Having fun with the Mega (1)

by Johannes Fischer
12/16/2014 – Sure, with it's 6.1 million games the Mega Database invites work and research. You can prepare for opponents, find thousands of games played in the Najdorf or the Dragon, and check how 2700+ players treat the King's Indian, the Grünfeld, or the Sicilian. But you can also have a lot of fun. For instance, by enjoying the annotations of today's best players.
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Magnus Carlsen: World Champion and the player with the highest Elo ever reached

Maybe one day World Champion Magnus Carlsen will write a book about his best games. Or share his thoughts about them on a DVD or through a social media device not yet developed. For the time being the Carlsen fan can take a look at the 24 games in the Mega Database Carlsen has annotated. In a refreshingly direct, self-ironic style that reveals a lot about his games and his thoughts during his games. Here's one example:

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Qc2 c5 8.dxc5 h6 9.Bd2 This variation is naturally not especially dangerous for Black. However, as the game shows, White has some chances for a small, stable edge. 0-0 10.e3 Bxc5 11.Rc1 Qe7 12.Be2 a6 13.Qd3 An important move; Black should not be allowed to play ...b5 and ...Bb7 with easy play. Qb3 with the same idea was also possible, but I felt that the queen would be better on d3. Nb6 14.0-0 Bg4 Frankly, I didn't understand why he wanted to provoke Nd4, as in general exchanges favour White here. 14...Be6 was perfectly sensible. 15.Nd4 Bd7 I don't think it was necessary to withdraw the bishop immediately as after 15...Rac8 16.Bxg4 16.b3 is probably more accurate, but should hardly trouble Black much either 16...Nxg4 17.Nf3 Ne5 18.Nxe5 Qxe5 Black is fine: 19.b3 d4 20.f4 dxe3! 21.fxe5 exd2+ 22.Kh1 dxc1Q 23.Rxc1 Rfd8 24.Qf3 Bd4 25.Ne2 Rxc1+ 26.Nxc1 Bxe5= 16.Bf3 Rfe8 17.b3 Ba3 17...Ne4 18.Nxd5 just loses a pawn. 18.Rc2 Rac8 18...Ne4 19.Nce2 does not change too much. 19.Nce2 Now White is definitely better. However, it is still difficult to make any substantial progress. Rxc2 20.Qxc2 Be6 Very sensible, as Ba5 was an annoying threat. The text gives the knight a square on d7. 21.Bc1 Rc8 21...Bd6 would be desirable, but gives White some time to regroup: 22.Bb2 Rc8 23.Qb1 Nbd7 24.Nf4 Ne5 25.Be2 with a very pleasant position. 22.Bxa3 Qxa3 23.Qd2 Bg4! An important move. After the bishops are gone, White will not have too many resources left, and the temporary lack of coordination in the black camp (the knights on b6 and g4 are loose, and even the rook might be hanging in some lines) cannot be exploited. 23...Nbd7 24.Nf4 Qe7 25.Rc1 Rxc1+ 26.Qxc1 Ne5 27.Be2 would give White the kind of position he's aiming for. 24.Bxg4 Nxg4 25.Nf5 Nf6 26.h3 I spent a lot of time on this and the next few moves, looking for a way to increase my advantage, but everywhere Black defends easily enough. Kh7 27.Qd4 Nbd7 28.Qf4 Nf8 The most natural. 28...Qxa2 29.Ned4 Qa3 looks risky, but is probably also playable: 30.g4 30.Nd6 Rc1 31.Rxc1 Qxc1+ 32.Kh2 Qc7= 30.Nxg7 Kxg7 31.Nf5+ Kg6 32.b4 Qc3 leads nowhere 30...Rc1 31.Rxc1 Qxc1+ 32.Kg2 g5 33.Qd6 Qc5 and Black is ok. 29.Neg3 29.Nxh6? was tempting, but doesn't quite work: Ne6 30.Qf5+ 30.Qh4 g5 31.Qg3 Ne4! 31...Kxh6 32.f4 is actually quite dangerous 32.Qf3 Kxh6 33.Qxf7 Qd6 34.Ng3 Ng7 35.Nxe4 dxe4 36.Qxb7 Rc6 and only Black can be better 30...Kxh6 31.g4 Qb2 32.Ng3 g5! 32...g6 is what I calculated, and is also quite sufficient: 33.g5+ Kg7 33...Nxg5 34.Qxc8 34.gxf6+ Qxf6 35.Qxd5 Rc2= 33.f4 Rc1 and White is busted 33...gxf4 34.g5+ Nxg5 35.Qxf4 Rc1 36.h4 Rxf1+ 37.Kxf1 might be enough for a draw 29.Ned4 Ng6 30.Qd6 Qxd6 31.Nxd6 Rc7 and it's unclear what the knight is doing on d6. 29...Ng6 29...Ne6 was possibly even more precise. It looks weird to give the white queen such a nice post on e5 for free, but after the cool 30.Qe5 Rc6! White has nothing 31.Nxg7 Nxg7 shows the point of ...Rc6. 30.Qd4 Qc5 The only move (the threath of Nxg7 was very unpleasant). Now White has to exchange queens. 31.f3 Qxd4 32.Nxd4 Ne5 33.Rd1 g6 34.Kf2 Kg7 35.Nge2 Kf8 36.g4 White is still a little better here, but since the only black weakness is well defended and Black is active enough, there are no real winning chances. Nc6 37.Rc1 Ke7 37...Ne7 was quite possible. Short on time, I was intending to repeat moves once, and then think about whether to exchange rooks or knights. I would probably have chosen the first option. 38.h4 Kd6 39.h5 There is not really anything else. In order to have any chances for a win, I need to create a weakness on the kingside, and there h6 is the target. Ne7 39...gxh5 40.Nf5+! 40.gxh5 Nxh5 41.Rh1 Nxd4 42.Nxd4 Ng7 43.Rxh6+ Ne6= 40...Kd7 41.gxh5 Nxh5 42.Rh1 Nf6 43.Rxh6 would be unpleasant for Black. 40.Rh1 gxh5 41.gxh5 Rg8 Since the exchange of queens Ivanchuk had been playing more or less at blitz speed, and I was wondering whether he considered the position an easy draw, or was simply not in the mood for a painstaking defence. Anyway, White certainly has something to play for here, even though there is no doubt that Black should hold with sensible play. 42.Ng3 Rg5 43.b4 43.f4 Rg8 44.Kf3 Kd7 leads nowhere. I thought it would be useful to postpone f4, as one of my knights or even the rook might want to use that square. 43...Kd7 44.Rh4 Ne8 45.Rf4 Nd6 46.a4 b6 This was not necessary. 46...Re5 was quite ok. I don't see any serious was to play for a win here 47.Rg4 Nef5! 47.a5 Naturally, I should not let the opportunity to create a potential weakness on a6 go, even though my own pawn on a5 might also be weak in some lines. bxa5 48.bxa5 f5?! I thought this was a serious inaccuracy during the game. There is no real need to leave this pawn as a target for both my knights. Staying put with ...Re5 was probably still fine. 49.Rh4 Nc4? 49...Rg8 50.Nge2 Rb8 51.Rh1 Rb2 52.Kg3 Ra2 53.Nf4 Rxa5 54.Ng6 gives White a serious initative, as the king suddenly has a square on f4, and the black king might start to feel uncomfortable after a timely Ne5. 50.f4 Rg4 51.Rh3 An ugly move, but I didn't want to allow 51.Rh1 Nxe3 52.Kf3 Rg8 53.Rb1 Nc4 which did not look clear to me at the board. Probably though, the position after 54.Rb7+ Kd6 55.Ndxf5+ Nxf5 56.Nxf5+ Kc5 57.Rc7+! Kb4 58.Ne7 still offers winning chances, but it looked really messy. 51...Nd6 52.Rh1 Rg8 52...Ne4+ 53.Nxe4 dxe4 54.Rb1 just helps White, who is dominating. 53.Rb1 Ra8 54.Kf3 Kc7 55.Ne6+ Once again, I was a little short of time, and wanted to repeat moves before going for Rb6. 55.Rb6 wins, as the following instructive variation shows: Kd7 55...Nec8 56.Ne6+ Kd7 57.Nc5+ Kc7 58.Rxa6 Rb8 59.Ne2+- 56.Nb3 Kc7 57.Nc5 Nc6 58.Nxa6+ Kd7 59.Nc5+ Kc7 60.Ne6+ Kd7 61.a6! Kxe6 62.Rxc6 Kd7 63.Rc5 Rxa6 64.Ne2! and with Nd4 and Rxd5 to come, White should win. 55...Kc8 I was a little upset that I allowed him this extra option, but White is still winning. 56.Nc5 Rb8 56...Nc6 57.Rb6 Kc7 would transpose to the variations after 55.Rb6, and 56...Nc4 57.Rb7 loses trivially. 57.Rxb8+ Kxb8 58.Nxa6+ Kb7 59.Nb4 White is winning here, as Black doesn't have enough time to gobble up the a-pawn. Nc4 60.a6+ Kb6 61.Ke2 Nd6 62.Kd3 Nb5 63.Ne2 Ka5 63...Nc7 64.Nd4 Nxa6 65.Nxa6 Kxa6 66.Ne2 with Kd4 and an easy win to come. 64.Nc3 Nc7 65.Nbxd5! A nice finishing touch. The king invasion is completely decisive, even a knight down! Nexd5 66.Nxd5 Nxd5 67.a7 Nc7 68.Kd4 Kb6 69.Ke5 Kxa7 70.Kxf5 Nd5 71.Kg6 Nxe3 72.Kxh6 Black is several tempi short here, so he resigned. I am happy with the way I conducted this endgame, although some of Ivanchuk's decisions and especially his time management left something to be desired. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2815Ivanchuk,V27761–02011D38Bazna Kings 5th7

 

Fabiano Caruana at the Sinquefield Cup

Fabiano Caruana, currently number two in the world, annotates 39 games in the Mega: very objectively, often pointing to mistakes and errors he or his opponent made that most people would just gloss over or not even detect. Here's his game against Ruslan Ponomariov in Dortmund 2014, which culminates in a brillant combination.

 
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The previous day I had won a long and exhausting game against David Baramidze, which might explain my rather sedate choice of opening in this game. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 The modern treatment of the Petroff. It might seem a bit innocuous to the uninitiated, but this quiet line carries with it a surprising amount of positional venom. Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3 Nc6 8.Qd2 In our previous game in this variation, Ruslan castled kingside. This time he goes for the safer queenside castle, where he is unlikely to meet a crude attack. Be6 9.0-0-0 Qd7 10.Kb1 Bf6 11.h3!? For this game I decided to try an uncommon plan with g4 and Bg2. Years ago, I preferred the more straightforward 11.h4 and won a nice game against Landa, but since then remedies have been found for Black. h6 12.b3 a6 13.g4 0-0-0 14.Bg2 g5? This move surprised me. I was expecting the natural 14...Kb8. 14...Kb8 My intention was 15.Ng1!? , with the idea of playing Ne2-f4 or f4-f5, depending on Black's response. Although White's play is slow, Black remains under some pressure. In any case, this was better for him than the game. 15.Nd4 Nxd4 16.cxd4 d5 17.f4 Now Black's kingside is weakened. gxf4 18.Bxf4 h5 19.g5 Bg7 20.Rde1 I wasn't very comfortable allowing ...h4, but I felt it was necessary to act fast to prevent ...f6. I saw no clear-cut way to continue after 20.h4 f6 20...h4 21.Be5 Now it seems I have a grip over the dark squares, but due to the weakness of g5 and h3, it's difficult to make any inroads into Black's position. Rdg8 22.Qf4 Qd8 23.Bf1 Kb8 24.Bd3 Creating the threat of g6. I felt this was a clever maneuver, but Ruslan quickly responded with an even more clever defense: Bc8! I overlooked this. 25.Kb2 I was initially attracted to 25.Qxf7 Bxe5 26.dxe5 Rf8 27.e6!? , which seemed highly promising if Black accepts the queen sacrifice. Then I noticed Qxg5! 28.Qg6 Qe7! , and the e-pawn is safely blockaded. 25...Bxe5 26.Rxe5 Rg7 At this point I realized that I have no constructive ideas to improve my position. On the other hand, Black also doesn't want to spoil his ideal setup, so I decided to give him a move. 27.a4 a5 Not entirely ideal, as this weakens the b5-square. I could see Pono was hesitant to play this, but it's difficult to find another move. 28.Ka2 Keeping on waiting... Ka7 28...Rhg8 29.Qxh4 Rxg5 30.Rxg5 Qxg5 31.Qxg5 Rxg5 32.h4 Rh5 33.Be2 Rh6 34.h5 seems dangerous for Black, but because White's king is so far from the action, Black shouldn't have many problems defending. 29.Qd2 Kb8 30.Qf4 Ka7 31.Rhe1 Finally doing something, now that the king is misplaced on a7. Bxh3 32.Rh1 This was the point of my last move. The only chance at progress is to eliminate the h-pawns. 32.Re7 Qd6 poses Black no problems. 32...Bc8 32...Qd7? 33.Qf6 Rhg8 34.Re7 Qc8 35.g6! is immediately decisive. 33.Rxh4 Rxh4 34.Qxh4 Considering how quickly the game ends from here, it's possible to assume that Black doesn't have significant improvements. In fact, the position is far from lost for Black, although it is rather unpleasant to defend. b6? The first and perhaps already the decisive mistake. After 34...c6 , d5 is securely defended and White will have a hard time breaking down Black's defense. 35.Qh6 Rg8 36.Qc6! A very powerful move, luring Black's bishop to b7. Be6 36...Rxg5 37.Rxg5 Qxg5 38.Qxc7+ Bb7 39.Qxf7 might be defensible, but I'd rather not endure such a torture. 36...Bb7 37.Qf6 Qxf6 38.gxf6 Kb8 39.Re7 Rf8 40.Bb5! is where I finished my calculations during the game. Black is completely passive and likely to be positionally squashed. 37.g6 Rg7? When he played this move, I became very excited. I had already seen the winning combination while he was thinking about his 36th move, but could hardly believe my good fortune when he fell into it - so I spent my remaining time in double and triple checking. 37...Rf8 38.g7 Rg8 39.Rg5‼ is another beautiful end to the game. Black is unable to take the rook, and has to sit and wait for Rg1 and Bh7. 37...Bd7 was the only chance to survive, but it's also pretty close to hopeless: 38.Qxd5 fxg6 39.Be4 Qc8 40.Re7 Rd8 41.Qf7 Kb8 42.Qxg6 , and besides being down a pawn, Black is also horribly passive with a weak king. 38.gxf7 Bxf7 39.Re7! Now comes a double deflection. Qxe7 40.Ba6! There is no way for Black to stop mate. Kxa6 41.Qa8# One of the most satisfying combinations I have ever played! The rest of the tournament went just as smoothly, and I finished on a solid , without any losses. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2789Ponomariov,R27231–02014C42Dortmund SuperGM 42nd2

Anish Giri, 20 years young, number ten on the World's ranking list

Anish Giri is not only a brillant player, but also a witty and entertaining commentator. He annotates 24 games in the Mega. One example:

 
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Before this game I was in excellent shape and was eager to tka advantage of my chances with the white pieces against Bacrot. During my preparation I was surprised to discover that the solid Etienne had recently switched to King's Indian. I still couldn't believe that I actually would get any of my preparation on board, but in the event of that miracle happening, I decided to check the position carefully and choose what I would try over the board. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 The KID is sort of back in fashion now. For some reason, no-one bothers to take it seriously and refute it, once and for all. 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.b4 The Bayonet, known as Kramnik's favourite. Etienne has experience in this line with both colours. I have had mixed results after another critical move Ne1. There, both players get selfish and hope that they will be first. If it goes wrong, however, it's no fun to get mated. Nh5 10.g3 The speciality of Loek van Wely, the spiritual leader of Dutch chess. 10.Re1 is the main move. 10...f5 11.Ng5 Nf6 12.f3 12.Bf3 was a new idea demonstrated by Kramnik against me. He later on managed to win one more game against Grischuk with that move, but I am sure that sooner or later even Kramnik will end up with no more new ideas in this rather double edged line. f4 13.b5 Preparing Ne6, by covering the c6-square. It's a very typical motive in the bayonet. fxg3 14.hxg3 h6 15.Ne6 Bxe6 16.dxe6 Qc8 17.Nd5 Sort of protecting the e6-pawn. Now the fun starts. Qxe6 18.Nxc7 Qh3 19.Rf2! All this had been invented by Loek decades ago and has been tested by him more than once. Rac8!? An interesting move. I had actually expected all this, as so far (and till move 24) we are following the game Van Wely-Bacrot from a couple of months back played in the French league. 19...Nxe4 is the main-line. Here Stellwagen managed to mate Loek a couple of years back, but the improvements are being found again and again. 20.fxe4 Rxf2 21.Kxf2 Rf8+ 22.Ke3 Qxg3+ 23.Kd2 Rf2 is how two games of Van Wely went. He beat Radjabov in 2008 and a year later the above mentioned mate followed. 20.Rh2! After the immediate 20.Qxd6 Black has at least a draw - Nxe4 21.fxe4 Qxg3+ 22.Rg2 Qe1+ 23.Kh2 Qh4+ 20...Qxg3+ 20...Qd7 is not in the spirit of the game - 21.b6!? axb6 22.Nb5 21.Rg2 Qh3 22.Qxd6 Rf7! Defending the knight and at the same time preparing ...Nf5. 23.c5 Nf5 23...Nxe4 doesn't work - 24.fxe4 Qc3 25.Bb2 Qxb2 26.Rd1 and Bg4-Be6 is going to decide the game. 24.exf5 Rfxc7 25.Be3!? Finally a new move. After studying the position very carefully and deeply, I came to the conclusion that while White seems to be better with many moves, Black is always able to hold with computer precision. All I had to do was to choose the most unpleasant try and it seems that I (pretty much by accident) managed to succeed in that. 25.c6 was played by Loek. While being critical, it was also the move Bacrot has focussed on, so I decided to check his preparation somewhere else. 25...Qxf5?! It was only over the board, that I realised that in fact this move just begs to be played. In fact it's a mistake and the right move ...Kh8! doesn't come to mind so easily. 25...Kh8! the best. Now I intended to unleash the brilliant looking 26.Bxh6! and here, unless Black resigns right away from the shock, the game will just end in a draw after 26.Rf1 gxf5! 26...Qxf5! 26...Qxh6 is very drawish, but not a draw yet... 27.Rh2 Nh5 28.Qxg6 Qxg6+ 29.fxg6 Bf6!? 30.Rxh5+ Kg7 31.Rh7+! Kxg6 32.Bd3+ Kg5 33.Rxc7 Rxc7 34.Rc1 and White keeps some pressure, even though there are almost no more pieces left and the bishops are of the opposite colour. e4 35.Bxe4 Bd4+ 36.Kf1 27.Bd3 e4 28.fxe4 Qxc5+ 29.Qxc5 Rxc5 30.Rxg6 Bxh6 31.Rxh6+ Kg7 and the extra pawn has no meaning other than just being there, so that I don't feel ashamed of my preparation. It's a draw. 26.Rf1! Bf8? The most natural move, but also the losing one. One of the two prophylactical king moves should still be enough to hold on. 26...Rd7?? made me frown, as I haven't actually looked at the position with a human eye before the game. But it obviously loses to a nice - 27.Bc4+ Kh7 28.Be6! 26...Kh8 or 26...Kh7 27.Bd3 e4 28.fxe4 Qh3 and Black has tricks of his own, but obviously he is just trying to desperately hold the balance here. 27.Bd3! The only move, which is, however, more than enough. e4 This and the next move are forced. 28.fxe4 Qxf1+ At first this worried me a little, but pretty quickly I realised that my pawns are unstoppable. 29.Bxf1?! This just felt better, but according to the cold-blooded machine, it's less precise. 29.Kxf1! Bxd6 30.cxd6 now I didn't see the exact way for Black, but somehow I felt like I had given him too many options. The computer considers all of those options and claims that none of them is good enough to hold. Rc1+!? was one of the reasons I didn't take with the king. Here White wins with a beautiful and precise sequence - 30...Rc3 31.Rxg6+! I totally missed this idea - 31.Ke2 Rc2+!? 32.Bd2 Kf7 was a funny line that I saw. 31...Kf7 32.e5! suddenly the rook is protected and the knight is attacked. Rxd3 33.Rxf6+ Ke8 34.Re6+! Kf7 35.Re7+ and the pawns will queen. 30...Rf7 31.Rxg6+ Kh7 32.Rxh6+ Kg7 33.Ke2 this is maybe the toughest for black, objectively speaking, but after Re8! 34.Rh4 Rd7 35.Bc5 White should just be technically winning. 31.Bxc1 Rxc1+ 32.Ke2 Kf7 and now the dancing starts - 33.Kd2! 33.e5 Nd7! 33...Rc5 33...Rc8 34.Ke3! 34.Ke3! Rc1 35.Be2‼ Nd7 36.Kd4! and Black can't stop the pawns from running. A very sophisticated line. 29...Bxd6 30.cxd6 Black again has plenty of moves, but I didn't see any defence for him and felt that I should win this position. The computer, however, shows that even though White is definitely the one having all the fun, things aren't that easy yet. Rc3? After a long think Etienne found an interesting idea, but fortunately for me, it doesn't work. An interesting attempt to survive is 30...Rf7!? but after 31.e5 Nd5 White can avoid the trap and keep his enormous advantage with 32.Rxg6+! 32.Bxh6 Rxf1+! 33.Kxf1 Kf7 is the trick. With the pawns blocked, Black has excellent drawing chances. 32...Rg7 33.Rxg7+ Kxg7 34.Bxa7 30...Rd7! was the right move, but it is the next move, that is remarkable 31.e5 g5‼ is the computer-style defence. I must say I wasn't even thinking in this direction. Now Black keeps his kingside pawns alive and manages to get control of my connected passed pawns. Still, White has excellent winning chances, as he has two bishops for the rook and the a7-pawn drops. 31...Nd5 here I actually was considering the wrong move 32.Bxh6! is the right move and the pawns can't be stopped in the long run. 32.Rxg6+?? was the 'winning' move that I saw. What I missed was that after the forced Kf7 33.Rxh6 Nxe3 34.e6+ Kg7 35.exd7 Black doesn't have to go .. .Rd8, which would allow Re6-e7+! manoeuvre, but he can play the clever Rg8‼ and Black keeps it together. 31.Bd4 Rf3 32.e5! Rf4!? Played instantly. We both saw that the tempting ...Rc1 loses by force. 32...Rc1 now the straightforward line wins for White - 33.Rxg6+ Kh7 34.Rxf6 Rcxf1+ 35.Kg2 35.Kh2! 35...Rxf6 forced. 36.exf6 and Black can't stop the pawns. Rf4 37.Bc5! not 37.Be5 Rg4+ 38.Kf3 Rg8 39.d7 Kg6‼ 39...Rd8 40.f7 Kg6 41.Bc7 40.Bc7 Kxf6 41.d8Q+ Rxd8 42.Bxd8+ Ke5 and it starts to look like some study... 37...Rxf6 38.d7 Rg6+ 39.Kf3 Rg8 40.Be7 Kg6 41.Ke4 33.Bb2! I was very tempted to play Be3 right away, but as I had so much time left on my clock, I decided that some extra thinking wouldn't harm things. And rightly so, as this move is just killing. 33.Be3?! would allow Rxf1+! 34.Kxf1 Nd5 and here the pawns don't queen, because Black will take the bishop and then come back with his knight to d5, covering the key e7-square. And otherwise ...Kf7 is just in time. 35.Bxh6 35.e6? Nxe3+ 36.Kf2 Nd5! 35...Kf7 with excellent drawing chances. 33...Nh7 All other knight moves also lose, as the pawns are just runnning. 34.e6 I took some time to calculate the precise win, but in fact nearly everything wins at this point. 34.d7 also wins easily, as after Rcf8 35.e6 Ng5 is clever, but not clever enough - 36.e7 Nf3+ 37.Kf2 I saw till here, but somehow I thought that it's better not to allow him so many discovered checks. All of them lose though, for example Nh2+ 38.Ke1! Re4+ 39.Re2 Rxf1+ 40.Kd2 Nf3+ 41.Kd3 34...Ng5 34...Nf8 35.e7 Nd7 is hopeless. I intended 36.Rxg6+ Kf7 37.Bh3! 35.Rxg5! hxg5 36.d7 Rg4+ 36...Rcf8 and here as long as White avoids e7?? and just moves the f1 bishop first, he should win easily. 37.Bg2! 37.e7?? Rxf1+ 38.Kg2 R8f2+ 39.Kg3 Rf3+ 40.Kg4 Rf4+ 41.Kxg5 Kh7! and Black starts checking forever. 42.e8Q Rf5+ 43.Kh4 R5f4+ 37.Bg2 I wish I could promote my central pawns like that more often. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Giri,A2696Bacrot,E27131–02012E97Biel GM 45th3

ChessBase author Loek Van Wely

 A particularly entertaining commentator with a remarkable sense is humour is Anish Giri's compatriot Loek Van Wely. Here's one example of his annotating style.

 
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1.d4 Chapter 6, of what it seems, has become a principled battle. I don't know if we (=Me and Teimour Radjabov) have already passed the point of no return, but we are in pretty deep.... Personally I prefer to lose the game than to lose face, but ok I need to admit I am neither a politican nor pragmatic (=maybe not clever too). My last hope is that Teimour will come back to his senses! But what can he do? He scores so well with Black in the King's Indian, you can call it a living. I understand and respect his choice. But are we now in Zugzwang or is it stalemate? Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.b4 Nh5 10.Re1 f5 11.Ng5 Nf6 12.f3 Kh8 13.Rb1 This was first played by Ruslan Ponomariov against Teimour in Wijk aan Zee 2003. but in 6 years our silicon friends(?) have become significantly stronger, so apart from the fact that I did have some ideas, if he hadn't updated his analysis or had simply forgotten his analysis, he already might have a serious problem 13.Ne6!? I introduced this move in the World Cup 2005 in Khanty-Mansiysk against Teimour. Bxe6 14.dxe6 Re8! is now the latest word in this line. In the game between Grischuk and Radjabov White didn't even come close to anything and even had to fight for a draw. Now it's White to move here. 14...fxe4?! 15.fxe4 Nc6 16.Nd5 Nxe4 17.Bf3 Nf6 18.b5 And Black was under heavy pressure, later 1-0, van Wely-Radjabov, Khanty-Mansiysk 2005 14...Nh5 A month later, Teimour came up with this move 15.c5 Another 2 months later while playing blindfold in Monaco, I improved but it wasn't enough; all respect to Teimour for defending this position blindfold. 15.g3 Bf6 16.c5 16.exf5! coming from the kitchen of Erwin L'Ami, and indeed it looked pretty dangerous, at least nasty enough to make Teimour refrain further from the move Nh5 and look for other options. Nxf5 17.g4 e4 18.Nxe4 Bxa1 19.Bg5 Bd4+ 20.Kh1 Qe8 21.e7 Nxe7 22.Qxd4+ Ng7 23.b5 with a dangerous initiative for White in Cheparinov-Radjabov, Sofia 2008, later the game ended in a draw 16...f4 17.g4!? 17.Kg2?! and later 0-1 in van Wely-Radjabov, Wijk aan Zee 2006 17...Ng7 and although here things are not so clear, Teimour went on to win in a nice game versus Alexei Shirov in Wijk aan Zee 2006 15...Nf4 16.Bc4 fxe4 17.Rxe4 Nf5 17...d5? 18.Bxf4 dxe4 19.Bg5 18.Bxf4 18.g3 another attempt from my side to go for the kill, but although Teimour was again surprised, it backfired again Nh3+ 19.Kg2 Ng5 20.Rg4 Nxf3 21.Kxf3 e4+ 22.Nxe4 Bxa1 23.Bg5 Ne7+ 24.Kg2 Be5 25.Rf4?! and later 0-1 in van Wely-Radjabov, Biel 2007 18...exf4 19.Nd5 Re8 20.Nxf4 c6 21.e7 Rxe7 22.Ne6 Qb8 23.Nxg7 Rxg7 24.cxd6 Nxd6= but later even 0-1 13...h6 13...Nh5 14.c5 Nf4 15.Bc4 would have transposed to the game Bareev-Radjabov Wijk aan Zee 2003, in which our friend Evgeny won in a very nice style 14.Ne6 Bxe6 15.dxe6 fxe4 16.fxe4 Nc6 17.Nd5 Ng8 18.Bd3 Nd4 19.Qg4 g5 20.h4 The first new move, although, what is "new" these days? This move had already been suggested and also is Rybka's first choice, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise. Nf6 21.Qg3 gxh4? A big step in the wrong direction. Critical was 21...Nxe6 22.hxg5 Nxd5 23.gxh6 Bf6 23...Ndf4 24.hxg7+ Nxg7 25.Qh2+ Kg8 26.Bxf4 Rxf4 27.c5 Rh4 28.Qg3 24.exd5 Bh4 25.Qg4 22.Qxh4 Nxe6 23.Bxh6 Kg8? Asking for a serious spanking. 23...Nh7 and now White has to chose, either to play for the attack, or take a small, but nice plus into the endgame. 24.Bxg7+ 24.Qxd8 Raxd8 25.Be3 24...Kxg7 25.Qg4+ Nhg5 26.Rf1 24.Qh3! Forcing Black to take on h6. Bxh6 25.Qxh6 c6 26.Re3! It looked simply too good! Kf7! Setting a nice trap . 26...cxd5 27.exd5! Ng7 28.Rg3 Qc7 29.Bg6 with unpleasant associations for Black... 27.Rf1! Staying focussed on the attack and not letting myself to be bought off by a queen. 27.Nxf6 Qxf6 28.Rf3 28.Rf1 Nf4 29.Qxf6+ Kxf6 30.g3 Rg8 31.Kh2 Rh8+ 28...Qxf3 29.gxf3 trying to be smart with 29.Qh7+ doesn't work: Ng7 30.gxf3 Rh8 trapping the queen 29...Rh8 30.Qc1 Nf4 although objectively speaking White might still be winning here, this is not the kind of turnaround I wanted to allow. 27...cxd5 28.exd5 Ke7 29.dxe6 Kxe6 I myself have had a lot of experience with kings on e6, usually it didn't finish well..... 30.Ref3 a5 31.Be4 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Van Wely,L2625Radjabov,T27611–02009E97Corus5

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Johannes Fischer was born in 1963 in Hamburg and studied English and German literature in Frankfurt. He now lives as a writer and translator in Nürnberg. He is a FIDE-Master and regularly writes for KARL, a German chess magazine focusing on the links between culture and chess. On his own blog he regularly publishes notes on "Film, Literature and Chess".

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