The Finals of the Candidates Matches for the 2007 World Chess Championship
Tournament are being held in Elista, Russia, from June 6th to June 14, 2007.
Eight candidates advanced from the first stage and are now playing six-game
matches to fill four places in the 2007
World Championship in Mexico City. The prize fund is US $40,000 per match,
most of the money ($320,000) coming from a personal fund of FIDE President Kirsan
Ilyumzhinov, FIDE ($160,000) and the general sponsor, Rosenergomash.
Editorial note: Moving to Elista
On Thursday June 7th the editorial team of ChessBase.com is embarking on a
somewhat daunting trip to Elista (yes, we located it on Google
Maps). After a night in Moscow we are due to board a Yak-40 aircraft and
arrive in the capital of the Republic of Kalmykia on Friday evening, where we
expect to be greeted with the traditional white shawls – and will be most
disappointed if we aren't. We are scheduled to take residence in a cottage of
the Chess City, one that has instant Internet access.
We are planning to post the next reports from Moscow, but that of course will
only be possible if our hotel has proper Internet service. Otherwise we will
resume normal reporting on Friday night, and ask for your understanding if the
round two report is delayed. You can get the results, games and pictures from
our German language page, or if you habla
Espanol, from the Spanish
site. Of course you can also follow the action live on Playchess.com.
Finals: Round one game commentary
By GM Mihail Marin
GM Marin en route to Elista (just kidding, this was on a trip to Egypt in
2001)
The following express commentary was provided by Romanian GM Mihail Marin,
who is the author of a number of very popular ChessBase training CDs and articles
for ChessBase Magazine. GM Marin will study the games of the Candidates Finals
in greater detail and provide the full results of his analysis in the next issue
of ChessBase
Magazine.
Aronian,L (2759) - Shirov,A (2699) [D20]
WCh Candidates Finals Elista RUS (1), 06.05.2007 [Mihail Marin]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 4.Nf3 exd4 5.Bxc4 Nc6 6.0-0 Be6 7.Bxe6 fxe6 8.Qb3
Qd7 9.Qxb7 Rb8 10.Qa6 Nf6 11.Nbd2 Bd6 12.b3 0-0 13.Bb2
The position is strategically unbalanced. White's structure is more compact, but
Black's advantage of space and his slightly better coordination should not be
underestimated.
13...Bf4. Putting pressure against the d2-knight, which
is one key-piece designed to establish a blockade on light squares.
14.g3.
The bishop was situated at the intersection of two important diagonals and
now is kindly invited to abandon one of them.
14...Bh6 15.Ba3. White applies
the same treatment to the f8-rook. However, moving for the second time with the
bishop along the same diagonal before completing the mobilisation of forces is
slightly premature, abstractly speaking.
15...Nxe4!?
A courageous exchange sacrifice, offering Black active play in the centre.
16.Bxf8
Nxd2 17.Nxd2 Bxd2. Once the white knights have been eliminated, White has
no reliable blocking pieces left and Black can think about advancing his central
pawns.
18.Ba3 Qd5 19.Qc4 Qxc4 20.bxc4 Ne5 21.Rab1 Rd8 22.c5 Nc4 23.Bc1 d3.
Maybe Black should not hurry to advance his d-pawn. The more restrained 23...Ba5
followed by ...e5 comes into consideration.
24.Rb7 c6?! Perhaps Shirov
initially intended to play 24...Bc3 , but saw in the last moment that after 25.Rxc7
d2 26.Rd1 he does not threaten to win material yet because his minor pieces are
hanging. However, the position remains highly unclear, because the bishop is trapped
after all and maybe he should have sticked to this line.
25.Bxd2 Nxd2 26.Rd1
Ne4 27.f3 Nc3 28.Rd2 Nxa2 29.Rb3
The pawn is safely blocked and the knight is in danger. Black is clearly struggling
now. 29...Nc1 30.Rb1 Ne2+ 31.Kf2 e5 32.Ra1 Rd5 33.Rxa7 Rxc5 34.Rxd3 Nd4 35.Rd2
h6 36.f4 Nb5 37.Ra8+ Kh7 38.f5 Nd4 39.g4 Rc3 40.Rb2
40...h5? The fatal last move before control... Black could have prolongued
the fight with 40...Nb5 , preventing the invasion along the back rank. 41.Rbb8
and in view of 41...Kh6 42.h4, Black resigned. 1-0. [Click
to replay]
Leko,P (2738) - Bareev,E (2643) [B17]
WCh Candidates Finals Elista RUS (1), 06.05.2007 [Mihail Marin]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Ng5 Ngf6 6.Bd3 e6 7.N1f3 Bd6 8.Qe2
h6 9.Ne4 Nxe4 10.Qxe4 Qc7 11.0-0 b6 12.Qg4 Kf8 13.Re1 c5 14.c3 Bb7 15.Qh3 Rd8
16.Be4 Bxe4 17.Rxe4 Nf6 18.Re1 g6
A fashionable variation of the caro Kann has been played. Black is just a couple
of tempi away from completing his development, while the formerly active white
queen seems to be restricted in her actions.
19.b3! Underlining the hidden
drawback in Black's setup. In order to connect his rooks, he had to play ...g6
with his bishop away from the long diagonal. Therefore, White is well-adviced
to occupy this diagonal with the bishop himself.
19...Kg7 20.dxc5 Bxc5 21.Bb2
Rd5 22.c4 Rh5 23.Qg3.
23...Bd6! An interesting moment. Quite frequently, the player with a delay
in development is best adviced to... avoid the exchange of queens. The explanation
is that this mighty piece can control a whole zone of squares, preventing an early
infiltration of the enemy forces. For instance, here, after 23...Qxg3? 24.hxg3
Black cannot prevent a white rook from invading the seventh rank: 24...Be7 Parrying
the threat g4. 25.Rad1 Rd8 26.Rxd8 Bxd8 27.Rd1 Bc7 28.Bxf6+! Kxf6 29.b4 Renewing
the threat to trap the rook. 29...Rf5 30.Rd7 with decisive advantage.
24.Ne5
Rd8. Both sides have managed to complete their development. However, the black
queen's rook is slightly awkwardly placed. If Black will not be able to recycle
it or use it for attacking purposes, he will end up in a bad position. However,
the situation is not easy to evaluate accurately. We have the famous game Tarrasch-Lasker
where Black manoeuvred with his rook in front of the pawns (on the trayectory
e5-c5-c4), provoking White to weaken his position in decisive way in his attempts
to "punish" such extravagant play.
25.h3 Rf5 26.Re2 Bc5 27.Rf1 Kh7
28.Qh2 g5 29.Ng4 Bd6?! But now Black had no reasons to avoid the queen swap.
After 29...Qxh2+ 30.Kxh2 the accurate 30...Bd6+! would have led to a more or less
equal position.
(The immediate
30...Be7 would be strongly met by
31.Ne5!) 31.Kh1
(If White keeps his king on a dark square with
31.Kg1 or 31.g3, Black can recycle his rook without loss of time after
31...Nxg4 32.hxg4 Rc5 because the generally desirable
33.Rd1? loses
to
33...Bh2+! or 33...Bxg3+, respectively.
) 31...Be7 32.Ne5 and
now 32...Nh5! threatening ...Ng3+ or simply ...Nf4 offers Black active play.
30.g3
Nh5 31.Ne3
Black's play has reached a dead end. White will simply play Qg2, leaving Black
terribly undcoordinated. Bareev seems to have had a different opinion. 31...Bxg3?
It is hard to guess what he missed, actually. 32.fxg3 Rxf1+ 33.Nxf1 Rd1
34.Re3 1-0. [Click
to replay]
Grischuk,A (2717) - Rublevsky,S (2680) [B84]
WCh Candidates Finals Elista RUS (1), 06.05.2007 [Mihail Marin]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2. Grischuk wisely
refrains from what is considered to be the main line against this move order:
6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d5 and which eventually yielded Rublevsky his only win in
the semifinal match against Ponomariov. In that game, Black's strong centre
ensured him against a direct kingisde attack and offered him the better chances
in the endgame. 6...d6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Be3 Bd7. This is also one big specialty
of Rublevsky. He usually refrains from developing his queen to c7 and prefers
activating his queenside pieces as soon as possible. 9.a4 Be7 10.f4
10...Nxd4. The Sicilian does not make part of my repertoire with either
colour for over a decade, but I still remember one thing that IM Mircea Pavlov,
my first trainer ever, taught me when I was ten: Black should not exchange knights
if White can re-capture with the queen (or, in certain lines of the Sozin Attack,
with the rook) without loss of time, because this would allow White obtain an
advantage in development. More concretely, it is generally recommendable to wait
until White moves with his queen before playing ...Nxd4. Of course, there are
no rules without exceptions and Rublevsky is entitled to have his own opinion
about his main opening variation, but I believe that the further course of the
game sustains the point of view that Black's last move was premature.
11.Qxd4
Bc6
12.b4! About one century of practice has taught players of all levels that
in the Sicilian White attacks on the kingside, while Black has to look for counterchances
on the opposite wing. However, even before the Sicilian became a regular guest
in the high level tournaments, it was discovered that the player with an advantage
in development should maintain his initiative by any means. Since this rule has
a more general character, it should prevail over the specific Sicilian patterns.
Let us examine the merits and drawbacks of White's last move. The first thing
that comes up to mind in this type of positions is that the resolute advance of
the b-pawn weakens the c4- and c3-squares. However, with his incomplete development,
Black will not be able to take advantage of this detail in the near future. At
the same time, the fact that his bishop will be forced back on a passive position,
disturbing the coordination of rooks, will be a more significant factor. Anticipating
a bit, this pawn will be the main hero of this game, untill its very end.
12...0-0
13.b5 Be8 14.e5 Qc7
Abstractly speaking, this is a nice move. Black ignores the threat (or rather
parries it indirectly) by developing a piece. However, Black's coordination is
rather poor and playing in such an ambitious way will just turn against himself,
like a boomerang.
15.b6. The pawn advances again, leaving the c6-square
at Black's mercy, but increasing the lack of harmony from Black's camp.
15...Qc6
16.Bf3. A strong novelty. Rublevsky had previously managed to defend his
position after 16.exd6 against Svidler and Jakovenko.
16...d5. Rublevsky
might have been happy to transpose to a French type of structure, just like in
his game against Ponomariov. However, there are some significant differences.
Here, the d5-pawn is much more vulnerable, while Black's coordination is rather
poor.
17.Rae1. White completes his development and over-defends his bishop,
which in certain cases makes the threat exf6 real, as we shall see.
17...Nd7.
Black practically admits the failure of his previous play. The consequent
move (in the same way as ...Qc7) would have been 17...Rd8 but this would have
led to disastruous consequences after 18.f5 for instance 18...exf5
(Or
18...Nd7 19.fxe6 fxe6 and now, after the weakening of the a2-g8 diagonal
the sacrifice
20.Nxd5! is lethal.
) 19.exf6 Bxf6 20.Nxd5! and now
we can see why it is important to have the e3-bishop defended: 20...Bxd4 21.Ne7+
Kh8 22.Nxc6 and White has a won ending.
18.Nxd5!
The only way to open the position and put all White's pieces to work.
18...exd5
19.Bxd5 Qc5 20.e6. White does not avoid the exchange of queens, because this
would somehow lower the rhytm of his attack. See also the comment after Black's
23rd move in Leko-Bareev.
20...Qxd4 21.Bxd4 Nf6 22.Bb3! White retreats
with the bishop to a defended square in order to threaten to win material. The
immediate 22.Bxf6? gxf6 23.exf7+ would fail to 23...Bxf7 when the bishop would
be hanging, making Rxe7 impossible.
22...Rd8 23.Bxf6.
23...Bc5+. A curious decision, in the style of David Bronstein, who frequently
allowed his pawns to be doubled for the mere sake of piece activity. After the
more natural 23...Bxf6 24.e7 Bxe7 25.Rxe7 Bc6 26.Rfe1 Rd2 27.R1e2 Black would
have a better structure than in the game, but he would have potential back rank
problems, whereas White would not. In the game, the situation will be reversed.
24.Kh1 gxf6 25.e7 Bxe7 26.Rxe7 Bc6. Finally, Black can make use of this
square. However, the bishop is not stable here as we shall see.
27.Rc7.
Putting the bishop under immediate pressure has two purposes. First of all, the
threat ...Rd2xg2 is removed because of the possibility of Rxc6. The long term
idea will be carried out in the game. Playing in similar way as in the previous
comment with 27.Rfe1 Rd2 28.R7e2 would allow Black certain counterplay after 28...Rfd8.
27...Rd2 28.Re1! It will soon appear that the attack against the f7-square
will be more efficient than Black's action against g2.
28...Rf2. 28...Bxg2+
29.Kg1 would leave Black with the same problems as in the game.
29.h3 Rxf4
30.Ree7 Rf1+ 31.Kh2 Rf2
Apparently, Black has managed to create serious threats... 32.Rxc6! White
not only stops Black's attack, but also creates an unstoppable passed pawn.
32...bxc6 33.Rxf7! We can see here a drawback of Rublevsly's decision
to play with double pawns: the f2-rook is cut off itsown kingside and cannot
defend the f7-pawn. General exchanegs on f7 will be followed by b7, whereas
the attempt to return with the rook into play along the e- or d-file would lose
it to a discovered check. Rublevsky still tried 33...Rf4 and resigned
after 34.c3 1-0. [Click
to replay]
Kamsky,G (2705) - Gelfand,B (2733) [B92]
WCh Candidates Finals Elista RUS (1), 06.05.2007 [Mihail Marin]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.a4 Nc6 7.Be2. A rather
modest variation from Black's point of view. 7...e5! The adequate reaction.
In the 6.Be2 e5 lines of the Najdorf, White refrains from playing a4 until Black
develops his queen's knight, in order to avoid making the b4-square available
for this piece. Here, he did it even before the typical Boleslavsky structure
has been created. 8.Nb3 Be7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Be3 Be6
Black has easy play.
11.Bf3 Na5 12.Nxa5 Qxa5 13.Qd2 Rfc8 14.Rfd1 Kf8 15.Qc1
Rc4 16.Rd3 Rac8 17.Qd1 R4c6 18.Rd2 Rc4 19.Rd3 R4c6 20.h3 h6 21.Rd2 Rc4 22.Rd3
R4c6 23.Rd2 1/2-1/2. [Click
to replay]
Links
