1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be2 a6 The Taimanov-Ka n Sicilian. I'm never quite sure which it is - Taimanov only likes to recognise himself with one particular kind of set-up. 7. O-O Nf6 8. Kh1 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 Bc5 10. Qd3 b5 11. f4 Bb7 12. Bf3 O-O
12... h5 with the idea of .. Ng4 is a bit more adventurous - and it's also a line with a good plus score for Black. 13. e5 Ne8 14. a4n Taking on b7 and either f5 or Ne4 is par for the course here - usually White doesn't commit the queenside pawns. 14... b4 15. Bxb7 Qxb7 16. Ne4 Be7 17. Be3 Qc6 18. Ng5 g6
18... Bxg5?! 19. fxg5 Rc8 20. Bd2!
     ( 20. Rac1 d6! )
20... a5
     ( 20... Qxc2? 21. Qxc2 Rxc2 22. Bxb4 )
21. c3 b3 22. Rf4! d6 23. Rh4 g6 24. Qh3 with a big attack down the h-file. 19. Rad1 d6 20. Bd4 dxe5 21. Bxe5 Nf6 22. Qh3 h5 23. Nf3
Bluff? I thought defending c2 with 23. Qb3 was the only way. 23... Ng4
23... Qxc2!? After a good, long think. I don't know what spooked Judit, but taking on c2 looked good; what does White have? 24. Nd4
     ( 24. a5 Ng4! )
24... Qxa4 25. f5
     ( 25. Qh4 Nd5! )
     ( 25. Qd3 Qe8! a little awkward, but two pawns are two pawns and Black should be able to untangle herself. )
25... Ng4!
     ( Could this be what Judit missed? Apart from attacking the bishop on e5, Ng4 also threatens ..Qxd1 followed by a knight fork on f2. This just looks good to me. 25... exf5? 26. Nxf5! gxf5 27. Qh4! Rfd8 28. Qg5+ Kf8 29. Rde1 White has got a lot of pressure for the piece here. )
26. Qg3 exf5 now you can take on f5 as the piece sac doesn't work anymore as there's no Qh4. 24. Nd4 Qc5 25. Qg3 Rad8 26. c3 bxc3 27. bxc3 Rd5 28. Rde1 Rc8 29. Rf3 Bf8 30. h3 Nxe5 31. fxe5 Bg7 32. Rfe3 Qa5?
Time trouble - 32... Qc7! , not only keep's the pressure on e5, but also indirectly defending her king: 33. Qf4
     ( 33. Nxe6? fxe6 34. Qxg6 Qf7! )
33... Rc5! and somethings got to give for White - there's going to be too many weak pawns hanging at the end of the day. 33. Nxe6! The saving resource. 33... fxe6 34. Qxg6 Qb6 35. Rf3 Rf8 36. Rxf8+ Kxf8 37. Rf1+ Kg8 38. Qe8+
Grischuk could have put Polgar under extreme pressure with the simple 38. Kh2! with the big threat of Rf7. Black now has to play some very accurate moves to survive. 38... Qb7 39. Qxe6+ Kh8
     ( 39... Kh7 40. Rf7 Rxe5 41. Qf6! )
40. Qe8+ Kh7 41. Qxh5+ Kg8 42. Qe8+ Kh7 43. Rf7 Rd8! To be fair, this move was spotted by someone whom Lubosh Kavalek once stated: "Before Fritz, we had Ljubo!" I thought that White was simply winning here, but Ljubomir Ljubojevic had seen something that Deep Fritz hadn't. 44. Qe6 Qe4! 45. Qf6 Rg8
     ( 45... Qg6? 46. Qh4+ Kg8 47. Rxg7+ wins. )
46. Qg5
     ( 46. e6 Kh8! )
46... Qg6 47. Qh4+ Qh6= Once the queens come off, Black will be able to activate his rook and bishop to reach a drawish ending: 48. Qf6
     ( 48. Qxh6+ Kxh6 49. Re7 Rc8 50. Re6+ Kg5 51. Rxa6 Bxe5+ 52. Kg1 Rxc3= )
48... Kh8 49. Qxh6+ Bxh6 50. Rf6
     ( 50. e6 Re8 51. e7 Kg8 52. Rf6 Bg7 53. Rxa6 Be5+ 54. g3 Rxe7 )
50... Bg7 51. Rxa6 Bxe5+ 52. Kg1 Rc8! = It's going to be too difficult for White to make progress with the pawns. Not only are Black's pieces active. but is pawns are too far apart - they will be easy to contain. 38... Kh7 39. Qxh5+ Kg8 40. Qf7+ Kh7 41. Qh5+ Kg8 42. Rf4 Qb1+ 43. Kh2 Bxe5 44. Qf7+ 1/2-1/2

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Ng5 Ngf6 6. Bd3 e6 7. N1f3 Bd6 8. Qe2 h6 9. Ne4 Nxe4 10. Qxe4 c5 11. Qg4
More popular has been 11. Bd2 or 11. O-O 11... Qf6n
A novelty - the more typical Caro-Kann move, 11... Kf8 , is more usual. 12. c3?!
If White want's to take anything from the game, he really had to play 12. Be3!? cxd4
     ( 12... b6 13. Be4 Rb8 14. O-O-O! )
13. Bxd4 e5 14. Qe4! Qe6 15. Bc3 Nc5 16. Bb5+ Kf8 17. Qe3 and White has much the better of it: Good pieces, better scope for the rooks and a safer king. 12... cxd4 13. cxd4 b6 14. O-O
14. Be4 Rb8 15. Bd2 Bb7! 16. Bxb7 Rxb7 17. Rc1 Rc7 14... Bb7 15. Be3 h5! Karpov really has a nice position - just look how harmoniously placed his pieces are. 16. Qh3 Bxf3 17. gxf3
17. Qxf3 Qxf3 18. gxf3 Ke7! is not the sort of ending I'd like to defending against Karpov. 17... Rd8 18. Rac1 g5 19. Be4 Ke7 Rather than sit back and watch Karpov squeezing him like a python, Shirov decides it's time to rock the boat a little. 20. Rfe1 Bf4
Karpov may have been better opting for 20... g4!? 21. Qg2 Rhg8 22. Kh1 21. Bxf4 Qxf4 22. d5! Now all the fun starts. 22... Ne5 23. dxe6 f5 24. Rc7+
24. Qxf5? Qxf5 25. Bxf5 Nxf3+ 26. Kf1 Nxe1 27. Rxe1 Rd2 is hopeless 24... Kd6 25. Rxa7 fxe4 26. e7 Nxf3+ 27. Kf1 Rde8 28. Qd7+ Ke5 29. Rd1 Kf6! 30. Qc6+ Kf7 31. Rd8 Nxh2+ 32. Ke1 Ng4?
With just under 40 seconds or so for the last eight moves, Karpov makes a crucial slip at the wrong moment. The winning line was: 32... e3! 33. Qd5+
     ( 33. fxe3? Qxe3+ 34. Kd1 Qf3+ 35. Qxf3+ Nxf3 36. Ke2 g4 and White doesn't seem to have an answer to Black simply pushing the h-pawn. )
33... Kg7 34. fxe3 Qxe3+ 35. Kd1 Qf3+ 36. Qxf3 Nxf3 and again the same winning plan seems unstoppable: ..g4 followed by pushing the h-pawn. 33. Qxb6 e3 34. Qb3+ Kg7 35. Qc3+ Qf6 36. fxe3 Qxc3+ 37. bxc3 Ne5
Karpov now had only 5-6 seconds left - and the pressure was beginning to tell. I think he knew that recapturing the pawn was going to lead to a similar position as in the game, so decided instead to try and group all his pieces together, get to the time control, and then see how the ground lay. 37... Nxe3 38. Kf2 Nf5 39. Ra5 Kf6 40. Rdd5 Nxe7 41. Rd6+ Kf7 42. Rxg5 and the likely result here is a draw - this is better than the game; but, in reality, Black hasn't got the resources to take advantage of the extra piece. 38. Rd5 Kf6 39. e4 Nf3+ 40. Kf2 g4 41. Kg3 Rh7 42. Rf5+ Kg6 43. Ra6+ Kg7 44. Ra7 Kg6 45. Ra6+ Kg7 46. Ra7 Rh6 47. Rd7 Re6 48. Rxh5 Rxe4 49. Rf5 Ne5 50. Rc7 Re1
50... Ng6 51. Rg5 Kf6 52. Rxg4 Re6 53. a4 is also an easy draw. 51. a4 Nf7 52. a5 Nh6
52... R8xe7 53. Rxe7 Rxe7 54. a6
     ( 54. Kxg4? Nh6+! )
54... Nh6 55. Ra5 Ra7 is also leading nowhere. 53. Rf4 R8xe7 54. Rxe7+ Rxe7 55. a6 Re3+ 56. Kg2 Rxc3 57. Ra4 Rc8 58. a7 Ra8 59. Kg3 Kf6 60. Kf4 Ke7 61. Ra6 Nf7 62. Kxg4 Kd7 63. Kf5 Nd6+ 64. Kf4 Nb5 65. Ke5 Kc7 66. Kd5 Kb7 67. Ra1 Nxa7 A theory draw you would think in an elite tournament? Well, not really! Cast your minds back to another Spanish elite tournament (Dos Hermanas, 1996), and you'll discover that Garry Kasparov managed to beat Judit Polgar in this ending - albeit with a little help from his opponent, who made the cardinal error of trapping her king on the backrank. The only reason I remember this was I had to do a review in a magazine of the ChessBase Endgame CD-Rom's containing all five-piece major endings on 4-CDs, which had just come out at the time. I still find them indispensible - particularly as coasters when friends come round and I don't want stains on the coffee table! However, with Shirov's king so central, the only way he could lose it now was by a Helpmate. Shirov makes no mistake of that. 68. Rb1+ Kc7 69. Rc1+ Kb6 70. Rb1+ Nb5 71. Kc4 Rc8+ 72. Kd5 Rc5+ 73. Ke4 Kc6 74. Ra1 Nd6+ 75. Kd4 Rd5+ 76. Ke3 Kd7 77. Ra8 Ke6 78. Ra7 Kf5 79. Rc7 Re5+ 80. Kd3 Rd5+ 81. Ke3 Ne4 82. Rc4 Nc5 83. Rc3 Ke5 84. Ra3 Rd4 85. Rc3 Kd5 86. Ra3 Re4+ 87. Kf3 Re8 88. Re3 Rf8+ 89. Ke2 Kd4 90. Re7 Rf6 91. Re8 Ne6 92. Ra8 Nf4+ 93. Kf3 Nd3+ 94. Kg4 1/2-1/2

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 The Fischer favourite - the Poisoned Pawn variation! Bobby's had a phenominal record with this line: a near 80% score with the Black pieces. If you don't count Efim Geller (his bete noire) using Fischer's pet-line against the man himself (Monte Carlo, 1967), Bobby only ever lost one game with it - to Boris Spassky in their epic 1972 Reykjavic match. 8. Nb3 The cautious approach. This just leads to a sort of main line Najdorf. 8... Be7 9. Qf3 Nbd7 10. O-O-O Qc7 11. Bd3 b5 12. a3 Rb8
12... Bb7 is more usual. The text (though still fitting in with the ideals of the Najdorf) has only ever been played 3-times - and all Black wins! 13. Rhe1 b4 14. axb4 Rxb4 15. Kb1 Bb7 16. Qh3 Nc5 17. Nxc5
17. Na2 Nxd3 18. Bxf6 Rxb3 19. Bxg7 Nxe1 20. Qxb3 Rg8 21. Bd4 Nxg2 22. Qf3 d5 23. Rg1 Qc4 24. Rxg2 Rxg2 25. Qxg2 Qxd4 26. Qg8+ Bf8 27. exd5 Bxd5 28. Qxh7 Qxf4 29. Qd3 Qc4 0-1 Ellison,D-Collinson,A/Balatonbereny 1992/TD (29). 17... dxc5
I thought 17... Qxc5 looked better. But then again, who am I to question the man that took over Fischer's mantle of mastery of the Najdorf? 18. Na2
     ( 18. e5 Nd7! 19. Na2
          ( 19. Bxe7? Qxc3! )
     19... Bxg5 20. Nxb4 Bxf4 21. Nxa6 Bxa6 22. Bxa6 Bxe5 Black has strong pressure on the White king. )
18... Rb6 with an easy game. 18. e5 Nd5 19. Nxd5 Bxd5 20. c3
20. Bxe7 Qb6! a nice little zwischenzug (Bless you!) 21. Bxc5
     ( 21. Bd6?? Rxb2+ 22. Kc1 Qb4! soon mates. )
21... Rxb2+ 22. Kc1 Rb1+ 23. Kd2 Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 Qxc5 25. Ke2 Qb4 also looks drawn - but Black has the advantage of the outside passed-pawn. He may be able to make something of it if he can safely get the rook into the game. 20... Rb3 21. Bc2 Qb7!?
Drastic action indeed. I think Kasparov started to worry about how he was going to get his rook into the game after a Ba4+: 21... Rb8! 22. Ba4+! Kf8
     ( 22... Bc6 23. Bxc6+ Qxc6 24. Bxe7 Kxe7 25. Qg3! Qb6 26. Qh4+ Ke8 27. Re2 and, apart from worrying about how to develop the rook on h8, Kasparov will come under a lot of pressure with Rd6 coming shortly. )
23. Bxe7+ Qxe7 24. Rd2 and White has a little advantage - though nothing to worry about. 22. Bxb3 Qxb3 23. Rxd5?
Being in Spain, Leko really had to take the bull by the horns here and go in for the kill. But then again, Peter was never Matador material - he's been too cautious all his life: 23. Bxe7! Qa2+
     ( 23... Be4+? 24. Rd3! Qc4 25. Rxe4 Qxe4 26. Bxc5 wins )
24. Kc1
     ( 24. Kc2?! Bb3+ 25. Kd3 Bxd1 26. Rxd1 Kxe7 )
24... Qa1+ 25. Kc2 Qa4+
     ( 25... Qa2? 26. Rxd5! Qxd5 27. Bd6 )
26. Kd3 Qc4+ 27. Ke3 Qe4+ 28. Kf2 Qxf4+ 29. Kg1 Kxe7 30. Qh5! and, with Rf1 threatened, White's hoping to entice Black to play ..g6, weakening the dark-squares round the Black king. White should be able to convert this easily enough. 23... Qxd5 24. Bxe7 Kxe7 25. Qh4+ Kd7 26. Qg4 Kc6 27. Qe2!
27. Qxg7? Rb8! 28. Rc1
     ( 28. Qxf7 Qb3 29. Re2 Qd1+! )
28... Qe4+ 29. Rc2
     ( 29. Ka1? Rb5! )
29... Qxf4 and suddenly White has got one or two little problems to solve - though probably still drawn. 27... Rd8 28. Qxa6+ Kc7 29. Qa7+ Kc6 Leko's a pawn ahead but, with the domination of the d-file and the active king should it go into a rook and pawn ending, Kasparov can easily hold. 30. Qa6+ Kc7 31. Qa5+ Kb7 32. Qb5+ Kc7 33. Qa5+ Kb7 34. Qb5+ Leko repeats a few moves to make the time control in safety. 34... Kc7 35. Qe2 h5 36. g3 g6 37. c4
Trying to contest the d-file wasn't any better: 37. Kc2 Qa2! 38. Qb5
     ( 38. h3 c4! )
38... Qd5 and we're basically back to where we started. 37... Qd2 38. Qe3?
Trying to be too clever: Leko's hoping Kasparov will exchange queen's now so that he can have his rook more actively placed on e3 to defend the g-pawn. 38. Qxd2 Rxd2 39. h4 Rd3 the active rook guarentees the draw 40. Rg1 Kb6= 38... Rd4?
The mutual time trouble explains all - Kasparov actually missed a big chance to come out with the better side of the draw! 38... Qb4! Now how does White defend the dual threats of ..Rd2 and ..Rd4? 39. Rc1 Rd2 40. Rc2 Rxc2 41. Kxc2 Qxc4+ 42. Kd2 Kc6 and now it's White looking for the draw. 39. Qxd2 Rxd2 40. Re3
40. h4 Rd3 41. Rg1 Kb6 is much the same - the active rook secures the draw. 40... Rxh2 41. Rf3 Kc6 42. Ka2 Rh3 43. Rb3 h4 44. gxh4 Rxh4 45. Rf3 Rh5 With the idea of ..Rf5 and ..g5 winning. 46. Rg3 Rh2 47. Rf3 Rc2 48. Kb3 Rc1 49. Rf2 Kb6 50. Rf3 Ka5 51. Rf2 Re1 52. Ka3 Ra1+ 53. Kb3 Rc1 54. Rf3 Kb6 55. Rf2 1/2-1/2

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ng4 The Kasparov Variation. 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 Bg7 10. h3 Ne5
Both these players had this position in the last round of the Corus 2000 tournament. Then, Judit played the unusual 10... Nf6!? and got a good game - though Kasparov won. 11. f3 Nbc6 12. Bf2 Be6 13. Qd2
After 13. Nxe6 fxe6 , Black has superb central control. 13... Nxd4 14. Bxd4 Qa5 15. a3 Rg8! Castling on either wing is taboo, but the King is perfectly safe in the centre. The only problem Judit had was where to best develop the rooks: c8 was the most obvious for the queen's rook, and from g8, the king's rook stays out of harms way after the h-file is opened. 16. h4 Rc8 17. hxg5 hxg5 18. O-O-O
18. Qxg5?? Nxf3+! 18... Nc4 19. Bxc4 Bxd4
Awkward for Black is 19... Rxc4?! 20. Bxg7 Rxg7 21. Rh8+ Kd7 22. g4 , leaving problems of how to get the "fianchettoed" rook back into the game. 20. Qxd4n
White only got a small advantage after 20. Bb5+ axb5 21. Qxd4 Rc4 22. Qd2 Kd7 23. Na2 Qxd2+ 24. Rxd2 g4 25. Nb4 gxf3 26. gxf3 f6 27. Nd3 1-0 Bologan,V-Xu Jun/Beijing CHN 2000/The Week in Chess 296 (81). (80) 20... Rxc4 21. Qa7 Qc7
The thematic exchange sacrifice on c3 doesn't work here: 21... Rxc3 22. bxc3 Qxa3+ 23. Kd2 with a big White advantage. 22. Kb1 Rc5! Entombing Kasparov's queen. Kasparov's novelty of 20 Qxd4 had the idea of Qa7 in mind - trying to stretch the Black defenses - so he must have known that his queen was safe here. However, it does seem well out of place on a7. 23. Nd5 Bxd5 24. exd5 Kf8
24... Rxc2? 25. Rc1 Rc5 26. b4! and Black is losing very quickly. 26... Rc3 27. Kb2! and carnage down the c-file. 25. Rd2 Kg7 26. b4
Kasparov felt he let the game slip here. During the post mortem, both players skipped through the begining of the game and concentrated all their efforts here. Kasparov felt that, in reflection, he should have gone for: 26. Rh5 Kf6!
     ( Again both ers felt this looked the more natural move. The alternative left Black with too many problems with her King and trouble in the ending, also. 26... f6 27. g4 Rc8
          ( 27... Rh8 28. Rxh8 Kxh8 29. Qa8+ Qc8 30. Qxc8+ Rxc8 31. Re2 Rc7 32. c3 Kg7 33. Kc2 Kf7 34. Kd3 with the better ending. )
     28. c3 )
27. b4
     ( 27. g4 Rc8
          ( 27... b5 28. Qxa6 Rb8 29. f4 gxf4 30. Rf5+ Kg7 31. Rxf4 Rb6 32. Qa5 b4 33. Qa4 Rc3 )
     28. c3 )
27... b5 28. Qxa6 Rc3 29. Rh6+ Kg7 30. Rh1 Rc8 31. Re1 Rxc2 32. Qxc8 Qxc8 33. Rxc2 This was just some of the many lines that Garry and Judit flicked out (to be honest, I couldn't keep up with the speed they went through the variations at) - no definite conlcusion was reached at the end, though it was felt that Kasparov had "something" but maybe not enough for a win. 26... b5 27. Qxa6 Rc3
In the end, White has to play carefully and Black has a perpetual in hand: 27... Rc3 28. Re1
     ( 28. Qxb5? Rxa3 29. Rd3 Ra2! 30. Qc6
          ( 30. Kxa2 Qxc2+ 31. Ka1 Ra8+ )
     30... Qa7 31. Qc3+ f6 32. Rhd1
          ( 32. Re1? Ra8 33. Kc1 Qf2! 34. Rxe7+ Kg6 )
     32... Ra8 )
28... Rc8 29. Ree2 Qc4 30. Kb2
     ( 30. Qa7 Rc7 31. Qd4+ Qxd4 32. Rxd4 Rxa3 )
30... Rxc2+ 31. Rxc2 Qd4+ 32. Kc1
     ( 32. Ka2 Qxd5+ 33. Kb2 Qd4+ )
     ( 32. Kb1 Qd1+ 33. Kb2 Qd4+ )
32... Qa1+ 33. Kd2 Qd4+ 34. Kc1
     ( 34. Ke1 Qg1+ )
34... Qa1+= 1/2-1/2

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nbd7 6. Nf3 h6 7. Nxf6+ Nxf6 8. Bh4 c5 9. Bb5+ Bd7 10. Bxd7+ Qxd7 11. O-O cxd4 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Qxd4 Qxd4 14. Nxd4 O-O-O 15. Rfd1 Bc5 16. Ne2 Kc7 17. g3 Kc6 18. Kg2 h5 19. Nf4 h4 20. Rxd8 Rxd8 21. Nd3 Bd6 22. Rd1 Rg8 23. Ne1 Be5 24. c3 f5 25. Nf3 Bf6 26. Nd4+ Kc7 27. Nb5+ Kc6 28. Nd4+ Kc7 29. Nb5+ Kc6 1/2-1/2

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c6 4. Qc2 dxc4 5. Qxc4 Nf6 6. Bg5 b5 7. Qc2 Bb7 8. e4 Nbd7 9. Nbd2 a6 10. a4 h6 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. e5 Qd8 13. Bd3 Be7 14. O-O O-O 15. Ne4 c5 16. axb5 axb5 17. dxc5 Rxa1 18. Rxa1 Bxe4 19. Bxe4 Nxc5 1/2-1/2

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 A blast from the past - You need to go as far back as the Yerevan Olympiad 1996 for Garry's last Scheveningen, when he faced Topalov. Kasparov has never really been one to play the Najdorf with ..e5, and usually always falls back on ..e6. 7. f4 Be7 8. Be3 O-O 9. g4 d5! The recommended remedy. 10. e5 Ne4 11. Nxe4 dxe4 12. g5 Qb6n
Putting the queen on the same diagonal as the bishop does look odd, but there's method in Kasparov's madness. Developing the queen on c7 has been more usual - until now that is!: 12... Qc7 13. Qd2 Rd8 14. O-O-O Nc6 15. Kb1 b5 16. Qc3 Bb7 17. Nxc6 Bxc6 1/2-1/2 Lanka,Z-Van Wely,L/Pula 1997/CBM 57 ext (17). 13. Nf5 If Rb1 or Qc1, ..Bc5 is awkward. As for 0-0? It looks as if Black can simply take on b2 safely as there's no real attack or threat from White. 13... Qa5+ 14. Bd2 Qc5 15. Nxe7+ Qxe7 16. c3 b5 17. Be3 Rd8 18. Qc2 Bb7 Black's easily equalised - And, as they say in the Sicilian: If Black has equalised, he's winning! 19. Kf2 Nd7 20. b4 Shirov had to stop ..Nc5. 20... Nf8 21. h4 Qc7
21... Rac8!? 22. a4! Probably the best. 22... Qxb4 23. cxb4 Rxc2 24. axb5 axb5 25. Rhc1 Rb2 26. Rab1 Ra2
     ( 26... Rxb1 27. Rxb1 Bc6 28. Rc1 Be8 29. h5! )
27. h5 And, if anything, despite being a pawn down, White is better. 22. h5 Nd7 23. h6 g6 24. a4 Nb6 25. axb5 axb5 26. Kg3!?
Puzzling, bit I think Alexei was worried about something like this: 26. Bxb5 Nd5 27. Rxa8 Rxa8 28. Qd2 Nxf4 29. Rd1
     ( 29. Bxf4? e3+ 30. Qxe3 Bxh1 )
29... Nd5 30. c4 Nxe3 31. Kxe3 Ra3+ 32. Ke2 Rd3 33. Qb2 Qd8! 26... Nc4 27. Rxa8 Rxa8 28. Bxc4 Qxc4 29. Rd1 Bd5 30. Rd4 Qf1 31. Qd1! The only move. If Black gets to keep the queen's on, he stands much better. Now, due to the opposite coloured bishops and the formation of both sets of pawns, White can realistically look for the draw. 31... Ra1 32. Qxf1 Rxf1 33. Kg4 Rf3
If there's a win, it has to be around here somewhere - but with the opposite coloured bishops and all the pawns on the same coloured squares as the bishops, It's not going to be all that easy: 33... Re1! 34. Bf2!
     ( 34. Bd2?! Re2
          ( 34... Rg1+? 35. Kh3 Rh1+ 36. Kg2 e3+ 37. Rxd5! exd5 38. Bxe3 and Black will never be able to stage a breakthrough. )
     35. Bc1 e3 36. Rd1
          ( 36. Rd3 Rg2+ 37. Kh3 e2 38. Bd2 Rg1 )
     36... Rg2+ 37. Kh3 e2 38. Re1 Rf2 39. Bd2 Bf3 40. Kg3 Rf1 White's helpless now - Black simply marches the king up the board: Kf8-e7-d7-c6-d5-e4-d3. )
34... Re2
     ( To show you how difficult it is to win, White - as in the game - can even give up a pawn and still draw easily enough: 34... Rc1 35. Rd2 Rxc3 36. Bd4 Rc1 37. Bc5 Re1 38. Rc2! Bc4 39. Rc3 and again White blockades the crucial e3-square. )
35. Bg3 Re3 36. Rd2 Rxc3 37. Re2 e3 38. Be1 Rb3 39. Rc2 Black has at least made some progress as White's bishop can't get to c5. However, now a new problem: White can generate his own threats: 39... Bc4
     ( 39... Kf8 40. Rc3! = )
40. Ra2 Bd5
     ( 40... Kf8 41. Ra8+ Ke7 42. Ra7+ Ke8 43. Ra8+= )
41. Rc2 Bc4= 34. Bg1 Rxc3 35. Rd2 Kf8 36. Bc5+ Ke8
The exchange sacrifice doesn't work here - though again it comes close: 36... Rxc5 37. bxc5 b4 38. c6! Ke7
     ( 38... Bxc6 39. Rb2 e3 40. Kg3! )
39. Rd4 b3 40. Rb4 e3 41. Rb7+ Kd8 42. Kg3 Kc8 43. Rb5 Kc7 44. Rc5 Be4
     ( 44... Kb6 45. c7! Bb7 46. c8=Q Bxc8 47. Rxc8 )
45. Rb5 Bd5 46. Rc5= 37. Re2 Rc1?
But it does here! 37... Kd7! 38. Re3 Rxc5 39. bxc5 b4 40. Re1 Kc6 White's in serious trouble: the active Black king, bishop and pawns will secure the victory. 38. Kg3 Kd7 39. Kf2 Kc6 40. Be3 Rb1 41. Bc5 There's just no way through for Kasparov now. 41... Rc1 42. Bd6 Rh1 43. Re3 Rh2+ 44. Kg3 Rc2 45. Bf8 Ra2 46. Bc5 Ra1 47. Kf2 Rc1 48. Bd6 1/2-1/2

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. c3 e6 5. Be3 Qb6 6. Qb3 Nd7 7. Nd2 f6 8. f4 g5!? a new development in this system. Instead of ..Nh6 (with or without ..h5) and ..Ne7, the idea is to breakdown the pawn chain as quickly as possible. It's very similar to the plan of f6 and g5 in the French Defence Tarrasch. 9. Ngf3 gxf4 10. Bxf4 Bh6n
Brutal and to the point: Leko's inovation simply exchanges everything off for an easy life. 10... Bg7 11. exf6 Ngxf6 12. Nh4
     ( 12. Be2 O-O 13. O-O h6 14. Nh4 Bh7 15. Bd6 Rfe8 16. Nhf3 Ng4 17. Nh4 Ngf6 18. Ndf3 Ne4 19. Bf4 Rf8 20. g3 Rae8 21. Rae1 Qxb3 22. axb3 a6 23. Ng2 c5 24. Rd1 cxd4 25. cxd4 Rc8 26. Ne3 Bf5 27. Kg2 Rc6 28. b4 b5 29. Bd3 Nd6 30. Nxf5 Nxf5 31. Bb1 Rc4 32. b3 Rc3 33. Rfe1 Rxb3 34. Rxe6 Rxb4 35. Rxa6 Rb2+ 36. Kh3 h5 37. Ra7 Nb6 38. Ng5 Bh6 39. Rf1 Bxg5 40. Bxg5 Rxb1 41. Rxb1 1-0 Morozevich,A-Stohl,I/Istanbul TUR 2000/The Week in Chess 313 (41). )
12... O-O 13. Nxf5 exf5 14. Qxb6 Rae8+ 15. Kd1 axb6 16. Bd3 Nh5 17. Rf1 Re6 18. Kc2 c5 19. c4 cxd4 20. cxd5 Rg6 21. g3 Nc5 22. Bc7 Na6 23. Bxa6 bxa6 24. Kd3 b5 25. Rae1 Rf7 26. Re8+ Bf8 27. Rc8 Ng7 28. Nf3 Re7 29. Nxd4 Rd7 30. d6 Rf6 31. g4 Kf7 32. g5 Rfxd6 33. Bxd6 Bxd6 34. Nxf5 Be5+ 35. Kc2 Bxh2 36. Rc6 1-0 Antoniewski,R-Skalik,P/Zakopane chT 2000/The Week in Chess 310 (36). 11. Bxh6 Nxh6 12. exf6 Nxf6 13. Be2 Rg8 Black's equalised already; the half-point can be taken anytime now. 14. Qxb6 axb6 15. O-O Ne4 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 17. Ne1 Nf5 18. Bf3 Ne3 19. Rf2 Bf5 20. Be2 Ke7 21. Bd3 c5 22. Bxf5 Nxf5 23. Nf3 h5 1/2-1/2

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Ng5 Ngf6 6. Bd3 e6 7. N1f3 Bd6 8. Qe2 h6 9. Ne4 Nxe4 10. Qxe4 Qc7
The immediate 10... c5 was played by Karpov in his opening round game with Shirov. 11. Qg4 Kf8 This line is extremely popular at the top level. However, at first sight it is hard to believe that a king move like that is enough for equality. First played (I believe) by Andrei Kharltonov in the late 80s, the line soon became popular with some of the world's top Caro aficionados: Speelman, Anand and, of course, Karpov. 12. O-O
The immediate 12. Be3 was Judit's choice in three games against Karpov in a rapid play match in Hungary, 1998, where she scored 2/3. 12... c5 13. dxc5!? New - but not a novelty. 13 Re1 and 13 c3 is more standard. The idea is, at the cost of the White pawn structure, to open as many lines as possible to try and take advantage of Black's underdevelopment. 13... Nxc5 14. Be3
14. Re1 e5 15. Bf5 e4 16. Nh4 Bxh2+ 17. Kh1 h5 18. Qh3 Be5 19. Be3 g6 20. Bxc8 Qxc8 21. Bxc5+ Qxc5 22. Rxe4 Kg7 23. c3 Bf6 24. Qf3 Rad8 25. Rf4 Qe5 26. g3 Rd2 27. Qxb7 Rb8 28. Qxa7 Rbxb2 29. Kg1 Qd5 30. a4 Be5 31. Rf3 Bf6 32. Rf4 Bxc3 33. Rf1 Be5 34. Rf3 Bf6 35. Rf4 Bg5 36. Ng2 Bxf4 37. Nxf4 Qe5 38. a5 h4 39. a6 Ra2 0-1 Luther,T-Anastasian,A/Istanbul TUR 2000/The Week in Chess 314 (39). 14... Nxd3 15. cxd3 e5! Black has to unravel somehow, and this is the best way. 16. Qe4
How about 16. Qh5!? Qe7
     ( 16... g6?! 17. Qh4 and Black's looking a bit loose. )
17. Rae1
     ( 17. Bg5?! Qe6! with the idea of ..Qg4 with a good game. )
17... Kg8
     ( 17... g6 18. Bxh6+ Kg8 19. Qg5! )
18. Nd2 g6 19. Qe2 with the idea of Ne4 and f4 to open up the game. 16... g6 17. Rac1?
Did Judit miss a trick here? 17. Rfc1! Qe7 18. Bxa7 Kg7 19. Qe3 Bg4
     ( 19... Bf5 20. Bc5! )
20. Nd2 and, with the idea of Nc4 and Bb6, White just seems to be a pawn ahead. 17... Qe7 18. Rfe1
Now if 18. Bxa7 Kg7! see the difference - at the end of the day, White's a-pawn is attacked, and Black has superb piece-play. 19. Qe3 Bg4 20. Nd2
     ( 20. a3 Bxf3 21. gxf3 Rhc8! White's pawn structure is completely shattered. Despite being a pawn ahead, the ending may be better for Black. )
20... b5! 18... Bf5 19. Qa4 Kg7 20. Nxe5
20. Bf4 f6 21. d4 e4 22. Bxd6 Qxd6 23. Nd2 Rhc8! 24. Rxc8 Rxc8 25. Qxa7 Qb4 and Black's better here. 20... Bxe5 21. Bf4 Rac8 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Rxe5 Rc1+ 24. Bxc1 Qxe5 25. Be3 f6 26. Qb4 b6 27. h3
27. d4! Qe4
     ( 27... Qd5? 28. Qe7+ )
28. h3 and Black still has a lot of work to do to secure a draw: A pawn ahead, White has a strong, passed d-pawn and the Black pawns are the more vulnerable to attack - especially with the king unprotected on g7. 27... g5 28. Qa3 Qc7 29. b4 Qd7 30. Qc3
30. d4 Be6 and Black can easily set up a good blockade from d5. 1/2-1/2

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 A Grischuk pet-line. The young Muscovite wants to play the English Attack without having to worry about the crucial, crunch-line, 6 ..Ng4 - the Kasparov Variation. 6... Qb6! If Black wants to avoid going into the English Attack, then this is the way to do it -despite the fact that your opponent has a 100% score of 4/4 against this; including a win over Shirov in the semifinal of FIDE World Championship KO in New Delhi recently. 7. Nb3 e6
7... Nc6 8. Qe2 e6 9. Be3 Qc7 10. g4 b5 11. O-O-O Bb7 12. h4 Rc8 13. Kb1 Nd7 14. Rg1 Nce5 15. Qf2 b4 16. Na4 Nxf3 17. Qxf3 Qc6 18. Nac5 Nxc5 19. Bxc5 dxc5 20. Na5 Qc7 21. Nxb7 Qxb7 22. Bc4 Be7 23. Qe2 Qc6 24. g5 O-O 25. h5 Rcd8 26. g6 Rxd1+ 27. Rxd1 fxg6 28. hxg6 Rf4 29. Qh2 1-0 Grischuk,A-Shirov,A/New Delhi IND 2000 (29). 8. Qe2 Qc7 With Be3 coming, the queen was going to have to move anyway. 9. g4 b5 10. Be3 b4n
10... Nc6 11. g5 Nd7 12. Qf2 Nce5 13. O-O-O b4 14. Nb1 Nc4 15. Bxc4 Qxc4 16. N1d2 Qc7 17. Kb1 Bb7 18. Rc1 a5 19. c4 Nc5 20. Nxc5 dxc5 21. h4 a4 22. Qh2 Bd6 23. f4 O-O-O 24. Rhd1 Rd7 25. e5 Be7 26. Nf1 Rhd8 27. Qe2 Rxd1 28. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 29. Qxd1 Qc6 30. Nd2 Kc7 31. Qf1 g6 32. Kc2 Qa6 33. Qd3 Qc6 34. h5 Qh1 35. hxg6 hxg6 36. Qf1 Be4+ 37. Kc1 Qxf1+ 38. Nxf1 Bd3 39. Nd2 Kc6 40. b3 a3 41. Kd1 1/2-1/2 Prasad,D-Ruck,R/Istanbul TUR 2000/The Week in Chess 313 (41). 11. Na4 Nbd7 The scene is set: White is looking to exploit the queenside, Black is staking his claim in the centre. 12. Qc4 Qxc4 13. Bxc4 d5! 14. exd5 Ne5 15. Be2
15. Nb6 Nxc4 16. Nxc4 Nxd5 17. Bc5 Bd7! with the strong idea of ..Bb5 or ..Ba4 coupled with ..Rc8. 15... Nxd5 16. Bd4 Bd6 17. Bc5 Be7
Supported by Ljubomir Ljubojevic, we'd come to the conclusion in the press room that the other retreat looked good for Kasparov: 17... Bc7! 18. a3 bxa3 19. Rxa3 Bb7 with the Black pieces looking the more ready for the first strike. 18. a3 a5
18... Bh4+ 19. Bf2 Bf6 20. Bd4 achieves nothing for Black. 19. Bd4! I think by now Kasparov was regretting he hadn't placed the bishop on c7 - White's no worse here. 19... f6
19... Bf6? 20. g5! 20. Nac5?
Despite the fact that it cedes the bishop-pair, Grischuk have taken on e5: 20. Bxe5! fxe5 21. Nac5 bxa3
     ( 21... O-O 22. axb4 Nxb4 23. Kd2 Rd8+ 24. Kc1≤ )
22. Rxa3 Bd7 23. Ra1 Black's got slightly the better of it, but White has the better pawn structure. 20... O-O 21. O-O bxa3 22. Rxa3 Nf4 23. Bb5 Rb8 24. Bxe5 Nh3+!
24... Rxb5? 25. Bxf4 Rxc5 26. Nxc5 Bxc5+ 27. Kg2 Bxa3 28. bxa3 e5
     ( 28... Rd8 29. Bc7 Rd2+ 30. Rf2= )
29. Bd2= 25. Kg2 Rxb5 26. Bg3?
26. Kxh3! fxe5
     ( 26... Bxc5 27. Nxc5 fxe5 28. Nd3 e4 29. c4! Rb6 30. Ne5 Rxb2 31. Rxa5 )
27. c4! Rb4 28. Rxa5= 26... Ng5
Kasparov could have gone for a simple win of a pawn, but was probably worried about the prospects of an opposite coloured bishop ending. 26... Bxc5 27. Nxc5 Rxc5 28. Kxh3 Rxc2≥ 27. Bf2?
White's last - and only - chance was: 27. c4! Rxc5
     ( 27... Rb4 28. h4 Rxc4 29. Rxa5 Nf7 30. Rc1 Rxc1 31. Nxc1= )
28. Nxc5 Bxc5 29. Rxa5 and the passed c and b-pawn offer good survival chances against the Black pieces. 27... Bb7 There's no-way back for Grischuk now. 28. Bg1 Rc8! 29. h4 Bxf3+! 30. Rxf3 Nxf3 31. Kxf3 Bxc5 32. Nxc5 Rbxc5 33. Bxc5 Rxc5 34. c3 h5 35. gxh5 Rxh5 36. b4 axb4 37. cxb4 Rxh4 0-1

Game of the day though is unquestionably Judit Polgar's superb win over Alexei Shirov. After a lean period, she's back to her brilliant best again. The Polgar phenomenon is well recorded. The youngest of three Hungarian sisters (all chess masters), Judit, like Zsuzsa and Sofia, was taught at home by their psychologist father, Laszlo (and mother, Klara), who planned their entire family as an experiment to test his controversial theory that geniuses are made, not born, which led to Dominic Lawson in his controversial book, The Inner Game, to cruelly (and unfairly) christen her "Lassie", because she was no more than just a trained dog. Their education included five hours' daily chess instruction. All three played and studied chess to the exclusion of virtually everything from the age of four. It didn't take long for the trio hit the headlines and, in 1984, they started attending international tournaments - and beating up the men! The Polgar phenomenon is well recorded. The youngest of three Hungarian sisters (all chess masters), Judit, like Zsuzsa and Sofia, was taught at home by their psychologist father, Laszlo (and mother, Klara), who planned their entire family as an experiment to test his controversial theory that geniuses are made, not born, which led to Dominic Lawson in his controversial book, The Inner Game, to cruelly (and unfairly) christened her "Lassie", because she was no more than just a trained dog. Their education included five hours' daily chess instruction. All three played and studied chess to the exclusion of virtually everything from the age of four. It didn't take long for the trio hit the headlines and, in 1984, they started attending international tournaments - and beating up the men! Judit is beyond doubt the greatest female player in the game's history - even at one time regarded as a potential heir to the Kasparov throne. She has proved that it was possible for a woman to compete at the very top, something she only achieved by never competing in the weaker female game, which she's always shunned. Playing on board three in the men's team in the recent Olympiad, she was their star performer with a score of 10/13 - the second highest points total of any player in the men's Olympiad. This "toughening-up" policy of competing only in Open tournaments quickly paid off. In 1991 she became the first female to win a full national title (Hungarian champion); a result that led the way for her to break the 30 year record of arch misogynist Bobby Fischer, by becoming at 15 the youngest grandmaster in the game. Before the tournament started, "Honest" Jeff Sonas and finger-operated abacas had decide that Judit would be trailing the field at the end, alongside Anatoly Karpov. After the comprehensive way she demolished Shirov, I think Jeff will also have to revise his odds here, too! 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Again the English Attack, which must be one of the most popular lines against the Najdorf these days. Intended as a quiet sideline of the Najdorf to avoid all the theory, it first became a big favourite of the man that should have been Britain's first GM, William Hartston, in the early 70s when the Najdorf was at its zenith during the Fischer years. Its was then refined by the likes of Nigel Short (who really had most to do with its development), Mickey Adams, John Nunn and Murray Chandler in the 80s as a way of avoiding all the reams of theory in the Najdorf - now it basically IS the variation in the Najdorf with reams of theory being produced on it! 6... e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 Nbd7 9. Qd2
Shirov is no stranger to this line - with either colour! He had the Black side of it last year in the Spanish Team Championships, he used it twice himself against Gelfand in the FIDE KO in New Delhi, and also against Kasparov in the Frankfurt Giants. 9. g4 b5 10. g5 b4 11. Ne2 Nh5 12. Qd2 a5 13. Ng3 Nxg3 14. hxg3 a4 15. Nc1 Qa5 16. Bh3 Bxh3 17. Rxh3 Nb6 18. b3 d5 19. Nd3 Bd6 20. Rd1 d4 21. Bg1 axb3 22. axb3 Rc8 23. Qh2 Qa2 24. Rxh7 Rxh7 25. Qxh7 Rxc2 26. g6 Qxb3 27. Qxg7 fxg6 28. Nxe5 Qc3+ 29. Kf1 Bxe5 30. Qxe5+ Kf7 31. Qf4+ Kg8 32. Bf2 Nd7 33. Qg5 Qxf3 34. Qxg6+ Kf8 35. Qf5+ Qxf5 36. exf5 Ne5 37. Bxd4 Nf3 38. Be3 b3 0-1 Morovic,D-Shirov,A/Barcelona ESP 2000/The Week in Chess 301 (38). 9... b5
9... Be7 10. g4 O-O 11. O-O-O Qc7 12. Kb1 Rfc8 13. g5 Nh5 14. Nd5 Bxd5 15. exd5 Nb6 16. Rg1 a5 17. a3 a4 18. Nc5 dxc5 19. d6 Bxd6 20. Qxd6 Nf4 21. Bxf4 exf4 22. Bb5 g6 23. Rge1 Ra5 24. Re8+ Rxe8 25. Qxc7 Rxb5 26. Qxb7 1-0 Shirov,A-Gelfand,B/New Delhi IND 2000/The Week in Chess 318 (26). 10. a4 b4 11. Nd5 Bxd5
11... Be7 was the only move here until the Shirov-Kasparov encounter from Frankfurt. 12. exd5 Nb6 13. Bxb6 Qxb6 14. a5! The idea is simple: White is going to stymie Black's play by rounding up on the vulnerable b-pawn. 14... Qb7 15. Bc4 g6
15... Be7 is also an option, but apart from having to defend b4, Black is cramped with no play. The idea of ..g6 is to jettison the pawn and hope to complicate matters with active piece play. 16. Ra4 Rb8 17. Nc1! n
A nice innovation: Judit is going to swing the knight round to d3 to first pick up the b-pawn...and then the a-pawn! Such is the seriousness of Black's position now, Shirov has to resort to drastic action. 17. Qd3 Ra8 18. Qd2 Rb8 19. Qd3 Ra8 1/2-1/2 Shirov,A-Kasparov,G/Frankfurt GER 2000/The Week in Chess 294 (19). 17... h5!
Let's admit it. Shirov was never the one to go quietly now, was he? 17... Bg7 18. Nd3
     ( White can also win the b-pawn without losing the d-pawn with 18. Na2!? b3 19. Bxb3 O-O 20. Nc3 )
18... Nxd5 19. Bxd5 Qxd5 20. Nxb4 Qxd2+ 21. Kxd2 Kd7 22. Rb1 Ra8 23. Nd5 and the ending would have been too awful to contemplate for Black. 18. Nd3 Bh6 Black's only hope is to take the game into the weird and wonderful world of Planet Shirov. 19. Qxb4 Qc7 20. Qa3 O-O 21. Nf2!
A brave move. Unbelievably, Judit is going to use her King as a defender on the queenside. And if it works, she's also going to have the King primed for the ending. The safer option would have been: 21. O-O!? Nd7 with the idea of ..f5 to try and generate something - anything. 21... Bc1 22. Nd3 Be3 23. Kd1! Rfc8 24. Re1 Look at how all the White pieces are working together. Judit's plan has been impressive. 24... Bh6 25. c3 Rb5 What else? Shirov was just getting pushed off the board. 26. Bxb5 axb5 27. Rb4 Nxd5 28. Rxb5! This simplifies everything - the advancing a-pawn cannot be stopped. 28... Qc4 29. Rxd5 Qxd5 30. Kc2 Ra8 31. a6 Qc6 32. Ra1 e4 One last throw of the dice. 33. Nb4 Qc4 34. Qa5 exf3 35. gxf3 Re8 36. Qd5!! Re2+ 37. Kd1 Rd2+ 38. Qxd2 Bxd2 39. Kxd2 Qf4+ 40. Kc2 Qf5+ 41. Nd3 Qxf3 42. Ra5
42. a7?? Qg2+! = 43. Kd1
     ( 43. Kb3 Qd5+ 44. Kb4 Qb7+ )
43... Qf3+ 44. Kd2 Qg2+ and White can't escape the perpetual - this has been a superbly played game by Judit. 42... Qa8 43. a7 d5 44. Nb4 d4 45. Nd5 dxc3 46. bxc3 Kg7 47. Kb3 Not only getting out of any troublesome checks after Nb6 or c7, but also giving White an added option of a stylish win by taking his king to b6 (via b4 and c5) and then playing Nc7. 1-0

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Bg2 c6 8. Bc3 d5 9. Ne5 Nfd7 10. Nxd7 Nxd7 11. Nd2 O-O 12. O-O Nf6 13. e4 b5 14. Re1 dxe4 15. Qc2 Rb8 16. Rad1 Qc7 17. Nxe4 bxc4 18. Nxf6+ Bxf6 19. bxc4 c5 20. d5 Bxc3 21. Qxc3 exd5 22. Bxd5 Bb7 23. Qe5 Rbc8 24. Qxc7 Rxc7 25. Bxb7 Rxb7 26. Rd5 Rc7 27. Rb1 Rc6 28. Rb5 Ra6 29. Rd2 Rc6 30. Rb7 Ra6 31. Rc7 Ra5 32. g4 g6 33. Kg2 a6 34. h4 Kg7 35. Kg3 h6 36. Kf4 Re8 37. Rdd7 Rf8 38. Rd2 Re8 39. g5 h5 40. f3 Kg8 41. Rdd7 Rf8 42. a4 Kg7 43. Rc6 Rxa4 44. Rxc5 Ra1 45. Ra7 Rh1 46. Kg3 Rg1+ 47. Kh2 Ra1 48. Re5 Ra4 49. Re4 a5 50. Kg3 Ra1 51. c5 Rc1 52. Rc7 Ra1 53. Rc4 a4 54. Ra7 a3 55. Rc2 Rc8 56. c6 a2 57. Kg2 Rb1 1/2-1/2

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 This must have came as a surprise to Karpov. Kasparov has never played the Advanced Variation, one of the most aggressive systems against the Caro. These days Karpov is so predictable; Kasparov has obviously prepared a minefield for him - the only question is: When is he going to step on it?
3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Ng5 Ngf6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Qe2 Nb6 8. Bb3 h6 9. N5f3 c5 10. Bf4 Bd6 11. Bg3 Qe7 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. Ne5 Bd7 14. Ngf3 Nh5 15. O-O-O Nxg3 16. hxg3 O-O-O 17. Rh5 Be8 18. Rxd8+ Kxd8 19. Qd2+ Bd6 20. Nd3 Qc7 21. g4 Kc8 22. g5 Bf8 23. Rh4 Kb8 24. a4 Be7 25. a5 Nd5 26. Kb1 Bd8 27. a6 Qa5 28. Qe2 Nb6 29. axb7 Bxg5 30. Nxg5 Qxg5 31. Rh5 Qf6 32. Ra5 Bc6 33. Nc5 Bxb7 34. Nxb7 Kxb7 35. Qa6+ Kc6 36. Ba4+ Kd6 37. Qd3+ Nd5 38. Qg3+ Qe5 39. Qa3+ Kc7 40. Qc5+ Kd8 41. Rxa7 1-0 Kasparov,G-Karpov,A/Linares 1992/CBM 28 (41) 3... Bf5 4. Nc3 e6 5. g4 Bg6 6. Nge2 Ne7
There was a funny incident at this stage in the press room. One of the hacks had tuned in for the ICC coverage of the game and after he had "fingered" the K-K match, he almost fell off his seat when he saw that Karpov's king was wandering around the board! Turns out that, instead of the live coverage, Tony Miles was looking at some analysis on the Advanced, which featured a famous encounter between Braga and Timman!: 6... c5 7. Be3 Nc6 8. dxc5 Nxe5 9. Nd4 Nf6 10. f4 Nexg4 11. Bb5+ Ke7 12. Bg1 Qc7 13. c6 b6 14. Qe2 Qxf4 15. c7 Ne4 16. Nc6+ Kd6 17. h3 Qg3+ 18. Kf1 Qf4+ 19. Ke1 Qg3+ 20. Kf1 Qxc3 21. Qxg4 Qxb2 22. a4 Qxa1+ 23. Kg2 f5 24. Qh4 Qf6 25. Bh2+ Kc5 26. Nb8 Qxh4 27. c8=Q+ Kb4 28. Rb1+ Ka3 29. Ra1+ Kb4 30. Rb1+ Ka3 31. Ra1+ Kb4 1/2-1/2 Braga,F-Timman,J/Mar del Plata 1982/MCL (31). 7. Nf4 c5 8. dxc5
8. h4 cxd4 9. Nb5 Nec6 10. h5 Be4 11. f3 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 Nxe5 13. Qg3 Nbc6 14. Nd3 Nxd3+ 15. Bxd3 e5 16. O-O Bc5 17. Rf5 O-O 18. h6 g6 19. Rxe5 a6 20. Na3 Qc7 21. Bf4 Nxe5 22. Bxe5 Qb6 23. Rf1 Rae8 24. g5 Re6 25. Qf4 f5 26. gxf6 Kf7 27. b4 Bd6 28. Nc4 dxc4 29. Bxc4 d3+ 30. Kh2 Rfe8 31. Bxd6 dxc2 32. Bc5 Qc6 33. Bd5 Qd7 1-0 Kotronias,V-Karpov,A/Athens 1997/EXT 98 (33). 8... Nd7
There was an interesting aside here. After the game, Alexei Shirov one (if not THE) world expert on this line, asked the hacks in the press room after the game if Karpov hadn't seen Kasparov's own analysis to his game with Bareev at KasparovChess.com, where Garry had mentioned the possibility of animpending disaster in this line for Black after 9 h4? Good question, Alexei! But I replied that after Karpov's disastrous computer handling during his Advanced Match in Leon with Anand in 1999, I wasn't so sure that Karpov might know what the Internet was! For the record, here's Shirov-Bareev game from New Delhi. 8... Nec6 9. h4 Qc7 10. Bg2 Qxe5+ 11. Kf1 d4 12. h5 Bxc2 13. Qxc2 dxc3 14. Nd3 Qd4 15. Be3 Qc4 16. Qxc3 Qxc3 17. bxc3 Na6 18. Rb1 O-O-O 19. Bxc6 bxc6 20. Ne5 Rg8 21. Nxf7 Rd7 22. Ne5 Rb7 23. Rxb7 Kxb7 24. Nd3 e5 25. Ke2 Be7 26. Kf3 Kc7 27. Ke4 Re8 28. Rh3 Kd7 29. Nxe5+ Kc7 30. Rf3 Bf6 31. Rf5 h6 32. f4 1-0 Shirov,A-Bareev,E/New Delhi IND 2000/The Week in Chess 318 (32). 9. h4 Nxe5 10. Bg2 h5 11. Qe2 N7c6 12. Nxg6 Nxg6 13. Bg5n
And here's the minefield. Kasparov and the team had found a big improvement from Karpov's game last year against Shirov: 13. Nxd5 Bxc5 14. Bg5 Nge7 15. Qb5 f6 16. Qxc5 Nxd5 17. O-O-O Qe7 18. Qb5 O-O-O 19. Bd2 hxg4 20. Qc4 Nb6 21. Qxg4 Rd4 22. Qg3 Rhd8 23. Bc3 Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 25. Kxd1 Na4 26. Bxc6 1/2-1/2 Shirov,A-Karpov,A/Monaco 2000/CBM 75 (26). 13... Be7 14. gxh5 Nf8?
It was only by now that Karpov was seeing the power of Kasparov's TN. He's in a difficult position, and his only real alternative (bad as it was) was to try: 14... Nge5 15. f4!
     ( 15. h6? Bxg5 16. hxg7 Rg8 17. hxg5 Qxg5µ )
     ( 15. Nb5 Nc4! ≥ )
     ( 15. Bxe7 Qxe7= )
15... Nd7 16. O-O-O Nxc5 17. Bxd5! Qb8 18. f5 Bxg5+ 19. hxg5 Qf4+ 20. Rd2 Qxf5 21. Qe3! O-O-O 22. Bxc6 Rxd2 23. Bxb7+ Kxb7 24. Kxd2± 15. Nb5! Nd7 16. h6! Strong - very strong. 16... Nxc5
16... g6 17. Nd6+ Kf8 18. Bxe7+ Qxe7 19. h5! Nxc5 20. hxg6 fxg6
     ( 20... Qxd6? 21. g7+ Ke7 22. gxh8=Q Rxh8 23. O-O-O+- )
21. Qf3+ Kg8 22. Qg3! Kh7 23. O-O-O± 17. Bf4!
The position wasn't without its dangers for Kasparov either. We found the following amusing line in the press room before Kasparov found the correct reply: 17. hxg7 Rg8 18. Bf4
     ( 18. Bh6 a6 19. Nc3 Nd4 20. Qd2 Nf5= )
18... Rc8 19. O-O-O Nb4 20. a3
     ( 20. Nxa7 Nb3+ 21. axb3 Rxc2+ 22. Qxc2 Nxc2 23. Kxc2 Qa5 24. Be3 Rxg7˜ )
20... Nb3+ 21. Kb1 Rxc2 22. Qh5 Bf6 23. Be5 Rc1+ 24. Rxc1 Nd2+ 25. Ka1 Nb3+ 26. Kb1 Nd2+ 27. Ka1 Nb3+= 17... Kf8?
Black's only hope was to try and survive with: 17... Na6 18. hxg7 Rg8 19. O-O-O! Rxg7 20. Rhg1! Rc8 21. Qh5± 18. hxg7+ Kxg7 19. O-O-O Kf8
Kasparov is now crashing through in all lines: 19... a6 20. Nc3 Bxh4 21. Qg4+ Kf8 22. Nxd5! exd5 23. Rxd5+- 20. Kb1 Not only looking to further open up the game with c4, but also avoiding any chances of the fantasy lines given to the note to move 17. 20... a6
20... Rc8 21. c4! d4 22. Bxc6 d3
     ( 22... bxc6 23. Nxa7+- )
23. Qe5 f6 24. Qe3 Rxc6 25. Qg3 e5
     ( 25... Rg8 26. Qf3+- )
26. Rhg1! Kf7 27. Qg6+ Ke6 28. Bxe5! Rxh4 29. Bxf6 Bxf6 30. Rge1++- 21. Nc7 Rc8 22. Bxd5! exd5 23. Rxd5 Qxc7
There was no other option. Trying to save the queen lost the king! 23... Nd7 24. Ne6+!! fxe6 25. Qxe6 Ncb8 26. Bd6 Rh7
     ( 26... Bxd6 27. Rf5+ Nf6 28. Rxf6++- )
27. Rg1+- 24. Bxc7 Rxc7 25. Rf5 Rd7 26. c3 f6 27. Rg1 Nd8 28. Qg4 Ke8 29. Rh5 Rf8 30. Rxc5 Bxc5 31. Qh5+ 1-0

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 8. Nb3 Be7 9. Qf3 Nbd7 10. O-O-O Qc7 11. Bd3 b5 12. a3 Rb8 13. Rhe1 h6 14. Qh3 e5 15. f5 b4 16. axb4 Rxb4 17. Bd2 Nb6 18. g4 Rg8 19. Kb1 Nc4 20. Bxc4 Rxc4 21. g5 hxg5 22. Bxg5 Bb7 23. Bxf6 Bxf6 24. Nd5 Bxd5 25. Rxd5 Ke7 26. Qd3 Rc8 27. Re2 Qb6 1/2-1/2