Round 1: GM Analysis (Sergei Shipov) Round 1, May 20 Shirov - Kasparov 0:1 Morozevich - Sadvakasov 1:0 Kramnik - Gelfand 1:0 Morozevich,A (2749) - Sadvakasov,D (2585) [B90] At the transition from the opening to the middle game the host of the tournament failed to find the right path in a complicated position and went down without much fight. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 h5 This is a fashionable plan right now. Black is preventing g2-g4. 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.0-0-0 Rc8 11.Kb1 Be7 12.h3 White is insisting on pushing g2-g4. Darmen already played this line on the black side - 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.exd5 Bf5 14.Bd3 Bxd3 15.Qxd3 Bg5 16.Bf2 0-0 17.h4 Bh6 18.g4 Bf4 19.Nd2 hxg4 20.fxg4 Re8 21.g5 += Perunovic,M-Sadvakasov,D/Subotica 2000/1/2 (62).

12...Qc7N More common is 12...b5. From the outside, 12...h4!? looks more logical. 13.Bd3 White is bringing his h1-rook into play. 13...b5 [13...h4!?] 14.g4 Nb6 Strange as it may look, Black’s bold breakthrough at the center deserved a

closer look: 14...d5!? 15.g5 d4 16.Nxd4 (White is returning the favor) 16...exd4 17.Bxd4 Nh7 18.f4 with an unclear position. 15.Bxb6! White is fighting for the d5-square. 15...Qxb6 16.g5 Nd7 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.exd5 A typical Sicilian structure arose, in which White has a clear plan of attack, whereas Black doesn’t. 18...g6 19.Rhe1 Qc7 20.h4 Nb6 21.f4 exf4? Black’s knight has left the e5-square. Why? Black should have been more courageous and snatched the pawn in the center - 21...Nxd5 - with crazy complications. White has an attack, but it is not that clear compared to the course of the game after the move in text. 22.Qxf4 0-0 Now 22...Nxd5? doesn’t work in view 23.Qd4. 23.Nd4 From this point, White’s attack is as smooth as glass. 23...Rfe8 24.Nf5! Bf8 25.Nh6+ Bxh6 26.gxh6 Kh7 27.Qf6 Kxh6 28.Re6!

An elegant coup de grace. White could have closed the game in a more prosaic way 28.Rxe8 Rxe8 29.Rg1 Rg8 30.Rg5+-. After 28.Re6 Black could have played 28...Nxd5 29.Qg5+ Kg7 30.Rxe8 and gradually lost being a piece down, but he preferred not to suffer... 1-0

Shirov,A (2722) - Kasparov,G (2835) [B84]

Garry run risks inviting Alexei in a sharp fight, and proved himself better one more time. White deviated from topical variations of the Najdorf in favor of a calm Scheveningen. However, White failed to achieve an easy life after Kasparov’s very aggressive response 8...b5?!. In my opinion, the variation that Kasparov opted for is very dubious. Black lags in development. What for? Shirov did not demonstrate great confidence and failed to realize the plusses of his position. It looks like instead of 12.Qb3 better was 12. Nb4. Also, instead of 14.Qc2, 14.Rfe1 suggested itself, and so on. The reason behind the ex-champion’s victory lies in the sphere of psychology. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Kasparov: Almost all my games with Shirov in which I played on the black side have started with the Najdorf variation (except for the encounter in 1994 in Novgorod). Almost exclusively he has played 6.Be3. I played e6 today, bearing in mind that Alexei plays g4, sacrificing a piece and leading to crazy complications. 5…a6 6.Be3 e6

Kasparov: Alexei is turning the opening duel down which in my opinion bears out his diffidence. 7.Be2 Qc7 8.0-0 Kasparov: A rare continuation. Alexei played g2-g4 against me; Adams opted for a2-a4; there is a rare continuation a2-a3. I expected that Alexei would castle long. Castling short is a cunning option - on Be7 White is going to transpose to a Scheveningen variation that he is ready to play. 8… b5 Kasparov: The most natural move, as long as White permits it. The light-squared bishop is not on f3 yet... 9.a4 Kasparov: Otherwise White can’t rely on an opening advantage. 9… b4 10.Na2 Nxe4 Kasparov: One may think that 10...d5 was good enough, but it could have been met with 11.c3 e5 12.Nf3 bxc3 (or 12...dxe4 13.Nd2 and Black’s position looks quite dangerous) 13.Nxc3 d4 14.Nxd4 exd4 15.Bxd4 with good compensation. Black is undeveloped, and White already has two pawns for a piece. This is exactly Shirov’s cup of tea. For this reason I rejected d5, and decided to capture on e4. 11.c3 b3 Kasparov: This is the only move. If White manages to open the c-file, he will obtain a dangerous initiative. 12.Qxb3 Be7 Kasparov: This is a very precise move. White could have started with Bb7, but it was not so clear whether White could proceed with a sacrifice on e6. So I decided to wait and see. 13.Bf3 Bb7 14.Qc2 Nf6 15.Bxb7 Qxb7 16.b4 Kasparov: This move looks very promising for White. For example if Black plays g6 with the idea of pushing e6-e5, then after c4 his position looks dubious. That is why the move in text is called for. 16…0-0 17.b5 Kasparov: It looks like White’s prospects are very rosy in this position. His knight is

heading for c6 via b4. However, I made a very strong move here. 17…Ng4

Kasparov: This is the key position of the game. All of a sudden Shirov’s nerves acted up because White finds himself in win-or-lose situation. For example, 18.Nb4 Nxe3 19.fxe3 axb5 20.axb5 Bg5 21.Qd3 Rxa1 22.Rxa1 Nd7 leads to an unclear position a la the "Dvoretsky effect" - White’s knights are in each other’s way. I expected Shirov to play 18.Bd2, however, after 18...Rc8! 19.Nb4, Black has a good continuation with 19...Bf6 and Black has a very promising position because his knight is headed for c4. 18.Bf4 Kasparov: This mistake is a consequence of Black’s previous move. Black is grabbing the initiative. 18…e5 19.Qe2 exd4 Kasparov: This is a very important move. Shirov might have expected 19...Qd7 20.Qf3 d5 21.h3 and White is fine in this line. 20.Qxg4 axb5 21.axb5 Qxb5 22.cxd4 Qc4 Kasparov: Maybe Nc6 was better, but I decided to play hard 23.Rae1 Nc6 24.Nc1 Kasparov: I think White should have played 24.Rc1 Qxd4 25.Rxc6 Rxa2 26.Qg3 and White is close to a draw, because most of the endgames are drawn. However, it is not much fun playing such a position on the White side. 24…Qxd4 25.Ne2 Qa4

Kasparov: This is a very important move. Black could have played ...Qf6, but after Ng3 White has a good counterplay on the kingside. Now after Ng3 Black is winning with ...Ne5! 26.Qg3 Kasparov: This looks like a decisive mistake. 26.h3 d5 27.Ng3 looks better. 26…Rfd8

Kasparov: This is an extremely strong move. Now Black’s bishop is ready to protect the g7 square from f8. 27.Nc3 Qb3 28.Re3 d5 29.Bh6 Bf8 30.Ne4 Qb2 31.Nc5 Kasparov: White’s last hope was the move 31.Bg5 and after 31...dxe4 32.Bxd8 Rxd8 33.Rxe4 Black has good winning chances. However, I won a similar endgame against Timman in 1985 (the first game of the match, see viewer link on right), having two knights with the queen against queen and rook, but two knights in such situations are more dangerous. Nevertheless, I barely won that game. 31…Bxc5 Kasparov: Now it is smooth sailing for Black. 32.Rc3 Bxf2+ 33.Rxf2 Ra1+ 34.Rf1 Qb6+ 35.Re3 Rxf1+ 36.Kxf1 Qd4 Kasparov: First I thought that I would have to play an endgame with two extra pawns after 36...Qb1+ 37.Re1 Qg6 but later on I found a move which results in all of White’s pieces hanging. 37.Qc7 Qc4+ 0-1

Kramnik,V (2797) - Gelfand,B (2712) [E05] Kramnik tortured his friend down in an equal and simple position. 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.c4 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 This is a very "dry" line of the Catalan opening. Black is playing strictly for an equal game. 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 Bd5 11.Qc2 Be4 12.Qd1 The main proving ground in this line nowadays is in the line 12.Qc1 h6 13.Bf4 (13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Nc3 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 c6 16.e3 a5= Bareev,E-Anand,V/Shenyang 2000/1/2 (33)) 13...Nc6 14.Rd1 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 Nxd4 16.Kg2 c5 17.e3 Nb3 18.Rxd8 Nxc1 19.Rxa8 Rxa8 20.Bxb7 Ra7 21.Bc6 Nb3 22.Bb8 Rd7 23.Bxd7 Nxd7 24.Ra3 c4 25.Ba7 and Black is just about fine, Tkachiev,V-Adams,M/Cannes 2001/1-0 (45). 12...c5 13.dxc5 Bxc5 White has nothing.

14.Qxd8N Previously White played 14.Nc3 with total equality. 14...Rxd8 15.Nbd2 Bc6 At this point of the game I had the impression that a draw was not far away. 16.Nb3 Nbd7 White has nothing after 16...Be7!, for example, 17.Na5 Bd5 18.Ne1 Bxg2 19.Nxg2 Nc6! 17.Rfc1 Bb6 18.Nfd2 Bxg2 19.Kxg2 Rdc8 20.Bxf6 Nxf6 21.Nc4 Bc7 22.Nc5 Rab8 The simplest way to achieve an equal game was 22...b5 23.Nd2 Bd6 24.Ndb3

Kf8=. 23.b4 Kf8 24.Rab1 Now Black is facing some problems. 24...Ke7 On 24...b5 White has an interesting continuation in store: 25.Nxa6 bxc4 26.Nxb8 Bxb8 27.b5 and his passed pawns are very dangerous. 25.b5 Bd8 26.Nd3 axb5 27.Rxb5 b6?! Safer is 27...Nd7! 28.Nde5 Kf8 This is a blunder. 28...Ne4! looks scary, but I think Black can hold the position. For example, 29.Rd1 f6 30.Rd7+ Ke8 31.Rd4 Nc3 32.Nd6+ Ke7 33.Nxc8+ Rxc8 34.Rd7+ (34.Rc4 Rxc4 35.Nxc4 Nxb5 36.axb5=) 34...Ke8 35.Rb4 g5!! +/=. 29.Nxb6! Not a very difficult combinational blow. The following conversion of the advantage is not that difficult (for Kramnik). 29...Rxc1 30.Nbd7+ Nxd7 31.Nxd7+ Ke8 32.Nxb8 Rc8 33.Na6 Rc2 34.e3 Ra2 35.Nc5 Bc7 36.Rb7 Kd8 37.Rb4 Ke7 38.Ne4 f5 39.Rb7 Rc2 40.Ng5 h6 41.Nf3 Kf6 42.Nd4 Rc4 43.Nb5 Be5 44.f4 Bc3 45.Rf7+ Kxf7 46.Nd6+ Ke7 47.Nxc4 Kd7 48.Kf3 Kc6 49.e4 Kc5 50.Ne5 fxe4+ 51.Kxe4 Kb4 52.Nc6+ Kxa4 53.Nd4 Kb4 54.Nxe6 Kc4 55.g4 Bf6 56.h3 Bb2 57.h4 Bc3 58.f5 Bb2 59.Nxg7! White could have won with 59.g5 but why not please the fans? 59...Bxg7 60.g5 1-0

Round 2: GM Analysis (Sergei Shipov) Round 2, May 21 Shirov - Morozevich 1:0 Sadvakasov - Kramnik 0:1 Kasparov - Gelfand 1/2 Kasparov,G (2835) - Gelfand,B (2712) [C07] 1.e4 e6 Here comes a little surprise! Usually Boris plays the Najdorf Variation in the Sicilian Defense. However it is really difficult to play this variation with either White or Black against Garry. So the Israeli chess leader’s decision to take up another variation is quite logical. Kasparov: For all I know, this is the first time that Gelfand has played the French Defence. His choice has proved to be lucky. 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 cxd4 5.exd5 Qxd5 6.Bc4 Qd6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Re1 In response Garry dodges the usual continuation (8.Nb3) too. 8...Be7 9.Ne4 Nxe4 10.Rxe4 Nc6 11.Nxd4 A brave move. 11...0-0 Avoiding the complications. I mean the following line: 11...e5!? 12.Qf3 (in the variation 12.Bf4 exf4 13.Nxc6 Qxd1+ 14.Rxd1 bxc6 15.Rde1 Kf8 16.Rxe7 Black has the counterblow 16...Be6!) 12...Nxd4 13.Qxf7+ Kd8 14.Qxg7 Re8 15.Bf4 Bf6 16.Bg5 Bxg5 17.Qxg5+ Kc7 and Black gradually wins, Braig - Bibby/Bern op/1991. Evidently Garry could have strengthened these two “prominent” players’ game. 12.Bf4 Qc5 13.Nxc6 Kasparov: (?!) An unhappy decision. Perhaps stronger is the immediate 13.Bd3, and after 13...Nxd4 14.Rxd4, Black has no time for 14...b5 due to 15.Be4. 13…Qxc6 White has a slight advantage thanks to his

good development. Much depends on Black’s ability to develop his c8-bishop. 14.Bd3 b5! Kasparov: This is the only possible way. Otherwise White’s initiative might become a real threat. 15.a4 Kasparov: Maybe stronger is 15.c4 b4 16.Re1 Bb7 17.Be4 Qc8 18.Bxb7 Qxb7, though even now White’s advantage is of a very abstract character. 15…a6! Boris makes "only" moves. After 15...b4? 16.Rc4 Qd5 17.Rd4! Black stands worse. 16.Re3 Kasparov: This move is made to intimidate the opponent. 16…Bb7 17.Be4 No good can come of 17.Qg4 f5 18.Qh3 Bc5. I believe that the most promising way here is 17.Rg3 g6 18.Qh5.

17...Qxe4 A fear of miscalculation manifests itself. He could do without giving away his queen: 17...Qb6 18.Bxh7+ (the addition of a4-a5 and Qb6-c7 does not change the position’s evaluation) 18...Kxh7 19.Qh5+ Kg8 20.Rh3 f5! (but not 20...f6? 21.Qh7+ Kf7 22.Rg3 Rg8 23.Qg6+ Kf8 24.Bh6) 21.Qh7+ Kf7 and there is nothing but perpetual check to be seen for White. Kasparov: (?!) An unjustified sacrifice. As a matter of fact, White doesn’t have a real advantage, but if Black tries a variation like 17...Qb6 18.a5 Qa7 19.Bxh7+ Kxh7 20.Rh3+ Kg8 21.Qh5, here 21...f6 is probably losing, because of 22.Qh7+ Kf7

23.Rg3 Rg8 24.Qg6+ Kf8 25.Bh6 Bd5 26.Bxg7+ Rxg7 27.Qh6 (giving way to the rook) and White has a serious initiative, but after 21...f5 22.Qh7+ Kf7 23.Qh5+ there is nothing better for White than perpetual check. However, Black shouldn’t play for a win either: dangerous is 23...g6 due to 24.Qh7+ Ke8 25.Qxg6+ Kd7 and White has an attack. 18.Rxe4 Bxe4 19.Qe2 Kasparov: Now is the first time that White has gained a considerable advantage in this game. 19…Bd5 20.h4 Rac8 21.axb5 axb5 22.Bg5 Bd6 23.Ra6 Bb8 From my point of view, stronger is 23...Bc5, keeping the bishops. 24.Be7 Rfe8 25.Bd6 The bishop exchange is inevitable, and this is White’s little achievement. But that does not suffice for victory. Kasparov: White has played rather precisely so far. 25...Red8 26.Bxb8 Rxb8

27.Ra3 The white rook’s transposition to the g-file changes nothing. 27.Ra7!? deserves attention. Kasparov: (?) A terrible mistake. Surely I should have played 27.Ra7 moving the rook to the seventh rank. However, it is rather difficult to win even this position, yet the chances are much better than in the game. More to the point, at that moment I had twice as much time as my opponent. 27...Rb7 28.Rg3 f6 29.Rg4 Rc8 30.Rd4 Kasparov: Unfortunately there is nothing better for White. I thought I had winning chances after 30.h5 h6 31.b3, threatening

c2-c4, but Black could respond 31...b4 32.Qd2 Kh8 and after 33.Rxb4 Rxc2 White has nothing. 30…Rbc7 31.Qxb5 Rxc2 32.b4 h6 Kasparov: Black’s defense is good. My attempt to confuse my opponent in time trouble was a failure. 33.Rg4 f5 34.Rg6 Kh7 35.h5 R2c7 36.Qd3 Rb7 37.Qg3 Rc1+ 38.Kh2 Rc4 39.b5 Rb4 40.Rxe6 Bxe6 41.Qg6+ Gelfand’s tenacity and stamina are notable. 1/2-1/2 Sadvakasov,D (2585) - Kramnik,V (2797) [C45] Darmen’s play was decent. He might have struggled for a draw. But his opponent was much too strong. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 During the London match Kasparov never tested Kramnik in the Scotch Game. He must have known that there are no weak points there... 3...exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nxc6 Qf6 6.Qd2 bxc6 7.Nc3 Ne7 More common is 7...d6 8.Na4 or 8.Bd3. 8.Bd3 Now in response to 8.Na4 there is the curious move 8...Bd6. 8...0-0 9.0-0 Ng6 Black doesn’t want to move his pawn to d6. 10.Na4N 10.Qg5 Qxg5 11.Bxg5 d6 12.Na4 Bd4 13.c3 Bb6 14.Nxb6 axb6 15.f3 c5= Kotrotsos,V - Kapnisis,S/Ano Liosia (Greece) 2001/0-1 (40); 10.Kh1!? 10...Bd6 11.g3 This is logical. There is a threat of f2-f4. 11...Re8 12.Qe3 But not the immediate 12.f4? Qd4+. 12...Bb7 13.Bd2 And here 13.f4 is quite possible. 13...Ne5 14.Bc3 Qf3 15.Qxf3 Nxf3+ 16.Kg2 Ne5 17.Bxe5 17.Be2 c5 18.f3 Bc6 19.b3 deserves attention. The important bishop is saved. 17...Rxe5 18.f4 Ree8 19.e5

It is difficult to refrain from this move. But now Black has counterplay. 19...Bf8 20.Rae1 d6 It becomes obvious that Black’s position is no worse. 21.Re3 Re7! This is preparation for doubling the rooks. 22.Be4 dxe5 22...Rae8!? 23.fxe5 g6 24.Bf3 24.Nc5 Rxe5 25.Nxb7 f5 =+ 24...Re6 25.Rd1 25.Bg4!? looks all right, the idea being 25...f5 26.Be2! and Bc4. 25...Rae8 26.Rd7 Rxe5 27.Rxe5 Rxe5 28.Rxc7 Re7 29.Rxe7 Bxe7 Blowing up the center is obviously favorable for Black. The two bishops have enough room for operating at both kingside and queenside. But there is still a long way to go to achieve victory. 30.Kf2 f5 31.c4 Kf7 32.c5 a5 33.a3 Ke6 34.b4 axb4 35.axb4 Ke5 36.Ke3 Bg5+ 37.Kd3 Ba6+ Just beautiful! 38.Kc2?

An obscure concession. In spite of everything, White could stand his ground with 38.Kc3! Bb5 39.Nb6 - the black c6-pawn is rather weak. 38...Kd4! Yes, of course! 39.Nc3 Bd3+ 40.Kb3 Bc4+ 41.Kc2 Bd3+ 42.Kb3 Bd2 43.Nd1 Be4 44.Be2 Bd5+ 45.Ka4 g5 The evaluation is getting clearer. 46.b5 Kxc5 47.bxc6 Bxc6+ 48.Kb3 Kd4 49.Bf1 Be1 50.Be2 g4 51.Ba6 h5 52.Kc2 Be4+ 53.Kc1 Bf3 54.Bc8 f4 55.gxf4 h4

56.f5 g3 57.hxg3 hxg3 The pawn reaches the promotion square. White resigns. 0-1 Shirov,A (2722) - Morozevich,A (2749) [C11] This was a dramatic game. Alexander did not play a happy opening, but later he defended stubbornly. Alexey gave his opponent a chance in the rook ending, but Alexander did not notice an effective way out. 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 gxf6 7.Nf3 a6 The extended fianchetto played in this position is Morozevich’s special weapon. 8.c4 f5 9.Nc3 Bf6 10.Qd2 c5 11.d5 0-0 12.0-0-0 Bg7 A novelty. Earlier 12...e5 was played. Here is a relevant fresh example: 13.h4 b5 14.d6 Be6! (14...Nc6 15.d7! Bb7 16.Qd6 Shirov,A-Topalov,V/Sarajevo 2000/1-0 (27)) 15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.Qxd5 Nd7 17.Nd2 Bg7 18.Rh3 Qf6 19.cxb5 Rab8 20.Qc6 e4 21.Rc3 Qd8 22.Rc2 axb5 23.Qc7 Qe8 24.Nb3 Qe6 25.Nxc5 Nxc5 26.Qxc5 Qxa2 and soon Black won, Belotti,B - Radjabov,T/Saint Vincent/2001. As you can see, the young talent from Baku has become a loyal follower of Morozevich’s ideas. I have also seen other games where he followed Morozevich’s style. 13.h4 exd5 I am not sure that this is the best possible move. It has an idea, though. On the spot I can suggest 13...Qf6, the idea being b7-b5! 14.Nxd5 Nc6 Here we go! The black knight has managed to occupy a favorable square. But the pawns are not too effectively positioned. 15.h5 h6 16.Rh3 f4?! And this move I cannot decode. Why not 16...Re8 or even 16...b5!? - ? 17.Rh4 Nb4 Gaining the exchange - 17...Nd4 18.Qxf4 Nxf3 19.gxf3 Be5 - changes the situation

for the worse: 20.Qxe5 Qxh4 21.Nf6+ Kh8 22.Nd7+. At least here it is necessary to play 17...b5 and sharpen the game. 18.Nxb4 Qxd2+ 19.Rxd2 cxb4 20.Rxf4

White has an extra pawn in the ending. There follows Morozevich’s heroic defense and Shirov’s efficient conclusive play. 20...Be6 21.Nd4 Bxd4 22.Rdxd4 Rac8 23.b3 Rc5 24.g4 Rfc8 25.Bd3 Kf8 26.Kb2 Ke7 27.Be4 Re5 28.Bxb7 Re2+ 29.Kb1 Rc5 30.Rde4 Rd2 31.Rd4 Re2 32.Rde4 Rd2 33.Rf5 Kd6 34.Rxc5 Kxc5

35.Rf4 Rd1+ 36.Kc2 Ra1 37.Kb2 Rg1 38.Bd5 Bxd5 39.cxd5 a5 40.Rxf7 Rxg4 41.Ra7 Rf4 42.Rxa5+ Kb6 43.Ra8 Rxf2+ 44.Kb1 Kc5 45.Rc8+ Kxd5 46.Rc4 Rf1+ 47.Kb2 Rf2+ 48.Kb1 Rf1+ 49.Kc2 Rf2+ 50.Kd3 Rxa2 51.Rxb4 Kc5 52.Ra4 Rb2 53.Kc3 Rh2 54.Ra6 Rh3+ And yet White has a winning position. 55.Kb2? A vexing slip. 55.Kc2!+- 55...Kb4? And there follows a serious slip in

response. After 55...Rxh5! 56.Ra5+ Kb4 57.Rxh5 there is a stalemate. 56.Rb6+ Kc5 57.Rxh6 Kb4 58.Kc2 Now Black’s position is hopeless. 58...Rc3+ 59.Kd2 Rh3 60.Rh8 Kc5 61.Kc2 Kb5 62.Kd2 Kc6 63.h6 Kb7 64.b4 Ka7 65.Ke2 Rh4 66.Kf3 Rxb4 67.Rg8 Rh4 68.Rg6 Kb7 69.Kg3 Rh1 70.Kf4 Kc7 71.Kf5 Kd7 72.Kf6 Ke8 73.Kg7 1-0

Round 3: GM Analysis (Sergei Shipov) Round 3, May 22 Kramnik - Shirov 1/2 Gelfand - Sadvakasov 1:0 Morozevich - Kasparov 0:1 Morozevich,A (2749) - Kasparov,G (2835) [B87] Alexander Morozevich got into a scrape. His blunder of yesterday in the game with Shirov robbed him of a good night’s sleep. Nevertheless, the young Muscovite decided not to avoid a hard fight with an extremely strong opponent. It came to no good... 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 The Sozin Attack. Kasparov: When preparing for this game, I realized, that I had not checked this move for a while, so I decided to brush up on a few lines. 6...e6 7.Bb3 b5 Another fashionable continuation in this position is 7...Nbd7 with the idea of Nc5. 8.0-0 Be7 9.Qf3 Qc7 10.Qg3 0-0 11.Bh6 Ne8 12.Rad1 Bd7 13.f4 Kasparov: I played 13.Nf3 vs. Gelfand twice, and scored a point and half, but the move in the text is the most consistent. 13…Nc6 14.f5 This is a very aggressive move. White has attacked the e6-square, but put the e5-square at his opponent’s disposal. Sasha played differently in his previous game: 14.Bg5 Bxg5 15.fxg5 Nxd4 16.Rxd4 Qc5 17.Qe3 b4 18.Nd1 Bb5 19.Re1 a5. Black

is fine, to say the least. Morozevich,A-Gelfand,B/Istanbul 2000/1/2-1/2 (41). Kasparov: Here is another sharpest move. 14...Nxd4 15.Rxd4 Bf6 Kasparov: Black has option of 15...b4 but after 16.e5 he is in trouble. 16.Rd3 Be5N The game Macieja,B-Wojtkiewicz,A/Warsaw 1995 saw 16...Kh8 17.fxe6 (17.Bf4!?) 17...fxe6 18.Be3 b4 19.Ne2 e5 20.Rd2 Bc6 21.Qg4 Be7 22.Rxf8+ Bxf8 23.Qe6 (23.Bg5!?) 23...Nf6 24.Bg5 Re8 and Black emerged with a slight advantage. However, I think White’s game can be improved in this variation. Kasparov: A move 16...b4!? suggested itself. After 17.fxe6 fxe6 18.e5 Bxe5 19.Rxf8+ Kxf8 20.Qf3+ Bf6 21.Ne4 an unclear double-edged position emerges. However, I wanted to place my bishop on e5, where it occupies an excellent position. 17.Qg4 The e6-pawn is under attack. Besides, White is threatening f5-f6 in some lines. How should Black play? Kasparov: On 17.Bf4 Black has the excellent reply 17...Nf6 and White can’t go for 18.Rxd6 in view of 18...Nh5 19.Bxe5. 17...b4! Black is driving the white knight away from the d5-square, in order to exchange on f5 "with a clear conscience". 18.f6 This looks like the best option for White. It is not that clear how White was going to equalize in the line 18.fxe6 Bxe6 19.Bxe6 bxc3 20.Bd5 because Black has a very strong move at his disposal 20...Qc8! White’s h6-bishop is in trouble. Kasparov: It is very important that 18.fxe6 Bxe6 19.Bxe6 bxc3 20.Bd5 cxb2 21.Bxa8 does not work for White. Here Black can play 21...Qb6+ 22.Be3 b1Q 23.Bxb6 Qxb6+ 24.Kh1 Nf6 25.Rxf6 Bxf6 26.Bd5 Qb1+ 27.Qd1 with a draw. However I had a more interesting option in store, namely 21...Qa7+!? 22.Kh1 Qxa8 with good

compensation for the exchange. 18...g6! 18...Qb6+ 19.Kh1 Bxf6 20.Rxf6 bxc3 21.Bxg7! Kasparov: This is the only move, but White prepared a very strong continuation. 19.Ne2 19.Nd1!? Kasparov: Now 19...Bb5? is bad in view of 20.Qh4 and White is attacking free of charge; no fun for Black is 19...Nxf6

20.Qh4 Nh5 21.g4 Ng7 and at this point a computer suggests 22.Rh3 g5 23.Bxg5 h5 and Black is in danger. 19...a5 As usual in this line, Black is hunting the b3-bishop. Another option, 19...Bb5 20.Qh4, looks dangerous for Black. Kasparov: This is the key move, which turned out to be a highly unpleasant surprise for my opponent. Black is going to snatch the bishop. 20.Bxf8 Kasparov: I calculated 20.Qh4 a4 21.Bg5 and Black has to play 21...h5! (bad is 21...axb3? 22.Qh6 Nxf6 23.Rxf6 and White delivers checkmate despite Black’s overwhelming material advantage: 23...Qc5+ 24.Kh1 bxa2 25.Rh3 a1Q+ 26.Nc1) 22.g4 with crazy complications, exceeding human calculating ability. 20…Kxf8 21.Qh4 White has taken a venturesome decision I think Alexander should have prepare a loophole for his bishop with 21.c3!?. 21...a4 22.Qxh7 Qa7+

Kasparov: Maybe I should have simply played 22...Nxf6 with no fear of 23.Qh8+ Ng8 and White can’t continue his attack with 24.Rdf3? in view of 24...f5. 23.Kh1 Nxf6 Black managed to eradicate the dangerous f6-pawn. White has no attack. 24.Qh6+ Ke7 25.Bc4 Kasparov: Not so good was 25.Rdf3? because of 25...axb3 26.Qg5 Rh8 27.Ng3 Bb5 28.Rxf6 Bxf1 29.Rxf1+ Ke8 30.axb3 Qe7 and Black emerges with a better position.

The e5-bishop is the pride of Black’s position. This piece is no worse than any White rook. Black has good compensation for the exchange. 25...Qc5 This move looks very natural, but I doubt that it is a correct continuation. I think better was 25...Bc6 26.Qh4 (26.Ng3 Bxb2! 27.Rdf3 Qc5) 26...g5! 27.Qxg5 Rg8 with Black’s advantage. 26.b3 axb3 27.Bxb3 Another option, 27.axb3, looks better. The key is that after 27...d5 (27...Bc6) 28.Qg5 dxc4 White has an elegant blow with the interception motif: 29.Rd5!!±. If 27...Bc6, then simply 28.Ng3 with the idea of Rd3-f3 putting pressure on the f6-knight. Kasparov: White did not want to open the file in the time trouble: 27.axb3 Bc6 28.Ng3 leads to an unclear position. It looks like Black has full compensation for the exchange.

27...Bb5 Black is regaining the exchange. 28.Nf4 Kasparov: I was calculating 28.h3 Nxe4 29.Qh4+ Nf6 30.Rdf3 Rh8 31.Qxh8 Bxe2 - just another folly in this crazy game. The e5-bishop guards Black against all the troubles. 28…Bxf4 Kasparov: It is just impossible to refrain from capturing such a knight in time trouble, with all sorts of combinational blows in the air. At this point I had just 10 minutes left, whereas my opponent had 7. 29.Qxf4 Qe5 30.h3 30.Rxd6 Qxf4 31.Rxf4 Kxd6 32.Rxf6 Ra7! -/+ Kasparov: I calculated the line 30.Rxd6 Qxf4 31.Rxf4 Kxd6 32.Rxf6 and 32...Ra7! -/+. Black’s last move is very important. It came in handy down the road. 30...g5 31.Qf2 Kasparov: Probably 31.Qd2 was better. 31…g4 Black is in no hurry to capture on d3, because in this case White straightens out his pawn structure. 32.Qb6 Kasparov: It is hard to reject such a tempting move. Most likely my opponent could have reached a draw after 32.Qxf6+ Qxf6 33.Rxf6 Kxf6 34.Rxd6 gxh3 35.Rd4 hxg2+ 36.Kxg2 Rb8 and White is not worse. 32…Nd7 33.Qf2 Kasparov: We repeated the position at this point. 33…Nf6 33...Qh5 34.h4!

34.Qb6 Rh8 Kasparov: Black is playing for a win. 35.Rxd6? This is a decisive mistake. After the correct move, 35.Qc7+ Nd7 36.Rxd6!, I can see no winning continuations for Black. For example, 36...Rxh3+ (36...Qxd6? 37.Rxf7+) 37.gxh3 Qxe4+ 38.Kg1 Qe3+ 39.Rf2 Qe1+ 40.Kg2 Qe4+ 41.Kg1. Kasparov: This is a mistake. White could have forced a draw after 35.Qc7+! Nd7 36.Rxd6 Rxh3+ 37.gxh3 Qxe4+ and Black has nothing better than a perpetual check. 35...Qxd6 36.Qxd6+ 36.Qxb5 gxh3 36...Kxd6 37.Rxf6 Rh7! Kasparov: The above-mentioned line with the rook on the seventh rank stood me in good stead. Now White is in trouble. 38.Kh2 Ke5 39.Rf2 gxh3 40.gxh3 Bc6!

The endgame that has emerged is hopeless for White. The e4-pawn is falling. Black’s pair of pawns in the center decides the game. 41.Bc4 Kasparov: The following line is bad for White 41.Re2 Bxe4 42.c3 bxc3 43.Rxe4+ Kxe4 44.Bc2+ Ke3 45.Bxh7 f5-+ 41…Bxe4 42.Re2 f5 43.Bd3 Kf4 44.Bxe4 fxe4 45.Rf2+ Ke3 46.Rf8 e5 Kasparov: (!) Another strong move. I was going to react in the same way after 46.Rf6. Black needs this pawn on e5 in many lines. White has to spend too much time on capturing it.

47.Re8 Kasparov: There is no escape for White in the line 47.Rb8 Rc7 48.Kg3 Rg7+ 49.Kh2 Kd2 50.Rxb4 e3 51.Rb5 Rg5 52.h4 e2-+ 47…Rc7 48.Rxe5 Kasparov: The rest is an easy ride for Black. White could have posed some problems with 48.Kg3. 48…Kf4 49.Rb5 Rxc2+ 50.Kg1 e3 51.Rxb4+ Kf3 52.Rb1 Kasparov: After 52.Rb8 Rc1+ 53.Kh2 e2 54.Rf8+ Ke3 55.Re8+ Kd3 56.Rd8+ Kc3 57.Rc8+ Kb2 58.Re8 e1Q 59.Rxe1 Rxe1 60.Kg3 Re4-+ White is losing. 52…Rg2+ 53.Kh1 e2 54.a4 Kf2 55.a5 Rg5 56.Kh2 Rxa5 57.h4 Ra3 The ex-champion has caught up to the champion! 0-1 Kramnik,V (2797) - Shirov,A (2722) [D12] This is another encounter of old friends-rivals. Despite their youth, they both have a lot to reminisce about. This game turned out to be extremely interesting, especially the ending. I am not sure that I managed to comprehend all the intricacies of this encounter, though. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Here we go! Kramnik has opted for an unpretentious continuation, which does not promise a real advantage. It looks like the champion decided to play in this dry, technical style with all the participants. Why not, if it works? 4...Bf5!

White does not usually play 4.e3 exactly because of this move. Black develops his light-squared bishop on a good square. 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 7.f3 Bg6 8.Qb3 Qb6 9.Nxg6 hxg6 I see what attracted Kramnik in this line. He has a soft spot in his heart for two bishops. At the same time, this is Kramnik’s strength! 10.Bd2 Nbd7 11.0-0-0 Qxb3 Black was not forced to trade the queens. 12.axb3 Bd6 As long as the position is closed, White’s bishops are powerless. So, White has to open it! 13.h3 Nh5 14.Bd3 Ng3 15.Rhe1N This is a novelty. Another adherent to this variation, Alexander Fominyh, usually places this rook on a different square - 15.Rhg1 a6 16.Kc2 Rc8 17.Ra1 0-0 18.Rgd1 Rfe8 19.Be1 Bb8 20.Bf2 g5 21.b4 dxc4 22.Bxc4 Nf5 23.e4 Nd6 24.Bf1 Nb5 25.Kb3 e5 26.Nxb5 cxb5 27.dxe5 Nxe5= Fominyh,A-Yevseev,D/St Petersburg 2000/1/2 (44). 15...0-0-0 Probably Black has an interesting maneuver at his disposal: 15...Nf5, with the idea of Nf5-h4, if needed. 16.cxd5 The immediate 16.e4 dxe4 17.fxe4 is met by 17...e5! 16...exd5 17.e4! Everything is unfolding according to plan. 17...dxe4 18.fxe4 f6 19.Re3 Nh5 Black could not exchange the bishops - 19...Bf4 20.Rf3 Bxd2+ 21.Kxd2 Nh5 22.g4+- 20.Rf3 g5 21.e5! It is amazing how Kramnik manages to carry out his plans, whereas mere mortals don’t. 21...fxe5 22.Bxg5 Nhf6 23.Bf5 It is quite another matter now. White’s bishops are at liberty. 23...Kc7 24.Ne4 Be7 25.dxe5 Nxe5 26.Bf4! Rxd1+ 27.Kxd1 Rd8+ Black had no desire to trade his bishop. Indeed, after 27...Bd6 28.Nxd6 Kxd6 29.Re3! (29.Rg3 Kd5! 30.Rxg7 Nh5) 29...Re8 30.Bh2 he would have found

himself in deep trouble. 28.Kc2 Nxe4 29.Bxe5+ Bd6 29...Nd6 30.Bg4!± 30.Bxg7 Rg8 31.Bxe4 Rxg7 32.g4 After a forced sequence the game has transposed into a bishop of opposite color endgame. White has good winning chances. 32...Be7 33.Kd3 Kd6 34.Kd4 a6 35.Bd3 Rg8 36.Bc4 36.Rf7 Rh8! 36...Rf8? From the standpoint of classical chess canons this is a correct decision. Basically, it is easier to defend in such endings without the rooks on the board. There are many drawing positions. However, in this particular situation this is not so. 37.Rxf8 Bxf8 38.g5!

White’s pawn have darted forward. 38...Bg7+ 39.Ke4 Bxb2 40.Kf5 White’s main threat is quite simple. He is going to march with his king to h7. If White carries out this plan, his pawns will be unstoppable. 40...b5 41.Bd3 a5! Black’s only chance is counterplay on the queenside. The attack with the bishop from behind does not work. Black misses either one tempi, or the right square for his bishop! For example, 41...Bd4 42.Kg6! (but not 42.h4 Bf2 43.h5 Ke7 followed by Be3 with a draw.) 42...Be3 43.h4 Bf2 (Black wishes his king was already on e7...) 44.Kf7!+-. A trip to the white b3 pawn takes too

much time: 41...Kc5 42.h4 Kb4 43.h5 Kxb3 44.g6 etc. 42.h4?! I am under the impression that White let his win slip with this natural move. It is not clear what Black could have done after the prophylactic move 42.Bc2! for example 42...c5 (42...Ke7 43.Kg6) 43.Kg6 c4 (43...Kd5 44.Kh7 c4 45.g6 cxb3 46.Bxb3+ Kc5 47.h4!+-) 44.bxc4 bxc4 45.h4 Ke5 46.h5 Kf4 and here 47.Bd1! (47.Kh6 Kg3 48.g6? Kh4 49.Bd1 a4 50.Bxa4 Bf6 51.Bd1 c3=) 47...Bh8 (47...Kg3 48.h6 Kh4 49.h7 followed by Kh6, g5-g7; 47...Ke3 48.Kh7) 48.h6 c3 49.Kh5 Ke5 50.g6 Kf6 51.Bc2 and Black is in a fatal zugzwang. The black king has no time to reach the saving f8-square. 42...a4 43.bxa4 bxa4 44.Bc4 a3 45.Ba2 White had another route to the final position of this game: 45.Kg6 Kc5 46.Ba2 Kb4 47.h5 c5 etc. 45...Bd4 46.Kg6 Kc5! This is exactly an instance when offense is the best defense. Black could have found himself in the above mentioned zugzwang after 46...Ke5? 47.h5 Kf4 48.h6 Bh8 49.Kh5 Ke5 50.g6 Kf6. 47.h5 Kb4 48.Kf5 48.Kh7 c5 49.g6 c4= 48...c5 49.Ke4 There is no win after 49.h6 c4! 50.Ke4 (50.g6 c3 51.g7 c2 52.g8Q c1Q 53.Qb3+ Ka5 54.Qd5+ Qc5=) 50...c3 51.Kd3 c2! 52.Kxc2 Be3 53.h7 Bd4 54.Kd3 Kc5 55.Ke4 Bb2 56.Kf5 Kd6 57.Kg6 Ke7= 49...Bb2 50.h6 Bc1 51.Kf5 White could have achieved a position with the queen and the bishop vs. the queen and a pawn after 51.h7 Bb2 52.Kd5 Ba1 53.Ke6 Bh8 54.g6 c4 55.Kf7 c3 56.g7 Bxg7 57.Kxg7 c2 58.h8Q c1Q but the question is, what for? 51...c4 52.Ke6 Bb2 53.g6 c3 54.g7 c2 55.g8Q c1Q Draw! 1/2-1/2

Gelfand,B (2712) - Sadvakasov,D (2585) [D27] Darmen was very close to his first half point. He tragically lost once more. The young Kazakh player forfeited on time. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.0-0 a6 7.Bb3 cxd4 8.exd4 Nc6 9.Nc3 Be7 10.Re1 0-0 11.a3 Kramnik prefers 11.Bf4 in this position nowadays. 11...b5! 12.d5 This breakthrough is on White’s agenda. As far as I know the theory, Black can gradually equalize here. This game bore out my opinion. 12...exd5 13.Nxd5 Nxd5 14.Bxd5 Bb7 15.Bf4 Bf6 16.Re2 Na5 17.Rd2 Bxd5 18.Rxd5 Qc8 19.Be5 Bxe5 20.Nxe5 The position is "drying up"! 20...Qe6 21.Rc1N This is a novelty. White also tried a different approach in this position: 21.b4 Nb7 22.Qd4 Rfe8 (22...Rad8! 23.Rd1 Rfe8 24.Rxd8 Nxd8=) 23.g3 Nd6 24.Rd1 Nf5 25.Qf4 Nh6 26.Nd7 += Matros,A-Hjelm,N/Stockholm 2000/1-0 (32). 21...h6 22.f4 An aggressive move. However... 22...Nc4! This is a very logical reaction. It is time for Black to transfer his knight to a better position from the edge of the board. 23.Nxc4 bxc4 24.Rxc4 Rab8 It has turned out that Black is regaining a pawn. White would be glad to return his f4 pawn to f2! 25.Rc2 25.Qd2? Rxb2 25...Qe3+ 26.Kh1 Rfe8 Why not 26...Qxf4 ? I can’t imagine. 27.g3 Qe4+ 28.Kg1 Rb3 29.Rd4 Qe6 30.Rf2 Re3 31.Kg2 f5?! 31...Qc6+ 32.Kh3! 32.Rd6 Qe4+ 33.Kh3 White is slightly better. Time trouble now crept in. There is not much sense in commenting on the following sequence. 33...Re6 34.Qd5 Kh7 35.Qxe4 R3xe4

36.Rxe6 Rxe6 37.Rc2 g5 38.Kg2 Re3 39.fxg5 hxg5 40.Rc5 Black forfeited on time at this point. However, White hardly can win this rook endgame. For example, 40.Rc5 Kg6 41.Rc6+ Kh5! 1-0

Round 4: GM Analysis (Sergei Shipov) Round 4, May 24 Gelfand - Morozevich 1:0 Sadvakasov - Shirov 1/2 Kramnik - Kasparov 1/2 Kramnik - Kasparov [D85] The public was looking forward to this clash of the leaders. Unfortunately there was not much fight in this encounter. The champion deviated from the topical continuation in the opening to simplify the position. Kasparov: I managed to hold a Grunfeld ending today. White’s pieces are more active, Black’s c4 is weak, but thanks to the two bishops Black is just in time to defend the position. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 Finally, Garry decided to test the Grunfeld Defense against Vladimir again. After the defeat in the second game of the London match he played his favorite opening

against all players except Kramnik. 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 c5 8.Be3 Qa5 9.Qd2 Nc6 At this point the game deviates from the London encounter of these opponents, which saw 9...Bg4 10.Rb1 a6 11.Rxb7! and White obtained a certain advantage. 10.Rc1 Another continuation, 10.Rb1, is being extensively analyzed nowadays. 10...cxd4 11.cxd4 Qxd2+ 12.Kxd2 White has to capture with his king on d2 in order not to lose the d4-pawn. That is why Black plays Nb8-c6 straight away, before castling. 12...0-0 13.d5 Rd8 With the idea of e7-e6 14.Ke1 Na5 This is the best retreat square for the knight. 14...Nb4 is not that convincing, because after 15.Bd2 the a2-pawn is poisoned - 15...Nxa2? 16.Rc2; Black can’t reach equality after 14...Ne5 15.Nxe5 Bxe5 16.f4, as proven in the match Kramnik - Leko, Budapest, 2001. 15.Bg5 Bd7 16.Bd3 As is well known, the capture on e7 leads to an equal game after 16.Bxe7 Re8 17.d6 Nc6 18.Bb5 Bf8 16...Rdc8 17.Ke2 e6 Black should open the center immediately in order to start bothering the white king. The opponents have followed the game Kramnik - Van Wely, Wijk aan Zee 2001 so far. I wanted to see how Garry was going to improve the Dutchman’s play. However... 18.Rxc8+ On 18.Bd2 Black has a strong in-between move 18...exd5! with the idea of regaining a piece after 19.Bxa5 dxe4 20.Bxe4 Re8! According to Kramnik, the main line is 18.Be3 exd5 19.exd5 A few important games have been played in this position lately. For example 19...b6 (on 19...Rd8 strong is 20.Rc5 b6 21.Rc7 Bg4 22.h3 Bxf3+ 23.Kxf3 +=; I think Black should test 19...b5!? ) 20.Ba6 Rd8 21.Rhd1 Ba4! (White obtained a clear advantage and converted it after 21...Bc8 22.Bxc8 Raxc8 23.Rxc8 Rxc8 24.Nd4 This sequence

occurred in the above-mentioned game Kramnik - Van Wely. ) 22.Rd3 b5 23.Bf4 Nc4 24.Bb7 Bb2 25.Bxa8 Bxc1 26.Bxc1 Rxa8 and Black solved the opening problems in the game Piket - Van Wely, Holland 2001 (as we can see Luke does not like discarding his favorite lines). By the way, White lost that game. Kasparov: These are well-known theoretical moves. In Wijk aan Zee 2001 Kramnik played 18.Be3 against Van Wely and won easily. However, not only White’s pieces are active in this line, but Black’s also. 18...Rxc8 19.Rc1 Rxc1 20.Bxc1 exd5 21.exd5 White forces total exchanges. Apparently Vladimir thought that it would be easier to advance the d-pawn without the rooks on the board. Besides, his king is safe now. However, White did not manage to get anything tangible. 21...b5! Kasparov: This is a standard maneuver in the Grunfeld Defense. The black knight is heading for c4. Ftachnik introduced this move in this position 20 years ago. Black should bring his a5-knight into play. With the last move I have prepared to transfer it to c4. 22.Bf4 After 22.Be3 a6 23.Bd4?! Bxd4 24.Nxd4 Kf8 25.Ke3 Ke7 Black obtained a slight advantage and finally won in the game Tatai - Ftachnik. The blockade on the d6-square and the exchange of the dark-squared bishops - that is about all Black needs in this position. Kasparov: This looks like the most consistent continuation. 22...Nc4 Only this move is new. Black had played b7-b5 to take up the c4-square with his knight. The game Caessens,R-Fette,M/Groningen 1988/ saw 22...Kf8 23.Bd6+ Ke8 24.Ne5 Nb7 25.Bb8 a6 26.Nxd7 Kxd7 with a roughly equal position. 23.Bxc4 On 23.Nd2 White should reckon with 23...Nb6 24.Be4 Na4!

23...bxc4 24.Be5 What can I say about this position? I doubt that White has any winning chances. The transposition into a drawing endgame with opposite-colored bishops is always at Black’s service. Meanwhile, he can try to pester the opponent with his bishops. Kasparov: Only this move poses some problems to Black. 24...Bf8 24...Bh6 suggested itself. Kasparov: This is a key move of the game, which consumed a lot of time. Not so good was 24...Bh6 in view of 25.Nd4; then the pawn advances to f4, the knight jumps to c6, and the white king heads to Black’s c-pawn. If Black reacts with 24...f6 then White retreats, winning a tempo: 25.Bd4 a6 26.Kd2 Kf7 27.Kc3 Bf8 28.Nd2, but not 28.Kxc4 Bb5+ 29.Kc3 with some hopes for a fortress. I was also calculating the move 24...Bf5, but it can be met by the unpleasant 25.Kd2 and Black is at a loss. For example 25...f6 26.Bd4 Be4 27.d6 Kf7 28.Bxa7 Ke6 29.Bc5 25.Nd2! Kasparov: The most consistent continuation was 25.Nd4 but Black holds in this line as well. 25...Bc5 26.Nc6 Kf8 27.f3 Bxc6 28.dxc6 Ke7 29.Kd2 Bb4+ 30.Ke3 Bc5+ 31.Ke4 Ke6 32.c7 and Black is just in time with the check 32...f5+ 24…Bb5 26.Ne4 f5! Kasparov: I thought that this move was obligatory in the course of the game. I was under the impression that after 26...c3+ Black was losing -- 27.Ke3 c2 28.Nf6+ Kg7 29.Kd2 Bd3 30.d6 and White is winning -- but it turned out that Black probably escapes in this line, in a very spectacular way. Black should play 29...Be7 30.Ne4+ f6 31.d6 Bd8 32.Bd4 Bd3 33.Nxf6 Bxf6 34.d7 Bxd4 35.d8Q Bb2 which leads to an amazing drawing position. White has nothing better than a perpetual check. 27.Nc3! This is a good knight transfer to the

blocking position. White is fine now. 27.Nf6+ Kf7 28.Nxh7 c3+ was too dangerous for White. Kasparov: After the knight’s taking up the c3-square instead of the king, Black has nothing to worry about. 27...Bd7 28.Ke3 Bc5+ Black does not allow the White king to advance to d4. 29.Bd4 Bb4 30.Be5 Draw. On 30.a3 Black would have played 30...Ba5! 1/2-1/2 Gelfand,B - Morozevich,A [D15] Morozevich employed an eccentric development of his rook on a7, which was played in some of GM Volkov’s games. A few moves down the road Gelfand created an advanced b6-pawn, which became the main cause of Black’s defeat. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 a6 5.a4 Bf5 6.Qb3 Ra7 7.a5 e6 Who knows, maybe after this game Black will play like Stefanova vs. Efimov (Valle d’Aosta 2001) in this position - 7...dxc4 8.Qxc4 e6 9.g3 (9.Nd2!?) 9...Nd5 10.Bg2 Bb4 emphasizing the weakness of the a5-pawn. 8.Qb6 This natural move was also played in the game Djimesi - Magomedov (Koshalin, 1999). The encounter Gelfand - Morozevich followed the same track. It looks like Black has no prospects in this pawn structure: White’s b6 pawn is very dangerous, whereas Black’s counterplay in the center is very difficult to strike up. 8...Qxb6 9.axb6 Ra8 10.c5 Nbd7 11.e3 White had another plan deserving a look - 11.Bf4 with the idea of stalling e6-e5. However, Boris is settling his bishop "in the house" and fortifying the d4-square. 11...Be7 12.Be2 0-0 13.Nd2 White’s plan is quite simple - he is going to place his knight on a5 and capture the pawns b7 and c6, clearing the way for his own already advanced infantry.

13...e5 14.Nb3 Rfe8 15.0-0 Bf8 Maybe Black should have protected his weakest pawn in advance - 15...Rab8 with the idea of meeting 16.Na5 with an immediate piece sacrifice - 16...Nxc5 17.dxc5 Bxc5, although after 18.Na4 Bb4 19.Nb3 Black’s compensation is not adequate. 16.Bd2 This is the move of a real grandmaster. Boris figured out that after 16.Na5 exd4 17.exd4 Nxc5 18.dxc5 d4 19.Nxb7 dxc3 20.Bf3 White’s advantage was not that big. So he is taking time to transfer his pieces to better positions bearing in mind that this option will be there anyway. 16...Bc2 Alexander is nudging the opponent to carry out his plan even in a better situation for White. Allowing Na5 and b2-b4 means to condemn himself to hopeless agony. 17.Na5 exd4 18.exd4 Nxc5 19.dxc5 d4 20.Bf3 dxc3 21.Bxc3 The material is equal. Had Black managed to sweep White’s dangerous queenside pawns, he would have been OK. However, the position is full of tactical subtleties. 21...Ne4 No good is for Black is 21...Rab8 22.Bxf6 gxf6 23.Nxb7! Rxb7 24.Bxc6; whereas in the line 21...Bxc5 22.Bxf6! gxf6 23.Rfc1 a hidden drawback of the move 16...Bc2 comes to light; after 21...Be4 22.Nxb7 Bxf3 23.gxf3 Rab8 24.Nd6 Bxd6 25.cxd6 Rxb6 White transposes into a better endgame. Nevertheless, I think Black should have gone for this variation. 22.Rfc1 Bd3 22...Nxc3 23.Rxc2 Ne4 24.Nxb7 Rab8 25.Bxe4 Rxe4 26.Na5+- 23.Nxb7 Rab8 23...Nxc5 24.Nxc5 Bxc5 25.Bxc6 - another tactical nuance. 24.Bxe4 Rxe4 After 24...Bxe4 25.Nd6 Bxd6 26.cxd6 Black can’t capture on b6. With two dangerous pawns on the sixth rank even an endgame with opposite-colored bishops will be winning for White.

25.Rd1! This move is even better than 25.Nd6 25...Be2 Again, so near and yet so far. The knight is taboo 25...Rxb7 26.Rxd3 Bxc5 27.Rd8+ Bf8 28.Rxa6 26.Rd7 Bg4 26...Re7 27.Rxe7 Bxe7 28.Re1! and one of the Black’s unluckily lined up bishops perishes. 28...Rxb7 29.Rxe2 Bxc5 30.Re8+ Bf8 31.Bb4+- 27.Rc7 Rc4 28.Rxa6 h5 28...Bxc5 29.Nxc5 Rxc5 30.b7 Rb5 31.Ra7+-; 28...Rxb7 29.Rxb7 Bc8 30.Raa7 Bxb7 31.Rxb7 Rxc5 32.Rd7 Rb5 33.b7+- 29.Ra7 Be6 30.Rxc6 This is White’s third extra pawn! 30...Bd5 31.Rc7 Re8 Finally Black has managed to create his first threat - 32...Rxc3, but it is way too transparent. 32.h3 Rf4 33.Nd6 Re2 34.f3 Rxg2+ 35.Kxg2 Rxf3 36.Kg1 1-0

Round 5: GM Analysis (Sergei Shipov) Round 5, May 25 Shirov - Gelfand 1/2 Morozevich - Kramnik 0:1 Kasparov - Sadvakasov 1/2 Morozevich,A (2749) - Kramnik,V (2797) [D00] After the three defeats in a row Alexander should have pulled himself together and drawn one game. But he failed. 1.d4 Here I thought that a draw was in store: When Morozevich plays for a win, he uses a different pawn. 1...d5 2.Bg5 c6 3.Nf3 h6 4.Bh4 Qb6 5.b3 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bd3 Bxd3 8.Qxd3 Be7 9.Bxe7 Nxe7 At this moment I was absolutely sure that the game would be drawn. I even stopped commenting on it online... 10.c4 Nd7 11.Nc3 0-0 12.0-0 Qa6! Black presses the c4-square. 13.Rfd1 Rfd8 14.Rab1!?N A novelty. Very delicately played, from my point of view. Now we might well expect an exchange on c4, and then the b1-rook will be where it belongs. Earlier the simpler and safer 14.Rac1 Nf5 15.Qb1 Ne7 16.e4 dxe4 17.Nxe4 Qa5 18.c5 Qc7 19.Nd6 was played, Hodgson,J-Sergejev,R/Pula 1997/1/2-1/2 (69) or 14.a4 dxc4 15.bxc4 c5 16.Nb5 Rac8 17.d5 exd5 18.cxd5 c4 19.Qe4 Ng6 20.Qf5 Kuporosov,V-Yagupov,I/Kstovo 1997/1-0 (31), with Black facing certain problems in both cases. 14...b6 15.Qf1 Rac8 16.Rd2 Nf6 17.Ne5 dxc4 18.Nxc4? A wrong decision, after which Black captures the initiative. Stronger is 18.Qxc4, so that in response to 18...Qxc4 (18...Qb7 19.b4 +=) 19.bxc4 c5 he can

immediately play 20.d5 exd5 21.cxd5, with a fatal pin in case of capturing on d5. 18...Ned5 White’s c3-square is weak. 19.Rc2 Nxc3 20.Rxc3 c5! The white pieces’ coordination is not impressive, in particular, the b1-rook’s position. 21.dxc5 In the ending, after 21.Ne5 Qxf1+ 22.Rxf1 cxd4 23.Rxc8 Rxc8 24.exd4 Rc2 White would not be as pleased as Punch. 21...b5 An interesting resource. It turns out that White is losing the exchange. 22.Ne5 Ne4 23.Rd3 Nd2 And there follows a short agony. The victim has gone for the hunter... 24.Rxd8+ Rxd8 25.Rd1 Nxf1 26.Rxd8+ Kh7 27.c6 Qa5! A precise conclusive move. The champion becomes the tournament’s leader. 0-1 Kasparov,G (2835) – Sadvakasov,D (2585) [A29] 1.c4 Here comes the first surprise! Garry does not use his main weapon - 1.e4. He obviously thinks it necessary to save big theoretical guns for other games. But his plot hasn’t worked... The young and inexperienced opponent has proved to be a hard nut to crack. 1...e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 e4 7.Ng5 Bxc3 8.bxc3 Re8 One of the acute positions of the English Opening. 9.f3 e3! This brilliant move was invented by Igor Zaitsev for Karpov, who employed it at the world championship when playing Kasparov 14 years ago. So Black gives away his pawn, but slightly spoils the opponent’s position. 10.dxe3 In the original game play went 10.d3 d5 11.Qb3 Na5 12.Qa3 c6 13.cxd5 cxd5

14.f4 Nc6 15.Rb1 Qc7 16.Bb2 Bg4 17.c4 with a stubborn fight and roughly even chances, Kasparov-Karpov, Seville, 1987. 10...Qe7 Black aims at the c4-pawn, moving his queen. Previously Black was supposed to play here 10...b6 11.e4 h6 12.Nh3 Ba6, followed by a good play. Sure enough, there are other possibilities for White here. For example, White can sacrifice his knight on f7 instead of retreating to h3. 11.Nh3N A novelty. White’s knight makes for d5. Earlier 11.e4 Qc5+ 12.Kh1 h6 13.Nh3 Qxc4 14.Bd2?! b6 15.Re1 Bb7 16.g4 Ne5 was played, with Black obtaining a good position. Zagorskis,D-Sammalvuo,T/Copenhagen 1998. 11...Qc5 In case of 11...Ne5 12.e4 Nxc4 , an interesting variation is 13.Bg5 h6 14.Qd4!? 12.Nf4 There is no way out for the pawn anyway. 12...Qxc4 13.e4! A hint at capturing the pawn. 13...d6 Correct! If the sacrifice were accepted, Black would be in for an unpromising defense: 13...Qxc3 14.Rb1 Qd4+ 15.Qxd4 Nxd4 16.Rd1 Ne6 17.e5. 14.Qd3 Kasparov: Perhaps I should have insisted on the pawn sacrifice - 14.Be3 Qxc3 15.Bf2 and White has compensation. 14…Ne5 15.Qxc4 During the game I expected 15.Qd4 . In my opinion, this is a good move. 15...Nxc4

White has the advantage of the two bishops, but his pawn structure is worse. Now Black’s task is to keep the position closed. His c4-knight is strong enough, so White does not have a considerable advantage. 16.g4! A move with an outermost pawn means a struggle for the center. White intends to move the knight to d5. 16...Rb8 In case of 16...c6 17.Rd1, there appear certain weak points for Black. 17.Rd1 b6 Since the bishop is light-squared, the pawns are to be positioned on the black squares. 18.g5 Nd7 19.Nd5 Rb7 An oriental ruse. In the variation 19...c6 20.Ne3 Nde5 21.Nxc4 Nxc4 22.Bf4 White has an object for attack.

Kasparov: (?!) Black has chosen a wrong way of protecting the c7-pawn - he should have moved c7-c6 instead. White’s bad position begins to improve. 20.f4! The bishops get started. 20...Nf8 The preventive 20...Kf8 suggests itself. 21.Rd4 Na5 22.f5 This is not merely an attack, but also a protection from the threat of c7-c6 followed by Ne6xf4. This move’s drawback is the weakening of the e5-square. 22...Bd7 23.Rb1

I don’t understand this move. 23.f6 Ne6 24.Rd1 Ba4 changes nothing; To my mind, not bad is 23.Bf4, developing the bishop. 23...c5! Black’s rook becomes operative again. 24.Rd3 Ba4 An unpleasant visit by the black bishop.

25.Bf4! Garry is in the habit of cutting the knots! In response to 25.Ne3 there is 25...Bc6! 25...Bc2 26.Rb2 Bxd3 27.exd3 Rd8 Why has White lost the exchange? He has lost it for the sake of obtaining a good structure. 28.h4! There appears a dangerous positional threat, i.e. the white pawn’s route to h6. 28...Nc6 29.h5 Ne7 29...Ne5 suggests itself, but in this case White can response with 30.Bf1! and implement h5-h6 all the same. Kasparov: Probably better is 29...Ne5 30.Bf1, and White has compensation for the exchange but no more. 30.Ne3 Sure enough, the knights should not be

traded off. 30...Rbd7 Of course, in response to 30...f6 one should play 31.h6!, thus breaking up the opponent’s pawn structure. 31.Ng4 From my point of view, it is at this moment that White has lost his advantage. Strong is 31.h6 followed by 31...g6 32.Ng4 Kh8 33.Nf6 Rb7 and then the line 34.e5 d5 35.c4 gxf5 36.cxd5 Neg6 leads to an unclear game. Instead of this, stronger is 34.c4!, and there is always a threat of Bf4-d2-c3! for Black. Kasparov: (?) A bad move from all possible points of view. I couldn’t see an immediate win for White, so I didn’t want to make the position clear. Meanwhile, the immediate 31.h6 would have posed more serious problems to Black: 31...g6 (variations like 31...gxh6 32.Ng4 are not even worth examining - the white pieces become too active ) 32.Ng4 Kh8 33.Nf6 Rc7 34.e5 A) now bad is 34...d5 because of 35.e6, and Black has difficulties. For example, losing is 35...Rb7 36.Be5 Nc6 37.Bxd5 Rxd5 38.Nxd5+ Nxe5 39.e7 Rb8 40.Re2 Nfd7 41.Nf6 followed by a win. B) it is necessary to move 34...Nxf5 35.exd6 and here Black should play 35...Rxd6 (because bad is 35...Nxd6 36.Nd5 Rcd7 37.Be5+ with a big advantage ) , but in that case White plays 36.Ne8 Rcd7 37.Be5+ f6 38.Nxf6 Re7 39.Bxd6 Nxd6 40.d4 and here comes the ending where White has a considerable advantage. For instance, 40...cxd4 41.cxd4 Ne6 42.Re2 Nf5 43.Rc2 Rc7 44.Rxc7 Nxc7 45.d5. 31...Nc6 Kasparov: A good defense. Now Black’s knight can move to e5. 32.h6 Ne5! A wonderful protective idea! The rooks have to blow up one file at least. 33.Bxe5 Kasparov: Another possibility is 33.Nf2, sticking to the same line of action - not to make the position clearer, waiting for the opponent to blunder. White does not risk

beyond reason, and the position is of a fighting character. For example, 33...gxh6 34.gxh6 f6 35.d4 Nc4 36.Rb1. 33…dxe5 34.hxg7 Kxg7 35.Bf1 Rd6 Bad is 35...Rxd3 because of 36.f6+, and the g6-square is undermined. 36.Nxe5 f6! Quite correct! It is necessary to blow up the position before White has consolidated. 37.Ng4 The move is made in Kasparov’s style. There are a lot of interesting variations here. For instance, 37.gxf6+ Kxf6 38.Ng4+ Kg5 39.Rg2 Kf4! or 37.Nc4 Rxd3 38.gxf6+ Kxf6 39.e5+ Kxf5 40.Rf2+ Ke6 41.Bxd3 Rxd3 42.Rxf8 Rxc3 - and in all of the variations there are good chances for a draw rather than for White’s victory. 37...fxg5 38.Rh2 In case of 38.e5 Rxd3 39.Bxd3 Rxd3 40.e6 Nxe6 41.fxe6 Rg3+ 42.Rg2 Rxg2+ 43.Kxg2 h5, the black king captures the white passed pawn. So this line results in a draw as well. Kasparov: It is necessary to prevent h7-h5. 38...Re8! 39.e5 It seems that in response to 39.Rh5, the strongest move is 39...h6 (it is dangerous to give away the g5-pawn). Further, it is possible to move 40.f6+ (40.e5 Rd5 41.Rxh6 Rdxe5) 40...Rxf6 41.Nxf6 Kxf6 42.Rxh6+ Ke5 43.Kf2 c4! - most likely, Black stands his ground here too. 39...Rd5 40.f6+ Kasparov: This is the "only" but simple move. 40…Kh8! Dodging the last trap - 40...Kg6? 41.d4 cxd4 42.Bd3+ Kf7 43.Bc4 +/-. 41.Nh6 Rdxe5 42.Nf7+ Kg8 43.Nh6+ Draw! Darmen Sadvakasov’s brilliant achievement. The first step is the hardest... 1/2-1/2

Shirov,A (2722) - Gelfand,B (2712) [C42] Gelfand has surprised us again with his choice of opening. Shirov is a connoisseur of the Petroff played with either color, and nevertheless Boris has managed to hit on a scheme which is not too modern but often used by Yusupov. Avoiding Shirov’s traps, he draws. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Be7 7.0-0 Nc6 8.c4 Nf6 The main theoretical arguments are over 8...Nb4. 9.Nc3 Be6 10.c5 A rare continuation. The games against Yusupov usually went 10.cxd5 Nxd5. 10...Bg4 Another connoisseur of this variation, Eduardas Rozentalis, prevented the white bishop’s subsequent lunge in this position with 10...a6. 11.Bb5 0-0 12.Bxc6 bxc6 13.h3 Bxf3 Surely Black cannot let the white knight occupy e5. 14.Qxf3 Re8 15.Be3 The Palac-Pavasovic duel (Pozega 2000) went 15.Re1 Rb8 16.Re2 Nd7 (16...Rb4 17.Qd3 Ne4!?) 17.Qd3 Bf6 18.Rb1 Nf8 19.Rxe8 Qxe8 20.Be3, and White won in a stubborn fight. Shirov immediately protects his position’s most vulnerable square, and he is very likely to make moves like Rab1, b4 etc. on the queenside. 15...Qb8! An effective strategic idea. Passing by the pawns, the black queen is drawn into the game. 16.Rab1 Bf8 17.Rfe1 In response to 17.b4 Black could act in the center - 17...Ne4 18.Bf4 Nxc3 19.Qxc3 Re4. 17...Qb4 In response to 17...Ne4 White moves 18.Bf4 with unpleasant pressure. 18.a3 Qc4 The queen should cling to the d4-pawn. In case of 18...Qb3 19.Qg3 Re7 20.Bg5, White has an advantage. 19.Rbc1

Now if 19.Qg3 Re7 White has to spend a tempo for the protection of the d4-square: 20.Red1, and Black has enough time to prepare his attack on the knight - 20... 20...g6 (worse is 20...Rae8 21.Bg5 Ne4 22.Nxe4 Rxe4 23.Qxc7 Rxd4 24.Rxd4 Qxd4 25.Qxc6 Re6 26.Qa8 Qxc5 27.Rc1 Qb6 28.Rc8) 21.Bg5 Bg7 with a good play. 19...Rab8 20.Qf5 This can’t be even called a trap. 20...Qb3 20...Rxb2? 21.Ne4

21.Bg5 And this move is made in pure Shirov style! Alexey challenges his opponent to compete in calculations. 21...Ne4 Gelfand refuses the challenge, though if the sacrifice were accepted, any result would be possible. The basic variation is as follows: 21...Qxb2 22.Bxf6 Rxe1+ 23.Rxe1 Qxc3 24.Re3 Qc1+ 25.Kh2, and now Black should be very cautious in choosing which move to make. A) For example, in response to the following attempt of simplifying the position - 25...Qb1 White plays 26.Qd7! gxf6 27.Rg3+ Bg7 28.Qg4 Qg6 29.Qf4! winning the queen. B) the counterattack 25...Rb1 fails due to 26.Bxg7! Qh1+ 27.Kg3 Rg1 28.Bxf8 Qxg2+ (28...Rxg2+ 29.Kh4 Kxf8 30.Rf3 Rg7 31.Qc8+) 29.Kh4 Kxf8 30.Qc8+ Kg7 31.Rg3+. But the line 22...gxf6 23.Qd3 Bh6!? 24.Rxe8+ Rxe8 25.Rc2 Qxa3 deserves attention, where the white queen attacks

and White suffers some material losses. Sure enough, the arising irrational position is typical of Shirov. Boris’ calculations were good, but they assumed a different direction. 22.Nxe4 dxe4 Bad is 22...Rxe4? 23.Rxe4 dxe4 24.Qxe4 Qxb2 25.Qxc6, and White captures more. 23.Rxe4 Qd3 24.Rce1 Rxb2 It is necessary to make White lose time in developing the queen. The ending after 24...Rxe4 25.Qxe4 Qxe4 26.Rxe4 Rxb2 27.Re8 f6 28.Be3 Kf7 29.Rc8 Rb7 30.Bf4 is much too complicated for Black. 25.Qf4 Rxe4 26.Qxe4 It is impossible to save the queens, because after 26.Rxe4 Qb1+ White, in order not to lose the pawn after 27.Kh2 Rxf2!, has to employ the trick 27.Qc1. 26...Qxe4 27.Rxe4 f6 28.Bf4 Kf7! The final touch. The loss of the c7-pawn does not worry Black. The most important thing is not to let the white rook into the hinterland. 29.Bxc7 Ra2 30.Bd6 White cannot support two weak pawns with one rook - 30.Re3 Ra1+ 31.Kh2 Rd1 32.Re4 Ra1. 30...Rxa3 31.Bxf8 Kxf8 32.Re6 Rd3 33.Rxc6 Rd1+ Here is a demonstration of ending technique for the young: the king is kept far away from the center. 34.Kh2 Rxd4 35.Rc8+ Ke7 36.c6 36.Rc7+ Rd7, and the pawn ending is not at all dangerous for Black. 36...Rc4 37.Rc7+ Kf8 The a-pawn’s march will inevitably make the white rook leave the passed c-pawn unprotected, and then quite a drawn end will set in. 1/2-1/2

Round 6: GM Analysis (Sergei Shipov) Round 6, May 26 Kasparov - Shirov 1:0 Sadvakasov - Morozevich 0:1 Gelfand - Kramnik 1/2 Kasparov,G – Shirov,A [C11] Kasparov: It was a very tense and interesting game. Many variations require additional analysis. 1.e4 e6 More and more often Kasparov’s opponents go to "bois de Boulogne". Khalifman and Gelfand managed draws in the French defense facing Garry. Alexei abandoned his favorite Petroff defense and decided to follow in their footsteps. He was one step away from his goal. Alexei stumbled at the very end of the game having committed a very vexing mistake. 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 I think this move is better than 3.Nd2. 3...Nf6 4.e5 4.Bg5 is more frequently played nowadays. 4...Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 9.Qd2 0-0 This is the turning point in the opening. White can castle either short or long. It leads to totally different situations. 10.g3 White is preparing the development of his bishop on g2. An immediate long castle is the usual continuation in this position. Kasparov: A rare move. White is just waiting. One hand I am preparing short castling, on the other hand, after 10...Qe7 castling long. Black’s standard plan in this position is a6, b5 etc. However, his queen is somewhat misplaced on e7 compared to her position on d8. On the other hand, Black has created the threat f7-f6. 10...Qe7N

As White has not revealed his plans yet, Black is dodging. Usually Black trades on d4, then advances his queenside pawns in order to develop his "bad" bishop on a6. Black has a different plan in this position - placing the knight on b6 followed by Bd7 and Rc8. Gurevich tried 10...Nxd4 against Gofshtein in the French Team championship, but failed to equalize after 11.Bxd4 a6 12.Bg2 b5 13.Ne2 a5 14.a3! Bxd4 (14...Be7!?) 15.Nxd4 Qb6 16.0-0. Another standard move in this position is 10...a6. 11.0-0-0! White has castled long after all! On 11.Bg2 highly unpleasant is 11...Nb6 and the black knight is penetrating to c4. 11...Nb6 12.Nb3 The exchange of the dark-squared bishops is aimed at defusing the situation in the center. 12...Bxe3 13.Qxe3 Bd7 How should White proceed? Basically, he needs to advance his kingside pawns, keeping control over the d4-square. At the same time White should not forget about his piece coordination. 14.Kb1 Useful prophylaxis. 14...Rfc8 Not so good was 14...f6 15.exf6 Qxf6 16.Bb5! and White has easy play in the center. If Black places another rook on c8 – 14...Rac8, then after 15.Nb5! both a7-pawn and the b6-knight are in danger. 15.g4 15.Nb5 also looks good for White. His idea is to meet 15...Nb4 (15...Be8 16.Nxa7!) with 16.Nd6 Rxc2 17.a3!. 15...Nb4! Right! Black should clear the c-file for his rooks. The best case scenario for Black is doubling his rook on this file followed by an exchange sacrifice on c3. Generally speaking, on g2-g4 Black often reacts with f7-f6 in order to exploit the weakness of White’s pawns. However, in this particular case Black’s rook has already left the f8-square. After 15...f6 16.exf6 Qxf6 White’s f4-pawn is not hanging. 16.Nd4

Kasparov: I was thinking about 16.a3 but I did not want to give my opponent a chance to sacrifice a piece. After 16...Nxc2 17.Kxc2 Ba4 18.Rd4 a5 Black has got a initiative, whereas White’s pieces are tied up.

16… Rc5 In the line 16...Qc5 17.Rd2 Nc6 18.Ncb5! White retains control over the d4-square. On 18...Na5 White has a good response 19.Nd6. Kasparov: Another consistent continuation was 16...Qc5 17.Bd3 and at this point 17...Ba4. This last move baffled me at the board. I could not calculate all the lines. The idea of this move is to prepare the queen’s transfer on a5. Besides, after Nxd3 White can’t capture with the c-pawn. An interesting position with mutual chances would have arisen. 17.a3 Nc6?! To tell you the truth I don’t understand the reasons behind the following sequence. Black could have proceeded with 17...Na6 The knight does not occupy an ideal position, to put it mildly, but it is just for a short period of time. 18.Ncb5 Why not 18.Nb3 - ? For example 18...d4 (18...Rc4 19.Bxc4 Nxc4 20.Qd3 +/-) 19.Nxd4 Nxd4 20.Rxd4 Rac8 21.Rd6! and it looks like does not have adequate compensation for a pawn. Kasparov: It looks like better was 18.Nb3 d4 19.Nxd4 Nxd4 20.Rxd4 Rac8 and here I missed a strong move 21.Rd6 neutralizing Black’s threat Rxc3. White emerges up a pawn. 18...Nxd4 19.Nxd4 Rac8 20.Bd3 Finally White has completed development

and fortified the c2-square at the same time. Everything is ready for an attack now. 20...Nc4 21.Qh3 A positional attack - 21.Bxc4 Rxc4 22.f5 also deserved attention. Although, in this line Black would have had a compensation for his passive bishop in the form of active rooks. Black could have launched a pawn assault on the white king as well. It is hard to say who would be fist get to an opponent’s king in this case. 21...h6! At first glance this move looks like a decisive mistake, but in reality it is the best defense. On 21...g6 strong is 22.Nf3 threatening with Nf3-g5. White might break through by f4-f5 if needed. White has a dangerous attack in this line. Kasparov: Better was 21...g6 22.Bxc4 dxc4 23.Qc3 and White’s advantage is minimal. However it is much better to be in White’s shoes in this position. 22.g5 I was pretty sure that Black was doomed at this point of the game. It looks like he can’t protect his king. If 22.Nb3 (with the idea of g4-g5 after the black rook’s retreat) then Black also sacrifices the knight - 22...Nxa3+ 23.bxa3 Rc3 24.Kb2 a5 with good attack. 22...Nxa3+! This is the only chance, but it worked. 23.bxa3 Nobody wants to think about tricks like 23.Kc1. Why not just snatch the knight? 23...Rc3 24.gxh6 g6 24...Rxa3! resulted in a transposition. However, I think White does not have as many options in this case.

This is a very interesting position. White has an extra knight and a tempi and a half but there is no win in sight! Kasparov: This is a critical position. Here I was calculating 25.Kc1 but 25...R8c4 26.Kd2 Rxa3 looks very good for Black. He has a very strong position and continues his attack. I could have posed more problems to my opponents with an elegant and paradoxical move 25.Qg3 Rxa3 (now bad is 25...Qxa3 in view of 26.Qh4) 26.Nb3 and Black can’t play 26...Rc3 because of 27.h7+ Kg7 28.Qg5 Qxg5 29.fxg5 and White wins. However, after the best 26...Ba4 27.h7+ (unfortunately 27.Kb2 does not work because of 27...Bxb3 28.cxb3 Ra5 29.Ra1 Qc5 and Black wins) 27...Kg7 (27...Kxh7 is taboo in view of 28.Rhg1 and White is winning) 28.Qg5 Qxg5 29.fxg5 Bxb3 30.Kb2 Bxc2 31.Kxa3 Bxd1 32.Rxd1 an unclear ending arises. White has some winning chances, but I am not sure that my position is better compared to the endgame that occurred in the game. I played 25.Qg2 White had an opportunity to evacuate his king from the fire, but I as far I see, it did not lead to a win - 25.Kc1 Rxa3 26.Kd2 Rc4! 27.Nb3 (27.Nf3? Qc5) 27...Ba4 28.Bxc4 (28.Ra1 Qb4+ 29.Ke2 Re4+!) 28...dxc4 29.Ra1 cxb3 30.Rxa3 Qb4+ 31.Qc3 Qxf4+! and a draw with perpetual check. Another tempting option for White is 25.Qg3 Rxa3 (25...Qxa3? 26.Qh4! R8c4

27.h7+ Kh8 28.Qf6+ Kxh7 29.Qxf7+ with checkmate) 26.Nb3 Qb4 27.Bxg6! Note, that the b3-square is protected but... 27...Rc3! 28.Bh7+ Kf8 29.Qg7+ Ke7 30.Qf6+ Ke8 and White can’t avoid perpetual check. 25...Rxa3 26.Nb3 Qb4! Wrong is 26...a5? 27.Bxg6 fxg6 28.Qxg6+ Kh8 29.Rhg1 a4 30.h7!+-, also bad is 26...Ba4 27.Bxg6 fxg6 28.Qxg6+ Kh8 29.Qg7+! Qxg7 30.hxg7+ Kxg7 31.Kb2 Bxb3 32.Rhg1+ Kf7 (32...Kh6 33.cxb3) 33.Kxa3 Bxc2 34.Rc1! and White wins this endgame thanks to his h2-pawn. Kasparov: At this point Black could have gone for the above-mentioned line after 26...Ba4 27.h7+ Kg7 28.Qg5 etc. 27.Bxg6 In the line 27.Rhg1 Rc3 28.Bxg6 Rcxb3+ 29.cxb3 Rxb3+ 30.Kc1 Black should coolly retreat with his king and then deliver a perpetual check: 30...Kh8! 31.Bc2 Qa3+ 32.Kd2 Qb4+ 33.Kc1 (33.Ke2? Bb5+) 33...Qa3+. Kasparov: This is the right move. 27...Rxb3+ 28.cxb3 Qxb3+ 29.Qb2 Qxb2+ 30.Kxb2 fxg6 It seems that White should be careful in this endgame. There are too many black pawns on the queenside. 31.h4 Kh7 32.h5 Kxh6 33.hxg6+ Another continuation - 33.Rdg1 gxh5 34.Rg5 Be8 35.Rg8 Bd7 36.Rg5 Be8 also leads to draw. 33...Kxg6 34.Rhg1+

34…Kf5?? Obviously Black should have opted for the more reserved 34...Kf7 35.Rh1 and

here not 35...Rg8 (35...Kg6) 36.Rh7+ Rg7 37.Rxg7+ Kxg7 38.Rg1+ Kf7 39.Kc3 and White has winning chances, but simply 35...Kg6!, which leads to a repetition. Kasparov: A terrible blunder, although on the correct 34...Kf7 I was going to play 35.Rd2 and White is fighting for win. Probably Black can save this position with accurate defense, but it is not that easy, bearing in mind that we both had only 2-3 minutes left on the clock. For example, bad is 35...Rc4 36.Rh2 Be8 37.Rh7+ Kf8 38.Ra1. 35.Rd4 Black resigned facing inevitable checkmate. There is nothing worse than such defeats. Alexei demonstrated an excellent defense in the middle game just to slip in the ending. He did not deserve this loss. 1-0 Gelfand,B - Kramnik,V [D58] It is a good grandmaster draw, in the finest sense of the word. Low-key on the surface, this encounter was very tense. Both opponents had to calculate a lot of variations on every move. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 0-0 7.e3 b6 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.0-0 Nbd7 10.Bg3 c5 11.cxd5 More common continuations in this position are 11. Rc1 and 11.Qe2. 11...Nxd5 12.Nxd5 exd5 13.b3 White could have played 13.dxc5 in order to define the pawn structure - with isolated or with hanging pawns (no doubts Vladimir would have opted for the latter). However Boris is in no hurry. As we can see, the pawn structure won’t change till the end of the game. 13...a6 14.Rc1 Re8 Black’s previous move was aimed at making the e8-rook’s life more comfortable. 15.Re1 Nf6 After 15...Rc8 Black should reckon with Bf5. 16.Bh4

With a very simple threat - 17.Bxf6. 16...Ne4 17.Bxe7 Qxe7 18.Rc2 After 18.dxc5 bxc5 19.Bxe4 (19.Qe2!?) 19...dxe4 20.Nd2 Rad8 21.Qe2 Rd3 22.Nc4 Black has excellent compensation in the form of control over the d-file for a pawn. Boris is going to put pressure on the c5-pawn with his heavy pieces.

18...a5! Black’s counterplay on the queenside is aimed at trading the a-pawns. In this case the position with hanging pawns is not as favorable for White because of the weakness on b3. 19.Qc1 Rec8 An impatient player would play 19...a4 which may result in following sequence 20.b4!? (20.bxa4 c4 21.Bxe4 Qxe4 22.Rb2 Re6 regaining a pawn with an excellent position.) 20...cxd4!? (20...c4 21.Bxe4 dxe4 22.Nd2 b5 23.a3 Qg5 24.Nb1 in such a stark pawn structure, the knight can be potentially better that the bishop. ) 21.Nxd4! (On 21.Rc7 Black wriggles out with 21...Qxb4 22.Rxb7 Nc5!) 21...Qxb4 22.Qb1 and White has a dangerous initiative on the queenside. Take into account that White can opt for not reacting to this provocation, for example by 20.Rd1. If so, why should Black waste time on calculating all these variations? Vladimir prefers a more solid positional move, preventing all the tricks. 20.Rd1 a4 21.h3 Gelfand has calculated the pawn exchanges 21.dxc5 axb3 22.axb3 22...bxc5 (dangerous is 22...Nxc5?! 23.Bf5 Nxb3?! 24.Rxc8+ Bxc8 25.Qc6 Bb7 26.Qxb6) to make sure one more

time that White had nothing after 23.Bxe4 dxe4 24.Nd2. He made a move maintaining pressure. 21...axb3 22.axb3 Qf6 23.Qb2 White is clearing the first rank for rook maneuvers and to give extra protection to the f2-pawn. 23...Nd6

24.Ne5 White is accurate. 24.Rdc1 would have been met by 24...c4! 25.bxc4 dxc4 26.Bxc4 Nxc4 27.Rxc4 Rxc4 28.Rxc4 Bxf3 29.gxf3 Qxf3. 24...Rc7 25.Be2 The insertion of the moves 25.Rdc1 Rac8 yields White no dividends: 26.Be2 Ne4 27.Bg4 Re8 28.Nd3 Ba6 29.Nf4 Bb7 and the c5-square is protected by Black. 25...Ne4 26.Bf3 Ng5 27.Bg4 Qe7 28.Rdc1 Bc8 Finally, Kramnik has solved the problem of his bad bishop. The position is completely equal. 29.Bxc8 1/2-1/2 Sadvakasov,D - Morozevich,A (2749) [B30] This encounter of two unlucky guys of the tournament was to decide who would be in last place after the round. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Bc4 Be7 5.d3 d6 6.0-0 Nf6 7.Ng5 0-0 8.f4 Following Philidor’s instructions, White made the way for his f-pawn. 8...exf4 9.Bxf4 h6 10.Nf3 A blow on f7 does not promise much. 10...Be6 11.Nd5 Bxd5 12.Bxd5 Nxd5 13.exd5 Nb4

This is a new itinerary for the knight. The game Polgar,J-Illescas Cordoba,M/Madrid 1995/0-1 (40) went 13...Ne5 14.Qd2 Ng6 15.Bg3 Bf6 16.Rae1 Qb6 17.c4 and White obtained a certain advantage due to the pressure on d6. 14.c4 Bf6 15.Qd2 I prefer White’s position in this case. 15...Re8 16.Kh1 [16.a3!] 16...a5! 17.a3 Na6

18.g4!? As long as the black knight is having some rest far away from the king... 18...g5 Black preventing the g4-g5 breakthrough in the most radical way. 19.Bg3 Bg7 20.h4 f6 21.Ng1 This move looks somewhat ugly. I would rather play 21.Rae1 Qd7 22.Qg2. 21...Qd7 22.Rf5 b5! Opening the position favors Black. White’s king is stripped. 23.cxb5 Qxb5 24.Bxd6 c4! 25.dxc4 Qxc4 26.Qg2 Rad8 27.Bh2 Nc5 28.d6 Ne4 29.Rxa5 Nxd6 [29...Bf8!?] 30.Bxd6?! Safer was 30.Qd5+ and the opponents’ chances are equal. However, it looks like Darmen was playing for a win. 30...Rxd6 31.Ra8 Rxa8 32.Qxa8+ Bf8 33.Qf3 h5! An excellent move! Black is complicating the game in his opponent’s time trouble. Morozevich has a dangerous initiative. 34.Re1 hxg4 35.Qe4 No fun for White is 35.Qg2 f5 36.hxg5 Qf4 or 35.Qf5 Qc6+. 35...Qxe4+ 36.Rxe4 f5! 37.Re5 gxh4 38.Rxf5

Black’s passers are much more dangerous than White’s. 38...Rd4! 39.Ne2 39.b4 Kg7! and Black gradually moves his pieces to the ideal squares. 39...Rd1+ 40.Kg2 First I thought this was a blunder. I was wrong. It looks like White is losing in all variations. For example, 40.Ng1 Be7 41.Rf4 g3 42.Kg2 Rd2+ 43.Kh3 Rh2+ 44.Kg4 Rh1 45.Nf3 g2. 40...h3+ 41.Kg3 Bd6+ 42.Nf4 Rg1+ 43.Kh2 Rf1 44.Rg5+ Kf7 45.Rxg4 It looks like a draw, but...

45...Rf3! No wonder White missed this subtlety in his calculations. 46.a4 Bxf4+ 47.Kg1 h2+ 48.Kg2 Rf1 What can I say? Morozevich’s class is higher, so the result is natural. 0-1

Round 7: GM Analysis (Sergei Shipov) Round 7, May 28 Morozevich - Shirov 1:0 Kramnik - Sadvakasov 1:0 Gelfand - Kasparov 1/2 Gelfand,B – Kasparov,G [D91]

Gelfand didn’t choose the sharpest variation in the opening, but he did have chances for getting an advantage. A few interesting variations were available to him. But caution proved stronger than the desire to win. 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 d5 Of course, the Grunfeld! 5.Bg5 Ne4 6.Bf4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.e3 0-0 9.cxd5 cxd4 10.cxd4 Qxd5 11.Be2 A harmless variation. Here White does not claim to gain a large advantage. At best he can force a slightly better ending for himself. 11...Nc6 I prefer 11...Qa5+ 12.Qd2 Nc6. 12.0-0 Bf5 13.Qa4 Qa5 And still Black strives to trade off the queens. 14.Qb3 The transition into the ending does not

provide any advantage: 14.Qxa5 Nxa5 15.Rfc1 Rfc8 16.Kf1 Nc6 17.Ke1 Bf8 18.a3 Na5 19.Nd2 Bc2!, followed by a peace deal in the Volkov-Leko game, New Delhi, 2000. 14...Be4N A novelty. As a matter of fact, everything is logical: Black occupies the d5-square. Black’s main problem is that the g7-bishop is not employed: this bishop is restricted by the d4-pawn. The following game didn’t last long; it ended in a draw after 14...Qb4 15.Rfc1 Rac8 16.Bb5 Be6 17.Qd3 Qa5 18.a3 Bd5 19.Rab1 Ba2 20.Ra1 Bd5 21.Rab1 Ba2 - Bareev,E-Kasparov,G/Sarajevo 1999. Kasparov: A novelty, created at the chessboard. This move provokes tactical complications. The common move here is 14...Qb4. I played it in my game with Bareev, and, for example, after 15.Bc4 there appears a boring ending. 15.Rfc1 If 15.Rac1, the simplest line is 15...Bd5 16.Bc4 Bxf3 17.gxf3 Qf5 18.Qxb7 Nxd4 19.Qe4 Qxe4 20.fxe4 Nf3+ 21.Kg2 Nd2 with equality. Of course, bad is 15.Qxb7? Nxd4! 15...Rac8 In response to 15...Bd5, unpleasant is 16.Qb1!, followed by the threat Rc5 and the trap - 16...b6? 17.e4!. Another possibility is 15...Qf5 and then in response to 16.Rc5? there follows 16...Nxd4!. For White the correct way to play is 16.Bg3 Rac8 17.Nd2 Bd5 18.Bd3!? Qd7 19.Qb5 with some pressure. This is the crucial moment of the game. 16.h3 The move is useful, but it is not concrete enough. To capture on b7 is bad - 16.Qxb7 Nxd4 17.Qxc8 Nxe2+ 18.Kh1 Bxa1. The main continuation to examine is 16.Rc5!?. Further, it is possible to move 16...Qxc5 (dubious is 16...Nxd4 17.Rxa5 Nxb3 18.axb3 Bxa1 19.Rxa1 +/-) 17.dxc5 Bxa1 and here there is the serious resource 18.Ng5 (18.Qxb7 Nd4!) 18...Bf5 19.g4!, the idea being to take on b7 with a

tempo in case of the bishop’s retreat. And as long as Black does not feel comfortable with that line, he has to play 16...Qb4 17.Rac1 Qxb3 18.axb3, and no equality follows. There threatens b3-b4-b5 or Nf3-d2. As a preliminary conclusion I can say that Garry’s novelty 14...Be4 is not of the best quality. Kasparov: After 16.Rc5 an interesting game arises: 16...Nxd4 17.Rxa5 Nxe2+ 18.Kf1, and here Black can either force a draw via perpetual check - 18...Bxa1 19.Kxe2 Rc2+ 20.Kd1 Rd8+ 21.Nd4 Rb2 (I could see this idea while at the board, so I wasn’t nervous) or the move 18...Nxf4, with various complications involving both opponents. 16...e5 This establishes equality. A fight could be unleashed through 16...Qf5 17.Bh2 Rfd8 or 16...Bd5 17.Qb2 (17.Bc4 Bxf3! 18.gxf3 Qf5) 17...Rfd8.

Kasparov: A little trap. 17.Nxe5 Here is another trap for White: 17.Rc5?! Bxf3! (worse is the immediate 17...Nxd4 18.exd4 Rxc5 19.Bd2!) 18.Bxf3 (in case of 18.Rxa5 Nxa5 19.Qa4 Bxe2 Black captures more) 18...Nxd4 19.Rxa5 Nxb3 20.axb3 exf4 and he still has a long way to go to equalize the game. 17...Nxe5 Kasparov: This move results in a draw. I thought Gelfand would be tempted by the line 17.Rc5 Nxd4 18.exd4 Rxc5 19.Bd2 Qd8 20.dxc5 Bxf3 21.Bxf3 e4 22.Rd1 exf3 23.Bb4, gaining the exchange. So I prepared an unpleasant counterblow for

him - 17...Bxf3 18.Bxf3 Nxd4 19.exd4 Rxc5 20.dxc5 exf4 21.Rd1 Qxc5 22.Bxb7, with Black having an extra pawn and chances for victory. 18.Bxe5 Bxe5 19.dxe5 Draw. Boris Gelfand played a decent micro-match with the ex-champion. 1/2-1/2 Kramnik,V - Sadvakasov,D [D27] The opponents’ forces were much too unequal. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.0-0 a6 7.a4 Vladimir Kramnik has extensively played this variation recently. White prevents b7-b5 at the cost of weakening the b4-square. 7...Nc6 8.Qe2 Qc7 From my point of view, it is necessary to force equality after the exchange on d4 - 8...cxd4 9.Rd1 Be7 10.exd4 0-0, as was the case in one of the games between the two "K’s" at the London match. 9.Rd1 Bd6 10.dxc5! Bxc5 There appears the Furman variation (6.Qe2 a6 7.dxc5) which is favorable for White. 11.b3 0-0 12.Bb2 e5 The capture of space is accompanied by the weakening of Black’s hinterland. Strange as it might seem, no one has ever tried developing the bishop on b7 - 12...b6!?. 13.Nc3!N A novelty. Vladimir with good reason sees no point in taking preventive measures in this position. However, after taking preventive measures White usually won here all the same: 13.h3 e4 14.Ng5 (or 14.Nfd2 Ne5 15.Nc3 Nxc4 16.bxc4 Re8 17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.cxd5 Bd7 19.Rdc1 Rac8 20.Rc4 Bf5 21.Nb3 +/- Magerramov,E-Flear,G/Montpellier 1999/1-0 (37)) 14...h6 15.Bxf6 hxg5 16.Bb2 Ne5 17.Nc3 Nxc4 18.Qxc4 Be6 19.Nd5 Qc6 20.Rac1 Rad8 21.Qc3 f6 22.Nxf6+! (Well done!) 22...gxf6 23.Rxd8 Rxd8 24.Qxf6+- Zhukova,N-Skripchenko Lautier,A/Belgrade 2000/1-0 (37).

13...e4 Perhaps Black should have simply continued developing: 13...Bg4. 14.Ng5 Bd6 In the line 14...Bg4 15.Nd5 Bxe2 16.Nxc7 Bxd1 17.Nxa8 Bh5 18.Bxf6 there is the calm move 18...Bg6!?, which does not equalize the position either. 15.Nd5! No notice is paid to the h2-pawn!

15...Nxd5 16.Rxd5! Worse is 16.Qh5 Bf5! 16...Bxh2+ 17.Kh1 Be5 18.Qh5 Bf5? Much more stubborn is 18...h6 19.Nxf7 Rxf7 20.Rxe5 Nxe5 21.Bxe5 Qe7 22.Bxf7+ Qxf7 23.Qxf7+ Kxf7 24.Rc1 and the champion would have had to play to his best technique in the opposed bishops’ ending. 19.Nxf7! Rxf7 19...Bxb2 20.Rxf5 Bxa1 21.Ne5+ Kh8 22.Ng6# 20.Qxf5! g6 In order to go down in history, he should have played 20...Rxf5! 21.Rd8# - mate with double check. 21.Bxe5 1-0 Morozevich,A - Shirov,A [C42] The tenacious Grandmasters turned the seemingly boring and equal position into a bright one. Morozevich demonstrated splendid play and deserved his victory. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4

5.Bd3 This looks like another opening fad of Alexander Morozevich. Leko was the first to employ this move in his game with Kramnik (Linares 1999). This idea was to Morozevich’s taste, and I believe this variation is going to draw more admirers after today’s game. Alexander’s ability to make extravagant openings popular is exceptional. 5...d5 6.Qe2 Qe7 7.0-0 Nd6 At the Sarajevo 2000 tournament, Shirov played Morozevich in the following way: 7...Nc5. This time he follows Kramnik. 8.Qd1 g6 A novelty. Shirov does not want to waste time retreating with the queen, so he decides to fianchetto the bishop. At Wijk aan Zee 2000 Kramnik played 8...Qd8 9.Re1+ Be7 10.Nc3 c6 11.Qe2 (the queens’ transpositions to and fro are quite funny!) 11...Bg4 12.b3 Nd7 13.Bb2 Nc5 14.Na4 Bxf3 15.Qxf3 Nxd3 16.Qxd3, a draw. 9.Re1 Be6 10.Bf1 Bg7 11.d4 So the bishop will be developed in the usual way. 11...0-0 12.Bf4 Nc6 13.c3 Qd7 14.Nbd2 Rfe8 15.h3 f6 90% of chess players would draw this game soon after exchanges along the e-file. But, much to the public’s relief, Morozevich and Shirov are not among them. 16.Qa4 Now this move is quite possible. If g7-bishop wasn’t screened by the f6 pawn this move would allow Black to play Nxd4. 16...Bf7 17.Rxe8+ Rxe8 18.b4 a6 19.Nb3 There threatens 20.Nc5 Qc8 21.Bxa6, and the pawn is won. Morozevich created problems for his opponent with the help of a few precise moves. 19...Ne4 20.Nc5 Qf5 A witty decision in Shirov’s style. Bad is 20...Nxc3 21.Qb3 Qf5 22.Qxc3 Qxf4 23.Nxb7; after 20...Nxc5 21.bxc5 the b-file is open for White. 21.Be3 In response to 21.Nxb7 there follows

21...Nxd4! 22.cxd4 Qxf4 23.Qxa6 Ng5! 24.Nxg5 fxg5, and the black pieces are revived. 21...Nd8 Black has retreated to the prearranged positions. 22.Qc2 Qc8 23.a4 If 23.Nxe4 dxe4 24.Nd2 f5, the bishops are completely operative. 23...Nd6 From my point of view, also possible is 23...Nxc5 24.bxc5 Qd7 Black has a passive but firm position. 24.Bf4 Nc4 25.a5 Otherwise there is 25...b6. 25...Ne6 26.Bg3 Nxc5 27.bxc5 The knight has taken on c5 at last. The remaining knight is restricted, but he controls the a5-pawn, and this means that this knight is not useless. 27...Bh6 28.Bd3 Re7 29.Nh2 29.Qb3 deserves attention (the idea being Qb4 and Rb1) with the possible continuation 29...c6 30.Qb4 Qd8 31.Bxc4 dxc4 32.Bd6 Rd7 33.Re1, where White has a prolonged initiative. 29...Qe8 30.Ng4 Bg7 31.Bh4 If 31.Bxc4 dxc4 32.Qb2 (32.Ne3 Bh6 33.Ng4 Bg7) 32...Bd5 33.Ne3 Bc6 34.Nxc4 Re2, Black has counterplay. 31...Re1+ In case of 31...Qc6 32.Bxc4 dxc4 33.Ne5! Qd5 34.Nxf7 Kxf7 35.Rb1, White’s position is preferable. 32.Rxe1 Qxe1+ 33.Kh2 f5 Safer is 33...Qe6, but Alexei must have miscalculated or underestimated something in time trouble. 34.Nf6+ Kh8? And this is a mistake. Instead, possible is 34...Bxf6 35.Bxf6 Qe6 (after 35...Nxa5?! 36.Be5 c6? 37.Qb2! and the ensuing Qb6-d8, White has a fatal attack. ) 36.Bxc4 Qxf6 37.Bd3 b6, and Black can defend tenaciously. 35.Bxc4 dxc4 36.c6! bxc6 This is the only move. With the white pawn on c7, Black won’t last long: 36...b5 37.axb6 cxb6 38.c7 Qe6 39.Qe2! Bxf6 40.Bxf6+ Kg8 41.Qf3+- 37.Qb2!

Suddenly the black king is chased. 37...Bf8 Other responses don’t provide Black with relief: 37...Bh6 38.Qb8+ Kg7 39.Nd7 Bf4+ 40.Bg3 Bxg3+ 41.Kxg3 Qe7 42.Qxc7; 37...Qe7 38.Qb8+ Qf8 (38...Bf8 39.Nxh7! Qxh4 40.Qxf8+ Bg8 41.Qf6+ Qxf6 42.Nxf6) 39.Qxc7 Be6 40.Nd7; in response to 37...Bxf6 38.Bxf6+ Kg8 White has the treacherous move 39.Be5!, preventing the queen from the defense. After this the black king is quickly done for. 38.Bg3! This is much stronger than 38.Qb8 Kg7 39.Qxc7 Qe6 (there threatens 40...Bd6+) 40.f4 h6. 38...Bd6 39.Bxd6 cxd6 40.Qb8+ Kg7 41.Qxd6 Qxf2 In the ending after 41...Qe6 42.Qxe6 Bxe6

43.Ne8+ Kf8 44.Nc7 Bc8 45.Na8!? (45.Kg3 Ke7 46.Kf4 Kd6 47.Na8 c5 with counterplay) 45...Ke7 46.Nb6 Be6 47.Kg3 Kd6 48.Na4, the knight’s advantage over the bishop is obvious. 42.Nd7 Kh6 43.Qg3! A way towards perpetual check is 43.Qf8+ Kg5 44.Qxf7 Qf4+. 43...Qd2

44.h4! Be6?! Surely the bishop is a good fighter against passed pawns, but only a very phlegmatic person could risk 44...Bd5 45.Qg5+ Qxg5 46.hxg5+ Kxg5 47.Nc5. After 47...Kf6 (bad is 47...Kf4? 48.Nxa6 c5 49.Nxc5 Ke3 50.a6 Kd2 51.Na4 Bc6 52.Nb6 Kxc3 53.d5+-) 48.Nxa6 c5 it is hard to believe that Black can escape, but there is no definite win to be seen on the spot. A) wishy-washy is 49.dxc5 Ke7 50.Nb4 Be4, and Black organizes a good defense at the queenside, and as far as his kingside is concerned, everything is OK. B) more serious is 49.Nc7!? Bb7 50.a6 (in the pawn ending after 50.dxc5 Ke7 51.a6 Kd7! 52.axb7 Kxc7 53.c6 g5 the best thing that White can achieve is the queen ending 54.g3 h5 55.Kg2 Kb8 56.Kf3 Kc7 57.Ke3 Kb8 58.Kd4 Kc7 59.Ke5 h4 60.gxh4 gxh4 61.Kf4 Kb8 62.Kxf5 h3 63.Ke6 h2 64.Kd7 h1Q 65.c7+ Kxb7 66.c8Q+ Ka7 where the pawn is much too far away from the promotion square) 50...Bxa6 51.Nxa6 cxd4 52.cxd4 f4 but even here Black’s defense seems to be all right. C) 49.Nxc5 49...Ke7 50.Na4 C1) losing is 50...Kd6? 51.Nb6 Kc6 (51...Be6 52.a6+-) 52.Nxd5 Kxd5 53.a6 Kc6 54.d5+; C2) 50...Bb7! (this move is necessary for protecting the e4-pawn) 51.Nb6 Ba6 52.Kg3 g5 53.Nd5+ Kd6 54.Nb4 Bb7 55.a6 Ba8 and the white king hasn’t managed to take part in the fight. 45.Nb8 Bc8 46.Nxc6 Bb7 47.Ne5 The queens are still on the chessboard, and this means that Black should watch

out not only for the pawns’ safety but also the king’s. 47...Bd5 48.Nd7 Be4 48...Bc6 49.Nc5 Bb5 50.Ne6 Bc6 51.d5! Bxd5 52.Qg5+ Qxg5 53.hxg5+ Kh5 54.Nf4+ Kxg5 55.Nxd5+- 49.Nc5 Kg7 If 49...Bd3 50.Nxa6 Qxc3 51.Nc5 Qxa5 (51...Qd2 52.Qg5+ Qxg5 53.hxg5+ Kxg5 54.a6; 51...Qxd4 52.Qg5+ Kg7 53.Ne6+) , the king is in trouble: 52.Qg5+ Kg7 53.Qe7+ Kh6 54.Ne6 with a mate in a few moves. 50.Ne6+ Kh6 After 50...Kf7 51.Ng5+ Ke8 52.Qe5+ Kd7 53.Qe6+ Black loses a lot of pawns. Now there is more trouble for him. 51.Qg5+! Qxg5 52.hxg5+ Kh5 53.Kg3 The black king, who is in the stalemate position, is in check from f4, therefore the d4-pawn has a free hand. 53...h6 54.gxh6?! There is a simple winning move, 54.d5! hxg5 (54...Bxd5 55.Nf4+ Kxg5 56.Nxd5+-) 55.d6 f4+ 56.Kf2 Bc6 57.Nc5 True, at this moment the opponents were surviving the second time-trouble. 54...Kxh6 55.Nc5 Kg5 56.Nxa6 In retrospect, the easiest way is the transition into the pawn ending 56.Nxe4+ fxe4 57.Kf2 Kf4 58.g3+ Kf5 (58...Kg4 59.Ke3! Kf5 60.g4+) 59.Ke3 g5 60.g4+ Kxg4 61.Kxe4 Kh5 (in case of 61...Kh3 , White trades off the newly born queens and wins ) 62.Kf5! g4 63.Kf4! Kh4 64.d5 g3 65.d6 g2 66.d7 g1Q 67.d8Q+ Kh3 68.Qh8+ Kg2 69.Qg8+ Kf1 70.Qxg1+ Kxg1 71.Ke4. 56...f4+ 57.Kf2 Kf6 58.Nc5 Bc6 59.a6 Ke7

60.Nb7! Black loses the c4-pawn, and the fight is over. 60...Bd5 61.Na5 Kd6 62.a7 Kc7 63.Nxc4 g5 64.Ne5 Kb6 65.c4 There is a popular puzzle that consists in moving the knight all over the chessboard without visiting any square twice. Morozevich’s heroic knight went along the following route: f3-h2-g4-f6-d7-b8-c6-e5-d7-c5-e6-c5-a6-c5-b7-a5-c4-e5. This is 18 moves. 1-0

Round 8: GM Analysis (Sergei Shipov) Round 8, May 29 Shirov - Kramnik 1/2 Sadvakasov - Gelfand 1/2 Kasparov - Morozevich 1/2 Shirov,A – Kramnik,V [C67] The second encounter of these opponents repeated the scenario of their first game in the tournament. The champion had an advantage but did not manage to convert it. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 Quite naturally we see the Berlin wall. Most likely the same position will appear in the last round game between Kasparov and Kramnik. 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 Bd7 10.h3 h6 11.b3 Kc8 12.Bb2 b6 13.Rad1 Ne7 Vladimir played this way in the match with Kasparov. 14.Ne2 Ng6 15.Ng3N This is a novelty. I analyzed this move in my book about the London match. White’s knight is heading for h5. The first game of that match saw 15.Ne1 h5 16.Nd3 c5 17.c4 a5 18.a4 h4 19.Nc3 Be6 20.Nd5 Kb7 21.Ne3 Rh5 22.Bc3 Re8 with an equal game, Kasparov,G-Kramnik,V/London 2000/1/2-1/2 (25). 15...Nf4! This looks like the best move, thwarting White’s plan. Note, that this was the seventh move of this knight! And it was not his last jump... 16.Nd4 This is a nontrivial response. The first moves to consider are 16.Rfe1 and 16.Rd4 Ne6 17.Rd2. Apparently both opponents came to the conclusion that Black was just fine in these lines. 16...a5 This is a typical maneuver aimed at loosening White’s queenside. Black had another option which deserves a closer

look 16...c5!? with the idea to meet any knight’s retreat with a7-a5, and if a2-a4 then c5-c4!. 17.a4 What else? Otherwise Black will play a5-a4. 17...b5! With this straightforward move Black is striking up the play at the wing where he is stronger. On the other hand, White has not had much success on the opposite flank. On 17...c5 White could have reacted with 18.Nb5! 18.Kh2 I just don’t understand this move. 18.Rfe1!? deserved attention instead. 18...bxa4 19.bxa4 Nd5 This is the eighth move! I think even more dangerous for White was 19...c5 20.Nb5 Bc6 21.f3 Nd5! with two unpleasant threats - Ne3 and Nb6. 20.Rd3 I doubt that this is a good move. It was about time to attend to Black’s dangerous pawn by 20.Nb3! Nb6 21.Bc3, with a roughly equal game. 20...Nb6 Ninth! 21.Re1 White is preparing the e5-e6-breakthrough. Had White protected his a-pawn, another one would have perished - 21.Ra1 Nc4! and Nxe5. 21...Nxa4

Tenth! This knight is busy as a bee, whereas the rest of Black’s pieces are having a rest. One is working, other seven

are just watching - a typical Russian scene. But it worked! Black is better. 22.Ba1 c5 Black allows White to carry out his plan. 22...Nc5 23.Rf3 Be8 looks more natural. White’s breakthrough does not work 24.e6 fxe6 25.Nxe6 Nxe6 26.Rxe6 Kd7! -/+ , however, in this case Black should reckon with the maneuver 24.Bb2 followed by 25.Ba3. 23.e6! fxe6 24.Nxe6 Bd6 I think the transfer of the dark-squared bishop to b4 looks good for Black 24...c4! 25.Rf3 Bb4. 25.Nxg7 The position is becoming more and more complicated. White has regained a pawn. He is going to finish his meal on Black’s kingside. However, Black’s trumps - a pair of bishops and the a5-passer - look stronger so far. 25...Rf8 26.Kg1 c4 27.Rdd1 27.Rd5!? 27...Bb4 28.Re3 Ra6 29.Ne4 Rc6 30.Nh5 Better was to bring the bishop into action by 30.Be5! 30...c3! Gotcha! 31.Nhg3 White is planning to capture Black’s c3-pawn. 31...Re6 You might laugh, but I think Black should have made his tired knight work a little bit more - 31...Nb2 32.Rb1 Nc4 33.Rd3 Nd2! (thirteenth move!) 34.Re1 Re8, with a slightly better position. 32.Rde1 Rfe8 Hard time trouble set in at this point. The

opponents started exchanging favors. Interesting was 32...Bc6!? 33.Nxc3 Rxe3 34.Rxe3 Bc5 35.Re2 Nxc3 36.Bxc3 a4! and despite his one-pawn deficit Black plays for a win. His a-pawn is very dangerous. 33.Nh5 Rf8 34.Nxc3? 34.g4!? 34...Rc6! This is a refutation of White’s idea. 35.Nxa4 They shoot horses, don’t they? It was an amazing trip for this knight: g8-f6-e4-d6-f5-e7-g6-f4-d5-b6-a4! 35...Bxe1 36.Rxe1 Rxc2 Black is threatening with Rf8xf2. White has to give up a piece. 37.Bd4 Bxa4 38.Re5 Bd7? It looks like the champion let the victory slip at this point. Much better was 38...Rd8 39.Be3 c5! -/+, preserving the a5-passer, which would have cost White dearly. 39.Rxa5 Rf5 40.Rxf5 Also unclear is 40.Ra8+ Kb7 41.Ra7+ Kb8 42.Ng3! 40...Bxf5 41.Be3

A very complicated endgame has emerged. Black has better chances. He should push his c-pawn as quickly as possible. White has a lot to busy himself with on the kingside. Many long and sharp variations may ensue down the road. I checked out some of them. It looks like

Black hardly can win this endgame. Vladimir decided not to take chances. 41...Bg6 Draw! This game demonstrated that the Berlin wall is not only firm, but also dangerous. 1/2-1/2 Kasparov,G – Morozevich,A [D17]

Morozevich has employed the move 7...Nd5 - the invention of Yugoslavian chess player Misailovic - for the second time. The first time Alexander scored a victory over Kramnik in Wijk aan Zee. Morozevich solved the problem of an isolated pawn in a very original way - he just gave it up. However, having the upper hand in development allowed him to regain it and manage a draw in the endgame. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Nxc4 Nd5 8.g3 e5 9.Bg2 exd4 Morozevich played differently against Kramnik - 9...Nxc3 10.bxc3 exd4 11.Qxd4 Nc5 Alexander prepared a new modification for the encounter with Kasparov. 10.Qxd4 Qf6 Kasparov: This looks like the right move and gives Black good chances to equalize. 11.Qxf6 N7xf6

No queens on the board when facing Garry! 12.Nxd5 cxd5 I think that the line 12...Nxd5 13.e4 Nb4 14.exf5 Nc2+ 15.Kd2 Nxa1 16.Kc3 has been analyzed in Alexander’s home laboratory. I venture upon a guess that Morozevich evaluated this position as highly unfavorable for Black. Kasparov: Black can’t play 12...Nxd5 in view of 13.e4 Nb4 14.exf5 Nc2+ 15.Kd2 Nxa1 16.Kc3 and his knight is trapped. 13.Ne3 Be6 A position with an isolated pawn has arisen. Normally it is not recommended to transpose into an endgame with such a positional defect. However, in this particular case White pieces are not very well coordinated. Morozevich hopes to take advantage of that. 14.0-0 Bc5 15.Rd1

15...0-0!? Another pawn sacrifice looks dubious 15...d4 16.Bxb7 Rb8 17.Bc6+ Ke7 18.Ng2 (18.Nc2? Bb3 19.Rd2 Rhc8 and Black has strong initiative) 18...Bb3 19.Rf1 Rhc8 (19...Rb6 20.Bb5 a6 21.Bd3) 20.Bb5 and White’s "underdeveloped" pieces are hard to get to whereas an extra pawn is still there. Alexander is sacrificing his d-pawn in a different way, because passive observing White’s regrouping after 15...Rd8 16.Nc2 is no fun. Kasparov: This is a courageous and correct decision. Black is giving up a pawn. It was not worth clinging to it. For example, the following sequence looks

dangerous for Black: 15...d4 16.b4 Bxb4 17.Bxb7 Rd8 18.Bc6+ Ke7 19.Nc2 Bb3 20.Nxb4 Bxd1 21.Ba3, because White has a dangerous initiative for the exchange - 21...Bb3 22.Rb1 Bc4 23.Rc1, etc. 16.Nxd5 It looks somewhat ridiculous to regroup forces for a classical siege of the isolated pawn with Nc2, Be3 etc, if it can just be snatched. Now the question is whether White will manage to obtain other pluses while his opponent spends time regaining the pawn. Kasparov: White could have played for blockade by 16.Nc2 but in this case Black takes control over the c-file and also equalizes. 16...Nxd5 17.Bxd5 Rad8 18.e4 Bxd5 19.exd5 Rd7 Another option - 19...Rfe8 - lead to a four-rook endgame with the white rook on the seventh rank: 20.Bg5 (innocuous is 20.Kf1 Re5) 20...f6 21.Rac1! b6 (ïîñëå 21...Bxf2+? 22.Kxf2 fxg5 23.Rc7 Rf8+ 24.Ke3 Rf7 25.d6! Rfd7 26.Rxd7 Rxd7 27.Ke4 and White’s active king and d6-passer make his advantage decisive. ) 22.Be3 Rxe3!? (22...Bxe3 23.fxe3 Rxe3 24.Rc7) 23.b4! Ra3 24.bxc5 bxc5 25.Rxc5 Rxa4 26.Rc7. Apparently Morozevich realized that this course of event was unpleasant for him and opted for a different continuation. Kasparov: Another correct move. After 19...Rfe8 20.Bf4 Re2 21.Rac1 Black’s position looks dangerous. He has problems stopping White’s d-passer. 20.Rb1 Kasparov is dodging in his turn. After 20.Be3 Bxe3 21.fxe3 Rfd8 22.Rac1 (22.e4 f5 23.exf5 Rxd5 24.Rxd5 Rxd5 25.g4 Rd2 as usual the active position of the rook is more important than extra material in the rook endgames) 22...f5 23.Rc5 b6 24.Rb5 Kf7. White preserves an extra pawn but it is not that important. Kasparov: Maybe White should have gone for a rook endgame with 20.Be3 Bxe3 21.fxe3 Re8 22.Kf2. White has an extra pawn, after all, although it is really difficult to win this ending. White’s

pawns are weak, whereas the black king is marching to the center. Another option that I also considered is 20.d6 Rfd8 21.Rd5 Bxd6 22.Be3 Bb8 23.Rxd7 Rxd7 24.Rc1 Rd8. White still has a microscopic advantage which is really hard to convert. 20...a5 Morozevich is preventing b2-b4 and asking the opponent to show his cards. On 20...Rfd8 Kasparov prepared 21.b4 Bf8 22.Be3 b6 (22...a6? 23.Bb6 +/-) 23.b5! (in case of 23.a5 Black is just in time to take a drawing stance 23...bxa5 24.bxa5 Rxd5 25.Rxd5 Rxd5 26.a6 Ra5 27.Rb8 f5 28.Bxa7 Rxa6 29.Bc5 Rf6 untying by g6, Rf7, Kg7. ) 23...Rxd5 24.Rxd5 Rxd5 25.Rc1. A) 25...Bc5 26.Bxc5 bxc5 27.a5 Kf8 28.a6! (not 28.b6 axb6 29.axb6 Rd6 30.Rb1 Rd8) 28...Ke7 29.Kf1 and the black king can’t cross the d-file in view of 30.b6!. B) 25...Rd7 26.Rc8 f6 27.a5. Black’s position looks very unpleasant, but it can be held with accurate defense - 27...Rd5! (27...bxa5? 28.Bc5 Rf7 29.Ra8 g5 30.Bxa7 +/-) 28.a6 (28.Bxb6 Rxb5!) 28...Rxb5 29.Ra8 Ra5 30.Rxa7 Bc5. Kasparov: Black is forced to play this way. After 20...Rfd8 21.b4 Bf8 22.Be3 b6 23.b5 Rxd5 24.Rxd5 Rxd5 White is clearly better.

21.d6!? Garry decided that White still had nothing in the rook endgame after 21.Be3 Bxe3 22.fxe3 Rfd8 23.Rbc1 f5 24.Rc5 b6

25.Rb5 Rd6. White could not develop his bishop to d2 - 21.Bd2 Rxd5 22.Bxa5 Bxf2+! 23.Kxf2 Rxa5. This is the reason behind the parodoxical move that was played in the game. 21...Rfd8 Again, Morozevich is in no hurry to regain a sacrificed pawn. After 21...Rxd6 22.Rxd6 Bxd6 23.Be3 Rc8 24.Rd1 Be5 25.Rd5 Bxb2 26.Rxa5 Kf8 27.Rb5 Bc1 28.Rxb7 Bxe3 29.fxe3 Rc2 Black had nothing to worry about, but there is no need of forcing the issue. In the above mentioned line White has a couple of interesting options - 25.b3 or 23.Bd2, keeping the edge thank to more active pieces. 22.Rd5 b6 The following pawn sacrifice is incorrect 22...Bxd6 23.Rxa5 Bc7 24.Rb5 Rd1+ 25.Kg2 b6 26.b3 +/- 23.Bf4 f6 24.Rbd1 Kf7 25.Kg2 Ke6 All Black’s pieces have attacked a poor white pawn. 26.Kf3 g6 Black has refrained from capturing one more time. After 26...Bxd6 27.Be3 Bc7 28.Rxd7 Rxd7 29.Rc1 White has a minimal advantage, but Alexander wants to regain the pawn with maximum comfort. 27.g4 Kasparov: White pins his hopes on the pawn endgame. I could have played 27.Ke2 with the idea of meeting 27...Bxd6 with 28.Be3. Now bad is 28...Bc5 29.Rxd7 Rxd7 30.Rxd7 Kxd7 31.Bxc5 bxc5 32.Kd3 Kc6 33.Kc4 and the endgame is winning for White. However, Black can play 28...Bc7 and after 29.Rxd7 Rxd7 30.Rxd7 Kxd7 31.Kd3 Kc6 32.Kc4 White has the same slight advantage, which is virtually impossible to convert. 27…Bxd6 28.h4 Now if 28.Be3 then 28...Bxh2 29.Rxd7 Rxd7 30.Rxd7 Kxd7 31.Bxb6 Bc7 with a draw. Kasparov is trying his last chance - a pawn ending.

28...Bxf4 29.Rxd7 Rxd7 30.Rxd7 Kxd7 31.Kxf4 Kd6 32.Ke4 Kc5 Black could have achieved a draw by keeping his king on the sixth rank, but this crusade on White’s queenside pawns looks very tempting. 33.f4 Kb4

34.f5 White had a problem-like move at his disposal: 34.Kd5! A) Black is losing after 34...Kxa4? 35.Kc4 b5+ 36.Kc3 b4+ (36...h5 37.f5!) 37.Kc4 b3 38.Kc5 h6 and White wins after the typical breakthrough 39.g5! fxg5 40.h5! gxh5 41.f5 g4 42.Kd4! h4 43.Ke3+-. B) 34...Kb3 35.f5 gxf5 36.gxf5 Kxa4 37.Ke6 Kb3 38.Kxf6 Kxb2 39.Kg5 a4 40.f6 a3 41.f7 a2 42.f8Q a1Q 43.Qg7+ Ka2 44.Qa7+ Kb2 45.Qxb6+ Kc2 and White captures the h7 pawn, although in this case his king finds himself under numerous checks. Nevertheless, Garry would have had some winning chances only in this line. Kasparov: At this point I had the option of 34.Kd5, containing an elegant trap. Now Black loses after 34...Kxa4 in view of 35.Kc4 b5+ 36.Kc3 h6 37.g5 and White either delivers checkmate - 37...fxg5 38.h5 gxf4 39.hxg6 f3 40.g7 f2 41.g8Q b4+ 42.Kc2 f1Q 43.Qe8+ Qb5 44.b3+, or Black fails to promote his pawn - 37...hxg5 38.f5 gxf5 39.h5 g4 40.Kd2 and White’s king is in the square. Alas, Black is just in time to save the position after 34...Kb3 35.f5 gxf5 36.gxf5 Kxa4 37.Ke6 Kb3 38.Kxf6 Kxb2 39.Kg7

a4 40.f6 a3 41.f7 a2 42.f8Q a1Q, with a draw. Probably I should have played Kd5 - Black would have had more "chances" to go wrong. 34...gxf5+ 35.Kxf5 Kxa4 36.Kxf6 Kb3 37.Kg7 Kxb2 38.Kxh7 a4 39.g5 a3 40.g6 a2 41.g7 a1Q 42.g8Q Qb1+ 43.Qg6 It is a forced draw now. The pawns reach the last rank at the same time. 43...b5 1/2-1/2 Sadvakasov,D - Gelfand,B [B52] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.c4 Nc6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 g6 9.f3 Bg7 10.Be3 0-0 11.0-0 Rfc8 12.b3 Qd8 13.Qd2 Qa5 14.Rfd1 a6 15.a4 Nd7 16.Nde2 Re8 17.Rab1 Rac8 It is hard to say much about this game. The opponents decided to have another day off. 1/2-1/2

Round 9: GM Analysis (Sergei Shipov) Round 9, May 31 Gelfand - Shirov 1/2 Kramnik - Morozevich 1/2 Sadvakasov - Kasparov 1/2 Sadvakasov,D (2585) - Kasparov,G (2835) [B52] The young Kazakh GM stood his ground in a micro match with "the Great and Terrible". This proves that he has good prospects to become a big name on the chess circuit. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ This is a reliable line. White does not need to know much about it. 3...Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.c4 Nc6 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Nf6 8.Nc3 g6 9.f3 Bg7 10.Be3 Darmen is not retreating his knight to e2 as many do. This continuation has its pros and cons. A good thing about this move is that Black is deprived of a b7-b5 breakthrough. 10...0-0 11.0-0 a6 12.a4 e6 13.Rc1 Ne5 14.Qe2 Rfc8 I think that the natural 14...Rac8 also looks pretty good. I doubt that the black rook is placed better on a8 compared to f8. 15.b3 d5! On the other hand, Black has this breakthrough move in the center. This is a drawback of White’s setup. 16.cxd5 16.f4 Neg4! leads either to crazy complications or to a simple transposition of moves. 16...exd5 17.f4! If 17.exd5 then 17...Rxc3!? 18.Rxc3 Nxd5 =+, whereas in the line 17.Nxd5 Nxd5 18.exd5 Qxd5 Black has a big advantage due to the weakness of the b3-pawn in White’s camp.

17...Rxc3!? This move is aimed at complicating the issue at any cost! An exchange for a pawn is not such high price. After long deliberation I must say that Black could have brought about very complicated play even without this sacrifice: 17...Neg4 18.e5 Ne4! (but not 18...Nxe3 19.Qxe3 Ng4 20.Qf3! +/-) 19.Nxe4 dxe4 and upon a closer look Black has promising counterplay. 18.Rxc3 Nxe4 19.Rc2 Ng4 It is just about impossible to refrain from this move, though from the standpoint of fighting for the center 19...Nc6 looks pretty good. 20.Rfc1! The upcoming infiltration of the white rooks is highly unpleasant for Black. A possible rook exchange on c8 will reduce Black’s attacking potential. I also analyzed 20.f5, but it does not look as strong as the move played in the game. 20...h5 With this move Black is making a useful luft and fortifies the g4-knight at the same time. 21.Rc7 Qd6 In my opinion Black had more chances to complicate the issue with 21...Qe8!? (preventing an exchange on c8) 22.Nf3 (22.Rxb7? Nd6) 22...b5!. 22.Nf3 Simplier and better was 22.Rc8+! Rxc8 23.Rxc8+ Kh7 24.Nf3 and it is only White who is playing for a win. 22...Bf6! Black is preparing a comfortable g7-

square for his king. On 22...d4 White can simply react by 23.Bd2.

23.g3?! White is loosening the position of his own king. Time trouble has set in. Neither player can boast of impeccable play at this stage of the game. It looks like 23.Qd3 was better. 23...Qe6 The spectacular blow 23...Nxg3 24.hxg3 Qe6 suggested itself. However, analysis revealed that it lead to a forced draw after 25.Rxb7 Re8 (25...Nxe3 26.Rcc7) 26.Rcc7 Qxe3+ 27.Qxe3 Rxe3 28.Kg2 Re2+ 29.Kg1 Re3 in view of the move repetition. 24.Bd4 Bxd4+ 25.Nxd4 Qb6 25...Qf6!? 26.Qd3 26.Qb2 is met by 26...h4! and Black has a strong initiative. 26...Ngf2 27.Qe3 Ng4 28.Qd3 Black already has a draw, but who really needs it?

28...h4! 29.a5 In case of 29.Kg2 h3+ Black would have woven a mating net around the white king. Objectively speaking the best move for White in this position was 29.gxh4, but human beings do not even consider such moves. 29...Qf6 There is no time to check the opponent’s calculation in time trouble. Black could have captured the a5-pawn with good winning chances. 30.Nf3? It is hard to give a reasonable explanation for this move. Much stronger was 30.Ne2!+= 30...hxg3 31.hxg3 Nxg3 The cover of White’s king is completely destroyed. One might have thought that Black was winning here, but both opponents were in terrible time trouble by now... 32.Rc8+ Rxc8 33.Rxc8+ Kg7 34.Kg2 Nf5! On 34...Nh5 Garry apparently feared the exchange of queens. He was quite right. White can capture on b7 and play for a win with 35.Qd4! 35.Qc3

35…Nge3+? This is a serious mistake. The right continuation was 35...d4 36.Qc5 Nd6! 37.Rc7 d3! and White has problems holding this position. The key is that he can trade queens only in a very bad situation: 38.Qc3 Ne3+ 39.Kg1 Nd5

40.Qxf6+ Kxf6 41.Rd7 Ke6 42.Rd8 Nxf4 -/+ 36.Kg1 d4 37.Qc5 At this point the ex-champion realized that he had lost his advantage. After playing 37...Ne7 he offered a draw. After 37...Nd6 38.Rc7 Black can’t avoid transposing into an endgame. The final position is most likely drawn. For example, 38.Rb8 N3d5! 39.Qxd4 (39.Rxb7 d3!) 39...Nc6 40.Qxf6+ Kxf6 41.Rxb7 Nxa5 with the inevitable extermination of the pawns. 1/2-1/2 Kramnik,V (2797) - Morozevich,A (2749) [D17] Morozevich is playing perfectly in the second part of the tournament. Finally he has pulled himself together. Note that he managed to hold both great "Ks" to draws on the black side. However, he failed to do so with the white pieces. Playing with White is Alexander’s old weak spot. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Nxc4 Qc7 8.g3 e5 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Bf4 Nfd7 11.Bg2 g5!? This line is Morozevich’s trademark. At first glance this move defies all positional principles. However, it is not that easy to refute this continuation. 12.Ne3 gxf4 13.Nxf5 0-0-0 14.Qc2 White’s f5 pawn is very strong and his pawn structure is better. On the other hand there are some drawbacks -- the c3-knight and g2-bishop have no prospects.

14...Nc5! A novelty, looking like a good one. Alexander opted for an inferior move when facing the thirteenth World Champion: 14...Ng4 15.a5! fxg3 16.hxg3 a6 17.Ra4! Ndf6 18.Ne4 Nxe4 19.Bxe4 h5 20.Kf1 Kb8 21.Kg2 Be7 22.Nxe7 Qxe7 23.Bf3 Ne5 24.Bxh5 and White converted his advantage in the endgame. Kasparov,G-Morozevich,A/Wijk aan Zee 2000/1-0 (45). 15.0-0 15.b4 was not good in view of the counterblow 15...f3! 15...Ne6 With this move Black is not only preventing b2-b4, but also keeping his pawn on f4. On 15...a5 White could have plucked up his courage - 16.gxf4 Nc4 17.Rad1! and Black is in trouble. 16.Rad1 Bc5 17.Ne4 Bb4 An interesting maneuver of the black bishop. This way Morozevich has connected his rooks.

18.Qc1 Kramnik is insisting on trading pawns. If 18.Qb3 then the correct reply, 18...Qb6!, gives Black good counterplay. White had an interesting continuation in 18.Nf6! with the idea of Qe4. Besides, this move contains a trap: 18...Be7? 19.Nd5!+-I can’t see a clear way to equalize for Black. 18...fxg3 19.hxg3 Rxd1 20.Rxd1 Rd8 Black is playing strictly for a draw. This is

the right decision! 21.Bh3 Kb8 22.Kg2 a5 23.b3 Prudence is above all. White has made a solid move and offered a draw. Vladimir could have played for a win with 23.f4. For example, 23...Rxd1 24.Qxd1 Nc4 25.e3! and Black can’t capture on b2 because his knight is trapped. White has good prospects on the kingside. Naturally, Black is not going to twiddle his thumbs. One way or another, the opponents agreed for a draw. 1/2-1/2 Gelfand,B (2712) - Shirov,A (2722) [D45] The summary is quite simple: Boris wanted to win with few casualties. It did not pan out. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 e5 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.e4 This variation became popular after Karpov’s victory over Kramnik in Vienna 1996. Their second encounter in the same year in Las Palmas was a draw. Vladimir tested this position with White against Shirov at Frankfurt 2000. 10...dxe4 Another method of defense for Black is 10...exd4 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.exd5 h6 13.Nxd4 Qh4 14.Nf3 Qh5 15.Bh7+ Kh8 16.Qf5 and here Kramnik brough into fashion the sharp continuation 16...g5 (Karpov - Kramnik, Las-Palmas 1996). 11.Nxe4 Nxe4 12.Bxe4 h6 13.Rd1 More frequently seen is 13.Be3 exd4 14.Bh7+ Kh8 15.Bxd4 Nf6 16.Bf5. 13...Qc7 Dreev opted for 13...exd4 in his game with Dlugy (New York 1990). After 14.Nxd4 Nf6 15.Bf3 Qa5 16.g3 Bg4 17.Bxg4 the opponents agreed to a draw. The encouter Degerman - Telle (Stockholm 1998) saw the continuation of the battle in the endgame of the above mentioned game: 17...Nxg4 18.h3 Nf6 19.Nf5 Rac8 20.Qd3 Bc5 and it came

down to perpetual check pretty soon. 14.Qxc7 Bxc7 15.dxe5 Nxe5 16.Be3 The white bishops are aiming at the queenside. The question is whether Black will be able to bring his light-squared bishop into play. 16...Nxf3+ 17.Bxf3 Be5

In response Alexei is attacking the white pawns on the queenside, paving the way for total exchanges. 18.Bc5 Another possible continuation was 18.Rd2 Be6 19.Rad1 Bxa2 20.Bxb7 Rab8 21.Be4 Rxb2? 22.Rxb2 Bxb2 23.Rd2 Rb8 24.Bxa7 and White wins (because the black rook is overloaded and can’t defend the last rank and bishops at the same time). However, Black is not forced to capture on b2 immediately. 18...Re8 19.Re1 Bd7 20.Bxb7 White would be glad to have a better pawn structure in the line 20.Rad1 Bc6 21.Bxc6 bxc6 22.b3 but as long as the white king has no luft Black can simply capture the pawn: 20...Bxb2. 20...Rab8 21.Rxe5 After 21.Be4 Bxb2 (or 21...Rxb2 22.Bxa7 Bc3 23.Re3 Bd2 24.Bd4! Rb4 25.Rd3 Rxe4 26.Bc5 Rb2 27.Rxd7 Rxa2! 28.Rd1=) 22.Rad1 Bc3 23.Bxa7! Rb2! 24.Bd4! (24.Re3?! Ba4 25.Rf1 Bd2) 24...Bxd4 25.Rxd4 Bc6 26.Kf1 a witty exchange of blows lead to a total extermination of the opponents’ forces. There are a few similar lines. 21...Rxe5 22.Bd6 Ree8 23.Bxb8 Rxb8 24.Be4 The right move! The point is that after 24.Bd5 Rxb2 25.Rc1 Be6 the black rook

is much more active than White’s. 24...Rxb2 25.Rd1 White could have traded rooks with 25.Rb1, although it is just a different way to reach the same result. 25...Be8 After 25...Rxa2 26.f3 (26.Kf1? Bb5+) 26...Be8 27.Rd8 Kf8 28.Bc6 Re2 29.Ra8 the game would have been drawn as well. 26.Rd8 Kf8 27.a4 Ke7 Seeing the line 28.Ra8 Bxa4 29.Rxa7+ Bd7 30.Bf5 Rd2 (or an "impressive" 30...Kf6) the opponents agreed to a draw. 1/2-1/2

Round 10: GM Analysis (Sergei Shipov) Round 10, June 1 Morozevich - Gelfand 1/2 Shirov - Sadvakasov 1:0 Kasparov - Kramnik 1:0 Kasparov,G – Kramnik,V [C67] A classic situation has arisen: Garry has to win in the final round without fail. And he has to outplay his main rival - the world champion - at that. So we can see that after the failures of many years Kasparov managed to beat his successor in such an important game. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 Even before the game commenced, I didn’t doubt that the Berlin Defense would be played. And it really happened this way. Kasparov: I knew that Vladimir would play the Berlin system again. It was a point of honor for me to go for the main line. Kramnik has played this system on a regular basis lately. Contrary to Bareev’s statement, it is not just an “anti-Kasparov” variation, but an opening weapon which my opponent has employed against many opponents – Leko, Shirov and others. I felt obliged to prove that Black had to fight for equality in this line. I can play the Scotch or Italian as well, but the Berlin system is not the reason to abandon the Ruy Lopez. 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 h6 10.h3 Bd7 11.b3 Ke8!?N A novelty! Vladimir is the first to surprise us. Earlier 11...Kc8 was commonly played here, the idea being to move the king to b7. 12.Bb2 Rd8 That’s the idea - Black is developing the queen’s rook. Kasparov: This is a new plan. Kramnik evacuated his king to c8 in his previous games. Black’s idea is to trade a couple of

the rooks. However, this plan has a serious drawback – Black’s king remains in the center. White has to take advantage of this situation as quickly as possible 13.Rad1 Ne7 That’s the standard way of transferring the knight to g6 in this variation. It is this maneuver that has reanimated the Berlin Wall. For Black, bad is 13...Be6 14.g4 Rxd1 15.Rxd1 Ne7 16.Nd4. But 13...Bc8 deserves attention. Kasparov: A very important maneuver (authored by Almasi in a slightly different position). The knight is transferred to g6 via e7 to thwart the advancement of the white pawns on the kingside. After the introduction of this maneuver, the evaluation of the Berlin Defense as a very difficult system for Black has changed. 14.Rfe1! A simultaneously elegant and strong move. There is no point in the stereotyped 14.Ne2 Ng6 15.Rd3 Be7 16.Rfd1 h5! and h5-h4, with Black having a good play. If the intention of breaking through with e5-e6 is clearly defined at once (14.Nd4), Black will respond with 14…Nf5! Kasparov: I spent a lot of time on this move. I started calculating the consequences of the pawn sacrifice on e6 at this point. 14...Ng6 I think that Black should analyze 14...c5 (preventing the white knight from occupying the d4-square) 15.Ne4 Ng6. 15.Ne4 I believe the following might result in White’s advantage: 15.Nd4 Nf4 (otherwise, e5-e6) 16.Ne4 and in response to 16...c5 there is a graceful strike 17.Nf6+! gxf6 18.exf6+ Ne6 19.Nxe6 Bxe6 20.Rxe6+ fxe6 21.f7+ with an almost winning position. 15...Nf4 It would be interesting to develop the light-square bishop: 15...Be6!?, for example, 16.Nd4 Bd5 17.Ng3 Nf4 18.c4 Bxg2 19.Bc1 Rxd4! 20.Rxd4 Ne6 , and Black’s compensation for losing the exchange is not bad. Instead, Vladimir has

made up his mind to gain control of the key e6-square again. However... Kasparov: I could not believe my eyes. It looks like Black has fortified the e6-square with his last move, but White naturally proceeds with this pawn thrust anyway 16.e6! A brilliant move. White is clearing space for his pieces’ activities. 16...Nxe6 Bad is 16...fxe6 17.Be5±, and equally bad is 16...Bxe6 17.Nf6+! gxf6 (17...Ke7 18.Ba3+ Kxf6 19.Rxd8) 18.Rxd8+ Kxd8 19.Bxf6+ and White wins. 17.Nd4 This was played rather quickly. I think, still stronger is 17.Be5 Rc8 (17...Be7 18.Bxg7! Nxg7 19.Nf6+) and here the precise move is 18.Nh4! - and Black’s lot is hard. Both the h4-knight and the f2-pawn can occupy the f5-square. And meanwhile Black’s pieces are located along the 8th rank and are almost unable to move. Kasparov: It looks like White has a winning continuation in this position (a computer points out this move as the first option, but is almost impossible for a human to find such a move at the board): 17.Be5. The point is that after 17...Rc8 18.Nh4 Black is nearly in zugzwang. He can’t do much about the f-pawn’s march f2-f4-f5 (not so strong a forced line is 18.Bf6 Ra8 19.Ne5 Bc8 20.Bh4 g5 21.Bg3 Be7 and Black can hold the position). Black can’t deviate with 17...Bc8 18.Nf6+ Ke7 19.Nh4 g6 20.Nd7 (not so clear is 20.Nd5+ cxd5 21.Bxh8 and Black has some compensation for the exchange.) By the way, an immediate 17.Nh4 threatening f2-f4-f5 does not work in view of 17...Bc8 18.Nf6+ gxf6 19.Rxd8+ Kxd8 20.Bxf6+ Be7 and Black captures the h4-bishop: 21.Bxh8 Bxh4. 17...c5 Losing (gracefully, though) is 17...Bc8 18.Nf6+! gxf6 19.Nxe6 Rxd1 20.Ng7+. The safest defense here is 17...Rh7!, and no clear-cut way of gaining the advantage

can be seen for White. For instance, 18.f4 (18.Nf5 Bc8! 19.Bf6 Rxd1 20.Rxd1 c5) 18...c5 19.Nxe6 (19.Nf3 Bc6!) 19...Bxe6 20.Bf6 Rxd1 21.Rxd1 Bd6 22.Bh4 f6 23.Nxd6+ cxd6 24.Rxd6 with equality. Kasparov: The reflection on this move consumed more than an hour of Vladimir’s time. He had just 18 minutes left up to the time control. Indeed, there is a whole array of options in this position. It is easy to commit a mistake on every move. On 17...Rh7 I was going to play 18.f4 c5 (after 18...Be7 19.Nf5 Bc8 20.Nxe7 Rxd1 21.Rxd1 Kxe7 22.f5 Nf4 23.f6+ Black loses) 19.Nf3 Bc6 20.Rb1! This is an extremely important move. White protects his bishop in the line 20...Bxe4 (bad is 20...Be7 21.f5 Nd4 22.f6) 21.Rxe4 g6 22.g4 Bg7 (No fun for Black is 22...Rd5 23.c4 Rd3 24.Ne1 Rxh3 25.f5, whereas on 22...Kd7 White can react by 23.Ne5+ Kc8 24.Nxg6 , regaining a pawn and keeping the edge. I reached this position in my calculations in the course of the game.) 23.f5; Another option for Black is 17...Bc8 18.Nf6+ gxf6 19.Nxe6 Rxd1 20.Ng7+ Kd7 21.Rxd1+ Bd6 22.Bxf6 c5 (after 22...h5 23.c4 Rh6 24.Bd4 Black is in deep trouble) 23.g4. After this important move Black is nearly in zugzwang. My opponent feared this continuation the most. On the other hand, White has another good option, namely 18.Nxe6 Rxd1 19.Nxc7+ Kd8 20.Rxd1+ Kxc7 21.Be5+ Kb6 22.Rd8 Bf5 and at this point neither 23.Nd6 23...Bxd6 24.Bd4+ c5 25.Rxd6+ Kc7 26.Be5 Re8 27.f4 g6 28.g4 Be4 29.c4 Kc8 30.Rf6 Re7 31.Bd6 Rd7 32.Bxc5 (and White’s win is in doubt), nor 23.Nd2 Bxc2 24.Nc4+ Ka6 25.Bd6 Bxd6 26.Rxh8 Bc5 and Black’s bishops are very strong. The right path is 23.Nc3 Bxc2 24.Na4+ Ka6 (24...Kb5 25.Rd7 Ka6 26.Rxf7) 25.Nc5+ Bxc5 26.Rxh8. White preserves his bishop and has good winning chances. 18.Nf5 Not as strong is 18.Nxe6 fxe6!. 18...Rh7

Kasparov: The only move 19.Bf6! Rc8 20.Bxg7 Leading to a better ending. As a matter of fact, it is possible to prolong the tension with 20.f4, because it is extremely difficult for Black to gain a free hand. Kasparov: This was not the best move. My previous-round game with Sadvakasov played a bad joke on me. Being in time trouble I did not capture the a5-pawn and let the victory slip in that game. For this reason I subconsciously wanted to restore material equilibrium in this encounter. Much better was 20.f4 Bc6. There are two interesting lines here: A. 21.Bh4 21...Bxe4 22.Rxe4 g6 23.Ne3 Be7 24.Bxe7 Kxe7 25.Nd5+ Kf8 26.Nf6 Rh8 27.Rd7 (an important move) 27...c4 28.Rxc4 Kg7 29.Nd5 c6 30.f5 gxf5 31.Ne7 and White is clearly better. B.21.Nfg3 – Kramnik feared this move the most. After 21...Bd6 White wins in all variations - 22.Nxd6+ cxd6 23.f5 gxf6 24.fxe6 d5 (24...fxe6 25.Rxe6+ Re7 26.Rxf6±) 25.e7 h5 26.Nf5 Kd7 27.c4 d4 28.b4 b6 (after 28...Ba4 29.Rd2 b6 30.Re3 the black bishop is trapped again) 29.b5 Ba8 30.Nxd4 cxd4 31.e8Q+ and White wins. The only move is 21...g6. After 22.Bh4 (also deserving attention is 22.c4 b6 23.f5 gxf5 24.Nxf5; or even the immediate 22.f5 gxf5 23.Nxf5 – in both cases White has a stable and long-lasting advantage) 22...Be7 23.Bxe7 (not so clear is 23.Nf6+ Bxf6 24.Bxf6 Kf8 25.f5 Nf4) 23...Kxe7 24.Nxc5 – and White has good winning chances. 20...Bxg7 21.Nxg7+ Rxg7 22.Nf6+ Ke7 23.Nxd7 Rd8 24.Ne5 Rxd1 25.Rxd1 Kasparov: Black had a good option in 25...Nd4, which left him chances for defense. 25…Nf4 26.Kh1! The transition into the rook ending via 26.Ng4 Nxh3+ 27.gxh3 f5 28.f3 h5 29.Kf2 fxg4 30.hxg4 hxg4 31.Rg1 is not that dangerous for Black. His king occupies the position in front of the white pawn, and the rook is activated.

Kasparov: This is the best move and enables White to fight for the advantage. In the course of the game I thought that after 26.Ng4 Nxh3+ 27.gxh3 h5 28.f3 f5 29.Kf2 hxg4 30.hxg4 fxg4 31.Rg1 White’s advantage was insufficient for a victory. Indeed, the pawn endgame that might emerge after 31...c4 32.Rxg4 (Black easily reaches a draw in the rook ending after 32.bxc4 Rg6) 32...Rxg4 33.fxg4 cxb3 34.cxb3 Kf6 is drawing. There was one more option for White: 26.Kf1, with the idea of transposing into a knight ending after 26...Nxg2 27.Rd7+ (or 27.Nxf7 Nf4 28.Nxh6 Rh7 and White does not have much) 27...Ke6 28.Rxf7 Rxf7 29.Nxf7 Nf4. However, it did not promise much. Black has good chances to hold the game in this case. 26...Rg5 Of course, not 26...Rxg2? 27.Nd3; 26...Nxg2? 27.Rg1 Rg5 28.Nf3. 27.Ng4 The continuation 27.Nf3 Rxg2!? 28.Re1+ Kd6 29.Re4 Rxf2 30.Rxf4 Rxc2 results in an extra piece for White, but at the same time Black manages to capture too many pawns. 27...Rd5 Kasparov: Black could have played 27...h5 28.Ne3 and White would have had a slight but long-lasting advantage 28.Re1+ Towards the time-trouble, Garry refuses to trade off the rooks in order to make the game more complicated. I stopped analyzing the knight ending after the moves 28.Rxd5 Nxd5 29.Nxh6 Nb4 30.Nf5+ Ke6 31.Ne3 Nxa2 32.h4 - White’s position is better, but it is unclear how much better. Kasparov: A correct move. White has no advantage in the knight ending. 28...Kf8 29.Nxh6 Rd2?! A slip. First he should have included the moves 29...Kg7! 30.Ng4 and only then the rook could well intrude - 30...Rd2 - and further possible is 31.Re4 Ne6 32.Ne3 Rxf2 33.Kg1 Rd2 34.Kf1 Kf6 35.Ke1, and White, having banished the

opponent’s active rook, retains his chances for victory thanks to his pawn superiority on the kingside. Kasparov: Much better was 29...Kg7! White’s only hope in this case is to launch an attack on the black king without numerous forces. For example 30.Ng4 Rd2 31.Re4 Ne6 32.c3! Rxa2 33.f4 and snatching the opponent’s pawns looks too dangerous for Black. For example 33...Rb2 34.f5 Nd8 35.Re8 Nc6 36.h4 Rxb3 37.h5 Rxc3 38.h6+ Kh7 39.Rf8 and White wins. 30.Re5! The white rook’s answering intrusion proves stronger. It heads for f5. 30...Rxf2? The decisive slip. More stubborn is 30...Kg7! and it is difficult for White to win. A) After 31.Nf5+?! Kf6 32.Ne3 (32.Rxc5 Ne6) 32...Kxe5 33.Nc4+ Kd4 34.Nxd2 Kc3 Black has serious counterplay. B) Also possible is 31.Nxf7 Rxc2! (worse is 31...Rxf2 32.Rf5! Kg6 33.g4 Nxh3 34.Ne5+ Kg7 35.Rxf2 Nxf2+ 36.Kg2 +/-) , and here White has a number of possibilities: 32.Rf5, 32.Nd8 or 32.Re7 - and no clearly-defined win can be seen anywhere. The black rook takes almost all of the white pawns. C) I reckon the following move is the best: 31.Rf5! 31...Kxh6 32.Rxf4 Rxc2 (32...Kg6 33.Rg4+ Kf6 34.Rc4 Rxf2 35.Rxc5 +/-) 33.Rxf7 Rxa2 with a very sharp rook ending - 34.g4!? and so on. It is unclear whether White can win here. Kasparov: This is a serious mistake. White is winning easily after this move. Bad was 30...Kg7 31.Rf5 Kxh6 (after 31...Nxh3 32.Ng4 the black knight is trapped, whereas the rook ending that arises after 31...Nxg2 32.Kxg2 Kxh6 33.Rxc5± is very bad for Black) 32.Rxf4 Rxc2 33.Rxf7 Rxa2 34.Rxc7 b6 35.f4 Ra3 36.g4 and White’s passed pawns supported by the rook are first to reach the last rank. However, Black could have played 30...Rxc2 31.Rf5 Rxf2 32.Ng4 (an unclear endgame emerges after 32.Rxf7+ Ke8

33.Rf5 Nd3) 32...Rxg2 33.Rxf4 Rxa2. White has winning chances in this ending, but it is not that easy to break down Black’s resistance. 31.Rf5 A decisive pin. Kasparov: The rest is smooth sailing for White. 31...Kg7 32.Ng4 Rxg2 33.Rxf4 Rxc2 34.Rf2 White has not merely won the piece, but also saved the queenside from destruction. The game’s outcome is clear. 34...Rc3 35.Kg2 b5 36.h4! This is the most precise way to victory. 36...c4 37.h5 cxb3 38.axb3 Rc5 Or 38...Rxb3 39.h6+ Kg8 (39...Kg6 40.Rf6+) 40.Nf6+ Kf8 41.Re2+-. 39.h6+ Kf8 40.Nf6 Rg5+ 41.Kh1! White’s rook moves to h2. Black resigns. Garry Kasparov wins the tournament - congratulations! 1-0 Morozevich,A - Gelfand,B [C55] Alexander tried to act in accordance with the recipe that had secured him a victory in the game with Shirov: a calm opening followed by gaining slight advantages in the middle-game. But Boris did not agree to this, and, with the help of the positional sacrifice of a pawn, he forced his opponent to turn to a patient defense. And when Morozevich was about to change the situation for the better, Boris’s new sacrifice resulted in a drawish ending. 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.0-0 0-0 6.Re1 d6 7.a4 Nd4!? Here the common continuations are 7...Be6, 7...h6 and 7...Kh8. 8.Nxd4 exd4 9.c3 Another plan is to leave the d4-pawn alone for a while and to develop the pieces. Black has enough resources to obtain good play: 9.Nd2 Bg4 (9...Be6) 10.Nf3 (10.f3 Be6 11.Nb3 d5!? 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd4 Bc5 14.c3 Bxd4+ 15.cxd4 c6) 10...d5!? 11.exd5 Bb4 12.Re5 Bd6 13.Re1 Bb4.

9...dxc3 10.Nxc3 Be6 That’s how the Nevednichy-Tseshkovsky sharp duel went (Yugoslavia, 1994) - 10...c6 11.Qb3 Ng4 12.d4 Bh4 13.g3 Qf6 14.Re2 Qg6 15.Kh1 Bf6 16.f3 Bxd4 17.fxg4 Bxg4, and Black won. Surely, not all of the above-mentioned moves are necessary. 11.Bxe6 Perhaps, next time Alexander will prefer 11.Qb3. 11...fxe6 12.Qb3 Qd7! Boris does not want to defend passively. After 12...Qc8, dubious is the immediate 13.e5 in view of 13...Ng4, but White can prepare this advance by means of 13.h3 or 13.Bg5. 13.Qxb7 Ng4 The queen is difficult to catch, but Black gains a long-lasting initiative for the sacrificed pawn. 14.Nd1 In response to 14.Re2 Black makes the following moves 14...Bh4 15.g3 Rfb8! (this is better than 15...Bf6 16.Nb5) 16.Qa6 Bf6 with sufficient compensation. For White, dangerous is 14.f3 Bh4 15.Re2 (15.g3? Ne5! 16.gxh4 Nxf3+ 17.Kf1 Qf7 with a decisive attack ) 15...Ne5 16.d4 Rab8 17.Qa6 (17.Qxa7? Ra8 18.Qb7 Nxf3+! 19.gxf3 Rfb8 - in this line the queen is done for, though ) 17...Rb6 18.Qa5 Nc6 19.Qh5 (White has moved his strongest piece away from the danger zone, but in the meantime his opponent has managed to obtain an excellent position) 19...Bf6 20.d5 Nd4 21.Rf2 Nb3 -/+. 14...Bf6 15.Qb3 Or 15.h3 Ne5 16.Qb3 c5 15...c5 What deserves attention is 15...Bd4!? 16.Be3 A) Now the beauty is to White’s advantage - 16...Rab8 17.Qc2 Rxf2?! (the exclamation mark goes for beauty, whereas the question-mark stands for the real value of this move) 18.Bxf2 Nxf2 19.Qc4! (19.Nxf2? Rxb2) 19...c5 20.Nxf2 Rxb2 21.Rf1 and now losing elegantly is 21...Qf7 22.Qxd4!! cxd4 23.Nd1 Qb7

24.Nxb2 Qxb2 25.Rab1 followed by a mate on b8. B) The bishop’s impartial retreat is much better - 16...Be5 17.h3 Nxe3 18.Rxe3 (bad is 18.fxe3 Qf7 followed by Bg3) 18...Rab8 19.Qc2 c5, and Black’s pieces occupy active positions. 16.f4 Bd4+ 17.Kh1 Rab8 18.Qc2 Qf7 19.h3 It is better to make this move at once, in order not to calculate the possible awful consequences of 19.Rf1 Nxh2! 20.Kxh2 Qh5+ 21.Kg3 g5!. 19...Qh5 With an obvious threat of Qh4-g3. 20.Rf1 In response to 20.Qe2 there follows 20...Nf6, and in case of the queen exchange, Black wins the pawn back. 20...Qh4 Hinting at 21...Qg3 again. 21.Qe2 h5 Maybe he will slip up at last?! 22.Ne3! Morozevich regains the material. After 22.Qe1 Qxe1 23.Rxe1 Nf6, followed by h5-h4, White’s flanks are weak, and Black can count on a heavy pawn crop. 22...Nxe3 23.Bxe3 Rxb2 24.Qf3 Bxe3 Here is a possible way of playing for an advantage: 24...Be5, but don’t forget that a draw can well satisfy Gelfand. 25.Qxe3 Qf6 26.f5 exf5 27.Rxf5 Re2!? An effective transition into the ending without a pawn. But Boris has correctly evaluated the resulting rook ending. 28.Rxf6 In response to 28.Qc1 there probably follows 28...Qg6 29.Rxf8+ Kxf8 30.Qf1+ Qf6! 31.Qxf6+ gxf6 32.Rb1 c4 33.dxc4 Rxe4 34.Rb7 a5 with a draw. 28...Rxe3 29.Rxd6 Rf2 The necessity of protecting the g2-square prevents White’s second rook from actively participating in the game. The further events need no comments. 30.Rd5 h4 31.a5 Rg3 32.Rg1 Ra2 33.Rxc5 Rxd3 34.Rh5 Rg3 35.Rxh4 Rxa5 36.Kh2 Rg6 37.Rf4 Ra2 38.h4 Re2 39.Kh3 Re6 40.Ra1 R2xe4 41.Rxe4 Rxe4 42.Rxa7 g6 1/2-1/2

Shirov,A - Sadvakasov,D (2585) [C02] This was a dramatic duel. The hardened grandmaster’s technique played the decisive role. 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Nh6 6.a3 Nf5 7.b4 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bd7 9.Bb2 Qb6 10.g4 Nh6 11.h3 Rc8 12.Nc3 Na5 13.Na4 Qc6 14.Rc1N This is an introduction to an enchanting spectacle. Earlier we could come across 14.Nc5 Nc4 15.Bc1 Be7 16.Bd3 b6 17.Nxd7 Kxd7 18.0-0, with White having an advantage, Vysochin,S-Smikovski,I/St Petersburg 1996/1-0 (43). 14...Nc4 15.Rxc4!? A creative move. 15...dxc4 16.Nc3 White has positional compensation. But it is unlikely to suffice even for a equality. However, this can be hardly proved in the game against Shirov. 16...Qb6 17.Bg2 a5! 18.b5! With the exchange lost, there is no point in crying for the pawns! 18...Bxb5 19.d5 Bc5 20.0-0 Rd8?! [20...exd5!] 21.d6 Bc6 22.Qe2 Qa6?! [22...0-0!] 23.Rb1 Ba7 24.Bc1 Rc8 25.Be3 Bxe3 26.Qxe3 b5 27.Ng5 Bxg2 28.Kxg2 Qb7+ [28...Rb8 29.Qc5!] 29.Qe4 Qxe4+ 30.Ngxe4 0-0 31.Rxb5 Alexey has managed to confuse his young counterpart. White has already gained an advantage. 31...f6! 32.Rxa5 Evidently, better is 32.g5! 32...fxe5 33.Rxe5 Nf7 34.Rxe6 Rce8 35.Rxe8 Rxe8 36.Kf3 Re6 37.Nb5 Re5 38.a4 Rd5 39.Ke2 Nd8 40.f3 Nc6 Now it looks like equality. But the fight is continuing with the same tension. 41.Ke3 Rd3+ 42.Kf4 Kf7 43.Ng5+ Kf6 44.Ne4+ Kf7 45.Ng5+ Kg6 46.h4 h6 47.h5+ Kf6 48.Ne4+ Kf7 49.g5 Rd5 50.g6+ Kf8 51.Ng3 Rd1 52.Nf5 Rd5 53.Ke4 Re5+ 54.Kf4 Rd5 55.Ke4 Re5+ 56.Kf4 Rc5?! And this was done in vain! He should have accepted a draw.

57.Nc3 Nd8 58.Ke4 Ne6 59.f4 Ke8 60.Ng3 Kd7 61.f5 The white pawns have become too dangerous. Black is living through hard times. 61...Ng5+ 62.Kd4 Rc6 63.Nge4 Nxe4 64.Nxe4 c3 65.Nxc3 Kxd6 66.a5 Ke7 67.Nd5+ Kf8 68.Nb4 Rc8 69.a6 Ra8 70.Kc5 Ke8 71.Nd5 Kd8 72.f6 1-0