FIDE Candidates R1G3: Gelfand rolls six pawns to win

From 3 to 27 May 2011 the FIDE Candidates matches are being held in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, with eight strong GMs competing to qualify as Challenger for the 2012 World Champion match. Time controls in the four regular games are 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game, plus an additional 30 seconds per move starting from move 61. In case of a tie there will be four rapid chess games, and if the tie is still not broken then up to five two-game blitz matches 5'+3". Finally there may be a sudden-death final decider. The prize fund of the candidates is 500,000 Euros.
 

Round one – Game three

After Kamsky’s very unexpected win over Topalov yesterday, in which the Bulgarian had seemed to have all the cards in his hand, today his biggest decisions started before sitting down, or even before preparing his openings. GM Ramirez explains the quandary Topalov faced.

Kamsky,Gata (2732) - Topalov,Veselin (2775) [B90]
Candidate's Matches (1.3), 07.05.2011 [Ramirez, Alejandro]

Topalov enters this game with a difficult decision. Should he try to hold for a draw and push for an all-out win with White in the 4th game, or try to risk potentially losing the match here with Black? These are problems that the super-GM from Bulgaria must answer even before the players sit at the board. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.a4. Kamsky repeats his relatively experimental line from game one. Even though Topalov and his team were probably expecting this, it is very difficult to react in a mere two days. It's possible that they found no tangible improvement after 6... Nc6 7. a5!? so Topalov deviates back to the more usual Najdorf approach. 6...e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Bg5 Be6 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Nd5 Nd7 11.Bc4 Rc8 12.b3 Qa5+. This game's novelty. This practically forces white's response, after which it would only make sense to trade queens. A superficial assessment would be to think that 'simplifications lead to draws', when in fact the absence of queens brings many new strategical ideas to the position. 13.Qd2 Qxd2+ 14.Nxd2 Bg5

This is a good time to get a strong hold of the position. The structure is very reminiscent of a Sveshnikov Sicilian. To compensate his backwards d6 pawn and weak d5 square, Black has the pair of bishops and a half open c-file. Of course, this isn't something that he can take advantage of immediately since the position is rather closed. But it contains potential! The old masters believed that obtaining the pair of bishops would eventually grant an advantage, because ultimately the position was bound to become open after pawn exchanges. Although chess has evolved greatly, this maxim still holds some value. 15.Kd1!? This is an interesting move by the American. The king is perfectly safe on d1, and it holds the queenside somewhat. There is really no advantage in sending the king to the kingside, as it would serve no purpose there. The queenside rook will eventually lift through a4 (after a pawn push to a5) and go to b4, where it would be pressuring the b7 pawn. However, White is not the only one who can push rook pawns...

15...h5! A good strategical move: Black grabs space on the kingside and prepares a potential rooklift there - but it's also important to understand the psychological implications of such a move. Because of the match situation, it is possible that Kamsky wants to play with as little risk as possible. Clearly he holds no advantage, so he does not want to commit himself to any weaknesses if he cannot see an immediate return. It is possible that for this reason he shuns the most natural move 16.h4 and gives Black a decent amount of space in the kingside. In my opinion, unnecessarily. 16.Re1?! 16.h4 Is of course the most natural continuation, but then White has to cope with the fact that h4 will be weak and g5 might be a possible break in the future. All bishop retreats make some sense at this point, but the most natural would seem to be... 16...Bd8 eyeing that h4 pawn. 17.g3 Ba5 Kamsky might have looked at this position and not liked it. The computer suggests that terribly inhuman move 18.Rb1, so it's understandable how he didn't go for this line. However, White's position is solid, even if rather planless. 16...h4. Black quickly grabs the space he was provided. White can hardly allow the pawn to go all the way to h3, so he must stop it now. 17.h3 Nf6 18.Nxf6+. 18.Nb6 was a natural alternative. However after 18...Rc5 19.a5 Nh5 Black begins to build up some pressure on the kingside. Maybe saying that Black is better is not quite true, but it does seem more pleasant to play with the Black pieces.

18...gxf6!=/+. Topalov instantly replied with this move, and with good reason. The g-file opens with great effect to pressure the now weak g2-pawn, while his center will be bolstered after the trade of bishops on e6. This move might seem strange to some players, but to a Sveshnikov player, or a super-GM like Topalov, it is the only conceivable move. 19.Bxe6 fxe6 20.Nf3 Rg8. Kamsky must hurry and prevent Topalov from expanding in the center too quickly. He still has some resources – but haste is mandatory. 21.c4 f5 22.exf5 exf5

23.Ke2! A resourceful move! The king's role in the center has ended, and there is no more need for him to defend the c2-square. Additionally, he was starting to become exposed, so it makes sense to transfer his majesty to f1, where it will guard the g2 pawn. 23...Be7 24.Kf1 Kf7 25.Rad1

This is another good moment to analyze what is going on. Black has achieved many things! He fixed his structure and now has a potentially dangerous pawn center. Unfortunately, there is no clear way for him to use it immediately. He will never want to advance e4 and give White the d4 square. So it transpires that a logical plan is to play b5. This can be done immediately, but Topalov shows his class and first plays an important move. 25...Rc5! This move takes control of the fifth rank, an important element as the 25... b5 variation shows. White is running out of useful moves, so he plays his card. 25...b5!? 26.axb5 axb5 27.Rd5! This cool moves forces off more pawns than Black wants to trade. The following is only a sample line, but shows the great simplification power White has at his disposal. 27...bxc4 28.bxc4 Kf6 29.c5! Ke6 30.cxd6 Kxd5 31.dxe7 Rge8 32.Nxh4 Ke6 33.f4 Rc5 34.g4 fxg4 35.hxg4= And with the last pawn gone the draw is obvious.

26.b4! Maybe forced. White uses tactics to resolve some of the tension. 26.Re2 b5 27.cxb5 axb5 28.a5 b4=/+ is definitely NOT what White is looking for. 26...Rxc4 27.Rxe5. Black has a few ways of dealing with this position. He wants to create as much play as possible, but it seems that White is holding in every line. 27...dxe5. 27...Kf6 28.Ree1 Rxb4 29.Rd4 Rxd4 30.Nxd4= And Black has no real hopes of winning as he will soon lose an important pawn.; 27...Rxb4 28.Rxf5+ Kg6 29.Ra5 The awkward placement of the rook on a5 would seem to give Black a reason to go for this line, however it is actually difficult to come up with a useful move. The pawns on d6 and h4 are rather weak, and the king will never find shelter. Practically, it is difficult to go for this line as your top choice, but it was definitely worth a try. 29...Rc8!? 30.Re1 Rc7=/+ 28.Nxe5+ Ke6 29.Nxc4 Bxb4 30.Rb1! Fixing the pawns on a light square is important, as it will allow White to easily control them, or at least force Black into a major concession if he tries to advance on the queenside. 30...a5 31.Rd1 Rc8 32.Rd4. The weak pawn on h4, the controlled structure on the queenside and the active white pieces give black little hope to win, so black sets up one final trap... 32...Bc3! 33.Rxh4 Bf6 34.Rf4 Bg5. White is at a small crossroads. He could try to gain three (!) passed pawns on the kingside with 35.Rxf5!? or he could play it safe and take a draw. Topalov has simply given Gata the chance to go wrong, but he doesn't bite.

35.Rd4. 35.Rxf5!? Kxf5 (35...Rxc4 36.Rxg5 Rxa4 37.Rb5+/= Black might have enough to draw this, but no more.) 36.Nd6+ Ke6 (36...Ke5? 37.Nxc8 Kd5 transposes to Kd5 above.) 37.Nxc8 So now that we reach this position in our minds, we realize that more calculation is necessary. Black has no successful way of trying to corral the knight on c8, so he must lunge toward the queenside - and he has two ways to do this. 37...b5! Speed is everything. White can't take on b5, but he can clearly catch the pawn. (37...Kd5? 38.Ke2 Now Black's king cannot prevent White's from helping on the queenside, since he cannot afford to lose the b-pawn. 38...Kc5 (38...Kc4?! 39.Nd6+ Kb3 40.Nxb7 Kxa4 41.g3 Kb4 42.Nxa5+-) 39.Kd3 Kb4 40.Nd6 b6 41.Nb5 Kxa4 42.Kc4+- And the pawns roll by themselves on the queenside.) 38.Ke2 bxa4 39.Kd3 Bf6 40.Kc4 a3 41.Kb3 Bd4 42.Kxa3 Kd7 43.Ka4 and the position should be drawn. Of course this crazy lines requires quite a bit of calculation, and contains many ways in which one could go wrong. Gata's choice is safe and sound. 35...Bf6 36.Rf4 Bg5 37.Rd4 Bf6. A tenacious defense by the American. Topalov tried through every flank but eventually came up short of victory, setting up a highly anticipated game tomorrow, where Topalov will push with everything he has! 1/2-1/2

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If the surprises witnessed at the 2011 Candidates matches had been in the order of sporting results and opening choices, the third game presented yet another one, this time for the record books. Although no statistics are available, no recollection of anything like this in world championship history comes to mind. Sac by sac, and move by move, Gelfand was down more and more material for pawns against Mamedyarov until his grand total was a full SIX pawns for a rook. Astonishing.

During the game, the excellent live commentary by GM Daniel King was also accompanied by the excited comments of Nigel Short, Anish Giri, and Jan Gustafsson to name a few. We added a screenshot below to give you an idea.

As to the game’s commentary on this game, if it were left to us it might go Zap! Gak! Bonk! Since frankly, the sheer chaos on the board was reminiscent of the train wreck scene from The Fugitive when Tommy Lee Jones walks in with the famous line, “My, my, my… What a mess.” What a mess indeed, yet once again GM Ramirez is able to bring some order to it all, with his lucid and very instructive annotations.

Mamedyarov,Shakhriyar (2733) - Gelfand,Boris (2772) [B87]
Candidate's Matches (1.3), 07.05.2011 [Ramirez, Alejandro]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4. The Azeris seem to have come to this tournament full of surprises. First we saw Radjabov use the black side of a Catalan, an opening he had never used before, to neutralize Kramnik yesterday. Today we see Mamedyarov using this aggressive system for the first time in his life - or at least according to my records on official play. 6...e6 7.Bb3 b5 8.0-0 Be7 9.Qf3 Qc7 10.Qg3 0-0 11.Bh6 Ne8 12.Rad1 Bd7 13.f4 Nc6. So far we've been following several strong games, and the position is well-known to Najdorf players. Here the main move is Nxc6, as in Rublevsky-Bu. 14.f5

This rare move had been used once before in a world class game, about 10 years ago, and never again since. It's interesting, although a little strange, that Mamedyarov is repeating this line. Gelfand doesn't follow the same path as the previous game, which ended in a convincing black victory.

The move itself warrants quite an explanation. Playing f5 in a Sicilian is always very committal: White weakens the important e5 square, preventing him from ever achieving an e5 break, as well as allowing Black's pieces (usually a knight, but in some rare cases a queen or a bishop) to occupy the fantastic defensive square e5. Some writers have gone so far as to say that if Black didn't have the e5 square for his pieces after f5, he would lose every Sicilian.

White must therefore consistently attack on the kingside from now on until he obtains a material gain, or he will end up strategically worse. 14.Nxc6 Bxc6 15.f5 Kh8 16.f6 A spectacular pawn push, but a well-known one... 16...gxh6 17.fxe7 Qxe7 18.Qf2 And White has compensation for the missing pawn. A few games have seen this position, the most recent being the aforementioned Rublevsky-Bu, 2010 China (rapid).

14...Nxd4 15.Rxd4 Kh8. This move has not been tried before. The game enters uncharted waters, and the position is full of possibilities. 15...Bf6 was Kasparov's choice, and he further added a "!" in his annotations to the game. Maybe Gelfand was unaware of the Kasparov game, or, more likely, he was afraid of an Azerbaidjani preparation in this line. 16.Rd3 Be5 17.Qg4 b4! 18.f6! g6 19.Ne2 a5! Morozevich-Kasparov (Astana 2001). A fantastic game which Kasparov won after 57 moves. 16.Be3. 16.f6 is a very logical move. Mamedyarov may have rejected it because of 16...Bxf6 (16...gxf6!? is also an interesting alternative. Black obtains a strong pawn center in return for the lost exchange. However, White can respond by sacrificing material of his own! 17.Nd5!? A crazy move typical of the Sicilian. Black is forced to take this intruder, but opens the fourth rank to the rook on d4. It is almost impossible to give an evaluation of this position without lengthy variations, so let's just say that this position is very unclear.) 17.Rxf6 Qc5! Strangely enough, although both the f6 and h6 pieces are under attack, neither can be effectively taken. However, the rook on d4 is now pinned! (17...gxh6 18.Rxh6 Rg8 19.Qh4 Rg7 gives White some pressure, but might be playable. ) 18.Bxg7+ Nxg7 19.Qf2 Qe5 with a very murky position. 16...Nf6 17.Qh3. A logical move, upping the pressure on this side of the board. However, it does remove the pressure that the queen on g3 was exerting on the h2-b8 diagonal, specifically pinning the d pawn. Black now achieves another of his strategical goals in the Sicilian: the d5 break! 17...d5

18.e5! The exclamation mark is not so much for the strength of the move, but for its practical value. White probably already stood worse after a "normal" move such as exd5, so he tries an "all-out" approach to crash on the kingside, or die trying. 18.exd5?! exf5 And White has too many weaknesses, and no coordination. Black is clearly better. 18...Qxe5 19.Rh4. Now Bd4 is a threat. Black responds with a cool move. 19...Rfc8! Forcing White to spend a tempo. 20.Kh1. After 20.Bd4 Bc5 21.Bxc5 Rxc5 Black is obviously better.; 20.Bg5 was an interesting alternative, immediately hitting the h7 pawn. Black has a few resources. The more logical ones are: 20...h6 (20...Kg8 21.Bxf6 Qxf6 22.Rxh7 g6 The point is that the f-pawn is pinned due to Bc5+, so White cannot immediately continue his attack. However the position is still far from clear. 23.g4 (23.Kh1 Rxc3 24.bxc3 gxf5 25.Rf3 Bd6 is unclear.) 23...Rxc3! is complicated, but I like Black's chances.) 21.Rxh6+! The only move. White must not retreat! 21...gxh6 22.Qxh6+ Kg8 23.fxe6 Bxe6 24.Bxf6 Bxf6 25.Rxf6 Rc6 White clearly has resources on the kingside, but it's unclear if they are enough. His own king might become vulnerable and the bishop and knight are simply too far away to be of any help right now. Black is probably better in this position, but a lot of play remains after Rf3.

20...Rxc3! Mamedyarov might have underestimated this strong, strong sacrifice from Gelfand. The sacrifice doesn't seem logical in the beginning: why is Black giving up a perfectly good rook for a knight that in this case had no hope of joining the attack on the kingside? The reason is control: Black will be able to neutralize White's threats, specially Bd4, once his queen gets to c3. Any exchange of queens from hereforth will favor Black, so it's basically a pin. Further, this sacrifice guarantees the burial of the bishop on b3, which will not see a bright future. A strong move indeed!

21.bxc3 Qxc3 22.Rd4?! Mamedyarov panics in a difficult position. Bringing back the rook does little for his position. This is typical of a failed Sicilian attack: even with the extra material it becomes very hard to move the White pieces as they have lost purpose. 22.Bd4 Qxh3 23.Rxh3 a5 24.c3 Ne4 is an ugly, ugly ending to defend. White's rooks have no targets and his structure is weak to say the least, but it may have been the best chance...; 22.fxe6 Bxe6 23.Qf3 Ne4 was also in Black's favor. 22...a5! Gelfand swiftly punishes White's play. He doesn't spend time with tempting moves such as 22...e5 23.Rd3 Qc6 since 24.Bg5! gives White plenty of counterplay. Probably the point behind Rd4.; 22...exf5?! 23.Rd3 Qc7 24.Bd4 and White's bishops are more alive than Black would like them to be. 23.Rd3 Qc6 24.c3 a4 25.Bc2 e5-+. Now that the bishop is no longer on the a2-g8 diagonal, the time is ripe to advance the center pawns. Black is strategically winning: he has a crushing center, better piece placement, more targets and better coordination. Mamedyarov must try to create some tricks, but time is running short. 26.Bg5 b4 27.Qh4 bxc3 28.Rh3. This pressure on the kingside would alarm any mortal, but Gelfand plays it cool and simple. He has now obtained a material advantage as he has three pawns for the exchange, and furthermore his center pawns will obviously roll over White in a few moves. Still, the h-file is open and his king seems to be in some danger. Not bothered with this, he simply transfers it to the center. 28...Kg8 29.Re1. 29.Bxf6 Bxf6 30.Qxh7+ Kf8-+ And White simply has no good moves. The king is perfectly safe on e7. 29...e4 30.g4. White is trying some shenanigans with g5 after Bxf6, but it's just not enough. 30...Kf8 31.Be3. 31.Bxf6 Bxf6 32.g5 Bd8 and again, there is no good move for White. Black just controls too many squares and his pawns are too strong. 31...Qc4 32.g5

32...Bxf5! Gelfand simply takes all the material that is thrown at him. In this case it doesn't even matter, since it's all about his pawn domination. 33.gxf6 Bxf6 34.Qh5

34...Bg6!? This is an interesting approach. Though Bxh3 was winning, Gelfand is not afraid of being down an entire rook! He has five full pawns as compensation, and furthermore, they are so strong! Very pleasing aesthetically. 35.Qg4

35...Qxa2. The fact that Black has the luxury to pick off this pawn speaks volumes of his domination. d5-d4 will come in time, and White has absolutely no counterplay. 36.Bb1 Qc4 37.Qg2 a3 38.Ba2 Qc6 39.Rg3 Rb8. There are simply too many threats in this position, and not enough moves. Despite being up a rook, White's position could not be more hopeless. Gelfand wins a fantastic game that really brings out the very spirit of a Black side Sicilian: He coolly dealt with the kingside threat by transfering his king, he took care to eliminate and restrict White's minor pieces, and he showed how clumsy even an extra rook can be if the army supporting it has no direction. 0-1

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About the author Alejandro Ramirez is originally from Costa Rica, where, at the age of 14, he became the top player in the country. He is now pursuing a career in video game design and is currently on the verge of graduating with his Master's degree in Arts and Technology from the University of Texas at Dallas. He is also involved with the US Chess Federation. Alejandro has been a grandmaster since the age of 15 and has played many Olympiads and a FIDE World Championship in 2004. He now mainly stays active by playing in the US Open Circuit.

The other games

As to Radjabov-Kramnik, it was a little more tense this time, with a bit more happening, but still nothing decisive. In truth this might even be to the taste of Radjabov. It is not so much that he would relish having to hold at all costs in the fourth game, but if he does, it will go to the rapid games, and after Kramnik's disastrous result at Monaco very recently, the young Azeri might feel this is his best practical chance for an upset and sneak past Kramnik.

Radjabov,Teimour (2744) - Kramnik,Vladimir (2785) [D56]
WCh Candidates Kazan RUS (1.3), 07.05.2011
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 0-0 7.e3 Ne4 8.Bxe7 Qxe7 9.Rc1 c6 10.Bd3 Nxc3 11.Rxc3 dxc4 12.Bxc4 Nd7 13.Qc2 b6 14.Bd3 Nf6 15.Rxc6 Nd5 16.Qb3 Nb4 17.Rc1 Nxd3+ 18.Qxd3 Bb7 19.0-0 Bxf3 20.gxf3 Qg5+ 21.Kh1 Qd5 22.Qe4 Qxa2 23.Rg1 Rfc8 24.Qb7 Rf8 25.Rc7 Qxb2 26.Rxf7 Rxf7 27.Qxa8+ Kh7 28.Qe8 Rc7 29.Qxe6 Qxf2 30.Qe4+ Kg8 31.Qe8+ Kh7 32.Qe4+ Kg8 33.Qe8+ 1/2-1/2. [Click to replay]

Once again Aronian was able to conclude the middlegame with an extra pawn in the endgame, however this time there appeared to be very few chances it could be converted even with best play. In the end, a draw was agreed.

Aronian,Levon (2808) - Grischuk,Alexander (2747) [D97]
WCh Candidates Kazan RUS (1.3), 07.05.2011
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 0-0 7.e4 a6 8.Be2 b5 9.Qb3 c5 10.dxc5 Be6 11.Qc2 Nbd7 12.Be3 Rc8 13.Rd1 b4 14.Nd5 Bxd5 15.exd5 Nxc5 16.0-0 a5 17.Bc4 Qd6 18.Bd4 Ncd7 19.Qe2 Ng4 20.Rfe1 Rfe8 21.Ba6 Ra8 22.Bb5 Bxd4 23.Rxd4 Ngf6 24.h3 Rab8 25.Ba4 Red8 26.Qxe7 Nb6 27.Bd1 Rbc8 28.Qa7 Ra8 29.Qb7 Rdc8 30.Qe7 Qxe7 31.Rxe7 Nfxd5 32.Rb7 Rc7 33.Rxc7 Nxc7 34.Bb3 a4 35.Bc2 Ncd5 36.Be4 Ra5 37.Ne5 Rc5 38.Bxd5 Rxd5 39.Rxb4 Rxe5 40.Rxb6 Re1+ 41.Kh2 Re2 42.Kg3 a3 43.bxa3 Rxa2 44.Rb3 Kg7 45.f4 h5 46.h4 f6 47.Kf3 g5 48.hxg5 fxg5 49.g3 Kf6 50.Ke4 gxf4 51.Kxf4 Ra1 52.Ke4 Ke6 53.Re3 Ra2 54.Kd4+ Kd6 55.Kc4 Rh2 56.Kb5 Kc7 57.Re7+ Kb8 58.Rh7 Rg2 59.Kb6 Rb2+ White Time: 1h:17min Black Time: 4min:10s 1/2-1/2. [Click to replay]

In order to give you a taste of the Daily Video wrap-ups, here is the video with Danny King's show looking at the game of the day:

 
GM Danny King analyzing Mamedyarov-Gelfand during his Daily Wrap-Up show on Playchess

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