[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.05"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D87"]
[WhiteElo "2808"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Caruana,F"]
[PlyCount "140"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 {Already a surprise! Although Grischuk has played
the King's Indian many times before, I don't remember having seen him play the
Grünfeld.} 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O
10. O-O b6 {A rare move, which was played by Vishy Anand against Veselin
Topalov in their World Championship match. At first I was s2eptical, but later
I came to appreciate this move, which does little to challenge the centre, but
solves the problem of where to put Black's light-squared bishop, which often
can't find a good place. In comparison, the very popular 10...Bd7 looks really
weird to me - I just can't understand what the bishop is doing there.} 11. dxc5
{Levon is not impressed, and decides to take the pawn on offer. When I was
analyzing this variation a couple of months ago, I came to the same conclusion
that this was the critical continuation. Perhaps I was a little too keen to
listen to the machine's advice; now I would be less likely to endorse a move
which ruins White's pawn structure and opens all the lines for Black's pieces.}
({Topalov-Anand, Sofia 2010 continued} 11. Qd2 Bb7 12. Rac1 Rc8 13. Rfd1 cxd4
14. cxd4 Qd6 15. d5 Na5 16. Bb5 Rxc1 17. Rxc1 Rc8 18. h3 Rxc1+ 19. Qxc1 e6 {
, and Black had fully equalized.}) ({I hope in the future we seen a return to
moves like} 11. f4 $5 {- the caveman's approach to chess, which unfortunately
probably doesn't work very well here.}) 11... Qc7 {Of course Black will not
trade queens.} 12. Nd4 Ne5 13. Nb5 Qb8 {An interesting moment. Black also has
the option of playing 13...Qc6, a move preferred by the computer.} (13... Qc6 {
I imagine the reason Grischuk avoided this move is because of} 14. Bd5 Qxb5 15.
Bxa8 Ba6 16. Bd5 e6 17. Bb3 Qxf1+ 18. Qxf1 Bxf1 19. Kxf1 Ng4 20. Bd2 bxc5 21.
h3 Rd8 22. Rd1 Ne5 23. Ke2 {, when we reach a position where White's two
bishops grant him a clear and risk free advantage. Black has no way to
neutralize the pressure and will have to suffer for a long time.}) 14. Be2 ({
White could have won the exchange with} 14. Bd5 Ng4 15. g3 Nxe3 16. fxe3 {
However, I imagine most people would not be happy to wreck their entire
position in this way. After} Bh3 17. Rf2 bxc5 {Black will have great
compensation.}) 14... bxc5 $146 {A novelty, but an extremely obvious one. I
can't imagine Levon overlooking this in his preparation, but I'm not sure what
he missed, because Black got a perfect position in a few moves.} ({Previously} 
14... a6 $6 {had been played, illogically driving away a misplaced piece. After
} 15. Na3 bxc5 16. f4 Nd7 17. e5 {, Black just has a bad position. White's
knight will come to the dominating c4 square next, and Black's dark-squared
bishop is a terrible piece.}) 15. f4 {White is trying to block the g7-bishop
by playing f4 and e5. Unfortunately, he will never get the chance.} (15. Bxc5
a6 16. Nd4 Qc7 {gives Black perfect compensation.}) (15. Rb1 {at first seems
very promising, but the tactics again work in Black's favour:} a6 16. Na3 Qc7
17. f4 Rd8 18. Qc2 Ng4 {, and White will have to give up one of his bishops.})
15... Ng4 {Of course! This is why Black postponed playing ...a6.} 16. Bxc5 {
Again Levon decides to grab a pawn, only this time he had no choice.} ({After} 
16. Bxg4 Bxg4 17. Qxg4 Qxb5 18. e5 Qc4 {White's best move is to offer a draw
as quickly as possible.}) 16... a6 17. Na3 {White has to continue placing his
pieces on strange squares to try to justify his risky opening strategy.} ({
The move} 17. Bxg4 {leads to a complete annihilation of all the pieces:} Bxg4
18. Qxg4 Qxb5 19. Bd4 Bxd4+ 20. cxd4 Qc4 {, and here the game will soon end in
a draw.}) 17... Qc7 18. Bd4 e5 19. fxe5 Nxe5 {Now Black has a great outpost
for his knight. After a few small fireworks, the position has stabilized.
White is up a pawn and the bishop is holding his shaky pawn structure together
from d4. However, all Black's pieces are perfectly placed and he should have
full positional compensation.} 20. Qc1 {From here the queen will go to e3 or
f4.} Bg4 $6 {I don't like this move, although objectively it's not such a bad
one. Black is down a pawn and decides to go into an endgame - where's the
logic in that? Instead, simple play would have sufficed.} ({After} 20... Be6
21. Nc2 Rab8 {Black is doing very well. For example,} 22. Nb4 (22. Bxa6 Qc6 {
wins back a pawn.}) 22... Rxb4 23. cxb4 Nf3+ 24. gxf3 Bxd4+ 25. Kh1 Qb6 {
, and Black wins the exchange back with a great position.}) 21. Bxg4 Nxg4 22.
Qf4 Qxf4 ({After} 22... Ne5 $2 23. Nc2 {the knight just goes to d5 and Black
will be in big trouble.}) 23. Rxf4 Ne5 24. Rb1 {Although White's advantage is
not large and is very hard to convert, the defensive task is unpleasant,
especially against such a strong technical player as Levon.} Rad8 ({I would
prefer} 24... Rac8 {, which prepares ...Nc4. If} 25. Rb7 (25. Nc2 {is met by}
Nd3) 25... Nc6 26. Bxg7 Kxg7 {Black will be able to make a draw because of the
poor position of the knight on a3.}) 25. Nc2 Nd3 $2 {This is where things
really start to go wrong for Black. I'm not sure what Grischuk was trying to
achieve with this move, which simply puts the knight on a useless square.} ({
It would be better to place the knight on a nice outpost with} 25... Nc4 {
, when} 26. Rb7 {is met by the strong manouver} (26. Rb4 Rc8 {keeps control.})
26... Nd6 $1 27. Rb6 Nb5 $1 {, with equality. In case you were wondering, I
didn't find that variation myself....}) 26. Rff1 {Levon sees that his rook is
attacked and decides to move it. A good decision.} Rd7 {Grischuk is preventing
Rb7, but his play seems too slow. White is starting to consolidate his
position.} 27. Rfd1 Nf4 28. Kf2 {Aronian continues playing simply and strongly.
This is how the top players play: operating with logical, harmonious moves!}
Rc8 29. Ne3 h5 {This move, which doesn't seem to have much of an idea at all,
is a clear sign that Black's position has gone very wrong. White is just a
pawn up, with well-placed pieces.} 30. Rb6 {White has an enormous variety of
options at this point (which is actually more of a disadvantage than anything
else!), most of which are of near equal value. Aronian's move is very
reasonable, but he may have had a stronger alternative.} ({I quite like} 30.
Rb4 $5 {, which supports the bishop on d4 and prepares Ra4, attacking a6. After
} Ne6 {White has the option between the simple 31.e5 or} 31. Nd5 Nxd4 32. Nb6
$1 Rxc3 33. Nxd7 Rc2+ 34. Kf1 {, although I imagine it isn't easy to calculate
this variation.}) 30... Ne6 31. Bxg7 Rxd1 32. Nxd1 Kxg7 33. Ke3 Nc5 34. Rd6 a5
35. c4 {White begins pushing his pawns. Black can't do much about it at all.
In such situations the best thing to do is wait and hope your opponent gives
you a chance for counterplay.} a4 36. Kd4 Ne6+ 37. Kc3 Rb8 38. Rd5 Nf4 39. Rd2
Ne6 40. Rb2 Rd8 41. Nf2 a3 42. Rd2 Rb8 43. Nd3 Rb1 44. c5 Kf6 45. c6 Ke7 46.
Nb4 Rc1+ 47. Kb3 $2 {A strange mistake. I imagine both players were already
tired at this point. Levon has played the game perfectly up to this point, but
now he allows unnecessary counterplay.} ({Instead} 47. Nc2 $1 {, just wins on
the spot. There are actually no variations to calculate: White will pick up
the a3-pawn with Kb3, and Black cannot do anything at all!}) 47... Nc5+ 48.
Kxa3 Nxe4 {Now White has to win the game over again. Black's pieces are very
active, and White seems tied down to the defence of c6.} 49. Rd4 Nd6 50. Ka4
Ke6 51. Ka5 Rc5+ 52. Ka6 {Again tiredness is playing a role.} ({I see no
reason to avoid} 52. Kb6 Rb5+ 53. Ka6 {, which forces 53...Rc5 and therefore
gains a tempo compared to the game.}) 52... g5 53. a4 Ke5 54. Rd2 $2 {Another
mistake making White's task more difficult.} ({After} 54. Rd1 Rc4 55. Rb1 {
White will continue with Kb6 and win.}) 54... Rc4 55. Ka5 {White is forced to
make this awkward move as a result of his last mistake. It seems like every
move Grischuk gets more and more chances to save the game!} ({Now} 55. Rb2 {
is met by} Kd4 {, threatening ...Kc3. This is the reason the rook had to be on
b1!}) 55... f5 56. Rc2 Kd4 57. Rd2+ Ke5 58. Nd3+ Kf6 59. Kb6 Nc8+ 60. Kb7 Nd6+
61. Kc7 Ne4 62. Ra2 Nc3 63. Rb2 Nxa4 64. Rb4 Rxb4 65. Nxb4 Nc5 66. Kb6 Ne6 67.
Nd3 h4 68. h3 {A very calm positional move. Actually, this works reasonably
well, but why not just take the knight immediately?} (68. c7 {would have won
easily. Of course, it is very easy to say this while looking at a computer,
while over the board things are never so simple.} Nxc7 69. Kxc7 {, and Black's
pawns are not strong enough to make a draw.} f4 70. Kd6 Kf5 71. Kd5 g4 72. Kd4
g3 73. hxg3 fxg3 74. Ke3 Kg4 75. Nf4 {wins.}) 68... Ke7 69. Nc5 $2 {The
dramatic end of a long and difficult game. Levon once again had the win at his
fingertips, but let it slip. With just one move he could have ended Black's
stiff resistance. It's interesting to understand what he missed; I would
venture to guess that he felt the pawn ending would be winning without
calculating any details. This often happens after several hours of play -
laziness sets in and you don't feel up to calculating variations.} (69. Ne5 $1
{would have won. White just threatens to play c7.} Kf6 (69... Kd6 70. Nf7+ Ke7
71. Nxg5 {decoys the knight on e6.}) 70. Nf3 {, and Black can't stop c7.})
69... Nxc5 70. Kxc5 Kd8 {And a draw! Black will just trade pawns with ...g4
and come back with his king in time. This was an extremely exciting game.
Aronian played the first half of the game in great style and slowly improved a
slightly better position. However, in the second half he began making many
mistakes and missing win after win. Grischuk, on the other hand, defended
extremely tenaciously after his initial unconvincing play. It will be
interesting to see how the results of this game will affect the rest of the
match - if Aronian will be put on the defensive after this disappointing draw.}
1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.05"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B42"]
[WhiteElo "2732"]
[BlackElo "2775"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. a4 $5 Nc6 {According to
theory, the most flexible move. Once the b4-square has been weakened, it makes
sense to develop the knight to c6. Depending to the system of development
chosen by White, Black can switch to the scheme he considers best, such as the
Dragon (7...g6), the Scheveningen (7...e6) or the Boleslavsky System (7...e5).}
7. a5 $5 $146 {One of the most interesting aspect of this hard-fought match is
the early stage in which novelties have been delivered. Kamsky was the first
to introduce a new continuation on the seventh move of the present game, but
his record will be beaten by Topalov in the fourth game, with a novelty on the
fifth move!! And just as in the fourth game, this is not the last novelty of
the game, due to transposition. With his last move, White takes over the
control of the b6-square and invites Black to delay his development by taking
the supposedly poisoned pawn.} e6 $5 {An inspired decision, aiming to sidestep
what must have been the main core of Kamsky's analysis with his seconds.} (7...
Nxa5 8. Nd5 Nc6 9. Be3 {offers White a strong initiative, although the final
evaluation of this position will be revealed only after some practice. With
the game move, Black defends the d5-square, threatening ...Nxa5 for real. It
should be mentioned that 7...e6 transposes back to a known (although not very
popular) line, 6...e6 7.a5 Nc6.}) 8. Nxc6 $5 {Another small surprise. It is
considered that in most cases this exchange, strengthening Black's centre, is
a concession. Kamsky probably had a very clear plan in mind, based on concrete
threats.} (8. Nb3 {is likely to transpose to a normal Scheveningen:} Be7 9. Be3
O-O 10. Be2 {As a youngster, Kamsky managed to defeat an experienced
grandmaster, but with the passing of the time his taste may have changed:} Nd7
11. O-O b5 12. axb6 Nxb6 13. Qd2 Bb7 14. Na4 Nd7 15. f3 Qc7 16. c4 {With some
queenside pressure in Kamsky,G (2345)-Ermenkov,E (2500)/Palma de Mallorca 1989/
TD (1-0, 36)}) 8... bxc6 9. Bd3 Be7 10. O-O {Black's position is not as simple
to play as it looks. His main trump, the strong pawn centre, also implies some
concrete problems. Which would be the optimal configuration? Should he leave
the pawns as they are? If not, which of them should be advanced?} c5 $5 $146 {
With this move, the game finally abandons the known paths. The long term plan
after ...c5 is ...Bb7 followed by ...Kf6-d7-b8-c6, taking the b4- and
d4-squares under control. All this requires a lot of time, though.} ({The plan
based on ...d6-d5 was played in a few not too relevant games. The one that
certainly is interesting was played in a strong ladies' event:} 10... O-O 11.
Qe2 d5 12. Bd2 Bb7 13. e5 Nd7 14. Na4 {The plan to neutralise Black's
queenside initiative with c2-c4 is typical, but with the pawn on a5 the
weaknesses along the b-file will tell.} Qc7 15. Rfe1 Rfe8 16. c4 c5 17. Ra3 {
White places her pieces on attacking squares, but Black has defensive
resources.} g6 18. f4 Bf8 19. Bc2 d4 20. Rg3 Bc6 21. h4 Rab8 {Suddenly, there
are concrete queenside problems, while the attack has not really started yet.}
22. b3 Bxa4 23. bxa4 Bg7 24. h5 Rb2 25. Bd3 Nb8 $15 {[%cal Gb8c6] White soon
had to launch herself into a desperate attack, which surpisingly was
successful in Markovic,M-Zatulovskaya,T/Belgrade 1969/EXT 2001 (1-0, 47)}) 11.
Bf4 Qc7 12. Qe2 {[%cal Ge4e5]} Bb7 $5 {Black decides to ignore the threat,
relying on some hidden tactical nuances.} ({The more solid} 12... Nd7 {was
possible, but the planned ...Nb8-c6 is rather time consuming and gives White
the possibility to build up his attack.}) 13. e5 Qc6 14. f3 Nh5 15. Bd2 c4 $1 {
An important intermediate move, leading to an interesting and unbalanced
structure.} 16. Bxc4 dxe5 17. b3 {It is interesting that in the third game
Kamsky also decided to defend his c4-bishop with b2-b3, although in a
completely different position and under less favourable circumstances.} ({
The main alternative was} 17. Bb3 {[%cal Ge2e5,Gb3a4]} Qc7 18. Ba4+ Kf8 {
White has no obvious way of taking advantage of Black's lost right to castle.
The a4-bishop is out of play and there is no pressure against a6. Black
threatens ...Nf4 followed by ...g6 and ...Kg7.} 19. Rfe1 (19. Rae1 Rd8 {
[%csl Ga5]}) 19... Nf4 $1 20. Qxe5 Bd6 21. Qg5 $8 Bxf3 $1 22. Bxf4 Bxf4 23. Qh4
Bb7 $132 {[%csl Gb7,Gf4]}) 17... Rd8 18. Rad1 Qc5+ 19. Kh1 Nf4 {Possibly
underestimating the consequences of White's answer.} (19... O-O {would have
been safer, for instance} 20. Na4 Qc7 21. Bxa6 $2 Bxa6 22. Qxa6 Qxc2 $17 {
and White's position is hanging.}) 20. Na4 $1 Nxe2 {There is no way back.} (
20... Qc7 {[%csl Ge5]} 21. Bxf4 exf4 22. Bxa6 $16) 21. Nxc5 Bxc5 22. Bxe2 Ke7
23. b4 {The most direct continuation, but one that allows Topalov to carry out
his trademark exchange sacrifice.} (23. Bc3 Bd4 24. Be1 {may seem more passive,
but the advance of the queenside pawns would be ensured in the long term.})
23... Rxd2 $1 (23... Bd4 24. b5 axb5 25. Bxb5 $36) 24. Rxd2 Bxb4 25. Rd3 Bd5 {
Black only needs to bring his rook into play in order to get a perfect
position, but White can maintain the initiative for the time being.} 26. Rb1
Bxa5 27. Ra3 Bd2 $1 {[%cal Ga7e3,Ge3a7]} (27... Bc7 $6 28. c4 Ba8 29. Rxa6 Rc8
30. Rba1 Bb7 31. Ra7 Bc6 32. c5 $16) 28. Rxa6 $6 {Missing his chance.} (28. c4
$1 Bc6 29. Rxa6 Rc8 30. Rbb6 {Suddenly the c6-bishop experiences problems of
stability.} Ba8 $8 (30... Kd7 31. Bd1 $1 {[%cal Gb6c6,Gd1a4]}) (30... Kd6 31.
Rb7 $1 {[%cal Gb7f7]}) ({Nor was resistance possible after} 30... Bd7 31. Rb7
Be3 32. g3 {[%csl Gh1][%cal Ge2d1,Gd1a4]}) (30... Bd5 31. g3 Bxc4 32. Bxc4 Rxc4
33. Rb7+ Kf6 34. Raa7 {[%cal Gb7h7]}) 31. Ra7+ Kf6 {[%cal Gd2e3]} 32. Rb3 $1 e4
{Black has finally cleared some space for his bishops and can hope to defend.})
28... Rc8 $1 $15 {Consolidating his d5-bishop.} 29. Ra7+ Kf6 30. Bd3 Be3 31.
Ra4 (31. Rd7 $6 {would lead to an amusing situation after} Bc6 32. Rd6 Bc5 {
, trapping the rook.}) 31... h5 32. Rab4 Rc3 33. h4 g6 34. Kh2 Kg7 35. Ra4 f5
36. Re1 Bc5 37. Re2 (37. Rxe5 $2 Bd6 $1 38. f4 Bxe5 39. fxe5 g5 $17) 37... Kf6
38. Re1 Bf2 39. Re2 Bc5 40. Re1 Bf2 41. Re2 Bc5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.05"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2772"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nf3 Be7 8. Bc4
O-O 9. O-O Nc6 10. Re1 b5 11. Bb3 Rb8 12. Bg5 Be6 $146 {Playing for central
control. Previously, Black moved away with his f6-knight, in order to avoid
the exchange Bxf6 which was strategically unfavourable for him.} (12... Nd7 {
Jakovenko,D (2671)-Khairullin,I (2543)/Moscow 2006/CBM 116/[Ftacnik] (0-1, 40)}
) (12... Ng4 {Balogh,C (2568)-Hou,Y (2523)/Paks 2007/CBM 120 (1-0, 40)}) 13.
Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Nd5 Bg5 15. Qd3 Bh6 16. Red1 $14 {If compared with a Sveshnikov,
the active position of White's bishop makes a lot of difference. White's
control over the d5-square remains unchallenged. We can conclude that
Gelfand's novelty was not a very inspired one.} Kh8 17. Nc3 Qb6 18. Bxe6 fxe6
19. Qxd6 Nd4 20. Qxb6 Nxf3+ 21. gxf3 Rxb6 {After having weakened the white
kingside, Black gets some saving chances despite the missing pawn.} 22. a4 Kg8
23. axb5 axb5 24. Ra5 b4 25. Rb5 Rfb8 26. Rxb6 Rxb6 27. Ne2 Rc6 28. c3 bxc3 29.
Nxc3 Bg5 30. Kf1 Rb6 31. Rb1 Be7 32. Ke2 Rb8 33. Kd3 Bc5 34. Na4 Bxf2 35. b4
Ra8 36. Nc5 Kf7 37. Kc4 Ke7 38. Rd1 Bd4 39. Nb3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.05"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D56"]
[WhiteElo "2744"]
[BlackElo "2785"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[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 Be7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. e3 Ne4 8. Bxe7
Qxe7 9. Rc1 c6 10. Be2 Nd7 11. O-O Nxc3 12. Rxc3 dxc4 13. Rxc4 (13. Bxc4 b6 {
Topalov,V (2805)-Anand,V (2787)/Sofia 2010/CBM 136/[Giri,Anish] (0-1, 56)})
13... e5 14. Qc2 exd4 15. Nxd4 Nb6 16. Rc5 Rd8 $5 $146 ({This looks more
active than} 16... Nd7 17. Ra5 {Ivanchuk,V (2779)-Carlsen,M (2776)/Linares
2009/CBM 129 (1/2, 22)}) 17. Bf3 Be6 18. Rc1 ({After} 18. Nxe6 Qxe6 {, the
superior major piece activity at least compensates for the theoretical
advantage of a bishop over a knight in open positions.}) 18... Bd5 $11 {
Black has completed his development and neutralised White's queenside pressure.
} 19. a3 Nd7 20. Rc3 Nf6 21. Bxd5 Rxd5 22. Rc4 Re8 23. h3 Ne4 24. b4 a5 25. Rb1
1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.06"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D46"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2772"]
[Annotator "Krasenkow,M"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O
dxc4 9. Bxc4 a6 10. Rd1 b5 11. Bd3 Qc7 12. Bd2 c5 13. Ne4 c4 14. Nxd6 Qxd6 15.
Be2 Bb7 16. b3 {For this line - see the theoretical article in CBM 142.} Rfc8 (
16... Bd5 17. Qb2 Ne4 18. Ba5 Rac8 (18... Rfc8 $5 19. Ne1 $140 c3 20. Qc1 c2 $1
) 19. Ne1 (19. Rac1 cxb3 20. axb3 b4 $1) 19... c3 $1 20. Qc1 c2 $1 21. Rd3 (21.
Nxc2 $6 Nxf2) 21... Nxf2 $1 22. Kxf2 Qxh2 23. Nf3 Qd6 $44 {1-0 Rodshtein,M 
(2625)-Paikidze,N (2455)/Moscow RUS 2011/CBM 142/[Krasenkow] (45)}) 17. Qb2
Rab8 (17... Bd5 $5 {leads to variations similar to the previous annotation.})
18. Rdc1 $146 {[%mdl 8]} (18. Rac1 Ne4 19. Be1 (19. Ba5 $5 Qd5 20. Ne1 Qg5 $132
) 19... Nb6 20. Ba5 cxb3 21. axb3 b4 22. Rxc8+ Rxc8 23. Rc1 {1-0 Wojtaszek,R 
(2711)-Smeets,J (2669)/Solingen GER 2011/The Week in Chess 851 (32)} Nc3 $132)
18... Ne4 (18... Be4 $5 19. Ba5 (19. Ne1 Nd5 20. f3 Bg6 21. e4 c3 $1) 19... Qd5
) 19. Ba5 Bd5 (19... cxb3 20. axb3 b4 {is too late:} 21. Bf1 Nc3 22. Nd2) (
19... Qd5 $5 20. Rab1 Ba8) 20. Ne1 f5 (20... cxb3 21. axb3 b4 {is poor again:}
22. Rxc8+ Rxc8 23. Nd3) 21. f3 Nef6 22. Rab1 {It turns out that Black has just
lost time. Still, White's advantage is minimal.} g5 (22... e5 $5 23. dxe5 (23.
Nc2 e4) 23... Qxe5 24. Qxe5 Nxe5 25. Bc3 Nfd7 26. Rd1 Bf7 {keeping good
chances to equalize.}) 23. Qd2 Kf7 (23... g4 $142) 24. Bb4 Qb6 25. Ba5 Qd6 26.
bxc4 bxc4 27. Rxb8 Qxb8 28. Qb4 Qa8 $6 (28... g4 $1 $132) 29. Bxc4 Qc6 30. Nd3
$1 Bxc4 31. Nb2 Qd5 ({Even here after} 31... Rb8 32. Qxc4 Qb5 $1 33. Qxb5 axb5
34. a3 Ra8 35. Bb4 Nd5 36. Nd3 Nxb4 37. axb4 Ra3 {White can hardly win.}) (
31... Qb5 {is probably less accurate:} 32. Nxc4 (32. Rxc4 Rb8 33. Nd3 Nd5)
32... Kg7 33. Qb3 $1 Rxc4 34. Qxc4 Qxa5 35. Qxe6 Qd2 36. Rb1 f4 37. exf4 Qxd4+
38. Kh1 Qxf4 39. Qxa6 $14) 32. Nxc4 Kg8 33. Rc3 $6 {White is tied up, and it
was very difficult for him to consolidate his material advantage.} (33. Qb3 $1
{was probably the best try although after} g4 (33... Rxc4 $6 34. Qxc4 Qxa5 35.
Qxe6+ Kg7 36. h3 $16 Qd2 $2 37. Rc7) 34. fxg4 fxg4 {Black keeps good chances
to survive.}) 33... f4 (33... g4 $5 $44) 34. exf4 (34. Nb6 Nxb6 35. Qxb6 Rxc3
36. Bxc3 fxe3 37. Qxa6 Kf7 $132) (34. Qa4 g4 $1 $132) (34. Nd2 $5 Rb8 (34...
Rxc3 35. Qxc3 Qxa2 36. e4 $14) 35. Qa4 fxe3 (35... Rb2 36. e4 Rxa2 37. exd5
Rxa4 38. dxe6 Rxa5 39. Rc8+ Kg7 40. exd7 Nxd7 41. Rc7 Rd5 42. Ne4 Kf8 43. Nxg5
$16) 36. Rxe3 Rb2 37. Nb3 g4 $132) 34... Qxd4+ 35. Ne3 Qxc3 36. Qxc3 Rxc3 37.
Bxc3 gxf4 38. Nc4 Nd5 39. Bd4 Nb4 40. a3 Nc6 {White's advantage in this
endgame is purely symbolic.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.06"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2808"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. cxd5 ({The game variation usually
is achieved with} 5. Qc2 c5 6. cxd5 exd5) 5... exd5 6. Qc2 c5 ({Aronian may
have feared some special analysis of his opponent in the main line after} 6...
c6 7. Bg5 g6 8. e4 $5) 7. Bg5 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Nc6 9. Rd1 (9. Nxc6 {Kortschnoj,V 
(2608)-Baramidze,D (2554)/Pulvermuehle 2006/CBM 112/[Dautov] (1-0, 50)}) 9...
O-O $146 (9... h6 10. Bh4 Qa5 11. e3 O-O 12. Be2 Be6 13. Nb3 Qb4 $132 {
Rustemov,A (2565)-Ubilava,E (2521)/Olite 2006/CBM 115 (1/2, 94)}) 10. e3 Be6
11. Be2 Rc8 12. Nf5 h6 13. Bh4 Re8 14. Nxe7+ Qxe7 15. O-O g5 16. Bg3 Ne4 17.
Qb1 Nxg3 18. hxg3 Red8 19. Nb5 {White is one step away from reaching a dream
blockade on d4, after having exchanged two minor pieces already.} d4 $1 $11 20.
Nxd4 Nxd4 21. exd4 (21. Rxd4 Rxd4 22. exd4 Bxa2 $11) 21... Qf6 (21... Bxa2 $5)
22. Bf3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.06"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E05"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2744"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "122"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Be7 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qa4 $5 {
An interesting nuance.} ({In recent games, White has failed to obtain an
advantage after} 7. Qc2 b5 $5 {(a move that had been considered "impossible"
for many decades).}) 7... a6 {The only limitation for White is that 8.a4 is
not possible anymore, but Kramnik is a specialist of 8.Qxc4 anyway.} 8. Qxc4 b5
9. Qc2 Bb7 10. Bd2 Be4 11. Qc1 Bb7 12. Qc2 Be4 13. Qc1 Bb7 14. Bf4 Nd5 15. Rd1
$5 {A rare move, probably intended to maintain White's flexibility.} ({Against
the more popular} 15. Nc3 {Black's safest answer is} Nxf4 16. Qxf4 Qd6 {
, a move introduced by Karpov decades ago. Kramnik also seems to trust it,
since he used it with Black in a recent game:} 17. Ne5 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Nd7 19.
Rac1 $5 $146 {Le Quang,L (2681)-Kramnik,V (2790)/Dortmund 2010/CBM 138/[Le
Quang Liem] (1/2, 41)}) 15... Nxf4 16. Qxf4 $5 $146 (16. gxf4 {Johannessen,L 
(2538)-Sammalvuo,T (2445)/Gausdal 2004/CBM 104/[Ribli] (1-0, 36)}) 16... Bd6 ({
I assume that after} 16... Qd6 17. Ne5 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Nd7 {he would play} 19.
Nxd7 Qxd7 20. Nd2 {, sending the knight onto a more promising route than after
Nb1-c3, with either Nb3 or Nf3.}) 17. Qh4 (17. Qe3 $5 {may be worth giving a
try. After} Nd7 18. Nbd2 {, the thematic} c5 {does not bring complete equality
after} 19. Ne4 Bxe4 20. Qxe4 $14 {and White retains the more pleasant position,
although the presence of opposite coloured bishops creates a certain drawish
tendency.}) 17... Qxh4 18. Nxh4 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Nd7 20. Nc3 Rfd8 21. Rac1 Be7 22.
Nf3 c5 23. a4 (23. d5 $5 {looks more active, but the black queenside majority
may become dangerous later.}) 23... bxa4 24. Nxa4 cxd4 25. Rxd4 Bf6 26. Rd6 Ne5
27. Rxd8+ Rxd8 28. Nxe5 Bxe5 29. f4 Bf6 30. Rc6 Rb8 31. Rxa6 g6 32. Nc5 Rxb2
33. Kf3 Bd4 34. Nd3 {White's symbolic advantage proved impossible to convert
even for a player with such brilliant technique as Kramnik.} Rb8 35. Rd6 Bf6
36. g4 Rd8 37. Rc6 Be7 38. g5 h6 39. h4 hxg5 40. hxg5 Rd7 41. Ne5 Rb7 42. Rc8+
Kg7 43. Re8 {lthough Black's position looks ridiculously passive, the presence
of pawns on just one wing keeps the game within drawish limits.} Rc7 44. Ng4
Rb7 45. e3 Rc7 46. Ke4 Rd7 47. Nh6 Bf8 48. Rc8 Rb7 49. Kf3 Ra7 50. e4 Ra3+ 51.
Kg4 Ra7 52. Kh4 Bb4 53. Kg4 Bf8 54. Rb8 Rd7 55. Kf3 Ra7 56. e5 Ra3+ 57. Kg2
Ra2+ 58. Kg3 Ra3+ 59. Kg4 Ra7 60. Rc8 Rb7 61. Ra8 Rc7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.06"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D90"]
[WhiteElo "2775"]
[BlackElo "2732"]
[Annotator "Caruana,F"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{This match between two great players of vastly contrasting styles was highly
anticipated. And they didn't disappoint!} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 {
Just like in their last match played two years ago, Kamsky remains faithful to
the Grünfeld. Topalov quickly steers the game into unconventional lines, where
he has a powerful new idea.} 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Qb3 Nb6 6. d4 Bg7 7. Bf4 Be6 8.
Qa3 {White's queen is often the biggest problem in the Qb3 lines of the
Grünfeld. Here it is completely sidelined and in danger of getting trapped in
some variations. On the other hand, if Black isn't able to take advantage of
this factor, then he will simply have a strategically inferior position due to
the strength of White's center. In this game it's clear White didn't justify
the position of his queen on a3: it didn't move for the rest of the game....}
Nc6 {The knight is aiming for the great b4-square after ...a5. Of course,
Black must play as concretely as possible at this stage, and cannot afford
luxuries such as castling.} ({For example, after} 8... O-O 9. e3 (9. e4 {
also deserves attention.}) 9... Nc6 10. Be2 a5 11. O-O Nb4 {White is in time
to play} 12. Rfc1 {, defending against ...Nc2, after which he will slowly
unravel and begin exploiting his strong center.}) 9. O-O-O $1 $146 {A novelty,
and a very interesting one! On the one hand, White is playing for complete
central domination with e4 and d5, but on the other, if he doesn't manage then
his king could end up very exposed on the queenside. The play quickly becomes
sharp and unusual, and the game could steer one way or the other as a result
of mistakes on either side.} ({Previously the obvious} 9. e3 {had been played.
As a matter of fact, Gata himself defended the Black pieces twice here!} a5 10.
Be2 (10. Bb5 O-O 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Qc5 Nd5 13. Be5 Nxc3 14. Qxc3 Bd5 15. Bxg7
Kxg7 {and Black compensated his bad pawn structure with active piece play in
Eljanov-Kamsky, Ohrid 2009.}) 10... Nb4 11. O-O {and here Ivanchuk-Kamsky,
Jermuk 2009 continued 11...c6, but Black could have ventured} Nc2 12. Qc5 Nxa1
13. Nb5 (13. Bxc7 Nd7 14. Bb5 Kf8 $1 {is a nice variation which ends with an
extra exchange for Black.}) 13... Nd5 14. Bxc7 Qd7 {, with chaotic play where
it's at first sight difficult to understand who is playing for what - but my
computer assures me that Black is doing very well here! I imagine all these
variations were checked deeply by both players and their seconds before the
match, and they came to the conclusion that Black is well off.}) 9... Nd5 {
Not what Black wants, but there was no other defence to the threat of d5.} (
9... a5 $4 10. d5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 12. e4 {simply wins a piece.}) 10. Bg3
Bh6+ $5 {Although it's probably not enough to equalize, I'm nevertheless
impressed by this unconventional solution to Black's problems. It seems very
strange to "provoke" a natural move like e3, but Gata saw that if he could
prevent White from playing e4 and maintain central stability, then he would
have enough counterplay against White's king. Not only a great concept, it
also seemed to take Topalov out of his preparation, and as we will see he
immediately went astray.} ({The cooperative} 10... Nxc3 $6 {grants White an
advantage:} 11. bxc3 Qd5 12. e3 {, and White will continue to expand with c4
next.}) 11. e3 ({The point is of course that} 11. Kb1 $4 {is met by} Bf5+ 12.
Ka1 Ndb4 {, winning.}) 11... a5 12. h4 $2 {Topalov is too keen on attacking,
when he should have tried to realize his main plan of central expansion. This
very serious conceptual mistake leads to a very pleasant position for Black.} (
12. Kb1 $1 {, preparing e4, would have been a logical continuation of White's
opening strategy:} Ncb4 (12... Bf5+ 13. Bd3 Bxd3+ 14. Rxd3 {gives Black
nothing but trouble, since his counterplay has totally run out.}) 13. e4 $1 {
, and here Black is unable to play 13...Nxc3, but the computer comes up with
the astonishing} c6 $5 {A brilliant way to "defend" the knight on d5.
Unfortunately, it isn't clear what Black's next move will be, so now White can
consider} 14. h4 {, with the dual threats of h5 and Ng5.}) 12... Ncb4 13. h5 {
Consistent. White also had another option.} (13. Ng5 {The bishop on e6 is very
annoying for White, so it makes sense to drive it away. Unfortunately for
White, Black can provoke a crucial weakness with} Bg4 14. f3 ({After} 14. Rd2
f6 15. Nge4 c6 {, the position is pretty complicated, but it doesn't seem like
White has made much progress over the last few moves. Meanwhile, Black's
pressure on the queenside is extremely unpleasant.}) 14... Bc8 $1 {, and I'm
not sure exactly how White can deal with the weakness on e3, especially since
Black is also threatening ...f6. By the way, there is also the option of 14...
Nxe3, which follows a long line leading into an extremely complicated position
which is probably good for Black. But simpler is better!}) 13... c6 {Gata's
play makes good sense to me. He is securing his position and will prepare
counterplay with ...b5. On the other hand, I don't understand what White is
playing for.} 14. hxg6 hxg6 15. Rd2 $6 {An awkward move. I imagine Topalov
wanted to prevent ...Nxc3, but Black almost never wants to do that anyway,} ({
After} 15. Ng5 Bg4 16. Rd2 Kf8 {, Black has a good position. He just plans ...
Kg7.} (16... f6 {can be met by the bizarre} 17. e4 $5 Nc7 18. Qb3 fxg5 19. Be5
{, with weird complications. Let's avoid that.}) 17. e4 {is also met by} Kg7) (
{White should have tried} 15. Be2 {I still don't like White's position,
because Black's queenside play is very dangerous, but at least White needs the
option of doubling on the h-file to get some counterplay,} f6 ({I would rather
avoid} 15... b5 $6 16. Ng5 Nxc3 17. bxc3 Nxa2+ 18. Kc2 Bd5 19. Qc5 {, when
Black's knight is sadly trapped on a2 and will probably never get out,}) 16.
Ne4 b6 17. Rh2 Kf8 18. Rdh1 Kg7 {, and White has again run out of ideas. Black
can do whatever he wants on the queenside. A main idea would be to prepare ...
c5.}) 15... f6 {Calm positional play is the most unpleasant for White. Since
he could never achieve e4 or bother Black in any way, White is just clearly
worse now! The sad remnants of a strong opening novelty and failed strategy....
} 16. Ne4 (16. Kb1 {is always met by} Bf5+) 16... b6 17. Be2 Qc8 18. Rh4 Kf7 {
Everything according to plan. Black is slowly preparing ...c5. I can't even
criticize the move 18.Rh4, which just made it worse for White, because I can't
find any decent alternatives.} 19. Rd1 g5 {After good preparation all Black's
pieces are perfectly placed for the final breakthrough, which Gata executes in
model style!} 20. Rh2 g4 21. Nfd2 c5 22. dxc5 f5 {Of course, now White's king
will be under the combined attack of Black's entire army.} 23. Rxh6 (23. Nc3
Qxc5 {is obviously hopeless for White.}) 23... Rxh6 24. Ng5+ Kf8 {Now Black is
up material with an attack to boot. One could argue that the computer's
suggestion of 25.Nb3 could have prolonged the game, but it wouldn't have made
a real difference.} 25. Nxe6+ Qxe6 26. Bc4 Rc8 27. Bf4 Rf6 28. e4 Rxc5 29. exd5
Qxd5 30. b3 Qd4 31. Be3 (31. Qb2 Nd3+ {would have been a comical finish for a
queen stuck on a3 the whole game.}) 31... Qc3+ {An interesting game. Topalov
came prepared with a good novelty, but he didn't follow it up correctly. In
fact, it only took one mistake for White's position to go downhill – that's
how it works in these sharp lines. Kamsky, however, really played
fantastically the whole game, reacted calmly to the novelty and controlled the
game without allowing undue counterplay. A very well deserved win for him.} 0-1

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.07"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D97"]
[WhiteElo "2808"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Krasenkow,M"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O 7. e4 a6 8. Be2
b5 9. Qb3 c5 10. dxc5 Be6 11. Qc2 Nbd7 12. Be3 Rc8 13. Rd1 b4 14. Nd5 Bxd5 15.
exd5 Nxc5 16. O-O {This important line was examined in the theoretical article
in CBM 139.} a5 (16... Nce4 $5 17. Qd3 a5 18. Ne5 Qc7 19. f4 Qc2 20. Nc6 Qxd3
21. Nxe7+ Kh8 22. Rxd3 Rc7 23. Nc6 Nxd5 24. Rxd5 Rxc6 25. f5 Bxb2 26. Rxa5 Rd6
27. Bf3 {1/2 Sandipan,C (2641)-Svidler,P (2731)/Germany 2010/CBM 138 Extra}) (
16... Qd6 $5 17. Rc1 Qb8 18. Bxc5 Nd7 19. Bxa6 Rxc5 20. Qd2 Rd8 21. Rxc5 Nxc5
22. Bc4 e6 23. Rd1 Na4 24. Bb3 Nc5 25. Bc4 Na4 26. Bb3 Nc5 27. Qe3 Nxb3 28.
Qxb3 exd5 29. Ne1 Qd6 30. Nd3 Bf8 31. g3 Ra8 32. h4 Qa6 33. Nxb4 Bxb4 34. Qxb4
Qxa2 $11 {1/2 Riazantsev,A (2689)-Rodshtein,M (2625)/Moscow 2011/CBM 141 (41)})
17. Bc4 $146 {[%mdl 8] A solid move safely protecting the important d5-pawn.} (
17. h3 Nce4 18. Qb1 Nd6 19. Ba6 Ra8 20. Be2 Rc8 21. Rfe1 Nf5 22. Bc1 Rc5 23. g4
Nd6 24. Nd4 Qb6 25. Nb3 Rxd5 $15 {1/2 Berkes,F (2663)-Safarli,E (2587)/Paks
2009/CBM 133 (47)}) (17. Rfe1 Nb7 (17... Ncd7 18. Bc4 Ng4 19. Bd4 Qc7 20. Bxg7
Kxg7 21. b3 Qc5 22. Qe2 Nb6 {1/2 Tomashevsky,E (2695)-Le Quang,L (2664)/Moscow
2011/CBM 141 (45)} 23. Nd4 Nf6 24. d6 $1 $36) 18. Qd2 Nc5 19. Bb5 Nce4 20. Qd3
Nc5 21. Qc2 Nce4 22. Bc6 Nd6 23. Bf4 Qb6 24. Qe2 Nf5 25. Ne5 Nh5 26. Bc1 Nd4
27. Qe3 Bxe5 28. Qxe5 Nxc6 29. dxc6 Rxc6 30. Qxe7 Rc2 $132 {1-0 Kasimdzhanov,R
(2681)-Rodshtein,M (2625)/Moscow 2011/CBM 141 (58)}) (17. Bb5 Nce4 18. Bc6 Nd6
19. Qe2 Nf5 20. Rfe1 (20. Bg5 h6 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Rfe1 Qc7 23. Bb5 Rfd8 24.
Ba6 Ra8 25. Rc1 Qd6 26. Bd3 Qxd5 27. Be4 Qxa2 28. Bxa8 Rxa8 $15 {0-1 Belov,V 
(2627)-Gupta,A (2565)/Kavala 2009/CBM 131 Extra (61)}) (20. Ne5 Qc7 21. f4 Nxe3
22. Qxe3 Qd6 {[%cal Ye7e6]} 23. Qa7 Qc7 $11) 20... Qc7 21. Rc1 Ng4 22. Bc5 Nd4
(22... Nh4 $5) 23. Bxd4 Bxd4 24. Rf1 Bf6 {1/2 Bluvshtein,M (2590)-Mekhitarian,
K (2528)/Moscow 2011/CBM 141}) 17... Qd6 18. Bd4 Ncd7 (18... Ng4 $5 {was
probably more accurate, e.g.} 19. Bxg7 Kxg7 20. Rfe1 Nd7 21. Qe2 Nb6 22. b3
Rfd8 $1 $11) 19. Qe2 Ng4 20. Rfe1 Rfe8 {This is not the best place for the
rook.} 21. Ba6 Ra8 (21... Rc7 22. Bxg7 Kxg7 23. h3 Ngf6 24. Nd4 $1 $16 {
[%cal Rd4b5,Rd4e6]}) 22. Bb5 $14 {[%cal Gb5e8]} Bxd4 23. Rxd4 Ngf6 24. h3 Rab8
25. Ba4 Red8 {Black decides on an inferior endgame, in which White's bishop
will be stronger than Black's knight in an open position. However, he holds
his ground by accurate defence.} 26. Qxe7 Nb6 27. Bd1 Rbc8 28. Qa7 Ra8 29. Qb7
Rdc8 30. Qe7 Qxe7 31. Rxe7 Nfxd5 32. Rb7 Rc7 33. Rxc7 Nxc7 {[%mdl 4096]} 34.
Bb3 a4 35. Bc2 Ncd5 36. Be4 Ra5 37. Ne5 Rc5 (37... a3 $1 {was a good occasion
to equalise:} 38. bxa3 (38. Bxd5 Rxd5 39. Rxb4 Rxe5 40. Rxb6 Re1+ 41. Kh2 Rb1
$11) 38... Nc3 $1 39. Nc6 Rxa3 $11) 38. Bxd5 Rxd5 39. Rxb4 Rxe5 40. Rxb6 Re1+
41. Kh2 Re2 42. Kg3 a3 43. bxa3 Rxa2 {This theoretical endgame is also rather
drawish.} 44. Rb3 (44. Ra6 h5 45. h4 Kg7 {- here, too, Black's classic
defensive plan includes ...f7-f6 and ...g6-g5.}) 44... Kg7 45. f4 h5 46. h4 f6
$1 47. Kf3 g5 {Reducing material to a minimum.} 48. hxg5 fxg5 49. g3 (49. fxg5
Kg6 50. g3 Kxg5 51. Ke4 Kg4 {[%cal Ra2g2]} 52. Kd4 Rg2 53. a4 Ra2 $1 $11) 49...
Kf6 50. Ke4 gxf4 51. Kxf4 (51. gxf4 h4 52. Rh3 Kg6 $11) 51... Ra1 52. Ke4 Ke6 {
The simplest course - Black's king follows White's to the queenside.} (52...
Kg5 {was too late here:} 53. Kd4 Kg4 54. Kc5 Rg1 $2 55. a4) 53. Re3 (53. Rb6+
Kd7 54. Ra6 Rc1 {[%cal Yc1c4,Yh5h4]}) 53... Ra2 54. Kd4+ Kd6 55. Kc4 Rh2 $1 {
[%cal Yh5h4]} 56. Kb5 Kc7 57. Re7+ Kb8 58. Rh7 Rg2 59. Kb6 Rb2+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.07"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2732"]
[BlackElo "2775"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,A"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "7200"]

{Topalov enters this game with a difficult decision. Should he try to hold for
a draw and push for an all-out win with White in the 4th game, or try to risk
potentially losing the match here with Black? These are problems that the
super-GM from Bulgaria must answer even before the players sit down at the
board.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. a4 {Kamsky
repeats his relatively experimental line from game one. Even though Topalov
and his team were probably expecting this, it is very difficult to react in a
mere two days. It's possible that they found no tangible improvement after 6...
Nc6 7. a5!? so Topalov deviates back to the more usual Najdorf approach.} e5 7.
Nf3 Be7 8. Bg5 Be6 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Nd5 Nd7 11. Bc4 Rc8 12. b3 Qa5+ {This
game's novelty. This practically forces White's response, after which it would
only make sense to trade queens. A superficial assessment would be to think
that 'simplifcations lead to draws', when in fact the absence of queens brings
many new strategic ideas to the position.} 13. Qd2 Qxd2+ 14. Nxd2 Bg5 {This is
a good time to get a strong hold of the position. The structure is very
reminiscent of a Sveshnikov Sicilian. To compensate for his backward d6-pawn
and weak d5-square, Black has the pair of bishops and a half open c-file. Of
course, this isn't something that he can take advantage of immediately since
the position is rather closed. But it contains potential! The old masters
believed that obtaining the pair of bishops would eventually grant an
advantage, because ultimately the position was bound to become open after pawn
exchanges. Although chess has evolved greatly, this maxim still holds some
value.} 15. Kd1 $5 {This is an interesting move by the American. The king is
perfectly safe on d1, and it holds the queenside somewhat. There is really no
advantage in sending the king to the kingside, as it would serve no purpose
there. The queenside rook will eventually be lifted via a4 (after a pawn push
to a5) and go to b4, where it would be pressuring the b7-pawn. However, White
is not the only one who can push rook pawns...} h5 $1 {A good strategic move:
Black grabs space on the kingside and prepares a potential rook lift there -
but it's also important to understand the psychological implications of such a
move. Because of the match situation, it is possible that Kamsky wants to play
with as little risk as possible. Clearly he holds no advantage, so he does not
want to commit himself to any weaknesses if he cannot see an immediate return.
It is possible that for this reason he shuns the most natural move 16.h4 and
gives Black a decent amount of space on the kingside. In my opinion,
unnecessarily.} 16. Re1 $6 (16. h4 {is of course the most natural continuation,
but then White has to cope with the fact that h4 will be weak and g5 might be
a possible break in the future. All bishop retreats make some sense at this
point, but the most natural would seem to be...} Bd8 {eyeing that h4-pawn.} 17.
g3 Ba5 {Kamsky might have looked at this position and not liked it. The
computer suggests that terribly inhuman move 18.Rb1, so it's understandable
how he didn't go for this line. However, White's position is solid, even if
rather planless.}) 16... h4 {Black quickly grabs the space he was provided.
White can hardly allow the pawn to go all the way to h3, so he must stop it
now.} 17. h3 Nf6 18. Nxf6+ (18. Nb6 {was a natural alternative. However after}
Rc5 19. a5 Nh5 {Black begins to build up some pressure on the kingside. Maybe
saying that Black is better is not quite true, but it does seem more pleasant
to play with the Black pieces.}) 18... gxf6 $1 $15 {Topalov instantly replied
with this move, and with good reason. The g-file opens with great effect to
exert pressure on the now weak g2-pawn, while his centre will be bolstered
after the trade of bishops on e6. This move might seem strange to some players,
but to a Sveshnikov player, or a super-GM like Topalov, it is the only
conceivable move.} 19. Bxe6 fxe6 20. Nf3 Rg8 {Kamsky must hurry and prevent
Topalov from expanding in the centre too quickly. He still has some resources
- but haste is mandatory.} 21. c4 f5 22. exf5 exf5 23. Ke2 $1 {A resourceful
move! The king's role in the centre has ended, and there is no more need for
him to defend the c2-square. Additionally, he was starting to become exposed,
so it makes sense to transfer his majesty to f1, where it will guard the g2
pawn.} Be7 24. Kf1 Kf7 25. Rad1 {This is another good moment to analyse what
is going on. Black has achieved many things! He has fixed his structure and
now has a potentially dangerous pawn centre. Unfortunately, there is no clear
way for him to use it immediately. He will never want to advance e4 and give
White the d4-square. So it transpires that a logical plan is to play b5. This
can be done immediately, but Topalov shows his class and first plays an
important move.} Rc5 $1 {This move takes control of the fifth rank, an
important element as the 25...b5 variation shows. White is running out of
useful moves, so he plays his card...} (25... b5 $5 26. axb5 axb5 27. Rd5 $1 {
This cool moves forces off more pawns than Black wants to trade. The following
is only a sample line, but shows the great simplification power White has as
his disposal.} bxc4 28. bxc4 Kf6 29. c5 $1 Ke6 30. cxd6 Kxd5 31. dxe7 Rge8 32.
Nxh4 Ke6 33. f4 Rc5 34. g4 fxg4 35. hxg4 $11 {And with the last pawn gone the
draw is obvious.}) 26. b4 $1 {Maybe forced. White uses tactics to resolve some
of the tension.} (26. Re2 b5 27. cxb5 axb5 28. a5 b4 $15 {is definitely NOT
what White is looking for.}) 26... Rxc4 27. Rxe5 {Black has a few ways of
dealing with this position. He wants to create as much play as possible, but
it seems that White is holding in every line.} dxe5 (27... Kf6 28. Ree1 Rxb4
29. Rd4 Rxd4 30. Nxd4 $11 {and Black has no real hopes of winning as he will
soon lose an important pawn.}) (27... Rxb4 28. Rxf5+ Kg6 29. Ra5 {The awkward
placement of the rook on a5 would seem to give Black a reason to go for this
line, however it is actually difficult to come up with a useful move. The
pawns on d6 and h4 are rather weak, and the king will never find shelter.
Practically, it is difficult to go for this line as your top choice, but it
was definitely worth a try.} Rc8 $5 30. Re1 Rc7 $15) 28. Nxe5+ Ke6 29. Nxc4
Bxb4 30. Rb1 $1 {Fixing the pawns on dark squares is important, as it will
allow White to easily control them, or at least force Black into a major
concession if he tries to advance on the queenside.} a5 31. Rd1 Rc8 32. Rd4 {
The weak pawn on h4, the controlled structure on the queenside and the active
white pieces give Black little hope of a win, so Black sets up one final trap..
.} Bc3 $1 33. Rxh4 Bf6 34. Rf4 Bg5 {White is at a small crossroads. He could
try to gain three (!) passed pawns on the kingside with 35.Rxf5!? or he could
play it safe and take a draw. Topalov has simply given Gata the chance to go
wrong, but he doesn't bite.} 35. Rd4 (35. Rxf5 $5 Kxf5 (35... Rxc4 36. Rxg5
Rxa4 37. Rb5 $14 {Black might have enough to draw this, but no more.}) 36. Nd6+
Ke6 (36... Ke5 $2 37. Nxc8 Kd5 {transposes to Kd5 above.}) 37. Nxc8 {So now
that we reach this position in our minds, we realise that more calculation is
necessary. Black has no successful way of trying to corral the knight on c8,
so he must lunge toward the queenside - and he has two ways to do this.} b5 $1
{Speed is everything. White can't take on b5, but he can clearly catch the
pawn.} (37... Kd5 $2 38. Ke2 {Now Black's king cannot prevent White's from
helping on the queenside, since he cannot afford to lose the b-pawn.} Kc5 (
38... Kc4 $6 39. Nd6+ Kb3 40. Nxb7 Kxa4 41. g3 Kb4 42. Nxa5 $18) 39. Kd3 Kb4
40. Nd6 b6 41. Nb5 Kxa4 42. Kc4 $18 {And the pawns roll by themselves on the
queenside.}) 38. Ke2 bxa4 39. Kd3 Bf6 40. Kc4 a3 41. Kb3 Bd4 42. Kxa3 Kd7 43.
Ka4 {and the position should be drawn. Of course this crazy line requires
quite a bit of calculation, and contains many ways in which one could go wrong.
Gata's choice is safe and sound.}) 35... Bf6 36. Rf4 Bg5 37. Rd4 Bf6 {A
tenacious defence by the American. Topalov tried on every flank but eventually
came up short of victory, setting up a very highly anticipated game for
tomorrow, where Topalov will push with everything he has!} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.07"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B87"]
[WhiteElo "2772"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "Gelfand,B"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Ramirez,A} c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 {
Shakhriyar goes for the sharpest line. In the first game he had chosen the
more positional 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3. I also had to face this system in my
semi-final match vs Kamsky.} e6 7. Bb3 b5 8. O-O Be7 9. Qf3 Qc7 10. Qg3 O-O 11.
Bh6 Ne8 12. Rad1 Bd7 13. f4 Nc6 14. f5 {Again the sharpest choice. I had
earlier experiences with the more positional 13.Nf3, 13.Nce2 and the wild 14.
Bg5. Ramirez,A: 'This rare move had been used once before in a world class
game, about 10 years ago, and never again since. It's interesting, although a
little strange, that Mamedyarov is repeating this line. Gelfand doesn't follow
the same path as the previous game, which ended in a convincing black victory.
The move itself warrants quite an explanation. Playing f5 in a Sicilian is
always very committal: White weakens the important e5-square, preventing him
from ever achieving an e5 break, as well as allowing Black's pieces (usually a
knight, but in some rare cases a queen or a bishop) to occupy the fantastic
defensive square e5. Some writers have gone so far as to say that if Black
didn't have the e5-square for his pieces after f5, he would lose every
Sicilian.   White must therefore consistently attack on the kingside from now
on until he obtains a material gain, or he will end up strategically worse.'} (
{The last time I had this position I had to face} 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15. f5 Kh8 16.
f6 {Ramirez,A: 'A spectacular pawn push, but a well-known one...'} gxh6 17.
fxe7 Qxe7 18. Qf2 {Ramirez,A: 'and White has compensation for the missing pawn.
A few games have seen this position, the most recent being the aforementioned
Rublevsky-Bu, 2010 China (rapid).'} Ng7 19. Qd4 Qa7 20. Qxa7 Rxa7 21. Rxd6 Rc8
22. a3 a5 {1-0 Ivanchuk,V (2781)-Gelfand,B (2720)/Moscow blitz 2008 (41); with
a minimal advantage for White.}) 14... Nxd4 15. Rxd4 Kh8 {After a long thought
I decided to deviate from the classical game} (15... Bf6 16. Rd3 Be5 17. Qg4 b4
18. f6 g6 19. Ne2 a5 $1 20. Bxf8 Kxf8 21. Qh4 a4 22. Qxh7 Qa7+ 23. Kh1 Nxf6 24.
Qh6+ Ke7 {and Black went on to win a great game - Morozevich,A -Kasparov,G /
Astana 2001.}) 16. Be3 ({I think it is was stronger to play similiar to my
game vs Ivanchuk} 16. f6 {, but Black seems to hold after   Ramirez,A: 'is a
very logical move. Mamedyarov may have rejected it because of'} Bxf6 (16...
gxf6 $5 {Ramirez,A is also an interesting alternative. Black obtains a strong
pawn centre in return for the lost exchange. However, White can respond by
sacrificing material of his own!} 17. Nd5 $5 {A crazy move typical of the
Sicilian. Black is forced to take this intruder, but opens the fourth rank to
the rook on d4. It is almost impossible to give an evaluation of this position
without lengthy variations, so let's just say that this position is very
unclear.}) 17. Rxf6 Qc5 $1 {Ramirez,A: 'Strangely enough, although both the f6
and h6 pieces are under attack, neither can be effectively taken. However, the
rook on d4 is now pinned!'} (17... gxh6 {Ramirez,A} 18. Rxh6 Rg8 19. Qh4 Rg7 {
gives White some pressure, but might be playable.}) 18. Bxg7+ Nxg7 19. Qf2 Qe5
{Ramirez,A: 'with a very murky position.'} (19... Bc6 20. Bd5) 20. Rh6 f5 $1)
16... Nf6 17. Qh3 $5 {Hitting on the e6-pawn and vacating the h4-square for
the R. Ramirez,A: 'A logical move, upping the pressure on this side of the
board. However, it does remove the pressure that the queen on g3 was exerting
on the h2-b8 diagonal, specifically pinning the d-pawn. Black now achieves
another of his strategic goals in the Sicilian: the d5 break!'} (17. a3 a5) (
17. Qh4 e5 18. Rd2 b4) 17... d5 $1 {The key move in the style of the Sicilian
Defence.} 18. e5 $1 (18. exd5 exf5 {with a clear advantage for Black is not
even worth considering.}) 18... Qxe5 19. Rh4 Rfc8 {Preparing Rxc3 and clearing
the way for Black's K.} ({There was no way to bail out by} 19... d4 20. Ne4
Qxe4 21. Rxe4 Nxe4 22. Bxd4 exf5 23. Bd5 $1 Rad8 24. Bb6 Rb8 25. Bxe4 Rxb6 26.
Bxf5 $18) ({However, as the computer indicates, Black has nothing to fear and
could get an advantage by the simple} 19... Rac8 $1 20. Bg5 (20. g4 Qxe3+ 21.
Qxe3 Bc5 22. Qxc5 Rxc5 23. g5 Ng8) (20. Kh1 Rxc3 21. bxc3 Qxc3) {or even} 20...
h6 (20... Kg8 21. Bxf6 Qxf6 22. Rxh7 g6 23. Ne2 (23. g4 exf5 24. gxf5 Qd4+ 25.
Kg2 Bf6) 23... a5 24. c3 a4) 21. g4 Kg8 $1 {and White has no attacking ideas,
for example} 22. Bxh6 $140 Rxc3 23. bxc3 Bc5+ 24. Kh1 Qe4+) 20. Kh1 $2 {
In a way the decisive mistake.} (20. Bg5 $1 {was the right way to follow. Now
Black has a choice:} {or} Kg8 ({or} 20... h6 21. Rxh6+ gxh6 22. Qxh6+ Kg8 (
22... Nh7 23. Bxe7 $44) 23. fxe6 fxe6 (23... Bxe6 24. Bxf6 Bxf6 25. Rxf6 $44)
24. Qg6+ Kh8 25. Ne4 (25. Bxf6+ Bxf6 26. Rxf6 Rf8 $11) 25... Nxe4 26. Qh5+ Kg8
27. Qf7+ Kh8 $11 {with a perpetual}) 21. Bxf6 {but stronger is} Qxf6 $1 ({
Now the natural} 21... Bxf6 {loses due to} 22. Rxh7 Kf8 23. fxe6 Bxe6 (23...
fxe6 24. Nxd5) 24. Nxd5 $1 $18) 22. Rxh7 g6 {and White has to escape by} 23. g4
$1 (23. Bxd5 Rxc3 24. bxc3 exd5) 23... Rxc3 24. bxc3 Bc5+ 25. Kg2 (25. Kh1 Bc6)
25... exf5 26. Bxd5 Bc6 27. Rh8+ Qxh8 28. Qxh8+ Kxh8 29. Bxc6 $11) ({During
the game I didn't consider} 20. g4 {seriously and rightly so} Qxe3+ 21. Qxe3
Bc5 22. Qxc5 Rxc5 23. g5 Ng8 {despite the poor placement of Black's N Black is
clearly better.} 24. fxe6 (24. g6 fxg6 25. fxe6 (25. fxg6 Nh6 26. Rxh6 gxh6 27.
Rf7 Rd8 28. Rxh7+ Kg8) 25... Bxe6) (24. Rf3 Ne7 25. Rfh3 (25. fxe6 fxe6 26.
Rfh3 h6 27. gxh6 g6) 25... h6) 24... Bxe6 $15 (24... fxe6 25. Rf7 Rd8)) 20...
Rxc3 {This move is so natural, that it doesn't deserve an exclamation mark.}
21. bxc3 Qxc3 {Black has 2 pawns for an exchange and the Bb3 is cut off from
the game. So, White's position is on the verge of being lost.} (21... exf5 $2 {
would pass the advantage to White:} 22. Bd4 Qe2 23. Kg1 f4 24. Qd3) 22. Rd4 {
White's attack went nowhere, so he is returning a R back into defence.} (22.
fxe6 Bxe6 23. Qf3 Ne4) (22. Bd4 Qxh3 23. Rxh3 a5 {and Black has a clear
advantage in the endgame.}) 22... a5 $1 23. Rd3 Qc6 24. c3 a4 25. Bc2 e5 26.
Bg5 b4 {Black had some more simple options, but I went for the most direct
continuation.} (26... Qc4 27. Bb1 e4 28. Rdd1 Re8 $17) (26... e4 27. Rd4 (27.
Rd2 b4 28. cxb4 (28. Bxf6 Bxf6 29. cxb4 d4) 28... Bxb4 29. Rd4 Qc5 $19) 27...
Rc8 28. Rfd1 b4 29. c4 Be8 $19) 27. Qh4 {White is starting another wave of
attack on the h-line.} bxc3 ({A more simple way was} 27... Rc8 28. Rh3 (28.
Bxf6 Bxf6 29. Qxb4 e4) 28... Qc4 $19) 28. Rh3 Kg8 29. Re1 {Other moves are not
better:} (29. Rg3 e4 30. Bh6 g6) (29. Qg3 d4 30. Qxe5 Qb5 $1) (29. Bxf6 Bxf6
30. Qxh7+ Kf8) 29... e4 30. g4 Kf8 31. Be3 Qc4 $1 {Here I got really excited.
It is not very common to get such a line of pawns vs the R.} 32. g5 Bxf5 $1 33.
gxf6 Bxf6 34. Qh5 (34. Qg3 d4) 34... Bg6 $1 {I think it is both stronger and
more aesthetic than} (34... Bxh3 35. Qxh3 Kg8 {which is also good enough.}) 35.
Qg4 Qxa2 36. Bb1 Qc4 37. Qg2 a3 38. Ba2 Qc6 39. Rg3 Rb8 {Here my opponent lost
on time.} (39... Rb8 {I hope that after the strongest} 40. Bc1 {I would have
managed to find} (40. Qh3 Rb2) 40... Rb2 $1 (40... Qc5 {is good enough}) 41.
Bxb2 axb2 42. Bb1 Be5 43. Rge3 f5 {White has 2 Rs for B and 6 Ps. White is
totally helpless. In the famous game Lutikov-Taimanov in Moscow 1969 Black
also had 6 pawns for a B, but this position is clearly more beautiful.}) 0-1

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.07"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D56"]
[WhiteElo "2744"]
[BlackElo "2785"]
[Annotator "Krasenkow,M"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[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 Be7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. e3 Ne4 8. Bxe7
Qxe7 9. Rc1 c6 10. Bd3 Nxc3 11. Rxc3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Nd7 13. Qc2 b6 14. Bd3 Nf6
$5 {[%mdl 512] A fresh idea by GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov - and probably the
easiest way to equalise!} (14... c5 {was played automatically for many decades:
} 15. Bh7+ (15. Be4 Rb8 16. O-O Ba6 (16... a5 17. Rd1 Bb7 18. Bxb7 Rxb7 19. a3
Re8 20. h3 e5 21. Qe4 Rbb8 22. dxe5 Nxe5 23. Qxe5 Qxe5 24. Nxe5 Rxe5 25. f4
Ree8 26. Kf2 Red8 27. Rxd8+ Rxd8 28. Ke2 Rc8 29. Kd3 b5 $11 {1/2 Van Wely,L 
(2681)-Azmaiparashvili,Z (2672)/Mallorca 2004/CBM 104 (48)}) 17. Rc1 Rfc8 18.
dxc5 Rxc5 19. Nd4 Rxc3 20. Qxc3 Rc8 21. Qd2 Rxc1+ 22. Qxc1 Ne5 23. Qc3 g6 24.
h3 Qd6 $2 (24... Qc5 25. Qxc5 bxc5 26. Nb3 c4 27. Nc5 Bb5 28. a4 Nd7 $1 29.
Nxd7 Bxd7 30. a5 Kf8 $11) 25. b4 {[%cal Rb4b5] 1-0 Grischuk,A (2736)-Jakovenko,
D (2736)/Moscow 2009/EXT 2010} Nd7 26. b5 Qc5 27. Qxc5 bxc5 28. bxa6 cxd4 29.
exd4 Nf6 {, and still Black should not lose}) 15... Kh8 16. Be4 Rb8 17. O-O Ba6
(17... b5 18. Rc1 b4 19. Rb3 a5 {1/2 Arutinian,D (2584)-Dobrowolski,A (2335)/
Legnica 2008/EXT 2010 (44)} 20. a4 $1 f5 21. Bc6 cxd4 22. exd4 Ba6 23. Re3 Rbc8
24. Qb3 $14 {[%csl Re6]}) (17... Bb7 18. Bxb7 Rxb7 19. Rc1 (19. dxc5 $5 Nxc5
20. b4 Na6 21. a3 $14) 19... a5 (19... cxd4 20. Nxd4 Nf6 21. Nc6 Qe8 22. e4 e5
23. b4 $16 {1-0 Pirc,V-Gawlikowski,S/Karlovy Vary 1948/MCD (43)}) 20. a3 Rd8
21. h3 Kg8 22. Rd1 g6 23. dxc5 bxc5 24. b3 Rdb8 25. a4 $14 {1-0 Zakhartsov,V 
(2602)-Grabinsky,V (2303)/Cappelle la Grande FRA 2011/The Week in Chess 852 
(37)}) (17... a5 18. Rd1 (18. Bc6 cxd4 19. Nxd4 e5 20. Bxd7 Bxd7 21. Nc6 Bxc6
22. Rxc6 Rfd8 23. Rc1 Rd6 24. g3 Rbd8 25. Qe4 Qe6 26. Kg2 {1/2 Lysyj,I (2631)
-Ovsejevitsch,S (2594)/Dresden 2010/CBM 137 Extra}) 18... Bb7 19. Bxb7 Rxb7 20.
a3 Rc8 (20... Re8 21. dxc5 Nxc5 22. Ne5 $36) 21. b4 axb4 22. axb4 Rbc7 23. Rc1
$14 {1-0 Van Wely,L (2677)-Volokitin,A (2684)/Foros 2008/CBM 125 (41)}) (17...
Nf6 $5 18. dxc5 Nxe4 19. Qxe4 bxc5 20. Qc2 Bb7 21. Nd2 Rfd8 22. f3 Ba6 23. Rf2
Rd7 24. Nb3 Rbd8 25. Rd2 Rxd2 26. Nxd2 Qd7 27. Ne4 Qb5 28. Ng3 Qd7 29. Ne4 Qb5
30. Ng3 Qd7 {1/2 Dydyshko,V (2555)-Kriebel,T (2296)/Frydek Mistek CZE 2011/The
Week in Chess 860}) 18. Rc1 Rfc8 19. h3 Kg8 20. Qa4 Bb7 21. Bxb7 Rxb7 22. Qb5
Rbc7 23. b4 Qd6 24. bxc5 bxc5 25. dxc5 Nxc5 $11 {1/2 Sakaev,K (2634)-Lysyj,I 
(2578)/Krasnoyarsk 2007/CBM 120 (36)}) 15. Rxc6 (15. e4 Bb7 16. O-O Rac8 $11 {
[%cal Yc6c5,Gb7e4]}) 15... Nd5 16. Qb3 Nb4 17. Rc1 Nxd3+ 18. Qxd3 Bb7 {That's
the point. Black's development advantage compensates for his material deficit.}
19. O-O (19. a3 $5 {, with the idea not to give up the a2-pawn, can be met with
} a5 $5 {preventing castling.}) 19... Bxf3 20. gxf3 Qg5+ 21. Kh1 {Draw agreed
in the stem game Van Wely - Kasimdzhanov (Khanty-Mansiysk 2010).} Qd5 22. Qe4
Qxa2 {Black has regained the pawn; White has insufficient resources to create
a dangerous attack along the g-file.} 23. Rg1 Rfc8 24. Qb7 (24. Rcf1 Qd5) 24...
Rf8 25. Rc7 Qxb2 (25... Rad8 $6 26. Qe4 Qd5 27. Rxa7) 26. Rxf7 Rxf7 27. Qxa8+
Kh7 28. Qe8 Rc7 29. Qxe6 Qxf2 30. Qe4+ Kg8 31. Qe8+ Kh7 32. Qe4+ Kg8 33. Qe8+ (
33. h3 $5 {[%cal Yg1g2] was a way to continue fighting but after} Qc2 34. Qe8+
Kh7 35. d5 Qf5 (35... Qc5 $5) 36. Qe4 Qxe4 37. fxe4 Re7 $1 38. d6 Re8 $1 {
the rook ending proves to be drawn.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.08"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A43"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2772"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 c5 2. d5 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. e4 d6 5. Bb5+ Nbd7 ({Another famous "must win
with Black" game went slightly differently:} 5... Bd7 6. a4 Bg7 7. Nf3 O-O 8.
O-O Na6 9. Re1 Nb4 10. h3 e6 11. Bf4 e5 12. Bg5 Bc8 13. Nd2 h6 14. Bh4 g5 {
We see here a similar picture as in the game from Kazan: left without
constructive dieas, Black embarks on a pseudo attack based on ...g5, which
will leave his kingside desperately weak.} 15. Bg3 g4 16. hxg4 Nxg4 17. f3 Nf6
18. Bh4 Kh8 19. Ne2 Rg8 20. c3 Na6 21. Ng3 Qf8 22. Ndf1 Nh7 23. Ne3 {White had
a crushing advantage in Kasparov,G (2690)-Beliavsky,A (2570)/Moscow 1983/
Candidates/[Kasparov] (1-0, 32). The then future World Champion did not agree
to a draw as easily as Gelfand, but it must be said that he was leading in the
match by a larger margin, which offered him a safety net.}) 6. a4 Bg7 7. Nf3 a6
8. Bc4 h6 $6 $146 {A dubious experiment, but othrwise it is difficult to
undertake anything active.} 9. O-O g5 10. Be2 Qc7 11. a5 Nf8 12. Nd2 Ng6 13.
Nc4 Bd7 14. Nb6 Rd8 15. Be3 e5 {We have reached the same structure as in
Kasparov-Beliavsky.} 16. Nxd7 Qxd7 17. f3 Ke7 18. Na4 h5 {A desperate (and
unsuccessful) attempt to change the course of the game and of the match.} 19.
Nb6 Qc7 20. Bxg5 Bh6 21. Bxf6+ Kxf6 22. g3 Rdg8 23. Kh1 Ke7 24. Ra3 Rg7 {
And, realising that he simply is a pawn down in a worse position, Black
offered a draw.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.08"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D31"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2808"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "33"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Nge2 Nd7 8.
Ng3 Bg6 9. Be2 Nb6 $5 {A flexible move, delaying ...Nf6 in order to prevent an
early h2-h4.} (9... Ngf6 10. h4 {and}) (9... Qb6 10. Qd2 h5 {are more popular
continuations.}) 10. Rc1 $5 {An useful waiting move, inviting Black to play ...
Nf6.} Nf6 11. h4 h6 $146 (11... h5 12. Bg5 Kf8 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Bxh5 Bxh5 15.
Nxh5 Bxh4 16. Nf4 g6 $11 {Wang Yue (2644)-Barsov,A (2537)/Doha 2006/CBM 115
ext (1/2, 20)}) 12. h5 Bh7 13. Bd3 Bxd3 14. Qxd3 O-O 15. Nf5 Re8 16. f3 Bf8 17.
Kf2 {White has considerable space advantage, but the weakness of the e3-pawn
may tell in the event of minor piece exchanges.} (17. Kf2 Nc4 18. b3 Nd6 $132)
1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.08"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2744"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Be7 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. a3 c5 8. cxd5
Nxd5 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. dxc5 Nxc5 11. Be5 {In order to get a stable blockade on
d4 White needs to spend time on relocating his bishop.} Bf6 12. Be2 Bxe5 13.
Nxe5 Be6 14. Nf3 Qb6 15. Qd4 Rfc8 16. O-O $146 (16. Rd1 Rc6 $5 (16... Nb3 17.
Qxb6 axb6 18. Nd4 Nxd4 19. Rxd4 Rc1+ 20. Bd1 $14 {Wojtaszek,R (2721)-Berkes,F 
(2693)/Paks 2011/ (1-0, 39)}) 17. O-O Nb3 18. Qh4 (18. Qxb6 Rxb6 $132) 18... h6
19. Bd3 Rac8 20. h3 a5 $11 {Georgiev,K (2672)-Meier,G (2653)/Pamplona 2009/CBM
134 (1/2, 25)}) 16... Nb3 (16... Rc6 17. Rac1 Nb3 18. Qxb6 axb6 (18... Rxb6 $6
19. Rc7 $14) 19. Rb1 Rac8 $132) 17. Qxb6 axb6 {In view of the unstoppable
invasion on c2, Black has entirely adequate counterplay, compensating for the
structural defects.} 18. Rab1 (18. Rad1 Rc2) 18... Bf5 19. Rbd1 Rc2 20. Rxd5
Rxb2 21. Re1 Be6 22. Rb5 Rxa3 23. Rxb6 Raa2 24. Rxb7 g5 25. Bf1 h6 26. Nd4 Nxd4
27. Rxb2 Rxb2 28. exd4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.08"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A16"]
[WhiteElo "2775"]
[BlackElo "2732"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,A"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "7200"]

{The Topalov-Kamsky match has been, without a doubt, the most exciting match
in in the first round of the Candidates. The match started with an interesting
draw when Kamsky introduced a novelty as early as move seven in the Najdorf;
it was followed by an absolutely wild game with kings castled on opposite
sides (or rather, one castled and one non-castled) that ended with Gata taken
the full point with a vicious and perfectly executed attack, and in the third
game we saw Topalov pull out all his strategic tricks to try to take the point
from Kamsky. Of course, these great players would not let us down in the final
game.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Qc2 {Topalov reveals a
surprise as early as move five! 5.Qa4+ has been played thousands of times, so
it's interesting that the Bulgarian tries to change the course of the game so
quickly.} Bg7 6. e4 Nb6 {This isn't the only move but I like it as a practical
decision; it allows Black to keep using familiar themes and strategies as
opposed to radically changing the pawn structure and having to come up with
ideas in a less familiar environment.} (6... Nxc3 7. dxc3 {must be the idea of
White's system. This pawn structure is slightly better for White, as Black's
bishop is quite passive (nothing a Grünfeld player wants to hear about...).
The game would've taken a much different direction than normal Grünfeld waters.
Normally White doesn't go for this as the exchange of queens favors Black, who
usually ends up having a little bit less space.}) 7. d4 O-O 8. Be3 Bg4 9. Ne5 {
This is the other point of White's system. With the queen on c2, and out of
harms way, the knight can move to e5 to control the g7 bishop. This doesn't
come for free though, as now White is saddled with an inferior pawn structure
and his development is not looking too advanced.} Bxe5 (9... Be6 {was worth
considering, with the idea of c6 and N8d7 eventually.}) 10. dxe5 Nc6 {Black
tries to immediately take advantage of White's aggression. However, it seems
that Topalov has just enough time to kick back Black's pieces and not only
defend all his weaknesses, but start rolling an initiative of his own with his
central pawn majority.} 11. h3 Be6 12. Rd1 Qc8 13. f4 (13. Be2 $5 Nxe5 14. b3
Rd8 15. O-O {also gives White plenty of compensation. This might be the future
of this variation - the idea of playing f4 in a near future might be very,
very strong. Black's pieces are very controlled and an attack on the queenside
might be strong. Who knows, Topalov's Qc2 might be more poisonous than it
looks.}) 13... Rd8 14. b3 Nb4 15. Rxd8+ Qxd8 16. Qb1 {White's space avantage
coupled with his pair of bishops promise him a bright future. Kamsky already
must look for something creative and fast so that he can break through and
disrupt White's coordination.} f5 $5 {Maybe not the strongest move, but Black
had to do something. At least now the position is getting opened while White's
king remains in the centre.} 17. exf6 exf6 18. Be2 Qe7 19. O-O Bf7 20. Bf2 Rd8
21. Rd1 Rxd1+ 22. Qxd1 {The dust has cleared a little, as White has finished
his development. Black hasn't achieved much of anything tangible, but at least
his position remains solid and he has enough space for all his pieces as he
has managed to take the rooks out of the game.} c5 {Black is trying to grab as
much space as he can. Currently he is trying to obtain control of d4, or at
least use it to trade off some pieces. It's hard to conceive of a plan, so
this at least gives him some direction.} 23. Bf1 Nc6 24. g3 Kg7 25. Bg2 h5 26.
Nb5 Nc8 27. Qd2 {White has slowly built up his forces, without creating any
special threats. However, all his pieces are slightly better placed, which
makes any break all the more dangerous. Black can sit back and wait until
White threatens a breakthrough, which may be now or in twenty moves, but Gata
is just not that type of player.} c4 {Opening the position increases the value
of the pair of bishops, but reducing the pawns favours Black.} 28. bxc4 Bxc4
29. Nd4 Qb4 30. Qc1 $1 {It is important to understand the power of this move.
The queen is the last remaining major piece in the game, and without it White
will not be able to generate a strong enough initiative to overwhelm his
opponent. For this reason he retreats the queen to a place where it cannot be
easily bothered. Also key to note is that the queen is still on a black square,
which potentially allows it to quickly target the weak king on g7.} (30. Qxb4
Nxb4 31. a3 Nd3 $1 {and Black's pieces are just as active as their
counterparts. Black will very likely hold this endgame without any problem.})
30... N8e7 31. a3 Qa4 32. Qb2 {With every move White's position gains more and
more strength.} b6 33. Kh2 $1 {Another important move. This prophylactic move
frees him from the responsibilities of worrying about Qd1+, and secures the
kingside pawn structure.} Kf7 {Not a particularly useful move, but Black is
quickly running out of moves. Now White must find a way to strike.} 34. Qc3 Ba2
35. f5 {And here it is. This move was played, in my opinion, at the exact
right time. With 5 moves to go it is still difficult to make the time control
seeing that Gata only had one minute and thirty seconds at this point, while
Topalov had a full eleven minutes. It is difficult to react to a challenging
move with such a short amount of time.} Qc4 36. Qb2 Ne5 37. Qd2 $1 g5 38. Ne6 {
Topalov has played a flawless game. His knight and queen will create very
deadly threats.} N7c6 $2 (38... Bb3 {defending d1, is an extremely hard move
to find, but might have been the only way to defend.}) 39. Qd6 $1 $18 {The
decisive penetration. Black simply does not have enough glue to keep his
entire position together.} Ke8 40. Nc7+ (40. Bd4 $1 {was the cleanest, with
the idea of Bxe5, while the bishop cannot be taken because of Qd8+ and Qf8#.
However, Topalov had nearly no time by this point, and his move is almost as
strong.}) 40... Kf7 41. Nd5 {...and f6 falls, and with it the game... or so it
seems!} Qe2 $1 {Kamsky does not give up! He sees that his only hope now is the
somewhat weak position of White's bishops, which cannot move because they must
stay to defend the king. Resourceful, but it should be insufficient.} 42. Qxf6+
Ke8 {This is a bizarre position. White is up a pawn, has more checks than he
can count, and is to move. It would seem that there must be something here
that wins. However it is very difficult to find, if it exists at all! White's
king is unfortunately too weak, and Black's pieces are just perfectly placed
to defend against all the threats and create strong ones at the same time.
Truly bizarre.} 43. Qe6+ Kf8 44. Kg1 $6 {And here Topalov beings to falter!
After spectacularly and masterfully conducting his attack, he is not able to
execute the coup de grâce by adequately removing the counterplay from Black's
position.} (44. Qh6+ Kf7 45. Qf6+ Ke8 46. Qh8+ Kf7 47. Bg1 {and now that the
queen takes h5 with check against most Nf3+ variations, White should be
winning.}) 44... Qd1+ 45. Bf1 $2 {This move now gives Black real chances to
jump back into the game. It almost seems that Black's king is too weak to
really come up with any resources, but the contrary is true!} Bxd5 $1 {
Eliminating the knight is, of course, first on the order of business.} 46. exd5
(46. Qxd5 Qxd5 47. exd5 Ne7 48. Be2 Nxf5 49. Bxh5 Ke7 {is not much better for
White, as Black's knights miraculously control the white bishops. However this
position can be squeezed.}) 46... Nd4 $11 {The position is already drawn.
White does not have enough resources to defend his own position, and he is
just missing one piece in the attack to finish off the black king. Amazing!}
47. Qf6+ Kg8 48. Qxg5+ (48. Bxd4 {did not solve White's problems, as too many
simplifications arise and his king is too weak.} Qxd4+ 49. Kh1 Qxd5+ 50. Bg2
Qd1+ 51. Kh2 Nf3+ $1 52. Bxf3 Qxf3 {with a clear draw.}) 48... Kf7 49. Qd8 Qc2
$1 {The key move! The white king is completely controlled, and the threat is
Ndf3+ followed by Ne1+, with a perpetual.} 50. Bg2 Qc1+ 51. Kh2 Qc2 52. Bg1
Ndf3+ 53. Kh1 Ne1 54. Bf2 Qxf2 55. Qc7+ Kf6 56. Qd6+ Kf7 {White is in time to
give a perpetual and not lose, but that is all. A fantastic struggle. It is
easy to blame Topalov for not calculating properly or for breaking down
nervously. It is easy to say this when you have a computer that is throwing
numbers such as +3 and +4 after 42.Qxf6+. However, I challenge the readers to
calculate that position. With or without a computer! It is extremely complex,
Black's resources plentiful and White's continuation unclear. In most cases in
chess, the position is as natural as it seems. Black's weak king, pawn deficit,
etc. seemed to clearly indicate he was easily lost, but that might not have
been the case. Again, a fantastic save by the American grandmaster, but thanks
to both players for providing us with unbelievably exciting chess.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.12"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2785"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "31"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[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 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Qc2 c5 8. Rd1
{A relatively rare move.} (8. cxd5 {and}) (8. dxc5 {are more popular.}) 8...
Qa5 9. Nd2 cxd4 10. exd4 dxc4 $146 (10... Bb4 {Weiss,A (2318)-Ivanov,V (2447)/
IECG Email 2000/Corr 2002 (1-0, 45)}) 11. Nxc4 Qd8 12. Bd3 Nb6 13. O-O Bd7 14.
Nxb6 Qxb6 15. d5 Kh8 16. dxe6 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.12"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2732"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nf3 Be7 8. Bc4
O-O 9. O-O Be6 ({Deviating from} 9... Nc6 {, which failed to achieve the
desired equality in the first quarter-final game against Mamedyarov.}) 10. Bb3
Nc6 11. Qe2 Na5 {The only way of keeping up the fight for the d5-square. Since
the exchange on e6 would strengthen Black's centre, White has to give up the
bishop pair.} 12. Rfd1 {[%cal Gf3e5]} ({Much better than} 12. Rad1 {, because
the queen's rook will be useful on the a-file.}) 12... Nxb3 ({In the second
rapid game, Gelfand preferred} 12... Qc7 13. Bg5 Rac8) 13. axb3 Qc7 14. Bg5 {
[%csl Gd5][%cal Gg5f6] Aiming to exchange an important defender of the
d5-square.} Nh5 {Black offers the exchange of bishops, which allows White to
carry out an effective tactical operation.} (14... Rac8 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 {would
transpose to the aforementioned rapid game.}) 15. Nxe5 $1 Bxg5 {The only way
to maintain material equality.} 16. Qxh5 Bf6 17. Nf3 $1 {This retreat to a
square which had been occupied by the knight before is not a loss of time.
After the predictable exchange on c3, d4 will become the knight's optimal
square.} Bxc3 18. bxc3 Qxc3 {The position has been simplified and Black has a
completely normal development. His most active piece is the queen, causing
White some problems of coordination. However, White has some important trumps
that will be noticed in the long run. The bishop has no targets at all and the
knight certainly is strong in the centre. White's structure is more flexible
and the c2-pawn is likely to get to c4, since the queen is not the best
blocking piece.} 19. Nd4 Rfe8 (19... Rac8 {does not make too much difference.}
20. Qa5 Qxa5 21. Rxa5 Rc3 22. f3 Rd8 23. Rd2 Kf8 24. Ne2 Rcc8 25. c4 $14 {
Efimenko,Z (2680)-Najer,E (2682)/Germany 2008/CBM 126 Extra (0-1, 60)}) 20. Qa5
$1 {An essential element in White's general plan. Unblocking c3 is crucial. An
alternative plan would be preparing an attack with a rook lift to the third
rank, but this is not easy to achieve.} (20. Ra2 $6 Rac8 21. Rd3 $4 Qe1#) (20.
Rac1 $6 Rac8 21. Rd3 $2 Qxd3 $1) ({Seirawan suggested} 20. Rab1 $5 {, but this
allows Black counterplay along the a-file:} a5 21. Rd3 Qc5 22. Qxc5 $5 dxc5 23.
Nxe6 Rxe6 24. Rd7 (24. f3 {is too slow in view of} Kf8 {, allowing the
defensive ...Re7 if needed.}) 24... Rxe4 25. Rxb7 g6 {[%cal Gc5c4,Ga5a4]
followed by ...a4 or ..c4 with perfect equality.}) 20... Rac8 {Of course,
Black has no intention of abandoning the c3-square without a fight.} 21. f3 $1
$146 {A subtle novelty, forcing Black to release the tension.} ({Previously,} 
21. Qxc3 {was played.} Rxc3 22. f3 Kf8 23. Kf2 Rec8 24. Rd2 Ke7 {with a couple
of extra tempi for Black with respect to our main game in Oleksienko,M (2585)
-Brodsky,M (2550)/Poltava 2008/CBM 127 Extra (1/2, 67)}) ({The game move
overprotects e4 and avoids back rank problems, thus threatening 22.Rd3. In the
event of of the hurried} 21. Rd3 {, Black gets counterplay with} Qxa5 22. Rxa5
f5 $1 23. exf5 $140 $6 Bxf5 $1 $17) 21... Qxa5 (21... Kf8 22. Rd3 $14) 22. Rxa5
Rc3 23. Kf2 Kf8 24. Rda1 {Another deviation from Oleksienko's plan. Kamsky
rightly considers that the rook has nothing to do on the d-file for the time
being.} Rec8 25. Ke1 Ke7 26. Kd2 {[%cal Ga1a2,Gd4e2,Gc2c4]} R3c5 27. R5a4 $1 {
In order to retain a tangible advantage, White has to avoid piece exchanges.} (
{After} 27. c4 Rxa5 28. Rxa5 Rc5 29. Ra1 Bd7 {Black's defence is easier to
carry out.}) 27... f5 {A highly committal move.} (27... Bd7 28. Rb4 R8c7 29.
Rb6 $14 f6 {Preparing ...d5 without fearing e4-e5.} 30. c4 f5 $2 31. exf5 Bxf5
$2 32. b4 $1 $18) 28. Rb4 R8c7 29. exf5 Bxf5 30. Re1+ Kf7 {Black has
eliminated the e4-pawn, but has not improved his own structure one single bit.
Besides, his king is starting to feel uncomfortable in the centre.} 31. Rb6 {
This looks natural, but allows Black to stabilise his position.} (31. Nxf5 $5
Rxf5 32. Rd4 $14 {would lead to an unpleasant position for Black. Any ending 
(rook or pawn) would be considerably worse for him.}) 31... Rd5 $1 32. c3 Bc8
33. b4 Re7 $1 {[%cal Gf7e8,Ge8d8,Gd8c7]} 34. Ra1 Ke8 35. b5 Rc7 ({Seirawan
pointed out that} 35... a5 $2 36. Rxa5 Kd8 {fails to} 37. Ra7 $16 Kc7 $2 38.
Rba6 $1) 36. bxa6 bxa6 {White's position remains microscopically better, but
any way of making progress is far from obvious.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.13"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D91"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2732"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi,E"]
[PlyCount "132"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 {Not a surprise. The Grünfeld has become Kamsky's
usual "pet" line in matches, and it worked pretty well in the quarter-final
against Topalov.} 4. Bg5 {Gelfand chooses a solid line which is in accordance
with his "strategy" in this event. He has not taken drastic measures with
White so far, and stays faithful to this approach once more.} Ne4 5. Bh4 Nxc3
6. bxc3 dxc4 $5 {A correct decision by Kamsky. He is fully aware of his
opponent's skill in technical positions, therefore it is logical to avoid
simplifications, which are mostly forced after 6...c5.} 7. e3 Be6 8. Nf3 Bg7 9.
Be2 c5 10. O-O O-O 11. Rb1 {A rare choice by Gelfand.} (11. Ng5 Bd5 12. e4 h6 {
is the sharp line which has been favoured by the players so far.}) 11... Bd5 {
Not a novelty, but a rare choice of which I am sceptical.} (11... cxd4 12. Nxd4
Bd5 13. f3 b6 14. e4 Bb7 15. Bxc4 Nc6 {and Black had no problems in the very
recent Vuckovic,B (2626)-Sanikidze,T (2542)/Aix les Bains 2011/CB13_2011 (40)
1/2-1/2}) 12. Qc2 {Now White threats e4, and I believe that Gelfand had
managed to obtain a small plus at this point.} cxd4 13. cxd4 b6 $6 {But this
is too much. Kamsky's plan is too slow, and now White is going to develop a
strong initiative by gaining full control over the c-file.} 14. Bxc4 Nc6 15.
Rfc1 Bxc4 16. Qxc4 Na5 17. Qc7 $1 {Simple and effective. Now White's chances
in the upcoming ending are indisputable.} f6 18. Qxd8 Rfxd8 19. Rc7 Kf7 20.
Rbc1 Ke8 21. Bg3 (21. g4 $5 Rd7 22. Bg3 {was an alternative which adds the
g-pawn to White's strong arsenal.}) 21... Bh6 22. Kf1 Rd7 23. Rxd7 Kxd7 24.
Rc7+ Ke8 25. Nd2 {Black is running out of moves while White is just improving
his pieces.} b5 26. Ne4 a6 27. Nc3 $2 {Gelfand has conducted the game
masterfully so far, but here he goes astray for the first time in this game.
White had not one, but two very strong continuations here.} ({The first was
the strong tactical} 27. Bd6 $1 Bf8 ({The point is that if the bishop is taken
with} 27... exd6 {White's rook is treated to a self-service buffet in Black's
position.} 28. Rxh7 Bf8 29. Nxf6+ Kd8 30. Rd7+ Kc8 31. Rf7 Bh6 32. h4 $1 {
and the bishop has nowhere to hide.}) 28. Bc5 Nc4 29. Nc3 Rd8 30. Rc6 $1) ({
The second choice is the more positional squeeze with} 27. Nc5 $1 Bf8 28. d5 $1
Nc4 29. Ke2 h5 30. Ne6 {Black is completely tied down here.}) 27... Bf8 28. Nd5
Rd8 29. e4 $2 {This was Gelfand's last chance to maintain control of the game
and his advantage. Unfortunately, this pawn move lets Black simplify, which
will give him some counterplay.} ({Gelfand could go for a more timid but more
effective} 29. Nf4 Kf7 30. Nd3 Nc4 31. Ke2 Re8 32. Nc5 Ra8 (32... a5 33. a4 $1
bxa4 $4 34. Ne4 $18 {If the knight moves, Nd6+ ends it.}) 33. d5 {and White
would have pushed Black's pieces off the board.}) 29... f5 $1 {Kamsky seizes
his chance!} 30. f3 fxe4 31. fxe4 Rd7 32. Ke2 Bg7 33. Bf2 e6 34. Rc8+ Kf7 {
Kamsky has managed to pull himself out of the fire. After the more or less
forced sequence that follows, he manages to keep the balance.} 35. Nb6 Rb7 36.
d5 ({The computer likes} 36. Na8 b4 (36... Nc4 $2 37. Rc7+ {wins a pawn}) 37.
e5 b3 38. axb3 Nxb3 39. Nc7 Nc1+ {after which White has some pressure,
nevertheless Black should be able to hold due to reduced material on the board.
}) 36... exd5 37. exd5 Be5 38. Ra8 Nc4 39. Rxa6 Nxb6 40. Bxb6 Bxh2 41. Kf3 Rd7
42. Ke4 Re7+ 43. Kd3 Rd7 44. Kd4 Bg1+ 45. Ke4 Re7+ 46. Kf4 Bxb6 47. Rxb6 Re2
48. g4 h5 $1 {An active move which accelerates the simplifications. The fate
of the game is sealed. Kamsky has slipped through Gelfand's hands.} 49. Rb7+
Kf8 50. g5 h4 51. Rh7 b4 52. Rxh4 Ke7 53. Rh6 Rxa2 54. Rxg6 Rd2 55. Re6+ Kf7
56. Ke5 b3 57. Rf6+ Kg7 58. Rb6 b2 59. d6 Kg6 60. Ke6 Re2+ 61. Kd5 Rd2+ 62. Kc6
Kxg5 63. d7 Rc2+ 64. Kd6 Rd2+ 65. Ke6 Re2+ 66. Kf7 Rf2+ {If the Black rook
were on b1 and White's king on d8 it would be winning for White with the help
of the famous manoeuvre from Lasker-Keres or Lasker-Keres-Mahjoob (the latter
term has a funny story in Iranian chess!).} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.13"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A34"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi,E"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{After the disappointing prelude to this match, Kramnik decided to show us
some brief flashes of fantastic technique. Nevertheless, it should be
mentioned that Grischuk managed to cope with the "flashes" perfectly!} 1. Nf3
c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 {No surprise. Kramnik has used this set up during his
career from time to time.} e5 4. e3 Nf6 5. d4 {But this is a real surprise.
After clearing the dust collected in my brain I managed to remember some terms
describing this line: like "arid". Kramnik does not like the idea and he
proved (at least to me) that this term is not applicable to this line anymore.}
cxd4 6. exd4 e4 7. Ne5 Bd6 {An odd choice by Grischuk.} (7... Bb4 8. Be2 Qa5 9.
Nxc6 dxc6 10. Bd2 O-O 11. O-O {is probably what Kramnik was expecting.}) 8. c5
Bb8 (8... Nxe5 $2 {would be a terrible blunder.} 9. cxd6 $1 Ng6 10. h4 $1 {
Black cannot develop his pieces anymore, and it is no wonder the game ended
just five moves later!} Qa5 11. h5 Nf8 12. d5 a6 13. Qd4 h6 14. b4 Qd8 15. Qe5+
{1-0 Shengelia,D (2567)-Grover,S (2434)/Dubai 2010/CBM 135 Extra}) 9. Nc4 d5
10. cxd6 O-O 11. Bf4 $5 $146 {A logical novelty which the silicon mind favours
a lot.} (11. d5 Na5 12. Nxa5 Qxa5 13. Bg5 Bxd6 {and Black seized the
initiative in Lida Garcia,F (2049)-Pierrot,J (2450)/Mar del Plata 2008/CBM 123
Extra (31)}) 11... Na5 12. Ne3 Bxd6 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. d5 {White is now
slightly better thanks to his strong knight on e3. The manoeuvre this knight
used was first introduced by Nimzowitsch... Something in the style of "His
System"!} Qe5 15. Be2 Rd8 16. Qd2 Nc6 17. Rd1 Ne7 18. Qd4 Qxd4 19. Rxd4 {
Kramnik masterfully reaches a slightly better ending.} Nf5 20. Nxf5 Bxf5 21.
Kd2 Ne8 22. g4 Bg6 23. Rc1 {Kramnik brings all his troops to the centre of the
battle. On the other hand, Grischuk is depending a lot on his d6 outpost.} Rac8
{This move loses a pawn. Was it deliberate or did Grischuk just miss it?} 24.
Nxe4 $1 Rxc1 25. Kxc1 Bxe4 26. Rxe4 Kf8 27. Ra4 a6 28. Rb4 Nd6 29. Kd2 {
White is a healthy pawn up but Black's superb knight gives him excellent
chances to hold.} h6 30. Bd3 Ke7 31. Ke3 Kd7 32. f3 Re8+ 33. Be4 g6 34. Kd4 Rc8
35. h4 Rc1 {Grischuk activates his rook. It is hard to suggest a specific way
for White to break through.} 36. Ke5 Ke7 37. g5 hxg5 38. hxg5 Rg1 39. Kf4 f6
40. Bxg6 Rxg5 41. Be4 Rg2 {Grischuk opens up the position himself but his
active pieces compensate for White's material superiority.} 42. a4 a5 43. Rb3
Kd8 44. Ke3 Rh2 45. Kf4 Rg2 46. Bb1 Rd2 47. Bd3 Rg2 48. Ke3 Rh2 $1 {Grischuk
is already preparing his shot on move 51.} 49. Kd4 Rh4+ 50. Kc5 Kc7 51. Rb6
Rxa4 $1 {A spectacular way to conclude the game.} 52. b3 ({The idea is that
after} 52. Rxd6 {he plays} Rb4 $1 {threatening b6+ which would force White to
give up the rook to save the mate, so the only move would be} 53. Bb5 ({Ex:} 
53. Rxf6 b6+ {and White must take on b6 with the rook.}) 53... Rxb5+ $1 54.
Kxb5 Kxd6 {and the pawn endgame is drawn.} 55. Kxa5 Kxd5 56. Kb6 Ke5 (56... Kc4
) 57. b4 Kf4 58. Kxb7 Kxf3 59. b5 f5 60. b6 f4 61. Kc7 Kg2 62. b7 f3 63. b8=Q
f2 {draw.}) 52... Rb4 53. Rxb4 axb4 54. Kxb4 b6 {Black locks the door to the
fortress. The king's only entry is via h5, which is easy to prevent, and the
white bishop has no targets. Now it is a dead draw.} 55. Kc3 Kd8 56. Kd4 Ke7 {
Great resistance by Grischuk!} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.14"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2785"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 (3. d4 Nxe4 (3... exd4 4. e5 Ne4 5. Qxd4 $14) 4.
Bd3 d5 5. dxe5 {mit kompliziertem Spiel.}) 3... d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 (5. Nc3
Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 Nc6 8. Qd2 Be6 $1 {Die Variante mit der langen Rochade
ist die sicherste aus Sicht von Schwarz.} 9. O-O-O Qd7 10. Ng5 Bxg5 11. Bxg5 f6
12. Be3 O-O-O $11 {Das weiße Läuferpaar hat keine große Bedeutung, weil die
Stellung relativ geschlossen ist.}) 5... d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 (6... Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8.
c4 c6 9. Re1 Bf5 10. c5 Bc7 11. Nc3 Nd7 $132 {Naiditsch-Kramnik (Dortmund 2009)
}) 7. O-O Be7 8. Nc3 ({Der Hauptzug ist:} 8. c4 Nb4 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11.
a3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Re1 Re8 14. cxd5 Qxd5 15. Bf4 Rac8 $11 {Das ist die
Ausgangsstellung der Hauptvariante, die bis ins tiefe Endspiel analysiert
wurde und wo gezeigt wurde, dass Schwarz sich überall halten kann.}) 8... Nxc3
(8... Bf5 9. Re1 ({Wenig bringt} 9. Qe1 Bb4 10. Qe3 Bxc3 11. bxc3 O-O 12. Ng5
Re8 13. Nxe4 Bxe4 $11 {Karjakin - Bologan (Dortmund, 2004)}) 9... Nxc3 10. bxc3
Bxd3 11. Qxd3 O-O 12. Rb1 Na5 13. Qf5 $36 {und Weiß hatte doch eine kleine
Initiative in Cheparinov-Roiz (Kemer 2007).}) 9. bxc3 Bg4 10. Re1 (10. h3 Bh5
11. Rb1 Rb8 12. g4 $5 {Eine interessante Idee.} Bg6 13. Ne5 Bxd3 14. Nxd3 {
Die weiße Idee ist es, die Dame auf f3 zu stellen und Druck gegen den Bauern
d5 auszuüben. Danach kann er entweder mit Nf4, Rb5, oder Bf4 fortfahren.} (14.
cxd3 O-O {Weiß hat keinen konkreten Plan, um seine Stellung zu verstärken.} 15.
f4 f6 $11) 14... O-O 15. Qf3 Na5 $132 {Kamsky-Inarkiev (Jermuk 2009)}) 10...
O-O 11. Bf4 Bd6 {Der direkteste Weg zum Ausgleich - je mehr Figuren Schwarz
tauscht, desto einfacher ist sein Spiel.} (11... Bh5 12. Rb1 b6 {Eigentlich
bietet sich dieser Zug an. Die weißen Felder werden zwar geschwächt, dafür ist
der schwarze Turm nicht an die Verteidigung des Bauern gebunden.} 13. Qe2 (13.
Bb5 Na5 $11) 13... Bd6 14. Qe3 Re8 15. Ne5 Bxe5 16. dxe5 Qd7 17. Qg3 Qg4 $11 {
Li-Bu Xiangzhi (Tianjin 2011)}) (11... Qd7 {Ein seltener Zug.} 12. Rb1 Bd6 (
12... Rab8 $6 {Weiß konnte eine starke Initiative entwickeln:} 13. Re3 Rfe8 14.
Qe2 Bf8 15. Re1 Rxe3 16. Qxe3 Bf5 $2 17. Bxc7 $1 (17. Bxf5 Qxf5 18. Bxc7 Rc8
$11) 17... Qxc7 18. Bxf5 g6 19. Bd3 Na5 20. Qe5 $16 {Anand-Leko (Leon 2001)})
13. Bxd6 cxd6 $14 {Short-Howell (London 2009) Schwarz wurde zum Verdoppeln der
Bauern gezwungen und hat nun eine lange, passive Verteidigung vor sich.}) 12.
Bxd6 Bxf3 (12... Qxd6 $2 13. Bxh7+ Kxh7 14. Ng5+ $18) (12... cxd6 {Wenn
Schwarz zum Gegenspiel auf der c-Linie kommen würde, wäre dieses Nehmen gut
gewesen. Doch zu dem Gegenspiel kommt es nicht, daher ist der Partiezug besser.
} 13. Re3 Qd7 14. h3 Bh5 15. Qd2 Rae8 16. Nh4 Rxe3 17. Qxe3 Qe6 18. Nf5 $14 {
Topalov-Gelfand (Wijk aan Zee 2008)}) 13. Qxf3 (13. Bxc7 Bxd1 14. Bxd8 Bxc2 15.
Bxc2 Rfxd8 16. Bb3 Kf8 $11 {/\Na5}) 13... Qxd6 14. Re3 ({Keinen Vorteil bringt
ebenfalls} 14. Rab1 b6 {Weiß hat nicht genug Potenzial, um eine starke
Initiative zu entwickeln.} 15. Re3 (15. Rb5 Rad8 16. h4 Ne7 17. h5 Rfe8 18. Re5
h6 $11 {Leko-Gelfand (Nice 2008)}) 15... Rae8 16. Rbe1 Rxe3 17. Rxe3 g6 18. h4
Kg7 19. h5 Rd8 $11 {Vachier Lagrave-Motylev (Katernberg 2008)}) 14... Rae8 15.
Rae1 Re7 {Das Nehmen auf e3 ist gut genug.} (15... Rxe3 16. Rxe3 Nb8 $5 (16...
g6 17. h4 Nb8 18. h5 Nd7 19. g4 $14 {Leko-Kasimdzhanov (Nalchik 2009)}) 17. h4
Nd7 $11) 16. Rxe7 Nxe7 17. h4 {Der typische Plan - Weiß will seinen h-Bauern
aufrollen und den schwarzen König schwächen. Eigentlich bringt das nicht viel.}
Rd8 18. c4 {Es ist nicht viel los in der Stellung.} (18. Qe3 Ng6 19. h5 Nf4 20.
Qe8+ Qf8 21. Qe5 Qd6 $11) 18... b6 $1 {Richtig! Man durfte nicht auf c4 nehmen.
} (18... dxc4 $2 19. Bxc4 Rf8 20. Qxb7 Qxd4 21. Qxc7 $18) 19. c3 {Weiß
verteidigt den Bauern d4 aus prophylaktischen Gründen. Einen konkreten Plan
hat er nicht.} h6 $5 {Interessante Entscheidung. Typischerweise spielt man ...
g6, weil der Läufer das Feld h7 kontrolliert und der König nach ...h6 immer
noch kein Luftloch hat. Auf der anderen Seite hat Weiß überhaupt kein aktives
Spiel.} (19... g6 20. h5 $36) 20. cxd5 Nxd5 21. Bc4 (21. Qf5 g6 22. Qf3 h5 $11)
21... c6 {Die Stellung ist ausgeglichen, weder Schwarz noch Weiß kann hier
etwas machen.} 22. Re5 Nf6 23. Qf4 Qd7 24. g3 Kf8 25. Bb3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.14"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2732"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 (7. Nf3
Be7 8. Bc4 O-O 9. O-O Be6 10. Bb3 Nc6 11. Qe2 Na5 12. Rfd1 Qc7 13. Bg5 Rac8
$132 {Kamsky-Gelfand (Kazan 2011)}) 7... Be7 (7... Be6 8. Qd2 (8. f3 h5 9. Qd2
Nbd7 {->8.Qd2}) 8... Nbd7 (8... Ng4 $2 9. Bg5 Be7 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. f3 Nf6 12.
O-O-O $16) 9. f3 {führt zu vielen langen, komplexen Varianten.}) 8. h3 $5 {
Dieser Zug wird sehr selten gespielt, obwohl er natürlich viele interessante
Ideen mit sich bringt.} (8. f3 Be6 9. Qd2 Nbd7 {->7....Be6}) 8... Be6 9. Qf3 {
Was Weiss will, ist lang zu rochieren und später die Bauern auf dem
Königsflügel aufzurollen. Das große Problem dabei ist, dass, wenn Weiß g4
spielt, und Schwarz ...h6 antwortet, Weiß dann nicht h4 spielen kann, weil der
Bauer g4 hängt.} Nbd7 10. g4 (10. Nd5 Bxd5 11. exd5 e4 12. Qg3 O-O 13. c4 b5
14. Nd4 Ne5 15. cxb5 Nxd5 $15 {Casareno-Shirov (Toronto 2010) ^}) 10... h6 11.
O-O-O Rc8 {Unter Umständen kann nun Schwarz auch auf c3 einschlagen.} (11...
Qc7 12. Kb1 b5 13. Qg2 Nb6 14. Bxb6 Qxb6 15. f4 Rc8 16. f5 Bc4 17. Nd2 Qb7 18.
Bxc4 bxc4 19. Ka1 $16 {Navin-Surendran (Kochi 2011)}) 12. Nd5 Bxd5 13. exd5 Nb6
14. h4 {Weiß verliert den Bauern, hat jedoch Kompensation dafür. Ob das ein
Opfer war, ist fraglich. Vielleicht könnte man 14.Kb1 spielen, um den
Bauernverlust zu vermeiden.} (14. Kb1 e4 (14... Qc7 15. c3 {und nun
funktioniert derselbe Trick wie in der Partie nicht:} Nbxd5 $2 16. Rxd5 Qc6 17.
c4 $1 Nxd5 18. Qxd5 $18) 15. Bxb6 (15. Qg2 Nbxd5 $15) 15... Qxb6 (15... exf3
16. Bxd8 Bxd8 17. Nd2 $14) 16. Qe2 $14) 14... Qc7 15. c3 Nbxd5 $1 {Der
Springer ist tabu.} 16. Bd2 (16. Rxd5 Qc6 17. Bg2 (17. c4 Qxd5 18. Qxd5 Nxd5
$19) 17... e4 18. Qf5 g6 $1 (18... Qxd5 19. Qxc8+ $18) (18... Nxd5 19. Bxe4 $18
) 19. Rxd6 (19. Qf4 Nxd5 20. Qxe4 Nxe3 $19) 19... gxf5 20. Rxc6 Rxc6 21. Nd4
Nxg4 $1 (21... Rc7 22. Nxf5 Nxg4 23. Bb6 Rc6 24. Bd4 Nf6 25. Bxe4 $44) 22. Nxc6
bxc6 $15) 16... Nb6 {Interessant wäre 16....Nb4. Es sieht so aus, als ob
Schwarz dadurch den Damentausch erzwingen könnte.} (16... Nb4 $5 17. g5 Nd7 18.
Kb1 (18. gxh6 gxh6 19. Bg2 Qc6 20. Qh3 Qa4 $17) 18... Qc6 19. Bg2 Qxf3 20. Bxf3
Nc6 $15) 17. g5 Nfd7 18. gxh6 gxh6 {In der entstandenen Stellung hat Weiß
sicherlich gute Kompensation für den Bauern, weil der schwarze König keine
Ruhe findet und die weißen Felder sehr schwach sind.} 19. Kb1 Qc6 20. Qh3 $1 {
Klare Sache, Weiß muss die Damen auf dem Brett behalten.} d5 (20... Nc4 21. Bc1
a5 22. Nd2 Nxd2+ 23. Bxd2 d5 24. f4 e4 25. Be3 $14 {und Weiß steht einfach
besser.}) 21. Be2 {Auch 21.f4 ist interessant. Weiß will alle Figuren ins
Spiel bringen und erst dann die Stellung forcieren.} (21. f4 $5 e4 22. Be2 Nc4
23. Bxc4 Qxc4 24. Rhg1 $44) 21... Nc4 22. Bc1 Nf6 23. Rhe1 {Jetzt wäre es Zeit,
um aktiv zu werden.} (23. f4 $5 e4 (23... Ne4 24. Bxc4 dxc4 25. Na5 $16) 24.
Rhg1 Qd7 25. f5 $36 {Weiß hat eine sehr gefährliche Initiative.}) 23... Qe6 {
Nun kommen alle schwarze Figuren ins Zentrum und seine Stellung wird etwas
angenehmer.} 24. Qh2 (24. Qxe6 fxe6 25. Bxc4 Rxc4 (25... dxc4 26. Nd2 Rc5 $15)
26. Rxe5 Re4 27. Rxe4 Nxe4 28. f3 Ng3 $15) 24... Qf5+ 25. Ka1 {Die schwarzen
Figuren dominieren das Zentrum und Weiß kann nicht an den schwarzen König
rankommen.} Kf8 26. f3 Bd6 27. Qg1 {Weiß versucht es von allen Seiten - es
droht Qa7.} Bb8 28. Bd3 {Weiß hätte mittels 28.Bxc4 gleich in Vorteil kommen
können.} (28. Bxc4 $5 Rxc4 (28... dxc4 29. Nc5 $1 Ba7 (29... Qxf3 30. Rf1 Qg4
31. Nd7+ $18) 30. Be3 Rb8 31. Qf1 $18) 29. Qb6 Bc7 (29... Qxf3 30. Rf1 $18) 30.
Qxb7 Kg7 31. Qa7 $14) 28... Qh5 $2 (28... Qe6 29. Nd4 Qb6 30. Nf5 Qxg1 31. Rxg1
$16) 29. Qh1 $2 {Das kann kaum gut sein, allein schon weil die Dame auf h1
sehr passiv steht. Stattdessen konnte Weiß den Punkt sichern:} (29. Bxc4 $1
Rxc4 (29... dxc4 30. Na5 Rg8 31. Qb6 $18 {Schwarz ist total verloren.}) 30. Qb6
Qf5 31. Nc5 Kg7 32. Rg1+ Kh7 33. Qxb7 $18) 29... Ba7 30. Qh3 Re8 {Der Turm
müsste auf der c-Linie bleiben, um auf c4 nehmen zu können.} (30... Rc6 $1 31.
Bxc4 $6 Rxc4 $15) 31. Bxc4 {Endlich!} dxc4 32. Na5 $2 {Und gleich wieder ein
Fehlgriff. Der Springer sollte nach d2 laufen.} (32. Nd2 b5 33. Ne4 Nxe4 34.
fxe4 $14 {Weiß hat mehr als nur Kompensation. Er will Rd6/Rd7/Rf1 spielen, der
schwarze König ist nun wirklich in Gefahr.}) 32... e4 33. Nxc4 Qxf3 34. Qh2 (
34. Qxf3 $2 exf3 $17) 34... Ng4 (34... Bf2 $5 35. Rf1 Ng4 36. Qc7 {->34....Ng4}
) 35. Qc7 (35. Qd6+ Kg7 36. Qd5 $13) 35... Bf2 36. Rf1 e3 37. Bxe3 $4 {Hübsche,
aber falsche Kombination. Wahrscheinlich waren beide Spieler in Zeitnot.} Nxe3
38. Ne5 Qf5 $2 {Schwarz lässt den Sieg aus. Es gewann 39...Qh5. Es ist jedoch
sehr schwer unter Zeitdruck solchen Zug zu finden.} (38... Qh5 $1 39. Qc5+ (39.
Rd7 Qxe5 40. Rxf7+ (40. Qxe5 Rxe5 41. Rxf2 Rf5 $19) 40... Kg8 41. R1xf2 Qxc7
42. Rxc7 Rh7 $19) 39... Kg7 {und Weiß kann den Springer auf e3 nicht nehmen,
wie er es in der Partie gemacht hat.} 40. Rg1+ Bxg1 41. Rxg1+ Kh7 42. Qxe3 Qxe5
$19) 39. Qc5+ Kg7 (39... Re7 40. Qxe3 Bxe3 41. Rxf5 Rg8 42. Kb1 $11) 40. Qxe3
Rxe5 {Und das entstehende Turmendspiel ist Remis.} 41. Qxf2 Qxf2 42. Rxf2 Rhe8
43. Rg1+ Kf8 44. Kb1 Re2 45. Rf4 R8e4 46. Rgf1 Re1+ 47. Kc2 R4e2+ (47... Rxf1
48. Rxe4 $11) 48. Kb3 Rxf1 49. Rxf1 Kg7 (49... Re4 $5 50. Rf6 h5 51. Rb6 Rxh4
52. Rxb7 $13 {mit sehr unklaren Folgen, es kann jedoch sein, dass die Chancen
von Schwarz besser sind, weil sein Bauer schon auf h5 steht.}) 50. Rf4 Re6 51.
a4 Kg6 52. Kc4 f5 53. a5 Kf6 54. Kd3 Re7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.15"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D91"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2732"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 Ne4 5. Bh4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 dxc4 7. e3 Be6 8.
Nf3 c5 9. Be2 Bg7 10. O-O O-O 11. Rb1 cxd4 ({Deviating from} 11... Bd5 {
, which left him in a very passive position in the second game of the match.})
12. Nxd4 {The most natural move, harassing the enemy bishop. In this kind of
position, I cannot help remembering the old recommendation to develop knights
first and only then bishops.} Bd5 13. Qc2 Qd7 14. Rfd1 $1 $146 {A logical
developing move, which surprisingly was never tried before. Black needs to
find a remedy against e3-e4.} ({Previously,} 14. e4 {was played:} Bc6 15. Bxc4
Bxd4 16. cxd4 Qxd4 {Black's hyper-activity and the vulnerability of the
e4-pawn compensate for the absence of the g7-bishop and the delay in
development.} 17. Rbd1 Qxe4 18. Qxe4 Bxe4 19. Rfe1 Bf5 20. Bxe7 Re8 21. f3 Nc6
22. Bf6 Rxe1+ 23. Rxe1 Be6 24. Bxe6 Re8 25. Bxf7+ Kxf7 {1/2 Moiseenko,A (2676)
-Kurnosov,I (2602)/Moscow 2009/CBM 129}) 14... Bxd4 {If this is necessary,
then something must have been wrong in Black's previous play.} 15. cxd4 {
Creating a strong pawn centre.} (15. Rxd4 {allows Black to develop with gain
of time with} Nc6 {A few weeks after the Candidates, the following game was
played:} 16. Rdd1 {Keeping the back rank well defended.} ({In case of} 16. Rd2
Qe6 17. Rxb7 Rfb8 $11 {White cannot maintain his initiative. The h4-bishop is
not too active, while the weakness of the light squares from White's camp is
an important strategic problem.}) 16... Qe6 17. Rxb7 Nd4 (17... Rfb8 {is less
effective with the back rank defended:} 18. Rc7 $5 Be4 19. Qa4 $14) 18. Rxd4
Bxb7 19. Bxc4 Qc6 20. Bd5 Qc7 21. Bg3 Qb6 22. Rb4 Bxd5 23. Rxb6 axb6 24. h4
Bxa2 25. Qe4 Rfe8 26. h5 {Nguyen Chi Minh (2381)-Dubessay,B (2325)/Mulhouse
2011/ (1-0, 74). For the small material deficit, White has some attacking
chances.}) 15... Qe6 {This is symptomatic of Black's general problems. He
keeps parrying immediate threats (in this case, e3-e4, eventually prepared by
f2-f3), while his development is incomplete.} 16. Bf3 $6 {It seems that
Gelfand was not ready to go all the way in this last game of the mini-match.
With his last move, he ensures the retrieval of the sacrificed pawn, but
deprives himself of realistic winning chances.} ({While looking at the game, I
thought that} 16. Qc3 $1 {was the critical situation, preparing a slow central
expansion with f2-f3 and e3-e4, sustained by the light-squared bishop after
its transfer to c2. Later, I discovered a game that was played along these
lines few weeks after the Candidates' matches:} Nd7 17. f3 Nb6 18. Rb5 (18. e4
$6 {would be premature because of} f5) (18. Rd2 {is not the best way to
prepare f3 and e4 because after} Rfc8 19. e4 $6 {Black has} Bxe4 20. fxe4 Qxe4
{with a double attack. For instance:} 21. Rxb6 axb6 22. Be1 b5 {with active
play.}) (18. Re1 $5 {is the move I considered initially:} f5 19. Bd1 $1 {
followed by Bc2 and e3-e4 soon.}) 18... f5 19. Rdb1 Rac8 20. Bd1 $1 Na8 21. Bc2
Nc7 22. Ra5 a6 23. e4 $1 {Played after thorough preparation, this move wins
material.} fxe4 24. fxe4 b5 ({The attempt to complicate matters with} 24... Qg4
25. Qe1 Rf4 {fails to} 26. Bg3 Rxe4 27. Bxe4 Qxe4 28. Qxe4 Bxe4 29. Re1 $36 {
followed by the rook's intrusion along the seventh rank.}) 25. exd5 $16 {
Kazhgaleyev,M (2618)-Vakhidov,J (2348)/Tashkent 2011/ (1-0, 38)}) 16... Bxf3
17. gxf3 Nd7 $1 {Finally developing this knight.} 18. Qe4 {Once again, the
safest move, weakening the defence of the c4-pawn. It is interesting that none
of the players is really interested in initiating the queen exchange. A
capture on e4 would strengthen White's centre, while Qxe6 would open the
f-file for the black rook.} (18. Rxb7 Rfb8 19. Rdb1 Rxb7 20. Rxb7 Rc8 $132 {
[%csl Gc4]}) 18... b6 $1 19. Rdc1 (19. Qxe6 $6 fxe6 20. Bxe7 $6 Rxf3) 19...
Rac8 20. Rb4 c3 21. Rb3 Nf6 {Finally forcing White to release the tension.} 22.
Qxe6 fxe6 23. Bxf6 (23. Rbxc3 Rxc3 24. Rxc3 Nd5 25. Rc6 Rxf3 26. Rxe6 $13) (23.
Bxf6 exf6 24. Rbxc3 Rxc3 25. Rxc3 Rf7 26. Rc6 Re7 27. f4 Kf7 28. Kg2 Rb7 $132 {
[%cal Gf7e7,Ge7d7,Gb6b5,Ga7a5] /\ ...Ke7-d7, ...b5, ...a5, etc.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.15"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A34"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Caruana,F"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. e3 Nf6 5. Be2 d5 6. d4 exd4 7. exd4 Be6 8. Be3
{By transposition from a rare move order we have reached a main line of the 1.
e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 variation, which is not very topical these days. A
refreshing change from all the hyper-theoretical Petroffs, Grünfelds and Slavs
we normally see at the top level.} dxc4 9. O-O cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Qa5
$5 {A weird looking move, but it is surprisingly not so bad. Black prevents an
annoying check on a4, allowing his pawn structure to be wrecked but preparing
counterplay with ...Rd8 in the meantime.} ({The main line, if there is such a
thing in this position, is} 11... Be7 12. Qa4+ Qd7 13. Qxd7+ Nxd7 14. Bxg7 Rg8
{, when Black rarely encountered problems in the few games which were played
here. I suppose Kramnik had prepared an idea here, but it is difficult to
imagine exactly what it could be.}) 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Re1 Rd8 14. Qc2 Be7 {
Black is one step away from getting his king in safety and consolidating his
material advantage. The doubled f-pawns are not so disastrous because Black's
bishops cover a lot of important squares around the kingside.} 15. Qe4 Qc5 {
A good move. The most important thing is not the b7-pawn, but rather not to
allow a trade of bishops.} (15... Qc7 $2 16. Bg4 {is therefore not good for
Black.}) 16. Qxb7 O-O {One more move - f5 - and Black will have a perfect
position due to his unopposed dark-squared bishop.} 17. Ne4 (17. Rad1 f5 {
can only be better for Black.}) 17... Qb4 18. Qxa7 (18. Nxf6+ {is a critical
move, which leads to an endgame where Black obtains good compensation based on
a number of tactical details.} Kh8 19. Qxb4 Bxb4 20. Rec1 (20. Red1 c3 $1 {
is an important point.}) 20... Bd2 $1 21. Rc2 c3 $1 {A really great idea,
giving an advantage. After} 22. bxc3 Bf5 {White's rook is trapped!}) 18... Rd7
19. Qe3 Qxb2 {Black has won a crucial pawn, gaining a dangerous passed c-pawn
in the process. However, the position remains roughly balanced because of
Black's vulnerable king.} 20. Rac1 ({White could have tried} 20. Nc5 Bxc5 21.
Qxc5 Rd2 22. Qe3 {, which the computer estimates as roughly equal, which is
most likely correct. This would be a logical continuation of the game, but
some more exciting surprises were in store before the inevitable result.})
20... Qd4 {Obviously a trade of queens is bad for White.} 21. Qf3 {However,
this was not the best way.} ({It's hard to blame Kramnik for not finding} 21.
Qf4 f5 22. Rcd1 Qxe4 23. Qg3+ Kh8 24. Rxd7 Bxd7 25. Qc3+ {, with a draw by
perpetual as} f6 $2 26. Bxc4 {is bad for Black.}) 21... Rc8 {The players
continue to make small mistakes, but the position is very sharp and often the
most natural moves are wrong because of concrete tactics.} ({Strongest was} 
21... f5 $1 22. Ng3 ({White should play modestly with} 22. Nc3 {, but clearly
Black is better after} Bg5) 22... Bg5 $1 {A great idea, bringing the bishop to
d2, where it closes the d-file and supports the c-pawn. By the way, I've
noticed that White's rooks are a real problem for White in this game - they
have no space to manouver, are stuck on the first rank and usually get
attacked by Black's bishops.} 23. Rcd1 (23. Rc2 {is met by the accurate} Qe5 {
, and next...Rc8, consolidating.}) 23... Bd2 $1 {, and next Black will enforce
the bishop with ...c3!} 24. Nxf5 Qf6 {, with a decisive advantage.}) 22. Ng3 ({
The natural and obvious} 22. Red1 {would have been better. The position just
boils down to rough equality in all variations after this. I suppose Kramnik
was still playing for an advantage, and felt he would have good play after 22.
Ng3, with the knight aiming for f5 or h5.}) 22... Rdc7 $2 {A strange, highly
cooperative move. Grischuk decided to ignore all of Kramnik's ideas and focus
on his own one-sided play.} ({Black had the strong, if not very obvious} 22...
Qe5 $1 {at his disposal. White's ideas of Nh5 or Nf5 have been nullified, so
Black can concentrate on advancing his c-pawn. It seems White's position is
highly unpleasant after this.} 23. Bxc4 $4 Rxc4 {is of course losing for White.
}) 23. Nh5 $6 {The knight is going for f4, but I would prefer the natural 23.
Nf5.} ({After} 23. Nf5 Bxf5 24. Qxf5 {White is at least fully equal and
perhaps more do to Black's vulnerable king. The c-pawn is easily blockaded by
Qc2 and White can even start advancing his a-pawn at the right moment.}) 23...
Kh8 24. Rcd1 (24. Nf4 c3 {doesn't seem especially promising for White.}) 24...
Qb2 {Another odd move (but perhaps not such a bad one), putting the queen on a
faraway square where it can't help defend Black's king. I don't understand why
Grischuk keeps putting his pieces on these strange squares, when he has
simpler and stronger moves at his disposal. Instead of this, 24...Qc5 prepares
to defend the king with ...Qg5.} (24... Qc5 $1 {gives a good position. I
imagine Grischuk was worried about} 25. Nxf6 {, but the pawn is not very
important and after} c3 {Black has good compensation with the threat of ...c2.
In the complex play that will follow anything can happen, but Black seems to
have the initiative.}) 25. Qg3 Bf8 26. Bg4 $6 {Is this how White should play
for a win, or for a loss? Both players are really going all out in this game,
but it seems they have both lost their sense of danger and are taking needless
risks.} ({White had many possible options, but I think best was} 26. Qh4 Be7
27. Qg3 {, with a draw by perpetual. I don't think White has better than this,
and if he continues playing he runs the serious risk of losing due to Black's
passed c-pawn.}) 26... c3 27. Bxe6 (27. Rxe6 $2 {loses:} fxe6 28. Bxe6 Rg7 $1
29. Nxg7 {Now mate is no longer a threat.} c2 30. Rf1 c1=Q $19) 27... fxe6 28.
Nxf6 Bg7 $2 {Again a totally illogical move. Why not attack the queen and keep
the h7-pawn protected? With this Black turns an objectively much better
position into a very dangerous one.} (28... Rg7 29. Qe5 {White threatens Nh5,
but Black has a strong response:} Qb7 30. g3 c2 31. Rc1 Ba3 32. Nh5 Bxc1 (32...
Bb2 {also works.}) 33. Rxc1 Rd8 {, threatening ...Rd1 and winning the game.}
34. Qa1 e5 $1 35. Nxg7 Qf3 {, and the threat of ...Rd1 is unstoppable.}) 29.
Nh5 {Threatening Qxc7. More testing was the brilliant shot 29.Nxh7, after
which Black is hard pressed to defend. I would be interested to see how the
game would unfold after that.} ({An interesting try was} 29. Nxh7 $5 c2 (29...
Kxh7 30. Qh3+ Kg8 31. Qxe6+ {gives White a killing attack, with a rook lift
coming up next.}) 30. Qh4 {, and here Black probably has only one way to make
a draw:} (30. Ng5 cxd1=Q 31. Qh3+ {leads to perpetual.}) 30... Be5 $3 {A
surprising and very difficult move. Black needs to make room for the king on
g7, and he also protects the rook on c7 in preparation for Rd8. White's attack
looks very strong but somehow Black defends. Other moves are possible besides
30...Be5, but this is the only clear way to make a draw.} ({A crucial point of
White's play is} 30... Rc4 31. g4 $3) 31. Ng5+ (31. Nf6+ Kg7 32. Nh5+ Kf7 {
, and White's checks have run out.} 33. Rc1 Qd4 {, and Black's queen finally
returns from the abyss!}) 31... Kg8 32. Rc1 Bc3 $1 {Again, a common theme
appears: White's rooks lack space and are vulnerable to attack.} 33. Rf1 Bd2 {
, and here the game will most likely end in perpetual after 34.Nxe6.}) 29...
Qb7 $6 {Another mistake, allowing White to develop his attack.} (29... c2 $4
30. Qxc7 {ends the game immediately.}) ({Probably simplest was} 29... Rf7 30.
Nxg7 c2 $1 ({avoiding} 30... Rxg7 31. Qe5) 31. Rc1 Rxg7 {, and the position is
balanced by Black's passed c-pawn and weak king.}) 30. Qh4 {Now besides the
obvious threat of Rd8, White has ideas of Nf4 and Ng6 or Nxe6. Black is again
under strong pressure.} Rg8 $2 {Again, an incomprehensible move. Why does
Grischuk entomb his king allowing Nf4 with the threat of mate? Both players
seem to be in a complete panic now at the thought of calculating a sharp
position.} ({Black's best defence is} 30... Qa8 $1 {, defending against Rd8
and preparing ...c2.}) 31. Rd8 $2 {I guess only Kramnik can understand why he
played this move.} ({Why not} 31. Nf4 {? I guess time trouble and nerves are
to blame for the weak play in this stage of the game, but is 31.Nf4 really
such a difficult move? I can imagine Kramnik normally playing this move in his
sleep - it threatens mate in one, after all, which is not easy to comfortably
defend against.}) 31... Rc8 $2 {Such a meek move. Did the players both forget
how strong the c-pawn is? This is Black's main trump, so he should use it!} ({
Passed pawns must be pushed! So:} 31... c2 32. Nf4 (32. Rxg8+ Kxg8 33. Qd8+ Kf7
{ends the checks.}) 32... h6 {, and White will have trouble dealing with the
c2-pawn.}) 32. Rxg8+ Rxg8 33. Nxg7 $2 {Letting Black off easy, when White
could have reached a promising endgame.} (33. Nf6 Bxf6 34. Qxf6+ Qg7 (34... Rg7
$2 35. g3 {can't be good for Black, with such a strong pin on the rook.}) 35.
Qxg7+ Kxg7 36. Rc1 Ra8 37. Rxc3 ({After} 37. Rc2 {Black has the accurate} Kf6
38. Kf1 Kf5 $1 {, and after White plays Rc7 (after Rxc3 and Rxa2) he can come
back to defend the h-pawn with ...Kg6.}) 37... Rxa2 {, and White has decent
winning chances in this endgame due to Black's split pawns. I initially
thought this should be a draw, but after moving the pieces around a bit I
realized that White can slowly advance his pawns and continue to gain space
while Black has to remain totally passive. Perhaps it is objectively possible
to hold, but it requires a great deal of work from Black's side.}) 33... Qxg7 (
{The computer says} 33... c2 {is even easier.}) 34. Qe4 c2 35. Rc1 Rc8 {
Black's c-pawn is too strong. White can't hope for anything, of course.} 36.
Qxe6 Rd8 37. Qb3 Rd2 38. Qb8+ Qg8 39. Qb2+ Qg7 40. Qb8+ Qg8 41. Qe5+ Qg7 42.
Qe8+ Qg8 43. Qe5+ Qg7 44. Qe8+ {An extremely exciting game! Of course the
level of play was not high, but this can be explained by the incredible
tension and tiredness the players must be experiencing. The play was very
sharp and the complications difficult to navigate. In the end a draw was the
logical result.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.19"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "Krasenkow,M"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[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 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. Rc1 {Evading the main
discussion after} (6. e3 Nbd7 {, which was yet to appear on the stage in the
fifth game of the match.}) 6... c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. e3 Nc6 9. a3 d4 {
Alternatives:} (9... dxc4) (9... a6) 10. exd4 (10. Nxd4 e5 $1 (10... Nxd4 $143
11. b4) 11. Nb3 Bxa3 $1 12. bxa3 exf4 13. Qxd8 Rxd8 14. exf4 Be6 15. f3 {
1/2 Kramnik,V (2710)-Beliavsky,A (2635)/Belgrade 1993/CBM 039/[Chekhov](33)}
Nd4 16. Nc5 Rac8 17. Nxe6 Nxe6 18. g3 g6 $44) 10... Nxd4 11. b4 (11. Ne5 {
is harmless, e.g.} b6 (11... Nc6 $5) 12. b4 Be7 13. Bd3 Bb7 14. O-O a5 15. Be3
axb4 16. axb4 Nc6 17. Nxc6 Bxc6 18. b5 Bb7 19. Bc2 Qc7 20. Na4 Nd7 21. Qe2 Nc5
$11 {1-0 Agrest,E (2554)-Berg,E (2348)/Stockholm 2000/CBM 074 ext (56)}) (11.
Be2 Qe7 $1 12. b4 (12. Nxd4 Rd8 13. Qc2 Bxd4 14. Nb5 e5 15. Nxd4 exf4 16. Rd1
Qe5 17. Nf3 Bf5 18. Nxe5 Bxc2 19. Rxd8+ Rxd8 20. Nf3 {1/2 Landa,K (2591)
-Vaganian,R (2617)/Bugojno 1999/CBM 074/[Donev] (41)} Ne4 $132) 12... Rd8 13.
Bd2 Bb6 $1 14. Nxd4 Bxd4 15. Qc2 b6 16. O-O Bb7 17. Rcd1 Bc6 $11 {1/2 Epishin,
V (2657)-Beliavsky,A (2618)/Germany 1999/EXT 2000 (49)}) 11... Nxf3+ 12. Qxf3
Bd4 (12... e5 13. Bg5 Be7 14. Rd1 Qe8 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Bd3 Bd8 17. Be4 $14 {
0-1 Gausel,E (2555)-Ostenstad,B (2460)/Oslo 1998/EXT 1999 (31)}) 13. Nb5 (13.
Be2 e5 (13... a5 $5 14. Nb5 (14. O-O e5 15. Bg5 h6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Qxf6 gxf6
$11) 14... e5 15. Bg5 axb4 16. axb4 Ra2 17. Bxf6 {1/2 Shulman,Y (2566)
-Onischuk,Al (2649)/USA 2002/[Onischuk,Al; Shulman,Y]}) 14. Bg5 h6 15. Bxf6
Qxf6 16. Qxf6 gxf6 17. Nb5 Rd8 18. c5 a5 19. Nxd4 exd4 20. Bd3 (20. b5 d3 21.
Rd1 Bf5 22. Bf3 Rac8 23. c6 bxc6 24. Bxc6 Bd7 25. Rxd3 Re8+ $11) 20... axb4 21.
axb4 Ra2 22. O-O Be6 23. f3 f5 24. Rf2 Rda8 $11 {1/2 Zlochevskij,A (2469)
-Kruppa,Y (2572)/Ohrid 2001/CBM 084 (31)}) 13... e5 (13... Re8 $5 {needs
further tests:} 14. Bc7 {1/2 Steingrimsson,H (2569)-Meier,G (2650)/Baden Baden
GER 2011/The Week in Chess 863}) 14. Bg5 Re8 $146 {This novelty doesn't solve
all the problems.} (14... e4 15. Qg3 h6 (15... Nh5 16. Bxd8 $1 (16. Qh4 Bf6 17.
Bxf6 Nxf6 18. c5 $14) 16... Nxg3 17. Bg5 $1 Nxh1 18. Nxd4 $16 {[%csl Rh1] S.
Zagrebelny}) 16. Rd1 $1 hxg5 17. Rxd4 Bd7 18. Be2 a5 19. O-O $16 {1-0 Nielsen,
P (2628)-Beliavsky,A (2667)/Malmo/Copenhagen 2004/CBM 101/[Dautov] (56)}) 15.
Bxf6 e4 $1 {The point but the resulting ending is favourable for White.} 16.
Bxd8 exf3+ 17. Kd2 Rxd8 18. Nxd4 Rxd4+ 19. Kc3 ({White rejected} 19. Ke3 {
due to} Rd6 (19... fxg2 20. Bxg2 $14) {. Still, after} 20. c5 $1 {his chances
are preferable. His king finally finds a safe haven, and his queenside pawn
advantage becomes the main factor, e.g.} Rg6 (20... Re6+ 21. Kxf3 Rf6+ (21...
Bd7 22. Bd3 Bc6+ 23. Kg3) 22. Ke3 Re6+ 23. Kd4 $16) (20... Rf6 21. g3 $1 Bd7
22. Bc4 $14) 21. g3 Bg4 22. Bd3 $14) 19... fxg2 20. Bxg2 Rg4 21. Rhd1 (21. Bf3
Rf4 {- that's the difference!}) 21... Be6 22. Bxb7 Rxc4+ 23. Kb2 Rxc1 24. Rxc1
{[%mdl 4096]} (24. Kxc1 Rb8 25. Rd6 Kf8 26. Bg2 Ke7 27. Ra6 Rc8+ 28. Kd2 Rc7 {
, and Black should hold on.}) 24... Rd8 25. Kc3 (25. Rc5 $5 Kf8 (25... Rd2+ $6
26. Kc3 Rxf2 27. Ra5 Rxh2 28. Rxa7 {, and White's pawns are stronger}) 26. Kc3
$14 {[%cal Yc5a5] was a better but hardly sufficient attempt.}) 25... Kf8 26.
b5 Ke7 27. a4 Rd6 28. a5 Kd8 29. b6 Bc8 $1 30. Bxc8 Kxc8 31. Kb4+ Kb8 32. bxa7+
Ka8 33. Rc8+ Kxa7 34. Rc7+ Ka6 35. Rxf7 {Despite White's extra pawn, the
endgame is drawn.} Rg6 (35... g5 {was even simpler} 36. Rxh7 $140 Rf6) 36. h3
Rg2 37. f4 Rg3 38. f5 h5 39. h4 Rg4+ 40. Kc5 Rxh4 41. Rxg7 Rf4 42. Rg6+ (42.
Rg5 $144 h4 43. Kd6 h3 44. Rh5 h2 45. Ke6 Rf2 {. It is essential that Black's
pawn reaches h2.}) 42... Kxa5 43. Rg5 h4 44. Rh5 h3 45. Kd6 h2 46. f6+ Kb6 47.
Ke6 Rf2 48. f7 Re2+ 49. Kf6 (49. Kf6 Rf2+ 50. Kg7 Rg2+ 51. Kh7 Rf2 $11 {
- White's rook, tied to Black's h2-pawn, can't help his king.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.20"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A37"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,A"]
[PlyCount "116"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 {Grischuk relies on this defence against the
English for a second time in this event. He had used it successfully against
Levon Aronian in his first series.} 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. a3 {Gelfand takes a
completely different approach to that of Aronian. Whereas Levon tried to
exploit the weakness of the d5 square in a slow way, Gelfand tries to
immediately rip apart the queenside.} Nge7 (6... a5 {makes Black's light
squares look like Swiss cheese, but it is definitely a playable alternative.})
7. b4 d5 (7... cxb4 $6 8. axb4 Nxb4 9. Ba3 {gives White too much compensation,
and scores horribly.}) (7... d6 {is the solid choice, but White basically gets
his queenside advance for free.}) 8. cxd5 (8. bxc5 dxc4 {is a complex game
that is hard to assess.}) 8... Nxd5 9. Ng5 $5 {The new move of the game, and
the computer's recommendation. This move is extremely aggressive.} Nc7 (9...
Nxc3 $6 10. dxc3 Qxd1+ 11. Kxd1 $14 {gives White a comfortable edge in the
endgame.}) 10. d3 cxb4 11. axb4 e4 $1 {A counter sacrifice, if you will.} (
11... O-O 12. O-O Nxb4 13. Nge4 {gave White a fair amount of compensation.
Grischuk takes up the gauntlet instead.}) 12. Ngxe4 {This piece sacrifice
cannot be calculated all the way. Intuitive, at the very least, White is
relying on his initiative and Black's exposed king to balance the material
deficit.} (12. Qb3 O-O 13. Ngxe4 Be6 14. Qb2 Nd5 {and Black has the initiative,
although White should be ok.}) 12... f5 13. Bg5 Bxc3+ (13... Qd4 $5 {deserves
analysis as well.}) 14. Kf1 Qd4 15. Nxc3 $1 (15. Bf6 Bxa1 16. Bxd4 Bxd4 17.
Nd6+ Ke7 18. Nxc8+ Rhxc8 {and Black has a serious material advantage, although
his coordination does not exist. White may be able to survive this, but I
doubt he can achieve more than that.}) 15... Qxc3 16. Bf4 {It's not easy to
see how Black can defend the knight.} Nb5 (16... Ne6 17. Rc1 {and the queen
can't defend c6.} Qxb4 18. Rxc6 $1 {with a very messy position.}) 17. Rc1 Qf6
18. Rc5 $1 a6 19. Bxc6+ bxc6 20. Be5 Qf8 21. Qc1 Bd7 22. Bxh8 Qxh8 23. Qe3+ $2
(23. h4 {forcing} h5 24. Kg2 {and bringing the rook out made sense.}) 23... Kf7
24. Re5 {Black has slightly more material than White, but his king is exposed
and his pieces uncoordinated. However, White still has the issue of the h1
rook being far from the play, and cannot allow Black to regroup.} Qf8 25. h4 h5
26. Qf4 {The Qe3-f4 maneouvre was a little clumsy, and Grischuk uses this time
to force some trades.} Qd6 $1 27. Kg2 Kf6 28. Re4 Qxf4 29. Rxf4 Be6 {The
endgame is favorable to Black, but is by no means winning.} 30. Rc1 Ke7 31. f3
Kd6 32. Kf2 Rb8 33. e4 Nc7 34. g4 $1 {White's rook had no prospects, so
Gelfand hurries to free it, even at the cost of a pawn.} (34. Ra1 Bc8 35. Ra5
Ne6 $2 (35... Rb5 $1 {retains a strong advantage}) 36. e5+ Ke7 37. Rc4 {holds.}
) 34... fxg4 35. Rf6 gxf3 36. Rxg6 Rxb4 37. Rh6 a5 38. Rxh5 a4 39. Rhc5 Bd7 40.
Kxf3 Ne6 41. R5c4 $6 {This move is too passive, but it seems it barely holds.}
(41. Ra5 {following the old maxim: "rooks belong behind passed pawns!"}) 41...
c5 42. h5 Rb2 43. Rh1 Nd4+ (43... a3 44. h6 a2 45. Ra1 Bb5 46. h7 {and White
will successfully trade the h-pawn for the doomed a2-pawn, with a probable
draw.}) 44. Ke3 Be6 45. e5+ $1 (45. Rxa4 $1 {was also good} Ke5 46. Rxd4 cxd4+
47. Kf3 Rb8 (47... Rb7 48. h6 Rf7+ 49. Kg3 Rh7 50. Rh5+ Kf6 51. Kf4 $11) 48. h6
Rh8 49. h7 Bf7 50. Rh6 $11) 45... Kxe5 46. Rxc5+ Bd5 47. Rxd5+ Kxd5 48. h6 {
Black can't comfortably stop the pawn, and the rook endgames are all drawn.}
Re2+ 49. Kf4 Ne6+ 50. Kg3 Nf8 51. h7 Nxh7 52. Rxh7 a3 53. Kf3 Re1 54. Ra7 Ra1
55. Ke3 a2 56. Ra5+ Kc6 57. Kd4 Kb6 58. Ra8 Kb7 {An exciting game to say the
least! Grischuk might have had chances, but at no point could it be said that
he had a clear win.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.21"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D53"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "27"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[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 Be7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Qb3 dxc4 8.
Qxc4 O-O 9. g3 $5 {My feeling is that White is combining the ideas of too many
openings. His queen has arrived on c4 as in the Qb3 Semi-Slav, he has given up
the dark-squared bishop like in a genuine QG and now intends to develop his
remaining bishop according to Catalan patterns.} (9. e4 {is more popular.})
9... b5 $5 $146 {Two decades ago I started studying the Catalan Opening for
White. I used to show my new ideas to my friend and trainer IM Valentin Stoica.
I had the tendency to over-evaluate the static elements of the position and
sometimes neglected development. I remember that more than once Vali refuted
my concept with an unexpected pawn sacrifice ...b7-b5! This probably is
typical for Catalan positions. Of course, I was not surprised when I saw
Gelfand's last move, although it appeared to be a novelty. Black opens files
and diagonals for his pieces, taking advantage of White's delay in development
and of the relative weakness of the f1-a6 diagonal.} (9... Nd7 10. Bg2 e5 {
Uhlmann,W (2505)-Hjartarson,J (2415)/Leningrad 1984/MCL (1/2, 84)}) 10. Qxb5
Nd7 11. Bg2 c5 12. O-O Rb8 13. Qa4 a5 $44 14. dxc5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.23"]
[Round "3.4"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A37"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. d3 Nge7 7. a3 d6 8. Nd2 {
Not very common. This knight usually approaches the d5-square with Ne1-c2-e3.}
O-O 9. Rb1 h6 10. O-O a5 11. Nd5 $146 {A novelty compared to some not too
relevant games played before.} Be6 12. Nxe7+ Qxe7 13. Ne4 {The knight gets
closer to d5.} Kh8 ({Avoiding the trick} 13... Qd7 $2 14. Bxh6 $1) (13... f5 {
is an important alternative:} 14. Nc3 Rab8 {Preparing to meet Nd5 with ...b5.}
15. Bd2 Qd7 16. Qa4 $5 (16. Nd5 b5) 16... f4 (16... Kh8 17. e3 $14 {/\Nd5, b4})
17. Rfe1 {White needs to defend e2.} (17. Nd5 $6 Nd4 $1) 17... Rf7 18. Nd5 Rbf8
19. b4 axb4 20. axb4 fxg3 21. fxg3 Bh3 22. Be4 $13 {The situation of the white
king looks dangerous, but the queenside attack has very concrete forms, too.})
14. Nc3 Qd7 15. Bd2 Rab8 16. Qc1 $6 {This does not contribute to the essential
b2-b4.} (16. Nd5 b5) (16. Qa4 $5 Bh3 $140 17. Bxh3 Qxh3 18. f3 $14 {White has
good chances to get a global blockade on the light squares. Black's attack
does not seem too dangerous:} f5 19. Rf2 f4 20. Rg2) 16... h5 17. Bh6 {
Exchanging these bishops rather helps Black strategically.} Bh3 18. Re1 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.24"]
[Round "3.5"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi,E"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 {After two timid days, our deserved finalists decided to show us some
aspects of their strength! This game is a very rich positional game and
contains everything one would expect of a high-level game.} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3
d5 4. Nc3 {Alas! We will never know what Gelfand had in mind against the
Catalan!} Be7 {The QGD seems to be one of Gelfand's main black weapons
prepared for this event. A very classical approach which is mostly explored in
the 1927 WC match between legendary Capablanca and Alekhine. Funnily enough,
Grischuk has not had enough of it in this cycle!} 5. Bf4 {An interesting
choice which one would expect from Grischuk. The question many asked
themselves here is how many moves it would take before he offered a draw! At
least the previous ones were not very combative except his first game against
Gelfand.} (5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Qb3 dxc4 8. Qxc4 O-O 9. g3 b5 $1 $146 10.
Qxb5 Nd7 11. Bg2 c5 12. O-O Rb8 13. Qa4 a5 14. dxc5 {1/2-1/2 Grischuk,A (2747)
-Gelfand,B (2733)/Kazan RUS 2011}) 5... O-O 6. e3 (6. Rc1 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. e3
Nc6 9. a3 d4 10. exd4 Nxd4 11. b4 Nxf3+ 12. Qxf3 Bd4 13. Nb5 e5 14. Bg5 Re8 15.
Bxf6 e4 16. Bxd8 exf3+ 17. Kd2 Rxd8 18. Nxd4 Rxd4+ 19. Kc3 fxg2 20. Bxg2 Rg4
21. Rhd1 Be6 22. Bxb7 Rxc4+ 23. Kb2 Rxc1 24. Rxc1 {1/2-1/2 Grischuk,A (2747)
-Gelfand,B (2733)/Kazan RUS 2011 (49)}) 6... Nbd7 {This move skips the
activity with 6..c5 in favor of a rock solid but slightly cramped position for
Black.} 7. c5 {This is the most radical approach. White neutralises the
tension in the centre in order to obtain a spatial advantage on the queenside.}
(7. Qc2 c5 8. Rd1 Qa5 9. Nd2 cxd4 10. exd4 dxc4 11. Nxc4 Qd8 12. Bd3 Nb6 13.
O-O Bd7 14. Nxb6 Qxb6 15. d5 Kh8 16. dxe6 {1/2-1/2 Grischuk,A (2747)-Kramnik,V
(2785)/Kazan 2011/CB19_2011}) 7... Nh5 8. Be2 $5 $146 {No more draw offers! A
good sign for me and the spectators!} (8. Bd3 {used to be the "Tabiya" in this
line, which has been played thousands of times. Did Grsichuk have something
special up his sleeves? The continuation proved that he did!}) (8. b4 Nxf4 9.
exf4 c6 10. Bd3 b6 11. O-O a5 12. a3 Qc7 13. g3 Ba6 14. Bxa6 {1/2-1/2 Grischuk,
A (2747)-Kramnik,V (2785)/Kazan 2011/CB19_2011}) 8... c6 9. O-O Nxf4 10. exf4 {
To be perfectly honest, I have trouble seeing the special appeal of Grischuk's
idea. The bishop on d3 seemed more appealing to me!} f6 {The right decision at
the wrong time. Gelfand believes that he can play e5, and he is right, except
that...this is exactly what Grischuk is waiting for!} 11. b4 Qc7 12. Qd2 Rf7 $6
{Why does Gelfand avoid e5 and instead accept a slightly worse position? Let
us examine the following lines:} ({For better or for worse Black had to go for
} 12... e5 $1 13. Rfd1 $2 (13. Rfe1 $1 {is a good move, because it keeps both
Bf1 and Bd3 as possible choices.} Kh8 14. Bf1 {was the alternative.} (14. Bd3
a5 $1 (14... e4 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Rxe4 Bd8 17. Rae1 a5 18. Re8 $1 axb4 19.
Rxf8+ Nxf8 20. Re8 g6 21. Rxf8+ Kg7 22. Re8 {and White is clearly better.}) 15.
b5 e4 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Rxe4 Nxc5 $1 18. dxc5 cxb5 19. Nd4 Bxc5 20. Nxb5 Qf7 {
The dust has settled and Black seems to have the better prospects.}) 14... a5 (
14... e4 $2 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Rxe4 Bd8 17. Rae1 $36) 15. b5 (15. fxe5 $2 fxe5
16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. Rxe5 axb4 $17) 15... e4 16. Qe3 (16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Rxe4 Nxc5
18. dxc5 Bxc5 $15) 16... Bd8 17. b6 Qb8 18. Nxe4 dxe4 19. Qxe4 f5 20. Qe3 Nf6
21. Ne5 g6 22. Bc4 Kg7 23. Rad1 $44 {and White enjoys fine compensation. This
is probably what Gelfand tried to avoid, but instead he ended up in a clearly
worse position!}) (13. Rae1 $5 {This or the other rook to e1 is probably what
Grischuk had in mind.} Kh8 $1 {A very strong prophylactic move confirmed by
the silicon mind!} (13... e4 $2 14. Nxe4 $1 dxe4 15. Bc4+ Kh8 16. Rxe4 $14 {
[%csl Re7]}) 14. Bd3 $1 {What is this? A blunder?} a5 $1 ({Hardly. If} 14... e4
$2 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Rxe4 {White obtains a strong initiative! Deep preparation
by Grischuk?!}) 15. fxe5 axb4 $1 (15... fxe5 16. b5 e4 17. Nxe4 dxe4 18. Rxe4
Bf6 19. Rfe1 Qd8 20. h4 $1 {and once again White has a dangerous initiative.})
16. exf6 Nxf6 17. Nd1 {with unclear play.}) (13. fxe5 $2 fxe5 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15.
Nxd5 $4 Nxf3+ 16. Bxf3 cxd5 $19) 13... a5 $1 14. a3 Re8 {and Black is very
well prepared to open up the game after which he can enjoy his pair of bishops.
}) 13. Rae1 Nf8 14. Bd3 {This is the right moment for the bishop to come to d3.
..Do you understand? Yes Mr. Grischuk! We understand!} Bd7 15. g3 Re8 16. Re3
Bd8 17. Rfe1 {White is clearly better at this point, however Gelfand stays
calm and prepares a trap.} Qb8 18. Na4 $1 Bc7 19. Nb2 {A typical manoeuvre for
the knight!} Rfe7 20. Qc3 Rd8 $1 {Gelfand is trying to get free his bishop
from the pawn chain via e8-h5.} 21. Bf5 {This is too hasty, yet it does not
harm White. He remains in full control! Still, he should go for} (21. a4 $5 Be8
22. a5 Bh5 23. Nh4 $1 {Black has just one weakness but is left with no counter
play and is running out of space!} Qc8 (23... g5 $6 24. fxg5 fxg5 25. Nf5 Ree8
26. Nd6 $1 {Black's position is becoming like Swiss cheese on the dark squares!
} Bxd6 27. cxd6 Qxd6 28. Qd2 Qe7 29. a6 b6 30. Bc2 $1 {White's knight will
head to e5 and Black has to defence against an annoying attack despite his
material advantage.}) 24. Be2 Bf7 25. Nf3 Bh5 (25... Rde8 26. b5 $16) (25...
Ng6 26. Bf1 Rde8 27. Nd3 a6 28. h4 Qd7 29. Bh3 Nh8 $1 {This is a position rich
in strong positional manoeuvres...Black has to bring his knight to d8.} 30. Qd2
Bh5 31. Qe2 Kf8 32. Nb2 Nf7 33. Kg2 Nd8 34. Na4 Bg6 {White is better,
nevertheless it is not easy to crack Black's position. White has to exploit a
drastic plan sooner or later.}) 26. Nd3 Rde8 27. Nh4 Bf7 28. Qb2 a6 29. Bg4 {
and White is clearly better.}) 21... Rf7 $5 {This is the trap Gelfand had
prepared!} 22. Bg4 $6 {Grischuk goes astray. He had to retreat the bishop back
to d3.} e5 $1 {Well calculated by Gelfand!} 23. Bxd7 exf4 24. Be8 fxe3 25. Qxe3
Ng6 26. Bxf7+ Kxf7 27. Qe6+ Kf8 28. Qh3 (28. Nd1 Re8 29. Qf5 {is also equal.})
28... Qc8 $1 {This strong move seals the game's fate. Grischuk has to concede
a draw!} 29. Qxc8 (29. Qxh7 $2 {loses an exchange to} Kf7 30. Qh5 Rh8 31. Re7+
Kxe7 32. Qxg6 Kf8) 29... Rxc8 30. Kf1 Re8 31. Rb1 Ke7 32. Nd3 a6 33. a4 Kd7 34.
b5 axb5 35. axb5 cxb5 36. Rxb5 Rb8 37. Nb4 Ne7 38. Ne1 Nc6 39. Nxc6 {A nice
fighting game! I believe that all the spectators must have enjoyed it a lot!}
1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.25"]
[Round "3.6"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D76"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Gelfand,B"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2011.05.05"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{This was the decisive game of the final candidates match. After few
unsuccessful attempts in the English Opening, I decided to try my luck in the
g3-system of the Grünfeld Defence.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 d5 {
Alexander has chosen the most popular system. He had also tried the c6, d5
setup of the King's Indian or transposed to Benoni Systems by 4...c5 during
recent years.} 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Re1
a5 11. Qe2 {We had quickly reached the modern tabiya of this system.} Bg4 {
The computer prefers this move, even though it is not very logical. h3 is more
likely to be a useful move, rather than a weakness.} (11... Bf5 12. Rd1 a4 13.
d5 Na5 14. Nd4 Nac4 15. Nxf5 gxf5 16. Qc2 {and White was clearly better in
Gelfand,B-Topalov,V blind/Monaco 2011.}) (11... Be6 {is the most popular and
brought Black a few exciting victories during the last Olympiad in
Khanti-Mansiysk.}) (11... e5 {leads to another type of position.}) 12. h3 Be6
13. b3 $1 {This is a novelty which we prepared and it came as a surprise to my
opponent.} (13. Nd2 Nb4 14. Rd1 Qc8 {This short variation illustrates very
well the idea behind ...Bg4 - Black is preparing ...c5 with tempo.}) ({In
earlier games} 13. Rd1 {was tried with a complicated game after both} Bc4 14.
Qc2 Nb4 15. Qb1 a4 ({and} 15... Qc8 16. a3 N4d5 17. Nd2 Nxc3 18. bxc3 Bd5 19.
e4 Bc6 20. Qd3 Ba4 21. Re1 c5 {0-1 Leitao,R (2624)-Wang Yue (2732)/Khanty
Mansiysk 2010/CBM 139 (67)}) 16. e4 c5 17. dxc5 Bd3 18. Rxd3 Qxd3 19. cxb6 Qxb1
20. Rxb1 Bxc3 21. a3 Red8 22. Bg5 Bf6 23. Bxf6 exf6 24. axb4 Rd3 {1/2-1/2
Blagojevic,D (2481)-Zhou Jianchao (2660)/Khanty Mansiysk 2010/CBM 139 (32)})
13... a4 14. Rb1 {Of course it seems that opening of the a-file is in Black's
favour. However I took into consideration that there are no squares to invade
on the a-line. My idea was to block the Be6 from both sides by the h3- and
b3-pawns. The B is poorly placed on e6 as there it prevents the liberating
breakthrough ...e7-e5 and thus the Re8 also cannot join the battle.} axb3 15.
axb3 Qc8 16. Kh2 ({Also possible was} 16. g4 $5 {but I was reluctant to weaken
my position.}) 16... Ra5 {Alexander decided to move the R into attack to h5
and try to use the slightly weakened position of my K.} ({Other options were} 
16... Na5) ({and} 16... Rd8) 17. Rd1 {After long consideration I allowed the R
transfer, as I found the defensive idea Nh4 and f4.} ({I had also considered} 
17. Nb5 Nb4 $1 (17... Bf5 18. Bd2 $1 Bxb1 19. Bxa5 Be4 20. Bxb6 cxb6 21. Nd2
Bxg2 22. Kxg2 $14 {leaves White with some edge}) 18. Bd2 {However, probably
White is slightly better after} c6 19. Nc3 (19. Na7 Rxa7 20. Bxb4 Nd5 {but I
assessed this position as equal.}) 19... Rh5 20. h4 Bg4 21. Na4 Nxa4 22. bxa4
Na6 23. Qd3 $14) (17. g4 {was possible here as well, but I liked the game
continuation.}) 17... Rh5 ({I was more worried about} 17... Rd8 {. The idea is
to try to force White to make some not very useful move.} 18. b4 $5 Rh5 19. Nh4
{but I still like White's position, for example} Bf6 (19... Nd5 20. Bd2 $5
Ncxb4 (20... Ndxb4 21. Nb5 Nd5 (21... Na6 22. Bxc6 bxc6 23. Na7 Qd7 24. Qxa6
Bd5 25. Qe2 $16) 22. e4 Nb6 23. d5 Nxd5 24. exd5 Bxd5 $14 {with hardly
sufficient compensation for the piece}) 21. Nxd5 Nxd5 22. e4 Nf6 23. d5 Bd7 24.
Bf3 {and White is clearly better}) 20. Bf3 Rxh4 (20... Bc4 21. Qc2 Rh6 22. b5
Na5 23. e4 Rxh4 24. gxh4 Rxd4 (24... Bxd4 25. Bg4 $14) 25. Bf4 $14) (20... Rh6
21. d5 Bxc3 22. dxe6 Qxe6 23. Rxd8+ Nxd8 24. Qd3 Qa2 25. Qxd8+ Kg7 26. Bd2 Qxd2
27. Qxd2 Bxd2 28. Bxb7 Bc3 29. Nf3 $14 {Black still needs to solve the
problems of his rook.}) 21. gxh4 Bxh3 {with compensation for the exchange.})
18. Nh4 $1 Bf6 19. f4 $1 {I liked the fact that ...e7-e5 is prevented forever.}
({Another possible continuation was} 19. Bf3 Rxh4 $5 (19... Ra5 20. Ng2 $1 Bxh3
(20... Bf5 21. b4 Ra8 22. b5) 21. b4 Ra8 22. Nf4 (22. g4 $5 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 $44)
22... Bf5 $5 23. b5 Nxd4 (23... Na5 24. e4 Bd7 25. Nfd5) 24. exd4 Bxb1 25. Nxb1
{and White is better}) 20. gxh4 Bxh3 $5 {with certain compensation for the
exchange. It is hard to say for whom it is easier to play this position.}) (19.
d5 Bxc3 20. dxe6 Qxe6 21. e4 Ra5 {doesn't provide White with sufficient
compensation.}) 19... Rd8 (19... Bxh4 $2 20. gxh4 Rxh4 $2 21. Kg3 $1 Rh5 22. d5
Bxh3 23. Bf3 {was bad.}) 20. Qf2 {I had improved the position of my Q and
overprotected the d4-pawn, thus ensuring that if the Bf6, Nc6 or Rd8 were to
leave its place White would be able to play e3-e4, which is obviosly his dream
in this position.} ({Meanwhile, White had the interesting tactical possibility
} 20. f5 $5 Bd7 $5 (20... Bxf5 21. Nxf5 Rxf5 22. b4 $1 $44 {and White is going
to win an exchange, as the Rf5 is trapped}) (20... Rxh4 21. fxe6) 21. b4 Rxh4
22. gxh4 Bxf5 23. b5 $1 Na5 24. e4 Be6 25. e5 Bg7 26. d5 Bf5 27. Rb4 $14 {
and White's chances seem preferable to me.}) (20. Bf3 Ra5) {This is the
critical position, where Black had a big choice.} 20... Bxh4 $2 {Very natural,
but not the best decision.} (20... Ra5 {this move looks strange as the R just
went to h5 and is returning back now. White has a slight advantage after both}
21. g4 $5 ({or} 21. b4 Ra8 22. b5 Na5 23. e4 Bb3 24. Rd2 Qd7 25. Nf3 e6 26. Ne5
) 21... Nb4 22. Qg3 Na2 23. Ne4 $14) ({Engines suggest that the immediate} 
20... Nd5 $5 {was better:} 21. Nxd5 (21. Ne2 Bxh4 22. gxh4 f5 23. Bf3 Rh6 24.
Qg2 {is another option, where the position remains very unclear, but it is
easier to play with White}) 21... Rhxd5 ({or the engines' choice} 21... Rdxd5 {
when after the most natural} 22. Bf3 Bxh3 23. e4 Rxd4 24. Bxh5 gxh5 25. Rxd4
Nxd4 26. b4 $16 {White is clearly better}) 22. Bb2 (22. Bxd5 Bxd5 23. Nf3 Qe6 {
with full compensation for the exchange}) (22. Qe2 Bxh4 23. gxh4 f5) 22... Rb5
23. Qe2 Rh5 24. Bf3 Ra5 25. Bc3 Ra8 {However the maneouvre
Ra5-h5-d5-b5-h5-a5-a8 would be unlikelyto cross the mind of any human being
and I have no interest whatsoever in arguing with an engine.} {still after
simple} 26. Bg2 {White is better.}) (20... Nb4 {leads to a passive position,
where White has some advantage.} 21. e4 c5 22. Ne2 (22. Be3 cxd4 23. Rxd4 Bxd4
24. Bxd4 Nd3 25. Qe3 Rxd4 26. Qxd4 Nxf4) 22... cxd4 23. Nxd4 Nc6 24. Be3 Nxd4
25. Bxd4 Rxd4 26. Rxd4 Bxd4 27. Qxd4 $14) 21. gxh4 Nd5 22. Nxd5 Rhxd5 {Black
is trying to prevent e3-e4.} (22... Bxd5 $2 {loses a piece after} 23. e4) 23.
Bb2 $1 ({The tricky} 23. e4 $5 {was also possible, but hardly stronger than 23.
Bb2,} {after} Rxd4 24. Rxd4 Rxd4 25. f5 Bd7 26. h5 f6 $1 $14 {White's
advantage is not so big.}) ({Obviously that Black can only be better after} 23.
Bxd5 $2 Bxd5) 23... Rb5 $2 {I was surprised by this weak move} (23... f5 $5 {
was the only chance} 24. h5 $1 {with a strong attack would follow, for example}
Kf7 25. Bf3 Qd7 26. Qh4 Rg8 27. Rg1 Ke8 28. Ra1 $1) ({Some commentator had
suggested} 23... Qd7 24. e4 {then} Rxd4 25. Bxd4 Nxd4 {but after} 26. b4 c6 27.
h5 {Black's position is bad.}) 24. Qe2 ({I realised that my position is won
and was choosing between 2 options:} 24. e4 {was also strong} Bxb3 (24... Rxb3
25. Ba1 $1 (25. d5 Bxh3 26. dxc6 Bxg2 27. Qxg2 bxc6 28. Ba1 $16) 25... Na5 26.
d5 $18) 25. Rdc1 e6 (25... Ba2 26. Ra1 Nb4 27. Bf1) (25... Na5 26. Bf1 Rb6 27.
d5) 26. Ba1 Qa8 27. d5 $18) 24... Rh5 (24... Rxb3 $2 25. d5) 25. e4 Bxb3 (25...
Rxh4 {is 'as usual' answered by} 26. Kg3 $1 $18) 26. Rdc1 Na5 (26... Qe6 27.
Qf3) (26... e6 27. Qd3) 27. d5 {White has reached his dream position. Black is
helpless.} b6 28. Be5 c5 29. dxc6 ({I had also considered} 29. Qb5 $1 $18 {
but decided to calculate one line till the end and follow it. Of course, there
are few ways to win in such a position.}) 29... f6 30. Ba1 ({Or} 30. c7 Rd7 31.
Qb5) 30... Rc5 31. Rxc5 bxc5 32. Qb5 ({Or} 32. e5 Qf5 (32... Bc4 33. Qe3 Nxc6
34. Qxc5) (32... Bd5 33. Bxd5+ Rxd5 34. exf6 (34. Qa2 $2 c4) 34... exf6 35. Rb8
$18) 33. c7 Rc8 34. exf6 exf6 35. Qe7 $18) 32... Qc7 ({Black's last practical
chance was} 32... Ba2 $1 {but after} 33. Rb2 $1 Qc7 34. e5 $1 Be6 35. Qb6 Qxb6
(35... Rc8 36. Qxc7 Rxc7 37. Rb7 $1 {I had finished my calculation here}) 36.
Rxb6 Rc8 {I would have to find} 37. f5 $1 {which leads to a forced win,
although probably White can win by other ways too.} gxf5 (37... Nc4 38. Rb7
gxf5 39. Rxe7) (37... Bxf5 38. Bc3 $18) 38. c7 Kf7 39. Bf3 Nb3 40. Bh5+ Kf8 41.
Rxe6 Nxa1 42. exf6 Rxc7 43. f7 $18 {Black is losing his knight!} Nc2 (43... Rc8
44. Re1 Nc2 45. Rg1) 44. Rh6) 33. Rxb3 Nxc6 ({Or} 33... Nxb3 34. Qxb3+ {
followed by 35.e5.}) (33... Qxf4+ 34. Rg3 Nxc6 35. Qxc6 Rd3 36. Qe8+ (36. Qe6+
Kf8 37. Qg4 {is also good}) 36... Kg7 37. Qxe7+ Kh6 38. Be5 $1 {I wanted to
make this final touch, but my opponent didn't allow me.}) 34. e5 Nd4 35. Qc4+ {
And Alexander warmly congratulated me with on victory in the match and in the
cycle.} 1-0

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff blitz"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.09"]
[Round "1.9"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2744"]
[BlackElo "2790"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "300+3"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. Nbd2 a6 8. Ba4
Ba7 9. h3 Ne7 10. Re1 Ng6 11. Nf1 c6 12. Ng3 d5 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. Bb3 Re8 15.
Bg5 f6 16. Be3 Bxe3 17. fxe3 Be6 18. Qd2 Qc7 19. Rad1 Rad8 20. Qf2 Qf7 21. Rf1
Qf8 22. Nd2 Kh8 23. Nde4 Nge7 24. Qe2 Bg8 25. Rf2 f5 26. Rdf1 f4 27. exf4 Nxf4
28. Qg4 Bxb3 29. axb3 Neg6 30. d4 Qg8 31. Rf3 Ne6 32. Nf5 exd4 33. Qg3 Rf8 34.
Ned6 dxc3 35. bxc3 Rd7 36. h4 Rf6 37. h5 Ne7 38. Nh6 gxh6 39. Qe5 Nd5 40. Rxf6
Nxf6 41. Qxf6+ Rg7 42. Nf5 Qf8 43. Nxg7 Qc5+ 44. Kh1 Nxg7 45. Qf8+ 1-0

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff blitz"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.09"]
[Round "1.10"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A14"]
[WhiteElo "2790"]
[BlackElo "2744"]
[PlyCount "159"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "300+3"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. b3 Nf6 4. Bb2 Be7 5. g3 O-O 6. Bg2 b6 7. O-O Bb7 8. e3 c5
9. Nc3 Nc6 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Qxd5 12. d4 Qd8 13. Ne5 Nxe5 14. Bxb7 Rb8 15.
Bg2 cxd4 16. exd4 Nd7 17. d5 exd5 18. Qxd5 Bf6 19. Rad1 Bxb2 20. Qxd7 a5 21.
Rfe1 Qxd7 22. Rxd7 Ba3 23. Bd5 Bc5 24. Re4 Rfd8 25. Bxf7+ Kf8 26. Be6 Rxd7 27.
Bxd7 Rd8 28. Bb5 Rd2 29. Rf4+ Ke7 30. a4 Rd4 31. Rf3 Rd6 32. Rf4 Rf6 33. Re4+
Re6 34. Rg4 g6 35. Kg2 h5 36. Rc4 Kf6 37. Rf4+ Kg7 38. Rc4 Kf6 39. h4 Re5 40.
Rc3 Rd5 41. Rc2 Re5 42. Rd2 Kg7 43. Bc4 Kf6 44. Rd8 Kg7 45. Bd3 Re6 46. Bc4 Rd6
47. Rg8+ Kh7 48. Re8 Rd2 49. Be2 Kg7 50. Re6 Rb2 51. f4 Rxb3 52. Bb5 Re3 53.
Rc6 Kh7 54. Rc7+ Re7 55. Rc8 Kg7 56. Bd3 Rd7 57. Be4 Rd2+ 58. Kh3 Rd7 59. Rc6
Rd6 60. Rc7+ Kf6 61. Bc2 Rd4 62. Bb3 Be7 63. Bc4 Rd6 64. Kg2 Rd2+ 65. Kf3 Rd6
66. Ke4 Rd8 67. Bd5 Rd6 68. Rb7 Rd8 69. Rxb6+ Rd6 70. Rb5 Bd8 71. Rb7 Be7 72.
Ra7 Rb6 73. Rxa5 Rb4+ 74. Kf3 Rd4 75. Ra6+ Kg7 76. Be4 Rd6 77. Rxd6 Bxd6 78. a5
Bc5 79. a6 Kf6 80. Ke2 1-0

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff blitz"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.09"]
[Round "1.11"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E94"]
[WhiteElo "2790"]
[BlackElo "2744"]
[PlyCount "125"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "300+3"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. d4 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O exd4 8. Nxd4
Re8 9. f3 Nc6 10. Be3 Nh5 11. Qd2 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Nf4 13. Be3 Nxe2+ 14. Nxe2 f5
15. Bg5 Qd7 16. Ng3 Qf7 17. Rac1 Bd7 18. b3 a5 19. a4 Be5 20. Bf4 Bg7 21. Kh1
b6 22. Be3 Re6 23. Ne2 Ree8 24. Nc3 Bc6 25. exf5 Qxf5 26. Bd4 Bxd4 27. Qxd4 Re5
28. Nd5 Bxd5 29. cxd5 Qf7 30. Qc4 Re7 31. h3 Rae8 32. Rc2 h5 33. Kh2 Kh7 34.
Rfc1 Rd7 35. f4 Rde7 36. Qd4 Kg8 37. Qf2 Rf8 38. Rc4 Qg7 39. Re1 Rfe8 40. Rxe7
Rxe7 41. Qg3 Qf6 42. h4 Kg7 43. Qg5 Kf7 44. Rc2 Qf5 45. Rc3 Qf6 46. Qxf6+ Kxf6
47. Kg3 Kf5 48. Kf3 Re4 49. Rc4 Re7 50. g3 Kf6 51. Re4 Rf7 52. Re6+ Kf5 53. Re8
Kf6 54. Ke4 Kg7 55. Re6 Kh7 56. Kf3 Kg7 57. g4 hxg4+ 58. Kxg4 Kh7 59. h5 gxh5+
60. Kg5 Kg8 61. f5 Rh7 62. f6 h4 63. Kg6 1-0

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff blitz"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.09"]
[Round "1.12"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2744"]
[BlackElo "2790"]
[PlyCount "130"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "300+3"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. Nbd2 Bb6 8. Ba4
Ne7 9. Bc2 c6 10. h3 Ng6 11. d4 Re8 12. Re1 h6 13. Nf1 d5 14. Nxe5 Nxe5 15.
dxe5 Rxe5 16. Bf4 Re8 17. e5 Nh7 18. Qd3 Nf8 19. Rad1 Qh4 20. Bg3 Qg5 21. Kh2
Qg6 22. Qd2 Bf5 23. Bxf5 Qxf5 24. Ne3 Bxe3 25. Rxe3 Rad8 26. Qd4 b6 27. Rf3 Qe6
28. Rfd3 Rd7 29. f4 Qf5 30. Qa4 Rc8 31. c4 Ne6 32. b4 Rcd8 33. Qxc6 Nxf4 34.
Rd4 Ne2 35. Rxd5 Rxd5 36. cxd5 Nxg3 37. Kxg3 Rc8 38. Qb5 Qxe5+ 39. Kf2 Rc2+ 40.
Kg1 Qe3+ 41. Kh2 Qe5+ 42. Kh1 Qd6 43. Qe8+ Qf8 44. Qe4 Rc7 45. d6 Rd7 46. Qc6
Qe8 47. b5 g6 48. a4 Qe6 49. Qc8+ Kg7 50. Qc3+ Qf6 51. Qc6 Qe6 52. Kg1 h5 53.
Qc3+ Qf6 54. Qc6 Qe6 55. Qc3+ Qf6 56. Qg3 h4 57. Qa3 Qe5 58. Qb4 g5 59. Qg4
Qe3+ 60. Kh1 Rxd6 61. Rxd6 Qe1+ 62. Kh2 Qe5+ 63. g3 Qxd6 64. Qxg5+ Kf8 65. Qxh4
Qd2+ 0-1

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff blitz"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.16"]
[Round "2.9"]
[White "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A47"]
[WhiteElo "2732"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 c5 3. e3 e6 4. c3 b6 5. Nf3 Bb7 6. Nbd2 Be7 7. Bd3 cxd4 8.
cxd4 Nc6 9. a3 Nh5 10. Bg3 O-O 11. Ne5 g6 12. Nxc6 dxc6 13. Be4 Qd7 14. Nc4 c5
15. Ne5 Qc8 16. Bxb7 Qxb7 17. O-O Rfd8 18. Qf3 Qxf3 19. Nxf3 Nxg3 20. hxg3 Bf6
21. dxc5 bxc5 22. Rab1 Rab8 23. Rfc1 Rxb2 24. Rxb2 Bxb2 25. Rxc5 Rd1+ 26. Kh2
Rd5 27. Rxd5 exd5 28. a4 Kf8 29. Ne1 Ke7 30. Nd3 Bc3 31. g4 Kd6 32. Kg3 Kc6 33.
Kf3 Kb6 34. Nf4 Ka5 35. Nxd5 Bg7 36. Ne7 Kxa4 37. Nc6 a5 38. Ke4 Kb5 39. Nxa5
Kxa5 40. Kd5 g5 41. Kd6 Bc3 42. Ke7 f6 43. f4 Kb5 44. Kf7 Kc4 45. Kg7 Kd3 46.
Kh6 gxf4 47. exf4 Ke4 48. g3 Kf3 49. g5 f5 50. Kxh7 Kxg3 0-1

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff blitz"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.16"]
[Round "2.9"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B38"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 {Most likely, a surprise
for the former World Champion.} ({Kramnik may have counted on the fashionable} 
5... e6) 6. e4 g6 {I could not find any previous games played by Grischuk
against the Maroczy bind. Like in the 5th game of the match, his decision to
leave Kramnik with unchallenged pressure along the d-file looks risky, but he
may have counted on White's practical problems in controlling the whole board
in a blitz game being an important factor.} 7. Be2 Bg7 8. Be3 O-O 9. O-O Bd7
10. Qd2 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Bc6 12. Bd3 {An ambitious move, preparing for a kingside
attack. Its main drawback is releasing the pressure along the d-file, which
later will allow Black set up a blockade on dark squares with ...e5.} ({
Kramnik probably thought that the classical main line,} 12. f3 a5 13. b3 Nd7
14. Be3 Nc5 15. Rab1 Qb6 16. Rfc1 Rfc8 17. Rc2 Qd8 {would offer him less
chances to outplay his opponent in a blitz game.}) 12... a5 13. Rfe1 a4 14. Nd5
{I find this a bit premature.} ({Why not complete the development first?} 14.
Rad1 Re8 {A half-waiting move, which is less useful than Rad1, though.} (14...
Nd7 $6 {is premature because it allows the rook lift to the third rank,
without the necessity of playing Nd5.} 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Re3 Qa5 17. Be2 {
Black can forget about blocking the centre with ...e5, at least for a while.}
Qg5 18. h4 Qf6 19. h5 $40 {Hartikainen,J-Agopov,V/FIN-chT12 corr 1992/Corr Nr.
1 (1-0, 54)}) 15. Nd5 {White has finished his useful moves and needs to force
the next move, in order to proceed with his attack based on Re3.} Nd7 16. Bxg7
Kxg7 17. Re3 (17. b4 {opens the a-file for the black rook, without really
threatening to attack on the queenside.} axb3 18. axb3 e5 19. Bc2 Nc5 20. b4
Ne6 21. Nc3 Nd4 $11 {Black has comfortable play. One small detail that White
overlooked is that the active knight cannot be exchanged immediately:} 22. Ne2
$2 Nxc2 23. Qxc2 Ba4 $19 {Mortensen,E (2450)-Larsen,B (2580)/Aaland 1989/EXT
97 (0-1, 40)}) (17. Bf1 $5 {is a flexible move, inhibiting Black's planned ...
e5 in view of the pressure against d6.} Qa5 18. Nc3 Kg8 19. Re3 Qe5 20. Rde1
Qg7 21. Nd5 Rac8 22. f4 $14 {Nikcevic,N (2350)-Cabrilo,G (2515)/Cetinje 1992/
EXT 97 (1/2, 26). Black has managed to defend his kingside against an
immediate attack, but his queen is passive, while White's space advantage
remains unchallenged.}) 17... Qa5 {This is the only way of making use of ...
Re8 (the e7-pawn is defended).} ({Maybe} 17... e5 {is safer, but the only
available game, Pinol Fulgoni,F (2133)-Pavlovic,M (2569)/Biel 2003/CBM 095 ext
(0-1, 34), is not too relevant. In any case, after} 18. Rh3 h5 19. Bc2 Nc5 {
the position is similar to that from our main game, with the insertion of Rad1
and ...Re8 which should slightly favour White.}) 18. Qc1 Bxd5 (18... Ne5 19.
Be2 f6 20. f4 Nf7 {is solid, but a bit passive.} 21. Kh1 Rac8 22. b4 axb3 23.
axb3 b5 24. Qb2 Bxd5 25. exd5 $14 {Gufeld,E (2540)-Wu,H (2080)/Kissimmee 1997/
CBM 058 ext (1-0, 46). With his knight doomed to passivity, Black cannot claim
any real counterplay.}) ({It is too late for} 18... e5 {already, because of}
19. Be2 $14 {, when Black experiences problems along the d-file.}) 19. Rh3 Nf6
$2 {This allows a deadly attack.} (19... h5 $14 {is better, when Black should
not fear} 20. Rxh5 gxh5 21. Qg5+ Kf8 $11 {. White has a draw by perpetual, but
not more than that.}) 20. Qh6+ Kg8 21. exd5 Qb6 22. g4 $1 $40 Qd4 23. Rh4 $1
Qxb2 24. g5 $18 {Sorokin,M (2510)-Nielsen,P (2445)/Cheliabinsk 1991/EXT 97 
(1-0, 35)}) 14... Nd7 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Re3 e5 {The same crucial move we have
seen in the previous comment, aiming to establish a blockade on the dark
squares and enhance the communication between the opposite wings.} 17. Rh3 (17.
Nc3 {fails to cause Black problems on the d-file:} Nc5 18. Rd1 Qe7 19. Bc2 Rfd8
20. Ne2 Kh8 21. b4 axb3 22. axb3 b6 23. f3 Ra2 $132 {Hansen,L (2460)-Mann,C 
(2305)/Gistrup 1990/EXT 97 (1-0, 71)}) 17... h5 18. Ne3 $6 $146 {I have the
feeling that, just as in the 5th game, Kramnik was caught unaware by his
opponent's opening choice. This time, his novelty is not too inspired.} (18.
Nc3 Nc5 19. Rd1 Qe7 20. Re3 Rfd8 {The rook is more effective on this square
than on e8, as in some games quoted above.} 21. Bf1 Qg5 22. Qe1 h4 23. Re2 f5
24. f3 Rd7 25. Rf2 Rad8 {Renet,O (2500)-Sivokho,S (2380)/Paris 1996/CBM 051
ext (0-1, 47). With active black play.}) 18... Rh8 {A super cautious, but not
necessary move.} (18... Nc5 {would have caused White problems with defending
his e4-pawn, while immediate attacking operations do not seem to be available:}
19. Nf5+ $2 (19. g4 $2 Bxe4) 19... gxf5 20. Rg3+ Kh7 21. Qe2 Kh6 22. Rh3 Qg5 {
and the attack will come to an end soon.}) 19. Rg3 Nc5 {Even now, the e4-pawn
is not easy to defend.} 20. Rd1 (20. Nf5+ Kf8 {leaves White hanging.}) ({
Defending the pawn with} 20. f3 {leaves the rook out of play. Moreover, Black
can safely trap it:} h4 21. Rg4 Bd7 22. Nf5+ $140 Kf8 $19) (20. Nd5 {would
have been relatively safest, but this would have been equivalent to admitting
that he had lost two tempi. Black would get pleasant play after} Bxd5 21. cxd5
(21. exd5 e4 22. Bc2 h4 23. Re3 f5 $15) 21... Qa5 $15) 20... h4 21. Rh3 Bxe4
$17 {Black has parried White's threats and won an important pawn. Later, he
won the game and soon the match.} 22. Bf1 Bc6 23. Nd5 Bxd5 24. Qxd5 Ra6 25. Re3
Qf6 26. b4 axb3 27. axb3 Rb6 28. h3 Rxb3 29. Rxb3 Nxb3 30. Qxd6 Qxd6 31. Rxd6
Rc8 32. Rd5 Kf6 33. Rd6+ Ke7 34. Rb6 Nc5 35. g3 hxg3 36. fxg3 Rc6 37. Rb5 f5
38. Kf2 b6 39. Ke3 Rd6 40. h4 Kf6 41. Be2 g5 42. hxg5+ Kxg5 43. Kf3 Rh6 44. Rb1
Ne6 45. Kg2 Nd4 46. Bd1 Rc6 47. Rb5 Nxb5 0-1

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff blitz"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.16"]
[Round "2.10"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A81"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2732"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. d4 O-O 6. b3 e6 7. Bb2 h6 8. c4 d6
9. Nbd2 g5 10. Qc2 Nc6 11. e4 g4 12. Nh4 f4 13. e5 f3 14. Bxf3 gxf3 15. exf6
Qxf6 16. Ndxf3 Bd7 17. Rae1 Be8 18. Re3 Bh5 19. Rfe1 Rae8 20. Bc3 Nd8 21. d5 e5
22. Rf1 Nf7 23. Nd2 Qd8 24. Ng6 Bxg6 25. Qxg6 Ng5 26. Ne4 Nf3+ 27. Kg2 Nd4 28.
Bd2 Kh8 29. Rd3 Nf5 30. Rf3 Qd7 31. Qh5 Kg8 32. Kh1 b5 33. g4 Nd4 34. Rxf8+
Rxf8 35. Bxh6 bxc4 36. bxc4 Nf3 37. Qg6 Nh4 38. Qxg7+ Qxg7 39. Bxg7 Kxg7 40.
Ng5 Rb8 41. Ne6+ Kg6 42. Nxc7 Rc8 43. Nb5 Rxc4 44. Nxd6 Rc2 45. Nf5 Nf3 46. Kg2
e4 47. Rd1 Ne5 48. d6 Nd7 49. Rd4 Rxa2 50. Rxe4 Rd2 51. h4 a5 52. Re6+ Nf6 53.
g5 Kxf5 54. Rxf6+ Ke5 55. h5 a4 56. h6 1-0

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff blitz"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.16"]
[Round "2.10"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2785"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 a6 4. Be3 b5 5. h4 h5 6. Nh3 Bb7 7. Ng5 d6 8. Bd3 Nd7
9. a4 c6 10. Ne2 e5 11. axb5 cxb5 12. c4 Ngf6 13. cxb5 axb5 14. Rxa8 Qxa8 15.
dxe5 dxe5 16. O-O Bc6 17. Qb3 O-O 18. f3 Qb7 19. Rc1 Nb8 20. Nc3 Nh7 21. Bxb5
Nxg5 22. hxg5 Rd8 23. Bc4 Qc7 24. Nd5 Qd7 25. Rd1 Qe8 26. Nf6+ Bxf6 27. gxf6
Nd7 28. Rd6 Rc8 29. Qd3 Nf8 30. b3 Bd7 31. Bh6 Be6 32. Bxf8 Bxc4 33. bxc4 Qxf8
34. c5 Kh7 35. c6 Qh6 36. Qd2 Qxd2 37. Rxd2 Rxc6 38. Rd7 Rxf6 39. Re7 Kh6 40.
Rxe5 g5 41. Kh2 Kg6 42. Ra5 Rd6 43. Kg3 Rc6 44. Rb5 f6 45. Ra5 Rc1 46. Kh2 Re1
47. Rb5 g4 48. Kg3 gxf3 49. gxf3 Re3 50. Rf5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff rapid"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.09"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A37"]
[WhiteElo "2808"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,A"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. O-O Nge7 7. Ne1 d6 8. Nc2
Be6 9. Ne3 O-O 10. d3 Qd7 {This solid approach against the Symmetrical English
is, in my opinion, an underestimated system. Black has a glaring weakness on
d5, but on the other hand that is his only palpable weakness in the position.
He will be able to advance pawns on the kingside and he can, with correct play,
prevent most advances on the queenside.} 11. Ned5 Bh3 12. Rb1 (12. Bh6 $6 {
is a strategically flawed cheapo. Black wants to exchange the light squared
bishops as the g2 bishop can be quite powerful in a queenside attack, but the
g7 bishop is currently serving no purpose as it is stuck behind the pawns.})
12... Bxg2 13. Kxg2 Rac8 14. e4 Nxd5 15. Nxd5 Ne7 16. Nc3 {White's only claim
to anything here is that he can control d4 with his bishop while Black can
only defend it with his own knight. Therefore the exchange of knights would
instantly result in a dead position.} Nc6 17. Be3 f5 18. f3 $6 {A little
over-ambitious. White should realise he doesn't have anything in the position
and start thinking about maintaining the balance.} (18. Nd5 Ne7 19. Nc3 $11)
18... f4 {Black didn't have to pick up the gauntlet like this, but there was
no reason not to.} (18... Rf7 {was just as sound.} 19. Qd2 Rcf8 20. exf5 Rxf5
$11) 19. Bg1 h5 {Black's kingside pawns are rolling and White hasn't been able
to create anything on the queenside yet.} 20. Nd5 Rf7 21. g4 (21. a3 Rcf8 22.
b4 b6 {This is the typical way of handling the queenside initiative.} 23. Qa4
fxg3 24. hxg3 h4 {when White's position on the queenside is going nowhere, but
his position on the kingside is falling apart.}) 21... hxg4 22. fxg4 Rcf8 23.
Qf3 {This bloackade would be much more successful with a knight, as opposed to
a queen. But then again, the d5-knight is White's only saving grace in this
position!} Bf6 24. Bf2 $6 {The bishop is badly placed in f2, as the exchange
of bishops favours Black.} Rh7 25. Nxf6+ {Aronian could not have been happy
making this move. However he didn't like the prospect of Black's bishop coming
to h4.} (25. a3 Bh4 26. Bg1 Nd8 $1 {and when the knight gets to g5 the game
will be over.}) 25... Rxf6 26. Rh1 g5 $17 27. h3 b6 28. Rh2 Nd8 29. b3 Ne6 30.
Kf1 b5 31. Kg2 a5 32. Rhh1 Rf8 33. Rhc1 Rb8 34. Rh1 b4 35. Rh2 a4 {Black has
complete control over the board, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the
correct plan of action is to open another weakness on the queenside.} 36. Kh1
Ra8 37. Bg1 axb3 38. Rxb3 Ra4 39. Rbb2 Ra3 {White has no activity and enough
weaknesses to lose. The rest is simple for Grischuk.} 40. Rbg2 Qa4 41. h4 Rc3
42. Qf1 Qa3 43. hxg5 Rc1 44. Qf2 Rxh2+ 45. Kxh2 Nxg5 46. Kh1 Qxd3 47. Qh4 Qh3+
{It is unusual that a 2800 is defeated when he is playing White, and even more
unusual as Grischuk played nothing more than natural, good moves and let his
opponent undermine himself.} 0-1

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff rapid"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.09"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D55"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2744"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "153"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Be7 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Rc1 O-O 8. e3
c6 9. Bd3 Nd7 10. O-O dxc4 11. Bxc4 e5 12. d5 $5 ({Decades ago, Kasparov
managed to cause a lot of headache to Karpov with the then unexplored} 12. h3
exd4 13. exd4 Nb6 14. Bb3 {. Nowadays, there are tons of theory in this
variation.}) 12... Nb6 13. b3 $5 {Almost a novelty.} ({In the event of the
more natural} 13. Bb3 {, White has to reckon with ...e5-e4.}) 13... Bf5 14.
dxc6 bxc6 15. e4 Bg4 16. Be2 Bxf3 $146 {Only this is new, with respect to a
game played by correspondence.} (16... Qe7 {Malmstroem,J (1909)-Kuhne,D (2009)/
DESC email 2001/Corr 2004 (1/2, 56)}) 17. Bxf3 Be7 18. Qc2 Bb4 19. Bg4 Ba3 20.
Rcd1 Qe7 21. Nb1 $1 {The knight is heading for f3. A similar manoeuvre
provoked amazement in a famous game Karpov-Spassky, ages ago.} Bc5 22. Nd2 Bb4
23. Nf3 Qf6 24. Rd3 Rfd8 25. Rfd1 Rxd3 26. Qxd3 $14 {White has the better
structure and controls the only open file. His advantage is stable, but not
easy to increase. Kramnik was not able to exploit the presence of
opposite-coloured bishops to create a mating attack, but the same factor
served Radjabov quite well in his bid to achieve a draw in the endgame.} g6 27.
h4 h5 28. Bh3 Re8 29. g3 Qe7 30. Kg2 Qc5 31. Ng5 Kg7 32. Qe2 Qe7 33. Qc2 Qc7
34. Qc1 Be7 35. a4 Rd8 36. Rxd8 Bxd8 37. Nf3 f6 38. g4 hxg4 39. Bxg4 Nd7 40. h5
Nf8 41. Qc4 gxh5 42. Bxh5 Qd7 43. Kg3 Bb6 44. Nh4 Kh8 45. Qf7 Qxf7 46. Bxf7 Kg7
47. Bc4 Bc5 48. f3 Ng6 49. Nf5+ Kf8 50. Kg4 Ne7 51. Ng3 Kg7 52. Be6 Bb4 53.
Nh5+ Kg6 54. f4 exf4 55. Nxf4+ Kg7 56. Bc4 Bd6 57. Ne6+ Kg6 58. a5 Bb4 59. a6
Bd6 60. Nd4 Be5 61. Nf3 Bd6 62. Be6 Kh6 63. Bd7 Kg7 64. Nd4 Be5 65. Ne6+ Kh6
66. Nd8 Bc7 67. Ne6 Bd6 68. Nd4 Be5 69. Nf3 Bd6 70. Nd2 Kg7 71. Nc4 Bc5 72. Kf4
Bb4 73. Ke3 Bc5+ 74. Kd3 Ng6 75. Bxc6 Ne5+ 76. Nxe5 fxe5 77. Kc4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff rapid"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.09"]
[Round "1.6"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D31"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2808"]
[Annotator "Krasenkow,M"]
[PlyCount "144"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c6 6. Qc2 Nf6 {Alternatives:}
(6... g6) (6... Bd6) 7. e3 Nh5 {And this move is quite rare compared to} (7...
O-O {and}) (7... Nbd7) 8. Be5 (8. Bg3 {is more popular but doesn't create
serious problems for Black, e.g.} Nd7 9. Bd3 g6 10. Nge2 O-O 11. Nf4 Ndf6 12.
O-O-O Re8 13. Nxh5 Nxh5 14. Be5 Bd6 15. Bxd6 Qxd6 16. h3 Bd7 17. g4 Nf6 18. Kb1
Re7 19. Ka1 Rae8 $11 {1/2 Zhou Jianchao (2650)-Liang Chong (2502)/China 2010/
CBM 136 Extra (70)}) 8... Nd7 9. Be2 Nxe5 $5 $146 {[%mdl 8] A very original
decision. Black allows White to destroy his pawn structure hoping to make use
of his bishop pair. It is amazing to see how perfectly his idea works!} (9...
Nhf6 10. Bg3 O-O 11. Nf3 b6 12. O-O Bb7 13. Rfd1 Re8 14. a3 a5 15. Ne5 $14 {
1/2 Shishkov,A (2403)-Volodin,A (2401)/Rakvere 2009/CBM 128 Extra (33)}) 10.
dxe5 g6 11. Bxh5 gxh5 12. O-O-O f6 $1 {The point.} 13. Nf3 (13. e4 {looks
logical but Black obtains counterplay anyway, e.g.} d4 14. exf6 Bxf6 15. Nf3 (
15. Nge2 O-O 16. f4 Be6 $13) 15... Bg4 16. Ne2 Qa5 17. Kb1 (17. Nfxd4 Qxa2 18.
f3 O-O-O $1) 17... O-O-O 18. Nfxd4 Qb6 19. f3 Bxd4 20. Nxd4 Rxd4 21. fxg4 hxg4
22. e5 Rf8 $132) 13... fxe5 14. Nxe5 O-O $132 {[%cal Ye7f6,Yc8f5]} 15. f4 $6 {
This only weakens White's position.} (15. Kb1 $142 Bf6 16. Nd3 {[%cal Yc3e2,
Ye2f4]}) 15... Bd6 16. Nf3 Bf5 17. Qd2 Qf6 18. e4 {This breakthrough results
in a clearly better endgame for Black.} (18. Nd4 $5) 18... dxe4 19. Qxd6 exf3
20. Qxf6 Rxf6 21. gxf3 Bg6 22. Ne2 Re8 23. Rd2 Re3 24. Rf1 Bd3 25. Rf2 Kf7 26.
b3 h4 27. Kb2 Bxe2 28. Rdxe2 Rxe2+ 29. Rxe2 Rxf4 {[%csl Rf3][%mdl 4096] Black
now gradually converts his advantage. Of course, it is senseless to analyse
the niceties of this ending as this was a rapid game.} 30. Rf2 Rd4 31. Kc3 Rd1
32. f4 Kf6 33. Rg2 h5 34. a4 Rf1 35. Rg5 Rf3+ 36. Kc2 Rxf4 37. Rxh5 Rf2+ 38.
Kc3 Rxh2 39. Rh7 Kg6 40. Rxb7 h3 41. Rb8 Rf2 42. Rh8 h2 43. Kd3 Kg5 44. Ke3 Rb2
45. Kf3 Rxb3+ 46. Kg2 Rb2+ 47. Kh1 Kf5 48. Rc8 Rc2 49. Ra8 Ke4 50. Rxa7 Ra2 51.
a5 Kd4 52. a6 Kc5 53. Ra8 Kc4 54. Ra7 c5 55. Ra8 Kb5 56. Rb8+ Kc6 57. Rc8+ Kb6
58. Rb8+ Kc7 59. Rb7+ Kc6 60. Ra7 c4 61. Ra8 Kc7 62. a7 c3 63. Re8 Rxa7 64.
Kxh2 Kb6 65. Kg3 Kc5 66. Kf2 Kc4 67. Ke2 Kb3 68. Rc8 Kb2 69. Rb8+ Kc1 70. Kd3
c2 71. Rh8 Ra3+ 72. Kc4 Kb1 0-1

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff rapid"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.09"]
[Round "1.6"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2744"]
[BlackElo "2785"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[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 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 Nh5 8. Bd3
Nxf4 9. exf4 b6 10. b4 a5 11. a3 c6 12. O-O Qc7 13. g3 Ba6 14. Bxa6 {A draw
was agreed in this position in the sixth (rapid) Grischuk-Kramnik game. In the
eighth game they were even faster, sealing the same result after 8.Bd3.} ({
The eighth game deviated with} 14. Kg2 Bf6 15. Bxa6 Rxa6 16. Qc2 Rfa8 17. Rab1
axb4 18. axb4 Ra3 19. Rb3 Rxb3 20. Qxb3 Qb7 21. Rb1 h6 22. h4 h5 23. Ne5 {
1/2 Radjabov,T (2744)-Kramnik,V (2785)/Kazan 2011}) 14... Rxa6 15. Qe2 Rfa8 16.
Rab1 axb4 17. axb4 Bf6 18. Rfc1 Ra3 19. Qe1 bxc5 20. bxc5 Qa5 21. Ne5 Nxe5 22.
fxe5 Bg5 23. Rc2 Bd8 24. Kg2 h6 25. h4 Qa6 26. Qd1 Ra1 27. Rcb2 Rxb1 28. Qxb1
Qc4 29. Ne2 Be7 30. Kf1 Bf8 31. Rb4 Ra1 32. Qxa1 Qxb4 33. Qa6 Qb1+ 34. Kg2 Qe4+
35. Kf1 Qh1+ 36. Ng1 Qe4 37. Ne2 Qh1+ 38. Ng1 Qe4 39. Ne2 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff rapid"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.09"]
[Round "1.7"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A34"]
[WhiteElo "2808"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "122"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. e3 Nf6 5. a3 $5 Be7 ({The more principled} 
5... d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Bb5 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Bd6 {would transpose to a reversed
Paulsen with an extra tempo for White. However, the presence of the pawn on a3
rather than on a2, may favour Black, because it weakens b3 and restricts the
c1-bishop. In any case, in practice Black has scored quite well. See for
instance the annotated game Hauchard,A (2539)-Tukmakov,V (2582)/Solin/Split
2000/CBM 081/[Ribli] (0-1, 36) Since the main game caused Grischuk a lot of
suffering, he may have taken into account precisely this line for the case of
a future encounter.}) 6. d4 $1 {After mutual castling, ...d5 would become a
serious threat. Therefore, White has to be faster in opening the centre.} exd4
(6... cxd4 7. exd4 e4 $146 {has never been tried in practice. After} 8. Ng5 {
, the move ...Bb4 is not available any more, meaning that Black has to find a
way of proving his compensation for the lost e4-pawn.}) 7. exd4 cxd4 8. Nxd4
O-O 9. Nc2 d6 $146 {Improving over an old game of Kramnik, who will be
Grischuk's opponent in the semi-finals and with whom he will continue the
theoretical duel in the Symmetrical English!} (9... b6 10. Bf4 Ba6 11. b4 Bb7
12. Be2 d6 13. O-O Ne5 14. Ne3 Rc8 15. Rc1 Re8 16. Qd2 Bf8 17. Rfd1 h6 18. Bg3
Re6 19. Qd4 Nc6 $14 {1/2 Benjamin,J (2620)-Kramnik,V (2710)/Groningen 1993/CBM
039}) 10. Be2 Be6 11. Ne3 $14 {White has stabilised the position and retains
the better chances because of his superior structure.} Rc8 12. O-O a6 13. b3
Na5 {[%csl Gc3][%cal Gb7b5]} 14. a4 {[%csl Gb3,Gb4]} Qb6 15. Rb1 Nc6 16. Re1 (
16. Ncd5 Bxd5 17. Nxd5 Nxd5 18. Qxd5 Nb4 19. Qf5 Rfe8 20. Be3 (20. a5 Qc5 $11)
20... Qc7 21. Rfd1 Bf6 $14 {Black has some chances for a blockade on the dark
squares.}) 16... Rfd8 17. Bf3 Ne5 18. Bd5 $16 {White's control on the light
squares is overwhelming, but Aronian will miss his chance to win the game and,
possibly, the match.} Bf8 19. Bb2 Re8 20. Ba1 Rb8 21. Ne4 Nxd5 22. Nxd5 Qd8 23.
Rb2 (23. Nxd6 $16) 23... Bxd5 24. Qxd5 b5 25. Rbe2 bxc4 26. bxc4 Ng6 27. g3 Ne7
28. Qd3 Qd7 29. Nxd6 Red8 30. c5 Nc8 31. Be5 (31. Qc3 $3 Nxd6 32. c6 $1 {
[%csl Gb8,Gd8][%cal Gc6c7]} Qc7 33. Re7 $1 $18) 31... Nxd6 32. cxd6 Qxa4 33.
Bf4 h6 34. h4 Qb5 35. Qd1 Rb7 36. Rc2 Rbd7 37. Rc7 Bxd6 38. Rxd7 Qxd7 39. Qxd6
Qxd6 40. Bxd6 Rxd6 41. Re8+ Kh7 42. Re7 Kg6 43. Ra7 h5 44. Kg2 Kf6 45. f3 Rd2+
46. Kh3 Ra2 47. g4 hxg4+ 48. Kxg4 g6 49. f4 Ra5 50. Ra8 Ke6 51. Ra7 Kf6 52. Ra8
Ra1 53. Ra7 a5 54. Ra6+ Kg7 55. h5 f5+ 56. Kh4 Rh1+ 57. Kg3 Rg1+ 58. Kh2 Rg4
59. hxg6 Rxf4 60. Rxa5 Kxg6 61. Kg2 Kf7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff rapid"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.09"]
[Round "1.7"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D53"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2744"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. Rc1 Ne4 8. Bxe7
Qxe7 {An interesting psychological moment. Radjabov challenges his opponent
with his own weapon.} 9. g3 $5 {An unsuccessful attempt to deviate from the
familiar paths.} Nxc3 $146 {Black does not let himself be distracted from his
main plan, even if White has chosen a different way of developing his kingside.
} (9... Qb4 {Galojan,L (2324)-Gavasheli,A (2191)/Plovdiv 2008/CBM 123 Extra 
(1-0, 51)}) 10. Rxc3 c6 11. Bg2 Nd7 12. O-O dxc4 13. Rxc4 e5 14. Rc3 exd4 15.
Nxd4 Nb6 16. Qc2 Rd8 17. e3 Be6 18. a3 Bd5 $11 {During all this sequence,
Radjabov has just copied Kramnik's moves from the first game of the match,
with a similar result.} 19. b4 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 Nd5 21. Rc5 a6 22. Rc1 g6 23. Nf3
Re8 24. Rc4 Rad8 25. Rd4 Nc7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff rapid"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.09"]
[Round "1.8"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2808"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,A"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 c6 8. h3 b6
9. b4 a5 10. a3 Ba6 11. Bxa6 Rxa6 12. O-O (12. b5 cxb5 13. c6 Qc8 14. c7 b4 {
is a very thoroughly analysed variation. Grischuk decides to deviate from this
mess and plays a more natural move.}) 12... Qa8 13. Rb1 axb4 14. axb4 Qb7 15.
Qc2 Rfa8 {Black has control over the only open file, but things are not so
simple. White does have an advantage in space and his bishop is far more
active than it's counterpart.} 16. Ne1 $5 {An interesting redeployment, trying
to quickly bolster c5 to allow a possible b5 break.} Bd8 17. Nd3 Ra3 $2 (17...
b5 {is usually an undesirable move, as it allows White a free hand on the rest
of the board. However, at this moment specifically maybe this move was
possible, with the plan of Bc7 and an eventual e5.}) 18. b5 $1 {Well timed.}
bxc5 19. dxc5 Be7 20. Rfc1 (20. Nb4 $1 {would've been a great way to continue
the pressure, as Wwhite would get a powerful pawn on c7} Nxc5 21. bxc6 Qc8 22.
c7 $1 $16) 20... g5 $5 {Aronian lashes out on the kingside, creating a
weakness but gaining time and space.} 21. Bg3 (21. Bxg5 $5 {was actually
possible} Rxc3 22. Qxc3 Ne4 23. bxc6 Qxc6 24. Ne5 Qc7 25. Qb2 Bxg5 26. Nxd7
Qxd7 27. c6 {and Black's pieces look ill prepared to stop the passed pawn.})
21... R8a5 22. Qd1 Bf8 (22... cxb5 {if Aronian knew what the future held for
him, he might've tried this line instead...} 23. c6 Qxc6 24. Nxb5 Qxb5 25. Rxb5
Rxb5 {when White is better, but not as much as in the game.}) 23. bxc6 Qxc6 24.
Nb4 $1 {White's iniative on the queenside is paying its dividends. The queen
must move away and make room for the powerful c-pawn to advance. Aronian sees
no hope in this and instead gives up his queen.} Qxc5 (24... Qa8 25. c6 Nc5 26.
c7 $18 {with too many threats.}) 25. Ncxd5 Nxd5 26. Rxc5 Rxc5 27. Nxd5 Rxd5 {
Unfortunately for Black, the g5-pawn allows White too many resources to create
threats against the black king. If the pawn were on g6, maybe it would have
been a different story.} 28. Qc2 Rc5 29. Qb2 Rd3 30. Ra1 Bg7 31. Ra8+ Nf8 32.
Qb8 Rcd5 33. Qe8 h6 34. Kh2 Rd2 35. Qe7 Rd7 36. Qe8 Kh7 37. Qb8 Rb2 38. Qc8 Kg6
39. Qc1 Rdb7 40. Rd8 Nh7 41. Qd1 R2b3 $2 {Levon cracks under pressure.} 42.
Qc2+ f5 43. Qc6 {With the weaknesses created by the forced f5 push,
penetration is around the corner} Nf8 44. Bd6 R3b6 45. Qe8+ Rf7 46. Bxf8 Be5+
47. g3 f4 48. Rd7 fxg3+ 49. Kg2 {Grischuk saved some amazing games in this
match, especially in game one of the classical and game three of the rapids.
Unlike his opponent, he was completely unforgiving when given a chance.} 1-0

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff rapid"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.09"]
[Round "1.8"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2744"]
[BlackElo "2790"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "1500+10"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 Nh5 8. Bd3
Nxf4 9. exf4 b6 10. b4 a5 11. a3 c6 12. O-O Qc7 13. g3 Ba6 14. Kg2 Bf6 15. Bxa6
Rxa6 16. Qc2 Rfa8 17. Rab1 axb4 18. axb4 Ra3 19. Rb3 Rxb3 20. Qxb3 Qb7 21. Rb1
h6 22. h4 h5 23. Ne5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff rapid"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.16"]
[Round "2.5"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A16"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2732"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 g6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Qa4+ Bd7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 a6 7. g3 $5 {
Not the most frequent continuation.} (7. d4 {is the main line,}) ({but} 7. e4 {
is also frequently played, with the idea of meeting} b5 {with} 8. Qe2 $5) 7...
b5 8. Qb3 c5 9. Bg2 ({Before this game, the text move usually transposed to
the more cautious} 9. d3 Nc6 10. Bg2 Bg7 11. Qd1 Rc8 12. Be3 Na5 13. Rc1 O-O
14. b3 Bc6 15. O-O Nb7 $11 {Wang Yue (2626)-Predojevic,B (2569)/Lausanne 2006/
CBM 115 (1/2, 53)}) 9... c4 $5 $146 {It is strange that this natural move had
never been tried before.} 10. Qd1 Nc6 11. b3 {The only way to question the
correctness of Black's strategy. White will get a pawn majority in the centre.}
({Black seems to be fine after} 11. O-O Bg7 12. d4 cxd3 13. Qxd3 O-O 14. Bf4
Rc8 15. Rfd1 Qb6 {followed by ...Rfd8. The long light diagonal has been
cleared and the g2-bishop has no target. On the contrary, the g7-bishop's
pressure may become annoying in the long run.}) 11... cxb3 12. axb3 {This
leaves the b4-square in Black's hands.} ({However,} 12. Qxb3 $6 {would have
been worse, because the queen has moved a lot already. Besides, after} Bg7 13.
O-O O-O {White should refrain from d2-d4 because this would allow ...Na5-c4
with gain of time and strong queenside pressure.}) 12... Bg7 13. d4 {White has
obtained a mobile pawn centre, but cannot take full advantage out of it. His
main problem is that d4-d5 can be comfortably answered with ...Nb4.} O-O 14.
O-O Rc8 15. Bb2 Qb6 16. Ne5 {This pseudo-active move delays White's
development.} (16. e4 {would have been a more consistent try.} Nb4 ({The
thematic} 16... Bg4 $6 {allows} 17. e5 Nd7 18. Nd5 $36) 17. Qd2 {with a more
or less typical Grünfeld type of position.}) 16... Rfd8 {Black has completed
his development and keeps the enemy pawn centre under control. His queenside
majority will soon start advancing.} 17. Nxd7 {This leads to further
activation of Black's pieces, but White had no reliable alternative since he
is slightly underdeveloped.} Rxd7 18. e3 {Given Black's strong pressure
against the centre, White has to restrict himself to such super-solid moves.}
e6 19. Rc1 Rdc7 {Black's piece placeemnt is very harmonious.} 20. Ne4 Nxe4 21.
Bxe4 a5 $1 {The advance of the a-pawn is not easy to meet. White already needs
to be thinking about maintaining equality.} 22. Qd2 a4 23. bxa4 bxa4 24. Ba3
Na5 25. Bc5 $6 {This attempt to maintain the tension will allow Black to
increase his pressure.} Qb5 26. Rb1 Nb3 27. Qa2 Bf8 $15 {The c-file will be
opened, leaving White in a very passive position. In the next phase of the
game, Black will miss several promising continuations.} 28. Bc2 $6 (28. Bxf8
Kxf8 $15) 28... Rb8 $6 (28... Bxc5 29. dxc5 Rb8 $17 {wins a pawn.}) 29. Bxf8
Kxf8 30. Rb2 Rc3 31. Ra1 Qc4 32. Bd1 Rb4 {Black's invasion is quite impressive,
but he needs to unblock the a-pawn in order to win. In the next phase, he
failed to notice that the exchange of queens would get him closer to this aim
and missed at least two promising continuations.} 33. Rab1 Kg7 (33... Nc1 34.
Qxc4 Rbxc4 $17) 34. Rc2 Qd3 (34... Rxc2 $5 35. Qxc2 (35. Bxc2 Nd2 36. Qxc4
Rxb1+ 37. Bxb1 Nxc4 38. Ba2 Nd2 39. f4 Ne4 40. Kf1 Nc3 41. Bc4 a3 $19) 35...
Nd2 $1 36. Qxc4 Rxc4 37. Ra1 a3 38. Kg2 Rc3 $17) 35. Rxc3 Qxc3 36. Bc2 f6 37.
h4 h6 $6 {Occupying the h6-square will allow White a saving idea based on
perpetual check.} 38. Kh2 $1 g5 39. Bxb3 $1 $11 Rxb3 40. Qxa4 Rxb1 41. Qd7+ Kg6
42. g4 gxh4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff rapid"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.16"]
[Round "2.5"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A31"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. g3 e5 $5 {At the top level, such
a hyper-ambitious, but also risky, move has never been tried. Against a
super-technical player like Kramnik, it looks suicidal, but Grischuk's
preparation proved to be very deep. The last move weakens two important
squares with one stroke, but wins time for rapid development and forces White
to waste some time with his central knight before getting on a favourable
route.} 6. Nb5 {Clearly the critical continuation, putting some pressure on d6,
but mainly aiming to stabilise the control over the d5-square with either N1c3
or N5c3.} Bb4+ $5 {A second surprise. This move has rarely been played and
apparently underestimated so far. Before playing ...d6, Black activates his
bishop with gain of time.} ({I twice faced the more passive} 6... d6 {, which
leads to an improved Sveshnikov for White.} 7. Bg2 $1 (7. Bg5 $6 {is premature,
allowing counterplay in the centre.} Be6 8. Nd2 (8. N1a3 {Spears,N-Basanta,G/
Victoria ch-BC 1990 (0-1, 27)} d5 9. cxd5 Bb4+ $36) 8... d5 9. cxd5 Bxd5 10. e4
Be6 11. Bc4 Bb4 12. Bxe6 fxe6 $132 {Filippov,V (2605)-Moiseenko,A (2501)/
Bydgoszcz 1999/EXT 2000 (0-1, 44)}) 7... Be6 (7... Be7 8. N1c3 a6 9. Na3 O-O
10. O-O h6 11. Be3 Bf5 $6 {It is better to develop the bishop to e6,
transposing below. On f5, the bishop is rather exposed than active.} 12. Qd2
Ng4 13. Nd5 Nxe3 14. Nxe3 Be6 15. Nd5 $16 {Marin,M (2604)-Bellon Lopez,J (2430)
/Gothenburg 2001/CBM 081/[Marin,M] (1-0, 67)}) 8. N1a3 Be7 ({Black is too slow
if he prevents Bg5 with} 8... h6 9. O-O Be7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Nd5 Rc8 {Rahman,Z 
(2557)-Zhumabaev,R (2405)/New Delhi 2006/CBM 110 ext (1-0, 37)} 12. Nb5 $1 $146
Ne8 13. Be3 $16) 9. O-O O-O 10. Bg5 Ne8 {Avoiding the unfavourable exchange
Bxf6, but losing a tempo.} 11. Be3 Nf6 12. Nc3 Qd7 13. Nd5 Rfc8 (13... Bxd5 14.
cxd5 $16) 14. Qd2 $14 {Marin,M (2530)-Lupu,M (2480)/Andorra 1996/CBM 54 ext/
[Marin,M] (1-0, 31)}) 7. N1c3 {The most logical way to fight for the
initiative.} (7. Bd2 a6 8. N5c3 ({Maybe} 8. Bxb4 {should be investigated, but
after} axb5 9. Bd6 Qa5+ 10. Nd2 Ne4 {it would be not easy for White to
maintain the blockade on d6.}) 8... d5 9. cxd5 Nxd5 $132 {Gutman,L (2460)
-Hornung,H (2200)/Bad Woerishofen 2005/EXT 2006 (1-0, 33)}) (7. N5c3 d5 $15)
7... d6 8. Bg2 $146 {I do not exclude the possibility that Kramnik had never
paaid serious attention to this line. Therefore, his novelty may have been the
fruit of over-the-board inspiration. The English Opening specialists are
familiar with the fact that in such strategically unbalanced positions White
should develop as quickly as possible.} ({Spending time on} 8. a3 {, which
also weakens the b3-square and, indirectly, the c4-pawn, hardly comes to mind
during a game between top players.} Bxc3+ 9. Nxc3 Be6 10. e4 ({This weakens d4,
but there was no favourable way of defending the pawn, for instance} 10. Qa4
Qa5 $15) ({Maybe he should have sacrificed it with} 10. Bg5 $5 {Black does not
seem to be in danger after} Bxc4 {, though.}) 10... Rc8 11. f3 (11. Be3 Ng4
$132) 11... a6 $6 (11... Qb6 $1 $15 {would leave White with difficult problems
with completing his development.}) 12. Be3 Na5 13. b3 b5 14. Nd5 $1 {After
this move, Black's counterplay is neutralised.} Nxd5 15. cxd5 Bd7 16. Rb1 O-O
17. Bg2 Nb7 ({This knight will remain passive on b7, so maybe he could have
considered} 17... f5 $5) 18. b4 Rc3 19. Rb3 Qc7 20. O-O ({White should have
taken just one more preventive measure against Black's counterplay:} 20. Bd2 $1
Rc2 21. Bf1 Qc8 22. Bd3 Rc7 23. O-O $14 {[%csl Gb7]}) 20... Rc8 21. Re1 Qc4
$132 {Knott,S (2333)-Edouard,R (2636)/Hastings 2010/CBM 140 Extra (1/2, 51).
Black's activity along the c-file compensates for the passive knight.}) 8... a6
{After this simple move, White will be left with chronic queenside weaknesses.}
9. Na3 {There is no reasonable alternative.} ({After} 9. Qa4 Bd7 $15 {the
knight will have to retreat anyway, leaving the queen in a dangerous
opposition with the d7-bishop.}) ({The intermediate} 9. a3 $2 {sadly does not
work because after} axb5 $19 {the a3-pawn is pinned.}) 9... Bxc3+ $1 {
Eliminating the knight that was closer to the d5-square.} ({From the
structural point of view,} 9... Bxa3 $6 {may be more tempting, because it
forces White to capture away from the centre, but after} 10. bxa3 O-O 11. O-O
Be6 12. Nd5 $14 {White remains in control of the position.}) 10. bxc3 O-O 11.
O-O ({With the king in the centre, the thematic} 11. Bg5 {is a bit premature
because of} Qa5 $5 12. Qc1 Nd7 13. O-O Nc5 $132) 11... h6 $5 {Highly ambitious
and maybe rightly so. Black intends to prove that the dark-squared bishop is a
bad piece.} ({There was nothing wrong with} 11... Be6 {, but White would not
have faced big problems either:} 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. Qxd6 Rfd8 15. Qc7
Rd7 16. Qb6 Qd8 $44) 12. Nc2 {White plays logical moves all the way, but will
get into an unpleasant position all-the-same. The knight manoeuvre to e3-d5 is
natural, but time consuming.} (12. Rb1 $5 {/\Be3 may be an alternative.}) 12...
Qc7 13. Ne3 Be6 14. Ba3 Rfd8 {Black has covered his weak squares and is ready
to attack the weak white pawns.} 15. Bb4 $2 {Aiming to prevent ...Na5, but
placing the bishop on a bad square.} ({The thematic} 15. Nd5 {offers Black
excellent play after} Bxd5 16. cxd5 Na5 $15 {with dreams of a complete
blockade on c5 and/or c4.}) (15. Rb1 {may be sounder, but Black has plenty of
counterplay anyway.} Na5 (15... b5 $5) 16. Qd3 Rac8 $5 (16... Rab8 17. Rfd1
Nxc4 18. Nxc4 Bxc4 19. Bxd6 Bxd3 20. Bxc7 Bxb1 21. Rxb1 $14) (16... Bxc4 17.
Nxc4 Nxc4 18. Rxb7 Qc8 19. Rb3 Ra7 $11) 17. Rb4 b6 $5 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. cxd5 b5
$132) 15... Rac8 (15... Bxc4 $5 {wins a pawn, for instance:} 16. Nxc4 Nxb4 17.
cxb4 Qxc4 18. Bxb7 Rab8 19. Rc1 Qxa2 $17) 16. Rb1 e4 $1 $15 {Once the
g2-bishop is neutralised, White's position in the centre becomes precarious.}
17. Qa4 $6 a5 (17... b5 $1 18. cxb5 axb5 $17 19. Qxb5 $6 Ra8 $1 {/\...Rdb8.}
20. Nf5 {The only way to save the queen, based on the threat Qxc6!} Kh8 $1 21.
Bxd6 Qd7 {and White loses material.}) 18. Ba3 Ne5 19. c5 $5 {The only hope to
get at least some saving chances.} dxc5 20. c4 Neg4 (20... Rd4 21. Bb2) (20...
Rd2 $5 21. Rb2 Rd4 22. Rc2 Nfg4 $17 {[%csl Gc4]}) 21. Nxg4 Bxg4 22. Qc2 Qd7 23.
Bb2 (23. Rfd1 Qe6 (23... Qe7 24. h3 Bf5 25. Rxd8+ Rxd8 26. Rb5) 24. Rxd8+ Rxd8
25. Bxc5 e3 $1 $17 26. Bxe3 $2 Bf5 $19) 23... Qd2 $15 24. Qxd2 Rxd2 25. Bxf6
gxf6 26. Bxe4 Bxe2 27. Rfc1 Rcd8 28. Bxb7 Rxa2 29. Bd5 Rd7 30. Rb5 Rc7 31. Rcb1
a4 32. Ra5 Kg7 33. Kg2 Bd3 34. Rb8 f5 35. Rba8 Bc2 36. Kf3 Be4+ $6 $11 {
There was no need for panic, because White did not have concrete threats yet.}
37. Bxe4 fxe4+ 38. Ke3 Rc2 39. Rxa4 Re7 40. Rd8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff rapid"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.16"]
[Round "2.6"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2785"]
[PlyCount "27"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[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 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 Nh5 8. b4
Nxf4 9. exf4 c6 10. Bd3 b6 11. O-O a5 12. a3 Qc7 13. g3 Ba6 14. Bxa6 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff rapid"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.16"]
[Round "2.6"]
[White "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B56"]
[WhiteElo "2732"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nf3 Be7 8. Bc4
O-O 9. O-O Be6 10. Bb3 Nc6 11. Qe2 Na5 12. Rfd1 Qc7 13. Bg5 Rac8 14. Bxf6 Bxf6
15. Rac1 {Overprotecting the c2-pawn in order to prepare Nc3-d5.} Nxb3 16. axb3
Qc6 $1 $146 {An interesting novely, planning an effective regrouping.} (16...
Qb6 17. Nd5 Bxd5 18. Rxd5 Rc6 19. Qd1 Qb4 20. Nd2 Bg5 21. f3 f5 22. exf5 Be3+
23. Kh1 Rxf5 24. Ra1 Bxd2 25. Ra4 Qb6 26. Qxd2 $14 {Nepomniachtchi,I (2706)
-Papaioannou,I (2622)/Khanty Mansiysk 2010/CBM 139 (1-0, 74)}) 17. Nd5 Bd8 18.
c4 f5 19. exf5 Bxf5 20. h3 Qe8 $1 {Initiating the final phase of the
regrouping.} 21. Rc3 Qg6 {Black has entirely adequate counterplay.} 22. Kh2 Kh8
23. b4 Be6 24. Re3 Qf7 25. b3 b5 26. Kh1 Qb7 27. Re4 Bf5 28. Re3 Be6 29. Re4
1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff rapid"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.16"]
[Round "2.7"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A34"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2732"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 g6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. g3 Bg7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c5 8.
Qa4 Nb4 $5 {A rare continuation, aiming to put some pressure on the white
queen.} (8... Nb6 {is the most popular continuation, but}) (8... Nc6 {has been
played frequently, too.}) 9. d3 Bd7 10. Qd1 Bc6 {White has lost two tempi with
the queen, but Black's minor pieces are not ideally placed. The game remains
unclear.} 11. Be3 Nd7 $1 $146 (11... b6 12. Qd2 (12. d4 $5 {may be a better
way to take advantage of the tempo spent on ...b6, which also has weakened the
c6-square.}) 12... Nd7 13. Bh6 Rc8 14. Rfd1 {Siebrecht,S (2380)-Ionescu,C 
(2290)/Cardiff 1997/EXT 1998 (1-0, 40). White has a flexible position, but
Black has nothing to worry about.}) 12. Rc1 ({Under the given circumstances,
opening the centre loses an exchange:} 12. d4 $2 Bxf3 13. Bxf3 cxd4) 12... Rc8
13. Qb3 e6 14. Rfd1 a5 15. Bg5 Qe8 (15... Qb6 $5 $11 {looks more natural.}) 16.
a3 $2 {A terrible blunder, which almost put Gelfand out of the race.} (16. Nd2
{or}) (16. Ne4 {, with the intention of clearing some space around the queen,
would have offered some chances to take advanatge of the queenside weaknesses.}
) 16... c4 $1 {Black wins material.} 17. Qxc4 Bxf3 18. Bxf3 Rxc4 19. dxc4 Nc6
20. Nb5 Nc5 21. b4 axb4 22. axb4 Nxb4 23. Rb1 Nba6 24. Nd6 Qa4 25. Nxb7 Nxb7
26. Bxb7 Qxc4 27. Bf3 h6 28. Be3 Nb4 29. Rbc1 Nc2 30. Ba7 Qa4 31. Bb6 Nd4 32.
Bxd4 Bxd4 33. Rd3 Bf6 34. Rc7 Rd8 0-1

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff rapid"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.16"]
[Round "2.7"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A34"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Marin,M"]
[PlyCount "130"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. e3 Nf6 5. d4 e4 ({Deviating from} 5... cxd4 6.
exd4 e4 {as played in the second game.}) 6. Ne5 g6 $5 $146 (6... cxd4 7. exd4 {
would have transposed back to the theoretical lines.}) 7. Rb1 $5 {(!!) A very
deep (and, to my understanding, strong) prophylactic move. White would like to
play b2-b3 and Bb2 in order to take advantage of the weakness of the long
diagonal, but he has to do it with care.} (7. b3 $6 {is premature because of}
cxd4 8. exd4 Qa5 $36 {The rook will prove useful on b1 in many situations.})
7... h5 8. Be2 Qe7 {This is the right moment, the one White was waiting for!}
9. b3 cxd4 (9... Nxe5 10. dxe5 Qxe5 11. Bb2 $36 {the bishop is defended, which
makes Nb5 inevitable, with strong initiative.}) 10. exd4 d6 (10... Nxe5 11.
dxe5 Qxe5 12. O-O $44 {based on} Qxc3 13. Bb2 $36 {Again, the rook move proves
useful.}) 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bg5 Bf5 13. O-O Bh6 {The pin has to be released
somehow, even if this means giving up the right to castle.} (13... Bg7 14. f3
$36) 14. Bxh6 Rxh6 15. Qc1 Rh8 16. Qf4 Kf8 17. b4 Kg7 18. Rb3 h4 19. h3 $14 {
White's position is very promising at this stage, because of his clear
queenside plan and stability on the dark squares. Grischuk eventually managed
to survive, but the position certainly was no fun for him!} Rae8 20. b5 c5 21.
Qe3 Rd8 22. a4 d5 23. cxd5 Nxd5 24. Nxd5 Rxd5 25. dxc5 Qxc5 26. a5 Qxe3 27.
fxe3 Rb8 28. Rc1 a6 29. Rcb1 Be6 30. Rb4 axb5 31. Rxb5 Rbxb5 32. Bxb5 Rd2 33.
Ra1 Bd5 34. a6 Rb2 35. Bf1 Kf6 36. Ra5 Rd2 37. Rc5 Ke6 38. Ra5 Kd6 39. Bc4 Rd1+
40. Kh2 Ba8 41. Bxf7 Rd3 42. a7 Kc7 43. Rb5 Bb7 44. Ra5 Ba8 45. Re5 Kb6 46. Re7
g5 47. Bg6 Rxe3 48. Kg1 Ra3 49. Bxe4 Bxe4 50. Rxe4 Kxa7 51. Kf2 Kb6 52. Re5 g4
53. hxg4 Rg3 54. Re4 Kc5 55. g5 Rxg5 56. Rxh4 Kd5 57. Rf4 Ke5 58. Rf8 Ke6 59.
Rf3 Ke5 60. Rf7 Ke6 61. Rf8 Ke5 62. Kg1 Rf5 63. Rxf5+ Kxf5 64. Kf1 Kf4 65. Kf2
Kg4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff rapid"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.16"]
[Round "2.8"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2785"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[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 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 Nh5 8. Bd3
1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates Tournament playoff rapid"]
[Site "Kazan"]
[Date "2011.05.16"]
[Round "2.8"]
[White "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2732"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "CB"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2011.05.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 143"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2011.07.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6 5. Nb3 Nf6 6. Nc3 e6 7. Bd3 Be7 8.
O-O O-O 9. a4 d6 10. Be3 Qc7 11. f4 b6 12. Qf3 Bb7 13. Nb5 Qb8 14. c3 e5 15. f5
a6 16. Na3 d5 17. Nd2 Qd8 18. Bf2 d4 19. Qe2 Re8 20. Nb3 Nd7 21. Kh1 Bxa3 22.
Rxa3 Nc5 23. Bc4 Na5 24. Nxa5 bxa5 25. Qh5 $2 (25. Bxf7+ $1 Kxf7 26. Qc4+ $18)
25... Qc7 26. Bd5 Bxd5 27. exd5 Ne4 28. Bg1 Qc4 29. Raa1 Qxd5 30. Rad1 d3 31.
Qf3 Rad8 32. Rfe1 Nf6 33. Qxd5 Rxd5 34. c4 Rd7 35. Bb6 e4 36. c5 Rc8 37. h3 h5
38. Kg1 h4 39. Bxa5 Rxc5 40. Bc3 Rc4 41. Bxf6 gxf6 42. b3 Rb4 43. Kf2 Rd5 44.
Ke3 Rxf5 45. Rc1 Rg5 46. Rc4 Rxc4 47. bxc4 Rxg2 48. c5 Re2+ 49. Rxe2 dxe2 50.
Kxe2 Kf8 0-1

