Chess Improvement

Chess Analysis: Four Knights Games with Analysis

May 7th, 2009

Brian Wall once wrote a long long time ago:

[Event "Aero Svit"]
[Site "Foros, Ukraine"]
[Date "2006.06.17"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM_Rublevsky"]
[Black "GM_Mamedyarov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2687"]
[BlackElo "2699"]
[Opening "Four knights: Rubinstein counter-gambit"]
[ECO "C48"]
[NIC "KP.03"]
[Time "07:44:42"]

Aerosvit International GM tournament
Foros/Yalta Ukraine
Strongest tournament ever held in the Ukraine

Game/2 hours plus
a 30 second increment per move

White – GM Sergei Rublevsky, World #23, 32 years old, Russian 2687
Black – GM Mamedyarov, from Azerbajain, World #19, 21 years old 2699

This is a complex game – I will try to decode it for you.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5
This is an interesting moment to me for many reasons -

Supposedly Black should have no trouble equalizing
I always have trouble equalizing

4 … Nd4
Rubinstein’s equalizer from 80 years ago

5. Ba4 c6!!
GM John Nunn says this is better than 5 … Bc5, despite the endorsement of Frank J Marshall, Rubenstein, Steiner, Szabo, Vidmar, Rueben Fine, Milner, Veresov, Makogonov, Lilienthal, Edward Lasker, Geller, Shamkovich, Hort, Alla Kushnir, Benko, Balashov, Shirov, Leko, Aronian, Khalifman, Ilescas, Timmerman, Short, Svidler and many other GMs.

5 … N:f3+ has been played 228 times by Schallop, Mason, Schlector, Simagin, Bolbochan, Ibragimov and others.
The goofy 5 … Qe7 has only been played once.
The Renae Delaware style 5 … Bd6 has been played 8 times.

6. Nxe5!! d5
The simple looking 6 … Qe7 7 Nf3 N:f3+ or … N:e4 has been tried several times.

6 … b5 has been tried.
Kramnik, Malaniuk, Hebden and others have tried 6 … d6

7. d3

Fritz 8 – 7 ed!!, d3, 0-0, a3?, Nf3?, f4?, h3?
Humans – 7 a3?, Nf3?, h3?, f4? never tried 7 0-0 tried by GM Nigel Short and Kaido Kulaots 7 d3 tried in 27 games including heavyweight battles – Nunn-Kamsky, Nunn-Piket and Nunn-Polgar

7 ed!!, the Fritz favorite is avoided by humans tried only 11 times by non-GMs. Not sure why – Fritz likes White after 7 ed!! N:d5, … Bd6 or … Qc7

7 ed N:d5 only played once by Arryn Pidwell
7 ed Bd6 tried 9 times
7 ed Qc7 never tried
7 ed b5?? 8 N:c6!! was tried only once, thankfully.

Maybe someone can explain to me why 7 ed Bd6 8 dc 0-0 is acceptable for Black – Fritz 8 thinks White is better after 9 cb Nf3! or Nc4!!
7 ed Bd6 8 dc 0-0 9 Nc4 Re8+ 10 Ne3 bc 11 0-0 is favored by Fritz but I admit it does look like Black has open attacking lines and good compensation like the main line of the Two Knights Defense. White’s Queenside is pretty jammed in.

7 … Bd6!!

Fritz 8 – 7 … Bd6!!, … Qc7!, … Bb4

8. f4!!

8 Nf3 has been played by Grandmasters, including Shirov – 8 Nf3 N:f3! 9 gf! (9 Q:f3? d4!) and the doubled f-pawns might help support the center while White attacks down the g-file. All the games after 8 Nf3 have been very lively and exciting with mixed results.
8 f4! and 8 Nf3 are the only two reasonable moves -
8 N:c6!? bc 9 Be3 Nb5 10 N:b5 cb 11 B:b5+
Black’s piece weighs more than 3 pawns in a middle game.
8 Bf4 Qc7 wins material
8 N:d5 B:e5 9 c3 a kind of Halloween attack doesn’t work out too well after 9 … b5, … Ne6, … N:d5 or … Nb5

8 … Bc5!?
Only played once before but probably heavily prepared by Mamdyarov before the game. Most likely Rublevsky was soon on his own, muttering, “Thing haven’t been bad enough – now what am I in for?”

9. exd5

9 Rb1, a3, Be3, Bb3, N:d5, Bd2, h4, Qd2 and Rf1 are all very close to equality, slightly better for White or Black.

9 … O-O

Fritz thinks 9 … N:d5!! is twice as good at first glance but castling looks more flexible and I suspect well tested by Mamedyarov.

Almost all opening gambits involve saccing the c-f-pawns for development.

10. Ne4
Rublevsky is in shock and gets in trouble quickly.

If you trust Fritz 8 then 10 dc, Be3, Bb3 , Ne4, d6, a3

10 dc leaves Rublevsky 3 pawns up but down in development with a King caught in the center, not a situation humans like, especially walking right into 2699 preparation in a Category 18 Super tournament.

Sample continuations – 10 dc bc 11 N:c6 N:c6 12 B:c6 Bg4
13 Qd2 Rc8 14 Be4 Re8 or 14 Bb5 Nd5 or 14 Ba4 Bb4 still up 3 pawns but with a King caught in a crossfire
10 Be3 N:c2+ 11 B:c2 B:e3 12 Qf3 Bd4 is probably best but
10 Be3 N:d5! 11 N:d5 Q:d5 12 Qd2 g5! is another can of worms to torture you with the clock ticking.
10 Bb3 N:d5, … cd or N:b3 is about equal.
None of this is something you want to work out over the board.
A real mess, possibly computer tested and supplemented by secret Azerbajain blitz games. At least that’s what I would be thinking.

10 … Nxe4!!

10 … Q:d5! 11 c4 Bb4+
is another approach. Mamedyarov is a little better or worse either way, some kind of irrational near-equality

11. dxe4! Qh4+! 12. g3!

12 Kd2? Q:f4+ is bad for Sergei but
12 Kf1 Nb3! or … cd might be tenable

12 … Qh3! 13. Be3

13 Qd2! looks very flimsy and rickety but it does prevent … Qg2 and Fritz declares it the only good move.
After 13 Qd2 Qh5! 14 Rf1 Bh3 15 Rf2 cd or … f6 is a scary form of dynamic equality.
The computer may be happy counting Rublevsky’s pawns but the Grandmasters are asking themselves how Sergei’s King is ever going to reach safety. Black has an easy plan of just aiming more and more pieces at the trapped monarch. White has nothing to look forward to except a miserable “only move” search each time.

13 … Qg2!
Rublevsky is fighting for equality now.

Kasparov from Azerbajain – I usually managed to engineer my games so
that the normal moves were inadequate.

14. Rg1

14 Rf1 is about the same answered by 14 … Bh3!!, … Q:e4!, … f6, … cd or … b5

14 … Qxe4!! 15. Kf2!!
The best move, 15 Qd3 is second best, anything else is wretched.

15 … Re8!!
Best – slightly better for Mamedyarov – also OK – 15 … f6, … Ne6, … Nb3 and … Rd8

16. Qd3?
Rublevsky was probably being pressured both on the board and on the clock. It was possible to analyze this position before the game began.
16 dc! bc or … R:e5 slightly better for Mamedyarov or 16 c3! R:e5!! 17 fe Bg4 slightly better for Mamedyarov or 16 d6 Bh3!!, … R:e5!!, … Bf5!, … b5!, … f6 or … Nb3 are all better for Black
16 Qd3?? is not the best move at a time when everything is going sour anyway. The 21 year old posed a real brain twister and the 32 year old was swamped with unclear variations.

16 … Rxe5!! 17. fxe5! Qf3+! 18. Ke1! Bf5!!
We are getting into multiple win territory now – 18 … Q:d5! is good too. Rublevsky is an exchange and a pawn up but Mamedyarov’s pieces are using the L.A. cop swarm technique.

19. Rf1!

19 Qd2 looks normal but 19 … Q:d5!!! threatening 20 … Nf3+! kills.
19 Qd2 Bg4!!, … Qe4!! , … B:c2! and … N:c2+! all win too.

19 … Bb4+!!
The idea is 19 … Bb4+ 20 Bd2 B:d3 21 R:f3 N:f3+ picks up a piece. Rublevsky’s way is also hopeless, two pawns down. It’s over.

20. c3! Bxd3!!
multiple win territory – 20 … B:c3+! works too

21. Rxf3!
Only move to avoid checkmate

21 … Nxf3+! 22. Kf2! Nxh2!!
multiple win territory – 22 … N:e5!! and … Be4 work

23. cxb4! Ng4+!! 24. Kf3! Nxe5+!! 25. Kf4! Ng6+!
multiple win territory – 25 … Re8! and … f6! work too

26. Kf3! cxd5!!
After 16 Qd3? the two Super GMs have produced 21 straight best moves between them. Rublevsky is two pawns down without much compensation.
That’s something I noticed a long time ago with strong players – they play best moves in lost positions, hoping for a miracle.

27. Rc1 Ne5+ 28. Kf4! Ng6+
multiple win territory – 28 … f6 and … Nc4 also work

29. Kf3! b5! 30. Bb3 Bc4 31. Bc2! Ne5+! 32. Kf4! f6 33. Rd1 Bxa2
34. b3! Rc8! 35. Bc5! a5! 36. Bf5 Bxb3!! 37. Rb1 Bc2! 38. Be6+ Kh8!
39. Ra1 Re8! 40. bxa5 Nd3+ 41. Kf3! Nxc5! 42. Bxd5! b4 43. a6! Nxa6 {Black wins} 0-1

Rublevsky resigns because of 44 R:a6 Rb8 followed by … b3 and marching the Kingside forward.

So far, after this, Rublevsky has a performance rating 224 points above his rating.
————————————————————————-
————————————————————————-
[Event "Aero Svit"]
[Site "Foros, Ukraine"]
[Date "2006.06.17"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM_Rublevsky"]
[Black "GM_Mamedyarov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2687"]
[BlackElo "2699"]
[Opening "Four knights: Rubinstein counter-gambit"]
[ECO "C48"]
[NIC "KP.03"]
[Time "07:44:42"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. Ba4 c6 6. Nxe5 d5 7. d3 Bd6 8.
f4 Bc5 9. exd5 O-O 10. Ne4 Nxe4 11. dxe4 Qh4+ 12. g3 Qh3 13. Be3 Qg2 14. Rg1
Qxe4 15. Kf2 Re8 16. Qd3 Rxe5 17. fxe5 Qf3+ 18. Ke1 Bf5 19. Rf1 Bb4+ 20. c3
Bxd3 21. Rxf3 Nxf3+ 22. Kf2 Nxh2 23. cxb4 Ng4+ 24. Kf3 Nxe5+ 25. Kf4 Ng6+
26. Kf3 cxd5 27. Rc1 Ne5+ 28. Kf4 Ng6+ 29. Kf3 b5 30. Bb3 Bc4 31. Bc2 Ne5+
32. Kf4 f6 33. Rd1 Bxa2 34. b3 Rc8 35. Bc5 a5 36. Bf5 Bxb3 37. Rb1 Bc2 38.
Be6+ Kh8 39. Ra1 Re8 40. bxa5 Nd3+ 41. Kf3 Nxc5 42. Bxd5 b4 43. a6 Nxa6
{Black wins}
0-1
————————————————————————

Rublevsky-Mamedyarov.pgn
————————————————————————

2006 Olympiad win beating the 4 knights Spanish
with the Renae Opening.

[Event "37th Chess Olympiad"]
[Site "Torino, Italy"]
[Date "2006.05.25"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Sammalvuo(FIN)"]
[Black "Gausel(NOR)"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2461"]
[BlackElo "2509"]
[Opening "Four knights: Spanish variation"]
[ECO "C48"]
[NIC "KP.03"]
[Time "08:21:07"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bd6 5. g4 a6 6. Bc4 Bc5 7. Ng5 d5 8.
Nxd5 Nxd5 9. exd5 Qxg5 10. d4 Qg6 11. Bd3 e4 12. dxc5 exd3 13. dxc6 Qe4+ 14.
Kd2 Bxg4 15. Re1 Be2 16. cxb7 Rd8 17. Rxe2 {Black wins} 0-1
—————————————————————————–

Sammalvuo-Gause.pgn
—————————————————————————–
Cohen tried the Renae Opening against Capablanca.
More Renae defenses againt the 4 knights Spanish to follow.

[Event "New York blindfold"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1911.12.??"]
[Round "0"]
[White "Capablanca,Jose Raul"]
[Black "Cohen,Aron"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.d4 Bb4 7.dxe5 Qxd1+ 8.Kxd1
Bxc3
9.exf6 Bxf6 10.e5 Be7 11.Bg5 Bg4 12.Bxe7 Bxf3+ 13.gxf3 Kxe7 14.Rg1 Rad8+ 15.Ke2
g6 16.f4 f5
17.Rad1 Rd5 18.c4 Rxd1 19.Rxd1 Rd8 20.Rc1 c5 21.h4 Rd4 22.Ke3 Re4+ 23.Kf3 Rd4
24.h5 Rd2
25.hxg6 hxg6 26.Rh1 Rxb2 27.Rh7+ Kd8 28.Rg7 Rb6 29.Kg3 Re6 30.Kh4 b5 31.cxb5 c4
32.Kg5 c3
33.Rh7 Rb6 34.Rh1 Rxb5 35.Kxg6 Rb2 36.Kf7 c5 37.e6 Re2 38.Rd1+ Kc7 39.e7 c2
40.Rc1 Kd7
41.Rxc2 Rxe7+ 42.Kf6 Re6+ 43.Kxf5 Rc6 44.Re2 c4 45.Ke4 Re6+ 46.Kf3 c3 47.Rc2 Rc6
48.Ke4 Ke6
49.Kd4 Kf5 50.Rxc3 Ra6 51.a3 Ra4+ 52.Kc5 Rxf4 53.f3 Ke6 54.Kb5 Rf5+ 55.Ka6 Rf7
56.Rd3 Ke5
57.a4 Kf4 58.a5 Kg3 59.Rb3 Kf2 60.Rb7 Rxf3 61.Kxa7 Ke2 62.a6 Rf6 63.Rb6 Rf7+
64.Kb8 Rf8+
65.Kb7 Rf7+ 66.Kc6 Ra7 67.Kb5 Re7 68.Rd6 Re3 69.a7 Rb3+ 70.Kc6 Rc3+ 71.Kb7 1-0

Capablanca-Cohen1911.pgn
—————————————————————————-

[Event "YUG-ch"]
[Site "Ljubljana"]
[Date "1947.??.??"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Gruber,B"]
[Black "Puc,Stojan"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.0-0 a6 6.Bc4 b5 7.Bd5 0-0 8.d4 Nxd5
9.exd5 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 exd4 11.Qxd4 Re8 12.Bf4 b4 13.Bxd6 bxc3 14.Ba3 Qg5 15.bxc3
d6 16.f4 Qg6
17.Rae1 Bf5 18.Re3 Re4 19.Rfe1 Rae8 20.c4 h5 21.Qd2 h4 22.h3 Qg3 23.Rxe4 Bxe4
24.Bb4 f5
25.Qf2 Rb8 26.Qxg3 hxg3 27.Bc3 Bxc2 28.Re3 Rb1+ 29.Re1 Kf7 30.Rxb1 Bxb1 31.a3
Ba2 32.Ba5 Bxc4
33.Bxc7 Ke7 34.Ba5 Bxd5 35.Be1 Be4 36.Bxg3 Ke6 37.Be1 Kd5 38.Bb4 Kc6 39.Kf2 d5
40.g4 g6
41.Ke3 1/2
—————————————————————————

[Event "Schilde op U18 5th"]
[Site "Schilde"]
[Date "1969.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "De Jonghe,Peter"]
[Black "Verlinden,Guy"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.0-0 0-0 6.d4 Qe7 7.Bg5 Nxd4 8.Nd5 Qe6
9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Bc4 c6 11.Nb6 Qe7 12.Nxa8 b5 13.Bb3 Ba6 14.Nh4 f5 15.Nxf5 Nxf5
16.exf5 Rxa8
17.Re1 Qf6 18.Re3 Kh8 19.Qh5 Rg8 20.Qxf7 Qxf7 21.Bxf7 Rf8 22.Rd3 Rxf7 23.Rxd6
Rxf5 24.Rxd7
1-0
————————————————————————

[Event "GER-chT U20"]
[Site "Germany"]
[Date "1978.12.26"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Schreiner,J"]
[Black "Hoffmann,A"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.d3 Nd4 6.Be3 Nxf3+ 7.Qxf3 0-0 8.0-0 Be7
9.d4 exd4 10.Bxd4 c5 11.Be3 d6 12.Rad1 Bg4 13.Qg3 Bxd1 14.Rxd1 Kh8 15.e5 Ne8
16.exd6 Bxd6
17.Bf4 Qe7 18.Bd3 Bxf4 19.Qxf4 Nf6 20.Ne4 Rfe8 21.f3 Nxe4 22.fxe4 Rad8 23.Re1 c4
24.Bxc4 Qc5+
25.Qe3 Qxc4 0-1
—————————————————————————
Renae Opening tried in Women’s Olympiad

[Event "Dubai ol (Women)"]
[Site "Dubai"]
[Date "1986.11.??"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Fati,FM"]
[Black "Clarke,C"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.d3 0-0 6.Bg5 a6 7.Bc4 b5 8.Bb3 Be7
9.0-0 Bb7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.Bd5 d6 12.Ne2 Rb8 13.Bxc6 Bxc6 14.Ng3 Re8 15.Qd2 Bd7
16.Qe3 Re7
17.Nh5 Re8 18.d4 Bg4 19.Nxf6+ Qxf6 20.d5 Bxf3 21.Qxf3 Qxf3 22.gxf3 Rf8 23.Kh1 f5
24.b4 Rf6
25.a4 fxe4 26.fxe4 Rbf8 27.axb5 Rxf2 28.Rxf2 Rxf2 29.bxa6 Rf8 30.c4 Ra8 31.b5
Kf7 32.Kg2 Ke7
33.Kg3 Kf6 34.Rf1+ Kg6 35.h4 h5 36.Rf5 Ra7 37.Rf8 Kh6 38.Rb8 g5 39.Rb7 gxh4+
40.Kxh4 Ra8
41.Rxc7 1-0
————————————————————————–

[Event "Wch U10"]
[Site "Mamaia"]
[Date "1991.08.??"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Cillo,L"]
[Black "Badaoui,F"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.d3 a6 6.Ba4 0-0 7.0-0 Nd4 8.Bg5 h6
9.Bh4 Be7 10.Nxe5 d6 11.Nf3 Nxf3+ 12.Qxf3 Ng4 13.Bxe7 Qxe7 14.Nd5 Qe5 15.Qf4
Qxf4 16.Nxf4 b5
17.Bb3 c6 18.a3 a5 19.c4 bxc4 20.Bxc4 Ba6 21.Rac1 Bxc4 22.Rxc4 c5 23.d4 cxd4
24.Rxd4 Rab8
25.Rxd6 Rxb2 26.h3 Nf6 27.Ra6 Nxe4 28.Rxa5 Nd2 29.Re1 Nc4 30.Ra4 Nb6 31.Ra6 Nc4
32.a4 Rb6
33.Rxb6 Nxb6 34.a5 Nc4 35.a6 Ra8 36.Ra1 Nb6 37.f3 Nc4 38.a7 Nd6 39.Nd5 Nc8
40.Nc7 Rxa7
41.Rxa7 Nxa7 42.g4 g5 43.Kg2 Kg7 44.Kg3 0-1
————————————————————————–

[Event "New Delhi op 4th"]
[Site "New Delhi"]
[Date "2006.01.15"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Saptarshi,Roy Chowdhury"]
[Black "Abdulla,Al Rakib"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.d3 h6 6.a3 Nd4 7.Bc4 c5 8.Nxd4 cxd4
9.Nd5 Rb8 1/2
——————————————————————–

[Event "Nova Gorica op 11th"]
[Site "Nova Gorica"]
[Date "2006.01.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Mestrovic,Zvonimir"]
[Black "Srebrnic,Ana"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.d4 Nxd4 6.Nxd4 exd4 7.Qxd4 Qe7 8.Be3 Be5
9.Qd3 c6 10.Bc4 0-0 11.Nd1 Bc7 12.f3 Rd8 13.0-0 d5 14.exd5 Nxd5 15.Qe4 Qd6 16.g3
Nf6
17.Qh4 Bf5 18.Bb3 Bb6 19.g4 Be6 20.Qf2 Bxe3 21.Nxe3 Bxb3 22.axb3 Qf4 23.Rad1 g6
24.Ng2 Qe5
25.c3 Qb5 26.b4 Kg7 27.Rd4 Rxd4 28.Qxd4 Qb6 29.Rd1 Rd8 0-1
——————————————————————–
——————————————————————–
———————————————————————
———————————————————————-

These games are with 4 … Nd4 to help
explain the Rublevsky-Mamedyarov game.

[Event "Tashkent"]
[Site "Tashkent"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[Round "0"]
[White "Agzamov,Georgy"]
[Black "Maslov,Leonid P"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nd4 5.Ba4 c6 6.Nxe5 d5 7.d3 Bd6 8.Nf3 Nxf3+
9.gxf3 Qa5 10.Bd2 0-0 11.Nxd5 Qxa4 12.Nxf6+ gxf6 13.Rg1+ Kh8 14.Bh6 Rg8 15.Rxg8+
Kxg8 16.Ke2 Kh8
17.Qd2 Be6 18.Rg1 Rg8 19.Rxg8+ Kxg8 20.Qc1 Kh8 21.Qg1 Qxc2+ 22.Ke3 Bc5+ 23.d4
Bxd4+ 24.Kxd4 Qxb2+
25.Kd3 Qa3+ 26.Kd2 Qxa2+ 27.Ke3 Qa3+ 28.Kf4 Qd6+ 29.Ke3 Qc5+ 30.Kf4 Qe5+ 31.Ke3
Qc3+ 32.Ke2 Bc4+
33.Kd1 Qxf3+ 34.Kd2 Qd3+ 35.Kc1 Qa3+ 36.Kc2 Qa2+ 37.Kc3 Qb3+ 38.Kd4 Qd3+ 39.Kc5
b6+ 40.Kxc6 Bb5+
41.Kb7 Qd7+ 42.Kb8 Qd6+ 0-1
————————————————————————

[Event "Casablanca"]
[Site "Casablanca"]
[Date "1994.05.??"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Spraggett,Kevin"]
[Black "David,Alberto"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Ba4 c6 6.Nxe5 d5 7.d3 Bd6 8.Nf3 Bg4
9.Be3 Nxf3+ 10.gxf3 Bh5 11.exd5 0-0 12.dxc6 bxc6 13.Rg1 g6 14.Bb3 Bxh2 15.Rh1
Be5 16.d4 Bc7
17.Qe2 Qd7 18.0-0-0 Qf5 19.Qd3 Qxd3 20.Rxd3 Bxf3 21.Rh4 Bg2 22.d5 Nxd5 23.Nxd5
cxd5 24.Bxd5 Bxd5
25.Rxd5 Bb6 26.Bxb6 axb6 27.a4 Ra5 28.Rxa5 bxa5 29.Rd4 h5 30.Kd2 Re8 31.c3 Ra8
32.Ke3 Kg7
33.Rd5 Kf6 34.f4 Re8+ 35.Kf3 Rb8 36.Rb5 Ra8 37.c4 Ra7 38.c5 Ke6 39.Ke4 1-0
—————————————————————————-

[Event "Linares 13th"]
[Site "Linares"]
[Date "1995.03.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Shirov,Alexei"]
[Black "Sokolov,Ivan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Ba4 c6 6.Nxe5 d5 7.d3 Bd6 8.Nf3 Bg4
9.Be3 Bc5 10.Bxd4 Bxd4 11.Qd2 Bxf3 12.gxf3 b5 13.Nxb5 cxb5 14.Bxb5+ Nd7 15.c3
Bb6 16.d4 dxe4
17.fxe4 0-0 18.0-0-0 Rb8 19.Rdg1 Nf6 20.e5 Bxd4 21.exf6 Qxf6 22.Qxd4 Qxd4
23.cxd4 Rxb5 24.Rd1 Rc8+
25.Kb1 Rd8 26.Rd3 g5 27.Rhd1 Kg7 28.d5 Rd6 29.b3 a5 30.Kb2 Kf6 31.Ka3 Ke7 32.Ka4
Rc5
33.Re3+ Kd7 34.Rf3 Ke7 35.Rf5 f6 36.h4 gxh4 37.Rh5 Kd8 38.a3 Kc7 39.Rxh7+ Kb6
40.Rxh4 Rcxd5
41.Rxd5 Rxd5 42.Re4 Rf5 43.Re6+ Kb7 44.f4 Ka7 45.Re4 Kb6 46.b4 axb4 47.axb4 Kc6
48.Rc4+ Kb6
49.Rd4 Kc6 50.Kb3 Rh5 51.Kc4 Rh1 52.b5+ Kc7 53.Kd5 Kd7 54.Kc5+ Kc8 55.Rd6 1-0
————————————————————————-

[Event "Newport op"]
[Site "Newport"]
[Date "2004.01.07"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Gormally,Daniel"]
[Black "Hebden,Mark"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Ba4 c6 6.Nxe5 d5 7.d3 Bd6 8.Nf3 Nxf3+
9.gxf3 0-0 10.Bb3 Nh5 11.exd5 Re8+ 12.Be3 cxd5 13.Nxd5 Be6 14.Nc3 Qa5 15.Bxe6
Rxe6 16.Kf1 Qe5
17.Ne4 Be7 18.h3 Qb5 19.Rg1 Re8 20.c4 Qd7 21.f4 Rg6 22.Rxg6 hxg6 23.Kg2 b6 24.d4
Qc6
25.Qf3 Qxc4 26.f5 gxf5 27.Qxf5 Nf6 28.Nxf6+ Bxf6 29.b3 Qe2 30.Rc1 Qxa2 31.Rc8
Rxc8 32.Qxc8+ Kh7
33.Qf5+ Kg8 34.Qc8+ 1/2
————————————————————————-

[Event "Regionalliga NordS 8889"]
[Site "Germany"]
[Date "1988.10.16"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Anhalt,Horst Peter"]
[Black "Kanonenberg,Wilhelm"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Ba4 Qe7 6.0-0 c6 7.d3 b5 8.Bb3 Nxb3
9.axb3 d6 10.h3 h6 11.Re1 g5 12.Nh2 Bg7 13.b4 0-0 14.Qe2 Qc7 15.Bd2 Nh7 16.g4
Re8
17.Nf1 Nf8 18.Ng3 Ne6 19.Nf5 Nd4 20.Qd1 Be6 21.Be3 Rad8 22.Nxg7 Kxg7 23.Bxd4
exd4 24.Ne2 d5
25.Nxd4 dxe4 26.dxe4 Bc8 27.c3 a6 28.Qf3 c5 29.bxc5 Qxc5 30.Rad1 Bb7 31.Nf5+ Kg6
32.Rxd8 Rxd8
33.Nxh6 Rd2 34.Nxf7 Rd7 35.b4 Qc7 36.Qf5+ Kg7 37.Nxg5 Qd6 38.Ne6+ Kg8 39.Qg6+
Kh8 40.Qe8+
1-0

———————————————————————-
[Event "BEM-ch U13"]
[Site "Braunschweig"]
[Date "1995.??.??"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Dannehr,Kerstin"]
[Black "Buttersack,Tillmann"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Ba4 Bd6 6.0-0 0-0 7.d3 b6 8.Be3 Nxf3+
9.Qxf3 Ba6 10.Bg5 Be7 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.Bxe7 Nxe7 13.Bb3 d6 14.h3 h6 15.Rad1 c5
16.Bd5 Nxd5
17.exd5 Bb7 18.c4 a6 19.b3 b5 20.Rfe1 Qa5 21.Re2 bxc4 22.dxc4 f6 23.Qf5 Bc8
24.Qg6 Ra7
25.a4 Qb4 26.Re3 Qb7 27.Rdd3 Qf7 28.Qxf7+ Rfxf7 29.Rg3 Bf5 30.Rdf3 Be4 31.Re3 f5
32.Rc3 f4
33.Rg4 Bf5 34.Rh4 Rf6 35.Rh5 Bg6 36.Rh4 e4 37.Kf1 f3 38.Rg4 Bh5 39.Rg3 fxg2+
40.Rxg2 Bf3
41.Rg3 a5 42.Re3 g5 43.Rg1 Rb7 44.Rg3 Bd1 45.Ke1 Bf3 46.Rg1 Kg7 47.Rg3 Kg6
48.Rg1 h5
49.Rg3 h4 50.Rg1 Kh5 51.Rf1 g4 52.hxg4+ Kxg4 53.Rg1+ Kh5 54.Kf1 h3 55.Rxf3 Rxf3
56.Rh1 e3
57.Ke2 Kg4 58.Ke1 exf2+ 59.Kf1 Rbxb3 60.Ke2 f1=Q+ 61.Rxf1 Rxf1 62.Kxf1 h2 63.Kg2
Rb2+ 64.Kh1 Rb4
65.Kxh2 Rxa4 66.Kg2 Ra2+ 67.Kf1 Kf3 68.Ke1 Re2+ 69.Kd1 a4 70.Kc1 a3 71.Kb1 a2+
72.Ka1 Re4
73.Kxa2 Rxc4 74.Kb3 Rd4 75.Kc3 Rxd5 76.Kc4 Rd1 77.Kc3 Rc1+ 78.Kd3 c4+ 79.Kd2 Rf1
80.Kc3 d5
81.Kd4 Rd1+ 82.Kc3 Ke3 83.Kc2 Ke2 84.Kc3 Ke3 85.Kc2 Ke2 86.Kc3 Rd3+ 87.Kc2 c3
88.Kc1 Rd2
89.Kb1 c2+ 90.Kc1 d4 91.Kb2 Kd3 92.Kc1 Rd1+ 93.Kb2 c1=Q+ 94.Kb3 Qc2+ 95.Kb4 Rb1+
96.Ka3 Qb2+
97.Ka4 Ra1+ 0-1
—————————————————————————

[Event "Villa Ballester op 48th"]
[Site "Villa Ballester"]
[Date "1998.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Escandell,Bartolome"]
[Black "Miserendino,Alfredo"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Ba4 Bd6 6.0-0 c6 7.Nxd4 exd4 8.Ne2 Nxe4
9.Nxd4 0-0 10.c3 Bc7 11.Bc2 d5 12.Nf3 Bg4 13.h3 Bh5 14.d3 Nc5 15.Be3 Ne6 16.d4
f5
17.Bd3 Qd6 18.Re1 Rae8 19.Be2 Nf4 20.Bxf4 Qxf4 21.Ne5 Bxe2 22.Rxe2 Re6 23.Qc1
Qxc1+ 24.Rxc1 f4
25.Rce1 Rfe8 26.Kf1 Bxe5 27.Rxe5 Rxe5 28.Rxe5 Rxe5 29.dxe5 Kf7 30.g3 g5 31.gxf4
gxf4 32.Ke2 Ke6
33.h4 Kxe5 34.Kd3 c5 35.f3 b5 36.b4 c4+ 37.Kc2 Kf5 0-1

———————————————————————-

[Event "Wichern op 2nd"]
[Site "Hamburg"]
[Date "1993.10.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Grinfeld,Alla B"]
[Black "Malaniuk,Vladimir P"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Ba4 c6 6.Nxe5 Qe7 7.Nf3 Nxf3+ 8.gxf3 d5
9.Qe2 b5 10.Bb3 d4 11.Nb1 Nh5 12.d3 Qh4 13.e5 Bf5 14.f4 Qh3 15.Rf1 Bb4+ 16.Kd1
0-0
17.f3 Kh8 18.Rg1 f6 19.Qf2 fxe5 20.fxe5 Bg4 21.Rxg4 Rxf3 22.Rh4 Rxf2 23.Rxh3
Rf1+ 24.Ke2 Raf8
0-1
————————————————————————-
————————————————————————-
[Event "EU-chT (Men)"]
[Site "Debrecen"]
[Date "1992.11.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Short,Nigel D"]
[Black "Piket,Jeroen"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Ba4 c6 6.Nxe5 d5 7.0-0 Bd6 8.f4 b5
9.Bb3 1/2
————————————————————————–

[Event "Neuwied op"]
[Site "Neuwied"]
[Date "1994.??.??"]
[Round "0"]
[White "Kulaots,Kaido"]
[Black "Van Gisbergen,Stan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Ba4 c6 6.Nxe5 d5 7.0-0 Bd6 8.Nf3 dxe4
9.Re1 Bg4 10.Nxe4 0-0 11.d3 Nxe4 12.dxe4 Bxf3 13.gxf3 Qa5 14.c3 Nxf3+ 15.Qxf3
Qxa4 16.Be3 Rfe8
17.Qd1 Rxe4 18.Qxd6 Rg4+ 19.Kf1 Qc4+ 20.Re2 Qe4 21.Rd2 Re8 22.Ke2 f5 23.Rd4 Qc2+
24.Kf3 Qxb2
25.Qd7 Rxe3+ 26.Kxe3 Qxc3+ 27.Ke2 Qb2+ 28.Kf3 Qc3+ 29.Rd3 Qe5 30.Re3 Rf4+ 31.Kg2
Rg4+ 32.Rg3
1-0

—————————————————————————
[Event "WC.2000.F.00003 email"]
[Site "IECG Email"]
[Date "2000.11.01"]
[Round "0"]
[White "Knudsen,Niels M"]
[Black "Pidwell,Arryn Allen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Ba4 c6 6.Nxe5 d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.0-0 Nb6
9.Bb3 Nxb3 10.axb3 Bd6 11.d4 0-0 12.Ne4 Bc7 13.Re1 f6 14.Nf3 Re8 15.Nc5 Bg4
16.Nxb7 Bxh2+
17.Kh1 Qb8 18.Rxe8+ Qxe8 19.Kxh2 Qb8+ 20.Kg1 Qxb7 21.c4 Re8 22.Bf4 Qd7 23.Qd3
Bf5 24.Qc3 Re2
25.Re1 Rc2 26.Qb4 Nc8 27.d5 cxd5 28.Nd4 Rxb2 29.cxd5 Rb1 30.Rxb1 Bxb1 31.Ne6 Ne7
32.Qb8+ Nc8
33.Nc5 Qe8 34.g4 Qe1+ 35.Kg2 Be4+ 36.Nxe4 Qxe4+ 37.Kg3 Qe8 38.Be3 a6 39.b4 Qe5+
40.Qxe5 fxe5
41.Kf3 Nd6 42.Bc5 Ne8 43.Ke4 Nf6+ 44.Kxe5 Kf7 45.g5 Nd7+ 46.Kd6 Ke8 47.f4 h5
48.gxh6 gxh6
49.Ke6 a5 50.f5 axb4 51.Be7 Ne5 52.Kxe5 Kxe7 53.f6+ 1-0

—————————————————————————-
[Event "RUS-ch U18"]
[Site "Rybinsk"]
[Date "2001.02.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Dolzhenkov,Yuriy"]
[Black "Afonin,Alexey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "C48"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Ba4 c6 6.Nxe5 d5 7.exd5 b5 8.Nxc6 Qb6
9.Nxd4 bxa4 10.Qe2+ Kd7 11.Qb5+ Qxb5 12.Ndxb5 Ba6 13.d3 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 Bxb5 15.0-0
Rc8 16.Nc3 Ba6
17.a3 Bd6 18.Be3 Rc7 19.Bd4 Rb8 20.Rab1 f6 21.Rfe1 Kd8 22.Re6 Kd7 23.Re2 Rbc8
24.Rc1 Kd8
25.g3 Rd7 26.Rce1 Bxa3 27.Bxf6+ gxf6 28.Re8+ Kc7 29.bxa3 1-0

————————————————————————–
Rublevsky comeback

GM Karjakin is the only Chessplayer to ever become a GM at age 12.
A solid draw with him from a position of strength is a good start.
Sergey versus Sergei.

Rublevsky comeback -
[Event "Aero Svit"]
[Site "Foros, Ukraine"]
[Date "2006.06.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM_Karjakin"]
[Black "GM_Rublevsky"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2661"]
[BlackElo "2687"]
[Opening "Sicilian: Taimanov variation"]
[ECO "B46"]
[NIC "SI.39"]
[Time "07:37:55"]
[TimeControl "7200+30"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5
8. O-O Nf6 9. Re1 Be7 10. e5 Nd7 11. Na4 O-O 12. c4 a5 13. Qg4 f5 14. exf6
Nxf6 15. Qe2 Bd6 16. Bg5 e5 17. cxd5 cxd5 18. Nc3 Be6 19. Rad1 Qb8 20. Kh1
Bb4 21. Bxf6 gxf6 22. a3 Bxc3 23. bxc3 Qc7 24. Bb1 Rad8 25. Qh5 Kh8 26. Qh6
Qg7 27. Qxg7+ Kxg7 28. Ba2 Kf7 29. f4 exf4 30. Rd4 Rc8 31. Ra1 {Game drawn}
1/2-1/2
———————————————————————-
This is a game inspired by Kasparov, who fired up the Scotch in 1985 to
surprise Karpov. Ponomariov should know what he is doing against it,
he was scheduled for a match against Kasparov until he foolishly insisted on
draw odds and the match was canceled. Rublevsky gives him a good taste of what
would have happened had the match been played.

[Event "Aero Svit"]
[Site "Foros, Ukraine"]
[Date "2006.06.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM_Rublevsky"]
[Black "GM_Ponomariov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2687"]
[BlackElo "2738"]
[Opening "Scotch: Mieses variation"]
[ECO "C45"]
[NIC "SO.04"]
[Time "07:26:11"]
[TimeControl "7200+30"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5
8. c4 Ba6 9. b3 O-O-O 10. g3 g5 11. Bb2 Bg7 12. Nd2 Rhe8 13. O-O-O Nb6 14.
f4 gxf4 15. gxf4 f6 16. exf6 Bxf6 17. Qxe7 Bxb2+ 18. Kxb2 Rxe7 19. Bh3 Rf8
20. Rhe1 Rxe1 21. Rxe1 Kd8 22. f5 Bc8 23. Nf3 c5 24. Rg1 d5 25. Ng5 h6 26.
Nh7 Rf7 27. Rg8+ Ke7 28. f6+ Kd6 29. Rd8+ Ke5 30. Re8+ Kd6 31. Bxc8 Nxc8 32.
Nf8 Rxf6 33. Rxc8 dxc4 34. bxc4 Rf2+ 35. Kb3 Rf3+ 36. Kc2 Rf2+ 37. Kd3 Rf3+
38. Kd2 Rf2+ 39. Ke3 Rxh2 40. Re8 c6 41. Re6+ Kc7 42. Ng6 Rxa2 43. Ne5 h5
44. Rxc6+ Kb7 45. Rxc5 h4 46. Nf3 h3 47. Rh5 Ra3+ 48. Ke4 Rc3 49. Nd2 Ra3
50. Kd4 a5 51. Ne4 a4 52. Nc3 Ra1 53. Rxh3 a3 54. Rh2 {White wins} 1-0
————————————————————————
It looked like a normal Scheveningen, the type I’ve played thousands of, until
Nisipeanu got carried away with desperate stabs like 17 f5?! and 18 b4?!
and 20 Bc4?!

It was almost like Nisipeanu beat himself.
Maybe his recent 4 game match with Topalov
rattled his nerves.

[Event "Aero Svit"]
[Site "Foros, Ukraine"]
[Date "2006.06.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM_Nisipeanu"]
[Black "GM_Rublevsky"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2695"]
[BlackElo "2687"]
[Opening "Sicilian: Taimanov variation"]
[ECO "B46"]
[NIC "SI.39"]
[Time "07:33:36"]
[TimeControl "7200+30"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 d6 7. Be3 Bd7 8.
a4 Nf6 9. Nb3 Na5 10. O-O Be7 11. Nd2 O-O 12. f4 Bc6 13. Bd3 d5 14. e5 d4
15. exf6 Bxf6 16. Nde4 Be7 17. f5 exf5 18. Rxf5 dxe3 19. b4 Bxe4 20. Nxe4
Nc6 21. Bc4 Qd4 22. Qxd4 Nxd4 23. Re5 Bxb4 24. Rb1 Nxc2 25. Ng5 Rac8 26. Ba2
Bc3 27. Re4 Nb4 28. Bb3 Nd3 29. Ba2 e2 30. Nxf7 Nc1 {Black wins} 0-1
—————————————————————————–
Maybe Rublevsky is just getting lucky – Volokitin was killing him all game but fell apart the last 10 moves, maybe in time pressure.

[Event "Aero Svit"]
[Site "Foros, Ukraine"]
[Date "2006.06.21"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM_Rublevsky"]
[Black "GM_Volokitin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2687"]
[BlackElo "2660"]
[Opening "Sicilian: closed"]
[ECO "B23"]
[NIC "SI.44"]
[Time "07:36:58"]
[TimeControl "7200+30"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. Nge2 Nf6 4. g3 b5 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. d4 b4 7. Nd5 Nbd7 8.
O-O e6 9. Nxf6+ Nxf6 10. d5 exd5 11. exd5 Be7 12. h3 O-O 13. g4 Nd7 14. Ng3
g6 15. Bh6 Re8 16. Re1 Bf6 17. Rxe8+ Qxe8 18. Ne4 Be5 19. Qd2 f5 20. Ng5
Bxb2 21. Re1 Ne5 22. Qf4 Bc3 23. Re2 Ba6 24. Re3 Bd2 25. Ne6 Bxe3 26. Qxe3
Qf7 27. gxf5 gxf5 28. Bf4 Re8 29. Qg3+ Ng6 30. h4 Kh8 31. Bxd6 f4 32. Qg5 f3
33. Bh3 h6 34. Qxh6+ Qh7 35. Qg5 Rg8 36. h5 Nf4 37. Be5+ {White wins} 1-0
—————————————————————————
Bologan started off with a better ending but something went slowly wrong and Rublevsky outplayed him, step by step. Rublevsky’s first Olympiad game against Issabayev was a long grueling endgame win too where he made something out of nothing. Then things went bad for a while.

[Event "Aero Svit"]
[Site "Foros, Ukraine"]
[Date "2006.06.22"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM_Bologan"]
[Black "GM_Rublevsky"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2666"]
[BlackElo "2687"]
[Opening "QGA: 3.e4"]
[ECO "D20"]
[NIC "QG.04"]
[Time "07:39:09"]
[TimeControl "7200+30"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. Nf3 exd4 5. Bxc4 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 Nc6 7. O-O Nf6
8. e5 Nd5 9. Nb3 Nb6 10. Bb5 Qd5 11. Nbxd4 O-O 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Qc2 c5 14.
Nf5 Qe6 15. Ng3 Qg6 16. Qxg6 hxg6 17. a3 Ba5 18. Bd2 Bxd2 19. Nxd2 c4 20.
Rac1 Be6 21. f4 Rfd8 22. Rf2 Rd4 23. Nb1 Na4 24. Nc3 Nc5 25. Rcc2 Nd3 26.
Nge2 Rdd8 27. Rf1 Rab8 28. Rd1 Bf5 29. Rcd2 Re8 30. b4 g5 31. fxg5 Rbd8 32.
Ng3 Bg4 33. Rf1 Rxe5 34. h3 Be6 35. h4 Rd4 36. g6 fxg6 37. Re2 Rxe2 38.
Ngxe2 Rxh4 39. Nb5 c5 40. Nc7 Bg4 41. Nc3 cxb4 42. axb4 Nxb4 43. Rf4 g5 44.
Rxc4 Bd7 45. Rc5 Rg4 46. N7d5 Nxd5 47. Nxd5 Rd4 48. Ne7+ Kf7 49. Nc6 Bxc6
50. Rxc6 a5 51. Rc5 a4 52. Rxg5 a3 53. Ra5 Rd3 54. Kh2 Ke6 55. g3 Rd2+ 56.
Kh3 a2 57. Kh4 Kd6 58. g4 Kc6 59. Ra8 Kb6 60. Ra3 Kb5 61. Ra7 Kb4 {Black
wins} 0-1
————————————————————————–
14 … ba or … f5 was Ok but 14 … g6? was terrible and the Queen sac 21 R:b7!! iced the game. This is the kind of game that makes Josh Bloomer and I feel the awe of Rublevsky.

[Event "Aero Svit"]
[Site "Foros, Ukraine"]
[Date "2006.06.24"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM_Rublevsky"]
[Black "GM_Harikrishna"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2687"]
[BlackElo "2680"]
[Opening "Sicilian: Canal-Sokolsky (Nimzovich-Rossolimo, Moscow) attack"]
[ECO "B51"]
[NIC "SI.01"]
[Time "07:52:33"]
[TimeControl "7200+30"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. O-O Nf6 5. Re1 e5 6. c3 Be7 7. d4 O-O 8.
h3 a6 9. Bf1 b5 10. d5 Ne8 11. a4 Rb8 12. b3 Nc7 13. Na3 Kh8 14. Nc2 g6 15.
Bh6 Rg8 16. Ne3 Bf8 17. Bxf8 Qxf8 18. axb5 axb5 19. Ra7 Bb7 20. Qa1 Ra8 21.
Rxb7 Rxa1 22. Rxa1 c4 23. Rxc7 cxb3 24. Rxd7 Qc8 25. Rxf7 Rg7 26. Rxg7 Kxg7
27. c4 bxc4 28. Nxc4 {White wins} 1-0

Rublevsky comeback
——————————————————————