[Event "WCh Candidates 2011 - Finals"]
[Site "Kazan, Russia"]
[Date "2011.05.19"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "Ramirez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[TimeControl "7200"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. Rc1 {Not the most common
continuation...} c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. e3 Nc6 9. a3 d4 10. exd4 Nxd4 11. b4 Nxf3+
12. Qxf3 Bd4 13. Nb5 e5 14. Bg5 Re8 {This is the first independent move of the
game. Gelfand spent half an hour on it, but it may not be the most precise.} (
14... e4 15. Qg3 h6 $2 (15... Nh5 $1 16. Qh4 Bf6 $11 {is roughly equal, with
plenty of play left}) 16. Rd1 hxg5 17. Rxd4 $16 {was Nielsen - Beliavsky (2004)
. White won this game.}) 15. Bxf6 e4 {This is the point behind Re8. Of course,
Gelfand does not want to be saddled with weak pawns. However, after lengthy
exchanges, White seems to retain a small but annoying edge.} 16. Bxd8 exf3+ 17.
Kd2 Rxd8 18. Nxd4 Rxd4+ {White has two interesting alternatives. Grischuk
spent a good half an hour thinking about them, and they are of approximately
the same value. Although his choice in the game was more natural, it is
possible that the other option was stronger.} 19. Kc3 (19. Ke3 fxg2 20. Bxg2
Rh4 21. Rhd1 Be6 22. Bxb7 Re8 23. Kf3 $1 {and Black seems to lack coordination.
However, it is only marginally different than the other line.}) 19... fxg2 20.
Bxg2 {[#]The smoke has cleared, and after many exchanges it is obvious that
only White can be better. His pawn majority on the queenside has a much
greater chance of creating a passed pawn than Black's on the kingside. Also,
his powerful bishop on g2 is exerting strong pressure on the b7 pawn, which is
currently locking up Black's pieces. Gelfand must be very precise in the next
couple of moves to not fall into a hopeless position.} Rg4 $1 {Black hurries
to bring his bishop out.} 21. Rhd1 Be6 22. Bxb7 Rxc4+ 23. Kb2 Rxc1 24. Rxc1 Rd8
{Black has played as precisely as possible, but he is still far from being
safe. Grischuk will quickly create a powerful passed pawn on the queenside.
The plan is simple: push both pawns to a5 and b5, then sacrifice with b6 to
clear the path of the a-pawn.} 25. Kc3 Kf8 26. b5 Ke7 27. a4 Rd6 28. a5 Kd8 29.
b6 {[#]} Bc8 $1 {Right on time. Any other move would have resulted in a
hopeless situation.} (29... axb6 $2 30. a6 Kc7 31. Ra1 Rd8 32. Bg2 {and the
a-pawn costs Black at least a piece.}) 30. Bxc8 (30. Bg2 $2 {doesn't work
because the c8 bishop is now controlling a6} axb6 {and Black is just up a pawn.
}) 30... Kxc8 31. Kb4+ Kb8 32. bxa7+ Ka8 33. Rc8+ Kxa7 34. Rc7+ Ka6 35. Rxf7 {
White has managed to win a pawn, and has a passer on the queenside. However,
this has come at a price: Mainly, White's problem is that too many pawns have
been exchanged, and his remaining ones are either weak (f2, h2) or blocked (a5)
. White's only hope is to create a passed pawn on the kingside with a timely
transfer of his king to that side, but Gelfand shows perfect defensive
technique.} Rg6 36. h3 Rg2 37. f4 Rg3 38. f5 {[#]} h5 $1 {The easiest. Black
pushes the h-pawn as a distraction.} 39. h4 Rg4+ 40. Kc5 Rxh4 41. Rxg7 Rf4 {[#]
} 42. Rg6+ (42. Rg5 h4 43. Rh5 h3 44. Kd5 Rf2 45. Ke6 h2 46. f6 {is similar to
the game, except that White still has his a5 pawn. This actually serves no
purpose, the game is still drawn.}) 42... Kxa5 43. Rg5 h4 44. Rh5 h3 45. Kd6 h2
46. f6+ Kb6 47. Ke6 Rf2 {In this position, the rook is just powerful enough to
prevent White from making any progress.} 48. f7 Re2+ 49. Kf6 {And the draw was
agreed since Black will keep on checking the white king, whose only safe place
is f8, blocking his own pawn and preventing progress.} 1/2-1/2

