Games
[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2015"]
[Site "Caleta ENG"]
[Date "2015.01.28"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Debashis, Das"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E59"]
[WhiteElo "2503"]
[BlackElo "2800"]
[Annotator "Microsoft"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2015.01.27"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nf3 d5 7. O-O dxc4 8. Bxc4
Nc6 9. a3 Bxc3 10. bxc3 Qc7 11. h3 e5 12. a4 Bf5 13. Ba3 b6 14. Bb5 e4 15. Nd2
Na5 16. Qe2 Rfd8 17. Rfc1 Be6 18. Rab1 Rd5 $5 {计划把车调动到g5} 19. Qf1
Rg5 20. Kh1 Rd8 21. Be2 {白方守住了王翼，但他还没有办法反击}
Rg6 22. f4 {这里白方局面还是差一些，是否可以考虑冲击f3?}
exf3 23. Bxf3 Qd7 (23... Rh6 $5 {更加积极一些,黑方有兵g5-g4的突破.
如:} 24. Qf2 g5 25. e4 g4 26. Be2 gxh3 27. g3 Nc4 $3 $17 {攻进来了!!} 28.
Bxc4 Bxc4 29. Nxc4 Nxe4 30. Qe3 Nxg3+ 31. Kg1 h2+ 32. Kg2 Rg6 $19 {
黑方胜势!}) 24. Ra1 Nd5 25. Qf2 Bxh3 $1 26. c4 $5 {正着!如果} (26. gxh3
Qxh3+ 27. Qh2 Qe6 $19 {黑方胜势}) 26... Nf6 27. gxh3 cxd4 {如果走} (
27... Qxh3+ {杀进去} 28. Qh2 Qe6 {黑方的优势依然巨大}) 28. e4 Nb3
$1 {弃马!削弱对方的防守} 29. Bg2 $1 {如果接受弃马，走} (29.
Nxb3 Qxh3+ 30. Qh2 Qxf3+ {黑方要杀棋了}) 29... Nxa1 30. Rxa1 Re8 $6 {
这时托帕洛夫手软了} (30... Qc7 {应该更强硬一些,
这样黑方能控制e5、c5、h5三个重要的进攻点,把握着主动权})
31. Bb2 Nh5 32. Ra3 d3 $2 (32... Rf6 $15) 33. e5 {现在白方略占先机,
黑方d3兵孤军深入,难有作为} Rg3 34. Kh2 Qc7 35. Ne4 $1 {
白方开始反击了} d2 36. Rxg3 d1=Q 37. Nf6+ Kh8 38. Nxe8 Qc5 39. Qxc5 bxc5
40. e6 fxe6 (40... f6 $1) 41. Bxg7+ (41. Rg4 $1 {加强攻击g7兵}) 41... Nxg7
42. Nxg7 Qxa4 43. Nxe6 Qxc4 44. Ng5 a5 45. Ne4 a4 46. Rc3 1/2-1/2
[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2015"]
[Site "Caleta ENG"]
[Date "2015.01.29"]
[Round "3.5"]
[White "Harikrishna, Pentala"]
[Black "Chirila, Ioan-Cristian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2548"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2015.01.27"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O Nd4 6. Nxd4 Bxd4 7. Nd2 O-O {
Harikrishna actually had used this against Leko last month in the World Mind
Games. His opponent must have p repared against this, but perhaps he confused
his ideas.} 8. c3 (8. Nf3 Bb6 9. Nxe5 d5 10. Bg5 c6 $44 {Harikrishna-Leko,
2014.}) 8... Bc5 $2 {This is already a serious mistake. Black cannot afford to
lose this much time.} (8... Bb6 {was necessary so the bishop would not be
attacked at the end.} 9. d4 d6 $11) 9. d4 $1 exd4 {Black has no choice but to
take on d4 now.} 10. e5 dxc3 (10... Ne8 11. Nb3 Be7 12. cxd4 d6 {is passive
and a little better for White, but better than what happened in the game.}) 11.
exf6 cxd2 12. fxg7 Kxg7 (12... Re8 13. Bxd2 {was almost as bad.}) 13. Bxd2 d6
14. Bc3+ {It's true that Black is up a pawn, but that is the only thing going
for him in this position. His pieces are not developed and his king is going
to come under serious pressure.} f6 15. Qh5 Qe7 16. Bd3 Kg8 17. Rae1 Qf7 {So
far one would think Black is holding, but the addition of the rook to the
attack will be lethal.} 18. Qh4 h5 19. Re3 $1 {White only needs one rook to
crash through! The e3 kamikaze might as well be taken.} Bxe3 20. fxe3 {Now
there is too much pressure on f6; also h5 is weak, there are idea of Bc4+ and
rook lifts.} Qg7 21. Qxh5 c6 22. Rf4 Bd7 23. Bf5 $1 {Removing an important
defender.} Bxf5 24. Qxf5 Qh6 25. Rg4+ Kh8 26. Rg5 {Rh5 next move is crushing.
A swift punishment of a strange opening} 1-0
[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2015"]
[Site "Caleta ENG"]
[Date "2015.01.27"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Adhiban, Baskaran"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D20"]
[Annotator "Microsoft"]
[PlyCount "110"]
[EventDate "2015.01.27"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 b5 4. a4 c6 5. Nc3 a6 {接受后翼弃兵局} 6. axb5
cxb5 7. Nxb5 {吃回弃兵} axb5 8. Rxa8 Bb7 9. Ra1 e6 {黑方弃车,
挑起战火} 10. Ne2 $6 {白方也弃兵,试图争回主动权.但是走} (10.
f3 {似乎更好些}) 10... Bxe4 11. b3 $6 Nc6 {至此黑方已经占优} 12.
Nc3 $6 (12. f3 $1 {机会似乎更多一些} Bd3 $13 {局面不清} (12... Nb4
$5 {似乎更加有力量} 13. fxe4 Nd3+ 14. Kd2 Nf6 {黑方有补偿})) 12...
Bb4 13. Bd2 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 b4 $1 {白方局势已经十分危险,
黑格象处于相当困难的境地} 15. d5 {弃象,否则} (15. Bd2 c3 16.
Be3 Nge7 {之后黑方局面太舒服了,王车易位之后,
黑方拥有十分有力的c3通路兵,白方难以防守}) 15... bxc3 16. dxc6
Qxd1+ 17. Kxd1 cxb3 {双方对攻了!似乎挺有意思的} 18. c7 Kd7 $2 {
坏棋!似乎走} (18... Ne7 $1 19. Bb5+ Kf8 20. Ke2 b2 21. Rad1 g6 22. Bd3
Bxg2 23. Rhg1 Bb7 {然后走马到d5,然后王e7-d7,
这样白方就彻底绝望了}) 19. Ra3 $1 b2 20. c8=Q+ Kxc8 21. Rxc3+ {
这样白方似乎能喘口气了} Kd7 22. Bd3 b1=Q+ 23. Bxb1 Bxb1 24. Rb3 {
现在白方杀进第八横排,有些反击机会} Be4 25. Rb8 g5 26. Ke2 Ke7
27. h4 $2 {太慢了,应该走} (27. Rc1 Kf6 28. Rcc8 Kg7 29. g3 e5 30. Re8 {
白方要取胜还很困难} f6 31. f4 $1 $15) 27... gxh4 28. Rxh4 Bc6 29. Rc4
Be8 $5 {堵塞,精确的防守} 30. Rc7+ (30. Rcc8 Nf6 31. Ke1 Rg8 32. g3 Rg5
$19 {车扑出来之后,白方有麻烦}) 30... Kd6 31. Ra7 Ne7 $1 32. Rd8+ (
32. Raa8 Bb5+ $19) 32... Ke5 33. Rb7 Kf6 34. Rdb8 Ng6 35. Rb6 h5 36. f3 Ba4 {
至此,黑方可以防守进攻了} 37. Rxh8 Nxh8 38. Ke3 Ng6 39. Ra6 Bb3 40.
Ra5 Bd5 41. Ra7 e5 42. Ra5 Be6 43. Rb5 h4 44. Rb1 Kg5 45. Rb5 f6 46. Rb7 Nf4
47. Kf2 Nh5 48. Rb6 Bf5 49. Rb8 Bg6 50. Rb4 Nf4 51. Ra4 Bf7 52. Ra7 Kg6 53. Ra1
Bd5 54. Rd1 Kg5 55. Rd2 f5 0-1
[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2015"]
[Site "Caleta ENG"]
[Date "2015.01.27"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Vazquez Igarza, Renier"]
[Black "Wei, Yi"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A15"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2015.01.27"]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Qb3 Nb6 6. d4 Bg7 7. Bf4 Be6 8.
Qa3 c5 9. Qxc5 Nc6 10. e4 Nxd4 11. Nxd4 Bxd4 12. Bb5+ Kf8 13. Qa3 a6 14. Be2
Qc8 15. Rc1 Qc5 16. Qxc5 Bxc5 17. O-O Rc8 18. Bh6+ Ke8 19. Rfd1 Bd6 20. Bg7 Rg8
21. Bd4 Bc5 22. f3 f6 23. Kf2 Kf7 24. Ke3 Rc6 25. Bxc5 Rxc5 26. Rd4 Rgc8 27.
Rb4 R5c6 28. Rd1 Bc4 29. Bxc4+ Nxc4+ 30. Ke2 b5 31. a4 Nxb2 32. Rxb2 Rxc3 33.
axb5 Rc2+ 34. Rd2 Rxb2 35. Rxb2 Rb8 36. b6 Rb7 37. Kd3 Ke6 38. Kd4 Kd6 39. e5+
fxe5+ 40. Ke4 Kc5 41. Rc2+ Kxb6 42. Kxe5 a5 43. Rb2+ Ka6 44. Ra2 Rb4 45. Ke6
Kb5 46. Kxe7 Rf4 47. Kd6 a4 48. Ke5 g5 49. h4 h6 $2 {This endgame is not as
trivial as it looks. Black wanted to keep the pawn on g5 for the blockade, but
he really had no choice but to take on h4.} (49... Rxh4 $1 50. Kf5 h6 51. g3
Rh1 52. f4 gxf4 53. gxf4 {And White is simply not in time to push his f-pawn
and capture the enemy h-pawn. For example:} Kb4 $1 54. Rb2+ Kc3 55. Rb6 (55.
Rb8 a3 56. Rc8+ Kb2 57. Rb8+ Ka1 58. Kg6 Rb1 59. Ra8 Rb6+ $19) 55... h5 $1 (
55... a3 56. Ra6 Kb2 57. Rb6+ Ka1 58. Ke4 {and now the rook is attacking h6, a
very important detail. There is no 58...Rb1.}) 56. Ra6 Kb4 57. Rb6+ Ka5 $1 58.
Rb8 a3 $19) 50. hxg5 hxg5 51. Ra1 Kb4 52. Rf1 $1 a3 53. g3 Rc4 54. f4 {With
the creation of this passed pawn White can feel safe. Worst case scenario he
sacrifices his rook for the a-pawn and pushes the f-pawn, forcing Black to
sacrifice his rook for the passer.} gxf4 55. gxf4 1/2-1/2
[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2015"]
[Site "Caleta ENG"]
[Date "2015.02.01"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2776"]
[BlackElo "2800"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2015.01.27"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. a4 Ngf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Qxd4 a6 8.
Be2 {It's always refreshing to see that after eight moves we are already out
of theory. Black will play this in a hedgehog style, developing with b6 and
Bb7, while White will try to contain his opponent.} b6 9. O-O Bb7 10. Rd1 Qc7
11. Bg5 Be7 12. Nd2 h6 13. Bh4 Ne5 14. Nf1 Rd8 15. Bg3 O-O 16. Ne3 Rc8 17. Kh1
Rfd8 18. f3 Nh5 19. Bf2 Nf4 {Black doesn't have too much to complain about his
position. He is a little cramped, but he has some good squares on the kingside;
it is not trivial to push the knights back as any pawn move on the kingside
will cause a weakness. On the other hand Nakamura still holds a nice amount of
space and targets the b6 and a6 pawns with his diagonals.} 20. Bf1 Nfg6 (20...
h5 {and march the pawns forward on the kingside is not completely crazy.}) 21.
Qd2 Bg5 22. Qe1 Nf4 23. Bg3 Nh5 24. Bf2 {Black looks to be relatively planless,
but as is usual in the hedgehog finding a way to improve ones position
(doesn't matter if you are white or black) seems to be the most difficult part
of the game.} Qe7 25. Ra3 Nf4 26. Rb3 Rc6 27. Ne2 $1 {White gets rid of this
pesky knight on f4, and this gives him a slight edge.} Nxe2 (27... Nfg6 28. Nd4
$16) 28. Bxe2 Rdc8 29. c3 Nd7 30. Nc2 d5 $6 {This advance usually solves
Black's problems, but here it is done too early. Black had to defend against
certain threats.} (30... Nc5 31. Ra3 R6c7 {is perhaps slightly favorable for
White but still anyone's game.}) 31. Nb4 $1 Rc5 32. exd5 {Suddenly thehre is
no good way of recapturing on d5. It is unclear to me what Topalov had planned,
as 31.Nb4 was quite obvious.} Ra5 33. Nc6 Bxc6 34. dxc6 Rxc6 35. Rb4 $16 {The
pair of bishops and the awkward position of Black's rook causes real headaches
for Topalov. White has a clear advantage.} Bf6 36. Qf1 Rd6 37. Rxd6 Qxd6 38.
Bxa6 {One pawn finally falls: White has converted his advantage into something
tangible.} Nc5 39. Bb5 Qd2 40. Bg1 Ra8 41. Bc6 $1 Rc8 42. Rxb6 $1 {Now it's
two pawns!} Bd8 43. Rb5 Rxc6 44. Bxc5 Bc7 45. a5 {Black simply lacks any good
compensation for his material. The rest is easy for Nakamura.} Qc2 46. f4 f6
47. h3 Kh7 48. f5 exf5 49. Bg1 Be5 50. a6 1-0
[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2015"]
[Site "Caleta ENG"]
[Date "2015.02.01"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Yu, Yangyi"]
[Black "Vazquez Igarza, Renier"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B46"]
[WhiteElo "2724"]
[BlackElo "2592"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2015.01.27"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8.
O-O Nf6 9. Re1 Bb7 10. Qf3 Be7 11. Bf4 O-O 12. Rad1 Nd7 13. Na4 g6 14. b3 Re8
15. c3 Bf8 16. e5 a5 17. Qg3 Ba6 18. h4 Bxd3 19. Rxd3 Nb6 20. Bg5 Qb8 21. Nxb6
Qxb6 22. h5 a4 23. b4 c5 24. Be3 Qb5 25. Bxc5 Bxc5 26. bxc5 Qxc5 27. Rd4 Rac8
28. Re3 Qa3 29. Kh2 Qxa2 30. Qh4 Qa3 31. Rxa4 Qe7 32. Qg4 Rc7 33. Rf4 Rec8 34.
Qg3 Qf8 $2 (34... Rc4 $1 $11 {stops all the nonsense that is about to occur.})
35. hxg6 hxg6 36. Rh4 Rc4 {Too little, too late.} 37. f4 $1 {Oops, now the
rook is locked out of the kingside.} Re4 38. Rf3 d4 (38... Rb8 39. Qg5 Qg7 40.
Rfh3 {is deadly, as White will follow up with Qf6 and the trade of queens does
not save Black from checkmate.}) 39. cxd4 Rc1 40. Qh3 Qg7 41. Rb3 Rc8 42. d5 {
unfortunately for Black, in this variation the rook on c8 is hanging, so d5
cannot be taken.} g5 43. dxe6 1-0
[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2015"]
[Site "Caleta ENG"]
[Date "2015.02.02"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "Yu, Yangyi"]
[Black "Hou, Yifan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B82"]
[WhiteElo "2724"]
[BlackElo "2673"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2015.01.27"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Be3 Nc6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3
Qc7 9. O-O-O a6 10. g4 Nd7 11. g5 b5 12. Bd3 Nc5 13. Kb1 Bb7 14. h4 Rc8 15. h5
Nxd4 16. Bxd4 b4 17. Ne2 e5 {It's always difficult to describe exactly what is
happening in a Sicilian. Black's last move is strategically desirable, but it
is risky as it opens the f-file for the White queen.} 18. Bxc5 (18. fxe5 dxe5
19. g6 exd4 (19... hxg6 20. hxg6 Rxh1 21. gxf7+ Kd7 22. Qxh1 exd4 23. Nxd4 $13
{is not pretty either, but maybe still unclear after} Qe5) 20. Qxf7+ Kd7 21.
Nxd4 {is not for us mortals to analyze, but it does look bad for Black.}) 18...
Qxc5 19. g6 $1 hxg6 20. hxg6 Rxh1 21. Rxh1 Bf6 $1 {Very tenacious from Hou
Yifan. This is probably the best way to try to hold this difficult position.}
22. Qg4 Ke7 23. gxf7 Rf8 24. f5 a5 $1 {It's amazing how Black's slow
counterattack is actually sufficient in this position. White is not only
unable to prevent the push a4-a3, but he is also unable to create real threats
on the kingside.} 25. Ng3 a4 26. Nh5 a3 27. Qg1 {Yu Yangyi exchanges queens
before things actually go wrong.} Rxf7 (27... Qxg1+ 28. Rxg1 d5 {was probably
more exact, and actually Gave Black some winning chances.}) 28. Qxc5 dxc5 29.
bxa3 bxa3 30. c4 Kd8 (30... Rf8 {to bring the rook around was far more natural.
}) 31. Kc2 Bc6 32. Nxf6 gxf6 33. Kb3 Rg7 {Black will lose the a-pawn for sure,
but her counterplay compensates it fully.} 34. Rh3 Rg4 35. Re3 Kc7 36. Kxa3 Kb6
37. Kb3 Ka5 38. a3 Rh4 39. Kb2 {White is completely tied down to e4, so the
came is clearly a draw.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2015"]
[Site "Caleta ENG"]
[Date "2015.02.02"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Howell, David W L"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B52"]
[WhiteElo "2670"]
[BlackElo "2776"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/8/3R3p/7r/5k2/2K5/8 b - - 0 62"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[EventDate "2015.01.27"]
62... Rh1 {After a long, fighting game, we have re ached this position. Only
one move preserves the draw.} 63. Kb2 $2 {Right idea! Wrong execution...} (63.
Rd3+ $1 Ke4 64. Rc3 $1 {Again, absolutely forced.} (64. Rb3 h4 65. Kb2 Kf4 {
doesn't allow White to check on c2.})) 63... h4 64. Rd4 Ke3 $4 {Gifting the
game right back} (64... Kg3 $1 65. Rd3+ Kf2 $1 66. Rd2+ (66. Rd4 h3 $19) 66...
Ke3 67. Rc2 Rf1 $1 $19) 65. Rc4 {Now Black is too late to a void the checks as
he cannot move the rook from the h-file (it must defend the h4 pawn). The rest
is easy for Howell.} h3 66. Rc3+ Kd4 67. Rg3 Rh2+ 68. Ka1 Rh1+ 1/2-1/2
[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2015"]
[Site "Caleta ENG"]
[Date "2015.02.03"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Yu, Yangyi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B22"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2015.01.27"]
1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. Na3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bc4 Qd8 7. O-O a6 8.
Nc2 Bg4 9. d4 e6 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Rc8 12. Rd1 cxd4 13. Bb3 Qc7 14. Nxd4
Nxd4 15. cxd4 Bd6 16. Bg5 Ke7 {You knwo something went wrong in the opening
when you have to play Ke7 to defend your f6 knight.} 17. Re1 h6 18. Bxf6+ gxf6
19. Re3 h5 20. Rae1 Qd7 21. Qe4 Kf8 22. d5 e5 23. Rf3 Kg7 24. Bc2 {The
situation is dangerous for Black: any position in which the king is weak and
there are opposite colored bishops present gives the attacking chance a big
advantage.} h4 25. Rf5 Rh6 26. Bd3 Qc7 27. Qg4+ Kf8 28. Rf3 {Black is holding
on, but his position remains unpleasant. Yu Yangyi's next move opens him up to
some tactical ideas.} Qc5 $6 29. Bxa6 {The bishop is taboo, but perhaps this
was not the best move.} (29. Bh7 $5 {was also worth considering.}) 29... Rg6 $6
(29... bxa6 30. Rc3 $18 {the skewer down the c-file ends the game.}) 30. Qf5
Kg7 31. Bd3 Qb4 32. Rfe3 Rc5 33. Qd7 $1 {The queen coming into play is hard to
stop.} Rc7 34. Qd8 Rg5 $2 (34... f5 35. Bxf5 Rf6 36. Bh7 $1 (36. Bb1 Qd2 {
actually lets Black equalize as it is White's king that is in some trouble.})
36... Qd2 37. Qg8+ Kh6 38. R3e2 Qg5 {and things are not so clear yet. The
position with the opposite co lored bishops is not trivial to win.}) 35. Re4 $1
{Now the coordination of the queen and the rook on h8 is deadly.} Qd2 36. Bf1
Qxd5 37. Rxh4 Kg6 38. g4 f5 39. Qg8+ (39. Qg8+ Kf6 40. Rh6+ Rg6 41. Rxg6+ fxg6
42. Qxd5) 1-0
[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2015"]
[Site "Caleta ENG"]
[Date "2015.02.03"]
[Round "8.4"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Hou, Yifan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A18"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2N1k3/8/5R2/p1K1P3/8/2P5/2b5/3r4 b - - 0 45"]
[PlyCount "16"]
[EventDate "2015.01.27"]
45... a4 46. e6 {Svidler has been nursing an advantage since the middlegame,
and now has a winning e ndgame. Black has no good way of stopping the e-pawn.}
Bb3 47. e7 $6 (47. Rh6 $1 Bxe6 {is the only way of stopping mate.} 48. Rxe6+
Kd7 49. Rc6 {keeping the knight alive is, of course, important.} a3 50. Nb6+
Ke8 51. Rc8+ Kf7 52. Ra8 {and White stops the pawn without problems.}) 47...
Bf7 $1 48. c4 $2 (48. Nd6+ Kxe7 49. Rxf7+ Ke6 {doesn't work as White will lose
his knight on the next move, for example} 50. Rh7 Rd5+ $1 51. Kb4 Kxd6 $11) (
48. Rf2 $1 {Was the only way to win} a3 49. Nd6+ Kxe7 50. Nxf7 a2 51. Rxa2 Kxf7
52. Re2 $1 {And the king is cut off too far from the pawn, White wins
relatively easily.}) 48... a3 49. Nd6+ Kd7 $3 {This is the brilliant point
Svidler must have missed.} (49... Kxe7 50. Rxf7+ Ke6 51. Ra7 Rxd6 52. Rxa3 {is
a losing endgame.}) 50. Rxf7 (50. Nxf7 a2 51. Re6 Ke8 $1 52. Nd6+ Rxd6 53. Re1
Ra6 $11) 50... Rxd6 51. e8=Q+ Kxe8 52. Ra7 Rh6 53. Rxa3 {This particular
endgame is very easy to draw. Refer to the Philidor Position in any endgame
manual.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2015"]
[Site "Caleta ENG"]
[Date "2015.02.03"]
[Round "9.4"]
[White "Adhiban, Baskaran"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D85"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[EventDate "2015.01.27"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bb5+ c6 8.
Ba4 O-O 9. Ne2 b5 10. Bb3 Bb7 11. h4 $5 {It is tough to tell whether this is
an over the board novelty by Adhiban or he had prepared it at home. One thing
is sure, he is going for his opponent's throat.} c5 $1 {Svidler is not an
opponent whom you can scare with rook pawn advances! He correctly adheres to
the adage of meeting the flank attack with central play.} 12. h5 Bxe4 13. f3
Bd5 ({The variations below show that Black's position is not easy to defend
and hence Svidler tries to exchange the light squared bishops.} 13... Bb7 14.
hxg6 hxg6 15. Bh6 Bxh6 16. Rxh6 c4 (16... Kg7 17. Qd2 Rh8 18. Rxh8 Qxh8 19. Qf4
c4 20. Qe5+ Kg8 21. Qxb5 $16) (16... e6 17. Qd2 Qf6 18. Kf2 $40) 17. Bc2 e5 (
17... Kg7 18. Qd2 Rh8 19. Rxh8 Qxh8 20. Qg5 Qh1+ 21. Kf2 Qxa1 22. Bxg6 $5 Kf8 (
22... fxg6 23. Qxe7+ Kg8 24. Qxb7 $18) 23. Qf5 $40) 18. Qd2 $40) 14. hxg6 hxg6
15. Bh6 {White's attack develops naturally.} Bxb3 16. Qd2 $1 {A very nice
intermezzo by White. The threat now is to take on g7 and get the queen into h6.
} Bf6 (16... Bd5 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Qh6+ Kf6 19. Qf4+ Kg7 (19... Ke6 20. Qe5+
$18) 20. Qh6+ Kf6 21. Qf4+ $11) 17. Bxf8 Bc4 18. Bh6 Nc6 19. Bg5 Bg7 20. Bh6
Bf6 21. Bg5 Bg7 22. Bh6 {A short but interesting game.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2015"]
[Site "Caleta ENG"]
[Date "2015.02.03"]
[Round "9.3"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Wei, Yi"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D71"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2015.01.27"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Nf3 Nb6 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. e3
O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. a3 a5 11. Ne1 Be6 (11... e5 12. d5 Nb8 13. e4 $14) 12. Nd3
Bc4 13. Nc5 $1 {excellent exchange sacrifice by Topalov.} Bxf1 14. Qxf1 $5 {
Topalov goes for long term compensation. He doesn't even have a pawn for the
exchange but with a knight on c5 and the bishop on g2 his compensation is not
under any doubt.} (14. Nxb7 Qc8 15. Bxc6 Bh3 16. Nc5 $14) 14... Qb8 15. Qb5 (
15. Nxb7 Qxb7 16. Qb5 Nxd4 $1 17. exd4 Qa6 18. Bxa8 Rxa8 19. Qxa6 Rxa6 $11 {
The position is just equal.}) 15... e5 $1 {Playing in the center.} 16. Nxb7
exd4 $1 17. Ne2 $6 (17. Bxc6 dxc3 18. Bxe8 Qxe8 19. Qxe8+ Rxe8 20. bxc3 Nc4 $11
{Black has excellent compensation and the position is just equal.} (20... Bxc3
21. Ra2 $14)) 17... Na7 (17... d3 $5) 18. Qd3 dxe3 19. Bxe3 Bxb2 {Wei Yi is a
little greedy and wins the pawn on b2. This gives White good chances to create
counterplay.} (19... c6 $5 20. Nxa5 Na4 {Black has a good position.} 21. Nxc6
Nxc6 22. Bxc6 Nxb2 23. Qb1 (23. Qd2 Nc4) (23. Qc2 Rc8) 23... Rd8 24. Bxa8 Rd1+
25. Qxd1 Nxd1 26. Rxd1 Qxa8 $15 {But this should most probably end in a draw.})
20. Rb1 Bg7 21. Nf4 Qc8 22. Bxb6 cxb6 23. Nd6 Qc3 24. Qxc3 Bxc3 25. Nxe8 Rxe8
26. Rxb6 $11 {The position has petered out to a draw.} Bd4 27. Ra6 Nb5 28. Rxa5
Nc3 29. Bf1 Rb8 30. Ne2 Bb6 31. Re5 Nd1 32. Kg2 Bxf2 33. a4 Ba7 34. Rb5 Rd8 35.
Rb7 Bc5 36. Rb5 Ba7 37. Rb7 Bc5 1/2-1/2
[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2015"]
[Site "Caleta ENG"]
[Date "2015.02.03"]
[Round "9.21"]
[White "Harika, Dronavalli"]
[Black "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B65"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2015.01.27"]
1. Nf3 d6 2. e4 Nf6 3. Nc3 c5 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 {Surprisingly after beginning
from a Reti, going into a Pirc or a Philidor, the game has finally ended up
being an open Sicilian!} Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. O-O-O Nxd4 9. Qxd4 O-O 10.
f4 Qa5 11. Bc4 Bd7 12. e5 dxe5 13. fxe5 Bc6 14. Bd2 Nd7 15. Nd5 Qd8 16. Nxe7+
Qxe7 17. Rhe1 Rfd8 18. Qg4 Nf8 19. Bd3 Rxd3 $5 {One might want to question why
is this exchange being sacrificed. But then you click on the tab called
reference and see that already 90 games have been played and you say to
yourself, there must be some logic behind it! Let's leave it, it is all
theory! But let us try to understand what is the exact nature of Black's
compensation after making White's next move.} 20. cxd3 {The first thing we
notice over here is the complete domination of Black on the light squares. The
bishop on c6 is excellently placed and has no opponent. The knight on f8 can
soon come into the game and has a wonderful square on d5. At the same time
White's attacking prospects have vanished and the bishop on d2 lacks scope to
some extent because of the e5 pawn. It is true that Bd2 has a nice home on d6
but What exactly will it control from those squares? b8 and f8 squares. Are
they even important? So all in all Black has good compensation for an exchange.
} Ng6 ({Ths is one of my favourite games. Of particular note in this game is
the king manoeuvre with 34...Kh7!!-Kg6! by which Black activates his rook.}
20... Qd7 21. Kb1 Qxd3+ 22. Ka1 h5 23. Qxh5 Ba4 24. Bc3 Bxd1 25. Rxd1 Qe4 26.
Qg5 a5 27. Qd2 Ng6 28. g3 Ne7 29. Qd7 Nd5 30. Bd4 Qe2 31. Rc1 b5 32. Bc5 Qd3
33. Qc6 Rd8 34. Bd6 Kh7 35. Qc5 Kg6 36. h4 Rh8 37. a3 Rh5 38. Qg1 Kh7 39. Rd1
Qb3 40. Rd2 Rf5 41. g4 Rf4 42. Qb1+ Kg8 43. g5 b4 44. Rd3 Nc3 45. axb4 Qa2+ 46.
Qxa2 Rf1+ {0-1 (46) Oll,L (2595)-Hodgson,J (2625) Groningen 1993}) 21. Kb1 (21.
Bb4 h5 $5 22. Bxe7 hxg4 $44) 21... Qc5 22. Bc3 Qf2 23. Re2 Qf4 24. Qg3 (24.
Qxf4 Nxf4) 24... Rd8 25. Rf2 Qa4 (25... Qxg3 {Should have been played. This
would have taken away all of White's attacking chances and steered the game
into a technical phase where it's difficult for White to prove his material
advantage.} 26. hxg3 Rd5 $44) 26. b3 Qb5 27. h4 h5 28. Kb2 Rd7 29. Qg5 a5 {
White's counterplay is too slow.} 30. g4 $1 a4 31. gxh5 $18 {White is
completely winning.} a3+ 32. Kc2 Qc5 33. Qg1 $2 {Allow Black a little back
into the game.} (33. Qg3 $1 {Had the same idea, but defended the h4 pawn.})
33... Nxh4 34. Rf4 Qxg1 35. Rxg1 Nf5 {The endgame is not trivial. The Black
knight is very powerful on f5.} 36. Kd2 Kh7 37. d4 Kh6 38. Ke2 Kxh5 39. Rxf5+
exf5 40. Rxg7 {Now White doesn't have any real winning chances: the opposite
colored bishops will keep the draw.} f4 41. e6 $6 (41. Kd3 $1) 41... Re7 42.
Rxf7 Rxe6+ 43. Kf2 $11 Kg4 44. Bd2 Re4 45. Rg7+ Kh5 46. Rf7 Rxd4 47. Bxf4 Rd1
48. Be5 Rd2+ 49. Ke3 Rxa2 50. Rf2 Rxf2 51. Kxf2 Kg4 52. Ke3 Kf5 53. Bc3 Bd5 54.
Kd2 Bxb3 55. Kc1 Ke4 56. Bb4 a2 57. Kb2 Kd3 58. Bf8 Bd5 59. Bg7 b5 60. Bh8 b4
61. Bg7 b3 62. Bh8 a1=Q+ 63. Kxa1 b2+ 64. Kxb2 1/2-1/2
[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2015"]
[Site "Caleta ENG"]
[Date "2015.02.03"]
[Round "9.2"]
[White "Howell, David WL"]
[Black "Naroditsky, Daniel L"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A29"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2015.01.27"]
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8.
a3 O-O 9. b4 Be6 10. d3 a5 11. b5 Nd4 12. Nxe5 $5 (12. Nd2 {is mainly played})
12... Bf6 13. f4 (13. Nc4 Nxc4 14. dxc4 Bxc4 $15) 13... Nb3 {The exchange has
to be sacrificed now because the threat is Qd4+ picking up the loose knight on
c3.} 14. Be3 Nxa1 15. Qxa1 Nd5 (15... Bxe5 16. fxe5 Nd5 {was a much more solid
way to continue. Black should not be worse.}) 16. Bd4 Bxe5 $6 17. Bxe5 $14 {
White has excellent compensation here because of the latent attack on the g7
pawn.} f6 18. Nxd5 Bxd5 19. Bxc7 Qxc7 20. Bxd5+ Kh8 21. Kg2 Qd7 22. Qa2 Qxb5
23. Rb1 Qc5 24. a4 $1 {Keeping up the pressure.} (24. Rxb7 Rab8 {Would ease
Black's defense.}) 24... Rab8 25. Rxb7 $6 {Now this makes no sense. If the
pawn was to be taken on b7 why didn't White do it on the previous move itself?}
(25. Rb5 {Could have been much tougher to deal with.} Qc3 26. Qc4 Qxc4 27. dxc4
$14 {The bishop on d5 is stronger than a rook in this position.}) 25... Qd4 26.
Rxb8 Rxb8 27. Bc6 $11 Qe3 28. Bf3 Qd4 29. h4 Qb4 30. Qc2 Qb3 31. Qc7 Qb6 32.
Qf7 Qd4 {This is the start of Naroditsky's problems. He underestimates the
advance of the h-pawn.} (32... Rd8 33. h5 h6 $14 {looks scary, but holdable.}
34. Qg6 Qe6 $1 35. Be4 Kg8 {and as long as the Black queen can cover g8 after
Qh7 and Qh8, Black is ok.}) 33. h5 Qd6 (33... h6 34. Qg6 {and Black's queen
can't get to g8 in time!} Qb2 35. Qf5 $1 {with a weakness on a5.}) 34. h6 Qf8
35. Qa7 $1 gxh6 36. Qxa5 Qg7 37. Qf5 Rg8 38. g4 {Black is out of counterplay
and the endgame without the queens is hopeless.} h5 39. Qxh5 Qd7 40. a5 f5 41.
a6 fxg4 42. Qe5+ Rg7 43. Bd5 1-0