Games
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.11"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D16"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2757"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 e6 6. e3 c5 7. Bxc4 Nc6 8. O-O cxd4 9. Nxd4 ({Relevant:} 9. exd4 Be7 10. Qe2 O-O 11. Rd1 Nb4 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Ne4 b6 15. Ne5 Bh4 16. Ra3 Bb7 17. Rh3 Bd5 18. Nc3 Bxc4 19. Qxc4 Be7 20. Qe2 Rc8 21. Qg4 Kh7 22. Rg3 Bf6 23. Ne4 Rc7 24. h4 Qe7 25. Kh2 Nd5 26. Nxf6+ Qxf6 27. Rdd3 Ne7 28. Rgf3 Nf5 29. g3 Kg8 30. Qf4 Rd8 31. d5 Rc2 32. Nxf7 Rf8 33. dxe6 Rc5 34. b4 {1-0 (34) Tomashevsky,E (2743)-Mchedlishvili,M (2618) Reykjavik 2015}) 9... Bd7 10. Nf3 $146 {Karjakin cannot have expected this variation. This move is very timid.} ({Predecessor (24):} 10. Qe2 Bd6 11. Ncb5 Bc5 12. Rd1 O-O 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. Nd4 Qe7 15. e4 e5 16. Nf5 Bxf5 17. exf5 Rfd8 18. Be3 Bxe3 19. Qxe3 h6 20. h3 Nd5 21. Qe4 Rab8 22. b3 Rb4 23. Rac1 Re8 24. Rd3 Nf6 25. Qe3 e4 26. Rd2 Nd5 27. Bxd5 cxd5 28. Rxd5 Qb7 29. Rd3 a6 30. Rdc3 Kh7 31. Rd1 Rc8 32. Rxc8 Qxc8 33. Rd4 Rxd4 34. Qxd4 Qc1+ 35. Kh2 Qf4+ 36. g3 Qxf5 37. b4 g5 38. a5 h5 39. Qc5 Qf6 {Melkumyan,H (2622)-Adams,M (2742) Douglas 2015 1-0}) 10... a6 11. e4 Qc7 12. h3 Bd6 {Black has equalised.} 13. Qe2 O-O (13... Ne5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. f4 Bd4+ 16. Kh2 Rc8 17. Bd3 e5 $11) 14. Bd3 Ne5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. f4 Bd4+ 17. Be3 Bxe3+ 18. Qxe3 e5 19. Rac1 (19. Nd5 Nxd5 20. exd5 Rae8 {is also equal.}) 19... exf4 20. Qxf4 Qxf4 21. Rxf4 Be6 22. Kf2 Rac8 23. Ke3 Nd7 (23... Rfe8) 24. Rff1 Rfe8 25. Be2 Nb6 26. Rcd1 Nc4+ { Black had many options over the last few moves to maybe press a little bit but after this the game quickly heads to a draw.} 27. Bxc4 Rxc4 28. Rf2 Kf8 29. Rd4 Rxd4 30. Kxd4 Rc8 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.11"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A30"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2794"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. c4 c5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. e3 ({Relevant:} 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. h4 d5 7. h5 Nge7 8. d3 dxc4 9. dxc4 Qxd1+ 10. Nxd1 b6 11. h6 Bf6 12. Bg5 Bxg5 13. Nxg5 Bb7 14. Ne3 Nf5 15. Nxf5 gxf5 16. O-O-O Rb8 17. Rd2 Ne5 18. Bxb7 Rxb7 19. b3 Ke7 20. Rh4 Rd7 21. f4 Rxd2 22. Kxd2 Ng4 23. e4 f6 24. Nf3 Kf7 25. Ke2 Rg8 26. Nd2 Kg6 27. exf5+ exf5 28. Nf1 Re8+ 29. Kd2 Re4 30. Nh2 Nxh6 31. Nf3 Nf7 32. Rh1 Nd6 33. Nh4+ Kg7 {Adams,M (2744)-Wei,Y (2706) Wijk aan Zee 2016 1/2-1/2 }) 4... e6 {Keeping the symmetry.} 5. d4 cxd4 6. exd4 Ne7 7. d5 exd5 8. cxd5 d6 9. Nc3 $146 ({Predecessor:} 9. Ne2 Bg4 10. Nbc3 O-O 11. O-O Re8 12. Re1 Na6 13. Bf4 Qb6 14. Qd2 Nf5 15. h3 Bxe2 16. Rxe2 Rxe2 17. Qxe2 Nc5 18. Re1 Be5 19. Bxe5 dxe5 20. Rd1 Nd7 21. d6 Rd8 22. Ne4 Rc8 23. Qd2 Kg7 {1/2-1/2 (23) Gurevich,M (2641)-Leko,P (2713) Wijk aan Zee 2002}) 9... Nd7 10. Nf3 O-O 11. O-O h6 12. h4 Nc5 13. Re1 Bg4 14. Bf4 Nf5 15. Qd2 Bxf3 (15... Qb6 16. Nh2 h5) 16. Bxf3 Qf6 $6 (16... h5 {seems safer.}) 17. Rac1 {Played after a long think. White threatens b4.} a5 18. Nb5 Qxb2 19. Qxb2 Bxb2 20. Rc2 Bf6 (20... Nd3 {is tempting.} 21. Rd1 Nxf4 22. Rxb2 Nh5 {is a forcing variation that leaves black still slightly worse.}) 21. Bxd6 (21. Rd1) 21... Nxd6 22. Nxd6 b6 23. Rb1 Rab8 24. Nc4 Na4 25. Bg4 $6 $11 {After this the position is just equal.} (25. Ne3 $5) 25... Rfd8 26. d6 h5 (26... b5 27. Nxa5 Rxd6 28. Nc6 Nc3 {is more or less the same.}) 27. Bh3 b5 28. Nxa5 Rxd6 29. Nc6 Rb6 30. Nb4 Nc3 31. Rb3 {The position is equal and a draw was agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.11"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2786"] [PlyCount "130"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 c6 8. h3 b6 9. b4 a5 10. a3 h6 11. Bd3 Ba6 12. O-O Qc8 13. Rb1 axb4 14. axb4 Bxd3 15. Qxd3 Qb7 16. Rfc1 Rfc8 17. Ne1 $146 {A new try from Giri.} ({Relevant:} 17. Nd2 Bd8 18. Nb3 Bc7 19. Bxc7 Qxc7 20. Ra1 Qb7 21. b5 Rxa1 22. Rxa1 bxc5 23. Na5 Qa8 24. Nb3 Qb7 25. Na5 Qa8 26. Nb3 Qb8 27. dxc5 cxb5 28. Qd4 b4 29. Na4 Qb5 30. Qb2 Ne4 31. f3 Nexc5 32. Naxc5 Nxc5 33. Rc1 Rc7 34. Qe5 Qb6 35. f4 Na6 36. Ra1 Rc3 37. Nd4 Nc7 38. Rb1 f6 39. Qh5 Rxe3 {0-1 (39) Aronian,L (2792)-Nakamura,H (2787) Zuerich 2016}) 17... Bd8 18. Qd1 Bc7 19. Nd3 Bxf4 20. exf4 Ne4 21. Ne2 Ra2 22. Rc2 Rca8 23. f3 Rxc2 24. Qxc2 Nef6 25. b5 Rc8 26. Qa4 Qc7 27. bxc6 Qxc6 28. Qxc6 Rxc6 29. Rc1 Rc7 {White has lots of options here but he doesn't choose the right one.} 30. Nc3 $6 $11 (30. c6 Nf8 (30... Nb8 31. Nb4)) (30. f5) 30... bxc5 31. dxc5 Ne8 (31... Nxc5 $11 {is a sharp way to equalise.} 32. Nb5 Nfd7 33. Nxc7 Nxd3 34. Ra1 Nxf4) 32. Nb5 Rc8 33. Kf2 Nc7 34. Nxc7 Rxc7 35. Ke3 Kf8 36. Kd4 (36. f5) 36... Nb8 37. Nb4 Rb7 38. Kc3 Ke7 39. Ra1 Kd7 40. Nd3 f6 ( 40... Nc6 41. Ra8 Rb1 42. Rf8 Ke7 43. Rc8 Kd7 $11) 41. Ra8 Kc6 42. h4 Kb5 43. Ra1 Nc6 44. Rb1+ Ka6 45. Re1 Re7 46. Ra1+ Kb7 47. Nb4 g5 48. fxg5 fxg5 49. h5 Rf7 50. Ra6 Nxb4 51. Rb6+ Kc8 52. Rxb4 Rf4 53. Rxf4 gxf4 {Black bales out into an endgame which turns out to be drawn. Well calculated.} 54. Kd4 Kd7 55. Ke5 Kc6 56. Kxf4 Kxc5 57. g4 Kd6 58. Ke3 e5 59. g5 Ke7 60. g6 Kf6 61. Kd3 e4+ 62. fxe4 dxe4+ 63. Kxe4 Kg7 64. Kf5 Kg8 65. Kf6 Kf8 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.11"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2780"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 O-O 7. Nbd2 Ne7 8. d4 exd4 9. cxd4 Bb6 10. Re1 Bg4 ({Relevant:} 10... Ng6 11. h3 c6 12. Bd3 Nh5 13. Nc4 Bc7 14. d5 Nhf4 15. Bf1 f5 16. e5 Nxd5 17. exd6 Bxd6 18. Nxd6 Qxd6 19. b3 Bd7 20. Bb2 Rfe8 21. Qd4 Qf6 22. Qd2 Qd6 23. Bc4 h6 24. Qd4 Qf6 25. Qxf6 gxf6 26. Bxf6 Rxe1+ 27. Rxe1 Re8 28. Rd1 Be6 29. Nd4 Kf7 30. Nxe6 Rxe6 31. Bd4 a6 32. Kf1 Ngf4 33. b4 Re4 34. f3 Re8 35. g3 Ne6 36. Bf2 Rd8 37. Re1 f4 38. g4 Ng5 39. Kg2 Re8 40. Rd1 {Topalov,V (2816)-Nakamura,H (2814) Saint Louis 2015 1-0 (73)}) 11. h3 Bh5 12. a4 $146 ({Predecessor (22):} 12. Qb3 d5 13. e5 Nd7 14. a4 a5 15. Qd1 Nb8 16. Nb3 Nbc6 17. Bg5 h6 18. Bh4 Qc8 19. g4 Bg6 20. Rc1 Bh7 21. Bg3 Nb4 22. Re3 Na2 23. Ra1 Nb4 24. Ne1 Nec6 25. Qd2 Qe6 26. Bxc6 Qxc6 27. Rc3 Qe6 28. Ng2 f6 29. Nf4 Qd7 30. e6 Qe7 31. Re1 f5 32. Nc5 Bxc5 33. Rxc5 c6 34. Rc3 g5 35. Ng2 f4 36. Nxf4 gxf4 37. Bxf4 Nd3 38. Rxd3 Bxd3 39. Bxh6 Rf3 40. Re3 Rxe3 41. Qxe3 Qh7 {Topalov,V (2816)-Caruana,F (2808) Saint Louis 2015 0-1}) 12... a6 13. Bf1 Re8 14. a5 Ba7 15. Qb3 Nc6 16. d5 Nd4 17. Nxd4 Bxd4 18. Qxb7 { Inviting double edged play.} Nd7 19. Nc4 $6 {Allowing a couple of promising continuations.} (19. Ra3) 19... Nc5 20. Qc6 Nb3 $6 {Already the computer thinks the position is equal.} (20... Bxf2+ 21. Kxf2 Qh4+ 22. g3 Nxe4+ 23. Rxe4 Qxe4 {would be difficult to judge over the board but is certainly in Topalov's style.}) (20... f6 {is also regarded a slightly favourable for black.}) 21. Rb1 Nxc1 $6 {This doesn't feel right at all.} (21... f5 {was the obvious try.}) 22. Rbxc1 Rb8 (22... Bg6 23. b4 Rxe4 24. Rxe4 Bxe4 25. Nd2 Bf5 26. Bxa6) 23. Qxa6 Qh4 24. Rc2 {Black is already in serious trouble.} Rxe4 25. Ne3 Qd8 26. Qc4 Bg6 27. Bd3 {White is winning.} Rf4 28. Bxg6 hxg6 29. g3 Re4 30. a6 Qe8 31. Rce2 ( 31. Qxc7 $1 Bxe3 32. fxe3 Rxe3 33. Rxe3 Qxe3+ 34. Kh2) 31... Bb6 32. Qd3 Ra8 33. Kg2 Qa4 34. b3 Rd4 35. bxa4 Rxd3 36. Nc4 Rxa6 37. a5 {Black has been allowed back in the game but starts to go wrong again.} Bd4 $2 (37... Bc5) 38. Re8+ Kh7 39. R1e7 Rc3 40. Nd2 (40. Re4 $1) 40... Rc2 41. Ne4 f6 $2 {A consession after which Topalov is definitely lost.} (41... g5 42. Rxf7 Rxa5) 42. h4 Rxa5 43. Rf7 g5 44. h5 Rxf2+ 45. Nxf2 Ra2 46. Rff8 Rxf2+ 47. Kh3 g4+ 48. Kxg4 f5+ 49. Rxf5 1-0 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.11"] [Round "1"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [Annotator "MVL"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {[Annotations by GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 { I have so much love for this opening that even though it's the only one happening in the first round - much to the relief of most of the audience, I can't help but comment on this one. Promise to you guys, this is not your typical Berlin!} 4. d3 {This has always been one of the main options to avoid the endgame.} Bc5 5. O-O {Apart from 5.Bxc6 which is a completely independant line, white has three different move orders at his disposal to reach the position which is considered as the main line at the moment, all of them allowing black to go with other options if he wants to.} (5. c3 d5 6. Nbd2 dxe4 7. dxe4 O-O 8. Qe2 a5 9. O-O Qe7) (5. Nbd2 Nd4 6. Nxd4 Bxd4 {Both of these lines were featured in MVL vs Giri duels. I won one of these but never obtained anything sustainable out of the opening :} 7. c3 Bb6 8. Nc4 O-O 9. O-O d5 10. exd5 Qxd5 11. Nxb6 axb6 12. Bc4 Qd6 {was fine for black.}) 5... d6 { Veselin happily goes for the main line.} (5... Nd4 6. Nxd4 Bxd4 7. c3 Bb6 8. Na3 c6 (8... O-O 9. Bg5 d5 {was featured in the most recent Anand-Kramnik game in Zurich. Vladimir quickly solved his problems after} 10. exd5 Qxd5 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Bc4 Qd7 13. Nc2 Qg4 {and the bishop pair compensates for the other factors in the position.}) 9. Ba4 d6 {never appealed to me but is having a resurgence recently from white's point of view.}) 6. c3 O-O 7. Nbd2 Ne7 { This weird move (to me) went viral starting from 2012. Black is hoping that he gets serious counterplay on the center that he is immediately conceding. As often in modern lines nowadays, the play gets very concrete from here on.} 8. d4 {If white waits before playing this move, black will be able to play Ng6 and get the ideal configuration without having to concede the center.} exd4 9. cxd4 Bb6 10. Re1 (10. h3 {looks tempting to avoid the annoying Bg4, but it fails to} d5 11. e5 Ne4 12. Qe2 Bf5 13. Bd3 Nc6 $1 {and black is in time.}) 10... Bg4 11. h3 Bh5 {The tabiya I was mentioning earlier. Having spent far too much time on this position in my career, I am well aware of the subtleties in this position, and never tried Vishy's bold novelty!} 12. a4 $5 {improving on one of my moves a3. At least it creates a direct threat.} (12. a3 {was my latest try, but as this move looks useless I understand it doesn't appeal to everybody.}) (12. Qb3 d5 13. e5 Nd7 14. a4 a5 15. Qd1 $5 {was my first attempt in this line. The queen goes back to d1 in order to protect the now weakened d4 pawn.}) 12... a6 (12... Ba5 {is one of the available options for black to immediately point out one drawback of a4 as the b4 square is seriously weakened. A possible option would be} 13. Re3 {possible as the pawn d4 is not under pressure anymore.} Bb6 (13... a6 14. Be2 Bb6 15. Rb3 {is one of many weird things happening in this line.}) 14. g4 Bg6 15. a5 Bxa5 16. Rxa5 c6 17. b4 cxb5 18. d5 Re8 {with possible compensation for the invested pawn, but I think black should be fine overall.}) 13. Bf1 Re8 (13... Nc6 {is a typical move in this position to put more pressure on d4. But there's nothing wrong with Re8 as well.} 14. d5 (14. e5 dxe5 15. dxe5 Nd7 16. g4 Bg6 17. Nc4 Bc5 { and there my move a3 looks far better than this weakening a4!}) 14... Ne5 15. a5 (15. g4 $2 Bxg4 16. hxg4 Nfxg4 {is far beyond dangerous.}) 15... Ba7 16. Qb3 Nxf3+ 17. Nxf3 Re8 {with unclear play.}) 14. a5 Ba7 15. Qb3 {One of the additional options for white thanks to a4.} Nc6 $1 {Black plays for counterplay anyway and doesn't hesitate to give up a pawn for that.} 16. d5 ( 16. Ra4 {is sometimes a decent possibility, but very often the rook looks weird on a4. As we'll see, the rook often benefits more from a lift to the third file.} Qd7) (16. Qxb7 {Stockfish 031215 64:} Nxd4 17. Nxd4 Bxd4 18. Bxa6 d5 19. Qb5 c6 20. Qf1 Nxe4 21. Nxe4 Rxe4 22. Rxe4 dxe4 23. Ra4 Bc5 24. Ra1 Bd4 {[%eval 0,18]}) 16... Nd4 17. Nxd4 Bxd4 18. Qxb7 Nd7 $1 {One good finding of Veselin on the board. The knight now gets a solid spot on c5 and the queen is free to spell trouble of white's kingside.} 19. Nc4 $2 {This move indicates that either Vishy had forgotten his preparation or most likely it had ended before. His queen now gets completely out of play for a while, but it also allows a lot of tactical options for black as his pawn e4 is now under attack.} (19. Ra3 $1 {as Vishy mentioned later on involves an exchange sacrifice but helps so much to defuse the power of the dark squared bishop that it is the best option available :} Bc5 (19... f5 20. Qc6 Qh4 21. g3 Qe7 22. Nc4 Bc5 23. Rae3 $1 Bxe3 24. Bxe3 {is in the same vein.}) (19... Qh4 20. Rae3 $1) 20. Rae3 $1 {At the expense of an exchange, black's attack is annihilated. White now has one pawn, the pair of bishop and annoying threats on the queenside as a result. The position remains double-edged as the pawn e4 could still be under pressure.}) 19... Nc5 20. Qc6 Nb3 $2 {A natural and decent move but another one was begging to be played, especially by someone like Veselin.} (20... Bxf2+ 21. Kxf2 Qh4+ 22. g3 Nxe4+ {The move Veselin says he "somehow missed", and that looks accurate.} 23. Rxe4 Qxe4 {with good attacking chances for little to no material invested. White already has few options available :} 24. Ne3 (24. g4 Qe1+ 25. Kg2 Bg6 26. Nd2 {and now moves like} Re2+ (26... h5 {or even the calm Rab8 both look very playable as well. But Re2+ is a more direct option.}) 27. Bxe2 Qxe2+ 28. Kg1 Rf8 $1 {with the idea of f5 that white can only prevent with} 29. Ra3 Bd3 (29... f5 $2 30. Qc4 Qe1+ 31. Qf1 Qe5 32. Rf3) 30. Rxd3 Qxd3 {leaves black with a good position and an ongoing attack.}) 24... Qf3+ 25. Kg1 Qxg3+ 26. Ng2 {And while white's position is not as bad as it looks at first sight it looks obvious to investigate in that direction first.}) (20... f6 { was a very subtle option that traps the queen. White is in time to answer adequately though :} 21. Be3 Bxe3 22. Rxe3 Re7 23. b4 Be8 24. Qxa8 Qxa8 25. bxc5 dxc5 {with definitely enough play to make a draw as black's pawns are much weaker than white's.}) 21. Rb1 {Keeping the pawn on e4.} (21. Ra3 Nxc1 22. Rxc1 Rxe4 {is fine for black.}) 21... Nxc1 $2 {It looks like a good idea to prevent Be3 at first sight but white still manages to consolidate and the pawn a6 is a terrible weakness now.} (21... Bg6 22. Be3 Rxe4 23. Rbd1 {is more pleasant for white but black has resources.} Bf6 24. Bd3 Re7 25. Bxg6 hxg6 { and at least the pawn on a6 will not fall anytime soon.}) (21... f5 22. e5 $1 dxe5 23. d6 {looks positionnally dangerous for black after} cxd6 {and the calm} 24. Be3 $1 {leaving black with queenside trouble.}) 22. Rbxc1 Rb8 (22... f5 23. Ne3 $1 fxe4 (23... f4 24. Nf5 Bxb2 25. Qxc7 {is excellent for white.}) 24. b4 { and black's play on the kingside is seriously hindered. Meanwhile the queenside pawns will start falling, leaving white's a pawn unchallenged.}) 23. Qxa6 {Not only taking a pawn, but as Vishy mentioned it, his queen might come back to c4 or d3.} (23. Ne3 Rxb2 24. Bxa6 Rxe4 25. Qxc7 {was also good for white.}) 23... Qh4 (23... f5 $1 {was a legitimate attempt at counterplay but certainly not the most obvious one.} 24. Rc2 $1 {A very good consolidating move, also blocking any black's counterplay starting with f4.} (24. Ne3 Rxb2 ( 24... f4 25. Nf5) 25. Qd3 $1 Rxe4 26. Rc4 Bc5 {is not so easy.}) 24... fxe4 ( 24... f4 25. Na3 $1 f3 26. Nb5 {is great for white.}) 25. Ne3 Rxb2 26. Rxb2 Bxb2 27. Be2 {and the a pawn will be a serious trump for white, although things are not over after} Bg6 28. Qc4 Ba3 $1 29. Bg4 Bc5 {and black might still defend.}) (23... Bc5 {was mentionned by Veselin at the press conference, but it doesn't look too good after} 24. Qc6 ({or} 24. Rc2)) 24. Rc2 Rxe4 (24... Bg6 25. Rd2 $1 Rxe4 26. Rxe4 Qxe4 27. Qc6 {and the a pawn marches on.}) 25. Ne3 $1 {Now the queen gets back into play white white creates some unexpected threats : Rxc7 and Nf5!} Qd8 26. Qc4 Bg6 27. Bd3 Rf4 28. Bxg6 (28. g3 {gives black the following option :} Qg5 $1 29. Qxc7 (29. Bxg6 $4 Bxe3 {and Qxg3+ follows}) 29... Rf8 {with possible threats :} 30. Qxd6 Be5 $1 {with the idea Rxf2. White still has an unexpected win which I'll share for pure pleasure for the eye purposes :} 31. Qxf8+ $3 Kxf8 32. d6 Ke8 (32... Bxd6 33. Rc8+ Ke7 34. Nd5+ Kd7 35. Nb6#) 33. h4 $3 Rxh4 34. Nf5 Kd8 35. Rxe5 Qh5 36. Re8+ $1 Kxe8 37. Nxg7+ Kd7 38. Nxh5 {and white has a few too many pawns on the queenside.}) 28... hxg6 29. g3 Re4 {The approaching timetrouble didn't help both players in the following phase of the game as a lot of geometrical motifs were missed from here on.} (29... Qg5 30. Qxc7 Rb3 31. h4 $1 Rxh4 32. Qc4 Rb8 33. Rd1 { would leave black defenceless.}) 30. a6 {A careless move allowing black to disentangle a bit.} (30. Rd1 Qf6 31. Kg2 {followed by Ng4 would have been the simpler win.}) 30... Qe8 31. Rce2 {now black is suddenly back in the game!} ( 31. Qxc7 Bxe3 32. Rxe3 $1 Rxe3 33. fxe3 Qxe3+ 34. Kh2 {might be uneasy to play in a practical game :} Re8 $1 35. a7 {but black doesn't have enough as} Qe1 36. Rg2 $1 (36. Qb8 Kh7 {would leave things undecided for a while as perpetual check is threatened!}) 36... Kh7 37. Qxf7 {leads to a clear win after} Ra8 38. Qb7 Rf8 39. Qa6 $1) 31... Bb6 32. Qd3 (32. Ng4 Rxc4 33. Rxe8+ Rxe8 34. Rxe8+ Kh7 35. Rf8 f5 {and this endgame looks anything but easy to win.} (35... Ra4 36. Rxf7 Kg8 {is even a decent option with good drawing chances!})) 32... Ra8 ( 32... Qa4 33. b3 Rd4 34. bxa4 Rxd3 35. Nc4 {would have been premature.}) 33. Kg2 $6 (33. b4 $1 {forbidding Qa4 would have helped white's task as the pawn is untouchable.} Rxb4 34. Nc2 Qb5 35. Nxb4) 33... Qa4 34. b3 Rd4 $1 35. bxa4 ( 35. Qc2 $3 {with the idea} Qxa6 (35... Qb5 $1 36. Qc6 Qxc6 (36... Qxa6 37. Nc2 {and the rook is trapped!} Rd3 38. Nb4) 37. dxc6 Rxa6 38. Nc2 {and again black can't escape a winning fork!}) 36. Nf5 $1 gxf5 (36... Qxe2 37. Rxe2 gxf5 38. Qxf5 {is not a real practical chance as white is up one pawn on the kingside. He just needs to march his h pawn to create irreversible weaknesses on black's king.}) 37. Re8+ {is a tad difficult to consider in timetrouble.}) 35... Rxd3 36. Nc4 Rxa6 {Now black is back in the game. But his king is still under serious pressure from white's rooks.} 37. a5 $1 (37. Nxb6 cxb6 38. Re8+ Kh7 39. R1e7 Rxd5 40. Rxf7 Rf5 41. Rc7 Rxa4 42. Ree7 Ra2 $1 43. Rxg7+ Kh8 44. h4 Raxf2+ 45. Kh3 Rf6 46. Rgd7 Kg8 {and black is in time to make a draw, even when he loses both his queenside pawns.}) 37... Bd4 (37... Bc5 38. Re8+ Kh7 {was much more tempting to get the pawn d5. But white's play is not over after} 39. R1e7 Rxd5 40. g4 $1 {preventing Rf5 and creating serious threats on black's king.}) (37... Bxa5 38. Ra1 Rxd5 39. Rea2 {would earn white a piece.}) 38. Re8+ Kh7 39. R1e7 Rc3 40. Nd2 $6 (40. Rxc7 $1 Rc2 41. h4 {was the way to go. White keeps an edge after} Rxf2+ 42. Kh3 g5 $1 43. hxg5 (43. h5 $2 f5 {and white's mating threats are not in time compared to black's!}) 43... Rf5 44. Rc6 Rxc6 (44... Ra7 45. Nxd6 Rxd5 46. Re4 {and the attack is still ongoing!} f6 (46... Rd7 47. Nf5 Bc5 48. Rh4+ Kg8 49. Rc8+ Rd8 50. Rxd8+ Rxd8 51. a6) 47. Rxd4 $1 Rxd4 48. Nb5 Rdd7 49. Nxa7 Rxa7 50. a6 {with an easily won rook endgame.}) 45. dxc6 Rc5 46. Nxd6 Rxc6 {and black has good drawing chances. Fascinating stuff!}) 40... Rc2 (40... f5 $1 {was the way to play. White retains the initiative with} 41. h4 $1 Rc2 (41... g5 $5 {is also a move freeing the king mentioned by Vishy as an option in certain circumstances at the press conference :} 42. Nf3 Rxf3 $1 43. Kxf3 gxh4 44. gxh4 Rxa5 45. Rxc7 Rxd5 {with good drawing chances.}) 42. Re2 Bf6 43. Nb3 {but black should be able to hold eventually.}) 41. Ne4 f6 (41... g5 {was the only move to get out of the mating net but it is hopeless after} 42. Rxf7 Rxa5 43. Rf5) 42. h4 $1 {Any g5 will be answered by h5 now. Black also has no way to the 8th rank or to the Ne4} Rxa5 43. Rf7 $1 g5 44. h5 Rxf2+ 45. Nxf2 Ra2 46. Rff8 Rxf2+ 47. Kh3 {and black still has to give material to prevent immediate mate.} g4+ 48. Kxg4 f5+ 49. Rxf5 {I think both players, especially Veselin, have not yet adjusted since their arrival and thus committed a decent of number of inaccuracies, but the extremely complicated and even sophisticated at times nature of the position they chose to play didn't help. In any case, a great start of the tournament for Vishy which reminds of his win against Levon Aronian in the last Candidates' tournament.} 1-0 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.03.11"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Giri, A."] [Black "Aronian, L."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2786"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "130"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:30:35"] [BlackClock "0:27:26"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 {A line that came into fashion at the Candidates' in Kazan, five years ago.} c6 8. h3 b6 9. b4 a5 10. a3 h6 {A relatively recent try.} (10... Ba6) (10... Bb7 {and}) (10... Ne4 {have been played more often.}) 11. Bd3 Ba6 12. O-O Qc8 13. Rb1 axb4 14. axb4 Bxd3 15. Qxd3 Qb7 16. Rfc1 Rfc8 17. Ne1 {With this being the first *real* move of the game, we see that the last time Aronian played this position as White, he opted for 17.Nd2, but came up with nothing and eventually lost to Nakamura at the Zurich Chess Challenge about a month ago.} ( 17. Nd2 Bd8 18. Nb3 Bc7 19. Bxc7 Qxc7 20. Ra1 Qb7 21. b5 Rxa1 22. Rxa1 bxc5 { Aronian,L (2792)-Nakamura,H (2787) Zurich SUI 2016}) 17... Bd8 18. Qd1 Bc7 19. Nd3 {With the last few moves of typical "Closed Semi-Slav Maneuvers", we can report nothing special about this position other than White has a long term space advantage while Black, other than a potentially weak c6-pawn, has no real concerns in the position... yet!} Bxf4 20. exf4 {The correct recapture to reinforce that Black will not be liberating his d7-knight with the move e5.} Ne4 21. Ne2 {Amateurs trying to learn from the top grandmasters playing these games should take note of Giri's refusal to "trade" pieces and help Black's lack of space. Let the black knights wrestle themselves over e4 and f6.} Ra2 { Though Black may gain temporary satisfaction with this infiltration to the second rank, as the forcing line of exchanges will prove, White is still in control of the future of this position.} (21... Ndf6 $2 22. f3 {winning.}) 22. Rc2 Rca8 $6 (22... Ra4 {Electing NOT to remove the rook from the c-file would have prevented Giri's coming tactic with 25.b5. Though it could be argued Giri gained minimal improvements at best, it did ensure for the White player that he would be playing for two results from now until the end.}) (22... Rxc2 23. Qxc2 Ndf6 {was suggested by Giri.}) 23. f3 $1 {The start of the combination to expose Black's 22.. .Rca8 move and to gain an edge (though small) big enough to push on for a while.} Rxc2 24. Qxc2 Nef6 25. b5 {The key! If Black captures, pawn to c6 wins material.} Rc8 26. Qa4 {In earlier calculations Aronian had underestimated that White threatens Qa6 here.} Qc7 (26... bxc5 27. dxc5 cxb5 28. Rxb5 Qc7 29. Nd4 e5 30. Nf5 $1 {Aronian}) (26... cxb5 27. Qxb5) 27. bxc6 Qxc6 28. Qxc6 Rxc6 29. Rc1 (29. Nb4 $1 Rc8 30. c6 Nb8 31. Rc1 {Might have offered White more winning chances, but perhaps Giri didn't see a clear way to proceed with the c-pawn in view of Black's simply king march from f8 to e7 to d6? However, some computer analysis shows that maybe it was White's only (last?) chance to mix things up with} Ne8 {is the best way to prepare the king march referenced for Black, as it prevents the pawn from pushing to c7.} (31... Kf8 $2 32. c7 Nbd7 33. f5 $1 exf5 34. Nf4 {And White is actually winning the d-pawn and likely the game.}) 32. f5 $1 {was considered hopeless by Aronian. Giri: "I didn't evaluate this correctly."} Kf8 33. Nf4 Ke7 34. Re1 Nxc6 35. Nbxd5+ Kf8 36. fxe6 {or 36.Nxb6 both seem to give White an edge to worth fighting for?}) ({The players looked at} 29. Nb4 Rc7 30. c6 Nb8 31. Nc3 $1 (31. Ra1 Nxc6 $1 32. Rc1 Nxd4 $1 {is drawing}) (31. Rc1 Ne8) 31... Nxc6 32. Nb5 Rc8 33. Nd6 Rd8 34. Nxf7 {with a "dreadful position." (Aronian)}) 29... Rc7 30. Nc3 bxc5 31. dxc5 Ne8 (31... Nxc5 $5 32. Nb5 Nfd7 33. Nxc7 Nxd3 {Was likely also enough for Black to hold the draw.}) 32. Nb5 Rc8 33. Kf2 Nc7 34. Nxc7 Rxc7 35. Ke3 ({It seems that once again, Giri underestimated the power of this potential undermining move to Black's central position? Though Black has better chances to hold here than he might have after 29.Nb4, White would still have been served by bringing this pressure to the e6 and d5 pawns.} 35. f5 $5 Kf8 36. Ke3 Ke7 37. Kd4 {and though once again we are left with decent drawing chances for Black (How? Maybe he just sits or plays tickle with the white king on d4 by playing Nb8-c6+?) it seems seems that White is holding the cards with the pressure and passed c-pawn.}) 35... Kf8 36. Kd4 Nb8 $1 {Giri was optimistic until he realized how strong this was.} 37. Nb4 Rb7 38. Kc3 { Once Black established this ideal: Nb8, Rb7 and king coming in defensive setup, the evaluation goes to equal and it's only a matter of time before the knights are traded and we get closer to a rook endgame draw.} Ke7 39. Ra1 Kd7 40. Nd3 f6 41. Ra8 Kc6 42. h4 Kb5 43. Ra1 Nc6 44. Rb1+ Ka6 45. Re1 Re7 46. Ra1+ Kb7 47. Nb4 {Otherwise Black goes e6-e5.} g5 {Aronian thought this might have been a mistake.} (47... d4+ 48. Kc4 Nxb4 49. Rb1 $1 Rd7 50. Rxb4+ Kc7 51. Rb3 $1 {Giri } (51. Kd3 Rd5 52. Rxd4 Kc6 {Aronian})) 48. fxg5 fxg5 49. h5 $1 Rf7 50. Ra6 Nxb4 51. Rb6+ Kc8 (51... Kc7 52. Kxb4) 52. Rxb4 Rf4 $1 {As noted by MVL himself: "I really loved seing Rf4 especially, as Levon often has a way to get in trouble in these (rook ending) positions by not calculating deeply enough all the direct lines and defending too passively." Which is a great point. Levon calculated confidently that he could hold the theoretically drawn king and pawn ending, and forced matters!} 53. Rxf4 gxf4 54. Kd4 Kd7 55. Ke5 Kc6 56. Kxf4 Kxc5 57. g4 Kd6 58. Ke3 e5 59. g5 Ke7 $1 {The real kicker, and perhaps the move Giri missed? Maybe not, but surely he must have known that 60.g6 leads to no winning chances, despite the extra white pawn.} 60. g6 Kf6 61. Kd3 e4+ 62. fxe4 dxe4+ 63. Kxe4 Kg7 64. Kf5 Kg8 65. Kf6 Kf8 {I must say, on a personal note, nothing gives me more joy than seeing a final position that I myself (along with all strong players) know is a dead draw, but that the computers will evaluate as +2.5 or +3 for hours on end! Take that Komodo! ;P} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.03.11"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A30"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2794"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] [WhiteClock "0:12:30"] [BlackClock "0:22:16"] 1. c4 c5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. e3 e6 5. d4 {The game I was looking forward to the most to provide interesting chess did not disappoint! Already with 4...e6 and then 5.d4 by White, we are basically in uncharted (by database standards) territory.} cxd4 6. exd4 Ne7 7. d5 {I like this move. It says White came to gain a space advantage and press for a win. Despite engine's initially scolding White for not developing a piece here (and moving a pawn twice), they eventually come around to seeing White's space ambitions as accurate and relevant to the structure.} exd5 8. cxd5 d6 9. Nc3 (9. Ne2 Bg4 10. Nbc3 O-O 11. O-O Re8 12. Re1 Na6 13. Bf4 Qb6 14. Qd2 Nf5 {Gurevich,M (2641)-Leko,P (2713) Wijk aan Zee 2002}) 9... Nd7 10. Nf3 O-O 11. O-O h6 {Flexible. And Smart. Likely a move played because Fabiano wasn't in "seriously prepped territory" but makes sense to eliminate annoying moves by both White's bishop and knight going to the g5-square.} 12. h4 {The computers say h3 and be patient... Hikaru says h4!} (12. h3 Nc5 13. Re1 {You can see the point of the computer's suggestion on h3 that the g4-square is not available to Black, however, 13... Re8 and 14...Bd7 is still OK for Black. However noted should be that} Bf5 { would be a bad idea after} 14. g4 $1 Bd7 15. Bf4 {and White has gained a couple moves in time and immediate pressure on d6.}) 12... Nc5 13. Re1 Bg4 14. Bf4 Nf5 15. Qd2 {All moves that make sense for both sides, and now Black must decide if he still wants that bishop on g4 if it's not pinning the pony.} Bxf3 {And apparently, he didn't! It's possible that 15...Qb6 to maintain the tension and keep the "question of trading on f3" could have been an option. But maybe Caruana already felt his control over the central dark-squares would be enough to compensate for the bishop pair?} 16. Bxf3 Qf6 17. Rac1 a5 $6 { Nakamura thought this was a mistake.} ({Both} 17... Qd4 {and maybe 17...Rac8 might have been safer options for Black rather than giving White the b5-square permanently with 17... a5.}) 18. Nb5 $1 {With this move it became clear to all those watching that this would be Nakamura's game to win or lose. Black will now scramble to get enough for losing his d6-pawn.} Qxb2 19. Qxb2 Bxb2 20. Rc2 (20. Rb1 Be5 $1 (20... Nd3 21. Red1 Nxf4 22. Rxb2 Nh5 23. g4 Nxh4 24. Bh1 Nf6 25. Nxd6) 21. Bxe5 dxe5 22. Rxe5 Rae8 $5) 20... Bf6 21. Bxd6 Nxd6 22. Nxd6 { All pretty forced and now after} b6 23. Rb1 Rab8 {We reach our critical moment. According to Hikaru himself - and I'm paraphrasing here and will likely have to hear it from him later on Skype :P - but perhaps he should have just brought the knight back to b5 and sat on a comfortable "playing for two results" kind of advantage. Instead, he wanted to force things and immediate attack Black's queenside pawns, which proved not to be enough against solid defense.} 24. Nc4 (24. Nb5 {and indeed, even with giving them some thought, the engines agree with Hikaru that White maintains a clear edge in all lines here. Ideas of using the d-pawn, maneuvers of Na7-c6, along with lack of options for Black are some of White's pluses.}) 24... Na4 $1 {A good, and needed move to defend everything. (And Nakamura forgot about.) Maybe sometimes the knight on the rim is NOT so grim? :)} 25. Bg4 Rfd8 26. d6 h5 27. Bh3 b5 28. Nxa5 Rxd6 {And with the trade of White's biggest asset on d6 for a not so valuable a-pawn, the writing was on the wall.} 29. Nc6 Rb6 30. Nb4 Nc3 31. Rb3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.03.11"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D16"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] [WhiteClock "0:12:00"] [BlackClock "0:06:43"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 e6 6. e3 c5 7. Bxc4 Nc6 8. O-O cxd4 9. Nxd4 {Svidler "repeated the whole Slav" but not this move.} Bd7 10. Nf3 $5 ({Played most commonly, and with decent results at the highest level, including wins by Melkumyan and Vovk over English Grandmasters Adams and Howell respectively. Though analysis shows Black may have some improving roads from those games, and so Karjakin opts to a slightly more flexible (and maybe surprising?) early retreat of the knight.} 10. Qe2 Bd6 (10... Be7 11. Rd1 Qb8 12. e4 O-O 13. Nf3 Rd8 14. e5 Ne8 15. Bf4 Nb4 16. Ng5 Bc6 17. Nxf7 Rxd1+ 18. Rxd1 Nc7 19. Nd6 Kh8 20. Qg4 Qg8 21. h4 h6 {And White went onto acheive a decisvie advantage and win with} 22. Bg3 {Vovk,Y (2588)-Howell,D (2663) Jerusalem ISR 2015}) 11. Ncb5 Bc5 12. Rd1 O-O 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. Nd4 Qe7 15. e4 e5 16. Nf5 Bxf5 17. exf5 Rfd8 18. Be3 Bxe3 19. Qxe3 h6 20. h3 Nd5 21. Qe4 Rab8 22. b3 Rb4 23. Rac1 Re8 24. Rd3 Nf6 25. Qe3 e4 26. Rd2 Nd5 27. Bxd5 cxd5 28. Rxd5 {where though it still took some technique, Melkumyan went onto beat Adams. Melkumyan,H (2622)-Adams,M (2742) Douglas ENG 2015}) ({Karjakin didn't like} 10. e4 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Bc6 12. Qe3 (12. Qe5 $6 Bd6 13. Qg5 h6 14. Qxg7 (14. Qe3 Bxh2+) 14... Rh7 $1 {Karjakin})) 10... a6 11. e4 Qc7 12. h3 {Usually played as a flexible move that both denies reinforcements to control the critical e5-square and possible threats on h2 (from a possible Nf6-g4 manuver and a natural Bd6 development by Black).} (12. Qe2 Ng4 $5 {threatening Nd4}) 12... Bd6 13. Qe2 O-O 14. Bd3 {All natural moves until now, and White decides to reveal his hand: With this move White intends to eventually advance the e5-pawn and launch pressure towards Black's kingside. Black of course understands this, and Svidler prepares himself to meet White's plans with blockading goals of his own on that square.} Ne5 $5 (14... Rfd8 15. Be3 Nb4 16. a5 $5 {Might have been a reason why Svidler chose not to play the natural developing move of Rfd8, but after} Nxd3 17. Qxd3 Bc6 $1 {we see there were no issues to worry about. With the threat of Bh2+ winning the queen, White will find safety for the lady, and Black can stop the threat of Bb6 with Nd7, Qe7 or Qb8.}) 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. f4 Bd4+ {If not for this check, White would be getting all he wanted by punching the e5-pawn forward.} (16... Bxc3 17. bxc3 Qxc3 18. Bb2 {Karjakin}) 17. Be3 Bxe3+ 18. Qxe3 e5 $1 {But after the natural set of exchanges, and the move I give an exclaim to mainly because of its positional relevance to stopping White from advancing his own e-pawn, the game is essentially destined to peter out to equality. And that's just what happens. ..} 19. Rac1 ({If Karjakin had anything "in his bag" to meet Black's obvious positional blockade of the e5-push, now was the time to show it! Without guaranteeing that White will achieve any kind of substantial advantage, this is the only "principled" way to punish e5. Why? Black stops your plan but weakens the d5-square... you must take that square and call his bluff! Karjakin opts not to and nearly gets himself in trouble in the process.} 19. Nd5 $5 Nxd5 20. exd5 Rae8 21. f5 (21. a5 $5 {with similar ideas to lock the queenside pawns into being long term targets. Enough for White to claim an edge? Certainly computers say no. But if we see an exchange on f4 and White can swing the rook to b4, would you really like to be Black defending the queenside for 30 more moves?}) 21... f6 22. Rac1 Qd6 23. a5 {just MIGHT have left white with a tiny, tiny pull, having locked the queenside pawns on lightsquares. But likely not enough to write home about.}) (19. f5 Bc6 20. g4 Rad8 21. g5 Nh5 {Karjakin}) 19... exf4 20. Qxf4 Qxf4 ({Karjakin was a bit worried about} 20... Qc5+ $5 21. Kh2 Nh5) 21. Rxf4 Be6 22. Kf2 Rac8 {If anything, at this point, Black has more to play for with the slighly better coordinated rooks and the long term weakness of the e4 isolated pawn, but White's king activity is sure to make up for it. A draw will soon be agreed...} (22... Nd7 $5 23. Nd5 Ne5 {was perhaps more accurate (Karjakin).}) 23. Ke3 Nd7 24. Rff1 Rfe8 25. Be2 Nb6 (25... Nc5 26. Rcd1 f5 {with the outside shot of mixing things up tactically against Karjakin's king might have been Svidler's only real chance at winning chances. Maybe White blunders under time pressure? But objectively, Black only has a slight edge at best here.}) 26. Rcd1 Nc4+ 27. Bxc4 Rxc4 28. Rf2 Kf8 29. Rd4 Rxd4 30. Kxd4 Rc8 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.12"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] [WhiteClock "1:47:43"] [BlackClock "1:49:51"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Bg2 {Worthy of note might be that, if you search for the top player whose played this position most often with Black over the last couple years, you will find the White player's name! Karjakin reached the same position against 7.Bg2 against Eljanov, Ding Liren and Onischuk in 2015 - though his choice of 7...c6 in all three encounters is where that observation ends.} d5 (7... c6 {As mentioned, a very common, and perhaps the slower, more solid approach by Black, played by Karjakin multiple times last year.}) 8. cxd5 exd5 9. O-O O-O 10. Nc3 Nbd7 { Though players of this level always have their own reasons and preparation for the move orders they choose, noted is that 10... Re8, 10...c6 and 10...Bb7 are all more common for Black.} (10... Re8 11. Ne5 Bb7 12. Bg5 Nbd7 13. Rc1 Ba3 14. Nxd7 Qxd7 15. Bxf6 Bxc1 16. Qxc1 gxf6 {Sargissian,G (2702)-Tomashevsky,E (2728) Huaian 2016}) 11. Qc2 Re8 12. Rfd1 Nf8 {And with our first official novelty of the game, Nakamura reveals his "different" approach to the common ways Black approaches this Queen's Indian. Black's knight is headed to e6 with intentions to both increase pressure on the d4-pawn and support the common c5-pawn advance.} (12... Bd6 13. Bc1 c6 14. Bb2 Qe7 15. Rac1 Rac8 16. Nh4 g6 17. Nf3 Ng4 18. e3 f5 {Sargissian,G (2702) -Tomashevsky,E (2728) Huaian 2016}) 13. Ne5 Bb7 14. Bc1 Ne6 15. Bb2 Bd6 16. e3 a6 $6 ({Nakamura said he should have played } 16... c5 {right away. However, Karjakin was planning} 17. Nc4 $1 {and White is still better. He pointed out} Bf8 18. dxc5 bxc5 19. Qf5 g6 20. Qxf6 $1 Qxf6 21. Nxd5 Qxb2 22. Nxb2 {and White is a pawn up. Which means that maybe the slower 16...c6 is still necessary. Or perhaps 16...Qe7, to overprotect c5 and prepare the needed central strick referring to c7-c5 of course).}) 17. Ne2 $5 { A move that, I feel, was not given enough credit in the post-mortem or by the commentators. After analyzing this position for some time, I see this move as a critical realization by Karjakin that his knights were NOT ideally placed (especially the knight on c3) to deal with Black's coming challenge to the center. Karjakin is preparing to both clear the c-file, threaten possible relocations of the e2-knight to both f4 (if its needed to pressure d5) or the d4-square (as happened in the game) should Black recapture on c5 with a piece instead of a pawn.} c5 18. dxc5 Nxc5 19. Nd3 {Your opponent now has a clear, positional weakness on d5! Time to offer some exchanges of minor pieces and focus on attacking the isolani.} Nce4 20. Rac1 Rc8 {Already here Nakamura felt it was very unpleasant for Black.} 21. Qb1 Qe7 {Around here Vladimir Kramnik considered the position strategically much better for White, and even though we all know Hikaru's unnecessary sacrifice on the kingside was the ultimate reason for his loss, I do agree with the 14th World Champion's assessment. Black will be struggling to equalize with his weak d-pawn for some time. The main point of this observation (again, because we know the main reason for Nakamura's loss was actually the blunder on move 29) is that we will not likely see Nakamura repeat this approach as Black without some kind of improvement earlier in the game.} 22. Bd4 (22. Qa1 $5 {was perhaps strong as well according to the players.}) 22... Rxc1 23. Rxc1 b5 24. b4 Nd7 25. a3 Nf8 { "Maybe Karjakin wasn't completely accurate. Somewhere around here we were just shuffling." (Nakamura). Definitely agree, but perhaps Hikaru has also just put all his pieces on their best positions? As it's hard to find a concrete suggestion to where Karjakin could have improved. Chess is a funny game...} 26. Ba1 Ne6 27. Qa2 Bc7 28. Nd4 Bb6 29. h4 {"It's ironic because at this point I'm probably only slighty worse." (Nakamura)} Nxg3 $4 {Just a sad, sad miscalculation by the American.} (29... Nxd4 30. Bxd4 Bxd4 31. exd4 Nf6 { "and it's close to holding." (Nakamura)}) 30. fxg3 Nxd4 31. Bxd4 Bxd4 32. exd4 Qe3+ 33. Qf2 Qxd3 34. Rc7 {The key point and the Quiessance Error (as GM Lenderman might call it from his videos on Chess.com) made by Nakamura. Going one move deeper in his calculations before 29...Nxg3 would have seent his fork of the b7-bishop and the c7-pawn coming.} f5 35. Rxb7 h6 36. Bxd5+ Kh7 37. Bg2 Re2 38. Bf1 1-0 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.12"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] [WhiteClock "1:39:35"] [BlackClock "1:55:02"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Bf4 dxc4 ({Not transposing to} 5... Be7 6. e3 O-O 7. c5 {which Aronian played as Black on day one.}) 6. e3 (6. e4 { is possible, e.g.} Bb4 7. Qc2 c5 8. dxc5 O-O 9. Bxc4 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Nxc5 11. e5 Nd5 12. Bd2 Bd7 {Lalith,B (2563)-Sethuraman,S (2623) Pune 2015}) 6... b5 $5 { What must be noted as potentially most important about this move is that not only are the other options listed on move 6 for Black more popular, but that this "home cooked" idea by Anand shows the potential of his preparation once again. Which top grandmaster played this position (as White) most recently according to my database? No coincidence: Poland's own Wojtaszek (well-known as Vishy's former second).} ({More popular are} 6... Nd5) (6... Nb6 {and}) ( 6... a6) 7. Nxb5 Bb4+ $5 ({And here} 7... Nd5 {has been played more often. Though it can transpose (or could have), Anand's move order with early 7... Bb4+, I would imagine, was played for specific reasons.}) 8. Nd2 $5 {Only played once before.} ({More common is} 8. Nc3 {e.g.} Nd5 9. Rc1 N7b6 10. Bg3 O-O 11. Be2 c5 12. O-O cxd4 13. Nxd4 Bb7 {was Wojtaszek,R (2727) -Grandelius,N (2635) Gibraltar 2016. Perhaps Aronian knew of this game and wasn't interested in seeing with Vishy and his Second had worked out any kind of serious improvement for Black.}) 8... Nd5 9. Bg3 N7b6 10. Qc2 O-O 11. Be2 Ba6 12. Nc3 c5 13. dxc5 Nxc3 {Though our first "officially original move" doesn't come with any real fireworks, it also seems like Black has reached a comfortable position, with a completely symmetrical structure, a tiny lead in development and early control over the d-file.} (13... Bxc5 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. Bxc4 Bxc4 16. Nxc4 Rc8 17. Qb3 Bb4+ 18. Ke2 Qg5 {was played last week in Gelfand,B (2735) -Grachev,B (2639) Moscow (Aeroflot Open) 2016}) 14. bxc3 Bxc5 15. O-O Rc8 16. Rfd1 {"Round about here I remembered the general principles but not the exact moves, so to speak. " (Anand)} Qg5 ({Anand was wondering whether} 16... Qf6 { was the right move but Aronian said that "for some reason 16...Qg5 is the right move." That's how today's top GM preparation goes! :-)}) 17. Nf3 Qg6 18. Qd2 Bb5 $1 {A typical idea to put the bishop on a4 (Anand).} 19. Qe1 $1 { A strong plan according to Anand. "I keep on having deja vu's during the games. I keep on thinking: yes, I have analysed this!" - BUT even if he did, Aronian either had the same preparation or showed his form is very good for this event. This subtle queen retreat is the computer's first choice if you give it time, and correctly recognizes that by clearing the d-file fight for the rooks (instead of her majesty) White will be able to avoid tempo moves and focus on the plan of Ne5 to attack weak c4-pawn.} Ba4 ({Noted should be that a key reason why the immediate prevention of Ne5 with} 19... f6 {is not possible is} 20. Nd4 $1 {where White gains a slight edge and likely the bishop pair as a long term advantage.}) 20. Ne5 {Important for the move order to ensure Aronian's pressure arrives to the c4-pawn in time.} (20. Rd2 f6 {Anand}) 20... Qg5 {The most precise (Aronian).} (20... Qc2 21. Rac1 Qe4 (21... Qxa2 22. Ra1 Qc2 23. Rdc1 {and Black's queen needs to be in too many places at once. After} Qe4 24. Bxc4 Nxc4 25. Rxa4 {And that pin might be a problem for Anand!})) 21. Rd2 Rfd8 (21... Bb5 {"might not be so stupid although it's kind of weird. You just came from there." (Aronian)} 22. a4 Bxa4 23. Rda2) ({Anand was trying to make} 21... Ba3 22. Rd4 Bb5 (22... Bc5 23. Rg4) 23. Qb1 a6 {work but then he saw} 24. Rh4 h6 25. Rg4 Qf6 {and at the press conference he then said "maybe it's playable after all," but Vladimir Kramnik thought it looked scary. "Vlady is not approving!" said Anand.}) 22. Rxd8+ Qxd8 23. Nxc4 Nxc4 24. Bxc4 Bxe3 $1 {Again the most accurate by Anand. The former champ might be in pretty good form himself for this event, given what we've seen so far!} (24... Ba3 25. Ba6 Rc6 26. Rb1 $2 {fails to} (26. Be2 Bb2 {is equal}) 26... Rxa6 27. Rb8 Qxb8 28. Bxb8 Rb6 {followed by Bc2 (Anand).}) ({Also possible was} 24... Bb6 25. Bb3 ( 25. Ba6 Rc5) 25... Bxb3 26. axb3 Qd3 27. Rc1 f6 {with very good compensation (Anand).}) ({Aronian also looked at} 24... Bb4 25. cxb4 Rxc4) 25. Qxe3 Rxc4 { "I saw that this was a draw but I didn't see a better way for me." (Aronian)} 26. Rb1 Rc8 27. h3 a6 28. c4 Rxc4 29. Rb8 Rc8 30. Qb6 Rxb8 31. Qxb8 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.12"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "Netherlands"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "NED"] [WhiteClock "1:55:43"] [BlackClock "1:57:51"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. Nbd2 Ne7 8. d4 exd4 9. cxd4 Bb6 10. Re1 Bg4 (10... Ng6 11. h3 c6 12. Bd3 Nh5 13. Nc4 Bc7 14. d5 Nhf4 15. Bf1 f5 16. e5 Nxd5 17. exd6 Bxd6 18. Nxd6 Qxd6 {Topalov,V (2816) -Nakamura,H (2814) Saint Louis 2015}) 11. h3 Bh5 12. Qb3 d5 13. e5 Nd7 14. Qd1 (14. a4 a5 15. Qd1 Nb8 16. Nb3 Nbc6 17. Bg5 h6 18. Bh4 Qc8 {Topalov,V (2816) -Caruana,F (2808) Saint Louis 2015}) 14... f6 15. e6 ({"Much more principled than"} 15. Bxd7 Qxd7 16. exf6 Rxf6 (16... gxf6 $5) 17. Ne5 Qf5 18. Ndf3 { said Giri.}) 15... Nb8 16. Nb3 Qd6 17. g4 Bg6 18. Nh4 Nbc6 19. Bxc6 Qxc6 20. Bd2 (20. Bf4 Bc2 21. Qd2 Bxb3 22. axb3 g5 23. Bxg5 fxg5 24. Qxg5+ Kh8 25. Qe5+ Kg8 26. Nf5 Nxf5 27. gxf5 Qd6 28. f6 Qxe5 29. dxe5 {Giri}) 20... Bc2 21. Qe2 Bxb3 22. axb3 Bxd4 23. Bb4 Bc5 24. Rec1 b6 25. Bxc5 (25. Rxc5 $5 bxc5 26. Ra6 { was interesting.}) 25... bxc5 26. Ra6 Qb7 27. Rxc5 Rfe8 28. Qb5 Qxb5 29. Rxb5 d4 30. Nf5 Rad8 31. Rxa7 Nxf5 32. gxf5 d3 33. Ra1 g6 34. Rc5 Re7 35. Rd1 gxf5 36. Rc6 Rd4 37. Kg2 Kg7 38. Kf3 Kg6 39. Rc4 Rd5 40. Rc3 d2 41. Re3 Rd6 42. Re2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.12"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Bulgaria"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "BUL"] [WhiteClock "1:54:42"] [BlackClock "1:22:42"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Another Berlin... and the crowd holds their breath, desperately hoping for 4.d3 and a game that not only challenges the theory from Anand v Topalov in Round 1, but leads to an exciting game...} 4. O-O {And they are dually disappointed! :)} Nxe4 5. Re1 ({Of course as anyone who hasn't been hiding under a rock for the last 15 years of Modern Chess knows that this} 5. d4 {is White's most common, and more theoretically challenging choice. To appease my own curiousity, I looked up the last time the "Main Line" of the Berlin was played at the highest levels, and I merged that game between MVL and Nakamura here for you all to review. And in that process of updating my own theory on 5.d4, I learned that I should not have been surprised to see Svidler's 5.Re1 preference, as the last time he played 5. d4 in Classical Chess was in 2010.} Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. g3 Bxg5 15. Bxg5 Rg6 16. h4 f6 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bf4 Rc8 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2785) -Nakamura,H (2787) Caleta ENG 2016}) 5... Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 ({The other option is } 7... Nf5 {especially if Black is interested in avoiding the lines with the most simplification.}) 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 (9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. c3 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 13. Bf4 d5 {Carlsen,M (2834)-Kramnik,V (2796) Doha 2015}) 9... Ne8 10. Nd5 Bd6 11. Re1 c6 12. Ne3 Be7 13. c4 Nc7 14. d4 d5 15. cxd5 {And until our next move} Bb4 {we had done nothing but witness previously played moves. This interesting "intermizzo" chooses to attempt either to misplace the white rook or force an further exchange of minor pieces before recapturing the pawn on d5.} (15... Nxd5 16. Nxd5 cxd5 17. Bf4 Bf6 18. Be5 Bxe5 19. Rxe5 Re8 { Carlsen, M (2850)-Caruana,F (2787) London 2015}) 16. Bd2 Bxd2 17. Qxd2 Nxd5 18. Nxd5 Qxd5 19. Re5 Qd6 20. Bc4 Bd7 21. Rae1 b5 22. Bb3 a5 23. a4 (23. a3 a4 24. Ba2 Rae8 25. Qc3 Rxe5 26. dxe5 Qe7 27. Rd1 Bf5 {was mentioned by Topalov, who had prepared as deeply as this! It seems the Bulgarian's idea was that the c6-pawn can't be captured without the e5-pawn falling as well.} 28. Qxc6 Qxe5) 23... bxa4 24. Bxa4 Be6 25. Rxa5 Rxa5 26. Qxa5 Qxd4 27. Bxc6 Qxb2 28. Bd5 Bxd5 29. Qxd5 Qf6 30. g3 g6 {With nothing really to play for, the final result was not hard to guess.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.03.12"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "MVL"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "Netherlands"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "NED"] [TimeControl "7200+5925"] [WhiteClock "1:55:43"] [BlackClock "1:57:51"] {[Annotations by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave] So far, the Berlin defence lives up to its expectations by delivering two of the most exciting games of the tournament (and admittedly one pretty dull draw)} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. Nbd2 Ne7 8. d4 exd4 9. cxd4 Bb6 10. Re1 Bg4 11. h3 Bh5 {Another tabiya today!} 12. Qb3 d5 13. e5 Nd7 {Fabiano was on the black side of this line recently against Topalov, and now decides to try his luck with white.} 14. Qd1 ({Another novelty, immediately bringing the queen back to d1 compared to the line I had mentionned yesterday :} 14. a4 a5 15. Qd1 {The idea of consolidating the center remains, and it is difficult to decide on whether including these moves or not is worth it, but a lot of hidden details are at stake: the Bb6 could be unprotected, White can sometimes lift his rook to a3... But Black also gets a grip on the b4 square. Thus a lot depends on concrete lines and more importantly, things look very unclear in both lines, so I assume Fabiano wanted to come up with a fresh idea hoping to surprise Anish.}) 14... f6 {One of the many options available to Black. One might argue that he just has too many options available to choose from while White's plan is more straightforward, with Nb3 as a must in general (but the knight might also go to g3 via f1 if the pawn on d4 is well protected). At the same time, he can at least decide on whether playing it solidly by manoeuvering his pieces, or on the contrary to start more direct play with many pawn breaks at his disposal. In any case, Anish chose this option, which he either had considered prior to the game, or possibly hoped that it would minimize the number of questions he'd have to answer during the game. On the other hand, any mistake is already very costly.} (14... c5 15. Qa4 {is a new option available to white, where black has to answer Nc6 and sacrifice a pawn. That might not be to everyone's taste.}) (14... a6 15. Bd3 Nc6 16. Nb3 Re8 17. g4 Bg6 18. Bg5 Qc8 {is one of many plausible lines.}) 15. e6 {These passed pawns are generally either weak or strong. With that many pieces on the board, it is definitely an asset at the moment but endgames could get dangerous for White.} Nb8 16. Nb3 {I am faced with a difficult decision as a commentator, as most of the play is very concrete and general concepts are not the most crucial in this position. At the same time, I also want to avoid stifling you with countless lines - and there are as many as that - that have no proper meaning extracted from this exact game.} Qd6 {A proper answer, this move is designed to make both Bf4 and Nc5 more difficult to play for white.} (16... Nbc6 17. g4 Bg6 18. Nc5 {is annoying :} Qd6 (18... Bxc5 19. dxc5 Be4 20. Nh4 $1 g5 21. f3 Bg6 22. Bxc6 $1 Nxc6 (22... bxc6 23. Ng2 d4 24. h4) 23. Nxg6 hxg6 24. b4 $1 {and Black's position looks very difficult.}) 19. Nxb7 Qb4 20. Bxc6 Nxc6 21. a3 Qe7 22. Nc5 Nxd4 23. Qxd4 Qxc5 (23... Be4 $6 24. b4 Bxf3 25. Qf4 Be4 26. Be3 {and the Nc5 is a source of annoyance, to put it mildly.}) 24. Qxc5 Bxc5 25. Be3 {with a difficult endgame.}) 17. g4 {Other moves are possible and safer, but including this move at some point seems mandatory to get a grip on the position.} Bg6 (17... Be8 18. a4 $5 (18. Bd3 Nbc6 19. Nh4 {is also a promising way to continue with a strong initiative :} Bg6 20. Bf5 $1) 18... Bxb5 (18... a6 19. Bd3 Nbc6 20. a5 Ba7 21. Nh4 {is an improved version of 18. Bd3 line as Black is even more cramped.}) 19. axb5 Qb4 {a very dangerous looking concept, but at the same time this pawn is entangling Black at the moment.} (19... c6 $6 20. Nc5 $1 {is too dangerous :} Qc7 (20... Bxc5 21. dxc5 Qxc5 22. Be3 Qd6 23. Rc1 {and Black's pieces are not getting out quite yet!}) ( 20... cxb5 21. Nxb7 Qc7 22. Nc5) 21. bxc6 Nbxc6 22. Nd7 {with a strong initiative.}) 20. Qd3 c6 21. bxc6 (21. Bf4 cxb5 22. Rac1 Nbc6 {doesn't look decisive yet for white.}) 21... Nbxc6 22. Bd2 Qd6 23. Rac1 Rac8 {with double-edged play again. In general I would prefer to play with white as his objectives are rather simple and could easily be deadly.}) 18. Nh4 Nbc6 (18... Be4 $1 {was a strong option in spite of threatening nothing serious yet. There's no easy way for White to get rid of this bishop :} 19. Bd3 (19. Nd2 f5 $1) (19. Nc5 Bxc5 20. dxc5 Qxc5 21. Bd3 Bxd3 22. Qxd3 Nbc6 {and White will struggle to show enough compensation for the pawn.}) (19. Ng2 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 Nbc6 {and Black will probably play f5 next with an excellent position.}) 19... Nbc6 $1 20. Bxe4 dxe4 21. Rxe4 Qd5 {suddenly looks very dangerous for white after} 22. Qd3 f5) 19. Bxc6 $1 {Not an easy move to make as parting with the pair of bishops is always a heartbreaker. But as you might expect, any way Black takes the bishop will force him to concede something.} Qxc6 (19... bxc6 $2 {Horrible but even these moves should be checked during a real game.} 20. Ng2 $1 {followed by Bf4 looks terribly dangerous positionnally speaking (see that bishop on b6?)}) (19... Nxc6 20. Nf5 Bxf5 21. gxf5 {Would give Fabiano a strong initative on the kingside, and his pawn e6 would now be an asset even in most endgames!}) 20. Bd2 $1 (20. Bf4 {was the other option, which could have led to the pretty line Anish showed at the press conference :} Bc2 (20... Be4 $1 21. Rc1 Qxe6 22. f3 g5 {looks more precise though.}) 21. Qd2 Bxb3 22. axb3 g5 23. Bxg5 fxg5 24. Qxg5+ Kh8 25. Qe5+ $1 (25. Qxe7 $2 Qc2 26. Nf5 Rxf5 27. gxf5 Rg8+ 28. Kf1 Qd3+ 29. Re2 Qxh3+ 30. Ke1 Bxd4 31. Kd2 Bxb2 32. Re3 Qxf5 33. Qf7 Bf6 {would most likely end in a draw.}) 25... Kg8 26. Nf5 Nxf5 27. gxf5 Qd6 28. f6 Qxe5 29. dxe5 {and White's pawns are having a party of their own...} ) 20... Bc2 {Deciding to take the pawn on d4 but that doesn't release the pressure. White is in time to create more threats!} (20... Qd6 21. Nc5 $5 (21. Ng2 $5 Nc6 22. Bf4 Qb4 23. Ne3 {might be the way to play, but again it requires very delicate play from both sides.}) 21... Bxc5 22. dxc5 Qxc5 23. Rc1 Qd6 24. Qa4 {looks dangerous for Black after} c6 (24... Nc6 25. Bf4 Ne5 26. Qb3 $1 (26. Qd7 $5 {is probably just a draw after} Qxd7 27. exd7 c6 28. Bxe5 fxe5 29. Rxe5 Rad8 30. Nxg6 hxg6 31. Re7 Rf7 32. Re8+ Rf8) 26... Qxe6 27. Rxc7 { and White keeps a lasting edge.}) 25. Bb4 Qc7 26. Qa3 Rfe8 27. Bd6 Qd8 { and it's hard to believe that Black is still very much in the game! (But he is. )}) 21. Qe2 Bxb3 22. axb3 Bxd4 23. Bb4 Bc5 (23... Rfe8 $2 24. Bxe7 Rxe7 25. Nf5 ) 24. Rec1 (24. Rac1 $5 b6 25. Bxc5 bxc5 26. Nf5 {was suggested by a world champion as an alternative to keep the strong support for the pawn e6. Getting back the pawn c5 does look more natural though!}) 24... b6 25. Bxc5 (25. Rxc5 bxc5 26. Ra6 Qb7 27. Bxc5 Rfe8 {was discussed at the press conference. It also looks fairly interesting for White as his pieces dominate the board. But he can achieve more or less the same result without giving up an exchange.}) 25... bxc5 26. Ra6 Qb7 27. Rxc5 {It seemed to me that Fabiano had got the most of his position now with all his pieces in active spots.} Rfe8 (27... Qxb3 28. Nf5 Nxf5 29. gxf5 Qxh3 30. Rxd5 Kh8 31. Ra3 Qh4 32. Rg3 {looks increasingly dangerous for Black. His king is the one under attack and he can't really fight against the e6 pawn as well.}) 28. Qb5 $2 {I understand the desire from Fabiano to exchange queens and keep a lasting advantage with the timetrouble coming up. But at the same time, it reduces drastically attacking chances and goes against the philosophy of the position.} (28. Nf5 {is the obvious move to play and} Ng6 {fails to} (28... Qxb3 29. Ra3 Qb7 30. Qc2 $1) 29. Rac6 $1 Rac8 30. e7 Ne5 31. g5 $1 Nxc6 32. Qe6+ Kh8 33. gxf6 {and the attack crashes through.}) 28... Qxb5 29. Rxb5 d4 $1 {Active counterplay helps Anish a lot in this endgame.} (29... Rad8 30. Rb7 d4 31. Rxc7 d3 32. Rd7) 30. Nf5 (30. f4 Rad8 31. Nf3 d3 32. Nd2 f5 $1 {would prevent White from getting a real support for his passed pawn after} 33. gxf5 c6 34. Re5 Rd4 35. Ra4 Rd5 $1 {and the pawn f5 will irremiedably fall.}) (30. Rc5 c6 31. Nf5 d3 32. Nxe7+ Rxe7 33. Raxc6 Rae8 34. Rd6 Rxe6 35. Rxd3 {was the best chance still available but I can't believe that the great Anish wouldn't hold this position blindfolded!}) (30. Rb7 Nd5) 30... Rad8 31. Rxa7 Nxf5 (31... g6 32. Nxe7+ Rxe7 33. Rc5 d3 34. Ra1 Rxe6 35. Rd1 {would also lead to a draw but Black would even be on the better side of it.}) 32. gxf5 d3 33. Ra1 g6 {Mass simplification is en route!} 34. Rc5 Re7 35. Rd1 gxf5 36. Rc6 Rd4 37. Kg2 Kg7 38. Kf3 Kg6 39. Rc4 Rd5 40. Rc3 d2 41. Re3 Rd6 42. Re2 {and the pawns will soon enough be traded, leading to a dead draw. Another very interesting struggle in the Berlin, where the positions were just too complicated to even hope to play in a precise fashion, but both players were up to the task they were asked overall considering the amount of work they had to do.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.12"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2780"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 ({Relevant:} 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. c3 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 13. Bf4 d5 14. Bd3 g6 15. Nd2 Ng7 16. Nf3 Bf5 17. Bxf5 Nxf5 18. Qe2 c6 19. Re1 Ng7 20. Be5 Bxe5 21. Nxe5 Qd6 22. Qf3 f6 23. Nd3 Re8 24. Rxe8+ Nxe8 25. Qe3 Ng7 26. h3 Kf7 27. Qh6 Kg8 28. Qe3 Kf7 29. Qh6 Kg8 30. Qe3 Kf7 {1/2-1/2 (30) Carlsen,M (2834)-Kramnik,V (2796) Doha 2015}) 9... Ne8 10. Nd5 Bd6 11. Re1 c6 12. Ne3 Be7 13. c4 Nc7 14. d4 d5 15. cxd5 Bb4 $146 ({Predecessor (3):} 15... Nxd5 16. Nxd5 cxd5 17. Bf4 Bf6 18. Be5 Bxe5 19. Rxe5 Re8 20. Rxe8+ Qxe8 21. Qb3 Qc6 22. Bb5 Qb6 23. Qxd5 a6 24. Bd3 Be6 25. Qe4 g6 26. d5 Bf5 27. Qe2 Bxd3 28. Qxd3 Qxb2 29. Re1 Rd8 30. d6 Rd7 31. g3 Qf6 32. Rd1 Qe5 33. Qa3 a5 34. f4 Qe2 35. Qc1 Qe6 36. Qc5 b5 37. Qxb5 Rxd6 38. Qb8+ Kg7 39. Qxd6 Qe3+ 40. Kg2 Qe2+ 41. Kg1 Qe3+ 42. Kg2 Qe2+ {1/2-1/2 (42) Carlsen,M (2850)-Caruana,F (2787) London 2015}) 16. Bd2 Bxd2 17. Qxd2 Nxd5 18. Nxd5 Qxd5 19. Re5 Qd6 20. Bc4 Bd7 21. Rae1 b5 22. Bb3 a5 23. a4 bxa4 24. Bxa4 Be6 25. Rxa5 Rxa5 26. Qxa5 Qxd4 27. Bxc6 Qxb2 28. Bd5 Bxd5 29. Qxd5 Qf6 30. g3 g6 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.12"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2762"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Bf4 dxc4 6. e3 b5 7. Nxb5 Bb4+ 8. Nd2 Nd5 9. Bg3 N7b6 10. Qc2 O-O 11. Be2 Ba6 12. Nc3 c5 13. dxc5 Nxc3 $146 ({ Relevant:} 13... Bxc5 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. Bxc4 Bxc4 16. Nxc4 Rc8 17. Qb3 Bb4+ 18. Ke2 Qg5 19. Rhc1 h5 20. Ne5 Rxc1 21. Rxc1 Bd6 22. h4 Qd8 23. e4 Bxe5 24. Bxe5 Ne7 25. Rc5 Ng6 26. Bg3 Qd4 27. Rc4 Qd7 28. Rc7 Qd4 29. Qc2 Rd8 30. Rc8 Rxc8 31. Qxc8+ Kh7 32. Qc2 e5 33. Kf1 Qd8 34. Qe2 Kg8 35. Kg1 Nxh4 36. Bxe5 Qa5 37. Bg3 Ng6 38. a3 h4 39. Bd6 Qb6 40. Qd2 Qb3 41. Kh2 h3 42. gxh3 Nh4 43. Qe3 { Gelfand,B (2735)-Grachev,B (2639) Moscow 2016 1-0 (119)}) 14. bxc3 Bxc5 15. O-O Rc8 16. Rfd1 Qg5 17. Nf3 Qg6 18. Qd2 Bb5 19. Qe1 Ba4 20. Ne5 Qg5 21. Rd2 Rfd8 { Black has completely equalised and trades follow to a dead drawn position.} 22. Rxd8+ Qxd8 23. Nxc4 Nxc4 24. Bxc4 Bxe3 25. Qxe3 Rxc4 26. Rb1 (26. Qxa7 { is still equal.}) 26... Rc8 27. h3 a6 28. c4 Rxc4 29. Rb8 Rc8 30. Qb6 Rxb8 31. Qxb8 {The bishops of opposite colours endgame is completely drawn.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.12"] [Round "2"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.03.10"] {Levon Aronian has always been a tough opponent for Vishy Anand. The Armenian has had a good score against the Indian, but quite often Anand has been able to create certain brilliancies against Levon, for instanc their game at the Wijk Aan Zee 2013.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 {Anand starts off with the flexible moves Nf6 and e6. This gives him a lot of options – to play the Nimzo, QGD, Ragozin and also the Benoni if the need arises.} 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 $5 { This idea of developing the knight on d7 before the bishop on f8 is interesting. The point of this move is that the bishop can develop on e7 or b4. This keeps all options open. And as Vishy mentioned after the game: Nbd7 is transpositional in nature and gives Black many more opportunities.} 5. Bf4 { After suffering for the entire game yesterday from the black side of the QGD 5. Bf4, Aronian thinks that this is a good idea to try it as White!} dxc4 $5 (5... Be7 6. e3 O-O $1 {takes us to the main line of the 5.Bf4 QGD.}) 6. e3 {This is quite an important position and the main moves here have been ...Nb6 and ... Nd5. Even a6 has been popular. But Anand opts for the move 6... b5!? which has only been played 19 times before.} b5 {So what is the idea of this move, you may ask. Well first of all you are simply saving the pawn on c4. Hence, the logical move is to take on b5. But after} 7. Nxb5 {Black gets to develop with a tempo with the move:} Bb4+ 8. Nd2 $5 {This move has only been played once before in this particular position and only a week ago by Boris Gelfand in his game against Boris Grachev from the Aeroflot Open 2016. The height of coincidence is that when this move was made, Gelfand was sitting right besides me. He told me that this was played by him against Grachev in the Aeroflot Open 2016. I asked him whether he thinks Aronian knew the game and followed his idea. Gelfand said: "Aeroflot is a great tournament, and I am one of the top players. So it wouldn't come as a surprise if Aronian had not missed this game!"} (8. Nc3 {is the only move that has been played before by top players like Wojtaszek, Karjakin, Roiz, Gustaffson and Bu. Play might continue something like this:} Nd5 9. Rc1 N7b6 {with a complex position.}) 8... Nd5 { Vishy Anand paused for a while before making this move. Most probably recalling his analysis.} 9. Bg3 N7b6 10. Qc2 O-O 11. Be2 (11. Bxc4 Nxc4 12. Qxc4 Ba6 $19 {wouldn't be very good for White.}) 11... Ba6 12. Nc3 c5 $1 { Black is ahead in development and hence makes the right decision to open up the position.} 13. dxc5 {Until now we have been following the game between Gelfand-Grachev and through transposition we also have the game of Lenic vs Stern. At this point, however, Anand deviates and instead of directly taking on c5, he first takes on c3 and then picks up the c5 pawn.} Nxc3 14. bxc3 Bxc5 15. O-O {Both sides have castled and the opening phase is now over. Let us try to understand what's going on. The pawn on c4 gives Black space but it also limits Black's possibilities, as two of his pieces are tied down. It may look like White is slightly better, but Black is holding the balance.} Rc8 16. Rfd1 Qg5 (16... Qf6 {is also possible as} 17. Ne4 {is met with} Qf5 18. Rac1 Be7 { with an interesting position.}) 17. Nf3 Qg6 18. Qd2 Bb5 $1 {This is the key move of the entire game. It is a common idea in this structure: Black reroutes his bishop to a4 where it will be much more useful than on a6.} 19. Qe1 { Aronian made this move quite quickly, which felt as thought he was still in his home-preparation. But as he mentioned after the game, he seemed to have a deja vu feeling that he had seen this before at home, when actually it was quite possible that he hadn't. In any case this is pretty good move with the idea of meeting Ba4 with Rd2.} Ba4 20. Ne5 (20. Rd2 $6 f6 $1 {Was the important point. Hence it is neccessary to insert Ne5 before playing Rd2.}) 20... Qg5 21. Rd2 (21. Nf3 {trying to repeat the position would be incorrect as after} Qe7 22. Rd2 f6 {with the idea of e5, Black is clearly better.}) 21... Rfd8 22. Rxd8+ Qxd8 (22... Rxd8 {was also possible.} 23. Nxc4 Nxc4 24. Bxc4 $14 {Black has compensation but he will not be regaining his pawn any time soon.}) 23. Nxc4 Nxc4 24. Bxc4 Bxe3 $1 {The most clear cut way to equalize.} (24... Ba3 {is also possible but after} 25. Bb3 Bxb3 26. axb3 Bb2 27. Rxa7 $14 {White has a small edge.}) 25. Qxe3 (25. Ba6 Bd2 26. Qe4 Bc6 $1 {An important move to foresee.} 27. Qe5 Ra8 28. Rd1 Qb6 $11) 25... Rxc4 26. Rb1 Rc8 27. h3 (27. Qxa7 Bc2 28. Rc1 Rxc3 $11) 27... a6 28. c4 Rxc4 29. Rb8 Rc8 30. Qb6 Rxb8 31. Qxb8 { And rather than trying to play this pawn up endgame which would anyway end in a draw after 30 odd more moves, due to the opposite coloured bishops, Anand agreed to a draw. A wise decision considering that there is such a long event left ahead.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.12"] [Round "2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Amruta Mokal/ Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2016.03.10"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O ({Anish opted for} 5... d5 { against MVL in Tashkent 2014. The game ended in a comfortable draw. 1/2 (32)-1/ 2 (32) Vachier Lagrave,M (2757)-Giri,A (2768) Tashkent 2014}) 6. O-O d6 7. Nbd2 {Caruana had earlier gone for 7.h3 in Malmo 2012 against Giri! Four years later, both are players have become super strong and we are sure to see many more battles in the years to come.} (7. h3 Ne7 8. d4 Bb6 9. Re1 c6 10. Bd3 Ng6 11. Be3 Re8 12. Nbd2 {1-0 (41) Caruana,F (2770)-Giri,A (2693) Malmo 2012}) 7... Ne7 8. d4 exd4 9. cxd4 Bb6 10. Re1 Bg4 11. h3 Bh5 {All this was seen in the game Anand-Topalov from the first round of the Candidates 2016. Anand went 12. a4 in this position. Caruana prefers to break the pin immediately and plays Qb3.} 12. Qb3 d5 {Recently Caruana himself played this with Topalov in Sinquefeld Cup 2015 and won a nice game. Its important to note though he won with black he still chose to play this line from white. This shows that the top players analyze their games objectively and make use of any new ideas that they come across, especially in their own games.} 13. e5 Nd7 14. Qd1 {[%cal Gd1b3,Gb3d1] What's going on?!! Qd1-b3-d1? Is Caruana our of his mind? Not really! Things in the centre are settled now and the queen doesn't mind this backward move, mainly vacating the b3 square for the knight.} f6 $5 { Immediately challenging the center. As Giri said during the press conference, he thought that this line was fine for Black, but after the game he thinks that his seconds somehow had underestimated the dangers in the position.} 15. e6 Nb8 {Undeveloping moves seem to be the order of the day. However, to be fair, the knight simply didn't have a good square to go to.} 16. Nb3 {Eyeing for the c5 outpost which would force Black to part with his dark squared bishop. At the same time the route for the bishop to develop on d6 has been opened.} Qd6 (16... Nbc6 {was possible but it seems as if Anish wanted to prevent his opponent from going Bf4.}) 17. g4 Bg6 18. Nh4 Nbc6 19. Bxc6 (19. Nxg6 Nxg6 {looks fine for Black.}) (19. Ng2 {preparing Bf4 can be an option, but Black has a strong move in the form of} f5 $1 20. Bf4 Qb4 21. Bxc6 Nxc6 $11 ) 19... Qxc6 (19... bxc6 20. Ng2 {is now a clearly better position for White as Bf4 is threatened and there is no bishop to attack on b5 with Qb4.} f5 21. Bf4 Qb4 22. a3 Qa4 23. g5 $16 {Black is left without any countrplay.}) 20. Bd2 {White is ready to give up the d4 pawn in order to get good amount of piece activity.} (20. Bf4 {is natural but it always seems dangerous to put a piece where a pawn fork can happen. In this case the move g7-g5.} Bc2 21. Qd2 Bxb3 22. axb3 g5 23. Bxg5 fxg5 24. Qxg5+ Kh8 {Giri showed some blistering analysis in this position. One of the lines that was very entertaining was the following.} 25. Qe5+ Kg8 26. Nf5 Nxf5 27. gxf5 Qd6 28. f6 Qxe5 29. dxe5 $16 { [%csl Ge5,Ge6,Gf6] Anish gave us an example of four rows of pawns (32 pawns!) vs all the other pieces. Truly wonderful the kind of thing these top players like to indulge in!}) 20... Bc2 21. Qe2 Bxb3 22. axb3 Bxd4 {Although Black has won a pawn, it doesn't really matter. The pawn on e6 is a monster and the rook on a1 is also activated without any efforts. Giri has to play carefully here.} 23. Bb4 Bc5 (23... Rfe8 $2 24. Bxe7 Rxe7 25. Nf5 $18) 24. Rec1 b6 25. Bxc5 bxc5 26. Ra6 (26. Ra5 {winning the c5 pawn could have been even stronger.}) 26... Qb7 27. Rxc5 Rfe8 28. Qb5 {It was possible to play more aggressively, but Caruana had already spent a lot of his thinking time and hence decided it was safer to simplify the game.} (28. Nf5 $142 $1 Qxb3 29. Ra3 $1 (29. Rxc7 $2 Nxf5 30. gxf5 Qxh3 $11) 29... Qb4 30. Rxc7 $16) 28... Qxb5 29. Rxb5 d4 $1 {This pawn is the soul of Black's position. It will create threats and give him the necessary counterplay.} 30. Nf5 (30. f4 {looks natural.} Rad8 31. Nf3 d3 32. Nd2 {This was Vladimir Kramnik's suggestion. White threatens f5 now, so Black must do something about it.} f5 $1 33. gxf5 (33. Kf2 {looks stronger but after} Rd5 {it should nevertheless be around equal.}) 33... Rd5 34. Rxd5 Nxd5 35. Rxa7 Rf8 $11) 30... Rad8 31. Rxa7 (31. Nxe7+ Rxe7 32. Kf1 d3 33. Ke1 Rde8 34. Kd2 Rxe6 35. Rxe6 Rxe6 36. Kxd3 Rd6+ $11) 31... Nxf5 32. gxf5 d3 {Now it is just a draw.} 33. Ra1 g6 34. Rc5 Re7 35. Rd1 gxf5 36. Rc6 Rd4 37. Kg2 Kg7 38. Kf3 Kg6 39. Rc4 Rd5 40. Rc3 d2 41. Re3 Rd6 42. Re2 {An exciting game where we could have seen even more fireworks had Caruana not been under time pressure.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.12"] [Round "2"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2016.03.10"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Bg2 d5 ({ Of course} 7... c6 {is the main line, but 7...d5 is also becoming quite popular these days.}) 8. cxd5 exd5 9. O-O O-O 10. Nc3 Nbd7 11. Qc2 {Sergey makes the normal developing moves and looks forward to a complex middlegame.} Re8 12. Rfd1 Nf8 (12... Rc8 {with the idea of directly going c5 would be more appropriate.}) 13. Ne5 Bb7 14. Bc1 $5 {The bishop would be much better placed on b2.} Ne6 15. Bb2 Bd6 {The threat is Nxd4.} 16. e3 (16. Nb5 $5 Nxd4 17. Bxd4 Bxe5 18. Bxe5 Rxe5 19. Qxc7 $14) 16... a6 17. Ne2 c5 $6 {Black is absolutely not ready for this opening of the center. Firstly have a look at the white pieces. They are just perfectly situated: the bishops on long diagonals, one knight in the center, the other ready to jump to f4 to put further pressure.} ( 17... c6 {Trying to hold was the right way to proceed.}) 18. dxc5 Nxc5 (18... bxc5 19. Nc4 $1 Bc7 20. Nf4 $16) 19. Nd3 Nce4 20. Rac1 {Kramnik, who is so good at such technical positions, felt that Black must do something quickly or else he would just have to suffer with a passive and inferior position.} Rc8 21. Qb1 Qe7 22. Bd4 Rxc1 23. Rxc1 b5 24. b4 {The sad face of the bishop on b7 determines White's advantage} Nd7 25. a3 Nf8 26. Ba1 Ne6 27. Qa2 Bc7 28. Nd4 Bb6 29. h4 $5 {[#] Karjakin has things under control and he tries to gain some space on the kingside. It is true that this weakens the g3 square, but is it concretely dangerous? Nakamura thinks so and that explains his next move.} Nxg3 $4 {A huge blunder at this level. But as it is rightly said, such blunders do not happen in vaccuum. It was the sustained pressure of Karjakin that prompted Hikaru to make the mistake.} (29... Nxd4 30. Bxd4 Bxd4 31. exd4 Qf6 $14 { is slightly worse but nonetheless playable.}) 30. fxg3 Nxd4 31. Bxd4 Bxd4 32. exd4 Qe3+ {Hikaru must have ended his calculations at this point. The knight on d3 is hanging and if Nf2 then the c1-rook hangs. So White has to give back the piece. But Sergey has seen a move further.} 33. Qf2 $1 Qxd3 34. Rc7 $1 { [%cal Gc7f7,Gc7b7] A strong double attack and just like that Black loses a piece.} f5 35. Rxb7 h6 36. Bxd5+ Kh7 37. Bg2 Re2 38. Bf1 {A painful defeat for Hikaru, but still a long way to go.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.12"] [Round "2"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.03.10"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 {nine times out of ten when this line is played we can expect a draw.} Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 Ne8 10. Nd5 Bd6 11. Re1 c6 12. Ne3 Be7 13. c4 Nc7 14. d4 d5 15. cxd5 {All this has been seen in the game Areshchenko-Bacrot. Bacrot took on d5 with his knight, but Topalov improves with Bb4.} Bb4 16. Bd2 Bxd2 17. Qxd2 Nxd5 18. Nxd5 Qxd5 19. Re5 Qd6 20. Bc4 Bd7 {An accurate move connecting the rooks.} 21. Rae1 b5 22. Bb3 a5 23. a4 bxa4 24. Bxa4 Be6 25. Rxa5 Rxa5 26. Qxa5 Qxd4 27. Bxc6 Qxb2 28. Bd5 Bxd5 29. Qxd5 Qf6 30. g3 g6 {As you can see nothing really substantial happened and a draw was agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.13"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D16"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2757"] [PlyCount "127"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 e6 6. e3 c5 7. Bxc4 Nc6 8. O-O cxd4 9. exd4 Be7 10. Qe2 O-O 11. Rd1 Nb4 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Ne4 b6 15. Ne5 Bh4 ({Relevant:} 15... Be7 16. Ra3 Bb7 17. Qg4 Nd5 18. Rg3 Bg5 19. Bxd5 Bxd5 20. Nxg5 Qxg5 21. Qh3 Qf4 22. Rg4 Qf5 23. Qg3 g5 24. h4 f6 25. hxg5 fxe5 26. gxh6+ Kh8 27. dxe5 Rac8 28. Rg7 Qc2 29. Re1 Rg8 30. Qg5 Rcf8 31. Rxg8+ Rxg8 32. Qf6+ {1/2-1/2 (32) Wei,Y (2714)-Wagner,D (2583) Moscow 2016}) 16. g3 $146 ( {Predecessor (2):} 16. Ra3 Bb7 17. Rh3 Bd5 18. Nc3 Bxc4 19. Qxc4 Be7 20. Qe2 Rc8 21. Qg4 Kh7 22. Rg3 Bf6 23. Ne4 Rc7 24. h4 Qe7 25. Kh2 Nd5 26. Nxf6+ Qxf6 27. Rdd3 Ne7 28. Rgf3 Nf5 29. g3 Kg8 30. Qf4 Rd8 31. d5 Rc2 32. Nxf7 Rf8 33. dxe6 Rc5 34. b4 {1-0 (34) Tomashevsky,E (2743)-Mchedlishvili,M (2618) Reykjavik 2015}) 16... Be7 17. Nc3 Bf6 18. d5 (18. Ng4 Bb7 {may even be better for black.}) (18. a5 {This restrained move may be best.}) 18... Qc7 {This looks like good preparation from Svidler.} 19. d6 Qc5 20. Ng4 Bxc3 21. bxc3 Nc6 $11 22. Rab1 a6 23. d7 {This looks very dangerous for white but everything is under control.} Bb7 24. Bd3 Rfd8 25. Qe4 Kf8 26. Qh7 h5 $1 27. Ne3 Ne5 $1 28. Be4 Bxe4 29. Qxe4 Ra7 {White has been thoroughly outprepared and is struggling to limit the damage.} 30. Nd5 Ng4 31. Ne3 Nf6 32. Qb4 Qxb4 33. Rxb4 Nxd7 34. Rxb6 Nxb6 35. Rxd8+ Ke7 36. Rd4 a5 37. Nc4 Nd5 38. Rd3 (38. Ne3 Nxc3 39. Rc4 Nb1 40. Rc2) 38... Rc7 39. Nxa5 Nxc3 40. Kg2 Nxa4 41. Ra3 {Black has got very good winning chances but at least the pawns are all on one side which means white can resist.} Nc3 42. Nb3 g5 43. Nd2 f5 44. h3 Kf6 45. g4 Nd5 46. gxf5 Kxf5 47. Nf1 Nf4+ 48. Kg3 Rc1 (48... h4+ 49. Kh2 Kf6 {seems a better try than the game.}) 49. Ne3+ Kg6 50. Kh2 Rb1 51. Ng2 Rb2 $6 {Most likely black should keep the knights on.} (51... Ne2) 52. Nxf4+ gxf4 53. Kg1 e5 54. Ra5 Re2 55. h4 f3 56. Kh2 Rxf2+ (56... Re4 57. Kg3 Kf5 58. Ra8 Rg4+ 59. Kxf3 Rxh4) 57. Kg3 Re2 58. Kxf3 $11 Re1 59. Ra8 Rh1 60. Ke4 Rxh4+ 61. Kxe5 Rb4 62. Rg8+ Kh7 63. Rg1 Kh6 64. Kf5 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.13"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2760"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O Re8 11. Ne5 Bb7 12. Bc1 ({Relevant:} 12. Bg5 Nbd7 13. Rc1 Ba3 14. Nxd7 Qxd7 15. Bxf6 Bxc1 16. Qxc1 gxf6 17. Qh6 Qf5 18. Qd2 c5 19. dxc5 bxc5 20. Nxd5 Bxd5 21. Qxd5 Qxd5 22. Bxd5 Rad8 23. e4 f5 24. f3 Kg7 25. g4 fxg4 26. fxg4 Re7 27. Rc1 h5 28. h3 hxg4 29. hxg4 Kf6 30. Kf2 Ke5 31. Rxc5 Kf4 32. Rc6 Kxg4 33. Rf6 Kg5 34. Rf5+ Kg6 35. Ke3 Rd6 36. Kd4 Rf6 37. Rxf6+ Kxf6 38. b4 Rc7 39. a4 Rc1 40. e5+ Ke7 41. a5 Rd1+ {Sargissian,G (2702)-Tomashevsky, E (2728) Huaian 2016 1/2-1/2}) 12... Nbd7 13. Bb2 Bd6 (13... Bf8 14. f4 c5 15. e3 cxd4 16. exd4 Ne4 17. Nxe4 dxe4 18. Qe2 Nf6 19. g4 a5 20. g5 Ba6 21. Qe3 Bxf1 22. Rxf1 Nd7 23. Bxe4 Nxe5 24. fxe5 Rc8 25. Bd3 Re7 26. Qe4 g6 27. h4 Bg7 28. a4 Qd7 29. Ba3 Re6 30. Bb5 Qd8 31. Bc4 Qd7 32. Rf3 Rd8 33. Bxe6 fxe6 34. Bd6 Bf8 35. Bxf8 Rxf8 36. Rxf8+ Kxf8 37. Kf2 Qd5 38. Qe3 Ke8 39. Qd3 Kd8 40. Qc4 Kd7 41. Qb5+ Kc7 42. Qc4+ Kd7 43. Qxd5+ exd5 44. Kf3 Ke6 45. Kg4 Ke7 46. Kf4 Ke6 47. Kg4 Ke7 48. Kf4 {1/2-1/2 (48) Anton Guijarro,D (2639)-Harikrishna, P (2755) Caleta ENG 2016}) 14. Nd3 (14. Nc4 Bf8 15. Ne3 c6 16. Qc2 g6 17. Rad1 a5 18. Bh3 Ne4 19. Nxe4 Rxe4 20. Nc4 Ba6 21. Bg2 Re6 22. Ne3 Qe7 23. Rfe1 Re8 24. Bc1 Kh8 25. Bf3 Nf6 26. Ng2 Bxe2 27. Bxe2 Rxe2 28. Qxc6 Qd6 29. Qxd6 Bxd6 30. Bg5 Rxe1+ 31. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 32. Nxe1 Nd7 33. Nd3 Kg7 34. a4 Kf8 35. h4 f6 36. Bh6+ Kf7 37. Nf4 Bf8 38. Bxf8 Nxf8 39. Nxd5 Ne6 40. b4 axb4 41. Nxb4 Nxd4 42. Nd5 b5 43. a5 Nc6 44. a6 Na7 45. g4 Ke6 46. Nc7+ Kd6 47. Ne8+ Ke7 48. Nc7 Kd6 49. Ne8+ Ke5 50. Kf1 Ke6 51. Ke2 Ke7 52. Nc7 Kd6 53. Ne8+ Ke7 54. Nc7 Kd6 55. Ne8+ {1/2-1/2 (53) Kosten,A (2514)-El Gindy,E (2498) Cairo EGY 2003}) 14... a5 $146 (14... c6 {1-0 (38) Frog,I (2410)-Panush,V (2170) Moscow 1997}) 15. Rc1 c6 16. Na4 Rc8 17. e3 Ba6 18. Re1 h5 $5 {an interesting choice leading to a pawn sacrifice.} (18... Ne4 {is a safer option.}) 19. Bh3 Ng4 20. Nf4 g6 21. Bxg4 hxg4 22. Qxg4 Nf6 23. Qg5 (23. Qf3) 23... Be7 24. Nxg6 {More or less insuring perpetual check but probably not more.} (24. h4 Kg7 25. h5 Ng8 26. Qg4 g5 { is still unclear.}) 24... fxg6 25. Qxg6+ Kh8 26. Nc5 bxc5 27. dxc5 Rf8 28. Qh6+ {There is nothing better than taking the draw.} Kg8 29. Qg6+ Kh8 30. Qh6+ Kg8 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.13"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2794"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. h3 Ne7 8. d4 ({ Relevant:} 8. Re1 a6 9. Ba4 Ba7 10. d4 Ng6 11. Bc2 Re8 12. Nbd2 c5 13. d5 b5 14. b3 Bd7 15. Nf1 Qc7 16. Ne3 Bb6 17. a4 Nf4 18. Nh2 c4 19. bxc4 Ba5 20. Bd2 bxc4 21. Nhg4 Nxg4 22. hxg4 Rab8 23. Ra3 Qc5 24. Ra2 Rb7 25. g3 Nd3 26. Rf1 Reb8 27. Qe2 Rb2 28. Rxb2 Nxb2 29. Rb1 Bc7 30. Ra1 g6 31. Kg2 Bd8 32. Bc1 Qc8 33. Ra2 Nd3 34. Ba3 Bb6 35. Nxc4 Ne1+ 36. Qxe1 Qxc4 37. Rb2 Qc7 {Hou,Y (2673) -So,W (2773) Wijk aan Zee 2016 1/2-1/2}) 8... Bb6 9. Bd3 Ng6 10. Re1 Re8 11. Qc2 exd4 $146 ({Predecessor (8):} 11... c6 12. Be3 h6 13. Nbd2 Nh7 14. Bf1 Ng5 15. Rad1 Qf6 16. Nxg5 hxg5 17. dxe5 dxe5 18. Bxb6 axb6 19. Nc4 b5 20. Nd6 Rd8 21. Nxc8 Raxc8 22. Be2 Ra8 23. Rxd8+ Qxd8 24. Rd1 Qe7 25. Bg4 Rd8 26. Rd2 Kf8 27. g3 Ke8 28. Rxd8+ Qxd8 29. Qb3 Qc7 30. Qa3 Qb8 31. Qc5 Nf8 32. c4 bxc4 33. Qxc4 Nh7 34. b4 Nf6 35. Bd1 Qd6 36. Bb3 Qe6 37. Qc5 Qe7 38. Qa5 Kd7 39. Qa8 Kc7 40. Qa5+ Kb8 41. Bc2 {Areshchenko,A (2720)-L'Ami,E (2648) Antalya 2013 1/2-1/2 (68)}) 12. cxd4 c5 13. dxc5 Bxc5 14. Nc3 Be6 15. Be3 Qc8 16. Bxc5 Qxc5 17. Qd2 Ne5 18. Be2 Nxf3+ 19. Bxf3 Rad8 20. Red1 h5 21. Qd4 Qg5 22. Qd2 Qe5 23. Qe3 a6 24. Rd4 Bd7 25. Rad1 Bc6 26. g3 Re6 27. Bg2 h4 28. gxh4 Rde8 29. Bf3 (29. a3 { is the universal computer suggestion.} g6 30. Bf3 Kg7 31. Qd2 {and white has continued pressure.}) 29... a5 30. a4 Qc5 31. Qf4 Re5 32. R1d3 R8e6 33. Kh2 Qb6 34. Rd2 Qd8 35. Qg3 $6 {Allowing liquidation to a draw.} (35. h5 Nxh5 36. Bxh5 Rxh5 37. Rxd6 Rxd6 38. Qxd6 Qxd6+ 39. Rxd6 f5 {is perhaps still slightly better for white.}) 35... Bxe4 36. Bxe4 Nxe4 37. Nxe4 Rxe4 38. Rxe4 Rxe4 39. Rxd6 Qxh4 40. Qxh4 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.13"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2786"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. Nd5 e4 ({Relevant:} 6... Bc5 7. O-O d6 8. d4 Nxd4 9. Bg5 c6 10. Nxd4 cxd5 11. Nb3 dxc4 12. Nxc5 dxc5 13. Qc2 Be6 14. Bxb7 Rb8 15. Bg2 h6 16. Bd2 Nd5 17. Rad1 Qb6 18. Bxd5 Bxd5 19. Bc3 Qe6 20. Qd2 Rfd8 21. Qe3 f6 22. Qxc5 Bb7 23. Qc7 Rdc8 24. Qd7 Qc6 25. Qxc6 Bxc6 26. f3 Rd8 27. Kf2 Ba4 28. Rxd8+ Rxd8 29. Rc1 Rd1 30. Rxd1 Bxd1 31. Ke1 Ba4 32. Kf2 Bd1 33. Ke1 Ba4 34. Kf2 Bd1 {1/2-1/2 (34) Dubov,D (2661)-Khairullin,I (2653) Kaliningrad 2015}) 7. Nh4 d6 8. Nxb4 Nxb4 9. a3 Nc6 10. d3 d5 11. O-O exd3 $146 ({Predecessor:} 11... dxc4 12. dxe4 h6 13. Qc2 Be6 14. Nf5 Nd4 15. Nxd4 Qxd4 16. Rd1 Qe5 17. Bf4 Qa5 18. Qc3 Qxc3 19. bxc3 c6 20. f3 Rfd8 21. Kf2 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 Nd7 23. Be3 Rb8 24. f4 g6 25. h3 h5 26. Rh1 b6 27. Bf3 c5 28. g4 hxg4 29. hxg4 Nf8 30. f5 Bd7 31. Bf4 Re8 32. Rd1 Rc8 33. Kg3 Bc6 34. e5 Bxf3 35. Kxf3 b5 36. Rb1 a6 37. Ke4 Re8 38. Kd5 Nd7 39. Kd6 Nf8 40. Be3 Rc8 41. Bxc5 {Nitsche,W (2375)-Sirotti,C (2106) ICCF email 2010 1-0}) 12. Qxd3 $6 (12. exd3) (12. cxd5) 12... Ne5 13. Qd4 $6 (13. Qc2 Nxc4 14. e4 {is still around equal.}) 13... Nxc4 14. e4 (14. Bg5) 14... Be6 15. b3 Na5 16. Qa4 Nc6 (16... c6) 17. Rd1 $2 {After this white is in serious trouble.} (17. exd5 Nxd5 18. Bb2 Nb6 19. Qb5 {and the most likely result is a draw.}) 17... Nxe4 18. Bb2 Qe7 19. b4 a6 20. Qc2 f6 21. Rac1 Rad8 22. Bf1 Rd7 23. f3 Nd6 24. Re1 Qf7 25. Bd3 g5 26. Ng2 Nc4 (26... d4 {is even stronger according to the computer.}) 27. f4 Nxb2 28. Qxb2 Bh3 (28... gxf4 29. Nxf4 Ne5) 29. a4 (29. Bxa6 Nxb4 30. Be2) 29... h6 30. b5 axb5 31. axb5 Ne7 32. Qf2 Nf5 33. Qf3 (33. Ne3 {had to be tried.}) 33... Kg7 34. Kh1 Re7 35. Rxe7 Qxe7 36. Qh5 (36. Qxd5 Rd8 37. Qe4 {was again more resistant.}) 36... Bxg2+ 37. Kxg2 Ne3+ {Now black is clearly winning.} 38. Kg1 f5 (38... Ng4 $1 {is more precise.}) 39. Qe2 Rf6 40. Qb2 gxf4 41. gxf4 Kh7 42. Kh1 Qg7 43. Qe2 d4 44. Qf3 c6 45. bxc6 bxc6 46. h3 Rg6 47. Rb1 Rg3 48. Qh5 Qd7 49. Kh2 Rg2+ 50. Kh1 Qd5 0-1 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow, Russia"] [Date "2016.03.13"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Topalov, Veselin (BUL)"] [Black "Aronian, Levon (ARM)"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2786"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {[Annotations by IM Danny Rensch] In perhaps our most lopsided match of the Candidates' so far, Veselin Topalov managed to be almsot clearly worse with White before move 15, and practically lost by move 20. But don't give Topa all the credit for his loss, Aronian is showing to have come to Moscow with excellent preparation and even better technical form. He never let Topalov's *potential* compensation of the bishop pair amount to anything, and showed extremely accurate play throughout.} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. Nd5 e4 7. Nh4 {All regular theory until the interesting move...} d6 $5 {Though not officially a novelty, the more common 7...Re8 had been played by almost all top grandmasters until now. Hindsight being 20/20, it makes me wonder why Black hadn't been more willing to gamble on this idea before. The Armenian shows a "kind of" (using Dr. Evil quotation fingers) obvious path of bringing the knight back from b4 to c6 and to e5 to target the c4-pawn. The Bulgarian seemed completely thrown by the entire idea, launches a dubious pawn sacrifice and never recovers.} ({Played by too many strong grandmasters to list them all is} 7... Re8) 8. Nxb4 ({Maybe} 8. a3 Bc5 { followed by either castling or 9.b4 would have been the safer choice for White. But we see Aronian's move order (i.e., the early d6-pawn push) used effectively to devlop the light squared bishop in lines like} 9. O-O Bg4 $5 ({ Maybe possible is} 9... Be6 10. Nxf6+ Qxf6 11. Bxe4 Bxc4 {But after} 12. Bxh7+ Kxh7 13. Qc2+ Kg8 14. Qxc4 Rae8 15. Qg4 {I'm not sure Black has enough compensation for the pawn. Admittedly however, I'm not sure the best moves were chosen for either side in this line. Me and Komodo at only a couple minutes pause on each move are not nearly enough to contend with hours of preparation with stronger engines by the world's best ;)}) 10. Nxf6+ Qxf6 11. Bxe4 Nd4 {with unclear and weird compensation for Black.}) ({As Topalov noted afterward, the main line goes} 8. O-O g5 9. d4 $1 h6 (9... gxh4 $2 10. Bg5) 10. Nxb4 Nxb4 11. f3 gxh4 12. Bxh6 hxg3 13. hxg3 e3 14. Bxe3 Nh7 {as in Aigner,M (2604)-Lowrance,W (2537) corr. 2010}) 8... Nxb4 9. a3 Nc6 ({Played before but leading to a slight edge for White was} 9... Na6 10. d3 exd3 11. Qxd3 Nc5 12. Qc2 a5 13. Be3 {and White was slightly better in McNab,C (2423)-Minasian,A (2557) Cappelle la Grande FRA 2003.}) 10. d3 {The principled move given how White plays in this position normally (White wants to open the diagonal, clearly).} d5 11. O-O (11. dxe4 dxe4 12. Qxd8 Rxd8 13. Bg5 Nd4 {offers White nothing.}) 11... exd3 {And here I get the feeling that Aronian's preparation had already taken hold of Topalov. Not only because of how the players had managed their time until this point, but Topalov's decision to sacrifice the c-pawn yields way too little for White to believe it was preparation from the Bulgarian.} 12. Qxd3 $6 ({Even if it doesn't make you happy as White to know Black has equalized easily here, this move} 12. exd3 {was a must. Play might have continued} dxc4 (12... Be6 {maintaining tension might be a good try for Black too.}) ({while} 12... Bg4 {could have also posed some irritating questions to White.}) 13. dxc4 Qxd1 14. Rxd1 Bg4 15. Bf3 Bxf3 16. Nxf3 Na5 { with a roughly equal endgame ahead.}) 12... Ne5 13. Qd4 $6 ({As it turns out} 13. Qc2 {might have been a better way to sacrifice the pawn. After} Nxc4 14. e4 {White can immediately begin trying to undermine Black's center, but without the awkward difficulties of the misplaced queen on d4. Tactics prove the queen to not be ideal on the dark-square in the long run. Though noted should be that I still think it is White who must justify something for the pawn here after both 14...Be6 and 14.. .Re8 for Black.}) 13... Nxc4 14. e4 Be6 {Black seems to be holding a slight edge and extra pawn comfortably in all lines now.} 15. b3 Na5 ({A computer suggested move and surpising pawn sac was also possible for Black here. After} 15... c5 $5 16. Qxc5 Na5 {Black threatens forks on b3 and to take on e4.} 17. Rb1 (17. exd5 Nxb3 18. Qb4 Bxd5 19. Rb1 ( 19. Rd1 Nxa1 {is just winning too much material.}) 19... Bxg2 20. Kxg2 Nxc1 21. Rbxc1 {and that's a healthy pawn advantage on the queenside.}) 17... dxe4 { also a healthy pawn advantage, though this time in the center.}) 16. Qa4 { Though it was likely played because of a miscaluclation regarding 17...Nxe4! (see continuation of game to understand), with this final misplacement of the queen to the edge of the board, I'm not sure Topalov ever had a viable chance to get back in the game. It was strange to see this move given that the whole purpose of keeping the queen on d4 was to have a potential dark-squared battery (or so I thought) on the long diagonal a1-h8, but Topalov chose against the more natural 16.Qc3 anyway.} (16. Qc3 {threatens the knight on a5 and after} c6 17. Rd1 Re8 18. Bd2 (18. Bg5 $2 Nxe4) 18... b6 19. Qb2 {followed by Bc3, White may have more compensation with the dark-square diagonal battery than he ever found in the game.}) 16... Nc6 ({According to Aronian better than } 16... c5 17. b4) 17. Rd1 $2 {Topalov completely misses Black's trick.} (17. exd5 Nxd5 18. Bb2 {with some compensation. "Compared to the game it's much, much better." (Topalov)}) 17... Nxe4 $1 {And suddenly, Black has two pawns. Topalov must have miscalulated 18.Bxe4 when he first went for this line, underestimating the response of 18... Qf6.} 18. Bb2 (18. Bxe4 Qf6 {And Black holds everything.} 19. Bxh7+ (19. Rb1 dxe4 20. Qxe4 Rad8 {shows Black up a pawn and with dangerous potential against the kingside light-squares.}) 19... Kxh7 20. Be3 {Is not enough for White to feel good anyway, but Black might even have great attacking chances right away with the aggressive} g5 {and either push d4 and try to expose f3 with a knight from c6 jump, or maybe even a slide of the king to the g-file and rook battery against h2?}) 18... Qe7 { From here we see a position with two extra pawns for Black (which means lines where we constantly consider White capturing on e4 with the light-squared bishop to win back one pawn are just never going to be enough for White to feel good) and White is desperately trying to create threats for his dark-squared bishop along the long diagonal.} 19. b4 a6 20. Qc2 f6 {Nothing like making a dangerous bishop chew on some granite... I mean a pawn!} 21. Rac1 Rad8 22. Bf1 Rd7 ({Topalov was more afraid of} 22... Ne5) 23. f3 Nd6 24. Re1 ({ Aronian suggested} 24. Bd3 g5 25. Ng2 {but the computer likes Black after} Ne5) 24... Qf7 25. Bd3 g5 $1 {A key point that Aronian does not shy away from aggressive moves.} 26. Ng2 Nc4 {Following 25.g5 with this knight jump to exterminate the dangerous dark-squared bishop was really the end of the game, by all practical accounts. Whether computers think it was the best plan for Black, or that he played the best moves from here on out, is irrelevant. From a human perspective, Black eliminated all of White's hopes when he took away the dangerous bishop.} 27. f4 Nxb2 28. Qxb2 Bh3 29. a4 h6 ({I'm not sure why} 29... Bxg2 {was the simplest way to victory?} 30. Kxg2 gxf4 31. gxf4 Kh8 { and using the g-file seems likek fun!}) 30. b5 axb5 31. axb5 Ne7 32. Qf2 Nf5 33. Qf3 Kg7 34. Kh1 {And now, I'm not going to be too critical of any moves played. The truth is that once White's dark-squared bishop was traded, Black's goal to "just keep swimming" and trade pieces was really unstoppable.} Re7 35. Rxe7 Qxe7 36. Qh5 Bxg2+ 37. Kxg2 Ne3+ 38. Kg1 f5 $6 {Not only did this move miss a very nice way to end the game (see note to 38...Ng4) but it *might* have given Topalov some last second drawing chances if he had spoted the potential for a rook sacrifice! Time trouble notwithstanding, of course.} ({ Aronian thought that} 38... Ng4 $1 {was wrong because of} 39. Qg6+ Kh8 40. Kg2 {but here Black goes} f5 $1 ({Aronian had only seen} 40... Rg8 $2 41. Re1) 41. h3 Rf6 42. Qh5 Ne3+ 43. Kh1 gxf4 44. gxf4 d4 {with a winning position.}) 39. Qe2 (39. fxg5 hxg5 40. Rxc7 {might have given us some fireworks to end the game!} Qxc7 41. Qxg5+ Kf7 42. Qxe3 {Where though still winning, Black now has to be careful of his open king. Topalov only mentioned this briefly and added "this shouldn't be enough."}) 39... Rf6 40. Qb2 gxf4 41. gxf4 ({Topalov briefly looked at} 41. Qd4 fxg3 42. Re1 {but then simply} gxh2+ 43. Kh1 f4) 41... Kh7 42. Kh1 Qg7 {Is finally, all she wrote.} 43. Qe2 d4 44. Qf3 c6 45. bxc6 bxc6 46. h3 Rg6 47. Rb1 Rg3 48. Qh5 Qd7 49. Kh2 Rg2+ 50. Kh1 Qd5 0-1 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.13"] [Round "3"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D16"] [Annotator "MVL"] [PlyCount "127"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2016.03.13"] {[Annotations by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 e6 {Peter repeats this solid line of the Slav that had brought him a comfortable draw in the first game. Of course, Hikaru was aware of this option and had prepared accordingly.} 6. e3 c5 7. Bxc4 Nc6 8. O-O cxd4 9. exd4 {The main and sharpest line.} (9. Nxd4 Bd7 {was seen in Karjakin-Svidler.}) 9... Be7 10. Qe2 O-O 11. Rd1 Nb4 12. Bg5 (12. Ne5 Bd7 13. Be3 Bc6 14. a5 a6 15. Nxc6 bxc6 {Nakamura,H (2774) -Gashimov,V (2746)/Monte Carlo 2011 was Hikaru's previous try in this line, but it looks rather comfortable for Black as his knights have great outposts at their disposal.}) 12... h6 13. Bxf6 (13. Bh4 Bd7 14. Ne5 Be8 15. a5 Nfd5 16. Bg3 Rc8 {was seen in the recent Anand-Vajda game from Gibraltar. White stands minimally better but Black's position is extremely solid.}) 13... Bxf6 14. Ne4 b6 15. Ne5 Bh4 $5 (15... Bb7 16. Nxf6+ Qxf6 17. Nd7 {was White's idea in this line. He keeps a lasting pressure no matter what:} Qg6 (17... Qg5 18. f4 Qxf4 19. Nxf8 Rxf8 {looks very difficult to break though. But an exchange up is a lot to ask for these days!}) 18. d5 $1 Rfe8 19. Ne5 Qg5 20. Nf3 Qg6 21. dxe6 fxe6 22. g3 {This is also no big deal but White keeps a lasting advantage. I'm sure Peter in his home preparation preferred concrete lines, even if he might be on the edge at some point, if he could solve all his problems at the end of the day.}) ({Svidler pointed out that the immediate} 15... Be7 {might run into} 16. Ra3 {and the rook can switch to the kingside.}) 16. g3 {A logical novelty, and Peter was definitely expecting it.} (16. Ra3 Bb7 17. Rh3 (17. Rf3 Nd5 {and there's no way to put more pressure on the pawn f7.}) 17... Nd5 {was White's previous try, but despite adding another piece to a dangerous-looking attack, Black seems to hold everything together:} (17... Bd5 18. Nc3 Bxc4 19. Qxc4 Be7 20. Qe2 Rc8 { was Tomashevsky,E (2743)-Mchedlishvili,M (2618) Reykjavik 2015}) 18. g3 (18. Qg4 Bg5 $1) 18... Be7 19. Ng4 (19. Qg4 Bg5 {again stops any attacking try :} 20. Rh5 f5 21. Qh3 Be7 {with a comfortable position.}) 19... Nf6 20. Nexf6+ Bxf6 21. d5 Bxd5 $1 ({He has to be careful though as} 21... exd5 22. Rxh6 $1 { would be unpleasant as Black can't take the rook.} gxh6 $2 23. Nxh6+ Kg7 24. Nf5+ Kg8 25. Qg4+ Bg5 26. h4) 22. Rh5 Qe7 23. Bxd5 exd5 24. Qxe7 Bxe7 25. Rhxd5 Rfe8 {And Black holds easily as long as he keeps both rooks to induce active counterplay. Otherwise things could get a bit tricky on the queenside.}) 16... Be7 17. Nc3 (17. Qh5 {This direct approach doesn't bring any joy after} Bb7 18. Nxf7 Rxf7 19. Bxe6 Bxe4 20. Bxf7+ (20. Re1 Kh8 {transposes}) (20. Qxf7+ Kh8 21. Re1 Bh7 22. Bf5 Bf6 {gives easy play as he still has the essential d5 square under good control.}) 20... Kh8 21. Re1 $1 Qxd4 {and he gets his counterplay just in time to hold!} 22. Qg4 (22. Rad1 Nd3 23. Rxe4 $1 Qxf2+ $1 (23... Qxe4 $2 24. Bd5) 24. Kh1 Qc2 25. Rxe7 Nf2+ 26. Kg1 Nxd1 {with a likely draw after} 27. Qe2 Qc5+ $1 28. Kg2 Rf8) 22... Nd3 23. Qxe4 Qxf2+ 24. Kh1 Qxe1+ $1 25. Rxe1 Nf2+ {with a draw.}) 17... Bf6 (17... Bb7 $6 {would be premature. Now White gets his thematic idea with great effect after} 18. a5 $1 bxa5 19. Nxf7 Rxf7 20. Qxe6 Qf8 21. Rxa5 {Now we get the point behind the intermediary move a5, as the rook gets very active and might cause a lot of problems soon enough.}) 18. d5 Qc7 19. d6 (19. Nxf7 {is an interesting attempt, but it also looks clear that Black should have everything under control :} Rxf7 (19... Qxf7 20. dxe6 Qe7 21. Ne4 {And a complicated line ensues, but White's activity and passed pawn are just enough to compensate for the material :} Kh8 (21... Be5 $6 22. Nd6 Bxd6 23. Rxd6 Ba6 24. Rad1 Bxc4 25. Qxc4 {Would be very dangerous as Rd7 is next.}) 22. Nd6 Bb7 23. Rac1 Bc6 24. Nf5 Qc5 25. Bd5 Qa5 26. Rxc6 Nxc6 27. e7 Nxe7 28. Nxe7 Bxe7 29. Bxa8 Rxa8 30. Qxe7 Qxa4 {simplifies to a draw.}) 20. dxe6 Re7 21. Ne4 Bxb2 $1 {the simplest way out of this mess. Now a lot of material gets exchanged and} 22. Rab1 Bxe6 23. Bxe6+ Rxe6 24. Rxb2 a5 {is close enough to equality in my opinion.}) 19... Qc5 20. Ng4 Bxc3 21. bxc3 Nc6 $1 {Peter was still playing at lightning speed and no doubt had this position on his computer.} (21... Nd5 {would be very wrong as White's attack suddenly gets very dangerous!} 22. Rd4 $1 {Threatening rook lifts!} Rd8 (22... Qxd6 23. Nxh6+ $1 gxh6 24. Qh5 Kh7 25. Rh4 {is simply lost.}) 23. Qd2 Rxd6 24. Bf1 $1 { and it is impossible to prevent c4. Black is in big trouble after for instance} Rc6 25. c4 Ne7 26. Rd8+ Kh7 27. Bg2) 22. Rab1 a6 23. d7 (23. Bd3 {Might have been the most critical test of Black's play. But after} f5 24. Ne3 Rd8 { the passed pawn is under good control and things don't look too bad for Black.} ) 23... Bb7 24. Bd3 Rfd8 25. Qe4 (25. Qe3 Qxe3 26. fxe3 h5 $1 {Getting the control of the e5 square ensures Black a draw.} 27. Rxb6 Ra7 28. Be4 (28. Nf2 Ne5 29. Be2 Bf3) 28... hxg4 29. Bxc6 Bxc6 30. Rxc6 Rdxd7 31. Rxd7 Rxd7 32. Rxa6 Rd1+ 33. Kf2 Rd2+ {with an easy draw.}) 25... Kf8 {Getting the king out of the fire.} 26. Qh7 {This is too direct and backfires badly. Considering that Peter was still clearly in known territory, it might have been wiser to keeps things under control. [Funnily enough, this move was not among White's top two options in Svidler's files, and so he knew this was not the best move but he needed to figure out at the board why. - PD]} (26. Be2 Rab8 $1 (26... Ra7 27. Qh7 h5 (27... Ne7 $2 28. Nxh6 gxh6 29. Qxh6+ Kg8 30. Bd3 Nf5 31. Qg5+ {would win the rook (and more) now.}) 28. Ne3 Ne7 29. Qxh5 {with a good advantage.}) 27. Qh7 h5 (27... Ne7 {looks very dangerous but might hold by a thread. It could follow} 28. Nxh6 gxh6 29. Qxh6+ Kg8 30. Bd3 (30. Rb4 Ng6 31. Rg4 Qc6) 30... Nf5 31. Qg5+ Kf8 32. Bxf5 Qc6 33. Qh6+ Ke7 34. Qh4+ Kf8 35. Qb4+ Kg8 { with just enough threats to make a draw. [Amazingly, Svidler showed this at the press conference, showing how deep he had prepared. - PD]}) 28. Ne3 Ne7 29. Qh8+ Ng8 30. Qxh5 (30. Bf1 Qc6 (30... Bc6 $6 31. Rd4 $1 Rxd7 (31... b5 32. axb5 axb5 33. Rbd1 Rb7 34. Bd3 {is very dangerous as well.}) 32. Rc4 Qd6 33. Qxh5 { leads to a difficult position and shows how precise Black needs to be in this position - but that's only logical with a threatening passed pawn and a queen on the king's heels!}) 31. Bg2 Qc5 {and the pawn d7 will fall at some point.}) 30... Qxh5 31. Bxh5 Nf6 32. Rxb6 Nxh5 33. Nc4 {and despite the dangerous passed pawn, Black has just enough material to hold the balance :} Bd5 34. Rxb8 Rxb8 35. Ne5 Rd8 36. c4 Ba8 37. c5 Nf6 38. c6 Bxc6 39. Nxc6 Rxd7 {with a draw.} ) 26... h5 $1 (26... f5 27. Nxh6 gxh6 28. Qxh6+ Kf7 29. Be2 {Svidler}) 27. Ne3 (27. Qh8+ {would be a naive attempt :} Ke7 28. Qxg7 hxg4 29. Be4 Rg8 {and there's no attack whatsoever.}) 27... Ne5 28. Be4 (28. Be2 Qc6 {looks worse than it is, but White is still in trouble after the forced line} 29. f3 Nxf3+ 30. Kf2 Ng5 31. Qh8+ Ke7 32. Qxg7 Ne4+ 33. Kg1 Qxc3 34. Qh6 b5) (28. Qh8+ Ke7 29. Qxg7 Nxd3 30. Rxd3 Be4 31. Rbd1 Bxd3 32. Rxd3 Rg8 (32... Ra7 33. Nd5+ exd5 34. Qe5+ Kf8 35. Re3) 33. Qh7 Rad8 {Svidler}) 28... Bxe4 29. Qxe4 Ra7 {The d7 pawn falls, and now Hikaru tries to simplify the position to make his defensive task easier.} 30. Nd5 $1 Ng4 $1 {I like this move very much as keeping the knights on the board often improves Black's winning chances} (30... Raxd7 31. Qxe5 Rxd5 32. Rxd5 Rxd5 33. Qb8+ Ke7 34. Rxb6 (34. Qb7+ Kf6 35. Qxa6 Rd2 36. Qxb6 $2 Rd1+ 37. Kg2 Qd5+ 38. f3 Rd2+ 39. Kg1 Qxf3 {Nakamura}) 34... Qc4 (34... Rd1+ 35. Kg2 Qd5+ 36. Kh3 Qf5+ 37. Kg2 Qe4+ 38. Kh3) 35. h4 { and Peter would end up being a pawn up but Hikaru would keep decent drawing chances.}) 31. Ne3 Nf6 (31... Nxe3 32. Qxe3 Qxe3 (32... Raxd7 33. Qxc5+ bxc5 34. Rxd7 Rxd7 35. Rb6) 33. fxe3 Raxd7 34. Rxd7 Rxd7 35. Rxb6 Rd3 36. c4 Rxe3 37. Rxa6 {should be a draw (Svidler).}) 32. Qb4 Qxb4 33. Rxb4 Nxd7 $1 (33... Raxd7 34. Rdb1 {would lose the b-pawn.}) 34. Rxb6 Nxb6 35. Rxd8+ Ke7 36. Rd4 a5 {Black is not a pawn up yet but a4 and c3 are too weak to hope to keep both of them.} (36... Rc7 $5 37. Rb4 Nd7 38. Nc4 Rc5 39. a5 g5 {Svidler/Nakamura}) 37. Nc4 $1 Nd5 ({Of course not} 37... Nxa4 38. Ne5 $1 Nxc3 39. Nc6+ Kf6 40. Rc4 { and White wins a piece.}) 38. Rd3 Rc7 (38... Kd7 39. Nxa5 Rxa5 40. c4 Kd6 41. cxd5 exd5 42. Ra3 Kc5 43. Rc3+ {Svidler}) 39. Nxa5 Nxc3 40. Kg2 Nxa4 {These typical 4 vs 3 on the same side endgames are in general drawish when there is only one set of pieces remaining. With two sets remaining, Black's winning chances improve considerably as coordinating the rook and the knight could create unpleasant threats on white's pawns, f2 specifically!} 41. Ra3 (41. h4 { Would have been my instinctive choice to hinder Black's progression on the kingside. Immediate agression on the kingside wouldn't work too well :} Rc2 42. Ra3 $1 Nb2 (42... Nc5 43. Nc6+ Kd6 44. Nb4) 43. Ra2 Nd3 44. Rxc2 Ne1+ {and White's task should be easier (I didn't say easy)}) 41... Nc3 42. Nb3 g5 43. Nd2 f5 44. h3 Kf6 ({Peter definitely didn't expect Hikaru's answer or he might have started with} 44... Nd5) 45. g4 $1 {I like this risky-looking move as otherwise, Peter would have played Nd5 and h4 with a terribly unpleasant position to defend. The f4 square looks very juicy for the knight!} (45. Ra6 Rd7) 45... Nd5 46. gxf5 Kxf5 {[Svidler spent 25 minutes on this move. - PD]} ( 46... Rc2 47. Ne4+ Kxf5 48. Ng3+ Kg6 49. Ne4 Nf4+ 50. Kg3 h4+ 51. Kh2 Kf5 52. Re3 e5 53. Nd6+ Kf6 54. Ne4+ {Svidler}) 47. Nf1 $1 {Getting the knight to the right place.} ({Nakamura didn't like} 47. Nf3 Kf6 48. Ra5 Rc2) 47... Nf4+ 48. Kg3 Rc1 49. Ne3+ Kg6 50. Kh2 ({The direct attempt at simplifyingthe position even more} 50. h4 Ne2+ 51. Kg2 gxh4 52. Ra4 e5 53. Rxh4 Nf4+ 54. Kf3 Kg5 55. Rh2 {probably didn't appeal to Hikaru, not without reason. Still} h4 56. Ke4 { might be enough to hold.}) 50... Rb1 51. Ng2 (51. Ra2 Rb3) 51... Rb2 ({Maybe} 51... Ne2 {to keep the knights on the board?}) 52. Nxf4+ gxf4 {As far as I understand, this endgame should be a draw. I was taught Black's best attempt would be to bring his pawns to h4, e4 and f3, if he can manage (it's actually unclear he can, but for educational purposes, let's assume so). For instance :} 53. Kg1 (53. Kg2 e5 54. Ra6+ Kg5 55. Ra5 Kf5 56. Kf3 Rb3+ 57. Kg2 h4 58. Ra1 f3+ 59. Kh2 Rb2 60. Kg1 e4 61. Ra5+ Kf4 {and now} 62. Ra3 $1 Rb1+ (62... Ke5 63. Ra1 Kd4 64. Kf1 {and White is probably just in time to hold things together.}) 63. Kh2 Rf1 (63... Rb8 64. Kg1 Rg8+ 65. Kf1 Rc8 66. Kg1 {and Black doesn't make any progress.}) 64. Rxf3+ {is the main defensive resource. Note that Black's king must be under check as otherwise Rh1+! with a winning pawn endgame would follow.}) 53... e5 (53... Kf5 $1 {would have been more precise. [Nakamura thought it might be winning after} 54. f3 h4 55. Ra4 e5 56. Ra8 Ke6 { and in the analysis the players looked at} 57. Rh8 (57. Ra5 Kd6) 57... Kd5 58. Rxh4 Kd4 59. Rh5 e4 60. fxe4 Ke3 61. Rf5 f3 {but missed that} 62. e5 {holds here. - PD]}) 54. Ra5 (54. h4 Kf5 55. f3 {And White seems to be in time to either develop his counterplay on Black's pawns, or simply cut the king. Thus it doesn't matter so much that his own king is cut!} Ke6 56. Ra5 Kd6 57. Kf1 Rc2 58. Kg1 Rc5 59. Ra8 Kd5 60. Rd8+ Kc4 61. Kf2 {with a very likely hold.}) 54... Re2 (54... Kf5 {again.}) (54... e4 55. h4 {Svidler}) 55. h4 {Now this resource is even more efficient!} f3 (55... Kf5 56. f3 Ke6 57. Ra6+ Kd5 58. Ra5+ Kd4 59. Ra4+ Kc3 60. Ra3+ {and the king goes too far from the kingside if he wants to escape the checks.}) 56. Kh2 {And things finally peter out to a draw. I'm sure Peter could have posed a lot more technical problems to Hikaru, but he probably didn't take into account the fact that Hikaru wouldn't be defending all passively and would take all his chances at easying his task, so all in all a great defensive display!} Rxf2+ 57. Kg3 Re2 58. Kxf3 Re1 59. Ra8 Rh1 60. Ke4 Rxh4+ 61. Kxe5 Rb4 62. Rg8+ Kh7 63. Rg1 Kh6 64. Kf5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow, Russia"] [Date "2016.03.13"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Giri, Anish (NED)"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey (RUS)"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {[Annotations by IM Danny Rensch]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 {The Russian decides he liked the way his American opponent played the opening last round...} 7. Nc3 {But Giri is apparently not interested in testing Karjakin's improvement on Nakamura's play.} d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O Re8 11. Ne5 ({Note however that if we had seen} 11. Qc2 {then we could have had a direct transposition to Karjakin-Nakamura from round 2 after} Nbd7) 11... Bb7 12. Bc1 {And though we can't officially refer to this as a novelty, this move represents a move order that is used very seldomly. The much more common 12. Rc1 has been played by almost all top grandmasters before Giri's choice for the relocation of his dark-squared bishop appeared on the board.} (12. Rc1 {leaves Black with two main choices} Nbd7 {which seems most typical of this variation of the Queen's Indian Defense.} ({And} 12... Na6 {which was tried successfully by Kramnik in his game with Titled Tuesday regular and German grandmaster, Georg Meier.} 13. Bf4 h6 14. Nb5 Bf8 15. Bh3 c5 16. a3 Ne4 17. Rc2 g6 18. Qc1 g5 {Meier,G (2656)-Kramnik,V (2781) Dortmund GER 2011})) 12... Nbd7 13. Bb2 Bd6 {However now we have transposed back into common positions until} 14. Nd3 $5 {this interesting retreat.} ({Played more often is} 14. f4) ({And also interesting and common (as an idea to exploit the pin on the long diagonal) is} 14. Nc4) 14... a5 15. Rc1 c6 16. Na4 {And finally, no new games found (for realzies this time everyone :P). But this position seems anything but a far stretch for the imagination of the regular Queen's Indian player.} Rc8 17. e3 Ba6 18. Re1 h5 {Wow! No more normal roads traveled for Karjakin! He's ready to mix it up and potentially earn his second point in a row from a Queen's Indian.} 19. Bh3 Ng4 $5 {But as much as we like the Cowboy Spirit shown from Sergey, there's no way we can approve of this move!? Right? Wait until you see what was likely his preparation below to meet 20.f3 ;)} (19... Bxd3 20. Qxd3) ({Seemingly necessary to keep the balance was to follow through with his renegade h-pawn and sac it!} 19... h4 20. Ne5 (20. gxh4 $2 {might be biting off more than White can chew after} Bxd3 $1 21. Qxd3 Ne4 {and Black's pieces are jumping to the kingside.}) 20... hxg3 21. hxg3 { and things are about equal (which is my lazy man's way of saying "unclear" :P) .}) 20. Nf4 {Maybe indeed the best move given what analysis seems to show of 20.f3 for White.} ({OK! I let Komodo think long enough to justify my opinion: How was this move} 20. f3 {not played? Seems to really bring the heat to Black's awkward knights and exposed h3-c8 diagonal? Right? But guess what? This was ALL preparation from Karjakin! How do I know, a serious "horizon effect" occurs after the moves} Nxe3 {forced.} ({If} 20... Bxd3 21. Qxd3 Ngf6 { at the very least we look at this position as White having the bishop pair and a SUPER easy edge to play on with. And maybe White has immediate tactics coming to Black with an e4-pawn push soon?}) (20... Ngf6 21. Ne5 {and White is clearly better... maybe almost winning. The c6-pawn is under fire, and Black's last few knight and pawn-h5 moves seem silly.}) 21. Qd2 {Seems to be trapping the knight and winning material.} Bxd3 {is met by} 22. Bxd7 {intermizzo! Removing protection of the b6-pawn, and convincing me at first that Giri miscalculated, but after...} Qxd7 23. Qxd3 h4 $1 (23... Nf5 24. Nxb6 {and White is winning.}) 24. Rxe3 hxg3 25. hxg3 Bxg3 {Black actually has some serious compensation. I'm not announcing mate, but the knight on a4 and Black's clear threats of Qh3 and rooks to the e-file make White's life really hard. Don't believe me? Turn on your engines ;)} 26. Rxe8+ Rxe8 27. Kg2 Re6 $1 28. Kxg3 Qd6+ 29. f4 Qe7 $1 30. Kf3 Qh4 {with an attack.}) 20... g6 21. Bxg4 hxg4 22. Qxg4 {But what this position really prepped by the Russian? Black is down a pawn and White might be getting an attack on the kingside? However, it seems the unavoidable truth is yes. Black intends to find compensation on the light-squares (long term), by remaneuvering the pieces to the kingside while the knight on a4 remains lonely, while White's attack, as was proven by Giri, leads to nothing more than a draw.} Nf6 23. Qg5 Be7 {Threats of discoveres by the knight are in the air.} 24. Nxg6 (24. Qh6 {Might have just been met by} Bf8 25. Qg5 (25. Qh3 Bd6 {And my evaluation remains unclear all the same. Black has the bishop pair, plans to remaneuver pieces to the kingside (maybe starting with ...Rc7 and ...Bc8) and White's knight on a4 isn't a happy pony.}) 25... Be7 26. Qh6 Bf8 {with a "Tickle Me Elmo" repetition draw?}) 24... fxg6 25. Qxg6+ Kh8 {And because of all the reasons for compensation we've listed for Black, Giri decides to force the draw with} 26. Nc5 $5 (26. Qh6+ {Might have also led to a draw.}) 26... bxc5 27. dxc5 Rf8 28. Qh6+ Kg8 29. Qg6+ Kh8 30. Qh6+ Kg8 {Maybe my favorite "preparation leads to an exciting draw" I've reviewed in some time.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow, Russia"] [Date "2016.03.13"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Anand, V."] [Black "Caruana, F."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2794"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {[Annotations by IM Danny Rensch]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 { Vishy Anand proving at this point that he has an addiction. Remember Vishy, the first step is admitting you have a problem ;) - Jokes aside for those who don't know, this line has now been played twice by him at the Candidates', and many times before that.} Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. h3 {Original territory! For the Candidates', that is...} ({Of course} 7. Nbd2 {was the former world champion's choice agaisnt Topalov in round 1, as well as his current opponent's choice as White against Anish Giri in round 2.}) 7... Ne7 8. d4 Bb6 9. Bd3 Ng6 10. Re1 Re8 11. Qc2 {Note the "night and day" difference between White's approach here vs the lines that allow 7...Bg4 (i.e., the 7.Nbd2 we've seen already in Moscow): White is preparing for the tension on e5-d4 to break, and hoping for the queen and bishop battery on the b1-h7 diagonal to prove useful. Black will attempt to liquify white's dark-square control (and threats of an e5-pawn push) but at the cost of an isolated d6-pawn.} exd4 {First original move.} ({Tried by Vishy himself against Adams a couple years ago was} 11... c6 {followed by} 12. Be3 d5 {where in an interesting position, Anand had to defend off Mickey's attack. Likely Carauna was happy not to repeat Anand's approach with 11...c6.} 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Rxe5 15. Bxb6 axb6 16. f4 Rh5 17. e5 Nd7 18. Qe2 Rh4 {Adams,M (2725)-Anand,V (2780) Baden-Baden GER 2013}) 12. cxd4 c5 13. dxc5 ({Note that being stubborn with your goals of pushing e5 as White are ill-advised here because Black can bring his knight to d5.} 13. e5 $6 Nd5 14. Bg5 Nb4 $1 15. Bxd8 Nxc2 16. Bxc2 Rxd8 {and Black has the bishop pair.}) ({The players briefly looked at} 13. d5 {which is kind of a Benoni that looks OK for Black.}) 13... Bxc5 14. Nc3 Be6 ({Anand thought} 14... Bd7 15. Bg5 Bc6 {was possible too.}) 15. Be3 {All moves seem to make sense to me. White wants to trade off dark-squared bishops with hopes that it will further weaken d6, while Black is developing to control the center squares around the isolani.} Qc8 (15... Bxe3 16. Rxe3 {followed by rook to d1 at some point seems to offer White a lasting, though tiny edge.}) ({GM Evgeny Miroshnichenko pointed out} 15... Ne5 16. Nxe5 Bxe3 17. Nxf7 Bxf2+ 18. Qxf2 Bxf7 {and Vishy Anand called it "very clever."}) 16. Bxc5 $6 {Admittedly I give this move a slightly dubious mark based purely on my own human evaluation that it makes no sense to activate Black's queen, reconnect the rooks and increase Black's control over the dark-squares (particularly e5). Yes, Anand maintains a slight edge and achieves the goal he started with 15.Be3 (to trade the dark-square bishops) but are you telling me Black could really avoid that trade? What about just 16.Rad1, 16.Rac1 or even the computer's favorite 16.Qe2 with the threat of Rac1, eyeing the queen on the c-file. Is it possible Vishy was afraid of bluffs at ...Bxh3 by Caruana and that's why he "removed" the queen from the c8-h3 diagonal? I'm not sure...} ({If Vishy was relal worred about sacs on h3, this move makes lots of sense and threatens 17.Rac1 as well.} 16. Qe2) (16. Nb5 $6 Bxh3 $1 {Caruana}) 16... Qxc5 (16... dxc5 17. e5 Nd5 18. Bxg6 hxg6 19. Nb5 {is unpleasant.}) 17. Qd2 Ne5 {And even though Vishy again goes onto gain a slight edge and outplay his younger opponent, I can only see this as a close to equal position with the black knight on e5 and an improvement for Black.} 18. Be2 Nxf3+ $6 {And I give another slightly dubios mark to Fabiano's decision to "return the favor" and initiate an unnecessary trade. Why? I feel like I would have told students on both sides that you should "stare down" your opponent's offer of a trade and attempt to increase the tension, not release it. This move was definitely a mistake by Fabiano (maybe less debatable than Vishy's trade on c5) and it increase White's slight edge by bringing the bishop to controlling d5.} ({The more natural} 18... Rad8 19. Rad1 {and then maybe a high class waiting move like} h6 {would seem to maintain a position closer to equality for Black. Is White really happy with the bishop on e2 setup?}) 19. Bxf3 Rad8 20. Red1 {20.Rad1 seemed more natural to me.} ({Anand "tried to get a head start on"} 20. Rac1 Qa5 (20... Qe5 21. Nd5 ) 21. Red1) 20... h5 21. Qd4 $6 ({Better was} 21. Rac1 {because after} Qe5 22. Qd4 Qg5 23. Qd2 Qe5 {if White goes 24.Qe3 we have the same position as in the game, but this time Black had to move his queen back on move 21 because of the tempo move Rac1, not an unnecessary offer to trade queens.} 24. Qe3 {and White remains slightly better, and enjoys the extra rook move.}) 21... Qg5 22. Qd2 Qe5 23. Qe3 a6 ({On} 23... g5 {Anand was planning} 24. Rd4 g4 25. Be2) 24. Rd4 {Back on track with natural play, it seems Vishy never had intentions for his rook coming to c1 this whole time, and wants to double on the d-file.} (24. Be2 $5 {followed by ideas of pushing f4 were also really interesting.}) 24... Bd7 25. Rad1 Bc6 26. g3 {All moves makes sense, and now you see why my suggestion of 24.Be2 might have been an interesting one: White must go this route of creating potential kingside weaknesses if he intends to threaten pawn to f4, as now 26.Be2 would drop the e4-pawn.} Re6 27. Bg2 (27. b4 $5 {Caruana}) 27... h4 $5 {Does this move really change the fact that White is slightly better? No. Were there many better options for Black against the pawn push to f4? No. But it still shows Black's awareness that he must create some dynamic weaknesses in White's position to give himself counterplay that might make up for the weak isolani on d6.} 28. gxh4 Rde8 29. Bf3 {A move I would likely never play, and why I'll never be as good as Anand : ) - still didn't natural moves like 29.f3 securing the e4-pawn and/or 29.b4 followed by the computer's plan of a4 and b5, dislodging the bishop from c6 make more sense than "bishop dance"?} ({ The players mentioned the line} 29. b4 Qh5 30. Qg5 Qxg5 31. hxg5 Nxe4 32. Nxe4 Bxe4 33. Rxd6 Bxg2 34. Rxe6 Rxe6 35. Kxg2 Re5 36. h4 Re4 37. Rd8+ Kh7 38. Kg3 Rxb4 39. h5 {with some danger for Black.}) 29... a5 $1 {And right on cue, Fabiano puts a stop to the potential computer plan of b4-a4-b5.} 30. a4 { Hhmmm, maybe 30.a3 then back to 31.b4 and b5 was still White's best, as Anand also suggested after the game. Not sure of Vishy's decision here other than he thought Black had nothing coming, so he was already in "shut down play" mode instead of realizing he wants queenside play of his own!} (30. Bg4 R6e7 31. Rxd6 Nxe4) 30... Qc5 31. Qf4 Re5 32. R1d3 R8e6 33. Kh2 Qb6 34. Rd2 Qd8 { Without pretending that their last five moves the most accurate, both sides seemed to be playing logical, improving re-maneuvers under time pressure until. ..} 35. Qg3 $6 {Vishy blunders! Or he just remembered that he owed Fabiano a pawn from a bet he lost after a long night of drinking in London... The rest of that story is not PG!} (35. h5 $1 {was key.} Nxh5 36. Bxh5 Rxh5 37. Rxd6 Rxd6 38. Qxd6 Qxd6+ 39. Rxd6 {and White plays the endgame for two results.}) 35... Bxe4 36. Bxe4 Nxe4 37. Nxe4 Rxe4 38. Rxe4 Rxe4 39. Rxd6 Qxh4 40. Qxh4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.13"] [Round "3"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 {It worked for him in game one and Vishy continues with 1.e4.} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Berlin! I wonder how the a-pawn must be feeling at this point of time. Earlier just about everyone used to pushing it. Now no one really cares about it and goes for Nf6!} 4. d3 {This seems to be Anand's weapon against the Berlin in this event.} Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 O-O 7. h3 $5 {A small change by Anand. In his game against Topalov he had gone Nbd2, whereas here he plays the little rook pawn move. It has two advantages: 1. it stops Bg4 in the future, and 2. it gets Caruana out of his preparation.} Ne7 {Caruana sticks to his plan of transferring his knight to the kingside.} 8. d4 Bb6 9. Bd3 { Definitely more common is Re1. However, Anand played this move quickly. Caruana went into a think after this, which meant that he hadn't really revised the line before the game. The variation with Bd3 is less played than Re1, but it has been essayed by players like Magnus Carlsen and Vasily Ivanchuk!} (9. dxe5 {leads to absolutely othing for White after} Nxe4 $11) 9... Ng6 (9... d5 {was Kramnik's reaction against Carlsen. And after} 10. Nbd2 dxe4 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Bxe4 exd4 13. Qc2 h6 14. a4 $5 {we saw an extremely interesting game develop.}) 10. Re1 Re8 11. Qc2 {At this point Anand had used only two minutes of his time while Caruana down by twenty five minutes. The interesting thing is that Anand has already played this opening with black against Michael Adams in 2013.} exd4 $146 {Caruana comes up with a new move, but this is not home preparation. It was played after due thought.} 12. cxd4 c5 {An interesting move by Caruana trying to fight for the dark squares.} 13. dxc5 (13. d5 Ba5 {leads to a very odd kind of a Benoni which should be completely fine for Black.}) (13. e5 $5 {is an interesting move. Although both players rejected it after Nd5, it could be interesting to see a few more moves.} Nd5 { Threatening Nb4.} (13... dxe5 14. dxe5 {looks completely crushing for White as after} Nd7 15. e6 fxe6 16. Bxg6 $18 {Black is busted.}) 14. Bg5 $1 (14. a3 { might be too slow as after} cxd4 {Black is completely fine.}) 14... Qc7 { After the game Fabi said that he was planning to play this move but it wouldn't have been great as White can now play} (14... Nb4 15. Qc3 Qc7 16. Bb5 $13) (14... f6 $6 15. dxc5 $1 dxc5 16. Nc3 $1 Nxc3 17. exf6 $1 gxf6 18. Bxg6 { with a very strong attack.}) 15. Nc3 $1 {The main idea is to connect the rooks on the first rank.} Nb4 (15... Nxc3 16. exd6 $1) 16. exd6 $1 $18 {Not an easy move to see from a distance but now the rook on e8 is undefended.}) 13... Bxc5 14. Nc3 Be6 15. Be3 Qc8 (15... Ne5 $5 {After the game Miroshnichenko suggested this smart move for Black which seems to equalise immediately.} 16. Nxe5 Bxe3 $1 17. Nxf7 Bxf2+ 18. Qxf2 Bxf7 {This looks like a much preferable position for Black than was reached in the game.}) 16. Bxc5 Qxc5 17. Qd2 Ne5 18. Be2 $1 Nxf3+ 19. Bxf3 {Black has an isolated pawn on d6 while White is relatively solid. This should give White an edge. However, it is not so clear as to how White should proceed.} Rad8 20. Red1 $5 {One of the most difficult questions in the game of chess is where should I place my rooks. In this position White has many options. The most natural of course looks to be Rad1, but Red1 also has its point. Vishy would like to put the a rook on c1.} (20. Rac1 {looks natural. Black could reply with} Qe5) (20. Rad1 {is also answered by} Qe5 21. Qd4 a6 22. Qb4 $14 {when White has an edge.}) 20... h5 $5 21. Qd4 Qg5 22. Qd2 ( 22. Qxa7 Bxh3 $132) 22... Qe5 {I asked Fabiano whether he wanted to play on and that was the reason why he chose Qe5 instead of Qc5. He said his queen was much better placed on e5 than on c5 and Vishy would not have repeated the position again.} 23. Qe3 $1 {Attacking the a7 pawn and getting ready to double rooks on the d-file.} a6 24. Rd4 Bd7 $5 {The bishop wasn't doing much on e6. On c6 it would not only control the d5 square but also attack the one on e4.} 25. Rad1 Bc6 26. g3 Re6 27. Bg2 {White gets ready to start his expansion with f4. Vishy truly has played really well until this point.} h4 {[%cal Gh5h4]} 28. gxh4 $1 {[#] An extremely bold move by Vishy. Usually in chess not many times you will see people taking such a pawn and accepting doubled rook pawns. However, here it is more important to make sure that White is getting in f4 and hence this gxh4 move is very flexible and meets the demands of the position.} (28. g4 $5 {Keeping the pawn structure intact is definitely an idea. But it can be possible that Vishy was afraid of} g5 {When f4 is stopped. However, White should at least be a tad better after} 29. Qd2 $14) (28. f4 $2 Qc5 29. g4 $2 Bxe4 $1 30. Nxe4 Nxe4 31. Bxe4 Rde8 $15) 28... Rde8 (28... Nh5 $2 {Trying to keep an eye on the f4 square loses to} 29. Rd5 $1 Bxd5 30. Rxd5 $18) 29. Bf3 {After the game Vishy thought that this was extremely clever as he was preparing Bg4.} (29. f4 Qc5 $13 {The e4 pawn would be falling in this case.}) 29... a5 30. a4 $6 {Anand wants to stop all these ideas beginning with b5 but this was a crucial loss of time.} (30. Bg4 R6e7 (30... Nxg4 31. hxg4 $16) 31. Rxd6 Nxe4 32. Nxe4 Qxe4 {Should be around equal.}) (30. a3 {was definitely much better remaining flexible.} b5 31. Bg4 $1 $14) 30... Qc5 31. Qf4 (31. Bg4 R6e7 $11) (31. Rxd6 $5 Qxd6 32. Rxd6 Rxd6 33. Qc5 Rde6 34. Qxa5 Nxe4 35. Nxe4 Bxe4 36. Bxe4 Rxe4 {might be an edge for White but will most probably end in a draw.}) 31... Re5 32. R1d3 {Not really sure what this move is all about, but it keeps up the pressure.} (32. Rxd6 Nxe4 33. Nxe4 Bxe4 $11) 32... R8e6 33. Kh2 Qb6 34. Rd2 Qd8 35. Qg3 $6 {This lets Caruana equalise immediately.} (35. h5 $5 Nxh5 36. Bxh5 Rxh5 37. Rxd6 Rxd6 38. Qxd6 Qxd6+ 39. Rxd6 f5 {Black should regain his pawn, but in any case White will maintain a small edge.}) 35... Bxe4 36. Nxe4 Nxe4 37. Bxe4 Rxe4 38. Rxe4 Rxe4 39. Rxd6 Qxh4 40. Qxh4 {and a draw was agreed. It should be said that Anand seemed to be slightly better throughout the game, but was never really able to cash in.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.13"] [Round "3"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A10"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2786"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. c4 {Topalov plays his first white today and opens with the c-pawn.} Nf6 { Aronian played this quite instantly, so the English Opening wasn't really a surprise for him.} 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. Nd5 e4 7. Nh4 { This is quite a common position and usually Black replies Re8. But Aronian went for a relatively unknown move which has not been played by any top player. } d6 $5 {This move has been played by Aronian's country-mate Minasian, and it is quite possible that Levon picked it up from him.} 8. Nxb4 (8. Nxf6+ Qxf6 9. Bxe4 Re8 $1 10. Bg2 Bg4 $1 {Just have a look at the black pieces. This is a completely winning position for Black.} 11. f3 Be6 $19) 8... Nxb4 9. a3 Nc6 10. d3 d5 $1 {A very concrete way to approach the position.} 11. O-O (11. cxd5 Qxd5 $1 12. dxe4 Qxd1+ 13. Kxd1 Rd8+ 14. Kc2 Nd4+ $36) 11... exd3 12. Qxd3 $6 (12. exd3 $11 {would have given White an entirely viable position, but without any advantage. This was not to Topalov's liking.}) (12. cxd5 {is also fine but does not give an advantage.} dxe2 13. Qxe2 Nxd5 $11) 12... Ne5 13. Qd4 (13. Qc2 Nxc4 14. e4 {is a possible way to play. The queen is of course better placed on c2 than on d4.}) 13... Nxc4 14. e4 Be6 15. b3 Na5 16. Qa4 Nc6 (16... c6 17. Bd2 b6 18. Bxa5 bxa5 19. Qxc6 (19. exd5 cxd5 $17) 19... dxe4 20. Bxe4 Rc8 21. Qa4 Qb6 $17 {is some sort of a computer line showing that even c6 was not so bad.}) (16... c5 {is possible and Topalov as intending to meet it with} 17. b4 cxb4 18. axb4 Nc4 $15 {Black seems to be slightly better.}) 17. Rd1 $2 { [#] This was a big blunder by Veselin, after which he is effectively two pawns down.} (17. exd5 Nxd5 18. Bb2 $44) 17... Nxe4 $1 18. Bb2 (18. Bxe4 Qf6 $1 $17 { This move, which attacks the a1 rook, was missed by Topalov.}) 18... Qe7 $17 { Black is two pawns up and with some care he should win the game with ease. Aronian didn't realise his advantage in the best possible manner but it was good enough.} 19. b4 a6 20. Qc2 f6 21. Rac1 Rad8 22. Bf1 Rd7 23. f3 Nd6 24. Re1 (24. Bd3 g5 25. Ng2 Nc4 26. Bxc4 dxc4 27. Rxd7 Qxd7 28. Rd1 Qe7 29. f4 { was a line suggested by Aronian in the press conference as better than what Topalov played in the game. But here the computer comes up with an anti-intuitive move that gives Black a strong advantage.} gxf4 $5 {Usually humans would never make such a move because the knight on g2 was passive and on f4 it would sit very nicely. But the engine sees that the knight on f4 cannot do much due to the bishop on f7 and Black has a huge advantage.} 30. Nxf4 Bf7 $19) 24... Qf7 25. Bd3 g5 26. Ng2 Nc4 27. f4 Nxb2 28. Qxb2 Bh3 29. a4 h6 30. b5 axb5 31. axb5 Ne7 32. Qf2 Nf5 33. Qf3 Kg7 34. Kh1 Re7 35. Rxe7 Qxe7 36. Qh5 (36. Qxd5 {is possible, but after} Rd8 37. Qe4 Qxe4 38. Bxe4 Nd6 39. Rxc7+ Rd7 40. Rxd7+ Bxd7 41. Bd5 Bxb5 $17 {Black should have excellent winning chances.}) 36... Bxg2+ 37. Kxg2 Ne3+ 38. Kg1 f5 39. Qe2 Rf6 40. Qb2 gxf4 41. gxf4 Kh7 42. Kh1 Qg7 43. Qe2 d4 44. Qf3 c6 45. bxc6 bxc6 46. h3 Rg6 47. Rb1 Rg3 48. Qh5 Qd7 49. Kh2 Rg2+ 50. Kh1 Qd5 {One can say that this was a pretty one sided affair and Topalov didn't really have a chance in the game after he was two pawns down.} 0-1 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.13"] [Round "3"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "127"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 {Nakamura invites Svidler to play his favourite Grunfeld.} d5 {No thank you! I will stick to the Slav.} 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 e6 { Svidler shows that the opening that he essayed in the first round against Karjakin was not just a one round flick. He was serious about his opening and has prepared it deeply.} 6. e3 c5 7. Bxc4 Nc6 8. O-O cxd4 9. exd4 {This is definitely much more challenging than Nxd4 which was played by Sergey Karjakin in the first round.} Be7 10. Qe2 O-O 11. Rd1 Nb4 {Preventing the d4-d5 break.} 12. Bg5 {Interestingly Svidler reached this position twice in his games, once against Ivanchuk and once against Kazhgalayev. However, on both occasions he chose a different move. h6 is the modern treatment of this line making White decide where he would like to keep his bishop.} h6 13. Bxf6 {This is a highly concrete move. The idea is not related with the d5 break but to get the knights to menacing locations in the centre - on the e4 and e5 squares.} (13. Bh4 Bd7 14. Ne5 Bc6 {is the other critical position of the opening, and if Svidler tries this Slav line again the chances of this position arising can be quite good.}) 13... Bxf6 14. Ne4 (14. d5 {doesn't really look too threatening as after} exd5 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Bxd5 Qe8 $11 {Black has solved most of his opening problems because the b2 pawn is as weak as the b7 pawn.}) 14... b6 15. Ne5 {We are still following five games, but we have reached a stage where you can no longer find games played by amateurs. All the games have taken place in the practice of 2600+ players.} Bh4 $5 {This has already been played by two players Mchedlishvili against Tomashevsky and van Foreest against Ikonnikov.} ( 15... Bb7 $2 16. Nxf6+ Qxf6 (16... gxf6 17. Ng4 Kg7 18. Qd2 $18) 17. Nd7 $16) 16. g3 $146 (16. Ra3 {was played in both the games but after} Bb7 17. Rh3 { It looks scary but after} Nd5 $11 {According to the computer this looks completely fine for Black.}) 16... Be7 17. Nc3 Bf6 {Svidler has got this covered. Even though White played a novelty, the Russian player is well prepared.} (17... Bb7 $6 {Looks the most natural but fails to} 18. Nxf7 $5 Rxf7 19. Qxe6 Qe8 20. Re1 $40 {with a most probably decisive attack for White.}) 18. d5 Qc7 19. d6 Qc5 20. Ng4 Bxc3 21. bxc3 Nc6 22. Rab1 a6 {Preventing Rb5. It is simply amazing that this is all Svidler's preparation until now.} 23. d7 { It seems like Nakamura missed something over here. He couldn't remember his preparation and played the most obvious move, pushing his pawn to d7. However, he could have just played Bd3 directly which is what he thought was the move he had prepared.} (23. Bd3 f5 $5 24. Ne3 $13) 23... Bb7 24. Bd3 Rfd8 25. Qe4 Kf8 {[#] At this point Peter had one hour forty five minutes! Completely mind boggling! Will it create a fear in the minds of his future opponents? Will they try to steer clear of well-known lines against him? We will have to wait and see. As of now Nakamura was under grave pressure.} 26. Qh7 {This position looks really scary if you are unprepared. However, if you know the intricacies this might well be enjoyable to play, like the current position where Black has only one good move but Peter plays it! As Svidler said after the game he had considered only two moves in this position Be2 and Bc2. So Qh7 was a new move for him, and he found himself in a common situation where you know that the move made by your opponent is not the best, but you don't know why.} h5 $1 (26... Qg5 $2 27. Ne3 Ne5 28. Be4 Bxe4 29. Qxe4 $18 {The d7 pawn is untouchable and the queen is completely misplaced on g5.}) (26... Ne5 $5 27. Qh8+ Ke7 28. Qxg7 Qd5 29. Qf6+ Kf8 30. Qh8+ {is a draw.}) 27. Ne3 (27. Qh8+ Ke7 28. Qxg7 hxg4 29. Qxg4 $19) 27... Ne5 $1 $15 {Black's king looks safe, and the pawn on d7 doesn't look threatening. The light squared holes on the kingside might cost White dearly.} 28. Be4 {Before things went completely wrong Nakamura exchanges the powerful b7 bishop.} Bxe4 29. Qxe4 Ra7 $1 {Svidler also made this move relatively quickly. Not sure whether he was still in his preparation but he must have seen similar ideas when he worked on this opening and that can be one of the reasons why he made this move quickly.} 30. Nd5 $5 { Nakamura is in damage control mode now. He sees that the position has spiraled out of control. Hence he tries to simplify the position, even ready to go into a pawn down or an inferior rook ending.} Ng4 (30... Raxd7 {looks pretty natural, but after} 31. Qxe5 Rxd5 32. Rxd5 Rxd5 (32... Qxd5 33. Qxd5 Rxd5 34. Rxb6 $11) 33. Qb8+ Ke7 34. Rxb6 (34. Qxb6 $2 Rd1+ 35. Kg2 Qd5+ 36. f3 (36. Kh3 Qf5+ $19 {[%cal Gf5b1]}) 36... Rd2+ 37. Kg1 Qa2 $19) 34... Rd1+ 35. Kg2 Qd5+ 36. Kh3 {and there is no real finishing shot available for Black at this point. This might be the reason why Svidler steered clear of this variation.}) 31. Ne3 Nf6 (31... Nxe3 32. Qxe3 Raxd7 33. Rxd7 Rxd7 34. Qxc5+ bxc5 35. Rb6 $15 { With a three vs four rook endgame being reached.}) 32. Qb4 Qxb4 (32... Raxd7 33. Rxd7 Nxd7 34. Qxc5+ Nxc5 35. Rxb6 Nxa4 36. Rxa6 Nxc3 {would also lead to something similar that we will see in the main game.}) 33. Rxb4 (33. cxb4 Rdxd7 {is just a pawn down position.}) 33... Nxd7 $5 {Such a move can be made by only very strong player.} (33... Raxd7 34. Rxd7 Nxd7 35. Nc4 Rb8 {might be very favourable for Black who is not only a pawn up but also has everything under control.}) 34. Rxb6 Nxb6 35. Rxd8+ Ke7 36. Rd4 a5 $1 {Svidler instead of winning a pawn wanted to reach this endgame, which shows his excellent feel for the game. He thought that here with his pieces co-ordinated, he has much better chances of converting the position.} 37. Nc4 $1 {This move was not really given importance by Peter. If Black could have played his rook to c7 before Nc4 then he was winning. But in that case it will end in a position with 4 vs 3 on the same side.} Nd5 38. Rd3 Rc7 39. Nxa5 Nxc3 40. Kg2 Nxa4 41. Ra3 Nc3 42. Nb3 g5 {Black has an extra pawn and more space on the kingside. With just the rooks it would have been drawn, but with the knights things look pretty good for Black. In any case Nakamura has a very tough defensive task ahead of him.} 43. Nd2 f5 44. h3 Kf6 45. g4 $5 {As always it is a decision of whether to do something in the position of just sit steady. Nakamura felt that he had to do something against the slow advance of Black's forces and hence goes for this move. It might well be that the position is lost after this but White also has some targets to attack.} Nd5 46. gxf5 Kxf5 47. Nf1 $1 {Nakamura sees that e3 will be the best spot for his knight.} Nf4+ 48. Kg3 Rc1 49. Ne3+ Kg6 50. Kh2 Rb1 51. Ng2 Rb2 (51... Ne2 {Maybe Svidler could have considered keeping the knights on the board.} 52. Re3 Nd4 $17) 52. Nxf4+ gxf4 {This endgame looks much more drawish than with the knights on the board. Let's have a look if that is the case.} 53. Kg1 (53. Kg2 {looked as if it was not accurate because White would like to meet e5 with f3. But maybe that is not very important as after} e5 54. Ra6+ Kf5 55. Rh6 $1 Kg5 56. Re6 $11) 53... e5 54. Ra5 (54. f3 h4 {Nakamura and Svidler thought this was a winning position for Black, but turns out that this will also be a draw.} 55. Ra5 Kf5 56. Ra6 $1 {Cutting the king off from e6 and preventing its entry.} (56. Rc5 Ke6 57. Rc6+ Kd5 58. Rh6 Kd4 59. Rh5 e4 60. fxe4 Ke3 $19)) 54... Re2 55. h4 f3 56. Kh2 $1 Rxf2+ 57. Kg3 Re2 58. Kxf3 {With excellent play Nakamura finally could heave a sigh of relief. He had successfully made it to a draw.} Re1 59. Ra8 Rh1 60. Ke4 Rxh4+ 61. Kxe5 Rb4 62. Rg8+ Kh7 63. Rg1 Kh6 64. Kf5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.13"] [Round "3"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 d5 { The great thing about these players is that they are able to handle a system from both sides. For example Karjakin played this same position from the white side against Nakamura yesterday and today against Giri he is ready to try it with black.} 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O Re8 11. Ne5 Bb7 12. Bc1 Nbd7 13. Bb2 Bd6 14. Nd3 (14. f4 {is the normal way to play such positions but as Anish said in the press conference, he didn't really want to go into this structure because Black's way to respond here is quite typical and well known. On the other hand, after retreating the knight to d3 it is not so obvious what the best way for Black is to proceed, and it can present more practical problems.}) 14... a5 {Karjakin was a little bit worried about White going b4 and hence prevented it with this move.} 15. Rc1 c6 $5 {[%csl Ga5,Gb6,Gc6,Gd5] This structure of a5-b6-c6-d5 is not very common in this opening, but the way Karjakin played this game may make it quite popular in future.} 16. Na4 Rc8 17. e3 Ba6 18. Re1 h5 $6 {This was an over-ambitious move and resulted in Giri snatching the initiative.} (18... Ne4 {is much better. The point is that f3 can be met with Nxg3 sacrifice.} 19. f3 Nxg3 $1 20. hxg3 Bxg3 $40 {With Qh4 coming up this looks like a slow but very strong attack. As Giri said later, "if I would have allowed this and Sergey would have won the game with the knight sacrifice on g3, after he had beaten Nakamura yesterday when the latter incorrectly sacrificed his knight on g3, it would have made him a genius."}) 19. Bh3 $1 Ng4 $5 (19... h4 20. Ne5 $1 $14) 20. Nf4 {Anish thought that Black was forced to take on f4, which would give him a fine position. It turns out that Sergey was ready to give up a pawn rather than settle for a passive position.} (20. f3 $5 {[#] was the critical move of the game. The computers at first are highly enthusiastic about White's chances, but later they spot a very nice resource for Black.} Rxe3 $5 {This move is something that should be considered before we draw conclusions about the move f3.} (20... Nxe3 21. Qd2 Bxd3 22. Bxd7 $1 (22. Qxd3 Qg5 $11) 22... Qxd7 23. Qxd3 $14 {With e3 falling and also b6 this is a very strong position for White.}) 21. Rxe3 Nxe3 22. Qd2 Bxd3 23. Qxd3 (23. Bxd7 Qxd7 24. Nxb6 (24. Qxd3 Re8 $15) 24... Qh3 25. Qxe3 Bxg3 $40) 23... Qg5 24. Kh1 $1 (24. Bxd7 Bxg3 $1) 24... Rd8 25. f4 {when the complications end in White's favour. Although truth be told over here too Bxf4 will lead to some unclear play. But in any case this was all not so easy to calculate over the board and hence Anish understandably decided to take the other way.}) 20... g6 21. Bxg4 hxg4 22. Qxg4 {White is a pawn up, but his pieces on the queenside, the bishop on b2 and the knight on a4 look completely passive and hence Karjakin has compensation.} Nf6 23. Qg5 Be7 $1 {At first the knight sacrifice on g6 looks tempting, but on closer inspection it seems like its just a draw.} (23... Kg7 24. h4 Rh8 25. e4 $1 {was a nice variation pointed out by Anish.} Nxe4 26. Rxe4 dxe4 27. d5+ $18) 24. Nxg6 fxg6 25. Qxg6+ Kh8 (25... Kf8 $2 26. e4 $1 dxe4 27. Nxb6 $18) 26. Nc5 (26. e4 {was a possibility for Anish.} Bb4 $1 (26... dxe4 27. Nxb6 $1 Qxb6 28. Rc5 $1 $18) 27. Re3 Bd2 $11 {and this also ends in a draw. But it must be said that it looks pretty scary for Black.}) 26... bxc5 27. dxc5 Rf8 28. Qh6+ (28. Rc4 $5 { would have been a way to show off before making a draw!} dxc4 29. Qh6+ $11) 28... Kg8 29. Qg6+ {Seeing nothing better Anish agreed to a draw. It was a short game but with a lot of interesting moments.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.03.15"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] [WhiteClock "0:00:46"] [BlackClock "0:37:21"] {[Annotations by GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave]} 1. Nf3 ({Karjakin pointed out that at the previous Candidates' Tournament he played something similar against Anand, but with the pawn already on d4:} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Be7 5. b3 O-O 6. Bb2 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. dxc5 Nd7 9. c6 bxc6 10. Nbd2 a5 { Karjakin,S (2766)-Anand,V (2770) Khanty-Mansiysk 2014}) 1... d5 2. e3 {A choice definitely designed to hinder Vishy's opening preparation. It is still possible to prepare rather deeply even these sublines nowadays, but there are far less forcing variations and you can expect to obtain a position full of pieces and perspectives. On the other hand, there's a very good chance to end up with no advantage at all, or even an awkward position.} Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. b3 Be7 5. Bb2 O-O 6. Nc3 c5 ({Karjakin spent more time on} 6... b6 {and}) (6... dxc4 {during his preparation. But I feel c5 is as natural an option at the moment, if not more.}) 7. cxd5 Nxd5 (7... exd5 8. d4 Nc6 9. Be2 {is strategically always dangerous as Black will get the typical isolated d5 pawn anytime now, but with White's bishop already on b2 his counterplay - often including d4 - will be less obvious to implement.}) 8. Qc2 Nc6 9. h4 {"Our home preparation. I was quite happy with this position because it is nice for White to play it." (Karjakin) These last few years, the "h move" has been one of the main sources of novelties as White doesn't need to castle anytime soon and in general asks some un pleasant questions to the king. Ng5 is an obvious follow-up here.} (9. a3 Nxc3 10. Bxc3 Bd7 11. Be2 Rc8 12. O-O b6 13. Qb2 Bf6 14. b4 Bxc3 15. Qxc3 Ne7 {Lysyj,I (2691)-Zhou,W (2627) China 2015}) 9... b6 ( 9... Nf6 {was my first idea when looking at this position to play e5 as soon as possible, with Bg4 already in sight and the knight as a reasonable defensive piece. But} 10. a3 e5 {allows both} 11. Ne4 ({or} 11. Bb5 {putting pressure on e5.}) 11... Nxe4 12. Qxe4 Bd6 13. Bc4 {with relentless initiative.} ) 10. a3 {An always useful move designed against Nb4.} (10. Ng5 f5 {Karjakin} 11. Nxd5 (11. Bb5 $2 Ndb4 12. Qb1 Ne5) 11... exd5 12. d4 Nb4 13. Qd2 f4 $1 { and White is immediately in some danger.}) 10... f5 {I wouldn't want to play this move if not forced to. But there is no easy way to discourage White to act on the kingside.} (10... Bb7 $6 11. Ng5 {wouldn't be ideal as f5 is impossible now.} g6 12. Nce4 {looks scary, and looks aren't deceptive for once! }) (10... h6 11. g4 $1 {followed by g5 looks terribly dangerous :} Nxc3 12. g5 $3 {very cute and no doubt part of Sergey's home preparation. It might not be decisive but looks very worrisome :} (12. Bxc3 Bb7 {would transpose}) 12... Nd5 13. gxh6 {and every piece will be part of the attack!} f5 $1 (13... Bf6 $2 14. hxg7 Bxg7 15. Rg1 f6 (15... Nf6 16. Ng5 e5 17. h5 Kh8 18. Bg2 Bb7 19. Bxc6 Bxc6 20. Bxe5) 16. h5 Kh8 17. Rxg7 Kxg7 18. Ng5 {with unavoidable mate!}) 14. Bxg7 Bf6 (14... Rf7 15. Rg1 Kh7 16. O-O-O Bb7 17. Bc4 {and the pieces converge towards the king.}) 15. Rg1 Bxg7 16. Rxg7+ Kh8 17. Ng5 Qf6 18. Rh7+ Kg8 { and white has a guaranteed perpetual check anytime but might want to ask Black some questions by first adding a few pieces to the attack first as Black can hardly protect against Rg7+ anyway.}) (10... Nf6 {allows} 11. Ng5 {followed by Nce4.}) (10... Nxc3 $1 {Not a very happy move to make but it eases Black's position :} 11. Bxc3 (11. dxc3 Qc7 12. c4 f5 {might have been a decent setup for Black.}) 11... h6 12. g4 Bb7 13. Rh3 Bf6 14. g5 Bxc3 15. dxc3 {and at least Black removed a few pieces off the board, relieving the pressure on his king.}) 11. Bb5 (11. Nxd5 exd5 (11... Qxd5 12. Bc4 Qd6 (12... Qd7 13. Ng5 Nd8 14. g4) 13. Rd1 {followed by d4 looks good for White.}) 12. d4 {was perhaps more accurate (Karjakin). But of course the bishop probably will go to e6.}) 11... Bb7 12. Nxd5 exd5 ({Anand regretted this ("in hindsight it leaves me with a strategically bad position") and preferred Karjakin's suggestion} 12... Qxd5 13. Bc4 Qd7 {and Black wins a tempo compared to the immediate 11.Nxd5} 14. Ng5 (14. Rd1 $5 Na5) 14... Nd8 {and his position remains solid.}) 13. d4 Rc8 ( 13... c4 $1 {is a typical computer resource to maintain dynamic balance. I certainly don't blame Vishy for not finding this move as it wouldn't even occur my mind! But the follow-up is quite clever :} 14. bxc4 a6 15. Ba4 (15. Bxc6 Bxc6 16. c5 {otherwise the Bc6 would become insanely strong.} (16. Ne5 Rc8 ) 16... f4 {creates chaos and after} 17. Ng5 Bxg5 18. hxg5 g6 {Black has his trumps.}) 15... b5 $1 (15... Rc8 16. c5 bxc5 17. dxc5) 16. cxb5 axb5 17. Bb3 Na5 18. O-O Rc8 19. Bc3 Nc4 20. Qd3 Bxa3 {and suddenly Black's king is rather safe and even if positionnally speaking his position still looks rather dubious, White would generally speaking very much like to remove his d4 pawn from the board, maybe even for free!}) 14. dxc5 bxc5 15. O-O Bf6 16. Rfd1 { White plays very simple chess and now exerts pressure on every Black's pawn on the fifth rank. All in all an ideal outcome to the novelty h4, if not for the fact that this pawn is now a tad weak.} (16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Qxc5 {is far too hasty :} Ne5 18. Qd4 Nxf3+ 19. gxf3 Qg6+ (19... Qxd4 20. exd4 Rc3 21. Rac1 Rxb3 22. a4 {with some problems due to the unfortunate position of the Bb7.}) 20. Kh2 f4 {Karjakin} 21. Rg1 Qf6 22. Qxf6 Rxf6 {and Black is in time to create unpleasant threats.}) 16... Ne7 17. Bxf6 (17. Rac1 $1 {might have been more clever to ask Black for his next move!} d4 18. Qe2 {being of no help.}) 17... Rxf6 18. g3 Ba6 $2 {After this it's "very simple for White to play" according to Karjakin. I must admit that the decision to exchange the light squared bishops when your main source of counterplay would be on the long diagonal puzzles me.} ({He expected something like} 18... Kh8 $5 19. Be2 $1 { prophylaxis against d4, with a pleasant but slight edge. It's worth noting that Black still has ways to obtain counterplay, one of which I would consider immediately in a blitz game :} (19. Bf1 d4 20. Bg2 Qb6 {and Black looks active enough.}) 19... Qe8 20. Rac1 d4 $5 21. exd4 f4 {creating some chaos and making use of the move f5! (and that wasn't easy)}) (18... d4 19. Qe2 {wouldn't achieve much as Qd5 is not possible.}) 19. Bxa6 Rxa6 20. Qc3 $1 {Simple and effective, just the best feeling! b4 to shatter the pawn structure and get the outpost on d4 is White's next plan. With the pawn on f7, Black would look very much alright, but now the f5 pawn looks weak and the important square e5 is definitively weakened.} Rb6 21. Rac1 Qd6 22. Ne5 {Nc4 or sometimes Nd3 are two new threats, causing Black to disrupt his setup a bit more.} Rb7 (22... Qf6 23. Nd3 Qxc3 24. Rxc3 Rbc6 25. Rdc1 {also looks bad for Black.}) 23. Nd3 c4 24. bxc4 Rxc4 (24... dxc4 25. Ne5 Nd5 26. Qd4 {is hopeless.}) 25. Qe5 Qxe5 26. Nxe5 Rxc1 27. Rxc1 {Again, if not for the pawn on f5 Black's position would be perfectly defensible. But now he has one too many weakness to take care of.} g6 28. Rc5 Kg7 29. Ra5 {Of course! The a7 pawn is a new source of concern, reducing Black to a completely passive setup. Now, even assuming that he could exchange his a and d pawn against White's a pawn, he would get a worse version than what Hikaru had against Peter in the third round, as f5 is a definite concession in this case.} Kf6 30. Nd3 Rc7 (30... d4 $1 {was the last try not to wait for Sergey to show his immaculate technique.} 31. exd4 Nc6 32. Ra6 Rb6 33. Ra4 Rb5 (33... Rb1+ 34. Kg2 Rd1 35. d5 Rxd3 36. dxc6 Rc3 37. Ra6 {wins one pawn too many after} Ke5 38. Rxa7 Rxc6 39. Rxh7 Ra6 40. Re7+ Kf6 41. Re3) 34. Rc4 Ne7 {And Black's defensive task is still huge but at least he has some hopes and potential targets (some people more realistic than I am might call them sweet dreams)}) 31. Ra6+ Kg7 32. Nf4 Rd7 33. Kf1 Ng8 (33... Nc8 $5 { Karjakin} 34. Ke2 Nb6 35. a4 {doesn't seem to help much as the king will march to d4. Black is helpless.}) 34. Ne6+ (34. Ke2 Nf6 35. f3 {looks just as good but hitting the a7 pawn is what you want to do in the position.}) 34... Kf7 35. Nd4 {Karjakin thought from this point onwards it's winning for White.} Ne7 36. Nb5 Nc8 37. a4 {The king comes to d4 without being challenged.} Rb7 38. Rc6 Ne7 39. Ra6 Nc8 40. Rc6 Ne7 41. Rd6 Rb6 $6 (41... Nc8 42. Rxd5 Nb6 43. Rc5 $1 Ke7 44. Nc3 {consolidates White's position and he remains a solid pawn up. Black also keeps his weak a pawn and faces a tremendous task. But what Vishy did loses immediately.}) 42. Rd7 a6 43. Nc3 {And Black loses a pawn but also has to settle for a pawn endgame, which obviously leaves no hope. I like very much when victory is achieved with very simple means, because simple is very deceptive in those cases. Black's innocuous-looking f5 - at the moment it was played - ended up costing him the game as it created an irreversible weakness in the endgame.} 1-0 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.03.15"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D46"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "Netherlands"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "NED"] [WhiteClock "1:20:12"] [BlackClock "1:37:04"] {[Annotations by IM Danny Rensch] Before assuming the fastest game to finish in round 4 of the Candidates' was, by definition, the least interesting, consider that it was a truly important theoretical game, with the White player truly putting the Dutchman's preparation to the test. As Giri said himself, / =At least it's an important theoretical game. Shirov didn't equalize twice [in the same line], so it's nice for the Slav fans.?/-} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Be2 O-O $2 8. O-O $2 dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Be2 Bb7 11. e4 e5 ({Note for less experienced players in this structure, the "other Caro-Slav Structure" break is not really an option once White has established clear threats of e5. For example} 11... c5 12. e5 cxd4 13. exf6 dxc3 14. fxg7 {is cleary unpleasant for Black.}) 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nd4 ({ Of course 13.Nxe5 is also possible, but really, other than Nakamura's choice of 13.Nd4, it seems nothing else in this theoretically topical line leaves much for White other than the interesting} 13. Nh4 $5 {first tried at the "highest levels" by Aronian against Shirov back in 2012, and last played by Lupulescu. The idea of this awkward knight to the rim, breaking basic principles, is two fold: 1) if allowed the pony finds a nice new stable on f5 and 2) the threat of f4 is immpossible to stop. Lupulescu's game referenced continued} g6 14. f4 Neg4 15. e5 Bc5+ 16. Kh1 Nf2+ 17. Rxf2 Bxf2 18. Nf3 Ng4 19. Ng5 Ne3 20. Qb3 c5 21. Nce4 c4 22. Qxb5 {with super sharp and unclear play that eventually ended in a draw.} Bxe4 23. Nxe4 {Lupulescu,C (2631)-Stefansson, H (2602) Reykjavik ISL 2015}) 13... Neg4 14. g3 Re8 (14... Bxg3 {Has been proven, perhaps most instructively by Fressinet and Wojtaszek, to offer White far too much compesation with the bishop pair after} 15. hxg3 Qxd4 16. Qd1 $1 Qxd1 17. Rxd1 {When both} Rfe8 ({and} 17... Rfd8 18. f3 Rxd1+ 19. Nxd1 Ne5 20. Be3 {with similar compensation to that which Fressinet found, the Polish grandmaster went onto win a nice endgame in Wojtaszek,R (2734)-Krejci,J (2529) Czech Republic CZE 2013.}) 18. f3 Ne5 19. Be3 {left White with lots of compensation. Excellent endgame technique proved the advantage enough for the Frenchman in the game Fressinet,L (2702) -Ragger,M (2655) Solingen GER 2013}) 15. Nf5 Bc5 16. Bf4 Qb6 17. Kg2 g6 ({Failing to find enough with} 17... Nxf2 { was Shirov against Giri. The game continued} 18. e5 Nd7 19. b4 Bxb4 20. Rxf2 Nxe5 21. Ne4 c5 {Giri,A (2768) -Shirov,A (2691) Hoogeveen 2014} 22. Kf1 $1 { and unpinning the e4-knight was all White needed to eventually defend and win with the extra piece. Giri,A (2768)-Shirov,A (2691) Hoogeveen NED 2014}) 18. h3 Ne5 ({Also tried by the Latvian famous for creating fire on the board (sorry, I had to :P) was} 18... gxf5 19. hxg4 Bd4 20. gxf5 Bxc3 21. bxc3 c5 22. f3 Rxe4 23. Rae1 Rxf4 24. gxf4 Nd5 25. Bd1 c4 {when though the game Svane,R (2543) -Shirov, A (2715) Skopje 2015 ended in a draw after 26.Qf2, it seems likely 26. Qe4! (according to me and my "Lizard Friend" right now) would have offered White a clear, sustainable advantage.}) 19. Nh6+ {And so it begins! Hikaru is prepared to test just how deep Giri's preparation went in this line. One false step would see the Dutchman fall (likely in spectactular fashion), but alas, perfect defense would prove to yield nothing but a fancy perpetual...} ({ Curious if we will see this move} 19. Bg5 $5 {tried at some point in the future of this line. The difference in move order? Black is denied the g7-square by the knight on f5. So though I'm sure both Hikaru and Anish's prep runs much deeper than my couple hours of analysis here, if indeed this move forced 19...gxf5 after 20.Bxf6, maybe White has something to play for in the long run against Black's exposed king.}) 19... Kg7 20. Bg5 Bd4 $1 {A key move by Black to show understanding of this position! Black knows he must not fear bringing his king into the game!} ({For example, cautious retreats to avoid the king getting "into the mix" lose on the spot to} 20... Nfd7 21. f4 $1 f6 ( 21... Nc4 22. Bxc4 bxc4 23. Na4 Qa5 {To stop the queen from coming to c3 with check. But after} 24. Rad1 {Black's pieces are simply uncoordinated and overwhelmed.}) 22. Bxf6+ Nxf6 23. fxe5 Rxe5 24. Rxf6 $1 Kxf6 25. Ng4+ Ke6 26. Qb3+ {and White is winning. We can only assume both players knew of all this and much more...}) 21. Bxf6+ Kxf6 22. f4 Nc4 23. Bxc4 bxc4 {Can you note the similarities between this position and my analysis to 20...Nfd7? Or more importantly, the differences? The key is that Black's bishop is guarding the critical a1-h8 diagonal, so moves like 23.Na4 are a waste. It seems Hikaru followed through with his preparation at this point, likely already knowing he was likely to end the game having only earned half a point.} 24. f5 ({Moves like} 24. Ng4+ {get nothing and maybe worse against Black's bishop pair after} Kg7 25. f5 h5 $1 {followed by pushing c5 at some point, and White's king will come under the "Catholic Fire" of the bishops. See what I did there? #crackshimselfup}) 24... c5 $1 {Again, key by Giri. Black could ONLY play such moves with preparation. The king on f6 pulls a Simba from the Lion King and laughs in the face of danger!} ({Nakamura was hoping for} 24... Kg7 25. fxg6 fxg6 26. Rf7+ Kxh6 27. Raf1 {(threatening Na4)} Be3 28. Nd1 Bc8) 25. fxg6+ Kxg6 26. Nxf7 Rf8 27. Nd5 {As fancy as this all looks, nothing but a draw is on the horizon.} Qxb2 ({Note any other "natural looking" move for Black fails to} 27... Rae8 28. Ne5+ $1 Rxe5 (28... Bxe5 29. Nxb6) 29. Rxf8 {winning.}) ({ And of course capturing the knight} 27... Bxd5 {opening up White's queen on c2 would not be a good idea after} 28. exd5+ Kg7 29. Ng5 Qxb2 30. Ne6+ {winning the exchange.}) 28. Ne7+ Kg7 29. Nf5+ {And once again, Giri finds himself on the complicated preparation end of a fancy perpetual check at the Candidates in Moscow (referring of course to the Karjakin draw from Round 3).} Kg6 30. Ne7+ Kg7 31. Nf5+ Kg6 32. Ne7+ {/=Like any opening really, you just have to prepare and hope your opponent doesn't know the best continuation.?/- (Nakamura)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.03.15"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A22"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2786"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Armenia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARM"] [WhiteClock "0:01:52"] [BlackClock "0:31:09"] {[Annotations by IM Danny Rensch]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 Bb4 4. Bg2 O-O { Aronian invited Svider to transpose into his game with Topalov with 5.Nf3 but Svidler says...} 5. e4 {...no thank you!} Bxc3 6. bxc3 c6 7. Nf3 Nxe4 8. O-O d6 9. Nxe5 Nc5 {"An improvement we both knew about." (Svidler)} ({Svidler's quote above referring directly to improving over} 9... dxe5 10. Bxe4 Be6 11. Ba3 Re8 12. Qb1 Qxd2 13. Qxb7 Nd7 14. Bxc6 Reb8 {Giri,A (2798)-Anand,V (2803) Bilbao 2015}) 10. Ng4 (10. Nf3 Nd3 11. Ba3 Na6 {and the knight is difficult to "smoke out." (Svidler)}) 10... f5 (10... Nd3 11. Ba3 Na6 12. Ne3 {and the f5-square is not available for Bc8. (Svidler) Which, to continue using his own terminology, will make the knight much easier to "smoke out" and cost Black valuable time.}) (10... Bxg4 11. Qxg4 Nbd7 12. d4 Nf6 13. Qd1 (13. Qf5 $5 { denies the e4-square. Maybe saved for a future game?}) 13... Nce4 14. Qc2 { "and the knight on e4 is kind of wobbly." (Aronian)}) 11. Ne3 f4 {"A very critical attempt." (Svidler)} ({Perhaps the knight jump} 11... Nd3 {will no longer be met by White saving the bishop pair with 12.Ba3, but} 12. f4 { fixing the f5-pawn, and playing for a long term positional edge against the ugly priest on c8? If players of this level repeat this line, we may find our answer, but it seems to me White is maintaining a tiny edge both in these lines and the ones chosen in the game.}) 12. d4 ({Seemingly the much worse, more passive choice is} 12. Nc2 $6 Nd3 13. Ba3 Ne5 $1 14. d3 Bg4 15. f3 Bf5 { (Aronian). Black's initiative is strong and White's bishop on g2 is not a happy camper.}) 12... fxe3 13. dxc5 exf2+ 14. Rxf2 Rxf2 15. Kxf2 Qf8+ 16. Qf3 Qxf3+ 17. Bxf3 dxc5 {A position that was reached more or less by force. "The computer says it's equal but it's interesting to play in practice." (Svidler). Couldn't say anything better myself regarding the last 5 moves or so. No wonder he's the world's best chess commentator! ;)} 18. Bf4 (18. Bg5 $5 Be6 ( 18... h6 19. Bf4 {(Aronian). Where despite the potential "weak pawn" push to h6 (mainly the light squares) I tend to agree with the Armenian that this would have been Black's better option, vs 18...Be6 as given by Svidler (see my comments at the end of that line).}) 19. Rb1 b6 20. Rd1 Na6 {(Svidler). Going a little further here, I found} 21. Bxc6 Rf8+ 22. Kg2 Bxc4 {where though this line ends with an "equal evaluation" by the computers just like the game continuation, I must admit I feel White has better winning chances with the rook owning the d-file, rather than the bishop blocking that very same path on d6 (again, as in the game). Lots of play, but still, the bishops must make this position dangerous for Black to defend.}) 18... Nd7 {Both players called themselves "stupid" for not exactly remembering the move orders here.} (18... Bf5 {Aronian} 19. g4 $5 {Svidler} Be6 20. Rb1 b6 21. Rd1 Na6 22. Bxc6 Rf8 23. Kg3 {And the similarities between this variation recommended by Svidler as his choice to 18...Bf5 and my preferred 18.Bg5 are striking! White has the d-file and the position is "clearly open" for the bishops. I think, if we do see this line repeated in the future, White's winning chances are stronger here than in the game.}) 19. Bd6 ({White had two serious alternatives, but the most challenging seemed to be the immediate pawn push:} 19. a4 g5 $1 {Not mentioned by either player, but seems like a must to me and the Lizard. The main point being to fight for active squares (mainly e5) for the knight.} (19... Nf6 $6 20. Rb1 b6 21. Bxc6 Bf5 22. Rxb6 $1 {works with the pawn on a4 as Aronian pointed out after the game.}) (19... Nb6 $2 {Even in the endgame, this would be a "Soviet Chess Sin" by the knight!} 20. a5 Nxc4 21. a6 Nb6 22. Rb1 bxa6 23. Bxc6 Bf5 24. Rxb6 {where White is winning.}) 20. Bc7 {So White should continue to deny this square. After} (20. Bxg5 Ne5 {grabbing back the sacrificed pawn on g5 on c4. Note even 21.Be2 would be met by 21... Be6.}) 20... Nf6 21. Rb1 ( 21. a5 Bg4 {equalizes.}) 21... g4 22. Bg2 Kf7 23. a5 Kg6 24. a6 bxa6 25. Bxc6 Bf5 {and as ugly as the queenside seems, I think Black is holding?}) ({The other one was} 19. Re1 Nf6 20. Rb1 $5 {and on} ({Perhaps less potent than it seems at first glance, bringing the rook to the 7th rank with} 20. Re7 { doesn't seem to yield any concrete results after} Bd7 21. Be5 Rd8 22. g4 Ne8 $1 (22... Kf8 23. Bd6 Bxg4 24. Rd7+ Ke8 25. Re7+ {(Svidler). I love fancy perpetuals!}) 23. Bg3 Kf8 {(Aronian). Yep, seems to hold. And even White has to be careful potentially, still down a queenside pawn.}) 20... b6 {again} 21. Bxc6 Bf5 22. Rxb6 axb6 23. Bxa8 Be4 24. Bxe4 Nxe4+ 25. Ke3 Nxc3 26. a3 $1 { and White is winning. But perhaps Black could try both 20...Be6 and 21...Rf8 after the b7-pawn falls, or even the slower 20...h6 and 21...g5. White maintains pressure on the queenside, but I don't see anything convincing.}) 19... Nb6 20. Re1 Bd7 21. Bxc5 Re8 $6 ({Easier was} 21... Nxc4 22. Re7 (22. Bd1 Re8 23. Bb3 Rxe1 $1 {is a draw.}) 22... Rf8 23. Rxd7 Rxf3+ 24. Ke2 Rf5 { (Svidler)}) 22. Rb1 Be6 $6 (22... Bc8 23. Rb4 {followed by a4 and a5. Black has 99 problems and the queenside pawns are some.} (23. Bxb6 axb6 24. Rxb6 Re5 {which should be equal despite White's extra pawn. The difference between this exact position and the one reached in the game? Black gets to the a-file first! })) 23. Bxb6 axb6 24. Rxb6 Bc8 25. Rb4 $1 {Missed by Aronian. White is getting the a-file and Black's job of holding is now much harder.} Re5 26. Ra4 Kf7 27. Ra8 Bf5 28. Be2 $1 {Russian technique!} ({Not allowing} 28. Rb8 Re7 29. a4 Bd3 30. c5 Ba6 {defending all.}) 28... Re7 29. c5 ({Perhaps} 29. a4 $5 {was slightly more precise and may go down as Svilder's last real winning chance. After:} Ke6 30. Rd8 $5 {(Miroshnichenko). The black king is cut off. Though admitedaly the Lizard and I both failed to find a "sure thing" winning plan for White, I think after} (30. a5 Kd6 {Black's king is getting to close for White to expect real winning chances.}) 30... Rd7 31. Rxd7 (31. Rf8 $5 { Possible for White if he decides the bishop ending doesn't yield enough.}) 31... Kxd7 32. c5 $1 {White fixes the queenside pawns on light-squares.} Ke6 33. Bc4+ Ke5 34. Ke3 {and with Black's king denied access, White holds all the cards to play tickle with the bishops until finding a way to attack the b7-pawn.}) 29... Kf6 $1 {Key because it doesn't allow the bishop to come to c4 with check. And if the bishop chooses to go there now, the e5-square is used for the rook and the c5-pawn potentially captured with tempo.} (29... Ke6 30. Bc4+ Ke5 31. a4 {(Svidler). White is definitely maintaining winning chances here. Komodo agress with Svidler in all lines!}) 30. a4 Re5 31. Rf8+ Kg6 32. Rb8 Rxc5 33. Rxb7 ({Aronian expected} 33. c4 Ra5 34. Rxb7 Rxa4 35. Ke3 { But I don't think White is getting real winning chances here anyway. The Black rook is too active along White's 2nd and 3rd ranks in all lines for White to be able to focus on king activity.}) 33... Rxc3 34. a5 Bd3 35. Bxd3+ Rxd3 36. a6 ({On} 36. Rb6 {Aronian planned} Kf5 37. Rxc6 Rd2+ {which is good enough to draw.}) 36... c5 37. a7 Ra3 38. Ke2 c4 39. Kd2 h5 40. Kc2 c3 41. h4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.03.15"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "Bulgaria"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "BUL"] [WhiteClock "0:02:16"] [BlackClock "0:10:09"] {[Annotations by IM Danny Rensch] So far for the tournament, this game wins the award for the "1.e4 opening most likely to be confused by viewers joining in the middlegame for some kind of obscure 1.d4 closed Benoni or Old Indian." And yes, that's an award I just made up! #yourewelcome} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 {Fabiano clearly missed the memo that he's no longer representing Italy as his chess federation, and therefore, not required to feature this opening once per tournament any longer...} d6 6. c3 h6 7. a4 a5 8. Re1 O-O 9. Na3 Re8 10. Nc2 Ba7 11. Be3 Be6 12. Bb5 Bd7 13. Bxa7 Nxa7 14. Bc4 { All theory leading to the tiniest of edges for White until...} Nc8 {...which, has he admitted afterward, surprised Caruana a bit.} (14... Be6 15. Bxe6 Rxe6 16. Ne3 Nc8 17. Nf5 Ne7 18. d4 exd4 19. N3xd4 Re5 {Carlsen,M (2844) -Adams,M (2744) Wijk aan Zee 2016}) 15. Ne3 Nb6 16. Bb3 c6 17. h3 Be6 18. Bc2 ({The computer seems to prefer playing like Carlsen did against Adam (mentioned above) with} 18. Bxe6 Rxe6 19. Qd2 {followed by ideas of Nf5 and a manufactured attack on the kingside. But maybe Caruana figured if Magnus couldn't beat the Englishman with a similar plan at Wijk, he didn't feel he had enough to play for against Topalov now.}) 18... Qc7 19. d4 Nc4 20. Nxc4 Bxc4 21. Qd2 Rad8 22. Rad1 Be6 ({Perhaps it's my own need to always look to create an attack where there likely isn't one, but I wonder if, in several positions around this time, Black could not have tried} 22... Nh5 {with the clear goal of creating weaknesses and threats on the kingside. Lines like} 23. Qe3 ({while} 23. g3 {makes me fear for White's life if Black can somehow make a d5-pawn push work and open up lines toward the kingside.}) 23... Nf4 24. Kh2 Be6 {show that Black can successfully stop the pawn from going to g3 to kick the knight (at least for now).}) 23. Qe3 b6 24. Nd2 {With clear intentions of pushing the f-pawn and relocating the knight to the kingside via f1 and g3 (not sure what would come first). But Topalov felt he over-extended here with} c5 $6 {saying he didn't like this move.} ({Sitting on the position to see if White really wants to push f4 or show another plan is} 24... Bc8 {which I think maintains equality pretty easily.}) ({Also interesting is} 24... b5 { but I feel that unlike the solid, waiting move 24. Bc8, White might get a slight pull with} 25. axb5 cxb5 26. d5 Bd7 27. Bd3 {Where I think Black's queenside pawns might become targets in the long run.}) 25. Bd3 $6 {Returning the favor of a small mistake? I think Caruana should have just played 25.d5 immediately, as analysis below shows.} (25. d5 Bd7 26. Qe2 $1 {A possible improvement (I think?) found by me and Komodo. Why? White can execute a similar plan as in the game to open the queenside, but better placement of the pieces for White as the f6-knight is denied it's route to h5-f4!} g6 (26... Rf8 27. Ra1 g6 $1 {trying to get that f6-knight where he belongs by protecting h5.} 28. Nc4 Nh5 29. Qd2 Kh7 30. Ne3 {and f5 is more or less prevented. White can focus on pushing b4 again.}) 27. Nc4 Nh5 28. h4 Nf4 29. Qe3 Kg7 30. g3 Nh5 31. Qe2 {And the knight has been denied access to f4 and f5 will be harder to play. White is a little better.}) 25... Re7 26. d5 {The American rights his wrong in the Italian. Poetic, I think ;) - However, with the tempo Black now gains on the a4-pawn, Caruana never has time to deny the Nh5-f4 maneuver I so deperately wanted in the variations following 25.d5.} Bd7 27. Ra1 Nh5 28. b4 { Fabiano's gone Honey Badger: He doesn't care about Nf4!} Nf4 29. bxa5 bxa5 30. Reb1 Rf8 {I admit with time pressure approaching, I shifted towards the edge of my seat and hoped against hope for some fireworks and blunders...} 31. Bb5 $6 {And I got it, but in the wrong direction! Not that I was rooting for my countryman or anything :) but given that White had more potential for an edge, I hoped he might hold onto it. I don't think this is the right diagonal for the bishop. White wants to be ready to challenge the f5-pawn push and grab hold of the light-squares if Black dares to push.} ({For example} 31. Bc2 { can meet 31...f5 with} f5 32. exf5 Bxf5 (32... Nxd5 33. Bb3 {is good.}) (32... c4 {opens up} 33. Qb6 {and "Fabi thinks he likes it".}) 33. Bxf5 Rxf5 34. c4 { When the b-file and e4-square seem to secure White a slight edge. Even} Rg5 { can be aggressively met with} 35. g4 h5 36. Ne4 Rg6 37. g5 {and things just got real! (Danny-Speak for White has a clear edge.)}) ({Also giving up the bishop but trying to be more aggressive on the b-file with} 31. Nc4 {is also interesting.}) 31... Bc8 32. Bf1 f5 33. c4 {The black knight looks strong on f4 "but in fact it's interrupting Black's play." (Topalov). True, but Black is not worse at all here as he could have been if White had kept the bishop on the correct c2-h7 diagonal.} Ref7 34. Ra3 {In the next few moves White gets the upper hand, and even though the players couldn't really point out a clear mistake or find a good alternative for Black, I think his issues start with} fxe4 $6 {as there was no real reason to break the tension here and bring White's knight into e4.} ({A simple move like} 34... Bd7 {eyes the a-pawn and asks White what his plan will be. For example, at the very least Black can release some of White's b-file pressure should Caruana try for the same ideas as in the game with} 35. exf5 {as after Black recaptures with a tempo on the b1-rook, he can challenge the b-file for trades.} Bxf5 36. Ne4 Rb8 {and Black might be closer to equality than in the game.}) 35. Nxe4 Bf5 36. Rab3 Bg6 37. Rb6 Qe7 $2 {Wait! Blunders? Fireworks? I'm getting my wish! Yay!!!} 38. Nxd6 Nxh3+ ({Topalov had} 38... Nxd5 39. cxd5 Rf3 {in mind but "completely forgot the pawn was on g2."}) 39. Qxh3 Rf6 40. Nc8 $1 {Refuting everything. White is on the way to winning until} Qd8 41. R1b5 $2 {"I kind of hallucinated that I was two pieces up here and [Black] would get one back," was how Caruana explained his mistake. Very, very strange. But at least we got the "time pressure carwreck" we hoped for as spectators. I admit the back and forth made watching the games live more fun!} (41. Rxf6 Qxf6 (41... Rxf6 42. Rb7) 42. Rb2 {was rather simple, as pointed out by Topalov.}) 41... Rxf2 42. Rxg6 ({Though} 42. Qe6+ {was defended by Caruana as not enough anyway (sighting the view of the perpetual that occurs after 45.Nxg6) I'm not sure this wasn't still the best way, and would wonder how "affected" the American was by his previous terrible blunder.} Kh8 43. Ne7 Rxf1+ 44. Kh2 R1f6 {(Caruana). And indeed, the Lizard confirms equality with} 45. Nxg6+ (45. Qxf6 $1 Rxf6 (45... gxf6 46. Nxg6+ Kg7 47. Nxf8 {and the rooks crash through.}) 46. Rb8 Qxb8 47. Rxb8+ Kh7 48. Nc6 e4 49. Rb3 {and White's protected passed d-pawn is the strongest asset on the board.}) 45... Rxg6 46. Qxg6 Qh4+ 47. Kg1 Qe1+ 48. Kh2 {However, the shocking 45.Qxf6! might just be winning for White! See analysis...}) 42... Rxf1+ 43. Kh2 Qxc8 44. Qxc8 Rxc8 45. Rc6 (45. Rb7 Rf7 46. Rc6 Rxb7 47. Rxc8+ Kf7 48. Rxc5 Rb4 {and Topalov thought this should be winning but} 49. Rc7+ { although the computer tries} Ke8 $5 {here and doesn't see it yet, pointing out the amazing and crazy-non-human form of defense by Black with} 50. Kg3 (50. c5 Rxa4 51. d6 Rc4 52. c6 Kd8 {and there isn't anything more than a perpetual for White on d7 and c7.}) 50... Kd8 51. d6 Rb3+ 52. Kg4 g6 53. c5 Rc3 54. Kh4 Rc4+ 55. Kg3 Rxa4 56. c6 Rc4 {with a draw once again.}) 45... Re8 {Definitely the correct choice to go behind and prepare to shove the e-pawn.} ({Not as good would have been} 45... Rcf8 46. Rcxc5 $1 R8f5 47. Rb3 {(Caruana). And I agree, White is maintaining good winning chances.}) 46. Rcxc5 e4 47. d6 Rd8 { "Important." (Caruana) - Definitely the only move.} (47... Rd1 48. Rd5 Rxd5 49. Rxd5 e3 50. d7 Rd8 51. c5 Kf7 (51... e2 $1 {still draws}) 52. c6 Ke6 53. c7 { Caruana}) 48. Rc6 Rd1 49. c5 e3 50. Rb2 Rd2 51. Rb1 e2 52. Re1 Rf8 (52... Rf8 53. Rb6 Rf1 54. Rbb1 Rxe1 55. Rxe1 Kf7 56. Kg3 Rc2 57. Kf2 Rxc5 58. Rxe2 Rd5 59. Re7+ Kf6 60. Rd7 g6 {and the draw is in sight.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.15"] [Round "4"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D46"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2016.03.15"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 {We have the Meran System on the board and Anish Giri is considered to be quite an expert in it from both sides.} 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Be2 {This is much more subtle than the more popular Bd3. It avoids the e6-e5 ideas in the future.} O-O 8. O-O dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Be2 Bb7 11. e4 e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nd4 {Results-wise this line has scored very well for White. But you can be sure that when Giri plays it he has analyzed it really well.} Neg4 14. g3 (14. h3 Bh2+ 15. Kh1 Nxf2+ 16. Rxf2 Qxd4 $17) 14... Re8 (14... Bxg3 15. hxg3 Qxd4 16. Qd1 {leads to a favourable ending for White.} ) 15. Nf5 Bc5 16. Bf4 Qb6 17. Kg2 {This has all been seen in a Giri-Shirov game before. The Latvian genius had taken on f2 here. Giri plays the much better move ...g6} g6 {This is not a novelty because this has been played by Shirov recently against Svane.} (17... Nxf2 18. e5 Nd7 19. b4 Bxb4 20. Rxf2 Nxe5 21. Ne4 c5 22. Kf1 Bxe4 23. Qxe4 {Through highly concrete play Anish had refuted Black's strategy.}) 18. h3 {[%cal Gh2h3]} Ne5 $146 {The first new move of the game and quite a good one.} (18... gxf5 19. hxg4 Bd4 (19... fxg4 20. e5 $18) 20. gxf5 Bxc3 21. bxc3 c5 {Black had comfortably equalized in Svane-Shirov.}) 19. Nh6+ Kg7 20. Bg5 Bd4 21. Bxf6+ Kxf6 {Giri's king looks precariously placed on f6, but it is not so easy to get to it.} 22. f4 Nc4 23. Bxc4 bxc4 24. f5 {[#] This was the critical position of the entire game.} c5 $1 (24... Kg7 {looks humanly natural to run away from the f1 rook. After the game Nakamura said that he was hoping for Giri to make this move as he had prepared a very nice idea. Giri however said that he didn't feel Kg7 was the most human move, but instead c5 looks natural. Truly these guys are super natural!} 25. fxg6 $1 fxg6 26. Rf7+ $1 Kxh6 27. Raf1 Be3 28. Nd1 $36 {And after the complications end White will emerge with a better position.}) 25. fxg6+ Kxg6 26. Nxf7 Rf8 {Giri had passed all the tests with flying colours and it was now time for Hikaru to pull the breaks.} (26... Re7 $6 27. Nd5 $1) 27. Nd5 Qxb2 28. Ne7+ Kg7 29. Nf5+ Kg6 30. Ne7+ {And a draw was agreed. An important theoretical duel which will add to development of this variation.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.15"] [Round "4"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A22"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2016.03.15"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 Bb4 4. Bg2 O-O 5. e4 Bxc3 6. bxc3 c6 7. Nf3 Nxe4 8. O-O d6 9. Nxe5 Nc5 $146 ({The most important game in this line went} 9... dxe5 10. Bxe4 Be6 $6 11. Ba3 Re8 12. Qb1 $1 Qxd2 (12... g6 13. Qxb7 $18) 13. Qxb7 Nd7 14. Bxc6 $18 {1-0 (37) Giri,A (2798)-Anand,V (2803) Bilbao 2015}) 10. Ng4 { This is the most challenging move by White.} (10. Nf3 Nd3 11. Ba3 Na6 {and the knight on d3 is not so easy to evict.}) 10... f5 (10... Nd3 11. Ba3 Na6 12. Ne3 {[%cal Ge3f5] The knight now controls f5 and it is not so easy to maintain control of the d3 square.}) (10... Bxg4 11. Qxg4 Nbd7 12. d4 Nf6 13. Qd1 Nce4 14. Qc2 $14) 11. Ne3 f4 12. d4 (12. Nc2 Nd3 13. Ba3 Na6 $15) 12... fxe3 13. dxc5 exf2+ 14. Rxf2 Rxf2 15. Kxf2 Qf8+ 16. Qf3 Qxf3+ 17. Bxf3 dxc5 18. Bf4 $14 {Without doubt this position is slightly in White's favour.} (18. Bg5 $5 { is a typical super grandmaster move where they force their opponent to make a move - h6 in this case and then take advantage of it later. For example because of h6, Kf7 can be attacked with Bh5+! Deep, isn't it! But this is normal stuff for guys like Aronian and Svidler.} h6 (18... Be6 19. Rb1 b6 20. Rd1 Na6 21. Bxc6 Rf8+ 22. Ke3 $14) 19. Bf4 {[%cal Gf3h5]}) 18... Nd7 (18... Bf5 19. g4 Be6 20. Rb1 b6 21. Rd1 Na6 22. Bxc6 Rf8 23. Kg3 {was what Aronian didn't like.}) 19. Bd6 $6 (19. a4 $5 {with the idea of a5-a6 is interesting.}) (19. Re1 {could have been the strongest of all.} Nf6 20. Rb1 {and now the human move could be b6 to free up the position. But unfortunately it nearly loses.} b6 21. Bxc6 Bf5 22. Rxb6 $1 axb6 23. Bxa8 {and the two bishops turn out to be too strong here.} Be4 {doesn't work due to} 24. Bxe4 Nxe4+ 25. Ke3 Nxc3 26. a3 {and the knight on c3 is sort of trapped.}) 19... Nb6 20. Re1 Bd7 21. Bxc5 Re8 {Now White doesn't really have an edge here.} 22. Rb1 Be6 $2 { A bad mistake by Aronian who simply loses a tempo.} (22... Bc8 {was more to the point as after} 23. Bxb6 axb6 24. Rxb6 Re5 $1 {the rook makes it to a5 square.}) 23. Bxb6 axb6 24. Rxb6 Bc8 25. Rb4 $1 {[%cal Ge8e5,Ge5a5] This is high level prophylactic thinking by Svidler against the Re5-a5 plan. Now to Re5 White can play Ra4.} Re5 26. Ra4 Kf7 27. Ra8 Bf5 28. Be2 (28. Rb8 Re7 29. a4 Bd3 30. c5 Ba6 $11) 28... Re7 29. c5 Kf6 30. a4 Re5 31. Rf8+ {This is an important finesse. Giving an intermediate check to push the king in an unfavourable location. Because on e7 the pawn on b7 will fall with the check and on e6 Bc4+ is strong. It is a different matter that this position is drawn but still such finesses are always important.} Kg6 32. Rb8 Rxc5 33. Rxb7 (33. c4 Ra5 34. Rxb7 Rxa4 35. Ke3 Kf6 $11) 33... Rxc3 34. a5 Bd3 35. Bxd3+ Rxd3 { The rook endgame is just drawn.} 36. a6 c5 37. a7 Ra3 38. Ke2 c4 39. Kd2 h5 40. Kc2 c3 41. h4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow, Russia"] [Date "2016.03.15"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2016.03.15"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 h6 7. a4 a5 {The players are following the game Carlsen-Adams from Wijk Aan Zee 2016. Here Carlsen went Na3 but Caruana first inserts Re1.} 8. Re1 O-O 9. Na3 Re8 10. Nc2 Ba7 11. Be3 Be6 12. Bb5 Bd7 13. Bxa7 Nxa7 14. Bc4 Nc8 {Caruana thought that this manoeuvre was a little odd, but according to Topalov Black should be completely fine here.} 15. Ne3 Nb6 16. Bb3 c6 17. h3 Be6 18. Bc2 Qc7 19. d4 { White has a slight more pleasant position.} Nc4 20. Nxc4 Bxc4 21. Qd2 Rad8 22. Rad1 Be6 23. Qe3 b6 24. Nd2 c5 25. Bd3 Re7 $6 {This doesn't seem to be a very useful move. Emil Sutovsky was very critical about it in his facebook post: "Topalov didn't have much of a problem out of the opening, but he simply stunned me by making a move Re8-e7 in a very complex position literally within a few seconds. The position required quite some thought, and it could have been a critical point"} 26. d5 Bd7 27. Ra1 {The idea of Ra1 followed by b4 is very interesting.} Nh5 28. b4 Nf4 {The knight is well placed on f4 but later on it becomes the sole reason why Black's position goes downhill. It comes in the way of other pieces.} 29. bxa5 bxa5 30. Reb1 Rf8 31. Bb5 Bc8 32. Bf1 f5 { It is an interesting position with White playing on the queenside and Black on the other wing. But soon Topalov goes wrong.} 33. c4 Ref7 34. Ra3 fxe4 35. Nxe4 Bf5 36. Rab3 {As previously pointed out the knight on f4 really stops Black from getting his required counterplay.} Bg6 37. Rb6 Qe7 $2 (37... Bxe4 { was necessary and although White is clearly better, Black doesn't lose material. Instead Topalov hallucinated and committed a blunder.}) 38. Nxd6 { White has simply won material and stands just better.} Nxh3+ 39. Qxh3 {True the rook on b1 is hanging but so is the guy on f7. So it just a complete piece up position.} Rf6 40. Nc8 $1 Qd8 {[#]} 41. R1b5 $2 {An error on the 41st move. Very surprising.} (41. Rxf6 Qxf6 42. Rb2 {is just curtains. White is a piece up and there is nothing more to play for as} Bf5 {fails to} 43. Qxf5 $18 { [%csl Rf5,Rg8][%cal Rc8e7]}) 41... Rxf2 {Now it gets a little complicated.} 42. Rxg6 Rxf1+ 43. Kh2 Qxc8 44. Qxc8 (44. Qxh6 {would have still given White excellent winning chances.}) 44... Rxc8 45. Rc6 (45. Rb7 Rf7 46. Rc6 $5 { was an option. But it is not enough to win because after} Rxb7 47. Rxc8+ Kf7 48. Rxc5 Rb4 $11 {it is just equal.}) 45... Re8 {The two black rooks combined with the e-pawn give Black enough counterplay to hold a draw.} 46. Rcxc5 e4 47. d6 Rd8 48. Rc6 Rd1 49. c5 e3 50. Rb2 Rd2 51. Rb1 e2 52. Re1 Rf8 {Quite a heartbreak for Caruana who could have been on 2.5/4 with this win.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.15"] [Round "4"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2016.03.15"] {Prior to this game Anand and Karjakin have played against each other 26 times in different formats of the game - Blitz, Classical, Rapid. There have been eight decisive results all in the favour of Vishy Anand. Naturally the Indian ace has a psychological edge when facing the young Russian.} 1. Nf3 {Karjakin sticks to his policy of beginning the game with 1.Nf3 as he did against Svidler and Nakamura.} d5 2. e3 $5 {Although not completely silly, this is a highly unambitious move. In a way it takes away quite a bit of flexibility in from White's setup and makes d4 lines pretty harmless. Karjakin's natural inclination was towards avoiding Vishy Anand's home preparation.} Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. b3 Be7 5. Bb2 O-O 6. Nc3 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 {The game has transposed into a well-known position and it looks like we would follow some of the classical games like the ones played by Botvinnik, Larsen, Smyslov etc. However, Sergey gives this position his own modern touch!} 8. Qc2 $5 Nc6 9. h4 $5 $146 { [%cal Gh2h4] The highly interesting novelty. The idea of this move is to prepare Ng5 at some point and force White to weaken his kingside with a pawn move.} b6 10. a3 (10. Ng5 f5) 10... f5 {Anand tries to be safe and shuts the b1-h7 diagonal. What he should be really careful about is the fact that he is extending his position and some of the squares might become weak due to these pawn moves.} 11. Bb5 Bb7 12. Nxd5 exd5 (12... Qxd5 {was definitely a worthwhile alternative.} 13. Bc4 Qd6 14. Ng5 Bxg5 15. hxg5 Na5 {should not be such a huge problem for Black.}) 13. d4 {After playing the move h4, suddenly Karjakin switches to positional chess! Something has not really gone according to his plan, or has it?!!} Rc8 14. dxc5 bxc5 15. O-O {After the game I was curious as to why Sergey, who seemed all aggressive and wanted to blow Anand off the board, had suddenly become positional and played moves like d4 and 0-0. Well the reason is as simple as Karjakin explains after the game. "I wanted to provoke him into playing f5 and that's what he did!"} Bf6 (15... f4 16. Bd3 $1 $16) 16. Rfd1 (16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Qxc5 Ne5 $44) 16... Ne7 17. Bxf6 Rxf6 18. g3 { The position is around equal at this point. It is a well know fact that the side with the isolated or hanging pawns must keep more pieces on the board. Anand's next move breaks this rule and looks clearly like a positional error.} Ba6 $6 {[%cal Gb7a6] More the pieces get exchanged, more the c5 and d5 duo start becoming weak.} 19. Bxa6 Rxa6 20. Qc3 Rb6 21. Rac1 Qd6 $6 {Another inaccuracy. The queen is not at all well placed on d6. As Sergey shows Ne5 will threaten moves like Nc4 and Nd3.} 22. Ne5 $1 Rb7 23. Nd3 $1 {And this is what we were talking about. The hanging pawns become super weak. The c5 pawn advances and the rest is just pain for the Indian champion.} c4 24. bxc4 Rxc4 25. Qe5 {The queens have to be exchanged.} Qxe5 (25... Qc6 26. Rxc4 dxc4 27. Nc5 $18) 26. Nxe5 Rxc1 27. Rxc1 $16 {White has a better knight, a better rook, a better pawn structure and a clear plan of improving his king. The rest as they say is a matter of technique for a strong player like Karjakin.} g6 28. Rc5 Kg7 29. Ra5 Kf6 30. Nd3 Rc7 31. Ra6+ Kg7 32. Nf4 Rd7 33. Kf1 Ng8 34. Ne6+ Kf7 35. Nd4 Ne7 36. Nb5 Nc8 37. a4 Rb7 38. Rc6 Ne7 39. Ra6 Nc8 40. Rc6 Ne7 41. Rd6 Rb6 42. Rd7 a6 43. Nc3 {Anand resigned in this equal material position – a resignation that was not at all premature.} (43. Nc3 Re6 44. Nxd5 Ke8 45. Rxe7+ Rxe7 46. Nxe7 Kxe7 $18) 1-0 [Event "Candidates Tournament"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.16"] [Round "5"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E15"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {[Annotations by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 { The Queen's Indian is Sergey's trademark opening these days.} 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 d5 (7... O-O 8. Bg2 c6 9. e4 d5 10. Qe2 $5 {was an old move that Veselin used very recently to win a nice game during the World Cup.} b5 11. e5 Ne8 12. cxb5 cxb5 13. Qe3 Nc6 14. Bf1 $1 {The point of Veselin's idea is to stabilize his queenside and then move forward on the kingside, keeping his king safe in the center.} Rc8 15. Bd3 Nc7 16. Rc1 Ba3 17. Rd1 Be7 18. h4 b4 19. Ne2 Bxd3 20. Qxd3 {with already a nice edge for White. Topalov,V (2816)-Zhigalko,S (2656)/Baku AZE 2015}) 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O Re8 { Black just wants to play c5 and consolidate his pawn on d5, as with coordinated pieces he should be active enough to compensate for his weakened center.} 11. Rb1 $5 {It is rather difficult to even come up with this move and seriously check it, but it has one serious point as it will be useful in preparing b4, which is very desirable in this position.} (11. Ne5 Bb7 12. Rc1 Nbd7 13. Bg5 c6 14. f4 {was one of White's many earlier tries in this line.}) 11... c5 {Entering the position Veselin wanted to obtain. He was critical of this move but at the same time I understand why allowing b4 wouldn't one's cup of tea.} (11... Nbd7 12. b4 {would be a desirable achievement as Black is reduced to passivity and can't make use of the square c4.} Bc4 13. Bf4 { and Black has to act fast against Nd2.} Ne4 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Nd2 Bxa2 16. Bxe4 $1 Bxb1 17. Qxb1 Nf6 (17... Rc8 18. Bxh7+ Kh8 19. Bf5 {A pawn, a pair of bishops, a domination in the center and Black's weakened king are good criterias to decide on sacrificing an exchange. Of course when all of them are checked, things look gloomy for Black.}) 18. Bxa8 Qxa8 19. e4 {Things might no be so clear but Black needs to come up with an active plan to fight White's central domination.}) 12. dxc5 bxc5 13. Ne5 Bb7 {Needed sooner rather than later to protect the essential pawn d5.} 14. Bf4 (14. Bg5 h6 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 { wouldn't be effective.}) 14... Bf8 (14... Na6 {looks logical to bring the knight to e6 via c7. Things are still uneasy though after} 15. Nc4 $1 Nc7 16. Re1 $1 (16. Bxc7 Qxc7 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18. Bxd5 Rad8 19. e4 Nxe4 {is a problem. Re1 thus creates this threat.}) 16... Ne6 (16... Rc8 17. Ne3) 17. Be5 dxc4 18. Bxb7 Ng4 19. f4 Nxe5 20. Bxa8 Qxa8 21. fxe5 {And Black may have some compensation for the exchange but is definitely suffering.}) (14... Bd6 $2 15. Nxd5 {just wins.} Bxe5 16. Nxf6+ Qxf6 17. Bxb7) 15. Rb2 $1 {Another hidden advantage of the move Rb1, as the pressure on the pawn d5 now looks overwhelming.} (15. Qd2 h6 $1 16. Rfd1 (16. h4 Nbd7) 16... g5 {is a different story now.}) 15... Bd6 $1 {A great defensive idea, taking advantage of the temporary placement of the rook on b2.} (15... g5 16. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 17. Bxg5 Nbd7 18. Nxd5 Qc8 19. e4 {would give White serious attacking chance for no real material investment yet :} Nxd5 (19... Bg7 20. Rd2 $1 Nxd5 21. Rxd5 $1 Nf8 (21... Bxd5 22. Qxd5+ Kf8 23. Bh3) 22. f4 $1 {with the idea f5 to remove the e6 square for Black's knight. Now things are forced :} Bxd5 23. Qxd5+ Qe6 24. e5 Qxd5 25. Bxd5+ Kg6 26. h4 $1 h6 27. Bxa8 Rxa8 28. f5+ Kh7 29. Bf4 Re8 30. e6 {with a very difficult pawn down endgame for Black after} Nxe6 31. fxe6 Rxe6) 20. exd5 (20. Bh3 $5 N5f6 $1 (20... N5b6 21. Qh5+ Kg8 22. Bf5 Bg7 23. Bxh7+ Kf8 24. Qf3+ {wins}) 21. Bxf6 Qc6 22. Bxd7 Qxe4 $1 23. Bxe8+ Rxe8 24. f3 Qe3+ 25. Rff2 Qe1+ 26. Qxe1 Rxe1+ 27. Rf1 Rxf1+ 28. Kxf1 Kxf6 {After the turmoil has passed Black should easily hold this endgame as a pair of bishops is always a great defending asset.}) 20... Nf6 21. b4 $5 {looks critical for Black :} c4 ( 21... cxb4 $6 22. Rc2 Qd7 23. Rc4 {And the drunken rook finally finds the target! The king is defenceless against this new addition :} Bg7 (23... Nxd5 24. Rd4 Re5 25. Bf4) 24. Bxf6 $1 Bxf6 25. Qc2 Kf8 26. Rc7 Rac8 27. Rxd7 Rxc2 28. Rxb7 {with great winning chances.}) 22. Bxf6 Kxf6 23. Re2 Rxe2 24. Qxe2 c3 25. Rc1 {And White is getting a lot of pawns while the king will remain exposed forever.}) (15... h6 16. Rd2 g5 17. Nxd5 {is a model example on why having the queen behind the rook is generally the most effective way to put pressure on an open file.}) (15... Na6 16. Nc4 $1 Nb4 17. Rd2 Qc8 18. Na5 { spells trouble on the d5 pawn.}) 16. Nd3 (16. Nxd5 {is the obvious try but Black now has resources} Bxd5 $1 17. Bxd5 (17. Nxf7 Bxf7 18. Bxa8 Nbd7 $1 19. Qxd6 Qxa8 20. f3 {might be better for white but Black has good defensive chances with for example} a5 21. e4 a4) 17... Bxe5 18. Rd2 Nbd7 19. Bxe5 Rxe5 20. Bxa8 Qxa8 21. Rxd7 Nxd7 22. Qxd7 Rxe2 23. Qb5 $1 Re5 (23... Rxa2 $4 24. Re1 Kf8 25. Qxc5+ Kg8 26. Qd5 $1 Qf8 27. Qd7) 24. b4 h5 $1 25. bxc5 Qc8 26. Rc1 h4 {And Black is likely in time to launch his counterplay on White's king.}) (16. Nxf7 $1 {was the right continuation to the attack, but it was a less than obvious shot :} Kxf7 17. Nxd5 Bxf4 (17... Ne4 18. Qd3 Bxf4 19. Bxe4 Rxe4 20. Qxe4 Qxd5 21. Qxf4+) 18. Nxf6 Qxd1 19. Rxd1 Re7 20. Nd5 Be5 21. Nxe7 Bxg2 22. Rc2 Bh3 $1 23. Nd5 (23. Rxc5 Nd7) 23... Na6 24. Rc4 {and White is better as Black's pieces are not coordinated well enough to make use of the bishop pair, but in any case it will give them decent drawing chances.}) 16... Na6 17. Bxd6 (17. Rd2 Nc7 (17... Rb8 {with the idea e3 d4, as offered by Veselin, doesn't work due to} 18. Nxd5 $1 Bxd5 19. Bxd5 Nxd5 20. Bxd6 Qxd6 21. Nf4 {and White wins a pawn.}) 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. Nf4 Rad8 20. Qc1 Bc6 $1 21. Rfd1 d4 {and Black looks fine now.}) 17... Qxd6 18. Nf4 Qe5 $5 {It was also possible to play Nc7 and Rad8 but Sergey uses the new option at his disposal.} 19. Rc2 Rad8 20. Na4 c4 $1 {Not a pleasant move to make but things get very direct.} (20... Ne4 21. Nd3 Qe7 22. Qc1 {It's remarkable how quickly White's pieces can switch from pressuring d5 to c5!}) 21. Qd2 (21. bxc4 dxc4 22. Qa1 Qf5 $1 23. Rxc4 Bxg2 24. Kxg2 Rxe2 $1 (24... g5 25. Kg1 $1 Rd6 26. Ng2 Rxe2 27. Nc3 {as indicated by Veselin, still looks dangerous for Black.}) 25. Rd1 Ree8 {And White keeps some advantage thanks to the awkward position of the Na6 which is dominated by the Rc4, but the simplified nature of the position should help him to hold a draw.}) 21... g5 $5 {Trying to solve all problems as directly as possible! Things could backfire though and it looks a bit dangerous to me.} (21... Rd7 22. h4 $5 {likely was the move that Sergey wanted to avoid, building a stable square for the knight.} (22. Rd1 g5 23. Nh3 h6 {is a better version of the game as the rook is out of the f file now.}) 22... cxb3 23. axb3 d4 {And the pawn b3 will be difficult to protect efficiently :} 24. Nd3 (24. Bxb7 Rxb7 25. Rc4 Rxb3 26. Qxd4 Qxd4 27. Rxd4 Rb4) 24... Qe7 25. Bxb7 Rxb7 26. Nac5 Nxc5 27. Nxc5 Ne4 $1 28. Qxd4 Nxc5 29. Rxc5 Qxe2) 22. Nh3 h6 23. f4 gxf4 24. Qxf4 { Keeping the queens looked double-edged, that's exactly why I'm surprised Veselin didn't go for it as things could be bad very soon for Black if he doesn't react properly.} (24. Rxf4 $1 Ne4 (24... cxb3 25. axb3 Ne4 26. Qc1 Rc8 27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. Qe3 Nb4 29. Nf2 {with a dangerous attack.}) 25. Qc1 Nb4 26. Bxe4 dxe4 27. Rxc4 Nd3 $3 28. Rg4+ (28. exd3 $2 exd3 {followed by d2 leaves White defenceless!} 29. Nc3 (29. Rg4+ Kh7 {and he has no checks.}) 29... d2 30. Qf1 Qa5 $1) 28... Kh7 29. Qf1 (29. Qe3 $2 Qa1+ 30. Kg2 Ne1+ 31. Kf2 Rd2 $3 ( 31... Nd3+ {is enough for a draw but not the best in the position!}) 32. Qxd2 e3+ 33. Qxe3 Rxe3 34. Kxe3 Ng2+ {And the attack crashes through.}) 29... Bd5 30. exd3 (30. Rc3 Be6 31. Rh4 e3 $1 32. Rxd3 Rxd3 33. Qb1 Bf5 $1 34. exd3 Bxh3 (34... e2 $6 35. Ng5+ Kg7 36. Nf3) 35. d4+ Bf5 {with a likely draw even if Black is now on the right side of it!}) 30... Bxc4 31. dxc4 e3 32. Qxf7+ Kh8 33. Nf4 Qa1+ 34. Kg2 Rd2+ 35. Ne2 (35. Kh3 $4 Qf1+) 35... Rxe2+ 36. Kh3 Rd8 $1 37. Rh4 Qg7 38. Qe6 Qg5 {is one of the most crazy computer lines I've seen recently. It actually goes on :} 39. Nc3 Rf2 40. Nd5 e2 41. Nf4 e1=Q 42. Rxh6+ (42. Qxe1 Qf5+ 43. Rg4 Rxf4 44. gxf4 Rd3+ 45. Kh4 Qf6+ 46. Kh5 Rh3+ 47. Rh4 Qf5+ 48. Kxh6 Qf6+) 42... Kg7 43. Rg6+ Qxg6 44. Qxg6+ Kf8 45. Qf6+ Ke8 46. Qg6+ Kd7 47. Qf5+ {and Black can't escape the perpetual check.}) 24... cxb3 25. axb3 Kg7 (25... Qxf4 26. Nxf4 Ng4 27. Rfc1 Ne3 28. Rd2 {is still a bit unpleasant. Black really needs to find a good future for his Na6 to breath freely.}) 26. Qxe5 (26. Nb2 Rd6 $1 27. Nd3 Qxf4 28. Nhxf4 Rb6 29. Rb1 Re7 {followed by Nb4 should only be minimally worse for Black.}) 26... Rxe5 27. Nf4 Re7 28. Nd3 Ng4 $1 {Sergey seeks active counterplay again to compensate for the awkward position of his knight. It still has to be pointed out that the knight controls the important c5 and more importantly c7 squares!} 29. Rf4 Ne3 30. Rd2 d4 31. Bh3 Be4 32. Nac5 Nxc5 33. Nxc5 f5 {Everyone's active, and after the next move simplifications are coming up, not without good reason.} 34. g4 fxg4 35. Bxg4 Nxg4 36. Rxg4+ Bg6 {and a draw is soon in sight!} 37. Kf2 Re5 38. Nd3 Rf5+ 39. Ke1 h5 40. Rg1 a5 41. Rc2 {A great defensive effort by Sergey who answered a lot of difficult questions after Veselin's great idea in the opening. He seems to be the player in the best shape so far and might soon be the man to beat!} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.16"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O Nd4 6. Nxd4 Bxd4 7. Nd2 (7. c3 Bb6 8. Na3 O-O 9. Bg5 d5 10. exd5 Qxd5 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Bc4 Qd7 13. Nc2 Qg4 { Anand,V (2784)-Kramnik,V (2801) Zuerich 2016}) 7... a6 8. Ba4 b5 9. Bb3 d6 10. a4 (10. Nf3 Bb6 11. h3 O-O 12. c3 Re8 13. Re1 h6 14. Be3 c5 15. a4 Rb8 { Tomashevsky,E (2728)-Ponomariov,R (2712) Huaian 2016}) 10... Bb6 11. axb5 Bg4 12. Nf3 axb5 13. Rxa8 Qxa8 14. h3 Be6 15. Bxe6 fxe6 16. Nh2 O-O 17. Ng4 Qe8 $6 (17... Nxg4 18. Qxg4 Qa2 {"might just be simpler in fact." (Nakamura)}) ({Or} 17... Qa2 {immediately.} 18. Nxf6+ Rxf6 19. g3 h6 20. Kg2 Kh7 21. h4 $5 Qb1 22. g4) 18. Be3 Bxe3 19. Nxe3 {Anand was happy to get the knight here. "This sort of stabilizes my position. It can get unpleasant for Black very fast."} Qc6 20. Qd2 d5 {Very direct play. "I realized it's very difficult to do something here. " (Anand)} 21. f3 d4 22. Ng4 Nxg4 23. hxg4 h6 24. g5 $6 ({A better chance was} 24. Ra1 Ra8 ({Nakamura was planning} 24... Kh7) 25. Rxa8+ Qxa8 26. g5 $1 (26. Qb4 Qc6 {Anand}) 26... hxg5 (26... Qa1+ 27. Kh2 Qxb2 28. gxh6) (26... h5 27. g6 Qd8 28. Qa5 $1 {Nakamura}) 27. Qxg5 Qa1+ 28. Kh2 Qxb2 29. Qxe5 Qxc2 30. Qxe6+ Kh8 31. Qc8+ Kh7 32. Qf5+ Kg8 33. Qxb5 {was what Nakamura had seen.}) 24... hxg5 25. Qxg5 Qxc2 26. Qxe5 (26. Rc1 Qxd3 27. Rxc7 Qe3+ 28. Qxe3 dxe3 29. Rc3 Rd8 30. Rxe3 b4 31. Rb3 Rd4 32. Kh2 Kf7 33. Kg3 Kf6 34. Kg4 Rc4 35. g3 Rd4 36. Re3 Rc4 37. Re2 Rd4 38. Rc2 Rd3 39. Rc8 Rd2 {is nothing. (Anand)}) 26... Qxd3 27. Qxe6+ Kh7 28. Qh3+ Kg8 29. Qe6+ Kh7 30. Qh3+ Kg8 {"We repeated and reached 30 at the same time." (Anand)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.16"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A77"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2794"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 exd5 6. cxd5 g6 {"I've been trying to play the Benoni for a long time but nobody lets me!" (Caruana) "You have a partner in me. You can always play Benoni with me! (Aronian)} 7. e4 Bg7 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Nd2 Nbd7 11. Qc2 Ne5 12. b3 Bg4 (12... g5 13. Bb2 a6 14. a4 g4 15. Nd1 Rb8 16. a5 Ng6 17. Bc4 Qe7 18. Re1 Bf5 {Fedoseev,V (2674) -Grover,S (2519) Dubai 2015}) 13. Bxg4 (13. f3 Bd7 14. Bb2 {allows} Nh5 { when Aronian didn't like} 15. g3) ({Alexandra Kosteniuk suggested} 13. f3 Bd7 14. h3 {to go f4.}) 13... Nfxg4 14. Bb2 {"A comfortable plus." (Aronian)} a6 ({ Interesting was} 14... c4 $5 15. bxc4 Rc8 16. h3 Nf6 17. Nb5 a6 18. Nd4 b5 19. a4 Nxc4 20. Nc6 {and now simply} Nxb2 $1 ({not Kosteniuk's} 20... Rxc6 21. dxc6 Nxb2 22. c7) 21. axb5 axb5 22. Qxb2 Nxe4 23. Qxb5 Nc3 $1 {and Black is better.} ) 15. h3 (15. a4 c4) 15... Nf6 16. f4 Ned7 17. Nc4 {"I got carried away. I thought it was time to mate my opponent." (Aronian)} Nb6 ({Caruana looked at} 17... Qc7 18. a4 Rab8 19. a5 b5 20. axb6 Nxb6 21. Rxa6 Nxc4 22. bxc4 {but missed that he can play} Nxe4 $1) 18. Rae1 Nxc4 19. bxc4 Nd7 ({Aronian was optimistic about his position after} 19... Nh5 20. g4 Bd4+ 21. Kg2 Nf6 22. Nd1) 20. e5 (20. a4 Bd4+ 21. Kh2 Qa5) 20... dxe5 21. f5 {"This looked really good for White but maybe it's not." (Aronian)} b5 22. Ne4 Nb6 23. Bc1 ({At first Aronian was planning} 23. f6 Bf8 24. h4 Nxc4 25. h5 Qxd5 (25... Ra7 $5) 26. hxg6 hxg6 {but then he didn't trust it. In the press conference the first line he tried was winning:} 27. Qb3 $1 Qd7 28. Qg3 Nxb2 29. Qh2 Qg4 30. Re3 { "You see? I mated you my friend!" said Aronian to Caruana. :-) "I rejected it because I didn't believe in it but maybe I should have."}) 23... Nxc4 24. d6 gxf5 (24... Qd7 25. Bh6 $5 (25. g4) 25... gxf5 26. Bxg7 Kxg7 27. Ng3 Re6 28. Rxf5) 25. Rxf5 Nxd6 26. Bg5 Qa5 ({The player thought} 26... Qd7 27. Nf6+ Bxf6 28. Rxf6 Re6 29. Qd3 {was just winning for White.}) 27. Bd2 Qd8 28. Bg5 Qa5 29. Bd2 Qd8 30. Bg5 {"It seemed like despite my three-pawn advantage I have to take a draw."} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.16"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D78"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. c4 c6 6. Qb3 {"I spent 15 minute here thinking of something he might not have looked at carefully before the game." (Svidler)} O-O 7. O-O a5 8. cxd5 a4 9. Qd1 cxd5 10. Nc3 Ne4 (10... Qa5 11. Ne5 Nc6 12. e3 e6 13. Nd3 b6 14. Bd2 Qa6 15. Qc2 Bd7 16. Rfc1 Rfc8 { Lenderman,A (2623)-Bareev,E (2669) Las Vegas 2015}) 11. Nd2 (11. Ne5 Bf5 12. Nxa4 Qa5 13. b3 b5 14. Nb2 Bxe5 15. dxe5 Nc6 16. Bxe4 dxe4 {Rustemov,A (2598) -Zvjaginsev,V (2653) Moscow 2005}) (11. Nxa4 Qa5 12. b3 b5 13. Nb2 Nc6 { with nice compensation according to Svidler.}) 11... Nxc3 12. bxc3 Qa5 13. Qc2 Bf5 ({Svidler didn't remember why he didn't play} 13... Be6 $5 14. Ba3 Rc8) 14. e4 dxe4 15. Nxe4 (15. Nc4 e3 16. Nxa5 Bxc2 17. Nxb7 e2 18. Re1 Bd1) 15... Nd7 16. Rb1 Qc7 ({Svidler didn't like} 16... Nf6 17. Rxb7 Nxe4 18. Bxe4 Bxe4 19. Qxe4 Qxc3 20. d5) 17. Qe2 Rfe8 18. Be3 Rab8 {The players agreed what White was doing well here. Because of the many possibilities, Giri was taking a lot of time here. Maybe too much.} 19. Rb4 (19. c4 e5 20. d5 Bxe4 21. Bxe4 Nc5 22. Bc2 Bf8) 19... e5 20. Rc4 Qb6 21. Rb4 Qc7 22. dxe5 Nxe5 23. Bf4 $6 {"A disaster." (Giri)} ({Svidler thought White has to go} 23. Rxa4 Qc6 (23... Bg4 24. Qc2) ( 23... b5 24. Ra7 Qc4 25. Qxc4 Nxc4 26. Bf4 {and Ng5 coming (Svidler)}) (23... Rbc8) 24. Nc5 {Svidler}) (23. Rfb1 Bg4 {Giri}) 23... Bd7 24. Rd1 Bc6 25. Rbd4 ( 25. Nd6 $2 Nf3+ 26. Qxf3 Bxf3 27. Nxe8 Qxc3 $1 {wins (Svidler).}) 25... Re6 ( 25... f5 $6 26. Nd6) 26. Ng5 (26. Qd2 Rbe8) 26... Ree8 27. Ne4 (27. Bxc6 Qxc6 28. Re4 h6 $1 {Svidler}) 27... Re6 28. Ng5 Ree8 29. Ne4 Re6 30. Ng5 Ree8 { "There are always all kinds of resources. The Gruenfeld is a resilient opening!" (Svidler)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.16"] [Round "5"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O Re8 {Sergey plays te same opeing that he did against Anish Giri in round three. Topalov came to the board with a new idea which he now showcases.} 11. Rb1 $5 $146 {[%cal Ga1b1] [#] As Topalov explained after the game, this move is connected with the idea of getting in b4 to stop c5. White always wants to make this move in the opening in this line but is never able to. This is a very brute way to force it.} c5 {Topalov condemned this move after the game, but in a way it looks perfectly natural because it nips the b4 idea in the bud.} (11... Nbd7 {is another option as after} 12. b4 Bb7 ( 12... Bc4 $6 13. Bf4 {[%cal Gf3d2]}) 13. b5 a6 14. a4 axb5 15. axb5 Ne4 { looks like a playable position for Black.}) 12. dxc5 bxc5 13. Ne5 Bb7 14. Bf4 Bf8 {[%cal Ge7f8]} (14... Bd6 {doesn't work because of} 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Bxd5 Bxd5 17. Qxd5 $18) 15. Rb2 {Trying to transfer the rook to d2. But this small detail of rook on b2 instead of b1 makes such a huge difference. And Karjakin was extremely alert.} Bd6 $5 {[%cal Ge7f8,Ge7d6] [#]} 16. Nd3 (16. Nxd5 { was still possible but after} Bxd5 $1 (16... Bxe5 17. Nxf6+ Bxf6 18. Qxd8 Rxd8 19. Bxb7 Bxb2 20. Bxa8 $18) 17. Bxd5 (17. Nxf7 $5 Bxf7 18. Bxa8 Nbd7 19. Qxd6 Qxa8 20. f3 $14) 17... Bxe5 {White has to find this important resource with} 18. Rd2 $1 (18. Bxe5 Qxd5 $17) 18... Nbd7 19. Bxe5 Nxe5 (19... Rxe5 $6 20. Bxa8 Qxa8 21. Rxd7 $16) 20. Bxf7+ Nxf7 21. Rxd8 Raxd8 22. Qc2 $14) 16... Na6 17. Bxd6 Qxd6 18. Nf4 Qe5 $1 {One can say that the danger has passed for Black and he has equalised out of the opening.} 19. Rc2 Rad8 20. Na4 c4 21. Qd2 g5 22. Nh3 h6 23. f4 gxf4 24. Qxf4 cxb3 25. axb3 Kg7 26. Qxe5 Rxe5 27. Nf4 {White still has a small edge in the position, but thanks to the reduced number of pawns the game soon ends in a draw.} Re7 28. Nd3 Ng4 29. Rf4 Ne3 30. Rd2 d4 31. Bh3 Be4 32. Nac5 Nxc5 33. Nxc5 f5 34. g4 fxg4 35. Bxg4 Nxg4 36. Rxg4+ Bg6 37. Kf2 (37. Rgxd4 Rxd4 38. Rxd4 Rxe2 39. Rd7+ Bf7 40. Rxa7 Rb2 $11) 37... Re5 38. Nd3 Rf5+ 39. Ke1 h5 40. Rg1 a5 41. Rc2 {An interesting game especially the opening play where Topalov unleased a novelty.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.16"] [Round "5"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D78"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. Nf3 $5 {Anish wants to stay away from Svidler's excellent home preparation and just have a normal game of chess.} d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. c4 c6 {By a transposition we have reached the popular solid variation of the Fianchetto Grunfeld. As Peter said in the press conference: "It is funny that people are trying to find weird move orders to force me into playing the Grunfeld, which is clearly my strongest opening!"} 6. Qb3 O-O 7. O-O a5 $5 { Svidler's main move is 7...Qb6 but he had played this once before against Pavel Tregubov in 2004.} 8. cxd5 a4 9. Qd1 cxd5 10. Nc3 {The players could have reached the same position with the pawn on a7 as well. What does having the pawn on a4 mean? In some cases it can be a weakness, but it is also a strength that confers a lot of space to Black on the queenside.} Ne4 11. Nd2 $146 (11. Nxa4 {doesn't really make sense as after} Qa5 12. Nc3 (12. b3 b5 13. Nb2 Nc6 $44 {followed by Bf5 is a free flowing position for Black.}) 12... Nxc3 13. bxc3 Qxc3 14. Bd2 Qc4 $11) 11... Nxc3 12. bxc3 Qa5 13. Qc2 Bf5 $6 {"I just blanked out!" Svidler was quite critical about this move and rightly so. He could have kept better control on the position by playing his bishop to e6 instead of f5.} (13... Be6 {with Rc8 coming up next. The opening has gone really well for Black.}) 14. e4 dxe4 15. Nxe4 Nd7 16. Rb1 Qc7 17. Qe2 {White definitely has a small edge now, mainly because his pieces are much better co-ordinated. The rook on b1, the bishop on g2 and the dark squared bishop coming to f4, it all looks pretty good for Anish.} Rfe8 18. Be3 (18. Bf4 e5 { is fine for Black.}) 18... Rab8 19. Rb4 $1 {Giri wanted to stop Black from playing e5 at all costs but was not able to do so. But this rook lift is excellent. It puts pressure on the a4 pawn and also prepares doubling on the b-file.} e5 20. Rc4 (20. d5 {was definitely an option} Bxe4 21. Rxe4 $5 { so that Bf8 doesn't come with a tempo.} (21. Bxe4 Bf8 22. Rxa4 Nc5 {Anish didn't ike the solid control that Black had on the dark squares.} 23. Rb4 Nxe4 24. Rxe4 b5 $44 {Black is a pawn down but has excellent compensation.}) 21... Nc5 (21... f5 22. Rxa4 $16) 22. Rb4 $16 {[%cal Gf1b1]}) (20. Rxa4 Bxe4 21. Bxe4 b5 22. Rb4 exd4 23. Bxd4 Bxd4 24. cxd4 Nf6 25. f3 Qc3 $44) 20... Qb6 21. Rb4 Qc7 22. dxe5 Nxe5 23. Bf4 Bd7 $1 {[#] A strong regrouping of pieces by Svidler. The bishop will be well placed on c6.} 24. Rd1 Bc6 $11 {Black has absolutely no problems now.} 25. Rbd4 Re6 26. Ng5 Ree8 27. Ne4 Re6 28. Ng5 Ree8 29. Ne4 Re6 30. Ng5 Ree8 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.16"] [Round "5"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "Amruta Mokal/ Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O Nd4 6. Nxd4 Bxd4 7. Nd2 ({ Anand had played the main move just a month ago, but did not get much from the opening and the game ended in a draw (against Vladimir Kramnik in Zurich Chess Challenge, Switzerland, Feb 2016)} 7. c3 Bb6 8. Na3 O-O 9. Bg5 d5 10. exd5 Qxd5 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Bc4 Qd7 13. Nc2 Qg4 14. d4 Qxd1 15. Raxd1 Bg4 16. Rd2 $11 { 1/2-1/2 (32) Anand,V (2784)-Kramnik,V (2801) Zuerich 2016}) 7... a6 8. Ba4 b5 9. Bb3 d6 10. a4 $146 {[#] A novelty but not an earth-shattering one. a4 looks like a very normal move that one would play in such positions.} ({The main game in this line between Tomashevsky-Ponomariov continued with} 10. Nf3) 10... Bb6 11. axb5 Bg4 12. Nf3 axb5 13. Rxa8 Qxa8 {Black doesn't seem to be having too many problems out of the opening.} 14. h3 Be6 {Nakamura decides to play safe and solid.} (14... Bh5 {will give some attacking chances to White.} 15. g4 Bg6 16. Nh4 O-O 17. Kg2 $40) 15. Bxe6 fxe6 {Such double pawns are quite often good to have as they control the critical central squares and also gives Black the open f-file.} 16. Nh2 O-O 17. Ng4 Qe8 18. Be3 Bxe3 (18... Nxg4 19. Bxb6 cxb6 20. Qxg4 $14 {looks at least a small edge for White.}) 19. Nxe3 {After the game Anand said that he was happy when he got the knight to e3.} Qc6 20. Qd2 d5 21. f3 ({White could try to open the position to get f5 square and create some imbalances, but with less space and blacks strong central pawns it would not be practically very easy to play.} 21. exd5 exd5 (21... Nxd5 22. Re1 $14 {[%csl Re5,Re6]}) 22. Ra1 d4 23. Ng4 Nxg4 24. hxg4 e4 25. dxe4 Qxe4 $11) 21... d4 22. Ng4 Nxg4 23. hxg4 h6 (23... Ra8 24. Qg5 Qxc2 25. Qxe5 Qxb2 26. Qxe6+ Kh8 27. Qc6 $14) 24. g5 (24. Ra1 Kh7 (24... Ra8 25. Rxa8+ Qxa8 26. g5 $36 ) 25. Qb4 Ra8 26. Rxa8 Qxa8 27. Qxb5 Qa1+ 28. Kf2 Qc1 $11) (24. Rc1 $5 { [%cal Gc2c3] with the idea of c3 was an interesting move and would have given White a small edge in this case. It's not that White would like to play c3, but he keeps it in reserve and asks Black what he is doing.} Ra8 25. g5 $1 $14) 24... hxg5 25. Qxg5 Qxc2 26. Qxe5 Qxd3 27. Qxe6+ Kh7 28. Qh3+ {One could say nothing much happened in the game and it was a pretty straight-forward draw.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.16"] [Round "5"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A77"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2794"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {This was by far the most interesting game of round five. Caruana really showed what a braveheart he was by employing the Benoni. Although Aronian was just too optimistic about his position, it surely looked dangerous for Black. The game ended in a draw, but there was a lot of excitement.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 $5 {As the commentator Miroshnichenko said, "Not the Berlin but the Benoni!" Same two letters at the start but completely different games!} 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 exd5 6. cxd5 g6 7. e4 Bg7 8. Be2 {Aronian chooses the classical setup of the good olden days with Be2, Nd2, Qc2 etc. Much more modern and aggressive is Bd3 followed by h3. But once you play something modern, it becomes theoretical, while with Be2 there quite some scope for creativity.} O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Nd2 Nbd7 11. Qc2 (11. a4 {was how one of the greatest defensive player in the world, Tigran Petrosian, liked to play. The move itself is a high class prophylactic move. It stops ideas of b5 and at the same time prepares a highly sophisticated manoeuvre with Ra3 so that the rook can help in the kingside defense!}) 11... Ne5 12. b3 $5 {Caruana said in the interview after the game that he had looked at this move and it seemed dangerous to say the least.} Bg4 13. Bxg4 (13. f3 {was possible but Aronian saw absolutely no need for this.}) 13... Nfxg4 14. Bb2 a6 15. h3 Nf6 16. f4 {Optically it seems that White is simply cruising. He has developed all of his pieces and has a nice central pawn majority, Nc4 is coming, so is Rae1 and e5 is well and truly on cards.} Ned7 17. Nc4 (17. a4 {Trying to play it slow was also an option.}) 17... Nb6 18. Rae1 (18. Nxb6 Qxb6 19. e5 {looks scary but can be met with} c4+ $1 20. Kh2 (20. Kh1 cxb3 21. axb3 Nh5 $1 $17) 20... cxb3 21. axb3 dxe5 22. fxe5 Rxe5 $1 23. Na4 Qd6 24. Bxe5 Qxe5+ $17) 18... Nxc4 19. bxc4 Nd7 $6 (19... Nh5 $5 {was Fabiano's intention, but he didn't go with it.} 20. g4 (20. e5 dxe5 21. f5 Ng3 $15) 20... Bd4+ 21. Kg2 Nf6 22. Nd1 {The computer thinks that this position is equal because Black can strike out with} b5 $1 $132) 20. e5 $1 { [#] A textbook positional idea which I explained in quite some detail in my DVD "Learn from the Classics". The point is very nice: if White played direct f5 then the e5 square would be a huge hole. However, by playing e5 dxe5 and then f5, the e5 square is covered by a pawn, the bishop on g7 is passive, all in all it is an excellent positional pawn sacrifice. It has been played in many classical games, one of them being Botvinnik-Pomar.} dxe5 21. f5 $1 b5 $1 {Caruana realises that he needs to be active. Just sitting and doing nothing would lead to a mate pretty soon.} (21... e4 22. Nxe4 $16) 22. Ne4 Nb6 23. Bc1 (23. f6 {was Aronian's intuition. He wanted to launch a very strong attack on the Black king. Look at his idea.} Bf8 24. h4 $3 {[#] I wonder how such ideas even come to these top players. In this position he wants to play h5 then take on g6 and after hxg6 by Black transfer his queen to h4 followed by Ng5 and deliver mate. Of course this takes a lot of time but it is interesting nonetheless.} Nxc4 25. h5 Qxd5 {This looks like the most critical way as Black has won two pawns.} (25... Nxb2 26. hxg6 hxg6 27. Qb3 $1 {[%cal Gb3h3]} Qd7 28. Qg3 Nd3 29. Qxd3 $16) (25... Ra7 {was a tricky try by Fabiano to avert mate. He want to capture back on g6 with the f-pawn. The engines immediately show how White can gain a decisive advantage.} 26. Qf2 $1 Qxd5 27. hxg6 fxg6 28. Rd1 Qf7 (28... Qxe4 29. f7+ $18) 29. Ng5 $18) 26. hxg6 hxg6 27. Qb3 {Threatening to go to h3 follwed by Ng5.} (27. Qf2 $5) 27... Qd7 {and now comes the Aronian special.} 28. Qg3 $1 Nxb2 29. Qh2 $3 {Threatening Ng5.} (29. Qh4 $2 Nd3 30. Ng5 Qd4+ $19) 29... Qg4 30. Re3 $1 $18 {and the mate on the h-file cannot be averted. Wasn't this a simply amazing bit of analysis by Aronian? Creativity, calculation, intuition, art and beauty all rolled into one. Only thing lacking during the game for Aronian was trust - the trust on his intuition!}) 23... Nxc4 24. d6 gxf5 (24... Nxd6 25. Rd1 $16) 25. Rxf5 Nxd6 26. Bg5 {This looks really scary for White, but Black has it under control with} Qa5 $1 {attacking the e1 rook.} (26... Qd7 27. Nf6+ Bxf6 28. Rxf6 Re6 {Looks like a defensive try but it seems highly risky as after} 29. Qf2 $1 $40 {it seems like White should have a strong attack.}) 27. Bd2 Qd8 28. Bg5 Qa5 29. Bd2 Qd8 30. Bg5 { An extremely exciting game of chess. And all thanks to Caruana who had the bravery to play the Benoni!} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.16"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D73"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2757"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. c4 c6 6. Qb3 O-O 7. O-O a5 $5 { Svidler spent 15 minutes here trying to find something that Giri might not have prepared in detail.} 8. cxd5 a4 9. Qd1 cxd5 10. Nc3 Ne4 ({Relevant:} 10... Qa5 11. Ne5 Nc6 12. e3 e6 13. Nd3 b6 14. Bd2 Qa6 15. Qc2 Bd7 16. Rfc1 Rfc8 17. Bf1 Qa7 18. Qd1 Bf8 19. Be1 Be8 20. f3 h5 21. Rc2 Qb7 22. Rac1 Na5 23. Ne5 Nd7 24. Nb5 Nxe5 25. dxe5 Bxb5 26. Bxb5 Rc5 27. Qe2 Nc4 28. Bxc4 dxc4 29. Rxc4 Rxe5 30. Rc7 Qb8 31. Rd7 Ra7 32. Rd3 Ra8 33. Rcd1 Rc5 34. e4 Qe8 35. Bc3 Bg7 36. Bxg7 Kxg7 37. Rd7 Rac8 38. Qe3 b5 39. e5 R5c7 40. Rxc7 {Lenderman,A (2623) -Bareev,E (2669) Las Vegas 2015 1/2-1/2}) 11. Nd2 $146 ({Predecessor (3):} 11. Ne5 Bf5 12. Nxa4 Qa5 13. b3 b5 14. Nb2 Bxe5 15. dxe5 Nc6 16. Bxe4 dxe4 17. Bd2 Qa3 18. Bc3 Rfd8 19. Qc1 b4 20. Bd2 Nd4 21. Re1 Rdc8 22. Nc4 Qxc1 23. Bxc1 Nc2 24. Bd2 Nxa1 25. Rxa1 Rcb8 26. Be3 Ra6 27. Bc5 Kf8 28. Kf1 Be6 29. Nd2 Rb5 30. Bd4 Bd5 31. Ke1 Rba5 32. f3 exf3 33. exf3 Rxa2 34. Rxa2 Rxa2 35. Bc5 Ra1+ 36. Ke2 g5 37. g4 Rh1 38. Bxb4 Rxh2+ 39. Ke3 h6 40. Bc3 Ke8 {Rustemov,A (2598) -Zvjaginsev,V (2653) Moscow 2005 0-1}) (11. Nxa4 Qa5 12. b3 b5 {is the idea with at least equality for black.}) 11... Nxc3 12. bxc3 Qa5 13. Qc2 (13. Ba3 Qxc3 14. Bxe7 Re8 15. Bc5) 13... Bf5 {Svidler had a feeling after the game this was a mistake and indeed Be6 seems stronger.} (13... Be6) 14. e4 dxe4 15. Nxe4 Nd7 16. Rb1 {Svidler missed this and was unhappy with his postiion.} Qc7 { "Here I was drifting a little bit because I honestly couldn't believe what I have done to my position." Svidler. Giri had lots of options here but he couldn't settle on anything clearly good for him.} (16... Nf6 17. Rxb7 Nxe4 18. Bxe4 Bxe4 19. Qxe4 Qxc3 20. d5 {was a position Svidler didn't like.}) 17. Qe2 Rfe8 18. Be3 {"Here my position is great, that's for sure" Giri.} Rab8 19. Rb4 (19. Rfc1) 19... e5 20. Rc4 (20. d5 {was the try for an advantage but Giri was getting frustrated here and "considering all the wrong moves."}) (20. Rxa4 exd4 $11) 20... Qb6 21. Rb4 (21. d5) 21... Qc7 22. dxe5 (22. d5 Bxe4 23. Rxe4 Nc5 24. Rb4) 22... Nxe5 23. Bf4 {"Bf4 is a disaster here." Giri.} (23. Rxa4 Rbc8 { with perhaps still some kind of edge.}) 23... Bd7 {Black has equalised finally. } 24. Rd1 Bc6 25. Rbd4 Re6 26. Ng5 Ree8 27. Ne4 Re6 {Black can avoid the repetition but there's not a huge upside to doing so.} 28. Ng5 Ree8 29. Ne4 Re6 30. Ng5 Ree8 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.16"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2790"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O Nd4 6. Nxd4 Bxd4 7. Nd2 ({ Relevant:} 7. c3 Bb6 8. Na3 O-O 9. Bg5 d5 10. exd5 Qxd5 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Bc4 Qd7 13. Nc2 Qg4 14. d4 Qxd1 15. Raxd1 Bg4 16. Rd2 exd4 17. Nxd4 Rfd8 18. Re1 Rd7 19. h3 Bh5 20. Be2 Bxe2 21. Rexe2 Bxd4 22. Rxd4 Rxd4 23. cxd4 Rd8 24. Re7 Rxd4 25. Rxc7 Rb4 26. b3 a5 27. g3 b5 28. Kg2 a4 29. bxa4 Rxa4 30. Rc2 Ra3 31. Rb2 Kg7 32. Rxb5 {1/2-1/2 (32) Anand,V (2784)-Kramnik,V (2801) Zuerich 2016}) 7... a6 8. Ba4 b5 9. Bb3 d6 10. a4 $146 ({Predecessor (5):} 10. Nf3 Bb6 11. h3 O-O 12. c3 Re8 13. Re1 h6 14. Be3 c5 15. a4 Rb8 16. axb5 axb5 17. Qe2 Be6 18. Bxe6 Rxe6 19. b3 d5 20. c4 bxc4 21. bxc4 dxe4 22. dxe4 Qc7 23. Qc2 Ba5 24. Red1 Bb4 25. Nh4 Kh7 26. Nf5 Ng8 27. Rd3 g6 28. Rad1 Qc6 29. Rd6 Qe8 30. Rxe6 Qxe6 31. Rd6 Qe8 32. Ng3 Rd8 33. Qd3 Rxd6 34. Qxd6 Qe7 35. Qc6 Kg7 36. Kh2 h5 37. Ne2 Nf6 38. Nc1 Qe6 39. Qxe6 fxe6 {Tomashevsky,E (2728)-Ponomariov,R (2712) Huaian 2016 1-0 (68)}) 10... Bb6 11. axb5 Bg4 12. Nf3 axb5 13. Rxa8 Qxa8 14. h3 Be6 15. Bxe6 fxe6 {If white has any advantage at all it's not much.} 16. Nh2 O-O 17. Ng4 Qe8 18. Be3 Bxe3 19. Nxe3 Qc6 20. Qd2 d5 21. f3 d4 22. Ng4 Nxg4 23. hxg4 h6 24. g5 {More or less forcing a draw.} (24. Rc1 {and maybe white can claim something but it won't be much at all.}) 24... hxg5 25. Qxg5 Qxc2 26. Qxe5 Qxd3 27. Qxe6+ Kh7 28. Qh3+ Kg8 29. Qe6+ Kh7 30. Qh3+ Kg8 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.16"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A77"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2794"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 exd5 6. cxd5 g6 7. e4 Bg7 8. Be2 ( 8. h3 O-O 9. Bd3 {is a fairly standard setup.}) 8... O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Nd2 Nbd7 11. Qc2 Ne5 12. b3 Bg4 $146 ({Relevant:} 12... g5 13. Bb2 a6 14. a4 g4 15. Nd1 Rb8 16. a5 Ng6 17. Bc4 Qe7 18. Re1 Bf5 19. exf5 Qxe1+ 20. Nf1 Nf8 21. Nde3 Rxe3 22. fxe3 Qh4 23. Ra4 Re8 24. b4 N8d7 25. b5 axb5 26. Bxb5 Re7 27. Bxd7 Nxd7 28. h3 h5 29. hxg4 Bxb2 30. Qxb2 Nf6 31. gxh5 Qxa4 32. Qxf6 Re4 33. Qxd6 Rg4 34. Qb8+ Kh7 35. Qxb7 Qe4 36. Qb2 Qxd5 37. a6 Qc6 38. a7 c4 39. f6 Qe4 40. g3 Rg8 41. Qb4 Rc8 42. Qb8 {Fedoseev,V (2674)-Grover,S (2519) Dubai 2015 1-0}) 13. Bxg4 Nfxg4 14. Bb2 a6 15. h3 Nf6 16. f4 Ned7 17. Nc4 Nb6 18. Rae1 Nxc4 19. bxc4 Nd7 20. e5 dxe5 21. f5 {Giving up material and sharpening the struggle.} b5 22. Ne4 Nb6 23. Bc1 (23. fxg6 fxg6 24. d6 (24. Bc1)) 23... Nxc4 24. d6 gxf5 25. Rxf5 Nxd6 26. Bg5 Qa5 27. Bd2 Qd8 28. Bg5 Qa5 (28... Qd7 29. Nf6+ Bxf6 30. Rxf6 Re6 31. Qf2 {still seems unclear.}) 29. Bd2 Qd8 30. Bg5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.17"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "166"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] [WhiteClock "0:00:10"] [BlackClock "0:05:50"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qc2 c5 6. d5 exd5 7. cxd5 Bb7 8. Bg2 Nxd5 9. O-O Nc6 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Qa4 Nf6 12. Nh4 O-O (12... g6 13. Bh6 Bf8 14. Bg5 Be7 15. Nc3 O-O 16. Rd2 a6 17. Rad1 b5 18. Qf4 Nh5 {Pashikian,A (2663) -Beliavsky,A (2656) Ohrid MKD 2009}) 13. Nc3 g6 14. Bg5 {Aronian was "proud" to have found this move.} (14. Bh6 Re8 15. Qf4 Qb8 $1) 14... Rb8 15. Bf4 Rc8 16. Bh6 Re8 17. Qf4 Na5 {Aronian was "very surprised" about this.} ({A lovely trick of course is} 17... Nh5 $2 18. Qxf7+ Kxf7 19. Bd5+ Kf6 20. Ne4+ Ke5 21. f4+ Nxf4 22. gxf4#) 18. Nf5 Bxg2 19. Nxe7+ {"Idiotic." (Aronian)} (19. Kxg2) 19... Qxe7 20. Kxg2 Qe5 {is about equal (Aronian).} 21. e3 {Here Aronian missed that Black has 22...Kg7.} d5 22. Bg5 Ne4 (22... Kg7 {is just equal (Aronian).}) 23. Rxd5 Qxf4 24. gxf4 Nxc3 25. bxc3 {Here Aronian thought he had a big advantage.} Kg7 26. Rd7 h6 27. Be7 Nc4 28. Rad1 a5 29. R1d5 {Aronian thought he should prevent b5 but afterward he felt that Black wasn't going to do that anyway.} (29. Kf3) 29... Rc6 30. Ra7 Re6 31. Rdd7 Kg8 32. h4 {"It's not easy to find a way to break through." (Aronian)} Kg7 33. Bd8 Kg8 34. Be7 Kg7 35. Rab7 Kg8 36. Rbc7 Na3 37. Bd8 Nc4 38. Be7 Na3 39. Rb7 Nc4 40. Kf3 a4 41. Rbc7 Nd2+ $6 ({After} 41... Na3 {Aronian didn't know what to do here.}) 42. Rxd2 R6xe7 43. Rc6 Re6 44. Rxe6 Rxe6 45. c4 {White has good chances "but it's probably a draw." (Aronian)} Kg7 46. e4 Re8 ({This surprised Aronian, who expected} 46... Re7) 47. e5 Rb8 48. Rd7 Kf8 49. f5 gxf5 {couple of inaccurate moves, prob winnign already} 50. Kf4 b5 51. cxb5 Rxb5 52. Kxf5 a3 53. f4 ({ "It's beyond me why I did not play} 53. Kf6 {I spent a lot of time, I was afraid he would find a fortress and then I created a fortress for him in my mind." (Aronian)}) 53... Rb4 54. Ra7 c4 55. Rxa3 Rb2 56. Ra6 Kg7 57. a4 c3 58. Ra7 c2 59. Rc7 Rb4 60. a5 Ra4 61. Rxc2 Rxa5 {"I know this is winning for White, " said Aronian. "You put the pawn on h5, bring your rook to d8, start bringing the king to e3 (the threat is always f5). I love learning this lesson because I'm learning in the process. And now children... On a check from the side always Rd4, then f5. Black can't preent f5." Kosteniuk said: "Now we know it," and Aronian replied: "Now I know it too!" "} 62. Rc4 Ra1 63. Rc7 Kf8 64. Rd7 Ra4 65. Rd3 Rc4 66. Re3 Ke7 67. Re4 Rc1 68. Rb4 Kf8 69. Rb6 Kg7 70. Rb7 Kf8 71. Rb8+ Kg7 72. Rb4 Ra1 73. Rd4 Ra2 74. Rd7 Kf8 $2 {Here Nakamura touched his king, and from what could be seen on the official broadcast, without saying "j'adoube" before doing so. Unfortunately for him, any king move loses quickly. } 75. Kf6 Ra6+ 76. Rd6 Ra8 77. h5 Kg8 78. f5 Rb8 79. Rd7 Rb6+ 80. Ke7 Rb5 81. Rd8+ Kh7 82. Kf6 Rb6+ 83. Rd6 Rb7 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.17"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2757"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 Bb7 {Anand hadn't prepared for this and was trying to remember analysis from several years before.} 9. d3 Re8 (9... h6) (9... d6) 10. Nbd2 Bf8 11. c3 Na5 12. Bc2 c5 13. d4 exd4 ({Relevant:} 13... cxd4 {was an alternative mentioned by Anand after the game.} 14. cxd4 d5 15. dxe5 Nxe4 16. Qe2 Rc8 17. Nxe4 dxe4 18. Bxe4 Bxe4 19. Qxe4 Rc4 20. Qf5 Qc8 21. Qxc8 Rexc8 22. Be3 Nb3 {1/2-1/2 (22) Bruzon Batista,L (2717)-Kaidanov,G (2587) Mar del Plata 2012}) 14. cxd4 d5 15. e5 Ne4 16. axb5 $146 ({Predecessor:} 16. Nxe4 {Anand spent a long time looking at this.} dxe4 17. Rxe4 Nb3 {Both players didn't seem to know this line had been played before but they worked out this move is good.} 18. Bg5 (18. Rh4 { "I can take a draw with Rh4" Anand.}) (18. Ng5 {"I was leaning towards this" Anand.} Nxa1 19. Qh5 (19. Rh4 Nxc2 (19... g6 {was Svidler's answer winning for black.}) 20. Qh5 {wins for white.}) 19... Qxg5 $1 {forced.} (19... h6 20. Qxf7+ Kh8 21. Qg6 {wins for white.}) 20. Bxg5 g6 (20... Nxc2 21. Rh4 h6 22. Bxh6 g6 $11 {but Svidler burned a lot of time calculating this.}) 21. Qe2 Nxc2 22. Qxc2 Bxe4 23. Qxe4 cxd4 {is at least equal for black. Perhaps not more.}) 18... Be7 19. Bxe7 Qxe7 20. Rb1 Nxd4 21. Nxd4 Bxe4 22. Bxe4 Rad8 23. Bxh7+ Kf8 24. Qf3 Rxd4 25. Re1 Qg5 26. h4 Qd2 27. Rf1 Rxh4 {0-1 (27) Shirov,A (2726)-Onischuk,A (2653) Mallorca 2004}) 16... axb5 17. Nxe4 dxe4 18. Rxe4 Nb3 $2 {A mistake in a difficult position but Svidler was struggling to find alternatives here.} ( 18... c4 {was Anand's suggestion but he's already better after:} 19. Rg4 g6 20. Ng5 Bd5 21. h4) (18... g6) (18... Nc4) 19. Rxa8 Bxa8 20. Ng5 $1 {The only winning move.} (20. Bg5 Be7 21. Bxe7 Rxe7 {was the line Svidler calculated. It's a bit better for white.}) 20... Nxc1 21. Qh5 h6 22. Qxf7+ (22. Nxf7 { was also winning.}) 22... Kh8 23. Rg4 Qa5 24. h4 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.17"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2793"] [PlyCount "135"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. h4 {Aimed against Bg7 followed by d5.} c5 (3... Bg7 4. Nc3 d5 {isn't well regarded for black.}) 4. d5 b5 {Giri's argument after the game was that black needs an extra tempo in the Benko Gambit to have a good positoin and that h4 is a wasted move against that setup.} 5. cxb5 a6 6. bxa6 Bg7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. e4 d6 $146 ({Predecessor:} 8... e6 9. dxe6 fxe6 10. Bg5 Qa5 11. Qd2 Nc6 12. Nf3 Rb8 13. Rc1 Bxa6 14. Bxf6 Rxf6 15. Rh3 Nd4 16. Bxa6 Qxa6 17. Nxd4 cxd4 18. Nd1 d5 19. Rb3 Rbf8 20. Ra3 Qd6 21. exd5 Qh2 22. Rf3 Rxf3 23. gxf3 {0-1 (23) Korobov,A (2713)-Jumabayev,R (2607) Moscow 2016}) 9. Nf3 Qa5 10. Bd2 Bxa6 11. Qc2 Nbd7 12. Ne2 Qb6 13. Bc3 h5 (13... Rfb8 {Topalov's suggestion is almost certainly better.}) (13... e6) (13... c4) 14. Ng3 Ng4 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Bxa6 Qxa6 17. Ne2 Nge5 18. Nxe5 Nxe5 19. O-O $6 (19. Rh3 $5 c4 20. Kf1 Nd3 21. Kg1) 19... Qd3 20. Qxd3 Nxd3 21. b3 Rfb8 (21... Ra3 22. Rfd1 Nb4 23. Nc1 ( 23. Rd2 Rfa8 24. Nc1 {is a bit better for black too.}) 23... f5 $5 (23... Rfa8) ) 22. Rfd1 Ne5 23. f3 Ra3 {Black certainly doesn't have any problems but is he really better?} 24. Kh2 Rba8 25. Nc1 f5 26. exf5 gxf5 27. Rb1 Rb8 28. Rb2 Rb4 29. Kh3 c4 (29... Ng6 30. g3 f4 $11) 30. Re2 cxb3 31. Nxb3 $6 {This is a bit dubious according to the computer.} (31. axb3) 31... Ng6 32. Kg3 Raa4 33. Red2 Kf6 34. Kf2 (34. Nd4 Rc4 {is maybe a kind of zugzwang.}) 34... Rb5 {Giri thought the position was now unpleasant for Topalov but mabe this isn't the best.} (34... Nxh4 35. Rh1 Kg5 36. g3 Ng6 37. f4+ Kh6 {is liked by the computer for black.}) 35. Rh1 Rxh4 36. Rxh4 Nxh4 37. f4 Ng6 38. g3 h4 39. Rd3 hxg3+ 40. Kxg3 Nf8 {Giri was happy to find this move.} (40... Rb8 41. a3 (41. Nd4 Rb2 42. a3 Rg2+ 43. Kxg2 Nxf4+ 44. Kf3 Nxd3 45. Ke3 Ne5) 41... Rg8 { is an amazing computer assisted plan that may be best here.}) 41. Kf3 Nd7 42. a4 Rb4 43. a5 Nf8 44. Nd4 Ng6 45. a6 (45. Nc6 Ra4 46. Ke3 Nxf4 (46... Re4+ 47. Kd2 Nxf4 48. Ra3 Re2+ (48... Nxd5 49. a6 Nc7 50. a7 Rc4 51. Ra6 Na8 52. Kd3) 49. Kd1) 47. Rd4 Ng2+ {is about equal.}) (45. Ra3 Rxd4 46. a6 Rxf4+ 47. Kg3 Rg4+ 48. Kf2 Nf4 49. a7 Rg8 50. a8=Q Rxa8 51. Rxa8 Nxd5 {is a winning endgame for black.}) (45. Ne6 Ra4) 45... Ra4 46. Ne2 Rxa6 47. Nd4 Nf8 48. Nc2 Nd7 49. Ne3 Ra2 50. Rd1 Rh2 51. Rg1 Rh3+ 52. Rg3 Rxg3+ {In all probability white should hold this. Although Giri initially hoped he would win it.} (52... Rh5) 53. Kxg3 Nc5 54. Kf3 e6 55. dxe6 Kxe6 56. Nc2 Kd5 57. Ne3+ Ke6 58. Nc2 Nb3 59. Ne3 Nd4+ 60. Kf2 Nc6 61. Ke2 Nb4 62. Kd2 Nd5 63. Ng2 Ne7 64. Kd3 Nc6 65. Nh4 Nb4+ 66. Kd4 Nc6+ 67. Kc4 Nb8 68. Nxf5 $11 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.17"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2790"] [PlyCount "166"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qc2 c5 6. d5 exd5 7. cxd5 Bb7 8. Bg2 Nxd5 9. O-O Nc6 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Qa4 Nf6 12. Nh4 O-O 13. Nc3 $146 ({Relevant:} 13. Nf5 d5 14. Nc3 Nd4 15. Nxd4 cxd4 16. Rxd4 Bc5 17. Rd3 Qe8 18. Qh4 Ba6 19. Rd1 d4 20. Bxa8 dxc3 21. Bf3 Bxe2 22. Re1 Bxf3 23. Rxe8 Rxe8 24. Be3 cxb2 25. Rb1 Ba3 26. Qa4 Be4 27. Qxa3 Bxb1 28. Qxb2 Be4 29. Bd4 Bd5 30. f3 Bxf3 31. Bxf6 gxf6 32. Qxf6 Be4 33. Qg5+ Kf8 34. Qh6+ Kg8 35. Qg5+ Kf8 36. Qh6+ Kg8 37. Qg5+ {1/2-1/2 (37) Wojtaszek,R (2748)-Leko,P (2708) Reykjavik 2015}) 13... g6 14. Bg5 {Aronian said he looked at this line in 2008. "It's not a very intelligent line I would say. But during the game if you're not familiar it isn't easy to find a move for black."} Rb8 15. Bf4 Rc8 16. Bh6 Re8 17. Qf4 Na5 {Aronian was very surprised by this move.} (17... Nh5 $2 {just for fun this line was pointed out by many people.} 18. Qxf7+ Kxf7 (18... Kh8 {is obviously hopeless too.} 19. Nxg6+ hxg6 20. Qxg6 Bf6 21. Qxh5) 19. Bd5+ Kf6 20. Ne4+ Ke5 21. f4+ Nxf4 22. gxf4#) (17... Qc7 18. Qxc7 Rxc7 19. Nb5 Rcc8 20. Nxa7 Nxa7 {"is a tiny bit better for white" Aronian.}) 18. Nf5 (18. Bxb7 Nxb7 19. Nf5) 18... Bxg2 19. Nxe7+ {Aronian called this move "idiotic" but it isn't really clear that he's better in any case.} Qxe7 20. Kxg2 Qe5 {"The position is about to get equal." Aronian.} 21. e3 d5 (21... Qe6 {is a serious option and may be better.} 22. Qd6 Qxd6 23. Rxd6 Re6) 22. Bg5 Ne4 (22... Kg7 {Aronian hinted he might have repeated with Bh6+ "I can't really see a problem for black."}) 23. Rxd5 Qxf4 24. gxf4 Nxc3 25. bxc3 {"This I think is a big advantage for white. I was extremely pleased with myself here." Aronian. The computer assessments are a little less enthusiastic giving white a small edge.} Kg7 26. Rd7 h6 27. Be7 Nc4 28. Rad1 a5 29. R1d5 Rc6 30. Ra7 Re6 31. Rdd7 Kg8 32. h4 {Aronian wasn't very happy with his play over the last few moves. He felt he should have improved his king's position earlier.} Kg7 33. Bd8 (33. a4 Nb2 34. Rab7 Nc4 (34... Nxa4 35. Bd6 Kg8 36. Be5 Rf8 37. c4 {is a compter line I don't really understand but it spiked in liking white's play.})) 33... Kg8 34. Be7 Kg7 35. Rab7 Kg8 36. Rbc7 Na3 37. Bd8 Nc4 38. Be7 Na3 39. Rb7 {"Was it a threefold?" Aronian asking if he'd allowed a draw trying to make time control.} Nc4 40. Kf3 a4 41. Rbc7 Nd2+ $6 {Aronian was happy to see this.} (41... Na3) 42. Rxd2 R6xe7 43. Rc6 Re6 44. Rxe6 Rxe6 45. c4 {"Of course the position has to be drawn but black has to play precisely." Aronian.} Kg7 46. e4 Re8 (46... Re7 {was a better defence according to Aronian.}) 47. e5 Rb8 48. Rd7 Kf8 49. f5 gxf5 50. Kf4 b5 51. cxb5 Rxb5 52. Kxf5 a3 $2 53. f4 $6 (53. Kf6 {"Why I didn't play Kf6 is beyond me" Aronian.} Rb6+ 54. Rd6 Rxd6+ 55. exd6 Ke8 56. Ke5 c4 57. Kd4 Kd7 58. Kxc4 Kxd6 59. Kb4 Kc6 60. Ka4 Kb6 61. Kxa3 Ka5 {is winning for white.}) 53... Rb4 54. Ra7 c4 55. Rxa3 Rb2 56. Ra6 Kg7 57. a4 c3 58. Ra7 c2 59. Rc7 Rb4 60. a5 Ra4 61. Rxc2 Rxa5 {Now the play has been reduced to one side of the board but Aronian claimed after the game that he will eventually be able to arrange f5 with a winning position. It doesn't look all that clear to me but white can press for a long time.} 62. Rc4 Ra1 63. Rc7 Kf8 64. Rd7 Ra4 65. Rd3 Rc4 66. Re3 Ke7 67. Re4 Rc1 68. Rb4 Kf8 69. Rb6 Kg7 70. Rb7 Kf8 71. Rb8+ Kg7 72. Rb4 Ra1 73. Rd4 Ra2 74. Rd7 {Here there was drama when Nakamura touched his king, then appeared to try to say J'Adoube and then after Aronian and the arbiter complained he got back down to the position and had to move it. Now the position is immediately lost.} Kf8 (74... Ra5 {and the game continues.} ) 75. Kf6 {White is winning now.} Ra6+ 76. Rd6 Ra8 77. h5 Kg8 78. f5 Rb8 79. Rd7 Rb6+ 80. Ke7 Rb5 81. Rd8+ Kh7 82. Kf6 Rb6+ 83. Rd6 Rb7 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.17"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2760"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O Re8 11. a3 ({Relevant:} 11. Ne5 Bb7 12. Bg5 (12. Bc1 Nbd7 13. Bb2 Bd6 14. Nd3 a5 15. Rc1 c6 16. Na4 Rc8 17. e3 Ba6 18. Re1 h5 19. Bh3 Ng4 20. Nf4 g6 21. Bxg4 hxg4 22. Qxg4 Nf6 23. Qg5 Be7 24. Nxg6 fxg6 25. Qxg6+ Kh8 26. Nc5 bxc5 27. dxc5 Rf8 28. Qh6+ Kg8 29. Qg6+ Kh8 30. Qh6+ Kg8 { 1/2-1/2 (30) Giri,A (2793)-Karjakin,S (2760) Moscow RUS 2016}) 12... Nbd7 13. Rc1 Ba3 14. Nxd7 Qxd7 15. Bxf6 Bxc1 16. Qxc1 gxf6 17. Qh6 Qf5 18. Qd2 c5 19. dxc5 bxc5 20. Nxd5 Bxd5 21. Qxd5 Qxd5 22. Bxd5 Rad8 23. e4 f5 24. f3 Kg7 25. g4 fxg4 26. fxg4 Re7 27. Rc1 h5 28. h3 hxg4 29. hxg4 Kf6 30. Kf2 Ke5 31. Rxc5 Kf4 32. Rc6 Kxg4 33. Rf6 Kg5 34. Rf5+ Kg6 35. Ke3 Rd6 36. Kd4 Rf6 37. Rxf6+ Kxf6 38. b4 Rc7 39. a4 Rc1 40. e5+ Ke7 {Sargissian,G (2702)-Tomashevsky,E (2728) Huaian 2016 1/2-1/2}) 11... c5 12. dxc5 bxc5 13. Ne5 $146 {Similar to Karjakin's game from round 3 vs Giri quoted above.} ({Predecessor:} 13. Bg5 Bb7 14. Nh4 g6 15. Ra2 Nc6 16. Nf3 d4 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. Na4 c4 19. Nc5 cxb3 20. Nxb7 Qb6 21. Rd2 Qxb7 22. Nxd4 Bxd4 23. Rxd4 Qb6 24. Rd3 Rab8 25. Bxc6 Qxc6 26. Rxb3 Rxb3 27. Qxb3 Rxe2 28. Qb8+ Kg7 29. Qxa7 Qd6 30. Ra1 {1/2-1/2 (30) Khan,V (2137)-Almeida,R (2115) LSS email 2014}) 13... Bb7 14. Bf4 Nbd7 (14... Bf8 15. Ra2 {was mentioned by Caruana.}) 15. Nc4 Nb6 16. Na5 Ba6 17. b4 cxb4 $6 { This move wasn't in Caruana's preparation. Karjakin said that it might have been a "little bit crazy decision" but he thought he might be solid enough "maybe I was wrong".} (17... Qd7) (17... Bd6) 18. axb4 Bxb4 19. Nc6 Bxc3 20. Nxd8 Bxe2 21. Qb3 Bxa1 22. Rxa1 Raxd8 {Caruana was surprised that black didn't try and hang on to his a-pawn.} (22... Rexd8 23. Be5 {was the move that Karjakin feared.} (23. h3 {was Caruana's intended reply.}) 23... Nbd7 24. Bd4 a6) 23. Rxa7 Nc4 24. h3 Bh5 25. Bg5 {Here Caruana said he "suddenly became very optimistic" about his winning chances.} Bg6 26. Bxf6 gxf6 27. g4 Kg7 28. Qc3 (28. h4 h6 29. h5 Be4 30. f3 Bh7) 28... d4 {"Here I allowed a very forcing option." Caruana who thought his g5 would be strong.} 29. Qxc4 d3 30. g5 (30. Bf3 d2 31. Kg2 d1=Q 32. Bxd1 Rxd1 33. h4 Be4+ (33... h5 $2 34. gxh5 Bxh5 35. Rxf7+ $1) 34. f3 Bd5 {with equality.}) (30. Kh2 d2 31. Bf3 d1=Q 32. Bxd1 Rxd1 { is the line Caruana should go for.} 33. h4 Rd2 34. h5 Rxf2+ 35. Kg3 Ree2 { with a draw according to Karjakin.} 36. Qd5 Rg2+ 37. Qxg2 Rxg2+ 38. Kxg2 Be4+ { for example should be a draw accoding to Karjakin.}) 30... d2 31. gxf6+ Kh8 { "This is just a forced draw." Caruana.} (31... Kxf6 32. Qc3+ Kg5 33. Bf3 d1=Q+ 34. Bxd1 Rxd1+ 35. Kg2 {and Karjakin didn't see a direct win.}) 32. Bf3 Be4 33. Kh2 {Now the computer evaluates this as equal.} (33. Bg4 {is the only try.} Rg8 34. Ra1 d1=Q+ 35. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 36. Kh2 Rh1+ 37. Kg3 Bg6) 33... Bd5 34. Qg4 Rg8 35. Bd1 Rxg4 36. hxg4 h6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.17"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] [WhiteClock "0:23:19"] [BlackClock "0:39:27"] {Renewing the fear for all chess fans (perhaps outside of India) that Anand might indeed be on his way to yet a 3rd match against Magnus Carlsen, the Tiger from Madrid put on a show today against Svidler, revealing deep preparation and executing tactics flawlessly!} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 { I almost chocked on my early morning banana... NO BERLIN! *and the crowd goes wild*} 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 Bb7 ({The other main move is} 8... b4 {e.g. from a recent battle at the highest levels} 9. d3 Bc5 10. Nbd2 d6 11. h3 h6 12. c3 Rb8 13. Nc4 Ba7 {Wei Yi (2706)-Tomashevsky,E (2728) Wijk aan Zee NED 2016.}) 9. d3 Re8 10. Nbd2 ({Tried before has been} 10. Nc3 {and after} Nd4 11. axb5 Nxb3 12. cxb3 axb5 13. Rxa8 Bxa8 14. Nxb5 d5 15. exd5 Bb4 {the reigning world champion proved equality and compensation with the bishop pair agaisnt White's weak pawns in the game Dominguez Perez,L (2732) -Carlsen,M (2850) Berlin GER 2015.}) 10... Bf8 11. c3 Na5 (11... h6 {has been played quite a lot here as well, e.g.} 12. Ba2 d6 13. Nh4 ({Note that the attempt to win the b5-pawn with} 13. axb5 axb5 14. Qb3 {forking f7 and b5 makes a real mess of things after} d5 $1 ({But not} 14... Qd7 $2 {as was played by Tomashevsky and Black got no compensation for the pawn on b5.}) 15. Qxb5 Na5 {when White's queen is under fire in numerous ways and may not have a way to safety without allowing Black a way back in the game.}) 13... Qd7 14. Ng6 Ne7 15. Nxf8 Kxf8 16. f3 Rad8 {Kasparov,G (2805)-Short,N (2655) London 1993 }) 12. Bc2 (12. Ba2 {is possible too of course, however, a possible novelty not yet played but confirmed by Komodo and I today shows that White isn't getting enough, e.g.} c5 13. d4 {and 13...d6 (see line) follows a game with White gaining a clear advantage, however the improvement likely to be played (at least found by me and Komodo right now after 15 minutes of analysis) would be} exd4 {and after} (13... d6 14. b4 exd4 15. bxa5 dxc3 16. Nf1 Nxe4 17. axb5 axb5 18. a6 Bc6 19. Rxe4 Bxe4 20. Bxf7+ Kxf7 21. Ng5+ Kg8 22. Nxe4 Qc8 23. Nxc3 {and White eventuall won in Shirov,A (2715)-Ivanchuk,V (2717) Linares ESP 2002} ) 14. cxd4 (14. e5 dxc3 15. exf6 cxd2 16. Bxd2 {where several moves might leave Black with an advantage, but I think I like 16...Rxe1+ followed by 17... d5 with a huge center.}) 14... c4 {Black closes in the bishop on a2 and maintains strong pressure on the center. Black is already slightly better.}) 12... c5 13. d4 {"Consistent." (Anand)} exd4 {This surprised Anand slightly.} ( 13... cxd4 14. cxd4 Nc6 ({Anand also considered} 14... d5) 15. d5 Nb4 16. Nb3 Qc7 17. Bb1 Rac8 18. Bd2 Nh5 19. Bc3 f5 20. Qd2 Qd6 {was played in Kryvoruchko, Y (2672)-Stefanova,A (2505) Rethymno GRE 2012, however, whether the main move really surprised Anand or not (you never know when players are still keeping preparation a secret) I think Vishy would have been happy here as well to both continue on White's play from the game mentioned (White seems to cruise to a clear advantage and I can't find an improvement for Black) or improve on the game mentioned with ideas like 21.exf5 immediately!} 21. axb5 axb5 22. Ra7 Ba8 23. Qg5 Qg6) 14. cxd4 d5 $6 {Not good, and Anand is going to show why.} 15. e5 Ne4 16. axb5 $1 ({At the press conference Anand made the impression that he wasn't aware of the Shirov-Onischuk game, but nonetheless he improved upon it! } 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Rxe4 Nb3 18. Bg5 ({Here after} 18. Ng5 Nxa1 19. Qh5 { Black has} (19. Rh4 g6 $1 {Svidler}) 19... Qxg5 $1 20. Bxg5 {and now the accurate} g6 $1 21. Qe2 Nxc2 22. Qxc2 Bxe4 23. Qxe4 cxd4) ({Anand had seen that he can take a draw with} 18. Rh4 Bxf3 19. Bxh7+ Kh8 20. Rh3 $1 {and perpetual.}) 18... Be7 19. Bxe7 Qxe7 20. Rb1 Nxd4 21. Nxd4 Bxe4 22. Bxe4 Rad8 23. Bxh7+ Kf8 24. Qf3 Rxd4 25. Re1 Qg5 26. h4 Qd2 27. Rf1 Rxh4 {0-1 Shirov,A (2726)-Onischuk,A (2653) Calvia ESP 2004}) 16... axb5 17. Nxe4 dxe4 18. Rxe4 $1 {Compared to Shirov's game, now this is very good for White. The rook is grabbing a free elevator ride to the kingside as it is completely untouchable!} Nb3 $6 {"I couldn't see any proper way to continue if I don't enter some forced variation." (Svidler)} (18... c4 19. Rg4 $5 {(Anand). Seems straight forward enough. The attack will continue naturally.}) ({Of course for those wondering, we must show the obvious lines that justify the sacrifice with} 18... Bxe4 $2 19. Bxe4 {Note that even profylactic defensive moves with the rook to try and guard the kingside fail to} Ra6 (19... Rc8 20. Bxh7+ $1 { Crashing through in Mediteranean Style!} Kxh7 21. Ng5+ Kg8 22. Qh5 {with the well-known Greek Gift Sacrifice mating net to follow.}) 20. Qd3 (20. Bd2 $5 { Ganging up on the now pinned knight is also possible.}) 20... g6 21. Qxb5 { winning.}) (18... Nc4 19. Rxa8 Bxa8 {But again both 20.Rg4 and even the aggressive 20.Ng5 similar to the game will keep White's attack strong.}) 19. Rxa8 Bxa8 20. Ng5 $1 ({Not nearly as effective would be} 20. Bg5 Be7 21. Bxe7 Rxe7 (21... Qxe7 22. d5) 22. Rh4 Ra7 {(Svidler)}) 20... Nxc1 21. Qh5 {How fun is this game?} h6 22. Qxf7+ ({Also winning was} 22. Nxf7 Qb6 23. e6 {followed by the beautiful line} Bxe4 24. Nxh6+ gxh6 25. Qf7+ Kh8 26. Bxe4 {and mate is inevitable.}) 22... Kh8 23. Rg4 $1 {Anand finds the strongest move. It's over immediately.} ({White can still go wrong, as Anand pointed out:} 23. Qg6 $2 Qxg5 24. Qxe8 {seems to be winning but} Ne2+ $1 25. Kf1 Qc1+ 26. Kxe2 Qxc2+ { and White can resign.}) 23... Qa5 {"For a second it's kind of scary." (Svidler) } 24. h4 (24. h4 Qe1+ 25. Kh2 Ne2 26. Nh3 $1 {is over. I Black moves the rook to safety White can push the e6-pawn or keep the attacking going on the light-squares.}) 1-0 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.17"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "135"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Bulgaria"] [BlackTeam "Netherlands"] [WhiteTeamCountry "BUL"] [BlackTeamCountry "NED"] [WhiteClock "0:08:42"] [BlackClock "0:01:25"] {A fun game for all to watch and review now! And everyone likes a good "Ginger GM" reference!} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 ({To help provide context for the line chosen by Giri in the game, it was his win against Demuth in the French league last year that inspired Giri to go for this setup:} 2... c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 g6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. e4 O-O {and here} 8. a7 {was played whereas the somewhat weird move 8.h4 would lead to the game!}) 3. h4 $5 {"Harry the h-pawn!" as Simon Williams likes to say. The English GM has six games with this position in the database! How sound is it? That remains to be seen if top grandmasters continue to test it out...} ({Of course the normal} 3. Nc3 { could lead to King's Indian or Gruenfeld positions, with the latter still providing some chances for Harry to get involved!} d5 4. h4 {Which would like still be met with} c5 {as it seems the most principled way for Black to get counterplay, opening the center early and laughing in Harry's face.}) 3... c5 4. d5 b5 5. cxb5 a6 6. bxa6 Bg7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. e4 d6 ({More "Benoni-Benko-Blumenfeld-Hybrid" style would be} 8... e6 {where one game continued} 9. dxe6 ({Note that maybe} 9. Nf3 {meeting} exd5 10. e5 $5 {is White's best approach?}) 9... fxe6 10. Bg5 Qa5 11. Qd2 Nc6 12. Nf3 Rb8 13. Rc1 Bxa6 14. Bxf6 Rxf6 15. Rh3 Nd4 16. Bxa6 Qxa6 17. Nxd4 cxd4 18. Nd1 d5 19. Rb3 Rbf8 20. Ra3 Qd6 21. exd5 Qh2 22. Rf3 Rxf3 23. gxf3 {followed by ...Qh1+ for Black in 0-1 (23) Korobov,A (2713) -Jumabayev,R (2607) Moscow RUS 2016.}) 9. Nf3 Qa5 10. Bd2 Bxa6 {"The Benko/ Volga is a great opening but doesn't really work unless Black gets an extra tempo like h2-h4." (Giri)} 11. Qc2 ({If} 11. Bxa6 Qxa6 {White is now forced to offer a queen trade or sit with the king in the center. After} 12. Qe2 Re8 (12... Nbd7 13. Qxa6 Rxa6 14. O-O) 13. Qxa6 Nxa6 14. O-O Nb4 {(Giri). Black has some good old fashioned Benko Gambit compensation!}) (11. Be2 Qb4 {(Giri).}) 11... Nbd7 (11... Bxf1 12. Kxf1 Qa6+ 13. Kg1 {Is typical of something that looks good at first (the white king is running!) but in all actuallity, only loses time for Black and helps White to castle by hand on the kingside.}) 12. Ne2 (12. Na4 $5 Qxa4 13. Qxa4 Bxf1 14. Qxa8 Rxa8 15. Kxf1 Nxe4 {is unclear with Black having compensation for the exchange sac.}) ({Perhaps interesting was a move suggested by Topalov} 12. Nd1 Bxf1 (12... Qb6 $5 {Giri}) 13. Bxa5 Bxg2 14. Ke2 Bxh1 15. Bc3 {(Topalov). And we might have had our second "Unbalanced Material" game of the day.}) 12... Qb6 13. Bc3 h5 $6 {Giri didn't want to allow the h1-rook to get into play, but concrete analysis of the more aggressive suggestions like 13...c4 and 13... Rfb2 show that Black's counterplay (often jump started by the hop of the knight to g4) is fast enough.} (13... c4 14. Ng3 Nc5 15. h5 {"is double-edged. " (Giri)}) ({Afterward Giri felt that more promising was} 13... Rfb8 $5 { (as suggested by Topalov) which makes sense because the b2-pawn will surely come under fire as soon as Black offers a trade of the bishops on the long diagonal.}) 14. Ng3 Ng4 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Bxa6 Qxa6 17. Ne2 {With Giri's slow h-pawn move, White has equalized again and will even get castled.} Nge5 18. Nxe5 Nxe5 19. O-O Qd3 20. Qxd3 Nxd3 21. b3 Rfb8 ({A typical Benko "pressure maneuver" is} 21... Ra3 22. Rfd1 Nb4 23. Rd2 Rfa8 24. Nc1 {and is about equal according to Topalov.}) 22. Rfd1 Ne5 23. f3 Ra3 24. Kh2 Rba8 25. Nc1 f5 26. exf5 gxf5 27. Rb1 Rb8 28. Rb2 Rb4 29. Kh3 c4 ({The attempt at assaulting the h-pawn doesn't deliver much either after} 29... Ng6 30. g3 f4 31. Nd3 Rd4 32. Nf2 {(Topalov). I'm assuming that ...fxg3 is met by Ne4 by White, and that that was Topa's idea.}) 30. Re2 cxb3 31. Nxb3 Ng6 32. Kg3 Raa4 33. Red2 Kf6 34. Kf2 ({I agree with Topalov that} 34. Nd4 $6 {is met by} Rc4 {And White is in some kind of strange Zugzwang to find a good move. However, I think that 34. Rd4 and then 34...Rxd4 35.Nxd4 Rxa2 with 36.Ne6! by White might have been a faster way to reach a similar position to the game that was eventually drawn.}) 34... Rb5 35. Rh1 {"It's good to change one pair of rooks." (Topalov)} Rxh4 36. Rxh4 Nxh4 37. f4 Ng6 38. g3 h4 39. Rd3 hxg3+ 40. Kxg3 Nf8 41. Kf3 Nd7 42. a4 Rb4 43. a5 Nf8 $1 {The players agreed that this was very strong. Bringing pressure to the f4-pawn will force dysfunctional piece coordination from White to defend, which will not only leave the a-pawn out to dry, but also make the d-pawn more vulnerable.} (43... Ra4 44. Rd4 Ra3 45. Rd3 Nb8 46. Ke3 Na6 47. Nc5 Rxa5 48. Nxa6 Rxa6 {is a draw. (Giri)}) (43... Rb5 $5 44. Ke3 Nb8 45. Kd4 Na6 46. Kc3) 44. Nd4 Ng6 45. a6 Ra4 46. Ne2 Rxa6 {And with the a-pawn gone, many people watching (myself included) began getting excited for the Dutchman's first win of the tournament...} 47. Nd4 Nf8 48. Nc2 Nd7 49. Ne3 {But alas with the knight first reaching its ideal defensive square here on e3 and then...} Ra2 50. Rd1 Rh2 51. Rg1 Rh3+ 52. Rg3 {the rook proving it will block all checks or force an exchange, the draw seemed inevitable.} Rxg3+ 53. Kxg3 Nc5 54. Kf3 e6 55. dxe6 Kxe6 56. Nc2 Kd5 57. Ne3+ Ke6 58. Nc2 Nb3 59. Ne3 Nd4+ 60. Kf2 Nc6 61. Ke2 Nb4 62. Kd2 Nd5 63. Ng2 Ne7 64. Kd3 Nc6 65. Nh4 Nb4+ 66. Kd4 Nc6+ 67. Kc4 Nb8 68. Nxf5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.17"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] [WhiteClock "0:11:20"] [BlackClock "0:06:05"] {As discussed by Robert Hess and I in ChessCenter (coming out soon!) we considered this game a key one in our Looking Ahead segments. If Caruana is to make his move... or if ANYONE is to slow down Karjakin, Fabiano must take his chances with White and come up with the full point!} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bg2 O-O $1 10. O-O $1 Re8 {And here we are again... another player testing Karjakin's Queen's Indian which he CLEARLY has no intention (or reason) from varying away from at this point. Will Fabiano repeat previous tries like 11.Rb1 by Topalov in Round 5 or 11.Qc2 by Giri before it?} 11. a3 {Nope! He has something new prepared!} ( {A reminder of Karjakin's game from yesterday:} 11. Rb1 c5 12. dxc5 bxc5 13. Ne5 Bb7 14. Bf4 Bf8 15. Rb2 Bd6 16. Nd3 Na6 17. Bxd6 Qxd6 18. Nf4 Qe5 {Topalov, V (2780)-Karjakin,S (2760) Moscow RUS 2016}) 11... c5 12. dxc5 bxc5 {As soon as the commitment to the hanging pawn structure is made by Black, White's plan for the pieces is clear: Occupy squares around the pawns and open as many diagonals and files towards the pawns as you can.} 13. Ne5 Bb7 14. Bf4 Nbd7 { Now the position is similar to Sergey's game from two rounds ago.} 15. Nc4 { But not exactly similar anymore. Caruana, correctly I believe, avoids minor pieces trades for as long as possible to relocate and put pressure on the more critical minor pieces holding it all together, mainly the light-squared bishop on b7.} Nb6 16. Na5 {The knight on the rim serving a purpose though.} Ba6 17. b4 $5 {Right along the lines of mine and Hess' comments from ChessCenter and my pre-game intro, White knows he needs to "go for it" in this game. Type to complicate matters!} cxb4 {"It was a little big of a crazy decision. I didn't remember what was the most precise move. I thought it was very solid but maybe I was wrong." (Karjakin)} ({Perhaps the most solid response was} 17... Qd7 { But White can still use the b3-square for the queen and bring a rook to d1 for pressure on d5. A tiny edge for White remains.}) ({Counterintuitive to Black's goals, but dealing with the threat of Nc6 by White winning the bishop pair is} 17... Bd6 {but after} 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. Nb3 cxb4 20. axb4 Qxb4 21. Rxa6 Qxc3 22. Nd4 g6 23. Qa1 $1 Qxa1 24. Rfxa1 {leaves White with the endgame pull.}) 18. axb4 Bxb4 ({The main alternative to Karjakin's ultra "risk it to get the biscuit" approach of sacrificing the queen was} 18... Rc8 {but after} 19. Qb3 { and again, natural moves of the rooks to the open files, the d5-pawn will be sore spot for a long time. White is comfortably pushing for an advantage.}) 19. Nc6 Bxc3 {And here we go!} 20. Nxd8 Bxe2 21. Qb3 Bxa1 22. Rxa1 Raxd8 ({On} 22... Rexd8 {Karjakin didn't like} 23. Be5 Nbd7 24. Bd4 {since the dark-squared bishop rules the board.}) 23. Rxa7 Nc4 24. h3 {And with both players taking the forced road over the last few moves, we have one of our most unbalanced positions of the entire Candidates Tournament so far! The queen will want targets on the kingside and hope to limit the coordination of Black's pieces behind the d-pawn. Black wants, well, the opposite: Optimal coordination, threats on the open files against White's king, and hopefully just enough time to rush the d-pawn home!} Bh5 25. Bg5 {"Here I suddenly got very optimistic. I thought I had good winning chances." (Caruana)} Bg6 26. Bxf6 gxf6 {And Caruana's optimism seems justified. Based on my knowledge, and quick description above, of what the white player wants for the queen, Caruana has already begun opening Black's kingside for targets and trading off Black's coordinated pieces.} 27. g4 {There are going to be many moves suggested by an Engine in such a position, all within a few micro-points of each other, but I'm going to go with the human approach to create counterplay against Black's king (as Whtie is doing) and not retreating rook moves to a1 or other subtle, and purposeless shuffling moves for White).} Kg7 28. Qc3 $6 {But no! Why stop the onslaught! Coordination and attempts and small amounts of material are always misguided in these highly unbalanced material positions (meaning positions where the points are equal, but both sides have totally different piece sets). Kosteniuk's suggestion during the broadcast is something I dove into deeply with Komodo below! And despite what seems to be, at first, risky moves giving black more chances, the truth is that once the pressure breaks through, we see the point of why it's so important for the queen to open the enemy king's position in these kind of unbalanced affairs.} (28. h4 $1 h6 29. h5 Be4 30. f3 Bh7 31. f4 Be4 {Is one of the first moments where the engine starts to "worry" that White is letting the advantage slip... BUT keep playing like a human who knows that the queen needs to open the king, and see what happens.} 32. g5 $5 {(Kosteniuk). Considered interesting by Alexandra, but necessary according to me!} Bxg2 (32... hxg5 33. fxg5 fxg5 (33... Bxg2 34. Qg3 $1 Re3 35. gxf6+ Kxf6 36. Qh4+ Kg7 37. Qg5+ Kf8 38. h6 {Is a line that shows the potential of White's attack.}) 34. Qb7 Nd6 35. Qb2+ Kh6 36. Qf6+ Kxh5 37. Bf1 {Where only a computer could defend Black's king.}) (32... Rb8 33. Qc3 { Makes more sense now that the f6-pawn is under fire.} Rb1+ 34. Kh2 hxg5 35. h6+ Kg6 36. Ra6 Rb6 (36... Re6 $2 37. Rxe6 fxe6 38. Bxe4+ dxe4 39. Qxc4 {winning.}) 37. Rxb6 Nxb6 38. fxg5 Kxg5 (38... fxg5 39. Qg7+ Kf5 40. Qxf7+ {game over.}) 39. Qe3+ {picks up the loose pony.}) 33. g6 $1 Nd6 34. gxf7 Nxf7 35. Qb7 Rf8 36. Kxg2 {Seems pretty darn good for White! The d-pawn will NOT be in time to slow down White's threats on the kingside.}) 28... d4 $1 {A hugely surprising move but with deep understanding and calculation by Karjakin! He knows that the initiative, for him too, is also key, and no amount of material is likely worth that in the unbalnce position.} 29. Qxc4 d3 {and the d-pawn is prepared to make his army proud! White's last chances at an advantage are slipping...} 30. g5 ({"Somehow I thought that 30.g5 was very strong in advance, without looking very deeply into the position. After a lot of calculation I decided that it is a good move, but I really should go for} 30. Bf3 d2 31. Kh2 ({ According to Karjakin more precise was} 31. Kg2 $1 d1=Q 32. Bxd1 Rxd1 33. h4 Be4+ 34. f3 Bd5 {but the position remains a mess.}) 31... d1=Q 32. Bxd1 Rxd1 33. h4 {" (Caruana). However, Karjakin then showed a way to create a fortress for Black with:} Rd2 $1 34. h5 Rxf2+ 35. Kg3 Ree2 36. Qd5 Rg2+ 37. Qxg2 Rxg2+ 38. Kxg2 Be4+ 39. Kf2 h6 {is a draw despite the computer's lack of understanding.}) 30... d2 31. gxf6+ Kh8 {And once we reach this position (and notable is that 31...Kxf6 was also possible) we can all see why White needed to rush the attack earlier, and not waste anytime with the move 28.Qc3. Black may be down a full queen for a rook, but the d-pawn is a game changer.} ({ The players also looked at} 31... Kxf6 32. Qc3+ Kg5 33. Bf3 d1=Q+ 34. Bxd1 Rxd1+ 35. Kh2 Kh6 36. Qf6 Re6 37. Qf4+ Kg7 38. Rxf7+ Bxf7 39. Qg4+ Kf6 40. Qxd1 {with good drawing chances for Black.}) 32. Bf3 Be4 33. Kh2 (33. Bg4 Rg8 34. Ra1 d1=Q+ 35. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 36. Kh2 Bd5 37. Qc3 {"is probably just a dead draw." (Caruana)}) 33... Bd5 34. Qg4 (34. Qc7 Rg8 $1 {and now} 35. Qxd8 (35. Bg4 $2 d1=Q 36. Bxd1 Rg2+ 37. Kh1 Rdg8 $1 {and checkmate soon}) 35... Rxd8 (35... Bxf3 $2 {fails to} 36. Rd7 $1) 36. Bd1 {is still a draw.}) ({When he played 30.g5 Caruana had planned} 34. Qh4 {but here he saw} Rg8 $1 {and White has to take the draw with} (34... Bxf3 35. Rxf7 Be4 36. Rxh7+ Bxh7 37. f7 Kg7 38. fxe8=Q Rxe8 39. Qd4+ {was the line he was relying on}) 35. Rxf7 Bxf7 36. Be4 Bg6 37. f7 d1=Q 38. Qf6+ Rg7 39. f8=Q+ Rxf8 40. Qxf8+ Rg8 41. Qf6+) 34... Rg8 35. Bd1 Rxg4 36. hxg4 h6 37. f4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.17"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "166"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] [WhiteClock "0:00:10"] [BlackClock "0:05:50"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qc2 c5 6. d5 exd5 7. cxd5 Bb7 8. Bg2 Nxd5 9. O-O Nc6 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Qa4 Nf6 12. Nh4 O-O (12... g6 13. Bh6 Bf8 14. Bg5 Be7 15. Nc3 O-O 16. Rd2 a6 17. Rad1 b5 18. Qf4 Nh5 {Pashikian,A (2663) -Beliavsky,A (2656) Ohrid MKD 2009}) 13. Nc3 g6 14. Bg5 {Aronian was proud of this.} (14. Bh6 Re8 15. Qf4 Qb8 $1) 14... Rb8 15. Bf4 Rc8 16. Bh6 Re8 17. Qf4 Na5 {Aronian was "very surprised" about this.} ({A lovely trick of course is} 17... Nh5 $2 18. Qxf7+ Kxf7 19. Bd5+ Kf6 20. Ne4+ Ke5 21. f4+ Nxf4 22. gxf4#) 18. Nf5 Bxg2 19. Nxe7+ {"Idiotic." (Aronian)} (19. Kxg2) 19... Qxe7 20. Kxg2 Qe5 {is about equal (Aronian).} 21. e3 {Here Aronian missed that Black has 22.. .Kg7.} d5 22. Bg5 Ne4 (22... Kg7 {is just equal (Aronian).}) 23. Rxd5 Qxf4 24. gxf4 Nxc3 25. bxc3 {Here Aronian thought he had a big advantage.} Kg7 26. Rd7 h6 27. Be7 Nc4 28. Rad1 a5 29. R1d5 {Aronian thought he should prevent b5 but afterward he felt that Black wasn't going to do that anyway.} (29. Kf3) 29... Rc6 30. Ra7 Re6 31. Rdd7 Kg8 32. h4 {"It's not easy to find a way to break through." (Aronian)} Kg7 33. Bd8 Kg8 34. Be7 Kg7 35. Rab7 Kg8 36. Rbc7 Na3 37. Bd8 Nc4 38. Be7 Na3 39. Rb7 Nc4 40. Kf3 a4 41. Rbc7 Nd2+ $6 ({After} 41... Na3 {Aronian didn't know what to do here.}) 42. Rxd2 R6xe7 43. Rc6 Re6 44. Rxe6 Rxe6 45. c4 {White has good chances "but it's probably a draw." (Aronian)} Kg7 46. e4 Re8 ({This surprised Aronian, who expected} 46... Re7) 47. e5 Rb8 48. Rd7 Kf8 49. f5 gxf5 {couple of inaccurate moves, prob winnign already} 50. Kf4 b5 51. cxb5 Rxb5 52. Kxf5 a3 53. f4 ({"It's beyond me why I did not play} 53. Kf6 {I spent a lot of time, I was afraid he would find a fortress and then I created a fortress for him in my mind." (Aronian)}) 53... Rb4 54. Ra7 c4 55. Rxa3 Rb2 56. Ra6 Kg7 57. a4 c3 58. Ra7 c2 59. Rc7 Rb4 60. a5 Ra4 61. Rxc2 Rxa5 {"I know this is winning for White," said Aronian. "You put the pawn on h5, bring your rook to d8, start bringing the king to e3 (the threat is always f5). I love learning this lesson because I'm learning in the process. And now children... On a check from the side always Rd4, then f5. Black can't preent f5." Kosteniuk said: "Now we know it," and Aronian replied: "Now I know it too!" "} 62. Rc4 Ra1 63. Rc7 Kf8 64. Rd7 Ra4 65. Rd3 Rc4 66. Re3 Ke7 67. Re4 Rc1 68. Rb4 Kf8 69. Rb6 Kg7 70. Rb7 Kf8 71. Rb8+ Kg7 72. Rb4 Ra1 73. Rd4 Ra2 74. Rd7 Kf8 $2 {Here Nakamura touched his king, and from what could be seen on the official broadcast, without saying "j'adoube" before doing so. Unfortunately for him, any king move loses quickly.} 75. Kf6 Ra6+ 76. Rd6 Ra8 77. h5 Kg8 78. f5 Rb8 79. Rd7 Rb6+ 80. Ke7 Rb5 81. Rd8+ Kh7 82. Kf6 Rb6+ 83. Rd6 Rb7 1-0 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.17"] [Round "6"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A00"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "135"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. h4 $5 {[%cal Gh2h4]} (3. Nc3 d5 4. h4 {is not so great due to} c5 $1) 3... c5 (3... Bg7 4. Nc3 {is now a better version because Black cannot play the d5 followed by c5 line.}) (3... d5 $6 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 $14) 4. d5 b5 {As Anish explained, the Benko is a very sound opening, it is just that Black doesn't have the time in the opening to execute it well. But if White wastes time with 3.h4 then the same Benko Gambit can be employed.} 5. cxb5 a6 6. bxa6 Bg7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. e4 d6 9. Nf3 Qa5 {Anish had got the same position against Adrien Demuth a few months ago but with the pawn on h4. He managed to win that game. This explains why Anish was so positive about his position. The move h4 doesn't make much sense here.} 10. Bd2 Bxa6 11. Qc2 Nbd7 12. Ne2 $6 (12. Na4 $5 Bxf1 $5 (12... Qc7 13. Bxa6 Rxa6 14. O-O $14) 13. Bxa5 Bxg2 14. Nd2 Bxh1 15. Bc3 Bh6 {gives Black some compensation, but maybe it is not enough.}) 12... Qb6 13. Bc3 h5 $6 {A critical waste of time by Anish. He could have snatched the initiative without worrying about the h-file.} (13... Rfb8 $1 14. Ng3 Ng4 $1 15. h5 Bxc3+ 16. bxc3 Qb2 $17) 14. Ng3 Ng4 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Bxa6 Qxa6 17. Ne2 Nge5 18. Nxe5 Nxe5 19. O-O Qd3 {This position is a dream for any Benko player, but objectively this should be around equal.} 20. Qxd3 ( 20. Rfc1 Rfb8 21. Nf4 Qxc2 22. Rxc2 Ra4 23. f3 f5 $1 $132) 20... Nxd3 21. b3 Rfb8 (21... Ra3 $5) 22. Rfd1 Ne5 23. f3 Ra3 24. Kh2 Rba8 25. Nc1 f5 26. exf5 gxf5 27. Rb1 Rb8 28. Rb2 Rb4 29. Kh3 c4 30. Re2 cxb3 31. Nxb3 Ng6 32. Kg3 Raa4 33. Red2 Kf6 34. Kf2 Rb5 {Black is surely the one who is pressing, in spite of being a pawn down, mainly because his pieces are more active and there are more targets to attack.} (34... Rxh4 35. Nd4 Ra5 $17) 35. Rh1 Rxh4 36. Rxh4 Nxh4 {White's task has eased a bit, due to the exchange of a pair of rooks, but there should still be some suffering.} 37. f4 Ng6 38. g3 h4 39. Rd3 hxg3+ 40. Kxg3 Nf8 41. Kf3 Nd7 42. a4 Rb4 43. a5 Nf8 $1 {Anish really liked this move transferring his knight to g6.} 44. Nd4 Ng6 45. a6 Ra4 46. Ne2 Rxa6 { And as is typical in Benko, from being a pawn down, Black is now a pawn up.} 47. Nd4 Nf8 48. Nc2 Nd7 49. Ne3 Ra2 50. Rd1 Rh2 51. Rg1 Rh3+ ({An interesting variation that Anish showed in the press conference went something like this} 51... Rh5 52. Rg3 Nf8 53. Rg1 Rh4 54. Rg5 $2 Rxf4+ $1 55. Kxf4 e5+ $3 $19) 52. Rg3 Rxg3+ 53. Kxg3 {Although Botvinnik said that knight endgames are like pawn endgames, this one cannot be won.} Nc5 54. Kf3 e6 55. dxe6 Kxe6 56. Nc2 Kd5 57. Ne3+ Ke6 58. Nc2 Nb3 59. Ne3 Nd4+ 60. Kf2 Nc6 61. Ke2 Nb4 62. Kd2 Nd5 63. Ng2 Ne7 64. Kd3 Nc6 65. Nh4 Nb4+ 66. Kd4 Nc6+ 67. Kc4 Nb8 68. Nxf5 $1 {and the game ends in an instant draw.} (68. Nxf5 Kxf5 69. Kd5 $11) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.17"] [Round "6"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "166"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qc2 c5 6. d5 exd5 7. cxd5 Bb7 8. Bg2 Nxd5 9. O-O Nc6 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Qa4 Nf6 12. Nh4 O-O 13. Nc3 $146 {A new move by Aronian. Previously only Nf5 had been played.} g6 14. Bg5 Rb8 {Here Aronian's opening knowledge came to an end.} 15. Bf4 $5 Rc8 16. Bh6 {The idea with this Bg5-f4-h6 is to lure the rook to c8 before bringing the queen to f4 so that Qb8 is not possible.} Re8 17. Qf4 Na5 (17... Nh5 {was definitely what Levon was waiting for.} 18. Qxf7+ $1 Kxf7 19. Bd5+ Kf6 20. Ne4+ Ke5 21. f4+ Nxf4 22. gxf4#) 18. Nf5 (18. Bxb7 Nxb7 19. Nf5 Bf8) 18... Bxg2 (18... Bf8 19. Bxf8 Rxf8 20. Nd6 $16) 19. Nxe7+ $6 (19. Kxg2 {was better according to Levon.}) 19... Qxe7 20. Kxg2 Qe5 21. e3 d5 22. Bg5 Ne4 $6 (22... Kg7 $11) 23. Rxd5 Qxf4 24. gxf4 Nxc3 25. bxc3 {Around here Aronian was pleased with his position. He has the open d-file in his control and a more active king. This should mean something.} Kg7 26. Rd7 h6 27. Be7 Nc4 28. Rad1 a5 29. R1d5 Rc6 30. Ra7 Re6 31. Rdd7 Kg8 32. h4 Kg7 33. Bd8 Kg8 34. Be7 Kg7 35. Rab7 Kg8 36. Rbc7 Na3 37. Bd8 Nc4 38. Be7 Na3 39. Rb7 Nc4 40. Kf3 a4 41. Rbc7 Nd2+ 42. Rxd2 R6xe7 43. Rc6 Re6 44. Rxe6 Rxe6 45. c4 {White has a small edge but Black can hold with accurate play.} Kg7 46. e4 Re8 47. e5 Rb8 48. Rd7 Kf8 49. f5 gxf5 50. Kf4 b5 51. cxb5 Rxb5 52. Kxf5 a3 (52... Ke8 53. Rc7 (53. Ra7 c4 {and Black has better drawing chances.}) 53... Rb2 54. f4 Rxa2 55. Kf6 $18) 53. f4 $6 (53. Kf6 $1 Rb6+ 54. Rd6 $18 Rb8 (54... Rxd6+ 55. exd6 {The pawn ending is just lost.}) 55. f4 $18 Rc8 56. f5 c4 57. Rd7 c3 58. Rxf7+ Ke8 59. e6 c2 60. Rh7 $18) 53... Rb4 54. Ra7 c4 55. Rxa3 Rb2 56. Ra6 Kg7 57. a4 c3 58. Ra7 c2 59. Rc7 Rb4 60. a5 Ra4 61. Rxc2 Rxa5 {This is the endgame position which Aronian thinks that he was winning even if Nakamura didn't blunder. In the game he moved around a bit with his pieces. In the analysis he began with h5 as the right way for White to proceed.} 62. Rc4 (62. h5 Rb5 63. Rc8 Ra5 64. Rd8 Ra4 65. Kg4 Rb4 66. Kf3 { [%cal Gf4f5] This is all still main line of the analysis. According to Levon White threatens f5 here and it is a deadly idea.} Rb3+ 67. Ke4 {And now Kosteniuk played Rb1. Instead Rh3 can be a strong move.} Rb1 {Even this is not so clear as after} (67... Rh3 $1 68. f5 Rh4+ 69. Kd5 Rxh5 70. f6+ Kg6 $11) 68. Rd7 Rb4+ (68... Rb5) 69. Rd4 Rb1 70. f5 {Aronian felt that this position is winning, but after} Re1+ 71. Kd5 Rf1 72. f6+ Kf8 73. Kc6 Ke8 74. Rb4 Rc1+ 75. Kd5 Rd1+ 76. Rd4 Rc1 $11 {It is just a draw.}) 62... Ra1 63. Rc7 Kf8 {is not yet a mistake because Kf6 is met with Ra6+ and there is no Rd6 yet.} ({Also possible was} 63... Ra4 64. e6 Ra5+ 65. Ke4 Ra4+ 66. Kf3 Kf6 67. exf7 (67. e7 Ra8 $11) 67... Kg7 $11) 64. Rd7 Ra4 65. Rd3 Rc4 66. Re3 Ke7 67. Re4 Rc1 68. Rb4 Kf8 69. Rb6 Kg7 70. Rb7 Kf8 71. Rb8+ Kg7 72. Rb4 Ra1 73. Rd4 Ra2 74. Rd7 Kf8 $4 {Nakamura made this move and this led to the j'adoube controversy. Maybe Naka didn't realise that Kf6 Ra6+ can now be met with Rd6. When he touched the king he must have realized it. Or else he could have just played Ra4.} (74... Ra4 75. Rd8 (75. e6 Ra5+ 76. Ke4 Ra4+ 77. Ke3 Kf6 $1 $11) 75... Rb4 76. h5 Ra4 77. Kg4 Rb4 78. Kf3 Rb1 79. Ke4 Re1+ 80. Kf5 Rh1 $11) 75. Kf6 {Now it is all over.} Ra6+ 76. Rd6 Ra8 77. h5 Kg8 78. f5 Rb8 79. Rd7 Rb6+ 80. Ke7 Rb5 81. Rd8+ Kh7 82. Kf6 Rb6+ 83. Rd6 (83. Kxf7 Rf6+ 84. Ke8 Rxf5 85. e6 $18) 83... Rb7 { Nakamura made this move and resigned. e6 followed by e7 just wins.} 1-0 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.17"] [Round "6"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {An emphatic victory for Anand. Let's have a look at the game to see what really went right for him and wrong for Svidler.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 ({The following game between Anand and Svidler with the inclusion of h3 and h6 is very similar to what we saw today. And Svidler played much better back then.} 8. h3 Bb7 9. d3 Re8 10. a4 h6 11. Nbd2 Bf8 12. c3 Na5 13. Bc2 c5 14. d4 cxd4 15. cxd4 exd4 16. e5 Nd5 17. Nxd4 Nb4 18. axb5 Nxc2 19. Qxc2 axb5 20. Nxb5 Qb6 $15 {1/2-1/2 (47) Anand, V (2779)-Svidler,P (2728) Morelia/Linares 2007}) 8... Bb7 {[%cal Gc8b7] Although this is the main move in the position, Anand thought for a good ten minutes. Why? Because Svidler has got the position 13 times in his games and all the times he has chosen b4.} (8... b4 {is Svidler's move.}) 9. d3 Re8 10. Nbd2 Bf8 11. c3 Na5 12. Bc2 c5 {This is all very standard Ruy Lopez stuff. Now White must remain consistent and break in the centre with d4.} 13. d4 exd4 { This came as a bit of a surprise to Anand. But Peter was mainly trying to play very concrete chess.} 14. cxd4 d5 $6 {Although this is very thematic. It is extremely dangerous. The main reason being that the two bishops on c1 and c2 are opened up against the black king.} (14... cxd4 {looks like the best way for Black to proceed.} 15. e5 Nd5 16. axb5 axb5 17. Nxd4 Nb4 18. Bb1 $13 { is an interesting game.}) 15. e5 Ne4 {This was a critical position where Anand took a lot of time. There are a lot of captures. As Anand correctly pointed out, the main question to him was whether to take on b5 or not. On one hand keeping the a-file closed keeps the rook on the back rank safeguarding it. On the other hand the rook doesn't take part in the game. It is a very difficult decision to make and almost impossible to see what possibilites may arise after say eight to ten moves. But this is where intuition comes into picture and Anand felt that bringing the a1 rook into the game was more important and that explains his next move.} 16. axb5 (16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Rxe4 {Now this exchange sacrifice is not as effective as in the game.} (17. Bxe4 Bxe4 18. Rxe4 Qd5 $1 {Important to blockade the d-pawn before attacking it.} 19. Re3 (19. Qe2 Nb3 $17) 19... Nc6 $15) 17... Nb3 $1 18. Ng5 (18. Rh4 Bxf3 19. Bxh7+ Kh8 20. Rh3 Bxd1 21. Bg6+ $11 {All of these analyses lead us to the fact that Anand's decision of taking axb5 was better than not taking.}) 18... Nxa1 19. Qh5 Qxg5 $1 20. Bxg5 g6 (20... Nxc2 21. Rh4 h6 22. Bxh6 g6 23. Rg4 Nxd4 24. Rxg6+ fxg6 25. Qxg6+ Kh8 $11) 21. Qd1 Nxc2 22. Qxc2 Bxe4 23. Qxe4 cxd4 $15 {Only Black can be better here.}) 16... axb5 (16... Nxd2 $2 17. Bxd2 axb5 18. Bxh7+ $1 { wins! It's a standard Greek Gift!} Kxh7 19. Ng5+ Kg8 (19... Kg6 20. Qg4 $18) 20. Qh5 $18) (16... cxd4 $6 17. bxa6 Rxa6 18. Nxe4 dxe4 19. Bxe4 Bxe4 20. Rxe4 Bc5 21. b4 $1 Bxb4 22. Rxd4 Qb8 23. Qd3 $18) 17. Nxe4 dxe4 18. Rxe4 $1 { This move might be natural for a player like Anand, but for us who are taught about the relative value of the pieces since a young age, it is not easy to consider a such a move. Once you see it, though, and you realize that the bishop on e4 will be a complete monster, breathing fire in both directions, you make this move!} (18. Bxe4 Bxe4 19. Rxe4 Qd5 $11 {gives Black excellent chances to hold.}) 18... Nb3 (18... Bxe4 19. Bxe4 {[%cal Ge4a8,Ge4h7]} Ra7 ( 19... Rb8 20. Bxh7+ Kxh7 21. Ng5+ Kg8 22. Qh5 $18) (19... g6 20. Bxa8 Qxa8 21. Bd2 b4 22. Qa4 $18) 20. Bxh7+ Kxh7 21. Ng5+ $18) 19. Rxa8 Bxa8 {[%cal Gb7a8] At this point I went to tournament hall to check out what exactly was going on. I expected Anand to be looking happy while Svidler would be on the board with his head in his hands. But the scene I saw was completely opposite. Peter had just captured the rook on a8 and was moving around confidently. Anand on the other hand was nervous, fidgety, biting his nails and looked as if he was the one on the back foot. But it was clear that Vishy was calculating the details of his final attack, anxious to make sure that his opponent had no defensive resources. And in the above position he picked up his knight and made the best move 20.Ng5!} 20. Ng5 $1 {Svidler came back and saw this move. I thought that the Russian would think for a while before he would make his move but he blitzed it out. He was showing that he had it under control.} (20. Rh4 Bxf3 21. Bxh7+ Kh8 22. Rh3 Bxd1 23. Bg6+) 20... Nxc1 21. Qh5 $1 {[%csl Rf7,Rh7] Once again the only move. There is an attack on both the h7 and f7 pawns.} h6 { This move was also made quickly.} (21... Qxg5 {was a way to avoid an immediate defeat, but doesn't really serve any purpose as after} 22. Qxg5 Bxe4 23. Qxc1 $1 Bxc2 24. Qxc2 $18 {the position is technically winning. It won't be so difficult for a player of Anand's calibre to turn this into a win.}) (21... Bxe4 22. Bxe4 h6 23. Qxf7+ Kh8 24. Qg6 $18) 22. Qxf7+ Kh8 {At this point Peter once again stood up from the board and started walking around. Anand was making his final calculations, the other players were all coming to the board and making faces of disbelief. Nakamura stood right next to Svidler's seat for almost a minute. He just didn't want to leave. He checked the scoresheet, then the board and couldn't believe that Anand was just winning. He went back to his board, Anand lifted his hand and once again made the only winning move in the position.} 23. Rg4 $1 {The rook defends the knight and now the threat is Qg6. Black doesn't really have a way to stop the attack.} (23. Rf4 Ne2+ $19) 23... Qa5 {And once again Anand has the only move to win.} (23... Ne2+ 24. Kf1 $1 {wins!} (24. Kh1 $4 {however loses in an amazing fashion.} Qa5 $3 {Suddenly the back rank weakness turns out to be the critical factor in the game.} 25. h4 Qe1+ 26. Kh2 Qg1+ 27. Kh3 Qh1#)) 24. h4 $1 {Svidler resigned as he saw no point in continuing. His bluff of playing quickly had not worked. Many of you might be wondering why this is the only move. Wouldn't h3 also win? The point is subtle. The h3 square has to be kept for the knight to control g1.} (24. h3 Qe1+ 25. Kh2 Ne2 26. Nf3 Bxf3 27. gxf3 Nxd4 $17) (24. h4 Qe1+ 25. Kh2 Ne2 26. Nh3 $18 {Like a gentleman he analyzed the game with Anand, kept a very calm face in the press conference and showed great sportsman spirit.}) 1-0 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.17"] [Round "6"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A00"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O Re8 11. a3 $5 {[%cal Ga2a3] While Topalov wanted to enforce b4 with the move Rb1, Caruana went for a3. But this move has a deeper point which is to use the safer square a2 to lift the rook rather than the b2 square.} c5 12. dxc5 bxc5 13. Ne5 Bb7 14. Bf4 Nbd7 (14... Bf8 {was played by Karjakin against Topalov, and when Topalov had responded with Rb2, the bishop came back to d6 as in many lines the rook was hanging on b2. Here Caruana can avoid all of that with the move Ra2!} 15. Ra2 $1 Bd6 $2 16. Nxd5 $1 $18) 15. Nc4 $5 (15. Nxf7 $6 Kxf7 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. Bxd5+ Bxd5 18. Qxd5+ Kf8 $15) 15... Nb6 16. Na5 Ba6 17. b4 $5 (17. Nc6 Qd7 18. Nxe7+ Qxe7 $11 {should be around equal.}) 17... cxb4 {This move was not expected by Caruana. It is really not the best, but to prove an advantage against it is not an easy task.} ({Better was} 17... Bd6) ({or} 17... Qd7) 18. axb4 Bxb4 19. Nc6 Bxc3 20. Nxd8 Bxe2 21. Qb3 (21. Qc2 {was also possible.} Bxa1 22. Rxa1 Raxd8 (22... Rexd8 23. Qxe2 $18 ) 23. Rxa7 $16) 21... Bxa1 22. Rxa1 Raxd8 {Karjakin didn't want to allow the manoeuvre Be5-d4 and hence took with this rook. But this means that the a7 pawn falls.} (22... Rexd8 23. Bc7 Rdc8 24. Bxb6 axb6 25. Rxa8 Rxa8 26. Bxd5 $16 ) 23. Rxa7 Nc4 {This is critical for assessing the quality of Karjakin's sacrifice. It must be said that over the board this position is not so easy to win for White. Black hardly has any weaknesses. The pawns are all on one side, which greatly reduces White's chances. Caruana tried hard but couldn't crack through Karjakin's defences.} 24. h3 Bh5 25. Bg5 Bg6 26. Bxf6 gxf6 27. g4 Kg7 28. Qc3 d4 $1 {This was truly a study-like finish by Karjakin. His defensive capabilities are truly fantastic.} 29. Qxc4 d3 30. g5 {This looks like the most natural way to force events, but better could have been} (30. Kh2 d2 31. Bf3 d1=Q 32. Bxd1 Rxd1 $16 {when White can keep trying. Whether he can win or not is a different question, but he has some chances.}) 30... d2 (30... fxg5 $2 31. Bd5 $1 d2 32. Qd4+ Kg8 33. Qxd2 $18) 31. gxf6+ Kh8 (31... Kxf6 32. Qc3+ Kg5 33. Bf3 {and the king on g5 doesn't really feel safe.} d1=Q+ 34. Bxd1 Rxd1+ 35. Kh2 Kh6 36. Qf6 Re6 37. Qf4+ Kg7 38. Rxf7+ Bxf7 39. Qg4+ Kf8 40. Qxd1 {and although White is up a lot of material this might well be a theoretical draw.}) 32. Bf3 Be4 $1 {A very strong move that had to be accurately calculated.} 33. Kh2 (33. Qxf7 $2 d1=Q+ (33... Rg8+ 34. Qg7+ Rxg7+ 35. fxg7+ Kg8 36. Bd1 $11) 34. Bxd1 Rxd1+ 35. Kh2 Rg8 36. Qxg8+ Kxg8 $19) (33. Bg4 Rg8 34. Ra1 d1=Q+ 35. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 36. Kh2 Bd5 $11) 33... Bd5 $1 34. Qg4 (34. Qh4 Rg8 $1 35. Rxf7 (35. Bxd5 d1=Q) 35... Bxf7 36. Be4 Bg6 37. f7 d1=Q 38. Qf6+ Rg7 39. f8=Q+ Rxf8 40. Qxf8+ Rg8 41. Qf6+ $11) 34... Rg8 35. Bd1 Rxg4 36. hxg4 h6 {A brilliant defensive effort by Sergey.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.17"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "MVL"] [PlyCount "166"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] [WhiteClock "0:00:10"] [BlackClock "0:05:50"] {[Annotations by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qc2 c5 6. d5 exd5 7. cxd5 Bb7 8. Bg2 {This pawn sacrifice has been one of White's main tries against the Queen's Indian in recent years. Basically every top player but myself has tried it at least once! Play is not very direct in most lines but very rich and I won't pretend to understand the subtleties behind this position.} Nxd5 9. O-O Nc6 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Qa4 (11. e4 Nc7 {and Black would get his knight to d4.}) (11. Qf5 {is White's other main try but Black has been holding things together recently :} Nf6 12. e4 g6 13. Qf4 O-O 14. e5 Nh5 15. Qc4 (15. Qh6 Nd4 16. Nxd4 Bxg2 17. Kxg2 cxd4 18. g4 $6 Rc8 $1 19. gxh5 g5 {and the queen is trapped!}) (15. Qg4 Ng7 16. Nc3 Ne6 17. Be3 Rb8 18. Nd5 Nb4 {Giri-Polgar 2009}) 15... Re8 16. Nc3 Ng7 17. Nd5 Ne6 18. Be3 Nb4 {with double-edged play but it seems Black has coordinated his pieces quite well in Shirov-Leko, 2015}) 11... Nf6 12. Nh4 O-O (12... g6 13. Bh6 Bf8 14. Bg5 Be7 {and Black is a tempo down compared to the game after} 15. Nc3 O-O 16. Rd2) 13. Nc3 {A cheeky novelty from Levon! The obvious idea is to keep control of the long diagonal and let Black with the task to find good moves while he is lacking space.} (13. Nf5 d5 $1 14. Nc3 Nd4 {and he is in time to annihilate White's initiative :} 15. Nxd4 cxd4 16. Qxd4 Bc5 17. Qa4 Qc8 $1 { A very important move threatening d4.} 18. Nxd5 Bxd5 19. Bxd5 Nxd5 20. Rxd5 Qe6 21. e4 Rae8 $1 {and the pawn can't be protected, leading to an equal endgame.}) 13... g6 (13... Na5 $2 14. Bxb7 Nxb7 15. Nf5 g6 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. Bg5 { would be plain horrible.}) 14. Bg5 $1 (14. Bh6 Re8 15. Qf4 Qb8 $1 {White can't afford to exchange queens with nothing in return.}) 14... Rb8 {Hikaru tries to challenge White on the long diagonal. Other moves don't look tempting over the board, even if the computer shows they might be playable anyway, but at the cost of some miracles!} (14... Qc8 15. Nb5 Ne8 {looks passive but doesn't leave White too many points of entry :} 16. Qf4 (16. Bh6 Ng7 17. Nd6 Bxd6 18. Rxd6 Nd4 19. e3 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 Qb7+ $1 21. Kh3 (21. f3 b5 22. Qd1 Ndf5 23. Nxf5 Nxf5 24. Rxd7 Qb6 {and the e3 pawn was weakened, so the rook is untouchable.}) 21... b5 22. Qd1 Ne8 $1 23. Bxf8 Kxf8 24. Rxd4 cxd4 25. Qxd4 Rc8 $1 {And the unfortunate position of White's king makes things very double-edged.} 26. Qh8+ Ke7 27. Qe5+ Kf8 (27... Kd8 $5)) 16... Bxg5 17. Qxg5 Qd8 $1 18. Qxd8 Rxd8 19. Nxa7 Nc7 20. Nxc6 Bxc6 21. Bxc6 dxc6 22. Nf3 Rfe8 {Black will easily get enough counterplay on the queenside to hold this endgame comfortably.}) (14... Re8 {doesn't look useful yet but somehow tactics come to Black's rescue :} 15. Rd2 (15. Nb5 d5 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Rxd5 (17. Bxd5 Bd4 $1) 17... Qe7 18. Nd6 Bxb2 19. Rad1 Nd4 $1 {And Black gets just enough counterplay after} 20. R5xd4 (20. Nxb7 Nxe2+ 21. Kh1 Nc3) 20... Bxd4 21. Bxb7 Qxd6 22. Bxa8 Rxe2 $1 23. Kh1 Rxf2 24. Nf3 Qe6 $1 25. Nxd4 Qh3 26. Qe8+ Kg7 27. Qe5+ Kg8) 15... Qc8 16. Nb5 Ne4 $1 {This works by nothing short of a miracle!} 17. Bxe4 (17. Bxe7 Nxd2 18. Nd6 Qc7 19. Nxe8 Rxe8 20. Bg5 Ne4 $3 21. Bxe4 b5 22. Qxb5 (22. Qc2 Nd4) 22... Rxe4 { and suddenly Black has a more than decent position!}) 17... Bxg5 18. Nd6 Rxe4 19. Qxe4 Nd4 20. Nxb7 Bxd2 21. Nd6 Qc6 22. e3 Rf8 $1 23. Qxc6 Nxc6 24. Rd1 Ba5 {And Black remains a pawn up. Of course, due to the awkward position of his bishop and White's powerful knight, all he can hope for is give back this pawn in favourable circumstances to hold a draw, but I think he can manage.}) 15. Bf4 {The start of a strange looking manoeuver with a very specific point.} Rc8 16. Bh6 Re8 17. Qf4 $1 {White could get this position with the rook still on a8, but now Qb8 is not possible anymore.} Na5 {Aronian was "very surprised" about this.} ({A lovely trick of course is} 17... Nh5 $2 18. Qxf7+ Kxf7 19. Bd5+ Kf6 20. Ne4+ Ke5 21. f4+ Nxf4 22. gxf4#) (17... Qc7 $1 {was the most reasonable. White gets his pawn back but the few tempi collected will help Black to regroup and fight White's domination.} 18. Qxc7 (18. Nf5 Qxf4 19. Nxe7+ Nxe7 20. Bxf4 Bxg2 21. Kxg2 d5) 18... Rxc7 19. Nb5 Rcc8 20. Nxa7 Rcd8 $1 {Important to support d5.} (20... Ra8 21. Nb5 Red8 22. Nc3) 21. Nb5 (21. Nxc6 Bxc6 22. Bxc6 dxc6 23. Nf3 Ne4) (21. Bf4 d5 22. Nb5 Bf8 23. e3 Rd7 {and the regrouping is complete!}) 21... Ng4 22. Bd2 Bxh4 23. gxh4 Ba6 $1 24. Nc7 Nd4 $1 {with the counterplay coming just in time :} 25. e3 (25. e4 Ne2+ 26. Kf1 Ng3+ 27. Kg1 Ne2+) 25... Ne2+ 26. Kf1 Nxh2+ 27. Ke1 Nf4 $1 28. Bh1 Nd3+ 29. Ke2 Nf4+ ) 18. Nf5 Bxg2 19. Nxe7+ {"Idiotic. " (Aronian) - yeah, a bit!} (19. Kxg2 Rc6 ( 19... Bf8 20. Bxf8 Rxf8 21. Nd6) (19... Nh5 20. Nxe7+ Rxe7 21. Qa4 Rc6 22. Rd2 Rce6 23. Rad1 Nc6 {A good regrouping by Black, but his problems on the d file are far from over.}) 20. Nxe7+ Rxe7 21. Bg5 {Levon was a bit concerned to give Black this option as he could maybe put the queen to a8, but it wouldn't do anything there.} Nh5 22. Qf3 f6 23. Bd2) 19... Qxe7 20. Kxg2 Qe5 {is about equal (Aronian).} 21. e3 {Here Aronian missed that Black has 22...Kg7.} d5 22. Bg5 Ne4 (22... Kg7 $1 {is just equal (Aronian).} 23. Bxf6+ Qxf6 24. Rxd5 Qxf4 ( {not} 24... Red8 25. Rad1 Nc6 26. Rd7 {as White would certainly fight for the control of the d file.}) 25. gxf4 Rcd8 26. Rad1 Nc6 27. Rd6 Rxd6 28. Rxd6 Re6 29. Rd7 Re7 {and if things are still more pleasant for White I'd expect Hikaru to hold rather comfortably.}) 23. Rxd5 Qxf4 24. gxf4 Nxc3 (24... Nxg5 $2 25. fxg5 {would get White all the control he needs as he gets the d file and the f6 square for the knight.}) 25. bxc3 {Here Aronian thought he had a big advantage.} Kg7 26. Rd7 h6 27. Be7 Nc4 28. Rad1 a5 29. R1d5 {Aronian thought he should prevent b5 but afterward he felt that Black wasn't going to do that anyway.} (29. Kf3 Rc6 30. Rb7 Re6 31. Rdd7 {was the quickest way to process.}) 29... Rc6 30. Ra7 Re6 31. Rdd7 Kg8 32. h4 {"It's not easy to find a way to break through." (Aronian)} Kg7 33. Bd8 Kg8 34. Be7 Kg7 35. Rab7 Kg8 36. Rbc7 Na3 37. Bd8 Nc4 38. Be7 Na3 39. Rb7 Nc4 40. Kf3 {A lot of shuffling by Levon who didn't really know how to process things until now. His pieces, though looking dominant, can't shuffle well enough to leave his rooks crushing the 7th rank. Thus he needs his king and pawns to support!} a4 41. Rbc7 (41. e4 Nd2+ 42. Rxd2 R6xe7 43. Rxe7 Rxe7 44. c4 {transposes}) 41... Nd2+ $1 {Hikaru correctly realised his chance resided in the rook endgame and changes the nature of the position even if Levon hadn't seemingly made any progress.} ({ After} 41... Na3 {Aronian allegedly didn't know what to do here, but the natural continuations look good :} 42. h5 (42. e4 Nb5 43. Rb7 Nxc3 44. e5 { is also devastating :} R8xe7 45. Rxe7 Rxe7 46. Rxe7 b5 47. h5 Kf8 (47... Nxa2 48. e6 fxe6 49. hxg6 Nc3 50. Rxe6 a3 51. f5 {and White comes through first.}) 48. Rb7) 42... Nb5 43. Rb7 Nxc3 44. hxg6 Rxg6 45. f5 {and now White wins.}) 42. Rxd2 R6xe7 43. Rc6 Re6 44. Rxe6 Rxe6 45. c4 {The endgame is still unpleasant obviously but it is possible to create enough counterplay as White can't prevent every of Black's attempt.} (45. Rd8+ Kg7 46. c4 b5 $1) 45... Kg7 46. e4 Re8 ({This surprised Aronian, who expected} 46... Re7 47. e5 Rb7 {and now White doesn't have Rd7.} 48. h5 (48. Rb2 Rd7 $1 49. Rxb6 Rd3+ {with a comfortable hold.}) 48... gxh5 49. f5 h4 $1 50. Kg4 b5 51. cxb5 (51. f4 bxc4 52. f6+ (52. Rd5 Rc7) 52... Kh7 53. f5 c3 54. Rc2 Rb4+ 55. Kf3 h3) 51... Rxb5 52. f4 Rb4 {and Black is just in time!} 53. Rd7 $6 h3 54. e6 $4 h2 55. Rxf7+ Kg8) 47. e5 Rb8 48. Rd7 {It seems White's initiative develops too quickly now, but never underestimate the defender in a rook endgame!} Kf8 49. f5 (49. h5 { looked like an alternative. I can't find yet a win for White there but I wouldn't be surprised at all if there was one.} gxh5 (49... b5 50. hxg6 fxg6 51. Rh7 (51. f5 gxf5 52. cxb5 Rxb5 53. Kf4 Rb2 54. f3 (54. e6 Re2 $1 55. Kxf5 Rxf2+ {and White can't take cover on f6.}) 54... c4 55. Kxf5) 51... Kg8 52. Ra7 bxc4 53. Rxa4 {I can't give an accurate evaluation of every possible option but White definitely has good winning chances here.}) 50. f5 Ke8 $3 {Because the most natural move loses.} (50... b5 51. cxb5 Rxb5 52. f6 Ke8 (52... Rb8 53. Kg3 $1 Rc8 54. Kh4 {White is seemingly playing with fire but comes ahead in the race that ensues :} c4 55. Kxh5 c3 56. e6 fxe6 57. Kg6 c2 58. Rh7 Ke8 59. f7+ Ke7 60. f8=Q+ Kxf8 61. Rh8+ Ke7 62. Rxc8) 53. Re7+ Kf8 54. Rc7 Ke8 55. Ke4) 51. Rd6 (51. e6 fxe6 52. fxe6 Rd8 53. Rh7 Rd6) 51... Rd8 52. Rxh6 Rd4 53. Rxh5 Rxc4 54. Rh8+ Ke7 55. Rh7 Ke8 56. Ke3 {Another position that is very difficult to judge but Black might be just in time after} Rc1 57. Ke4 Re1+ 58. Kd5 Rd1+ 59. Kc6 f6 $1 60. f4 c4) 49... gxf5 50. Kf4 b5 51. cxb5 Rxb5 52. Kxf5 a3 (52... Ke8 $1 {was the only way to keep a chance at defending this position. I have no guarantee that it suffices to hold but at least the rook is not reduced to passivity.} 53. Rc7 (53. Ra7 c4 54. Rc7 Rb2 {doesn't change much.}) 53... Rb2 54. f4 a3 $1 (54... Rxa2 $2 55. Kf6) 55. Kf6 (55. Rxc5 Rxa2 56. Ra5 Rh2 57. Kf6 Rf2 $1 58. f5 a2) 55... Rb6+ 56. Kg7 Rg6+ 57. Kh7 Rg2 58. Kxh6 (58. f5 Rxa2 59. f6 Re2 60. Rxc5 Re4 $1 61. Ra5 Rxh4 62. Ra8+ Kd7 63. Rxa3 Rg4 64. Ra7+ Ke8 { with for once a comfortable draw.}) 58... Rxa2 59. Rxc5 Rf2 60. Kg5 Rg2+ 61. Kf5 Kf8 $1 62. Ra5 a2 63. Ra7 Rf2 $1 64. Kg5 (64. h5 Kg7 65. e6 a1=Q 66. Rxa1 fxe6+) 64... Kg7 65. f5 Rg2+ 66. Kh5 Rh2 $1 (66... Re2 67. f6+ Kg8 68. Kh6) 67. e6 a1=Q 68. Rxa1 fxe6 69. fxe6 Re2 70. Ra7+ Kf6 71. Rf7+ Kxe6 72. Rf3 Rg2 { with a draw finally.}) 53. f4 $2 ({"It's beyond me why I did not play} 53. Kf6 {I spent a lot of time, I was afraid he would find a fortress and then I created a fortress for him in my mind." (Aronian)} Rb6+ 54. Rd6 Rb8 (54... Rxd6+ 55. exd6 Ke8 56. Ke5 Kd7 57. Kd5 c4 58. Kxc4 Kxd6 59. Kb3) 55. f4 $1 { This resource is possible to overlook as it comes down to one tempi.} (55. Rc6 Re8 56. Rxc5 Re6+ 57. Kf5 Ra6 {maybe was what Levon was afraid of. But the addition of the a pawns helps him significantly :} 58. Rc4 Kg7 59. h5 Kf8 60. f4 Kg7 61. Ke4 {and the rook is always reduced to passivity as it needs to defend the a pawn. Thus I think Levon just missed a defensive resource from Hikaru later on.}) 55... Rc8 56. f5 c4 57. Rd7 c3 58. Rxf7+ Ke8 59. e6 c2 60. Rg7 Kd8 61. Rg8+ Kc7 62. Rxc8+ Kxc8 63. e7) 53... Rb4 $1 {Now the king can't support the attack as it would want to.} 54. Ra7 c4 55. Rxa3 Rb2 56. Ra6 Kg7 57. a4 c3 58. Ra7 c2 59. Rc7 Rb4 60. a5 Ra4 61. Rxc2 Rxa5 {"I know this is winning for White," said Aronian. "You put the pawn on h5, bring your rook to d8, start bringing the king to e3 (the threat is always f5). I love learning this lesson because I'm learning in the process. And now children... On a check from the side always Rd4, then f5. Black can't preent f5." Kosteniuk said: "Now we know it," and Aronian replied: "Now I know it too!" " Funnily enough, this endgame could have arisen in Hikaru's third game against Peter. I already had given some light analysis as I believed Black should hold. I still think it's the case and you should always beware of the efficiency of children's plans! :)} 62. Rc4 (62. h5 {let's immediately get to the point.} Ra1 63. Rc8 Ra5 64. Rd8 Ra4 65. Kg4 Ra5 66. Kf3 Ra3+ 67. Ke4 Ra4+ 68. Rd4 {This setup was Levon's dream, but Black is active enough.} Ra1 69. f5 Re1+ {active defence is needed but I don't see how White gets out of the multiple checks.} ( {I even thought passive defence might hold but it is not quite the case :} 69... Ra8 70. Rb4 Ra1 71. f6+ Kg8 72. Rb8+ Kh7 73. Rb7 Kg8 74. Kd5 Rd1+ 75. Kc6 Rd8 76. Kc7 Re8 77. Rb8 Kh7 {cute but not enough now as the king is now free to go to the kingside.} 78. Rb5 $1 Kg8 79. Kd7 Ra8 80. Rc5 Ra7+ 81. Rc7 Ra6 82. Rc8+ Kh7 83. Ke7 Re6+ (83... Rxf6 84. Rh8+) 84. Kxf7 Rxf6+ 85. Ke7 Rf5 86. e6 { And White wins}) 70. Kd5 Rf1 71. f6+ Kf8 72. Ra4 (72. Kd6 Ke8 73. Rd5 Rf2 74. Ra5 Rd2+ 75. Kc6 Rc2+ 76. Rc5 Re2 77. Kc7 Ra2 78. Rb5 Rc2+ 79. Kd6 Rd2+ { no progress in sight.}) 72... Rd1+ 73. Ke4 Re1+ 74. Kd4 Rd1+ 75. Kc4 Rc1+ 76. Kd3 Rd1+ 77. Ke2 Rd8 78. Ke3 Rb8 79. Ra1 Kg8 80. Ke4 Rd8 {or Kf8. Case in point it is very important to fight against White's king marching by any means. } (80... Kf8 81. Kd5 Rd8+ 82. Kc6 Ke8) 81. Ra2 (81. Kf5 Rb8 82. Ra5 Rb1 $1 83. Ra8+ Kh7 84. Rf8 Rf1+ 85. Ke4 Re1+ 86. Kd4 Re4+ $1) (81. Rg1+ Kf8 82. Rg7 Rd1 83. Rh7 Kg8 84. Rxh6 Re1+ {Being overly greedy is usually not the way to go in rook endgames!}) 81... Kf8 82. Ra4 Kg8 83. Rd4 Ra8 84. Kd5 Kf8 85. Kc6 Ke8 $1 { It seems to be one of the essentials of this endgame. The king needs to fight for activity, or at least to hinder White's king march, and successfully so :} 86. Rb4 (86. Kb7 Ra5 87. Kc7 Ra7+) (86. Rg4 Ra6+ 87. Kc7 Ra7+ 88. Kb6 Ra2 89. Rg7 Rb2+ 90. Kc5 Rc2+ 91. Kd5 Rd2+ 92. Ke4 Re2+) 86... Rc8+ 87. Kd6 Rd8+ 88. Kc7 Ra8 $1 {One of the basic points is that White can't exchange rooks in this configuration, and Black always has a waiting move at his disposal.} 89. Rb6 ( 89. Rb7 Rd8 90. e6 fxe6 91. f7+ Ke7) 89... Ra7+ 90. Kd6 Rd7+ 91. Kc6 Rd8 92. Ra6 Rc8+ 93. Kd6 Rd8+ 94. Kc7 Rd7+ 95. Kc6 Rd8 96. Ra7 (96. Ra1 Rc8+ 97. Kd5 Rd8+ 98. Ke4 Rb8 99. Kf5 Kf8 100. Ra5 Re8 $1 {important to prevent e6 of course.} 101. Ke4 (101. e6 Rxe6 102. Ra8+ Re8 103. Rxe8+ Kxe8 104. Ke5 Kd7 { and Black is in time.}) (101. Rb5 Kg8 102. Ke4 Kf8 103. Kd5 Rd8+ 104. Kc6 Ke8) 101... Rb8 102. e6 fxe6 103. Ke5 Rb6 104. Ra8+ Kf7 105. Ra7+ Kf8 106. Rh7 Rb2 $1 107. Kxe6 Re2+ 108. Kf5 Rf2+ 109. Kg6 Rg2+ 110. Kxh6 Rf2 111. Kg6 Rg2+ { with a draw.}) 96... Rc8+ 97. Rc7 Ra8 98. Re7+ Kf8 99. Rb7 Ke8 100. Kc7 Rd8 { I can't see White making any progress in this position.} 101. Rb1 Ra8 102. Rg1 Ra7+) 62... Ra1 63. Rc7 Kf8 64. Rd7 Ra4 65. Rd3 Rc4 66. Re3 Ke7 67. Re4 Rc1 68. Rb4 Kf8 69. Rb6 Kg7 70. Rb7 Kf8 71. Rb8+ Kg7 72. Rb4 Ra1 73. Rd4 Ra2 74. Rd7 Kf8 $2 {Here Nakamura touched his king but unfortunately for him, any king move loses quickly. He just needed for now to prevent e6 and wait for Levon to come up with the most dangerous plan. But pressure makes us do weird things!} 75. Kf6 Ra6+ 76. Rd6 Ra8 77. h5 Kg8 78. f5 Rb8 79. Rd7 Rb6+ 80. Ke7 Rb5 81. Rd8+ Kh7 82. Kf6 Rb6+ 83. Rd6 Rb7 {A sad end to the game, but Levon managed to keep pressuring Hikaru and give him tough problems to solve until he collapsed uncharacteriscally. It's also hard to guess whether he would have held what seems like a theoretically drawn endgame, but a far from obvious one!} 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.19"] [Round "7"] [White "Giri, Anish (NED)"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan (IND)"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E36"] [WhiteElo "2798"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {Email from Maxime Vachier-Lagrave at 6:46 Pacific time: "I claim Giri v Anand as the Game of the Day to analyze!" -- and if that doesn't tell you how exciting this game was (insert extreme sarcasm) than nothing will ;) -- BUT in all seriousness, Maxime and I discuss which game he will dive into extensively and which three I'll take each day, and after a very long day/night of analyzing the Aronian-Nakamura Rook Ending, I think MVL wanted a break :)} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Qc2 ({Much more popular (like nearly 2500 games compared to around 80 games after the game move) is} 5. Bg5) 5... Bb4 6. a3 {And believe it or not, after this move the most likely result any strong player with a database can predict is exactly the kind of lifeless draw we had. Though there might have been other slightly dubious options and attempts to maintain more tension and fight in the position, for the most part each sides chooses the clearly best, most principled move, and the position is doomed to open up and simplify.} ({Out of pure curiousity I played this move, not listed as having been played before by ChessBase, but soon after choosing it I found it immediately transposes to a game between Kramnik and Carlsen in 2014 at the Norway Blitz tournament. So if more fight was desired, this fianchetto of the kingside bishop was indeed an option for the Dutchman.} 6. g3 ) ({Believe it or not, the only real way to make a fight of this position is to fix the center. Multiple Grandmasters have chosen this path, with likely play following} 6. cxd5 exd5 ({Dubious is} 6... Nxd5 7. e4 {and White is living a Queen's Gambit dream.}) 7. Bg5 {and the list of options for Black (from 7...c5 to 7...0-0) opens up, along with the list of players who've tried this position for both sides. Including Aronian, Leko, Kramnik, Mamedyarov, So, etc. My point? Mainly to provide both background on the position (for learning) and context for the fans when they see myself along with other Grandmasters teasing the players on social media for choosing not to fight today. There were options!} (7. a3 $5 Bxc3+ 8. Qxc3 Ne4 9. Qc2 {Sakaev,K (2627)-Eljanov,P (2693) Dagomys RUS 2009})) 6... Bxc3+ 7. Qxc3 ({Is a little worse than 7.Qxc3, but might be the only place for White to prove comments to 6.a3 wrong as "choosing the non-fighitng approach".} 7. bxc3) 7... O-O 8. Bg5 {And so the natural question becomes why is this approach in the game so different than my suggestions for White on move 6? Well, as stated, the lack of a fixed structure in the center (by cxd5 from White) allowed Black to strike with ... c5 at some point (as the c-file is still closed to the queen), and once that happens, all of the pawns will be forced to liquidate each other and most of the minors and major pieces will follow suit on the open files.} h6 ({An approach for more tension and fight by Black is not really possible unless he just wants to be worse after} 8... c6 9. e3 Ne4 10. Bxd8 Nxc3 11. Bc7 {where White actually has a clearly better endgame because of the bishop pair.}) 9. Bh4 c5 {The center will blow up now. Though to Giri's credit, he chose the road with the most potential pitfalls for Anand. The former World Champ was not to fall, however.} ({Also possible is} 9... b6 {but leads to endgames with a comfortable edge for White's bishop pair. Vishy wasn't interested...}) 10. e3 cxd4 11. Qxd4 {Definitely correct.} Re8 {Giri claimed this move surprised him, taking him out of preparation.} 12. Bxf6 $6 {All jokes aside, this move is proof that Giri was either completely unsatisfied with what he got out of the opening, or desperately wanted to maintain his chances to complete the tournament with 14 draws. It's a voluntary trade that makes little sense (other than to kill the position) and is played in favor of two options that, I find, to give White more dynamic chances for a fight. [Editor's Note: Leaving Rensch's comments made before Giri's conference, the Dutchman confirmed Danny's points with the statement "This is not the kind of move you make too proudly, of course not in this kind of situation." - Giri. Later he added - "Unfortunately I wasn't as well prepared for this sideline as I would've liked to be, and 12.Bxf6 killed the game pretty much."]} ({Can the Dutchman explain why not} 12. cxd5 {please? [Editor's Note: yes, Danny! He can! In post game analysis he said: I would've gone into this line if he was sure that both players were on their own, but was worried that Anand was potentially still within his preparation, and thus didn't want to face Vishy + a computer engine.] Rensch: Fair enough! :)} e5 (12... Qa5+ 13. b4 Qxd5 14. Rd1 {is a better version of the endgame that happened in the game for White. Black has some development issues on the queenside and White maintains the bishop pair.}) (12... exd5 $2 13. Bd3 {and White is clearly happy with the dominate queen, bishop pair and IQP to attack.}) 13. Qd2 $5 {is also a little better for White despite whatever compensation Black will find for the pawn after} g5 14. Bg3 g4 15. Nh4 Nc5 {and a mess ensues. Likely exactly the kind of mess Giri feared against Vishy and his preparation.}) ({The Lizard seems to think that} 12. Bg3 {is an interesting fight for a White slight edge.}) 12... Nxf6 13. cxd5 Nxd5 14. Be2 Nf6 15. Qxd8 {And if you listen closely you can hear the white and black pieces whispering to each other "so where are we gonna go eat after the game?".} Rxd8 16. O-O Bd7 17. Rfc1 Rac8 18. Kf1 Kf8 19. Ke1 Ke7 20. Ne5 Rxc1+ 21. Rxc1 Rc8 22. Rxc8 Bxc8 23. f4 Nd7 24. Nxd7 Bxd7 25. Kd2 Kd6 26. Kc3 e5 27. g3 b6 28. Bc4 f6 29. b4 g5 30. h4 gxh4 31. gxh4 (31. gxh4 {Since the game lacked much interest, Giri wondered aloud if this position would be drawn in a game of checkers (without the bishops) after a move like} a5 { Coming to the conclusion that it wouldn't be, Giri announced that it was one of the rare positions where the game is dead drawn in chess but would still have some play left in checkers.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.19"] [Round "7"] [White "Svidler, Peter (RUS)"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano (USA)"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2787"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 g6 7. Ng5 $5 { An interesting, and as we will see, very well prepared idea by Svidler. Not a novelty, but might as well be after seeing how deep the preparation in this game goes. Of course 7.Qa4, 7.Qb3 and many others I mention are possible and more popular here. This is a cutting edge line of the English that we will see again!} ({Even the top two U.S. players are no strangers to this topical, variation of the English / Neo-Grunfeld. Hikaru won the last meetup here from Norway} 7. O-O Bg7 8. Nxd5 Qxd5 9. d3 O-O 10. Be3 {1-0 (56) Nakamura,H (2802) -Caruana,F (2805) Stavanger NOR 2015}) ({Less ambitious and played by many good players is} 7. d3 {with one game continuing} Bg7 8. Bd2 O-O 9. O-O Nc7 10. a3 Bd7 11. Rb1 a5 12. Qc1 Nd4 13. Nxd4 cxd4 14. Ne4 {1-0 (53) Wojtaszek,R (2715)-Volokitin,A (2638) Dubai UAE 2014}) (7. h4) 7... e6 8. d3 ({Played before was} 8. Nge4 {and when was the last time we got to quote a game of Roman's (our own video author)? Too bad he eventually lost... BUT he was an innovator of openings even then, trying this cutting edge idea of 7.Ng5!?} b6 9. d3 Bg7 {and eventually 0-1 (67) Dzindzichashvili,R (2540)-Polugaevsky,L (2575) New York 1989}) 8... Bg7 9. Nge4 {The Russian is improving over Wang Yue's game against his own countryman with} (9. Bd2 {1/2-1/2 (61) Wang Yue (2723)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2721) Beijing CHN 2013}) 9... O-O 10. h4 $5 {If you spend time studying this line you'll find the h4-idea played in numerous *similar* positions, and it seems a principled piece of preparation by Peter. After all, Black's kingside defender (the knight) has left and is about to be traded, while the queenside remains underdeveloped. If you're considering a time for an aggressive, original approach, those are some factors that say White might be successful.} b6 ({Hoping against hope that I'm not revealing my buddy's (MVL) preparation with this suggestion (don't kid yourself Danny, that's doubtful at best #hesoutofyourleague) -- BUT --} 10... h6 {I think this move may be the key improvement to this game. It seems to slow down White's assault, stop the entire idea started with 13.Bh6, and Black keeps his center knight threats and open diagonals open.} 11. Nxc5 {is the most challenging approach to my 10...h6 claims.} (11. Bd2 b6 {and Black is doing well.}) 11... Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bxc3+ 13. Bd2 Bxa1 14. Qxa1 Nd4 $1 {and yes, this position is dangerous as all heck and the dark-squares are scary, but it's clear to me that White's just winning. It's very unclear to me what's going on here.}) 11. h5 Bb7 12. hxg6 hxg6 13. Bh6 {and at this point, Black's position may truly be "pot committed" to the variations played in the game. White is going to get an h-file attack regardless of what Black does at this point, so he might as well make Svidler prove it.} Nxc3 14. bxc3 f5 15. Qc1 $1 {The key move that reveals Svidler's hand: He's prepared for this position and ready to bring the heat to the kingside!} fxe4 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Qh6+ Kf6 18. dxe4 (18. Bxe4 $2 Ke7 $1 { and black runs, exposing the lack of White's open d-file.}) 18... Rh8 (18... Qe7 19. e5+ (19. O-O-O {might be too slow after} Rh8 20. e5+ Kf7 21. Qxh8 Rxh8 22. Rxh8 Qg5+ 23. f4 Qxg3 24. Rd7+ Ne7 25. Bxb7 Qe1+ {and I think Black is finding a perpetual.}) 19... Kf7 (19... Nxe5 20. Qf4+ Kg7 21. Qxe5+ {wins.}) 20. Be4 Nxe5 21. Qf4+ Qf6 22. Rh7+ Ke8 23. Qxf6 Rxf6 24. Rxb7 {is likely what Caruana didn't like.}) 19. e5+ {To be more than sure of my suspicions / findings that Svidler not only prepared the piece sac, but was deeply aware of White's best line of play, I let Komdo have a good long think here (an hour+ while I went to Lunch on Saturday). The result? Both players executed flawlessly for the next 5 moves each (10 plies total) with no arguments from the Lizard. Of course it's not that both these players aren't capable of finding such moves, but it just confirms, if nothing else, that the piece sac was sound and was likely the result of some awesome preparation by the Russian! His inability to convert the better endgame later on, notwithstanding. } Kf7 (19... Kxe5 $4 20. Qf4#) (19... Nxe5 $4 20. Qf4+ Ke7 21. Bxb7 {is game over.}) 20. Qf4+ Kg7 21. Rxh8 Qxh8 22. O-O-O Kg8 23. Rd7 Rf8 ({Though Komodo also believed this} 23... Nxe5 {was possible for Black, the lines result in a similar endgame with a clear advantage for White after} 24. Rxb7 Rf8 25. Qg5 Qf6 26. Qxf6 Rxf6 27. f4 Ng4 28. Rxa7 e5 {where again, with accurate play, I believe Svidler could have converted on the extra pawn. However, if Caruana's defense was as accurate in this line as it was in the game, I'm sure Peter would have had his work cut out for him.}) 24. Qg4 Qh6+ 25. f4 Re8 26. Rxb7 Nxe5 27. Qh3 Qxh3 28. Bxh3 Nc4 29. Rxa7 {And we come to the end of a long line (started at the very least with move 20, and I believe possibly as early as move 13.Bh6 and 15.Qc1! sacing the piece) where both sides pretty much found a series of only moves. What that says about the future of the line for Black if best defense is reaching an endgame White probably SHOULD have won? I'll let you use your imagination, but also say MVL has already told me on Skype: "well, I was trying not to get into a mating attack (as Black)... but I won't give up the details yet :)" -- so I think the Frenchman doing our Game of the Day analysis believes Black needs to avoid this mating attack with an improvement much earlier on.} e5 $1 {Active defense! And really the only move that makes this endgame a fight from a practical perspective. Regardless of how he got here, Caruana deserves a ton of credit for defending this endgame so precisely. } 30. Bg2 $6 {A little slow and giving up on the idea that the bishop might already be on its best diagonal. Now, I'm know Peter Svidler, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, and I do have a 170 pound, chess playing genius Lizard by my side, and I think I can safely guess that Peter's preparation was at its end, and he didn't make the most accurate transition into this winning endgame...} ({My analysis shows that} 30. Ra4 $1 {to kick the pony to a less active square first thing might have been the best road to victory. Maybe play continues} Nd6 (30... b5 $2 31. Bd7 bxa4 32. Bxe8 {will be an easy win for White since the knight doesn't stand a chance against the bishop without the rook's help.}) (30... Na5 31. Re4 Kf7 32. Bd7 Re7 33. fxe5 $1 {winning.}) 31. Ra6 Nc4 (31... exf4 32. Rxb6 {is winning.}) 32. Bd7 Re7 33. Bb5 {and a significant tempo has been gained to improve the rook from a7 to a6. I think White is easily winning here.}) 30... Ne3 31. Bc6 Re6 32. Bb5 exf4 33. gxf4 Rf6 {Still good for White (or at least White remains the only player who can possibly win) but we already feel the grip slipping for the first player. Counterplay is coming and the last 3 of 4 bishop moves haven't improved enough concrete factors in the position. I think Peter envisioned a position where the Bishop on b5 defends e2 so he can focus on the queenside, but underestimated how quickly Black wins f4 and threatens to shove the g-pawn.} 34. Kd2 ({I'd guess that} 34. Rb7 {similar to when I suggest it on move 36 needed to be played faster than it was.}) 34... Nf1+ 35. Kd3 Rxf4 36. e4 ({ Last try? Seems extreme. And likely is since the position remained totally tricky all the way to the final move, but when you see the line} 36. Rb7 Rf6 37. e4 {where pawn to e5 is now threatened *with tempo* it seems more accurate than 36.e4. Some lines reviewed by myself with the help of the engines are:} ({ Also interesting is} 37. Ke4 $5 {since} Ng3+ (37... g5 38. Ke5 Rg6 39. Bc4+ Kh8 40. Bd3 Rc6 41. Be4 Rh6 42. Kf5 Ng3+ 43. Kxg5 {wins.}) 38. Kd5 Rf5+ 39. Kc6 Rf6+ 40. Kc7 Ne4 41. Rxb6 {reminds us of how much we like an active king! Black doesn't have to chase the king in this way, however, as noted, but would anything other than checks or pushing the g-pawn (as I reviewed with 37...g5) make any sense for Black? I'm not sure...}) 37... g5 38. e5 Rf3+ 39. Kc4 ({ Doesn't seem as good to go backwards, but still tricky for Black is} 39. Ke2 g4 40. Bc6 (40. Rxb6 $6 Ng3+ {followed by ...Ne4 for Black isn't good for White.}) 40... Ng3+ 41. Kd2 Rf2+ 42. Ke3 Re2+ 43. Kf4 Nh5+ 44. Kxg4 Rxe5 45. Rxb6 { and the a-pawn is huge. Deeper analysis than they pay me for ;) would have to prove if Black can expose the white king's position in some way before the a-pawn decides the game.}) 39... Rf4+ (39... Ne3+ 40. Kb3 g4 41. e6 {and the e-pawn is first.}) 40. Kd5 Ne3+ 41. Kd6 g4 {And now we enter a race that ends with boths sides giving up their minor to stop the furthest advanced passed pawns; however, if my analysis is correct, I think White can eventually head into a winning endgame based on the points that Black's king is too far away and that Frontal Attack Defense is too slow for Black.} 42. e6 g3 43. Bc6 Rf2 44. Rb8+ Kg7 45. e7 Nf5+ 46. Ke6 Nxe7 47. Kxe7 Re2+ 48. Kd7 Rd2+ 49. Kc7 g2 50. Bxg2 Rxg2 51. a4 Ra2 52. Kxb6 Rxa4 53. Kxc5 Kf6 54. Re8 Kf7 55. Re1 Ra8 56. c4 Rc8+ 57. Kb5 Rb8+ 58. Ka6 Rc8 59. Rc1 Ke7 60. Kb7 Rc5 61. Kb6 Rc8 62. c5 { and as long as this line might seem, no obvious improvements JUMP out at me for Black.}) 36... Ng3 {Again, the key move and accurately calculated and assessed by Caruana was where and how to use his knight to stop the e-pawn... not normally where our might steeds do their best work in chess, but Fabiano makes it work!} 37. e5 Rf3+ 38. Kc4 Ne4 39. Bc6 Rxc3+ 40. Kb5 Re3 {and it seem's Black's active defense has saved the day.} 41. Kxb6 c4 42. Bd5+ Kh8 43. e6 c3 44. Rc7 g5 45. Bxe4 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.19"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D12"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "Kostya"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "Bulgaria"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "BUL"] [TimeControl "6600+1440"] [WhiteClock "0:09:44"] [BlackClock "0:03:34"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. Rb1 Nbd7 9. c5 a5 10. a3 Be7 11. g3 e5 12. Bg2 e4 13. b4 axb4 14. axb4 Nf8 15. b5 Ne6 16. Bd2 O-O 17. Na4 {Hikaru confessed he underestimated Topalov's idea of 17...Ng5.} Ng5 18. h4 ({Topalov suggested} 18. O-O {since} Qd7 19. Nb6 Qf5 20. f4 {seems good for White.}) 18... Nf3+ 19. Bxf3 exf3 20. bxc6 bxc6 21. Nc3 Bxc5 22. dxc5 d4 23. exd4 Qxd4 24. O-O {Once again Hikaru was unhappy that he underestimated Black's play.} ({His orignal intention was} 24. Qxf3 {but} Ra3 25. Rd1 Qc4 {is very strong for Black.}) 24... Qg4 25. Re1 Rfd8 26. Rb2 Rd4 ( 26... Ra1 27. Qxa1 Qh3 28. Re8+ Rxe8 29. Qf1) 27. Re7 (27. Re3 Rad8 28. Nb1 Ne4 29. Qxf3 Qxf3 30. Rxf3 Nxd2 31. Nxd2 Rxd2 32. Rb6 Rc2 33. Rxc6 f6 (33... Rdd2 34. Rc8+ Kh7 35. Rxf7)) 27... Rad8 28. Qb3 Rf8 29. Qd1 Rfd8 30. Qb3 Rf8 31. Nd1 Nd5 {The players felt that this was the losing move.} (31... Qf5 $1) 32. Re5 Kh7 33. Kh2 Nf6 34. Be3 Rb8 {"This would be the perfect move if it was not losing." - Topalov} 35. Qxb8 Rxd1 36. Rb1 Qd7 37. Rg5 {Naka panicked until he found this move in his calculations, refuting the sacrifice completely.} Ne4 38. Rxd1 Qxd1 39. Qf4 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.19"] [Round "7"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey (RUS)"] [Black "Aronian, Levon (ARM)"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2769"] [BlackElo "2792"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {For some unknown reason, Karjakin decides he's bored with winning (or almost winning) with the Queen's Indian :)} 1. Nf3 {And the Russian said immediately in the post converage: "My impression is that we both played not so good today. "} Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. d3 {Our first traditional King's Indian Attack.} O-O 6. Nbd2 a5 $5 {'A new idea, according to Karjakin.'-- Already anticipating Karjakin's potential choice to play a King's Indian Attack, Aronian finds a nice move and plays what I believe will son be considered the "considered by most strong players" best approach to establish potential early, and last dominance of the queenside. Amateurs fearing the KIA: Remember this 6th move for Black!} ({Levon previously played} 6... Nc6 { several times, even against Karjakin.}) 7. e4 a4 8. a3 {Yes, the pawn is stopped in its tracks, but the space gained matters.} c5 {Natural.} ({Played against Ponomariov was} 8... dxe4 {but after the creative} 9. dxe4 Nc6 10. b4 $5 {strike by the Ukranian, we get more of a typical Reti Hybrid of the KIA. And likely, Aronian was not interested in playing positions Karjakin seems to have more experience with in the database.} axb3 11. cxb3 Nd7 12. Bb2 Nc5 13. Bc3 b6 14. Qc2 {Ponomariov,R (2764)-Bruzon Batista,L (2673) Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2011}) 9. Re1 Nc6 {Where perhaps the most interesting question becomes: What was Karjakin's goal in today's game? Did he hope for a different variation or slip somewhere in prep? Because Black is not only fine here, but seemed to defend perfectly and never be in real danger of anything but equality or even a slight advantage after the Russian's over aggressive kingside approach.} 10. h4 {Is the first official novelty in the game, though hardly a surprise for how White normally attacks the kingside in the King's Indian Attack.} ({Also possible is the typical KIA move:} 10. e5 Nd7 11. Nf1 ( 11. h4) 11... b5 {and would have seen us headed toward a truly traditional KIA game, but having played the correct approach of driving the a-pawn early, Black is hardly ever "late" on the queenside.}) 10... dxe4 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Rxe4 b5 13. Ng5 $2 {An overly ambitious move that could have backfired more than it did (see analysis below). White needed to keep the position balanced with the rook retreat.} ({Karjakin said regretted going for the attack, and in hindsight preffered a move like} 13. Re1 {which I agree keeps the position roughly equal.}) ({Or the more typical KIA move} 13. h5 {was also better than the knight hop.}) 13... Ra6 14. Qh5 h6 15. Nf3 ({The critical attacking try was } 15. Rg4 {but Levon's suggestion of} Ne5 {refutes White's attack. Karjakin thought White could at least return with} ({Karjakin didn't like} 15... Qe8 16. Nh7 f5 17. Rxg7+ Kxg7 18. Qxh6+ Kg8) 16. Re4 {but Levon pointed out} Nd7 { with an improved version for Black, as Nf6 next will kill White's attack.}) 15... f5 $1 {The key move that maybe Karjakin thought would be too risky? But with accurate play, I truly believe Aronian could have won this battle between tournament leaders.} 16. Re1 Bd7 {And White's attack has clearly started sputtering out. Karjakin recognizes the truth and tries for simplification.} ({ In view of White's next move and attempts to simplify, Aronian could have played} 16... Bf6 {and maintained a slight edge. As Levon said himself, "Of course Bf6 was an easy move to make, but... I understimated White's defensive resources. I thought after 20...f4 White is going to collapse" as I expected. If he had played for the computer's plan of ...b4 at some point, this might be very dangerous for White, who's overly commited to the kingside.}) 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. Rxe5 Bd6 19. Re1 Qf6 {Not a bad move, but as we will see, not for the reasons Aronian followed with.} ({Surprisingly in deep review of this game, I think if Black is to try the f4-break, he needed to play it now. After} 19... f4 {the key point is to meet} 20. gxf4 {with} Rf5 $1 {intermizzo!} 21. Qg6 Bxf4 22. Bxf4 Rxf4 {Doesn't lose the c5-pawn.}) 20. Rb1 {Defending b2 so that the bishop on c1 is free.} ({Levon admitted that he thought} 20. c3 {was forced, and after} b4 21. Bd2 bxa3 22. bxa3 Rb8 {"Black has a dream position." - Aronian.}) 20... f4 $6 {And as much as this makes sense given Black's last few moves and White's preparation to meet it, I actually think Aronian overestimated his chances of attacking the white kingside and missed his chance to "flip the script" to the queenside! See below...} ({Admittedly the computer's helped me find} 20... b4 $1 {which switches gear, and attempts to take advantage of 20.Rb1 in a principled way.} 21. Bd2 {Now not only does 21... f4 potentially pack more punch, but even better is} ({Note how bad} 21. axb4 $2 cxb4 22. Qf3 a3 {would be for White, and you understand why the computer's LOVED 20...b4!}) 21... Rb8 {and holy shenanigans! Black is bringing the heat to the queenside!}) (20... Bc6) 21. Bxf4 Bxf4 22. gxf4 Qxf4 23. Qxc5 Rf5 ({ Maybe? Maybe more interesting for Black?} 23... Rc8 24. Qe3 Qxe3 25. fxe3 Rxc2 26. Rec1 Re2 27. Re1 Rc2 28. Rec1 {Ah, likely not I guess (note Black's inability to play the desired Rac6 because of the bishop on g2).}) 24. Qe3 { The best move that sets off a sequence where both players make the absolute best moves according to both Komodo and Stockfish for 14 consecutive plies.} Qxh4 25. Qg3 {White has to chase the black queen away to protect her king's self-interest. "Somehow I thought this is really good for me", said Levon, but then couldn't figure out what to do. It was clear to him then that he had overestimated his position up to this point, and thus couldn't find a suitable winning try.'} Qh5 ({Aronian rejected} 25... Qd8 26. Re5 {which is equal.}) ({ As well as} 25... Qf6 26. Qb8+ Kh7 27. Be4 Bc6 28. Bxf5+ exf5 29. Kf1 {which looked too unclear.}) 26. Qc7 Qf7 27. Qb7 Rd6 (27... Rg5 28. f4 (28. Re5) 28... Rxg2+ 29. Qxg2 e5 30. f5 Bxf5 31. Re3 {and White defends the threat of ...Rg6. The position is unclear, and apparently, not to the Armenian's liking in order to play for a win.}) (27... Ra5 $6 {"...would be too much." - Aronian.}) 28. Qb8+ Qf8 29. Qxf8+ Kxf8 30. Re3 {White bluffs at this last chance for an advantage: He will bring all his might against the isolated e6-pawn! :)} Bc6 31. Rbe1 (31. Rbe1 Rg5 (31... Bxg2 32. Kxg2 Kf7 {Also seems quite clear.}) 32. Rg3 Rxg3 33. fxg3 Bxg2 34. Kxg2 Kf7) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.19"] [Round "7"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D12"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2016.03.19"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. Rb1 $5 {We reached the standard position of the Slav Defence and Nakamura makes this little rook move. What is the idea of this one? Well White intends to play c5. However, right now it was not possible as 8.c5 would be met with 8... b6!? and then b4 with a5, when it is no longer possible to play a3 as the rook on a1 would be hanging after axb4. But once you move your rook away from a1, then the c5 followed by b4 ideas become possible.} Nbd7 9. c5 a5 {It is funny that this same idea of Rb1 followed by c5 was first employed by Topalov in his World Championship match in Elista against Kramnik in 2006! Kramnik had responded very well with black and in this game Topalov basically uses all the manouvres and ideas of his old foe.} 10. a3 Be7 11. g3 e5 12. Bg2 e4 13. b4 axb4 14. axb4 Nf8 $5 {Transferring the knight to e6 before castling was also done by Kramnik.} 15. b5 Ne6 16. Bd2 O-O (16... b6 {could have been an interesting idea.} 17. cxb6 Qxb6 18. O-O $14) 17. Na4 Ng5 18. h4 (18. O-O { was a much better way to continue.}) 18... Nf3+ 19. Bxf3 exf3 20. bxc6 bxc6 21. Nc3 {[#]Now it seems as if White would just win the pawn on f3 and then 0-0 and be a simple pawn up. But Topalov had prepared a nice sacrifice!} (21. Nb6 Ra2 $132) 21... Bxc5 $1 {The exclamation is not for the objective evaluation of the move. It is for the practical implications. They are easy to calculate for humans and hence practically this is an excellent idea.} 22. dxc5 d4 23. exd4 Qxd4 (23... Re8+ 24. Be3 (24. Kf1 Qxd4 $44) 24... Ra3 25. Rb3 Rxb3 26. Qxb3 Qxd4 27. Nd1 $1 (27. O-O Rxe3 28. fxe3 Qxe3+ 29. Kh1 Nh5 $40) 27... Qd7 28. h5 gxh5 29. Rh4 $16 {and the extra piece will make itself count.}) 24. O-O (24. Qxf3 {was Nakamura's initial intention, but it fails to} Ra3 $1 25. Rd1 ( 25. O-O Qxd2 $11) 25... Qc4 $1 $17 {Very strong move threatening Re8+. White is almost busted.}) 24... Qg4 25. Re1 (25. Be3 $2 {It is important for the queen on d1 to keep an eye on f3 and hence this is a blunder.} Rfd8 $1 26. Qb3 Qh3 $19) (25. Bf4 $5 {This looks like a natural idea.} Rfd8 26. Bd6 Ra3 $1 { The knight cannot move as then f3 would be defended and Qh3 comes in.} 27. Qd3 (27. Rc1 $2 Ne4 28. Nxe4 Qh3 $17) 27... Nd5 28. Rbc1 (28. Rfc1 Re8 $1 $17 { The main point is that White has absolutely no moves! Black has attacking ideas with Re2, and he can also strengthen his position with Kh7. All in all this is just lost for White.}) 28... Re8 29. Kh2 Re2 $1 $19 {It's the same story - Zugzwang like position and White is once again lost.}) 25... Rfd8 26. Rb2 Rd4 27. Re7 (27. Re3 {This was the other option but after} Rad8 28. Nb1 Ne4 29. Qxf3 Qxf3 30. Rxf3 Nxd2 31. Nxd2 Rxd2 {This endgame should be drawn.} 32. Rb6 Rc2 33. Rxc6 f6 34. Re3 Rd1+ 35. Kg2 Rdd2 $132) 27... Rad8 28. Qb3 (28. Nb1 Ne4 $17) 28... Rf8 $1 {How do you meet the threat of Qh3 now?} 29. Qd1 Rfd8 30. Qb3 Rf8 {Time to make a draw?} 31. Nd1 $1 {Not really. Once again the exclamation mark is not for the objective evaluation of the position but for the fighting spirit shown by Nakamura.} Nd5 (31... Qf5 {Engines suggest this as the best move in the position. So what exactly is the idea of this move? Look a little deeper with your tactical eye and you will see that the threat is Rxh4! White must do something against it immediately.} 32. Re3 {looks like the only defensive move to get rid of the f3 pawn.} (32. Ne3 Qh3 33. Qd1 { Now this looks simply winning for White as the f3 pawn is falling. But Black has a nice double attack.} Nd5 $1 $19) 32... Qd7 $1 33. Rxf3 Rxd2 34. Rxd2 Qxd2 $15 {The material is even and Black cannot be worse, maybe a tad better.}) 32. Re5 Kh7 {Topalov is ambitious. He sees that something like Rb8 can give him a win if he can manage to deflect the white queen and prepare Qh3. But as it turns out this is just too speculative and Nakamura already has a winning position.} (32... Nf6 {With the idea of Qd7 made sense.}) 33. Kh2 $1 {Stopping a direct Qh3 at some point.} Nf6 34. Be3 Rb8 {As Topalov nicely put it - the only problem with this move is that it is losing!} 35. Qxb8 Rxd1 {How do you meet the threat of Rh1 followed by Qh3? Only one move.} 36. Rb1 Qd7 $5 37. Rg5 $1 {This was the move that was completely overlooked by Topalov.} (37. Rxd1 $2 Ng4+ 38. Kh3 Nxf2+ 39. Kh2 Qh3+ 40. Kg1 Qg2#) 37... Ne4 38. Rxd1 Qxd1 39. Qf4 { An edge of the seat entertainer.} 1-0 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.19"] [Round "7"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2786"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.03.19"] [SourceDate "2016.03.19"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. d3 O-O 6. Nbd2 a5 $5 {[%cal Ga7a5] Aronian played this relatively new idea which was tried once before at the top level by Bruzon Batista against Ruslan Ponomariov in World Cup 2011.} 7. e4 a4 {Gaining further space on the queenside and looking to weaken the dark squared complex with a4-a3.} 8. a3 c5 9. Re1 Nc6 10. h4 $6 {Karjakin was critical of this move and said that he should have first closed the centre with e5 before indulging in this flank move.} (10. e5 Nd7 11. Nf1 {would lead to a normal KIA position.}) 10... dxe4 $1 {In this structure the move h4 looks a little silly.} 11. Nxe4 (11. dxe4 e5 12. Nc4 Qc7 13. Ne3 Nd4 $11) 11... Nxe4 12. Rxe4 (12. dxe4 e5 $15) 12... b5 13. Ng5 {And now comes a brilliant move by Levon.} Ra6 $1 {True this might seem as if the rook just defends the c6 knight. But actually it will be useful for the defense on the kingside on the third rank after e5.} (13... h6 {looks like a perfectly fine move. But Levon could have been afraid of} 14. Rxe6 $5 fxe6 15. Bxc6 Ra6 16. Be4 hxg5 17. Qh5 {The position is getting messy.} Rf5 18. g4 $5 gxh4 19. gxf5 exf5 20. Bxf5 Bxf5 21. Qxf5 Rf6 $17 {It all ends well for Black but it is not so easy to calculate over the board.} ) 14. Qh5 h6 15. Nf3 (15. Rg4 Ne5 $1 (15... f5 16. Nxe6 Bxe6 17. Rxg7+ Kxg7 18. Bxh6+ Kf6 19. Qg5+ Ke5 20. Qf4+ Kf6 $11) 16. Re4 Nd7 $19) 15... f5 16. Re1 Bd7 (16... Bf6 {was the best move, keeping control on the e5 square. Of course, Levon saw this but he thought that Bd7 was smarter.}) 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. Rxe5 Bd6 19. Re1 Qf6 20. Rb1 $1 {This is why Karjaking is a strong defender. He allows f5-f4 but makes sure that b2 is defended and that he can exchange his dark squared bishop.} f4 (20... b4 {Might have kept more pieces in the position and given Black better chances of exploiting his advantage.}) 21. Bxf4 Bxf4 22. gxf4 Qxf4 23. Qxc5 Rf5 24. Qe3 Qxh4 {This looks scary for White but Karjakin has everything under control.} 25. Qg3 Qh5 26. Qc7 Qf7 27. Qb7 Rd6 28. Qb8+ Qf8 29. Qxf8+ Kxf8 30. Re3 Bc6 31. Rbe1 {It was a pity that Levon could not press well in the slighly better position, but as always Sergey defended really well. } 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.19"] [Round "7"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2794"] [Annotator "Amruta Mokal/Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2016.03.19"] 1. c4 {This was the third white game for Peter in the event. In the first one he opened with 1.e4, while against Aronian he went 1.c4. Today he repeats the English Opening.} c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 {Fabiano has had good success with black in this line, most notable being his win against Topalov from the 2014 Sinquefield Cup.} 6. Bg2 g6 7. Ng5 $5 {This has been played in eight encounters before this game, with the top game being Wang Yue vs Ian Nepomniachtchi. But that was only a blitz.} (7. Ne4 {was an interesting knight sortie tried in Li Chao vs Peter Leko.}) 7... e6 8. d3 (8. Nge4 Be7 9. d3 O-O 10. Bh6 Re8 11. h4 $5 {1-0 (42) Agdestein,S (2560)-Polugaevsky,L (2575) Haninge 1988}) 8... Bg7 9. Nge4 $146 (9. Bd2 {1/2 (61)-1/2 (61) Wang,Y (2723) -Nepomniachtchi,I (2721) Beijing 2013}) 9... O-O (9... f5 10. Nxc5 $5 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bxc3+ 12. Bd2 Bxa1 13. Qxa1 O-O 14. h4 $5 {Even though White is an exchange down and has no pawns to show for it, he has good compensation thanks to the dark square weaknesses in Black's position.}) 10. h4 (10. Nxc5 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bxc3+ 12. Bd2 Bxa1 13. Qxa1 Nd4 $15 {White doesn't have enough compenstation.}) 10... b6 $6 {[%cal Gb7b6] As Caruana said in the press conference, this was not the most accurate move.} (10... f5 11. Nxc5 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bxc3+ 13. Bd2 Bxa1 14. Qxa1 Qd6 15. Qc3 $44) (10... h5 11. g4 $5 hxg4 12. h5 {Using brute force to break through, but this may not be very good for White.} f5 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. Nc3 Be6 15. hxg6 f4 $17) (10... h6 11. Nxc5 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bxc3+ 13. Bd2 Bxa1 14. Qxa1 Nd4 (14... Qd4 15. Qxd4 Nxd4 16. Bxh6 $16) 15. O-O Nxe2+ 16. Kh2 Nd4 17. Bxh6 $44) 11. h5 Bb7 12. hxg6 hxg6 (12... fxg6 { was necessary but to give the knight on e4 a permanent outpost is not something that Black would like to do voluntarily.}) 13. Bh6 Nxc3 {Here Svidler thought for 20 minutes, trying to understand whether he should take back with the pawn or the knight.} (13... f5 {wouldn't make much sense as after } 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Qd2 fxe4 16. Qh6+ Kf6 17. Nxe4+ Ke7 18. Qxg6 $16 {White is just better.}) 14. bxc3 $1 (14. Nxc3 {is also possible, but taking with the pawn is stronger.}) 14... f5 (14... Bxh6 15. Rxh6 Ne5 16. Qd2 $16) 15. Qc1 $1 ( 15. Qd2 $6 {This move is not the most accurate as e4-e3 would come with a tempo.} fxe4 16. Bxg7 e3 $1 17. Qxe3 Kxg7 18. Qh6+ Kf6 $13) 15... fxe4 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Qh6+ Kf6 (17... Kf7 18. Qh7+ Kf6 19. Qxb7 $16) 18. dxe4 Rh8 (18... Qe7 19. e5+ Kf7 (19... Kxe5 20. Qxg6 Kd6 21. Rh7 $18) 20. Be4 Nxe5 21. Qf4+ Qf6 22. Rh7+ Kg8 23. Qxf6 Rxf6 24. Rxb7 $16) 19. e5+ $1 (19. Qf4+ Kg7 $19) 19... Kf7 ( 19... Kxe5 20. Qf4#) (19... Nxe5 20. Qf4+) 20. Qf4+ Kg7 21. Rxh8 Qxh8 (21... Kxh8 22. Qh6+ Kg8 23. Qxg6+ Kf8 24. Qh6+ Kg8 25. Qxe6+ $18) 22. O-O-O $1 Kg8 23. Rd7 {Threatens mate on f7, and b7 is also hanging.} Rf8 24. Qg4 (24. Qg5 Qh5 25. Qxh5 gxh5 26. Rxb7 Nxe5 27. f4 $16 {was also another good position that White could have aimed for.}) 24... Qh6+ 25. f4 Re8 26. Rxb7 Nxe5 27. Qh3 Qxh3 28. Bxh3 $16 {And there we have it. Svidler has a technically better – and you can even go to the extent of saying close to winning position. But the problem with facing guys like Caruana is that they defend staunchly and never really give up.} Nc4 29. Rxa7 e5 30. Bg2 (30. Ra4 $1 Ne3 (30... Nd6 31. Ra6 $16 ) (30... b5 31. Bd7 $1 $18 {is the key point.}) 31. Re4 Nd5 32. Kc2 $16) 30... Ne3 31. Bc6 Re6 32. Bb5 exf4 33. gxf4 Rf6 34. Kd2 Nf1+ 35. Kd3 Rxf4 {Another key moment of the game. Svidler said that he regretted the fact that he didn't play Rb7 here.} 36. e4 $6 (36. Rb7 Rf6 37. e4 Kf8 38. e5 Re6 39. Ke4 $18 { with complete domination.}) 36... Ng3 37. e5 Rf3+ 38. Kc4 Ne4 {Things have already started becoming tricky and White's advantage is no longer obvious.} 39. Bc6 Rxc3+ 40. Kb5 Re3 41. Kxb6 c4 42. Bd5+ Kh8 43. e6 (43. Bxc4 Nd2 44. Bf7 Rxe5 {should end in a draw.}) 43... c3 44. Rc7 g5 45. Bxe4 {Peter calls it a day. It was really a close call for the American GM, who is having a real topsy turvy tournament.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.19"] [Round "7"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Viswanathan, Anand"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E36"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2016.03.19"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 {Until now we are following the game between Levon Aronian and Vishy Anand. Here the Armenian went 5.Bf4 and Vishy took the pawn with dxc4. Anish deviates with Qc2.} 5. Qc2 Bb4 {The most difficult question of the game: is it a Nimzo, Queen's Gambit or Ragozin?} 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. Qxc3 O-O {Now we are somewhere in the Nimzo territory where instead of dc4 Black has played Nbd7. Is this line inferior to the main line? Well, Vishy shows that when you are well prepared even inferior lines look good.} 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 c5 {Black is playing very logical chess. As he is ahead in development he is trying to break the centre.} 10. e3 cxd4 11. Qxd4 { This is the first new move but at the highest level nothing really has been known about this line. So Anish was thinking at the board. Vishy on the other hand was well prepared.} (11. exd4 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Nb6 $11) 11... Re8 $5 { Subtle preparation by the Indian ace. The move in itself is not so scary. But when you know that your opponent has prepared it in detail and you haven't even seen it, then you shy away from the most critical move, cxd5, which is what Anish did.} 12. Bxf6 (12. cxd5 e5 {Is this really so strong? As Anish said in the press conference I am ready to face this move against Anand but against Anand and computer it is a little bit too much.} 13. Qd2 (13. Qd1 Qa5+ 14. Qd2 Qxd5 {regains the pawn but White maintains an edge after} 15. Rc1 $14) (13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. Qd2 Qg6 $5 $44 (14... e4 15. Nd4 Nb6 {is also possible.})) 13... g5 $5 14. Bg3 g4 15. Nh4 Ne4 16. Qb4 Ndf6 17. Bd3 Qxd5 18. Rd1 $14 { This might not be a thorough analysis of the line, but I think Anand must have worked out the details really in great depth after cd5 e5.}) 12... Nxf6 13. cxd5 Nxd5 (13... Qxd5 {is also possible.}) 14. Be2 {White has a small edge mainly because of the c8 bishop. But Black can equalize without too many difficulties.} Nf6 $1 (14... e5 15. Nxe5 (15. Qc5 {This is the move that Anand was aftraid of. But I think Black is completely fine here after} e4 16. Nd4 Qg5 $36) 15... Qa5+ 16. b4 Nxe3 $1 17. Qxe3 Qxe5 $11) 15. Qxd8 Rxd8 {As Giri said after the game, I held no illusions that I could win such position against Vishy.} 16. O-O Bd7 17. Rfc1 Rac8 18. Kf1 Kf8 19. Ke1 Ke7 20. Ne5 Rxc1+ 21. Rxc1 Rc8 22. Rxc8 Bxc8 {More pieces are exchanged and the game finally ends in a draw.} 23. f4 Nd7 24. Nxd7 Bxd7 25. Kd2 Kd6 26. Kc3 e5 27. g3 b6 28. Bc4 f6 29. b4 g5 30. h4 gxh4 31. gxh4 {A relatively good result for Anand especially considering that he was black. Giri is still searching for his first win in the event.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.19"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A35"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2794"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 g6 7. Ng5 ({ Relevant:} 7. Ne4 Qb6 8. O-O Bg7 9. d3 Bf5 10. Nfd2 Bxe4 11. Nxe4 O-O 12. Bd2 Rac8 13. Rc1 Nd4 14. e3 Ne6 15. Qa4 Rfd8 16. b3 Qc6 17. Qxc6 Rxc6 18. Rc2 Rc7 19. Rfc1 b6 20. g4 Rcd7 21. f4 Nec7 22. g5 Nb5 23. a4 Nbc7 24. Rc4 Na6 25. Kf1 Ndb4 26. d4 Nd3 27. R1c2 cxd4 28. exd4 Bxd4 29. b4 Bg7 30. Rc8 Naxb4 31. R2c7 Rd4 32. Rxd8+ Rxd8 33. Rxe7 a5 34. Rb7 Nc5 35. Nxc5 bxc5 36. Ke2 Rc8 {Ding,L (2766)-Dominguez Perez,L (2732) Huaian 2016 0-1 (70)}) 7... e6 8. d3 Bg7 9. Nge4 $146 ({Predecessor:} 9. Bd2 O-O 10. O-O b6 11. Nf3 Bb7 12. Qc1 Nd4 13. Nxd4 cxd4 14. Nxd5 Bxd5 15. Qd1 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Qd5+ 17. f3 Rfc8 18. Qa4 b5 19. Qd1 a5 20. a3 Bf8 21. Kf2 a4 22. Rc1 e5 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Qb1 f5 25. Rc1 Re8 26. Qc2 e4 27. Bf4 exf3 28. exf3 Qe6 29. Qc6 Qe2+ 30. Kg1 Qe6 31. Qxb5 h6 32. h4 g5 33. hxg5 hxg5 34. Bxg5 Bd6 35. Qc4 Bxg3 36. Kg2 Bd6 37. Qxe6+ Rxe6 38. Rc4 Re2+ {Wang,Y (2723)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2721) Beijing 2013 1/2-1/2 (61)}) 9... O-O 10. h4 b6 $6 {Caruana regretted this move a lot after the game. He's not yet necessarily lost but it makes life hard for him.} 11. h5 Bb7 12. hxg6 hxg6 (12... fxg6 {Svidler thought this was necessary. "I thought I would just regret it positionally." Caruan.}) 13. Bh6 Nxc3 14. bxc3 $1 (14. Nxc3 {Caruana was worried about this too.} Bxh6 15. Rxh6 Kg7 (15... Qg5 16. Rh4 Kg7 17. Qd2 ( 17. Qa4 Rac8 $11) 17... Qxd2+ 18. Kxd2 Rh8) 16. Qd2 {is much closer to equality for black than the game.}) 14... f5 15. Qc1 fxe4 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Qh6+ Kf6 18. dxe4 $1 {Black is in serious trouble but he finds a way to resist. } Rh8 19. e5+ (19. Qf4+ $2 {which Svidler initially thought was winning is in fact losing.} Kg7 20. Rxh8 Qxh8 21. Qc7+ Kf8 $1 {hits c3 and turns the tables.} 22. e5 Qg7 {wins for black.}) 19... Kf7 20. Qf4+ Kg7 21. Rxh8 Qxh8 22. O-O-O { "I thought this was completely winning." Svidler.} (22. Rd1 Rd8 $1 $11 (22... Qe8 23. Qf6+ Kg8 24. Rd6 Nd8 $1 $11)) 22... Kg8 (22... Rf8 23. Rd7+ (23. Qg5 Qh5 (23... Rf7 24. Rh1 Rf5 25. Qf6+ {was a trick Svidler briefly entertained hopes for.}) 24. Rd7+ Kg8 25. Qxh5 gxh5 26. Rxb7 Na5 27. Rxa7 Rxf2 28. Bf3 Nc4 29. Bxh5 {is an endgame similar to the game.}) 23... Kg8 24. Qg4 Qh6+ 25. f4 Re8 26. Rxb7 Nxe5 {transposes.}) 23. Rd7 Rf8 24. Qg4 Qh6+ 25. f4 Re8 26. Rxb7 Nxe5 27. Qh3 Qxh3 28. Bxh3 Nc4 (28... Nc6 29. Bg2 Rc8 30. Be4) 29. Rxa7 { This endgame is thoroughly unpleasant for black but white still has work to do. } e5 $1 {As a practical chance this move is excellent.} 30. Bg2 (30. Ra4 $1 { is the strongest move but is a little hard to spot for a human.} b5 (30... Nd6 31. Ra6) 31. Bd7) (30. f5 $5 gxf5 31. Bxf5 Nd6 (31... Ne3 {was Caruana's intention.})) 30... Ne3 31. Bc6 Re6 32. Bb5 exf4 {This seems to be the best move.} (32... Kf8 {was the move Svidler was worried about.} 33. fxe5 Rxe5 34. a4) 33. gxf4 Rf6 (33... Kf8 {taking away a skewer for white.}) 34. Kd2 Nf1+ 35. Kd3 Rxf4 36. e4 $6 (36. Rb7 g5 (36... Rf6 37. e4 $1) 37. Rxb6 {freeing the a-pawn seems stronger. Indeed freeing the a-pawn should be what white is trying to do. Svidler said he thought this was his biggest mistake in the game and was his original intention.} g4 38. e3 Rf3 39. Rg6+ Kf8 40. Rxg4 Rxe3+ 41. Kc2 {wins too most likely.}) 36... Ng3 37. e5 Rf3+ 38. Kc4 Ne4 (38... Re3 39. Kd5 Ne2 (39... Ne4 40. c4 $1)) 39. Bc6 Rxc3+ 40. Kb5 $6 {This seems to throw away most of black's chances. White can round up the b-pawn with the rook.} ( 40. Kd5 $1) 40... Re3 41. Kxb6 c4 $2 {Giving white winning chances again.} ( 41... Nc3 $1) 42. Bd5+ $6 (42. a4 {should be played first before stopping the c-pawn which still isn't threatening.} c3 43. Bd5+ Kh8 44. Rc7 {and white should win.}) 42... Kh8 $1 {Forced.} 43. e6 $6 {Now the game will be drawn and Svidler quickly just ends the game.} (43. Bxc4 Nd2 44. Bf7 Rxe5 45. a4) 43... c3 44. Rc7 g5 45. Bxe4 {Admitting he can no longer win.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.19"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A05"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2786"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. d3 O-O 6. Nbd2 a5 $5 (6... Nc6 { Aronian has played this a lot including vs Karjakin.} 7. e4 dxe4 8. dxe4 e5 9. c3 {0-1 (66) Karjakin,S (2760)-Aronian,L (2777) Zurich SUI 2015}) ({Relevant:} 6... Nc6 7. d4 Ne4 8. c3 f5 9. Ne1 e5 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nd3 Ng6 12. c4 Be6 13. cxd5 Nxd2 14. dxe6 Nxf1 15. Kxf1 c6 16. Qb3 Qb6 17. Qc4 Kh8 18. Be3 Qc7 19. f4 Rad8 20. Rc1 Bf6 21. Qb4 Rfe8 22. Bxa7 Ra8 23. Bb6 Qc8 24. Bd5 Nf8 25. Bb3 Nxe6 26. a4 Nf8 27. Nc5 Nd7 28. Nxd7 Qxd7 29. Rd1 Qe7 30. Qxe7 Rxe7 31. Bc2 g6 32. b4 Rae8 33. Bd8 Rf7 34. Bb6 Rfe7 35. Bd8 Rf7 36. Bb3 {Kramnik,V (2801)-Aronian, L (2792) Zuerich 2016 1/2-1/2}) 7. e4 a4 8. a3 c5 $5 (8... dxe4 9. dxe4 Nc6 10. b4 axb3 11. cxb3 Nd7 12. Bb2 Nc5 13. Bc3 b6 14. Qc2 Ba6 15. Rfd1 Be2 16. Re1 Bd3 17. Qb2 f6 18. e5 f5 19. Nd4 Nxd4 20. Bxd4 Ba6 21. Bxc5 Bxc5 22. Nf3 Bb7 23. b4 Be7 24. Red1 Qc8 25. Rac1 Kh8 26. Nd4 Bxg2 27. Kxg2 c5 28. Kg1 Re8 29. Qb3 Bf8 30. b5 h6 31. a4 Kh7 32. Nc6 Qc7 33. Rd3 Qf7 34. Rcd1 f4 35. Qc4 fxg3 36. hxg3 Kh8 37. Kg2 Qf5 38. Rf3 Qg6 39. Rd7 Rec8 40. Rb7 Qe8 41. Qe4 Kg8 42. Rf6 Qh5 43. Rxe6 {1-0 (43) Ponomariov,R (2764)-Bruzon Batista,L (2673) Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2011}) 9. Re1 Nc6 10. h4 $6 $146 {After the game Karjakin said he didn't like this move.} ({Predecessor (3):} 10. e5 Ne8 11. Nf1 b5 12. h4 b4 13. axb4 cxb4 14. N1h2 f5 15. exf6 Nxf6 16. Bh3 e5 17. Bxc8 Qxc8 18. Nxe5 Nd4 19. c3 bxc3 20. bxc3 Qxc3 21. Bd2 Qb3 22. Nd7 Rfe8 23. Nxf6+ Bxf6 24. Rxe8+ Rxe8 {0-1 (24) Velikic,A (2078)-Chelushkina,I (2261) Belgrade 2014}) 10... dxe4 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Rxe4 b5 13. Ng5 $6 Ra6 14. Qh5 $6 h6 15. Nf3 f5 16. Re1 Bd7 $6 {Heading to the position in the game but misassesing it.} (16... Bf6 { is the standard idea and best here. White will be worse.}) 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. Rxe5 Bd6 19. Re1 Qf6 20. Rb1 f4 {Ahead of time Aronian thought this would be great for him.} 21. Bxf4 Bxf4 22. gxf4 $11 Qxf4 23. Qxc5 Rf5 24. Qe3 Qxh4 25. Qg3 Qh5 26. Qc7 Qf7 27. Qb7 Rd6 28. Qb8+ Qf8 29. Qxf8+ Kxf8 30. Re3 Bc6 31. Rbe1 {Equal and both seemed glad to finish.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.19"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D12"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2780"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 {The only real way to play for an advantage in this system.} Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. Rb1 ({Relevant:} 8. Bd2 Nbd7 9. Qc2 Bd6 10. O-O-O Rc8 11. Kb1 dxc4 12. Bxc4 b5 13. Be2 a6 14. e4 c5 15. dxc5 Bxc5 16. f4 Be7 17. e5 Nd5 18. Qe4 Nc5 19. Qf3 Nxc3+ 20. Bxc3 Qb6 21. Bd4 Qb7 22. Qxb7 Nxb7 23. Bf3 Na5 24. b3 O-O 25. Bb6 Nc6 26. Rd7 Ba3 27. Rhd1 Nb4 28. Rc7 Rxc7 29. Bxc7 Rc8 30. Bd6 a5 31. Be4 Rc3 32. h4 Re3 33. Bf3 Rc3 34. Be2 Rc2 35. Bxb4 Rb2+ 36. Ka1 axb4 37. Bxb5 Rxg2 {Wojtaszek,R (2727)-Wang,Y (2718) Huaian 2016 0-1}) 8... Nbd7 9. c5 a5 10. a3 Be7 11. g3 e5 12. Bg2 e4 13. b4 axb4 14. axb4 Nf8 15. b5 Ne6 16. Bd2 O-O $146 ({Predecessor:} 16... Qd7 17. Na4 Bd8 18. h4 g5 19. bxc6 bxc6 20. Nb6 Bxb6 21. cxb6 O-O 22. hxg5 {1/2-1/2 (22) Sasikiran,K (2661)-Malakhov,V (2690) Sibenik 2007}) (16... b6 $5 17. cxb6 Qxb6) 17. Na4 Ng5 18. h4 (18. O-O {was an alternative.}) 18... Nf3+ 19. Bxf3 exf3 20. bxc6 bxc6 21. Nc3 Bxc5 $1 {Black gets lots of compensation for the piece.} 22. dxc5 d4 23. exd4 Qxd4 24. O-O Qg4 25. Re1 Rfd8 26. Rb2 Rd4 { The last few moves have been a forcing sequence.} (26... Ra1 {doesn't work.} 27. Qxa1 Qh3 28. Re8+ Rxe8 29. Qf1) 27. Re7 (27. Re3 Rad8 28. Nb1 Ne4 29. Qxf3 Qxf3 30. Rxf3 Nxd2 31. Nxd2 Rxd2 32. Rb6 {was a try for a small advantage but Topalov didn't seem concerned after the game.}) 27... Rad8 $11 28. Qb3 Rf8 29. Qd1 Rfd8 30. Qb3 Rf8 31. Nd1 $6 {White has turned down a draw by repetition but this move is met by a hidden problem. Even when told about it they didn't see the point. Very hard to see.} Nd5 (31... Qf5 $1 {may well have won for black.} 32. Ne3 (32. Re3 {would keep the disadvantage within bounds.}) 32... Qh3 33. Qd1 Nd5 $1 {wins.}) 32. Re5 (32. Ra7) 32... Kh7 $2 {In a difficult position Topalov goes completely wrong. Two moves are about equal however.} ( 32... Nf6) (32... Ra8) 33. Kh2 Nf6 34. Be3 Rb8 35. Qxb8 Rxd1 36. Rb1 Qd7 37. Rg5 {Black is a rook down but this is the only good move for white. It prevents all the swindles.} Ne4 38. Rxd1 Qxd1 39. Qf4 1-0 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.03.19"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2762"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Netherlands"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NED"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] [WhiteClock "0:40:50"] [BlackClock "1:01:20"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Qc2 Bb4 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. Qxc3 O-O 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 c5 10. e3 cxd4 ({Relevant:} 10... b6 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Nd2 Qe7 13. Rc1 Qe6 14. Bd3 g5 15. Bg3 Nh5 16. O-O Nxg3 17. hxg3 c4 18. Be2 Nf6 19. b3 b5 20. a4 a6 21. bxc4 dxc4 22. Qb2 Bd7 23. e4 Nxe4 24. Nxe4 Qxe4 25. Bf3 Qe6 26. Bxa8 Rxa8 27. Rfe1 Qd6 28. Qc3 Be6 29. Rb1 Rb8 30. Rb4 f6 31. Reb1 Bf5 32. Ra1 Kg7 33. axb5 axb5 34. Qb2 Qc6 35. Rba4 Kg6 36. Ra6 Qd5 37. Qb4 Qxd4 38. Qe7 Rd8 39. Ra7 Rd7 40. Qe8+ {Rajlich (2600)-New Man (2618) playchess.com INT 2007 1/2-1/2 (87)}) 11. Qxd4 $146 {Giri had looked at various related systems but has been move-ordered into something he hadn't prepared.} ({Predecessor:} 11. Nxd4 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Nb6 13. Ba2 Bd7 14. O-O Na4 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. Qc7 Rfd8 17. Qxb7 e5 18. Nf3 Rab8 19. Qc7 e4 20. Ne5 Be8 21. b4 Rbc8 22. Qa5 Nc3 23. Bc4 Rxc4 24. Nxc4 Bb5 25. Qc7 Ba6 26. Ne5 Rc8 27. Nd7 Rxc7 28. Nxf6+ gxf6 29. Rfe1 Bb5 30. f3 f5 31. Kf2 Rd7 32. Kg3 Rd2 33. Kf4 Rxg2 34. fxe4 fxe4 35. Rg1 Ne2+ { 0-1 (35) Tonel,G (1998)-Bellia,F (2450) Forni di Sopra 2015}) 11... Re8 $1 12. Bxf6 {Giri played this very unhappily.} (12. cxd5 e5 {isn't the kind of line you want to play where one side has prepared it using a computer and the other has not. Hence Giri's very tame attempt.}) 12... Nxf6 13. cxd5 Nxd5 14. Be2 Nf6 {Played after a long thought.} (14... e5 15. Qc5 {was the line Anand couldn't find his way through.} e4 16. Nd4 Qg5 $11) 15. Qxd8 Rxd8 16. O-O Bd7 17. Rfc1 Rac8 {Exchanges follow and the players head to a draw.} 18. Kf1 Kf8 19. Ke1 Ke7 20. Ne5 Rxc1+ 21. Rxc1 Rc8 22. Rxc8 Bxc8 23. f4 Nd7 24. Nxd7 Bxd7 25. Kd2 Kd6 26. Kc3 e5 27. g3 b6 28. Bc4 f6 29. b4 g5 30. h4 gxh4 31. gxh4 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.20"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2760"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O e4 7. Ng5 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Re8 9. f3 e3 10. d3 d5 11. Qa4 {A rare variation which Svidler hoped would surprise his opponent but this didn't work.} h6 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Ne4 f5 14. Nc5 f4 ({Relevant:} 14... Kh7 15. Bb2 Qd6 16. c4 Nf4 17. gxf4 Qxc5 18. d4 Qa5 19. Qb3 Bd7 20. Rfd1 Ne7 21. Qxe3 Nd5 22. Qd2 Qxd2 23. Rxd2 Nxf4 24. Bf1 Ng6 25. Kf2 f4 26. d5 Nh4 27. c5 Rad8 28. Rad1 Bf5 29. Rc1 g5 30. c6 b6 31. Rc3 Re5 32. Ra3 Rexd5 33. Rxd5 Rxd5 34. Rxa7 Kg6 35. Rxc7 Rd2 36. Be5 Rc2 37. a3 Be6 38. Re7 Rxc6 39. Rg7+ Kh5 40. Rc7 Rc5 41. Rxc5 bxc5 42. e4 fxe3+ 43. Kxe3 Bd5 44. a4 {Papenin,N (2733)-Duliba,E (2538) ICCF email 2011 1/2-1/2}) 15. Bb2 Rb8 {Svidler was already 40 minutes down on the clock here having been taken by surprise by Karjakin.} 16. c4 $146 {Svidler played this quickly and almost immediately regretted it.} ({Predecessor (2):} 16. Ne4 b5 17. Qc2 Qe7 18. a4 b4 19. Rab1 b3 20. Qd1 Rd8 21. Bc1 Na5 22. Qe1 Nc6 23. gxf4 Bf5 24. Kh1 Rd6 25. c4 Nxf4 26. Bxe3 Nxg2 27. Kxg2 {1/2-1/2 (27) Eldridge,M (2345)-Jimenez Ariza,J (2313) ICCF email 2013}) 16... Nde7 {"Objectively I'm close to being completely lost." Svidler.} 17. g4 {Svidler was almost certainly being too pessimstic here although this is a very ugly move to have to make.} (17. d4 { was Svidler's intention but} fxg3 18. hxg3 Nf5 {is winning for black.}) 17... b6 18. Ne4 Be6 19. g5 $6 {But this really should get black into trouble.} (19. Rfd1 Nd4 20. Bxd4 Qxd4 21. Qxa7 Qd7 22. Qa3 Nc6 {and Svidler's argument was that the Bg2 will never emerge back into the game.}) 19... h5 $6 (19... hxg5 $1 20. Nxg5 (20. Qb5 Bf5 21. Nxg5 Nd4 22. Bxd4 Qxd4 23. Kh1 {is all sorts of trouble for white.}) 20... Nf5 $1) 20. Rfd1 Nd4 21. Bxd4 Qxd4 22. Qxa7 Qd7 23. Qa3 h4 24. Qc3 Bf5 (24... h3 {was Svidler's suggestion.} 25. Bf1) 25. h3 { For better or worse Svidler doesn't want his bishop entombed and is prepared to give up his h-pawn to ensure it isn't.} Bxh3 $2 $11 {Queens come off and the bishop comes out to h3.} (25... Nc6 {keeps and advantage.}) 26. Qe5 $1 Ng6 27. Qd5+ (27. Bxh3 Qxh3 28. Qxc7) 27... Be6 28. Qxd7 Bxd7 29. Kh2 Ra8 30. Bh3 Bxh3 31. Kxh3 Ra3 {Now Svidler wasn't sure who was better. Most likely it is him.} 32. Rdc1 Rea8 33. Rc2 Kf7 34. d4 Rd8 35. d5 Ne5 36. Rb1 Kg6 $2 {Karjakin didn't like this after the game.} (36... Ra6 {restraining the breakthrough is possible.}) 37. d6 cxd6 38. Rxb6 Kh5 39. Nxd6 Rda8 (39... Nd7) 40. Rb5 (40. Nf5 {was Svidler's first thought.} g6 41. Ng7+ Kxg5 42. Ne6+ Kh6 43. Nxf4 {is playable.}) 40... Nc6 (40... R3a6 {was maybe the best try.}) 41. g6+ (41. Nf5) 41... Kxg6 42. Rc1 Kh7 43. Rg1 R3a7 44. Rg4 (44. Rh5+) 44... Kg8 45. Rh5 Ne7 46. Rgxh4 (46. Rxf4 $1) 46... Ng6 47. Rg4 Nf8 48. Rxf4 (48. Re5 $1) 48... Rxa2 49. Rfh4 $2 (49. Nf5 $1) 49... g6 {Svidler forgot about the possbility of this move and most of his advantage had gone.} 50. Re5 {and black is over the worst and a draw was agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.20"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2790"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 O-O ({Relevant:} 6... Be6 7. O-O Nd7 8. Nb3 Bb6 9. Ng5 Bxb3 10. axb3 f6 11. Nf3 Nc5 12. Nd2 O-O 13. Nc4 Ne6 14. Kh1 Qd7 15. Qg4 Rad8 16. Be3 Bd4 17. Bxd4 Nxd4 18. Qxd7 Rxd7 19. Rxa7 Nxc2 20. Rxb7 Rxd3 21. h4 Nd4 22. b4 Ne6 23. Rc1 Ra8 24. b5 cxb5 25. Rxb5 Rad8 26. f3 h5 27. Kh2 Nf4 28. Rc5 R8d7 29. Na3 Rd2 30. R1c2 Nxg2 31. Rxc7 Ne3+ 32. Rxd2 Rxd2+ 33. Kh3 Rf2 34. Kg3 Rxb2 35. Rc1 f5 36. Nc4 {Nakamura,H (2787)-Kramnik,V (2801) Zuerich 2016 1/2-1/2 (72)}) 7. Qe2 Re8 8. Nc4 Nd7 9. Bd2 Bd6 10. O-O-O b5 $146 ({Predecessor:} 10... c5 11. Kb1 Nb8 12. c3 Nc6 13. Ne3 b5 14. g4 Ne7 15. Ne1 Be6 16. h4 Qc8 17. Rc1 c4 18. d4 exd4 19. cxd4 Qa6 20. Rc2 c5 21. d5 Nxd5 22. exd5 Bxd5 23. f3 Be6 24. Bc1 Rad8 25. Rf1 c3 26. bxc3 Bc4 27. Qf2 Bxf1 28. Qxf1 Qb7 29. Rb2 a6 30. Nd3 Qd7 31. Nf2 Be5 32. Ne4 Qc6 33. Rd2 Rxd2 34. Bxd2 c4 35. Qe2 a5 36. g5 Qe6 37. Ng4 Bd6 38. Qg2 Bf8 39. Be3 Kh8 40. Bd4 {Perez Candelario,M (2527)-Sargissian,G (2677) Villafranca 2010 1/2-1/2 (79)}) 11. Ne3 a5 12. Nf5 a4 13. Bg5 f6 14. Be3 (14. Bd2 Nc5) 14... Nc5 {After the game Nakamura said that he confused this position with the one after Bd2 and he used a lot of time deciding to go for Nc5 anyway.} 15. g4 Be6 16. Kb1 b4 {After the game Nakamura thought this might be just a "bad concept". The computers don't mind it but it isn't really clear how black follows it up.} (16... Qd7 17. Rhg1 Kh8 18. g5) 17. g5 b3 (17... Kh8 {staying flexible may be the way to play.}) 18. Rhg1 bxa2+ (18... Bxf5 19. exf5 Kh8) ( 18... g6 {seems the best here. Nakamura's worries about g6 don't seem to have been real.} 19. Nh6+ (19. gxf6 Qxf6 $11 20. Bg5 Qf8 21. N3h4 bxc2+ $1 22. Kxc2 Bxa2 {and black is on top.}) 19... Kh8 20. a3) 19. Ka1 Bxf5 20. exf5 a3 { It's hard to know what to suggest but after this white is well on top.} (20... Kh8 21. Qd2) 21. b3 Na6 {Nakamura felt this was the only way to even resist a bit.} 22. c3 {Trying to keep the solution clean.} (22. d4) 22... Bf8 (22... Be7 ) 23. Nd2 (23. d4 $1) 23... fxg5 24. Rxg5 Nc5 25. Rg3 e4 $2 {Now white wins directly.} (25... Qxd3 26. Qxd3 Nxd3 27. Ne4) 26. Bxc5 Bxc5 27. Nxe4 Bd6 28. Rh3 Be5 29. d4 Bf6 30. Rg1 Rb8 31. Kxa2 Bh4 32. Rg4 Qd5 33. c4 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.20"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2793"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qb3 dxc4 8. Qxc4 Nd7 9. e3 g6 ({Relevant:} 9... Qe7 10. Be2 Qb4 11. Qxb4 Bxb4 12. a3 Be7 13. b4 b6 14. O-O Bb7 15. Rfb1 O-O 16. a4 Rab8 17. a5 Rfc8 18. axb6 axb6 19. Ra7 Kf8 20. h3 Ke8 21. Nd2 Nf6 22. Nc4 b5 23. Ne5 Bd8 24. Nd3 Bb6 25. Raa1 Ra8 26. Nc5 Rxa1 27. Rxa1 Ra8 28. Rxa8+ Bxa8 29. f4 Ke7 30. Bf3 Nd5 31. Bxd5 exd5 32. g4 Kd6 33. Kf2 Kc7 34. Ne2 Bb7 35. Ng3 Bc8 36. Nh5 g6 37. Nf6 Kd6 38. Kf3 Bd8 39. Ng8 {Iturrizaga Bonelli,E (2641)-Ponomariov,R (2710) Berlin 2015 0-1 (87)}) 10. Ne4 (10. Be2 Bg7 11. O-O O-O 12. Rfd1 Qe7 13. Ne4 Rd8 14. Qc2 f5 15. Nc3 e5 16. d5 e4 17. Nd4 Nb6 18. dxc6 Bxd4 19. cxb7 Bxb7 20. Rxd4 Rxd4 21. exd4 e3 22. Qd3 exf2+ 23. Kxf2 Re8 24. Kg1 Qb4 25. Qd2 Kg7 26. Rd1 Nd5 27. Nxd5 Qxd2 28. Rxd2 Bxd5 29. a3 Rc8 30. Kf2 Kf6 31. Bf3 Ke6 32. h4 Kd6 33. Re2 Rc4 34. h5 Bxf3 35. Kxf3 gxh5 36. Re5 Rxd4 37. Rxf5 Rd3+ 38. Ke2 Rb3 39. Rxh5 Rxb2+ { Ipatov,A (2625)-Cheparinov,I (2681) Baku 2015 1-0 (65)}) 10... Qe7 11. Ne5 Qb4+ 12. Qxb4 Bxb4+ 13. Ke2 Be7 14. f3 $146 {Finally departing from their game in Zurich.} (14. f4 b6 15. Kf2 Bb7 16. Rd1 Rd8 17. Be2 O-O 18. Bf3 c5 19. Ng3 Nxe5 20. dxe5 Ba6 21. Ne4 Bd3 22. Nf6+ Kg7 23. Nd5 exd5 24. Rxd3 d4 25. exd4 Rxd4 26. Rxd4 cxd4 27. Ke2 f6 28. Kd3 fxe5 29. fxe5 Rc8 30. Rd1 Bg5 31. Ke4 Be3 32. Rd3 Kf7 33. Ra3 Rc7 34. Be2 Ke7 35. Ra4 Bc1 36. Rxd4 Bxb2 37. Rc4 {1/2-1/2 (37) Aronian,L (2792)-Giri,A (2798) Zurich SUI 2016}) 14... Rg8 (14... Nf8 {isn't the best option.} 15. Kf2) 15. Rc1 f5 16. Nxd7 Kxd7 17. Nd2 {This must be very close to equality.} b6 18. Kf2 Bb7 19. h4 {The players discussed whether this was really necesary.} Rac8 20. f4 Bf6 21. b4 Rg7 $5 22. Be2 g5 23. hxg5 hxg5 24. fxg5 Bxg5 25. Bf3 Ba6 26. Nc4 Bxc4 27. Rxc4 f4 $1 {Aronian said he missed this and the idea behind it which more or less equalises.} 28. e4 Be7 29. a3 e5 $1 30. dxe5 Ke6 31. Ke2 (31. Rh6+ Kxe5 32. Rcxc6 Rxc6 33. Rxc6 Bh4+ 34. Ke2 Bf6 ) 31... Kxe5 32. Rh5+ Bg5 33. Bg4 Rd8 34. Rxc6 Kxe4 35. Re6+ Kd4 36. Rh3 Kc4 37. Re5 (37. Bf5 Rd4) 37... Kd4 38. Re6 Kc4 39. Bf5 Re7 40. Rxe7 Bxe7 41. Rh7 Bd6 42. Rxa7 Re8+ {and a draw was agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.20"] [Round "8.4"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2762"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Qc2 Bb4 ({Relevant:} 5... dxc4 6. e4 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. Bxc4 Qc7 9. Qe2 a6 10. O-O Bd6 11. Bb3 O-O 12. Rd1 Ne5 13. Nd4 Bd7 14. Bf4 Rad8 15. Bg3 Qb8 16. Kh1 Neg4 17. h3 Bxg3 18. hxg4 Be5 19. g5 Qa7 20. gxf6 Bxd4 21. e5 Bc6 22. fxg7 Kxg7 23. Qh5 f6 24. Bxe6 Kh8 25. Bf5 b5 26. e6 Rg8 27. Ne4 Qg7 28. g4 Bxf2 29. Rxd8 Rxd8 30. Rc1 Bb7 31. Bxh7 Be3 32. Rc3 Bh6 33. Bf5 Rd4 34. Kh2 Qf8 35. e7 {Bukavshin,I (2657)-Khismatullin,D (2654) Khanty-Mansiysk 2015 1-0}) 6. cxd5 (6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. Qxc3 O-O 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 c5 10. e3 cxd4 11. Qxd4 Re8 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. cxd5 Nxd5 14. Be2 Nf6 15. Qxd8 Rxd8 16. O-O Bd7 17. Rfc1 Rac8 18. Kf1 Kf8 19. Ke1 Ke7 20. Ne5 Rxc1+ 21. Rxc1 Rc8 22. Rxc8 Bxc8 23. f4 Nd7 24. Nxd7 Bxd7 25. Kd2 Kd6 26. Kc3 e5 27. g3 b6 28. Bc4 f6 29. b4 g5 30. h4 gxh4 31. gxh4 {1/2-1/2 (31) Giri,A (2793)-Anand, V (2762) Moscow RUS 2016}) 6... exd5 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Qxc3 Ne4 9. Qc2 O-O (9... Ndf6 {was the move Topalov expected.} 10. Ne5 Bf5 11. f3 Nd6 12. Qc3 Nd7 13. Bf4 O-O 14. g4 Be6 15. e3 Nxe5 16. Bxe5 h5 17. gxh5 Qh4+ 18. Bg3 Qxh5 19. Be2 Rfe8 20. Rg1 Nf5 21. Be5 c5 22. dxc5 d4 23. exd4 Qh4+ 24. Kd2 Qh6+ 25. Kc2 f6 26. Bg3 Rad8 27. Rad1 Bf7 28. Bd3 Ne3+ 29. Kb1 Nxd1 30. Rxd1 Re3 31. Bd6 Qh5 32. Qc2 Qd5 33. Bh7+ Kh8 34. Be4 Qa2+ 35. Kc1 Bb3 36. Qb1 Qxb1+ 37. Bxb1 Bxd1 38. Kxd1 Rxf3 39. Be4 Rf4 40. Bxb7 Rxd4+ 41. Kc2 R8xd6 42. cxd6 Rxd6 43. b4 f5 44. b5 f4 45. h3 Rf6 46. Kd2 f3 47. Ke1 f2+ 48. Kf1 Rf4 49. a4 Rxa4 50. Kxf2 Ra3 {0-1 (50) Sakaev,K (2627)-Eljanov,P (2693) Dagomys RUS 2009}) 10. e3 Re8 $146 {Now on new territory.} ({Predecessor:} 10... c6 11. g3 Re8 12. Bg2 Nf8 13. O-O Ng6 14. Ne1 Bf5 15. Qd1 Qd7 16. f3 Nd6 17. g4 Be6 18. Nd3 b6 19. b3 f6 20. Bd2 Nf7 21. Be1 Rac8 22. Rc1 Nd6 23. Qd2 Nb7 24. Qb4 Qe7 25. Qxe7 Rxe7 26. Bg3 Bd7 27. Kf2 Nf8 28. Rc3 Ne6 29. Rfc1 Ree8 30. Nb4 Na5 31. f4 g6 32. h4 h6 33. Bf3 Kg7 34. Nd3 Nc7 35. a4 a6 36. g5 b5 37. gxf6+ Kxf6 38. Ne5 Bf5 39. Nxc6 Nxc6 40. Rxc6+ {Barden,L-Mendivil Salinas,I Leipzig 1960 1-0}) 11. b3 c6 12. Bd3 Nf8 13. Bb2 Bf5 14. O-O Qf6 15. Ne5 Nd6 16. Rae1 Bxd3 17. Nxd3 Qg6 18. f3 f6 19. a4 Ne6 20. Qd2 h5 21. Ba3 Nf5 22. Nf4 {Topalov was getting worried about ideas such as h4 and Ng3 but he still thought this move was "terrible". Black is at least a bit better now. Topalov was pretty worried.} (22. Nc5) (22. Kh1) 22... Nxf4 23. exf4 Rxe1 24. Rxe1 Re8 25. Rxe8+ Qxe8 26. Kf2 Nh6 27. Qd3 b6 28. Bb4 Qe6 29. Qc2 Kf7 30. Ba3 Qd7 31. Bb4 Nf5 32. Qd3 g6 33. g3 Ng7 34. Qe3 Kg8 (34... Ne6 35. f5 gxf5 36. Qh6 Ng7) (34... f5 {was the move Topalov was most afraid of. It wasn't to Anand's taste and doesn't seem threatening for white.} 35. Qe5 Ne6 36. Qh8 (36. Ke3 $11) 36... c5) 35. Qd3 Kh7 (35... Qf5 36. Qc3 Qb1 37. Be7) 36. Kg2 Qf5 37. Qc3 Qe6 (37... Qb1 {Anand didn't want to make such a commital decision so close to time control and he didn't think he was better anyway in this line.} 38. Qxc6 Qb2+ 39. Kh3 Qxb3 40. Bf8 {was assessed as equal by Anand during the game.}) 38. Qd3 a5 39. Bd2 Qf5 40. Qc3 Qe6 41. Qd3 Qf5 42. Qc3 h4 43. g4 Qb1 44. Be3 Qd1 45. Bf2 Qe2 46. Qe3 Qxe3 47. Bxe3 Ne6 48. Kh3 g5 49. f5 Nf4+ 50. Bxf4 gxf4 51. Kg2 $11 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.20"] [Round "8"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2793"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 {Are we really going to witness the sharp Moscow System?} 6. Bxf6 {Not today! Aronian opts for the safer system.} Qxf6 7. Qb3 dxc4 8. Qxc4 Nd7 9. e3 g6 10. Ne4 {This move has been played in only one game until now. Which game is that? Read on to find out!} Qe7 11. Ne5 Qb4+ 12. Qxb4 Bxb4+ 13. Ke2 Be7 {Now here's the fun fact. This same line was played by Levon and Anish against each other at the Zurich Rapid 2016!} 14. f3 $146 {[%cal Gf2f3] The first new move of the game. In the previous encounter Levon had played f4. Now he tries to improve with f3.} (14. f4 $6 {The main reason why f4 is not such a great move is because of} b6 $1 15. Kf2 (15. Nxc6 Bb7 16. Nxe7 Bxe4 $19 {The knight on e7 is trapped.}) 15... Bb7 16. Rd1 Rd8 17. Be2 O-O 18. Bf3 c5 19. Ng3 Nxe5 20. dxe5 Ba6 21. Ne4 Bd3 22. Nf6+ Kg7 23. Nd5 exd5 24. Rxd3 d4 25. exd4 Rxd4 26. Rxd4 cxd4 27. Ke2 f6 28. Kd3 fxe5 29. fxe5 Rc8 30. Rd1 Bg5 31. Ke4 Be3 32. Rd3 Kf7 33. Ra3 Rc7 34. Be2 Ke7 35. Ra4 Bc1 36. Rxd4 Bxb2 37. Rc4 {1/2-1/2 (37) Aronian,L (2792)-Giri,A (2798) Zuerich 2016}) 14... Rg8 {In order to play f5 at some point.} 15. Rc1 { All of Levon's ideas have been made with the sole purpose of preventing the move b6. If he can prevent Black from playing that he can harbour ambitions of an advantage because the c8 bishop is passive.} f5 16. Nxd7 (16. Nd2 Nxe5 17. dxe5 Kf7 $15) 16... Kxd7 17. Nd2 b6 {Black got in the move b6. True he is slightly passive, but the two bishops compensate for that.} 18. Kf2 Bb7 19. h4 Rac8 20. f4 Bf6 21. b4 Rg7 22. Be2 g5 23. hxg5 hxg5 24. fxg5 Bxg5 25. Bf3 Ba6 26. Nc4 Bxc4 ({Maybe Anish could have tried to wrest the initiative with} 26... c5 $5 27. bxc5 bxc5 28. d5 Re8) 27. Rxc4 f4 28. e4 Be7 29. a3 e5 30. dxe5 Ke6 31. Ke2 Kxe5 32. Rh5+ Bg5 33. Bg4 Rd8 (33... Rcc7 34. Kf3) 34. Rxc6 Kxe4 35. Re6+ Kd4 36. Rh3 {This looks a little scary for Black, but Anish has it all under control.} Kc4 37. Bf5 Re7 38. Rxe7 Bxe7 39. Rh7 Bd6 40. Rxa7 Re8+ { With the rook coming to e3, Levon saw no reason to continue the game and accepted the draw.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.20"] [Round "8"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O e4 7. Ng5 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Re8 9. f3 e3 10. d3 (10. dxe3 d6 $44 {[%csl Rc3,Rc4]}) 10... d5 11. Qa4 $146 {Peter thought for a while before making this move. Was it not home prepared? Well, he thought for a while but not long enough to make it an over the board novelty. He might have been recollecting his analysis.} (11. Qb3 { has been the main move in the past.} Na5 12. Qa3 c6 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. f4 { leads to interesting positions.}) 11... h6 {Karjakin made this move quickly, which meant that he was prepared for Peter's novelty!} 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Ne4 f5 14. Nc5 f4 {This was all preparation.} (14... Nxc3 15. Qb3+ Nd5 16. f4 Nce7 17. Nxb7 Bxb7 18. Qxb7 $16) 15. Bb2 Rb8 16. c4 {This was the first position where Karjakin sank into thought. He was happy because he had not studied this move and felt that it must be a sub-standard reply.} Nde7 (16... Nf6) 17. g4 { Peter knew that in effect he was burying his bishop on g2 with this move. But he was so afraid of the attack on his king that he decided to close the kingside.} (17. d4 fxg3 18. hxg3 (18. d5 gxh2+) 18... Nf5 19. d5 Nxg3 20. dxc6 Nxe2+ 21. Kh2 Qh4+ $19) 17... b6 18. Ne4 Be6 19. g5 $6 h5 $6 (19... hxg5 $1 20. Nxg5 Nf5 $3 21. Qxc6 (21. Nxe6 Rxe6 $19 {[%cal Ge6g6,Gf5h4]}) 21... Qxg5 $19 { and it's game over.}) 20. Rfd1 Nd4 21. Bxd4 Qxd4 22. Qxa7 Qd7 23. Qa3 h4 24. Qc3 Bf5 25. h3 {[%csl Rg2]} Bxh3 $6 {A very simple question to ask is: what was the need of taking the pawn on h3. The bishop is just dead, so why give it an opportunity to wake up. Karjakin thought that Bxh3 by White is not possible right now. And if he can just retreat the bishop and play h3 then he would be completely winning. But he missed Peter's next move.} 26. Qe5 $1 (26. Bxh3 Qxh3 $17 {[%cal Ge7f5]}) 26... Ng6 27. Qd5+ Be6 28. Qxd7 Bxd7 29. Kh2 $1 {And just like that the bishop on g2 can now hope for a new life on h3! By now the position is quite complex and can go either way.} Ra8 30. Bh3 Bxh3 31. Kxh3 Ra3 32. Rdc1 Rea8 33. Rc2 Kf7 34. d4 Rd8 35. d5 Ne5 36. Rb1 Kg6 $6 (36... Ra6 { It was important to prepare for the move d6 here.}) 37. d6 $1 {Svidler is alert and takes over the initiative.} cxd6 38. Rxb6 Kh5 39. Nxd6 Rda8 40. Rb5 Nc6 41. g6+ $1 Kxg6 42. Rc1 $1 {Transferring the rook to g1.} Kh7 (42... Nd4 43. Rg1+ Kh7 44. Rb7 Rg8 45. Rg4 Nxe2 46. Nf5 $18) 43. Rg1 R3a7 44. Rg4 Kg8 45. Rh5 {White is completely better at this point.} Ne7 46. Rgxh4 Ng6 47. Rg4 Nf8 48. Rxf4 Rxa2 49. Rfh4 (49. Nf5 g6 50. Nh6+ Kh8 51. Re5 Rxe2 52. Ng4 {followed by Nxe3 gives White definite winning chances.}) 49... g6 50. Re5 {And before things went out of hand Svidler agreed to a draw. Both players can be happy as well as sad with the result. Karjakin was winning after the opening and Svidler had a dominating position towards the end.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.20"] [Round "8"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 {Such is Anand's faith on his opening, he tried it against Aronian, then against Giri and now once again against Topalov. That's the thing with Anand: once he believes in his opening preparation he is not afraid of his opponents' novelties.} 5. Qc2 {Topalov made this move that was played by Giri as well. He got up from his chair and Anand replied instantly.} Bb4 6. cxd5 (6. a3 {was Anish's choice.}) 6... exd5 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Qxc3 Ne4 9. Qc2 {Until now players are following the game between Sakaev and Eljanov from Dagomys 2009. But now Anand deviates.} O-O 10. e3 Re8 11. b3 $5 {[%cal Gb2b3] This doesn't seem to be too ambitious. After that Black can equalize without too many difficulties.} (11. b4 {If you wanted to develop the bishop on b2 then why not b4? Well then the b4 pawn could become a weakness after} a5 12. Bb2 axb4 13. axb4 Rxa1+ 14. Bxa1 Qe7 $15) 11... c6 12. Bd3 Nf8 13. Bb2 Bf5 14. O-O (14. Nd2 Qg5 $15) 14... Qf6 15. Ne5 Nd6 { By exchanging the light squared bishops, Vishy is mainly aiming for a position where he would have a knight against the b2 bishop. That would give Black an excellent position.} 16. Rae1 Bxd3 17. Nxd3 Qg6 18. f3 $5 {The thing about Topalov is that he always likes to play actively. Here he is looking for the right moment when he can break in the centre with e4 and at the same time takes that square away from the d6 knight.} f6 19. a4 Ne6 20. Qd2 (20. Ba3 Nf5) 20... h5 $5 {In some ways securing the f5 square for the knight.} 21. Ba3 Nf5 22. Nf4 $6 {[%cal Gd3f4] This move is completely illogical. White exchanges the knights and leaves himself with some weaknesses. Why would White want to defend an inferior endgame voluntarily from an equal position?} Nxf4 23. exf4 { The resulting position looks mildly in Black's favour. The main reason being that the knight is better than the bishop and Black's pawn structure is better than White's.} Rxe1 (23... h4 $1 {Securing the f5 knight was also possible.}) 24. Rxe1 Re8 25. Rxe8+ Qxe8 26. Kf2 {Anand has those micro edges and he has the right to press in this position.} Nh6 27. Qd3 b6 {This is a very responsible decision. On one hand Black is weakening the c6 pawn but on the other he is preventing the move a5 followed by Bc5 which would paralyse his queenside majority. It is always a tradeoff and Vishy chose the move b6. Turns out that the c6 pawn was the reason why he couldn't really make much progress. What would have happened if Vishy would not have played b6 is a completely different story.} 28. Bb4 Qe6 29. Qc2 Kf7 30. Ba3 Qd7 31. Bb4 Nf5 32. Qd3 g6 33. g3 Ng7 {White doesn't have too many active possibilities. Black on the other hand can try to use his queenside majority by having the knight on e6 at some point. Right now it doesn't seem possible because Ne6 is met with f4-f5, but can Black prepare it is the question.} 34. Qe3 Kg8 (34... h4 35. g4 $11) ( 34... Qe6 {might have been the best move.} 35. Qxe6+ (35. Qc3 h4 $17 36. g4 f5 37. g5 Qd7 {and the position has changed in Black's favour.}) 35... Nxe6 36. Ke3 c5 37. dxc5 bxc5 38. Ba3 f5 $15) (34... Ne6) 35. Qd3 Kh7 36. Kg2 Qf5 37. Qc3 (37. Qxf5 Nxf5 {would definitely be some progress for Black.}) 37... Qe6 ( 37... Qb1 {was possible, but as Vishy said in the press conference with three moves to go until the time control he didn't want to let things spiral out of control. In any case it was just a draw.} 38. Qxc6 Qb2+ 39. Kh3 Qxb3 40. Bf8 Qxf3 41. Qxf6 (41. Qc7 $2 Qf1+ 42. Kh4 g5+ $1 43. fxg5 fxg5+ 44. Kxg5 Qf5+ 45. Kh4 Qg4#) 41... Nf5 42. Qf7+ Kh8 43. Qf6+ $11) 38. Qd3 a5 39. Bd2 Qf5 40. Qc3 Qe6 41. Qd3 Qf5 42. Qc3 h4 {Vishy shuns the draw and tries to play for a win.} 43. g4 Qb1 {The queen has made her way into the enemy camp, but without the knight she cannot do much.} 44. Be3 (44. Qxc6 Qd3 $19 {The bishop on d2 will drop.}) 44... Qd1 45. Bf2 Qe2 46. Qe3 Qxe3 47. Bxe3 Ne6 48. Kh3 g5 49. f5 $1 ( 49. fxg5 fxg5 {might be a tad better for Black, although a draw here looks most likely.}) 49... Nf4+ (49... Nc7 {being overambitious might make it completely bad.} 50. f4 $1 $16 {It's White who has the chances to play for a win now.}) 50. Bxf4 gxf4 51. Kg2 {There is no way to break through and hence the players agreed to a draw.} (51. Kxh4 $2 c5 52. dxc5 bxc5 53. Kh3 c4 $19) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.20"] [Round "8"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {No one could have imagined that this game transpired from an Anti-Berlin. It looked more like the sharpest line of the Sicilian.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 {In his game against Anand, Hikaru said that he was happy to get his knight to d4. Well, if that was the case then Caruana didn't want that knight to exist.} dxc6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. Qe2 {Anand is the main founder of this move, having played it against Giri and Kryvoruchko.} Re8 8. Nc4 Nd7 9. Bd2 Bd6 10. O-O-O {We have been following Perez Candela-Sargissian. There the Black player played c5, but Nakamura went for the queenside expansion with b5.} b5 11. Ne3 a5 12. Nf5 a4 13. Bg5 f6 {Provoking f6 so that the g-pawn has a hook to open up the kingside.} (13... Nf6 {doesn't look so great. The pin is irritating and the g-pawn anyway comes down the board.} 14. g4 h6 15. Bh4 $40) 14. Be3 Nc5 15. g4 Be6 16. Kb1 b4 {It seems as if the black forces are going to reach White's gates faster, but because Caruana hasn't moved any of his kingside pawns this might not be so easy to break for Nakamura. In fact after the game Hikaru said that his plan of b5-b4 looked like bad judgement.} 17. g5 b3 $6 {Unbelievably this natural move turns out to be an error.} (17... Bxf5 18. exf5 a3 19. b3 e4 $13 {is the direction in which Nakamura should have been looking.}) (17... Kh8 $5 {Tucking the king in the corner too looks like a logical choice.} 18. Rhg1 Bxf5 19. exf5 a3 20. b3 e4 21. Nd4 (21. Bxc5 exf3 $19 ) 21... fxg5 22. Bxg5 Qd7 $15) 18. Rhg1 $1 {[%cal Gh1g1] A fantastic move by Caruana. He had studied similar postions before and had come to the conclusion that it makes sense not to touch any pawns on the kingside.} bxa2+ (18... bxc2+ 19. Qxc2 $16) 19. Ka1 Bxf5 20. exf5 a3 (20... Kh8 21. Nh4 $40) 21. b3 {Black is already in trouble. Nakamura had planned e4 here, but it doesn't seem to work.} Na6 {This seemed like the only way to continue the game. But even then White has a huge edge.} (21... e4 $2 22. dxe4 Rxe4 23. Rd4 $1 Rxd4 24. Bxd4 $18 ) 22. c3 {This maintains the advantage and is pretty strong. Caruana found it after 30 mins of thought.} (22. d4 $1 {would have been stronger as after} exd4 23. gxf6 dxe3 (23... Qxf6 24. Qc4+ Qf7 25. Rxg7+ $1 Kxg7 26. Rg1+ Kf8 27. Bh6+ Ke7 28. Re1+ $18) 24. Qc4+ Kh8 25. fxg7#) 22... Bf8 23. Nd2 fxg5 24. Rxg5 Nc5 25. Rg3 $1 {With moves like Bxc5 and Ne4 coming up, Black is completely lost.} e4 (25... Nxd3 26. Ne4 $18) (25... Qxd3 26. Qxd3 Nxd3 27. Ne4 Nf4 28. Nf6+ $18) 26. Bxc5 Bxc5 (26... exd3 27. Qg4 $18) 27. Nxe4 Bd6 28. Rh3 (28. Rxg7+ Kxg7 29. Qg4+ Kh8 $19) 28... Be5 29. d4 Bf6 30. Rg1 Rb8 (30... Kh8 31. Qh5 Kg8 32. Qxe8+ $18) (30... Bxd4 31. Rd3 (31. cxd4 Qxd4+)) 31. Kxa2 Bh4 32. Rg4 Qd5 33. c4 1-0 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow, Russia"] [Date "2016.03.20"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Aronian, Levon (ARM)"] [Black "Giri, Anish (NED)"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2792"] [BlackElo "2798"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {[Annotations by IM Danny Rensch]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 ({Giri decides not to test Levon in his Botvinnik Semi-Slav preparation. .. at least not the main line!} 5... dxc4 6. e4) 6. Bxf6 {These days, capturing on f6 is pretty much forced, unless White wants to face the very deep, very complicated lines of the ... dxc4 Semi-Slav played after gaining this tempo. The key point being Black has the move ...g5 in many positions.} ( 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 {Onischuk,A (2662)-Anand,V (2803) Berlin GER 2015.}) 6... Qxf6 7. Qb3 {Of course there are many options (we list the most popular two below as variations) here for White.} (7. Qc2 {For a period in my career, I played this position several times. Back then however, Black was not capturing on c4, but playing moves like 7...g6, 7...Nd7, 7...Bb4 and others that allowed 8.e4 - giving White a comfortable edge in the middlegame. But nowadays} dxc4 { leads to complex positions where Black is doing just fine statistically.} 8. e3 b5 9. a4 Bb7 10. axb5 cxb5 11. Nxb5 Bb4+ 12. Nc3 O-O) (7. e3 {was last played in} g6 8. Be2 Nd7 {Wojtaszek,R (2727)-Ding Liren (2766) Huai'an CHN 2016}) 7... dxc4 8. Qxc4 Nd7 9. e3 ({Note that the more aggressive central expansion} 9. e4 {isn't as good here for White because of} e5 10. d5 Nb6 11. Qb3 {when} Bc5 { among other things leads to positions of rough equality where most favor Black's practical chances with the bishop pair.}) (9. Rd1 {Seems to be the preferred choice of Grandmaster Neverov (for those interesting in looking at his games), and was last seen at the highest levels in} g6 10. e4 e5 { Moiseenko,A (2701)-Eljanov,P (2719) Lviv UKR 2014}) 9... g6 10. Ne4 Qe7 11. Ne5 ({White's only way to prevent the endgame is} 11. a3 {which hasn't been played (yet), likely because of} f5 $5 12. Nc3 Bg7 {with an unclear position where, again, I prefer Black since I don't see how to stop pawn to e5 eventually.}) 11... Qb4+ 12. Qxb4 Bxb4+ 13. Ke2 Be7 14. f3 {Until this moment, not only were they repeating moves that had been played before, but they were repeating their own game from not more than a month ago at the Zurich Chess Challenge! As fans, we'd like to think Aronian chose this because he still thought White had more to play for than Black (and maybe he's right), and not to just extend a fancy, 40 move draw offer.} ({Played in Zurich, but not getting anything for White either was} 14. f4 b6 $1 {- the move Aronian avoids by putting his pawn on f3. Aronian,L (2792) -Giri,A (2798) Zurich SUI 2016}) 14... Rg8 {Preparing . ..f5.} 15. Rc1 f5 16. Nxd7 Kxd7 17. Nd2 {With the idea that the knight will hopefully find a nice home on e5.} ({The more aggressive} 17. Nc5+ {(expected by Giri) leads to a series of forced exchanges where I have a hard time believing White is any better just because of the c-pawn on the open file.} Bxc5 (17... Kc7 {is also fine for Black.}) 18. Rxc5 b6 19. Rc3 Ba6+ 20. Kf2 Bxf1 21. Rxf1) 17... b6 18. Kf2 Bb7 19. h4 {This surprised Giri.} ({And that leaves me wondering why} 19. Nc4 {was not played as the natural followup to the Armenian's 17th move. After} Bf6 20. Bd3 Ke7 21. b4 Rad8 (21... Ba6 22. Ne5 Bxe5 23. Bxa6 {and White is winning material.}) 22. Rhd1 {Where by no means is White clearly better, but at least it's harder for Black to play ...Ba6 at any point and make the trades Giri did in the game. (See tactics with Ne5 after ... Ba6 as noted.)}) 19... Rac8 20. f4 Bf6 (20... Rg7 $5 {Giri}) 21. b4 Rg7 22. Be2 (22. Nf3 $5 {Nepomniachtchi} Kd6 {Aronian} 23. Bc4 c5 24. dxc5+ bxc5 25. Rhd1+ Ke7 26. b5 Bxf3 27. Kxf3 Bxh4 28. a4 Bf6 29. a5 g5 {Giri}) 22... g5 23. hxg5 ( 23. fxg5 hxg5 24. h5 {Seems like a fun idea at first to create a passed pawn, but after} g4 {communication to the h-pawn is cut off, and the bishops will start to open things up.} (24... Rh8 $5) 25. Nc4 c5 {and we're about to head to Levon's least favorite vacation home: Crazy-Town!}) 23... hxg5 24. fxg5 Bxg5 25. Bf3 {"White has a really nice grip here." (Giri)} Ba6 26. Nc4 {And White is conceding to having found nothing in this endgame for the second time in less than 2 months. The opposite colored bishop ending, though still retaining a few tricks, is a draw in more ways than one.} ({Noted should be however that this move} 26. g3 {hoping to making the plan of Bg2-Nf3-e5 work is indeed likely too slow for White after} Be7 $1 27. a3 Bd6 28. Rcg1 Rcg8 {And White has 99 problems, and the g-pawn is one.}) 26... Bxc4 27. Rxc4 f4 28. e4 Be7 { This idea was underestimated by Aronian.} 29. a3 e5 $1 {And though this move may not be necessary, it seems to be Black's most forcing path to achieve the half-point and take away White's remaining chances of building up against the c-pawn. As long as the Black king doesn't get in trouble (which it didn't) than this move works for Giri.} 30. dxe5 Ke6 31. Ke2 (31. Rh5 c5 32. Bd1 Rcg8) 31... Kxe5 32. Rh5+ Bg5 ({On} 32... Rg5 33. Rh7 {Aronian wanted to play for Zugzwang with} Rc7 34. Rf7 c5 35. a4 {but Black still has} a5 36. bxa5 bxa5 37. Kf1 Ra7 {(Giri)}) 33. Bg4 Rd8 34. Rxc6 Kxe4 ({Giri briefly looked at} 34... f3+ {Aronian was planning} 35. Kxf3 Rd3+ 36. Kf2 Rxa3 {but this looks close to a draw.}) 35. Re6+ Kd4 (35... Kd5 $6 36. Kd3 $1 {looks a bit like a mating net although there's not a clear threat.}) 36. Rh3 Kc4 37. Re5 Kd4 38. Re6 Kc4 39. Bf5 Re7 40. Rxe7 ({The last trick might have been} 40. Kf3 {hoping for} Rxe6 ( 40... Rg7 {should maintain good drawing chances.}) 41. Bxe6+ Kd4 42. Kg4 Be7 43. Kxf4 {where the g-pawn is enough to keep pushing. But as noted, Black doesn't have to take on e6 immediately.}) 40... Bxe7 41. Rh7 Bd6 42. Rxa7 Re8+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow, Russia"] [Date "2016.03.20"] [Round "8.4"] [White "Topalov, Veselin (BUL)"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan (IND)"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2769"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {[Annotations by IM Danny Rensch]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Qc2 Bb4 {Somehow Topalov did not expect this, even though Anand had played the same the other day.} 6. cxd5 {As explained in my detailed analysis to Giri v Anand from the last round, I like this move as White's most concrete try for an edge in this variation of the Queen's Gambit. For comments on 6.a3, 6.g3 and other points about the position, see the previous news report.} exd5 7. a3 (7. Bg5 {is also possible, again, mentioned in the previous report. One of the last games from the top levels was} h6 8. Bh4 c5 9. e3 Qa5 10. Bd3 c4 {Leko,P (2731)-Aronian,L (2797) Moscow RUS 2014}) 7... Bxc3+ 8. Qxc3 Ne4 9. Qc2 { And the balance (or imbalance) of the game is set: White has gained the bishop pair and opened the c-file, preparing for a potential minority attack (and at least preventing complete central liquidation by a c5-pawn push, as happened in the Giri game), while Black has gained time on the white queen, established solid light-square control in the center, and will use the e-file aggressively, typical to plans in ever QGD for Black.} O-O ({Topalov thought Black's idea was } 9... Ndf6 {(and maybe threaten Ng4.) An example:} 10. Ne5 Bf5 11. f3 Nd6 12. Qc3 {Sakaev,K (2627)-Eljanov,P (2693) Dagomys RUS 2009}) 10. e3 (10. Bf4 $5 { Topalov} c5 {Nepomniachtchi}) 10... Re8 {Anand thought he was comfortable here. } (10... c6 11. g3 {and eventually 1-0 in (42) Barden,L-Mendivil,I Leipzig 1960 though of course, that had little to do with the opening, as I'm not a huge fan of this g3 idea by Mr. Barden.}) 11. b3 {Is designed to continue preventing c5 by Black. If Anand dared to be that aggressive, he'd immediately open the dark-squared bishop along the long diagonal.} (11. Bd3 {as said, is likely met by} c5 {with an unclear middlegame to ensue.}) 11... c6 12. Bd3 Nf8 13. Bb2 Bf5 14. O-O Qf6 15. Ne5 {Typical. Standard. Normal. QGD.} Nd6 $5 { A retreat I like by Anand because it's not really necessary yet, but shows a deep understanding of White's potential plans in this position. There are two for the first player: 1) b4-b5 (Minority Attack), which is now harder to achieve because of the c4-square under fire by the knight and 2) f3-e4, which also loses it's bite because f3 no longer comes with tempo. And of course, the trade of light-squared bishops can also help Black get coordinated for a kingside attack.} 16. Rae1 Bxd3 17. Nxd3 Qg6 18. f3 {Commits to the kingside and the *hope* of achieving e4 eventually, as White likely didn't expect a Minority Attack on the queenside to amount to anything, since pushing the pawn to b4 at any point allows the c4-square to be filled with the knight on d6.} f6 {Topalov agreed that Black was very comfortable here.} 19. a4 Ne6 20. Qd2 h5 21. Ba3 Nf5 22. Nf4 $6 {"Terrible." (Topalov) As I'll explain more fully after the rooks are eliminated along the e-file, I think this move signifies Topalov's recognition that he doesn't have enough in this position and might even be fearing the potential of Anand's kingside pressure.} (22. Re2 {is the way to play on. But play remains dynamic for both sides} h4 $5 {equal and given the way the game as gone, I'd take Anand's chances to at least draw.}) ( 22. a5 {is also a common idea for White in these positions (trying to strengthen the grip over the c5-square and space on the queenside), but likely offers nothing.}) 22... Nxf4 23. exf4 Rxe1 24. Rxe1 Re8 25. Rxe8+ Qxe8 { And as the rooks come off, most the winning chances for either side go with them. (Topalov himself felt Black was better.) We see roughly 15 moves of shuffling, in which both sides wait to see if the other will blunder with "over aggressive play". How can Black lose? If he creates too many weaknesses on the dark-squares and allows bishop infiltration. How could White lose? By allowing the queen and knight a clear way to work together, and create play against the white kingside. With no real outpost squares for the pony (e4 is guarded, c4 is guarded, etc) and no real entry points for the dark-squared bishop (d6, e7 and f8 will always remain under scope of either the queen, knight or king) a peaceful result is clearly in the future of this one...} 26. Kf2 Nh6 27. Qd3 b6 $6 {Anand described this as a "clear mistake" since c6 was weak all the time.} 28. Bb4 Qe6 29. Qc2 Kf7 30. Ba3 Qd7 31. Bb4 Nf5 32. Qd3 g6 33. g3 Ng7 34. Qe3 Kg8 35. Qd3 Kh7 36. Kg2 Qf5 37. Qc3 Qe6 ({On Twitter} 37... Qb1 {was suggested. This would have been tough to defend, but Anand said he didn't want to make such a committal move three moves before the time control.} 38. Qxc6 {and now} Qb2+ $1 {is the strongest:} 39. Kh3 Qxb3 {(because of the check f3 hangs)} 40. Bf8 Qxf3 41. Bxg7 $2 ({the only move that draws is} 41. Qxf6 $1) 41... Qf1+ 42. Kh4 g5+ $1 43. fxg5 Qf5 44. g6+ Kxg7 45. Qc7+ Kxg6 46. Qf4 Qxf4+ 47. gxf4 Kf5 {and wins.}) 38. Qd3 a5 (38... Nf5 {At some point, you have to wonder if Anand considered being more aggressive against the white kingside? Afterall, there exists no other duo more dynamic than Batman and Robin... I mean the queen and knight when it comes to mating attacks! But I think after the simple} 39. Kf2 {Black likely has nothing better than the "tickle game" of retreating the knight and shuffling the queens around, as happened in the game. Attempts to blow open the kingisde backfire with} h4 $6 40. g4 Ng7 41. Kg2 f5 42. Kh3 fxg4+ 43. fxg4 Nh5 44. Bd2 {where if White defends, Black's h4-pawn falls and likely the endgame too.}) 39. Bd2 Qf5 40. Qc3 Qe6 41. Qd3 Qf5 42. Qc3 h4 43. g4 Qb1 44. Be3 Qd1 45. Bf2 Qe2 46. Qe3 { And with Black's queen having infiltrated, and threats of ...h3+ by Black on the horizon, Topalov gives up trying to prove his duo of the queen and bishop were any better than Black's queen and knight.} Qxe3 47. Bxe3 Ne6 48. Kh3 g5 ( 48... c5 {is likely not worth the risk of opening up lines for the bishop. Possible variations would be} 49. dxc5 bxc5 (49... Nxc5 50. Kxh4 Nxb3 51. Bxb6 d4 52. Kg3 {and the king stops the d-pawn.}) 50. Bd2 {and most lines seem to prove the outside passed a-pawn as a more powerful asset than anything Black can gather with the knight. For example:} (50. Kg2 {attempting to run toward the newly opened lines on the queenside is also interesting for White.}) 50... Nd4 51. Bxa5 Nxb3 52. Be1 d4 53. a5 c4 54. a6 c3 55. a7 c2 56. a8=Q c1=Q 57. Qb7+ Kh8 58. Qb8+ Kh7 59. Qxb3 Qxe1 60. Qf7+ Kh6 61. Qf8+ Kh7 62. Qxf6 d3 63. f5 {and White's in the driver seat of this crazy queen and pawn endgame.}) 49. f5 {And seeing no othe reasonable recourse, Anand forces the game into a drawn king and pawn ending with} Nf4+ (49... Nd8 {Might be risking a loss more than fighting on for the win after} 50. f4 $1) 50. Bxf4 gxf4 51. Kg2 (51. Kxh4 $4 { Losing immediately after} c5 52. dxc5 bxc5 53. Kh3 c4 {and the Black pawns are too fast for the white king.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.20"] [Round "8"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [Annotator "MVL"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2016.03.20"] {[Annotations by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 {The one Anti-Berlin that had not been tried yet in this event. But it has been debated a lot in the past. Personally, I don't like giving up my bishop without having been asked, but it has some serious points as with the new pawn structure, Black will have to lose a few tempi to bring his Nf6 and Bc5 to more pertinent squares.} dxc6 6. Nbd2 O-O (6... Be6 {is the other main try}) 7. Qe2 Re8 (7... Bd6 8. Nc4 Nd7 9. Be3 {doesn't change the position too much.}) 8. Nc4 Nd7 9. Bd2 Bd6 10. O-O-O {Castling long was never the most common approach in the Berlin defence but this year it has been given a boost as castling short and playing for f4 proved not to be enough for a serious initiative.} ({These days they sometimes include g4 or} 10. h4 {as Fabiano did this year in Wijk.} Nf8 11. h5 Ne6 12. O-O-O c5 13. Qf1 f6 14. Nh4 Nd4 15. c3 Nc6 16. Nf5 Bxf5 17. exf5 h6 {but here Black's kingside is solid, so probably Fabiano decided to use a more flexible setup for his attack today. It has a cost as his king is a definite target on the queenside.} 18. g4 Bf8 {Caruana,F (2787)-Karjakin,S (2769)/Wijk aan Zee NED 2016}) 10... b5 11. Ne3 a5 12. Nf5 a4 13. Bg5 $1 {In general, Black is rather happy to play f6 even without being forced to help support his pawn e5, as his knight belongs to e6. But in this specific position White wants to play g4-g5 and provoking f6 will help him to create targets.} f6 (13... Nf6 {looks awfully dangerous and counterintuitive, thus the engine thinks it's playable. But after} 14. g4 Be6 15. Kb1 b4 16. Rhg1 $1 {a prophylactic move designed for when Black takes the Nf5.} b3 17. d4 exd4 18. N3xd4 bxa2+ (18... c5 19. Nxg7 $1 cxd4 (19... Kxg7 20. e5) 20. Nxe8 Qxe8 21. Bxf6 Qc6 22. Rc1 $1 bxa2+ 23. Ka1 a3 24. Bxd4) 19. Ka1 a3 20. b3 Bxf5 21. gxf5 Be5 22. c3 Qd6 23. Kxa2 {and White is the one with attacking chances.}) 14. Be3 (14. Bd2 Nc5 15. g4 Be6 16. Kb1 Qd7 17. Rhg1 Bf7 18. g5 Qe6 19. b3 axb3 20. axb3 (20. cxb3 Rxa2) 20... Nxb3 {was the line Hikaru analysed at home and that confused him later on.}) 14... Nc5 15. g4 Be6 (15... Ne6 16. Rhg1 { doesn't help :} g6 17. g5 fxg5 (17... gxf5 18. gxf6+ Kh8 19. exf5) 18. Nxg5 Qf6 19. Nh6+ Kg7 (19... Kh8 20. Ngf7+ Kg7 21. Nxd6 cxd6 22. Nf5+) 20. Nxe6+ Bxe6 21. Bg5 Qf8 22. Qe3 {and the attack develops faster.}) 16. Kb1 b4 {Hikaru regretted this decision, and admitted he confused things.} (16... Qd7 $5 17. Rhg1 Qf7 {to force White create some weaknesses of his own could have been considered, and was mentioned by Hikaru. Things obviously get very direct as in every opposed-castling attacks, but tactics work out quite well for Black here for a reason!} ({now} 17... Bf7 18. g5 Qe6 {doesn't lead to anything after } 19. b3 $1 axb3 20. cxb3 Nxb3 21. gxf6 $1) 18. g5 (18. a3 Reb8 19. g5 Bxf5 ( 19... b4 $2 20. gxf6 bxa3 21. Bxc5 Ba2+ 22. Kc1 axb2+ 23. Kd2) 20. exf5 b4 21. gxf6 bxa3 22. Bxc5 (22. Rxg7+ $2 Qxg7 23. fxg7 Rxb2+ 24. Ka1 Nb3+) 22... Rxb2+ 23. Kc1 Qxf6 $1 {and White should think about bailing out with} 24. d4 Bxc5 25. Qc4+ Kh8 26. Nxe5 $1 Rab8 27. Nf7+ Kg8 {with a perpetual check.}) 18... a3 $1 19. b3 Bxf5 20. exf5 e4 21. g6 hxg6 22. fxg6 Qd5 {admittedly looks very dangerous for Black, but in fact White is the one who should be careful :} 23. Nd4 (23. dxe4 $2 Nxe4 $1) 23... exd3 24. Qg4 Re4 (24... Re5 $5 25. cxd3 Ne6 26. Nxe6 Qxe6 27. Qh4 Re8 {is also playable.}) 25. Qh3 Rxd4 26. Qh7+ Kf8 27. Qh8+ Ke7 28. Qxg7+ Ke6 29. Qf7+ Ke5 30. f4+ Ke4 31. Bxd4 Qxd4 32. cxd3+ Kf3 33. Rgf1+ Kg4 34. Rg1+ {with a perpetual check.}) 17. g5 b3 $2 {The wrong decision. Hikaru needed to get the c3 square to open the center to his advantage.} (17... a3 {Hikaru also mentioned this was a better chance. Things are actually still unclear.} 18. b3 Bxf5 19. exf5 e4 {had to be played :} 20. d4 $5 (20. dxe4 Nxe4 21. Qc4+ Kh8 22. Bd4 Ra5 $1 {unexpectedly the pawn f5 falls hindering the attack.} 23. gxf6 gxf6 24. Qxc6 Rxf5 25. Rhe1 Qa8 26. Qxa8 Rxa8 27. Nh4 Rf4 28. Ng2 Nxf2 29. Nxf4 Nxd1 30. Nd5 Nc3+ 31. Nxc3 bxc3 32. Bxf6+ Kg8 {with a likely draw.}) (20. Nd4 $1 fxg5 21. h4 g4 $1 22. Qxg4 Qf6 {with still unclear play.}) 20... Nxb3 21. Qc4+ Kh8 22. Ne5 fxe5 23. cxb3 {with still good attacking chances as Black's counterplay has come to a stop for now.}) 18. Rhg1 $1 { In this context White is far ahead in the race, so Black has to waste some resources to defend his king.} bxa2+ (18... g6 19. cxb3 (19. gxf6 Qxf6 20. Bg5 Qf8 21. N3h4 {didn't work, suddenly Black is faster :} bxc2+ $1 22. Qxc2 a3 $1 23. b3 Reb8 {and the Bg5 was needed on e3 to prevent Nxb3, which forces instant resignation.}) 19... axb3 20. a3 {and Black's counterplay is halted so White has a free hand on the kingside. He also can't take the piece at the moment - expectedly so :} gxf5 $2 21. gxf6+ Kh8 22. f7 $1 Bxf7 (22... Rf8 23. Bg5 Be7 24. exf5) 23. Bg5 Be7 24. Nxe5 Bg6 25. Be3 $1 Qd6 (25... Rg8 26. Rxg6) 26. Rxg6 $1 Qxe5 27. f4) 19. Ka1 a3 (19... Bxf5 20. exf5 Kh8 21. Nd2 {comes more or less to the same conceptually speaking but was maybe more resilient.} fxg5 22. Ne4 $1 Nxe4 23. dxe4 Qb8 (23... h6 24. h4) 24. Bxg5 {and the attack is expected to bring the bacon home!}) 20. b3 Bxf5 21. exf5 Na6 (21... e4 { was Hikaru's first idea but then he noticed} 22. dxe4 Rxe4 23. Rd4 Rxd4 (23... Kh8 24. b4 $1) 24. Bxd4 {and the attack is devastating.}) 22. c3 Bf8 23. Nd2 $1 {Very simple, very powerful. The knight on e4 will kill any hope of attack against the White king while supporting the kingside breakthrough.} fxg5 24. Rxg5 Nc5 25. Rg3 $1 e4 (25... Qxd3 26. Qxd3 Nxd3 27. Ne4 Nf4 28. Nf6+ Kf7 29. Nxe8) (25... Qd5 26. Bxc5 Qxc5 27. Ne4 Qe7 28. f6 {is hopeless.}) 26. Bxc5 Bxc5 27. Nxe4 {Maybe not the most direct but obviously more than enough.} Bd6 28. Rh3 Be5 (28... Qg5 29. Qf3 Qf4 30. Qh5 h6 31. Rh4 Qe5 32. Rg1) 29. d4 Bf6 30. Rg1 {Complete domination.} Rb8 31. Kxa2 Bh4 32. Rg4 Qd5 33. c4 {This opening was tricky. As soon as Hikaru took the wrong decision on how to develop his own attack on the king he was duly outplayed by Fabiano who played very serenely to finally convert a winning chance. With +1 he is fully in contention to win the Candidates'!} 1-0 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow, Russia"] [Date "2016.03.20"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Svidler, Peter (RUS)"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey (RUS)"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2782"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {[Annotations by IM Danny Rensch] Before diving in, I must first say that Svidler, once again, produces one of my favorite games of the tournament. A game full of interesting ideas, back and forth mistakes, and a really nice (almost) finish for White!} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O $1 6. O-O $1 (6. Nd5 {Played by Topalov against Aronian early in the tournament.}) 6... e4 7. Ng5 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Re8 9. f3 e3 ({The more popular (these days at the highest levels)} 9... exf3 {has been played (on both sides) but multiple players featured in the Candidates, but the last game was} 10. Nxf3 d5 11. d4 dxc4 12. Bg5 h6 {1-0 (66) Tomashevsky,E (2758)-Gajewski,G (2654) Berlin GER 2015}) 10. d3 d5 11. Qa4 ({The other queen move} 11. Qb3 Na5 12. Qa3 c6 {doesn't seem to yield White much.}) ({Worse and not very principled is} 11. cxd5 $6 Nxd5 12. Ne4 f5 {where Black scores a nearly 70% win score in the database.}) 11... h6 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Ne4 f5 14. Nc5 f4 15. Bb2 Rb8 16. c4 { Karjakin said he did not remember this move and was happy that it was played. "I thought if I don't remember this move then maybe it's not the best!" "Here I was down 14 minutes on the clock and Sergey was still blitzing and I thought OK I should make one move quickly." (Svidler) This seems to have been played because Svidler was already set on another "sub-par" idea of Ne4 and pawn g5. But this move gives up the d4-square and should have had more consequences for White had Black used an idea of Nd4 more aggressively (after the first knight was traded, that is).} (16. Rab1 {keeps a tiny edge for White. Maintaining more central control and putting more pieces on good squares.}) (16. Ne4 b5 17. Qc2 Qe7 18. a4 b4 19. Rab1 b3 {Eldridge,M (2345)-Jimenez Ariza,J (2313) corr. 2013}) 16... Nde7 {"I think I'm very closing to being completely lost." (Svidler)} 17. g4 (17. d4 fxg3 $1 (17... Nf5 18. d5 fxg3 19. dxc6 gxh2+ 20. Kxh2 Qd6+ 21. f4 Qxc5 22. Ba3 Qd4 23. cxb7 {and e8 hangs (Svidler).}) 18. hxg3 Nf5 19. Ne4 Rxe4 $1 20. fxe4 Nxg3 {Svidler}) 17... b6 18. Ne4 ({Karjakin was completely sure} 18. Nb3 {would be played but Svidler felt that after} Bd7 19. Qa3 Ng6 {he would "just get mated."}) 18... Be6 19. g5 $6 {The first of many mistakes made by both sides, where it seemed neither player appreciated just how potentially weak White's king was.} (19. Rab1 {and still try to make c5 work at some point to maintain a more competitive balance. However, because of mistakes, balance WAS maintained after 19.g5 by White, and it was much more exciting!}) ({White needed to play a move like} 19. Rfd1 {and still try to make c5 work at some point to maintain a more competitive balance. However, because of mistakes, balance WAS maintained after 19.g5 by White, and it was much more exciting! (Svidler, by the way, was worried about} Nd4 20. Bxd4 Qxd4 21. Qxa7 Qd7 22. Qa3 Nc6 {and the bishop on g2 will never come out. Therefore he decided to include g5 and h5.)}) 19... h5 $6 {Fun fact: Svidler grapped the h5-pawn and tried to move his g5-pawn to h6... and had to had En Passant explained to him by the tournament directors (Anand came over to help in the process). Just kidding ;) and for all those who actually thought En Passant worked that way, you're welcome for making fun of you! :)} ({A surprising truth is that} 19... hxg5 {actually seems to be the better choice, but Svidler had missed he couldn't really take back on g5 with the knight.} 20. Nxg5 Nf5 $1 {and the c6-knight is not capturable after} 21. Qxc6 (21. Nxe6 Rxe6 22. Bh3 Qh4 $1) 21... Qxg5 22. Kh1 Ng3+ 23. hxg3 Qh5+ 24. Kg1 fxg3 {and game over. But what other options did White have on move 21? I think Black's attack would be awesome regardless... and The Lizard agrees with me!}) 20. Rfd1 Nd4 21. Bxd4 Qxd4 22. Qxa7 Qd7 {Starting with 20...Nd4, these have all be very accurate decisions by the younger Russian player, and I've had a hard time finding clear improvements for the elder countryman.} 23. Qa3 h4 {Harry the H-Pawn to the day!} 24. Qc3 Bf5 ({Maybe} 24... Ra8 {preventing the move Svidler should have played (25.a4) was better.}) ({The reason Karjakin did not include} 24... h3 {was} 25. Bf1 Bf5 26. Rdb1 Nc6 27. Rb5 Nd4 28. Rd5 {and e2 is not hanging!}) 25. h3 $2 {A mistake, but not for the reasons Karjakin chose!} ({Better was} 25. a4 {followed by a5 and other moves to open play on the queenside.}) 25... Bxh3 $2 {Falling for the bait. Black doesn't achieve anything concrete by taking this pawn and allows White to coordidate threats for the first time in several moves.} ({An absolutely incredible, though possibly very possible should Karjakin have just found this first move and chosen not to let Peter off the hook by taking on h3, computer line was} 25... Nc6 $5 {and after} 26. Qe1 (26. Kh2 Nd4 27. Bf1 (27. Re1 Bxe4 28. dxe4 c5 {followed by ...Re5 and Black is winning.}) 27... Re5 $1 {and Black will take the knight and then the g-pawn. Wow: I. Heart. Komodo.}) 26... Nd4 27. Nc3 Kf7 $1 {Black starts a brilliant clearing of the h-file} 28. Qxh4 (28. Kh2 Rh8 29. Rab1 Rh5 {and the g-pawn will fall, followed by an eventual rook on g3.}) 28... Qd6 29. Qh5+ Ke6 $1 {Hence the reason I said *incredible* computer line! Black is threatening to trap the queen.} 30. g6 (30. Qh4 Rh8 31. Qe1 Bxh3 {and Black's attack is just winning.}) 30... Rh8 31. Qg5 Rh6 {followed by Ouch-Town, Population-Svidler!}) 26. Qe5 $1 {Missed by Karjakin.} Ng6 27. Qd5+ (27. Bxh3 Qxh3 28. Qxc7 Rxe4 29. Qxb8+ Kh7 30. fxe4 Qg3+ {is a nice perpetual I can't help but display!}) 27... Be6 (27... Qxd5 28. cxd5 Bf5 (28... Bxg2 29. Kxg2 Re5 30. Rdc1 Rb7 31. d6 {and White seems to be driving. Where to? I don't know. But let's hope somewhere with good weather ;)}) 29. Rdc1 Red8 30. Rxc7 Rxd5 { actually seems fine for Black. I don't think the 7th rank will amount to much for White after ...Rd7 at some point.}) 28. Qxd7 Bxd7 29. Kh2 Ra8 30. Bh3 Bxh3 {Instead of this Komodo seems to think both 30...Ba4 and 30...Ba6 were also fine for Black, but I'd be scared of conceding the h3-c8 diagonal to White too! } (30... Bc6 $5 {Svidler}) 31. Kxh3 Ra3 32. Rdc1 Rea8 33. Rc2 Kf7 34. d4 { Showing that Svidler is not ready to call it quits and sit on the draw! I love this move, and if it weren't for some failed conversion by the "Russian Veteran", he wins both this game AND his game yesterday against Caruana, and we likely have a different tournament leader from the Motherland.} Rd8 35. d5 Ne5 36. Rb1 Kg6 $6 {Though not a horrific blunder, this "first mistake" (admitted by Karjakin, who was getting low on time) is what sets Black's position off on the wrong trail. Black not only underestimated White's potential for a mating attack, but perhaps overestimated the importance of activating his own king.} ({Taking away the power of the d6-pawn push with} 36... Ra6 {was definitely better, as Karjakin pointed out.}) 37. d6 cxd6 38. Rxb6 Kh5 39. Nxd6 Rda8 (39... Nd7 {it seems critical for Karjakin to try and force the rook endgame now, though I'd guess he underestimated the brilliant idea coming for Svidler to sacrifice the g-pawn and swing the rooks to the kingside for an attack...} 40. Rb5 Nc5 {when either we trade into the rook ending, repeat moves, or play} 41. Nf7 (41. Rxc5 Rxd6 42. g6+ Kxg6 43. Kxh4 Rda6 {is still better for White, but also better for Karjakin than the game.}) 41... Rc8 {and the 5th rank remains blocked for now.}) 40. Rb5 Nc6 41. g6+ $1 { The start of a very exciting, rather brilliant idea. White is changing the nature of this game from "who will win enough pawns to win or draw the rook ending" to an all out assault on the black king!} Kxg6 42. Rc1 $1 {The point of sacing the pawn. From a practical perspective, I think this idea was shocking enough for Karjakin, and decent enough concretely to win the game for Svidler.} Kh7 43. Rg1 $1 R3a7 44. Rg4 Kg8 45. Rh5 Ne7 (45... Rxa2 $2 {fails to} 46. Rgxh4 {when the h-file helps White launch a crushing attack, after} Kf8 ( 46... g6 47. Rh8+ Kg7 48. Ne8+ Rxe8 49. Rxe8 {wins.}) 47. Rxf4+ Ke7 48. Rd5 $1 {Corraling the black king! Other moves win as well.} Nb4 49. Nf5+ Kf7 50. Rd7+ Ke6 51. Rd6+ Kf7 52. Rb6 Na6 53. Rg4 {and the hunt is on! It's unfortunate for Svidler that likely recognition of how dangers an idea of Rgh4 and doubling on the h-file might be caused him to fail in finding other winning plans in a couiple moves.}) 46. Rgxh4 Ng6 47. Rg4 Nf8 48. Rgh4 $2 {The wrong plan, and maybe giving away any serious winning chances with it.} ({Precise and nearly winning on the spot is} 48. Re5 $1 Rd7 (48... Rxa2 $2 49. Re7 g6 50. Ne4 R2a7 51. Nf6+ Kh8 52. Rh4+ Nh7 53. Rhxh7#) (48... Nd7 49. Re7 {and Black resigns.}) 49. Nf5 g6 50. Ne7+ Kg7 (50... Kf7 51. Rxf4+) 51. Nd5 Rxa2 52. Nxf4 {and White continues to push for the win, as Black might very well lose the e- and g-pawns for nothing.}) 48... Ng6 49. Rg4 Nf8 50. Rxf4 $2 (50. Re5 {As noted before, is very strong for White! The key difference is that the f-pawn will fall soon regardless, but this prevents Black from taking on a2. And can't help but predict that White wins the game if this move is found.}) 50... Rxa2 51. Rfh4 g6 52. Re5 {And Svidler offers a draw that his countryman accepts. Seems like White may still have some winning chances, but likely, Peter was afraid of the e-pawn.} (52. Re5 Rxe2 53. Kg3 Raa2 54. Rh1 {swinging the rook back to the queenside and behind the c-pawn if possible.} Rg2+ 55. Kh3 Rge2 56. c5 Rac2 57. f4 $1 {and I still really, really like White's chances. Maybe Peter was frustrated with the inability to find something earlier (likely). But this move makes way for the king to safely move forward the e-pawn, there are still ideas of Ne4 and then clearing the h-file for a mating attack at some point, and Black striggles to find a good move here.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.21"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Bulgaria"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "BUL"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] [WhiteClock "0:00:32"] [BlackClock "0:04:08"] {[Annotations by IM Danny Rensch]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 {What's the matter, the Berlin's not good enough for you anymore? *Said in the voice of a good mother trying to lay on a guilt trip*} 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 {Topalov thinking some of Vishy's "old school" magic will rub off on him, attempting to repeat the same way that Anand beat Svidler (badly) in round 6?} b4 {Fool me once, shame on you, says Peter. Fool me twice? And I'd likely get mated on the kingside. So no thank you...} (8... Bb7 {was Anand-Svidler from early in the event, as mentioned.}) 9. d3 h6 ({Also possible is} 9... Bc5 10. Nbd2 d6 11. h3 h6 12. c3 Rb8 13. Nc4 Ba7 {Wei,Y (2706)-Tomashevsky,E (2728) Wijk aan Zee 2016}) 10. Nbd2 d6 ({Tried relatively recently was} 10... Re8 {but after} 11. Nc4 Bf8 12. Ne3 d6 13. a5 $1 Be6 14. Ba4 {White had a nice edge and went onto win in: 1-0 (62) Kosteniuk,A (2534) -Foisor,S (2258) Rome ITA 2015. It doesn't seem like allowing the pawn to a5 and bishop to a4 is a good idea for Black.}) 11. c3 Rb8 (11... Na5 {is also possible because} 12. cxb4 {is met by} Nc6 $1 {when Black regains the pawn with interesting queenside counterplay. Likely White is to play 12.Ba2 or c2 instead of taking on b4.}) 12. h3 Re8 13. d4 ({I kind of like} 13. Nc4 { with a similar plan as to what Kosteniuk played in the above mentioned game. If White gets the pawn to a5, he surely has a slightl edge.}) 13... Bf8 14. a5 {But now, with more tension having been created with White's 13th move, the plan of pawn to a5 here is not quite as clear. Black is going to blow things open for counterplay.} bxc3 15. bxc3 exd4 16. cxd4 Nb4 17. Ba3 d5 (17... c5 18. e5 $1 (18. Bxb4 Rxb4 19. e5 dxe5 20. Nxe5 (20. dxe5 Nd5) 20... Rb7 {Topalov}) 18... Nfd5 19. Ne4 (19. exd6 Rxe1+ 20. Qxe1 cxd4 {Topalov/ Svidler}) 19... dxe5 20. Nxe5 Be6 21. Nxc5 Bxc5 22. dxc5 Qc7 {was Mortensen,E (2470) -Ahlander,B (2415) Farum 1993, but after} 23. Qf3 {White is better since the c5-pawn is poisoned after} Qxc5 24. Bxb4 Rxb4 (24... Nxb4 25. Bxe6 {and f7 falls.}) 25. Nd3 {winning.}) 18. Ne5 $1 {"Black is in big trouble." (Topalov). And I agree! Though Svidler played the first novelty, Topalov was better prepared.} ({ At first Svidler was going for} 18. e5 Nh5 {but then saw} 19. Ba4 Re6 20. g3 $1 {but missed} Rg6 $1 {and Black is OK.}) 18... Bb7 19. Qf3 Ba8 20. Nxf7 { All best moves according to the engine. So we know Topalov was not messing around!} Kxf7 21. e5 Kg8 22. exf6 Qxf6 23. Rxe8 Rxe8 24. Qc3 (24. Qxf6 gxf6 25. Nf1 {was also possible, and I think maybe the easier road for White to play for two results. White brings the knight to e3, gangs up on d5, and then looks for create other problems. Though Topalov retained lots of pressure with the queens on the board, so it's hard to fault his decision.}) 24... c5 $1 { A good move by Svidler, even if White remains better. It's aggressive and practical to bring the fight to White, instead of sitting around to be "ground down".} 25. Nf3 Rb8 26. Ne5 cxd4 27. Qxd4 Bd6 28. Bb2 ({Analyzed in the post game interviews was} 28. Re1 $5 Bxe5 29. Qxe5 $1 ({Svidler saw} 29. Rxe5 Nd3 $1 30. Bxd5+ Kh8 {and it is now Black who holds the upper hand because of White's attacked/pinned rook on e5.}) 29... Qxe5 30. Rxe5 Nd3 31. Bxd5+ Bxd5 32. Rxd5 Rb1+ 33. Kh2 Nxf2 {where White might not have enough to win.}) ({I actually think that} 28. f4 {makes the mose sense for White! After} Rb5 29. Rc1 Bb7 30. Kh1 {White's position just looks so good! I can't find a good move for Black that doesn't lose material. Now, given I can't see a concrete combo to win for White yet, but White is holding all the cards and can simplify at any moment.}) 28... Qxe5 (28... Nc2 $6 29. Bxd5+ Kh8 {(Svidler) and now} 30. Qe4 $1) 29. Qxe5 Bxe5 30. Bxe5 Rb5 31. Bd1 Nd3 $6 ({Definitely better was} 31... Nc6 32. Bc7 { and White is still much better, but not winnig yet.}) 32. Bd4 $6 {Topalov misses his best chance with this move.} ({Both GMs thought} 32. Be2 $1 { was good for, White, but Topalov missed the killer blow after} Nxe5 $2 ({ Black could have also played} 32... Rb3 33. Bxd3 Rxd3 34. Rc1 Kf7 35. Rc8 Bb7 36. Rc7+ Ke6 37. Bxg7 {but with opposite colored bishops, White will need to show good technique. White certainly has good practical winning chances, if nothing else.}) 33. Bxb5 axb5 {and now the move both the players heard about after the game:} 34. Re1 $1 {where the Skewer would have won the game for the Bulgarian.}) 32... Bc6 33. Bc2 $6 ({And now maybe he misses his last chance?} 33. Ba4 {Not mentioned by either player, but this move seems really tough for Black to contend with after} Rb4 34. Bxc6 Rxd4 35. Rd1 {Pin-Town, Population-Knight!} Kf8 (35... Kf7 $2 36. Bb7 Rb4 37. Bxd5+ {winning.}) 36. Bb7 Rb4 37. Bxa6 Nc5 38. Bf1 {and I'll take White's chances!}) 33... Nf4 34. Be5 ({ Best to avoid Svidler's below mentioned knight checks on e2 line was} 34. Kh2 { where White is still better, but the best chances have come and gone.}) 34... Rc5 ({Svidler suggested} 34... Ne2+ 35. Kf1 d4 36. Bd6 (36. Bc7 $5 {might be better.}) 36... Nc3 37. Bd3 Rd5 {with the point} 38. Bc4 $6 {Pin?} Bb5 {Pin!}) 35. Bd1 Nd3 36. Bd6 Rc3 37. Bg4 Kf7 38. Ra2 Bb5 39. Re2 Rc6 40. Bb8 Nc5 41. Re5 d4 42. Bf3 Rc8 43. Bd6 ({The Doctor's last orders might be} 43. Ba7 $5 { if White wants to feel better. But} Ne6 44. Bd5 Bc4 $1 {might just defend everything.}) 43... Ne6 44. Bh5+ Kf6 45. Bg4 Rc1+ 46. Kh2 Bc4 47. Rf5+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.21"] [Round "9.2"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2786"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "131"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "Armenia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARM"] [WhiteClock "0:03:04"] [BlackClock "0:00:19"] {The Tiger from Madras shows his fangs! An impressive win on all levels: choice of opening (he was comfortable the whole time and clearly had a better feel than his opponent about the ensuing middlegame), preparation (he seemed to play all the best engine moves according to me) and execution in the critical moment (one mistake notwithstanding, Vishy converts a ncie rook ending).} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O d6 5. d3 Nf6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 Ba7 (7... O-O 8. Re1 h6 9. h3 Be6 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. Rxe3 Qd7 {Giri,A (2798) -Anand,V (2784) Zuerich 2016}) 8. Na3 Ne7 {Trying to mix it up early.} ( {Played previously was} 8... O-O 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 g5 11. Bg3 Bg4 12. h3 Bh5 13. Qe2 Ne7 {Chocenka,D (2403)-Jasinski,M (2393) corr. 2014}) 9. Nc2 Ng6 10. Be3 O-O 11. Bxa7 Rxa7 12. Ne3 Ng4 13. Qd2 a5 14. d4 {Expanding always makes sense in these early Italian middlegames as long as Black can't bring the heat to the e4-pawn immediately.} Ra8 15. dxe5 N4xe5 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. Bb3 Nd7 18. Bc2 Re8 19. f3 {Calm. Patiently waiting for a track to explode on is Anand!} b6 20. Rfd1 Nc5 21. b4 $1 {And even though we soon see a comment from Aronian suggesting that he didn't think White had much, reviewing this game in detail tells me that if Vishy was not in prep (he played all the best engine moves since move 14) then he just has a phenomenal feel for these positions. I think White has more to play for than Black realized...} Nd7 22. Bb3 Nf6 23. Qd4 { "I don't think White has much here." (Aronian)} Qe7 {Anand called this "obviously an oversight" but Aronian said he had underestimated White's play after the ensuing trades.} (23... h6 {kind of sits on the position and avoids the forcing lines (and endgame where Vishy had two results to play for) to occur.}) ({Trying to simplify in a way that helps Black's defense with} 23... Be6 24. Bxe6 Rxe6 {was also possible. White remains a little better.}) 24. Nd5 Nxd5 25. Bxd5 Ra7 (25... Rb8 26. bxa5 c5 (26... bxa5 27. Qa7 $1 {wins a pawn.}) 27. Qd3 bxa5 28. Bc6 Rd8 29. Rab1 {with a small edge (Anand). And a tough position for Black to play! Try guarding the weak d-pawn and the b-file and see how you like it.}) 26. b5 Bb7 27. c4 Qe5 ({When playing 23...Qe7 Aronian had seen} 27... Bxd5 28. cxd5 Raa8 29. Rac1 Rad8 30. Rc6 Rd7 31. Rdc1 Qd8 32. R1c4 Ree7 33. Qc3 {which is "like a King's Indian" but then he noticed that White threatens Rxb6 followed by the rook to c8. So that means the move} Qb8 { is answered by} 34. e5 $1 {And White is crashing through! The former champ described the nature of the struggle well: "If Black can play ...f6 and ...Qf7 it's nothing serious." (Anand). But he can't Vishy! He doesn't have the power! ;)}) 28. Rac1 Qxd4+ 29. Rxd4 {But don't let the trades and closed structure fool you! There is still plenty left to play for, and as you can already see from the result, this one did NOT have a peaceful ending!} Kf8 30. Kf2 $6 ({ Afterward Anand prefered} 30. f4 f6 31. Rc3 {with "a much better version (of the same plan in the game). I couldn't believe it could become so tactical so fast."}) 30... Ke7 31. f4 f6 32. Rc3 Kd7 (32... Rc8 33. Rh3 h6 34. Rg3 { and Black has pawn problems.}) 33. Rh3 h6 34. Rg3 Re7 35. Rg6 Bxd5 (35... c6 $2 36. bxc6+ Bxc6 37. e5 $1 {(Anand). Black finds himself in tactical trouble with the king in the line of fire.}) 36. cxd5 Ra8 37. Kf3 Rae8 $6 {Not really considered a mistake by the commentators or players, which was strange to me. After White's next move the kingside opens up and Black is much more clearly on the defensive! So was White's win certain at this point? Of course not! We know Aronian's misguided king moves helped Anand greatly, but this move surely set the tone and gave White all he could ask for in regards to winning chances. } ({Interesting was} 37... h5 $5 {(Anand). And maybe more than that? Given how the game played out, I see any and all attempts to slow White's entry to the kingside with the king as a necessity!}) (37... Ke8 38. Kg4 Kf7 39. Kf5 $6 h5 $1 {(Anand). And we agree! Black has MUCH better defensive chances with the king involved. Fun lines show the resources Black might have here with} 40. Rd3 h4 41. Rh3 Rh8 42. g4 Rhe8 $1 {followed by ...Re5+ and Black is doing well! So White would have to be careful, had this approach from Black been taken, not to *overpress*.}) 38. Kg4 $5 {"A bit of a gamble", said Anand. Who admitted he couldn't evaluate everything. But one we see as well worth it! From here, Aronian only makes one misjudgement (about where he wants his king and rooks) and one miscalculation after another.} (38. Rc4 Kd8 {(Anand).}) 38... Rxe4 39. Rxg7+ Kc8 40. Rd2 Kb8 $2 ({"Of course I should have played} 40... Kb7 {" (Aronian). The main point being that, inevitably, when White breaks through on the kingside and Black gets the d5-pawn as compensation, Black will have ideas of pushing c6 to trade and make way for the king, and likely have good drawing chances with it.}) 41. Rc2 $1 {First misplacing the rook on c8.} Rc8 ({Note that defending c7 with} 41... R8e7 42. Rxe7 Rxe7 43. Kf5 {is hopeless. The White king is too strong.}) 42. Ra2 Rd4 43. Kf5 Rxd5+ 44. Kxf6 Rf8+ 45. Rf7 Rxf7+ 46. Kxf7 Rf5+ 47. Kg6 Rxf4 48. g3 {Both sides have followed through clearly on the obvious plans. Of course Black is greatly regretting his 40th move now however, with no way to play ...c6 immediately and get the king in the game.} Rc4 $1 {Anand considered the position won, but said this was a great idea. We can only assume India's #1 is referring to Black's idea of keeping the rook on the 4th rank to both slow White's pawns and keep an eye on a4 at the same time. In addition, it makes the threat of d5-d5-d3 a real one because Black might get ...Rc2 in some of those positions.} 49. Kxh6 d5 50. Kh5 $2 {"Just embarrassing. I'm pushing the wrong pawn." (Anand)} ({Really straight forward is} 50. Kg5 d4 51. h4 Kc8 52. h5 Kd7 53. h6 {wins.}) 50... d4 51. g4 d3 52. h4 Rd4 53. Rd2 Kc8 {"I realized I had messed up." (Anand). Referring to the idea of pushing the g-pawn.} 54. g5 Kd7 55. Kg6 ({Believe it or not, pushing the pawn first (which always seems like a good idea to RUSH for the queen)} 55. g6 {actually takes away valuable "entry" squares for the white king. Lines like} Ke7 56. Kg5 Rd5+ $1 {Show the truth. 57.Kf4 is met by 37...Kf6 while} 57. Kh6 Kf8 58. Rf2+ (58. Kh7 $4 Rh5#) 58... Kg8 59. Rd2 { is a draw.}) 55... Rxh4 (55... Ke7 56. h5 Kf8 57. Kf6 (57. h6)) 56. Rxd3+ Ke8 57. Ra3 Rc4 $2 {The losing mistake.} (57... Kf8 58. Rf3+ Ke7 59. Rf7+ Kd6 60. Kf5 Rxa4 61. g6 Ra1 62. g7 Rf1+ {is a draw (Aronian). And he's right, but some potentially really tricky "rook against passed pawns" lines could follow. We won't list them all, but to give an idea we have:} 63. Kg6 Rg1+ 64. Kh7 Rh1+ 65. Kg8 ({Maybe to avoid all the mess, White would just play} 65. Kg6 Rg1+ 66. Kh7 {and shake hands.}) 65... a4 66. Kf8 Rg1 67. Rf3 Kc5 68. Rf5+ Kb4 69. g8=Q Rxg8+ 70. Kxg8 a3 71. Kf7 a2 72. Rf1 Kxb5 73. Ra1 c5 74. Rxa2 c4 75. Kf6 c3 76. Ke5 Kc4 77. Ra6 c2 78. Rxb6 Kc3) ({Note that} 57... Rg4 {which also prevents the king from going to g7, should be good enough for a draw. Still very tough to be Black though.}) 58. Kg7 Kd7 59. g6 c6 (59... Kd6 60. Kf6 Rf4+ 61. Kg5 Rf1 62. g7 {and White wins.}) 60. Kf6 cxb5 61. g7 Rg4 62. axb5 Rg1 63. Rd3+ Ke8 64. Re3+ Kd7 65. Re5 {With a classic on display: The Lucena, or Bridge technqiue has White threatening to block the g-file with Rg5, forcing Black's hand.} Rxg7 66. Rd5+ 1-0 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.21"] [Round "9.4"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] [WhiteClock "0:01:04"] [BlackClock "0:00:37"] {[Annotations by IM Danny Rensch]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O Re8 {Sergey Karjakin plays another game at the Candidates, we are featured to another Queen's Indian Defense.} 11. Rb1 {A move that would have been considered a new idea of Topalov hadn't already tried the same approach against Karjakin a few rounds ago. So far, the best anyone has had against the Russian was Caruana's middlegame after the move 11. a3 was played.} ({Of course, played by Giri in the game where we saw just how far/deep Karajkin's QID prep can go, we saw} 11. Ne5 {while another recent game we can merge for you here is} Bb7 12. Bg5 Nbd7 13. Rc1 Ba3 14. Nxd7 Qxd7 15. Bxf6 Bxc1 16. Qxc1 gxf6 17. Qh6 Qf5 {Sargissian, G (2702) -Tomashevsky,E (2728) Huaian 2016}) (11. a3 {was Caruana-Karjakin from this very Candidates.}) 11... Nbd7 $5 {And now those who've been reading every report and paying attention to both my own and MVL's analysis will remember this: (see picture above the game viewer), showing that Maxime had already analyzed the game variation in great detail. Who knows? Maybe Hikaru and Sergery also follow the reports?} (11... c5 {was Topalov-Karjakin from the Candidates tournament just last week.}) 12. b4 Bc4 13. Bf4 Ne4 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Nd2 Bxa2 16. Bxe4 Bxb1 17. Qxb1 Nf6 18. Bxa8 Qxa8 19. e4 {Where every ounce of MVL's preparation and analysis to the last time 11.Rb1 was played (Game of the Day between Topalov and Karjakin) by Topalov a few rounds ago has been followed!} Rd8 {Nakamura didn't look at this move during his preparation and called it "mentally hard" when you don't check a move that appears very natural at the board.} 20. Be3 ({Better was} 20. Rc1 Rxd4 21. Rxc7 Rd7 { where even though the position was thought to be equal according to Nakamura in the post game analysis... I've looked further and} 22. e5 $5 Rxc7 23. exf6 Rd7 24. fxe7 Rxe7 {seems pretty forced, and wouldn't we rather have the two pieces for the rook?}) (20. d5 c6 {(Nakamura). While here I agree, White's center is falling for nothing.}) 20... Ng4 21. h3 $6 {Seems unnecessary to force what will be so anyway... That sounds kind of Zen of me, doesn't it? :)} ({Indeed I agree with Karjakin that} 21. Nf3 $5 {(Karjakin) seems to be the best for White. Having looked at the following line} c5 22. bxc5 bxc5 23. d5 Nxe3 24. fxe3 f6 25. Nd2 a5 26. Nc4 ({Possibly better than Hikaru's suggested approach is also} 26. Qa2 Bd6 27. Nc4 a4 28. Ra1 {and White is pushing for the win.}) 26... a4 27. Qc2 Qa6 28. Ra1 Ra8 {Nakamura dismissed the option of 21. Nf3, but I'm convinced he must have *overestimated* something about his position in the other lines, because only White can be better in this position. }) 21... Nxe3 22. fxe3 a5 $1 {Liberation, the queen will find. Counterplay, Black now has. *thanks Yoda*} 23. bxa5 Qxa5 24. Qc2 Qg5 25. Rf3 c5 26. Qb3 cxd4 ({Black's only real try in the game to capitalize on the briefly experience small edge here was with} 26... Qh5 27. d5 Rb8 {where Black holds a slight edge and changes of proving his queenside pawns more dangerous than White's central peshke.}) 27. Qxf7+ Kh8 28. h4 $5 (28. exd4 Qxd2 29. Qxe7 Qxd4+ 30. Kg2 Rg8 {is an easier version for Black than what happened in the game, with a draw the same likely result.}) 28... Qe5 29. Nc4 Qxe4 30. Rf4 Qb1+ 31. Kh2 Rg8 32. exd4 b5 33. Ne5 Bd6 34. Qd5 Qc2+ 35. Kg1 Bxe5 36. dxe5 Qe2 37. Rf2 Qe3 38. Kg2 b4 {The last critical point according to the players.} 39. e6 ({White's last attempt was} 39. Qb5 $5 {with the idea Re2.}) 39... h6 40. Qd7 (40. Qd6 Qe4+ 41. Kh2 Re8 42. Rf8+ Rxf8 43. Qxf8+ Kh7 {draws (Karjakin).}) 40... Qe4+ 41. Kh2 Kh7 42. e7 Ra8 ({Karjakin said he was looking at fun stuff like} 42... b3 43. Rf8 b2 44. Rxg8 b1=Q (44... Qe2+ $1 {still draws in fact}) 45. Rxg7+ Kh8 46. Rh7+ $1 {and mate.}) 43. Rg2 b3 44. Qb5 Qxe7 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.21"] [Round "9"] [White "Giri, A."] [Black "Caruana, F."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D70"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2794"] [Annotator "MVL"] [PlyCount "191"] [EventDate "2016.03.10"] {[Annotations by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 {This is the most promising try against the Grunfeld in recent years. The only problem with this line is the infamous amount of knowledge needed to reach totally unclear positions. But it shows that Anish was in a fighting mood today, and rightfully so given the tournament standings as he needs to start winning.} d5 (3... e6 {was my pet line for a while until it was refuted by none other than Anish :} 4. e4 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Nc3 dxe4 7. fxe4 Bb4 8. Bd3 $1 Nxe4 {There are other tries but in any case White reaches a tremendous position.} 9. Qe2 O-O (9... f5 10. Nf3 O-O 11. O-O {with a tremendous attack.}) 10. Bxe4 Re8 11. Nf3 Bf5 12. Bg5 Bxc3+ (12... Qd6 13. Nd2 Qa6 14. Rb1 $3 {is a tremendous prophylactic move Anish mentioned:} Bxc3 15. bxc3 Qxe2+ 16. Kxe2 Bxe4 17. Nxe4 Rxe4+ 18. Kf3 {and Blacks loses the b7 pawn and reaches a terrible endgame.}) 13. bxc3 f6 14. Nd2 fxg5 15. O-O Nd7 {Giri,A (2750)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2766) Biel 2014 and now} 16. Qd3 $1 {with a tremendous initiative.}) (3... c5 4. d5 { likely transposes to the Saemisch variation of the King's Indian and is another line White has to seriously take into account when checking 3.f3 at home.}) 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nb6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 e5 (8... Nc6 9. O-O-O Qd6 {is the other main line.}) 9. d5 c6 10. h4 cxd5 11. exd5 Na6 $5 { A completely different and exciting approach from Fabiano. The objective value of his idea might not be so high but it only makes what I'll call his gamble in a critical game of the Candidates' even more courageous.} (11... N8d7 12. h5 Nf6 13. hxg6 fxg6 14. O-O-O {was Black's favourite choice. Here he has a choice between} Bd7 ({and} 14... Qd6 {but in these lines the state of theory is a bit more developed than that :)})) 12. h5 Nb4 13. hxg6 (13. Bc5 N4xd5 14. Bxf8 Bxf8 {would clearly not be the best idea for White as he loses any chance to attack the black king, while the pair of bishops, the excellent knight on d5 and White's own weak king will be a major cause for concern.}) 13... Bf5 $1 {The first new move.} (13... fxg6 {(once played in an amateur game) doesn't work as this time White wins the exchange and also gets to simplify the position to his advantage:} 14. Bc5 N4xd5 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Bc4 Be6 17. Rd1 Nf4 18. Bxe6+ Nxe6 19. Bxf8) (13... hxg6 {is horribly dangerous after} 14. Bh6 N4xd5 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Qh6+ Kf6 17. Rd1) 14. gxh7+ Kh8 {White is two pawns up but is now the one on the defensive, as Black's king is safe, for now at least. } 15. Rd1 $1 {Anish is forced to call the gamble.} (15. Rc1 $6 N6xd5 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. Bh6 Nf4 {would be completely fine for Black.}) 15... Nc2+ (15... Rc8 $5 {it the other approach. Things are probably going to look similar to the game anyway, but there might be a few differences. Anyway I think I like more the idea to get the rook to d4, as even if White secures an outpost on e4 it makes the attack look more threatening :} 16. Nh3 (16. Bh6 Bxh6 17. Qxh6 Bg6 $1 18. Rh4 Nc2+ 19. Kf2 Nd7 $1 {looks completely unclear as the knight gets the juicy d4 square while White's king has to run.} 20. Kg3 Nd4 21. Rhxd4 exd4 22. Rxd4 Nf6) 16... Nc2+ 17. Kf2 Nxe3 (17... Na4 18. Nxa4 Nxe3 19. Qxe3 Qh4+ 20. Kg1 Qxa4 21. Nf2 Qxa2 22. g4 Bc2 23. Rd2 Qb3 24. Qxb3 Bxb3 25. Ne4) 18. Qxe3 Nc4 19. Bxc4 Rxc4 20. g4 Bg6 21. Ng5 Rd4 {and in fact White can just claim Black is bluffing:} 22. Nge4 (22. Kg2 b5 23. Nxb5 Rxd5 24. Rxd5 Qxd5 25. Nc3 Qb7) 22... f5 23. gxf5 Bxf5 24. Rdg1 $1 {and he gets his own threats on Black's king.} Rf7 (24... Bxe4 25. Nxe4 Qxd5 26. Rxg7 Rxe4 27. Rg8+) 25. d6) 16. Kf2 Nxe3 17. Qxe3 Bd7 $5 {Fabiano decided to take the least direct approach and to claim compensation for his two pawns by just rolling his pawns. But White is in time to counter this idea properly.} 18. Nh3 f5 {This instant move was criticized by Fabiano after the game. He preferred an immediate} ( 18... Rc8 {to avoid the game's continuation. It doesn't change too many things though after} 19. Kg1 f5 20. f4 {but it's still better than the game.}) 19. f4 Rc8 20. g3 $1 {The pawns are stabilized, and even though the Bg7 is extremely active, two pawns are two pawns and more importantly as the knight gets to g5, a few of Black's pieces will be committed to protect the f7 and e6 squares.} Nc4 {Going in full berserk mode. It's obviously too much, but at the same time I understand it's hard to publicly admit that your experiment has not worked out the way you wanted it to.} (20... e4 21. Ng5 {would have been a long day at the office.}) 21. Bxc4 Rxc4 22. fxe5 (22. b3 $5 Rb4 (22... exf4 23. Nxf4 $1 Rxf4+ (23... Rxc3 24. Ng6#) 24. gxf4 Re8 25. Qd2 $1 Qb6+ 26. Kf3) (22... Rxc3 23. Qxc3 exf4 24. Qf3 fxg3+ 25. Kg2 {and White remains an exchange up and the light-squared bishop is hindered, making Black's counterplay look very random at best.}) 23. fxe5 f4 24. Nxf4 Qg5 {and anyway here White should find} 25. Ke1 $1 Rbxf4 26. gxf4 Rxf4 27. Ne2) 22... f4 23. Nxf4 Qg5 {Here someone joked with me that it would take "the Artist" (Anish's new nickname apparently) a lot of imagination to make another draw with four pawns up!} 24. Rd4 {I can't argue that this move looks tempting but giving back the e5 pawn so easily is of course a pity as at least Black has now a fighting chance with his pair of bishops.} (24. Ke1 $1 {was the only way to cut short any of Black's attempt as recovering pawns would lead to mass simplifications:} Bg4 {was Fabiano's intended try but it falls short:} (24... Rf5 25. Rh5 Qxh5 26. Nxh5 Rxe5 27. Rd3 $1 {and Black can't keep his two bishops.}) (24... Rcxf4 25. gxf4 Rxf4 26. Ne2 Rf1+ 27. Kd2) (24... Bxe5 25. Ng6+ Qxg6 26. Qxe5+) 25. Ne4 (25. d6 {is the computer's first choice ignoring Black completely!} Bxd1 (25... Rcxf4 26. gxf4 Rxf4 27. d7 Rf1+ 28. Kxf1) 26. Kxd1 Qf5 27. Kc1 $1 {followed by Rh5.}) 25... Rxe4 26. Qxe4 Rf5 27. Ne6 Qg6 28. Rc1 $1 {and White just wins after} Rf1+ 29. Kxf1 Qxe4 30. Rc8+) 24... Rxd4 25. Qxd4 Bxe5 26. Qb4 Rf7 27. Nce2 {Black has no threats anymore and White is effectively two pawns up (the h7 pawn can fall anytime now). Also, White can threaten Black's king anytime now with the knight almost ready to jump to g6. But the pair of bishops is a wonderful thing, and it will help Fabiano to put up a real fight!} Bg4 28. Qe4 Qf6 29. Rh4 Bf5 30. Qe3 b6 {I was actually sure that Anish would win from this position. But after having analysed - or more accurately, tried to analyse - this game, there are so many obscure lines and positions that I can't really blame him for not winning in the end, as anyway it wasn't for lack of trying.} 31. b3 (31. Rh5 $5 {was a direct attempt, the points of which are rather difficult to consider though :} Bxb2 (31... Re7 32. d6 $1 Bxd6 33. Rxf5 Qxf5 34. Qd4+ Be5 35. Qd8+) 32. Qe8+ Rf8 33. Qc6 Rf7 (33... a5 34. Rh6 Qxc6 35. dxc6 {is what we call improving the position. The passed pawn will decide the game.} ) (33... Qg7 34. Rxf5 $1 Rxf5 35. Kg2 $3 {A sick move but now Black can't protect all his pieces as his rook lacks squares, and the d pawn could also be a strong asset :} Rf7 (35... Kxh7 36. Qc2) (35... Ba3 36. d6) 36. Ne6 Qf6 37. Qe8+ Kxh7 38. Qxf7+ Qxf7 39. Ng5+ Kg6 40. Nxf7 Kxf7 41. Kf3 {with a winning endgame.}) (33... Qf7 34. Kg1 $1) 34. Qxf6+ Rxf6 35. Ke3 Bxh7 36. g4 Kg8 37. Rh1 {and this endgame looks very difficult as the light squared bishop is restricted by the knights and pawns.}) 31... Re7 $1 32. Qd2 (32. Rh5 $1 { was definitely the way to proceed. It included seeing that Black's attempt at perpetual check didn't work:} Bxf4 $5 {other moves are hopeless:} (32... Bg4 33. Rxe5 Rxe5 34. Qxe5 Qxe5 35. Ng6+) (32... Bxh7 33. Qf3) (32... Bd6 33. Qc3 Be5 34. Qc6) 33. Qxf4 Rxe2+ 34. Kxe2 Qb2+ 35. Kf1 Qb1+ 36. Kg2 Qc2+ 37. Qf2 Be4+ 38. Kg1 Qd1+ 39. Qf1 Qxh5 40. Qf6+ Kxh7 41. Qe7+ {and White remains a solid two pawns up.}) 32... Rc7 $1 {By now Fabiano was keeping his hopes up, probably a little too much to his own admission.} 33. d6 $1 {The good move sign is not judging the objective value of this move, which is just bad, but because it matched my prediction from a few moves earlier as I said Anish would try to force a queen exchange even if it cost him two pawns. It's a very logical thing to do though, but here it doesn't work well as the d pawn really was a potential asset.} (33. Qe3 Re7 34. Rh5 {was still the way to go.}) (33. Kf3 {is the computer's first choice but it is coldblooded.}) 33... Bxd6 (33... Qxd6 $1 34. Qxd6 Bxd6 35. g4 Bb1 $1 (35... Bxh7 $6 36. g5 Bxf4 37. Nxf4 Rc2+ 38. Ke3 Kg7 {would be dangerous, Black should keep the pair of bishops.}) ( 35... Rxh7 $4 36. gxf5) 36. Rh1 Be4 37. Rh6 Bc5+ 38. Kg3 Rxh7 39. Re6 Re7 { with very decent chances to draw as White's queenside will be subject to relentless attacking by the bishops. We should also not forget that with only two knight remaining, anytime Black can decide to just give up all his bishops if he gets rid of all the pawns on the board (generally including his own)}) 34. Qd5 Rf7 (34... Rc8 $1 {was preferable practically speaking as the rook can aim for the e8 square, attack and defence!} 35. Kg2 (35. Nd4 Bc5 36. Nh5 Bxd4+ 37. Rxd4 Rc2+ 38. Rd2 Rxd2+ 39. Qxd2 Qe5 $1 40. Qe3 Qxe3+ 41. Kxe3 Bb1 { in general Black draws with a light-squared bishop as White loses tempi to protect his pawns on the queenside. Also, has he moves them, they get more prone to being exchanged, and he needs two pawns remaining to win the game. If Black keeps the dark squared bishop, it's the opposite that happens and Black is not in time against the White king running on the queenside, as we shall see.} 42. a3 Kxh7 43. Nf4 Kh6 44. Ne6 (44. Kd4 Kg5 45. Ke5 Kg4 46. Kd6 Kxg3 47. Ne6 Ba2 48. b4 Bc4 49. Nd4 Kf4) 44... Kg6 45. Kf4 Kf6 46. Nd4 a5 47. g4 Bd3 48. g5+ Kg6 {and it should end in a draw as White can't prevent pawn exchanges if he wants to make progress.} 49. Ke5 (49. Nc6 Bc2) 49... Kxg5 50. Kd6 Kf4 51. Kc6 Ke5 52. Nb5 Bc2) 35... Re8 36. Nc3 $1 Bc7 37. Rh5 Rf8 $1 {and} 38. Ne4 (38. Nce2 $5) 38... Bxe4+ (38... Qb2+ 39. Kf3) 39. Qxe4 Bxf4 40. gxf4 Qxf4 41. Qxf4 Rxf4 {should be drawish even if White keeps chances.} 42. Kg3 Rf6 43. Rh4 b5 $1 44. Rh5 Ra6) 35. Kg2 Bc5 (35... Rg7 $3 {was the right move to create counterchances, but it's a bit awkward looking.} 36. Nd4 (36. Qa8+ Qf8) 36... Qxh4 (36... Bc8 $5 37. Kh2 Rxh7 38. Rxh7+ Kxh7) 37. Nxf5 Qxf4 38. Qg8+ Rxg8 39. hxg8=Q+ Kxg8 40. gxf4 Bxf4 41. Kf3 {This looks very dangerous but maybe Black is in time :} Bh2 42. Ke4 Kf7 43. Kd5 Ke8 44. Kc6 Kd8 45. Kb7 Kd7 46. Nd4 Kd6 $1 47. Kxa7 Kc5 {with a draw.}) 36. Rh5 $1 Bg4 (36... Rf8 37. b4 $1 Be3 (37... Bxb4 38. Nd4 $1 Bb1 39. Nde6 {and White breaks through.}) 38. Kh2 $1) 37. Rh6 ( 37. Rg5 $5 Bf5 (37... Bxe2 38. Qa8+ $1 Rf8 (38... Bf8 39. Ng6+ Kxh7 40. Nxf8+ Rxf8 41. Qe4+ Kh8 42. Qh4+) 39. Rg8+ Kxh7 40. Rxf8 Bxf8 41. Nxe2) 38. Rg8+ $1 Kxh7 39. Rg5 {now Black's king is not protected anymore!} Qxg5 40. Qxf7+ Kh8 41. Ne6 $1 Bxe6 (41... Be4+ 42. Kf1 Qf5+ 43. Qxf5 Bxf5 44. Nxc5 bxc5 45. Nc3 Kg7 46. Ke2 Kf6 47. Na4 Ke5 48. Nxc5 Kd4 49. Na4 Bb1 50. Kd2) 42. Qxe6 Qd2 43. a4 {would give White real winning chances, but Black is active and as long as he avoids any unfavourable queen exchange, or a sudden White attack with his queen and knight duo, he should be fine. It's not clear he can avoid both though :)}) 37... Qxh6 38. Qxf7 Qc6+ $1 (38... Qg7 39. Qe8+ Kxh7 40. Qe4+ Kg8 41. Ne6 {would give White serious winning chances again.}) 39. Nd5 Be6 40. Qf6+ Kxh7 41. Qh4+ Kg7 42. Qg5+ Kf8 43. Qf6+ Kg8 44. Qg6+ Kf8 45. Qh6+ Kg8 46. Qg5+ Kf8 47. Nef4 Bf7 {The dust has settled, and Anish's knights are looking great at they also restrict the light-squared bishop seriously. I was thus still predicting his win as I felt the defensive task would be too difficult, even for a tough guy like Fabiano. White can create a lot of threats on the king even if at the moment there is nothing decisive, and at almost any point Black has to evaluate the consequences of possible exchanges, even if as a rule if he has to keep one of his bishops, it should be the light squared one to get counterplay on the pawns a2 and b3 (via a5-a4 or Bb1).} 48. Qe5 $1 (48. Kf3 Qd6 $1 49. g4 Bd4 {would allow Fabiano to implement his ideal defensive setup as he covers a lot of important squares.}) 48... Kg8 49. Kh3 (49. g4 $1 {at some point I feel the g pawn is needed to create more threats on the king. I just assume Anish thought it would increase risks of perpetual check.} Qd6 (49... Bd6 50. Qg5+ Kh7 51. Qf5+ Kg7 52. Qf6+ Kg8 53. Kh3 $1 Bxd5 54. Qg5+ Kh8 55. Nxd5) 50. Qxd6 (50. Qe4 $1 {maybe this is the way!} Qh6 51. Qf5) 50... Bxd6 51. Kf3 Kg7 52. g5 Bg8 53. Ke4 Bh7+ 54. g6 {now the king is too far from the action and White is supposed to win, although not everything is simple as he needs to make sure Black's counterplay falls short. I thought at first it'd be enough, but amazingly maybe not :} Bxg6+ 55. Nxg6 Kxg6 56. Nc3 Bh2 $1 (56... Bg3 57. Kd5 Kf5 58. Nb5 $1 a6 59. Nd4+ $1 {Kf4 is impossible, which is why 56.. .Bh2!} (59. Nd6+ Kf4 $1 60. Kc6 Bf2 61. Nc8 Ke4 $1 62. Nxb6 Kd3) 59... Kf6 60. Nc2 Kf5 61. Nb4 a5 62. Nd3 b5 {otherwise a4 seals the deal} 63. Kc6 a4 64. b4 Ke4 65. Nc5+ Kd4 66. Kxb5) 57. Kd5 Kf5 58. Nb5 a6 59. Nd6+ Kf4 60. Kc6 Ke3 ( 60... Bg1 61. a4 $1 Ke5 62. Nc4+ Kd4 63. Kxb6 Kc3+ 64. Kxa6 Kxb3 65. Kb5) 61. Nc4+ Kd4 62. Kxb6 Kc3 63. Kxa6 Kb4 {with a very likely fortress!}) 49... Qd6 $1 50. Nf6+ (50. Qxd6 Bxd6 51. g4 a5 $1 52. g5 a4 {with an obvious draw now.}) 50... Kf8 51. Qf5 Ke7 $1 {Another great defensive move.} ({The immediate and tempting} 51... Bd4 {could run into} 52. Nh7+ $1 Ke7 53. Ng5 Bg8 54. Ng6+ Kd8 55. Nf7+ Bxf7 56. Qxf7 {and this endgame is still very difficult - or impossible - to hold.}) 52. N6d5+ Kf8 53. Kg4 $6 ({Again the light should have come from the pawn!} 53. g4 $1 Bd4 54. g5 Kg7 55. Qe4 $1 Bb2 (55... Qe5 56. Qxe5+ Bxe5 57. Kg4 {and Kf5 and Ne6+ will follow with decisive effect.}) 56. Ne3 Qe5 57. Nf5+ Kg8 (57... Kf8 58. Qa8+ Qe8 59. Qxa7) 58. Qxe5 Bxe5 59. Nh6+ Kg7 60. Nxf7 Bxf4 61. Kg4 {with an easy win now.}) 53... Bd4 $6 {It's easy to go harsh on the players after the game, but I have to point out the very few moments where Fabiano gave Anish more chances to win, as otherwise his defence was immaculate and simply extremely impressive given the dangerousness of the position.} (53... Kg7 $1) 54. Nc7 $6 (54. Qc8+ Kg7 55. Qb7 $1 {was the last serious attempt at winning as Black's setup is disrupted (or he loses a pawn)} a5 56. Ne7 Kf8 57. Nf5 Qd8 58. Nh6) 54... Be5 55. Ncd5 a5 56. Qc8+ Kg7 57. Ne3 Kh7 {I don't know if this position is still winnable but at least Black improved his situation a lot, and even his potential counterplay on the queenside is ready to be launched.} 58. Qb7 Kg8 59. Qa8+ Qb8 $1 (59... Kh7 $6 60. Qh1+ Kg8 61. Nf5 Qd7 62. Qa8+ Be8 (62... Kh7 63. Qf8 Be8 64. Qh6+ Kg8 65. Qxb6) 63. Qe4 {and he would have to give up the pair of bishops.} Bb2 64. Kh3 { and White can start improving his position again.}) 60. Qe4 (60. Qc6 Qd6 61. Qc8+ Qf8 62. Qxf8+ Kxf8 63. Kf5 Bxf4 64. gxf4 a4 65. Nc4 (65. bxa4 Bxa2 66. Nd1 Bb3 67. Nc3 Kf7) 65... axb3 66. axb3 b5 67. Na5 b4 $1 {and in both cases White doesn't have enough pawns. As soon as the king runs to the queenside, Black's king comes and grab the pawn f4.}) 60... Qd6 61. Nf5 Qd1+ 62. Ne2 Bg7 $1 { By this point, but probably from the start, Fabiano had clearly understood which bishop he needed to keep.} 63. Nxg7 Kxg7 64. Qe5+ (64. Qd4+ Qxd4+ 65. Nxd4 Kf6 66. Kf4 a4) 64... Kg6 65. Kf3 Qd3+ 66. Kf2 Qc2 $1 {Obvious maybe, but really the ideal setup!} (66... Qd2 {is also good enough but probably Fabiano didn't want to be forced to evaluate every endgame even if he judged them to be very likely draws.}) 67. Qd6+ Kg7 68. Qd4+ Kg8 69. Qg4+ Kf8 70. Qa4 Be8 ( 70... Qd2 $1 71. g4 Kg8 $1 {would have forced instant draw as White can't move his pieces at all.} 72. Kf3 Qd3+ 73. Kf2 Qd2) 71. Qa3+ Kg8 72. Qe7 Bf7 73. Qd8+ Kg7 74. Qd4+ Kg8 75. Qa4 Qd2 (75... Bh5 $1 76. Qb5 Bf7 {would have been more precise as now Anish can try one last attempt.}) 76. Qg4+ Kf8 77. Qc8+ Ke7 78. Qc7+ Kf8 79. a3 $1 {At least he keeps the pawn a3 and not the pawn b3, keeping at least some life in the position.} Bxb3 80. Qb8+ Kf7 81. Qb7+ Kg8 82. Qxb6 Qa2 (82... Bd1 83. Qe3 Qc2 {was also enough.}) 83. Qd8+ (83. Qxa5 Bc4 84. Qd8+ Kf7 85. Qd7+ Kf8 86. Qf5+ Kg7 87. Qf3 Bxe2 88. Qxe2 Qxa3) 83... Kf7 84. Qd7+ Kg8 85. Qe8+ Kg7 86. Qe7+ Bf7 87. g4 Qd2 $1 {A great move to make in time trouble.} (87... Qe6 {reaching a drawn endgame was also possible but maybe Fabiano wasn't 100% sure that nothing bad could happen.} 88. Qxe6 Bxe6 89. g5 Bb3 90. Nf4 a4 {But White can't make progress here.}) 88. Qc5 Be6 $1 89. Qe5+ Kf7 90. g5 Qa2 $1 {I couldn't believe Fabiano was avoiding all queen exchanges, especially with such a weird looking move, but he had it all under control, as now Anish can't prevent Bc4 or Qxa3.} (90... Bg4 91. Qf4+ Qxf4+ 92. Nxf4 Bf5 93. Ke3 a4 94. Kd4 Bc2 95. Kc3 Bb3) 91. Qf6+ Ke8 92. Qh8+ Ke7 93. Qh7+ Kf8 94. Qh8+ (94. g6 Qb2 $1 {not even allowing the symbolic advantage of the Q+N vs Q endgame. White just doesn't have a move available to threaten anything.} (94... Qxa3 95. g7+ Ke8 96. Qg6+ Kd7 97. Qxe6+ Kxe6 98. g8=Q+ Kd7) 95. Qh6+ Kg8 96. g7 Qb6+) 94... Ke7 95. Qg7+ Ke8 96. Qh8+ {Even if you'd be tempted to laugh a bit at Anish managing to make a draw with 4 pawns up - and rightfully so, in a way - the technical options he chose were very tempting to my eyes as well as it is always welcome to keep control over the game, all the more when we have great winning chances. Also, Fabiano's amazing defence was not obvious to expect as his king looked in a gloomy situation against the queen and the two knights. From a more pragmatic point of view, a missed chance for Anish who will not have too many more available to fight for the tournament win, while Fabiano remains fully in contention!} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.21"] [Round "9"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D70"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2794"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "191"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nb6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 e5 9. d5 c6 10. h4 cxd5 11. exd5 Na6 $5 {[%cal Gb8a6] This is a pretty uncommon move and the strongest player to have tried it is rated around 2400.} (11... N8d7 {is much more common.}) 12. h5 Nb4 13. hxg6 Bf5 $5 {[%cal Gc8f5] What an interesting idea by Caruana: giving up two pawns and using his lead in development to create dangerous threats. Although it looks totally scary for White, Anish kept his cool and was able to extinguish Black's initiative.} ( 13... hxg6 14. Rd1 Bf5 15. Bh6 $1 $40) 14. gxh7+ Kh8 15. Rd1 Nc2+ 16. Kf2 Nxe3 17. Qxe3 Bd7 {Caruana played this with the idea of f5, but turns out that it wasn't particularly good.} (17... Rc8 {was much better.}) 18. Nh3 f5 19. f4 $1 {[%cal Gf3f4] A strong positional move by Anish.} Rc8 20. g3 (20. fxe5 f4 $132 21. Nxf4 Qg5 22. g3 Bxe5) 20... Nc4 $2 {The biggest mistake of the game. After this Anish should have won.} (20... e4 {was better.}) 21. Bxc4 Rxc4 22. fxe5 $18 {[%cal Gh3f4] White is just two pawns up without any compensation.} f4 { Fabiano realises that he is completely lost and tries to sacrifice more material to complicate the issue.} 23. Nxf4 Qg5 24. Rd4 {The most normal move from the human point of view.} (24. e6 Rcxf4+ 25. gxf4 Rxf4+ 26. Ke2 Bb5+ 27. Nxb5 Qg2+ 28. Kd3 Qg6+ 29. Kd2 Qg2+ 30. Qe2 Rf2) (24. Ke1 $1 {This was the move that would have given Anish victory. However, for a human it is not so easy to find.} Bxe5 25. Ng6+ (25. Qxe5+ Qxe5+) 25... Qxg6 26. Qxe5+ Qg7 27. Qxg7+ Kxg7) 24... Rxd4 25. Qxd4 Bxe5 26. Qb4 $1 {Of course this was the point of Rd4. The rook on f8 is hanging and White keeps his advantage.} Rf7 (26... Re8 27. Kg2) 27. Nce2 Bg4 28. Qe4 Qf6 (28... Bxe2 29. Kxe2 Bxf4 30. Qe8+ $18) 29. Rh4 Bf5 30. Qe3 b6 {Although White has three extra pawns it is extremely difficult for him to convert because the two bishops control many squares and it is not so easy to advance the pawns.} (30... Bxb2 31. Qxa7) 31. b3 Re7 32. Qd2 Rc7 33. d6 {Although the computer gives many different ways for White to play for the advantage, Anish finds this the most human, clearing the d5 square for his pieces.} Bxd6 (33... Qxd6 34. Qxd6 Bxd6 {should also be defensible.}) 34. Qd5 Rf7 35. Kg2 Bc5 36. Rh5 (36. b4 $5 Bxb4 37. Nd4 $18) 36... Bg4 37. Rh6 (37. Rg5 Bxe2 38. Qa8+ Rf8 39. Rg8+ Kxh7 40. Rxf8 Bxf8 41. Nxe2 {is similar to what was reached in the game, but with the different bishop.}) 37... Qxh6 38. Qxf7 Qc6+ 39. Nd5 Be6 40. Qf6+ Kxh7 41. Qh4+ Kg7 42. Qg5+ Kf8 (42... Kf7 43. Nef4 Bxd5+ 44. Qxd5+ (44. Nxd5 Ke6 $11) 44... Qxd5+ 45. Nxd5 Ke6 46. Nf4+ Kf5 47. Kf3 {This should most probably end in a draw although it is not 100% clear as Black cannot easy exchange the queenside pawns.}) 43. Qf6+ {From here on the players make a lot of moves and a lot of checks. Suffice it to say that White is still better, but with the two bishops around the black king it is extremely difficult to break through.} Kg8 44. Qg6+ Kf8 45. Qh6+ Kg8 46. Qg5+ Kf8 47. Nef4 Bf7 48. Qe5 Kg8 49. Kh3 Qd6 50. Nf6+ Kf8 51. Qf5 Ke7 52. N6d5+ Kf8 53. Kg4 Bd4 54. Nc7 Be5 55. Ncd5 a5 56. Qc8+ Kg7 57. Ne3 Kh7 58. Qb7 Kg8 59. Qa8+ Qb8 60. Qe4 Qd6 61. Nf5 Qd1+ 62. Ne2 Bg7 63. Nxg7 Kxg7 64. Qe5+ Kg6 65. Kf3 Qd3+ 66. Kf2 Qc2 67. Qd6+ Kg7 68. Qd4+ Kg8 69. Qg4+ Kf8 70. Qa4 Be8 71. Qa3+ Kg8 72. Qe7 Bf7 73. Qd8+ Kg7 74. Qd4+ Kg8 75. Qa4 Qd2 76. Qg4+ Kf8 77. Qc8+ Ke7 78. Qc7+ Kf8 79. a3 Bxb3 80. Qb8+ Kf7 81. Qb7+ Kg8 82. Qxb6 Qa2 83. Qd8+ Kf7 84. Qd7+ Kg8 85. Qe8+ Kg7 86. Qe7+ Bf7 87. g4 Qd2 88. Qc5 Be6 89. Qe5+ Kf7 90. g5 Qa2 91. Qf6+ Ke8 92. Qh8+ Ke7 93. Qh7+ Kf8 94. Qh8+ Ke7 95. Qg7+ Ke8 96. Qh8+ {Drawn due to three fold repetition.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.21"] [Round "9"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O Re8 {What is wrong with Sergey, or should we ask: how exactly does he believe so much in his system! He has played this for the fourth time in the tournament. Nakamura tries to follow the path taken by Veselin Topalov.} 11. Rb1 {[%cal Ga1b1]} Nbd7 {Karjakin improves on his game against Topalov, where he went c5.} 12. b4 Bc4 13. Bf4 {This is the logical move with the threat of Nd2.} Ne4 {Stopping Nd2.} 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Nd2 Bxa2 16. Bxe4 Bxb1 17. Qxb1 Nf6 $1 {Giving back the exchange. Saving the rook and giving up the h7 pawn is just too dangerous.} 18. Bxa8 Qxa8 {The position is relatively even at this point. The question is what exactly was Nakamura's home preparation all about if the best he could manage was this position.} 19. e4 Rd8 $5 {This natural move was not studied by Nakamura in his home preparation.} 20. Be3 $5 (20. d5 {is a bad move because of} c6 $1 21. d6 Bxd6 22. e5 Bxe5 $1 23. Bxe5 Rxd2 $17) (20. Be5 Ng4 $15) 20... Ng4 21. h3 $5 (21. Rc1 {is another option at this point.} Nxe3 {Ok, Black is not really forced to take on e3, but definitely the move Rc1 looks useful. Nakamura wanted to open the f-file immediately for his rook.} 22. fxe3 $14) 21... Nxe3 22. fxe3 a5 $1 { I like this move – it immediately clarifies the situation on the queenside.} 23. bxa5 (23. Qb3 Rf8) 23... Qxa5 24. Qc2 Qg5 25. Rf3 (25. Qxc7 Qxe3+ 26. Rf2 Bf6 $17) 25... c5 {Black is already very comfortably placed.} 26. Qb3 cxd4 27. Qxf7+ Kh8 28. h4 (28. exd4 Qxd2 29. Qxe7 Qxd4+ 30. Kg2 $11) 28... Qe5 (28... Qc5 29. Nb3 Qe5 30. Nxd4 Qxe4 31. Ne6 Rg8 32. h5 $36) 29. Nc4 Qxe4 30. Rf4 Qb1+ 31. Kh2 (31. Kg2 Qa2+ 32. Kh3 Bb4 $11) 31... Rg8 32. exd4 b5 33. Ne5 Bd6 34. Qd5 Qc2+ 35. Kg1 Bxe5 36. dxe5 Qe2 37. Rf2 Qe3 38. Kg2 b4 39. e6 (39. Qb5 $5 g5 $1 {Not at all an easy move to make, but it does equalize the game.} 40. h5 Qe4+ 41. Kh2 Qg4 $11) 39... h6 40. Qd7 Qe4+ 41. Kh2 Kh7 42. e7 Ra8 $1 {An important idea creating mating nets on the back rank and securing the draw.} 43. Rg2 b3 44. Qb5 Qxe7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.21"] [Round "9"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2784"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "131"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 $5 {Enough of the Anti-Berlins. I think Anand must have given his seconds a full day to find something in the Berlin for White, and if they could not he would decide to go for the Giuoco Piano. And this looks like an excellent decision, especially because Anand needs to win this one.} Bc5 4. O-O d6 5. d3 Nf6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 Ba7 8. Na3 {You can bank on Anand to have a new idea up his sleeve in whatever opening he played.} Ne7 9. Nc2 Ng6 10. Be3 O-O 11. Bxa7 Rxa7 12. Ne3 Ng4 $6 {The main reason why this move is not so great is because it takes away the pressure from the e4 pawn and helps White to go d4.} 13. Qd2 a5 (13... Nxe3 14. Qxe3 Ra8 15. a5 {might be what Levon was afraid of and is the reason why he played a6-a5.}) 14. d4 $1 Ra8 15. dxe5 N4xe5 (15... dxe5 16. Qxd8 Rxd8 17. Rad1 $1 $16) 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 (16... dxe5 17. Qxd8 Rxd8 18. Rfd1 $14) 17. Bb3 {[%csl Rd6,Ge4] The e4 pawn against the one on d6 gives White a small advantage.} Nd7 18. Bc2 Re8 19. f3 {A restrained move for the time being. White would like to co-ordinate his pieces better and later he can decide whether he would like to expand on the kingside with f4 or on the queenside with b4.} b6 20. Rfd1 Nc5 21. b4 Nd7 22. Bb3 Nf6 23. Qd4 Qe7 $6 {This was pointed out by Anand and Aronian as a careless move. Now Nd5 gives White a nice edge.} (23... Be6 {could be an improvement, although this too looks better for White.}) 24. Nd5 {A very practical and pragmatic move. White leads the position into one-sided play.} Nxd5 25. Bxd5 {Only White can be better here. He has the better minor piece and also more space.} Ra7 26. b5 $1 {Anand is doing all the right things here. But still his advantage is at best pleasant, not decisive. He needs Aronian to make errors in order to win. With accurate play this looks like a draw.} Bb7 (26... Be6 {was also possible.} ) 27. c4 Qe5 (27... Bxd5 {This was Aronian's original intention.} 28. cxd5 Raa8 29. Rac1 Rad8 30. Rc6 Rd7 31. Rdc1 Qd8 32. R1c4 Ree7 33. Qc3 {and here Black doesn't mange to hold because Rxb6 is a threat and after} Qb8 34. e5 $1 { is really strong.} Rxe5 (34... dxe5 35. d6 $1 $18) 35. Rxc7 $16) 28. Rac1 (28. Qxe5 Rxe5 29. Kf2 $14 {is similar to the game.}) 28... Qxd4+ 29. Rxd4 Kf8 30. Kf2 Ke7 31. f4 {Anand opens the third rank for his rook to go to h3 or g3 via c3.} f6 32. Rc3 Kd7 33. Rh3 h6 34. Rg3 Re7 35. Rg6 (35. f5 Bxd5 36. cxd5 { also looks like a plan. Of course e4 is a weakness, but White can take care of it with Kf3, and he can slowly develop the final kingside breakthrough with h4-g4-g5. However, the problem in this scenario is that the area of battle is just too small and Black can be ready for this. Hence, Anand doesn't go for the committal pawn move with f5.}) 35... Bxd5 36. cxd5 Ra8 37. Kf3 {This is not a pleasant position to be in as Black, that is for sure.} Rae8 38. Kg4 $1 { Maybe an exclamation here is generous. But the point that I am trying to make here is that good players know when to change the character of the position. Vishy knows that if he goes for a kingside pawn storm nothing much will come out of it. On the other hand in this position with the king coming to f5 and the opponent in severe time pressure (two moves to reach the time control) things can go completely wrong. This was a very smart move by Anand.} Rxe4 { Anand was surprised that Aronian took this pawn without much thought.} (38... Kd8 39. Kf5 {only improves White's chances. One cannot be sure whether it is winning or not, but it definitely is no fun for Black.}) 39. Rxg7+ Kc8 $6 ( 39... Kd8 {was more accurate as then the c7 pawn doesn't fall with check.} 40. Rd2 Rxa4 41. Rc2 Re5 $1 42. Rcxc7 Rg5+ $1 {I wonder if Levon would have found this nice defensive idea. It surely doesn't look easy to find over the board.} 43. Kf3 Rxg7 44. Rxg7 Rd4 $11) 40. Rd2 $1 {Keeping the rooks makes it difficult for Black to play freely as there is always counterplay associated with the c7 pawn.} Kb8 $6 {"Stupid 40th move" was Levon's statement after the game. "I should have played Kb7." But is there such a huge difference between Kb8 and Kb7?} (40... Rxa4 41. Rc2 $36) (40... Kb7 41. Rc2 Rc8 42. Ra2 Rd4 43. Kf5 Rxd5+ 44. Kxf6 {And we reach a position that is similar to the game. I don't understand the difference between Kb7 and Kb8.}) 41. Rc2 Rc8 42. Ra2 $1 { After making the black rook passive for a while White returns to defend the a4 pawn.} Rd4 43. Kf5 {The main advantage for White in this position is his king activity. Look at the guy on b8 and look at the king on f5. White is just better.} Rxd5+ 44. Kxf6 Rf8+ 45. Rf7 $1 {A very nice deicision, transposing the game into a winning single rook endgame.} Rxf7+ 46. Kxf7 Rf5+ 47. Kg6 Rxf4 48. g3 $1 {The final accurate move to get double passed pawns on the kingside.} Rc4 49. Kxh6 d5 50. Kh5 {Not the best move in the position, and Vishy said that he was sort of embarassed because he didn't go Kg5. It's true that Kg5 wins easier, but this is also winning.} (50. Kg5 {was of course the easier way to win the game.} d4 51. h4 d3 52. Rd2 Rxa4 53. h5 Rb4 54. h6 Rxb5+ 55. Kg6 $18 {and White just wins.}) 50... d4 51. g4 $6 (51. h4 d3 52. Rd2 Rd4 53. Kg5 { and even with the lost tempo, White wins.}) 51... d3 52. h4 Rd4 (52... Rc2 53. Ra1 d2 54. Rd1 $18) 53. Rd2 Kc8 {White's task has become much harder because the black king is coming to stop the white pawns where as the d3 pawn makes the rook passive.} 54. g5 $1 Kd7 55. Kg6 $1 {A brave decision by Anand to give up the h4 pawn, but he sees that he can win the game.} Rxh4 (55... Ke8 { was another move and now White's road to victory is not so wide.} 56. h5 Kf8 ( 56... Rd6+ 57. Kg7) 57. h6 Rd6+ 58. Kf5 $1 {The only winning move.} (58. Kh7 Rd7+ 59. Kh8 $2 (59. Kg6 {would still win.}) 59... Kf7 $1 $11) 58... Rd5+ 59. Ke6 $1 Rxg5 60. Rxd3 Rg6+ 61. Kd7 Rxh6 62. Kxc7 $18) 56. Rxd3+ Ke8 57. Ra3 Rc4 (57... Kf8 {might have been a little bit stauncher.} 58. Rf3+ Ke7 59. Rc3 $1 { This is the crucial move, not so easy to make.} Rxa4 60. Rxc7+ Kd6 61. Rc6+ $18 ) 58. Kg7 {Now it's just winning.} Kd7 59. g6 c6 60. Kf6 cxb5 61. g7 Rg4 62. axb5 Rg1 63. Rd3+ Ke8 64. Re3+ Kd7 65. Re5 $1 Rxg7 66. Rd5+ {Kg7 is also winning, but this is just better technique!} 1-0 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.21"] [Round "9"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 {Topalov chooses the same line played by Anand. But Svidler now goes for his favourite move rather than 8...Bb7 that he played against Anand.} b4 9. d3 h6 10. Nbd2 d6 11. c3 Rb8 12. h3 Re8 13. d4 Bf8 14. a5 bxc3 15. bxc3 exd4 16. cxd4 Nb4 17. Ba3 d5 {17...c5 would be the natural way to play, but Svidler wanted to go for the other central break with d5. He was fine with the positions after e5, but missed or underestimated his opponent's next move.} 18. Ne5 $1 { [%cal Gf3e5,Rd7d5]} Bb7 (18... Be6 19. Ba4 $16) 19. Qf3 Ba8 20. Nxf7 $1 { A temporary piece sacrifice that ruins Black's position.} Kxf7 (20... dxe4 21. Nxd8+ $18) 21. e5 Kg8 22. exf6 Qxf6 23. Rxe8 (23. Qxf6 gxf6 $14 {would have been a pleasant endgame to play, but Topalov wanted more.}) 23... Rxe8 24. Qc3 c5 25. Nf3 Rb8 26. Ne5 cxd4 27. Qxd4 Bd6 28. Bb2 Qxe5 29. Qxe5 Bxe5 30. Bxe5 { White has the bishop pair and a clear advantage.} Rb5 31. Bd1 Nd3 $2 {[%cal Gb4d3] The big mistake of the game and one that went unpunished.} 32. Bd4 $2 ( 32. Be2 $1 Nxe5 (32... Rb3 33. Bxd3 Rxd3 34. Rc1) 33. Bxb5 axb5 34. Re1 $18 { This simple line was missed by both the players.}) 32... Bc6 $6 33. Bc2 $6 (33. Ba4 $1 Rb4 (33... Rxa5 34. Bxc6 $18) 34. Bxc6 Rxd4 35. Rd1 $16) 33... Nf4 34. Be5 Rc5 35. Bd1 Nd3 36. Bd6 Rc3 37. Bg4 Kf7 38. Ra2 Bb5 39. Re2 Rc6 40. Bb8 Nc5 41. Re5 d4 42. Bf3 Rc8 43. Bd6 Ne6 44. Bh5+ Kf6 45. Bg4 Rc1+ 46. Kh2 Bc4 47. Rf5+ {A game where Topalov must have been sad with the number of chances he missed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.23"] [Round "10.1"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2790"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. d3 h6 8. Na4 { Svidler had taken his time up to here. He always intended to make this move but by this time it had also been played by Aronian on a neighbouring board.} ( {Relevant:} 8. Bd2 Bc5 9. Na4 a5 10. e3 Bf5 11. Bc3 Ba7 12. h3 Qd7 13. Kh2 Rfe8 14. b3 Bh7 15. d4 Rad8 16. a3 exd4 17. Nxd4 Nxd4 18. Bxd4 Bxd4 19. Qxd4 Be4 20. f3 c5 21. Qd2 Bc6 22. Nb6 Qc7 23. Nd5 Bxd5 24. cxd5 b5 25. e4 b4 26. axb4 axb4 27. Qd3 Ra8 28. f4 Nd7 29. Rxa8 Rxa8 30. e5 Ra2 31. e6 Nf6 32. Re1 fxe6 33. dxe6 Qe7 34. Re2 Rxe2 35. Qxe2 d5 36. f5 Qd6 37. Qd3 Kf8 {Tomashevsky,E (2758) -Zhigalko,S (2656) Berlin 2015 1/2-1/2}) 8... a5 9. b3 Re8 10. Bb2 Bf5 $146 { Svidler thought his preparation file said something about this move but couldn't remember what it was. He thought it likely his response wasn't the best.} ({Predecessor (18):} 10... Bc5 11. e3 Ba7 12. Nc3 Bf5 13. h3 Nb4 14. Ne1 c6 15. a3 Na6 16. Nf3 Nc5 17. e4 Bd7 18. b4 Ne6 19. Ne2 Ng5 20. Nxg5 hxg5 21. Qd2 g4 22. h4 Bb6 23. Bc3 Be6 24. Qb2 Nd7 25. Bd2 Qc7 26. Rfc1 Qd8 27. Qc3 Qf6 28. Be3 Bxe3 29. fxe3 axb4 30. axb4 Qe7 31. Rxa8 Rxa8 32. Ra1 Qd8 33. Kf2 c5 34. b5 Nb6 35. Ra3 Rxa3 {1/2-1/2 (35) Movsesian,S (2700)-Eljanov,P (2697) Ningbo 2011}) 11. e3 (11. Nh4 Bd7 {might be the most critical.}) 11... Qe7 12. a3 (12. h3 e4 13. dxe4 Nxe4) 12... Bc5 13. Nc3 Qd7 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. cxd5 Ne7 16. d4 exd4 17. Nxd4 Bh3 {The critical position both players were aiming for. It seems close to being equal.} (17... Bg4 18. Qd2 {Svidler} (18. Qd3 {is an alternative.} Ng6 19. f4 (19. Qc3 $5))) 18. e4 (18. Qd3) (18. Bxh3 Qxh3 19. Qf3 {was Svidler's initial intention.} Ng6 (19... Bxd4 20. Bxd4 c6 (20... Nf5 { was the move Svidler feared} 21. Rad1 Nh4 $1 22. Qh1 Qg4 {is not what white wants.}) 21. dxc6 bxc6 $11) 20. Qf5) 18... c6 {"Leads to a draw more or less by force." Svidler.} (18... Ng6 19. Re1 Ne5 20. f4 (20. Rc1 {and white is at least not worse.}) 20... Bg4) 19. dxc6 Nxc6 20. Bxh3 Qxh3 21. Nxc6 bxc6 22. b4 Bb6 23. Qxd6 Rxe4 24. Qxc6 Rae8 25. Qxb6 {allowing an immediate draw.} (25. Bc3 {looks rather strange but is the computers choice.}) 25... Rh4 26. gxh4 Qg4+ 27. Kh1 Qf3+ 28. Kg1 Qg4+ 29. Kh1 Qf3+ 30. Kg1 Qg4+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.23"] [Round "10.2"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2793"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. a3 Rc8 12. b4 a5 13. Qb3 ({Relevant:} 13. Rb1 axb4 14. axb4 c5 15. bxc5 Bxf3 16. gxf3 Nxc5 17. dxc5 Rxc5 18. Rxb5 Nd5 19. Rxc5 Qg5+ 20. Kh1 Qh5 21. f4 Qf3+ 22. Kg1 Qg4+ 23. Kh1 Qf3+ 24. Kg1 Qg4+ 25. Kh1 {1/2-1/2 (25) Mamedyarov,S (2747)-Navara,D (2734) Huaian 2016}) 13... e5 $146 ({Predecessor (4):} 13... axb4 14. axb4 Nd5 15. Nxd5 exd5 16. e4 dxe4 17. Bxe4 h6 18. Re1 Rc7 19. Bc2 Re8 20. Rxe8+ Qxe8 21. Qd3 Nf6 22. Bd2 Re7 23. Bc3 g6 24. Bb3 Nd5 25. Bxd5 cxd5 26. Ne5 Kg7 27. Qd2 Qc8 28. h3 f6 29. Ng4 g5 30. Qd3 Qe6 31. Ne3 Bc8 32. Qxb5 Rb7 33. Qxd5 Rc7 34. Qxe6 Bxe6 35. Ra6 Bf4 36. Rxe6 Rxc3 37. g3 Rc1+ 38. Kg2 Kf7 39. Ra6 Bxe3 40. fxe3 Rb1 41. Rb6 h5 42. Rb7+ Ke6 43. Rb6+ {Smith,A (2480)-Berczes,D (2555) Stockholm 2011 1-0}) 14. Ne4 { "I thought this was supposed to be fine (for black) by force but I didn't remember exactly how." Giri.} (14. Rd1 {was more critical according to Giri.} Qe7 15. Bf5) 14... Nxe4 15. Bxe4 g6 {Perhaps not the best but perfectly playable.} (15... exd4 16. exd4 Nf6 {But Giri didn't think this would be much fun for black.}) 16. dxe5 {Not critical at all. This leads quite quickly to simplification. The position is very complicated with many alternatives for white.} (16. Bb2 $5 exd4 17. Nxd4 Bxh2+ {is the best, other lines seem to be worse for black.} (17... Qe7 18. Nxb5 $1) (17... Qh4 18. f4 Qe7 (18... axb4 19. axb4 Qe7 20. Qc3 (20. Bf3 {is also nice for white.}) 20... f6 21. Ra7) 19. Nxb5 cxb5 20. Bxb7 Rc7 21. Ba6 axb4 22. axb4 Rb8) 18. Kxh2 Qh4+ 19. Kg1 Qxe4 $11) 16... Nxe5 17. Nxe5 Bxe5 18. Bb2 a4 $1 {"Draw by force" Karjakin.} 19. Qc2 Bxb2 20. Qxb2 Qe7 21. Qc2 Rfe8 22. Bf3 c5 23. Bxb7 Qxb7 24. bxc5 Re5 25. Rfc1 Qc6 26. Rab1 Rxc5 27. Qxc5 Qxc5 28. Rxc5 Rxc5 29. Kf1 h5 30. Ke2 Rc2+ 31. Kf3 Rc5 32. Ke4 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.23"] [Round "10.3"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2762"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O e4 7. Ng5 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Re8 9. f3 exf3 10. Nxf3 d5 11. d4 dxc4 12. Qc2 {A new move at the top level and only a played a couple of times by weaker players.} ({Relevant:} 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. e4 Bg4 15. Qa4 Qd6 16. Rae1 Rab8 17. Qxc4 b5 18. e5 bxc4 19. exd6 cxd6 20. Rxe8+ Rxe8 21. Nd2 Na5 22. Ne4 Rd8 23. Rb1 d5 24. Nc5 Be6 25. Rb5 Nc6 26. Na6 Rd7 27. a4 Kf8 28. Nc5 Rc7 29. Na6 Rd7 30. Nc5 Rc7 31. Na6 {1/2-1/2 (31) Aronian,L (2765)-Anand,V (2816) Saint Louis 2015}) 12... h6 13. Bf4 Ne4 $146 {"One of the main moves" Caruana.} ({Predecessor:} 13... Ne7 14. e4 Ng6 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. Bxe5 Re6 17. Rae1 Rb8 18. Bf4 b5 19. d5 Re8 20. Qf2 a5 21. Qa7 Rb7 22. Qxa5 Nd7 23. e5 Rb6 24. e6 fxe6 25. dxe6 Nc5 26. Qa7 Nxe6 27. Be3 Ra6 28. Qb8 Rxa2 29. Qxb5 Qd3 {1-0 (29) Capraro,L (2282)-Schafer,E Lugano 2000}) (13... Nd5 14. e4 Nxf4 15. gxf4 {computers think this might even be better for black "but it just looks like a disaster to me" - Caruana.}) ( 13... Bg4 14. Rae1) 14. Rad1 Bf5 15. Ne5 {This is all preparation but Caruana couldn't remember it all.} Nd6 (15... Nxg3 16. e4 Nxf1 17. exf5 Nxh2 {is rated as equal by the computer but Caruana thinks white will win in a few moves. This was all prepared before the game by Caruana.}) (15... f6 16. Bxh6 { was mentioned by Caruana.} Nxg3 17. Rxf5 Nxf5 18. Nxc6 Qd7 19. Bh3 {with continued mess.}) 16. e4 Bh7 17. Qe2 {"After Qe2 I just thought I have a tremendous advantage." Caruana.} Ne7 {Surprised Caruana a bit.} (17... f6 18. Nxc6 bxc6 19. e5 Bd3 (19... Qd7 20. Qh5 $1 Ne4 21. Bxe4 Bxe4 22. exf6 gxf6 23. Bxh6) 20. Qg4 Bxf1 21. Bxf1 {is very good for white.} (21. Bxh6 {was Caruana's thought but it is perhaps even losing.} Nf5)) 18. Bxh6 {Caruana looked a long time for a convincing win in this position before settling on this with good prospects.} (18. Qh5 f6 $1 (18... Ng6 19. Bxh6 Nxe5 (19... gxh6 20. Ng4 {wins.} ) 20. dxe5 Bg6 $1 $11)) (18. Bc1 $1 {is the best according to Stockfish.}) (18. Rde1 $5) 18... gxh6 19. Qh5 Nef5 {a good defensive try from Anand.} (19... f5 20. Qxh6 Nc6 21. Nxc6 bxc6 22. e5) 20. exf5 (20. Rf4 {was Caruana's initial intention.} Ne3 $1 {with around equality.} (20... Ng7 21. Qxh6 Re6 22. Qh3 Qg5 23. Rdf1 (23. Rh4 Qe3+ 24. Kh1 Nxe4 {wins for black.}))) 20... Qg5 21. Qxg5+ hxg5 22. f6 $1 {Caruana was unhappy he had to settle for an endgame edge.} (22. g4) (22. a4 Bxf5 23. Nxc4 Be4 24. Nxd6 cxd6) 22... Ne4 $2 {"Looks like a big mistake" Caruana.} (22... c6 23. Rde1 Rad8 {and white is well on top but still has to break down black's position. Most likely with h4.}) (22... Rad8) 23. Rfe1 Nxc3 $2 {Black is close to being lost anyway but this makes things worse.} (23... Nd6) (23... Nxf6 24. Bxb7 Rab8 25. Ba6) 24. Rc1 $1 {and now white is winning.} Nb5 25. Bxb7 Rad8 26. Bc6 {Netting the exchange with a straightforward win.} Nxd4 27. Bxe8 Rxe8 28. Kf2 {The last important move according to Caruana.} Nc2 29. Red1 Be4 30. Nxc4 Re6 31. Rd8+ Kh7 32. Kg1 Rxf6 33. Rf1 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.23"] [Round "10.4"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2780"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] [WhiteClock "0:00:15"] [BlackClock "0:01:33"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. d3 h6 8. Na4 ( {Relevant:} 8. Bd2 Bc5 9. Na4 a5 10. e3 Bf5 11. Bc3 Ba7 12. h3 Qd7 13. Kh2 Rfe8 14. b3 Bh7 15. d4 Rad8 16. a3 exd4 17. Nxd4 Nxd4 18. Bxd4 Bxd4 19. Qxd4 Be4 20. f3 c5 21. Qd2 Bc6 22. Nb6 Qc7 23. Nd5 Bxd5 24. cxd5 b5 25. e4 b4 26. axb4 axb4 27. Qd3 Ra8 28. f4 Nd7 29. Rxa8 Rxa8 30. e5 Ra2 31. e6 Nf6 32. Re1 fxe6 33. dxe6 Qe7 34. Re2 Rxe2 35. Qxe2 d5 36. f5 Qd6 37. Qd3 Kf8 {Tomashevsky,E (2758) -Zhigalko,S (2656) Berlin 2015 1/2-1/2}) 8... a5 9. b3 Qe7 {This probably isn't as good as Nakamura's Re8.} (9... Re8 {was Nakamura's choice.}) 10. Bb2 Bc5 11. e3 $146 ({Predecessor:} 11. Nxc5 dxc5 12. Nd2 Bd7 13. Nb1 Nd8 14. Nc3 c6 15. Na4 Rb8 16. Nb6 Bg4 17. Qd2 Qc7 18. Na4 Nd7 19. f4 exf4 20. Rxf4 Bh5 21. Rh4 b5 22. Rxh5 bxa4 23. Bxg7 Qd6 24. Bc3 f6 25. Qxh6 Kf7 26. Bh3 Ne6 27. Rf1 Ke7 28. bxa4 Nd4 29. Qe3+ Ne5 30. Rh7+ Rf7 31. Rh4 Rd8 32. Rb1 Rb8 33. Rf1 Rd8 34. Bxa5 Ra8 35. Bc3 Rxa4 36. Bxd4 cxd4 37. Rxd4 Qb8 38. Rd7+ Ke8 39. Rxf7 Kxf7 40. d4 {1-0 (40) Mkrtchian,L (2456)-Vasiliev,O (2240) Eilat 2012}) 11... Ba7 12. Nc3 Re8 13. Nh4 Qd8 14. Qd2 Ne7 15. Rad1 c6 16. Ne2 Nf5 (16... g5 17. d4 $1 (17. Nf3)) 17. Nxf5 Bxf5 18. d4 Qc8 19. Nc3 exd4 20. exd4 Ne4 21. Nxe4 Bxe4 22. Bxe4 Rxe4 {Topalov said he underestimated how much worse he was going to be in this symmetrical postiion.} 23. Rfe1 Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Qf5 25. Re7 Rb8 (25... a4 { was Topalov's initial hope but he discovered it was nothing when he got there.} ) 26. Kg2 Bb6 27. Qe2 d5 28. c5 $2 {A very bad move that throws away some of white's advantage according to Aronian. He missed that Rc8 putting the rook on a protected square was coming up.} (28. Qf3 {was most likely best.}) 28... Bd8 29. Re8+ Kh7 30. Bc3 (30. Qf3 {was a try.}) 30... Rc8 31. Rf8 $5 {Now the game is at least equal.} (31. Bd2) 31... Bc7 32. Rxc8 Qxc8 33. Qe7 Kg8 34. h4 h5 { Fixing another pawn on a dark square. White is in a little danger as his bishop is rather bad. Aronian said he went "berzerk" for a few moves and ended up having to be careful he didn't lose.} 35. Bd2 Qd8 36. Qe2 g6 37. Qe1 Kg7 38. a3 Qf6 39. b4 axb4 40. axb4 Qf5 41. Qd1 f6 42. Be1 Kf7 43. f3 g5 44. Bf2 Qg6 45. Kf1 Qf5 46. Kg2 g4 47. f4 Qe4+ 48. Kg1 Ke6 49. Qb3 Qe2 50. Qb1 f5 51. Qa1 Qa6 52. Qe1+ Kf7 53. Qb1 Kf6 54. Qe1 Qa8 55. Qe2 Qc8 56. b5 Qe6 57. Qxe6+ Kxe6 58. b6 Bd8 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.23"] [Round "10.2"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D46"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Netherlands"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "NED"] [WhiteClock "1:39:13"] [BlackClock "1:33:37"] {[Annotations by GM Robert Hess]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Be2 (7. g4 {is the aggressive Shabalov-Shirov Gambit, which has been covered extensively by GM Bryan Smith here on Chess.com.}) 7... O-O 8. O-O dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. a3 {Giri had this position three times in his career: twice as white. Karjakin once, as black.} Rc8 {A solid choice, and as you can see below, there are many ways for Black to play this position.} ( 11... h6 12. Rd1 a6 13. e4 e5 14. h3 Qc7 15. Be3 Rfe8 16. b4 Rac8 {Bacrot,E (2695)-Giri,A (2693) Belfort 2012}) (11... a5 12. e4 e5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. h3 Re8 (15... Ba6 16. Rd1 Qc7 17. Be3 b4 18. axb4 Bxd3 19. Qxd3 axb4 20. Rxa8 Rxa8 21. Na4 c5 {Giri,A (2677)-Shirov,A (2749) Hoogeveen 2010}) 16. Be3 Bd4 17. Rfe1 b4 18. Bxd4 Qxd4 19. axb4 axb4 20. Rxa8 Bxa8 21. Na4 Re5 { Giri,A (2696)-Nakamura, H (2778) Biel 2012}) (11... a6 12. b4 a5 13. Rb1 axb4 14. axb4 Qe7 15. e4 e5 16. Ne2 Bxb4 17. Ng3 g6 {Svidler,P (2746)-Karjakin,S (2732) Baku 2008}) 12. b4 (12. Ng5 {is out of fashion at the top level since the very famous game between Levon Aronian and Viswanathan Anand. That miniature from the 2013 Tata Steel event was one of Anand's finest career victories:} c5 $1 (12... Bxh2+ 13. Kxh2 Ng4+ 14. Kg1 Qxg5 15. f3 {is generally seen as comfortable for the white side. White may be a pawn down, but the two bishops and piece activity give him ample counterplay.}) 13. Nxh7 Ng4 14. f4 cxd4 15. exd4 Bc5 $3 16. Be2 (16. dxc5 Nxc5 17. Nxf8 Nxd3 {and despite Anand currently being down a full rook, he has a better position.}) 16... Nde5 17. Bxg4 Bxd4+ 18. Kh1 Nxg4 19. Nxf8 f5 $1 {Simultaneously closing the white queen from the h7 square and cementing the knight on g4. White can hardly prevent the impending checkmate.} 20. Ng6 Qf6 21. h3 Qxg6 22. Qe2 Qh5 23. Qd3 Be3 { and White resigned in the above mentioned battle between Aronian and Anand.}) 12... a5 13. Qb3 (13. Bd2 axb4 14. axb4 Bxb4 {Black can likely just capture the pawn; white is fine, but at the right moment black can return it and maintain equality.} 15. Ne4 Be7 16. Ba5 Qe8 17. Nxf6+ Nxf6 {is nothing special. }) 13... e5 14. Ne4 {"This was supposed to be fine by force but I didn't remember exactly how." (Giri)} ({Giri thought} 14. Rd1 {to be more critical, to keep the tension.} Qe7 15. Bf5 {Although Giri pointed out this variation in the post mortem, Black seems to be doing just fine. For example:} Ra8 16. Rb1 ( 16. bxa5 {would be misguided, for it allows Black to unravel with relative ease.} Rxa5 17. Qc2 c5) 16... axb4 17. axb4 Rfd8 {feels acceptable for black. The pawn on c6 is backwards, but white has no way to capitalize.}) 14... Nxe4 15. Bxe4 g6 {After a 40-minute think.} (15... Nf6 16. Bf5 e4 17. Nd2 $1 { Giri/Karjakin} (17. Bxc8 {Taking the exchange on c8 leads to a dangerous onslaught, so it is not advisable:} exf3 18. Bh3 (18. Bxb7 Bxh2+ 19. Kxh2 (19. Kh1 Ne4 {is a winning attack for black.} 20. Bc8 Qh4 21. Bh3 Ng5 22. e4 Nxh3 23. Qxf3 Nf4 {forces white to part with the queen in order to stop checkmate.}) 19... Qd6+ 20. Kh3 Qd7+ 21. Kh2 Qg4 22. gxf3 Qh4+) 18... Ne4 (18... Bc8 19. Bxc8 Qxc8 20. e4 fxg2 21. Re1 {is good for white.}) 19. gxf3 Qh4 {is incredibly scary, and not worth the extra material. White's king is too exposed.} 20. fxe4 Bc8 (20... Qxh3 21. f4 Re8 22. Qc2 c5 23. d5 cxb4 24. axb4 a4 {is complicated. White is up an exchange and a pawn, yet his center can collapse at any moment. If the light-squared bishop gains space, the airy white kingside will be in trouble.}) 21. f4 Bxh3 22. Rf2 Qh5) 17... Ra8 $5 { (Nepomniachtchi). Seems like Black will find the counterplay he needs against the b4-pawn to compensate for his weak e4-pawn.}) 16. dxe5 ({A critical position.} 16. Bb2 $5 exd4 (16... Qe7 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Bxe5 19. Bxe5 Qxe5 20. Bf3 axb4 21. axb4 Rc7 22. Ra7 {and White is slightly better, with long term pressure against teh queenside pawns.}) (16... a4 $5) 17. Nxd4 {Karjakin said he didn't realize this move is interesting.} (17. exd4 Nf6) 17... Bxh2+ ( 17... Qe7 $6 18. Nxb5 $1 {Giri}) (17... axb4 $6 18. axb4 Qh4 19. f4 Qe7 20. Qc3 Qxe4 (20... Nf6 21. Nf3) (20... Bxb4 21. Nf5) 21. Nf5 {Giri}) 18. Kxh2 Qh4+ 19. Kg1 Qxe4 {"Surely double edged" (Nepomniachtchi)} 20. f3 Qe7 21. Qc3 f6 22. bxa5 {and "I think there's no happiness for Black here." (Giri)}) 16... Nxe5 17. Nxe5 Bxe5 18. Bb2 a4 {Missed by Karjakin, although it might not even be necessary for equality.} (18... Bxb2 19. Qxb2 Qe7 20. Bf3 {was slightly better for White according to the players but the computer equalizes with} c5 $1 21. Bxb7 Qxb7 22. bxa5 Ra8 {seems like a draw is certain.}) 19. Qc2 Bxb2 20. Qxb2 Qe7 21. Qc2 (21. Bd3 $6 c5 22. Bxb5 $2 {and here both players missed} (22. bxc5 Rxc5) 22... Bxg2 $1 {which would result in a black edge, since the white king is open.} 23. Kxg2 Qb7+ 24. Kg1 Qxb5 {and Black has the upper hand because of White's exposed king.}) 21... Rfe8 22. Bf3 c5 {As is typical of this opening, once the backwards pawn is safely pushed, the position is equal.} 23. Bxb7 Qxb7 24. bxc5 Re5 25. Rfc1 Qc6 (25... Rexc5 26. Qxc5 Rxc5 27. Rxc5 {is still equal, though there is no incentive for black to give white the rooks.}) 26. Rab1 Rxc5 27. Qxc5 Qxc5 28. Rxc5 Rxc5 29. Kf1 h5 30. Ke2 Rc2+ 31. Kf3 Rc5 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Championship Candidates"] [Site "0:36:33-0:20:33"] [Date "2016.03.23"] [Round "10"] [White "Levon Aronian"] [Black "Veselin Topalov"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "2016.03.10"] {[Annotations by GM Robert Hess]} 1. c4 {Aronian tends to stick to 1. d4, but searching for a victory to climb back atop the leaderboard, he must have felt that switching his opening choice would give him optimal chances to win.} e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. d3 h6 8. Na4 a5 9. b3 { Wait, I thought I just analyzed this position? Turns out both Aronian and Svidler had similar opening preparation for the round.} Qe7 ({Nakamura opted for the equally reasonable} 9... Re8 {in his game against Svidler.}) 10. Bb2 Bc5 11. e3 (11. Nxc5 dxc5 12. Nd2 {is a position I'd be thrilled to have with the white pieces, though I completely understand Aronian's decision to keep the minors on the board.}) 11... Ba7 12. Nc3 {There's no rush.} (12. d4 Bf5 { is sound for Black; this is the type of position you dream to get, as both sides will have their chances and White can not claim much in the way of an opening advantage.}) 12... Re8 13. Nh4 {Clearly thematic. First Aronian goes Nc3-a4-c3, and now he goes Nf3-h4. When will the horses stop galloping to the board's edge?} Qd8 14. Qd2 Ne7 {A natural retreat. Topalov does not want to commit to a bishop move before he ensures that b7 is defended.} 15. Rad1 (15. Rae1 c6 16. f4 {certainly is an idea to open up the dark-squared bishop.} exf4 17. Rxf4 Nh7 {(this move feels necessary, since White is aiming to sacrifice his rook for the knight)} 18. Rf2 {White can hardly complain with a position like this, though Black's position is still manageable.}) 15... c6 16. Ne2 Nf5 17. Nxf5 Bxf5 18. d4 Qc8 19. Nc3 exd4 20. exd4 Ne4 $2 {A really bad move, one that almost cost Topalov the game. While it seems natural to trade off all the pieces, Black suffers because he loses control of the only open file and his a-pawn is a target.} (20... Qd7 21. d5 Rad8 {is by no means an exceptional positional for Black, but at least here Topalov would have all his bases covered. Accurate defense is often easiest when there are active possibilities. In the game, Topalov had to sit on his hands and hope that it all worked out.}) ({The engine shows interest in the following speculative sacrifice:} 20... a4 $6 21. Nxa4 Ne4 22. Qc1 (22. Qf4 Ng5 {For the cost of merely a pawn, Black will be able to trade off his knight for White's light-squared bishop. If White can consolidate he has decent winning chances, but with his kingside quite vulnerable, I believe Black achieves dynamic equality.}) 22... Bh3 23. Rfe1 Ng5 24. Rxe8+ Qxe8 25. Bxh3 Nxh3+ 26. Kg2 Qd7 {Black certainly has some compensation here, but I'd be hesitant to just jettison my a-pawn without concrete analysis.}) 21. Nxe4 Bxe4 22. Bxe4 Rxe4 23. Rfe1 Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 { If we pause for a moment here, we see that White has all the trumps in the position. Control of the open file? Check. Superior bishop? Check. More flexible pawn structure? Check. With all this in mind, it is clear that Topalov's position stinks. And yet, despite all of its flaws, the position hangs on by a thread because there is no easy way to transfer a positional edge into a material one.} Qf5 (24... b5 25. Re7 bxc4 26. bxc4 Qd8 27. Qe2 { does not feel like true improvement for Black, since the c-pawn is no less weak than the b-pawn previously was.}) ({Aronian suggested} 24... Qf8 {but this is also better for White.}) 25. Re7 Rb8 26. Kg2 {White has all the time in the world, so Aronian keeps his cool and improves his position.} Bb6 27. Qe2 d5 {Here is a critical moment, since Aronian could have forced a queen trade. Perhaps he wanted to keep queens on the board, thinking he would not be able to truly infiltrate without them.} 28. c5 {Aronian called this a bad move. "I forgot that you can play ...Rc8."} (28. Qf3 Qxf3+ 29. Kxf3 Kf8 (29... dxc4 30. bxc4 a4 31. Ke4 Ba5 32. Ba3 {This ending seems pretty bleak for Black, though perhaps a road to survival exists.}) 30. Ba3 Kg8 31. Bd6 {and domination ensues.}) (28. Qe5 {was an interesting option as well. The essential question is if White has more winning chances with the queens off and an asymmetrical pawn structure on the board.} Qxe5 29. dxe5 Bc5 30. Rd7 dxc4 31. bxc4 g5 (31... Bf8 32. e6 fxe6 33. Be5 Rc8 34. Rxb7 Rd8 35. Ra7 Rd2 {allows Black important counterplay, which might be enough to salvage the half point.}) 32. e6 fxe6 33. Rg7+ Kf8 34. Rh7 Re8 35. Rxh6 Kf7 36. Rh7+ Kg6 37. Rg7+ Kf5 38. Rxb7) 28... Bd8 29. Re8+ Kh7 30. Bc3 Rc8 $1 {Missed by Aronian.} 31. Rf8 $2 {This move allows Topalov to liquidate, after which he is no longer in any danger. Judging by the live video feed, it appears that Aronian simply overlooked this response [which he confirmed at the post-mortem].} (31. h4 {keeps Black at bay. The issue is that Black cannot force a trade of rooks without departing with the a-pawn:} Bc7 (31... Bf6 32. Rxc8 Qxc8 33. Bxa5 {and} Bxd4 $4 {fails to} 34. Qd3+ {picking up the bishop.}) 32. Re7 {and Black's struggle to draw continues. }) 31... Bc7 32. Rxc8 Qxc8 33. Qe7 Kg8 34. h4 h5 35. Bd2 Qd8 36. Qe2 (36. Qxd8+ Bxd8 {leads to a simple draw. The commentators were entertaining the possibility of a king march from g2-a4, but that takes way too much time, since the Black's monarch will also come try to be the king of the hill. Moreover, Black can always play ...b5 if need be. The point is that after en passant with cxb6, Black's bishop can sit on b6 and simultaneously protect a5 while attacking d4. The issue is that this sort of trade will give White an annoying outside passed pawn.}) 36... g6 37. Qe1 (37. Bg5 Qd7 (37... f6 $4 38. Qe6+ Kg7 39. Bd2 {and Black is in zugzwang! Every possible move loses at least a pawn.} Bb8 {is the only move that looks like it keeps everything defended, and yet} 40. Bxa5 $1 {is decisive since the ending after} Qxa5 41. Qe7+ Kg8 42. Qe8+ Kg7 43. Qxb8 {is easily winning.}) 38. Bf6 Bd8 39. Bxd8 Qxd8 40. Qe5 Qd7 { is simple equality.}) 37... Kg7 38. a3 Qf6 39. b4 axb4 40. axb4 Qf5 41. Qd1 f6 42. Be1 Kf7 {Somehow Black is now the only one with winning chances, though a draw is hard to avoid.} 43. f3 g5 44. Bf2 Qg6 (44... gxh4 45. gxh4 Qf4 46. Qd3 Kg7 47. Kf1 {is dead level.}) 45. Kf1 Qf5 46. Kg2 g4 47. f4 Qe4+ (47... b5 { was the last real chance of hoping to swindle Aronian. If White ignores the move, the game is a dead draw. However, if for some reason he had the urge to take en passant, Black would be in the driver's seat.} 48. cxb6 Qe4+ 49. Kh2 Bxb6 {with accurate play, White should hold, but it is now conceivable that he can lose a pawn at any moment, which would be disastrous.}) 48. Kg1 Ke6 49. Qb3 Qe2 50. Qb1 f5 {Now that the position is entirely locked up, a draw is guaranteed.} 51. Qa1 Qa6 52. Qe1+ Kf7 53. Qb1 Kf6 54. Qe1 Qa8 55. Qe2 Qc8 56. b5 Qe6 57. Qxe6+ Kxe6 58. b6 Bd8 {And with the pawns fixed on opposite colors, the players agreed to a draw. Aronian must be kicking himself, because a win would have put him a three-way tie for first with Caruana and Karjakin. This game serves to show that even a seemingly innocuous mistake can completely alter a player's winning chances.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.23"] [Round "10.1"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] [WhiteClock "1:33:12"] [BlackClock "1:40:56"] {[Annotations by GM Robert Hess]} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O {Svidler spent some time on his previous moves, trying to decide whether he needed to dodge and not follow his game with Karjakin.} (6. Nd5 e4 7. Nh4 d6 8. Nxb4 Nxb4 9. a3 Nc6 10. d3 d5 11. O-O exd3 12. Qxd3 Ne5 13. Qd4 Nxc4 14. e4 Be6 {was not a promising position for white, and eventually resulted in a loss, in Topalov,V (2780) -Aronian,L (2786), Moscow 2016}) 6... d6 (6... e4 7. Ng5 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Re8 9. f3 e3 10. d3 d5 11. Qa4 h6 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Ne4 f5 14. Nc5 f4 {resulted in a chaotic battle in Svidler, P (2757) -Karjakin,S (2760), Moscow 2016}) 7. d3 h6 8. Na4 {A very interesting attempt by Svidler to mix up the action. White puts his knight on the rim in order to allow himself the opportunity to take the two bishops without compromising his own pawn structure. Additionally, as in the game, Svidler could simply keep all of the minor pieces in action.} a5 {A good reaction. Nakamura decides to prevent White from playing a3 followed by b4. The concession is that Svidler now can hand the American double c-pawns, which is far from a big deal.} (8... Qe7 {was played in Aronian-Topalov in this very same round.}) 9. b3 (9. a3 Bc5 10. Nxc5 dxc5 11. Nd2 {looks nice for the white side, because who doesn't like the two bishops and superior pawn structure? Yet from black's perspective the position most certainly remains solid as there are no means of infiltration. I prefer this type of neutral position that gives you ample opportunity to outplay your opponent. The following variation is by no means forced, but as an example:} Qd6 (11... a4 12. b4 $1 axb3 13. Bxc6 bxc6 14. Nxb3 {if Black does not activate his pieces on the somewhat vulnerable white kingside quickly, his triple pawns (not to mention the passed a-pawn) could result in his demise. }) 12. Nb1 Nd4 13. Nc3 c6 {and the game goes on.}) 9... Re8 10. Bb2 Bf5 11. e3 {Svidler spent 25 minutes on this move.} (11. Nh4 $5 Bd7 {Nakamura/Svidler}) 11... Qe7 (11... Qd7 {might have made a bit more sense. The bishop wants to go to h3, as in the game.}) 12. a3 (12. h3 e4 $1 13. dxe4 (13. Nh4 Bh7 14. a3 Bc5 {transposes to my note after move 13.}) 13... Nxe4 {Svidler}) 12... Bc5 13. Nc3 {I think this move makes Hikaru's life too easy. Now he can simply trade off the light-squared bishops, which removes white's trump in the position.} (13. h3 e4 (13... Bh7 14. Nc3 {is an improvement over the game continuation, as Svidler would get to keep his fianchettoed bishop. You have to love these subtleties!}) 14. Nh4 Bh7 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. dxe4 Bxe4 17. Bxe4 Rxe4 18. Qf3 { allows White to comfortably play for two results. Sure, Black is hanging in there, but all the active play will be in White's hands. Objectively the position gives white a slight - yet ongoing - pull.}) 13... Qd7 14. Nd5 { Svidler was down to 48 minutes here, vs 1 hour 20 for Nakamura.} Nxd5 {What else? You don't let a horse sit on the d5 square, lest it become a unicorn.} 15. cxd5 Ne7 16. d4 (16. e4 {is not the right idea to play for hopes of an advantage:} Bg4 17. d4 (17. Qd2 Ng6 18. d4 Bxf3 19. Bxf3 exd4 20. Bxd4 Bxd4 21. Qxd4 Ne5 22. Be2 c5 {is just about level, for if White does not take en passant here and allows Black to play ...a4, there's little risk in the position. Black is certainly thrilled to get rid of the targeted c-pawn, so this transition should result in equality.}) 17... exd4 18. Bxd4 (18. Qd2 Bxf3 19. Bxf3 Qb5 20. Bxd4 Bxd4 21. Qxd4 Qxb3 22. Bd1 c5 $1 23. Bxb3 (23. dxc6 Nxc6 24. Qxg7+ Kxg7 25. Bxb3 Rxe4 {should fizzle out into a draw.}) 23... cxd4 { with approximate equality (perhaps an ever-so-slight edge for white, though one that needs to be taken advantage of quickly or else that knight could dominate the bishop) and mutual chances to outplay the other side.}) 18... f5 $5 {and chaos ensues, with preference for black.} 19. e5 (19. h3 Bxf3 20. Bxf3 fxe4 21. Bg4 (21. Bxe4 Nf5) 21... Nf5 22. Bxc5 dxc5 23. d6 Re5) 19... Nxd5 20. exd6 (20. Bxc5 dxc5 21. Re1 c6) 20... Qxd6 21. Qc2 Bxd4 22. Nxd4 c6 23. Nxf5 Qf6 24. Ne3 Nxe3 25. fxe3 Qg5 {and white is fighting to survive.}) 16... exd4 17. Nxd4 Bh3 {"The critical position." (Svidler)} (17... Bg4 18. Qd3 (18. Qd2 { Svidler}) 18... Ng6 19. f4 {"and I was not sure how to assess this." (Nakamura) } (19. Ne6 $1 {is a move that both players must have missed when calculating in their heads.} Ne5 20. Bxe5 fxe6 21. Bd4 Bxd4 22. Qxd4 e5 23. Qd3 {with an advantage for white thanks to having control of the superior half-open file.})) 18. e4 ({If} 18. Bxh3 Qxh3 19. Qf3 Bxd4 (19... Ng6 20. Qf5 $1) 20. Bxd4 Nf5 21. Qg2 (21. Rfd1 $2 Nh4 22. Qh1 Qg4 {Svidler. His analysis of this particular variation is correct, though he could have begun with 21. Rad1. Considering a rook wants to situate itself on c1, this rook move does not feel right.}) 21... Qxg2+ 22. Kxg2 Nxd4 23. exd4 {is equal.}) 18... c6 {[This] leads to a draw by force more or less." (Svidler)} ({Svidler was "kind of worried getting stuck" in a position like after} 18... Ng6 19. Re1 Bxg2 (19... Ne5 20. f4 $6 Bg4 { Svidler. Though I must say, 20. f4 feels mighty rushed. A simple move like 20. Rc1 should allow White to claim a so-miniscule-it's-almost-nonexistent plus.}) 20. Kxg2 Bxd4 21. Qxd4 f6 22. Re3 Re7 23. Rae1 Rae8 24. Bc3 b6 {White certainly stands better in such a line, but I am struggling to see any path forward. All the space and time in the world, yet black's foundation is very solid. If the defensive shell is cracked, then black will be in serious trouble.}) 19. dxc6 Nxc6 20. Bxh3 Qxh3 21. Nxc6 bxc6 22. b4 Bb6 {Now it's completely forced.} (22... Ba7 23. Qxd6 Rxe4 24. Qxc6 Rae8 25. Bc3 $1 { (covering e1 so avoiding Bxf2)}) (22... axb4 23. axb4 Bxb4 $4 (23... Rxa1 24. Qxa1 Bxb4 25. Bxg7 Rxe4 26. Bc3 Bxc3 27. Qa8+ Kh7 28. Qxc6 Re1 29. Rxe1 Bxe1 30. Qe4+ Kg7 31. Qxe1 Qf5 {with equality.}) 24. Qd4 {wins the bishop on b4, and with it the game.}) 23. Qxd6 Rxe4 24. Qxc6 Rae8 25. Qxb6 ({Svidler didn't see the point playing on with e.g.} 25. Bc3 axb4 26. axb4 R8e6 27. Qd5 (27. Qb7 Re2 {leaves White bottled up.}) 27... h5 28. b5 Kh7 29. Qd3 ({Any rook move off the back rank leads to a swift checkmate:} 29. Ra6 $4 Bxf2+ $1 30. Rxf2 Re1+ 31. Bxe1 Rxe1+ 32. Rf1 Rxf1#) 29... h4 {Lines like these could have potentially given Nakamura more winning chances than Svidler. My rationale is that at worst Nakamura would be able to trade queens into a holdable double rook ending, whereas a slight misstep by Svidler could result in disaster.}) 25... Rh4 26. gxh4 {Svidler is forced to make this capture, and the game is immedately drawn by repetition.} Qg4+ 27. Kh1 Qf3+ 28. Kg1 Qg4+ 29. Kh1 Qf3+ 30. Kg1 Qg4+ {And the players shook hands. This was a fair result, given that both players opted for rather tame continuations. These two might be out of the running for the chance to face Magnus, but they will definitely play a part in determining who becomes the challenger.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.23"] [Round "10.3"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "MVL"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] [WhiteClock "1:39:33"] [BlackClock "1:36:50"] {[Annotations by GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave]} 1. c4 {The English opening has been enjoying a serious revival in these Candidates' as the players don't seem too eager to play too many Berlin defences. I guess they have a point, but today we witnessed the peak of this first move as it was played in all games, with three of them going to mainstream English opening.} e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 {I've never been too fond of this move but everybody seems to play it here.} (4... d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6) 5. Bg2 (5. Nd5 {is the other option. I won a few years ago thanks to a neat trick there :} e4 6. Nh4 O-O 7. Bg2 Re8 8. O-O Bc5 (8... d6 9. d3 exd3 10. Qxd3 Nxd5 11. cxd5 Ne5 {is the way Black players seem to play these days.}) 9. e3 $1 g5 10. Nf5 d6 $2 11. Nfe7+ $1 {winning a pawn.}) 5... O-O 6. O-O e4 7. Ng5 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Re8 9. f3 exf3 (9... e3 10. d3 d5 {was seen in Svidler-Karjakin in the 8th round.}) 10. Nxf3 d5 11. d4 dxc4 {This move was supposed to be terribly bad back in the 90's, but Vishy showed some new concrete ideas to make it work better.} (11... Ne4 12. Qc2 { was the old move but Black doesn't solve everything as his outpost on e4 is still very fragile.}) 12. Qc2 $5 {I like this new idea, just trying to keep the tension and prevent at the same time Black establishing his knight on e4. Black also has a problem as he has many possible options but none of them obviously help him create an ideal setup.} (12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 {and here despite White's control of the f file, long diagonal and the center, things are not easy.} 14. e4 (14. Ne5 Qe6 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. Rxf7 c5 $1 {The key move. White can't make as good use as he would like of his Rf7 and his long diagonal suddenly could be weak.} 17. Rxc7 (17. e4 cxd4 18. cxd4 Bb7 19. Rxc7 Bxe4 20. Rxc4 Rab8) 17... cxd4 18. cxd4 Qd5 {with sudden counterplay on White's king.}) 14... Bg4 15. Qa4 Qd6 16. Rae1 Rab8 $1 17. Qxc4 b5 {And Vishy got the counterplay he needed against the center in Aronian,L (2765) -Anand,V (2816) Saint Louis 2015}) 12... h6 (12... Qe7 {might have been the most challenging answer to Fabiano's novelty.} 13. Bd2 {could well have been Fabiano's idea as Re1 is very awkward to play.} Ne4 (13... Qxe2 14. Rae1 Qd3 15. Rxe8+ Nxe8 16. Qb2 {trying to make use of the placement of the Qd3, should be enough to create some problems but Black is still two pawns up now!} Nd6 {is one of Black's many options that seems enough for a draw, but it looks rather direct.} 17. Bf4 Bd7 18. Bxd6 cxd6 19. Qxb7 Rd8 20. Nh4 (20. d5 Ne5) 20... Qe3+ 21. Kh1 Qd3 $1 {and it's hard to make any progress with White's pieces a bit stuck on the kingside.}) 14. Rae1 f6 (14... f5 {is not solid enough and thus just creates an additional target for when White manages e4.} 15. Bc1 Be6 16. Nd2 Nxd2 17. Qxd2 {and Black can't prevent e4.}) 15. Bc1 Nd8 16. Nd2 Nxd2 17. Bxd2 c6 18. e4 {with double-edged play.}) (12... Ne4 13. Ne5 Nxe5 14. Qxe4 Ng4 15. Qf4 Qe7 16. e4 {it's really hard for Black to challenge White in the center, and his pawn up on the queenside doesn't have any effect on the position yet as he can't even easily create a passed pawn.}) (12... Ne7 13. e4 c5 14. Bb2 Ng6 15. Rae1 {would retain a strong center and decent compensations.}) 13. Bf4 Ne4 (13... Nd5 14. e4 Nxf4 15. gxf4 {and Fabiano claims that the computer is underestimating White's compensations in this position. I quite agree as once again, it's not easy to make use of the numerical advantage on the queenside, while the center is ready to be pushed anytime needed. Also, White can easily amass his rooks on the g file increasing steadily the pressure on the king.}) ( 13... Bg4 14. Rae1 {Caruana} Nd5 15. e4 Nxf4 16. gxf4 {wouldn't change much to the situation.}) 14. Rad1 Bf5 15. Ne5 {The point of White's play as he can allow discovered attacks!} Nd6 (15... Nxg3 16. e4 Nxf1 17. exf5 Nxh2 18. Bxh2 Nxe5 19. Bxe5 {and while the computer claims that Black is still fine, two unchallenged bishops are always a source of concern. Maybe here considering how many pawns Black already has, it might wise to find a way to give back an exchange in favourable conditions and play with a few pawns for the piece, like } Qg5 20. Rf1 c6 21. f6 Rxe5 22. dxe5 Qxe5 {with a position I could now approve of.}) (15... f6 16. Bc1 $1 {the same idea as Fabiano showed, but without putting his bishop needlessly en prise.} (16. Bxh6 Nxg3 17. Rxf5 Nxf5 18. Nxc6 Qd7 {was something else Fabiano was looking at.}) 16... Nxg3 (16... Bh7 17. Bxe4 Bxe4 18. Qxe4 fxe5 19. d5 Ne7 20. Bxh6 $1 {with a clear advantage. }) 17. Rxf5 Nxf5 18. Nxc6 Qd7 19. Bh3) 16. e4 Bh7 17. Qe2 {Here Fabiano thought he had "a tremendous advantage." It's hard to disagree as his center is powerful and all his pieces are on active squares and ready to deliver a few punches.} Ne7 (17... f6 18. Nxc6 bxc6 19. e5 Bd3 (19... Qd7 20. Qh5 Ne4 21. Bxe4 Bxe4 22. exf6 gxf6 23. Bxh6 {Caruana} Qf7 24. Qg4+) 20. Rxd3 $1 {Fabiano mentioned Qg4 at the press conference but he can't get all of it right after all.} (20. Qg4 {i still enough for an advantage of course, as the attack is not going anywhere after} Bxf1 21. Rxf1 Qc8 22. Qf3 $1) 20... cxd3 21. Qxd3 fxe5 22. dxe5 Nf7 23. Qc4 {with great attacking chances and probably soon a material advantage as Bxc6 can't be prevented.}) 18. Bxh6 {A move you can either praise or dislike. I actually don't think such measures were necessary and felt that Vishy could have gotten back into the game because of that. But I understand that Fabiano was trying to put directly an end to the game as his attack looks very threatening.} (18. Nxc4 $2 Nd5) (18. Qh5 Ng6 19. Bxh6 Nxe5 $1 20. dxe5 Bg6 {is pretty unclear (Caruana)}) (18. Qg4 Ng6) (18. Bc1 $1 {for instance looks very promising to increase the pressure methodically.} b5 (18... Qc8 19. Rde1 Qe6 20. Qh5 {followed by Bh3.}) 19. Qh5 {now Ng6 is not an option anymore.} Rf8 (19... f6 20. Ng4 Nxe4 21. Bxe4 Bxe4 22. Nxh6+ gxh6 23. Rxf6) 20. Ng4 Bg6 21. Qh4) 18... gxh6 19. Qh5 Nef5 (19... Ng6 $2 20. Ng4 Re6 21. e5 { is immediately curtains.}) (19... Nd5 $1 {was the right way to play Vishy's defensive idea as his bishop doesn't get inactive. It does allow} 20. Nxf7 $5 { though} (20. exd5 Qg5 21. Qf3 Be4 22. Qf2 {is still better for White but I feel like by acting too fast he let Black breathe a bit and even dream of possibly solving his problems later on.}) 20... Nf6 21. Nxh6+ Kh8 22. Qh3 Nfxe4 (22... Rxe4 $5 23. Bxe4 (23. Rxf6 $5 Qxf6 24. Bxe4 Nxe4 25. Rf1 Qg7 26. Nf7+ Kg8 27. Qe6 Qg6 28. Qe5 Qg7 29. Qe6 Qg6 30. Nh6+ Kh8 31. Qe5+ Qg7 32. Nf7+ Kg8 33. Qe6 Qg6 {with a draw.}) 23... Nfxe4 24. Rde1 Qe7 25. Ng4 {with unclear play.}) 23. Rf4 Ng5 24. Qh5 {and Black can't prevent Rdf1 with a tremendous attack as the Qh5 is hardly possible to push back. Still Black has chances after} Re3 (24... Re7 25. Rdf1 Rg7 $1 26. h4 Qe8 27. Rf8+ Qxf8 28. Rxf8+ Rxf8 29. hxg5) 25. Rdf1 Qe7 26. h4 (26. Rf6 Rxc3 27. Qxg5 Qe3+) 26... Rxg3 27. Kh2 $1 Qg7 28. Kxg3 Nge4+ 29. Kh2 Qg3+ 30. Kg1 (30. Kh1 $4 Qxf4 31. Rxf4 Ng3+) 30... Qe3+ 31. R4f2 Nxf2 32. Rxf2 Re8 {with counterchances.}) 20. exf5 ({ Fabiano's original intention was} 20. Rf4 Ng7 21. Qxh6 Re6 22. Qh3 {but then he saw} Qg5 {and} 23. Rh4 $2 {fails to} (23. Rdf1 $1 Rh6 24. Qd7 f5) 23... Qe3+ 24. Kh1 Nxe4 {and wins.}) 20... Qg5 21. Qxg5+ hxg5 22. f6 {Of course White would like to bury the Bh7 alive, but he can't prevent f6 otherwise. Now his knight is a thorn in Black's camp as it is virtually impossible to drive out.} Ne4 $2 {"This looks like a big mistake. " (Caruana)} (22... c6 23. Rde1 Rad8 { is much better for White "but it's still hard to break down Black's position." (Caruana) Probably I would have tried to make a move like} 24. h4 $1 gxh4 25. gxh4 Bd3 26. Rf4 {work as the attack looks extremely threatening once again.}) 23. Rfe1 Nxc3 $6 (23... Nd6 24. Bd5 {Caruana}) (23... Nxf6 24. Bxb7 Rab8 25. Ba6 {and White is just a pawn up, but maybe this was Black's last hope of survival.}) 24. Rc1 Nb5 (24... Nxa2 25. Rxc4 c6 26. d5 $1 {with the idea Rg4 is devastating. It's difficult to understand what Vishy missed when playing 22. ..Ne4 as all White's moves are perfectly natural.}) 25. Bxb7 Rad8 26. Bc6 { And White just picks up the exchange, and then all the weak pawns Black has. Could easily be all of them!} Nxd4 27. Bxe8 Rxe8 28. Kf2 Nc2 29. Red1 $1 Be4 ( 29... Rxe5 30. Rd8+) 30. Nxc4 Re6 31. Rd8+ Kh7 32. Kg1 $1 {White can't protect the pawn but now forces a rook exchange, after which Black's pawns will definitely end up falling.} Rxf6 33. Rf1 {A great win for Fabiano against a direct opponent to go into shared lead with Sergey. Of course, there are a lot of players still very much in contention and the last rounds promise a lot of suspense!} 1-0 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.23"] [Round "10"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D46"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 {If you are playing the Meran against Anish you should have a really good idea up your sleeve or else it will just be a draw!} Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. a3 Rc8 12. b4 (12. Ng5 c5 $5 {was the famous Aronian-Anand Wijk Aan Zee 2013 game.}) 12... a5 (12... c5 {is also a possible move, but we won't delve into the details right now.}) 13. Qb3 $146 {The first new move of the game, but it doesn't change the nature of the position.} (13. Rb1 {is the more common move.}) 13... e5 $1 {Good reaction by Anish, who knows the details of this opening quite well.} 14. Ne4 Nxe4 15. Bxe4 g6 (15... exd4 {was also possible.} 16. exd4 Nf6 17. Bf5 Ra8 $11) 16. dxe5 Nxe5 17. Nxe5 Bxe5 18. Bb2 a4 (18... Bxh2+ {wins a pawn but is positionally flawed.} 19. Kxh2 Qh4+ 20. Kg1 Qxe4 21. Qc3 $1 f6 22. bxa5 $14 {White is better, not only because he won back the pawn on a5 but because his bishop is clearly superior to the one on b7, and in opposite coloured bishop positions that is what matters.}) 19. Qc2 Bxb2 20. Qxb2 Qe7 $1 {Look how accurately Anish solves the problem of his b7 bishop. } 21. Qc2 (21. Bd3 c5 22. Bxb5 Bxg2 $1 $15 {[%cal Ge7b7]}) 21... Rfe8 $1 { Forcing the bishop to move and then going c5 so that the rook on e8 will be ready to swing to e5.} 22. Bf3 c5 23. Bxb7 Qxb7 24. bxc5 Re5 25. Rfc1 Qc6 ( 25... Rexc5 26. Qxc5 Rxc5 27. Rxc5 $14) 26. Rab1 Rxc5 27. Qxc5 Qxc5 28. Rxc5 Rxc5 $11 29. Kf1 h5 30. Ke2 Rc2+ 31. Kf3 Rc5 {A technically clean game by Anish and nothing special shown by Karjakin. Maybe he was just happy with a draw.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.23"] [Round "10"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. d3 h6 8. Na4 a5 9. b3 Qe7 {Topalov also put his queen on e7. His move order is different from Nakamura based on the fact that the rook is still on f8 and not e8.} 10. Bb2 Bc5 11. e3 Ba7 12. Nc3 Re8 13. Nh4 Qd8 14. Qd2 Ne7 15. Rad1 c6 16. Ne2 (16. d4 {Looked like an obvious try especially because e4 is not possible.} exd4 17. exd4 d5 18. Rfe1 $14) 16... Nf5 17. Nxf5 Bxf5 {Black has developed all his pieces and should be equal.} 18. d4 Qc8 19. Nc3 exd4 20. exd4 Ne4 $6 {Why the sudden change of plans?} (20... Bh3 {was surely the normal way to continue and would have given Black no real problems.}) 21. Nxe4 Bxe4 22. Bxe4 Rxe4 23. Rfe1 $1 {All of a sudden the rook on a8 is far away from the battlefield and White can look forward to at least a small edge.} Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Qf5 25. Re7 Rb8 26. Kg2 $16 {White is clearly better. He has an active rook, the pawn on a5 is a tad weak, while his bishop on b2 is perfect. All in all this should be a typical Levon advantage which he can slowly and steadily convert with his good technique. But look how quickly he messes things up.} Bb6 27. Qe2 d5 28. c5 ( 28. Qf3 $5 {was worth thinking about.} Qxf3+ 29. Kxf3 dxc4 (29... Kf8 30. Ba3 $18) 30. bxc4 Rd8 (30... c5 31. d5 $16) 31. c5 $18) 28... Bd8 29. Re8+ Kh7 30. Bc3 $6 (30. Qf3 $5 $16) 30... Rc8 $1 31. Rf8 Bc7 $1 {With the exchange of rooks White's advantage withers away and the game ended in a draw.} 32. Rxc8 Qxc8 33. Qe7 Kg8 34. h4 h5 35. Bd2 Qd8 36. Qe2 g6 37. Qe1 Kg7 38. a3 Qf6 39. b4 axb4 40. axb4 Qf5 41. Qd1 f6 42. Be1 Kf7 43. f3 g5 {Black has already taken over the initiative, but it is not sufficient for a big advantage.} 44. Bf2 Qg6 45. Kf1 Qf5 46. Kg2 g4 47. f4 Qe4+ 48. Kg1 Ke6 49. Qb3 Qe2 50. Qb1 f5 51. Qa1 Qa6 52. Qe1+ Kf7 53. Qb1 Kf6 54. Qe1 Qa8 55. Qe2 Qc8 56. b5 Qe6 57. Qxe6+ Kxe6 58. b6 {[%cal Gc7f4]} Bd8 (58... Bxf4 59. gxf4 {Even this position is drawn!}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.23"] [Round "10"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O e4 7. Ng5 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Re8 9. f3 {We saw this same opening in the game between Peter Svidler and Sergey Karjakin in the eighth round of the tournament. In that encounter, Sergey had played e3. Vishy goes for the more normal approach by taking the pawn on f3.} exf3 10. Nxf3 d5 11. d4 $5 {This move came into popularity when Garry Kasparov used it to beat Vassily Ivanchuk in 1988. It was revelation at that moment in time, and even now the line has not been thoroughy investigated, as Caruana shows in this game.} (11. cxd5 Qxd5 $13 {How can Black play such a position where his opponent has a bishop pair and also the huge central mass of pawns? The answer is that the central pawns cannot really advance easily and Black has activity. Chess cannot be so generic that in an open position the bishop pair have to be better!}) 11... dxc4 ({The famous game between Kasparov and Ivanchuk continued in this manner.} 11... Ne4 12. Qc2 dxc4 13. Rb1 f5 14. g4 $1 Qe7 15. gxf5 Nd6 16. Ng5 Qxe2 17. Bd5+ Kh8 18. Qxe2 Rxe2 19. Bf4 Nd8 20. Bxd6 cxd6 21. Rbe1 Rxe1 22. Rxe1 Bd7 23. Re7 Bc6 24. f6 $1 {What a game! 1-0 (24) Kasparov,G (2760)-Ivanchuk,V (2625) Moscow 1988}) 12. Qc2 $146 { The novelty. Afterwards Caruana said that he had prepared this novelty just the previous night with Rustam Kasimdzhanov. He hadn't spent much time on it but had realized that this was interesting and well worth giving a try.} ({ The only move that had been played before was Bg5. What would have convinced Caruana that Anand would choose this line? First of all Anand had played it against Aronian in the Sinquefield Cup 2015, and then Vishy's second Gajewski had also tried it against Tomashevsky in the World Blitz. This is a good enough proof that Anand had worked out the opening with his second.} 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. e4 Qd6 (14... Bg4 {was the Aronian-Anand game.} 15. Qa4 Qd6 16. Rae1 Rab8 17. Qxc4 b5 $11 {1/2-1/2 (31) Aronian,L (2765)-Anand,V (2816) Saint Louis 2015}) 15. Nd2 Bd7 16. Nxc4 Qe7 17. Qf3 $16 {1-0 (66) Tomashevsky, E (2758)-Gajewski,G (2654) Berlin 2015}) 12... h6 {Anand replies in the most human way as possible. The move is absolutely correct and stops ideas like Bg5 and Ng5.} (12... Rb8 13. Ng5 h6 14. Rxf6 hxg5 15. Rf2 $16 {with e4 coming up is completely better for White.}) (12... Ne4 13. Ne5 $1 Nxe5 14. Qxe4 Ng4 15. Qf4 $14) 13. Bf4 {Caruana played these moves pretty quickly while Anand was thinking quite a bit. This is just a normal developing move with the idea of bringing the rook to the centre.} Ne4 {This knight move is natural, but it forces Black to be accurate.} (13... Rb8 14. Rae1 b5 15. e4 {Looks quite scary to face over the board.}) (13... Nd5 {According to Caruana the computer prefers this move but after} 14. e4 Nxf4 15. gxf4 {it looks completely better for White (according to Fabiano). The computer doesn't agree with this evaluation but when a player like Fabiano says that this looks horrible for Black, we must definitely pay attention to that.} Bg4 16. Rae1 {Maybe future games on this line will prove whether Black really has a huge advantage or not. }) 14. Rad1 Bf5 {The reason this move is dangerous is because it forces Black to be extremely accurate. When your opponent has checked the lines at home and you haven't, this is not a good position to be in. Now Black has threats like Nxg3, but White's next move simply ignores it!} (14... Qe7 {was the other approach here and this looked much safer.}) 15. Ne5 $1 Nd6 (15... Nxg3 { This is once again the computer's suggestion.} 16. e4 Nxf1 (16... Nxe4 17. Bxe4 Bxe4 18. Qxe4 f6 19. Nxc6 $16) 17. exf5 Nxh2 18. Bxh2 {[%csl Gg2,Gh2] The computer assesses this position as even, but Caruana felt that this should be definitely better for White, especially with those two bishops aiming at the queenside. It is not so easy to say who is right, but I really like White's position.}) 16. e4 Bh7 {Black is a pawn up but these guys on e4 and d4 are just too strong. Caruana's next move is also accurate.} 17. Qe2 $1 {Already it is very difficult for Black to find a move. He cannot take on e5 and White's threat is to simply take on c6, follow it up with e5 and then take the pawn on c4.} Ne7 {I do not give it a dubious or a question mark because it was already very difficult to suggest a move for Black.} 18. Bxh6 $1 {There are many other options in the position, but if Bxh6 is good then we do not need to indulge in other lines.} gxh6 19. Qh5 {There are all sorts of threats in the position. The f7 pawn is hanging, and so is the one on h6. Ng4 is in the air and also Rf4 is threatened. The defensive task for Black is not at all easy.} Nef5 { Black rushes to give back a piece, but now it is just suffering without even having material gains.} (19... Nd5 $5 20. Nxf7 $5 (20. exd5 Qg5 21. Qf3 { doesn't look so great, but is maybe better than the game.}) 20... Nf6 21. Nxh6+ Kh8 22. Qh3 $40 {is also not so easy for Black to play as Rf4-h4 is a huge threat.}) (19... Rf8 20. Qxh6 Nxe4 21. Bxe4 Bxe4 22. Rf4 Qd6 23. Rg4+ Ng6 ( 23... Bg6 24. Rh4) 24. Rxe4 $16) 20. exf5 (20. Rf4 Ng7 21. Qxh6 Re6 22. Qh3 Qg5 {Even here White has the advantage, but what Caruana played was better.}) 20... Qg5 21. Qxg5+ hxg5 22. f6 $16 {It goes without saying that White is better, but Anand's next move takes him out of the fire into the frying pan!} Ne4 $6 ( 22... Rad8 {White's advantage is beyond any doubt here, but Anand can definitely fight on.}) 23. Rfe1 $1 (23. Bxe4 Bxe4 24. Nxc4 {was also better for White.}) 23... Nxc3 (23... Nd6 24. Bd5 $1 c6 25. Bxc4 (25. Nxc4 $1) 25... Rxe5 26. Bxf7+ Kxf7 27. dxe5 $18) 24. Rc1 $1 Nb5 25. Bxb7 Rad8 (25... Rab8 26. Bc6 Re6 (26... Red8 27. Bxb5 Rxb5 28. Nc6 Ra8 29. Rxc4 $18) 27. d5 $18) 26. Bc6 Nxd4 27. Bxe8 Rxe8 28. Kf2 Nc2 29. Red1 (29. Re2 Nd4 30. Rb2 {was also possible.}) 29... Be4 30. Nxc4 Re6 31. Rd8+ Kh7 32. Kg1 $1 {Caruana plays this phase of the game with extreme accuracy.} Rxf6 33. Rf1 $1 {The final move exchanging the rooks. Anand resigned the game, seeing that further resistance would be futile. A great victory for Caruana and a pretty disastrous game for Anand.} 1-0 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.23"] [Round "10"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O d6 (6... e4 { is the much sharper line.}) 7. d3 h6 8. Na4 $5 {Of course, the idea of this move is to catch the bishop on b4.} a5 9. b3 Re8 10. Bb2 Bf5 11. e3 Qe7 { The main reason why the queen is not so well placed on e7 is because from d7 it can prepare the bishop going to h3, and also the e7 square can be kept free for the knight on c6.} ({After the game Hikaru said that he knew Qd7 wasn't a good move. It seems like he confused this position with some other position, or he saw something really deep, because on the surface Qd7 looks perfectly alright. The thing to worry about is surely d4 trying to trap the bishop. So let's have a look at that move.} 11... Qd7 12. d4 e4 13. Nh4 Bg4 14. Qc2 d5 $5 (14... g5 {now doesn't work due to} 15. f3 $1 {and now Black would have hoped that his queen was on e7.}) 15. a3 Bf8 16. Nc3 {and this might be the position which has to be delved into.}) 12. a3 (12. d4 e4 13. Nh4 Bg4 14. Qc2 g5 $15) 12... Bc5 13. Nc3 (13. h3 $5 $14 {I like this move because it takes advantage of the fact that the queen and the bishop have not taken control of the c8-h3 diagonal.}) 13... Qd7 {Now that d4 is no longer a threat, Black puts his queen on the right spot and prepares Bh3.} 14. Nd5 (14. Re1 $5 {should have been given a serious thought, as the g2 bishop is the soul of the position, and keeping it on the board is in White's favour.} Bh3 15. Bh1 $14) 14... Nxd5 15. cxd5 Ne7 16. d4 exd4 17. Nxd4 {White would have had a pretty big edge here if his rook was on e1. As it turns out the rook is still on f1 and the bishops can be exchanged with Bh3.} Bh3 $1 $11 18. e4 c6 19. dxc6 Nxc6 20. Bxh3 Qxh3 21. Nxc6 bxc6 22. b4 Bb6 (22... axb4 23. axb4 Rxa1 (23... Bxb4 24. Qd4 $18) 24. Bxa1 (24. Qxa1 Bxb4 25. Bxg7 Rxe4 $11 26. Bh8 {is nicely refuted by} Qxf1+ $1 27. Kxf1 Re1+ 28. Qxe1 Bxe1 $17) 24... Ba7 25. Qxd6 Rxe4 26. Bc3 (26. Qxc6 $2 Bxf2+ $1 $19) 26... Qe6 $11) 23. Qxd6 Rxe4 24. Qxc6 Rae8 25. Qxb6 $6 (25. Bc3 { was an oppotunity to play for a win with the extra pawn.} axb4 26. axb4 Qe6 27. Qxe6 R8xe6 $14 {White has decent chances to press in this position.}) 25... Rh4 $1 {This leads to an immediate draw.} 26. gxh4 Qg4+ 27. Kh1 Qf3+ 28. Kg1 Qg4+ 29. Kh1 Qf3+ 30. Kg1 Qg4+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Championship Candidates"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.24"] [Round "11"] [White "Anish Giri"] [Black "Hikaru Nakamura"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2016.03.10"] {[Annotations by GM Robert Hess] In this encounter between Anish Giri and Hikaru Nakamura, the Dutch grandmaster eschews his normal 1. d4 in favor of the Giuco Piano. Giri likely was hoping to catch Nakamura by surprise, hence his decision to enter an opening that is infrequently tested at the elite level.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O (4. c3 {is considered the main line. For just one example of a line that has been viewed as relatively level, if not providing white the slightest of edges:} Nf6 5. d4 (5. d3 {is often the move of choice these days, resulting in a position where both sides maneuver a lot. Typically white has a teeny advantage (surprise, surprise), but nothing particularly concrete. It simply transposes to the game continuation.}) 5... exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Nxe4 8. Bxb4 Nxb4 9. Bxf7+ Kxf7 10. Qb3+ d5 11. Ne5+ Ke6 12. Qxb4 Qf8 13. Qxf8 Rxf8 {has been played out numerous times. Black should be fine with proper play.}) (4. b4 {can be played if the player with the white pieces is feeling particularly frisky. In fact, Nakamura has used the Evans Gambit to beat your humble annotator.}) 4... Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 {After seeing Giri make this pawn push, I wondered why more players don't opt for this move. I have had the black side of this position many times, and my opponents tend to continue with ideas like Bc4-b3-c2 and Re1, Nbd2-f1-g3. I'm a fan of what the Dutchman did.} O-O 8. Re1 Ba7 ({In a recent battle in Zurich (note that the game was not in a classical time control), Anand outplayed Giri from a slightly inferior position:} 8... h6 9. h3 Be6 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. Rxe3 Qd7 13. Nbd2 Qf7 14. g3 Nd7 15. Kg2 a5 16. Qc2 Nc5 17. Rf1 Qd7 18. b3 Ne7 19. Nc4 b5 20. axb5 Qxb5 21. Rb1 Nc6 22. Ncd2 Rab8 23. d4 exd4 24. Nxd4 Nxd4 25. cxd4 Na6 26. Qc3 Qb6 27. Nf3 Nb4 28. Qc4 Rbe8 29. Rc1 Rf7 30. Nd2 Ref8 31. f4 e5 32. Nf3 exf4 33. gxf4 d5 34. exd5 Qd6 35. Ne5 Rxf4 36. Kg1 Kh7 37. Rg3 R8f5 38. Rg4 {Giri,A (2798)-Anand,V (2784) Zuerich 2016 0-1 }) 9. h3 h6 10. Nbd2 Ne7 11. Nf1 Ng6 12. Ng3 {Looks to me like a very normal position. White has a small plus because he can operate more easily in the center.} c6 13. Ba2 Be6 ({The game continuation apparently was a novelty. Playing too quickly in the center with ...d5 could backfire. In this sample game, White certainly had an advantage out of the opening before the game became a bit sloppy.} 13... d5 14. exd5 Nxd5 15. d4 exd4 16. Nxd4 Ndf4 17. Qf3 Qf6 18. Ne4 Qh4 19. Nd6 Bxd4 20. cxd4 Be6 21. Re4 Bxa2 22. Rxa2 f5 23. Rxf4 Qe7 24. Nxf5 Qe1+ 25. Kh2 Nxf4 26. Qxf4 Qe6 27. Ra3 Rxf5 28. Qg3 Rd8 29. Re3 Qf6 30. Re5 Rxf2 31. Bxh6 Rf8 32. Bxg7 Qxg7 33. Rg5 R2f7 34. Rxg7+ Rxg7 35. Qb3+ Kh8 36. g4 Re7 37. Kg3 Rfe8 38. Kh4 Rh7+ 39. Kg3 Rhe7 40. Kh4 Rh7+ 41. Kg3 Rhe7 42. Kf4 Rf8+ 43. Kg5 {Hreinsson,H (2231)-Henrichs,T (2492) Reykjavik 2014 1-0}) 14. Bxe6 {Certainly the correct choice if Giri hoped to win.} fxe6 15. d4 exd4 16. cxd4 {We've reached a critical juncture. Black's pawns are undoubled, but his structure certainly isn't pretty. A pawn's best friend is another pawn, and currently a bunch of Nakamura's little guys stand unprotected. White definitely has a good position here. Also note that it is very difficult to find active plans for Black without making a legitimate compromise.} d5 17. exd5 (17. e5 {would have been the wrong idea, since the closed center makes the black pawns better and the white pawn on d4 more of a backward target. Nakamura would be the one with the opportunity to break the chain with a future ...c5, and the open f-file certainly works in Black's favor. White has an opportunity to eventually swing his rook into the game via a3, but it's a long story.}) 17... exd5 {This looks like the natural response, but it actually gets Nakamura into real danger. A surprising realization considering it's almost a reflex to play ...exd5, but the activity Nakamura would have enjoyed is more valuable than an undesirable pawn structure.} (17... Nxd5 18. Rxe6 Nh4 {gives Black ample counterplay for the sacrificed pawn. In fact, it is looking difficult for White to keep up his defense of the vulnerable isolated target on d4.}) 18. Qd3 Ne7 19. Bd2 Bb8 20. Bb4 Bd6 21. Bxd6 (21. Qa3 Nc8 22. Bc5 {In many variations, planting the bishop on c5 is a good idea. For starters, it is a protected square and the queen can now reroute itself from a3. More importantly, if Black captures on c5, White can take back with the pawn use the d4 square as a pathway to e6 for his knight. If Black opts for ... b6, then the c6 pawn immediately becomes a weakness. As both Gata Kamsky and Yasser Seirawan have taught me over the years, sometimes the best way to beat your opponent is to induce just a single, lasting weakness.}) 21... Qxd6 22. Re3 Rae8 23. Ne5 Qc7 (23... Qb4 {was a more active try. Perhaps Nakamura was concerned about the queen trade:} 24. Qb3 Qxb3 (24... Qxd4 25. Qxb7 Ne4 { might just let Black escape.} 26. Nxe4 dxe4 27. Nxc6 Nxc6 28. Qxc6 Qxb2 29. Rf1 Qf6 30. Qc4+ Qe6 31. Rxe4 Qxc4 32. Rxc4 Re2 {looks like a draw with precise play.}) 25. Rxb3 Rb8 26. Re1 {after which White surely stands better, but Black has very good chances to hold.}) 24. b4 Nc8 25. Rc1 Qd8 (25... Nd7 26. Ng6 (26. Nf5 Nxe5 27. dxe5 Rxe5 28. Nxh6+ Kh8 {is approaching equality. It looks a bit scary for Black, but the number of pieces on the board is shrinking, meaning better drawing chances.}) (26. f4 Nd6 {Giri of course would remain better, but the black knights have more squares to jump to.}) 26... Rxe3 27. Qxe3 Rf6 28. Qe8+ Kh7 29. Ne5 Nxe5 30. dxe5 Rf7 {looks acceptable for Black.}) 26. b5 axb5 27. axb5 cxb5 28. Qxb5 Nd6 {All pawns are covered, but Nakamura will have a tough task defending. The queenside pawns are both isolated, and the light squares on the kingside feel quite exposed.} 29. Qb3 b5 30. Rce1 Qa5 31. Qb1 Qb6 (31... Qa4 {feels more precise, if only because it is far more active. Nakamura was playing outstanding defense throughout this game, but sometimes the best defense is a good offense.} 32. Qc1 Nc4 33. R3e2 Qb3 { Black is coming back here. White is better, as he is in every variation, but this one feels hard to win.}) 32. Qg6 Qc7 {Resorting to passivity. Nakamura misses a chance to snatch the d4 pawn and run.} (32... Qxd4 33. Nc6 (33. Nh5 Nxh5 34. Qxd6 (34. Qxh5 Rxf2 $1 (34... Rf5 35. Qxe8+ Nxe8 36. Nc6 Qf6 37. Ne7+ Kh7 38. Nxf5 Qxf5 39. Rxe8 {is level.}) 35. Kxf2 Ne4+ 36. Kg1 Rxe5 {and the tides have turned, since black can claim the advantage.}) 34... Rf6 35. Qd7 Rxe5 36. Rxe5 Qxf2+ 37. Kh2 Qg3+ 38. Kh1 Rf1+ 39. Rxf1 Qxe5 40. Qc8+ Kh7 41. Qc2+ Kg8 42. Qc8+ {is a draw.}) 33... Rxe3 34. Rxe3 Qb2 35. Re7 Rf7 36. Rxf7 Nxf7 37. Nf5 Qc1+ 38. Kh2 Qf4+ 39. Kg1 Qc1+ {with a perpetual check.}) 33. Qd3 Re6 34. Ne2 Rfe8 (34... Nh5 {would have been an interesting attempt to control the f4 square. Ideally Black would like to trade at least a pair of rooks, as whittling down the material reduces the potency of open-file control.}) 35. Nf4 R6e7 36. Nfg6 Re6 37. Qb1 Qb7 38. Qb4 ({With concrete plans hard to come by, it must have been tempting to push forward on the kingside. Yet, to what end? The essential question is if the expansion on the kingside simply creates more space or weaknesses.} 38. g4) 38... Nf5 39. Rf3 Ne7 40. Nf4 {Giri is avoiding trades, but perhaps he could have swapped knights and changed his plans:} (40. Nxe7+ R6xe7 41. Rc3 {Here, Giri would take control of a truly open file. This looks like a very attractive option to me. The computer might hold such a position, but it looks pretty rough for Black.}) 40... Nc6 41. Qb2 R6e7 { The position is very tender, and at any moment Nakamura can collapse. Giri has done well to build up immense pressure, but he needs to find a knockout blow.} (41... Rd6 42. Rfe3 Qb6 43. Qc1 $1 Re7 (43... Nxd4 44. Nd7 Rxd7 45. Rxe8+ Nxe8 46. Rxe8+ Kf7 47. Qc8 {is a winning attack for White.}) 44. Neg6 {looks like huge trouble for Black. One amusing line that emphasizes how careful Nakamura must be:} Rxe3 45. Qxe3 Qxd4 46. Qe8+ Nxe8 47. Rxe8+ Kf7 48. Rf8#) 42. Rfe3 Na7 $5 {What else? Nakamura is hanging on by a thread. Many other moves would have lost material:} (42... Nxe5 43. dxe5 Ne4 44. Qd4 Rxe5 45. f3 {picks up the knight for two pawns.}) (42... Qb6 43. Nfg6 Re6 44. Nxc6 Qxc6 45. Rxe6 Rxe6 46. Ne7+ Rxe7 47. Rxe7 {White is up a clean exchange.}) 43. Qb3 Nc8 44. Qb4 (44. Rc3 Nd6 45. Rc5 {was very powerful. Black can hardly stop such infiltration, after which he loses at least a pawn.}) 44... Nd7 45. h4 {As is the case with most positions, it is a difficult choice to make between keeping the tension alive with as many pieces on the board as possible or trading into a clearer position with a signficant advantage. Here Giri could have gotten rid of all the rooks, after which his chances are great to win.} (45. Neg6 $1 {It seems very strange to move this knight, but trading rooks turns out to be very good for White at this particular moment.} Rxe3 46. Rxe3 Rxe3 47. fxe3 Qc6 48. Kh2 { is a strong move just to avoid checks after which} Kh7 49. Qb1 Kg8 50. Qf5 { White nets the pawn on d5, with a nearly winning edge. The b-pawn may potentially save the day, but its an uphill battle for Black.}) 45... Nxe5 46. dxe5 Rf7 47. Nh5 (47. g3 {was my preference. It makes sense to keep this knight solidly on f4, from where it simultaneously attacks d5 and supports the e5-e6 push.}) 47... Qe7 48. Qd4 (48. Qg4 {was also a strong move.} Qe6 (48... Ref8 $2 49. Nf6+ Kh8 50. Nxd5 Qa7 51. e6 Rxf2 52. e7 {is too easy for White.}) 49. Qg3 Rd8 50. Nf4 Qe8 51. e6 {allows White to crash through. The e-pawn is overwhelming.}) 48... Ref8 49. e6 Rf5 50. Nxg7 $4 {A tragic blunder by Giri, who had really done well to maintain a signficant advantage for the last 30 moves. I'm not entirely sure what he overlooked.} ({The simple} 50. Re5 Nd6 ( 50... b4 51. g3 {gives the white knight a nice home on f4.}) 51. Rxd5 {netted a pawn. A very bizarre turn of events; clearly Giri missed Nakamura's 51st move, but this was poor calculation on his part.}) 50... Qxg7 51. Rg3 Rg5 52. Rxg5 hxg5 53. Qxd5 {Nakamura can even play on here with 53...Ne7, but draw was agreed here, with Giri undoubtedly disappointed by yet another blown opportunity. The jokes were pouring in about how he can draw any position, and this result especially hurts. A win would have put Giri just half a point back of the leaders; now he sits a full point back, and will have to string together at least two wins in the final three rounds if he hopes to have any chance of winning the Candidates'.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.24"] [Round "11"] [White "Topalov, V."] [Black "Caruana, F."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A33"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2794"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2016.03.10"] {[Annotations by GM Robert Hess] The English Renaissance continues, as the player in last place challenges the Candidates' leader with c4. Both players clearly entered the game in a fighting mood.} 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 e6 6. g3 (6. e4 {would be a strong move if Black could not counter by putting his bishop on b4, disrupting the white queenside.}) 6... Qb6 7. Ndb5 Ne5 8. Bf4 (8. Bg2 a6 9. Qa4 Rb8 10. Na3 Bxa3 11. Qxa3 Nxc4 12. Qb3 Qxb3 13. axb3 Ne5 {is about level and occurred in Grandelius,N (2635)-Ragger,M (2689) Gibraltar 2016}) 8... Nfg4 9. e3 (9. Qa4 g5 10. Bxe5 Qxf2+ 11. Kd1 Nxe5 12. Nc7+ Kd8 13. Nxa8 Qd4+ 14. Kc2 Nxc4 {is bizarre theory, but Nakamura ended up outpreparing Karjakin in Nakamura,H (2776)-Karjakin,S (2760) Zuerich 2015}) 9... a6 10. Qa4 (10. h3 axb5 11. hxg4 Qc6 12. Rh5 Nf3+ 13. Ke2 Ng1+ 14. Ke1 Nf3+ 15. Ke2 Ng1+ {is an amusing draw by repetition.}) 10... Ra7 ({Some might be curious why the seemingly obvious} 10... Rb8 {wasn't played. There must be some crazy theory here, because White is sacrificing a lot of material for the initative.} 11. Be2 axb5 12. Nxb5 g5 13. Bxg5 Qc6 14. O-O-O {and I legitimately have no idea as to who is better here. At the elite level, this kind of messy position needs to be heavily analyzed with an engine prior to the game, or else the game might end in a rout.}) 11. h3 axb5 (11... g5 12. hxg4 gxf4 13. gxf4 axb5 (13... Nxg4 14. Bh3 axb5 15. Qxb5 Qxb5 16. Nxb5 Ra4 { was an improvement for Black.}) 14. Qxb5 Qxb5 15. Nxb5 Nc6 16. Nxa7 Nxa7 17. Bd3 Bg7 {Matlakov,M (2689)-Grischuk,A (2792) Dubai 2014}) 12. Qxb5 Qc6 (12... Qd8 13. hxg4 Nc6 {is a fascinating attempt. The bishop on f4 is trapped, but White receives ample compensation:} 14. O-O-O e5 15. Bxe5 Ra5 16. Bxg7 Rxb5 ( 16... Bxg7 17. Qb3 {also allows White sufficient compensation for the sacrificed minor piece.}) 17. Bxh8 Rg5 18. Nd5 {is wildly unclear. White has three pawns and a rook for the queen, and importantly controls many vital squares. The position definitely looks easier to play for White.}) 13. hxg4 Qxh1 ({More accurate was} 13... Nd3+ 14. Bxd3 Qxh1+ 15. Bf1 Qc6 {and the bishop is worse on f4 than on d4 (Topalov).}) 14. Bxe5 Qc6 (14... Ra6 {was another possibility. Black has more options after this waiting move. The black queen can later decide if it should retreat all the way back to c6 or be aggressive on f3.}) 15. Bd4 Ra8 (15... Ra6 16. Qh5 {gives White strong compensation. I prefer to play with the minor pieces, since the black king is stuck in the center and it is not entirely clear how to unravel.}) 16. a3 Be7 ( 16... d6 17. Bg2 $1 {Caruana}) (16... h5 {At several points throughout the game, this move was possible. Not advisable at this particular moment, but definitely an idea to keep in mind.}) 17. Qh5 ({Also possible was} 17. Bxg7 Rg8 18. Bd4 Rg5 19. Qb3 d6 (19... b6 {might be an improvement for Black, but I have no idea how to evaluate this mess. As Topalov confidently stated in the press conference, White should be better.}) 20. c5 Bd7 {"also looks dangerous. " (Topalov). I agree with him, because White looks to be dominating after} 21. Bb5 Qh1+ 22. Ke2 Bxb5+ (22... Qxa1 23. Bxd7+ Kf8 24. Qxb7 Rd8 25. c6 {is lights out.}) 23. Qxb5+ Qc6 24. Qxc6+ bxc6 25. cxd6 c5 26. Nb5 $1 Bd8 27. Bf6 $1 {And Topalov can claim a substantial endgame advantage.}) 17... Kf8 (17... O-O 18. Bd3 h6 19. f4 ({or} 19. g5 Bxg5 20. f4 Be7 21. Qg4 {Nepomniachtchi}) 19... Qf3 20. Kd2) 18. O-O-O {"It looks quite bad." (Caruana)} (18. Bd3 $5) ( 18. c5 $5 {Topalov's suggestion is a good one, as it restricts Caruana's pieces. White is "down" just an exchange for a pawn, so he must be better here. }) 18... b6 {A very smart move. Caruana needs to develop his bishop, and from a6 it can be a pest. White has difficulty defending the c4 pawn.} 19. Kb1 Ba6 ( 19... d6 20. e4 (20. Qb5 Qxb5 21. cxb5 {might become problematic for Black if he's not careful.}) 20... Ra5 21. Qh1 {and the fight rages on.}) 20. Nb5 Rd8 21. Bc3 (21. g5 $5 {Topalov} e5 22. Bc3 Qg6+ 23. Qxg6 hxg6 24. Bxe5 Rh1 25. Bc7 Rc8 26. Bxb6 d5 {gives mutual chances. White has trouble with piece coordination, while Black might find his task of stopping White's passers to be quite arduous.}) 21... Bxb5 {Following some innacuracies, the advantage definitely belongs to Caruana now.} 22. cxb5 Qf3 23. Rd2 ({Topalov's original intention was} 23. Rd4 {but then saw} Bf6 24. Rf4 Qd1+ 25. Ka2 Qxf1 26. g5 Qxb5 $1 27. gxf6 Qxh5 28. fxg7+ Ke7 {Topalov}) 23... Bf6 24. Bb4+ Kg8 25. Bd6 Rc8 26. Qh3 Qe4+ $1 (26... h5 {immediately is worse:} 27. Bg2 Qxg4 28. Qxg4 hxg4 29. a4 $1 Rh5 30. a5 $1 {although even here Black can survive, thanks to the tricky continuation:} Rxb5 (30... bxa5 31. b6 Be5 32. b7 Re8 33. Bxe5 Rxe5 34. Rxd7 {is not a fun ending for Black. Despite the extra material, he's hoping that he can survive White's passed b-pawn.}) 31. a6 (31. Bb7 Rc4 32. Ba6 Rcb4 33. Bxb5 Rxb5 {with an edge for Black.}) 31... Ra5 32. Bb7 Rc4 33. Rd3 Rca4 34. Ra3 Rxa3 35. bxa3 Bd8 36. e4 f5 37. exf5 Kf7 38. Bb8 Rxa3 39. fxe6+ Kxe6 40. a7 Bc7 $1 {and neither side can make progress. A truly amazing defensive resource! }) 27. Bd3 Qd5 28. Bb4 Qf3 29. Bf1 h5 $1 {A very strong phase from Caruana.} 30. Bg2 (30. gxh5 Rxh5 31. Bg2 Rxh3 32. Bxf3 {is a bad ending as well.}) 30... Qxg4 31. Qxg4 hxg4 32. Bd6 ({Topalov thought Black is winning after} 32. Rxd7 Rh2 33. Bb7 Rb8 (33... Rd8 $6 34. Rxd8+ Bxd8 35. Be1 {Black needs to be very careful here, for the queenside passers seem to roll quite quickly.}) 34. Be1 Rxb7 35. Rxb7 Rh1 36. Kc2 Rxe1 37. Rxb6 Re2+ 38. Kd3 Rxb2 {but Caruana wasn't sure. Of course, this is incredibly difficult to predict, especially when you don't have that much time on the clock to calculate the resulting ending. It looks like it should be winning, but if you reach this ending you better be certain.}) 32... Rc4 33. Ka2 Rh2 34. Bf1 Rc1 35. Bd3 Bg5 $1 36. Bf4 Be7 { A very bizarre decision. Caruana must have had hallucinations about Topalov gaining queenside passed pawns. Of course, he should have exchanged bishops!} ( 36... Bxf4 37. exf4 Kf8 38. b4 Ke7 39. a4 d5 (39... Rg1 40. a5 Rxg3 41. axb6 ( 41. a6 Rgh3) 41... Rf3 42. b7 Rh8 {also was quite simple. The key here is that Black will play d7-d5 and close off the bishop's protection of the passed pawn. }) 40. a5 Kd6 {was "the simplest way to do it I guess." (Caruana)}) 37. e4 Bc5 38. e5 Re1 $6 (38... g6 $5) (38... f6 39. Bg6 fxe5 40. Bxe5 d5 {Caruana. He must have been really nervous about the queenside pawns, but here Black is up a clean exchange and about to win the f2 pawn.}) 39. Rc2 $1 g5 $6 ({In time trouble Caruana couldn't find the key defense:} 39... Kf8 $1 40. Rxc5 (40. b4 Bd4) 40... bxc5 41. b6 Ke7 42. b7 (42. a4 Kd8 43. Bg5+ Kc8) (42. Bg5+ f6 43. Bh4 Rxh4 44. gxh4 Kd8 {is curtains. The king stops the queenside pawns, and now Caruana's little ones get to roll down the board.}) 42... Rh8 {and wins.}) 40. Bxg5 Rxe5 41. Bf6 $1 Rd5 (41... Reh5 42. b4 Bf8 (42... Rxf2 43. bxc5 Rxc2+ 44. Bxc2 Rxc5 45. Bd3 Rd5) 43. Kb3 Rxb5 44. Rc8 Rxf2 45. Be7 Rd5 $2 46. Be4 Re5 $2 47. Bxf8 {Caruana/Topalov}) (41... Rd5 42. Be4 {Caruana was planning on} Rxf2 (42... Rd1 43. Rxc5 bxc5 44. b6 Rd6 45. Bd8 Rxb6 46. Bxb6) (42... Rd4 43. Rxc5 ({the players missed} 43. b4 $1) 43... Rxe4 44. Rc8+ Kh7 45. Rh8+ Kg6 46. Rxh2 Kxf6 47. Rh8 Ke7 48. Rb8 Kd6 49. Rxb6+ Kc5 50. Rb8 f5 51. b4+ Kc4 52. b6 Re2+ 53. Kb1 {is bad for Black (Caruana/Topalov).}) 43. Rxf2 Bxf2 44. Bxd5 exd5 45. Be5 Be3 46. a4 f5 47. a5 bxa5 48. Bc7 f4 49. Bxf4 (49. b6 $2 f3 50. b7 Ba7 51. Bb6 Bb8 52. Bf2 Kf7 53. Kb3 {and soon the players realized that this is completely winning for Black.}) 49... Bxf4 50. gxf4 g3 51. b6 g2 52. b7 g1=Q 53. b8=Q+ Kf7 {draw. "I was ready to finish this game." (Caruana)}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Championship Candidates"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.24"] [Round "11.1"] [White "Levon Aronian"] [Black "Peter Svidler"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D16"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2786"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "96"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {[Annotations by GM Robert Hess]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 e6 (5... Bf5 {is a very topical line:} 6. Ne5 Nbd7 7. Nxc4 Qc7 8. g3 e5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Bf4 Nfd7 11. Bg2 g5 (11... f6) 12. Ne3 gxf4 13. Nxf5 {has been played many, many times.}) 6. e3 c5 7. Bxc4 Nc6 8. O-O cxd4 9. exd4 Be7 10. Be3 ({Tomashevsky, who has a penchant for nursing small positional advantages, chose} 10. Qe2 {and won a really nice game:} O-O 11. Rd1 Nb4 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Ne4 b6 15. Ne5 Bh4 16. Ra3 Bb7 17. Rh3 Bd5 18. Nc3 Bxc4 19. Qxc4 Be7 20. Qe2 Rc8 21. Qg4 Kh7 22. Rg3 Bf6 23. Ne4 Rc7 24. h4 Qe7 25. Kh2 Nd5 26. Nxf6+ Qxf6 27. Rdd3 Ne7 28. Rgf3 Nf5 29. g3 Kg8 30. Qf4 Rd8 31. d5 Rc2 32. Nxf7 Rf8 33. dxe6 Rc5 34. b4 {1-0 (34) Tomashevsky,E (2743)-Mchedlishvili,M (2618) Reykjavik 2015}) 10... O-O 11. Qe2 Nb4 12. Ne5 Bd7 13. Rad1 Nbd5 14. Bc1 ({ This move is new, and interesting. Previously White had gone straight for the pawn thrust:} 14. f4 Nxc3 15. bxc3 Bxa4 16. Ra1 Bc6 17. Nxc6 bxc6 18. f5 exf5 19. Rxf5 Nd5 20. Bxd5 cxd5 21. Qf3 Bd6 22. Rf1 Qc7 23. Rg5 g6 24. Rxd5 Rad8 25. Bh6 Rfe8 26. h4 Re6 27. c4 Rde8 28. Rxd6 Rxd6 29. Bf4 Qxc4 30. Bxd6 Qxd4+ 31. Qf2 Qxf2+ 32. Kxf2 Re6 33. Rd1 a5 34. Rd4 a4 35. Ba3 Ra6 36. Kf3 Kg7 37. g4 h6 38. Rd8 Rb6 39. Bf8+ Kh7 40. Bc5 Rb3+ 41. Ke4 g5 42. h5 {1-0 (46) Khenkin,I (2530)-Velikov,P (2445) Heraklion 1992}) 14... Bc6 (14... Nxc3 15. bxc3 Bxa4 16. Rd3 (16. Rde1 {threatening a future f4-f5 is also possible.}) 16... b5 17. Ba2 b4 18. Rg3 {is pretty intimidating to face over the board.}) 15. Rd3 Nxc3 16. bxc3 Bd5 17. Rg3 Bxc4 18. Nxc4 {White has achieved a nice advantage. Material is even, Black's structure is solid, but all activity belongs to Aronian. However, Peter translates to "rock" and Svidler is among the most stubborn defenders in the chess world.} g6 19. Ne5 Nd7 20. Bh6 Re8 21. f4 Bf8 22. Bg5 Be7 23. Ng4 {A nice find by Aronian. He forces the issue here, as a waiting move might result in immediate demise.} h5 (23... Rc8 {with the idea of bringing the rook into the game is too slow.} 24. Nh6+ Kg7 25. f5 $1 Bxg5 26. fxg6 f5 (26... f6 27. Rxg5 $1 fxg5 28. Rf7+ Kxh6 29. Rxh7+ Kxg6 30. Qh5+ Kf6 31. Qf7#) (26... Kxh6 27. Rh3+ Bh4 28. gxf7 Rf8 29. Qg4 {is the end of the road for Black.}) 27. Nf7 Qe7 28. Nxg5 hxg6 {will be a tough defensive task for Black.}) 24. Bxe7 Qxe7 25. Ne5 Kh7 26. Qc2 Rg8 27. Rg5 Kh8 (27... f5 { was a possible response here. The pawn structure is quite hideous for Black, but everything is defended.} 28. Nf3 Nf6 29. Rg3 Ne4 30. Rh3 Rac8 31. Ne5 { White is much better, but whether enough this advantage can be turned into a win is another question.}) 28. Rf3 {I'm not a huge fan of this move, mainly because it means that Aronian can't recapture on e5 with the f-pawn.} (28. Qd2) 28... Nxe5 29. Rxe5 Qd6 (29... Qa3 {As I've said many times, sometimes the best defense is a good offense. There is no foreseeable checkmate, so a3 looks like a pretty great landing spot for the black queen.} 30. Rh3 Kg7 (30... Rac8 31. g4 Kg7 32. gxh5 gxh5 33. Rexh5 Kf6+ 34. Rg5 Rh8 {is just one possible variation. White is up a pawn, but both kings are unsafe.}) 31. Rg3 h4 32. Rg4 Rge8 33. Rxh4 Rac8 {and Black is fighting back!}) 30. Qd2 Kg7 31. Rg3 Rh8 32. Qb2 Rac8 33. Qxb7 Rb8 (33... h4 34. Rge3 Qa3 35. Rxe6 Rxc3 {is even. White is up a pawn, but most of his remaining ones are loose and his king is open.}) 34. Qe4 Rhc8 35. Rb5 $2 {The move allows Svidler to equalize without any difficulty.} (35. h3 {leaves White well ahead. Aronian creates a luft for his king and keeps his extra pawn.} Qc6 (35... h4 36. Rxg6+ fxg6 37. Rxe6 {would be decisive.}) 36. d5 exd5 37. Rxd5 {is clearly nice for White.}) 35... Rxb5 36. axb5 Qa3 37. Qc2 (37. Rxg6+ fxg6 38. Qb7+ Kh6 39. Qxc8 Qc1+ 40. Kf2 Qd2+ 41. Kf3 Qd3+ 42. Kf2 Qd2+ 43. Kf1 Qd1+ {could have ended the game right away. Perhaps Aronian had not given up hopes of winning this game, which turned out to be a fatal misjudgment.}) 37... Rb8 38. Qe2 $2 (38. Rd3 Rxb5 39. c4 Rb2 40. Rxa3 Rxc2 {is a simple draw.}) 38... Qc1+ 39. Kf2 (39. Qf1 Qb2 (39... Qxf1+ 40. Kxf1 Rxb5 41. c4 Rb4 42. Rc3 Kf6 43. Ke2 {should be a draw. At the worst, White will suffer while defending rook and three versus rook and four, a known theoretical draw.}) 40. f5 exf5 41. Qxf5 Rxb5 {is starting to get very uncomfortable for White. Even material, but Black has the outside passed pawn and a safer king. Yikes.}) 39... Qxf4+ 40. Kg1 (40. Rf3 {might have been better, but it doesn't truly help.} Qxh2 41. Rg3 Rb7 42. Qe5+ Kh7 {White will suffer down a pawn.}) 40... Qc1+ 41. Kf2 Qf4+ 42. Kg1 Kg8 $1 {Not a particularly difficult move, but Svidler sensed that his advantage is quite big. Psychologically, Aronian already was out of the game.} 43. Qb2 {Perhaps the objectively losing move. White could have held on by a thread:} (43. Rf3 Qc1+ 44. Qf1 {forcing the queen trade since f7 is hanging} Qxf1+ 45. Rxf1 Rxb5 46. Ra1 a5 (46... Rb3 47. c4 Rd3 48. d5 exd5 49. cxd5 Rxd5 50. Rxa7) (46... Rb7 47. c4 Kf8 48. Kf2 Rb2+ 49. Kf3 Rd2 50. d5 {this move always allows White to hang on!}) 47. c4 Rb4 48. Rxa5 Rxc4 49. d5 e5 50. d6 Rd4 51. Rxe5 Rxd6 { In almost all of these endings, White could have reached the theoretically drawn rook and three versus rook and two.}) 43... a6 44. c4 (44. Qf2 Qc7 { is problematic for White. Aronian no longer can exchange queens.}) 44... axb5 45. c5 (45. cxb5 Rc8 46. Rf3 Rc1+ 47. Kf2 Qh4+ 48. Rg3 Rd1 {White's king is toast, and the b-pawn is too slow. For instance:} 49. b6 Qxh2 50. b7 Qg1+ 51. Kf3 Qf1+ 52. Qf2 Qd3+ 53. Kf4 Qf5+ 54. Ke3 Rd3+ 55. Ke2 Rd2+ 56. Kxd2 Qxf2+ 57. Kc1 Qxg3 {and Black collects the house while stopping the promotion.}) 45... Qe4 46. Qd2 (46. h3 {would at least have kept the game going.} Rd8 47. Rf3 Qxd4+ 48. Qxd4 Rxd4 {is winning regardless.}) 46... Qb1+ 47. Kf2 Ra8 48. Qe1 Qb2+ {Aronian threw in the towel, disgusted with his play. Credit to Svidler for keeping psychologically strong after receiving a truly poor position.} 0-1 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.24"] [Round "11"] [White "Anand, V."] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "MVL"] [PlyCount "139"] [EventDate "2016.03.10"] {[Annotations by GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. h3 {Vishy remains faithful to this move which brought him a solid edge in round 3 against Fabiano.} Ne7 8. d4 Bb6 9. Bd3 d5 { The direct move trying to equalize immediately.} ({The other option is to go} 9... Ng6 {was the move played by Fabiano. I generally thought Black is fine if he can get his knight to g6 without giving up the center, but Vishy doesn't agree and got a pleasant edge after} 10. Re1 Re8 11. Qc2 exd4 12. cxd4 c5 13. dxc5 Bxc5 14. Nc3 Be6 15. Be3) 10. Nxe5 {The novelty by Vishy. I have a hard time believing that this is any dangerous, but new is always better!} (10. Nbd2 dxe4 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Bxe4 exd4 13. Qc2 h6 14. a4 $1 {saw a rare occurrence of Magnus Carlsen outpreparing Vladimir Kramnik! Despite the fact he won that game, this idea was dangerous for one game only:} c6 15. Rd1 Nd5 16. Nxd4 Re8 17. a5 Bxa5 18. Nf3 $1 b5 (18... Qc7 $2 19. Bxd5 cxd5 20. Qa4) 19. Nd4 $1 { and here in spite of showing endless amounts of wit, White is not better after the straightforward} Bb7) 10... Nxe4 (10... dxe4 11. Bc4 {is attributing too much power to the Ne5. Also, the e4 pawn can easily be attacked in the next few moves.}) 11. Nd2 {White's only advantage in this position is the awkward position of the Bb6. Thus he might have a few moves to launch direct problems, before Black gets to play c6-Bc7 or sometimes c5.} Nd6 (11... Bf5 {looks very dangerous but might be playable as Black has resources to cover a potential weakened pawn on e4.} 12. Nxe4 Bxe4 13. Qg4 $1 (13. Bxe4 dxe4 14. Re1 Qd5 15. Qb3 (15. Qe2 f5 16. Bf4 c6 17. f3 c5 $1 18. Nc4 cxd4 19. Nxb6 axb6 20. fxe4 fxe4 21. Qxe4 dxc3) 15... Rfe8 $1 {might be alright for Black, his weakened pawn on e4 is compensated by the situation of his queen, and c5 to free his bishop is on the table.}) 13... Bxd3 (13... f5 14. Qg3 c6 15. Be2 $1) 14. Nxd3 Qc8 15. a4 $1 {It does not look very tangible, but White has a slight pressure as he is the dominant side on both fronts.} c6 (15... a5 16. b3 Re8 17. Ba3 Qxg4 18. hxg4 Ng6 19. Rfe1) 16. Re1 Ng6 17. a5 Bc7 18. f4 $5 Qxg4 (18... f5 19. Qf3 Re8 20. Rxe8+ Qxe8 21. a6 b6 22. Bd2 Qe4 23. Qf1 $1) 19. hxg4 Rfe8 20. Bd2 Bd6 (20... h6 21. f5 Nf8 22. a6) 21. g5 $5 {not sure if this is at all scary but it is the most principled attempt I've been able to come up with.}) 12. Nb3 {Black is of course alright in this position if he plays precisely. But at the moment he has to worry on how to develop his pieces, take care of his Bb6 and White's strong Ne5. He'll have to make some concessions but it is not obvious which ones are real.} c6 (12... f6 {it might not be so pleasant to make this move but at the same time winning a tempo on the unpleasant Ne5 makes sense. The square e6 could potentially be a concern of course but it's not enough of an entry opint by itself.} 13. Nf3 Bf5 14. Nc5 (14. Bf4 Bxd3 15. Qxd3 Ng6) 14... Re8 {and it is quite hard to believe that this could be anything for White.} 15. Re1 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Ng6 {is fully equal.}) 13. Nc5 Ng6 (13... Bf5 $1 {Sergey was afraid to run into some dangerous initiative but it would have been defused thanks to some tactics.} 14. Bxf5 (14. Bf4 {might be the best attempt to keep some pressure.} Re8 15. Re1 f6 (15... Bxd3 $6 16. Nexd3 Bxc5 17. dxc5 {Now Black is definitely in danger of being worse.}) 16. Ned7 $5 (16. Ng4 Bxd3 17. Nxd3 Nef5) 16... Bxd3 17. Qxd3 Ne4 18. Nxb6 Nxc5 19. dxc5 axb6 20. cxb6 Qxb6 21. b3 {is a bit annoying as now White has a few lasting trumps, his bishop and a possibility to create desequilibrium on the queenside. It's all very thin though (or even abstract as Black's knight is also a pretty good piece on e5)}) 14... Nexf5 (14... Ndxf5 $2 15. Ncd7 Re8 16. Qg4) 15. Qg4 Qc8 $1 {A delicate move to find, but it seems to solve all problems after} 16. Ncd7 f6 $1 (16... Rd8 17. Nf6+ $5 Kh8 18. Bg5 {looks scary even though it is nothing as well after} Qe6 19. Rae1 gxf6 20. Ng6+ hxg6 21. Rxe6 fxg5 $1) 17. Nxf8 $6 fxe5 18. dxe5 Ne4 {and Black takes the upper hand.}) 14. Qh5 Bxc5 15. dxc5 Ne4 16. Bxe4 dxe4 17. Rd1 $1 (17. Nc4 f5 18. Nd6 b6 19. Rd1 Qf6 {and the outpost on d6 is not as stable as it should be, while Black's initiative on the kingside can't be neglected yet.}) 17... Qe7 18. Nxg6 hxg6 19. Qg5 Qxg5 20. Bxg5 {I was in line with Sergey's initial relief when entering this endgame, as he thought it was a dead draw. That might in fact be one of the most venomous lines available for White, as he gets control of the d file and the dark squares, and the pawn e4 is a long term problem. In fact Sergey had won a rather similar endgame (from Vishy's side) in a must-win situation at the World Cup against Alexander Onischuk. So I expected him to be familiar with the potential issues of the position and to defend precisely enough. He's had worse than that in this event after all!} f6 21. Be3 g5 (21... Be6 22. Rd4 Rad8 23. Rxe4 Kf7 24. h4 {Always a move to keep in mind for Black. Also, it's not ideal to give up the pawn so quickly.}) (21... Bf5 22. Rd4 Rad8 23. Ra4 a6 24. g4 Be6 25. Rxe4 Kf7 26. Kh2 g5 27. Kg3) 22. Rd6 Re8 23. Rad1 Be6 24. b3 (24. a4 $2 Bb3 25. R1d4 Re7 {and the bishop will get to d3 - or even stay here!}) 24... Kf7 25. R1d4 Bf5 (25... g4 26. h4 {and White would get a boulevard for the king!} Bf5 (26... g3 $5 27. fxg3 Bg4 28. Kf2 Kg6 29. Bf4 {and the king still gets a good place to set foot in.}) 27. Kh2 Re7 28. Kg3 Rae8 29. b4 {with unpleasantness written all over the board.}) (25... Re7 26. Rxe4 Rh8 27. f3) 26. a4 Re7 27. g4 $1 (27. b4 a5) 27... Bh7 (27... Be6 {Looked more logical to me to keep good control of the d file. But White can calmly increase pressure on the queenside:} 28. c4 Rh8 {unfortunate to play this move but otherwise the pawn falls. Probably Sergey was afraid of this, and maybe rightly so.} 29. Kg2 a6 30. b4 Bc8 31. b5 Re6 32. Rd2 Rxd6 33. Rxd6 (33. cxd6 Be6 $1) 33... cxb5 34. cxb5 axb5 35. axb5 {And Black should hold but it's hard to be satisfied to play so passively with White's queenside majority looking very dangerous.}) 28. b4 Bg8 (28... a5 $1 {This works for purely concrete reasons. And you wouldn't expect it to work, so I'd understand if Sergey had not even considered it.} 29. b5 (29. Rd8 Rxd8 30. Rxd8 Re8 31. Rd7+ Re7 32. Rd4 Ke8 33. bxa5 Bg8 34. Rb4 Bd5 35. Kg2 Rd7 36. Kg3 Kf7 {is probably nothing to write about for White.}) 29... cxb5 30. axb5 a4 31. Rd2 a3 $1 (31... Ke8 32. Rb6 $1 Rc7 33. Re6+ Re7 34. Rxe7+ Kxe7 35. c6 bxc6 36. Bc5+ Ke6 37. b6 {and Black is in definite trouble:} a3 38. Rd6+ $1 Ke5 39. Rd1 Ke6 40. Bd6 a2 41. b7 a1=Q 42. Rxa1 Rxa1+ 43. Kh2 Rb1 44. Bb4) 32. Ra2 Kg6 33. Bc1 e3 $1 34. fxe3 Re5 {and the pawn c5 unexpectedly falls after} 35. Rxa3 Rb8 $1 {and all of White's pawns will be potential targets after that, guaranteeing Black enough compensation.}) 29. b5 Rc8 30. Rd7 Rce8 31. b6 $1 {You definitely have to grant Vishy with the moves posing the most practical problems. Of course, this might not have been the most difficult one as an outpost or a passed pawn on c7 looks desirable.} a6 32. Rc7 Kf8 33. c4 Be6 34. Rxe4 Kf7 (34... Rxc7 $2 35. bxc7 Ke7 36. f4 gxf4 37. Bxf4 Kd7 (37... g5 38. Bd2 Kd7 39. Ba5 Kc8 40. Bc3) 38. Kf2 Bf7 (38... g5 39. Bd6 Bf7 (39... f5 40. gxf5 Bxf5 41. c8=Q+ Rxc8 42. Re7+) 40. Re7+ Rxe7 41. Bxe7 Kxc7 42. a5 {To avoid any counterplay on the queenside. White's passed pawns on the kingside will easily decide the game:} f5 43. gxf5 Bxc4 44. Kg3 Kd7 45. Bxg5 Ke8 46. Kf4 Kf7 47. h4 Be2 48. Ke5 Bg4 49. f6 Be2 50. Kd6) 39. Rd4+ Kc8 40. h4 Rg8 41. h5 Re8 42. Kg3 {With an easy technical win:} Bg8 43. Kh4 Bf7 44. a5 Bg8 (44... Rh8 45. Re4 Kd7 (45... Re8 46. Rxe8+ Bxe8 47. Bd6 Kd7 48. g5 fxg5+ 49. Kxg5 Bf7 50. Be5) 46. Bd6 Be6 47. g5) 45. Bd6 Bf7 46. Kg3 Bg8 47. Kf4 Bh7 (47... Bf7 48. Kf5) 48. g5 fxg5+ 49. Kxg5 {and we finally located the g spot in g7. In general, Black's inability to move his king was of course the main problem, and it was enough as the kingside is left with not enough protection.}) 35. f4 Rxc7 (35... f5 $1 {had to be played now or on the next move. (Also pointed out by Anand at the post-mortem.) Again, not an easy decision to make, but at least it was possible to work it out at the board. But I think Sergey missed Vishy's next moves, so his mistake makes sense.} 36. Re5 (36. gxf5 Bxf5 37. Re5 Bxh3) (36. Rd4 Rxc7 37. bxc7 Re7 $1 38. fxg5 Rxc7 { Despite getting the most dangerous pawn off the board, there are still some problems to solve after the precise} 39. h4 $1 Rd7 40. Rd6 Rxd6 41. cxd6 f4 $1 {the easiest to make a draw as White can't create a passed pawn on the kingside now.} 42. Bxf4 Bxg4 43. Kf2 g6 44. c5 Ke6 45. Ke3 Bd1 46. Kd2 Bf3 47. Kc3 Bg4 48. Kb4 Kd7 49. Ka5 Bd1) 36... Rxc7 (36... gxf4 37. Bxf4 fxg4 38. h4 Rxc7 39. bxc7 Bc8 40. h5 $1 {looks dangerous as you can't get rid of the h pawn. In fact Black just stays passive and the White king can't find a way in Black's camp.} Rxe5 41. Bxe5 Kg8 42. Kf2 Kh7 {not needed but just to show Black can't get the h pawn.} 43. Bf4 $1 Kg8 44. Ke3 (44. Ke3 Kf7 45. Be5 Bf5 46. Kd4 Be6 47. Kc3 Bf5 48. Kb4 {and now} Ke7 $1 49. Bxg7 g3 50. Be5 g2 51. Bh2 Kd7 52. h6 g1=Q 53. Bxg1 Kxc7 {holds as White's king doesn't make it to the kingside.})) 37. bxc7 Bc8 38. Rxe8 Kxe8 39. fxg5 fxg4 40. h4 g6 41. a5 (41. Kf2 Bf5 42. a5 Kd7 43. Bf4 Be6 44. Ke3 Bxc4 45. Kd4 Bb3 46. Ke5 g3 47. Bxg3 Bd1 48. Kf6 Bh5) 41... Be6 42. Bf4 Kd7 43. Bg3 {to avoid any g3 which would give the bishop control of h5, avoiding the creation of a second passed pawn.} Bxc4 44. Kf2 Ba2 45. Ke3 Bb1 46. Kd4 Bc2 47. Ke5 Kxc7 48. h5 gxh5 49. Kf6+ Kd8 50. g6 Ke8 51. g7 Bh7) 36. bxc7 Rc8 $2 (36... f5 $1 {would transpose to 35...f5}) 37. f5 Bd7 38. h4 $1 {Probably Sergey missed this move, but now his situation soon becomes desperate as he loses a pawn.} g6 (38... Rxc7 39. hxg5 fxg5 (39... Rc8 40. g6+ Kf8 41. Rd4 Ke7 42. Bf4) 40. Rd4 $1 Bc8 (40... Be8 41. Bxg5 Rd7 42. Re4 ) 41. Rd8 Re7 42. Kf2 Re8 43. Rd6) (38... gxh4 39. Rd4 Ke7 40. Bf4 {wouldn't help as the h pawn is in a terrible position.} Rh8 41. Kh2 h3 42. Rd3 $1 Bc8 43. Bd2 Bd7 44. Re3+ Kf7 45. Rb3 Bc8 46. Rd3 Ke7 47. Ba5 $1 Bd7 48. Re3+ Kf7 49. Rb3 {and the b7 pawn falls} Rh4 (49... Bc8 50. Rd3 Ke7 51. Rd8) 50. Rxb7 Bc8 51. Rb8 Rh8 52. Bc3 $1 Re8 (52... g6 53. g5) 53. Kxh3 g6 54. fxg6+ Kxg6 55. Kg3 {This looks totally winning but I'll show one possible plan, allowing as little counterplay as possible as this is always inspiring (sometimes a little too much, a few strong players might tell you, but here it's justified plenty!) } Kf7 56. Bd2 Rg8 57. Kf2 $1 Ke7 (57... Bxg4 58. Rd8) 58. Bf4 Kd7 59. Kf3 Ke7 60. Bd6+ Kf7 61. Ke3 Ke6 62. Kd2 $1 Kd7 63. Kc3 Rxg4 64. Rb1 a5 {otherwise the king march on the queenside will hurt.} 65. Rd1) 39. Rd4 Rxc7 40. hxg5 fxg5 41. Bxg5 Be8 42. f6 Kf8 43. Bf4 (43. Bh6+ {was simpler according to Vishy.} Kg8 ( 43... Kf7 44. Re4 Rd7 45. Kf2 {and Black has no move.}) 44. Rd8 Kf7 45. Kf2 Rd7 46. Rb8 Rd3 (46... Rd4 47. Rxb7+ Kxf6 48. Bg7+) 47. Bf4 {and indeed Black is completely lost now the rook invaded his camp.}) 43... Rh7 44. Kg2 Bd7 45. Bg5 $1 Be6 46. Rd8+ Kf7 47. Rb8 Bxc4 (47... Bxg4 48. Rxb7+ Kg8 49. Rb6 $1 Rh5 50. Rb8+ Kf7 51. Rb7+ Kf8 52. Bf4) 48. Rxb7+ Kg8 49. Rb8+ Kf7 50. Kg3 {Now Sergey puts up the most resilient setup, but it's only a matter of time before the f pawn prevails as he has too many weaknesses to cover.} Ke6 51. Re8+ Kf7 (51... Kd7 52. Rd8+ $1) 52. Rc8 Bd5 53. Kf4 Ke6 54. Re8+ Kd7 55. Ra8 (55. Rd8+ $4 Kxd8 56. f7+ Kc7 57. f8=Q Rf7+) 55... Ke6 56. Re8+ Kd7 57. Re3 a5 58. Kg3 Rf7 59. Kf4 Rh7 60. Re1 Kc8 61. Kg3 Rf7 62. Re8+ Kd7 63. Ra8 Kc7 64. Kf4 Rd7 65. Bh4 $1 {The king finally finds a penetration point.} Kb7 66. Re8 Bf7 67. Re4 Bd5 68. Re3 Bf7 69. Kg5 Ka6 70. Re7 {Now that the king is on the other side of the board, exchanging rooks becomes an option. A great achievement by Vishy who not only recovered immediately after a loss again, but finally is the one who managed to break through Sergey's defensive skills. He has every reason to be happy with the way he methodically increased the pressure from an innocuous looking position to cause Sergey maximal problems throughout the game until he made the decisive mistake - in probable timetrouble, but those don't happen randomly.} 1-0 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.24"] [Round "?"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A33"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2794"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {From the point of view of the standings this is an extremely important game.} 1. c4 {Topalov is going for different moves. Against Svidler he played 1.e4 and now against Caruana 1.c4.} c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 e6 6. g3 {The g3 line in this variation can lead to highly interesting games but many times they end in long theoretical draws.} Qb6 7. Ndb5 Ne5 8. Bf4 Nfg4 9. e3 (9. Qa4 {The game Shankland vs Peter Leko comes to mind.}) 9... a6 10. Qa4 { We still have nine games that are played in this variation.} Ra7 {[%cal Ga8a7] Although this is unusual, this is still not a novelty. It has been played before by Alexander Grischuk and Amin Tabatabaei.} (10... Rb8 {is one of the main moves.} 11. Be2 axb5 12. Nxb5 g5 13. Bxg5 {Leads to a very complicated position.}) 11. h3 $1 {The only move in the position.} (11. Nxa7 $2 Qxb2 12. Rd1 Qxf2#) 11... axb5 $146 (11... g5 {was played by Grischuk against Matlakov.} 12. hxg4 gxf4 13. gxf4 axb5 (13... Nxg4 14. Bh3 $14) 14. Qxb5 Qxb5 15. Nxb5 Nc6 16. Nxa7 Nxa7 17. Bd3 $16 {White already had a huge advantage.}) 12. Qxb5 Qc6 13. hxg4 $1 {Such exchange sacrifices are Topalov's bread and butter.} (13. Qxc6 Nxc6 $1 (13... bxc6 $6 14. hxg4 Nxg4 15. f3 $16) 14. hxg4 e5 $15) 13... Qxh1 (13... Nd3+ {might have been a stronger way to continue but doesn't really change the nature of the position.} 14. Bxd3 Qxh1+ 15. Bf1 $13) 14. Bxe5 (14. Qxe5 {was also possible.}) 14... Qc6 15. Bd4 Ra8 16. a3 $5 {A calm move, just improving the position. At some point when White castles the pawn on a3 will in general be useful controlling the b4 square and shutting out the a8 rook.} Be7 17. Qh5 $1 {White understands that keeping the queens on the board improves his position. Now it is difficult for Black to co-ordinate his pieces. } (17. Bxg7 {was completely possible.} Rg8 18. Bd4 Rg5 (18... Rxg4 $2 19. Qh5 $18) 19. Qb3 $14) 17... Kf8 (17... O-O 18. f4 $1 {[%cal Gf1d3,Ge1c1,Ga1h1]} ( 18. O-O-O $40)) 18. O-O-O (18. c5 $5 $14 {would have been pretty strong.}) 18... b6 {After this move Caruana was already feeling good about his position.} 19. Kb1 Ba6 20. Nb5 Rd8 21. Bc3 $6 (21. Nd6 $5 {This would have ended the game in a draw.} Bxd6 (21... Qxd6 22. Bxg7+ Kxg7 23. Rxd6 Bxd6 24. Qg5+ $18) 22. Bxg7+ Kxg7 23. Qg5+ Kf8 24. Qxd8+ $11) 21... Bxb5 22. cxb5 Qf3 23. Rd2 Bf6 $17 {White's compensation is almost non-existent and Black is clearly better.} 24. Bb4+ Kg8 (24... Ke8 $17) 25. Bd6 Rc8 26. Qh3 Qe4+ 27. Bd3 Qd5 28. Bb4 Qf3 29. Bf1 h5 $1 30. Bg2 Qxg4 31. Qxg4 hxg4 {White doesn't even have a pawn right now for his sufferings.} 32. Bd6 (32. Rxd7 Rh2 33. Bb7 Rb8 34. Be1 Rxb7 35. Rxb7 Rh1 36. Rxb6 Rxe1+ 37. Kc2 Re2+ 38. Kd3 Rxf2 39. a4 Be5 $1 40. a5 Bc7 $19 { and Black manages to win – although it seems like there can be a lot of improvements and variations on every move of this line.}) 32... Rc4 33. Ka2 Rh2 34. Bf1 Rc1 35. Bd3 Bg5 36. Bf4 Be7 {This is still winning, but why didn't Caruana exchange the bishops and win it in a simple fashion?} (36... Bxf4 $1 37. exf4 Kf8 {was just an easy win.} 38. a4 Ke7 39. b4 Rg1 $1 40. a5 Rxg3 41. a6 Rgh3 42. a7 Rh8 $19) 37. e4 Bc5 38. e5 Re1 $6 39. Rc2 $1 {Suddenly there are threats of Rxc5 and queening the b-pawn.} g5 (39... Kf8 $17 {was the best, but under time pressure it wasn't easy for Fabiano to find this move.}) 40. Bxg5 Rxe5 41. Bf6 Rd5 42. Be4 {At this point the players agreed to a draw. It is already quite dangerous for Black. The two bishops combined with queenside majority looks really threatening.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.24"] [Round "11"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D16"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "96"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 e6 6. e3 c5 7. Bxc4 Nc6 8. O-O cxd4 9. exd4 Be7 10. Be3 (10. Qe2 {followed by Rd1 was played by Nakamura against Svidler.}) 10... O-O 11. Qe2 Nb4 12. Ne5 {No real top player has played this way. So it is possible that Aronian came up with this idea on his own at home, because he was playing pretty fast.} Bd7 13. Rad1 Nbd5 14. Bc1 { Making way for the rook lift from d3 to the kingside.} Bc6 15. Rd3 Nxc3 16. bxc3 Bd5 17. Rg3 Bxc4 18. Nxc4 g6 19. Ne5 {White has got his pieces in an attacking and aggressive position, but unfortunately they do not look so threatening because of the missing light squared bishop.} Nd7 20. Bh6 Re8 21. f4 Bf8 22. Bg5 Be7 23. Ng4 $1 h5 24. Bxe7 {Levon chooses the practical approach. But there was a chance for him to launch a nearly decisive attack.} ( 24. Nh6+ Kg7 (24... Kf8 25. f5 $3 exf5 26. Qc4 $18) 25. h4 $5 {This was discussed by the players in the press conference and it definitely looks like a strong move.} (25. Bxe7 Qxe7 26. Qxh5 Rh8 (26... Nf6 27. Qg5 Ne4 28. Qe5+ $18 ) 27. Qg5 Rae8 (27... Nf6 28. Rh3 Ng8 29. Rff3 $16) 28. Ng4 $14) 25... Qc7 26. Re3 $40 {with the idea of moves like f5 and Nxf7 looks pretty strong.}) 24... Qxe7 25. Ne5 $14 {White is definitely slightly better, but the worst seems to have ended for Black.} Kh7 26. Qc2 Rg8 27. Rg5 Kh8 28. Rf3 Nxe5 29. Rxe5 Qd6 30. Qd2 Kg7 31. Rg3 Rh8 32. Qb2 Rac8 33. Qxb7 Rb8 34. Qe4 (34. Qxa7 Rb1+ 35. Kf2 Rb2+ 36. Kg1 Qa3 $17) 34... Rhc8 35. Rb5 Rxb5 36. axb5 Qa3 {At this point it would have been wise to take on g6 and just agree to a draw, but instead, out of inertia, Levon tries to continue and gets into a perilious situation.} 37. Qc2 Rb8 38. Qe2 Qc1+ 39. Kf2 Qxf4+ 40. Kg1 Qc1+ 41. Kf2 Qf4+ 42. Kg1 { Peter was quite confused whether to continue or make a draw. But when he saw the move Kg8, he decided to give it a go.} Kg8 43. Qb2 a6 $1 44. c4 axb5 45. c5 Qe4 46. Qd2 Qb1+ 47. Kf2 Ra8 48. Qe1 Qb2+ {Quite a heartbreaking loss for Levon whose chances of qualifying to the World Championship Match look pretty slim now.} 0-1 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.24"] [Round "11"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 O-O 8. Re1 Ba7 9. h3 h6 10. Nbd2 Ne7 11. Nf1 Ng6 12. Ng3 c6 13. Ba2 Be6 14. Bxe6 fxe6 15. d4 exd4 16. cxd4 d5 17. exd5 {[%cal Ge4d5]} (17. e5 Nd7 $11 {is fine for Black} ) 17... exd5 (17... Nxd5 $1 {This was the right move. Black must use his activity to compensate for the e6 weakness.} 18. Rxe6 Nh4 $44) 18. Qd3 Ne7 19. Bd2 {White is simply better as his pieces are much better placed and his rooks will double down the e-file.} Bb8 20. Bb4 Bd6 21. Bxd6 (21. Qa3 $5) 21... Qxd6 22. Re3 Rae8 23. Ne5 Qc7 24. b4 Nc8 25. Rc1 Qd8 26. b5 $1 {A typical minority attack which is not often seen in e4-e5 openings. Black will be left with a few weaknesses on the queenside when the smoke clears.} axb5 27. axb5 cxb5 28. Qxb5 Nd6 29. Qb3 b5 30. Rce1 Qa5 31. Qb1 Qb6 32. Qg6 Qc7 (32... Qxd4 $5 33. Nh5 Nxh5 34. Qxd6 Rf6 35. Qd7 Rxe5 36. Rxe5 Qxf2+ 37. Kh1 Ng3+ 38. Kh2 Nf1+ 39. Kh1 Ng3+ $11) 33. Qd3 Re6 34. Ne2 Rfe8 35. Nf4 R6e7 36. Nfg6 Re6 37. Qb1 Qb7 38. Qb4 Nf5 39. Rf3 Ne7 40. Nf4 Nc6 41. Qb2 R6e7 42. Rfe3 {White has co-ordinated his forces in the best possible manner and stands clearly better.} Na7 43. Qb3 Nc8 44. Qb4 (44. Rc3 {with the idea of Rc5 is also strong.}) 44... Nd7 45. h4 ( 45. Nh5 Nxe5 46. dxe5 $16) 45... Nxe5 46. dxe5 Rf7 47. Nh5 Qe7 48. Qd4 Ref8 49. e6 Rf5 50. Nxg7 $2 (50. Re5 {would have given White excellent winning chances because of the weak d5 pawn and the strong one on e6.}) 50... Qxg7 51. Rg3 Rg5 $1 {This move was missed by Anish and now he is no longer better.} 52. Rxg5 hxg5 53. Qxd5 {A draw looks like the most logical result as Black will in all probability lose all his pawns.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.24"] [Round "11"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2760"] [PlyCount "139"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {After his exploits with the Guioco Piano Anand is back to his Ruy Lopez, not fearing the Anti-Berlin.} Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. h3 {As Samuel Shankland explained in his annotations, this move is a little bit slow because now Black can go back to e7 with his knight, rerouting it to g6, and he is not afraid of d3-d4 because the e4 pawn hangs. Hence Re1 is the main move here. But Anand played 7.h3 against Caruana and now tries it over here again, so he doesn't really agree with the opening assessment and instead is trying to blaze new paths.} Ne7 8. d4 Bb6 9. Bd3 d5 (9... Ng6 { was played by Fabiano and after Qc2 it lead to a complex battle. Sergey goes for the more combative approach.}) 10. Nxe5 $146 {[%cal Gf3e5] This is the first new move of the game. It was prepared by Grzegorz Gajewski who saw the dangers and difficulties that lie for Black in this relatively sedate line.} ( 10. Nbd2 {was played by Magnus Carlsen against Vladimir Kramnik.}) (10. dxe5 { was played by Ivanchuk against Karjakin in 2012.}) 10... Nxe4 (10... dxe4 11. Bc2) 11. Nd2 Nd6 {The knight is well placed on d6.} 12. Nb3 c6 {Karjakin thought for a long time for this move.} (12... Bf5 {was also possible and looks like the most natural way to continue.} 13. Bf4 Bxd3 14. Nxd3 $14 { White has a small edge.}) 13. Nc5 $5 {A very interesting move made quickly by Anand. It puts pressure on the b7 pawn, and to get rid of that pressure Black must give up one of his bishops.} Ng6 14. Qh5 Bxc5 {A decision which cannot have been made with a light heart. The knights were irritating and Sergey thought it was a good deal to give up his dark squared bishop.} 15. dxc5 Ne4 16. Bxe4 (16. b4 $6 Re8 $1 $15 (16... Nxc3 17. Bb2 $13)) (16. Be3 {is also possible but after} Re8 17. Nxg6 hxg6 18. Qd1 Qe7 {Black should be fine.}) 16... dxe4 17. Rd1 Qe7 18. Nxg6 {Anand is in some sort of a must win scenario. To play this move shows great objectivity. Of course the position is round about equal, but with the control of the d-file White has something to play for.} (18. Nc4 {would be ideal but it met with} f5 19. Nd6 b6 $1 $11 { immediately breaking the queenside structure. Black is completely fine here.} ( 19... Be6 20. Bg5 $14)) 18... hxg6 19. Qg5 {[%cal Gh5g5] When Vishy played this move many people thought that the players would make a quick draw and get back home early for a dinner. But instead the game went on for another 50 moves!} Qxg5 20. Bxg5 {White's advantage lies in the fact that he controls the d-file. Black on the other hand is a tad passive and the e4 pawn will act as a hindrance for his bishop.} f6 (20... Be6 21. Rd4 f6 22. Bf4 f5 23. Rd6 Kf7 24. Rad1 $14 {is a much better version for White than what happened in the game.}) 21. Be3 {White has the d-file but that is where his advantages end. It is really surprising that Anand could win such a position against a defender like Sergey Karjakin!} g5 (21... Be6 22. Rd4 f5 {Provoking f5 helps to control the dark squares.} 23. Rd6 Kf7 24. Rad1 $14) 22. Rd6 Re8 23. Rad1 Be6 24. b3 Kf7 25. R1d4 $1 Bf5 26. a4 $5 {Anand mixes up his play. He keeps the move g4 in reserve and starts his queenside expansion. Playing on both wings is bound to create some difficulties for the opponent.} Re7 (26... Ke7 27. g4 Be6 28. Rxe4 $16) 27. g4 Bh7 28. b4 Bg8 (28... a5 $5 {could have been tried.} 29. b5 cxb5 30. axb5 a4 {and the a-pawn is pretty strong.}) 29. b5 Rc8 30. Rd7 (30. Rb4 Ke8 31. bxc6 Rxc6 32. Rxc6 bxc6 33. Rb8+ Kf7 $11) 30... Rce8 (30... cxb5 31. Rxe7+ Kxe7 32. Rxe4+ Be6 33. axb5 $14) 31. b6 $5 {A highly committal move but at the same time an excellent one. With the pawn entrenched so deeply in enemy territory this is bound to create some difficulties for the opponent.} a6 ( 31... axb6 32. cxb6 {gives White additional options of creating a passer with a5-a6.}) 32. Rc7 Kf8 (32... Rxc7 33. bxc7 Rc8 34. Rd7+ Ke8 35. Rxg7 Kf8 36. Rd7 Ke8 37. Rd6 Ke7 38. Rd4 Rxc7 39. Rxe4+ $14 {wins a pawn, and although it may not be sufficient to win, it is something to play for.}) 33. c4 Be6 {Some might argue that it was not necessary for Sergey to give up the e4 pawn. But the pawn was anyway weak and not worth clinging on to. Meanwhile White could have just improved his king. So Karjakin decides to give up the pawn and simplify the position.} 34. Rxe4 Kf7 (34... Rxc7 35. bxc7 Ke7 $1 (35... Kf7 36. Bd2 $1 Rc8 37. Ba5 {is quite a nice position for White to play!}) 36. f4 $14 ( 36. Bd2 $6 Kd7 $1 37. Ba5 Kc8 38. Rd4 Bd7 $11) 36... gxf4 37. Bxf4 Kd7 38. Kf2 {Once again White's position is preferable.}) 35. f4 $1 {Anand was on top of his game at this point and made all the best move in the position.} Rxc7 36. bxc7 {[%cal Re8c8,Gf6f5]} Rc8 $6 {The important mistake of the game by Karjakin, and that too at a critical juncture. He has less time and there are still four moves to be made until the time control.} (36... gxf4 37. Bxf4 $16) (36... f5 $1 {was the strong move that would have secured Karjakin the draw.} 37. Re5 (37. Rd4 Rc8 38. fxg5 Rxc7 $11) 37... fxg4 38. f5 Bc8 39. Rxe8 Kxe8 40. hxg4 Kd7 41. Bxg5 Kxc7 $11) 37. f5 $1 Bd7 38. h4 $1 {Amazing accuracy by Anand. In time pressure he makes Karjakin's task extremely difficult.} g6 (38... Rxc7 39. hxg5 fxg5 40. Rd4 $1 (40. Bxg5 $6 Bc8) 40... Be8 41. Bxg5 $16) (38... gxh4 39. Rd4 $1 {With the idea of Bf4.}) 39. Rd4 Rxc7 40. hxg5 fxg5 (40... gxf5 41. Bf4 $18) 41. Bxg5 Be8 (41... Bc8 42. Rd8 $18 {with the threat of Bf4 decides the game.}) 42. f6 $1 Kf8 43. Bf4 (43. Rd8 Rd7 44. Rb8 Rd4 45. Bh6+ Kf7 46. g5 Rd7 47. Kf2 Rc7 48. Ke3 Rd7 49. Ke4 $18 {is just clearly winning.}) (43. Bh6+ $1 {was also possible.} Kf7 44. Re4 $1 Rd7 45. Kf2 $18) 43... Rh7 (43... Rd7 44. Bd6+ Kf7 45. g5 $18 {is just winning.}) 44. Kg2 Bd7 45. Bg5 $1 {A good decision by Anand, not committing the move g4-g5 and not giving the f5 square for the bishop.} (45. g5 Bf5 {gives Black good defensive chances.}) 45... Be6 46. Rd8+ Kf7 47. Rb8 Bxc4 (47... Bxg4 48. Rxb7+ Kg8 49. Rb6 $18) 48. Rxb7+ Kg8 49. Rb8+ Kf7 50. Kg3 Ke6 51. Re8+ Kf7 52. Rc8 Bd5 53. Kf4 {The f6 pawn, rook and bishop combine to give White an easy win here. The a6 pawn is also quite weak.} Ke6 54. Re8+ Kd7 55. Ra8 Ke6 56. Re8+ (56. Rxa6 Rh3 {gives Black huge counterplay.}) 56... Kd7 57. Re3 a5 58. Kg3 Rf7 59. Kf4 Rh7 60. Re1 Kc8 61. Kg3 Rf7 62. Re8+ Kd7 63. Ra8 Kc7 64. Kf4 (64. Rxa5 Kb7 {traps the rook. Anand would of course not go for this.}) 64... Rd7 65. Bh4 Kb7 66. Re8 Bf7 67. Re4 Bd5 68. Re3 Bf7 69. Kg5 Ka6 70. Re7 {What a beautiful endgame by Anand! As Kasparov said, "Vishy was just in a different league altogether in this game!"} 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.25"] [Round "12.1"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2793"] [PlyCount "169"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 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. Rb1 f6 11. d3 a5 12. b5 Nd4 13. Nd2 Qc8 14. e3 Nf5 15. Qc2 a4 ({Relevant:} 15... Rd8 16. Rd1 Nd6 17. Na4 Nxa4 18. Qxa4 Nf7 19. Ne4 Bd5 20. h4 Qe6 21. Nc3 Bxg2 22. Kxg2 f5 23. Bb2 Rd7 24. Qc4 Qxc4 25. dxc4 Rad8 26. Rd5 c6 27. bxc6 bxc6 28. Rxa5 Rd2 29. Na4 R2d7 30. Nc3 Rd2 31. Na4 Rc2 32. Rc1 Re2 33. Rf1 Nd6 34. Ra7 Bf8 35. Bxe5 Nxc4 36. Bd4 Nxa3 37. Nc5 Nb5 38. Rd7 Rxd7 39. Nxd7 Nxd4 {1/2-1/2 (39) Bu,X (2695)-Matlakov,M (2691) Ningbo 2015}) 16. Rd1 Nd6 $11 ({Predecessor (11):} 16... Rd8 17. Nf3 Nd6 18. d4 Ndc4 19. Ra1 Bf7 20. dxe5 Rxd1+ 21. Qxd1 fxe5 22. Nd2 Qd7 23. Qc2 Nxd2 24. Bxd2 Bb3 25. Qc1 Rb8 26. Be1 Kh8 27. Ne4 Bc4 28. Qc3 Re8 29. Qc1 Bxb5 30. Nc5 Qf5 31. Nxb7 Nc4 32. Bb4 Bxb4 33. axb4 Rf8 34. Ra2 a3 35. Nc5 Qf7 36. Rc2 Rd8 37. Nb7 Rc8 38. Nc5 Nb2 39. h4 Rd8 40. Rxb2 axb2 41. Qxb2 Bc4 42. Ne4 Qf5 43. Nc5 h6 44. Kh2 Qf7 45. b5 Rf8 { 0-1 (45) Class,W (2441)-Dammer,A (2406) Remote email 2012}) 17. Nde4 Nxe4 18. Nxe4 Bd5 19. Nc5 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 Bxc5 21. Qxc5 Qe6 22. Bb2 Rf7 23. Bc3 Rd7 24. Bb4 Rad8 25. e4 f5 26. exf5 $5 (26. Qc2) 26... Qxf5 27. Re1 Nd5 28. Qc4 Rf7 29. Rb2 h6 30. Qe4 Qd7 31. Qxe5 Qxb5 32. Qe4 Qd7 33. Qe6 Qxe6 34. Rxe6 Nxb4 35. Rxb4 Rxd3 36. f4 Rxa3 37. Rxb7 Ra2+ {This endgame is still within the drawing margin but Svidler now has to suffer to the end.} 38. Kh3 Rc2 39. Ra6 Rf5 40. Rxa4 Rh5+ 41. Kg4 Rhxh2 42. Ra8+ Kh7 43. Rbb8 Rc4 44. Rf8 Kg6 45. Rae8 h5+ 46. Kf3 Rcc2 47. Re6+ Kh7 48. Re3 Rhf2+ 49. Ke4 Rc6 50. Rf5 Kh6 51. Rd5 h4 52. gxh4 Rc4+ 53. Kd3 Rfxf4 54. Re6+ Kh7 55. Rh5+ Kg8 56. Re7 Rfd4+ 57. Ke3 Rd1 58. Ke2 Rg1 59. Rg5 Rxg5 60. hxg5 Kh7 61. Ke3 Kg6 62. Rd7 Rc5 63. Re7 Rc1 64. Kd2 Rc6 65. Ke2 Rc3 66. Kd2 Rc4 67. Kd3 Rc5 68. Ke3 c6 69. Rc7 Re5+ 70. Kf4 Rf5+ 71. Ke4 Rf1 72. Ke3 Re1+ 73. Kf3 Rc1 74. Kg4 Rc3 75. Kf4 Rc4+ 76. Kf3 Rc2 77. Kg4 Rc1 78. Kf4 c5 79. Kg4 c4 80. Rc6+ Kf7 81. Kf5 Rf1+ 82. Ke5 Re1+ 83. Kf5 g6+ 84. Kf4 Rf1+ 85. Ke4 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.25"] [Round "12.2"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2762"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 (4... d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 { 1/2-1/2 (85) Svidler,P (2757)-Giri,A (2793) Moscow RUS 2016}) 5. Nd5 (5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O d6 (6... e4 7. Ng5 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Re8 {1-0 (33) Caruana,F (2794) -Anand,V (2762) Moscow RUS 2016}) 7. d3 h6 8. Na4 a5 9. b3 Qe7 (9... Re8 10. Bb2 Bf5 11. e3 Qe7 12. a3 Bc5 13. Nc3 Qd7 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. cxd5 Ne7 16. d4 exd4 17. Nxd4 Bh3 18. e4 c6 19. dxc6 Nxc6 20. Bxh3 Qxh3 21. Nxc6 bxc6 22. b4 Bb6 23. Qxd6 Rxe4 24. Qxc6 Rae8 25. Qxb6 Rh4 26. gxh4 Qg4+ {1/2-1/2 (30) Svidler,P (2757)-Nakamura,H (2790) Moscow RUS 2016} 27. Kh1 Qf3+ 28. Kg1 Qg4+ 29. Kh1 Qf3+ 30. Kg1 Qg4+ {1/2-1/2 (30) Svidler,P (2757)-Nakamura,H (2790) Moscow RUS 2016}) 10. Bb2 Bc5 {1/2-1/2 (58) Aronian,L (2786)-Topalov,V (2780) Moscow RUS 2016}) 5... e4 6. Nh4 O-O 7. Bg2 d6 ({Relevant:} 7... Re8 8. O-O d6 9. d3 exd3 10. Qxd3 Nxd5 11. cxd5 Ne5 12. Qc2 Bc5 13. Bd2 a5 14. Bc3 Bd7 15. Rad1 Qe7 16. Bd4 Bxd4 17. Rxd4 c5 18. dxc6 bxc6 19. Nf3 Rab8 20. Rfd1 d5 21. Nxe5 Qxe5 22. e3 Rb4 23. h4 Reb8 24. b3 Qe7 25. e4 Rxd4 26. Rxd4 dxe4 27. Qxe4 Qxe4 28. Bxe4 Be8 29. Bd3 Kf8 30. Ra4 Ra8 31. Be4 Ra7 32. b4 c5 33. Rxa5 Re7 34. f3 cxb4 35. Ra8 Rc7 36. Rb8 g6 37. Rxb4 {Iordachescu,V (2590)-Gajewski,G (2646) Jerusalem 2015 1/2-1/2 (98)}) 8. a3 (8. Nxb4 Nxb4 9. a3 Nc6 10. d3 d5 11. O-O exd3 12. Qxd3 Ne5 13. Qd4 Nxc4 14. e4 Be6 15. b3 Na5 16. Qa4 Nc6 17. Rd1 Nxe4 18. Bb2 Qe7 19. b4 a6 20. Qc2 f6 21. Rac1 Rad8 22. Bf1 Rd7 23. f3 Nd6 24. Re1 Qf7 25. Bd3 g5 26. Ng2 Nc4 27. f4 Nxb2 28. Qxb2 Bh3 29. a4 h6 30. b5 axb5 31. axb5 Ne7 32. Qf2 Nf5 33. Qf3 Kg7 34. Kh1 Re7 35. Rxe7 Qxe7 36. Qh5 Bxg2+ 37. Kxg2 Ne3+ 38. Kg1 f5 39. Qe2 Rf6 40. Qb2 gxf4 41. gxf4 Kh7 42. Kh1 Qg7 43. Qe2 d4 44. Qf3 c6 45. bxc6 bxc6 46. h3 Rg6 47. Rb1 Rg3 48. Qh5 Qd7 49. Kh2 Rg2+ 50. Kh1 Qd5 { 0-1 (50) Topalov,V (2780)-Aronian,L (2786) Moscow RUS 2016}) 8... Bc5 9. O-O Re8 10. e3 $146 ({Predecessor:} 10. b4 Bd4 11. Rb1 Ne7 12. e3 Nexd5 13. exd4 Nb6 14. c5 Nbd5 15. f3 e3 16. dxe3 Nc3 17. Qd3 Nxb1 18. Qxb1 a5 19. Re1 axb4 20. axb4 c6 21. Bf1 b5 22. Bd3 h6 23. Ng2 Be6 24. Bd2 g5 25. Bc3 Nd5 26. Bd2 dxc5 27. bxc5 Qf6 28. Bh7+ Kg7 29. Be4 b4 30. Rf1 Bh3 31. Rf2 Reb8 32. f4 Qe6 33. f5 Qe8 34. Bf3 b3 35. Bc1 Ra2 36. f6+ Nxf6 37. Bb2 Bxg2 38. Kxg2 g4 39. Bd1 Qe4+ {Smerda,R-Cernovsky,K (2227) ICCF email 2010 0-1}) 10... g5 11. b4 { Already critical. Nakamura gambled that this would be a surprise for Anand and that he would be on his own resources.} Bb6 $2 {Nakamura believes after this its' close to lost for black already.} (11... gxh4 {was the only move given by the computer as OK for black.} 12. Bb2 Nxd5 13. cxd5 Ne5 14. bxc5 Bg4 15. Qc2 Nf3+ 16. Kh1 Qg5 $11) 12. Bb2 Nxd5 13. cxd5 Nd4 {Nakamura hadn't prepared for this move.} (13... Ne5 14. f4 Nc4 15. fxg5 Nxb2 16. Qh5 {and black can't cover all the weaknesses on f7, h7 and e4.}) 14. d3 $1 (14. Bxd4 Bxd4 15. exd4 gxh4 16. Qh5 {is only a bit better for white.}) 14... gxh4 $2 (14... exd3 15. Nf3 { Nakamura's intention.} (15. Qxd3 {is the best but even this isn't as bad as the game for black.}) 15... Nc2 {is interesting.}) 15. dxe4 Ne6 16. dxe6 Rxe6 17. e5 $1 {Opening up the diagonals against black's king.} hxg3 18. hxg3 Qg5 19. exd6 Rxd6 20. Qb3 h5 $2 {Going down faster.} (20... Bg4 {had to be tried but white is winning anyway.}) 21. Rad1 Rh6 22. Rd5 $1 Qe7 23. Qc4 $1 {Two accurate moves finish the job.} Bg4 24. Qf4 Rg6 25. Re5 Qd6 26. Be4 {1-0 (26) Nakamura,H (2790)-Anand,V (2762) Moscow RUS 2016} 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.25"] [Round "12.3"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2780"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e6 7. g4 Nfd7 8. Be3 ({Relevant:} 8. g5 b6 9. a3 b5 10. Bd2 Nb6 11. Be3 Bb7 12. h4 N8d7 13. Bg2 Rc8 14. Nde2 Be7 15. b3 h6 16. Qd2 Qc7 17. Bd4 e5 18. Be3 hxg5 19. hxg5 Rxh1+ 20. Bxh1 f5 21. gxf6 Nxf6 22. Bg2 Nbd7 23. O-O-O Nc5 24. Bxc5 Qxc5 25. Kb2 a5 26. Ng3 g6 27. Nd5 b4 28. a4 Kf7 29. Nxe7 Kxe7 30. Kb1 Rc6 31. Re1 Qc3 32. Qc1 Bc8 33. Re3 Qc5 34. Bf3 Be6 35. Qd2 Rc8 36. Be2 d5 37. Rf3 Nxe4 {Adams,M (2742) -Ragger,M (2695) Germany 2016 1/2-1/2}) 8... Be7 9. g5 b5 10. a3 Bb7 11. h4 O-O 12. Qd2 Nb6 $146 ({Predecessor (13):} 12... Nc6 13. O-O-O Nxd4 14. Bxd4 Bc6 15. f4 Rb8 16. f5 exf5 17. Bg2 f4 18. Nd5 a5 19. Qxf4 Bxd5 20. exd5 b4 21. a4 Qc7 22. b3 Rbc8 23. Rd2 Ne5 24. Kb1 f6 25. Qf5 Qd7 26. Qxd7 Nxd7 27. Bh3 Rc7 28. Be6+ Kh8 29. Rg1 Rb7 30. h5 fxg5 31. h6 Ne5 32. hxg7+ Kxg7 33. Rh2 h6 34. Rgh1 Rf6 35. Ka2 Bd8 36. Be3 Nf3 37. Rf2 Ne5 38. Rfh2 Nf3 39. Rf2 Kg6 40. Rh3 Nh4 41. Re2 Nf5 42. Reh2 {Demchenko,A (2589)-Gabrielian,A (2576) Iasi 2015 1/2-1/2} ) 13. h5 N8d7 14. g6 Ne5 {"I couldn't remember anything but apparently Ne5 on move 14 is already a mistake." Topalov. His line doesn't seem all that clear.} 15. O-O-O (15. h6 fxg6 16. Bh3 {is strong according to Topalov.}) 15... Nbc4 16. Bxc4 Nxc4 17. Qe2 Rc8 $2 {Based on a complete miscalculation after which Topalov loses the exchange for no compensation.} (17... Bf6 $11 {is the best move stopping most of white's immediate ideas.}) (17... Nxe3 {was another move suggested by Topalov.} 18. Qxe3 (18. fxe3)) 18. h6 fxg6 19. Nxe6 Qd7 20. Nxf8 Bxf8 21. hxg7 Bxg7 22. Bd4 a5 23. Bxg7 (23. Kb1 {Is simplest according to Topalov.}) 23... Qxg7 24. Qg4 Re8 25. Qg5 Bc6 26. Qh6 Qh8 (26... Bxe4 27. Qxg7+ Kxg7 28. Rhe1 Bc6 29. Rxe8 Bxe8 30. Rd4) 27. b3 Nxa3 28. Rh3 (28. Qh3) 28... Bd7 29. Rg3 Qf6 30. Rh1 (30. Rdg1 Re6 31. f4 Qf8 32. Qh4) 30... Re7 31. Qh4 Qg7 (31... Qxh4 32. Rxh4 Bc6 33. Rd3 Re6) 32. Nd5 Rf7 33. Qd8+ Qf8 34. Qxa5 Nxc2 35. Qc3 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.25"] [Round "12.4"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2786"] [PlyCount "133"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. Nc3 d6 9. a3 Na5 ({Relevant:} 9... Nb8 10. Ne2 Nbd7 11. Ng3 Nc5 12. Ba2 Be6 13. Be3 Bxa2 14. Rxa2 Ne6 15. d4 exd4 16. Nxd4 Nxd4 17. Bxd4 Nd7 18. a4 Bf6 19. Nh5 Bxd4 20. Qxd4 Qg5 21. Ng3 Qe5 22. Rd1 Qxd4 23. Rxd4 Nc5 24. b3 bxa4 25. b4 Ne6 26. Rc4 a5 27. Rxa4 axb4 28. Rcxb4 Rxa4 29. Rxa4 Rb8 30. f3 g6 31. Nf1 Rb1 32. Kf2 Rc1 33. Ne3 h5 34. Rc4 Kg7 35. Nd5 c5 36. Ne3 Nd4 37. h4 Kf6 38. Rc3 Ke6 39. Rc4 {Fressinet,L (2700)-Sargissian,G (2702) Huaian 2016 1/2-1/2}) 10. Ba2 Be6 11. b4 Bxa2 12. Rxa2 Nc6 13. Bg5 Nd7 $146 ({Predecessor (5):} 13... Qd7 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Nd5 Bd8 16. a4 Ne7 17. Ne3 Rb8 18. axb5 axb5 19. c3 Qe6 20. Qb1 d5 21. exd5 Nxd5 22. Nxd5 Qxd5 23. Re1 Bf6 24. Rae2 c5 25. Nxe5 cxb4 26. Qxb4 Bxe5 27. Rxe5 Qxd3 28. h3 h6 29. R1e3 Qd1+ 30. Re1 Qa4 31. Rb1 Qxb4 32. Rxb4 Rfc8 33. Rbxb5 Rxb5 34. Rxb5 Rxc3 {1/2-1/2 (34) Anand,V (2785)-Aronian,L (2804) Bilbao 2014}) 14. Be3 Nf6 15. Qb1 d5 16. Bg5 d4 17. Bxf6 dxc3 18. Bxe5 Nxe5 19. Nxe5 Qd6 20. Ng4 a5 21. Ne3 c6 22. a4 axb4 23. axb5 cxb5 24. Nd5 Rfb8 25. Nxe7+ Qxe7 26. Qb3 h5 27. Rfa1 Rxa2 28. Qxa2 Qc5 29. Rb1 Rd8 30. h3 g6 31. Qb3 Rd4 32. Re1 Qa7 33. Kf1 Kg7 34. Ke2 h4 35. Rd1 Qa5 36. Rb1 Qa6 37. Kf1 Qd6 38. Ra1 Qc5 (38... Rxd3 {is an opportunistic sacrifice that computers see but would probably not have been considered by either player.} 39. cxd3 Qxd3+ 40. Ke1 Qxe4+ 41. Kd1 Qd3+ 42. Ke1 Qd2+ 43. Kf1 c2 44. Qb2+ f6 45. g4 hxg3 46. fxg3 b3 47. Qxb3 c1=Q+ 48. Rxc1 Qxc1+) 39. Rb1 Qa7 40. Ke2 g5 41. Rg1 Qd7 42. Ra1 Qe7 43. Ra6 Qc7 44. Ra8 Qf4 45. Ra1 g4 46. hxg4 Qxg4+ 47. Ke3 Rd6 48. Qxb4 Qg5+ 49. Ke2 Rf6 50. Qxc3 Qxg2 51. Qd4 h3 52. Qe3 Qg4+ 53. Kd2 Qg2 54. Ke2 Qg4+ 55. Kd2 h2 56. Rh1 Qg2 57. Qg3+ Qxg3 58. fxg3 Rf2+ 59. Kc3 Kf6 60. d4 Kg5 61. d5 Kf6 62. g4 Ke5 63. g5 b4+ 64. Kxb4 Rxc2 65. Kb5 Kd6 66. Kb4 Ke5 67. Kb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.25"] [Round "12.1"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Rensch,Danny"] [PlyCount "169"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Netherlands"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "NED"] [WhiteClock "0:07:22"] [BlackClock "0:01:05"] {[Annotations by IM Danny Rensch]} 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. Rb1 f6 11. d3 a5 12. b5 Nd4 13. Nd2 Qc8 14. e3 Nf5 15. Qc2 a4 (15... Rd8 16. Rd1 Nd6 17. Na4 Nxa4 18. Qxa4 Nf7 19. Ne4 Bd5 20. h4 Qe6 {Bu,X (2695)-Matlakov,M (2691) Ningbo 2015}) 16. Rd1 Nd6 (16... Rd8 17. Nf3 Nd6 18. d4 Ndc4 19. Ra1 Bf7 20. dxe5 Rxd1+ 21. Qxd1 fxe5 22. Nd2 Qd7 {Class,W (2441)-Dammer,A (2406) corr. 2012}) 17. Nde4 Nxe4 18. Nxe4 Bd5 (18... Bb3 19. Rxb3 axb3 20. Qxb3+ Kh8 21. Nc3 {(Svidler). And indeed, White's compensation is clear. The bishop on g2 is a monster!}) 19. Nc5 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 Bxc5 21. Qxc5 Qe6 22. Bb2 ({Svidler said he should have played} 22. e4 f5 23. Bb2 {but that he started seeing ghosts. Maybe he's a little too excited for the Ghostbusters remake coming out? I don't kow... I'm personally not sure Kristin Wigg can pull it off... but I digress... Anyway, the point of 22.e4 being an improvement is that if Black does NOT play 22...f5, then White can focus queenside counterplay with Be3 to follow.}) ({Note that} 22. Qxc7 {is a blunder. After} Nd5 23. Qc2 Rfc8 {and Black wins the exchange with ...Nc3 to follow.}) 22... Rf7 23. Bc3 Rd7 24. Bb4 Rad8 (24... h5 25. h4 Rad8 26. e4 f5 27. exf5 Qxf5 28. Re1 Nd5 {is slightly better for Black, with similar tactics and weaknesses for White as in the game. Mainly the d3-pawn.}) 25. e4 f5 (25... h6 {Giri} 26. Qc2 f5 27. Bc5 {Svidler. Indeed the Russian seems to be right that White is just fine here.}) 26. exf5 Qxf5 27. Re1 Nd5 { Here Svidler realized that the change of structure was not in his favor.} 28. Qc4 Rf7 29. Rb2 h6 ({The straight forward} 29... Nxb4 {might have been harder for Svidler to deal with under time pressure.} 30. Qxb4 Rd4 31. Qc5 Qf3+ ({ It's possible that} 31... Rxd3 32. Rxe5 (32. Kg1) 32... Qf3+ 33. Kh3 {doesn't offer Black enough (though I'd be scared with the king on h3).}) 32. Kg1 Rxd3 33. Qxe5 Rxa3 34. Rd2 h6 {and Black's a-pawn will soon cramp White's style.}) 30. Qe4 Qd7 31. Qxe5 Qxb5 32. Qe4 Qd7 (32... Qc6 {You can always hope for a discovered check, right? :)}) 33. Qe6 $6 {Was White's position truly that precarious that he needed to volunteer into the worse endgame? I wasn't so sure at first, but the open king (meaning h1-a8 diagonal) and the potential of the f-file clearly had Svidler worried.} ({The active pawn push} 33. d4 { might hold the position for White dynamically. For example} b6 34. h3 Nf6 35. Qg6 Re8 (35... Qxd4 36. Rd2 {and White wins.}) 36. Rxe8+ Qxe8 37. Rc2 {but after the simple} Qd7 {it seems tricky to find good moves for White that 1) hold the d-pawn, 2) avoid tactics and checks, and 3) don't allow f-file tricks. }) 33... Qxe6 ({A patient way to sit is} 33... b6 {and it might have eliminated future lines where the b7-pawn fell to White's capture.}) 34. Rxe6 Nxb4 35. Rxb4 Rxd3 36. f4 ({Scary would be} 36. Rxa4 {because it allows control over the 2nd rank with} Rd2 37. Re8+ Kh7 38. Rf4 Rxf4 39. gxf4 Kg6 { adn though I think White has some chances to hold, it's hard to want to play this endgame where Black has clear ways to target both the a and f pawns, while White needs one accurate mvoe after another to hold.}) ({Though I do think} 36. Re3 {might have been a clearer path to the half point than what Svidler chose. After} Rd2 37. Rf3 Rxf3 38. Kxf3 Rd3+ 39. Ke4 {White is getting king activity and the rook on the 7th rank. Play might continue} Rxa3 40. Rxb7 Rc3 41. Ra7 a3 42. Kd4 ({and maybe better is} 42. f4 Kf7 43. Kd4 {is a draw.}) 42... Rf3 43. Rxc7 a2 44. Ra7 Rxf2 45. h4 h5 46. Ke4 {seems to hold a draw?}) 36... Rxa3 37. Rxb7 Ra2+ 38. Kh3 Rc2 39. Ra6 Rf5 40. Rxa4 Rh5+ 41. Kg4 Rhxh2 42. Ra8+ ({An easy way to go wrong was} 42. Raa7 $6 h5+ 43. Kg5 (43. Kf5 Rc5+ { still not idea for White, as the g-pawn will fall and the h-pawn will be stronger than it was in the game.}) 43... Rc3 44. Rxc7 Rxg3+ 45. Kf5 Rb2 { followed by the rushing of Harry the h-pawn!}) 42... Kh7 43. Rbb8 Rc4 $1 { Not a draw yet. "A fantastic move." (Svidler)} (43... h5+ $2 44. Kg5 {and it is White who wins! Pro-Tip from Danny Rensch? Don't checkmate yourself.. .}) 44. Rf8 $6 {Giving his Dutch opponent much more winning chances than the Russian intended.} ({Svidler said he had to play} 44. Re8 Kg6 45. Re6+ Kf7 46. Rae8 {with a quick draw.}) 44... Kg6 45. Rae8 h5+ 46. Kf3 Rcc2 ({Though I certainly have not, and won't be, pointing out every check for Black that could have been met by an offer to trade into a "single rooks" endgame, I will say that} 46... Rc3+ 47. Re3 Rxe3+ 48. Kxe3 Rg2 49. Kf3 {simply does not improve Black's winning chances. And in general, Giri correctly avoided trading off a pair of rooks, as the real winning chances in this position for Black were based on the black rooks working together to expose the awkward white king's position, while targeting the pawns. The single c-pawn will not be enough without those threats.}) 47. Re6+ Kh7 48. Re3 Rhf2+ 49. Ke4 Rc6 50. Rf5 Kh6 51. Rd5 h4 $1 {Giving it the 'good old boy', this move deserves and exclaim in my book! Seperating the pawns is Black's last chance at creating a mess, and giving Svidler chances to screw up the rook endgame.} 52. gxh4 Rc4+ 53. Kd3 $1 {But unfortunately for Giri, Peter is fully aware of the risks of getting "too frisky" with his active kind. See analysis to 53.Ke5.} (53. Ke5 Rfxf4 {and suddenly, White's king is blocking the optimal file for counterplay by the e-file. There are real chances now for Black to win the h-pawn with White getting nothing in return. So it shows: the most "visually active" square is not always the best square for your king in the endgame.}) 53... Rfxf4 54. Re6+ Kh7 55. Rh5+ ({As pointed about by Anish in the post-game conference} 55. Re7 $1 Rxh4 56. Rg5 {is a draw right away (Giri).}) 55... Kg8 56. Re7 Rfd4+ 57. Ke3 Rd1 58. Ke2 Rg1 59. Rg5 Rxg5 60. hxg5 Kh7 61. Ke3 Kg6 62. Rd7 {"At first I thought it was close, and then I realized that you can do anything and it's a draw." (Giri). Correct Anish. They can do anything against you and it's still a draw... Oops, you were just talking about this position! My bad :P} Rc5 63. Re7 Rc1 64. Kd2 Rc6 65. Ke2 Rc3 66. Kd2 Rc4 67. Kd3 Rc5 68. Ke3 c6 69. Rc7 Re5+ 70. Kf4 Rf5+ 71. Ke4 Rf1 72. Ke3 Re1+ 73. Kf3 Rc1 74. Kg4 Rc3 75. Kf4 Rc4+ {A little game of tickle between a rook and a king never hurt anyone, right? ;)} 76. Kf3 Rc2 77. Kg4 Rc1 78. Kf4 c5 79. Kg4 c4 80. Rc6+ Kf7 81. Kf5 Rf1+ 82. Ke5 Re1+ 83. Kf5 g6+ 84. Kf4 Rf1+ 85. Ke4 {And it's official: Black can't go after the g-pawn without losing the c-pawn, and White's king is more than active enough to hold the draw.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.25"] [Round "12"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B81"] [Annotator "MVL"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {[Annotations by GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {Finally, a Najdorf. I was beginning to think all the players had found the refutation and that I might be its first victim! Anyway, Veselin seems to partly agree as he was "fed up with 1...e5". But he also added that 1...c5 had been successful recently only against Magnus!} 6. h3 { Probably the most topical line, this modest pawn move prepares one that is not! } e6 {I'll only mention the possible deviations in the next few moves as basically anything sensible has been tried repeatedly, and the amount of variations to cover even one subline is infamous! So if you want to start playing this line, especially with White, you should know there's a lof of work ahead of you :)} (6... e5 {is probably the main move} 7. Nde2 (7. Nb3 Be6 8. f4 (8. Be3 Be7 (8... Nbd7 9. g4) 9. f4) 8... Nbd7 9. f5 Bxb3 10. axb3 d5 11. exd5 Bb4 12. Bd2 O-O 13. Qe2 {with very complicated play}) 7... h5 (7... b5 8. g4 (8. Nd5 $5) 8... b4 9. Nd5 Nxd5 10. exd5) 8. g3 (8. Bg5 Be6 9. Bxf6 Qxf6 10. Nd5 Qd8 11. Qd3 $5 {was a recent idea popularized by Anand, to play 0-0-0 and start creating threats on the kingside.} (11. Nec3)) 8... Be6 (8... Nbd7) (8... b5) 9. Bg2 b5 {and both theory and practical examples are very developed in all of these ramifications...} (9... Nbd7)) 7. g4 Nfd7 (7... h6 8. Bg2 Nc6 9. Be3 Be7 (9... Ne5 10. Qe2 g5 11. O-O-O Qc7 {is an independant line.}) 10. f4 Nd7 11. O-O Nxd4 12. Qxd4 O-O 13. Qd2 Rb8 14. Ne2 b5 15. Rad1 Qc7 16. f5 Nf6 17. Ng3 Bb7 18. Kh1 Rbd8 $2 (18... Kh7 {was looking dangerous but maybe alright }) 19. Bxh6 gxh6 20. Qxh6 d5 21. g5 Qxg3 22. Rd3 Nh5 23. g6 fxg6 24. fxg6 Rxf1+ 25. Bxf1 Nf6 26. Rxg3 dxe4 27. Be2 e3+ 28. Kg1 Bc5 29. Kf1 {1-0 Anand,V (2804) -Vachier Lagrave,M (2723)/Stavanger NOR 2015/The Week in Chess 1076}) 8. Be3 Be7 9. g5 b5 (9... Nc6) 10. a3 Bb7 11. h4 O-O (11... Nb6 {right away or even the move before, is a principled option as well.}) (11... Nc6 12. Nxc6 Bxc6 13. Qd4 {is rather dangerous}) 12. Qd2 Nb6 {An interesting idea to get the other knight to e5 without being disrupted by f4.} (12... Nc6 {now that White can't get his queen to d4 in one move, is very much legal and the main line.} 13. O-O-O Nxd4 (13... Rc8 14. Kb1 Nde5 15. Nxc6 Nxc6 16. h5 b4 17. axb4 Nxb4 18. h6 {Hou Yifan (2683)-Esen,B (2562)/Doha QAT 2015 with good attacking chances!}) 14. Bxd4) 13. h5 (13. O-O-O N8d7 14. f4 {might look tempting to avoid Ne5 but} Nc5 {and you can't easily protect the pawn e4.} 15. Bd3 (15. Bg2 Nc4) (15. Qg2 Nba4) 15... Nba4) (13. g6 hxg6 14. h5 {is always an option, but generally Black should be alright after} g5 {other moves like e5 and gxh5 look too risky. } 15. h6 g6 16. O-O-O N8d7) 13... N8d7 14. g6 Ne5 15. O-O-O Nbc4 16. Bxc4 (16. Qe2 {right away appealed more to me. The Ne5 might now be repelled. Things are unclear though:} Nxe3 17. Qxe3 Bg5 $1 18. f4 Bh6 {and now the critical} 19. gxf7+ Rxf7 20. Nxe6 Qf6 $1 {doesn't work too well for white.} 21. Bh3 (21. Rxd6 Re7 22. Qb6 Nf7 23. Bh3 Bxf4+ 24. Nxf4 Nxd6) 21... Re8 22. Nd5 Bxd5 23. exd5 Bxf4 (23... Rxe6 24. dxe6 Bxf4 25. exf7+ Kxf7 26. Qxf4 Qxf4+ 27. Kb1 Ke7) 24. Nxf4 Qxf4 25. Qxf4 Rxf4 26. Be6+ Kf8 {is absolutely fine.}) 16... Nxc4 17. Qe2 Rc8 $4 {Just a horrendous move, obviously based on a miscalculation.} (17... Bf6 {looked absolutely playable and natural to me. Obviously Veselin said afterwards he should have played this move. Now the king is more or less safe for now and Black's attack might soon get started.} 18. f4 (18. gxf7+ Rxf7 19. Nxe6 Qe8 20. Nd4 Rc8 {looks awful.}) (18. h6 fxg6 $1 (18... hxg6 19. hxg7 Bxg7 20. Qg4 $1 (20. Bh6 $4 Bxh6+ 21. Rxh6 Qg5+) 20... Nxe3 21. Qh3 Re8 22. fxe3 { and things look promising for White.}) 19. Nxe6 Qe7 20. Nxf8 Bxc3 $1 21. bxc3 Rxf8 {seems to offer plenty of attack to Black and might appeal to the Najdorf players out there.}) (18. Qg4 $5 Rc8 19. Rdg1 Nxe3 20. fxe3 Qe7 {with a double-edged position.}) 18... Rc8 19. Rh3 e5 {with unclear play.}) (17... Nxe3 18. Qxe3 {was the second move both players mentioned at the end of the game but I don't like departing with such a threatening knight and actually help the White queen in the process.}) 18. h6 {Too typical to deserve any comment :) } fxg6 (18... hxg6 19. hxg7 Kxg7 20. Bh6+) 19. Nxe6 ({Veselin only expected} 19. hxg7 {when playing Rc8, and now he would be able to play} Rf6 {Still,} 20. Rh6 e5 21. Rdh1 $1 Nxe3 22. Qxe3 exd4 23. Qxd4 Rc4 24. Qd3 {looks deadly at first sight, and only with} Rf3 $1 25. Qxf3 Bg5+ 26. Kb1 Bxh6 27. Rxh6 Kxg7 { can Black hope to survive even if he's still in trouble.}) 19... Qd7 20. Nxf8 Bxf8 {Despite being an exchange down, and probably completely lost, at least White's attack is halted, and Black's counterplay could become reality. But Sergey finds the right sequence to stop it.} 21. hxg7 (21. Bd4 gxh6 22. f4 { might also be good but the material advantage wouldn't be enough to blackmail Black with queen exchanges like Sergey did in the game!}) 21... Bxg7 22. Bd4 a5 23. Bxg7 (23. Nd5 $1 b4 24. axb4 axb4 25. Kb1 {might have been more precise but was not the most natural way to play. Still Black can't create easily a threat as the Nd5 is a thorn and Black's king is not too safe already.} Qb5 26. Ne7+ (26. Qg4 {as Veselin mentioned should be plenty enough as well.}) 26... Kf8 27. Qf3+ Kxe7 28. Rxh7) 23... Qxg7 24. Qg4 Re8 (24... b4 25. Qe6+ Kh8 26. axb4 axb4 27. Na4 b3 28. Rd3 $1 {and now Black has only one last shot:} Nxb2 29. Nxb2 Rxc2+ 30. Kd1 Rxb2 {but White obviously crashes through first with} 31. Qe8+ Qg8 32. Rxh7+ Kxh7 33. Qe7+ Qg7 34. Rh3+ Kg8 35. Qe8+ Qf8 36. Qxg6+ Qg7 37. Qe8+ Qf8 38. Rg3+) 25. Qg5 Bc6 26. Qh6 {Now the blackmailing starts. It might not be the most direct win but being an exchange up is enough for everyone playing in Moscow to win in this position! :)} Qh8 (26... Qxh6+ 27. Rxh6 Kg7 28. Rhh1 b4 29. Rd4 $1 bxc3 30. Rxc4 cxb2+ 31. Kxb2 Bxe4 32. Rc7+ Kf6 33. Rhxh7 {and the a3 pawn is the guy that leaves Black with no hope. As soon as the a5 pawn falls, and it will, the a-pawn will start running and bring the bacon home.}) (26... Qf7 27. b3) 27. b3 Nxa3 (27... Ne5 28. Rxd6 b4 {And Sergey was not 100% sure about this, but} 29. f4 Nf7 30. Rxg6+ hxg6 31. Qxg6+ Qg7 32. Qxc6 Rd8 33. Qc5 $1 {may be the move Sergey didn't see at first, as Rg1 is a threat that is difficult to parry.}) 28. Rh3 Bd7 29. Rg3 Qf6 30. Rh1 ( 30. Rdg1 Re6 31. f4 {was a more direct win.}) 30... Re7 31. Qh4 {Another blackmail as the Na3 is completely out of play. Still it really wasn't the most practical choice.} Qg7 (31... Qxh4 32. Rxh4 b4 33. Nd5 Rf7 34. Rf4 { would still be technically lost. But at least there might remain some crazy hope due to the passed h pawn.}) 32. Nd5 Rf7 33. Qd8+ Qf8 34. Qxa5 Nxc2 35. Qc3 $1 {A good win for Sergey who now goes back to shared lead with only two rounds to play! The situation is more tense than ever on the leaderboard. As for the game, I thought it'd be a really interesting struggle until Veselin miscalculated badly starting with Rc8, as after Bf6 I think he might just have been fine. Here's hoping to a few last fireworks in the last two rounds!} (35. Qc3 Rxf2 36. Rxg6+) 1-0 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.25"] [Round "12.2"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] [WhiteClock "1:39:34"] [BlackClock "1:06:52"] {[Annotations by GM Robert Hess] Everyone in the Candidates' is playing the English. And why not? We fans have been treated to many new ideas in English Four Knights. In this game, we see Hikaru Nakamura increase his enormous plus score against Viswanathan Anand. It's an unfortunate loss for Vishy, who had just played an outstanding game against Sergey Karjakin to head into round 12 tied for the tournament lead.} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 (4. e3 Bb4 {is also a common theme in this opening.}) 4... Bb4 5. Nd5 e4 6. Nh4 {The position looks very odd, since Black is ahead in development and has more space. Yet the drawback is that the e4 pawn might be too advanced in many variations: as soon as White places his bishop on g2, we see the vulnerability of the central pawn.} O-O 7. Bg2 d6 (7... Re8 8. O-O d6 9. d3 exd3 10. Qxd3 Nxd5 11. cxd5 Ne5 12. Qc2 Bc5 13. Bd2 a5 14. Bc3 Bd7 {was comfortable for Black in Iordachescu,V (2590)-Gajewski,G (2646) Jerusalem 2015}) 8. a3 ({ Earlier in the tournament a game went} 8. Nxb4 Nxb4 9. a3 Nc6 10. d3 d5 11. O-O exd3 12. Qxd3 Ne5 13. Qd4 Nxc4 14. e4 Be6 {Topalov,V (2780)-Aronian,L (2786) Moscow RUS 2016}) 8... Bc5 9. O-O Re8 10. e3 {"I was essentially gambling that Vishy qould not be prepared for it and that he would play more human-looking moves." (Nakamura)} (10. b4 Bd4 11. Rb1 Ne7 (11... g5 12. e3 Bb6 13. Bb2 { is similar to the game continuation, except that the White rook is on b1 instead of a1. I'm not yet sure if this makes a big difference, and if it does, I'm not yet sure who the difference benefits.}) 12. e3 Nexd5 13. exd4 Nb6 14. c5 Nbd5 {was a wonky line played in Smerda, R-Cernovsky,K (2227) corr. 2010}) 10... g5 (10... Be6 {looks solid, but actually has very clear drawbacks for Black. For example:} 11. b4 Bb6 12. Qb3 Ne5 13. Bb2 {is already quite annoying for Black. The e4 pawn is hanging in so many lines.} c6 (13... g5 {does not trap the white knight, since} 14. f4 $1 {gets the job done. This kind of move provides a wonderful means of saving the knight.}) (13... Bxd5 14. cxd5 a5 15. f3 exf3 16. Nxf3 Nxf3+ 17. Bxf3 Ne4 18. Kg2 {With the open f-file and far superior dark-squared bishop, White is doing extremely well here. Just a friendly reminder that d2 is not actually hanging right now, since Qc3 both hits the knight and threatens Qxg7#}) 14. Bxe5 dxe5 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. Bxe4 { White snags a pawn. Black will face a really daunting task of trying to hold this position for many moves.}) 11. b4 {"This position is already very critical." (Nakamura)} Bb6 $2 {"Very natural but it ends up just losing." (Nakamura)} ({Nakamura said Black has to go} 11... gxh4 12. Bb2 Nxd5 13. cxd5 Ne5 14. bxc5 Bg4 15. Qc2 (15. Qb3 Nf3+ 16. Bxf3 Bxf3 17. cxd6 cxd6 18. h3 { might be an improvement over the variation Hikaru suggested, but I have no doubt that he was rattling off moves and would find the best move. The essential difference is that the queen on c2 can be traded off immediately with ...Qc8 ideas, whereas on b3 it protects d5, eventually threatens b7, and leaves the c-file for a rook.}) 15... Nf3+ 16. Bxf3 Bxf3 17. h3 ({or first} 17. cxd6 {and "it's about equal." (Nakamura)})) 12. Bb2 Nxd5 13. cxd5 Nd4 (13... Ne5 14. f4 Nc4 15. fxg5 Nxb2 (15... Qxg5 16. Bf6 Qxd5 17. Kh1 {is disastrous for Black. His king is completely open and he's taken just a pawn for his troubles. Ouch.}) 16. Qh5 {is "completely crushing for White." (Nakamura)}) 14. d3 $1 (14. Bxd4 Bxd4 15. exd4 gxh4 16. Qh5 Qf6 17. Rac1 Re7 18. Qxh4 Qxh4 19. gxh4 Bf5 {with "reasonable chances to hold this position." (Nakamura) I have to agree with Hikaru's assessment, and I must note that I'm not sure if I've ever seen a position where White has isolated double and triple pawns...and can still claim a clear advantage.}) 14... gxh4 (14... exd3 15. Nf3 (15. Qxd3 Qf6 16. Rfd1 gxh4 17. Bxd4 Bxd4 18. Qxd4 Qxd4 19. Rxd4 {should be lost for Black. The c7 pawn is an eternal weakness, and White simply has all the trumps in the position.}) 15... Ne2+ ({apparently Nakamura underestimated} 15... Nc2 { here, though he would still stand better.} 16. Qxd3 Nxa1 17. Qc3 f6 18. Nxg5 $1 {and Anand would not be able to save his knight, meanwhile his kingside is in shambles.}) 16. Kh1 Bf5 17. Ne1 {"and everything falls apart right away." (Nakamura)}) 15. dxe4 {It always feels great to make a move like this. White's center is massive, and Black's knight is not going anywhere.} Ne6 (15... Nb5 16. a4 {and the knight has run out of squares.}) 16. dxe6 Rxe6 17. e5 {Direct and simple. Material is even, though the position is anything but. Black's king is open and his queenside is terribly underdeveloped. Moreover, look at the quality of the bishops in this position: both white bishops are operating on their longest diagonals, whereas the bishop on b6 is blunted by the pawn on e3. If Anand had any chance at survival, it would be to somehow get rid of the bishop on b2.} hxg3 18. hxg3 Qg5 (18... c6 19. exd6 Rxd6 20. Qc2 {looks really, really sad for Black.}) 19. exd6 Rxd6 20. Qb3 h5 {"A little bit too slow." (Nakamura)} (20... Bg4 21. Qc3 f6 22. Bxb7 Re8 23. Qc4+ Kg7 24. Bd4 {"Maybe Black can defend but it's gonna be very long and very unpleasant. It's just no fun." (Nakamura)}) 21. Rad1 {Now Black's position is totally hopeless. White is just too fast.} Rh6 (21... Be6 22. Qc3 Kh7 23. Bxb7 Rg8 24. Rxd6 cxd6 25. Be4+ Kh6 26. Kg2 {leaves White a pawn ahead and with a totally dominating position.}) 22. Rd5 Qe7 23. Qc4 $1 Bg4 24. Qf4 $1 Rg6 25. Re5 Qd6 26. Be4 (26. Be4 f5 (26... Rg7 27. Rg5 $1 {Nakamura}) 27. Bxf5 Rf8 28. Bxg6 Rxf4 29. gxf4 { Nakamura. Truly a phenomenal crush by Nakamura, who was better prepared than the former world champion. A nice innovation by the American, who scores a nice win while really hurting Anand's chances of winning the Candidates'.}) 1-0 [Event "World Championship Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.25"] [Round "12"] [White "Fabiano Caruana"] [Black "Levon Aronian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C77"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "133"] [EventDate "2016.03.10"] {[Annotations by GM Robert Hess]} 1. e4 {What!? 1. e4? Does Caruana realize he's playing in the Candidates' Tournament? What were he and Karjakin thinking? OK, jokes aside, I think Caruana made a wise practical decision.} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. Nc3 d6 9. a3 Na5 (9... Nb8 {is another logical move, rerouting the knight to d7.}) 10. Ba2 Be6 11. b4 {The first deviation from Caruana-Aronian Sinquefield Cup 2014. That was a fine victory:} (11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. b4 Nc6 13. Bd2 d5 14. Re1 Qd6 15. Na2 Nd7 16. Qe2 d4 17. Reb1 Nb6 18. Nc1 Na4 19. Nb3 Rf7 20. Rc1 Rd8 21. Ng5 Rf6 22. Qh5 h6 23. Nf3 Rdf8 24. Rf1 R8f7 25. Rae1 Bf8 26. h3 g6 27. Qh4 Qe7 28. Qg3 Bg7 29. Na5 Nxa5 30. Nxe5 Nb7 31. Nxg6 Qd8 32. e5 Rf5 33. f4 c5 34. Nh4 Rh5 35. Nf3 Kh7 36. Qg4 Rhf5 37. Nh4 Kh8 38. Nxf5 Rxf5 39. Qg6 Qe7 40. g4 Rf8 41. f5 Qe8 42. Qxe8 Rxe8 43. f6 Bf8 44. f7 Re7 45. Rf6 Nb6 46. Bxh6 Nd7 47. Ref1 cxb4 48. axb4 Bxh6 49. Rxh6+ Kg7 50. Rh5 {1-0.}) 11... Bxa2 12. Rxa2 Nc6 13. Bg5 Nd7 ({Aronian had this exact position as black against Anand, so he knew where Fabiano got his idea from. The Armenian GM anticipated that Caruana must have something up his sleeve, hence his decision to change course.} 13... Qd7 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Nd5 Bd8 16. a4 {was a clear advantage for Anand, though Aronian did well to hold.} Ne7 17. Ne3 Rb8 18. axb5 axb5 19. c3 Qe6 20. Qb1 d5 21. exd5 Nxd5 22. Nxd5 Qxd5 23. Re1 Bf6 24. Rae2 c5 25. Nxe5 cxb4 26. Qxb4 Bxe5 27. Rxe5 Qxd3 28. h3 h6 29. R1e3 Qd1+ 30. Re1 Qa4 31. Rb1 Qxb4 32. Rxb4 Rfc8 33. Rbxb5 Rxb5 34. Rxb5 Rxc3 {1/2-1/2 (34) Anand,V (2785)-Aronian,L (2804) Bilbao 2014}) 14. Be3 Nf6 {White has gained a tempo. Had he played 13. Bg5, this position would have arisen with Black to move.} 15. Qb1 d5 16. Bg5 d4 17. Bxf6 dxc3 $6 { A somewhat risky decision to sacrifice material for activity. Recapturing on f6 would have led to a highly uncomfortable position with longterm weaknesses and minimal upside.} (17... Bxf6 18. Nd5 Qd6 19. Rc1 (19. Qb3 a5 20. Rfa1 a4 21. Qb2 Bd8 22. c3 f5 $5) 19... a5 20. bxa5 Rxa5 21. c3 {and White is clearly better, in no small part due to the monster knight on d5. In these types of structures, knights tend to outmaneuver bishops. Thankfully for White, he has two of them.}) 18. Bxe5 Nxe5 19. Nxe5 Qd6 20. Ng4 {It was not easy to decide what to do with the knight. Black's plan is simple: to play a5 and then attack the vulnerable queenside pawns.} (20. Nf3 a5 (20... c5 {is also a thought, though it feels wrong:} 21. Qb3 cxb4 22. axb4 Qxb4 23. Qxb4 Bxb4 24. Rfa1 a5 25. Nd4 {allows White to pick up a pawn.}) 21. Ra1 Qe6 (21... axb4 22. Qxb4 Qxb4 23. axb4 Rxa1 24. Rxa1 Bxb4 25. Nd4 {is the problem. The b5 pawn can not be defended.}) 22. Nd4 Qd7 23. Nf5 Bf6 {White is better of course, but progress won't be easy.}) 20... a5 21. Ne3 c6 22. a4 (22. Nf5 Qe6 23. Nxe7+ ( 23. Qb3 Bf6) 23... Qxe7 24. Ra1 {allows White to keep the extra pawn, but Black has excellent chances to hold. It is hard for White to really get going, and pressure on the a-file will be a constant.}) 22... axb4 23. axb5 cxb5 24. Nd5 {What a beautiful permanent outpost for Caruana. That knight is untouchable.} Rfb8 25. Nxe7+ {By no means a bad move, but now the position is completely even. I wonder if White could have kept the minor pieces on the board.} ({Something like} 25. g3 Ra3 26. Kg2 Rba8 27. Rxa3 Rxa3 {doesn't look very appealing for White. I guess Caruana's hand was forced.}) 25... Qxe7 26. Qb3 h5 $6 (26... Ra3 27. Rxa3 bxa3 28. Ra1 (28. Qxc3 b4 29. Qb3 Qc5 {is better for Black, because of the protected outside passed pawn.}) 28... b4 29. Rxa3 bxa3 30. Qxb8+ Qf8 31. Qa7 {should soon be a draw, since White can not stop Black's queen from aiding the a-pawn, after which Black will not be able to stop perpetual check ideas.}) 27. Rfa1 Rxa2 28. Qxa2 Qc5 29. Rb1 Rd8 30. h3 ( 30. h4) 30... g6 (30... Qg5 {might have been more precise, but perhaps Aronian was not playing for a draw here. This continuation should lead to simple equality.} 31. Rxb4 (31. Rf1 Qd2 32. Qa5 Rd4 33. Qxb5 Qxc2 34. Qe8+ Kh7 35. Qxf7 {with perpetual check to come.}) 31... Qc1+ 32. Kh2 Qf4+ 33. Kg1 {is a repetition.}) 31. Qb3 (31. Qa5 {loos like it simply wins a pawn, until you see the devilish tactic:} Rd6 32. Qxb4 Qxb4 33. Rxb4 Rxd3 {the point being that White can not capture} 34. cxd3 {because} (34. Rxb5 Rd2 35. g4 hxg4 36. hxg4 Rxc2 37. Rc5 {is a dead draw.}) 34... c2 {and the pawn can't be caught.}) 31... Rd4 32. Re1 Qa7 33. Kf1 Kg7 34. Ke2 h4 {Alright, so much has changed over the past 10 moves. White has given up control over the a-file, has moved his king to the center, and has a passive queen. And yet, after all of that, Caruana does not stand worse. It's hard for Aronian to make any progress, even if he is the only one with winning chances.} 35. Rd1 Qa5 36. Rb1 Qa6 37. Kf1 Qd6 38. Ra1 Qc5 (38... Rxd3 {was the move all the fans wanted to see! With time dwindling, both players must have missed this shot. The pawns are hard to contend with.} 39. cxd3 Qxd3+ 40. Ke1 (40. Kg1 Qc4 {is exactly the same result as in the next variation. Counting material does not win you games, though the mass of black pawns definitely does.}) 40... Qxe4+ 41. Kf1 Qd3+ 42. Ke1 (42. Kg1 $2 Qc4 {and the pawns can't possibly be tamed.} 43. Qb1 (43. Qxc4 bxc4 44. Kf1 b3 45. Ke2 b2 46. Rb1 c2 {the White king was just a move too slow.}) 43... b3 44. Ra3 b4 45. Rxb3 c2 46. Qb2+ f6 {and Black queens or wins the rook next move.}) 42... Qd2+ 43. Kf1 c2 44. Qb2+ f6 {Amazingly, White leads the material count to the tune of a rook for three pawns. But those pawns are exceptionally hard to stop!} 45. f3 (45. Ra7+ Kh6 46. Ra1 Qd1+ 47. Rxd1 cxd1=Q# {the king on f1 is always in danger of getting mated.}) (45. Re1 b3 {this pawn is immune - if White captures it, then Black queens.} 46. Qxb3 (46. Re7+ Kh6 47. Re1 b4 { followed by Qc3 and then b2 is decisive.}) 46... c1=Q 47. Rxc1 Qxc1+ 48. Ke2 Qc5 {should be a won ending for Black. White's king being out in the open does not help his drawing chances, and the outside passer is easily pushable with the support of the queen. It is very important to note that even if the b-pawn is sacrificed after a queen trade, many king and pawn endings will be winning for Black.} (48... Qc4+ 49. Qxc4 bxc4 50. Kd2 Kf7 51. Kc3 Ke6 52. Kxc4 { would be an immediate draw, since the black king can't infiltrate. It would be a different story if the white king were forced to b5 to capture the pawn.})) 45... b3 {followed by the second pawn to b4 (threatening Qc3) spells trouble if White keeps the rook on the first rank.} 46. Ra7+ Kh6 47. Rc7 Qd1+ 48. Kf2 Qd6 49. Rc8 Qb6+ 50. Kf1 {Any king move to the e-file would just lose the rook on c8 immediately because of Qe6+} b4 $1 {and the White rook has nowhere to stay on the c-file, since Qa6+ threatens to pick it off.}) 39. Rb1 Qa7 40. Ke2 g5 {With one winning chance missed, Aronian goes for another. White has no useful moves. Meanwhile, Black can do whatever he pleases, since his pieces are optimally placed.} 41. Rg1 Qd7 42. Ra1 (42. g3 g4 (42... Qxh3 43. gxh4 Qxh4 44. Rg3 {feels like an improvement for White. Curiously, Caruana goes from up a pawn to down one, but he gains activity. His rook can now breathe.}) 43. gxh4 Rxe4+ 44. dxe4 Qd2+ 45. Kf1 Qd1+ 46. Kg2 Qf3+ 47. Kf1 Qd1+ {leads to a forced repetition.}) 42... Qe7 43. Ra6 Qc7 44. Ra8 (44. Qb1 {is a weird move to play, but the queen can provide defense by scooting along the first rank.} Qf4 45. Qe1 {looks really bizarre, but it should be acceptable.}) 44... Qf4 45. Ra1 g4 (45... Rd6 46. Qxb4 Qd2+ 47. Kf1 Ra6 (47... Rf6 48. Qc5 Kh7 49. f3 Qxc2 50. Qxg5 Rg6 51. Qh5+ Kg7 52. Qe5+ {and perpetual check ensues. White is fortunate to escape with a draw.}) 48. Re1 (48. Rxa6 $4 {oops} Qd1#) 48... Rf6 49. Qc5 Kh7 50. f3 Qxc2 51. Qxb5) 46. hxg4 Qxg4+ 47. Ke3 (47. Kf1 h3 48. gxh3 Qxh3+ 49. Ke2 Qg4+ 50. Ke3 Rd6 51. Qxb4 Qg5+ 52. Ke2 Qd2+ 53. Kf1 Rh6 54. Qd4+ Kh7 55. Qd7 Qf4 (55... Rh1+ 56. Kg2 Rxa1 57. Qxf7+ {and the naked king can't escape the checks.}) 56. Ke2 Qd2+ 57. Kf1 {is yet another repetition!}) 47... Rd6 48. Qxb4 Qg5+ 49. Ke2 Rf6 50. Qxc3 Qxg2 {Now Aronian could claim a legitimate edge, since the h-pawn is scary.} 51. Qd4 h3 52. Qe3 Qg4+ 53. Kd2 Qg2 54. Ke2 Qg4+ 55. Kd2 h2 56. Rh1 Qg2 (56... Rh6 57. Qg3 Qxg3 58. fxg3 {Even with the rook protecting the pawn from behind, the position is a draw.} Kf6 59. Ke3 Kg5 60. Kf3 b4 61. e5 Kf5 62. d4 Kg5 63. d5 (63. Kg2 Rc6 64. Rc1 Rc3 65. Kxh2 b3 66. Kh3 Rxc2 67. Rb1 b2 68. d5 Kf5 69. d6 Kxe5 70. d7 Rd2 71. Rxb2 Rxd7 {is equal.} )) 57. Qg3+ Qxg3 58. fxg3 Rf2+ 59. Kc3 Kf6 60. d4 Kg5 (60... b4+ 61. Kb3 Ke6 62. c4 bxc3 63. Kxc3 Rg2 64. g4 Kf6 65. d5 Ke5 66. g5 {Neither side can make progress, just like in the game.}) 61. d5 Kf6 62. g4 Ke5 63. g5 b4+ (63... Kd6 {could be a bit tricky, as evidenced by a few sample lines:} 64. Kd3 (64. Kb4 Rxc2 65. Kxb5 Re2 66. Kb6 Rb2+ 67. Ka6 Ke5 68. Ka7 Kxe4 69. d6 Kf5 70. Rd1 Kg6 71. d7 h1=Q 72. Rxh1 Rd2 73. Kb7 Rxd7+ 74. Kc6 Re7 75. Kd6 Re6+ 76. Kd5 Kxg5 77. Rf1 Kg6 78. Rg1+ Kf6 79. Rf1+ Ke7 80. Rf5 {and White saves the half point, but it's always worrisome to have your king cut off by a rook in the endgame.}) 64... Rg2 65. Kd4 Rxc2 66. e5+ Ke7 67. Kd3 Rg2 68. Kc3 Kd7 69. Kb4 Rb2+ 70. Kc3 Re2 71. Kb4 {holds the balance.}) 64. Kxb4 Rxc2 65. Kb5 Kd6 66. Kb4 Ke5 67. Kb5 {What a tense game! It was Caruana who left the opening phase with an advantage, only for Aronian to fight well to equalize before missing a killer shot in mutual time trouble with 38...Rxd3. Aronian still had all the chances after that, but it was not the Armenian's day, so a draw felt like the right result.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.25"] [Round "12"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {It was a complete debacle for Anand who was outprepared by Hikaru Nakamura.} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Nd5 $5 (5. Bg2 {Had been played by Caruana against Anand.}) 5... e4 {Anand is trying to play sharp lines with Black. Of course, he has every right to believe in his preparation but things didn't work out today.} (5... Bc5 {is a safer way to play.}) 6. Nh4 O-O 7. Bg2 d6 (7... Re8 {this was played by Anand's second Grzegorz Gajewski. It could have given Nakamura and his team an idea that Vishy might go for this.} 8. O-O d6 9. d3 exd3 10. Qxd3 Nxd5 11. cxd5 Ne5 12. Qc2 Bc5 13. Bd2 a5 {1/2-1/2 (98) Iordachescu,V (2590)-Gajewski,G (2646) Jerusalem 2015}) 8. a3 $146 {This is a new move in over the board games, although it has been played in correspondence chess.} ({A logical question to ask is why shouldn't White win the e4 pawn?} 8. Nxf6+ Qxf6 9. Bxe4 Re8 $1 10. Bg2 Bg4 $19 {With tons and tons of activity.}) 8... Bc5 9. O-O Re8 10. e3 $1 {This is computer preparation in action. White takes away the d4 square and gets ready to chase the bishop away with b4. At the same time f3 is a real threat now. Normally one would play a move like d3 in such positions. But chess has become much more concrete thanks to the engines and such anti-intuitive moves are no longer a rarity.} (10. d3 $6 {would be the more natural move but it is not so great.} exd3 11. exd3 Nxd5 12. cxd5 Nd4 $15 {Black cannot be worse here.}) (10. b4 Bd4 11. Rb1 Ne7 $1 12. e3 Nexd5 13. exd4 Nb6 14. d3 exd3 15. Qxd3 d5 $1 $11) 10... g5 {A logical question to ask is why did Anand indulge in such complicated play when he knew that his opponent was so well prepared? The answer to this is not easy. First of all you want to respect the fact that your opponent is well prepared but you always don't want to change the things you have prepared with the fear that he might have something up his sleeve. Anand was confident and he went for his line. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't - this is the story of modern opening preparation!} (10... a5 {trying to stop b4 will now be met with} 11. f3 $1 exf3 (11... g5 $2 12. Nxf6+ Qxf6 13. fxe4 $18) 12. Qxf3 $14) 11. b4 Bb6 {As Nakamura later pointed out, this is the human reaction.} (11... gxh4 { would have been the better option.} 12. Bb2 $5 Nxd5 13. cxd5 Ne5 14. bxc5 Bg4 { And Black is doing much better than in the game because of the control of the f3 square.}) 12. Bb2 $1 Nxd5 13. cxd5 Nd4 {Nakamura said that he had looked at the move Ne5 in his preparation and this came as a surprise. But Anand was already thinking quite a bit and had found this over the board which meant that there could be some flaw in it.} (13... Ne5 14. f4 $1 {This is a very strong move.} gxh4 (14... Bg4 15. Qc2 $16) 15. fxe5 dxe5 (15... Qg5 16. gxh4) 16. Qh5 $18) (13... gxh4 14. dxc6 bxc6 15. Qh5 {is almost a disaster.}) 14. d3 $1 (14. Bxd4 Bxd4 15. exd4 gxh4 16. Qh5 Bd7 {Black can still fight.}) 14... gxh4 (14... exd3 15. Qxd3 Qf6 (15... gxh4 16. Bxd4 $16) 16. Rfd1 gxh4 (16... Nf3+ 17. Nxf3 Qxb2 18. Nxg5 $16) 17. Bxd4 Bxd4 18. Qxd4 Qxd4 19. Rxd4 hxg3 20. hxg3 {is a hopeless position for Black. Rooks will double on the c-file and there would be unbearable pressure.}) 15. dxe4 Ne6 16. dxe6 Rxe6 17. e5 $1 { Very incisive play by Nakamura.} hxg3 18. hxg3 Qg5 19. exd6 Rxd6 20. Qb3 h5 ( 20... Rh6 {with the idea of Bh3 was possible.} 21. Rfd1 Bh3 22. Qc3 f6 23. Bxh3 Rxh3 24. Qb3+ Kh8 25. Qe6 Rh6 26. Rd5 Qg6 27. Rad1 $18) 21. Rad1 Rh6 {Anand realises that playing normal chess is anyway not going to get him anywhere, his position is anyway lost. But with this ambitious idea of Rh6 followed by h4 he has made Nakamura's task of finding the best move a little more difficult as one one path exists.} 22. Rd5 Qe7 {At this point I was analyzing with Dusan Krunic (chess informant) about how White should take advantage of these weakness. Qc3 looked like the most obvious way but after f6 with the idea of Be6 it seemed as if Black was consolidating. We thought about many different moves, they were good but not the best. Something was missing - what was the key to the position? And then Nakamura made his move and we realized, yes! It was the h6 rook!} 23. Qc4 $1 {The idea is to play Qf4 and attack the rook on h6. A very strong move.} Bg4 24. Qf4 Rg6 25. Re5 Qd6 26. Be4 {A crushing win for Nakamura. It was for the second time in this tournament that Anand resigned with equal material on the board. First one was against Sergey in round four.} (26. Bxb7 $18 {was also winning.}) (26. Be4 f5 (26... Rg7 27. Rg5 Rxg5 28. Qxg5+ Kf8 29. Be5 Qe6 30. Bxb7 Rb8 (30... Re8 31. Bg7+ Kg8 32. Bf6+ $18) 31. Bf6 $18) 27. Bxf5 Rf8 28. Qc4+ $18) 1-0 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.25"] [Round "12"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B81"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 {The first time that Sicilian was played in this tournament and it had to be Topalov!} 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e6 7. g4 Nfd7 8. Be3 Be7 {Topalov's idea of not touching the b8 knight for the time being is new and has not been seen at the highest level before.} 9. g5 b5 10. a3 Bb7 11. h4 O-O 12. Qd2 Nb6 13. h5 {While Black has pretty harmonius development White has got his attack rolling.} N8d7 14. g6 Ne5 (14... Nc5 $5 15. Rg1 $5 (15. gxf7+ Rxf7 16. b4 Nxe4 17. Nxe4 Bxe4 18. Nxe6 Qd7 $19) 15... Bf6 $13 (15... Nxe4 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 17. gxf7+ Rxf7 18. Nxe6 Qd7 19. Nxg7 Rxg7 20. Rxg7+ Kxg7 21. Qd4+ $18)) 15. O-O-O {It is natural that Karjakin wanted to 0-0-0 to stay away from checks and threats on f3 but maybe he could have started directly with h6.} (15. h6 $5 Bf6 16. hxg7 Bxg7 17. gxf7+ Rxf7 18. O-O-O Nbc4 19. Bxc4 Nxc4 20. Qe2 $14) 15... Nbc4 16. Bxc4 Nxc4 17. Qe2 Rc8 $2 ( 17... Bf6 $1 {After this Black would have a perfectly acceptable position.} 18. h6 hxg6 19. hxg7 Bxg7 $15) 18. h6 $1 fxg6 19. Nxe6 Qd7 (19... Qa5 20. hxg7 Rf7 21. Rxh7 $1 $18) 20. Nxf8 {Topalov simply forgot about this move. He was only thinking about hxg7.} (20. hxg7 Rf6 {Although even this is winning after} 21. Ng5 $1 $18) 20... Bxf8 21. hxg7 Bxg7 22. Bd4 {White has completely secured his position and stands clearly better. Karjakin went onto win without too many difficulties.} a5 (22... Bxd4 23. Rxd4 Nxa3 24. bxa3 Rxc3 25. Rhd1 $18) 23. Bxg7 Qxg7 24. Qg4 Re8 25. Qg5 Bc6 26. Qh6 Qh8 27. b3 Nxa3 28. Rh3 Bd7 29. Rg3 Qf6 30. Rh1 Re7 31. Qh4 Qg7 32. Nd5 Rf7 33. Qd8+ Qf8 34. Qxa5 Nxc2 1-0 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow, Russia"] [Date "2016.03.25"] [Round "12"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2786"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "133"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. Nc3 d6 9. a3 Na5 10. Ba2 Be6 11. b4 (11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. b4 {was played by the same players in Sinquefield Cup 2014.}) 11... Bxa2 12. Rxa2 Nc6 13. Bg5 {Until now we are following the game Anand-Aronian and Dominguez-Tomashevsky but now Aronian deviates.} Nd7 14. Be3 Nf6 15. Qb1 {Angling for a4.} d5 16. Bg5 d4 17. Bxf6 dxc3 $5 {This was an interesting pawn sacrifice. Caruana didn't think too highly of this move at first but later realised that it was tricky. He commended his opponent for his play after the game.} (17... Bxf6 18. Nd5 a5 { was a normal way to continue.}) 18. Bxe5 Nxe5 19. Nxe5 Qd6 20. Ng4 $5 (20. Nf3 $5 a5 21. Ra1 $14) (20. f4 {was what Aronian thought was the most natural move. } Bf6 21. Kh1 Bxe5 22. fxe5 Qxe5 23. Rf5 Qd6 24. Ra1 {Black has regained the pawn but White has much better structure and stands better.}) 20... a5 21. Ne3 c6 22. a4 $5 (22. Nf5 Qe6 23. Nxe7+ Qxe7 24. Ra1 {Would not be sufficient compensation for Black for the pawn as after} axb4 25. Qxb4 $1 $16 {There is no way to regain the pawn.}) 22... axb4 23. axb5 cxb5 24. Nd5 Rfb8 25. Nxe7+ $2 {A pretty poor move which reduces all of White's advantage. It was better to keep the knight on d5 as it is not possible to dislodge it from there.} (25. Rxa8 Rxa8 26. d4) 25... Qxe7 26. Qb3 h5 (26... Ra3 27. Rxa3 bxa3 28. Ra1 b4 29. Rxa3 bxa3 30. Qxb8+ Qf8 31. Qb7 g6 $11) 27. Rfa1 Rxa2 28. Qxa2 Qc5 29. Rb1 Rd8 30. h3 g6 31. Qb3 Rd4 {The position is round about equal.} 32. Re1 Qa7 33. Kf1 {This plan of centralizing the king looks pretty dubious. Maybe it was better to just stay put. The position is equal.} Kg7 34. Ke2 h4 35. Rd1 Qa5 36. Rb1 Qa6 37. Kf1 Qd6 38. Ra1 $2 {A careless move by Caruana. Aronian had a winning move here, which could have been of the most brilliant combinations of the entire tournament!} (38. Re1 $11) 38... Qc5 $2 (38... Rxd3 $3 {Unbelievable as it may seem, this rook sacrifice is made not for an immediate finish but to clear the path for the queenside pawns which just cannot be stopped!} 39. cxd3 Qxd3+ 40. Ke1 (40. Kg1 $2 Qc4 $3 $19 {And the pawns are just cruising with b3-c2 etc.}) 40... Qxe4+ 41. Kf1 (41. Kd1 c2+ $1 42. Qxc2 Qd4+ $19) 41... Qd3+ 42. Ke1 Qd2+ 43. Kf1 c2 44. Qb2+ Kh7 {The king is safe here and now the next threat is b3, b4 followed by Qc3!} 45. Kg1 b3 46. Rf1 (46. Kh2 Qf4+ 47. Kg1 b4 $19) (46. Qxb3 c1=Q+) 46... Qf4 $19 (46... b4 $2 47. Qxb3 c1=Q 48. Qxf7+ $11)) 39. Rb1 Qa7 40. Ke2 g5 $6 {This move weakens the kingside a bit and it was quite a drastic decision to make especially on the 40th move.} 41. Rg1 Qd7 42. Ra1 Qe7 43. Ra6 Qc7 44. Ra8 Qf4 45. Ra1 g4 (45... Rxd3 {is similar to the previous Rxd3 variation. The only difference is that the pawn is on g5 and this is the thing which allows White to hold.} 46. cxd3 Qd2+ 47. Kf1 Qxd3+ 48. Kg1 Qc4 49. Qd1 c2 50. Qc1 $1 {Attacking the g5 pawn. This is the crucial tempo.} (50. Qh5 c1=Q+) 50... Kh6 (50... f6 51. e5 $1) (50... Kg6 51. Ra6+ Kh5 52. g4+ hxg3 53. fxg3 Qe2 54. Qb2 (54. g4+ Kh4 55. Rh6+ Kg3 $19) 54... Qe1+ 55. Kg2 Qe2+ $11) 51. Qb2 $11) 46. hxg4 Qxg4+ 47. Ke3 (47. Kf1 h3 48. gxh3 Qxh3+ 49. Ke2 Qg4+ 50. Ke3 Rd6 51. Qxb4 Rf6 $2 (51... Qh3+ $11) 52. Kd4 $1 $18) 47... Rd6 48. Qxb4 Qg5+ 49. Ke2 Rf6 $1 (49... Qd2+ 50. Kf1 Rf6 51. Qc5 $11) 50. Qxc3 Qxg2 51. Qd4 h3 (51... Qf3+ 52. Ke1 (52. Kd2 h3) 52... h3 {forces White to be extremely accurate.} 53. e5 Re6 54. Qe4 Qxe4+ 55. dxe4 Rxe5 56. Kf1 Rxe4 57. Kg1 {With a probable draw.}) 52. Qe3 Qg4+ 53. Kd2 (53. f3 Qg2+ 54. Qf2 Rg6 55. Qxg2 Rxg2+ 56. Kf1 Rxc2 57. Kg1 $11) 53... Qg2 54. Ke2 Qg4+ 55. Kd2 h2 56. Rh1 Qg2 57. Qg3+ Qxg3 58. fxg3 Rf2+ 59. Kc3 {This is a complicated endgame. Although the evaluation is equal, White is the one who has to be careful. He must create counterplay before the Black king reaches to g3.} Kf6 60. d4 Kg5 ( 60... Rg2 61. Kb4 Rxc2 62. Kxb5 $11) 61. d5 Kf6 (61... Kg4 62. d6 Kxg3 63. d7 $18) 62. g4 Ke5 63. g5 b4+ 64. Kxb4 Rxc2 65. Kb5 Kd6 66. Kb4 Ke5 67. Kb5 { No improvement can be made and the game ends in a draw. A very interesting battle.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.25"] [Round "12"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "169"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 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. Rb1 (10. b5 Nd4 11. Nxe5 Bb3 $19) 10... f6 11. d3 { In this position Black has two ways to continue. One is to go directly Nd4 and other one is to include a5 and b5 before playing Nd4. Anish chooses the latter. } a5 12. b5 Nd4 13. Nd2 Qc8 14. e3 Nf5 15. Qc2 a4 16. Rd1 Nd6 $146 {The first new move of the game but it seemed as if both were already out of their preparation. The plans in this position are pretty well established and both the players are following them. A move here or there doesn't really change the character of the game.} 17. Nde4 $5 {An interesting idea by Peter who doesn't mind giving up an exchange to Bb3.} Nxe4 18. Nxe4 (18. dxe4 Bb3 19. Rxb3 axb3 20. Qxb3+ Kh8 {With the bishop closed on g2 this doesn't look great.}) 18... Bd5 {Giri is always well aware of the dangers and chooses the most solid way to play.} (18... Bb3 $6 {This wins an exchange but gives White excellent light square control.} 19. Rxb3 axb3 20. Qxb3+ $44) 19. Nc5 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 Bxc5 21. Qxc5 Qe6 $1 {At this point the position might be round about equal but it seems like Black has much easier play thanks to his knight having more scope against the bishop.} 22. Bb2 (22. Qxc7 $2 Nd5 23. Qc2 Rfc8 $19 {With the knight coming to c3 it is just winning for Black.}) (22. e4 {Svidler wanted to play this but was afraid of} f5 {White should be fine after} 23. Bb2 $13) 22... Rf7 23. Bc3 Rd7 24. Bb4 Rad8 25. e4 f5 26. exf5 $6 (26. Rbc1 {was better.}) 26... Qxf5 {Black has some initiative now because White's kingside is a tad weak.} 27. Re1 Nd5 $1 (27... Qxd3 28. Rbd1 $36) (27... Rxd3 28. Qxc7 $16) 28. Qc4 Rf7 29. Rb2 h6 (29... Qf3+ {According to the computer this was the best move Giri had seen it but he wasn't sure if it was any good.} 30. Kg1 Nxb4 31. Qxb4 Rd4 (31... Rxd3 32. Qxa4 $11) 32. Qc5 Rxd3 $17 {According to the computer this is just better but Anish thought this was extremely drawish.}) 30. Qe4 Qd7 31. Qxe5 Qxb5 32. Qe4 (32. Be7 Qc6 $1 {was the point missed by Peter.} 33. Bxd8 Nf4+ $19) 32... Qd7 33. Qe6 Qxe6 (33... b6 34. Qxd7 Rdxd7 35. Bd2 {With the idea of later Bf4 if the knight moves seems fine for White.}) 34. Rxe6 Nxb4 35. Rxb4 Rxd3 36. f4 (36. Rxa4 Rd2 37. Re8+ Kh7 38. Rf4 Rxf4 39. gxf4 Kg6 $15 { This might well be a draw but Peter during the game thought that this was really bad for him.}) 36... Rxa3 37. Rxb7 Ra2+ 38. Kh3 Rc2 39. Ra6 Rf5 40. Rxa4 Rh5+ 41. Kg4 Rhxh2 42. Ra8+ (42. Raa7 h5+ 43. Kg5 Rc3 44. Rxc7 Rxg3+ 45. Kf5 Kh7 $17) 42... Kh7 43. Rbb8 Rc4 $1 {A strong move by Anish which keeps the game going although it should be a draw.} 44. Rf8 (44. Re8 {was surely better to keep the option of giving a check on e6.} Kg6 45. Re6+ Kf7 46. Rae8 $11) 44... Kg6 45. Rae8 h5+ 46. Kf3 Rcc2 47. Re6+ Kh7 48. Re3 Rhf2+ 49. Ke4 Rc6 50. Rf5 Kh6 51. Rd5 (51. Re5 $2 h4 52. gxh4 Rc4+ 53. Kd3 Rfxf4 54. h5 Rfd4+ 55. Ke2 Rc2+ 56. Kf3 Rh4 $19) 51... h4 52. gxh4 Rc4+ 53. Kd3 Rfxf4 (53... Rcxf4 54. Re6+ Rf6 55. Rxf6+ Rxf6 56. Rc5 c6 57. Ke4 $11) 54. Re6+ Kh7 55. Rh5+ (55. Re7 {was the easier way to draw.} Rxh4 56. Rdd7 Rhg4 57. Rxg7+ Rxg7 58. Rxg7+ Kxg7 59. Kxc4 $11) 55... Kg8 56. Re7 Rfd4+ 57. Ke3 Rd1 58. Ke2 Rg1 59. Rg5 Rxg5 60. hxg5 Kh7 (60... Kf8 61. Rd7 Re4+ 62. Kf3 Re7 {is also drawn but there are some more chances.}) 61. Ke3 Kg6 62. Rd7 {The rest of the game is not so important. White has sufficient defensive resources and Anish kept trying to avoid his 12th draw which was inevitable!} Rc5 63. Re7 Rc1 64. Kd2 Rc6 65. Ke2 Rc3 66. Kd2 Rc4 67. Kd3 Rc5 68. Ke3 c6 69. Rc7 Re5+ 70. Kf4 Rf5+ 71. Ke4 Rf1 72. Ke3 Re1+ 73. Kf3 Rc1 74. Kg4 Rc3 75. Kf4 Rc4+ 76. Kf3 Rc2 77. Kg4 Rc1 78. Kf4 c5 79. Kg4 c4 80. Rc6+ Kf7 81. Kf5 Rf1+ 82. Ke5 Re1+ 83. Kf5 g6+ 84. Kf4 Rf1+ 85. Ke4 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.27"] [Round "13.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2757"] [PlyCount "231"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4 Bd7 9. c3 O-O ({Relevant:} 9... Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qb8 12. axb5 axb5 13. Bg5 Be6 14. Nbd2 O-O 15. d5 Bg4 16. h3 Bh5 17. Be3 c4 18. Qe2 Rc8 19. Rfb1 Bd8 20. Nf1 Nb7 21. Ng3 Bg6 22. Rxa8 Qxa8 23. b4 cxb3 24. Rxb3 Nc5 25. Bxc5 Rxc5 26. Rxb5 Rxc3 27. Qd2 Qc8 28. Rb8 Qxb8 29. Qxc3 Bb6 30. Bd3 Bc5 31. Nh4 Qa7 32. Qb2 h6 33. Nxg6 fxg6 34. Nf1 Nd7 35. Qe2 Bd4 36. Ne3 Nc5 37. Bc2 Qa1+ 38. Qd1 Qc3 39. Qe2 {Tomashevsky,E (2728)-Ding,L (2766) Huaian 2016 0-1 (61)}) 10. Bc2 b4 11. Re1 Re8 12. Nbd2 Bf8 $146 ({Predecessor (6):} 12... Rb8 13. Nc4 h6 14. a5 Bf8 15. Bd2 bxc3 16. bxc3 Qc8 17. h3 Ne7 18. Nh4 Be6 19. Ne3 g6 20. d4 Bg7 21. Rb1 Rxb1 22. Qxb1 Qa8 23. d5 Bd7 24. Qa2 c6 25. c4 c5 26. Nd1 Qc8 27. Nf3 Qc7 28. Re3 Rb8 29. Rb3 Nc8 30. Nb2 Be8 31. Na4 Rxb3 32. Qxb3 Nd7 33. h4 h5 34. g3 Bf6 35. Bd3 Bd8 36. Bf1 Qb8 37. Qxb8 Nxb8 38. Nb2 f6 39. Ne1 Ne7 40. Bh3 Bd7 41. Kh2 Kg7 42. Ned3 {Najer,E (2653)-Tomashevsky,E (2695) Vladivostok 2014 1/ 2-1/2}) 13. a5 g6 14. Bb3 Be6 15. Ba4 Bd7 16. Nf1 h6 17. Ng3 bxc3 18. bxc3 Bg7 19. h3 d5 20. exd5 Nxd5 21. Ne4 Nb8 22. Bb3 Be6 23. Bd2 (23. Nc5 Nxc3 24. Nxe6 Rxe6 25. Qc2) 23... Nd7 24. Ba4 f5 25. Ng3 c5 26. Bb3 (26. c4) 26... Qc7 27. h4 N5f6 28. Bxe6+ Rxe6 29. h5 f4 30. Ne4 Nxh5 31. d4 Qc6 32. Qb3 c4 33. Qa4 Qd5 34. Rad1 Rae8 $2 (34... Rf8 35. dxe5 Nxe5 36. Nxe5 Rxe5 37. Bxf4 Rxe4) (34... Kh8) 35. dxe5 Nxe5 36. Nxe5 Rxe5 37. Bxf4 Qb5 (37... Rxe4 38. Qxe8+ $1 { is the tactical difference.}) 38. Qxb5 Rxb5 39. Bd6 Kh8 40. g4 Nf6 41. Nxf6 Rxe1+ 42. Rxe1 Bxf6 43. Re8+ Kg7 44. Bb4 Re5 45. Rc8 Re6 46. Rc7+ Kg8 47. Rxc4 h5 48. Kg2 Kf7 49. Rc5 hxg4 50. Rc7+ Ke8 51. Rc4 Kd7 52. Rxg4 Be5 53. c4 Bc7 54. Kf3 Rf6+ 55. Ke3 Re6+ 56. Kd3 Rf6 57. Ke3 Re6+ 58. Kd3 Rf6 59. Rg5 Rxf2 60. Rxg6 Rf3+ 61. Kc2 Rf5 62. Rxa6 Kc8 63. Kd3 Rh5 64. c5 Kb7 65. Rg6 Bxa5 { Deciding to bail out into a tricky but drawn endgame.} 66. Bxa5 Rxc5 67. Bb4 Rc6 68. Bd6 Kc8 69. Kd4 Rb6 70. Kd5 Rb7 71. Rg8+ Kd7 72. Bc5 Kc7 73. Rg6 Kd7 74. Rh6 Kc7 75. Rc6+ Kd7 76. Bb6 Ke8 77. Bd4 Kd7 78. Rd6+ Kc8 79. Ke6 Kc7 80. Ra6 Rb5 81. Ra1 Kc6 82. Rc1+ Kb7 83. Kd6 Ka6 84. Rc6+ Ka5 85. Bc5 Rb7 86. Kd5 Kb5 87. Bd6 Ka4 88. Ra6+ Kb5 89. Ra1 Kb6 90. Rc1 Kb5 91. Rc6 Ka4 92. Bc5 Kb5 93. Rd6 Ka4 94. Kc6 Rb8 95. Rd3 Rc8+ 96. Kd5 Rd8+ 97. Bd6 Rc8 98. Ra3+ Kb5 99. Rb3+ Ka4 100. Rb4+ Ka5 101. Bc5 Rh8 102. Rb7 Ka4 $2 {Now white is winning but it's a question of if there are enough moves to do it.} 103. Kc4 Rh4+ 104. Bd4 Rh5 105. Bf2 Rg5 106. Rh7 Rg4+ 107. Bd4 Rg5 108. Rh8 Rb5 109. Ra8+ Ra5 110. Rb8 Rh5 111. Bf6 $2 {Throwing away the win which would happen in time.} (111. Rb2 Rh3 112. Ra2+ Ra3 113. Rb2 Ka5 114. Rb8 Ra4+) 111... Ka5 112. Bc3+ Ka6 113. Bd4 Rh6 114. Be3 Re6 115. Rb3 Rc6+ 116. Kd5 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.27"] [Round "13.2"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2760"] [PlyCount "202"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8. d3 O-O 9. a3 Be6 10. Be3 Qd7 11. b4 f6 12. Ne4 Nd5 13. Bd2 a5 14. Nc5 Bxc5 15. bxc5 a4 16. Rb1 Rfb8 17. Qc2 Nde7 18. Rb2 Bb3 19. Qb1 Kh8 20. Rc1 Na7 21. Bb4 Nb5 22. Nd2 Bf7 23. e3 Bg6 24. Ne4 Nd5 25. Be1 Nxa3 26. c6 Qe7 27. Qa2 bxc6 28. Rxc6 Bf7 29. Rc5 Nxe3 30. Qxa3 Rxb2 31. Qxb2 Nxg2 32. Kxg2 a3 33. Qb7 Qd8 34. Qxc7 Qxc7 35. Rxc7 Bd5 36. Rc5 a2 37. Bc3 Bg8 38. Ba1 Rb8 39. Ra5 Rb1 40. Bc3 Rd1 41. Kf3 Rxd3+ 42. Ke2 Rd8 43. f4 Bc4+ 44. Kf2 exf4 45. gxf4 Kg8 46. Nd2 Bf7 47. Ke3 h5 48. f5 Rc8 49. Ne4 Bd5 50. Rc5 Rd8 51. Nd2 Bf7 52. Ra5 Rc8 53. Ne4 Bd5 54. Nc5 Re8+ 55. Kd3 Rd8 56. Bd4 Re8 57. Kd2 Ra8 58. Rxa8+ Bxa8 59. Ke3 Kh7 60. Kf4 Kh6 61. Ne6 Kh7 62. Nf8+ Kg8 63. Ng6 Kf7 64. Ke3 Bc6 65. Bb2 Bd7 66. Ke4 Bc6+ 67. Kd4 Bd7 68. Nh4 Ba4 69. Ng2 Bc2 70. Ne3 Bb1 71. Kc3 Kg8 72. Nc2 Kh7 73. Nd4 Kh6 74. Bc1+ Kh7 75. Kb2 Kg8 76. Bd2 Kh7 77. Bb4 Kg8 78. Bc3 Kh7 79. Kc1 Kh6 80. h4 Kh7 81. Kd2 Kg8 82. Ke3 Kh7 83. Kf4 Bd3 84. Nc6 Kg8 85. Nb4 Bb1 86. Na6 Kf7 87. Nc5 Bc2 88. Ne4 Bd1 89. Ng3 Kg8 90. Ke3 Bc2 91. Bb2 Kh7 92. Kf4 Bd1 93. Ne4 Bc2 94. Nd6 Kg8 95. Ke3 Kf8 96. Kd4 Ke7 97. Kc5 Kd7 98. Bc3 Bd3 99. Kd5 Bc2 100. Ne4 Bxe4+ 101. Kxe4 Kd6 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.27"] [Round "13.3"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2790"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. a3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. e3 Nc6 9. cxd5 ({Relevant:} 9. Qc2 Qa5 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Be2 Ne4 12. cxd5 Nxc3 13. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 14. bxc3 exd5 15. Rxd5 Bxa3 16. Nd4 Nxd4 17. exd4 b6 18. Kd2 Be6 19. Rb5 Bd7 20. Rb3 Be7 21. Bf3 Ba4 22. Rb2 Rad8 23. Ra1 b5 24. Bc6 a6 25. Bb7 Bd6 26. Be3 a5 27. Bc6 Rb8 28. d5 Rfd8 29. Kd3 Bf8 30. Bd4 f6 31. Ke4 Bd6 32. c4 Bb4 33. Ba7 f5+ 34. Kf3 Rbc8 35. cxb5 Bxb5 36. Bxb5 Bc3 37. Rab1 Bxb2 38. Rxb2 Rxd5 {Carlsen,M (2853)-Nakamura,H (2814) Saint Louis 2015 1/2-1/2 (95)}) 9... exd5 10. b4 d4 $146 ({Predecessor (3):} 10... Nxb4 11. axb4 Bxb4 12. Qb3 a5 13. Bd3 d4 14. exd4 Bg4 15. O-O Bxf3 16. gxf3 Qxd4 17. Ne2 Qc5 18. Rfc1 Qh5 19. Ng3 Qh4 20. Be3 Rfc8 21. Kg2 Nh5 22. Qd5 Nf4+ 23. Bxf4 Qxf4 24. Rxc8+ Rxc8 25. Qxb7 Rd8 26. Be4 g6 27. Ra2 Rd1 28. Rc2 Kg7 {1-0 (28) Lugovoi,A (2531)-Kovaljov,D (2274) Tallinn 2011}) 11. exd4 {Playing for a draw but maybe also the best try. } (11. Na4 Be7 (11... Bb6)) (11. bxc5 Qa5 {is also difficult.}) 11... Bxd4 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. Be3 Nf5 14. Qxd8 Rxd8 15. Be2 Nxe3 (15... Re8 {was "much stronger" according to Topalov.} 16. Bg5 (16. Nd1 Nd5 17. O-O Ndxe3 18. Nxe3 Nxe3 19. fxe3 Rxe3 {and white is a pawn down.}) 16... Nd4 17. Ra2 (17. Rd1 Nxe2 18. Nxe2 b6 (18... a5)) 17... Bf5) 16. fxe3 Ng4 17. e4 Be6 18. O-O Ne3 19. Rfc1 Rd2 {black is pressing but white should really hold.} (19... Nc4 20. Nd5 $1) 20. Bf3 Rad8 (20... Nc4 {Nakamura} 21. Nb5 (21. e5 Rd7 $1)) 21. e5 b6 22. Ne4 Rb2 23. Re1 Nc4 24. Ng5 h6 25. Nxe6 fxe6 26. Rac1 Rd4 27. h3 b5 $5 {Topalov thought this a bit dangerous but Nakamura wanted to play on. The position is roughly equal but difficult.} 28. Rc3 Rdd2 29. a4 a6 30. Bb7 Nb6 (30... Kf7) 31. axb5 axb5 32. Be4 Nc4 33. Rg3 $2 (33. Ra1 $11) 33... Re2 (33... Nxe5 34. Bh7+ Kxh7 35. Rxe5 Rxb4) 34. Ra1 $2 (34. Rxe2 Rxe2 35. Bc6 Rxe5 36. Rc3 Nb6 37. Ra3 {with chances to save.}) 34... Nxe5 35. Ra8+ Kf7 36. Bh7 g5 37. Bg8+ Kf6 38. Rf8+ Kg7 39. Re8 Ng6 40. Bxe6 Nf4 0-1 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.27"] [Round "13.4"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2793"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2016.03.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 Ba7 ({ Relevant:} 7... O-O 8. Re1 h6 9. h3 Be6 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. Rxe3 Qd7 13. Nbd2 Qf7 14. g3 Nd7 15. Kg2 a5 16. Qc2 Nc5 17. Rf1 Qd7 18. b3 Ne7 19. Nc4 b5 20. axb5 Qxb5 21. Rb1 Nc6 22. Ncd2 Rab8 23. d4 exd4 24. Nxd4 Nxd4 25. cxd4 Na6 26. Qc3 Qb6 27. Nf3 Nb4 28. Qc4 Rbe8 29. Rc1 Rf7 30. Nd2 Ref8 31. f4 e5 32. Nf3 exf4 33. gxf4 d5 34. exd5 Qd6 35. Ne5 Rxf4 36. Kg1 Kh7 37. Rg3 {Giri,A (2798)-Anand,V (2784) Zuerich 2016 0-1}) 8. Na3 Ne7 $146 ({Predecessor (5):} 8... O-O 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 g5 11. Bg3 Bg4 12. h3 Bh5 13. Qe2 Ne7 14. Nc2 Ng6 15. Ne3 Kh7 16. Nf5 Ne7 17. Ne3 Ng6 18. Nf5 {1/2-1/2 (18) Chocenka,D (2403) -Jasinski,M (2393) ICCF email 2014}) 9. Bg5 c6 10. Nc2 O-O 11. Nh4 d5 12. exd5 Nexd5 13. Nf3 Qd6 14. Re1 {"By move 14 I'm trying to equalise." Anand.} (14. h3 ) 14... Bg4 15. Bh4 (15. h3 Bh5 16. g4 e4 $1 {and black has a dangerous initiative.} 17. d4 exf3 18. gxh5 Nxh5 19. Qxf3 (19. Bxd5) (19. Bd3 f5 $1 { winning.}) 19... Qg6 20. Qg4 Qxc2 21. Qxh5) 15... Rae8 16. h3 Bh5 17. Bg3 Nf4 18. Bxf4 exf4 19. d4 c5 20. Be2 cxd4 21. Ncxd4 Re4 22. Qc2 Rc8 23. Rad1 Bxf3 24. Nxf3 Bxf2+ 25. Kxf2 Qb6+ 26. Kf1 Nh5 27. g4 fxg3 28. Bd3 Rxe1+ 29. Rxe1 Nf4 30. Nd4 g6 31. Be4 (31. Re3 Qf6 32. Qd2) 31... Qf6 32. Bf3 g2+ (32... Rc5 { doesn't seem to be a breakthrough either.} 33. Qe4 Rg5 34. Qe7) (32... Qxd4 33. Re8+ Kg7 34. Rxc8 Qe3 35. Bg2 Nd3 36. Re8 {forced but winning.}) 33. Bxg2 Nd3+ 34. Nf3 Nxe1 35. Kxe1 b5 36. axb5 axb5 37. Qe4 Rb8 38. Qd4 Qe6+ 39. Kf2 Qb3 40. Ne5 $6 {"Absurd" Anand who said he had an easy draw here with:} (40. Qb4) (40. Qd2) 40... Qxb2+ 41. Kg1 Rc8 42. Qf4 (42. Nxf7 {was the idea white was hoping for but Rc8 just stops it.} Qxc3) 42... Qa2 (42... Rc7 43. Nc6) 43. c4 Qa7+ 44. Kh2 bxc4 45. Bd5 Rf8 $11 {Actually black has to be accurate to save the draw.} (45... Kg7 46. Nxc4) (45... Rc5 46. Qd4 Rc7 47. Qxa7 Rxa7 48. Bxc4 Kg7) 46. Qf6 Qa2+ 47. Kg3 Qa7 48. Kg2 Qa2+ 49. Kf3 Qa3+ 50. Kg4 Qa7 51. Kf3 Qa3+ 52. Kg4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.27"] [Round "13.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "231"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] [WhiteClock "1:40:30"] [BlackClock "1:31:01"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4 Bd7 9. c3 O-O (9... Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qb8 12. axb5 axb5 13. Bg5 Be6 14. Nbd2 O-O 15. d5 Bg4 16. h3 Bh5 {Tomashevsky,E (2728)-Ding,L (2766) Huainan 2016 }) 10. Bc2 Re8 11. Re1 b4 12. Nbd2 Bf8 (12... Rb8 13. Nc4 h6 14. a5 Bf8 15. Bd2 bxc3 16. bxc3 Qc8 17. h3 Ne7 {Najer,E (2653)-Tomashevsky,E (2695) Vladivostok 2014}) (12... bxc3 13. bxc3 d5 14. Bb3 $1 {Svidler}) 13. a5 g6 14. Bb3 Be6 15. Ba4 Bd7 16. Nf1 h6 17. Ng3 {The point of this move is to protect e4, indirectly supporting the d3-d4 push.} (17. Ne3 bxc3 18. bxc3 Rb8 {differs from the game in that d6-d5 is never possible, but d3-d4 will also be difficult to get in.}) 17... bxc3 18. bxc3 Bg7 19. h3 d5 $6 {Svidler was not content with letting Caruana expand with ease.} (19... Qe7 20. d4 Na7 21. d5 Bxa4 22. Rxa4 c6 (22... Nb5 23. Qd3 Nd7 24. Be3) 23. c4 cxd5 (23... Nd7 24. Be3 cxd5) 24. exd5 Reb8 25. h4 {is too comfortable for White. Caruana thrives in such positions, where this is minimal risk and easy plans to improve.}) 20. exd5 Nxd5 21. Ne4 {"I clearly underestimated how uncomfortable this position would be." (Svidler)} Nb8 {"An incredible ugly move." (Svidler)} 22. Bb3 Be6 23. Bd2 (23. Nc5 $1 Nxc3 24. Nxe6 Rxe6 25. Qc2 Nd5 26. Bb2 Nc6 27. d4 Ncb4 ( 27... Nxd4 28. Bxd4 exd4 29. Rxe6 fxe6 30. Qxg6 Qf6 31. Qe4 {is certainly preferable for White.}) 28. Qb1 e4 29. Rxe4 Rxe4 30. Qxe4 c6 {and White is better. (Svidler)}) 23... Nd7 24. Ba4 (24. d4 {Caruana looked at} f5 25. c4 { but didn't like} Nf4 {I agree with Caruana's hesitation. White's center often becomes too loose.} 26. Bxf4 exf4 27. Nc3 Nc5 $5 {with a very complex game.}) 24... f5 25. Ng3 c5 $1 {"Kind of" missed by Caruana.} (25... Re7 26. h4 $5 { Caruana} (26. d4 $1 e4 27. Nh4 Nf8 28. c4 Nf6 29. d5 {is great for White. Although the knight on h4 looks out of place, Black can do nothing to capitalize. Meanwhile, White is threatening Bb4, since g6 is very weak.})) 26. Bb3 Qc7 27. h4 N5f6 28. Bxe6+ Rxe6 29. h5 {A calculated pawn sacrifice. Black picks off the pawn, but his pieces get discombobulated in the process.} f4 30. Ne4 Nxh5 (30... Nxe4 31. dxe4 gxh5 32. Nh4 {feels so wrong for Black, even if it can possibly work out. Caruana gains a powerful outpost on f5, the h5 pawn will fall, for the mere cost of allowing the Black knight to d3. OK, I'm underplaying Black's counterchances, but I do think this would be a very undesirable practical decision.}) 31. d4 Qc6 $1 ({Caruana only looked at} 31... exd4 {which is nice for White after} 32. cxd4 c4 (32... cxd4 33. Qb3 Nf8 34. Neg5 hxg5 35. Nxg5 {gaining material.}) 33. Qc2 {leads to beautiful positional dominance for White.}) 32. Qb3 $6 (32. Qa4 $1 Qxa4 33. Rxa4 exd4 34. cxd4 cxd4 35. Nxd4 Ree8 (35... Bxd4 $6 36. Rxd4 Ra7 {with equality.}) 36. Nc6 {Svidler. Though I think Black should be slightly better here after} g5) 32... c4 (32... Rb8 $5 33. Qa2 c4 {Svidler} 34. Qa4 Rb5 {is what Svidler was kicking himself for missing. Here Black stands well.}) 33. Qa4 Qd5 34. Rad1 Rae8 $2 {It's hard to really chastise Svidler for such a move, particularly in time trouble. But he had better options.} (34... Rc8 $1 {is not easy for White to meet.} 35. Bc1 (35. dxe5 Nxe5 36. Nxe5 Rxe5 37. Bxf4 {now loses, since the rook protects c4.} Rxe4 38. Rxd5 Rxe1+ 39. Kh2 Nxf4 40. Rd6 Rc5 {quickly leads to White's demise.} ) 35... exd4 36. cxd4 Rce8 37. Nc3 Rxe1+ 38. Nxe1 Qf7 39. Nf3 g5 40. Qc6 { and White looks to gain enough activity to hold the balance, but it is evident that Black has superior chances.}) (34... g5 {is not a move that you want to play in time trouble, but it has its merits.} 35. dxe5 Nxe5 36. Nxe5 Rxe5 37. Bxf4 Rxe4 38. Rxd5 Rxe1+ 39. Kh2 Nxf4 40. Qxc4 Kh8 41. Rd6 {gives Black the better chances.}) 35. dxe5 Nxe5 36. Nxe5 Rxe5 37. Bxf4 Qb5 ({Initially Svidler missed} 37... Rxe4 $2 38. Qxe8+ $1 {but spotted it just in time. In this case, White wins a clean exchange after} Rxe8 39. Rxe8+ Kf7 40. Rxd5 Kxe8 41. Bd2) 38. Qxb5 Rxb5 39. Bd6 (39. Bc7 Kh8 40. Re3 {with an edge for Caruana.}) 39... Kh8 40. g4 Nf6 41. Nxf6 Rxe1+ 42. Rxe1 Bxf6 43. Re8+ Kg7 44. Bb4 Re5 ({Svidler was skeptical about holding the ending after} 44... Rg5 45. Re6 Rxg4+ 46. Kf1 { I'm also skeptical, since the a-pawn runs fast. It's always important to keep in mind that in endgames, pawn count often is less important than the ability to push your pawns.}) 45. Rc8 Re6 46. Rc7+ Kg8 47. Rxc4 h5 48. Kg2 Kf7 49. Rc5 (49. Kf3 h4 $5 {Caruana. With g5 coming soon, White's chances to win this ending aren't so high. It's annoying to deal with an outside passed pawn.}) 49... hxg4 50. Rc7+ Ke8 51. Rc4 Kd7 52. Rxg4 Be5 53. c4 (53. Kf3 Bc7 54. Rd4+ Kc6 55. Kg4 Rf6 56. f3 Rf5 {Svidler}) 53... Bc7 54. Kf3 Rf6+ 55. Ke3 Re6+ 56. Kd3 Rf6 57. Ke3 Re6+ 58. Kd3 Rf6 59. Rg5 Rxf2 (59... Rf3+ 60. Ke2 Rf4 61. Rxg6 Rxc4 62. Be1 Rc6 {was probably a better practical decision (Svidler). Please keep in mind that the a-pawn's queening square does not match the color of White's bishop. Thus, if rooks get traded, all Black must do is sacrifice his bishop for the f-pawn.}) 60. Rxg6 Rf3+ 61. Kc2 Rf5 62. Rxa6 Kc8 63. Kd3 Rh5 ({ The players had seen} 63... Kb7 64. Rh6 Bxa5 65. Ke4 Rg5 66. Kf4 Bd8 ({but they missed that} 66... Bxb4 $1 67. Rh7+ (67. Kxg5 Bd2+ 68. Kg6 Bxh6 69. Kxh6 Kc6 {is of course a draw.}) 67... Kc6 68. Kxg5 {is actually a draw! White can not keep the pawn!} Kc5 69. Rc7+ (69. Rh4 Bc3 70. Kf5 Bd4 71. Ke4 Kxc4 { is simple to defend.}) 69... Kd4 70. Kf5 Bc5 {and the pawn is lost.}) 67. Rh7+ $1 Kc8 68. Rh8 Rg1 69. Ba5 {and wins.}) 64. c5 Kb7 65. Rg6 Bxa5 66. Bxa5 Rxc5 { Keep this move in mind. White has 50 moves from this point to capture the rook or deliver checkmate. Rook and bishop versus rook is a challenging endgame, but Josh Friedel explains all the nuances in the following video: https://www. chess.com/video/player/rb-v-r-pressing} 67. Bb4 Rc6 68. Bd6 Kc8 69. Kd4 Rb6 70. Kd5 Rb7 {Here comes the proper defensive technique, keeping the rook by the king on the seventh rank.} 71. Rg8+ {Note that} (71. Kc6 Rc7+ 72. Bxc7 { is stalemate.}) 71... Kd7 72. Bc5 Kc7 73. Rg6 Kd7 74. Rh6 Kc7 75. Rc6+ Kd7 76. Bb6 Ke8 77. Bd4 Kd7 78. Rd6+ Kc8 79. Ke6 Kc7 80. Ra6 Rb5 81. Ra1 Kc6 82. Rc1+ Kb7 83. Kd6 Ka6 84. Rc6+ Ka5 85. Bc5 Rb7 86. Kd5 Kb5 {Here Caruana pointed out that the Second Rank Defense is easier when it's actually on your side. Svidler agreed and wondered: "Is it actually allowed to change seats and move to that side of the board?"} 87. Bd6 Ka4 88. Ra6+ Kb5 89. Ra1 Kb6 90. Rc1 Kb5 91. Rc6 Ka4 92. Bc5 Kb5 93. Rd6 Ka4 94. Kc6 Rb8 95. Rd3 Rc8+ 96. Kd5 Rd8+ 97. Bd6 Rc8 98. Ra3+ Kb5 99. Rb3+ Ka4 100. Rb4+ Ka5 101. Bc5 Rh8 102. Rb7 Ka4 $2 { An unfortunate miscalculation in time trouble.} (102... Rh2 103. Kc6 (103. Kc4 Rc2+ 104. Kd4 Ka6 {keeps the White king away.}) 103... Ka4 104. Rb4+ Ka5 105. Rb1 Ka4 106. Rb4+ Ka5 107. Rc4 Ra2 108. Rh4 Rc2 {holds the draw.}) 103. Kc4 Rh4+ 104. Bd4 Rh5 105. Bf2 $2 {"I saw this Philidor position so many times and I just forget every time what I'm supposed to do." (Caruana)} ({White could checkmate in 18 with} 105. Rb2 $1 {and thankfully he picks up the Black rook before the 50-move rule would come into effect.} Rh3 (105... Ka3 106. Rb1 Rh2 107. Rb6 Ka2 (107... Rc2+ 108. Bc3 {wins.}) 108. Ra6+ Kb1 109. Ra1+) 106. Bf2 Ka3 (106... Rf3 107. Bc5 Rf4+ 108. Bd4 Rf3 109. Rb4+ Ka3 110. Rb8 Ka2 111. Rb2+ Ka3 112. Re2 {threatening Bc5+ followed by Ra2# so the only way to prevent this is} Rf4 (112... Ka4 113. Be3 Ka3 114. Bc5+ Ka4 115. Ra2+ Ra3 116. Rxa3# { White captures the rook and checkmates with his 50th move since the previous capture!}) 113. Re1 Rxd4+ {sacrificing the rook either here or on f2 or f1 is the only way to stop checkmate. White captures it in time!}) 107. Re2 Ka4 108. Re7 Rh5 109. Be1 {Not the easiest move to see under the circumstances. Oddly, this move settles the issue. Because after} Ka3 110. Re2 {threatens Bb4+ and then Ra2#!}) 105... Rg5 106. Rh7 (106. Bd4 {again was winning, but there is not enough time before move 50.}) 106... Rg4+ 107. Bd4 Rg5 108. Rh8 Rb5 109. Ra8+ Ra5 110. Rb8 Rh5 111. Bf6 (111. Rb2 {reaches the winning position, but not with enough moves remaining.}) 111... Ka5 112. Bc3+ Ka6 113. Bd4 Rh6 114. Be3 Re6 115. Rb3 Rc6+ 116. Kd5 {Reaching the 50th move, the game is drawn by the rules of chess. What a crazy turn of events, but the blunders were understandable considering how tired the players must have been after playing for over 7 hours.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "Moscow, Russia"] [Date "2016.03.27"] [Round "13.4"] [White "Anand Viswanathan (IND)"] [Black "Giri Anish (NED)"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] {[Annotations by GM Robert Hess]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {The Giuoco Piano has become a staple of Anand's opening repertoire here in the Candidates' Tournament. The former world champion used it to knock off Levon Aronian in round 9. Perhaps inspired by Vishy, Giri actually tried his hand at the Italian game in round 11 against Hikaru Nakamura, though he could not convert his advantage into a win.} Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 Ba7 ({ Giri follows Aronian's lead and deviates from a game he played against Anand... with the colors reversed! With the black pieces in a rapid game, Vishy opted for:} 7... O-O 8. Re1 h6 9. h3 Be6 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. Rxe3 Qd7 13. Nbd2 Qf7 {Giri,A (2798)-Anand,V (2784) Zuerich 2016}) 8. Na3 Ne7 9. Bg5 { So Anand flinches first. Understanding that Giri and his team of seconds must have diligently analyzed the Anand win over Aronian, Vishy decides to switch up his plan.} (9. Nc2 Ng6 10. Be3 O-O 11. Bxa7 Rxa7 12. Ne3 Ng4 13. Qd2 a5 14. d4 Ra8 15. dxe5 N4xe5 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. Bb3 Nd7 {and eventually 1-0 Anand,V (2762)-Aronian,L (2786) Moscow Candidates' 2016}) 9... c6 10. Nc2 (10. Bxf6 gxf6 {would have been a horrible decision for White. While it undoubtedly is tempting to double your opponent's pawns, here it simply hands Black an open g-file and the two bishops. Its not that White is doing bady as much as he would be giving Black unnecessary play.}) 10... O-O 11. Nh4 (11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Ne3 d5 13. Bb3 {can be a nuisance Black if he does not tread carefully. Yet, solid options are not hard to come by.} Kh8 {is a smart start. The f5 square is well defended and the rook belongs on the open file. Black's center is also looking quite strong.}) 11... d5 12. exd5 Nexd5 ({I'm not really sure why Giri avoided this recapture, though what he played also looked quite good. The center is so beautiful here and White's minor pieces are awkwardly placed.} 12... cxd5 13. Ba2 Bg4 14. Nf3 Bh5 {feels very pleasant for Black.}) 13. Nf3 Qd6 14. Re1 Bg4 15. Bh4 {Anand hopes to place his bishop on g3 and put pressure on the e5 square.} (15. h3 Bh5 16. Bxf6 (16. Ne3 Bxe3 17. Bxe3 Rae8 { is perfectly reasonable for Black.}) 16... Qxf6 17. g4 Qf4 {starts to look scary for White. The king is far too exposed, so even if White can gain a pawn, it likely is not worth the trouble.}) (15. Rxe5 $4 {of course fails to} Bxf3 16. Qxf3 Qxe5) 15... Rae8 16. h3 Bh5 17. Bg3 Nf4 18. Bxf4 exf4 {The black pawn structure has been compromised, but the pin on the h5-d1 diagonal is incredibly annoying. In order to escape the pin, Anand will have to make some retreating moves.} 19. d4 c5 {An obvious move, challenging the White center.} 20. Be2 (20. Rxe8 Rxe8 21. dxc5 Qxc5 22. Qd4 {will leave White hoping to make a draw. The ensuing ending will be slightly better for Black, but nothing real. Not exactly what Anand was hoping for when preparing for this game.}) 20... cxd4 21. Ncxd4 Re4 {It is clear Giri was playing with the advantage, so there is no point in trading pieces.} (21... Bxf3 22. Bxf3 Rxe1+ 23. Qxe1 Bxd4 24. cxd4 Qxd4 25. Bxb7 Qb6 26. Bf3 Qxb2 {is a temporary pawn up for Black, but it is impossible to protect both weaknesses on f4 and a6. White's bishop is better than the black knight, and the resulting ending is equal.}) 22. Qc2 Rc8 (22... Bxd4 {felt natural to me at this point. White will experience difficulty on the e-file.} 23. Nxd4 (23. cxd4 Rfe8 24. Qd2 h6 {White will suffer, as the isolated d-pawn is a hard target to protect and the open e-file is fully controlled by Black.}) 23... Qe5 (23... Rfe8 24. Red1 $1 Bxe2 25. Nxe2 Qc5 (25... Rxe2 $4 26. Qxe2 Rxe2 27. Rxd6 {is an exchange up for White.}) 26. Nd4 f3 $1 27. b4 Qc7 28. Nxf3 Rxb4 {leaves Black with a slight edge thanks to the superior pawn structure.}) 24. Kf1 Re8 25. Qd2 Bxe2+ 26. Nxe2 {Black is better, though far from winning.}) 23. Rad1 Bxf3 24. Nxf3 Bxf2+ $1 {A calm position gets crazy with this bishop sacrifice!} (24... Qb6 25. Bd3 Rxe1+ 26. Rxe1 g6 {was too relaxed for Giri's taste.}) 25. Kxf2 Qb6+ 26. Kf1 (26. Rd4 $2 Rxd4 27. Nxd4 Qxd4+ 28. cxd4 Rxc2 {is winning for Black.}) 26... Nh5 27. g4 $1 {A fabulous defensive resource, defending against the mating threat!} (27. Rd4 Ng3+ 28. Kg1 Rxd4 29. Nxd4 Qxd4+ 30. cxd4 Rxc2 31. Bxa6 g5 (31... bxa6 $4 32. Re8# {would be a catastrophe.}) 32. Bxb7 Rxb2 33. Bd5 Rb4 34. Bc6 {is an equal ending.}) 27... fxg3 28. Bd3 (28. Rd4 {was now possible - and good. The essential difference is that the bishop on e2 hits the knight on h5 in all the queen sacrifice lines.} Rxd4 29. Nxd4 Qxd4 30. Bxh5 {is winning for White, who escapes up a bishop for just two pawns. The attack is less scary than it appears.} (30. cxd4 Rxc2 31. Bxh5 g6 32. Be2 Rxb2 33. d5 Rd2 34. Rd1 g2+ 35. Kf2 g1=Q+ 36. Rxg1 Rxd5 {should be a fairly simple draw for Black. The queenside pawn will be traded, and from there a win is out of the question for White.})) 28... Rxe1+ 29. Rxe1 Nf4 30. Nd4 g6 31. Be4 (31. Re3 {is a weird looking move to play, but there's a tactical resource that works out in White's favor:} Qf6 32. Qd2 $1 Nxd3+ 33. Rf3 {is a nice intermediate move. White had to be brave to allow a discovered check, but it all plays out in his favor.} Qh4 34. Rxd3 Qxh3+ 35. Qg2 Qh6 36. Qxg3 {with definite compensation for Black, though if White can consolidate he might be in trouble. Black can't yet snatch the pawn on b2 because of the resource:} Qc1+ (36... Re8 {and the game tensely continues.}) 37. Qe1 Qxb2 38. Nf5 $1 {and Black's king is in grave danger.} gxf5 (38... Rf8 39. Nh6+ Kh8 40. Rd8 $3 Kg7 (40... Rxd8 41. Qe5+ f6 42. Qxf6#) 41. Nf5+ gxf5 42. Qg3+ Kh6 43. Qe3+ Kg6 44. Rxf8 {is decisive.}) 39. Qg3+ Kf8 40. Qd6+ Kg7 41. Rg3+ Kh8 42. Qf6#) 31... Qf6 32. Bf3 g2+ 33. Bxg2 Nd3+ 34. Nf3 Nxe1 35. Kxe1 {Black has a rook and a pawn for the price of two minors. With Anand's king being so exposed, only Giri can hope to claim an edge.} b5 36. axb5 axb5 37. Qe4 Rb8 38. Qd4 (38. Qb4 {preventing ...b4 had to be a thought. The position is still completely level, because perpetual check is likely to occur on the open king.}) 38... Qe6+ 39. Kf2 Qb3 40. Ne5 (40. Ng5 Qxb2+ 41. Kg3 b4 42. Ne4 bxc3 43. Nf6+ Kf8 44. Nxh7+ Kg8 (44... Ke8 45. Bc6+ Ke7 46. Qf6#) 45. Nf6+ Kf8 46. Nd7+ Kg8 47. Nf6+ (47. Nxb8 Qxb8+ 48. Kf3 c2 49. Qc3 Qb1 {allows Black to queen, and White does not even get a perpetual check.} 50. Qc8+ Kh7 51. Qc7 c1=Q 52. Qxf7+ Kh6 53. Qf8+ Kh5 54. Qh8+ Qh6 55. Qe5+ Qf5+ {ends the game.})) 40... Qxb2+ 41. Kg1 Rc8 42. Qf4 (42. Nc6 Qa1+ 43. Kh2 Qe1 { maintained the balance.}) 42... Qa2 43. c4 Qa7+ 44. Kh2 bxc4 45. Bd5 (45. Nxc4 Qc7 46. Qxc7 Rxc7 {is no fun for White to defend.}) 45... Rf8 {Giri was critical on himself for playing this move.} (45... Rc5 $1 {was the best option for Giri. Anand might be in some trouble here if he isn't completely accurate:} 46. Qd4 {the only move, not seen by the players} (46. Bxf7+ Kg7 47. Bxc4 Qc7 48. Nxg6 Rxc4 49. Qxc7+ Rxc7 50. Nf4 Rc3 {is winning for Black.}) 46... Rc7 47. Qxa7 Rxa7 48. Bxc4 Kg7 49. Nxf7 Rxf7 (49... Rc7 50. Nd6 Rc6 51. Ne8+ Kf8 52. Bb5 Rc2+ 53. Kg3 Ke7 {looks like a bizarre draw. If Black plays Rc8xe8, the king and pawn ending is easily holdable. Otherwise, there's no way to dislodge the bishop from the a4-e8 diagonal.}) 50. Bxf7 Kxf7 51. Kg3 {and it's a theoretical draw! Note that with the pawn on g7 it's a win for Black!}) 46. Qf6 Qa2+ 47. Kg3 Qa7 48. Kg2 {And now Giri has to force the draw or else be in trouble.} Qa2+ (48... c3 49. Ng4 h5 (49... Re8 50. Bxf7+ Qxf7 51. Nh6+ Kf8 52. Qxf7#) 50. Qxg6+ Kh8 51. Qh6+ Kg8 52. Nf6#) 49. Kf3 Qa3+ 50. Kg4 Qa7 { Unfortunately for Anand, his king occupies the square his knight needs to use.} 51. Kf3 (51. Bxc4 {leads to endless checks} Qd4+ 52. Kg3 Qc3+ 53. Kg2 Qb2+ 54. Kg1 Qa1+ 55. Kg2 Qb2+ 56. Kg3 Qc3+ 57. Kg4 Qd4+ 58. Kg3 (58. Kg5 $4 h6+ 59. Kxh6 Qe3+ 60. Qg5 Qxh3+ 61. Qh5 Qxh5#) 58... Qc3+) 51... Qa3+ 52. Kg4 {And a draw was agreed. A fair result, with both sides missing opportunities for an advantage.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Championship Candidates"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2016.03.27"] [Round "13.3"] [White "Veselin Topalov"] [Black "Hikaru Nakamura"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D37"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. a3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. e3 Nc6 9. cxd5 ({Magnus previously obtained a crushing position against Nakamura (before really throwing away a win) with:} 9. Qc2 Qa5 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Be2 Ne4 12. cxd5 Nxc3 13. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 14. bxc3 exd5 15. Rxd5 Bxa3 16. Nd4 Nxd4 17. exd4 b6 18. Kd2 Be6 19. Rb5 Bd7 20. Rb3 Be7 21. Bf3 Ba4 22. Rb2 Rad8 23. Ra1 b5 24. Bc6 a6 25. Bb7 Bd6 26. Be3 a5 27. Bc6 Rb8 28. d5 Rfd8 29. Kd3 Bf8 30. Bd4 f6 31. Ke4 Bd6 32. c4 Bb4 33. Ba7 f5+ 34. Kf3 Rbc8 35. cxb5 Bxb5 36. Bxb5 Bc3 37. Rab1 Bxb2 38. Rxb2 Rxd5 {which eventually led to a draw in Carlsen,M (2853) -Nakamura,H (2814) Saint Louis 2015 ?-? (95)}) 9... exd5 10. b4 (10. Be2 { was a perfectly civil option.}) (10. Qc2 {is also thematic, freeing the d1 square for the rook. However, there's a clear drawback because White has already taken on d5.} d4 11. O-O-O {and because the pawns on c4 and e6 were traded, Black's light-squared bishop can roam free with} Bg4 {The position becomes quite complicated.}) 10... d4 ({10. b4 is exceptionally rare, and for good reason. It's simply not a very good move. Nakamura was the first to play the straightforward 10...d4, but it gives Black an easy edge.} 10... Nxb4 11. axb4 Bxb4 12. Qb3 a5 13. Bd3 d4 14. exd4 Bg4 15. O-O Bxf3 16. gxf3 Qxd4 17. Ne2 Qc5 18. Rfc1 Qh5 19. Ng3 Qh4 20. Be3 Rfc8 21. Kg2 Nh5 22. Qd5 Nf4+ 23. Bxf4 Qxf4 24. Rxc8+ Rxc8 25. Qxb7 Rd8 26. Be4 g6 27. Ra2 Rd1 28. Rc2 Kg7 {1-0 (28) Lugovoi,A (2531)-Kovaljov,D (2274) Tallinn 2011}) 11. exd4 Bxd4 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. Be3 (13. Ne2 Ne6 {is ugly. White has done nothing right to get to a position like this, since Black is far ahead in development and has the less vulnerable pawn structure.}) 13... Nf5 14. Qxd8 Rxd8 15. Be2 (15. Bg5 {only further delays development.} a5 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. b5 Be6 {will leave White groveling.}) 15... Nxe3 16. fxe3 {With the superior pawn structure, Black is already clearly better. Nakamura seemed quite thrilled to have reached this position with minimal effort.} Ng4 17. e4 Be6 18. O-O Ne3 19. Rfc1 Rd2 20. Bf3 Rad8 21. e5 b6 {Black controls far more space and White has a weakness on e5. The defensive task for Topalov is not easy.} 22. Ne4 Rb2 23. Re1 (23. Rc7 { was the more active try. It's not so much about attacking the a7 pawn as it is important to gain some counterplay.} Nc4 24. Ng5 Nxe5 25. Be4 Bc4 26. Bxh7+ Kf8 27. Be4 Re2 {still favors Black, but Topalov would have better chances here.}) 23... Nc4 24. Ng5 h6 25. Nxe6 fxe6 26. Rac1 Rd4 {Hikaru does well to maximize his winning chances. The position is much better for Black, despite the relatively small plus given by the engines. Practically speaking, Topalov's pieces are all tied down to various weaknesses (e5, g2), whereas Nakamura's pieces are in prime position.} (26... b5 27. a4 a6 28. axb5 axb5 29. Bc6 Rxb4 30. Bxb5 Rxb5 31. Rxc4 {is a dead draw.}) 27. h3 b5 28. Rc3 (28. Ra1 {another way to go here. White gets some activity on the a-file.} a6 (28... Kf8 29. a4 Rxb4 30. axb5 Rxb5 31. Rxa7 Nxe5 32. Ba8 {is level. White's bishop has tremendous scope, and the extra black pawn is stuck.}) 29. a4 Rxb4 30. axb5 a5 (30... axb5 31. Ra8+ Kf7 32. Bh5+ Ke7 33. Rg8 g5 34. Rh8 {allows White to scoop on the h-pawn. Black's king also isn't too safe.}) 31. Be2 a4 32. Bxc4 Rdxc4 33. Reb1 Rb3 34. b6 Rcb4 35. Rc1 Kh7 36. Kh2 Kg6 37. Rc7 a3 38. Ra7 Rxb6 39. R1xa3 Rxa3 40. Rxa3 Kf5 {would not be a fun defensive task for Topalov, but the endgame should not be lost.}) 28... Rdd2 29. a4 a6 30. Bb7 (30. Kh2 Rxb4 31. axb5 axb5 32. Bg4 Kf7 33. Rf3+ Ke7 34. Bh5 g6 $1 35. Bxg6 Rbb2 36. Rf7+ Kd8 37. Be4 Nxe5 {will be a fight to hold for White.}) 30... Nb6 31. axb5 axb5 32. Be4 {Topalov makes a logical move, but misses a better alternative.} ( 32. Rc5 Nd5 (32... Rxb4 33. Rc6 {this move is possible now because g2 is no longer en prise.} Nd5 34. Rxe6 Rxg2+ 35. Kf1 (35. Kxg2 Nf4+ 36. Kf3 Nxe6 37. Bd5 Kf7 38. Ra1 Ra4 39. Rb1 b4 40. Ke4 b3+ 41. Kf3 Rf4+ 42. Kg3 Rf5 43. Bxe6+ Kxe6 44. Rxb3 {is a theoretically drawn ending.}) 35... Nf4 36. Rd6 Rg5 37. e6 Nxh3 38. Rd8+ Kh7 39. e7 Rg1+ 40. Ke2 Nf4+ 41. Kf2 Nh3+ 42. Ke2 Nf4+ {is a forced repetition.}) 33. Bxd5 Rxd5 (33... exd5 34. Kh1 Rxg2 35. Rxd5 {is even.} ) 34. Rxd5 exd5 35. Rd1 Rxb4 36. Rxd5 {is equal.}) 32... Nc4 (32... Rxb4 33. Rc7 Nd7 34. Bc6 Rbd4 35. Bxb5 (35. Rc8+ Kf7 36. Rf1+ Kg6 37. Bxb5 Nxe5 38. Re8 Rd6 39. Re1 R2d5 40. Ba4 {is not a promising winning attempt for Nakamura. The extra pawn is always going to be vulnerable, and the bishop dominates the knight on an open board.}) 35... Rd1 36. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 37. Kf2 Nxe5 {would almost certainly result in a draw as well.}) 33. Rg3 (33. Ra1 {Topalov needed to get the rook on the open file.} Rd8 (33... Rxb4 34. Ra8+ Kf7 35. Ra7+ Kg8 36. Bg6 { and Black suddenly is in big trouble.}) 34. Ra6 Rxb4 35. Rxe6 Kf7 36. Ra6 Nxe5 37. Re3 {with a minimal advantage for Black. The bishop on e4 is exceptional.}) 33... Re2 (33... Nxe5 {right away was best, but still not enough to win.} 34. Bh7+ Kxh7 35. Rxe5 Rd1+ 36. Kh2 Rxb4 37. Rxe6) 34. Ra1 {After this move, the position is too difficult to defend. Topalov had one last opportunity to bail himself out.} (34. Rxe2 Rxe2 35. Bg6 Rxe5 (35... Nxe5 36. Be8) 36. Rf3 Re2 37. Rd3 Kf8 38. Rf3+ Ke7 39. Rf7+ Kd6 40. Rxg7 Rb2 {is not quite quick enough.} 41. Rh7 Ne3 42. Rxh6 (42. g4 Ke5 {allows Nakamura's king to infiltrate, which is not wise.}) 42... Rxg2+ 43. Kh1 Rf2 44. Bd3 Nc4 45. Kg1 Rf4 46. Be2 {is a draw. }) 34... Nxe5 35. Ra8+ (35. Ba8 {was a better chance to survive, though it still must fail:} Rxb4 36. Ra7 g5 37. Rc3 Rc4 38. Rb3 b4 39. Ra4 g4 40. Raxb4 Rxb4 41. Rxb4 g3 42. Kf1 (42. Rf4 Re1+ 43. Rf1 Re3 {will be a long ending, one that must be winning for Black since White is very much tied down to the first rank.}) 42... Rf2+ 43. Kg1 (43. Ke1 {would hang the rook.} Nd3+ 44. Kd1 Nxb4) 43... Kf7 {must be winning thanks to the extra pawn and White's back rank problems.} 44. Ra4 (44. Rb3 Ra2 45. Be4 Re2 {picks up the bishop, since back rank mate is threatened.}) 44... h5 45. h4 Ng4 46. Ra3 Ke7 {leaves White stuck. The g3 pawn isn't actually en prise, since Ra2 would attack the bishop on a8 and threaten Ra1#}) (35. Bg6 {forces the minor pieces off the board, but White will struggle regardless because after} Nxg6 36. Rxg6 Kf7 (36... Kh7 37. Rg3 g5 38. h4 Kg6 39. hxg5 hxg5 40. Ra8 Rxb4 (40... Re5 41. Rg8+ Kf6 42. Rg4 {is a pesky defensive try.}) 41. Rg8+ Kf6 42. R8xg5 Rb1+ 43. Kh2 e5 {might be defensible, but it will be a huge challenge.}) 37. Rg4 g5 38. Ra7+ Kg6 39. Ra8 Re5 {it is more likely Black wins than White survives, in my estimation.}) 35... Kf7 36. Bh7 g5 {and now White has no more threats.} 37. Bg8+ Kf6 38. Rf8+ Kg7 39. Re8 Ng6 40. Bxe6 (40. Rxe6 Nf4 {wins, since} 41. Rxe2 Nxe2+ {picks up all the remaining material and any other rook move loses the bishop on g8.}) 40... Nf4 {And seeing that he is losing the exchange and his b-pawn, Topalov resigned. This certainly has not been the Bulgarian's tournament, and he's looking forward to the event finishing so he can get back to playing better chess.} 0-1 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.27"] [Round "13"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "202"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8. d3 Be6 9. a3 O-O 10. Be3 {This was already played by Aronian against Jon Ludvig Hammer in Norway Chess 2015.} (10. b4 {is of course the natural follow up but Aronian goes for Be3.}) 10... Qd7 11. b4 f6 12. Ne4 Nd5 13. Bd2 a5 14. Nc5 (14. b5 Nd4 $15) 14... Bxc5 15. bxc5 a4 16. Rb1 Rfb8 17. Qc2 (17. e4 Nde7 18. Be3 Bb3 19. Qd2 Rd8 {And White isn't able to get the d4 break.}) 17... Nde7 18. Rb2 Bb3 19. Qb1 (19. Rxb3 axb3 20. Qxb3+ Kh8 {is surely not enough compensation.}) 19... Kh8 20. Rc1 Na7 $1 {Played after a long think. The knight will be well placed on b5 and the other knight could go to c6. This Nc6-a7-b5 is a great manoeuvre by Sergey.} 21. Bb4 {The main idea of this move is to clear the d2 square for the knight on f3.} Nb5 (21... Nec6 22. Nd2 Nd4 23. Nxb3 Nxb3 24. Rc4 $11) 22. Nd2 Bf7 $6 (22... Nd4 $1 23. Nxb3 (23. Re1 Bd5 $15) 23... Nxb3 24. Rc4 c6 $11) 23. e3 $1 {Taking the d4 square under control. Around this point Aronian was very happy with his position.} Bg6 24. Ne4 Nd5 25. Be1 Nxa3 $6 (25... c6 {was more solid, but here White has an interesting exchange sacrifice with} 26. Rxb5 cxb5 27. Nd6 $5 Nc7 28. Bb4 $44 {White White has full compensation for the missing exchange.}) 26. c6 $1 {Of course this was prepared before hand by Aronian.} Qe7 (26... Qxc6 27. Qa1 $1 $18) 27. Qa2 bxc6 28. Rxc6 Bf7 29. Rc5 $1 {This move is not so easy to see but is extremely strong. A lot of factors are at work here and the lining up of the g2 bishop against the a8 rook is one of the reasons why White is clearly better.} (29. Ng5 fxg5 30. Rxb8+ Rxb8 31. Bxd5 Be8 $13) (29. Nd6 cxd6 30. Rxb8+ Rxb8 31. Bxd5 Qb7 $1 $17) 29... Nxe3 $6 {This sacrifice looks scary for White} (29... f5 30. Ng5 $1 Qxg5 31. Bxd5 $18) (29... Nc3 30. Qxa3 Rxb2 31. Qxb2 Nxe4 32. Bxe4 Qxc5 33. Bxa8 $18) (29... Rxb2 30. Qxb2 $18) (29... Nb5 30. Rbxb5 Rxb5 31. Rxb5 $16) 30. Qxa3 (30. Rxb8+ Rxb8 31. Qxa3 Nc2 {This was the move that Levon was afraid of} (31... Nxg2 32. Kxg2 $16) 32. Qc1 $1 {This move gives White a clearly better position.} Nxe1 (32... Nd4 33. Rxc7 Qd8 34. Kf1 $16) 33. Rxc7 $1 Qf8 ( 33... Qd8 34. Rxf7 $18) 34. Qxe1 a3 35. Qa1 a2 36. Nc3 $18) 30... Rxb2 31. Qxb2 Nxg2 32. Kxg2 a3 33. Qb7 Qd8 34. Qxc7 Qxc7 (34... a2 35. Qxd8+ Rxd8 36. Ra5 Rxd3 37. Ra8+ Bg8 38. Nc3 Rd8 39. Ra5 h6 40. Nxa2 $16) 35. Rxc7 Bd5 (35... a2 36. Bc3 Bd5) 36. Rc5 (36. Kh3 a2 37. Bc3 a1=Q 38. Bxa1 Rxa1 39. Rc8+ Bg8 $11) 36... a2 37. Bc3 Bg8 {At first sight it may seem that the position is just winning for White as he has extra piece against the pawn. However, it is not true. Black can defend this because the a2 pawn is just too strong.} 38. Ba1 Rb8 39. Ra5 (39. Rc1 Rb1 40. Rf1 Rb3 41. Nc3 $16 {and White is able to preserve the d3 pawn which makes a huge difference.}) 39... Rb1 40. Bc3 Rd1 41. Kf3 Rxd3+ {Now Black's defensive chances have improved by leaps and bounds as he has two pawns.} 42. Ke2 Rd8 43. f4 {Aronian was pinning his hopes on this move.} (43. Ke3) 43... Bc4+ 44. Kf2 exf4 45. gxf4 Kg8 46. Nd2 Bf7 47. Ke3 h5 48. f5 Rc8 49. Ne4 Bd5 50. Rc5 Rd8 51. Nd2 Bf7 52. Ra5 Rc8 53. Ne4 Bd5 54. Nc5 Re8+ 55. Kd3 Rd8 56. Bd4 Re8 57. Kd2 Ra8 58. Rxa8+ Bxa8 {This endgame is just dead drawn.} 59. Ke3 Kh7 60. Kf4 Kh6 61. Ne6 Kh7 62. Nf8+ Kg8 63. Ng6 Kf7 64. Ke3 Bc6 65. Bb2 Bd7 66. Ke4 Bc6+ 67. Kd4 Bd7 68. Nh4 Ba4 69. Ng2 Bc2 70. Ne3 Bb1 71. Kc3 Kg8 72. Nc2 Kh7 73. Nd4 Kh6 74. Bc1+ Kh7 75. Kb2 Kg8 76. Bd2 Kh7 77. Bb4 Kg8 78. Bc3 Kh7 79. Kc1 Kh6 80. h4 Kh7 81. Kd2 Kg8 82. Ke3 Kh7 83. Kf4 Bd3 84. Nc6 Kg8 85. Nb4 Bb1 86. Na6 Kf7 87. Nc5 Bc2 88. Ne4 Bd1 89. Ng3 Kg8 90. Ke3 Bc2 91. Bb2 Kh7 92. Kf4 Bd1 93. Ne4 Bc2 94. Nd6 Kg8 95. Ke3 Kf8 96. Kd4 Ke7 97. Kc5 Kd7 98. Bc3 Bd3 99. Kd5 Bc2 100. Ne4 Bxe4+ 101. Kxe4 Kd6 {A complete defensive masterpiece by Sergey!} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.27"] [Round "13"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. a3 {The idea of playing a3 before e3 is to discourage the Nbd7 move. Nbd7 now can be met with Nb5.} c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. e3 Nc6 9. cxd5 (9. Qc2 {is the main line of this variation.}) 9... exd5 (9... Nxd5 {is played more often by Black. Play might continue something like} 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Bd3 {which has already been played by Topalov against Morozevich in San Luis 2005.}) 10. b4 (10. Be2 {looks normal but allows Black to break in the centre with} d4 11. Na4 Bb6 12. exd4 (12. Nxb6 Qxb6 $11) 12... Bxd4 {This might not be such a huge edge for White.}) 10... d4 $1 {Nakamura is extremely alert and breaks right away in the centre.} 11. exd4 Bxd4 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. Be3 Nf5 14. Qxd8 Rxd8 $15 {Even though White has the bishop pair, this position is completely favourable for Black thanks to his developmental advantage. a7-a5 break looks strong and also Be6 followed by Rac8 is not so easy to meet.} 15. Be2 Nxe3 16. fxe3 {Hikaru sank into deep thought as to how he should use this small advantage that he has got out of the opening. It is definitely an edge but not so huge and hence accurate play is of paramount importance.} Ng4 $5 17. e4 (17. Bxg4 Bxg4 {is a pretty sad position. The bishop is definitely superior to the knight and 0-0 is met with Rd3.} 18. O-O Rd3 $17) 17... Be6 (17... Ne3 18. Kf2 $11) 18. O-O Ne3 19. Rfc1 Rd2 20. Bf3 (20. Kf2 Nc4 21. Ke1 Rd4 $15) 20... Rad8 21. e5 b6 22. Ne4 Rb2 23. Re1 Nc4 (23... Nc2 24. Re2 $13) (23... Rb3 $5 {renewing the threat of Nc2 is pretty strong.} 24. Re2 g6 $17) 24. Ng5 h6 25. Nxe6 fxe6 {Once the e6 bishop is exchanged Black doesn't really have so much of an edge.} 26. Rac1 Rd4 27. h3 b5 28. Rc3 Rdd2 29. a4 a6 30. Bb7 Nb6 31. axb5 axb5 32. Be4 Nc4 33. Rg3 Re2 $15 34. Ra1 $2 (34. Rxe2 Rxe2 35. Bc6 Rxe5 36. Rc3 {Black has better defensive chances here.}) 34... Nxe5 35. Ra8+ Kf7 36. Bh7 g5 37. Bg8+ Kf6 38. Rf8+ Kg7 39. Re8 Ng6 40. Bxe6 Nf4 {The bad tournament for Veselin continues.} 0-1 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.27"] [Round "13"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 $5 {In their previous encounter where Anand had white, he went for Bb5 and Anish was just impenetrable in the Berlin. It is a natural choice try the Guioco Piano once again.} Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 Ba7 8. Na3 Ne7 {This exact position was reached between Anand and Aronian in the ninth round. Vishy had now gone Nc2. In this game he deviates with the more active Bg5.} 9. Bg5 $146 c6 (9... Ng6 {looks like a natural move. But Giri figures that there is no need to worry about the doubling of his f-pawns.}) 10. Nc2 O-O 11. Nh4 $6 {Anand goes for this interesting idea of launching a kingside attack with taking on f6 and transferring the queen to h5 but this allows his opponent to break in the centre.} (11. Bxf6 $1 gxf6 12. d4 {looked like a very logical and tempting way to play for White.} Bg4 13. Bb3 f5 14. exf5 e4 15. Ne3 Bh5 16. g4 $18 {is just an illustrative line but take on f6 followed by d4 looked pretty strong.}) 11... d5 12. exd5 Nexd5 (12... cxd5 { Also looked pretty good as after} 13. Bb3 Bg4 $1 14. Qd2 Nc6 $1 $15 {Black is better.}) 13. Nf3 Qd6 (13... Bg4 14. h3 Bxf3 15. Qxf3 $14) (13... Re8) 14. Re1 {White is posing small problems for his opponent. This mini problem of defending e5 is not so easy to solve.} Bg4 (14... Re8 15. d4 $5 e4 (15... exd4 16. Rxe8+ Nxe8 17. Ncxd4 $14) 16. Ne5 {is some initiative for White}) 15. Bh4 { The bishop plans to go to g3 in order to increase the pressure on the e5 pawn.} (15. h3 Bh5 16. g4 e4 $1 (16... Bg6 17. Nxe5 Nd7 $5 18. d4 Nxe5 19. dxe5 Qc5 20. Qe2 Bxc2 21. Bxd5 Qxd5 22. Qxc2 Qf3 $44) 17. d4 (17. dxe4 Qg3+ $19) 17... exf3 $15) 15... Rae8 16. h3 (16. Bg3 Nh5 $15) 16... Bh5 17. Bg3 Nf4 $1 18. Bxf4 exf4 19. d4 c5 $1 $15 {It was extremely important to open the bishop on a7. Black has a slight edge.} 20. Be2 cxd4 21. Ncxd4 Re4 {White's position is solid enough to withstand the attack by White. But the ability to improve the situation solely lies in Black's hands.} 22. Qc2 Rc8 (22... Rfe8 23. Bd3 Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 25. Nxe1 $11) 23. Rad1 Bxf3 {A highly committal decision by Anish. But it was not for nothing. He had spotted a tactic. Of course, armed with computers we can immediately say that the sacrifice was incorrect. However, during the game it looks extremely tempting.} 24. Nxf3 Bxf2+ $5 { Objectively this is incorrect. But with the approaching time pressure and also seeing the competitive importance of the game, this looks like an excellent practical try.} 25. Kxf2 Qb6+ 26. Kf1 (26. Nd4 Rxd4 $17) 26... Nh5 27. g4 $1 { The only way for White to fight for an advantage. Of course, Anish saw this coming, but in any case winning two pawns looks like a good bet.} (27. Nd4 Ng3+ 28. Kg1 Rxd4 29. Rxd4 Qxd4+ 30. cxd4 Rxc2 31. Bd3 Rc8 32. Re7) 27... fxg3 ( 27... Ng3+ 28. Kg2 {is absolutely nothing.}) 28. Bd3 (28. Rd4 $5 {was the best move and one which is not at all easy to see.} Rxd4 (28... Rce8 $5 29. Qd2 Nf4 30. Bd3 Rxe1+ 31. Nxe1) 29. Nxd4 Qxd4 30. Bxh5 $18 {Black has to resign.} (30. cxd4 Rxc2 31. Bxh5 g6 32. Bd1 Rxb2 33. Re2 $16 {is better but not yet completely winning.})) 28... Rxe1+ (28... Rf4 29. Kg2 $14) 29. Rxe1 Nf4 30. Nd4 (30. Bxh7+ Kh8 31. Nd4 g6 $13) 30... g6 31. Be4 $6 (31. Qd2 Nxd3 32. Qxd3 Qxb2 33. Qxg3 $14) (31. Re3 $16) 31... Qf6 $1 32. Bf3 (32. Kg1 Nxh3+ 33. Kg2 Nf4+ $11) 32... g2+ (32... Qxd4 33. Re8+ Kg7 34. Rxc8 Qe3 35. Bg2 Nd3 {This doesn't work due to} 36. Re8 $1 Qxe8 37. Qxd3 $16) (32... Rc5 {Vishy thought that this was extremely strong. But the engine finds a nice refutation.} 33. Qe4 $1 g2+ 34. Kg1 Nxh3+ 35. Kxg2 Nf4+ 36. Kf1 $18) 33. Bxg2 Nd3+ 34. Nf3 Nxe1 35. Kxe1 b5 36. axb5 axb5 37. Qe4 Rb8 38. Qd4 Qe6+ 39. Kf2 Qb3 40. Ne5 $6 (40. Qd2 $1 b4 41. Nd4 Qc4 (41... Qa2 42. cxb4) 42. Bf3 $11) 40... Qxb2+ 41. Kg1 Rc8 42. Qf4 $6 (42. Nc6 $5 Qb1+ 43. Kh2 Qe1 44. c4 bxc4 45. Ne5 $13) 42... Qa2 $1 43. c4 ( 43. Nc6 Re8) 43... Qa7+ 44. Kh2 bxc4 45. Bd5 Rf8 $2 (45... Kg7 $5 46. Nxf7 Qa2+ 47. Bg2 Rf8 48. Qe5+ Kxf7 49. Kg3 $1 {Bd5+ is quite srong.}) (45... Rc5 $1 46. Qd4 Rc7 $1 47. Qxa7 Rxa7 48. Bxc4 Kg7 49. Nxf7 Rxf7 (49... Rc7 50. Nd6 Rc6 51. Ne8+ Kf8 52. Bb5 Rc5 53. Ba4 $17 {with a most probable draw.}) 50. Bxf7 Kxf7 51. Kg3 {is a tablebase draw.} Ke6 52. Kg4 Kf6 53. h4 h5+ 54. Kf4 Ke6 55. Ke4 $11) 46. Qf6 $1 Qa2+ 47. Kg3 Qa7 (47... Qa3+ 48. Kh4 $18) 48. Kg2 (48. Kf3 Qa3+ 49. Ke4 Qa7 50. Bxc4 Qa4 51. Kf4 Qb4 $1 {Only move.} 52. Kg4 h5+ 53. Kg3 $11) 48... Qa2+ 49. Kf3 Qa3+ 50. Kg4 Qa7 51. Kf3 Qa3+ 52. Kg4 {With this draw Anand's chances to qualify for the World Championships came to an end – and Giri made his 13th consecutive draw.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.27"] [Round "13"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "231"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 {Two games in a row for Caruana against the Ruy Lopez. These days it is normal to expect the Berlin starting with 3...Nf6.} 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 {Caruana plays 6.d3 variation, the same as he did against Levon Aronian in the previous round.} b5 7. Bb3 d6 ({Aronian's} 7... O-O {was met by Nc3 in the previous round.}) 8. a4 Bd7 9. c3 O-O 10. Bc2 b4 11. Re1 Re8 12. Nbd2 {Leko-Caruana and Karjakin-Aronian are the two main games that have reached position.} Bf8 $146 {First new move of the game. But definitely not prepared at home. Both the players were take quite a lot of time to make their moves.} (12... Na5 {had been previously played.} 13. cxb4 Nc6 {and the b4 pawn falls.}) (12... Rb8 {has also been played.}) 13. a5 g6 14. Bb3 (14. d4 bxc3 15. bxc3 exd4 16. cxd4 Bg7 {is what Black is looking forward to.}) 14... Be6 15. Ba4 Bd7 16. Nf1 {Caruana isn't interested in going d4 immediately. Instead tries to strengthen his position with Ne3.} h6 17. Ng3 { At first sight this move looks pretty illogical as the knight on g3 is sort of dominated by the pawn on g6. However, White's idea now would surely be to break in the centre with d4.} (17. Ne3 {With ideas of going to d5 and c4 looks natural.}) 17... bxc3 18. bxc3 Bg7 19. h3 {Caruana is taking it slow. He wants to maintain maximum pressure in the position before committing to anything.} ( 19. d4 {was of course possible.}) 19... d5 $6 {Peter loses his patience and breaks in the centre but this is exactly what Caruana was looking for. This completely justifies the placement of the knight on g3 as it gets to the e4 square.} 20. exd5 Nxd5 21. Ne4 $1 Nb8 (21... f5 22. Qb3 Nce7 23. Nc5 $16) 22. Bb3 (22. Qb3 {was also possible.}) 22... Be6 23. Bd2 ({A very weird but quite strong move was} 23. Nc5 $5 {sacrificing the c3 pawn.} Nxc3 24. Nxe6 Rxe6 25. Qc2 Nd5 26. d4 $1 exd4 27. Rxe6 fxe6 28. Qxg6 $18) 23... Nd7 {Black has limited the damage to some extent by controlling the c5 square.} 24. Ba4 $6 ( 24. Qc2 {with the idea of d3-d4 was better way to proceed.} f5 $6 25. Qa2 $14) 24... f5 $1 25. Ng3 c5 {Black is already doing completely fine.} 26. Bb3 (26. Bxd7 Bxd7 27. Qb3 Be6 $15) 26... Qc7 27. h4 N5f6 $11 28. h5 f4 (28... c4 $5 { an extremely strong positional move.} 29. Bxc4 (29. dxc4 f4 30. Ne4 Nxe4 31. Rxe4 Nc5 $1 32. Re1 Bg4 $19) 29... Bxc4 30. dxc4 f4 31. Ne4 Nxe4 32. Rxe4 Nc5 33. Re1 g5 $17) 29. Bxe6+ Rxe6 30. Ne4 Nxh5 31. d4 Qc6 $1 32. Qb3 c4 $1 $17 33. Qa4 Qd5 $1 {With a serious of accurate moves Black has wrested over the initiative.} 34. Rad1 Rae8 $2 {A bad mistake by Svidler which changes the evaluation of the situation from better for him to better for his opponent.} ( 34... Rf8 35. dxe5 Nxe5 36. Nxe5 Rxe5 $17) 35. dxe5 Nxe5 36. Nxe5 Rxe5 37. Bxf4 $1 Qb5 (37... Rxe4 38. Qxe8+ $1 {This is the move which Svidler saw just in the nick of time. Or else he would have had to resign!} Rxe8 39. Rxe8+ Kf7 40. Rxd5 $18) 38. Qxb5 Rxb5 39. Bd6 {White is better now with an extra pawn.} Kh8 ( 39... Rxa5 40. g4 $18) 40. g4 Nf6 41. Nxf6 Rxe1+ 42. Rxe1 Bxf6 43. Re8+ Kg7 44. Bb4 Re5 45. Rc8 Re6 46. Rc7+ Kg8 47. Rxc4 $16 {Caruana is a pawn up but as the game shows, the conversion into a win is not at all easy.} h5 48. Kg2 Kf7 49. Rc5 (49. gxh5 gxh5 {the passed h-pawn gives some counterplay.}) 49... hxg4 50. Rc7+ Ke8 51. Rc4 Kd7 52. Rxg4 Be5 53. c4 Bc7 54. Kf3 Rf6+ 55. Ke3 Re6+ 56. Kd3 Rf6 57. Ke3 Re6+ 58. Kd3 Rf6 59. Rg5 Rxf2 60. Rxg6 Rf3+ 61. Kc2 Rf5 62. Rxa6 Kc8 63. Kd3 Rh5 64. c5 Kb7 65. Rg6 Bxa5 66. Bxa5 Rxc5 {The notorius bishop+ rook vs rook. Svidler defends this well for a while but soon goes astray.} 67. Bb4 Rc6 68. Bd6 Kc8 69. Kd4 Rb6 70. Kd5 Rb7 71. Rg8+ Kd7 72. Bc5 Kc7 73. Rg6 Kd7 74. Rh6 Kc7 75. Rc6+ Kd7 76. Bb6 Ke8 77. Bd4 Kd7 78. Rd6+ Kc8 79. Ke6 Kc7 80. Ra6 Rb5 81. Ra1 Kc6 82. Rc1+ Kb7 83. Kd6 Ka6 84. Rc6+ Ka5 85. Bc5 Rb7 86. Kd5 Kb5 87. Bd6 Ka4 88. Ra6+ Kb5 89. Ra1 Kb6 90. Rc1 Kb5 91. Rc6 Ka4 92. Bc5 Kb5 93. Rd6 Ka4 94. Kc6 Rb8 95. Rd3 Rc8+ 96. Kd5 Rd8+ 97. Bd6 Rc8 98. Ra3+ Kb5 99. Rb3+ Ka4 100. Rb4+ Ka5 101. Bc5 Rh8 102. Rb7 Ka4 $2 (102... Ka6 {is the easiest way to draw} 103. Rb2 Rd8+ 104. Kc4 Rc8 $11) 103. Kc4 $1 {It is the Philidor position and everything is in place. But can White win in 116 moves?} Rh4+ 104. Bd4 Rh5 {The enemy rook is already on the first rank so it is time to take rook from one side to the other.} 105. Bf2 {This is incorrect. The right way to remember it is the bishop should be defended by the rook. So you should play Bf2 when your rook is on b2.} (105. Rb2 $1 Rh3 (105... Ka3 106. Re2 $1 {Threatening a check on c5.} Rh4 107. Re6 Ka2 108. Re1 {and it is game over} ) 106. Bf2 $1 {The rook defends the bishop and the bishop controls the h4 square. This is the ideal formation.} Rf3 {Once the rook has been forced to an inferior square on the third rank it is time to improve your bishop with a tempo.} 107. Bc5 Rf4+ 108. Bd4 Rf3 109. Rb4+ $1 {This check is crucial.} Ka3 ( 109... Ka5 110. Rb7 {is immediate curtains.}) 110. Rb6 Ka2 111. Rb2+ $1 { Important intermediate check.} Ka3 112. Re2 {Threatening Bc5+. Keep an eye on the move counter - it is still not 116 moves!} Ka4 113. Be3 $1 {Blocking the rook.} Ka3 114. Bc5+ Ka4 115. Ra2+ Ra3 116. Rxa3# {And wins on exactly the 50th move! This analysis proves that Caruana not only theoretically had a winning position, but if he made all the accurate moves then he would have won the game within the 50 moves rule.}) 105... Rg5 {The rook moves to the better square.} 106. Rh7 $2 {Crucial wastage of time.} Rg4+ (106... Rb5) 107. Bd4 Rg5 108. Rh8 Rb5 109. Ra8+ Ra5 110. Rb8 Rh5 111. Bf6 (111. Rb2 {as shown above was the right way but it is already too late now.}) 111... Ka5 112. Bc3+ Ka6 113. Bd4 Rh6 114. Be3 Re6 115. Rb3 Rc6+ 116. Kd5 {So many twists and turns! Just like a Hollywood movie!} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2016.03.27"] [Round "13.2"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "MVL"] [PlyCount "202"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] [WhiteClock "0:09:04"] [BlackClock "0:00:21"] 1. c4 {Another English today, but to be fair Levon started digging it for some time now and didn't just follow the trend set in these Candidates'!} Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8. d3 O-O 9. a3 (9. Be3 Re8 10. Qd2 Bf8 11. Rfc1 {was played by Levon in the Sinquefield Cup against Anish. He decided to deviate today.}) 9... Be6 (9... Re8 10. b4 Bf8 { Is the other standard approach in this variation.}) 10. Be3 (10. b4 a5 11. b5 Nd4 12. Bb2 f6 ({probably Black should rather go} 12... Nb3 13. Rb1 f6 14. Nd2 Nc5 15. Nde4 Nb3) 13. Nxd4 $1 exd4 14. Nb1 {and the knight comes to f3 was an unexpected way Kramnik found back in the days to pose serious problems to Black, despite seemingly losing many tempi.}) 10... Qd7 (10... Nd5 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 {is the main way of playing but Levon no doubt had an idea in mind.} 12. Qa4 Re8 13. Rac1 a6 {and} 14. Rc3 {always fails to} Bxf3 $1 15. exf3 (15. Bxf3 Nd4) 15... Nd4 16. Bxd4 exd4 17. Rc2 Bf8) 11. b4 f6 12. Ne4 (12. d4 exd4 13. Nxd4 Nxd4 14. Bxd4 c6 {doesn't look too impressive for White.}) 12... Nd5 13. Bd2 (13. Bc5) 13... a5 $5 (13... Nd4 14. Nxd4 exd4 15. Nc5 Bxc5 16. bxc5) 14. Nc5 Bxc5 15. bxc5 a4 $1 16. Rb1 Rfb8 (16... Ra7 $5 17. Rb2 Nde7 18. Qb1 Bb3 { and we get to more or less the same position. Differences are Black's other rook is free to play and put some pressure in the center, but the Nc6 can't go to b5 anymore via the a7 square.}) 17. Qc2 (17. Rb2 Nde7 18. Qb1 Bb3 {would have won a tempi, though it is of lesser importance in these positions where White has for now no direct action available.}) 17... Nde7 18. Rb2 Bb3 19. Qb1 Kh8 20. Rc1 Na7 21. Bb4 Nb5 22. Nd2 {White really needed that move to have any hope in this game as the Bb3 is otherwise hindering his pieces badly.} Bf7 ( 22... Nd4 $5 23. Nxb3 Nxb3 24. Rc4 Nd5 {It's always ugly to give up both bishops for two knights, but sometimes those horses can jump and be of annoyance!} 25. Be1 c6 26. Rh4 Re8 {and this Nb3 can't easily be removed causing all sorts of headache to White.}) (22... Bd5 $6 {looks logical but} 23. c6 $1 {hits Black badly:} bxc6 (23... Nxc6 24. Bxd5 Qxd5 25. Rc5) (23... Bxc6 24. Bxe7 Qxe7 25. Rxb5 Bxb5 26. Qxb5 Qxa3 27. Rxc7 Qa1+ 28. Nf1 a3 29. Qd7 Rg8 30. Be4 $1 {followed by the unavoidable Qf5, was shown by Levon in the post-game conference.}) 24. Bxe7 Bxg2 25. Bxf6 Bh3 (25... gxf6 26. Kxg2 { looks awfully dangerous and without any counterplay for all the weakened pawns and king.}) 26. Bxe5 Qd5 27. Nf3 Rf8 28. Qa2 {ending any Black's hope to get counterplay.}) 23. e3 Bg6 (23... Bd5 $5 {Looks paradoxical but the move e3 has left the square f3 unprotected!} 24. c6 bxc6 25. Ne4 $5 {with still a definite pull as the knight comes to c5.} (25. Bxe7 Bxg2 26. Bxf6 Bh3 {wouldn't be in White's favour as he can't take on e5 anymore!})) 24. Ne4 (24. Be4 $5 Rd8 25. Nc4 Bxe4 26. dxe4 {doesn't look too impressive but White aims to create problems in the center. Also the e3-e4 formation helps to control all the central squares, making it more useful than it looks.} Qg4 (26... Qe6 27. Be1 c6 28. Nd6 $1) 27. Be1 c6 28. Bb4 $1 Ng6 29. Nd6 Nh4 30. f4 $1 {and Black is in trouble as he doesn't get to activate his rooks.}) 24... Nd5 25. Be1 (25. Nd6 Nxb4 (25... cxd6 26. Bxd5 dxc5 27. Rxc5) 26. Rxb4 Nxd6 (26... Nxa3 $2 27. Qb2 cxd6 28. c6) 27. cxd6 Qxd6 28. Rxb7 Rxb7 29. Qxb7 Rd8 {and these simplifications should help Black's subsequent play even if he's nominally slightly suffering because of his weak pawn a4.}) 25... Nxa3 (25... c6 26. Rxb5 $1 cxb5 27. Nd6 {begs to be played as the knight would be utterly dominant. Meanwhile Black's rooks are reduced to passivity for probably a long time.} Ne7 28. Qb4 Qe6 (28... Bxd3 $2 29. Rd1) 29. d4) 26. c6 $1 {This tactical shot still works very well.} (26. Qa2 $2 Nb5 27. Rxb5 Qxb5 28. Qxd5 Qb2 {and he would get to push his a pawn, causing White a world of trouble.}) 26... Qe7 ( 26... Qxc6 27. Qa1 $1) (26... Nxb1 27. cxd7 Na3 28. Nc5 {is obviously not an option.}) 27. Qa2 bxc6 28. Rxc6 Bf7 29. Rc5 Nxe3 $6 {Once again in the tournament, when facing a difficult position, Sergey chooses to sacrifice material instead of being reduced to passivity. Here he gets to keep his passed a pawn and probably chances to exchange more pawns later on. Of course, it's objectively less resilient than just keeping his position, but much more direct as he immediately gets to know what his defensive setup will be. Still, there was a much better way if he really wanted to go for it.} (29... Rb3 30. Rxb3 axb3 31. Qxb3 c6 {maybe he also missed that move.} 32. Ra5 (32. Rxc6 Nxe3) (32. Qb2 Be8) 32... Rxa5 33. Bxa5 (33. Qb8+ Qe8 34. Qxe8+ Bxe8 35. Bxa5 { is also an option, but I'm not certain why White should be happy to exchange queens here.}) 33... Nb5 34. Qc2 {looks very dangerous as White will slowly improve his position and at some point get a timely f4 to create a strong center.}) (29... Nb5 $5 {Was the correct way to implement Sergey's idea.} 30. Rbxb5 Rxb5 31. Rxb5 Nxe3 (31... Nc3 $2 32. Nxc3 Bxa2 33. Bxa8) 32. Qb1 Nxg2 33. Rb8+ Rxb8 34. Qxb8+ Qe8 35. Qxe8+ Bxe8 36. Kxg2 a3 37. Kf3 a2 38. Bc3 {and White has good winning chances as he gets to keep all the pawns on the board for now.}) 30. Qxa3 (30. Rxb8+ $1 Rxb8 31. Qxa3 Nc2 32. Qc1 {Here Levon didn't have enough time to foresee the consequences of} Nxe1 (32... Nd4 $5 33. Rxc7 Qd8 34. Kf1 $1 Bd5 35. Ra7 Ra8 36. Qc7 $1 Qxc7 37. Rxc7 a3 38. Nc3 Bxg2+ (38... a2 39. Nxa2) 39. Kxg2 Nc2 40. Bd2 Nb4 41. Kf3 a2 42. Nxa2 Nxa2 43. Ke4 h5 44. f4 exf4 45. gxf4) 33. Rxc7 Nxd3 34. Rxe7 Nxc1 35. Rxf7 a3 36. Ra7 a2 {but the simple} 37. Kf1 (37. Nc3 $2 Ne2+) 37... h5 38. Nc3 Rb2 39. Bd5 {was hopeless for Black.}) 30... Rxb2 31. Qxb2 Nxg2 32. Kxg2 a3 33. Qb7 Qd8 34. Qxc7 Qxc7 35. Rxc7 Bd5 (35... a2 36. Bc3 Bd5 37. Rc5 $1 {transposes}) 36. Rc5 a2 37. Bc3 Bg8 (37... Bb7 $6 38. Ba1 f5 39. Rxe5 fxe4 40. Re7 Bc6 {doesn't look good at all for Black, and indeed the simple} 41. Rxg7 $1 (41. dxe4 Rd8 $1) 41... exd3+ 42. Kh3 {wins:} h5 43. Rg6+ Kh7 44. Rxc6 Rd8 45. Rc1 Rb8 46. Rc7+ Kg6 47. Rd7 Rb1 48. Rxd3 Rxa1 49. Ra3 {and the Rook endgame is completely hopeless as the Ra1 can't move:} Kf5 50. f4 Ke4 51. Kh4 Kd4 52. Kxh5 Kc4 53. Kg6 Kb4 54. Ra7 Kb3 55. f5 {and Black is between 5 to 10 tempi short to be back in time.}) 38. Ba1 Rb8 39. Ra5 $2 (39. Rc1 $1 Rb1 40. Rf1 {and Levon would have kept his pawn d3 in comparison to the game, but timetrouble caused him to err.} Bd5 (40... Be6 41. Nd2) (40... Rb3 41. Nc3) 41. f3 Bxe4 42. dxe4 Kg8 43. Kf2 Kf7 44. Ke2 Ke6 45. Rd1) 39... Rb1 40. Bc3 Rd1 41. Kf3 Rxd3+ 42. Ke2 Rd8 {Now I think this endgame is quite easily drawn as Black has many defensive setups that work out well.} 43. f4 {Forced one day or another to make any kind of progress.} (43. Bd2 Rb8 44. Nc3 Rb2) 43... Bc4+ 44. Kf2 exf4 45. gxf4 Kg8 46. Nd2 Bf7 47. Ke3 h5 48. f5 Rc8 49. Ne4 Bd5 50. Rc5 (50. Bd4 Bxe4 51. Kxe4 Rc2 52. Ra8+ Kh7 53. Ra7 Kg8 54. h3 Rh2 {and after the pawns a2 and h3 get exchanged, Black will get a timely g6 to enter what would have been another R+B vs R endgame.}) 50... Rd8 (50... Rxc5 {would transpose to the game later on.}) 51. Nd2 Bf7 52. Ra5 Rc8 53. Ne4 Bd5 54. Nc5 {trying something else!} Re8+ 55. Kd3 Rd8 56. Bd4 Re8 57. Kd2 Ra8 $1 {Finally deciding to exchange the rooks. Definitely the right decision as Black doesn't risk to run into an attack on his king anymore, easying his task.} ({For instance} 57... Rc8 58. Ne6 {would already be lost.}) 58. Rxa8+ Bxa8 59. Ke3 (59. Kc2 Bg2 60. Kb2 Bh3 61. Kxa2 Bxf5 62. Kb3 Kf7 63. Kc4 Kg6 {and depending on where the White king is (as long as it's not on f8 or so), White can't either make progress or Black gets his king out to fetch the h2 pawn. But of course it might even stay passively on f7 as White can't attack the formation of pawns on g7 and f6.}) 59... Kh7 60. Kf4 Kh6 61. Ne6 Kh7 62. Nf8+ Kg8 63. Ng6 Kf7 64. Ke3 Bc6 65. Bb2 (65. Nf4 Bd7 66. Ke4 Bc6+) 65... Bd7 66. Ke4 Bc6+ 67. Kd4 Bd7 68. Nh4 Ba4 69. Ng2 (69. Kc3 Bc6 70. Kb3 Bd5+ 71. Ka3 Bc4 72. Nf3 g5 $1 {the simplest as White can't prevent the Black king to invade the kingside now.} 73. fxg6+ Kxg6 74. Kb4 Bd5) 69... Bc2 70. Ne3 Bb1 71. Kc3 Kg8 (71... g6 72. fxg6+ Kxg6 73. h4 f5 74. Nd5 f4 75. Nxf4+ Kf5 76. Nxh5 Kg4 {would also have done the job but sometimes there's just no need to calculate concrete lines if you trust your defensive setup.}) 72. Nc2 Kh7 73. Nd4 Kh6 74. Bc1+ (74. h4 Kh7 (74... g5 $2 {is the only thing Black shouldn't go for!} 75. fxg6 Kxg6 76. Kc4 $1 Be4 77. Kb3 Bd5+ (77... f5 78. Kxa2 f4 79. Bc1 f3 80. Be3) 78. Ka3 Bc4 79. Bc3 Bd5 (79... f5 80. Nc6 Be6 81. Ne5+) 80. Kb2 Kf7 81. Ne2 {and in both cases Black's king gets pushed back and White will collect among all of Black's weaknesses.} Ke7 82. Ng3 Bf7 83. Ka1 $1 {with zugzwang.}) 75. Kb3 Kg8 76. Bc3 Kf7 77. Kb2 Ke7 78. Bb4+ Kf7 {would transpose to the game.}) 74... Kh7 75. Kb2 Kg8 76. Bd2 Kh7 77. Bb4 Kg8 78. Bc3 Kh7 79. Kc1 Kh6 80. h4 Kh7 81. Kd2 Kg8 82. Ke3 Kh7 83. Kf4 {the only way to make any progress.} Bd3 84. Nc6 Kg8 85. Nb4 Bb1 86. Na6 Kf7 87. Nc5 Bc2 88. Ne4 Bd1 ( 88... Bxe4 {As was played in the game later would work even with the king getting pushed back!} 89. Kxe4 Ke7 90. Kd5 Kd7 91. Ba1 Ke7 92. Kc6 Ke8 93. Kd6 Kf7 94. Kd7 Kf8 95. Ke6 Ke8 {and there's no possible zugzwang.}) 89. Ng3 Kg8 ( 89... Ke7 $2 {to get active counterplay seems to possible work but in fact White's knight and bishop will work wonderfully to slow Black's king down.} 90. Ke3 Kd6 91. Kd2 Bg4 92. Kc2 Kd5 93. Kb3 Kc5 94. Kxa2 Kc4 95. Ba5 $1 Kd4 96. Bb6+ Ke5 97. Bc7+ Kd4 98. Kb3 Ke3 99. Kc4 Kf3 100. Kd5 Kg2 101. Ke4 $1 (101. Ke6 $2 Kh3 102. Kf7 Kxh4 103. Kxg7 Kg5) 101... Kh3 102. Kf4 Kxh4 {Black gets one pawn and likely gets the pawn f5, but...} 103. Ne4 Bd1 104. Nf2 {with a mating net!} Bc2 105. Bd6 Bb1 106. Bf8 g5+ 107. fxg6 Bxg6 108. Be7 Bc2 109. Bxf6#) 90. Ke3 Bc2 91. Bb2 (91. Kd2 Bb1 92. Kc1 Kf7 93. Kb2 Kg8 {and White can get the h5 pawn but it costs him all of his remaining pawns.} 94. Nxh5 Bxf5 95. Kxa2 Bg4 96. Ng3 g5 97. h5 Kg7 98. Kb3 Kh6 99. Bxf6 Bxh5 {with a draw.}) 91... Kh7 92. Kf4 Bd1 93. Ne4 Bc2 94. Nd6 Kg8 95. Ke3 Kf8 96. Kd4 Ke7 97. Kc5 Kd7 98. Bc3 Bd3 99. Kd5 Bc2 100. Ne4 Bxe4+ {Avoiding any more turnaround by the knight, as White can't do anything to push back the king (and even that would do nothing as we already saw).} 101. Kxe4 Kd6 {A missed opportunity for Levon after energetic play in the middlegame, but above all this draw combined with the other results puts Sergey in an ideal situation before the last round as unless Vishy wins with Black against Peter, a draw with White against Fabiano would grant him the first place on tiebreaks!} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Candidates 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.28"] [Round "14"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B67"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2794"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 {No Nf3 for today! It would be silly to say tha 1.e4 is more solid than 1.Nf3 which had been Karjakin's choice in the first half of the event. But sometimes you want to fall back on the lines which you are most comfortable with and for Karjakin that is 1.e4.} c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 {This is not the first time that Caruana has played the Classical Sicilian, however the last time he played it was six years ago in 2009.} 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Bd7 9. f4 h6 10. Bh4 {Main moves here for Black are b5 and Nxe4. But Caruana goes for the relative sideline with 10...b5.} b5 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. f5 {A top level game that reached this position was Ivanchuk-Piket which continued h5. But now Caruana still in his preparation goes for Qb6.} Qb6 13. fxe6 fxe6 14. Nxc6 {Karjakin tries to play as solidly as possible.} Qxc6 ( 14... Bxc6 {was also possible.}) 15. Bd3 h5 16. Kb1 b4 17. Ne2 Qc5 18. Rhf1 Bh6 19. Qe1 a5 $5 {A very interesting pawn sacrifice on f6. Of course White should be careful in taking it because after Qe5 and Bg7, his position might just collapse.} (19... Ke7 20. Qg3 Rag8 (20... h4 21. Qxh4 Bg5 22. Qg3 e5 23. Nf4 exf4) 21. Qf3 Rf8 22. Bxa6) 20. b3 $5 {A very double edged move. On one hand it weakens the dark squares and on the other it prepares Bc4. Who benefits the most out of it? The one who plays the best from here onwards.} (20. Rxf6 Bg7 21. Rf3 Qe5 22. c3 a4 $13) 20... Rg8 (20... a4 $6 {No matter how natural this move looks it is a mistake because it weakens the b4 pawn. As the famous trainer Mark Dvoretsky explains Black wants his queen on e5, not on c5 defending the b4 pawn. That is the task of the a5 pawn!} 21. Bc4 $1 axb3 22. Bxb3 $16) 21. g3 Ke7 (21... Qe5 {was a natural move and is met with} 22. Bc4 $1 Qxe4 23. Nd4 $1 Qxe1 24. Rfxe1 $18 {White is just better.}) 22. Bc4 Be3 23. Rf3 (23. Nf4 $5 {was a natural move and maybe better.} Bd4 24. Qd2 Bc3 25. Qd3 $16) 23... Rg4 {Caruana's position looks quite attractive on the surface. His pieces are actively placed and he has good chances. However, his king is on e7 and that should always be kept in mind.} 24. Qf1 Rf8 25. Nf4 Bxf4 26. Rxf4 a4 ( 26... Bc6 {keeping the status quo was also possible.}) 27. bxa4 $5 {A bold decision by Sergey who is ready to ruin his structure but at the same time he realises that the bishop will sit well on b3.} Bxa4 28. Qd3 Bc6 29. Bb3 Rg5 30. e5 $5 {The most critical moment of the game. Karjakin finds the right moment to breakthrough in the center. Although the position is around roughly equal the responsibility on Black's shoulders to make accurate moves has increased sharply as his king is in the centre.} Rxe5 $1 (30... Qxe5 31. Rxb4 $14) 31. Rc4 $5 Rd5 32. Qe2 $5 {White has sacrificed a pawn but hopes to get to the black king in some way or the other.} (32. Qxd5 Qxd5 33. Rxd5 Bxd5 34. Rxb4 { would end in a drawish endgame.}) 32... Qb6 33. Rh4 Re5 $6 (33... Rxd1+ 34. Qxd1 Rh8 {Exchanging one rook would have reduced White's attacking chances. Here Black has lesser dangers.} 35. Rxh5 Rxh5 36. Qxh5 Qg1+ 37. Kb2 Qd4+ 38. Kb1 Be8 $15) 34. Qd3 Bg2 {Caruana want to play d5 but would like to keep his bishop activey placed on e4. In some ways this is a highly ambitious move.} 35. Rd4 d5 36. Qd2 Re4 $2 {Caruana was in terrible time pressure and missed White's next move. As Karjakin described it, this sacrifice was not particularly difficult to calculate.} (36... Be4 37. Rxb4 Qc7 {and position is complicated but Black is not worse.}) 37. Rxd5 exd5 38. Qxd5 Qc7 (38... Rd4 39. Qxd4 Qxd4 40. Rxd4 $16 {was the best defence but this pawn down endgame looks lost.}) 39. Qf5 $1 {Qh7 is an extremely difficult threat to meet.} (39. Qxh5 { was also very strong.} Re6 40. Bxe6 Kxe6 41. Qe2+ Kf7 42. Qxg2 $18 {White shouldn't have too many difficulties converting this.}) 39... Rf7 40. Bxf7 Qe5 (40... Kxf7 41. Rd7+ $18) 41. Rd7+ Kf8 42. Rd8+ {What a stunning finale. The moment Caruana extended his hand, the playing hall erupted in a thunderous applause for the new Challenger - Sergey Karjakin!} (42. Rd8+ Kxf7 43. Qh7+ Ke6 44. Qd7#) 1-0