Biel 03: Three wins, Three leaders

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"] [Site "Biel SUI"] [Date "2015.07.22"] [Round "3"] [White "Navara, D."] [Black "Rapport, R."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D07"] [WhiteElo "2724"] [BlackElo "2671"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2015.07.20"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 {another Chigorin, why not?} 3. Nc3 Nf6 (3... dxc4 {is the main line, but to be fair it is rather dubious.}) 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nf3 e5 { surprisingly, this is the only move that makes sense. If Black plays passively White will simply establish a strong pawn center and roll over his opponent.} 6. dxe5 Be6 (6... Bb4 7. Bd2 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Ba5 {might be close to enough for the pawn, but the position needs more practical tests.}) 7. Bg5 Nxc3 8. Qxd8+ Nxd8 9. bxc3 {Black's down a pawn for now, but White's structure is ghastly and he still has a ways to go before finishing development. Black has reasonable chances of equalizing.} h6 10. Bh4 Nc6 11. e3 Bd5 12. Bb5 g5 13. Bg3 O-O-O 14. O-O a6 15. Bxc6 bxc6 $5 {What a decision! I think 90% of grandmasters would simply take with the bishop and think later. I have a hard time understanding the advantages of taking with the pawn, as there is no immediate need to keep the bishop on d5.} (15... Bxc6 16. Nd4 Bd5 17. Rfd1 Ba3 $44) 16. h4 Rg8 17. hxg5 hxg5 18. Nd4 c5 19. Nb3 {Black's pair of bishops still compensate for the pawn, but White is for preference.} Rg6 20. Rfd1 Be7 21. Rd2 Rb6 22. Nxc5 $1 {A nice tactic. Black cannot take on c5.} (22. Rad1 Bxb3 23. Rxd8+ Bxd8 24. axb3 Rxb3 {already favors Black.}) 22... Rh6 $1 {And an appropriate counter! White's knight on c5 is hanging. Also dangerous is Rdh8, threatening mate!} (22... Bxc5 23. Rad1 {loses the bishop on d5 and Black is simply down material.} c6 $6 24. c4 $18) 23. Rad1 {forced but sufficient.} Rdh8 24. f3 Bxa2 $1 25. Kf2 Bc4 {Black keeps his pair of bishops, and the compensation!} 26. Ne4 Rh1 27. f4 $2 {over ambitious.} (27. Rd4 Rxd1 28. Rxd1 Rd8 29. Ra1 $11) 27... gxf4 28. exf4 a5 {In endgames, the quantity of pawns is not as important as the quality of pawns. This guy is rolling, and rolling quickly.} 29. f5 a4 (29... Bb3 $1 {Would have given White some serious difficulties.}) 30. e6 fxe6 31. f6 {following a rule I wrote up a couple of sentences ago.} Rxd1 32. Rxd1 Bf8 33. Bf4 Bd5 34. Nd2 (34. Ke3 $1 $11) 34... Rg8 35. g3 Bc5+ 36. Be3 Bd6 {Black is clearly in the lead. White's connected passed pawns on the kingside are not connected yet, and they have problems making progress. Meanwhile the bishops are tearing the board apart.} 37. c4 Bc6 38. Ke2 a3 $2 (38... Rxg3 $1 {Sometimes you just have to be greedy.} 39. f7 Bf8 $1 $17 (39... Rg7 $15 40. Ne4 $1 Bxe4 41. Rxd6 Rxf7 42. Rxe6)) 39. f7 Rxg3 $2 { This is already playing with fire, probably missing the continuation in the game.} 40. Ne4 $1 Rg2+ $2 (40... Bxe4 41. Rxd6 Rf3 42. Rxe6 Rxf7 43. Rxe4 a2 44. Bd4 Rh7 $1 {Holds, barely. White cannot prevent Black from winning the bishop!} 45. Kd2 (45. Kf2 Rh2+ 46. Kf3 Rh1 $11) 45... Rd7 $1) 41. Kf1 Bf8 ( 41... Bxe4 42. Rxd6 {is now losing.}) 42. Kxg2 Bxe4+ 43. Kg3 {Black's down the exchange, but it is not over yet.} e5 $1 44. Bg5 a2 45. Bf6 Bd3 $2 (45... c5 $1 {Black had to play this move, giving c7 for the king. The threat is Bg6.}) ( 45... Bg6 46. Rd8+ Kb7 47. Bxe5 {doesn't work yet.}) 46. Bxe5 {White now controls a1...} Bxc4 47. Bf6 {and there is no stopping Rd8+.} a1=Q 48. Rd8+ (48. Rd8+ Kb7 49. Bxa1 {and it is all over.}) 1-0

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"] [Site "Biel SUI"] [Date "2015.07.22"] [Round "3"] [White "Adams, Mi"] [Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2731"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2015.07.20"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. c3 Ngf6 5. Qe2 a6 6. Ba4 e5 7. O-O Be7 8. d4 b5 9. Bc2 O-O 10. Rd1 Qc7 11. a4 {The position more resembles a Spanish than any Sicilian, though the move order was of Bb5+ Sicilian. The theme here is quite Spanish: White has a nice center that is being challenged by Black's pawns on c5 and e5. White has the choice of attacking anywhere on the board, and this time he chooses to strike at the queenside with a4.} Rb8 12. Na3 c4 { The novelty of the game, though rather logical. Black expands on the queenside and gains some space. On the other hand, once White has locked up the queenside he can start figuring out how to put pressure on the other side of the board.} 13. Bd2 (13. Nh4 $5 g6 14. axb5 axb5 15. Bg5 {is interesting.}) 13... Re8 14. axb5 axb5 15. h3 d5 $5 {Opening up the center at an opportune moment. This is Black's main resource if White 'does nothing'.} 16. dxe5 Nxe5 17. Nxe5 $2 {This is based on a miscalculation: MVL had a better grasp of the tactics of this position than Adams!} (17. exd5 Ng6 $11 {Black will get back his d-pawn sooner or later.} (17... Neg4 $5 {is possible because of the discovery from the rook on e8.} 18. hxg4 Bxa3 19. Be3 $13)) 17... Qxe5 18. f4 Bc5+ (18... Qc7 19. e5 {is not bad for Black, but he has much better.}) 19. Be3 Qh5 $1 {Adams must have underestimated or completely missed this move.} 20. Rd2 (20. Qxh5 Bxe3+ 21. Kh2 Nxh5 {leaves Black up a piece.}) (20. g4 {and Black has several wins, the clearest seems to be:} Bxe3+ 21. Qxe3 Bxg4 22. hxg4 Qxg4+ 23. Kh2 Nxe4 {White's king is about to get mated, and he isn't even up material.}) 20... dxe4 {Simple. Black is up a pawn.} 21. Re1 Qxe2 22. Rdxe2 Bxe3+ 23. Rxe3 Rb6 24. Kf2 {Black is not winning yet, but the position is rather ugly for White. He is down a pawn for no compensation, all he can do is try to pressure e4 in hopes that Black cannot make progress.} Bf5 25. Rd1 h5 26. Kg3 g6 27. Rd4 Kg7 28. Kh4 {White's king march is aimed at playing g4 at some point. It is more suicidal than brave.} Be6 29. Re2 (29. Bxe4 Bf5) 29... Rbb8 30. Bd1 (30. Bxe4 Bd5 31. Bf3 Rxe2 32. Bxe2 Bxg2 $17) 30... Bf5 31. Bc2 Rec8 32. Re1 Rc5 33. Bd1 $2 Nd5 34. g3 {White has successfully woven a mating net around his own king. MVL scoops up the victory:} Rh8 35. Nc2 Ne7 {Oh oh, suddenly g5 is almost mate, followed by Ng6.} 36. Rd6 Be6 {Nf5 and mate is the threat. Also, g5 and Ng6 isn't too bad.} 0-1