[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.07"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D36"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2751"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]

{This first round of the Kings Tournament started with a quiet draw between
Teimour Radjabov and Ruslan Ponomariov. “It is very difficult to get an
advantage against classical openings”, concluded Radjabov after the game.
Indeed, Black didn’t have any problems to equalize and on move 31 the draw
was agreed.  The encounter Nisipeanu-Caruana was much more excited. The
Romanian Grandmaster surprised his opponent in the opening with the
hyper-aggressive move 5.h4 against the Gruenfeld, but something went wrong and
Black didn’t have any opening problems, to say the least. Soon Caruana got
clearly better prospects, but allowed White a nice combination, which should
have saved Nisipeanu. With little time on the clock the Romanian GM missed a
forced draw though. Later in the worse position on moves 39 and 40 White made
further mistakes, allowing Caruana to achieve a decisive advantage, which the
Italian converted into a full point on move 57.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6
4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 {An invitation to play the Cambridge-Springs Variation:
6.e3 Qa5.} 6. cxd5 {Radjabov goes for a safer line: the Exchange Variation of
the Queen's Gambit.} exd5 7. e3 Be7 8. Qc2 Nh5 {This move is popular lately
and it was used also by Ponomariov earlier in a rapid and a blitz game. Black
exchanges the dark-squared bishops, which strategically seems to favour White,
but on the other hand it frees more squares for black pieces as well.} 9. Bxe7
Qxe7 {[#]} 10. Be2 {Usually White is trying to fight for advantage in this
system by castling long. However, as mentioned by Radjabov after the game, the
latest games showed that White is also taking some risk with his king on the
queenside.} (10. O-O-O Nb6 11. h3 Be6 12. Bd3 O-O-O 13. Nd2 Kb8 14. Nb3 g6 15.
g4 Ng7 16. f3 h5 17. Kb1 Bc8 18. Qf2 Ne6 19. Ne2 Qd6 20. Ng3 hxg4 21. hxg4 Qb4
22. Qd2 Qd6 23. Qg2 Qb4 24. Qd2 Qd6 25. Qg2 Qb4 {½-½ Jakovenko,D (2713)
-Ponomariov,R (2743) Khanty-Mansiysk (rapid) 2013}) 10... g6 11. O-O O-O 12.
Rfb1 (12. Rab1 Nb6 13. Bd3 Ng7 14. Rfe1 Bf5 15. h3 Rfe8 16. Ne5 f6 17. Nf3 Bxd3
18. Qxd3 Nf5 19. b4 a6 20. a4 Nd6 21. b5 cxb5 22. axb5 a5 {and Black had
advantage in the blitz game Giri,A (2714)-Ponomariov,R (2723) Beijing 2011.})
12... Nb6 13. Qb3 Bf5 14. Rc1 {[#]  Radjabov's idea to provoke the bishop on
f5 was to slow down Black's possible plan with the advance of the f-pawn.} Nf6
{Ponomariov rearranges his knights after which Black is very close to complete
equality.} 15. a4 (15. Qa3 {was a move suggested after the game, but it is
also not sufficient:} Qxa3 16. bxa3 Nc8 17. a4 a5 {and Black is fine.}) 15...
Nc8 16. Qa3 a5 ({Slightly more precise is} 16... Qxa3 17. Rxa3 a5 $11 {
(Radjabov)}) 17. Qxe7 Nxe7 18. b3 Nc8 19. Ne5 Nd7 20. Nxd7 Bxd7 21. Rab1 Nd6
22. b4 axb4 23. Rxb4 {[#]  Black has just one weakness on b7, which he easily
protects.} Ra5 24. Rb6 Rfa8 25. f3 f5 26. Kf2 Kf7 27. Bd3 Ke7 28. h4 Be6 29.
Rcb1 R8a7 30. Kg3 h6 31. Kf4 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.07"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D90"]
[WhiteElo "2674"]
[BlackElo "2779"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 {[#]} 5. h4 {A move popularized mainly
by the Rusian GM Alexander Morozevich. The main purpose is to avoid the
endless theory of the Gruenfeld.} c6 6. Bg5 O-O 7. Bxf6 Bxf6 8. h5 g5 ({Magnus
Carlsen played differently:} 8... Bf5 9. e3 e6 10. hxg6 Bxg6 11. Bd3 Nd7 12.
Qe2 e5 13. Bxg6 hxg6 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. cxd5 cxd5 16. Rd1 Qa5 17. Kf1 Rad8 18.
Nd4 Qc5 19. Nb3 Qc6 20. Na5 Qc7 21. Nb3 Qc6 22. Na5 Qc7 23. Nb3 Qc6 {draw,
Grischuk,A (2764)-Carlsen,M (2872) London 2013. However, Caruana wasn't
willing to see what improvement was prepared by Nisipeanu.}) 9. e4 {A new move.
In an earlier game White played 9.h6.} dxe4 10. Nxe4 h6 ({Computer's
recommendation} 10... g4 11. Nxf6+ exf6 12. Nh4 Re8+ 13. Be2 Re4 {looks
dubious for Black. For instance after} 14. O-O Rxd4 15. Qc2 {White has good
compensation for the pawn.}) 11. Nxf6+ exf6 12. Qd2 Re8+ ({After the immediate
} 12... Bg4 {White could consider to castle long at once} 13. O-O-O {since}
Bxf3 14. gxf3 {with the idea f3-f4 secures White an initiative on the kingside.
}) 13. Be2 Bg4 14. O-O-O Nd7 15. Rhe1 $5 Qc7 ({Caruana rejects the pawn sac.
After} 15... Bxh5 16. Rh1 Bxf3 {White can conside even} 17. gxf3 {with the
idea f3-f4.} (17. Bxf3 {is possible too, with compensation for the pawn.})) 16.
g3 {[#]} b5 {Black starts active actions in the center and on the queenside.
White's pawn structure might seem better, but in reality Black has an easier
play: his king is safe and he will soon create targets for attack on the
queeenside.} (16... Bxh5 17. Rh1 Bg6 18. Rxh6 Kg7 {was another attractive
alternative.}) 17. cxb5 cxb5+ 18. Kb1 Nb6 ({Here} 18... Bxh5 19. Rh1 Bg6+ {
looked even stronger than on the previous comment. However, the move played in
the game also keeps the advantage.}) 19. Nh2 Nc4 20. Qd3 Rxe2 {This is just a
temporary exchange sac.} 21. Rxe2 Bxh5 $1 22. f4 (22. f3 Bg6 23. Re4 Qxg3 {is
winning for Black.}) 22... Bxe2 23. Qxe2 Kg7 (23... f5 {looks stronger, not
allowing White to activate the knight.}) 24. Ng4 Rc8 {[#]} 25. Nxh6 $1 {This
combination should have led to a draw.} Kxh6 26. Rh1+ Kg6 (26... Kg7 27. Qh2
Kf8 28. Re1 Kg7 29. Rh1 $11) 27. Qc2+ $2 {Instead of this White had more than
one way to achieve a draw.} ({The easiest is} 27. Qh5+ Kf5 28. Qe2 $1 {
(threatening g4 followed by Qh2).} Kg6 29. Qh5+ Kf5 30. Qe2 $11) 27... f5 28.
Qh2 Kf6 29. Qh6+ (29. Re1 $2 Kg7 $19) 29... Ke7 30. Qxg5+ Kd7 31. Qxf5+ Kc6 32.
Qc5+ Kb7 33. Qxb5+ Nb6 {[#]  Three pawns for the knight don't secure here
complete compensation: it is Black who plays for a win. Nisipeanu's task was
even more difficult due to his severe time-trouble.} 34. Qd3 Qc6 35. Re1 Rc7
36. a3 a5 37. g4 Nc4 38. Ka2 a4 39. d5 $6 Qf6 {[#]} 40. Qc3 $2 (40. Re2 Qxf4
41. Re4 Qc1 42. Qe2 {would have allowed White to put a much tougher resistance.
}) 40... Qxc3 41. bxc3 Kb6 {The endgame is lost for White.} 42. g5 Nd6 43. Rb1+
Kc5 44. Rb4 Ra7 45. Kb2 Nc4+ 46. Ka2 Ne3 47. Rb8 Nxd5 48. f5 Ne7 49. Re8 Kc4
50. f6 Ng6 51. Kb2 Ra5 52. Rc8+ Kd5 53. c4+ Kd4 54. Rc7 Ne5 55. Kc2 Rc5 56. Ra7
Rxc4+ 57. Kd1 Kd5 0-1

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Wang, Hao"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D40"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2723"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

{The second round of the Kings Tournament finished with two draws. In both
games Black didn’t have opening problems and equalized rather comfortably.
In Wang Hao-Radjabov White was trying to squeeze an advantage in a typical
middlegame position against an isolated queen’s pawn, but Black’s active
knights always secured Black good play. The draw was agreed on move 36 in an
equal rooks endgame.  Having the black pieces Nisipeanu surprised Ponomariov
in the opening by choosing the Petrov’s Defence. Black quickly achieved a
comfortable position and in order to create some activity the former World
Champion decided to launch an attack on the kingside. However, with his
powerful centralized pieces Black’s position was very solid and he never was
in real danger. Both players showed good tactical skills and a forced play led
to an equal endgame, where the draw was agreed also on move 36.  Thus after
two rounds Caruana has one point out of one game, Ponomariov and Radjabov have
one point out of two games, Wang Hao and Nisipeanu have half a point, but the
Chinese GM played just one game, whereas Nisipeanu played two games.} 1. c4 c5
2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. d4 d5 {[#]  From the English Opening the
game transposed to one of the quiet lines of the Tarrasch Defence. In a
symmetrical position White hopes to use his extra tempo and achieve some
advantage. The practice showed that Black doesn't have particular problems in
this line.} 6. a3 a6 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. b4 Bd6 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Bb2 O-O 11. Be2
Re8 12. O-O Bg4 {[#]} 13. b5 ({More often White plays} 13. Rc1) 13... Na5 ({
Less sense for Black makes} 13... axb5 14. Nxb5 {and White achieves the
desired regrouping of pieces, although even here the position is very close to
equal.}) 14. bxa6 bxa6 15. Na4 Nc4 16. Bd4 ({In two previous games with this
position White took the pawn} 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Qxd5 {but then Black can try
to use his piece activity with} Ne5 {(which wasn't played before), with good
compensation.}) 16... Ne4 17. Nc3 {[#]  In this position Radjabov took almost
20 minutes to decide how to continue. Indeed, there are several options and
many variations to calculate.} Qa5 $5 ({The tempting} 17... Bxf3 18. Bxf3 Ncd2
{leads to a position where only White can try to play for a win:} (18... Ned2
$2 19. Bxd5 {is bad for Black.}) 19. Bxe4 $1 (19. Re1 $4 {loses due to} Bxh2+
20. Kxh2 Qh4+ 21. Kg1 Qxf2+ 22. Kh2 Re6) 19... Nxe4 20. Nxe4 dxe4 ({Also after
} 20... Rxe4 21. h3 {White can claim an edge.}) 21. Qa4 {White has a small
plus, but the most likely result is draw anyway.}) 18. Bxc4 dxc4 19. Nxe4 Rxe4
20. h3 {[#]} ({After the immediate} 20. Bxg7 $2 {Black has} Bxh2+ ({or} 20...
Rd8 21. Bd4 Qh5 {with a powerful attack}) 21. Kxh2 Kxg7 {with advantage for
Black.}) 20... Bxf3 {The correct decision. As demonstrated by Radjabov after
the game, the alternatives are in White's favour:} (20... Bxh3 21. gxh3 Qh5 (
21... Qf5 22. Ne1 (22. Nh2 $2 Bxh2+ 23. Kxh2 Rh4 $19) 22... Qxh3 23. f4 Rxe3
24. Bxe3 Qxe3+ 25. Kg2) 22. Nh2 $1 Qxh3 23. f4 Rxe3 24. Bxe3 Qxe3+ 25. Kg2 $16)
({After} 20... Bh5 {White can already take the pawn} 21. Bxg7 Re6 (21... Rd8
22. Bd4) (21... Kxg7 22. Qxd6 Bxf3 23. gxf3 $16) 22. Bd4 Rg6 23. Re1) 21. Qxf3
Rae8 22. Rfc1 (22. Rac1 $5 Bxa3 23. Rxc4) 22... Qd5 $1 23. Rd1 Be5 24. Bc3 Qe6
25. Rac1 Bxc3 26. Rxc3 g6 {[#]} 27. Qg3 Qf6 28. Rc2 Rd8 29. Qf3 Rxd1+ 30. Qxd1
Qb6 31. Rc3 Qc5 32. Qc1 h5 33. f3 Re6 34. Rxc4 Qxe3+ 35. Qxe3 Rxe3 36. a4
1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter "]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]
[BlackElo "2674"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {Surprize! Nisipeanu played the Russian's Game (also known
as the Petrov's Defence) only once before and that happened long ago - in 1996
- when he was facing his trainer...} 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 {A
fashionable modern line.} Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Bf4 O-O 8. Qd2 Nd7 9. O-O-O Nc5
10. Be3 c6 ({One of the best specialists of this opening, Vladimir Kramnik
usually preferred here} 10... Re8) 11. c4 {Caught by surprize Ponomariov
chooses a move with a poor reputation.} ({The main continuation is} 11. Bxc5
dxc5 12. Qf4) 11... Ne4 12. Qe1 Re8 13. Bd3 Bf6 14. Qb4 c5 15. Qb3 b6 {[#]  We
can draw the conclusion after the opening: the white queen is somewhat
misplaced on b3 and Black has an easy play.} 16. c3 {The queen wants to return
to c2.} Bb7 17. Qc2 Re6 {[#]  As mentioned before Black is extremely solid.
White can play something like Rhe1 or maybe Nd2 at once, but these moves will
most likely lead to exchange of pieces and positions where White can hardly
play for a win. Instead of this Ponomariov chooses the most aggressive plan:
to attack black king!} 18. h4 $5 h6 (18... h5 {was another option, although
the Romanian GM didn't like White's possibility to jump with the knight to g5 
(now or later on).}) 19. Rh3 Qd7 20. g4 Re7 21. Rg1 h5 {[#]  A very sharp play
begins!} ({A good alternative was} 21... d5 $1 {which Nisipeanu saw during the
game, but he was very tempted by the advance of the h-pawn.}) 22. Ng5 $1 Rae8 (
{The consequences of} 22... hxg4 23. Bxe4 Bxg5 {was difficult to evaluate
during the game. They lead to a double-edged position after} 24. Bxb7 Bxe3+ (
24... Rxe3 $2 25. hxg5) 25. fxe3 Qxb7 26. Rxg4) 23. Qd1 $1 {Again the
strongest move.} hxg4 24. Rxg4 Bc8 {[#]} 25. Nxe4 {The start of a forced
variation, leading to an equal endgame.} Rxe4 26. Rxe4 Rxe4 27. Bxe4 Qxh3 28.
Qxd6 Qf1+ 29. Kc2 Qxc4 30. Qc6 Qe6 31. Qa8 Qe8 32. h5 {[#]} Bd7 33. Qb7 ({More
precise is} 33. Qxe8+ Bxe8 34. Bf4 Bd8 35. Kd3 {and in opposite to the game it
is Black who needs some accuracy.}) 33... Bg4 {Nisipeanu shows his ambitions,
attacking pawn h5 and threatening Qa4+.} ({Black could repeat the moves
instead with} 33... Bc8 34. Qa8 Bd7) 34. f3 ({After} 34. Bd5 {Black plays the
simple} Bxh5) 34... Bxf3 35. Bxf3 Qxe3 36. Kb3 {[#]  Black is a pawn up, but
White's king is safer. The opposite-coloured bishops neutralize completely
Black's slight material advantage and after} Qe7 {the draw was agreed.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.09"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2751"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

{In today’s round players with the White pieces put considerable pressure on
their opponent’s. Caruana achieved a pleasant strategic advantage against
Ponomariov, but converting it into a full point proved to be impossible and
the draw was agreed on move 41. In the other game Wang Hao with the black
pieces was constantly under pressure against Nisipeanu and lost an exchange in
a complicated middlegame. The arising endgame was difficult for Black and
Nisipeanu converted his advantage by sacrificing back the exchange and
creating a passed pawn, which decided the game. White won on move 42.} 1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nf6 {Apparently the Petrov's Defence is starting to be popular in
Bucharest.} 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 ({Ponomariov
himself against Nisipeanu played yesterday} 7. Bf4 {but the opening outcome
was more than satisfactory for Black.}) 7... Nc6 8. Qd2 O-O ({Another plan is} 
8... Be6 9. O-O-O Qd7 {after which Black can choose later which side to castle.
}) 9. O-O-O Ne5 {[#]  Caruana had this position in his previous practice four
times and in all games he inevitably chose 10.h4. But in the present game the
Italian GM went for a completely different set-up.} 10. Nxe5 {A relatively
rare move, never met on the high level before.} dxe5 11. Bd3 Be6 {[#]  Looking
at the position it seems that Black is doing very well thanks to his superior
pawn structure. All he needs to do is to exchange pieces, ideally the queens.
But obviously things are not so simple. White will avoid the exchange of
queens and will try to create some activity on the kingside, using the fact
that his own king is potentially better protected against a possible advance
of opponent's pawns. As we'll see soon, Caruana's plan is to provoke the
advance f5-f4 and then use square e4 for his pieces.} 12. Qe2 Qe8 13. Kb1 f5 {
After some 20 minutes of thought Ponomariov chooses the most natural move in
the position: Black is trying to make use of his kingside pawn majority.} 14.
Bc4 Bf6 {A serious inaccuracy, after which Black will suffer the entire game. 
[#]} ({As indicated after the game by the players, Black shouldn't have had
much problems after} 14... Bd6) 15. g4 $1 {Now suddenly White gets a strategic
advantage.} Bxc4 ({If Black tries to keep his mighty pawn on f5 with} 15... g6
{then after} 16. gxf5 gxf5 17. Bh6 {White has good attacking prospects.}) (
15... fxg4 16. Qxg4 $14) 16. Qxc4+ Qf7 17. Qb4 $1 {As mentioned before, White
is avoiding the trade of queens.} ({Black has no problems whatsoever in
endgame:} 17. Qxf7+ Rxf7 18. gxf5 Bh4 $5) 17... f4 18. Bc5 (18. Bc1 {was
suggested by Caruana as a possible improvement. The idea is to transfer later
the bishop to the long diagonal to put pressure on e5.}) 18... Rfb8 {
Protecting b7.} 19. f3 b6 (19... Bh4 $5) 20. Bf2 Rd8 21. Qe4 $14 {[#]} Qe6 22.
c4 g6 23. h4 Kf7 24. h5 c6 25. a4 ({Here White missed the opportunity to
transfer the bishop to the desired diagonal:} 25. hxg6+ hxg6 26. Bd4 $1 {and}
Qxc4 $2 {loses due to} 27. Rh7+ Ke6 28. Qxg6) 25... Rxd1+ 26. Rxd1 Rd8 27.
hxg6+ hxg6 28. Rxd8 Bxd8 29. Be1 a5 $1 30. Bf2 Qd6 31. Kc1 Ke8 32. c3 Kd7 33.
Kc2 c5 {[#]  White's positional advantage is not enough for a win.} 34. Qb7+
Bc7 35. Qd5 g5 $1 (35... Qxd5 36. cxd5 {looks very dangerous for Black. After
the game Ponomariov indicated the following win for White if Black continues}
Kd6 {:} 37. Kd3 Kxd5 38. c4+ Ke6 39. Bh4 $1 Kd6 40. Ke4 Ke6 41. b3 Kd6 42. Bf6
Ke6 43. g5 {and Black loses due to zugzwang.}) 36. Be1 Ke7 37. Qe4 Qh6 38. Bd2
Qh1 {Now that Black has counterplay Caruana gave up his hopes.} 39. Qb7 Kd8 40.
b4 Qf1 41. Qd5+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.09"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter"]
[Black "Wang, Hao"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E50"]
[WhiteElo "2674"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nf3 b6 {[#]} 7. d5 {
Although played from time to time on the highest level, this ambitious move
came as a surprise for Wang Hao, who in reply thought for almost half an hour.}
({Much more popular is} 7. O-O Bb7 8. Na4 {but then after} cxd4 9. exd4 Re8 10.
a3 Bf8 {the practice showed that Black has a flexible and healthy position.})
7... exd5 8. cxd5 Ba6 {Played after another 10 minutes of thought. Wang Hao's
task is to complete development as quickly as possible.} ({The following
variation is considered to be the real test for White's opening choice:} 8...
h6 9. e4 ({after} 9. O-O {Black can take the pawn:} Bxc3 10. bxc3 Nxd5 {and
White's compensation for the pawn is most likely enough just for equality})
9... Nxe4 10. Bxe4 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Re8 12. Nd2 f5 13. O-O fxe4 {but without
home analysis this complicated and very unclear position is rather unwise to
play against a good prepared opponent.}) 9. O-O Re8 10. e4 {A new move.} (10.
Bxa6 Nxa6 11. Nb5 d6 12. a3 Qd7 13. Qd3 Ba5 14. Rb1 {was slightly better for
White in Ragger,M (2680)-Swiercz,D (2654) Martuni 2013}) 10... Bxd3 11. Qxd3 {
[#]} d6 {Following the initial plan to complete development is the right
decision.} ({Instead, taking the pawn on e4 is dubious:} 11... Bxc3 12. bxc3
Nxe4 ({or} 12... Rxe4 13. Bg5) 13. Re1 f5 (13... Nf6 14. Bg5 {is highly
unpleasant for Black, who can quickly find himself in a lost position. For
instance:} Rxe1+ 15. Rxe1 d6 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Nh4 {is already winning for
White.}) 14. Ng5 $5 {with a strong initiative for the sacrificed pawn.}) 12.
Bg5 Nbd7 13. Rae1 {Keeping the rook on f1 is a very ambitious plan. The
Romanian GM hopes to play f4 and e5 one day.} h6 14. Bd2 {Now White is ready
to recapture on c3 with the bishop, where it will be perfectly placed.} ({The
logical looking move} 14. Bf4 {in reality does not attack the pawn on d6. For
instance Black can continue} a6 {and then} 15. Bxd6 $2 {loses a piece due to}
c4) 14... Ng4 15. a3 Ba5 (15... Bxc3 16. Bxc3 $14) 16. Qb1 $1 (16. b4 cxb4 17.
Nb5 {might look tempting, but it does not really work in view of} Nc5 18. Qb1
bxa3 19. Bxa5 bxa5 20. Nxa3 Rb8 {with excellent play for Black.}) 16... c4 {
This defence against White's threat b2-b4 has the obvious drawback of giving
up square d4.} 17. Nd4 Nc5 18. h3 Ne5 {[#]} 19. Re3 $1 {White removes the rook
from a possible attack (after Nd3) and is ready to advance the f-pawn.} Nb3 ({
Probably a better alternative is} 19... Rc8 20. f4 (20. Nc2) 20... Bxc3 21.
Bxc3 ({or} 21. Rxc3 Ng6) 21... Ned3 {with a double-edged position.}) 20. Nxb3
cxb3 21. Rg3 {[#]} Qh4 {Wang Hao considers this to be the decisive mistake,
after which "Black's position is just very bad".} ({In opinion of Chinese GM
Black should be fine after} 21... Qf6) 22. Be1 Nd7 (22... Nc4 23. Qd1 {wins
the b3-pawn, because} Nxb2 24. Qxb3 {loses the knight.}) 23. Nb5 $1 {Now White
wins material. It must be said that Wang Hao had only about 10 minutes left
for the rest of 17 moves to reach the time control (I remind that the players
get 30 seconds increment only after move 61), which makes his task even more
difficult.} Qxe4 24. Bxa5 bxa5 25. Nc7 ({Much weaker is} 25. Nxd6 Qxb1 26. Rxb1
Re5) 25... Qxb1 26. Rxb1 Nc5 27. Nxa8 Rxa8 {[#]  The endgame should be
technically winning or White, but the time trouble played some role later:
Nisipeanu gave a chance to his opponent to complicate matters, which with few
seconds left Wang Hao didn't use though.} 28. Re3 Kf8 29. Rc1 g5 30. Rc4 {
Nisipeanu had in mind a very interesting plan: to sac back the exchange and
enter a winning rooks endgame.} ({A safe winning plan is} 30. Rf1 {followed by
f2-f4 and White must be winning without big complications.}) 30... Kg7 31. Kf1
Kf6 32. Ke2 h5 33. a4 Rg8 {[#]} 34. Rxc5 $5 {The arising position after this
sacrifice looks completely winning for White. However, taking such decisions
with little time is quite risky, taking into consideration the drawing
reputation of rooks endgames.} dxc5 35. Kd3 g4 {Black is trying to activate
his rook.} 36. h4 {White prevents opponent's intentions. It must be said that
Wang Hao had only one minute left on the clock.} g3 37. f3 {[#]} Rb8 $2 {
Finally the time trouble plays its role.} ({The only chance for Black was} 
37... c4+ {even if after the correct} 38. Kd4 $1 {it is unclear if Black can
save himself.} (38. Kxc4 Rc8+ 39. Kxb3 Rd8)) 38. Kc4 Rb4+ 39. Kxc5 Rxh4 40. d6
Rh1 41. Rd3 Rc1+ 42. Kb5 1-0

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.10"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Wang, Hao"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2779"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

{Today the first game to finish was Wang Hao-Caruana. In a rare variation of
the Gruenfeld Defense on the Black’s side Caruana implemented a novelty
already on move seven, designed to sacrifice a pawn for pieces’ activity.
Wang Hao was well prepared and continued to play quickly for a while, but
White didn’t get anything special and at some point the Italian GM equalized
comfortably. In the resulting rook endgame the players could not avoid the
inevitable draw.  The second game lasted much longer: Radjabov with the white
pieces against Nisipeanu achieved an advantage after the opening and at some
point Black’s position looked highly unpleasant. However, with accurate
defense the Romanian GM neutralized opponent’s initiative and practically
equalized completely the position, only to blunder a pawn before the first
time control. After that Radjabov was trying to convert an extra pawn in a
rook and bishop endgame versus rook and knight, which finally resulted in a
pawnless theoretically drawish endgame rook and bishop versus rook. Nisipeanu
demonstrated his knowledge and finally achieved the desired draw on move 116.} 
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 {[#]} 5. Bd2 Nb6 6. e3 {Much more
often White continues 6.Bg5 or 6.Nf3, but Wang Hao had already played this
move before.} Bg7 7. f4 {[#]} c5 {A very rare case in modern chess: novelty on
move 7!} (7... O-O 8. Nf3 a5 9. Rc1 {happened just few months ago in Wang Hao 
(2752)-Grischuk,A (2780), Beijing 2013.}) 8. dxc5 N6d7 9. Na4 {If Black
recaptures the sacrificed pawn without making concessions he should be doing
more than fine, so for the moment White is trying to keep his extra pawn.} ({
Other options were} 9. b4) ({and} 9. Ne4) 9... e5 {Logical: Caruana opens the
center, using the fact that opponent's knight went to the edge of the board.}
10. Nf3 exf4 11. exf4 O-O 12. Bc4 b6 $5 {Played after more than half an hour
of thinking. Black sacrifices a pawn in order to be able to use the weaknesses
in opponent's pawn formation.} (12... Re8+ {was tempting, although after} 13.
Kf2 {Black cannot make use of the temporary slightly exposed position of white
king.}) ({Wang Hao mentioned that he remembers that after} 12... Nxc5 13. Nxc5
Qe7+ 14. Qe2 Qxc5 15. Rc1 {"Black must still make a lot of precise moves and
even after that White has a slightly better endgame".}) 13. O-O {An almost
instant answer by Wang Hao.} (13. cxb6 Nxb6 14. Nxb6 Qxb6 {offers Black an
obvious compensation.}) ({It is important that} 13. Bd5 {doesn't work for
White:} Nxc5 14. Bxa8 Nd3+ 15. Kf1 Ba6 {and Black wins.}) 13... Ba6 ({After
the game Caruana said that possibly} 13... Nxc5 {is a better way for Black to
equalize:} 14. Nxc5 bxc5 15. Bc3 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Ba6) 14. Bxa6 ({As established
in the post-mortem analysis, Black's compensation is obvious in the variation} 
14. Bd5 Bxf1 15. Kxf1 Na6 16. Bxa8 Qxa8 17. cxb6 Nxb6 18. Nxb6 axb6 19. Bc3
Bxc3 20. bxc3 Nc5) 14... Nxa6 {[#]} 15. c6 {Only around here did Wang Hao
start to consume more time. However, it seems that White cannot achieve any
sensible advantage.} ({Also now} 15. cxb6 Nxb6 {is good for Black. For
instance:} 16. Nxb6 Qxb6+ 17. Kh1 Qxb2 {and White must already think about
keeping the balance.}) 15... Ndc5 16. Nxc5 (16. Rb1 {is also no problem for
Black:} Qd5 ({or} 16... Ne4) 17. b4 Ne4) 16... Nxc5 17. Bc3 ({Another try was} 
17. Qc2 {with the idea} Qc7 ({better is} 17... Rc8 18. Bc3 Qd3) ({or} 17... Qe8
{and if} 18. Bc3 {then} Qe3+) 18. Bc3 Bxc3 19. Qxc3 {and Black cannot take on
c6 in view of b2-b4.}) 17... Bxc3 18. bxc3 Rc8 19. Nd4 Ne6 {White is not able
to keep his extra pawn on c6 and Black equalizes completely.} 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21.
Qa4 Qc7 22. Rad1 a5 (22... Qxc6 23. Qxa7 Ra8 24. Qd7 Qxd7 25. Rxd7 Rxa2 {is
also a draw.}) 23. g3 Qxc6 24. Qxc6 Rxc6 {[#]  The endgame is of course
drawish. In the following part it looked like Black got some chances for
advantage, although after the game Wang Hao said he never felt any danger.} 25.
Rfe1 Rf7 26. Rd2 Rfc7 27. Kf2 Kf7 28. Rb1 Rb7 29. Rd3 Ke7 30. g4 Rc4 31. Kg3 b5
32. Rb2 Rc5 {[#]} 33. a4 Rd7 34. Rxd7+ Kxd7 35. axb5 Rxc3+ (35... Kc7 36. Re2
$11) 36. Kh4 Rc5 37. b6 Kc8 38. Re2 a4 39. Rxe6 Ra5 (39... a3 40. Re2 Ra5 41.
Ra2 Kb7 42. f5 gxf5 43. gxf5 Kxb6 44. f6 $11) 40. Re5 Rxe5 41. fxe5 a3 42. e6
a2 43. e7 Kd7 44. b7 a1=Q 45. e8=Q+ Kxe8 46. b8=Q+ Kf7 47. Qc7+ Kg8 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.10"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E39"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2674"]
[PlyCount "231"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. Nf3 c5 6. dxc5 Na6 7. g3 {A
variation played by Radjabov before: White is heading for a small,
long-lasting advantage.} Nxc5 8. Bg2 b6 ({The main continuation is} 8... Nce4
9. O-O Nxc3 10. bxc3 Be7 11. e4 d6 12. e5 dxe5 13. Nxe5 {which happened few
times in Radjabov's practice.}) 9. O-O Bb7 {[#]} 10. Nb5 {The weakness of
square d6 is one of Black's main problems in this variation and Radjabov is
trying to use it right away.} Nce4 (10... d6 $4 {would just lose the bishop
after} 11. a3) 11. Ng5 {The only way to fight for advantage.} ({Nothing brings
} 11. a3 Be7 12. Ng5 Nc5 13. b4 Bxg2 14. Kxg2 h6 $5 15. bxc5 hxg5 16. Bxg5 Rc8
17. cxb6 Qxb6 {with sufficient counterplay for Black.}) 11... d5 ({After} 11...
a6 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Bxe4 Bxe4 14. Qxe4 axb5 15. cxb5 {White remains with an
extra pawn.}) 12. Rd1 ({Another tempting option looks} 12. a3 Be7 13. Nxe4 Nxe4
14. Bf4 {with the idea that if} a6 $2 {then White has} 15. Nc7 Rc8 16. Bxe4
dxe4 17. Rfd1 {winning.}) 12... Qe7 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. a3 {[#]} a6 {Black must
go for a more or less forced variation that ends with a pleasant edge for
White.} ({Worse is} 14... Bc5 15. Bxe4 dxe4 16. b4 a6 17. bxc5 axb5 18. cxb5
bxc5 (18... Qxc5 19. Qxc5 bxc5 20. Be3 {is also difficult for Black}) 19. a4 {
and White is clearly better.}) 15. axb4 axb5 16. Rxa8 Rxa8 17. cxd5 exd5 18.
Be3 {[#]  The kind of position White is happy to achieve in this opening
variation: his bishop pair secures White a stable advantage and basically the
draw is the most Black can dream of.} Rc8 19. Qb3 h6 20. Bxb6 Rc4 21. Bd4 {[#]}
Ng5 $1 {The knight goes to e6 in order to disturb the stability of White's
centralized bishop on d4.} (21... Rxb4 {runs into a highly unpleasant pin} 22.
Qa3 {and Black is in big troubles.}) ({and} 21... Qxb4 {leads to un unpleasant
endgame:} 22. Qxb4 (22. Qe3 $5) 22... Rxb4 23. Bxe4 dxe4 24. Bc3 Rc4 25. Rd8+
Kh7 26. Rd7 b4 27. Be5) 22. Qd3 ({The Azerbaijani GM wasn't willing to weaken
light squares with} 22. e3 {due to} Bc8 {"which can be unpleasant in the
approaching time-trouble" (Radjabov).}) 22... Ne6 23. Be5 ({Another option was
} 23. Bc3 d4 24. Bd2) 23... d4 (23... f6 $2 24. b3 $1) 24. b3 Rc3 25. Qxb5 Bxg2
26. Kxg2 Rxb3 27. Qd5 ({In case of} 27. Qb8+ Kh7 28. Bd6 Qd7 29. Qb6 Rb2 {the
activity of the rook secures Black sufficient compensation to keep the balance.
}) ({Also after} 27. Ra1 {Nisipeanu was going to continue with the active} Qg5
{(with the idea Qf5 and Ng5). Then for instance} 28. Qd5 $4 {would run into a
nice fork} Nf4+) 27... Rxb4 {[#]} (27... Qxb4 28. Bxd4 Nxd4 29. Rxd4 Qb7 {
leads to a theoretically drawish endgame, but Black still must defend it for a
long time and Nisipeanu wanted to avoid it.}) 28. Qa8+ ({White had at his
disposal the tricky move} 28. e3 $1 {with the idea that} dxe3 $2 {runs into}
29. Bd6) ({The immediate} 28. Bd6 {brings White nothing due to} Qb7) 28... Kh7
29. Qe4+ g6 30. Bxd4 Qd6 31. Qe5 (31. e3 {allows counterplay with} Ng5) 31...
Qxe5 32. Bxe5 Re4 33. Bc3 Rxe2 34. Rd7 {[#]} Rc2 $2 ({When finally the draw
was practically achieved, Nisipeanu had a hallucination. He panicked, thinking
that} 34... Kg8 {is impossible because of} 35. Rd8+ {with mate... As the
result the Romanian GM had to work for few more hours and another 82 moves
before reaching the draw.}) 35. Rxf7+ Kg8 36. Rf3 Ng5 37. Re3 Ne4 38. Be1 Nf6
39. Re7 {[#]  The endgame is unpleasant for Black, although with a precise
defense it must be a draw.} h5 40. h3 Nd5 41. Rd7 Nf6 42. Ra7 Ne4 43. Ra4 Nf6
44. Kf3 Kf7 45. Ra7+ Ke6 46. Ra6+ Kf7 47. Ra5 Ke6 48. Bb4 Ne4 $1 {If Black
exchanges the knight for the bishop there will be a relatively simple draw.}
49. Be1 {[#]} (49. Kxe4 Rc4+) 49... Nc5 ({Missing} 49... Rc1 $1 {and Black
achieves the task to exchange the minor pieces:} 50. Ra6+ (50. Bb4 Rc2) (50.
Ke2 Nc3+ 51. Kd2 Rd1+) 50... Kf7 51. Ba5 Ng5+ 52. Kg2 Ra1 {and White will have
to exchange the rooks soon, which is also a relatively simple draw.}) 50. Ke3
Rc4 51. f3 Nd7 52. Kd3 Rc6 53. Bc3 Nc5+ 54. Ke2 Ne4 55. Be1 Nd6 56. g4 hxg4 57.
hxg4 Nc4 58. Rg5 Kf6 59. Bh4 Re6+ 60. Kf2 Ne5 61. f4 Nc6 {[#]} 62. Rd5+ Kf7 63.
Kf3 Nb4 64. Rd7+ Ke8 65. Rd8+ Kf7 66. Bf2 Nc6 67. Rd5 Ne7 68. Rd7 Ke8 69. Rb7
Rc6 70. Bd4 Nd5 71. Kg3 Nc7 72. Be5 Ne6 73. g5 Ra6 74. Bf6 Kf8 {[#]} 75. f5
Nxg5 {Nisipeanu decides to give the knight right away and go for the
theoretically drawn endgame.} (75... gxf5 76. g6 {was White's idea and Black
will have to give the knight anyway.}) 76. Bxg5 gxf5 77. Kf4 Ke8 78. Kxf5 (78.
Re7+ Kf8 79. Kxf5 Ra5+ 80. Kf6 Ra6+ $1 $11 ({but not} 80... Rxg5 $4 81. Ra7 {
and White wins})) 78... Rd6 79. Rh7 Rd7 80. Rh8+ Kf7 {[#]  Black's main
defensive set-up.} 81. Bf6 Rd5+ 82. Be5 Rd7 83. Rh6 Ke8 84. Bd6 Rf7+ 85. Ke6 {
[#]} Re7+ $1 {The main idea of Black's defensive method. Radjabov tried for 30
more moves, but in vain: Nisipeanu defended precisely.} 86. Kd5 Rg7 87. Rf6 Rf7
88. Re6+ Kd7 89. Rh6 Rf5+ 90. Be5 Rf7 91. Rb6 Ke8 92. Bf6 Rd7+ 93. Ke6 Re7+ 94.
Kf5 Rc7 95. Rd6 Rd7 96. Re6+ Kf7 97. Be5 Rd5 98. Rh6 Rd7 99. Bd6 Ke8 100. Rh8+
Kf7 101. Ke5 Kg6 102. Ke6 Rf7 {[#]} 103. Rg8+ (103. Be5 {leads to a similar
stalemate idea:} Rf6+ $1 {chasing away opponent's king.}) 103... Rg7 104. Rf8
Kg5 105. Rf1 Rg6+ 106. Ke5 Kg4 107. Bc5 Rg5+ 108. Kd4 Rf5 109. Rg1+ Kf3 110.
Bd6 Kf2 111. Rg4 Ra5 112. Bb4 Kf3 113. Rh4 Rg5 114. Rf4+ Kxf4 115. Bd2+ Kf3
116. Bxg5 {[#]} 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.12"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E08"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2674"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

{The sixth round of Kings Tournament had two balanced games that finished in
draws. In both Caruana-Nisipeanu and Ponomariov-Radjabov Black didn’t have
opening problems and at some moment even took over the initiative, but in
neither of them did White have any problems to achieve the draw. Thus the
standings didn’t change: Caruana is leading with a “plus two” score,
followed by Ponomariov and Nisipeanu on 50 per cent. Radjabov and Wang Hao
have “minus one”.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6.
Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. Bf4 b6 10. Rd1 Bb7 {[#]} 11. Ne5 {This move
became popular only in the past two years and Caruana already played it few
times. The main line is considered to be} (11. Nc3) 11... Nh5 12. Bd2 Nhf6 13.
cxd5 cxd5 14. Nc6 Bxc6 15. Qxc6 {[#]  A position with a long strategic battle
ahead. On the long run White hopes to use his bishop's pair, which is not an
easy task, since Black's position is very solid. His only weaknesses are
created by the pawn on b6 instead of b7, but White has no way to use this
factor directly.} Rc8 (15... Qb8 16. Qc2 b5 17. Qd3 {was slightly better for
White in Caruana,F (2757)-Gelfand,B (2740) Zuerich 2013.}) 16. Qb5 (16. Qa4 Nb8
17. Be1 a6 18. Qb3 Nc6 19. Qd3 b5 20. a4 bxa4 21. Nc3 a5 22. e3 Bb4 23. Rxa4
Qe7 24. Raa1 h6 25. Qa6 Nb8 26. Qe2 Rc7 27. Na4 Nc6 28. Nc3 Nb8 29. Na4 Nc6 30.
Nc3 {½-½ Gelfand,B (2739)-Kramnik,V (2790) Moscow 2010}) 16... Ne8 17. Qd3
Nd6 18. b3 Nf6 (18... f5 19. f3 Nb8 20. Nc3 Nc6 21. e3 Bf6 {Caruana,F (2757)
-Adams,M (2725) Baden-Baden 2013.}) 19. Nc3 Qd7 20. f3 Nf5 21. e3 {[#]} h5 {
Nisipeanu does not wish to wait passively and let his opponent slowly improve
the position. Instead, the Romanian GM gains space on the kingside in order to
secure some squares for his knights and eventually prevent White to expand
there.} ({A passive strategy was fatal for Black in the following game:} 21...
Rfd8 22. Ne2 Qc7 23. Rac1 Qd7 24. Rxc8 Qxc8 25. Rc1 Qd7 26. a4 Ba3 27. Rc2 a5
28. Qa6 Rb8 29. Nf4 Bd6 30. Nd3 Ne7 31. Bf1 h6 32. Ne5 Qd8 33. Nc6 Nxc6 34.
Rxc6 Ne8 35. Kg2 Ba3 36. Bd3 Nc7 37. Qa7 Ne8 38. Be1 {and the Italian
converted his advantage into a full point in Caruana,F (2796)-Yu,Y (2662)
Tromso 2013.}) 22. Ne2 Rfd8 {[#]} 23. Rac1 {An inaccuracy according to the
players.} ({Better is} 23. a4 {after which Black continues} a5) 23... a5 24.
Rxc8 Rxc8 25. Rc1 {The second inaccuracy leads to a very comfortable position
for Black.} Rxc1+ 26. Bxc1 {[#]} g5 $1 {Nisipeanu continues the same strategy
of getting space on the kingside and fight for the important square e4. As
long as the center remains closed Black can allow himself playing such
advances on the kingside.} 27. Bd2 (27. e4 dxe4 28. fxe4 Nxd4 $1 29. Nxd4 Bc5 {
works fine for Black.} (29... e5 30. Bxg5)) ({Slightly better than the game is
} 27. h3 g4 ({Nisipeanu considered to play} 27... Qc7 $5 28. g4 hxg4 29. hxg4
Nh4) 28. hxg4 hxg4 29. fxg4 Nxg4 30. e4 dxe4 31. Bxe4) 27... g4 28. Be1 Bf8 {
[#]  Black has achieved a very comfortable position, which Nisipeanu evaluated
in his favour. Nevertheless, White is basically almost always out of real
danger and the balance in the game was never broken.} 29. h3 Bh6 30. Bf2 Qc7 {
[#]} ({As indicated by Nisipeanu after the game, Black could keep the pressure
with} 30... Nd6 {in order to prevent the advance e3-e4.}) 31. e4 {Forces the
matters and leads almost by force to a draw.} gxf3 32. Bxf3 dxe4 33. Bxe4 Nxe4
34. Qxe4 Ne7 35. Qh4 Nd5 (35... Qc2 36. Qxe7 Qxe2 37. Qf6 $11) 36. Qxh5 Qc2 37.
Qxh6 Qxe2 38. Qg5+ Kh7 {[#]} 39. a4 Qd1+ 40. Kg2 Qxb3 41. Qh5+ Kg8 42. Qg5+ Kh7
43. Qh5+ Kg8 44. Qg5+ Kh7 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.12"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]
[BlackElo "2723"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. O-O Nge7 5. Re1 ({Another plan is} 5. c3) ({
Yesterday Caruaa won against Radjabov by playing} 5. d4 {but the result wasn't
due to the opening outcome.}) 5... a6 6. Bxc6 bxc6 {[#]} ({Much more often
Black recaptures with the knight on c6 -} 6... Nxc6 {However, Radjabov's 6...
bxc6 is rather typical as well: Black has a compact pawn mass in the center
and would like to keep the knight closer to his king.}) 7. d4 {Amazingly,
nobody played this move before.} (7. e5 Ng6 8. b3 Be7 9. c3 O-O 10. d4 cxd4 11.
cxd4 c5 12. Ba3 cxd4 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Qxd4 Bb7 15. Nbd2 f6 {happened in
Kamsky,G (2741)-Radjabov,T (2793) Zug 2013.}) (7. c3 {now is less dangerous
for Black in view of} Ng6 8. d4 d5 {and the knight is well placed on g6.}) ({
Another important option for White is} 7. b3) 7... cxd4 8. Qxd4 Ng6 9. Be3 d6
10. Nbd2 e5 11. Qd3 Be7 12. Nc4 Bg4 13. Rad1 {[#]} O-O $1 (13... Bxf3 14. Bb6
$1 Bxe4 15. Rxe4 Qb8 16. Nxd6+ Bxd6 17. Qxd6 {and Black cannot take on b6
becaue of} Qxb6 18. Rb4 {(Ponomariov)}) 14. Nxd6 Bxd6 (14... Bxf3 15. gxf3 Nh4
16. Rf1 (16. Nf5 Nxf3+ 17. Kf1 Nxe1 18. Qe2 Qe8 19. Bh6) 16... Nxf3+ 17. Kg2 (
17. Kh1 Bxd6 18. Qxd6 Qh4) 17... Nh4+ 18. Kh1 g6 19. Bh6) 15. Qxd6 Qc8 {[#] 
"Somehow I made all logical moves and then suddenly White was worse", said
Ponomariov after the game.} 16. Qd3 ({The only way for White to keep some
advantage was} 16. Rd3 Bxf3 17. gxf3 Qh3 18. Qd7 $1 f5 (18... Qxf3 $2 19. Bc5)
19. Bg5 $1 Qh5 (19... h6 20. f4 Qh5 21. exf5) 20. h4 {but this is easier to
advice than to play in a practical game. White's idea is} Nxh4 (20... h6 21.
exf5 Nxh4 22. Bxh4 Qxh4 23. Re4) 21. Qe6+ Kh8 22. Bxh4 Qxh4 23. Qxe5 Rae8 24.
Qg3 {and in spite of the exposed position of white king it is difficult for
Black to create threats.}) 16... Bxf3 17. gxf3 Qh3 {Now Black has some
advantage, although with accurate play White can defend successfully, and this
is what happened in the game.} 18. Qf1 Qxf3 19. Rd3 Rfd8 20. Bg5 (20. Qg2 $2
Nh4) 20... Rxd3 21. Qxd3 Qh5 22. Qg3 h6 23. Be3 Nh4 24. Kh1 Rd8 (24... Nf3 25.
Bxh6 g6 26. Re3 Nd2 27. Qg5 Qd1+ 28. Qg1 Qh5 (28... Qxc2 $2 29. Re2) 29. Qg5
$11) 25. Rg1 {[#]} Qf3+ (25... g5 26. h3 Qf3+ 27. Qxf3 Nxf3 28. Rc1 f5 29. exf5
e4 {was suggested by Ponomariov after the game as a possible plan for Black,
but the players agreed that White has nothing to fear after} 30. c4 Kf7 31. b4
Kf6 32. a4 Rb8 33. Rb1) 26. Qxf3 Nxf3 27. Rc1 Ng5 28. Bxg5 ({More precise was} 
28. Re1 f6 ({After the game Radjabov showed that with White's help Black has a
nice mate:} 28... Nf3 29. Re2 g5 30. Kg2 g4 31. Kg3 $4 h5 32. h3 Rd1 $1 33.
hxg4 Rg1+ 34. Kxf3 hxg4# {[#]}) (28... Nxe4 29. Bb6 Rb8 30. Ba7) 29. Kg2 $11)
28... hxg5 29. Kg2 g4 {[#]  Black has some advantage thanks to his control
over the d-file, but White achieves a draw rather easily.} 30. h3 $15 gxh3+ 31.
Kxh3 Rd4 32. f3 Rd2 33. b4 g6 ({Coming with the king to the center is also an
easy draw:} 33... Kf8 34. a4 Ke7 35. b5 axb5 36. axb5 cxb5 37. Rb1 Rxc2 38.
Rxb5) 34. a4 Kg7 35. b5 cxb5 36. axb5 axb5 37. Rb1 f5 38. Rxb5 Kf6 39. Rb6+ Kg5
40. Re6 Kf4 41. Rxg6 fxe4 42. fxe4 Rxc2 43. Re6 Re2 44. Re8 Kxe4 45. Kg3 Kd3
46. Ra8 Rc2 47. Ra3+ Rc3 48. Ra2 Ke3 49. Kg2 e4 50. Kg3 Rd3 51. Kg4 Rc3 52. Kg3
Rc8 53. Ra3+ Kd4 54. Kf2 Rc2+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.11"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2723"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

{Today Caruana increased his lead by beating with the White pieces Radjabov.
The opening looked very okay for Back, but the Azerbaijani GM overestimated
his position and gave up a pawn for attacking prospects. Caruana took the pawn
and prepared for defense, when suddenly Radjabov miscalculated something and
wrongly sacrificed the rook, only to resign few moves later.  In
Ponomariov-Wang Hao the players displayed another Petrov’s Defense. After a
strong novelty by Ponomariov White quickly got a slightly more pleasant rook
endgame, which might have been extremely unpleasant for Wang Hao, had the
Ukrainian GM started to advance his passed pawn. Having missed this
opportunity White got no more chances to play for a win and the draw was
agreed on move 47.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {No Open Sicilian (3.d4) today.
Radjabov is a renowned specialist of a Sveshnikov Sicilian - an opening with a
lot of theory, which forced even the World Champion Anand to put aside 3.d4 in
favour of 3.Bb5 during the 2012 World Championship match.} e6 4. O-O Nge7 5. d4
cxd4 6. Nxd4 Ng6 ({Less than two weeks ago Caruana won a highly important game
versus Gelfand in the Paris Grand Prix tournament. Gelfand played} 6... Qb6 {
and lost after a long and complicated middlegame fight.}) 7. Be3 Be7 {[#]} 8.
Be2 {This is a new move. Caruana was heading for a Maroczy pawn structure 
(pawns on c4 and e4).} ({After the immediate} 8. c4 {the bishop on b5 looks
misplaced.}) 8... O-O 9. c4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Bf6 {"I underestimated the plan with
Be7-f6", said Caruana after the game. "Now Black has a good game", continued
the Italian GM.} 11. Qd2 b6 12. Nc3 Bb7 13. f3 {After the game Caruana was
somewhat skeptical about this move and suggested as a possible improvement for
White 13.Bd3 in order to keep the possibility to play f2-f4.} Qe7 {[#]} 14. a4
{The hidden idea of this move was to be able to protect the bishop on e3 if
Black plays d5.} ({Caruana rejected} 14. Rfd1 {in view of} d5 15. cxd5 Bxc3 16.
Qxc3 exd5 17. exd5 Rfe8) 14... Rad8 ({The idea of White's previous move can be
seen in the following variation:} 14... d5 15. cxd5 Bxc3 16. Qxc3 exd5 17. exd5
Rfe8 18. Ra3) 15. Ra3 Be5 16. a5 {[#]  The critical moment according to
Caruana.} f5 $6 {This aggressive move allows White to create a permanent
weakness in Black's structure - the pawn on b6.} ({Black should be doing fine
after} 16... bxa5) 17. axb6 axb6 18. exf5 (18. Bxb6 {is too early in view of}
Qh4 {and if} 19. h3 $2 {then} Qg3) 18... Rxf5 19. Bd3 Rh5 20. h3 Bb8 {[#]} (
20... Nh4 21. Be4 $14) 21. Bxg6 hxg6 22. Bxb6 {Black has compensation for the
sacrificed pawn thanks to his bishop pair and some attacking prospects, but
objectively it is pprobably not entirely enough and White's chances are
preferable.} Rf8 23. Ne2 {An important resource to cover the weakened squares
f4 and g3.} Rh4 ({Another option to play for compensation was indicated by
Caruana after the game:} 23... d5 24. c5 (24. cxd5 $2 Qd6) 24... e5) 24. Qd3
Kh7 $6 25. Bf2 {[#]} Rxh3 $2 {Something went wrong in Radjabov's calculations.
Black must have retreated the rook, although there is no attack any longer and
White would have had a clear advantage. However, the move in the game just
loses.} 26. gxh3 Qg5+ 27. Kh1 Rxf3 (27... Qh5 28. Kg2 $1 $18) 28. Qxf3 Qe5 ({or
} 28... Bxf3+ 29. Rxf3 {with a large advantage for White.}) 29. Bg3 $1 {[#]}
Qxe2 $2 ({After the most stubborn} 29... Qxb2 30. Bxb8 Bxf3+ 31. Raxf3 Qxb8 {
Black could have put up a long resistance, even if his position is objectively
lost.}) 30. Qxb7 Qxf1+ 31. Kh2 {Radjabov resigned due to} (31. Kh2 Qf2+ 32. Qg2
{and White remains with a rook up.}) 1-0

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.11"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Wang, Hao"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {The Petrov's Defense is no longer a surprise in this
year's edition of Kings Tournament.} 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3
Be7 7. Be3 Nc6 8. Qd2 Be6 9. O-O-O Qd7 10. h4 h6 11. Kb1 Bf6 12. Nd4 Nxd4 13.
Bxd4 Bxd4 14. Qxd4 O-O 15. Be2 (15. Rg1 Rae8 16. g4 Qc6 17. Bg2 Qa6 18. b3 Bd7
19. g5 h5 20. g6 Re7 21. Bd5 Be6 22. Rde1 c5 23. Qd1 Rfe8 24. Qxh5 fxg6 25.
Rxe6 {1-0 (25) Caruana,F (2652)-Landa,K (2664) Reggio Emilia 2010}) 15... Rae8
16. Bf3 b6 17. g4 Qb5 {[#]} 18. g5 {A logical novelty.} (18. Qd2 f6 19. Rhe1
Bf7 20. Be4 d5 21. Bd3 Qa5 22. Rxe8 Rxe8 23. b3 Qc5 24. h5 Kf8 25. Kb2 d4 26.
Bf5 dxc3+ 27. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 28. Kxc3 a5 {was equal and ended with a draw in (44)
Ni Hua (2657)-Giri,A (2588) Wijk aan Zee 2010.}) 18... Qc4 {A logical answer
by Wang Hao. Without queens White's kingside attack is obviously less
dangerous for Black.} 19. gxh6 {White is forced to trade queens, since the
pawn a2 was under attack.} Qxd4 20. Rxd4 gxh6 21. Bc6 Rd8 22. Ra4 a5 23. b4
axb4 24. cxb4 Bd7 25. Bxd7 Rxd7 26. Re1 Kg7 {[#]  In the future White has the
possibility to create a passed a-pawn and therefore the endgame is not so
simple for Black, who needs to play carefully in order to reach the draw.} 27.
Kb2 Kg6 28. Ra3 (28. h5+ Kxh5 29. Rg1 {with the idea Ra3-h3 mate is refuted by}
Re8 {(or Re7)} 30. Ra3 Re4 31. Rh3+ Rh4) 28... Kh5 {"Too optimistic" (Wang Hao)
.} 29. Rg3 {[#]} f5 $2 ({Correct is} 29... c5) 30. Re6 $1 {Now Black is really
walking on the edge.} b5 31. Kb3 f4 32. Rgg6 Rh7 33. f3 Rf5 34. c4 bxc4+ ({
Probably better is} 34... Re5 35. cxb5 Re3+ 36. Kc4 Ra3 (36... Kxh4 $2 37. Rxe3
fxe3 38. Kd3 {must be winning for White})) 35. Kxc4 Re5 36. Ref6 $1 Kxh4 {[#] 
Here and on the next move White should have pushed the a-pawn and only the
deep analysis can show if Black is able to defend.} (36... Re3 37. Rg4 Rxf3 38.
Rgxf4 Rh3 39. a4 {is also difficult for Black.}) 37. Rxf4+ (37. a4 Rg5 38.
Rxf4+ Kg3 39. Rg4+ $1 Kxf3 40. R4xg5 hxg5 41. Rxg5 $16) 37... Kh3 38. Rfg4 ({
Again} 38. a4 {would have been highly unpleasant for Black:}) 38... h5 {Now
Black is out of real danger.} 39. Rg3+ Kh2 40. Rg2+ Kh1 41. Rg1+ Kh2 42. R6g2+
Kh3 {[#]} 43. Rg7 Rxg7 44. Rxg7 Re3 45. a4 (45. Rxc7 Ra3 $1) 45... Ra3 46. Kb5
c5 47. bxc5 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.13"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Wang, Hao"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D94"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

{Even playing until all fighting resources were exhausted didn’t produce
decisive games in the 7th round of the Kings Tournament. Radjabov with the
White pieces against Wang Hao achieved a slight advantage in the Schlechter
Variation, which wasn’t enough to create big problems for the Chinese GM and
the game was drawn on move 44 in a bishops’ endgame with equal material. 
Nisipeanu-Ponomariov saw a classical line of the Nimzo-Indian, where in a
complicated middlegame Black succeeded to take over the advantage. However,
today Nisipeanu saved half a pawn with the help of square a1 and he did so
twice: first the Romanian GM placed the queen in the corner, which was a very
strong idea, helping White to gain the highly important pawn g7. And then in
bishops’ endgame Nisipeanu used the well-known motif of a “wrong square”,
when even a bishop up with a marginal pawn is not enough for a win. The draw
was agreed on move 52.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 g6 {[#]  The
Schlechter Variation is a mix between Slav and Gruenfeld. The American GM Gata
Kamsky is considered to be the best specialist for Black in this opening.} 5.
Nf3 Bg7 6. Be2 O-O 7. O-O a6 8. b3 Ne4 9. Bb2 Nxc3 10. Bxc3 Bg4 11. h3 Bxf3 12.
Bxf3 e6 {[#]  "Any player who has the Schlechter Variation in his repertoire
should be ready to defend this kind of position. Black is solid, although
somewhat passive. The presence of the bishop in fianchetto has two
consequences. The positive aspect is that the thematic opening of the center
with e3-e4 is somewhat inhibited. On the other hand, the queenside dark
squares have been left slightly unattended, which may make itself felt. Black
has placed all his pawns on light squares, in order to restrict the f3-bishop.
This will give White a free hand on the dark squares, allowing him to annoy
Black with moves such as Bb4 or Ba5" (M.Marin).} 13. Qc2 ({Magnus Carlsen
treated White's position differently:} 13. Qd2 Re8 14. Ba5 $5 {[%csl Rb6,Rc5]
An interesting idea to use the weaknesses of Black's queenside.} Qe7 15. Rac1
Nd7 16. Qb4 Qxb4 17. Bxb4 {with a slightly better endgame for White in Carlsen,
M (2710)-Bu Xiangzhi (2685) Biel 2007}) 13... Nd7 14. Rfd1 ({After} 14. e4 {
(which is one of White's main plans in such a pawn structure: to open the
position for his bishops) Black can consider the interesting answer} e5 $5)
14... Re8 15. a4 Qc7 16. Be1 {A move which shows that Radjabov is not willing
to play for e3-e4. Instead, the Azerbaijani GM prepares the advance of the
b-pawn.} Rac8 17. Be2 {[#]} dxc4 {Wang Hao doesn't wish to wait passively.
With all his pieces placed optimally the Chinese GM decides to release the
pressure and to simplify the position.} 18. Qxc4 (18. bxc4 c5 {offers Black a
comfortable position, according to Radjabov.}) 18... c5 19. Rac1 Qb8 20. dxc5
Rxc5 {[#]} 21. Qe4 (21. Qf4) ({and} 21. Qb4 {were other attractive options.
Everywhere White is slightly better thanks to his bishop pair.}) 21... Nf6 22.
Qd3 Rxc1 23. Rxc1 Rc8 24. Rxc8+ Qxc8 25. Kf1 h5 {[#]} 26. Qc4 {Both sides were
thinking that with queens on the board Black's defense would be more difficult,
but Radjabov didn't see a clear way for White to keep the queens on without
allowing Black some counterplay.} ({For instance} 26. Bf3 Nd7 27. Qe4 Qc1 28.
Qxb7 Nc5 {with activity for the pawn (Radjabov).}) 26... Qxc4 27. Bxc4 Kf8 28.
Ke2 Ne4 $1 29. f3 Nd6 {[#]  The knight is optimally placed on d6 and Black
needs just a little accuracy in order to reach the draw.} 30. Bd3 Ke7 31. e4 f5
$1 32. Ke3 fxe4 33. Bxe4 Nxe4 34. Kxe4 Kd7 35. g4 Ke8 36. Bg3 Kf7 37. Bh4 Bb2
38. Kf4 {[#]} e5+ {The most precise defense, even if} (38... Bc1+ 39. Ke5 Ba3 {
is also a draw.}) 39. Ke4 Ke6 40. Be1 Ba3 41. b4 b5 42. axb5 axb5 43. Bd2 (43.
Bc3 {brings nothing either:} Bc1 44. Bxe5 Bd2 {and the b4-pawn falls}) 43...
Bb2 44. Be1 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.13"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E59"]
[WhiteElo "2674"]
[BlackElo "2751"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 {The Rubinstein Variation represents the
most classical line against the Nimzo Indian.} O-O 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nf3 d5 7. O-O
dxc4 8. Bxc4 Nc6 9. a3 Bxc3 10. bxc3 Qc7 11. Bb2 e5 12. h3 Bf5 {[#]  In this
complicated strategic position White has several plans. He can retreat the
bishop to a2 in order to prepare d5 and c4, connect the rooks with 13.Qe2 and
decide later how to proceed in the center, or force Black to advance the
e-pawn by playing the move from the game.   In opposite to his opponent, who
never had this position in his previous practice, Ponomariov played this
position with both colours before.} 13. Bb5 {By threatening to take on c6 and
e5 White forces his opponent to define the pawn structure.} (13. Qe2 Rad8 14.
Rfd1 h6 15. Ba2 Rfe8 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. dxe5 Qxe5 18. c4 Qe6 19. Rxd8 Rxd8 20.
Rd1 Rxd1+ 21. Qxd1 {Radjabov,T (2628)-Ponomariov,R (2743) Bled 2002 (Olympiad).
}) 13... e4 ({Opening the center with} 13... exd4 {would be a clear strategic
mistake for Black. After} 14. cxd4 cxd4 15. Nxd4 {White has a stable advatage
thanks to his bishop pair in an open position. But a possible alternative was
to place a rook to d8, although after White's answer Qd1-e2 Black would have
to advance the e-pawn anyway.}) 14. Nd2 Rad8 15. Rc1 {[#]  Few years ago the
Ukrainian GM had already played this position, but... on the white side!} h6 {
Black's position is solid and he can allow himself to make quiet useful moves.}
({The game Ponomariov,R (2744)-L'Ami,E (2628) Wijk aan Zee 2011 finished with
a draw after} 15... Bg6 16. Re1 Rd5 17. Be2 Re8 (17... Rg5 18. h4) 18. c4 Rdd8
19. d5 Ne5 20. a4 Re7 21. Nf1) 16. Re1 Bg6 17. Bxc6 (17. c4 $2 {would be a
blunder due to} cxd4 18. Bxc6 dxe3 {and Black wins an important central pawn.})
({but a move like} 17. a4 {was a better choice.}) 17... bxc6 18. c4 cxd4 $1 19.
exd4 ({or} 19. Bxd4 Nd7) 19... Rfe8 20. Re3 Nh5 $1 {[#]  Black has an
advantage now. His idea is simple: to advance the f-pawn, therefore Nisipeanu
forces matters.} 21. Nxe4 (21. f3 exf3 22. Qxf3 Rxe3 23. Qxe3 f6 {is also
advantage for Black}) 21... Qf4 (21... Rxe4 $2 22. Rxe4 Bxe4 23. Qxh5 $16) 22.
g3 Nxg3 23. Rxg3 Rxe4 {[#]} ({Weaker is} 23... Bxe4 24. Qg4 $1 Qf6 ({Black has
nothing to fear after the exchange of queens either} 24... Qxg4 25. hxg4) 25.
Ba1 {and thanks to the threat d4-d5 White has counterplay.}) 24. d5 $1 {The
right decision: White needs his own activity in oder to distract Black from
using the weaknesses on the kingside. For a price of a pawn the Romanian GM
opens files for his pieces. Especially important is the opening of the long
diagonal for the bishop from b2.  At this moment Nisipeanu had 22 minutes left
(before reaching the time control on move 40) against Ponomariov's almost one
hour.} (24. Rg4 Qb8 {[%csl Rb2][%cal Gg6h5]} 25. Rxe4 Bxe4 {[%cal Gd8d6,Gd6g6]
with the idea Rd6-g6 and "we can go home", said Nisipeanu after the game,
meaning that White can resign.}) 24... Rxc4 25. Rxc4 Qxc4 26. d6 {[#]  A
critical moment.} Qf4 (26... Qc5 $1 {which prevents the answer 27.Qa1 was
correct. Then} 27. Qd4 ({The Ukrainian GM thought that here White can play} 27.
Qb3 {attacking the bishop on g6, but after the simple} Rxd6 {Black wins}) ({
Also} 27. Qa1 Rxd6 28. Bxg7 Qc2 {favours Black}) 27... Qxd4 28. Bxd4 Rxd6 29.
Bxa7 Rd1+ 30. Kh2 Be4 {and White has to struggle for the draw}) 27. Qa1 $1 {A
very good move by Nisipeanu, which saves White.} Qxd6 28. Bxg7 Kh7 {Black is
still better, but White should be able to save himself without big
difficulties. Nisipeanu's only problem was his time trouble.} 29. Bf6 Re8 30.
Qd4 Re6 31. Qxd6 Rxd6 32. Bc3 c5 33. h4 h5 {[#]} 34. Re3 c4 35. Re8 Bb1 36. Rc8
Rg6+ 37. Kf1 Bd3+ 38. Ke1 Rg4 (38... Re6+ 39. Kd1 Re4 {would have kept
practical chances for Black.}) 39. Rh8+ Kg6 40. Rg8+ Kf5 41. Rxg4 hxg4 ({After
} 41... Kxg4 {the players agreed that} 42. Bf6 c3 43. f3+ Kxf3 44. Bxc3 {is an
easy draw.}) 42. Kd2 Kf4 43. Bd4 a6 44. Kc3 {[#]  The "wrong corner" for Black
saves White, who will soon give up his bishop for Black's last kingside pawn.}
f5 45. Bb6 Kf3 46. h5 f4 47. h6 Ke2 48. Bc7 Kxf2 49. Bxf4 g3 50. Bxg3+ Kxg3 51.
h7 Bxh7 52. Kxc4 Kf2 {[#]} 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.14"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]
[BlackElo "2779"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

{In the 8th round of Kings Tournament Caruana made another important step to
overall victory: the Italian GM won with the black pieces against Ponomariov.
In a rare sideline of Sicilian Caruana played quicker and more precise than
his opponent, who had one of those bad days when nothing works out well.  Wang
Hao-Nisipeanu saw another quiet draw in Petrov’s Defense. Thus the Romanian
GM is solely in the second place with 50 per cent points. Ponomariov, Radjabov
and Wang Hao didn’t win any games in Bucharest yet and find themselves on
the bottom of the table with the “minus one” result.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3.
g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 {[#]} Nf6 ({One year ago Caruana played} 4... d5 {but didn't
equalize completely:} 5. exd5 exd5 6. d4 Nf6 7. O-O Be7 8. Be3 cxd4 9. Nxd4 O-O
10. Nc3 Bg4 11. Qd3 a6 12. Rfe1 Qd7 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. Na4 Qf5 15. Bf4 Bb4 16.
Qxf5 Bxf5 17. c3 $14 {Jones,G (2635)-Caruana,F (2767) Reykjavik 2012}) 5. Qe2
e5 $5 ({Also here} 5... d5 {is an important option for Black.}) 6. O-O Be7 7.
c3 O-O {[#]} 8. d4 {Curiously, this logical and most direct move hasn't been
played before.} ({In case of} 8. d3 d5 {we get the Kings Indian Defense with
reversed colours.}) 8... cxd4 9. cxd4 d5 {[#]} 10. exd5 Nxd4 (10... e4 {is bad
in view of} 11. dxc6 exf3 12. Qxf3 bxc6 13. Qxc6) 11. Nxd4 exd4 12. Qe5 {Keeps
the bishop e7 under attack in order to prevent the move Qd8-b6.} ({After} 12.
Qc4 {Black can protect the pawn with} Qb6) 12... d3 13. Nc3 (13. Bf4 $5) 13...
Re8 {[#]} 14. Bf4 $2 {White misses Black's answer.} (14. Qd4 Bf5 15. Bf4 {
leads to a complicated, approximately equal middlegame.}) 14... Ba3 15. Qd4
Bxb2 16. Qxd3 Bxa1 17. Rxa1 Bd7 18. h3 {[#]  The bishop is heading for square
d4. From the human's point of view White has compensation for the exchange:
the bishops' pair supports the passed pawn d5 and his pieces are well
centralized. Nevertheless black rooks will control the open files and Black
has the advantage.} Rc8 {According to Caruana, not the best.} (18... Qa5 $5)
19. Be3 Bf5 {Played this move after a long thinking. It is not an easy
decision to exchange the only bishop and leave White with his mighty bishop's
pair against the rook and knight. On the other hand every exchange of pieces
favours Black.} ({The main alternative was} 19... Qc7 {and Black must be
"easily winning", as Wang Hao put it. Things are certainly not so trivial for
Black after 20.Bd4, though.}) ({After} 19... a6 {White should stop Black's
intention to advance the b-pawn by continuing} 20. a4) 20. Qxf5 Rxc3 21. Bd4
Rc4 22. Rd1 $15 {[#]} Qd6 {After the game the Italian wasn't happy with this
move either, although Black doesn't have a clear plan to improve his position.}
(22... Qd7 23. Qd3) 23. Bf1 Rb4 (23... Rcc8 24. Bd3 {is also not convincing.})
24. Bc3 ({As indicated by Caruana, after the strongest} 24. Qc2 {White should
be able to keep the position.}) 24... Rbe4 (24... Rb6 25. Bd4 {brings Black
nowhere.}) 25. Bb5 (25. Bd3 $2 Qxd5 26. Qxd5 Nxd5 27. Bxe4 Nxc3 $19) 25... Qc5
$1 {[#]} 26. Bxf6 $2 (26. Bxe8 Qxc3 27. Bb5 g6 28. Qg5 Re1+ 29. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 30.
Kg2 Qe4+ 31. Kh2 Nxd5 32. Bf1 {would have allowed White to put up a long
resistance.}) 26... Re1+ {Now Black is winning in all variations.} 27. Kh2 (27.
Rxe1 Rxe1+ 28. Kg2 Qxb5 29. Qc8+ Re8 $19 ({or} 29... Qe8)) (27. Kg2 Qxb5 {
threatening Qf1.}) (27. Bf1 Rxd1 28. Qg4 Rxf1+ 29. Kxf1 Qb5+ 30. Kg1 Qb1+ 31.
Kh2 Qg6 32. Qd7 Qe4 $19) 27... Rxd1 28. Bxe8 {[#]} Rxd5 $1 {After this the
rest is simple.} ({Not} 28... gxf6 29. Qg4+ Kf8 30. Qxd1) 29. Be5 Rxe5 (29...
f6 {is even more convincing: White can't save the bishop and Black keeps his
f-pawn alive.}) 30. Qxf7+ Kh8 31. Bd7 Qe7 32. Qf4 Qf6 33. Qd2 b5 34. Bg4 h5 35.
Bd1 h4 36. Bg4 Re8 37. gxh4 Qxh4 38. Kg2 Qe7 39. Bf3 Rd8 40. Qf4 Qf6 41. Qg4 g6
42. Qe4 Qg5+ 43. Kf1 a5 44. h4 Qf5 45. Qc6 Rf8 46. Qc3+ Kh7 0-1

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.14"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Wang, Hao"]
[Black "Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2674"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {The Petrov's Defense was absent the last two rounds of
Kings Tournament, now it's time to return.} 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 ({In
the previous three games from Kings Tournament 2013 the players on the White
side preferred exclusively} 5. Nc3) 5... d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9.
Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 dxc4 11. Bxc4 {[#]} Bf5 ({A much more popular continuation is
} 11... Bg4) 12. Ng5 {Wang Hao immediately uses the fact that his knight is
not pinned and opens the diagonal d1-h5 for an eventual "sortie" with the
queen on f3 or h5.  Nevertheless Black has enough resources to defend against
opponent's threats.} ({"Probably White must play} 12. Re1 {said Wang Hao after
the game. To which Nisipeanu replied quietly "I was obviously prepared against
it"...}) 12... h6 {The Romanian GM is not afraid of ghosts.} ({After} 12... Nd7
{White could consider the advance of kingside pawns:} 13. g4 Bg6 14. f4 {with
a sharp middlegame.}) 13. Qf3 ({In case of} 13. Nxf7 Rxf7 {nothing brings} 14.
Qh5 {in view of} Qf6 {with advantage for Black.}) 13... Bg6 {[#]} ({Nisipeanu
was spending time calculating} 13... Qf6 14. g4 hxg5 15. Qxf5 Qxf5 16. gxf5 Bf4
{with the idea Nd7-f6, but then realized that there is no need for it: Black
doesn't have even the slightest problem after the move played in the game.})
14. Nh3 ({An interesting alternative for White was} 14. Ne4 Bxh2+ {(otherwise 
Black still must fight for equality)} 15. Kxh2 Qh4+ 16. Qh3 $1 Qxh3+ (16...
Qxe4 17. Ba3 Rd8 18. Rae1 {offers White an obvious initiative for the
sacrificed pawn.}) 17. gxh3 Bxe4 18. Rg1 $1 {and it turns out that White will
win back the pawn. It is unclear if this is enough for advantage, though.})
14... Nd7 15. Nf4 (15. Bf4 Qf6 {is also equal.}) 15... Bh7 16. Nh5 {White
threatens Qg4.} Qh4 $1 {Activates the queen and defends against White's idea.}
17. Bf4 Bxf4 18. Nxf4 {[#]  White didn't achieve much with his long knight
maneuver (Ng1-f3-g5-h3-f4), while Black completed development and exchanged
some pieces. The position is equal.} Rae8 19. Rae1 Nf6 20. Bd3 Bxd3 21. Nxd3
Ne4 (21... Rxe1 22. Rxe1 Re8 $11) 22. g3 Qf6 23. Qxf6 Nxf6 {[#]} 24. Ne5 Re6
25. f4 Rc8 26. Nc4 Rxe1 27. Rxe1 Kf8 28. Nd6 Rb8 ({Both players agreed that in
case of} 28... Rc7 29. c4 {the awkward rook on c7 leaves White with some hopes
for advantage.}) 29. Kf2 b6 30. Kf3 Rd8 {The tournament rules in Bucharest
allow draws only after 30 moves. Having achieved this limit the players shared
the point right away.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.15"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Wang, Hao"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

{In the 9th round of Kings Tournament the leader Fabiano Caruana unexpectedly
lost with the white pieces to Wang Hao. Caruana achieved a large advantage
against the Petrov’s Defense, but then the things went completely out of
hand for the Italian and first he let the advantage slip away and in time
trouble White missed even the forced draw.   Nisipeanu-Radjabov is best
explained by Nisipeanu’s own words after the game: “If you want to become
a 2700-player, you don’t have to beat them, it’s enough to make a draw
with them”. The Romanian chose a safe strategy and only the tournament rules
didn’t allow the players to shake hands before move 30.   Thus before the
last round Caruana is leading with plus two score, Nisipeanu and Wang Hao are
on 50 per cent and Ponomariov with Radjabov share places 4-5 with minus one. 
The last round starts at 13:30 local time.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4.
Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 (7. Bf4 O-O 8. Qd2 Nd7 9. O-O-O Nc5 10.
Be3 c6 11. c4 Ne4 12. Qe1 Re8 $11 {Ponomariov,R (2751)-Nisipeanu,L (2674)
Bucharest 2013}) 7... O-O (7... Nc6 {was played by Wang Hao in the fifth round:
} 8. Qd2 Be6 9. O-O-O Qd7 10. h4 h6 11. Kb1 Bf6 {Ponomariov,R (2751)-Wang,H 
(2733) Bucharest 2013}) 8. Qd2 {[#]  In this popular position Black usually
chooses between 8...Nc6 and 8...Nd7. It is also common to develop the bishop
to e6, f5 of g4.} b6 $5 {The patent of Wang Hao, who played this move earlier
this year. In no other games did Black try 8...b6.  At this point Caruana
started to think longer.} 9. O-O-O Bb7 10. Nd4 Nc6 11. Nf5 Bf6 12. Ng3 {An
improvement over Wang Hao's previous game, which forced the Chinese GM to
start thinking over the board as well. Until this moment Caruana spent about
half an hour, while Wang Hao was replying instantly.} (12. h4 Re8 13. Bg5 Ne5
14. f4 Ng4 15. Bb5 Re4 16. Ng3 Re6 17. Rde1 Rxe1+ 18. Rxe1 {was good for White
in Nakamura,H (2775)-Wang Hao (2743) Sandnes 2013, but Black's play can
certainly be improved at several points.}) 12... Ne7 {Played after more than
20 minutes of thinking. Most likely Wang Hao was trying to recall his home
preparation.} 13. Nh5 Nf5 14. Bf4 Be5 15. h4 g6 $6 {A committing, rather
dubious move.  [#]} 16. Bd3 $1 gxh5 (16... Ng7 $5) 17. Bxf5 Qf6 18. Bxe5 dxe5 (
18... Qxf5 19. Bd4 {leads to an unpleasant position for Black due to the more
vulnerable position of his king. For instance} c5 20. Be3 d5 21. Rh3 $16) 19.
Bd3 {[#]  Black's pawn structure is broken and his position is becoming
dangerous.} Kg7 $6 {This move is hard to understand. Even Wang Hao couldn't
explain its purpose after the game...} ({More logical looks} 19... Rad8) ({or
even} 19... Kh8) 20. Qe2 ({An attractive alternative was} 20. Rh3 Rg8 21. Rg3+
Kh8 22. Rg5) ({Also} 20. f3 {is a good option.}) 20... e4 21. Bc4 Qh6+ 22. Kb1
Rad8 23. a3 {Defending such a position with Black is highly unpleasant.} f5 {
[#]} 24. Bb3 {Now Qc4 becomes an additional option for White. Strong was} (24.
Rxd8 Rxd8 25. Rd1 Rd6 26. g3 {and White keeps a clear strategic advantage.})
24... Kg6 {Another daring move with the king.} ({Preferable is} 24... c5 {and
if} 25. Qc4 Qf6 26. Qa4 {Black has} Qc6 $1) 25. Rh3 ({Again} 25. Rxd8 Rxd8 26.
Rd1 {was a simple and good solution.}) 25... f4 26. Rxd8 Rxd8 {[#]} 27. g4 ({
Even here White could transfer the rook to the d-file with the help of
unexpected tactics -} 27. Rd3 $1 {and Black is in troubles:} Rxd3 (27... Qf8
28. Bf7+ $3 Kxf7 29. Qxh5+) (27... exd3 28. Qe6+ Kg7 29. Qe7+ {with a soon mate
}) 28. cxd3 e3 29. Qe1 $1 {followed by fxe3 and Qg3, keeping the attack.})
27... c5 28. Rh1 (28. gxh5+ Kf6 (28... Kg7 29. Rd3 $1) (28... Qxh5 $2 29. Bf7+)
29. Rh1) 28... f3 29. Qc4 ({Stronger is} 29. gxh5+) 29... Bd5 30. Qa4 Bxb3 {[#]
Here both players had about 10 minutes left on the clock - very little for
such a sharp position, with a lot of variations to calculate. White is still
better, but things are getting more and more complicated and under pressure
Caruana collapses - a rare case for the young Italian GM.  In the next part
White's lay is obviously influenced by the time-trouble.} 31. cxb3 (31. Qc6+
$142 Kg7 32. Qc7+ Bf7 33. Qxd8 hxg4 34. Qc7) 31... Qf4 32. Re1 $6 hxg4 33. Rxe4
Qf5 34. Ka2 Kh5 {Black is not worse any longer.} 35. Re1 (35. Rf4 Qg6 {is bad
for White.}) 35... h6 36. Qxa7 g3 {[#]} 37. fxg3 $2 ({White could still make a
draw:} 37. Qe7 gxf2 38. Re5 Qxe5 39. Qxe5+ Kg4 40. Qe4+ Kg3 41. Qg6+ Kh2 42.
Qc2 Kg1 43. Qg6+ $11) 37... f2 38. Rf1 Kg4 39. Qg7+ Kf3 40. g4 Qf4 {[#]  The
time trouble is over and Black is winning now!} 41. Qb7+ Ke2 42. Rb1 Rd3 ({
Instead Wang Hao had a nice forced win:} 42... f1=Q 43. Qe7+ Kd2 44. Qxd8+ Kc2
45. Rxf1 Qxf1 {with inevitable mate}) 43. Qg2 ({More stubborn was} 43. Qxb6
f1=Q 44. Rxf1 {and Wang Hao had to find} Qxf1 $1 (44... Kxf1 $2 {is a mistake
due to} 45. Qxc5 Qxg4 46. Qf8+ Ke2 47. Qxh6 {and it is still a question if
Black can win this.}) 45. Qxc5 Kd2 $1 46. a4 Kc2 {Black is very active and
should win}) 43... Rd1 {Now is easy for Black} 44. Rxd1 Kxd1 45. Qf1+ Kd2 46.
g5 hxg5 47. hxg5 Qg3 48. Qb5 Qd3 0-1

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.15"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2674"]
[BlackElo "2723"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

1. e4 c5 2. c3 {The safe Alapin Sicilian. A somewhat expected choice from
Nisipeanu, who is on the second place in tournament and doesn't really need to
take major risk.} Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. d4 cxd4 6. cxd4 d6 7. Bc4 {[#]}
dxe5 ({Other options are} 7... e6) (7... Nb6) 8. Nxe5 e6 9. O-O Bd6 {[#]} 10.
Bxd5 exd5 11. Bf4 Bxe5 12. Bxe5 (12. dxe5 O-O 13. Re1 d4 14. Nd2 Qd5 {is good
for Black.}) 12... O-O 13. Re1 Bf5 14. Nc3 Qd7 15. Qd2 {[#]  No much can
happen in such a position.} Rfe8 16. Bg3 Rxe1+ 17. Rxe1 Re8 18. Rxe8+ Qxe8 19.
Nxd5 Qe4 20. Nc3 Qxd4 21. Qxd4 Nxd4 22. f3 Be6 23. Bf2 Nc6 24. a3 a6 25. Ne2
Bc4 26. Nd4 Nxd4 27. Bxd4 f6 28. Kf2 Kf7 29. h4 h6 30. Ke3 Ke6 31. g4 Bb3 32.
Bc3 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.16"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D31"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2779"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

{Fabiano Caruana became the winner of Kings Tournament 2013. After a quick
draw in the last round with the black pieces against Radjabov, the Italian GM
scored 5 points out of 8 and secured the first place.  Wang Hao-Ponomariov was
a long game, where Black equalized after the opening, but then started to face
some problems which the Ukrainian GM failed to solve. In the resulting endgame
with rooks and opposite-coloured bishops Wang Hao won a pawn and then
converted his material advantage to achieve his second win in a row in
Bucharest.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 e6 6. e4 Bb4 7. e5
Nd5 8. Bd2 b5 9. axb5 Bxc3 10. bxc3 cxb5 11. Ng5 h6 12. Qh5 O-O 13. Ne4 Nc6 {
[#]} 14. Bxh6 {Although this move has been already played, there is
practically no theory in this variation and after the game the players
discussed the move 14.Bg5. Their first conclusion was that Black should be
doing fine after both 14...Qd7 and 14...Nce7.} gxh6 15. Qxh6 f5 16. Qg6+ Kh8
17. Qh6+ Kg8 18. Qg6+ Kh8 19. Qh6+ {[#]} 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Kings Tournament"]
[Site "Bucharest"]
[Date "2013.10.16"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Wang, Hao"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D42"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2751"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ROU"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. d4 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Bd3 Be7 8. O-O
O-O 9. a3 b6 (9... cxd4 10. exd4 {is another possibility, which leads to a
well-known theoretical position. In the game Ponomariov decided to avoid this
typical structure with an IQP and initiative for opponent.}) 10. Qc2 {[#]} (10.
dxc5 {here would be a strategic mistake, as after} Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bxc5 {Black
has a better pawn structure.}) 10... Nxc3 ({Now after} 10... g6 {White plays}
11. dxc5 {and it is White who gets a better structure, since} Bxc5 {is bad in
view of} 12. Nxd5 Qxd5 13. Be4 Qd7 14. b4 {winning a piece.}) 11. bxc3 g6 12.
Rd1 Qc7 13. Bb2 Bb7 14. dxc5 bxc5 15. c4 {[#]} f5 16. Rab1 Rad8 17. Be2 Rxd1+
18. Bxd1 Ba8 19. Qd2 Rd8 20. Qc3 e5 {[#]  The position is equal.} 21. Ne1 (21.
Nxe5 Bf6 22. f4 Re8 {favours Black}) 21... Qa5 22. f3 Kf7 ({Another way for
Black to keep equality was indicated by Wang Hao after the game:} 22... Qxc3
23. Bxc3 e4) 23. Bc2 Bf6 ({Better is} 23... Bg5 24. Kf2 Rd2+ 25. Kf1 Bh4 26. g3
({The tactics after} 26. Qxa5 Nxa5 27. Bc3 Nxc4 28. Bb3 Bd5 {works out well
for Black}) 26... Bf6 {and Black is by no means worse.}) 24. e4 {[#]  Now
Black starts to have small problems and needs accuracy to keep the balance.}
Qxc3 25. Bxc3 Nd4 ({The players were thinking that} 25... Ke6 26. Nd3 Kd6 27.
Rb5 fxe4 28. Nxc5 {is better for White, but in fact after} exf3 29. gxf3 Nd4 {
Black has nothing to complain about.}) 26. Bxd4 Rxd4 27. exf5 gxf5 28. Rb8 Bc6
29. Bxf5 Rxc4 ({After} 29... Ke7 30. Bd3 (30. Rc8 Kd6 $11) 30... e4 31. fxe4
Bxe4 32. Bxe4 Rxe4 {Black has a strong bishop and in spite of being a pawn
down easily keeps the balance.}) 30. Rc8 {[#]} Bb5 $2 {During the post-mortem
both players agreed that this represents the fatal mistake.} (30... Bd5 {leads
to different kind of positions with a pawn up for White, but everywhere his
active pieces secure Black sufficient counterplay for a draw. For instance:}
31. Rc7+ ({or} 31. Nd3 Rc3 32. Rc7+ Ke8 33. Rxc5 Rxc5 34. Nxc5 Be7) 31... Kf8
32. Rxa7 Rd4 $5 {with the idea Rd2.}) 31. Rc7+ Be7 32. Bd3 Rc1 33. Bxb5 Rxe1+
34. Kf2 Rh1 35. Kg3 a5 36. Ra7 Rc1 37. Rxa5 {[#]  In spite of the presence of
opposite-coloured bishops the endgame is difficult for Black due to the fact
that White has a potential passed pawn on the kingside as well. With two
passed pawns on different wings most endgames are lost even without rooks.  In
the final part of the game Black can try different defensive set-ups, but most
likely neither is sufficient to reach the draw.} c4 38. Bc6 c3 39. Be4 h5 40.
a4 Ra1 41. Ra6 Bd8 42. Bc2 Bg5 43. Rc6 Ra3 ({or} 43... Bd2 44. Kh4) 44. Rb6 Be7
45. Rb7 Ra1 {[#]} 46. Rb1 $5 (46. Rc7 Ra3 47. Kf2 {followed by Ke2-d3 is
another winning plan.}) 46... Ra3 ({Both players came to the conclusion that
the arising endgame after} 46... Rxb1 47. Bxb1 {is lost for Black.}) 47. Kh3 h4
48. g3 hxg3 49. hxg3 Kg7 50. Rb7 Kf7 51. Rb5 {[#]} e4 {Desperation in a lost
position.} 52. fxe4 Ra1 53. Rb1 Ra3 54. Kg4 Kg7 55. Rb3 Rxa4 56. Rb7 Ra2 57.
Bb3 Rb2 58. Rxe7+ Kf6 59. Re6+ Kf7 1-0

