Round 2.

Game 1
6 June 2007

Aronian
Shirov Ch5!!, and after 16.Ixe5 Gb5 the White’s queen gets
Queen’s Gambit Accepted caught in the center of the board – David Bronstein fell
Notes by grandmaster into this nice trap in one of early games against the
Ruslan Scherbakov computer!) 13...Gxb2 14.Gac1 0–0 15.Gc5 Cg4!
16.Ec1! (logical 16.Gfc1? is refuted by the
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 4.Cf3 exd4 5.Exc4 Cc6 unexpected 16...Id6!! 17.Gxc6 (otherwise Ce5)
XIIIIIIIIY 17...Gxf3! 18.Gxd6 (18.Ixf3? Ixh2+ 19.Kf1 Gxd2
20.Ke1 Gxf2 21.Ixf2 Cxf2 22.Kxf2 If4+ 23.Kg1
9r+lwqkvlntr0 Ixe4–+) 18...Gxd3 19.Gd8+ Kf7 20.Ee1 Cf6!
9zppzp-+pzpp0 21.Gxc7+ Kg6 22.Gc1 Cxe4 with good winning
9-+n+-+-+0 chances). Now White plans to transfer the bishop to
a3, then put the major pieces to the c
file, and start
9+-+-+-+-0 collecting the Black’s pawns. Therefore, Beliavsky–
9-+LzpP+-+0 Scherbakov (Niksic 1996) continued 16...Cb4!? with
9+-+-+N+-0 wild complications.
12.b3
9PzP-+-zPPzP0 An interesting move, which already occurred in the
9tRNvLQmK-+R0 tournament practice. More often White develops the
bishop by a2
a3 and b2
b4, but this more aggressive
xiiiiiiiiy approach demands more time, and in addition Black
Shirov is not planning to defend passively! In this line can undermine the White’s pawns by ...a7
a5.
Black gets an active position, however, he has to pay 12...0–0
for it by getting pawn weaknesses. The resulting Black’s pawn structure is destroyed, however, in
positions demand a lot of imagination in order to keep return he obtained two open files for his rooks! The
the balance – and Alexei is quite content with it! Black’s minor pieces are also arranged quite well,
Usual continuation 5...Eb4+ wins time for particularly the knights are ready to come forward.
development and simplifies the game, giving Black an White must be alert, but if he manages to neutralize
acceptable but slightly inferior position without almost Black’s activity, he will get reasonable hope to utilize
any active ideas. the opponent’s pawn weaknesses in the subsequent
6.0–0 Ee6 7.Exe6 game.
White also tried 7.Eb5 Ec5 8.Cbd2 Cge7 9.Cg5 (or 13.Eb2 Ef4!?
9.Cb3 Eb6 10.Cbxd4 Ed7 11.Cxc6 Exc6 12.Ie2 XIIIIIIIIY
0–0 13.Eg5 Ie8! with an excellent game) 9...Id6
10.Cxe6 Ixe6 11.Cb3 Id6 12.Ef4! Ixf4 13.Cxc5
9-tr-+-trk+0
0–0 with good counterchances to Black. 9zp-zpq+-zpp0
7...fxe6 8.Ib3 Id7 9.Ixb7 Gb8 10.Ia6 Cf6 9Q+n+psn-+0
11.Cbd2
9+-+-+-+-0
XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-zpPvl-+0
9-tr-+kvl-tr0 9+P+-+N+-0
9zp-zpq+-zpp0 9PvL-sN-zPPzP0
9Q+n+psn-+0 9tR-+-+RmK-0
9+-+-+-+-0 xiiiiiiiiy
9-+-zpP+-+0 14.g3
9+-+-+N+-0 A new and probably not the best continuation. After
9PzP-sN-zPPzP0 14.Id3 White has better chances. For example, Van
Wely–Sasikiran (Moscow 2004) went on 14...Gbd8
9tR-vL-+RmK-0 15.Cc4 Cb4!? 16.Ixd4 Ie7 17.Ixa7 Ga8
xiiiiiiiiy 18.Exf6!? gxf6 19.Id4 Cc2 20.Ic3 Cxa1 21.Gxa1
11...Ed6 with a small advantage that is very difficult to convert,
11...Eb4?! is riskier: 12.Id3! (one of the first games because it is not easy to play actively with the knights.
on this topic, Scherbakov
Bronstein, Hastings 14...Eh6 15.Ea3 Cxe4!
1994/95, continued 12.e5?! Cg4! 13.Ie2 Id5, and
Black seized the initiative) 12...Exd2 (12...0–0
13.Cc4 favors White) 13.Exd2! (White must be alert:
13.Cxd2?! 0–0 14.a3? is met by 14...Ce5! 15.Ig3!
 XIIIIIIIIY 24...c6?
It looks like Alexei tricked himself in search of the
9-tr-+-trk+0 most promising continuation. Being in time trouble,
9zp-zpq+-zpp0 he commits a serious mistake. 24...Ec3 25.Gxc7 d2
9Q+n+p+-vl0 is unclear – the Black’s pieces have good chances to
stop the White’s passer. Even the simple 24...Exc1
9+-+-+-+-0 25.Gxc1 d2 26.Gd1 c6 was at least more accurate
9-+-zpn+-+0 than the text. After 27.Kf1 Gd5 28.Ke2 a5 Black has
9vLP+-+NzP-0 excellent chances to hold this ending.
25.Exd2 Cxd2 26.Gd1
9P+-sN-zP-zP0 White gains time to improve his pieces.
9tR-+-+RmK-0 26...Ce4?!
xiiiiiiiiy Nevertheless, it was better to return by 26...Cc4!?
An excellent counterblow! After 15...Gf7 White can 27.f3!
Maybe Black underestimated this resource.
return the queen by 16.Id3, and in comparison to the
variations above, he strengthened control of the 27...Cc3
important b4
and e5
squares. In the case of 27...Cxc5!?, White could continue
16.Exf8 Cxd2 28.Gxa7 (or 28.Gc7 Gd6 29.Kf2) 28...e5 29.Gc7,
Weaker is 16...Exd2?! 17.Exg7! Ec3 (or 17...Kxg7 gradually neutralizing the Black’s passer, e.g.,
18.Id3 Ec3 19.Ixe4 Exa1 20.Gxa1) 18.Eh6 29...Ce6 30.Gxc6 Cd4 31.Gc4 Cxf3+ 32.Kf2 Gf8
Exa1 19.Gxa1, and in addition to pawn weaknesses, 33.Ke3, etc.
Black has a weak king. 28.Gd2
17.Cxd2 Exd2 18.Ea3 Id5 Now the passed pawn is under control, and the rook is
much stronger than the knight in such positions.
18...Ce5!? deserved serious consideration, trying to
utilize insecure position of the White’s king. 28...Cxa2
19.Ic4 XIIIIIIIIY
Otherwise Black seizes the initiative. 9-+-tr-+k+0
XIIIIIIIIY 9zpR+-+-zpp0
9-tr-+-+k+0 9-+p+p+-+0
9zp-zp-+-zpp0 9+-zP-+-+-0
9-+n+p+-+0 9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+q+-+-0 9+-+p+PzP-0
9-+Qzp-+-+0 9n+-tR-+-zP0
9vLP+-+-zP-0 9+-+-+-mK-0
9P+-vl-zP-zP0 xiiiiiiiiy
9tR-+-+RmK-0 29.Gb3?
xiiiiiiiiy Much simpler is 29.Gb1!, threatening to take the
19...Ixc4 knight, and after 29...Cc3 30.Gb3 White destroys
19...Ec3!?, keeping the files locked, looked good. Black’s last hope.
20.bxc4 Ce5 21.Gab1 Gd8 22.c5 Cc4 23.Ec1 d3 29...Cc1 30.Gb1 Ce2+ 31.Kf2 e5 32.Ga1
And now 23...Ea5!? deserved attention, and if One could play 32.Gb3 Cd4 33.Gbxd3 Gd5 34.Gc3,
but Aronian does not want allowing his opponent to
24.Gb7, then 24...a6 or 24...Gd5.
consolidate his pieces and activate the king.
24.Gb7
32...Gd5 33.Gxa7 Gxc5
XIIIIIIIIY It is better to delay this recapture by, for instance,
9-+-tr-+k+0 33...h5!?, but Shirov already had under a minute until
9zpRzp-+-zpp0 the control move – I remind you that there is no
increment until the move 60.
9-+-+p+-+0 34.Gxd3
9+-zP-+-+-0 It seems Levon planned 34.Gb2, but at the last
9-+n+-+-+0 moment decided against keeping the Black’s passer
on board. Now Black could remain in the game by
9+-+p+-zP-0 34...h5 35.Gbb7 Kh7.
9P+-vl-zP-zP0 34...Cd4 35.Gd2
9+-vL-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
 XIIIIIIIIY XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-+k+0 9r+l+-mk-tr0
9tR-+-+-zpp0 9zp-wqn+pzp-0
9-+p+-+-+0 9-zppvlp+-zp0
9+-tr-zp-+-0 9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-sn-+-+0 9-+-zP-+Q+0
9+-+-+PzP-0 9+-+L+N+-0
9-+-tR-mK-zP0 9PzPP+-zPPzP0
9+-+-+-+-0 9tR-vL-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy xiiiiiiiiy
35...h6?! 13.Ge1
More active and tenacious is 35...h5! 36.f4 Cf5. 13.b3 Eb7 14.Eb2 occurred more often recently.
36.f4! Cb5 Peter played that line, too.
Now 36...Cf5? is met by 37.g4. 13...c5 14.c3 Eb7 15.Ih3
37.Ga8+?! This position often occurred in the tournament
37.Gb7 looked safer. practice. Black lost the right to castle, and his king’s
37...Kh7 38.f5?! Cd4 39.g4?! rook is offside, but apart from that his position is quite
Playing on the opponent’s time, Levon gives Alexei acceptable. White did not have any problems with
good drawing chances. developing his pieces, but now he has difficulties
39...Gc3? making progress.
39...h5! would probably save Black half a point. 15...Gd8
40.Gb2 XIIIIIIIIY
XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-tr-mk-tr0
9R+-+-+-+0 9zplwqn+pzp-0
9+-+-+-zpk0 9-zp-vlp+-zp0
9-+p+-+-zp0 9+-zp-+-+-0
9+-+-zpP+-0 9-+-zP-+-+0
9-+-sn-+P+0 9+-zPL+N+Q0
9+-tr-+-+-0 9PzP-+-zPPzP0
9-tR-+-mK-zP0 9tR-vL-tR-mK-0
9+-+-+-+-0 xiiiiiiiiy
xiiiiiiiiy 16.Ee4!?
40...h5?? A novelty. White removes Exf3 from the agenda.
The last move of the first control turns out to be the Previously he played 16.Kh1 Kg8 (or 16...Cf6
last move of the game. Only 40...Cb5 allowed to 17.Ed2 Kg8 18.Gad1 Ed5 19.b3 Ib7 20.Ee3 Exf3
continue the resistance, albeit in a hopeless position. 21.gxf3, T.Petrosian
Galkin, Kusadasi 2006) 17.Ed2
41.Gbb8 Ef4 18.Ee3 Cf6 19.Gad1 with a slightly better game
The escape attempt 41...Kh6 is parried by the simple for White (T.Petrosian
Kidambi, Dubai 2007), but
42.h4, therefore Black resigns. Bareev obviously prepared an improvement in one of
these lines.
16...Exe4 17.Gxe4 Cf6 18.Ge1
XIIIIIIIIY
Leko
Bareev 9-+-tr-mk-tr0
Caro Kann Defense
Notes by grandmaster 9zp-wq-+pzp-0
Ruslan Scherbakov 9-zp-vlpsn-zp0
9+-zp-+-+-0
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Cc3 dxe4 4.Cxe4 Cd7
Usually Evgeny plays 4...Ef5.
9-+-zP-+-+0
5.Cg5 Cgf6 6.Ed3 e6 7.C1f3 Ed6 8.Ie2 h6 9+-zP-+N+Q0
9.Ce4 Cxe4 10.Ixe4 Ic7 11.0–0 b6 12.Ig4 9PzP-+-zPPzP0
Kf8 9tR-vL-tR-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy
18...g6!? XIIIIIIIIY
A very difficult move. Black found no reason to bring
his king to h7, where it is prone to a knight’s check
9-+-tr-+-+0
from с g5, but this pawn advance seems to weaken his 9zp-wq-+p+k0
king. 9-zp-+psnpzp0
19.b3
In the case of 19.Exh6+?! Kg8 White is unlikely to 9+-vl-sNr+-0
unpin easily. 9-+P+-+-+0
19...Kg7 20.dxc5 Exc5 21.Eb2 9+P+-+-+P0
On 21.c4?! Black has 21...Eb4! followed by ...Eb4

c3. 9PvL-+RzPPwQ0
21...Gd5! 9+-+-+RmK-0
XIIIIIIIIY xiiiiiiiiy
9-+-+-+-tr0 28...g5??
9zp-wq-+pmk-0 28...Ce4!! would finish the game in Bareev’s favor.
29.Gxe4 (or 29.Cf3 Cg3! 30.Gc2, and now
9-zp-+psnpzp0 30...Ed6! 31.fxg3 Exg3 32.Ih1 Ic5+) 29...Gxf2!
9+-vlr+-+-0 gives Black decisive advantage. For example, 30.Ed4
9-+-+-+-+0 (30.Gxf2 Gd1+ mating, or 30.Gee1 Gxb2+ 31.Kh1
Ef2) 30...Gxd4 31.Gxd4 Gxf1+ 32.Kxf1 Exd4 etc.
9+PzP-+N+Q0 29.Cg4
9PvL-+-zPPzP0 XIIIIIIIIY
9tR-+-tR-mK-0 9-+-tr-+-+0
xiiiiiiiiy 9zp-wq-+p+k0
An excellent maneuver! As you can recall, this
maneuver solved Evgeny’s opening problems in the
9-zp-+psn-zp0
first game against Judit Polgar, although the position 9+-vl-+rzp-0
was quite different. 9-+P+-+N+0
22.c4 Gh5 23.Ig3
Perhaps returning the queen in the center by
9+P+-+-+P0
23.Ig4!? Gd8 24.Ie4 and then Ie4
e2, Ga1–d1 9PvL-+RzPPwQ0
was better – White has a solid game. 9+-+-+RmK-0
23...Ed6! 24.Ce5 Gd8 25.h3 Gf5
XIIIIIIIIY xiiiiiiiiy
29...Ed6?
9-+-tr-+-+0 Black overestimates his chances, being under severe
9zp-wq-+pmk-0 time pressure. This move indeed locks the White’s
queen, but only temporarily. Evgeny should have
9-zp-vlpsnpzp0 traded the queens with a good game.
9+-+-sNr+-0 30.g3 Ch5
9-+P+-+-+0 Sticking to the losing plan.
31.Ce3
9+P+-+-wQP0 Nothing will prevent the White’s queen from going out
9PvL-+-zPP+0 to the h1
a8 diagonal, while Black has made some
9tR-+-tR-mK-0 serious damage to his position.
31...Exg3?! 32.fxg3
xiiiiiiiiy XIIIIIIIIY
26.Ge2?!
Overestimating the chances. 26.Ic3!? retains a 9-+-tr-+-+0
minimal advantage. 9zp-wq-+p+k0
26...Ec5 27.Gf1? 9-zp-+p+-zp0
Too passive. Surprisingly, after this mistake White
ends up in a difficult position. 27.Gae1 Kh7 28.Ic3 9+-+-+rzpn0
was mandatory. 9-+P+-+-+0
27...Kh7! 28.Ih2? 9+P+-sN-zPP0
This move loses, however, the position was already
quite unpleasant! 28.Ic3? is impossible, because 9PvL-+R+-wQ0
after 28...Ed4 the e5
knight lacks sufficient 9+-+-+RmK-0
protection, and in addition White has no adequate xiiiiiiiiy
defense against ...Cf6
h5
f4.
32...Gxf1+?
One should have taken the pawn: 32...Ixg3+ Sjugirov, who comments the computer match for the
33.Ixg3 Cxg3 34.Gef2 Gxf2 35.Gxf2 f5 with some public, said here: ‘Humans play much more
chances to survive. interesting chess!’
33.Cxf1 Gd1 34.Ge3 18...exd5 19.Exd5
Black has absolutely no compensation for a piece. White’s initiative is obviously very dangerous.
Bareev resigned. 19...Ec5? loses to 20.Exc6! Exd4 21.Exd4 bxc6
22.b7 Gb8 (or 22...Gd8 23.Ea7, and Black has no
defense against Gd1 followed by b8I, for example,
23...Cb8 24.Gd1) 23.Gb1 c5 24.Ee3! and despite
Grischuk
Rublevsky having an extra piece, Black has no reasonable
Sicilian Defense moves.
Notes by grandmaster The queen retreats to c8 and h6 may be tested in the
future games of the match, therefore we will abstain
Yury Yakovich
from analyzing these positions.
After lengthy consideration, Rublevsky played
1.e4 c5 2.Cf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Cxd4 Cc6 5.Cc3 a6
19...Ic5, and Grischuk instantly responded by
So far Rublevsky’s opening tastes remain stable. He
20.e6! Ixd4
used the same move order in the 3rd game against
20...fxe6 21.Exe6+ Gf7 (21...Kh8? loses on the spot
Ponomariov.
to 22.Exd7 Ixd4? 23.Exd4 Exd7 24.Gxe7)
6.Ee2
22.Ie4 or 22.Exf7+ leads to White’s advantage.
Ponomariov continued 6.Cxc6, but did not obtain any
advantage in the opening. 21.Exd4 Cf6
6...d6 7.0–0 Cf6 8.Ee3 Ed7!? XIIIIIIIIY
The favorite system of Rublevsky. Black tries to save 9r+-+ltrk+0
a tempo on the natural Scheveningen move Ic7. 9+p+-vlpzpp0
9.a4 Ee7 10.f4 Cxd4 11.Ixd4 Ec6 12.b4 0–0
13.b5 Ee8 14.e5 Ic7!? 15.b6 Ic6 9pzP-+Psn-+0
XIIIIIIIIY 9+-+L+-+-0
9r+-+ltrk+0 9P+-vL-zP-+0
9+p+-vlpzpp0 9+-+-+-+-0
9pzPqzppsn-+0 9-+P+-+PzP0
9+-+-zP-+-0 9+-+-tRRmK-0
9P+-wQ-zP-+0 xiiiiiiiiy
9+-sN-vL-+-0 22.Eb3!
The key move! Grischuk keeps playing instantly,
9-+P+L+PzP0 demonstrating the depth of his home analysis. Black
9tR-+-+RmK-0 cannot avoid material losses.
xiiiiiiiiy 22...Gd8!
The only defense! Being under the time pressure,
The diagrammed position occurred in Rublevsky’s
Rublevsky finds the only way to continue the fight.
games twice. Jakovenko (Moscow, 2003) and Svidler
23.Exf6 Ec5+
(Moscow 2005) continued 16.exd6 Ixd6 17.Ef3, but
23...Exf6 is hopeless in view of 24.e7.
Black made draws in both cases. However, Grischuk
prepared an interesting novelty for this match. 24.Kh1 gxf6 25.e7 Exe7 26.Gxe7 Ec6
16.Ef3!? d5 17.Gae1 Cd7 XIIIIIIIIY
XIIIIIIIIY 9-+-tr-trk+0
9r+-+ltrk+0 9+p+-tRp+p0
9+p+nvlpzpp0 9pzPl+-zp-+0
9pzPq+p+-+0 9+-+-+-+-0
9+-+pzP-+-0 9P+-+-zP-+0
9P+-wQ-zP-+0 9+L+-+-+-0
9+-sN-vLL+-0 9-+P+-+PzP0
9-+P+-+PzP0 9+-+-+R+K0
9+-+-tRRmK-0 xiiiiiiiiy
xiiiiiiiiy In the diagrammed position Alexander spent about 40
minutes, and played 27.Gc7!
18.Cxd5!?
Now White can sacrifice an exchange on c6 when
The point! The 14
year
old international master Sanan
appropriate, and the b
pawn will head towards the XIIIIIIIIY
queening square. The natural 27.Gfe1 Gd2 28.G7e2?!
Gfd8 29.Kg1 Kf8 30.Kf2 G8d4 leads to a position in
9r+lwq-trk+0
which White has problems with converting his 9+p+-vlpzpp0
advantage due to the opponent’s piece activity. 9p+nzp-sn-+0
27...Gd2 28.Ge1!
Here comes another excellent move! White’s top
9+-+-zp-+-0
priority is activity, so he pays no attention to the g2
9P+-+P+-+0
pawn. 9+NsN-+-+-0
28...Gf2?
The time trouble! Taking the f4
pawn was totally
9-zPP+LzPPzP0
unnecessary. Black should have tried to bring the king 9tR-vLQ+RmK-0
away from the danger zone by 28...Kg7! with the idea xiiiiiiiiy
to meet 29.h3 (not 29.Gxc6? due to 29...Ge8!) by
10.Ee3
29...Exg2+ 30.Kg1 Kh6!, retaining some saving Playing against Short in Linares, 1994, Kamsky
chances.
obtained an advantage by 10.Eg5 Ee6 11.Exf6
29.h3
Exf6 12.Cd5 Eg5 13.a5 Gc8 14.Eg4, and after
Now White wins.
14...Kh8 15.c3 Eh6?! confidently won the game.
29...Gxf4 30.Gee7 Gf1+ 31.Kh2 Gf2
Short was impressed by Kamsky’s approach, and later
XIIIIIIIIY followed Gata’s play until the move 14 in Short

9-+-+-trk+0 Gelfand, Groningen 1996. However, Boris prepared an
9+ptR-tRp+p0 improvement: 14...Cd4! (instead of 14...Kh8), and
after 15.Cxd4 exd4 16.f4 Eh6 17.Exe6 fxe6 18.Cb6
9pzPl+-zp-+0 Gc5 19.g3 e5 20.f5 Ic7 21.c3 Gb5 22.Cd5 Ic4
9+-+-+-+-0 23.Ga4 Ib3 24.Ixb3 Gxb3 25.cxd4 the players
9P+-+-+-+0 agreed to a draw. The text
move also fails to create
any problems for Black.
9+L+-+-+P0 10...Ee6 11.Ef3 Ca5 12.Cxa5 Ixa5 13.Id2
9-+P+-trPmK0 XIIIIIIIIY
9+-+-+-+-0 9r+-+-trk+0
xiiiiiiiiy 9+p+-vlpzpp0
White ends the game with series of tactical blows. 9p+-zplsn-+0
32.Gxc6! bxc6 33.Gxf7! Gf4 34.c3! Ge4 35.Ge7+
Black resigns. 9wq-+-zp-+-0
9P+-+P+-+0
9+-sN-vLL+-0
9-zPPwQ-zPPzP0
Kamsky
Gelfand
Sicilian Defense
9tR-+-+RmK-0
Notes by grandmaster xiiiiiiiiy
Yury Yakovich 13...Gfc8
Rashkovsky
Timoschenko (Kishinev 1975)
1.e4 c5 2.Cf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Cxd4 Cf6 5.Cc3 a6 continued 13...Kh8, but since Cd5 is not a threat,
Few people doubted that Gelfand will play the Najdorf touching the king is not necessary.
Variation. 14.Gfd1
6.a4 14.Cd5?! Ixd2 15.Cxe7+ Kf8 16.Exd2 Gxc2 with
Recently Kamsky preferred 6.Eg5, however, playing advantage to Black.
against such a renowned theoretician as Gelfand, Gata 14...Kf8
decided to return to the text
move, which he used Gelfand prefers to see his king on f8 rather than on h8.
regularly in the 90s. 15.Ic1 Gc4 16.Gd3 Gac8 17.Id1 G4c6 18.Gd2
6...Cc6 Gc4 19.Gd3 G4c6 20.h3 h6 21.Gd2 Gc4 22.Gd3
One of the best replies to the system employed by G4c6 23.Gd2
White. Neither player has an active plan in this position, so a
7.Ee2 e5! 8.Cb3 draw was agreed.
Against Kengis (Bern 1990), Kamsky retreated the
knight to f3, and Black did not experience any
problems.
8...Ee7 9.0–0 0–0