World Championship 2007 Mexico
The World Championship 2007 will take place from September 12 to 30 in the
Sheraton Centro Histórico Hotel in Mexico City. Eight players are qualified
– the tournament will be a double round robin. The prize fund is US $1.3
million.
Round five commentary by GM Mihail Marin
The free day seems to have had a refreshing effect over the players. For the
first time from the start of the tournament, three of the games were decided!
Anand managed to neutralize Svidler's initiative with an ease rarely seen nowadays
in the Marshall Attack. Later, he initiated a queenside diversion, which was
eventually crowned by a simple attack on the opposite wing. Svidler resigned
after losing two more pawns from his king's guard.
Grischuk found an elegant way to refute Morozevich' strategically over-ambitious
opening plan. When the complications were over, White was an exchange up, with
just vague chances for Black to mud the waters. Leko did not take too much risks
with white against Kramnik and a draw was agreed after mass exchanges in an
almost symmetrical position.
Playing with white against Aronian, Gelfand came up with a new plan that yielded
him a favourable (for white) version of the Benoni. However, he delayed his
castle unnecessarily and Aronian came back into the game. Premature activity
in a complicated position left Black without compensation for the sacrificed
material and Gelfand emerged as winner.
Anand,V (2792) - Svidler,P (2735) [C89]
WCh Mexico City MEX (5), 18.09.2007 [Mihail Marin]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3
d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6
Earlier in this tournament, Svidler managed to put the Marshall Attack under strong
pressure in his game against Leko. Now, he finds himself on the other side.
12.Re1
Bd6 13.g3!? This was one of Fischer's favourite move order. White prevents
the standard move ...Qh4.
13...Bf5. This move has been played before,
but it remains an open question what could have prepared Anand against 13...Qd7
followed by ...Qh3, with probable transposition to the main lines.
14.d4 Qd7
15.Be3 Rae8 16.Nd2 Bg4 17.Qc2 Bf5 18.Qc1
18...Re7. Svidler deviates from 18...h5 , which had been played by Anand
himself! In Leko - Anand, Cap d'Agde 2003 Black won, but this was just a rapid
game and Anand might have drawn his own conclusions despite the favourable result.]
19.Nf3 [The first new move of the game. Previously, 19.Nf1 was played
(Almasi-Gyimesi, Kazincbarcika (Hungary) 2005). Rather than placing it passively
on the back rank, Anand uses his knight for putting the enemy kingside under some
pressure, which will eventually cause some weaknesses in Black's camp.
19...Bg4
20.Nh4 Rfe8 21.Qd2 h6 22.Qd3
Black exerts his usual pressure against the e3-bishop, but White is fully developed
and retains his extra-pawn. Anand's opening experiment has been crowned by sucess.
22...g6 23.Bd1 Bh3 24.Bf3 g5. If not followed by a concrete attacking action,
this move will just leave the kingside desperately weak.
25.Ng2 Bf5 26.Qd1
Nf6 27.a4 Since the e-file is under severe Black control, Anand creates a
queenside diversion. It is interesting that this will be just a prelude to a...
kingside attack, one of Mikhail Tal's favourite methods.
27...Ne4 28.axb5 axb5
29.Ra6 Qb7 30.Qa1 Bc8 31.Ra8 Bb8 32.Bc1 Nf6 33.Rxe7 Rxe7 34.Qa3 Rd7 35.Ra5 Ba7
Black has managed to hold his own on the queenside, but his coordination is
rather poor. 36.Ne3! Black has no adequate way to parry the simple threat
Nf5. 36...Qc7. 36...Re7 37.Bxc6; or 36...Rc7 37.Qd6 are equally hopeless.
37.Nf5 c5 38.Nxh6+ Kh7 39.Bxg5 1-0. [Click
to replay]
Grischuk,A (2726) - Morozevich,A (2758) [D38]
WCh Mexico City MEX (5), 18.09.2007 [Mihail Marin]
1.d4. Although 1.e4 is Grischuk's main weapon with white, he has successfully
experimented with the queen's pawn during the last years. It is hard to believe
that he had prepared anything concrete for this game, given the unpredictable
character of Morozevich' opening choice. It is more likely that he simply intended
to avoid his opponent's specific preparation. 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3
Bb4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.e3 c5 8.Bd3 Qa5 9.Qc2 c4 10.Bf5 0-0 11.0-0 Re8
12.Nd2 g6 13.Bh3
One of the main tabyias of the Westphalia variation of the Ragozin System. White
has a better development and a generally promissing plan of opening play in the
centre with e4. However, Black's advantage of space and piece pressure on the
queenside offers him good chances for counterplay. The final evaluation of the
positoon depends to a great extent on White's ability to find a useful job for
his slightly awkwardly placed h3-bishop.
13...Kg7 14.Rae1. Planning f3
and e4. Optically, White's piece regroupment looks impressive, but the structural
modifications induced by Black's next move are far from one-sided.
14...Ne4
15.Ndxe4 dxe4
Black has cleared the d5-square and if he will manage to transfer here his
knight (or, eventually, the light-squared bishop), he would obtain wonderful
play. However, his delay in development makes it relatively difficult to stabilize
the position. White's main threat is f3, when his kingside positional attack
would take alarming proportions. 16.Bf4 f5. This ambitious move was not
played before. Morozevich is famous for preparing at home interesting novelties
in well-known positions, but in this case he seems to have worked it out over-the-board,
judging from the time he took before moving. Or maybe he just wanted to remember
and check his analysis?! Black's intention is to cage the h3-bishop. If crowned
by success, such a plan would offer him an advantage, but if it fails for some
tactical reasons, the chronic weakening of the dark squares would leave Black
in trouble. 17.f3 Nf6 18.a3 Bxc3 19.bxc3 h5. Consequent, but very risky.
Black weakens his king's poition even more, delaying his quenside development
at the same time. Morozevich might have feared that in case of 19...Bd7 , White
would open the position with g4, either here or after the intremediate capture
on e4.
20.Qf2!! Simple and very strong. White abandons his queenside pawns
to the mercy of fate, in oder to concentrate his forces against the poorly defended
black kingside. 20...Bd7 21.Qg3 Qxc3 22.Be5 Qxa3 23.fxe4 Rxe5
It might seem that Black's risky strategy has been crowned by success. After 24.
Qxe5 Re8 followed by either ...Nxe4 or ...Rxe4, he would stabilize the position,
retaining excellent compensation for the exchange.
24.exf5! Shattering
all Black's ilusions. The weakness of the g6-square prevents Black from maintaining
his temporary material advantage.
24...Rxf5 25.Bxf5 Bxf5 26.Rxf5 White
is close to winning. Black's pawns are not dangerous yet, while the king has not
reached absolute safety yet.
26...Re8 27.Re5 Qd6 28.Rxe8. Possibly not
best. By symplifying the position, White reduces his attacking chances. 28.Rb5
cae into consideration, when 28...Qxg3? loses an important pawn to the intermediate
29.Rxb7+!+-.
28...Nxe8 29.Qf3 b5 30.Qb7+ Nc7 31.Qxa7 b4
The position has become optically unclear, but it is hard to say whether Black
has real saving chances. In the game, he failed to prove that. 32.e4 c3 33.e5
Qe7 34.Qb7 Kh6 35.Rf1 c2 36.Rc1 Qg5 37.Rxc2 Qe3+ 38.Rf2 Ne6 39.Qxb4 Qc1+ 40.Rf1
Qe3+ 41.Kh1 1-0. [Click
to replay]
Leko,P (2751) - Kramnik,V (2769) [C24]
WCh Mexico City MEX (5), 18.09.2007 [Mihail Marin]
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4!? Anything is preferable to a Petroff. 2...Nf6 3.d3
Bc5 4.Nf3 d6 5.c3 Nc6
From the Bishop's Opening, play has transposed to the Italian game, the Giuoco
Pianisimo variation. Although there are more subtleties here than the quiet character
of the position might suggest, I have the feeling that it better suits Kramnik's
style than Leko's, which makes me doubt whether the opening choice was really
inspired. Or maybe Leko just wanted to takesome sort of additional day-off after
his defeat from the previous round?!
6.Bb3 a6 7.0-0 Ba7 8.Re1 0-0 9.h3 h6 10.Nbd2
Re8 11.Nf1 Be6 12.N3h2 Bxb3 13.axb3 Qd7 14.Qf3 Qe6 15.Ng3 Ne7 16.b4 c6 17.Ng4
White builds up his typical kingside attack, but Black is slightly better developed
and has the possibility of racting in the centre. 17...Nxg4. This is
probably better than 17...Nh7 , as played in Leko-Anand, Sarajevo 1999. White
maintained some pressure for a while, but later he lost a pawn and had to fight
for a draw. 18.hxg4 d5 19.Nf5 Rad8 Black has completed the mobilisation
of his forces and has at least equal chances. 20.g3 f6 21.Kg2 dxe4 22.dxe4
Nxf5 23.gxf5 Qc4 24.Be3 White decides to complete his development, practically
giving up any hope of a sacrificial attack based on Bxh6 and tacitly offering
a draw. 24...Bxe3. Black controls the only open file, but White has no
weaknesses and his king has a safer residence. Therefore, the draw agreement
is entirely justified. 1/2-1/2. [Click
to replay]
Gelfand,B (2733) - Aronian,L (2750) [E00]
WCh Mexico City MEX (5), 18.09.2007 [Mihail Marin]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 b5
Aronian had some previous experience with this slightly exotical continuation,
in the spyrit of the Blumenfeld Gambit. In their rapid chess match earlier this
year, Kramnik played the unexpected 6.Nd2 and eventually emerged with a clear
advantage after a complicated sequence of moves. Generally, many players who do
not play the Benoni against iother move orders prefer 5...d6 followed by ...g6
here, because the fianchetto system is supposed to put Black under less pressure
than others. However, Aronian seems to be of a different opinion. In his semi-final
Candidates' match against Carlsen, he obtained one of his victories with White
precisely in the fianchetto Benoni...
6.Nf3!? White almost authomatically
develops his bishop with 6.Bg2 , but Gelfand believes that the bishop can be useful
on the f1-a6 diagonal still.
6...d6. This natural move is a novelty. In
the few previous games where White played 6.Nf3, Black reacted with 6...Bb7.
7.e4!?
a6. In case of the exchange of pawns, White would develop very quickly, which
would suit Gelfand's entreprising style quite well.
8.a4 b4 9.Bd3. Now
that the c4-square has been weakened, the bishop belongs on this diagonal. The
relative weakness induced by the move g3 does not put White in danger, but could
restrict his active possibilities at a later stage.
9...g6 10.Nbd2 Bg7 11.Nc4
0-0 12.Bf4 Ne8 13.a5 The further course of the game suggests that this generally
desirable move should have been delayed until after castling.
13...Bh3 14.Ng5
The only way to get castled, but the knight is awkwardly placed here.
14...Bd7
15.0-0 Bb5 16.Qd2 h6 17.Nf3 g5 18.Be3 At the cost of weakening his kingside,
Black has managed to eliminate the annoying pressure against the d6-pawn.
18...Bxc4
19.Bxc4 Qf6 20.Qd1 Nd7. Aiming to complete his development. 20...Qxb2 would
be risky because of 21.e5 , when chaos would be reigning in Black's army.
21.Rb1
Qe7 22.Nd2 Nef6 23.Re1 Rfe8 24.f3
White has managed to maintain his blockade on light squares, but his pawn centre
is not easy to advance. In the meanwhile, Black has completed his development
and could think about ways to take advantage of the slight weakness of White's
kingside.
24...Qd8 25.Ra1 g4!? Aronian hurries to give further meaning
to the previous advance of his g-pawn, but, with hindsight, his last move might
be premature. He could also have strengthened his position with 25...Ne5 26.Be2
Qc8 followed by ...Ra7-e7, keeping the threat ...g4 in reserve.
6.fxg4 Ne5
27.Be2 Qd7 28.g5 Nfg4 29.Bf4 hxg5 30.Bxg5 f5 31.Rf1 Rf8 32.exf5 Rxf5 33.Bf4
White has the pair of bishops, a safe position of his king and an extra-pawn.
The relatively exposed b2-pawn and Black's queenside majority cause the position
to be not entirely clear yet, but Aronian will fail to obtain adequate counterplay.
33...Nf6 34.g4 Rxf4 35.Rxf4 Nf7 36.Nc4 Re8 37.Qd3 Qe7 38.Bf3 Ne5 39.Nxe5
Qxe5 40.Rf5 Qxb2 41.Rf1 b3 42.Kh1 Nd7 43.Bd1 c4 44.Qxc4 Nc5 45.Qf4 Ne4 46.Rf7
Bf6 47.Rb7 Qd2 48.Qxd2 1-0. [Click
to replay]
All results of the round
| Round 5: Tuesday, Sept. 18th 2007, 14:00h |
Viswanathan Anand |
1-0 |
Peter Svidler |
Alexander Grischuk |
1-0 |
Alexander Morozevich |
Peter Leko |
½-½ |
Vladimir Kramnik |
Boris Gelfand |
1-0 |
Levon Aronian |
| |
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