GM Shirov (2715) – GM vanWely (2683) [B90]
Corus Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, 18.01.2007
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 Be7 9.Qd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 Nbd7 11.g4 b5 12.g5 b4 13.Ne2 Ne8 14.f4 a5 15.f5 a4 16.Nbd4 exd4 17.Nxd4 b3 18.Kb1 bxc2+ 19.Nxc2 Bb3 20.axb3 axb3 21.Na3 Ne5 22.h4 Ra4 23.Qg2 Qa8 24.f6 Bd8 25.Bd4 Nc7 26.fxg7 Kxg7 27.h5 Ne6 28.g6 Rxd4 29.Rxd4 Nxd4 30.h6+ Kf6 31.g7 Rg8 32.Qf2+ Ndf3 33.Bg2 Qxe4+ 34.Ka1 Ke6 35.Rf1 Bg5 36.Bxf3 Qxf3 37.Qxf3 Nxf3 38.Rxf3 Bxh6 39.Rxb3 Rxg7 40.Rh3 Bf4 Black wins 0-1
Click here to replay the game.
Why 16Nbd4…is that simply a miscalculation?
Banjanx
Out for the count, you mean.
Why 31. g7 and not 31.gxh7!
?
In a knockout tournament Shirov could go home. Here he has to stay around and keep losing. ??? His rating is going to fall fast and hard. His tournament performance rating was 300 points below his rating before todays game and he lost again today.
heh – the more radja wins the more shirov loses.
I am kinda feeling sorry for the guy; it is like watching a lion being kicked in the arse by the other animals of the jungle.
Susan, can you explain please why Alexey didn’y play simply 16. fxe6?
16 fxe6 is a terrible move; 16…axb3. Black threatens bxa2 making a queen; axb3 Ra1 is mate, so White has to play cxb3 before or after gxf7+, and Black plays ..Rxa2 opening the lines on the queen side.
The game was theory up to Black’s move 26. Why Shirov spent an hour and a half on those moves and then came up with the virtually losing 27 h5? is anyone’s guess, but there we are.