Karjakin, Sergey (2661) - Ponomariov, Ruslan (2738) [B80]
Foros Aerosvit (9), 26.06.2006
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3
This time against the Najdorf Variation of Sicilian Defense white prefers a more
fashionable line: the English Attack. This is an aggressive line with a simple idea: after
castling long white will start an immediate kingside attack by advancing the pawns.
6…e6
Black accepts the challenge for a complicated game and goes for the sharpest line.
Nowadays the most fashionable line is 6...Ng4 not allowing white to reach the desired
setup, which leads after 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Bg7 to a complicated game yet rather
balanced.
The positional approach is 6...e5 (black increases his influence over the center) 7.Nb3
Be7 8.f3 Be6 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.0–0–0. Although the castles will be on opposite sides, the
game is more strategic in nature since the main battle will be around the “d5” square.
7.f3
White goes for the main line and prepares a “g4” advance over defending the “e4” pawn
in the process.
An interesting alternative is 7.g4, trying to gain space on the kingside without losing time
which leads after 7…e5 (this is the most logical continuation; black forces white’s next
move since “g4” pawn is hanging)
Other alternatives are 7...b5 8.g5 Nfd7 9.a3 Bb7 10.h4 Nc6; giving white better
prospects due to the space advantage, or 7...h6 8.Bg2 Nc6 9.h3 which also favors
white, who has better development and control over the center.
8.Nf5 g6 9.Bg2 gxf5 10.exf5 h6 11.Qe2. The position is highly complicated; white has
good long-term compensation for the piece.
7...b5
This is typical of this opening; black is trying to get active play on the queenside before
developing the kingside.
The alternative 7...Be7 8.Qd2 0–0 9.0–0–0 Nc6 10.g4 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 b5 is entirely
playable but black’s choice is regarded to be a better choice, based on theory, in order to
fight for the initiative.
8.g4
White expands his influence on the kingside. Trying to play on the queenside by taking
advantage of black’s previous move with 8.a4 achieves nothing since after 8…b4 9.Na2
e5 10.Nb3 d5 11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Bf2, although the game remains complicated, black has
already equalized.
1
8...h6
In order to keep the knight on “f6” black is slightly weaker on the kingside; after this
move castling short is out of question since “h4-g5” will have a decisive effect. The point
of keeping the knight on “f6” is to have better control over the “d5” square in order to
support the freeing “d5” advance. Another option would have been to allow a “g5”
advance and continue to develop the queenside.
After 8...Bb7 9.Qd2 Nfd7 10.0–0–0 Nb6 11.Bd3 N8d7 the game remains sharp. The
difference, compared with the line chosen in the game, is that black no longer advances
“d5” and tries to attack on the queenside with “Ne5-c4”.
9.Qd2 b4
Instead of continuing the development with 9...Nbd7 10.0–0–0 Bb7 black forces white to
make an early decision: where to move the knight? Black will develop the pieces
depending on white’s decision.
10.Na4
So, white decides to place the knight on the edge not allowing black to play in the center
immediately. The alternative 10.Nce2 allows black to start active operations in the center
with 10…e5 which leads after 11.Nb3 a5 12.Ng3 to sharp play. With the knight on “a4”
this doesn’t work anymore due to a “Nb6” or “Bb6” reply.
10...Nbd7
Since playing in the center doesn’t work anymore, black will try to take advantage of the
misplaced knight by preparing a “Bd7” move. Note that playing it immediately doesn’t
work since white takes on “b4”.
11.0–0–0 Ne5 12.b3
White is making room for the knight anticipating “Bd7”. The tempting 12.Qxb4 allows
black to gets sufficient compensation after 12…Bd7 13.Nc3 Qc7; black has good
attacking chances due to the open “b” file.
12...Bd7 13.Nb2 d5
Black is going for the logical continuation and strikes in the center defending the “b”
pawn at the same time. Less accurate is 13...Qa5 since after 14.a4 white has secured the
king; opening the “a” file is no longer possible.
14.Nd3
White prefers the logical solution; he is bringing the knight back into play trading for
black’s active knight.
The alternative 14.Bf4 Qc7
Quite interesting is the piece sacrifice 14…Nxf3 which leads after 15.Nxf3 Nxe4
16.Qd4 Qa5 to a sharp position where black has good compensation.
15.Nd3 Nxd3+ 16.Bxd3 Qb6 17.Be5 also leads to a sharp position.
2
14...Nxd3+ 15.Bxd3 Qc7
Of course black is not allowing an “e5” advance which would give white a large
advantage.
16.h4
Since he has nothing better to do at the moment, white is advancing the kingside pawns
in order to open the game there.
The same thing could be done with 16.Kb1 dxe4 17.Bxe4 Nxe4 18.fxe4 Be7 19.Qg2, the
difference being that after a “g5” advance the “g” file is open instead of the “h” file.
16...dxe4 17.Bxe4
Giving up the pair of bishops is forced since otherwise white loses the “g” pawn gaining
nothing in return.
17…Nxe4 18.fxe4 a5
Black too is starting counterplay but on the queenside. He will advance the pawn further
opening the “a” file.
19.Rhf1
From a general point of view this is a good choice; before advancing “g5” white moves
the rook from the “h” file. The point in doing so is to avoid trading black’s passive rook.
Another idea of this move is to keep black’s king in the center; castling long is not
possible due to “Rf7”.
The immediate 19.g5 leads after 19…hxg5
Keeping the kingside closed with 19...h5 20.g6 f6 21.Kb1 isn’t the best choice
since black has problems bringing the kingside pieces into play.
20.hxg5 Rxh1 21.Rxh1 e5 22.Nf5 0–0–0 to a balanced position mainly due to black’s
rather weak king. Still, if black manages to keep it safe then the pair of bishops ensures
the advantage, particularly in the endgame.
19...Be7 20.g5 hxg5 21.hxg5 a4
The tempting 21...Rh2 is met with 22.Qd3 keeping the rooks on the board.
3
22.Kb1
White defends against the obvious threat “axb3”; it is essential to take with the “c” pawn
in order to keep the “a” file closed so that the king is safer. From a positional point of
view black has the advantage; he has the better structure and bishop’s pair. The only
thing that keeps the game balanced is black’s weak king and the uncoordinated pieces;
black is unable to improve his position without giving white attacking chances. Therefore
keeping as many pieces as he can is essential for white. The main drawback of this move
is that black is able to trade his rather passive “h8” rook releasing the pressure on “f7” at
the same time.
In order to prevent this a better choice would have been 22.Qf2 Rf8 23.Kb1. The position
is balanced since black has a hard time activating his pieces due to white’s pressure along
the “f” and “d” files.
22...axb3 23.cxb3 Rh2
Black seizes the opportunity and trades the rooks; afterwards he will have the initiative.
Although it is not a dangerous one it will keep white constantly on defense.
24.Rf2 Rxf2 25.Qxf2 Qe5
The queen is well placed here; it attacks the “e” pawn and keeps an eye on kingside too.
26.Qh4
White is keeping the queens on the board instead of trading them with 26.Qf4 Qxf4
27.Bxf4. This is the right call since the endgame is very unpleasant for white.
26...g6
This is a multipurpose move; black is blocking white’s pawn on a dark square where it is
more vulnerable, takes control over the “h8” square, and prepares the maneuver “Bf8-g7”
that forces white to trade queens.
27.Nc2 Bf8 28.Qf4
White misses a great opportunity to even the game. Although the endgame can be held, it
is highly unpleasant so he should find a forceful way to obtain a draw.
The unexpected 28.Bd4 was stronger since after 28…Qa5 white has enough time to
concentrate on the kingside. After 29.Qh8 Qxa2+ 30.Kc1 Rc8 31.Rd2 Qxb3 32.Bg7 the
point is that black has nothing better than 32…Qa3+ 33.Kb1 Qb3+ with an obvious draw.
28…Qxf4
Now 28…Qa5 is bad since after 29.Rf1 it is white that has a large advantage.
29.Bxf4 Ra5
Black activates the rook preparing an “e5” advance that block’s the “e” pawn on a light
square where it is vulnerable.
The tempting 29...Bc6 achieves nothing since after 30.Rd4 Rd8 31.Rxd8+ Kxd8 32.e5
black is unable to make further improvements; white has the weaknesses well covered.
4
30.Ne3
White intends to defend against black’s threat by tactical means. The point of this move
is to meet “e5” with the intermediary “Nc4”. Still, black is not at all forced to advance
“e5” on the very next move and can play “Bc6” keeping the tension. For the moment
black has failed to activate the pieces; the dark squares bishop and king may suggest that
there can be some tactical resources connected with the pin along the 8th rank. So, such a
possibility must be checked since it may offers enough counterplay to clear things up at
this stage. Generally speaking in positions where it is obvious that we are worse, we
should try spotting any chance to force matters.
After 30.Rh1 Bc6
Trying to evacuate the pieces from the 8th rank with 30...Bc5 doesn’t give
anything since after 31.Rh8+ Ke7 32.Bd2 it is white that has a small pressure due
to the weak “b” pawn.
31.Rh8 Bxe4 (giving up the piece is only temporary since black will recover it by force)
32.Bd6 Rxg5 33.Rxf8+ Kd7 34.Bxb4 Rg2 35.Rxf7+ Kc6 36.Rf8 black still has an edge
due to the active pieces but hardly enough for a win; the opposite color bishops offer
white more than enough resources to hold with little trouble.
5
30...e5
This is a great move. Probably white expected 30...Bc6 which looks O.K for him since
after 31.e5 Be4+ 32.Kb2 Bg7 33.Nc4 with all the pieces active and access to the “d6”
square the chances of holding are considerably greater than black’s chances of increasing
the advantage; with accurate play white should have little trouble keeping the balance.
Instead, black decides to give up the exchange in order to get two connected pawns on
the kingside; they are very strong particularly supported by the bishops. It is quite
obvious that the consequences of such a move cannot be calculated right to the end.
Therefore, black’s decision is based on the general assessments of the position,
experience and intuition; certainly the former world champion had them all. Although
afterwards white could keep the balance, it is much harder than in the normal
continuation pointed out earlier; accurate calculation is necessary on almost every move
while black’s play is much simpler, advancing the passed pawns. As we will see later on,
black was never in danger of losing the initiative so white never had the chance of an
advantage; therefore the sacrifice was entirely safe. Also, from a psychological point of
view this is a good decision since being an exchange up white may be tempted to play for
a win.
31.Nc4 exf4 32.Nxa5 Be7 33.Nc4
White is hoping for a favorable outcome since the pawns are far from the promotion
square. He should settle for the draw that arises by force after 33.Rg1 Bh3 34.Nc4 f3
35.Ne3 f2 36.Rh1 Bxg5 37.Rxh3 Bxe3 38.Rh1 It seems that the lack of experience is
starting to tell.
33…Bxg5 34.Nd6+
White goes for the pawn; this is a risky decision since it gives black the necessary time to
coordinate his bishops, preparing to advance the pawns. A safer alternative was to
approach with the king 34.Kc2 Bh3 35.Rg1 Be7 36.Kd2 g5 37.Ne5 with a balanced
position.
34...Ke7 35.Nxf7 Bf6
Of course not 35...Kxf7 36.Rxd7+ and white is winning.
36.e5
This time white goes in the right direction; by advancing this unimportant pawn he is able
to disrupt black’s coordination.
Getting the king into play with 36.Kc2 is less accurate since after 36… f3 37.e5 Bh4
Also interesting is 37...Bg7 38.Nd6 Bxe5 39.Nc4 Bf5+ 40.Kd2 with a complicated
endgame; white should keep the balance since the king is near the pawns.
38.e6 Kxe6 39.Rxd7 Kxd7 40.Ne5+ Ke6 41.Nxf3 Bf2 42.Kd3 Kf5 43.Ke2 Bc5 the
resulting endgame is highly unpleasant for white due to the passed “g” pawn. Note that if
white plays “a3”, keeping the king on the queenside doesn’t help since the pawn is on the
good corner.
6
36...Bh4 37.e6 Kxe6
Black intends to keep the knight as far as he can from the passed pawns.
The alternative 37...Bxe6 allows the knight to get back into play with 38.Ne5 which leads
after 38…g5 39.Kc2
The tempting 39.Ng6+ is bad since after 39…Kf6 40.Nxh4 gxh4 white’s king is
too far away, so the kingside passed pawns are decisive.
39...Bf5+ 40.Kd2 g4 to a sharp, yet balanced endgame.
38.Kc2
This is an inaccuracy that allows black to get the advantage. The point is that the king
isn’t well placed here since it allows black to win an important tempo by getting the light
squares bishop into play with check.
Better would have been 38.Kc1 g5 39.Rd6+ Ke7 40.Rd4 g4 41.Rxf4 Be6 42.Kd1 Bg3
43.Rxb4 Bxf7 which leads to the same type of endgame that occurs in the game.
38...g5 39.Nh6
White is bringing the knight into play. The previous sideline doesn’t work anymore since
black has the important 40…Bf5+ move that gains the knight.
39…Bb5
This move is an inaccuracy that loses the advantage.
Better would have been 39...f3 40.Rf1 f2 41.Ng4 Bb5 42.Rxf2 Bxf2 43.Nxf2 Kd5 and
black has a large advantage; if white keeps the king on the queenside in order to advance
“a3” then the knight is powerless against the combined forces of the king and bishop; the
“g” pawn will be unstoppable. If he moves the king to the kingside then black simply
attacks the queenside pawns with the bishop.
40.Rd4 f3 41.Re4+
The immediate 41.Ng4 f2 42.Nxf2 Bxf2 leads to the same type of endgame that occurs in
the game, with the big difference that black’s bishops are better coordinated so white’s
king cannot approach. For example after 43.Rxb4 Bc6 44.Kd2 Bf3 the pawn has free
passage; white has to give up the rook.
41...Kd5 42.Rxb4 Bd7 43.Kd3 f2 44.Rd4+
The immediate 44.Ke2 loses at once after 44…Bh3.
44...Ke5 45.Re4+ Kd5
The immediate 45...Kf6 was better but black intends to gain some time by repeating
moves.
46.Rd4+ Ke5 47.Re4+ Kf6
This is a good call. In order to support the pawns the king has to stay on the kingside. If
the king goes on the queenside then white will play “Ke2” followed by “Rd1” keeping
the pawns under control.
48.Ke2 Bh3 49.Ng4+ Kf5 50.Nxf2 Bxf2
7
51.Re8 Bc5
After a forced line black manages to win the knight and it seems that he is winning. Still,
white has sufficient defensive resources to hold.
52.a4 g4 53.a5
After gaining the exchange white was playing almost without a mistake and courageously
too. Now, the fatigue is telling and he cracks under pressure. In order to keep everything
under control it was necessary to harass black’s dark squares bishop before black could
advance the “g” pawn.
After 53.Rc8 Bd4
After 53...Bg1 54.b4 works just fine since the dark squares bishop is slowing the
“g” pawn advance.
54.Rd8 Ke4 (this is the only try since otherwise white keeps attacking the bishop) 55.a5
g3 56.Rxd4+ (the point is that by giving up the rook white achieves a draw) 56…Kxd4
57.Kf3 g2 58.Kf2 Kc5 59.b4+, the position is a draw since white will play only “Kg1-f2”
and black is unable to make further improvements due to the bishop’s poor position; note
that with the bishop on the long diagonal black is easily winning.
53...g3
Now everything is lost since white has to give up the rook for the “g” pawn; afterwards
with two bishops black has no trouble winning.
54.Rc8 Bd4 55.Rf8+ Ke6 56.Re8+ Kf7
In this lost position, white resigned.
0–1
CONCLUSIONS:
The assessments from the previous game remain the same. After all the games were
played only a month apart.
We are quite sure that from a psychological point of view this game was highly
important since it showed to Karjakin that he could play on a par with the strongest
players. Although he lost the game, Karjakin maintained the balance until the very
end.