1.d4
Nf6
2.c4
g6
3.Nc3
d5
Already a surprise! Although Grischuk has played the King's Indian many times before, I dont remember having seen him play the Grunfeld.
4.cxd5
Nxd5
5.e4
Nxc3
6.bxc3
Bg7
7.Bc4
c5
8.Ne2
Nc6
9.Be3
0-0
10.0-0
b6
A rare move, which was played by Vishy Anand against Veselin Topalov in their World Championship match. At first I was skeptical, but later I came to appreciate this move, which does little to challenge the centre, but solves the problem of where to put Black's light-squared bishop, which often can't find a good place. In comparison, the very popular 10...Bd7 looks really weird to me - I just can't understand what the bishop is doing there.
11.dxc5
Levon is not impressed, and decides to take the pawn on offer. When I was analyzing this variation a couple of months ago, I came to the same conclusion that this was the critical continuation. Perhaps I was a little too keen to listen to the machine's advice; now I would be less likely to endorse a move which ruins White's pawn structure and opens all the lines for Black's pieces. [Topalov-Anand, Sofia 2010 continued 11.Qd2
Bb7
12.Rac1
Rc8
13.Rfd1
cxd4
14.cxd4
Qd6
15.d5
Na5
16.Bb5
Rxc1
17.Rxc1
Rc8
18.h3
Rxc1+
19.Qxc1
e6
, and Black had fully equalized.; I hope in the future we seen a return to moves like 11.f4!?
- the caveman's approach to chess, which unfortunately probably doesn't work very well here.]
11...Qc7
Of course Black will not trade queens.
12.Nd4
Ne5
13.Nb5
Qb8
An interesting moment. Black also has the option of playing 13...Qc6, a move preferred by the computer. [13...Qc6
I imagine the reason Grischuk avoided this move is because of 14.Bd5
Qxb5
15.Bxa8
Ba6
16.Bd5
e6
17.Bb3
Qxf1+
18.Qxf1
Bxf1
19.Kxf1
Ng4
20.Bd2
bxc5
21.h3
Rd8
22.Rd1
Ne5
23.Ke2
, when we reach a position where White's two bishops grant him a clear and risk free advantage. Black has no way to neutralize the pressure and will have to suffer for a long time.]
14.Be2
[White could have won the exchange with 14.Bd5
Ng4
15.g3
Nxe3
16.fxe3
However, I imagine most people would not be happy to wreck their entire position in this way. After 16...Bh3
17.Rf2
bxc5
Black will have great compensation.]
14...bxc5N
A novelty, but an extremely obvious one. I can't imagine Levon overlooking this in his preparation, but I'm not sure what he missed, because Black got a perfect position in a few moves. [Previously 14...a6?!
had been played, illogically driving away a misplaced piece. After 15.Na3
bxc5
16.f4
Nd7
17.e5
, Black just has a bad position. White's knight will come to the dominating c4 square next, and Black's dark-squared bishop is a terrible piece.]
15.f4
White is trying to block the g7-bishop by playing f4 and e5. Unfortunately, he will never get the chance. [15.Bxc5
a6
16.Nd4
Qc7
gives Black perfect compensation.; 15.Rb1
at first seems very promising, but the tactics again work in Black's favour: 15...a6
16.Na3
Qc7
17.f4
Rd8
18.Qc2
Ng4
, and White will have to give up one of his bishops.]
15...Ng4
Of course! This is why Black postponed playing ...a6.
16.Bxc5
Again Levon decides to grab a pawn, only this time he had no choice. [After 16.Bxg4
Bxg4
17.Qxg4
Qxb5
18.e5
Qc4
White's best move is to offer a draw as quickly as possible.]
16...a6
17.Na3
White has to continue placing his pieces on strange squares to try to justify his risky opening strategy. [The move 17.Bxg4
leads to a complete annihilation of all the pieces: 17...Bxg4
18.Qxg4
Qxb5
19.Bd4
Bxd4+
20.cxd4
Qc4
, and here the game will soon end in a draw.]
17...Qc7
18.Bd4
e5
19.fxe5
Nxe5
Now Black has a great outpost for his knight. After a few small fireworks, the position has stabilized. White is up a pawn and the bishop is holding his shaky pawn structure together from d4. However, all Black's pieces are perfectly placed and he should have full positional compensation.
20.Qc1
From here the queen will go to e3 or f4.
20...Bg4?!
I don't like this move, although objectively it's not such a bad one. Black is down a pawn and decides to go into an endgame - where's the logic in that? Instead, simple play would have sufficed. [After 20...Be6
21.Nc2
Rab8
Black is doing very well. For example, 22.Nb4
(22.Bxa6
Qc6
wins back a pawn.) 22...Rxb4
23.cxb4
Nf3+
24.gxf3
Bxd4+
25.Kh1
Qb6
, and Black wins the exchange back with a great position.]
21.Bxg4
Nxg4
22.Qf4
Qxf4
[After 22...Ne5?
23.Nc2
the knight just goes to d5 and Black will be in big trouble.]
23.Rxf4
Ne5
24.Rb1
Although White's advantage is not large and is very hard to convert, the defensive task is unpleasant, especially against such a strong techincal player as Levon.
24...Rad8
[I would prefer 24...Rac8
, which prepares ...Nc4. If 25.Rb7
(25.Nc2
is met by 25...Nd3
) 25...Nc6
26.Bxg7
Kxg7
Black will be able to make a draw because of the poor position of the knight on a3.]
25.Nc2
25...Nd3?
This is where things really start to go wrong for Black. I'm not sure what Grischuk was trying to achieve with this move, which simply puts the knight on a useless square. [It would be better to place the knight on a nice outpost with 25...Nc4
, when 26.Rb7
is met by the strong manouver (26.Rb4
Rc8
keeps control.) 26...Nd6!
27.Rb6
Nb5!
, with equality. In case you were wondering, I didn't find that variation myself....]
26.Rff1
Levon sees that his rook is attacked and decides to move it. A good decision.
26...Rd7
Grischuk is preventing Rb7, but his play seems too slow. White is starting to consolidate his position.
27.Rfd1
Nf4
28.Kf2
Aronian continues playing simply and strongly. This is how the top players play: operating with logical, harmonious moves!
28...Rc8
29.Ne3
h5
This move, which doesn't seem to have much of an idea at all, is a clear sign that Black's position has gone very wrong. White is just a pawn up, with well-placed pieces.
30.Rb6
White has an enormous variety of options at this point (which is actually more of a disadvantage than anything else!), most of which are of near equal value. Aronian's move is very reasonable, but he may have had a stronger alternative. [I quite like 30.Rb4!?
, which supports the bishop on d4 and prepares Ra4, attacking a6. After 30...Ne6
White has the option between the simple 31.e5 or 31.Nd5
Nxd4
32.Nb6!
Rxc3
33.Nxd7
Rc2+
34.Kf1
, although I imagine it isn't easy to calculate this variation.]
30...Ne6
31.Bxg7
Rxd1
32.Nxd1
Kxg7
33.Ke3
Nc5
34.Rd6
a5
35.c4
White begins pushing his pawns. Black can't do much about it at all. In such situations the best thing to do is wait and hope your opponent gives you a chance for counterplay.
35...a4
36.Kd4
Ne6+
37.Kc3
Rb8
38.Rd5
Nf4
39.Rd2
Ne6
40.Rb2
Rd8
41.Nf2
a3
42.Rd2
Rb8
43.Nd3
Rb1
44.c5
Kf6
45.c6
Ke7
46.Nb4
Rc1+
47.Kb3?
A strange mistake. I imagine both players were already tired at this point. Levon has played the game perfectly up to this point, but now he allows unnecessary counterplay. [Instead 47.Nc2!
, just wins on the spot. There are actually no variations to calculate: White will pick up the a3-pawn with Kb3, and Black cannot do anything at all!]
47...Nc5+
48.Kxa3
Nxe4
Now White has to win the game over again. Black's pieces are very active, and White seems tied down to the defense of c6.
49.Rd4
Nd6
50.Ka4
Ke6
51.Ka5
Rc5+
52.Ka6
Again tiredness is playing a role. [I see no reason to avoid 52.Kb6
Rb5+
53.Ka6
, which forces 53...Rc5 and therefore gains a tempo compared to the game.]
52...g5
53.a4
Ke5
54.Rd2?
Another mistake making White's task more difficult. [After 54.Rd1
Rc4
55.Rb1
White will continue with Kb6 and win.]
54...Rc4
55.Ka5
White is forced to make this awkward move as a result of his last mistake. It seems like every move Grischuk gets more and more chances to save the game! [Now 55.Rb2
is met by 55...Kd4
, threatening ...Kc3. This is the reason the rook had to be on b1!]
55...f5
56.Rc2
Kd4
57.Rd2+
Ke5
58.Nd3+
Kf6
59.Kb6
Nc8+
60.Kb7
Nd6+
61.Kc7
Ne4
62.Ra2
Nc3
63.Rb2
Nxa4
64.Rb4
Rxb4
65.Nxb4
Nc5
66.Kb6
Ne6
67.Nd3
h4
68.h3
A very calm positional move. Actually, this works reasonably well, but why not just take the knight immediately? [68.c7
would have won easily. Of course, it is very easy to say this while looking at a computer, while over the board things are never so simple. 68...Nxc7
69.Kxc7
, and Black's pawns are not strong enough to make a draw. 69...f4
70.Kd6
Kf5
71.Kd5
g4
72.Kd4
g3
73.hxg3
fxg3
74.Ke3
Kg4
75.Nf4
wins.]
68...Ke7
69.Nc5?
The dramatic end of a long and difficult game. Levon once again had the win at his fingertips, but let it slip. With just one move he could have ended Black's stiff resistance. It's interesting to understand what he missed; I would venture to guess that he felt the pawn ending would be winning without calculating any details. This often happens after several hours of play - laziness sets in and you don't feel up to calculating variations. [69.Ne5!
would have won. White just threatens to play c7. 69...Kf6
(69...Kd6
70.Nf7+
Ke7
71.Nxg5
decoys the knight on e6.) 70.Nf3
, and Black can't stop c7.]
69...Nxc5
70.Kxc5
Kd8
And a draw! Black will just trade pawns with ...g4 and come back with his king in time. This was an extremely exciting game. Aronian played the first half of the game in great style and slowly improved a slightly better position. However, in the second half he began making many mistakes and missing win after win. Grischuk, on the other hand, defended extremely tenaciously after his initial unconvincing play. It will be interesting to see how the results of this game will affect the rest of the match - if Aronian will be put on the defensive after this dissapointing draw. 1/2-1/2