[Event "Final of Corsica Circuit 2011"]
[Site "Ajaccio/France"]
[Date "2011.10.31"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D70"]
[WhiteElo "2817"]
[BlackElo "2746"]
[Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[TimeControl "600+3"]

{A very nice and complicated game, truly in the spirit of a final!} 1. d4 {
[%emt 0:00:04]} Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 $5 {A good sign! I do not remember Anand
ever trying this rare line. The line is quite new and fresh and hardly has
anything one could call its "history"! On the other hand, Mamedyarov has some
quite "decent" experience with both colors. Does Anand have something
spectacular up his sleeves in this "cutting-edge" opening?!} d5 {To be
expected, as Mamedyarov plays the Gruenfeld frequently.} 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nb6
6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 {This is the "tabiya" of this opening.} Nc6 (8...
Be6 9. d5 Bc8 10. Bh6 {1-0 (78) Mamedyarov,S (2657)-Eljanov,P (2592) Dubai
2004 is one of "Shak"'s successful experiences in this line.}) (8... e5 {used
to be the main line but not nowadays!}) 9. O-O-O Qd6 {A rare choice which
seems acceptable .} ({This is one of the main lines in which the theory is
highly developed. There are many games in this line including the
controversial...} 9... f5 10. h4 fxe4 11. h5 gxh5 12. d5 Ne5 13. Bh6 Nec4 14.
Qg5 Rf7 15. Bxc4 Nxc4 16. Rd4 Qd6 17. Bxg7 Rxg7 18. Qxh5 Qf4+ 19. Kb1 Bf5 20.
fxe4 Bg4 21. Nge2 Qd2 {0-1 (21) Mamedyarov,S (2724)-Kurnosov,I (2602) Moscow
2009 Remember the story?}) 10. Kb1 ({The assault with} 10. h4 Rd8 11. Nb5 Qd7
12. h5 a6 13. Nc3 Nxd4 14. hxg6 fxg6 15. g4 Qc6 {led to a wild position in 1/
2-1/2 (49) Grischuk,A (2760) -Mamedyarov,S (2761) Moscow 2010}) (10. Nb5 Qd7
11. Na3 {Only Ivanchuk can play this move!} (11. Bh6 $6 Bxh6 12. Qxh6 a6 13.
Nc3 Nxd4 {1-0 (53) Mamedyarov,S (2657)-Petrosian,T (2539) Antalya 2004}) 11...
e5 12. d5 Nd4 13. Kb1 c6 $1 {1-0 (33) Ivanchuk,V (2768)-Sutovsky,E (2700)
Ningbo 2011}) 10... Rd8 11. Nb5 Qd7 12. d5 Ne5 $6 $146 {A dubious novelty!
What was worrying "Shak " so much that he felt compelled to deviate from the
usual (and fine) continuation which has been played recently? Anand's
preparation?!} (12... a6 13. Nc3 Na5 14. Bd4 Nbc4 (14... e5 $5 15. Bxb6 cxb6 {
with unclear play}) 15. Qf2 e5 16. Bc5 b6 17. Bb4 c5 $1 {And Black was fine in
the game  (38) Gustafsson,J (2647) -Mekhitarian,K (2529)  1/2-1/2 Reykjavik
2011}) 13. Qc2 $1 {Anand was ready, and reacted accordingly. White wins a pawn
and now Black has to prove that he has enough compensation for his
"sacrificed" material.} c6 14. Nxa7 {What else?! A knight's retreat!!?} Rxa7
15. Bxb6 Ra8 16. Ne2 $6 {Anand chooses the safest continuation which in my
opinion is too optimistic. He could have gone for the more aggressive:} (16. f4
Ng4 17. Nf3 Re8 18. h3 Nf6 19. Ne5 Qd6 20. dxc6 Qb4 21. Bc4 $1 Qxb6 22. Bxf7+
Kf8 23. Qc4 e6 24. c7 {and White dominates with a winning attack.}) 16... Re8
17. Nc3 Qd6 18. Be3 Bd7 19. dxc6 ({Another option was:} 19. f4 Ng4 20. dxc6
Qxc6 21. Bb5 Nxe3 22. Bxc6 Nxc2 23. Bxd7 Ne3 24. Bxe8 Nxd1 25. Bxf7+ Kxf7 26.
Rxd1 Bxc3 27. bxc3 e5 28. Rd7+ Ke6 {White has 2 pawns more after this more or
less forced move order, however he also has to deal with many practical issues
in this "rook ending", for which, Vishy may not have had enough time on the
clock.}) 19... Qxc6 20. Bb5 Qe6 21. Bxd7 Nxd7 22. Qb3 Qxb3 23. axb3 {Though
Anand's modest play has reduced his advantage, on the other hand he achieves
an "easy" ending which he can conduct blindfolded.} Ne5 24. Nd5 Rac8 {It is
true that White's extra pawn is doubled but the two on the b-file are doing
their defensive duties pretty well and do not allow the knight on e5 any
specific "jump". As my mentor GM Nigel Short always points out: "A pawn is a
pawn"!} 25. Rd2 e6 26. Nb6 Rcd8 27. Rhd1 Rxd2 28. Rxd2 f5 29. Nc4 fxe4 $6 30.
fxe4 $6 (30. Nd6 {could have sealed Black's fate on the spot.}) 30... Rf8 31.
h3 Rf1+ 32. Kc2 Nc6 33. Rd1 Rf7 34. Rd6 Re7 35. Bc5 {Anand has started a
dominating plan in the center in spite of Mamedyarov's bold defence.} Rf7 $6 {
This makes things easier for Anand.} (35... Rc7 {was more stubborn in face of
the the "poisoned" e6 pawn.} 36. Rxe6 $4 Kf7 37. Rd6 Bf8 {and now White is the
one seeking a draw.}) 36. Rxe6 Bd4 $4 {The final blunder, and now it is all
over.} 37. Rxc6 $1 Rf2+ 38. Kd3 bxc6 39. Bxd4 Rxg2 40. Ne5 Rg3+ 41. Kc4 Rxh3
42. Nxc6 h5 43. b4 {The pawn will queen of his own "volition"} 1-0

