14 July 2015
Ruy Lopez Revelations from Stavanger and Havana
Grandmaster Dmitry Kryakvin analyzes opening duels from recent supertournaments.
The Ruy Lopez... The term meant so much for Soviet chess players. The country's chess gurus poetized the Spanish game, calling it "the touchstone of positional excellence" and what not. They even said that "it is impossible to become a grandmaster without the Ruy Lopez" and that "in Soviet chess, a player's class was determined by the ability to play three types of positions: the Scheveningen, the Nimzo-Indian with 4.e3, and the Ruy Lopez."
In the Soviet era, players sought to study their favorite opening since childhood. They copied Smyslov's and Geller's masterpieces of games on scraps of paper. The collection of Karpov's best game was their Bible, and they read The Two Matches, Kasparov's bestseller, to tatters. And what about now? Try to make a young player study the Ruy Lopez. You will fail completely! At least, my last student whom I offered this uttered a blood-curdling cry "Berliiiiiiiin!" and started banging his head against a book on this subject written by Lysyj and Ovechkin.
True, the Berlin Defense discouraged many players from moving the bishop to b5, and even from playing 1.e2-e4. Recently I saw a cartoon of a bull called Ruy Lopez suffering from multiple stab wounds induced by a torero greatly resembling Vladimir Kramnik. This funny picture certainly reflects the actual state of things. It's very hard for the Ruy Lopez to lay open all its beauties in the steel vice of the move 3...Nf6. But, as the narrator said in a movie about the Nazi coming to power in Germany, "One cannot say that nobody resisted!" The Ruy Lopez occurred 10 times in about 40 games played in the first half of the super tournament in Stavanger and the strong round robin tournament in Cuba. White enjoyed a much better score, but most often not as a result of the opening duel.
Part One. The Berlin Defense
The line with the early trade-off of queens has so far occurred in these exciting parallel tournaments only once: in the game between Fabiano Caruana and Magnus Carlsen, dumbfounded by the loss on time in the first round. You probably know that Caruana has long been an unpleasant opponent for Carlsen: their personal score in classical games was 4-4, and the American-Italian grandmaster incurred several painful blows on his rival. After that, the modern chess leader seemed to have resolved the "inconvenient Fabiano issue", thrashing one of the most probable challengers for the crown three times in a row. Perhaps Carlsen became too optimistic after the previous games and forgot how strong Caruana's steel grip could be.
Caruana – Carlsen
Stavanger, round 2
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0–0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8
The world's top players had plunged into the Berlin jungles quite a while ago, about 2012. At first Fabiano tested a relatively harmless line: 9.Nc3 Ke8 10.h3 Bb4 11.Ne2 Be6 12.Nf4 Bd5 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.g4 Ne7 15.Nd4 Bc5 16.Rd1 h5 (draw, Caruana - Carlsen, Wijk aan Zee 2012), and then he even lost it in a tie break in Bilbao 2012 after 9...Ne7 10.h3 h6 11.Ne4 b6 12.b3 Bd7 13.Bb2 Kc8 14.Rad1 a5 15.a4 Nd5 16.Ng3 Rg8 17.Nd4 c5 18.Nb5 Nf4 19.Rfe1 Bc6 20.f3 Kb7: Black got all he wanted.
Such a slap in the face could not go unpunished, of course, and soon Caruana tested a plan which is now believed to be the last resort of a player who allowed the knight to capture on e4.
9.h3 h6 10.Rd1+ Ke8 11.Nc3 Ne7
The first try brought amazing results. The opponents played 11...Bd7 12.Bf4 Rd8 13.Ne4 Be7 14.g4! Nh4 15.Nxh4 Bxh4 16.Kg2 Be6 17.f3! b6 18.b3 c5 19.c4 (the white infantry limits the black light-squared bishop) 19...Rd7 20.Bg3 Be7 21.Rxd7 Bxd7 22.Nc3 (Caruana - Carlsen, Shamkir 2014), and it turned out that Black's rook is now out of play, whereas White's threats in the center are getting greater. The white knight occupies a vantage point on d5, and there is no coordination between the black rooks so far. Soon Magnus missed the knight's strike on c7, and the game was decided.
12.b3
The world champion's response in the theoretical duel was not long in coming. This winter the Norwegian played much more precisely in Baden-Baden: 12.Bf4 Ng6 13.Bh2 Bb4 14.Ne2 Be7 15.Nfd4 Nf8! Black's pieces do not waste tempos dodging pawn attacks, and the light-squared bishop is ready to join the fray. 16.g4 h5 17.Nf5 Ne6 18.Kg2 b6, and a peace agreement was soon signed.
12...Bf5
Traditionally, most strong players played 12...Ng6 13.Ne2 (less precise is 13.Bb2 Nf4) 13...a5 14.a4, but Black's statistics is far from perfect here: Kamsky defeated Akobian, while Inarkiev, despite beating Malakhov purely on time, put pressure on him almost throughout the game.
After dropping the flag in a game with Topalov, Carlsen certainly wanted an immediate revenge, which is why he refrained from the defensive position with a knight on g6 and a rook on g8. Black's plan is much more aggressive: he arranges Nd5-b4 while supporting the sniper from h7.
13.Nd4 Bh7 14.Bb2 Rd8 15.Nce2
In the game J. Polgar – Howell, 2013, 15.e6 was played, and even the modest 15...Nc8?! 16.Nce2 Bd6 17.c4 Ne7 18.Rac1 b6 19.g4 f6 20.f4 a6 21.Nf3 (21.f5 h5) 21...Rf8 allowed the Englishman to maintain equilibrium thanks to the potential threat to undermine White's powerful pawn chain. Much simpler would have been 15...Nd5! 16.Nce2 Bd6 17.c4 Nb4 with an easy play, but this had been analyzed in the opponents' home lab long ago.
15...Nd5 16.c4 Nb4 17.Nf4
The knight on f4 is ideally placed: it controls the square d3, aspires to jump on h5, and even supports e4-e5. Black still has to develop the h8 rook and the f8 bishop.
17...Rg8
Frankly speaking, it's not quite clear why some commentators added a question mark to this move. Fabiano noted at the press conference that, during his home preparation, he had only considered moves with the f8 bishop. Grandmaster Alexey Korotylev, a ChessPro expert, pointed out the subtle opportunity 17...Bc5 18.e6 Ke7! Let's continue the line: 19.exf7 Bxd4 20.Rxd4 Nc2 21.Rxd8 Rxd8 22.Rc1 g5! (22...Kxf7 23.Bxg7) 23.f8Q+ Rxf8 24.Nh5 Bg6, and Black should be able to reach the draw haven if he plays accurately. However, White still has some possibility to play for a win without the slightest risk. But the rook move doesn't spoil anything.
18.g4 Na6?!
Carlsen seeks a tempest and finds it. Korotylev offered a very strong continuation: 18...Nc2! 19.Nxc2 Rxd1+ 20.Rxd1 Bxc2 and then, for instance, 21.Rc1 Bh7 22.Nh5 Bc5. I think that, in a game between two top chess players, a draw is inevitable here. Perhaps all this had been analyzed by Carlsen and his "Berlin" coach Hammer. But the world champion wanted to win! The course for complicating the game proves to be risky: Black loses precious time.
19.Nf5 Nc5 20.Rxd8+ Kxd8 21.Rd1+ Kc8
If 21...Ke8, the Black army cannot establish harmony within its ranks over the next few moves because on e8 His Majesty risks to get under a knight fork from f6.
22.Ba3!
A strong move and a hidden trap. In the event of the slow 22.Kg2 g6 23.Ng3 Bg7! (White has a clear edge after 23...g5 24.Nfh5 ― Korotylev) 24...Bc2 25.Rd2 Bb1 26.Bc3 Be7 27.Nf5 Black is closer to consolidation than ever, and his h7 bishop is already eager to crush the a2 pawn.
22...Ne6?
Magnus complained that in the first four rounds, he kept overlooking his opponents' moves in forced lines. The same thing happened here again. But what was Black supposed to do?
Obviously bad is 22...g6 23.Bxc5 gxf5 24.Bxf8 Rxf8 25.Kg2 with a difficult endgame. As the ChessPro's commentator correctly noted, Black should brace up for unpleasant defense after 22...Bxf5 23.gxf5 g6 24.fxg6 fxg6: the two bishops advantage is no longer there. Black probably can't afford the liberty to play 22...a5 due to 23.Nh5! g6 24.Bxc5 Bxc5 25.Nxh6 gxh5 26.Nxg8 Bxg8 27.gxh5, and the rook and the pawns are stronger than the bishops since the black monarch is cut off.
This is why I would follow the advice 22...b6 given in the Chess News review. The knight is protected, the leap to h5 no longer works, and if 23.Kg2 Nd3 24.Nxd3 Bxa3 25.f4, Black's bishops are limited but they are still bishops.
In the actual game, Black's position became so hopeless that even Carlsen could do nothing about it.
23.Nxe6! Bxa3 24.Nexg7 Bf8
Little changes after 24...h5 25.f3.
Is the knight trapped? Alas, this is not so..
25.e6! Bxf5
The alternatives are very simple: 25...fxe6 26.Nxe6, 25...Bxg7 26.Ne7+, 25...Rхg7 27.Nхg7 Bхg7 28.e7. Carlsen has to part with one of his proud bishops and is left with a broken chain structure and without the slightest chance for salvation.
26.Nxf5 fxe6 27.Ng3 Be7 28.Kg2 Rf8 29.Rd3
A strong move. While the black king is cut off, the rook seeks to rush in along the f file, threatening with a trade-off unacceptable for Magnus.
29...Rf7 30.Nh5 Bd6 31.Rf3 Rh7
32.Re3!
The line 32...e5 33.f4 exf4 34.Re8+ Kd7 35.Nf6# showcases the hopeless position of the losing side. After 32...Re7 33.f4 Ba3 34.Kf3 Bb2 35.Re2 Bc3 36.g5 Fabiano pushed his g pawn forward cool-headedly, forcing Black to part with a piece.
I would like to say "Now it's up to the champion to strike back", but it seems that Vladimir Kramnik publicly advised Carlsen to abstain from playing the Berlin Defense... Who knows how things will work out?
Part Two. The Anti-Berlin System
In the meantime, White's success is growing in the calm area where the Spanish duel boils down to the "quiet" Italian motives. Curiously enough, it is not Carlsen, Anand or Caruana who play a leading role here, but the mighty Olympic team of China. Eastern players feel the intricacies of the arising positions better than anyone else.
Yu Yangyi – Andreikin
Capablanca Memorial, round 1
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6
An encounter between Dominguez and Bruzon that took place in the same tournament developed like this: 5.c3 0–0 6.0–0 d6 7.h3 Ne7 8.d4 Bb6. Here Leinier did not follow the notorious game Carlsen vs. Kramnik, Shamkir 2015 (9.Bd3 d5 10.Nbd2 dxe4 11.Nxe4 Nxe4 12.Bxe4 exd4 13.Qc2 h6 14.a4!, and after the ex-champion made a mistake, Magnus won beautifully), but played like Fedoseev: 9.Re1 d5 10.Nxe5 Nxe4 11.Nd2 Nd6 12.Bd3. Bruzon responded better than Leko: 12...f6 13.Nef3 Bf5 14.Nf1 Bxd3 15.Qxd3 Ne4! 16.Bf4 Qd7 17.Bh2 Nf5 18.Re2 Rae8 19.Rae1 c6 20.N3d2 Nxd2 21.Qxd2 Rxe2 22.Qxe2 Rf7 23.Qe8+ Qxe8 24.Rxe8+ Rf8 with an easy draw. However, as the tournament's second game between these players showed, Lazaro and Leinier actually signed a non-aggression pact.
5...dxc6 6.Nbd2
This position is all the rage now. Black should activate his bishops quickly enough and bring the knight to d4 through an elaborate route, while White counts on his better development, agile knights, and the possible breakthrough f2-f4.
6...Be6
In another Ruy Lopez two rounds later, the Chinese played as White and Bruzon as Black again: 6...0–0 7.Nc4 Nd7 8.0–0 Re8 9.a4. More relevant is the recipe of another rising star of the East, Wei Yi: 9.Bd2 Bd6 10.Bc3 f6 (or 10...c5 11.g3) 11.Nh4, although Anand has successfully tried the subtle 9.Kh1.9...Bd6! 10.c3 c5 11.Bg5 f6 12.Qb3 Kh8 13.Be3 Bf8.
Black took his pieces back to the last rank, but is now ready to bring them out to the optimal positions. 14.Rad1 (there is no time to lose, which is obvious from the exemplary line 14.a5 Nb8! 15.Rfd1 Nc6) 14...Nb6 15.d4!? exd4 16.cxd4 Be6 17.d5 Bd7 18.Qc2 Bxa4 19.b3 Bb5 20.Rfe1 Nd7 21.Bf4 Bxc4 22.bxc4 Bd6 23.Bxd6 cxd6 ― and White has compensation for Black's healthy pawn, but Yu, being young and talented, even won that game.
7.0–0 Nd7
7...Bd6 8.b3 0–0 9.Bb2 proved to be very reliable in actual practice. 9.Nc4 is countered with 9...Bxc4 10.bxc4 Nd7. A good example is the game Anand vs. Aronian in the last rapid world championship: 11.Rb1 b6 12.g3 f5! 13.exf5 Rxf5 14.Be3 Qe8 15.Nd2 Qg6 16.Ne4 Raf8 17.Kg2 Nf6, and Black snatched the initiative. 9...Nd7 10.Qe2 c5 11.Nc4, and here is a classical example of what Black should do: 11.Qe3 f6 12.a4 a5 13.Nh4 Nb8! 14.Nc4 Nc6 15.Nf5 Nd4 16.Bxd4 cxd4 17.Qg3 Bxf5 18.exf5 Bb4 Mamedov – Vocaturo, European Championship 2015, with excellent play.
11...f6 12.Nh4 Nb8 13.Nxd6 Qxd6 14.f4 exf4 15.e5 fxe5 16.Bxe5 Qd7 17.Bxf4 Nc6 18.Be3 Nd4, and Pavel Eljanov easily drew against the Berlin's antagonist Yu Yangui (round 2).
Interestingly, Black often needs to limit his dark-squared bishop, virtually turning it into a pawn. Then the center stabilizes after c6-c5, and the knight heads for the control point d4.
8.Nb3 Bb6 9.Ng5
This is Arkadiy Najditsch's idea, which gained popularity after Yu Yangyi's win over Vladimir Kramnik in a decisive encounter at a major open in Qatar. The Russian responded with 9...Bxb3 10.axb3 f6 11.Nf3 Nf8 12.Nd2! Ne6 13.Qh5+! g6 14.Qd1 Bc5 15.Nc4, and after the blunt 15...b5 16.Na5 Qd7 17.Be3 Bb6 18.b4 0–0 19.Qd2 he was faced with numerous challenges and was unable to meet them tactically.
The baton was immediately picked up by Anand, who after 9...Nf8 10.Qh5 Qd6 11.Kh1 Bxb3 12.axb3 Qg6 13.Qh3 h6 14.Nf3 Qd6 15.Bd2 Ng6 16.Bc3 0–0 17.Nd2 Bd4 18.Nc4 Qd8 19.g3 got an advantage versus Howell and easily won the day.
Dmitry must have prepared for such a development because made a better move.
9...Qf6!? 10.Kh1 Bxb3 11.axb3 h6 12.Nf3 0–0 13.Nd2 Qe6 14.Nc4 a6 15.Bd2 Bd4
This is exactly what Black's idea is about! His queen is already on the 6th rank and guards the neighboring squares, so 16.Bc3 will be countered with 16...Bxc3 17.bxc3 b5! 18.Na5 c5 (18.Ne3 a5 creating a distant passer). The Chinese grandmaster has to defend the pawn with the rook.
16.Rb1 b5 17.Na5 f5?
The tempting tactical opportunity proves to be flawed and is refuted with White's moves 21 and 22 that showcase the absence of compensation for the spoilt pawn chain. After the correct 17...Bb6 Black should not be afraid of 18.f4 eхf4 19.Rхf4: if the position opens up with the white knight on a5, White is very unlikely to win.
18.exf5 Rxf5 19.Qe2 Raf8 20.f3 Nf6
The move e5-e6 is looming, but White trades off the strong bishop on b6 quickly enough.
21.b4! e4 22.Nb3! Bb6 23.Nc5 Bxc5 24.bxc5 Qe8 25.dxe4 Nxe4
Black's position holds if 26.fхe4? Qхe4, but alas, the knight capture is not obligatory.
26.Rfe1! Nf6 27.Qxe8 Rxe8 28.Rxe8+ Nxe8 29.b4 Re5 30.Kg1 Re2 31.Rd1 Nf6 32.Kf1 Re8 33.Ra1 Ra8 34.Ke2, and Dmitry was unable to hold the defense in this worse endgame with doubled pawns and a knight versus a bishop.
In the meantime, the novelty of the tournament occurred in a game between the world ex-champion and the tireless Fabio, who used this innovation to avoid the torture which you just saw Andreikin, Eljanov, Bruzon and Kramnik suffer from.
Anand – Caruana
Stavanger, round 1
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Nbd2 0–0 6.Bxc6 bxc6!?
Miraculously, it had occurred to no one before that the e5 pawn could be sacrificed here! A novelty on move 6 is something out of the ordinary nowadays. If 6...dxc6 7.Nc4 Nd7, the same Chinese-Indian execution would have followed. And if White turns the gift down, Black has no trouble deploying his forces, which was why Anand took the pawn.
7.Nxe5 Re8 8.Nef3
8.Ndc4 d5 9.Nxc6 Qd7 10.N4e5 Qd6 11.d4 Bb6 12.0–0 Nxe4 looks pretty bad: the white knights are running astray.
8...d5 9.0–0
If 9.e5 Bg4 (a bad position results from 9...Nd7 10.0–0 Nxe5 11.Nxe5 Rxe5 12.d4! Bxd4 13.Nf3 Ba6 14.Qxd4 Re4 15.Qc3 Bxf1 16.Kxf1) 10.0–0 Nd7 (there is no equality after 10...Rxe5 11.h3 Bxf3 12.Nxf3 Re6 (12...Re8 13.b3) 13.b3 Qd7 14.Bb2 Rae8 15.c4 or 15.Ng5). Black has to abandon the dream of material equality and play the gambit 11.h3 Bh5, which could still have happened in this game.
9...Bg4 10.h3 Bh5
How should White play? 11.g4? leads to a routing: Nxg4 12.hxg4 Bxg4 13.Kg2 Qf6 14.Rh1 Rad8 15.Qe2 Qg6 16.Kf1 Re6 – the Black army is ready to swing a decisive strike.
The pivotal line seems to be 11.e5 Nd7 12.g4 (12.Re1? Rxe5) 12...Bg6, and here, for instance, 13.Nb3 Bb6 14.Bg5 Qb8! (14...f6 15.exf6 Nxf6 16.Nh4 is dubious) 15.Bf4 a5 16.a4 Qa7 – a real King's Indian battery, with subsequent doubling of the rooks along the e file.
A wise practitioner, Vishy decided against playing this fascinating position versus a prepared opponent and chose a more resilient line. And that's a pity! To quote the famous Russian grandmaster and chess trainer Yuri Razuvaev, "We'll wait for the next game!"
11.Qe2 dxe4 12.Nxe4
The pawn is won back in any case: 12.dxe4 Nxe4! 13.Nxe4 Qd5 14.Re1 f5.
12...h6!
A very strong move hindering the development of the c1 bishop. The lines 13.Bd2 Nxe4 14.dxe4 Bxf3, 13.Bf4 Nd5 or 13.Re1 Rb8 14.c3 Re6 with a crucial initiative were inacceptable, so the former world champion converted the game into an equal endgame.
13.Be3 Nxe4 14.dxe4 Rxe4 15.Qd3 Bxf3 16.Qxd8+ Rxd8 17.Bxc5 Be2 18.Rfc1
Is White's position a bit more agreeable? Not at all: Fabio confidently pushed the edge pawn.
18...a5! 19.b3 a4, and a draw soon followed.
Part three. Not the Berlin at all
Of course, Havana and Stavanger were conspicuous not only with the Berlin Defense this year. In four out of 10 Ruy Lopez games, Black refrained from placing the knight on f6 on the third move. Hikaru Nakamura, for instance, continued to insist on his favorite Yurtaev variation, which, attacked by Stockfish and Houdini, is currently facing some issues.
Giri – Nakamura
Stavanger, round 4
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5
The bishop's arrival on c5 together with the pawn sacrifice on b5 is the idea of the unforgettable Kyrgyz magician Leonid Yurtaev. Vladislav Tkachev, a strong grandmaster and a brilliant author, made a major contribution to the development of the variation, which was later taken on by the entire chess elite.
7.c3
In his game with Naka, the tournament's leader Topalov opted for a strong novelty along a completely forgotten path. He chose 7.a4 Rb8 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.d4 Bxd4 10.Qxd4 d6 11.Bf4 (the line 11.f4 Nc6 12.Qc3 Ne7 13.Qd3 0–0 14.Nc3 c5 15.axb5 axb5 16.Nxb5 Nxe4 should lead to a draw, Svidler – Caruana, 2010) 11...c5. The idea with the temporary blockage of the bishop on a2 was rejected earlier due to the game 11...0–0 12.f3 c5 13.Qe3 c4 14.Ba2 Ng6 15.Bg3 Nh5, Kamsky – Caruana, 2012: the light-squared bishop is neglected, and its dark-squared counterpart is traded off! Veselin interprets this position in a more subtle way and leaves the e3 square free.
12.Qd2 0–0 (surely, the pawn is untouchable: 12...Nxe4? 13.Qe2) 13.f3 c4 14.Ba2 Be6 15.Nc3 b4. Black can't afford to wait: if White places the rooks in the center, puts pressure on d6 and undermines the pawn c4, he will have a clear advantage.
16.Ne2 b3 17.Bb1. Veselin leaves the pawn on c4, and if 17.cxb3 cxb3 18.Bb1 Nh5, the second black rider will jump on it.
17...bxc2 18.Bxc2 Rxb2 19.Rfb1 Rxb1+ 20.Rxb1 Qc7.
21.Rd1 Ne8
The compensation for the puny damage is very serious, even in the endgame: 21...Qc5+ 22.Be3 Qa3 23.Qc3 Qxc3 24.Nxc3 Rd8 25.Bf4 Rd7 26.a5.
22.Qb4
Even stronger was the preliminary 22.Be3!, because now 22...Nd3 23.Bxd3 cxd3 24.Qxd3 Qc4 25.Qxc4 Bxc4 26.Nd4 promises a very difficult endgame for Black, and it's not clear how Black can untangle in the other lines.
22...Nd3! 23.Bxd3 cxd3 24.Rxd3 Qc4
White still has an advantage, but if 25.Qxc4 Bxc4 26.Rd2 f5 27.e5 dxe5 28.Bxe5, the game tends to turn into a rook endgame with White having the extra a pawn, and despite the poor position of the black pawn on f5 the Bulgarian might have considered this as insufficient.
The game continued with 25.Qa3 d5, and Hikaru was able to save half a point with his ingenious game, but there are still considerable doubts as to Black's opening position.
7...d6 8.a4 Rb8 9.d4 Bb6 10.Na3 0–0 11.axb5 axb5 12.Nxb5 Bg4
This used to be an incredibly popular position some time ago! Black has serious compensation for the pawn, which is showcased by the line 13.d5 Ne7 14.Bc2 Qe8 15.c4 Nxe4! 16.Bxe4 f5 17.Bd3 e4 18.Be2 exf3 19.Bxf3 Ng6 20.b3 Nh4 with a strong attack. The game Hou Yifan versus Adams (2008) continued with 21.Bxg4 fxg4 22.Bg5 Qh5 23.Bxh4 Qxh4 24.Ra2 Rf6 25.Qd3 Rbf8 26.Qg3 Qh6! 27.Qd3 g3! 28.hxg3 Qh5 29.Qe2 Rxf2 30.Qxh5 R2f5+ 31.Rff2 Rxh5, and Black won.
13.Bc2 exd4 14.cxd4
Black's position is also far from rosy after the other capture: 14.Nbxd4 Nxd4 15.cxd4 Bxf3 (15...Re8 16.Re1 Bxf3 17.gxf3 Nh5 18.Ba4 Grischuk – Nakamura, 2013) 16.gxf3 Nh5 17.Kh1 Qf6 18.Be3 Ra8! (18...c5 19.e5! Qe6 20.exd6 c4 21.b3 – Hikaru himself routed Kasymzhanov with White here; 18...Nf4 19.Ra4 Ne6 20.Rg1 Ra8 21.Rb4, and Caruana had to struggle for a draw as Black versus Harikrishna in the last Wijk ann Zee) 19.Rxa8 Rxa8 20.Rg1 Nf4 21.Bb3 Ne6 22.Bd5 Rb8 – that's probably what was meant by the American. White still has the extra pawn, but with the weakened king and the wobbly pawn on b2, it will be difficult to convert this advantage.
Giri opts for a more practical solution, exchanging the rooks and going for an endgame with only two possible outcomes.
14...d5 15.e5 Ne4 16.Ra3!
Of course, not 16.Be3 Nxe5! 17.dxe5 Bxe3 18.fxe3 Rxb5.
16...f6! 17.exf6 Qxf6
Black has become active along the f-file, and after the short-lived burst the well-known position occurs.
18.Nc3 Bxf3 19.gxf3 Nxc3 20.bxc3 Qxf3 21.Qxf3 Rxf3
White has the two bishops, but his queenside pawns are scattered, so the outcome depends on whether Black is able to put his light pieces to prompt action.
22.Kg2
In the Wijk ann Zee 2015 Shankland chose 22.Be3 Na5 23.Bd3 Nb7 24.Rb1 Nd6 25.Ra5 and after the tactical complications 25...Nf5 26.Be2 Rh3 27.Bf1 Rf8 28.Rxd5 Nxe3 29.Bxh3 Nxd5 30.Be6+ Kh8 31.Bxd5 g6 was left with an extra pawn in an opposite-colored bishops endgame, but his opponent, the chess prodigy Samuel Sevian, held the position easily by exploiting White's weaknesses.
Giri tries to improve White's play.
22...Rbf8 23.Bb3 R3f5 24.Ra2 Na5 25.Bc2 R5f6 26.Bd3 Nb7 27.Re1 Rf3
Black follows his plan by taking the knight to d6, while Anish prepares to shake Nakamura's major pieces off the commanding heights. 28.Re3! looked tempting in this plan: there is no avoiding the trade-off due to the threat 29.Re5, and exchanging a pair of rooks would take away some of Black's trump cards and make him pass over to the defensive.
28.Rd2 Ba5! 29.Bb2 c5
This is Hikaru to a T: the American doesn't have to be asked twice to start active counterplay.
30.Ba6 Nd6 31.dxc5 Ne4 32.Rxd5 Rxf2+ 33.Kg1 Rxb2
Even stronger was 33...R2f4! 34.h3 R8f6 35.Bc4 Kf8, and checkmate threats to the white king resulted in sharp play where all three outcomes were possible. But even after 34.Bc4 Kh8 35.Rxe4 Rc2 36.Rf5 Rd8 Nakamura held the slightly worse endgame with opposite-colored bishops with confidence. However, there is no fun in constantly switching to such an endgame just after the opening – especially if the opponents have noticed your soft spot!
Finally, a couple of games turned out to be what our great ancestors called a Ruy Lopez.
Anand – Carlsen
Stavanger, round 4
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.d3
Bruzon and Eljanov had another classical tabia on the board: 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a4, and here, instead of the canonic 8...b4 9.d4 Bg4 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Nbd2 Qc8 or 9.a5!? 0–0 10.c3 Rb8 11.Bc4. Pavel chose the rare 8...Bd7. What followed further was 9.c3 0–0 10.d4 h6 (if 10...Bg4, Black plays a well-known position without a tempo, so the bishop should be on d7) 11.Nbd2 Re8 12.Nf1 Bf8 13.Ng3 Na5 14.Bc2 c5 15.h3 Qc7 16.d5 c4 17.Be3 Nb7 18.Nd2 g6 19.Qe2 Nc5 20.Ra3 Rec8.
The standard agenda is completed. Black has erected a solid stronghold by moving the knight to c5, while White has seized the a file and hopes that his spatial advantage will make a difference later on.
21.axb5 axb5 22.Rea1 Qb7 23.Qd1 h5 24.R1a2 Rxa3 25.Rxa3 b4 26.cxb4 Qxb4 27.Qa1 Rb8 28.Rc3
Here, the Ukrainian overlooked that in the line 28...Qxb2 29.Qxb2 Rxb2 30.Nxc4 Ra2 31.Bxc5 dxc5 the pawn capture is very risky for White: 32.Nxe5? Ra1+ 33.Kh2 h4 34.Ne2 Bb5 35.Nc4 Bg7 – the black pieces emerge out of nowhere and squeeze the white army in their grip.
The modest choice 28...Bb5?! 29.Qa3! Qxa3 30.bxa3 resulted in the Cuban's stable advantage in the endgame, but Eljanov was able to draw.
6...d6 7.c3 0–0 8.Nbd2 Re8 9.Re1 b5 10.Bc2 Bf8 11.Nf1 g6 12.h3
In the recent Russian team championship, Aleksej Aleksandrov tried to prove the possibility for Black to push the central pawn d6-d5 immediately in his games against Kokarev and Najer: 12.Ng3 Bg7 13.h3 d5. He survived in a worse endgame versus Dmitry after 14.d4 dxe4 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 16.dxe5 Qxd1 17.Rxd1 Rxe5 18.Rd8+ Re8 19.Rxe8+ Nxe8 20.Nxe4 a5 21.Bf4, while Europe's reigning champion routed him in a crushing attack: 14.Bg5! Be6 15.d4 h6 16.dxe5 Nxe5 17.Bf4 Nc6 18.e5 Nd7 19.Qd2 g5 20.Nxg5! hxg5 21.Bxg5 f6 22.exf6 Bxf6 23.h4 Nce5 24.f4 Ng4 25.Rxe6 Rxe6 26.Bf5 Re3 27.Nf1, and White won.
Magnus can't be tempted with such a line, so he opted for his favorite Breyer which he had probably played a huge number of times in five-minute games during his training sessions with Garry Kasparov.
12...Bb7 13.Ng3 Nb8 14.d4 Nbd7 15.a4 c5 16.d5 c4 17.Bg5 Bg7 18.Qd2
Despite the different move order, the resulting structure is similar to that in the game Bruzon – Eljanov, although Black's bishop is better placed on d7 and not when it is limited by the pawn. The position is well-known and has been played by a great deal of classics: 18...Nc5 19.Ra3 Qc7 20.Rea1 Rab8 21.Qe3 Nfd7 Tal – Petrosian, 1975 or 19.Nh2 h5 20.Nf3 Qc7 21.Ra3 Rab8 22.Bh6 Bh8 23.Rea1 Bc8 24.axb5 axb5 25.Qe1 Bd7 26.R1a2 Rec8 27.Kh1 Nh7 28.Ra7 Qd8 – an example of the variation's subtle interpretation by Spassky versus Gennady Kuzmin.
There is no doubt whatsoever that Magnus was at least as familiar with Black's maneuvers as Petrosian and Spassky together. But, of course, he was oppressed with his loss on time, the unconverted extra pawn in a game versus Giri, and the painful loss to Caruana. Otherwise, Carlsen was able to achieve everything in his latest games against Anand: he even defeated his predecessor in the Stonewall system!
Instead of raising fortifications, the world champion decided to challenge his opponent in a concrete, sharp game. And once again, he overlooked a specific nuance.
18...Rb8 19.Nh2 Bc8?!
Rejecting last century's experience and the move 19...h5 explored back in the past.
20.Ng4 Nc5 21.Nh6+ Bxh6
21...Kf8 22.axb5 axb5 23.f4 is bad for Black, but Magnus parts with the dark-squared bishop meaning a specific idea on the queenside.
22.Bxh6 bxa4 23.Ra2
23.Be3!? Rxb2 24.Bxc5 dxc5 25.Qc1 deserved close attention, providing an opportunity to capture Black's broken pawns with maximum comfort, but the Indian grandmaster's plan is simple and good.
23...a3 24.bxa3 Nfd7
Looks very interesting. Black is willing to put up a pawn barrier on the path of the dominating white bishop and is ready for both the typical exchange sacrifice on b3 and the introduction of the knight on the "Kasparov" square d3. This is what would have happened but for Vishy's strong response.
25.f4! a5?
A small disappointment for the Champion: there is no 25...Qh4 due to 26.Bg5 Qxg3 27.Re3. But the impulsive pawn move gives Anand an important tempo for the attack. A ChessPro review offered the line 25...exf4!? (at least, this leaves a base square for the knight, even though all of this is certainly very risky) 26.Qxf4 Ne5 27.Bg5 Qb6 28.Kh1 Ncd7 - until White's rook got on f1, Black has a chance to put up some defense. A stronger and more precise move is 26...Qf6!; this could have justified Carlsen's choice.
26.Rf1 f6
Now it's too late to play 26...exf4 27.Qxf4 Ne5 28.Bg5 Qb6 (I'll add that 28...Qc7 29.Ba4! Nxa4 30.Qf6 is bad) 29.Kh1 Ncd7, since Black is close to resigning after the simple 30.Ba4.
27.f5 Nd3 28.Bxd3 cxd3
29.Qd1!!
Carlsen probably underestimated this brilliant move. The commentators were quite right to point out the line 29.Qxd3?! Qb6+ 30.Be3 (30.Raf2? Ba6 31.Qd1 Bxf1 32.fxg6 hxg6 33.Qg4 Kh7! 34.Qh4 Rh8!, and Black plays for a win) 30...Ba6 31.Qd2 Qb3 with counterplay, but Anand doesn't offer his formidable opponent any counterchances. White's rooks double up, and the onslaught on the black king begins.
29...Re7
If 29...Qe7, the pawn can be grabbed with confidence: 30.Qxd3.
30.Raf2 Rf7 31.Qxd3
Even stronger is 31.h4! Ba6 32.Qg4 Nf8 33.fxg6 hxg6 34.h5 Bc8 35.Qf3 g5 36.Bxg5 with decisive threats, but this tempting move does not spoil anything.
31...Nc5 32.Qf3 Ba6
An attempt to distract the rook, since 32...g5 33.Qg4 Kh8 34.h4 gxh4 35.Nh5 with White's overwhelming attack is completely hopeless.
33.Qg4 g5
It would be naive to think that the former world champion would take the rook away from the bishop's attack. As people close to Anand's camp told me, Vishy appreciated Evgeniy Solozhenkin's lecture on exchange sacrifices in Anand's games, and couldn't miss the opportunity to provide another example for Evgeniy's master class scheduled in the village of Loo in 2016!
34.h4!
Indeed, it couldn't be 34.Rd1 Nd3, could it?
34...Bxf1 35.Rxf1 Qd7
35...Kh8 is refuted effectively by: 36.hxg5 fxg5 37.f6! Rxf6 38.Bg7+! Kxg7 39.Nh5+.
36.hxg5 fxg5 37.Qh5!
Quite a strong move. The alternative 37.Bxg5 Kh8 38.Qh4 Rbf8 39.Rf3 ensures the white pieces' transfer to ideal positions, but Anand chooses a forced line, and Carlsen has no escape.
37...Kh8 38.f6 Rg8 39.Bg7+ Rfxg7 40.fxg7+ Qxg7
41.Nf5!
This is the true Anand, powerful and precise, the Anand whose plans are executed to a move. That reminds of how the Indian routed Magnus when the latter wasn't yet the invincible machine pushing aside all obstacles to the champion's title.
41...Qg6
Once again, a concrete line decides the game: 41...Qf6 42.Ne7! Qxe7 43.Rf7 with a win.
42.Qxg6 Rxg6 43.Ne7 Kg7
Absolutely hopeless is 43...Rh6 44.Rf8+ Kg7 45.Rc8 Rf6 46.Nf5+ Kf7 47.Nxd6+ Rxd6 48.Rxc5, but the exchange sacrifice hardly prolongs the resistance.
44.Nxg6 Kxg6 45.Rf8 a4 46.c4 h5 47.Kf2, and Black gave up because he can't protect his pawn weaknesses.
