This is a must game for Magnus if he wants to maintain his 2800 rating. It has dipped to 2797.3 on the live rating chart and Anand is within 2 points from overtaking him for 2nd spot. Perhaps it’s time to mix things up with 1. e4?
[Event “Tal Memorial”]
[Date “2009.11.13”]
[Round “8”]
[White “Carlsen, M.”]
[Black “Ponomariov, R.”]
[ECO “B90”]
[WhiteElo “2801”]
[BlackElo “2739”]
1. e4 (Finally!)
1…c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 (A sharp Sicilian!)
6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8 Qd2 (We are still in opening book. White will castle on the Queenside. The plan for White to launch an all out attack on the Kingside. Black will do the same on the Queenside. I think we are in a real treat today for an exciting game.)
8…Nbd7 9. g4 h6 10. O-O-O Ne5 (This is not a recommended opening for novice or intermediate players as it is highly theorical. Some of the lines may be home analyzed by Grandmasters to 30 moves deep or longer. One lost tempo can make a big difference, from winning to losing. This is also not an opening for “positional” players.)
11. Qe1 (This is a shocker. Magnus spent a lot of time on this move. I am not a so called “Expert” on this line but I don’t recall ever seeing this move. This may be a home prep line with Kasparov 🙂 I have seen 11. h4, 11. Bd3, 11. Kb1, etc. Ponomariov seems to be very surprised by Magnus’ 11th move. He is spending a lot of time on the response. I think one of the biggest pluses for Magnus spending time working with Garry is the psychological effect on his opponents. Every time he uncorks a new move, his opponents will be wondering if it is part of Garry’s magnificent opening repertoire.)
LIVE video and Russian commentary here: http://video.russiachess.org/#session71
11…Qc7 (After over 30 minutes of pondering, Ponomariov finally played this move. From the general look of the position, I would have played 11…b4. That is my preference. 11… b4 12. Nce2 Qa5 13. Kb1 Bb7 and the position is quite interesting.)
12. h4 b4 13. Nce2 (Perhaps it is time for Black to finally play 13…d5. One of the biggest tasks for Black in this opening is to be able to play d5. Here is his chance.)
13…Nc4 (Once again, I disagree with Black’s choice of move. My preference would have been d5. White should retreat his Bishop, perhaps to f2.)
14.Nf4 (This can lead to a very wild position. For example, this is a possible line: 14…e5 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. exd5 exd4 17. Bxd4+ Be7 18. Bxg7 Rg8 19. Bxh6 Ne5 and the position is unclear. For those of you who run a program at home, you may want to check out this line. I think it is very interesting.)
14…Nxe3 (Ponomariov chose a calmer line instead.)
15. Qxe3 Qb6 16. Bc4 (I do not like Ponomariov’s position. I think he is in big trouble. He is down to about 30 minutes for 25 very complicated move. Black also has a serious problem with the g5-g6 threat. You cannot play passively on the Black side of this opening. I suspect Ponomariov may be too intimidated of the 11. Qe1 move.)
16…Qc5 17. Qb3 d5 (A little too late. Now it is simply a dubious move in my opinion. His King is in the middle and he is helping Magnus break his own center open. I believe Magnus has excellent chance to score his first win of the tournament.)
18. exd5 Bd6 19. Nfxe6 (This is inaccurate in my opinion. I think better is 19. Ndxe6 fxe6 20. Ng6 Rg8 21. dxe6 +-. Having said that, White is still a lot better with the game line and Black is in a world of trouble.)
19… fxe6 20. dxe6 Be7 +- (Black has too many weaknesses. It would be a miracle if Black can survive this. This is a good example of how not to play this line as Black. As I mentioned earlier, if you are going to play this line of the Sicilian as Black, you are better prepared to play as aggressively as possible. Black has absolutely no tempo to waste. One of the key misses for Black was not to timely play d5. Now 21. g5 gives White a decisive advantage. Here is one quick line for you to look at: 21. g5 Nh5 22. Bd5 Ra7 23. Bc6+ Kf8 24. Qd3 +-)
21. Qd3 (I don’t think that it’s as strong as g5 but it is a good move anyway. Now Black must castle.)
21…0-0 (Now 22. g5 is a must.)
22. Bb3 (Way tooooooo slow! 22. g5 is much much stronger. Now 22…Bb7 and White’s big advantage has somewhat vanished. It is still not so simple for Black to find all the right moves due to time pressure. 22… Bb7 23. g5 Nh5 24. gxh6 Nf4 25. Qe3 gxh6 26. Rhg1+ Kh8 27. Rg4
Qc7 and Black can hold this.)
22…Rd8 (Another inaccurate move. 22…Bb7 was a must. This Rook belongs on the f8. Now White can play g5 again with a huge advantage.)
23. g5 +- (Black has less than 10 minutes for 18 moves.)
23…Nh7 (An interesting line 24. Qg6 Rxd4 25. gxh6 Rxd1+ 26. Rxd1 Qe5 27. Qf7+ Kh8 28. Qxe7 +-. Another possibility is 24. Qg6 Kh8 25. gxh6 Rg8 26. Rhg1 Bf6 27. Nf5 +-)
24. gxh6 (This wins as well. This was a WRONG choice of opening for Ponomariov. He basically handed Magnus a much needed win.)
24…Qh5 (Now 25. Qe4 and it is basically resignable.)
25. Qe4 (If 25…Rb8 then 26. Nf5 +-)
25…Qxh6+ 26. Kb1 Ra7 (Again, 27.Nf5 wins. If 27….Rxd1+ 28. Rxd1 Qf6 29. Rd7 Bxd7 30. exd7+ Kh8 31. Nxe7 +-)
27. Nf5 Rxd1+ 28. Rxd1 Qf6 (Just as what I suggested in the line above. Now 29. Rd7 wins, so does 29. Rd8+)
29. Rd7 Bxd7 30. exd7+ Kf8 (Now White has a checkmate with 31. Qd5.)
31. Qd5 1-0
carlsen looks like a zombie today 😉
Kramnik-Leko is full of fireworks. I can’t remember Kramnik ever playing this aggresively throughout a tournament.
Another good “LIVE” feed is at http://livechess.chessdom.com/site/
no one else gives commentary like this – Susan – take it live on a webcam – id subscribe
“Kramnik-Leko is full of fireworks” – yes and then a draw at move 32 with still a lot of play in my opinion.
Are they lazy or afraid to play for a win?
Kramnik-Leko nearly all theory.
thanks for good comments on the game
-shahost
Thats the problem with chess today theirs too theory, which leads to boring draws need to either play shuffle chess or crazyhouse chess in my opinion.
Dear Susan, I was also commentating live in a newsgroup and felt insanely pleased with myself for predicting Magnus’s moves, especially Rd7 – I became so obsessed with it I never even notice Rd8. I think you found the critical move in this position, the unplayed Bb7… and I wonder if black will ever dare this position again, and if so with Bd7 – what happens to White’s attack?
Cordially Phil
Vermont
Another good example that 1.e4 is the only way to challenge Black .
Good job Magnus !
11.Qe1 was NOT Kasparov’s preparation. Carlsen spent considerable time on this move, and after the game he said that he was himself surprised by 10.-Ne5. He suggested 13.-d5 for black (as Susan did) or 15.-Be7, concluding “I wouldn’t recommend playing the opening the way I did”.
Pono is on his way to being WC!
To those who think 1. e4 is the best way to challenge black, what do you do against the Petroff, or to avoid the Petroff?