[Event "London Chess Classic"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2011.12.06"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E97"]
[WhiteElo "2811"]
[BlackElo "2758"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "2011.12.03"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "1"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceDate "2011.11.29"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5
Ne7 9. b4 Ne8 10. c5 f5 11. Nd2 Nf6 12. a4 g5 {This results in the loss of a
tempo. 12...f4 and 12...Rf7 are more normal.} 13. Nc4 h6 {The reason the
previous move was an error is because Black is now obliged to play 13...h6,
when he would ideally like to play h7-h5 in one turn rather than two.} 14. f3
f4 15. Ba3 Ng6 16. b5 dxc5 ({The standard King's Indian move here is} 16... Ne8
{, protecting the base of the pawn chain. Capturing on c5 is a big concession.
After 16 ..Ne8,} 17. a5 Rf7 18. b6 axb6 19. axb6 cxb6 20. Nxb6 Rb8 21. Nb5 {
was a game between Smyslov and Ciocaltea from 1963 which ended in a draw.}) 17.
Bxc5 Rf7 18. a5 h5 19. b6 {White's plan is to soften up all the dark squares
on the queenside and use them as invasion platforms.} g4 20. Nb5 cxb6 21. axb6
g3 22. Kh1 ({"All these lines are very similar. I'm just down a tempo, which
makes a big difference, unfortunately." (Nakamura)} 22. h3 {looks
superficially as if it secures the kingside but in real life Black tends to
sacrifice his bishop on h3 and smash his way through the defences.}) 22... Bf8
23. d6 {This secures White two major posts for his pieces, on c7 and d5.} a6
24. Nc7 Rb8 25. Na5 Kh8 26. Bc4 Rg7 {[diag] Here your analysis engine will
tell you White is +1.50 or something of that order. So Vishy is winning? Well,
yes and no. It's the equivalent of a football team being 1-0 or 2-0 up before
half time. But anyone who has ever followed football knows that, quite often,
a team comes back from such a deficit to win, especially if it is an open,
attacking game. As for this chess game: it's a game of football out there.} 27.
Ne6 {The computer wants to redeploy the a1 rook to a2 and d2. Maybe that is
better.} Bxe6 28. Bxe6 gxh2 29. Nc4 $2 {Vishy is starting to lose the thread
and now Hikaru sees a glimmer of hope.} Qe8 $1 30. Bd5 (30. Bh3 $2 {runs into
a problem after} Qb5 $1 {, attacking the two loose pieces on the c-file. But
on d5 the bishop is no longer covering the h4-h3 advance of the pawn.}) 30...
h4 31. Rf2 h3 {Black's kingside attack is now up and running.} 32. gxh3 Rc8 33.
Ra5 Nh4 {There is still a long way to go but the position is starting to look
like a King's Indian players dream. Black has total control of the g-file.} 34.
Kxh2 Nd7 {A strange retreat, indicating that Hikaru has is struggling to
understand what's going on himself.} 35. Bb4 Rg3 36. Qf1 Qh5 37. Ra3 {[diag]}
a5 ({Banged down quickly but Black also has the clever} 37... Nxb6 $1 {when}
38. Nxb6 Rc1 $3 {is a gorgeous deflection:} 39. Qxc1 Nxf3+ {and mate in a
couple. However, White doesn't have to take on b6 and is still fighting.}) 38.
Be1 Rxc4 39. Bxc4 Bxd6 40. Rxa5 ({In a position where humans find it almost
impossible to find the absolute best continuation, the computer suggests} 40.
Rd3 $5 Bc5 41. Be6 $1 {and White could be staging a fight-back.}) 40... Bc5 41.
Be2 {White tries to rely on rugged defence.} Bxb6 42. Rb5 Bd4 {Around here
Magnus Carlsen opined that the position didn't look pretty for White.} 43. Bd1
({An example line:} 43. Rxb7 Nc5 44. Rb8+ Kh7 45. Kh1 {and now} Nd3 $1 {looks
crushing, e.g.} 46. Bxd3 Bxf2 {and the black pieces invade on f3.}) 43... Bxf2
44. Bxf2 Nxf3+ 45. Bxf3 Qxf3 46. Rb1 Rg6 47. Rxb7 Nf6 48. Rb8+ Kh7 49. Rb7+ Kh6
{[diag]} (49... Kh6 {The lonely rook is Vishy's last movable piece but it can
do little:} 50. Rb6 Nxe4 51. Rxg6+ Kxg6 52. Qg1+ Kh5 53. Bb6 Ng5 54. Qg2 e4 {
and the two connected passed pawns will do the trick.}) 0-1

