KID once before in the U.S. championship against Sam Shankland in round one did not lead me to believe that he might repeat it. From another perspective, Robert probably was not happy with the outcome of his opening play from our first game of the match and was search- ing for something more dynamic, especially since he proved that he can play complicated positions well by scor- ing +4 in the qualifying stage.
3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 0-0 6. Be2 e5 7. Be3
The Gligoric line I chose in this game
could not have surprised Robert since one has to try hard to find the games where I do not play 7. Be3 in the Classi- cal King’s Indian. Ray Robson also opted for the King’s Indian in round six, and the game was not any less exciting although it ended being drawn.
7. ... c6 8. d5 Ng4 9. Bg5 f6 10. Bh4 Na6 11. 0-0 c5
Finally, I understand Robert’s strat- egy—he gets past the opening, where he probably had some concerns, and reaches a complicated position with mutual chances. In general, it is usually harder to defend than attack in a rapid game.
12. Ne1 h5 13. h3 Nh6 14. Nd3 Nf7 15. f4!?
r+lwq-trk+ zpp+-+nvl- n+-zp-zpp+ +-zpPzp-+p -+P+PzP-vL +-sNN+-+P PzP-+L+P+ tR-+Q+RmK-
After 15. f4 Although this move looks unusual for
the King’s Indian Defense, it is not so uncommon. van Wely-Sasikiran, 2000 and Gelfand-Carlsen, 2010 were games with a similar idea in this line. 15. a3 Bd7 16. b4 is another common plan.
15. ... exf4 This is practically forced. Now White must
prove that the chronic weakness of the e5- square can be compensated for with active play against the e6 and g6 weaknesses.
16. Nxf4 Ne5 The pawn move 16. ... g5 is just bad for
Black: 17. Ne6 Bxe6 18. dxe6 Ne5 (18. ... gxh4 19. exf7+ Rxf7 20. Bxh5 is absolutely hopeless because of the difference in minor pieces strength and king safety.) 19. Nd5 Re8 20. e7 with a huge advantage.
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17. Bg3 White has several ideas in this posi-
tion—a pawn sacrifice with Ne6, a possible exchange of the e5-knight by b2- b3 and Nd3, and the game continuation.
17. ... Qe7?! It was not so easy for Robert to switch
from attack to prophylactic play. But this is what the position called for! 17. ... Nc7! was necessary. Here, the knight not only protects the e6-square, but also stops Nb5!.
18. Nb5
r+l+-trk+ zpp+-wq-vl- n+-zp-zpp+ +NzpPsn-+p -+P+PsN-+ +-+-+-vLP PzP-+L+P+ tR-+Q+RmK-
After 18. Nb5
18. ... Rd8 White was threatening all sorts of sac-
rifices connected to Nxd6 and Nxg6. Here are some possible outcomes if Black ignores them. 18. ... Nc7? 19. Nxg6 wins; 18. ... Bd7 19. Nxd6! (19. Nxg6 Nxg6 20. Bxd6 Qxe4 is messy) 19. ... h4 (19. ... Qxd6 20. Nxg6 Rfe8 21. Bxh5) 20. Bh2 Qxd6 21. Nxg6 Rfd8 22. Nxh4 with more than enough compensation for the sacri- ficed knight.
19. Be1 Now since Black has moved his rook
away from the kingside, the bishop can switch to the queenside—in particular to the c3-square where it will attack the e5-knight. This way Nb5 will also be jus- tified since the knight vacated the c3-square for the bishop.
19. ... f5? The best option was 19. ... Nc7,
although White still has an initiative after 20. Nxc7 Qxc7 21. Bc3 and the weak- ness of the g6-square still gives White an advantage.
20. Bc3 Of course, winning a pawn with 20.
exf5 Bxf5 21. Nxh5 looks easier, but I was carried away with the idea of 20. Bc3 and the full destruction of Black’s kingside! Now the biggest problem for Black is that even if he realizes that the whole text line is suspicious, he has no real choice to avoid it.
20. ... fxe4 21. Bxe5 Qxe5 22. Nxg6 Qg5 23. Bxh5 Bxh3 24. Qe2
r+-tr-+k+ zpp+-+-vl- n+-zp-+N+ +NzpP+-wqL -+P+p+-+ +-+-+-+l PzP-+Q+P+ tR-+-+RmK-
After 24. Qe2 This was the position I was looking
forward to when I played 20. Bc3. The black king is fully exposed and his pieces, though active, do not have a common goal—but the worst problem is that his a8-rook and a6-knight are far from the main battlefield!
24. ... Bd7 Some might call this the decisive mis-
take, but 24. ... Nb4 25. Ne7+! (25. Qxe4 Re8 [25. ... Qxh5 26. Ne7+ Kh8 27. Rf4] 26. Qf3 Bxg2 27. Qxg2 Qxh5 28. Nf4) 25. ... Kh8 (25. ... Qxe7 26. Bf7+ Qxf7 the only move 27. Rxf7 Kxf7 28. gxh3 and White is winning) 26. Qxe4 a6 27. Ng6+! covering the e5-square from possible ... Be5 checks after ... Bd4+ Kh2 (27. Nc7 Bd4+) 27. ... Kg8 28. Nc7 Bd4+ 29. Kh2 also does not bring Black any relief.
r+-tr-+k+ +psN-+-+- p+-zp-+N+ +-zpP+-wqL -snPvlQ+-+ +-+-+-+l PzP-+-+PmK tR-+-+R+-
Analysis after 29. Kh2
25. Nxd6 It was important not to be afraid of the ghosts of ... Bd4+ and ... Qh4 mate!
25. ... Bd4+ 26. Kh1 Re8 27. g4! This is the simplest—now the king on
h1 is very safe and cannot ever be check- mated, and the black queen cannot escape to g3 after a possible Nf7 and would have to be traded. The two-step moves of f- and g-pawns decided this game—it is not common in the Classical King’s Indian when White does it!
27. ... Nb4 28. Nf7 Qe3 29. Qxe3 Bxe3 30. Rae1 Bd2
Chess Life — July 2011 25
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