Gashimov Memorial 2017: Kramnik sacs his rook

by Albert Silver
4/25/2017 – With a description such as “sacrificed the rook for some pawns and initiative”, a few players come to mind in the field at such as the current leader Mamedyarov, or Topalov, but Kramnik, in spite of his enormous ability, is not your usual choice. Yet in round four, in a dubious position against Harikrishna, the Russian took preemptive measures and turned the game on its head with a spectacular rook sacrifice. Illustrated report with enlightening analysis by GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson.
FM Claus Dieter Meyer has put under the microscope a comprehensive fund of topical and timeless games / fragments. On video Hamburg GM Dr. Karsten Müller has outlined corner points of Meyer's work and created 14 tests plus 10 interactive test sets.

Now in its 4th edition, the Gashimov Memorial brings an attractive lineup of top players such as Wesley So, winner of pretty much anything he entered in the last many months, then Vladimir Kramnik who has been sitting pretty with his 2811 Elo since the London Classic, Sergey Karjakin, and of course last year’s winner, local hero Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.  

Vugar Gashimov (1986 - 2014)

Participants

Player
Rating
Wesley So 2822
Vladimir Kramnik 2811
Sergey Karjakin 2783
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2772
Michael Adams 2761
Pentala Harikrishna 2758
Pavel Eljanov 2751
Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2745
Veselin Topalov 2741
Teimour Radjabov 2710

Whether just experiencing a slow start, or still smarting from his loss to Mamedyarov in the opening round, Wesley So has yet to win a game. In spite of playing 60 odd moves against Veselin Topalov, it was a dead draw very early.

Michael Adams and Pavel Eljanov played a battle of archipelagos, after an Italian game left White with three pawn islands to Black's four. Black managed to get a pawn, but his exposed king left him open to White threats and a repetition was the result.

Teimour Radjabov played an uneventful draw against compatriot and leader Mamedyarov. Ever since that Elo avalanche he suffered, he has not been the same.

Pentala Harikrishna was in a state of shock ashe found his beautiful dominating position turn into absolute chaos after Vladimir Kramnik sacrificed his rook to mix it up. Had it been Shirov on the other side of the board, he would have been looking for such moves well in advance, but from Vlad? He never saw it coming. Brutal.

Vladimir Kramnik vs Pentala Harikrishna (annotated by GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson)

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 As far as I can see, this is the first time Kramnik has entered the Ruy Lopez from the white side, in a very long time. 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.0-0 0-0 6.Re1 d6 7.c3 Na5 8.Bb5 a6 9.Ba4 b5 10.Bc2 c5 Why give this line? Explanation follows after 8.c3 in the game. 3...a6! Harikrishna also has the Berlin Defence on the repertoire, but to play it against Kramnik? I don't think so. 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 6.Re1 is still the main move, but after b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 8.a4 is the most challenging move for those who prefer to avoid the gambit. 8...d5 no one above 2600 has lost with the black pieces in the last half year. 6...b5 7.Bb3 d6 7...0-0 is played far less. Perhaps since 8.a4 is an option again. 8.Nc3 d6 9.a3 8.a3 White must save the light squared bishop. And since the other options have been found to set Black few(er) problems, this seemingly meek move has become the latest fashion. 8.Nc3?! Na5! 8.a4 Bd7! is a neat point behind 7...d6. After 9.c3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qb8 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.axb5 axb5 15.dxc5 dxc5 16.Qd5 Qc8 17.b4 Be6 18.Qxc5 Qxc5 19.bxc5 Kd7! Black was doing very well, in Morozevich,A (2680) -Vitiugov,N (2715) 32nd ECC Open 2016, and went on to win. 8.c3 0-0 9.Re1 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 is a position that can also arise in the Prussian Defence (3. Bc4 Nf6). 8...0-0 8...Be6 is an idea that is usually better when White has already played h3. Then after 9.Bxe6 fxe6 I assume White ought to be a bit better here, although it is far from clear (to me) how. 10.c3 0-0 11.Nbd2 Qd7 12.Re1 Rae8 12...Nd8!? 12...Nh5 13.a4 Pavlidis,A (2530)-Schwarz,D (2290) European Rapid 2016 9.Nc3 There are few positions in chess where there are more than 4-5 decent moves, but in this position there are no less than 7 perfectly reasonable moves for Black! It is also notable that this position was reached 4 times in the last WCh match between Karjakin and Carlsen, with Magnus, as Black, scoring three draws and one win. Nb8!? The start of the Breyer-plan. Black is aiming for a harmonious set-up with Nbd7 and Bb7, before continuing - usually - with Re8, Bf8, g6 and Bg7. For someone who has played the Pirc/Modern for many years, it gives rise to a kind of deja vu; haven't I seen something similar somewhere? 9...Be6 10.Be3 d5 11.Bg5! has scored well for White. 9...Na5 10.Ba2 Be6 was played by Carlsen in two of the WCh games. Playing Chigorin-style with 10...c5 , makes more sense when White has spent time on moves like c3 and h3. Here White is ready to fight for the d5-square immediately: 11.b4 Nc6 12.Nd5 This is possibly the reason why Carlsen played Nb8, c5, Nc6 in an earlier game. Here it actually helps White to have the bishop kicked back to a2. 11.b4 11.d4 Bxa2 12.Rxa2 Re8 13.Ra1 Nc4 14.Re1 Rc8 15.h3 h6 16.b3 Nb6 17.Bb2 Bf8 18.dxe5 dxe5 19.a4 c6 20.Qxd8 Rcxd8 21.axb5 axb5 22.Ne2 Bb4 23.Bc3 Bxc3 24.Nxc3 Nbd7 25.Ra6 Rc8 26.b4 Re6 27.Rb1 c5 28.Rxe6 fxe6 29.Nxb5 cxb4 30.Rxb4 Rxc2 31.Nd6 Rc1+ 32.Kh2 Rc2 33.Kg1 1/2-1/2 (33) Karjakin,S (2770)-Carlsen,M (2850) WCh 2016 11...Nc6 12.Nd5 Nd4 13.Ng5 Bxd5 14.exd5 Nd7 15.Ne4 f5 16.Nd2 f4 17.c3 Nf5 18.Ne4 Qe8 19.Bb3 Qg6 20.f3 Bh4 21.a4 Nf6 22.Qe2 a5 23.axb5 axb4 24.Bd2 bxc3 25.Bxc3 Ne3 26.Rfc1 Rxa1 27.Rxa1 Qe8 28.Bc4 Kh8 29.Nxf6 Bxf6 30.Ra3 e4 31.dxe4 Bxc3 32.Rxc3 Qe5 33.Rc1 Ra8 34.h3 h6 35.Kh2 Qd4 36.Qe1 Qb2 37.Bf1 Ra2 38.Rxc7 Ra1 0-1 (38) Karjakin,S (2770)-Carlsen,M (2850) WCh Rapid TB 2016 10.Ne2 The start of the most famous manoeuvre known to chess. Then end station is g3, where the knight is bolstering e4, stopping Nh5, and making sure that a future Bg4 will be truly kicked with h3; all this while not being in the way of any other pieces. Nbd7 Harikrishna is going for a more traditional interpretation of the Breyer set-up. Carlsen preferred 10...c5 11.Ng3 Nc6 12.c3 Rb8 13.h3 a5 14.a4 b4 15.Re1 Be6 16.Bc4 h6 17.Be3 Qc8 18.Qe2 Rd8 19.Bxe6 fxe6 20.d4 bxc3 21.bxc3 cxd4 22.cxd4 exd4 23.Nxd4 Nxd4 24.Bxd4 Rb4 25.Rec1 Qd7 26.Bc3 Rxa4 27.Bxa5 Rxa1 28.Rxa1 Ra8 29.Bc3 Rxa1+ 30.Bxa1 Qc6 31.Kh2 Kf7 32.Bb2 Qc5 33.f4 Bd8 34.e5 dxe5 35.Bxe5 Bb6 36.Qd1 Qd5 37.Qxd5 Nxd5 1/2-1/2 (37) Karjakin,S (2770)-Carlsen,M (2850) WCh Rapid TB 2016 11.c3 If Black is worried about the Nb6/c5-plan that Kovalev used against Kobalia (see next comment), it makes sense to play 11.Ng3 first. Nb6 11...Nc5 12.Ba2 Be6 is probably the reason why Kramnik choose the move order with c3 first. 12.Bd2 c5 13.Ba5!? 11...Bb7 This quite logical move seems new. If we compare the position with the classical Breyer system, then White has played d3 instead of d4, has added a3, avoided h3 and can play the knight to g3 without going Re1 first. Black should be ahead on tempi, but not having played d4 is something of an advantage for White, who is more flexible and doesn't have to worry about tactical operations revolving around a weak e4-pawn. 11...Nb6 12.Ng3 c5 13.d4 Qc7 14.Re1 a5 15.h3 Bd7 16.Bd2 a4 17.Bc2 Nc4 18.Bc1 Rfc8 led to a very complex fight, in Kobalia,M (2646)-Kovalev, V (2562) Gjakova 2016. 12.Ng3 c5 13.Re1 Rc8 Black would love to get a chance to force the exchange of the c-pawn for White's d-pawn. 14.Nf5!? This move changes the flow of the game and takes it into unclear waters. I would only consider 14.Ba2 or 14.Bc2 Both look quite reasonable. 14...c4! 15.dxc4 If 15.Bc2 cxd3 16.Bxd3 Re8 17.Bc2 , then Nc5 18.Bg5 Bf8 and Black's pieces are too harmonious for White to even dream of an advantage. 19.Nd2 g6 20.Ne3 Be7 21.Bxf6 Bxf6 22.a4 Bg5= 15...Bxe4 Black can also consider 15...bxc4 16.Bc2 Nc5 , but after 17.Bg5 Rc7 18.Bxf6 Bxf6 19.Qxd6 Black doesn't have enough compensation for the pawn. 16.Nxe7+ 16.Nxd6? Bxd6 17.Qxd6 Nc5 leads to a total collapse on the light squares. 16...Qxe7 17.cxb5 axb5 18.Bg5! This must be played before Black gets to shut it out of the game with h6. Nc5 19.Ba2 Ambitious. 19.Bc2 Bxc2 20.Qxc2 Ne6 looks about balanced. 19...h6 20.Bh4!? I might be overly pessimistic here, but to me this seems like burning bridges. The bishop will be terribly passive on g3, so the natural thing to do would be to go 20.Bxf6 Qxf6 21.Re3 Still, Black has no complaints here, so I guess Kramnik's choice was in harmony with the bishop retreat to a2. He is aiming for complications. 20...g5! 21.Bg3 Bh7 Usually the bishop is better off at g6, from where it supports h5 and leaves the h7-square for other pieces: 21...Bg6 After 22.Bb1 Nfe4 23.Nd2 d5 24.Nf3 f6 25.Qxd5+ Kg7 Black has a nice initiative for the pawn. 22.Qe2 22.Bb1!? 22...Kg7!
Black's plan is to evacuate the knight from f6, play f6 in order to bury the bishop on g3, and then occupy the light squares. White needs to come up with an antidote to this scenario. 23.Rad1 If Kramnik played this with the express intention of what is coming next, then this is one the greatest moves I have ever seen. 23.Qxb5? Nd3 and the b-pawn falls. 23.Nd4!? Qd7 24.Nb3 Nce4 25.Nd2 Nc5 26.Bb1 is another way to get some grip on the light squares. If Black is unable to move the central pawns forward, they could turn out to be weak in the end. 23...Nfe4! 24.Rd5 !!!??!? White doesn't have the time to play 24.Qxb5 , since f5! leaves Bg3 in mortal danger, and 25.h3 Rb8 26.Qe2 f4 27.Bh2 Na4 28.Rb1 Nec5 is game over-ish. To play something like 24.h3 , is paramount to resignation: f5 25.Bh2 f4 26.Bb1 Qb7 27.Nd2 Nf6 and Black has the most terrible domination. 24...f5
This looks so natural and so strong. How to stop oneself from playing such a move? I would have played 24...f6! , so: 25.Bb1 f5 and we get a position similar to the one in the game. How is the sacrifice here? I would not be able to make a precise evaluation over the board. 24...Rfe8 might be the most flexible move, planning on f5 while opening a slot for the king on f8. It seems to me (and the engine) that Black is just clearly better here. 25.Rxe5‼ Daring and genius in one move. I presume Kramnik realized he was sliding into a bad situation and decided to change the course of the game, whatever the price. This is much more tricky than 25.Rxd6?! Nxd6 26.Qxe5+ Qxe5 27.Bxe5+ Rf6! when there is no obvious way for White to get full compensation. With no queens on the board, this would be far easier for a human to handle. 25...dxe5 26.Bxe5+ Nf6?! Not a big mistake, but a step in the wrong direction. Black should find a way to exchange one of the bishops as fast as possible. The best way to do that is: 26...Kg6! avoids the pins and prepares for Bg8... 27.Bd4! Bg8! Now the price to avoid the exchange is too high: 28.Bxg8 28.Bb1 Kh7 29.Qxb5 Nb3 28...Rxg8 29.g4!? 29.Qxb5 g4 30.Ne5+ Kh7-+ 29...Rge8 30.gxf5+ Kh7 31.Qc2 Qb7 31...Qd7!? 32.f6 Qd7 Even here there are still traps to watch out for, so from a practical point of view Kramnik's move was brilliant. 27.Qxb5! Picking up a pawn, so as to make the queenside mobile. Nce4 28.Bd4 Rfd8 What to do now? 29.h3! What a cool move. It is still not clear what Black should do, so airing the king cannot be wrong. Rb8 30.Qe2 There seem to be so many good moves for Black, but which one wins? Bg8?! 30...Re8 is what Karpov would have played. Over protecting the knight on e4, gives more freedom to the rest of the pieces. 31.b4 Bg6 32.Qb2 Kh7 33.c4 Rbd8 ...Botvinnik would have liked this one. 34.c5 and finally, Black is ready for g4! 31.Bb1 Qb7 31...Rb3 32.Ba2! 32.b4 Re8 33.c4 A few moves ago Black only had one problem; how to get out of the pin and get his pieces active. Now there is a second issue. The pawns are starting to look menacing. Qc6? This move allows White to get fully coordinated. The last chance for an advantage was 33...Qa6! , but things are still not as clear as the engine would like you to think: 34.b5!? 34.Qb2 Bxc4 35.Rc1 Bd5 36.Rc7+ Kg8 37.Bxe4 fxe4 38.Nh2 Nh5 39.Ng4 Rb7 34...Qd6 34...Qxa3?! 35.Bxe4 Rxe4 36.Qd2 Rbe8 37.Ra1 35.Qb2 Bxc4 36.a4 Ra8 (There might be something better here) 37.Bxe4 Rxe4 38.Rxe4 fxe4 39.Ne5 Be6 39...Rd8 40.Nc6 40.b6 Rxa4 41.Nc6 Rxd4 42.Nxd4 Kf7 43.b7 Nd7 44.Nxe6 Kxe6 45.Qg7 and White will probably get a draw. 34.Qb2 With this move Black's position goes from hard-to-handle to just worse. Rbd8?! 34...Kh7! is a good chance for Black, but after 35.c5 , Black still needs to find a few exact moves: 35.Be5 Rbd8 36.Nd4 Qxc4 37.Nxf5 Rd2 38.Nd6 Rxb2 39.Bxb2 Qb3 40.Bxf6 Qxb1 41.Rxb1 Nxd6 42.a4 35...Bf7! 35...Nd7?! 36.Nd2 Bd5 37.Nf1 36.Ne5 Qd5 37.Nxf7 Qxf7 38.f3 Ng3 39.Be5 Nfh5 40.Kh2 Qd5 41.Qc3 Nf1+ 42.Kg1 Nfg3 43.Bxb8 Qd4+! 44.Qxd4 Rxe1+ 45.Kf2 Re2+ 46.Kg1 Re1+= 35.c5 35.b5 Qd6 36.Rc1 Rc8 37.Bxe4 Rxe4 38.c5 Qe7 39.c6 is even better. Black is balancing on the abyss. 35...Qe6 36.b5!? 36.Rc1! g4 37.hxg4 fxg4 38.Bxe4 Rxd4 39.Qxd4 Qxe4 40.Qxe4 Rxe4 41.Nd2 Re2 42.Nf1 36...Kf8? Black's last chance was 36...Qb3! 37.Qa1 Kg6! 38.Bxf6 38.b6 Nd7 39.Rc1 Rc8 40.c6 Nxb6 41.Bxe4 fxe4 42.Bh8 Qf7 43.Ne5+ Rxe5 44.Qxe5 Qe6= 38...Nxf6 39.Rxe8 Rxe8 40.Bxf5+ Kg7 41.Nd4 and this unbalanced position, to my surprise, seems to be in balance. 37.c6 g4? This accelerates the ending, but White's pawns were too advanced for a remedy to be found. 38.hxg4 fxg4 39.Bxe4! gxf3 Or 39...Nxe4 40.Rxe4 Qxe4 41.Bg7+ Ke7 42.Qf6# 40.Bxf6 Rd6 41.Bg7+ Kf7 42.Be5 and Harikrishna resigned. A marvelous swindle by Kramnik! 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kramnik,V2811Harikrishna,P27551–02017C774th Shamkir Chess 20174

Vladimir Kramnik analyzes some moves from the game with Ljubomir Ljubojevic, himself once world no. 3

Standings after four rounds

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Born in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications, and the content creator of the YouTube channel, Chess & Tech.

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