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Главная страница Новости Матчи на звание чемпиона мира Матч за звание чемпиона мира 2012

Матч за звание чемпиона мира 2012

10.05.2012 - 30.05.2012

Матч Ананд - Гельфанд проходил в Москве, в Инженерном корпусе Государственной Третьяковской галереи

Участники

1. Виши Ананд
Рейтинг: 2751
11.12.1969
Индия

2. Борис Гельфанд
Рейтинг: 2661
24.06.1968
Израиль

[Event "World-ch Anand-Gelfand +1-1=10"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2012.05.11"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2791"]
[BlackElo "2727"]
[Annotator "Krasenkow,M"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "2012.05.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 149"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 c5 8.
Bb5+ Nc6 9. d5 {A very rare system, which should not be dangerous for Black.}
Qa5 (9... Bxc3+ {is quite possible, e.g.} 10. Bd2 Qa5 $1 11. Rb1 (11. Bxc3
Qxc3+ 12. Nd2 a6 13. Rc1 Qa5) 11... a6 12. Bxc6+ bxc6 13. dxc6 Be6 14. Bxc3
Qxc3+ 15. Qd2 {1-0 Korinek,J (1721)-Salazar Moran,A (1503)/Lechenicher
SchachServer 2011/CBM 145 (23)} Qc4 $1 $132) (9... a6 {is the main
continuation:} 10. Be2 $1 {leads to a modification of the 8.Be2 system with
Black's pawn on a6 instead of a7, which is rather favourable for White as
Black's queen can't go to b6 later on:} (10. Ba4 {gives Black an excellent
position after} b5 11. dxc6 Qxd1+ ({or} 11... bxa4 12. O-O Qxd1 13. Rxd1 Be6)
12. Kxd1 bxa4 13. Kc2 (13. Be3 Be6 14. Bxc5 Bxc3 15. Rc1 O-O-O+ 16. Kc2 Bf6
$132) 13... f5 $1 14. e5 Be6 15. Be3 Bd5 16. Bxc5 Bxc6 17. Bd4 O-O {0-1
Hermlin,A (2375)-Veingold,A (2430)/Parnu 1982/EXT 2002 (35)}) 10... Bxc3+ 11.
Bd2 Bxa1 12. Qxa1 Nd4 13. Nxd4 cxd4 14. Qxd4 f6 15. h4 O-O 16. f4 (16. h5 $5 g5
17. h6) 16... h5 17. O-O Bg4 18. Bc4 Rc8 19. Bb3 Kh7 $13 {1/2 Gustafsson,J 
(2634)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2716)/Germany 2008/CBM 127 Extra}) 10. Rb1 a6 (10...
Bxc3+ 11. Bd2 a6 {- 9...Bxc3+}) 11. Bxc6+ (11. Be2 {is now hardly appropriate:}
Bxc3+ 12. Bd2 Nd4 13. Nxd4 cxd4 14. Bxc3 dxc3 15. O-O Qxa2 16. Qd4 O-O 17. Bd3
Qa3 18. Rfc1 b5 19. Rxc3 Qa5 20. h4 Bd7 $13 {1/2 Emmenecker,P (2175)-Vareille,
F (2406)/France 2008/EXT 2010 (34)}) (11. Ba4 b5 12. dxc6 Bxc3+ 13. Bd2 Bxd2+ (
13... bxa4 14. Qc2 Bxd2+ 15. Qxd2 Qxd2+ 16. Kxd2 $14) 14. Qxd2 (14. Nxd2 bxa4
15. O-O Be6) 14... Qxa4 15. O-O Qxe4 16. Rbd1 O-O {0-1 Martic,Z (2364)-Brkic,A
(2606)/Bol 2011/CBM 144 Extra (18)} 17. Qh6 Qg4 18. Rfe1 Be6 19. Ng5 Qh5 20.
Qxh5 gxh5 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Rxe6 Rfd8 23. Rxd8+ Rxd8 24. Kf1 Rc8 $11) 11...
bxc6 12. O-O (12. dxc6 $6 Qxc3+ 13. Nd2 Qd3 {M.Pein}) 12... Qxa2 13. Rb2 $146 (
13. Be3 cxd5 14. exd5 O-O 15. Bxc5 Rd8 16. Bxe7 Rxd5 17. Nd4 Bd7 $15 {1/2
Niederwieser,P (2162)-Kratschmer,H (2098)/Austria 2006/CBM 115 ext}) (13. Bg5
$5 cxd5 (13... h6 $2 14. dxc6 $1 hxg5 $140 $2 15. Rb8 $3 Rxb8 16. c7 $18) 14.
Ra1 $1 (14. exd5 h6) 14... Qc4 15. Ra4 Qb5 16. exd5 h6 17. c4 Qb6 18. Bf4 O-O {
- White's compensation for the pawn can only be enough to equalise.}) 13... Qa5
(13... Qc4 14. d6 Ra7 15. Bg5 f6 16. Be3 Rd7 17. Nd2 Qxc3 18. Rc2 Qe5 19. dxe7
$14 {[%csl Rc5,Rc6] S.Shipov}) 14. d6 {White tries to keep Black's king in the
centre.} (14. dxc6 O-O $11 {[%cal Yc8e6]}) 14... Ra7 $1 {The most accurate
defence.} (14... Qd8 $143 15. Bf4) 15. Bg5 (15. Bf4 $142 {but Black can
accurately equalise anyway:} Rd7 $142 (15... O-O 16. Ne5 ({rather than} 16.
dxe7 Rxe7 17. Bd6 Rd7 18. e5 Qxc3 19. Rb1 Rfd8 20. Qa4 Bf8 $11) 16... Bxe5 17.
Bxe5 Re8 18. Rd2 {[%csl Ge5] is quite risky for Black}) 16. Rd2 $1 (16. Rb8 O-O
17. dxe7 Rxe7 18. Bd6 Rd7 19. e5 Rdd8 {[%cal Yc8e6]}) 16... exd6 17. Bxd6 $1 (
17. Rxd6 Qd8 18. e5 O-O) 17... Bxc3 18. Rc2 Rd8 {[%cal Yc8e6]} 19. Qc1 Rxd6 20.
Rxc3 O-O 21. Rxc5 Qd8 $11) 15... exd6 16. Qxd6 Rd7 17. Qxc6 (17. Qb8 O-O 18.
Ne5 Rb7 $1 19. Rxb7 Bxb7 20. Qd6 (20. Qxb7 Bxe5 $15) 20... c4 $1 21. Bf4 c5 $13
) 17... Qc7 18. Qxc7 Rxc7 {It is now White who should be worrying about
equality. Black's bishop pair and a-pawn can easily become dangerous.} 19. Bf4
Rb7 20. Rc2 $6 {Too passive.} (20. Ra2 $142 O-O (20... Rb3 21. c4) 21. Rxa6
Bxc3 22. Ra8 Bb4 23. Bd6 Rd8 24. e5 $11) 20... O-O 21. Bd6 Re8 22. Nd2 f5 (
22... Bd7 $1 {, indicated by numerous commentators, was a better way to play
for a win. If} 23. Ra1 (23. Bxc5 Rc8) (23. Rfc1 a5 $1 24. Bxc5 a4 $44 {[%csl
Ga4]}) {then already} 23... f5 $1 24. f3 $140 Bb5 $1 25. Bxc5 Bd3 26. Rcc1 Rb2
27. Be3 fxe4 28. Nxe4 Bxe4 29. fxe4 Rxe4 30. Bc5 Ree2) 23. f3 (23. Bxc5 Rc7 24.
Bb4 fxe4 25. Re1 Bf5 26. Ra2 {looks enough for a draw.}) 23... fxe4 ({It was
the last moment for Black to play} 23... Bd7 $1 {[%cal Ya6a5,Ya5a4,Yd7b5,Yb5d3]
} 24. Re1 $5 (24. exf5 Bxf5 25. Ne4 Bxe4 26. fxe4 Rxe4 27. Bxc5 a5 $15 {
K.Sakaev}) (24. Bxc5 Rc8) (24. Rfc1 a5 25. Bxc5 a4 $44) 24... a5 25. e5 a4 26.
Ra2 {S.Shipov} Bf8 {- the initiative belongs to Black, White should defend
accurately to draw the game.}) 24. Nxe4 Bf5 {White now should not lose, of
course, but it was quite appropriate for Black to make a few more moves. A
possible continuation could be} (24... Bf5 25. Ra1 (25. Bxc5 Rc8 $1 26. Bd6 a5)
(25. Re1 Bxe4 26. fxe4 a5) 25... Bxe4 (25... Rb3 26. Rxa6 Bxe4 27. fxe4 Bxc3
28. Rc6 Bd4+ 29. Kf1 Rb1+ 30. Ke2 Rxe4+ 31. Kd3 $11) 26. fxe4 Rxe4 27. Rxa6 Rc4
28. Kf1 $1 {the most accurate} Bxc3 29. Ra8+ Kf7 30. Rc8 Rb1+ 31. Ke2 Re1+ 32.
Kd3 Rd4+ 33. Kxc3 Rxd6 34. Kc4 $11) 1/2-1/2

[Event "World-ch Anand-Gelfand +1-1=10"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2012.05.12"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D45"]
[WhiteElo "2727"]
[BlackElo "2791"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2012.05.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 149"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 a6 6. b3 Bb4 7. Bd2 Nbd7 8. Bd3
O-O 9. O-O Bd6 10. Rc1 e5 $1 {This move might be the best reaction to White's
concentration of forces in the centre. The first player is well mobilised, but
his pieces are too passive.} 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. e4 {The honest ambition to open
up the position at the moment, when White should be better prepared for the
real contact of pieces is laudable. Gelfand obviously does not believe in any
real chances of getting an advantage against the isolated d5-pawn after 12.
dxe5.} (12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. Ne2 (14. h3 Bd7 15. Ne2 Rc8 16. Rxc8 (
16. Bc3 Bxc3 17. Nxc3 Qa5 18. Qe1 Qb6 19. Qd2 Rc7 20. Ne2 Rfc8 $11 {1/2-1/2
Bukavshin,I (2502)-Rublevsky,S (2682)/Taganrog 2011 (45)}) 16... Qxc8 17. Qb1
Qb8 18. Rc1 Rc8 19. Bc3 Bxc3 20. Rxc3 Rxc3 21. Nxc3 Qd6 22. Ne2 $11 {0-1
Pavlovic,M (2541)-Rublevsky,S (2684)/Valjevo 2011 (34)}) 14... Bd7 (14... Bg4
15. f3 Bh5 (15... Bd7 16. Bc3 Qe7 17. Bxe5 Qxe5 18. Qd2 Rfe8 19. Rc3 g6 20. Bb1
Bb5 21. Re1 Bxe2 22. Rxe2 d4 23. Rd3 dxe3 24. Rdxe3 Qc5 $15 {0-1 Meszaros,M 
(2414)-Gurevich,M (2617)/Forni di Sopra 2011 (39)}) 16. Bc3 Qd6 (16... Re8 17.
Qd2 $14) 17. Bxe5 (17. h3 Bg6 18. Bxg6 hxg6 19. Qd2 Rfe8 20. Bxe5 Qxe5 21. Rc3
Rac8 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Rc1 $14 {1/2-1/2 Wojtaszek,R (2593)-Perez Garcia,R 
(2432)/Burguillos 2008 (53)}) 17... Qxe5 18. Qd2 Rfe8 (18... Bg6) 19. Rc3 Bg6 (
19... Rac8 20. Rxc8 Rxc8 21. g4 Bg6 22. f4 Qe7 23. f5 Nxg4 24. fxg6 hxg6 $11)
20. Bxg6 hxg6 21. Qd4 $14 {1-0 Aronian,L (2763)-Morozevich,A (2774)/Yerevan
2008 (56)}) (14... Ne4 15. Bb4 (15. Bxe4 dxe4 16. Bc3 Bg4 17. Bxe5 Qxd1 18.
Rfxd1 Bxe2 19. Rd7 Rac8 20. Rdc7 Rxc7 21. Rxc7 f6 22. Bd4 Rf7 23. Rc8+ Rf8 24.
Rc7 Rf7 25. Rc8+ Rf8 26. Rc7 {1/2-1/2 Khismatullin,D (2659)-Jakovenko,D (2726)/
Moscow 2010}) 15... Re8 16. f3 Qh4 17. Nf4 g5 18. Be1 (18. Bxe4 dxe4 19. g3 Qh6
20. Nd5 Bh3 $11) 18... Qh6 19. fxe4 gxf4 20. exd5 fxe3 21. Bg3 Bxg3 22. hxg3
$14) (14... Bxh2+ 15. Kxh2 Ng4+ 16. Kg3 Ne5 17. Qc2 $18 {.}) (14... Ng4 15. h3
Nf6 16. Bc3 Qe7 17. Qc2 Bxc3 18. Qxc3 Bd7 19. Nd4 Rfc8 20. Qa5 Qd6 21. Be2 g6
22. Bf3 h5 23. Qd2 Qa3 24. Rc3 Rxc3 25. Qxc3 Rc8 $11 {1-0 Dreev,A (2705)
-Godena,M (2527)/Warsaw 2005 (58)}) 15. Bc3 Qb8 16. h3 Rc8 17. Qd2 Bxc3 18.
Rxc3 Qe5 19. Rfc1 g6 20. a4 Kg7 21. a5 Rxc3 22. Qxc3 Qxc3 23. Rxc3 $11 {
1/2-1/2 Goloshchapov,A (2580)-Antoniewski,R (2585)/Germany 2011 (36)}) 12...
dxe4 {The exchange of the pawns on the e4-square must be better than the
slightly reckless swap on d4.} (12... exd4 13. Nxd5 Nxd5 14. exd5 h6 15. Nxd4
Nf6 16. Nf5 Bxf5 17. Bxf5 Ba3 18. Rc4 Qxd5 19. Qc2 Be7 20. Bc3 Rad8 21. Re1
Rfe8 22. Be4 Qb5 23. Bf3 $16 {1/2-1/2 Shankland,S (2580)-Erenburg,S (2616)/
Philadelphia 2012 (66)}) 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Bxe4 Nf6 $146 {[%mdl 4] Anand has
done his homework and it is obvious that the whole system underwent serious
scrutiny before the match. The knight move might be more precise than the
simple 14...exd4 as it leaves White more options to fight for an advantage.} (
14... exd4 15. Rc4 (15. Bg5 Nf6 16. Rc4 h6 17. Rxd4 (17. Bxf6 Qxf6 18. Qxd4 Be7
$11) 17... hxg5 18. Rxd6 Qe7 19. Bb1 (19. Bd5 Bg4 20. Re1 Qc7 21. Qd2 Bxf3 22.
Bxf3 g4 23. Rxf6 gxf6 24. Re4 f5 25. Qg5+ Kh8 26. Qf6+ Kg8 $11) 19... Bg4 20.
Re1 Bxf3 21. Rxe7 Bxd1 22. Rxd1 Rfd8 23. Rde1 b5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Goganov,A (2480)
-Rublevsky,S (2682)/Taganrog 2011 (37)}) 15... Nc5 (15... Nf6 16. Bb1 Bg4 17.
Bg5 h6 18. Bh4 Bxf3 19. Qxf3 g5 20. Bg3 Bxg3 21. fxg3 Kg7 22. Qxb7 $14 {
1/2-1/2 Riazantsev,A (2688)-Matlakov,M (2630)/St Petersburg 2011 (46)}) 16. Bg5
f6 17. Bd5+ Kh8 18. Bc1 Bxh2+ 19. Nxh2 Qxd5 20. Rxd4 Qf7 21. Ba3 b6 22. Rd6 Rb8
23. Rxb6 Rxb6 24. Bxc5 Re6 25. Bxf8 Qxf8 $11 {1/2-1/2 Riazantsev,A (2710)
-Antoniewski,R (2559)/Warsaw 2011 (65)}) 15. dxe5 (15. Bg5 exd4 $11) 15... Nxe4
16. exd6 Qxd6 17. Be3 Bf5 {The presence of opposite coloured bishops together
with a perfect pawn symmetry is a significant equalising factor.} (17... Be6
18. Qxd6 Nxd6 19. Rfd1 Rfd8 20. Nd4 $14) 18. Qxd6 Nxd6 19. Nd4 (19. Bf4 Rad8
20. Rc7 Rfe8 21. Bxd6 (21. h3 Nb5 22. Rxb7 Nc3 23. Bg3 Nxa2 $11) 21... Rxd6 22.
Rxb7 g6 23. Ng5 Rf6 $11) 19... Rfe8 20. Nxf5 (20. Bf4 Re4 21. Nxf5 Nxf5 22. g3
Re2 $11) 20... Nxf5 21. Bc5 (21. Rc7 b5 22. g4 Nxe3 23. fxe3 Rac8 24. Rfxf7
Rxc7 25. Rxc7 Rxe3 $11) 21... h5 {Under the microscope the bishop might aspire
to be stronger than the knight, but in real life chess the position is fully
balanced.} 22. Rfd1 Rac8 23. Kf1 f6 24. Bb4 Kh7 25. Rc5 (25. Rc5 Kg6 $11)
1/2-1/2

[Event "World-ch Anand-Gelfand +1-1=10"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2012.05.14"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D70"]
[WhiteElo "2791"]
[BlackElo "2727"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2012.05.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 149"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 (3. Nc3 d5 {was a slight surprise from Game 1 -
Gelfand was a King's Indian fan in his younger years, but until the WCh match,
the Grьnfeld featured in his repertoire only with White.} 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. cxd5
Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 c5 8. Bb5+ Nc6 9. d5 $5 ({The more common} 9. O-O cxd4
10. cxd4 O-O 11. Be3 Bg4 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Rc1 Qa5 $11 {has a drawish
reputation}) 9... Qa5 (9... a6 {is also playable, after} 10. Be2 $5 Bxc3+ 11.
Bd2 Bxa1 12. Qxa1 Nd4 13. Nxd4 cxd4 14. Qxd4 $44 {the situation is similar to
the more theoretical position with the P on a7 - White has compensation, but
hardly more than that.}) 10. Rb1 a6 11. Bxc6+ bxc6 12. O-O Qxa2 13. Rb2 $146 (
13. Be3 {is harmless:} cxd5 14. exd5 O-O 15. Bxc5 Rd8 16. Bxe7 Rxd5 $15 {
Niederwieser,P (2162)-Kratschmer,H (2098)/AUT-chT/2006/}) 13... Qa5 14. d6 Ra7
15. Bg5 (15. Bf4 $5 Rd7 (15... O-O 16. Ne5 $1 Qxc3 $5 (16... Bxe5 17. Bxe5 $44)
17. Rc2 Bxe5 18. Rxc3 Bxc3 19. Qc2 Bd4 20. dxe7 Rxe7 21. Bd6 Rfe8 $44 {/+/=
Shipov}) 16. Rd2 (16. Rb8 O-O 17. dxe7 Rxe7 18. Bd6 Rd7 19. e5 Rdd8 $11 {
[%cal Yc8e6,Ye6g4]}) (16. e5 O-O $132) 16... exd6 17. Bxd6 Bxc3 18. Rc2 Bf6 19.
e5 Be7 $11 {[%cal Ye8g8] /\0-0}) 15... exd6 16. Qxd6 Rd7 17. Qxc6 Qc7 $11 {
Anand,V (2791)-Gelfand,B (2727)/WCh Moscow/2012/}) 3... d5 ({After} 3... Bg7 4.
e4 O-O {Game 8 indicates that Anand, instead of the standard Sдmisch, might
have intended} 5. Ne2 (5. Nc3 d6 6. Be3 a6 7. Nge2 Nc6 8. Qd2 Rb8 9. Rc1 e6 10.
b3 Nd7 11. h4 h5 12. g3 Ne7 13. g4 hxg4 14. fxg4 Nf6 15. g5 Nh5 16. Bg2 e5 17.
Bf3 b5 18. dxe5 Bxe5 19. Nf4 Bxf4 20. Bxf4 bxc4 21. bxc4 Be6 22. Nd5 Bxd5 23.
cxd5 Qd7 24. O-O Nxf4 25. Qxf4 c6 $132 {Anand,V (2791)-Grischuk,A (2733)/
Linares/2009/}) 5... d6 6. Nec3 $5 {White can develop his Nb1 to a3, or more
usually to d2 after Be3. Practical results speak in White's favour, but the
examples are still scarce here:} Nc6 (6... e5 7. d5 Nh5 8. Be3 f5 9. c5 Nd7 10.
cxd6 cxd6 11. Nd2 Ndf6 12. Qb3 Rf7 $5 13. O-O-O fxe4 14. Ndxe4 Nxe4 15. Nxe4
Bf5 16. Nc3 {Leroy,D (2286)-Hunt,A (2431)/Hastings/2009/} Qf8 $1 $132 {/\} (
16... Bd7 17. Kb1 b5 18. Ka1 a5 19. Bxb5 Bxb5 20. Nxb5 a4 21. Qa3 Rb7 22. Nxd6
Rb3 23. axb3 axb3 24. Ne4 Rxa3+ 25. bxa3 Nf6 26. d6 Qa5 27. Kb2 Nd5 28. Bc5 Nc3
29. Bb4 Nxd1+ 30. Rxd1 Qd8 31. d7) 17. g4 Bh6 $15) 7. d5 Ne5 8. Be2 e6 $5 (8...
c6 9. Be3 a6 10. a4 Qa5 11. Nd2 e6 12. Qb3 b5 13. dxc6 b4 14. Nd5 $1 exd5 15.
cxd5 $44 {Varga,Z (2410)-Grigore,G (2430)/Odorheiu Secuiesc/1992/}) 9. f4 Ned7
10. O-O exd5 11. cxd5 Re8 12. Bf3 Nc5 13. Re1 h5 14. h3 b5 $1 15. e5 dxe5 16.
fxe5 Nfd7 17. e6 Ne5 18. Nxb5 Ncd3 19. exf7+ Kxf7 20. Rf1 Kg8 {Nakamura,H 
(2710)-Svidler,P (2739)/Amsterdam/2009/} 21. d6 $13) ({Presumably unhappy with
the opening, in Game 8 Gelfand went for} 3... c5 4. d5 d6 5. e4 Bg7 6. Ne2 O-O
7. Nec3 $5 Nh5 ({Played after long thought, but rather bizarre.} 7... e6 {
is more natural.}) 8. Bg5 (8. g4 $5 Nf6 9. h4 e6 10. h5 a6 11. a4 exd5 12. cxd5
Nbd7 13. Be2 Ne5 14. Be3 Rb8 15. Na3 Qe7 16. Kf2 Re8 17. h6 Bh8 18. g5 {
Ivanisevic,I (2655)-Aliyev,T (2258)/Wheeling/2012/ This game was played 3 days
later.} Nh5 $5 {/\} 19. f4 Ng4+ $1 20. Bxg4 Bxc3 21. bxc3 Qxe4 $44) 8... Bf6 9.
Bxf6 exf6 (9... Nxf6 $1 10. Qd2 e5 $132) 10. Qd2 (10. g4 $5 {/\} Nf4 11. Qd2 g5
12. h4 $14) 10... f5 11. exf5 Bxf5 12. g4 Re8+ 13. Kd1 Bxb1 14. Rxb1 Qf6 $4 (
14... Nf6 15. Kc2 $36 {[%cal Yf1d3,Yh2h5]}) 15. gxh5 Qxf3+ 16. Kc2 Qxh1 17. Qf2
{[%cal Rf1g2] 1-0,Anand,V (2791)-Gelfand,B (2727)/Moscow/2012/}) (3... e5 4.
dxe5 Nh5 {came into the limelight after Leko's win against Kramnik (1998).
It's played rarely nowadays, although perhaps} 5. Nh3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Be7 7. Bxe7
Qxe7 8. Nc3 O-O (8... Nxe5 $2 9. Nd5 Qd8 10. Qd4 d6 11. f4 c6 12. Nc3 c5 13.
Qe3 Bxh3 14. fxe5 Be6 15. O-O-O O-O 16. Qh6 Bxc4 17. g4 Ng7 18. e3 Bxf1 19. Ne4
f6 20. Rxd6 $18 {Khismatullin,D (2584)-Isajevsky,A (2441)/Kazan/2006/}) (8...
Qxe5 9. g4 Ng7 10. f4 Qe7 11. Nd5 Qd8 12. Qd2 O-O 13. Qc3 Ne8 14. O-O-O Ne7 15.
Nf2 Nxd5 16. cxd5 d6 17. h4 c6 18. h5 cxd5 19. Kb1 Nf6 20. Bg2 Qe7 21. h6 $1
$36 {Votava,J (2530)-Jansa,V (2475)/Bundesliga/2006/}) 9. g4 Ng7 10. f4 d6 (
10... Qb4 11. Qd2 d6 12. exd6 $14) 11. exd6 Qh4+ 12. Nf2 Bxg4 13. dxc7 Nf5 $5
$14 {/~~ is not fully clear.}) ({Recently Black has been quite successful with
another exotic continuation} 3... Nc6 $5 4. d5 (4. Nc3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4
Nxc3 7. bxc3 e5 $1 8. Bb5 Bd7 9. Ne2 Bg7 10. Be3 O-O 11. d5 Na5 12. Bd3 b6 13.
O-O Nb7 14. c4 c5 15. dxc6 Bxc6 16. Nc3 Bd7 17. Nd5 Be6 18. Qd2 Rc8 19. Rfc1 f6
20. Kh1 Kh8 21. Rab1 Rf7 $11 {Anand,V (2791)-Carlsen,M (2776)/Linares/2009/})
4... Ne5 5. e4 d6 6. Nc3 Bg7 (6... c6 7. f4 Ned7 8. Be3 e5 $5 9. dxe6 fxe6 10.
Nh3 e5 11. f5 Qa5 12. fxg6 hxg6 13. a3 Qc7 14. b4 a5 15. Ng5 axb4 16. axb4 Rxa1
17. Qxa1 d5 18. Ne6 Qd6 19. exd5 cxd5 20. cxd5 Qxb4 21. Bd3 e4 22. Bb5 Bd6 $13
{Kramnik,V (2780)-Navara,D (2722)/Khanty-Mansiysk olm/2010/}) 7. f4 Ned7 8. Nh3
(8. Nf3 O-O 9. Bd3 c6 10. O-O Nc5 11. Bc2 Qb6 12. Kh1 Bg4 $11) 8... O-O 9. Be2
Nc5 10. Nf2 e6 (10... c6 $5) 11. O-O exd5 12. cxd5 c6 13. dxc6 bxc6 14. Bf3 Qe7
15. Be3 d5 16. e5 Nfd7 17. b4 Ne6 18. b5 Nb6 $1 $132 {[%cal Rd5d4] Grischuk,A 
(2773)-Giri,A (2686)/Wijk aan Zee/2011/}) 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nb6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7.
Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 e5 {An important branching point.} ({A more popular try is} 8...
Nc6 9. O-O-O {and now:} {Probably more promising is the new idea} Qd6 $5 ({
After} 9... f5 {White has lately with some success concentrated on the
positional} 10. e5 $5 (10. h4 {is double-edged and doesn't promise much.})
10... Nb4 11. Nh3 Be6 12. Kb1 Qd7 (12... N4d5 13. Ng5 $5 (13. Nf4 $14 {Svidler}
) 13... Nxc3+ 14. Qxc3 Bd5 15. h4 Qd7 16. Bd3 Rac8 17. Bc2 Nc4 18. h5 $5 h6 19.
Nh3 g5 20. Nxg5 hxg5 21. h6 Bh8 22. h7+ Kf7 23. Bxg5 Ke8 24. Rh6 $44 {
Ivanisevic,I (2645)-Gabrielian,A (2554)/EU-ch Plovdiv/2012/}) 13. Nf4 (13. Ng5
$5 Nc4 14. Qc1 $13 {Svidler}) 13... Bf7 14. a3 a5 (14... N4d5 15. Ncxd5 Nxd5
16. Bc4 Rad8 17. h4 Nxf4 18. Bxf7+ Rxf7 19. Bxf4 Qb5 20. h5 (20. Qc3 e6 21. h5
gxh5 $1 $132 {/\} 22. Rxh5 c5) 20... g5 21. Bxg5 (21. h6 $5 $14 {[%csl Rg8]})
21... Bxe5 22. Qc3 {Zhao Xue (2496)-Laylo,D (2516)/Moscow/2011/} Qa4 $5 $132)
15. Bb5 $1 (15. d5 Bxe5 16. axb4 (16. Bd4 $5) 16... axb4 17. Nb5 Ra5 18. Bxb6 (
18. Qxb4 Rfa8 19. Na3 Bd6 20. Qd4 Ra4 21. Qd2 Bxa3 22. bxa3 Rxa3 23. Bd4 Qa4 {
0-1,Gongora Reyes,M (2468)-Abreu Delgado,A (2473)/Albacete/2010/}) 18... cxb6
19. Qxb4 $2 (19. Qe3 $15 {Svidler}) 19... Rfa8 $40 {Motylev,A (2647)-Svidler,P
(2728)/Wijk aan Zee/2007/}) 15... c6 16. d5 Bxe5 17. Bxb6 cxb5 18. Rhe1 Bf6 19.
Bd4 Bxd4 20. Qxd4 Na6 21. d6 exd6 (21... Qxd6 $2 22. Ncd5 Bxd5 23. Nxd5 Qc5 {
Bitan,B (2311)-Vokarev,S (2501)/Bhubaneswar/2010/} 24. Nxe7+ Kf7 25. Qh4 Kg7
26. Nxg6 $1 hxg6 27. Re6 $18 {[%cal Rd1d7,Rh4g5]}) 22. Ncd5 Bxd5 23. Nxd5 Qg7
24. Qb6 $36 {White has a dangerous initiative, but still no direct win after}
b4 $5) 10. Kb1 (10. Nb5 Qd7 11. f4 Qe6 $5 12. Nc3 Rd8 13. Nf3 Nc4 14. Qe2 Nxe3
15. Qxe3 Nb4 16. b3 Qb6 17. a3 Nc6 18. Na4 Qa5 19. d5 Nb8 20. Qc5 Qxc5+ 21.
Nxc5 c6 $15 {Mamedyarov,S (2747)-Negi,P (2641)/Caleta/2012/}) 10... Rd8 11. Nb5
Qd7 12. d5 a6 13. Nc3 (13. dxc6 Qxd2 14. Rxd2 Rxd2 15. Bxd2 axb5 16. cxb7 Bxb7
17. Bxb5 f5 $5 18. exf5 Bd5 19. Ne2 (19. a3 Rb8 $1 $44) (19. b3 gxf5 $32 {/\}
20. Ne2 $2 Bxb3) 19... Bxa2+ 20. Kc2 gxf5 21. b3 (21. Bc3 Bc4 22. Bxc4+ Nxc4
$11 23. Nd4 Ne3+ 24. Kd3 Nxg2 25. Nxf5 Nf4+ 26. Kc4 Bxc3 27. bxc3 Kf7 $11 {
Vitiugov,N (2729)-Giri,A (2714)/Reggio Emilia/2011/}) 21... c5 22. Be3 c4 $1
23. Bxb6 Bxb3+ 24. Kd2 Rb8 25. Rb1 e6 26. Ke3 Ba2 $1 27. Rc1 Rxb6 28. Bxc4 Bxc4
$11 {So,W (2653)-Lou,Y (2428)/Ho Chi Minh City/2012/}) 13... Na5 (13... Ne5 $5)
14. Bd4 Nbc4 15. Bxc4 (15. Qf2 $6 e5 16. Bc5 b6 17. Bb4 c5 18. Bxa5 Nxa5 19. h4
Qd6 20. h5 b5 $36 {Gustafsson,J (2647)-Mekhitarian,K (2529)/Reykjavik/2011/})
15... Nxc4 16. Qc1 Bxd4 17. Rxd4 b5 18. Nge2 Bb7 19. b3 Nb6 20. h4 c5 21. dxc6
Qxc6 22. h5 Rxd4 23. Nxd4 Qf6 24. Qe3 Nd7 $13 {Mekhitarian}) ({The immediate} 
8... Qd6 {enables White to castle short after} 9. f4 Rd8 10. Nf3 Qb4 11. a3 $5
(11. Qc2 Nc4 12. Bf2 c5 13. O-O-O cxd4 14. Nxd4 Bg4 15. Be2 Bxe2 16. Ndxe2 Nc6
17. a3 Qa5 18. e5 Rac8 19. Kb1 b5 $11 {Jobava,B (2704)-Caruana,F (2736)/Moscow/
2012/}) 11... Qb3 12. Bd3 Nc4 (12... Nc6 13. Bc2 Qc4 14. b3 $36 {[%csl Rc4]})
13. Bxc4 Qxc4 14. Rc1 Nc6 15. Nd5 Qa4 16. O-O e6 {Ding,L (2679)-Sethuraman,S 
(2546)/Ho Chi Minh City/2012/} 17. Nxc7 $5 Rb8 18. e5 Bd7 19. f5 $1 $40) 9. d5
c6 10. h4 (10. O-O-O cxd5 11. exd5 Na6 $5 12. h4 Bd7 13. h5 Rc8 14. hxg6 fxg6
15. Bh6 Bxh6 16. Qxh6 Qe7 17. Bxa6 bxa6 18. Nge2 e4 19. d6 Qg7 20. Qxg7+ Kxg7
21. fxe4 Rf2 22. Kb1 Rxg2 23. Nf4 Rf2 24. Nd3 $11 Rg2 25. Nf4 Rf2 26. Nd3 Rg2 {
1/2,Akobian,V (2571)-Khachiyan,M (2462)/Los Angeles/2005/}) 10... cxd5 11. exd5
N8d7 {The safest move, played quickly by Gelfand.} ({After} 11... h5 {White
has the energetic} 12. g4 $1 {/\} hxg4 13. h5 $40 {and he has an almost 100%
score with his kingside attack.}) ({For a change,} 11... f5 12. h5 Na6 13. Bh6
f4 14. hxg6 hxg6 15. g4 Bxh6 16. Rxh6 Kg7 17. Qh2 Rh8 18. Rxh8 Qxh8 19. Qxh8+
Kxh8 20. O-O-O Bd7 21. Bxa6 bxa6 22. b3 Rc8 23. Kb2 Kg7 24. Nh3 $16 {[%csl Gd5]
[%cal Rh3g5,Rg5e4] Delchev,A (2640)-Ganguly,S (2578)/Turin olm/2006/ gives
White a substantial endgame advantage.}) 12. h5 Nf6 13. hxg6 fxg6 ({Now White
gets a better pawn structure, but taking "positionally" towards the centre
opens a file against the the king and is needlessly risky:} 13... hxg6 14. Bh6
(14. O-O-O $5 $36) 14... Nfxd5 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Rd1 (16. Qh6+ Kf6 17. Ne4+ Ke7
18. Qg5+ Ke6 19. Qg4+ Ke7 20. Qg3 Qc7 21. Qg5+ f6 22. Qxg6 Be6 $13) 16... Be6
17. Qh6+ Kf6 18. Ne4+ Ke7 19. Qg5+ f6 20. Rh7+ Rf7 21. Nxf6 Rxh7 22. Nxh7+ Kf7
23. Qh6 Qh8 24. Bd3 Nf4 25. Ne2 Nbd5 26. Nxf4 Nxf4 27. Kf2 $14) 14. O-O-O ({
Castling is the usual and sensible choice, but Gelfand was undoubtedly
prepared even for} 14. d6 {His intention might have been} e4 $5 (14... Be6 15.
Nh3 Bxh3 16. Rxh3 Rc8 17. Bg5 Qd7 18. Rh4 Qe6 19. Rd1 Rf7 20. a4 Qb3 21. a5
Nbd7 22. Bd3 e4 23. Bb1 $36 {Laznicka,V (2593)-Areshchenko,A (2644)/Moscow/
2007/} (23. Nxe4 $5 $16)) (14... Nh5 15. Bg5 Bf6 16. Bxf6 Nxf6 17. O-O-O $14)
15. O-O-O (15. fxe4 Re8 $44) 15... Be6 16. Kb1 Rc8 17. Nh3 $13 (17. fxe4 $2
Rxc3 $1 18. Qxc3 Nxe4 $32 {->}) (17. Bh6 Bxh6 {/\} 18. Qxh6 Rxc3 19. bxc3 Na4
$40)) 14... Bd7 15. Kb1 {This side-step is more or less necessary, but it cost
Anand a precious 15 minutes.} (15. Nh3 Rc8 16. Kb1 e4 17. Nf4 exf3 18. gxf3
Bf5+ 19. Ka1 Nc4 20. Bxc4 Rxc4 21. Nfe2 b5 22. Ng3 b4 $132 {Gofshtein,L (2500)
-Roiz,M (2355)/ISR-chT/1999/}) 15... Rc8 16. Ka1 ({Until now White has more
often than not played} 16. d6 {This was played by Anand's second Nielsen, as
well as Gelfand's compatriot Postny, so we can safely assume the challenger
was still in his preparation.} Bf5+ (16... Nc4 17. Bxc4+ Rxc4 18. Nge2 Be6 (
18... Bf5+ $6 19. Ka1 Be6 20. Bg5 Qd7 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Ne4 Bd8 23. N2c3 Rf7
24. Qe3 Qc6 25. Rc1 Qa6 26. b3 Rc8 27. Na4 $16 {Nielsen,P (2680)-Tazbir,M 
(2500)/Helsingor/2009/}) 19. g4 (19. Bh6 Bxh6 (19... Qd7 $2 20. Bxg7 Kxg7 21.
Qe3 b5 22. b3 Rcc8 23. Qxe5 Rce8 24. Qd4 Kg8 25. Ka1 a5 26. Nf4 b4 27. Na4 Bf5
28. g4 Bc2 29. Qc4+ {1-0,Postny,E (2434)-Mikhalevski,V (2532)/Givataim/2000/})
20. Qxh6 Rc6 21. Ne4 Qd7 22. N2g3 Nxe4 23. Nxe4 Bf5 $11 {Knobel, R}) 19... Qd7
20. Bh6 Bxh6 21. Qxh6 b5 22. Ng3 {Thaler,T (2554)-Toro Solis de Ovando,G (2600)
/corr/2002/} b4 23. Nce4 Rcc8 $132) (16... Be6 17. Nh3 Nbd5 18. Nxd5 Bxd5 19.
Bg5 Be6 20. Nf2 e4 $5 (20... Qd7 21. Qb4 a6 22. Bxf6 Bxf6 23. Ne4 Bf5 24. Bd3
$16 {Hillarp Persson,T (2530)-Wojciechowski,P (2159)/Jersey/2004/}) 21. Bxf6
Qxf6 22. Nxe4 Qe5 $132) (16... e4 $5 $13 {is a yet untested try, analogous to
our game.}) (16... Na4 17. Ne4 $5 $14 (17. Nxa4 Bxa4 18. b3 Bd7 19. Bc4+ Rxc4
20. bxc4 Bf5+ 21. Ka1 e4 $44)) 17. Ka1 e4 18. Bh6 (18. g4 Be6 19. g5 Nh5 20.
Nxe4 Rf5 $5 $44 ({or} 20... Qd7 $44 {[%cal Yd7a4,Yb6a4,Yf8f5,Yf5b5] is unclear
to say the least - White's kingside forces are uncoordinated.})) 18... Bxh6 (
18... e3 $2 19. Bxe3 Nfd5 20. Nxd5 Rc2 21. Ne7+ $1 Qxe7 22. Qxc2 Qxe3 23. Qb3+
$16 {Postny,E (2432)-Greenfeld,A (2570)/Tel Aviv/2001/}) 19. Qxh6 Rf7 20. Nh3
exf3 21. gxf3 (21. Ng5 Rd7 22. gxf3 Rxd6 23. Rxd6 Qxd6 24. Nxh7 Rc7 $11) 21...
Qf8 (21... Rd7 $5) 22. Ng5 (22. Qd2 $5) {Postny,E (2491)-Serebro,A (2297)/
ISR-chT/2002/} 22... Qxh6 23. Rxh6 Rd7 $11) ({The usefulness of 16.Ka1 can be
seen in the line} 16. Bh6 $2 Nbxd5 $1 17. Nxd5 Bf5+ 18. Bd3 Bxh6 $15 {/\} 19.
Nxf6+ Rxf6 20. Rxh6 $2 Rd6 $19) 16... e4 $5 $146 {[%cal Gg7a1][%mdl 12] A
natural and thematic novelty - Black opens the long dark diagonal.} (16... Na4
17. Nge2 e4 18. d6 Re8 (18... Qa5 $142 $5 {transposes to a line we will
analyse below.}) 19. Rc1 $2 (19. Bd4 $142 $13 {/+/=}) 19... Qa5 $6 (19... exf3
20. gxf3 Nxb2 $1 21. Kxb2 Rxe3 $1 22. Qxe3 Nd5 23. Qxa7 Qf6 24. Qa5 Qxf3 $40)
20. Nxa4 Rxc1+ 21. Qxc1 Qxa4 22. Nc3 Qb4 $2 (22... Qc6 $132) 23. Nxe4 $16 {
Hillarp Persson,T (2450)-Aberg,A/Stockholm/2002/} {/\} Nxe4 $2 24. Bc4+ Kh8 25.
Rxh7+ $1 Kxh7 26. Qh1+ $18) 17. Bd4 {The pawn is extremely poisoned.} (17. fxe4
$2 Rxc3 $1 18. Qxc3 Nxe4 $17) (17. Nxe4 $2 Nxe4 18. fxe4 Rxf1 $1 19. Rxf1 Nc4
$19 {->}) ({Gelfand started thinking now, presumably he had prepared mainly for
} 17. d6 {Here} Na4 18. Nge2 Qa5 {leads to a position we have already
mentioned in the previous note:} 19. Bd4 Nxc3 $5 (19... Nc5 $6 20. Nc1 Ne6 21.
Nb3 Qb4 $2 (21... Qf5 $142) 22. Bxf6 Bxf6 23. Nxe4 (23. Qh6 $1 Bg7 24. Qxh7+
Kf7 25. Qh4 Rxc3 26. Qe7+ Kg8 27. Qxd7 Nc5 28. Qb5 $18) 23... Qxd2 24. Nxf6+
Rxf6 25. Nxd2 Ng5 26. Bc4+ Kg7 27. Bd5 Rxd6 28. Nc4 Rf6 29. Bxb7 Rc7 30. Bd5
$16 {Feller,S (2640)-Salgado Lopez,I (2623)/FRA-chT Belfort/2012/}) 20. Bxc3 (
20. Nxc3 Be6 21. a3 Rfd8 $132 {/\} 22. Qf4 exf3 23. Bxf6 $2 Rxc3 $17) 20... Qa4
$13) 17... Na4 {Black proceeds with his play, but he had other plausible
options:} (17... Nc4 18. Bxc4 Rxc4 19. Nge2 exf3 20. gxf3 Qa5 $13 (20... b5 $5)
(20... Bf5 $13)) ({Even the simple} 17... exf3 18. Nxf3 (18. gxf3 $5) 18... Bf5
$132 {deserves attention.}) (17... Re8 $5 {/\} 18. fxe4 Rxc3 $1 19. Qxc3 Nxe4 {
was suggested by Shipov:} 20. Qe1 Bxd4 21. Rxd4 Qf6 22. Nf3 Ng5 23. Qh4 Nxf3
24. Qxh7+ Kf8 25. Qh8+ Qxh8 26. Rxh8+ Kg7 27. Rxe8 Nxd4 28. Rb8 Kf6 29. Rxb7
Bf5 30. Rxa7 Nxd5 31. b3 Ne3 $13) 18. Nge2 {Declines the sacrifice.} (18. Nxe4
Nxe4 19. fxe4 Bxd4 20. Qxd4 Qg5 21. Kb1 (21. Ne2 Rc2 22. Rb1 Rfc8 $44) 21...
Rxf1 22. Rxf1 Qxg2 23. Ne2 $5 (23. Nf3 Rc2 24. Ka1 Rxb2 {already forces White
to find} 25. Nd2 Rxd2 26. Rf8+ $1 Kxf8 27. Qf6+ Ke8 28. Qe5+ $11) 23... Qxe2
24. Ka1 Rc4 25. Qf6 Qxb2+ 26. Qxb2 Nxb2 27. Kxb2 Rxe4 28. Re1 Rxe1 29. Rxe1 Kf7
30. d6 Be6 $132 {leads to an endgame, in which a draw is a likely result.})
18... Qa5 $1 (18... exf3 $143 19. gxf3 Qa5 {is weaker, the pawn swap gives
White the extra possibility} 20. Nxa4 Qxa4 (20... Qxd2 21. Rxd2 Bxa4 22. Bh3
$36) 21. Nc3 Qa5 22. Qh2 $1 $40) 19. Nxe4 {Anand finally takes the pawn, but
this shouldn't have given him an advantage.} (19. fxe4 $6 Nxc3 20. Bxc3 (20.
Nxc3 Nxe4 $1 $17) 20... Qa4 $36 {/\} 21. Ng3 $6 Rxc3 $1 22. bxc3 Nxe4 (22...
Nh5 $5 $17) 23. Nxe4 Qxe4 $40 {[%cal Re4b4,Rf8f2]}) (19. Rh4 exf3 20. gxf3 b5
$132) 19... Qxd2 20. Nxf6+ (20. Rxd2 $6 Nxe4 21. fxe4 Rfe8 {[%csl Re4]} 22.
Bxg7 Kxg7 23. b3 Nc5 $11) 20... Rxf6 {Activates the second rook as well.} (
20... Bxf6 21. Rxd2 Bxd4 22. Rxd4 Rc2 23. b3 $14 {gives White more chances to
untangle his kingside forces.}) 21. Rxd2 Rf5 $5 (21... Rd6 22. Bxg7 Kxg7 23. b3
Nb6 24. Nf4 Rc1+ 25. Kb2 Re1 $44 {was also interesting, but the text move is
more concrete - Black doesn't allow Nf4.}) 22. Bxg7 Kxg7 $32 23. d6 (23. b3 Nb6
24. d6 Rd5 $11) (23. Rh4 Nb6 24. Rhd4 $2 Nc4 25. R2d3 Re5 $17 {[%cal Rc4e3,
Rd7f5]}) 23... Rfc5 $6 {Inaccurate.} ({Gelfand admitted that after} 23... Nb6
24. Nc3 {he had overlooked} Rd5 $1 (24... Nd5 $2 25. Bb5 $1 $16) 25. Rd3 (25.
Rxd5 Nxd5 26. Bb5 Nxc3 27. Bxd7 Rd8 $11) 25... Bf5 26. Rxd5 Nxd5 27. Bd3 Nxc3
28. Bxf5 gxf5 29. bxc3 Rxc3 30. Rd1 Rc8 $11) 24. Rd1 a5 (24... Rc2 25. b3 Nb6 (
25... Nc3 $2 26. Nxc3 {/\} R8xc3 27. Bd3 Rxg2 28. Rhe1 $18 {[%csl Gd6][%cal
Re1e7]}) 26. Rh4 $36) (24... h5 $142 {[%cal Yg7f6]}) (24... Nb6 $5 $14) 25. Rh4
$1 (25. b3 Nb6 $14 {only helps Black, Whtte needs to activate his rook.}) 25...
Rc2 (25... Re5 26. b3 Nc5 27. Nd4 $14 {/+/-}) 26. b3 Nb2 (26... Nc3 27. Nxc3 {
/\} R8xc3 $2 28. Bd3 Rxg2 29. Re4 $18) (26... Nc5 27. Kb1 $16 {/\} Bf5 28. Nd4)
(26... Nb6 $5 {was less forcing.}) 27. Rb1 (27. Rdd4 $5 a4 28. bxa4 Nxa4 29.
Rxa4 Bxa4 30. Rxa4 Rd2 31. Rb4 $14 {/+/-}) 27... Nd3 28. Nd4 Rd2 (28... Nb4 29.
Nxc2 Rxc2 30. Re1 Rxa2+ (30... Bf5 31. Rxb4 axb4 32. g4 $18) 31. Kb1 Bf5+ 32.
Kc1 $16 {and there is no perpetual in sight.}) 29. Bxd3 Rxd3 30. Re1 (30. Re4
$2 Re8 $1 $11) 30... Rd2 $6 (30... Kf6 $142 $1 31. Re7 (31. Rxh7 Rxd4 32. Rxd7
Rc2 $132) 31... Bf5 32. Nxf5 Kxf5 $14 {/+/-}) 31. Kb1 ({After} 31. Re7+ Kf6 32.
Kb1 Bf5+ 33. Nxf5 {Black already can't go with his king to g6 as on move 33 in
the game. However, White has to reckon with} Rd1+ $5 34. Kb2 Rd2+ 35. Ka3 Rcc2
36. Ka4 Rxa2+ 37. Kb5 gxf5 $14 {and the final result is still open.}) 31...
Bf5+ 32. Nxf5+ gxf5 33. Re7+ Kg6 ({A difficult choice - after} 33... Kf6 34. f4
$5 {[%cal Rh4h6]} Rxd6 (34... Rd1+ 35. Kb2 Rxd6 36. Rxb7 Rg8 37. Rhxh7 Rxg2+
38. Ka3 $16 {is similar}) 35. Rxb7 Rg8 36. Ra7 Rxg2 37. Rh6+ Rg6 38. Rhxh7 $16
{White has good chances to convert his advantage. However, now he could have
won practically by force.}) 34. Rc7 $6 $138 (34. d7 $142 $1 Rcc2 (34... Rd8 35.
Rhxh7 $18) 35. Rc4 $1 Rxc4 (35... Rb2+ 36. Kc1 Rxa2 37. Rc8 Rf2 38. Re6+ Kh5 (
38... Kf7 39. Rf6+ Kg7 40. Rg8+ $18) 39. g4+ fxg4 40. Rc5+ Kh4 41. d8=Q+ Kg3
42. Kd1 $18) 36. bxc4 h5 37. Kc1 Rd4 38. Kb2 Kf6 39. Rh7 Ke6 (39... Kg6 40. Kc3
Rd1 41. d8=Q Rxd8 42. Rxb7 $18 {[%csl Gc4]}) {Perhaps even simpler is} 40. Kb3
$5 ({Here I.Sokolov and Atalik prove that White wins the pawn-endgame after} 
40. Kc3 Rxd7 41. Rxd7 Kxd7 42. Kd4 Ke6 (42... Kd6 43. c5+ Kc6 44. f4 h4 45. Ke5
$18) 43. c5 (43. Kc5 Ke5) (43. f4 b6 44. c5 b5 45. c6 Kd6 46. c7 Kxc7 47. Kc5
b4 48. Kb5 Kd6 49. Kxa5 Kc5 $11) 43... f4 44. Ke4 a4 45. a3 h4 $1 (45... Kd7
46. Kxf4 Kc6 47. g4 hxg4 48. fxg4 Kxc5 49. Ke4 $18) 46. Kd4 Kd7 47. Kc3 Ke6 (
47... Kc7 48. Kb4 Kc6 49. Kc4 b6 (49... Kd7 50. Kb5) (49... Kc7 50. Kb5) 50.
cxb6 Kxb6 51. Kd4 Kc6 52. Ke4 Kc5 53. Kxf4 $18 {-47...Ke6}) 48. Kc4 Ke5 49. c6
$1 bxc6 50. Kc5 Ke6 51. Kxc6 Ke5 52. Kc5 (52. Kb5 $2 Kd4 53. Kxa4 Ke3 54. Kb4
Kf2 55. a4 Kxg2 56. a5 h3) 52... Ke6 53. Kd4 Kd6 54. Ke4 Kc5 55. Kxf4 Kc4 56.
Ke4 Kb3 57. f4 Kxa3 58. f5 Kb3 59. f6 a3 60. f7 a2 61. f8=Q a1=Q 62. Qf7+ Kc2
63. Qf2+ Kb3 64. Qb6+ Kc4 65. Qe6+ Kb4 66. Qd6+ Kb3 67. Qd5+ Kb4 68. Qd4+ $18)
40... Rxd7 (40... Rd2 41. c5 (41. Ka4 Rxa2+ 42. Kb5 Rd2 43. Kxa5 Rxd7 44. Rxd7
Kxd7 45. Kb6 Kc8 46. f4 h4 47. c5 Kb8 48. c6 $18) 41... Rxd7 42. Rxd7 Kxd7 43.
Kc4 Kc6 44. f4 $18) (40... f4 41. Ka4 $18) 41. Rxd7 Kxd7 42. Ka4 Kc6 43. Kxa5
Kc5 44. f4 h4 45. a3 $1 b6+ 46. Ka6 Kc6 47. Ka7 Kc7 48. a4 Kc6 49. Kb8 $18)
34... Re8 35. Rh1 $2 {Finally throws away the advantage.} (35. Re7 Rd8 $142 $5
$14 {/+/-} (35... Rc8 36. d7 {-34.d7!}) (35... Rxe7 36. dxe7 Kf7 (36... Re2 37.
Re4 Rxe4 38. fxe4 Kf7 39. exf5 Kxe7 40. g4 $18) 37. Rxh7+ Ke8 38. Rh5 $18))
35... Ree2 $132 36. d7 Rb2+ 37. Kc1 Rxa2 (37... Rxa2 38. Kd1 (38. Kb1 Rab2+ $11
) 38... Rad2+ 39. Kc1 Ra2 $11) 1/2-1/2

[Event "World-ch Anand-Gelfand +1-1=10"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2012.05.15"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D45"]
[WhiteElo "2727"]
[BlackElo "2791"]
[Annotator "Edouard,R"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2012.05.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 149"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[TimeControl "40/7200+30:20/3600+30:900+30"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 a6 {Once again Anand chooses not
to go for the main move 5...Nbd7.} 6. b3 {Exactly the same system as in game 2.
} (6. Qc2 {is also very popular, while Gelfand already played 6.Bd3 and 6.c5
in the past. Later in the match, he came back to the 6.c5!? line - and won!})
6... Bb4 $5 {Black considers White's bishop will be misplaced on d2, since it
would be more logical to put it on b2 later.} (6... c5 $5 {is also possible: a
typical reaction against systems with b3. One option for White would have been:
} 7. Bb2 (7. cxd5 $5) 7... Nc6 (7... cxd4 8. Nxd4 dxc4 9. Bxc4 {is known to be
slightly better for White.}) 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Be2 Be6 10. O-O Bd6 11. dxc5 Bxc5
12. Rc1 $14 {1-0 (50) Cheparinov,I (2669)-Zhukova,N (2412) AZE 2011}) 7. Bd2
Nbd7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O Bd6 10. Qc2 {The main move.} (10. Rc1 {was played in
game 2 of the match.}) (10. e4 dxc4 11. bxc4 e5 {is supposed to be fine for
Black.}) (10. Re1 $5 {is kind of a latest fashion move, which both players had
surely analysed quite deeply.}) 10... e5 $5 (10... h6 {is the main move
according to theory, but 10...e5 worked very well for Black in all the
previous games so far, while here after} 11. Rae1 Re8 12. c5 Bc7 13. e4 $1 e5
14. exd5 cxd5 15. dxe5 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 Rxe5 17. Ne2 {Black failed to equalise in
Zhou-Jakovenko (2011).}) 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. e4 {Of course taking on e5, which
was possible in the 10.Rc1 line (see game 2) would no longer make any sense
with the rook on a1 and the queen on c2.} exd4 13. Nxd5 Nxd5 14. exd5 Nf6 15.
h3 $5 {A very logical move played only once. Against almost all other moves,
Black would go 15...Bg4 and simply equalise.} (15. Qc4 Bg4 16. Qxd4 Bxf3 17.
gxf3 Nxd5 $11 {1/2-1/2 (36) Avrukh,B (2632)-Wang,H (2684) Dagomys RUS 2008}) (
15. Rfe1 Bg4 16. Nxd4 Rc8 17. Qb2 Rc5 $11 {1/2-1/2 (70) Aleksandrov,A (2636)
-Kharlov,A (2511) RUS 2009}) (15. Nxd4 Be5 $11) 15... Bd7 {Again played very
fast by Anand.} 16. Rad1 ({There was no hurry to play ...h6, since after} 16.
Bg5 h6 17. Bh4 Rc8 18. Qd2 Rc5 $1 {it seems Black equalises.}) 16... Re8 17.
Nxd4 Rc8 18. Qb1 h6 {We reached the typical setup in the kind of structure in
which White is up a pawn that he cannot really hold. The only question is
always: can White force Black to capture the pawn back in poor conditions?} 19.
Nf5 {Of course after taking the bishop pair, White has a very (very) slight
advantage, but it doesn't seem enough at all. It seems to me that after 19.Nf3
White would have decent chances to get some advantage, though Anand had been
playing very fast until 18...h6, which should mean he has some precise idea
against 19.Nf3.} (19. Nf3 $5 Nxd5 ({Of course it would be possible to delay ...
Nxd5, but after a move like} 19... Qc7 {White could go} 20. Bc1 {and slowly
reorganise his pieces, and it looks clear to me that Black should have some
problems, though maybe solvable.}) 20. Be4 $1 (20. Bh7+ Kh8 21. Bxh6 $2 {
doesn't work because of} Nc3 $17) 20... Bc6 21. Nd4 {and White can take the
bishop pair, and I don't see exactly how Black can equalise, e.g.} Qb6 (21...
Nc3 $2 22. Bh7+ (22. Nxc6 Nxb1 23. Nxd8 Nxd2 24. Rxd2 Rcxd8 $11) 22... Kh8 23.
Bxc3 {and according to the engine Black is still in the game with} Bxg2 $1 {
but after} 24. Nf5 $8 Bxh3 (24... Be4 25. Qc1 $8 Rxc3 26. Qxc3 Qg5+ 27. Ng3 $16
) 25. Bxg7+ Kxh7 26. Nxd6+ Kxg7 27. Nxe8+ Qxe8 28. Rfe1 {White is clearly
better.}) 22. Nxc6 bxc6 23. Bh7+ Kh8 24. Bd3 $14 {However maybe Anand had some
idea which I am just missing! I'm also not sure on how easy the calculation of
21...Nxc3 is over the board.}) 19... Bxf5 20. Bxf5 Rc5 21. Rfe1 (21. Rc1 $5 {
is an interesting option, but whatever Black plays he is very close to
equality. At least much closer than in the 19.Nf3 line is Black doesn't have a
clear way to exchange some pieces.}) 21... Rxd5 22. Bc3 Rxe1+ 23. Rxe1 Bc5 24.
Qc2 Bd4 $1 {Now the position is absolutely equal.} 25. Bxd4 Rxd4 26. Qc8 g6 27.
Bg4 h5 (27... Nxg4 $4 28. Re8+ $18) 28. Qxd8+ Rxd8 29. Bf3 b6 30. Rc1 Rd6 31.
Kf1 a5 32. Ke2 Nd5 $5 {The most dynamic.} (32... Kf8 {is also equal.}) 33. g3 (
33. Bxd5 Rxd5 34. Rc6 Re5+ 35. Kd3 b5 $5 $11 {White's king can never advance
all that easily due to some problems he would have with the 2nd rank!}) 33...
Ne7 34. Be4 Kg7 1/2-1/2

[Event "World-ch Anand-Gelfand +1-1=10"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2012.05.17"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2791"]
[BlackElo "2727"]
[Annotator "Krasenkow,M"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2012.05.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 149"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8.
Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c4 {This move (considered absolutely
harmless by the classical Sveshnikov theory) was picked up in the mid-2000s,
mostly by Russian players (Morozevich, Svidler, Malakhov, later Nepomniachtchi)
as well as Movsesian and other top GMs, and it turned out that it was not
stupid at all. The fact that Black has no better reply than 11...b4 means that
the position stabilizes, many of Black's dynamic possibilities of counterplay 
(existing after 11.c3) now disappear, and his static weaknesses (the d6-pawn
and d5-square) become more essential. The price White pays for that is the
weakness of dark squares in his own camp. Objectively, 11.c4 hardly gives
White a more promising position than other Sveshnikov systems but it leads to
very quiet positional play, which is often quite annoying for Sveshnikov
adherents, mostly active and usually tactical players.} b4 12. Nc2 O-O 13. g3 {
This move has two ideas: either to simply play Bf1-g2 strengthening the centre
or to continue more ambitiously: h2-h4, Bf1-h3 (with the idea to exchange the
light-squared bishops, which would be extremely favourable for White), and in
the event of ...Bc8-e6 (the exchange Bh3xe6 f7xe6 is generally satisfactory
for Black) - simply Ke1-f1-g2 keeping pressure. In my opinion, the latter is
White's most principled plan, crucial for the evaluation of the whole 11.c4
system. All other plans (13.Be2, 13.Qf3 etc.) should not be dangerous for
Black.} ({White can btw. start with} 13. h4 {restricting Black's dark-squared
bishop.}) 13... a5 ({More popular is} 13... Bg5 $5 14. h4 Bh6 {activating the
bishop - see previous remark.}) 14. Bg2 {Taken aback by Boris Gelfand's
opening choice, Vishy Anand avoids main theoretical lines.} (14. h4 $1 Be6 15.
Bh3 {is in the centre of theoretical discussions nowadays.}) 14... Bg5 15. O-O
Be6 16. Qd3 {A typical plan. Subsequently, White puts on d1 either his queen's
rook (keeping an option to play f2-f4) or his king's rook (and then plays
a2-a3 if a good opportunity arises). Alternatives:} (16. b3) (16. h4 Bh6 17. b3
) 16... Bxd5 {One of many possible plans.} (16... Bh6 17. Rad1 Ra7 18. f4 exf4
19. gxf4 g6 20. Nde3 Qb6 21. Kh1 Rd8 22. b3 Qc5 $11 23. f5 Ne5 24. Qe2 Bc8 25.
Qe1 Re8 26. Nd5 Bg7 27. Qh4 $14 {0-1 Nakhapetian,P (2418)-Zhigalko,S (2487)/
Herceg Novi 2006/CBM 114 ext (59)}) (16... Ne7 17. Nde3 Bxe3 18. Nxe3 Qc7 19.
Rad1 Rfd8 20. b3 Nc6 21. Nc2 a4 22. Rd2 axb3 23. axb3 Qb6 24. h4 Ra2 25. Rb1 h6
26. Kh2 Qc5 $11 {1-0 Nepomniachtchi,I (2706)-Timofeev,A (2690)/Irkutsk 2010/
CBM 138 (54)}) (16... Qb8 17. Rad1 (17. f4 $6 Bd8 18. Kh1 a4 19. b3 h6 20. Rad1
Qb7 21. Nde3 Bb6 22. Nf5 Rfd8 23. Qe2 axb3 24. axb3 Ra2 25. Rd2 Kh7 $15 {
0-1 Borisek,J (2541)-Moiseenko,A (2715)/Porto Carras 2011/EXT 2012 (31)}) 17...
Qa7 $1 (17... g6 $2 18. f4 exf4 19. gxf4 Bh6 20. Qg3 $1 f5 (20... Bg7 21. f5 $5
$40) 21. Nde3 $1 Qc7 22. exf5 Bxf5 23. Nxf5 Rxf5 24. Ne3 Rff8 25. Nd5 $16 {
1/2 Kindermann,S (2542)-McShane,L (2619)/Germany 2004/CBM 100/[Meyer,CD] (56)})
18. b3 Rad8 19. h4 Bh6 20. a3 bxa3 21. Nxa3 Nd4 22. Nb5 Nxb5 23. cxb5 Qb7 24.
Rfe1 Rb8 25. Bf1 Rfc8 $11 {1/2 Broniek,M (2226)-Noble,M (2414)/Lechenicher
SchachServer 2008/Telechess CBM 137 (53)}) (16... Rb8 17. b3 Qd7 $5) 17. cxd5 (
17. exd5 Nb8 {[%cal Yb8a6,Ya6c5]} (17... Nd4 $5 {S.Shipov}) 18. h4 Bh6 19. a3 (
19. c5 dxc5 {is hardly good for White}) 19... Na6 20. axb4 {1-0 Iljiushenok,I 
(2314)-Dubov,D (2116)/Moscow 2008/EXT 2010 (47)} axb4 21. Rxa6 Rxa6 22. Nxb4
Ra8 23. Nc6 Qd7 24. b4 f5 $132) (17. Qxd5 Qb6 $11) 17... Nb8 {[%cal Yb8a6,
Ya6c5]} 18. a3 {White must urgently develop some activity.} (18. h4 Bh6 {
doesn't change much} (18... Be7 $143 19. a3 bxa3 20. Rxa3 Nd7 21. Rfa1 Nc5 22.
Qc4 Rb8 23. b4 axb4 24. Nxb4 Qb6 25. Nc6 $14 {1-0 Jakubowski,K (2502)-Bobras,P
(2554)/Czechia 2009/CBM 133 Extra (83)})) 18... Na6 (18... bxa3 {may be even
simpler:} 19. Nxa3 Nd7 20. Nc4 Qc7 {[%cal Yf8b8,Yd7c5]} 21. f4 $6 (21. Ra3 $11)
21... Bf6 22. Rac1 Rfb8 23. Qe3 {1/2 Libiszewski,F (2495)-Sebenik,M (2573)/
Sibenik CRO 2012/The Week in Chess 917 (37)} exf4 24. gxf4 Rb4 $36) 19. axb4
Nxb4 20. Nxb4 axb4 21. h4 Bh6 22. Bh3 ({In reply to} 22. Qc4 {Black can even
sacrifice his weak b-pawn:} b3 $1 23. Qxb3 Bd2 {, and White can't make any use
of his own b-pawn, which will be safely blockaded, attacked and eventually
captured (indicated by several commentators).}) 22... Qb6 23. Bd7 (23. Qc4 {
can now be met by} Qc5 ({there is nothing wrong with} 23... Rfb8 24. Qc6 Qd8 {
, of course}) 24. Qxc5 dxc5 {, and Black's c-pawn is as strong as White's
d-pawn.}) 23... b3 24. Bc6 Ra2 $5 25. Rxa2 bxa2 26. Qa3 (26. b3 Rb8 27. Ba4 Rc8
28. Ra1 Rc1+ 29. Rxc1 Bxc1 30. Qc2 g5 $5 31. Qxa2 (31. Qxc1 Qd4 32. Qxg5+ $11)
31... gxh4 32. gxh4 Qd8 $11) 26... Rb8 (26... Qd4 $5 27. Qxa2 Qxe4 28. Qa3 Rd8)
27. Qxa2 {It was now Black who could continue fighting:} (27. Qxa2 Qxb2 (27...
Qd4 28. Qa4) 28. Qxb2 Rxb2 29. Ra1 g6 {etc. but this is hardly a serious
attempt against the World Champion.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "World-ch Anand-Gelfand +1-1=10"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2012.05.18"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D45"]
[WhiteElo "2727"]
[BlackElo "2791"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2012.05.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 149"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 a6 6. Qc2 c5 $1 {The c-pawn
advance at this moment is one of the great discoveries in the Slav with 5...a6.
Black is ready to prove, that White's move 6.Qc2 is only a somewhat dubious
contribution to the battle with tension on the c4,d4/c5,d5 box.} 7. cxd5 exd5
8. Be2 Be6 9. O-O Nc6 10. Rd1 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Nxd4 {Black is making a smart
choice with swap of the knights, as the ambitious recapture with the rook will
cost White a vital tempo.} (11... Rc8 $6 12. Nxe6 (12. Nxc6 Rxc6 13. Qd3 Bd6
14. e4 dxe4 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Qxe4 Qc7 $11 {1/2-1/2 Krush,I (2449)-Delchev,A 
(2572)/Andorra 2003}) 12... fxe6 13. e4 d4 14. Qb3 Qd7 15. Na4 $6 (15. e5 $5
Nxe5 16. Be3 Bc5 (16... Nc6 17. Bxd4 Nxd4 18. Rxd4 Qxd4 19. Qxe6+ Kd8 20. Rd1
Qxd1+ 21. Bxd1 $40) 17. Bxd4 Bxd4 18. Rxd4 Qxd4 19. Qxe6+ Kd8 20. Rd1 Qxd1+ 21.
Bxd1 $14) 15... Na5 16. Qb6 Nc4 17. Qxd4 Qxa4 18. b3 e5 19. Qd3 Qa5 20. bxc4
Bc5 $44 21. Be3 (21. Bd2 Qc7 22. Rab1 $16) 21... O-O 22. Bxc5 Qxc5 23. Rab1 $14
{1/2-1/2 Krasenkow,M (2633)-Bareev,E (2729)/Wijk aan Zee 2003 (36)}) 12. Rxd4 (
12. exd4 Be7 (12... Bd6 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bh4 g5 15. Bg3 Bxg3 16. hxg3 h5 17. Qd2
Rg8 18. Rac1 h4 19. Qe3 hxg3 20. Qxg3 Qb8 21. Qe5 Nd7 22. Qe3 Qd6 {1-0
Grischuk,A (2704)-Rublevsky,S (2649)/chessassistantclub.com INT 2004 (51)} 23.
Nxd5 Qxd5 24. Bc4 Qf5 25. d5 $18) 13. Bg5 (13. Qb3 b5 14. Bg5 Qd6 15. Bf3 Rd8
16. a4 b4 17. Ne2 O-O 18. Bf4 Qb6 19. Be5 Qa5 20. Nf4 Rfe8 21. Rdc1 Rc8 22.
Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Bxf6 Bxf6 24. Bxd5 Bxd5 25. Nxd5 $16 {1-0 Fridman,D (2562)-David,
A (2580)/Turin 2006 (91)}) 13... O-O 14. Qb3 b5 15. Bf3 Rb8 (15... Qd6 16. Bxf6
Bxf6 {1/2-1/2 Lalic,B (2527)-Malakhatko,V (2555)/Bergamo 2004}) 16. Rac1 Kh8
17. h3 h6 18. Bf4 Rc8 19. Be5 Rc4 20. Be2 Rc6 21. a4 b4 22. Na2 Rxc1 23. Rxc1
a5 $11 {1/2-1/2 Volkov,S (2636)-Motylev,A (2674)/Novokuznetsk 2008 (42)}) 12...
Bc5 (12... Bd6 13. e4 Be5 (13... O-O 14. exd5) (13... Rc8 14. exd5 Nxd5 15. Qd1
Rxc3 16. bxc3 Bc5 17. Qa4+ Bd7 18. Re4+ Be7 19. Qd4 Nf6 20. Re3 O-O 21. c4 $16
{1-0 Aleksandrov,A (2659)-Hossain,E (2413)/Kolkata 2004 (47)}) 14. Rd1 Qc7 15.
exd5 Nxd5 16. Qa4+ Bd7 17. Bb5 Bxc3 18. Qe4+ Kf8 19. Bxd7 $16) 13. Rd1 Qe7 $5 {
The ability to analyse with the help of computers is enhanced before the world
title match by the impact of grandmasters checking as many lines as possible.
In practice Black had nothing to worry about after the natural 13...Rc8, but
there might be something under the surface that these great masters understand
better.} (13... Rc8 14. e4 (14. Qd3 O-O 15. b3 Qd7 16. Bb2 Bf5 17. Qd2 d4 18.
Na4 dxe3 19. Qxd7 exf2+ 20. Kf1 Nxd7 21. Nxc5 Nxc5 22. Ba3 g6 23. Rac1 b6 $11 {
1/2-1/2 Li,C (2703)-Bu Xiangzhi (2668)/Beijing 2012 (43)}) 14... Nxe4 15. Qa4+
Bd7 16. Qb3 Nxf2 17. Rxd5 Ng4+ 18. Rxc5 Rxc5 19. Bxg4 Bxg4 20. Qb4 Qe7 21. Bf4
Rc6 $19 {0-1 Mamedyarov,S (2719)-Aronian,L (2786)/Moscow 2009 (25)}) 14. Bf3 (
14. Qa4+ Bd7 15. Qb3 Be6 16. Bf3 O-O 17. Nxd5 Nxd5 18. Bxd5 Bxd5 19. Rxd5 Rfd8
$44) 14... O-O {Black may try to hold on to the d5-pawn, but it does not mean
that his life will reamain easy. The sacrifice of the d5-pawn for the
initiative is not an unknown guest in the 1.d4 openings.} (14... Rd8 15. b3 O-O
16. Bb2 Rc8 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18. Bxd5 Bxe3 19. Qe2 Nxd5 20. Rxd5 Bg5 21. Re5 Qf6
22. Re1 h6 (22... Bf4 23. Re4 Qh6 24. g3 Bc1 25. Bd4 {1-0 Ragger,M (2614)
-Kobalia,M (2672)/Aix-les-Bains 2011 (73)} Bg5 26. a4 $14) 23. h4 Qg6 24. hxg5
Rc2 25. Qe3 Rxb2 26. gxh6 Qxh6 27. Qxh6 gxh6 $11 {1/2-1/2 Lenic,L (2623)
-Rublevsky,S (2678)/Aix-les-Bains 2011 (29)}) 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16. Bxd5 Nxd5 17.
Rxd5 Rac8 18. Bd2 {[%mdl 4] The last thing Gelfand would like is to play with
a spare pawn, but very crumpled pieces. White is giving up on the spare pawn
in the interest of the immediate mobilisation of the pieces.} (18. Qd3 Rcd8 $1
(18... Rfd8 $6 19. g3 Rxd5 20. Qxd5 Rd8 21. Qf3 b5 22. b3 Qe6 23. Bb2 $16) 19.
e4 f5 20. Be3 Bxe3 21. Qxe3 Qxe4 22. Qxe4 fxe4 23. Rad1 Rxd5 24. Rxd5 h6 $11)
18... Bxe3 19. Bc3 Bb6 20. Qf5 Qe6 $1 21. Qf3 {The polite retreat admits, that
White will not be able to fight for a real advantage. After the natural
exchange of the queens Black would get ample counterplay against the f2-pawn.}
(21. Qxe6 fxe6 22. Rd2 (22. Rd7 Rxf2 $17) 22... Rcd8 23. Re2 Rf5 24. g3 Rdf8
25. Rf1 e5 26. Kg2 (26. Bxe5 Re8 27. Rfe1 Bxf2+ 28. Rxf2 Rfxe5 $11) 26... Bd4
$11) 21... f6 22. h4 (22. Rad1 Qc6 23. h4 Rfd8 $11) 22... Qc6 23. h5 Rfd8 24.
Rxd8+ {Gelfand will be able to perform at least a small dance to show his
ambition, hoping to get a small advantage.} (24. Rad1 Rxd5 25. Rxd5 Rd8 26.
Rxd8+ Bxd8 $11) 24... Rxd8 25. Qxc6 bxc6 26. Re1 Kf7 27. g4 Bd4 $1 {All rook
endgames are drawn and it is even more valid in case of truly equal positions.
Anand is forcing the game into the calm waters of full equality.} 28. Rc1 (28.
Kg2 Bxc3 29. bxc3 Rd5 $11) 28... Bxc3 29. Rxc3 Rd4 (29... Rd4 30. Rxc6 Rxg4+
31. Kf1 Ra4 32. a3 Ra5 33. Rc7+ $11) 1/2-1/2

[Event "World-ch Anand-Gelfand +1-1=10"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2012.05.20"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D45"]
[WhiteElo "2727"]
[BlackElo "2791"]
[Annotator "Gelfand/Huzman"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2012.05.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 149"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 a6 6. c5 {In the three previous
games of the match, I did not manage to achieve a real advantage after either
6.b3 or 6.Qc2. For this game, I and my seconds prepared a new continuation.}
Nbd7 7. Qc2 $5 {The idea of this useful move is prophylactic. Practice in
recent years has shown that after 7.b4, Black equalises with 7...b6, and after
7.Bd3, the reply 7...e5 is strong, and gives Black good play. After the text,
White is ready to react differently to each of these Black plans.} b6 ({
The play assumes a different character after} 7... e5 8. dxe5 Ng4 9. e6 fxe6
10. Bd3 Ngf6 (10... Nde5 $5) 11. Ng5 Nxc5 12. Bxh7 Nxh7 13. Qg6+ Kd7 14. Nf7 {
0-1 Radjabov,T (2650)-Grischuk,A (2732)/Bastia 2003/ with advantage to White.})
8. cxb6 Nxb6 9. Bd2 c5 10. Rc1 {The threat of 11.dxc5 Bxc5 12.Nxd5 forces
Black to clarify the pawn structure.} ({The immediate opening of lines does
not bring anything real} 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. Rc1 Be7 $11 {Black's pawn majority
in the centre gives him good counterchances.}) 10... cxd4 ({If} 10... c4 {then}
11. b3 {White is better prepared for queenside play, thanks to his better
development. Evidently, Anand was not ready for the usual passive play and
preferred a different type of pawn structure, one seemingly harmless for Black.
} cxb3 {Black must agree to this exchange, to avoid a weakness on c4.} 12. axb3
Bb7 13. Bd3 Bd6 14. O-O O-O 15. Ne5 {White preserves a small positional
advantage, thanks to his better placed pieces.} Rc8 (15... Qb8 16. Na4 $14) 16.
Qb2 $14) 11. exd4 Bd6 {In this position, White has the choice between playing
for a positional advantage and an interesting attempt to exploit the tactical
features of the position.} 12. Bg5 (12. Na4 $5 {This move forces matters,
since Black's reply is practically forced.} Nxa4 (12... Bd7 13. Nc5 $14) (12...
Nc4 13. Bxc4 dxc4 14. Ne5 $14) 13. Qc6+ Bd7 14. Qxd6 {At this critical moment,
Black has a choice between 14..Nb2 and 14..Ne4} {The continuation} Ne4 {
leads to simplifications and a small white advantage in the endgame.} (14...
Nxb2 {looks dangerous. After} 15. Qa3 Nc4 16. Bxc4 dxc4 17. Ba5 $36 {White
keeps the enemy king in the centre, which gives him a dangerous initiative.})
15. Qa3 Nxd2 16. Kxd2 $5 (16. Nxd2 Qe7 17. Qxe7+ Kxe7 $11) 16... Qe7 17. Qxe7+
Kxe7 18. b3 Nb6 19. Rc5 f6 $14 {White has a small initiative, but Black
retains a defensible position.}) 12... O-O 13. Bd3 h6 14. Bh4 Bb7 15. O-O Qb8
$6 {A rather risky strategic decision by Anand.} ({After} 15... Bf4 {taking
the important c1-square away from White, Black has practically equalised.} 16.
Rcd1 (16. Rb1 Nbd7 17. b4 (17. Qe2 a5) 17... Rc8 18. Qb3 Nb6 {is ok for Black})
16... Nbd7 17. Na4 a5 18. Nc5 Qb6 $11) {Black gives White a difficult
positional choice: either to play for an attack by means of 16.Bf6, in return
for giving Black two bishops and pawn control of the centre, or to follow
general positional lines of playing against the bad bishop on c8, which means
choosing 16.Bg3. I decided on the second course, in full accordance with my
conception of chess strategy, which was formed under the influence of Akiba
Rubinstein, my favourite player of the past.} 16. Bg3 $5 (16. Bxf6 $5 gxf6 17.
Ne2 $1 {[%cal Ge2g3,Gg3h5] This is the best way to continue the attack. Black
faces a difficult defence.} ({After} 17. Qe2 Rc8 {/\Bf8 White achieves nothing.
}) 17... Rc8 (17... Kg7 18. Ng3 Bxg3 19. fxg3 Rc8 20. Qd2 Rxc1 21. Rxc1 Qd6 22.
Qf4 Qxf4 23. gxf4 $14) (17... f5 18. Ng3 Qd8 {[%cal Gd8f6]} 19. Nh5 Nd7 20. g4
$1 $40 fxg4 $140 21. Qd2 $18) 18. Qd2 Bf8 19. Rxc8 Nxc8 (19... Qxc8 20. Nf4 $36
) 20. Ng3 Nd6 21. Nh5 Bg7 22. Qf4 $36 Ne4 23. Qg4 Ng5 24. Nxg5 fxg5 25. Nxg7
Kxg7 26. f4 $36 {Despite the numerous exchanges, White retains a dangerous
initiative.}) 16... Rc8 17. Qe2 Bxg3 18. hxg3 {The computer does not give
White the advantage here, and so many commentators assessed the position
incorrectly as a result. Despite the apparent simplicity of the position,
Black needs to defend carefully, against a range of White ideas, involving
doubling rooks on the c-file and putting the knight on e5. White can also
advance on the queenside with a3-b4, or attack on the kingside with g4-g5. No
small role is played in Black's problems by the passive bishop on b7, which
remains out of play, as a result of Black's previous decisions.} ({The attempt
to play for the attack with} 18. fxg3 {is unconvincing in this position, and
only weakens the pawn structure, without giving real attacking chances.}) 18...
Qd6 ({Black's problems are not solved after} 18... Rc7 19. Rc2 Qa7 {Now I
considered two possibilities for White:} {In my opinion, the direct plan of
queenside play is even stronger:} 20. Rfc1 ({An interesting setup is} 20. Qe5
Bc6 (20... Rc6 21. Qf4 Nbd7 22. b4 $36) 21. Qf4 Rac8 22. Rfc1 {White keeps the
status quo on the queenside and may develop play on the other wing, exploiting
his better-placed pieces and the communications between them.}) 20... Rac8 21.
b3 Nbd7 22. Na4 {In order to bring the Bb7 into play, Black has to play ...a5.
Then after Bb5, White can at any moment take play into a favourable knight vs
bad bishop position.} Rxc2 23. Rxc2 a5 (23... Rxc2 24. Qxc2 Qb8 25. Nc5 $36)
24. Bb5 Qb8 25. Bxd7 Rxc2 (25... Nxd7 26. Nc5 Nxc5 27. Rxc5 Rxc5 28. dxc5 Bc8
29. Qe3 {In my opinion, Q+N are stronger than Q+B in this position. Even if
Black manages to play f6 and e5, White, with the help of the break f4, can
solidly blockade the central pawns and the white queenside pawns will decide
the game.})) 19. Rc2 ({The tempting move} 19. Ne5 {turns out to be
pseudo-active} {The continuation} Rc7 20. Rc2 Nfd7 21. Rfc1 Nxe5 22. dxe5 Qd8 {
gives Black good play.}) 19... Nbd7 ({The formation} 19... Nfd7 20. Rfc1 Rc6 {
insures Black against immediate unpleasantness, but White retains the
possibility of play on both the queenside, with b3-a4, and on the kingside,
with the help of the advance g4-g5. And the simple exchange of rooks by means
of 21.Nd1 would retain the advantage for White in the endgame.}) (19... a5 {
is premature, since surrendering control of b5 helps White's play:} 20. Rfc1
Qe7 21. a3 $14 Nc4 $140 22. Na4 $1 $36) ({White's queenside play is only
helped by} 19... Nc4 20. Na4 Nd7 21. Rfc1 $36) 20. Rfc1 Rab8 $6 {A planless
move, allowing White to seize the initiative on the queenside.} ({The attempt
to organise counterplay by means of e6-e5} 20... Re8 {allows White to fight
for the advantage in two ways: allow or prevent the move 21..e5} 21. Na4 (21.
Ne5 $5 Qb4 22. Qe3 {/\a3-b4,Na4} Nxe5 23. dxe5 Nd7 24. Ne2 $14 {and White has
a classic advantage}) 21... e5 {White keeps a small advantage after} 22. dxe5 (
22. Nc5 {is no good:} Nxc5 23. dxe5 (23. dxc5 Qc7 $15) 23... Nxd3 24. Qxd3 Rxe5
25. Nxe5 Qxe5 26. Qb3 Rb8 27. Rc7 {because of the nice tactic} Re8 $1 28. Rxb7
Qe1+ 29. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 30. Kh2 Ng4+ 31. Kh3 Nxf2+ 32. Kh4 Rh1#) 22... Nxe5 23. Nc5
$14) ({In my opinion, the best setup for Black was} 20... Rc7 $1 {/\Rac8. Now
great accuracy is required of White, to obtain even a minimal advantage.} {
I would have had to find the only move} 21. Qe1 $5 {to retain the initiative} (
{Black's position is such that nothing comes from} 21. Nb5 Rxc2 22. Nxd6 Rxc1+
23. Ne1 Rb8 {and only Black can be better}) ({White gets no advantage from} 21.
a3 Rac8 22. b4 a5 $1 $132 {this accurate move, requiring good calculation,
allows Black to achieve an equal game.} 23. bxa5 Qxa3 24. a6 Rxc3 (24... Bxa6
25. Bxa6 Rxc3 26. Bxc8 Qxc1+ 27. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 28. Ne1 Rxc8 $11 {is also good
enough for equality}) 25. Rxc3 Rxc3 26. Rxc3 Qxc3 27. axb7 Nb8 {Black
neutralises the b7-pawn without any problems.} 28. Qe5 Nfd7 29. Qe2 Nf6 $11) ({
The immediate} 21. Na4 {allows Black to exchange the most problematic piece,
the Bb7} Rxc2 22. Rxc2 Bc6 $1 23. Nc5 Bb5 24. a3 ({No problems are posed by} 
24. Bxb5 axb5 25. a3 b4 26. a4 b3 $1 $132) 24... Bxd3 25. Qxd3 a5 26. Qb3 Qb8
27. Qxb8+ Rxb8 {Black can maintain the balance in the ending without great
problems.}) 21... Rac8 22. Na4 Rxc2 23. Bxc2 {/\b4-Nc5} Bc6 24. Nc5 Qb8 25. b4
$36) 21. Na4 ({White can also permit himself to strengthen the position by
means of} 21. Qe3 $5 Nb6 22. b3 $14 {and Black is completely without
counterplay.}) 21... Ne4 $6 ({Better was} 21... Rxc2 {Now both 22.Qc2, and 22.
Rc2 retain the advantage for White, but Black can defend more easily.} 22. Rxc2
(22. Qxc2 Rc8 {Principled.} 23. Nc5 ({The queen sacrifice gives White nothing:
} 23. Qxc8+ Bxc8 24. Rxc8+ Nf8 25. Nc5 Qb6 (25... N6d7 $5 26. Nxa6 Nb6 27. Rc2
Nc4 $11)) {A stronger move is} 23... a5 {White can fight for the advantage in
two ways:} ({The immediate attempt to break out leaves White with some
advantage:} 23... e5 $5 24. Bf5 $5 (24. Nxe5 $2 Nxc5) ({No advantage comes from
} 24. dxe5 Qb6 $1 25. exf6 Rxc5 26. Qd2 Rxc1+ 27. Qxc1 Nxf6 $11 {[%cal Gf6e4]})
24... exd4 25. b4 d3 26. Qb2 Rc7 27. Bxd3 $14) 24. a3 (24. Qb3 Ba6 $1 {[%csl
Gg1]} 25. Ne1 $1 (25. Bxa6 $140 Qxa6 26. Nxa6 $2 Rxc1+ 27. Kh2 Ng4+ 28. Kh3
Nxf2+ 29. Kh4 Rh1+ 30. Nh2 Rxh2#) 25... Nxc5 26. Rxc5 Ne4 27. Rxc8+ Bxc8 28.
Qb5 Qc7 $1 {With the help of active counterplay, Black can count on equalising,
but here too, great accuracy is required of him.} 29. Qe8+ Kh7 30. Nf3 Qc1+ 31.
Kh2 Qd1 $1 $11 {Only this move saves the day!} 32. Ne5 (32. Bxe4+ dxe4 33. Nh4
Qxd4 34. Qxf7 Qf6 35. Qxf6 gxf6 $11) 32... Qh5+ 33. Kg1 Qd1+ $11) 24... e5 25.
Qb1 $1 {Thanks to this excellent move, White can continue to fight for the
advantage.} (25. dxe5 Qb6 26. exf6 Rxc5 {leads to equality.}) 25... Nxc5 26.
dxe5 Qe7 27. exf6 Qxf6 28. Bh7+ Kf8 (28... Kh8 29. b4 axb4 30. axb4 Nd7 31.
Rxc8+ Bxc8 32. Bf5 Nb6 33. Bxc8 Nxc8 34. b5 $14) 29. b4 axb4 30. axb4 (30. Qxb4
Qe7 31. Bf5 Rc7 32. Qf4 $36) 30... Na4 31. Rxc8+ Bxc8 32. Qa2 Nb6 33. Bd3 {
White has a minimal advantage.}) 22... Bc6 {Black seizes the opportunity to
exchange the passive bishop, but even this does not promise full equality.} (
22... Rc8 23. Rxc8+ Bxc8 24. Qc2 Bb7 25. a3 $14 (25. Nc5 $5 $14)) 23. Nc5 Bb5
24. Bxb5 {Best} axb5 ({White has a serious initiative after} 24... Rxb5 25. a4
Rb4 (25... Rb6 26. Ne5) 26. Ne5 $36 Rxd4 (26... Nxc5 27. Rxc5 Rb8 28. Qc2 $14 {
White has a free advantage.}) 27. Ncxd7 Nxd7 28. Rc8+ Nf8 29. Qh5 Qe7 30. Nc6
Qc5 31. Rc7 Ng6 $8 32. Ne7+ Qxe7 33. Rxe7 Nxe7 34. Qe5 $5 (34. b3 $14) 34...
Rxa4 35. Qb8+ Kh7 36. Qe8 $16) 25. Ne5 Nxc5 26. dxc5 Qa6 27. b4 Qa4 {In my
opinion, White has an indisputable advantage, but Black retains chances of a
successful defence.}) 22. Rxc8+ Bxc8 ({A pawn is lost after} 22... Rxc8 23.
Rxc8+ Bxc8 24. Bxe4 dxe4 25. Qxe4 $16) 23. Qc2 $1 {A logical and strong move -
White consistently follows his policy of exploiting the bad bishop on c8 which
will be especially noticeable in the endgame.} ({Karpov's suggestion also
looks strong:} 23. Qe1 $1 {White's queen emerges very effectively on a5, after
which Black's defence is extremely difficult.} Bb7 24. Qa5 $16) ({Less
convincing, although also leading to an advantage, is} 23. Qe3 Bb7 24. Qf4 $14)
23... g5 $2 {This looks strange, but it is hard to suggest a sensible
continuation for Black.} ({White has a clear advantage after} 23... Bb7 24. Nc5
Rc8 25. b4 $16) ({The most stubborn looks to be} 23... Ndf6 {Now White has
several promising ways to develop the initiative:} 24. Nc5 {is tempting:} ({
After} 24. a3 Bd7 25. Nc5 a5 26. Ne5 Be8 {Black manages to regroup
successfully, and it is not easy to develop White's advantage, eg.} 27. Bxe4
dxe4 28. Rd1 Qd5 29. b3 Bb5 30. a4 Bc6 {Black retains chances of counterplay.}
31. Nxe6 Qxe6 32. Nxc6 Qxb3 33. Qxb3 Rxb3 34. Ra1 Rd3 35. Nxa5 Rxd4 36. Nb3 Rd3
37. Rb1 $14) ({It is promising to play the preliminary} 24. Ne5 {with the idea
of a subsequent penetration on the c-file, combined with Nc5.} Bd7 25. Nc5 {
However, in this case Black retains defensive resources.} {An interesting move
is} Be8 $5 (25... Nxc5 26. Qxc5 Qxc5 27. dxc5 Bb5 (27... Rxb2 {is bad:} 28.
Nxd7 Nxd7 29. c6 $18) 28. Bxb5 axb5 {White has the advantage, although it is
not fully certain that it suffices for victory. Black transfers his knight
from f6 to c7, with chances of a successful defence.}) 26. Nxa6 {is risky:} (
26. Qe2 Rb4 $132) 26... Ra8 27. Nc7 Rc8 $1 {and it is hard for White to unpin.}
) 24... Nxc5 {however, the concrete circumstances allow White to play for the
maximum:} 25. dxc5 $1 ({White should maintain a small positional advantage
after} 25. Qxc5 Qxc5 26. Rxc5 Bd7 27. b3 Bb5 28. Bc2 $14 (28. Ne5)) 25... Qc7
26. Qc3 Ng4 $1 {Black must be ready for active counterplay in the centre} 27.
Re1 a5 28. c6 $5 {Leading to a clear white advantage, without complications} (
28. Nd4 $5 {Stronger} Bd7 ({White has the advantage after} 28... e5 29. Nb5 Qd8
30. f3 Ba6 (30... d4 31. Nxd4 exd4 32. Qxa5 $18) 31. fxg4 Bxb5 32. Bxb5 Rxb5
33. Rxe5 $16) 29. c6 Be8 30. Qc5 h5 $1 $132 {however, the cold-blooded} 31. b3
$1 {leaves Black's counterplay adequate} (31. Rc1 $5 {leads to sharper play,
where White also retains chances of an advantage} h4 32. Be2 Nxf2 33. Kxf2
Qxg3+ 34. Kf1 h3 35. gxh3 Qxh3+ 36. Ke1 Qg3+ 37. Kd1) 31... h4 32. gxh4 Qh2+
33. Kf1 Qh1+ (33... Qxh4 34. Nf3 Qh1+ 35. Ke2 Qxg2 36. Rg1 $16) 34. Ke2 Qxg2
35. Nf3 d4 36. Rf1 $16)) 24. Qc7 {White carries out his plan consistently.} ({
White also has the advantage after} 24. Nc5 f5 25. b4 $16) 24... Qxc7 $6 (24...
Bb7 {is bad:} 25. Bxe4 Qxc7 26. Bh7+ $1 {An important intermediate move.} Kxh7
27. Rxc7 Kg7 28. Rxd7 Bc6 29. Rxf7+ $1 Kxf7 30. Ne5+ Ke8 31. Nxc6 Rc8 32. Ne5
Rc1+ 33. Kh2 Rd1 34. Nc5 Rxd4 35. Ned3 $16) 25. Rxc7 {White has a
strategically winning position. It is hard for Black to avoid the exchange of
both his knights for White's bishop and knight, after which the positional
idea of the whole game will be seen in full relief - the advantage of the
knight over the bad bishop on c8.} f6 $2 {Leading immediately to a hopeless
position for Black, however, as Anand said, in a bad position, all moves are
bad.} ({After} 25... Nef6 26. Nc5 Ra8 27. b4 {Black is helpless.}) ({Black
also has a difficult position after} 25... g4 26. Ne5 Nxe5 27. dxe5 $16 {/\Be4}
) ({If} 25... Nd6 26. Nc5 Nf6 27. b3 {Black is paralysed and material losses
are unavoidable.}) 26. Bxe4 $1 {This timely exchange leads to a position where
White's two knights dominate.} dxe4 27. Nd2 f5 28. Nc4 Nf6 ({Also bad is} 28...
Kf8 29. Nc5 Nxc5 30. dxc5 e5 31. c6 Be6 32. Rb7 Rc8 33. Nxe5 $18) 29. Nc5 Nd5
30. Ra7 Nb4 (30... Nf6 31. b3 $18) 31. Ne5 $6 {Not the most accurate, but good
enough to win.} (31. Nd6 Nd5 (31... Nxa2 32. Rc7 $18) 32. b3 $18 {White's
winning plan is: a4-a5, transfer the Kg1 to the centre to neutralise the black
PP and after the exchange on c8, White plays Ra6 and the queenside PP decide
the game.}) 31... Nc2 $1 {Anand seizes the micro-chance offered him.} 32. Nc6
Rxb2 33. Rc7 Rb1+ $2 ({Black could have obtained chances to save the game by} 
33... e3 $142 34. fxe3 Nxe3 35. Rxc8+ Kh7 36. Rc7+ Kh8 37. Ne5 Rxg2+ 38. Kh1
Rf2 39. Ncd3 $18 ({After} 39. Nf7+ Kg7 40. Nxg5+ Kg6 41. Nh3 Rf1+ 42. Ng1 f4
43. gxf4 Rxf4 {little material remains, but White retains chances to win after}
44. Rg7+ Kf6 45. Rg3)) 34. Kh2 e3 35. Rxc8+ Kh7 36. Rc7+ {White organises a
mating attack with minimal forces.} Kh8 37. Ne5 ({Also possible is} 37. Nd7 Kg7
38. Nce5 {/\39.Nf6+ Kxf6 40.Rf7#} Nxd4 39. Nf6+ $1 {This effective move,
forcing mate, would have pleased the spectators.} ({I would probably have
played} 39. fxe3 $18) 39... Kxf6 40. f4 Nf3+ 41. gxf3 Rb2+ 42. Kh3 g4+ 43. fxg4
fxg4+ 44. Kxg4 h5+ 45. Kf3 Rf2+ 46. Ke4 {and mate is unavoidable.}) 37... e2 (
37... exf2 38. Nxe6 Rh1+ (38... f1=N+ 39. Kh3 g4+ 40. Kh4 $18) 39. Kxh1 f1=Q+
40. Kh2 $18) 38. Nxe6 $1 {I was pleased that in the world championship match,
I managed to play a game in the style of Akiba Rubinstein, where the whole
strategic thread was followed from beginning to the end.} (38. Nxe6 e1=Q (38...
Rh1+ 39. Kxh1 e1=Q+ 40. Kh2 $18) 39. Ng6+ Kg8 40. Rg7#) 1-0

[Event "World-ch Anand-Gelfand +1-1=10"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2012.05.21"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2791"]
[BlackElo "2727"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "33"]
[EventDate "2012.05.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 149"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 c5 ({In Game 3 Gelfand went for the Grьnfeld with} 
3... d5 {and although the opening didn't go too badly for him, he got into
serious trouble later on. Probably suspecting a potent improvement by his
opponent, he decided to deviate early on.}) ({Black's move forces a Benoni
structure immediately, as after} 3... Bg7 4. e4 c5 {White can consider} 5. Ne2
{with a possible transposition to Maroczy lines.}) 4. d5 d6 5. e4 Bg7 6. Ne2 (
6. Nc3 O-O 7. Bg5 {is the most usual Sдmisch/Benoni set-up, but Anand has
something else on his mind.} e6 (7... h6 8. Be3 e6 9. Qd2 exd5 10. cxd5 Nbd7
11. Nh3 Nh7 12. Be2 Ne5 13. Nf2 h5 14. O-O f5 15. Rae1 g5 16. exf5 Bxf5 17.
Nfe4 Nf7 18. Bd3 Ne5 19. Be2 Nf7 20. Ng3 Bg6 21. Bd3 $16 {Mamedyarov,S (2731)
-Vachier Lagrave,M (2716)/Dresden olm/2008/}) 8. Qd2 exd5 9. cxd5 Re8 10. Nge2
Nbd7 11. Ng3 a6 12. Be2 b5 13. O-O Qc7 14. Rac1 b4 15. Nd1 a5 16. Bh6 Bh8 17.
Ne3 Nb6 18. Kh1 Ba6 19. Bxa6 Rxa6 20. f4 Raa8 21. e5 dxe5 22. fxe5 Qxe5 23.
Rxc5 Nfd7 24. Rc2 Rac8 25. Rxc8 Rxc8 26. d6 Qe6 $13 {/=/+,Dreev,A (2711)
-Khairullin,I (2642)/St Petersburg/2011/}) 6... O-O 7. Nec3 $5 {Rather unusual,
but the underlying idea is sound enough. Instead of bothering to find a good
square for the Ne2, White will rather look for another post for his Nb1 - it
might go to a3, or more probably to d2 after Be3(g5).} ({The more standard
alternative is} 7. Nbc3 e6 8. Ng3 exd5 9. cxd5 Nbd7 ({Inserting} 9... a6 10. a4
h5 11. Bg5 Qb6 12. Qd2 Nh7 {allows White to flick in} 13. a5 $1 Qc7 14. Bh6 b6
15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Be2 bxa5 17. O-O Nd7 18. Rfc1 Nb6 19. Na4 Nxa4 20. Rxa4 Bd7
21. Rxa5 $36 {Gupta,A (2587)-Vorobiov,E (2592)/Kavala/2010/}) 10. Be2 h5 {
More enterprising is} 11. Bg5 $5 {a recent high-level encounter featured} ({
Too soft is} 11. O-O a6 12. a4 h4 13. Nh1 Nh5 14. Be3 Bd4 (14... f5 $5) 15.
Bxd4 cxd4 16. Qxd4 Qg5 17. Rad1 f5 18. exf5 Nf4 19. g3 Rxf5 20. Bd3 Nh3+ 21.
Kg2 Nf4+ 22. Kg1 Nh3+ 23. Kg2 Nf4+ {1/2,Spassky,B (2565)-Polgar,J (2595)/
Budapest m/1993/}) 11... Qb6 12. Qb3 $146 (12. Qd2 Nh7 13. Bh4 $5 (13. Be3 h4
14. Nf1 Ne5 15. g4 Qd8 16. h3 b5 17. f4 Nc4 18. Bxc4 bxc4 19. O-O-O Rb8 20. Nh2
Qa5 {Thaler,A-Pavlovic,M (2461)/Biel/2000/} 21. e5 $1 dxe5 22. Nf3 $132) 13...
c4 (13... g5 14. Bxg5 Nxg5 15. Nxh5 Nh7 16. Nxg7 Kxg7 17. g4 Qd8 18. h4 a6 19.
O-O-O b5 20. g5 b4 21. Nb1 Qe7 22. Rdg1 Rg8 23. h5 Kf8 24. g6 $44 {Sandipan,C 
(2585)-Caspi,I (2417)/Zuerich/2009/}) 14. Bxc4 Ne5 15. Be2 Bd7 16. f4 Ng4 17.
Bxg4 hxg4 18. Nge2 Nf6 19. Bf2 Qb4 20. Ng3 Qc4 21. Qe2 Qxe2+ 22. Kxe2 b5 23. a3
a5 24. e5 dxe5 25. fxe5 Rfe8 26. Bd4 Nh5 $11 {Gupta,A (2580)-Atabayev,M (2355)/
Dubai/2011/}) 12... Qc7 $1 13. O-O Nh7 14. Be3 a6 15. a4 h4 16. Nh1 f5 17. exf5
gxf5 18. Bd2 (18. f4 Re8 19. Bf2 Bd4 $5 $132) 18... f4 19. Nf2 Ne5 20. Nce4 Nf6
21. Nxf6+ Rxf6 22. Ne4 Rf8 23. Kh1 Bd7 24. a5 Rae8 25. Rae1 Bc8 $13 {
Tomashevsky,E (2738)-Grischuk,A (2761)/Moscow Tal mem/2012/}) 7... Nh5 $146 {
[%mdl 8] After long thought Gelfand comes up with a novelty.} ({Instead of the
provocative text-move, more natural is} 7... e6 {, which has been Black's most
usual choice in the past:} 8. Be3 (8. Bg5 h6 9. Be3 exd5 10. cxd5 a6 11. a4
Nbd7 12. Be2 Nh7 13. O-O Re8 14. Qd2 h5 15. h3 f5 16. Kh1 Ndf6 17. Bd3 h4 18.
Bf4 Nh5 19. Bh2 f4 (19... Ng3+ 20. Bxg3 hxg3 $132) 20. Bxf4 Nxf4 21. Qxf4 g5
22. Qd2 Be5 23. Ne2 Qf6 $44 {Gil Capape,J (2400)-Cortes Bueno,J/Spain/1992/})
8... Na6 9. Be2 Nc7 10. a4 Nfe8 11. Qd2 f5 12. O-O Nf6 13. e5 dxe5 14. Bxc5 Rf7
15. dxe6 $6 (15. d6 $5) 15... Nxe6 16. Qxd8+ Nxd8 17. Nb5 Nc6 18. N1c3 Be6 19.
Bf2 Bf8 20. Rad1 a6 21. Na3 Nd4 $36 {Sadler,M (2667)-Tkachiev,V (2634)/Enghien
les Bains/1999/}) ({Also interesting is queenside development with} 7... Na6 $5
8. Be2 Nc7 9. Be3 a6 10. a4 Rb8 11. O-O Bd7 12. Na3 Nfe8 13. Qd2 e6 14. a5 b5
15. axb6 Rxb6 16. Rfb1 Qb8 17. Ra2 Rb4 18. Bg5 f5 19. exf5 Rxf5 20. Bd3 Rf7 21.
dxe6 Nxe6 22. Nd5 Nxg5 23. Qxg5 Nf6 $1 $15 {Laznicka,V (2596)-Polzin,R (2480)/
Bundesliga/2007/}) 8. Bg5 {I suspect both players were more or less out of
their preparation, as the position has an unforced character and can hardly be
analysed at home in great detail. Therefore Anand proceeds with caution and
opts for a reasonanble, but not too obvious move his opponent might not have
taken into account.} ({The main test of Black's concept must be} 8. g4 $5 {
, although this tempting move is quite double-edged. It occurred only 3 days
later and led to a tactical fight after} Nf6 9. h4 (9. Be3 $5) 9... e6 10. h5
a6 11. a4 exd5 12. cxd5 Nbd7 13. Be2 Ne5 14. Be3 Rb8 15. Na3 Qe7 16. Kf2 Re8
17. h6 Bh8 18. g5 b5 $2 (18... Nh5 $5 $132 {/\} 19. f4 Ng4+ $1 20. Bxg4 Bxc3
21. bxc3 Qxe4 22. Bd2 Bxg4 23. Qxg4 Qd3 24. Rhd1 Ng3 $1 25. Qf3 Nh1+ 26. Rxh1
Qxd2+ 27. Kg1 Qb2 $44) 19. axb5 axb5 20. Naxb5 Rxb5 21. Nxb5 Neg4+ 22. fxg4
Nxe4+ 23. Kg2 Ng3 24. Re1 {1-0,Ivanisevic,I (2655)-Aliyev,T (2258)/Wheeling/
2012/}) 8... Bf6 {Anand was surprised by this move, as exchanging the
dark-squared bishops might be a mixed blessing: While strategically sound, it
might somewhat weaken the kingside defences.} ({Instead he suggested the
reasonable} 8... h6 9. Be3 (9. Bh4 Nd7 $13) 9... f5 $5 10. exf5 gxf5 11. Qd2 f4
12. Bf2 Nd7 $132 {[%cal Yd7e5]}) 9. Bxf6 (9. Be3 $5 {[%csl Rf6,Rh5][%cal Yg2g4]
seems more to the point, leaving Black's kingside pieces looking rather
awkward.}) 9... exf6 {Anand in his notes said that after the swap on f6 he
envisioned the position on move 12 as favourable for White. However, he
doesn't discuss} (9... Nxf6 $5 {, which seems at least a very decent
alternative:} 10. Qd2 e5 $132) 10. Qd2 $5 {Once again a safe choice.} (10. g4 {
is very committal. While} Nf4 11. Qd2 g5 12. h4 Nd7 13. Qh2 h5 (13... Ne5 14.
Nd2 h5 {-13...h5}) 14. gxh5 (14. hxg5 fxg5 15. gxh5 Ne5 16. Nd2 Qf6 $44 {
is a position Anand definitely wanted to avoid.}) 14... Ne5 {[%csl Ge5,Gf4]}
15. Nd2 Kh8 $13 {is probably objectively unclear, Black's powerful knights are
difficult to dislodge and in practice his position is easier to play.} (15...
b5 $5 16. cxb5 a6 $44)) 10... f5 11. exf5 Bxf5 (11... Re8+ 12. Kd1 Bxf5 13. g4
{- 11...Bxf5.}) (11... Qh4+ 12. Kd1 (12. Qf2 Qe7+ 13. Qe2 (13. Kd1 Bxf5 14. g4
Bxb1 15. Rxb1 Nf4 {is a line White wants to avoid, therefore he controls the
f4-square.}) 13... Qh4+ $11) 12... Bxf5 (12... Ng3 $2 13. Qf2 Nxf5 14. Qxh4
Nxh4 15. Nb5 $16) 13. g4 Bxb1 14. Rxb1 Ng7 (14... Ng3 $2 15. Qe1 $18) 15. Kc2
Nd7 16. Qe1 $5 {is Shipov's suggestion, the resulting endgame after} Qxe1 17.
Rxe1 $11 {/+/= gives White a small, but riskless edge.}) 12. g4 $1 {Once the
position becomes more concrete, Anand doesn't hesitate. After other moves
Black is perfectly OK:} (12. Na3 Qh4+ $5 (12... Re8+ 13. Kf2 Nf6 $11 {/=/+})
13. Kd1 Ng7 $36) 12... Re8+ $6 {Inaccurate, as it chases the king into a safer
place.} (12... Bxb1 13. Rxb1 Ng7 (13... Nf6 14. h4 $36 {[%cal Yf1d3,Yh4h5]})
14. h4 h5 15. Kd1 Nd7 16. Kc2 Ne5 17. Be2 $14 {Anand}) (12... Qh4+ $142 $5 13.
Kd1 (13. Qf2 Re8+ 14. Be2 Qg5 $1 {/\} 15. gxf5 $2 Qc1+ 16. Nd1 Nf4 $19) 13...
Bxb1 {transposes into the 11...Qh4+ line.}) 13. Kd1 (13. Be2 $6 Qh4+ 14. Kd1
Bxb1 15. Rxb1 Nf6 (15... Ng7 $5) 16. Nb5 Na6 17. Nxd6 Re7 18. a3 {[%cal Yd1c2]}
Rd8 19. Nb5 h5 $1 20. gxh5 (20. g5 Ne4 $1 21. fxe4 Qxe4 $17 {is a beautiful
line Gelfand considered and hoped for...}) 20... Nxh5 $44) 13... Bxb1 14. Rxb1
Qf6 $2 {[%mdl 8192] A heavy tactical error, which loses by force. Black had to
retreat modestly:} (14... Nf6 15. Kc2 $36 {[%cal Yf1d3,Yh2h5]} (15. h4 $40)) (
14... Ng7 15. h4 $36 {Although White is better in both cases, the game is
still far from over. Gelfand wants to avoid this an secure the f4-square for
his knight...}) 15. gxh5 $1 ({With the text-move possible, there was no need
to calculate and evaluate the consequences of} 15. Kc2 Nf4 16. Ne4 Rxe4 $5 (
16... Qe5 17. Re1 Nd7 18. Bd3 $14) 17. fxe4 Nd7 $44) 15... Qxf3+ 16. Kc2 Qxh1
17. Qf2 {[%cal Rf1h3,Rf1d3]} (17. Qf2 {Resignation is hardly premature, as
after} Nc6 (17... Na6 18. a3 $5 $18 (18. Bd3 Nb4+ 19. Kd2 Nxd3 20. Kxd3 $18) (
18. Bh3 $18)) 18. dxc6 $8 {White's minor pieces dominate Black's rook:} (18.
Bd3 $4 Nd4+ 19. Kd2 Qf3) 18... Qxc6 19. Bg2 (19. Bd3 Re5 20. Rf1 $18 {->})
19... Qc8 (19... Qd7 20. Nd5 $18) 20. Rf1 $18 (20. hxg6 hxg6 21. Rf1 $18)) 1-0

[Event "World-ch Anand-Gelfand +1-1=10"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2012.05.23"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E54"]
[WhiteElo "2727"]
[BlackElo "2791"]
[Annotator "Postny,E"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "2012.05.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 149"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 {After the fiasco in game seven in the Semi-Slav, Anand changes his
opening.} 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 {I suppose that Anand expected 3.Nf3, but also here
Boris had a slight surprise up his sleeve.} Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5
7. O-O dxc4 8. Bxc4 cxd4 {In game eleven Anand came up with a less common, but
well prepared 8...Bd7. However, we are currently in game nine.} 9. exd4 b6 10.
Bg5 Bb7 {Neither player is looking at this position for the first time.} 11.
Qe2 (11. Re1 Nbd7 12. Rc1 Rc8 13. Bd3 Re8 14. Qe2 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Qc7 16. Bh4 Nh5
17. Ng5 g6 18. Nh3 e5 19. f3 Qd6 $13 {1/2-1/2 Anand,V (2787)-Topalov,V (2805)/
Sofia 2010/CBM 136 (83)}) (11. Ne5 Nbd7 12. Qe2 Bxc3 13. bxc3 Qc7 14. Nxd7 Nxd7
15. Rac1 Qc6 16. f3 Rac8 17. Bd3 Qd6 18. Rfd1 Rfe8 $11 {1/2-1/2 Radjabov,T 
(2567)-Gelfand,B (2701)/Leon 2001/CBM 086 (26)}) 11... Nbd7 {This position is
very standard and may arise both from the Nimzo-Indian and the Panov Attack in
the Caro-Kann. White has an isolated pawn, which is normally a drawback.
However, as long as there are a lot of pieces on the board, he is in
possession of an initiative.} 12. Rac1 Rc8 13. Bd3 Bxc3 14. bxc3 {This is,
obviously, stronger than 14.Rxc3. In general, in this type of position the
exchanges favour Black.} Qc7 15. c4 Bxf3 $2 {This is a typical idea, but it
works only if Black may follow with e6-e5 thrust, forcing White to make a
concession in the centre. The developing move 15...Rfe8, played by Anatoly
Karpov among others, is the recommended continuation.} (15... Rfe8 16. Rfe1 h6
17. Bd2 (17. Bh4 Nh5 $11) 17... Bxf3 (17... Qd6 18. Bc3 Ng4 19. h3 Bxf3 20.
Qxf3 Qh2+ 21. Kf1 Ngf6 22. Qg3 Qxg3 23. fxg3 Red8 $11 {1/2-1/2 Wojtaszek,R 
(2721)-Meier,G (2650)/Mulhouse 2011/CBM 142 Extra (27)}) 18. Qxf3 e5 19. Qg3 $6
(19. d5 Nc5 20. Bb1 $13) 19... exd4 20. Rxe8+ Nxe8 21. Bf4 Qc6 $15 {0-1
Portisch,L (2630)-Karpov,A (2725)/Bugojno 1978/MCL (40)}) (15... h6 16. Bh4
Rfe8 {is also perfectly playable.}) 16. Qxf3 Rfe8 {Now Anand realised that 16..
.e5 doesn't work in view of 17.Bf5, so he continues the development like
nothing had happened. Of course, without the e6-e5 thrust the exchange on f3
makes no sense. White now has a clear advantage. During the game some online
commentators claimed that White's position is already nearly winning thanks to
the strong centre and powerful bishops. I wouldn't be so harsh, the whole
fight still lies ahead.} (16... e5 $2 17. Bf5 Rce8 18. c5 $1 exd4 19. c6 Ne5
20. Qf4 Nh5 (20... Nd5 21. Qxd4 Ne7 22. Bd7 $18) 21. Qxd4 f6 (21... h6 22. Qh4
$1 hxg5 23. Qxh5 g6 24. Qxg5 f6 25. Qg3 $18) 22. Qd5+ Kh8 23. Be3 Rd8 24. Bd7
$18) 17. Rfd1 h6 18. Bh4 Qd6 19. c5 $6 {Critical moment. After a long
meditation Boris decided to force matters. This is quite a human decision,
after the forthcoming massive simplifications White will keep winning chances.
However, it would have been more unpleasant for Anand if Gelfand could keep
the tension and try to improve his position step by step. The breakthrough
c4-c5 is always on the agenda, and the threat is usually stronger than the
execution.} (19. a3 $1 {I like this move, which covers the b4-square. It's not
easy at all to make a useful move for Black.} Qe7 (19... e5 $6 20. Bf5 exd4 21.
Bxf6 Nxf6 22. Bxc8 Rxc8 23. Rc2 $1 Rd8 24. Rcd2 Qe5 25. Qg3 {An extra exchange
should prevail eventually.}) (19... Qc6 $2 20. Qxc6 Rxc6 21. c5 $1 bxc5 22. Bb5
Rc7 23. Bg3 Rb7 24. Bc6 Rb6 25. Bxd7 Nxd7 26. dxc5 $18 {A good illustration of
the bishop's power.}) 20. Re1 Qd6 21. Rcd1 Kh8 {It seems that the best Black
can do is just to wait, but from a psychological point of view this is very
unpleasant.} (21... Qc6 $6 22. Qxc6 Rxc6 23. c5 $1 bxc5 24. Bxf6 gxf6 25. Bb5
Rc7 26. dxc5 Re7 27. c6 Ne5 28. Rd8+ Kg7 29. Re3 h5 30. Rc3 {Black's rooks are
paraysed, I don't think he can hold this position.}) 22. Bf1 Kg8 23. h3 {
White doesn't have anything decisive and should slowly improve his position.
Meanwhile, Black has to be very careful not to blunder some breakthrough in
the centre. It would have been a difficult task even for such a great defender
as Anand.}) 19... bxc5 {Now the play becomes forced for a while.} 20. dxc5 Rxc5
21. Bh7+ Kxh7 22. Rxd6 Rxc1+ 23. Rd1 Rec8 {Black has sufficient material
equivalent for the queen. Without the a-pawns it would be just equality.
However, the Pa7 will soon become a target for White's queen.} 24. h3 Ne5 25.
Qe2 Ng6 $1 {A good example of great chess understanding. It's important for
Black to eliminate White's bishop. It's unlikely that a lone queen will break
Black's fortress. Spoiling the pawn structure is less significant.} 26. Bxf6
gxf6 27. Rxc1 ({An interesting alternative was} 27. Kh2 $5 {Now Black should
be careful, the exchange of rooks is not as safe for him as in the game.} {
So, it seems that after 27.Kh2 Black has to keep the rooks:} R1c2 $1 (27...
Rxd1 $2 28. Qxd1 Rc7 {In the game the same position arose with the queen on e2.
The difference is huge. After} 29. Qd8 {Black is not in time to regroup.}) (
27... R8c2 $2 28. Qd3 Kg7 29. Rxc1 (29. a4 $2 Rxd1 30. Qxd1 Rxf2 31. Qd4 Ra2
32. Qxa7 Nf4 33. Qa8 e5 34. a5 Ng6 35. a6 e4 {The a- and e-pawns will be
exchanged and the draw is inevitable.}) 29... Rxc1 30. h4 $1 Rc5 (30... Ne5 31.
Qa3 Rc7 32. Qg3+ Kh7 33. f4 Nc4 34. Qc3 f5 35. h5) 31. Qa3 Rc7 32. h5 Ne5 33.
Qg3+ Kh7 34. f4 Nc4 35. Qc3 {In both cases Black's construction is too shaky
to be true.}) 28. Rd2 R2c7 {He should hold with tenacious defense.}) 27...
Rxc1+ 28. Kh2 Rc7 {The rook is going to be tied to the defence of the Pa7.} 29.
Qb2 Kg7 ({It was possible to play} 29... f5 {immediatly. The penetration of
White's queen is not dangerous as everything is protected.} 30. Qf6 Nf4 31. g4
Nd5 32. Qd4 f4 {and Black holds.}) 30. a4 {Running the pawn to a6 which will
allow White to put his queen even on b7.} Ne7 31. a5 Nd5 {[%csl Gd5]} 32. a6
Kh7 33. Qd4 (33. g4 $5 {was perhaps a better try, but it's still not enough
against the correct defence. Here is how the game could proceed:} Kg7 34. Kg3
Rc3+ 35. f3 Rc6 36. Qb7 Rc7 37. f4 h5 $1 (37... Rc3+ $6 38. Kf2 Rc2+ 39. Ke1
Rc7 40. f5 {Black should not allow this as now the knight and all the fortress
is under pressure.}) 38. g5 (38. gxh5 f5 39. Kh4 Kh7 40. Qb8 Kg7 $11) 38...
fxg5 39. fxg5 Kg6 40. h4 Rc3+ 41. Kf2 Rc7 42. Qb2 {[%cal Gb2h8]} Kh7 43. Qb8 (
43. Qe2 Kg6 44. Qe4+ Kg7 45. g6 fxg6 46. Qxe6 Nf6 $11) 43... Kg7 44. Kf3 Rc3+
45. Ke2 Rc7 {White is not able to make further progress.}) 33... f5 $1 34. f4 (
34. g4 f4 {is not dangerous for Black.}) 34... Rd7 35. Kg3 Kg6 36. Qh8 Nf6 37.
Qb8 h5 $1 {This move fights against the advance g2-g4. The g5-square will be
covered by a neat tactical trick that Anand obviously saw in advance.} 38. Kh4
Kh6 39. Qb2 Kg6 40. Qc3 Ne4 41. Qc8 (41. Qf3 Nf6 42. Qg3+ Kh7 43. Qg5 $4 {
falls into a trap.} Ne4 44. Qxh5+ Kg7 $19 {[%csl Rh4,Rh5][%cal Gd7d8,Gd8h8]})
41... Nf6 42. Qb8 Re7 43. g4 {The last chance to break through.} hxg4 44. hxg4
fxg4 45. Qe5 Ng8 $1 {[%mdl 256] Precision till the end.} ({It wasn't too late
to lose the game:} 45... Nd5 $2 46. Qg5+ Kh7 47. f5 f6 48. Qd2 $18) 46. Qg5+
Kh7 47. Qxg4 f6 {Now it's a safe fortress for Black.} 48. Qg2 Kh8 49. Qe4 Kg7 {
A certain disappointment for Gelfand who got a great position out of the
opening. Anand proved once again that he is a great defender and therefore a
really tough nut to crack.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "World-ch Anand-Gelfand +1-1=10"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2012.05.24"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "2791"]
[BlackElo "2727"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2012.05.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 149"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {Offensichtlich wollte Anand nicht in die
Hauptvarianten der Sweschnikow-Variante gehen.} e6 {Das ist wohl der
interessanteste Zug von allen moeglichen. Prinzipielle Alternativen sind 3...
g6 und 3...Qb6.} (3... g6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. h3 e5 7. d3 Qe7 8. Be3 Nf6
9. O-O Nd7 10. Qd2 Nf8 11. Bh6 f6 12. Bxg7 Qxg7 13. Nh2 Ne6 14. Ne2 $14) (3...
Qb6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bxc6 $1 {WeiЯ muss sofort auf c6 nehmen, im nдchsten Zug wдre
es zu spдt.} (5. O-O Nge7 6. d3 a6 7. Bc4 Na5 8. e5 d5 9. exd6 Nf5 10. Bb3 Nxb3
11. axb3 Bxd6 $11 {Simonian - Inarkiev (Warsaw, 2010)}) 5... Qxc6 6. d4 cxd4 7.
Nxd4 Qc7 8. O-O a6 9. Re1 d6 10. Bg5 $1 Be7 11. Bxe7 Nxe7 12. Qd2 $14 {Akopian
- Roy Chowdhury (Port Erin, 2006)}) 4. Bxc6 $1 {Das ist die moderne
Fortsetzung, die sicherlich auch die besten Chancen fьr WeiЯ bietet.} (4. O-O
Nge7 5. c3 a6 6. Ba4 b5 7. Bc2 Bb7 8. Qe2 d5 9. e5 d4 $132) 4... bxc6 5. b3 {
Das ist eine Nebenvariante, die zu nichts fьhrt. Die prinzipielle Fortsetzung
ist 5.d3.} e5 $5 {Ein seltener, aber interessanter Zug. Normalerweise spielt
man 5...Ne7.} (5... Ne7 6. Bb2 Ng6 7. O-O f6 8. c3 Be7 9. d4 d5 $132 {Dolmatov
- Sherbakov (Moscow, 1992)}) 6. Nxe5 {Die prinzipiellste Antwort.} (6. O-O $6
d6 7. c3 Bg4 8. h3 (8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 exd4 10. Qxd4 Bxf3 11. gxf3 Qf6 12. Qc4
Rc8 13. Nc3 Qxf3 14. Qa6 Qg4+ 15. Kh1 Qf3+ 16. Kg1 $11) 8... Bxf3 9. Qxf3 g6
10. Bb2 Bg7 11. Na3 Ne7 $11 {Melamed - Strutinskaya (Ukraine, 1996)}) 6... Qe7
7. Bb2 {Nach diesem Zug gleicht Schwarz forciert aus. Der Zug 7.d4, den Anand
spдter im Schnellschach gespielt hat, sieht stдrker aus.} (7. d4 d6 8. Nxc6
Qxe4+ 9. Qe2 Qxe2+ 10. Kxe2 Bb7 11. Na5 Bxg2 12. Rg1 Be4 (12... Bh3 13. dxc5
dxc5 14. Nc3 O-O-O 15. Bf4 Bd6 16. Bxd6 Rxd6 17. Rg5 $16 {Anand - Gelfand 
(Moscow, 2012)}) 13. dxc5 dxc5 14. c4 O-O-O 15. Nc3 Ba8 16. Bf4 $14 {/\Nb5})
7... d6 8. Nc4 {Der Bauer c6 ist tabu.} (8. Nxc6 $4 Qc7 $19) 8... d5 $1 {
Es ist sehr wichtig, die lange Diagonale zu schlieЯen, bevor Schwarz auf e4
nehmen kann.} (8... Qxe4+ 9. Ne3 $1 {Mit den Damen auf dem Brett ist die
Stellung von Schwarz sehr gefдhrlich.} (9. Qe2 Qxe2+ 10. Kxe2 Nf6 (10... Ba6
11. d3 Bxc4 12. dxc4 O-O-O 13. Nd2 $14) 11. Re1 Be7 12. d3 Be6 13. Nbd2 Kd7 $11
) 9... Nf6 (9... Qg6 10. Qf3 Bd7 11. Nc3 Nf6 12. Ne2 $14) 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Nc3
Qg6 12. Qf3 $16 {Shaposhnikov - Bocharov (Kazan, 2001)}) 9. Ne3 (9. Ne5 f6 $1
10. Nxc6 Qxe4+ 11. Qe2 Qxe2+ 12. Kxe2 a5 $3 13. Bc3 d4 14. Bxa5 Bd7 $17) 9...
d4 {Nun ist die lange Diagonale zu.} 10. Nc4 Qxe4+ 11. Qe2 Qxe2+ 12. Kxe2 Be6
13. d3 (13. Nba3 Nf6 $11 {Der Springer auf a3 macht nichts.}) 13... Nf6 {
Das Nehmen auf c4 kдme zu frьh. WeiЯ hдtte genug Zeit, um sich zu entwickeln
und einen kleinen Vorteil zu bekommen.} (13... Bxc4 14. dxc4 Nf6 15. Nd2 O-O-O
16. Rae1 Bd6 17. h3 {Um ...Ng4 zu verhindern.} Rhe8+ 18. Kd3 $14) 14. Nbd2
O-O-O 15. Rhe1 {Man kцnnte denken, dass WeiЯ Vorteil hat, weil Schwarz
Schwдchen am Damenflьgel hat. Doch in Wirklichkeit kann WeiЯ den Bauern c5
nicht angreifen, weil Schwarz ьber sehr gute Verteidigungsresourcen verfьgt,
nдmlich Nd5-Nb4.} (15. a4 {Die Idee a4-a5-a6-Ra5-Ba3 ist offensichtlich zu
langsam.} Re8 16. Kf1 Nd5 17. a5 Nb4 18. Rc1 Kb7 $15) 15... Be7 16. Kf1 (16. a4
Rhe8 17. Kf1 Nd5 18. a5 Nb4 19. Rac1 Bg5 $15) (16. Ne4 $5 Nxe4 17. dxe4 f5 (
17... Bxc4+ 18. bxc4 Kd7 19. Rab1 Rb8 20. Ba3 Rb6 21. Kd3 Rhb8 22. Rb3 $14) 18.
e5 (18. exf5 Bxf5 $15 {Die Schwдche des Bauerns c2 macht sich bemerkbar.})
18... Bd5 $132) 16... Rhe8 17. Ba3 {Das positionelle Opfer auf e6 bringt WeiЯ
nicht genug Gegenspiel.} (17. Rxe6 $6 fxe6 18. Re1 Bf8 19. Nf3 h6 20. Na5 Kc7
21. Ne5 Nd5 22. Naxc6 Rd6 23. Na5 Ra6 24. Nec4 Be7 $15 {Weiss hat einen Bauern
fьr die Qualitдt gewonnen, doch seine Figuren sind alle passiv und Schwarz
steht besser.}) 17... Nd5 {Der Springer geht nach b4, um die Wirkung des
Lдufers zu neutralisieren.} 18. Ne4 Nb4 19. Re2 (19. Bxb4 cxb4 {Schwarz kann
nun auf c4 nehmen und dann ...f5 spielen. WeiЯ hat keinen Vorteil. Wenn er
versucht, aktiv zu spielen, kommt er selbst in Gefahr.} 20. a3 $2 Bxc4 21. bxc4
bxa3 22. c5 f5 $1 {und Schwarz kommt in Vorteil.} 23. Nd6+ Bxd6 24. cxd6 Rxe1+
25. Kxe1 Kb7 26. Rxa3 c5 $17) 19... Bxc4 20. bxc4 (20. dxc4 f5 21. Ng3 g6 22.
Rae1 Kd7 $15 {Die Stellung von Schwarz ist angenehmer, weil er Raumvorteil hat.
Die Schwдchen der schwarzen Bauernstruktur kцnnen nicht ausgenutzt werden.})
20... f5 21. Bxb4 (21. Ng3 g6 22. Rae1 Kd7 $11) 21... cxb4 {Erzwungen.} (21...
fxe4 $4 22. Ba5 exd3 23. cxd3 Rd7 24. Rae1 $16) 22. Nd2 Bd6 23. Rxe8 Rxe8 24.
Nb3 c5 25. a3 {Die Stellung ist ausgeglichen, weil nach 25....bxa3 WeiЯ 26.
Rxa3 und dann 27.Ra5 spielt.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "World-ch Anand-Gelfand +1-1=10"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2012.05.26"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E54"]
[WhiteElo "2727"]
[BlackElo "2791"]
[Annotator "Knaak,R"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "2012.05.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 149"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 {Nimzoindisch hat Gelfand auch frьher schon gespielt.
Prinzipiell hat diese Erцffnung einen Nachteil - Schwarz wдhlt aus, was aufs
Brett kommt.} Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. O-O dxc4 8. Bxc4 Bd7 $1 {
Das Rufzeichen ist nur fьr die Ьberraschung! - das ist am wichtigsten. Rein
objektiv ist er eher schwдcher als die Alternativen, daran дndert auch diese
Partie nichts.} 9. a3 {Ist es ьberhaupt sinnvoll, diesen Zug einzuschieben? Im
Falle man spдter auf c5 schlдgt, ist es besser der schwarze Lдufer ist schon
nach a5 getrieben. Entwickelt sich das Spiel aber so, dass der Springer von c3
verschwindet, dann stьnde der Lдufer ziemlich einsam auf b4.} (9. Qe2 Bc6 10.
Rd1 Bxc3 $5 (10... Nbd7 $6 11. d5 $1) (10... Qe7 11. a3 Ba5 12. Bd2 $14) 11.
bxc3 Nbd7 12. Bb3 Qa5 13. c4 cxd4 14. exd4 Qh5 15. Re1 Rfe8 16. Bf4 Qg4 17. Bg3
Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Qxd4 19. Rad1 (19. Red1 $5) 19... Qb6 20. Ba4 Red8 21. Bh4 Nc5
22. Bxf6 gxf6 23. Qxf6 Nxa4 24. Qg5+ Kf8 25. Qh6+ Ke8 26. Qxh7 Qc5 27. Rxe6+
fxe6 28. Qg6+ {1/2-1/2 (28) Jussupow,A (2585)-Feller,S (2522) Moscow 2008})
9... Ba5 (9... Bxc3 10. bxc3 Bc6 11. Ne5 Bd5 12. Be2 cxd4 13. cxd4 $14) 10. Qe2
Bc6 11. Rd1 Bxc3 $5 {Neuerung, aber die Idee ist gar nicht neu. So wurde schon
gespielt ohne den Einschub von a3 (s.o. Jussupow-Feller), und auch mit der
schwarzen Dame auf e7.} (11... Nbd7 12. d5 $1 {sollte WeiЯ ein kleines Plus
geben.}) 12. bxc3 Nbd7 13. Bd3 ({Jussupow hatte} 13. Bb3 {gespielt (mit dem
Bauern auf a2), spдter spielte es eine Rolle, dass die weiЯe Dame ungedeckt
war.}) 13... Qa5 $1 {Die Dame agiert als Stцrenfried, vor den eigenen Linien
steht sie besser als zum Beispiel auf e7.} 14. c4 (14. e4 {ist sicher spielbar,
fьhrt aber zu einer ziemlich unklaren Stellung. Am Brett war es fьr Gelfand
vermutlich bereits schwer einzuschдtzen, mit welcher Antwort zu rechnen sei,
und Anand war hier natьrlich noch in seiner Vorbereitung.} Qxc3 (14... c4 15.
Bc2 Qxc3 16. Rb1 $44) 15. Bd2 Qb3 $44) (14. Bd2 {kam schon eher in Frage.})
14... cxd4 15. exd4 Qh5 16. Bf4 $1 Rac8 (16... Bxf3 17. Qxf3 (17. gxf3 {
ist auch spielbar, gefдllt mir aber weniger, vielleicht wird die geschwдchte
weiЯe Struktur doch mal eine Rolle spielen.}) 17... Qxf3 18. gxf3 $14) 17. Ne5
{Der Tausch eines Springerpaares schrдnkt die weiЯen Spielmцglichkeiten ein.
Das Bauernduo c4/d4 wird anfдlliger. Aber Gelfand, der bereits an 9.a3 ьber
eine halbe Stunde nachgedacht hatte und nun wenig Zeit besaЯ, wollte hier wohl
intuitiv die Stellung vereinfachen.} (17. Nd2 $142 Qxe2 18. Bxe2 {allerdings
kцnnte Schwarz mit} Ne4 {den Tausch eines Springerpaares erzwingen, wenngleich
unter ungьnstigeren Umstдnden als in der Partie.}) (17. Rab1 $5) (17. a4 {
hat Gelfand selbst in der Pressekonferenz vorgeschlagen.}) 17... Qxe2 18. Bxe2
Nxe5 19. Bxe5 Rfd8 20. a4 $6 {Dafьr ist noch keine Zeit, denn die weiЯen
Figuren stehen nicht optimal.} (20. f3 $5 {kontrolliert e4, aber man macht
solch einen Zug nicht gern.} Nd7 21. Bg3 Nb6 {wьrde a3-a4 unterbinden, aber
diese Stellung lдsst sich besser spielen als die Partie.}) 20... Ne4 $1 {
Jetzt gleicht Schwarz vцllig aus.} 21. Rd3 f6 $1 22. Bf4 Be8 23. Rb3 Rxd4 24.
Be3 Rd7 (24... Rd7 25. Bxa7 $11) 1/2-1/2

[Event "World-ch Anand-Gelfand +1-1=10"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2012.05.28"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "2791"]
[BlackElo "2727"]
[Annotator "Kritz,L"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[EventDate "2012.05.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 149"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2012.07.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. Bxc6 $1 bxc6 5. d3 {Das ist die prinzipielle
Fortsetzung. In der 10. Partie spielte Anand 5.b3.} Ne7 6. b3 d6 $5 $146 {
Auch das alte 6...Ng6 sieht gut aus.} (6... Ng6 $5 7. Bb2 {Sowohl nach 7...f6
wie auch 7...d6 kann WeiЯ nicht 8.e5 spielen.} f6 (7... d6 8. Nbd2 (8. e5 $2
dxe5 9. Nbd2 (9. Nxe5 Qf6 (9... Nxe5 10. Bxe5 Qd5 11. Qe2 Qxg2 $17) 10. Nc4 $16
) 9... f6 10. a4 Nf4 11. g3 Nd5 $17 {Lakos - Peter (Hungary, 2000)}) 8... e5 9.
Nc4 $11) 8. Nbd2 (8. e5 $2 fxe5 9. h4 (9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. Bxe5 Qg5 11. Bg3 Be7
$15) 9... d6 10. h5 Nf4 11. g3 Nd5 $17) 8... e5 9. Nc4 d5 10. Ne3 Be6 $132) 7.
e5 {WeiЯ versucht etwas Neues.} Ng6 (7... dxe5 $5 {Es ist nicht klar, wie WeiЯ
den Bauern zurьckgewinnen wьrde.} 8. Bb2 (8. Nxe5 Qd4 9. Nc4 Qxa1 10. Bb2 Qxa2
11. Nc3 Qa6 12. Nd6+ Kd7 13. Nxf7 Rg8 $19) 8... f6 9. O-O Nd5 $15 {Wenn WeiЯ
den Bauern c5 mit dem Lдufer von a3 angreifen will, kommt immer wieder der
Springer nach b4. Ich denke, Schwarz hat bessere Chancen.}) 8. h4 (8. Bb2 {
-> 6...Ng6}) (8. exd6 Qf6 9. d4 Bxd6 10. Nc3 Qf5 (10... cxd4 11. Bg5 Qf5 12.
Qxd4 Bc7 13. Qxg7 Ba6 14. Qd4 $14) 11. O-O Ba6 12. Re1 O-O-O $132) 8... Nxe5 {
Der stдrkste Zug.} (8... dxe5 $2 9. h5 Nf4 10. g3 Nd5 11. Nxe5 Bd6 12. Nc4 $14)
(8... h5 9. Bg5 f6 10. exf6 gxf6 11. Bd2 Bg7 12. Nc3 $132) 9. Nxe5 dxe5 10. Nd2
{Das Problem fьr Schwarz in dieser Stellung ist, dass er sich kaum bewegen
kann. Er hat zwar einen Bauern mehr, doch ohne Springer kann er ьberhaupt
keine Aktivitдt zeigen. Der Bauer c5 ist eine dauerhafte Schwдche und falls
WeiЯ spдter an den Bauern ran kommt, wird seine Stellung besser sein.} c4 $1 {
Die direkteste und einfachste Lцsung des Problems.} (10... Qd4 11. Rb1 Be7 (
11... f6 12. Qh5+ g6 13. Qf3 $16) 12. Nc4 f6 13. Qh5+ g6 14. Qe2 Ba6 15. Be3
Qd5 16. O-O $44 {WeiЯ hat Kompensation wegen der Unbeweglichkeit der schwarzen
Bauernstruktur.}) 11. Nxc4 Ba6 {Die Idee von Schwarz ist es, ...e4 zu spielen.}
12. Qf3 {WeiЯ kann nicht rochieren, weil der Bauer h4 hдngt.} (12. h5 e4 13.
dxe4 Bxc4 14. Qxd8+ Rxd8 15. bxc4 Rd4 $11) (12. O-O Qxh4 13. Nxe5 Bd6 $132) (
12. Bb2 Bxc4 13. dxc4 (13. bxc4 $2 Qa5+ 14. Qd2 Bb4 15. c3 Be7 $15) 13... Qa5+
14. Kf1 (14. Qd2 Bb4 15. c3 Be7 $15) 14... Ba3 15. Bxa3 Qxa3 $11) 12... Qd5 $1
{Schwarz opfert einen Bauern, doch er bekommt dafьr ausgezeichnetes Spiel.} ({
Passive Verteidigung fьhrt zu einer schwierigen Stellung:} 12... Rc8 13. Bb2
Bxc4 14. dxc4 Qa5+ {Wenn Schwarz langsam spielt, steht er einfach etwas
schlechter, weil WeiЯ die bessere Bauernstruktur hat.} 15. Kf1 Ba3 (15... Be7
$2 16. Qg3 Bf6 17. Bc3 Qc7 18. Re1 Rd8 19. Rh3 $16) 16. Bc3 Bb4 17. Bxb4 Qxb4
18. Qg3 O-O 19. Qxe5 $14) (12... Bxc4 $4 13. Qxc6+ Ke7 14. Ba3+ Kf6 15. Qf3+
Kg6 16. Qg4+ Kh6 17. Bc1+ $18) 13. Qxd5 {WeiЯ hatte keine Wahl.} cxd5 14. Nxe5
f6 15. Nf3 e5 {Fьr den Bauern hat Schwarz nun drei Vorteile: starkes Zentrum,
das Lдuferpaar und die c-Linie.} 16. O-O (16. c4 e4 $1 17. dxe4 dxc4 18. bxc4 (
18. O-O cxb3 $11) 18... Bxc4 $44 {Nun steckt der weiЯe Kцnig im Zentrum fest
und wird das Angriffsziel der schwarzen Figuren.}) 16... Kf7 {Schwarz will
seinen zweiten Turm ins Spiel bringen, dabei steht der Kцnig am besten nдher
zum Zentrum.} 17. c4 Be7 18. Be3 {WeiЯ hat keine Wahl, das Nehmen auf d5 fьhrt
nur zur Schwierigkeiten.} (18. cxd5 Rhd8 19. Be3 Bxd3 20. Rfd1 Rxd5 $15) 18...
Bb7 {Schwarz will nun mit a5-a4 fortfahren.} 19. cxd5 Bxd5 20. Rfc1 a5 (20...
Rhc8 {fьhrt ebenfalls zum Ausgleich.} 21. Rxc8 Rxc8 22. Bxa7 Ra8 23. Bb6 Bxb3
24. d4 exd4 25. Nxd4 $11) 21. Bc5 Rhd8 22. Bxe7 {Die nдchsten Zьge wдren wohl
22...Kxe7 23.Rc7 Rd7 24.Rxd7 Kxd7 und wegen der Drohung ...a4 oder ...Bxf3 hat
Schwarz genug Kompensation um vцllig auszugleichen.} 1/2-1/2

Таблица