Match Carlsen-Anand 2014 Partie 5 : 1/2-1/2

   [Event "FWCM 2014"]  [Site "Sochi"]  [Date "2014.11.14"]  [Round "5.1"]  [WhiteID "5000017"]  [White "Viswanathan Anand"]  [BlackID "1503014"]  [Black "Magnus Carlsen"]  [Result "1/2-1/2"]  [BlackElo "2863"]  [WhiteElo "2792"]  [ECO "E15"]  [Annotator "Sagar Shah"]   {In Chennai 2013, it was the fifth game that made all the difference in the  match. After four initial draws, the challenger, Magnus Carlsen, sprinted  ahead with wins in games five and six. The score in Sochi too is the same, 2:2  after four games. But the way the players reached that score was entirely  different from the Chennai match. The momentum is with Vishy Anand and he has  the white pieces. Carlsen has been struggling to find the right antidote  against Vishy's 1.d4 in this match. Let's see how he fared in the fifth game.}  1. d4 Nf6 {Nothing new yet.} 2. c4 e6 {And this was also played in the third  game.} 3. Nf3 b6 {And this is Magnus's new weapon. The Queen's Indian Defense.  It is one of the most solid setups for Black. The problem with this is that in  recent years a lot of theory has been developed in this opening, so Magnus  might have some problems with Anand's superior preparation. But you bank on  the World Champion to find a relatively unknown side line in known positions!}  4. g3 Bb4+ $5 {This check is becoming increasingly popular.} (4... Ba6 {is the  main line. The point of this silly move is to inconvenience White to defend  his c4 pawn. But there is one extremely sharp and theoretical line over here.}  5. Qc2 {Of course there are many other ways to defend the c4 pawn like b3,  Nbd2, Qb3, Qa4, but this is just an example.} Bb7 6. Bg2 c5 7. d5 $5 {The  interesting pawn sacrifice has become quite popular and it is just what Magnus  needs to avoid against Vishy.}) (4... Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. d5 $5 {The  Polugavesky Gambit is once again sharp and theoretical. The point I am trying  to make is that there are complicated lines everywhere and Magnus has to be  careful not to fall into them.}) 5. Bd2 Be7 {What exactly did Black gain from  this check and back? The point is very subtle. Though White gains a tempo, his  bishop on d2 is not very well placed. It blocks the d-file and makes d4-d5  difficult to achieve. The bishop would anyway have to move from d2 and then  the number of tempos would be equalised. So this is a very nice little idea of  checking and coming back.} 6. Nc3 $1 {e4 is on cards now.} (6. Bg2 {Is a small  inaccuracy. It allows Black his desired setup with} c6 $1 7. Nc3 {threatening  e4 but he is a little late as Black now plays} d5 {and gets the position he  desires. Black doesn't have an advantage or anything but he has a comfortable  version of the closed Catalan.}) 6... Bb7 7. Bg2 c6 $5 {Magnus tries to find a  side line in a known position. Simen Agdestein who was Magnus's coach for many  years, said that this move is very difficult to explain. I would like to make  an attempt to explain it to our readers. Black would like to play d5. And when  the opponent captures on d5, he can take it back with the c6 pawn. That is the  main idea of this opening. The biggest expert of this move is definitely  Sergei Tiviakov who has played it on many ocassions.} 8. e4 {You can bank on  Anand making the most theoretically ambitious move. Threat is now e5 and Black  has to strike back in the center.} (8. O-O $6 d5 9. cxd5 cxd5 {And this is  what I was talking about. Taking back with the c-pawn gives Black a very solid  structure. And as he hasnt develped his b8-knight yet, it can come to the very  active square on c6.}) 8... d5 9. exd5 {This and the next moves were made very  quickly by Anand. Why do these players sometimes think a lot in the first few  moves and then start playing quickly? Most of the times, the players are just  trying to remember their analysis. It is possible that Anand had looked at  this line a few months ago and needed some time to recollect all the analysis.  Once he does that he starts playing faster.} (9. cxd5 {was another way to play.  } cxd5 10. e5 Ne4 {Here there are a few games played. The most popular one  according to me was Komarov-Tiviakov where the black player managed to create  loads of queenside play and at the same time defended against White's kingside  attack in a very accurate fashion.}) 9... cxd5 10. Ne5 {The bishop on g2 is  uncovered and that puts a lot of pressure on the d5 pawn. To the player who  doesn't know how to react this might be quite a dangerous position from black  but Carlsen is well prepared and has everything well covered.} O-O 11. O-O (11.  cxd5 Nxd5 12. Qb3 Nc6 $5 13. Nxc6 (13. Nxd5 Nxd4 $1 $17) 13... Bxc6 14. Nxd5  Bxd5 15. Bxd5 exd5 16. O-O Bf6 $11 {The position is equal. Maybe a tad in  favour of Black because the d4 pawn is on the same colour square as the d2  bishop.}) 11... Nc6 {This is the correct way to play the position. By putting  pressure on not only e5 but also on d4, Black forces White to do something  concrete.} (11... Nbd7 $6 12. Re1 $14 {preventing Ne4.}) 12. cxd5 (12. Bf4 {  was a natural way to continue.} Na5 13. Bg5 Rc8 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. cxd5 {was  the game Van Wely-Takchiev and now Black must just recapture back with} exd5  $11 {and he has a good solid position.}) 12... Nxe5 $1 {Accurate defensive  move by Magnus.} (12... Nxd5 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. Bf4 $14 {Gives White a risk  free advantage mainly because his bishop on g2 is much superior to the Black  bishop on b7.}) (12... exd5 {also has the same problem of blocking the b7  bishop.}) 13. d6 $5 $146 {The first new move of the game. And a nice little  novelty by Vishy. Black has just one way in which he can get a playable  position and of course Magnus finds it.} (13. dxe5 Nxd5 14. Nxd5 Bxd5 $11 {is  absolutely nothing for White.}) 13... Nc6 (13... Bxg2 $6 14. dxe7 $1 Qxe7 15.  dxe5 Bxf1 16. exf6 Qxf6 17. Qxf1 $16 {White has a clear advantage here.}) (  13... Bxd6 14. Bxb7 Rb8 15. dxe5 $18) 14. dxe7 Qxe7 15. Bg5 {Did Anand prepare  all of this at home? I have a feeling that he did. After all, the moves are so  natural. White has an Isolated Queen pawn but this move Bg5 is made just so  that he can get rid of it. The idea is to liquidate with the help with d4-d5.  Pinning the f6 knight makes the pawn push easier to achieve.} h6 16. d5 Na5 {  Carlsen continues to tread carefully. The N on a5 defends the b7 bishop.} (  16... exd5 17. Nxd5 $18 {is of course catastrophe.}) (16... hxg5 17. dxc6 $16 {  also gives White a very strong passed pawn on c6.}) (16... Rfd8 {looked very  natural but Erwin L'Ami suggested a very nice sacrfice here.} 17. Bxf6 Qxf6 18.  dxc6 $1 Rxd1 19. Rfxd1 Ba6 20. Rd7 $14 {and White has more than enough  compensation for the missing queen.}) 17. Bxf6 (17. d6 $5 {was an interesting  move that could have been tried by Anand. Whether the d6-pawn is a strength or  weakness is not very clear.} Qd8 18. Bxf6 Qxf6 19. Qe2 Rfd8 20. Rfd1 $14 {  White seems to have the upper hand here.}) 17... Qxf6 18. dxe6 Qxe6 {What  exactly do we have here? We have a position with a symmetrical pawn structure.  When I was young (around 2200 level player) I usually felt that positions with  symmetrical pawn structures would end in a draw. My logic was the following,  pieces keep getting exchanged on the open files and then in endgames it's  extremely difficult to create passed pawns and more often than not players  split the point. My (lack of) understanding about symmetrical pawn structures  changed completely when I heard a lecture by GM Jesse Kraai. He correctly  mentioned that what is the most important aspect in positions with symmetrical  pawn structures is "activity". The side with even slightly more active pieces  can usually claim a huge advantage in symmetrical structures because it very  difficult to create counterplay for the inferior side. He explained this  concept with the help of the game Smyslov -Benko 1969 which I heartily  recommend each and every reader to go through.} (18... Bxg2 $5 19. exf7+ Qxf7  20. Kxg2 {wins a pawn for White. But Black has good compensation after} Nc4 $1  $11) 19. Re1 {Anand's pieces are a tad more active and this makes up his  advantage.} Qf6 20. Nd5 $1 {Teimous Radjabov was of the opinion that if Anand  found this move, he is in excellent shape. And truly this is a wonderful move.  First of all White is sacrificing the b2-pawn. The pawn is poisoned and leads  to a dangerous initiative for White if Black takes it. But if he doesn't take  it, he is running out of squares for the queen. Check it on your own: On an  open board there are actually very few squares the queen can go to.} Bxd5 {A  safe choice by Magnus but leads to an inferior position.} (20... Qxb2 21. Re2  $1 Qa3 (21... Qb5 22. Nc7 $18) 22. Re3 $1 {Once again b2 is the only logical  square available.} Qb2 (22... Qc5 23. Rc1 $16) 23. Rb1 $1 Qxa2 24. Ra1 Qc4 (  24... Qb2 25. Rxa5 bxa5 26. Rb3 $16) 25. Rxa5 bxa5 26. Ne7+ Kh8 27. Bxb7 $14 {  White has a good solid edge in this position thanks to his two minor pieces.  This long forcing line might not have been seen entirely by Anand at the time  of making the move Nd5! but surely his instincts were correct that Black would  be in trouble.}) (20... Qd8 {The only other logical square, lets White  dominate after} 21. b4 $1 Nc6 22. Rc1 $18) 21. Bxd5 {The bishop dominates the  poor knight on a5.} Rad8 22. Qf3 {At this point I was sure that Magnus would  exchange the queens but he surprised everyone with a very courageous pawn grab!  } (22. Qh5 $5 {was also interesting but Black should be fine if he gets back  his knight into play.} Nc6 $11) 22... Qxb2 $1 {The exclamation is not for the  objective evaluation but for the psychology behind the move. First of all to  make this move you need to understand that after the queen exchange White is  better. Maybe not sufficient for victory but sufficient enough to torture  Black for the rest of the game. Once the queen exchange becomes unappetizing,  the next option is to grab material. Once you have material you can always  sacrifice it back in order to reorganize your forces. This is easier said than  done as now Anand gets a big initiative. All in all Magnus weighed the pros  and cons of a queen exchange and a pawn grab and found the latter gave him  more chances to hold.} (22... Qxf3 23. Bxf3 Nc4 24. b3 Nd2 25. Bg2 Rd7 26. Rac1  $14 {When we have pawns on both sides of the board, the bishop is usually a  stronger minor piece than the knight and that is true in this position.}) 23.  Rad1 {A strong move. The threat now is to take on f7.} Qf6 (23... Rd6 {In the  press conference Anand said that he had some difficulty in trying to refute  this move but eventually found it.} 24. Bxf7+ $1 Rxf7 25. Re8+ Kh7 26. Qxf7 $1  Rxd1+ 27. Kg2 {And there is absolutely no defense against Qf5 check! What a  beautiful piece of calculation.} Rd6 28. Qf5+ Rg6 29. Re6 $18 {Both the  players felt that the White king was on g1 and hence Black can save his  position with Qc1 followed by Qg5 but of course the king is on g2 and this  defense is not possible.}) 24. Qxf6 gxf6 25. Re7 $14 {White rook enters the  seventh heaven. The position is slightly better for White inspite of being a  pawn down. This is because he has the more active pieces. Black's defensive  task is not at all easy but White also has to play with surgeon's precision if  he wants to stretch Black to the limit here. Any wrong move and the position  just peters out to equality.} Kg7 (25... Nc6 26. Rc7 Ne5 (26... Nb4 27. Bxf7+  $18) 27. Rxa7 $14 (27. f4 $6 Rd7 $1 $11)) (25... a6 26. Bxf7+ $16) 26. Rxa7 $6  {This is the slight inaccuracy I was talking about. White needed to keep up  the pressure with either 26.Kg2 or 26.Rc7} (26. Kg2 $1 {I like this move very  much. It is an extremely subtle way to put pressure on Black. The threat now  is to play Bxf7 and as the king has moved to g2, the rook on d1 no longer  hangs with a check.} Nc6 (26... f5 {Anand mentioned his move in the press  conference but now after} 27. Rxa7 $16 {White has an overwhelming advantage.})  (26... Rd6 27. Bxf7 $1 Rxd1 28. Bb3+ $16) 27. Rc7 Nb4 $2 (27... Ne5 {Many  people asked me during the game that this move would have let black defend  against all of White's threats. While that is true, the very fact that the  bishop and knight are not getting exchanged and one pair of pawns remain on  the queenside, give White something to bite on. For eg.} 28. Rxa7 Rd6 29. Bb3  Rxd1 30. Bxd1 Rd8 31. Bb3 $14 {This is an extremely unpleasant endgame to  defend for Black. Maybe he will defend it but only after being subjected to  relentless pressure for 20-30 more moves.}) 28. Bxf7 $1 {The cute point of the  move Kg2!} Rxd1 29. Bh5+ (29. Bb3+ {lets the king come to g6 square.} Kg6)  29... Kh8 30. Bxd1 Nxa2 31. Rxa7 $16 {And with three weak pawns, it is a long  and hard defensive task ahead for Black.}) (26. Rc7 {was the other way to keep  the pressure.} Rd6 27. Bf3 Rxd1+ 28. Bxd1 a6 (28... Rd8 29. Bh5 $16) 29. Ra7  $14) 26... Nc6 {Magnus immediately gets his knight back into the game.} 27. Rb7  {Anand considers that there is nothing much left to try in this position and  lets Black exchange all the queenside pawns. After that it is just a draw.  More fighting chances would have been guaranteed by} (27. Ra4 Rd7 28. Rg4+ Kh8  29. Rc4 Ne5 30. Rcc1 Rfd8 31. Bb3 Nf3+ 32. Kg2 Nd4 33. Bc4 $14 {And it is true  that the knight on d4 is extremely strong but the black pawns are weak. If you  want to beat Magnus you will have to play as accurately as this.}) 27... Nb4  28. Bb3 Rxd1+ 29. Bxd1 Nxa2 30. Rxb6 Nc3 {The final queenside pawns are  exchanged and the Black knight is not trapped on the rim, that means that  there is nothing at all left in the position. The black pawn weakness on the  kingside just has theoretical significance and nothing more than that. The  rest of the game requires no comments. The players blitzed out their moves and  quickly agreed to a draw.} 31. Bf3 f5 32. Kg2 Rd8 33. Rc6 Ne4 34. Bxe4 fxe4 35.  Rc4 f5 36. g4 Rd2 37. gxf5 e3 38. Re4 Rxf2+ 39. Kg3 Rxf5 {An extremely well  fought game once again. Anand played excellently after being surprised in the  opening. His move Nd5! was really wonderful in order to create a fight in a  position that was almost equal. Magnus too was happy with the fact that he  achieved a draw with the black pieces and has now two whites in games six and  seven. This will be the most critical part of the match according to me. If  Anand can hold these two games without any loss then he will have the edge. If  Magnus will win one of the games, we might well see him retain the lead until  the end. It's an exciting match ahead. Stay tuned!} 1/2-1/2