The sixth round of the Tal Memorial would be the round before the second and final rest day. The tournament was approaching its closing stages and one would assume that the players would be wanting to make this round count so that they could enjoy their day off and prepare for the final three rounds in their Tal Memorial campaign. The ambitions were different per player: Anish Giri would want to increase his lead; Ian Nepomniachtchi would be wanting to keep Giri honest and under pressure; Anand, Kramnik, Aronian, Li, Svidler, Mamedyarov, would all be wanting to score and improve their positions; Tomashevsky and Gelfand would be playing for their reputations, endeavouring to make their scores more respectable, with hopes of taking a prize long gone. In Gelfand’s case it was even a little more negative than this — he just simply had to stop losing.
Unfortunately for Gelfand, he didn’t. In a round that saw all but one game decided, he would come up against Vladimir Kramnik. Playing White, Kramnik dominated the game, which was mostly all prepared away from the board. He was not on his own until his 22.Na2, by which time his position was already immense. Gelfand had dealt with most of the game rather well, but his 21…Rc6 was a mistake and should have given way to 21…Na4, which seems to have been his best try. As it was, he was not in the game from this point.
Ian Nepomniachtchi faired better against Shakhryar Mamedyarov. Playing the White side of a Giuoco Piano, Nepomniachtchi was in control throughout the game. Mamedyarov’s problems seemed to stem from his misplaced rook and Queen. 20.d4(!) by White put Black further on the back foot and he never recovered from this. Already an exchange up, 36.Rd8 saw White gain further material, and from here the Russian converted nicely.
Peter Svidler notched up his first win, with a nicely controlled game with the White pieces against Li Chao. I have to say, Black made some questionable choices in the game, and seemed far too confrontational at times for what his position called for. There seemed to be some denial in fact and Svidler benefitted greatly from it. This is not to take anything away from the Russian, however, who took his opportunities in fine style, obtaining an advanced passed pawn, which proved decisive.
As I said, above, Anish Giri would be looking for a nice solid game with the Black pieces in this round, and to go in to the rest day with his lead of the tournament consolidated or increased. Unfortunately for him, he came up against a Levon Aronian, who had other ideas. They got in to a English Opening, and to be quite honest, White was always in charge. Black’s problems seemed to stem from allowing his Queen to be lured over to h3, where she was rather our of the way. Giri’s development seriously lagged behind Aronian’s and this had very serious consequences. Perhaps Black’s last chance was 26…bxc6, but already under pressure, this was refused in favour of 26…Qc7. From here, White played extremely powerfully and converted his advantage.
This sees a change at the top of the board, with Ian Nepomniachtchi taking the lead. The players now have a day off before the final three rounds. Some will be going in to it very much happier than others, that is for sure!
Standings after 6 rounds:
- Nepomniachtchi — 4½
- Giri — 4
- Kramnik, Aronian, Anand –3½
- Svidler, Li — 3
- Mamedyarov — 2½
- Tomashevsky — 2
- Gelfand — ½
[Site “Moscow RUS”]
[Date “2016.10.02”]
[Round “6.4”]
[White “Kramnik, Vladimir”]
[Black “Gelfand, Boris”]
[Result “1-0”]
[BlackElo “2743”]
[BlackFideId “2805677”]
[BlackTitle “GM”]
[ECO “B96”]
[EventDate “2016.09.26”]
[Opening “Sicilian”]
[Variation “Najdorf, 7.f4”]
[WhiteElo “2808”]
[WhiteFideId “4101588”]
[WhiteTitle “GM”]
{ Annotations by John Lee Shaw for www.hotoffthechess.com. } 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Nbd7 8.Qe2 Qc7 9.O-O-O b5 10.a3 Bb7 11.g4 Rc8 { Still in theory here, but Kramnik was critical of this move, saying that it was not the best way to go. …Be7 was a good alternative, due to Black’s next. } ( 11…Be7 12.Bg2 O-O { With White being able to choose between Rhf1, h4, and Bh4. } ) 12.Bxf6 gxf6 { In light of White’s Kingside pawns marching up the board, Black has obviously decided that his King is safest in the centre. Even though there is a fortress of pawns there, this is a dubious decision. } ( 12…Nxf6 13.Bg2 { with …Be7 or …d5 being ok here for Black. } ( { Perhaps Gelfand wanted to avoid the following possibility } 13.g5 Nd7 14.f5 { which demands great accuracy from Black } 14…e5 { but after Nd5 or Nb3 he seems fine. } ) ) 13.h4 { Very bold play, enabled by the fact that Kramnik has looked at this position extremely deeply. } 13…Qb6 { It makes a lot of sense to open the rook’s firing line towards the White King. Black wants to play the plan, above, with …d5 and …Bxa3 ideas. } ( { The classical response to a flank attack is the counter-thrust in the centre. However, after } 13…d5 14.f5 { (The only way to go if White wants to keep playing positively), Black’s continuations do not look very convincing. } 14…Bxa3 { is perhaps the most testing } 15.Rh3 { Black would be way better after bxa2 Qxc3, obviously. The thing is, however, that Black’s best may well be …Bc5 here (…Qf4+ and e5 is also an option) and White has an initiative with fxe6. } ) 14.Rh3 { This is the problem with taking time to prepare the …Bxa3 idea, White also has time to cover it. Now, Black’s counter strike (however viable or not) is gone. } 14…h5 15.f5 { Kramnik pushes on, he wont mind at all if Black takes on g4. It is important to remember that in cases of opposite castling, (or in this case uneven King positions), it is all about opening lines towards the enemy, while leaving one’s own King secure. } 15…e5 16.Nb3 { Even with this withdrawral, White’s position has a certain something about it. } 16…hxg4 { There is not really anything better than this. } ( { Interesting is: } 16…Nc5 17.Nxc5 hxg4 18.Nd7 Kxd7 19.Qxg4 { with an edge. } ) 17.Qxg4 b4 { Apparently Kramnik was critical of this move, but it does appear to be Black’s most challenging move, here. } 18.axb4 Qxb4 19.Kb1 Nb6 20.Qe2 Bh6 21.Qf2 { ! A lovely move, this. As far as I can tell, aiming to play Nb5 when the d6-square comes under pressure. This explains Black’s next. } 21…Rc6 { This move was new to Kramnik, which is not a good sign for Gelfand considering that one would look at the good moves when preparing. …Na4 looks like the best try. } ( 21…Na4 22.Nd5 Bxd5 23.exd5 { this seems the more productive way to go than taking with the rook } ( 23.Rxd5 Rb8 24.Bxa6 Nc5 { Black seems fine, here. } 25.Rxc5 dxc5 26.Qxc5 Qxc5 27.Nxc5 Ke7 { = } ) 23…Ra8 { When White is better but the position has to be resolved. } ) 22.Na2 { According to Kramnik, this was the point at which he was on his own and not in preparation. His position here is already immense. One must feel for Gelfand, faced with good preparation, he had sorted things out rather accurately. However, over the last few moves, he has started to go awry. } 22…Qa4 23.Rc3 Ke7 { ? Black did not have time for this. It allows White to play very powerfully … } 24.Rxc6 Qxc6 25.Na5 Qc7 26.Nxb7 Qxb7 27.Nb4 { Good, but the immediate Bxa6 was very powerful here, all made possible by 23…Ke7. } ( 27.Bxa6 { ! } 27…Qc7 ( { to } 27…Qxa6 { White has the following line } 28.Nb4 Qb5 29.Qxb6 Qxb6 30.Nd5+ { with a crushing edge } ) 28.Rd3 Rb8 29.Rc3 Qd8 30.Nb4 { and things are very unpleasant for Black. } ) 27…Rb8 28.Qxb6 { Kramnik has a definate edge, and trading Queens safely maintains that and gives him the kind of position he is comfortable with. } ( { An interesting possibility was } 28.Bxa6 Qxe4 { which could lead to the following line: } 29.Nd5+ Kd8 ( { not } 29…Nxd5 30.Qa7+ Kf8 31.Qxb8+ { and Black can resign. } ) 30.Nxb6 Be3 31.Rxd6+ Kc7 32.Qxe3 Qxe3 33.Nd5+ Kxd6 34.Nxe3 { And White has more than enough compensation for his rook and with accurate play should convert. } ) 28…Qxb6 29.Nd5+ Kf8 30.Nxb6 Rxb6 31.c3 Be3 32.Kc2 { Beginning the process of the final push, activating his King and keeping his options open as to where his rook will go — a1 or h1. } 32…Kg7 33.b4 Kh6 34.Bc4 Bf2 35.Rh1 { Black is not going to get this pawn so easily. } 35…Rc6 36.Kb3 Rb6 37.Kc2 Rc6 38.Kd3 Rc7 { I am not quite sure why Gelfand gave this pawn up so easily. He could have played …Kg7 and made White make the push. } 39.Bxa6 { With this pawn gone, White has absolutely everything his own way now, Black can do very little but shuffle about and wait for the end to come, hoping for a mistake. In contrast to Gelfand’s wishes, Kramnik converts in style. } 39…Kh5 40.Bc4 Ra7 41.Bd5 Kh6 42.h5 Bb6 43.Kc4 Be3 44.Kb3 Bb6 45.Rh2 Be3 46.Re2 Bb6 47.Ra2 Rxa2 48.Kxa2 Kxh5 49.Kb3 Bf2 50.Ka4 Kh6 51.Kb5 Kg7 52.Kc6 Kf8 53.b5 Ke7 54.Kc7 { And Boris Gelfand resigned, for his fifth loss in a row. A very nice game from Vladimir Kramnik, the hard work of which was done before he sat down at the board. } 1-0
[Event “10th Tal Mem 2016”]
[Site “Moscow RUS”]
[Date “2016.10.02”]
[Round “6.1”]
[White “Nepomniachtchi, Ian”]
[Black “Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar”]
[Result “1-0”]
[BlackElo “2761”]
[BlackFideId “13401319”]
[BlackTitle “GM”]
[ECO “C50”]
[EventDate “2016.09.26”]
[Opening “Giuoco Piano”]
[WhiteElo “2740”]
[WhiteFideId “4168119”]
[WhiteTitle “GM”]
{ Annotations by John Lee Shaw for www.hotoffthechess.com. } 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O { Nepomniachtchi decides to castle at the earliest opportunity. This is one of the lesser played lines, c3 and d3 are a bit more common here. } 4…Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 h6 7.a4 a6 8.h3 O-O 9.Re1 Re8 10.Nbd2 Be6 { The players have developed very naturally, which is one of the appealing features of the Giuoco Piano. } 11.Bxe6 { It makes sense to exchange bishops here, White has no good way of avoiding it and Black’s bishop is just as good as White’s along the diagonal, so why not? Qe2, a4-a5 and Nf1 have all been tried, here, but only once and not at super-high level. } 11…Rxe6 12.b4 Ba7 13.Qc2 d5 { Black can’t afford to wait too long before playing this move, it is imperative that he challenges in the centre or White will just have too much of a grip on the position. However, …d5 did not have to be played at this point. It might have been better to relocate his rook with …Re8, but this is not a nice move to play. Perhaps Black was hoping to activate it along the 6th rank eventually, but this is rather ambitious and in the meantime the piece could be vulnerable. } 14.Nb3 { A novelty, Giri-Caruana, Grand Chess Tour Blitz 2016, had continued 14.Nf1 to be drawn in 64. Interestingly enough, there have been another two occasions when this position has occurred (according to my database anyway) but noth of these were with Black having the move. 14…d4 in Salgado Lopez-Adams 2013 and 14…Ne7 in Bologan-Jakovenko 2008. } 14…Ne7 ( 14…dxe4 { is more active } 15.dxe4 Nh5 16.Rd1 Qe8 17.Nh4 { with a slight edge to White. } ) 15.exd5 ( 15.c4 { gives Black some solving to do } 15…dxc4 16.dxc4 Ng6 17.c5 { with an obvious pull } ) 15…Qxd5 { At the time, I was quite puzzled as to why Black would choose to recapture with the Queen, here, especially with his rook pretty much boxed in on e6. However, this may have been the best choice, which I find a little worrying. } ( 15…Nexd5 { this looks naturally better, but White gets quite good play } 16.Nc5 Bxc5 17.bxc5 { with an edge after …Qd7 or …Nd7 } ) 16.c4 Qd6 { The best square, but this looks horrible to me. Whether a valid idea or not, White is now able to force the exchange of Black’s a7-bishop, which was quite well situated. } 17.Nc5 Bxc5 18.bxc5 Qxc5 { Black picks up a pawn, but White has compensation of the semi-open b-file, not to mention developing his dark-squared bishop with tempo. } 19.Ba3 { The correct square, preventing the Queen from retreating to d6, which would have been possible in response to Be3. } 19…Qa5 20.d4 { ! Nice play by White, taking advantage of the positioning of the Black rook on e6 and the Black Queen being stuck out of the action for now. } 20…Ng6 { This piece was very badly placed and needed to be re-deployed. g6 was probably the best of the available squares, but Black’s setup does not look at all harmonious to me. } ( 20…e4 21.d5 { is crushing for White and it seems that Black’s best chance is to sacrifice the exchange for two pawns with …Nexd5, but White is way better. To …Rb6, White has Nd2, after which Black has to deal with the threat of c4-c5. } ) ( { Of course, taking the pawn is suicide } 20…exd4 21.Rxe6 fxe6 22.Bxe7 { winning on all fronts. } ) 21.Bb2 { Rightly preserving (indeed increasing) the tension towards e5. To have advanced d4-d5 would have been misguided, here, when Black simply withdraws the rook. White has then resolved the centre for his opponent. } 21…Rae8 { Perhaps …c6 would have been wise, here, in light of White’s next. } 22.Bc3 Qb6 23.Rab1 Qa7 24.dxe5 { The correct timing to take, preserving the situation serves no purpose now, with Black’s rooks nicely placed along the e-file. } 24…Nd7 25.Rbd1 Ndf8 { Capturing the pawn with a knight loses, due to Black’s back rank. } 26.h4 Qc5 27.h5 Ne7 28.Re4 { A spicey move, this, not merely defending a pawn (one doesn’t want to be doing that with rooks anyway) but with the option to go to g4. } 28…Rc6 { Inviting Nd4. Mamedyarov has obviously decided that this rook is a liability and decides to get rid of it for a bit of compensation. Whether this was adequate compensation, and worthy of rejecting the alternative of …Nc6 is a matter of debate I suppose. } ( 28…Nc6 29.Rd5 Qe7 30.Nh4 { With a huge position. } ) 29.Nd4 Qxc4 30.Nxc6 Qxc6 31.Qd3 b5 32.axb5 axb5 33.Bb4 { A good way of blockading the pawn, while also firing the bishop along the a3-f8 diagonal again. Rb1 was also perfectly sound. } ( 33.Rb1 Nd5 34.Bd2 Nf6 35.Ree1 Nxh5 36.Qxb5 { is very nice for White. } ) 33…Qb7 34.Bxe7 Rxe7 35.Rd4 { Deserting the pawn, which has now served its purpose. White has other areas of operation now. } 35…Rxe5 36.Rd8 { Tying up the knight for a bit as well as having the use of Black’s back rank, potentially. Black’s position is becomming critical. } 36…Qc6 37.Qd7 Qc5 38.Qc8 { A very nice situation to be in, gradually Nepomniachtchi’s grip on the position increases. } 38…Rxh5 39.Rxf8+ Qxf8 40.Rd8 Qxd8 41.Qxd8+ Kh7 42.Qd7 { The immediate Qxc7 was also super. } 42…f6 43.Qxc7 b4 44.Qc2+ Kh8 45.Qc4 Re5 46.g3 Kh7 47.Kg2 b3 48.Qxb3 { White has his i’s dotted and t’s crossed, here. Nepomniachtchi coverts his advantage very nicely. } 48…Kh8 49.Kh3 Rh5+ 50.Kg4 Rg5+ 51.Kh4 Re5 52.f4 Ra5 53.Qc3 Rd5 54.Qb4 { And Mamedyarov resigned, there is no defence to the White Queen penetrating and gaining control of the Black King position. } 1-0
[Event “10th Tal Mem 2016”]
[Site “Moscow RUS”]
[Date “2016.10.02”]
[Round “6.2”]
[White “Svidler, Peter”]
[Black “Li, Chao b”]
[Result “1-0”]
[BlackElo “2746”]
[BlackFideId “8604436”]
[BlackTitle “GM”]
[ECO “A09”]
[EventDate “2016.09.26”]
[Opening “Reti”]
[Variation “advance variation”]
[WhiteElo “2745”]
[WhiteFideId “4102142”]
[WhiteTitle “GM”]
{ Annotations by John Lee Shaw for www.hotoffthechess.com. } 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.b4 Bg4 4.Qb3 Nf6 5.g3 a5 6.b5 a4 7.Qd3 { Not a pretty position this at first sight, but White is ok here. } 7…Bxf3 { This move was not madatory and perhaps developing with …Nbd7 was more constructive for Black. …c5 was also playable. } 8.Qxf3 c6 9.Bg2 { One would imagine that Svidler would be quite happy here. } 9…e5 10.O-O Be7 11.d3 O-O 12.Nd2 h5 13.h3 { Over the space of a few moves, White has obtained nice control of the position. } 13…g6 14.Rb1 Nh7 15.e3 Re8 16.exd4 exd4 { White has a backward pawn, here, but this is only a weakness if it can be attacked and that is not possible any time soon. White is clearly better, here, with Black hardly having any influence on the game. } ( 16…Qxd4 { was not much better } 17.bxc6 bxc6 18.Bb2 { is nice for White. } ) 17.Re1 h4 { Displaying a lack of reality in his stance. Black does not have the position to be playing this move, the initiative is with White so Black should be defending or trying to activate some pieces. …Ng5 or …Bg5 would have been more constructive. } 18.bxc6 bxc6 19.Rb7 { A very nice situation, with pressure against e7 and f7 indirectly. } 19…hxg3 { I am really not sure why Black would aid White further by opening the f-file, some questionable choices in this game by Li Chao. } 20.fxg3 Bf6 21.Ne4 { The ideal moment for the knight to hop into e4, especially with the f-pawn fixed. Not that Black would be wanting to play f5 anyway, it would put a lot of air around his King. } 21…Nd7 22.Rf1 { Svidler responds to the new situation, this file is just begging for rook and Queen on it. Li Chao decides on drastic action to try and solve his problems. } 22…Rxe4 23.Qxe4 { Allowing the liquidation, knowing that Black will still be up against it afterwards. The damage has largely been done to Black’s game by now. } ( 23.dxe4 { is playable, but inferior. } 23…Ne5 24.Qe2 Qc8 25.Qb2 Nxc4 26.Qb4 { and White is still better after …Ne3, but Black has been allowed much more activity than with Qxe4. } ) 23…Nc5 24.Qxc6 Rc8 25.Qb5 Nxb7 26.Bxb7 { Qxb7 was also good. } 26…Rc7 27.Bf4 { With a considerable advantage. The quality in pieces and extra pawn give Black multiple problems to solve. Mainly, he is just not active. } 27…Re7 28.Be4 Nf8 29.c5 Be5 30.Bg5 Bxg3 31.Qb6 ( 31.Bxe7 Qxe7 32.Qxa4 { is also dominating for White. } ) 31…Qxb6 32.cxb6 { Getting the Queens off was Svidler’s main task, here. This pawn will take some stopping, now. } 32…Re5 { Getting behind the passed pawn is always wise, whether attacking or defending. The fact that White’s bishop is en prise aids Black in doing this, but White can still push powerfully. } 33.Bf6 Rb5 34.b7 { Bxd4 was perfectly playable also, but pushing the pawn is worth a lot more. This bit has the Black pieces under a spell now. } 34…Ne6 35.Rc1 Nc7 { cutting off the diagonal, but doing so with the bishop may have been a better choice. In saying this, Black would still be in dire trouble. } 36.Kg2 Bf4 37.Rc4 Kh7 38.Kf3 { Amazing to note that White has both the a-pawn and d-pawn at his mercy, here. But his position is so good that he is not bothered with either of them. Svidler converts effortlessly, for his first win of the tournament. } 38…Bh2 39.Rc5 Kg8 40.Rxb5 Nxb5 41.Bc6 Nc3 42.Bh4 { And here, Li Chao resigned. Well played by Peter Svidler. } 1-0
[Event “10th Tal Mem 2016”]
[Site “Moscow RUS”]
[Date “2016.10.02”]
[Round “6.5”]
[White “Aronian, Levon”]
[Black “Giri, Anish”]
[Result “1-0”]
[BlackElo “2755”]
[BlackFideId “24116068”]
[BlackTitle “GM”]
[ECO “A20”]
[EventDate “2016.09.26”]
[Opening “English opening”]
[WhiteElo “2795”]
[WhiteFideId “13300474”]
[WhiteTitle “GM”]
{ Annotations by John Lee Shaw for www.hotoffthechess.com. } 1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.O-O Nb6 7.d3 Be7 8.Be3 O-O 9.Nbd2 { This position can appear deceptively passive, but is infact like a coiled spring, with the potential to expand extremely quickly. } 9…Be6 10.Rc1 Qd7 11.a3 Bh3 12.Bxh3 Qxh3 13.b4 Bd6 14.Qb3 { With Black’s Queen on h3 doing nothing, White concentrates on making constructive and active moves. Here, the Queen’s location along the a2-g1 diagonal is something that Black will have to be mindful of, and watch out for such things as Ng5. This is not an immediate threat, but chess positions can change extremely quickly if one is not careful. } 14…Ne7 { Best was probably …Qd7 here, the Queen is badly out of position on h3, but chess players don’t want to be making such admissions. } ( 14…Qd7 15.Ne4 Rfe8 16.b5 Ne7 17.Rc2 { and White is ready to seize the c-file. } ) 15.d4 { Again, nice and active, and giving Black something to occupy him — therefore a distraction from developing/regrouping. } 15…exd4 16.Bxd4 Nc6 { Giri seems quite unconcerned about his Queen being on h3 — …Qg4 was a very valid option here. } ( 16…Qg4 17.Bc5 Rac8 18.a4 { with a pull for White. } ) 17.Ne4 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 Qd7 { And so, Black regroups his Queen. However, just look at the difference in development, here, and the piece quality, White with those lovely centralised knights and about to complete his development with Rfd1. By contrast, Black’s pieces are not really playing their part in the game. Therefore, one would have to award a good advantage to White here. } 19.Rfd1 { Placing a rook along the same file as the opposition Queen or King is always a good thing to do. The opponent will always have to take possible discoveries in to consideration — interposing pieces can move very quickly. } 19…Be5 { One has to be extremely sure of oneself doing things like this, namely giving the opponent a discovery. But Black really had little choice, he needs to seek activity and start to challenge White in the centre, give issues to solve and try to stop the momentum. } 20.Nc6 { I think this is the better way to go than Nf3, but I don’t know why — it just looks juicier. } ( 20.Nf3 Qe7 21.Nc5 a5 22.Nxe5 Qxe5 23.Qf3 axb4 24.axb4 Qe7 25.Nxb7 Qxb4 26.Rxc7 { and White is perhaps winning, here. } ) 20…Qe8 21.Na5 { Taking on e5 was also viable. } ( 21.Nxe5 Qxe5 22.Nc5 a5 { and White has the choice between Qf3 and bxa5 here, both leaving him very much better. } ( 22…Qxe2 23.Nxb7 Rac8 24.Na5 { is extremely strong for White. } ) ) 21…Rb8 22.Nc5 Qc8 { When you have rook and Queen defending a pawn, something has gone wrong. } 23.Qf3 c6 { Black is struggling and White’s position increases little by little. } 24.b5 Bb2 25.bxc6 { ! The best way to play, Rc2 lessens White’s power, due to the rook hanging along the c-file. } 25…Bxc1 26.Rxc1 Qc7 { ? virtual submission, this. Black was committed, here, he had to roll his sleeves up and fight with …bxc6. } ( 26…bxc6 27.Nxc6 Re8 28.Nxb8 Qxb8 29.Na6 { fixing the a-pawn and preparing Rc7. } 29…Qe5 30.Rc7 Re7 31.Qb7 Qa1+ 32.Kg2 { and White would be feeling very happy, here, but this still has to be proven. } ) 27.cxb7 { this is crushing. } 27…Na4 28.Ncb3 { Aronian has everything in hand. } 28…Qe7 29.Nd4 Qg5 30.Qf4 { Setting up a nice finish. } 30…Qxa5 31.Qxb8 Rxb8 32.Rc8+ Qd8 33.Rxd8+ Rxd8 34.Nc6 { And Anish Giri called it a day, here having been totally out-played. A nice game from Levon Aronian. } 1-0
[Event “10th Tal Mem 2016”]
[Site “Moscow RUS”]
[Date “2016.10.02”]
[Round “6.3”]
[White “Tomashevsky, Evgeny”]
[Black “Anand, Viswanathan”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[BlackElo “2776”]
[BlackFideId “5000017”]
[BlackTitle “GM”]
[ECO “E10”]
[EventDate “2016.09.26”]
[Opening “QGD”]
[Variation “4.Nf3”]
[WhiteElo “2731”]
[WhiteFideId “4147235”]
[WhiteTitle “GM”]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 Be7 7.Qc2 c5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Nxd5 exd5 11.dxc5 Nxc5 12.e3 O-O 13.Be2 Bg4 14.O-O Rac8 15.Rac1 Qf6 16.Qc3 Qxc3 17.Rxc3 Ne4 18.Rcc1 Rfd8 19.Rfd1 Kf8 20.Kf1 Ke7 21.Nd4 Rxc1 22.Rxc1 Rc8 23.Rxc8 Bxc8 24.Ke1 Bd7 25.f3 Nd6 26.Kd2 Nf5 27.Nxf5+ Bxf5 28.Kc3 Kd6 29.Kd4 a5 30.Bb5 b6 31.Ba4 Bc8 32.a3 f6 33.b4 axb4 34.axb4 Bb7 35.Bb3 Bc6 36.Ba2 Bb7 37.h4 Bc6 38.Bb3 Bb7 39.b5 Ba8 40.Ba2 Bb7 41.h5 Ba8 42.Bb1 Bb7 43.Bf5 Ke7 44.Bh3 Kd6 45.Bg4 Ke7 46.f4 Kd6 47.Bf5 Ke7 48.g3 Kd6 49.Bg4 1/2-1/2
[/pgn]
