tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56522610696883993592024-03-13T01:50:39.666+00:0064 squaresWORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2014
GAME 01 after move 42.....Re3 rather than Re2
jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.comBlogger149125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-11083085688268646042014-11-10T15:16:00.002+00:002014-11-10T15:19:14.599+00:00WWC 2014 game 02<br />
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jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-10194143029256723012014-11-10T02:27:00.001+00:002014-11-10T02:27:44.511+00:00<br />
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jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-40073466570769016202014-11-09T06:09:00.000+00:002014-11-09T06:10:21.141+00:00WCC game 1 after 42.....Re3!!<br />
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<span align="left"> <iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/20141a.htm" frameborder="0" width="750" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-2103727105853440392012-04-25T18:06:00.003+01:002013-11-20T20:19:05.833+00:00ARONIAN VS KRAMNIK GAME 4ARONIAN and KRAMNIK DRAW in another Berlin Wall<br />
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Interesting game with twists and turns.<br />
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<!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://192.185.13.140/~prinny/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>Janine Bolléehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09857073674960699155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-8610425986017910702012-04-25T05:56:00.005+01:002014-09-22T09:53:57.562+01:00KRAMNIK - ARONIAN GAME 03<span style="font-weight:bold;">KRAMNIK WINS ROUND THREE.</span><br />
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All even now, after today's lively game.<br />
A pleasure to follow and I have no favourite but am glad that they are even now.<br />
Although tomorrow Aronian will play with White and have the ascendance.<br />
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1.e4 suddenly became Novelty of the week.<br />
For Kramnik anyways. He hasn't played this for six years.<br />
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Then he goes on to surprise Aronian by turning the game into a Scotch.<br />
Another first which means Aronian has to delve into his own past.<br />
Today's game was such fun because in a way they weren't straining at the leash of a serious game. I'm not even sure this will count towards the ratings.<br />
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Obviously Aronian was going for a win to start with.Move 5...Bc5 [and then to -b6-]rather than pushing further to -b4- is a witness to that.<br />
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And then comes the first coup-de-foudre: preparation for 0-0-0 from White 7.Qd2 followed by the push 9...d5, which was becoming a necessity after what Black played up till then and leading to that spectacular Queen sacrifice.<br />
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They did us proud today: it was fun, witty even, in a poetic sort of way, and Kramnik especially, very competent.Janine Bolléehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09857073674960699155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-79878357734362499362012-04-22T17:20:00.006+01:002013-11-20T20:18:14.593+00:00ARONIAN VS KRAMNIK Zurich round 2<iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=auto src="http://www.prinny.com/no/ZURICH2.htm" frameborder="0" width="900" height="650"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-weight:bold;">AFTERTHOUGHTS</span>:<br />
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This <span style="font-weight:bold;">Berlin Wall variation of the Ruy Lopez</span>, [or Spanish Game as it is now called,] has a tendency to become <span style="font-weight:bold;">queenless</span> early on. In this particular game as early as move 8.<br />
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Aronian didn't show any discomfort or even surprise at the opening and followed the main line.<br />
By move 18 we are left with <span style="font-weight:bold;">opposite coloured Bishops</span>, which invariably leads to a draw.<br />
As does the symmetrical pawn formation that is now evident. So jockeying for position and tiny steps forward from both sides, trying to get a foot in the door and a small advantage. <br />
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The feel of a draw persisted until White provided a glimmer of hope for a rekindling of the embers by playing 22.a4, to be followed by a5 on the next move and then the rather nice 24.Nb5. This happened right after Kramnik had offered a draw, which Aronian declined. Kramnik's move 19...Nf5 raised a few eyebrows. He played this very quickly and it isn't deemed the best choice. Don't know why he was in such a hurry to draw, as it would have meant playing a rapid as per Zurich rules. Anyways, the game trundled on. Probably to avoid just that and nothing much happened, not even after a4-a5-Nb5.<br />
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In the unlikely event of anybody being interested:<br />
You can play the moves by clicking the arrows below the board.<br />
The black dot will give you <span style="font-weight:bold;">AUTOPLAY</span><br />
Clicking the moves in the list on the right also works.<br />
<span style="font-weight:bold;">Red</span> moves are the actual moves that were played [in chess parlance that is called TEXT].<br />
<span style="font-weight:bold;">Green</span> moves are possible variations and leading off those are the brown moves.<br />
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<!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>Janine Bolléehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09857073674960699155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-90679249610964374322012-04-21T16:11:00.005+01:002012-04-22T17:30:03.267+01:00KRAMNIK - ARONIAN GAME 01Did 16...Qe6 surprise Kramnik in the opening game of their duel in Zurich?<br />Luckily no boring Petroff from Kramnik today.We got a D43 Semi-Slav, which proceeded along normal lines until 12.e4, where we might have expected a Queen move, either Qc2 or possibly Qe2.<br /><br />Now Kramnik as White, has used up 30 mins' thinking time and he seems to be <span style="font-weight:bold;">overlooking the fact that 18.b3 is not nearly as treacherous as he thinks it is.</span><br />...<span style="font-weight:bold;">18.cxb3</span> is the most like reply and even ...18.Ba6 or ...18.c3 are not harmful to White. Anything else played by Black would be advantageous for White, so is unlikely to be played.<br /><br />But Kramnik chickens out and <span style="font-weight:bold;">offers a draw</span>, which Aronian accepts. A draw as Black is pretty good. A draw as White is not.<br /><br />What a blow. And to think that i was looking forward to this match. To make matters worse, it is hailing outside and I can't even walk off my irritation without getting soaked.<br /><br />People have travelled to watch this. Now we get a Blitz game as a consolation prize. Well, they can keep it. <br /><br />It seems that Kramnik has some sort of strategy for his opening games in an importan match: testing the opponent's memory by forcing a long complicated line on him. If Black chugs along and is obviously in his comfort zone of preparation, than Kramnik as White simply ducks out by offering a draw. That means he can go home and prepare next day's game in peace. <br /><br />It seems that is <span style="font-weight:bold;">just what he did today by playing 7.e3</span> and then building up to <span style="font-weight:bold;">12.e4</span>, which struck me as a testing move at the time, but then it became clear that Aronian was onto it and Kramnik's direction veered towards the draw.<br /><br />A Queen move for White, <span style="font-weight:bold;">12.Qc2 or 12.Qe2</span> would have been a <span style="font-weight:bold;">normal progression</span>, with still a decisive advantage of White.<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=auto src="http://www.prinny.com/no/ZURICH1.htm" frameborder="0" width="900" height="550"></iframe><br />In the unlikely event of anybody being interested:<br />You can play the moves by clicking the arrows below the board.<br />The black dot will give you <span style="font-weight:bold;">AUTOPLAY</span><br />Clicking the moves in the list on the right also works.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Red</span> moves are the actual moves that were played [in chess parlance that is called TEXT].<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Green</span> moves are possible variations and leading off those are the brown moves.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-18448763586226458172011-01-25T16:23:00.005+00:002011-01-25T16:32:40.698+00:00Tata round 9Nakamura and Anand draw in a mixed Queens Indian - Nimzo<br /><br />KRAMNIK JOINS THE TOP TWO.<br /><br />It looked like Anand had winning chances, but then it petered out into a draw.<br />Play-through game with a few of my thoughts as they went along.<br /><br /><br /><span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/hakavsanand.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-19849357315246031722011-01-23T16:36:00.004+00:002011-01-24T13:01:09.802+00:00Tata Round 8Finally a proper game in the A group.<br /><br />CARLSEN BEATS NAKAMURA in a fascinating Najdorf.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/carlsennakamura.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe><br /><br /><br />How satisfying.<br />By the end of the day, Nakamura and Anand will still be in the lead on 5.5, and the other top contenders now share on 5 points.<br /><br />Thank you Magnus, you have restored my faith in top chess.jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-8120135893081158382011-01-17T15:15:00.001+00:002011-01-17T15:17:54.007+00:00Tata 2011 round 3Nakamura versus Shirov<br /><br />Ruy Archangel C78<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">First 30 moves with my thoughts as it happened,<br /> to play through on live board.<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/tataround3.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-56520022125944512982011-01-16T15:21:00.003+00:002011-01-16T15:35:47.722+00:00Tata Round 2Anand versus Kramnik<br /><br /><br />OK, so it was another short draw,<br />but it was a bon-bon of a game.<br />Kramnik set Anand a puzzle at various stages of these 23 moves.<br />Anand worked them out and managed to hang in there.<br /><br /><br /><span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/anandkramnik.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span><br /><br /><br />Sorry:<br />The Reykjavik bit in the live page is a mistake.<br />I am too tired to go back and take it out.<br /><br />So for <span style="font-weight:bold;">Reykjavik</span> read <span style="font-weight:bold;">Wijk aan Zee </span><br /><br />Not so different, linguistically, actually:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Wijk </span> and <span style="font-weight:bold;">vik</span> both been <span style="font-weight:bold;">place</span> as it happens.<br /><br />In case you want to pronounce it anywhere understandably:<br /><br /> <blockquote>[Vake arn Say] would do it.</blockquote><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-40461876479665532902011-01-15T13:02:00.018+00:002011-01-16T11:10:23.190+00:00Tata game 1Carlsen versus Aronian<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br /><br />Spineless draw or unavoidable rep draw after less than optimum moves from both sides by move 20??<br /><br /><br />After move 13....Nb4</span><br /><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KVmbU6WmgU8/TTGboAhX4nI/AAAAAAAAFmQ/pf-aEjrlDd8/s400/tata01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562398126416323186" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KVmbU6WmgU8/TTGbUF-esKI/AAAAAAAAFmI/Tj-LsMjp78c/s400/tata01a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562397784283197602" /><br /><br /><br /><div class='widget-content'><br /><img alt='' height='505' id='Image1_img' src='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KVmbU6WmgU8/TTLRM56eijI/AAAAAAAAFmo/RkjDM5KeCU4/S1600-R/tata02a.jpg' width='400'/><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KVmbU6WmgU8/TTGmRdSsxCI/AAAAAAAAFmY/RJixipshoHk/s400/tata02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562409833630319650" /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">After 18.h4</span><br /><br /><!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe><br /><br />And then Aronian moves his d-pawn one square too many.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">18.....d5? when 18...d6 might have been wiser.</span><br /><br /><br />CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">After 18...d5 19.Qf4 dxc4, Carlsen forgot to move his Queen to =h6= first and played<br /> 19...bxc4?</span><br /><br />Let's hope I see it wrong.<br /><br />Ahhhh<br />Carlsen is let off.<br />Aronian misses the good continuation and puts his a-Rook on the wrong square.<br />20...Rad8 would not have been so brill for White.<br />Come to think of it, playing 20...Kh8 before playing 20...Rab8 would have led to a nice little earner for Black.<br /><br />20.bxc4 Kh8<br />21.Rh3 Rab8<br />22.Re3 RxR<br />23.fxR Qa5<br />24.Qd4 Qa2+<br />25.Kc1 Re8<br /><br />Not too shabby for Black, what?<br /><br />I'm sticking with it: bxc4 was impetuous and non-rewarding.<br /><br />Again, I hope I'm totally wrong.<br />And let's face it: Carlsen has his share of good fortune.<br /><br />Ahhhhhhh they draw ......<br /><br /><br />This does not make me at all happy.<br />Bring on the LONDON CLASSIC effect of fewer points for draws.jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-89147645983329996192010-12-12T02:24:00.001+00:002010-12-12T02:26:13.922+00:00Luke McShane had a draw against Adams while Anand came out with a win. <br />They now share the lead after four rounds.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-42226628447608419812010-12-10T17:55:00.002+00:002010-12-10T18:08:03.566+00:00LONDON CLASSIC ROUND 3Whilst Carlsen as Black is trying to swindle Anand in a lost position, McShane is holding his own as White against Kramnik.<br /><br />The youngsters aren't pulling any punches against the old guard. Like lat year, this tourney is providing ample entertainment and fascinating chess.<br /><br />Carlsen is doing his usual time squeeze trick, but Anand knows how to handle this and isn't going to be tripped up. Still, time is of the essence, with 3 minutes for two tricky moves.<br /><br />McShane is hanging in there, with a marginal equilibrium against Kramnik, but here also 2 moves needed with one minute each<br /><br /><br /><br /><!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-37531209017218943262010-12-09T17:44:00.006+00:002010-12-10T10:39:35.317+00:00LONDON Round 2Is McShane the new Carlsen?<br /><br />Playing black against Short, Luke McShane is playing another canny game.<br />By move 15.Qd3 Nxb2, he has tipped the balance and is ready to fork White's Queen and Rook. <br />The King will take this Knight of course, but after levelling exchanges the black position is strenghtened and Black will be able to push into the kingside, even though the king isn't actually there at the minute.<br /><br />A draw at least. probably not more, as there is little chance of wringfooting White from hereonin. Still, a draw as black is not bad. I still think that this has to be rewarded more than a draw as White.<br /><br />But McShane isn't in it for the draw and rejects the obvious, playing for a win, he rejects taking the b2 pawn and plays 15....Qc6 instead.<br />Wonderful stuff.<br /><br />And then we get to the question of the =g5= square:<br />Whoever gets on there by move 21 has the win in hand.<br /><br />Both refuse. What kept them off of it until the golden moment had passed I wonder.<br /><br /> <blockquote>1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2<br />Nc6 9. g4 Be6 10. Nxe6 fxe6 11. O-O-O Rc8 12. Bc4 Qd7 13. Bb3 Na5 14. h4 Nc4<br />15. Qd3 Qc6 16. Ne2 Nd7 17. Nd4 Qa6 18. f4 e5 19. fxe5 Ndxe5 20. Qe2 Kh8 21. h5<br />gxh5 22. g5 Ng4 23. Bg1 Nce3 24. Qxa6 bxa6 25. Bxe3 Nxe3 26. Rd3 Bxd4 27. Rxd4<br />Rc5 28. Rd3 Ng2 29. Rg3 Nf4 30. Kd2 Re5 31. Re1 Kg7 32. Ke3 Kg6 33. c3 Rxg5 34.<br />Rxg5+ Kxg5 35. Rg1+ Kh6 36. e5 dxe5 37. Ke4 Ng6 38. Bc4 a5 39. Kd5 Rf2 40. b4<br />axb4 41. cxb4 h4 42. a4 h3 43. a5 h2 44. Rh1 Kg5 45. b5 Kg4 46. b6 axb6 47. a6<br />Kg3 48. a7 Rf8 49. Kc6 Nf4 50. Ra1 e4 51. Ba6 Nh3 52. Bb7 Ng1 0-1</blockquote><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-22964252424371438962010-12-08T20:13:00.001+00:002010-12-09T17:27:45.499+00:00LONDON CLASSIC Round #1McShane played a blinder, and didn't put a foot wrong in round 1.<br />Admittedly Carlsen is not back to his best, but this time it wasn't so mych a falling off by black as a very well thought out game by White.<br /><br />White's win hinged around move 10.Qb3. considered a novelty. It took the Queen to waht appeared to be a dead end on the queenside, when Qb3 was folled by 12.Qa3. <br /><br />By then she had nowhere to go and this was pounced upon by Black to then played 12..a5, locking her in completely.<br /><br />Rather than taking the Knight to the kingside by palying the customary 10.Nf3, White knotted up the queenside to tempt black into a onesided game, where being White with a move in hand really paid off.<br /><br />White seemed to totally ignore the rest of the board and 14.b4 was utterly daring, when 14.e3 would have been a conservative continuation.<br /><br />Black was probably not sure where this was going and did some futile up and down moves with the a-Rook. It might have been wiser to bring his knight forward with 13. Ne5 14.c5 Nc4, where there was at least some active participation in a queenside scuffle.<br /><br />All going well, and it DID go well, White had it won there and then. making black lose yet another tempo was the foot in the door and White kept on pushing from then on.<br /><br />Now e3 was perfect, with the scene set for a solid defence against an attack that wasn't forthcoming. 13...a4 wasn't going anywhere and the belated 16...Bg7 had the sting taken out as the Queen was on the other diagonal. some may suggest she was sidelined, but in my book she was merely biding her time on an excellent defensive square.<br /><br />17.....Qb6 seemed lame. More a reflex move that a thought out attack. And so it proved. There was too much hardware between the black Queen and the white King to make the -b6- square worthwhile. White didn't even have to lose a tempo with making Luft by h3.<br /><br />Now the white Knight leisurely makes its way to =b4 and the Queen can either retrace her steps to=d8= or be sidelined on =a5=. Not a pleadant choice. Carlsen switches to the kingside with 19...f5, but this is too little too late and doesn't work out at all.<br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-978637381057508942010-10-29T10:58:00.001+01:002010-10-29T10:59:59.975+01:00NANJING #9TOPALOV VS CARLSEN<br /><br />Topalov falters towards move 30 and loses to Carlsen, who is now unbeatable.<br /><br /><br /><!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-14812774856126027722010-10-28T09:24:00.005+01:002010-10-29T11:00:34.966+01:00NANJING #8WANG VS CARLSEN<br /><br />Catalan E00<br /><br />Carlsen is back to his inventive playing style again.<br />What a relief, after the pussyfooting performance in Bilbao.<br /><br />Today it is Wang who is being subjected to a confusing notation.<br /><br /><blockquote>To an outsider like myself, it looks as if Carlsen is singing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order.<br /></blockquote><br /><br />Fun though, but highly irritating to opponents I shouldn't wonder, even though entertaining for us viewers from afar.<br /><br />Time wise, todays method is being successful as Wang is 40 minutes behind on the clock already, and we are only on move 19.<br /><br /><br />In contrast to Bacrot and Gashimov, who are giving short shrift today, with a 14 move draw. I don't inow if anything was physically wrong with either of them, but it leaves a bad after taste. The organizers must be displeased.<br /><br /><br /><div class='widget-content'><br /><img alt='' height='558' id='Image1_img' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KVmbU6WmgU8/TMk4syMmIgI/AAAAAAAAFF0/7pqABhw_qfA/S1600-R/nanjing01.jpg' width='515'/><br /></div><br /><br /><br />........and five minutes later, they too duck out with a draw.<br /><br /><!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-18693697173066929102010-10-27T10:00:00.008+01:002010-10-29T11:00:17.898+01:00NANJING #7Carlsen and Anand into yet another Berlin Wall.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />CARLSEN MOVES HIS KING TO =g2= ONE MOVE TOO SOON:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">29.Kg2,</span> when <br />29.Qg4 first, would elicit 29...Kh8, and THEN <span style="font-weight:bold;">30. Kg2</span> is fine and dandy.<br /><br />A novelty from Black on move <span style="font-weight:bold;">11....Nce7 </span>rather than <span style="font-weight:bold;">11. Re8</span> as per usual.<br /><br />On Move 18 Anand played <span style="font-weight:bold;">18...Nf8</span>, when a kingside sortie starting with <span style="font-weight:bold;">18....Bh3</span>, might have been an interesting idea and slightly more fruitful, although the engine perceived march of the a-pawn from White might have been mere pie-in-the-sky.<br />Interesting though.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br /><blockquote>WHY IS THERE ALWAYS SUCH A BLIND HURRY TO PLAY MOVE 41????????</span></blockquote><br /><br />Anand, with 12 mins left on the clock, plays a daft move 40...Kg7, when 40....Qe7 would have done nicely for him to get through the time portal.<br /><br />Then White, with 20 mins to spare after he already played move 40, now doesn't bother to take advantage of Black's less than perfect move, and goes for 41.b3????<br />when 41.Rh3 would have been great.<br /><br />Why that hurry after move 40? <br />Why don't they go for a quick walk around the corridors, or the room even?<br /><br />I'm fed up.<br />I expect near perfection from the great.<br />Especially when they are not under any pressure.<br /><br />If I can see it, so should they.<br /><br />I'm out of here.<br />Not worth wasting sunshine for.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Notation/game later.<br />Possibly.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-22746732089979967642010-10-26T08:35:00.009+01:002010-10-26T11:14:58.325+01:00Nanjing #6BACROT VS CARLSEN<br /><br />E15 Queen's Indian<br /><br />By move 11 they are still following Savon versus Kalugin, Karkhov UKR, 2000. 1-0 in 25 moves.<br /><br /><div class='widget-content'><br /><img alt='' height='295' id='Image1_img' src='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KVmbU6WmgU8/TMaGEblvpEI/AAAAAAAAFFc/RAt3Tqp2A00/S1600-R/nan01.jpg' width='603'/><br /></div><br /><br /><div class='widget-content'><br /><img alt='' height='472' id='Image1_img' src='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KVmbU6WmgU8/TMaTqIrrjyI/AAAAAAAAFFs/DUtiuaxU5sY/S1600-R/nanjing02.jpg' width='603'/><br /></div><br /><br /><br />On move 20 Bacrot chooses to make a King move, <span style="font-weight:bold;">20.Kf2</span>, when <span style="font-weight:bold;">20.Bh3 </span>seemed preferable. <br />However, it throws Carlsen into confusion and he comes up with <span style="font-weight:bold;">20...Nd8</span>, when <span style="font-weight:bold;">20...Nb4</span> looks better.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />WHAT WAS WRONG WITH 32.g4</span><br /><br /><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-31805239008870464322010-10-23T13:57:00.008+01:002010-10-23T17:45:44.874+01:00Nanjing round 4Gashimov almost got him!<br /><br />Carlsen skated on thin ice, but after move 60 he tired his opponent enough to get away with a draw.<br /><br />Anand as Black, came a cropper against Bacrot. But whatever line was tried stayed a secret. <br /><br />On move 30.Ke1 Black played Rxb2, where almost any other move would have pleased the engines better.<br /><br />But, more importantly:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">If Anand had played 29....e5</span>, things would have taken a very different turn indeed.<br />He didn't move his -e-pawn until move 44 and by that time the effect had worn off.<br /><br /><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KVmbU6WmgU8/TMLdaWifKeI/AAAAAAAAFEo/o1A-F6GLlMg/s400/nanjing01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531226737160956386" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/bacrotanand.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-92128792824188218922010-10-15T18:16:00.005+01:002013-11-01T20:47:02.823+00:00BILBAO #6The final round and I am following Anand versus Carlsen.<br /><br />Kramnik and Shirov have drawn.<br />Anand and Carlsen are still embroiled in a Closed Ruy, Breyer Variation.<br /><br />After a steady and even development, Calsen edged forward with a well planned preparation for a kingside attack. Sadly, by the time he had everything in place, the target area had disappeared. Anand yet again did his wizard impression and it was a case of "now you see me - nw you don't".<br /><br />Towards move 40, Anand with 11 mins versus Carlsens's 4, has turned things around in his favour.<br /><br />I am puttin up the game as is, with no firm outcome, but a likelihood of a draw is fast disappearing, as Carlsen seems a bit rattled by his lack of time.<br /><br /><span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/masters.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span><br /><br /><br />Anand seems to slip up on move 40 where he plays 40.Bxf4, when 40.Nf3 might have given him a sound advantage.<br />Oh well...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-17441979224903926452010-10-14T19:25:00.007+01:002010-10-14T19:46:04.106+01:00BILBAO #5Carlsen and Shirov launched into a Ruy of Archangle proportions.<br /><br />Onischuk qui mal-y-pense.<br /><br />A sober sort of game without fireworks but the occasional damp squib.<br />Particularly in Carlsen's move 17.Na7, where others had taken the Knight back to a peaceful home corner.<br /><br />This ruffled the complacent queenside and initiated Blacks eventual downfall.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/carlsenshirov.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span><br /><br /><br /><blockquote>Well, they went on to move 62 apparently but the outcome was the same.<br />Just to show you how superfluous the remainder of the game was.<br />Rybka said:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">(0:01.35)} {+299.83|d22} {White has a decisive advantage})</span></blockquote><br /><br /><br /><blockquote><br />My genius friend <span style="font-weight:bold;">Colin McGourty</span> from <span style="font-weight:bold;">chessintranslation</span> has been doing a sterling job of translation the lovely Sergey Shipov's commentary from Russian into delightful English.<br /><br />Unfortunately late into the game his transmission went a little quirky and he has asked me to advise passers-by that the remainder of today's game can be found <a href="http://www.chessintranslation.com/2010/10/shipovs-live-commentary-on-carlsen-shirov/"><span style="font-weight:bold;">HERE</span></a></blockquote><br /><br /><br /><br /><!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-51729623255185319902010-10-13T17:42:00.009+01:002010-10-14T19:43:53.928+01:00BILBAO#4Carlsen has White against Kramnik and chooses the English again.<br />Not riding as high as a year ago in London, he may be trying to get comfort from his previous success.<br /><br />Still, Kramnik has proven to be well prepared in everything they throw at him.<br />He has been playing fast and shows confidence and deep preparation.<br /><br />The English turned into the Reversed Dragon and they followed a game played by Burkov and Barkhatov in 2006, 1/2, until move 15.<br /><br />The queenside became congested by move 27 and as neither side was prepared to stick his neck out to free it all up again, they shifted their attention to the kingside for a pawn confrontation.<br />So far, move 35, the game is balanced and not exactly on a knife edge.<br /><br />It seems time is not going to be of the essence as they trundle along to the 40 move time portal.<br /><br />Here are the first 40 moves to play through.<br /><br /><span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/bilbao4.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span><br /><br />They staggered on for another 30-odd moves and came to the draw they could have had here.<br /><br />=========<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe>jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652261069688399359.post-44694204568130707212010-10-11T18:24:00.006+01:002010-10-12T21:28:22.652+01:00BILBAO #3Anand versus Kramnik<br />Catalan <br /><br />A rapidly played game where both players seem to have had deep preparation.<br />Kramnik's research going right up till the end.<br /><br />An inevitable draw.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/spain.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><!--<span align="left"><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.prinny.com/no/====.htm" frameborder="0" width="650" scrolling="no" height="700"></iframe></span>--><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling=no src="http://www.blog-in.com/n/nc.html" frameborder="0" width="2" height="2"></iframe><br /><br />=====<br /><!--<br />Below the pgn file with the commentary and variations suggested by the lovely Sergey Shipov, so ably translated by the equally lovely Colin Gourty.<br /><br />I took the liberty of making the featured variations live, so they can be played on the engines. (Took me hours, I have you know:-)<br /><br />====<br /><a href="http://www.prinny.com/no/vv/Shipov3.pgn">pgn file <span style="font-weight:bold;">HERE</span></a><br /><br />====<br /><br /><br />[Event "BILBAO #3SHIPOV + variations"]<br />[Site "?"]<br />[Date "2010.10.11"]<br />[Round "3"]<br />[White "Anand, v"]<br />[Black "Kramnik, v"]<br />[Result "1/2-1/2"]<br />[ECO "E04"]<br />[Annotator ",jo"]<br />[PlyCount "65"]<br />[EventDate "2009.02.17"]<br /><br />{Hello dear chess fans and experts! Today along with me, Grandmaster Sergey<br />Shipov, you'll see the key game of the round, and perhaps the whole tournament.<br />Anand and Kramnik are internationally recognised titans of chess who've<br />already been competing against each other for 20 years. They've fought for the<br />world title (and who knows, perhaps they will again), and it looks as though<br />they'll fight for first place in this tournament. Vladimirs ahead at the<br />moment with a 100% performance, and Vishy can only overtake him by winning<br />their individual encounter. Having the white pieces is an excellent reason for<br />aggression. No, no, I don't want to give the impression that this current game<br />will decide absolutely everything. After all, we've still got the second half<br />to come in which, by the way, Anand will have white against the underachievers.<br />The champion's had an excellent start - 1.5 points in two black games. That's<br />a good foundation to build upon. And of course you have to take into account<br />Shirov and Carlsen - they're capable of inflicting damage on the leaders. In<br />general, there's a lot to look forward to. But for now let's watch the clash<br />of the titans.} 1. d4 {We're not going to see a duel in the Petroff.} Nf6 2. c4<br />e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 {But there will be a duel in the Catalan. Remember that it<br />was just this opening that Anand made his main weapon in the championship<br />match with Topalov. And after such grand events, as a rule, a lot of unused<br />analysis remains. So we wait for it to be revealed} dxc4 {<br />The most principled move. Black takes everything he can get his hands on.} 5.<br />Bg2 Nc6 {And by putting pressure on d4 tries to hold on to what he's won.} 6.<br />Qa4 {An attempt to reestablish the balance. [After 6. 0-0 Rb8! that's<br />already problematic.]} (6. O-O Rb8) 6... Bb4+ {<br />Combining development and support for the pawn.} 7. Bd2 Nd5 {The knight's<br />going either to b4, or to b6, with the same aim - to hold on to the pawn. Or<br />to achieve favourable simplifications.} 8. Bxb4 {<br />[After 8. 0-0 there's the strong 8...Nb6!]} (8. O-O Nb6) 8... Ndxb4 9. O-O {<br />One of many topical tracks. [The sharpest line 9.a3 b5! 10.Qxb5 Nc2+ 11.<br />Kd2 Bd7 is, in essence, a competition in very deep analysis. It appears that<br />black holds.] [On 9.Nc3 it's now popular to reply: 9...Bd7 10.O-O a5!] <br />[While on 9.Na3 there's a6! In general, the theory here is enormous and has<br />many branches.]} (9. a3 b5 10. Qxb5 Nc2+ 11. Kd2 Bd7) (9. Nc3 Bd7 10. O-O a5) (<br />9. Na3 a6) 9... Rb8 {Holding on to the pawn with his claws. His claws!<br />Threatening the b7-b5 push. [Here it was clearly out of place to play 9..<br />.0-0 because of 10. a3! Nd5 11. Qxc4 Nb6 12. Qc3 and, as practice has shown,<br />the 12...e5 break in the centre doesn't give black quite enough.]} (9... O-O<br />10. a3 Nd5 11. Qxc4 Nb6 12. Qc3 e5) 10. Na3 {Repulsing the threat and creating<br />the first, though not yet dangerous, attack on the key c4 pawn.} O-O {<br />Right on time. For now 11. Nxc4? doesn't work because of 11b5.} 11. Qb5 {<br />The queen/^s zigzag is essential to win back the pawn. [Patient moves<br />already lead to the ruin of white's whole strategy. For example, 11. e3a6!]} (<br />11. Nxc4 b5) 11... b6 {Black uses the travels of the white queen in his own<br />selfish interests - successfully completing development and getting new points<br />to attack. For example, the e2 pawn.} 12. Qxc4 Ba6 13. Nb5 {<br />There's nothing else.} Qd5 {<br />Forcing the queen exchange and new weaknesses in the white ranks.} 14. Qxd5<br />Nxd5 15. a4 {[The pawn sacrifice 15.Nc3 Nxc3 16.bxc3 Bxe2 17.Rfe1 was clearly<br />insufficient even for equality - 17...Bxf3! 18.Bxf3 Ne7 and so on]} (15. Nc3<br />Nxc3 16. bxc3 Bxe2 17. Rfe1 Bxf3 18. Bxf3 Ne7) 15... Na5 {<br />The c7 pawn turns from a victim into a hunter.} 16. Ne5 {White's minor pieces<br />rush to help the b5 knight. [Good after 16. Rac1 was 16...Nb3 17. Rc2<br />c5! with a full-fledged game for black.]} (16. Rac1 Nb3 17. Rc2 c5) 16... Rbd8<br />{A subtle move. The rook is eyeing the d4 pawn. [16...c6 is no good on<br />account of 17. Nxa7! and the c6 pawn is the next victim.] [Also clearly<br />worse than the move in the game was 16...Rfd8 on account of 17. Rac1 Nb3 18.<br />Nc6! with a white advantage.]} (16... c6 17. Nxa7) (16... Rfd8 17. Rac1 Nb3 18.<br />Nc6) 17. Nxa7 {! An overseas expedition for an exotic pawn. And the knight is<br />perfectly capable of returning home via c6. [As the game Wojtkiewicz -<br />Yuneev, Erevan 1996 showed, there's no advantage after 17.Rac1 Nb3! 18.Rcd1 <br />(18.Nc6 Nxc1) 18...Nb4! 19.e3 c5! and so on.]} (17. Rac1 Nb3 18. Rcd1 Nb4 19.<br />e3 c5) 17... Nb4 {Black also isn't being idle. A few white pawns are already<br />under attack. [It was premature to play 17...Bxe2, as after 18.Rfe1 Bc4 19.<br />Rec1! Ba6 20.Nac6 Nxc6 21.Nxc6 Rd7 22.b4 white makes great progress on the<br />queenside.]} (17... Bxe2 18. Rfe1 Bc4 19. Rec1 Ba6 20. Nac6 Nxc6 21. Nxc6 Rd7<br />22. b4) 18. Rac1 {The grandmasters are playing quickly and surely. They<br />obviously know the safe channels here. We can only watch and admire.} Rxd4 {<br />[18...Bxe2 hasn't been played here, and it seems that's correct: 19.Rfe1 Ba6<br />20.Rxc7 Rxd4 21.Nb5 Rd2 22.Nd7! Rd8 23. Nxb6 Rxb2 24. Nd7 - and the appearance<br />of a white knight on c5 is extremely unpleasant for black.]} (18... Bxe2 19.<br />Rfe1 Ba6 20. Rxc7 Rxd4 21. Nb5 Rd2 22. Nd7 Rd8 23. Nxb6) 19. Rxc7 {A novelty! <br />[All that was played here previously was the modest 19.Nb5, which inevitably<br />led to a peaceful outcome. For example, 19...Bxb5 20.axb5 f6 21.e3 Rdd8 22.<br />Nf3 Rd7 23.Nd4 Kf7 24.f4 g6 25.Rc3 Ke7 and in the game Bosiocic - Naiditsch,<br />Sibenik 2010, black was able to shore things up completely.]} (19. Nb5 Bxb5 20.<br />axb5 f6 21. e3 Rdd8 22. Nf3 Rd7 23. Nd4 Kf7 24. f4 g6 25. Rc3 Ke7) 19... Bxe2 {<br />Judging by the speed of his reaction Vladimir has also studied this position<br />with good equipment. We/^ll see whose research turns out to be deeper and of<br />higher quality. And we'll also find out the objective evaluation of theposition<br />} 20. Rfc1 {Played once more in line with the computer/^s recommendations. <br />[Not so convincing is: 20.Re1 Rd2! The thing is that in the line 21.Nd7 Rd8<br />22.Nxb6 Nc2! white has to give up the exchange as withdrawing the rook to c1<br />leads to a complete disaster on the back rank.]} (20. Re1 Rd2 21. Nd7 Rd8 22.<br />Nxb6 Nc2) 20... f6 {A completely transparent trap. The appearance of the white<br />knight on d7 will again lead to the invasion of the black rooks on d1. Vishy<br />needs to find another approach/\} 21. Nec6 Naxc6 22. Nxc6 Nxc6 23. R7xc6 {<br />Two black pawns are under attack. The defence consists of active counterplay.}<br />Rfd8 {Exactly! [In the line 23...e5 24.Rxb6 Rxa4 25.Bd5+ Kh8 26.b4!<br />white gets the most dangerous of initiatives - his passed pawn is strong, and<br />black's backlines are weak..]} (23... e5 24. Rxb6 Rxa4 25. Bd5+ Kh8 26. b4) 24.<br />h3 {Champions don't blunder mating attacks on the first rank. [Why<br />wasn't 24. h4 played? I think there's a subtlety here. Perhaps there's some<br />point in slightly limiting the manoeuvrability of the enemy bishop... It's<br />also possible that in that case black could equalise with 24...Rb4!? 25.Rxe6<br />Rd1+ 26.Rxd1 Bxd1 27.Bc6 Rxb2 and it's no good playing 28.Bb5 because of Bf3!<br />while with the pawn on h3 here you'd have the defence g3-g4, which means that<br />the b6 pawn fell for nothing.] [That's all great, but after 24.h4 Rb4<br />it might be quite dangerous for black if you play 25.Bh3!? e5 26.Be6+ Kf8 -<br />otherwise there's mate on the back rank - 27.Rc7 - and soon the g7 and h7<br />pawns will fall. It doesn't look fun... Although, of course, black might be<br />able to survive in computer analysis.]there's a subtlety here. Perhaps there's<br />some point in slightly limiting the manoeuvrability of the enemy bishop...<br />It's also possible that in that case black could equalise with} (24. h4 Rb4 25.<br />Bh3 e5 26. Be6+ Kf8 27. Rc7) 24... R8d6 {Vladimir continues to make moves<br />almost without thinking! Somewhere here his analysis must have ended. With the<br />verdict and black holds. Well, it really is likely. But precision is still<br />required, as white has the pleasant prospect of creating a distant passed pawn<br />on the queenside. The clocks show: 0.52 - 1.15} 25. Rxd6 {[It would be<br />interesting to find out what the Russian grandmaster had planned for 25.Rc8+<br />Kf7 26.R1c7+ For example, after 26...Rd7 27.Rxd7+ Rxd7 28.Rb8 Rd6 29.b4<br />there's a visual impression that white has an edge. Deceptive, no doubt!]} (25.<br />Rc8+ Kf7 26. R1c7+ Rd7 27. Rxd7+ Rxd7 28. Rb8 Rd6 29. b4) 25... Rxd6 26. Rc6 {<br />The Indian maestro decided not to get fancy. [Although it was crying out<br />for the more ambitious 26.b4! with the crude idea of creating a passed pawn.<br />While on 26...Rd4 there's the refutation 27.Rc2! Bd1 28.Rc8+ Kf7 29.a5, after<br />which the b4 pawn is untouchable - 29...Rxb4? 30.a6 Ra4 31.Rc7+ Kg6 32.a7<br />with a white victory. Though of course you understand that that's acooperative<br />variation.]} (26. b4 Rd4 27. Rc2 Bd1 28. Rc8+ Kf7 29. a5 Rxb4 30. a6 Ra4 31.<br />Rc7+ Kg6 32. a7) 26... Rxc6 27. Bxc6 {What does white have in this bishop<br />ending? Hopes of winning a bishop for a pawn on the queenside. But if black<br />quickly centralises his king then realising those hopes will be problematic.}<br />e5 {No, Kramnik's analysis turned out to be even deeper than I'd previously<br />thought. I'm judging that by the clocks that show: 0.35 - 1.15! It's simply<br />some sort of monstrous immersion in theory, in the style of an excavator. For<br />us, humans with spades, such large-scale work and bottomless pits look crazy.}<br />28. f4 {Anand clears a path for the quickest possible centralisation of his<br />king. The position is one where every tempo matters. A race! It looks as<br />though black is in time to organise a solid defence. [The lines here, as<br />a rule, are long but very simple: 28.b4 Kf7 29.a5 bxa5 30.bxa5 Ke7 31.Bb7 Kd6<br />32.a6 Kc7, and white achieves nothing.]} (28. b4 Kf7 29. a5 bxa5 30. bxa5 Ke7<br />31. Bb7 Kd6 32. a6 Kc7) 28... exf4 {It would be risky to leave a weak pawn in<br />the centre. Plus pawn exchanges are useful by themselves in order to achieve<br />black's aim.} 29. gxf4 Kf7 30. Kf2 {An important tempo has been won. But it's<br />unlikely that local achievement will grow into anything more.} Bc4 31. b4 {<br />The passed pawn is just about to be created.} g5 {! And there's black's<br />counterplay. The pawn ice is melting, and the turbulent brooks will wash away<br />all Anand's ambitions.} 32. fxg5 fxg5 33. h4 {A little joke at the end. <br />[Also completely harmless is: 33. a5 bxa5 34. bxa5 Ke7 - black's in time] <br />33gxh4 34. a5 DRAW! Let's glance again at the clocks. They speak for<br />themselves: 0.32 - 1.08! In reality this game was played before, in a<br />correspondence game of home analysis. The best two laboratories in the world<br />studied one and the same line in the opening in parallel. Appearing for the<br />face-to-face game the titans exchanged their ideas and came to a general<br />conclusion - black holds equality in the given variation of the Catalan<br />Defence. Demonstrated and confirmed! I ask that it be entered in the<br />encyclopedia. Working for you, dear viewers, was Grandmaster Sergey Shipov.<br />If only we could all know chess/\ even a third as well as Anand and Kramnik<br />know it. But it's extremely difficult to achieve that. You need to study<br />twenty years and analyse the openings for just as long. Life is too short. On<br />that note, goodbye. Tomorrow, Tuesday, we can all rest, while I'll be waiting<br />for you at 16:30 CET on Wednesday for the start of the fourth round. All the<br />best!} 1/2-1/2 -->jocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08443120495036936430noreply@blogger.com0