Wijk aan Zee 2008
GM Mihail Marin in his analysis kitchen at home in Romania
The following express commentary was provided by Romanian grandmaster Mihail
Marin, who is the author of a number of very popular ChessBase
training CDs and articles for ChessBase Magazine. GM Marin will study the games
of the World Championship tournament in much greater detail and provide the
full results of his analysis in the next issue of ChessBase
Magazine.
Round nine commentary by GM Mihail Marin
| Group A: Round 9 - Tues. Jan. 22th |
| Michael Adams - Loek van Wely |
1-0 |
| Levon Aronian - Pavel Eljanov |
½-½ |
| Vassily Ivanchuk - Shak. Mamedyarov |
½-½ |
| Judit Polgar - Teimour Radjabov |
½-½ |
| Veselin Topalov - Vladimir Kramnik |
1-0 |
| Boris Gelfand - Vishy Anand |
½-½ |
| Peter Leko - Magnus Carlsen |
1-0 |
The 9th round scheduled one of the most awaited game of the tournament, one
that opposed the ex World Champions Topalov and Kramnik. The game was pure spectacle,
with a stunning novelty which had been kept a secret for three years, complicated
middlegame fight and mutual missed opportunities in the final part. Topalov
won after 45 moves and there seems to have been just one moment when Kramnik
could have saved the game.
Leko-Carlsen featured a tense fight with some initiative for White. Black defended
actively, but then missed a relatively simple draw and immediately resigned
(see the express report).
Playing with white, Adams gradually squeezed van Wely in a static position.
He managed to win a pawn with a simple trick. Black was forced to launch an
energetic counterplay, but eventually misplaced his pieces and, confronted with
additional losses of material, resigned on move 47.
A spectacular tactical fight could be seen in Ivanchuk-Mamedyarov. The exchange
of blows eventually resulted into almost complete simplifications and a logical
draw.
Playing with Black against Judit Polgar, Radjabov unearthed the out-fashioned
Jänisch Attack and obtained an entirely adequate position out of the opening.
Soon, Judit initiated a tcaticaloperation resulting into a draw by perpetual
check.
Anand once again employed his "pet" variation against Gelfand's
Catalan and equalized comfortably. In fact, Black'sposition looked more attractive
after 25 moves, when a draw was agreed.
A solid but complex line of the English Opening was rehearsed in Aronian-Eljanov.
Players ageed on a draw after 20 moves, in a moment when there was a lot of
play yet.
Topalov,V (2780) - Kramnik,V (2799) [D43]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (9), 22.01.2008 [Mihail Marin]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6. During the Elista match, Kramnik
played 4...dxc4 in all the 3 games where this position arised, obtaining entirely
satisfactory positions out of the opening. After the match, he started employing
the sharper Moscow/Anti-Moscow systems, where he seems to feel at home with
both colours. 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4. Between players that do not shake eachother's
hands before the game, the positional 6.Bxf6 is out of question, of course.
6...dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.0-0 Nbd7 11.Ne5 Bg7
This position is so frequently seen nowadays that it would hardly deserve a diagram
under normal circumstances. The real tabyias arise slightly later, but in the
present game White deviated from the approved path abruptly.
12.Nxf7!? If
such surprises, in the true spyrit of the King's Gambit, can arise from once in
a while still, we are quite far from the exhaustion of our favourite game still.
In the press conference Topalov said Cheparinov found Nxf7 three years ago, and
they have been saving and developing it ever since. A huge effort indeed, but
the resulting positions cannot be analized properly without considerable investment
of time. All engines would consider that Black is just winning in all the lines,
which can be quite discouraging for the faint-hearted. Contrary to the almost
unanimous opinion, the move is not a novelty, though. It had been played for the
first time by the Romanian correspondemce player Miron Nacu two years ago, as
Marius Ceteras (among others, captain of the Romanian Ladies Olympic correspondence
team) kindly informed me.
12...Kxf7
Black is a full piece up and there is no obvious way for White to get at least
part of his material back. However, the permanent exposure of the black king to
White's pieces' attack justifies the sacrifice from abstract point of view.
13.e5.
Only this move is new. Both correspondence games continued with 13.f4 (If
we spoke about the King's Gambit, this move is quite natural, even if played with
a delay of more than 10 moves) 13...b4
(This looks suspicious. Later,
Black tried to improve by evacuating the king from the centre with
13...Kg8
when after
14.e5 Nd5 15.Nxd5 cxd5 16.Bh5 White's kingside pressure
eventually proved sufficient for reaching a draw in Brodda-Zidu, ICCF 2007.
)
14.f5 exf5
(There is no immediate refutation for
14...bxc3 15.fxe6+
Kxe6 , but the presence of the king in the centre would be a permanent source
of worries.
) 15.Bxc4+ Ke7 16.Rxf5 bxc3 17.bxc3 Rf8 18.h4 with strong initiative
for the considerable material disadvantage, Nacu-Brodda, ICCF 2006.
13...Nd5
14.Ne4. The next phase of the game consists of natural developing moves, as
if nothing extraordinary had happened. Quite logically so, because development
should be the highest priority in the first phase of the game no matter what.
14...Ke7 15.Nd6 Qb6 16.Bg4 Raf8 17.Qc2
17...Qxd4. This is the first move after which engines switch their evaluation
from better for Black (already not winning, though) to at least equal for White.
Which does not mean anything really, it might just be a consequence of the horison
effect. Kramnik's move was probably dictated by the desire to establish some communication
between the opposite wings (something that was possible only along the back rank
until now). From the computer's suggestions, I would consider 17...Rhg8 as logical,
because it develops the last piece, anticipating the infiltration of the white
queen at the same time.
18.Qg6 Qxg4 19.Qxg7+ Kd8 20.Nxb7+. Black's material
advance has been reduced to the minimum, but Kramnik probably relied on his stability
on light squares as well as on the optical dispersion of White's forces all over
the board. The queen and the knight are placed on active positions, but they are
not sustained by the rooks, restricted to back rank activity for the time being.
At the same time, the g3-bishop is somewhat out of play. Its only function is
to keep the essential e5-pawn protected.
20...Kc8
The king could not go to c7 because of Nc5, with an unpleasant pin. However, the
relatively best king retreat to c8 is not without drawbacks either. White is not
at all forced to hurry with the check on d6, when after ...Kc7 Black would reach
relative stability on the queenside. Taking advantage of the fact that the d7-knight
is hanging, too, Topalov will leave his own knight on b7 for several moves, keeping
Nd6+ in reserve. This is a typical way to increase the force of a determinedpiece.
From b7, the knight controls the c5- and d8-squares, but also, indirectly, all
the squares that can be reached from d6 in one move. After a premature knight
jump to d6, the former area of influence would be lost. During the game, it is
hard to foresee all the cases when a difference would be made by delaying the
move Nd6+, but while this possibility will be available anyway, delaying it will
(at least theoretically) restrict Black's choices.
21.a4 b4 22.Rac1. Threatening
Rxc4! Black has obvious problems maintaining the queenside closed.
22...c3
23.bxc3
23...b3!? Aiming to maintain the c-file closed. 23...Nxc3 would allow
White to coordinate the action of most of his pieces with 24.h3! Qd4
(24...Qe2
would leave both e6- and b4-pawns undefended and White would immediately attack
them with
25.Qe7!) 25.Rfd1! when Black would have to find a form of giving
up the queen for (probbaly) insufficient compensation, since the natural line
25...Nxd1? 26.Nd6+ Kc7? (Black should capture on d6 already. The text move aims
to keep the knight and the e6-pawn defended, which is essential in order to avoid
decisive attack.) loses the queen for nothing to 27.Nb5+; In case of 23...bxc3
White has a wide choice, but I like 24.Rfd1 best, because it brings the last piece
into play. The concrete threat is Rxd5 followed by Qe7 with a strong attack.
24.c4.
After the recent structural modifications, Black's central knight has lost
stability.
24...Rfg8 Black cannot afford to open the d-file and has to
start chasing the enemy queen.
25.Nd6+.He could still have waited for one
more move.
25...Kc7 26.Qf7 Rf8
A first critical moment of the game. White cannot evacuate his queen starting
with 27.Qg6? because of 27...Nf4! 28.Bxf4 Rhg8! followd by 29...gxf4 with a strong
counterattack. Agreeing to the repetion of moves is out of question (they would
have had to look into eachother's eyes in order to fix the draw in that case,
but this would have been almost as humiliating as shaking hands!) which means,
using the method of elimination, that White has to create a threat at least as
strong as ...Rxf7.
27.cxd5!? Optically speaking, the most natural decision.
It is easy to establish that White will get ample compensation for his queen;
no complicate calculation is required. Objectively speaking, 27.h3! might be better,
though. This move was suggested by
Garry Kasparov, who was following
the game informally (phoning and discussing with people in between) on a notebook
without an engine! In fact, the first sequence of moves is not difficult to calculate
and I assume that Topalov saw it, too: 27...Rxf7 28.hxg4 Nf4 (The only way to
maintain the material disadvantage within acceptable limits) 29.Nxf7 Ne2+ 30.Kh2!
(This move is natural and would be the instant choice of most players. I have
awarded it with an exclaim because in a certain line it will be essential not
to have the king on the back rank.) 30...Nxc1 31.Rxc1 Rb8
Analysis diagram
Players have reversed their parts and it is White who is a piece up now. However,
with the bishop temporarily imprisonned on g3, the b-pawn, sustained by the
rook and knight, seems to be very dangerous. Topalov must have evaluated this
position as unclear, but further analysis proves that Kasparov's intuition did
not let him down. White is able to generate a powerful and somewhat unexpected
counterplay on the opposite wing, developing by one tempo faster than Black's
simple plan. Here are some possible continuations (part of them provided by
Kasparov himself, when confronted with a powerful chess engine by Frederic Friedel)
32.Rb1 Nc5 33.f4! Nxa4 (Black should not lose time. In case of an exchange on
f4, the bishop will get into play just in time to keep Black's counterplay under
control) 34.fxg5 hxg5 35.Nxg5 b2 (35...Nc3 also leads to remarkable
play after 36.Nxe6+ Kc8 . The only possible retreat on an apparently
empty area of the board. After any other move, White would play Rxb3! Once again,
the direct and indirect action of White's knight keeps under control a bunch
of important squares. 37.Rf1 b2 38.Nc5! Establishing a nice net around
the enemy king. 38...b1Q 39.Rf8+ Kc7 40.e6+ Kb6 41.Rxb8+ Kxc5 42.Rxb1 Nxb1
43.e7 winning.) 36.Nxe6+ Kc8 (Again the only square. 36...Kd7
37.Nc5+! Nxc5 38.e6+ would lose the rook; while 36...Kb7 leaves
Black without the threat ...Nc3.) 37.g5 Nc3 Finally, Black has reached
his optimal regroupment, but after 38.Rxb2 Rxb2 39.g6+- the pawn is unstoppable.
27...Rxf7 28.Rxc6+ Kb8 29.Nxf7
29...Re8?! This is the second critical moment and... Black's only chance
to save the game! Kramnik played his last move quickly, apparently without considering
any alternative to removing the rook from the attacked square. By this moment,
Kasparov felt somewhat frustrated by the fact that on the server
nobody was suggesting 29...Qe2! , which he considered a way to hold the position.
The basic idea is similar to that behind his previous suggestion, 27.h3. Instead
of parrying the threat Nxh8, Black creates a stronger one! Indeed, in case the
knight captures on h8, Black takes on f1 followed by ...b2, with a likely draw
by perpetual, because Wite's pieces are not communicating with eachother. Here
is a (not entirely forced) line confirming Kasparov's evaluation: 30.Rc3
(After
30.Rcc1 Rc8! 31.Rb1 b2 White is too passive to claim an advantage.
)
30...b2 31.Rb3+ Ka8 32.Nxh8 Nc5 33.Rb5
(The rook is instable along
the b-file and will have to capture on b2 at some point. However, it is useful
to distract from its actual square the knight before doing that.
33.Rxb2?!
Qxb2 34.dxe6 Nxe6 allows Black consolidate on the kingside,, while his a-pawn
could prove dangerous in the near future.
) 33...Nxa4 34.Rxb2 Qxb2 35.dxe6
Qb6 36.e7 Qe6 Apparently, White is in some trouble, but he can maintain some initiative
with 37.f4 gxf4 (Otherwise, Black would have to fight against two connected pawns)
38.Bh4, but the position remains fairly unclear.
30.Nd6 Rh8 31.Rc4 Qe2 32.dxe6
Nb6 33.Rb4
White has a material advantage already, active piece placement, far advanced pawns
and the safer position of the king. Black is in big trouble.
33...Ka8 34.e7?!
More accurate would have been 34.Rxb3, keeping both e-pawns on board.
34...Nd5
35.Rxb3 Nxe7 36.Rfb1 Nd5 37.h3
There seems to be some hope for Black now, since there is no obvious way for White
to improve his position.
37...h5?! But after this pseudo-active move, weakening
the g5-pawn and allowing White regroup with gain of time, simplifies White's task.
38.Nf7 Rc8 39.e6 Threatening mate in one.
39...a6 40.Nxg5 h4 41.Bd6!
The h4-pawn has little significance in this moment. Topalov prefers to use
his bishop to sustain the advance of his passed pawn.
41...Rg8 42.R3b2 Qd3
43.e7 Nf6 44.Be5 Nd7 45.Ne6
There is no satisfactory defence against Nc7+ followed by Rb7#. 1-0. [Click
to replay]
Adams,Mi (2726) - Van Wely,L (2681) [B87]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (9), 22.01.2008
[Mihail Marin]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4
This might be regarded as a tribute to Fischer, who played the Sozin Attack almost
exclusively for a long period of time.
6...e6 7.Bb3 b5 8.0-0 Be7 9.Qf3 Qc7
10.Qg3 0-0 11.Bh6 Ne8 12.Kh1 Kh8 13.Bg5 Bxg5 14.Qxg5 Nf6 15.f3
This is a familiar modern pattern, but Fischer usually advanced his f-pawn until
the 5th rank. Or, alternatively, he did the same with the g-pawn.
15...Bd7
16.Rfd1 Nc6 17.Nxc6 Bxc6 18.a3 Rab8 19.Rd4 Rfc8 20.Rad1
Black is in no immediate danger, but White's advantage of space is hard to challenge
in any way. The presence of the bishop on b3 inhibits such thematic freeing moves
as ...d5 and/or ...e5.
20...h6 21.Qd2 Ne8 22.Ne2 a5 23.c3 Nf6 24.Qe3 Rd8 25.Ng3
Rd7 26.h3 Qa7 27.Qe1 Rbd8 28.R4d2 Qc5 29.Ne2 Qe5 30.Rd4 g5 31.c4 bxc4 32.Bxc4
32...Nh5?! Black's counter-attack has a static character and is not likely
to develop quickly. Therefore, he should have first played a prophylactical kingmove,
removing His Majesty from the dangerous long diagonal.
33.Qc3! Suddenly,
the threat Bxe6! is not easy to parry.
33...Bb7. 33...Rc8 would lose the
d6-pawn to 34.Rxd6! This is another drawback of the king's presence on the long
diagonal.
34.Bb5! Winning a pawn. The bishop is taboo because of a deadly
discovered check.
34...Rc8 35.Qxa5 Rc2 36.R4d2 Rdc7 37.Qb4 Kg7 38.Qd4 Kf6 39.Kg1
d5 40.exd5 Bxd5 41.Qxe5+ Kxe5 42.Nc3 Rxd2 43.Rxd2 Nf4
44.g3! A well calculated tactical operation, annihilating Black's counterplay.
44...Nxh3+ 45.Kh2 g4 46.f4+! Kd6 47.Be2 Black cannot parry the threats
Bxg4 and Nb5 simultaneously.
1-0. [Click
to replay]
Leko,P (2753) - Carlsen,M (2733) [C95]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (9), 22.01.2008 [annotated yesterday]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3
d6 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Bc2 Re8 13.Nf1 Bf8 14.Ng3 g6 15.b3 a5
16.Bd2 Rb8 17.Bd3 b4 18.Qc2 d5 19.cxb4 dxe4 20.Nxe4 Bxb4 21.Bxb4 Bxe4 22.Bxa5
Bxd3 23.Qxd3 e4 24.Qc4 exf3 25.Bxc7 Qc8 26.Bxb8 Qxb8 27.Rxe8+ Qxe8 28.a4 fxg2
29.a5 Qe4 30.a6 Nb6 31.a7 Kg7 32.Qc7 Qxd4 33.Re1 Qb4 34.Re7 Qxb3 35.Kxg2 Qd5+
36.Kg1
Watching the game on Playchess Garry Kasparov expressed approval with the performance
of "the kid", whom he had sent tow of his books a few years back and
in fact met for a training session in Norway. "He is really quite extraordinary,"
he told us, "a superb talent." This game was a well-played draw, since
Magnus had keep checking, and if the king moved to h2 he could play ...Qd4!
The game continued 36...Qd1+ 37.Kg2 Qd5+ 38.Kg1 Qd1+ "Leko
is saving some time," Kasparov said, "now he will move to h2."
39.Kh2. "Okay, the kid will find ...Qd4, lets go to another
game." 39...Qf3?? "What?? Oh dear, he blew it. He
broke under the pressure." Actually under time pressure: Magnus had just
20 seconds left on his clock. 40.Qxb6 Qf4+ 1-0. [Click
to replay]
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