Shipov on Mamedyarov-Svidler (21-04-2008)

I translated from Russian Shipov´s commentary on Mamedyarov-Svidler round 1 game in Baku Grand Prix for Chessvibes readers... thought I could also post it here, for the record.
Original here: http://online.crestbook.com/baku08-01.htm



(Shipov starts by saying that he will choose the most interesting game of each round and comment on it, and he also says that hard fighting is granted by the Sofia rules).

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 Surprise! Grunfeld Defence aside...
4.e4 King´s Indian Defence
4...d6 5.f4 Four-pawn variation
5...O-O 6.Nf3 e5! Another unforeseen step by white improvising Svidler. This time there´s no doubt that he prepared the move he just made for this game. It´s an old but somewhat forgotten theory. If white takes the sacrifice, black gets definite initiative
(Master direction of the theory: 6...c5 7.d5 e6 8.Be2 exd5 9.cxd5 reaching the famous position of the Modern Benoni system)
7.dxe5
(As it seemed, Peter used a move that was put in practice 150 years ago! In the game Cochrane-Mahescandra [Calcuta,1851] they played 7.fxe5 dxe5 8.Nxe5 c5 9.d5 Nxe4! 10.Nxe4 Qh4+ 11.Nf2 Bxe5 12.g3 Qf6 13.Qe2 Bc3+! and soon white was fulminated)
7...dxe5 8.Nxe5 Shakhriar took the sacrifice, but in a more cautious way than his far predecessor. There seems to be nothing terrible with white´s position. The knight in the center is protected by the pawns... A search in the base gave a nill result. Novelty!
8...Qxd1+ 9.Kxd1 It´s interesting, the advantage that Mamedyarov saw in the privation from the castling of his own king.
9...Na6 Wise and developping move. The knight goes to c5 to attack e4. In the variations it´s also possible to check on the white king in b4.
10.Be2 Rd8+ 11.Kc2 There´s proscution in the air, it´s impossible to find shelter... but if we escape from romantic comparisons and come back to the prose of chess, it´s suitable to tick off the spare white pawn. And later black have no possibility of winning it back.
11...Nxe4 A shining combination started, refuting all suppositions and computer variations!
12.Nxe4 Bf5 13.Bf3 Nc5 14.Re1 Bxe5 15.fxe5 Rd4. Excellent! In the main variation a forced draw arises by perpetual check. It´s possible to keep the fight for the win by 16. b3, but of course, not without risk...
16.Kc3 Mamedyarov follows the main path... towards peaceful shores!
(After 16.b3 Nxe4 white had an interesting pawn sacrifice 17.g4! Ng5+ 18.gxf5 Nxf3 19.Re3 Nxh2 20.e6 and afterwards white enter battle with the bishop and the rook in a1, a dangerous attack on black´s king)
(After the game Peter mentioned 16.b3 Nxe4 17.g4 Ng5+ 18.gxf5 Nxf3 19.Re3 Rf4!, which is much stronger for black)
16...Rd3+ 17.Kc2 Rd4 18.Kc3 Rd3+ 19.Kb4 Daring, but... accurate! The way to reciprocal advantage is not far.
19...Na6+ 20.Ka5 b6+! 21.Kxa6 Bc8+ 22.Kb5 Bd7+ 23.Ka6
(To avoid perpetual check you mustn´t do 23.Kb4? a5#!)
23...Bc8+ 24.Kb5 Bd7+ 25.Ka6 Draw. Short, but violent skirmish! I don´t remember any previous game in top chess where the white king had to escape to a6 by move 20 and stayed alive... bravo, Shakhriar! Bravo, Peter! For you, dear readers, reporting grandmaster Sergey Shipov. Until tomorrow.