[Event "Korchnoi Birthday KO"]
[Site "Zurich SUI"]
[Date "2001.04.29"]
[EventDate "2001.04.29"]
[Round "3.2"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[Black "Garry Kasparov"]
[ECO "D44"]
[WhiteElo "2797"]
[BlackElo "2827"]
[PlyCount "71"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e3 a6{[%cal Rb7b5,Gf1c4]}
{[#] Black prepares to push b5 in case white plays Bxc4.}
6. Bxc4 b5 7. Bd3 c5 8. a4 {[%csl Yc4] [%cal Ga2a4]}
{[#] Principle: Create confrontation when leading in development. Black has no comfortable way to deal with the axb5 threat.
This leads to a hole on c4, but other moves were even worse. For example, c4 is met by Be2, and black’s pawn structure would be very loose. One possible continuation after Be2 is the following variation, and then the pawn on c4 should be falling on the next move. }
(8. a4 c4 9. Nb1 Qc7 10. Qe2)
b4
9. Ne4 Nbd7 10. Nxf6+ Nxf6 11. O-O Bb7
12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. Qe2 {[%cal Gd1e2, Ge3e8] [%csl Ye2,Yd3,Yc4,Yb5,Ya6]}
{[#] White’s idea behind Qe2 is to support the e4 push and get the pieces into the game. Also lining up the Queen and the bishop to form a battery is often a good idea. }
Qd5 {[%cal Rd8d5]}
{[#] Discouraging white to play e4.}
14. Rd1 Qh5 15. h3 Rd8 16. Nd4 Qd5 {[%cal Rh5d5]}
{[#] The following variation would have given black an edge since white’s pieces look too passive.}
(16... Qxe2 17.Bxe2)
17. Nf3 Ke7 {[%cal Re8e7]}
{[#] Possibly due to a grudge, Kasparov rejects the repetition, but it is a very risky move because now the king cannot castle anymore and
might be under tremendous pressure in the center.}
18. e4!! {[%cal Ge3e4, Gc1h6, Ga1c1]}
{[#] Fantastic move, immediately punishing the Kasparov’s dubious move and a pawn sacrifice to activate the bishop on c1 and the rook on a1. From now on White’s initiative gets very strong.}
Nxe4 19. Be3 Bxe3 20. Qxe3 Qc5 21. Qe1 {[%cal Ge3e1]}
{[#] Avoids Queen trade. When you have initiative and a pawn down most of the time, Queens should remain on the board so that white can attack the black king effectively.}
Nf6 22. Rac1 Qb6 23. Ne5 {[%csl Ge5,Gg1,Re7,Rh8]}
{[#] White stands better for the following reasons:<br/>
1. His pieces are more active<br/>
2. His King is much safer<br/>
3. The knight on e5 is perfectly placed and controls almost the entire board, the rook on h8 is out of play, and cannot come into the game very soon.
}
Rd4
{[#] Do you see the most accurate way to win here? Take a pause and try to find the winning combination. <br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>
The answer is the following sequence: }
(23... Rd4 24. Nc4 Qc5 25. Ne3 Qb6 26. Nf5)
24. Bxa6 {[%cal Gd3a6]}
{[#] Instead of the previous sequence we get a very good deflection & discovery tactic, now the bishop cannot be taken because of the following variation.}
(24.Bxa6 Bxa6 25. Rxd4 Qxd4 26. Nc6)
Rxd1 25. Rxd1 Bxa6 26. Qxb4+
Qxb4 27. Nc6+ Kf8 28. Rd8+ Ne8 29. Nxb4 {[%cal Gc6b4,Rd8h8] [%csl Re7,Rd7]}
{[#] Even though white is a piece down, he has more than enough compensation for the piece, the knight on e8 is pinned and the King cannot come out because the knight can check to make him return. We have a Karpov-style lockdown! }
Be2 {[%csl Gh5,Gc4]}
{[#] Notice the bishop is running out of squares, the only squares it can go to is h5 and c4 and we can cut off these squares by playing b3 and f3.}
30. f3 h5 31. b3 Rh6 32. Kf2 {[%cal Gg1f2]}
{[#] Now White collects the bishop on e2 and with the help of two connected passed pawns it should be a completely winning position.}
Rg6 33. Kxe2 Rxg2+ 34. Kd3 Rg3 35. a5 Rxf3+ 36. Kc4 1-0
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