Grischuk, Alexander (2720) - Kamsky, Gata (2690)
FIDE World Cup (Khanty Mansiysk), 12/06/2005
[Gershon]

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 Anti-Marshall. By this move order White deprives Black of a possibility to enter the sharp ... well, Marshall, of course, why esle would it call it like that.

[8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 Black obtains a very lively position, and the number of people willing to suffer for a pawn decreases from game to game. Well, perhaps, "suffer" is a bit strong word, but advantage, at least to date, seems to vary from marginal to none.]

8...Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.a3 h6 11.Nc3 Re8 Black has a pretty solid position, although White has a spatial advantage and a more pleasant position in general.
12.Nd5

[12.Ne2 d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Ng3 Bf8 15.c3 Qd7 16.Ne4 Kh8 17.Nh4 Nd8 18.Qg4 Qxg4 19.hxg4 Ne6 20.g3 Rad8 21.a4! b4 22.a5! Rd7 23.Bc4 was better due to a weakness of the a-pawn. 1-0 Bologan,V (2580)-Sakaev,K (2620)/Elista 1998/CBM 065 (60) and White]

12...Nxd5

[After 12...Bf8 Svidler managed to prove his superiority over Naiditsch in Dortmund 2004. The game followed
13.c3 Nb8 14.Nxf6+ Qxf6 15.Nh2 Nd7 16.Re3 White is threatening to build up a profound attack on his enemy's king, so Black decided to hurry with a pawn sac:
16...d5 17.exd5 Qd6 18.c4 c6 19.dxc6 Qxc6 20.Rg3 Nc5 21.cxb5 axb5 22.Ba2 1-0 Svidler,P (2727) -Naiditsch,A (2574)/Dortmund 2004/CBM 102 (39) and White managed to win eventually.]

13.Bxd5 Qc8 Vacating d8 for the knight, as the bishop on d5 has to be fought against. However, solving a local problem (Bd5) Black makes concessions on more important issues (like piece placements and the center).
14.c3 Nd8 Nd8-e6 is nothing unsual in the Ruy Lopez, but here White manages to exploit that very instant. Black's pieces are disorganized, and White obtains a very pleasant advantage.

[Better seems to be
14...Bf6 not allowing White to control the center]

15.d4! Bf6 Although Black holds on to his center for now, his pieces are completely disorganized, and Grischuk makes use of it.

[After 15...Bxd5 16.exd5 the knight will be deprived of any future (no dreams, no goals, nothing), but he (Black) will have immediate problems with the e-file.]

16.Nh2 While the Black pieces are gathered on the queenside, and there is no obvious way for them to go kingside, White is using his spatial advantage to develop a strong initiative on the king. Traditionally in these positions, a knight is much better placed on g4 that on f3, so this maneuver is not exactly new, but is still very strong.
16...exd4 17.Ng4! The point, of course.

[After 17.cxd4 Bxd5 18.exd5 Rxe1+ 19.Qxe1 Qf5! Black gets very good play.]

17...Bg5 Kamsky doesn't just protect the bishop, but covers the very improtant h6 square, to avoid unpleasant surprises.

[For illistrational purposes only, one could suggest
17...Bh4? as an alternative to the text:
18.Bxh6! Or gxh6

(18...Bxd5 loses to 19.Qxd4! (White has an intermediate move as well!)
19...Ne6 (19...gxh6 20.exd5 and despite being a piece up, Black is hopeless.) 20.Qxd5 gxh6 21.Nxh6+ Kh7 22.Qh5 Bxf2+ 23.Kxf2 Ng7 24.Qh4 Qd8 25.Nf5+ Qxh4+ 26.Nxh4 a pawn in the endgame should suffice White for a win.)

(18...dxc3 19.Qd4 gxh6 20.Nxh6+ Kh7 21.Nf5 Rg8 22.Qxc3! transferring the queen to the kingside
22...Bxd5 23.Qf3! Rg5 24.Ne7 Qe6 25.exd5 Qh6 26.Qe4+ Kg7 27.Rac1! and although White is a piece down, the knight on d8 is not a factor in this game, whereas the weak king is.)

19.Nxh6+ Kf8 20.Nf5 And again, with all the army on vacation, the king cannot survive. The inevitable Qh5 will decide the game.]

18.cxd4 Bxd5

[Not good is:
18...Ne6 19.Bxb7 Qxb7 20.d5 Nf8 21.Bxg5 hxg5 22.Qd2 with full control on both flanks for White.]

[Also 18...c6 doesn't really improve Black's position.
19.Bb3 Ne6 20.f4! and the pawn mass will just erase Black's position, while taking on f4 loses by force:
20...Bd8

(20...Nxf4 21.Bxf4 Bxf4 22.Qf3 winning an exchange, and with it the game.)

21.f5 Ng5 22.f6 etc]

19.exd5 Watch the black knight on d8. What a poor fella.
19...Rxe1+ 20.Qxe1 Kf8 Of course, the queen cannot be allowed to invade along the e-file:

[After 20...Qf5 21.Qe8+ Kh7 22.Bxg5 Qxg5 23.Ne3 Black is as tied up as it's possible.]

21.Bxg5 hxg5 22.Qe3 provoking furthe r weakening of the kingside (after f6), and namely e6, as Qf5 is strongly met with a natural Re1.
22...f6 23.Re1 Qd7 Although the first invasion has been prevented, Black's position hasn't got any better. White slowly increases the pressure, until Black's defense cracks under it.
24.h4! And now it's time to create another weakness

[With all the prettiness of his position, White cannot waste time:
24.Qd3 Nf7 25.Qh7 Re8 and Black holds.]

24...Nf7

[The point of White's last move can be observed after
24...gxh4 25.Nxf6! gxf6 26.Qh6+ Kg8

(26...Qg7 27.Re8+ Kf7 28.Re7+ Kxe7 29.Qxg7+ is easily won for White)

27.Qxf6! Qf7 28.Qg5+ Kf8 29.Qh6+ Kg8 30.Re4 Black's a piece up, but it's hardly a consolation for a lost game. e.g
30...Qg7 31.Qxh4 and Black cannot prevent losing a queen]

[A switch from a passive defense to a reckless attack proves to be too sharp for... Black, of course:
24...f5 25.Nh2 g4 26.Nf1 the knight goes to g3, attacking a new-born weakness on f5.
26...Nf7 27.Ng3 Nh6 28.Nh5 and now to f4.. White's advantage is very big.]

25.Qe6 Rd8 Black trusts he will be able to hold passively, but he will soon realize that this is false.

[For better or worse, he should have gone for:
25...Qxe6 26.dxe6 Re8!

(Or 26...Nh6 27.Ne3)

27.d5 c6 28.Rc1 Nd8 29.dxc6 Nxe6 30.hxg5 Nxg5 31.Ne3 and White is significantly better.]

26.h5 f5? Loses immediately, but the position was already very difficult.

[26...Qxe6 again leads to a position analyzed previously.
27.dxe6 Re8! 28.d5 c6! 29.Rc1 Nd8 30.dxc6 Nxe6 31.Ne3]

27.Nf6! A great combination, leading to a logical conclusion of the game. Of course, having such a control all over the board, it's anything but surprising that there is one.
27...gxf6

[After 27...Qxe6 28.dxe6 Black cannot take the knight because of the fork]

28.Qxf6 the threat is painfully simple: h6.
28...Re8 29.Re6 Qd8

[29...Rxe6 also does not save Black:
30.dxe6 Qe7 31.Qxf5 with a totally lost position]

30.Qxf5 g4 31.Rf6 Re7

[Or 31...Re1+ 32.Kh2 Ke8 33.h6 Qe7

(33...Nxh6 34.Rf8+ Ke7 35.Qf6+ Kd7 36.Qxd8#)

34.h7 etc]

32.h6 Qd7

[32...Ke8 leads to a nice finish:
33.h7 Qd7 34.h8=R+ Nxh8 35.Rf8#]

33.Qg6

1-0

Created with PGNtoJS

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 Anti-Marshall. By this move order White deprives Black of a possibility to enter the sharp ... well, Marshall, of course, why esle would it call it like that.
	[8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 Black obtains a very lively position, and the number of people willing to suffer for a pawn decreases from game to game. Well, perhaps, "suffer" is a bit strong word, but advantage, at least to date, seems to vary from marginal to none.]
8...Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.a3 h6 11.Nc3 Re8 Black has a pretty solid position, although White has a spatial advantage and a more pleasant position in general. 12.Nd5
	[12.Ne2 d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Ng3 Bf8 15.c3 Qd7 16.Ne4 Kh8 17.Nh4 Nd8 18.Qg4 Qxg4 19.hxg4 Ne6 20.g3 Rad8 21.a4! b4 22.a5! Rd7 23.Bc4 was better due to a weakness of the a-pawn. 1-0 Bologan,V (2580)-Sakaev,K (2620)/Elista 1998/CBM 065 (60) and White]
12...Nxd5
	[After 12...Bf8 Svidler managed to prove his superiority over Naiditsch in Dortmund 2004. The game followed 13.c3 Nb8 14.Nxf6+ Qxf6 15.Nh2 Nd7 16.Re3 White is threatening to build up a profound attack on his enemy's king, so Black decided to hurry with a pawn sac: 16...d5 17.exd5 Qd6 18.c4 c6 19.dxc6 Qxc6 20.Rg3 Nc5 21.cxb5 axb5 22.Ba2 1-0 Svidler,P (2727) -Naiditsch,A (2574)/Dortmund 2004/CBM 102 (39) and White managed to win eventually.]
13.Bxd5 Qc8 Vacating d8 for the knight, as the bishop on d5 has to be fought against. However, solving a local problem (Bd5) Black makes concessions on more important issues (like piece placements and the center). 14.c3 Nd8 Nd8-e6 is nothing unsual in the Ruy Lopez, but here White manages to exploit that very instant. Black's pieces are disorganized, and White obtains a very pleasant advantage.
	[Better seems to be 14...Bf6 not allowing White to control the center]
15.d4! Bf6 Although Black holds on to his center for now, his pieces are completely disorganized, and Grischuk makes use of it.
	[After 15...Bxd5 16.exd5 the knight will be deprived of any future (no dreams, no goals, nothing), but he (Black) will have immediate problems with the e-file.]
16.Nh2 While the Black pieces are gathered on the queenside, and there is no obvious way for them to go kingside, White is using his spatial advantage to develop a strong initiative on the king. Traditionally in these positions, a knight is much better placed on g4 that on f3, so this maneuver is not exactly new, but is still very strong. 16...exd4 17.Ng4! The point, of course.
	[After 17.cxd4 Bxd5 18.exd5 Rxe1+ 19.Qxe1 Qf5! Black gets very good play.]
17...Bg5 Kamsky doesn't just protect the bishop, but covers the very improtant h6 square, to avoid unpleasant surprises.
	[For illistrational purposes only, one could suggest 17...Bh4? as an alternative to the text: 18.Bxh6! Or gxh6
		(18...Bxd5 loses to 19.Qxd4! (White has an intermediate move as well!) 19...Ne6 (19...gxh6 20.exd5 and despite being a piece up, Black is hopeless.) 20.Qxd5 gxh6 21.Nxh6+ Kh7 22.Qh5 Bxf2+ 23.Kxf2 Ng7 24.Qh4 Qd8 25.Nf5+ Qxh4+ 26.Nxh4 a pawn in the endgame should suffice White for a win.)

		(18...dxc3 19.Qd4 gxh6 20.Nxh6+ Kh7 21.Nf5 Rg8 22.Qxc3! transferring the queen to the kingside 22...Bxd5 23.Qf3! Rg5 24.Ne7 Qe6 25.exd5 Qh6 26.Qe4+ Kg7 27.Rac1! and although White is a piece down, the knight on d8 is not a factor in this game, whereas the weak king is.)
	19.Nxh6+ Kf8 20.Nf5 And again, with all the army on vacation, the king cannot survive. The inevitable Qh5 will decide the game.]
18.cxd4 Bxd5
	[Not good is: 18...Ne6 19.Bxb7 Qxb7 20.d5 Nf8 21.Bxg5 hxg5 22.Qd2 with full control on both flanks for White.]

	[Also 18...c6 doesn't really improve Black's position. 19.Bb3 Ne6 20.f4! and the pawn mass will just erase Black's position, while taking on f4 loses by force: 20...Bd8
		(20...Nxf4 21.Bxf4 Bxf4 22.Qf3 winning an exchange, and with it the game.)
	21.f5 Ng5 22.f6 etc]
19.exd5 Watch the black knight on d8. What a poor fella. 19...Rxe1+ 20.Qxe1 Kf8 Of course, the queen cannot be allowed to invade along the e-file:
	[After 20...Qf5 21.Qe8+ Kh7 22.Bxg5 Qxg5 23.Ne3 Black is as tied up as it's possible.]
21.Bxg5 hxg5 22.Qe3 provoking furthe r weakening of the kingside (after f6), and namely e6, as Qf5 is strongly met with a natural Re1. 22...f6 23.Re1 Qd7 Although the first invasion has been prevented, Black's position hasn't got any better. White slowly increases the pressure, until Black's defense cracks under it. 24.h4! And now it's time to create another weakness
	[With all the prettiness of his position, White cannot waste time: 24.Qd3 Nf7 25.Qh7 Re8 and Black holds.]
24...Nf7
	[The point of White's last move can be observed after 24...gxh4 25.Nxf6! gxf6 26.Qh6+ Kg8
		(26...Qg7 27.Re8+ Kf7 28.Re7+ Kxe7 29.Qxg7+ is easily won for White)
	27.Qxf6! Qf7 28.Qg5+ Kf8 29.Qh6+ Kg8 30.Re4 Black's a piece up, but it's hardly a consolation for a lost game. e.g 30...Qg7 31.Qxh4 and Black cannot prevent losing a queen]

	[A switch from a passive defense to a reckless attack proves to be too sharp for... Black, of course: 24...f5 25.Nh2 g4 26.Nf1 the knight goes to g3, attacking a new-born weakness on f5. 26...Nf7 27.Ng3 Nh6 28.Nh5 and now to f4.. White's advantage is very big.]
25.Qe6 Rd8 Black trusts he will be able to hold passively, but he will soon realize that this is false.
	[For better or worse, he should have gone for: 25...Qxe6 26.dxe6 Re8!
		(Or 26...Nh6 27.Ne3)
	27.d5 c6 28.Rc1 Nd8 29.dxc6 Nxe6 30.hxg5 Nxg5 31.Ne3 and White is significantly better.]
26.h5 f5? Loses immediately, but the position was already very difficult.
	[26...Qxe6 again leads to a position analyzed previously. 27.dxe6 Re8! 28.d5 c6! 29.Rc1 Nd8 30.dxc6 Nxe6 31.Ne3]
27.Nf6! A great combination, leading to a logical conclusion of the game. Of course, having such a control all over the board, it's anything but surprising that there is one. 27...gxf6
	[After 27...Qxe6 28.dxe6 Black cannot take the knight because of the fork]
28.Qxf6 the threat is painfully simple: h6. 28...Re8 29.Re6 Qd8
	[29...Rxe6 also does not save Black: 30.dxe6 Qe7 31.Qxf5 with a totally lost position]
30.Qxf5 g4 31.Rf6 Re7
	[Or 31...Re1+ 32.Kh2 Ke8 33.h6 Qe7
		(33...Nxh6 34.Rf8+ Ke7 35.Qf6+ Kd7 36.Qxd8#)
	34.h7 etc]
32.h6 Qd7
	[32...Ke8 leads to a nice finish: 33.h7 Qd7 34.h8=R+ Nxh8 35.Rf8#]
33.Qg6 1-0