[Event "2012 World Championship Match (Game 9)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.05.23"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E54"]
[Annotator "Shipov, Sergey (translated by Dana Mackenzie)"]
[PlyCount "98"]

1. d4 Nf6 {The unexpected, as expected.} 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 {A brave decision
nowadays! And the most principled one.} Bb4 {The Nimzo-Indian Defense. An
ancient yet evergreen opening. Its theory has tripled over the last 15-20
years.} 4. e3 {The Rubinstein Variation. White plays solidly and firmly. A
more popular choice over the last N years has been Alekhine's variation,} (4.
Qc2) 4... O-O 5. Bd3 {The knight on g1 retains the option tomove either to e2
or to f3.} d5 {A capital objection. The continuations} (5... c5) (5... b6 {
give White other possibilities.}) 6. Nf3 c5 7. O-O {The tabiya of the
Nimzo-Indian Defense. The clash of pawns in the center inevitably leads to a
certain amount of simplification, in which both sides have a widechoice of
possible pawn structures and piece setups. Mankind has studied this position
intensively since the 1930s. Many books have been written about it, but I have
to say that the best in the series is Mark Evgenievich Taimanov's
"Nimzo-Indian Defense." Look for it! That is where you should begin.} dxc4 8.
Bxc4 cxd4 9. exd4 {Anand, after a short think, unloads the center as quickly
as possible. This results in a completely typifcal isolated pawn position.
It's hard to call the pawn at d4 a weakness. White is ahead of Black in
development, and he has sufficient motivation for active play in the center
and on the kingside. The position of the Black bishop on b4 (instead of on e7)
gives him the possibility in the future to carry out an exchange on c3,
forming hanging pawns. They might be "hanging," but they don't hang... [Shipov
is playing with the two meanings of "hang" in chess. He uses two versions of
the word "hanging" that differ by one letter; unfortunately this possibility
does not exist in English. -- DM]} b6 {The development of the bishop to b7
strengthens his control over d5.} 10. Bg5 {In the absence of an opposing
bishop on e7, God himself has ordained the bishop to pin the knight on f6. For
all practical purposes this forces Black to develop the queen knight to d7,
not to c6.} Bb7 11. Qe2 {The first interesting decision. It appears that White
intends to put the queen rook on d1.} (11. Rc1 {has been played most
frequently ever since Alekhine. After this there is an ocean of theory, and I
will present just one recent example:} Nbd7 12. Qe2 (12. Re1 {is a move order
that is associated first and foremost with the famous game V. Kramnik, G.
Kasparov, London 2000:} Rc8 13. Qb3 Be7 14. Bxf6 Nxf6 15. Bxe6 fxe6 $2 (15...
Rc7 $1) 16. Qxe6+ Kh8 17. Qxe7 Bxf3 18. gxf3 Qxd4 19. Nb5 {with a serious
advantage for White.}) 12... Re8 13. Rfd1 h6 14. Bh4 Rc8 15. Bb5 Bxc3 16. bxc3
Rc7 17. Ne5 g5 18. Bg3 Rc8 19. h4 a6 20. hxg5 hxg5 21. Bxd7 Nxd7 {and after}
22. Qh5 {White had a very strong attack in V. Ivanchuk - R. Ponomariov, Warsaw
2010.}) ({Also} 11. Re1) (11. a3 {and many other moves have been tried here.})
11... Nbd7 {A uniquely useful move, but the next few moves will require more
thought...} 12. Rac1 {Gelfand has been playing the opening more certainly and
more rapidly than Anand. In the style of Kramnik he is putting psychological
pressure on his opponent... Although there is still a question of who is
playing in whose style. Kramnik is a little bit younger than Gelfand, so it's
more likely that he learned from his older colleague. Vladimir and Boris, by
the way, have been friends for many years. They have prepared together for
major tournaments on numerous occasions. The clock speaks eloquently about who
was better prepared for the position that has arisen: 1:50 - 1:37. Vishy is
thinking for a long time. He clearly does not remember what needs to be done
here and how. Without concrete preparation it is extremely difficult to use
only your broad knowledge of the general ideas of an opening to battle against
an opponent who is stuffed to the gills with variations. On the other hand,
Black's position has an ample supply of solidity. Black has no obvious
weaknesses. The main things to worry about are an increase in tension (for
example, with Nf3-e5 and Ra1-d1) or the bishop sortie Bc4-a6.} Rc8 {The most
useful answer. Sometimes for clarity Black will play} (12... Bxc3 13. bxc3 {
after which he can put the queen on c7 and avoid the early ... Ra8-c8
altogether. For example,} Qc7 14. Bd3 Ng4 15. Be4 (15. h3 $4 Bxf3 16. Qxf3 Qh2#
) 15... Bxe4 16. Qxe4 Ngf6 17. Qe2 h6 18. Bd2 Rac8 19. c4 Qb7 20. Bb4 Rfe8 21.
Rfe1 Qa6 22. Ne5 Nxe5 23. dxe5 Nd5 24. Bd6 Ne7 25. c5 Qxe2 26. Rxe2 bxc5 27.
Rec2 Nf5 {with equal chances for both sides, A. Karpov - L. Psakhis, Benidorm
2002.}) 13. Bd3 {A highly aggressive setup. White shows that he is interested
first and foremost in the Black king, and he will leave the square d5 under
Black's control. The most common move here is} (13. Ne5 {after which the
battle takes place strictly in the center, although sometimes the accent
shifts to the queenside:} h6 14. Bf4 Nxe5 15. Bxe5 Qe7 16. Ba6 Bxa6 17. Qxa6
Bxc3 18. bxc3 Nd5 19. c4 Nb4 20. Qa3 f6 21. Bg3 {and in the game P. Keres - A.
Karpov, San Antonio 1972 the players agreed to a somewhat premature draw.})
13... Bxc3 {Sooner or later this exchange must take place. Does it seem to you
as if Black could postpone it? But excuse me, what move would you propose
instead? The simplistic} (13... Qe7 {has not been seen before. In this case
it's possible for White to play standard maneuvers, but I am attracted to the
cheeky idea of transferring the knight on c3 to ... c6! Take a look:} 14. Nb5
$1 a6 15. Na7 $1 Rxc1 16. Rxc1 Qd6 17. Bxa6 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Qxd4 19. a3 {and
Black has problems. On} Bd6 {White gets an advantage by means of} 20. Rd1 Qe5
21. Qg3 $1) 14. bxc3 Qc7 {Now the Black queen has an opportunity to escape the
baleful gaze of the bishop on g5. But I am not certain that the order of moves
chosen by Anand is optimal. It resembles what would have happened in the
aforementioned Karpov-Psakhis game if Black had played the calm ... Ra8-c8
instead of the aggressive move Nf6-g4. Which, however, is not necessarily a
terribly bad thing.} 15. c4 {The hanging pawns start to move. This is always
dangerous, for both sides. Some of the ideas in the position are illustrated
by the game S. Gligoric (yes, that one!) - V. Maksimovich, Belgrad 1999:} (15.
Rfe1 h6 16. Bd2 (16. Bh4 Nh5) 16... Rfe8 17. c4 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 e5 19. d5 Nc5 20.
Bf1 {-- here Black has blockaded the White pawns and tries to build upon his
success --} e4 21. Qh3 Nfd7 22. Rc3 Nf8 23. Rg3 Ng6 24. Qg4 Qd7 25. Qxd7 Nxd7 {
but Black could not equalize after} 26. Ra3 $1) 15... Bxf3 $6 {I was not able
to finish writing the above note before Anand played the idea for Black that I
had just showed. But isn't it a little bit early? I would say that it was at
least worth interjecting the moves} (15... h6 16. Bd2 (16. Bh4 Nh5) 16... Rfe8
{and then thinking some more... is it really worth trading? After all, the
bishop on b7 is very powerful, and it's sad to give it up for a knight.}) 16.
Qxf3 {The surprising pause by the champion speaks for itself. He is obviously
not sure if he has done the right thing. One way or another, he has to play ...
e6-e5. Otherwise, what was the point of exchanging the strong bishop?} Rfe8 {
Astonishing! Black simply accepts the loss of both bishops without any
improvement in the pawn structure. By the way, this is a novelty. Gelfand is
simply stunned -- that's obvious. He even sat down for a little while with his
head in his hands. Just the way I used to in the Moscow State University
library, when I was required to review the classics of Marxism-Leninism.
However, I simply fell asleep, while Boris, on the other hand, is not in a
mood for sleep. He is trying to calm down, gather his wits and play
cold-bloodedly. In the game K. Pukkinen - D. Parkinen, Helsinki 2012, after} (
16... e5 17. Bf5 {(threatening Bg5xf6)} Rce8 {White did not play energetically
enough. The move} 18. c5 $1 exd4 (18... bxc5 19. dxc5 Nxc5 $2 20. Qe3 $18) 19.
c6 Ne5 20. Qf4 {would have led to a large advantage -- White threatens to take
on f6 and on d4. The pawnon c6 is strong, and Black's king is weak. Apparently
Anand analyzed some variations like these and withdrew the hand that the devil
was trying to tempt him to place on the e6 pawn.}) 17. Rfd1 {Simple and strong.
White threatens an immediate opening of the center. Go ahead and guess, which
pawn will charge into the batle first -- c4 or d4? It's impossible to plan
this in advance, everything depends on the opponent's moves, and on the
concrete situation. In summary, White's advantage is very large, and the
challenger's fans could not have expected such an outcome from the opening
even in their dreams. And the champion's fans didn't even foresee it in their
nightmares...} (17. Rfe1 {is in no way worse than the text.}) 17... h6 {
Creating luft but also weakening the king's defenses at the same time.} 18. Bh4
{This move did not deserve so much agonizing and so many wasted minutes. Boris
is nervous in spite of the obvious comfortableness of his position. Maybe even
because of that comfort! He was, of course,prepared for a long and heated
battle, and all of a sudden his opponent gave him a present... This is the
psychology of our Soviet generation. When things are at their worst and the
tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife, then we are strong and as
tough as nails. But when everything is all unbelievably good, when we are
showered with money and have plenty to eat and everything else we want, then
we start to worry. It's like the classic song of Boris Grebenshchikov: "Where
everything is good, they'll stab me in the heart. Where everything is crappy,
that's where I feel at home..." His chess-playing namesake has given us a
perfect illustration. He proved this thesis by losing his self-control after
winning the seventh game and losing the next one with a bang. But now, I hope,
he will overcome his nervousness more quickly and without any obvious
consequences. In this regard I will remind you of another line from a song by
the old group Alpha: "Don't be afraid of making a mistake, but do it only once.
Be afraid of repeating your mistake!"} Qd6 {Vishy correctly walks in circles.
He waits and endures. He's still a long way from time pressure: 1:12 - 1:01.
White needs to prepare a break in the center, and it hardly behooves him to
rush. He can create luft for his king, move his d3 bishop... somewhere, and
only then launch the pawn storm.} ({Again,} 18... e5 {would not work because of
} 19. Bf5 $1 {and it's not clear where therook on c8 can hide. Except maybe for
} Rb8 20. Bg3 Rbd8 {-- but only a masochist would walk voluntarily into such a
pin. And besides that, the blow c4-c5! is coming, which will destroy Black's
defenses.}) 19. c5 {Another reason for amazement! Who would have thought that
such experienced title seekers would so frequently be naughty at the
chessboard at the very moments when they should be the most responsible? Maybe
everyone expected it but me... I still think that White should have taken the
time to strengthen his position a little bit. For example, by playing 19. h3
-- it could not possibly hurt to create a window.} bxc5 {There is no option,
otherwise the White pawn would charge on to c6.} 20. dxc5 {The opening of the
file has led to a dramatic activiation of the White rooks. Now the threat is
to bounce the bishop from d3 to h7.} Rxc5 {Bravely and strongly played.
Anand's dream would be to pay off his debts with a little material and achieve
a clear position with drawing chances.} (20... Qe7 21. Bb5 $1 {would lead to
an extremely difficult position for Black}) ({On} 20... Qc7 {the strongest is}
21. Ba6 Rb8 22. Qg3 Qc6 23. Rd6 {preparing a triumphal march for the pawn on
c5.}) 21. Bh7+ {Of course White has to take the queen, in order to justify
giving away the pawn.} Kxh7 22. Rxd6 Rxc1+ 23. Rd1 Rec8 {Black has gotten a
rook, a piece and a pawn for the queen. The main danger for him lies in the
previously inconspicuous pawn on a2. If White is able to get to the pawn on a7,
then he can create a threatening passed pawn, and no matter how many powerful
knights Black might place on d5, they won't be able to hold back the one foot
soldier racing down the edge of the board. However, this is really just a
fantasy. I have the lasting impression that Gelfand settled for too little. He
sold his gold watch for a ruble. Maybe life will dispel my illusions -- I
would only be glad!} 24. h3 {Better late than never.} ({It might have been
worth interpolating} 24. Qd3+ Kg8 {slightly increasing the queen's scope.})
24... Ne5 {Anand has clearly cheered up! His despair has disappeared, and he
senses that he has a real chance to save himself. Time is passing but for the
moment it is not galloping: 0:46 - 0:54.} 25. Qe2 Ng6 {An interesting way of
playing it. Vishy aims to exchange minor pieces, even at the cost of weakening
his pawn structure.} ({I was analyzing the pugnacious} 25... Nd5 26. Kh2 Rxd1
27. Qxd1 Ng6 28. Bg3 {and from here Black will attempt to ignore the dark
squares. But it remains an open question, who will come to the aid of the pawn
on a7?}) ({meanwhile, pawn-grabbing will not work yet for Black:} 25... R8c2
26. Qf1 Rxd1 27. Qxd1 Rxa2 $2 28. Bxf6 gxf6 29. Qb1+ {and Black loses a rook.})
26. Bxf6 (26. Bg3 {gives White nothing, and in fact it costs him his most
valuable pawn:} R8c2 $1 27. Qe1 Rxd1 28. Qxd1 Rxa2 {with a guaranteed draw.})
26... gxf6 27. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 28. Kh2 {The position has gotten simpler. It appears
that Anand intends to hold the seventh rank with his rook, hoping for a
fortress. But for the moment I am not certain how strong it is... Let's say if
White places his pawn on a6, his queen on d6, and then plays g2-g3 and
h3-h4-h5! Then it might turn out that the Black rook will run out of outposts
and the pawn on a7 will collapse.} Rc7 {And in fact Anand does it. Here it is
essential to scrutinize all the nuances and think a long way ahead in terms of
schemes and plans.} 29. Qb2 Kg7 30. a4 {Gelfand stats to execute the plan that
I pointed out. The pawn is going to a6. The battle continues!} Ne7 {Obviously
a sensible decision. With a knight on d5 the rook can remain on the seventh
rank without the slightest difficulty. However, one must now look at White's
active plans on the kingside. The pieces are starting to align themselves into
imaginary configurations in my mind... Let's say, with the Black knight on d5,
the White king materializes on h5 and after Qb2-d2 Black loses the h6 pawn.
And, of course, one also needs to look at the White pawn storm. But in that
case the assistance of the king is not ruled out.} ({Indeed, my first worries
materialize after the line} 30... Rd7 31. Qb8 Re7 32. Qc8 Kh7 33. a5 Kg7 34. a6
Kh7 35. Qd8 {(it makes no big difference whether the queen goes to d6 or d8)}
Kg7 36. g3 Kh7 37. h4 $1 {and Black loses, because of} h5 38. g4 $1 {with the
idea of} hxg4 39. h5 {In view of this possibility, the naive thought arises of
playing ... h6-h5 and ... f6-f5 for Black, but in this case the White queen
penetrates to g6 and demolishes the pawn on h6. In sum, life is not as simple
for Black as it looks.}) 31. a5 Nd5 {Black's pieces form an indestructible
construction in the center. White has to ignore them and find targets a little
bit to the right...} 32. a6 {But for starters Boris completes the advance of
his wing pawn. So that he can forget about it for the next 20 moves. From here
on he will play with the kingside pawns. Here is one more fantasy: f2-f4,
g2-g4, h3-h4 and g4-g5. Of course, making sure not to hang anything. It's only
necessary to find the best squares for the king and queen in the process...
The clocks read 0:23 - 0:33.} Kh7 {To stand and wait is the only reasonable
stragegy for Black in such positions. Of course, Black still believes that his
fortress is indestructible. The main question of the moment is: does the
advance ... f6-f5 favor Black? If so, then White must immediately play g2-g4.}
33. Qd4 {Played "just in case," in order to keep Black's rook from leaving the
seventh rank.} ({It still seems to me that the harshest test is} 33. g4 {,
followed by, for example,} Kg7 34. Qd4 Kh7 35. f4 Kg7 36. Kg3 Kh7 37. Kh4 $5
Kg7 38. f5 Rd7 39. fxe6 fxe6 40. Qd2 {with the threat of Kh4-h5. But Black
does have the defense} Kg6 {Still, the position looks extemely troublesome for
Black. Extremely!}) 33... f5 {Understanding the looming dangers, Anand tries
to engage the opponent before he gets too close. Now the White pawn can never
get to f5.} 34. f4 {A nontrivial decision. Why? Perhaps Gelfand intends to
refute my last thesis and cut a window to Europe by g2-g4!? ["Cut a window to
Europe" is a classic phrase from Russian literature. It's from Alexander
Pushkin's poem "The Bronze Horseman," about Tsar Peter the Great, who founded
St. Petersburg as a way to "cut a window to Europe" for the Russian people, St.
Peterburg being closer to Europe than Moscow both in longitude and in attitude.
-- DM] Then the White pawn has a chance to get to f6, undermining the bastion
of the knight on d5. It is again risky to prevent the axe stroke by means of ..
. h6-h5, because of Qd4-f2-g3-g5.} ({On} 34. g4 f4 {is worthy of consideration.
Then the White king cannot penetrate to h5. But some other ideas have appeared.
For example,} 35. h4 Kg8 36. Qe5 Kh7 37. h5 Re7 38. g5 hxg5 39. Qxg5 Re8 {and
Black holds anyway.}) 34... Rd7 {Not a dangerous ambush. On 35. g4 Black is
planning, apparently, to play 35. ... Kg6 with the intention of taking on f5
with the king! By the way, speaking of captures... How is White spposed to win
if Black takes on f5 with the pawn and places his knight on f6? I don't see
any way yet... If so, then the challenger made a very serious mistake by
playing 33. Qd4. It was clearly better to choose 33. g4!} 35. Kg3 Kg6 {Now
Black is completely right to stand and do absolutely nothing. The ball is in
White's court... I admit, for the first time I am seriously convinced that
Black will escape with a draw.} 36. Qh8 {Threatening a check on g8. An easily
rebuffed threat.} Nf6 37. Qb8 {The players have picked up the pace slightly.
The clock is forcing them to: 0:03 - 0:10.} h5 {Wha-a-at? Why? Why does Vishy
leave the square g5 naked, when White's queen can get there? Strange... It
seems to me that all he had to do was shuffle with his pieces in place.} 38.
Kh4 {The king frees up a route for the queen. It appears that Black will have
to watch over the g3 square by playing ... Nf6-e4. But it's still not clear
what he is going to do when the White queen announces its presence on f3.
Possibly Black will get some chance for counterplay against the dangerously
placed White king.} Kh6 {We stand, we wait, we endure. Now let's keep a close
eye on the opponent's clock -- maybe he'll let his flag fall!} 39. Qb2 {
Approaching g3 by a roundabout route.} Kg6 40. Qc3 {Threatening Qc3-g3-g5.} Ne4
{The time control has passed. [Interestingly, the first time in the match that
has happened! -- DM] The dust has settled! It has become clear that with
White's king on h4 Black is willing and eager to lose the h5 pawn, because
inthat case he actually wins with the maneuver ... Rd7-d8-h8! So the champion
has everything nder control. He simply chose this method to achieve a peaceful
result. One of the advantages of this method is the fact that it has become
even harder for White to carry out the break g2-g4... The draw is very close
now. Boris is suffering at the board. Vishy is calm, radiant and pure, just
like Buddha.} 41. Qc8 ({Let me show the trap in its full glory:} 41. Qf3 Nf6
42. Qg3+ Kh7 43. Qg5 (43. Kg5 Ne4+) 43... Ne4 44. Qxh5+ Kg7 45. g4 (45. Qe2 Rd8
) 45... Rd8 46. gxf5 Rh8 {White loses his queen and suffers a catastrophe.})
41... Nf6 {The attempts to penetrate from the side do fail. So, perhaps it's
time for White to move his king away from h4? But then he will have to reckon
with the bind ... h5-h4 followed by a transfer of the knight to g3. Another
winning attempt would be to play the sharp break g2-g4 at the necessary moment.
.. But I still can't find an effective way to do this in my analysis. In every
line Black has sufficient resources.} 42. Qb8 {When the opponent can't do
anything, there is no need to rush. First you should try to lull him to sleep,
sing him a lullaby, or in some way confuse the co-author of your future
positional masterpiece. Then you turn to your main plan. If there is one...}
Re7 {But isn't this an inaccuracy? Now White has the idea of blowing up the
position with g2-g4 followed by Qb8-e5-g5+ and then the rook at e7 will just
happen to be under attack... No, that's hardly likely to work. In the proposed
variation Black saves himself by the retreat ... Nf6-g8, after which the rook
will be defended by the knight.} (42... Kh6 {was completely safe.}) 43. g4 {As
predicted. Gelfand tries his last practical chance.} hxg4 44. hxg4 fxg4 ({Of
course not} 44... Nxg4 $4 45. Qg8+ Kh6 46. Qg5+ Kh7 47. Qxe7 {1-0.}) 45. Qe5 {
Threatening a fatal check on g5.} Ng8 $1 {Anand foresaw everything. He is
quick and exact.} (45... Nd5 $2 {fails to} 46. Qg5+ Kh7 47. f5) (45... Nh7 $2 {
runs into} 46. f5+ Kh6 47. f6 Rd7 48. Qh5#) 46. Qg5+ ({Or} 46. Qh5+ Kg7 47.
Qxg4+ Kf8 {with a comfortable position for Black.}) 46... Kh7 47. Qxg4 f6 {
Ugly but practical.} 48. Qg2 {Boris persists in his efforts to win. I think
he's sorry to give up on a game where he had such a large and clear advantage.}
Kh8 {Here Black does not face even any microscopic problems. Even losing the
pawn on e6 would not change aything.} 49. Qe4 Kg7 {Here Anand proposed a draw.
Strictly speaking, its not his business... In such positions it is up to the
person with the advantage to decide whether to propose a draw or continue to
fight. On the other hand, Vishy is right in the sense that the position has
now become completely boring. Boris thought, thought and AGREED TO A DRAW.  
This game was a huge missed opportunity for Gelfand. He had serious chances to
win after his opponent's unsuccessful play in the opening. But he got a little
bit overeager, grabbed his material a little bit too quickly, and then did not
make the most of his chances in a superior endgame. Anand was lucky today...
but it was a world champion's luck! The score in the match remains even: 4.5 -
4.5. Only three more games with the classical time control remain.   And with
that, I will say goodbye. Thank you for your attention, friends. This has been
grandmaster Sergey Shipov. We await further developments. Until tomorrow!}
1/2-1/2

