MICHIGAN CHESS ASSOCIATION
Analysis by Mervin Draper
This win for Shirov was instructive and allowed him
to take the lead in the WCC candidate's match which he was to eventually
win. Black got off to a good start out developing White, but White's
play was more accurate throughout. In the end game Black's lack of
accuracy was especially noticeable. Not keeping his king active and
not keeping his bishop on the e1-a5 diagonal to retard the mobilization
of White's connected pawns told the tale on Black. At the very least
he could have blocked one of them with the bishop until the king arrived
or secured the queening square before White's forces arrived.
Shirov,A.(2710)-Kramnik,V.(2790)
(WCC
Candidates final, Game 4)
Petrov: Modern (Symmetrical) [C43/23
(3rd ed.)]
1998.05.28. ESP Cazoria
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4
Active play by Black continuing to meet aggression
with aggression. The whole idea of the Petrov Defense is counter-attack
by Black.
4.Bd3 d5
Black defends his knight outposted on e4.
4...d5 also places another pawn in the center to replace the e-pawn that
will likely go at White's discretion
5.Nxe5 Nd7 6.Nxd7 Bxd7
White's knight goes; Black's position in the center
looks better, development by exchange.
7.0-0 Bd6
White could have continued to develop to catch
up with Black instead of castling. But in this variation White doesn't
have any real problems in development, and Black will also castle soon.
8.c4 c6
Black's move defends d5 and vacates c7 for his
queen.
9.cxd5 cxd5 10.Qh5 0-0 11.Qxd5 Bc6
White has gained a pawn, but the queen is under
attack and both bishops bear on White's castled position. Black still
leads in development.
12.Qh5 g6
Creating holes in Black's castled position though
renewing the attack on White's queen. Black wants to maintain his
knight at e4, but retreating it to f6 appears to have been safer and also
attacks the queen and would probably gain a tempo when the queen moves.
13.Qh3 Ng5
The knight leaves his outpost, defending h7 and
attacking the queen. But can he be maintained there?
14.Bxg5
The real beginning of White's attack. The
knight had several tempos invested in him; White's bishop moved but once
and got the job done.
14...Qxg5
This appears strong because of the double attack
on g2.
15.Nc3!
Threatening 16.Ne4, forking the bishop at d6 and
the queen at g5 development with a threat.
15...Rfe8
Answers the threat and takes charge of the open
file.
16.d5!
Threatening the bishop at c6, interfering with
the attack on g2 and returning the pawn for the initiative.
16...Bxd5
17.f4
Driving away the queen or forcing its exchange
with the loss of a bishop. If 17...Bxf4, then 18.Nxd5 Qxd5 19.Rxf4 losing
a Bishop.
17...Qd8
Conceding a bishop for a knight.
18.Nxd5 Bc5+ 19.Kh1 Qxd5 20.Rac1 Be3
Attacking the rook at b1 and interfering with
the white queen's protection of the bishop at d3.
21.Bc4
Counter-attacking the black queen.
21...Qf5 22.Qxf5 gxf5
The queens are exchanged. Each side controls
an open file, but White's pawn structured and castled position are stronger
than those of Black.
23.Rcd1
Moving the rook to safer white squares and to
another open file.
23...Rad8 24.g3
To protect the f4 pawn and provide a pathway for
the king to centralize. Apparently neither side wants to exchange
rooks and lose the d file.
24...Bd4
Posting the bishop on the open file to close it
and attack the pawn at b2.
25.b3 Bf6
Further defending the rook at d8 and strengthening
his position on the file.
26.Bb5 Rxd1 27.Rxd1 Rd8 28.Rc1 Rd5 29.a4 Bd8 30.Rc8
Kg7
White's target is Black's queen side pawns. Black
would like to exchange rooks and create drawing possibilities.
31.Rb8 Bb6
Conceding a pawn
32.Rxb7 Rd1+ 33.Kg2 Rd2+ 34.Kh3 Bg1
Double attack on h2. The white king has
begun a march that will take him clear across the board and into action
on the queen's side, but for now he has to face dangers on the king side.
35.g4 Bxh2
The rook capture would have checked the king and
held the pawn at a7.
36.gxf5 h5 37.Kh4 Bxf4 38.Kxh5 Kf6 39.Bc4 Kxf5 40.Rxf7+
Ke4
41.Rxa7
This was the last of Black's pawns. Black's
position looks hopeless, but he thought that there were still drawing possibilities
if the rooks could be exchanged and his bishop and king could prevent White's
pawns from queening.
41...Be5 42.Bf1 Rf2
Can the rook cut off the white king from the rest
of his forces? Both kings are needed on the queen side for the final
fight.
43.Bh3 Rf8 44.Be6 Rf1 45.Rd7 Rh1+ 46.Kg6 Rg1+ 47.
Kf7 Rg7+
Forcing the exchange of rooks.
48.Ke8 Rxd7
With the exchange of rooks, Black has no winning
material left. He's counting on drawing by holding White's pawns
with his king and bishop.
49.Kxd7 Bc3
Capturing with the bishop would block the white
king's most direct route to his pawn. Capturing as he did gets him
going in the right direction. Black needs to keep his bishop on the e1-a5
diagonal to hold the draw.
The rest of the game should have been a king race
to the pawns and their advancement in the face of a strong drawing effort.
50.Kc6 Ke5
This seems wrong. The king needs to get over to
the pawns. He can't touch the bishop. Black's last active king
move was 40 when he went to e4. His king was centralized but not
active.
51.Bg8 Be1
Black's king needs to stay active. 51...Kd4 would
do a lot for Black's game. However the move does vacate c3 for the king
if he ever gets underway.
52.Kb6 Bf2+
A further waste of time. The check is useless.
The white king wants to close on his forces and gain the opposition for
what it's worth when both sides have bishops to gain or lose moves.
In chess, bishops aren't forever.
53.Ka6
Ha! ha! ha!
53...Kd6
Okay, instead of stopping the pawns where they
are (it seems, too late anyway) Black heads for the queening square and
concentrates his force there. It does seem wiser to attempt to stop
passed pawns as soon as possible rather than as late as possible.
The two passed pawns once mobile should be able to support each other almost
without the support of the king and bishop. Of course, one of the
pawns is the winning material.
54.a5 Kc7 55.b4 Kc6 56.b5+ Kc5
What was the black king doing on the white squares
anyway? Now he's falling behind the pawns. Maybe he feels that
White will have to keep is king back to guard the pawns, blocking their
route to promotion.
57.b6 Kb4 58.b7 Bg3 59. Kb6
The bishop can't guard the queening square and
b6 also.
59...Bf2+ 60.Kc6 Ba7
Physically blocks one pawn, guards the queening
square, and keeps the white king off of b6. A lot to ask one over
worked bishop to do.
61.a6 Ka5 62.Bc4
Sweet.
62...Bb8 63.Bf1 1-0
Zugzwang to Black. After any move Black will lose
material because the white king gains control of the queening square insuring
that his pawn will queen.