Tashkent 11: Andreikin Wins

[Event "Tashkent FIDE GP 2014"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2014.11.02"] [Round "11.6"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A35"] [WhiteElo "2726"] [BlackElo "2748"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2014.10.21"] [SourceDate "2014.01.04"] 1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3 d5 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 dxc4 7. Nxc6 Qxd1+ 8. Nxd1 bxc6 9. Bg2 Nd5 10. Ne3 e6 11. Nxc4 Ba6 12. Na5 Rc8 13. Bd2 Be7 14. Rc1 c5 15. b3 O-O 16. O-O Rfd8 17. Bf3 Bf6 (17... Kf8 {was drawn eventually in Kramnik-Navara, 2007.}) 18. a4 Nb6 19. Be3 c4 (19... Nd5 {just looks like a repetition.} 20. Bd2 $11 (20. Rxc5 Nxe3 21. Rxc8 Rxc8 (21... Nxf1 22. Rc6 $1 $16) 22. fxe3 Bg5 $11)) 20. Nxc4 (20. b4 $5 Nxa4 21. Nc6 Rd7 22. Nxa7 Rxa7 $1 23. Bxa7 c3 {is not entirely clear.}) 20... Bxc4 21. bxc4 Nxa4 22. Bxa7 Rc7 23. Be3 Rdc8 24. c5 Nxc5 25. Bf4 e5 26. Be3 h6 27. Bg4 Ne6 {with all the pawns on the same side of the board this is clearly going to be drawn.} 28. Rb1 Re8 29. Rb6 Bg5 30. Bxe6 Rxe6 31. Rxe6 fxe6 32. Bxg5 hxg5 33. Rb1 Kf7 34. Rb4 Kf6 35. Kg2 Rc2 36. Kf3 Ra2 37. h3 Kf5 38. e4+ Kg6 39. Rb8 Ra4 40. Rb2 Rc4 41. Re2 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tashkent FIDE GP 2014"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2014.11.02"] [Round "11.5"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Kasimdzhanov, Rustam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A22"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2706"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2014.10.21"] [SourceDate "2014.01.04"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 Nb6 6. d3 Be7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Rc1 Re8 9. a3 Bf8 10. Nf3 N8d7 {To me it seems illogical to develop the knight to d7 rather than c6.} (10... Nc6 11. O-O Bg4 12. Ne4 {is a position that Karjakin has had twice, but with black! Both were in the blitz portion of last year's Mindsports Games in Beijing, against Nepomniachtchi and Wang Yue.}) 11. O-O c6 12. Qb3 Nc5 13. Qc2 Bg4 14. b4 Ncd7 15. h3 Bf5 16. Nd2 h6 17. Rb1 {The position looks not so unusual for a reversed Sicilian. White is putting pressure on the queenside but Black is fully developed.} Rc8 18. Rfc1 Nf6 19. Bc5 Nfd7 {it seems as if Kasimdzhanov was unable to find a useful plan. His next few moves are too passive and allow Karjakin to build up on the queenside. } 20. Nce4 Qc7 21. a4 a6 22. Bxf8 Rxf8 23. Nc5 Nf6 24. Qb2 Qe7 25. a5 {By now its clear that whatever idea Kasimdzhanov had, it did not work. White has advanced strongly on the queenside and Black's knight has to go to the corner.} Na8 26. e4 $1 {Using the "time-out" the knight on a8 is in to break open the center.} Bh7 27. Nc4 Rfe8 28. f4 exf4 29. gxf4 Rb8 30. Qe5 Qf8 31. Qd6 { Karjakin knows that without the queens on the board he doesn't have to worry about pushing his pawns too far away as his king will never be in danger.} Re7 32. f5 Nc7 33. Qf4 Nfe8 34. Kh2 (34. Nb6 {was already winning as Nd7 is hard to stop, but the move in the game is good enough.}) 34... Kh8 35. Bf3 Bg8 { Black's position paints a sad picture. Karjakin finishes it off cleanly.} 36. Ne5 Nf6 37. Rg1 Nb5 38. Ne6 $1 g5 (38... fxe6 39. Ng6+ Kh7 40. Nxf8+) 39. Nxf8 gxf4 40. Nfg6+ fxg6 41. Nxg6+ 1-0

[Event "Tashkent FIDE GP 2014"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2014.11.02"] [Round "11.4"] [White "Jakovenko, Dmitry"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A04"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2844"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2014.10.21"] [SourceDate "2014.01.04"] 1. Nf3 g6 2. e4 d6 {No theoretical duel today.} 3. c4 Bg4 4. d4 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 e5 6. d5 {Ultimately this does not seem to be bad for Black. By forcing White to play d5 and exchange his knight for the bishop Black has achieved good chances to control many dark-squares.} Nd7 7. Nc3 h5 8. Bd3 Ngf6 9. O-O h4 {Original play! Caruana pushes his pawn forward in order to create weaknesses in his opponent's camp.} 10. Bc2 Be7 (10... Bh6 {simply trading off the bishops looked more logical than placing it on the passive square e7.}) 11. Ba4 Kf8 12. b4 $6 {ill-timed.} (12. Be3 {and only then b4 so as to answer a5 with a3.}) 12... a5 13. bxa5 (13. a3 Nb6 {is awkard for White as he cannot move the bishop from a4 due to the pin down the a-file.}) 13... Rxa5 14. Bxd7 Qxd7 15. a4 Kg7 {Compared to a normal King's Indian Black should be pretty happy.} 16. Rb1 b6 17. Rb5 Ra6 18. Bd2 Nh7 19. Qe2 Bg5 {One wonders why Caruana didn't just exchange the bishops before.} 20. Bxg5 Nxg5 21. h3 Qe7 22. Rbb1 Ra5 23. Qe3 Nh7 $1 {The knight will have a bright future on f4 if it gets there.} 24. f4 {Running out of ideas Jakovenko lashes out against the center before it is too late. Black is well prepared for this, however.} Nf6 25. fxe5 dxe5 (25... Qxe5 26. Rf3 {might be a little risky as White piles down the f-file.}) 26. Rb5 (26. Rf3 Nh5 27. Rbf1 Nf4 $15) 26... Rha8 27. Qg5 $2 {Blundering a pawn.} (27. Qf3 Rxb5 28. cxb5 {and Black is far from breaching White's position, though it is still more comfortable for him.}) 27... Nxd5 {This tactic is not hard to spot; it must simply have slipped Jakovenko's mind.} 28. Qxe7 Nxe7 29. Rd1 Rxb5 30. cxb5 Kf8 31. Kf2 Ke8 32. Ke3 f5 33. Nd5 $2 {This makes Black's task much easier.} (33. Rd2 Rd8 34. Rxd8+ Kxd8 35. Nb1 $5 {racing to f3} Nc8 36. Nd2 Ke7 37. Nf3 Kf6 38. Nxh4 Nd6 $17) 33... Rxa4 34. Nxc7+ Kf7 35. exf5 Nxf5+ 36. Kf3 e4+ 37. Kf4 e3+ 38. Kf3 Ra2 {White is clearly toast. The e3 pawn is very powerful and Rf2+ is a big threat.} 39. Rf1 Rd2 40. Na8 Rd6 41. Ra1 Nd4+ 42. Ke4 e2 43. Re1 Nxb5 0-1

[Event "Tashkent FIDE GP 2014"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2014.11.02"] [Round "11.3"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2764"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2014.10.21"] [SourceDate "2014.01.04"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. a4 Rb8 8. axb5 axb5 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. d4 Bxd4 11. Qxd4 d6 12. f4 Nc6 13. Qc3 Ne7 14. Qd3 (14. Ra7 {was seen in the very, very recent Andreikin-Nakamura game.}) 14... O-O 15. Nc3 b4 16. e5 (16. Ne2 d5 17. exd5 Bf5 18. Qd1 Nexd5 {seems acceptable for Black in Svidler-Shirov, 2009}) 16... Bf5 17. Qe2 Nd7 18. Na4 dxe5 19. Be3 (19. fxe5 Be6 {is not much for White, so MVL tries to use the little time he has to mount an initiative without recovering his pawn on e5.}) 19... Ra8 20. Rad1 Qe8 21. Nc5 (21. fxe5 $1 {now was the time to take.} Be6 (21... Nxe5 22. Bc5 N5c6 23. Rfe1 {is also very unpleasant. It is hard to believe Black won't lose material here.}) (21... Kh8 $1 {Like in the game, would still be the best move. }) 22. Nc5 Nxc5 23. Bxc5 {is very ugly for Black.}) 21... Ra5 22. Nb7 Ra8 23. fxe5 Kh8 24. Nd6 $6 {Cashing in too quickly costs White a large part of his advantage.} (24. Qb5 $1 $16 {keeps a huge amount of pressure on the queenside and it is not trivial how Black will untangle.}) 24... cxd6 25. exd6 Bg6 26. dxe7 Qxe7 27. Qf2 Rac8 28. Rd5 Rfe8 {The pair of bishops is nice, but Black is fully mobilized and there is strong pressure against c2.} 29. Bd4 $6 (29. Bf4 $1 $14) 29... f6 30. Ba4 Red8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tashkent FIDE GP 2014"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2014.11.02"] [Round "11.2"] [White "Jobava, Baadur"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A70"] [WhiteElo "2717"] [BlackElo "2764"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2014.10.21"] [SourceDate "2014.01.04"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. h3 O-O 9. Bd3 b5 10. Nxb5 (10. Bxb5 {leads to a completely different type of game} Nxe4 11. Nxe4 Qa5+ 12. Nfd2 Qxb5 13. Nxd6 Qa6 14. N2c4 {and White is still scoring well here, though it ends up on a draw a large amount of times.}) 10... Nxe4 11. Bxe4 Re8 12. Ng5 Qa5+ (12... h6 13. Ne6 {is almost winning for White} fxe6 14. O-O $1 $18) 13. Nc3 Ba6 14. Bd2 Nd7 15. Qc2 {This position is still not new. Black's piece sacrifice has kept White's king in the center and he is very close to having to return his extra piece. Practically speaking White has won almost every game from this position, but perhaps things are not so easy.} Rab8 16. O-O-O (16. Kd1 {had been played before but that looks strange.}) 16... Ne5 17. Rhe1 Rec8 18. Na4 Rb4 $1 {What a complex position. The rook cannot be taken as the opening of the c-file is fatal for White. Also the a4 knight is currently hanging.} 19. f4 (19. b3 $1 {The computer gives this move as stronger, but it looks very scary after} c4 20. Bxb4 Qxb4 {Black is down a rook, but the position is still far from clear.}) 19... Nc4 20. Bf5 $1 {The bishop is actually taboo here. Accepting it would be fatal for Black's king all of the sudden!} Rcb8 (20... gxf5 21. Qxf5 $18 {and h7 cannot be defended. White's attack is faster than Black's.}) 21. Bxb4 Qxb4 {Again here White is up a rook but he has so much to solve. The queenside pressure is no joke and his bishop on f5 will be hanging in some cariations.} 22. a3 $2 (22. Qb3 $1 gxf5 $8 23. Re7 $1 (23. Qxb4 cxb4 24. b3 Bb5 $1 {should give Black enough compensation for the exchange.}) 23... Bb5 24. Nc3 Nxb2 25. Qxb4 cxb4 26. Nxb5 Nxd1 27. Nxd6 Nc3 28. Rxa7 Bd4 {seems to be a double-edged endgame, but I would prefer to be White here.}) 22... Nxa3 23. bxa3 Qxa3+ 24. Kd2 Qg3 $1 {The queen swings to the other side of the board and now White's pieces are all hanging.} 25. Rb1 Qxf4+ 26. Kd1 Rxb1+ 27. Qxb1 Qd4+ 28. Kc1 Qf4+ 29. Kd1 gxf5 (29... Qxa4+ 30. Qc2 (30. Bc2 Qd4+ 31. Kc1 Bh6 {loses for White.}) 30... Qa1+ 31. Qc1 Qxc1+ 32. Kxc1 Bh6 33. Re8+ Kg7 34. h4 gxf5 35. Re7 Kg6 36. Rd7 f6 37. Rxd6 Bc4 38. Kc2 { should go to a draw.}) 30. Re8+ Bf8 31. Nxc5 $1 {Well calculated. This is good for a draw.} Qd4+ 32. Kc1 Qxc5+ 33. Qc2 {without the use of the dark-squared bishop White will be safe with ihs king on c1. Black only has a perpetual check.} Qg1+ 34. Qd1 Qc5+ 35. Qc2 Qg1+ 36. Qd1 Qxg2 37. Qh5 Qg1+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tashkent FIDE GP 2014"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2014.11.02"] [Round "11.1"] [White "Andreikin, Dmitry"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2722"] [BlackElo "2768"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2014.10.21"] [SourceDate "2014.01.04"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bxf6 (5. Bh4 Bb4+ 6. Nc3 g5 {doesn't score well for White.}) 5... Qxf6 6. Nc3 c6 7. e3 g6 8. Bd3 Bg7 9. O-O O-O 10. Ne5 dxc4 11. Nxc4 Qe7 12. Qb3 b6 (12... Rd8 13. Rad1 b6 14. f4 Bb7 15. Be4 Na6 16. a3 c5 17. d5 exd5 18. Bxd5 {held chances for both sides in Fedoseev-Negi, Moscow 2012.}) 13. Be4 Bb7 14. Rfd1 Na6 15. a3 Rfd8 16. Rd2 c5 {Black has achieved c5 and White is not ready for d5, so the game is equal.} 17. Rad1 (17. d5 exd5 18. Bxd5 Bxc3 {is not good for White as d2 is hanging.}) 17... cxd4 18. exd4 Bxe4 19. Nxe4 Nc7 20. Nc3 {Black could claim a very sligiht advantage as he can work against the isolated pawn, but it is far from easy; c6 is weak and d5 would always simplify into equality.} Rd7 21. Ne5 Bxe5 22. dxe5 Rxd2 23. Rxd2 Qg5 24. Rd7 Qxe5 {Black has won a pawn but now his pieces lack coordination. It seems as if Andreikin has just enough activity to make Black's task very difficult.} 25. g3 Na6 $6 (25... Ne8 {retained chances to untangle.}) 26. Qd1 Rf8 27. Rxa7 Nc5 28. Qf3 Qb8 29. Nb5 Qe5 30. Nc3 Qb8 31. Nb5 Qe5 1/2-1/2