9/28/2016 – Vishy Anand joined the lead at the 2016 Tal Memorial in a stylish manner. He fended off a sacrificial attack by Mamedyarov to emerge a piece up in a winning endgame, despite Black's three passed pawns as compensation. A study-like finish gave a nice win to the Indian former World Champion. Find out all about this endgame in step-by-step analysis by Sagar Shah, and in comments by Viswanathan Anand himself! Very instructive.
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How Anand trounced Mamedyarov's speculative sacrifice
By Priyadarshan Banjan - ChessBase India
Vishy Anand joined the lead at the 2016 Tal Memorial in a stylish manner. Anand fended off a sacrificial attack by Mamedyarov to emerge up a piece in a winning endgame, despite Black's three passed pawns as compensation. A study-like finish gave a nice win to the Indian former World Champion. Find out a detailed step-by-step analysis by GM Alejandro Ramirez and also, comments game analysis by Viswanathan Anand himself!
Azerbaijan's Shakhriyar Mamedyarov's was Anand's opponent in the second round
The opening began as Ruy Lopez that slowly reached a Benoni-like structure...
...that became popular thanks to Anish Giri-Peter Svidler from the 2015 World Cup.
After his game finished, Svidler walked into the commentary room and said that this game is all following his game against Anish Giri, a crucial victory for the Russian in the World Cup last year!
Soon, they were on their own, and Mamedyarov had decisions to make
After the game, Anand said, "I didn't understand 23...a4. I thought he is better off without it. In fact, I am happy after a4 – I can play a3 somewhere. I understood he was trying to improve his position before sacrificing the piece. But it is not clear if he improved the position or what. It is very hard to collect the pawn back now. For example, if he goes ...Bd7, I have a3, and I am also breaking up his pawn structure. Okay, it is a normal idea, but I don't think here it works concretely."
If a game takes on a quieter nature, it is crucial that you develop an understanding of pawn structures, pawn play, and pawn weaknesses. In this fifth Power Play DVD, Daniel King discusses strong and weak pawn structures, isolated pawns and pawn islands, how to create pawn weaknesses, how to cramp a pawn structure, the power of centre pawns…and much more. Remember, weak pawns can decide the game. At the end of the DVD, you can test your understanding of pawn play and pawn structures by examining a series of specially selected test positions.
he Power Play series is suitable for anyone looking to improve their chess but also provides ready-made lessons and exercises for a trainer. Francois André Danican Philidor: "The pawns are the soul of chess.“ Video running time: more than 6 hours!
Anand suffered a minor lapse here when he thought that 37.Re3 is just winning. He later commented that even though he is still quite better, 37.Rb2 would have won much quicker because it forces a trade of one pair of rooks on the back rank.
White to play. Can you find the a study-like final combination? Ths solution is in the following video:
IM Sagar Shah explains to you the solution by using an actual board!
And watch this video of Anand's postmortem with GM Evgenij Miroshnichenko
And if you are in the mood watch this video of Vishy Anand's opening solution against Anish Giri in the first round of the Tal Memorial. The game ended in a draw but Anand's decision at one point was quite instructive – a good general lesson in chess.
Priyadarshan BanjanPriyadarshan Banjan is a 23-year-old club player from India. He works as an editor for ChessBase News and ChessBase India. He is a chess fanatic and an avid fan of Vishy Anand. He also maintains a blog on a variety of topics.
Opening videos: Sipke Ernst brings the Ulvestad Variation up to date + Part II of ‘Mikhalchishin's Miniatures’. Special: Jan Werle shows highlights from the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 in the video. ‘Lucky bag’ with 40 analyses by Ganguly, Illingworth et al.
In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores the fascinating world of King’s Indian and Pirc structures with colours reversed, often arising from the French or Sicilian.
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