Kasparov, G. Leko, P. Karpov, A. Shirov, A. Polgar, J. Grischuk, A. Points
Kasparov, G.*1 - 0.51 - 0.51 - 0.50.5 - 0.51 - 17.5
Leko, P.0.5 - 0*0.5 - 0.50.5 - 0.50.5 - 0.50.5 - 0.54.5
Karpov, A.0.5 - 00.5 - 0.5*0.5 - 0.51 - 0.50.5 - 04.5
Shirov, A.0.5 - 00.5 - 0.50.5 - 0.5*1 - 01 - 04.5
Polgar, J.0.5 - 0.50.5 - 0.50.5 - 01 - 0*0.5 - 0.54.5
Grischuk, A.0 - 00.5 - 0.51 - 0.51 - 00.5 - 0.5*4.5

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Grischuk, A. (2663)
Polgar, J. (2676)
B47
2001.02.23
Round 1 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

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

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Shirov, A. (2718)
Karpov, A. (2679)
B17
2001.02.23
Round 1 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

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

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Leko, P. (2745)
Kasparov, G. (2849)
B97
2001.02.23
Round 1 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

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

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Kasparov, G. (2849)
Polgar, J. (2676)
B90
2001.02.24
Round 2 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

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

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Leko, P. (2745)
Shirov, A. (2718)
C11
2001.02.24
Round 2 of SuperGM - Linares ESP

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

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Karpov, A. (2679)
Grischuk, A. (2663)
D30
2001.02.24
Round 2 of SuperGM - Linares ESP

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

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Shirov, A. (2718)
Kasparov, G. (2849)
B84
2001.02.25
Round 3 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

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

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Grischuk, A. (2663)
Leko, P. (2745)
B12
2001.02.25
Round 3 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

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

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Polgar, J. (2676)
Karpov, A. (2679)
B17
2001.02.25
Round 3 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

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

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Grischuk, A. (2663)
Kasparov, G. (2849)
B90
2001.02.27
Round 4 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

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

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Polgar, J.
Shirov, A.
B90
2001.02.27
Round 4 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

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

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Karpov, A. (2679)
Leko, P. (2745)
E15
2001.02.27
Round 4 of SuperGM - Linares ESP

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

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Kasparov, G.
Karpov, A.
B12
2001.02.28
Round 5 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

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

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Leko, P. (2745)
Polgar, J. (2676)
B97
2001.02.28
Round 5 of SuperGM - Linares ESP

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

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Shirov, A. (2718)
Grischuk, A. (2663)
B45
2001.02.28
Round 5 of SuperGM - Linares ESP

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Ndb5 Bb4 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Nxc3 d5 9. Bd3 d4 10. Ne2 e5 11. O-O O-O 12. h3 Re8 13. Ng3 Be6 14. f4 exf4 15. Bxf4 Nd7 16. Qh5 g6 17. Qh6 Qf6 18. Bg5 Qg7 19. Qh4 Nce5 20. Bh6 Qh8 21. Nf5 Bxf5 22. exf5 Nxd3 23. cxd3 Qe5 24. Rf4 Nc5 25. Raf1 Nxd3 26. fxg6 fxg6 27. Rf7 Nc5 28. Rg7+ Kh8 29. Rff7 Ne6 30. Rxg6 d3 31. Rg4 Rg8 32. Rxh7+ 1-0

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Kasparov, G. (2849)
Leko, P. (2745)
C88
2001.03.02
Round 6 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 The Anti-Marshall. Although Leko has never played the Marshall (8 c3 d5), he has had plenty of experience of the White side of Frank's gambit, so would be well aware of all the nuances in it, so Kasparov avoids it. It's not that he is frightened of the Marshall. It's just that, if Black doesn't go in for anything speculative, he has a safe draw. Playing the Anti-Marshall against Nigel Short in their 1993 PCA title match was the advice given to Kasparov by the former Soviet giant and opening expert, Efim Geller. 8... Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. Nbd2 Na5 11. Ba2 c5 12. Nf1 Re8 13. Ne3n
Different. The standard Lopez knight manoeuvre is to head for f5 via g3. Garry new idea keeps this as an option, but also allows him to cover d5 and c4. 13. Ng3 h6 14. Nf5 Bf8 15. Bd2 b4 16. N3h4 d5 17. Qf3 Re6 18. Qg3 Kh7 19. Nf3 Nh5 20. Qg4 g6 21. Ne3 Nf6 22. Qh4 Re8 23. exd5 Nxd5 24. Nxd5 Bxd5 25. Bxd5 Qxd5 26. Ng5+ Kh8 27. Ne4 Qd8 28. Bg5 Qb6 29. Bxh6 Bxh6 30. Qxh6+ Kg8 31. Re3 1-0 Balashov,Y-Frolov,D/Moscow 1996/CBM 55 ext (31). 13... h6 14. Bd2 c4?!
The wrong choice, according to Leko. Instead, he felt that 14... b4! was a better option. 15. Bc3 Qb6 16. Nd2 Nc6 17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. exd5 Na5 19. Bxa5! Qxa5 20. dxc4!
20. axb5? cxd3 21. Bc4 dxc2
     ( 21... Qxa1? 22. Qxa1 axb5 23. Qd1 dxc2 24. Qxc2 bxc4 25. Nxc4± )
22. Qxc2 Qc7! 23. bxa6 Bxa6 24. Qe4 Bg5=
20... Qxa4 21. c5
Also good was 21. Bb3!? Qb4 22. c3 Qc5 23. Ne4 Qc7 24. c5! 21... Qb4
The defining moment. During the post mortem, Garry's legendary instinct detector was on full alert. Looking at the position, he commented to Leko that Black's position "smelt bad" - and worse for this move. Instead, both felt Black should have taken another route here, though it still favours White thanks to strength of the c & d-pawn: 21... Qd4 22. c6
     ( 22. Ne4? Qxd1 23. Raxd1 dxc5 24. d6 Bxe4! µ )
22... Bc8 23. c3 Qb6 24. Bb1! and White still controls the game.
Also no better was 21... Qh4 22. c6 Bc8 23. c4! 22. Ne4!
Kasparov, as ever, chooses the best line, though he could also have opted for the immediate push of the c-pawn: 22. c6!? Bc8 23. Bb3 Bg4! 24. c3
     ( 24. Nf3 Qf4! )
24... Qf4 25. f3 Bc8
     ( 25... Bf5 26. Bc2! )
26. g3 Qg5 27. c4! Rb8 28. Ne4 Qg6 29. c5
22... Qxb2 23. cxd6
Winnin the queen was also an option: 23. c3 f5 24. cxd6 Bf8
     ( 24... fxe4 25. dxe7 Qxc3 26. d6++- )
25. Re2 Qa3 26. Bb3+-
23... Bf8
23... Bh4 24. g3 Bg5 25. c3+- 24. c3 f5 25. d7 Red8 26. d6+ Kh8 27. Nc5 Bc6 28. Nd3 Qxc3 29. Nxe5 Be4 30. Nf7+ Kh7 31. Ng5+
31. Ng5+ Kh8 32. Nxe4 fxe4 33. Qd5! +- 1-0

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Polgar, J. (2676)
Grischuk, A. (2663)
C96
2001.03.02
Round 6 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

"Remember the name of Alexander Grischuk for the future - he's got great potential," was the prophetic words to me last year at Linares from the legendary Russian chess editor of "64 - Review", Alexander Roshal. Much like Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik, the 17-year-old Muscovite is another Russian who's become the leading player of his generation - and one with genuine designs on the laurel leafs of the world championship. The last year has proved to be the big breakthrough for Grischuk as he moved onto the world stage. After strong showings in the New York Open, Reykjavik Open and North Sea Cup, he went on to big wins at the Lausanne Yong Masters, Chigorin Memorial and the Torshavn International. Not content with that, he more than played his part in Russia winning the recent Chess Olympiad in Istanbul. However, the highlight of that glittering year was unquestionably his performance in the Fide KO world championship in New Delhi. Unlucky to be knocked out in the semi-final by Alexei Shirov in a superb match, Grischuk walked away with some serious pocket money - $172,000! Grischuk showed he had a much better feeling for handling the nuances of the Black side of the Lopez than Leko, as he came close to defeating Judit Polgar. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Bb7 The Romanishin Variation. Named after one the most original thinkers in the game, the Ukrainian GM Oleg Romanishin, who is one of the world's leading experts on this line. It's also one of Grischuk's favourite pet-lines. 12. Nbd2
Traditional theory in the Lopez is that White should play d5 as soon as Black commits the bishop to b7. However modern players tend to opt for a more open centre, reasoning that at some point Black must make a minor concession by exchanging in the centre. The locking of the center with 12 d5 saw an amazing game between Shirov and Grischuk from the FIDE KO World Ch: 12. d5 Nc4 13. a4 Nb6 14. Qe2 Nxa4 15. Bxa4 bxa4 16. c4 Nd7 17. Rxa4 Nb6 18. Ra3 a5 19. Nc3 a4 20. Be3 Bc8 21. b3 axb3 22. Rxb3 Ra6 23. Reb1 f5 24. Bxc5! dxc5 25. Nxe5 Na4 26. Nxa4 Rxa4 27. Nc6 Qc7 28. e5 Ra6 29. Qf3 f4 30. Re1 Bf5 31. Rb5 Bc2 32. Rb2 Bg6 33. Rd2 Be8 34. Nxe7+ Qxe7 35. d6 Qe6 36. Qb7 Bc6 37. Qxa6 Bxg2!! 38. f3
     ( 38. Kxg2 f3+ 39. Kh2 Qf5 40. Qb7 Qf4+ 41. Kh1 Qf5= )
38... Bxf3 39. Kh2 Bg4 40. Qb7 Qh6 41. Qd5+ Rf7 42. Kg1 Qxh3 43. Qg2 Qh4 44. Rf2 f3?
     ( 44... Bh3! = )
45. e6 Rf8 46. e7 Re8 47. d7 Bxd7 48. Qxf3 Qg5+ 49. Kf1 1-0 Shirov,A-Grischuk,A/New Delhi IND 2000 (49).
12... cxd4 13. cxd4 exd4 14. Nxd4 Re8 15. b4 Nc6 16. Nxc6 Bxc6 17. Bb2 Nd7
17... Bf8?! 18. Qf3! Rc8 19. Bb3 Qe7 20. Rad1 Bb7 21. Qf5 d5 22. e5 Nd7 23. Ne4 g6 24. Qxd7 dxe4 25. e6 fxe6 26. Qd4 Kf7 27. Qh8 Qh4 28. g3 Qh5 29. Qf6+ Kg8 30. Rd7 1-0 Xie Jun-Chiburdanidze,M/Manila 1991/CBM 26 (30). 18. Bb3 Bf6 19. Bxf6 Nxf6 20. Rc1 Rc8 21. Qf3 Bb7! 22. Rxc8
Keeping the rooks on makes no difference: Black's going to get in the freeing ..d5 and all his problems have been solved. 22. Rcd1 Qe7 23. Qf4 Qe5 24. Qxe5 Rxe5 25. f3 d5! = 22... Qxc8 23. Qf4 Qc7 24. f3 Qb6+ 25. Qe3
Keeping the queens on was no option: 25. Kh1? Qd4! and Black has the upper hand due to the better pieces and dominating queen. 25... Qxe3+ 26. Rxe3 d5! 27. e5?!
On reflection, perhaps Judit could have had an easier life with 27. Bc2!? dxe4
     ( 27... Rc8 28. Bb3! )
28. Nxe4 Nd5 29. Rb3 Rc8 30. Bd3 Rc1+ 31. Kf2 Black's a bit better, but White has an easier time of it here than in the game.
27... Nh5! 28. Bc2 Rc8?
The young Muscovite was too hasty. He had a great chance to round up on the vulnerable e-pawn which would have given him a golden opportunity for the full point. 28... f6! 29. e6 Nf4 30. e7 Kf7 31. Nb3
     ( 31. Bxh7? g6! 32. Nb3 Kg7 33. Nc5 Bc8-+ )
31... g6 32. Nc5 Bc8 33. Bb3 Rxe7
29. Bf5 Rc1+ 30. Kf2 g6 31. Nb3 Rc4 32. Bd3
32. Bd7? Nf4!
     ( 32... Rxb4? 33. Nc5! Bc6 34. Bxc6 Rc4 35. Bxd5 Rxc5 36. Bb7= )
33. Nc5 Rc2+ 34. Kf1 d4 35. Ra3 Bd5! 36. g3 Bc4+ 37. Ke1 Nd5-+
32... Rxb4 33. g3 Ng7 34. Re2 Bc8 35. Rc2!
Realistically the best chance. White can't wait around for Black to reposition his pieces to make the ending simpler: 35. h4 Bf5! 36. Bxf5 Nxf5 37. Nc5 a5 38. Nb7 a4 39. Nd6 a3! µ 35... Bxh3 36. Rc6 Ra4 37. g4 h5?!
Grischuk misses his big chance here. Instead 37... Rxa2+ 38. Kg3
     ( 38. Be2 Ne6 39. Nc1 Ra3 40. Kg3 Ng5 41. Nd3 h5 42. gxh5 Bf5! 43. Nf4 Ne4+ 44. Kg2 Nc3 45. hxg6 fxg6 46. Kf2
          ( 46. e6 Nxe2 47. Nxe2 Ra2-+ )
     46... d4-+ White can't stop all of the three passed pawns. )
38... Ne6! 39. Rxe6
     ( 39. Nc5 Rg2+! 40. Kxh3 Nf4+ 41. Kh4 h6! 42. Bxg6 Nxg6+ 43. Kh3 Rc2! 44. Rc8+ Kh7 45. Rc7 Nxe5-+ )
39... fxe6 40. Kxh3 Ra3 41. Bc2 b4 wins for Black.
38. Nc5 Rxa2+ 39. Kg3 hxg4 40. fxg4 Ne6
There's now a ray of hope for Polgar. Black's now finding it difficult to make progress due to the active White pieces: 40... Ra3 41. Kxh3
     ( 41. Kh4 Rc3! -+ )
41... Ne6 42. Nxe6 Rxd3+ 43. Kh4 fxe6 44. Rxa6 Kf7 45. Ra7+ Ke8 46. Kg5! and the king stuck on the backrank guarantees White a draw.
41. Nxe6 fxe6 42. Bxg6 Kg7
Grischuk was now realising the problems he had in trying to win from here. The most obvious try also looks as if it draws: 42... Bg2 43. Rxe6 a5 44. Kf4 Rf2+ 45. Kg5 Be4 46. Bf5! = 43. Bh5 Bf1 44. Rxe6 b4 45. Rg6+ Kh8 46. Rb6 Bb5 47. g5 Ra1 48. g6 Rg1+ 49. Kf4 b3 50. Rb8+ Kg7 51. Rb7+ Kh8 52. Rb8+ Kg7 53. Rb7+ Kh8 54. Rb8+ 1/2-1/2

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Karpov, A. (2679)
Shirov, A. (2718)
D27
2001.03.01
Round 6 of SuperGM - Linares ESP

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nbd2 Nc6 10. Be2 Ke7 11. a3 a5 12. b3 b6 13. Bb2 Rd8 14. Rfc1 Bb7 15. Bxf6+ gxf6 16. Ne4 Bd6 17. Nxd6 Rxd6 18. Rc3 f5 19. Rac1 Kf6 20. Ne1 Ne7 21. Kf1 Rad8 22. Rc7 Bd5 23. b4 axb4 24. axb4 e5 25. b5 Be6 26. Nf3 Nd5 27. R7c6 Rxc6 28. bxc6 Rc8 29. Ke1 Nb4 30. Bb5 Rc7 31. Nd2 Bd5 32. f3 Ke6 33. Kd1 Kd6 34. Nc4+ Kc5 35. Na3+ Kd6 36. Nc4+ Bxc4 37. Rxc4 Nd5 38. Kd2 Ra7 39. Rc2 Ra3 40. c7 Nxc7 41. Rc6+ Kd7 42. Rxb6+ Nxb5 43. Rxb5 Ra2+ 44. Ke1 1/2-1/2

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Polgar, J.
Kasparov, G.
B90
2001.03.03
Round 7 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Again the English Attack. 6... e6 7. f3 b5 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. O-O-O Bb7 10. g4 Nb6 11. Qf2 Nfd7 12. Bd3 Rc8 13. Nce2 Be7 14. h4 O-O 15. Kb1 Na4n
A novelty from Kasparov. The standard continuation here is 15 ..d5: 15... d5 16. g5 dxe4 17. fxe4 Nc4 18. Bc1 Qb6 19. Qg2 Nde5 20. h5 Rfd8 21. Bxc4 Rxc4 22. Be3 Bc5 23. Qg3 Nd7 24. g6 hxg6 25. hxg6 fxg6 26. Qxg6 Nf8 27. Qh5 Bxe4 28. Rdf1 Nh7 29. Qf7+ Kh8 30. Nxe6 Rg8 31. Bxc5 Rxc5 32. N2f4 1-0 Adams,M-Georgiev,K/Elenite 1993/CBM 38 (32). 16. g5 Ndc5 17. Ng3 Qc7 18. Nb3 d5 19. e5!
Attack was the only form of defense - especially against Kasparov! Sitting back and trying to defend this position wasn't really on for Judit, so she opts for counter-attack by opening up some lines towards Kasparov's own king. Her other form of counter-attack wasn't so hopeful: 19. exd5 Nxd3 20. Rxd3 Bxd5 21. Nf5 Bb4! 22. Rxd5 exd5 23. Bd4 Nc5 24. Nxg7
     ( 24. Bxg7 Nxb3 25. axb3 Rfe8 26. Bd4 Bc5 )
24... Nxb3 25. axb3 Bc5! with no direct route through to Kasparov's king.
19... Qxe5 20. Bd4 Qc7 21. f4 Ne4 Attempting to blockade some of those open lines. 22. Bxe4 dxe4 23. Rhe1 Bd6 24. Nh5 e5 25. c3
25. Bxe5? Bxe5 26. fxe5 Qxe5 27. Nd4 Rc4! -+ 25... f6 26. gxf6 exd4 27. Nxd4 g6?
27... Ba3!! 28. fxg7
     ( 28. Ne6 Qf7! 29. Qg3 Nxb2 30. Rd4 g6 31. f5 Na4 32. Re3 Bc5 33. fxg6 hxg6 34. Nxc5 Nxc5 35. Nf4 Kh7 36. h5 Qxf6 37. hxg6+ Kg8 38. Qh3 Rc7-+ )
     ( 28. bxa3 Nxc3+ 29. Ka1 Nxd1 30. Rxd1 g6 31. Ne6 Qc3+ 32. Qb2 )
28... Rf7 29. Rd2 Bxb2 30. Rxb2 Nxb2 31. Qxb2 Qxc3 32. Qxc3 Rxc3-+
28. f5 gxh5 29. Ne6
The most obvious must have been tempting - but good for Kasparov!: 29. Qg2+ Kf7
     ( 29... Kh8 30. Ne6 Rg8 31. Qd2 e3 32. Rxe3 Qc4 33. Qxd6 Rg2-+ )
30. Qg7+ Ke8 31. Ne6 Nxc3+ 32. bxc3 Qxc3 33. Re2 Bd5!
29... Nxc3+ 30. bxc3 Qxc3 31. Rxd6 Qb4+ 32. Ka1 Qc3+ 33. Kb1 Qb4+ 34. Ka1 Qc3+ 35. Kb1 1/2-1/2

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Shirov, A.
Leko, P.
C88
2001.03.03
Round 7 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

"My grandfather plays more interesting chess than Peter...and he's been dead for years!" So wrote a humble Olive Farmer from Greece (aka Nigel Short) on the ICC recently. Well, this was at least a spirited effort from young Mr Leko in an attempt to dispel the "boring" tag - but he does seem to prefer the draw to the win when given the option! 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3!? A Shirov, Anti-Marshall speciality. 8... Bb7 9. d3 h6 10. Nc3 Bc5n Up to now, 10 ..Re8 or ..d6 has been the only moves here. However, Leko's move fits in with his Archangel-Moeller set-up with ..Bb7. 11. a4 b4 12. Ne2 Na5 13. Ba2 d5 14. Nxe5 dxe4 15. d4 Ba7 16. Be3 Bd5! Common sense, really. Leko has to do something about the knight on a5, and his move (challenging the Shirov's strong, white-squared bishop) makes way for the knight to come back into the game via b7 or c6. 17. c4 bxc3 18. b4 Nc6 19. Nxc6 Bxc6 20. Nxc3 Nd5 21. Bxd5 Bxd5 22. Bxh6 It's Planet Shirov time! 22... gxh6 23. Qg4+ Kh8 24. Qh5 f5
The draw is inevitable: 24... Be6 25. Qxh6+ Kg8 26. Rad1 Bxd4 27. Rxd4 Qxd4 28. Nxe4 f6 29. Qg6+= 25. Qxh6+ Kg8 26. Qg6+ Kh8 27. Qh6+ Kg8 28. Re3 Shirov still has some trick's left before the draw. 28... f4 29. Qg6+ Kh8 30. Qh6+ Kg8 31. Qg6+ Kh8 32. Nxd5 Nothing boring about this draw! 32... fxe3 33. Qh6+ Kg8 34. Qg6+ Kh8 And we all sat back getting ready for the final repetition...or so we thought. 35. Rc1?? They have a saying in Spain: "Tirar la casa la por ventana." (Throwing the house out of the window). Fortunately for Shirov, Leko throws the house back through the window! 35... Qh4??
Incredulous! Leko turns down a rock-solid win in preference for a draw. It's clear though what was going through his head: For the last dozen moves or so he's been ready for the draw. 35... exf2+! spotted by everyone - including probably Nigel Short's grandfather! 36. Kf1 Qh4! Eh, where's the repetition, Alexei? 37. Rxc7 Bxd4 38. Nf6 Bxf6 39. Rc5 e3 40. Rh5+ Qxh5 41. Qxh5+ Kg7 42. Qg4+ Kh6! 43. Qf4+ Bg5 44. Qd6+ Rf6-+ 36. fxe3 Rg8 37. Nf4! Bxd4
37... Raf8 38. Qxe4 Qg3 39. Qe5+ Rg7
     ( 39... Qg7?? 40. Ng6+ Kh7 41. Qh5+ Qh6 42. Nxf8+ Rxf8 43. Rxc7+ Kg8 44. Qxh6+- )
40. Rc6 Rxf4 41. Rh6+ Kg8 42. Qe6+ Rff7 43. Qc8+ Rf8 44. Qe6+=
38. Qxe4 Bf6 39. Qxa8 Rxa8 40. Ng6+ Kg8 41. Nxh4 Bxh4 42. Rxc7 Be1 43. b5 1/2-1/2

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Grischuk, A.
Karpov, A.
B12
2001.03.04
Round 7 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nc3 Qb6 After the carnage inflicted by Kasparov in round 5, Karpov wisely sidesteps any possibility of repetition by avoiding the main-line. 5. Nf3 e6 6. Be2 Ne7 7. O-O Bg4n More often seen is 7 ..Nd7, but there is no real difference here as the line tends to go 7 .. Nd7 8 b3 Bg4. 8. Na4 Qc7 9. b3 b5 This may be a bit too committal - Grischuk can take advantage of Karpov's lack of development to open the game now. Maybe the cautious 9 ..Nd7 was to be preffered. 10. Nb2 Nd7 11. c4! bxc4 12. bxc4 dxc4 13. Ng5 Bxe2 14. Qxe2 Nb6 15. Nxc4 Nf5 16. Rd1 Be7 17. Nf3
There was an option that took advantage of the bad, black pawns: 17. Rb1!? O-O 18. Qc2! Nxc4
     ( 18... Rfd8 19. g4 Bxg5 20. gxf5 Be7 21. fxe6 fxe6 )
19. Qxc4 White's got nice and easy play here.
17... Nxc4 18. Qxc4 Qd7 19. g4 Nh4 20. Nxh4 Bxh4 21. g5! h6
21... Qd5?! 22. Qxd5 cxd5 23. Rb1 h6
     ( 23... O-O 24. Rb3! )
24. gxh6 gxh6 25. Rb7
22. d5! hxg5 23. Qxc6 Rc8 24. Qxd7+ Kxd7 25. d6 f6 The locked in bishop on h4 causes Karpov trouble. 26. Be3 a5 27. Rab1 Rb8 28. Bb6
Grischuk misses a good opportunity: 28. Rbc1!? Rbc8
     ( 28... Rhc8 29. Ba7 Rxc1 30. Rxc1 Rb7 31. Bd4 g4 32. Rc5 fxe5 33. Bxe5 Bf6 34. Rxa5 Bxe5 35. Rxe5 )
29. Bd4 g4 30. Kg2 and White's much better in the ending.
28... fxe5 29. Rdc1 e4 30. Rc7+ Kxd6 31. Rxg7 Rhc8
31... Rhg8 32. Rh7! Rbc8
     ( 32... Rh8 33. Bc7+ Kc6 34. Rc1+ Kb7 35. Rd7! ± )
33. Bc7+ Kd5
     ( 33... Kc6 34. Bxa5 Rgf8 35. Bb6 )
34. Rd1+ Kc5 35. a4
32. Rd1+ Ke5 33. Be3?
Much better was 33. Bc7+! Kf6 34. Rdd7 Rb1+ 35. Kg2 with chances - though probably drawn with careful play. 33... Kf6
Karpov's habitual time trouble is his own downfall. I suppose if he had more than the 50 or so seconds he had on the clock, he may well have discovered he had much better!: 33... Rc2! 34. Rf7 Rb5! 35. Bd4+ Kd6 36. Ba7+ Kc6 37. Re7 Rbb2 38. Rxe6+ Kc7 39. Re7+ Kc8 40. Re8+ Kb7 41. Rd7+ Kc6! µ 34. Rdd7 Rd8 35. Bxg5+ Bxg5 36. Rdf7+ Ke5 37. Rxg5+ Kd4 38. Ra7! Rb1+?
Missing the main chance to save the game: 38... e3! 39. fxe3+ Kxe3 40. Re5+
     ( 40. Raxa5 Rd1+ 41. Kg2 Kf4! = )
40... Kd4 41. Raxa5 Rb1+ 42. Kf2 Rb2+ 43. Kg3 Rg8+ 44. Kf3 Rf8+=
39. Kg2 Rb2 40. Raxa5 Rf8?
Desperation to make the final move at the time control: Karpov had to play 40... Rd5 41. Rgxd5+ exd5 42. Kg3= 41. Ra4+! Kd3 42. Rg3+ Kd2 43. Rxe4 The rest is academic now: White easily wins. 43... Rxa2 44. Rxe6 Ra4 45. Rd6+ Kc2 46. Rdd3 Raf4 47. Rgf3 Rxf3 48. Rxf3 Rh8 49. Rf4 Kd3 50. h4 1-0

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Kasparov, G.
Shirov, A.
A00
2001.03.04
Round 8 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : ChessBase Team

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 d4 11. Ng5 Qxg5 12. Qf3 O-O-O 13. Bxe6+ fxe6 14. Qxc6 Qxe5 15. b4 Qd5 16. Qxd5 exd5 17. bxc5 dxc3 18. Nb3 d4 19. Ba3 g6 20. Bb4 Bg7 21. a4 Kd7
This exact position occurred in Shirov-Timman, Hoogovens 1996. Shirov was White and won. This is how the game continued: 21... Kd7 22. axb5 axb5 23. Rad1 Ke6 24. Rfe1+
     ( but we must also consider the following game: 24. Rd3 Kd5 25. Na5 Ra8 26. Bxc3 Ke4 27. Rfd1 dxc3 28. Re3+ Kf5 29. g4+ Kxg4 30. Nb3 Rhe8 31. Rg3+ Kh4 32. Rd7 Rg8 33. Rd5 Bf6 34. Nd4 g5 35. Rd7 Kh5 36. Rxc3 Ra1+ 37. Kg2 Rd1 38. Rxh7+ Kg6 39. Rxc7 Rxd4 40. Rb3 Rg4+ 41. Kf1 b4 42. Rc6 Kf5 43. Rd3 Re8 44. Rd5+ Re5 45. Rd7 Rc4 46. Rb7 Re6 47. Rc8 Bd4 48. c6 Bc3 49. c7 Rec6 50. h3 Ke4 51. Ke2 Be5 52. Rcb8 Rc2+ 53. Kf1 Kf3 54. Ke1 Rc1+ 55. Kd2 Bf4+ 0-1 Sargissian,G-Danilovic,A/Moscow 1997. )
24... Kd5 25. Bxc3 Kc4 26. Ba5 Kxb3 27. Rb1+ Kc4 28. Rec1+ Kd5 29. c6 Kd6 30. Rxb5 Rb8 31. Bb4+ Ke6 32. Re1+ Kf6 33. Be7+ Kf7 34. Rd5 Rhc8 35. Rd7 Kg8 36. g3 Rb6 37. Rc1 Rb3 38. Bc5 d3 39. Rd1 Rcb8 40. Kg2 Bf8 41. Bxf8 Rxf8 42. R1xd3 Rxd3 43. Rxd3 Rf7 44. f4 Re7 45. g4 Re6 46. Rd8+ Kf7 47. Rd7+ Re7 48. Rxe7+ Kxe7 49. g5 1-0
22. axb5 axb5 23. Rfd1
Now we have only one predecessor game: 23. Rfd1 Ke6 24. Rac1 Rd5 25. Ba5 Ra8 26. Rd3 Rxa5 27. Nxa5 Rxc5 28. Kf1 b4 29. Nb3 Rd5 30. Ra1 c5 31. Ra6+ Rd6 32. Nxc5+ Kd5 33. Rxd6+ Kxc5 34. Rd8 b3 35. Rc8+ Kb4 36. Ke2 Ka3 37. Rd1 c2 38. Rd3 Bh6 39. Rxc2 1-0 Van den Doel,E-Timmermans,I/Deizisau 1999 23... Ke6 24. Rac1 Deep Fritz thinks that Timmerman's move 24...Rd5 is not good. 24...c6 looks a bit like a draw (= 0.37). After a few minutes Fritz switches to 24...Rhe8 with a +0.56 score. Maybe Kasparov is winning?! Well, Shirov is in a big think. He's probably looking for a way to escape. Our bets are now on Kasparov. 24... Rhe8 25. Kf1 Kf5 26. c6 g5 27. Ba5 Rd6 28. Bb4 Rdd8 29. Rd3 g4 30. Bc5 Ke4 31. Rcd1 h5 and Deep Fritz thinks Kasparov is completely winning. 32. Nxd4 b4 33. Re3+ Kd5 34. Bxb4 Kc4 35. Bxc3 Rxe3 36. fxe3 Rf8+ 37. Ke2 Kxc3 38. Ne6 Shirov resigned. 1-0

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Karpov, A.
Polgar, J.
E12
2001.03.04
Round 8 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Mathias Feist + Deep Fritz

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. Bg5 Be7 7. Qa4+ Qd7 8. Qxd7+ Nbxd7 9. Nb5 O-O 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Bxe7 Nxe7 12. Nxc7 Rac8 13. Nb5 Rc2 14. Rb1 Be4 15. Ng5 Nf6
15... Rxe2+ 16. Bxe2 Bxb1 17. Nxa7 16. Nxa7 Bg6 17. f3 Rd8
17... Nf5! 18. e4
     ( 18. Nb5 Rd8
          ( 18... Ne3 19. Kf2 Nfd5 20. Ne4 )
     19. e4 Nxd4 20. Rd1 e5 21. Nxd4 Rxd4 )
     ( 18. Nh3 Nxd4
          ( 18... Ne3 19. Nf4 )
     19. e4 Rd8 20. Nb5 Nxb5 21. Bxb5 Rdd2 )
18... Nxd4 19. Rd1 e5 20. Rd2 Rc5 21. b4 Rc1+ 22. Rd1 Rxd1+ 23. Kxd1 Ra8 24. Nb5 Nxb5 25. Bxb5 Rxa3
18. e4 Rxd4 19. Nb5 Rdd2 20. b4 h6 21. Rd1 Rxd1+ 22. Kxd1 Ra2 23. Nh3 Nd7 24. Kc1 Ne5 25. Kb1 Rd2 26. Kc1 Ra2 27. Kb1 Rd2 28. Nc3 f5 29. Kc1 Rd8 30. Nf4 Bf7 31. Bb5 Rc8 32. Kb2 fxe4 33. fxe4 Be8 34. Bxe8 Rxe8 35. Kb3 g5 36. Nfe2 N7c6 37. h4 g4 38. Rf1 Kg7 39. g3 Rc8 40. Rd1 Kf6 41. Na4 Rb8 42. Rd6 Ke7 43. Rd1 Kf6 44. Rd2 Ke7 45. b5 Na5+ 46. Kb4 Nac4 47. Rc2 Ne3
47... Nd6 48. Rc7+ Kd6 49. Rh7 Nd3+
49... Ra8 50. Rxh6 Nc2+ 51. Kc3
     ( 51. Kb3 Na1+= )
51... Rxa4 52. Kxc2 Rxe4±
50. Kc3 Nf2 51. Rxh6
51. Nd4! Nxe4+ 52. Kd3 Nc5+
     ( 52... Nd5 53. Rxh6 Ndf6+- )
53. Kxe3
     ( 53. Nxc5 bxc5 54. Nxe6 Nf5 55. Ng7 Nxg7 56. Rxg7 Rxb5 57. Rxg4± )
53... Nxa4 54. Rxh6 Nc5±
51... Ke5
51... Nxe4+ 52. Kd3 Nf5 53. Rg6 Ke5 52. Rg6
52. Nb2 Rd8 53. Nc4+ Nxc4 54. Kxc4 Nxe4 52. Rh5+ Kxe4 53. Rh6 Ke5 52. Kb4 Nxe4 53. Rh5+ Nf5 52. Kb3 Nxe4 53. Rh5+ Nf5= 52... Nxe4+ 53. Kb3
53. Kd3 Nf5 54. Nac3
     ( 54. Rxg4?? Nf2+-+ )
54... Rd8+ 55. Kc2 Ne3+ 56. Kc1 Rc8 57. Kb2 Nc4+
53... Nd2+ 54. Ka2 Ndc4
54... Rc8 55. Nac3
     ( 55. Nxb6?? Rc2+ 56. Ka1 Nb3+ 57. Kb1 Rxe2-+ )
55. Nac3 Ra8
55... Rd8 56. a4 Nd2
56... Rf8 57. Nf4 Re8± 56... Rd8 57. Rg5+ Kf6 58. Ne4+ Kf7 59. Kb3 Na5+ 60. Kb2± 57. Kb2 Rd8 58. Rg5+ Kf6 59. Ka2 Nf3 60. Ne4+ Kf7 61. Rh5 Nd5 62. Rh6 Ra8 63. Kb3 Rg8 64. h5 Ng5 65. N2c3 Nxc3 66. Nxc3 Rd8 67. Rg6 Nf3 68. Rxg4 Nd4+ 69. Kb2 e5 70. Rg5 Kf6 71. Ne4+ Ke6 72. Rg6+ Kd5 73. Rd6+ Rxd6 74. Nxd6 Ne6 75. h6 Ng5 76. Nc8 e4 77. Kc2 Kd4 78. Nd6 e3 79. a5 Kc5 80. a6 Kd5 and Black resigned. 1-0

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Leko, P. (2745)
Grischuk, A. (2663)
B33
2001.03.04
Round 8 of SuperGM - Linares ESP

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Ndb5 Bb4 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Nxc3 d5 9. exd5 exd5 10. Bd3 O-O 11. O-O d4 12. Ne2 Bg4 13. Bg5 Qd6 14. Qd2 Bxe2 15. Bf4 Qd5 16. Bxe2 Rfe8 17. Rfe1 Rad8 18. Bd3 Ne5 19. Bxe5 Rxe5 20. Rxe5 Qxe5 21. Re1 Qc7 22. h3 g6 23. Qb4 Kg7 24. Re7 Rd7 25. Rxd7 Qxd7 26. c3 dxc3 27. Qxc3 Qd6 28. Be2 b6 29. h4 h6 30. g3 Kg8 31. Bf3 Kg7 32. b4 g5 33. hxg5 hxg5 34. Kg2 Kg6 35. Qc2+ Kh6 36. Qc3 Kg6 37. a4 Nd7 38. Qc8 Ne5 39. Be4+ Kg7 40. Qc3 Qf6 41. Bb7 Ng4 42. Qxf6+ Nxf6 43. Kf3 Kf8 44. Ke3 Ke7 45. f4 gxf4+ 46. Kxf4 Ne8 47. Ke5 Nc7 48. g4 1/2-1/2

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Karpov, A. (2679)
Kasparov, G. (2849)
D73
2001.03.05
Round 9 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 d5 5. c4 dxc4 6. Na3 c3 7. bxc3 O-O 8. O-O c5 9. e3 A modest little move. White intends to build a long-term advantage. 9... Nc6 10. Qe2 Bf5 11. Rd1 Qb6!? n
An interesting TN from Kasparov, who signals his intent on complicating matters against his old foe. 11... Qa5 is more usual. However, in that line, White would continue as in the game with Nc4, and Black will play ..Qa6 - therefore we sort of transpose back into the mainline. 12. Bb2 Rfd8 13. Nc4 Qa6 14. a4 Karpov obviously doesn't like the idea of Kasparov fixing the a-pawn with a ..Qa4. 14... Na5 15. Bf1 Ne4 16. Nfd2
It looks like the only move. Kasparov would have been only too happy with 16. Nce5?! Qxe2 17. Bxe2 Be6 and white has a lot of vulnerable weakpoints 16... Nxd2 17. Nxa5
The other option didn't hold much promise for White: 17. Nxd2 Qxe2 18. Bxe2 Rac8 and Black has an ideal Grunfeld ending. 17... Qxa5
17... Nxf1!? 18. Qxa6 bxa6 19. Kxf1 Bg4 20. Rd2 Bf3 is unclear - Black has the bishop-pair, White the better pawn structure. 18. Rxd2 cxd4 19. cxd4?
On Karpov's own admission, this is a bad move. Opening the c-file turns out bad for Karpov. He had more dynamic chances with the alternative recapture: 19. exd4! e5 20. Qb5! and White's no worse. 19... Rac8 20. h3
Karpov was beginning to worry about ..Bg4, so felt he had to prevent it 20. Bg2 Bg4 21. Qe1 b6 22. d5 Bc3!
     ( 22... Bxb2 23. Rxb2= )
23. Bxc3 Qxc3 with a small plus for Black.
20... Be4 21. Bg2 Bxg2 22. Kxg2 e5! 23. Kg1 h5 24. h4 b6 25. Rdd1 exd4 26. Bxd4 Bxd4 27. exd4
The players came to the conclusion very quickly that the alternative recapture would have made life very difficult indeed for Karpov: 27. Rxd4?! Rxd4 28. exd4 Qc3 29. Rd1 Qc4
     ( 29... Qb3 30. a5= )
30. Qxc4 Rxc4 31. d5 Kf8 32. d6 Ke8 33. Re1+ Kd8 34. a5 bxa5 35. Re7 a6 36. Rxf7 a4 is going to be difficult to defend.
27... Qd5
27... Qc3 28. Qe3= 28. Qa6! In the nick of time. Without this move, White would have an impossible job to hold the position. Left to his own devices, Kasparov would build-up on the c and a-pawns with ..Rc4 leaving White with an awkward defence. 28... Rc7
Kasparov thought long and hard here over his other option, which he couldn't quite get to work. Come the post mortem, the banter between the two titans (in Russian, obviously) became very animated: 28... Rc2!? 29. Qxa7 Rdc8 30. Rf1!
     ( 30. Qxb6 Rxf2!? Kasparov felt this must have been mating, however, my little silicon friend Deep Fritz seems to differ: 31. Kxf2 Rc2+ 32. Ke3 Qg2 33. Qb8+ Kh7 34. Qb5 Qxg3+
          ( 34... Qf2+ 35. Ke4 Qg2+ 36. Ke3= )
     35. Ke4 Qg4+
          ( 35... f5+? 36. Kd5+- )
     36. Ke3= )
30... Qxd4=
29. Rac1 Qxd4
29... Rxc1 30. Rxc1 Qxd4 31. Qxa7= 30. Rxd4 Rxc1+ 31. Kg2 Rxd4 32. Qxa7 Rcc4 33. Qxb6 Rxa4 Karpov even pointed out here he successfully defended a similar position in the 1971 Alekhine Memorial against Tal - and that went on for 103 moves! There was no such chance of that here, particularly as Kasparov had already won the tournament! 34. Qb8+ Kh7 35. Qc7 Kg8 36. Qb8+ 1/2-1/2

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Grischuk, A. (2663)
Shirov, A. (2718)
B90
2001.03.05
Round 9 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 Qb6 7. Nb3 e6 8. g4
A little divergance. Grischuk opted for 8. Qe2 against Kasparov. 8... Nc6 9. Qe2 Grischuk now intends Be3 and 0-0-0. 9... d5n It's an early visit to Planet Shirov! Only someone like Alexei could contemplate such a move at an early stage. Still underdeveloped and with his king in the center, Shirov simply sacrifices a pawn. 10. Be3
Accepting looked dangerous - especially faced over the board without the aid of a computer!: 10. exd5 Nb4 11. dxe6 Bxe6 10. g5 d4! both with serious compensation. 10... d4 11. Bf2 Bc5 12. a3!
Castling long falls for a nice trick. Instead, Grischuk wants to play Na4 without allowing the check on b4: 12. O-O-O? d3! 13. Bxc5 dxe2 14. Bxb6 exd1=Q+ 15. Kxd1 Nd7 with unclear play. 12... Qc7
Shirov may have been better opting for the pawn sacrifice with 12... dxc3!? 13. Bxc5 Qc7 14. bxc3 Nd7 15. Be3 O-O and Black will have good compensation with play down the c-file against the doubled pawns. 13. O-O-O
13. Nxc5!? dxc3 14. b4! looked a safer bet for Grischuk. 13... Bxa3! 14. bxa3
White also had 14. Nxd4!? Nxd4
     ( 14... Bb4 15. Qc4! )
     ( 14... Be7 15. Nxc6 Qxc6 16. Qc4 Qxc4 17. Bxc4 b5 18. Bb3 white is slightly better. )
15. Bxd4
     ( 15. Rxd4? Qxc3! )
15... e5 16. bxa3
     ( 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. exd5 Bd6 18. Bxe5 Bxe5 19. Re1 f6 20. f4 Qa5 21. fxe5 Bxg4! = )
16... exd4 17. Nd5 Qd6 18. Kb2 O-O 19. Rxd4 Nxd5 20. exd5
     ( 20. Rxd5 Qb6+ 21. Ka1 Be6! )
20... Qb6+ 21. Rb4 Qf6+ 22. Kb1 Bd7! with unclear play.
14... dxc3 15. Bc5 e5 16. Qe3 Nd4 17. g5 Nh5 18. Qxc3 Nxb3+ 19. cxb3 Be6 20. Kb2! Rc8 21. Bb4 Qxc3+ 22. Bxc3 After the dust has cleared, white has a small plus thanks to the bishop-pair. 22... f6 23. gxf6 gxf6 24. Rd6 Nf4
The immediate king move may have been better: 24... Kf7!? 25. Bd2! White's now going to be a little better in the endgame due to the doubled f-pawns. 25... Kf7 26. Bxf4 exf4 27. Bc4
27. Rxe6 Kxe6 28. Bh3+ Ke5! 29. Bxc8 Rxc8= Black's king is very active here. 27... Bxc4 28. bxc4 Rxc4 29. Rd7+ Ke6 30. Rhd1 Rc6?
I don't know what was going through Shirov's head - the obvious reply was the simplest of draws: 30... Rhc8! 31. R1d6+
     ( 31. Rxh7 Rc2+ 32. Kb1 R2c7 33. Rxc7
          ( 33. Rh3? Rc3! )
     33... Rxc7 )
31... Ke5 32. Rd5+ Ke6=
31. Rxb7 Rg8 32. Rdd7 Rg2+ 33. Kb3 Rxh2 34. Re7+ Kd6 35. Rbd7+ Kc5 36. Rd5+ Kb6 37. a4! Threatening a5 mate! 37... a5 38. Rb5+ Ka6 39. Re8! Forcing a set of rooks off - the single rook ending is an easy win due to the f-pawns. 39... Rb6 40. Ra8+ Kb7 41. Rb8+ Kxb8 42. Rxb6+ Kc7 43. Rxf6 h5 44. Rxf4 h4 45. Kc4 h3 46. Rh4 Rh1 47. Kd5 h2 48. Ke5 Rf1 49. Rxh2 Rxf3 50. Rc2+ Kb6 51. Rc4 1-0

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Polgar, J. (2676)
Leko, P. (2745)
C65
2001.03.05
Round 9 of SuperGM - Linares ESP

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. d4 Bb6 7. dxe5 Nxe4 8. Qd5 Nc5 9. Re1 Ne7 10. Qd1 Ne6 11. Na3 Ng6 12. Bc4 Bc5 13. Nc2 c6 14. Ncd4 d5 15. Bd3 Nef4 16. Bc2 f6 17. e6 Re8 18. Bf5 Qd6 19. Qc2 Bxd4 20. Nxd4 Bxe6 21. Nxe6 Nxe6 22. Bxg6 hxg6 23. Qxg6 Re7 24. Bd2 Nf8 25. Qg4 Rae8 26. Rxe7 Rxe7 27. Re1 Rxe1+ 1/2-1/2

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Kasparov, G. (2849)
Grischuk, A. (2663)
B45
2001.03.06
Round 10 of SuperGM - Linares ESP
Annotator : Henderson,John

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nxc6
After 6. Ndb5 d6 White has to accept transposing into a Sveshnikov Sicilian with 7. Bf4 e5 8. Bg5 6... bxc6 7. e5 Nd5 8. Ne4 Bb7
A little played side-line (only two or three games in the database!) that got a lot of attention two years ago at Linares, when Peter Leko decided to try it against Kasparov. The mainline is 8... Qc7 9. f4 Qb6 9. Be2 c5 10. O-O
10. c4?! Ne3! 11. Bxe3 Bxe4 12. f3 Bc6= 10... Qc7 11. Nd6+
White has to be careful not to open the game up too early - it could lead to Black's advantage: 11. f4 f5! 12. exf6 Nxf6 13. Nxf6+ gxf6 14. Bh5+ Kd8 15. f5 Bd6 and if anything, it's the Black pieces that are the more dangerous. 11... Bxd6 12. exd6 Qc6
12... Qb6 is also an alternative. 13. f3 c4 14. Qd4 O-O 15. Bxc4 Rfc8
Finally we diverge from the aforementioned Kasparov-Leko game. Grischuk is hoping the resulting ending with opposite coloured bishops will ease his chances of drawing: 15... Qxd6 16. Bb3 Qb6 17. Rd1 Rfc8 18. Qxb6 Nxb6 19. a4 d5 20. a5 Nc4 21. a6 Bc6 22. Bxc4 dxc4 23. Be3 Bd5 24. Ra5 Rc6 25. Rda1 f6 26. h4 Kf7 27. Rb5 Rc7 28. Kf2 Rd8 29. Raa5 Ke7 30. Kg3 h5 31. b4 cxb3 32. cxb3 Rg8 33. Rc5 Rd7 34. b4 g5 35. Rc2 g4 36. Kf2 g3+ 37. Ke1 e5 38. Rd2 Rgd8 39. Rc5 Ke6 40. b5 Rb8 41. Rd3 Rbd8 42. Rd2 Rb8 43. Rd3 Rbd8 44. b6 axb6 45. Rb5 Bc4 46. Rxb6+ Kf5 47. Rxd7 Rxd7 48. a7 1/2-1/2 Kasparov,G-Leko,P/Linares 1999/CBM 70 (48). 16. Bxd5!
Kasparov is quick to see that the ending is good - Black is going to get in a bit of a tangle recouping the pawn, giving White the time to organise the advance of the queenside pawns. 16. Bb3?! Qxd6 17. c4 e5 18. Qd3 Qc5+ 19. Kh1 Ba6! 16... Qxd5
The finesse of taking first on d6 will backfire - badly 16... Qxd6? 17. Bh6!! gxh6 18. Qg4+ Kh8 19. Bxb7 Qb6+ 20. Rf2 Qxb7 21. c3 and Black's in a bad way because of the crippled pawn structure. 17. Qxd5 Bxd5 18. Rf2! With White looking to play c4, why waste a tempo with c3? 18... Rc6 19. Bf4 Rac8 20. Rc1 Ra6
20... Bxa2? 21. Ra1 Bd5 22. Rxa7 Rxc2 23. Rxc2 Rxc2 24. Rxd7+- 21. a3
Black has a good chance of saving the game if White is too hasty: 21. b3 Rxa2 22. c4 Rxf2 23. Kxf2 Bb7 with ideal drawing chances because of the opposite bishops. 21... f6 22. Be3 Ra4 23. Ra1! With the idea of activating the pawns with b3 and c4. 23... e5 24. b3 Ra6 25. c4 Be6 26. Rd2 Rb8 27. Rd3 Rb7 28. g4 h5 29. h3 hxg4 30. hxg4 f5 31. Bc5! Rc6 32. b4! Two very precise moves have left Black struggling further and further in the hope of saving the ending. 32... fxg4 33. fxg4 Rc8 34. Re1 Bxc4 35. Rc3 Bb5 36. Rxe5 Rf8 37. Bxa7 Bc6 38. Be3 Rbb8 39. Bg5 Rb5 40. Rcc5 Rb6 41. b5 Bf3 42. Be7 Ra8 43. Rg5 Rxa3 44. Bf6 Kf7 45. Bb2 1-0

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Shirov, A. (2718)
Polgar, J. (2676)
B92
2001.??.??
Round 10 of SuperGM - Linares ESP

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Be3 Be6 9. Nd5 Nbd7 10. Qd3 Bxd5 11. exd5 Rc8 12. c4 O-O 13. O-O a5 14. Rad1 b6 15. Nd2 Nc5 16. Qc2 Nfd7 17. f3 Bg5 18. Bf2 f5 19. Kh1 Qf6 20. Nb1 Qh6 21. Nc3 Rce8 22. a3 e4 23. b4 e3 24. Be1 Nb7 25. Nb5 f4 26. Nc7 Re5 27. Bc3 Re7 28. Ne6 Ra8 29. Qf5 Bh4 30. Qg4 Bf6 31. Bxf6 Qxf6 32. Nxf4 Qb2 33. Qh4 Rf7 34. Bd3 Nf8 35. Rfe1 Qxa3 36. Ne6 g6 37. Ng5 Rg7 38. Qd4 Qxb4 39. Ne4 Nc5 40. Rb1 Qa3 41. Nf6+ Kh8 42. Rxe3 Nxd3 43. Ne8 Rxe8 44. Rxe8 Kg8 45. Re3 Nf2+ 46. Kg1 Qa4 47. Re2 Rc7 48. Kxf2 Rxc4 49. Qxb6 Rc5 50. Qxd6 Qd4+ 51. Kg3 Rxd5 52. Qf4 Qc5 53. Rc1 Rg5+ 54. Kh4 Rh5+ 55. Kg4 Qd5 56. Rd2 Qe6+ 57. Kg3 a4 58. Qc4 Ra5 59. Re2 1-0

initial position

go to beginning back five moves back one move play one move play five moves go to end flip board autoplay step into variation

Leko, P. (2745)
Karpov, A. (2679)
B17
2001.??.??
Round 10 of SuperGM - Linares ESP

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 11. Qg4 Kf8 12. O-O c5 13. b3 cxd4 14. Qxd4 Ne5 15. Bb2 Nxf3+ 16. gxf3 f6 17. Qh4 Be5 18. Ba3+ Kg8 19. Rad1 Bd7 20. Rfe1 b5 21. c4 g5 22. Qh5 Be8 23. Qh3 Bf7 24. cxb5 Kg7 25. Rc1 Qa5 26. Bc5 Qxa2 27. Re2 Qa5 28. Rxe5 Qd2 29. Qf1 fxe5 30. Be4 Rac8 31. Rd1 Qa2 32. b4 Rhd8 33. Ra1 Qb3 34. Qe2 Rc7 35. b6 axb6 36. Bxb6 Qc3 37. Qe1 Rb8 38. Bxc7 Qxc7 39. Ra5 Kf6 40. Bc6 Be8 41. Bxe8 Rxe8 42. Rc5 Qd6 43. Qe4 Re7 44. Kg2 Ra7 45. Ra5 Rc7 46. Ra1 Qd5 47. Rb1 Rc4 48. Qxd5 1/2-1/2

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