chessgames.com
Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players · Kibitzing
Sergey Karjakin vs Teimour Radjabov
"Power Serge" (game of the day Aug-20-2016)
European Championship (2005), Zegrze POL, rd 5, Jun-22
Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan. Sveshnikov Variation Chelyabinsk Variation (B33)  ·  1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

Click Here to play Guess-the-Move
Given 21 times; par: 51 [what's this?]

explore this opening
find similar games 43 more Karjakin/Radjabov games
sac: 17.Nxd5 PGN: download | view | print Help: general | java-troubleshooting

TIP: If you missed a Game of the Day, you can review the last year of games at our Game of the Day Archive.

PGN Viewer:  What is this?
For help with this chess viewer, please see the Olga Chess Viewer Quickstart Guide.
PREMIUM MEMBERS CAN REQUEST COMPUTER ANALYSIS [more info]

A COMPUTER ANNOTATED SCORE OF THIS GAME IS AVAILABLE.  [CLICK HERE]

Kibitzer's Corner
Jul-02-05  iron maiden: This is one of my favorite Karjakin games so far. By sacrificing the exchange White exerts a powerful bind that cramps the Black pieces together, then calmly penetrates on the kingside.
Jul-02-05  notyetagm: Another Black loss in the Sveshnikov, which seems to be doing rather poorly at the top level recently. Black is not getting any kingside attacking opportunities and without that counterplay he is simply dead lost, with a White knight occupying that big hole on d5 and the White queenside pressure.
Jul-02-05  notyetagm: Seems like the White d5-knight wins this game almost by itself for Karjakin.

Radjabov won 7 games at the EICC; this game was his only loss and it appears to have cost him the title.

Jul-02-05  ughaibu: Is Karjakin really the first person to play 13.h4? It looks a natural and effective move.
Jul-02-05  roni.chessman: Well...the IS THE ONLY loss Radjabov has had this year. It's funny that a 15 year old should give him his first loss.
Jul-03-05  Montreal1666: Karjakin had to win one sooner or later! So he kept one of his best tricks for Radjabov. This loss actually cost Radjabov the title.
Jul-03-05  ughaibu: Chessbase gives only nine examples of 13.h4, two white wins, four black wins and three draws.
Nov-06-05  who: <lostemperor> is entirely correct that the idea for the exchange sac clearly came from Kasparov vs Shirov, 1994. The positions are virtually identical.
Jun-17-06  dakgootje: annotation by Short:

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 The Sveshnikov – popular everywhere with young players blessed with powerful computers, a strong work ethic and excellent memories: not really for me, in other words. 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 Bg5 12. Nc2 Ne7 The strategic themes are very limited in this type of position: the fight for control of d5 is the most important idea. 13. h4 Bh6 13. ...Bxh4?? 14. Rxh4 Nxd5 was actually played in one game. White failed to spot that 15. Qxd5 Be6 16. Qb7! wins trivially. 14. a4 bxa4 15. Ncb4 TThe first new move and a good one. White reinforces the d5 square and threatens an awkward check on a4. 15. ...Bd7 16. Rxa4!! The logical sequel, although it still requires considerable courage. 16. ...Nxd5 17. Nxd5 Bxa4 Radjabov takes the bait. Indeed he would have little to show for his inferior position if he did not grab the proffered material.18. Qxa4+ Kf8 19. b4

What does White have to show for his sacrifice? A dominating knight on d5 certainly, but not too much else; nor is his development much to be proud of. Nevertheless it is extremely difficult for Black to obtain any sort of counterplay. The sacrifice is very reminiscent of Kasparov-Shirov, Horgen 1994, when the great genius paralysed his opponent with very few pieces. This has to be based on intuition and not pure calculation, as many of the variations are not forcing in nature. 19. ...a5 The pawn was a target on a6 but this move allows a potentially dangerous passed pawn. 20. b5 Rb8 Halting the pawn’s advance but rather passive. 20. ...Rc8 intending Rc5 and perhaps Rxd5 was probably better. 21. g3 g6 22. Bh3 Kg7 23. 0–0 Rf8 24. Ra1 White’s plan is clear. He intends to annex the a-pawn and push his own passer. In the meantime the black bishop on h6 remains a miserable bystander. 24. ...Kh8 This obscure retreat becomes understandable after considering the following variation 24. ...f5 25. exf5 gxf5 26. Bxf5! Rxf5 27. Qg4+ with a clear advantage. 25. Qxa5 Qe8 26. c4 f5 Eventually the counterplay gets underway but it is terribly slow. 27. Qc7 Qf7 27. ...fxe4? 28. Ra7 ends the game at once. 28. exf5! Qxc7 29. Nxc7 gxf5 30. Ra6 Karjakin remains material down in the endgame but his initiative is still strong. 30. ...Rf7 31. Nd5 Bf8 covering the threatened pawn.32. Rc6 Solidifying. Now the b-pawn will be pushed. 32. ...f4 33. Be6! Keeping the bishop in front of the pawn chain. 33. ...Rg7 34. g4 Re8 35. Bf5 Be7 36. h5 Bg5 37. b6 e4 38. Rc8 Rxc8? Shortening the resistance. 38. ...Rd8 was better, although it does not affect the result.39. Bxc8 e3 40. fxe3 fxe3 41. b7 Black resigns. 41. ...e2 is simply met by Kf2, halting the pawn. A high class game, showing that the youngster is far more than just a tricky tactician.

Jun-17-06  euripides: <13. ...Bxh4?? 14. Rxh4 Nxd5 was actually played in one game. White failed to spot that 15. Qxd5 Be6 16. Qb7! wins trivially> No doubt I deserve Short's implicit derision, but what about 16...Rb8 ? I suppose the answer might be 17 Qc6+ Bd7 18 Qxd6 when 18...Qxh4 meets 19 Qxb8+. But it's a bit hard on the Torygraph's readership - who aren't very bright anyway - to expect them to see all this in a flash.
Jun-17-06  dakgootje: Think you answered your own question ;-)
Aug-04-06  think: 37. f3
looks like a much better move to me, preventing e4 and locking up black's position further.
Dec-11-12  SaVVy66: @think if 37 was f3 then rb8.. and white can forget about queen
Aug-20-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  An Englishman: Good Evening: 12...Ne7; 13.h4,Bh6; 14.a4 has fared very poorly for Black in the database. White's Exchange sacrifice debuted in this game; does anyone know if this was preparation or spur of the moment inspiration?
Aug-20-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: See the note above from 6th November 2005.
Aug-20-16  clement41: Instructive exchange sac
Aug-20-16  thegoodanarchist: Poor pun. The <g> in Power Surge is soft, and the <g> in Sergey is a hard g.
Aug-20-16  thegoodanarchist: Anyway, is this "How to beat the Pelikan Sicilian" week here on chessgames.com?
Aug-22-16  kevin86: The b- pawn leads to early retirement for black
Nov-06-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  Richard Taylor: Kasparov won a game with a positional exchange sac in the Sveshnikov, it may have been this line...

Almost the only (recent) study of it before I tried it was to look at Sveshnikov's book. My opponent tried Nf5 in response to e5 and while I followed the main and correct recommendation I got into difficulties an managed to lose....

Nf5 isn't as bad as it looks...

But it is a good system.

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

  1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
  2. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
  3. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
  4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
  5. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
  6. No trolling.
  7. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
  8. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

Blow the Whistle

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.


NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific game only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

This game is type: CLASSICAL. Please report incorrect or missing information by submitting a correction slip to help us improve the quality of our content.

Featured in the Following Game Collections[what is this?]
Orlin Burov's favorite games
by Orlin Burov
sicilian
by zentovic
AdrianP's Bookmarked Games (2005)
by AdrianP
nice sac: 17.Nxd5
from Karjakin! by larrewl
Genius?!!
by Rocafella
The kid can play
from mynameisrandy's favorite games by mynameisrandy
11. c3 Bg5 12. Nc2 Ne7 13. h4 Bh6 14. a4 ba 15. Ncb4
from tpstar SS by tpstar
A flash of what is to come
from positionalgenius' favorite games by positionalgenius
Exchange Sac Dominates the Light Squares
from Games with Instructive Themes by Mating Net
Great Games: 1990-today
by ARubinstein
Game 34
from Art of Planning (McDonald) by howardb86
BestGamesBestPlayers
by Miguel Medina
Sergey Karjakin (1990-)
from Player of the day: notable game IV by nikolaas
Game 34
from The art of planning in chess by diegoami
Kwesi's favorite games
by Kwesi
MarkusKann's favorite games
by MarkusKann
The Young Lions
by chocobonbon
11...Bg5 12.Nc2 Ne7 13.h4 Bh6 14.a4 bxa4 15.Ncb4 Bd7 16.Rxa4
from Sicilian Sveshnikov 9.Nd5 by KingG
Sergey Karjakin's Best Games
by KingG
weak colour complex
from Positional Games by Lightpath
plus 25 more collections (not shown)

Home | About | Login | Logout | F.A.Q. | Profile | Preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Café | Biographer's Bistro | New Kibitzing | Chessforums | Tournament Index | Player Directory | Notable Games | World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections | ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Store | Privacy Notice | Contact Us

Copyright 2001-2023, Chessgames Services LLC