[Event "4th Zurich CC Classical"]
[Site "Zurich SUI"]
[Date "2015.02.14"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Anand, V."]
[Black "Kramnik, V."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D36"]
[WhiteElo "2797"]
[BlackElo "2783"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2015.02.14"]

{Once upon a time, maybe five or six years ago, the Queen's Gambit Declined
was considered a dubious opening when played with the move order 1. d4 d5 2.
c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 or 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5, mainly because of the Exchange
Variation, which was supposed to give White good chances for an advantage...
but how theory changes!    Rather recently the idea of playing this solid
opening for Black has risen in popularity - largely due to the resurgence of
an old idea, to trade the dark-squared bishops quickly with a fast Nh5 and
then castle on the queenside, as opposed to the kingside. Black's position
seems to be very difficult to break and White's normal plans (such as minority
attack or a quick kingside expansion) seem to fall short in this set-up.
Kramnik had no problems out of the opening against Anand today in this
variation and eventually the game was solidly drawn.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3
d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. Qc2 Be7 7. e3 Nbd7 8. Nf3 Nh5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10.
O-O-O Nb6 11. Ne5 Nf6 12. Bd3 Ng4 13. Nf3 Be6 14. Kb1 O-O-O 15. h3 Nf6 16. Nd2
Kb8 17. Nb3 Ne8 18. Nc5 Nd6 19. f3 f5 20. g4 Bc8 21. Rde1 Rhf8 22. Qh2 Qc7 23.
Rhf1 Rde8 24. b3 g6 25. Bc2 Re7 26. Rf2 Rfe8 27. Rfe2 Nd7 28. Nd3 Nf7 29. Qxc7+
Kxc7 30. gxf5 gxf5 31. Nf4 Nf6 32. h4 Nh8 33. Kc1 Ng6 34. Ng2 Nh5 35. Rg1 a5
36. Kd2 Rg7 37. Ne1 h6 38. Reg2 Reg8 39. Ne2 Kd6 40. a3 b6 41. b4 axb4 42. axb4
Ne7 43. Rxg7 Rxg7 44. Rxg7 Nxg7 45. Nf4 c5 46. bxc5+ bxc5 47. dxc5+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "4th Zurich CC Classical"]
[Site "Zurich SUI"]
[Date "2015.02.14"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Aronian, L."]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D47"]
[WhiteElo "2777"]
[BlackElo "2760"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2015.02.14"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3
Bb7 9. e4 b4 10. Na4 c5 11. e5 Nd5 12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. Nxc5 Bxc5 14. O-O (14.
Bb5+ Kf8 {has been considered acceptable for Black for quite some time now.})
14... Be7 $5 {A new move in a well-known position. 14...h6 is very popular and
has been played by Aronian himself as black.} 15. Qe2 Qb6 16. Ng5 h6 17. Ne4
Rd8 18. Qf3 {It is logical to add pressure on the kingside as it is the only
place where White can hope to start an initiative.} Ba6 19. Rd1 O-O 20. Qg3 Kh8
(20... Bxd3 $2 21. Bxh6 $18) 21. Qh3 Kg8 $2 (21... Bxd3 22. Rxd3 Kh7 23. Rg3 {
looks scary for Black, but is probably nothing} Qd4 $1 24. Rxg7+ Kxg7 25. Bxh6+
Kg6 26. Bxf8 Rxf8 27. Qg4+ $11) 22. Bxh6 $1 gxh6 23. Qxh6 f5 24. Qg6+ Kh8 25.
Qh6+ Kg8 26. Qg6+ Kh8 27. Qh6+ {And the worst mistake of all: agree to a draw!}
(27. Qh6+ Kg8 28. Qg6+ Kh8 29. Ng3 $1 {Black has to deal with a couple of
threats. The most immediate of them is Ng5, which checkmates Black.} Bc5 $8 (
29... Rd7 30. Qh6+ $1 Kg8 31. Bxa6 Qxa6 32. Rxd5 $1 Rxd5 33. Qg6+ Kh8 34. Nh5
$18 {Any time that Black defends on g8 with a rook he allows Qh6 checkmate.})
30. Qh6+ Kg8 31. Nh5 Bxf2+ 32. Kh1 Qc7 33. Qxe6+ Qf7 34. Qxf7+ Kxf7 35. Bxa6 {
and with two extra pawns White has some real winning chances. It's still a
long way to go as Black is rather active, but it is clear that Aronian would
prefer this position than drawing. It is unclear what he missed.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "4th Zurich CC Classical"]
[Site "Zurich SUI"]
[Date "2015.02.14"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Caruana, F."]
[Black "Nakamura, H."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2811"]
[BlackElo "2776"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2015.02.14"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e5 7. Nde2 h5 {The
evolution of chess. The move h5 helps defend d5 by preventing g4-g5. Not
something that is easy to explain to an amateur, and it looks like it is going
against every opening principle out there, but that is the Najdorf for you.} 8.
g3 Nbd7 9. Bg5 Be7 10. a4 Nc5 11. Bg2 Be6 12. a5 {White has a nice bind on
both d5 and b6, which means that Black will have to break out of it with a
sub-optimal pawn push.} b5 (12... Nfxe4 {Is an interesting tactical solution,
but it falls short.} 13. Nxe4 Bxg5 14. Nxg5 $1 Qxg5 15. b4 $1 Nd7 16. Qxd6 {
doesn't look good for Black; notice how active the bishop on g2 has become.})
13. axb6 Qxb6 14. b3 O-O 15. O-O a5 16. Qd2 {Caruana's position seems to be
slightly more pleasant. He has some pressure against d6 which is more valuable
than Black's potential pressure on the queenside once he breaks with a4.} Rfc8
17. Rfd1 a4 $5 {The pawn sacrifice clears the c4 square for the bishop and
gives Black real targets on the queenside. However it is not immediately
obvious how Nakamura will recover this pawn.} (17... Ra6 {was more passive,
simply defending the d6 pawn, but was also playable.}) 18. bxa4 Bc4 19. a5 $1 {
A nice solution; the pawn is still untouchable.} Qd8 (19... Rxa5 20. Bxf6 $1 (
20. Nd5 {immediately doesn't work} Nxd5 21. Rxa5 Bxg5 {and the queen cannot
recover material without losing the defense of the a5 rook.}) 20... Rxa1 (20...
Bxf6 21. Nd5 Bxd5 22. Qxa5 $16 {wins an exchange.})) 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Qxd6
Qxd6 22. Rxd6 Nb7 23. Rd2 Rxa5 24. Rb1 Nc5 {Black is still down a pawn, but he
retains compensation. His pieces are active, White's are slightly awkward.} 25.
Nd5 Bd8 26. h4 Ra3 27. Nec3 Rca8 28. Rdd1 Ba5 29. Nb5 {steadiyl White has made
progress; his knights are in better squares, Black has not created any
immediate threats.} Ra2 30. Bf3 g6 31. Ne7+ (31. Nd6 $1 Bxd5 32. Rxd5 Rxc2 33.
Ra1 $1 {This nice detail would have led to a position whre only White can win.
Black has great chances to hold the position, but with e5 hanging and some
pressure dowdn the a-file it is not an easy practical task.}) 31... Kg7 32. Nc6
Na4 33. Nd6 Be6 34. Rb7 (34. Nxa5 Rxa5 35. Rd2 Rc5 $11) 34... Rxc2 35. Nxe5 $6
(35. Nxf7 $1 {This pawn was more valuable and White could have taken it
without problems. For example:} Bxf7 (35... Nc5 $8 36. Rb5 $1 {attacking on a5
saves the f7 knight.} Bxf7 37. Rxa5 Rxa5 38. Nxa5 {and White is far from a win,
but he can push forever.}) 36. Nxe5 Rf8 37. Rdd7 $18) 35... Nc5 $1 36. Re7 {
The problem with Caruana's solution is that this rook on e7 starts to feel
very uncomfortable as it is running out of squares.} Kf8 37. Nc6 $6 (37. Rxe6
Nxe6 38. Ndxf7 Bc3 39. Nh8 $1 $13) 37... Nb3 {Suddenly Black has a real threat:
Bb6 is coming! Also the knight on c6 is currently hanging.} 38. e5 Bb6 $17 39.
Rb7 $2 (39. Rxe6 $1 fxe6 (39... Bxf2+ 40. Kh1 fxe6 41. Nb4 $14 {and now it is
Black's rook that feels uncomfortable. Well, both of them, as a8 and c2 are
hanging.}) 40. Nd4 $1 Bxd4 41. Bxa8 Bxf2+ 42. Kg2 Bd4+ 43. Kh3 Bxe5 {and Black
is better, obviously, but very far from winning.}) (39. Nd4 Nxd4 40. Bxa8 {
leaves the rook on e7 unprotected, which is why 39.Rxe6 is good.}) 39... Bxf2+
40. Kg2 $2 (40. Kh1 Bxg3 {is winning for Black too}) 40... Bc5+ 41. Kh1 Raa2 {
and now it is very obvious that Black has nowhere near a perpetuatl and Black
will checkmate on h2.} 0-1

[Event "4th Zurich CC Classical"]
[Site "Zurich SUI"]
[Date "2015.02.16"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Anand, V."]
[Black "Aronian, L."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D97"]
[WhiteElo "2797"]
[BlackElo "2777"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2015.02.14"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O 7. e4 Na6 {
Even though 7...a6 remains the main line and 7...Nc6 has gained a lot of
popularity, the text move is still one of the most popular choices at the top
level. Black prepares a quick c5.} 8. Be2 c5 9. d5 {This pawn push is the only
realistic way to fight for an advantage; if White takes on c5 the pawn would
be regained with interest very easily.} (9. dxc5 Be6 10. Qb5 Rc8 $1 $36) 9...
e6 10. O-O exd5 11. exd5 Re8 12. Rd1 (12. Bg5 {was Anand's choice against
Carlsen in their World Championship match back in November.}) 12... Bf5 13. d6
h6 14. Be3 {Not as common as 14.Bf4.} Ng4 15. Bf4 {White's passed pawn on the
d-file creates some real threats, but Black is pretty active: specificallyt
here are some tactics involving the bishops and the active rook on e8.} Bxc3
16. bxc3 (16. Qxc3 Rxe2 {is certainly impossible.}) 16... Re4 17. Qb5 Rxf4 {
Black wins a piece, but it is not over} 18. Qxb7 {The knight on a6 feels
mighty uncomfortable.} Ra4 $1 19. d7 {Anand clearly had this prepared before
hand. It is easy to get lost in the complications. White has tremendous
pressure thanks to his passed d-pawn and Black's discoordinated pieces.} (19.
Bxa6 Rb8 20. Qc6 (20. Qxa7 Ra8 $19) 20... Bd7 {and the queen cannot defend the
bishop on a6 any more.}) 19... Be4 (19... Nc7 $1 20. h3 $1 Nf6 21. Ne5 $13 {
The position will need more practical tests.}) 20. Qb3 Bc6 $2 {This is already
a serious mistake. Levon took 20 minutes for each Be4 and Bc6,so it is a
little mystery on what he missed.} (20... Ra5 21. Nd2 $1 Bf5 $5 22. Nc4 Nxf2 $1
23. Nxa5 (23. Kxf2 Rb8 {and White cannot move his queen without allowing Qh4+})
23... Nxd1 $13) 21. Rd6 $1 {Simple and obvious. Black is already lost; he is
facing the threat of Rxg6+ and Rc6.} Bxd7 (21... Rb8 22. Qd1 Bxf3 (22... Rb6
23. Rxc6 Rxc6 24. Qxa4 $18) 23. Bxf3 $18 {the fork against g4 and a4 is deadly.
}) 22. Rad1 Qb8 23. Rxd7 Qxb3 24. axb3 Ra2 25. Bc4 {Black is not down material,
yet, but it is clear that he is completely lost. f7 is hanging, a7 is weak,
his pieces are everywhere, the knight on a6 is basically trapped...} Rf8 26.
R7d6 {now Black loses a piece. Rxg6+ and Rxa6 are the threats.} Kg7 27. Rxa6
Rxf2 28. Re1 1-0

[Event "4th Zurich CC Classical"]
[Site "Zurich SUI"]
[Date "2015.02.16"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Kramnik, V."]
[Black "Nakamura, H."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A14"]
[WhiteElo "2783"]
[BlackElo "2776"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2015.02.14"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. c4 O-O 6. b3 c5 7. Bb2 Nc6 8. cxd5
Nxd5 9. d4 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Bf6 12. Qd2 Bd7 13. Bxd5 exd5 14. Rd1
Rc8 15. Nc3 Bc6 16. Nxd5 Bxb2 (16... Qxd5 17. Qxd5 Bxd5 18. Bxf6 Be6 {is
asking to get tortured for no reason, though the opposite colored bishops and
the incoming rook to c2 give great chances for a draw.}) 17. Qxb2 Bxd5 18. e4
Bxe4 (18... Rc5 19. Qd2 {is not nearly as convincing.}) 19. Rxd8 Rfxd8 {your
computer might give a serious advantage for White, but it is a lie. It's
impossible to break down Black's defenses. White's king is permanently weak
and there are no weaknesses to attack.} 20. b4 a6 21. a4 Rc4 22. Re1 h6 (22...
g6 23. f3 $1 $14) 23. Qe5 Bc6 24. b5 Re8 25. Qxe8+ Bxe8 26. Rxe8+ Kh7 27. Re7
f6 28. a5 Ra4 29. Rxb7 Rxa5 30. b6 Rb5 31. Kf1 a5 32. Kg2 a4 33. h4 h5 34. Rb8
Kg6 35. b7 a3 36. Ra8 a2 37. Kh3 Rxb7 38. Rxa2 Rb3 39. Kg2 Rb5 40. Re2 Ra5
1/2-1/2

[Event "4th Zurich CC Classical"]
[Site "Zurich SUI"]
[Date "2015.02.16"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Caruana, F."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2760"]
[BlackElo "2811"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2015.02.14"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O Nd4 6. Nxd4 Bxd4 7. c3 Bb6 8.
Na3 c6 9. Ba4 d6 10. Bb3 a5 11. Nc4 Bc7 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bh4 g5 14. Bg3 h5 15. f3
Be6 16. Ne3 h4 17. Bf2 d5 18. Re1 Kf8 19. h3 Bb6 20. Qc2 Nh5 21. d4 exd4 22.
cxd4 Nf4 23. Ng4 a4 24. Bxa4 dxe4 25. Rxe4 Bf5 26. Rd1 Kg7 27. Bb3 Qc7 28. Ne3
Bg6 29. Nc4 Rhe8 30. Kh1 Ba7 31. Ne5 Bxe4 32. fxe4 Rxe5 33. dxe5 Bxf2 34. Qxf2
Rd8 35. Qe1 Rxd1 36. Qxd1 Qxe5 37. Qd7 Qf6 38. e5 Qg6 39. Kh2 b6 40. e6 Nxe6
41. Qxc6 1/2-1/2

[Event "4th Zurich CC Classical"]
[Site "Zurich SUI"]
[Date "2015.02.16"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Nakamura, H."]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A33"]
[WhiteElo "2776"]
[BlackElo "2760"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2015.02.14"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6 6. g3 Qb6 7. Ndb5 Ne5 8.
Bf4 Nfg4 9. Qa4 {Modern theory at its best. Taking on f2 is considered to be
rather dangerous, so no one does it.} g5 (9... Qxf2+ 10. Kd2 Qb6 11. h3 g5 12.
Bxg5 Nf2 13. Rh2 {and Black is somehow very discoordinated: his pieces are all
hanging, Be3 is a real threat.}) 10. Bxe5 Qxf2+ 11. Kd1 Nxe5 12. Nc7+ Kd8 13.
Nxa8 Qd4+ 14. Kc2 Nxc4 15. e4 (15. Kb3 Nd2+ 16. Kc2 Nc4 $11 {has been a draw a
few times, most notably Carlsen-Dominguez, 2009.}) 15... Ne3+ $2 {The first
new move of the game, and already a blunder. Perhaps Karjakin should have
checked this line more carefully. It is impossible to find your way through
the maze of variations in this position without knowing them beforehand.
Karjakin is well known to have very deep opening preparation, so at least to
me, the fact that he did not know the opening comes to me as a surprise.} (
15... Qd2+ 16. Kb3 Qxb2+ 17. Kxc4 Bg7 $1 18. Qa5+ $1 {anything else leaves
White in real problems; his king is too weak.} b6 19. Qxg5+ f6 20. Qb5 {
absolutely forced, or White gets mated.} (20. Qxg7 Ba6+ 21. Kd4 Qf2#) 20... Ba6
$1 {A forced move again!} 21. Qxa6 f5 $1 {And now White can't avoid losing his
c2 knight and allow a perpetual. You can check the variations if you like, but
it is not the type of situations where a silicon monster would lie.}) 16. Kb3
Qd2 17. a3 Qc2+ 18. Ka2 {White's king is safe, and he is upa rook for two
pawns. Black has the time to trade queens and regain some material by trapping
the a8 knight, but it is not sufficient.} Qxa4 19. Nxa4 Nxf1 20. Rhxf1 b5 (
20... b6 21. Rac1 Bb7 22. Nc7 $18) 21. N4b6 axb6 22. Nxb6 Bb7 23. Rxf7 {Black
is basically just down the exchange.} Bc6 24. Rd1 Be7 $6 (24... Ke8 {was more
resilient, but still hopeless.} 25. Rdxd7 $1 $18) 25. Rf3 Kc7 $6 (25... Ke8 26.
Rfd3 h5 $1 {is technically winning, but White would have a long road ahead of
him before converting.}) 26. Nxd7 Rd8 (26... Bxd7 27. Rc3+ Kd8 28. Rcd3) 27.
Rc3 (27. Rc3 Rxd7 28. Rdc1 Rd6 29. e5 $18) 1-0

[Event "4th Zurich CC Classical"]
[Site "Zurich SUI"]
[Date "2015.02.16"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Caruana, F."]
[Black "Anand, V."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "2811"]
[BlackElo "2797"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2015.02.14"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 (3... Nf6 {is a different scenario!}) 4. d4 c6 5.
c4 dxc4 6. Na3 {With a knight on f6 this move makes no sense. But the knight
is not on f6.} b5 7. Nxb5 cxb5 8. Nh4 {White wins the exchange as a8 cannot be
defended. If the knight were on f6 it could block on d5, but this is not the
case. On the other hand Black has good chances of obtaining compensation as
White's development is seriously compromised.} Bd7 9. Bxa8 Nc6 10. Bxc6 (10.
Bb7 Qb6 {is not much of an improvement.}) 10... Bxc6 11. O-O Qd5 12. f3 (12.
Nf3 Nf6 {is somewhat uncomfortable to play for White. There isn't any clear
plan, e4 is firmly under Black's control, and overall it's just annoying to
find a move. The move that Caruana chose loses a pawn but at least gives him a
clearer direction.}) 12... Qxd4+ 13. Kh1 Qxd1 14. Rxd1 e6 15. Rb1 Nf6 16. Be3
O-O 17. Ng2 Nd5 18. Bd4 e5 19. Bxa7 {White regains one of his pawns, but Black
has a very specific idea} c3 $1 {The pawn is untouchable and it causes serious
threats.} 20. Ne1 (20. bxc3 Nxc3 21. Rdc1 Nxb1 22. Rxc6 {can only favor Black;
White's knight on g2 is too far away from the action.}) 20... e4 $6 (20... Ra8
{was certainly better.} 21. e4 (21. Bf2 e4 {is now a stronger version of the
game.} 22. Bd4 Rxa2 $13) 21... Nf6 22. Be3 Nxe4 $1) 21. Bd4 (21. fxe4 Nb4 {
thereatening Bxe4 and c2.}) 21... exf3 22. exf3 Re8 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 24. Nc2 $2 (
24. Rd3 $1 {This move would have put some serious problems for Anand. The rook
move threatens bxc3 and covers f3.} Re2 25. bxc3 Ne3 (25... Rxa2 26. Kg1 $16)
26. Kg1 $1 {And Black retains compensation, but it is not clear if it is
enough.}) 24... Ne3 $1 25. Re1 (25. Nxe3 Rxe3 26. Rdc1 Rxf3 $1 27. Kg1 Be4 28.
bxc3 Bxb1 29. Rxb1 Rxc3 {with an endgame that is probably drawn, but only
Black can win.}) 25... Nxc2 26. Rxe8 Bxe8 27. bxc3 {The two pieces are
superior to the rook. Anand does not show the best technique from now on, and
Caruana easily draws, but without time pressure it is possible that the Indian
could have put White in a serious bind.} Na3 28. Rd1 Nc4 29. Kg1 Kf6 30. Rd4 h5
31. Kf2 Ne5 32. h3 g5 (32... Ke6 $15) 33. f4 gxf4 34. gxf4 Ng6 35. c4 bxc4 36.
Rxc4 Bd7 37. a4 Bxh3 38. a5 Be6 39. Rd4 Ne7 40. a6 Nc8 41. Kg3 Bg4 42. Rc4 Kg6
43. Rc7 f6 44. a7 Nxa7 45. Rxa7 Bf5 1/2-1/2

[Event "4th Zurich CC Classical"]
[Site "Zurich SUI"]
[Date "2015.02.16"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Aronian, L."]
[Black "Kramnik, V."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A14"]
[WhiteElo "2777"]
[BlackElo "2783"]
[PlyCount "122"]
[EventDate "2015.02.14"]

1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. d4 dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4
Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 a5 11. Nc3 Na6 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. e4 Nb4 14. Rfd1 g6 15.
h4 Bg7 16. Rd2 Rc8 17. Rad1 Qe7 18. d5 Bd7 19. Bh3 exd5 20. Nxd5 Nxd5 21. Bxd7
Nb6 22. Qc2 Rcd8 23. Qxc7 Nxa4 24. e5 Nc5 25. Rd5 b6 26. Qc6 Rxd7 27. Rxd7 Nxd7
28. Rxd7 Qe8 29. Qd5 h6 30. Rb7 Qd8 31. Qb5 g5 32. hxg5 hxg5 33. Rxb6 g4 34.
Nh4 Qd1+ 35. Kg2 Qd4 36. Qc6 Qxe5 37. Qc4 Qd4 38. Qxd4 Bxd4 39. Rb5 Ra8 40. Nf5
Bg7 41. Ne3 a4 42. Nxg4 Rd8 43. Ra5 Rd4 44. Ne3 Rd2 45. Nf1 Rd4 46. Rb5 Bf8 47.
Ne3 Rb4 48. Rg5+ Kh7 49. Rh5+ Kg8 50. Ra5 Rxb2 51. Rxa4 Bc5 52. Nd1 Rd2 53. Ra1
Kg7 54. Kf1 Kg6 55. Rb1 f5 56. Ke1 Rc2 57. Rb8 Kf6 58. Rh8 Bb4+ 59. Kf1 Rd2 60.
Ne3 Bc5 61. Rh6+ Kg5 1/2-1/2

[Event "4th Zurich CC Classical"]
[Site "Zurich SUI"]
[Date "2015.02.17"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Kramnik, V."]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A05"]
[WhiteElo "2783"]
[BlackElo "2760"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2015.02.14"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. O-O e5 5. e4 Be7 6. Nc3 d6 7. d3 O-O 8. h3
Bd7 9. Nd2 Nd4 10. a4 Nc6 11. Nc4 Nb4 12. f4 exf4 13. Bxf4 Be6 14. Ne3 d5 15.
Nf5 Bxf5 16. exf5 Bd6 17. Ne2 h6 18. c3 Nc6 19. g4 Re8 20. Qd2 Bxf4 21. Nxf4 d4
22. Qf2 Qd6 23. Rae1 Rad8 24. c4 b6 25. Bxc6 Qxc6 26. b3 a6 27. Qg3 Rxe1 28.
Rxe1 Re8 29. Rxe8+ Qxe8 30. Kf2 b5 31. axb5 axb5 32. Qf3 bxc4 33. bxc4 Qe5 34.
Qg3 Qb8 35. Ne2 Qb1 36. Qf3 Kh7 37. h4 h5 38. gxh5 Qc2 39. Ke1 Qb1+ 40. Kf2 Qb2
41. Kg3 Kh6 42. Qf4+ Kh7 43. Qf3 Kh6 1/2-1/2

[Event "4th Zurich CC Classical"]
[Site "Zurich SUI"]
[Date "2015.02.17"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Anand, V."]
[Black "Nakamura, H."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2797"]
[BlackElo "2776"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2015.02.14"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 Nh5 (7...
c6 {was Carlsen's choice last year.}) 8. Bd3 Nxf4 9. exf4 b6 10. b4 a5 11. a3
c6 12. O-O Qc7 13. g3 Ba6 14. Re1 Bf6 15. Kg2 {Even though this move is new,
it probably doesn't changet the position much. The move Ne5 has been seen more
than a few times.} Bxd3 (15... bxc5 $6 16. bxc5 Nxc5 {These kinds of tactics
are always up in the air, but that doesn't mean that they are necessarily good.
} 17. dxc5 Bxc3 18. Bxh7+ Kh8 (18... Kxh7 19. Qc2+ Kg8 20. Qxc3 {is simply bad
for Black. White's knight on e5 or d4 will dominate the position, attacking c6,
while the remaining bishop for Black is completely useless. On top of that
Black's king is somewhat weak.}) 19. Bc2 {Now Black has a choiec of which rook
to take, and he can even do that on a later move, but his weak king position
and useless remaining bishop should be cause for alarm. Only White can play
for the advantage from here, and in many cases Black is simply getting mated.})
16. Qxd3 Rfb8 17. h4 Qa7 18. Ne2 g6 19. Rab1 axb4 20. axb4 {The control of the
a-file from Black is traditional in this variation. White is trying to open
lines on the c and b files, hopefully getting a passed pawn, and has no time
to deal with the a-file yet. If Black closes down the position with b5, then
things might change.} Qa2 (20... b5 21. h5 {is uncomfortable. Black has to
retain this balance of keeping his options open on the queenside to
counterattack an incoming kingside intiative.}) 21. Rec1 (21. b5 Rc8 $1 $11)
21... bxc5 {Somewhere around here Nakamura starts to go worng. With a quick
analysis delivered within the hour on chessbase.com it is not easy to see what
on earth he should have done different. White's pressure doesn't seem like it
is anything special just yet, but somehow it grows out of proportion very
quickly.} 22. bxc5 h5 (22... Ra3 $5 {was perhaps better, but also here after}
23. Qd1 $1 {White seems to be a little better, threatening Ne5 type of ideas.})
23. Ne5 Nxe5 24. fxe5 Bg7 $2 {This however is quite serious. Nakamura
underestimates the invasion to b6.} (24... Bd8 $14) 25. Rb6 $1 Rc8 (25... Rxb6
26. cxb6 {is not playable, the b-pawn survives in every variation and creates
enormous problems.}) 26. Nc3 Qa7 27. Rcb1 {White's progress is obvious. He is
targetting the weak c6 pawn and his knight is now coming into play.} Qd7 28.
R1b4 Bh6 29. Na4 Qd8 30. Ra6 Kg7 31. Rb7 Rxa6 32. Qxa6 g5 {There is no choice
for Nakamura but to try to do something active, but it is too late.} 33. Qe2 $1
{This seems like a brilliant practical decision to me. Since Black cannot
afford to lose the pawn on h5 as his kingside collapses, Anand forces the
kingside to close down.} (33. hxg5 $2 Qxg5 $1 (33... Bxg5 34. f4 $18) 34. Rxf7+
Kxf7 35. Qxc8 Qf5 {is probably winning, but why allow so much counterplay?}) (
33. Qa7 $5) 33... g4 34. Qa6 Qg8 (34... Rc7 {was more resilient, but this is
just torture.}) 35. Nb6 Rf8 36. Nd7 Qh7 37. Nxf8 Qe4+ 38. Kh2 Kxf8 39. Rb8+ Kg7
40. Qc8 Kg6 41. Qh8 {A very nice performance from Anand, still showing that he
is a dangerous rival to anyone.} 1-0

[Event "4th Zurich CC Classical"]
[Site "Zurich SUI"]
[Date "2015.02.17"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Aronian, L."]
[Black "Caruana, F."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D56"]
[WhiteElo "2777"]
[BlackElo "2811"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2015.02.14"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. e3 Ne4 8. Bxe7
Qxe7 9. Rc1 c6 10. Be2 Nd7 11. O-O Nxc3 12. Rxc3 dxc4 13. Rxc4 e5 14. Qc2 a5
15. Rc1 Re8 16. a3 Nb6 17. Rc5 Nd7 18. Rc3 exd4 19. Nxd4 Nf6 20. Rc4 Bd7 21.
Bf3 Red8 22. Qb3 Be8 23. Nf5 Qe6 24. Nd4 Qe7 25. Qc3 Nd7 26. Be2 g6 27. Qb3
Rab8 28. Nf3 Ne5 29. Nxe5 Qxe5 30. Qc2 b6 31. b4 axb4 32. axb4 Rd6 33. h3 Rbd8
34. Qc3 Qxc3 35. R4xc3 1/2-1/2

