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Alexei
Shirov vs. Alexander Grischuk 6.1
Shirov gives a memorable display of what energy
and initiative can do: 24.d5! Bd7 Not
24...Bxd5? 25.Rc5. 25.Nc6! Now Grischuk
decided the best way to beat off the attack
was to give up his queen. 25...Qc8
A choice of evils. After 25...bxc6 26.dxc6
or 25...Bxc6 26.dxc6 white's c-pawn is a terror.
26.Ne7+ Bxe7 27.Rxc8 Raxc8 28.Bxe7 Rxe7
29.d6 Rf7 30.Rd5!! It would not surprise
me if Shirov calculated the rest of the game
out when playing this. This active solution
plans to return the queen for a massive advantage
in activity in the ending. 30...Rc1+ 31.Kf2
Rf8 32.Re5 Rfc8 See next diagram.
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33.Re7
White clearly didn't start this to retreat
now.33...R1c2 34.Rxd7 Rxe2+ 35.Kxe2 b6
36.Rb7 Rc2+ 37.Ke3 Rc3+ 38.Kd4 Rd3+ 39.Ke5
e3 40.Ke6 h6 41.Re7 See next diagram. |
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In
a rook ending white's king can take the b-pawn
and act as escort in a coronation ceremony,
so ... 41...Rd4 42.Kd7 Re4 43.Rxe4 fxe4
44.Ke7 After both sides promote Kf7 is
deadly. 1-0 |
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Xie
Jun vs. Qin Kanying WF 1
17.c4!?
Apparently a theoretical improvement - this
move poses black much trickier problems about
proving equality. 17...bxc4 18.Rac1 Bc5
19.Rxc2 Bxe3 20.fxe3 Rc5 21.Ng5 Nd8 22.Rd2
Rd5 23.Rfd1 Rxd2 24.Rxd2 c3 25.bxc3 Ke7 26.Rd4
Nc6 27.Rf4 See next diagram. |
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Now
Qin finds a very long path to material equality,
but it costs valuable time. 27...Nxe5 28.Re4
Kf6 29.Rxe5 Kxe5 30.Nf7+ Kf6 31.Nxh8 g5 32.Kf2
Kg7 33.e4 Kxh8 34.Ke3 Kg7 35.g4 Kf6 36.Kd4
Ke7 37.e5 Kd7 38.Kc5 |
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Sooner
or later black must give ground and allow
the white king to invade and attack pawns.
38...a5 39.Kb5 a4 40.a3! White doesn't
allow black's king to enter the game. 40...h6
41.h3 1-0 |
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