Shirov,A - Tiviakov,S

Unive Crown Group, Hoogeveen NED

2010.10.26, Round: 2
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd6!? 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 c6 6. Ne5 Nbd7 7.
f4!? This appears to be Shirovs patent, having already played it successfully
on several previous occasions. The Knight on e5 is now solidly implanted
inside Blacks territory and is quite annoying. Trading it off requires some
preparation and Black must be careful not to ignore his own development in
the meantime. Nb6!?
Too passive is [7... e6?! 8. g4! c5 9. g5 Nd5 10. Ne4 Qc7 11. c4 with a
big edge, as in Shirov- Kurkowski at the 2010 Scarborough CC Shirov simul ]
8. g4! A super-aggressive move typical of Alexis style. White wastes no
time gaining space and already threatening to push Blacks pieces back.
Nisipeanu , in 2007, now tried 8...g6 against Shirov and was able to make a
draw, but only after some suffering. No doubt Tiviakov was aware of this
game and did not want to see what improvement White had up his sleeve....
Nbd5!? 9. Bg2!? This appears to be a new move, 2 other games in my
database continued with the immediate 9.g5 Perhaps Alexi had prepared it
at home, or perhaps he simply did not want to go into the line
[9. g5 Nxc3 10bxc3 Qd5!? ]
g6 10. g5 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Nd5 12. c4! Black is pushed back, but has a solid
position without any real weaknesses Nc7 13. c5 Qd8 No doubt Tiviakov
was satisfied with his position, he has d5 and f5 under control. White has
pushed back Blacks pieces but at the price of creating a lot of weaknesses
in his pawn structure; Black need only find the time to develop his pieces
and then play ...f6 and ...Ne6 to have White on a full scale retreat! And the
immediate sacrifice on c6 (2 pieces for a Rook and 2 pawns) could quickly
turn against White. 14. d5!!! The move that was supposed to be impossible!
This is the remarkable thing that I mentioned earlier about Shirovs
attacking games: while most other attackers would have avoided this
position for the reasons given in the previous note, Alexis resourcefulness,
imagination and tremendous energy allow him to seek hidden ideas that
justify his seemingly reckless up the board and damn the consequences
style of attacking! Often I am reminded by similarities between Shirovs
style of play and that of the young Paul Keres (1916-1975, Estonia). Keres
attacking skills were second to none in terms of bravura. Witness the
following example taken from a game against former world champion Max
Euwe, remarkably similar to the Tiviakov game: see below cxd5!? Now if
[14... Nxd5?! Black gets into worse trouble than in the game after 15.
c4! f6 forced as retreating will lose material 16. cxd5 fxe5 17. Qa4! Bd7 18.
dxc6 bxc6 19. Bb2 and it is difficult to suggest a constructive move for
Black. ]
15. c4! Another powerful blow to Blacks center! If now
 [15. c4 Bg7 16. cxd5 O-O 17. O-O (17. Bb2 f6 ) 17... Bf5 18. Qb3
Rb8 19. Be3 and White dominates the game. Horrible as it may appear,
perhaps this is what Black should seriously consider playing! Or if ;15. c4
Be6? 16. cxd5 Bxd5 17. Qa4! and Black can call it quits... ]