[Event "66th ch-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Nizhny Novgorod RUS"]
[Date "2013.10.05"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Kramnik, V."]
[Black "Shomoev, A."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A05"]
[WhiteElo "2796"]
[BlackElo "2579"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2013.10.05"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2013.10.07"]
{For this week's blog post I'll show all the games played so far in this
year's Russian Championship, with brief annotations of the critical moments of
each game. The top seeds are Kramnik, Karjakin and Svidler, and the defending
champion Andreikin is also playing.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 {Kramnik often plays
this way when he wants to avoid a theoretical tussle and just outplay his
opponent on technique.} b6 3. Bg2 Bb7 4. O-O e6 5. d3 (5. d4 {would bring the
game into Queen's Indian territory.}) 5... d5 6. Nbd2 g6 {A curious setup;} (
6... Be7 {for instance would be standard here.}) 7. c4 Bg7 8. b4 {Objectively
this move is doubtful, but otherwise the game would not have been so beautiful!
} (8. Rb1 {and only then b4 would be a sounder approach to avoid what comes
next.}) 8... Ne4 9. cxd5 (9. d4 Nxd2 10. Qxd2 dxc4 11. Qc3 b5 {leaves White a
pawn down for not that much. When one says A you have to follow with B!}) 9...
exd5 10. Nb3 Bxa1 11. Nxa1 Nd6 12. Bg5 {White is down an exchange but in
return he has eliminated Black's strong dark-squared bishop and his position
has some holes. Black should be able to defend but in the game he doesn't
succeed in this.} f6 13. Bf4 a5 14. bxa5 Rxa5 15. Qc2 c5 16. Nb3 Ra7 {Black
has defended well and will consolidate his extra exchange if given time to
complete his development. Therefore, from a practical viewpoint White's next
is forced.} 17. Nxc5 bxc5 18. Qxc5 Ra6 19. Rb1 Nd7 {After playing very
strongly, Shomoev caves in to the pressure.} (19... Ba8 {would leave White
without any direct threats, and is basically a rook down.}) 20. Qe3+ Kf7 (20...
Qe7 21. Bxd6 Qxe3 22. fxe3 Rxd6 23. Rxb7 {gives White fantastic compensation
for the exchange, but this was still the way to go. The game continuation is
just downhill.}) 21. Bxd6 Ba8 22. Qf4 Re8 23. Nd4 (23. Rb2 {was safe and good,
but Kramnik doesn't care about the a2-pawn, preferring to make his initiative
as strong as possible.}) 23... Rxa2 (23... Kg8 {offered the only real chances
of holding.}) 24. Bh3 {Now the attack is just too strong. Especially the
a8-bishop is out of play but just generally Black's pieces have no
coordination.} Raxe2 25. Nxe2 Rxe2 26. Qh6 1-0 [Event "66th ch-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Nizhny Novgorod RUS"]
[Date "2013.10.05"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Svidler, P."]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, I."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A34"]
[WhiteElo "2740"]
[BlackElo "2702"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "131"]
[EventDate "2013.10.05"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2013.10.07"]
1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e3 Nxc3 6. bxc3 g6 {The thing
with this Anti-Grunfeld setup is that by not playing d4, White does not
present Black with a target to attack. White will play d4 only when Black has
committed himself to some other plan.} 7. h4 Bg7 8. h5 {This h-pawn advance
makes it less comfortable for Black to castle.} Nc6 9. Rb1 (9. Qa4 {with the
idea of} O-O 10. hxg6 hxg6 11. Qh4 {was also possible.}) 9... Qc7 10. d4 Bd7
11. Bd3 Rd8 12. Qc2 Bg4 ({Maybe Black should have braved} 12... O-O {but I
also prefer White's position here as his centre is solid as a rock. Black
almost always suffers in the Grunfeld when he can't break down all of White's
centre.}) 13. Ng5 cxd4 14. Qb3 (14. exd4 {was simpler and stronger; if} Bxh5 {
only then} 15. Qb3 {is effective.}) 14... e6 (14... e5 {might have been better.
}) 15. exd4 Rd7 16. Ne4 O-O 17. hxg6 hxg6 18. Bg5 f6 19. Be3 Na5 20. Qc2 {Here
White is still better as Black's king is unsafe and his minor pieces are all
over the place. I'd love to cover the rest of this game but there are others
to go through too!} b6 21. f3 Bf5 22. Rc1 Nc4 23. Bf2 Rc8 24. Qe2 e5 25. O-O
Rdd8 26. Bh4 Rf8 27. g4 Be6 28. f4 exf4 29. Nc5 Bf7 30. Ne6 Qd6 31. Nxf8 Bxf8
32. Qh2 Qe6 33. Qxf4 Bd6 34. Bxc4 Rxc4 35. Qf3 g5 36. Rce1 Qd7 37. Bg3 Be7 38.
Rf2 Bd8 39. Re3 b5 40. Qe4 Kg7 41. Qf5 Qxf5 42. Rxf5 b4 43. Rc5 Rxc3 44. Rexc3
bxc3 45. Rxc3 Bxa2 46. Ra3 Be6 47. Rxa7+ Kf8 48. Bc7 Be7 49. Bb6 Ke8 50. Bc5
Bd8 51. Kf2 Bxg4 52. d5 Bc8 53. Rg7 f5 54. Rg8+ Kd7 55. Rg7+ Ke8 56. Rg8+ Kd7
57. Rf8 f4 58. Kf3 Ba6 59. Ke4 Bf1 60. Rf7+ Ke8 61. Rf8+ Kd7 62. Rf7+ Ke8 63.
Rh7 Bf6 64. d6 Bb5 65. Kf5 Bc3 66. Re7+ 1-0 [Event "66th ch-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Nizhny Novgorod RUS"]
[Date "2013.10.05"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Andreikin, D."]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A15"]
[WhiteElo "2706"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2013.10.05"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2013.10.07"]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 {These English/Reti systems are very popular among Russian
GMs, as I have stated before on the blog.} b6 3. Nc3 Bb7 4. d4 e6 5. a3 {With
this move White prevents ...Bb4 and helps support d5/e4 to take over the
centre.} d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. e3 g6 (7... c5 8. Bb5+ {is worse for Black.}) 8. h4
{Again this h4 move! It is a quite trendy way to keep Black distracted from an
effective central counterattack with ...c5.} Bg7 9. h5 Nd7 10. Bd3 Nxc3 11.
bxc3 e5 12. e4 Qe7 13. O-O O-O 14. Re1 {The Black bishops look nice, eyeing
both White's central pawns, but piece play alone won't break down these pawns.
The computer thinks Black is okay but I would prefer White.} Rfe8 (14... exd4
15. cxd4 c5 16. Bg5 Qe6 17. hxg6 hxg6 18. d5 Qg4 19. Rb1 {looks like best play
- I like White's centre but Black can try to undermine it with} Ne5 {followed
possibly by ...f5 at some point.}) 15. a4 a6 16. Bc4 c6 17. h6 Bf6 18. Ba3 {
Suddenly White has a very strong initiative and Black is tied purely to
defence. This is the direct result of not challenging White's centre with ...
c5 in time.} c5 19. dxc5 (19. Rb1 {was even better, retaining the pressure and
making dxc5 a strong threat.}) 19... Nxc5 20. Bxc5 Qxc5 21. Qb3 Re7 22. Rab1
Bc6 23. Red1 Rb8 24. Bd5 Be8 25. c4 {The d5-bishop is technically a bad bishop,
but because it is outside the pawn chain, it is a very strong piece. White is
clearly better.} Rc7 26. Ra1 Kf8 (26... b5 {at least tries to break out,
though I still like White's position by far after} 27. cxb5 axb5 28. a5 {and
the passed a-pawn is very strong.}) 27. Qb2 a5 28. Rd3 Kg8 29. Rb3 Ra7 30. Ne1
{Black has too many weaknesses. Eventually one of the pawns will fall,
provided White is methodical.} Qd4 31. Qa2 (31. Rb1 Qxb2 32. R3xb2 {was more
clinical. Once b6 falls the c-pawn will be a monster.}) 31... Be7 32. Nf3 Qc5
33. Nxe5 {Now White has won a pawn while keeping his positional advantages.
The rest is not difficult.} Bg5 34. Ng4 Qd4 35. c5 Kf8 36. c6 f5 37. Rf3 Bf7
38. Ne3 fxe4 39. Rd1 Qc5 40. Bxe4 Bxh6 41. Rd7 Rxd7 42. cxd7 Qc1+ 43. Kh2 1-0 [Event "66th ch-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Nizhny Novgorod RUS"]
[Date "2013.10.05"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Goganov, A."]
[Black "Vitiugov, N."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E11"]
[WhiteElo "2575"]
[BlackElo "2729"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2013.10.05"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2013.10.07"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Qe7 5. g3 Bxd2+ 6. Qxd2 {This is the
correct recapture so the queen's knight can go to c3 and fight for control of
e4 and d5.} Nc6 7. Nc3 d5 (7... d6 {and ...e5 is the other setup, but this is
generally good for White.}) 8. Ne5 dxc4 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Bg2 O-O 11. O-O Rb8 {
Despite the tripled pawns, Black is doing fine as he has active piece play and
pressure on White's pawns on b2 and later d4.} 12. Rfd1 Rd8 (12... e5 {was an
interesting way of breaking out and freeing the c8-bishop.}) 13. Qc2 Ba6 14.
Ne4 (14. Bxc6 Nd5 {would trap White's bishop in on c6. Only a computer could
play like this!}) 14... Nxe4 15. Bxe4 g6 16. Bxc6 Qb4 17. Rab1 Rd6 18. Bf3 Qa5
19. b3 {Now the position slightly favours White due to his more cohesive pawn
structure.} Rb4 20. bxc4 {This move only frees Black's position. Any normal
move (e.g. e3) would keep an edge.} Rxc4 21. Rb8+ Kg7 22. Qb2 Qc3 23. Qxc3 Rxc3
{Now Black already has an edge. Again due to the large number of games I have
to cover, I'll stop here.} 24. Ra8 c5 25. Rxa7 cxd4 26. Rd2 Bc4 27. h4 e5 28.
Rb2 Ra6 29. Rxa6 Bxa6 30. a4 Rc4 31. Bb7 Rxa4 32. Bxa6 Rxa6 33. f3 h5 34. Kf2
Kf6 35. e3 Ke6 36. exd4 exd4 37. g4 Ke5 38. gxh5 gxh5 39. Rb5+ Kf4 40. Rxh5
Ra2+ 41. Ke1 f5 42. Rh8 Ke3 43. Re8+ Kxf3 44. h5 Rh2 45. Rh8 f4 46. h6 Re2+ 47.
Kd1 Re6 48. h7 Re7 49. Kd2 Ke4 50. Ke2 d3+ 51. Kf2 f3 52. Ra8 Rxh7 53. Ra4+ Kd5
54. Ke3 Rf7 55. Ra1 f2 56. Rf1 Kc4 57. Kd2 Ra7 58. Rc1+ Kd4 59. Ra1 Ra2+ 0-1[Event "66th ch-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Nizhny Novgorod RUS"]
[Date "2013.10.05"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "Motylev, A."]
[Black "Inarkiev, E."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2676"]
[BlackElo "2695"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2013.10.05"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2013.10.07"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 {With this move White wants to avoid the
Berlin Wall systems with} (4. O-O Nxe4 {.}) 4... d6 5. O-O (5. d4 {is White's
normal reply when Black plays ...d6 but here it costs him a tempo.}) 5... Bd7
6. c3 g6 7. Re1 Bg7 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. Ba4 {This might seem a mysterious move, but
White wants to keep his bishop protected so he can play d4.} (9. d4 Nxd4 10.
Nxd4 exd4 11. Bxd7 Nxd7 {for instance is a nasty trick exploiting good old
LPDO.}) 9... Re8 10. Nf1 h6 11. Ng3 d5 {One of the advantages of placing the
bishop on g7 instead of e7 is that it frees Black's e8-rook to defend the
e5-pawn. However the bishop might end up out of play hitting e5 if Black isn't
careful.} 12. h3 (12. Be3 {getting the bits out was also an option.}) 12... b6
{Admittedly I don't completely understand this move. Perhaps it is a waiting
move to see how White will respond, so that Black may commit himself
accordingly.} 13. Bb3 Be6 14. Ba4 Bd7 15. Bb3 dxe4 (15... Be6 {would be a
silent draw offer.}) 16. dxe4 {If White can get a knight to d5 or f5 in this
structure he's normally doing well, and the same goes for Black if he can get
a knight to f4.} Qe7 17. Qe2 a5 18. a4 {This stops Black gaining space, but
now the a4-pawn is a bit weak.} Nd8 {A nice manoeuvre - the knight will be
very strong on c5.} 19. Be3 (19. Bc4 Nb7 20. b3 {with equality was better.})
19... Nb7 20. Qc2 Red8 21. Bc4 Nd6 22. Bf1 Bc6 23. Nd2 Nh7 24. b4 Nf8 {Now
Black is starting to get control of the position. White's last move weakened
his queenside pawns a bit.} 25. Nb3 {This is an oversight.} axb4 26. a5 (26.
cxb4 Bxa4 {is no good for White.}) 26... bxc3 27. Qxc3 Bxe4 28. axb6 Rxa1 29.
Rxa1 cxb6 30. Bxb6 Rc8 {Black has good winning chances here due to his extra
pawn. Still the game didn't have to end so quickly.} 31. Qb4 Bc2 32. Bc5 Bxb3
33. Bxd6 Qe6 34. Ra7 Bc4 35. Re7 {An error, but White's position was already
unenviable.} Qd5 36. Bxc4 Rxc4 37. Qb8 Qd1+ 38. Kh2 Rc1 39. Ne4 Qh1+ 40. Kg3
Rg1 0-1[Event "66th ch-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Nizhny Novgorod RUS"]
[Date "2013.10.06"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, I."]
[Black "Andreikin, D."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2702"]
[BlackElo "2706"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2013.10.05"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2013.10.07"]
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. dxc5 {If White doesn't take, Black will argue he
has an improved French Defence with ...Nc6, ...Bf5 and ...e6 in some order,
though} (4. c4 {is an interesting way to liven up the position.}) 4... Nc6 5.
a3 {Not a very common move. White wants to play b4 and gain some queenside
space, and also give his queen's bishop a nice square on b2.} (5. Bb5 {is more
common.}) 5... e6 (5... Nxe5 {may well be the right way to play this position,
but it's anything but clear.}) 6. Nf3 Bxc5 7. b4 Bb6 8. Bb2 Nge7 9. Bd3 Ng6 10.
O-O O-O 11. Re1 {Objectively Black must be okay, but White's position is very
harmonious and the only way for Black to challenge White's centre is with ...
f6, but after exf6 his king will be quite weakened from the exchange.} a5 (
11... f6 12. exf6 gxf6 {may still have been strongest though, to avoid what
happens in the game.}) 12. b5 Nce7 13. a4 (13. Nbd2 a4 {is Black's idea,
leaving the b5-pawn a bit stranded (not that it matters so much).}) 13... Bc5
14. Nbd2 Qb6 15. Rf1 {White doesn't mind this backstep as the queen+bishop
battery will no longer exist after Nb3.} Qc7 16. Nb3 b6 17. Re1 Bb4 18. c3 Bc5
19. Rc1 Bb7 20. Nbd4 {Black's position looks solid but is really very passive.
White can just keep building up and there's not much Black can do in the
meantime.} Rae8 21. Rc2 Nf4 22. Bf1 Nf5 23. Bc1 Ng6 24. Bd3 Bc8 {White's next
two moves are superb, intending to kick away Black's knights from the defence
of the kingside.} 25. g3 h6 {Not the best defence as now White has a pawn to
target on the kingside, but it was already very difficult to survive the
coming attack.} 26. h4 Qd8 27. h5 Nge7 28. Nb3 {White threatens g4 winning the
f5-knight, and Black's desperate try doesn't change the outcome.} Nxg3 29. Nxc5
Nxh5 30. Nh2 bxc5 31. Qxh5 c4 32. Bf1 Nf5 33. Ba3 d4 34. Bg2 d3 35. Rd2 Ne7 36.
Qg4 1-0[Event "66th ch-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Nizhny Novgorod RUS"]
[Date "2013.10.06"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Vitiugov, N."]
[Black "Motylev, A."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D12"]
[WhiteElo "2729"]
[BlackElo "2676"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "137"]
[EventDate "2013.10.05"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2013.10.07"]
{This game was a pretty quiet affair, despite the decisive result: White got a
small positional advantage in the early middlegame (Black didn't have much
activity for the IQP), but Black defended well to reach a level endgame.
However Black then made some mistakes in the rook endgame which allowed White
to haul in the win.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4
Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. Bd3 Nbd7 9. Bd2 Bd6 10. h3 Qe7 11. Qb3 Rb8 12. Qc2 a6 13.
a3 e5 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. cxd5 cxd5 16. Ne2 O-O 17. Bc3 Rbc8 18. Rd1 Rfd8 19. O-O
Bb8 20. Qb1 Nc4 21. g3 Ne4 22. Bxe4 Qxe4 23. Qxe4 dxe4 24. Rxd8+ Rxd8 25. Rc1
Be5 26. Bxe5 Nxe5 27. Nd4 Nf3+ 28. Nxf3 exf3 29. g4 Rd2 30. b4 Ra2 31. Rc8+ Kh7
32. Rc7 f6 33. g5 f5 34. Rxb7 Rxa3 35. Kh2 a5 36. b5 Rb3 37. Kg3 a4 38. Kxf3 a3
39. b6 a2 40. Ra7 Rxb6 41. Rxa2 Rb1 42. Kg2 Kg8 43. Ra8+ Kf7 44. Ra7+ Kf8 45.
Ra4 Re1 46. Ra3 Rb1 47. Ra4 Re1 48. h4 Rb1 49. f3 Rb3 50. Kf2 Kf7 51. Ra7+ Kf8
52. Ra5 Kg8 53. Re5 Rb1 54. Kg2 Kf7 55. h5 gxh5 56. Rxf5+ Kg6 57. Re5 h4 58.
Re7 Rb3 59. f4 Kh5 60. Kf3 Rb1 61. Rxg7 Rf1+ 62. Ke2 Ra1 63. Kf3 Rf1+ 64. Ke2
Ra1 65. g6 Rh1 66. f5 Kg5 67. Rf7 Rg1 68. g7 Kh6 69. f6 1-0[Event "66th ch-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Nizhny Novgorod RUS"]
[Date "2013.10.06"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Kramnik, V."]
[Black "Svidler, P."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2796"]
[BlackElo "2740"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "2013.10.05"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2013.10.07"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Be3 c5 8.
Rc1 Qa5 9. Qd2 cxd4 10. cxd4 Qxd2+ 11. Kxd2 O-O 12. Bc4 (12. Nf3 {is a lot
more common.}) 12... Nc6 13. Ne2 {This is White's idea: he is defending the
d4-pawn while being able to meet ...Bg4 with f3 keeping the knight.} Rd8 14.
Rhd1 Bxd4 {To some the acceptance of the pawn sacrifice is risky as it opens
the position while Black is behind in development, but he has no weaknesses in
his position and should be able to hold.} 15. Nxd4 Nxd4 16. Ke1 Nc6 17. Rxd8+
Nxd8 18. Bd5 {A nice move to dominate the Black knight. Now allowing a White
rook to c7 would spell bad news, so Black gives back the pawn to reach a
slightly worse but easily drawn rook endgame.} Nc6 19. Bxc6 bxc6 20. Rxc6 Bb7
21. Rc4 a6 22. f3 Rc8 23. Rb4 Bc6 24. Bd2 Kf8 25. Rb6 Bb5 {Kramnik tried to
press for a while from this position, but in the end it didn't make a
difference.} 26. a3 Ke8 27. Rb7 Rd8 28. Ba5 Rd6 29. Rb8+ Kd7 30. Kf2 h5 31.
Rb7+ Ke8 32. Rb8+ Kd7 33. Rb7+ Ke8 34. Bb4 Rd7 35. Rb8+ Rd8 36. Rb6 Rd7 37. h4
Rc7 38. g4 hxg4 39. fxg4 f6 40. e5 Rc6 41. Rb7 Re6 42. exf6 Rxf6+ 43. Kg3 Rf3+
44. Kxf3 Bc6+ 45. Kf4 Bxb7 46. h5 gxh5 47. gxh5 Kf7 48. h6 Kg6 49. Bxe7 Kxh6
1/2-1/2[Event "66th ch-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Nizhny Novgorod RUS"]
[Date "2013.10.06"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Shomoev, A."]
[Black "Inarkiev, E."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E47"]
[WhiteElo "2579"]
[BlackElo "2695"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "181"]
[EventDate "2013.10.05"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2013.10.07"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nf3 cxd4 7. exd4 d5 8. O-O
dxc4 9. Bxc4 b6 10. Bg5 Bb7 11. Ne5 Be7 (11... Nc6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. Nd7 Qh4
14. Nxf8 Rxf8 {is a stronger continuation, sacrificing an exchange for
positional compensation and activity.}) 12. Qe2 Nc6 13. Rad1 ({White should
have played} 13. Bxe6 fxe6 (13... Nxe5 14. dxe5 fxe6 15. exf6 Bxf6 16. Qxe6+ {
is not much better.}) 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15. Qxe6+ Kh8 16. Qxc6 {with a winning
position.}) 13... Rc8 14. Rfe1 Nb4 (14... Nxd4 {with the idea of} 15. Qe3 Nd5 {
would have been fine for Black. Instead he ends up in trouble after missing
his lifeline.}) 15. Nxf7 Rxf7 16. Bxe6 Rc7 17. d5 {This position is winning
for White, but in the end he botched it.} Rd7 18. d6 Rxd6 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20.
Rxd6 Bxd6 21. Bxf7+ (21. Rd1 {forces resignation.}) 21... Kxf7 22. Qe6+ Kf8 23.
Rd1 Nd3 24. Rxd3 Bxh2+ 25. Kxh2 Qxd3 26. Qxf6+ Ke8 27. Qe5+ Kd7 28. Nb5 Qd5 29.
Qg7+ Kc6 30. Nc3 (30. Nxa7+ Kd6 31. a4 Qh5+ 32. Kg3 {was still 1-0.}) 30... Qf5
{White is still much better, but it is no longer so simple and Black swindled
a draw in the end.} 31. Qd4 Kc7 32. a4 Bc6 33. f3 Qh5+ 34. Kg1 Qg5 35. Kf2 Qg6
36. Qe5+ Kb7 37. Qe7+ Kb8 38. Qd8+ Kb7 39. Qe7+ Kb8 40. Qe5+ Kb7 41. Qe2 Qf6
42. Qc4 a6 43. b4 b5 44. axb5 axb5 45. Qc5 Qh4+ 46. Ke2 Qh2 47. Qg5 Qd6 48.
Nxb5 Qxb4 49. Qg7+ Kb6 50. Nd4 Qb2+ 51. Ke3 Qc1+ 52. Kf2 Qd2+ 53. Ne2 Qc2 54.
Ke3 Bb5 55. Qf6+ Kb7 56. Qe7+ Kb6 57. Qd6+ Kb7 58. Qd5+ Bc6 59. Qe5 Qb3+ 60.
Kf2 Qc2 61. Kg3 Qg6+ 62. Kh2 Kc8 63. Nf4 Qf7 64. Qe6+ Qxe6 65. Nxe6 Bd5 66. Nf4
Bb3 67. Kg3 Kd7 68. Kg4 Ke7 69. Kg5 Kf7 70. Nh5 Bc2 71. Kh6 Ke6 72. Kg5 Kf7 73.
Ng3 Bd3 74. Ne4 Kg7 75. g3 h6+ 76. Kf5 Bc2 77. f4 Bb3 78. Nd6 Ba2 79. Nb5 Kf7
80. Nd4 Bc4 81. Nf3 Bd3+ 82. Ke5 Kg6 83. f5+ Bxf5 84. Nh4+ Kg5 85. Nxf5 h5 86.
Ke6 Kg6 87. Ke5 Kg5 88. Nd4 Kg4 89. Ne2 h4 90. gxh4 Kxh4 91. Ke4 1/2-1/2[Event "66th ch-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Nizhny Novgorod RUS"]
[Date "2013.10.06"]
[Round "2.5"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Goganov, A."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2762"]
[BlackElo "2575"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2013.10.05"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2013.10.07"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nxd4
Bc5 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O a6 {As we will see, in this opening we have an
attacking race of White's kingside attack vs. Black's queenside attack.
Despite this the whole variation has quite a solid reputation for Black.} 11.
Qf2 (11. h4 {followed by h5 and h6 is one way to start an immediate attack.})
11... Bxd4 12. Bxd4 b5 13. Be3 Qa5 14. Kb1 b4 15. Ne2 Qc7 {Black clears the
way for ...a5-a4-a3 and ...Ba6, both healthy ways to build up the attack.} 16.
Nd4 Nxd4 17. Bxd4 a5 18. Bb5 Ba6 19. Bxd7 Qxd7 {It turns out that this
opposite coloured bishops position is hard for either side to win, despite the
presence of all the major pieces.} 20. g4 a4 21. b3 Rfc8 22. f5 Qb5 23. Rhe1
axb3 24. cxb3 Rc3 {A strange move.} (24... Qa5 25. f6 Bb5 {defends relatively
simply; we ignore White if he takes on g7 as the pawn actually defends the
Black king. White cannot capture his own pawn!}) 25. Re3 (25. Bxc3 bxc3 26. Ka1
{repels the Black attack, leaving White with the advantage.}) 25... Rxe3 26.
Bxe3 Rc8 27. f6 gxf6 28. Qxf6 Qe2 {With White's king so weak, a perpetual is
forced.} 29. Qg5+ Kf8 30. Bc5+ Rxc5 31. Qd8+ Kg7 32. Qg5+ Kf8 33. Qd8+ Kg7
1/2-1/2[Event "66th ch-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Nizhny Novgorod RUS"]
[Date "2013.10.07"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Svidler, P."]
[Black "Shomoev, A."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A15"]
[WhiteElo "2740"]
[BlackElo "2579"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2013.10.05"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2013.10.07"]
{I'm out of time so I'll have to wrap up the annotations here, but I think of
the five remaining games, you will enjoy Andreikin-Kramnik and
Motylev-Karjakin the most.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. Nc3 Bb7 4. d4 e6 5. a3 d5 6.
Qa4+ Bc6 7. Qc2 dxc4 8. e3 b5 9. a4 b4 10. Nb1 b3 11. Qxc4 Bd5 12. Qb5+ Nbd7
13. Nc3 Rb8 14. Qd3 Bb4 15. Bd2 c5 16. dxc5 Nxc5 17. Qd4 O-O 18. Nxd5 Nxd5 19.
Bc4 Bxd2+ 20. Nxd2 Qa5 21. O-O Rfd8 22. Bb5 Nf6 23. Qxc5 Rxd2 24. Rad1 Rxd1 25.
Rxd1 h6 26. h3 Nd5 27. Qc4 Qb4 28. Qxb4 Nxb4 29. Rd4 a5 30. Kf1 Rc8 31. Rc4 Rd8
32. Ke2 g5 33. Rc5 Na2 34. Bc4 Nc1+ 35. Ke1 Kg7 36. Be2 Na2 37. Rxa5 Rc8 38.
Bd1 Rc2 39. Rb5 Rxb2 40. Rxb3 Rxb3 41. Bxb3 1-0[Event "66th ch-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Nizhny Novgorod RUS"]
[Date "2013.10.07"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Inarkiev, E."]
[Black "Vitiugov, N."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B46"]
[WhiteElo "2695"]
[BlackElo "2729"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2013.10.05"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2013.10.07"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8.
O-O Nf6 9. Qf3 Be7 10. e5 Nd7 11. Qg3 Kf8 12. Na4 h5 13. c4 h4 14. Qf4 h3 15.
g3 dxc4 16. Bxc4 Qa5 17. Bxe6 Nxe5 18. Bb3 Rh5 19. Be3 Rb8 20. Rad1 Rb4 21. Bd4
Rf5 22. Qe4 Nf3+ 23. Kh1 Nxd4 24. Rxd4 Rxd4 25. Qxd4 Qe5 26. Qg4 c5 27. Qxh3
Bb7+ 28. Kg1 Rh5 29. Qg4 g6 30. Nc3 Rf5 31. Qe2 Qxe2 32. Nxe2 Bf6 33. f4 Bxb2
34. Rb1 Bd4+ 35. Nxd4 cxd4 36. Rd1 Bd5 37. Bc2 Rf6 38. a4 Rc6 39. Rxd4 Rxc2 40.
Rxd5 Ke7 41. Ra5 Ke6 42. h3 Ra2 43. g4 Rc2 44. Rxa6+ Kd5 45. Rf6 Ke4 46. Kf1
Rh2 47. a5 Kf3 48. Ke1 Rxh3 49. g5 Rh1+ 50. Kd2 Ra1 51. a6 Ke4 52. Kc3 Kd5 53.
Kb3 Kc5 54. Kc3 Kd5 55. Kd3 Ra3+ 56. Ke2 Ke4 57. Kf2 Rf3+ 58. Kg1 Rg3+ 59. Kf1
Rf3+ 60. Ke2 Ra3 61. Kd1 Ra1+ 62. Kc2 Kd5 63. Kb2 Ra4 64. Kc3 1/2-1/2
[Event "66th ch-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Nizhny Novgorod RUS"]
[Date "2013.10.07"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Andreikin, D."]
[Black "Kramnik, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2706"]
[BlackElo "2796"]
[PlyCount "167"]
[EventDate "2013.10.05"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2013.10.07"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. dxe5 Nxb5 7. a4 Nbd4 8.
Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 d5 10. exd6 Qxd6 11. Qe3+ Be6 12. Nc3 a6 13. Rd1 Qc6 14. Rd3
Rc8 15. Ne2 Bc5 16. Qg3 f6 17. Be3 Bd6 18. Bf4 Bxf4 19. Nxf4 O-O 20. Rc3 Qd6
21. Nxe6 Qxe6 22. Rxc7 Rxc7 23. Qxc7 Rc8 24. Qxb7 Rxc2 25. h3 Qe2 26. Qb8+ Kf7
27. Qa7+ Kg8 28. b4 h6 29. Qb8+ Kh7 30. Qf4 Qe6 31. Qd4 Qe2 32. Qf4 Qe6 33. Rb1
Qa2 34. Qf5+ Kg8 35. Rd1 Qxa4 36. Rd8+ Kf7 37. Qd5+ Kg6 38. Qd3+ Kf7 39. Rd7+
Ke8 40. Rd8+ Kf7 41. Rd7+ Ke8 42. Rxg7 Qa1+ 43. Kh2 Qe5+ 44. Qg3 Qxg3+ 45. Kxg3
Rb2 46. Rb7 Kf8 47. Rh7 Rb3+ 48. f3 Rxb4 49. Rxh6 Kg7 50. Rh5 Ra4 51. h4 Kg6
52. Rc5 a5 53. h5+ Kg7 54. f4 Ra2 55. Kf3 a4 56. Ra5 a3 57. g4 Kh6 58. Ra6 Kg7
59. Ra7+ Kg8 60. Ke4 Rg2 61. Kf5 a2 62. h6 Kh8 63. g5 fxg5 64. fxg5 Rb2 65. Kg6
Rb6+ 66. Kh5 Rb5 67. Rxa2 Kh7 68. Ra7+ Kg8 69. Rg7+ Kh8 70. Rf7 Kg8 71. Rf6 Kh7
72. Re6 Ra5 73. Re7+ Kg8 74. Kg6 Ra6+ 75. Kf5 Ra1 76. g6 Rf1+ 77. Ke5 Re1+ 78.
Kd6 Rd1+ 79. Kc5 Rc1+ 80. Kb4 Rc8 81. Kb5 Ra8 82. Kb6 Rb8+ 83. Ka7 Rd8 84. Rb7
1-0
[Event "66th ch-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Nizhny Novgorod RUS"]
[Date "2013.10.07"]
[Round "3.4"]
[White "Goganov, A."]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, I."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2575"]
[BlackElo "2702"]
[PlyCount "205"]
[EventDate "2013.10.05"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2013.10.07"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 c5 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. dxc5 dxc5 8. Nc3
Nc6 9. Be3 Be6 10. Qa4 Rc8 11. Bxc5 Nd7 12. Be3 Nb6 13. Bxb6 Qxb6 14. Nd5 Bxd5
15. cxd5 Nd4 16. Nxd4 Bxd4 17. Rab1 Rc7 18. b4 Rfc8 19. e3 Bf6 20. Bh3 Rd8 21.
Rfd1 h5 22. Rd3 Kg7 23. Qb3 a5 24. a3 axb4 25. Qxb4 Qa6 26. Bf1 Qa7 27. d6 exd6
28. Rxd6 Rxd6 29. Qxd6 Qa5 30. Rb5 Qc3 31. a4 Re7 32. Qd5 Qa1 33. Qb3 h4 34.
Rd5 Rc7 35. Rd1 Qc3 36. Qxc3 Bxc3 37. gxh4 Bf6 38. h5 gxh5 39. Be2 h4 40. Rb1
Rc2 41. Bg4 Rb2 42. Rc1 b5 43. axb5 Rxb5 44. Kg2 Re5 45. Rb1 Be7 46. Rb7 Bf6
47. Rb3 Rc5 48. Rb7 Re5 49. Kf1 Re7 50. Rb6 Rc7 51. h3 Be7 52. Rb3 Bf6 53. Rb8
Be7 54. Re8 Bf6 55. Rb8 Be7 56. Rb5 Rc5 57. Rb7 Kf8 58. Ke2 Rc2+ 59. Kf3 Ra2
60. Bf5 Rd2 61. Rb1 Kg7 62. Rg1+ Kf6 63. Bh7 Rb2 64. Rg4 Rb4 65. Be4 Ke5 66.
Rf4 Ke6 67. Rf5 Rb8 68. Rh5 Rd8 69. Ke2 Bf6 70. f4 Ke7 71. Rb5 Kf8 72. Bd5 Rd7
73. e4 Bd4 74. Kf3 Kg7 75. Rb4 Bc3 76. Rc4 Be1 77. Kg4 Bg3 78. Rc6 Be1 79. Kf5
Bg3 80. Rb6 Bf2 81. Rb5 Bg3 82. Kg5 Ra7 83. Rb6 Bf2 84. Rc6 Be3 85. Kg4 Bf2 86.
f5 Bd4 87. Kxh4 Be5 88. Kg4 f6 89. Kh5 Ra8 90. Re6 Rh8+ 91. Kg4 Bc3 92. Re7+
Kh6 93. h4 Rh7 94. Bf7 Rg7+ 95. Kf3 Be5 96. h5 Rg3+ 97. Kf2 Rg4 98. Kf3 Rg3+
99. Kf2 Rg4 100. Ke3 Rg3+ 101. Kd2 Rh3 102. Bg6 Kg5 103. Ra7 1/2-1/2
[Event "66th ch-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Nizhny Novgorod RUS"]
[Date "2013.10.07"]
[Round "3.5"]
[White "Motylev, A."]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C48"]
[WhiteElo "2676"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2013.10.05"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2013.10.07"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. Bc4 Bc5 6. Nxe5 Qe7 7. Nf3 d5 8.
Bxd5 Bg4 9. d3 O-O-O 10. Be3 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Rxd5 12. exd5 Re8 13. c3 Nxf3+ 14.
gxf3 Qh4 15. Kd2 Rxe3 16. fxe3 Qf2+ 17. Kc1 Bxf3 18. Qe1 Bxe3+ 19. Kb1 Bxh1 20.
Qxh1 Qe2 21. a4 Qxd3+ 22. Ka2 Qc4+ 23. Kb1 Qd3+ 24. Ka2 Qc4+ 25. Kb1 1/2-1/2
