Tal Round 2: Anand, Giri show power

[Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Anand, V."] [Black "Mamedyarov, S."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C92"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2761"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2016.09.25"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Bb7 10. d4 Re8 11. Nbd2 exd4 12. cxd4 Nd7 13. Nf1 Na5 14. Bc2 Bf6 15. Rb1 c5 16. d5 Nc4 17. b3 Nce5 18. N3h2 Ng6 {As Svidler mentioned on commentary, this is all following the game between Giri-Svidler, a crucial victory for the Russian in the World Cup last year!} 19. Ne3 (19. Ng3 Bc8 (19... Bc3 $5 { Was perhaps an improvement by Bu against Hou Yifan in July.}) 20. Rf1 { Giri-Svidler, 2015.}) 19... Bc8 (19... Bc3 {was played in Macieja-Berczes, 2015. The Hungarian player, Berczes, won at the end.}) 20. Bd2 b4 21. Nhg4 a5 22. Nxf6+ Qxf6 23. g3 a4 {Anand didn't understand this move. He was happy to see a4.} (23... Nde5 24. f4 (24. Nf5 $5) 24... Nxf4 25. gxf4 Qxf4 26. Nf1 Qh4 27. Re3 Bxh3 {is similar to the game, but without the a4 pawn sacrifice. More analysis will be needed to determine the differences.}) 24. bxa4 Nde5 25. f4 { It is clear that after this move Black must sacrifice his piece. Anand considers this version to be better for White than without the a4 break. Thorough analysis will be found in a future ChessBase Magazine edition, but for now it seems that the former World Champion is correct.} Nxf4 26. gxf4 Qxf4 27. Nf1 Qh4 28. Re3 Bxh3 {Vishy thought it was hard to collect a4 in this position.} 29. Qe2 Qg4+ {A surprising decision, to exchange queens in this material balance.} (29... h5 30. a3 $1 {Is a nice break that activates White's pieces.}) 30. Qxg4 Bxg4 31. a3 Nf3+ 32. Kf2 Nd4 33. Rb2 bxa3 34. Rxa3 Nxc2 35. Rxc2 Rxe4 36. a5 {Even though Black has three pawns for the pieces, the combination of the power of the passed a pawn and the possibility for White's pieces to activate give him an almost winning advantage.} Bc8 37. Re3 {Based on a miscalculation.} (37. Rb2 $1 {was easier.}) 37... Rf4+ 38. Rf3 (38. Kg3 Rg4+ 39. Kf3 h5 40. Re8+ Kh7 $16 {is not that clear just yet.}) 38... Re4 39. Rb2 Ba6 40. Bc3 h5 41. Ng3 Rh4 42. Rb6 Rh2+ 43. Kg1 Rc2 44. Nf5 Bc4 45. Re3 $1 Kh7 46. Rxd6 $1 {The start of a study-like win.} Rb8 47. Rb6 Rxb6 48. axb6 Bxd5 49. Nxg7 Rg2+ (49... h4 50. Nh5 Kh6 51. Nf4 Bc6 52. Bf6 {and Black is in an annoying mating net.}) 50. Kf1 Rg6 51. Nxh5 Bc4+ 52. Kf2 Rxb6 53. Nf6+ { The point of the combination. Both king moves lose to different things.} Kh6 ( 53... Kg6 54. Nd7 {and Black cannot defend the rook and check on e5, taking the bishop, which incidentally also cannot be defended.}) 54. Rg3 {Nothing to to against impeding mate but sacrifice the rook, so Mamedyarov called it quits. } (54. Rg3 Rd6 55. Be5 Rd2+ 56. Ke1 Re2+ 57. Kd1 Rxe5 58. Ng4+ Kg5 59. Nxe5+ Kf4 60. Rg4+ $18) 1-0

[Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Gelfand, B."] [Black "Giri, A."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2743"] [BlackElo "2755"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2016.09.25"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O $5 {Playing a King's Indian, as the next move protects d5. Giri is certainly more known for his Grunfeld.} 5. Nc3 Nc6 $5 {But actually this move almost transposes back to Grunfeld channels.} 6. e3 {Avoiding d5 at all cost! However e3 isn't considered a dangerous set up against the KID.} (6. Nf3 d5 {is the way MVL plays this variation, simply going back to his favorite opening. Of course, there is a chance that Giri would have played 6...d6, but we will never know.}) 6... d6 7. Nge2 e5 8. O-O exd4 9. exd4 Ne7 $5 {An unusual move in a well known position. Most of the time Black plays for a Bf5-Re7 plan, fighting for e4.} 10. Bf4 Nf5 11. Qc1 { Without the possibility of playing Bh6, at least not yet, this move baffles me a bit.} (11. h3 {with the potential idea of g4 might be better to do right away.}) 11... Re8 12. h3 c6 13. g4 Ne7 14. Bh6 d5 15. c5 {It seems foolish to play with an isolated pawn, so Gelfand grabs the space on the queenside.} b6 16. cxb6 (16. b4 {seems more natural to me, though after} a5 17. a3 axb4 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. axb4 Rxa1 20. Qxa1 h5 {Black shouldn't have real problems.}) 16... axb6 17. Re1 Bh8 18. Qf4 Nd7 19. Qd2 Nf8 20. Nf4 Ne6 21. Nce2 (21. Nxe6 Bxe6 22. b3 $11) 21... c5 $1 {It looks like this break can't be played, because it loses the d5 pawn, but Giri has decided that the activity is fully worth the pawn. An excellent decision.} 22. dxc5 bxc5 23. Nxd5 (23. Nc3 { was probably better, but it is hard to resist the pawn.} Ra6 $5 {Is a computer idea, with Rd6 coming up soon in certain variations.}) 23... Bb7 {The activity is based on the Benko-style pressure against the b and a pawns and the potential weakness of White's king.} 24. Nec3 Nxd5 25. Nxd5 Bd4 {Of course, having the d4 square for the bishop is also quite juicy.} 26. Nc3 (26. Nf4 $1 { was a better way of trying to hold everything together, though Black's initiative is still strong.}) 26... Bxg2 27. Kxg2 g5 $1 {Exploiting another one of White's problems: now the bishop on h6 is trapped!} 28. h4 (28. Rxe6 Rxe6 29. Bxg5 Qb6 {is very unpleasant for Gelfand.}) 28... gxh4 {The pawn on h4 is actually rather powerful, as it aids in the attack against White's king.} 29. Ne4 Qd5 30. f3 Rad8 $6 {The inclusion of Rd8 and Rd1 in most lines favors White. Kh8 immediately was better.} 31. Rad1 Kh8 32. Bg5 f5 $1 {An excellent move, keeping up the pressure.} 33. Bxd8 Rxd8 {Black has sacrificed a full exchange, but it is not easy to defend the knight on e4.} 34. gxf5 $2 {Losing instantly.} (34. Qh6 $1 fxe4 35. Rxe4 h3+ $1 {Is messy, but should favor Black. }) (34. Ng5 h3+ 35. Kh2 Be5+ 36. Kh1 Qxd2 37. Rxd2 Rxd2 38. Nxe6 Bg3 {looks like a very bad endgame for White, if not just lost.}) 34... Qxf5 35. Kh1 Rg8 { White is defenseless against Black's relatively simple threats.} 36. Rf1 Be5 { Covering h2, White cannot do anything against Qh3 and mate.} 0-1