World Chess Championship 2008 (Game 7)

(7) Anand,Viswanathan - Kramnik,Vladimir [D19]

World Chess Championship 2008 Bonn (7), 23.10.2008

[Repa,Jason]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 Kramnik opts for the relatively harmless Slav (proper). This position has been reached in their previous encounters on two ocassions, although with Anand on the Black side. Both games, predictably, resulted in draws. 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 [Marin,M: Also slightly unexpected. Topalov usually plays the more straightforward 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Nxc4 Qc7 8.g3 e5 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Bf4 Nfd7 11.Bg2 g5 12.Nxe5 gxf4 13.Nxd7 0-0-0 14.Qd4 Qxd7 15.Qxf4 Bd6 16.Qc1 (16.Qh6 Qe6 (16...Be5!?) 17.Qxe6+ Bxe6 18.a5 a6 19.Be4+/= 1/2-1/2 Stern,R-Lamprecht,F/Germany 2000/CBM 75 ext (42) . (41)) 16...Kb8 17.0-0 Qe7?! Eine plausible Fortsezung besteht in (17...h5 18.h4 Qe6 19.Rd1 Rhg8 mit Ausgleich.) 18.a5?! (18.b4 lohnte einen Versuch: 18...Bxb4 Wenn Schwarz b4-b5 zuläßt, bekommt Weiß mit dem Springer Zugang zum Feld d5 und Angriff zu seinem Mehrbauern. 19.Qf4+ Qd6 (19...Ka8 scheitert an 20.Na2) 20.Qxf5 Bxc3 21.Rab1 , und die Stellung des Schwarzen ist äußerst unbequem.) 18...a6 19.Ra4 Bc7 20.Ne4 Es ist schwer, dem Weißen etwas Besseres zu raten; die Schwäche des Bauern auf a5 sichert dem Schwarzen genügend Gegenspiel. 20...Rd5 21.Rc4 Rxa5 22.Nc5 Bc8 23.Qc2 Rb5 24.e3 1/2-1/2 Kramnik,V (2807)-Anand,V (2755)/Moscow 2002/CBM 091/[Huebner,R] Mir gefällt nach 24...h5 eher die Stellung des Schwarzen etwas besser.] 6...e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.0-0 Nbd7 [8...0-0 9.Nh4 Nbd7 10.Nxf5 exf5 11.Qc2 Nb6 12.Bb3 Qd7 13.a5 Nbd5 14.f3 Rfe8 15.Nxd5 Nxd5 16.e4 Nf6 17.Qc4 Bf8 18.exf5 Rad8 19.Kh1 Re7 20.Qc2 1/2-1/2 Kramnik,V (2758)-Anand,V (2769)/Linares 2000/CBM 076] 9.Qe2 Bg6 10.e4 0-0 11.Bd3 Bh5 12.e5 [From the point of view of the general laws of development, 12.Bf4 looks slightly more consistent and only if 12...Re8 , then 13.e5 . However, after 13...Nd5 14.Nxd5 Black can try 14...exd5!? already, with interesting play.] 12...Nd5 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.Qe3 Marin,M: 'Topalov switches back to the classical main line of the Slav, which brought him close to what could have easily been his best achievement in the whole match (see the tragically ended second game).' 14...Re8 Topalov - Kramnik, World Ch. game#2, (Elista, 2006) continued; [14...Bg6 15.Ng5 Re8 Marin,M: 'would just transpose to the second game.' 16.f4 Bxd3N In spite of the fact that the previous games played from this position did not justify any special worries for Black, Kramnik decides to restrict White's attacking chances to the minimum. a) 16...Nf8 17.g4 Bxd3 18.Qxd3 Qc7 19.f5 Qc4 20.Qd1 f6 21.Nf3 Rac8© 1/2-1/2 Donner,J-Teschner,R/Bamberg 1968/MCD (33); b) 16...Rc8 17.g4 f6 18.Bxg6 hxg6 19.Nf3 Qc7 20.Qd3 Nf8 21.f5 gxf5 (21...Qc2!<=> Deviatkin) 22.gxf5 fxe5 23.Nxe5 exf5 24.Qxf5 Bd6 25.Nf7 Re7 26.Nxd6 Qxd6 27.Qxc8 Qg6+ 28.Bg5 Qxg5+ 29.Kh1 1-0 Pelletier,Y (2624) -Deviatkin,A (2487)/Moscow RUS 2003; 17.Qxd3 f5 Starting from this moment, I expected that Topalov would sacrifice the knight on e6 in one way or another. However, Topalov had other plans. By gradually concentrating all his forces on the king side, he will aim to create very dangerous threats. This was to a certain extent in accordance with his general match strategy. Instead of rushing in, he mostly preferred to take his chances in long battles. 18.Be3 (Taking into account Black's possible improvements on the 19th move, 18.g4 deserves serious attention. 18...h6[] (18...g6?! 19.gxf5 gxf5 (19...exf5 20.Qb5+-) 20.Qg3+- for instance 20...Qe7 21.Nxe6+ Kh8 22.Ng5 h6 23.Qh3! and White avoids any inconveniences along the g-file.) 19.Nxe6! (19.gxf5 hxg5 20.fxe6 Rxe6 21.f5 Nxe5!=/+) 19...Rxe6 20.gxf5 Re7 21.Kh1©) 18...Nf8 19.Kh1 (Now, it is too late for 19.g4 already because of 19...Qd7 20.Kh1 Be7 21.Nxe6 (21.gxf5 exf5) 21...Nxe6 22.gxf5 Nc7 23.Rg1 Kh8 and White's attacking chances are questionable.) 19...Rc8?! Black systematically prepares his queenside counterplay, but tolerates the knight on g5 for too long. a) True, 19...h6?! would have been risky by weakening the g6-square unnecessarily. 20.Nxe6!? (20.Nf3 Rc8 21.Rg1) 20...Nxe6 21.Qxf5©; b) However, 19...Be7! as recommended by several commentators was better. 20.Nxe6?! (20.Nf3 is safer, but then White should abandon his attacking ideas, since 20...Rc8 21.Rg1 Qc7 22.g4?! is met by 22...fxg4 23.Rxg4 Qc2=/+) 20...Nxe6 21.Qxf5 Qd7! (21...Nf8 22.Qg4 Qd7 23.f5->; 21...Qb6 22.a5 Qa6 23.Qg4->) 22.Qh5 (22.Qg4?! Nc5!; 22.Qh3 Rf8 23.Rf3 Rac8 24.f5 Ng5) 22...g6 23.Qh3 Rf8 24.Rf3 (24.g4 Ng7!) 24...Rac8 25.g4 Rc4-/+ and Black's counterplay is faster than White's attack.; 20.g4 Qd7 21.Rg1 Be7 22.Nf3 Shattering my last illusions about a possible Nxe6. True, I felt fully rewarded for it by the spectacular sequence starting with the 28th move. (However, 22.Nxe6!? might have been a more dangerous continuation of the attack. 22...Qxe6 (22...Nxe6 23.gxf5+/- Nc7 24.f6->) 23.gxf5 Qa6 (23...Qf7 24.Rg4 Rc6 (24...Rc4 25.Rag1 g6 26.fxg6 hxg6 27.Rxg6++-; 24...Kh8 25.Rag1 g6 26.fxg6 hxg6 27.f5+- gxf5?! 28.Qxf5!) 25.Rag1 g6 26.fxg6 hxg6 (26...Rxg6 27.f5 Rxg4 28.Rxg4+ Kh8 29.Bh6+-) 27.f5 Rec8 28.Bh6->) 24.Qxa6!? The following lines are suggestive of the dangers facing Black even in the endgame. (However, the simple 24.Qd2-> might be just better.) 24...bxa6 25.f6 Bxf6 26.exf6 Rxe3 (26...g6 27.Ra3 Kf7 28.Rg5 Red8 29.Re5+/=) 27.Rxg7+ Kh8 28.Rag1 Ne6 29.R7g4 h5 (29...Rb3 30.f5 Nc7 31.Rg7+/- Rbb8?! 32.R1g4+-) 30.Rh4! Rc7 31.Rxh5+ Rh7 32.Rxh7+ Kxh7 33.f5 Nf8 34.Rg7+ Kh8[] (34...Kh6 35.Rg8 Re8 36.f7 Rb8 37.a5 Kh7 38.Kg2+-) 35.Rxa7 Re4 (35...Rf3 36.Rxa6 Rxf5 37.b4 Kh7 38.b5 Kg6 39.a5+-) 36.Rxa6 Rxd4 37.a5 Rb4 38.Rd6 Rxb2 39.Rxd5 Ra2=) 22...Rc4 23.Rg2 fxg4 24.Rxg4 Rxa4 25.Rag1 g6 26.h4 Dark clouds have gathered around the black king. Without calculating too much, it is obvious that the position becomes very dangerous and that Black needs to play very accurately in order to avoid disaster. 26...Rb4! The only way to stay alive is to question the stability of the white queen along the b1-h7 diagonal. 27.h5 Qb5 28.Qc2!! (The only way to keep the attack going. 28.hxg6? was premature because after 28...Qxd3 29.gxh7+ Kxh7 30.Rg7+ Kh6 31.f5+ the bishop is hanging.) 28...Rxb2! For the time being, Kramnik finds the only path through the jungle of variations, most possible by intuition. (28...Rb3?! has been unanimously recommended as a safer defence, but it allows White to retain an advantage. 29.hxg6 h5 (29...Qd3? 30.gxh7+ Kh8 31.Rg8+ Kxh7 32.Qh2++-) 30.R4g3! (30.g7 hxg4 31.gxf8Q+ Kxf8 32.Qh7 Qd3= and White has not more than perpetual, as pointed out by Svidler.) 30...Qd3 (30...h4 31.g7 hxg3 32.gxf8Q+ Kxf8 33.Qg6 Qd3 34.f5! Qxe3 35.Rxg3+-) 31.g7!! Quite similar to the game continuation. 31...Nh7 (31...Qxc2? 32.gxf8Q+ Kxf8 33.Rg8+ Kf7 34.R1g7#) 32.Qc7 White's army is much better coordinated. Several of Black's pieces are passive or even vulnerable. (If White fears the queenside passed pawns from the main line, he can also choose the safer 32.Qxd3 Rxd3 33.Bd2) 32...Qc4 (32...Qb5 33.Nd2+/-) 33.Qxc4 dxc4 34.Nd2 Rxb2 35.Nxc4 Rc2 36.Nd2+/- and White's kingside pressure is hardly bearable. With four rooks on the board, Black's queen side pawns are much less dangerous than in the game. Still, the position would remain complicated and difficult to handle in an over-the-board game.) 29.hxg6! Now, capture of the queen leads to mate, so Black has to keep the g-file closed, at least for a while. 29...h5[] (29...Rxc2? 30.gxh7+ Kxh7 31.Rg7+ Kh6 32.f5+ Kh5 33.f6+-) 30.g7! hxg4 31.gxf8Q+ Bxf8? This move should have led to an abrupt end. (Both players started missing things by this moment. This is easy to spot when assisted by Fritz, but in conditions of over-the-board play things are different. About the previous day's game it has been said that 57...f5 was a terrible blunder and that 57...Nxf2 would have drawn easily. I do not feel that this is really so obvious without an engine by one's side. Anyway, I suppose that Kramnik considered the line 31...Kxf8 32.Qg6 Qe2 33.Qxg4 as completely hopeless for him, overlooking the unexpected resource 33...Bg5! when White has to insert 34.Re1 before he captures the bishop. 34...Qc2 35.Qxg5 (35.fxg5 Kg7 36.Rc1 Rh8+ 37.Kg1 Rb1 38.Rxb1 Qxb1+ 39.Kf2 Rf8~~ Svidler 40.Bd2 Qe4 41.Qh3 Qxd4+ 42.Kg3 Rxf3+ 43.Kxf3 Qxd2 44.Qh6+ Kg8 45.Qxe6+ Kf8 46.Qf6+ Kg8=) 35...Re7 36.Rc1 Rh7+ 37.Kg1 Rg7 38.Rxc2 Rxc2~~ Svidler) 32.Qg6+? (Both players must have had their eyes focused on the king side, which made them overlook that after 32.Rxg4+ Bg7 White can attack the g7-bishop from the other side with 33.Qc7 preventing ...Re7 (which could follow after 33. Qg6) and leaving Black with the possibility of giving just one last check with 33...Qf1+ when 34.Ng1 ends the day. Although Topalov's move does not let the win slip away yet, it surely marks the start of his gradual decline, after a brilliantly conducted first part of the game. This seems to be a hidden weakness of the FIDE World Champion. Sometimes, if the opponent gets some symbolic counterplay in a basically lost position, Topalov starts becoming less confident. (To a certain extent, this was also typical for Fischer, with whom Topalov has been frequently been compared for his uncompromising style). In Topalov-Leko Linares 2005 and Topalov-Anand San Luis 2005 he just missed relatively simple wins but in Aronian-Topalov Morelia 2006 he even came close to losing at a certain moment. This game continues this unfortunate tendency: he will eventually lose the full point...) 32...Bg7 33.f5! Re7 (33...exf5? 34.Ng5! (34.Bh6 Qd7 35.Ng5 Rb6~~) 34...Qc6 (34...Re7 35.Qh7+ Kf8 36.Qxf5+ Kg8 37.Rc1+-) 35.Qf7+ Kh8 36.e6+-) 34.f6 Qe2 35.Qxg4 Rf7 36.Rc1? a) 36.Bh6 Rb3 37.Rg3 Rb1+ 38.Ng1?! (38.Rg1=) 38...Qxg4 39.Rxg4 a5<=>; b) Computers suggest 36.Qh5! as stronger and they seem to be just right, but this is pretty hard to spot during the game by a mere mortal, be he even a World Champion. Topalov's choice is perfectly understandable, humanly speaking, but from objective point of view it should have led to a draw. 36...a5 (36...Qxe3 37.Ng5+-; 36...Rb3 37.Rxg7+ Rxg7 38.fxg7 Rb1+ 39.Bg1 Kxg7 40.Qg5+ Kh7 41.Qe7+ Kh8 42.Qf6+ Kg8 43.Qxe6+ Kg7 44.Qf6+ Kg8 45.e6+-) 37.Rg3 Qxe3 (37...a4 38.fxg7 Rb1+ 39.Bg1+- Lui) 38.fxg7 Rb1+ 39.Kh2 Rb2+ 40.Kh3 Rxg7 41.Ng5 Qf4 (41...Rxg5 42.Qe8+ Kh7 43.Qf7+ Kh8 44.Rxe3+- Lui) 42.Qe8+ Qf8 43.Qxf8+ Kxf8 44.Nxe6++-; 36...Rc2 37.Rxc2 Qd1+? Kindly returning the favour. Black should not help the enemy king get centralized. (Kramnik was probably afraid that after 37...Qxc2 White would get a decisive tempo with 38.Ng5 In fact, now that the king's defence has been somewhat weakened, the checks would have allowed him save the game. 38...Qb1+ 39.Kg2 Qc2+ and White should probably accept a draw by perpetual check or repetition somewhere. 40.Kh3!? (40.Kf3 Qd1+ 41.Kf4 Qf1+ 42.Qf3 Qxf3+ 43.Kxf3 Bxf6 44.Nxf7 Kxf7 45.exf6 Kxf6= see the notes to White's 41st move) 40...Qd3 (40...Bxf6 41.exf6 Qf5 42.Qxf5 exf5 43.Nxf7 Kxf7 44.Bg5 a5 45.Kg3 a4 46.Bc1 Kxf6 47.Kf4+- see the notes to White's 42nd move) 41.Qf3 Bh6 42.Nxf7 Qxe3 43.Qxe3 Bxe3 44.Nd8 b5! (44...a5 45.Kg4! a4 46.Nxe6 a3 47.Kf5! Kh7[] The difference compared to 44...b5 is that with the b-pawn on the third rank Black would win with 47...b2 now, because he would promote with check. 48.Nf8+ Kh8 49.e6 a2 50.e7 a1Q 51.e8Q Qb1+ 52.Ke6 Qe4+ 53.Kf7 Qxe8+ 54.Kxe8+-) 45.Nxe6 b4 and White is in trouble.) 38.Kg2 Qxc2+ 39.Kg3 Qe4 A culminating moment. Black desperately tries to simplify the position, even if this would imply making some positional or material concessions on the kingside since his apparently inoffensive queenside pawns will be a terrible weapon in the ending. White faces now a very difficult choice right before the control. (39...Qf5 40.Qxf5 exf5 41.Ng5 Rc7 (41...Bxf6 42.Nxf7 Kxf7 43.exf6 Kxf6 44.Kf4 transposes below to a subline from the comment to White's 42nd move.) 42.Kf4+-) 40.Bf4? (It required a lot of analytical effort to prove which exactly is the move that turns a better (or winning) position into a worse (or losing) one, but it is obvious that we are getting close by now. 40.Qxe4 dxe4 41.Ng5 would have lead to relatively similar positions as in the game, with the difference that White could put his pawns into motion more quickly. For instance 41...Bf8 a) White wins after 41...Bxf6 42.Nxf7 Kxf7 43.exf6 Kxf6 44.Kf4 although some elementary technique is still needed. 44...a5 45.Bd2 b6 46.Kxe4 Ke7 47.Ke5 Kd7 48.Bc1 (48.Bh6 Ke7) 48...b5 49.Bd2 b4 50.Bg5 a4 51.Bd2 b3 (51...a3 52.Bxb4 a2 53.Bc3 Ke7 54.Ke4+-) 52.Bc1 Ke7 53.Bb2 Kd7 54.Ba3(.)+-; b) 41...Bh6 42.Nxf7 Bxe3 43.Nd8 a5 (43...Bxd4? 44.f7+ Kf8 45.Nxe6+ Kxf7 46.Nxd4 a5 47.Kf4 a4 48.Nb5+-) 44.d5!+-; 42.Nxe6 a5 43.Ng5 Bh6 (The pawn race favours White after 43...a4 44.Nxf7 Kxf7 45.d5 a3 46.Bd4 followed by e6+) 44.d5 when the white pawns look pretty awesome.) 40...Qf5 41.Qxf5 (41.Ng5!? Qxg4+! (41...Rc7? 42.Qxf5 (42.Nxe6?! Rc3+ 43.Kh4 Qh7+ 44.Kg5 '=' Marin,M. Marin,M: 'Svidler' 44...Bh6+ 45.Kh5+ Bg7+ 46.Kg5= Svidler) 42...exf5 43.Ne6+- transposes below.) 42.Kxg4 Bxf6! 43.Nxf7 Kxf7 44.exf6 Kxf6 45.Bd6 Kf7 46.Kf4 Ke8 47.Ke5 Kd7 48.Bb4 b6= For once, this type of ending is drawn, as pointed out by Luiza Marin. The importance of the d5-pawn (compared to the note to White's 40th move) becomes clear after 49.Bd2 a5 50.Be1 a4 51.Bb4? (>=51.Bc3 a3 52.Kf6 a2 53.Ke5 b5 54.Kf6 b4 55.Ba1 Kd6=) 51...Kc6! 52.Kxe6 Kb5-+ when White has no time to unblock his own d-pawn.) 41...exf5 42.Bg5? a) Topalov likes to do things in a systematic way, approach with the king, maintain the chain of pawns intact, and so on, but there is simply not enough time for it! There are two enemy passed pawns on the other wing! Capturing the bishop with 42.fxg7 Rxg7+ 43.Kf2~~; b) or 42.Ng5! would have been better. 42...Rc7 b1) 42...Bf8 43.Kh4! a5 44.Kh5 a4 45.Kg6 a3 46.Nxf7 a2 47.e6 a1Q 48.e7 Qg1+ 49.Bg5+- Deviatkin; b2) 42...Rxf6 43.exf6 Bxf6 With chances for a draw according to Deviatkin, but White seems to be just in time to eliminate the central pawns and block the queenside pawns, for instance: 44.Be3 a5 (44...Bxg5 45.Bxg5 transposes below) 45.Kf4 a4 46.Nf3 a3 47.Bd2 b5 (47...Kf7 48.Kxf5 b5 49.Ne5++-) 48.Kxf5 Be7 49.Ke6 Kf8 50.Kxd5 b4 51.Bh6+ Ke8 52.Nd2+-; 43.Ne6 '+-' Marin,M. Marin,M: 'transposes below.' 43...Rc3+ 44.Kh4 Bxf6+ 45.exf6 Kf7 46.Nc7 Rxc7 (46...Rb3 47.Kg5 a5 48.Kxf5 a4 49.Ne6+- Rb6 50.Ng5+ Kg8 51.Bc1 Rb3 52.f7+ Kg7 53.Bf4 Rb6 54.Be5+ Kf8 55.Bf6+-) 47.Bxc7 Kxf6 48.Bf4 a5 49.Bd2 b6 50.Kg3 Kg6 51.Kf4 Kf6 52.Bc3 Ke6 53.Kg5 Kd6 54.Kxf5 Kc6 55.Ke6 a4 56.Bb2 Kb5 57.Kxd5 Kb4 58.Kc6 Kb3 59.Kb5+-; 42...a5-/+ 43.Kf4 (43.fxg7!?) 43...a4 44.Kxf5 a3 45.Bc1 (45.Nd2 Rc7 46.Nb3 a2 47.e6 Bxf6 48.Kxf6 Kf8 49.Ke5 Rh7 50.Bd2 Rh3-+) 45...Bf8 46.e6 (46.Bxa3 Bxa3 47.Ke6 b5 48.Kxd5 b4 49.Nd2 Rd7+ 50.Kc4 Kf7-+) 46...Rc7 47.Bxa3 Bxa3 48.Ke5 Rc1 49.Ng5 Rf1 (Allowing the transposition to a problematic ending. 49...Rg1!? would have probably been simpler.) 50.e7 Re1+ 51.Kxd5 Bxe7 52.fxe7 Rxe7 53.Kd6 Humanly speaking, this position looks close to a draw. White's forces are perfectly coordinated and the elimination of the b-pawn should not be a problem. Dr. John Nunn and the tablebases seem to have a different opinion, though... 53...Re1 (When Nunn announced that 53...Re3 is here the only winning move, I could not spot the reasons behind that immediately. Apparently, it has something to do with the restriction of the knight, but the real explanation will be revealed slightly later. Here follow Nunn's analysis and comments: " 54.d5 Kf8 55.Kd7 b5 56.Ne6+ Kg8 57.d6 b4 58.Nc5 the rook controls b3 and is therefore ready to support the b-pawn without wasting a tempo. Then the continuation 58...Kf7 59.Kc6 Rc3 60.Kb5 b3 61.Na4 Rc2 62.d7 Ke7 leads to a ar win. It is interesting to note that all Black's moves from move 53 to move 62 are unique winning moves (apart from a possible repetition at one point). Of course this would be tough to find in a game. I think the hardest part is the manoeuvre ...Kg8-f8-g8-f7, which looks quite paradoxical. (Nunn)") 54.d5 Kf8 55.Ne6+ (But now, 55.Kd7 , preventing the approach of the enemy king, looks better for human standards and it is the only saving move according to the tablebases, too. So, humans and computers can have common views sometimes... 55...b5 56.Ne6+ Kf7 (56...Kg8 57.d6 b4 58.Nc5=) 57.Nd8+ Kf6 58.Nc6 Rb1 59.Kd6! b4 60.Kc5!=) 55...Ke8 56.Nc7+ Kd8 57.Ne6+ Kc8 Now that Black has managed to regroup, it is all over. 58.Ke7 Rh1! Probably missed by Topalov. (58...b5? 59.d6 Rd1 60.Nc5 b4 61.d7+ Kc7 62.Na6+ or 62.Ne6+, with a draw.) 59.Ng5?! (59.Kd6 would be more stubborn.) 59...b5 60.d6 Rd1 61.Ne6 b4 62.Nc5 Re1+ 63.Kf6 Re3 0-1 Topalov,V (2813)-Kramnik,V (2743)/Elista 2006/ CBM 115/[Marin,M]] 15.Ne1 '!?' Marin,M. [15.Bd2 Bxd2 16.Nxd2 Rc8 17.a5 Nb8 18.Bb5 Rf8 19.Nb3 Qe7 20.Nc5 Bg6 21.Rfc1+/= 1-0 Berkes,F (2578) -Portisch,L (2583)/Heviz 2003/CBM 096 (47); 15.Ng5 Nf8 (15...Bg6 would just transpose to the second game.; 15...h6? 16.Qh3!+-) 16.Nxh7 Nxh7 17.Bxh7+ Kxh7 18.Qh3 g6 19.g4 Rh8 20.gxh5 Kg7 21.h6+ Kh7 22.Kh1 Rc8 23.f4 Rc2 24.f5 exf5 25.Rxf5 Qd7 1/2-1/2 Santoro,G-Sommovigo,A/corr 1970/Corr 2000 (35). and Black managed to repel the attack.] 15...Bg6 Marin,M: 'allows White keep his knight with' [15...Rc8 16.f4 Bxe1 17.Rxe1 Bg6 18.Bf1 Rc2 19.b3 Qa5 20.Bb5 Rd8 21.Re2 Rcc8 (The hidden strength of the pair of bishops can be seen in the variation 21...Rc3? 22.Bd2! Rxe3 23.Bxa5 Rxe2 24.Bxd8+-) 22.Bd2 Qb6 23.Rf2 a6 24.Bf1 Rc6 Each player has his own trumps. White has the pair of bishops and an advantage of space, while Black controls the only open file and has a fantastic bishop. 25.b4 Rc2 26.b5 a5 27.Bc3 Rxf2 28.Qxf2 Qa7 29.Qd2 Ra8 30.Rc1 Nb6 31.Bb2 Nxa4 32.Ba3 h6 33.h3 Be4 34.Kh2 Nb6 35.Bc5 a4 36.Ra1 Nc4!? The start of an interesting tactical phase, leading to complete simplification and an inevitable draw. 37.Bxc4 b6 38.Qe3 Rc8 39.Bf1 bxc5 40.dxc5 Qxc5 41.Qxc5 Rxc5 42.b6 Rc6 43.b7 Rb6 44.Ba6 d4 45.Rxa4 Bxb7 46.Bxb7 Rxb7 47.Rxd4 1/ 2-1/2 Topalov,V (2813)-Kramnik,V (2743)/Elista 2006/game#13] 16.Bxg6 hxg6 17.Nd3 Qb6 [17...Be7 18.Bd2 1/2-1/2 Banusz,T (2389)-Erdos,V (2454)/Budapest 2004/CBM 102 ext (26) although this did not offer him much.] 18.Nxb4 Qxb4 After these further exchanges, there is little in the way of winning chances for either side. 19.b3 Rac8 20.Ba3 Qc3 21.Rac1 Qxe3 22.fxe3 f6 23.Bd6 g5 24.h3 Kf7 25.Kf2 Kg6 26.Ke2 fxe5 27.dxe5 b6 28.b4 Rc4 29.Rxc4 dxc4 30.Rc1 Rc8 31.g4 a5 32.b5 c3 33.Rc2 Kf7 34.Kd3 Nc5+ 35.Bxc5 Rxc5 36.Rxc3 Rxc3+ 37.Kxc3 1/2-1/2