[Event "7th Grand Slam Masters"]
[Site "Bilbao ESP"]
[Date "2014.09.14"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Anand, V."]
[Black "Ponomariov, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E90"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2717"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[EventDate "2014.09.12"]

1. d4 d6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. e4 O-O 6. h3 e5 7. d5 a5 8. Be3 Na6
9. g4 Nc5 10. Nd2 {This set-up against the King's Indian defense becomes more
and more popular. White is simply flighting against the liberating f5 pawn
break, hoping to stop it in its tracks by either taking twice on f5 or placing
a pawn on g5 to take on f6 en passant. Either way the ideas are uncomfortable
for Black who now has the find a new route of counterplay.} c6 11. Be2 Bd7 12.
g5 Ne8 13. h4 {Although this position has been reached many times before, it
hasn't been in any particularly top level game.} f6 14. Nb3 b6 15. Nxc5 bxc5 {
Black would love to maneuver his knight to d4, after which his position might
be perfectly good, but that isn't happening any time soon. Something already
clearly went wrong: White has an advantage of space basically everywehre and
nothing to really worry about.} 16. Qd2 (16. h5 $5 {Was more direct and also
possible, but there is no reason to hurry with this.}) 16... fxg5 17. hxg5 cxd5
$2 18. Nxd5 $2 {It's a little strange to try to figure out what they both
missed.} (18. Qxd5+ $1 $18 Rf7 (18... Kh8 19. O-O-O {and the obvious sacrifice
on h7 is going to be nearly lethal. Also Bxc5 is a threat.}) 19. Rxh7 Nc7 20.
Rxg7+ Kxg7 21. Qxd6 $18) 18... Rf7 19. O-O-O Rb8 20. Rh2 Be6 21. Nc3 Qb6 22.
Nb5 Bf8 23. a4 Qb7 24. Qc2 Be7 25. Kb1 Qc6 26. Bd2 {Black's position is still
unpleasant to play. He has a few weaknesses to take care of, but now was the
time to get active. That knight on e8 must join the fray.} Bd8 (26... Bd7 $1
27. Bxa5 (27. Rg1 Ng7 $1 {And suddenly black grabs the intiative as that
knight heads to d4.}) 27... Bxg5 $13) 27. Qd3 Rbb7 28. Rf1 Rf8 29. f4 {White
has been given plenty of time, and now he finds the chance to strike with f4
and open some dangerous lines.} exf4 30. Rxf4 Rxf4 31. Bxf4 Rf7 32. Bd2 Be7 33.
Rg2 Qb6 34. Bg4 $1 {Eliminating the light-squared defender.} Bxg4 35. Rxg4 Nc7
36. Rf4 Ne6 37. Rxf7 Kxf7 38. Qd5 {It's too late, Black doesn't even have
control over d4 anymore} Qd8 39. Ka2 $1 {Black is nearly zugzwanged.} Bf8 40.
Bf4 Qd7 41. b3 Be7 42. Nxd6+ Kf8 43. e5 $1 Nxg5 $6 (43... Nxf4 44. Qf7#) (43...
Bxd6 44. Bg3 {is a clever trick, Black loses the bishop on d6 anyways.} (44.
exd6 $4 Nxf4)) 44. Qxc5 Qg4 45. Bc1 {The rest is very simple. Black's king is
too weak.} h5 46. Qxa5 Qg2+ 47. Bb2 h4 48. Qb5 Qa8 49. c5 h3 50. c6 Bd8 (50...
h2 51. Qb7 $18) 51. Qd5 Bc7 52. Bc1 Qa5 53. Nb5 Qe1 54. Ba3+ (54. Bxg5 $18)
54... Kg7 55. Nxc7 h2 56. Ne8+ Kh6 57. Nf6 Qe2+ 58. Bb2 Ne4 59. Qxe4 Qxe4 60.
Nxe4 h1=Q 61. c7 {Black cannot prevent the pawn from queening.} 1-0

[Event "7th Grand Slam Masters"]
[Site "Bilbao ESP"]
[Date "2014.09.14"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Vallejo Pons, F."]
[Black "Aronian, L."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E21"]
[WhiteElo "2712"]
[BlackElo "2804"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2014.09.12"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 g5 7. Bg3 Ne4 8. Qd3 {
unusual, Qc2 is more seen.} f5 9. h4 $5 {This interesting novelty probably
will not gather too many supporters.} Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Nxg3 11. fxg3 g4 12. Nd2
d5 13. e4 dxe4 14. Nxe4 Bb7 (14... fxe4 15. Qxe4 c6 16. Qg6+ {leaves Black
king too weak.}) 15. Nd2 Nd7 {Black's structure is good, if he finishes
development he will be way ahead.} 16. Qe3 Qf6 17. Bd3 Bxg2 18. Rh2 Bb7 19. Re2
O-O-O 20. Qxe6 Qxe6 21. Rxe6 Nc5 22. Re3 Nxd3+ 23. Rxd3 {Wit the smoke cleared
it is obvious that Black holds a small edge, but not more than that. The
position gives White good chances to hold on.} f4 (23... c5 $1) 24. gxf4 Rdf8
25. Kf2 g3+ (25... Rxf4+ 26. Kg3 Rhf8 27. Re1 Rf2 28. d5 {is not as dangerous
as it looks at first.}) 26. Rxg3 Rxf4+ 27. Ke3 Rxh4 28. Rag1 Re8+ 29. Kd3 Bc6
30. Nf3 Be4+ 31. Kd2 Bxf3 32. Rxf3 Rh2+ 33. Kd3 Rxa2 34. Rg7 $1 {Piece
activity is al ways paramount in rook endgames.} Kb8 (34... Ree2 35. c5 b5 36.
Re3 $13) 35. Rh7 Ree2 36. c5 b5 37. Re3 Rxe3+ 38. Kxe3 {Black has no winning
chances in this engame, his passed pawns are too slow.} Ra3 39. Kd2 Ra6 40. c4
bxc4 (40... b4 41. d5 $11 {Black needs to be careful in these lines.}) 41. Kc3
c6 42. Rxh6 Kb7 43. Rh7+ Kc8 44. Rh8+ Kb7 45. Rh7+ Kb8 46. Rh8+ Kb7 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Grand Slam Masters"]
[Site "Bilbao ESP"]
[Date "2014.09.15"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2712"]
[BlackElo "2785"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2014.09.14"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 c5 {The
ever-popular Ragozin system has had players flock to it as a way of finishing
off a solid Nimzo-Indian based repertoire against 1.d4.} 8. dxc5 Nbd7 9. e3 Qa5
10. Rc1 (10. Nd2 Bxc3 11. bxc3 Qxc5 12. Rc1 O-O 13. Be2 Qa3 {led to a draw in
the recent Topalov-Carlsen from the Norway Supertournament, 2014.}) 10... Ne4
11. Be2 {I assume this is a new idea from the Spaniard, but it isn't exactly
clear what he was planning to do...} (11. Qxd5 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bxc3+ 13. Kd1 O-O
14. Bc4 {has been seen before, with mixed results.}) 11... O-O (11... Nxc3 12.
bxc3 Bxc3+ 13. Kf1 Nxc5 14. Qxd5 Be6 15. Qd6 g5 {now is the critical moment.
White has several choices, all of which seem to be very complicated. Nxg5 and
Nd4 are possibilities, time and hopefully practice will tell.}) 12. O-O Bxc3
13. bxc3 Nxc3 14. Qd2 (14. Rxc3 Qxc3 15. Qxd5 Qxc5 16. Qxc5 Nxc5 17. Be7 b6 $11
) 14... Nxe2+ 15. Qxe2 b6 16. c6 {If White wants to fight for anything he must
sacrifice the exchange.} (16. Rfd1 Ba6 17. Qd2 Qxd2 18. Rxd2 Nxc5 19. Rxd5 Rfc8
{is an equality that only benefits black.}) 16... Ba6 17. Qd1 Nc5 18. Qxd5 Bxf1
19. Kxf1 {Black has the exchange while White has a passed pawn on c6, which is
also extra. The battle will rage on to determine whether this pawn is weak or
strong. I have the feeling White has enough to hold the balance, but it is
easier to play with Black.} Rac8 20. Nd4 Qd2 21. Qc4 Rfe8 22. Qc2 Qxc2 23. Rxc2
Re5 (23... g5 24. Bg3 Ne4 $15) 24. Bg3 Rd5 25. c7 Rd7 26. Nb5 $2 {Just leaving
the position in status quo while protecting the bishop on g3 was sufficient to
equalize, at least.} (26. f3 Rcxc7 27. Bxc7 Rxc7 $11) 26... a6 27. Nd4 Ne4 {
now that c7 drops, White has to suffer.} 28. Rc6 Nxg3+ 29. hxg3 Rdxc7 30. Rxb6
Rc1+ 31. Ke2 Ra8 $1 {if the a-pawns are swapped it is difficult to make
progress. The endgame would be holdable for White, though after a long amount
of suffering. Anand chooses to retain the a-pawns for practical chances.} 32.
Rb4 a5 33. Ra4 Rb1 34. Nb3 $4 (34. Kf3 Rb4 35. Ra3 a4 {is not pretty, but held
on still.}) 34... Rb2+ 35. Kf3 Ra6 {Amazingly White cannot stop Rf6+. He
cannot survive without the a pawn or the f pawn, so he resigned. Vallejo
collapsed too quickly in time pressure.} 0-1

[Event "7th Grand Slam Masters"]
[Site "Bilbao ESP"]
[Date "2014.09.15"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E62"]
[WhiteElo "2804"]
[BlackElo "2717"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2014.09.14"]

1. d4 d6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. g3 O-O 6. Bg2 c6 {Two blacks in a
row, two King's Indian Defenses. Ponomariov is no stranger to a fight!} 7. O-O
Bf5 8. Bg5 {Very rare. 8.b3, 8.Nh5, 8.Ne1 and 8.Re1 are more common. Actually
besides Bg5 there are many other moves that are semi-popular.} h6 (8... Ne4 {
looked like a logical continuation. Ponomariov probably wanted to avoid some
king of preparation.}) 9. Be3 Na6 10. Qc1 Kh7 11. h3 Rb8 12. g4 Bd7 13. Qd2 Nc7
14. a4 b5 15. axb5 cxb5 16. b3 {White can be very pleased with the opening. He
has more space, pressure on the a7 pawn and the h6 pawn.} bxc4 17. bxc4 Rb4 18.
Qd3 a6 19. d5 (19. Bd2 $1 $16) 19... e6 20. Nd4 exd5 21. cxd5 Re8 22. Rfb1
Rxb1+ 23. Rxb1 Nb5 24. Nc6 (24. Ndxb5 axb5 25. Nxb5 {looks like an extra pawn.
Aronian was probably trying to be more ambitious.}) 24... Bxc6 25. dxc6 Nxc3
26. Qxc3 Nd5 27. Qc4 Nxe3 28. fxe3 {Despite (or perhaps, because) the opposite
colored bishops Black has some real problems. It is not easy for him to
coordinate the g7 bishop in such a way that it defends against the advance of
the c-pawn or for it to really threaten White's king. Meanwhile White just has
to cover some problems around his king while marching the pawn up the board.}
d5 $5 {Creating space.} 29. Qxd5 $6 (29. Bxd5 $1 {was a better capture.}) 29...
Qe7 30. Kh1 Rd8 31. Qc4 Be5 $1 {Black has managed to stop the c-pawn and
prepares Bc7-Qe5.} 32. Rf1 Kg7 33. Bd5 f6 34. Rb1 Rb8 35. Rb7 Rxb7 36. cxb7 Qd6
37. Be4 $2 {Time pressure.} (37. Qe4 $16) 37... a5 $2 (37... Qd1+ $1 {In time
pressure Ponomariov underestimates his chances with a queen and a bishop.} 38.
Kg2 Qe1 $11 {It's not possible to escape the perpetual, nor is it feasable to
create any danger against the opponent in only one move.}) 38. Qb5 Qd8 39. Kg2
Bb8 40. Qc6 Qe7 41. Kf1 Bc7 42. Bd3 Qd6 $2 {The final mistake.} (42... Bh2 {
still forces White to find a plan.}) 43. Qe8 {Ponomariov must have missed this
lethal threat. Now g6 is impossible to defend.} f5 44. Bc4 $1 (44. gxf5 {also
does the trick.}) 44... Kf6 45. Qf7+ (45. h4 $1) 45... Kg5 46. gxf5 gxf5 47.
Qg7+ Kh4 48. Be6 $1 {A nice touch. h6 is under attack and the bishop is taboo.}
Bd8 (48... Qxe6 49. Qxc7 $18) 49. Qxh6+ Kg3 50. Qg7+ Kh4 51. Kg2 {A nice
effort from Aronian, taking full advantage of his opponent's time trouble
mistakes.} 1-0

[Event "7th Grand Slam Masters"]
[Site "Bilbao ESP"]
[Date "2014.09.16"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Anand, V."]
[Black "Aronian, L."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2804"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2014.09.12"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. Nc3
d6 9. a3 Na5 10. Ba2 Be6 11. b4 (11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. b4 Nc6 13. Bd2 d5 14. Re1
Qd6 15. Na2 $5 {Was Caruana's original, and successful, attempt against
Aronian in the Sinquefield Cup. Anand must have his own ideas, and Aronian
surely had an improvement ready.}) 11... Bxa2 12. Rxa2 Nc6 13. Bg5 Qd7 14. Bxf6
Bxf6 15. Nd5 Bd8 16. a4 Ne7 17. Ne3 Rb8 {Black in these kinds of positions is
not fighting for any kind of advantage. He is happy having a solid position
and simplifying into a draw. Aronian does this masterfully in this game.} 18.
axb5 axb5 19. c3 Qe6 20. Qb1 d5 21. exd5 Nxd5 22. Nxd5 Qxd5 23. Re1 Bf6 24.
Rae2 c5 25. Nxe5 (25. Rxe5 Bxe5 26. Rxe5 Qa8 27. bxc5 Qa3 {is not really that
dangerous.  White is far from advancing his pawns and Black's counterplay is
good.}) 25... cxb4 26. Qxb4 Bxe5 27. Rxe5 Qxd3 {White has a symbolic advantage.
The game is basically over.} 28. h3 h6 29. R1e3 Qd1+ 30. Re1 Qa4 31. Rb1 Qxb4
32. Rxb4 Rfc8 33. Rbxb5 Rxb5 34. Rxb5 Rxc3 {Aronian makes a very solid draw,
though one has to wonder if maybe Anand is saving his best prep for his W orld
Championship match.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Grand Slam Masters"]
[Site "Bilbao ESP"]
[Date "2014.09.16"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Ponomariov, R."]
[Black "Vallejo Pons, F."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2717"]
[BlackElo "2712"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2014.09.12"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e6 7. g4 Be7 8. Bg2
Nfd7 9. Nce2 $5 {Some new idea by the Ukrainian player, but it seems as if the
move is more designed to take Vallejo out of preparation than anything else.} (
9. Be3 {is by far the most common continuation.}) 9... Nc6 10. c3 h5 $6 {
Unfortunately for Vallejo Pons this counter-strike is just not strong enough.
Ponomariov punishes it convincingly.} 11. gxh5 Rxh5 $6 (11... Qa5 $1 {causes
White to stop his attack for now to defend the h5 pawn. I would prefer the
first player in that case, but the game is still double-edged.}) 12. Nxc6 bxc6
13. Nd4 $1 {very strong! the c6 pawn is under attack, and so is the rook on h5.
This makes Black's position very awkward.} Rc5 14. b4 $1 {Ponomariov keeps up
the onslaught.} Rxc3 $6 (14... Rc4 {was the only hope.}) 15. Bb2 Rc4 16. Nxe6
$1 {An aesthetically pleasing but easy to calculate combination.} Qb6 (16...
fxe6 17. Qh5+ Kf8 18. Qh8+ Kf7 19. Qxg7+ Ke8 20. Qg6+ Kf8 21. Bg7+ Kg8 22. Bh6+
Kh8 23. Qg7#) 17. Nxg7+ Kf8 18. O-O {Black's king is toto weak and he doesn't
even have material to show for it.} Ne5 19. Nh5 $1 Qxb4 20. Rb1 Qc5 21. Kh1 Ng6
22. Nf6 Rb8 23. Qd2 {winning, but missing a pretty combination.} (23. Bc1 $1 {
Would have been a beautiful way to finish the game.} Bxf6 (23... Rxb1 24. Bh6#)
(23... Rxc1 24. Nd7+ $1 Bxd7 25. Rxb8+ Kg7 26. Qxc1 $18 {Two exchanges is
plenty to win with.}) 24. Rxb8 $18) 23... Bxf6 24. Bxf6 Rb5 25. Rbd1 d5 26.
Qh6+ Ke8 27. exd5 cxd5 28. Rfe1+ Kd7 {White is winning however he wants. A
nice demolition by Ponomariov.} 29. Qg7 Qf8 30. Bxd5 Rxd5 31. Rxd5+ Kc7 32.
Be5+ Kc6 33. Qxf8 1-0

[Event "7th Grand Slam Masters"]
[Site "Bilbao ESP"]
[Date "2014.09.18"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Anand, V."]
[Black "Vallejo Pons, F."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D20"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2712"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2014.09.12"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 Nc6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. d5 Ne5 6. Bf4 Ng6 7. Be3 e5 8. Bxc4
Nf6 9. Nc3 a6 10. Be2 Bd6 11. Nd2 Bxe2 12. Qxe2 {Black's position is solid but
passive. Vallejo hopes to hold on enough to break with c6 under the correct
circumstances.} O-O 13. O-O Qe7 14. Rfd1 Rac8 15. g3 h6 16. Rac1 c6 17. Nc4
cxd5 18. Nxd5 Nxd5 19. Rxd5 $16 {Black has managed to make the pawn strcuture
symmetrical, but he is very far from being out of problems. Right now the main
issue is that his knight on g6 is out of play. On top of that,  White's rooks
are coming into play with tempi.} Bc5 20. Rcd1 Bxe3 21. Nxe3 Qb4 22. Nf5 {
White's supremacy over the board cannot be contested. To make matters worse,
Anand's moves become somewhat obvious, while it is not so clear to find a path
for the Spaniard.} Rc4 23. Nd6 Rc6 24. a3 Qb3 25. R5d3 Qb6 26. Nf5 Re8 27. Rd7
$18 {I don't see Black surviving such piece activity.} Rf6 28. Qg4 {White's
obvious and unstoppable plan is h4-h5.} Qc6 29. h4 h5 30. Qxh5 Qxe4 31. Rd8 Qc6
32. Qg5 Qe6 33. R1d6 {A relatively easy win for Anand, who just had to put his
pieces where they belonged.} 1-0

[Event "7th Grand Slam Masters"]
[Site "Bilbao ESP"]
[Date "2014.09.18"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Ponomariov, R."]
[Black "Aronian, L."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2717"]
[BlackElo "2804"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2014.09.12"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Nf3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 a5 7. a3 Bxd2+ 8.
Qxd2 Nbd7 9. O-O c6 10. a4 Nb6 11. Na3 Ne4 12. Qc2 Nd6 {Black clings on to the
pawn on c4, trying to force White to simplify material for its recovery or to
force e4-e5.} 13. e4 O-O 14. Rfd1 Qe7 15. Rac1 (15. e5 Nf5 16. Nxc4 Nxc4 17.
Qxc4 Rd8 {is extremely solid for Black.}) 15... c3 $5 16. Rb1 {White loses a
pawn, but he obtains strong compensation for it.} (16. Qxc3 Nxe4 $17) (16. bxc3
Nxe4 $13) 16... cxb2 17. Rxb2 Ne8 {Sadly Black didn't have a lot of
alternatives.} (17... Nd7 18. e5 Nf5 19. Nc4 $14) 18. Rxb6 (18. Ra1 $1 {In a
position with more space I prefer keeping some material alive.}) 18... Qxa3 19.
Ne5 Qe7 20. Qc3 Qd8 21. Qc5 Nf6 22. f4 Nd7 23. Nxd7 Qxd7 24. e5 Rd8 25. Be4 Qe8
26. Kf2 Qf8 27. Qc2 h6 28. Ke3 Ra7 29. h4 {Black is basically paralyzed, but
White has no way of breaking in. Making progress on the kingside is
double-edged.} Bd7 30. Qc5 h5 31. Qc3 Qe7 32. Rdb1 Be8 33. R1b2 Kf8 34. Bf3 f5
35. Rb1 g6 36. R1b2 Kg7 37. Bg2 Rd7 38. Bf3 Rc7 39. Qc5 Qxc5 40. dxc5 Rd7 41.
Rb1 {Neither side can seriously make progress here.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Grand Slam Masters"]
[Site "Bilbao ESP"]
[Date "2014.09.19"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Ponomariov, R."]
[Black "Anand, V."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2717"]
[BlackElo "2785"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2014.09.12"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ {The point of this move is to
force Black's knight to c6, which is not always the most comfortable place for
it.} Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd2 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Bd6 9. O-O e5 10. d5 Ne7 11. Qc2 (11. e4
h6 12. h3 a6 13. Qc2 {led to a draw in Ushenina-Koneru earlier this month in
the Grand Prix.}) 11... h6 12. h3 a6 13. a3 Bf5 14. e4 Bd7 {Forcing e4 has its
pros and cons. f4 is weakened and White doesn't get access to e4 for a knight,
but it reinforces the center.} 15. Rfe1 Ng6 16. Nd1 c6 17. Ne3 Rc8 18. Bc3 cxd5
19. Bxd5 Nxd5 20. Nxd5 Be6 21. Rad1 f6 22. Qa4 Rf7 23. Bb4 Bxb4 24. Qxb4 Qf8 {
One can remember the Anand-Vallejo game, with a similar pawn structure;
however here Black is the one better placed.} 25. Qa4 Rd8 26. Ne3 Nf4 27. Rxd8
Qxd8 28. Rd1 Rd7 (28... Qc8 {kept some chances alive, but Anand was surely
happy with a solid position.}) 29. Rxd7 Qxd7 30. Qxd7 Bxd7 31. Ne1 Ne2+ 32. Kf1
Bb5 33. a4 {forcing a perpetual.} Ng3+ 34. Kg1 Ne2+ 35. Kf1 Ng3+ 36. Kg1 Ne2+
37. Kf1 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Grand Slam Masters"]
[Site "Bilbao ESP"]
[Date "2014.09.19"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Aronian, L."]
[Black "Vallejo Pons, F."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D41"]
[WhiteElo "2804"]
[BlackElo "2712"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2014.09.12"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 (6. dxe6 dxc3 7.
exf7+ Ke7 {is tempting, but known not to be good for White. Black has plenty
of time to consolidate.}) 6... exd5 7. e4 Nc6 (7... dxe4 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Ng5
$14) 8. Bb5 dxe4 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. Ng5 Be6 {Despite how suspicious this line
looks for Black, it seems to hold quite well. Most top-level games in this
variation have ended in a draw in the recent past. Aronian's try does not seem
to be the most testing.} 11. Bd2 Bb4 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Nxe6+ fxe6 14. Nxe4 Rb8
15. O-O-O Ke7 16. Rhe1 Nxe4 17. Rxe4 Bxd2+ 18. Rxd2 {White's structural edge
gives him an advantage in the endgame, but from that to converting a win is a
long, long road.} Rhd8 19. Rc2 Rb6 20. Rec4 Rd6 21. R2c3 e5 22. Rc5 Rg6 $1 {
Good counterplay from the Spaniard. This forces g3, leaving f2 more vulnerable.
} 23. g3 (23. Rxe5+ Kd6 24. Re2 Rxg2 $11) 23... Kd6 24. Ra5 Rf6 25. f3 Rf7 26.
Rca3 Rfb7 27. Rd3+ Ke6 28. b3 Rb5 29. Ra6 R5b6 30. Ra3 Rb5 {White's rooks are
rather ugly. Despite the permanent advantage of the pawn structure, it is
clear he has been unable to make any progress. Aronian keeps trying, but
Vallejo has no problems holding.} 31. Rc3 Kd6 32. Kd2 Rd5+ 33. Ke3 a5 34. Rc4
Rbb5 35. Raa4 Rbc5 36. h4 h5 37. g4 g6 38. Ke4 Rxc4+ 39. Rxc4 Rd1 40. f4 Re1+
41. Kd3 Rd1+ 42. Ke3 Re1+ 43. Kd3 Rd1+ 44. Ke3 Re1+ 45. Kd2 Ra1 46. fxe5+ Kxe5
47. Rc5+ Kd6 48. Rxa5 hxg4 49. Ke3 Rh1 50. Rg5 Rxh4 51. Rxg6+ Kc5 52. Rg5+ Kb6
53. Kd4 g3+ 54. Kc3 Rh2 55. a4 Rg2 56. a5+ Ka6 57. Kb4 Rc2 58. Rxg3 c5+ 59. Ka3
Kxa5 1/2-1/2

[Event "7th Grand Slam Masters"]
[Site "Bilbao ESP"]
[Date "2014.09.20"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Aronian, L."]
[Black "Anand, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2804"]
[BlackElo "2785"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2014.09.12"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 {Anand keeps going back to his Ragozin
in this tournament. With such good results, it's not a mystery that he does.}
5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. Ne4
Qe7 12. Nxd4 Bd7 13. Qh5 Nc6 14. Nb3 f5 15. a3 fxe4 $6 {The first novelty of
the game, and probably not a good one. Anand must not have been familiar with
my own game!} (15... Ne5 $1 16. Be2 (16. axb4 Nxc4 17. Rxc4 Bb5 18. Ned2 Bxc4
19. Nxc4 Qxb4 20. Ncd2 a5 $17 {is somewhat awkward for White as his knights
don't coordinate well.}) 16... Be8 17. Qh3 Bc6 $11 {was close to equal in
Ramirez Alvarez-Cornette, Capelle la Grande 2012}) 16. axb4 Nxb4 17. Nc5 Nd3
18. Nxd3 exd3 19. Bxd3 {Black is still close to equal, but White's pressure is
annoying. Black's king will always have to be careful of a queen transfer to
e4 and h7 while the e6 pawn can be attacked.} Bc6 20. Rc4 Rf6 21. Be4 $6 (21.
Qe5 $1 $14 {I don't like the idea of trading bishops when Black's king is
somewhat exposed.}) 21... Bxe4 $11 22. Rxe4 Rd8 23. Qe2 Rf5 24. h3 Rfd5 25. Qg4
R8d6 26. Rc1 Kh7 $6 {a little careless.} (26... Qd7 $1 {Trying to trade rooks
as soon as possible is safer.}) 27. Ra4 $1 a6 28. Qe4+ Kg8 29. Rc8+ $1 Rd8 30.
Rac4 {White's maneuver gets him a good amount of pressure as Black cannot
immediately simplify his problems.} R5d7 (30... Rd1+ $1 {In some lines having
the Qd6+ resource will be useful.}) 31. g3 Kf7 32. Qf3+ Kg8 33. Qe4 Kf7 34. Qg4
Rxc8 35. Rxc8 Qg5 36. Qb4 Kg6 37. h4 (37. Rf8 $1) 37... Qf5 $2 (37... Rd1+ $1
38. Kh2 Qd5 39. Qg4+ Kh7 40. e4 Qd4 {is enough to hold the balance.}) 38. Rf8
Qd5 39. Qg4+ Kh7 40. Kh2 $1 {A nice move that reinforces Black's bad position.
White simply avoids the trade of queens on d1 and now threatens h5.} h5 41. Qf4
Qc6 42. Qb8 {In major piece endgames a useful rule of thumb is that king
safety is the most important feature of the position, many times above
material. In this case, material is still equal but Black's king is going for
a deadly walk.} Rd1 43. e4 Rc1 (43... Qxe4 44. Rh8+ Kg6 45. Qe8+ Kf6 46. Rf8+
Ke5 47. Qxh5+ Kd4 48. Qxd1+) 44. Rh8+ Kg6 45. Qf4 Rc5 46. e5 1-0

[Event "7th Grand Slam Masters"]
[Site "Bilbao ESP"]
[Date "2014.09.20"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Vallejo Pons, F."]
[Black "Ponomariov, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E34"]
[WhiteElo "2712"]
[BlackElo "2717"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2014.09.12"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. cxd5 Qxd5 6. Nf3 Qf5 7. Qb3 Nc6 8.
Bd2 a5 9. a3 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 a4 {A typical Nimzo position. White has the pair of
bishops but on the other hand Black's development is acceptable and he has a
certain control over the light squares.} 11. Qd1 O-O 12. e3 b6 13. Bd3 Qd5 14.
Qe2 Ne4 15. O-O Nxc3 {After this move it is clear that the position will favor
White. His superior pawn structure and central control will make things easy
for him to play out. Maybe it was better to keep the tension by playing Bb7.}
16. bxc3 Bb7 17. c4 Qd6 18. c5 $5 {Maybe this was some kind of bluff?} Qe7 $2 {
Ponomariov absolutely had to take the intruder.} (18... bxc5 19. Qc2 (19. dxc5
Qxc5 20. Rfc1 Qe7 {is only enough for equality.}) 19... cxd4 20. Bxh7+ Kh8 21.
Be4 f5 $1 {this seems fine for Black.}) 19. Be4 $6 (19. Rab1 $16) 19... f5 $6
20. Bxc6 Bxc6 21. Ne5 Bd5 22. Rfc1 Rfb8 23. Nd3 Bb7 24. Nb4 Ra5 25. c6 Bc8 26.
e4 fxe4 27. Qxe4 {White's advantage is obvious now, Black's bishop is squashed
out of play.} Ba6 28. Rc3 Re8 29. Re1 Bc8 30. Rce3 Rg5 31. f4 Rh5 32. d5 Qd6
33. h3 Kf8 34. f5 e5 35. g4 Rh4 36. Nd3 h5 37. Nxe5 $18 {Black's position was
strategically hopeless, now it is completely hopeless.} Kg8 38. Qf4 hxg4 39.
hxg4 (39. Ng6 $1 $18) 39... Qxd5 40. Nf3 Rxe3 41. Rxe3 Rh3 42. Kg2 1-0

