This is an excerpt. For the Full Article on the FIDE World Cup Semi Final – 2011 please visit William’s site.
Svidler was able to overcome Ponomariov in game 2 of regulation time with an excellent exchange sac early on from the black side of a Grunfeld Defense. It was no surprise that Svidler played the Grunfeld, however it was strange how quickly Svidler was able to achieve an unbalanced position out of the opening because Ponomariov had undoubtedly prepared this line for this game — as by move 12 Ponomariov had used 8 minutes and Svidler had used 27 minutes. While many argue that a diversified opening repertoire yields the highest dividends, Peter Svidler has played the Grunfeld Defense with rare exception at the highest level. Svidler emerged from the opening with a bishop + pawn for a rook, however his coordinated mass of queenside pawns coupled with excellent technique disabled Ponomariov’s counterplay. Svidler went on to win the game with 2 very nice tactical finesses — 42. …c3! and 43. …Bc5!
This is an excerpt. For the Full Article on the FIDE World Cup Semi Final – 2011 please visit William’s site.
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Svidler is great.