[Event "6th Tal Memorial"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2011.11.16"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A37"]
[WhiteElo "2800"]
[BlackElo "2730"]
[Annotator "Ramirez, Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "106"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[TimeControl "6000+30"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. a3 d6 7. O-O Nge7 {This
solid setup for Black has a great deal of value and is an interesting way of
meeting the English opening.} 8. b4 {This pawn is completely poisoned, but the
queenside expansion doesn't guarantee White an advantage. Black must be swift
though, or he will be crushed strategically.} (8. Ne1 {with the idea of Nc2-e3
is a common idea in this position, but White would definitely omit a3 in that
case.}) 8... e4 9. Ne1 f5 10. Bb2 O-O 11. d3 Be6 12. dxe4 (12. Rb1 $5 {is
Let's Check's recommendation. The game seems highly unstable, but I'd prefer
White.}) 12... fxe4 13. Bxe4 Bxc4 {This strange looking position is actually
not new. It's hard to say exactly what is going on in this position, but let's
give it a try. Black dreams of pushing forward his d-pawn, causing problems
for the white pieces which currently hold the center. Black has a nagging pin
on the long dark diagonal. On the other hand, White's pawn structure is
slightly healthier. The next few moves are very key to determine who will win
the opening battle.} 14. Nc2 $6 {The first new move of the game doesn't seem
to be particularly successful. The move does little to impair the advance of
the d-pawn.} (14. Nd3 {had been tried before.} d5 15. Bg2 Bxd3 16. exd3 (16.
Qxd3 $5 c4 17. Qd1 d4 18. Ne4 {and the pair of bishops does cause the central
push some problems.}) 16... cxb4 17. axb4 Nxb4 18. Qb3 a5 19. Ba3 {and White
had some compensation for the pawn, but it's not clear how much in
Zubarev-Borovikov, Ukraine ch 2008. Notice the recurring theme of the
advancing central pawns.}) (14. bxc5 dxc5 15. Nd3 Nd4 $1 {Gives Black a lot of
activity, although the position is still incredibly murky.}) 14... d5 15. Bg2
d4 $6 {Nepo goes for the throat. It was possible to hold the center for a
little longer.} (15... b6 {and Black's position must be preferable. His strong
pawn center and greater activity can't be understimated, and White doesn't
have a clear next move.} 16. Ne3 $2 d4 17. Nxc4 dxc3 {is atrocious for White.})
16. Ne4 (16. Na4 $2 b6 $1 17. bxc5 $2 b5 $19 {is a nice trick.}) 16... Bxe2 {
I don't think any other move made sense after having played d4 so soon, but
who will come up on top from the tactical melee?} 17. Qxe2 d3 18. Qg4 Bxb2 19.
Rad1 Qc8 20. Qxc8 Raxc8 21. Rxd3 cxb4 22. axb4 Rcd8 {The dust has cleared
somewhat and it seems clear that Black got no advantage from the tactical
operations. However he isn't worse either, the game actually looks drawish
because of the opposite colored bishops. Surely nothing wrong could happen to
Kramnik here.} 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. Rb1 (24. b5 {was more precise, since now
Black does not have Nd4, it forces the N to a5 where it would be quite
uncomfortable..} Nd4 25. Rb1 $14) 24... Bg7 25. h4 b5 26. Bf1 a6 27. Nc5 $6 {
This is the start of Vlad's downfall. He allows Ian to gather a strong
initiative. It would've been safer to simply play...} (27. Bh3 {and keep an
eye on d2.}) 27... Rd2 28. Ne3 Bd4 29. Ne4 $6 {Backtracking, but it is too
late...} (29. Nxa6 Ne5 30. Bxb5 Nf5 {and for all of White's extra material his
position is very, very dicey. White might not be lost immediately but it seems
incredibly frightening to play this over the board.}) 29... Rb2 30. Rxb2 Bxb2
31. Nc2 Nd5 {The b4 pawn is lost, and the endgame is most unpleasant. The
opposite colored bishops is the only thing giving White any hope for a draw.}
32. Nc5 Ndxb4 33. Nxb4 Nxb4 34. Nd3 (34. Nxa6 $5 Nxa6 35. Bxb5 Nc5 36. Kg2 {
I'm not 100% sure on how easy it is to break down this fortress. I do remember
that it is not easy to coordinate an attack on the white pawns, since Black's
bishop is the wrong color and the bishops can never be forced to be traded for
each other. I guess Vlad didn't see a need for this though.}) 34... Nxd3 35.
Bxd3 {It seems that the opposite colored bishops scream DRAW out the door.
However things are not so easy just yet.} Kf7 36. f4 (36. h5 gxh5 37. Bxh7 a5
38. Bd3 b4 {is just hopeless, the B must guard the pawns for as long as
possible.}) 36... Ke6 37. Kf2 Kd5 38. Ke2 Kc5 39. Kd2 $2 {This is not the
losing move, but the idea is already incorrect. Kramnik should've immediately
forced the liquidation of the kingside.} (39. f5 {would have drawn.} gxf5 (
39... a5 40. fxg6 hxg6 (40... a4 41. Bf5 a3 42. Be6 hxg6 43. Kd3) 41. Bxg6 a4
42. Kd3 $11) 40. Bxf5 a5 (40... h6 41. g4 b4 (41... Bf6 42. g5 hxg5 43. hxg5
Bxg5 44. Kd3 {and the Bishop will keep the pawns attacked from behind,
preventing Black from ever making any progress as he cannot go "around" the
pawns.}) 42. Be6 a5 43. g5 a4 44. Bd7 {is a simple draw.}) 41. Bxh7 a4 42. Kd3
Be5 43. Bf5 Bxg3 44. Bd7 $11) 39... a5 40. f5 $2 {White has played very
standard so far. He is trying to get rid of all the king-side pawns, but first
he brought his king to catch the queenside pawns. It is hard to believe that
such simple logic would failed so hard.} (40. g4 a4 41. Bc2 {Might still hold,
but it isn't as easy.}) 40... a4 $19 (40... gxf5 $2 {Transposes to the
previous line} 41. Bxf5 h6 42. g4 Bf6 43. g5 hxg5 44. hxg5 Bxg5+ 45. Kc2 a4 46.
Bd7) 41. Bc2 $2 {White has played very standard so far. He is trying to get
rid of all the kingside pawns, but first he brought his king to catch the
queenside pawns. It is hard to believe that such simple logic would fail so
hard.} (41. fxg6 b4 $1 {Must have been what Kramnik missed originally. Black
isn't forced to retake on g6 since the bishop is neatly controlling the White
pawns. On the other side of the spectrum, no one is able to catch the
queenside pawns anymore.} 42. gxh7 (42. Bc2 b3 43. Bxb3 axb3 44. gxh7 Kb4 $1
$19) 42... Bc3+ 43. Ke3 a3 $19) 41... a3 42. Bb1 gxf5 {Now that the kingside
pawns cannot be exchanged, black is able to create two passers in opposite
flanks, overburdening the K and the B.} 43. Kc2 Kb4 44. Ba2 Be5 45. Be6 a2 (
45... h5 {was slightly easier.}) 46. Bxa2 Bxg3 47. h5 h6 48. Kd3 Ka3 49. Bd5 b4
50. Kc2 Be5 51. Bb3 f4 52. Bd5 Bf6 53. Kb1 b3 {Black will now proceed to swing
the K to aid the f-pawn after cementing the pawn on b2; there is nothing White
can do about it. There is a saying that it takes more than one minor mistake
to lose a chess game. Kramnik erred several times, and although he almost
scraped a draw, he just erred one time too many.} 0-1

[Event "6th Tal Memorial"]
[Site "Moscow, Russia"]
[Date "2011.11.16"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D80"]
[WhiteElo "2765"]
[BlackElo "2755"]
[Annotator "Ramirez, Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[TimeControl "6000+30"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 Bg7 5. Qb3 {This is an unusual way of
handling the Gruenfeld defense, which is Svidler's almost only defense against
1. d4. However it is not without poison, as Ivanchuk shows.} e6 (5... c6) (5...
dxc4 {are two other ways of dealing with the pressure on d5, but they lead to
a completely different type of game.}) 6. Qa3 {You could say this is the
"point" of White's setup. Black can't castle for the time being, so he has to
solve that problem.} a5 {Svidler chooses a rather aggressive way of solving
the issue. The idea of a5 is to defend b4, allowing hiw b8 N to anchor himself
there.} (6... Nc6 7. Nf3 Ne7 {is Cheparinov's way of handling the position.})
7. Nf3 Nc6 8. Bd2 Nb4 9. Qa4+ $5 {This interesting check is Ivanchuk's
improvement on the position. The only other two logical moves had been tried
before.} (9. Rc1 {is quite logical, and had been tried by Ben Finegold (who is
currently in Moscow with Nakamura) against Antal in the Chicago Open a few
years ago. However it does not lead to any type of advantage.}) (9. Qb3 {Was
Rombaldoni's choice, but it's just not as accurate.}) 9... Bd7 {There is no
other way to defend from the check.} (9... Qd7 10. Nb5 $16) (9... c6 10. a3 $16
) 10. Qb3 {The bishop find itself slightly misplaced in d7. The main problem
is that it is impeding the Black Q from guarding the d5 pawn. This means that
a3 might be a threat, or would at least force Black into giving up the center
with dxc4.} dxc4 $2 {I think this is the beginning of Black's long term
strategical problems. Svidler just had to be more active.} (10... c5 $5 {Is a
very Gruenfeld-like move. Not being an expert in this defense I don't want to
say that it goes with the spirit of the setup, but it does look logical.} 11.
a3 (11. dxc5 Rc8 12. a3 Na6 $1 $15 {is the other point.}) 11... a4 $13 {is the
point.}) 11. Bxc4 Bc6 12. a3 Nbd5 (12... Bxf3 13. gxf3 Nbd5 14. Qxb7 $16 {is 0
compensation.}) 13. Ne5 O-O 14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. Qc2 $14 {White has the pair of
bishops and a healthier pawn structure. He just needs to castle to complete
development, and has no glaring weaknesses. If this is not an opening success
I do not know what is.} Qe7 16. O-O c5 {Black manages to exchange one of the
doubled pawns, but his structural weaknesses remain.} 17. Ne2 $1 {Very
beautiful precise play. Ivanchuk doesn't want to saddle himself with a target
on d4.} cxd4 18. Nxd4 c5 19. Nb5 Rfc8 20. Rfd1 (20. Rad1 {was a tad more
accurate, the idea is to answer} Ng4 {with} 21. Be2 {since now} Qh4 22. h3 {is
possible, which it isn't in the game.}) 20... Ng4 {an attempt for activity, as
Black lacks a clear plan.} 21. h3 Ne5 22. Be2 c4 23. Rac1 h5 24. Nc3 Nb6 25.
Ne4 Nd5 26. Nc3 Nb6 27. Ne4 Nd5 28. Be1 {Ivanchuk has shied away from
committing to e4 at some point. This has lead black into having a couple of
active pieces, but White's position remains quite pleasant.} Rab8 29. Kh1 $6 (
29. Nc3 Nb6 30. f4 $14) 29... Nd7 (29... Ng4 $1 {Was surprisingly interesting.}
30. Rb1 (30. hxg4 $2 Rxb2 {and White loses.}) 30... Ngxe3 31. fxe3 Nxe3 32. Qc1
Nxd1 33. Bxd1 f5 34. Nc3 e5 {and the strong central pawns create some problems.
}) 30. Rb1 Nc5 $6 {This strange move seems to spoil the nice activity Svidler
had achieved. The pawn can be taken without consequence, which gives Ivanchuk
a strong advantage.} (30... Ne5 31. Bxa5 Nd3 $1 32. Bxd3 $8 cxd3 33. Qxd3 Bxb2
34. a4 Qa7 {And black regains all his pawns.}) 31. Bxc4 Nb6 32. Bb5 Nd5 33. a4
Na6 34. Qe2 Nab4 35. Rbc1 Rc7 36. Nc3 Rbc8 37. Nxd5 exd5 38. Rxc7 Rxc7 {Black
has some activity, but that just can't compensate for the extra pawn.} 39. b3
Bc3 40. Rc1 Qf6 41. Qf3 Qe5 42. Qg3 $1 {A beautiful concept. White sacrifices
his structure to simplify the position, thus depriving Black of all his
activity. Now the position becomes easier to handle.} Qxg3 43. fxg3 Be5 44.
Rxc7 Bxc7 45. Kg1 Nc2 46. Bd2 Bb6 47. Kf2 {The pair of bishops and the king
activity is too much for the black forces.} d4 48. e4 d3+ 49. Kf1 Ne3+ (49...
Nb4 50. Bxb4 axb4 51. Bxd3 $18 {should be quite hopeless.}) 50. Ke1 Nxg2+ 51.
Kd1 h4 (51... Ne3+ 52. Kc1 Nf1 53. Bf4 Bf2 54. Bxd3 Bxg3 55. Bxg3 Nxg3 56. b4 {
and Black's forces are way too far away from the a-pawn.}) 52. gxh4 Nxh4 53. b4
axb4 54. Bxb4 Nf3 55. a5 Bd4 56. Be7 {Ivanchuk chooses to aid his pawn as
quickly as possible, though Bxd3 should also suffice.} f5 57. exf5 gxf5 58. Bd8
Kf7 59. Bb6 Ke6 60. Bxd4 Nxd4 61. Bxd3 {Knights are particularly bad at
catching rook pawns because they end up far away from the rest of the board.
Especially if the rest of the board is merely another rook pawn. A very
interesting opening by Ivanchuk that paid great dividends, and although
Svidler played a strong game and maybe even had chances to equalize, one slip
was enough for him to lose. Ivanchuk's technique after winning the pawn in the
middle game was absolutely flawless.} 1-0

[Event "6th Tal Memorial"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2011.11.16"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2802"]
[BlackElo "2826"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "2011.11.16"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qa4 Be7 6. Bg2 c6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. O-O
d5 9. Ne5 Qe8 10. b3 b5 11. Qa5 Bd8 12. Qa3 Be7 13. c5 Bb7 14. Qb2 a5 15. Nd3
b4 16. Na4 Nbd7 17. a3 Ba6 18. Rd1 Bxd3 19. Rxd3 Ne4 20. f3 Nef6 21. Rd1 e5 22.
e3 bxa3 23. Qc2 Bd8 24. Bxa3 Rb8 25. Re1 Qe6 26. Nb2 Re8 27. Nd3 Bc7 28. Bb2 e4
29. Nf2 exf3 30. Bxf3 Ne4 31. Nxe4 dxe4 32. Bd1 Nf6 33. Bc3 Nd5 34. Bxa5 Ra8
35. Qd2 Qg6 36. Kh1 Qh6 37. b4 Bxg3 38. Rg1 Bh4 39. Bb3 Bg5 40. Bxd5 Bxe3 41.
Bxf7+ Kxf7 42. Qa2+ Qe6 43. Rgf1+ Kg8 44. Qxe6+ Rxe6 45. Rad1 Bg5 46. d5 cxd5
47. Rxd5 Bf6 48. Rd6 Rxd6 49. cxd6 Bd8 50. Rf5 ({Aronian had done brilliantly,
but now misses his chance after which the game is a clear draw. Instead,} 50.
Bc7 $1 {would have put Carlsen on the spot.} e3 51. b5 Bh4 52. Rg1 Rf8 53. d7
e2 54. b6 e1=Q 55. Rxe1 Bxe1 56. d8=Q Rxd8 57. Bxd8 Bf2 58. Kg2 {and Black is
lost.}) 50... Bxa5 51. bxa5 Rd8 52. Rd5 Kf7 53. a6 Ke6 54. Rd4 Kd7 55. Rb4 e3
56. Kg2 Rf8 57. a7 e2 1/2-1/2

[Event "6th Tal Memorial"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2011.11.16"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[WhiteElo "2758"]
[BlackElo "2744"]
[ECO "D37"]
[Opening "QGD"]
[Variation "classical variation (5.Bf4)"]
[WhiteFideId "2016192"]
[BlackFideId "2805677"]
[EventDate "2011.11.16"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 Nh5 8. Be2
Nxf4 9. exf4 c6 10. O-O b6 11. b4 a5 12. a3 Qc7 13. g3 Ba6 14. Re1 Bf6 15. Ne5
Bxe5 16. fxe5 Qb7 17. Bxa6 Rxa6 18. Qe2 axb4 19. axb4 Rfa8 20. Rab1 Ra3 21. Rec1
bxc5 22. bxc5 Qa7 23. Kg2 h6 24. h4 Rb8 25. Rxb8+ Qxb8 26. Rb1 Qa7 27. Qc2 Qa6
28. Ne2 Ra2 29. Rb2 Ra1 30. h5 Qa5 31. Qd2 Qa6 32. Qc2 Qa5 33. Qd2 Qa6 34. Qc2 1/2-1/2

[Event "6th Tal Memorial"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2011.11.16"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[WhiteElo "2811"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[ECO "E32"]
[Opening "Nimzo-Indian"]
[Variation "classical variation"]
[WhiteFideId "5000017"]
[BlackFideId "14109603"]
[EventDate "2011.11.16"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d5 7. Nf3 dxc4 8.
Qxc4 b6 9. Bg5 Ba6 10. Qa4 h6 11. Bh4 c5 12. dxc5 bxc5 13. Rd1 Qb6 14. Bxf6 gxf6
15. e3 Bxf1 16. Kxf1 Nc6 17. Rb1 Rab8 18. Ke2 Qb5+ 19. Qxb5 Rxb5 20. Kd3 Rfb8
21. Kc2 Na5 22. Nd2 Kf8 23. b3 Ke7 24. Kc3 Kd7 25. Rb2 Kc6 26. Rhb1 Rd8 27. b4
cxb4+ 28. axb4 Nb7 29. Nc4 Nd6 30. Ra1 Ne4+ 31. Kc2 Nxf2 32. Rb3 Rg8 33. Ra6+
Kc7 34. Rxa7+ Rb7 35. Rxb7+ Kxb7 36. g3 Ng4 37. Rd3 Rg5 38. h4 Rg7 39. Rd7+ Kc6
40. Ra7 Ne5 41. Nxe5+ fxe5 42. Kd3 1/2-1/2

