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< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 1 OF 2 ·
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| Feb-12-03 | | kingspawn: what's the point of 19. b4? |
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| Feb-12-03 | | Spitecheck: White wants Black to play bxa4 here, of course Black is not going to do that. What White doesn't want probably though is for the huge black mass of infantry sitting on the white squares to start lumbering forwards at which stage Black's least active pieces, the Bishops will come into their own. At the moment White controls some dark squares in the middle and they are what supports his Knight on d6, perhaps the c5 square, which the pawn controls from b4 is the answer. Ofcourse if I look at the material count isn't white down a piece here? Don't really matter that much what he plays LOL. |
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| Feb-12-03 | | drukenknight: yeah I think KP has a good pt. I notice that Black lost no time in taking over the h5 spot on the next move. Which leads me think: what if 19 Bh5 Rg7 20 Qd2 or something like that? |
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| Feb-13-03 | | kingspawn: no i think he should have played 19.axb5 cxb5 20. Nxd7 Rxb7 21. Rxa6 Rb6 22. Rxb6 Nxb6 23.Rf6, and white has got three pawns for the piece. |
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| Feb-13-03 | | drukenknight: why doesnt black just recapture 19...axb5? |
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| Feb-14-03 | | kingspawn: because then white plays 20.Ra7 |
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| Apr-12-04 | | Bobsterman3000: <kingspawn: "what's the point of 19.b4?"> The English GM John Nunn agrees with you whole-heartedly in his book "Understanding Chess Move By Move" which features a superb analysis of this game. He mentions that the move is a huge slip which does not fit into the context of Kramnik's attack. Nunn also points out that after 26Nxg5 Anand very wisely ignores the fact that he just lost a piece (without concrete compensation) and moves on to the very important business of reinforcing the crucial e6 pawn with 26...Bd5 -- the same bishop that he "wasted" a tempo saving on 23...Ba8 in a move that looks strange at the time because of how distant the bishop is from his own embattled king... |
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| May-23-04 | | Lawrence: Nunn's comment to 27.♘f3?! is "This passive move offers no hope but all the alternatives left Black with a clear advantage." In a few seconds Junior 8 finds 27.♘xe6 with an evaluation for White of a little over +1. The line is: 27.♘xe6 ♗xe6
28.bxc5 bxa4
29.♕h6 ♗xh3
30.gxh3 c3
31.♕xa6 eval.+1.08 (25 min. search) |
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| May-28-05 | | aw1988: refutor, here's one for your D44! collection. |
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| May-28-05 | | bomb the bishop: I have a question, and that is why did Kramnik not play 16. Bh5 instead, it looks as a more agressive move, and with more open possibilities to find mate web, since there can later come moves such as: Qg3+, or Bf7+ which later with the help of the rook, can definetly achieve a better end for white! |
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May-28-05
 | | samvega: <why did black not play 16.Bh5> Black could then return material with 16..Nxe5, defending f7, g4, f3. The text has the advantage of threatening Bxe6+. |
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| May-28-05 | | bomb the bishop: thankyou samvega, for the response... |
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May-28-05
| | samvega: wait till someone points out that I'm wrong before you thank me ;) |
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| May-28-05 | | acirce: <White can force a draw by 16.Bxc4 bxc4 17.Qg4+ Bg7 18.Qxe6+ Kh7 19.Qf5+, but not surprisingly Kramnik goes for more. 16.Bh5 Rh7 17.Qg4+ Kh8 18.Qxe6 wins the e6-pawn, but at the cost of dissipating White's initiative. Black would then have the chance to activate his bishop by 18..c5 with good prospects, since 19.d5 Re7 costs White the e5-pawn.> Nunn, "Understanding Chess Move by Move"
16..Nxe5 17.dxe5 doesn't solve Black's problems IMO. Even without queens, Black's king isn't safe, and White's pieces are much more active. |
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May-28-05
| | samvega: <bomb the bishop> wha'd i tell ya? Yeah, I was being superficial. Thought after the exchange of queens, then ..Bc4+, then ..Rf8 the attack was dissipated, but that is not at all the case. |
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| May-28-05 | | iron maiden: <acirce>, why do you have this in your Kramnik collection? |
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| May-29-05 | | dac1990: 16.Bh5 Nxe5 gives white a sizeable edge after 17.Ne4 Bc8 18.dxe5 Qxd1 19.Raxd1 Be7 20.Rf7 Rh7 21.Nf6+ Bxf6 22.Rxh7  . Better is 16. ...Rh7! 17.Qg4+ Kh8 18.Bf7 Be7 19.Bxe6 Rg7 20.Qh3 Nf8 21.Rad1  and now both 21. ...Nxe6 and 21. ...b4 give Black an edge, the value of which at least a pawn. Analysis by Fritz. |
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| May-29-05 | | Hesam7: I have not Nunn's book. Can someone explain whether the piece sac was entirely a bad idea or Kramnik went wrong later? <Lawrence> your line with 27 ♘e6 seems interesting. At the end the pawn chain c5-d4-e5 is really strong. It severly restricts the Black knight and queen. |
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| May-29-05 | | acirce: <iron maiden> It's a good game from both sides, I wouldn't have a Kramnik loss where he is just outplayed. <Hesam7> Nunn considers the piece sac entirely sound and 11..a6? a mistake that allows it: <Anand falls in with Kramnik's plan and soon finds himself in a critical position.> Instead of 17.Ne4?! he suggests 17.Qc2 as <a dangerous alternative, after which Black would face serious difficulties. 17..Rh7 is bad, since after 18.Qg6+ Kh8 19.Bxe6 Qg5 20.Qe4 White avoids the exchange of queens, and without his e6-pawn Black is bound to be struggling. One line might be 20..Rb8 21.Rf5 Qe7 22.Bxd7 Qxd7 23.Raf1 Kg8 24.e6 Qd6 25.Rf7 Bg7 26.Kh1, when White has a winning position. Other moves are little better; for example, 17..Bg7 18.Qg6 Re8 19.Ne4 or 17..Qe8 (preventing Qg6+) 18.Ne4! Rh7 19.Rf6 and again the e6-pawn falls, since 19..Re7? loses to 20.Nd6.> 17..Rh7 is given a ?! mark while he gives detailed analysis of 17..c5 that seems to lead to a draw. Instead of 19.b4? (<This is the wrong move. Kramnik reasons that Black's only way to free himself is to play ..c5, so he attempts to clamp down on this move. It is certainly an unexpected move, but in fact it allows Black to slip out of the net. In a situation where one has a strong bind, it is often hard to decide between slowly trying to increase the pressure and cashing in with immediate action. Here White should have chosen the latter course.
Perhaps the main defect of the text-move is that it doesn't succeed in its main ambition. Black can often play ..c5 despite White's pawn grip, since the activation of the light-squared bishop is usually worth more than a pawn. Moreover, if White meets ..c5 by bxc5 then Black obtains connected passed pawns, while White's pawn-chain e5-d4-c5 can be blockaded on the light squares>) Nunn suggests <19.axb5! cxb5 (if 19..axb5, then 20.Ra7 is good for White) 20.Nxb7 Rxb7 21.Rxa6 Rb6 (21..Nb6 22.Rf6) 22.Rxb6 Nxb6 23.Rf6 with a very unpleasant position for Black, since White obtains a third pawn for the piece and acquires two connected passed pawns in the centre of the board. The game Ward-Grabliauskas, Copenhagen 1998, played shortly after Kramnik-Anand, tested this assessment.> Some more of the annotation, very far from all since virtually every move is commented: 19..h5! <This bid for space is essential. If White manages toplay Bh5, then Black will be virtually paralysed. Of course, 19..cxb3 is bad since 20.Qxb3 wins the e6-pawn.> |
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| May-29-05 | | acirce: continued:
23..Ba8! <The strongest move. Black frees his rook to move to f8, and preserves his bishop ready for the eventual breakout with ..c5. This is in fact the last passive move Black plays in the game. Move by move, the circumstances for a breakout have been gradually improving - Black has organized his kingside pieces and activated his dark-squared bishop, while White has made scant progress.> 25..c5!! <A brilliant idea, the point of which is revealed next move. Black cannot play 25..Be3 as 26.Rxf8+ Kxf8 27.Qh8+ wins at once.> 26..Bd5! <Remarkable. Black simply ignores the fact that White has taken a piece and focuses on the real priority: supporting the crucial e6-pawn. 26..Rxg5 is bad as 27.Bxe6+ Kg7 28.Qh4 leaves Black in a deadly pin, and White wins after 28..cxd4 29.Bxd7 Rxf1+ 30.Rxf1 Qxe5 31.Be6!
After the text-move, Black is genuinely threatening to take the knight. White decides simply to retreat it, but then Black aquires two connected passed pawns on the queenside.> 27..cxb4 <The material balance has shifted so that instead of being a piece down, White is now a pawn up. However, everything else has changed in Black's favour. All his pieces are now on active squares, he has two well-advanced connected passed pawns and White's pieces (especially his queen and the h3-bishop) are out of play.> Great game. And great book, if like me you like instructive verbal explanations. |
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| May-29-05 | | Hesam7: <acirce> Thank you very much for responding! I know typing the annotations is a very difficult thing to do and it is not the first time that you do it upon my request. So Best wishes friend! Hope I can return your favor! |
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| May-29-05 | | AdrianP: Anand, too, considers 11 ...a6? a mistake, and calls the piece sac 12 Nxg5! very strong. 17 Qc2 is a dangerous alternative - with three(!) pages of analysis, concluding "Thus 17 Qc2 would have been good for White, but there is no reason to criticize the text move." 19. b4? "What on earth is this move, I hadn't even considered it. After the surprise faded. I realised that unless Black takes drastic action he is going to be squashed. Incidentall, it is difficult to imagine that this pawn move is going to be the cause of White's defeat!" Anand recommends 19 axb5! 25 c5! (without further comment)
26 ... Bd5!! After the text-move the bishop finally gets out. Unbelievably, Black is already better. Vladimir was short of time and now missed his last chance. 27 Nf3? 27. Bxe6! is recommended instead.
My Best Games of Chess (Anand). Nunn contributed to this book as well, so the coincidences in text/analysis may be unsurprising. |
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| May-29-05 | | aw1988: Notice acirce's collection is *interesting* Kramnik games, not just games where Kramnik wins. |
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| Sep-06-05 | | Queens Gambit: This its a fantastic game!!!! |
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| Feb-27-06 | | alexandrovm: it seems that Bxe6 was unsound, on move 37, after that I think Kramnik was just fine, but in a dificult game because of black's dangerous passed pawns. |
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sac: 25...c5