Tata training: Aronian's activity, Nakamura's Fort Knox, Magnus Magic

[Event "75th Tata Steel GpA"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2013.01.18"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Leko, Peter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2802"] [BlackElo "2735"] [PlyCount "117"] [EventDate "2013.01.12"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qc2 c5 6. d5 exd5 7. cxd5 Bb7 8. Bg2 Nxd5 9. O-O Nc6 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Qa4 Nf6 12. e4 O-O 13. e5 Ne8 14. Nc3 Nc7 15. Be3 Qe8 16. Nd2 Rb8 17. Nc4 b5 18. Nxb5 Nxb5 19. Qxb5 Nxe5 20. Nxe5 Bxg2 21. Qxd7 Ba8 22. Rd2 Rd8 23. Qxe8 Rfxe8 24. Rad1 Rxd2 25. Rxd2 f6 26. Nc4 Rd8 27. Rxd8+ Bxd8 28. Bxc5 a6 29. Kf1 Kf7 30. Ke2 Ke6 31. Kd3 g5 32. Kd4 h5 33. b3 Bc7 34. Bb6 Bd6 35. Bd8 Bb4 36. a3 Be1 37. Ke3 Bc3 38. Bc7 Bc6 39. Kd3 Ba1 40. f4 Bb5 41. a4 Bc6 42. Na5 Bg2 43. Kc4 Kd7 44. Bb8 Bf1+ 45. Kc5 Bc3 46. Nc4 Be2 47. f5 Be1 {Aronian's Activity Over the board it is often easier to attack than to defend:} 48. Nb6+ $5 {Aronian advances on the queenside with his whole army. } (48. Kb6 {is met by} Bd3 49. Kxa6 Kc6 {when White's king is badly placed, e. g.} 50. Ba7 h4 51. Bd4 hxg3 52. hxg3 Bxg3 53. Bxf6 Bf4 54. Bd4 Bxf5 $11) 48... Ke8 49. b4 Bf2+ 50. Kc6 Bxb6 $2 {Leko crumbles under the pressure. The resulting endgame with opposite colored bishops is extremely difficult as Black has no clear cut way to set up a fortress. I even think that White is winning.} ({Leko's pair of bishops can't be defeated after} 50... Bd3 51. Nc8 ( 51. Nd5 Bxf5 52. Nxf6+ (52. Nc7+ Kd8 53. Nxa6 Bd7+ 54. Kd6 Bxa4 $11) 52... Kf7 53. Nxh5 Be4+ 54. Kc7 Bf3 55. g4 Bxg4 56. Ng3 Bf3 57. b5 axb5 58. axb5 Bg1 59. h3 Bg2 $11) 51... Bg1 52. Nd6+ Ke7 53. b5 axb5 54. axb5 Bxh2 55. Bc7 Be2 56. Nc8+ Ke8 57. b6 Bf3+ $11) 51. Kxb6 Kd7 52. Kb7 Bd3 (52... h4 53. Ba7 Bd3 54. Bd4 hxg3 55. hxg3 Ke7 56. Kb6 g4 57. Kc7 Bc4 58. Bc5+ Ke8 59. Kd6 Kf7 60. Kc6 Bb3 61. Kb6 Bxa4 62. Kxa6 $18) (52... a5 $6 53. b5 $18) 53. Ba7 Bc2 ({"For a defender it usually makes sense to reduce pawn material, but} 53... h4 54. gxh4 gxh4 55. Bd4 Ke7 56. h3 $18 {won't solve his problems - the h4-pawn will be targeted soon." (Baburin in Chess Today 4455)} Bf1 (56... Bxf5 57. Kxa6 Bxh3 58. b5 $18) 57. Bf2 Kd6 58. Bxh4 Ke5 (58... Bxh3 59. Kxa6 $18) 59. Be1 Kxf5 60. h4 Ke5 61. Kc6 Bg2+ 62. Kb6 Bf1 63. h5 $18) (53... Kd6 54. Bd4 Ke7 (54... Kd5 55. Bxf6 Ke4 56. Bxg5 Kxf5 57. Bd2 Ke4 58. Kb6 Kd5 59. h3 Bf1 60. g4 h4 61. g5 Bxh3 62. Be1 $18) 55. Kb6 g4 56. Kc7 Be2 57. Bc5+ Ke8 58. Kd6 Bc4 59. Bd4 Kf7 60. Kc5 Bd3 61. b5 axb5 62. axb5 Bxf5 63. Kc6 $18) (53... g4 54. Bd4 Ke7 55. Kb6 Be2 56. b5 axb5 57. axb5 Bd3 58. Kc6 $18) 54. Kxa6 Bxa4 55. b5 Bc2 56. Bd4 $5 ({The direct} 56. b6 $6 Bd3+ 57. Kb7 Bxf5 58. Kb8 Be4 59. b7 Ke6 60. Bb6 Kf5 61. Bd8 {wins as well, e.g.} h4 62. gxh4 gxh4 63. Kc7 Bxb7 64. Kxb7 Ke5 65. Kc6 h3 66. Kc5 f5 67. Kc4 Ke4 68. Kc3 Ke3 69. Bg5+ f4 70. Bh6 Kf3 71. Kd2 Ke4 72. Ke2 $18 {But Aronian's solution is more clear cut from a human point of view.}) 56... Bd3 (56... Kc8 $5 57. Bxf6 Bxf5 58. Bxg5 Bd3 {is more tenacious, but still insufficient, e.g.} 59. Bf4 Bf1 60. Kb6 Kd7 (60... Bd3 {allows White king to cross over to the kingside with} 61. Kc6 $18) 61. h3 Bxh3 (61... Be2 62. Kc5 Bf1 63. g4 h4 64. b6 Kc8 65. g5 Bxh3 66. g6 Be6 67. Kc6 Bd7+ 68. Kd6 Be8 69. g7 Bf7 70. g8=Q+ Bxg8 71. Kc6 $18) 62. Kb7 Bg2+ 63. Kb8 $18) 57. Bxf6 Kc8 (57... g4 58. Bg7 Bxf5 59. b6 Be4 60. b7 $18) 58. Bxg5 Bxf5 59. Ka7 (59. Ka7 Bd3 60. b6 Be4 61. h3 Bf3 62. g4 $18) 1-0

[Event "75th Tata Steel GpA"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2013.01.20"] [Round "8"] [White "Van Wely, L."] [Black "Nakamura, Hi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2679"] [BlackElo "2769"] [PlyCount "134"] [EventDate "2013.01.12"] [Source "Chess Today"] [SourceDate "2013.01.20"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 a5 5. g3 d6 6. Bg2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. Be3 exd4 9. Bxd4 O-O 10. a3 Bc5 11. Nc3 Re8 12. Qc2 c6 13. Rfd1 Qe7 14. h3 Ne5 15. Bxc5 Nxf3+ 16. Bxf3 dxc5 17. Bg2 Qe5 18. e4 g5 19. Qd2 g4 20. h4 Nd7 21. Na4 Nf8 22. Qd6 Qxd6 23. Rxd6 Ne6 24. e5 Kg7 25. Re1 Ra6 26. Re4 h5 27. f3 gxf3 28. Bxf3 Rh8 29. Be2 b6 30. Kf2 Nd4 31. Bd1 Ne6 32. Be2 Nd4 33. Bd1 Ne6 34. Nc3 Ra7 35. Ne2 Rd7 36. Rxd7 Bxd7 37. Nf4 Nxf4 38. gxf4 Bf5 39. Re3 Rd8 40. Bxh5 Rd2+ 41. Re2 Rd4 42. Kg3 Rxc4 43. Bg4 Bd3 44. Re3 Rd4 45. h5 c4 46. f5 Rd8 47. f6+ Kh6 48. e6 fxe6 49. Rxe6 Kg5 50. f7 Rf8 51. Rxc6 Rxf7 52. Rxb6 Rf1 53. Rb5+ Kh6 54. Rxa5 Rb1 55. Kf4 Rxb2 56. Ra6+ Kg7 57. Ke3 Rg2 58. Bf3 Rg3 59. a4 Kh7 60. Rc6 {Nakamura's Fort Knox Knowing certain endgame fortresses by heart often pays off:} Bc2 $1 {A very elegant escape!} 61. Rxc4 (61. a5 Bd1 62. Rf6 c3 63. Kd3 c2 64. Kd2 Rxf3 $11) 61... Bd1 62. Rf4 Rxf3+ $1 {Nakamura's point.} ({The rook ending after} 62... Bxf3 $2 63. Rxf3 Rg5 {is lost, e.g.} 64. Kd2 Rxh5 65. Ra3 Ra5 66. Kc3 Kg7 67. Kb4 Ra8 68. a5 Kf7 69. a6 Ke7 70. Kb5 Kd7 71. a7 Kc7 72. Ka6 $1 $18) 63. Rxf3 Bxa4 {And White can't win as this is a book draw as his h-pawn has advanced too far.} ({Of course not} 63... Bxf3 $4 64. Kxf3 $18) 64. Rf6 (64. Kf4 Kh6 65. Rh3 Bd1 66. Rh1 Be2 (66... Bxh5 $4 67. Kf5 $18) 67. Kf5 Bd3+ (67... Kg7 68. Kg5 (68. h6+ Kh7 69. Kg5 Bd3 $1 70. Rd1 Bc2 71. Rd7+ Kg8 $11) 68... Bd3 $1 69. Rd1 Bc2 70. Rd7+ Kg8 71. Kh6 Bb1 72. Rg7+ Kf8 {draws as well. In both cases Black has a known fortress. Note that with the h-pawn on h4 White would be winning as his king then can use the h5 square to untangle.}) 68. Kf6 Bc2 69. Rc1 Bd3 70. Rc8 Kxh5 $11) 64... Be8 65. h6 Bg6 66. Rxg6 Kxg6 67. h7 Kxh7 1/2-1/2

[Event "75th Tata Steel GpA"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2013.01.20"] [Round "8"] [White "Carlsen, M."] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A11"] [WhiteElo "2861"] [BlackElo "2780"] [PlyCount "183"] [EventDate "2013.01.12"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 4. O-O Bg4 5. c4 e6 6. d3 Nbd7 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Qc2 Be7 9. Nc3 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 d4 11. Ne4 O-O 12. Nxf6+ Nxf6 13. Bd2 a5 14. a3 Nd5 15. Rab1 Qd7 16. Rfc1 Rfe8 17. Qc4 Nc7 18. h4 a4 19. Bb4 Nb5 20. Kg2 h6 21. Bc5 g6 22. Qb4 Bf6 23. Qd2 Kg7 24. Rc4 Ra6 25. Qd1 b6 26. Bb4 c5 27. Bd2 Nc7 28. Rcc1 Nd5 29. Qh1 Be7 30. Kg1 Rd8 31. Rc2 Qe6 32. Qg2 Ra7 33. Re1 Rad7 34. Kh2 Rc8 35. Qh3 Qxh3+ 36. Kxh3 h5 37. Rb1 Ra8 38. Kg2 Ra6 39. b3 axb3 40. Rxb3 Bf6 41. Rc4 Rd6 42. Kf1 Kf8 43. a4 Nc3 44. Bf4 Re6 45. e3 Nxa4 46. Bd5 Re7 47. Bd6 b5 48. Bxe7+ Bxe7 49. Rxb5 Nb6 50. e4 Nxc4 51. Rb8+ Kg7 52. Bxc4 Ra7 53. f4 Bd6 54. Re8 Rb7 55. Ra8 Be7 56. Kg2 Rb1 57. e5 Re1 58. Kf2 Rb1 59. Re8 Bf8 60. Rc8 Be7 61. Ra8 Rb2+ 62. Kf3 Rb1 63. Bd5 Re1 64. Kf2 Rd1 65. Re8 Bf8 66. Bc4 Rb1 {Magnus Magic Opposite colored bishops favor the attacker, when more material is still on the board:} 67. g4 $5 {With normal means Magnus can't make progress so he tries to break Karjakin's castle violently.} hxg4 68. h5 Rh1 $2 {Amazing as it may seem, but this loses most likely. Magnus attack is just too strong.} (68... gxh5 $1 69. f5 h4 70. f6+ Kg6 $1 71. Rxf8 Kf5 $1 72. Rh8 Rb2+ 73. Kg1 Rb1+ $11 {draws as given by Baburin in Chess Today 4457. White's king has no safe shelter from the rain of checks.}) 69. hxg6 fxg6 70. Re6 $1 Kh6 (70... Rh3 $6 71. Rf6 Rh8 72. Rf7+ Kh6 73. Kg3 $18) 71. Bd5 Rh2+ $6 {This allows White's king to enter the attack directly. But it is not very like that Black can save himself anyway, e.g.} (71... Ra1 72. Be4 Kh5 (72... c4 73. Rxg6+ Kh5 74. Rg8 g3+ 75. Kxg3 Rg1+ 76. Bg2 c3 77. Rxf8 c2 78. Rc8 c1=Q 79. Rxc1 Rxc1 80. f5 $16) 73. Re8 Bh6 74. Rh8 $18 {(Baburin)}) (71... g3+ 72. Kxg3 Rg1+ 73. Kf2 Rg4 74. Kf3 Rg1 75. Rc6 Be7 76. Rc8 Rf1+ 77. Kg3 Rg1+ 78. Kh3 Re1 79. Re8 $18) 72. Kg3 Rh3+ 73. Kxg4 Rxd3 74. f5 ({The alternative} 74. Be4 Re3 75. Rxg6+ Kh7 76. Bf5 Kh8 77. Be6 Bg7 78. Kf5 Kh7 79. Rg1 Rh3 80. Bc4 $18 { (Baburin) wins as well.}) ({However, not} 74. Rxg6+ $4 Kxg6 75. Be4+ Kf7 76. Bxd3 Ke7 77. Kg5 Bg7 78. Bc4 Bh8 79. Kg6 d3 80. Bxd3 Bxe5 81. fxe5 Ke6 $11 { (Baburin)}) 74... Re3 75. Rxg6+ Kh7 76. Bg8+ $1 {An important zwischenschach as } (76. Kf4 $2 {runs into} Bh6+ $11) 76... Kh8 77. Kf4 Rc3 $6 (77... Re1 {is more tenacious, but White's attack should win in the long run anyway, e.g.} 78. Bc4 Kh7 79. Ra6 Bh6+ (79... Rc1 80. Ra7+ Kh6 81. Ra4 Rc3 82. Ra6+ Kh5 83. Be2+ Kh4 84. Rf6 d3 85. Bxd3 Bg7 86. Rd6 Bf8 87. f6 $18) 80. Kg4 Bf8 (80... Rxe5 $2 81. Ra7+ Kh8 82. Kh5 Rxf5+ 83. Kg6 $18) 81. Ra7+ Kh6 82. Kf4 Rc1 83. Ra4 Rc3 84. Ra6+ Kh7 85. Bd5 d3 86. Ra7+ Kh6 87. Be4 d2 88. Rd7 $18) 78. f6 d3 79. Ke3 $1 {Magnus regroups for the final attack.} c4 80. Be6 $1 Kh7 81. Bf5 Rc2 (81... d2+ 82. Kxd2 Rf3 83. Be4 Bb4+ 84. Ke2 Ra3 85. e6 $18) 82. Rg2+ Kh6 83. Rxc2 dxc2 84. Bxc2 Kg5 85. Kd4 Ba3 (85... Kf4 86. e6 $18) 86. Kxc4 Bb2 87. Kd5 Kf4 ( 87... Kh6 88. Ke6 Ba3 89. Kf5 Kh7 90. Bb3 $18) 88. f7 Ba3 89. e6 Kg5 90. Kc6 Kf6 91. Kd7 Kg7 (91... Bb4 92. Bb3 Ba3 93. Ke8 Kg7 94. e7 $18) 92. e7 1-0