Andreikin, Dmitry - Kramnik, Vladimir

Khanty-Mansiysk RUS, 2014.03.13

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d5 7. Nf3 dxc4 8. Qxc4 b6 9.
Bg5 Ba6 10. Qa4
10. Qc3 h6 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. g3 Bb7 13. Bg2 Na6 14. O-O c5 15. Rac1 Rac8 16. Ne5 cxd4 17.
Qxd4 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Nc5 Nakamura,H (2786) -Kramnik,V (2793)/Antalya 2013
10... Qd7 11. Qc2
11. Qxd7 Nbxd7 12. Rc1 Rfc8 13. e3 Bb7 14. Be2 Ne4 15. Bh4 c5 16. O-O cxd4 17. Nxd4 g5
18. Bg3 Nxg3 19. hxg3 a6 Giri,A (2720)-Leko,P (2735)/Wijk aan Zee 2013
11... c5 12. dxc5
12. Rd1 cxd4 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. Rxd4 Rc8 15. Qd2 Qc6 16. e3 Bxf1 17. Rxf1 Na6 18. Rg4+ Kh8
19. Nd4 Qd5 Hambleton,A (2481)-Agdestein,S (2627)/Gibraltar 2014
12... Rc8 13. Bxf6
13. Rd1 Qe7 14. e4 Bxf1 15. Rxf1 h6 16. Bh4 Rxc5 17. Qe2 e5 Mamedyarov,S (2753)-
Kramnik,V (2803)/Geneve 2013
13... gxf6 14. Qe4
14. Rd1 Qe7 15. e3 Rxc5 16. Qe4 Bb7 17. Qh4 Nd7 18. b4 Rc3 19. Qd4 Rc7 20. Be2 Rac8 21.
O-O Nf8 22. Qa1 Bxf3 23. Bxf3 Rc3 24. Rc1 Qc7 25. Rxc3 Qxc3 26. Qa2 Qc2 27. Qa1 Qc3 28.
Qa2 Rd8 29. Qa1 Rc8 1/2-1/2 (29) Nepomniachtchi,I (2708)-Leko,P (2744) /Loo 2013/CBM
154
14... Qb5 15. b4 bxc5 16. e3 Qb7 17. Qg4+ Kf8 18. b5 Bxb5 19. Rb1 a6 20. a4 f5 21. Qf4
21. Qh4 Qe4 22. Qh6+ Ke7 23. Qg5+ Kf8 24. Qh6+ Ke7 25. Qg5+ Kf8 26. Qh6+ Ke7 1/2-1/2
Mamedyarov,S (2753)-Kramnik,V (2803)/ Moscow 2013
21... Qe4 22. Qxe4 fxe4 23. axb5 exf3 24. b6 Rd8
Andreikin pointed out that Black has to be a bit careful, e.g. 24... Rc6 25. Bd3 f5 26. g4!
25. gxf3 Nc6 26. f4 Nb4 27. Bg2 Rab8 28. b7 Nd5 29. O-O Rd7 30. Rfc1 Rdxb7 31. Rxb7 Rxb7
32. Bxd5 exd5
32... exd5 33. Rxc5 Rb5 34. Rc6 a5 35. Ra6 d4 36. exd4 Rd5 = Kramnik 1/2-1/2

Karjakin, Sergey - Svidler, Peter
Khanty-Mansiysk RUS, 2014.03.13
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3
Also against the Taimanov Sicilian, the English Attack has become the main line.
6... a6 7. Qd2 Nf6 8. f4!?
8. O-O-O 8. f3 8. a3 8. Bd3 are all more played than the text move.
8... b5
8... Bb4 9. Bd3 e5 10. Nf5 g6 11. fxe5 Nxe5 12. Bg5 Nfg4 13. Nh6 Nxh6 14. Bxh6 d6 15. O-O
Be6 Popov,I (2620)-Potkin,V (2666)/Legnica 2013 8... d6 9. Be2 Bd7 10. O-O Be7 11. Rad1 O-
O 12. Nb3 b5 13. a3 Rfd8 14. Bf3 Rab8 15. g4 Be8 Stukopin,A (2522)-Cori Tello,J
(2587)/Kocaeli 2013
9. e5 Ng4
9... b4 10. Ncb5 axb5 11. Nxb5 Qb8 12. exf6 gxf6 13. c4 bxc3 14. bxc3 Rg8 15. Rb1 Na7 16. a4
Nxb5 17. Bxb5 Qc7 Popov,I (2653)-Demianjuk,A (2345)/Moscow 2014
10. Bg1 Bb7
10... Na5 11. h3 Nh6 12. Ne4 Bb7 13. Nd6+ Bxd6 14. exd6 Qd8 15. O-O-O O-O 16. Be3 Nc4
17. Bxc4 bxc4 Grabics,M (2341)-Csonka,A (2274)/Koszeg 2000
11. O-O-O Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Be7 13. Bd3 f5
Black shouldn't allow a white knight on e4 (Svidler).
14. h3 Nh6
"It seems like I'm worse at all sides but it's also difficult to play for White. (...) Objectively I
should be in a lot of trouble here." (Svidler)
15. Rhg1 O-O 16. Qe3
16. Kb1 Kh8 17. g4 Bc6 18. Ne2 b4 19. gxf5 Nxf5 20. Bxf5 Rxf5 21. Ng3 Rf7 22. f5 exf5 23.
Rdf1 Raf8 Schrott,E (2059)-Collutiis,D (2449)/Amantea 2009
16... Rac8 17. Kb1 Bc6 18. Ne2
18. Rdf1 b4 19. Nd1 Bb5 20. b3 followed by Qe2 and Ne3 was suggested by Svidler: "I was
waiting for Sergey to make accurate moves and improve his position, and I'm gonna die."
18... Bd5 19. g4
19. Nc3 Bc4
19... g6 20. b3 Qb7 21. Rdf1
Karjakin also considered the immediate 21. Ng3 but Black can probably play 21... fxg4
21... a5 22. Ng3 Bc4 23. Be4
23. bxc4? bxc4+ 24. Ka1 cxd3 25. Qxd3 Qc6 is good for Black.
23... Bd5
A 'silent' draw offer which was 'accepted' by Karjakin. Svidler didn't like 23... fxe4 24. bxc4
bxc4+ 25. Ka1 c3 26. Rb1 Qd5 27. Nxe4 Rc4 28. Rgd1 Rfc8 29. Nxc3 Qc6 but Karjakin
suggested 23... fxe4 24. bxc4 Rxc4!? and Black might be fine. At the press conference the
players looked at
24. Bd3 Bc4 25. Be4 Bd5 26. Bd3 1/2-1/2


Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Topalov, Veselin
Khanty-Mansiysk RUS, 2014.03.13
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nbd2!?
A rare move in this position, which Mamedyarov had played several times late 2013 in rapid and
blitz events.
4... g6 5. e3 Bg7 6. Bd3 c5
6... O-O 7. O-O b6 (7... Bg4 8. b3 e6 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 Nbd7 11. Bb2 Re8 12. Rfd1 a6
Mamedyarov,S (2757)-Wang,Y (2723)/Beijing 2013 ) (7... a6 8. b4 Bg4 9. a4 e6 10. Ba3 Re8
11. b5 axb5 12. cxb5 Nbd7 13. Qb3 Bxf3 14. Nxf3 Bf8 Mamedyarov,S (2757)-Ponomariov,R
(2731)/Beijing 2013 ) 8. b4 a5 9. b5 cxb5 10. cxb5 Bb7 11. Ba3 Nbd7 12. Rc1 Re8 13. Ne5
Nxe5 14. dxe5 Nd7 15. f4 e6 Mamedyarov,S (2757)-Wang,H (2735)/Beijing 2013
7. dxc5 Na6 8. Nb3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Qxd1+ 10. Kxd1 Ne4 11. Ke2 Naxc5 12. Nxc5 Nxc5 13. Bb5+
Bd7 14. Bxd7+ Kxd7 15. Rd1+ Ke8 16. Rb1 Rc8
16... Na4!? Topalov
17. Bd2 Ne4
17... Na4!? Topalov
18. Bb4 f5
18... Rc4 19. Rbc1 Rxc1 20. Rxc1 Kd7 was another option.
19. Ne1
Here Mamedyarov felt he had "some chance to be better."
19... a5?!
Based on a small calculation error.
20. Bxa5 Ra8 21. Rd5 b6
Topalov originally intended 21... e6 but here he saw that after 22. Rb5 Nd6 23. Rb6 Nc4 White
can simply go 24. Rxb7 because the pawn is on e6 instead of e7.
22. Bb4 Rxa2 23. Nd3 Kf7 24. Rc1 Rha8 25. Rc2
Mamedyarov was happy with his last two moves, and didn't expect Black's next.
25... Nf6 26. Ne5+ Ke8 27. Rb5 R2a7 28. Ba3
28. Nc4
28... Ra5 29. Rc7
Initially Mamedyarov thought he was winning here.
29... Rxb5 30. Rxe7+ Kd8 31. Nf7+
Here Mamedyarov saw that 31. Nc6+ Kc8 32. Ra7!? is not winning because of 32... Rxb2+
(Black has more moves in fact).
31... Kc8 32. Nd6+ Kd8 33. Rxg7 Rd5!
Missed by Mamedyarov, who had seen 33... Rxa3 34. bxa3 Rb2+ 35. Kf3 Ng4 36. h3
34. Nb7+
White has to take the draw. 34. Rf7? Rxa3 34. Nc4?! Rd7
34... Kc8 35. Nd6+ Kd8 36. Nb7+ Kc8 1/2-1/2

Anand, Viswanathan - Aronian, Levon
Khanty-Mansiysk RUS, 2014.03.13
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3
One of many ways to avoid the Marshall. 8. c3 d5
8... Bb7 9. d3 d5!?
Black still plays in Marshall style.
10. exd5
The most principled. 10. c3 dxe4 11. dxe4 Na5 12. Qxd8 Rfxd8 13. Bc2 Nd7 14. Nbd2 c5 15.
Nf1 Nc4 16. b3 Nd6 17. Ne3 Rac8 Negi,P (2671)-Sasikiran,K (2666)/Jalgaon 2013
10... Nxd5 11. Nbd2
11. Nxe5 is the most popular, e.g. 11... Nxe5 (11... Nd4 12. Bd2 c5 13. Nc3 Nxb3 14. axb3 Nb4
15. Ne4 Qd5 16. Nf3 Rfe8 17. Bxb4 cxb4 18. c4 bxc3 19. bxc3 a5 Howell,D (2633)-Adams,M
(2734)/London 2011 ) 12. Rxe5 Qd6 13. Re1 Rae8 14. Nd2 c5 15. Nf3 Bd8 16. Rxe8 Rxe8 17.
Bg5 Bc7 18. Bh4 Qg6 Yu,Y (2656) -Tomashevsky,E (2733)/St Petersburg 2012 11. a4 Nd4 12.
Nxd4 exd4 13. axb5 axb5 14. Rxa8 Bxa8 15. Na3 Bb4 16. Re5 Bd6 17. Re1 Bb4 18. Re5 Bd6
19. Re1 Bb4 1/2-1/2 (19) Topalov,V (2774)-Caruana,F (2782)/Warsaw 2013
11... Qd7!?
Two other moves have been played several times in this position: 11... Nf4 12. Ne4 Na5 13.
Bxf4 exf4 14. d4 Nxb3 15. axb3 Qd7 16. Qd3 Rad8 Giri,A (2737) -Tomashevsky,E
(2706)/Elancourt 2013 11... f6 12. c3 Kh8 13. Bc2 Qd7 14. Nb3 a5 15. a4 bxa4 16. Rxa4 Ncb4
17. Rxa5 Nxc2 18. Qxc2 Nb6 19. Rxa8 Rxa8 20. Nbd2 g5 Anand,V (2786)-Caruana,F
(2774)/Moscow 2013
12. Nxe5 Nxe5 13. Rxe5 Nf6 14. Re1 Rae8 15. Nf3 Bd6 16. Be3 Re7
Anand expected this move and called it "a typical motif".
17. d4 Rfe8 18. c3 h6
A possible improvement is 18... Qf5 which is directed against Nf3-e5.
19. Ne5 Bxe5 20. dxe5 Rxe5
20... Qc6 21. f3 Rxe5 22. Qd2 followed by Bd4 and White keeps the two bishops with a slight
edge but this might have been better than the game (Anand).
21. Qxd7 Nxd7 22. Red1 Nf6 23. c4
Anand had planned this in advance but here he was "actually quite surprised by how strong it
was". White might be already clearly better here.
23... c6 24. Rac1 R5e7
"I like this move." (Anand)
25. a4 bxc4 26. Bxc4 Nd5 27. Bc5 Re4 28. f3 R4e5 29. Kf2 Bc8 30. Bf1 R5e6 31. Rd3 Nf4 32.
Rb3 Rd8 33. Be3 Nd5 34. Bd2 Nf6 35. Ba5 Rde8 36. Rb6
Here Aronian was down to about a minute on the clock.
36... Re5 37. Bc3 Nd5
"Careless" (Anand).
38. Bxe5?!
38. Rxc6 was "much easier" (Anand).
38... Nxb6 39. Bd4 Nxa4 40. Rxc6 Rd8 41. Rc4!
Before Anand had seen 41. b3 Be6 42. Bxg7 but here he noticed 41. b3 Bb7 42. Rc4 Nb2
"Luckily I was able to sit and find that there was still a win." (Anand)
41... Bd7 42. b3 Bb5 43. Rb4 Nb2 44. Bxb5 axb5 45. Ke3 Re8+ 46. Kd2 Rd8 47. Kc3 1-0

Anand beats top seed Aronian in Candidates first round
Mark Crowther - Thursday 13th March 2014
The first round of the FIDE World Chess Championship Candidates tournament in Khanty-
Mansiysk in Siberia saw three fairly cautious draws and a single win for the former world chess
champion Viswanathan Anand over the pre-event favourite Levon Aronian.
Anand took advantage of some inaccurate play (perhaps 18...h6 was the start of the real
problems) just out of the opening against Aronian to score the only win of the round. This was a
Marshall style Ruy Lopez where Anand eventually got a very nasty initiative and after 23.c4
Aronian knew he was in quite bad trouble and thought for a very long time before playing the
very ugly 23...c6. In the end Aronian gambled in severe time trouble that he would be able to
extract his knight after 39...Nxa4, the alternatives would almost certainly have also ended in a
loss but in this way the pain was relatively short as the knight was eventually trapped. The result
can hardly be called a shock but this was a bad start for the favourite Aronian and his second loss
in a row in classical chess having lost the last round in Zurich in that part of the tournament.
Anand probably needed this boost after the year he's had and most probably is going to have a lot
more luck with his stellar opening preparation against this field than he did against Carlsen.
Anand's basic problem has been the tactical inaccuracies that have crept into his game. There
was a minor one in this too (38.Rxc6!) but not enough to save Aronian.
Peter Svidler was happy to come away with a draw with black against Sergey Karjakin in a
complex Sicilian where he thought he must be considerably worse. Karjakin had many choices
and this led him into time trouble and probably influenced his decision to draw the game.
"I'm still reasonably certain I haven't really missed much by not continuing. I felt I was worse for
the entire game and I don't think I should be better here. " Peter Svidler
Dmitry Andreikin is a completely self-taught player and a bit of a mystery. Today he chose to
follow Mamaedyarov vs Kramnik from Moscow last year. Andreikin's 21.Qf4 novelty didn't
surprise Kramnik and the game was soon equal and agreed drawn. Andreikin has had success
against Kramnik in the past and said he had a special method of preparing against Kramnik but
wouldn't say what it was. Kramnik said he was sure he knew what this was but wouldn't say
either. I guess Andreikin's approach is to either to draw or force Kramnik to take risks.
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov seemed pretty disappointed to draw a complex struggle against Veselin
Topalov. Both seemed rather downbeat after the game. There were very interesting
complications throughout in a game that could have been very dull from the opening if there had
been different players.
The four Russian participants have been drawn in such a way that they'll meet in the first three
rounds of the two cycles to avoid meeting right at the end of the event. Whilst the players didn't
think it necessary they mostly thought as Svidler said "Avoiding even the potential discussion of
impropriety is important."
The games in PGN with light annotations are in the body of the article.
Standings: Anand 1pts Kramnik, Andreikin, Topalov, Mamedyarov, Karjakin, Svidler 0.5pts and
Aronian 0pts
Round 2 Pairings 9am GMT 3pm local time: Kramnik-Karjakin, Svidler-Andreikin, Topalov-
Anand and Aronian-Mamedyarov.