Games
[Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.26"] [Round "?"] [White "Svidler, P."] [Black "Kramnik, V."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2808"] [PlyCount "131"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 c5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7 7. d4 cxd4 8. Qxd4 O-O 9. Rd1 d6 10. Bg5 Nc6 11. Qd2 Qb8 12. Rac1 Rd8 13. b3 h6 14. Bf4 Ne5 15. Nd4 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Qb7+ 17. f3 g5 $6 {This weakening of the position is a bit too ambitious.} (17... Ng6 $1 18. Be3 {what else?} d5 {was a better way to achieve the break that Kramnik wanted. Black is slightly better already, as White has some problems down the d-file and with Ba3 coming.}) 18. Be3 d5 19. Bxg5 $1 {Svidler is quick to pick up the gauntlet. This is the only reaction that White truly has against the break in the center.} hxg5 20. Qxg5+ Ng6 21. Nxe6 {The point, really. White has netted three pawns for the piece, but also Black's king is a bit loose and his coordination has suffered because of it.} Rd6 22. Nf4 Ne4 23. Qg4 Nxc3 (23... Nf6 24. Qf5 {allows White to keep up the pressure.}) 24. Rxc3 d4 25. Rcd3 Rad8 $6 (25... Qc8 {it was probably time to trade the queens. Black will lose d4 anyway.}) 26. Nd5 Bf8 27. Rxd4 Bg7 28. R4d2 (28. Nf6+ $6 Bxf6 29. Rxd6 Rxd6 30. Rxd6 Qe7 31. Rd2 Qe3 32. Rc2 Bd4 { looks like it gives Black enough counterplay to hold the game.}) 28... b5 29. Qe4 Qb8 30. c5 Re8 31. Qg4 (31. Qxe8+ $1 Qxe8 32. cxd6 Qd7 33. Nc7 $1 {In time pressure it is difficult ot assess a position like this, but Black should be lost here. The rooks are dangerously close to coordinating in such a way to kick the blockader from d7 and push the pawn, while Black has no real counterplay.}) 31... Rde6 32. e4 Qc8 33. Rc2 Ne5 34. Qf5 Qb7 35. f4 {Perhaps not a bad move, but very committal in a time trouble situation.} (35. h4 $1 $16 ) 35... Nc6 36. e5 Nb4 37. Rcd2 f6 {Risky, but in time trouble it makes sense to make the position explode.} 38. Qe4 (38. Kh3 $1 {A crazy move to play in time trouble, but the point is that after the forced} Nxd5 39. Rxd5 {Black cannot play fxe5} fxe5 40. Rd7 {with Qf7+ winning. The Rh6+ does little after Kg4.}) 38... Nxd5 39. Rxd5 fxe5 40. f5 Ra6 41. R1d2 $16 {Things are not so easy anymore, but we have crossed the 40th move and time control was reached.} Kh8 42. h4 Rh6 43. Kf3 $2 (43. b4) 43... Rh5 $1 44. Qg4 $6 (44. Rxe5 Qxe4+ 45. Rxe4 Rxf5+ 46. Kg4 Rfe5 $1 {is close to a draw.}) 44... Rxf5+ $1 45. Qxf5 Rf8 46. Qxf8+ Bxf8 {With White's queen off the board, perhaps Black can even think of winning the game. That being said, it's still a lot of pawns and the rooks can coordinate well against the king even now.} 47. b4 Qf7+ 48. Kg2 e4 49. Re5 $1 {After the mistakes, Svidler plays well again to not allow winning chances.} Qf3+ 50. Kh2 Qc3 51. Rdd5 e3 52. Re8 Kg7 53. Kh3 Qe1 54. Rde5 Qxb4 55. Rg5+ Kf7 56. Rxe3 Bxc5 57. Rf3+ Ke6 58. Rg6+ Ke7 59. Rg7+ Ke6 60. Rg6+ Kd7 61. Rg7+ Be7 62. Re3 a5 63. h5 (63. Rexe7+ Qxe7 64. Rxe7+ Kxe7 65. h5 Kf6 $19 {Black stops the pawns and queens on the queenside.}) 63... Kd8 (63... a4 64. h6 {is winning as Black now can't stop Rxe7.}) 64. Rg8+ Kd7 65. Rg7 Kd8 66. Rg8+ { An interesting draw that surely leaves Svidler with a sour taste.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.26"] [Round "?"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, I."] [Black "Tomashevsky, E."] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2731"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 {Nepo has been using the Scotch lately, including two victories against Chinese players in Danzhou and being held to a draw by Brunello in the Olympiad. It must not have come as a surprise to Tomashevsky.} Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 8. c4 Ba6 {Even though this was played almost exclusively for some time, the move 8...Nb6 has become more popular in recent years. Both should be perfectly playable for black.} 9. b3 g6 10. f4 (10. g3 {is the other idea in the position and leads to entirely different lines.}) 10... Bg7 $2 {Is this a mistake? It is the most popular move, as it has been played over 200 times, and by a couple strong players. The computers hate this move, and it has a very bad score on the database (61% for White). Not only that, but all the top grandmasters choose something else (Kasparov chose f6, while Jakovenko chose g5). Perhaps it is this early that we can point out where things started to go wrong for Tomashevsky.} 11. Qf2 Nf6 (11... Nb6 12. Ba3 Qe6 13. Nd2 $6 d6 14. O-O-O O-O 15. Ne4 dxe5 $1 {Gave Black compensation for the exchange (though he eventually lost) in Macieja-Kryvoruchko, 2012. That being said, White can improve on Nd2?!}) 12. Ba3 (12. Be2 {also looks quite annoying for black.}) 12... d6 $6 (12... Ng4 $1 {is probably Black's best, as in Shabalov-Granda Zuniga from 2005.}) 13. Nc3 { Already Black has huge problems. The threat of 0-0-0 with pressure on d6 is not easy to handle.} O-O (13... Qe6 14. Be2 dxe5 15. O-O {looks extremely risky. Black's king is completely stuck in the center.}) 14. O-O-O Ne8 15. g3 { simple chess is strong. Notice that due to the pin on a3-e7, there is no way that Black can break the bind in the center. The simple threat of Bg2 is hard to parry already. Black doesn't have the luxury of playing c5 either.} Bb7 ( 15... c5 16. Bg2 Rb8 17. Rhe1 {and e5 is still untouchable.}) (15... Qe6 16. Bg2 Bb7 17. Rhe1 {is miserable.}) 16. Bg2 f6 17. exd6 $1 Nxd6 (17... cxd6 18. Rhe1 Qd8 19. f5 $18 {is surprisingly less disastrous than the game.}) 18. c5 { The knight has no good squares to go to.} Nf5 (18... Nb5 19. Nxb5 {is winning due to the pin.}) (18... Nf7 19. Rhe1 {immediately traps the queen.}) (18... Ne8 19. Rhe1 Qf7 20. Bf1 {is the same as the game.}) 19. Rhe1 Qf7 20. Bf1 { The game is over. There is no way to prevent Bc4 - not only is it a pin, but it just traps the queen on that square!} Rfd8 21. Rxd8+ Rxd8 22. Bc4 Rd5 23. Qe2 {Black loses the exchange and his position is still bad. Absolutely demolition.} 1-0 [Event "Tal Memorial"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.26"] [Round "1"] [White "Ian Nepomniachtchi"] [Black "Evgeny Tomashevsky"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2731"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "2016.09.25"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 {The Scotch! It's a rarity in top grandmaster play, but Nepo has essayed this opening in many recent games. His handling of the resulting complex positions is world-class.} exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 8. c4 Ba6 (8... Nb6 {is also a popular move in the position; an important point is that that Black has yet to commit the light-squared bishop.}) 9. b3 g6 10. f4 Bg7 {It's hard to call this move an outright blunder as it is actually the most popular continuation according to the database. However, both the engines and the scoreboard hate the move, as evidenced by White's impressive win rate in the line. On the other hand, the move d6 scores extremely well. For just one example (this line hasn't been played too frequently), see the following Kramnik game.} (10... d6 11. Qf2 Nf6 12. Be2 dxe5 13. O-O Ne4 14. Qf3 f5 15. Nc3 exf4 16. Nxe4 fxe4 17. Qxf4 Bg7 18. Ba3 Bd4+ 19. Kh1 c5 20. Rae1 Rf8 21. Qg4 Bc8 22. Rxf8+ Kxf8 23. Qf4+ Kg8 24. Rd1 g5 25. Qg3 Qg7 26. b4 Be6 27. bxc5 Rb8 28. h3 Qe5 29. Qxe5 Bxe5 30. c6 Rb6 31. c5 Rb8 32. Bc1 Bxa2 33. Bxg5 a5 34. Be7 Bb3 35. Rf1 a4 {0-1 (35) Nedev,T (2484) -Kramnik,V (2760) Tromso NOR 2014}) 11. Qf2 Nf6 {According to the database, this is the second most popular move.} ({Generally preferred is} 11... Nb6 { which removes the knight from immediate danger, but even here White scores very well. Look how Macieja takes advantage of his opponent's structural weaknesses (doubled c-pawns, less space) and dominates in this instructive game.} 12. Ba3 Qe6 13. Nd2 d6 14. O-O-O O-O 15. Ne4 dxe5 16. Nc5 Qc8 17. Bb2 Re8 18. Bd3 Nd7 19. Nxd7 Qxd7 20. Bxg6 Qg4 21. Be4 Bb7 22. Rhf1 exf4 23. Bf3 Qe6 24. Bxg7 Kxg7 25. Qd4+ Qe5 26. Qxe5+ Rxe5 27. Rd7 Rae8 28. Rxc7 R8e7 29. Rxe7 Rxe7 30. Rd1 Kf6 31. c5 a5 32. a3 Re3 33. Kb2 Bc8 34. Bxc6 Be6 35. Bd5 Re2+ 36. Kc3 Bxd5 37. Rxd5 Rxg2 38. c6 Rg8 39. b4 Ke6 40. Rd3 axb4+ 41. axb4 { Macieja,B (2614)-Kryvoruchko,Y (2676) Lublin 2012 1-0}) (11... Bxe5 12. fxe5 Qxe5+ {would pick up the rook on a1, except that} 13. Qe2 {pins the queen to the king.}) 12. Ba3 d6 (12... Ng4 $1 {has been played three times. Black is able to prevent the harmonious development of White's pieces, leading to an unclear position with mutual chances. Granda defeated Shabalov in a topsy-turvy battle:} 13. Qe2 Qe6 14. Nc3 O-O-O 15. h3 Nh6 16. O-O-O d6 17. Ne4 Qf5 18. exd6 Qxf4+ 19. Rd2 Nf5 20. g3 Nxg3 21. Nxg3 Qxg3 22. Qg4+ Qxg4 23. hxg4 Be5 24. Rf2 cxd6 25. Rxf7 Rd7 26. Rxd7 Kxd7 27. Bb2 Ke6 28. Bg2 c5 29. Rf1 Bxb2+ 30. Kxb2 Bc8 31. a3 Ke5 32. g5 h6 33. gxh6 Rxh6 34. Bd5 Rh2+ 35. Kc3 Rh3+ 36. Kb2 Bf5 37. b4 Kd4 38. Rf2 Re3 39. b5 Re1 40. a4 Rb1+ 41. Ka2 Rb4 42. Ka3 Bd3 43. Rf4+ Kc3 44. a5 Rb3+ 45. Ka2 Rb2+ 46. Ka3 Rb3+ 47. Ka2 Kb4 48. a6 g5 49. Rg4 Ra3+ 50. Kb2 Rb3+ 51. Ka2 Bb1+ 52. Ka1 Ka3 53. Rxg5 Bd3 {0-1 (53) Shabalov,A (2593)-Granda Zuniga,J (2601) Buenos Aires ARG 2005}) 13. Nc3 { This is a novelty though 13.Nd2 was played only once, in a game between two masters back in 2003. The idea is clear: castle long and build up pressure on d6. The bishop on a3 makes Black's life truly difficult.} O-O (13... Ng4 { would come a move too late, since c6 is now hanging.} 14. Qf3 Nxe5 15. fxe5 Qxe5+ 16. Kd2 {requires some precision, but White is up a piece for just two pawns.}) (13... Qe6 {will result in Black's king being trapped in the center of the board.} 14. Bd3 (14. Be2 dxe5 15. O-O {is more than enough for an advantage since castling long is not a feasible solution for Black since a7 hangs and Na4-c5 follows suit.} O-O-O 16. Qxa7 Bb7 17. Na4 Nd7 18. Bb2) 14... Ng4 15. Qf3 dxe5 16. Be4 exf4 17. O-O-O Ne5 18. Rhe1 $3 {with endless checkmate threats, White is completely winning.} Bb7 (18... Nxf3 19. Bxc6#) 19. Nb5 $1 Rc8 20. Qxf4 {Black has just a pawn for all his troubles; the king remains stuck on the e-file with the rook on e1 barreling down on it.}) 14. O-O-O {The position already appears hopeless for Black. Tomashevksy does not even have an extra pawn for his troubles; he's simply getting rolled over.} Ne8 (14... Nd7 15. c5 $1 Nxc5 (15... Bxf1 16. cxd6 cxd6 17. Bxd6 {wins decisive material.}) 16. Bxc5 Bxf1 17. exd6 cxd6 18. Bxd6 Qb7 19. Rhxf1 Bxc3 20. Bxf8 { is an extra exchange for White whose king is not as unsafe as it might initially appear.}) 15. g3 Bb7 (15... c5 16. Bg2 Rb8 17. Rhe1 {is painful to watch.}) 16. Bg2 f6 17. exd6 Nxd6 (17... cxd6 18. Rhe1 Qc7 19. f5 {with the bishop on g7 shut down, hope is lost.} Qa5 20. Kb2 Qxf5 21. Qxf5 gxf5 22. Re7 Rf7 23. Rxb7 Rxb7 24. Bxc6 Rab8 25. Bxb7 Rxb7 26. Bxd6 {leaves White with too many passed pawns.}) 18. c5 {Winning material since all moves get Black's queen boxed in.} Nf5 (18... Ne8 19. Rhe1 Qf7) (18... Nf7 19. Rhe1 {and the knight has to sacrifice itself on e5, lest the queen be lost.} Ne5 20. fxe5) 19. Rhe1 Qf7 20. Bf1 {Simple, but immediately decisive. Black's queen is trapped.} Rfd8 21. Rxd8+ (21. Bc4 Rd5 22. Nxd5 cxd5 23. c6 Bxc6 24. Qc5 { is probably "better" but it also gives White more opportunities to falter.}) 21... Rxd8 22. Bc4 Rd5 23. Qe2 {Tomashevsky throws up the white flag since Nepomniachtchi will trade queens on e8 and then likely win the bishop on b7. This was a smooth win for Nepo and a warning sign for even the strongest of players who think they can challenge the Scotch without adequate preparation.} 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Memorial"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.09.26"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A30"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2808"] [Annotator "Komodo 9.01 64-bit"] [PlyCount "131"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 c5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7 7. d4 cxd4 8. Qxd4 O-O 9. Rd1 d6 10. Bg5 Nc6 11. Qd2 Qb8 12. Rac1 Rd8 13. b3 h6 14. Bf4 Ne5 15. Nd4 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Qb7+ 17. f3 g5 18. Be3 d5 19. Bxg5 $1 {The sac is practically very strong for White.} hxg5 (19... Ne4 $5 {This is an amusing engine line.} 20. Nxe4 dxe4 21. Bxe7 exf3+ 22. Kf1 fxe2+ 23. Kxe2 Nf3 (23... Qg2+ 24. Ke3 Ng4+ 25. Kd3 Nf2+ 26. Kc2 {and Black's attack sputters.}) 24. Qe3 Nxd4+ 25. Rxd4 Rxd4 26. Qxd4 Qxe7 {is a bit better for White, whose queen dominates.}) 20. Qxg5+ Ng6 21. Nxe6 Rd6 22. Nf4 Ne4 23. Qg4 Nxc3 24. Rxc3 d4 25. Rcd3 Rad8 26. Nd5 Bf8 27. Rxd4 Bg7 28. R4d2 (28. Nf6+ $5 {This idea hovers around a bit, but it is not clear if this is better than the game continuation. } Bxf6 29. Rxd6 Rxd6 30. Rxd6 Qe7 31. Rd2 Qe3 {Black still has resources despite the massive material deficit. The coming ...Bd4 creates problems.}) 28... b5 29. Qe4 Qb8 30. c5 Re8 31. Qg4 (31. Qxe8+ $5 {The computer suggests that this was a stronger winning try.} Qxe8 32. cxd6 Qd7 {Black is thoroughly tied down by the d-pawn.}) 31... Rde6 32. e4 Qc8 33. Rc2 Ne5 34. Qf5 Qb7 35. f4 Nc6 36. e5 Nb4 37. Rcd2 f6 38. Qe4 Nxd5 39. Rxd5 fxe5 40. f5 Ra6 41. R1d2 Kh8 42. h4 Rh6 43. Kf3 Rh5 44. Qg4 Rxf5+ 45. Qxf5 Rf8 46. Qxf8+ Bxf8 47. b4 Qf7+ 48. Kg2 e4 49. Re5 Qf3+ 50. Kh2 Qc3 51. Rdd5 e3 52. Re8 Kg7 53. Kh3 Qe1 54. Rde5 Qxb4 55. Rg5+ Kf7 56. Rxe3 Bxc5 57. Rf3+ Ke6 58. Rg6+ Ke7 59. Rg7+ Ke6 60. Rg6+ Kd7 61. Rg7+ Be7 62. Re3 a5 $1 63. h5 Kd8 64. Rg8+ Kd7 65. Rg7 Kd8 66. Rg8+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Memorial"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.09.26"] [Round "1.5"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Li, Chao"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D75"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2746"] [Annotator "Komodo 9.01 64-bit"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Azerbaijan"] [BlackTeam "China"] [WhiteTeamCountry "AZE"] [BlackTeamCountry "CHN"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 d5 5. Bg2 c5 6. O-O cxd4 7. Nxd4 O-O 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Nc6 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Be3 Bg4 13. Bd4 e5 14. Bc5 Qxd1 15. Rfxd1 Rfc8 16. Rd2 Bf8 17. Be3 Rab8 18. Bxa7 Ra8 19. Be3 Ra3 20. c4 ( 20. Rb2 $5 Be6 21. Rb6 {is a bit better for White.}) 20... Bb4 21. Rd3 (21. Rc2 $6 Bf5 22. Rcc1 c5 {leaves White thoroughly bound.}) 21... Bxe2 22. Rxa3 Bxa3 23. c5 Bd3 24. Rd1 e4 25. Bf1 Rd8 26. f3 Rd5 27. fxe4 Bxe4 28. Rxd5 Bxd5 29. Bg2 Bxg2 30. Kxg2 f5 31. Kf3 Kf7 32. Kf4 Kf6 33. h4 h6 34. Kf3 g5 35. hxg5+ hxg5 36. g4 $1 {This is the most direct draw.} fxg4+ (36... f4 37. Bd4+ Ke6 38. Ke4 {grants Black a protected passed pawn, but the game is thoroughly blocked.} ) 37. Kxg4 Ke5 38. Bxg5 Kd5 39. Kf3 Bxc5 40. Ke2 Kc4 41. Kd2 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Memorial"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.09.26"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2743"] [Annotator "Komodo 9.01 64-bit"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "Israel"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "ISR"] 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3 d5 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 dxc4 7. Nxc6 Qxd1+ 8. Nxd1 bxc6 9. Bg2 Nd5 10. Ne3 e6 11. Nxc4 Ba6 12. b3 Bb4+ 13. Bd2 Ke7 14. Rc1 Rhc8 15. Ne5 {N} c5 16. Bxb4 cxb4 17. Rxc8 Rxc8 18. Bxd5 Kd6 $1 {As always, the king is free to attack and defend in the endgame! Black is nominally better now, but no more.} (18... exd5 19. Kd2 $1 {grants White a slight but enduring advantage.}) 19. Bf3 Kxe5 20. Kd2 Rc5 21. a3 bxa3 22. Ra1 Bb5 23. Rxa3 Rc7 24. h4 h6 25. Ra2 g5 26. hxg5 hxg5 27. Rc2 Rxc2+ 28. Kxc2 Kd4 29. e3+ Kc5 30. Kc3 a5 31. Bd1 f6 32. f4 e5 33. Bf3 Be8 34. Bd1 Bb5 35. Bf3 Be8 36. Bd1 Bb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.27"] [Round "?"] [White "Anand, V."] [Black "Mamedyarov, S."] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2761"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Bb7 10. d4 Re8 11. Nbd2 exd4 12. cxd4 Nd7 13. Nf1 Na5 14. Bc2 Bf6 15. Rb1 c5 16. d5 Nc4 17. b3 Nce5 18. N3h2 Ng6 {As Svidler mentioned on commentary, this is all following the game between Giri-Svidler, a crucial victory for the Russian in the World Cup last year!} 19. Ne3 (19. Ng3 Bc8 (19... Bc3 $5 { Was perhaps an improvement by Bu against Hou Yifan in July.}) 20. Rf1 { Giri-Svidler, 2015.}) 19... Bc8 (19... Bc3 {was played in Macieja-Berczes, 2015. The Hungarian player, Berczes, won at the end.}) 20. Bd2 b4 21. Nhg4 a5 22. Nxf6+ Qxf6 23. g3 a4 {Anand didn't understand this move. He was happy to see a4.} (23... Nde5 24. f4 (24. Nf5 $5) 24... Nxf4 25. gxf4 Qxf4 26. Nf1 Qh4 27. Re3 Bxh3 {is similar to the game, but without the a4 pawn sacrifice. More analysis will be needed to determine the differences.}) 24. bxa4 Nde5 25. f4 { It is clear that after this move Black must sacrifice his piece. Anand considers this version to be better for White than without the a4 break. Thorough analysis will be found in a future ChessBase Magazine edition, but for now it seems that the former World Champion is correct.} Nxf4 26. gxf4 Qxf4 27. Nf1 Qh4 28. Re3 Bxh3 {Vishy thought it was hard to collect a4 in this position.} 29. Qe2 Qg4+ {A surprising decision, to exchange queens in this material balance.} (29... h5 30. a3 $1 {Is a nice break that activates White's pieces.}) 30. Qxg4 Bxg4 31. a3 Nf3+ 32. Kf2 Nd4 33. Rb2 bxa3 34. Rxa3 Nxc2 35. Rxc2 Rxe4 36. a5 {Even though Black has three pawns for the pieces, the combination of the power of the passed a pawn and the possibility for White's pieces to activate give him an almost winning advantage.} Bc8 37. Re3 {Based on a miscalculation.} (37. Rb2 $1 {was easier.}) 37... Rf4+ 38. Rf3 (38. Kg3 Rg4+ 39. Kf3 h5 40. Re8+ Kh7 $16 {is not that clear just yet.}) 38... Re4 39. Rb2 Ba6 40. Bc3 h5 41. Ng3 Rh4 42. Rb6 Rh2+ 43. Kg1 Rc2 44. Nf5 Bc4 45. Re3 $1 Kh7 46. Rxd6 $1 {The start of a study-like win.} Rb8 47. Rb6 Rxb6 48. axb6 Bxd5 49. Nxg7 Rg2+ (49... h4 50. Nh5 Kh6 51. Nf4 Bc6 52. Bf6 {and Black is in an annoying mating net.}) 50. Kf1 Rg6 51. Nxh5 Bc4+ 52. Kf2 Rxb6 53. Nf6+ { The point of the combination. Both king moves lose to different things.} Kh6 ( 53... Kg6 54. Nd7 {and Black cannot defend the rook and check on e5, taking the bishop, which incidentally also cannot be defended.}) 54. Rg3 {Nothing to to against impeding mate but sacrifice the rook, so Mamedyarov called it quits. } (54. Rg3 Rd6 55. Be5 Rd2+ 56. Ke1 Re2+ 57. Kd1 Rxe5 58. Ng4+ Kg5 59. Nxe5+ Kf4 60. Rg4+ $18) 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.27"] [Round "?"] [White "Gelfand, B."] [Black "Giri, A."] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2743"] [BlackElo "2755"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O $5 {Playing a King's Indian, as the next move protects d5. Giri is certainly more known for his Grunfeld.} 5. Nc3 Nc6 $5 {But actually this move almost transposes back to Grunfeld channels.} 6. e3 {Avoiding d5 at all cost! However e3 isn't considered a dangerous set up against the KID.} (6. Nf3 d5 {is the way MVL plays this variation, simply going back to his favorite opening. Of course, there is a chance that Giri would have played 6...d6, but we will never know.}) 6... d6 7. Nge2 e5 8. O-O exd4 9. exd4 Ne7 $5 {An unusual move in a well known position. Most of the time Black plays for a Bf5-Re7 plan, fighting for e4.} 10. Bf4 Nf5 11. Qc1 { Without the possibility of playing Bh6, at least not yet, this move baffles me a bit.} (11. h3 {with the potential idea of g4 might be better to do right away.}) 11... Re8 12. h3 c6 13. g4 Ne7 14. Bh6 d5 15. c5 {It seems foolish to play with an isolated pawn, so Gelfand grabs the space on the queenside.} b6 16. cxb6 (16. b4 {seems more natural to me, though after} a5 17. a3 axb4 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. axb4 Rxa1 20. Qxa1 h5 {Black shouldn't have real problems.}) 16... axb6 17. Re1 Bh8 18. Qf4 Nd7 19. Qd2 Nf8 20. Nf4 Ne6 21. Nce2 (21. Nxe6 Bxe6 22. b3 $11) 21... c5 $1 {It looks like this break can't be played, because it loses the d5 pawn, but Giri has decided that the activity is fully worth the pawn. An excellent decision.} 22. dxc5 bxc5 23. Nxd5 (23. Nc3 { was probably better, but it is hard to resist the pawn.} Ra6 $5 {Is a computer idea, with Rd6 coming up soon in certain variations.}) 23... Bb7 {The activity is based on the Benko-style pressure against the b and a pawns and the potential weakness of White's king.} 24. Nec3 Nxd5 25. Nxd5 Bd4 {Of course, having the d4 square for the bishop is also quite juicy.} 26. Nc3 (26. Nf4 $1 { was a better way of trying to hold everything together, though Black's initiative is still strong.}) 26... Bxg2 27. Kxg2 g5 $1 {Exploiting another one of White's problems: now the bishop on h6 is trapped!} 28. h4 (28. Rxe6 Rxe6 29. Bxg5 Qb6 {is very unpleasant for Gelfand.}) 28... gxh4 {The pawn on h4 is actually rather powerful, as it aids in the attack against White's king.} 29. Ne4 Qd5 30. f3 Rad8 $6 {The inclusion of Rd8 and Rd1 in most lines favors White. Kh8 immediately was better.} 31. Rad1 Kh8 32. Bg5 f5 $1 {An excellent move, keeping up the pressure.} 33. Bxd8 Rxd8 {Black has sacrificed a full exchange, but it is not easy to defend the knight on e4.} 34. gxf5 $2 {Losing instantly.} (34. Qh6 $1 fxe4 35. Rxe4 h3+ $1 {Is messy, but should favor Black. }) (34. Ng5 h3+ 35. Kh2 Be5+ 36. Kh1 Qxd2 37. Rxd2 Rxd2 38. Nxe6 Bg3 {looks like a very bad endgame for White, if not just lost.}) 34... Qxf5 35. Kh1 Rg8 { White is defenseless against Black's relatively simple threats.} 36. Rf1 Be5 { Covering h2, White cannot do anything against Qh3 and mate.} 0-1 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Anand, V."] [Black "Mamedyarov, S."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C92"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2761"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2016.09.25"] [SourceDate "2013.06.18"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Bb7 10. d4 Re8 {The Zaitsev.} 11. Nbd2 {The proper continuation, which has been played over two thousand (!) times.} (11. Ng5 Rf8 12. Nf3 { has been played an unfortunate number of times. Of course, Anand is not playing to draw.}) 11... exd4 (11... Bf8 {is more popular, and is the choice of players aiming to keep a symmetrical pawn structure. The game continuation instead leads to unbalanced play, which often favors White in the short term as he can more easily advance his pawns.}) 12. cxd4 Nd7 {Anand said he had prepared hundreds of lines "but not this Svidler Zaitsev."} 13. Nf1 Na5 14. Bc2 Bf6 15. Rb1 (15. N1h2 {scores an impressive 66% for White, though only 23 games with this position have occurred.} c5 16. d5 Nc4 17. Rb1 Nde5 18. Nxe5 Bxe5 19. b3 Nb6 20. Ng4 {and white went on to win in Wei Yi (2737)-Bu Xiangzhi (2710) Taizhou CHN 2015}) 15... c5 16. d5 Nc4 17. b3 Nce5 18. N3h2 Ng6 19. Ne3 (19. Ng3 Bc8 (19... Bc3 20. Bd2 Bxd2 21. Qxd2 a5 22. Ng4 Nf6 23. f4 $6 { (Better is 23. Bd3)} Bc8 24. Nxf6+ Qxf6 25. Rf1 b4 {Hou Yifan (2653)-Bu Xiangzhi (2723) Danzhou CHN 2016}) 20. Rf1 Nb6 21. Ng4 Bxg4 22. hxg4 h6 23. Nf5 Ne7 24. Ne3 b4 {eventually led to a black win in Giri,A (2793)-Svidler,P (2727) Baku AZE 2015}) 19... Bc8 20. Bd2 b4 {Part of me believes this move is overly committal. Sure, Mamedyarov stops his opponent from playing a2-a4, but the drawbacks are quite clear: the c4 square is forever under white's control and pawn breaks seem a bit distant.} (20... Nde5) 21. Nhg4 a5 22. Nxf6+ {I'm not quite sure I understand the need to capture this bishop. It's not going anywhere, so this feels rushed to me.} (22. Nf5 Nde5 $2 (22... Qb6 23. Nxf6+ Nxf6 24. Ng3 {and the black queen is misplaced on b6, meaning the minor piece exchange was well-timed.} (24. Bg5 {is also an enticing option.})) (22... Nb6 23. Qf3 Bxf5 24. exf5 Ne5 25. Nxf6+ Qxf6 26. Qg3) 23. Nxf6+ Qxf6 24. f4 { wins material for White. If the knight retreats to d7, Bc1-b2 is crushing, as both d6 and g7 are vulnerable targets.}) 22... Qxf6 23. g3 a4 {Anand wasn't sure if this really improves Black's position. Whether or not this move is necessary is the most important question in this game. Does it help White, who gains an outside passed pawn that can become dangerous in the long term? Or does it help Black, who may eventually capture the pawn and open the a-file or use the c4 square for his pieces?} (23... Nde5 24. f4 Nxf4 25. gxf4 Qxf4 26. Nf1 Qh4 27. Re3 Bxh3 28. Qe1 Qxe1 (28... Qh5 29. Nh2 {looks to successful ward off an attack. Again, the pawn on b3 is essential to white's defense.}) 29. Rbxe1 Bd7 {Black's position looks quite healthy, but removing the a-pawn and putting the b3 pawn on a4 appears to be immensely favorable for Black. There, a4 would be immediately under threat and the c4 square would be a nice destination for the knight on e5. But wait one second! The push a2-a3 would then be quite annoying (see analysis later in the game). In the current position, White would welcome the a4 push and not capture, as c4 is totally under control. Note that White could also opt for Qe2 rather than Qe1, as in the game.}) 24. bxa4 Nde5 25. f4 Nxf4 26. gxf4 Qxf4 27. Nf1 (27. Kg2 Qg5+ 28. Ng4 Qg6 29. Kf2 Bxg4 (29... Nxg4+ 30. hxg4 Bxg4 31. Qc1 f5 {is, practically, very difficult for White.}) 30. hxg4 Nxg4+ {is hideous. Anand's king will find no safety, and he'll be fortunate to survive.} 31. Kf3 h5 {Nobody wants to see a king on f3 with so much material on the board.}) 27... Qh4 28. Re3 Bxh3 29. Qe2 (29. Qe1 Qh5 (29... Qxe1 30. Rbxe1 Bd7 31. a3 $1 {is still slightly better for White.} Nc4 32. axb4 Nxe3 33. Nxe3 Bxa4 34. Bd3 {and White's two minors are superior to the rook and two pawns, since d6 is a huge weakness.}) 30. Nh2 Bd7 {is really annoying. Anand has to deal with his exposed king, the impending open a-file, and the centralized and superbly powerful knight on e5.} ) 29... Qg4+ {"This surprised me a lot." (Anand) Instead, Black had many attacking options. Considering Mamedyarov was his opponent, 29...Qg4+ should have been doubly surprising for Anand to see.} (29... h5 30. a3 {is a nice push, securing the passer for White. But} f5 $5 31. axb4 f4 32. Rxh3 {The only move. Often, when up a bunch of material and under attack, the best practice is to return some of it.} Qxh3 33. Qg2 Nf3+ 34. Kf2 Qxg2+ 35. Kxg2 Nxd2 36. Nxd2 cxb4 37. Nc4 Ra6 38. Rxb4 g5 {White is definitely better here, but Black does have decent chances to surive. There are a whole lot of pawns over on the kingside; it is not easy to stop all of them without making concessions.}) ( 29... g6 {with the idea of playing ...f5 is too slow.} 30. Be1 {shuts down any counterplay.} Qh6 31. Rg3 {and White has become fully coordinated, with the move a3 soon to come.}) 30. Qxg4 Bxg4 31. a3 Nf3+ 32. Kf2 Nd4 33. Rb2 bxa3 34. Rxa3 Nxc2 35. Rxc2 Rxe4 {Mamedyarov has three pawns for the minor piece, but it is not enough in the position. The a-pawn is very hard to deal with, considering it will forever be sufficiently defended on a5. Moreover, the pawn on d6 is a weakness and Anand has ample time to stop the kingside pawns in their tracks.} 36. a5 Bc8 37. Re3 {"A miscalculation." (Anand)} (37. Rb2 { was much simpler. The rook will make its way to b6, the knight to e3, and from there infiltration should not be much of an issue.}) 37... Rf4+ 38. Rf3 (38. Kg3 Rg4+ 39. Kf3 h5 40. Re8+ Kh7 {would have gotten Anand into more trouble than he bargained for. Sure, he still retains a nice edge, but the king is very misplaced in the direct line of the black pawns (you never want the pawns to storm down the board giving checks along the way).}) 38... Re4 39. Rb2 Ba6 40. Bc3 h5 41. Ng3 Rh4 42. Rb6 ({Anand wasn't sure of} 42. Bxg7 Bc4 43. Nf5 Rh2+ (43... Bxd5 44. Nxh4 Bxf3 45. Bf6 Be4 46. Rb6 {should be won for White, considering that Black's king is totally boxed in and mating threats are on the horizon. I don't see how Mamedyarov could prevent a5-a6 followed by a king march.}) 44. Kg3 ({Anand must not have realized that} 44. Ke3 $1 {is winning easily.}) 44... Rxb2 45. Bxb2 Rxa5) 42... Rh2+ 43. Kg1 Rc2 44. Nf5 Bc4 45. Re3 Kh7 46. Rxd6 Rb8 47. Rb6 {Forced, otherwise the rook starts causing trouble.} Rxb6 48. axb6 Bxd5 49. Nxg7 Rg2+ (49... Rc1+ 50. Kf2 Rb1 (50... h4 51. Nh5 Bc6 52. Nf4) 51. Nxh5 {-Anand. The same threat as in the gam exists: immediately Nf6+ picks up material, but there are also mating ideas galore. For example:} Be6 52. Rg3) (49... h4 {does not help matters, since the black king finds itself in a familiar mating net.} 50. Nh5 Kh6 51. Nf4 Bc6 52. Bf6 Rc1+ (52... Rc4 53. Re5 {threatening mate in one, and if} Rxf4 54. Bg5+ {picks up the full rook.}) 53. Kf2 Rc4 54. Nd3 {the knight actually keeps the king trapped, for a check on e5 would be deadly. The pawn on b6 is hard to handle as well.}) 50. Kf1 Rg6 (50... h4 {saves the pawn (for the moment) but} 51. Ne8 Kg6 52. Nd6 { wins the bishop, as after b7 the pawn must be captured.}) 51. Nxh5 Bc4+ 52. Kf2 Rxb6 {At first glance, it might seem that Anand lost most of his winning chances along with his last pawn. But not so fast: mate trumps material.} 53. Nf6+ $1 Kh6 (53... Kg6 54. Nd7 {wins the bishop on c4. It is important to remember that bishop and knight versus king results in a winning ending, so even though Anand has given up his final pawn, the win is certain.}) 54. Rg3 { Mamedyarov resigns, for he is mated if he does not sacrifice his rook for one of the minor pieces, leaving him with a totally lost game.} 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Gelfand, B."] [Black "Giri, A."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E61"] [WhiteElo "2743"] [BlackElo "2755"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2016.09.25"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. e3 d6 7. Nge2 e5 8. O-O exd4 9. exd4 Ne7 10. Bf4 (10. h3 d5 11. b3 Re8 12. Ba3 c6 13. Re1 Be6 14. Nf4 dxc4 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. bxc4 Nf5 {Nogueiras,J (2535)-Goldenberg,D (2310) Quebec 1997}) 10... Nf5 11. Qc1 Re8 12. h3 c6 13. g4 Ne7 14. Bh6 d5 15. c5 b6 16. cxb6 axb6 17. Re1 Bh8 18. Qf4 Nd7 19. Qd2 Nf8 20. Nf4 Ne6 21. Nce2 c5 $5 {An interesting pawn sacrifice. It was better not to accept it immediately.} 22. dxc5 bxc5 23. Nxd5 $6 ({Putting more pressure with e.g.} 23. Nc3 {was more promising.}) 23... Bb7 24. Nec3 (24. Ndc3 $5) 24... Nxd5 25. Nxd5 Bd4 $1 { This gives Black excellent compensation.} 26. Nc3 $6 ({Here} 26. Nf4 {was safer.}) 26... Bxg2 27. Kxg2 g5 {Threatening 28...Nf4+ and possibly 29...f6 when the bishop on h6 will be completely out of play and in danger of being trapped.} 28. h4 gxh4 29. Ne4 Qd5 30. f3 Rad8 31. Rad1 Kh8 {To remove Nf6+ as an option for White.} 32. Bg5 f5 $1 33. Bxd8 Rxd8 34. gxf5 $2 ({White could still fight after} 34. Ng5 {or}) (34. Qh6) 34... Qxf5 {Now it's suddenly -7 according to the computer.} 35. Kh1 Rg8 36. Rf1 Be5 $1 {The threat of Qh3+ is much stronger than the execution!} 0-1 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Svidler, P."] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, I."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D80"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2740"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2016.09.25"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 {What does a Gr..>=nfeld expert play against the Gr..>=nfeld?} 4. Bg5 {An interesting side-line which, however, doesn't give White more than the other lines: only a marginal advantage.} Bg7 5. Bxf6 Bxf6 6. cxd5 c5 7. dxc5 (7. dxc6 Nxc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Nf3 e5 10. d5 Ne7 11. e4 Bg4 12. Be2 Qb6 13. Rb1 Nc8 14. O-O Nd6 15. Na4 Qd8 16. b4 Rc8 17. Qd3 {?-? Olafsson, H (2504)-Carlsen,M (2484) Reykjavik ISL 2004}) 7... Nd7 8. e3 {From this point Nepomniachtchi started thinking, but probably only to double check his analysis.} O-O (8... Nxc5 9. Bb5+ Kf8 10. Nge2 Qb6 11. a4 Qa5 12. O-O Kg7 13. Nd4 Rd8 {Carlsen,M (2855)-Topalov,V (2761) Leuven blitz BEL 2016}) 9. Bc4 Nxc5 10. Nge2 Qa5 {And here it was Svidler's turn to start thinking.} (10... Bd7 11. O-O Rc8 12. Rc1 Qb6 13. b3 Rfd8 14. Nd4 Kg7 15. a3 a5 16. a4 Qb4 17. Na2 Qb6 18. Nc3 Qb4 19. Na2 Qb6 20. Nc3 {?-? Heimann,A (2493)-Vachier-Lagrave,M (2742) Rhodes GRE 2013}) 11. O-O (11. Qd2 {was played a few times as well:} b5 12. Nxb5 Qxd2+ 13. Kxd2 Ne4+ (13... Rb8 14. Rhb1 Bf5 15. Nbd4 Bxb1 16. Rxb1 Ne4+ 17. Ke1 Rfc8 (17... Rb6 18. b4 Rc8 19. Nc6 e6 20. Rc1 Rbxc6 21. dxc6 Rxc6 22. b5 Rc5 {Tomashevsky,E (2749)-Dominguez Perez,L (2734) Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2015} ) 18. Nc6 Rb6 19. f3 Nd6 20. Bd3 e6 {Tomashevsky,E (2758)-Vachier Lagrave, M (2744) Baku AZE 2015}) 14. Ke1 Ba6 15. Rb1 Rfc8 16. Bd3 Nc5 17. Bc4 { Mamedyarov,S (2736)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2758) Berlin GER 2015}) 11... Qb4 12. Bb3 Bf5 13. Nd4 (13. Bc2 Qxb2 (13... Bg4 14. Rb1 Bxe2 15. Nxe2 Bxb2 16. Nf4 Qa3 {Vitiugov,N (2725)-Grischuk,A (2774) Skopje MKD 2015}) 14. Bxf5 Bxc3 15. Rb1 Qd2 16. Nxc3 Qxc3 17. Rc1 Qb4 18. Rb1 Qc3 19. Rc1 Qb4 20. Rb1 Qc3 21. Rc1 { ?-? Kuzubov,Y (2635)-Inarkiev,E (2730) Izmir TUR 2016}) 13... Bd3 14. Re1 Rfd8 15. Qd2 a5 16. a3 Qb6 17. Ba2 Rac8 18. Rac1 Ba6 19. Rb1 Bd3 20. Rbc1 Ba6 21. Rb1 Bd3 22. Rbc1 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Tomashevsky, E."] [Black "Aronian, L."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D56"] [WhiteElo "2731"] [BlackElo "2795"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "2016.09.25"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. e3 Ne4 { This line of the Queen's Gambit Declined is called Lasker variation, even though the second world champion only played it twice. In his days, Erich Eliskases played it a lot.} 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 9. Rc1 c6 10. Qc2 ({The main line is} 10. Bd3 {e.g.} Nxc3 11. Rxc3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Nd7 13. O-O b6 14. Bd3 c5 15. Be4 Rb8 16. Qa4 Nf6 17. Bc6 cxd4 18. Nxd4 e5 19. Nf3 Rd8 {Svidler,P (2751)-Caruana, F (2807) Saint Louis USA 2016}) 10... Nd7 11. Be2 Nxc3 12. Qxc3 dxc4 13. Qxc4 ( 13. Bxc4 b6 14. O-O Bb7 15. Rfd1 Rfd8 16. Be2 c5 17. Qa3 a5 18. Ne1 e5 { Seirawan,Y (2625)-Timman,J (2590) Amsterdam 1995}) 13... e5 14. O-O exd4 15. Nxd4 Nb6 (15... Nf6 16. b4 Bd7 17. Rfd1 Rfe8 18. Qc5 g6 19. a4 Qxc5 20. bxc5 a5 {Carlsen,M (2877)-Aronian,L (2805) Saint Louis USA 2014}) 16. Qc3 Nd5 17. Qb3 a5 18. a3 a4 19. Qc4 Nb6 20. Qc3 Nd5 21. Qc4 Nb6 22. Qc3 Nd5 23. Qc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.29"] [Round "?"] [White "Mamedyarov, S."] [Black "Gelfand, B."] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2743"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 {The Moscow is definitely quieter than the Anti-Moscow with 6.Bh4, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hold any dangers for Black.} Qxf6 7. g3 Nd7 8. Bg2 dxc4 9. O-O Be7 10. Ne4 Qf5 11. Ned2 e5 12. e4 Qh5 {A novelty that I do not think will be repeated any time soon, even if objectively the move is ok, it gives White unnecessary options.} (12... Qe6 {Had been played by Topalov earlier this year against Li Chao, but also by Anand a few years ago.}) 13. Nxc4 exd4 14. Qxd4 Qc5 $5 (14... O-O) 15. e5 (15. Qxg7 Bf6 {just drops the knight on c4.}) 15... O-O 16. Qe4 Nb6 17. Ne3 Qb4 18. Nd4 $1 {Clearly Mamedyarov is gearing for a Kingside attack, not caring about his pawn on b2. The position is objectively dangerous for Black, he must be very careful, though the computer's cold blood says that black is fine with accurate play.} Rd8 $6 (18... Bc5 $1 19. Rfd1 (19. Rad1 Qxb2 20. e6 Bxd4 21. exf7+ Rxf7 22. Rxd4 Bd7 $15) 19... Qxb2 20. a4 {trying to perpetual the queen.}) 19. Rad1 Qxb2 20. e6 {Black cannot get rid of the knight on d4 now, and he must find precise moves.} Bxe6 (20... Bf6 21. Nef5 $1 {With an initiative, was the best hope for black.}) 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Bh3 $1 { Simply put, Black's lightsquares are too weak. The rest is easy for an attacking prowess like Mamedyarov.} Kh8 23. Bxe6 g5 24. Ng4 Rxd1 25. Rxd1 Qg7 26. Ne5 $18 Qf6 27. Bb3 Kg7 28. Ng4 (28. Ng4 Qf8 29. Bc2 {with no defense against Qh7.}) 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.29"] [Round "?"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, I."] [Black "Kramnik, V."] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2808"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 c5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7 7. d4 cxd4 8. Qxd4 O-O 9. Rd1 d6 10. Bg5 Nc6 11. Qf4 Qb8 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Rxd6 Na5 (13... Nd4 $6 {Nakamura-Gurevich, D, 2015.}) 14. Rad1 Qc7 {A new move, and an improvement over Rc8 which had been played twice before.} 15. Rd7 Qxf4 16. gxf4 Bc6 17. Ng5 Bxd7 18. Bxa8 Bxc3 19. Rxd7 Bxb2 20. Be4 h6 21. Nf3 Nxc4 22. Rxa7 {An endgame that has arisen basically by force. The opposite colored bishops have drawish tendencies, but since White has a slight initiatve with the more powerful rook and some temporary back rank problems, it is Black that has to be precise in order to fully equalize.} Rc8 23. Kg2 Bf6 24. Bd3 g5 25. f5 g4 26. Ne1 $1 e5 27. Nc2 h5 28. Nb4 Kg7 29. Nd5 {The transfer of the knight was slow, but it is clear that on d5 it pressures both sides of the board and it is quite annoying. } Bh4 (29... Nd2 {is some computer suggestion I would never have come up with.} 30. Nxb6 Rc1 {with apparent counterplay (?)}) 30. h3 $1 {More precision from Nepo.} Rc5 (30... gxh3+ 31. Kxh3 Bxf2 $2 (31... Bg5 32. e3 $1 {and Black's position is certainly unpleasant. Be2 is a threat, among others.}) 32. f6+ Kf8 33. Ne7 {Black's king is in some trouble and White has a big initiative. It's possible he is already winning.} Rd8 34. Nf5 $1 (34. Bxc4 $1 b5 {is a miraculous defense for Black, but it also loses.} 35. Ng6+ $1 fxg6 36. Rf7+ Ke8 37. Re7+ Kf8 38. Rh7 $1 $18)) 31. hxg4 hxg4 32. Nc7 $1 Kh6 33. Ne8 $1 {Again with the knight maneuvers!} Nb2 34. Be4 Nd1 $1 {A counter maneuver, making some threats on the kingside.} 35. Nd6 $1 Kg5 36. Rxf7 (36. e3 Ra5 $1 {is still not so clear.}) 36... Bxf2 $2 {The decisive mistake in time pressure.} ( 36... Nxf2 $1 {Holds the position, for example:} 37. Rh7 Kf4 $1 {A tough move to find, but its enough for a draw. Further variations and proof of this will be found in a future ChessBase Magazine!}) 37. Rg7+ Kf4 38. e3+ $1 {The tactical coup de grace.} (38. f6 Bh4 {White has real problems with his king, which is what e3 solves.}) 38... Kxe3 (38... Nxe3+ 39. Kxf2 {obviously loses.}) (38... Bxe3 39. f6 {and the pawn is running down the board.}) 39. Rxg4 Kd2 40. Bf3 Ne3+ 41. Kxf2 Nxg4+ 42. Bxg4 {The rook is no match for the pieces and it cannot hold down the passed pawn.} Rd5 43. Ne4+ Kd3 44. f6 Ra5 (44... Kxe4 45. Bf3+ Kf5 46. Bxd5 Kxf6 {and the a-pawn is the correct color.}) 45. Be2+ Kd4 ( 45... Kxe4 46. f7 Ra8 47. Bf3+) 46. f7 Ra8 47. Ng5 {The culminating move is by Nepo's wonderful traveling knight. A great game!} 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Memorial 2016"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.09.29"] [Round "?"] [White "Li, Chao b"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2746"] [BlackElo "2776"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [TimeControl "60"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e6 {[%emt 0: 00:00]} 3. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 4. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:09]} b6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 5. e3 {[%emt 0:00:38]} Ne4 {76} 6. Qc2 {[%emt 0:00:45]} Bb7 { [%emt 0:00:36]} 7. Bd3 {[%emt 0:00:14]} Bxc3+ {[%emt 0:00:11]} 8. bxc3 { [%emt 0:00:07]} f5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 9. O-O {73} O-O {[%emt 0:00:35]} 10. Nd2 { [%emt 0:00:18]} Nxd2 {303} 11. Bxd2 {117} Qh4 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 12. f3 {88} d6 { 85} 13. a4 {I think it is an interesting move as it forces my knight to c6.} Nc6 {622} 14. g3 {This looks suspicious to me. I was really surprised.} (14. e4 {Li Chao was afraid of} f4 {but here White has} (14... fxe4 15. Bxe4 Na5 { White gets the e4 square, but I can play this.}) 15. c5 $1 dxc5 16. dxc5 Ne5 17. Be2 {with the idea to play c4, and Bc3. Li Chao: I don't like the knight on e5. Anand: Yes, it is hard to say.}) 14... Qh5 {135} 15. e4 Na5 {712} ({ Here, I was hesitating, because I can play} 15... fxe4 16. Bxe4 (16. fxe4 { can win a tempo for White, but Black has} e5 17. c5 exd4 18. cxd4 {with the idea Qc4+.}) 16... Na5 {I was not at all worried about my position.}) 16. Rae1 {I suspected I was better here.} (16. Bf4 {was suggested by Li Chao, but I don't need ...Ba6 here, and can play ...e5,...f4.} e5 17. Bd2 f4 $15) 16... fxe4 {169} ({Maybe I can try} 16... Ba6 17. exf5 exf5 18. Re7 c5 (18... Bxc4 19. Rxc7 d5 20. Bf4 Rf7 (20... Bxd3 21. Qxd3 Rf7 22. Qb5 Rxc7 23. Qxd5+ $18)) 19. Bf4 {with Qe2, is not as good as I had thought earlier.}) 17. fxe4 {945} Ba6 {54 I was beginning to think that I may be better, but he found the only move that does not make him worse.} 18. Bf4 $1 {768} Bxc4 {662} ({I could go} 18... e5 {but then} 19. Bc1 {and I didn't like that fact that he has Rf5. Li Chao suggested:} c5 20. Rf5 Qe8 21. Ref1 Qe6 {I thought here he could take the file with} 22. Qf2 {It is close to being better, but even if I take the pawn on c4, he has moves like Qa2. It is hard to keep the structure perfect and do everything. I would be annoyed if there is a simpler way to be better.}) 19. Bxc4 {142} Nxc4 {100} 20. Qb3 {[%emt 0:00:27]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:43]} 21. Qb5 { 21 These moves are not incredibly difficult to find.} Rac8 {685} (21... Qe8 22. exd5 Qxb5 23. axb5 exd5 24. Re7 Rf7 25. Rxf7 Kxf7 26. Bxc7+ Ke6 27. Ra1 $1 { And I did not see how to make progress here, because I need ...Na3, and I actually saw here} g5 {trying to trap his bishop, but he goes} 28. g4 {and I couldn't see how to make improve. The rook is really passive. It is too much wishful thinking to bring the king to b7 to free the rook, but it is other-worldly. It won't work here because he just has Re1 in time. One idea would be to play} Na5 29. Re1+ Kd7 30. Bg3 Nc4 {but he has so many open files that he can go Rf1, etc. It was hard for me to control what was happening.}) 22. Qc6 {So this is okay, but it is my fault that I kept missing one tactic or the other...} Rfe8 {263} (22... Qe8 {will face the same problem as in the previous variation.} 23. exd5 Qxc6 24. dxc6 Rf6 {and now importantly} 25. Re4 ( 25. g4 Na5 26. g5 Rf5 27. Rxe6 Rcf8 28. Re4 Nxc6 29. Rf2 $11) 25... Na5 26. Rfe1 Kf7 27. g4 {looks very suspicious. It was difficult to find the correct set up.}) 23. Rf2 {It is at this point that I realized that I had missed something.} Na5 {523} 24. Qd7 {[%emt 0:00:36]} Qf7 {I just decided to make a draw here, because...} ({My original idea was to play} 24... dxe4 {because it is principled. But here,} 25. Bxc7 $16 {and I am paralysed. I can't move a muscle! Mainly because the bishop cuts my rooks off from each other.} (25. Be5 Qg6 {is excellent for me.}) 25... Qd5 26. Qf7+ Kh8 27. Be5 $16) 25. Qxf7+ {138} Kxf7 {[%emt 0:00:17]} 26. Bxc7+ {103} Kg8 {[%emt 0:00:52]} 27. Bf4 {No side can make progress here.} Nc4 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 28. Rfe2 {67} Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:07] } 29. Rf2 {106} Kg8 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 30. Rfe2 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:00: 11]} 31. Rf2 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.29"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2743"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2016.09.25"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. g3 Nd7 8. Bg2 dxc4 9. O-O Be7 10. Ne4 Qf5 11. Ned2 e5 (11... Nb6 12. Ne5 O-O 13. e3 c5 14. Be4 Qh3 15. dxc5 Bxc5 16. Ndxc4 Nxc4 17. Nxc4 Be7 {Kramnik,V (2785) -Kasimdzhanov,R (2690) Moscow RUS 2007}) 12. e4 (12. Nxc4 exd4 13. Nxd4 Qc5 14. Rc1 O-O 15. a3 Bf6 16. e3 Ne5 17. Nd2 Qb6 18. Qc2 Bd7 19. b4 a5 {Tomashevsky,E (2701)-Potkin,V (2610) Yaroslavl RUS 2014}) 12... Qh5 (12... Qe6 13. Rc1 b5 ( 13... exd4 14. Nxd4 Qf6 15. Nxc4 O-O 16. Nf5 Nb6 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Qd6 Qd8 { Kramnik,V (2793)-Anand,V (2773) London ENG 2013}) 14. b3 c3 15. Rxc3 Bb7 16. d5 cxd5 17. Rc7 Rb8 18. exd5 Bxd5 19. Re1 Rd8 {Li Chao (2755)-Topalov,V (2754) Stavanger NOR 2016}) 13. Nxc4 exd4 14. Qxd4 Qc5 15. e5 O-O 16. Qe4 Nb6 17. Ne3 Qb4 18. Nd4 Rd8 (18... Bc5 $5) 19. Rad1 Qxb2 $6 (19... Bf8 $5) 20. e6 $1 Bxe6 $2 ({Black had to try} 20... Bf6 {even though the complications after} 21. Nxc6 $5 {probably favor White.}) 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Bh3 $1 {Black's light sqares are fatally weakened.} Kh8 23. Bxe6 g5 {Weakening the position further of course, but what else?} 24. Ng4 Rxd1 25. Rxd1 Qg7 26. Ne5 Qf6 27. Bb3 Kg7 28. Ng4 1-0 [Event "Tal Memorial"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.09.29"] [Round "3"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A30"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2808"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2016.09.29"] 1. c4 {Despite a brilliant win with the Scotch in round one, Nepomniachtchi decides to play a different first move against Kramnik. It is common for grandmasters to diversify their repertoires, making them harder to prepare for. Judging from the position he obtained, it appears that Nepo was looking to outplay his opponent rather than out-prepare him.} e6 2. Nc3 c5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 b6 {By far the most common reply, essayed nearly 3500 times more than the second most popular move, 4...d5. This move order is flexible, whereas pushing the d-pawn so early could very well lead to a position with an isolated queen pawn, or a simple lead in development for White.} (4... d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 (5... exd5 6. d4 {will leave Black with an isolated pawn, but that's also not the end of the world.}) 6. Bg2 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. d4 {The essential point here is that the bishop on g2 is far superior to its counterpart on c8. White has a long-term advantage.}) 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7 7. d4 (7. Re1 {with the intention of playing e2-e4 is also popular.}) 7... cxd4 8. Qxd4 O-O (8... d6 {is much more popular than immediately castling and also scores much better (about 4.5% better). Black gets more flexibility with this move order as castling can wait. } 9. Rd1 a6 10. b3 Nbd7 11. e4 Qc8 (11... Qc7 12. Ba3 Nc5 13. e5 dxe5 14. Qxe5 {is the issue with 11...Qc7. Trading queens in this structure immensely favors White since Black's queenside is vulnerable, and the d-file is controlled by the rook on d1 (and potentially doubled rooks on the d-file). The queenside pawn majority is also easier to make progress with than the four on three on the kingside.}) 12. Bb2 O-O 13. Rac1 Re8 {is a relatively standard looking hedgehog for Black.}) 9. Rd1 d6 10. Bg5 Nc6 (10... Nbd7 11. Nb5 {can be a huge pain for Black to deal with. It isn't possible to keep d6 defended, so Black must push. Kramnik himself enjoyed a fine victory in this line:} d5 12. cxd5 Bxd5 13. Nc3 Bc6 14. Qc4 Qc8 15. e4 h6 16. Bf4 Bb7 17. Qxc8 Raxc8 18. e5 Nd5 19. Nxd5 Bxd5 20. Ne1 Rfd8 21. Bxd5 exd5 22. Rxd5 {and 1-0 on move 52, Kramnik, V (2766)-Aronian,L (2744) Monte Carlo MNC 2007}) 11. Qf4 Qb8 (11... h6 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Rxd6 {is a pawn that Black should not have quite enough counterplay for.}) 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Rxd6 Na5 (13... Nd4 {was tried against Nakamura, but it failed:} 14. Nxd4 Bxg2 15. Nc2 (15. Ndb5) 15... Bb7 16. Rad1 Qc7 17. R6d3 Qc6 18. f3 Qc5+ 19. Kg2 e5 20. Qf5 Qxc4 21. Ne3 Qc8 22. Rd7 {and 1-0 on move 53, Nakamura,H (2816) -Gurevich,D (2472) Las Vegas USA 2015}) 14. Rad1 Qc7 ( 14... Rc8 {had been played twice before, and a 2100 even drew a GM with this move. But in reality it's a scary position after} 15. c5 $1 Rxc5 (15... bxc5 16. Qa4 Nc6 17. Ne4 {also leaves Black with huge problems.}) 16. Ne4 {spells trouble for Black, since there is a very real issue on the h1-a8 diagonal. It looks unlikely that Black can even maintain material equality.} Be7 17. Nxc5 Bxd6 18. Qxd6 Qxd6 19. Rxd6 bxc5 20. Ne5 {will lose at least a pawn since Black's wayward knight can't defend anything. For instance:} f6 21. Nd3 c4 22. Nc5 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 {loses e6 at the very minimum, since} e5 24. Ra6 {traps the knight.}) 15. Rd7 {An interesting decision, forcing Kramnik to prove he can achieve equality.} (15. Qc1 {certainly tests Black: material equality will come, but the exposed squares on the queenside are a real liability.}) (15. Nd5 {with the tactical idea of exd5.16. Rxf6 fails immediately to} Bxd5 16. cxd5 e5 17. Qb4 Be7) 15... Qxf4 16. gxf4 Bc6 17. Ng5 (17. Ne5 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Bxe5 19. fxe5 Nxc4 20. Nb5 a5 {Black will scoop up e5 since White can't play f4 lest he lose an exchange via Ne3+. However, the pawn is not enough for an advantage as White's activity allows him to maintain the balance. The position is equal.}) 17... Bxd7 18. Bxa8 Bxc3 19. Rxd7 Bxb2 20. Be4 h6 21. Nf3 Nxc4 22. Rxa7 { After a series of more or less forced moves, we arrive at a position with equal material and opposite-colored bishops. Kramnik surely thought he had a draw in the bag, but the reality is that White stands (symbolically) better. The control of the seventh rank is annoying to counter, and the (doubled) pawn on f4 is actually an asset since a timely f4-f5 push will make f7 vulnerable. Black should not be worse off here, but Kramnik lacks activity and sometimes that's all one needs to win: not a legitimate threat, but the threat of a thread.} Rc8 23. Kg2 Bf6 24. Bd3 g5 $6 {By no means a bad move, but this invites f5.} (24... g6 {sitting with this move could not be too harmful, I think. Black has all his pawns covered, so a move like} 25. Rb7 Rc5 {keeps Black level. The pawn on b6 is actually immune from capture:} 26. Bxc4 Rxc4 27. Rxb6 {and while 27...Rxf4 is still a draw (heck, maybe Black can play for a win!),} Ra4 {seals the half point immediately.}) 25. f5 g4 26. Ne1 e5 {If you stop here and examine the position, you'll see that White has gained from all the pawn pushes. The pawn on g4: target. The pawn on f7: target. The pawn on f5? Hard to touch, well-defended by the bishop on d3. Importantly, now some piece swaps could be very bad for Black, if say, bishop takes on c4, the knight gallops its way to d5. This is wishful thinking to an extent, but it addresses the many issues that Black now has.} 27. Nc2 h5 28. Nb4 {The d5-square wasn't so far away after all!} Kg7 29. Nd5 Bh4 30. h3 $1 Rc5 (30... gxh3+ 31. Kxh3 Bxf2 32. f6+ Kf8 33. Ne7 {would have been big trouble for Black. The king is close to being mated, and the knight on c4 is hanging in many lines.} Rd8 34. Bxc4 (34. Nc6 b5 35. Rb7 Re8 36. Rxb5 {also is a big advantage for White.}) 34... b5 {it looks like Black regains the piece, but tactics are in the air:} 35. Ng6+ $1 fxg6 36. Rf7+ Ke8 37. Re7+ Kf8 38. Rh7 {with mate in one threatened, Black is forced to give up the exchange.} bxc4 39. Rh8+ Kf7 40. Rxd8 {with a winning position for White. The a-pawn decides the game.}) 31. hxg4 hxg4 (31... Nd6 {was an interesting intermediate move, though admittedly not an easy one to spot. On one hand, it threatens the knight on d5 and e5-e4 ideas, dislodging the bishop on d3. On the other, it encourages White to play e2-e4, which, while cementing the knight's outpost on d5, also opens the second rank for counterattacking opportunities.} 32. e4 (32. Nc7 {with the threat of Ne6+ can be met by} Kh6 33. Na6 Rc8 34. Rd7 Rd8 {likely is a draw with accurate play. Without rooks on the board, the chances of drawing positions with opposite-colored bishops generally increase.}) (32. f6+ Bxf6 33. e4 hxg4 34. Rd7 Ne8 35. Rb7) 32... hxg4 33. Rd7 Ne8 34. Nxb6 Nf6 {with counterplay and good drawing chances.}) 32. Nc7 Kh6 33. Ne8 {simultaneously hitting the pawn on f7 and preventing Black from playing ...Nd6. Now the advantage is tremendous, without the resource of 31...Nd6.} Nb2 34. Be4 Nd1 35. Nd6 {The pawn on f2 is far less important than the pawn on f7. One is just a pawn, the other is preventing a passed pawn.} Kg5 36. Rxf7 Bxf2 {loses on the spot to a nice tactic. Kramnik had chances to save himself with} (36... Nxf2 37. Rh7 (37. f6 Nd1 38. Rh7 Ne3+ 39. Kh2 Nf1+ 40. Kg1 Ne3 41. Bg2 (41. Rxh4 $4 g3 {with checkmate to come.}) 41... Kg6 42. Rxh4 g3 43. Nc4 Rxc4 44. Rxc4 Nxc4 45. Bd5 Ne3 46. f7 Kg7 47. Bb3 {with a draw.}) 37... Kf4 $1 (37... Nd1 38. Rxh4 $1 Kxh4 39. f6 Ne3+ 40. Kf2 Nc4 41. f7 Nxd6 42. f8=Q Nxe4+ 43. Kg2 {gives Black some drawing chances, but the tas_kif even possible_won't be fun.}) 38. Rxh4 Nxe4 39. Nxe4 Kxe4 40. f6 {and somehow this pawn is very annoying to deal with. It looks like the position should be a straightforward draw, but looks can be deceiving.} Rc8 (40... Kf5 41. f7 Rc8 42. Rh1 {is winning for White. The rook gets behind the pawn meaning the only way to get it off the board is to trade rooks into a lost king and pawn ending.}) 41. Rxg4+ (41. Kg3 Kf5 42. f7 Kf6 43. Kxg4 Kxf7 44. Kf5 Rc2 {is a draw.} 45. e4 Rf2+ 46. Kxe5 Rxa2 ) 41... Kf5 42. Rb4 Kxf6 43. Rxb6+ Kf5 {is easy to hold.}) 37. Rg7+ Kf4 38. e3+ $1 {This takes the square away from the knight. Nepo allows his pawn to race to f8.} (38. f6 Bh4 {is actually very problematic for White, who now loses f6 or else gets checkmated:} 39. f7 Ne3+ 40. Kh2 Bg3+ 41. Kg1 Rc1#) 38... Kxe3 39. Rxg4 Kd2 40. Bf3 Ne3+ 41. Kxf2 Nxg4+ 42. Bxg4 {Two pieces typically outmatch a rook, but with a passed pawn, it's even more of an advantage.} Rd5 43. Ne4+ Kd3 44. f6 Ra5 (44... Kxe4 45. Bf3+ {ends matters. It's essential to point out that the pawn on a2 queens on a light square!}) 45. Be2+ Kd4 (45... Kxe4 46. f7 Ra8 47. Bf3+ {picks up the rook.}) 46. f7 Ra8 47. Ng5 {Ne6 cannot be stopped, so Kramnik was forced to resign. Nepo did not present any theoretical advancements, but he did enough in the opening to push his opponent into uncomfortable waters. From what the engines assess as a totally equal position, he was able to outplay the former world champion and take home a full point.} 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.29"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D70"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2745"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2016.09.25"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nb6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. O-O-O Qd6 10. Kb1 (10. h4) (10. Nb5) 10... Rd8 11. Nb5 Qd7 12. d5 a6 13. Nc3 Qe8 14. Qc1 Na5 15. Bh6 (15. h4) 15... Bxh6 16. Qxh6 e6 17. h4 {Around here Svidler spent about half an hour on the possible move orders.} (17. Nh3 Qe7 18. Bd3 e5 19. Nf2 Nbc4 20. h4 Rd6 21. Bxc4 Nxc4 22. Qc1 b5 23. Nd3 Bd7 { Carlsen,M (2881)-Caruana,F (2791) Stavanger NOR 2014}) 17... exd5 (17... Qf8 18. Qf4 Qe7 19. h5 exd5 ({or} 19... g5 {Svidler})) 18. h5 Qf8 19. Qf4 (19. Qxf8+ Rxf8 20. Nxd5 Nxd5 21. exd5 {Svidler}) 19... Qe7 20. hxg6 fxg6 21. Nge2 { And here Svidler spent another half hour.} (21. exd5 Bf5+ 22. Kc1 (22. Ka1 $2 Nxd5) 22... Qc5 {Svidler}) 21... Be6 (21... Nc6 22. Nxd5 Nxd5 23. exd5 Nb4 24. Nc3 Bf5+ 25. Kc1 {Svidler}) ({Fearing his opponent was still in his preparation, Svidler thought} 21... dxe4 22. Rxd8+ Qxd8 23. Qh6 Qe7 24. Nf4 ( 24. fxe4) 24... exf3 25. Bd3 fxg2 26. Nxg2 {would be too dangerous, although he also suspected that the engines would like Black after} Qg7 27. Qg5 Bf5) 22. Nd4 dxe4 23. Qxe4 Rd6 (23... Bf5 24. Nxf5 Qxe4+ 25. fxe4 Rxd1+ 26. Nxd1 gxf5 27. exf5) 24. Nxe6 Rxe6 25. Qg4 Nc6 26. Ne4 Rd8 27. Rc1 Rd5 28. Qf4 Rf5 29. Qe3 Nb4 30. Qb3 N4d5 31. a3 Ree5 32. Bd3 Kg7 33. Ka1 Nf4 34. g4 Rf8 (34... Nxd3 35. gxf5 Nxc1 36. f6+ Qxf6 {is good for White after} 37. Rxh7+ $1 Kf8 38. Qd1 Nb3+ 39. Qxb3 Qe6 40. Qd1) 35. Bb1 Ne6 $6 (35... Nfd5) 36. Qc3 ({Here Aronian misses his chance.} 36. Rh2 $1 Nd4 37. Qd3 $1 Nxf3 38. Rh3 {was promising.}) 36... Nf4 37. Qxc7 (37. Ng5 $5 Qxg5 38. Qxc7+ Re7 39. Qxb6) 37... Nfd5 $1 38. Qxe7+ Rxe7 39. Rh2 Nf4 40. Rch1 Rh8 41. Rc1 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.29"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Li, Chao"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E43"] [WhiteElo "2746"] [BlackElo "2776"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.09.25"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. e3 Ne4 6. Qc2 Bb7 7. Bd3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 f5 9. O-O O-O 10. Nd2 Nxd2 11. Bxd2 Qh4 12. f3 d6 13. a4 $5 (13. c5 Nd7 14. cxd6 cxd6 15. Be1 Qg5 16. Bg3 d5 17. Rfe1 h5 {Sargissian,G (2702) -Thorfinnsson,B (2419) Reykjavik ISL 2016}) 13... Nc6 14. g3 {"This looks suspicious to me." (Anand)} (14. e4 f4 15. c5 dxc5 16. dxc5 Ne5 17. Be2 {Anand} ) 14... Qh5 15. e4 Na5 (15... fxe4 16. fxe4 e5 17. c5 exd4 18. cxd4 {Li Chao}) 16. Rae1 fxe4 17. fxe4 Ba6 18. Bf4 $1 {"The only move not to be worse." (Anand) } Bxc4 (18... e5 $5 19. Bc1 c5 20. Rf5 Qe8 21. Ref1 Qe6 22. Qf2 {Anand}) 19. Bxc4 Nxc4 20. Qb3 d5 21. Qb5 (21. Bxc7 $2 Nd2) 21... Rac8 22. Qc6 Rfe8 23. Rf2 Na5 24. Qd7 Qf7 25. Qxf7+ Kxf7 26. Bxc7+ Kg8 27. Bf4 Nc4 28. Rfe2 Kf7 29. Rf2 Kg8 30. Rfe2 Kf7 31. Rf2 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.30"] [Round "?"] [White "Kramnik, V."] [Black "Anand, V."] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2808"] [BlackElo "2776"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. h3 d6 7. c3 a6 8. Re1 Ba7 9. Bb3 h6 10. Nbd2 Re8 11. Nf1 Be6 12. Bc2 d5 13. exd5 Bxd5 14. Ng3 Bc5 { This maneuver is rather hated by the computers, and personally I think it simply wastes too much time.} (14... Nd7 $5) (14... a5 $5) 15. b4 Bf8 16. a4 g6 17. Bb2 b5 18. Ne4 Rb8 19. Bc1 Nd7 20. Bb3 Bxb3 21. Qxb3 {Upon close inspection, it is clear that Black's position is simply bad. The knight on e4 is very powerful, White's structure is better, the rook on the a-file can penetrate... also, White has nothing to worry about: there is little in the way of counterplay.} Re6 22. axb5 axb5 23. Be3 Nf6 24. Rad1 Nxe4 25. dxe4 Qe8 26. Rd5 {The symmetrical structure alleviates the position somewhat, but White continues with the initiative.} Nd8 27. Ra1 Nb7 28. Ra7 c6 29. Rd1 Nd6 30. Nd2 Ra8 31. Rda1 Rxa7 32. Rxa7 Re7 33. Ra6 Rc7 34. Qa2 Kg7 35. Bb6 Rb7 36. Bc5 Be7 37. Ra8 Rb8 38. Ra7 Rd8 39. Bb6 Rc8 40. Bc7 Qd7 41. Bb6 Qe8 42. g3 Bg5 43. Bc7 Bxd2 (43... Be7 {was perhaps the best move, but it is rather passive.}) 44. Bxd6 Bxc3 45. Re7 {Black has won a pawn, but now his pieces will be tied up dangerous to the f7 pawn.} Qg8 $6 {natural but incorrect.} (45... Qf8 {White doesn't have an immediate win here based on a discovery.} 46. Qe6 Ra8 {is similar to the game, but up a tempo for Black.}) 46. Qe6 Qf8 (46... Ra8 47. Bxe5+ Bxe5 48. Qxe5+ Kh7 49. Qf6 {cannot be held.}) 47. Kg2 {It's hard to come up with a move here for Vishy.} (47. Rc7 Rxc7 48. Bxf8+ Kxf8 49. Qd6+ Re7 50. Kg2 Bd4 51. f4 {is probably winning. Black is getting Zugzwanged, and will have to play Ke8, dropping both c6 and b5 soon.}) (47. Bxe5+ $2 Bxe5 48. Qxe5+ Kg8 {is not clear at all.}) 47... Rd8 (47... Ra8 48. Qd7 {and the simple h4-h5 is hard to deal with.} Bd4 49. h4 (49. Qxc6 Ra2 $11) 49... h5 50. Qxc6 Ra2 51. Re8 $18) 48. Bc5 Bd4 49. Qxc6 Kg8 (49... Bxc5 50. Qxc5 {is not a lot of fun either.}) 50. Qxb5 Rb8 51. Rxf7 $1 (51. Rxf7 Rxb5 52. Rxf8+ Kg7 53. Rc8 Bc3 54. Bf8+ $18) (51. Rxf7 Kxf7 52. Qd7+ Kg8 53. Bxf8) (51. Rxf7 Qxf7 52. Qxb8+) 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.30"] [Round "?"] [White "Gelfand, B."] [Black "Li, Chao b"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2743"] [BlackElo "2746"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O 7. e4 Na6 8. Be2 c5 9. d5 e6 10. O-O exd5 11. exd5 Nb4 12. Rd1 Nc2 (12... b6 {was played in the ten year old game between Bareev and Svidler. Bareev won that game, and Li Chao must have prepared this improvement.}) 13. Rb1 Nd4 {A truly fascinating idea. Black sacrifices a pawn simply to discoordinate White's pieces.} 14. Nxd4 cxd4 15. Rxd4 (15. Qxd4 Bf5 16. Ra1 Ne4 17. Qb4 Re8 {gives Black ample compensation.}) 15... Bf5 16. Ra1 Ne8 17. Bf4 $5 {Sacrificing the exchange, though in reality the rook is untouchable.} (17. Rd1 {must be critical, but after} Bc2 $1 18. Rd2 (18. Re1 $5) 18... Nd6 19. Qf4 Bf5 {again Black has compensation, it is awkward to develop White's pieces.}) 17... Nd6 (17... Bxd4 18. Qxd4 {and the dark squares are simply too weak.}) 18. Qc5 Re8 {The rook is not hanging, true, but it is uncomfortable to always have to think about it. White's pieces are all under attack by Black's, and it is uncomfortable to move anything. The next move, however, seems to be a mistake.} 19. Bb5 (19. Rad1 Bxd4 $5 (19... Rc8 20. Qxd6 Qxd6 21. Bxd6 Bxd4 22. Rxd4 Rxc3 23. bxc3 Rxe2 {gives White real winning chances.} 24. g4 Bd7 25. a3 $14) 20. Qxd4 g5 { with an unclear position.}) 19... Nxb5 20. Nxb5 Rc8 $5 21. Qxa7 {no other move makes sense.} (21. Qb4 Qb6 {looks bad for White.}) 21... Ra8 22. Qc5 Rxa2 { a simple back rank trick.} 23. Rad1 $6 (23. Rf1 Bxd4 24. Qxd4 Re4 25. Qd2 Qb6 26. Nd6 {is now possible, which makes White's task of surviving realistic.} Rd4 $2 27. Qe3 {and Black's the one getting mated.}) 23... Bxd4 24. Qxd4 Re4 25. Qd2 Qb6 26. Nc3 (26. Nd6 Rd4 {and again the back rank trick, this time it is completely decisive.}) 26... Rxb2 27. Nxe4 Rxd2 28. Nxd2 Qd4 29. Be3 Qxd5 { Li Chao emerges up a lot of material. The rest of the game is not so interesting to annotate. Gelfand attempted to create a fortress, but there never was a real chance to do so.} 30. Rc1 b5 31. Rc5 Qd7 32. h3 b4 33. Rc4 Qd6 34. g4 Be6 35. Rd4 Qf8 36. Ne4 b3 37. Rd2 f5 38. Nc5 Qb8 39. Nxe6 b2 40. Rxb2 Qxb2 41. g5 Qb1+ 42. Kh2 Qe4 43. Nf4 Qf3 44. Ng2 Kf7 45. Nh4 Qd1 46. Bf4 Ke6 47. Kg3 Kd5 48. Nf3 Ke4 49. Nd2+ Kd3 50. Kg2 Ke2 51. Be3 Qa4 52. Kg3 Qb4 53. Bf4 Qc5 54. Be3 Qd6+ 55. Bf4 Qd4 56. Be3 f4+ 57. Bxf4 Qxf2+ 58. Kg4 Qg1+ 59. Kh4 Qg2 0-1 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.30"] [Round "?"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Giri, A."] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2755"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. Nf3 c5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 g6 4. c4 Bg7 5. Nc3 d6 6. O-O e5 7. a3 Nge7 8. d3 O-O 9. Rb1 a5 10. Bg5 f6 11. Bd2 Be6 12. Ne1 d5 13. cxd5 Nxd5 14. Qb3 $6 { The start of a dangerous venture. Pawn grabbing will not be good for Svidler.} Nc7 (14... a4 $5 {Is even better, as Giri pointed out in the press conference and as was played in, for example, Valdes-Dominguez Perez, 2007.}) (14... Nd4 15. Bxd5 Nxb3 16. Bxe6+ Kh8 17. Bxb3 {is almost losing for Black.}) 15. Qb6 Nd4 (15... a4) 16. Nf3 $6 (16. f4 $5 {White had to create some activity by this point.}) 16... Ra6 $1 17. Qxb7 Nxe2+ $1 18. Kh1 (18. Nxe2 Bd5 {and the queen is trapped!}) 18... Nxc3 19. bxc3 Bd5 {Black is simply much better. He has a serious initiative against White's pieces and pawns.} 20. Qb2 Qa8 21. Ne1 Rd6 22. d4 Rfd8 23. Kg1 cxd4 24. cxd4 Bxg2 25. Nxg2 Rxd4 26. Bc3 R4d7 (26... Rd3 { Giri considered this to be more active, trying to prevent Nc4-b6.} 27. Ne3 h5 28. Rfc1 {"in the coming time trouble pieces are a bit shaky." - Giri}) 27. Ne3 Nd5 28. Nxd5 Rxd5 29. a4 h5 30. h4 Qc6 31. Qb3 Kh7 32. Rfc1 Qd7 33. Be1 e4 34. Qb7 Qxa4 35. Ra1 Qe8 36. Rc7 R5d7 37. Rxd7 Rxd7 38. Qb3 Rd3 39. Qc4 Qd7 40. Rxa5 f5 (40... e3 41. fxe3 Rxe3 42. Bf2 {might not lead anywhere.}) 41. Kg2 Rd1 {bishop is misplaced, uncomfortable to defend.} 42. Qe2 Rb1 43. Rc5 Qb7 (43... e3 $1 44. Qxe3 (44. fxe3 Qe7 $1 {is a computer win. The idea is that White can't avoid Qe4+ with upcoming coordination between the rook and the queen to attack the king.}) 44... Bd4 $19) 44. Kh2 f4 45. gxf4 Qe7 46. Rc4 Qxh4+ 47. Kg2 Qxf4 48. Qxe4 (48. Rxe4 $1 Qg5+ 49. Kh2 {still holds on.}) 48... Qg5+ 49. Kf3 ( 49. Kf1 Qb5 50. Qe2 Qd5 $1 $19) (49. Kh2 Be5+ 50. Kh1 Rb3 $19) 49... Rb5 50. Qd3 Qg1 51. Re4 Rb2 52. Qc4 Qh1+ 53. Kg3 Rb1 54. Qe2 Qg1+ 55. Kh3 Rb3+ 56. f3 g5 57. Bf2 g4+ 58. Kh4 Qh2+ 59. Kg5 Rxf3 0-1 [Event "10th Tal Memorial"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.09.30"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A37"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2755"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Netherlands"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "NED"] 1. Nf3 c5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 g6 4. c4 Bg7 5. Nc3 d6 6. O-O e5 7. a3 Nge7 8. d3 O-O 9. Rb1 a5 10. Bg5 f6 11. Bd2 Be6 12. Ne1 d5 13. cxd5 Nxd5 14. Qb3 Nc7 ( 14... a4 $5 {This was also tempting.} 15. Nxa4 (15. Qxb7 Na5 16. Qb5 Nb3 { is pretty scary for White.}) 15... Nd4 16. Qd1 Nxe2+ {regains the pawn with a plus.}) (14... Nd4 $4 {Not a move for which Giri was ever going to fall but it is an easy pitfall for an amateur.} 15. Bxd5 Nxb3 16. Bxe6+ Kh8 17. Bxb3 { and the three pieces are far superior to the queen.}) 15. Qb6 (15. Qxb7 { possible but greedy.} Nd4 {White's queen is in danger, and Black's pieces are very active and becoming more active.}) (15. Qd1 $2 {Not very inspiring, but this regretful move was played in Valdes, Leonardo -- Mendoza, Rafael 1/2-1/2 Guayaquil zt 2.3, 2003} Nd4 16. b4 axb4 17. axb4 cxb4 18. Rxb4 Na6 19. Rxb7 Nc5 20. Rb1 {and the game was drawn on move 47.}) 15... Nd4 16. Nf3 $2 {Whoops!} Ra6 $1 17. Qxb7 Nxe2+ $1 {A classy tactic.} 18. Kh1 (18. Nxe2 Bd5 {pockets the queen.}) 18... Nxc3 19. bxc3 Bd5 20. Qb2 Qa8 21. Ne1 Rd6 22. d4 Rfd8 23. Kg1 cxd4 24. cxd4 Bxg2 25. Nxg2 Rxd4 {Giri has cashed in on a clean pawn, but work is still required for the win. Fortunately, we are seeing the new and improved Giri who possesses flawless grinding technique as demonstrated against Tomashevsky yesterday.} 26. Bc3 R4d7 27. Ne3 Nd5 28. Nxd5 Rxd5 29. a4 h5 30. h4 Qc6 31. Qb3 Kh7 32. Rfc1 Qd7 33. Be1 e4 34. Qb7 Qxa4 35. Ra1 Qe8 36. Rc7 R5d7 37. Rxd7 Rxd7 38. Qb3 Rd3 39. Qc4 Qd7 40. Rxa5 f5 (40... e3 $6 {It's probably hasty to play this unless it wins.} 41. fxe3 (41. Ra7 $2 {A clever try, but...} exf2+ 42. Bxf2 Rxg3+ $1 {is the stinger in the tail.}) 41... Rxe3 42. Bf2 { seems closer to a draw than a win.}) 41. Kg2 Rd1 42. Qe2 Rb1 43. Rc5 Qb7 (43... e3 $3 {a really nice idea.} 44. fxe3 Qe7 $1 45. Rc2 {...Rb2 was on the agenda otherwise.} Rxe1 $1 46. Qxe1 Qe4+ {and wins the rook.}) 44. Kh2 f4 45. gxf4 Qe7 46. Rc4 Qxh4+ 47. Kg2 Qxf4 48. Qxe4 Qg5+ 49. Kf3 (49. Kf1 $1 Qb5 50. Qe2 { holds on for now, but in the long run, Black should win.}) 49... Rb5 50. Qd3 Qg1 51. Re4 Rb2 52. Qc4 Qh1+ 53. Kg3 Rb1 54. Qe2 Qg1+ 55. Kh3 Rb3+ 56. f3 g5 57. Bf2 g4+ 58. Kh4 Qh2+ 59. Kg5 Rxf3 0-1 [Event "Tal Memorial"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.09.30"] [Round "4"] [White "Vladimir Kramnik"] [Black "Viswanathan Anand"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2808"] [BlackElo "2776"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2016.09.25"] {In a clash between Magnus Carlsen's direct predecessors, Vladimir Kramnik scored his eighth career classical victory over Viswanathan Anand. That low figure may surprise you, but these two competitors have had so many hotly contested battles that only 18 of their 90 (!) recorded classical chess games have been decisive. Yes, these two players have drawn each other 72 times in long games.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {The Italian - or Giuoco Piano - has become increasingly popular lately, in no small part thanks to Kramnik (see his masterful domination over Radjabov from the recently concluded Olympiad). This is likely the result of players overstudying the Berlin Defense, where every variation has been heavily looked into by the top players. Instead, elite grandmasters can opt for an opening that is elegant in its simplicity, with less concrete preparation and more positional understanding. All in all, a perfect choice for players like Kramnik and Anand, the latter essaying the opening twice in both the Candidates' and Sinquefield Cup.} Bc5 4. O-O (4. c3 { is by far the favorite move in this position, though the game transposed to the main variation.}) 4... Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. h3 d6 7. c3 a6 8. Re1 Ba7 {An important nuance aided by White's fourth move is that Black was encouraged to castle early. If instead the Black pawn was on h6 and the king was uncastled, Black could very well consider the idea g7-g5 and launch an attack on the kingside.} 9. Bb3 {More or less forced, as Na5 threatened to get rid of this Italian bishop.} h6 10. Nbd2 Re8 (10... Nh5 {is the most popular continuation, aiming to stop Nf1-g3 and put the Black knight on f4. I personally worked on this variation with some of the U.S. Women's National Team, as Sabina Foisor played a nearly flawless game in the following victory:} 11. Nf1 Qf6 12. Be3 Kh8 13. N3h2 Nf4 14. Bxa7 Rxa7 15. Qf3 Qg6 16. Ng3 f5 17. d4 fxe4 18. Qxe4 Qxe4 19. Rxe4 d5 20. Ree1 exd4 21. Rad1 d3 {and 0-1 on move 55 in Domarkaite, Laima (2161) - Foisor, Sabina (2279) Baku Women's Olympiad 2016.}) 11. Nf1 Be6 12. Bc2 {This is the second most popular move, and it performs extremely well with an over 60% score for White.} d5 13. exd5 Bxd5 (13... Nxd5 14. Ng3 {scores exceptionally well for White. I'd know: I lost against Bosnian GM Borki Predojevic in this very line.}) 14. Ng3 Bc5 {I understand the logic behind this move, to reroute the bishop to the defensive with Bf8. Yet this allows easy expansion for Kramnik on the queenside. On one hand, it is nice for Anand to not have to worry about Nf5 followed by sacrifices on h6. On the other, it's unpleasant to allow a queenside pawn storm more or less for free.} (14... Nd7 {appears to be a very natural move, vacating the f6 square for the queen.}) (14... Qd7 {Anand likely wanted to avoid this move, considering Giri crushed him in the Norway Blitz} 15. Nh4 Rad8 16. Nhf5 Kh8 17. d4 exd4 18. Nxg7 Rxe1+ 19. Qxe1 Kxg7 20. Bxh6+ Kh8 21. Qd2 Rg8 22. Qf4 Qd6 23. Qh4 Qxg3 24. fxg3 { 1-0 (26) Giri,A (2773)-Anand,V (2804) Stavanger NOR 2015}) 15. b4 Bf8 16. a4 g6 {Not a big fan of this move. It stops Nf5, but it creates a new vulnerability on f6 and the surrounding dark squares. To be honest, although Black's position objectively isn't that bad, I already do not like it. White has more space, more targets to attack, more plans in general. Black is in one of those positions where you must roll with the punches. Not fun.} ({According to my database, this position had occurred five times and in all five games, the move played was} 16... b5) 17. Bb2 b5 {What else? It permanently compromises most of the queenside squares, but Anand hardly could afford to allow Kramnik to play b5 himself, followed by c4.} 18. Ne4 (18. Bc1 {funnily enough, might be a strong move. Now that the c5 square can never be defended via pawn b6, perhaps the bishop is best placed on e3 where it also spies on h6.}) 18... Rb8 (18... Nxe4 19. dxe4 Bc4 20. Nd2 Be6 21. Qe2 {is hugely problematic. The pawn structure has become symmetrical, but both b5 and e5 will be difficult to defend. Meanwhile, White has precisely zero weaknesses.}) 19. Bc1 Nd7 (19... Nh5 {feels like it makes more sense. The knight on d7 has no future; the knight on h5 might head to f4 if the option presents itself.}) (19... Nxe4 20. dxe4 Bc4 21. Nd2 Be6 (21... Bd3 22. Bb3) 22. Qe2 {is similar to the line above. White is much better, since Black is devoid of counterplay.}) 20. Bb3 Bxb3 21. Qxb3 Re6 22. axb5 axb5 23. Be3 {Does Anand control a single important square on the board? Yeesh.} Nf6 24. Rad1 {We are taught early on to keep our rooks on open files. So why did Kramnik choose to place his queenside rook on d1 rather than the rook on e1? It's likely that he assessed that his winning chances are optimized by this move, goading Anand into capturing on e4 before returning the rook to its home on a1.} (24. Red1 {Black is under no obligation to capture on e4; now Black can attempt to trade rooks under his own terms with } Ra8 (24... Nd5 {also makes sense. With the rook scooting off the e1 square, Black need not worry much about the e5 pawn.})) 24... Nxe4 (24... Nd5 {seems better to me.}) 25. dxe4 Qe8 (25... Rd6 {fighting for the d-file would make sense if not for White easily seizing full control} 26. Bc5 Rxd1 27. Rxd1 Qe8 28. Bxf8 Kxf8 29. Qd5 {Kramnik's pieces control the entire board. The pressure will not cease, and it's hard to imagine that Black can keep all of his pawns.} ) 26. Rd5 Nd8 27. Ra1 Nb7 {The start of a smart maneuever, heading to d6 where the knight simultaneously protects f7 and attacks the e4 pawn and c4 square.} 28. Ra7 c6 29. Rd1 Nd6 30. Nd2 Ra8 31. Rda1 Rxa7 32. Rxa7 Re7 33. Ra6 {In no universe would it be wise for White to trade here. Look at the strength of the respective rooks: Kramnik's attacks c6 and controls the entirety of the a-file, whereas Anand's is resorting to passive defense, keeping the seventh rank protected. There's not much in the way of a bright future for the black rook, whereas its counterpart is the reason the position is superior.} Rc7 34. Qa2 { The queen joins the rook along the a-file, meaning Anand has to constantly be on the lookout for Ra8 ideas.} Kg7 35. Bb6 Rb7 36. Bc5 Be7 (36... Rd7 {is possible and good now, since the white queen no longer covers d1. D1? you might ask. Yes, d1:} 37. Rxc6 Nxe4 {and Black is out of trouble!} 38. Nxe4 $2 ( 38. Rxg6+ Kxg6 39. Nxe4 Bxc5 40. bxc5 {provides mutual chances, though a draw is the likely result.}) 38... Rd1+ 39. Kh2 Qxc6 {leaves Black up an exchange.}) 37. Ra8 Rb8 38. Ra7 Rd8 (38... Rb7 {is impossible due to} 39. Bxd6 Rxa7 40. Bxe5+ {this in-between move gives White two extra pawns, and the game.} f6 41. Bxf6+ Bxf6 42. Qxa7+) (38... Nc8 39. Bxe7 (39. Ra6 Bxc5 40. bxc5 Qd7 {puts the worst behind Black, as there are no infilitration squares. I'd still prefer to be White here, but objectively the position is now equal.}) 39... Nxe7 (39... Nxa7 40. Qxa7 {is just lost for Black.}) 40. Nf3 Nc8 41. Rc7 {with clear pressure.}) 39. Bb6 Rc8 40. Bc7 Qd7 41. Bb6 Qe8 42. g3 Bg5 43. Bc7 $1 Bxd2 ( 43... Be7 {sometimes retreating is the best decision, though psychologically it is very difficult to move backwards and remain passive. However, the pawn that Anand "wins" is poisonous.}) 44. Bxd6 Bxc3 45. Re7 Qg8 ({It is hard to walk right into a discovery, but the precise continuation was} 45... Qf8 46. Qe6 Ra8 {with an important extra tempo for Anand compared to the game.} 47. Bxe5+ Kg8 48. Qf6 Bxe5 49. Qxe5 Qg7 50. Qd6 Qc3 {with pretty good drawing chances.}) 46. Qe6 {Brutal.} Qf8 (46... Ra8 47. Bxe5+ Bxe5 48. Qxe5+ Kh7 49. Qf6 Rf8 50. Qxc6 {is totally lost.}) 47. Kg2 (47. Rc7 {was objectively stronger, but perhaps Kramnik felt like this gave Anand some outside chances to draw.} Rxc7 48. Bxf8+ Kxf8 49. Qd6+ Re7 50. Kf1 Bd4 51. f4 {and White will win, as both the c6 and b5 pawns will fall. There are too many pawns (and they won't end up being symmetrical) remaining for Black to have any hopes of a fortress.}) 47... Rd8 (47... Ra8 48. Qd7 Bd4 49. h4 {is the way forward. This pawn push is essential, threatening h4-h5. It also prevents Ra2, Rxf2+ perpetual ideas. Black hardly has a move.} ({To demonstrate the perpetual check ideas:} 49. Kf1 Ra1+ 50. Kg2 Ra2 51. Re8 Rxf2+ 52. Kh1 Rf1+ 53. Kg2 Rf2+ {forces the repetition.}) 49... Rc8 (49... Ra2 50. Re8 {traps the queen.}) 50. Qb7 {and the squeeze is on. If the rook removes itself from c8, the c6 pawn (and then b5) is lost.}) 48. Bc5 Bd4 49. Qxc6 Kg8 (49... Bxc5 50. Qxc5 { picks up e5 and likely b5 as well.}) 50. Qxb5 Rb8 51. Rxf7 {Anand resigns, as 51... Rxb5 is met by 52. Rxf8+ Kg7 53. Rc8 and White is up two pawns. 51... Kxf7 is met by 52. Qd7+ followed by capturing the queen on f8 the next turn. A fine display of positional excellence by Kramnik.} 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Memorial"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.09.30"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Li, Chao"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D97"] [WhiteElo "2743"] [BlackElo "2746"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Israel"] [BlackTeam "China"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ISR"] [BlackTeamCountry "CHN"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O 7. e4 Na6 8. Be2 c5 9. d5 e6 10. O-O exd5 11. exd5 Nb4 12. Rd1 Nc2 $5 {This is Li Chao's new and very well-prepared idea.} (12... b6 {has been played by many GMs including Svidler and Sutovsky.}) 13. Rb1 Nd4 14. Nxd4 cxd4 15. Rxd4 Bf5 16. Ra1 Ne8 $5 {Maybe other moves are also possible, but it does an instructor's heart good to see the knight rerouted to blockade the passed pawn. Li Chao seems to have plenty of compensation with the bishop pair.} 17. Bf4 Nd6 18. Qc5 (18. Bxd6 $1 Qxd6 {White cannot hope for much here (Black's bishops are enough compensation), but White is not worse.}) 18... Re8 $1 {Li Chao played this quickly because he had seen this idea (but not necessarilly this position) in his prep. ...Bf8 is a possibility.} 19. Bb5 $2 (19. Rdd1 Ne4 $1 {Komodo likes this.} (19... Bf8 {This was Li Chao's first choice.} 20. Qd4 Ne4 {and White is struggling (although Be3 may be ok) against Black's active pieces and many threats.}) 20. Nxe4 Rxe4 {Black's pieces are raging.}) 19... Nxb5 20. Nxb5 Rc8 $1 (20... Qa5 $2 {Li's first intention.} 21. Bd2 $1 {and why Li rejected it.} Bxd4 22. Qxd4 Qxb5 23. Bc3 {Black has won a rook, but is close to lost.} Kf8 24. d6 $1 {A lovely move! White simply covers the escape square.} Re5 25. f4 { The rook is pinned to the h8-square so White regains the rook with a big plus.} ) 21. Qxa7 Ra8 22. Qc5 Rxa2 $1 {A simple back-rank trap.} 23. Rad1 (23. Rxa2 $4 Re1#) (23. Rf1 {was better.}) 23... Bxd4 24. Qxd4 {More can be said, but Li is probably winning now, and he did win.} Re4 25. Qd2 Qb6 26. Nc3 Rxb2 27. Nxe4 Rxd2 28. Nxd2 Qd4 29. Be3 Qxd5 30. Rc1 b5 31. Rc5 Qd7 32. h3 b4 33. Rc4 Qd6 34. g4 Be6 35. Rd4 Qf8 36. Ne4 b3 37. Rd2 f5 38. Nc5 Qb8 39. Nxe6 b2 40. Rxb2 Qxb2 41. g5 Qb1+ 42. Kh2 Qe4 43. Nf4 Qf3 44. Ng2 Kf7 45. Nh4 Qd1 46. Bf4 Ke6 47. Kg3 Kd5 48. Nf3 Ke4 49. Nd2+ Kd3 50. Kg2 Ke2 51. Be3 Qa4 52. Kg3 Qb4 53. Bf4 Qc5 54. Be3 Qd6+ 55. Bf4 Qd4 56. Be3 f4+ 57. Bxf4 Qxf2+ 58. Kg4 Qg1+ 59. Kh4 Qg2 0-1 [Event "10th Tal Memorial"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.09.30"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2795"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Armenia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARM"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. O-O d6 6. a3 {As classic as this position is, 6.a3 has only been played once, in a non-GM game.} Nd7 {and this is a novelty on move 6.} 7. Ba2 O-O 8. Nc3 Nb6 9. Ne2 Bg4 10. c3 d5 11. exd5 Bxf3 12. gxf3 Nxd5 13. f4 Qd7 14. fxe5 Nxe5 15. Ng3 Qh3 $6 16. Qh5 (16. Bxd5 $4 Ng4 {The only way to stop mate is to surrender the White queen for the knight on g4. Yikes.}) (16. Re1 $1 {The fearless reptile (Komodo) states Nepomniachtchi is much better after this.} Ng4 17. Qf3 Qxh2+ $2 18. Kf1 { and White wins since too many of Black's pieces are hanging. LPDO!}) 16... Qxh5 17. Nxh5 {White has the bishop pair, but his pieces are scattered. Black is probably fine (or even better) here, but Aronian drifts and Nepomniachtchi builds a plus but never has enough to win.} Rad8 18. Rd1 c5 19. Kg2 Nf6 20. Re1 Ng6 21. Nf4 Nh4+ 22. Kh3 Nf5 23. d4 Rfe8 24. Ne6 fxe6 25. Bxe6+ Kf8 26. Bxf5 cxd4 27. cxd4 Rxd4 28. Kg2 Rd5 29. Bh3 a5 30. Be3 Bc5 31. Bf4 Rxe1 32. Rxe1 Bd6 33. Bc1 Re5 34. Rd1 Rd5 35. Rxd5 Nxd5 36. Bf5 b6 $5 {Clever play.} 37. b3 (37. Bxh7 g6 $1 38. Bxg6 Bf4 {Because of the knight fork, White cannot trade bishops on f4 so Black has forced an opposite-color bishop endgame. White is welcome to an extra pawn. The position is still dead drawn.} 39. Be4 Bxc1 40. Bxd5 a4) 37... g6 38. Be4 Nf4+ 39. Kf3 Ne6 40. Bd5 Ke7 41. h4 Bc5 42. a4 Kd6 43. Bc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Memorial"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.09.30"] [Round "4.5"] [White "Tomashevsky, Evgeny"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D12"] [WhiteElo "2731"] [BlackElo "2761"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "166"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Azerbaijan"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "AZE"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Be4 7. f3 Bg6 8. Qb3 Qc7 9. Bd2 Be7 10. g3 {I just don't understand pawn structure anymore. Isn't White's pawn play weakening?! Theory says it's fine :/} Bh5 {Black threatens .. .g5.} 11. Be2 dxc4 12. Qxc4 a6 13. b4 ({Kovalyov, Anton -- Le, Quang Liem 0-1 USA-chT College final, 2016} 13. Ng2 b5 14. Qb3 c5 15. Nf4 Bg6 16. Rc1 Nbd7 17. Nxg6 hxg6 {was 0-1 in 77.}) 13... Nd5 14. Ne4 (14. Nf5 $1 {Thus sayeth Komodo. White threatens to pick up the bishop pair or the g7-pawn with a fork. Capture of the knight leaves the d5-knight insufficiently protected due to the pin.}) 14... Nd7 15. Ng2 e5 16. O-O O-O 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Qb3 Rad8 19. Rad1 f6 20. Nc5 Bf7 21. Qc2 Qb6 22. a3 a5 23. Na4 Qa7 24. bxa5 Bg6 25. Qb3 Bf7 26. Qc2 Bxa3 27. Kh1 b5 28. axb6 Nxb6 29. Nxb6 Qxb6 30. f4 $1 {Mamedyarov is under a bit of pressure.} Bb3 31. Qc3 Bxd1 32. Rxd1 {White will pick up another piece and is assured an advantage.} Bb4 33. Qb3+ Nf7 34. Qxb4 Qxb4 35. Bxb4 Rxd1+ 36. Bxd1 Rb8 37. Be1 Rb1 38. Bf3 c5 39. Kg1 c4 40. Kf2 Rb2+ 41. Kf1 Nd6 42. Bd5+ Kf8 43. e4 Rb1 44. Ke2 Rb2+ 45. Kf1 Rb1 46. Ke2 Rb2+ 47. Kf3 $2 (47. Kd1 $1 {is much stronger. The knig wolud like to be nearer the center (and the c-pawn) if possible.} Rxg2 48. e5 {wins the piece back. Both d6 and g2 are attacked.}) 47... Nb5 {Tomashevsky still holds the advantage, but it is slightly diminished (+1 according to Komodo), and Mamedyarov played well to hold.} 48. Bxc4 Nd4+ 49. Ke3 Nc2+ 50. Kf3 Nd4+ 51. Ke3 Nc2+ 52. Kd3 Nxe1+ 53. Nxe1 Rxh2 54. Ke3 Ke7 55. Bf1 Ra2 56. Nf3 g6 57. Nd4 Kd6 58. Be2 Ra3+ 59. Bd3 Ra2 60. Nb5+ Kc5 61. Nc7 Rg2 62. Kf3 Rb2 63. Ne6+ Kd6 64. Nd4 Kc5 65. Ke3 Rg2 66. Ne2 Rh2 67. Bb1 h5 68. Ba2 g5 69. Be6 h4 70. Bg4 hxg3 71. fxg5 fxg5 72. Nxg3 Rg2 73. Kf3 Rb2 74. Nf5 Kc4 75. Bh3 Rb1 76. Kf2 Rb2+ 77. Kg3 Rb1 78. Bg2 Kd3 79. Nd6 Re1 80. Kg4 Rg1 81. Kf3 Kd4 82. Nf5+ Ke5 83. Ne3 Ra1 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.01"] [Round "?"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2743"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 {Gelfand's been using the Sveshnikov as a solid defense against 1.e4 for a while.} 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 (4... dxc6 {is the older continuation, though I'm not sure there was any good reason it fell out of fashion.}) 5. O-O Bg7 6. Re1 Nh6 7. c3 O-O 8. h3 d5 9. d3 c4 10. dxc4 dxe4 11. Qxd8 Rxd8 12. Rxe4 e5 13. Re1 f6 14. Nbd2 Nf7 {Gelfand played this twice against Inarkiev in their match, winning the second game. Hraczek also repeated it during the Olympiad, but no one had essayed Anand's next move yet.} 15. Ne4 {The fact that it's the computers main choice surely means that both Anand and Gelfand have looked at it.} f5 16. Neg5 e4 17. Nxf7 Kxf7 18. Bg5 Rd3 19. Nd4 Ba6 (19... Bxd4 20. cxd4 Rxd4 21. Rad1 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 Be6 23. b3 { is still a bit annoying for Black as the rook on d6 cannot be removed and it creates a permanent threat against the queenside pawns.}) 20. b3 c5 21. Ne2 h6 22. Be3 Rc8 23. h4 {Black cannot regain his pawn, so White emerges up material. } Bf6 (23... Bxc3 24. Nxc3 Rxc3 25. Bxh6) 24. Nf4 $6 (24. Bxh6 Bxh4 25. Nf4 Rdd8 26. Nd5 {was the superior move order, transposing into the game.}) 24... Rdd8 25. Nd5 Bxh4 $2 (25... Rxd5 26. cxd5 Bxc3 27. Bxh6 c4 {was the king of opposite colored bishop endgame Black should strive for. Down a pawn but close to a draw.}) 26. Bxh6 Bb7 27. g3 Bf6 (27... Bxd5 28. gxh4 (28. cxd5 Bf6 { is very bad for white.}) 28... Be6 {looks like an improved version of the game. }) 28. Nxf6 Kxf6 29. Be3 Rd3 30. Kf1 g5 31. Ke2 Rxc3 32. Rac1 {maybe a bit rushed.} (32. Kd2 Rd3+ 33. Kc2 {puts the king in a better square first.}) 32... Rxc1 33. Rxc1 {Black has recovered the pawn, but c5 will not be around for much longer.} Rd8 $1 34. Bxc5 f4 $1 {A good practical decision - to create counterplay.} 35. gxf4 gxf4 36. Bxa7 e3 37. Bxe3 $5 (37. fxe3 f3+ 38. Ke1 (38. Kf2 Rd2+ 39. Kg3 Kf5 $13) 38... Kf5 39. e4+ Kxe4 {is not easy to win by any means. Black's pieces are just too active.}) 37... fxe3 38. Kxe3 {White has four passed pawns for the bishop, and even though with perfect play I'm sure this is a draw, it is hard to play with the black pieces. Further analysis in ChessBase Magazine will reveal which one was the decisive mistake.} Bc8 39. Rc2 Bf5 40. Rd2 Ra8 41. Kd4 Ke6 42. Kc3 Ke5 43. a4 Be4 44. Kb4 Rb8+ 45. Ka3 Rf8 46. a5 Rf3 47. Kb4 Bb7 48. Rd8 {The game should be winning now for White. The rook and king are too active for Black's pieces.} Rxf2 49. Kc5 Rf6 50. Re8+ Kf4 51. b4 Rc6+ 52. Kd4 Rd6+ 53. Kc5 Rc6+ 54. Kb5 Rf6 55. Re7 Ba6+ 56. Kc5 Rf5+ 57. Kd4 Kf3 58. b5 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Memorial 2016"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.10.01"] [Round "?"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2743"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. O-O Bg7 6. Re1 Nh6 {This particular line is all the rage now. ...Nh6 is just exploding. To be honest, I had not been following the Rossolimo much but I noticed that Inarkiev played this against Gelfand. I was amazed that this had been bubbling underneath and it is hot now.} 7. c3 O-O 8. h3 d5 9. d3 c4 10. dxc4 dxe4 11. Qxd8 Rxd8 12. Rxe4 e5 13. Re1 f6 14. Nbd2 Nf7 {I decided to go for this endgame. The only difference is that we had prepared, instead of 15.Nb3 as in the Inarkiev-Gelfand match,} 15. Ne4 {this move.} f5 16. Neg5 {The whole idea is to get opposite coloured bishops.} e4 17. Nxf7 {So I exchange everything and try to get that ending.} Kxf7 18. Bg5 Rd3 19. Nd4 Ba6 20. b3 c5 {Of couse, he didn't give me the dark squared bishop.} ({Basically, what I mean is} 20... Bxd4 21. cxd4 Rxd4 22. Rad1 $18 {because Black is missing all the dark squares here and White can even bring his king up the board and so on.}) 21. Ne2 h6 22. Be3 Rc8 {Here, I have to play} 23. h4 $1 {because otherwise, he can play ...g5, and ...f4 and get compensation for his dark squares.} Bf6 ({We were discussing } 23... Bb7 {to stop white's knight establishing itself on d5.}) 24. Nf4 Rdd8 25. Nd5 Bxh4 {It is very important that I bring his bishop to h4 before I take} 26. Bxh6 Bb7 27. g3 Bf6 ({Now, if he takes} 27... Bxd5 {Then I get the opposite coloured bishops that I want.} 28. gxh4 (28. cxd5 Bf6 {maybe I can sac the exchange and try this as well, but that's speculative.}) 28... Be6 { Basically, the idea is to use the queenside pawn structure as a wall against the black bishop.} 29. Rad1 {Now the thing to remember is that if he goes} Rd3 30. Rxd3 exd3 31. Bg5 {I just take away the d8 square and he wil lose the d3 pawn for nothing. If he tries with ...Rc6, I will just play Bf4, f3, and win the bishop and pawn ending.}) 28. Nxf6 Kxf6 29. Be3 {Anyway I get the wall} Rd3 30. Kf1 {Why did I play Kf1?} ({Because suddenly I wasn't sure about} 30. Rac1 Rh8 31. Kf1 {looks winning, but surprisingly} Rxe3 32. fxe3 (32. Rxe3 Rh1+ $19) 32... Rh2 {It is difficult to get back the second rank and Black has some counterplay with Kg5, Kg4, etc. Somwhere, his counterplay can get out of hand. So I thought it'll be irresponsible to allow that.}) 30... g5 {But here it is not that trivial because he is threatening to generate counterplay..} 31. Ke2 Rxc3 32. Rac1 {perhaps this is not ideal.} ({I could have tried} 32. Kd2 Rd3+ { to put it on c2} 33. Kc2 {The point is that now that I am secure on e3, I can go to the h-file. With two rooks he cannot stop me from entering. With one rook it is possible to stop it with ...Kg6, and that is what he did in the game.}) 32... Rxc1 33. Rxc1 Rd8 ({What I am threatening is Rh1, and when he stops it with ... Kg6, I can go Rd1, and things should break down. Thre is this alternative} 33... Kg6 34. Rd1 Kh5 35. Rd7 Bc6 {Before he can play ...Kg4 and ...f4, I hammer it,} 36. Rg7 {so, it is difficult to execute this plan. The rook will loop around all over the place and it is difficult for his two pieces to control it.}) 34. Bxc5 {I don't see how to make progress without this. Now I find myself in a situation where I can't really enter...} f4 (34... Kg6 35. Be3 {and then go b4, b5. Already I can consider Rc2, d2 and the endgame.} (35. Bxa7 Ra8)) 35. gxf4 gxf4 36. Bxa7 e3 {I decided to go for this endgame with four pawns for the piece.} 37. Bxe3 ({It is important not to get distracted with} 37. fxe3 f3+ {And he can go Be4 which is just annoying as I will always be fighting against the f pawn. So, I decided that th ebest is to just play the text.}) 37... fxe3 38. Kxe3 Bc8 {I would most likely lose the f-pawn somewhere along the way, but the advantage for white is that in the meantime, if I build up the pawn strucure, let's say a6-c4, then I can just ditch the f-pawn.} 39. Rc2 Bf5 40. Rd2 Ra8 41. Kd4 Ke6 (41... Ra3 {is a good sameple line to understand this.} 42. Kc3 (42. Rb2 {I guess I don't want to do this, because he may use this chance to slide over to the queenside.}) 42... Bb1 {He is not threatening to take becauase of Kb2, but at the same time I cannot make progress. Then I found} 43. Kb4 Rxa2 44. Rxa2 Bxa2 45. Kc3 Bb1 46. Kd4 Ke6 47. b4 Kd6 48. b5 Bf5 49. f4 {he will never be able to stop both pawns. I was gonna double check this, but my hunch is this is just winning.}) 42. Kc3 Ke5 43. a4 Be4 {I think the important move in the ending was} 44. Kb4 (44. Re2 {was my original idea threatening f3..} Rf8 45. a5 Rf3+ 46. Kb4 Kd4 47. Rd2+ Bd3 48. a6 Rf8 {I was not sure about this.}) 44... Rb8+ {but here my rook is perfectly placed on d2.} 45. Ka3 {Now ther eis no going back for him. If he goes Ra8, I go b4-b5, and if he goes rc8, I go a5. I guess it is just slowly winning.} Rf8 46. a5 Rf3 47. Kb4 Bb7 48. Rd8 Rxf2 49. Kc5 Rf6 50. Re8+ Kf4 51. b4 Rc6+ 52. Kd4 Rd6+ 53. Kc5 Rc6+ 54. Kb5 Rf6 55. Re7 Ba6+ 56. Kc5 Rf5+ 57. Kd4 Kf3 58. b5 Bxb5 {His king is cut off so far that I will get a Lucena anyway.} ( 58... Bxb5 59. cxb5 Rxb5 60. a6 Ra5 61. a7 Kf4 $18) 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Memorial"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.01"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D97"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2740"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "133"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Netherlands"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NED"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O 7. e4 a6 8. Be2 b5 9. Qb3 c5 10. dxc5 Be6 11. Qc2 Nbd7 12. Be3 Rc8 13. Rd1 b4 14. Nd5 Bxd5 15. exd5 Nxc5 16. O-O Nce4 17. Qd3 Qd6 18. Qxa6 Rc2 19. Bd4 Nc5 20. Qxd6 exd6 21. Bb5 Nfe4 22. Rc1 Rxc1 23. Rxc1 Ra8 24. Bxg7 Kxg7 25. Ra1 Na4 26. Bc6 Ra7 27. Bxa4 Rxa4 28. Nd4 Nf6 29. Kf1 Nxd5 30. g3 Nb6 31. Nc2 $1 {This is Giri's high-water mark in the game. He threatens b3 and winning the pawn on b4.} Ra5 32. Nxb4 Nc4 33. Rd1 (33. b3 $1 Nd2+ 34. Ke2 Nxb3 {regains the pawn (due to the pin) and completely equalizes.}) 33... Ra4 34. b3 Rxb4 35. bxc4 Rxc4 36. Rxd6 {Giri has won a pawn, but for the first of three times this round, it won't be enough for victory. White can try in this endgame, but the correct result is a draw, and Nepomniachtchi defends comfortably.} Rc2 37. Ra6 g5 38. g4 f6 39. Ra3 h5 $1 40. h3 Rc4 41. gxh5 Kh6 42. Rf3 Kxh5 {White's poor structure really rules out any serious winning attempts. The only way to make progress is to run to the queenside with the king, but Black acquires counterplay against the kingside pawns long before White makes any threats on the queenside.} 43. a3 Kg6 44. Ke2 Rd4 45. Rd3 Re4+ 46. Kd1 Rf4 47. Ke2 Re4+ 48. Kd1 Rf4 49. Ke1 Re4+ 50. Re3 Rd4 51. Rf3 Kf7 52. Rb3 Kg6 53. Kf1 Ra4 54. Rf3 Re4 55. Re3 Ra4 56. Ke2 Rd4 57. Rf3 Kf7 58. Rd3 Re4+ 59. Kd1 Rf4 60. Rd2 Ra4 61. Ra2 Ke6 62. Kc2 Kd6 63. Kb3 Rh4 64. a4 Rxh3+ 65. Kc4 Kc6 66. a5 Kb7 67. a6+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Memorial"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.01"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A30"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2808"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "166"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 c5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7 7. Re1 d5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. d4 cxd4 10. Qa4+ Qd7 11. Qxd7+ Nxd7 12. Nxd4 N7f6 13. Ncb5 O-O 14. e4 Nb4 15. a3 Nd3 16. Rd1 Nc5 17. f3 Rfc8 18. Be3 a6 19. Nc3 g6 20. Bh3 Rc7 21. Rab1 b5 22. Bf4 Rcc8 23. Kf1 Bf8 24. Rbc1 Rd8 25. Nce2 Ne8 26. Bg5 Rd7 27. Rd2 h6 28. Be3 Rdd8 29. Rcd1 e5 30. Nc2 Rxd2 31. Rxd2 Nf6 32. Nc1 g5 33. Bxc5 $1 { Surrendering the bishop pair to nag the queenside pawns and squares with his knights is quite a nice idea from Aronian.} Bxc5 34. Nb3 Bf8 35. Na5 Bc8 36. Bxc8 Rxc8 {Aronian has a real edge here and eventually wins a pawn. Even if it wasn't enough for victory, squeezing water from a stone against Kramnik is quite an achievement.} 37. g4 {very commital.} (37. Ne3 {maybe just this?} g4 $5 {perhaps Aronian wanted to prevent this move?} 38. Nxg4 Nxg4 39. fxg4 { favors White.}) 37... h5 $1 38. h3 hxg4 39. hxg4 Bc5 (39... Ne8 $5 {taking a complicated route (through g7) to e6 is an interesting idea.}) 40. Nb7 Bb6 41. Ke2 Ne8 42. Nb4 Bd4 43. Na5 (43. Nxa6 {It is possible to grab the pawn here.} Rc1 {creates some counterplay.}) 43... Ng7 (43... Ra8 {In addition to being passive, this defensive move also loses a pawn.} 44. Nac6 {Black can't defend both d4 and e5.}) (43... Rc1 $1 {It was time for counterplay already.}) 44. Nbc6 (44. Nac6 $5 Kf8 45. Nxd4 exd4 46. Rxd4 {It's not clear if this is winning either, but the winning chances are probably greater than in the pure rook endgame.}) 44... Kf8 45. Nxd4 exd4 46. Nb3 Ne6 47. Nxd4 Nxd4+ 48. Rxd4 { White has won a clean pawn, but winning the game is another matter. The rook endgame seems more likely drawn than winning and Kramnik makes no clear mistakes.} Ke7 49. Kd2 Ke6 50. a4 bxa4 51. Rxa4 Rc6 52. b3 f6 53. Ra5 Rb6 54. Kc3 Rc6+ 55. Kb4 Rb6+ 56. Kc4 Rc6+ 57. Rc5 Rd6 58. Ra5 Rc6+ 59. Kb4 Rd6 60. Rd5 Rb6+ 61. Kc3 Rc6+ 62. Kb2 Rc8 63. Ra5 Rc6 64. b4 Rd6 65. Kc3 Rc6+ 66. Kb3 Rd6 67. Kc4 Rc6+ 68. Rc5 Rd6 69. Kc3 Rb6 70. Kb3 Rd6 71. Ka4 Rd3 72. Rc6+ Ke5 73. Rxa6 Rxf3 74. b5 Rf1 75. Rc6 Kxe4 76. b6 f5 77. Rc3 Ra1+ 78. Kb4 Ra6 79. Kb5 Rxb6+ 80. Kxb6 fxg4 81. Kc5 Kf4 82. Rc4+ Kf3 83. Rc3+ Kf4 {White cannot win the Black pawns. As they approach, White can use harassing checks to create a perpetual.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Memorial"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.01"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2745"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Azerbaijan"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "AZE"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Bg5 Ne4 4. Bf4 c5 5. Qc2 Qa5+ 6. Nd2 f5 7. f3 Nf6 8. d5 d6 9. e3 Bg7 10. Ne2 b5 11. Bg5 Nbd7 12. Nf4 Nb6 13. Kf2 O-O 14. h4 bxc4 15. Nxc4 Qa4 16. b3 Qe8 17. Rd1 Qf7 18. Nxb6 axb6 19. a4 Bd7 20. Bc4 Rfb8 21. Qe2 Ra5 22. Rb1 h6 23. Bxf6 Qxf6 24. h5 g5 25. Ne6 b5 $1 {Black is much better after this break.} 26. axb5 Bxb5 27. f4 gxf4 (27... g4 {Komodo likes this push followed by maneuvering the black queen to the queenside. The idea is nice, but it seems like a timely e4 will create oodles of problems.}) 28. exf4 Rba8 29. Rbc1 Ra2 30. Rc2 Rxc2 31. Qxc2 Bd7 32. Qe2 Bxe6 33. Qxe6+ Qxe6 34. dxe6 { The liquidation has left Black still better, but with no real chances to win in light of the opposite-color bishops.} Ra2+ 35. Kf3 Rd2 36. Rc1 Bb2 37. Re1 d5 38. Re2 Rxe2 39. Bxe2 Kg7 40. Bb5 Kf6 41. Bd7 Bc1 42. g4 Bd2 43. Bc8 c4 44. bxc4 dxc4 45. Ba6 c3 46. Bd3 fxg4+ 47. Kxg4 Kxe6 48. f5+ Ke5 49. Kf3 Kd4 50. Bc2 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.02"] [Round "?"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2808"] [BlackElo "2743"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Nbd7 8. Qe2 Qc7 9. O-O-O b5 10. a3 Bb7 (10... Be7 {was what MVL played against Wei Yi last year, and in the Najdorf I just believe whatever the Frenchman decides is best. }) 11. g4 Rc8 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. h4 Qb6 (13... Nb6 {was Grischuk-Wang Hao from 2013, a game in which White also won. The computers hate this line for Black overall though.}) 14. Rh3 h5 15. f5 e5 16. Nb3 hxg4 17. Qxg4 b4 18. axb4 Qxb4 { Black's structural problems will persist well into an endgame. The question is how much counterplay he can muster with his pair of bishops and some open files on the queenside. Black's king, at least for now, is not in danger.} 19. Kb1 Nb6 20. Qe2 Bh6 21. Qf2 Rc6 $6 (21... Na4 22. Nxa4 Qxa4 {was a strong possiblity, weakening the e4 pawn} 23. Rxd6 $8 Bxe4 24. Bd3 $1 {but White seems to have the better part of this endgame too. Just imagine a knight installed on e4 after the trade of bishops...}) 22. Na2 $1 Qa4 23. Rc3 $1 { A good positional idea. White exchanged the rook on c6, both a powerful attacked an important defender.} Ke7 24. Rxc6 Qxc6 25. Na5 Qc7 26. Nxb7 Qxb7 27. Nb4 Rb8 28. Qxb6 (28. Bxa6 Qxe4 29. Nd5+ Kf8 30. Nxf6 Qc6 {is winning according to the engines, but it certainly allows Black counterplay.}) 28... Qxb6 29. Nd5+ Kf8 30. Nxb6 Rxb6 31. c3 {The human solution. This endgame is simply lost: White's bishop is too powerful, the a-pawn is too weak, the h-pawn is a big problem, f7 is a permanent target.} Be3 32. Kc2 Kg7 33. b4 Kh6 34. Bc4 Bf2 35. Rh1 Rc6 36. Kb3 Rb6 37. Kc2 Rc6 38. Kd3 Rc7 39. Bxa6 Kh5 40. Bc4 Ra7 41. Bd5 Kh6 42. h5 Bb6 43. Kc4 Be3 44. Kb3 Bb6 45. Rh2 Be3 46. Re2 Bb6 47. Ra2 {It doesn't take Kramnik to calculate that the bishop endgame is winning.} Rxa2 48. Kxa2 Kxh5 49. Kb3 Bf2 50. Ka4 Kh6 51. Kb5 Kg7 52. Kc6 Kf8 53. b5 Ke7 54. Kc7 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.02"] [Round "?"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Li, Chao b"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2746"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {It was truly surprising how easily Li Chao got in trouble today against Svidler.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 d4 3. b4 Bg4 4. Qb3 Nf6 5. g3 a5 6. b5 a4 7. Qd3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3 c6 {Over the past few moves, Black has foced White to play b4-b5 and threaten the structure on the queenside, while giving up his bishop on the light squares. This seems very unnatural to me, he is not even going to be able to exploit the c5 square properly.} 9. Bg2 e5 10. O-O Be7 11. d3 O-O 12. Nd2 h5 13. h3 g6 14. Rb1 {Svidler has only made natural moves. Now his pressure on the queenside is very considerable. Black has problems even developing.} Nh7 15. e3 {Black was threatening Ng5 trapping the queen, and the break on the center seems natural.} Re8 16. exd4 exd4 17. Re1 h4 18. bxc6 bxc6 19. Rb7 {White's advantage might already be winning. Notice the difference in power between both sides.} hxg3 20. fxg3 {Black has opened up the kingside, but perhaps this only helped White! Now the f-file is open.} Bf6 (20... Nd7 $1 21. Qxc6 (21. Ne4 $1 $16) 21... Nc5 22. Qxe8+ Qxe8 23. Rbxe7 Qb8 {is not 100% clear yet}) 21. Ne4 Nd7 22. Rf1 {The game is just over from now. Svidler soon collects the c6 pawn and his superior activity, his pair of bishops and simple technique reel in the point home.} Rxe4 23. Qxe4 Nc5 24. Qxc6 Rc8 25. Qb5 Nxb7 26. Bxb7 Rc7 27. Bf4 Re7 28. Be4 Nf8 29. c5 Be5 30. Bg5 Bxg3 31. Qb6 Qxb6 32. cxb6 Re5 33. Bf6 Rb5 34. b7 Ne6 35. Rc1 Nc7 36. Kg2 Bf4 37. Rc4 Kh7 38. Kf3 Bh2 39. Rc5 Kg8 40. Rxb5 Nxb5 41. Bc6 Nc3 42. Bh4 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.02"] [Round "?"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2755"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. O-O Nb6 7. d3 Be7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Nbd2 Be6 10. Rc1 Qd7 11. a3 Bh3 12. Bxh3 Qxh3 13. b4 Bd6 14. Qb3 Ne7 15. d4 exd4 16. Bxd4 Nc6 17. Ne4 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Qd7 19. Rfd1 Be5 20. Nc6 Qe8 21. Na5 Rb8 22. Nc5 Qc8 23. Qf3 c6 24. b5 $1 {The start of an excellent sequence. White sacrifices the exchange, but his passed pawn on b7 will be enormous.} Bb2 (24... cxb5 25. Nd7 Qxd7 26. Rxd7 Nxd7 27. Nxb7 {loses without a fight.}) 25. bxc6 (25. Rc2 cxb5 {is not yet so clear. White retains an advantage but things are not so easy due to the pin.}) 25... Bxc1 (25... bxc6 26. Rc2 {is simply winning for White.}) 26. Rxc1 Qc7 (26... bxc6 27. Nxc6 {regains the exchange and White emerges up a pawn (Black cannot defend the rook on b7 and the threat of the fork on e7 at the same time). Perhaps, however, this was the best chance.}) 27. cxb7 Na4 28. Ncb3 $1 Qe7 29. Nd4 Qg5 30. Qf4 $1 {A fantastic move.} Qxa5 (30... Qxf4 31. gxf4 {Black has no defense against Ndc6 and easily winning.}) 31. Qxb8 Rxb8 32. Rc8+ Qd8 33. Rxd8+ Rxd8 34. Nc6 {Black loses the entire rook. A nice geometrical sequence.} (34. Nc6 Re8 (34... Rd1+ 35. Kg2 Rb1 36. Nb4 {again, White queens.}) (34... Rb8 35. Nxb8 Nc5 36. Nc6 Nxb7 37. Nxa7 { is completely hopeless. White's up two pawns and one is a difficult to stop passed a-pawn.}) 35. Ne7+ Kf8 36. Nc8 {and White queens.}) 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.02"] [Round "6.5"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2755"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2016.09.26"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. O-O Nb6 7. d3 Be7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Nbd2 (9. Qc1 Re8 10. Nbd2 Bg4 11. Bc5 f5 12. Nb3 Bf6 13. Rd1 Kh8 14. e4 Qd7 {Azmaiparashvili,Z (2670)-Vallejo Pons,F (2559) Ohrid MKD 2001}) 9... Be6 10. Rc1 Qd7 $6 11. a3 Bh3 {"Not a good idea at all." - Aronian} 12. Bxh3 Qxh3 13. b4 Bd6 14. Qb3 $1 {Very strong. This stops Nd5.} Ne7 15. d4 exd4 16. Bxd4 Nc6 (16... Nbd5 17. e4 Nf4 18. gxf4 Bxf4 19. Kh1 {doesn't work and}) ( 16... Qe6 17. Qxe6 fxe6 18. Ne4 Nbd5 19. Neg5 Rfe8 20. e4 {is also very good for White.}) 17. Ne4 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Qd7 ({According to Aronian, Black had to go } 18... Rad8 {but White keeps the advantage after} 19. Rfd1 (19. Nxd6 $6 Rxd6) 19... Qg4 20. f3) 19. Rfd1 Be5 20. Nc6 Qe8 21. Na5 Rb8 ({Giri had planned} 21... Bf4 {but only here noticed} 22. e3 $1) 22. Nc5 Qc8 23. Qf3 c6 24. b5 Bb2 25. bxc6 Bxc1 26. Rxc1 Qc7 ({Giri didn't see any hope after} 26... bxc6 27. Nxc6 Rb7 28. Nxb7 Qxb7 {because White has} 29. a4 $1 {with the idea} Nxa4 30. Qa3 Nb6 31. Ne7+ Kh8 32. Ng6+ {and wins.}) 27. cxb7 Na4 28. Ncb3 Qe7 29. Nd4 { Going for a nice finish.} (29. Qf4 {also wins.}) 29... Qg5 30. Qf4 $1 Qxa5 31. Qxb8 $1 Rxb8 32. Rc8+ Qd8 33. Rxd8+ Rxd8 34. Nc6 {A great final position.} (34. Nc6 Re8 {is answered by} ({or} 34... Rd1+ 35. Kg2 Rb1 36. Nb4) 35. Ne7+ Kf8 36. Nc8) ({The computer defends with} 34. Nc6 Rb8 35. Nxb8 Nc5 36. Nc6 Nxb7 37. Nxa7 {but two pawns is more than enough to win this ending.}) 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.02"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B96"] [WhiteElo "2808"] [BlackElo "2743"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2016.09.26"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Nbd7 8. Qe2 Qc7 9. O-O-O b5 (9... Be7 10. g4 h6 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Bg2 Nb6 13. h4 Bd7 14. Rh3 h5 {Stein,L-Najdorf,M Mar del Plata 1965}) 10. a3 Bb7 (10... Be7 11. g4 O-O 12. Bh4 Rb8 13. g5 Ne8 14. f5 Nc5 15. f6 Bd8 16. e5 b4 17. axb4 Rxb4 {Wei Yi (2721)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2723) Leon ESP 2015}) 11. g4 Rc8 ({According to Kramnik, the best move is considered to be} 11... Be7) 12. Bxf6 $1 gxf6 (12... Nxf6 {is obviously met by} 13. g5 Nd7 {and now e.g.} 14. f5) 13. h4 $1 { "It's very important that the rook gets to h3. It's protecting incredibly well the queenside." (Kramnik)} Qb6 (13... h6 14. Rh3 Rg8 15. Kb1 Qb6 16. f5 e5 17. Nb3 Nc5 18. Rg3 Be7 {Grischuk,A (2783)-Wang Hao (2735) Beijing CHN 2013}) 14. Rh3 h5 {"The best move." (Kramnik)} (14... Nc5 15. f5 e5 16. Nd5 Qd8 17. Nf3 Na4 {Ortiz Suarez,I (2553)-Becerra,J (2280) Silvania COL 2011}) 15. f5 e5 16. Nb3 hxg4 17. Qxg4 b4 (17... Qf2 {is the best move, and Gelfand did consider it. }) 18. axb4 Qxb4 19. Kb1 {"The black king is strangely enough more vulnerable than White's king." (Kramnik)} Nb6 20. Qe2 $1 Bh6 {Still the first line of the computer according to Kramnik's preparation.} (20... a5 21. Qb5+) 21. Qf2 $1 { "I would be incredibly proud if it was not the computer who found it." (Kramnik) White threatens 22.Bb5+.} Rc6 {After this move, Kramnik was finally out of his preparation.} ({After} 21... Kf8 {White goes} 22. Bb5 {anyway (Kramnik).}) 22. Na2 Qa4 (22... Qxe4 23. Na5 {and everything hangs.}) 23. Rc3 $1 Ke7 (23... Nc8 24. Rxc6 Qxc6 25. Nc3 {Kramnik}) 24. Rxc6 Qxc6 25. Na5 Qc7 26. Nxb7 Qxb7 27. Nb4 $1 {Threatening 28.Qxb6.} Rb8 (27... Na4 28. Nd5+ Kf8 29. b3 {Kramnik}) 28. Qxb6 Qxb6 29. Nd5+ Kf8 30. Nxb6 Rxb6 31. c3 {According to Kramnik this endgame is "easily won, by a good tempi margin."} Be3 32. Kc2 Kg7 33. b4 Kh6 34. Bc4 Bf2 35. Rh1 Rc6 36. Kb3 Rb6 37. Kc2 Rc6 38. Kd3 Rc7 39. Bxa6 Kh5 40. Bc4 Ra7 41. Bd5 Kh6 42. h5 Bb6 43. Kc4 Be3 44. Kb3 Bb6 45. Rh2 Be3 46. Re2 Bb6 47. Ra2 Rxa2 48. Kxa2 Kxh5 49. Kb3 Bf2 50. Ka4 Kh6 51. Kb5 Kg7 52. Kc6 Kf8 53. b5 Ke7 54. Kc7 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.02"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Li, Chao"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A09"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2746"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2016.09.26"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 d4 3. b4 Bg4 (3... f6 {used to be the theoretical antidote to White's setup until the move} 4. Na3 {was discovered.}) (3... g5 {has been played by Morozevich a few times.}) 4. Qb3 Nf6 {White now has a Blumenfeld Gambit with an extra tempo, but Svidler wasn't exactly sure what to do with it. :-)} 5. g3 (5. Ne5 Bh5 6. Bb2 Qd6 7. f4) 5... a5 {A novelty on move five.} ( 5... Bxf3 6. Qxf3 e5 7. Qxb7 Nbd7 8. Bg2 Rb8 9. Qxa7 Bxb4 10. O-O O-O { Iturrizaga,E (2641)-Navara,D (2734) Berlin GER 2015}) (5... e6 6. Bg2 c6 7. Bb2 Bxf3 8. Bxf3 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. d3 e5 {Iturrizaga,E (2641)-Zhigalko,S (2656) Berlin GER 2015}) (5... Nbd7 6. Bg2 e5 7. O-O a5 8. bxa5 Nc5 9. Qc2 e4 10. Ne5 Bxe2 11. Re1 d3 12. Qc3 Bd6 {Demuth,A (2545)-Zhigalko,S (2656) Berlin GER 2015} ) (5... d3 6. Bg2 Nc6 (6... dxe2 7. Ne5 {Svidler}) 7. Bb2 dxe2 8. b5 Na5 9. Qa4 b6 10. Ne5 Bf5 {Christiansen,J (2399)-Lindgren,P (2411) Vaxjo SWE 2016}) 6. b5 (6. Bg2 axb4 7. Qxb4 Ra7 {Svidler}) 6... a4 7. Qd3 Bxf3 $6 ({Aronian and Giri suggested} 7... c5 {(otherwise 8...Nbd7 and 9...e5)} 8. Ne5 Bh5 {and liked Black. Svidler expected this as well and wasn't sure who was better and why.}) 8. Qxf3 c6 {Svidler was "stunned" when he saw this being played rather fast.} ( {The critical move should be} 8... e5 $1 9. Qxb7 Nbd7 10. Bg2 e4 {and now White can bail out with} 11. Bxe4 Rb8 12. Qc6 Rb6 13. Qa8 Rb8) 9. Bg2 e5 10. O-O Be7 11. d3 O-O 12. Nd2 h5 (12... Qc7 13. g4 Rc8 14. g5 Nfd7 15. Ne4 { is very good for White (Svidler).}) 13. h3 (13. Ne4 Ng4 14. h3 $2 f5 $1 { is tricky (Svidler).}) 13... g6 14. Rb1 Nh7 (14... Qc7 15. g4 {Svidler}) 15. e3 Re8 (15... dxe3 16. Qxe3) 16. exd4 exd4 17. Re1 h4 18. bxc6 bxc6 19. Rb7 { White is strategically winning here.} hxg3 20. fxg3 Bf6 21. Ne4 Nd7 22. Rf1 Rxe4 23. Qxe4 Nc5 24. Qxc6 Rc8 25. Qb5 Nxb7 26. Bxb7 Rc7 27. Bf4 Re7 28. Be4 Nf8 29. c5 Be5 30. Bg5 Bxg3 31. Qb6 $1 (31. Bxe7 Qxe7 32. Qb7 Bc7 $1 {Svidler}) 31... Qxb6 32. cxb6 Re5 33. Bf6 Rb5 34. b7 Ne6 35. Rc1 Nc7 36. Kg2 Bf4 37. Rc4 Kh7 38. Kf3 Bh2 39. Rc5 Kg8 40. Rxb5 Nxb5 41. Bc6 Nc3 42. Bh4 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.04"] [Round "?"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2745"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 b4 9. d3 d6 10. a5 Be6 11. Nbd2 (11. Bxe6 {was Topalov's twist against Svidler at the Sinquefield Cup, but 11.Nbd2 remains by far as the main move.}) 11... Bxb3 {Svidler chooses a move that is not as common as 11...Qc8 or 11...Rb8, but certailny deserves attention.} 12. Nxb3 Re8 13. h3 h6 14. Nh4 $5 {an interesting juncture. White is daring Black to capture on e4.} (14. d4 { was Anand-Adams from 2006.}) 14... Bf8 (14... Nxe4 15. Nf5 (15. Rxe4 Bxh4 16. Rc4 {regains a pawn but surely isn't what White was intending.} Nd4 17. Nxd4 exd4 18. Rxb4 Bxf2+ $5 19. Kxf2 Qh4+ 20. g3 Qxh3 21. Qf3 $1 $11) 15... Ng5 ( 15... Nf6 16. Qf3 Qd7 {how else to defend the knight?} (16... Nd4 17. Nxe7+ Rxe7 18. Nxd4 exd4 19. Rxe7 Qxe7 20. Qxa8+ $18) (16... Na7 17. Bxh6 $18) 17. Bxh6 Bf8 18. Bg5 {with pressure on the kingside, even though White's advantage isn't decisive my any means.}) 16. Qg4 $5 {And Black has to be very careful. Again it is possible that the attack is not as serious as it looks, but Black must be incredibly accurate and at best he reaches an equal position.}) 15. Nf5 Ne7 16. Ne3 Qd7 17. Ng4 Nh7 (17... Nxg4 18. hxg4 {is slightly better for White, who can break on g5 when he wants to.}) 18. d4 (18. Nd2 $5 {and maneuvering the knight back ot the kingside was also worthy of attention.} f5 $5) 18... exd4 19. Nxd4 c5 20. Ne2 $1 {The best square for hte knight, as it threatens to reroute to f4 and control d5.} h5 21. Ne3 Nf6 22. Ng3 (22. f3 $5) 22... h4 $1 23. Nh5 Nxh5 24. Qxh5 Qe6 $1 25. Qxh4 Ng6 26. Qg4 Qxe4 27. Qxe4 Rxe4 { A nice defense so far by Svidler, really avoiding any major problems. The endgame is close to equal, but still a bit more pleasant for White due to the passive position of the bishop on f8 and how easily attackable d5 and d6 are.} 28. Rd1 Rae8 29. Kf1 Be7 30. g3 Ne5 31. Nf5 Rc4 $6 32. c3 $6 (32. Rxd6 $1 { was missed by the players.} Rxc2 33. Rxa6 {and now} Nc4 34. b3 $1 Bf6 35. Rxf6 Nxa5 36. Bh6 $3 (36. Nxg7 Kxg7 37. Rf3 $14) 36... gxf6 37. Rxa5 {is a much better endgame for White, but still needs accuracy after} c4) (32. Nxe7+ Rxe7 33. Rxd6 Rxc2 34. Rxa6 Nc4 {with sufficient counterplay.}) 32... bxc3 33. bxc3 Rxc3 34. Nxd6 Bxd6 35. Rxd6 Nc4 36. Rxa6 Rc2 {again, Black simply has too much counterplay in this line.} 37. Rc6 Ree2 38. Be3 Nxe3+ 39. fxe3 Rh2 40. Kg1 Rcg2+ 41. Kf1 Rxg3 42. a6 Rxe3 43. Kg1 Rexh3 44. Ra4 Rh1+ {Black has to force the draw or the a-pawn will just win.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.04"] [Round "7.5"] [White "Li, Chao"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D90"] [WhiteElo "2746"] [BlackElo "2740"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2016.09.26"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Na4 Bf5 (6... Nb6 7. e4 Bg4 8. Be3 O-O 9. Nc5 Nc6 10. Nxb7 Qb8 11. Ba6 Nb4 12. Nc5 {was good for White in Romanov,E (2573)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2705) Skopje MKD 2015}) 7. Nh4 Bd7 8. e4 e5 9. Nf3 exd4 (9... Qe7 10. Nxe5 Qb4+ 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. Qd2 Nxa2 13. Rxa2 Qxd2+ 14. Bxd2 Be6 {Tari,A (2556)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2785) Gibraltar ENG 2016}) 10. exd5 O-O {Threatening Qe8+ sometimes. White can't keep the piece.} 11. Be2 (11. Nxd4 Qh4 12. Be3 Re8 {Nepomniachtchi}) 11... d3 $1 12. Qxd3 Bxa4 13. O-O c6 14. Qe4 Qe8 15. Qxa4 Qxe2 16. Qb3 Na6 ({After} 16... Qb5 17. Qxb5 cxb5 {White has some play (Nepomniachtchi).}) 17. Be3 (17. Qxb7 Nc5 18. Qxc6 Rac8 19. Qd6 Rfd8 {is what Nepomniachtchi had seen in his preparation.}) 17... Qxb2 18. Qxb2 Bxb2 19. Rab1 Ba3 (19... Bf6 20. Rxb7 cxd5 21. Rd1 Rfb8 22. Rd7 {Li Chao} Nb4 $5) 20. Rxb7 (20. dxc6 bxc6 21. Ne5 Rfe8 22. Nxc6 Bc5 23. Rb7 Re6 {Nepomniachtchi}) 20... cxd5 21. Rd1 Nc5 22. Rc7 Ne6 23. Rd7 Rfc8 24. h4 Bc5 25. Bxc5 (25. Ne5 $6 d4 26. Bh6 Rd8) 25... Nxc5 26. R7xd5 Kg7 27. g4 Rab8 28. g5 h6 29. gxh6+ Kxh6 30. Ng5 Kg7 31. Rc1 Ne6 32. Nxe6+ fxe6 33. Rd7+ Kf6 34. Rxc8 Rxc8 35. Rxa7 Rc4 36. a4 Rxh4 37. a5 Ra4 38. a6 e5 39. Ra8 e4 40. a7 Kg7 41. Kf1 Ra2 42. Ke1 Kh7 43. Kd1 Kg7 44. Kc1 Kh7 45. Kb1 Ra6 46. Kb2 Kg7 47. Kc3 Ra4 48. Kb3 Ra1 49. Kc4 Kh7 50. Kd5 Ra4 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.06"] [Round "9"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A32"] [WhiteElo "2743"] [BlackElo "2740"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "96"] [EventDate "2016.10.06"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 d5 6. e3 Be7 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. O-O {Surprisingly this natural move is the first new move in the game. It doesn't change the evaluation though. White has a small plus.} Nc6 11. Ne2 a6 12. Ba4 Bg4 13. Bb3 Na5 14. Ba4+ b5 15. Bc2 O-O 16. Qd3 g6 17. Nd4 Bf6 18. Bd1 Qd7 19. Bd2 Nc4 20. Bxg4 Qxg4 21. Bc3 Bg7 22. b3 { White classically demonstrates the simple issue with isolated pawns. The d4-square is an outpost, the c4-square is not.} Ne5 23. Qd2 Rac8 24. Rac1 Rc7 25. f4 {No rest for the weary! Black's must find another home.} Nd7 26. h3 Qh5 27. Nf3 Bxc3 28. Rxc3 Rxc3 29. Qxc3 Qf5 30. Qc6 {The a6-pawn is weak.} Nb8 { Black defends the pawn but becomes positive.} 31. Qd6 Rc8 32. Rd1 Qe4 33. Rxd5 Qxe3+ 34. Kh2 {Black has avoided losing a pawn, but the White pieces are far more active.} Nc6 35. Rc5 Qe8 36. f5 Na7 37. Ne5 $2 {Now Nepo is able to simplify. The problems are basically over.} (37. Rxc8 Qxc8 (37... Nxc8 38. Qxa6 {Is the pawn enough to win? It's hard to say, but White can certainly try.}) 38. fxg6 hxg6 39. Ne5 {It's still difficult for Black to unwind.}) 37... Rxc5 38. Qxc5 gxf5 39. Nf3 (39. Qxa7 Qxe5+ {gives Black the better of a draw.}) 39... Nc6 40. Qxf5 Qb8+ 41. Kh1 Qd6 42. Qg4+ Kf8 43. Ng5 h6 44. Ne4 Qd5 45. Qf4 Kg7 46. Nd6 Qe6 47. Nf5+ Kh7 48. Qf2 Ne7 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.06"] [Round "9"] [White "Li, Chao"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E21"] [WhiteElo "2746"] [BlackElo "2755"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2016.10.06"] {"He could win. I think many, many chances." - Li Chao when sitting down at the press conference.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 O-O 5. Bg5 c5 6. Rc1 h6 7. Bh4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 d5 9. e3 {I forget how to play, but when I'm playing, I know he maybe also forget how to play.} e5 10. Nb3 {This is the novelty, but it is no better than prior play, all of which has scored badly for White.} (10. Nf3 {This has been played in four master games. White got two draws and two losses.}) 10... g5 11. Bg3 Nc6 12. a3 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 (13. Rxc3 d4 {is strong for Black. Black's king may be drafty, but at least it's castled.}) 13... dxc4 14. Qxd8 Rxd8 15. Bxc4 Ne4 16. f3 Nxg3 17. hxg3 {"I thought this position was a little bit better for White, but it's a mistake. I just wanted to play something like e4, Bd5, and move my knight to e3 (via d2 and f1). Something like this, but maybe I don't have enough time." - Li Chao} Kg7 18. Ke2 b6 {"Here, I think a long time, and I forgot he can play Ne7." - Li Chao} 19. e4 (19. Rhd1 {"A little bit better for Black, but better than my game." - Li Chao}) 19... Ne7 20. Rhd1 Bd7 21. Rd2 Ba4 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. Nd2 h5 24. Ke3 ( 24. Rh1 Rc8 {Li Chao said he missed this move, intending b5, Rxc3 and Rxa3.} 25. Rxh5 b5 26. Bd3 Rxc3 27. Rxg5+ Ng6 28. Nb1 {seems fine.}) 24... h4 (24... f5 {"simply better for Black because of f4." - Li Chao} 25. exf5 $2 Nxf5+ { and White can't defend g3 and d2.}) 25. gxh4 gxh4 26. Bf1 Ng6 27. c4 Rc8 28. Nb1 Bd7 29. Nc3 Be6 30. Nb5 (30. Nd5 Bxd5 31. exd5 f5) 30... a6 31. Nd6 Rc6 32. Rd1 Kf6 33. Ne8+ Ke7 34. Ng7 Bxc4 35. Nf5+ Kf6 36. Bxc4 Rxc4 37. Rd6+ Kg5 38. Rxb6 Nf4 (38... Rc3+ 39. Kf2 Rxa3 (39... Nf4 {"I thought here I'm winning with ...Nf4." - Giri} 40. Nxh4 $1 {but then he saw this cute equalizing move.} Kxh4 41. g3+ {forks the king and his cavalry.}) 40. Nd6 {"I think it's a complete draw here." - Giri. The engine agrees.}) (38... Rc2 39. Nd6 Rxg2 40. Nxf7+ Kh5 {"I wanted this position with an extra pawn."} 41. Rb7 h3 (41... Ra2 {is strong.}) 42. Nh8 $4 {This funny move was suggested by Li Chao, but Giri gave the refutation in the press conference.} (42. Nxe5 $1 {is better and might draw.}) 42... Nf4 43. Rh7+ Kg5 44. Rg7+ Kf6 45. Rxg2 hxg2 46. Kf2 Kg7 {and the knight is trapped.}) 39. Nh6 (39. Nd6 {"I think I should play 39.Nd6--better than 39.Nh6." - Li Chao.}) (39. Rxa6 Rc2 {is basically just mate.}) 39... Nxg2+ (39... Rc7 $1 {"I could have played this followed by ...f6 with the idea of ... Rc2." - Giri} 40. Kf2 f6 41. Nf5 Rc2+ {"looks half-winning." - Giri}) 40. Kf2 Rc2+ 41. Kg1 {"It's clear that we are at the point where Black is either winning. or it's a draw. That's why I took my time." - Giri} Ne3 $2 {"I was choosing here between Ne3 or f5 and I rejected Ne1 very, very quickly." - Giri} (41... Ne1 $1 42. Nxf7+ Kf4 43. Rf6+ Kg3 44. Nxe5 {Giri rejected this because he didn't have ..Rc1 mate.} (44. Rg6+ Kxf3 45. Nxe5+ Kf4 {"wins on the spot ... I missed this move ...Kf4, and I missed this move ...Rc1 which made me reject . ..Ne1, and I didn't come back to it." - Giri}) 44... Rc1 $1 {"but with a little more patience, I'm going to give the mate anyway." - Giri}) (41... f5 $2 {"a very pretty move." - Giri} 42. Nf7+ (42. exf5 $1 Ne1 43. Rg6+ Kf4 44. f6 Nxf3+ 45. Kf1 {"This scared me away." - Giri. The engine agrees. Draw.}) 42... Kf4 {"My king is covered." - Giri}) 42. Nxf7+ Kf4 43. Rxa6 Nc4 44. a4 Ra2 45. a5 Kxf3 46. Rc6 Nxa5 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.06"] [Round "9"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2808"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2016.10.06"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. a3 (7. c5 Nh5 8. Bd3 Nxf4 9. exf4 b6 10. b4 a5 11. a3 c6 12. O-O Qc7 13. g3 Ba6 {is a well-known line. Kramnik himself has been on the black side of this position on quite a number of occasions.}) 7... c5 {This move is provoked by White's seventh move: if Black does not play it, he'll face it next. In encouraging this push, White creates an isolated queen pawn on d5, which is by no means the end of the world. Black obtains quick development, but in the long run an IQP can be really annoying to defend} 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. dxc5 Nxc5 11. Be5 {Thematic, controlling the essential d4 square. When your opponent has an isolated pawn, it is generally important to blockade the square in front of it. This way the pawn can't be pushed and you can gang up on it with all your other pieces.} Bf5 12. Be2 Bf6 13. O-O (13. Bxf6 {Mamedyarov played this against Aronian earlier in the tournament and achieved nothing:} Qxf6 14. Nd4 Ne6 15. Nxf5 Qxf5 16. O-O Qe5 17. Qd2 d4 {with equality.}) 13... Bxe5 14. Nxe5 Qf6 15. b4 (15. Qxd5 {"This d5-take is not so good." - Mamedyarov. As far as I'm aware, this hasn't been tested. But it very unclear.} b6 (15... Rac8 16. f4 Rfd8 17. Qf3 (17. Qa2 Nd7 18. Bd3 Bxd3 19. Nxd3 Qb6 {and Black has full compensation, since the pawn will be regained.}) 17... Nb3 18. Rad1 Nd2 19. Qxb7 Nxf1 20. Rxd8+ Rxd8 21. Bxf1 {White can't be worse here, but perhaps an impending Rd1 maneuever will force a draw.}) 16. Nf3 (16. f4 Rad8 17. Qa2 (17. Qc6 Rd2 {wins back the pawn, and Black will get two on one on the queenside.}) 17... Rd2 {Black will need to prove that there is enough compensation for the pawn, but White's poisition looks really shaky here. Nobody puts baby in the corner, and that queen on a2 is mighty unhappy.}) 16... Qxb2 17. Qxf5 Qxe2 { with a very tiny edge for White.}) 15... Qxe5 16. bxc5 Rac8 17. Rc1 Rfd8 { A novelty, apparently, but not at all an impressive one. This middlegame is clearly better for White.} (17... Be4 18. Qd4 Qg5 19. f3 Bf5 20. Rc3 Rfd8 21. Rfc1 Bd7 22. Kf2 Bc6 23. h4 Qe7 24. Bd3 Rc7 25. a4 Rdc8 26. a5 a6 27. Rb1 h6 28. Rb4 Kf8 29. Rb6 Re8 30. Bf5 Qd8 31. Bd3 Re6 32. Rcb3 Qe7 33. Bf5 Re5 34. Bd3 Re6 35. Bf5 Re5 36. Bd3 {1/2-1/2 (36) Cheparinov,I (2687)-Kryvoruchko,Y (2682) Varadero 2016}) 18. Qd4 f6 $6 {Mamedyarov was skeptical of this move.} ( 18... Qxd4 19. exd4 {is very uncomfortable for Black. Kramnik would be left with some vulnerable pawns on b7 and d5, whereas is more active and has no targets to attack. Fixing the white pawn structure is not recommended.}) 19. g4 $5 {"After this move, I understand the position is interesting." - Mamedyarov} (19. Rfd1 {was clearly not aggressive enough for the active Mamedyarov.}) 19... Bg6 20. Rc3 Rc7 (20... Qxd4 21. exd4 Re8 22. Bf3 Be4 23. Bd1 $1 {This variation was given by Mamedyarov who liked White's position. I do as well: Kramnik is not doing so horribly here, but he lacks space and counterplay. It's hard to sit and wait.}) 21. Rfc1 Re7 22. Rd1 Qg5 $6 {I don't really like that Black's queen is now totally out of the picture, but I'm not finding any better moves.} (22... Qc7 23. Qa4 {pokes holes.}) 23. Qb4 Re4 24. Rd4 Rde8 { A blunder, allowing Mamedyarov to cash in a positional advantage for a material one.} (24... Rxd4 25. Qxd4 (25. exd4 Re8 26. Bf3 Re1+ 27. Kg2 Be4 { is getting a bit scary for White, who must tread carefully to maintain equality.}) 25... Be8 {might have been key. It is hard for players to turn a potentially attacking piece (if the bishop got to e4) into a purely defensive one, but this bishop belongs on c6 where it defends both weaknesses b7 and d5. Importantly, the only way for White to remove the bishop is to trade it via Bb5. But such a trade is hard to orchestrate, given that Mamedyarov has committed his pawn to g4. If only pawns could move backwards...}) 25. Rcd3 $1 { Kramnik missed this.} Kh8 $1 {Creative play from Kramnik.} 26. Rd2 $1 (26. Qxb7 R4e7 27. Qxe7 (27. Qxd5 Qxd5 28. Rxd5 Bxd3 29. Bxd3 Re5 {with a likely draw.}) 27... Rxe7 28. Rxd5 h6 $3 {This was why Mamedyarov rejected Qxb7.} (28... Qh4 29. Rd8+ Be8 30. c6 {should be winning. For example,} Kg8 31. Rc3 f5 32. c7 Rxc7 33. Rxe8+ Kf7 34. Rxc7+ Kxe8 35. Rxg7 {and rook, bishop, and two pawns clearly outmatch the lone queen.}) (28... f5 29. Rxf5 $1 {wins. Back rank mates are everywhere.}) 29. Rxg5 Bxd3 30. Bxd3 hxg5 {and Black is better.}) 26... h5 27. Qxb7 hxg4 {This gives White a tremendous advantage. More of a fight was} (27... Rxd4 28. Rxd4 Rxe3 29. Rxd5 Re5 30. Qb8+ Kh7 31. Rxe5 fxe5 32. Qb4 {but Kramnik should still be lost here.}) 28. Rxd5 f5 29. Bf1 Rxe3 30. c6 (30. fxe3 Qxe3+ 31. Rf2 f4 (31... g3 32. hxg3 Qxg3+ 33. Rg2 Qe3+ 34. Kh1 Qf3 35. Be2 $1 {This was the refutation Mamedyarov gave. He was thinking this line drew until he saw this.} Rxe2 36. Rd8+ {wins.}) 32. Qc7 g3 33. Qxf4 gxf2+ 34. Qxf2 {is of course still better for White, but now both kings are unsafe. Black has good chances of surviving.}) 30... Rc3 31. c7 {With the pawn on the seventh rank, the rest is quite straightforward.} Qf4 32. Rd7 Rg8 33. R2d4 Qc1 34. Qb8 Kh7 35. Rd8 Bf7 36. Rxg8 Bxg8 37. Rd8 Be6 (37... Bc4 38. Rh8+ Kg6 39. Qe8+ Kg5 40. Rh5+ Kf4 41. Rxf5+ $1 Kxf5 42. c8=Q+ {was the key variation that Mamedyarov saw.}) 38. Rh8+ Kg6 39. Qe8+ Kf6 40. Qf8+ Kg6 41. Qd6 Rc6 42. c8=Q { Kramnik is forced to resign, since Mamedyarov has pinned all of his pieces.} 1-0 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.05"] [Round "?"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2743"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. O-O Bg7 6. Re1 Nh6 7. c3 O-O 8. h3 d5 9. d3 c4 10. dxc4 dxe4 11. Qxd8 Rxd8 12. Rxe4 Nf5 {The novelty.} ({ In round five, Gelfand chose} 12... e5 {but the plan never really worked and he soon got into an ugly bind and lost.} 13. Re1 f6 14. Nbd2 Nf7 15. Ne4 f5 16. Neg5 e4 17. Nxf7 Kxf7 18. Bg5 Rd3 19. Nd4 Ba6 20. b3 c5 21. Ne2 h6 22. Be3 Rc8 23. h4 {1-0 (58) Anand,V (2776)-Gelfand,B (2743) Moscow RUS 2016}) 13. Re1 c5 14. Nbd2 Bb7 15. Ne4 Rac8 16. Ng3 Nd6 17. Rxe7 Bxf3 18. gxf3 Nxc4 19. Bg5 Nxb2 20. Rxa7 Ra8 {Black has achieved full equality and the game soon ends.} 21. Rb7 Rd1+ 22. Rxd1 Nxd1 23. Ne4 Nxc3 24. Nxc5 h6 25. Be3 Rxa2 26. Rb8+ Kh7 27. Rb7 Kg8 28. Rb8+ Kh7 29. Rb7 Kg8 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Mem 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.10.05"] [Round "?"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Li, Chao b"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2746"] [PlyCount "120"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Bf5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Bf4 Bd6 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Nxd5 Be4 8. Nc3 Bxf3 9. Bxd6 Qxd6 10. gxf3 Qxd4 11. e3 Qf6 12. Nd5 Qd6 13. Qb3 Nge7 14. Nxe7 Nxe7 15. Rd1 Qf6 16. Qa4+ Nc6 17. Qe4+ Kf8 18. Bb5 Re8 19. Qc2 Qxf3 20. Qc5+ Kg8 21. Rg1 Qf6 22. Bxc6 bxc6 23. Rd2 (23. Qd4 $1 {This might seem paradoxical, as White is still down a pawn, even if temporarily, but the key is Black's rook on h8. Hampered as it is, Black needs at least three moves to free it and these tempi are what White needs to quickly leverage his trumps.} Qxd4 24. Rxd4 g6 25. Rgg4 Kg7 26. Rd7 a5 27. Rf4 Rhf8 28. Rxc7 Rb8 29. b3 Rb4 30. Rxb4 axb4 31. Rxc6 Ra8 32. Rc4 Rxa2 33. Rxb4 Rb2) 23... g6 24. Rg4 Kg7 25. Rc4 Rd8 26. Rf4 Qe6 27. Rfd4 Rb8 28. Rd7 Qf6 29. b3 Rb7 30. Qe7 a5 31. R2d4 Rf8 32. Ke2 Qxe7 33. Rxe7 Kf6 34. Ree4 Ra8 35. Rf4+ Ke7 36. Rfe4+ Kf6 37. Rf4+ Ke7 38. Rde4+ Kf8 39. Re6 g5 40. Rf3 g4 41. Rf4 Rb4 42. Ref6 Rxf4 43. Rxf4 h5 44. Rf5 a4 45. Rxh5 Ke7 46. b4 a3 47. Kd3 Rd8+ 48. Kc2 Ke6 49. Rc5 Rh8 50. Rxc6+ Ke5 51. Rxc7 Rxh2 52. Rxf7 g3 53. Kb3 Rxf2 54. Rg7 g2 55. Kxa3 Ke4 56. Rg3 Re2 57. Ka4 Rxa2+ 58. Kb5 Kd3 59. Kc6 Rc2+ 60. Kb6 Rf2 1/2-1/2 [Event "10th Tal Memorial"] [Site "Playchess.com"] [Date "2016.10.05"] [Round "?"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Tomashevsky, Evgeny"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2808"] [BlackElo "2731"] [PlyCount "215"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {Here we are at Round 8 of the Tal Memorial. In this encounter we have former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik with a healthy +1 score, on the white side, and an out-of-shape but solid and strong Evgeny Tomashevsky on the black side. A few years ago, I used to consider Tomashevksy as "der Klein Kramnik" (a small Kramnik). However, his later developments and changes in style, plus Kramnik's own adjustments in style in recent years now seperate the two players' similarities.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 {Tomashevsky has no intention to check Kramnik's depth of knowledge in more trendy Bf5.} (3... Bf5 4. O-O c6 5. d3 e6 6. Nh4 $5 Bg4 7. h3 Bh5 8. Qe1 Be7 9. f4 {1-0 (46) Kramnik, V (2808)-Adhiban,B (2671) Baku 2016 was Kramnik's offbeat choice at the Olympiad.}) 4. O-O Bg4 5. d3 Nbd7 6. h3 Bxf3 {The most solid.} ({Kramnik has faced} 6... Bh5 {with success} 7. Qe1 e5 8. e4 dxe4 9. dxe4 Bc5 10. a4 O-O 11. Nh4 Re8 12. Na3 Nf8 13. b4 Be7 14. Nf5 Ne6 15. Nxe7+ Qxe7 16. Be3 Bg6 17. f3 Nd7 18. Nc4 f5 19. Rd1 f4 20. Rxd7 Qxd7 21. Nxe5 Qc7 22. gxf4 Nxf4 23. Bxf4 Rxe5 24. Qe3 Rd8 25. Qxa7 Qe7 26. Bxe5 Qxe5 27. Qe3 Qb2 28. Qc5 h6 29. b5 cxb5 30. Qb6 Rd2 31. Qxg6 bxa4 32. h4 Qd4+ 33. Kh1 Qd8 34. Bh3 Qxh4 35. Qe6+ Kh8 36. Rg1 g5 37. Qc8+ Kg7 38. Rb1 {1-0 (38) Kramnik,V (2783)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2765) Shamkir 2015}) 7. Bxf3 e5 8. e4 dxe4 9. dxe4 Bc5 10. Nd2 Qe7 11. a4 a5 12. Qe2 O-O 13. Nc4 {(#) Judgement time: White has a pair of bishops out of the opening. However, the closed and fixed nature of the center and his misplaced bishop on f3 do not give him much out of the opening. Just imagine what White could do if he had his bishop on the a2-g8 diagonal.} Qe6 14. Kg2 Nb6 15. Ne3 Rfd8 16. b3 Nc8 17. Bb2 Bd4 $6 {a small tactical inaccuracy.} 18. Rad1 { Yep, you cannot take on b2, sir!} Nd6 $5 {An interesting approach to solve his problem. Tomashevsky decides to go through a number of exchanges which will result in a slightly worse, but possibly manageable endgame.} (18... Nb6 19. Bc1 g6 20. Ng4 {and White's pair of bishops slowly start to show their value.}) 19. Bxd4 exd4 20. Rxd4 Ndxe4 21. Rxd8+ Rxd8 22. Nc4 b5 23. axb5 cxb5 24. Nxa5 Rd2 25. Qxb5 h6 26. Nc4 Rxc2 27. Qb8+ Kh7 28. Qe5 Qxe5 29. Nxe5 Rb2 {(#) After a series of more or less forced moves, we have reached an endgame in which White is a pawn up alloowing him to secure a long-term advantage by exchanging the b3 pawn for f7. Nevertheless, due to the drawish nature of these three-against-two pawn endings, Kramnik decides to shake up the game just a little bit.} 30. Bd1 Nd5 $6 {Tomashevsky plays with fire.} 31. Nc4 Ra2 32. Bf3 Ndc3 33. h4 $6 (33. Bxe4+ {This was probably Kramnik's best chance in the entire game.} Nxe4 34. Kf3 f5 (34... Nc5 35. Rb1 Nd3 36. Ke3 Nxf2 37. b4 Nxh3 38. b5 {and Black's pieces are far too disorganized to stop the b-pawn.}) 35. Ke3 {Now g4 is a threat.} Ra8 36. Nd2 $1 {and White gets his rook behind his b-pawn which gives him very good winning chances.}) 33... g5 34. h5 $1 { Kramnik is planning to win the h6 pawn.} Kg7 35. b4 Ra4 36. Bxe4 Nxe4 37. Rb1 Nc3 38. Rc1 Ne2 39. Rc2 Nd4 40. Rd2 Nc6 41. Ne3 Rxb4 42. Nf5+ Kh7 43. Rd6 { (#) After a series of good forced "threat and parry" moves, the b-pawn is exchanged for h6 and we finally avoid one of those typical 3 vs 2 endgames! Good work Mr. Kramnik!} Ne5 44. Rxh6+ Kg8 45. Ra6 Ng4 46. Ra8+ Kh7 47. Ra7 Nh6 $1 {Good defense by Tomashevsky, yet it does not solve his problems.} 48. Nd6 Kg7 49. Kf3 $2 {This lets all possible winning chances slip away.} (49. Kh3 { (#) This is the only move which keeps White's hopes alive. White moves his king in vain but the idea is in fact to keep the king out it! The rook and knight will take care of the material advantage but it is not clear whether that is enough either.} g4+ (49... Rb2 50. f3 Rb3 51. Ra5 Rxf3 52. Rxg5+ Kh8 53. Rc5 Kg7) 50. Kh4 {and White's king becomes active, though ensuing endgame is drawish.} Rb2 51. Ne8+ Kh7 52. Nf6+ Kg7 53. Nxg4 Nxg4 54. Kxg4 Rxf2 55. Kg5 Rb2 56. g4 Rb5+ 57. Kh4 Rb4) 49... g4+ 50. Kg2 Rb6 $1 {Careful defense by Tomashevksy. From now on, he does not give Kramnik even the slightest winning chances.} 51. Ne8+ Kh7 52. Ra5 Re6 53. Nc7 Rf6 54. Kf1 Rf5 55. Rd5 Rf6 (55... Rxd5 56. Nxd5 Nf5 57. Nf6+ Kh6 58. Nxg4+ Kxh5 {is another primitive drawish position that could have arisen.}) 56. Rd7 Rf5 57. Nd5 Kg7 58. Nf4 Re5 59. Rd5 Re4 60. Ng2 Kf6 {White cannot really improve much. Black has created a fortress with his king and knight and by keeping his rooks active, he has simplified his defensive tasks.} 61. Ne3 Ra4 62. Ke2 Ra3 63. Rc5 Rb3 64. Nd5+ Kg7 65. Nc3 Rb6 66. Rg5+ Kf8 67. Re5 Kg7 68. Ke3 Rb3 69. Rc5 Rb2 70. Rg5+ Kf8 71. Rb5 Rc2 72. Ne4 Kg7 73. Rg5+ Kf8 74. Nf6 Rc3+ 75. Ke4 Rc4+ 76. Kd3 Ra4 77. Nh7+ Ke7 78. Re5+ Kd6 79. Rb5 Kc6 80. Rb8 Ra2 81. Ke3 Ra5 82. Nf6 Rf5 83. Ne4 Rxh5 84. Rd8 Kc7 85. Re8 Rf5 86. Rh8 Rf3+ 87. Kd4 Nf5+ 88. Ke5 Ne7 89. Rh7 Ng6+ 90. Kd4 Kd8 91. Ng5 Rxf2 92. Nxf7+ Ke8 93. Ng5 Rf5 94. Ne6 Rf7 95. Rh6 Ne7 96. Rh8+ Kd7 97. Nc5+ Kc7 {Kramnik is not ready to shake hands yet! But playing with just a few seconds left on his clock, he soon decides to call it a day.} 98. Ra8 Nc6+ 99. Kc4 Rf1 100. Ne4 Rd1 101. Re8 Re1 102. Kd5 Rd1+ 103. Ke6 Rd8 104. Rxd8 Kxd8 105. Nc3 Nd4+ 106. Ke5 Nf3+ 107. Kf4 Nh2 108. Nd5 {To summarize: Tomashevsky missed some small tactics here and there but the drawish tendency of these positions let him escape with a draw despite Kramnik's efforts.} 1/2-1/2