[Event "FIDE Candidates 2014"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"]
[Date "2014.03.22"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2757"]
[Annotator "Crowther,Mark"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2014.03.13"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 g6 7. g4 Bg7 8. Bg2
O-O 9. Be3 Nc6 10. Qd2 Bd7 (10... Nxd4 11. Bxd4 b5 12. Bxf6 exf6 13. O-O-O Be6
14. f4 Qa5 15. Kb1 f5 16. Nd5 Qxd2 17. Rxd2 fxg4 18. hxg4 Bxg4 19. Ne3 Bd7 20.
Rxd6 Ra7 21. e5 Be6 22. Bd5 Re8 23. c4 Bf8 24. c5 h5 25. c6 Rc7 26. Bf3 Kg7 27.
Rc1 h4 28. Bg4 Bxg4 29. Nxg4 Rec8 30. Rf6 Be7 31. a3 h3 32. Rc2 Rd8 33. Ka2 Rd3
34. f5 Rg3 35. Rd6 gxf5 36. Nf6 Bxf6 37. Rxf6 Rg6 38. Rxf5 Rgxc6 39. Rg5+ Kf8
40. Rxc6 {Volokitin,A (2674)-Kotanjian,T (2531) Yerevan 2014 0-1}) 11. O-O-O
Rc8 12. f4 Na5 13. b3 Qc7 14. Nde2 b5 15. Nd5 $146 ({Predecessor:} 15. Kb1 Be6
16. Nd5 Bxd5 17. exd5 Nb7 18. Bd4 Nc5 19. Ng3 e5 20. fxe5 dxe5 21. Bb2 Qd6 22.
g5 Nfd7 23. h4 Nb6 24. Ne4 Nxe4 25. Bxe4 Nd7 26. h5 Nc5 27. Bf3 Rc7 28. Qh2
Rfc8 29. hxg6 hxg6 30. Bg4 Rb8 31. Rde1 Re7 32. Re3 Ree8 33. Rh3 Kf8 34. Rh7 {
1-0 (34) Admiraal,M (2221)-Bosboom,M (2455) Haarlem 2010}) 15... Nxd5 16. exd5
Rfe8 (16... e5 {was the move Topalov expected.} 17. dxe6 (17. fxe5 Bxe5) 17...
Bxe6 18. Kb1) (16... Nc4 $5 17. bxc4 bxc4) 17. Rhf1 (17. Bd4 e5 18. dxe6 (18.
fxe5 Bh6 $1) 18... Bxe6 $11) 17... e6 18. Rf2 Nc4 19. bxc4 bxc4 {"I missed the
idea exactly in this position." Topalov.} 20. Bd4 (20. c3 Rb8 {with a big
advantage to black.}) (20. Qb4 {"Maybe critical is Qb4." Topalov "I thought
there were too many moves to make in a complicated position. Exactly Shakh's
style." Topalov. "Without a piece!" was Mamedyarov's reply.} Rb8 21. Qa3 Rb5 {
was Topalov's fear but it might be very good for him.} (21... Bb2+ {"I thought
it should be better for white." Topalov.} 22. Qxb2 Rxb2 23. Kxb2 Qa5 24. c3 Qa4
) 22. dxe6 $1 (22. Bd4 {was Topalov's main line.} e5 23. Be3 $1 (23. fxe5 Bh6+
$1 24. Be3 Rb3 $1)) 22... Bxe6 23. Bd4) 20... c3 21. Qxc3 Qxc3 22. Nxc3 Bxd4
23. Rxd4 Rxc3 24. dxe6 Rxe6 25. Rfd2 {Topalov thought he was "almost winning a
pawn" with this but this turns out to be almost equal.} Rg3 $1 {Now the game
is almost equal. "Rg3 is very good and somehow I think it's already a draw."
Topalov.} (25... Bc6 26. Kb2 Ree3) 26. Rxd6 Rxd6 27. Rxd6 Bxg4 28. hxg4 Rxg2
29. g5 Rf2 30. Rd4 f6 31. a4 fxg5 32. fxg5 Rf5 1/2-1/2

[Event "FIDE Candidates 2014"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"]
[Date "2014.03.22"]
[Round "8.2"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A11"]
[WhiteElo "2830"]
[BlackElo "2770"]
[Annotator "Crowther,Mark"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2014.03.13"]

1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Qb3 {"When he went Qb3 obviously I've never seen such a
move before but I tried to find a setup to which we could transpose. Catalan,
Gruenfeld, all that and it didn't seem to me that Qb3 could be exploited in
any of those, it just seemed like a normal move. I decided at this moment that
the sac must be playable so I went 3.d4." - Anand. "It's certainly an
intellegent move because if black just plays standard moves white can choose
his setup well." - Anand but he added that "it may just be that Qb3 is not a
good move."} d4 4. e3 c5 (4... dxe3 5. Qxe3 {and Anand wasn't sure of the
assessment.}) 5. Qb5+ Nc6 6. Qxc5 e5 7. Qb5 {Aronian said this was an overly
optimistic way of preparing. He thought he would manage to pull this position
together over the board but when he ended up playing it "I just thought my
position was horrible especially after I quickly played 8.Qb3?! I should have
played 8.Qa4." Aronian.} a6 8. Qb3 $6 {"Normally these positions should be
good compensation [for black for the pawn]. What I was really annoyed with was
whether I should play Nf6 or not, because then if Be2 I have this move d3,
even there white will have compensation and if he goes d3 I can go check in
one move. " - Anand. "I thought when I played Qb3 I'm going to create another
miniature, I lost against you not so long ago." - Aronian. "I don't know what
the real evaluation is but during the game I felt it was close to resignable."}
(8. Qa4 {was the move Aronian prepared and he didn't think Qb3 was any good.}
Bd7 (8... Nf6 9. Nxe5) 9. Qd1 Nf6 {"I'm not losing." Aronian.}) 8... Bc5 {"I
went 8...Bc5 and nearly kicked myself for not having done 8...Nf6." Anand.} (
8... Nf6 {"I actually can't see a move for me here." Aronian.} 9. exd4 (9. d3
Bb4+ {"is just so horrible for me." Aronian}) (9. Be2 {is perhaps white's best
try in this position getting three pawns for the piece.} d3 (9... Bc5 10. exd4
Nxd4 11. Nxd4 Qxd4 12. O-O {is about equal as white is just in time to castle.}
) 10. Bd1 (10. Qxd3 Qxd3 11. Bxd3 e4 12. Bxe4 (12. Be2 exf3 13. Bxf3 (13. gxf3)
) 12... Nxe4 13. O-O {and white's three pawns for the piece aren't quite
enough for equality.}) 10... e4 11. Nd4) 9... e4 (9... exd4) 10. d5 (10. Ne5 {
was the move Anand was unsure about.} Nxd4 11. Qa4+ Nd7 $1 {Aronian. "Maybe I
should have done this." Anand.} 12. Ng4 b5 13. Qd1 h5 14. Ne3 Ne5) 10... exf3
11. dxc6 Bc5 $1) 9. d3 (9. Be2 e4 10. Nxd4 Bxd4 11. exd4 Nxd4 12. Qd1 Qg5 13.
Kf1 Nf6 14. d3 Qh4) 9... Nf6 10. e4 O-O 11. Be2 Bb4+ 12. Nbd2 {Anand was happy
to see this. "I have no experience in these positions. It's basically a Czech
Benoni where I'm simply missing a pawn. I suppose it's a lovely square and if
I had to lose one pawn in the Czech Benoni it would be this one." Anand.} (12.
Bd2 Be7 13. Na3 {was Anand's recommendation after the game and this looks
about equal.}) 12... a5 13. O-O Nd7 (13... a4 {concerned Aronian at the board.}
14. Qd1 (14. Qc2) 14... a3 15. bxa3 Bxa3 16. Bxa3 Rxa3 17. Ne1 Nd7 18. Nc2 Ra8
19. Nb3 Nb6 20. f4 {and white has an advantage.}) 14. Qd1 Bd6 15. Ne1 (15. Nb1
Nc5 16. Na3 f5 17. exf5 Bxf5 18. Nb5 {was another plan.}) 15... Nc5 (15... a4 {
"I should have played 15...a4" Anand.}) 16. Nb3 (16. Bg4 {"is a reasonable try
for white." Anand.}) 16... Na6 17. Nd2 (17. a4 Qb6 18. Bd2 {seems fine for
white "I got scared, I'm a pawn up..." Aronian. "I think this pawn doesn't
count simply." Anand. "I would dream of you having the pawn back to c5."
Aronain.}) (17. Bd2 a4 18. Nc1 Nc5 $11) 17... Nc5 18. Nb3 Na6 19. Nd2 {A bit
of a fiasco for Aronian whose idea to get Anand out of the book put only
himself in danger. "I didn't see a concrete plan.... I can react to whatever
he does. So I also wasn't averse to taking the draw. As soon as the game
finished Levon said he was worse but you never know whether to believe him."
Anand. "I though I was worse before." Aronian.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "FIDE Candidates 2014"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"]
[Date "2014.03.22"]
[Round "8.3"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Andreikin, Dmitry"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D15"]
[WhiteElo "2787"]
[BlackElo "2709"]
[Annotator "Crowther,Mark"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2014.03.13"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. g3 b5 ({Relevant:} 5... g6 6. Qb3 Bg7
7. Bg2 O-O 8. O-O dxc4 9. Qxc4 Bg4 10. Qb3 Qc8 11. Bf4 Nbd7 12. Rac1 Be6 13.
Qc2 Nd5 14. Nxd5 Bxd5 15. e4 Be6 16. h3 Nf6 17. Kh2 h6 18. Be5 Qd8 19. Ne1 Qa5
20. Nd3 Rad8 21. Nc5 Bc8 22. b4 Qb6 23. Qc3 Ne8 24. Bxg7 Nxg7 25. a4 Qc7 26.
Qe3 Kh7 27. d5 Qb8 28. dxc6 bxc6 29. Qc3 h5 30. h4 f6 31. Kg1 Qd6 32. Bf3 e5
33. Be2 g5 34. Rfd1 Qe7 35. Rxd8 {Ding,L (2711)-Kamsky,G (2721) Antalya 2013
1-0 (73)}) 6. b3 Bf5 7. Bg2 Ne4 8. Nxe4 $146 ({Predecessor (3):} 8. Bd2 Nxc3 9.
Bxc3 Be4 10. Qd2 e6 11. Ba5 Qd6 12. O-O Nd7 13. cxd5 Qxd5 14. Nh4 Bxg2 15. Nxg2
c5 16. Rad1 cxd4 17. Nf4 Qe4 18. Qxd4 Qxd4 19. Rxd4 Bc5 20. Rd2 Nf6 21. Nd3 Bd6
22. Rc1 O-O 23. Rc6 Be7 24. Rdc2 h6 25. f3 Rfb8 26. e4 Bd8 27. Bd2 Bb6+ 28. Kf1
Kh7 29. Ke2 Kg8 30. g4 Nd7 31. h4 Bd8 32. Bf4 e5 33. Bxe5 Rb7 34. Rc8 Rxc8 35.
Rxc8 {1-0 (35) Sokolov,I (2657)-Simonian,H (2475) Cento 2011}) 8... Bxe4 9. O-O
Nd7 10. Ba3 g6 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. Qd2 Bg7 13. Rac1 O-O 14. Bh3 Bxf3 15. exf3 Re8
{Kramnik thought he had good prospects.} 16. Rc6 e6 17. Rfc1 (17. f4 Nb8 (17...
Qf6) 18. Rd6 (18. Rc2 Qb6 {with Nc6 to follow.}) 18... Nd7 (18... Qf6 {is
completely equal.})) 17... Qf6 18. Rc7 Nf8 {"It's useful to put the knight on
f8." - Kramnik.} 19. Bc5 (19. f4 Qxd4 20. Qxd4 (20. Qe1 $5) 20... Bxd4 21. Bd6
(21. Bf1 {and "white is not risking much" Kramnik. But I imagine Andreikin was
also fine with this too.} Red8 22. Be7 Rd7 23. a4 {was Kramnik's plan but it
isn't that good.} bxa4 (23... Ra7 24. Rxd7 Rxd7 {is not worse for black either.
}) 24. bxa4 Bb6 25. Rxd7 Nxd7) 21... h5 {is not worse for black.}) 19... Qxf3
20. Rc3 {"I'm not so sure about 20.Rc3, maybe I should have gone 20.Bg2"
Kramnik.} (20. Bg2 {Is perhaps a little more promising.} Qf5) 20... Qh5 {"I
did like Qh5 move." Kramnik.} (20... Qf6 {doesn't seem as good.} 21. Bg2 Qd8
22. Qf4 {is much more dangerous.} Nd7 23. Bd6 (23. Bb6 e5 24. Qf3 e4 25. Qf4
Rf8 $1) 23... Bf8) 21. g4 (21. Bg2) (21. Kg2 g5 $5 22. g4 (22. f3) 22... Qg6)
21... Qh4 (21... Bh6 $5 {May well be best.} 22. Qd3 (22. f4 Qh4 23. g5 Bg7 24.
Bd6 Rad8 (24... h6 25. Be5 (25. Bg2 Rad8 {with a big advantage to black.})
25... hxg5 26. Bxg7 Kxg7 27. fxg5 {and black is better.})) 22... Qg5 23. Bd6
Bg7) 22. Qf4 f6 (22... f5 23. Qg3 (23. Bd6 Rad8 24. Be5 Bxe5 25. Qxe5 Nd7)
23... Qxg3+ 24. hxg3 Rac8) 23. Be7 Qg5 24. Qg3 Qd2 25. g5 $6 {"I don't know
why I gave up the pawn." Kramnik.} (25. Qe3 Qxe3 26. fxe3 g5 27. R3c6 Ng6 28.
Bd6) 25... Qxg5 26. Qxg5 fxg5 27. Bxg5 Bxd4 28. R3c6 a5 (28... Be5 29. Rb7 Bd4
30. Rbc7) 29. Bh6 b4 (29... a4 30. Bxf8 axb3 31. axb3 Rxf8 32. Bxe6+ Kh8 33.
Rc2 Ra6 34. Rc8 Rxc8 35. Rxc8+ Kg7 36. Bxd5 Ra2 37. Rc7+ Kf6 38. Rf7+ Ke5 39.
Bc6) 30. Kg2 a4 31. bxa4 Rxa4 32. Bxf8 Rxf8 1/2-1/2

[Event "FIDE Candidates 2014"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"]
[Date "2014.03.22"]
[Round "8.4"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A05"]
[WhiteElo "2758"]
[BlackElo "2766"]
[Annotator "Crowther,Mark"]
[PlyCount "164"]
[EventDate "2014.03.13"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. d3 c5 6. e4 (6. Nbd2 {Normally
Karjakin's opponents would start with this.}) 6... Nc6 (6... dxe4 7. dxe4 Qxd1
8. Rxd1 Nxe4 {and white has more than enough compensation for the pawn.}) 7.
Qe2 O-O 8. e5 Nd7 9. c4 d4 10. h4 Kh8 (10... a6 11. Bf4 b5 12. b3 Bb7 13. Nbd2
bxc4 14. bxc4 Nb6 15. Ne4 Na4 16. Rfc1 Rb8 17. Qd1 Nb6 18. h5 h6 19. Qd2 Kh7
20. g4 Nb4 21. Qe2 Na4 22. a3 Nc6 23. Rab1 Ba8 24. Qc2 Rxb1 25. Rxb1 Nc3 26.
Nxc3 dxc3 27. Qxc3 f5 28. exf6 Bxf6 29. Qd2 Nd4 30. Rb8 Nxf3+ 31. Bxf3 Bxf3 32.
Rxd8 Rxd8 33. g5 hxg5 34. Bxg5 Rd4 35. Bxf6 gxf6 36. Qe3 Bg4 37. Qg3 e5 38. Qg2
Bxh5 39. Qc6 Kg6 40. Qxc5 {Kononenko,D (2610)-Matsenko,S (2458) Pardubice 2013
1-0 (87)}) 11. Bf4 (11. Nbd2 {There's a lot of latitude for both players in
their development.} Qc7 (11... Qb6 12. Re1) 12. Re1) 11... f5 $5 12. Ng5 (12.
exf6 {may be a better move.} gxf6 13. Nbd2 (13. Re1 e5 14. Bc1) 13... e5 14.
Bh6 Rg8) 12... Bxg5 13. hxg5 {"Bxc6 is a huge threat." - Svidler.} Qc7 $146 (
13... a5 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. g6 hxg6 16. Nd2 Kg8 17. Nf3 Re8 18. Kg2 Nf8 19. Rh1
Nh7 20. Qd2 Ra7 21. Rh2 g5 22. Bxg5 Nxg5 23. Nxg5 Kf8 24. Rh7 Rf7 25. Rah1 Ke7
26. Nxf7 Kxf7 27. Rxg7+ {1-0 (27) Kuzmin,A-Grigorian,K (2445) Moscow 1981}) (
13... Ne7 14. Kh2 $5 (14. b4 $5 {with play on the Queenside.}) 14... Rg8 15.
Rh1 Ng6 16. Kg1) 14. g6 $5 {"I'm no longer so sure this is so good." Svidler.
"I thought this will lead to a position that is very difficult to play and
very lively play."} (14. Kh2 Nb6 15. Rh1 Bd7 16. a4 Kg8 17. a5 Nc8 18. Kg1 g6
19. Bd2 a6 (19... Qxe5 20. Qxe5 Nxe5 21. a6) 20. f4) (14. Nd2 Kg8 15. a3 Rb8
16. Rfe1 Ne7 17. b4) (14. a3 b6 15. b4 {and white is not better} Bb7 16. b5 Ne7
) 14... hxg6 15. Nd2 Kg8 16. Nf3 Re8 17. Ng5 (17. a3 {doesn't look like
anything but white can still play this way.} b6 18. Ng5 Nf8 (18... Bb7 $2 19.
Bxc6 Qxc6 20. f3 {and black isn't in time to defend.} Nf8 (20... Kf8 21. Qh2
Ke7 22. Qh7 Kd8 23. Qxg6 Kc7 24. b4) 21. Qh2 Rad8 22. Kf2 Rd7 23. Rh1)) (17.
Nh4 Nf8 {is at least fine for black.}) 17... Nf8 18. g4 $5 {Svidler's
aggressive intent continues.} Nd8 19. Kh2 (19. gxf5 gxf5 (19... exf5 20. Bd5+
Be6 21. Rfe1 (21. Kh2 Nf7 {"If I'm not taking on g6 then I think the whole
thing collapses." Svidler.}) 21... Nf7 22. Nxe6 Nxe6 23. Bd2) 20. Kh2 Bd7 21.
Rh1 Nf7 22. Qh5 Nxg5 23. Qxg5 Rec8 24. Rag1 Be8 25. Kg3 Rab8 26. Qh4 Ng6 27.
Qh7+ Kf8 28. Bf3 b5 29. Bh5 Ne7 30. Bxe8 Kxe8 31. Qxg7) 19... Bd7 {"If not for
Bd7 I think I might have enough here." Svidler.} (19... Nf7 20. Nxf7 Qxf7 21.
gxf5 exf5 22. Rh1 Ne6 23. Bd5 b5 24. Bxa8 Nxf4 25. Qf3 g5) 20. gxf5 exf5 21.
Bd5+ Nde6 {"Unfortunately Ne6 is very strong." Svidler.} 22. Rg1 Bc6 23. Qf3
Rad8 (23... Bxd5 24. cxd5 Nxf4 25. d6 Qb6 26. Qxf4 Qxb2) 24. Rae1 Qd7 25. Bxe6+
(25. Nxe6 Nxe6 (25... Rxe6 {is an unnecessary sacrifice suggested by Svidler.})
26. Rxg6 Bxd5 27. cxd5 Qxd5 28. Qh5 Rd7 29. Rh6 gxh6 30. Qxe8+ Kh7 31. Bxh6 Ng7
32. Bxg7 Rxg7 33. Qh5+ Kg8 34. Qe8+ $11) 25... Nxe6 26. Qg3 {With his attack
not working Svidler has to try and hold on for a draw.} (26. Qh3 Nxg5 27. Bxg5
Ra8 (27... Rc8 28. Bf6 Qf7 29. Rg3 f4 $1 (29... gxf6 30. Reg1 {"Is potentially
already lost for black" Svidler In fact he's in terribly trouble here.} g5 $1 (
30... Kf8 31. Rxg6 {is better for white}) (30... Kg7 31. Qh5 Kf8 (31... g5 32.
Rxg5+ fxg5 33. Rxg5+ Kf8 34. Qh6+ Ke7 35. Qd6# {is just about the only mate
that works for Svidler.}) 32. Rxg6 fxe5 33. Qh6+ Ke7) 31. Rxg5+ (31. Qh4 Kf8) (
31. exf6) 31... fxg5 32. Rxg5+ Qg7)) 28. f4 (28. Bf6 Qf7 29. Rg3 (29. Bh4 {and
black is better.}) 29... f4 $1 {Svidler was happy until he saw this.} (29...
Bf3 30. Rxf3 gxf6 31. Rg3 Kg7) (29... Qxf6 30. exf6 Rxe1 31. f3 Re2+ 32. Rg2
Rae8)) 28... Kf7 29. Bf6 $1 Rh8 30. e6+ Qxe6 31. Rxe6 Rxh3+ 32. Kxh3 Kxe6 33.
Bxg7 Kf7) 26... Rc8 (26... Rb8 {Svidler.}) (26... Ra8 {May be the most
accurate.}) 27. Nh3 Qf7 28. Qh4 {"In this position I completely forgot about
Bf3 finally old age is catching up with me. I've controled the f3 square for
so long that the idea that a black piece might actually appear on f3
completely escaped me. "} (28. Ng5 Nxg5 29. Qxg5 b5 30. Qxg6 Qxg6 31. Rxg6 Kf7)
28... Bf3 $1 {"and here I was kind of considering resigning for a bit" Svidler
producing a snigger from Karjakin. "which knowing how the game panned out not
such a bad idea actually. It would have saved me quite a lot of time."} (28...
b5 29. Rg3 (29. cxb5 Bxb5 (29... Bf3 {anyway.}) 30. Rg3 Rc6) 29... bxc4) 29.
Bd2 Bg4 30. Rg3 {"I decided to go on and in this position Sergey surprised me
a great deal." Svidler.} Qe7 {Black is well on top but taking off the queens
must help white.} (30... Qd7 {Svidler} 31. Ng5 (31. f3 Bh5 {looks strongest.
"I probably have to swap knights and hope my queenside will hold but probably
b5 comes and my queenside collapses." - Svidler.} (31... Kf7 32. Ng5+ Nxg5 33.
Qxg5 Bh5)) 31... Bh5 32. Nxe6 Rxe6 33. b3 Rce8 34. Bf4 Qc7 35. Rc1) (30... Bxh3
$5 31. Rxh3 Qc7 32. Qg3 g5 33. Kg1 g4) 31. Qxe7 Rxe7 32. Ng5 {"Now I have very
decent drawing chances I think." Svidler.} Nxg5 {Losing tempi according to
Svidler but both were getting short of time.} (32... Rce8) 33. Bxg5 Re6 34. f3
Bh5 35. b3 Kf7 36. Rh3 Rce8 37. Bf4 Ra6 38. Re2 Ke6 39. Kg3 Rb8 40. Bg5 $2 {
With less than 30 seconds left Svidler quickly makes a move that puts him back
in terrible trouble. "We basically come to one final moment of idiocy, move 40,
basically any move, make any move in this position, Rh2, Rh1, any move it
doesn't matter all that much just don't play what I played. But also I knew I
shouldn't be playing this move, it's some kind of a death wish I honestly
don't know." Svidler.} (40. Rhh2) (40. Rh1 b5 41. cxb5 Rxb5 42. Rc1 {"Getting
this bishop on h5 back into play is almost impossible and even by some miracle
black manages, I'm not sure how.... he will have so many weaknesses it will be
a reasonably simple draw." Svidler.}) 40... f4+ $1 {Karjakin didn't have much
time but didn't take much to play this.} 41. Bxf4 (41. Kxf4 Rf8+ 42. Ke4 Rf5 {
and f4 isn't possible and} 43. Bf4 g5 44. Bh2 Rf4+ 45. Bxf4 Bg6# {is mate.})
41... Rf8 {Now white has to defend all over again and whilst the result may
still be a draw by best play it is a very difficult position for white and he
will suffer for a very long time.} 42. Rf2 Rf5 {"To be honest I probably
didn't play particularly well but I was so disgusted with Bg5 that I was just
making moves." Svidler.} 43. Bc1 Rxe5 44. Rh1 Kf7 45. Bf4 {"I think this
position has to be lost somehow." Svidler.} Rf5 46. Bb8 Re6 47. Rh4 Re3 48. Rf4
a6 49. Bd6 (49. Ba7 {betting on taking on c5 seems more accurate.}) 49... Rxf4
50. Kxf4 Kf6 51. Bxc5 g5+ 52. Kg3 Rxd3 53. Kg2 Be8 {Very odd.} (53... Kf5 {I
think this is very close to lost - Svidler.} 54. Bb6 {and it really isn't
clear how black makes progress.} Rd1 55. Ba5 g6 56. Kg3 Rd3) 54. Kf1 Bh5 55.
Ke2 Re3+ 56. Kd2 Ke5 57. Rg2 {and Svidler thought he was getting a draw almost
immediately with} (57. Re2 Rxe2+ 58. Kxe2 g4 59. fxg4 Bxg4+ 60. Kd2 Bf5 61. Be7
Bb1 62. a3 Kf4 63. b4 g5 64. Bf6 d3 65. a4 Kf5 66. Bd4 Ke4 67. Be3 g4 68. b5
axb5 69. axb5 Ba2 70. c5 Be6 71. c6 bxc6 72. bxc6 g3 73. c7 g2 74. Bb6 {and
it's impossible to believe white is losing.}) 57... Kf4 (57... Bxf3 58. Rxg5+
Ke4 59. Rxg7 Re2+ 60. Kc1 Rxa2 61. Rd7 {and white will draw as the black
d-pawn cannot be saved.} d3 62. Rd4+ Ke3 {loses.} (62... Kf5 63. Rxd3 $11)) 58.
Bxd4 Re7 $1 {This really seemed to depress Svidler. I don't think this should
be winning either but it is miserable.} 59. Re2 Rd7 60. Kc3 Bxf3 61. Re8 $6 {
Avoiding passive defence but this certainly is asking a lot of his position.} (
61. Be3+ Kg3 62. Rd2 Rxd2 63. Bxd2 g4 64. Kd3 Kg2 65. Ba5 g3 66. Ke3 Bg4 67.
Bc7 Kh3 68. Be5 g5 69. c5 Bd1 70. b4 Bh5 71. Bd6 Be8 72. a3 Bh5 73. Bc7 Bf7 {
and it's very hard to believe black will win.}) (61. Be5+) 61... Be4 62. Rf8+ {
Finally white is lost.} (62. Be5+ Ke3 63. a4 g4 64. b4 Rd3+ 65. Kb2 g3 (65...
Kf3 66. Re7 g5 67. Rf7+) 66. Bxg3) 62... Bf5 63. Rg8 g6 64. Rg7 Rxd4 {This has
been coming for some time. The rest is slow agony for Svidler.} 65. Kxd4 b6 $3
{is a great move that required Karjakin to see a long way.} 66. Kc3 Ke3 67. Rb7
g4 68. Rxb6 g3 69. Rd6 g2 70. Rd1 g5 71. b4 Kf2 72. a4 g1=Q 73. Rxg1 Kxg1 74.
b5 axb5 75. axb5 g4 76. c5 g3 77. c6 g2 78. b6 Kf2 79. b7 g1=Q $1 {The
difficult thing here is to be certain that black will mate or win material.}
80. b8=Q Qc1+ 81. Kd4 Qe3+ 82. Kc4 Be6+ 0-1

[Event "TCh-NOR Kvalifisering Eliteserien 2014"]
[Site "Oslo NOR"]
[Date "2014.03.22"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Georgiev, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[WhiteElo "2881"]
[BlackElo "2553"]
[ECO "C78"]
[Opening "Ruy Lopez"]
[Variation "Archangelsk (counterthrust) variation"]
[WhiteTeam "Stavanger SK"]
[BlackTeam "Nordstrand SK"]
[WhiteFideId "1503014"]
[BlackFideId "2903024"]
[EventDate "2014.03.22"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bb7 7. d3 Bc5 8. c3
O-O 9. a4 d5 10. axb5 axb5 11. Rxa8 Bxa8 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Re1 b4 14. Qc2 f6 15.
Nbd2 Kh8 16. Ne4 Be7 17. h3 Na5 18. Ba2 b3 19. Bxb3 Nxb3 20. Qxb3 Nb6 21. d4 f5
22. Nc5 Bd5 23. Qd1 e4 24. Ne5 Bd6 25. Bf4 Nc4 26. b4 g5 27. Bh2 f4 28. Nxc4
Bxc5 29. Nd2 Bd6 30. Nxe4 Qe7 31. Nxd6 Qxd6 32. Re5 h6 33. h4 gxh4 34. Qh5 c6
35. f3 Qf6 36. b5 Ra8 37. Re8+ Rxe8 38. Qxe8+ Kh7 39. Qd7+ Kh8 40. b6 1-0

