Which is the best game of 2017?

by André Schulz
12/29/2017 – In 2017 many fantastic games were played. We have selected ten of the best. What's your pick for game of the year? Vote for your favourite!
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Game of the year, 2017

Chess is booming! This can be seen in the number of great games that were played again in 2017. The best tournaments of the year are presented every two months in the ChessBase Magazine where the best games of the year are annotated in detail. Of course, the games of the world's best players are regularly featured, but also players from the "second tier" deliver notable highlights and even unique works of art.

From the best games of the year, the editors of CBM have met with editor-in-chief GM Rainer Knaak to bring you a selection of ten game nominations for readers to vote upon. What was your pick for best game of the year? Vote for your favourite below!

Enjoy the best moments of recent top tournaments (World Cup, Isle of Man Open) with analysis of top players. In addition you'll get lots of training material. For example 10 new suggestions for your opening repertoire.

The nominations

 
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1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 Nbd7 7.e3 Be7 8.Qc2 0-0 9.0-0-0 dxc4 10.g4 b5 11.Rg1 Nd5 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.g5 h5 14.g6 f5 15.Ne5 Nxc3 16.Qxc3 Nf6 17.e4 Ng4 18.Qh3 Qg5+ 19.Kb1 Qh6 20.Qh4 Nf6 21.Rg5 Bd7 22.Nxd7 Nxd7 23.e5 c5 24.Be2 cxd4 25.Rxh5 Qxg6 26.Rh8+ Kf7 27.Bh5 Rxh8 28.Bxg6+ Kxg6 29.Qe7 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Morozevich,A2675Ponomariov,R26991–02017D61Biel GM 50th7
 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 0-0 5.Bg5 c5 6.e3 cxd4 7.Qxd4 Nc6 8.Qd3 h6 9.Bh4 d5 10.Rd1 g5 11.Bg3 Ne4 12.Nd2 Nc5 13.Qc2 d4 14.Nf3 e5 15.Nxe5 dxc3 16.Rxd8 cxb2+ 17.Ke2 Rxd8 18.Qxb2 Na4 19.Qc2 Nc3+ 20.Kf3 Rd4 21.h3 h5 22.Bh2 g4+ 23.Kg3 Rd2 24.Qb3 Ne4+ 25.Kh4 Be7+ 26.Kxh5 Kg7 27.Bf4 Bf5 28.Bh6+ Kh7 29.Qxb7 Rxf2 30.Bg5 Rh8 31.Nxf7 Bg6+ 32.Kxg4 Ne5+ 0–1
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Bai,J2585Ding,L27590–12017E21CHN-chT18.1
 
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While many players had planned their "exit-strategy" from the World Cup with the Isle of Man's organisers in advance, Magnus after the unexpected loss in round 3 to Bu, wanted to quickly wash a way the defeat, and an open tournament with most of the worlds elite present seemed like an excellent opportunity. The early rounds had the expected scares with risktaking and unusual openings in the end Magnus was rewarded with a half point lead before this game in the penultimate round: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 Magnus played the Moeller in the crucial game 9 of the match in New York, and had to pull of a spectacular save after getting into troubles out of the opening, and thus had parked the line until this game: 7.c3 d6 8.a4 Rb8 9.d4 Bb6 10.a5 Ba7 11.h3 0-0 12.Be3 Ra8 13.Re1 h6 14.Nbd2 Caruana had this exact position the day before also with the white pieces against Gawain Jones, who preferred 14...exd4. Re8 Curiously Magnus prefers the move Caruana himself played against Karjakin in 2013! That game continued with the pawn sacrifice 15.Nf1, but the American had prepared an even more cunning idea: 14...exd4 15.cxd4 Nb4 From a positional point of view Black is doing well, but Fabiano launched a well prepared attack with 16.e5! Nfd5 17.Ne4 Nxe3 18.Rxe3 Bb7 19.e6 Nd5 20.exf7+ Kh8 21.Re1 Rxf7 22.Rc1 Rc8 23.Nfg5! winning excellently. The depth of White's play is shown after Re7! 23...Rf5? was the game 24.Qg4 Qe8 25.Kh2! Rd8 26.Qf5! g6 27.Qg4! when the computer shows White has a very promising attack. 15.g4!? The idea of attacking a pawn on h6 with g4 is not exactly new but, ideally White would prefer a rook and not his king on g1! Here however White's control of the centre means that it is difficult for Black to launch an attack against White's now somewhat weakened king, and more pressingly it's not easy to see how White develops next. There is no point in hiding that the move took the World Champion by surprise, as he now thought for more than half an hour coming up with a common sense reply: Qe7?! The computer indicates two ways for Black: 15...exd4 16.cxd4 Nb4 in the style of Jones is logical, now however with the rook on e8, 17.Bxf7+ 17.g5!? also deserves attention with wild tactics emerging after c5! 18.e5!? Nfd5 19.Ne4 with a complete mess, where Caruana certainly would be prepared. 17...Kxf7 18.Qb3+ is possible, allthough Nbd5 19.exd5 Bb7 20.Qd3 Qd7! as indicated by the computers seems to hold. 15...Qd7!? is very interesting, combining defending the knight on c6 (and thus threatening 16...exd4 17.cxd4 Nxe4 18. Nxe4 Rxe4 as 19.Bd5 does not threaten on c6.) with ...Nxg4 motives cropping up. White can play it slow with 16.Qc2 but then White can try and force events with 16.g5!? but Black can still play exd4 17.cxd4 Nxe4 18.Nxe4 Rxe4 19.Bd5 and while now Re8 loses to both 20.gxh6 or 20.g6, 19...Qxh3! forces a draw, as 20.Bxe4 Qg4+ both 21.Kf1 and 21.Kh1 leave White's king exposed after 21...Qxe4 and 21.Kh2 Qh5+ is a perpetual. 16...Nd8 is a good way to regroup. 16.Nf1! A very strong move, leaving Black in a strategically very difficult position. Nd8 Tactically the problem is that 16...exd4 17.cxd4 Nxe4 loses a piece to 18.d5! Bxe3 19.Rxe3 Ne5 20.Nxe5 Qxe5 21.f3 which means that Black has to play it slow. 17.Ng3 c5 18.Qd2 c4 19.Bc2 Nh7 20.b4 An interesting moment. The computers at first indicate that 20.b3! is the move, and 20.b4 somewhat lets Black off the hook, but obviously both players seemed to think that sealing off the queenside is to White's advantage, and after a while the machine somewhat agrees with that after 20...Qf6!? 21.Kg2 Ne6 22.h4! still means White has a considerable advantage as Black's intended 22...Nhg5 is prevented. cxb3 20...Qf6!? 21.Kg2 Ne6 22.h4! 21.Bxb3 Be6 Till here Caruana has turned in a powerful performance, but things are about to take a dramatic shift. 22.Bc2? After 22.Nf5! Qc7 maybe at first it looks like White has made no progress, but 23.Bd5! leaves White close to strategically winning: Bxd5 23...Rc8 24.Rac1 also leaves Black stuck for moves, and biting the bullet and taking on f5, e.g. already in move 22 means White has a basically unstoppable attack down the g-file. 24.exd5 f6 loses tactically to 25.Bxh6 as White's attack is unstoppable after gxh6 26.Qxh6 Kh8 27.g5 fxg5 28.Nxd6+- 22...Rc8 23.Bd3 Nb7 24.Rec1 Not managing to follow through on his aggressive intentions, Caruana has shifted to a defensive setup keeping a5 and c3 protected, and planning d5 and c4 should Black place his queen on the obvious square c7, but Black does have another way of pressurising the a-pawn: Qd8! Short of time, White now collapses. 25.Qb2 25.d5! still was the best move, as after Bxe3 26.Qxe3 Bd7 27.c4! Nxa5 28.cxb5 Rxc1+ 29.Rxc1 axb5 30.Qa7! it seems like Black's best is Nb3 when White gets the pawn back with 31.Rb1 Nc5 32.Bxb5 and should be able to save the draw. In time pressure, however, Caruana goes astray. 25...Nxa5 26.Nd2 d5! Not only is Black a pawn up, but also the white centre is collapsing. 27.Re1 Bb8 28.exd5 Bxd5 29.Bf5 Rc6 30.Qa3 Nb7 31.Rad1 exd4 32.Bxd4 Ng5 33.c4 Rxe1+ 34.Rxe1 Be6 35.Qe3 Bf4! The bishop, who White went to great length excluding from the game has returned efficiently and fittingly delivers the final blow. And as 36.Qxf4 loses to 36...Nxh3+ and 36.Qe2 Bxd2 37.Qxd2 to 37...Nf3+ Caruana resigned. Another American however kept the pase, meaning Magnus had a half point lead over Nakamura and a full point over the remaining field. Playing Hikaru as White the World Champion found inspiration from the French Championship, copying a recent game and effectively forcing a draw to clinch tournament victory. 0–1
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Caruana,F2799Carlsen,M28270–12017C78chess.com IoM Masters8
 
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1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Bc5!? In the past this was played only occasionally. Players with Black probably thought that treating the Reversed Dragon (meaning with a tempo less for Black) in such an aggressive way would be too risky. The main idea of the last move is keeping the knight on d5 without allowing Nxe5 or d2-d4, usually offering White the initiative. 7.0-0 A neutral developing move, intending keeping all the threats in the centre. 7.Nxe5 does not look too promising: Nxc3 8.bxc3 One important point is that with the bishop on c5 8.Nxc6? is impossible due to Qf6-+ 8...Nxe5 9.d4 Bd6!?N 9...Ng4 Schwierskott,M (2162)-Schmid,F (2087) Bayern 2003 (0-1, 68) 10.f3 9...Bb6 10.dxe5 Qxd1+ 11.Kxd1 c6 Simurdova,Z (1730)-Pokorna,K (1410) Sec u Chrudimi 2008 (1-0, 45) 12.f4± 10.dxe5 Bxe5 11.Qxd8+ Kxd8= 7...0-0 Fortunately, Black can answer with the same method. 7...Be6? leaves b7 undefended: 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.d4 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Bd6 11.dxe5 Bxe5 12.Bxb7± 8.d3 8.Nxe5 still does not work. Nxc3 9.bxc3 9.Nxc6 Nxd1 10.Nxd8 Bxf2+! 9...Nxe5 10.d4 Bd6 11.dxe5 Bxe5= There have been some developments after 8.Nxd5 Qxd5 9.d3 9.Ng5 Qd8 10.Nxh7 Re8 11.Ng5 Qxg5 12.Bxc6 bxc6 13.d4 Qh5 14.dxc5 e4 Aronian,L (2799) -Caruana,F (2807) Saint Louis 2017 (1-0, 52) 9...Bb6 10.b4 e4!? It looks like a good idea to use the temporary activity of the queen and dark-squared bishop for fighting for the initiative. Otherwise White may be simply better. 10...a5!? 10...Nxb4 11.Bb2 e4 12.Ne5 10...Re8 11.Bb2 Qd6 12.b5 Nd4 13.a4 a6 14.a5 Bc5 15.bxa6 Rxa6 16.Nd2 Qg6 17.e3 Bg4 18.f3± Gelfand,B (2729)-Inarkiev,E (2702) Nazran 2017 (1-0, 50) 11.Ng5 Qd4 12.Be3 Qxb4 13.Nxe4 Bxe3 Improving over a game played between the same players one week earlier: 13...Bg4 14.h3 Bh5 15.Rb1 Qe7 16.Qd2 Nakamura,H (2792) -Karjakin,S (2773) Saint Louis 2017 (1/2-1/2, 34) 14.fxe3 Qe7 The central pawns are not necessarily strong as Black might have feared in the first game. They could easily become weak. 15.Qd2 Ne5 16.Rac1 c6 17.Nc5 Ng4 18.e4 b6 19.Na4 Nakamura,H (2792)-Karjakin,S (2773) Saint Louis (blitz) 2017 (1-0, 53) Qd7 8...Bb6 This prophylactic move surely is better than 8...Be6 9.Ng5 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Bd5 11.e4± But it is not clear how to get an advantage after a neutral move such as 8...h6 One possible continuation is 9.Nxd5 Qxd5 10.Nd2 Qe6 11.b3 with pleasant play, even though not necessarily better an objective advantage. 9.Bd2 This apparently modest developing move is more constructive than 9.Na4 , aiming to take the bishop pair, but neglecting the development and control in the centre. Re8 10.a3 10.Bg5 Qd6 11.Nd2 Qg6 12.Ne4 Bg4 13.h3 Be6 14.Bd2 Rad8 15.Kh2 Kh8 16.a3 f5 17.Nec5 Bc8 18.b4 e4 Eljanov,P (2739)-Grischuk,A (2761) Geneve 2017 (0-1, 38), with perfect regrouping and active play in the centre. 10...Nd4 11.e3 Nxf3+ 12.Qxf3 c6 13.b4 Be6 14.Bb2 Qd7 15.Qe2 Bg4 16.Qc2 Bh3= Gelfand,B (2728)-Adams,M (2736) Geneve 2017 (1/2-1/2, 24) 9...Bg4N I am not sure to which extent this improves over 9...Be6 10.Ng5 Nxc3 11.bxc3 11.Nxe6 leads to interesting play: Nxe2+ 12.Qxe2 fxe6 13.Bxc6 bxc6 14.Qxe5 Qxd3 15.Qxe6+ Kh8 16.Bf4 Rae8 17.Qxc6 Re2 18.Rad1 Bxf2+?! 19.Kh1 Qf5 20.Rd2 But in this line 18...Qa6 looks better, threatening ...Bxf2+ and ...Qxa2 simultaneously. 11...Bd7 12.c4 White's position after the last exchange looks at least more pleasant. True, there was no need to help the knight improve its position with the following series of pawn moves. h6 13.Ne4 f5 14.Nc3 f4 15.Rb1 Qc8 16.Ne4 Adzic,S (2130)-Nemeth,H (1648) Hungary 2012 (1-0, 31) 10.Rc1 It remains an open question why not 10.h3 Be6 10...Bh5 11.g4 Bg6 12.Nxe5 Nxc3 13.Bxc3 wins a pawn. The kingside weakness does not seem to fully compensate for it. 11.Ng5 with similar play to that in the previous line. The weakness induced by h2-h3 does not seem to be so telling. 10...Nxc3 This looks like a concession, but Caruana was probably not satisfied by the alternatives. 10...Qd7? 11.Nxe5± 10...f6 11.Qb3 11.Nxe5? Nxc3 12.Nxc6 Nxd1 13.Nxd8 Nxf2 11...Be6 12.Ng5 fxg5 13.Bxd5 10...Re8 11.h3 Bh5 12.Nxd5 Qxd5 13.a4!? a5 14.g4 Bg6 15.Nh4 with pleasant play on the light squares. 11.Bxc3 With the bishop on d2 the knight has not enough space for manoeuvring: 11.bxc3 Qd7 12.Ng5 12.c4 Bc5 13.Ng5 Nd4 14.Re1 Rad8 15.Ne4 Be7 12...f6! 11...Re8 12.b4 Black is actively developed but White can start his queenside play without loss of time. Qd6 This logical move does not receive the engines' approval. But the recommended invasion of the d4-square tends to leave the b6-bishop out of play: 12...Nd4 13.Bxd4 exd4 14.a4 c6 14...a6 may be better but Black's bishop does not impress after 15.Re1 15.a5 Bc7 16.a6 12...a5 13.b5 Nd4 14.Bxd4 exd4 15.a4 In the long run White's position may prove easier to play. 13.Nd2 Qh6 Trying to keep the possibility of a central counter-attack. 13...Rad8 14.Nc4 Qe6 15.a4 14.Nc4 14.a4 Rad8 15.Nc4?! e4 14...Qh5 15.Rc2 This rook lift works out well in similar positions, but here it may not be strongest, since there is no immediate way of activating the queen. 15.Re1 Rad8 16.Qc2 Bh3 17.Bh1 The last move reveals another merit of 15.Re1. 15...Rad8 16.Nxb6 cxb6 White has got the bishop pair and the better structure but he needs to play carefully as Black is very active. 16...axb6 17.b5 Nd4 18.Bxd4 exd4 19.Re1 Qxb5 20.Rxc7 17.f3 Due to White's choice on move 15 there was no other way of reducing Black's pressure in the centre. 17.Rd2 b5 18.a4 a6 19.axb5 axb5 20.Qc2 Bh3 21.Bf3 Bg4= 17...Be6 18.Qd2 b5 19.f4 The best way of putting the bishop pair to work. Bg4?! Obviously missing White's 22nd move or the 26th move in the next comment. Pawn reaction in the centre would not offer full equality: 19...exf4 20.Rxf4 or 19...f6 20.fxe5 fxe5 21.Qe3 But Black could try 19...Bd5 for instance 20.e4 Bc4 21.Bf3 Qh3 22.Be2 f6= Both sides will find it difficult to make progress in this static position. 20.Bxc6! Winning a pawn which will not be as easy to retrieve as Caruana thought. bxc6 21.fxe5 f6 Does Black really retrieve the pawn?! 22.exf6‼ People may have started forgetting that not such a long time ago (a couple of decades) Anand entered the top arena as a brilliant combinative player. Rxe2 23.f7+ Kf8 24.Bxg7+! Kxg7 25.Qc3+ Re5 The hidden point of the combination is that 25...Qe5 runs into 26.Rxe2‼ Qxc3 27.Re8 Qd4+ 28.Rf2 Qxb4 29.f8Q+ Qxf8 30.Rfxf8 Rxd3 31.Rg8+ The manoeuvre initiated by this move wins the a7-pawn by force. Kf7 32.Ref8+ Ke7 33.Ra8 Bf5 34.Rxa7++- Pawns are equal and even though his king is temporarily passive, White should convert his clear extra exchange. 26.Qd4! Qg5 27.Rc5! Rxd4 28.f8Q+ Kg6 29.Qf7+ 29.Qf7+ Kh6 30.Rf6+ 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Anand,V2783Caruana,F28071–02017A29Sinquefield Cup 5th5
 
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1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 a6 This move was not what I was expecting, but of late my opponent has been playing the Slav Defence frequently, so that it is easy to explain his choice. The ratio of predicting the opening choices of my opponents is in my case one in three. 6.b3 In 2013 I played four games with this variation (none since then), but on every occasion I had the black pieces. On those occasions Gelfand, Nakamura and Ding Liren preferred the continuation with 6.c5 which leads to a murky strategic battle. The move in the game is considered less "hard", but I wanted to obtain a lively game. 6...Bb4 I have never been able to understand the popularity of 6...c5 , Black has developed only one knight and yet he makes another pawn move. A really Romantic way of playing. 7.Bd2 Nbd7 8.Bd3 0-0 9.0-0 Qe7 The second most frequently played continuation, which offers more room for creativity. In the 2012 world championship the move Anand chose against Gelfand was 9...Bd6 10.Bc2 I found this in 2005 or 2006. The idea is actually typical. Even in the variation with 10.Qe1 a5 the move ist 11.Bc2 is a good option. The move 10.Bc2 is useful for e3-e4, and in addition it is aimed against e6-e5 (see below). 10...Rd8 This logical contiuation has a hidden but important disadvantage. Black has available to him other sound moves such as 10...b6 or 10...Re8. Then White's play would be linked either to the pawn sacrifice 11.a3 Bxa3 12.e4 or to the preparation of the advance e3-e4 by means of 11.Re1. 10...b6 11.a3 11.Re1 11...Bxa3 12.e4 10...Re8 11.a3 11.Re1 11...Bxa3 12.e4 But Auf 10...e5 is met by the strong reply 11.Nxd5 cxd5 12.Bxb4 Qxb4 13.dxe5 with the advantage. mit Vorteil. 11.a3 After thinking things over for 17 minutes I came to the conclusion that apart from 11.a3 there are few good moves here. In doing so I assumed that it is very dangeous for Black to take on a3. Bxa3 The lesser evil was probably 11...Bd6 12.e4 dxe4 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.Bxe4 Nf6 15.Bg5 , after which Black gets a passive but solid position. But this variation would mean that 10...Rd8 was not a good idea. 12.Rxa3 12.e4 would lead to a position in which White would have compensation for the pawn he has sacrificed, but one should not miss the chance to raise the stakes 12...Qxa3 13.c5 b6 Whilst my opponent was pondering the position, I turned my attention to the continuation 13...e5 , which I considered to be the strngest. After the further moves Nach den weiteren Zügen 14.Nb1 Qa2 15.Bb4 a5 16.Nc3 Qxc2 17.Qxc2 axb4 18.Na2 it is White who has the advantage. 14.b4 A mistake. Instead of that White had at his disposal a way to gain the upper hand, but which simply did not occur to me: 14.Nb1 Qa2 15.Qc1 I overlooked the fact that I had this option and considered only 15.Bb4 which would lead to sharp play. 15...bxc5 16.Nc3 Qa5 17.Nxd5 Qb5 18.Nc7 Qb8 19.Nxa8 Qxa8 20.Ba5 Re8 21.dxc5 and there is no way to heal the wounds in the black position. 14...Ne4 The only possibility of maintaining the tension was the amazing 14...Qb2! This is actually logical — in order to save yourself from wild animals you have to get closer to them and show that you are not afraid of them. Easier said than done. 15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Bxe4 Rb8 This came after a long period of thought. Simpler moves led to unpleasant endgames in which the white pawns d4-c5 represent important trump cards. 17.Bxh7+ The consequences of 17.Bxc6 a5 were not really clear to me. I also considered (the stronger) 17.Qc2 but what worried me about it was the possibility of Nf6 ; If the continuation in the game had not been so tempting, I would perhaps have taken a closer look and found the reply 18.Bxh7+ Nxh7 19.Ne5 with the terrible threat of Nc4. 17...Kxh7 In the event of 17...Kf8 there is the very strong ist 18.Qc2 bxc5 19.Ne5 when White's attack brings in material dividends. 18.Ng5+ Kg8 The only move, after which the moves are forced for a while. In the event of 18...Kg6 19.Qg4 f5 20.Qg3 Kf6 20...f4 21.Qxf4 Rf8 22.Qh4 with a decisive attack. 21.d5 the black pieces are too passive to be able to completely defend their king. 19.Qh5 Nf6 20.Qxf7+ Kh8 21.Qc7 Bd7 22.Nf7+ Kh7 I too thought that the king was worse placed on g8 than on h7. 23.Nxd8 Rc8 24.Qxb6 When the situation of the opposing king on h7 is taken into account, White has the interesting option of 24.Qf4 Rxd8 25.e4 with the threat of 26.e5, but I steered a course towards the position which I had calcualted in advance. 24...Nd5 25.Qa7 Rxd8 26.e4 Qd3 We both considered this move to be the strongest continuation; but in reality it is a mistake. When calculating 17.Bxh7+ I reached the position which would now appear after 26...Nf6 27.Bg5 Qxb4 27...Kg6 is bad on account of 28.Bxf6 Kxf6 29.Qc7 Ke7 30.d5 28.e5 Qxd4 29.exf6 gxf6 and I thought I would be able to find something in it for White. To my amazement I am obliged to admit that in this case after 30.Qc7 Rf8 31.Be3 White is only slightly better. 27.exd5 Qxd2 28.Qc7 Qg5 29.dxc6 It is astonishing, but this natural move turns out to be a blunder which costs White all of his advantage. After the best move 29.d6 Black has only a few possibilities for counterplay, so that White would be able to gradually activate his rook and decide the game in his favour. As he does so, however, he must see that e5 30.dxe5 Bh3 does not work on account of 31.Qxc6 . In the final position the white queen has everything under control. 29...Bc8 29...Be8 loses material after 30.Qb7 30.h3 Qd5 After 30...e5 then 31.f4 exf4 32.Qxf4 wins, because the white queen and rook get into the game. 31.Rd1 e5 This delay costs Black the game. He could save himself by attacking the f2-square by means of 31...Rf8 - after 32.Qd6 or 32.Rd3 Qe4 32...Qb3 33.Qxf8 Qxd1+ 34.Kh2 Qxd4 The struggle would end in a draw. 32.Rd3 The rook disrupts the black position. exd4 33.Qe7 Bf5 There was the more 33...Rg8 34.Rg3 Bg6 35.Qh4+ Of course, there are several mistakes in this game but the content is worthy of study. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Aronian,L2793Carlsen,M28321–02017D45Norway Chess 5th4
 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 As far as I can see, this is the first time Kramnik has entered the Ruy Lopez from the white side in a very long time. 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.0-0 0-0 6.Re1 d6 7.c3 Na5 8.Bb5 a6 9.Ba4 b5 10.Bc2 c5 Why give this line? Explanation follows after 8.c3 in the game. 3...a6! Harikrishna also has the Berlin Defence in his repertoire, but to play it against Kramnik? I don't think so. 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 6.Re1 is still the main move, but after b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 8.a4 is the most challenging move for those who prefer to avoid the gambit. 8...d5 no-one above 2600 has lost with the black pieces in the last half year. 6...b5 7.Bb3 d6 7...0-0 is played far less. Perhaps since 8.a4 is an option again. 8.Nc3 d6 9.a3 8.a3 White must save the light-squared bishop. And since the other options have been found to set Black few(er) problems, this seemingly meek move has become the latest fashion. 8.Nc3?! Na5! 8.a4 Bd7! is a neat point behind 7...d6. After 9.c3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qb8 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.axb5 axb5 15.dxc5 dxc5 16.Qd5 Qc8 17.b4 Be6 18.Qxc5 Qxc5 19.bxc5 Kd7! Morozevich,A (2680)-Vitiugov,N (2715) 32nd ECC Open 2016, Black was doing very well and went on to win. 8.c3 0-0 9.Re1 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 is a position that can also arise in the Prussian Defence (3.Bc4 Nf6). 8...0-0 8...Be6 is an idea that is usually better when White has already played h3. Then after 9.Bxe6 fxe6 Black can aim for Nf6-h5-f4 later on. When White's pawn is still on h2, White can just stop this with g2-g3; not worrying about any weaknesses around the king. I assume White ought to be a bit better here, although it is far from clear (to me) how. 10.c3 0-0 11.Nbd2 Qd7 12.Re1 Rae8 12...Nd8!? 12...Nh5 13.a4 Pavlidis,A (2530) -Schwarz,D (2290) European Rapid 2016 9.Nc3 There are few positions in chess where there are more than 4-5 decent moves, but in this position there are no less than 7 perfectly reasonable moves for Black! It is also notable that this position was reached 4 times in the last WCh match between Karjakin and Carlsen, with Magnus, as Black, scoring three draws and one win. Nb8!? The start of the Breyer-plan. Black is aiming for a harmonious setup with Nbd7 and Bb7, before continuing - usually - with Re8, Bf8, g6 and Bg7. For someone who has played the Pirc/Modern for many years, it gives rise to a kind of déjà vu; haven't I seen something similar somewhere? 9...Be6 10.Be3 d5 11.Bg5! has scored well for White. 9...Na5 10.Ba2 Be6 was played by Carlsen in two of the WCh games. Playing Chigorin-style with 10...c5 , makes more sense when White has spent time on moves like c3 and h3. Here White is ready to fight for the d5-square immediately: 11.b4 Nc6 12.Nd5 This is possibly the reason why Carlsen played Nb8, c5, Nc6 in an earlier game. Here it actually helps White to have the bishop kicked back to a2. 11.b4 11.d4 Bxa2 12.Rxa2 Re8 13.Ra1 Nc4 14.Re1 Rc8 15.h3 h6 16.b3 Nb6 17.Bb2 Bf8 18.dxe5 dxe5 19.a4 c6 20.Qxd8 Rcxd8 21.axb5 axb5 22.Ne2 Bb4 23.Bc3 Bxc3 24.Nxc3 Nbd7 25.Ra6 Rc8 26.b4 Re6 27.Rb1 c5 28.Rxe6 fxe6 29.Nxb5 cxb4 30.Rxb4 Rxc2 31.Nd6 Rc1+ 32.Kh2 Rc2 33.Kg1 1/2-1/2 (33) Karjakin,S (2770)-Carlsen,M (2850) WCh 2016 11...Nc6 12.Nd5 Nd4 13.Ng5 Bxd5 14.exd5 Nd7 15.Ne4 f5 16.Nd2 f4 17.c3 Nf5 18.Ne4 Qe8 19.Bb3 Qg6 20.f3 Bh4 21.a4 Nf6 22.Qe2 a5 23.axb5 axb4 24.Bd2 bxc3 25.Bxc3 Ne3 26.Rfc1 Rxa1 27.Rxa1 Qe8 28.Bc4 Kh8 29.Nxf6 Bxf6 30.Ra3 e4 31.dxe4 Bxc3 32.Rxc3 Qe5 33.Rc1 Ra8 34.h3 h6 35.Kh2 Qd4 36.Qe1 Qb2 37.Bf1 Ra2 38.Rxc7 Ra1 0-1 (38) Karjakin, S (2770)-Carlsen,M (2850) WCh Rapid TB 2016 10.Ne2 The start of the most famous manoeuvre known to chess. The terminus is g3, where the knight is bolstering e4, stopping ...Nh5, and making sure that a future ...Bg4 will be truly kicked away with h3; all this while not being in the way of any other pieces. Nbd7 Harikrishna is going for a more traditional interpretation of the Breyer setup. Carlsen preferred 10...c5 11.Ng3 Nc6 12.c3 Rb8 13.h3 a5 14.a4 b4 15.Re1 Be6 16.Bc4 h6 17.Be3 Qc8 18.Qe2 Rd8 19.Bxe6 fxe6 20.d4 bxc3 21.bxc3 cxd4 22.cxd4 exd4 23.Nxd4 Nxd4 24.Bxd4 Rb4 25.Rec1 Qd7 26.Bc3 Rxa4 27.Bxa5 Rxa1 28.Rxa1 Ra8 29.Bc3 Rxa1+ 30.Bxa1 Qc6 31.Kh2 Kf7 32.Bb2 Qc5 33.f4 Bd8 34.e5 dxe5 35.Bxe5 Bb6 36.Qd1 Qd5 37.Qxd5 Nxd5 1/2-1/2 (37) Karjakin,S (2770)-Carlsen,M (2850) WCh Rapid TB 2016 11.c3 If Black is worried about the Nb6/c5-plan that Kovalev used against Kobalia (see next comment), it makes sense to play 11.Ng3 first. Nb6 11...Nc5 12.Ba2 Be6 is probably the reason why Kramnik choose the move order with c3 first. 12.Bd2 c5 13.Ba5!? 11...Bb7 This quite logical move seems new. If we compare the position with the classical Breyer System, then White has played d3 instead of d4, has added a3, avoided h3 and can play the knight to g3 without going Re1 first. Black should be ahead on tempi, but not having played d4 is something of an advantage for White, who is more flexible and doesn't have to worry about tactical operations revolving around a weak e4-pawn. 11...Nb6 12.Ng3 c5 13.d4 Qc7 14.Re1 a5 15.h3 Bd7 16.Bd2 a4 17.Bc2 Nc4 18.Bc1 Rfc8 Kobalia,M (2646)-Kovalev,V (2562) Gjakova 2016, led to a very complex fight. 12.Ng3 c5 13.Re1 Rc8 Black would love to get a chance to force the exchange of the c-pawn for White's d-pawn. 14.Nf5!? This move changes the flow of the game and takes it into unclear waters. I would only consider 14.Ba2 or 14.Bc2 Both look quite reasonable. 14...c4! 15.dxc4 If 15.Bc2 cxd3 16.Bxd3 Re8 17.Bc2 , then Nc5 18.Bg5 Bf8 and Black's pieces are too harmonious for White even dream of an advantage. 19.Nd2 g6 20.Ne3 Be7 21.Bxf6 Bxf6 22.a4 Bg5= 15...Bxe4 Black can also consider 15...bxc4 16.Bc2 Nc5 , but after 17.Bg5 Rc7 18.Bxf6 Bxf6 19.Qxd6 Black doesn't have enough compensation for the pawn. 16.Nxe7+ 16.Nxd6? Bxd6 17.Qxd6 Nc5 leads to a total collapse on the light squares. 16...Qxe7 17.cxb5 axb5 18.Bg5! This must be played before Black gets to shut it out of the game with h6. Nc5 19.Ba2 Ambitious. 19.Bc2 Bxc2 20.Qxc2 Ne6 looks about balanced. 19...h6 20.Bh4!? I might be overly pessimistic here, but to me this seems like burning bridges. The bishop will be terribly passive on g3, so the natural thing to do would be to go 20.Bxf6 Qxf6 21.Re3 Still, Black has no complaints here, so I guess Kramnik's choice was in harmony with the bishop retreat to a2. He is aiming for complications. 20...g5! 21.Bg3 Bh7 Usually the bishop is better off at g6, from where it supports h5 and leaves the h7-square for other pieces: 21...Bg6 After 22.Bb1 Nfe4 23.Nd2 d5 24.Nf3 f6 25.Qxd5+ Kg7 Black has a nice initiative for the pawn. 22.Qe2 22.Bb1!? 22...Kg7! Black's plan is to evacuate the knight from f6, play f6 in order to bury the bishop on g3, and then occupy the light squares. White needs to come up with an antidote to this scenario. 23.Rad1 If Kramnik played this seeing what is coming next, then this is one of the greatest moves I have ever seen. 23.Qxb5? Nd3 and the b-pawn falls. 23.Nd4!? Qd7 24.Nb3 Nce4 25.Nd2 Nc5 26.Bb1 is another way to get some grip on the light squares. If Black is unable to move the central pawns forward, they could turn out to be weak in the end. 23...Nfe4! 24.Rd5 !!!??!? White doesn't have the time to play 24.Qxb5 , since f5! leaves Bg3 in mortal danger, and 25.h3 Rb8 26.Qe2 f4 27.Bh2 Na4 28.Rb1 Nec5 is game over-ish. To play something like 24.h3 , is paramount to resignation: f5 25.Bh2 f4 26.Bb1 Qb7 27.Nd2 Nf6 and Black has the most terrible domination. 24...f5 This looks so natural and so strong. How to stop oneself from playing such a move? I would have played 24...f6! , just to realise that I don't have much choice after , so: 25.Bb1 f5 and we get a position similar to the one in the game. How is the sacrifice here? I would not be able to make a precise evaluation over the board. 24...Rfe8 might be the most flexible move, planning on f5 while opening a slot for the king on f8. It seems to me (and the engine) that Black is just clearly better here. 25.Rxe5‼ Daring and genius in one move. I presume Kramnik realised he was sliding into a bad situation and decided to change the course of the game, whatever the price. This is much more tricky than 25.Rxd6?! Nxd6 26.Qxe5+ Qxe5 27.Bxe5+ Rf6! when there is no obvious way for White to get full compensation. With no queens on the board, this would be far easier for a human to handle. 25...dxe5 26.Bxe5+ Nf6?! Not a big, but a step in the wrong direction. Black should find a way to exchange one of the bishops, as fast as possible, with no delay. The best way to do that is: 26...Kg6! avoids the pins and prepares for ...Bg8... 27.Bd4! Bg8! Now the price to avoid the exchange is too high: 28.Bxg8 28.Bb1 Kh7 29.Qxb5 Nb3 28...Rxg8 29.g4!? 29.Qxb5 g4 30.Ne5+ Kh7-+ 29...Rge8 30.gxf5+ Kh7 31.Qc2 Qb7 31...Qd7!? 32.f6 Qd7 Even here there are still traps to watch out for, so from a practical point of view Kramnik's move was brilliant. 27.Qxb5! Picking up a pawn, so as to make the queenside mobile. Nce4 28.Bd4 Rfd8 What to do now? 29.h3! What a cool move. It is still not clear what Black should do, so creating breathing space for the king cannot be wrong. Rb8 30.Qe2 There seem to be so many good moves for Black, but which one wins? Bg8?! 30...Re8 is what Karpov would have played. Over protecting the knight on e4, gives more freedom to the rest of the pieces. 31.b4 Bg6 32.Qb2 Kh7 33.c4 Rbd8 ...Botvinnik would have liked this one. 34.c5 and finally, Black is ready for g4! 31.Bb1 Qb7 31...Rb3 32.Ba2! 32.b4 Re8 33.c4 A few moves ago Black only had one problem; how to get out of the pin and get his pieces active. Now there is a second issue. The pawns are starting to look menacing. Qc6? This move allows White to get fully coordinated. Last chance for an advantage was 33...Qa6! , but things are still not as clear as the engine would like you to think: 34.b5!? 34.Qb2 Bxc4 35.Rc1 Bd5 36.Rc7+ Kg8 37.Bxe4 fxe4 38.Nh2 Nh5 39.Ng4 Rb7 34...Qd6 34...Qxa3?! 35.Bxe4 Rxe4 36.Qd2 Rbe8 37.Ra1 35.Qb2 Bxc4 36.a4 Ra8 (There might be something better here) 37.Bxe4 Rxe4 38.Rxe4 fxe4 39.Ne5 Be6 39...Rd8 40.Nc6 40.b6 Rxa4 41.Nc6 Rxd4 42.Nxd4 Kf7 43.b7 Nd7 44.Nxe6 Kxe6 45.Qg7 and White will probably get a draw. 34.Qb2 Now White's initiative is terrific. Black would like retreat the knight from e4, but it is oh so hard. With this move Black's position goes from hard-to-handle to just worse. Rbd8?! 34...Kh7! is a good chance for Black, but after 35.c5 , Black still needs to find a few exact moves: 35.Be5 Rbd8 36.Nd4 Qxc4 37.Nxf5 Rd2 38.Nd6 Rxb2 39.Bxb2 Qb3 40.Bxf6 Qxb1 41.Rxb1 Nxd6 42.a4 35...Bf7! 35...Nd7?! 36.Nd2 Bd5 37.Nf1 36.Ne5 Qd5 37.Nxf7 Qxf7 38.f3 Ng3 39.Be5 Nfh5 40.Kh2 Qd5 41.Qc3 Nf1+ 42.Kg1 Nfg3 43.Bxb8 Qd4+! 44.Qxd4 Rxe1+ 45.Kf2 Re2+ 46.Kg1 Re1+= 35.c5 35.b5 Qd6 36.Rc1 Rc8 37.Bxe4 Rxe4 38.c5 Qe7 39.c6 is even better. Black is balancing on the edge of the abyss. 35...Qe6 36.b5!? 36.Rc1! g4 37.hxg4 fxg4 38.Bxe4 Rxd4 39.Qxd4 Qxe4 40.Qxe4 Rxe4 41.Nd2 Re2 42.Nf1 36...Kf8? Black's last chance was 36...Qb3! 37.Qa1 Kg6! 38.Bxf6 38.b6 Nd7 39.Rc1 Rc8 40.c6 Nxb6 41.Bxe4 fxe4 42.Bh8 Qf7 43.Ne5+ Rxe5 44.Qxe5 Qe6= 38...Nxf6 39.Rxe8 Rxe8 40.Bxf5+ Kg7 41.Nd4 and this unbalanced position, to my surprise, seems to be in balance. 37.c6 g4? This accelerates the ending, but White's pawns were too advanced for a remedy to be found. 38.hxg4 fxg4 39.Bxe4! gxf3 Or 39...Nxe4 40.Rxe4 Qxe4 41.Bg7+ Ke7 42.Qf6# 40.Bxf6 Rd6 41.Bg7+ Kf7 42.Be5 and Harikrishna resigned. A marvelous swindle by Kramnik! 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kramnik,V2811Harikrishna,P27551–02017C77Gashimov Memorial 4th4
 
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1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 The continuation 3...dxc4 also makes sense, as e.g. the inventive Hungarian Berkes showed in his game against Fressinet. After the rather "normal" moves 4.Qa4+ Nd7 5.Qxc4 c5 6.Qc2 there then came the extravagant Ne7 followed by ... Nc6 and g6! 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.0-0 A more popular move is 5.Qa4+ , as I too have played several times. As a whole gambits with the "Catalan" bishop have become more and more popular in recent years - e.g. in the Reti Opening after 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.c4 or in the Slav Defence after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3. After many years Romanishin's bold ideas are at last gaining more and more followers among the strongest players - absolutely well deservedly! 5...Nbd7 One of the most logical continuations. The main reason for White's confidence concerning the recovery of the c4-pawn consists in the fact that after 5...a6 6.Qc2 b5 he has at his disposition the interesting move 7.Ne1 with the intention of counting on his compensation after d2-d3, c4xd3, Ne1xd3 on account of the excellent position of the knight on d3 and his good development. 6.Qc2 c5 A solid option. The most aggressive is 6...Nb6 with which Black holds on to his extra pawn. Both after the following 7.Na3 and also in the event of 7.Rd1 Play is very complicated. White can exchange the c4-pawn by means of b2-b3 or d2-d3 and then try to exploit the activity of his pieces. 7.Rd1 Another move which is not bad is 6...a6 7.a4 Nc5 8.Qxc4 Qd5 9.Qa2 Qxa2 10.Rxa2 e5 11.Nxe5 Be6 12.b3 0-0-0 - as an old Soviet joke used to say: "Children, you cannot understand that, you simply have to learn it by heart". 7.Na3 The queen is perfectly placed on c2, so the task of eliminating the c4-pawn is delegated to the knight. Nd5 Not a good idea. Instead of dealing with the mobilisation of his pieces, Black makes a second move with one piece which is already developed. There was an acceptable game after 7...b6 or 7...Rb8 intending in the event of 8.Nxc4 to continue development by means of b5 9.Nce5 Bb7 . 8.Nxc4 Natural and strong. b5 9.Ne3 Of course you should swap off the one of the opposing knights which has made more moves. Bb7?! This is an almost decisive mistake! As I also thought during the game, here 9...Nb4 was the strongest continuation. Although even then after any queen retreat White would be better, he would not have been able to dominate the centre so easily on account of the sub-optimal position of the Ne3. On 9...Nxe3 White's best reply is 10.dxe3 the move I had planned 10.fxe3 is not so strong, because after Bb7 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.Bxb7 Rb8 Black has consolidated his position. 10...Bb7 11.Rd1 with a more pleasant position for White: after b2-b3 with further development he has not only active pieces but also a slight target to attack - the c5-pawn "which is hanging in mid air" 10.Nxd5 Bxd5 In the event of 10...exd5 then 11.b4 would be really strong - with rapid development and a very dangerous initiative. I was intending 11.Nh4 , which was also okay, 11.e4 One day I heard that the chess philosopher Evgeniy Sveshnikov said the following: "If White gets the opportunity to occupy the centre with his pawns, as a rule this leads to problems for Black." I am in complete agreement with this. Bb7 12.d4 cxd4 The move in the game is forced, because after Der Partiezug ist erzwungen, weil nach 12...Be7 13.d5 exd5 14.exd5 0-0 15.d6 Bf6 16.Ng5 Bxg5 17.Bxb7 Rb8 18.Bxg5 Qxg5 19.Bc6 the d-pawn will probably decide the outcome of the struggle. 13.Nxd4 White has a significant lead in development and roughly about this point I thought that the win would now not be long in coming. Rc8 From a practical point of view this is an inaccuracy. In my opinion there was a more stubborn continuation in 13...Qb6 14.Rd1 Rc8 15.Qe2 b4 with a bad, but at least an active, position. 14.Qe2 a6 15.Rd1 Bc5 On 15...Be7 then ist 16.Bh3 is very unpleasant - Black has problens fending off the threats Nd4xe6 or Bh3xe6. 16.Nb3 After seven minutes deep in thought I decided to follow my intuition. At the same time I hoped I would manage to drive my opponent into time trouble. Be7 In the event of 16...Bb6 17.Bf4 0-0 18.Rd2 Black has no satisfactory way of escaping the threat of Rad1. 16...0-0 would lose on the spot on account of 17.Nxc5 Rxc5 18.Qd3 17.Rd3 After this strong move, play goes into the conversion phase of White's advantage. Qc7 Not the continuation which puts up the greatest resistance, but it is not clear what Black should do here. The "normal" 17...0-0 loses on account of 18.Qd1 Bc6 19.Nd4 and White wins material. But other moves too, such as 17...Bc6 do not raise much hope. 18.Bf4 Ne5 19.Rc3 There was a simpler win with 19.Rc1 Qb8 20.Rxc8+ Bxc8 21.Na5 , but a surplus of good options led to me relaxing my vigilance. 19...Qb8 20.Qh5 Bd6 At that point I had not yet discovered the idea linked to this move. After Nach 20...Bf6 on account of 21.Rxc8+ Bxc8 22.Rc1 g6 23.Bxe5 Bxe5 24.Rxc8+ Black would go down with all hands. The same is the case for the variation 20...Rxc3 21.Bxe5 Rc7 22.Bxg7 21.Rxc8+ When a few moves earlier I had this position in my mind's eye I was planning to play here 21.Nc5 Later I realised there was a brilliant defence: Rxc5 22.Rxc5 Bxc5 23.Bxe5 g6 24.Qg5 Be7 25.Qf4 g5 and Black has only a "lost" ending. If I had known that in the future course of the game I would have to use every shred of my knowledge in order to almost manage to draw the game, I would probably rather have gone into the easily won endgame mentioned above with an extra pawn. 21...Bxc8 22.Rd1 Bc7 23.Na5 I thought that brought everything to a conclusion. But in reality things get exciting again. Bd7 Apart from this continuation which I considered to be a losing move, Black had the possibility by means of 23...0-0 24.Bxe5 Bxe5 25.Nc6 Qc7 26.Nxe5 g6 to buy peace for his king at the cost of a pawn. Naturally in this case too the white position would be winning, but as Boris Gelfand appositely remarks in such cases, play would move into the "one-mistake-zone". 24.Bxe5 This was the key point of my calculation. Bxe5 25.Rxd7 Kxd7 26.Qxf7+ Kd6 27.Bh3 The last moves up to here have been forced. Re8 Here my astonishment was great - in my calcualtions I had assumed that this move loses on the spot on account of 28. f4. After 27...Qe8 the move 28.Qa7 is decisive - Black cannot manage to ward off the threat of Na5-b7+ without losing the a6- and b5-pawns. 28.Nb7+ It was only now that I understood that in the event of 28.f4 even after the simple Bxb2 there was no way even in my dreams that I could mate the black king. This was a sobering discovery for me, but as things turned out, not totally. 28...Kc6 29.b4! This plan B brought back my belief in the correctness of my 24th move. Rf8 In my previous cogitations, I had underestimated this strong continuation. 30.Qe7? This continuation is bound up with a mistake in calculation. My previous "refined" actions could justify the continuation 30.Na5+ Kb6 31.Qe7 Moreover, in order to go into this variation you have to see that after Qc8 White has at his disposition the nice reply 32.Nc6‼ Kxc6 33.Bxe6 Black is mated or will lose a lot of material. Otherwise White recovers the exchange — the positions which might then arise, are similar to the situation which later comes about in the game. 30...Bd6? After this move Black's position is once again lost. Although the situation of Black appeared to be hopeless, he had available to him a wonderful save with the help of a tactical coup: 30...Bc7 31.Nc5 Qd8 32.Qxg7 and here Rxf2! I must admit that from time to time I overlook rook sacrifices with subsequent perpetual check. 31.Na5+ Next comes a further series of forced moves. Kb6 32.Qxe6 Re8 32...Rf6 is bad on account of 33.Qb3 , after which the situation of the black king is absolutely not an enviable one. 33.Qd7 Bxb4 34.Nc6 Qd6 35.Qxe8 35.Nxb4 would be a mistake on account of Qxd7 36.Bxd7 Rxe4 with a dangerous endgame for White. 35...Qxc6 The position has calmed down and now is the correct time to draw a conclusion. Because White is a pawn up and his passed e-pawn can be supported in its advance, the first player has good chances of a win. 36.Qb8+ I felt that the rook ending had to be won, but thought that this check could not hurt. In the final analysis Black's situation is in any case very difficult. I had almost played 36.Bd7 like lightning and without my head taking any part in the decision. But then I took some time and after ten minutes thought convinced myself that I did not need to fear an exchange of queens — which later turned out to be correct. 36...Qb7 On 36...Ka5 I intended to bring the queen home by means of 37.Qd8+ Ka4 38.Qd1+ and after Ka5 39.e5 transfer to the main plan. 37.Qxb7+ A committal decision, but from the objective point of view the correct one. It is highly likely that Black will not get enough time to swap off the a2-pawn. Kxb7 38.f4 The white plan is simple: force h7-h6, achieve the pawn structure h5-g4-f4-e5, hold up Black's queenside pawns on a5-b4 and push forward g4-g5. Although some strong players were of the opinion that Black could hold on here, i would gladly get this position again because of late I have had less and less belief in fortresses. Kc6 39.Kf2 a5 40.Kf3 a4 This leads to further problems and hastens the end. 41.Bf5 An important move: now Black must fix the position of his pawns on the kingside. h6 41...g6 does not save him on account of 42.Be6 Bc3 43.e5 b4 44.Ke4 h5 (or else by means of g3-g4 and f4-f5 White creates a pair of passed pawns) 45.Kd3 followed Be6-f7 and the collection of the pawns. 42.Bg6 The bsihop is aiming for e8, from where it would hold all together. Kd7 43.e5 Bc5 44.Bd3 Kc6 45.Bc2 White is in no hurry. Kd5 Although after 45...Bg1 46.h4 Kd5 47.h5 Bd4 48.Bg6 b4 49.Bf7+ Kc5 50.Ke4 Black manages to exchange his a- and b-pawns for the a2-pawn, he does not succeed in bring his king back to e7 in time. 46.Be4+ This decides everything because the white king gets to e4 and pushes its pawns forward. Kc4 47.Bc6 The further moves need no comment and were played quickly by both contestants. Bg1 48.h4 Kc5 49.Be8 Bd4 50.h5 Bc3 51.Ke4 Be1 52.g4 Bd2 53.Kf5 a3 54.g5 b4 55.Ba4 Kd5 56.gxh6 gxh6 57.Bb3+ Kc5 58.Ke4 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Aronian,L2774Naiditsch,A27021–02017A13Grenke Chess Classic 4th5
 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Rd1 Bc6 10.Nc3 Bxf3 11.Bxf3 Nc6 12.Bxc6 bxc6 13.Bg5 Rb8 14.e3 Standard issue Catalan, one of those positions where White doesn't seem to be trying for much. Yet, "careful play" is required from Black, which in this day and age means computer-approved preparation. c5!? Wesley shows he'd done his homework. 14...a5 is considered automatic. 15.dxc5 Qe8 16.Rd4 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Ne4 Be5 18.Rab1 Rb4 19.f4 f5 20.Nd2 Bf6 21.Nxc4 Rxa4 is roughly balanced. 16...Nd7! An improvement over one long-forgotten game which went 16...Rb4 17.Na2 Qxa4 18.Nxb4 Qxa1+ 19.Kg2 Qa5 20.Nc6 Qxc5 Sjugirov-Smirnov, 2012 17.Bxe7 Qxe7 18.c6 It's hard to tell if Jeffery was still looking for an advantage or was ready to bail out. An attempt to take away e5 from the black knight 18.f4 meets with e5 19.Rxc4 exf4 20.exf4 Qe3+ 21.Kg2 Nf6 White gets to keep his extra pawn, but his king is weak. Lines such as this give bad vibes and usually are declined as long as there are some other options. The next move to think of is 18.Rf1 anticipating Ne5 19.f4 Nc6 20.Rxc4 but then comes Na5 21.Rd4 Qxc5 and once again, having weakened his position with the f-pawn move, White finds himself on the defensive end of it. In the meantime, the "simple" 18.Rxc4 Ne5 19.Re4 Qxc5 is really awkward for White. 18...Ne5 19.Qe4 Qc5 20.Nd5 A logical continuation of the previous move. Moves from both sides become forced. Nd3 21.Nxc7 Nxf2! Wesley had to have seen this shot from afar. Did Jeff completely miss it? 22.Kxf2 A quick reply, but possibly, Xiong was bluffing. Instead of playing mind games, he should have paid attention to the board. Maybe, then he would have found 22.Nxa6 which happens to be a good enough move to continue the game: Qg5 appears to be Black's best. 22...Nxe4 23.Nxc5 Nxc5 24.Rxc4 and White's pawns are more than enough to offset Black's extra knight. 22...Qh5?? 23.Qc2 and White even wins. 23.Qf3! A beautiful move that consolidates everything. no need to flirt with disaster after 23.Kxf2 Rxb2+ 24.Ke1 and 23.Qc2 is now bad on account of Nd3 23...Rxb2 24.c7 Nd3 RR24...Nh3+! 25.Kh1 h6‼ 26.Rxc4 26.Rf1 Qa5‼-+ 26...Rf2! 27.Qb7 Qxe3 28.c8Q Rxc8 29.Rxc8+ Kh7-+ 25.Rf1 Suddenly White has a threat of his own: Qxf7+!, his pieces are all participating and the c7-pawn is alive. Game on! 22...Rxb2+ 23.Kf1 Qh5 24.Qg4 Qxh2 25.Qf3 c3! Only this move made clear how difficult White's task is going to be. 26.Rc1 e5! Wesley took about 20 minutes on this one. He just wanted to make sure. 27.Rh4? Another error from Jeffery ends the game on the spot. The right move was 27.Rc4 If anything, it would force Black to seek ways of getting his other rook involved. Without breathing space, calculating the resulting variations could be unnerving. Would So be up to the task? Rfb8 is the right move. 27...Qd2 28.Rd1 Rd8 same as in the game, but here White does have a miracle line 29.Nd5‼ 29.Rxd2 Rdxd2 30.Kg1 Rb1+ 31.Qf1 c2 32.Nxa6 is not enough to save White: Rxf1+ 33.Kxf1 Rd1+ 34.Ke2 c1Q 35.Rxc1 Rxc1 36.Nb8 Rc5 37.Kd3 f5-+ 29...Rxd5 30.Rxd2 Rdxd2 and now 31.Qe2‼ Rxe2 32.c7 forcing Black to take the perpetual. 28.Nd5 28.Nxa6 Qd2 29.R4xc3 e4 28...Rf2+ 29.Qxf2 Qh1+ 30.Qg1 30.Ke2 Rb2+ 30...Qxd5 31.R4xc3 Rb2-+ 27...Qd2 28.Rd1 Rd8! 29.Nd5 Rxd5 30.Rd4 Rxd4 30...exd4?? 31.c7+- 31.exd4 Qxd1+ Fresh out of tactical tricks Xiong resigned. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Xiong,J2674So,W28220–12017E05USA-ch9
 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nc4 Nxe4 5.Qe2 Qe7 6.Ne3 Playing against Rapport is not easy for any chessplayer as the Hungarian star loves unusual lines, original positions. Be6 Black is sensibly deciding not to lose time on pawn moves like ...c6 and rather develop the pieces as quickly as possible. 6...c6 7.c4 7.Nc3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Nd7 9.g3 g6 10.a4 Bg7 11.Ba3 c5 12.Bg2 0-0 13.0-0 Nf6 14.Rfe1 Qc7 15.d4 Rb8 16.Nc4 Be6 17.Ne3 b6 18.h3 Rfe8 0-1 (59) Stevic,H (2592)-Sakaev,K (2619) Budva 2009 7.g3 g6 8.Bg2 Nf6 9.b3 Bg7 10.Bb2 0-0 11.0-0 Re8 12.c4 Na6 13.Nc3 Be6 14.d3 Rad8 15.Rfe1 Nc7 16.Qd2 d5 17.cxd5 cxd5 18.Ne2 1-0 (38) Berg,E (2592)-Rozentalis,E (2599) Warsaw 2008 7...g6 8.Nc3 8.d3 Nc5 9.Bd2 Bg7 10.Bc3 f6! 10...Bxc3+ 11.Nxc3 11.b3?! 11.d4 Ne4 12.Nd2 Nxc3 ½-½ Nevednichy,V (2566) -Saric,A (2472)/Djakovo 2005/ 11...0-0 12.d4 Ne4 13.Bb2 f5 14.Na3 Re8 15.0-0-0 f4 15...Nxf2 16.Qxf2 Qxe3+ 17.Qxe3 Rxe3 18.d5 16.Nec2 Qf8 16...Bh6! 17.Re1 Re6 18.Qf3 Ng5 19.Qd1= 0-1 (33) Navara,D (2660) -Rabiega,R (2506) Germany 2006 8...Na6 9.Nc2 Nf6 10.d4 Bf5 11.Bg5 0-0-0 12.0-0-0 h6 13.Bh4 g5 14.Bg3 Bg6 15.Qxe7 Bxe7 16.Bd3 Nh5 17.Rhe1 Bf8 18.Bxg6 fxg6 19.d5 Nxg3 20.hxg3 Bg7 21.dxc6 bxc6 22.Re6± 1/2-1/2 (43) Felgaer,R (2573)-Fridman,D (2654) Caleta 2010 6...Nf6 7.b3 7.g3 g6 8.Bg2 Bg7 9.0-0 0-0 10.d4 Nc6 11.Qd1 Bd7 12.c4 Rae8 13.Nc3 Qd8 14.h3 1/2-1/2 (14) Heberla,B (2551)-Iljin,A (2508) Pardubice 2006 7...Nc6 8.Bb2 Be6 9.g3 d5 10.Bg2 0-0-0 11.d4 h5 11...Qd7 12.Nd2 g6 13.h3 Bh6 14.0-0-0 Rhe8 15.Qf3 Bf5 16.b4 Be4 17.Qxf6 Bxe3 18.fxe3 Bxg2 19.Rh2 Re6 20.Qh4 Be4 1-0 (44) Murey,J (2496)-Harikrishna,P (2568) Pardubice 2002 12.Nd2 g6 13.0-0-0 Bh6 14.Rhe1 Qb4 15.a3 Qb6 16.Kb1 Rhe8 17.Qd3 Ng4 18.Nxg4 hxg4 19.b4 a5 20.bxa5 Nxa5 0-1 (41) Berg,E (2610)-Nielsen,P (2680) Helsingor 2009 7.Nc3 7.g3 Nc6 8.Bg2 d5 9.0-0 0-0-0 10.c3 h5 10...h5!?= 10...f5 11.d3 Nf6 12.Nc2 Qd7 13.Bg5 Bd6 14.Nba3 h6 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.Nb5 f4 17.Rae1 Bf7 18.Nxd6+ Qxd6 19.Qg4+ Kb8 20.Qxf4 Qxf4 21.gxf4 Rhg8= 0-1 (27) Cabrilo,G (2490)-Marciano,D (2485) Sabac 1998 11.d4 Qd7 12.Re1 Nf6 13.Nd2 h4 14.Nf3 hxg3 15.fxg3 Bh3 16.Bh1 Rh5 17.Ng2 Re8 18.Qd1 Rxe1+ 19.Qxe1 Bd6 20.Nf4 Arribas,M-Wilkie,B/WchJW U20 1988/EXT 88ch/1-0 (45) 7.d4 d5 8.Nd2 Nd6 9.g3 Nd7 10.Bg2 Nf6 11.0-0 0-0-0 12.Re1 c6 13.b3 g6 14.c4 Bg7 15.Ba3 Rhe8 16.Nxd5 Nxd5 17.cxd5 cxd5 18.Nf3 Kb8 19.Ne5 Qc7 20.Rac1± 1-0 (30) Kengis,E (2565)-Fassl,E (2255) Vienna 1994 7...Nf6 Wei is sensibly declining to help the opponent with the opening of the position. The lesser evil may well be the loss of a tempo with the knight retreat. 8.g3 8.g4 Nc6 9.g5 Ng4 10.Ned5 Qd7 11.Nb5 0-0-0 12.Ndxc7 Bf5 8...Nc6 9.Bg2 Qd7 9...0-0-0 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.Qa6+ Kb8 12.Qxc6 d5 13.d4 10.b4!? White is fighting for the initiative with the help of this original pawn advance on the queenside. d5 10...Nxb4 11.Rb1 d5 12.a3 d4 13.axb4 dxe3 14.fxe3 11.b5 Nd4 The first really tough decision for the second player as there was nothing wrong with a more restrained retreat 11. ..Ne7. 11...Ne7 12.Na4 a6 13.c4 Qd6= 12.Qd3 c5 13.0-0 13.bxc6 Nxc6 14.Nexd5 Nxd5 15.Nxd5 0-0-0 16.Nf4 Qxd3 17.cxd3 Bf5= 13...0-0-0 14.Re1 h5 15.h4 g5? It is easy to dismiss this courageous idea with the help of a computer and some hindsight. Black is accepting a high degree of risk when a simple knight move was enough to maintain equality. 15...Nf5 16.b6 axb6 17.Rb1 Nxe3 18.dxe3 c4 19.Qf1 Bc5= 16.b6 16.hxg5 Ng4 17.b6± 16...a6 16...axb6 17.hxg5 Ne4 18.Nexd5± 17.hxg5 Ng4 18.Ncxd5 h4 19.Nc7? Rapport was surely happy with his achievements as the position has opened up to his advantage. Unfortunately there was no guarantee that he would solve the tactical part correctly. In two moves the advantage will turn into grief... 19.Nxg4! Bxd5 19...Bxg4 20.Bb2 hxg3 21.Bxd4 cxd4 22.Qc4+ Kb8 23.Qc7+ Ka8 24.Nf6+- 20.Nf6 Bxg2 21.Nxd7 Nf3+ 22.Qxf3 Bxf3 23.Bb2 Rh5 24.Nxf8 hxg3 25.fxg3 Rxf8 26.Re7± 19...h3 20.Bxb7+? 20.Nxg4 hxg2 21.Nxe6 Rh1+ 22.Kxg2 Rxe1 23.Nxd8 Qxg4 24.Bb2 Rxa1 25.Bxa1 Kxd8 26.Bxd4 cxd4 26...Qxd4 27.Qf3 Qd7 28.g6= 27.Qc4 Qd7 28.f4= 20...Kxb7 21.Qxa6+ Kc6 22.Nxg4? The knight on g4 was dangerous for the white king, the bishop will be worse! 22.Rf1! Kd6! 23.Qb7 Bg7 24.Kh1 Rb8 25.Qe4 Qc6 22...Bxg4 23.b7+ White feels correctly that he can afford to try any idea in a completely lost position. 23.Qa4+ Kd6 24.Qxd7+ Kxd7-+ 23...Kxc7 24.Qa5+ Kb8 25.Qa8+ 25.Rb1? h2+ 26.Kg2 Bf3+ 27.Kf1 h1Q# 25...Kc7 26.Qa5+ Kd6! Wei was forced to admit that the king can not hide at the edge of the board and has to march to the absolute centre of the board. 27.Qb6+ Kd5 28.Re3 28.c4+ Kxc4 29.Kh2 Rb8-+ 28...h2+ 29.Kh1 Qc6 30.Rb1 30.b8Q Rxb8 31.Qxb8 Kc4+-+ 30...Qxb6 31.Rxb6 Bd6 32.Bb2 Rde8 In a contest for games with original positions this game would be a great candidate for one of the top spots! 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Rapport,R2702Wei,Y27060–12017C42Tata Steel-A 79th6
 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 h6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.e3 Bf5 9.Ne2 0-0 10.g4 Bh7 11.h4 Ne8 12.Nf4 Nc6 13.g5 hxg5 14.hxg5 Qxg5 15.Ra2 Qd8 16.Rah2 Nf6 17.Qc2 g6 18.Rxh7 Nxh7 19.Qh2 Re8 20.Qxh7+ Kf8 21.Qh6+ Ke7 22.Qg5+ 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Wagner,D2543Nikolic,P26221–02017E20Schachbundesliga9.7

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Die Partie des Jahres 2017/ The best game of the year 2017
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