1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Bc5 6.c3 b5 7.Bc2



7...d5!?

A daring attempt at getting Anand out of his home preparation. The most common continuation is 7...d6.

8.a4!?

Home cooking or improvisation? Theory recommends 8.d4.

8...dxe4 9.axb5 Bg4 10.Bxe4 Nxe4 11.bxc6

White's extra pawn on c6 must be doomed, but Black will have to spend time winning it back.

11...0-0

11...Ng5 12.d4 would hand White the initiative.

12.d4 exd4 13.cxd4 Bb6

13...Bxf3 was bad in view of 14.gxf3 winning a piece. 14.Nc3 Re8 15.Be3



15...Qd6?

15...Nxc3 16.bxc3 Qd5 recovers the pawn with a respectable position.

16.d5! Bxe3 17.fxe3 Rad8 18.Rxa6

18.Nxe4 Rxe4 19.Rxa6 was probably more accurate.

18...Nxc3 19.bxc3 Qxd5 20.Qxd5 Rxd5 21.Nd4 g6 22.Rf4 Bf5 23.Ra7 Rxe3 24.c4 Rc5 25.Rxc7



25...Re4?!

It's not clear to me how White converts his extra pawn after 25...Rxc4 26.Rxf5 Re1+ (26...gxf5? 27.Rc8+ Kg7 28.Nxf5+ Kf6 29.Nxe3) 27.Kf2 gxf5 28.Rc8+ Kg7 29.Nxf5+ Kf6 30.Kxe1 Kxf5.

26.Rxe4 Bxe4 27.Re7! Bf5

The tactical point behind White's last move was 27...Bxc6? 28.Rc7.

28.c7 Kf8

28...Kg7 at once must have been preferable.

29.Nxf5 gxf5 30.Rd7 Kg7 31.Rd4



31...Rxc7

Black has managed to re-establish material equality, but his troubles are by no means over.

32.Kf2 Kf6 33.Ke3 Ke6 34.g3 f6 35.Kd3 Ra7 36.Kc3 Ke5 37.Rh4 Rb7 38.Rf4 Rb1 39.Rf2 Rc1+ 40.Kb4 Ke6



41.Kb5 Kd6

Otherwise, the c-pawns starts marching up the board.

42.Rxf5 Rb1+ 43.Ka4 Rb2 44.Rxf6+ Kc5 45.Rh6 Kxc4 46.Rh4+ Kd5



47.Rxh7

GM Sergey Shipov claims that Black has good drawing chances in this ending, but I beg to differ. There are extremely few positions in which the defending side can permanently block the connected passed pawns and reach a positional draw.

47...Ke5 48.Ka3 Rb8 49.Rh5+ Kf6 50.Rh4 Kg5 51.Rb4 Rh8 52.h4+ Kh5 53.Rb5+ Kh6 54.g4 Re8 55.Rb4 Kg6 56.Rb6+ Kf7 57.Rb7+ Ke6 58.Rh7 Rb8 59.g5 Kf5 60.Rh6 Ke5 61.h5 Kf5 62.g6 Kf6 63.Rh7



63...Rg8

The only way of stopping g7 followed by h6.

64.Kb3 resigns.

64...Rb8+ 65.Kc3 Rc8+ 66.Kd4 Rd8+ 67.Ke4 Re8+ 68.Kf4 Rg8 69.Rf7+ Ke6 70.Kg5 and it's all over.

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