, and accept a passive
position. Nun wird Schwarz nicht kurz rochieren können, und er ist mehr oder
minder gezwungen, entweder lang zu rochieren und auf Angriff zu spielen, oder
den König nach f8 zu stellen und eine passive Stellung in Kauf zu nehmen.} (13.
dxe5 Bxe5 14. Qf3 {is a more solid option. ist eine solidere Möglichkeit.} O-O
15. Rd1 Qe7 16. Bd2 {with a more or less typical position, where White has the
bishop pair, which would be enough for some people to claim a slight advantage.
mit einer mehr oder minder typischen Stellung, wo Weiß das Läuferpaar hat, was
manchen Leuten genügen würde, auf leichten Vorteil zu pochen.}) (13. Qf3 {
is no good due to ist nicht gut wegen} Qe7 {mit nachfolgendem ...e4. with e4
to come.}) 13... Qe7 (13... exd4 14. exd4 Bc7 15. Bg5 $1 Kf8 (15... Qd6 16. f4
Qxd4+ 17. Rf2 {looks promising for White wirkt vielversprechend für Weiß.}) 16.
Qd3 Qd6 17. f4 Nbd5 18. Rae1 {and White must be better. und Weiß muss besser
stehen.}) 14. Bd2 {Not an impressive move by any means, but it was not easy to
find something more useful here. Keineswegs ein beeindruckender Zug, aber es
war nicht einfach, hier etwas Nützlicheres zu finden.} (14. f4 exd4 15. exd4
O-O-O 16. f5 Bc7 17. fxg6 fxg6 18. Qxg6 Rxd4 {did not impress me at all; now
White will have to bail out with beeindruckte mich keineswegs; nun wird Weiß
die Reißleine ziehen müssen mit} 19. Qf7 Qxf7 (19... Qe5 20. Qe6+) 20. Bxf7 {
and hope for equality. und auf Ausgleich hoffen.}) 14... O-O-O $1 15. d5 {
To me, this seemed like the only logical move. Für mich schien dies der einzig
logische Zug zu sein.} (15. Nb5 Bb8 16. a4 {Too difficult. Zu schwierig.})
15... e4 {Clearly the only decent move. Eindeutig der einzig vernünftige Zug.}
(15... c5 16. e4 {is positional capitulation. ist positionelle Kapitulation.})
16. dxc6 Qe5 (16... Rxh3 17. gxh3 Qe5 18. f4 exf3 19. Rxf3 Qh2+ 20. Kf1 {
does not by any means lead to mate. führt keineswegs zum Matt.}) 17. f4 exf3
18. Rxf3 Ng4 {I had missed this elegant little move when I played 14.Bd2.
Diesen eleganten kleinen Zug hatte ich bei 14.Bd2 übersehen.} (18... Qh2+ 19.
Kf2 Bb4 {is what I was considering at first. One amusing continuation would be
ist, woran ich zuerst überlegte. Eine amüsante Fortsetzung wäre} 20. Bxf7 (20.
Be1 Rhe8 21. Rxf6 gxf6 22. Bxf7 Re5 23. Bxg6 Bc5 $13) 20... Rxd2+ 21. Qxd2 Bxc3
$1 {I had only looked at ...Ne4 Ich hatte nur ...Ne4 betrachtet.} (21... Ne4+
22. Nxe4 Bxd2 23. cxb7+ Kb8 24. Nxd2 Qd6 25. Nc4 Nxc4 26. Bxc4 {and White can
play for a win without risk und Weiß kann ohne Risiko auf Gewinn spielen.}) 22.
Qd3 Rd8 $1 23. cxb7+ Kxb7 24. Qxd8 Ne4+ 25. Ke2 Qxg2+ 26. Kd3 Nc5+ 27. Kxc3
Nba4+ 28. Kb4 Qxb2+ 29. Bb3 Qc3+ 30. Ka3 Qb2+ {with a draw by perpetual check.
mit Remis durch Dauerschach.}) 19. cxb7+ Kb8 20. hxg4 Rh1+ 21. Kf2 Rxa1 22. Ne2
{I was pretty sure that I did not have an advantage here, objectively speaking,
but I was fascinated by unusual nature of the position, so I was nevertheless
pretty excited. Ich war ziemlich sicher, dass ich hier objektiv gesehen keinen
Vorteil hatte, doch mich faszinierte die ungewöhnlich Natur der Stellung,
daher war ich trotzdem ziemlich aufgeregt.} Bc5 {Clearly the most natural move.
Eindeutig der natürlichste Zug.} (22... Rd7 {was also possible, with the point
that the tempting war ebenfalls möglich, mit der Pointe, dass das verlockende}
23. Nd4 {is well met by gut mit} Qh2 {beantwortet wird.}) 23. Bc3 {I thought
for a long time here, trying to figure out how to arrange my pieces. Actually
I considered just about every move; both captures on f7, Nd4 and even Bc1,
shutting out the rook on a1. Hier dachte ich lange nach und versuchte zu
ergründen, wie ich meine Figuren aufstellen sollte. Tatsächlich erwog ich so
ungefähr jeden Zug; beide Schlagweisen auf f7, Nd4 und sogar Bc1, um den Turm
auf a1 auszuschließen.} (23. Rxf7 Rxd2 24. Qxd2 Bxe3+ 25. Qxe3 Rf1+ 26. Kxf1
Qxe3 {should be a draw, the white king is too exposed sollte remis sein, der
weiße König ist zu exponiert}) (23. Nd4 Rxd4 {More or less forced, Mehr oder
minder erzwungen,} (23... Bxd4 24. exd4 Qxd4+ 25. Be3 Qb4 26. Rxf7 Qe1+ 27. Kf3
Qf1+ 28. Ke4 $1 Re8+ 29. Kd4 Rd1+ (29... Rd8+ 30. Kc5 Nd7+ 31. Kb4 Qe1+ 32. Bd2
$18) 30. Qxd1 Qxf7 $1 31. Bxf7 Rd8+ 32. Kc5 Rxd1 33. Kc6 {and White is winning
und Weiß gewinnt}) 24. exd4 Bxd4+ 25. Be3 Bxe3+ 26. Rxe3 Qf4+ 27. Rf3 Qd4+ 28.
Re3 $11 {I saw thus far, but I didn't want to settle for a draw like this So
weit sah ich, wollte mich aber nicht auf diese Weise mit einem Remis begnügen})
(23. Bxf7 Qe7 {and here I just could not find a decent move for White. und
hier konnte ich einfach keinen ordentlichen Zug für Weiß finden.}) 23... Qe7
24. g5 $1 {The point of my previous move. Die Pointe meines vorigen Zuges.}
Rdd1 ({For Bei} 24... Qxg5 25. Qe4 {White is perfectly centralised. Here I
looked at ist Weiß perfekt zentralisiert. Hier betrachtete ich} f5 26. Qf4+ $1
Qxf4 27. Nxf4 Kxb7 28. Ne6 Rc8 29. Rg3 {and even though Black is currently a
full exchange up, it is clear that only White can play for a win , und obwohl
Schwarz aktuell eine volle Qualität mehr hat, ist klar, dass nur Weiß auf
Gewinn spielen kann}) (24... Rd7 {was once again interesting. war wiederum
interessant.} 25. Bxf7 (25. Bxg7 Qxg5 26. Qe4 f5 {is no good, since there is
no Qf4 due to the fact that the bishop is hanging taugt nichts, da es wegen
der Tatsache, dass der Läufer hängt, kein Qf4 gibt.}) 25... Bxe3+ 26. Rxe3
Qxf7+ 27. Rf3 Qe7 28. Qxg6 Na4 $1 {and Black is doing quite well according to
the comp. und laut dem Computer fährt Schwarz ganz gut.}) 25. Ng3 {The only
move. Der einzige Zug.} Bd6 26. Qe2 {Once again, the only move, but I spent
some time around here, just to make sure that I was not walking into something
really embarrassing. Wiederum der einzige Zug, aber an dieser Stelle
verbrauchte ich etwas Zeit, nur um sicherzugehen, dass ich nicht in etwas
wirklich Peinliches hineinlief.} (26. Ne4 {would have been an excellent move,
were it not for wäre ein ausgezeichneter Zug gewesen, gäbe es da nicht} Rac1
27. Qe2 Rf1+ {and Black wins. und Schwarz gewinnt.}) 26... Rg1 $2 {This is too
optimistic. Das ist zu optimistisch.} ({Gelfand should have been content with
Gelfand hätte sich begnügen sollen mit} 26... Bxg3+ 27. Rxg3 Rf1+ 28. Qxf1
Rxf1+ 29. Kxf1 Nd7 $1 {and now, with the knight coming to e5 or c5, Black
should be ok. , und jetzt, wo der Springer nach e5 oder c5 kommt, sollte
Schwarz ordentlich stehen.} 30. Bxg7 (30. Rf3 Ne5 31. Bd5 Nxf3 32. Bxf3 Qxe3
33. Bxg7 Qxg5 {keeps the b7-pawn, but is most probably playing for a loss
rather than a win hält den b7-Bauern, ist aber wahrscheinlich eher Spiel auf
Verlust als auf Gewinn.}) 30... Nc5 31. Bc2 Ne4 32. Bxe4 Qxe4 33. a3 $11) 27.
Qd3 $2 {Very logical, preparing Ne4, but there was the much stronger Sehr
logisch, bereitet Ne4 vor, doch es gab das wesentlich stärkere} (27. Qb5 {
I rejected this move mainly because I could not see what my next move would be.
However, looking at the position once more, it seems even harder to find a
move for Black. Ich verwarf diesen Zug hauptsächlich, weil ich nicht sehen
konnte, was mein nächster Zug sein würde. Doch wenn man die Stellung erneut
betrachtet, scheint es sogar noch schwerer zu sein, einen Zug für Schwarz zu
finden.}) 27... Bc7 28. Ne4 Raf1+ $6 {Gelfand, who was in slight time-trouble,
wanted to clarify the situation a bit, but exchanging rooks does not help
Black. Gelfand, der in leichter Zeitnot war, wollte die Situation ein wenig
klären, doch der Turmtausch hilft Schwarz nicht.} 29. Ke2 Rxf3 30. gxf3 {
With two very powerful bishops, and a strong knight on e4, White is really
controlling a lot of squares now. Mit zwei sehr mächtigen Läufern und einem
starken Springer auf e4 kontrolliert Weiß jetzt wirklich eine Menge Felder.} f5
(30... Be5 31. Bxf7 $1 Bxc3 32. bxc3 {keeps an edge for White, as the bishop
obviously cannot be captured. wahrt ein Plus für Weiß, da der Läufer
offensichtlich nicht zu schlagen ist.}) (30... Rg2+ 31. Kf1 (31. Kd1 Rg1+ 32.
Kc2 Rg2+ {and White is getting nowhere und Weiß erreicht nichts}) 31... Rh2 {
was a very logical option, as the white king is now stuck on the first rank.
war eine sehr logische Option, da der weiße König jetzt auf der ersten Reihe
festhängt.} 32. f4 f5 (32... Qf8 33. Nf2 Qh8 34. Bxf7 Qh4 35. Be1 {is a much
more comfortable version for White. ist eine wesentlich bequemere Version für
Weiß.}) 33. gxf6 gxf6 34. Bxf6 (34. Nxf6 Rh3 {with Rxe3 or Bxf4 to come nebst
Rxe3 oder Bxf4.}) 34... Qh7 35. Nf2 Nd7 36. Bd4 Qh4 {and Black obtains
counterplay, which White can nevertheless contain with a few precise moves und
Schwarz erlangt Gegenspiel, welches Weiß nichtsdestotrotz mit ein paar
präzisen Zügen im Zaum halten kann.} 37. Qe2 Qg3 38. Bd5 Nb6 39. Bc6 Nc4 40. b3
Na5 (40... Nd6 41. Qf3 Qh4 42. Kg1 {and White is clearly on top. und Weiß ist
klar obenauf.}) 41. Bd5 Nxb7 42. Qf3 Qxf3 43. Bxf3 {and White should have some
winning chances. und Weiß sollte einige Gewinnchancen haben.}) 31. gxf6 gxf6
32. Bxf6 Qh7 33. Qb5 $1 {By now, I had got quite used to playing with an
exposed king, so making the decision to make room for the king on d3 was an
easy one. Mittlerweile hatte ich mich ziemlich daran gewöhnt, mit exponiertem
König zu spielen, daher fiel die Entscheidung, dem König auf d3 Platz zu
machen, leicht.} Rg2+ $2 (33... Nd7 34. Bd4 Qh3 35. Kd2 $1 Qg2+ 36. Kc3 Rc1+
37. Kb4 {and White is comfortably running away und Weiß läuft bequem davon}) (
33... a6 {with the idea of 34.Qxa6 Qh1 with counterplay, was probably the best
chance. mit der Idee 34.Qxa6 Qh1 mit Gegenspiel war vermutlich die beste
Chance.} 34. Qe8+ Kxb7 35. Nc5+ Ka7 36. Qc6 Qh2+ 37. Kd3 Qd6+ 38. Qxd6 Bxd6 {
and Black fights on in a difficult endgame. und Schwarz kämpft in einem
schwierigen Endspiel weiter.}) 34. Kd3 Qd7+ (34... Nd7 35. Be6 $1 {wins on the
spot. gewinnt auf der Stelle.}) 35. Qxd7 Nxd7 36. Bd5 {Surprisingly, the
"doomed" pawn on b7 is now the decisive factor. Überraschenderweise ist der
"todgeweihte" Bauer auf b7 jetzt der entscheidende Faktor.} Be5 (36... Nxf6 37.
Nxf6 a5 38. Nd7+ Ka7 39. e4 Rxb2 40. e5 {and White should win without any
trouble. und Weiß sollte ohne jede Mühe gewinnen.}) 37. f4 {A blunder, which
won the game immediately. Ein Übersehen, welches die Partie sofort gewann.} (
37. Bxe5+ Nxe5+ 38. Kd4 $1 Nd7 (38... Nxf3+ 39. Kc3 {and Nc5 next will decide ,
und Nc5 als nächstes entscheidet.}) 39. Bc6 Rg1 40. Nf2 {and White should win
easily. und Weiß sollte leicht gewinnen.}) 37... Bc7 $2 (37... Bxf6 38. Nxf6
Nc5+ 39. Kd4 Rc2 {would have enabled Black to fight on. I saw thus far, but
thought that b4 would win easily, as I simply did not realise that Black could
capture on b7 hätte Schwarz ermöglicht weiterzukämpfen. Ich sah so weit,
dachte aber, dass b4 leicht gewinnen würde, da ich einfach nicht begriff, dass
Schwarz auf b7 nehmen kann.} 40. b4 Nxb7 41. Nd7+ Kc7 42. Nf8 {and White keeps
a huge edge. Whether it's enough to win or not, is not clear, though. und Weiß
behält ein riesiges Plus. Ob es zum Gewinn reicht oder nicht, ist allerdings
nicht klar.}) 38. Bc6 {And Boris resigned, as the white knight is inevitably
going ro reach either d7 or a6 via c5 or f6. Certainly one of the most
interesting games I have played in recent times! Und Boris gab auf, denn der
weiße Springer erreicht unweigerlich entweder d7 oder a6 über c5 bzw. f6.
Sicher eine der interessantesten Partien, die ich in letzter Zeit gespielt
habe!} 1-0

[Event "Tata Steel-A 74th"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2012.01.14"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Gashimov, Vugar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A30"]
[WhiteElo "2835"]
[BlackElo "2761"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "133"]
[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"]

{I decided to annotate the game against Gashimov from the first round. The
games against Aronian and Topalov that I won (I've yet to annotate a game I
haven't won, for different reasons) were arguably more interesting, but I like
this one better.} 1. Nf3 {I had asked my father to name a letter from a-h
before the game, and since the other moves to the f-file are not particularily
inviting, it had to be this one.} Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 e6 4. g3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6.
O-O Be7 7. d4 cxd4 8. Qxd4 d6 9. Bg5 {I had sort of expected him to go for the
hegdehog, and I was curious to see what he would do against the good old
Andersson-line, where White frequently manages to get a small but stable
advantage.} a6 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Qf4 O-O 12. Rfd1 Be7 13. Ne4 {This is the
point, Black has to give up his light-squared bishop.} Bxe4 14. Qxe4 Ra7 15.
Nd4 Rc7 16. Rd2 {This has all been seen many times before, but here I suddenly
got the idea that I might be able to defer playing b3 until later. Probably,
it shouldn't make a lot of difference, though.} Rc5 (16... Rxc4 17. Nxe6 Rxe4
18. Nxd8 Rc4 19. Nb7 {is obviously very good for White, as d6 is dropping.})
17. Rad1 Qc7 18. b3 Kh8 (18... b5 {was a way to try and exploit the fact that
White hasn't got in a4 yet} 19. cxb5 axb5 20. b4 Rc4 21. a3 d5 22. Qe3 {
and thanks to some tactical tricks, most notably} Qb6 23. Bxd5 {White keeps
the initative.}) 19. Qb1 {Now however, we get a typical position. White will
try to expand on the queenside, and ideally put a knight on c6.} Nd7 20. e3 Qc8
21. Rc2 Rc7 22. a4 Rd8 23. Qa2 {Now White has completed his plan (which I
would have been quite proud of finding incidentically, had it not been played
by Andersson 30 years ago) , and if I could get in b4-b5 now, I would have a
serious advantage.} Ne5 {Stopping b4, but nevertheless not solving his
problems.} 24. h3 $6 (24. a5 {was quite strong here. I naturally considered
this, but I thought that Black could reply} bxa5 25. Qxa5 d5 {with an
excellent game. However, the simple} 26. Rdc1 {leaves White well on top,
thanks to the trick} Rc5 27. cxd5 $1 {which is what I missed (after other
moves Black is more than fine).}) 24... Bf6 {Now however, we resume the
unhurried manoeuvring.} 25. Rcd2 Rc5 26. f4 {I was very uncertain about this
one, but I thought it was worth chasing the knight to a bad square, even at
the cost of weakening my own position slightly.} Ng6 (26... Nd7 {would be
desirable, but fails to} 27. Nc6 Rxc6 28. Bxc6 Qxc6 29. Rxd6 Qf3 30. Qf2 Qb7
31. Qg2 Qc7 32. Qd2 {and the pin on the d-file is Black's downfall.}) 27. Rd3 {
I thought the queen might find some useful work on the second rank.} h6 {
Eventually, this led to an ugly weakening on the dark squares, but that was
rather hard to foresee at this point, and the black king needs an escape hole,
just in case.} 28. Qd2 e5 {Gashimov decided not to wait any longer, and try to
free his game. This break is made possible by the fact that I have weakened my
position with f4, giving Black some counterchances.} 29. Nc2 $1 {Much stronger
than} (29. Ne2 b5 {with adequate counterplay for Black.}) 29... b5 30. axb5
axb5 31. Na3 {This is what I had been counting on, I reckoned that White would
have a huge advantage with the knight coming to c4. However, around this point
I realised that it wasn't all that simple.} bxc4 32. Nxc4 d5 {The point,
otherwise the d6-pawn falls and Black has a miserable position.} 33. Bxd5 {
After some thought I settled on this, which at least gives White a lasting
advantage with no risk.} (33. Nb6 Qe6 {with the point of} 34. Nxd5 (34. Rxd5
Rcxd5 35. Nxd5 Ne7 {also leaves White with very few winning chances, as Black
gets to exchange his bad knight}) 34... e4 {is what I had missed. Surprisingly,
at least to me, Black wins material.}) 33... Qxh3 34. Qg2 Qxg2+ {Black has to
exchange queens to save his f7-pawn.} 35. Kxg2 exf4 36. exf4 {Material is
sharply reduced, and there are opposite-coloured bishops on the board, but as
it's often been shown in practice, that doesn't always guarantee a draw. Here,
White has some concrete advantages: His minor pieces are more much active than
their black counterparts, and the passed b-pawn is potentially very dangerous.
Additionally, the f7-pawn needs protection.} Rc7 37. Ne3 Rcd7 38. Ng4 {I was
very happy to find this manoeuvre.} (38. b4 Ne7 39. b5 Rd6 {leads nowhere, as
I don't want to move the bishop and exchange rooks.}) 38... Bb2 $2 {A serious
inaccuracy.} (38... Bc3 {was much better. Paradoxically, the bishop is less
exposed here than on b2, as is apparent in the game} 39. Nf2 f5 {and Black
keeps excellent drawing chances, as is apparent in the line} 40. Be6 Rxd3 41.
Rxd3 Rxd3 42. Nxd3 {and the bishop is not hanging, so that Black can safely
protect the pawn with ...Ne7.}) (38... Ne7 {might be tempting, but leads to a
very unfortunate transformation for Black} 39. Nxf6 gxf6 40. Bc4 Rxd3 41. Rxd3
Rxd3 42. Bxd3 {and with a passed pawn and the stronger miner piece, White
should win despite material equality.}) 39. Nf2 f6 {An ugly move, but probably
not a bad one.} (39... Rb8 40. Bc4 {also leaves Black with an unpleasant
position.}) 40. Be4 Nf8 {Absolutely forced;} (40... Rxd3 41. Rxd3 Rxd3 42. Nxd3
{leaves two black pieces hanging.}) 41. b4 {Finally, the time has come to
advance this pawn.} Rxd3 42. Nxd3 Bc3 43. Rc1 Bd4 (43... Rd4 44. Kf3 Bxb4 45.
Nxb4 Rxb4 46. Rc8 {costs Black the knight on f8.}) 44. Nc5 Be3 {I was happy to
see this one, as I was sure that the plan involving putting a rook on the
second rank would lead nowhere.} (44... g6 {would also not have solved Black's
problems, due to the clever} 45. Rd1 f5 46. Nb7 $1 (46. Bf3 Bf6 {is naturally
harmless}) 46... Rd7 47. Bc6 Rc7 48. b5 Bb6 49. Nd6 {and, mainly due to the
passive positions of his pieces, Black still has a very difficult position.})
45. Rc3 Rd2+ 46. Kf3 Bd4 47. Rc4 g6 {Preparing to weave a mating net, but
White has a simple answer.} 48. Nd3 {Now the threat is parried, and White can
launch a counterattack.} Bg1 49. Rc8 $2 {A mistake, which seriously
complicates my task.} (49. Rc1 {was correct, with the idea of forcing the
black bishop to d4, a square the knight needs.} Bd4 50. f5 {I rejected this
because of} gxf5 51. Bxf5 Ne6 {activating the black knight, and failing to
spot the simple} 52. Ke4 Re2+ 53. Kd5 {and White wins a piece.}) 49... Kg7 50.
Rc7+ Kg8 51. f5 {This was my point, as now Black cannot play ...gxf5 Bxf5 Ne6
due to the check on e6. However, Black has another trick, which I failed to
spot.} g5 $2 {Now the black knight is left completely paralysed.} (51... h5 $3
{would most probably have saved the day} 52. fxg6 Ne6 53. Rd7 Nd4+ (53... Ng5+
54. Kf4 {is simple; the white king does not get mated here}) 54. Kf4 {I
finished calculating here, thinking that White is easily winning, but Black
continues with} Ne2+ {This one escaped my line of vision. Now White has
nothing better than} 55. Kf5 Nxg3+ 56. Kf4 Nxe4 57. Kxe4 h4 58. Kf5 h3 59. Kxf6
Bb6 {and miraculously, Black makes a draw.}) 52. g4 {A very important move,
now the white king will never get in trouble, and I can now calmly go about
converting my advantage.} Bh2 53. Rb7 Rc2 54. Nc5 Rc3+ 55. Ke2 h5 {Desperation,
but what else to do? Bd5 followed by Ne6 is a threat, and the otherwise
desirable} (55... Bd6 {runs into a nasty fork:} 56. Bd5+ Kh8 57. Ne4) 56. gxh5
g4 57. Ne6 Rc8 58. b5 {My first priority was to keep the black knight passive,
and so winning a second pawn with} (58. Rg7+ Kh8 59. Rxg4 Nd7 {was not very
tempting.}) 58... Rb8 {The best try, but the endgame is easily winning for
White.} 59. Rxb8 Bxb8 60. Bd5 {Very accurate. Now ...Nd7 is naturally not
possible due to Nc5+.} Ba7 {He needs to prevent b6, but now I can simply march
with the king to g3 and pick up the pawn.} (60... Nxe6 61. fxe6 Kf8 62. h6 f5
63. h7 Be5 64. b6 {leaves Black with too many passed pawns to handle.}) 61. Kf1
Be3 62. Kg2 Kf7 63. Nxf8+ {The end of a long and interesting journey for this
knight. Finally the time has come to exchange the unfortunate knight on f8.
The two passed pawns are too far apart for Black to deal with both.} Kxf8 64.
Kg3 Ke7 (64... Kg7 65. Kxg4 Kh6 66. Bf7 {followed by a king march to the
queenside, is also quite elementary.}) 65. Kxg4 Kd6 66. Kf3 {Since Black has
to let one of my pawns advance to the sixth rank, the game is over.} Bd2 67. b6
{My best game in Wijk aan Zee this year, and apart from the mistake on move 49,
a game I'm quite proud of!} 1-0

[Event "Grand Slam Final 5th"]
[Site "Sao Paulo/Bilbao"]
[Date "2012.10.08"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C00"]
[WhiteElo "2843"]
[BlackElo "2773"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "131"]
[EventDate "2012.09.24"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "BRA"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 151"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.11.13"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.11.13"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e6 2. d3 {The French Defence was a huge surprise to me, so I decided to
employ the same strategy that had brought me my only victory so far in the
tournament, namely push the d-pawn one square forward as early as possible.
Die Französische Verteidigung war eine Riesenüberraschung für mich, daher
beschloss ich, dieselbe Strategie anzuwenden, die mir meinen einzigen Sieg
bislang in dem Turnier eingetragen hatte, nämlich, den d-Bauern so früh wie
möglich ein Feld vorzuschieben.} d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. Ngf3 Nc6 {A perfectly
reasonable way of avoiding the "fearsome" King's Indian Attack, starting with
4...c5 5.g3 and so on.  Ein absolut vernünftiger Weg, den "furchterregenden"
Königsindischen Angriff zu vermeiden, beginnend mit 4...c5 5.g3 und so weiter.}
5. c3 Bd6 {Looks a little weird, but is actually quite logical. If immediately
5...e5, or 5...dxe4 6.dxe4 e5, then Black would have to reckon with the
b4-push. Sieht ein wenig seltsam aus, ist aber eigentlich ganz logisch. Falls
sofort 5...e5, oder 5...dxe4 6.dxe4 e5, dann müsste Schwarz mit dem Vorstoß b4
rechnen.} 6. Be2 {It seemed to me that the bishop would have more work here
than on g2 after a subsequent dxe4 dxe4 e5, and besides, this one seemed to
fit better with ideas of pushing b4. Mir schien, dass der Läufer hier nach
anschließendem dxe4 dxe4 e5 mehr Arbeit hätte als auf g2, und außerdem schien
dieser Zug besser zu Ideen mit dem Vorstoß b4 zu passen.} O-O 7. O-O (7. b4 {
here or on the previous move, could have been well met with hier oder im
vorigen Zug hätte gut begegnet werden können mit} dxe4 8. dxe4 a5 9. b5 Ne5 {
and White has gained some space, but also weakened some squares, so Black
should be doing fine. und Weiß hat zwar einigen Raum gewonnen, aber auch ein
paar Felder geschwächt, daher sollte Schwarz gut stehen.}) 7... a5 {Black had
several choices here: Schwarz hatte mehrere Möglichkeiten hier:} (7... e5 {
would be met by würde beantwortet werden mit} 8. b4 {and White obviously has
an excellent version of the Philidor. Whether that would be sufficient for an
advantage though, is quite unclear. und Weiß hat offensichtlich eine
ausgezeichnete Version des Philidor. Ob dies allerdings zu einem Vorteil
reichen würde, ist völlig unklar.}) (7... b6 8. Re1 Bb7 9. Bf1 {seems a little
artificial for Black. scheint ein wenig künstlich für Schwarz.}) (7... Re8 8.
Re1 a5 9. Bf1 e5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nc4 {would transpose to the game. würde zur
Partie überleiten.}) 8. Re1 e5 9. exd5 {Other Philidor-style moves like Bf1 or
b3 were certainly possible, but I felt like forcing things a bit. Andere
Philidor-gemäße Züge wie Bf1 oder b3 waren durchaus möglich, aber mir war
danach, die Dinge ein bisschen zu forcieren.} Nxd5 10. Nc4 Re8 11. Bf1 Bg4 12.
h3 (12. g3 {is not as accurate, as Black can play ist nicht so genau, denn
Schwarz kann} Qd7 {when the annoying bishop cannot be kicked away with h3. I
actually once tried that in a similar position in a blitz game against
Ponomariov, who with a puzzled look in his face simply captured the pawn.
spielen, wonach sich der lästige Läufer nicht mit h3 vertreiben lässt.
Tatsächlich hatte ich dies einmal in ähnlicher Stellung in einer Blitzpartie
gegen Ponomariov versucht, der mit verdutztem Gesichtsausdruck einfach den
Bauern nahm.}) 12... Bh5 13. g3 {Once the e4-pawn is not there to obstruct it,
the bishop is re-deployed to the long diagonal. Nachdem es keinen e4-Bauern
mehr gibt, der ihn behindert, wird der Läufer auf die lange Diagonale
überführt.} ({Going on a fishing expedition with Auf Fischfang zu gehen mit} 
13. g4 Bg6 14. Qb3 {as the comp seems to recommend, would probably have
appealed to me on the next day against Paco, when I was in more of a
coffee-house mood. wie der Comp offenbar empfiehlt, hätte mir vermutlich am
nächsten Tag gegen Paco zugesagt, als ich eher in Kaffeehaus-Stimmung war.})
13... Nb6 {A decent move, made after a long period of thought. As you might
have guessed, by this point we were both way "out of book".  Ein ordentlicher
Zug, gespielt nach einer langen Denkphase. Wie Sie wohl erraten haben, waren
wir an dieser Stelle beide weit "aus dem Buch".} 14. Nxb6 cxb6 15. Bg2 b5 $2 {
This one however, is rather questionable, as will become apparent after a few
more moves. Dies allerdings ist ziemlich fragwürdig, wie sich nach ein paar
weiteren Zügen herausstellen wird.} (15... a4 {would have retained equal
chances. hätte gleiche Chancen bewahrt.}) 16. a4 $1 {Favourably fixing the
black queenside pawns on dark squares. Fixiert günstig die schwarzen
Damenflügelbauern auf dunklen Feldern.} b4 (16... bxa4 17. Qxa4 {also gives
Black plenty to worry about. gibt Schwarz ebenfalls viel, worüber er sich
sorgen muss.}) 17. Be3 Bc7 18. Qb3 {Now the queen is active, and soon the
knight will be brought to d2 and e4, when all the white minor pieces will be
much more active than their black counterparts. Nun steht die Dame aktiv, und
bald wird der Springer nach d2 und e4 gebracht werden, wonach alle weißen
Leichtfiguren weit aktiver sein werden als ihre schwarzen Gegenüber.} h6 {
It's not so easy to find a more useful move for Black here. Es ist nicht so
leicht, hier einen nützlichen Zug für Schwarz zu finden.} (18... Qxd3 $2 {
loses immediately: verliert sofort:} 19. Rad1 Qa6 (19... Qe4 20. Nh4 Bxd1 21.
Rxd1) 20. g4 Bg6 21. Bf1 {and the queen is trapped. und die Dame ist gefangen.}
) (18... Bxf3 19. Bxf3 Qxd3 {is possible, but even here Black has a very
unpleasant position after ist möglich, doch selbst hier hat Schwarz eine sehr
unangenehme Stellung nach} 20. Rad1 Qf5 21. Bg4 Qg6 22. Rd7 Rac8 23. Be2 $1 {
with the threat of Rxf7. mit der Drohung Rxf7.}) 19. Qc4 {According to a
Russian GM, this was the move of a 2nd category (1600) player. Laut einem
russischen GM war dies der Zug eines Spielers der 2. Kategorie (1600).} ({
He instead recommended Stattdessen empfahl er} 19. Nh4 {which looks very
attractive, as , was sehr attraktiv aussieht, da} Qxd3 (19... Qc8 {however,
bothered me a little, as after allerdings störte mich ein wenig, denn nach} 20.
g4 Qd8 $1 21. Nf5 Bg6 {it is not entirely clear what White has achieved ist
nicht gänzlich klar, was Weiß erreicht hat.}) 20. Rad1 Bxd1 21. Rxd1 Qh7 22.
Rd7 Re7 23. Bxc6 {wins. gewinnt.}) 19... bxc3 20. bxc3 e4 {Otherwise, the
pressure on the queenside would quickly have become unbearable. Ansonsten wäre
der Druck am Damenflügel schnell unerträglich geworden.} 21. dxe4 {I played
this and the next few moves quickly, as I couldn't wait to get to torture him
in the endgame. Dies und die nächsten paar Züge spielte ich schnell, denn ich
konnte es nicht erwarten, ihn im Endspiel zu quälen.} (21. Nd4 {would have
been even stronger. I would have probably have considered it had I noticed
that after wäre sogar noch stärker gewesen. Ich hätte es vermutlich erwogen,
wäre mir aufgefallen, dass nach} Ne5 22. Qb5 Nxd3 {The bishop is actually
hanging der Läufer tatsächlich hängt:} 23. Qxh5) 21... Bxf3 22. Bxf3 Ne5 23.
Qe2 Nxf3+ 24. Qxf3 Qd3 {The position has been simplified quite a bit, but I
had seen many moves ago that even in the endgame Black is far away from a draw.
Die Stellung wurde ziemlich vereinfacht, aber ich hatte viele Züge zuvor
gesehen, dass selbst im Endspiel Schwarz von einem Remis weit entfernt ist.}
25. Kg2 $1 {This is much stronger than Dies ist viel stärker als} (25. Rab1
Qxe4 26. Qxe4 Rxe4 27. Rxb7 Be5 {when Black is pretty close to a draw, e.g. ,
wonach Schwarz ziemlich nach am Remis ist, z.B.} 28. Bd2 Rxe1+ 29. Bxe1 Rc8 30.
Rb5 Bxc3 31. Bxc3 Rxc3) 25... Qxe4 26. Bd4 Qxf3+ (26... Qc6 27. Qxc6 bxc6 28.
Rxe8+ Rxe8 29. Rb1 {also gives Black a very difficult defence. gibt Schwarz
ebenfalls eine sehr schwierige Verteidigung.}) 27. Kxf3 b6 28. Rab1 Rac8 29.
Re4 g6 (29... h5 {seems logical, in order not to be stuck with a weak pawn on
a dark square, but then after wirkt logisch, um nicht mit einem schwachen
Bauern auf einem dunklen Feld sitzenzubleiben, aber dann nach} 30. Rb5 g6 31.
g4 hxg4+ 32. hxg4 {he might have to deal with a rook penetrating via the
h-file at some point. hätte er eventuell damit fertigwerden müssen, dass ein
Turm an irgendeiner Stelle über die h-Linie eindringt.}) (29... f6 {might be
the best way to arrange the pawns, but even here, after an eventual g4-h5,
Black will have problems on both flanks. ist womöglich der beste Weg, die
Bauern aufzustellen, doch selbst hier, nach schließlichem g4-h5, wird Schwarz
auf beiden Flanken Probleme haben.}) 30. g4 $1 {Fixing the pawn on h6. Fixiert
den Bauern auf h6.} Kf8 31. h4 Rxe4 32. Kxe4 Re8+ 33. Kd3 Re6 34. Be3 Kg7 35.
Rb5 Bd8 36. h5 Rd6+ 37. Kc4 Rc6+ (37... f5 {was suggested by Caruana as a
possible improvement after the game. I was intending to keep the pressure with
wurde von Caruana nach der Partie als mögliche Verbesserung vorgeschlagen. Ich
hatte vor, den Druck aufrechtzuerhalten mit} 38. f3 {when Black can exchange a
couple of pawns, but is still a long way from a draw - , wonach Schwarz zwar
ein paar Bauern tauschen kann, ein Remis aber noch immer in weiter Ferne liegt
-} fxg4 39. fxg4 gxh5 40. gxh5 $16) 38. Kd5 Re6 39. Bd4+ Kf8 40. f4 {With the
pawn coming to f5, I felt pretty sure that I was winning. White just gains
more and more ground, and eventually Black cannot hold on to everything.
Angesichts des nach f5 kommenden Bauern war ich ziemlich sicher, dass ich
gewinne. Weiß erobert einfach mehr und mehr Boden, und am Ende kann Schwarz
nicht mehr alles festhalten.} Bc7 41. f5 Rd6+ 42. Ke4 Rc6 43. Rb1 Ke8 {
Allowing a more or less forced win, but the position was lost in any case.
Lässt einen mehr oder weniger forcierten Gewinn zu, aber die Stellung war in
jedem Fall verloren.} (43... g5 {closes the kingside, but now the king creates
havoc on the queenside, while Bg7 is always an issue. schließt den
Königsflügel, aber jetzt wütet der König am Damenflügel, während Bg7 immer ein
Thema ist.} 44. Kd5 Rd6+ 45. Kc4 Ke7 46. Kb5 Kd7 47. Ka6 Rc6 (47... Kc6 48.
Bxb6 Rd8 49. Rb5 Ra8+ 50. Ba7 $18) 48. Kb7 Rc4 49. Bg7 $1 Bd6 (49... Rxg4 50.
Rd1+ Bd6 51. Be5) 50. Bxh6 Rxg4 51. Bg7 Rh4 52. Rd1 Ke7 53. Kc6 $1 Rc4+ 54.
Kxb6 Rxa4 55. Rh1 {and the h-pawn will cost Black a rook. und der h-Bauer wird
Schwarz einen Turm kosten.}) (43... gxh5 44. gxh5 Rc4 45. Ra1 Rc6 46. Rg1 Rd6 (
46... Rc4 {allows White to finish in style: erlaut Weiß, stilvoll zu vollenden:
} 47. Kd5 Rxa4 48. Rg4 $1 Ra1 49. Kc6 Bh2 50. Bg7+ Ke8 51. Re4+ Kd8 52. Bf6+ {
and mate next and mate next}) 47. Be5 $1 (47. Rg7 $4 Rxd4+) 47... Rc6 48. Bg7+
Ke7 49. Bd4 Kf8 50. Rg7 {and the rook penetrates with decisive effect. und der
Turm dringt mit entscheidender Wirkung ein.}) 44. hxg6 $1 {Reducing the number
of pawns, but I had seen a more or less forced win. Reduziert die Anzahl der
Bauern, doch ich hatte einen mehr oder weniger forcierten Gewinn gesehen.} fxg6
45. Rh1 Kf7 $6 (45... gxf5+ 46. gxf5 Bd8 {was certainly the most tenacious
defence, and the line I had spent the most time calculating: war sicherlich
die zäheste Verteidigung und das Abspiel, für das ich die meiste Bedenkzeit
aufgewandt hatte:} (46... Rc4 47. Kd5 Rxa4 48. Rxh6 {wins easily, despite the
limited material gewinnt leicht trotz des begrenzten Materials.}) 47. f6 $1
Bxf6 48. Rxh6 Rxc3 $1 {Other moves lose rather trivially Andere Züge verlieren
ziemlich trivial.} 49. Bxf6 (49. Bxc3 $4 Bxc3 50. Rxb6 {is a tablebase draw!
ist ein Tablebase-Remis!}) 49... Ra3 (49... Rc4+ 50. Kd5 Rxa4 51. Ke6 Re4+ 52.
Be5) 50. Rh7 $1 (50. Kd5 Kf7 $11) 50... Rxa4+ 51. Kd5 Ra2 52. Ke6 Re2+ 53. Be5
Rf2 54. Rb7 Rd2 55. Rxb6 {and the tablebase shows a win in 23 moves. In fact,
the win is quite simple as soon as White captures the pawn, as was shown many
times, for instance in the recent game Grischuk-Kamsky from the Olympiad. und
die Tablebase zeigt einen Sieg in 23 Zügen. Tatsächlich ist der Gewinn
ziemlich einfach, sobald Weiß den Bauern schlägt, wie viele Male gezeigt wurde,
zum Beispiel in der kürzlich gespielten Partie Grischuk-Kamsky bei der
Olympiade.}) 46. Kd5 Rd6+ 47. Kc4 {Caruana spent a lot of time on this move
and the next, but in vain. Caruana verbrauchte eine Menge Zeit für diesen Zug
und den nächsten, aber vergeblich.} gxf5 (47... g5 48. Kb5 {holds out longer,
but the winning plan is quite clear even here hält länger, aber der Gewinnplan
ist selbst hier recht klar:} Bd8 49. Ka6 Rc6 50. Rh3 $1 (50. Kb7 Rc7+ {is less
accurate ist weniger genau.}) 50... Rd6 (50... Kg8 51. f6 $1) 51. Kb7 Ke8 52.
Rh1 Kf7 53. Kc8 {with total zugzwang. Check for yourselves! mit totalem
Zugzwang. Überprüft es selbst!}) 48. gxf5 Bd8 49. f6 {I played this
immediately, as I had double and triple-checked the lines so many times
already while he was thinking. Ich zog dies sofort, da ich die Abspiele
bereits so oft doppelt und dreifach gecheckt hatte, während er nachdachte.}
Bxf6 (49... Kg6 50. Rg1+ Kf7 51. Rg7+ Ke8 52. Rg6 Kf7 53. Rxh6 {and there is
nothing Black can do. und es gibt nichts, was Schwarz tun kann.}) 50. Rxh6 Be7
(50... Ke7 51. Bxf6+ Rxf6 52. Rxf6 Kxf6 53. Kb5) 51. Rxd6 Bxd6 52. Kb5 Ke6 53.
Bxb6 Kd7 54. c4 Kc8 55. Bxa5 {It only remains for White not to let Black sac
the bishop for the c-pawn. I (and a suspect quite a lot of other people) knew
the winning method from the famous game Fischer-Keres, Zurich 59. Nun muss
Weiß nur noch aufpassen, dass Schwarz nicht seinen Läufer für den c-Bauern
opfert. Die Gewinnmethode kannte ich (wie vermutlich viele andere auch) aus
der berühmten Partie Fischer-Keres, Zürich 59.} Kb7 56. Bb4 Bf4 57. c5 Ka7 58.
c6 Kb8 59. a5 Ka7 60. a6 Ka8 61. Bc5 Bb8 62. Kc4 Bc7 63. Kd5 Bd8 64. Ke6 Bc7
65. Kd7 Ba5 66. Be7 {Black resigned, as Bd8 followed by c7 is coming up.
Schwarz gab auf, denn es steht Bd8 nebst c7 ins Haus.} 1-0

[Event "Tata Steel-A 75th"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2013.01.18"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Sokolov, Ivan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C78"]
[WhiteElo "2861"]
[BlackElo "2663"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2013.01.12"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 153"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2013.03.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bb7 7. d3 Bc5 8. a4
O-O 9. Bg5 ({The complications that arise after Die Komplikation, die nach} 9.
Nc3 Na5 {have been working well for Black, as far as I know. The text is a
more positional approach, aiming for a slight advantage. entstehen, haben für
Schwarz gut funktoniert, soweit ich weiß. Der Text ist eine positionellere
Herangehensweise, die auf einen kleinen Vorteil abzielt.}) 9... h6 10. Bh4 d6
11. c3 Qe7 {Ivan went for this after a bit of thought. I assumed the plan was
to go Nd8-e6 at some point, while staying flexible and keeping the option of
going g5 at the appropriate juncture. Dies wählte Ivan nach ein wenig
Nachdenken. Ich vermute, der Plan war, Nd8-e6 an irgendeiner Stelle zu spielen
und dabei flexibel zu bleiben und sich die Möglichkeit zu g5 im passenden
Moment vorzubehalten.} 12. Na3 {This is just awful, especially in combination
with my next move. Das ist einfach schrecklich, vor allem in Kombination mit
meinem nächsten Zug.} (12. Nbd2 {would have been the sane choice. wäre die
gesunde Wahl gewesen.}) (12. Kh1 {was played in one of the three games that
reached this position. It probably makes more sense than what I did. wurde in
einer der drei Partien gespielt, die diese Stellung erreichten. Es ist
vermutlich sinnvoller als das, was ich tat.}) 12... Na5 {Of course.  Natürlich.
} 13. Bc2 ({I had assumed that Ich hatte angenommen, dass} 13. axb5 Nxb3 14.
Qxb3 {would work out for me, but Black actually has several good options here,
including the simple für mich funktionieren würde, tatsächlich aber hat
Schwarz hier sogar mehrere gute Möglichkeiten, darunter das einfache} Rfb8 15.
Qc2 (15. bxa6 Bxe4 16. Qd1 Bxf3 17. Qxf3 g5 18. b4 Bb6 {and ...Rxa6 und ...Rxa6
}) 15... Bxa3 16. Rxa3 axb5 {and Black is absolutely fine. und Schwarz steht
absolut ordentlich.}) (13. Ba2 {was another option, but after the simple war
eine andere Option, aber nach dem einfachen} Bxa3 14. bxa3 c5 {it appeared to
me that Black would have too easy a game, with c4 coming up, so I decided to
keep the tension at the cost of two tempi. schien mir, dass Schwarz, mit
bevorstehendem c4, zu leichtes Spiel haben würde, daher beschloss ich, auf
Kosten zweier Tempi die Spannung aufrechtzuerhalten.}) 13... b4 14. Nb1 g5 15.
Bg3 Nh5 {Obviously, Black is doing well now. However, the white position still
has some long-term potential, especially based on the potentially offside
knight on a5 (spoiler alert: it did not make another move in the game).
Offenkundig steht Schwarz jetzt gut. Allerdings hat die weiße Stellung dennoch
langfristiges Potential, vor allem basierend auf dem potentiell abseits
stehenden Springer auf a5 (Spielverderberalarm: Er machte in der Partie keinen
Zug mehr).} 16. Nbd2 Ba7 17. Re1 bxc3 18. bxc3 Nxg3 19. hxg3 Qf6 20. Qe2 Rfb8
21. Rab1 Bc8 22. Nf1 {It seems that White is not really worse here, but it was
only after the next move that I really started to hope for something more. Es
scheint, dass Weiß hier nicht wirklich schlechter steht, aber erst nach dem
nächsten Zug begann ich tatsächlich, auf etwas mehr zu hoffen.} Rxb1 {In
slight time pressure Ivan decided to simplify. However, the double rook
exchange loses crucial time, allowing me to get in Ne3 and d4. In slight time
pressure Ivan decided to simplify. However, the double rook exchange loses
crucial time, allowing me to get in Ne3 and d4.} (22... Be6 {or most other
sensible moves would have been absolutely fine. oder die meisten anderen
vernünftigen Züge wären absolut in Ordnung gewesen.}) 23. Rxb1 Rb8 24. Rxb8
Bxb8 25. Ne3 Ba7 (25... Nc6 26. Nh2 {with Ng4 to come would also have been
unpleasant. mit Ng4 im Fahrwasser wäre ebenfalls unangenehm gewesen.}) 26. d4 {
This is the point. I have time to develop an initiative before he can bring
the knight and bishop back into play. Das ist der Punkt. Ich habe Zeit, eine
Initiative zu entwickeln, bevor er Springer und Läufer wieder ins Spiel
bringen kann.} g4 {This just allows the second knight to jump in. Dies erlaubt
nur dem zweiten Springer, ins Spiel einzugreifen.} (26... exd4 27. cxd4 Bxd4
28. Nd5 {is no good either, but taugt ebenfalls nichts, aber}) (26... c6 {
would still have been reasonably solid. wäre noch immer halbwegs solide
gewesen.}) 27. Nd5 Qd8 28. Nh4 c6 (28... exd4 29. Nf5 {spells disaster for
Black. bedeutet Unheil für Schwarz.}) 29. Ne3 h5 (29... exd4 30. Nhf5 {is
similar to the previous note. ist ähnlich der vorigen Anmerkung.}) 30. Nhf5 Qf6
31. Qd3 Bb6 32. Bb1 Kf8 33. Ba2 Bc7 {I've achieved everything I wanted , but
it's still not easy to break through, as attempts to play on the kingside with
f3 or f4 did not appear convincing at all. I decided that I probably needed to
attack a6 somehow, possibly after including d5 ...c5. Ich habe alles erreicht,
was ich wollte, aber es ist immer noch nicht leicht durchzubrigen, denn
Versuche, mit f3 oder f4 am Königsflügel zu spielen, schienen keineswegs
überzeugend. Ich entschied, dass ich wahrscheinlich irgendwie a6 angreifen
müssen, womöglich nach dem Einschub von d5 ...c5.} 34. Qb1 Ke8 35. Qb4 {
Now the bishop is going to d3, and the queen to e2 or f1. Jetzt geht der
Läufer nach d3, und die Dame nach e2 oder f1.} d5 {A tempting move, especially
in time-trouble, but now the centralised white pieces will rule. Ein
verlockendere Zug, vor allem in Zeitnot, aber jetzt werden die zentralisierten
weißen Figuren herrschen.} ({However, passive defence was also unpromising,
for instance Passive Verteidigung war allerdings auch nicht verlockend, zum
Beispiel} 35... Kf8 36. Bb1 Ke8 37. Bd3 Kf8 38. Qb1 Kg8 39. d5 c5 40. Qf1 Bd7
41. Bxa6 Bxa4 42. Bb5 Bb3 43. f3 gxf3 44. gxf3 {and the black kingside is
helpless, with all the minor pieces stranded on the queenside. und mit allen
Leichtfiguren am Damenflügel gestrandet, ist der schwarze Königsflügel ist
hilflos.}) 36. Bb1 exd4 37. cxd4 dxe4 38. Bxe4 Be6 {This loses, but it is hard
to suggest anything better.  Das verliert, aber es fällt schwer, etwas
Besseres vorzuschlagen.} 39. Qc5 Kd7 40. d5 cxd5 41. Nxd5 Bxd5 42. Qxd5+ Kc8
43. Ne3 {Material is still equal, but the difference in activity and king
safety is simply too huge. Das Material ist noch ausgeglichen, aber der
Unterschied in punkto Aktivität und Königssicherheit ist einfach zu riesig.}
Qa1+ 44. Kh2 Qxa4 (44... h4 {was the one move I needed to calculate, but it is
not too hard to see that after war der einzige Zug, den ich berechnen musste,
aber es fällt nicht allzu schwer zu sehen, dass nach} 45. Qa8+ Kd7 46. Bf5+ Ke7
47. Nd5+ Kd6 48. Nxc7 hxg3+ 49. fxg3 Kxc7 50. Qc8+ Kb6 51. Qd8+ Ka7 52. Qxa5
Qh8+ 53. Kg1 Qd4+ 54. Kf1 {White easily escapes the checks and wins. Weiß
mühelos den Schachs entkommt und gewinnt.}) 45. Qa8+ Kd7 46. Nd5 {This one is
just lazy. I played it fairly quickly, assuming that ...Bd8, which he did in
fact play, was the only move. Der ist einfach faul. Ich spielte ihn recht
schnell in der Annahme, dass ...Bd8, was er in der Tat auch spielte, der
einzige Zug war.} (46. Bf5+ Ke7 47. Qa7 Qc6 48. Qd4 {Centralisation! And the
threat of Nd5 is lethal. Zentralisation! Und die Drohung Nd5 ist tödlich.})
46... Bd8 (46... Qc6 {would have allowed Black to fight on for a while, as
there is no clear-cut win. hätte Schwarz erlaubt, eine Weile weiterzukämpfen,
denn einen klaren Gewinn gibt es nicht..} 47. Qh8 Qe6 48. Qxh5 Kd6) (46... Qd4
47. Qf8 Qe5 48. Qxf7+ Kc6 49. Nf6+ Kb5 50. Bd3+ Kc6 51. Nxh5 {would also have
prolonged the resistance. hätte den Widerstand ebenfalls verlängert.}) 47. Bf5+
Ke8 48. Qc8 {This one he evidently missed. There is no defence to Bd7+
followed by Nf6+, so he resigned. Das hatte er offenbar übersehen. Es gibt
keine Verteidigung gegen Bd7+ nebst Nf6+, daher gab er auf.} 1-0

[Event "Tata Steel-A 78th"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2016.01.26"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2844"]
[BlackElo "2744"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "131"]
[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 {The first time I've ever tried 1.e4 against Mickey in classical chess}
e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {But alas, the free day before the game was not spent
refuting his Ruy/Berlin repertoire} Bc5 4. O-O d6 {Avoiding the Max Power (Max
Lange) attack after ...Nf6 d4.} 5. c3 Nf6 6. d3 {I remembered that Saric got
an advantage with d4 Bb6 dxe5 against Aronian in last year's Tata, but I
assumed Mickey had that covered.} h6 {Avoiding Bg5. Against the Italian such
liberties can often be taken. Besides he stays flexible on the queenside,
deciding whether to play ...a6 or ...a5 only after I've shown some of my cards.
} 7. a4 {I spent more than 25 minutes combined on this and the next move, time
that I would later curse myself for having wasted. Part of the time was spent
pondering whether the extra h6-move could somehow be used to my advantage
after d4 Bb6 (I cannot imagine why I thought it maybe could). But mostly I was
trying to figure how I could favourably expand on the queenside.} (7. b4 Bb6 8.
Nbd2 {was one of the lines I considered, as if I get time for Bb3 and Nc4 I
will have a little something.} Ne7 {However looked fine to me, as Black will
be in time to meet Nc4 with ...Bc7.}) (7. Nbd2 a6 {also gives Black a normal
Italian.} (7... Ne7 8. d4 {is probably an achievement for White})) 7... a5 {
Probably the right decision. If ...a6 (one of the two naturally had to be
played to avoid me trapping his bishop) then I would follow the same plan,
with a little more space than in the game.} 8. Na3 {Once again I spent time
considering d4, but finally decided to just play normally.} O-O {I actually
thought he might consider just chopping off my knight, as my rook would be
temporarily misplaced, and I was not sure my dark-squared bishop would have
such a bright future. The bishop pair will soon be gone after ...Be6.} 9. Nc2
Re8 {I was quite happy to see this move, as I will be able to pin his rook
after ...Be6 Bb5.} (9... Be6 10. Bxe6 fxe6 {was naturally quite possible, but
White could claim to be slightly better after Be3 Bxe3 Nxe3, probably without
justification.}) 10. Re1 {As he cannot go Be6 Bxe6 Rxe6 due to d4-d5, it makes
sense to make a waiting move before going Be3.} Ba7 11. Be3 Be6 12. Bb5 Bd7 {
Now I felt that I just needed to make another waiting move, and he would have
to make a slight concession.} 13. Bxa7 {After a frustrating half an hour of
thinking I could not find anything better.} (13. h3 {is the move that suggests
itself. But I did not want to weaken f4} Ne7 14. Bxa7 Rxa7 15. d4 Ng6 {It
seemed to me that I would not be able to exploit the undefended position of
his rook on a7 after dxe5, and otherwise Black is solid, and might find some
counterplay with ...Nf4 later.}) (13. Rc1) (13. g3) (13. Nd2) (13. Qd2) (13.
Qe2 {were other more sophisticated means I considered in the fight for a tempo,
but none of them came close to convincing me.}) 13... Nxa7 14. Bc4 Be6 {
Very logical. He could also go ...Nc8 immediately, but then I might go hide
the bishop:} (14... Nc8 15. Ne3 Nb6 16. Bb3 Be6 17. Bc2 {with d4 coming,
although it is naturally not much.}) 15. Bxe6 Rxe6 16. Ne3 Nc8 {The best route
for the knight.} (16... Nc6 17. Qb3 {with Nd5 looming, is a little
uncomfortable.}) 17. Nf5 {The white pieces are a little better placed, but
with such a symmetrical structure my slight advantage will naturally disappear.
That's why I took the chance to force matters a little.} Ne7 18. d4 {The idea
of my previous move.} (18. N3h4 {is pointless, as without the dark-squared
bishops I cannot make use of the knight on f5.}) 18... exd4 19. N3xd4 Re5 $2 {
A mistake, though neither of us really understood that during the game.} (19...
Rxe4 20. Rxe4 Nxe4 21. Qg4 {At first seemed to me quite promising for White,
as I somehow only considered Nxf5 here} Ng5 $1 {I discovered that this was
possible only after I played 17.Nf5} (21... Nxf5 22. Nxf5 Ng5 23. Re1 $1 {
is what I liked for White; h4 is now a serious threat and after} Qf6 24. Ne7+
Kh8 25. Nd5 Qd8 26. Qf5 $1 Qc8 27. Qxc8+ Rxc8 28. Re7 {White's initiative
persists without queens}) 22. Re1 (22. h4 Nxf5 23. Nxf5 Ne6 24. Nxh6+ Kf8 25.
Nf5 Qf6 {is objectively the best, with equality}) 22... Ng6 $1 23. h4 Nh7 {
and there is nothing concrete while Black remains a pawn up.}) 20. Ng3 Ng6 {
It's easy to understand why Mickey did not feel the need to play concretely,
Black seems very solid, while my space advantage (e4 vs d6) does not feel very
significant with two pairs of minor pieces exchanged. Besides it appears that
the space advantage could disappear at any moment after a timely d6-d5. His
last move is quite necessary to avoid f4, as rolling with a Lasker rook on c5
understandably seemed a bit too funky.} 21. Qc2 {I spent seven minutes on this
move, partly hesitating between going c4 immediately and bringing my rook into
play first, and partly cursing myself having wasted so much time earlier in
the game and now wasting more precious time (I had about half an hour left
before this move) on a decision that did not seem particularly significant.} (
21. c4 {I finally decided against it because of} c6 {with ...Qb6 coming, even
after} 22. Ndf5 Qb6 {and ...Rd8 follows after either capture.}) 21... c6 {
Not a great move, but very logical. Engines start suggesting moves like Qb8-a7,
which is not very intuitive while White has a square on b5.} 22. Rad1 {Now I
was very surprised and happy to discover that I was actually better! It's hard
to play ...d5 under favourable circumstances and my plan in the game is
surprisingly powerful.} Qc7 (22... d5 {does not quite work} 23. Nf3 Re8 24.
exd5 Rxe1+ 25. Nxe1 cxd5 (25... Nxd5 26. c4) 26. Nf3 {is comfortably better
for White. Normally it would not be much, but the inclusion of a4 a5 helps me
enormously, as there will be a square on b5 and additional targets.}) 23. Ndf5
Rd8 (23... d5 24. exd5 Nxd5 (24... cxd5 {is better, but again by no means equal
}) 25. Nh5 {is not difficult, but it was somehow aesthetically pleasing during
the game. g7 cannot be defended.} Rae8 26. Rf1 (26. Rxe5 Qxe5 27. Qb1 $1 {
is also possible} (27. g3 Qe2)) 26... Re2 27. Qb1 {and Black's temporary
activity is extinguished, while g7 falls.}) 24. Qd2 {Going c4 was also
possible, with a nice grip on the position, but I was excited about the
prospect of attacking d6 and threatening f4 with one move.} Kh7 {Played after
18 minutes of thinking, a sure sign that he realised that his position was
getting really unpleasant.} (24... Qb6 25. Kh1 {does not seem to change much.}
(25. Nxd6 Re6 {is much too hasty})) 25. f4 Qb6+ {Normally one would like to
save such a check for later, but here it is absolutely forced.} (25... Ree8 26.
Nxd6 Qb6+ 27. Qf2 {Now I can safely block the check, since the rook on e8 is
hanging.}) 26. Kh1 (26. Qf2 {Now f4 is simply hanging:} Qxf2+ 27. Kxf2 Nxf4)
26... Ree8 (26... Re6 27. e5 {is absolutely terrible for Black, as long as I
avoid a nasty little trick} Ng4 28. Rf1 $1 {I was going to play this on
general grounds, as one should not take the rook off the last rank for no
reason!} (28. Re2 $4 Nxf4 $1 29. Qxf4 dxe5 {This is the point; because of the
last rank weakness the tables are turned.})) 27. h3 {By far the best move, but
again I invested a large part of the time I had left.} (27. Nxd6 Ng4 28. Rf1
Rxd6 (28... Ne3 29. Qf2 $1) 29. Qxd6 Nf2+ 30. Rxf2 Qxf2 {and I am only
temporarily a pawn up as both f4 and b2 are hanging.}) 27... Rd7 {This came as
a major surprise to me. Black cannot defend d6 as both ...d5 and ...Re6 run
into e5, but while maybe not objectively better,} (27... h5 {is what I spent
all my time calculating before I played h3 and would have been a very
interesting try. I investigated several options:} 28. Qe2 $1 {The surprising
move is the one I liked the most during the game} (28. Qc2 {or Qd3 were other
moves that I briefly touched on, with the idea of answering} h4 {with} 29. Nxh4
Nxh4 30. e5+ {But if he simply defends the pawn with ...Qc7 or ...Qc5 instead,
I was not convinced about my advantage}) (28. Nxd6 {This is the simplest.
After the forced} h4 29. Ngf5 Nxe4 {I saw} 30. Nxe4 $1 Rxe4 $1 {but I could
not evaluate} (30... Rxd2 31. Ng5+ {mates:} Kg8 32. Rxe8+ Nf8 33. Ne7+ Kh8 34.
Rxf8#) 31. Rxe4 Rxd2 32. Rxd2 {properly. With more time I would surely have
realised that all the entry points for his queen are covered and my threat of
Nd6 is very strong, but with little time and a possibly unsafe king, I'm
always a bit wary of playing against the queen.}) 28... h4 (28... Nxf4 {
Normally one would stop calculating here, but since my queen is now no longer
pinned on the d-file} 29. Qf3 {followed by Nxd6 is now very strong}) 29. Nh5
Nxe4 30. Qf3 $1 {I saw this idea, but I was still apprehensive, as I could not
really believe that it would work. But it does!} Nf2+ (30... Qc5 {This is a
much better defence, but it does not solve his problems} 31. Nhxg7 Ng3+ 32.
Nxg3 Rxe1+ 33. Rxe1 hxg3 34. Nh5 Qf2 35. Qxg3 Qxg3 36. Nxg3 {and since ...Nxf4
is met by Rf1 White has good winning chances}) 31. Kh2 Nxd1 32. Nf6+ $1 gxf6
33. Qh5+ Kg8 34. Qh6 {and mates.}) 28. Nxd6 Rxd6 {The only chance:} (28... Red8
29. e5 Ne8 30. Ngf5 {is just a pawn.}) 29. Qxd6 Qf2 {Since all my attention
had been focused on 27...h5, I only now realised that even I was still a long
way away from a win.} (29... Qxb2 {Even this is not so bad} 30. f5 (30. Qd2
Qxd2 31. Rxd2 Nxf4 32. e5 N6d5 {also does not look too convincing}) 30... Ne5
31. Qd2 Qa3 32. Ra1 Qe7 {and while I suspect White should be technically
winning, Black has a solid blockade for the moment, and with eight moves still
to go till move 40 one never knows what could happen.}) 30. Qd3 {There is
nothing better than to return a couple of pawns. Additionally, after
blundering both mate on g2 and the knight on g3 in different lines, getting
the queens off seemed like a very wise idea.} Nxf4 31. Qf3 Nxh3 32. Re2 {
32.Rf1 was also possible, but I liked the idea of doubling rooks on the d-file.
} Qxf3 33. gxf3 Ng5 34. Kg2 Ne6 35. Red2 g6 {He has managed to set up a solid
defence for the moment, but the following knight manoeuvre is surprisingly
strong.} ({He should perhaps have tried} 35... g5 {immediately, as Nf5 and Nd6
can be met by ...Re7. Practically speaking, Black certainly has drawing
chances.}) 36. Nf1 h5 {Since there is no good way to meet Ne3-c4 anyway,
Mickey has to go for it after all.} 37. Ne3 h4 38. Nc4 g5 39. Nxa5 g4 40. Nxb7
{I decided to be really greedy, as it seemed to me that his h3-g3 pair would
not really be dangerous.} g3 41. Nd6 Rg8 42. Nf5 Nf4+ 43. Kh1 h3 44. a5 {
So far so good. I have a lot of extra material, and he has no threats.
Additionally, my a-pawn is running very fast.} N6h5 45. a6 Ne6 {Now however, I
sank into thought and began seeing all sorts of ghosts.} 46. a7 (46. Rd6 {
This had been my original intention preventing ...Ng5 and game over I thought.
But then I saw} Nhf4 {with the idea of ...Ne2, and it spooked me a lot more
than it should have} 47. Nxg3 Rxg3 48. a7 {and game over, one would think? ...
Rg8 Rd8 is easy enough. But then you start seeing lines like} (48. Rg1 Ng2 49.
a7 Rg8 50. Rxc6 {is still completely winning, which I more or less realised
during the game. But some doubts still remained: For what did I give up my
knight!?}) 48... Ne2 $1 49. a8=Q $4 Rg2 {and once you find one line in which
are suddenly mated, you start looking for other options.}) 46... Ra8 47. Ra1
Ng5 48. Nh4 {So this is the idea that I settled on. I have to remove the
knight from its best post on f5, but I could still not see any ideas for Black.
} (48. Rd3 Nf4 49. Re3 {would have been a very clean solution, were it not for}
g2+ (49... Ng2 {was what I feared, but this is very easily solved by} 50. Re2
Nf4 51. Nxg3 {and the rook is protected}) 50. Kh2 Ne2 $1 {I naturally did not
see this} 51. Rxe2 Nxf3+ 52. Kg3 (52. Kxh3 g1=Q 53. Rxg1 Nxg1+ {and I lose
both rooks}) 52... Rxa7 53. Rb1 g1=Q+ 54. Rxg1 Nxg1 {and he has suddenly
regained all his material, even if not solving all his problems as the knight
is rather stuck on g1.}) 48... Nf4 49. b4 $2 {Panic, confusion... I just
decided to get rid of the pawns once and for all.} (49. Ra5 {would still have
been a clean win, as Mickey pointed out to me after the game. I rejected it
because of} c5 {but now} 50. b4 {which I somehow failed to consider works much
better} Ng6 (50... g2+ 51. Nxg2 hxg2+ 52. Rxg2 Nxg2 53. Kxg2 cxb4 54. cxb4 {
and with the c6-pawn gone, the pawns are unstoppable}) 51. Nxg6 Nxf3 52. Rg2 {
and this works even here.}) 49... g2+ {Because of Kh2/g1 Ng6, I am forced to
give up a full rook.} 50. Nxg2 hxg2+ 51. Rxg2 Nxg2 52. Kxg2 Ne6 53. c4 Nc7 {
And the pawns are reasonably well blockaded. It still felt like I should be
winning, as his pieces are very passive and my king and f/e-pair will manage
to create something before his king can get to the queenside.} 54. Kg3 Kg6 55.
Kf4 Kf6 56. e5+ Ke7 (56... Ke6 57. Ke4 f6 {would have been very logical,
seemingly exchanging off the e5-pawn without letting my king take up a
dominating position on e5. But I had seen in advance that it would fail to} 58.
Kd4 {and since he does not have the e6-square for the knight, my king
decisively penetrates on the queenside.}) 57. Ke4 f6 {Quite logical, but not
the best try.} (57... Kd7 58. f4 Kc8 59. f5 Kb7 60. e6 {with the idea of fxe6
f6 and} f6 61. Kd4 {But I missed} Kb6 $1 {stopping Kc5 and making a draw. My
father told me after the game that a Norwegian supercomputer gave me +4 even
after 57...Kd7, so I guess I'm still winning. Am I going to find out how, or
stick to the old cliché that this would have given better chances for a draw,
but should still lose? The latter obviously. Deal with it.} (61... Na6 62. Rxa6
{seemed to win still.} (62. Rxa6))) 58. f4 fxe5 59. Kxe5 Ne8 60. f5 Nd6 {
Now I'm winning by force.} (60... Nf6 {and the win, while attainable, is still
not quite easy.}) 61. f6+ Kd7 62. Rd1 Re8+ 63. Kd4 {The point. While breaking
the pin does not look logical, I am threatening Kc5 and after the forced.} Kc7
64. Re1 {White wins a crucial tempo} Nf5+ {As Peter and I agreed on after the
game, resigning instead of trying this would have been unprofessional.} 65. Kc3
(65. Kc5 {Fortunately I had a lot of time...} Rxe1 66. a8=Q Re5#) 65... Ra8 66.
f7 1-0

[Event "Bilbao Masters 9th"]
[Site "Bilbao"]
[Date "2016.07.16"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2855"]
[BlackElo "2770"]
[Annotator "Carlsen,M"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[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 {In round 4 this was already my third white game. In the first two
games against predominantly 1...e5 players I was suprised by 1...c5 and
wheeled out a couple of obscure Anti-Sicilians. I got an excellent position
against Nakamura and then nothing against Karjakin and won, so naturally I was
expecting to be surprised again.} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Wesley also plays
other systems, but an invitation to the Berlin is never a surprise from a top
player.} 4. d3 {In my early years as an ambitious player the Berlin was not
considered a particulary good opening, and I used to grab the invitation with
both hands, with excellent results. More recently however, more solid systems
for Black have been found, and I'm finding myself rejecting the invitation on
a regular basis.} Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Qe2 ({Back in 2012 I started playing} 6.
Nbd2 {here, and to my surprise it became very popular. The text has similar
ideas, but is much less well-known.}) 6... Qe7 7. Nbd2 Bg4 {Naturally, there
are plenty of other options on this and the previous move, but this plan is
always decent. The bishop will temporarily be misplaced on h5/g6, but it will
usually come in to play via f7 after ...Nd7 and ...f6.} 8. h3 Bh5 9. a3 {
This move took me more than 20 minutes, but I felt that it was already time to
delve more deeply into the position. In the 2013 world championship Vishy
chose the plan with Nf1-g3 without g4, but that was without Qe2 and ...Qe7
included. Now I would just be a tempo down compared that game. Other ways to
play were Nc4 or g4 followed by Nf1-g3, but neither of them seemed to give too
much of a basis for an interesting battle. Bothering his bishop immediately
though, seemed much more interesting. Besides, I won't hide the fact that
playing h3 and a3 on consecutive moves in the opening gave me pleasure.} (9.
Nf1 Nd7 10. Ng3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 g6 {and White has wasted a tempo.}) 9... Nd7 (
9... a5 {Generally this move is desirable strategically, gaining space while
preventing b4. However, with the bishop on h5 kingside castling is not
attractive with g4 coming and a knight landing on f5, while with the pawn on
a5 queenside castling will not be on the cards. Having said that, it was
certainly a playable, and probably the most challenging option}) 10. b4 Bd6 {
Wesley spent almost 20 minutes on this move, which is very much understandable
as all three bishop moves were serious options.} (10... Bd4 {A very solid
option, getting rid the dark squared bishop, which otherwise either risks
being harassed on b6, or passive on d6} 11. Rb1 Bc3 12. O-O Bxd2 {Otherwise
the knight escapes} 13. Bxd2 {But I was not too unhappy about this, as the
extra space on the queenside feels useful.}) (10... Bb6 {The engines like this
move, and I don't have any convincing arguments against it. The worry for
Black is that the bishop is likely to be caged in on b6 after a subsequent c4
c5, which an engine probably won't mind. Recent examples from a couple of
blitz and rapid games by Nakamura (against MVL and Caruana respectively) in
another line of the Berlin, suggest that even top level practice the
computer's opinion may prevail.}) 11. Nc4 f6 (11... Nf8 {was possible, but I
suspect he was worried about} 12. Na5 {and there is no convenient way to
protect b7.}) 12. Ne3 {A key point of the a3-b4 operation is that the
e3-square is freed up for the knight (otherwise the bishop would happily have
chopped it off). The knight can later jump to f5 without having to play g4
first.} a5 $2 {As on move 9, this is the most challenging, but ceraintly not
the most practical option. That's why I'm assigning it a question mark, rather
than it's objective value.} (12... Nf8 13. Nf5 Qd7 {was very solid; with the
knight coming to e6, Black is alright.}) 13. Nf5 Qf8 {The consistent follow-up,
as he forces me to make a consession on the queenside. However, now his king
will be stuck in the center for a while, which is especially unpleasant
considering the shorter time-control that was used in Bilbao} (13... Qf7 14.
Rb1 {Now I don't have to take} axb4 15. axb4 O-O 16. O-O {and while he has
been able to seize the a-file for the moment, the rest of his pieces are
rather more clumsily placed than in the note to 12...Nf8} (16. Bh6 Qa2 $1)) 14.
bxa5 Rxa5 15. O-O Qf7 {This loss of tempo certainly doesn't look impressive,
but at least he frees up the f8-square for the knight or even bishop. Castling
however, won't be possible for a long time because of the little trick Bh6,
which really is the key to the position.} (15... Kd8 {Perhaps he should have
tried to evacuate the king to the queenside:} 16. a4 (16. Bd2 Ra4) 16... Bb4 {
And in both cases it's not so easy to generate a serious initative on the
queenside}) 16. a4 Nc5 17. Qe1 (17. Bd2 {was also good, but this move, freeing
up the knight and attacking the rook, just felt too natural not to be played.})
17... b6 {It's becoming harder and harder to defend.} (17... Ra8 18. N3h4 {
Since the rook will not be attacked after Nc4, the knight goes in the other
direction} Ne6 (18... Bf8 19. a5 {fixing b7 as a target} g5 20. Nf3 Bxf3 21.
gxf3 {and White is firmly in the driver's seat}) 19. Rb1 {and it's hard for
Black to avoid losing a pawn, as Nxd6 followed by Nf5 is looming as well.}) 18.
Nd2 Rxa4 19. Nc4 {The idea. Every move comes with a threat.} Bf8 $6 (19... Be7
{I suspected that this might better than the text, as it does not block the
h8-rook. I was not too worried though, as I saw that I had at least a forced
draw} 20. Be3 Kd7 {The only move, as} (20... O-O 21. Nxe7+ Qxe7 22. Bxc5 {
loses a piece}) 21. Nxb6+ (21. Rxa4 Nxa4 22. f4 {This is probably what I would
have done. White has a nice initative and is not risking anything, but Black
is hanging on for the moment}) 21... cxb6 22. Bxc5 Rxa1 23. Qxa1 Bxc5 24. Qa7+
Ke6 25. Nxg7+ Kd6 26. Nf5+ Ke6 $11) 20. Be3 Kd7 (20... Rg8 {This was the only
move, which I had seen.} 21. f4 {But still it's impossible to defend, at least
in practical play.}) 21. Qc3 {All natural moves, and by now I felt that I was
winning. There is very little to be done about the threat of Nxb6 followed by
Bxc5, when a white rook will land on a7, winning the queen and the game.} Nxe4
(21... Rxc4 {I thought this was the last chance, but after} 22. dxc4 Nxe4 23.
Qd3+ Nd6 24. g4 Bg6 25. Rfd1 {Black is tied up, while Bxb6 and Ra7 is
threatened.}) 22. Nxb6+ {Again opening up the seventh rank and leaving the
black king completely naked.} cxb6 23. dxe4 Qc4 24. Qd2+ Kc7 25. g4 {Finally
g4! Much later than expected, but much more powerful.} Bg6 26. Rfd1 {I had no
wish to calculate Bxb6 here or on the previous move, as this forces immediate
resignation. A fun game, which put me in a great mood (which was immediately
ruined by failing to win the next game against Anish, but that's another story)
.} 1-0

