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Alexander Grischuk vs Boris Gelfand
World Championship Candidates (2011), Kazan RUS, rd 3, May-19
Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack (D37)  ·  1/2-1/2

ANALYSIS [x]

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Kibitzer's Corner
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May-19-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  tpstar: <chessgames.com> Thanks for the live broadcast. =)

Great fighting draw, and White came so close to pulling it out.

May-19-11  Ragh: Good to see that Grischuk is giving a fight with White also.
May-19-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: I think that quite important for understanding of this ending is following position:


click for larger view

White to move wins but black to move draws according to tablebase. That is why 42.Rg5 h4 43.Rh5 was way to go.

May-19-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  Penguincw: A hard fought game ends with a draw. Gelfand has white tomorrow. I predict that the match will go into tiebreaks.
May-19-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  ray keene: <penguincw> is absolutely right -this was a great game and white may even have missed a win - see comment on move 42-nursing a tiny plus like that is very hard-nobody shd complain about fighting spirit here!! fine birds penguins-and clearly connoisseurs of good fighting chess.
May-19-11  BUNA: <Honza>

Ok. But then you expect black to play 43. ... Kxa5 to reach that position. Instead he plays
43. ... h3
44. Kd5 h2
45. Ke5 Rf2

And then?

May-19-11  haydn20: I'm an older player NOT nostalgic for the "good old days." I just wonder if players nowadays study R+P endings as I once did, playing thru BCE and with friends. I'm not saying I can play these positions extremely well, but I can recognize thematically drawn ones. I suppose GMs study them like mad, but what about players in say the 1600-1900 range?
May-19-11  haydn20: A second point brought up by this game. Shipov remarks that the Q's Gambit is analyzed "practically to a draw." Also, 1. e4 seems to have been tamed by the Berlin and Petroff. So what will people play as White? 1. c4 or 1. Nf3 maybe? I apologize for these dumb questions but still hope for an answer.
May-19-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  plang: <Shipov remarks that the Q's Gambit is analyzed "practically to a draw>

It is interesting that some GMs are playing the QG without Nc3 in an attempt to avoid theory and having some success.

May-19-11  Ezzy: <plang: Shipov remarks that the Q's Gambit is analyzed "practically to a draw>

Every opening can probably be analysed to a draw with a computer. The problem is remembering the trillions of lines.

May-19-11  Gypsy: <Honza Cervenka: I think that quite important for understanding of this ending is following position: ...>

I think Black would seek his safe heaven in one of these two drawn positions (Table-base confirms the draw):


click for larger view


click for larger view

White to play in both.

Thus, it seems to me, Black should wait with capture of the a5 pawn. Simple moves then brings White, to this thematic position.(White to move.)


click for larger view

Is there a win? I don't see one. But I don't know; this can easily become a queen's endgame.

May-19-11  Gypsy: Btw, the table-base calls also all possible Q's endgames I see as a draw.
May-19-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  ray keene: i dont think the queens gambit has been analysed to a draw just yet!
May-19-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  LIFE Master AJ: Interesting game.
May-19-11  BUNA: Grischuk confessed in his press conference afterwards, that he didn't expect 29. ... Bc8.

And so he after that apparently just played on.

May-19-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: <Gypsy, BUNA> I was a bit hasty in my conclusion. I thought that after 42.Rg5 h4 43.Rh5 black continues 43...Kxa5(??) which loses after 44.Kd6 h3 45.Ke5 with black Pawn stopped at h3 instead of h2 and so without defence which saved black in the text, but I missed that black can play simply 43...h3, 44...h2 and 45...Rf2 as Pa5 is irrelevant.
May-19-11  wordfunph: "I had a clear advantage but it was between a win and a draw but I don't see where I could win. And in the end with precise defence Boris made a fine draw."

- Alexander Grischuk

http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/chessne...

May-20-11  Imposter: a great gm struggle this. if the rest measure up to this one in fighting spirit there will be a result or two.
May-20-11  Matsumoto: This excellent game shows that both Boris and Alex are fit to challenge Vishy! Alex was the holder of the initiative and the great innovator in this game, but Boris played rock solid all the way. The whole affair was very impressive to watch.
May-20-11  messachess: I like Grischuk's attitude. He's playing aggressively, but not sacrificial. This was, if not exciting, at least a very interestingly played draw. I credit Gris. for making it so.
May-20-11  Ulhumbrus: Here is <GM Alejandro Ramirez> on the chessbase website with the book mark http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail... commenting on the move 42 Rg6+: < 42.Rg5 h4 43.Rh5 h3 44.Kd5 Rf2 45.Ke6 h2 46.f6 is similar to the game, except that White still has his a5 pawn. This actually serves no purpose, the game is still drawn.>
May-20-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: Somehow it looks like a forced win for white, as the black king is boxed out.
May-20-11  polarmis: Here's my final version of GM Sergey Shipov's commentary on this game:

http://www.chessintranslation.com/2...

May-21-11  Gypsy: <Honza Cervenka: <Gypsy, BUNA> I was a bit hasty in my conclusion. I thought that after 42.Rg5 h4 43.Rh5 black continues 43...Kxa5(??) which loses ...>

I think that the <42.Rg5> was indeed a better way to go -- it gave Black a fair opportunity to slip.

First-things-first principle solves the how-to-draw puzzle. One has to realize that here it is getting the h-pawn all the way down to h2 that is way more important than collecting the blocked and abandoned a-pawn. The tricky part, of course, is to note that Black king's assistance is not needed to stop all effective promotions of the f-pawn; Black rook together with the h2-pawn can handle the defensive task on their own:


click for larger view

White to move. (No way to win.)

Jul-19-11  DrMAL: <ray keene: i dont think the queens gambit has been analysed to a draw just yet!> More reason to ignore Shipov. I wish commentators would analyze more (or shut up), they tend to create (much) more erroneous belief than helpful clarity.
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