Damián Lemos

Damián Lemos (2544) - Francisco Fernandez Troncoso (2213)
35º Open de Sevilla ESP (3), 10.01.2010 Defensa India de Rey [E71]
1.d4 Cf6 2.c4 g6 3.Cc3 Ag7 4.e4 d6 5.h3 0-0 6.Ag5 De8!? Una jugada que contiene más veneno de lo que
parece a primera vista. Por lo pronto, la dama sale de la virtual clavada del Ag5 para poder jugar ...e5. La
jugada usual ha sido en general 6...Ca6. 7.Ad3 Vale tener presente que en caso de 7.Ae2 probablemente el
negro debe volver a la idea de jugar 7...Ca6 (porque en caso de 7...e5 8.d5 el Ae2 controla la casilla h5
impidiendo ...Ch5) 8.Cf3 e5 9.d5 (9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Ae3 c6 11.a3 De7 12.b4 Ch5~~; 9.0-0? exd4 10.Cxd4 Cxe4)
9...Ch5!~~. 7...e5 8.d5 Ch5 La idea es jugar ...Cf4. 9.Cge2 f5
Una posición que produjo cierto debate a fines de los años 1990s. Dimitri
Tyomkin jugó dos partidas con blancas y en ambas respondió 10.exf5: en 1997
contra Alberto David, en Tel Aviv, ganando las negras, y en la segunda contra
Krishnan Sasikiran, en el Open de Biel 1999, esta vez ganando las blancas.
Tyomkin repitió aquí 10.exf5, pese a que el IM Laszlo Hazai en sus
comentarios a la victoria de David había puesto dudas sobre esa jugada,
recomendando en su lugar 10.f3. 10.f3 Lemos sigue la recomendación de
Hazai, probablemente con la idea de pasar a posiciones conocidas de la
variante 6...Ca6.
1 ) Tras 10.exf5 gxf5 Tyomkin en la segunda de las partidas mencionadas

innovó con un interesante sacrificio de peón: 11.g4! con la idea de destruir el centro negro de peones y tomar
control sobre la casilla clave e4, con perspectivas de ataque en el flanco rey. (Antes Tyomkin había jugado
11.Dd2 e4 (11...Cd7) 12.Ac2 Cd7 (12...Cf6 13.0-0-0 Cbd7 14.Cb5 Dd8 15.Cbd4 Ce5 16.b3+/= Motoc-Llaneza
Vega, Dresden 2008 (1-0 28)) 13.0-0-0 (13.g4 Ce5!; >=13.Cb5 Tyomkin) 13...Ce5 14.b3 Dg6 15.Rb1 (15.Ae3
f4! 16.Cxf4? Cxf4 17.Axf4 Txf4!-+) 15...Ad7 16.Ae3 a6<=> Tyomkin-David, Tel Aviv 1997 (0-1 39)) 11...h6
(11...Cf4!?) 12.Ae3 Cf4 (era mejor aceptar el sacrificio: 12...fxg4 13.hxg4 Axg4 14.Dc2 Cf4 15.0-0-0 aunque
igualmente el blanco queda mejor) 13.Axf5 Axf5 14.gxf5 Txf5 15.Dc2!+/- Tyomkin-Sasikiran, Biel MTO op
1999 (1-0 35).
2 ) Se ha probado aquí 10.Dd2 pero los resultados no han sido totalmente satisfactorios para el blanco. De
hecho, Alexander Mikhalevski ha perdido al menos dos partidas con este orden de jugadas: 10...Ca6 11.0-0-0
(11.exf5 gxf5 12.0-0-0 e4 13.Ab1 Cc5 14.f3 Ad7 15.fxe4 fxe4 16.g4|^ A.Mikhalevski-Avrukh, Israel 2008 (0-1
33)) 11...Cc5 (11...f4! /\12.f3 Af6 13.Axf6 Txf6 /\ Cc5) 12.Ac2 f4 (12...Cxe4 13.Cxe4 fxe4 14.Ae3!+/=; 12...fxe4
13.Ae3!+/=) 13.g4 fxg3 14.fxg3 Ad7! 15.g4 Cf4!<=> A.Mikhalevski-Pavlovic, Biel op 1998 (0-1 26).
10...Ca6 11.Dd2
De este modo se ha alcanzado una posición conocida en líneas con un

temprano ...Ca6. 11...Cc5 Probablemente la primera jugada nueva. El último
intento de las negras había sido 11...Af6 originándose gran simplificación:
12.Axf6 fxe4 13.Cxe4 Cxf6 14.g4 Cxe4 15.Axe4 Cc5 16.0-0 b5 17.Da5 De7
18.cxb5 Cxe4 19.fxe4 Txf1+ 20.Txf1 h5 21.Dd2 hxg4 22.Dh6 Dg7 23.Dg5 y
en la partida Potapov-Zhigalko, Pardubice 2006 las blancas quedaron con
iniciativa, pero las negras lograron sostener el empate en la simplificada
posición (1/2-1/2 113); Tras 11...Ad7 12.0-0-0 Cc5 13.Ac2 f4 14.Ah4 a5 las
negras lograron excelente juego: 15.Af2 Tb8 16.Ad3 De7 17.Rb1 Af6 18.Thf1
Ah4 19.Ag1 Cxd3 20.Dxd3 Dg5|^ y están algo mejor en Turna-Maslik,
Slovakia 1999 (1/2-1/2 41); Tiene lógica el avance 11...f4 para jugar después
12...Af6 cambiando el alfil bueno del blanco. 12.Ah4 (12.a3 Af6 13.Axf6 Cxf6 14.b4 De7 15.Tc1 Ad7 16.Cb5
Ce8 17.Tc2 c5=/+ y las negras están mejor, aunque perdieron en la partida Kazhgaleyev-Saravanan, Linares op
1999 (1-0 40)) 12...Af6 13.Af2 De7 14.0-0-0 Ah4 ¡Persiguiendo al alfil bueno del blanco! 15.De1 Axf2
16.Dxf2 y -como mínimo- el negro ha equilibrado, Lainburg-Krueger, Halle 2000 (1/2-1/2 27). 12.Ac2 a5
13.Ae3 b6 14.0-0-0 Era la última oportunidad para cambiar en f5 y tras 14.exf5!? Axf5 15.Axf5 gxf5 16.0-0-0
intentar g2-g4 atacando el ala rey. 14...fxe4 15.Cxe4
Lemos todavía sueña con hacerse fuerte en e4 con un caballo, en una típica
lucha entre pieza centralizada vs columna "f" semi-abierta a favor del negro,
pero su rival ya cuenta con buena actividad. Probablemente había que
conformarse con equilibrar la posición mediante 15.fxe4 Aa6 16.b3 De7= pero
esto significaba sepultar al Ac2 y prácticamente renunciar a luchar por la
victoria. 15...Cxe4 Quizás fuera más preciso 15...Aa6!? y si 16.Dc3 recién
ahora 16...Cxe4 17.fxe4 a4 seguido de ...Cf4, con mejores perspectivas para las
negras. 16.Axe4 Lemos sigue capturando en e4 con piezas, para no encarcelar
a su alfil claro y aspirando instalar allí su caballo restante. 16...Aa6 17.Dc2 A
primera vista el juego del blanco impresiona prometedor: se amenaza el avance
c4-c5 (temático contra la India de Rey) y el negro debe cuidar el peón g6 para
evitar un eventual sacrificio Axg6. Pero todo esto es engañoso, porque ahora comienza a primar el factor
seguridad del rey, y lo cierto es que las chances de contra-ataque negro en el ala dama son más reales. 17...b5!
El jugador de menor rating juega con suma precisión y oportunismo, abriendo el flanco donde está alojado el
rey rival. 18.c5 b4 19.The1 a4! Repentinamente, el ataque del negro es una realidad. 20.c6?! El novel GM
argentino (¿o español?) comienza a dar muestras de temor: ya que su jugada no puede tener como mira la
captura del peón a4, su intención es cortar el paso a la De8 y crear un muro que incomunique ambos flancos del
negro. Probablemente era mejor 20.Rb1 manteniendo la tensión, aunque mediante 20...Dd7 dando paso a
...Tfb8, el negro está en ventaja; El FM Montecatine en el boletín del torneo sugiere 20.Dd2 tocando b4. Creo
que entre varias buenas respuestas 20...Db5 debe ser la más prometedora. 20...Db8! El ataque negro es muy
fuerte y su ventaja es clara: ideas como el avance de ambos peones en el ala dama, y ...Cf6 en combinación con
...Ac4 para atacar d5, están en el aire. 21.Dd2 Otra jugada débil, pero ¿qué recomendar?... Está claro que
21.Dxa4?? pierde por 21...Axe2-+; Y seguramente Lemos no jugò 21.Rb1 (quizás el mal menor) temiendo por
el avance 21...b3 con descalabro del blanco. 21...Ac4! Ganando un tiempo con el ataque al peón a2 en
preparación de ...Cf6, con tremenda presión. 22.Rb1 Cf6 23.Cg3 Ta5!
Fernández Troncoso mantiene precisión e ímpetu. Uno puede suponer que si

cae el peón d5 el blanco debe estar perdido. 24.Ag5 Una mejor manera de
entregar d5 era 24.Tc1 Axd5 25.Axd5+ Cxd5 26.Ce4 pero tras 26...Db5
también la ventaja negra es clara. 24...Cxd5-+ Cayó Sierra Maestra ("Quien
tiene Sierra Maestra tiene a Cuba", Martí). Cayó el baluarte d5, y Lemos debe
estar perdido. 25.Tc1 Db5 26.Axd5+ Axd5 27.Ted1 O bien 27.De2 Db8
28.Ted1 De8 29.Txd5 Txd5-+] 27...Axc6 Es probable que por apremio de
tiempo el segundo jugador pasara por alto el avance 27...a3! que parece
terminar la partida más rápidamente: 28.Dxd5+ (si 28.b3 Axb3!-+) 28...Dxd5
29.Txd5 Txd5 30.b3 h6 31.Ae3 Td3 seguido por ...d5, ganando. 28.Ah6 Ya no
lo salva a Lemos el canje de damas, pues tras 28.De2 sigue 28...Dxe2 29.Cxe2
y ahora 29...e4! con líneas ganadoras. 28...Tf7 Otra vez (como en la variante anterior) el negro pasa por alto el
avance ...e4 que resulta decisivo. Aquí era más simple para ganar 28...Axh6 29.Dxh6 a3 30.b3 y ahora define el
juego 30...e4! por ejemplo: 31.Cxe4 Axe4+ 32.fxe4 De2 33.Dd2 (33.Td2? Dxe4+ 34.Ra1 Th5-+) 33...Dxe4+
con dos peones de más, que ganan incluso en el final de torres. 29.Axg7 Txg7 30.Dg5 Ta8 31.Td2 Ad5 32.De3
c6 Mi computadora indica otro método ganador: 32...Ac4 para avanzar ...d5: 33.h4 (33.De4 d5! 34.Dxe5 Te8
35.Dg5 Tge7 36.Ch5 Te1 37.Cf6+ Rf7 38.Cxe8 Ad3+ 39.Txd3 Dxd3+ 40.Ra1 Txc1+ 41.Dxc1 Rxe8) 33...d5
34.Dxe5 Te8 35.Dg5 Tge7 etc. 33.Ce4
33...Axe4+? Un cambio innecesario que permite al blanco salvarse. Todavía el
negro mantenía chances de victoria con 33...Td8 pues si 34.Dg5 (si 34.Cf6+
Rh8 35.Cxd5 cxd5 y ...d4 mantiene la ventaja) 34...Axe4+ 35.fxe4 Tgd7 etc.
34.Dxe4 b3 35.a3 d5? La entrega del peón e5 llega tarde. Era preferible
mantener la tensión con 35...Td8. 36.Dxe5= El final de piezas mayores es
equilibrado pese al peón extra del negro. 36...Tf7 37.De6 Ta6 38.h4 Db7
39.De8+ Tf8 40.De6+ Df7 41.De2 Df5+ 42.Ra1 Aquí termina la transcripción
de la partida en el boletín oficial del torneo, indicándose que el juego siguió
pero la planilla le resultó ilegible a los amanuenses. Finalmente Lemos recibió
un demorado regalo de Navidad con su victoria. 1-0
(6) Nakamura, I (2708) - Van Wely, L (2641) [B96]

Corus Wijk aan Zee (2), 17.01.2010
[M.I Guillermo Soppe]
1.e4 c5 2.Cf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Cxd4 Cf6 5.Cc3 a6 6.Ag5 El americano es un jugador sorprendente.
Sus partidas suelen ser plenas de ideas tácticas muy interesantes y si a esto le sumamos que con
negras va el GM holandés y su amada variante Najdorf , no quedan dudas que se avecina una lucha
sin cuartel.
6...e6 7.f4 Cbd7 8.Df3 Dc7 9.Axf6 Primera sorpresa. El blanco elige un camino poco explorado.
9...Cxf6 10.g4 b5 [10...d5 11.exd5 (11.e5!? ) 11...Ab4 12.dxe6 fxe6 (12...Axe6<=> ) 13.0-0-0 Axc3
14.Dxc3 Dxc3 15.bxc3 Cxg4 16.Tg1 Ce3 17.Te1 Cxf1 18.Txg7 Cxh2 19.Cxe6?!= (19.Tg2!?+/= )
19...Axe6 20.Txe6+ Rf8 21.Tee7 h5 22.Txb7 Cg4 23.Tbf7+ Re8 24.Te7+ 1/ 2 Nataff,I - Renet ,O Aix
les Bains 2007; Un buen ejemplo ,de la peligrosidad de la variante empleada ,puede verse en la
siguiente partida : 10...Ae7 11.0-0-0 b5 12.g5 Cd7 13.a3 (13.Ad3 ) 13...Ab7 14.Ah3 0-0-0 15.Axe6!
Diagrama
Un sacrificio posicional muy difícil de refutar.15...fxe6 16.Cxe6 Db6 17.Cd5 Axd5 18.exd5 g6 19.The1
Rb7 20.Dc3 Con un terrible ataque como en la partida Petrushin A - Mukhin M Moscú 1964]
11.g5 Cd7 12.0-0-0 Cc5 13.a3N [13.f5?! Ahora la casilla e5 sirve de bloqueo. 13...b4! 14.Cd5 exd5
15.exd5 Cd7! 16.Ag2 Ce5 17.The1 Ab7 18.Db3 Ae7 19.h4 h6 20.Dxb4 hxg5 21.hxg5 Axg5+ 22.Rb1
0-0-/+ Hector ,J - Parimarjan,N Malmo 2007]
13...Tb8 14.b4! Diagrama
[14.h4 b4 15.axb4 Txb4 16.b3 Ab7-/+ ]
14...Cd7 15.Cd5 Una vez desalojado el caballo de c5 llega el temático sacrificio en d5.
15...exd5 [Rehusar la entrega no era solución alguna .Por Ejemplo : 15...Db7 16.Dc3 exd5 17.exd5
Dxd5 Diagrama
18.Axb5! axb5 19.The1+ Rd8 20.Cc6++- ]
16.exd5 Ae7 17.Te1 Ce5 El negro elige una defensa dinámica. [17...Rf8!? Aunque pasiva, parecía
jugable. 18.De4 Ce5 19.fxe5 Axg5+ 20.Rb1 dxe5+/= ; 17...Cf8 18.Cc6 Cg6 19.Ad3+/- ]
18.fxe5 Axg5+ 19.Rb1 dxe5 20.Cc6 Af6 Diagrama
[Luego de 20...0-0 el blanco puede optar por 21.Cxb8 (21.Txe5!? f5 22.Ad3+/- ) 21...Dxb8 22.Tg1-> ]
21.Ad3!? Tomar la calidad era posible pero el caballo de c6 es..un verdadero elefante !. [21.Cxb8
Dxb8 22.Td1 Dd6 El segundo jugador consigue un interesante bloqueo sobre casillas negras.]
21...h5 [21...Tb6 22.Thf1 (22.Thg1!? h6 23.Ae4 Dd6 24.De3 Tb7 25.Dc5 Td7 26.Af5 Dxc5 27.bxc5
Txd5 28.Axc8 Txc5 29.Ab7+/- ) 22...0-0 23.Axh7+! Rxh7 24.Dh5+ Rg8 25.Txf6+- ]
22.Txe5+!? Diagrama
El rey negro en el centro era una verdadera invitación a todo tipo de entregas. [Otro camino posible
era 22.Cxe5!? Axe5 23.Dg3 f6 24.d6! Dxd6 25.Dxg7 Tf8 26.Ag6+ Rd8 27.Td1+- ]
22...Axe5 23.Te1 Ag4 [23...f6 Permitía un espectacular remate. 24.Txe5+! Diagrama

24...fxe5 25.Ag6+ Rd7 26.Df5+ Rd6 27.Dxe5+ Rd7 28.Af5# ]
24.Df4 0-0 [24...f6 25.Ag6+ Rf8 26.Txe5+- ]
25.Txe5 Con las terribles amenazas Ce7+ y también Txh5 !
25...g6 [25...f5 26.h3!+- Axh3 27.De3 Ag4 28.Te7 Dd6 29.Cxb8 Txb8 30.Da7!+- ]
26.Df6! Diagrama
Magnífico golpe. El negro ya no tiene posibilidades de salvación. La idea es preparar la entrega en

g6.
26...Tbe8 27.Ce7+ Txe7 [27...Rh7 28.Axg6+ fxg6 29.Dxg6+ Rh8 30.Dh6# ]
28.Txe7 Dxh2 29.Axg6! Dh1+ 30.Rb2 Dxd5 31.Axf7+ [31.Ae4! Con idea de Te5 era más rápido.]
31...Dxf7 [31...Txf7 32.Te8+ Rh7 33.Th8# ]
32.Txf7 Txf7 33.Dxa6 Rg7 34.Dxb5+- Rg6 35.Dc4 Td7 [35...Tf8 36.b5 Tc8 37.Dd5+- ]
36.b5 Rg5 37.b6 Af3 38.Db5+ Td5 39.Db3 1-0
IM Guillermo Soppe
18 de Enero de 2010
(1) Van Wely,L (2641) - Short,N (2696) [D36]

Corus wijk aan Zee (1), 16.01.2010
[M.I Guillermo Soppe]
1.d4 Cf6 2.c4 e6 3.Cf3 d5 El jugador de blancas es un ferviente defensor de 1.d4 ,mientras
que el inglés se ha mantenido fiel a la defensa ortodoxa a lo largo de su dilatada carrera.
4.Cc3 Cbd7 5.cxd5 La siempre presente opción del cambio.
5...exd5 6.Ag5 c6 7.e3 Ae7 8.Dc2 0-0 9.Ad3 Te8 10.h3 Diagrama Este avance no define el juego y
permite al blanco optar por posiciones con enroques opuestos o mantenerse dentro de las
estructuras del ataque de las minorías.
10...Cf8 En esta posición tengo bastante experiencia jugando con blancas y negras. Mi valoración es
que el negro , para igualar, debe jugar con extremo cuidado. [10...g6 Cuando el blanco no ha
enrocado este movimiento puede resultar peligroso, aunque jugable. 11.Af4 (11.0-0-0!? Ce4 12.Axe7
Dxe7 13.Axe4 dxe4 14.Cd2 Cf6 15.g4 b5 16.Rb1 a5 17.Tc1 a4 18.Ra1 h6 19.Ce2 Ta6 20.Dc5 a3
21.b3 Ae6 22.Cf4 Dxc5 23.Txc5+/- 1-0 Corrales Jimenez,F-Soppe,G/Santa Clara 2005/Inforbase
General 08 (84)) 11...Cf8 12.0-0 Ce6 13.Ah2 Cg7 14.a3 Af5 15.b4 Tc8 16.Tfb1 Ad6 17.Axd6 Dxd6
18.b5 c5! 19.dxc5 Txc5 20.Dd2 Tec8=/+ 1/2-1/2 Toloza Soto,P-Soppe,G/Cordoba 1998/Elite 2005
(41); 10...a6!? Esta es mi jugada recomendada en esta línea. Tiene una idea similar a la empleada
por Short. 11.g4 Cf8 12.0-0-0 Ae6 Ahora el plan a base de c5 es suficiente para conseguir buen
contrajuego. 13.Tdg1 Tc8 14.Af4 c5 15.g5 Ce4 16.Axe4 dxe4 17.d5 exf3 18.dxe6 Cxe6 19.Td1 Da5
20.Td7 c4 21.Cd5 c3! 22.Rb1 (22.Cxe7+ Txe7 23.Txe7 cxb2+ 24.Rb1 (24.Rxb2 Txc2+-+ ) 24...Txc2
25.Te8+ Cf8 26.Ad6 Tc1+!-+ ) 22...Af8 23.Cxc3 Ab4! 24.Td5 Txc3 25.bxc3 Dxd5 26.Td1 Db5 27.cxb4
Cxf4 28.exf4 Dxb4+-+ 0-1 Giretti,K-Soppe,G/Lodi 2006/Inforbase General 08 (38)]
11.Af4 [11.Axf6!? Axf6 12.0-0-0 Ae6 13.Rb1 Da5 14.Ce2 Tac8 15.Cf4 c5 16.dxc5 Txc5 17.Dd2 Dc7?!
18.Cd4 a6 19.Cfe2 Cd7 20.Cb3 Tc6 21.Ced4 Tb6 22.Tc1+/= 0-1 Garcia Palermo Carlos (ARG)-
Soppe Guillermo (ARG)/Villa Gesell (Argentina) 1996/Elite 2005 (60); 11.0-0 Ae6 12.Tab1 Tc8 13.b4
C6d7 14.Af4 Cb6!? 15.a4 Cg6 16.Ag3 Ad6 17.Ce2 Cc4 18.Axc4 dxc4 19.Cd2 b5 20.Axd6 Dxd6
21.Ce4 Dd8 22.C4c3 Ch4© 0-1 Sorokin Maxim (ARG)-Soppe Guillermo (ARG)/Villa Gesell
(Argentina) 1996/Elite 2005 (47) Con un juego en extremo complejo.]
11...a5!? Diagrama Una movida que tiende a dilatar el avance b4 y también a preparar una ofensiva
de peones en caso de que el blanco opte por el eroque largo. [11...Cg6 12.Ah2 Ad6 13.Axd6 Dxd6
14.0-0-0 Cuando el caballo negro ocupa g6 el plan de enrocar largo es muy efectivo porque el
avance de los peones blancos gana tiempos hostigando al caballo. 14...Ae6 15.Cg5 Te7 16.Rb1
Tae8 17.Cxe6 Txe6 18.h4 Cf8 19.Af5+/= 1/2-1/2 Soppe,G-Campora,D/Buenos Aires 1999/Inforbase
2003 (58)]
12.0-0 Cg6 13.Ah2 Ad6 14.Axd6 Dxd6 15.Tfe1 [15.a3 De7 16.Ca4 Ce4 17.Cb6 Tb8 18.Cxc8!?
Tbxc8 19.Tab1 Cd6!? 20.Tfc1 Cf8 21.Cd2 g6 22.Cb3 Con chances sólo algo mejores para el blanco
.Riazantzev, A - Mitkov, M Ohrid 2009]
15...Ae6 16.a3 Te7 17.Tab1 El blanco procede a llevar a cabo el plan normal de ataque en las
estructuras tipo Carlsbad.
17...Tae8 18.b4 axb4 19.axb4 Ad7 20.b5 Ce4 [20...c5!? Es la recomendación de Rybka que
desemboca en un final muy habitual en estos esquemas. 21.dxc5 Dxc5 22.Tbc1 Dd6 (22...Ta8!? )
23.Ted1 Tc8 24.Da4 Tee8 25.Dd4 Da3 26.Tc2 Dc5 27.Ca4 Dxd4 28.Cxd4 Ce5 (28...Txc2 29.Axc2
Tc8 30.Cb6 Tc3 31.Ta1+/- ) 29.Cb6 El final es algo mejor para el blanco pero el negro puede
defenderse.]
21.bxc6 bxc6 22.Tb6 Cxc3 23.Dxc3 Df6! Diagrama En estos esquemas es fundamental para las
chances de supervivencia del negro mantener la dama. El peor escenario sería un final limpio de
torres y caballos.Si el blanco consiguiese esto ,es muy posible que gane la partida.
24.Axg6!? Elimina el caballo y plantea una lucha de piezas menores diferentes.
24...Dxg6 25.Rf1 f6 26.Ta1 Dh5 27.Ce1 Df5 28.Rg1 Dg5 Diagrama [Era el momento de quemar
naves iniciando una ofensiva de peones mediante 28...g5! 29.Cd3 Tg7 30.Tb7 g4!? 31.hxg4 Dxg4
32.Cf4 h5 33.Taa7 h4 34.Dd2 Df5 35.Dd3 Te4<=> ]
29.Rh2 Df5 30.Cd3! El caballo acaricia las vitales casillas c5 ,f4 y b4. además de eso protege f2.
30...De6 31.Rg1 Tc8 32.Tb7+/- El contrajuego negro no llegó y el blanco presiona a voluntad. Claro
que aún no ganó la partida y debe jugar con presición para hacer valer su ventaja.
32...Tf7 33.Taa7 Doblar torres en la séptima fila rival es uno de los sueños de todo ajedrecista.
33...Ae8 34.Db4 Td8 [34...Txb7 35.Dxb7 Af7 36.Cb4 h6 37.Ta6 Ae8 38.Cxd5!+- ]
35.Cc5 Dc8 36.Db6 El dominio de las piezas blancas es casi total.
36...h5 37.Tc7 Txc7 38.Txc7 Con el cambio de una torre la resistencia es imposible. El peón de c6 y
la debilidad de la séptima son demasiados problemas para el negro.
38...Da8 39.Ta7! Dc8 40.Tb7 Af7 [40...Da8 41.Dc7+- ]
41.Da7 Tf8 Diagrama
42.Cd7! El caballo se encarga de dar el golpe mortal.
42...Te8 43.Cxf6+! gxf6 44.Txf7 Df5 45.Tg7+ Rh8 46.Df7 Una victoria técnicamente impecable. Se
amenaza la mortal Tg6 además de la Torre de e8 por lo que la partida está finiquitada. 1-0
IM Guillermo Soppe
17 de Enero de 2010
(5) Gashimov, Vugar (2759) - Grischuk, Alexander (2736) [B97]

WTCC Bursa TURKEY (4), 08.01.2010
[Héctor Leyva]
1.e4 c5 Defensa Siciliana
2.Cf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Cxd4 Cf6 5.Cc3 a6 Variante Najdorf.
6.Ag5 Sistema Rauzer
6...e6 7.f4 Db6 Esta es la continuación que dio origen a una variante que se ha mantenido durante
mucho tiempo en el debate continuo.
8.Dd3 Aquí la continuación principal es Dd2, la dama en d3 se jugó con mucha efectividad durante el
2009
8...Dxb2 9.Tb1 Da3 10.f5 Ae7 Cuando las blancas en el 8vo movimiento mueven la dama a d2 y
juegan el avance f5, la mejor continuación es el desarrollo del caballo a c6, también se ha jugado
Da5. La idea ae7 fue puesta en práctica por el gran maestro Pachman en 1963.
11.fxe6 También se puede alternar el orden y jugar primero Ae2 y luego el cambio en e6.
11...fxe6 12.Ae2 Da5 Ambos jugadores llegaron a esta posición en el Grand Prix de la Fide 2008, en
esa ocasión Gashimov se impuso.
13.Ad2 Dc7 14.g4 Las blancas inician la acción en el flanco rey. [14.0-0 0-0 15.Af3 (15.Dc4 Dd7
16.Db3 Rh8 17.Ac4 d5 18.exd5 b5 19.Ae2 Ac5 20.Rh1 exd5 21.Ae3 Cc6 22.Ce6 Dxe6 23.Axc5 Te8
24.Af3 Ab7 25.a4 Ca5 26.Db4 Cc4 27.Tbd1 Ce4 28.Cxe4 dxe4 29.Ae2 e3 Gashimov,V (2703)-
Grischuk,A (2719)/Elista RUS 2008/The Week in Chess 738/1-0 (64)) 15...Cc6 16.Cxc6 bxc6 17.e5
dxe5 18.Dc4 Ad7 19.Ae3 Tfb8 20.Ac5 Axc5+ 21.Dxc5 Txb1 22.Txb1 Da7 23.Dxa7 Txa7 24.Tb8+ Rf7
25.Ca4 e4 26.Ae2 e5 27.Cc5 a5 28.Ac4+ Re7 Leyva,H (2695)-Pilatos (2781)/Internet Chess Club
2003/HLP/0-1 (58)]
14...h6 En una partida las negras jugaron h5 sin resultado satisfactorio. [14...h5 15.g5 Cg4 16.Dh3
Dc5 17.Axg4 Dxd4 18.Axe6 Cd7 19.Tf1 Rd8 20.Cd5 Dxe4+ 21.Rd1 Cb6 22.Axc8 Dxd5 23.Ae6 Dd4
24.Dd3 1-0 Lastin,A (2625)-Kokarev,D (2510)/St . Petersburg 2002/EXT 2003]
15.Dh3 Esta continuación no se jugaba desde el 2004, las blancas el año pasado jugaron 15.e5
[15.e5 dxe5 16.Dg6+ Rd8 17.Cf3 Cc6 18.g5 Ce8 19.0-0 Cd4 20.gxh6 Cxe2+ 21.Cxe2 gxh6 22.Ac3
Ad6 23.Tbd1 Ad7 24.Txd6 Dxd6 25.Axe5 Df8 26.Axh8 Dxh8 27.Cfd4 Dg7 1/2-1/2 Mamedov,N
(2607)-Safarli,E (2564)/Baku 2009/Mega2009 Update 04]
15...Th7N Diagrama
Esta seria la novedad, se había jugado 15...g5 [15...g5 16.Tf1 Rf7 17.Df3 Cc6 18.Cxc6 Dxc6 19.h4
Tg8 20.a4 Ad7 21.hxg5 hxg5 22.e5 Dxf3 23.Axf3 dxe5 24.Txb7 Re8 25.Tb6 Ta7 26.Rd1 Ad8 27.a5
Ac8 28.Tb8 Tc7 29.Ce4 Cxe4 30.Axe4 Fleischanderl,F (2264)-Lorentzen,Ø (2318)/Chessfriend.com
2004/HLP/1-0 (44); 15...Cc6 16.Cxc6 Dxc6 17.g5 Cxe4 18.Af3=/+ ]
16.Tf1 Merece considerar el avance g5. [16.g5!? hxg5 17.Cxe6 Axe6 18.Dxe6+/= ]
16...Cc6 El cambio de las piezas centralizadas y más activa es un procedimiento efectivo cuando el
rival tiene ventaja en desarrollo, el movimiento de las piezas negras tiene ese objetivo con Cc6.
[16...g5!?=/+ ]
17.Cxc6= Dxc6 Atacando el peón aislado de e4
18.e5 Las blancas realizan el sacrificio de un segundo peón para tratar de sacar provecho a la
ventaja en desarrollo. La idea es despejar la casilla e4 para atacar la torre de h7.
18...dxe5 19.Ad3 e4 Forzado, si la torre se retira a h8, el avance g4-g5 era destructor.
20.Cxe4 Cxe4 21.Dh5+? En apariencia la mejor continuación ya que la dama en h5 llevará un plan
de extracción del rey negro, pero en nuestros con la ayuda de los ordenadores se ha comprobado
que las jugadas ilógicas deben ser tomadas en cuenta, estamos en la era del calculo concreto.
Correcto era De3 como se puede ver en la siguiente variante. [21.De3!? Cxd2 La mejor continuación,
era tentador el jaque en h4, pero se produce una bonita variante. (21...Ah4+ 22.Rd1 Cf2+ 23.Rc1
Th8 24.Ag6+ Re7 25.Ab4+ Rf6 26.Ae4 Ag5 27.Txf2+ Re5 28.Dxg5+ hxg5 29.Axc6 bxc6 30.Ac3+ Rd6
31.Axg7+/= ) 22.Ag6+ Rd8 23.Dxd2+ Ad7 24.Axh7= Tc8 25.Dd4 Ah4+ 26.Rd1 e5 27.Dd3 La captura
del peón seria un error. (27.Dxe5? Axg4+ 28.Rc1 Ag5+ 29.Rb2 Af6 30.Txf6 Dxf6 31.Dxf6+ gxf6
32.Ae4 Tc7 33.Tf1 Re7 34.Tf4 h5-/+ ) 27...b5 28.Ae4 Dc5 29.Af5 Tc7 30.Tb3 Ag5 31.Re2 Re7
32.Axd7 Txd7 33.Tf7+ Rxf7 34.Dxd7+ Rg8 35.De6+ Rh8= ]
21...Rd7 El rey Baltasar inicia el viaje hacia Belén.
22.Td1 [22.Df7!? Cxd2 (22...Th8 23.Ab4 Cd6 24.Dxg7 Te8 25.Ag6 Db5 26.Tf2 Rd8 27.Tb3+/- )
23.Td1 Aprovechando que la captura de la torre de f1 no es posible por el jaque al descubierto con
Ab5. (23.Rxd2 Dd5 24.h4 Th8 25.Dxg7 Te8 26.Rc1 Rc7 27.Tb3 Ad7-+ ) 23...Dc5 24.Txd2 Th8
25.Dxg7 Td8 26.Tf7 De3+ 27.Rd1 Dg1+ 28.Re2 Dxh2+ 29.Tf2 Dh4 30.De5 Dxg4+ 31.Rf1 Dh3+
32.Re2 Rc6 33.Ae4+ Rb6 34.Txd8 Axd8 35.Dd4+ Rc7 36.Tf7+ Rb8 37.Txb7+ Axb7 38.Dxd8+ Ra7
39.Dd4+= ]
22...Th8 El peligro se encuentra en las casillas blancas, por lo que es necesario quitar las piezas
ubicadas en las casillas de ese color, además de desclavar el caballo de e4.
23.Af4? Diagrama
Jugada de concepto, corta el escape del rey por las casillas oscuras c7 y d6 y despeja la casilla d2
permitiendo el jaque al descubierto al mover el alfil de d3. [>=23.Dg6 Cxd2 24.Dxg7-/+ ]
23...Ab4+! Diagrama
importante intermedia, a partir de este momento se desencadena una serie de movimientos

intermedios por ambas partes.
24.c3 única, las otras dos posibilidades llevan a la perdida material. [24.Re2 Cc3+ 25.Rf2 Dc5+
26.Rg3 Dxh5 27.gxh5 Cxd1 28.Txd1 Re7-+ ; 24.Ad2 Cxd2 25.Tf7+ Rd8 26.Txd2 Dc3 27.Tff2 Ad7
28.Rf1 Da1+ 29.Rg2 Axd2 30.Txd2 De1 31.Da5+ Rc8 32.Ab5 De4+ 33.Rg3 De3+ 34.Rg2 Axb5-+ ]
24...Cxc3 [24...Axc3+?! 25.Re2 Ad4 26.Ae5 Cc3+ 27.Rd2-/+ ]

25.Ad2 Dd5 26.Tf7+ Rc6 27.Tc1 Rb6 [27...Dxd3 28.De5 a5 29.Txc3+ Axc3 30.Tc7+ Rb6 31.Txc3
Db1+ 32.Tc1 Db5 33.Dd4+ Ra6-/+ ]
28.Ae3+ Ra5 El camino a Belén.
29.a3 Ra4 [29...Axa3?! 30.Txc3 Dxh5 31.gxh5=/+ ]
30.axb4? [30.Tf4 Ca2+ (30...Dxh5 31.Txb4+ Rxa3 32.gxh5 Rxb4 33.Ad2-+ ) 31.axb4 Cxc1 32.Axc1
Dxh5 33.gxh5 Td8 34.Ac2+ Rb5 35.Ab2 e5 36.Te4 Ae6-+ ]
30...Dxd3 Diagrama
Un rey puede ser extraído hacia el territorio del adversario, pero si la coordinación de piezas
atacantes no es la ideal, el ataque no prospera.
31.Da5+ Rb3 32.Txc3+ Dxc3+ 33.Ad2 b6! Intermedia, desvía la dama blanca t despeja la casilla b7
para el desarrollo del alfil de c8, permitiendo la comunicación y activación de las torres. [33...Dc6
34.b5 De4+ 35.Rf2 axb5 36.Dxa8 Dd4+ 37.Re2 Da4 38.Db8 Dxg4+ 39.Tf3+ Ra2 40.Dd6 Dg2+= ]
34.Dxb6 De5+ 35.Rd1 Ab7! 36.Dxb7 [36.Txb7 Thd8 ]
36...Thd8 37.Tf3+ [37.Df3+ Ra2 38.Df4 Dd5-+ ]
37...Ra2 38.Tf2 Rb1 El Baltasar ha llegado a Belén. [>=38...Ra1 39.Te2 Db2 40.De4-+ ]
39.Df3 [39.Te2 Dd4 40.De4+ Dxe4 41.Txe4 Tac8 42.Re1 Tc2 43.Af4 Tdc8 44.Txe6 T8c4 45.Ag3 Tb2
46.Rf1 Tc1+ 47.Ae1 Txh2-+ ]
39...Tac8 40.Db3+ Db2 41.Dxb2+ Rxb2 Las blancas abandonan. 0-1
IM Hector Leyva
13 de Enero de 2010
Carlsen,M (2810) - Smeets,J (2657) [D44]

Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (2), 17.01.2010
1.c4 c6 2.Cf3 d5 3.d4 Cf6 4.Cc3 e6 5.Ag5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Ah4 g5 9.Cxg5 hxg5 10.Axg5 Cbd7 11.exf6 Ab7
12.g3 c5 13.d5 Db6 14.Ag2 0-0-0 15.0-0 b4 16.Ca4 Db5 17.a3 Cb8 18.axb4 cxb4 19.Dd4 Cc6 20.Cb6+ axb6 21.dxc6
Axc6 22.Axc6 Dxc6 23.Dg4
23...Ac5C. La novedad. 23...Rb7 condujo a tablas en Hebden-Prasad, Edinburgh 2009. 24.Ta7 Td7 25.Txd7 Rxd7 26.h4
Rc7 27.h5 e5 28.h6 Ad4 29.De2 b3 30.Ae3 Dd5?! 31.Td1 Rc6?
Hasta aquí, Kasparov no estaba muy contento con la posición de su pupilo, pero después de las últimas dos jugadas de
las negras, se mostró más animado y predijo que ahora las blancas iban a ganar. 32.Dg4 b5 33.Axd4 exd4 34.Txd4 De5
35.Dd7+ Rc5 36.Da7+. Kasparov había predicho esta repetición algunos movimientos atrás. "¡Para darte a ti mismo un
minuto adicional en el reloj"! Hay un incremento de 30 segundos por movimiento y a ambos jugadores les quedaba poco
tiempo en el reloj en este momento. 36...Rc6 37.Dd7+ Rc5
38.Tf4?! Aquí, aunque no tenía ningún módulo de ajedrez a mano, Kasparov anunció 38.Td1! al instante lo cual Ud. verá
confirmado por el suyo que efectivamente es ganador. Estuvo abatido cuando Carlsen en lugar de ello jugó 38...Dxb2?
Pero la desesperación de Kasparov no duró mucho tiempo. 38...Rb6! fue la única esperanza que le quedaban a las
negras. 39.Tf5+ Rb4 40.Dxb5+ Rc3 41.Tf3+ 1-0.
Shirov,Alexei - Caruana,Fabiano [C80]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.Nbd2 Nc5 10.c3 Be7 11.Bc2
d4 12.Nb3 d3 13.Bb1 Nxb3 14.axb3 Bf5 15.b4 0-0 16.Re1 Qd7
[16...Qd5 17.h3 Rfd8 18.g4 Be6 19.Re3 h5 20.Qxd3 Qxd3 21.Bxd3 hxg4 22.hxg4 Bd5 23.Bc2 Bxf3 24.Rxf3
Nxe5 25.Rh3 g6 26.g5 Re8 27.Bf4 Bf8 28.Re3 Bd6 29.Bb3 Nc4 30.Bxc4 Bxf4 31.Rf3 Bh2+ 32.Kxh2 bxc4
33.Rf4 Re5 34.Rxc4 Rxg5 35.Ra5 Rxa5 36.bxa5 Ra7 37.Kg3 Kf8 38.Kf4 Ke7 39.b4 Kd7 40.Ke5 Rb7 41.Rd4+
Kc8 42.Kf6 Rb5 43.Rf4 Rd5 44.Kxf7 g5 45.Rf6 Rd3 46.c4 Rd4 47.c5 Rxb4 48.c6 Kd8 49.Rf5 Rb2 50.f4 Rf2
51.Rd5+ Kc8 52.Ke7 1-0 Karjakin,S (2723)-Mamedyarov,S (2719)/Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2009/The Week in
Chess 787]
17.h3 Bg6 18.Ba2 Kh8 19.Bf4 a5 20.bxa5 Rxa5 21.b4 Ra4 22.Bb3 Rxa1 23.Qxa1 Nd8 24.Qa7 Ne6 25.Bd2 Rd8
26.Bxe6 fxe6 27.Nd4 Bxb4 28.Nxb5 Qxb5 29.cxb4 Rc8 30.Qa5 Qd7 31.Ra1 Be4 32.Qc5 Qd5 33.Qxd5 Bxd5
34.f3
Shirov makes some kind of speciality of playing these bishops of opposite coloured endings.
34...Bc4 35.Ra5 c6 36.Kf2 Kg8 37.Ke3 Rc7 38.Kd4 Bb5 39.g4 Rd7+ 40.Kc3 Kf7 41.h4 g6 42.h5 gxh5 43.gxh5
Ke8 44.h6 Rd5 45.f4 Ke7 46.Ra7+ Rd7 47.Ra1 c5
Fabiano Caruana
Alexei Shirov
Position after 47...c5
Black wants to redeploy his bishop, whether he needs to do it at the expense of a pawn yet is open to question.
[47...Ke8 48.Rg1 Rf7 49.Be3]
48.bxc5 Bc6 49.Rg1 Be4 50.Rg7+ Kd8 51.Kc4 Kc7 52.Rg8 Kc6
[52...Bb7]
53.Rc8+ Rc7 54.Re8 Kd7 55.Rg8 Rb7 56.Ba5 Rb2 57.Rd8+ Ke7 58.Rd6 Rc2+ 59.Bc3 Kf7
[59...d2 60.Kb3 d1Q 61.Rxd1 Rf2 62.Kb4 Rxf4]
60.Rd4
[60.f5 exf5 61.c6 d2 62.Kb3 Rc1 63.c7 Bb7 64.Rd7+ Ke6 65.Rxd2 Rb1+ 66.Bb2]
60...d2
a final mistake in a pretty awful position.
[60...Rc1]
61.Kb3 Kg6
Now things are trivial.
62.Bxd2 Kxh6 63.f5+ Kg7 64.f6+ 1-0
Carlsen,Magnus - Smeets,Jan [D44]

[Abeln, Michiel]
1.c4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7 11.exf6
Bb7 12.g3 c5 13.d5 Qb6 14.Bg2 0-0-0 15.0-0 b4 16.Na4 Qb5 17.a3 Nb8 18.axb4 cxb4 19.Qd4 Nc6 20.Nb6+
[20.dxc6 Rxd4 21.cxb7+ Kc7 22.Be3 e5 23.Nc3 bxc3 24.bxc3 Bc5 25.cxd4 Bxd4 26.Rfb1 Qc5 27.Ra6 Rb8
28.Bc1 c3 29.Ba3 Qc4 30.Bd6+ Kd7 31.Bc6+ Ke6 32.Bb5 Bxf2+ 33.Kxf2 Qd4+ 34.Kf1 Qe4 35.Re1 Qh1+
36.Kf2 Qxh2+ 37.Kf3 Rxb7 38.Bxe5+ Rb6 39.Bc4+ Kd7 40.Rxa7+ Kc8 41.Rc7+ 1-0 Kamsky,G-
Kramnik,V/New York 1994/CBM 042/[Ftacnik]]
20...axb6 21.dxc6 Bxc6 22.Bxc6 Qxc6 23.Qg4 Bc5
[23...Kb7 24.b3 c3 25.Qe2 Bh6 26.Bxh6 Rxh6 27.Qa6+ Kc7 28.Rfd1 Rhh8 29.Rxd8 Rxd8 30.Qe2 Qc5 31.Qf3
Rd5 32.g4 Qd4 33.Kg2 Qd2 34.h4 c2 35.g5 Qd1 36.Qf4+ Kb7 37.Rc1 Rd4 38.Qf3+ Ka7 39.Rxd1 cxd1Q
40.Qxd1 Rxd1 41.h5 Rd5 42.f4 Rf5 43.h6 Rd5 44.Kf3 Kb7 45.Kg4 Kc7 46.h7 Rd8 47.Kh5 Kd7 48.Kh6 Rh8
49.Kg7 Ke8 50.Kxh8 Kf8 51.g6 fxg6 52.f5 exf5 53.f7 1/2-1/2 Hebden,M-Arun Prasad,S/Edinburgh 2009/CBM
131 Extra]
24.Ra7 Rd7
Black is completely ok.
25.Rxd7 Kxd7 26.h4 Kc7 27.h5
[27.Bf4+ was probably better to prevent black's plan of e5 and Bd4, which was missed by Carlsen.]
27...e5 28.h6 Bd4 29.Qe2
Jan Smeets
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 29.Qe2. Black makes three bad moves in a row.
29...b3?
[29...c3 was the move to play, Carlsen thought that black might be better here.]
30.Be3 Qd5?!
[On 30...b5 there follows 31.Bxd4 exd4 32.Qe7+ Kb6 33.Ra1; 30...Qc5 was better than the game continuation
31.Rc1 b5]
31.Rd1 Kc6?
[31...Qc5]
32.Qg4 b5 33.Bxd4 exd4 34.Rxd4 Qe5 35.Qd7+ Kc5 36.Qa7+ Kc6 37.Qd7+ Kc5 38.Rf4 Qxb2 39.Rf5+ Kb4
40.Qxb5+ Kc3 41.Rf3+ 1-0
Nakamura,Hikaru - Van Wely,Loek [B96]

[Abeln, Michiel]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5
[6.h3]
6...e6 7.f4 Nbd7
[7...Be7]
8.Qf3 Qc7 9.Bxf6 Nxf6 10.g4 b5
[10...d5 11.exd5 Bb4 12.dxe6 fxe6 13.0-0-0 Bxc3 14.Qxc3 Qxc3 15.bxc3 Nxg4 16.Rg1 Ne3 17.Re1 Nxf1
18.Rxg7 Nxh2 19.Nxe6 Bxe6 20.Rxe6+ Kf8 21.Ree7 h5 22.Rxb7 Ng4 23.Rbf7+ Ke8 24.Re7+ Kf8 1/2-1/2
Nataf,I-Renet,O/Aix-les-Bains 2007/CBM 120]
11.g5 Nd7
[11...b4 12.Ncb5 axb5 13.gxf6+/=]
12.0-0-0 Nc5
[12...Bb7 13.Bh3 b4 14.Nd5 exd5 15.exd5 Be7 16.Rhe1 Kf8 17.Nf5 Re8 18.Qe4 Nc5 19.Qd4 Rg8 20.Re3 Bc8
21.Nxe7 Rxe7 22.Rde1 Rxe3 23.Qxe3 g6 24.Bxc8 Qxc8 25.Qe7+ Kg7 26.Qf6+ Kf8 27.Qxd6+ Kg7 28.Qf6+
Kf8 29.Re7 Rg7 30.Rxf7+ 1-0 Krivoborodov,E-Parligras,M/Bad Wiessee 2009/EXT 2010]
13.a3 Rb8 14.b4
Still prepared by Nakamura
14...Nd7
[14...Na4 15.Ndxb5 axb5 16.Bxb5+ Rxb5 17.Nxb5 Qb6 18.Qd3 Bd7 19.Nxd6+ Bxd6 20.Rd2+/- and white will
be much better in the endgame (Immediately taking on d6 is not good: 20.Qxd6 Qe3+ 21.Kb1 Nc3+ 22.Ka1
Nxd1) ]
15.Nd5 exd5 16.exd5 Be7 17.Re1 Ne5
[The alternative also doesn't give much relief: 17...Nb6 18.Nc6 Nxd5 19.Nxb8 (19.Qxd5 Be6 20.Qg2 Rc8
21.Nxe7 Qc3) 19...Qxb8 20.Qxd5 Bb7 21.Qd4 Bxh1 22.Qxg7 Rf8 23.f5 and white is winning]
18.fxe5 Bxg5+ 19.Kb1 dxe5 20.Nc6 Bf6
[20...0-0 is refuted by 21.Rxe5 Bf6 22.Rh5 and white has a winning attack]
21.Bd3
White's knight on c6 is extremely strong, so in many instances it would be ashame to take on b8.
[21.Nxb8 Qxb8 22.Bd3 Ke7 and black would be better]]
Loek Van Wely
Hikaru Nakamura
Position after 21.Bd3
21...h5?
[Much better was 21...Rb6 and now Nakamura had planned 22.Nxe5 (22.Rhg1 keeps the advantage) 22...Bxe5
23.Qh5 but this actually refuted by 23...g5!! 24.Qxg5 f6 and black is winning]
22.Rxe5+ Bxe5 23.Re1 Bg4 24.Qf4 0-0
[24...f6 25.Bg6+ Kf8 (25...Kd7 26.Bf5+ Ke8 27.Nxe5) 26.Rxe5 and white wins]
25.Rxe5 g6
[25...Rbe8 26.Rxe8 Qxf4 27.Ne7+ Kh8 28.Rxf8#; 25...a5 26.Rxh5; 25...f5 was black's last defence 26.Nxb8
Qxb8]
26.Qf6 Rbe8 27.Ne7+ Rxe7
[27...Kh7 28.Bxg6+ fxg6 29.Qxg6+ Kh8 30.Qh6#]
28.Rxe7 Qxh2 29.Bxg6 Qh1+ 30.Kb2 Qxd5 31.Bxf7+
[31.Be4 Qd2 32.Re5 Rd8]
31...Qxf7
[31...Rxf7 32.Re8+ Kh7 33.Rh8#]

32.Rxf7 Rxf7 33.Qxa6 Kg7 34.Qxb5 Kg6 35.Qc4 Rd7 36.b5 Kg5 37.b6 Bf3 38.Qb5+ Rd5 39.Qb3 1-0
Anand drew with Short in Round 2. Photo © Europe-Echecs.
Nigel Short was the unlucky player to get two blacks in the first two rounds. After going under against Van
Wely in the first round he must have feared the worst in the second when he met World Champion Viswanathan
Anand. They both headed towards a position in a Ragozin where black has a couple of extra pawns but has
great problems hanging on to the material and getting developed. Short was forced to decide how he was to
return the material and end up with a playable position at the end. The double rook ending at the end still held
some perils but Short found his way through to the draw in the end.
Anand,Viswanathan - Short,Nigel [D38]

[Mark Crowther]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Rc1 c6 8.e3 Qa5 9.Bd3 Qxa2 10.0-0 Qa5
11.Ne5 Nxe5
[11...0-0 12.Qf3 Nxe5 13.dxe5 Ng4 14.Qg3 Nxe5 15.Qxe5 f6 16.Bxf6 Rxf6 17.Qe8+ Rf8 18.Qh5 h6 19.Qg6
Rf6 20.Qe8+ Rf8 21.Qg6 Rf6 22.Qe8+ 1/2-1/2 Navara,D (2719)-Aronian,L (2744)/ Wijk aan Zee NED
2007/The Week in Chess 636]
12.dxe5 Ng4 13.Bf4 f6 14.e4 fxe5 15.Bg3
Both players will have gone into this position with their eyes open. Black is two pawns up but it soon becomes
apparent that white is at least equal due to a lead in development and the ability to press various weaknesses.
Nigel Short
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 15.Bg3. We\'re still in theory.
15...Bxc3N
[15...d4 16.Nd5 Bd6 17.h3 0-0 18.hxg4 cxd5 19.exd5 Kh8 20.Be4 Bd7 21.Kh2 Rf7 22.Rh1 g6 23.Kg1 Kg8
24.Rh6 Rc8 25.Bxg6 hxg6 26.Rxg6+ Rg7 27.Rxc8+ Bxc8 28.Rxd6 Bxg4 29.f3 Bxf3 30.Qc1 Bg4 31.Bxe5 d3
32.b4 Qa2 33.Rd8+ Kh7 34.Rh8+ Kg6 35.Qh6+ 1-0 Chatalbashev,B (2499) -Brancaleoni,M (2314)/Genova
ITA 2005/The Week in Chess 563]
16.Rxc3 d4 17.Ra3 Qc5 18.Qd2 0-0 19.h3 Nh6 20.Ra5 b5 21.Rc1 Qd6 22.Qc2 Rf6 23.Qc5 Nf7 24.Qxd6 Rxd6
25.Rc5 Be6
[25...Re6 26.Bb1 probably wouldn't help black overly much.]
26.Kf1 h6
Creating a bit of luft.
27.Ke2 a6 28.b4 Bb3 29.Bxe5 Nxe5 30.Rxe5 Rg6 31.g3 Rg5 32.Re7 c5 33.bxc5 Rxc5 34.Rd7 Be6 35.Rd6
Bxh3 36.Raxa6
Both sides seem to have done the best with their positions. Double rook endings are supposed to be drawish but
given that black has to be very accurate later on it must be at least possible that taking off a set of rooks here is
best.
36...Rf8 37.f4 Rc1 38.Rxd4 Bf1+ 39.Kd2 Rfc8 40.Bxf1 Rxf1 41.Rd7 Rcc1 42.Rb7
I did fear for black here still. White's king is going to escape up the board, black's can very easily get into peril.
42...Rcd1+ 43.Ke3 Rfe1+ 44.Kf3 h5 45.f5
[45.e5 needs investigating.]
45...Rd3+ 46.Kf4 Rf1+ 47.Ke5 Rxg3 48.Rxb5 Kh7 49.Rb8 Rg4 50.Raa8 Kh6 51.Rh8+ Kg5 52.Rh7 Kh4
With black's king escaping the draw is inevitable.
53.Rah8 Rg5 54.Rg8 Rfg1 55.Ra8 Re1 56.Rg8 Rg4 57.Rgxg7 1/2-1/2
Ivanchuk drew with Tiviakov in Round 2. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
As I mentioned yesterday Sergei Tiviakov has a well thought out repertoire and he is rightly famous for his play
on the black side of the Centre Counter. On the one hand this makes life easy to prepare for him, on the other
you have to come up with something good. Today it seems Tiviakov found something new with 11...Qe4 and if
anything it lead to a slightly better position. The position simplified down and a drawn rook and pawn resulted.
Ivanchuk,Vassily - Tiviakov,Sergei [B01]

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 c6 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Bf4 Nd5 8.Nxd5 Qxd5 9.Nf3 Nb6 10.Be2
Bf5 11.c3 Qe4
Tiviakov is extremely familiar with this position and Ivanchuk will have prepared this well.
[11...e6 12.0-0 Be7 13.Ne5 (13.a4 a5 14.Bc7 Bd8 15.Bg3 Qd7 16.Qb3 Bc7 17.Rfe1 0-0 18.Rad1 Nd5 19.Ne5
Qc8 20.Rd2 Rd8 21.Bh5 Bg6 22.Bg4 Re8 23.Bf3 Nf6 24.c4 Bd6 25.c5 Bxe5 26.Bxe5 Nd5 27.h4 h6 28.h5 Bf5
29.Rde2 Rd8 30.Bd6 Nf6 31.Qe3 Rd7 32.Qf4 Qd8 33.Qg3 Ne8 34.Be5 Qg5 35.Qh2 Rad8 36.Re3 Qe7 37.g4 Bh7
38.Bd1 Kf8 39.Bb3 Qg5 40.Qg3 Nf6 41.f3 Nd5 42.Bxd5 Rxd5 43.f4 Qe7 44.g5 hxg5 45.fxg5 Bf5 46.h6 Rxd4
47.Bxd4 Rxd4 48.Re5 Bg6 49.Qh3 gxh6 50.Qxh6+ Kg8 51.Rxe6 fxe6 52.Qxg6+ Qg7 53.Qe8+ Qf8 54.Qxe6+
Qf7 55.Qc8+ Kg7 56.Qh3 Qg6 57.Kh1 Rd5 58.Re7+ Kf8 59.Re1 Kg7 1/2-1/2 Ivanchuk,V (2756)-Tiviakov,S
(2670)/Hoogeveen NED 2009/The Week in Chess 781) 13...0-0 14.Re1 Qd8 (14...Rac8 15.a4 Qd8 16.a5 Nd5
17.Bg3 Bg5 18.Qb3 Qe7 19.Bf3 Rfd8 20.Rad1 h6 21.Nd3 Bxd3 22.Rxd3 Qd7 23.Rdd1 Ne7 24.Be4 Bf6 25.Bc2
Nd5 26.Qc4 g6 27.Qb3 Qe7 28.Be4 Kg7 29.h3 Rd7 30.Bf3 Qd8 31.Qa4 Ne7 32.Be5 Bxe5 33.dxe5 Rxd1
34.Rxd1 Qc7 35.Qd4 Qxa5 36.b4 Qc7 37.Qxa7 Nd5 38.Qd4 Ra8 39.b5 cxb5 40.Bxd5 Rd8 41.Qf4 Rxd5 42.Qf6+
Kh7 43.Rxd5 exd5 44.e6 fxe6 45.Qxe6 Qxc3 46.Qf7+ Qg7 47.Qxd5 b4 48.Qb5 Qe7 49.g3 g5 50.Qc4 Kg7
51.Kg2 Qd6 52.Kg1 Kf6 53.h4 Qd1+ 54.Kg2 b3 55.hxg5+ hxg5 56.Qc3+ Ke7 57.Qg7+ Kd6 58.Qf8+ Kc6
59.Qf6+ Kc5 60.Qe7+ Kc4 61.Qc7+ Kd3 62.Qxb7 g4 63.Qd5+ Kc2 64.Qc5+ Kb1 65.Qf5+ Kc1 66.Qf4+ Qd2
67.Qc4+ Qc2 68.Qf4+ Kb1 69.Qxg4 b2 70.Qf3 Qc4 71.Qf5+ Kc1 72.Qg5+ Kc2 73.Qf5+ Qd3 74.Qc5+ Kd1
75.Qh5+ Kd2 76.Qg5+ Kc3 77.Qc5+ Kb3 78.Qb6+ Ka2 79.Qa5+ Kb1 80.g4 Kc1 0-1 Vila Gazquez,X (2422) -
Tiviakov,S (2686)/Benidorm ESP 2008/The Week in Chess 736) 15.Qb3 Qd5 1/2-1/2 Pikula,D (2570)-
Tiviakov,S (2684)/Budva MNE 2009/The Week in Chess 749]
Sergei Tiviakov
Vassily Ivanchuk
Position after 11...Qe4
12.Qd2 Qc2 13.Qxc2 Bxc2 14.Ne5 h5 15.0-0 e6 16.Rfe1 Be7 17.h3 Rd8 18.g3 Bd6 19.Be3 Nd5 20.Bd2 h4
21.Rac1 Bh7 22.Bf3 hxg3 23.fxg3
If anything black is a tiny bit better here.
23...0-0
[23...f6 24.Ng4 Bxg3 25.Rxe6+ Kd7 maybe.]
24.Kg2 c5 25.a3 cxd4 26.cxd4 Rfe8 27.Nc4 Bc7 28.Ne3 Nxe3+ 29.Bxe3 Bb6 30.d5 e5 31.Bxb6 axb6 32.Red1
e4 33.Be2 e3 34.Bf3 Be4 35.Rd4 Bxf3+ 36.Kxf3 Rd6
One of those drawish rook endings again.
37.Re1 Rf6+ 38.Rf4 Rd6 39.Rxe3 Rxe3+ 40.Kxe3 Rxd5
This rook ending is just drawn.
41.Rd4 Re5+ 42.Kd3 Rf5 43.Kc4 b5+ 44.Kb4 Rf3 45.Rg4 f6 46.Kxb5 Rb3+ 47.Rb4 Rxg3 48.h4 Rd3 49.a4 f5
50.Kb6 Rd7 51.a5 Rf7 52.Rf4 Kh7 53.b4 g5 54.hxg5 Kg6 55.b5 Kxg5 56.Rf1 f4 57.a6 1/2-1/2
Vladimir Kramnik made no headway against Peter Leko in a very complicated Queen's Indian. They finished
with a draw by repetition after 33 moves.
Kramnik,Vladimir - Leko,Peter [E15]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Bg2 c6 8.Bc3 d5 9.Nbd2 Nbd7 10.Qc2 c5 11.dxc5
[11.e4 dxc4 12.bxc4 cxd4 13.Nxd4 Bb7 14.0-0 Qc8 15.a4 0-0 16.a5 Nc5 17.axb6 axb6 18.Rfb1 1/2-1/2
Khalifman,A (2700)-Adams,M (2744)/Bonn GER 2001/The Week in Chess 361]
11...bxc5 12.0-0 0-0 13.Bb2
[13.Rfe1 Rc8 (13...Bb7 14.cxd5 Nxd5 15.Rad1 Nxc3 16.Qxc3 Qc7 17.Nc4 Nb6 18.Qe5 Rac8 19.Na5 Ba6
20.Rc1 Nd5 21.Qxc7 Rxc7 22.Nd2 Bg5 23.f4 Bf6 24.Ndc4 Bd4+ 25.e3 Bc3 26.Red1 Bxa5 27.Bxd5 Bb4 28.Bf3
Bxc4 29.Rxc4 Rcc8 30.Kf2 Rfd8 31.Rcc1 Kf8 32.Bb7 Rb8 33.Be4 Ke7 34.Ke2 h6 35.Rxd8 Rxd8 36.Bd3 f5 37.h3
Kf6 38.a3 Bxa3 39.Ra1 Bb4 40.Rxa7 g5 41.Ra6 Ke7 42.g4 fxg4 43.hxg4 gxf4 44.exf4 Bc3 45.g5 hxg5 46.fxg5
Rd5 47.g6 Rg5 48.Ra7+ Kd6 49.Rf7 Rg3 50.Rf8 1/2-1/2 Kramnik,V (2809)-Gelfand,B (2703)/Monaco MNC
2002/The Week in Chess 384) 14.Rad1 Qb6 15.e3 Rfd8 16.Qc1 Bb7 17.Qb2 Bc6 18.cxd5 exd5 19.Nh4 Bf8
20.Qa1 Ba8 21.e4 d4 22.Nc4 Qa6 23.Bd2 Nb6 24.Bf1 Nxc4 25.Bxc4 Qc6 26.f3 Re8 27.Qb1 Nd7 28.a4 Be7
29.Nf5 Ne5 30.Bb5 Nxf3+ 31.Kf2 Qf6 32.e5 Qe6 33.Bxe8 Rxe8 34.Re2 Nxh2 35.Qd3 Ng4+ 36.Kg1 Qd5 0-1
Asabri,H (2277)-Adams,M (2731)/Tripoli LBA 2004/The Week in Chess 502]
13...Rc8 14.Rfe1 d4 15.e3 dxe3 16.fxe3 Ne8 17.Rad1 Qb6 18.Ne4 Rd8 19.Neg5 g6 20.Qe4 Bb7 21.Qh4 h5
22.g4 Ndf6 23.h3 Ng7 24.Qg3 Nfe8 25.h4 Bf6
[25...Rxd1 26.Rxd1 f6 27.Nh3 Bd6 28.Nf4]
26.Be5 Bxf3 27.Nxf3 hxg4 28.Qxg4 Nh5 29.Bh2 Bc3 30.Rf1 Nef6 31.Qg5 Ne4 32.Qg4 Nef6 33.Qg5
Repetition ends a very complicated struggle.
1/2-1/2
Peter Leko
Vladimir Kramnik
Position after the final move 33.Qg5.
Sergey Karjakin and Leinier Dominguez Perez played a very complicated Najdorf Sicilian which eventually
fizzled out into a draw.
Karjakin drew with Dominguez in Round 2. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Karjakin,Sergey - Dominguez Perez,Leinier [B90]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 h5 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.0-0-0 Be7 11.h3
Qc7 12.Bd3 b5
[12...h4 13.f4 b5 14.Rhe1 Rb8 15.Kb1 Nb6 16.Qf2 b4 17.Ne2 Nc4 18.Nd2 Nxe3 19.Qxe3 a5 20.b3 a4 21.Bc4
axb3 22.cxb3 Bd7 23.Nf3 0-0 24.fxe5 dxe5 25.Nxh4 Bc6 26.Ng3 Nxe4 27.Nxe4 Bxh4 28.g3 Be7 29.Nf2 Rbd8
30.Rxd8 Qxd8 31.Rd1 Qa5 32.Ng4 e4 33.Nh6+ gxh6 34.Qxh6 Qf5 35.g4 Qc5 36.Qg6+ Kh8 37.Qh6+ Kg8
38.Qg6+ 1/2-1/2 Svidle r,P (2728)-Topalov,V (2783)/Morelia/Linares MEX/ESP 2007/The Week in Chess 644]
13.g4 b4 14.Ne2 d5 15.g5 dxe4 16.fxe4 Nh7 17.Ng3 g6 18.Nf5 gxf5 19.exf5 Bd5 20.Rhe1 Bf3 21.f6 Nhxf6
[21...Bd6 22.Bxh7 Bxd1 23.Rxd1 Rxh7 24.Qxd6 Qxd6 25.Rxd6 with a big advantage.]
Leinier Dominguez Perez

Sergey Karjakin
Position after 21.Nhxf6. Complicated stuff follows.
22.gxf6 Nxf6 23.Bd4 exd4 24.Qf2 Qf4+ 25.Nd2 Ng4 26.Qxf3 Qxf3 27.Nxf3 Ne3 28.Rd2 Kf8 29.Nxd4 Bg5
30.Nf3 Bf4 31.Kb1 1/2-1/2
L Van Wely - N Short
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 c6 7.e3 Be7 8.Qc2 0-0 9.Bd3 Re8 10.h3 Nf8 11.Bf4
a5 12.0-0 Ng6
(12...g6 13.a3 Ne6 14.Bh2 Ng7 15.Rab1 Bf5)
13.Bh2 Bd6 14.Bxd6 Qxd6 15.Rfe1 Be6 16.a3 Re7 17.Rab1 Rae8 18.b4 axb4 19.axb4 Bd7 20.b5 Ne4
(20...c5 21.dxc5 Qxc5 22.Rec1 with Nd4 to come, Black has a weak pawn on d5)
21.bxc6 bxc6 22.Rb6 Nxc3 23.Qxc3 Qf6
(Threat Bxh3)
24.Bxg6 Qxg6 25.Kf1 f6 26.Ra1 Qh5 27.Ne1 Qf5
(27...Bxh3!? 28.gxh3 Qxh3+ 29.Ke2 f5 30.Qxc6 Rxe3+!= 31.fxe3 Qxe3+ 32.Kf1 Qf4+ 33.Kg1 Rxe1+ 34.Rxe1
Qg3+ or 30.Nd3 f4 31.Ne5 fxe3 32.Qxe3 Qh5+ 33.Kd2 c5; Black wins after 29.Kg1 Re4! and 29.Ng2 Qh1+)
28.Kg1 Qg5 29.Kh2 Qf5 30.Nd3 Qe6 31.Kg1
(Now White infiltrates undisturbed)
31...Rc8 32.Rb7 Rf7 33.Raa7 Be8 34.Qb4 Rd8 35.Nc5 Qc8 36.Qb6 h5 37.Rc7 Rxc7 38.Rxc7 Qa8 39.Ra7 Qc8
40.Rb7 Bf7 41.Qa7 Rf8 42.Nd7 Re8 43.Nxf6+ gxf6 44.Rxf7 Qf5 45.Rg7+ Kh8 46.Qf7 1-0
Nigel Short
Loek Van Wely
Final position after 46.Qf7
Tiviakov,Sergei - Carlsen,Magnus [C77]

[Abeln, Michiel]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Qe2 Bd6 6.c3 0-0 7.d3 Re8 8.Bg5 b5 9.Bb3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.Nbd2
Nc6 12.Nf1 Be7 13.Ne3 d6 14.0-0 Be6 15.Bxf6 Bxf6 16.Bb3 Rb8
[An alternative for black was 16...Bxb3 17.axb3 a5]
17.Rfd1 Qd7 18.Bd5 Bd8
[18...Ne7 19.Bxe6 Qxe6 20.b3 d5 21.c4 is a bit better for white]
19.a4
[immediately 19.Qc2 is also an option, but black is just very solid, e.g.: 19...Bb6]
19...bxa4
Magnus Carlsen
Sergei Tiviakov
Position after 19...bxa4
normally a bit risky, but here it doesn't get very exciting
20.Qc2 Na5 21.Qxa4 Qxa4 22.Rxa4 Rxb2 23.Nd2 Bc7 24.Ndc4 Rb5 25.Bxe6 fxe6 26.Nxd6 Bxd6 27.c4 Rb6
1/2-1/2
Sergei Tiviakov vs Magnus Carlsen. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
World Champion Viswanathan Anand also had black and he played a Ruy Lopez againsts Sergey Karjakin.
There was a quite interesting battle which led the the exchange of pieces but running pawns for both sides. The
position remained more or less level even after Radjabov made things slightly hard for himself after 30.c5? In
the end a Queen and Pawn ending resulted where although Anand was a pawn up the prospects of winning were
pretty close to zero and he admitted afterwards he couldn't be bothered to try.
Karjakin,Sergey - Anand,Viswanathan [C78]

[Abeln, Michiel]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.c3 d6 8.a4 Rb8 9.d4 Bb6 10.axb5 axb5 11.Na3 0-
0 12.Nxb5 Bg4 13.Bc2 exd4 14.Nbxd4 Nxd4 15.cxd4 Bxf3 16.gxf3 Nh5 17.Kh1
[17.Ra4 Qh4 18.Be3 Ra8 19.b3 Nf4 20.Kh1 Ne6 21.Rg1 Qf6 22.d5 Bxe3 23.fxe3 Nc5 24.Qa1 Qxa1 25.Raxa1
Rfb8 26.Kg2 Kf8 27.Kf2 Ke7 28.Ke2 g6 29.Rxa8 Rxa8 30.Kd2 Ra2 31.Kc3 Nd7 32.h3 Ne5 33.f4 Nf3 34.Rc1
Nh4 35.Kd3 Kd7 36.Ke2 f6 37.Kd3 h6 38.Bd1 Kd8 39.Bg4 h5 40.Be6 Rb2 41.Kc3 Re2 42.Kd3 Rb2 43.Kc3
Re2 44.Kd3 1/2-1/2 Kryvoruchko,Y-Avrukh,B/Novi Sad 2009/CBM 133]
17...Qf6 18.Ra4
[18.Be3 Nf4 (18...Ra8 19.Rxa8 Rxa8 20.Rg1 Nf4 21.Bb3 Ne6 22.Bxe6 fxe6 23.Rg3 Kh8 24.Kg2 e5 25.dxe5 dxe5
26.Bxb6 cxb6 27.Qd7 Rd8 28.Qc7 Rf8 29.h4 g6 30.b4 h6 31.b5 Rf7 32.Qc8+ Kg7 33.h5 g5 34.Rh3 Qd6 35.Qc3
Rc7 36.Qe3 Rc5 37.Rh1 Rxb5 38.Ra1 Ra5 39.Rxa5 bxa5 40.Qa7+ Kf8 41.Qxa5 Qf6 42.Qa3+ Kg8 43.Kf1 Qe6
44.Ke2 Kf7 45.Qa7+ Kf6 46.Kd2 g4 47.fxg4 Qxg4 48.Qb6+ Kg5 49.Qg6+ Kh4 50.Kc3 Qf3+ 51.Kc4 Qxf2
52.Kd5 Qd4+ 53.Ke6 Qb6+ 54.Kxe5 Qc5+ 55.Ke6 Qc6+ 56.Kf7 Qd7+ 57.Kf8 Qd8+ 58.Kg7 Qe7+ 59.Kxh6
Qf8+ 60.Kh7 Qe7+ 61.Kg8 Qd8+ 62.Kf7 Qc7+ 63.Kf8 Qd8+ 64.Qe8 Qf6+ 65.Kg8 Kg5 66.e5 1-0 Karjakin,S-
Adams,M/Baku 2008/CBM 124) 19.Ra4 Ra8 20.Rb4 Ne6 21.Rg1 Rfb8 22.f4 c5 23.e5 Qd8 24.dxc5 Bxc5
25.Rxb8 Rxb8 26.f5 Bxe3 27.fxe6 Bh6 28.Qh5 Kh8 29.Qxf7 dxe5 30.e7 Qe8 31.Qxe8+ Rxe8 32.Rd1 Bg5
33.Ba4 1-0 Adams,M-Leko,P/Miskolc 2005/CBM 108/[Finkel,A]]
18...Ra8 19.Be3 Rxa4 20.Bxa4 Nf4

[20...Ra8 21.b3 g6 22.f4 Nxf4 23.Qf3 Nh5 24.Qxf6 Nxf6 25.f3 Kg7 26.Bf2 Nh5 1/2-1/2 Wang Hao-
Adams,M/Liverpool 2007/CBM 120]
21.Rg1 g6 22.Bb3 Rb8 23.Rg4 Ne6 24.Bxe6 Qxe6 25.Rg1 c5 26.d5 Qf6 27.b3 c4 28.Bxb6 Rxb6 29.bxc4 Rb2
Viswanathan Anand
Sergey Karjakin
Position after 29...Rxb2
30.c5?
A blunder, but white is lucky enough that he can still escape
[There was an immediate draw with 30.Rf1 Rb1 31.Qxb1 Qxf3+ 32.Kg1 Qg4+]
30...Rxf2 31.Rf1 Rb2
[if 31...Ra2 then 32.Qb3 Rb2 33.Qe3]
32.Qe1 dxc5 33.e5 Qf4 34.Rf2 Rxf2 35.Qxf2 c4 36.d6 Qxe5 37.d7 Qc7 38.Qd4 Qd8 39.Kg2 c3 40.Qxc3 Qxd7
This position is completly drawn, or as Vishy put it: "if I could give it to Salov to play on, happy to, but not if I
have to do this myself:)"
1/2-1/2
Van Wely vs Short. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
The first decisive game of the day came between Loek van Wely and Nigel Short. Van Wely played an
Exchange Queen's Gambit and played the classical minority attack on the queenside. The response is supposed
to be some kind of breakthrough by black on the kingside but Short never saw the opportunity to execute this
kind of counterplay and ended up with a passive position where there was only ever likely to be one result.
Van Wely,Loek - Short,Nigel [D37]

[Abeln, Michiel]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3
Deviating on purpose from
[3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.e3 c5 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 0-0 9.Nf3 b6 10.c4 Qh5 11.Be2 Bb7 12.0-0
Nbd7 13.a4 Qg6 14.Qxg6 hxg6 15.Bb2 a5 16.Rfd1 Rfd8 althoug Van Wely was also here clearly better 17.Nd2
Rac8 18.f3 cxd4 19.exd4 Ba6 20.Kf2 Rc7 21.Rac1 Rdc8 22.Ba3 Ne8 23.f4 Bb7 24.Re1 Bc6 25.Bd1 Ndf6 26.g4
Rd7 27.Ke3 Rcd8 28.Bb2 Nd6 29.h3 Rc8 30.Ba3 Bb7 31.Be2 Ba6 32.Bd3 Rc6 33.Rc2 Rdc7 34.Rec1 Rc8
35.Ke2 Kh8 36.Kd1 Nfe8 37.Ke2 Nf6 38.Ke3 Kg8 39.g5 Nh5 40.d5 exd5 41.cxd5 Rxc2 42.Rxc2 Re8+ 43.Kd4
Bxd3 44.Rc6 Nf5+ 0-1 Van Wely,L-Short,N/London 2009/CBM 132]
3...d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 c6
[6...Be7 7.e3 0-0 8.Bd3 Re8 9.Qc2 Nf8 10.0-0 c6 11.h3 Be6 12.Bf4 Bd6 13.Bxd6 Qxd6 14.Rab1 Re7 15.b4
Rae8 16.Rfc1 Ng6 17.b5 c5 18.dxc5 Qxc5 19.Qa4 Qd6 20.Qxa7 Bxh3 21.Bf1 Bf5 22.Rb2 Ng4 23.Rd1 Nh4
24.Be2 Rxe3 25.fxe3 Qg3 0-1 Van Wely,L-Jussupow,A/Frankfurt 2000/CBM 076 ext]
7.e3 Be7 8.Qc2 0-0 9.Bd3 Re8 10.h3 Nf8 11.Bf4 a5

[If black goes for the "normal" 11...Bd6 12.Bxd6 Qxd6 white will go for 13.0-0-0 so black makes a waiting
move; 11...Be6 was an alternative waiting move]
12.0-0 Ng6
[12...g6 13.Ne5 Ne6 14.Bh6 Ng7 15.g4 Nd7 16.f4 Nf8 17.f5 gxf5 18.gxf5 Bg5 19.Ng4 Rxe3 20.Nxe3 Bxh6
21.Ng4 Bg5 22.h4 h5 23.Rae1 Bxh4 24.Nh6+ Kh7 25.Nxf7 Qf6 26.Re2 Qxd4+ 27.Kh1 Bf6 28.Rg2 Nd7
29.Ne2 Qb4 30.a3 Qe7 31.Ng5+ Kh8 32.Nf4 Ne5 33.Nf3 Kg8 34.Nxe5 Qxe5 35.Nxh5 Kf7 36.Nxg7 Bd7
37.Nh5 Rh8 38.Rh2 Be7 39.Nf4 Bd6 40.Rxh8 Qxh8+ 41.Qh2 1-0 Sakaev,K-Filippov,V/Izmir 2004/CBM 104;
12...Bd6 13.Bxd6 Qxd6 14.Na4 Be6 15.Qc5 Qb8 16.Ng5 N8d7 17.Qc2 h6 18.Bh7+ Kf8 19.Nxe6+ Rxe6 20.Bf5
Re7 21.Qb3 b5 22.Nc3 Nb6 23.Qc2 Nc4 24.Bd3 a4 25.b3 axb3 26.axb3 Nd6 27.Ne2 Rxa1 28.Rxa1 Qb6
29.Qc5 Qxc5 30.dxc5 Nde4 31.b4 Nd7 32.Nd4 Ne5 33.Bxe4 dxe4 34.Nf5 Re8 35.Nd6 Rd8 36.Ra7 Nd3
37.Rxf7+ Kg8 38.Rc7 Nxb4 39.Nf5 Rf8 40.Ne7+ Kh7 41.Nxc6 Na6 42.Rb7 Nxc5 43.Rxb5 Nd3 44.Ne5 Nxf2
45.Rb4 Nd1 46.Rxe4 Re8 47.Kf1 Nc3 48.Rc4 Nd5 49.Ng4 Nxe3+ 50.Nxe3 Rxe3 1/2-1/2 Dreev,A-
Ivanchuk,V/Yalta 1995/CBM 047 ext]
13.Bh2 Bd6 14.Bxd6 Qxd6 15.Rfe1
Prophylaxis, preventing black's plan of Qe7 and Ne4
15...Be6
[if 15...Qe7 then 16.e4; 15...Bd7 might have been a better move, later black loses a tempo to enable his queen to
move along the 6th rank.]
16.a3 Re7 17.Rab1 Rae8 18.b4 axb4 19.axb4 Bd7 20.b5 Ne4 21.bxc6 bxc6
Nigel Short
Loek Van Wely
Position after 21...bxc6
22.Rb6
[if 22.Bxe4 dxe4 23.Nd2 Nh4 black gets his dangerous counterplay with all kind of sacrifices]
22...Nxc3
a bit sad to first spend quite a few moves on bringing his knight to e4 and then immediately exchanging it.
[Normally black wants to move his queen to f6 to threaten Bxh3, but here it fails simply to 22...Qf6 23.Nxd5]
23.Qxc3 Qf6 24.Bxg6
[24.Kh2 Nh4 again with dangerous threats]
24...Qxg6 25.Kf1
[Winning material would not be a wise thing to do: 25.Ne5 Rxe5 26.dxe5 Bxh3 27.g3 Qe4]
25...f6 26.Ra1 Qh5 27.Ne1
Nigel Short
Loek Van Wely
Position after 27.Ne1
27...Qf5
[Black would like to become active, but the only way is to play g5-g4 at some point, but brings nothing but
weaknesses while white can defend his king simply with putting his knight on f4. 27...g5 28.Nd3 g4 29.Nf4 and
black has so many weaknesses that in may instances a white exchange sac on c6 will simply win.]
28.Kg1 Qg5 29.Kh2 Qf5 30.Nd3 Qe6 31.Kg1 Rc8 32.Rb7
[Van Wely doesn't fall for one of black's last tricks: 32.Ra7 Be8 33.Nf4 Qd6 34.Rxe7 Qxe7 35.Nxd5 Qd8]
32...Rf7 33.Raa7 Be8 34.Qb4 Rd8 35.Nc5 Qc8 36.Qb6 h5 37.Rc7 Rxc7 38.Rxc7 Qa8 39.Ra7
[39.Rxg7+ is also winning but the game is even quicker 39...Kxg7 40.Ne6+ Kh6 41.Qxd8 Qxd8 42.Nxd8]
39...Qc8 40.Rb7 Bf7 41.Qa7 Rf8 42.Nd7 Re8 43.Nxf6+ gxf6 44.Rxf7 Qf5 45.Rg7+ Kh8 46.Qf7 1-0
Dominguez vs Kramnik. Photo © Europe-Echecs.
This was a day when virtually all the favourites for the tournament had black and they probably didn't want to
ruin their tournaments by accidents in the first round. Vladimir Kramnik played his Petroff (yawn) Defence,
Leinier Dominguez Perez played nothing special and they shook hands after 23 moves.
Caruana vs Ivanchuk. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Fabiano Caruana against Vassily Ivanchuk was an interesting Sicilain Scheveningen. Ivanchuk sacrificed a
piece for three pawns but couldn't find anything better than allowing a draw by repetition in the end.
Smeets vs Nakamura. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Jan Smeets against Hikaru Nakamura was a Sicilian Najdorf where white maintained control of the d5 square
which didn't lead to much for him but did stop black doing much of anything either. Draw in 34 moves.
Smeets,Jan - Nakamura,Hikaru [B98]

[Abeln, Michiel]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 h6 9.Bh4 Qc7 10.0-0-0 Nbd7 11.f5
e5 12.Nde2 b5 13.Bxf6 Nxf6 14.Nd5 Qc5 15.Nec3 Bb7 16.Nxf6+ Bxf6 17.Nd5 Rc8 18.c3 Bxd5 19.Rxd5 Qb6
20.Qd3 Rc6
In the game it becomes clear that the plan with a3 and Kb1 is too slow to claim any advantage.
21.a3 Ke7 22.Kb1 h5 23.Be2 h4 24.Bd1 Qf2 25.Qe2 Qxe2 26.Bxe2
A completely equal endgame
26...Rb8 27.Rhd1 Bg5 28.Kc2 Bf4 29.h3 Be3
Hikaru Nakamura
Jan Smeets
Position after 29...Be3
30.R1d3
[The alternative plan to play on the queenside (indicated by Seirawan) is not so easy to execute: 30.R5d3 Bf4
31.b4 Rbc8 32.Rf3 (32.Kb3 Rc4 33.Bf3 d5) 32...R8c7 33.Kb3 Rc8 34.a4 bxa4+ 35.Kxa4 Rxc3 36.Rxc3 Rxc3
37.Bxa6 Rc2 38.Bf1 is also nothing for white]
30...Bf4
If white now plays for b4, black will attack c3 with two rooks and the bishop on e1 (via g3) .
31.Rd1 Be3 32.R1d3 Bf4 33.Rf3 Rc5 34.Rfd3 1/2-1/2
Sergey Tiviakov (2662) - Alexei Shirov (2723)

Sistema Anti-Siciliana [B23]
1.e4 c5 2.Cc3 Cc6 3.Ab5 Comentó Shirov: "El blanco no debe tener ventaja de apertura con un planteo como
éste; con Cf3 sería un poco mejor". 3...Cd4 4.Ac4 e6 5.Cge2 Cf6 6.0-0 Es inconveniente el avance 6.e5?! en
razón de 6...d5!=/+. 6...a6 7.d3 b5 Prematuro es el avance 7...d5? a causa de 8.exd5 exd5 9.Cxd5! Cxd5
(9...Cf3+!? 10.Rh1!! Cxd5 11.Cc3! Cxc3 12.Dxf3+-) 10.Cxd4 cxd4 11.Dh5 Ae6 12.Te1 Ae7 13.Txe6 Cf6
14.Txf6 gxf6 15.Dxf7++-. 8.Ab3 Cxb3 El negro se queda con el par de
alfiles. 9.axb3 Ab7 10.f4
Comentó Shirov: "Estábamos siguiendo la partida Tiviakov-Kotronias, donde

se había jugado 10.Cg3 d6 11.f4 y ahora el negro aplicó la muy fuerte
11...h5! y logró ganar el juego. Otra derivación importante en la práctica
ha sido 10.Ag5. 10...d5 11.e5 d4 Si 11...Cg4 12.h3 Ch6 13.Cg3. 12.exf6 El
canje de caballos es la continuación usual. Para la línea 12.Cb1 puede
tenerse en cuenta el antecedente Movsesian-Eljanov, Sarajevo 2005
(1-0 38). 12...dxc3 13.fxg7 La línea 13.f5!? ha sido practicada en varias
ocasiones, pero parece que el negro cuenta con buenos recursos para
sostenerse. 13...Axg7 14.bxc3 A primera vista, el negro cuenta con
buena compensación por el peón: sus alfiles en ambas diagonales mayores,
le dan gran actividad. 14...Tg8N Aparentemente una novedad. Tras 14...Dd7 15.f5 Dc6 el negro logró
contrajuego en la partida Jotic-Ermenkov, Subotica 2002, y la definición sobrevino con bastante rapidez:
16.Cf4? (16.Tf2) 16...Axc3 17.fxe6 0-0-0 18.exf7? (18.Ad2) 18...Axa1 19.Dg4+ Dd7 20.Ce6 Ad4+ 21.Rh1 Ad5
22.Te1 Thf8 23.c4 Axe6 24.Txe6 Txf7 0-1. 15.Tf2
15...Axc3 "Sergey jugó muy rápidamente, por lo que comprendí que me
encontraba en su preparación. Creo que el negro, tras 15.Tf2, tiene
compensación con su par de alfiles. Pero cuando ví 15...Dd5 16.Df1 Af6 17.f5
Ah4 18.Cg3 Axg3 19.hxg3 Txg3 20.Af4 no podía creer lo que veían mis ojos,
ya que el negro realmente está peor en razón de su desarrollo. Finalmente
decidí recuperar mi peón de todos modos". 16.Cxc3 Dd4 Amenazando
17...Txg2+ y mate en pocas jugadas. 17.Rf1 Dxc3 18.Ta2 Comentó Shirov:
"Todavía estamos en su preparación y quizás yo era demasiado optimista. Si mi
ataque no tiene éxito, tendré problemas con mi estructura de peones; de modo
que todavía me encuentro luchando por la igualdad". Quizás Alexei ve algún
fantasma más, que por mi parte no alcanzo a ver, porque a mi entender, la
posición del negro ya es excelente. 18...Dd4 19.Dh5
19...c4 Shirov se lanza al ataque y tiende una trampa. Se trata de una posición
sumamente aguda, en que ambos reyes se encuentran vulnerables. Las piezas
negras se encuentran más activas y mejor coordinadas. "Al principio pensé en
algo como 19...0-0-0 . Tras 20.Ab2! Dd5 21.Dxd5 Txd5 22.Ae5 es una
posición de tablas, pero el blanco está ligeramente mejor. Entonces recordé que
ayer había tenido el mismo tipo de final con blancas y no me agradó la idea de
sufrir como Caruana" (Shirov). 20.bxc4 bxc4 21.Ta4 Probablemente ya fuera
necesario 21.De5 para tratar de eliminar las damas en una posición abierta,
donde Shirov está como pez en el agua. 21...Ad5 22.f5 e5 23.Dxh7? Tiviakov
cae en la trampa, capturando un peón envenenado. "Sergey jugó esto muy
rápidamente y cayó en la trampa que le tendí con 19...c4". "Debió haber optado
por 23.Dh6 y el negro debía consolidarse con 23...Rd7 " (Shirov). En cambio, no parece adecuado 23.Te2?! y si
23...Tb8 24.f6 Rd8! y ahora si 25.Dxe5 (o si 25.Tf2 Tb1) 25...Axg2+. 23...Rd7!
Comunicando las torres. "Ahora Sergey reflexionó durante largo tiempo;

probablemente omitió considerar la idea de ...Axg2". 24.Dh6? ¿Qué jugada
podría funcionar aquí para el blanco? Difícil responder... Quizás era viable
24.h3. Probablemente mejor es 24.f6 con la idea 25.Dh3+; o bien
inmediatamente 24.Dh3 defendiéndose. 24...Axg2+! 25.Re1 "La captura del
alfil en g2 podría ser un buen test para aficionados. Las negras ganan luego de
25.Txg2 Txg2 26.Rxg2 Tg8+ 27.Rf3 (RR27.Ag5 Dg4+ 28.Rf2 Txg5) 27...e4+
28.dxe4 Dd1+ 29.Rf2 Dg1+ 30.Rf3 Df1+ 31.Re3 Dxc1+ " (Shirov). 25...Ad5
26.Aa3 Ya no existe defensa suficiente. "La mejor defensa es 26.Tf1 pero
igualmente el negro debe ganar tras 26...Tg1 " (Shirov). 26...Tg1+ 27.Re2
Dg4+ 28.Re3 Te1+ 29.Rd2 Dd1+ 30.Rc3 Da1+ 31.Rb4 Tb1+ 0-1
(7) Tiviakov, Sergei - Shirov, Alexei [B23]

[M.I Héctor Leyva]
1.e4 c5 2.Cc3 Sistema Cerrado
2...Cc6 3.Ab5 Las líneas normales hacia la variante cerrada sería con 3.g3.
3...Cd4 4.Ac4 e6 5.Cge2 Cf6 6.0-0 En caso del avance e5 las negras responderían con d5. [6.e5 d5
]
6...a6 Las negras inician la avanzada temática en el flanco dama con b5.
7.d3 [7.a4 Dc7 8.d3 Ae7 9.f4 d6 10.Cg3 h5 11.h3 h4 12.Cge2 Ad7 13.Ae3 Cxe2+ 14.Dxe2 Ac6
15.Ab3 g6 16.f5 gxf5 17.exf5 Tg8 18.Ce4 e5 19.Af2 c4 20.Axc4 d5 21.Cxf6+ Axf6 22.Ab3 d4 23.g4
hxg3 24.Axd4 0-0-0 25.Ae3 Th8 0-1 Kolosowski,M (2273)-Vovk,Y (2546)/Warsaw POL 2009/The
Week in Chess 789]
7...b5 8.Ab3 Cxb3 9.axb3 Las negras han logrado la ventaja de la pareja de alfiles, de momento no
es una ventaja sustancial, pero es el inicio hacia una posición prometedora, teniendo en cuenta que
el centro no esta definido.
9...Ab7 10.f4 aquí las blancas tienen como línea principal el desarrollo del alfil a g5. [10.Ag5 Ae7
11.f4 h6 12.Ah4 g5 13.fxg5 Cg4 14.Dd2 Cxh2 15.Df4 Cxf1 16.Txf1 Tf8 17.g6 fxg6 18.Dxh6 Txf1+
19.Rxf1 Axh4 20.Dh8+ Rf7 21.Dh7+ Rf6 22.Dxh4+ Rg7 23.Dg3 Df6+ 24.Re1 e5 25.Cg1 d6 26.Cce2
Ac8 27.Cf3 Ae6 28.Rd2 Th8 29.b4 cxb4 30.b3 Tc8 31.d4 Te8 32.Cg5 Ad7 33.d5 a5 34.De3 a4
35.Cf3 Ta8 36.Cc1 a3 37.Ca2 Ag4 38.Ce1 Df1 0-1 Shkuro,I (2546)-Vovk,Y (2575)/Alushta 2009/Mis
Predecesores Vol.2]
10...d5 El momento para buscar la apertura central.
11.e5 d4! Es importante no permitir que el centro quede cerrado, aunque esto implique la perdida de
un peón.
12.exf6 dxc3 13.fxg7 Esta captura solo se había jugado en una sola partida, la continuación
recomendada es el avance f5. A criterio de Rybka 3 la captura de la partida es la mejor continuación,
claro esa es la valoración material, pero el criterio de la posición es diferente cuando se trata de
actividad a largo plazo. [13.f5 Dxf6 14.bxc3 Ae7= ; 13.bxc3 Dxf6 14.De1 Dg6 15.Dg3 Ad6 16.Dxg6
hxg6 17.h3 0-0 18.c4 f5 19.Ae3 Tfe8 20.Cc3 Ae7 21.Tae1 Af6 22.Cb1 Tac8 23.Cd2 e5 24.fxe5 Axe5
25.Af2 Rf7 26.Cf3 Axf3 27.gxf3 b4 28.Rg2 a5 29.Te2 Ac3 30.Txe8 Rxe8 31.Td1 g5 32.f4 gxf4 33.h4
Rf7 34.Rf3 Ae5 35.Te1 Rf6 36.h5 Ad6 37.Ah4+ Rf7 38.Ag5 Th8 39.h6 gxh6 40.Axf4 Axf4 41.Rxf4 h5
42.Te5 h4 43.Txf5+ Re6 44.Txc5 h3 45.Te5+ Rd6 46.Te1 Rc5 47.Th1 Rd4 48.Rg3 Re3 49.Txh3
Tg8+ 50.Rh2+ Rd2 51.Tg3 Th8+ 52.Rg2 Rxc2 53.d4 a4 54.bxa4 b3 55.Rf3 b2 56.Tg1 Tg8 57.Th1
Th8 58.Tg1 Rd3 59.Tb1 Tf8+ 60.Rg4 Rc2 61.Th1 b1D 62.Txb1 Rxb1 0-1 Navarro Torres,P (2210)-
Jones,G (2562)/Gibraltar 2008/CBM 122 Extra]
13...Axg7 14.bxc3 Tg8N Novedad, se había jugado en una partida 14...Dd7 [14...Dd7 15.f5 Dc6
16.Cf4 Axc3 17.fxe6 0-0-0 18.exf7 Axa1 19.Dg4+ Dd7 20.Ce6 Ad4+ 21.Rh1 Ad5 22.Te1 Thf8 23.c4
Axe6 24.Txe6 Txf7 0-1 Jotic,V (2277)-Ermenkov,E (2460)/Subotica 2002/CBM 087 ext]
15.Tf2 Refuerza el punto critico g2.
15...Axc3! Diagrama
Movimiento táctico, el motivo es la torre indefensa de a1.
16.Cxc3 Las blancas ganan pieza
16...Dd4 Clava la torre de f2 creando la amenaza Txg2+, por otro lado el caballo indefenso se
encuentra bajo la supervisión de la dama negra.
17.Rf1 La defensa con g3 debilitaría la gran diagonal, por ese motivo Tiviakov prefiere desplazar el
rey hacia f1. [17.g3 Dxc3 18.Tb1 Dd4 ]
17...Dxc3 18.Ta2 Dd4 La dama debe retornar a d4 ante la amenaza Ab2 dejando la dama
descoordinada en el flanco dama.
19.Dh5 [19.De2 Dd5 ]
19...c4! Es necesario debilitar las casillas blancas en el centro.
20.bxc4 La captura en h7 es un grave error como se puede ver en la siguiente variante. [20.Dxh7?
Th8 21.Dxh8+ Dxh8 22.bxc4 bxc4-+ ]
20...bxc4 21.Ta4 [21.Dxh7? Th8 22.Ae3 Df6 23.Dxh8+ Dxh8-+ ]
21...Ad5 22.f5 [22.Dxh7? Th8 23.Ae3 Df6 24.Dxh8+ Dxh8 25.dxc4 Ac6-+ ]
22...e5 23.Dxh7 [23.g3 Tb8 24.Te2 Tb1= ]
23...Rd7 El rey no corre peligro en el centro ya que las columnas centrales no están abiertas.
24.Dh6? Diagrama
Un error, correcto era el avance f6 despejando la casilla f5. [>=24.f6 Defiende indirectamente el
punto g2. 24...Tab8 25.Dh3+ Rc7 26.De3 Tb1 27.De1 Dc5 28.Ta5 (28.dxc4 Ac6 29.Ta5 Dxc4+
30.Rg1 De4-+ ) 28...Dc6 29.Dxe5+ Rb6 30.Ta1 Txc1+ 31.Txc1 Axg2+ 32.Txg2 Dxg2+ 33.Re1 c3
34.Dd6+ Ra7 35.De7+ Ra8-+ ]
24...Axg2+!-+ Diagrama
Aniquilación de la defensa.
25.Re1 La torre no debe ser capturada. [25.Txg2? Txg2 26.De3 La captura de la torre llevaría a la
aniquilación de la defensa del rey blanco. (26.Rxg2 Tg8+ 27.Ag5 Dg4+ 28.Rf1 Txg5-+ ) 26...Dxe3
27.Axe3 Txc2 28.Txc4 Txh2-+ ]
25...Ad5 El alfil se retira despejando la columna "g"
26.Aa3? Diagrama
El alfil se aleja de la defensa de las casillas oscuras cercanas al rey blanco, sumado a la debilidad de
las casillas blancas existente, el final del rey blanco esta cerca. [26.De3 Tg1+ 27.Tf1 Dh4+ 28.Df2
Dxf2+ 29.Rxf2 Tg2+ 30.Re3-+ ]
26...Tg1+ Shirov inicia el aislamiento del rey blanco.
27.Re2 [27.Tf1 Dc3+ 28.Rf2 Tg2+ 29.Re3 Dd2# ]
27...Dg4+ Inicia el encaminamiento del rey blanco hacia el flanco dama.
28.Re3 [28.Rd2 Td1+ 29.Re3 Te1+ 30.Rd2 Dd1+ 31.Rc3 Da1+ 32.Ab2 Dxa4 33.Db6 cxd3 34.Dd6+
Rxd6 35.Rd2 Te2+ 36.Txe2 Dxc2+ 37.Re3 Dxe2# ]
28...Te1+ 29.Rd2 Dd1+ 30.Rc3 Da1+ 31.Rb4 De regresar a d2 recibiría mate con c3. [31.Ab2 Dxa4
32.Db6 cxd3 33.Rd2 Te2+ 34.Txe2 Dxc2+ 35.Re1 Dxe2# ; 31.Rd2 c3# ]
31...Tb1+ Tiviakov abandonó. [31...Tb1+ 32.Ab2 (32.Rc5 Dd4# ; 32.Ra5 Tb5# ) 32...Dxb2+ 33.Rc5
Dd4# ] 0-1
IM Héctor Leyva
19 de Enero de 2010
(8) Shirov,Alexei (2723) - Smeets,Jan (2657) [C42]

Corus A Wijk aan Zee (4), 19.01.2010
[M.I. Wilfredo Sariego Figueredo]
1.e4 e5 2.Cf3 Cf6 Estamos en presencia de la sólida Defensa Petroff ó Rusa
3.Cxe5 d6 4.Cf3 Cxe4 5.d4 [La alternativa es 5.Cc3 como Caruana le jugara a Kramnik en la ronda
anterior. 5...Cxc3 6.dxc3 Ae7 7.Ae3 0-0 8.Dd2 Cd7 9.0-0-0 Te8 10.h4 c6 11.Ad3 Da5 12.Rb1 Ce5
13.Cxe5 dxe5 14.De2 Ae6 15.Ac4 Axc4 16.Dxc4 Tad8 17.h5 Txd1+ 18.Txd1 Td8 19.Td3 a6 20.Dg4
Dc7 21.De4 g6 22.g4 Txd3 23.cxd3 Dd7 24.Dxe5 Dxd3+ 25.Rc1 Dd6 26.De4 De6 27.Dxe6 fxe6
28.Rc2 gxh5 29.gxh5 e5 30.Rd3 Rf7 31.Re4 1/2-1/2 Caruana,F (2675)-Kramnik,V (2788)/Wijk aan
Zee NED 2010]
5...d5 6.Ad3 Cc6 [A un juego más agudo lleva 6...Ad6 ]
7.0-0 Ae7 8.c4 Cb4 9.Ae2 [Las alternativas son 9.cxd5 contra esta jugada Smeets el pasado año le
ganó una partida a Adams, veamos 9...Cxd3 10.Dxd3 Dxd5 11.Te1 Af5 12.Ce5 0-0-0 13.Df3 g6
14.g4 Ab4 15.Te2 Axg4 16.Cxg4 Cc3 17.Dxd5 Cxe2+ 18.Rf1 Txd5 19.Rxe2 Txd4 20.Ce3 Th4-/+ 0-1
Adams,M (2699)-Smeets,J (2632)/London ENG 2009 (49); por su parte 9.Te1 fue jugado por Leinier
frente a Kramnik en la primera ronda de este torneo. 9...Cxd3 10.Dxd3 c6 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.Db5+ Dd7
13.Db3 0-0 14.Cc3 Cxc3 15.bxc3 Te8 16.Aa3 Axa3 17.Dxa3 b6 18.h3 h6 19.Tab1 Dc6 20.Txe8+
Dxe8 21.Te1 Df8 22.Da4 Ae6 23.Te3 1/2-1/2 Domínguez Pérez, L (2712)-Kramnik, V (2788)/Wijk aan
Zee NED 2010]
9...0-0 10.Cc3 Af5 11.a3 Esta jugada obliga al cambio en c3, ya que se perdería el peón en d5.
11...Cxc3 12.bxc3 Cc6 13.Te1 La torre va en busca de una mejor ubicación.
13...Te8 14.cxd5 [También se emplea directamente 14.Af4 como en esta partida: 14...dxc4 15.Axc4
Ad6 16.Txe8+ Dxe8 17.Ch4 Ca5 18.Cxf5 Cxc4 19.Df3 Tb8 20.Ah6 g6 21.Ce3 Cxe3 22.fxe3 De7
23.h3 Dh4 24.Af4 Axf4 25.exf4 De7 26.f5 Te8 27.fxg6 1/2-1/2 Jakovenko,D (2736)-Gelfand,B
(2758)/Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2009]
14...Dxd5 15.Af4 Tac8 16.h3 Jugada profiláctica patentada por Kramnik frente a Anand,
precisamente en el torneo Corus pero del año 2003 [Las alternativas son: 16.Da4 Ad7 17.Dc2 Df5
18.Dxf5 Axf5 19.Ab5 Ad7 20.d5 Ce5 21.Axd7 Cxd7 22.Axc7 Txc7 23.d6 Txc3 24.dxe7 f6 25.Tad1
Tc7 26.Cd4 Ce5 27.f4 Cc6 28.Cxc6 bxc6=/+ 1/2-1/2 Anand,V (2792)-Kramnik,V (2769)/México 2007
(65); y 16.Ad3 Dd7 17.Tb1 b6 18.d5 Axd3 19.Dxd3 Axa3 20.Cg5 g6 21.Ce4 Df5 22.Axc7 Txc7
23.Cf6+ Dxf6 24.Txe8+ Rg7 25.dxc6 Ac5 26.Tb2 Txc6 27.Dd8 Dxd8 28.Txd8 a5 29.Rf1 a4 30.Re2 a3
31.Ta2 b5 32.Tb8 Ad6 33.Txb5 Txc3 34.Rd2 Tc6 35.g3 h5 36.Rd1 h4 37.Ta5 hxg3 38.hxg3 Tb6
39.Tc2 Tb1+ 40.Re2 Tb2 41.Rd3 Ab4 42.Ta4 Ae1 43.Txa3 Txc2 44.Rxc2 Axf2 1/2-1/2 Leko,P (2752)-
Gelfand,B (2758)/Moscow RUS 2009]
16...h6 Esta jugada fue introducida por Motylev en una partida contra Kasparov en el año 2004 y su
objetivo es mantener la posición sin comprometer sus alfiles. [16...Af6?! ; 16...Ae4 ]
17.Cd2 Una jugada que tiene como objetivo llevar el caballo hasta la casilla e3 para desde ahí
presionar sobre las casillas centrales.
17...Ca5 [La mencionada partida de Motylev, continuó 17...Dd7 18.Cc4 Ad6 19.Dd2 (19.Axd6 cxd6
20.Ce3 Tcd8 21.Da4 d5 22.Cxf5 Dxf5 23.Db3 Dd7 24.Ag4 Txe1+ 25.Txe1 Dc7 26.Af3 Dd7 27.a4 g6
28.h4 h5 29.Te3 b6 30.Db5+/= 1/2-1/2 Cheparinov,I (2696) -Gashimov,V (2703)/Elista 2008 (68))
19...Axf4 20.Dxf4 Te4 21.Dg3 Tce8 22.Ce3 T4e7 23.Ab5 a6 24.Ac4 Ca5 25.Aa2 Ae6= 1/2-1/2
Kasparov,G (2813)-Motylev,A (2651)/Moscow 2004 (76)]
18.Cf1 [Las blancas continúan fieles a su plan. Otra posibilidad era 18.Af3 aunque el blanco no saca
nada, veamos: 18...Dd7 19.Ce4 Tcd8 20.Cg3 Ag6 21.Ah5 Ad6 22.Axd6 Txe1+ 23.Dxe1 cxd6
24.Axg6 fxg6 25.De4 Df7 26.Te1 Tf8 27.Te2 Cc4 28.a4 Cb6 29.Dc2 Cd5 30.c4 Cf4 31.Te3 Tc8 32.c5
dxc5 33.dxc5 b6 34.Ce4 bxc5 35.Tf3 Tf8 36.Cxc5 Dd5 37.Db3 Dxb3 38.Txb3 Tc8 39.Cd3 Cxd3
40.Txd3 Tc4 41.Td6 Txa4 1/2-1/2 Akopian,V (2696) -Kasimdzhanov,R (2695)/Nalchik 2009]
18...Db3 [La alternativa es 18...Dd7 19.Ce3 Ag6 20.Ag4 f5 21.Dd3 Tf8 22.Af3+/- 1-0 Ivanchuk,V
(2786)-Gelfand,B (2719)/Almaty 2008 (58)]
19.Dd2N Diagrama
[Esta jugada es Novedad. Shirov rehúsa el cambio de damas. Antes se había empleado: 19.Ce3
Dxd1 20.Axd1 Ad7 21.Cd5 Ad6 22.Ag4 Axg4 23.Axd6 cxd6 24.hxg4 1/2-1/2 Gharamian,T (2555)-
Fridman,D (2630)/Germany 2008]
19...Cc4 [Parece interesante 19...Ad6!? poniéndole freno a la presión que ejerce el alfil de f4.
20.Axd6 cxd6 21.Ce3 Ag6 22.Tac1 Da4 (También es posible 22...d5!? ) 23.c4 b5! 24.cxb5 Cb3
25.Txc8 Txc8 26.Db2 Cxd4= con posición equivalente]
20.Axc4 Dxc4 Luego de los cambios, las negras se han quedado con la pareja de alfiles, pero las
piezas menores de las blancas se encuentran muy bien posesionadas.
21.Ce3 Db5 22.c4 Dd7 23.c5!? Jugada que va dirigida a restarle fuerzas a ganar espacio y a la vez
restar fuerzas a los alfiles.
23...Ag6 24.Tac1 c6 [Era preferible 24...b6!? buscando debilitar los peones blancos.]
25.Cc4 Ahora el blanco encuentra una casilla (d6), sobre la cual presionará.
25...f6 Cuida la casilla de e5 y a la vez pretende llevar el alfil a f7.
26.Axh6!?-> Diagrama
Típica jugada del estilo agresivo de Shirov. Las blancas entregan material en busca de ataque sobre
el flanco rey.
26...gxh6 27.Dxh6 Los programas computarizados, como Rybka dan una ligera ventaja para las
negras, pero en la práctica Smeets se debe de sentir muy incómodo en la posición ya que el más
mínimo error inclinaría esta valoración.
27...Ah7 [Un error sería 27...Rf7? por 28.Txe7+ Txe7 29.Cd6++- y ahora se ve la fuerza de la casilla
d6.; mientras que si 27...Af5 28.Te3 Af8 29.Tg3+ Ag7 (29...Rf7 30.Cd6+ Axd6 (30...Re7 31.Te1++- )
31.Tg7+ Re6 32.Txd7 Rxd7 33.cxd6+- ) 30.Cd6 Ah7 31.Cxc8 Txc8 32.Te1 Rh8 33.Dh4+/= con ligera
ventaja]
28.Te3 Comienzan los "tanques" a moverse rumbo al flanco rey
28...Af8 29.Tg3+ Rh8 [La alternativa es 29...Ag7 30.Cd6 Rh8 31.Dh4~~ ]
30.Dxf6+ Ag7 31.Dg5 Axd4 [Si 31...Dxd4 32.Cd6= ]
32.Td1 La posición es bastante compleja.
32...Tf8?! Diagrama
[La torre está mejor ubicada en 32...Te2 para darle paso a la otra a la casilla f8, o en su defecto a g8,
por ejemplo 33.Rh2 Tf8 34.f4 (34.Ce5 Txe5 35.Txd4 Txg5 36.Txd7 Txg3 37.Rxg3 con un final
complejo perop favorable al negro.) 34...Tg8 35.Dh5 Txg3 36.Dxe2 Td3! (36...Tg8 37.Ce5= ) 37.Ce5
Axe5 38.Dxe5+ Rg8 39.Txd3 Axd3 40.g4~~ produciéndose otro complejo final.]
33.Rh2= Tcd8? [Esto es un error. Mejor es 33...Tce8=/+ ]
34.Ce5 [También es fuerte 34.Txd4 Dxd4 35.Ce5 Td7 36.Dh6 Tg8 (Si 36...Dxf2 37.Cg6+ Rg8 38.Tg4!
Tf6 (38...Axg6 39.Txg6+ Rf7 40.Tg7+ Re8 41.De6+ Rd8 42.Dxd7# ; 38...Tg7 39.Ce7+ Rf7 40.Txg7+ )
39.Cf4+ Ag6 40.Cxg6 Df5 41.Dh8++- ) 37.Df6+ Tgg7 38.Txg7 Txg7 39.Cf7+ Rg8 40.Ch6+ Rh8
41.Dxd4+- ganando]
34...Dc7 35.Txd4 Diagrama
Entrega que busca debilitar la octava fila.
35...Txd4 36.Cg6+ Rg7 [Si 36...Axg6 37.Dh6+ Dh7 38.Dxf8+ Aquí está el por qué de la entrega de
torre en d4 38...Dg8 39.Dh6+ Dh7 40.Txg6 Dxh6 41.Txh6+ Rg8 42.Td6!+- con un final ganador.]
37.Cxf8+ [Las negras abandonan. 37.Cxf8+ Rxf8 38.Df6+ Re8 39.Dxd4+- ganando Manzanillo, Cuba
19 de enero de 2010.] 1-0
IM W. Sariego
20 de Enero de 2009
(1) Van Wely,Loek (2641) - Carlsen,Magnus (2810) [D37]

Corus Wijk aan Zee (3), 18.01.2010
[Knaak]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 Be7 7.e3 c6 8.Qc2 0-0 9.Bd3 Re8 10.h3 Ne4!? We
used to put a plain question mark here, yet with Carlsen playing it, naturally this is not possible anymore. It
seems that the assessment "there is no need for this move, Black gets very little compensation for the pawn"
can't be maintained.
11.Bxe4 dxe4 12.Nxe4 Qa5+ 13.Kf1 Bf8! 14.Bf4?! [The engines want to play 14.g4 This looks logical: White
controls the square f5 and prepares Kg2. But what about the long-term consequences? Somewhen, Black might
have a bishop on the diagonal h1-a8.; 14.Nc3 has been played most often so far and is probably best.]
14...Qf5 15.Nfd2 Nb6 16.Rc1 [After e.g. 16.Kg1 Nd5 17.Bg3? Qg6! White is already clearly worse.]
16...Nd5 17.g4 Qg6 18.Nd6 This move looks reproachable, but the position is still balanced after all. [18.Bg3
f5 19.Nc3 [Unclear] ]
18...Rd8 19.Qxg6?! [Better is 19.Nxc8 Nxf4 20.exf4 Rxd4 21.f5 Qf6 22.Nf3 Rb4 23.b3 Rxc8 [Unclear] ]
19...hxg6 20.Nxc8 Nxf4 21.exf4 Rxd4 22.Nb3 Rb4 23.Kg2 [23.Nxa7? Rxa7 and a2 drops.]
23...Rxc8 24.Rhd1! Rxf4 25.Rd7 White now is even a pawn down, but has an active position in return. Still,
Black's position is preferable.
25...Rb4 26.Rc2 Re8 27.Rcd2 Be7! 28.Rc7 Bf6 29.Rdd7 b6 30.Rxa7 g5 31.Rd2? [Van Wely should have
captured the pawn: 31.Rxf7 [Unclear] ]
31...c5 [Black is better] 32.Ra6 c4 33.Nd4 Bxd4 34.Rxd4 Rxb2 35.Rd7? This loses outright. [Also after
35.Rxc4 Ree2 36.Kg3 Rxf2 37.Rxb6 White has to deal with big practical problems, e.g. 37...Rg2+ 38.Kf3
Rbf2+ 39.Ke4! Rf4+ 40.Kd5 Rd2+ 41.Kc5 Rxa2 , however, objectively the position is probably drawn.]
35...c3 36.Raa7 Rf8 37.Rdc7 c2 38.Kg3 Rd8 39.Rxf7 Rd3+ 40.Kg2 c1Q 0-1
Van Wely,Loek - Shirov,Alexei [A29]

[Mark Crowther]
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.0-0 Be7 8.a3 g5 9.d3 g4 10.Nd2 h5 11.b4 h4
12.Nc4 hxg3
[12...Be6 13.Nxb6 axb6 14.Bb2 f5 15.e3 Bf6 16.Ne2 Qe7 17.Qc2 0-0-0 18.Rfd1 Qf7 19.Rd2 Bb3 20.Qb1 hxg3
21.hxg3 Bd5 22.e4 fxe4 23.dxe4 Bc4 24.Qe1 Rdf8 25.Nc1 Qh5 26.Nd3 Bg5 27.Rdd1 Qh2+ 28.Kf1 Qxg3 29.f3
Rxf3+ 0-1 Stuart,P (2139)-Steadman,M (2265)/Wanganui NZL 2007/The Week in Chess 636]
13.hxg3 Nxc4
[13...f6 14.Na5 Qd7 15.Be3 Nd8 16.d4 Qf5 17.dxe5 Qh7 18.Re1 fxe5 19.Nb5 Ne6 20.Rc1 Qh2+ 21.Kf1 0-0
22.Rc3 Bg5 23.Bc5 Rf7 24.Qd3 Bd7 25.Rd1 0-1 Pathak,P (2144)-Joshi,M/Vijayawada 2000/EXT 2001]
14.dxc4 Nd4 15.Nb5 Ne6 16.Qc2
[16.Qxd8+ Bxd8 17.Be3 a5]
16...c6 17.Rd1 Bd7 18.Nd6+ Bxd6 19.Rxd6 Qe7
Alexei Shirov
Loek Van Wely
20.Qd3?!
Sacrificing the exchange, which doesn't lose but can't possibly be of any advantage to him either.
[20.Rd2]
20...Nd4 21.Rxd4 exd4 22.Qxd4 Rh5 23.Bf4 Qxe2 24.Rd1?!
[24.Bg5 seems to give white more play.]
24...Be6 25.b5 Kf8 26.Bf1 Qf3 27.Bg2 Qe2 28.Bf1 Qc2 29.bxc6 bxc6 30.Re1 Kg8
Alexei Shirov
Loek Van Wely
Position after 30...Kg8
31.Bd3?
Probably a bad move. Whether it is reasonable to expect to find the computer line that probably equalises is
another matter.
[31.Bb8 Rxb8 32.Rxe6 fxe6 33.Qxg4+ Kf8 34.Qf4+ Kg7 35.Qc7+ Kh6 36.Qxb8= is just a ridiculous computer
line.]
31...Qb3 32.Bd2 c5 33.Qd6?
[33.Qf4 Qxd3 34.Rxe6 Qf3 35.Qxf3 gxf3 36.Rh6 Rxh6 37.Bxh6]
33...Bxc4
[33...Bd5 34.cxd5 Qxd3]
34.Be4 Bd5 35.Qf4 Bxe4 36.Rxe4 Qd1+ 37.Be1 Qf3 38.Qxg4+ Qxg4 39.Rxg4+ Kf8
White is just the exchange down. Black is winning, and you can also be pretty certain that Shirov will bring
home the bacon. It is one of the merits of being certain of your technique.
40.Bd2 Rc8 41.Rc4 Ke7 42.g4 Rd5 43.Be3 Kd6 44.Kf1 Rd1+ 45.Ke2 Ra1 46.Ra4 c4 47.Kd2 c3+ 48.Kc2 Ra2+
49.Kd3 c2 50.Bc1 Ra1 51.Rd4+ Ke6 52.Re4+ Kf6 53.Re1
Shirov makes this ending look trivial.
53...Rb1 54.Kd2 Rb7 55.Re3 Kg5 56.f3 Kf4 57.Rd3 Kg3 58.Ke2 Re7+ 59.Kd2 Kf2 0-1
Round 5 saw a battle between World Number one Magnus Carlsen and the US Number one Hikaru Nakamura.
Nakamura played the Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez which didn't bode well for a very interesting game.
However both players showed a lot of willing and the game became exceedingly complicated. Carlsen
sacrificed a piece for three pawns which probably gave him a slight advantage although really with no real
winning chances for either side. The play was fascinating throughout and ended when they traded down to a
minor piece each.
Nakamura,Hikaru - Carlsen,Magnus [C77]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.d3 Bd6 7.Nbd2 Be6 8.0-0 0-0 9.b3 Nd7 10.Bb2 b5
[10...c5 11.a4 b6 12.Qe2 f6 13.Nc4 Nb8 14.Ne3 Nc6 15.Nf5 Qd7 16.Ng3 Nd4 17.Nxd4 cxd4 18.Bc1 g5 19.h3
c5 20.Qh5 Rf7 21.Bd2 Kh8 22.Nf5 Bxf5 23.exf5 Re7 24.Qg4 Rg8 25.Qe4 Qb7 26.Rfe1 Qxe4 27.Rxe4 Kg7
28.h4 Kf7 29.g3 Ke8 30.Kg2 h5 31.Rae1 Reg7 32.Rh1 g4 33.Ra1 Kd7 34.Be1 Kc6 35.f3 gxf3+ 36.Kxf3 Kd5
37.Bf2 Bf8 38.Rb1 Rg4 39.c4+ dxc3 40.Rc1 Bd6 41.Rxc3 R4g7 42.Rc1 Rg4 43.Rg1 Be7 44.Rc4 Bd6 45.Re1
R4g7 46.Rce4 1/2-1/2 Markovic,M (2442)-Blagojevic,D (2502)/Zlatibor SRB 2007/The Week in Chess 668]
11.d4 f6
[11...Qf6 12.Re1 Bg4 13.h3 Bh5 14.c3 Rfb8 15.Re3 c5 16.Qc2 Bg6 17.c4 cxd4 0-1 Jaederholm,B (2496)-
Savegren,K (2435)/ICCF email 2007/Corr 2008]
12.h3 c5 13.d5 Bf7 14.a4 Nb6 15.c4 c6

Very sharply played.
16.Nh4 Re8 17.Nf5 Bf8 18.Qg4 Kh8 19.f4 exf4 20.Qxf4 bxc4 21.bxc4 cxd5 22.cxd5 Qb8 23.Qh4 Nxd5
24.Rab1
Magnus Carlsen
Hikaru Nakamura
Position after 24.Rab1
24...Qb4
[24...Nb4 25.e5 fxe5 26.Nxg7 Bxg7 27.Rxf7 Ra7]
25.Bc1 Qxa4 26.exd5 Qxh4 27.Nxh4 Bxd5 28.Ba3 Re3 29.Ra1 Rd3 30.Rfd1 a5 31.Nhf3 a4 32.Rdc1 Kg8
[32...g6 33.Bxc5 Bh6 34.Rd1 a3]
33.Kf2 c4 34.Bxf8 Kxf8 35.Nxc4 Rb3 36.Nfd2 Rb4 37.Ra3 Rc8 38.Rac3 Be6 39.Na3 Rd8 40.Nf3 Rb3 41.Rxb3
axb3 42.Rc6 Bd5 43.Rb6 Rc8 44.Nb5 Rc2+ 45.Kg3 h5 46.Nbd4 Ra2 47.Ne6+ Kf7 48.Nf4 Be4 49.Rb4 h4+
50.Kg4 b2 51.Nd2 Ba8 52.Nc4 g5 53.Rxb2 Rxb2 54.Nxb2 gxf4 55.Kxf4 Bxg2 56.Kg4 f5+ 57.Kxf5 Bxh3+
58.Kg5 Be6 59.Kxh4 1/2-1/2
Viswanathan Anand played a Ruy Lopez Berlin Defence against Peter Leko and was in little or no trouble
throughout before they agreed a draw on move 28 in the first game to finish.
Leko,Peter - Anand,Viswanathan [C64]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Bc5 5.c3 0-0 6.d4 Bb6 7.dxe5 Nxe4 8.Qd5 Nc5 9.Re1 a6
[9...Ne7]
10.Bf1
[10.Bg5]
10...d6 11.exd6
[11.Bg5 Be6 (11...Qd7 12.exd6 Qxd6 13.Qxd6 cxd6 14.Na3 d5 15.Rad1 Be6 16.Be3 Rfe8 17.Nc2 Na4 18.Bc1
Re7 19.Ncd4 Nxd4 20.Nxd4 Rae8 21.h3 Kf8 22.g4 Nc5 23.Bg5 f6 24.Be3 Bc8 25.Bg2 Na4 26.Re2 Re5 27.Bf3
Bd7 28.Rc2 Ba7 29.Kg2 g5 30.b3 Nb6 31.Rcd2 Rc8 32.Ne2 Bc6 33.Bd4 a5 34.a4 Re6 35.Bc5+ Kf7 36.Nd4 1-0
Jonovic,P (1999)-Davide,R (2075)/ICCF email 2001/Corr 2006) 12.Qd1 Qb8 13.exd6 cxd6 14.Bf4 Qa7 15.Na3
d5 16.Nc2 Rfe8 17.Nfd4 Bd7 18.Be3 Ne4 19.Qh5 Nf6 20.Qh4 Ng4 21.Bd3 g6 22.Rad1 Rac8 23.h3 Nxe3
24.Nxe3 Bxd4 25.cxd4 Be6 26.Be2 Qb6 27.Bf3 Qxb2 28.Bxd5 Bxd5 29.Nxd5 Rxe1+ 30.Rxe1 Rd8 31.Nf6+
Kf8 32.Qh6# 1-0 Baer,W-Luetz,M/DESC email 2007/Corr 2008]
11...Be6 12.Qd1 Qxd6 13.Qxd6 cxd6 14.Be3 Ba7 15.a4 Nb3 16.Ra3 Bxe3 17.Rxe3 Nc5 18.Nbd2 Rfd8 19.a5
Rac8 20.b4 Nd7 21.Ng5 Nf8 22.Nxe6 Nxe6 23.g3 Na7 24.c4 d5 25.Red3 dxc4 26.Nxc4 Nc6 27.Rab3 g6
28.Kg2
The position doesn't look very interesting.
1/2-1/2
Viswanathan Anand
Peter Leko
Final Position
After his fiasco against Hikaru Nakamura Nigel Short decided to fianchetto on the King's side against Vassily
Ivanchuk's Sicilian Defence. This provided Short with a position much more to his liking. Short kept a good
grip on the position and they ended up in a double rook ending where only Short could win but it was more
drawish than anything else. Short won a pawn but Ivanchuk is very precise in such endings and it seems that he
was just in time to hold the position.
Short,Nigel - Ivanchuk,Vassily [B40]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 d5 4.exd5 exd5 5.d4 Nc6 6.Bg2 Bd6 7.0-0 Nge7 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Nbd2 0-0 10.Nb3 Bb6
11.Re1 Bg4
[11...d4 12.Ng5 Bf5 13.Ne4 Rc8 14.a3 Ne5 15.Bf4 Nc4 16.Qf3 Qd7 17.h3 Ng6 18.Rab1 Bxh3 19.Bh6 Qf5
20.Bg5 Qxf3 21.Bxf3 f6 22.Bc1 Rfe8 23.Nbd2 Nce5 24.Bd1 Rcd8 25.b4 d3 26.c4 Bd4 27.Bb2 Bxb2 28.Rxb2
Nc6 29.Re3 f5 30.Ng5 Rxe3 31.fxe3 Bg4 32.Bb3 Nce5 33.Kf2 h6 34.c5+ Kh8 35.Ne6 Rc8 36.Nd4 Ne7 37.Nc4
N7c6 38.Nd6 Rb8 39.Rd2 Ne7 40.Nf7+ Nxf7 41.Bxf7 g5 42.Rxd3 Rf8 43.Be6 h5 44.Nf3 Bxf3 45.Kxf3 Nc6
46.Rd5 Rf6 47.Bc8 Rf7 48.b5 Na5 49.Rd7 Rxd7 50.Bxd7 Kg7 51.Bxf5 Kf6 52.Ke4 Nc4 53.a4 b6 54.cxb6 axb6
55.Bh3 g4 56.Bg2 Ke6 57.Kf4 Kd6 58.Bf1 Nb2 59.Kg5 Nd1 60.e4 Nc3 61.Kxh5 Nxa4 62.Kxg4 Ke5 63.Bd3
Nc5 64.Bc2 Ne6 65.Kh5 Nc7 66.g4 Nxb5 67.g5 Nd6 68.g6 Kf6 69.Kh6 Ne8 70.Ba4 Nd6 71.Bc6 Nc8 72.g7
Ne7 73.Ba4 Ke5 74.Bc2 Kd4 75.Kh7 Kc3 76.Bb1 Kb2 77.g8Q Nxg8 78.Kxg8 Kxb1 79.e5 b5 80.e6 b4 81.e7
b3 82.e8Q b2 83.Kf7 Ka2 84.Qa4+ Kb1 85.Ke6 Kc1 86.Qc4+ Kd1 87.Qb3+ Kc1 88.Qc3+ Kb1 89.Ke5 Ka2
90.Qc2 1-0 Kazhgaleyev,M (2585)-Sandipan,C (2427)/Calcutta IND 2001/The Week in Chess 354]
12.h3 Bh5 13.c3 a5 14.a4 h6 15.Be3 Bxe3 16.Rxe3 Qb6 17.g4 Bg6 18.Nfd4 Rad8 19.Qe2 Nxd4 20.Nxd4 Nc6
21.Rd1 Rd7 22.h4 Qc7 23.h5 Bh7 24.Rd2 Qf4 25.Qf3 Qxf3 26.Bxf3 Rfd8 27.Kh2 Kf8 28.Kg3 Nxd4 29.Rxd4
Bc2 30.Re2 Bb3 31.Red2 Rd6 32.Bd1 Bxd1 33.Rxd1
White has a comfortable edge with which to work with. However double rook endings are notoriously drawish.
33...Ke7 34.f3 R8d7 35.R1d2 b6 36.f4 Kf6 37.Kh4 Ke7 38.g5 Rd8 39.Kg4 R8d7 40.f5 hxg5 41.Kxg5 Rd8
42.c4 f6+ 43.Kg6 Rh8 44.Kxg7 Rxh5 45.Rxd5 Rxd5 46.Rxd5
Vassily Ivanchuk
Nigel Short
Position after 46.Rxd5
White has won a pawn but it looks like it isn't quite enough to win.
46...Rg5+ 47.Kh6 Rg4 48.b3 Rg3 49.Rb5 Rg5 50.Rxb6 Rxf5 51.Rb5 Rf3 52.Kh5 f5 53.Kg6 Ke6 54.Kg5 Kd7
55.Kf6 Kd6 56.Rb6+ Kc7 57.Rb5 Kd6 58.Rd5+ Kc6 59.Ke5 Rxb3 60.Rxa5 f4 61.Kd4 Ra3 62.Rf5 Rxa4
63.Rxf4 1/2-1/2
Vladimir Kramnik made it pretty clear today that he was prepared to take a few risks in order to try and win
against Jan Smeets. The Pirc Defence is something he hasn't played before, at least in recent times. Kramnik got
the unbalanced position he was looking for Smeets could probably have held with 21.Rbxb2 but then suddenly
found hidden difficulties and was gradually ground down.
Smeets,Jan - Kramnik,Vladimir [B07]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 a6 5.Be2 Bg7 6.Qd2
[6.h4 h5 7.Nh3 Nc6 8.f4 Ng4 9.Bg1 e5 10.dxe5 Qxh4+ 11.Bf2 Nxf2 12.Nxf2 Qd8 13.exd6 cxd6 14.Nd5 Be6
15.c3 Bxd5 16.Qxd5 Qb6 17.Qb3 Qa7 18.f5 gxf5 19.Rxh5 Rxh5 20.Bxh5 Ne5 21.Qe6+ Kf8 22.Qxf5 d5
23.Ke2 Re8 24.Rd1 Nc4 25.Ng4 Nxb2 26.Rf1 Re7 27.Ne3 Qc5 28.Nxd5 Qc4+ 29.Kf2 Qc5+ 30.Kg3 Be5+
31.Kh3 Nd3 32.Bxf7 Nf4+ 33.Rxf4 Bxf4 34.Bg6+ Kg7 35.Qf6+ Kh6 36.Bf5+ 1-0 Armanda,I (2337)-Biti,O
(2327)/Pula CRO 2001/The Week in Chess 359]
6...b5 7.Bh6 0-0 8.e5
[8.Bxg7 Kxg7 9.a3 c5 10.Bf3 e5 11.d5 Nbd7 12.Nge2 Rb8 13.0-0 Nb6 14.b3 Ng8 15.Ng3 h5 16.h3 h4 17.Nh1
Nh6 18.Be2 g5 19.f3 Rg8 20.Nf2 Nd7 21.a4 b4 22.Ncd1 Nf8 23.Ne3 Ng6 24.Nfg4 Nf4 25.Bc4 a5 26.Rae1 f6
27.Rf2 1/2-1/2 Filipovic,I (2116)-Ivanovic,J (2169)/Jahorina BIH 2003/The Week in Chess 451]
8...dxe5 9.Bxg7 Kxg7 10.Bf3 c6 11.dxe5 Qxd2+ 12.Kxd2 Rd8+ 13.Ke3 Ng4+ 14.Bxg4 Bxg4 15.h3 Bf5 16.g4
Bxc2 17.Rc1 b4 18.Rxc2 bxc3 19.Nf3
[19.Rxc3 Rd1 leads to a bind for black but he has his own developmental problems too. 20.f4 Ra7 21.Rb3 Nd7
22.Rc3 f6 23.exf6+ exf6 24.Rxc6]
19...cxb2 20.Rb1 Rd5
Vladimir Kramnik
Jan Smeets
Position after 20...Rd5

21.e6?!
[21.Rbxb2 Rb5 22.a4 Rxb2 23.Rxb2 Nd7 24.Rb7 is equal.]
21...c5 22.exf7 Nc6 23.Rbxb2 Rad8 24.Ke4 Kxf7 25.Rc3 Nd4 26.Ne5+ Ke8 27.Rb6 Nb5 28.Rc2 R5d6 29.Nc4
Rd3 30.Ne3 Ra3
Vladimir Kramnik
Jan Smeets
Position after 30...Ra3
31.Rb2
White is probably already losing.
[31.Rxc5 Nd6+ 32.Ke5 Ra4; 31.Ke5 Nd6 32.Rxc5 Ra4]
31...c4
[31...Rd4+]
32.Ke5 c3 33.Rc2 Rd2 34.Rc1 Rxf2 35.Nd5 c2 36.Nb4 Re3+ 37.Kd5 Rd2+ 38.Kc6 Rc3+ 39.Kb7 Nd6+ 40.Ka8
a5
Nicely done at the end by Kramnik.
0-1
Sergey Tiviakov against Sergei Karjakin was a Ruy Lopez Worrell Attack where black didn't experience any
problems equalising and pieces gradually disappeared until a drawn position was reached.
Tiviakov,Sergei - Karjakin,Sergey [C77]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Qe2 b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.c3 d5 8.d3 0-0 9.0-0 Bb7 10.Re1 Re8 11.Nbd2
Bf8 12.a3 Qd7 13.Ba2 Rad8
[13...h6]
14.Nf1
[14.exd5]
14...h6 15.Ng3 d4 16.Rd1
[16.c4]
16...dxc3 17.bxc3 Na5 18.Bb2 c5 19.Nf5 Qc7 20.Ne3 c4 21.dxc4 Rxd1+ 22.Rxd1 bxc4 23.Nd2 Nxe4 24.Nxe4
Bxe4 25.Nxc4 Bg6 26.h4 Nxc4 27.Qxc4 Qb6 28.Qe2 Bc5 29.Bc1 Qf6 30.Rd5 Rc8 31.Be3 Bxe3
[31...Bxa3 32.h5 Bf5 33.Ra5 Bd6 34.Rxa6 Rxc3 is also equal.]
32.Qxe3 Qxh4 33.Rxe5 Qa4 34.Qc1 Rd8 35.Rd5 Re8 36.Rd4 Qa5 37.Bc4 Rc8 38.Rd5 Qa4 39.Be2 Rb8 40.Rd4
Qe8 41.Bd3 Bxd3 42.Rxd3 Qe4 43.Qd1 Rb2 1/2-1/2
Sergey Karjakin
Sergei Tiviakov
Final Position
Fabiano Caruana must have been winning at several points during his game against Leinier Dominguez Perez.
The Exchange Gruenfeld Led to a Queen and 3 vs Queen pawn ending where the fast b-pawn proved just
enough to hold.
Caruana,Fabiano - Dominguez Perez,Leinier [E60]

[Mark Crowther]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.e3 0-0 9.0-0 Re8 10.Re1 e5 11.d5
Na5 12.e4 c6 13.b3 cxd5 14.exd5 Bg4 15.Ba3 f5 16.Bb4 e4
[16...Nd7 17.Qd2 Bxf3 18.Bxf3 Bf8 19.d6 Nc6 20.Ba3 Nd4 21.Bxb7 Qa5 22.Bb2 Rab8 23.Bg2 Bxd6 24.Rad1
Ba3 25.Bxa3 Qxa3 26.Ne2 Nxe2+ 27.Rxe2 Nf6 28.Bd5+ Kg7 29.Bc4 Ne4 30.Qe3 Re7 31.f3 Nf6 32.Qc3 Qc5+
33.Kg2 Rc8 34.Rde1 Rce8 35.Rd1 Rc8 36.Red2 Rcc7 37.Rd8 Rc8 38.R8d6 Rc6 39.Rd8 Rc8 40.R8d6 1/2-1/2
Asis Gargatagli,H (2374)-Kalod,R (2486)/Sabadell ESP 2007/The Week in Chess 668]
17.Bxa5 Qd6 18.Rb1 exf3 19.Bf1 a6 20.Re6 Rxe6 21.dxe6 Qc6 22.e7 Re8 23.Bxb6 Bxc3 24.Bd4 Bxd4
25.Qxd4 f4 26.Re1 b5 27.Qxf4 Be6 28.Qf6 Bd7 29.Qe5 Kf7 30.Re3 Qf6 31.Qd5+ Be6 32.Qb7 Bf5 33.Qxf3
Rxe7 34.Rxe7+ Kxe7 35.h4 Bd7 36.Qe3+ Kf8 37.Bg2 Qa1+ 38.Kh2 Qxa2 39.Qd4 Ke7 40.Qg7+ Kd8 41.Qxh7
Be8 42.Qa7 Qxb3 43.Qxa6 Qb4 44.Qb6+ Ke7 45.Qc7+ Kf8 46.Qe5 Qd2 47.Qf6+ Kg8 48.Be4 b4 49.Bxg6
Bxg6 50.Qxg6+
Fabio Caruana
Position after 50.Qxg6+
50...Kh8 51.Qf6+ Kh7 52.g4
[52.Qf7+ Kh8 53.h5 Qc3 54.g4 b3 55.g5 Qe5+ 56.f4 Qe2+ 57.Kg3 Qe3+ 58.Kg4 Qe2+ 59.Kf5 Qd3+ 60.Ke5
Qe3+ 61.Kd5 Qd2+ 62.Kc4 is equal.]
52...b3 53.g5 b2 54.Qf7+ Kh8 55.g6 Qh6 56.Qf6+ Kg8 57.Qe6+ Kg7 58.Qf7+ 1/2-1/2
(10) Smeets,J (2657) - Kramnik,V (2788) [B07]

[M.F Antonio Torrecillas]
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Cf6 3.Cc3 g6 Se me hace raro ver a Kramnik jugando una Pirc. En su repertorio se
encuentran especialmente Españolas y Petrov acompañadas de alguna Siciliana o Escandinava.
4.Ae3 El jugador holandés prefiere jugar algo diferente a lo que está habituado. Seguramente temió
alguna preparación del rival y decidió cambiar al plan "B". [Según mi base de datos, el arma principal
de Smeets contra la Pirc es el ataque austriaco: 4.f4 ; Tengo una partida blitz de Smeets con otra
jugada: 4.Ae2 Ag7 5.g4 d5 6.e5 Ce4 7.f4 c5 8.Cxe4 dxe4 9.d5 e6 10.c4 Dh4+ 11.Rf1 g5 12.Dc2 exd5
13.cxd5 Axg4 14.Axg4 Dxg4 15.Dxe4 gxf4 16.Cf3 Dg6 17.Da4+ Cd7 18.Axf4 b5 19.Dd1 De4 20.Ag3
Axe5 21.Rf2 Axg3+ 22.hxg3 0-0-0 23.Te1 Df5 24.a4 Cf6 25.axb5 Ce4+ 26.Txe4 Dxe4 27.Txa7 Txd5
28.Da1 Dc2+ 29.Re3 Te8+ 30.Rf4 Tf5+ 31.Rg4 De4+ 32.Rh3 Th5+ 33.Rg2 De2+ 34.Rg1 De3+
35.Rg2 De2+ 36.Rg1 De3+ 37.Rg2 De2+ 38.Rg1 1/2-1/2 Smeets,J-Mamedyarov,S ICC 2007.]
4...a6 En esta posición Kramnik escoge una línea menos popular que las alternativas: [4...Ag7 ; y:
4...c6 ]
5.Ae2 Esta jugada me sorprende. Estamos en la jugada 5 y los jugadores han conseguido una
posición con muy pocos antecedentes teóricos. [Una interesante alternativa es: 5.a4!? Ag7 6.h3 0-0
7.Cf3 ; Y también se juega mucho: 5.Cf3!? Ag7 6.Dd2 ]
5...Ag7 6.Dd2 b5 7.Ah6 0-0! [Comer el peón deja al negro con problemas: 7...Axh6?! 8.Dxh6 b4
9.Cd5! Cxe4 10.Af3! y lo mejor que tiene el negro es devolver el peón con: 10...e6 11.Axe4 exd5
12.Axd5+/- ]
8.e5!? El blanco expone (debilita) su peón "e" para tratar de activar su alfil por la gran diagonal. [Hay
una partida entre jugadores amateurs con: 8.Af3 e5 9.Axg7 Rxg7 10.h4 h5 11.0-0-0~~ Poner el alfil
en f3 y que el negro juegue ...e5 deja a este alfil con pocas opciones de participar activamente en la
lucha.; Una continuación tranquila es: 8.Axg7 Rxg7 9.a3 Ab7 10.De3 Cbd7 aunque el negro parece
tener una buena posición.]
8...dxe5 9.Axg7 Rxg7 10.Af3 c6 11.dxe5 Dxd2+ 12.Rxd2 Td8+ 13.Re3
13...Cg4+! Obliga al cambio del alfil que dominaba la gran diagonal blanca. [13...Cfd7 14.Td1 Tf8
15.Rf4~~ parece extraño, pero no veo que el negro pueda aprovechar la posición del Rf4.]
14.Axg4 Axg4 15.h3 Af5
16.g4!? Una decisión valiente, el blanco da un peón para tratar de encerrar el alfil negro y activar sus
piezas.
16...Axc2 17.Tc1 b4 18.Txc2! El blanco sigue sacrificando su peón. [Si: 18.Cce2 Td3+! 19.Rf4 Ad1
20.Cg3 Cd7 21.Txc6 Td5! y las piezas negras son mucho más activas que las blancas.]
18...bxc3 19.Cf3! [19.Txc3? Td1! es muy molesto porque la clavada paraliza el ala de rey blanca.]
19...cxb2 20.Tb1 Td5! Con esta jugada se prepara ...c5 y se apunta al peón e5.
21.e6 [La alternativa es: 21.Tbxb2!? Cd7! 22.e6 (22.Txc6 Cxe5-/+ ) 22...Ce5 23.exf7 Tad8 24.Cxe5
Txe5+ 25.Rf4 Tb5 26.Tb3 Td6=/+ donde el negro quedará con peón de ventaja (cuando coma en f7),
pero el blanco tiene opciones de tablas en el final de torres.]
21...c5! 22.exf7 Cc6 23.Tbxb2 Tad8 24.Re4 Rxf7 El negro ha obtenido finalmente un final con un
peón de ventaja en el que ha conseguido activar sus piezas. El problema es su mala estructura de
peones (4 islas). [Rybka sugiere: 24...Cb4!? dado que el Pf7 no va a escapar.]
25.Tc3 Cd4 26.Ce5+ Re8 27.Tb6 Cb5 28.Tc2?! Aquí el blanco da un primer paso en falso. [28.Te3!?
T5d6 29.Txd6 Cxd6+! (29...exd6 30.Cc6 Td7 31.Rd5+ Rf7 32.Cb8 Tb7!<=> (32...Ta7? 33.a4 Cd4
34.Rxd6+/- ) 33.Cxa6 Ta7 34.Tb3 Txa6 35.Txb5 Txa2 36.Rxd6 Txf2 37.Txc5= ) 30.Rf4 con un final
mejor para el negro, pero donde el blanco tiene opciones de tablas.]
28...T5d6 29.Cc4 Td3! 30.Ce3! Diagrama

[Si: 30.Txa6 T8d4+ 31.Re5 Rf7! y el rey blanco se ve envuelto en una red de mate con Cc3, Te4.]
30...Ta3 31.Tb2? Diagrama
Y este segundo error decanta la partida del lado negro. [Resiste más: 31.Txc5! Txa2 32.Rf3 Tdd2
33.Rg3 ya que si: 33...Txf2 viene: 34.Txa6 Txa6 35.Rxf2-/+ ]
31...c4! 32.Re5 [No se puede: 32.Cxc4?? Td4+ 33.Re5 Txc4-+ ]
32...c3 La partida está decidida, el Pc es muy fuerte.
33.Tc2 Td2 34.Tc1 Txf2 35.Cd5 c2 36.Cb4 Te3+! El negro va a obligar al rey blanco a dejar el
centro para trasladarlo hacia la columna "a".
37.Rd5 Td2+ 38.Rc6 Tc3+ 39.Rb7 Cd6+ 40.Ra8 [40.Rxa6?? Ta3# ]
40...a5 [Tras: 40...a5 41.Cc6 Td1 el negro gana torre.] 0-1
FM Antonio Torrecillas
Barcelona, a 22 de Enero del 2010
(2) Dominguez Perez,Leinier - Tiviakov,Sergei [E11]
[M.I Hector Leyva]
1.d4 No se conoce partida donde el cubano haya empleado la salida 1.d4, solo en una
partida en el 2003, pero nada oficial, ya que solo fue empleada en una partida corta de
tablas acordada. Aqunque en la Megabase Inforchess aparecen tres partidas que
fueron jugadas por Lenier contra Moroavich y Kamsky de partidas a tres minutos en ICC
(www.chessclub.com) Este cambio se fundamenta en la estabilidad proyectada por Tiviakov jugando
la defensa Escandinava, cuando se busca en la Megabase se puede observar que Tiviakov no varia
su repertorio contra 1.d4, cuando las blancas desarrollan el caballo 3.Cc3 juega la defensa
Nimzoindia y contra 3.Cf3 la defensa india de Dama 3...b6 y la Bogoindia 3...Ab4+, contra jugadores
de repertorio predecible es fácil prepararse, estas fueron las razones que deben haber llevado al
cubano a cambiar su repertorio.
1...Cf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Este es otro punto importante en la preparación de la partida, Tiviakov cuando
las blancas juegan 3.Cf3 juega la defensa india de dama, pero cuando las blancas eligen 3.g3
entonces responden con 3...d5 para seguir con el jaque en b4 con el alfil, entrando en la defensa
Bogoindia, este es un aspecto importante en la preparación de una partida, un orden correcto limita
las posibilidades de respuestas del rival.
3...d5 4.Cf3 Ab4+ Nada nuevo, Tiviakov se decide por la Bogoindia, como lo ha empleado en
diversas partidas.
5.Ad2 Ae7 6.Ag2 c6 Hasta aquí no hay nasa nuevo, Tiviakov había jugado varias partidas idénticas
a esta posición.
7.Af4! Esto es una sorpresa, a Tiviakov solo le habían jugado Dc2, 0-0, Db3 El desarrollo del alfil sin
enrocar es una sutileza, acorde con la preparación, Tiviakov suele emplear el movimiento b6 para
desarrollar el alfil de c8 y luego desarrollar el caballo de b8 a d7, por lo que, no hay porque
preocuparse en defender el peón de c4 con Db3 o Dc2
7...Cbd7 [7...dxc4 8.Ce5 ]
8.0-0N Novedad [8.Cc3 dxc4 9.e4 b5 10.d5 cxd5 11.exd5 Cc5 12.0-0 Cxd5 13.Cxd5 exd5 14.Cd4
Ab7 15.Cxb5 0-0 16.Cc7 Tc8 17.Cxd5 Cd3 18.Cf6+ Axf6 19.Axb7 Cxf4 20.Axc8 Dxd1 21.Tfxd1 Txc8
22.gxf4 Axb2 Postny,E (2651)-Efimenko,Z (2654)/Novi Sad 2009/Mega2009 Update 43/0-1 (63)]
8...dxc4 [8...b6 ]
9.a4 Diagrama
La posición se ha transformado en estructura de la defensa Eslava, lo cual no es familiar para
Tiviakov, esta fue la idea en la preparación de Dominguez.
9...Cd5 10.Cc3 0-0 11.Cd2 El peón de c4 no puede ser defendido, si el caballo de d5 es cambiado
por su homologo de c3 entonce el alfil de g2 quedará libre y el avance b7-b5 no seria posible.
11...Ab4 [11...Cxf4 12.gxf4 Db6 13.Cxc4 Db4 14.Dd3 ]
12.Cxc4! Diagrama
Las blancas sacrifican un peón para dar riendas suelta a la ventaja en desarrollo.
12...Cxc3?!
Tiviakov acepta la oferta, pero es una decisión errada, era mejor eliminar el alfil de f4. [12...Cxf4
13.gxf4 ; 12...Axc3 13.bxc3 Cxc3 14.Dd3 Cd5 15.Ad6 Te8 16.Aa3 y a pesar del peón de más de las
negras las blancas están mejor dado que ocuparan las columnas abiertas del flanco de dama
ejerciendo una gran presión en todo el flanco. Las amenazas directas son Cd6 y e4 desalojando la
unica pieza activa que tiene el negro. ]
13.bxc3 Axc3 14.Tc1 La torre mejora su posición atacando el alfil, esto implica un tiempo extra para
las blancas.
14...Ab4 [14...Aa5 15.e4 ]
15.Db3 a5 [15...Ae7 16.a5 Aumenta la restricción en el flanco dama.; 15...De7 16.a5 Nuevamente la
restricción del flanco dama se incrementa.]
16.e4 Cb6 Las negras tienen una posición restringida por lo que debían buscar actividad para sus
piezas, era preferible el avance b5. [16...b5 17.axb5 cxb5 18.Cd6 Cb6 (18...g5 19.e5 Tb8 20.Cxc8
Txc8 21.Txc8 Dxc8 22.Axg5+/= ) 19.Tc6 (19.e5 Tb8 20.h4 Axd6 21.exd6 Ad7 22.Tc7 b4 23.Te1 h6 A
cambio del peón las piezas blancas tienen mayor control de la posición. (23...Ca4 24.d5+/= ) )
19...Aa6 20.d5 Cc4 21.dxe6 fxe6 22.e5 Rh8 23.Td1 Axd6 24.exd6 e5 25.Ac1© ]
17.Ce5 Cuando un bando se encuentra atrasado en desarrollo, los cambios de piezas hay que
eludirlos.
17...Cd7 18.Cd3 El caballo se retira en busca de la pareja de alfiles.
18...Db6 19.Ae3 Ae7 20.Dc2 Nuevamente eludiendo el cambio de piezas para evitar la liberación.
20...Dd8 21.Tfd1 La torre mejora su posición impidiendo los movimientos de liberación con c5 o e5.
21...Cf6 22.h3 Otra medida preventiva para controlar la casilla g4.
22...Ce8 [22...Ta6 23.Tb1+/= ]
23.Db3 [23.d5 cxd5 24.exd5 exd5+/= ]
23...Cc7 Las negras tienen una posición restringida y no encuentra como terminar el desarrollo en el
flanco dama.
24.Ce5 Ab4 25.Cd3 De7 [25...Ae7 26.Tb1+/= ]
26.Cxb4+/= Dxb4 27.Dc2 Te8? Diagrama
La posición negra se derrumba luego de este error después del error táctico, la dama negra esta en
problema, no dispone de casillas suficientes, correcto era reforzar la casilla c5 con Ca6
[>=27...Ca6!?+/= ]
28.d5!+- exd5 [28...Ca6 29.d6 Ad7 30.Tb1+- Cae el peón de b7.]
29.exd5 Ca6? Ahora es demasiado tarde ante el derrumbe del flanco dama. [29...Axh3 30.Axh3
Cxd5 31.Ac5+- ; 29...Cxd5 30.Ac5+- ]
30.dxc6 bxc6? Un error, pero las esperanza de las piezas negras no existen. [30...De7+- ]
31.Dxc6 era mejor la captura con el alfil. [>=31.Axc6 ]
31...Af5 [31...Ae6 32.Db5 Df8 33.Af4+- La torre de a8 esta en problema.]
32.Db5 Ae4 33.Tc4 Diagrama

La posición pasa al final, donde el peón pasado que aparece con el cambio de las damas deja a las
piezas blancas con ventaja decisiva.
33...Dxb5 34.axb5 Axg2 35.Rxg2 [35.bxa6?! Af3 36.Td6 Ae2= ]
35...Cb4 [35...Cb8 36.b6+- ]
36.b6 Tab8 37.Td7 La ocupa la séptima para apoyar el avance del peón a b7.
37...h6 [37...g5 38.b7+- ]
38.b7 Las negras abandonaron. 1-0
IM Hector Leyva
El Salvador, a 23 de Enero del 2009
(1) Dominguez Perez,Leinier (2712) - Leko,Peter (2739) [C89]

[Reeh,Oliver]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5
11.Rxe5 c6 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 Qh4 14.g3 Qh3 15.Qe2 Bd7 16.Qf1 Qf5 17.Nd2 Rae8 18.f3 Nf6 19.a4 c5
20.Rxe8 Rxe8 21.Ne4 Rxe4! Amazing! [After the 'normal' recapture 21...Nxe4 22.fxe4 Qxf1+ (22...Qxe4
23.Bxf7+ ) 23.Kxf1 Rxe4 (23...cxd4 24.axb5 Bxb5+ 25.c4 ) the open a-file gives Black problems in the
endgame: 24.axb5 axb5 25.Ra7 ]
22.fxe4 [After 22.Bc2 Black can continue to attack with 22...cxd4!? 23.fxe4 Qc5 or do the unpinning trick
22...Re1!? : 23.Bxf5 (23.Qxe1 Qxc2-+ ) 23...Rxf1+ 24.Kxf1 Bxf5 25.axb5 Bd3+ 26.Kf2 Bxb5 with equal
chances.]
22...Qxe4 23.Bf4 Keeps the ball in the game. [23.Qg2 Qe1+ 24.Qf1 Qe4 would have been the first option to
repeat moves.]
23...Bc6 The natural continuation, which at the end - at the very end! - leads to balanced play, answer C). Since
after the blockade of the diagonal c6-h1 with...
24.d5 ...Black goes on to open the next one with...
24...c4! With the deadly threat 25...Bc5+.
25.Bxd6 Qxd5 White is a rook up, but several bishops are hanging, not to speak of the threat 26...Qh1+.
26.Bd1 Qh1+ 27.Kf2 Qxh2+ 28.Ke1 Qxb2 Forcing White to worsen his coordination even more.
29.Ra3 Ne4 30.Qf4 [After 30.Qe2 Black simply exchanges queens followed by 31...Nxd6, with a good
endgame.]
30...Qg2! Maybe this quiet move is the real point of Black's attack - the queen threatens to give perpetual check
on the squares g1 und g2.
31.Be2 [31.Bc5 would be a nice try, but fails to 31...Qh1+! (31...Nxc5?? 32.Qb8+ Be8 33.Qxe8# ) 32.Ke2
(32.Qf1 Qxf1+ 33.Kxf1 Nxc5 ) 32...Qh5+ followed by 33...Qxc5.]
31...Qg1+ 32.Bf1 g5! 33.Qf3 The only move (since the queen must watch e3 and f2) but now it is in the
diagonal of the black bishop c6.
33...Nd2! Discovered attack!
34.Qxc6 The white queen must leave the king alone, and Black can give perpetual check on the first two ranks.
[34.Qe2 Nf3+ 35.Kd1 Nh2 and since the square e8 is covered by the bishop, White must repeat moves with
36.Ke1 Nf3+ ; while 34.Qf2 again allows the fork 34...Qxf2+ 35.Kxf2 Ne4+ 36.Ke3 ]
34...Qxf1+ 35.Kxd2 Qf2+ 36.Kc1 Qe1+ The perfect game - on this level it's no wonder that a draw was almost
the inevitable outcome. Everything preparation? 1/2-1/2
(11) Kramnik,Vladimir - Nakamura,Hikaru [A88]

[M.I Héctor Leyva]
1.d4 f5 Defensa Holandesa Nakamura es de los pocos que se atreven a jugar la defensa Holandesa
a nivel de la elite.
2.g3 Cf6 3.Ag2 g6 Variante Leningrado
4.c4 Ag7 5.Cc3 0-0 6.Cf3 d6 La variante Leningrado en muchas variantes busca estructuras de la
defensa india del rey pero con el peón en f5, la estrategia de las blancas es impedir el avance e5 de
las negras.
7.0-0 c6 Avance temático para contrarrestar la acción del alfil de g2, además controla la casilla d5 y
b5 permitiendo el traslado de la dama negra a e8.
8.Tb1 Esta continuación no se juega mucho en la actualidad, la línea principal es el avance d5, la
idea de Tb1 es preparar el avance b2-b4-b5 para debilitar el peón de c6, además se aparta de la
diagonal del alfil de g7. En este momento las piezas negras han ensayado varias continuaciones que
se relacionan a continuación. [8.d5 ; 8.Dc2 ; 8.Te1 ; 8.b3 ]
8...Ce4 últimamente Ce4 es la continuación que se juega más contra 8...Tb1, la idea es el despeje
de la casilla f6 para realizar el avance e7-e5, además de cambiar el caballo defensor de la casilla e4
(Cc3), esta idea fue puesta en práctica por el gran maestro Jan Smejkal en 1973 [8...De8 ; 8...a5 ;
8...Ca6 ]
9.Dc2 Presiona el caballo de e4 a cambiar en c3 para abrir la columna "b", defiende el caballo de c3
para seguir con el avance b2-b4. El cambio en e4 se ha dejado de jugar debido al resultado
favorable de las piezas negras.
9...Cxc3 [9...Ca6 10.b4 Cf6 11.e3 Cc7 12.a4 Ae6 13.Cd2 Ad7 14.b5 Ce6 15.Aa3 Dc7 16.Tfc1 Tab8
17.Dd1 Tfc8 18.Cd5 cxd5 19.cxd5 Dd8 20.dxe6 Axe6 21.Txc8 Dxc8 22.Tc1 Dd7 23.Dc2 Tc8
24.Dxc8+ BLBJF (3303)-Stranger (3737)/Internet Chess Club 2005/HLP/0-1 (65); 9...De8 10.b4 Ca6
11.Aa3 Ad7 12.Cxe4 fxe4 13.Cg5 h6 14.Cxe4 Axd4 15.b5 Cc7 16.Dd2 Ag7 17.Ab2 Tf5 18.Tfd1 Tf7
19.Axg7 Rxg7 20.Cc3 Rh7 21.bxc6 bxc6 22.De3 Dc8 23.h4 Da6 24.Tb4 Taf8 25.Ta4 Dc8 26.Txa7
Ce6 27.Ca4 Dd8 28.Cb6 Cc5 29.Cxd7 Cxd7 30.Tb1 Ce5 31.Tbb7 Rg8 32.f4 Cxc4 33.De6 d5
34.Txe7 Db6+ 35.Rh2 1-0 Lalith,B (2472)-Chua Zheng Yuan,T (2226)/Sri Lanka 2009/Mega2009
Update 42]
10.bxc3 e5 [10...Da5 11.c5 dxc5 12.Db3+ e6 13.Af4 Te8 14.Ce5 cxd4 15.cxd4 Dd8 16.Dc2 g5
17.Ae3 Cd7 18.Cxd7 Dxd7 19.Axg5 Dxd4 20.Tfd1 Dc3 21.Da4 h6 22.Td3 De5 23.Af4 Dxe2 24.Tbd1
Rh7 25.Af3 Giri,A (2517)-Reinderman,D (2560)/Hilversum 2009/Mega2009 Update 26/1/2-1/2 (43)]
11.Td1!?N Diagrama
Mejora la torre a la columna central creando la amenaza de captura en e5 12.dxe5, este movimiento
es nuevo, se había jugado el cambio 11.dxe5, de hecho es la recomendación de Rybka 3, pero
Kramnik tiene otro criterio de la posición. [11.dxe5 dxe5 12.Aa3 Te8 13.Tfd1 Cd7 14.c5 Af8 15.e4 Df6
16.De2 Axc5 17.Dc4+ De6 18.Dxe6+ Txe6 19.Axc5 Cxc5 20.Td8+ Rg7 21.exf5 gxf5 22.Ah3 1-0
Packroff,H (2222)-Polsterer,H (2463)/ICCF 1999/Inforchess Yearbook 2006; 11.dxe5!? dxe5
12.Aa3+/- ]
11...e4 12.Cg5 Prepara el avance h4, la idea es provocar el avance de los peones del flanco rey con
el objetivo de debilitar el flanco rey.
12...h6 Necesario antes que las blancas jueguen 12.h4 controlando el flanco rey.
13.Ch3 g5 14.f3 Los peones avanzados aunque permiten la ganancia espacio, también permiten
puntos de ruptura que lleva al debilitamiento el peón más avanzado.
14...d5 [14...De7 15.fxe4 fxe4 16.e3 Ag4 17.Tf1 Txf1+ 18.Axf1+/= ]
15.Cf2 Rh8 [15...Tf7!?+/= ]
16.cxd5+/- Kramnik decide romper en c4 para debilitar la base del peón de e4.
16...cxd5 17.c4 e3 [17...Cc6 18.e3 exf3 19.Axf3 dxc4 20.Dxc4+/- ]
18.Cd3 La captura en e3 era incorrecto, ya que le permite a las piezas negras obtener actividad de
piezas. [18.Axe3?! f4 19.gxf4 gxf4 20.Axf4 (20.Ac1 Af5 21.Cd3 Cc6 22.cxd5 Cxd4 23.Dd2 Tc8© )
20...Txf4 21.cxd5 Txd4 22.Txd4 Axd4=/+ ]
18...Cc6 19.Axe3 [19.Ce5 Cxe5 20.dxe5 f4+/- ]
19...Cxd4 Ahora el avance f4 como en el comentario del movimiento anterior no tiene efecto. [19...f4
20.gxf4 De8 21.Dc1! La dama a d2 ofrecía contrajuego a las piezas negras. (21.Dd2 dxc4 22.Ce5
gxf4 23.Axf4 c3! ) 21...Cxd4 22.Axd4 Axd4+ 23.Cf2 Ae3 24.Dc3+ d4 25.Txd4! Axd4 26.Dxd4+ Rh7
27.fxg5 hxg5 28.Dd3++/- ]
20.Axd4 No importa ceder el alfil de casillas oscuras, aunque se debiliten las casillas e3 y f2,
mientras las casillas blancas se encuentren protegidas el rey blanco no corre peligro.
20...Axd4+ 21.Rh1 f4 22.Tb5 [22.cxd5 Dxd5 23.Dd2 Ab6 24.Db2+ Dd4 25.Dxd4+ Axd4 26.Cxf4 Td8
27.Cg6+ Rg7+/- ]
22...Df6 [22...fxg3 23.Cb4 (23.Txd5 Df6 24.hxg3+/- Ae6 25.Td6 Tfd8 26.c5 Txd6 27.cxd6 Td8 28.Dc7
Td7 29.Db8+ Rg7= ) 23...Af5 24.Dc1 dxc4 25.Td5 Db6 26.T5xd4 Dxb4 27.Txc4 Db6 28.hxg3+/= ;
22...dxc4 23.Cxf4 gxf4 24.Dxc4+/- ]
23.Txd5 [>=23.cxd5 b6 24.gxf4+/- ]
23...Ae6? Diagrama
Error táctico. [>=23...fxg3 24.hxg3 Ae6 25.Td6 Tad8 26.c5 Txd6 27.cxd6 Td8 28.Dc7 Td7 29.Dc8+
Rg7 30.Cc5+/- ]
24.Cxf4!+- gxf4 [24...Axd5 25.Cg6+ Rg7 26.Cxf8+- (26.cxd5? Tfe8-+ ) ]
25.T5xd4 Las blancas han obtenido peón de ventaja, solo tienen que controlar las amenazas tácticas
de las negras.
25...fxg3 26.hxg3 Tg8 27.Tf4 Kramnik aleja la dama de f6 para debilitar la diagonal a1-h8.
27...Dg5 [27...De5 28.Th4 Txg3 29.Txh6+ Rg7 30.Dh7+ Rf8 31.f4 Dxe2 32.Tf6+ Re8 33.Td2 De1+
34.Rh2+- ]
28.Th4 Defensa activa del peón de g3, el debilitamiento del flanco rey de las piezas negras sale a
relucir.
28...Tg6 [28...Dxg3 29.Txh6+ Rg7 30.Dh7+ Rf8 31.Tf6+ Re8 32.Txe6++- ]
29.Dc3+ [29.Db2+ Df6 30.Dxf6+ Txf6+- ]
29...Rh7 30.f4 El cambio de las damas conducirá a un final fácil.
30...Dxg3 31.Dxg3 Txg3 32.Axb7 Tb8 [32...Tf8 33.Td4+- ]
33.Ae4+ Rg7 34.Rh2 Te3 [34...Tg4 35.Txg4+ Axg4+- ]
35.Tg1+ Rf7 36.Ag6+ Intermedia para alejar al rey negro de la columna "f"
36...Re7 [36...Rf8 37.Ad3 Tb2 38.Tg2 Txa2 39.f5+- ]
37.Ad3 Tb2 [37...Th8 38.Th5+- ]
38.Tg2 Txa2 39.Txh6 Las negras no tienen nada que hacer.
39...Af7 [39...a5 40.c5 a4 41.c6 Txd3 42.exd3 Txg2+ 43.Rxg2+- ]

40.Th7 [>=40.f5 Ta5 41.Tg7 Rf8+- ]
40...Rf6 [40...Rf8+- ]
41.c5 Ta4 [41...Ta1+- ]
42.c6 Txf4 [42...Tae4 43.Th6+ Re7 44.c7+- ]
43.c7 Te8 44.Txf7+! Diagrama
cerrando con pequeña combinación. [44.Txf7+ Rxf7 45.Ag6+ Rf8 46.Axe8+- ] 1-0
IM Héctor Leyva
El Salvador, a 25 de Enero del 2010
Shirov,Alexei - Short,Nigel [C96]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7
12.Nbd2 exd4 13.cxd4 Re8 14.b3
This looks like a novelty. Short has had this position twice before so it can't have come as a surprise to Shirov
that this variation was played.
[14.Nf1 0-1 Christensen,S (2313)-Hansen,S (2543)/Silkeborg DEN 2009/The Week in Chess 753 (62); 14.dxc5
dxc5 15.e5 Nf8 16.Qe2 Bb7 17.Ne4 Ne6 18.h4 Qc7 19.Neg5 Bxg5 20.Nxg5 Nxg5 21.Bxg5 h6 22.Qd3 hxg5
23.Qh7+ Kf8 24.Qh8+ Ke7 25.Qxg7 Rg8 26.Qf6+ Kf8 27.e6 Nc6 28.hxg5 Rd8 29.Qh6+ Rg7 30.g6 fxg6
31.Qh8+ Rg8 32.Qf6+ Ke8 33.Bxg6+ Rxg6 34.Qxg6+ Kf8 35.Re3 1-0 Smeets,J (2593)-Short,N (2655)/London
ENG 2008/The Week in Chess 719; 14.a4 Bb7 15.d5 Bf6 16.Rb1 g6 17.b3 Qc7 18.Ba3 Re7 19.Bd3 b4 20.Bb2
Bxb2 21.Rxb2 Rae8 22.Re3 Bc8 23.Qf1 Qa7 24.Rb1 f6 25.Kh1 Kg7 26.Rbe1 g5 27.Nh2 Ne5 28.Be2 Rf8
29.Ng4 Bxg4 30.hxg4 c4 31.Bxc4 Nxg4 32.Rf3 Qd4 33.Rd1 Qe5 34.Rg3 Qf4 35.Be2 Nxf2+ 36.Kg1 Qxg3
37.Qxf2 Qxf2+ 38.Kxf2 Rc8 39.Bxa6 Rc2 40.Bd3 Rc3 41.Bc4 h5 42.Rb1 g4 43.g3 Kg6 44.Re1 Re5 45.Re3
Kg5 0-1 Prathamesh,S (2387)-Short,N (2706)/Kolkata IND 2009/The Week in Chess 774]
14...Nc6 15.Bb2 cxd4 16.Nxd4 Nxd4 17.Bxd4 Bb7 18.a4 Bf6 19.Nf3 bxa4
Nigel Short
Alexei Shirov
Position after 19...bxa4
Seems to be the best move here. Black is already very comfortably placed probably with a few different moves.
20.Rxa4 Rc8 21.Bd3 Nc5 22.Bxc5 Rxc5 23.Bxa6 Bc6 24.Rc4 Rxc4 25.Bxc4 Rxe4 26.Rxe4 Bxe4
The simplification has brought about a sterile position.
27.Bd5 Bxf3 28.Qxf3 Qe7 29.g3 g6 30.b4 Bd4 31.Kg2
There is nothing left to play for.
1/2-1/2
A battle between the World Champion and World Number one can be a real occasion. Today however their
"game" wasn't really one at all as they followed the 24 move draw in a Sicilian Dragon between Rauf Mamedov
and Gadir Guseinov in 2008, and didn't even reach the end of following that game before agreeing a draw
themselves. In other words not even one new move between the pair of them. Disappointing.
Anand,Viswanathan - Carlsen,Magnus [B77]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 0-0 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.Bb3 Nxd4
11.Bxd4 b5 12.a4 b4 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 Bxd4 15.Qxd4 Qa5 16.0-0 Rac8 17.Rfe1 Rfe8 18.Kh1 Qc5 19.Qh4
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Final Position
[19.Qh4 e5 20.Re4 a5 21.Qh6 f6 22.Rf1 Qa7 23.Rh4 Bf5 24.Qd2 1/2-1/2 Mamedov,R (2617)-Guseinov,G
(2625)/Kocaeli TUR 2008/The Week in Chess 713]
1/2-1/2
Another potential highlight of the tournament turned out to be nothing of the sort when Vassily Ivanchuk and
Hikaru Nakamura had a draw by repetition after only 16 moves of a Slav.
Ivanchuk,Vassily - Nakamura,Hikaru [D17]

[Mark Crowther]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Nxc4 Qc7 8.g3 e5 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Bf4 Nfd7
11.Bg2 f6 12.0-0 0-0-0 13.a5
[13.Qc1 Nc5 14.Bxe5 fxe5 15.Qe3 Nb3 16.Rad1 Bc5 17.Qxe5 Qxe5 18.Nxe5 Rhe8 19.Nf7 Rd2 20.Rxd2 Nxd2
21.Rd1 Nc4 22.b3 Bc2 23.Rc1 Na3 24.Ne4 Bxe4 25.Rxc5 Kc7 26.e3 Bc2 27.Rc3 Bg6 28.Ng5 Kb6 29.b4 Nc2
30.Rc4 a5 31.bxa5+ Kxa5 32.Be4 Nb4 33.Bxg6 hxg6 34.Rg4 Kxa4 35.Nf7 b5 36.Rxg6 c5 37.Nd6 Re7 38.Rg5
Na6 39.Rd5 b4 40.Rd1 Kb3 41.e4 c4 42.Ra1 Ra7 43.Nc8 Kb2 44.Ra4 Rc7 0-1 Hoffmann,M (2509)-Kleijn,C
(2383)/Groningen NED 2009/The Week in Chess 790; 13.Nxe5 Nxe5 14.Qb3 Qf7 15.Qxf7 Nxf7 16.Rfc1 Ne5
17.Ne4 (17.Be3 Kb8 18.Ne4 Be6 19.Nc5 Bf7 20.b4 Nc4 21.Bf4+ Ka8 22.Na6 Bd6 23.b5 cxb5 24.axb5 Bxf4
25.gxf4 Rc8 26.Rc3 Rhd8 27.h4 f5 28.Nb4 Kb8 29.Rc2 Nd6 30.Rb2 Nxb5 31.Ra5 Bc4 32.Rc2 a6 33.Nc6+ bxc6
34.Rxc4 Kb7 35.Ra1 Rd4 36.Rxd4 Nxd4 37.e3 Nb5 38.Bh3 Rf8 39.Rd1 Rf7 40.Bf1 Kb6 41.Bc4 Ra7 42.Be6 g6
43.h5 Re7 44.Bb3 gxh5 45.Rd8 a5 46.Rf8 Nd6 47.Kg2 Kc5 48.Kf3 Ra7 49.Ba4 h4 50.Kg2 Rc7 51.Bc2 Kb4
52.Rd8 Ne4 53.f3 Nc3 54.e4 a4 55.Rb8+ Nb5 56.e5 a3 57.Bb1 Kc3 58.Ba2 Kb2 59.Bc4 a2 60.Bxa2 Kxa2
61.Kh3 Nd4 62.Kxh4 c5 63.Rd8 Kb3 64.Kh5 Ne6 65.Rd6 Re7 0-1 Alonso Roselli,A (2461)-Bhat,V
(2473)/Navalmoral 2009/CB00_2010) 17...Bb4 18.a5 a6 19.Ra4 Be7 20.h3 Be6 21.Nc5 Bd5 22.e4 Bf7 23.h4
Bxc5 24.Bh3+ Kc7 25.Rxc5 Rd1+ 26.Kg2 Kd6 27.Rc3 c5 28.b3 h5 29.Ra2 Kc6 30.Bxe5 fxe5 31.Rac2 Kd6
32.Rxc5 Bxb3 33.R2c3 Ba4 34.Rc7 Rb8 35.Rxg7 Bc6 36.Rg6+ Kc7 37.Re6 Rf8 38.Rxe5 Kb8 39.Rf3 1-0
Timman,J (2591)-Van Kampen,R (2470)/Groningen 2009/CB00_2010]
13...Nc5 14.Qe1 Nb3 15.Ra4 Nc5 16.Ra1 Nb3
Draw by repetition.
1/2-1/2
Hikaru Nakamura
Vassily Ivanchuk
Final Position
Sergey Karjakin could not break down Jan Smeets Petroff Defence. In the final position black will smash
white's pawn structure and the game will inevitably finish in a draw. Smeets will be glad to end his four game
losing run.
Karjakin,Sergey - Smeets,Jan [C42]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0-0 10.Nc3 Bf5 11.a3
Nxc3 12.bxc3 Nc6 13.Re1 Re8 14.cxd5 Qxd5 15.Bf4 Rac8 16.g3
[16.h3 h6 17.Nd2 Na5 18.Nf1 Qb3 19.Ne3 Qxd1 20.Bxd1 Bd7 21.Nd5 Bd6 22.Bg4 Bxg4 23.Bxd6 cxd6
24.hxg4 1/2-1/2 Gharamian,T (2555)-Fridman,D (2630)/Remagen GER 2008/The Week in Chess 729]
16...b5 17.Nd2 Na5 18.Nf1 Nc4 19.Bxc4 Qxc4 20.Ne3 Qe6 21.Nxf5 Qxf5 22.Re5 Qd7 23.Qe2 Bd6 24.Qxb5 c6
25.Rxe8+
White might play on here but probably to no effect, black will smash white's pawn structure which will make
playing for a win impossible. Smeets will be very happy to have ended a four game losing streak.
Jan Smeets
Sergey Karjakin
Final Position
[25.Rxe8+ Rxe8 26.Qh5 (26.Qg5 h6 27.Qh5 Bxf4) 26...Bxf4 27.gxf4 Qe6]
1/2-1/2
Leinier Dominguez Perez against Sergei Tiviakov was a Bogo-Indian where white sacrificed a pawn for open
play. A lengthy manoevering game resulted where black was doing fine for a long time. But suddenly, probably
because he missed his queen was in trouble early enough Tiviakov's position suddenly fell apart.
Dominguez Perez,Leinier - Tiviakov,Sergei [E00]

[Mark Crowther]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Nf3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 c6 7.Bf4 Nbd7 8.0-0
[8.Nc3 0-1 Postny,E (2651)-Efimenko,Z (2654)/Novi Sad SRB 2009/The Week in Chess 782 (63)]
8...dxc4
[8...0-0 0-1 Elexpe Bastida,O (1676)-Ortega Sanchez,A (1794)/Padrun 2008/CBM 125 Extra (46); 8...b6 1-0
Schulze,M (1465)-Brune,T (1345)/Kranenburg 2008/EXT 2009 (27)]
9.a4
[9.Nbd2 b5 10.Ne5 Nxe5 11.Bxe5 Bb7 12.a4 a6 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Bxe4 0-0 15.Qc2 h6 16.Rfd1 Qc8 17.b3 cxb3
18.Qxb3 b4 19.Rac1 Qd7 20.a5 Rac8 21.Qa4 Rfd8 22.Qb3 Ba8 23.Bf4 Qb7 24.Rc4 Qb5 25.Bd2 c5 26.dxc5
Bxe4 27.Rxe4 Bxc5 28.Be1 Rxd1 29.Qxd1 Qxa5 30.Qb1 Qb5 0-1 Jumanov,E (1693)-Shen,A (2057)/Kemer
2009/EXT 2010]
9...Nd5 10.Nc3 0-0 11.Nd2 Bb4 12.Nxc4 Nxc3 13.bxc3 Bxc3 14.Rc1 Bb4 15.Qb3 a5 16.e4 Nb6
[16...b5 17.axb5 cxb5 18.Nd6 Ba6 19.Qe3 a4]
17.Ne5 Nd7
[17...f6]
18.Nd3 Qb6 19.Be3 Be7 20.Qc2 Qd8 21.Rfd1 Nf6 22.h3 Ne8 23.Qb3 Nc7 24.Ne5 Bb4 25.Nd3 Qe7
[25...f5; 25...Na6 26.d5 exd5 27.exd5 cxd5 28.Nf4 Be6]
26.Nxb4 Qxb4 27.Qc2 Re8
[27...Na6]
28.d5 exd5 29.exd5
Sergei Tiviakov
Position after 29.exd5
Suddenly black's queen is short of squares.
29...Na6
[29...Nxd5 30.Bc5; 29...Bxh3 30.Bxh3 Nxd5 31.Bc5 Qe4 would maybe keep black fighting.]
30.dxc6 bxc6 31.Qxc6 Bf5 32.Qb5 Be4 33.Rc4 Qxb5 34.axb5 Bxg2 35.Kxg2 Nb4 36.b6 Rab8 37.Rd7 h6 38.b7
1-0
Peter Leko scored his first win after beating Fabiano Caruana in an interesting Ruy Lopez. Leko had a piece and
Caruana three pawns and an open king to go at, the judgement was how this material would pan out. Eventually
Leko defended his king and went on the offensive at which point Caruana's position was hopeless.
Leko,Peter - Caruana,Fabiano [C78]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.c3 d6 8.a4 Rb8 9.d4 Bb6 10.Na3 0-0 11.axb5
axb5 12.Nxb5 Bg4 13.Re1 Bxf3 14.gxf3 Nh5 15.Kh1 Qf6 16.Rg1 exd4
[16...Nf4 17.Be3 Ne7 18.Na3 Ne6 19.Bxe6 Qxe6 20.Qd3 f5 21.Nc4 fxe4 22.fxe4 exd4 23.cxd4 d5 24.Ne5
Rbd8 25.Qb3 Rd6 26.exd5 Rxd5 27.Ng4 Kh8 28.Rae1 Qc6 29.Rg2 Ng6 30.Rc1 Qa8 31.Kg1 Nh4 32.Rg3 Bxd4
33.Bxd4 Rxd4 34.Ne5 Rdf4 35.Qe3 Rxf2 36.Qxf2 Rxf2 37.Kxf2 Qe4 38.Re1 Qd4+ 39.Kf1 g6 40.b3 Kg7
41.Rd3 Qf4+ 42.Kg1 Qg5+ 43.Rg3 Qd2 44.Nd3 Nf5 45.Rf3 Nd4 46.Rfe3 Nc2 47.Re7+ Kh6 0-1 Svidler,P
(2754)-Anand,V (2788)/Moscow RUS 2009/The Week in Chess 785]
17.Bg5 Qe5 18.Bd5 dxc3 19.Bxc6 cxb2 20.Rb1 Bxf2 21.Rg2 Rb6
[21...Rxb5 22.f4 Nxf4 23.Bxf4 Qxf4 24.Bxb5 Be3 25.Rbxb2 Qxe4 26.Bd3 Qd4 27.Rb7 c5]
22.Rxf2 Qxg5
[22...Rxc6 23.Nd4 Rb6 24.Rg2]
Fabiano Caruana
Peter Leko
Position after 22...Qxg5
23.Rc2 Nf4
[23...Rxc6 24.Rxc6 Qxb5 25.Rxc7 Nf4 26.Rc2 h6 27.Rcxb2 Qe5]
24.Qf1 d5 25.exd5 Nxd5 26.Bxd5 Qxd5 27.Rcxb2 Qc5 28.Rc1 Qe5 29.Rbb1 Rfb8 30.Na3 Rb2 31.Rxb2 Rxb2
32.Rc2 Rb8 33.Nc4 Qf4
[33...Qf5]
34.Nd2 h5 35.Qe2 Ra8 36.Rc4 Qd6 37.Nf1 f5?
[37...c6]
38.Ng3 Ra1+ 39.Kg2 f4?
[39...g6 40.Qe8+ Kg7 41.Qb8 Re1 42.Rxc7+ Re7 43.Qb2+ Kh7 44.Rxe7+ Qxe7]
40.Qe8+ Kh7 41.Qxh5+ Kg8 42.Qe8+ Kh7 43.Qe4+ Kg8 44.Qxf4 Ra2+ 45.Kh3 1-0
Vladimir Kramnik won the final game to finish when he ground down Loek Van Wely on the white side of a
King's Indian.
Kramnik plays exceptionally well in Queenless positions and he set long term problems for Van Wely that the
Dutchman just couldn't cope with. A very precisely calculated ending left him with a decisive advantage.
Kramnik,Vladimir - Van Wely,Loek [E92]

[Mark Crowther]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Nf3 e5 7.Be3 c6 8.d5 Ng4 9.Bg5 f6 10.Bh4 c5 11.0-0 Nh6
12.a3 Na6 13.Ne1 Qe7 14.Nd3
[14.f3 Bd7 15.Rb1 Nf7 16.b4 Rfc8 17.Qb3 Bh6 18.Bf2 b6 19.Nd3 f5 20.bxc5 bxc5 21.Qc2 f4 22.Rb7 Nd8
23.Rb3 g5 24.Rfb1 Bg7 25.Be1 h5 26.Nf2 Bf6 27.Nb5 Nf7 28.Qd2 Qd8 29.Qa5 Qxa5 30.Bxa5 Bd8 31.Bxd8
Rxd8 32.Nd3 Kf8 33.Bd1 Ke7 34.Nc3 Rdb8 35.Rb7 Rxb7 36.Rxb7 Nd8 37.Rb2 Rb8 38.Rxb8 Nxb8 39.Ba4
Bxa4 40.Nxa4 Nb7 41.Ndb2 Na5 42.Kf2 Nd7 43.Ke2 g4 44.Kf2 Kf6 45.h3 gxh3 46.gxh3 Ke7 47.Ke2 Kd8
48.Nc3 Nb6 49.Kd3 Nb3 50.Nb5 Nc8 51.Kc2 Na5 52.Nc3 Ke7 53.Nb5 Kd7 54.Kd3 a6 55.Nc3 Nb3 56.Ne2
Nb6 57.Kc3 Na5 58.Nc1 Ke7 59.h4 Nb7 60.Kb3 Kd7 61.Ncd3 Kc7 62.Ne1 Nd7 63.Na4 Nf6 64.Kc3 Nd8
65.Kd3 Nf7 66.Ng2 Nh6 67.Ne1 Kb7 68.Ke2 Kc8 69.Nb6+ Kc7 70.Na4 Kd7 71.Nb6+ Kd8 72.Na4 Nhg4
73.Ng2 Ke7 74.Nb6 Kd8 75.Na4 Nh6 76.Ne1 Nf7 77.Nb6 Nh8 78.Ng2 Ng6 79.Na4 Kc7 80.Kf2 Nd7 81.Ke2
Nb6 82.Nb2 a5 83.a4 Kd7 84.Ke1 Ke7 85.Ke2 Kf6 86.Kd3 Ne7 87.Kd2 Kg6 88.Kd3 Ng8 89.Ne1 Nh6 90.Ng2
Ng4 91.Ke2 Kh6 92.Kd2 Nf6 93.Ke2 Nfd7 1/2-1/2 Peralta,F (2557)-Lopez Martinez,J (2589)/Barcelona ESP
14...g5 15.Bg3 f5 16.f3 f4 17.Bf2 Rf6
[17...Bd7 18.b4 b6 19.Rb1 Bf6 20.bxc5 bxc5 21.Rb7 Rfb8 22.Rxb8+ Rxb8 23.Nb5 Rb7 24.h3 Nf7 25.Qc2 Qf8
26.Rb1 Qb8 27.Rb2 Bd8 28.Be1 Bb6 29.Qb1 Bd8 30.Bd1 h5 31.Kf1 Nc7 32.Ba4 Nxb5 33.Bxb5 Bc8 34.Bc3
Kf8 35.Ke2 Qc7 36.Ba4 Rb6 37.Rxb6 Qxb6 38.Qb5 Qxb5 39.cxb5 Ke7 40.Bb3 g4 41.hxg4 hxg4 42.a4 gxf3+
43.gxf3 Kd7 44.Bc4 Kc7 45.Nb2 Kb7 46.Bd3 Bd7 47.Nc4 Bc7 48.Be1 Bd8 49.Bc3 1/2-1/2 Markus,R (2586)-
Damljanovic,B (2625)/Vrsac 2006/CBM 115]
18.b4 b6 19.bxc5 bxc5 20.Rb1 Nf7 21.Qa4 Nd8 22.Rb2 h5 23.Rfb1 Rg6 24.h3 Bf6 25.Kf1 Qd7 26.Bd1 g4
27.fxg4 hxg4 28.hxg4 Qxa4 29.Bxa4 Bxg4 30.Bb5 Nc7 31.Bc6 Rc8 32.Rb8 Rxb8
[32...Rh6 33.Kg1 Rxb8 34.Rxb8 Kg7 35.Ba4]
33.Rxb8 Kh7 34.Ba4 Rg7 35.Bd1 Na6 36.Ra8 Bxd1 37.Nxd1 Rb7 38.Nc3 Nc7 39.Rc8 Nf7
Loek Van Wely

Vladimir Kramnik
Position after 39.Nf7
40.Bxc5!
Setting new problems for Van Wely.
40...dxc5 41.Nxc5 Nd6 42.Nxb7 Nxc8 43.c5 Na6 44.Ke2 Kg6 45.Kd3 Be7 46.Na4 Kg5
It doesn't seem to make any difference if black tries to get his king to the queenside.
[46...Kf6 47.Kc4 Kf7 48.d6 Nxc5 49.Naxc5 Nxd6+ 50.Nxd6+ Bxd6 51.Kd5 Ke7 52.a4 Bc7 53.Na6 Bd6 54.a5
Kd7 55.Nc5+ Ke7 56.Nd3 Bc7]
47.Kc4 Bxc5 48.Naxc5 Nxc5 49.Kxc5 Kg4 50.d6 Nb6 51.Kc6 Kg3 52.Nc5 Kxg2 53.d7 Nxd7 54.Nxd7 f3
55.Nxe5 f2 56.Ng4 1-0
Carlsen,Magnus - Ivanchuk,Vassily [D10]

[Mark Crowther]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Qc2 g6 6.Bd3 Be6
[6...Bg7 1/2-1/2 Rustemov,A (2585)-Papa,S (2399)/Stuttgart GER 2004/The Week in Chess 484 (100)]
7.b3 Bg7 8.Nge2 c5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Nxd5 Bxd5 11.e4 Be6 12.Qxc5 Nc6 13.Be3 Rc8 14.Qa3 0-0 15.Rd1
Nxd4?
Vassily Ivanchuk
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 15...Nxd4
White has a nice position but this is just a blunder.
16.Bxd4 Bxd4 17.Bb1 Bc5
[17...Bxf2+ 18.Kxf2 Qb6+ 19.Ke1]
18.b4 Qxd1+
Already a desperate try.
19.Kxd1 Bxf2 20.Nf4 Bc4 21.Bd3 Rfd8 22.Ke2 Bxd3+ 23.Kxf2 Rc2+ 24.Kf3 Bc4 25.Rc1 Rxa2 26.Qc3 b5
27.Ra1 Rdd2 28.Rxa2 Rxa2 29.h4 h5 30.g4 hxg4+ 31.Kxg4 f6 32.e5 Kf7 33.exf6 exf6 34.Qe3 Rc2 35.Qa7+ 1-
0
Smeets and Dominguez drew a sharp Sicilian in Round 7. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Dominquez and Smeets played a sharp Sicilian Najdorf, where Smeets had analyzed the double rook sacrifice a
couple of months ago. There are several ways to a draw in these lines, and some of them have been played
before, so the players really focused on finding the right moves to a perpetual. Tiviakov and Leko played
exactly as all the bookmakers had predicted, without any excitement to a quick draw.
Hikaru Nakamura pulled Alexei Shirov back towards the field in Round 7. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
The game of the round was clearly Nakamura’s win over Shirov. It has to be admitted that Shirov played below
his standard level, but this was also certainly caused by the fact that Nakamura managed to face him with an
unusual opening line, where both players had to think on their own without relying on some big preparation.
Nakamura,Hikaru - Shirov,Alexei [B33]

[Michiel Abeln]
1.e4 c5
A strange choice, considering a draw would have been a perfect result for Shirov, everyone expected 1...,e5.
2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.Na3 f5 10.Nc4 Nd4
Exactly what Nakamura was hoping for, quickly both players are at unknown territory for them.
[10...b5 11.Ne3 b4 12.Ncd5 fxe4 13.Qh5 Bg7 14.Be2 0-0 15.Bg4 Nd4 16.Bxc8 Rxc8 17.c3 bxc3 18.bxc3 Kh8
19.0-0 Rc5 20.Rac1 Ne6 21.Qf5 Qg5 22.Rfd1 Qxf5 23.Nxf5 Rd8 24.g3 h5 25.Kf1 Kh7 26.Rb1 Nd4 27.Nfe3
Nb5 28.Rb3 Nc7 29.Rb6 Nxd5 30.Rxd5 Rxc3 31.Rxa6 Rd3 32.Ke2 Rd4 33.Rb5 Kg6 34.a4 1/2-1/2 Gutierrez
Jimenez,J-Parligras,M/Tarragona 2006/EXT 2007]
11.exf5 Bxf5 12.Ne3
Alexei Shirov
Hikaru Nakamura
12...Bg6?!
[More logical was 12...Be6 13.Bc4 (or 13.g3 Bg7 14.Bg2 Qd7 with an interesting position) 13...Qg5 14.Bxe6
fxe6 15.Ne4 Qg6 16.Ng3 Bh6 17.0-0 0-0 18.c3 Nf5 19.Ngxf5 exf5 20.Nd5 Kh8 21.f4 Rg8 22.Qd2 Rae8
23.Rae1 Rg7 24.Kh1 Qe6 25.c4 Rf7 26.Qa5 Qc8 27.b3 Bg7 28.Qb4 Qc6 29.a4 e4 30.Qd2 Qc5 31.Rd1 b5
32.axb5 axb5 33.Ne3 bxc4 34.bxc4 Ra7 35.Rfe1 Ra3 36.Qxd6 Qxd6 37.Rxd6 Bc3 38.Re2 Ra1+ 39.Rd1 Rxd1+
40.Nxd1 Ra8 41.g4 Ra1 42.gxf5 Rxd1+ 43.Kg2 Rd4 44.c5 Bd2 45.Kg3 e3 46.Kf3 Rc4 47.Rg2 Rxf4+ 0-1
Rabeyrin,J-San Emeterio Cabanes,J/France 2007/EXT 2009]
13.Ncd5 Bh6
Not the right plan.
[13...f5!? was a lot more interesting and also more in the style of the real Shirov! 14.c3 f4 15.cxd4 fxe3 16.fxe3
(16.Nxe3 Qa5+ 17.Qd2 Qxd2+ 18.Kxd2 exd4 19.Nd5 Bh6+ 20.f4 0-0 and black has nothing to complain about)
16...Qa5+ 17.Nc3 Bh6 with clear compensation for the pawn]
14.c3 Ne6 15.Bd3
and now Shirov started to realize that normal continuations would not give him the desired position
15...Bxe3
[15...e4 16.Bxe4! Bxe4 17.Qa4+; 15...0-0 16.Nf5 with complete control over the white squares]
16.Nxe3 Qb6
Alexei Shirov
Hikaru Nakamura
Position after 16...Qb6
a complete surprise
17.0-0
[17.Rb1]
17...Nf4 18.Be2 Rg8
[taking the pawn is impossible: 18...Qxb2 19.Qxd6 Nxe2+ 20.Kh1 Rd8 21.Qxe5+ Kd7 22.Rad1+ Kc8 23.Nd5
Rxd5 24.Qxh8+ Kc7 25.Rxd5]
19.Bf3
Alexei Shirov
Hikaru Nakamura
Position after 19.Bf3
19...Nh3+?
a serious mistake
[also not good was 19...Bd3 20.Nd5 Nh3+ 21.Kh1 Qxf2 22.gxh3 (22.Qxd3 Qg1+ 23.Rxg1 Nf2#) 22...Bxf1
23.Qxf1; 19...0-0-0 was quite playable, because if white sacs the b2 pawn, he doesn't really get any
compensation due to the bishop ong6 20.Nd5 Nxd5 21.Qxd5 Qxb2]
20.Kh1
[not possible is 20.gxh3 Bc2+]
20...Nxf2+ 21.Rxf2 Qxe3 22.Bxb7 Rb8
[22...Qxf2 loses to 23.Qxd6 f6 24.Bxa8]
23.Re2
[Not good would be 23.Qxd6 Rxb7 24.Rd1 Qb6 25.Qxe5+ Kf8]
23...Qb6 24.Bd5 Rg7 25.Qd2 f5 26.Rf1 Kd7 27.b4 f4
Alexei Shirov
Hikaru Nakamura
Position after 27.f4
28.a4?!
[28.a3 with the idea of c4 was probably better, it will be easier for white to breakthrough on the queenside]
28...a5 29.b5 Rd8
Here Nakamura had a long think, he's clearly better because his king is much safer and his pieces are more
active, but it's only a matter of 2 moves before black will be ok, so white needs to act quickly
30.g3
opening the f-file, because on the queenside there is no direct way to open up
30...fxg3 31.hxg3 Kc8 32.c4 Kb8 33.Rf6 Re7 34.Kh2
to make sure that if black takes a bishop on d5, there is no check
[34.c5 Qxc5 35.Qxa5 Qxd5+]

34...e4 35.Qc3
[immediately 35.c5 is not winning 35...Qc7 36.cxd6 Rxd6 37.Rxd6 Qxd6 38.Qxa5 Ra7 (38...Qxd5 39.Rd2)
39.Qd2 Rd7]
35...Rc8 36.Re3 Ka7?
Alexei Shirov
Hikaru Nakamura
Position after 36...Ka7
a blunder in time trouble, but black could probably not held the position anyway
37.Bc6 Rd8 38.c5 dxc5 39.Bxe4 Rd6 40.Rxd6 Qxd6 41.Qxa5+
[41.Qxa5+ Kb8 42.Rd3 Qxd3 43.Bxd3 Bxd3 44.Qd8+]
1-0
Vladimir Kramnik was most probably lost against Nigel Short in Round 7. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Nigel Short innovated against Vladimir Kramnik's Petroff Defence. Short won a pawn a nurtured his advantage
to a winning position. Short then admitted that he became somewhat indecisive. The win was probably to be
had by directly shoving the a-pawn at some stage. After Kramnik reduced the pawns down to one side of the
board in a Queen and Pawn ending which is probably more drawn than won. He eventually held by a precise
Queen sacrifice for stalemate.
Short,Nigel - Kramnik,Vladimir [C43]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.dxe5 d5 5.Nbd2 Nc5 6.a3
A novelty and one that causes Kramnik no end of problems.
[6.Nb3 Ne6 7.c4 dxc4 8.Qxd8+ Nxd8 9.Bxc4 Be6 10.Bxe6 Nxe6 11.Nfd4 Nxd4 12.Nxd4 Bc5 13.Nb5 Kd7
14.Bf4 Kc6 15.Nc3 Nd7 16.Rc1 Rhe8 17.0-0 b6 18.Rfe1 a5 19.Re4 Re6 20.a3 Kb7 21.b4 axb4 22.axb4 Bf8
23.Nb5 Rc6 24.Rd1 Be7 25.h3 Nf8 26.Be3 Ra4 27.Nd4 Rc4 28.Rg4 Ng6 29.b5 h5 30.Re4 Bc5 31.g3 Rab4
32.f3 Bxd4 33.Bxd4 Rxb5 34.e6 fxe6 35.Rxe6 Rg5 36.Kf2 Rc2+ 37.Ke3 Rxg3 38.Bxb6 cxb6 39.Rdd6 Nh4
40.Rxb6+ Kc7 41.Kd3 Rgg2 42.Ke3 Rce2+ 43.Kf4 g5# 0-1 Campbell,M-Pizzato,C/Brisbane 1995]
6...a5 7.Be2 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Re1 Nc6 10.Nf1 Bf5 11.Ng3 Bg6 12.Be3 a4 13.Bb5 Na5 14.Nd4 c6 15.Bf1 f6
16.exf6 Bxf6 17.Nxc6 bxc6 18.Bxc5 Re8 19.Qd2 Rxe1 20.Rxe1 Nc4 21.Bxc4 dxc4 22.Qb4 c3 23.bxc3 Qd2
24.Qc4+ Kh8 25.Re2 Qd1+ 26.Nf1 Bxc3 27.h3 Rd8 28.Re3 Bd2 29.Rf3 Bg5 30.Qxa4 Bxc2 31.Qa5 h6 32.Be3
Bxe3 33.Rxe3 Qd4 34.Rc3 Be4 35.Ne3 Qd2 36.Qe5 Rf8 37.Kh2 Bd5 38.Rc2 Qd3 39.a4 Qg6 40.Rb2 Re8
41.Rb8
Short has done a great job in keeping his extra pawn and control over the position.
41...Rxb8 42.Qxb8+ Bg8
Vladimir Kramnik
Nigel Short
Position after 42...Bg8
43.Qe5
Maybe just shoving the pawn is the best.
[43.a5 Qd3 44.Qb6 Qd2 45.a6 Qxf2 46.a7 Qf4+ 47.Kh1 c5]
43...Qf7 44.Nf5 Qa7 45.a5 c5 46.f4 Ba2 47.a6 Bc4 48.Nxh6 Qxa6 49.Nf5 Qf6 50.Qxc5 Be6 51.g4 Bxf5
52.Qxf5 Qb2+ 53.Kg3 Qc3+ 54.Kh4 Qe1+ 55.Kh5 Qe8+
Things have got much more tricky already.
56.Qg6 Qe3 57.Kg5 Qe7+ 58.Kh5 Qe3 59.Qf7 Qxh3+ 60.Kg5 Qh6+ 61.Kf5 g6+ 62.Ke5 Qg5+
Vladimir Kramnik
Nigel Short
Position after 62...Qg5+
63.fxg5
Stalemate. Kramnik said that he was lucky as Short played a great game up until about move 45 or abouts.
1/2-1/2
Kramnik,Vladimir - Nakamura,Hikaru [A88]

[Michiel Abeln]
1.d4 f5
as predicted by Kramnik yesterday when he started to prepare
2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.c4 Bg7 5.Nc3 0-0 6.Nf3 d6 7.0-0 c6

Around 3 am last night Kramnik got annoyed that he could not find anything against the Dutch, but then he
found
[7...Qe8 is the main line, but c6 is very solid]
8.Rb1
In his preparation Kramnik realized that
8...Ne4
is not threatening anything, not clear what black's next is
9.Qc2
[The main theoretical line is 9.Nxe4 fxe4 10.Nd2 d5 11.e3 is nothing special for white]
9...Nxc3 10.bxc3 e5
Hikaru Nakamura
Vladimir Kramnik
Position after 10...e5
end of preparation
11.Rd1
[11.a4 was also a reasonable alternative]
11...e4 12.Ng5
black would be ok if the b-file was still closed
12...h6 13.Nh3 g5 14.f3 d5

[14...exf3 15.exf3 better for white]
15.Nf2 Kh8 16.cxd5 cxd5 17.c4
Hikaru Nakamura
Vladimir Kramnik
Position after 17.c4
[17.e3 a bit slow]
17...e3
[17...Nc6 18.e3 exf3 19.Bxf3 dxc4 20.Qxc4+/-]
18.Nd3
[18.Bxe3 f4]
18...Nc6 19.Bxe3
[19.Ne5 Nxe5 20.dxe5 f4 black might be able to survive because of the bad bishop on g2]
19...Nxd4
[19...Qe7 20.Bf2 Nxd4 21.Nf4 gxf4 (21...Nxc2 22.Ng6+) 22.Rxd4 fxg3 23.hxg3; 19...Qe8 20.Qc1 dxc4
(20...Nxd4 21.Nf4) 21.Ne5 Nxe5 22.dxe5 Qxe5 23.f4]
20.Bxd4 Bxd4+ 21.Kh1 f4 22.Rb5
[22.Nxf4 gxf4 23.Rxd4 Bf5 24.Qb2 Bxb1 25.Rxf4+ d4 26.Rxf8+ Qxf8 27.Qxb1 Re8 is not so much for white;
22.cxd5 Bf5]
22...Qf6 23.Rxd5 Be6?

Hikaru Nakamura
Vladimir Kramnik
Position after 23...Be6
[23...Bf5 24.Qb3 Be6+/-; 23...fxg3 24.hxg3 Be6 25.Rd6 Rad8 26.c5 might be savable MC]
24.Nxf4! gxf4
[24...Bxd5 25.Ng6+ Kg8 26.Nxf8 Bc6 27.Ne6 (27.Nd7 Bxd7 28.Qd2) 27...Bb6 28.Bh3]
25.R5xd4
Game over, white is two pawns up
25...fxg3 26.hxg3 Rg8 27.Rf4 Qg5 28.Rh4 Rg6 29.Qc3+ Kh7 30.f4 Qxg3 31.Qxg3 Rxg3 32.Bxb7 Rb8 33.Be4+
Kg7 34.Kh2 Re3 35.Rg1+ Kf7 36.Bg6+ Ke7 37.Bd3 Rb2 38.Rg2 Rxa2 39.Rxh6 Bf7 40.Rh7 Kf6 41.c5 Ra4
42.c6 Rxf4 43.c7 Re8 44.Rxf7+ 1-0
Alexei Shirov and Magnus Carlsen drew a very sharp struggle in Round 8. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Magnus Carlsen played the sharp Pelikan, Chelyabinsk variation against Alexei Shirov and a really complex
position ensued with both players at risk of losing. However on move 29 both players started to find a way of
repeating the position and the draw was agreed on move 33.
Shirov,Alexei - Carlsen,Magnus [B33]

[Michiel Abeln]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nd5 Bg7
11.Bd3 Ne7 12.Nxe7 Qxe7 13.c4 f5 14.0-0 0-0 15.Qh5 Rb8 16.exf5 e4 17.Rae1 Bb7 18.Qg4 Rfe8 19.cxb5 d5
20.bxa6 Bc6 21.b3 Kh8 22.Nc2 Bc3
A prepared improvement by Carlsen over their previous encounter
[22...Be5 23.Be2 d4 24.Bc4 Rg8 25.Qh3 Rg7 26.g3 Rbg8 27.Qh6 Qc7 28.Nb4 Ba8 29.Nd5 Qd8 30.Rxe4 1-0
Shirov,A-Carlsen,M/Sofia 2009/CBM 131/[Rogozenco]]
23.Qh3 Qf6
The white extra pawns are not so relevant at this point, they cannot move. The question is whether black can
advance his center.
24.Be2 d4 25.Bc4 Rg8 26.g3
Magnus Carlsen
Alexei Shirov
Position after 26.g3
It looks quite dangerous for white, but in fact Shirov was always in control
26...Rbe8
[26...Rg5 27.Rd1 Rxf5 28.Nxd4]
27.Rd1
from now on everything is pretty forced
27...e3 28.fxe3 dxe3 29.Be2 Re4 30.Qg2 Re7 31.Qh3 Re4 32.Qg2 Re7 33.Qh3 1/2-1/2
Viswanathan Anand made no progress against Vassily Ivanchuk's Sicilian in Round 8. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Of course almost every round is a tough round at Wijk aan Zee. Viswanathan Anand had white against Vassily
Ivanchuk who lost very easily in the previous round against Magnus Carlsen. World Champion Anand has
drawn every one of his games so far and hasn't really looked like winning. Today he could have temporarily
sacrificed a piece in the final position with a probable edge but instead chose to repeat the position. This
syndrome of players being a bit off on the run up to a world title match has long been known. Anand's mind is
clearly on the battle against Topalov ahead, his play hasn't been particularly bad, but it hasn't been all that great
either.
Anand,Viswanathan - Ivanchuk,Vassily [B36]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 d6 7.Be2 Nxd4 8.Qxd4 Bg7 9.Be3 0-0 10.Qd2 a5 11.0-
0 a4 12.Bd4 Bd7
[12...Qa5 13.Qe3 Be6 14.Nd5 Bxd5 15.exd5 b5 16.b4 Qc7 17.Rac1 bxc4 18.Bxc4 Qb7 19.a3 Rfc8 20.Ba2 Rxc1
21.Rxc1 Rc8 22.Rxc8+ Qxc8 23.Qc3 Qf5 24.f3 h5 25.b5 Bh6 26.b6 Nxd5 27.Qc4 Nxb6 28.Bxb6 e6 29.Qxa4
Qe5 30.Qd1 Be3+ 31.Bxe3 Qxe3+ 32.Kh1 Qxa3 33.Bb1 Qa1 34.h3 d5 35.Qc2 Kg7 36.Kh2 Qe5+ 37.Kg1 Qd4+
38.Kf1 Qb4 39.Ke2 Qb5+ 40.Qd3 Qb2+ 41.Bc2 Qe5+ 42.Qe3 Qb2 43.Qd2 Qe5+ 44.Kf2 Qb2 45.g4 h4 46.f4
Qb6+ 47.Qe3 Qb2 48.Qe5+ Qxe5 49.fxe5 Kh6 50.Kf3 Kg5 51.Bd3 f5 52.gxf5 gxf5 53.Bc2 Kh5 54.Kf4 Kg6
55.Ba4 d4 56.Bc2 Kh6 57.Bd3 Kg6 58.Bc2 Kh6 59.Bb3 d3 60.Bxe6 d2 61.Bb3 Kg6 62.Bd1 Kf7 63.Kxf5 Ke7
64.e6 Ke8 65.Kf6 Kf8 1-0 Balogh,C (2616)-Leon Hoyos,M (2535)/Beijing CHN 2008/The Week in Chess 728]
13.Rfe1 Bc6 14.Qe3 Nd7 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Nd5 e6 17.Nc3 Qb6 18.Qd2 Rfd8 19.Rad1 Nf6 20.Bf1 h5 21.Re3
Rd7 22.h3 Rad8 23.Qc2 Kh7
Vassily Ivanchuk
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 23...Kh7
24.Rf3
[24.Nd5 is available both here and in the final position. 24...Bxd5 (24...exd5 25.exd5 Qc5 26.Qd2 Kg8 27.b4
axb3 28.axb3 Bxd5 29.cxd5) 25.exd5 e5 26.Rb1]
24...Kg7 25.Re3 Kh7 1/2-1/2

Sergey Karjakin and Nigel Short at the start of Round 8. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Nigel Short played his Keres (...Nd7) defence to the Ruy Lopez and obtained a fully satisfactory position. His
opponent Sergey Karjakin let Short have two rooks for a queen and turned down the chance for perpetual check
this left him with a position that turned out to suit the Queen and at least left Short with the harder work to do
and in fact his passive position collapsed quite quickly.
Karjakin,Sergey - Short,Nigel [C96]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7
12.Nbd2 exd4 13.cxd4 Re8 14.d5 Bf6 15.Rb1 Ra7
[15...Nb6 16.Nf1 Nac4 17.Ng3 Ne5 18.Nh2 g6 19.Rf1 Bh4 20.Ne2 c4 21.Nd4 Nbd7 22.b4 Bb7 23.f4 Nd3
24.Bxd3 cxd3 25.Qxd3 Qe7 26.Ndf3 Bf6 27.Re1 Rac8 28.Ng4 Bg7 29.Bb2 Bxb2 30.Rxb2 h5 31.Nf2 Qf6
32.Qd2 Qc3 33.Re2 Nb6 34.Rc2 Qxd2 35.Rexd2 Kg7 36.Nd4 Rxc2 37.Rxc2 Rc8 38.Rxc8 Bxc8 39.g4 hxg4
40.hxg4 f5 41.gxf5 gxf5 42.a3 fxe4 43.Nxe4 Nxd5 44.f5 Nb6 45.Nxd6 Kf6 46.Kf2 Ke5 47.Nxc8 Nxc8 48.Ke3
Nd6 49.Nc6+ Kd5 50.Nb8 Nxf5+ 51.Kd3 Nd6 52.Nxa6 Nc4 53.Nc7+ Kc6 1/2-1/2 Short,N (2660)-Mecking,H
(2565)/Bazna ROM 2008/The Week in Chess 707]
16.b3 h6 17.Nf1 Ne5 18.Bf4 Rc7 19.Ng3 Nxf3+ 20.Qxf3 Nb7 21.Nh5 Be5 22.Re3 Qh4 23.Bg3 Bxg3 24.Nxg3
Qg5 25.Rf1 Rce7 26.Qe2 f5 27.f4 Qf6 28.Nh5 Qb2 29.e5 dxe5 30.Rb1 Qd4 31.Rd1 exf4 32.Rxd4 Rxe3 33.Qd2
[33.Nf6+ gxf6 34.Qh5 with perpetual.]
33...Re1+ 34.Kh2 f3 35.Bd1 cxd4
[35...R1e2 equalises but it would be a very brave man to take on this variation.]
36.Bxf3 Nd6 37.Qxd4 R1e7

Black has by far the more difficult task in defending this position. The queen is very much better than the two
rooks which are tied down.
38.Qb6 Ne4 39.Nf4 Rb7 40.Qc6 Nf6?
A final blunder in a terribly difficult position.
[40...Rbe7]
41.Nh5! Rf8 42.Nxf6+ gxf6 43.Qxa6 Kg7 44.d6 Rd7 45.Qxb5 Rxd6 46.a4 Kg6 47.a5 Rfd8 48.b4 Ba6 49.Bh5+
Kg5
[49...Kxh5 50.Qxf5+ Kh4 51.g3#]
50.h4+ Kf4 51.Qc5 Bd3 52.b5 Rd5 53.Qc7+ Ke3 54.b6 Be4 55.b7 Rg8 56.b8Q Rxg2+ 57.Kh3 Rd3 58.Qc4 Rg1
59.Qxd3+ Kxd3 60.Qb3+ Kd2 61.Qb2+ 1-0
Peter Leko against Jan Smeets in Round 8. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Jan Smeets allowed a very nice combination winning a pawn with 16...0-0-0? Leko took his time but converted
fairly confidently eventually trapping black's king rather than converting the pawn.
Leko,Peter - Smeets,Jan [C42]

[Michiel Abeln]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3 Nc6 8.Qd2 Be6 9.0-0-0 Qd7 10.Kb1
Bf6 11.h4 h6 12.a3 a6 13.Nd4 Nxd4 14.Bxd4 Qe7 15.Qf4 Be5 16.Qe4 0-0-0?
Jan Smeets
Peter Leko
Position after 16...0-0-0
Allowing a pretty nice combination.
[16...c6]
17.Bxe5! f6
[17...dxe5 18.Bxa6; 17...f5 18.Qe3 dxe5 19.Bxa6 Kb8 20.Be2]
18.Qe3 fxe5 19.Qa7 Qf7 20.Qa8+ Kd7 21.Qxb7 Rb8 22.Qxa6 Qxf2
[22...Rb6 23.Qa4+ Ke7 24.Qa7 Kd7 25.a4 Rhb8 26.Bb5+ Kd8]
23.Bc4 Bf5 24.Bd3 Be6 25.Bc4 Bf5 26.Bb3 Qb6 27.Qxb6 Rxb6 28.Rhf1 g6 29.Bd5 c6 30.Bf3 Ra8 31.Kc1 Ke7
32.h5 d5 33.hxg6 Bxg6 34.Rh1 Rh8 35.b4 e4 36.Be2 Ke6 37.Rh3 Rb7 38.Rdh1 Rbh7 39.a4 Bf5 40.Rh4 Ke5
41.Rh5 Kf4 42.Rf1+ Ke3 43.Rhxf5 Kxe2 44.R5f2+ Ke3 45.Kd1 1-0
Carlsen,Magnus - Kramnik,Vladimir [E04]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 a5 7.Nc3 0-0 8.a3
[8.0-0 Bd7 9.Ne5 Bc6 10.Nxc6 Nxc6 11.a3 Be7 12.e3 Nd7 13.Rc1 e5 14.Nd5 exd4 15.exd4 Nxd4 16.Rxc4 c5
17.Bf4 Ra6 18.Bc7 Qe8 19.Re1 Re6 20.Bxa5 Bd8 21.Bd2 b5 22.Rxd4 cxd4 23.Rf1 f5 24.Bb4 Rf7 25.Nf4 Re4
26.Bxe4 fxe4 27.Qxd4 Bb6 28.Qd5 Nf6 29.Qe6 Qxe6 30.Nxe6 Rd7 31.Bc5 Bxc5 32.Nxc5 Rd2 33.b4 Re2
34.Rd1 Ng4 35.Nxe4 Rxe4 36.f3 Re3 37.fxg4 Rxa3 38.Rd5 Ra2 39.Rxb5 Kf7 40.Rb7+ Kg6 41.h3 h6 42.Rb6+
Kg5 43.Rb5+ Kg6 44.Rb7 Kf6 45.b5 Ra1+ 46.Kf2 Ra2+ 47.Ke3 Ra3+ 48.Kd4 Rxg3 49.b6 Rxh3 50.Rd7 Rh1
51.b7 Rd1+ 52.Kc5 Rxd7 53.b8Q Kf7 54.Kc6 Re7 55.Qb3+ Kf8 56.Kd6 Re8 57.Qc4 Re7 58.Qc5 Kf7 59.Qd5+
Kf8 60.Qf3+ Ke8 61.Qf5 Re1 62.Qf4 Re7 63.Qc4 Kf8 64.Qc5 Kf7 65.Qc4+ Kf8 1/2-1/2 Avrukh,B (2652)-
Eljanov,P (2639)/Amsterdam NED 2005/The Week in Chess 559]
8...Be7
A novelty in a rare position. It seems better than the previously played 8...Bxc3.
[8...Bxc3 9.bxc3 b5 10.Ne5 Ra6 11.0-0 Nfd7 12.a4 c6 13.Nxc6 Rxc6 14.Bxc6 Nxc6 15.axb5 Ne7 16.Qa4 Nb6
17.Qxa5 Bb7 18.f3 h6 19.Qa7 Bc8 20.e4 Bd7 21.Bf4 Nec8 22.Qb8 Ne7 23.Qxd8 Rxd8 24.Bc7 Rc8 25.Bxb6
Bxb5 26.Bc5 Rc7 27.Rfb1 Bc6 28.Bxe7 Rxe7 29.Rb4 1-0 Scarella,E (2348)-Del Cuadro,N (2186)/Villa
Ballester 2004/CBM 101 ext]
9.Qa4 c6 10.Qxc4 b5 11.Qb3 Ba6 12.Bg5 Nbd7 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Qc2 b4 15.Na4 Rc8 16.0-0 c5 17.d5 exd5
18.Bh3 Bb5 19.axb4 axb4 20.Rfd1 d4 21.Bf5 Ne5 22.Bxh7+ Kg7 23.Nxe5 fxe5 24.Bf5 Rc6 25.Qe4 Rh8
26.Qxe5+ Bf6 27.Qe4 Re8 28.Qg4+ Kf8
Vladimir Kramnik
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 28...Kf8
29.Be4
[29.e3 might be better in retrospect.]
29...c4!
Sacrificing the exchange, the taking of which turns out to be very hot indeed.
30.Bxc6 Bxc6
Vladimir Kramnik
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 30...Bxc6
31.Qh5
Maybe this is an error.
[31.Nc5 Qd5 32.Qf3 Qxf3 33.exf3]
31...Re5 32.Qh6+ Ke7 33.e4
[33.Qd2 Rb5 34.Rac1 Rb8 35.b3 c3]
33...d3 34.Qe3 Bxe4
Vladimir Kramnik
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 34...Bxe4
35.Nb6?
An error in a difficult position.
[35.Re1? d2 36.Red1 Bc2 37.Rxd2 Rxe3 38.Rxd8 Ra3 39.bxa3 Kxd8]
[35.Qd2! Qd6 36.Rac1 Bd5 and white can continue]

35...Bb7 36.Qf4?
White already lost but this certainly decides things.
[36.Ra7 Rxe3 37.Rxb7+ Ke6 38.fxe3 c3]
36...Qxb6 37.Qxc4 Re2 38.Rf1 0-1
Kramnik joins Alexei Shirov in the lead on 6.5/9 after Shirov sacrificed material for perpetial check against
Vassily Ivanchuk in an interesting Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence.
Ivanchuk,Vassily - Shirov,Alexei [C78]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4 Rb8 8.c3 d6 9.d4 Bb6 10.axb5 axb5 11.Na3
Bg4 12.Nxb5 0-0 13.Re1 Bxf3 14.gxf3 Nh5 15.Kh1 Qf6 16.Rg1 exd4
A new twist in a well known position.
[16...Nf4 17.Be3 Ne6 18.Bxe6 fxe6 19.Rg3 Kh8 20.Qd3 exd4 21.cxd4 e5 22.d5 Ne7 (22...Nd4 23.Bxd4 exd4
24.Rc1 Rf7 25.Rc4 Qe5 26.Rc6 g6 27.b4 Kg8 28.Kg2 Rb7 29.Rc4 Rb8 30.Nxd4 Ra8 31.Qd2 Ra1 32.Ne6 Rb1
33.Rc2 Re7 34.Ra2 Ra1 35.Qh6 Rf7 36.Qg5 Qxg5 37.Rxa1 Qxg3+ 38.fxg3 h6 39.Ra8+ Kh7 40.f4 g5 41.Kf3
gxf4 42.gxf4 Re7 43.Rf8 c6 44.dxc6 Rxe6 45.Rf7+ Kg6 46.Rb7 Re8 47.Rxb6 Rc8 48.b5 1-0 Krebs,J (2381)-
Huybrecht,F (2331)/ICCF email 2000/Corr 2002) 23.Bxb6 Rxb6 24.Nxc7 Rxb2 25.Ne6 Rg8 26.Kg1 Ng6
27.Qa3 Rb6 28.Kh1 Nf4 29.Nxg7 Ne2 30.Nf5 Rgb8 31.Qd3 Rb2 32.Rf1 Ra8 33.Qc4 Nxg3+ 34.hxg3 Qd8
35.Qc1 Rb3 36.Kg2 Qf8 37.Qc7 1-0 Svidler,P (2690)-Shirov,A (2710)/Linares ESP 1998]
17.Bg5 Qe5 18.Bd5 dxc3 19.Bxc6 cxb2 20.Rb1 Bxf2
Black has three pawns for his piece and pressure on the kingside.
21.Rg2 Rb6 22.Qd5 Bc5 23.Rbxb2
[23.Nxc7 Nf4 24.Qxe5 dxe5 25.Bxf4 exf4 and the b-pawn seems enough compensation for the piece.]
23...Rxc6 24.Qxc6 Ng3+!
Alexei Shirov
Vassily Ivanchuk
Position after 24...Ng3+
Forcing a draw or winning the exchange.
25.hxg3 Qxg5 26.Rb1 Qh5+ 27.Rh2 Qxf3+ 28.Rg2 Qh5+ 1/2-1/2
Nigel Short continued to vary his opening repertoire by playing an f4 Sicilian Closed against Leinier
Dominguez Perez which was draw in 27 moves.
Short,Nigel - Dominguez Perez,Leinier [B23]

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nge2 Nf6 4.f4 a6
[4...e5 5.d3 Nc6 6.Ng3 Be7 7.Be2 Nd4 8.0-0 exf4 9.Bxf4 0-0 10.Kh1 d5 11.Bf3 Nxf3 12.gxf3 Be6 13.Rg1 Re8
14.Qe2 g6 15.Rae1 Rc8 16.Qf2 Qb6 17.Be5 dxe4 18.Ncxe4 Nd7 19.Bc3 c4 20.Bd4 Qa6 21.dxc4 Qxc4 22.c3
Qxa2 23.Nh5 Qa5 24.Ng7 Rf8 25.Qd2 Rc4 26.Qh6 Rxd4 27.Nxe6 fxe6 28.Rxg6+ Kf7 29.Rg7+ Ke8 30.Qxe6
Kd8 31.Qxe7+ Kc7 32.Qxf8 1-0 Short,N (2655)-Karjakin,S (2727)/Kiev UKR 2008/The Week in Chess 713]
5.g3
[5.d3 g6 6.g3 b5 7.Bg2 Bb7 8.a3 Bg7 9.0-0 Nc6 10.h3 e6 11.Be3 Nd7 12.f5 Nd4 13.fxe6 Nxe6 14.Qd2 0-0
15.Rf2 Nb6 16.Bh6 d5 17.Raf1 d4 18.Nd1 Bxh6 19.Qxh6 Qg5 20.Qxg5 Nxg5 21.h4 Ne6 22.Bh3 Bc8 23.b4
Na4 24.Kh2 Ra7 25.c3 Rd8 26.cxd4 cxd4 27.Nf4 1/2-1/2 Short,N (2655)-Van Wely,L (2644)/London ENG
5...g6 6.Bg2 Bg7 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d3 0-0 9.h3 Nd7 10.Be3 b5 11.a3 Bb7 12.Qd2 Nd4 13.Rae1 e6 14.Nd1 Qc7
15.Nc1 f5 16.c3 Nc6 17.exf5 exf5 18.Bd5+ Kh8 19.Qg2 Rae8 20.Bf2 Nb6 21.Bf3 Nd8 22.Ne3 Bxf3 23.Qxf3
Qc6 24.Kg2 Kg8 25.Re2 Qxf3+ 26.Kxf3 Ne6 27.Rfe1 Nc7
Careful play from both sides should draw the game.
1/2-1/2

Nigel Short
Final Position
Hikaru Nakamura against Sergey Karjakin was a sharp Nimzo Indian 4.Nf3. The game was very complicated
and then suddenly on the run up to the first time control it became very difficult for Nakamura and his position
fell apart. It's not clear to me where he went wrong.
Nakamura,Hikaru - Karjakin,Sergey [E21]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 c5 5.g3 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Ne4 7.Qd3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Be7 9.Bg2 0-0 10.0-0 d6
11.Rd1 a6 12.Nb3 Qc7 13.Bf4
[13.Rb1 Nc6 14.Ba3 Rd8 15.Nd2 b5 16.Be4 g6 17.Bg2 Rb8 18.cxb5 axb5 19.c4 bxc4 20.Qxc4 d5 21.Qc3 Bxa3
22.Qxa3 Bd7 23.Rxb8 Rxb8 24.Nb3 Be8 25.Rc1 Qb6 26.e3 Ne5 27.Qe7 Qd8 28.Qa7 Ra8 29.Qd4 Nc6 30.Qb2
Na5 31.Nc5 Rc8 32.Qb4 Nc4 33.e4 Qd6 34.Nd3 dxe4 35.Qxd6 Nxd6 36.Rxc8 Nxc8 37.Bxe4 Kf8 38.f4 Ke7
39.Kf2 Kd6 40.Ke3 Bb5 41.Kd4 f6 42.Kc3 Ne7 43.Kb4 f5 44.Bxf5 Ba6 45.Be4 Nd5+ 46.Bxd5 Kxd5 47.Nc5
Bf1 48.Nd7 h6 49.Kc3 Ke4 50.Nc5+ Kf5 51.Kd4 g5 52.fxg5 hxg5 53.a4 Kg4 54.Nxe6 Kh3 55.Nxg5+ Kxh2
56.Ne4 Kh3 57.Ke3 Bg2 58.Kf4 1-0 Babujian,L (2415)-Ibrahimov,R (2537)/Urumia IRI 2008/The Week in
Chess 722]
13...e5 14.Be3 Nd7 15.Nd2 f5 16.Rab1 Rb8 17.Ba7 Ra8 18.Be3 Rb8 19.Ba7 Ra8 20.Bd5+ Kh8 21.Qe3 Nf6
22.Bb6 Qd7 23.f4 Qe8 24.Nf3 Qh5 25.Kh1 Re8 26.Qg1
[26.fxe5 Ng4 27.Qg1 dxe5 28.c5]
26...Nxd5 27.cxd5 Bf6 28.Qf2 Bd7 29.c4 Rac8 30.Rdc1 h6 31.e3 Re7 32.c5 exf4 33.gxf4 dxc5 34.Bxc5 Re4
35.Rxb7 Bb5
Sergey Karjakin
Hikaru Nakamura
Position after 35...Bb5
White's position has suddenly got very difficult.
36.Qg2
[36.d6 Rc4 37.Rxc4 Bxc4 38.Rc7 Rb8]
36...Rc4 37.Rg1 Rc2 38.Qg3 Be2 39.Ne1 R2xc5 40.e4 fxe4 41.Rxg7 Bf3+ 42.Nxf3 Qxf3+ 43.Qxf3 exf3
44.R7g6 Bg7 45.Rxa6 Rc1 46.Rc6 Rxg1+ 47.Kxg1 Bd4+ 48.Kh1 Rb8 0-1
(4) Carlsen,Magnus (2810) - Kramnik,Vladimir (2788) [E04]

[Torrecillas,A]
1.d4 Cf6 2.c4 e6 3.Cf3 d5 4.g3 En la conferencia de prensa posterior a la partida Kramnik
comentó que cree que Carlsen se equivocó al escoger la apertura Catalana en la que el
ruso se considera un especialista y tiene muy buenos resultados tanto con blancas como con negras.
4...dxc4 5.Ag2 Ab4+ 6.Ad2 a5 7.Cc3 0-0 8.a3 [En una reciente partida de Kramnik se jugó esta
línea: 8.Ag5 b5 9.Ce5 Ta6 10.a4 bxa4 11.Cxc4 h6 12.Axf6 Dxf6 13.0-0 Td8 14.Dxa4 Ad7 15.Dd1 Ae8
16.e3 c5 17.d5 Axc3 18.bxc3 Dxc3 19.Tc1 Df6 ... El negro tuvo el mando de la partida pero
finalmente acabó en empate tras 81 jugadas, Gelfand,Boris-Kramnik,Vladimir Moscow, nov 2009.]
8...Ae7 [Otra idea es intentar mantener el peón con: 8...Axc3!? 9.bxc3 (9.Axc3 c6 /\ ...b5.) 9...Cbd7 /\
...Cb6]
9.Da4 c6 10.Dxc4 b5 11.Db3 [Otra idea es: 11.Dd3 Aa6 12.Ce4 donde el blanco cambia su Cc3
quitando fuerza a un posible ...b4.]
11...Aa6 12.Ag5 [No se puede: 12.0-0? b4 13.Ca4 Axe2 ]
12...Cbd7 13.Axf6 gxf6! Diagrama

El negro considera que es importante mantener sus piezas controlando c5y e5 aunque se abra la
posición del rey negro. [13...Axf6 14.Ce4 ; 13...Cxf6 14.Ce5 ]
14.Dc2 b4 15.Ca4 Tc8 16.0-0 c5 17.d5! Un sacrificio típico pero valiente que abre paso a las piezas
blancas sobre el enroque negro a través de la casilla f5. [17.dxc5 Cxc5 da al negro una posición
confortable.]
17...exd5 18.Ah3 [Otra opción es: 18.Tfd1 d4 19.Df5 Ad6 (pero no: 19...Axe2? 20.Cxd4! cxd4 21.Ae4
Te8 22.Dxh7+ Rf8 23.Dh8# ) 20.Ch4 Te8 21.Ae4 Cf8 y el negro consigue defender a su rey.]
18...Ab5 19.axb4 axb4 20.Tfd1 d4 21.Af5 Ce5!! Diagrama
Según Kramnik una gran jugada de la que se siente muy orgulloso. [Si el negro juega pasivo con, por
ej: 21...h6 (para desclavarse con Tc7 y luego emprender acciones activas similares a la partida), el
blanco puede mejorar sus piezas con ideas como b3+Cb2-c4 o e3.]
22.Axh7+ Carlsen prefiere abrir líneas en el enroque negro a comerse la calidad que se le ofrecía.
[22.Cxe5 fxe5 23.Axc8 (23.b3!? es la segunda propuesta de Rybka cuya clara idea es contener los
peones negros y reubicar el caballo vía b2-c4.) 23...Dxc8 da al negro una versión mejorada de la
partida en la que la diagonal blanca y la masa de peones le dan gran ventaja.; 22.Axc8 d3 (22...Dxc8
(con la amenaza de 23...d3) es también bueno para el negro.) 23.Dc1 Dxc8 24.Cxe5 dxe2 da una
buena posición al negro.]
22...Rg7 23.Cxe5 [De nuevo aparece el tema: 23.Af5? d3!-/+ ]
23...fxe5 24.Af5 Tc6 25.De4 [Al igual que comento antes, es posible: 25.b3!? /\ Cb2-c4.]
25...Th8 26.Dxe5+ Af6 27.De4 Te8 28.Dg4+ Rf8 29.Ae4

29...c4!! Kramnik no duda en sacrificar una calidad (¡de nuevo!) para conseguir el control de la gran
diagonal blanca combinado con la peligrosa masa de peones negros del ala de dama. [29...Tc7
30.b3! permite frenar los peones negros.]
30.Axc6 La fuerza de la anterior jugada negra se ve en que Carlsen dedicó en esta jugada más de
11 minutos de los poco más de 15 que disponía hasta el control de la jugada 40. Está claro que
sentía los peligros de su posición. Otro detalle es que el fortísimo programa Rybka sugiere varias
líneas en las que sacrifica material a cambio de neutralizar la masa de peones negra del ala de dama
y también evitar los temas sobre la gran diagonal.
30...Axc6 31.Dh5 La dama aquí controla la temible posibilidad de Dd5. [Otra opción es: 31.Cc5!? con
idea de responder a: 31...Dd5 con: 32.Df3! pero hay ... 32...Dxf3 33.exf3 d3!-/+ y los peones negros
siguen siendo una amenaza.]
31...Te5 32.Dh6+ Re7 [32...Rg8!? puede ser aún mejor.]
33.e4 [Rybka está incómodo en esta posición y sugiere líneas en las que sacrifica material a cambio
de los peones negros: 33.Dd2 c3 (33...Tb5!? es posible.; 33...Dd5!? también.) 34.Cxc3 bxc3 35.bxc3
Dd5 36.f3 y parece que el blanco aguanta.]
33...d3 34.De3 [Aquí Rybka sugiere dar una torre por los peones centrales negros a la vez que
mantiene e4 para no abrir la gran diagonal blanca: 34.Te1!? Dd4 35.Dd2 Re8 36.Dxb4 d2 37.Cc3
dxe1D+ 38.Txe1-/+ donde el blanco tiene 3 peones por la pieza y únicamente está peor.]
34...Axe4
[34...Txe4!? 35.Da7+ Re8 también es buena.]
35.Cb6? Aquí Carlsen estaba con muy poco tiempo (menos de un minuto) y es normal que no
encuentre la mejor defensa. La jugada se justifica en muchas líneas porque permite el jaque de torre
en a7, pero el negro la va a refutar evitando dicho jaque y decidiendo la partida. [Una fantástica
variante es: 35.Te1!? d2 36.Ted1 Ac2 37.Txd2? (37.Dxd2 ) 37...Txe3 38.Txd8 y ahora hay la
sorprendente y decisiva: 38...Ta3!! 39.bxa3 Rxd8 40.Tc1 b3 /\ c3-b2 ganando.; Lo mejor parece ser:
35.Dd2!? Dd6 36.Tac1 Ad5 donde el negro tiene una fuerte presión por sus amenazantes peones del
ala de dama, pero el blanco aún puede luchar.]
35...Ab7! Después de esta exacta retirada, el Cb6 no tiene defensa.
36.Df4 Dxb6 37.Dxc4 Te2 38.Tf1 El blanco abandona ya que el negro gana sencilla y
contundentemente con 38... Ad4. Kramnik comentó que ésta sea posiblemente la mejor partida de su
carrera y no es de extrañar que recibiera el premio de 500 euros a la mejor partida del día otorgado
por el GM comentarista oficial Ivan Sokolov. 0-1
(13) Kramnik (2788) - Ivanchuk (2749) [D39]

[Torrecillas, A]
1.d4 Cf6 2.c4 e6 3.Cf3 d5 Ivanchuk permite a Kramnik entrar en una de sus armas favoritas: la
Apertura Catalana, que jugara con negras en la importante partida del día anterior contra Carlsen.
4.Cc3 Pero Kramnik rechaza la invitación. Parece una pequeña victoria psicológica para el negro. En
realidad ya hizo la misma elección en el campeonato mundial en el que se enfrentó a Anand (8a
partida) y allí también llamó la atención que no entrara en la Catalana. [La partida de la ronda
anterior contra Carlsen continuó con: 4.g3 dxc4 5.Ag2 Ab4+ 6.Ad2 a5 y la tienen extensamente
analizada en la web inforchess.]
4...dxc4 5.e4 Ab4 6.Ag5 Esta línea es conocida como Variante Vienesa del Gambito de Dama y se
caracteriza por los sacrificios de peón que hace el blanco para obtener la iniciativa.
6...h6 Esta jugada también ha sido empleada recientemente por Morozevic y el propio Kramnik con
negras. [Kramnik se ha enfrentado en varias ocasiones a la variante más popular, veamos las más
recientes: 6...c5 7.Axc4 cxd4 (aquí se puede trasponer a la partida con: 7...h6 8.Axf6 Dxf6 ) 8.Cxd4
Axc3+ 9.bxc3 Da5 10.Axf6 (10.Ab5+ Ad7 11.Axf6 gxf6 12.Axd7+ Cxd7 13.0-0 a6 14.Tb1 Dc7 15.Dh5
Cc5 16.Tb4 De5 17.Dh6 Tc8 18.Cf3 Dxc3 19.Td4 Re7 20.e5 Cd7 21.Dh4 Thg8 22.Rh1 b5 23.h3 Tc4
24.Txd7+ Rxd7 25.Dxf6 Dd3 26.Dxf7+ Rc6 27.Dxe6+ Rb7 28.Te1 Tg6 29.Df7+ Tc7 30.Df4 Tc4
31.Df8 Tc8 32.De7+ Tc7 33.Dh4 Dc4 34.Cd4 Dxa2 35.De4+ Rb6 36.De3 Rb7 37.Df3+ Rb6 38.Cb3
Tc2 39.De3+ Rb7 40.e6 Txf2 41.De4+ Rb6 42.Dd4+ 1-0 Kramnik,V-Naiditsch,A Dortmund julio 2009.)
10...Dxc3+ 11.Rf1 gxf6 12.Tc1 Da5 13.g3 0-0 14.Rg2 Td8 15.Ad5 Cd7 16.Axe6 Ce5 17.Axc8 Taxc8
18.Txc8 Txc8 19.Cf5 Db4 20.Te1 Te8 21.Te3 b6 22.Dh5 Cg6 23.h4 Rh8 24.Dg4 Tg8 25.Ch6 Tf8
26.Tf3 Dd2 27.Dh5 Dd4 28.Cg4 f5 29.exf5 Ce7 30.Dh6 Tg8 31.Cf6 Tg7 32.Ch5 Tg8 33.Df6+ Dxf6
34.Cxf6 Tc8 35.g4 Rg7 36.Ch5+ Rf8 37.Te3 Tc4 38.Cf6 Cc6 39.Rg3 Cd4 40.Te8+ Rg7 41.Ch5+ Rh6
42.Cf4 Tc3+ 43.Rg2 Rg7 44.Te4 Cf3 45.Ch5+ Rh6 1/2-1/2 Kramnik,V-Morozevich,A/Moscow blitz
Nov 2009.]
7.Axf6 Dxf6 8.Axc4 c5 9.0-0 [La reciente partida de Kramnik a que me refería es: 9.e5 Dd8 10.d5
exd5 11.Axd5 0-0 12.Tc1 Cc6 13.0-0 Cd4 14.Ae4 Te8 15.Cd5 Af5 16.Axf5 Dxd5 17.Cxd4 Txe5
18.Cb5 Dxd1 19.Tfxd1 Txf5 20.a3 c4 21.axb4 Txb5 22.Txc4 a5 23.g3 1/2-1/2 Aronian,L-Kramnik,V
Moscow Nov 2009.]
9...0-0 10.e5 Dd8 11.De2 El blanco no duda en sacrificar temporalmente su peón "d" para trasladar
sus piezas al ataque en el ala de rey. [En mi base de datos hay varias partidas entre engines con:
11.a3 ]
11...cxd4 12.Tad1 Ad7N Diagrama
[Hay una antigua partida con: 12...Cc6 13.Cb5 Ac5 14.De4 Ad7 15.Cbxd4 De7 16.Ad3 g6 17.Cb3
Ab6 18.Df4 Guimard-Fine New York (USA) 1951, que acabó ganando el negro.]
13.Ce4 Cc6 14.Cg3 Dc7 15.Ad3 El blanco continúa el traslado de piezas al ala de rey para atacar el
enroque.
15...Ce7 El caballo negro acude a la defensa de los puntos g6 y f5.
16.Tc1 Ac6 17.Cxd4 Tad8 18.Tc4 Db6 19.Dg4 El blanco sigue acumulando piezas para el ataque al
enroque sin importarle que con sus maniobras sus piezas quedan amenazadas en la columna "d".
19...Ac5 20.Ch5 g6
21.Axg6!? Diagrama
Iniciando las complicaciones. En este momento Ivanchuk empezaba a estar apurado de tiempo. Hay
que reconocer que Kramnik está tomando riesgos con múltiples sacrificios en sus partidas en busca
de la victoria. [Había aún una solución pacífica: 21.Cxc6 bxc6= ]
21...Cxg6 [Es claro que no se puede: 21...Txd4?? 22.Ah7+! Rxh7 23.Dg7# ; En cambio, era posible
también: 21...fxg6!? 22.Cf6+! Rh8 23.Cxe6 Axf2+! 24.Txf2 Td2 con enormes complicaciones.]
22.Cxe6 Ae7! Excelente defensa. [En cambio, ahora no vale: 22...Axf2+? 23.Txf2 Td2 24.Tcf4! Txf2
25.Cf6+ Rh8 26.Txf2+- y las amenazas Cxf8 y Dh3xh6 deciden la partida.]
23.Cxd8 [23.Chf4 Rh7 da suficiente defensa al negro.]
23...Dxd8 [Es también posible: 23...Txd8 24.e6 Ad5 (pero no: 24...Ab5? 25.exf7+ Rf8 26.Cf4! con
ataque.) 25.Cf4 Axe6 26.Cxe6 Dxe6 27.Dxe6 fxe6 28.Tc7 b5 y el negro tiene un final algo mejor.]
24.e6 [Sobre esta jugada se interrumpió las transmisión en directo. Rybka daba como posibilidad:
24.Td1!? Da5 25.f4 que parece molesta por la amenaza f5xg6. (25.Cf6+!? ) pero hay defensa:
25...Td8! 26.Txd8+ Axd8 27.h3 Dd2! 28.Rh2 (28.f5? De1+ 29.Rh2 Ab6!-+ ) 28...Ab6 29.Dc8+!
(nuevamente: 29.f5? De1!-+ ) 29...Cf8 30.Cf6+ Rg7 31.Ch5+ Rg8 con tablas.]
24...Dd5 25.exf7+ Rh7 El negro, que disponía de unos 4 minutos para el control de la jugada 40,
decidió proponer el empate. [Tras: 25...Rh7 26.Cf4 (26.Dxg6+ Rxg6 27.Cf4+ Rxf7 28.Cxd5 Axd5
lleva a un final donde el negro tiene una ligera ventaja.) 26...Cxf4 27.Txf4 Txf7 28.Txf7+ Dxf7 parece
que el negro tenga una "ventajilla" testimonial.] 1/2-1/2
(1) Short,Nigel (2696) - Kramnik,Vladimir (2788) [C43]

Corus A Wijk (7), 23.01.2010
[Karsten Mueller]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.dxe5 d5 5.Nbd2 Nc5 6.a3 a5 7.Be2 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Re1 Nc6 10.Nf1 Bf5
11.Ng3 Bg6 12.Be3 a4 13.Bb5 Na5 14.Nd4 c6 15.Bf1 f6 16.exf6 Bxf6 17.Nxc6 bxc6 18.Bxc5 Re8 19.Qd2
Rxe1 20.Rxe1 Nc4 21.Bxc4 dxc4 22.Qb4 c3 23.bxc3 Qd2 24.Qc4+ Kh8 25.Re2 Qd1+ 26.Nf1 Bxc3 27.h3
Rd8 28.Re3 Bd2 29.Rf3 Bg5 30.Qxa4 Bxc2 31.Qa5 h6 32.Be3 Bxe3 33.Rxe3 Qd4 34.Rc3 Be4 35.Ne3 Qd2
36.Qe5 Rf8 37.Kh2 Bd5 38.Rc2 Qd3 39.a4 Qg6 40.Rb2 Re8 41.Rb8 Rxb8 42.Qxb8+ Bg8 43.Qe5 Qf7
44.Nf5 Qa7 45.a5 c5 46.f4 Ba2 47.a6 Bc4 48.Nxh6 Qxa6 49.Nf5 Qf6 Knights are strong when in control. This
time, unlike the example from last week, the knight looks better off:
50.Qxc5? Short allows Kramnik either to exchange his knight or to win the f-pawn [After the exchange of
queens 50.Qxf6 gxf6 51.Ne3 the knight has everything under control and can keep on manoeuvring until the
black walls give way, e.g. 51...Bd3 52.g4 c4 53.Nd5 Kg7 (After 53...f5 54.g5 everything is blockaded and the
activation of the white king will decide the day. 54...Kg7 55.Kg3 Be4 56.Nc3 Bh1 57.Kf2 Kg6 58.Ke3 Bg2
59.h4 Kh5 60.Kd4 Bf3 61.Kxc4 Kxh4 62.Kd4 Kh5 63.Ke5 Kg6 64.Nd5 Kf7 65.Ne3+- ) 54.Kg3 Kf7 55.f5 Be4
56.Nc3 Bc6 57.Kf4 Bg2 58.h4 Bh3 This formation too should be won. The knight and the king can once again
position themselves better befor White advances any more, e.g. 59.Nd1 Bg2 (59...Kg7 60.Kg3 Bf1 61.Kf2 Bd3
(61...Bh3 62.Ne3+- ) 62.Ke3 Bc2 63.Nf2 c3 64.Kd4 Bxf5 65.gxf5 c2 66.Nd3+- ) 60.Ke3 Bc6 61.Kd4 Bf3 62.Nf2
Be2 And now a favourable moment has arrived: 63.g5 Kg7 64.Ne4 fxg5 65.hxg5 Bg4 66.f6+ Kg6 67.Nc5 Be2
68.Ne6 Kf7 69.Nf4 Bf1 70.Kc3+- and Black is in a deadly zugzwang.]
50...Be6! 51.g4 [And 51.Ng3 Qxf4 52.Qh5+ Qh6 53.Qxh6+ gxh6 is also only a draw on account of the heavily
reduced material.]
51...Bxf5 52.Qxf5 [After 52.gxf5 White's pawn structure is so devalued that Black can hang on, e.g. 52...Qb2+
53.Kg3 Qb3+ 54.Kh4 Qf3 55.Qd4 Kh7 56.Qd2 (56.f6 gxf6 57.Qxf6 Qf2+= ) 56...Kg8 57.Qh2 Qd5 58.Qe2
Qxf5 59.Qe8+ Kh7 60.Qh5+ Qxh5+ 61.Kxh5 g6+ 62.Kg5 Kg7 63.h4 Kf7!= ]
52...Qb2+ 53.Kg3 Qc3+ 54.Kh4 Qe1+ 55.Kh5 Qe8+ 56.Qg6 Qe3! This activation of the black queen dashes
any hopes of winning.
57.Kg5 Qe7+ 58.Kh5 Qe3 59.Qf7 Qxh3+ 60.Kg5 Qh6+ 61.Kf5 g6+ Even the neat stalemate trick
[61...Qxf4+!? 62.Kxf4 g5+ 63.Kxg5 was playable.]
62.Ke5 Qg5+ 63.fxg5 1/2-1/2
(1) Lie,Kjetil A (2547) - Grandelius,Nils (2515) [A03]

Corus C Wijk aan Zee (9), 26.01.2010
[Reeh,Oliver]
1.f4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.d3 d5 4.e3 Bg7 5.Be2 0-0 6.0-0 c5 7.Qe1 Nc6 8.a4 Qc7 9.Qh4 e5 10.e4 dxe4 11.dxe4
Nxe4 12.fxe5 f5 13.exf6 Nxf6 14.Bc4+ Kh8 15.Bf4 Qd8 16.Nc3 Bf5 17.Rad1 Nd4 18.Ng5 Nh5 19.Bc1 Qd7
20.Bb5 Qc8 21.Nd5 h6 22.Ne4 Qd8 23.Ne7 Bf6 24.Rxf5 This creative shot to conquer the square g6 fails to a
counterstrike and leads to an advantage for Black - thus the right answer is C). [After 24.Nxf6 White possibly
disliked 24...Qxe7 pinning his Nf6, yet following 25.g4! Black's advantage, if ever, is only marginal.]
24...Nf3+! Clearing the d-file with tempo - the Rd1 is unprotected. [White's beautiful idea was 24...Bxh4
(24...gxf5 25.Ng6+ and 26.Qxh5) 25.Rxf8+ winning after 25...Qxf8 26.Nxg6+ ; or 24...Qxe7 25.Rxf6! Nxf6
26.Bg5! ]
25.Rxf3 Qxd1+ White's queen is attacked, so he always must react with counterattacks.
26.Rf1 Qd4+! The first point - Black's queen steps out of the attack with check. [Instead, very bad would have
been 26...Qxf1+? 27.Bxf1 Bxh4 28.Nxg6+ ; while 26...Bxe7 27.Rxd1 Bxh4 28.g3 is about equal]
27.Qf2 Again forced.
27...Qxe4 Now White's Ne7 is hanging, and after ...
28.Re1 ... the kicker
28...Bd4! finally seals Black's advantage - he remains an exchange up.
29.Rxe4 Bxf2+ [29...Rxf2? 30.Rxd4! ]
30.Kh1 Kg7 31.c3 Rad8 32.Be2 Bg3 33.Be3 Rd1+! Another little trick - the penetration on White's back rank
hastens the end.
34.Bg1 [34.Bxd1 Rf1+ 35.Bg1 Bf2 36.h4 Rxg1+ 37.Kh2 Ng3 and the curtain falls.]
34...Re1 35.Bxh5 Rxe4 36.Nxg6 Rf1 37.hxg3 Ree1 38.Kh2 Rxg1 39.g4 Rb1 40.Nf4 Rh1+ 41.Kg3 Rxb2
42.Ne6+ Kf6 43.Nxc5 Rg1 44.Kf3 b6 45.Ne4+ Ke5 46.g3 Rf1+ 0-1
Anand,V (2790) - Shirov,A (2723) [C78]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4 Rb8 8.c3 d6 9.d4 Bb6 10.a5. Avoiding the
razor-sharp 10.axb5 axb5 11.Na3 as seen in yesterday's Ivanchuk-Shirov, in favour of something less frybkable.
10...Ba7 11.h3 0–0 12.Be3 Ra8 13.Nbd2 Bb7 14.Re1 Re8 15.Ng5 Re7 16.d5 Nb8 17.Bxa7 Rxa7 18.Nf1 c6
19.Ne3 cxd5 20.exd5 h6 21.Nf3 Rc7 22.Nd2 Nbd7 23.c4 Nc5 24.Bc2 b4 25.Ndf1 Bc8 26.Ng3 g6 27.b3 Nh7
28.Ne4 f5 29.Nxc5 Rxc5 30.Qd2 Rb7 31.Bd3 f4 32.Nc2 Qg5 33.Ra4 Bxh3 34.Bf1 Nf6 35.f3 e4 36.fxe4 Re7
37.Nd4 Nxe4 38.Qd3 Bf5 39.Ne6??
39...Rxe6?? Missing a golden opportunity. As the world's assembled chess engines were unanimously
screaming, Black can win by 39...Ng3! The main point is that 40.Nxg5 loses to 40...Rxe1, whilst moving the
queen loses after a capture on e6, eg. 40.Qd4 Bxe6 41.dxe6 f3 etc. 40.dxe6. Now suddenly the game has turned
through 180 degrees, and White is winning. 40...Re5 41.Rxb4 Qd8 42.Qd4 f3 43.gxf3 Ng5 44.Rxe5 Nxf3+
45.Kf2 Nxe5 [45...Nxd4 46.e7 Qe8 47.Rb8+–] 46.Rb6 Bxe6 47.Be2 Qf6+ 48.Ke3 Qg5+ 49.Qf4 Qg1+ 50.Kd2
Qa1 51.Rxd6 Qxa5+ 52.Kd1 g5 53.Qd4 Kf7 54.Rd5 Bxd5 55.Qxe5 1-0
Karjakin,Sergey (2720) - Carlsen,M (2810) [C11]

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Qd2 0–0 9.Be2 a6 10.0–0 b5 11.Kh1
Qc7 12.a3 Bb7 13.Rad1 Rac8 14.Qe1 cxd4 15.Nxd4 Nxd4 16.Bxd4 Bc5 17.Qh4 Bxd4 18.Rxd4 f6 19.Bd3 h6
20.exf6 Rxf6
21.f5 Rcf8 22.Rg1 Nc5 23.fxe6 Nxe6 24.Rg4 Nf4 25.Qg3 Qe7 26.Rxf4 Rxf4 27.Ne2 Rf1 28.Nd4 Rxg1+
29.Kxg1 Re8 30.h4 Qe1+ 31.Kh2 Qxg3+ 32.Kxg3 Kf7 33.Kf2 Kf6 34.g3 Bc8 35.c3 Bg4 36.Bc2 g5 37.hxg5+
hxg5 38.Bb3 Ke5 39.Bc2 Rf8+ 40.Kg2 Bd7
41.Nf3+ Kf6 42.Bb3 g4 43.Nd4 Ke5 44.Bc2 a5 45.Bd1 Ke4 0-1
Anand,Viswanathan - Shirov,Alexei [C78]

Mark Crowther
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4 Rb8 8.c3 d6 9.d4 Bb6 10.a5 Ba7 11.h3 0-0
12.Be3 Ra8 13.Nbd2 Bb7 14.Re1 Re8
[14...exd4 15.cxd4 Nb4 16.Bg5 h6 17.Bh4 Nd3 18.Re3 Nf4 19.e5 dxe5 20.dxe5 Bxe3 21.fxe3 Ng6 22.exf6
Nxh4 23.Nxh4 Qxf6 24.Nhf3 c5 25.Qc2 c4 26.Ba2 Rad8 27.Re1 Rfe8 28.e4 Rd3 29.b3 Red8 30.Nf1 Rc3
31.Qb1 Rdd3 32.bxc4 Rxf3 33.gxf3 Rxf3 34.Re2 Rxh3 35.Qe1 bxc4 36.Bb1 c3 37.Re3 Qg5+ 38.Ng3 h5
39.Kg2 Qg4 40.Rxc3 h4 41.Rb3 hxg3 0-1 Bologan,V (2692)-Caruana,F (2652)/Reggio Emilia ITA 2009/The
Week in Chess 790]
15.Ng5 Re7
[15...Rf8 16.Nf1 Ne7 17.dxe5 Bxe3 18.Bxf7+ Rxf7 19.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 20.Kxf2 Qf8 21.Nh6+ gxh6 22.exf6 Qxf6+
23.Kg1 Ng6 24.Ne3 Re8 25.Nd5 Qe5 26.Qd4 c5 27.Qxe5 Rxe5 28.Rad1 Kg7 29.Ne3 Bxe4 30.Rxd6 1-0
Kosteniuk,A (2516)-Kosintseva,N (2486)/Konya 2009/CB00_2010]
16.d5 Nb8 17.Bxa7 Rxa7 18.Nf1 c6 19.Ne3 cxd5 20.exd5 h6 21.Nf3 Rc7 22.Nd2 Nbd7 23.c4 Nc5
Anand wasn't sure about this move for black.
24.Bc2 b4 25.Ndf1
White thought he had all the time in the world in this position. But in the cold light of day he admitted he was
just dreaming.
25...Bc8
Anand felt he should have had the advantage with more accurate play but after the game he wasn't entirely sure
where. Now after this move he understood he was slightly worse.
26.Ng3 g6 27.b3
White physically cuts out b3 for black which in some positions could be a major irritation.
27...Nh7
After this move Anand understood he was in serious trouble. At first he thought about resigning, but then he
found a resource. But he admitted that he still had to "pray to god it wasn't mate."
28.Ne4 f5 29.Nxc5 Rxc5 30.Qd2 Rb7 31.Bd3 f4
[31...Bd7 was the last safe possibility for black. Now he goes for it.]
32.Nc2 Qg5 33.Ra4 Bxh3 34.Bf1 Nf6 35.f3 e4 36.fxe4 Re7 37.Nd4 Nxe4 38.Qd3 Bf5
Alexei Shirov
Viswanathan Anand
38...Bf5
39.Ne6?
Ironically the winning move. It loses but Shirov was down to his last 60 seconds and he either sees Ng3 (and the
rather complicated way that it works) or he doesn't.
39...Rxe6?
[39...Ng3]
40.dxe6 Re5 41.Rxb4
Time trouble over and Anand is winning. But his inaccuracies continue.
41...Qd8 42.Qd4 f3?
This move probably isn't so good.
43.gxf3 Ng5 44.Rxe5 Nxf3+ 45.Kf2?!
[45.Kh1 Is a much better move.]
45...Nxe5 46.Rb6 Bxe6 47.Be2!
Finally Anand gets a grip. His intended captures on d6 fail but this accurate move gets him the win.
[47.Qxd6 Qh4+; 47.Rxd6 Qf6+]
47...Qf6+ 48.Ke3 Qg5+ 49.Qf4 Qg1+ 50.Kd2 Qa1 51.Rxd6 Qxa5+ 52.Kd1 g5 53.Qd4 Kf7 54.Rd5 Bxd5
55.Qxe5
Anand said he was "Ridiculously lucky" in this game.
1-0
Vladimir Kramnik and Vassily Ivanchuk played in Round 10. Photo © Mark Crowther.
Vladimir Kramnik and Vassily Ivanchuk played a sharp variation of the Vienna Queen's Gambit. Ivanchuk ran
short of time but Kramnik more or less forced a draw anyhow.
Kramnik,Vladimir - Ivanchuk,Vassily [D37]

Mark Crowther
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 Bb4 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bxf6 Qxf6 8.Bxc4 c5 9.0-0 0-0
[9...Bxc3 10.bxc3 cxd4 11.cxd4 0-0 12.Qe2 b6 13.Ne5 Bb7 14.f4 Nc6 15.Rad1 Rad8 16.Nxc6 Bxc6 17.f5 exf5
18.Rxf5 Qe7 19.Rf4 g5 20.Rg4 Kg7 21.e5 Bd5 22.Bxd5 Rxd5 23.Rf1 Rfd8 24.Qf2 Qd7 25.Qf6+ Kg8 26.Rg3
Qe6 27.h4 Qxf6 28.Rxf6 Rxd4 29.hxg5 Rd3 30.Rxd3 Rxd3 31.gxh6 Ra3 32.e6 fxe6 33.Kf2 Rxa2+ 34.Kf3 b5
35.g4 b4 36.g5 Rh2 37.Rxe6 b3 38.Re7 b2 39.Rb7 a5 40.Kg3 Rh5 41.Kg4 Rh2 42.Kf5 a4 43.Kf6 Rf2+ 44.Kg6
Rf8 45.h7+ Kh8 46.Kh6 1-0 L'Ami,E (2593)-Ninov,N (2500)/Bethune FRA 2006/The Week in Chess 635]
10.e5 Qd8 11.Qe2
[11.a3 Bxc3 12.bxc3 Qc7 13.Bd3 Rd8 14.Qe2 Bd7 15.Qe4 g6 16.Qe3 c4 17.Qxh6 Be8 18.Ng5 Na6 19.Qh7+
Kf8 20.Bxg6 Rd5 21.f4 Rxd4 22.cxd4 Qb6 23.Bxf7 1-0 ANT-31337 CELES/Leiden NED 2003/The Week in
Chess 445]
11...cxd4 12.Rad1 Bd7 13.Ne4 Nc6 14.Ng3 Qc7 15.Bd3 Ne7 16.Rc1 Bc6 17.Nxd4 Rad8 18.Rc4 Qb6 19.Qg4
Bc5 20.Nh5 g6 21.Bxg6
Vassily Ivanchuk
Vladimir Kramnik
21.Bg6
Forcing a draw.
21...Nxg6 22.Nxe6 Be7 23.Nxd8 Qxd8 24.e6 Qd5 25.exf7+ Kh7 1/2-1/2
Magnus Carlsen defeated Sergey Karjakin in Round 10. Photo © Frits Agterdenbos: http://chessvista.com/
Sergey Karjakin could not have predicted that Magnus Carlsen would play the French. Carlsen equalised pretty
quickly and then Karjakin with his 21.f5? played for too much and was pretty much forced back then.
Karjakin,Sergey - Carlsen,Magnus [C11]

Mark Crowther
1.e4 e6
Not a novelty, of course. But outside of blitz and rapid games Carlsen hasn't played this, at least in a very long
time.
2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Qd2 0-0 9.Be2 a6 10.0-0 b5 11.Kh1 Qc7 12.a3
Bb7 13.Rad1 Rac8 14.Qe1
[14.dxc5 Bxc5 15.Nd4 b4 16.axb4 Bxb4 17.Nxc6 Qxc6 18.Bd4 Nc5 19.Qe3 Ne4 20.Nxe4 dxe4 21.c3 Be7
22.b4 Rfd8 23.f5 exf5 24.Rxf5 Rf8 25.Rdf1 Ra8 26.Qf4 Qd5 27.e6 Qxe6 28.Re5 Qd7 29.Bc4 Kh8 30.Bxf7 Bf6
31.Bb3 Rg8 32.Rh5 Bxd4 33.Bxg8 Kxg8 34.cxd4 e3 35.Re5 h6 36.Qxe3 Qg4 37.Qf2 Bc6 38.d5 Bb5 39.Qf4
Qg6 40.Rfe1 Rf8 41.Qg3 Qd6 42.Rf5 Qxb4 43.Rxf8+ Qxf8 44.d6 a5 45.Qb3+ 1-0 Danin,A (2469)-Vasilevich,I
(2354)/Zvenigorod RUS 2008/The Week in Chess 730]
14...cxd4 15.Nxd4 Nxd4 16.Bxd4 Bc5 17.Qh4 Bxd4 18.Rxd4 f6 19.Bd3 h6 20.exf6 Rxf6 21.f5?
Black has equalised, but this was a serious error that leaves black better.
21...Rcf8 22.Rg1 Nc5 23.fxe6 Nxe6 24.Rg4 Nf4 25.Qg3 Qe7
Magnus Carlsen
Sergey Karjakin
25...Qe7
26.Rxf4
White is in serious trouble, but this doesn't help much either.
[26.h3 d4 27.Nd1 Qd7 28.b4 Nxg2 29.Rxg2 Rf1+ 30.Bxf1 Rxf1+ 31.Kh2 Bxg2 32.Qxg2 Qd6+ 33.Rg3 Rxd1
34.Qa8+ Qf8 35.Qxf8+ Kxf8 36.Rg6 Rc1 37.Rxa6 Rxc2+ 38.Kg3 d3 39.Kf3 Rh2 40.Rd6 Ke7 41.Rd4 Rxh3+
42.Kg4 Re3]
26...Rxf4 27.Ne2 Rf1 28.Nd4 Rxg1+ 29.Kxg1 Re8 30.h4 Qe1+ 31.Kh2 Qxg3+ 32.Kxg3 Kf7 33.Kf2 Kf6 34.g3
Bc8 35.c3 Bg4 36.Bc2 g5 37.hxg5+ hxg5 38.Bb3 Ke5 39.Bc2 Rf8+ 40.Kg2 Bd7 41.Nf3+ Kf6 42.Bb3 g4
43.Nd4 Ke5 44.Bc2 a5 45.Bd1 Ke4 0-1
Sergey Tiviakov defeated Jan Smeets in Round 10. Photo © Mark Crowther.
Sergei Tiviakov got his first win with a victory over Jan Smeets. Smeets seemed to be doing fine with the
Petroff for some time but gradually his position worsened until he couldn't save it.
Tiviakov,Sergei - Smeets,Jan [C43]

Mark Crowther
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.Bd3 d5 5.Nxe5 Nd7 6.Nxd7 Bxd7 7.0-0 Qh4 8.c4 0-0-0 9.c5 g6 10.Nc3 Bg7
11.Be3 Nxc5 12.g3 Qh3 13.Be2 h5
[13...Ne4 14.Nxd5 Qe6 15.Nf4 Qd6 16.Rc1 Rhe8 17.Qc2 g5 18.Nd3 Kb8 19.Rfd1 Nxg3 20.Bf3 Nf5 21.Nc5
Nxe3 22.fxe3 Bc8 23.Qb3 Qb6 24.Qd3 g4 25.Bg2 Bh6 26.Re1 f5 27.Rc3 Bf8 28.Qf1 Bxc5 29.Rxc5 Qh6
30.Qc4 Rxe3 31.Rc1 Rde8 32.Qb4 Re2 33.Rxc7 Qe3+ 34.Kh1 Re1+ 0-1 Aung,T-Handoko,E/Genting
Highlands MAL 1995]
14.Nxd5 Ne6 15.Rc1 Kb8 16.Nf4 Qf5 17.Bd3 Qa5 18.d5 Nd4 19.Rc4 Bg4 20.f3 Nxf3+ 21.Rxf3 Rhe8
[21...h4 22.Be2 Bxf3 23.Bxf3 hxg3 24.hxg3 is equal.]
22.Bf2 g5 23.Nxh5 Bxh5 24.g4 Qxd5
Jan Smeets
Sergey Tiviakov
25...Qd5
This seems to be an error.
[24...Bg6 25.Bxg6 fxg6 26.Ra3]

25.Rc5 Re1+ 26.Qxe1 Qxf3 27.Be2 Qe4 28.gxh5 Re8 29.Rxg5 Bxb2 30.Qd2 Bf6 31.Rg4 Qf5 32.h6 b6 33.Qd3
Qh5 34.Bf3 1-0
Sergey Karjakin lost to Magnus Carlsen in Round 10. Photo © Mark Crowther.
Loek van Wely won two pieces for a rook against Fabiano Caruana and seemed to be headed for victory,
however it isn't clear to me where van Wely went wrong and the game eventually fizzled to a draw.
Caruana,Fabiano - Van Wely,Loek [B84]

Mark Crowther
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.0-0 Be7 8.f4 0-0 9.Be3 Nc6 10.Kh1 Qc7 11.Qe1
Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5 13.a3 Nd7 14.Qg3 Bf6 15.Bxf6 Nxf6 16.Bd3 Bb7 17.Rae1 Nd7 18.Nd1
[18.f5 exf5 19.exf5 Nf6 20.Be4 Rad8 21.Bxb7 Qxb7 22.Rd1 d5 23.Rd4 Rfe8 24.Rfd1 h6 25.h3 Qc6 26.Qf4
Rd7 27.R4d3 Rde7 28.Nxd5 Nxd5 29.Rxd5 Re1+ 30.Kh2 Rxd1 31.Rxd1 Re2 32.Qg3 Rxc2 33.b4 Kh7 34.Rd3
Qf6 35.Rf3 Qd4 36.Rd3 Qe4 37.f6 g5 38.Rd6 Rc1 39.Rxa6 Qd4 0-1 Vuckovic,B (2433)-Dimitrov,V
(2464)/Lazarevac YUG 1999]
18...Nc5 19.Nf2 f6 20.c3 e5 21.Bc2 Kh8 22.Re3 g6 23.Ng4 f5 24.exf5 gxf5 25.Nh6 Rg8 26.Nxg8 Rxg8 27.Qh4
Loek Van Wely

Fabiano Caruana
27.Qh4
Although this allows black to win material it is by no means clear to me that white is losing
27...Bxg2+ 28.Kg1 Be4+ 29.Rg3 Rxg3+ 30.hxg3 Bxc2 31.fxe5 dxe5 32.Qf6+ Kg8 33.Rf2 Be4 34.Rh2 Qd7
[34...Nd3 35.Qxa6 Qc6]
35.Qg5+ Kf8
[35...Qg7 36.Qd8+ Qf8 37.Qc7 h6 38.Qxe5 Nd3 39.Qe6+ Kh7 40.Kf1]
36.Qf6+ Kg8 37.Qg5+ Qg7 38.Qd8+ Qf8 39.Qc7 f4 40.Qxe5 fxg3 41.Rd2 Bg6
[41...Bf5 42.Qxg3+ Bg6 43.Qe5 Qe8 44.Qd5+ Ne6 45.c4 Bf7]
42.Qd5+ Kg7 43.Qe5+ Kg8 44.Qd5+ Kg7 45.Qe5+ Kg8 46.Qd5+ 1/2-1/2
Leinier Dominguez Perez against Hikaru Nakamura in Round 10. Photo © Mark Crowther.
Leinier Dominguez Perez and Hikaru Nakamura drew a 70 move game which wasn't really that interesting.
Dominguez Perez,Leinier - Nakamura,Hikaru [B36]

Mark Crowther
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Nxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.Be2 Bg7 9.Be3 0-0 10.Qd2 Qa5
11.0-0 Be6 12.Rfc1 Rfc8 13.b3 a6 14.Rab1 b5 15.b4 Qd8 16.cxb5 axb5 17.Bxb5 Ra3 18.Nd5 Rxc1+
[18...Bxd5 19.exd5 Ne4 20.Rxc8 Qxc8 21.Rc1 Qb8 22.Qc2 Nc3 23.Bc4 Qxb4 24.Bb3 Qb5 25.Kh1 Ra8 26.h3
h5 27.Qd2 Ne4 28.Qc2 Nc3 29.Qd2 Ne4 30.Qc2 Nc3 1/2-1/2 Grabics,M (2363)-Mongontuul,B (2110)/Istanbul
TUR 2000]
19.Qxc1 Rxa2 20.Nxf6+ Bxf6 21.Bc4 Ra8 22.Bxe6 fxe6 23.b5 Qd7 24.b6 Kf7 25.Qd1 Rb8 26.Qf3 Ke8 27.Qg4
Kf7 28.Qf3 Ke8 29.Qg4 Kf7 30.Qd1 Qb7 31.Qd3 Rc8 32.h3 d5 33.Bd4 dxe4 34.Qe3 Bxd4 35.Qxd4 Rc6
36.Kh2 Rd6 37.Qh8 Rxb6 38.Qxh7+ Kf6 39.Qh8+ Kf7 40.Qh7+ Kf6 41.Re1 Qb8+ 42.g3 Rb2 43.Qh4+ Kf7
44.Qh7+ Kf6 45.Qh4+ Kf7 46.Kg2 Rb4 47.Qh7+ Kf6 48.Qh4+ Kf7 49.Qh7+ Kf6 50.Re3 Qf8 51.Qh4+ Kg7
52.Rxe4 Rxe4 53.Qxe4 Qf5 54.f3 Qf6 55.h4 e5 56.Kh3 Qe6+ 57.Qg4 Qa6 58.Qe4 Qe6+ 59.g4 Qf6 60.Kg3
Qd6 61.Kg2 Qf6 62.Kh3 Qd6 63.Qe3 Qf6 64.h5 gxh5 65.gxh5 Qf5+ 66.Kh4 Kf6 67.Qh6+ Kf7 68.Qe3 Kf6
69.Qh6+ Kf7 70.Qe3 1/2-1/2
Peter Leko vs Nigel Short in Round 10. Photo © Mark Crowther.
The final game to finish was between Peter Leko and Nigel Short. Short played his Alekhine's Defence and
pretty much equalised. The players spent some time discussing the long knight and pawn ending after the game
which they found interesting. A highly unusual three fold repetition occurred.
Leko,Peter - Short,Nigel [B03]

Mark Crowther
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.exd6 exd6 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.h3 Be7 8.Nf3 Bf5 9.Bd3
[9.d5 Ne5 10.Nd4 Bd7 11.b3 0-0 12.Be2 c5 13.dxc6 Nxc6 14.Be3 d5 15.c5 Nc8 16.0-0 Qa5 17.Nxd5 Rd8 18.a3
Nxd4 19.Qxd4 Bc6 20.b4 Qa4 21.Nxe7+ Nxe7 22.Qb2 Nf5 23.Bg5 f6 24.Bg4 Be4 25.Rfe1 Qc6 26.b5 Qd5
27.Rad1 Qc4 28.Be3 Nxe3 29.Rxe3 f5 30.Rc1 Qd4 31.Qxd4 Rxd4 32.Bf3 Rc8 33.Bxe4 fxe4 34.c6 bxc6
35.bxc6 Kf8 36.Rb3 Rd3 37.Rb7 Rxa3 38.Rc5 Ra6 39.Rf5+ Ke8 40.Rff7 Raxc6 41.Rxg7 Rf6 42.Rbe7+ Kf8
43.Rxh7 Kg8 44.Reg7+ Kf8 45.Rxa7 Kg8 46.Rag7+ Kf8 47.Rh8+ Kxg7 48.Rxc8 1-0 Hossain,E (2522)-
Krylov,M (2371)/Moscow RUS 2008/The Week in Chess 692]
9...Qd7 10.0-0 0-0 11.b3 Bf6 12.Ne2 Rfe8 13.Ng3 Bg6 14.Bxg6 hxg6 15.Bg5 Bxg5 16.Nxg5 d5 17.c5 Nc8
18.Nf3 N8e7 19.Ne2 f6 20.Nc3 g5 21.Qd3 Kf7 22.Rfe1 a6 23.Re3 g4 24.Nh2 gxh3 25.Rxh3 Rh8 26.Rxh8
Rxh8 27.Rd1 g5 28.Ne2 Ng6 29.f3 Nce7 30.Ng4 c6 31.Re1 Nf5 32.Kf2 Ng7 33.Ng3 Nf4 34.Qc2 Rh4 35.Rh1
Rxh1 36.Nxh1 Nf5 37.Qxf5 Qxf5 38.Nh6+ Kg6 39.Nxf5 Kxf5 40.g4+ Ke6 41.Ke3 Ng2+ 42.Kf2 Nf4 43.Ke3
Ng2+ 44.Ke2 f5 45.Ng3 Nf4+ 46.Ke3 fxg4 47.fxg4 Kd7 48.Nf1 Kc7 49.Nd2 Ne6 50.Nf3 b6 51.cxb6+ Kxb6
52.Kd3 Ka5 53.Kc3 Kb5 54.a3 Ka5 55.Ne5 Kb5 56.Nd7 Nf4 57.Nc5 Nh3
Short is pretty well known for using his king actively, and also falling into snap mates. Both Leko and Short
were looking out for them, there aren't any, but precision is required.
58.Nd3 Ng1 59.Kd2 Nf3+ 60.Ke3 Nh4 61.Ne5 Ng2+ 62.Kd2 Nf4 63.Nf3 Ne6 64.Kc3 Ka5 65.Ne5 Kb6 66.Kd3
Kc7 67.Nf3 Kb6 68.Kc2 Kb5 69.Kc3
Draw (see moves 54 and 64!) a highly unusual three fold repetition!
1/2-1/2
Nigel Short
Peter Leko
Position after moves 54, 64 and 69
Anand,V (2790) - Kramnik,V (2788) [C42]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0–0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0–0 10.Nc3 Bf5 11.a3
Nxc3 12.bxc3 Nc6 13.Re1 Re8 14.cxd5 Qxd5 15.Bf4 Rac8 16.h3 Be4 17.Qc1 Na5 18.Qe3 Bf8 19.c4 Qd8
20.Ne5 Bf5
21.Qc3 b6 22.Rad1 Qf6 23.Qg3 Nc6 24.Ng4 Qg6 25.d5 Na5 26.Bxc7 Bc2?! Here, Fritz 12 suggests that Black
is holding satisfactorily after 26...Bc5. Kramnik's move is the start of a mistaken manoeuvre, which walks into a
powerful exchange sacrifice. 27.Rc1 Nb3?
28.Rxc2! Kramnik must have under-estimated the consequences of this move. 28...Qxc2 29.Nh6+ Kh8
30.Nxf7+ Kg8 31.Nh6+ Kh8 32.Nf7+ Kg8 33.Nh6+ Kh8 34.Be5! White has two pawns for the exchange,
and his main threat is 35.Bh5. 34...Qg6 35.Bg4 Rxc4 36.Qxb3 Rxe5 37.Rxe5 Rc1+ 38.Kh2 Bd6
39.f4. 39.Qe3 is possibly still more incisive, but the text seems good enough. 39...Bxe5 40.fxe5 gxh6 41.Qe3
Qb1 42.d6 Rh1+ 43.Kg3 Re1 44.Qf4 Rf1 45.Bf3 1-0. [Click to replay]
Carlsen,Magnus - Dominguez Perez,Leinier [D97]

[Michiel Abeln]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 0-0 7.e4 a6 8.e5 b5 9.Qb3 Nfd7 10.Ng5
a rare move, a bit primitive, but prepared on the rest day
10...Nb6
A logical move, but now the Knight on d7 is not supporting the c5 break anymore
11.Be3 Nc6 12.Rd1 Bf5
[12...Na5 was also prepared by Carlsen; a serious alternative was 12...Bg4 13.f3 Bf5]
13.Be2 Na5 14.Qb4 Nac4 15.0-0
Magnus Carlsen explains his win against Leinier Dominguez Perez in Round 11. Photo © Mark Crowther.
[Carlsen also considered 15.Bc1 Bc2 16.0-0 Bxd1 17.Rxd1 but this position is quite unclear, while in the game
white is just better]
15...f6
[15...Nxe3 16.fxe3 Bh6 17.e4 and white is on top]
16.Nf3 Nxe3 17.fxe3 fxe5
Not clear that this excahnge helps black, white now gets the d4 square for his knight and the d-file for his rook
[17...Nd5 18.Qb3 (18.Nxd5 Qxd5) 18...e6]
18.dxe5 Qe8 19.Qc5 Rc8
[19...Nd7 20.Qxc7 (20.Qd5+ Kh8 21.e4) 20...Rc8 21.Qa7 Nxe5 22.Nxe5 Bxe5 23.Qxa6 gives white a clear
edge]
20.a4?!
[Maybe it was better to play 20.Nd4 Nd7 21.Qa3 Nxe5 22.Nd5 (Carlsen mainly coinsidered 22.Nxf5 gxf5
23.Nd5 Kh8 24.Nxe7 b4 25.Qxb4 c5 26.Qb7 Rb8 27.Qc7 Rf7) 22...Bf6 23.Nxf5 gxf5 24.Rxf5 and white is
clearly better]
20...Nxa4
[20...Nd7 21.Qd5+ Kh8 22.axb5]
21.Nxa4 bxa4 22.Nd4 Rb8 23.g4
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 23.g4
a bit of a gamble in a way, not a particular good move, but Dominguez was already short of time.
[23.Nc6 Rxb2 24.Bc4+ Kh8 25.Rd8 Qxd8 26.Nxd8 Rxd8 27.Qxe7 Rbb8 and black might be able to hold]
23...Be4
[23...Bd7 was also a reasonable alternative 24.Rxf8+ Bxf8 (24...Qxf8 25.Qd5+; 24...Kxf8 25.Bc4) 25.e6 Bc8
and black survives 26.Nc6 Rb6 27.Rd8 Rxc6 (27...Qxc6 28.Qxe7 Qc1+ 29.Kg2 (29.Kf2 Qxe3+ 30.Kxe3
Rxe6+) ) 28.Qd4 Qxd8 29.Qxd8 Bxe6]
24.Ne6
[24.Rxf8+ Bxf8 (24...Qxf8 25.Ne6 Qf7 26.Ng5) 25.Ne6 Qc6]
24...Rxf1+ 25.Bxf1 c6 26.Ng5
[26.Bc4 Kh8 27.Ng5 Bd5 with a very complex position]
26...Bd5 27.e4 Bb3 28.Bc4+ e6 29.Nxe6 Bxc4 30.Qxc4

Magnus Carlsen
Position after 30.Qc4
and in time trouble Dominguez gives the game away
30...Kh8?
[30...Bxe5! 31.Rf1 Qe7 (31...Kh8 32.Rf8+ Qxf8 33.Nxf8 Rxf8 34.Qc5 Re8 35.Qxc6 and maybe black can hold)
32.Nd8+ (32.Nf8+ Kg7 (32...Kh8 33.Rf7) ) 32...Kh8 33.Nxc6 Bxh2+ 34.Kxh2 Qh4+ 35.Kg1 Qg3+ with a
perpetual]
31.Nxg7
Now white is suddenly winning
31...Kxg7 32.e6 Rb7
[32...Rd8 33.Rf1]
33.Qc3+ Kg8 34.Rd6 Re7 35.Rxc6 Qf8 36.Rc8 Re8 37.Rxe8 Qxe8 38.Qf6 Qc8 39.Kg2 Qc2+ 40.Kh3 Qc5
41.Kh4 Qb4 42.Qf7+ Kh8 43.e7 Qe1+ 44.Kg5 Qe3+ 45.Qf4 1-0

Magnus Carlsen
Final Position
Alexei Shirov against Vladimir Kramnik in Round 11. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
The heavy-weight clash of the day was between Alexei Shirov and Vladimir Kramnik. Having lost the lead
Shirov could have regained it with a win. He certainly set a lot of problems but calm defence from Kramnik
seemed to just about hold in all lines.
Shirov,Alexei - Kramnik,Vladimir [C42]

[Mark Crowther]
Nxc3 12.bxc3 Nc6 13.Re1 Re8 14.cxd5 Qxd5 15.Bf4 Rac8 16.h3 Be4 17.Nd2
[17.Qa4 Qf5 18.Bg3 Bd6 19.Ne5 Bxe5 20.Bg4 Qg6 21.dxe5 Bf5 22.Bf3 Rb8 23.Ra2 Red8 24.Rb2 Qe6 25.Bh4
Nxe5 26.Kh1 b5 27.Bxd8 bxa4 28.Rxb8 1-0 Grischuk,A (2717)-Nielsen,P (2644)/Monte Carlo MNC 2006/The
Week in Chess 594]
17...Bxg2 18.Bg4 Bh1 19.f3 Bh4 20.Re4
[20.Rxe8+ Rxe8 21.Qb3 Qxb3 22.Nxb3 f5 23.Bh5 g6 24.Kxh1 gxh5 25.d5 Ne5 26.Nd4 Kf7 27.Rb1 Kf6
28.Rxb7 Nd3 29.Bxc7 Rg8 30.Nc6 Kg6 31.Ne5+ Nxe5 32.Bxe5 f4 33.Rb4 Re8 34.Re4 Bg3 35.Bc7 Rxe4
36.fxe4 h4 37.Bb8 a6 38.c4 Kf7 39.c5 Ke8 40.c6 Kd8 41.Be5 f3 42.Bxg3 hxg3 43.d6 1-0 Van Oosterom,C
(2420)-Wellen,H (2139)/Germany 2009/EXT 2010]
20...f5 21.Kxh1 fxg4 22.hxg4 Qf7
The first new move. They've been following a comment by Viswanathan Anand who didn't think 20.Re4 was all
that special.
23.Qb3 Ne7 24.Qxf7+ Kxf7 25.c4 Ng6 26.Bh2 Bf6 27.Rb1 b6 28.d5 Be5 29.f4
Shirov starts complications that look risky. But he is terribly good in this kind of position, but queenless
middlegames are also played well by Kramnik also.
29...Bd6 30.a4 h6 31.Rbe1 Nf8 32.f5 Nd7?!
After the game Kramnik was critical of this move.
[32...Bxh2 33.Kxh2 Rxe4 34.Nxe4]
33.Bxd6 cxd6 34.Re6!
The only move but a good one.
34...Ne5 35.c5!!
Vladimir Kramnik
Alexei Shirov
Position after 35.c5!!
Now black certainly has to be careful.
35...Nd3 36.cxd6
Alexei Shirov and Vladimir Kramnik had a lengthy post-mortem after their Round 11 struggle. Photo © Mark
Crowther.
[36.Ne4 was a suggestion in a lengthy post-mortem between the two players. 36...Nxe1 37.Nxd6+ Kf8 38.Nxe8
bxc5 (38...Rxe8 39.c6 seems to win) and Kramnik was just about saving the position after a few tries.]
36...Nxe1 37.d7 Rcd8 38.dxe8Q+ Rxe8 39.Nc4 Rxe6 40.fxe6+ Ke7 41.Ne5 Kd6 42.Nc4+ Ke7 43.Ne5 Kd6
44.Kh2 Nc2 45.Nc4+ Ke7 46.Kg3 Nb4 47.Ne3 Nxd5!
Rightly understanding this is just a draw.
Vladimir Kramnik
Alexei Shirov
Position after 47...Nxd5
48.Nxd5+ Kxe6 49.Nc3 a6 50.Kf4 b5 51.axb5

Shirov was nearly out of time when he played this. The accepts that the position is a draw.
1/2-1/2
Nigel Short against Fabiano Caruana in Round 11. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Nigel Short didn't get much of an advantage in his game against Fabiano Caruana. The pieces gradually started
to come off and it was then only a matter of time until the two players agreed a draw.
Short,Nigel - Caruana,Fabiano [B40]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 d5 5.exd5 exd5 6.0-0 Nf6 7.d4 Be7 8.Be3
[8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Nbd2 0-0 10.Nb3 Bb6 11.c3 Re8 12.Nbd4 Bg4 13.Qd3 Ne4 14.Be3 Qf6 15.Rae1 h6 16.a3 Rad8
17.Nxc6 bxc6 18.Bxb6 axb6 19.Nd4 Ng5 20.Re3 Nh3+ 21.Bxh3 Bxh3 22.Rfe1 Rxe3 23.Qxe3 c5 24.Nf3 Qf5
25.Qf4 Qxf4 26.gxf4 Rd6 27.Ne5 Rf6 28.Re3 Be6 29.Rf3 Kf8 30.Kf1 Ke7 31.Ke2 Rf5 32.Ke3 Rh5 33.Rg3 g6
34.Nf3 Bf5 35.h4 Kd6 36.b4 Bc2 37.Ne5 Ke6 38.Nf3 Bd1 39.bxc5 bxc5 40.a4 Bxa4 41.Rg1 Bc6 42.Ne5 Be8
43.Nf3 Kf6 44.Ra1 Bd7 45.Ra7 Be6 46.Rc7 d4+ 47.cxd4 cxd4+ 48.Kxd4 Ra5 49.Rc3 Ra1 50.Ke4 Rf1 51.Rc5
Rxf2 52.h5 Bg4 53.Rc6+ Kg7 54.Ne5 Bxh5 55.Rc7 g5 56.f5 Rf4+ 0-1 Boidman,Y (2450)-Schlosser,P
(2579)/Baden Baden GER 2007/The Week in Chess 684]
8...cxd4 9.Nxd4 0-0 10.h3 Re8 11.Re1 h6 12.Nd2 Bd6 13.c3 Bd7 14.Qb3 a6 15.Rad1 Qc7 16.Nf1 Re7 17.Qc2
Rae8 18.Nf5 Bxf5 19.Qxf5 Qa5 20.Qb1 Qb5 21.b3 Bc5 22.Qd3 Bxe3 23.Rxe3 Qa5 24.Qd2 Rc8 25.Bxd5 Nxd5
26.Qxd5 Rxe3 27.Qxa5 Rxg3+ 28.Nxg3 Nxa5 29.c4
Fabiano Caruana
Nigel Short
Position after 29.c4
After all the trades the ending is pretty drawish.
29...Rc7 30.Rd8+ Kh7 31.Ne4 Nc6 32.Rf8 Kg6 33.Kg2 Nb4 34.Nc3 Rd7 35.Rb8 Kf5 36.Na4 Rc7 37.Nc3 1/2-
1/2
Vassily Ivanchuk against Sergey Karjakin in Round 11. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Vassily Ivanchuk seemed to put Sergey Karjakin under pressure early in their game. However Karjakin
defended well and it was Ivanchuk who had time trouble on the run up to move 40 where the game was due to
finish in perpetual check.
Ivanchuk,Vassily - Karjakin,Sergey [E06]

[Mark Crowther]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bf4 a5 11.Nc3
Na6 12.Ne5 Bxg2 13.Kxg2 Nd5 14.Rad1 Nxf4+ 15.gxf4 Bd6 16.e3 Qh4
[16...Nb4 17.Nf3 c6 18.Rg1 Nd5 19.Ne4 f5 20.Nxd6 Qxd6 21.Ne5 Rfd8 22.h4 Nf6 23.Kh3 Rac8 24.Qb3 Qe7
25.Rg5 Ne4 26.Rg2 Rc7 27.Rdg1 Qe8 28.Qb6 Rdc8 29.Qxa5 c5 30.dxc5 Nxc5 31.Qxc5 1-0 Shirov,A (2726)-
Landa,K (2613)/Muelheim GER 2009/The Week in Chess 743]
17.Qe2 f6 18.Nc4 g5 19.d5 e5 20.f5 Nc5 21.e4 Rf7 22.Kh1 Nb3 23.Nb5 Nd4 24.Nxd4 exd4 25.f3 Qh3 26.Rf2
h5
Black continues with his plan.
27.Rg2 Bf4 28.Rxd4 Kh8 29.Rd3 Rh7 30.Rc3 Rd8 31.Rd3 Ra8 32.b3
Played after a long think. The position is still pretty complicated.
32...Qh4 33.Qf2 Qh3 34.Rd1 Rg7 35.Rdg1
Ivanchuk only had a couple of minutes left.
35...Rag8 36.Nxa5 g4 37.fxg4 Rxg4 38.Rxg4 Rxg4 39.Rxg4 hxg4 40.Qxf4 g3
Leads to perpetual.
1/2-1/2
Sergey Karjakin
Vassily Ivanchuk
Final Position
Hikaru Nakamura drew quickly with Peter Leko in Round 11. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Hikaru Nakamura and Peter Leko drew just a few moves outside of theory after they repeated position in a
Symmetrical English.
Nakamura,Hikaru - Leko,Peter [A30]

[Mark Crowther]
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg2 g6 7.0-0 Bg7 8.Nxd5 Qxd5 9.d3 0-0 10.Be3 Bxb2
11.Rb1 Bf6 12.Qa4 Qd7 13.Bxc5 b6 14.Bxb6 Nd4 15.Qd1 axb6 16.Nxd4 Rxa2 17.Qb3
[17.Nc6 Qe6 18.Bf3 Bd7 19.Nb4 Ra5 20.Qd2 Rc8 21.Rfc1 Rxc1+ 22.Qxc1 Qd6 23.Nc2 h5 24.Ne3 Rc5 25.Nc4
Qc7 26.Qf4 Qxf4 27.gxf4 b5 28.Nd2 Rc2 29.Ne4 Bb2 30.e3 b4 31.Kg2 Ba3 32.Bd1 Rc8 33.Bb3 Kg7 34.d4 Bf5
35.f3 Bc1 36.Kf2 Bxe4 37.fxe4 Rc3 38.Bd1 Bxe3+ 39.Ke2 Bxd4 40.Rxb4 Re3+ 41.Kd2 Rxe4 42.Kd3 Re1
43.Bxh5 Bc5 44.Rc4 Re3+ 45.Kd2 gxh5 46.Rxc5 Rh3 47.Rg5+ Kf6 48.Ke2 Rxh2+ 49.Kf3 Rh3+ 50.Kg2 Rh4
51.Kf3 e6 52.Ra5 Kg6 53.Rg5+ Kh6 54.Rg1 Rh3+ 55.Ke4 Ra3 56.Rg8 Ra5 57.Kf3 Rf5 58.Ke4 Kh7 59.Rg2 h4
60.Rh2 Rh5 0-1 Kveinys,A (2517)-Naiditsch,A (2639)/Baden Baden GER 2007/The Week in Chess 684]
17...Rd2 18.Qb4 Ra2 19.Qb3 Rd2 20.Qb4 Ra2 1/2-1/2
Peter Leko
Hikaru Nakamura
Final Position
Jan Smeets and Viswanathan Anand drew quickly in Round 11. Photo © Mark Crowther.
World Champion Viswanathan Anand allowed a repetition of position against tail-ender Jan Smeets after just
15 moves of a Sicilian Scheveningen.
Smeets,Jan - Anand,Viswanathan [B81]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.g4 h6 7.h4 Nc6 8.Rg1 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxd5 Qxd5
11.Be3 Bd7
[11...Be7 12.Nxc6 Qxc6 13.Qd2 e5 14.0-0-0 Be6 15.Qa5 0-0 16.Bb5 Qc8 17.g5 Bf5 18.Bd3 hxg5 19.hxg5 Rd8
20.Bxf5 Rxd1+ 21.Rxd1 Qxf5 22.f4 Rc8 23.Rd2 Rc4 24.Qxe5 Qxe5 25.fxe5 Re4 26.Rd7 Rxe5 27.Kd2 Bxg5
28.Bxg5 Rxg5 29.Rxb7 Ra5 30.c4 g5 31.Rb5 Rxb5 32.cxb5 Kf8 33.a4 Ke7 34.a5 Kd6 35.b4 f5 36.Ke3 g4 1/2-
1/2 Velicka,P (2437)-Navara,D (2543)/Ostrava CZE 2002/The Week in Chess 394]
12.c3 Be7 13.Bg2 Qc4 14.Bf1 Qd5 15.Bg2 Qc4 1/2-1/2
Viswanathan Anand
Jan Smeets
Final Position
Loek van Wely vs Sergei Tiviakov in Round 11. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
The final game to finish was between Loek van Wely and Sergei Tiviakov. This was a long grind that seemed to
be set for a draw for a long time. Eventually after an exchange sacrifice for pawns and more manoevering Van
Wely was suddenly winning.
Van Wely,Loek - Tiviakov,Sergei [E18]

[Mark Crowther]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.Nc3 0-0 7.0-0 Ne4 8.Bd2 f5 9.Qc2 Bf6 10.Rad1 Nxc3
11.Bxc3 Be4 12.Qc1 d6 13.Rfe1 Nd7 14.Bf1 Bb7 15.b4
[15.d5 Nc5 16.dxe6 Nxe6 17.Bg2 Bxc3 18.Qxc3 Qf6 19.Qxf6 Rxf6 20.Nd2 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 Nc5 22.Nb1 a5
23.b3 Ne4 24.f3 Nc5 25.Nc3 Re8 26.Nd5 Rf7 27.h4 g6 28.Rd2 Kg7 29.Kf2 Rb8 30.Rc1 Kf8 31.Rc3 Ke8 32.a3
Kd7 33.b4 Ne6 34.Rb3 Ra8 35.Rdd3 Ra7 36.Rb1 Ra8 37.Rg1 axb4 38.axb4 Ra2 39.Rc1 Kc8 40.Rcc3 f4 41.g4
c6 42.Nxb6+ Kb7 43.c5 Nxc5 44.bxc5 Re7 45.Kf1 Ra1+ 46.Kf2 Ra2 47.Kf1 Ra1+ 48.Kf2 Ra2 1/2-1/2 Van
Wely,L (2655)-Tiviakov,S (2590)/Beijing CHN 1997]
15...Qe7 16.Qc2 c5 17.Bg2 Be4 18.Qb2 cxd4 19.Bxd4 Rac8 20.Nd2 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 e5 22.Bc3 Qe6 23.e4 f4
24.Qb3 Rf7 25.c5 Qxb3 26.axb3 fxg3 27.hxg3 b5 28.Nf3 dxc5 29.Rd5 cxb4 30.Bxb4 a6 31.Red1 Nb6 32.Rd6
Rb7 33.Ba5 Rcb8 34.Rc6 Kf7 35.Rdd6 Nd7 36.b4 Ra8 37.Ne1 Be7 38.Rd5 Ke8 39.Nd3 Bf6 40.Rdd6 h6
41.Rxa6 Rxa6 42.Rxa6 Be7 43.Kf3 Kf7 44.Kg4 h5+ 45.Kf3 g6 46.Ke2 Rb8 47.Rc6 h4 48.gxh4 Rh8 49.Rc7
Ke6 50.Rc6+ Kf7 51.Rc7 Ke6 52.Rxd7
White turns down the draw and continues to grind with an exchange sacrifice for pawns.
52...Kxd7 53.Nxe5+ Ke8 54.Nxg6 Rh6 55.Nxe7 Kxe7 56.Ke3 Rxh4 57.Bb6 Ke6 58.f4 Rh1 59.f5+ Kf6
60.Bd4+ Kg5 61.Bc3 Rd1 62.Bd2 Kf6 63.Bc3+ Kg5 64.Bg7 Rd7 65.Bf8 Kg4 66.Bc5 Kg5 67.Kf3 Rh7 68.Kg3
Kf6 69.Bd4+ Kg5 70.Bc5 Kf6 71.Bd6 Kg5 72.Bf4+ Kf6 73.Kg4 Rg7+ 74.Kf3 Rh7 75.Bg3 Kg5 76.Bf4+ Kf6
77.Ke3 Rd7 78.Bg3 Kg5 79.Be5 Rd8
[79...Rd1 80.Bc3 Rd7 81.Bd4 Rc7 82.Kf3 Rh7 83.Be3+ Kf6 84.Bb6 Ke5 85.Bf2 Rh1 86.Bg3+ Kf6 87.Kg4 Rb1
88.Bd6 Rg1+ 89.Kf4 Rf1+ 90.Ke3 Rd1]
80.Bd4
Sergey Tiviakov
Loek van Wely
Suddenly black is struggling.
80...Rd7 81.Bc5 Kg4 82.f6
Now white is winning.

82...Kg5 83.e5 Kf5 84.Bd6 Ke6 85.Kd4 Rxd6+ 86.exd6 Kxd6 87.f7 Ke7 88.Kc5 1-0
Anish Giri found a wonderful swindel to beat Wesley So and take a huge step towards taking first place in the
B-Group.
So,Wesley - Giri,Anish [C42]

Corus B Wijk aan Zee (11), 29.01.2010
[Michiel Abeln]
Probably the decisive game of Group B
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Re1 Bg4 9.c3 f5 10.Qb3 0-0 11.Nbd2
Na5 12.Qc2 Nc6 13.b4 a6 14.a4 Bd6 15.Ba3 Kh8 16.Qb2
[16.Reb1 Nxd2 17.Nxd2 Qh4 18.Nf1 Ne7 19.f3 Bh5 20.b5 Bxa3 21.Rxa3 axb5 22.Rxb5 b6 23.Ra1 Qf6 24.Ne3
Be8 25.Rbb1 Bd7 26.Bb5 Qd6 27.Re1 c6 28.Bd3 c5 29.Bb5 Bxb5 30.axb5 cxd4 31.cxd4 Qb4 32.Qd3 Rxa1
33.Rxa1 f4 34.Nc2 Qb2 35.Re1 Ng6 36.Re6 Rc8 37.Ne1 Qa1 38.Kf1 Qa5 39.Qe2 Nf8 40.Re8 Qa8 41.Re7 Ng6
42.Re6 Qb8 43.Nd3 Kg8 44.Qe1 Qc7 45.Rc6 Qd7 46.Qc3 Ne7 47.Ne5 Qd8 48.Rxc8 Qxc8 49.Nc6 Kf7 50.Qb3
Qe6 51.Nd8+ 1-0 Morozevich,A-Gelfand,B/Yerevan 2008/CBM 124 Extra]
16...Ne7
A novelty from Giri
[16...Re8 17.b5 axb5 18.Bxb5 Qf6 19.Bxd6 cxd6 20.a5 Reb8 21.Ra4 Qd8 22.Rea1 Nxa5 23.Qa3 Bxf3 24.Nxf3
Nc4 25.Bxc4 Rxa4 26.Qxa4 dxc4 27.Qxc4 Qc8 28.Qf7 Qxc3 29.Rf1 Qc8 30.Nh4 Qf8 31.Qxf5 Qxf5 32.Nxf5
b5 33.f3 Nc3 34.Nxd6 Ne2+ 35.Kf2 Nxd4 36.Ke3 Ne6 37.Rb1 b4 38.Ne4 g5 39.g3 Kg7 40.Kd3 Rd8+ 41.Ke3
Rb8 42.Kd3 Rd8+ 43.Ke3 Rb8 1/2-1/2 Svidler,P-Nielsen,P/Dortmund 2005/CBM 108/[Huzman]]
17.Ne5 Bxe5 18.dxe5 Ng6 19.f3 Nxe5
Black gets sufficient compensation for the pawn
20.Bf1 Qf6 21.fxe4 fxe4
[21...Qb6+ 22.Kh1 fxe4 23.b5 Rf2 24.bxa6 Qxb2 25.Bxb2 bxa6 is clearly better for white]
22.Kh1
[22.Nb3 was a much better alternative]
22...b5
Closing the bishop, it's not so easy for white to improve his position
[Black had a serious alternative in 22...Qh6 23.Nb3 e3 and now white can easily lose in the complications:
24.b5 Rxf1+ 25.Rxf1 e2 26.Rfe1 Nf3]
23.Nb3
[One of the ideas is 23.axb5 axb5 24.Bxb5 Qb6 25.Bf1 e3]

23...Qh4 24.Qd2 Rf5
[The nice trick 24...Rf2 25.Qxd5 Nf3 fails simply to 26.Qxa8+]
25.Nd4
Anish Giri
Wesley So
Position after 25.Nd4
25...Rh5?!
[but now 25...Rf2 was the way to go for black. In fact Giri calculated this line with Bf3, but thought that the
game continuation was even stronger 26.Qe3 Bf3 and now for example 27.Nf5 Bxg2+ 28.Bxg2 Rxf5 29.Qg3
Qf6 and black has sufficient compensation]
26.h3 Rf8 27.Re3!
This is the move that Giri had missed when he decided on Rh5 over Rf2 on move 25.
27...Rf2?
Anish Giri
Wesley So
Position after 27...Rf2
A bad move
[27...Bd7 is also no great joy for black, but at least a lot better than the game 28.Qe1 Qf6 29.Be2 Rh6]
28.Qe1 Qf6??
Blundering a piece
[28...Rh6]
29.Kg1!
Again missed by Giri, white is now completely winning, despite the silly bishop on a3, two pieces is really too
much
29...Rf4
Not only has Giri a lost position, he was also short on the clock, while So still had more than 30 minutes
30.hxg4 Nxg4 31.Rh3 Rxh3 32.gxh3 Nf2 33.Qe3
There are many winning lines, this is good enough
33...Qg5+ 34.Bg2 Nd1 35.Qc1?
[Simply winning was 35.Rxd1 Rf1+ 36.Kxf1 Qxe3 37.Ne2]
35...Qg3
Anish Giri
Wesley So
Position after 35...Qg3
36.Ne2??
An unbelievable blunder by So
[A lot less clear than a move before was 36.Qxd1 Rf2 37.Qf1 Rxf1+ 38.Rxf1 h6 39.Ne2 Qe3+ 40.Rf2 bxa4; No
advantage for white after 36.Qxf4 Qxf4 37.Rxd1 Qe3+ 38.Kh2 Qxc3]
36...Rf1+
with mate to follow
0-1
Leko,Peter - Carlsen,Magnus [B90]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Ng4 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Bg7 10.h3 Nf6 11.Qf3
Qb6 12.0-0-0 0-0
[12...Nc6 13.Nxc6 Qxc6 14.e5 Qxf3 15.gxf3 dxe5 16.Bxe5 Bd7 17.h4 Bc6 18.hxg5 hxg5 19.Rxh8+ Bxh8
20.Be2 Bg7 21.f4 1/2-1/2 Stefansson,H (2569)-Shirov,A (2723)/Reykjavic ISL 2003/The Week in Chess 433]
13.Bc4 Nc6 14.Nxc6 Qxc6 15.Bb3 Be6 16.e5
Trading pieces.
16...Qxf3 17.gxf3 dxe5 18.Bxe6 fxe6 19.Bxe5
Magnus Carlsen
Peter Leko
Position after 19.Bxe5
A pretty equal ending has resulted.
19...Nd5 20.Bxg7 Kxg7 21.Nxd5 exd5 22.Rxd5 Rxf3 23.h4 gxh4 24.Rxh4 Rxf2 25.Rd7 Re2 26.Rxb7 Rc8
27.Kd1
[27.c3]
27...Rcxc2 28.Rxe7+ Rxe7 29.Kxc2 Re5 30.b4 a5 31.bxa5 Rxa5 32.a4 h5 33.Kb3
Trivial draw.
1/2-1/2
Viswanathan Anand against Vladimir Kramnik in Round 12. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Viswanathan Anand has only won two games but they could have a decisive effect on where the first prize goes.
After his win against Alexei Shirov he followed it up with a win against Vladimir Kramnik's. As Anand put it at
the press conference "Here I'm basically spoiling other people's tournaments." after too many early draws had
put him out of the running.
The problem Anand had today was to try and find a line against Kramnik's solid Petroff in order to get a game.
17.Qc1 was his try and it proved to be a bullseye as Kramnik forgot what he was supposed to do against this
line. His Bf8 was an attempt to be solid but he soon started to get into trouble. Anand chose the right moment to
annex a pawn and he too was in a little time pressure and took advantage of the fact that he captured a pawn on
move 30 to repeat the position three times, gaining time on the clock without giving away the draw. He said that
at first Kramnik appeared puzzled that he was being let off with a draw before he realised that the first repetition
didn't count for drawing purposes. Anand made the technical process of exploiting his advantage look simple,
even though black had some tricks, he brought home the point in assured style.
Anand,Viswanathan - Kramnik,Vladimir [C42]

[Michiel Abeln]
Nxc3 12.bxc3 Nc6 13.Re1 Re8 14.cxd5 Qxd5 15.Bf4 Rac8 16.h3
[16.Qc1 Na5 17.c4 Qe4 18.Bd1 Qd3 19.Re3 Qxc4 20.Re5 1-0 Anand,V-Kramnik,V/Sofia 2005/CBM
107/[Huzman]]
16...Be4 17.Qc1
History repeats itself, again Vishy wins with Qc1 (but now with h3 and Rc8 included) againstKramnik!
[17.Nd2 Bxg2 18.Bg4 Bh1 19.f3 Bh4 20.Re4 f5 21.Kxh1 fxg4 22.hxg4 Qf7 23.Qb3 Ne7 24.Qxf7+ Kxf7 25.c4
Ng6 26.Bh2 Bf6 27.Rb1 b6 28.d5 Be5 29.f4 Bd6 30.a4 h6 31.Rbe1 Nf8 32.f5 Nd7 33.Bxd6 cxd6 34.Re6 Ne5
35.c5 Nd3 36.cxd6 Nxe1 37.d7 Rcd8 38.dxe8Q+ Rxe8 39.Nc4 Rxe6 40.fxe6+ Ke7 41.Ne5 Kd6 42.Nc4+ Ke7
43.Ne5 Kd6 44.Kh2 Nc2 45.Nc4+ Ke7 46.Kg3 Nb4 47.Ne3 Nxd5 48.Nxd5+ Kxe6 49.Nc3 a6 50.Kf4 b5
51.axb5 1/2-1/2 Shirov,A-Kramnik,V/Wijk aan Zee NED 2010]
17...Na5
Kramnik could not remember what he had looked at, so he decided to play it safe with Na5 and Bf8, but he
quikcly drifts into a worse position.
[17...Bf6 is an interesting alternative]
18.Qe3 Bf8
[Black would like to play 18...c5 but after 19.Bb5 white picks up material(also the thematic 19.c4 is not bad
19...Qf5 20.Nd2! Bc6 21.Qg3 (white cannot win an exchange 21.Bg4 Qg6) 21...Qg6 22.d5) ]
19.c4 Qd8
[Black cannot take the pawn 19...Nxc4 20.Bxc4 Qxc4 21.Nd2 and now black doesn't have a good square for his
queen so that he can win back the piece with f5: 21...Qa4 (21...Qc6 22.Nxe4 f5 23.Qb3+) 22.Nxe4 f5 23.Nc3]
20.Ne5 Bf5 21.Qc3
Vladimir Kramnik
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 21.Qc3
This is all white can wish for in a Petroff, white has his central pawns nicely covered and his pieces coordinate a
lot better than black's
21...b6
[After 21...c5 22.d5 black cannot play the standard b6 and Nb7- Nd6, because it gives away square c6.]
22.Rad1
Vishy considered many alternatives, but this simple centralization cannot be bad
22...Qf6 23.Qg3 Nc6
[23...Bc2 24.Rc1 Bf5 was a line Kramnik considered; Maybe it was better for black to go for 23...Bd6 24.Bf3]
24.Ng4 Qg6
Vladimir Kramnik
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 24....Qg6
25.d5
[Immediately taking on c7 is not so clear: 25.Bxc7 Bxg4 (25...Rxc7 26.Qxc7 h5 (26...Bd6 27.Bf3) 27.Ne3 Rxe3
28.fxe3 Bd6 29.Bxh5 (Vishy looked at 29.Qxc6 Bh2+ 30.Kxh2 Qxc6 which is better for white) ) 26.Bxg4
Rxe1+ 27.Rxe1 f5 28.Bf3 Nxd4 with a very complicated position]
25...Na5
Here Vishy calculated already the exchange sacrifice
26.Bxc7
Vladimir Kramnik
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 26.Bxc7
26...Bc2?
[Here Kramnik loses the game 26...Bc5 was a lot stronger, for example: 27.Bf4 h5 28.Ne3 Qxg3 29.Bxg3 Bxe3
30.fxe3 Rxe3]
27.Rc1 Nb3 28.Rxc2
This sac is completely winning for white thanks to his strong d-pawn
28...Qxc2 29.Nh6+
repetetion? No! Here black has a pawn on f7!
29...Kh8 30.Nxf7+ Kg8 31.Nh6+ Kh8 32.Nf7+ Kg8 33.Nh6+
Three times a knight check on h6, but the first time there was a pawn on f7. It took awhile for Kramnik to
realize that he could not claim a draw.
33...Kh8 34.Be5 Qg6

Vladimir Kramnik
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 34...Qg6
[34...Qd2 35.Nf7+ Kg8 36.Bc3]
35.Bg4
[Less precise was 35.Qxg6 hxg6 36.d6 Nc5 (36...Rxe5 37.Nf7+ Kg8 38.d7 Ree8 39.dxc8Q Rxc8 and black can
still fight) 37.Bg4]
35...Rxc4
This accelerates the end
[35...Rcd8 36.Nf5 Nc5 and white is also on top]
36.Qxb3 Rxe5 37.Rxe5 Rc1+ 38.Kh2 Bd6 39.f4
[39.Qe3 is also winning]
39...Bxe5 40.fxe5 gxh6
[If 40...Qxh6 then 41.Qf3]
41.Qe3 Qb1 42.d6 Rh1+ 43.Kg3 Re1 44.Qf4 Rf1 45.Bf3 1-0
Vladimir Kramnik
Viswanathan Anand
Final Position
Leinier Dominguez Perez against Vassily Ivanchuk in Round 12. Photo © Mark Crowther.
Leinier Dominguez Perez had a lucky escape against Vassily Ivanchuk as he survived a nasty piece sacrifice to
just hold on to the draw. Although Ivanchuk was almost certainly winning he had to be precise in his follow up
and the plan he chose looked OK but probably wasn't. It seems to me 32...Rc2 rather than the check on c1 was a
clear improvement but it was difficult to find.
Dominguez Perez,Leinier - Ivanchuk,Vassily [B01]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 c6 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Nc4 Qc7 8.d5
[8.Qf3 Nb6 9.Bf4 Qd8 10.Be5 Bg4 11.Qg3 h5 12.h3 h4 13.Qd3 Nxc4 14.Qxc4 Be6 15.Qd3 Nd7 16.Bf4 Nb6
17.b3 Qd7 18.Be2 Bf5 19.Ne4 0-0-0 20.0-0 Nd5 21.Be5 f6 22.Bh2 e6 23.Bf3 Bxe4 24.Qxe4 Bd6 25.Bxd6
Qxd6 26.c4 Nf4 27.Rfd1 g5 28.c5 Qc7 29.b4 f5 30.Qe3 Rhg8 31.b5 g4 32.hxg4 fxg4 33.Be4 g3 34.bxc6 gxf2+
35.Qxf2 bxc6 36.Bf3 Rdf8 0-1 Korneev,O (2565)-Marcelin,C (2493)/Montpellier FRA 2007/The Week in
Chess 656]
8...g6
[8...cxd5 9.Nxd5 Nxd5 10.Qxd5 Nf6 11.Qf3 (11.Qe5 Qxe5+ 12.Nxe5 a6 13.Be3 Ng4 14.Nxg4 Bxg4 15.f3 Bd7
16.0-0-0 e6 17.Rd2 Bc6 18.Bd3 Bb4 19.c3 Be7 20.Rhd1 0-0 21.Be4 Bxe4 22.fxe4 Bf6 23.Rd7 b5 24.Bb6 h5 1/2-
1/2 Bergerhoff,R-Packroff,H/Germany 1996/Corr 2004) 11...Bg4 12.Qf4 Rd8 13.Be2 Qxf4 14.Bxf4 Bxe2
15.Kxe2 Rd4 16.Be5 Rxc4 17.Bxf6 exf6 18.Kd3 Rc6 19.Rhe1+ Kd7 20.Rad1 Bd6 21.c3 Re8 22.b4 Rxe1
23.Rxe1 Be5 24.b5 Rxc3+ 25.Ke4 Rc2 26.f4 Rc4+ 27.Kd3 Rxf4 28.Kc2 Rf2+ 29.Kb1 Rb2+ 30.Ka1 Re2+
31.Kb1 Rxe1+ 32.Kc2 Re2+ 33.Kd3 Rxg2 34.a4 Rxh2 35.a5 0-1 Henzler,S (1099)-Romain,E
(1740)/Champagne Ardenne 2009/EXT 2010]
9.Qd4 Bg7 10.Bf4 Qd8 11.dxc6 bxc6 12.0-0-0 0-0 13.Qd2 Bb7 14.Bh6 Qc7 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Qe3 Nb6 17.Qe5
Rac8 18.Re1 Rfe8 19.f3 Qxe5 20.Rxe5 Nbd5 21.Nd1 Rc7 22.Na5 Bc8 23.a3 h5 24.g3 Bf5 25.c4 Nb6 26.Nc3
Nbd7 27.Re3 e5 28.Bg2 Nd5!!
Vassily Ivanchuk
Position after 28...Nd5!
A great sacrifice that gives black a decisive advantage.
29.cxd5 cxd5 30.Kd1 Rec8 31.Ree1 d4 32.Ne4
Vassily Ivanchuk
32...Rc1+?!
[It seems to me that 32...Rc2 33.Nd2 Rxb2 34.Bf1 Rc3 wins.]
33.Ke2 R1c2+ 34.Kf1 Rxb2
[34...Bxe4 35.fxe4 Rxb2]
35.Re2 Rcc2 36.Rxc2 Rxc2 37.Nb3 Bxe4 38.fxe4 Nb6 39.Bf3 d3 40.Bd1 Ra2 41.Nc5 Rxa3 42.Ke1 Nc4 43.Rf1
Rc3 44.Na4 d2+ 45.Kf2 Ra3 46.Nc5 Ne3 47.Rg1 Rc3 48.Na4 Nxd1+ 49.Rxd1 Rc4 50.Nb2 Rxe4 51.Rxd2 h4
The win has clearly gone.
52.Nd3 hxg3+ 53.hxg3 Rd4 54.Ke3 Rg4 55.Kf3 Rd4 56.Ke3 1/2-1/2
Jan Smeets against Loek van Wely in Round 12. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Jan Smeets' opening preparation brought him the full point almost straight from the opening against Loek van
Wely. Van Wely spent a lot of time trying to find his way through the problems but already by move 20 he
could have resigned.
Smeets,Jan - Van Wely,Loek [B96]
[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Nbd7 8.Qe2 Qc7 9.0-0-0 b5 10.g3 Be7 11.Bg2
Bb7 12.e5 dxe5 13.fxe5
[13.Bxb7 Qxb7 14.fxe5 Nd5 15.Bxe7 Nxe7 16.Ne4 0-0 17.Ng5 h6 18.Ngf3 Rac8 19.g4 Rc5 20.Nb3 Rd5
21.Rxd5 Nxd5 22.Rg1 g6 23.Nbd4 Rc8 24.h4 Qc7 25.Kb1 Qc4 26.Qd2 Kg7 27.Rd1 b4 28.h5 g5 29.Qd3 Qxd3
30.Rxd3 Nc5 31.Rd1 Kf8 32.Re1 Ke7 33.Nd2 Nd7 34.Re4 a5 35.N4f3 N7b6 36.Rd4 Rc7 37.Ne1 Rc6 38.a3
Nd7 39.axb4 axb4 40.Ndf3 N7b6 41.Nd2 Nd7 42.Nc4 N7b6 43.Nxb6 Rxb6 44.Ka2 Ra6+ 45.Kb3 Ra1 46.Nd3
Rd1 47.Re4 Rd2 48.Nxb4 Nxb4 49.Rxb4 Re2 50.Rb5 Re4 51.Rb7+ Ke8 52.Rb8+ Ke7 53.Rb7+ Ke8 54.c4
Rxg4 55.Kb4 Re4 56.Kc5 g4 57.Rb8+ Ke7 58.Rb7+ Ke8 59.Rb3 Kd7 60.Rb7+ Ke8 61.Rb8+ Ke7 62.Rc8
Rxe5+ 1/2-1/2 Zambrana,O (2425)-Grover,S (1987)/Sort ESP 2006/The Week in Chess 608]
13...Nd5 14.Bxe7 Nxc3 15.bxc3 Bxg2 16.Qxg2 Kxe7 17.Nc6+
White's preparation has put Van Wely in big trouble from the start.
17...Kf8 18.Rhf1 Nb6 19.Qf3
Loek Van Wely
Jan Smeets
Position after 19.Qf3
19...Re8?
[19...Nd5]
20.Nd8!
White is winning.
20...Re7 21.Rd6 Ke8 22.Rxb6 Qxd8 23.Rxa6 1-0

Sergey Karjakin against Alexei Shirov in Round 12. Photo © Mark Crowther.
Sergey Karjakin's preparation secured him a small advantage against Alexei Shirov. Shirov in fact made life
slightly more difficult for himself but the drawish nature of the position meant that once he'd a few tactical
problems it was only a matter of time before the points were shared.
Karjakin,Sergey - Shirov,Alexei [C78]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.c3 d6 8.a4 Rb8 9.d4 Bb6 10.Na3 0-0 11.axb5
axb5 12.Nxb5 Bg4 13.Bc2 exd4 14.Nbxd4 Nxd4 15.cxd4 Bxf3 16.gxf3 Nh5 17.Ra4
[17.Kh1 Qf6 18.Ra4 Ra8 19.Be3 Rxa4 20.Bxa4 Nf4 21.Rg1 g6 22.Bb3 Rb8 23.Rg4 Ne6 24.Bxe6 Qxe6 25.Rg1
c5 26.d5 Qf6 27.b3 c4 28.Bxb6 Rxb6 29.bxc4 Rb2 30.c5 Rxf2 31.Rf1 Rb2 32.Qe1 dxc5 33.e5 Qf4 34.Rf2 Rxf2
35.Qxf2 c4 36.d6 Qxe5 37.d7 Qc7 38.Qd4 Qd8 39.Kg2 c3 40.Qxc3 Qxd7 1/2-1/2 Karjakin,S (2720)-Anand,V
(2790)/Wijk aan Zee NED 2010/The Week in Chess 793]
17...Qf6 18.e5 dxe5 19.dxe5 Qxe5 20.f4 Qc5 21.b4 Qc6 22.b5 Qc3 23.Bxh7+ Kxh7 24.Qxh5+ Kg8 25.Ra3 Qc2
26.Rh3 Qg6+ 27.Qxg6 fxg6 28.Rg3
Alexei Shirov
Sergey Karjakin
Position after 28.Rg3
28...Kh7
[28...Bd4 was expected by Karjakin.]
29.Rd1
The position has simplified somewhat. Shirov needs to be precise in order to avoid trouble but it doesn't prove
that difficult.
29...Rf5 30.Bb2 Rxf4 31.Rh3+ Kg8 32.Rd7 Bxf2+ 33.Kh1 Bh4 34.Be5 Rf1+ 35.Kg2 Rf2+ 36.Kg1 Rf5
37.Bxc7 Bf2+ 38.Kg2 Rbxb5 39.Rd1 Kf7 1/2-1/2
Sergei Tiviakov against Nigel Short in Round 12. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Tiviakov,Sergei - Short,Nigel [B16]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ gxf6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.Be2 Qc7 8.Be3 Nd7 9.Nh4
[9.Qd2 0-0-0 10.Bf4 e5 11.Bg3 Nc5 12.Nxe5 Bxe2 13.Qxe2 Rxd4 14.Nc4 Qd7 15.0-0 Re4 16.Ne3 f5 17.Qf3 h5
18.Nxf5 h4 19.Rad1 Qe6 20.Nd6+ Bxd6 21.Rxd6 Qe7 22.Qf5+ Nd7 23.Rxd7 Qxd7 24.Qxe4 hxg3 25.fxg3 Re8
26.Qf5 Qxf5 27.Rxf5 Re2 28.h4 Rxc2 29.h5 Rd2 30.h6 Rd1+ 31.Rf1 1-0 Pierrot,F (2410)-Sanchez,F
(2265)/Boca ARG 1997]
9...Bxe2 10.Qxe2 e6 11.0-0-0 0-0-0 12.c4 Qa5 13.Kb1 Nb6 14.Qc2 Qh5 15.g3 Bh6 16.f4 Kb8 17.Rd2 Rd7
18.Rhd1 Rc8 19.Qc3 Bg7 20.f5 Rcd8 21.b3 Bh6 22.Kc2 Nc8 23.Bxh6 Qxh6 24.Re1 e5 25.Red1 exd4 26.Rxd4
Rxd4 27.Rxd4 Qf8 28.Rxd8 Qxd8 29.Nf3 Qe7 30.Qd4 Nd6 31.g4 Kc7 32.Kd3 b6 33.Qe3 Qd7 1/2-1/2
Nigel Short
Sergey Tiviakov
Final Position
Fabiano Caruana against Hikaru Nakamura in Round 12. Photo © Mark Crowther.
Fabiano Caruana's opening against Hikaru Nakamura cannot be described as a success. White was under a lot of
pressure but Nakamura lacked the final blow and indeed it turns out that white is just in time in many variations.
Eventually Caruana survived time pressure (3:42 for moves 33-40) to reach first time control and safety. There
probably was something somewhere but it was difficult to find.
Caruana,Fabiano - Nakamura,Hikaru [B67]

[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0-0-0 Bd7 9.f3 Be7 10.Be3 h5
11.Nxc6 Bxc6 12.Ne2
[12.Bf4 d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.Kb1 Rc8 16.Be5 0-0 17.Bd3 Bxa2+ 18.Ka1 Bd5 19.Rhf1 Bf6 20.f4
Rc5 21.b4 Rc8 22.Kb2 Qe7 23.c3 a5 24.b5 Bxe5 25.fxe5 Bc4 26.Qe2 Bxd3 27.Rxd3 Rc5 28.Qxh5 Rxb5+
29.Ka2 Qc7 30.Rf4 Rxe5 31.Qf3 b5 32.Rh4 b4 33.Qh3 f6 34.Rg3 Rg5 35.Rxg5 fxg5 36.Rh8+ Kf7 37.Qh5+
Ke7 38.Qxg5+ Ke8 39.Qh5+ Ke7 40.Qg5+ 1/2-1/2 Marwan,A (2078)-Wcislo,D (2216)/Warsaw POL 2008/The
Week in Chess 718]
12...d5 13.e5 Nd7 14.f4 Bb5 15.Nd4 Bxf1 16.Rhxf1 g6 17.g3 Qc7 18.h3 0-0-0 19.g4 hxg4 20.hxg4 Rh3 21.Rh1
Rdh8 22.Qg2 Rxh1 23.Rxh1 Rxh1+ 24.Qxh1 Qc4
Hikaru Nakamura
Fabiano Caruana
Position after 24...Qc4
Initially Nakamura thought he was close to winning here. White certainly has problems but nothing clear
emerged from the post-mortem. However white is definitely on the back foot.
25.Kb1 Bc5 26.Qd1 g5 27.c3 gxf4 28.Bxf4 b5 29.a3 a5 30.g5 b4 31.axb4 axb4 32.g6 fxg6 33.Nxe6 b3 34.Nd4
Bxd4 35.cxd4 Nf8 36.Qd2 Ne6 37.Be3 Nc7 38.Qc3 Kd7 39.Kc1 Kc6 40.Kd2 Kb5 41.Qd3 Qxd3+ 42.Kxd3 Ne6
43.Kc3 Ka4
The worst for white is now over.

44.Bf2 g5 45.Be1 g4 46.Bh4 Ng7 47.Bf2 Nf5 48.e6 Kb5 49.Kxb3 Kc6 50.Kb4 Kd6 51.Kb5 g3 52.Bg1 Nh4
53.e7 Kxe7 54.Kc6 Nf3 55.Be3 g2 56.Kxd5 Kd7 57.b4 g1B 58.Bxg1 Nxg1 59.b5 Ne2 60.b6 Nxd4 61.Kxd4
Kc6 62.Ke4 Kxb6 1/2-1/2
Carlsen,Magnus - Caruana,Fabiano [C77]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 g6 7.Nbd2 Bg7 8.Nf1 0-0 9.Bg5 d5 10.Qe2
[10.exd5 Qxd5 11.Ne3 Qe6 12.0-0 b5 13.Bb3 Qd7 14.Re1 Bb7 15.h3 Rae8 16.a4 Kh8 17.axb5 axb5 18.Bh4
Nh5 19.Bc2 f5 20.Nd2 Nd8 21.f3 Ne6 22.Ra7 Ba8 23.Nb3 Nhf4 24.Kh2 Qd6 25.Kh1 Bh6 26.Bf2 Rd8 27.d4
Bg7 28.dxe5 Qxe5 29.Qb1 Qf6 30.Rg1 Nxh3 31.gxh3 Bxf3+ 32.Ng2 Nf4 33.Kh2 Ne2 34.Nd4 Qe5+ 35.Kh1
Rxd4 36.Qe1 Rdd8 37.Bh4 g5 38.Qf2 gxh4 39.Re1 Qg3 40.Rxe2 Bxe2 41.Qxe2 Rfe8 42.Qf1 Rd2 0-1
Gvetadze,S (2411)-Shen Yang (2440)/Ekaterinburg RUS 2007/The Week in Chess 655]
10...Qd6 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Ne3 Ne7 13.Bb3 c6 14.h4 Be6 15.Ng5 Bd7 16.Rd1 Rad8 17.Qf3?
Fabiano Caruana
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 17.Qf3
White has been ambitious but this is too much and gets white into terrible trouble.
17...h6 18.Nc4 dxc4 19.dxc4 Nd5! 20.Nh3 h5
The following sequence seems the best for black.
21.Qg3 Bg4 22.Rd2 Bxh4 23.Qxh4 Qf6 24.Qxf6 Nxf6 25.Ng5 c5!
Sealing in the bishop.
26.f3 Bc8 27.Ba4 Kg7 28.Rxd8 Rxd8 29.b4 Rd3 30.bxc5 Rxc3?
[30...Nd7 31.c6 Nc5 32.cxb7 Bxb7 33.Bb3 is miserable for white.]

31.Kd2 Rxc4 32.Bb3 Rxc5 33.Nxf7 a5 34.Rc1 Rxc1 35.Kxc1 a4 36.Bc4 b5 37.Nd6 bxc4 38.Nxc8 h4 39.Nb6
Nh5 40.Nxc4 Kf6 41.Kd2 Nf4
It seems that white has just enough time to hold this position.
42.Ke3 Nxg2+ 43.Kf2 Nf4 44.Nb2 a3 45.Nc4 Nd3+ 46.Kg2 Kg5 47.Nxa3 Kf4 48.Nc2 Nb2 49.Nb4 h3+
50.Kxh3 Kxf3 51.Kh4 Kf4 52.Nd5+ Kxe4 53.Ne7 Kf3 54.Nxg6 e4 55.Ne5+ Kf4 56.Ng4 Na4 1/2-1/2
There was a final press conference with the winners of the A-Group and B-Group, Magnus Carlsen and Anish
Giri. Jeroen van den Berg announce the results of the Grand Slam meeting and the dates of events. He first said
that he was pleased how this year's Corus tournament had gone with the A-Group being exciting to the very
end.
He also made announcements of the dates of the Grand Slam events of which the Corus tournament is a part.
Linares 12-25 Februarny 2010
MTel Masters 25th May - June 5th 2010
Basna 10th-22th June 2010 (to be confirmed in two weeks)
The Grand Slam finals will be in two parts:
Shanghai 3rd-12th September 2010 and 6th-14th October 2010 in Bilbao.
Nanjing 17th-29th October 2010.
Wijk aan Zee 14th-30th January 2011
Although it was not mentioned today it Anand was asked about what difference it might make to publicity for
the event if the the Corus Chess Tournament becomes the Tata Chess tournament, the indian company that
bought Corus in 2007, so this could be the last one under the current name.
Magnus Carlsen talked about his game today and his win as a whole. He said that with Kramnik and Shirov
having white in the final round meant that he thought he might need to win. "I was following the other boards
but of course I was most concerned with my own." That Kramnik made an early draw was a relief to him but "I
couldn't figure out what was going on in the Shirov game."
Carlsen said that he had his own problems to take care of anyway after miscalculating his position went from
promising to "quite bad". After that Caruana had a clear positional advantage. Carlsen said that "I tried to give
up a pawn for some activity. This knight endgame we both thought black had excellent winning chances but it
seems to be a draw."
Carlsen stressed that his most important priority is to continue to improve his own play. To that end he said that
"It [his play] was up and down. I thought I played some good games and good parts of games but also some
lousy chess as well." His Best win was against Karjakin and was a very important in the context of the event.
He restated that "My main goal was to play good chess. I felt that I did that in some games. But there are also
things I am not satisfied with. I only won the tournament with some luck. I am of course very happy to win. "
Nigel Short against Jan Smeets in Round 13. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Nigel Short and Jan Smeets played an ultra-sharp variation of the Petroff Defence. 7...Kg6 surprised Short but
in turn his 8.Bg5 led to a long think for Smeets. Short had all the work to do to justify the sacrifice. Short was
dreaming of the brilliancy prize and his first win but it seems that with accurate play black can win. As it was
both players used most of their time on these few moves and accepted a draw by repetition after just 14 moves.
Short,Nigel - Smeets,Jan [C43]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.dxe5 Bc5 5.Bc4 Nxf2 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Qd5+ Kg6
Short didn't expect this move.
8.Bg5
A new move but probably not objectively very good.
[8.Rf1 d6 9.Rxf2 Bxf2+ 10.Kxf2 h6 11.Qe4+ Kf7 12.Nc3 Nc6 13.Bf4 dxe5 14.Bxe5 Re8 15.Qf4+ Kg8 16.Bxc7
Qd7 17.Rd1 Qf5 18.Nd5 Be6 19.Qxf5 Bxf5 20.Ne3 Be4 21.Rd7 Rac8 22.Bg3 Re7 23.Rxe7 Nxe7 24.Nd4 Rf8+
25.Kg1 Rd8 26.c3 Nc6 27.Nxc6 Bxc6 28.Be1 b5 29.Kf2 Bd5 30.a3 Bb3 31.Ke2 Bc4+ 32.Kf3 Bb3 33.Ke2 Kf7
34.Bh4 g5 35.Bf2 Ke6 36.h4 a5 37.hxg5 hxg5 38.Bg3 Bc4+ 39.Nxc4 bxc4 40.Bc7 Rd5 41.a4 Kd7 42.Bb6 Kc6
43.Bd4 g4 44.Kf2 Rd8 45.Kg3 Rb8 46.Kxg4 Rxb2 47.Kf3 Ra2 48.g4 Rxa4 49.g5 Ra1 50.g6 Rb1 51.g7 Rb8
52.Bf6 a4 53.Be7 Rg8 54.Bf8 Rxg7 0-1 Stankovic,M (2379)-Hovhannisyan,R (2487)/Antalya TUR 2009/The
Week in Chess 785]
8...Qe8
Jan Smeets
Nigel Short
9.Nh4+ Kxg5 10.Nd2 Kh6 11.Nf5+
Both players were now short of time. They decide to repeat the position.
11...Kg6 12.Nh4+ Kh6 13.Nf5+ Kg6 14.Nh4+ 1/2-1/2
Vassily Ivancbuk against Peter Leko in Round 13. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Vassily Ivanchuk and Peter Leko reached a totally drawn Rook and Pawn ending after just 27 moves of a Semi-
Slav.
Ivanchuk,Vassily - Leko,Peter [D45]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 dxc4 9.Bxc4 a6 10.Rd1 b5 11.Bf1
Qc7 12.e4 e5 13.g3
[13.Ne2 Re8 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 Bxe5 16.g3 Bb7 17.Bg2 Rac8 18.a4 c5 19.axb5 axb5 20.f4 Bd6 21.Ra7 c4
22.Rxb7 Bc5+ 23.Kf1 Qxb7 24.e5 Qa6 25.exf6 Ba7 26.Bd5 Rcd8 27.Nc3 b4 28.Ne4 gxf6 29.Kg2 f5 30.Ng5
Kg7 31.Nxf7 c3 32.Qxf5 Re2+ 33.Kh3 c2 34.Nxd8 cxd1Q 35.Qf7+ Kh6 36.Qf8+ 1-0 Akopian,V (2678)-
Harikrishna,P (2672)/Bursa TUR 2010/The Week in Chess 792]
13...c5 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 Bxe5 16.Bg5 Bg4 17.Be2 Bxc3 18.bxc3 Bxe2 19.Qxe2 Qe5 20.Bxf6 Qxf6
21.Qe3 Qe6 22.Qxc5 Qxe4 23.a4 Rac8 24.Qd5 Qxd5 25.Rxd5 Rxc3 26.axb5 axb5 27.Rxb5 1/2-1/2
Peter Leko
Vassily Ivanchuk
Final Position after 27.Rxb5

Vladimir Kramnik against Sergei Karjakin in Round 13. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Vladimir Kramnik achieved nothing in a Queen's Indian against Sergei Karjakin and the game was agreed
drawn after 21 moves. With Carlsen losing this result might still be enough for a tie for first.
Kramnik,Vladimir - Karjakin,Sergey [E15]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qa4 Bb7 6.Bg2 c5 7.dxc5 bxc5 8.0-0 Be7 9.Nc3 0-0 10.Rd1 Qb6 11.Bf4
Rd8 12.Rd2 d6 13.Rad1 Ne8 14.g4 Nc6
[14...Nd7 15.g5 Nf8 16.h4 Bc6 17.Qc2 Qb7 18.Bg3 g6 19.Ne1 Rd7 20.Bxc6 Qxc6 21.Qe4 Rc8 22.Qxc6 Rxc6
23.Nf3 Rb7 24.Ne4 Rbb6 25.Kg2 Nd7 26.e3 f5 27.gxf6 Ndxf6 28.Nfg5 d5 29.cxd5 exd5 30.Nxf6+ Nxf6
31.Be5 Rb4 32.Nf3 Rg4+ 33.Kf1 Re4 34.Rc2 Re6 35.Bf4 Ra6 36.b3 Rb4 37.Be5 Re4 38.Bf4 Kg7 39.Ng5 Rb4
40.Be5 h6 41.Rxd5 Rxh4 42.Rd7 hxg5 43.Rxe7+ Kh6 44.Bxf6 Rxf6 45.Rxa7 Rf5 46.Rc7 Rh1+ 47.Kg2 Ra1
48.a4 Rb1 49.Rb7 g4 50.Rb5 Re5 51.Rbxc5 Rxc5 52.Rxc5 Rxb3 53.Rc4 Kh5 54.Kg3 Rb1 55.a5 Ra1 56.Rc5+
g5 57.e4 Ra3+ 58.Kg2 Ra4 59.e5 Kg6 60.e6 Kf6 61.Kg3 Kxe6 62.Rxg5 Kf6 63.Rb5 Kg6 64.Kg2 Ra1 65.Kg3
Ra4 66.Rb6+ Kf5 67.a6 Ra3+ 68.Kg2 Ra1 69.Rc6 Ke5 1/2-1/2 Fressinet,L (2664)-Sargissian,G (2660)/Paris
FRA 2009/The Week in Chess 764]
15.Bg3 Rab8 16.b3 Nb4 17.h3 h6 18.Qa3 Nf6 19.Ne1 Bxg2 20.Nxg2 Rb7 21.Qa4 1/2-1/2
Sergey Karjakin
Vladimir Kramnik
Final Position after 21.Qa4

Loek van Wely against Viswanathan Anand in Round 13. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Viswanathan Anand drew his final game against Loek van Wely. He had certainly equalised but the rook and
two pawns vs knight and bishop ending was really drawish.
Van Wely,Loek - Anand,Viswanathan [D45]

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.b3 0-0 8.Be2 b6 9.0-0 Bb7 10.Bb2 Qe7 11.Rad1
Rfe8 12.Rfe1 Rad8 13.Bf1 e5 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Nd4 dxc4
[15...g6 16.cxd5 cxd5 17.f3 Rc8 18.Rc1 Bb8 19.Qd2 a6 20.Nce2 Qd6 21.g3 h5 22.Nf4 Qe7 23.Bg2 Bd6 24.Nd3
Ned7 25.Rxc8 Rxc8 26.Ne2 Ne5 27.Nxe5 Bxe5 28.Bxe5 Qxe5 29.Rc1 Rc5 30.b4 Rxc1+ 31.Qxc1 Kg7 32.Nd4
Ne8 33.Bf1 Qe7 34.Qc3 Kg8 35.Kf2 Qc7 36.Qa3 Qc8 37.b5 axb5 38.Qe7 Bc6 39.a3 Qd7 40.Qe5 Nc7 41.Bd3
Ne8 42.h3 Nd6 43.Qf6 Bb7 44.g4 hxg4 45.hxg4 Nc8 46.Bxg6 fxg6 47.Ne6 Qe7 48.Qxg6+ Kh8 49.Qh6+ Kg8
50.Qg6+ Kh8 51.Ng5 Nd6 52.Qxd6 Qxg5 53.Qb8+ Kh7 54.Qxb7+ Kh8 55.Qxb6 Qh4+ 56.Kg2 Qe1 57.Qd4+
Kh7 58.Qxd5 1-0 Neverov,V (2561)-Delabaca,R (2212)/Paleohora GRE 2009/The Week in Chess 768]
16.Nf5 Qe6 17.Nxd6 Rxd6 18.bxc4 Rxd1 19.Nxd1 c5 20.e4 Bxe4 21.Rxe4 Nxe4 22.Qxe4 Nxc4 23.Qc2 Nxb2
24.Qxb2 g6 25.Ne3 Qe5 26.Qa3 Re7 27.g3 Kg7 28.h4 h5 29.Bc4 Rd7 30.Qc1 Rd4 31.a4 Qd6 32.Qa1 Kg8
33.a5
It's pretty clear this is going to be a draw.
33...Qf6 34.Qa2 Kg7 35.axb6 axb6 36.Kg2 Rd7 37.Bb5 Rd8 38.Bc4 Rd7 39.Bb5 Rd8 1/2-1/2
Alexei Shirov against Leinier Dominguez Perez in Round 13. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Alexei Shirov managed to find terrific attacking ideas against Leinier Dominguez Perez. The game was on a
knife edge as Shirov entered time trouble and Dominguez' Bg7 is objectively an error. He also however offered
a draw, Shirov thought most of his remaining minute before accepting the draw with only two seconds
remaining on his clock.
Shirov,Alexei - Dominguez Perez,Leinier [B94]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Bc4 Qb6 8.Bb3 e6 9.Qd2
[9.0-0 Be7 10.Be3 Nc5 11.f4 Qc7 12.Qf3 0-0 13.f5 b5 14.e5 dxe5 15.fxe6 exd4 16.exf7+ Kh8 17.Nd5 Qb7
18.Bh6 Nxb3 19.Bxg7+ Kxg7 20.Qg3+ Ng4 21.Nxe7 Qxe7 22.Rae1 Qc5 23.cxb3 d3+ 24.Kh1 d2 25.Rd1 Qe3
26.Qh4 Ra7 27.Rf3 Raxf7 0-1 Kuklin,A (2270)-Rodriguez Lopez,R (2410)/Budapest HUN 1996]
9...Be7 10.0-0-0 Nc5 11.f3 Qc7 12.Kb1 0-0 13.g4 b5 14.a3 Rb8 15.h4 Bd7 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.g5 Bd8 18.h5 a5
19.g6 Nxb3 20.Nxb3 fxg6 21.hxg6 h6 22.Nxa5 Rxf3 23.e5 Be8 24.exd6 Qxa5 25.Rxh6
Incredibly aggressive play by Shirov.
25...gxh6 26.Qxh6 Bf6 27.d7 Bxc3 28.dxe8Q+ Rxe8 29.Qh1
[29.Rd7 Rf1+ 30.Ka2 Ra1+ 31.Kxa1 Qxa3+ 32.Kb1 Qxb2#]
29...Re7 30.Qxf3 Bg7
Accompanied with a draw offer. Shirov had a minute left, but had to accept when this ran down to just two
seconds.

Alexei Shirov
Position after 30...Bg7
[30...Bg7 31.b4 Qc7 32.Qa8+ Bf8 33.Rf1 wins but Shirov didn't have the time to play this.]
1/2-1/2
Hikaru Nakamura against Sergei Tiviakov in Round 13. Photo © Michiel Abeln.
Hikaru Nakamura played an unusual line against Sergei Tiviakov's Scandinavian Defence. His two bishops
gave him something to play with but for a long time it looked like Tiviakov was the one with the advantage. A
miscalculation changed all that and this became the final game to finish and the only decisive game of the day.
Nakamura,Hikaru - Tiviakov,Sergei [B01]

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.Be2 Nc6 5.h3 Bxf3 6.Bxf3 Qe6+ 7.Qe2 Qxe2+ 8.Bxe2 Nd4 9.Bd1
Sergey Tiviakov
Hikaru Nakamura
9...e5 10.0-0 0-0-0 11.d3
[11.Re1 f6 12.d3 Ne7 13.Nd2 Nec6 14.Nb3 Nf5 15.f4 h5 16.fxe5 Nxe5 17.Bf4 Bd6 18.Rf1 Ne7 19.Be2 Nd5
20.Bd2 Ng6 21.Bf3 Nb4 22.a3 Na6 23.d4 c6 24.Be4 Ne7 25.Bd3 Nc7 26.Rae1 Rde8 27.Nc5 Ned5 28.Ne4 Bf8
29.Ng3 Rxe1 30.Rxe1 h4 31.Nf5 g6 32.c4 gxf5 33.cxd5 Nxd5 34.Re8+ Kd7 35.Ra8 f4 36.Rxa7 Kc7 37.Ra8 f5
38.Bxf5 Bg7 39.Rxh8 Bxd4+ 40.Kf1 Bxh8 41.Be4 Bxb2 42.Bxd5 cxd5 43.Bxf4+ Kc6 44.Bg5 Bxa3 45.Ke2
Kd6 46.Bxh4 Ke5 47.Kd3 Bc5 48.Bg5 b5 49.g4 b4 50.h4 b3 51.h5 b2 52.Kc2 Bd4 53.Be7 Kf4 54.g5 Kf5 55.g6
Bg7 56.Ba3 Kg5 57.Bxb2 Kxh5 1/2-1/2 Zakharov,A (2138)-Hauchard,A (2518)/Linares ESP 2000]
11...g6 12.Re1 Bg7 13.Nd2 Ne7 14.c3 Ne6 15.Nf3 Nc6 16.Bc2 Rd6 17.Ng5 Ncd8 18.Nf3 Nc6 19.Nd2 Rd7
20.Ne4 f5 21.Ng5 Nc5 22.Rd1 h6 23.Be3 hxg5 24.Bxc5 b6 25.Be3 Bf6 26.a4 Kb7 27.Kf1 Re8 28.Re1 Red8
29.b4 a5 30.bxa5 Nxa5 31.Rab1 Ka6 32.Red1 Rd6 33.Ke2 Rc6 34.Bd2 Ka7 35.g4 Nb7 36.Bb3 Rcd6 37.Bf7
Be7 38.Bc1 Nc5 39.Bc4 Nb7 40.Ba3 c5 41.Kf1 Na5 42.Bb5 Bf6 43.Kg2 Kb7 44.Re1 Kc7 45.Rbd1 e4 46.d4
Rd5 47.Rb1 cxd4 48.cxd4 Rxd4
Black had the better of it up to here but things start to go down hill quite rapidly now.
[48...Kb7]
49.Ba6 Rb8 50.Rec1+ Kd7 51.Bc5 Rd5 52.Bxb6 Nc6 53.Bc4 Rd2 54.Rd1 Bc3 55.Be3 Rxb1 56.Rxb1 Rc2
57.Bb3 Re2 58.Kf1 Rb2 59.Rxb2 Bxb2 60.gxf5 gxf5 61.Bxg5 Nd4 62.Bd1 Bc3 63.h4 Ke6 64.h5 Kf7 65.Be3
Nc6 66.Bb3+ Kf6 67.Bd5 Ne5 68.Bb6 Kg5 69.a5 Nd7 70.Bc7 Nc5 71.Bf7 Na6 72.Bd8+ Kh6 73.Bg6 Nc5
74.Bb6 Bb4 75.Bxf5 Kxh5 76.Bxe4 Nxe4 77.a6 Nd2+ 78.Kg2 Nc4 79.Bd4 1-0

Damián Lemos

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Damián Lemos (2544) - Francisco Fernandez Troncoso (2213)

1 ) Tras 10.exf5 gxf5 Tyomkin en la segunda de las partidas mencionadas

De este modo se ha alcanzado una posición conocida en líneas con un

Fernández Troncoso mantiene precisión e ímpetu. Uno puede suponer que si

(6) Nakamura, I (2708) - Van Wely, L (2641) [B96]

13...Tb8 14.b4! Diagrama

[14.h4 b4 15.axb4 Txb4 16.b3 Ab7-/+ ]

18.Axb5! axb5 19.The1+ Rd8 20.Cc6++- ]

22...Axe5 23.Te1 Ag4 [23...f6 Permitía un espectacular remate. 24.Txe5+! Diagrama

24.Df4 0-0 [24...f6 25.Ag6+ Rf8 26.Txe5+- ]

25.Txe5 Con las terribles amenazas Ce7+ y también Txh5 !

Magnífico golpe. El negro ya no tiene posibilidades de salvación. La idea es preparar la entrega en

26...Tbe8 27.Ce7+ Txe7 [27...Rh7 28.Axg6+ fxg6 29.Dxg6+ Rh8 30.Dh6# ]

31...Dxf7 [31...Txf7 32.Te8+ Rh7 33.Th8# ]

(1) Van Wely,L (2641) - Short,N (2696) [D36]

4.Cc3 Cbd7 5.cxd5 La siempre presente opción del cambio.

24.Axg6!? Elimina el caballo y plantea una lucha de piezas menores diferentes.

35.Cc5 Dc8 36.Db6 El dominio de las piezas blancas es casi total.

38...Da8 39.Ta7! Dc8 40.Tb7 Af7 [40...Da8 41.Dc7+- ]

41.Da7 Tf8 Diagrama

42.Cd7! El caballo se encarga de dar el golpe mortal.

(5) Gashimov, Vugar (2759) - Grischuk, Alexander (2736) [B97]

2.Cf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Cxd4 Cf6 5.Cc3 a6 Variante Najdorf.

6.Ag5 Sistema Rauzer

17.Cxc6= Dxc6 Atacando el peón aislado de e4

21...Rd7 El rey Baltasar inicia el viaje hacia Belén.

importante intermedia, a partir de este momento se desencadena una serie de movimientos

24...Cxc3 [24...Axc3+?! 25.Re2 Ad4 26.Ae5 Cc3+ 27.Rd2-/+ ]

28.Ae3+ Ra5 El camino a Belén.

29.a3 Ra4 [29...Axa3?! 30.Txc3 Dxh5 31.gxh5=/+ ]

34.Dxb6 De5+ 35.Rd1 Ab7! 36.Dxb7 [36.Txb7 Thd8 ]

36...Thd8 37.Tf3+ [37.Df3+ Ra2 38.Df4 Dd5-+ ]

39...Tac8 40.Db3+ Db2 41.Dxb2+ Rxb2 Las blancas abandonan. 0-1

Carlsen,M (2810) - Smeets,J (2657) [D44]

Shirov,Alexei - Caruana,Fabiano [C80]

Position after 47...c5

[47...Ke8 48.Rg1 Rf7 49.Be3]

[59...d2 60.Kb3 d1Q 61.Rxd1 Rf2 62.Kb4 Rxf4]

a final mistake in a pretty awful position.

Now things are trivial.

62.Bxd2 Kxh6 63.f5+ Kg7 64.f6+ 1-0

Carlsen,Magnus - Smeets,Jan [D44]

Black is completely ok.

25.Rxd7 Kxd7 26.h4 Kc7 27.h5

27...e5 28.h6 Bd4 29.Qe2

Position after 29.Qe2. Black makes three bad moves in a row.

Nakamura,Hikaru - Van Wely,Loek [B96]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5

6...e6 7.f4 Nbd7

8.Qf3 Qc7 9.Bxf6 Nxf6 10.g4 b5

[11...b4 12.Ncb5 axb5 13.gxf6+/=]

13.a3 Rb8 14.b4

Still prepared by Nakamura

15.Nd5 exd5 16.exd5 Be7 17.Re1 Ne5

18.fxe5 Bxg5+ 19.Kb1 dxe5 20.Nc6 Bf6

[21.Nxb8 Qxb8 22.Bd3 Ke7 and black would be better]]

Loek Van Wely

Position after 21.Bd3

22.Rxe5+ Bxe5 23.Re1 Bg4 24.Qf4 0-0

26.Qf6 Rbe8 27.Ne7+ Rxe7

[27...Kh7 28.Bxg6+ fxg6 29.Qxg6+ Kh8 30.Qh6#]

28.Rxe7 Qxh2 29.Bxg6 Qh1+ 30.Kb2 Qxd5 31.Bxf7+

[31.Be4 Qd2 32.Re5 Rd8]

[31...Rxf7 32.Re8+ Kh7 33.Rh8#]