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Vladimir Malakhov vs Alexander Grischuk
"Passed with Flying Colors" (game of the day Jun-01-2007)
World Championship Candidates (2007), Elista RUS, rd 1, May-31
Queen's Gambit Declined: Vienna Variation (D39)  ·  0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

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Kibitzer's Corner
May-31-07  kellmano: A nice win for Grischuk. The last seventeen or eighteen moves were played in about ten minutes each.
May-31-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  Maxim Dlugy: A great game by Grischuk. He equalized easily in the opening and by move 30 he was in control.
May-31-07  newton296: 21)...b7xf3 was an nice shot! I think grischuk saw that after gxf3 he forkes whites Q and g pawn with ...Nxe5! and the knight also covers g5 so he can play pawn g5 trapping the bishop at h7 on the next move!! sweetness!! I 'm rooting for gris here!! he is way cooler than mal!
Jun-01-07  Nasruddin Hodja: <chessgames.com> Not to nitpick, but I do wish your database is more careful with transpositions when it classifies openings. This game is the Qa4+ variation of the Queen's Gambit Accepted, not the Queen's Gambit Declined. Is there anyway to fix this bug?
Jun-01-07  kkshethin: can somebody explain finishing line
Jun-01-07  Ezzy: Malakhov (2679) - Grischuk (2717) [D37]
FIDE candidates Matches Elista, Kalmykia Russia, 31.05.2007 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 dxc4 5.Qa4+ c6 6.Qxc4 b5 7.Qd3 Nbd7 8.e4 b4 9.Na4 Qa5 10.b3 c5 11.Be2 Bb7 12.e5 Ne4 13.Be3 Rd8 14.0–0 <Novelty. 14 Qb5 has been played before. Nikolic v Ivanchuk Amber/rapid 1999 >14...a6 <This move threatens to win a pawn[15…cxd4 16.Bxd4 Ndc5 17.Nxc5 (17.Qe3 Nxa4 18.bxa4 Bc5 19.Rfd1 Bxd4 20.Rxd4 Rxd4 21.Nxd4 0–0 winning a pawn) 17...Bxc5 18.Qe3 Bxd4 19.Nxd4 Qxe5 Winning a pawn]> 15.Rac1 15...Be7 16.Qc2 0–0 17.Bd3 cxd4 18.Bxe4 Rc8 19.Bxh7+ Kh8 20.Qd3 Rxc1 21.Bxc1 Bxf3 22.Qxf3 Kxh7 23.Re1 Kg8 24.Qg3 <Threatening the winning 25 Bh6> 24...f6 <If now 25 Bh6 then 25...Rf7 defends.> 25.exf6 Rxf6< Black now would like to play 26...Qf5 but white pressures the d4 pawn again >26.Qd3 Qd5 27.Qe4?< Grischuk has a protected passed pawn, so offering the exchange of queens doesn't seem like a good idea. But more important, a strong initiative is handed over to Grischuk >27...Qxe4 28.Rxe4 e5 29.Nb2? <This loses in all variations. The way to fight is [29.f4 Rc6 30.Bb2 d3 31.Kf1 and black is better, but not yet winning.]> 29...Rc6< very strong> 30.Nc4 Nb6 31.Rxe5 Bf6 32.Ra5 Nxc4 33.bxc4 Rxc4 34.Bf4 d3 35.g3 Rc2 36.Rd5 Rxa2 37.Rxd3 Ra3 <and blacks pawns are going to queen. 0–1>

Offering the exchange of queens gave Grischuk a flurry of strong moves, which he played accurately.

Jun-01-07  Scarecrow: <kkshethin> If White plays 38. Rxa3, Black replies 38...bxa3 and this a pawn is unstoppable. If White does not capture the Rook, then he should find a way to stop Black's b pawn. That is not possible because the Black Bishop is ideally placed on e6 to escort the pawn at least to b2, and once it's there, Black only has to play Ra1 to make Queen. White's Bishop cannot attack the pawn (only from c1 but it cannot get there in time), White has no check in the final position, while Black also has Ra1+ available if needed.
Jun-01-07  Ezzy: <kkshethin: can somebody explain finishing line> Black has 2 outside passed pawns (connected). White can't stop one of these pawns from promoting. For example.

38.Rd1 b3 39.Bc1 Ra1 40.Rf1 a5 41.h4 a4 42.Kg2 a3 43.Bxa3 Rxa3 44.Rb1 b2 45.f4 Ra1 0–1

Jun-01-07  Sleeping kitten: "Passed with Flying Colours". I don't speak English well enough to understand this pun. Can someone explain it to me ?
Jun-01-07  tangobob: <sleeping kitten> "Flying colors" means "very successful" (roughly). It comes from old times when war ships would return with all their flags intact.

See: http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_...

Jun-01-07  Ezzy: <Sleeping kitten> Also, 'passed' refers to the passed pawns which won the game.
Jun-01-07  Chessmensch: Given the strength of black's development into the midgame, white played respctably in an uphill battle.
Jun-02-07  kevin86: A strange finish: the passed pawns are so strong that the THREAT to advance them brings submission to the enemy.
Jun-05-07  Chessmensch: Malcolm Pein discusses this game in his Telegraph chess column on June 6, 2007. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/mai...
Jul-15-07  alexandrovm: this two pawns are strong enougth to win the game for black
Nov-14-22  Messiah: <Nasruddin Hodja: <chessgames.com> Not to nitpick, but I do wish your database is more careful with transpositions when it classifies openings. This game is the Qa4+ variation of the Queen's Gambit Accepted, not the Queen's Gambit Declined. Is there anyway to fix this bug?>

Nope, this is a Vienna.

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