Icannos/chess_studies huggingface dataset:
[Event "BrainGames World Ch"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2000.10.28"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Mikhail Golubev (November 2000)"]
[BlackElo "2830"]
[ECO "E55"]
[EventDate "2000.??.??"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. O-O dxc4 ( 7... cxd4 { - Game 10 } ) ( 7... Nc6 ) 8. Bxc4 Nbd7 9. a3 ( 9. Qe2 ) 9... cxd4 ( 9... Ba5 $5 ) 10. axb4 dxc3 11. bxc3 Qc7 12. Be2 ( 12. Qb3 b6 { 13...Bb7 } ) 12... Qxc3 $5 13. Ba3 $1 $146 ( 13. Bd2 ) 13... Nd5 $1 14. Qb1 $1 Qf6 $1 15. Bd3 h6 16. b5 Rd8 17. Bb2 ( 17. Nd2 $5 { Shipov } ) 17... Qe7 18. Ra4 ( 18. Rd1 ) ( 18. Rc1 ) ( 18. Ba3 Qf6 19. Bb2 Qe7 ) 18... Nc5 ( 18... N7f6 19. Ne5 $5 ) 19. Bh7+ ( 19. Rg4 Nf6 $6 ( 19... e5 $1 $13 ) ( 19... Nxd3 $6 ) 20. Bxf6 Qxf6 21. Bh7+ Kf8 ( 21... Kh8 $2 22. Rf4 Qe7 23. Ne5 Rf8 24. Rxf7 ) 22. Rf4 Qc3 23. Rc1 $5 Qb3 24. Qa1 ) 19... Kh8 20. Rh4 ( 20. Rc4 ) ( 20. Rg4 Nf6 ( 20... e5 $5 21. Bf5 Nf6 $5 ) 21. Bxf6 gxf6 $1 ) 20... f6 $1 ( 20... Nf6 $2 21. Bxf6 $1 Qxf6 22. Rf4 $1 { - 19.Rg4 } ) 21. Rc4 ( 21. Qg6 $6 Bd7 $5 ) ( 21. Rc1 $5 ) ( 21. Rh5 ) 21... Bd7 ( 21... Nd7 ) 22. Ba3 ( 22. Nh4 $5 Be8 ( 22... Qd6 $2 23. e4 $1 Bxb5 24. e5 $1 ) 23. Ng6+ $44 ( 23. Ba3 ) ) 22... b6 23. Be4 $6 ( 23. Bd3 $5 ) ( 23. Nh4 $5 ) 23... a6 $1 $17 24. bxa6 ( 24. Bxc5 bxc5 25. Rfc1 $5 Rab8 26. Bxd5 Rxb5 $5 27. Qe4 $1 ( 27. Qc2 exd5 28. Rxc5 Rxc5 29. Qxc5 Rc8 $1 ) 27... Qd6 $1 28. Bb7 Qb6 29. Ba8 Qb8 30. Bc6 f5 ) 24... Rxa6 25. Bxc5 ( 25. Qb2 $6 Rxa3 $1 { and 26...Bb5 } ) 25... bxc5 26. Rfc1 ( 26. Qb7 $2 Rb6 27. Nh4 ( 27. Qa7 Bb5 ) 27... Qe8 $1 28. Qa7 Ra8 29. Ng6+ Kg8 30. Ne7+ Kf7 $1 ) 26... Ra5 27. Qb2 Rb5 ( 27... Qd6 ) 28. Qa3 Nb6 $5 29. R4c3 ( 29. Rxc5 $2 Bc6 $1 ) 29... Rb4 ( 29... Be8 30. Nd4 Qd6 31. Bd3 $1 ( 31. Nxb5 $2 Qd1+ 32. Rxd1 Rxd1# ) 31... cxd4 ( 31... Rb4 $5 32. Rxc5 Ra4 33. Qc3 e5 34. Bc2 exd4 35. Qd3 f5 $1 ) 32. Qxd6 Rxd6 33. Rc8 Nxc8 34. Rxc8 Kg8 35. Bxb5 ( 35. Bg6 Rb1+ $1 ) 35... Rb6 36. Bd3 Kf7 37. exd4 Rb3 $5 $15 ) 30. Nd2 f5 $6 ( 30... Bc6 $5 31. Bxc6 ( 31. Rxc5 Rxe4 ) 31... Rxd2 32. Rd3 Rdb2 ) 31. Bf3 $6 ( 31. Rxc5 $1 Rxe4 32. Nxe4 fxe4 33. Qb4 $1 ) 31... Na4 $6 ( 31... Rc8 $5 ) 32. Rxc5 $1 Rb2 33. Nc4 $1 Qxc5 ( 33... Rbb8 { 34.R-- } ) ( 33... Qxc5 34. Qxc5 Nxc5 35. Nxb2 Rc8 $11 ) 1/2-1/2
[Event "BrainGames World Ch"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2000.??.??"]
[Round "15"]
[White "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Mikhail Golubev (November 2000)"]
[BlackElo "2770"]
[ECO "E05"]
[EventDate "2000.??.??"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]
[WhiteElo "2849"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 $1 ( 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 c5 ( 5... Nc6 { Karpov-Kramnik (two games) } ) 6. O-O Nc6 7. Ne5 { Kasparov-Deep Blue (2) 1996 } ) 3... d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. Qxc4 ( 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 Bd5 11. Qd3 Be4 12. Qd1 c5 13. dxc5 Qxd1 $2 14. Rxd1 Bxc5 15. Nc3 $16 { -  Khalifman,A-Kramnik, Dortmund 2000 } ) 8... b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 10. Bd2 { Polugaevsky 1965 } ( 10. Nc3 Nbd7 { 11...c5 } ( 10... b4 ) ) ( 10. Bf4 { (Kramnik-Svidler, 1998 ; Korchnoi-Kramnik, 1999) } ) 10... Be4 ( 10... Nbd7 11. Ba5 $1 ) 11. Qc1 Bb7 ( 11... Nc6 { Korchnoi-Kasparov, London Ct (4) 1983 } ) 12. Bf4 ( 12. Be3 { (?!) } 12... Nd5 13. Nc3 Nd7 14. Rd1 Rc8 { Kasparov-Karpov, Moscow Wch (8) 1984 } ) 12... Bd6 ( 12... Nd5 13. Nc3 $1 Nxf4 14. Qxf4 c5 15. dxc5 Bxc5 16. Rac1 $36 { Piket-Karpov, Dortmund 1985 } ) 13. Nbd2 Nbd7 14. Nb3 { ...Na5 } 14... Bd5 15. Rd1 Qe7 ( 15... Qb8 16. Be5 ( 16. Ne5 $1 ) 16... Qb6 17. Qf4 Ne4 18. Bxd6 cxd6 19. Ne1 f5 $1 { Alekseev-Kievelitz, corr. 1989 } ( 19... Nef6 { Bareev-Lalic, Sochi 1987 } ) ) 16. Ne5 $1 $36 Bxg2 17. Kxg2 Nd5 ( 17... Bxe5 18. dxe5 Nd5 19. Bg5 $1 Qb4 $2 20. Rd4 $1 $18 ) 18. Nc6 Nxf4+ ( 18... Qf6 19. Bxd6 cxd6 20. Nd2 $5 ( 20. e4 ) 20... Rac8 21. Ne4 Qg6 22. Nxd6 Nb8 $1 23. Nxc8 Rxc8 ( 23... Qe4+ $5 ) 24. Nxb8 ( 24. Qb1 $5 ) 24... Rxc1 25. Raxc1 h5 $5 ) 19. Qxf4 $1 Qe8 ( { hardly better is } 19... Qf6 ) ( 19... Bxf4 $4 20. Nxe7+ ) 20. Qf3 e5 21. dxe5 Nxe5 22. Nxe5 Qxe5 23. Rd2 $1 Rae8 ( 23... Rfe8 { xRa8 } ) 24. e3 $1 Re6 $1 ( 24... c5 25. Qd5 $5 ) 25. Rad1 Rf6 26. Qd5 Qe8 $3 27. Rc1 ( 27. Rc2 g6 ( 27... h5 $5 28. Rc6 Rf5 29. Qxf5 Qxc6+ 30. Qf3 ) 28. Kg1 ( 28. Nd2 Rf5 ) 28... h5 29. Rc6 Rf5 30. Qg2 ) ( 27. Nd4 $6 Bb4 $1 ) 27... g6 28. Rdc2 ( 28. Rc6 $2 Rf5 ) ( 28. Kg1 h5 29. Rc6 Qa8 { ...Rd8 } ) ( 28. Qc6 $5 ) 28... h5 29. Nd2 ( 29. Rc6 ) ( 29. Qc6 ) ( 29. Nc5 { (!) } 29... c6 $2 30. Ne4 ) 29... Rf5 30. Qe4 $2 ( 30. Qc6 $1 Qe6 31. Nb3 Rd5 32. Qxa6 $5 ( 32. Nc5 Bxc5 33. Rxc5 Rd2 $1 34. Qxe6 $2 fxe6 ) 32... h4 ( 32... Qe4+ 33. Kg1 h4 34. Nd2 ) 33. Qc6 h3+ 34. Kf1 Qe4 ) 30... c5 $1 $11 31. Qxe8 ( 31. Qb7 Qc8 ) 31... Rxe8 32. e4 Rfe5 33. f4 R5e6 34. e5 Be7 35. b3 ( 35. Ne4 f6 36. Nxc5 ( 36. Nxf6+ Bxf6 37. exf6 c4 ) 36... Bxc5 37. Rxc5 fxe5 38. fxe5 Rxe5 39. Rxe5 Rxe5 40. Rc6 Kf7 41. Rxa6 Re2+ ) 35... f6 36. Nf3 fxe5 37. Nxe5 Rd8 38. h4 Rd5 1/2-1/2
[Event "3rd Int"]
[Site "Torshavn FAI"]
[Date "2000.10.13"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Conquest, Stuart"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Alexander Baburin"]
[BlackElo "2529"]
[ECO "B19"]
[EventDate "2000.10.06"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[SourceDate "2001.05.12"]
[WhiteElo "2630"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nf6 8. Ne5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bf4 Qa5+ 12. c3 Qa6 13. Ne4 $5 { This seems to be a novelty. } ( { In the game Topalov-Leko, Tilburg 1998 White did not get much after } 13. Qf3 Nbd7 14. Nxd7 { RR } 14... Kxd7 15. Be5 Be7 16. b3 Rhd8 17. c4 Qa5+ 18. Ke2 Ke8 19. Rhe1 Kf8 20. Kf1 Rd7 21. a4 Rad8 22. Rad1 Kg8 ) 13... Nxe4 ( { Perhaps, better was } 13... Qxd3 14. Nxf6+ gxf6 15. Nxd3 h5 { although even then White maintains slightly better chances. } ) 14. Qxe4 Nd7 15. Nxd7 Kxd7 { White has more space for manoeuvring, which defines his
advantage. Ponomariov gives a good example how to handle such positions: } 16. Rh3 $1 Rc8 17. Be5 $1 Qc4 18. Rf3 f6 19. Bg3 f5 20. Qc2 g5 $6 { perhaps better was to play ...Re8 and evacuate the king to c8. } 21. Be5 Rg8 22. b3 Qd5 23. c4 Qa5+ 24. Kf1 Be7 25. hxg5 Rxg5 ( { After } 25... hxg5 { White's rook would come back to the h-file - } 26. Rh3 $1 ) 26. Rd1 h5 27. Qe2 Qa6 28. Bf4 $1 { The bishop only LOOKED good onn e5, but it lacked any useful
role. Relocating this piece White prepares to put pressure on the e6-pawn.
Black position is already very difficult. } 28... Rg6 29. Re3 Rcg8 30. g3 h4 31. Re1 { Black's position is cracking, as he cannot hold the e6-pawn. He must
defend tactically, but this already does not help: } 31... Bb4 32. Rxe6 $1 Bxe1 33. Re7+ Kd8 34. Bc7+ Kc8 35. Qe5 $1 { White calmly finsihes his attack. } 35... b5 36. Bd8 $1 Ba5 37. Rc7+ Kb8 38. Rxc6+ 1-0
[Event "34th Olympiad"]
[Site "Istanbul TUR"]
[Date "2000.11.12"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Sokolov, Ivan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "V. Barsky and A. Baburin"]
[BlackElo "2611"]
[ECO "C45"]
[EventDate "2000.10.28"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[SourceDate "2001.05.12"]
[WhiteElo "2630"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Be3 Qf6 6. c3 Qg6 7. Qf3 Ne5 8. Qe2 $5 { This seems to be a new move. It's interesting that this year Ivan
Sokolov already suffered from a novelty involving Qe2 - in his game against
Alexander Morozevich in Sarajevo, which went 1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Nf3 Ne7 4 d4
d5 5 Qe2!. } 8... Nh6 ( { Black probably did not like the line } 8... Qxe4 9. Nd2 Qg4 10. Nb5 Qxe2+ 11. Bxe2 Bxe3 12. Nxc7+ Kd8 13. Nxa8 Bxd2+ 14. Kxd2 b6 ) ( { but then } 8... a6 { (preventing Nb5) was worth considering. } ) 9. f4 Neg4 10. f5 Qf6 11. Bg1 O-O 12. Nd2 Ne5 13. O-O-O Qa6 { It is easy to criticise
Black's decision to settle for a unpleasant ending, but White's pawn storm on
the kingside could be even more unpleasant! } 14. Qxa6 bxa6 15. N4f3 $1 { Pieces like the black knight on e5 must be eliminated! } 15... Bxg1 16. Rxg1 Nhg4 17. h3 Nxf3 18. gxf3 Ne3 19. Re1 Nxf1 20. Rexf1 f6 21. h4 Bb7 22. Nb3 { Numerous exchanges did not improve Black's position - his bishop is pretty
limited, while White's knight has lots of attractive squares. Now it is going
to c5. } 22... Rae8 23. Nc5 Bc8 24. c4 Kf7 25. h5 Rg8 26. Nd3 $1 { with the idea of Nd3-f4-d5. } 26... g6 27. hxg6+ hxg6 28. fxg6+ Rxg6 29. Rxg6 Kxg6 30. Nf4+ Kf7 31. Rh1 $1 { White immediately takes advantage of the open h-file. } 31... Kg7 32. Nd5 Re5 { Black decided to give up a pawn. } ( { The line } 32... c6 33. Ne3 d6 34. Rd1 $1 Rd8 35. c5 { did not promise him much fun either. } ) 33. Nxc7 f5 ( { Black cannot regain the pawn - } 33... Rc5 34. Ne8+ Kf7 35. Nd6+ Ke6 36. b4 Rc6 37. c5 a5 38. Rh8 { winning. } ) 34. Rh5 $1 d6 35. Nd5 a5 36. Kd2 Bd7 37. exf5 Rxf5 38. Rxf5 Bxf5 39. Nc7 Bb1 40. a3 Ba2 41. Kc3 Kf6 42. Nb5 d5 43. c5 Ke5 44. f4+ $1 ( 44. f4+ { the line } 44... Kxf4 45. c6 { does not require comments. } ) 1-0
[Event "FIDE WCh KO"]
[Site "New Delhi IND"]
[Date "2000.12.02"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Black "Ehlvest, Jaan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Alexander Baburin"]
[BlackElo "2627"]
[ECO "B14"]
[EventDate "2000.11.27"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[SourceDate "2001.05.12"]
[WhiteElo "2719"]

1. c4 c6 2. e4 d5 3. exd5 Nf6 4. Nc3 cxd5 5. d4 e6 6. Nf3 Bb4 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Qc2 Qc7 $146 ( { Usually Black plays here } 8... Nd7 { for example: } 9. Bd3 N7f6 10. O-O Bd7 11. Nxd5 Nxd5 12. Ne5 Bd6 13. Be4 Rc8 14. Qb3 Bc6 15. Qg3 g6 16. Bh6 Bf8 17. Qf3 f5 18. Bxf8 Kxf8 19. Rfe1 Kg7 20. Nxc6 Rxc6 21. Bxd5 exd5 22. Re5 $16 { Benjamin-Seirawan, USA Championship, Seattle 2000. } ) 9. Bd2 Nd7 { Positions with the isolated d-pawn are quite popular in New Delhi
and a number of very interesting games on this topic have been played here. } 10. Bd3 Bxc3 11. bxc3 N5f6 12. a4 $2 { Perhaps White anticipated ...b6 and thus
planned creating tension on the queenside with a4-a5. However this move wastes
time and allows Black to develop his pieces comfortably. } ( { Better was } 12. O-O ) 12... b6 $1 ( { After } 12... O-O 13. O-O b6 { White would have had } 14. Rfe1 Bb7 15. Ne5 ) 13. O-O Bb7 14. Nh4 $2 ( { Explaining this game to the
audience in the press-room, Jaan Ehlvest recommended } 14. Qd1 { assessing chances as roughly equal. } ) 14... O-O 15. f4 Bd5 $1 16. Nf3 Bc4 $1 { Now light squares in White's camp are weak, while his
dark-squared bishop is an unfortunate piece. } 17. Ne5 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 Rac8 19. Rf3 Nd5 20. Qb5 Rfd8 21. Raf1 f5 $1 22. Be1 $2 ( { Better was } 22. Re1 ) 22... Nxe5 $1 23. fxe5 Qc4 { This is a triumph of Black's strategy - his
position is winning, although of course White should not have collapsed so
quickly... } 24. Bh4 Qxb5 25. axb5 Rd7 26. Rc1 Rc4 27. Be1 Nc7 28. h3 $2 ( 28. Rb1 Rd5 { winning. } ) 28... Rdxd4 $1 ( 28... Rdxd4 29. Ra1 Ra4 $1 ) 0-1
[Event "Governor's Cup-2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2001.??.??"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Efimenko, Zahar"]
[Black "Areshchenko, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "V.Barsky (www.chesstoday.net)"]
[BlackElo "2479"]
[ECO "B78"]
[EventDate "2001.??.??"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[WhiteElo "2523"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 { Ukrainian
chessplayers always like the Sicilian Dragon. I believe GM Mikhail Golubev,
one of the main experts of this sharp system, can confirm this. } 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2 O-O 9. Bc4 { the so called Rauzer Attack, though ,as far as I
know, the  Soviet theoretic Vsevolod Rauzer,  initially offered the set up
with } ( 9. O-O-O { -  another popular line nowadays. } ) 9... Bd7 10. O-O-O Rc8 11. Bb3 Ne5 12. h4 h5 13. Bg5 Rc5 14. g4 hxg4 15. f4 Nc4 16. Qe2 b5 17. f5 { All this is the main theoretical line. } 17... gxf5 { According to "official
theory" (omnibus databases like ChessBase or ChessAssistant) this move leads
to a difficult position for Black. So if Black decided to use it, he had to
have had some vital improvment in mind.   There are some alternatives here,
for example: } ( 17... Qa5 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Qxg4 $132 Nxb2 $4 20. Qxg6+ Bg7 21. Rdg1 { 1:0 Antok - Budai, ch Hungary 2001. } ) ( 17... a5 18. fxg6 fxg6 19. Ncxb5 d5 20. exd5 Nd6 $44 { Egorov - Charbonneau, ch Canada 2001. } ) 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. exf5 Rxf5 ( 19... Bxf5 20. Nxf5 Rxf5 21. Qxg4+ $18 ) 20. Qxg4+ Rg5 21. hxg5 $1 { This is a very nice tactical blow, but it's also well-known... } 21... Bxg4 22. gxf6 Bxd1 ( 22... exf6 23. Rdg1 f5 24. Rh5 Re8 25. Bxc4 bxc4 26. Rxf5 Qh4 27. Nf3 Qh6+ 28. Kd1 Qg6 29. Rxg4 Qxg4 30. Rg5+ Qxg5 31. Nxg5 $16 { Wierzbicki - Jaloszynsky, corr. 1993. } ) 23. Nc6 { The point - Black has to give back the queen. } 23... Bf3 24. Nxe7+ Qxe7 25. Rg1+ Kh8 { This is a novelty. Maybe Areshchenko didn't know or forgot
the following game: } ( 25... Kh7 26. fxe7 Re8 27. Nxb5 Ne5 28. Nxa7 Rxe7 29. Nb5 d5 30. a4 $18 { Csoma - Bessenyei, Hungary 1991. Of course there is a lot of
information in modern chess these days and it's very hard to remember all that
you need. Only thing and a bit strange, though, is that all of this is a MAIN
line, not something rare... } ) 26. fxe7 Re8 27. Nxb5 Ne5 28. Nxd6 Rxe7 29. Rf1 { White is a pawn up and has to win a second pawn. His position is winning. } 29... Kg8 ( 29... Bh5 30. Rh1 $18 ) ( 29... Kg7 30. Nf5+ $18 ) ( 29... f6 30. Nc4 Nxc4 31. Bxc4 ( 31. Rxf3 $4 Re1# ) 31... Be4 32. Rxf6 $18 ) 30. Nxf7 $1 Rxf7 31. Kd2 Be4 32. Bxf7+ Nxf7 33. c4 Kf8 34. Kc3 Bb7 35. Re1 { Now the king is unable to help his light pieces in their struggle against
White's passed pawn, so Black resigned. } 1-0
[Event "World Team Championship"]
[Site "Yerevan 20.10.2001"]
[Date "2001.10.20"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Baklan, Vladimir"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "IM Yuri Drozdovskij"]
[BlackElo "2666"]
[ECO "C45"]
[EventDate "2001.??.??"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]
[WhiteElo "2590"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nb3 Bb4+ 6. c3 Be7 7. Bf4 d6 8. c4 Nf6 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Be2 {  } 10... Nd7 $5 $146 ( 10... Re8 11. O-O a5 12. Qd2 a4 13. Nd4 Nd7 ) 11. Nd5 b6 12. O-O Nc5 13. f3 { +/= (space advantage) } 13... Bf6 14. Qd2 a5 15. Be3 a4 16. Nxf6+ Qxf6 17. Nd4 Nxd4 18. Bxd4 Qg6 {  } 19. Bd1 f5 20. Bc2 Qf7 21. b3 axb3 22. axb3 Rxa1 23. Rxa1 fxe4 24. Bxc5 bxc5 25. Bxe4 $11 Bf5 26. Bd5 Be6 27. Bxe6 Qxe6 28. Re1 Qf6 29. Qd5+ Kh8 30. Kf1 h6 31. Qc6 Qc3 32. Qxc7 Qxb3 33. Qxd6 Qxc4+ 34. Kg1 Rc8 35. h3 Qd4+ 36. Qxd4 cxd4 37. Re4 Rc1+ 38. Kf2 Rc2+ 39. Kf1 d3 40. Rd4 Rc1+ 41. Kf2 Rc2+ 42. Kf1 Rc1+ 43. Kf2 Rc2+ 44. Kf1 1/2-1/2
[Event "World Team Championship"]
[Site "Yerevan 20.10.2001"]
[Date "2001.10.20"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Dreev, Alexey"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "IM Yuri Drozdovskij"]
[BlackElo "2684"]
[ECO "D27"]
[EventDate "2001.??.??"]
[PlyCount "123"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]
[WhiteElo "2676"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. Bb3 b5 8. a4 b4 9. Nbd2 Bb7 10. e4 Be7 ( 10... cxd4 ) 11. e5 {  } 11... Nfd7 $1 $146 ( 11... Ne4 12. Nxe4 Bxe4 13. Qe2 Bb7 14. dxc5 Qc7 15. Be3 Nd7 16. Rfc1 ) 12. Nc4 O-O 13. Bc2 Nc6 14. dxc5 Nxc5 {  } 15. Nd6 $2 ( 15. b3 $1 ) 15... b3 $1 16. Bb1 ( 16. Nxb7 bxc2 17. Qxc2 Qd3 $1 { =/+ (pawn e5 is weak) } ) 16... Qc7 17. Be3 {  } 17... Nxe5 $1 18. Nxb7 Nxf3+ 19. Qxf3 Qxb7 20. Qxb7 ( 20. Bxh7+ Kxh7 21. Qh5+ Kg8 22. Bxc5 Bxc5 23. Qxc5 Rac8 { -/+ (with the idea ...Rc2) } ) 20... Nxb7 21. Be4 Rab8 22. Ba7 Nc5 23. Bc6 ( 23. Bxb8 Rxb8 24. Bf3 Bf6 25. Rfb1 a5 { =/+ } ) 23... Rb4 24. Rfd1 Rc8 25. Bxc5 Bxc5 26. Rac1 Bd4 27. Bb5 Rb8 28. Rc4 Rxc4 29. Bxc4 Bxb2 30. Bxb3 a5 31. Bc4 g6 32. g3 Rc8 33. Bb5 Rc2 34. Bd3 Rc5 35. Kg2 Kg7 36. Bb5 Ba3 37. Rd2 Bb4 38. Re2 e5 39. Re4 h5 40. Rc4 Rd5 41. Rc7 e4 42. Rc4 Re5 43. Bc6 f5 {  } 44. Rc2 $6 ( 44. h4 $5 ) 44... g5 45. Rc4 Kf6 46. Rc2 Re7 47. Bb5 f4 48. Rc6+ Ke5 49. gxf4+ gxf4 50. Rg6 Kf5 51. Rg8 Rc7 52. Rc8 f3+ 53. Kf1 Rg7 54. Rc4 Ke5 55. Bc6 Rg4 56. Bb5 Rg2 57. h3 Kd5 58. Rc8 Bc5 59. Rd8+ Ke5 60. Re8+ Kf4 61. Rc8 Bxf2 62. Rc4 0-1
[Event "World Team Championship"]
[Site "Yerevan 20.10.2001"]
[Date "2001.10.20"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "IM Yuri Drozdovskij"]
[BlackElo "2686"]
[ECO "C99"]
[EventDate "2001.??.??"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Rd8 {  } 14. Re2 $146 ( 14. Nf1 ) ( 14. b3 ) ( 14. d5 ) 14... Nc6 15. d5 Nb4 16. Bb1 a5 17. Nf1 Bd7 18. Bg5 Rdc8 19. Qd2 Na6 20. Ng3 Qd8 21. Bc2 Nc5 $11 22. Rc1 Na4 23. Bb1 Rxc1+ 24. Qxc1 Rc8 25. Qd2 Nc5 26. Re1 Qb6 27. Nh4 g6 28. Kh2 Qd8 29. Nf3 b4 30. Rc1 {  } 1/2-1/2
[Event "World Team Championship"]
[Site "Yerevan 20.10.2001"]
[Date "2001.10.20"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Sakaev, Konstantin"]
[Black "Eingorn, Vereslav"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "IM Yuri Drozdovskij"]
[BlackElo "2601"]
[ECO "E91"]
[EventDate "2001.??.??"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]
[WhiteElo "2639"]

1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. Nc3 Bg4 {  } 5. e3 ( 5. g3 Bxf3 ( 5... Qc8 6. Bg2 Bh3 7. O-O Bxg2 8. Kxg2 Nf6 9. h3 O-O 10. e4 { +/= } ) 6. exf3 e6 { (with the idea ...Ne7, 0-0, c6, d5) } 7. d5 $5 ) 5... Nf6 6. Be2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. e4 ( 8. h3 Bf5 { (with the idea ...Ne4) } ) 8... Nbd7 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 a6 ( 10... e5 { +/= } ) 11. Be3 Rb8 12. c5 dxc5 13. dxc5 e5 14. Na4 Qe7 15. Qc2 Rfd8 16. Rad1 Nf8 17. b4 Ne6 18. Nb6 a5 19. a3 axb4 20. axb4 Nd4 21. Bxd4 {  } 1/2-1/2
[Event "Donetsk (match)"]
[Site "Donetsk"]
[Date "2001.??.??"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Korchnoi, Viktor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Barsky, V."]
[ECO "C80"]
[EventDate "2001.01.16"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[SourceDate "2001.05.12"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Be3 $5 { I like this rather unusual move and play it myself too. It's
idea - to prevent the quite unpleasant move Bf8-c5 with pressure on f2. } ( { In the first game Ruslan prefered the more common } 9. c3 ) 9... Nc5 $6 ( { The main line } 9... Be7 { looks more solid than a second knight move with the
idea of exchanging it with a third move. No doubt Bishop b3 is dangerous but
not that much! } ) 10. Nc3 Nxb3 11. cxb3 $1 { If I'm not mistaken it's
Boleslavsky's idea. Of course it's a more common approach to take with a pawn
towards the centre, but here White has a concrete purpose: to exploit the
"backward" c7 pawn . To do this, White opens the c-file and tries to prevent
c7-c5. The next White goal: to exchange black-squared bishops and occupy black
square with pieces. } 11... Be7 12. Rc1 Qd7 13. h3 { In the near future White's
knight will be better than Black's e6 bishop, so it's useful to prevent a
possible exchange. } ( { For a better understanding of a black-square attack in
this set up - please play through the following game carefully: } 13. Qd2 O-O 14. Rfd1 Rad8 15. Bg5 $1 d4 16. Ne4 Bd5 17. Qf4 Bxg5 18. Nfxg5 Qe7 19. Rxc6 $1 Bxc6 20. Nf6+ $1 gxf6 21. Nxh7 Kxh7 22. Qh4+ Kg7 23. Qg4+ Kh8 24. Rd3 Be4 25. Rh3+ Bh7 26. Qf5 { Wiensnes - Krasenkov, Stokholm 1990 } ) 13... O-O 14. Ne2 f6 $5 ( { White received a small but long-term advantage after } 14... Rfc8 15. Nf4 a5 16. a3 Nd8 17. Nd3 Bf5 18. Nc5 Bxc5 19. Bxc5 Ne6 20. Nd4 Bg6 21. Qd2 c6 22. Rfe1 Re8 23. Bd6 Nxd4 24. Qxd4 $14 { Groszpeter - Brumner, Biel 1990. But Korchnoi doesn't like passive defence. } ) 15. exf6 Rxf6 16. Ned4 Nxd4 17. Bxd4 Rf5 18. Ne5 Qc8 19. Nc6 Bd6 20. Bc5 $1 { The c7 pawn stopped by two white pieces! Also the e6 bishop hasn't got any
outlets. } 20... Qd7 21. Bxd6 cxd6 $5 ( { After } 21... Qxd6 { Black has a
big problem with his backward pawn. But now White receives an "eternal" square
for his knight. } ) 22. Nd4 Re5 23. Rc3 b4 24. Rg3 $1 { It is redundant on the
c-file now, so the rook comes nearer to the opponent's king... } 24... a5 25. Kh2 Bf7 26. Nf3 Rf5 27. Qd4 g6 { Of course Black didn't want to weaken
his black squares more, but what else to do? After } ( 27... Be6 28. Re1 Re8 29. Qb6 $5 { it's very difficult to "hold" all his pawns. } ) 28. Qd2 Re8 29. Nd4 Rfe5 $1 { A sign for storm. } 30. f4 Re4 31. f5 Kh8 ( 31... Qa7 $5 ) 32. Qh6 Qe7 33. Nf3 Qf8 34. Qg5 Qg7 35. f6 $1 { As you can see, White plays only on black squares. } 35... Qf8 36. Rc1 h6 37. Qd2 g5 38. Rc7 Re2 39. Qc1 R2e6 40. h4 $1 Rxf6 41. hxg5 Rg6 42. Qf4 Be6 43. Nh4 $1 Rg7 ( 43... Qxf4 44. Nxg6+ Kg8 45. Nxf4 $18 ) 44. Qd4 Kh7 45. Qd3+ { time white 1.59 black 2.03 } 1-0
[Event "Match"]
[Site "Donetsk"]
[Date "2001.01.16"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Ponomariov R., UKR."]
[Black "Korchnoi V., SUI."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "IM E.Miroshnichenko, IM O.Berezin"]
[BlackElo "2639"]
[ECO "C83"]
[EventDate "2001.01.16"]
[PlyCount "181"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]
[WhiteElo "2677"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Be7 10. Be3 Qd7 $5 { The main line is 0-0, also playable is 10..
.Nc5 (Khalifman - Korchnoi, Ubeda1997), but Korchnoi, as an expert of open
variation, minds something new. } 11. Nbd2 Nxd2 $6 { Not so good 11. ...
Bg4 12.Ne4 de 13.Qd5 Qd5 14.Bd5 O-O 15.Bc6 fe 16.gf   Lautier-Korchnoi Ubeda
1997, but deserves attention 11. ...Rd8!? as Victor Lvovich played twice with
Timman in 1987 and with B.Anand in Monte-Carlo 1993 blindfold. } 12. Qxd2 Na5 13. Bg5 Nc4 $146 { Before this game black played 13. ...c5 with a terrible statistics. } 14. Bxc4 bxc4 15. b4 $1 { !+= } 15... cxb3 16. axb3 O-O 17. b4 c5 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 19. bxc5 Qxc5 20. Qd3 { Interesting was to try 20.Nd4 Rfc8 21.Rac1 with the  idea f4,f5 . } 20... f6 $5 { Searching for a counterplay. } 21. Rfe1 { (If  21.Ra6 so 21. ...Bf5 22.Qe2 Ra6 23.Qa6 Qc3-black is ok!) } 21... a5 22. Nd4 Rae8 23. exf6 Rxf6 24. Qb5 Qxb5 25. Nxb5 Bd7 26. Rxe8+ Bxe8 27. Nc7 Bc6 28. Rxa5 Rd6 $1 { White can not prevent 29. ...d4 with an exchanging of weak
pawn d5 (if 29.Ra6 so 29. ...d4! 30.Nb5?? Re6 31.f3 Re1 32.Kf2 Rf1-+).Black
have a good draw chances. } 29. f3 d4 30. cxd4 Rxd4 31. Ne6 Rd6 32. Nf4 Rd4 33. Ne2 Rd2 34. Kf2 Rb2 35. Ke3 Rb7 36. Rc5 Bd7 37. h4 Ra7 38. Nc3 h6 39. Kf4 Ra6 40. Nd5 Be6 41. Ne3 Ra3 42. Rc7 Rd3 43. Re7 Bd7 44. Nc4 Bb5 45. Ne5 Rd4+ 46. Kg3 Rd2 47. Ng4 { (47.h5!? Re2 48.Kh3 with the idea g4,Kg3-f4 ) } 47... Bd7 48. Ne3 Kf8 49. Re4 Kf7 50. Nc4 Rd5 51. Kf2 Bf5 $4 { A blunder ...sometimes something strange happens. } 52. Re3 $4 { Impossible!
Immediatly wins 52.Rf4!: 52. ...g5 53.Rf5 Rf5 54.Nd6 Ke6 55.Nf5 Kf5   56.Kg3,
57.Kg4, 58.f4+-; 52. ...Ke6 53.Ne3 Ra5 54.Rf5 Rf5 55.Nf5 Kf5 56.g4 Kf4   57.
h5!+-; 52. ...Ke6 53.Ne3 Rd2 54.Ke1 Rd3 55.Nf5 Ke5 56.Rd4 Rd4 57.Nd4 Kd4 58.
h5!+-. } 52... Rd4 53. Ne5+ Kf6 54. g4 Rd5 $1 55. f4 g5 $1 { = } 56. gxf5 gxf4 57. Ng4+ Kxf5 58. Nxh6+ Kg6 59. Re6+ Kh5 60. Kf3 Kxh4 61. Nf7 Rd3+ 62. Kxf4 Rd4+ 63. Kf3 Rd3+ 64. Ke4 Ra3 65. Rg6 Kh3 66. Ne5 Ra4+ 67. Ke3 Ra3+ 68. Nd3 Kh4 69. Rg8 Kh5 70. Ke4 Kh4 71. Nf2 Ra7 72. Kf3 Rf7+ 73. Kg2 Ra7 74. Ne4 Kh5 75. Kf3 Rf7+ 76. Ke3 Kh6 77. Nd6 Rf6 78. Rd8 Kg6 79. Ke4 Re6+ 80. Kd5 Re7 81. Rg8+ Kh5 82. Nc4 Kh4 83. Ne5 Kh3 84. Ke4 Re6 85. Kf5 Ra6 86. Nd3 Ra5+ 87. Kf4 Ra4+ 88. Kf3 Kh4 89. Nf2 Kh5 90. Ne4 Kh6 91. Kf4 { time white 3.26 black 3.25 } 1/2-1/2
[Event "Match"]
[Site "Donetsk"]
[Date "2001.01.18"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Korchnoi , Viktor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Ruslan Ponomariov"]
[BlackElo "2639"]
[ECO "C80"]
[EventDate "2001.01.16"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]
[WhiteElo "2677"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Be3 Nc5 $5 10. Nc3 Nxb3 11. cxb3 $1 Be7 12. Rc1 Qd7 ( 12... O-O $5 13. Nxb5 axb5 14. Rxc6 Rxa2 15. Qb1 Ra8 16. Rfc1 Rc8 17. Qc2 $14 ) 13. h3 $1 ( 13. Ne2 Rc8 14. Nf4 O-O 15. Bc5 Rfd8 16. Bxe7 Nxe7 17. Qd4 Bg4 18. Ne1 ( 18. Nd2 c5 $1 19. Rxc5 Rxc5 20. Qxc5 g5 21. h3 gxf4 22. hxg4 Ng6 $132 ) 18... c5 $3 19. Rxc5 Nf5 20. Qc3 d4 $132 { Smagin-Mikhalchishin, Moscow 1989 } ) 13... O-O ( 13... Nd8 $5 { c5 } 14. Ne2 Nb7 15. Nf4 c5 16. Nh5 O-O 17. Qd2 Kh8 18. Bg5 d4 19. Qf4 $40 ) 14. Ne2 f6 $6 $146 ( 14... Rfc8 15. Nf4 a5 16. a3 Nd8 17. Nd3 Bf5 18. Nc5 Bxc5 19. Bxc5 Ne6 20. Nd4 $14 { Groszpeter-Brunner, Biel 1990 } ) 15. exf6 Rxf6 ( 15... Bxf6 16. Ned4 Bxd4 ( 16... Nxd4 17. Bxd4 Rae8 18. Re1 $16 ) 17. Nxd4 Nxd4 18. Bxd4 $14 ) 16. Ned4 Nxd4 $8 ( 16... Bf7 $2 17. Rxc6 $1 $18 ) ( 16... Bxh3 $6 17. Rxc6 Qg4 18. Nh4 Qxh4 19. Rxf6 Bxf6 20. Nf3 Qh5 21. gxh3 $18 ) 17. Bxd4 Rf5 18. Ne5 Qc8 19. Nc6 $16 Bd6 20. Bc5 Qd7 21. Bxd6 cxd6 $6 ( 21... Qxd6 22. Nd4 Rf4 $1 ( 22... Re5 23. Rc6 Qd7 24. Re1 Rxe1+ 25. Qxe1 Bf7 26. Qe5 Re8 27. Rxc7 $16 ) 23. Nxe6 ( 23. Rc6 $6 Rxd4 $1 24. Rxd6 Rxd1 25. Rxe6 Rd2 26. Rc1 Ra7 27. Re8+ Kf7 28. Rc8 Rxb2 29. R8xc7+ Rxc7 30. Rxc7+ Kf6 31. Rc6+ Ke5 32. Rxa6 d4 $13 ) ( 23. Qd2 $5 Bd7 24. b4 ) 23... Qxe6 24. Rxc7 $16 ) 22. Nd4 Re5 23. Rc3 b4 24. Rg3 a5 25. Kh2 ( 25. f4 $6 Re4 26. f5 ( 26. Nf5 $6 g6 27. Ne3 d4 28. Nc2 Qa7 $132 ) 26... Qa7 $1 ) 25... Bf7 26. Nf3 Rf5 27. Qd4 $1 g6 28. Qd2 Re8 29. Nd4 Rfe5 30. f4 Re4 31. f5 $40 Kh8 32. Qh6 $1 $18 Qe7 ( 32... Rxd4 33. fxg6 Bxg6 34. Rf8+ Rxf8 35. Qxf8# ) 33. Nf3 ( 33. fxg6 Bxg6 34. Rxg6 Rxd4 $1 ( 34... Rh4 $2 35. Re1 $3 $18 ) 35. Rgf6 Rg8 36. Rf7 Rh4 $1 $16 ) ( 33. f6 $5 Qf8 34. Qd2 ) 33... Qf8 34. Qg5 ( 34. Ng5 $5 Qxh6 35. Nxf7+ Kg7 36. Nxh6 Kxh6 37. fxg6 hxg6 38. Rf6 Rg8 39. Rxd6 Re2 40. Rxd5 Rxb2 41. Rxa5 $18 ) 34... Qg7 35. f6 Qf8 36. Rc1 h6 37. Qd2 g5 ( 37... Re2 38. Qd4 R2e4 39. Qb6 Rf4 40. Qxa5 Rxf6 41. Qxb4 $18 ) 38. Rc7 Re2 ( 38... Rf4 39. h4 $1 gxh4 40. Rg7 Rxf6 41. Rcxf7 $1 ) 39. Qc1 R2e6 $138 40. h4 Rxf6 41. hxg5 Rg6 42. Qf4 Be6 43. Nh4 $1 Rg7 44. Qd4 Kh7 ( 44... Kg8 45. gxh6 Rxg3 46. h7# ) 45. Qd3+ ( 45. Qd3+ Kg8 46. gxh6 Rxg3 47. Qh7# ) 1-0
[Event "Match"]
[Site "Donetsk"]
[Date "2001.01.18"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Ponomariov R., UKR."]
[Black "Korchnoi V., SUI."]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "IM E.Miroshnichenko, IM O.Berezin"]
[BlackElo "2639"]
[ECO "C80"]
[EventDate "2001.01.16"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]
[WhiteElo "2677"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Be3 { "Something new?" } 9... Nc5 $5 { ''Of course !'' } 10. Nc3 $5 Nxb3 11. cxb3 $1 Be7 ( 11... Nb8 $5 ) 12. Rc1 Qd7 ( 12... O-O $5 13. Nxb5 axb5 14. Rxc6 Rxa2 15. Qb1 Ra8 16. Rfc1 Rc8 17. Qc2 ) 13. h3 $1 ( 13. Ne2 Rc8 14. Nf4 O-O 15. Bc5 Rfd8 16. Bxe7 Nxe7 17. Qd4 Bg4 18. Ne1 ( 18. Nd2 c5 $1 19. Rxc5 Rxc5 20. Qxc5 g5 21. h3 gxf4 22. hxg4 Ng6 ) 18... c5 $3 19. Rxc5 Nf5 20. Qc3 d4 { Smagin-Mikhalchishin,Moskva 1989. } ) 13... O-O 14. Ne2 f6 $6 $146 ( 14... Rfc8 15. Nf4 a5 16. a3 Nd8 17. Nd3 Bf5 18. Nc5 Bxc5 19. Bxc5 Ne6 20. Nd4 { Groszpeter-Brunner,Biel 1990. } ) 15. exf6 Rxf6 16. Ned4 Nxd4 ( 16... Bf7 $2 17. Rxc6 $1 $18 ) 17. Bxd4 Rf5 18. Ne5 Qc8 19. Nc6 $16 { Now White has a clear advantage, but accurasy is always necessary... } 19... Bd6 20. Bc5 Qd7 21. Bxd6 cxd6 $6 ( 21... Qxd6 22. Nd4 Re5 23. Rc6 Qd7 24. Re1 Rxe1+ 25. Qxe1 Bf7 26. Qe5 Re8 27. Rxc7 $16 ) 22. Nd4 Re5 23. Rc3 b4 24. Rg3 a5 25. Kh2 ( 25. f4 $6 Re4 26. f5 ( 26. Nf5 $6 g6 27. Ne3 d4 28. Nc2 Qa7 ) 26... Qa7 $1 ) 25... Bf7 26. Nf3 Rf5 27. Qd4 $1 { White at last reminds Black of his main weakness - his kingside. } 27... g6 28. Qd2 Re8 29. Nd4 Rfe5 30. f4 Re4 31. f5 Kh8 32. Qh6 $1 $18 { Now it's all over. } 32... Qe7 ( 32... Rxd4 33. fxg6 Bxg6 34. Rf8+ Rxf8 35. Qxf8# ) 33. Nf3 ( 33. fxg6 Bxg6 34. Rxg6 Rxd4 $1 ( 34... Rh4 $2 35. Re1 $3 $18 ) 35. Rgf6 Rg8 36. Rf7 Rh4 $1 $16 ) 33... Qf8 34. Qg5 ( 34. Ng5 Qxh6 35. Nxf7+ Kg7 36. Nxh6 Kxh6 37. fxg6 hxg6 38. Rf6 Rg8 39. Rxd6 Re2 40. Rxd5 Rxb2 41. Rxa5 $18 ) 34... Qg7 35. f6 Qf8 36. Rc1 h6 37. Qd2 g5 ( 37... Re2 38. Qd4 R2e4 39. Qb6 Rf4 40. Qxa5 Rxf6 41. Qxb4 $18 ) 38. Rc7 Re2 ( 38... Rf4 39. h4 $1 gxh4 40. Rg7 Rxf6 41. Rcxf7 $1 ) 39. Qc1 R2e6 40. h4 Rxf6 41. hxg5 Rg6 42. Qf4 Be6 43. Nh4 $1 Rg7 44. Qd4 Kh7 ( 44... Kg8 45. gxh6 Rxg3 46. h7# ) 45. Qd3+ { Black resigned, since he is mated after 45. ...Kg8 46.gh Rg3 47.Qh7#. } 1-0
[Event "Match"]
[Site "Donetsk"]
[Date "2001.01.19"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Korchnoi V., SUI."]
[Black "Ponomariov R., UKR."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "IM E.Miroshnichenko, IM O.Berezin"]
[BlackElo "2677"]
[ECO "D20"]
[EventDate "2001.01.16"]
[PlyCount "24"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]
[WhiteElo "2639"]

{ Both players wants to have a rest, so they played without energy. } 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. Nf3 exd4 5. Bxc4 Nc6 6. O-O Be6 7. Bb5 Bc5 8. Qc2 ( 8. b4 $5 Bb6 9. Bb2 Ne7 ( 9... Qd6 $6 10. a4 $1 Ne7 11. a5 Qxb4 12. Qe2 d3 13. Bxd3 Nd4 $2 14. Bxd4 Bxd4 15. Ra4 $1 $18 { Yuferov - Ibragimov, St.Petersburg,1996. } ) 10. Bxd4 O-O 11. Bc5 Bxc5 12. bxc5 a6 13. Bxc6 Nxc6 14. Nc3 Qe7 15. Nd5 Qxc5 16. Nxc7 Rad8 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Qb3 $14 { Beliavsky - Sherbakov, Niksic,1996 } ) 8... Bb6 9. Bxc6+ bxc6 10. Qxc6+ Bd7 11. Qc4 Be6 ( 11... c5 12. Na3 Ne7 13. Bd2 O-O 14. Rfe1 Rc8 15. b3 $11 { Andersen - Rasmussen, Copenhagen, 2000. } ) 12. Qc6+ Bd7 { time white 0.24 black 0.07 } 1/2-1/2
[Event "Match"]
[Site "Donetsk"]
[Date "2001.01.20"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Ponomariov R., UKR."]
[Black "Korchnoi V., SUI."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "IM E.Miroshnichenko, IM O.Berezin"]
[BlackElo "2639"]
[ECO "B45"]
[EventDate "2001.01.16"]
[PlyCount "126"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]
[WhiteElo "2677"]

1. e4 c5 { This came as a surprise. } 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Ndb5 Bb4 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Nxc3 d5 9. Bd3 $5 ( { The main line is } 9. exd5 exd5 10. Bd3 O-O 11. O-O d4 12. Ne4 Bf5 13. Bg5 Bxe4 14. Bxe4 h6 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. Re1 Rac8 $11 { Leko - Kramnik, 2001, match(12). } ) 9... d4 ( 9... Ne5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Bxd7+ Qxd7 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. Bf4 Qf5 15. Qd4 Nc6 16. Qe3+ Qe6 17. O-O-O O-O 18. Rhe1 Qf5 $11 { de Firmian-Khmelnitsky USA 1996. } ) 10. Ne2 e5 11. O-O O-O 12. h3 ( 12. Ng3 Ne7 13. Bg5 Qb6 14. Nh5 Nxh5 15. Qxh5 Ng6 16. Bd2 Bd7 { `White is slightly better.(Filipenko - Nikolaisen, Berlin 1997.) } ) 12... Re8 13. Ng3 Nd7 14. f4 $5 exf4 15. Bxf4 Nde5 16. Qh5 $5 ( 16. Qd2 Qh4 $1 $13 ) ( 16. Nh5 $5 Qh4 17. Bg3 Qg5 18. Bf4 $11 ) 16... f6 { Third time with
black pieces Korchnoi played  f7-f6, but now this move is absolutely correct. } 17. b4 $6 ( 17. Rf2 Be6 18. Raf1 Bf7 19. Qd1 $13 ) 17... Be6 $6 ( 17... a5 $5 18. b5 Nxd3 19. cxd3 Ne5 20. Qe2 a4 $13 ) ( 17... a6 $5 ) 18. b5 Bf7 19. Qe2 Na5 $6 { (x Na5) } ( 19... Nxd3 20. cxd3 Ne5 $15 ) 20. Nf5 Bg6 ( 20... Nac4 $5 21. Qf2 Qb6 $13 ) 21. Nh4 Rc8 22. Bxe5 Rxe5 ( 22... fxe5 $5 23. Nxg6 hxg6 24. Qg4 Qd6 25. Rf2 Nc4 $6 ( 25... Rf8 $1 26. Raf1 Rxf2 27. Rxf2 Rf8 28. Rxf8+ Kxf8 29. Qc8+ Ke7 $11 ) 26. Bxc4+ Rxc4 27. Raf1 $14 Rc7 28. Rf6 $1 ) 23. Nf3 $1 { Breaking the blockade White have good chances to attack Black's kingside. } 23... Re7 24. Rae1 $14 Rc3 25. e5 { Critical position. } 25... Bxd3 26. cxd3 Nb3 $8 ( 26... Qd5 27. Qf2 Rxd3 $2 28. exf6 $18 ) 27. Qa2 $5 Kh8 $8 ( 27... Rxd3 $2 28. Rd1 $1 $18 ) 28. exf6 gxf6 29. Nh4 Qe8 $1 { Probably the best. } ( 29... Rxd3 30. Nf5 Rxe1 31. Rxe1 Qg8 32. Qf2 Rd2 33. Qf3 $18 { Threating 34.Nh6 and 35.Re8! +- } ) 30. Qf2 Rxe1 31. Rxe1 ( 31. Qxf6+ Kg8 32. Qg5+ Kh8 33. Qf6+ Kg8 34. Nf5 Rxf1+ 35. Kxf1 Rc1+ 36. Kf2 Rc2+ 37. Kg1 Qe1+ 38. Kh2 Rxg2+ 39. Kxg2 Qe2+ 40. Kg3 Qxd3+ 41. Kf4 Qf1+ $11 ) 31... Qxe1+ $1 32. Qxe1 Rc1 33. Kf2 Rxe1 34. Kxe1 $14 a5 $1 { After this move Black have a good draw chances. } 35. bxa6 bxa6 36. Ke2 a5 37. Nf5 a4 38. Kf3 ( 38. Nd6 Nc1+ 39. Kd2 Nb3+ $11 ) 38... Nd2+ 39. Kf4 Nb1 40. Ke4 Nxa3 41. Kxd4 Kg8 42. Ne3 $1 Nb5+ $8 43. Kc4 Nc7 44. Kb4 Ne6 45. Nc2 $5 Kf7 $1 46. Ne1 Kg6 47. Kxa4 Kf5 48. Kb5 Kf4 49. Kc6 Kg3 50. Kd5 Ng7 $1 $11 { The rest of the game wasn't necessarily. } 51. Kd6 Kf2 52. Ke7 Kxe1 53. Kxf6 Ne8+ 54. Kf7 Nc7 55. g4 Kf2 56. Kg7 Kg3 57. Kxh7 Kxh3 58. g5 Ne6 59. g6 Kg4 60. d4 Kf5 61. Kh6 Ke4 62. g7 Nxg7 63. Kxg7 Kxd4 { So, there are no chances to win for both players. } 1/2-1/2
[Event "Match"]
[Site "Donetsk"]
[Date "2001.01.21"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Korchnoi V., SUI."]
[Black "Ponomariov R., UKR."]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "IM E.Miroshnichenko, IM O.Berezin"]
[BlackElo "2677"]
[ECO "A07"]
[EventDate "2001.01.16"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]
[WhiteElo "2639"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 4. O-O Bg4 5. d3 Nbd7 6. Bf4 Nh5 7. Bc1 Nhf6 8. h3 { (?!) } ( 8. Bf4 $5 { Draw, why not? } ) 8... Bh5 9. Bf4 e6 10. c4 Be7 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. Nc3 O-O 13. g4 ( 13. Rc1 a6 14. Na4 Ne8 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. Bxe5 $11 { Dizdarevic - Almasi Z., Pula 1996. } ) 13... Bg6 14. Nh4 $4 { A horrible mistake, but Korchnoi was not the only one.(!) } 14... Nxg4 $1 ( 14... Rc8 $2 { Hersvik - Sorensen, Bergen 2000. } ) 15. Nxg6 fxg6 16. e3 Ngf6 17. Nb5 Qa5 18. a4 a6 $6 ( 18... Rac8 $17 ) 19. b4 $1 { Trying to create something. } 19... Bxb4 $8 20. Bc7 b6 21. Nd4 Bc3 22. Rb1 Bxd4 23. exd4 Qc3 $6 ( 23... Rfc8 $1 24. Bd6 Qc3 25. Qe2 Qxd4 26. Rb4 Qc3 27. Qxe6+ Kh8 28. Bxd5 Re8 29. Qf7 Rf8 $19 ) 24. Bxb6 Nxb6 25. Rxb6 Qxd4 26. Rxe6 a5 27. Qa1 $1 Qxd3 28. Rd1 Qf5 29. Re5 ( 29. Rxf6 $5 gxf6 30. Bxd5+ Kg7 31. Bxa8 Rxa8 32. Qa3 $17 ) 29... Qc2 $1 ( 29... Qf4 30. Qd4 Qxd4 31. Rxd4 { with some draw chances. } ) 30. Re7 Kh8 31. Rxd5 Rab8 32. Rb5 $8 Rbd8 33. Bf3 Rd3 34. Re3 Rxe3 35. fxe3 h5 $5 36. Rxa5 $4 ( { Loosing by force a chance to keep fighting for a draw after } 36. Qd1 Qc3 37. Rb3 Qe5 38. Bg2 $17 ) ( 36. Qd4 $2 Ng4 37. Qb2 Qxb2 38. Rxb2 Rxf3 39. hxg4 Rg3+ $19 ) 36... Ng4 $1 { At the same square! White resigns. (time white 1,54; black 1,40). } 0-1
[Event "Match"]
[Site "Donetsk"]
[Date "2001.01.23"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Korchnoi V., SUI."]
[Black "Ponomariov R., UKR."]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "IM E.Miroshnichenko, IM O.Berezin"]
[BlackElo "2677"]
[ECO "A33"]
[EventDate "2001.01.16"]
[PlyCount "131"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]
[WhiteElo "2639"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6 6. a3 Be7 7. e4 O-O 8. Nf3 Qc7 $5 { N } ( 8... b6 9. Be2 ) ( 8... d6 9. Be2 b6 10. O-O Bb7 11. Bf4 Rc8 12. Re1 a6 13. Bf1 Qc7 14. b4 Rfd8 $6 ( 14... Ne5 $5 { Korchnoi-Ponomariov, m/2 } ) ) 9. Bg5 b6 10. Bd3 $5 { the psycological victory.This position was analysed
by Ponomariov's team only after 10.Be2 } 10... h6 11. Bh4 Nh5 12. Bxe7 Nxe7 13. O-O Ba6 14. Rc1 Nf4 15. Nb5 Bxb5 $6 16. cxb5 $14 Qd6 17. Bb1 Qxd1 18. Rcxd1 d5 19. e5 g5 $6 20. Rfe1 Rac8 21. h4 g4 22. Nh2 h5 23. f3 g3 24. Nf1 Neg6 25. Rd4 Rc4 $6 ( 25... Rc1 $1 26. Rxc1 Ne2+ 27. Kh1 Nxd4 28. Nxg3 Nxe5 29. a4 $14 ) 26. Rxc4 dxc4 27. Bxg6 fxg6 28. Nxg3 Nd3 29. Re2 Rd8 30. Ne4 Nxe5 31. Ng5 Rd5 32. a4 Kg7 33. Nxe6+ Kf6 34. Ng5 $16 Kf5 35. Ne4 Rd3 36. Nc3 Rd4 37. Ne4 Rd3 38. Kh2 Rb3 39. Nd6+ Kf6 40. Ne8+ Kf5 41. Nd6+ Kf6 42. Kg3 Rb4 43. Re4 Ke6 44. Nc8 $1 Kf6 45. Nxa7 Rxa4 46. Nc6 Nd3 ( 46... Nxc6 47. bxc6 b5 48. Rd4 $1 ( 48. b3 $2 Ra6 49. bxc4 b4 $1 50. c5 Rxc6 51. Rxb4 Rxc5 52. Kf4 Rc6 $11 ) 48... Ra8 49. Kf4 $18 ) 47. Ne7 $1 Nxb2 48. Nd5+ Kf7 49. Re7+ Kf8 50. Rb7 Nd1 51. Rxb6 $18 c3 52. Rc6 Ra5 53. b6 Rb5 54. Rc7 Rxd5 55. b7 Rb5 56. Rc8+ Kf7 57. b8=Q Rxb8 58. Rxb8 c2 59. Rc8 Ne3 60. Kf2 Nf5 61. g3 Nd4 62. g4 Ke6 63. Ke3 Kd5 64. Rc3 g5 65. hxg5 hxg4 66. fxg4 1-0
[Event "Cup Rector"]
[Site "Kharkov"]
[Date "2001.04.20"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Ruslan Ponomariov"]
[BlackElo "2558"]
[ECO "B33"]
[EventDate "2001.04.18"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]
[WhiteElo "2673"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nge2 Nf6 ( 3... Nd4 $6 4. d3 g6 5. Nxd4 cxd4 6. Ne2 Bg7 7. c3 dxc3 8. Nxc3 d6 9. d4 Nf6 10. Be2 O-O 11. O-O e5 12. Be3 Bd7 13. Rc1 exd4 14. Bxd4 Bc6 15. b4 $1 $16 { Ponomariov-Moiseenko, Kharkov 2001 } ) 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5 f5 11. c3 Bg7 12. exf5 Bxf5 13. Nc2 O-O 14. Nce3 Be6 15. Bd3 f5 16. Qh5 e4 17. Bc2 Ne7 18. Rd1 Ng6 19. f4 exf3 20. gxf3 Qd7 $5 ( 20... f4 $2 21. Nf5 Bxf5 22. Bxf5 Re8+ 23. Kf2 Re5 24. Rhe1 Qh4+ 25. Qxh4 Nxh4 26. Rxe5 Bxe5 27. Rg1+ Kh8 28. Be4 Rf8 29. Rg5 $1 $18 { Ponomariov-Mikhaletz, Donetsk 1998 } ) 21. O-O $1 ( 21. f4 $2 Qa7 $1 22. Kd2 b4 $1 $36 ) 21... Qf7 $146 ( 21... Rae8 22. Kh1 f4 23. Ng2 Bh3 24. Rfe1 Bxg2+ $6 25. Kxg2 Rxe1 26. Rxe1 Re8 27. Rxe8+ Qxe8 28. Kf2 $16 { Kudrin-Rikardi, Mendoza 1985 } ) 22. f4 Rac8 23. Rf3 $1 $40 Rc5 24. Rh3 h6 ( 24... Bh8 25. Nxf5 $18 ) 25. Rg3 Kh7 ( 25... Bxd5 26. Nxd5 Rxd5 27. Rxd5 Qa7+ 28. Kf1 Nxf4 29. Qxh6 Nxd5 30. Bb3 $18 ) 26. b4 ( 26. Rg5 $6 Ne7 27. Nxe7 Qxe7 28. Rxd6 Kh8 $13 ) 26... Rcc8 27. Rd2 $1 Bxd5 ( 27... Qe8 28. Re2 $18 ) ( 27... Bxc3 28. Rdg2 Rg8 29. Nxf5 Bxf5 30. Qxf5 Bd4+ 31. Kf1 Qxf5 32. Bxf5 Rc1+ 33. Ke2 Re8+ 34. Kd2 Ree1 35. Rxg6 Rcd1+ 36. Kc2 Rc1+ 37. Kb3 Rb1+ 38. Ka3 $18 ) 28. Bxf5 Kh8 29. Rxg6 Qa7 30. Rxh6+ Bxh6 31. Qxh6+ Kg8 32. Be6+ { 0.44-1.18 } 1-0
[Event "Cup Rector"]
[Site "Kharkov"]
[Date "2001.04.23"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Zubarev, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Ruslan Ponomariov"]
[BlackElo "2460"]
[ECO "B32"]
[EventDate "2001.04.18"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]
[WhiteElo "2673"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Be7 7. b3 f5 $5 8. exf5 ( 8. Nd2 $6 Nf6 9. Bd3 f4 10. Bb2 O-O $13 11. c5 $2 dxc5 12. Nf3 Kh8 13. Bc4 Qxd1+ 14. Rxd1 Bg4 15. Nc7 Rac8 16. Ne6 b5 $1 $19 { Ponomariov-Degraeve, Belfort 1998 } ) ( 8. Ba3 $5 Nf6 9. N1c3 Qa5 $1 10. Qd2 O-O 11. Nd5 Qxd2+ 12. Kxd2 Rd8 13. Nxe7+ $13 { -  Anand-Tregubov, Shenyang 2000 } ) 8... Nf6 ( 8... Bxf5 9. Bd3 $1 e4 ( 9... Be6 $5 ) 10. Be2 Bf6 $2 11. Nxd6+ Kf8 12. Ba3 Nge7 13. Nd2 Qa5 14. Nxf5 Qxa3 15. Ng3 Bxa1 16. Qxa1 Rd8 17. Ngxe4 Nd4 18. Bd1 Nef5 19. O-O $16 { Volokitin-Poluliakhov, Cappelle la Grande 2001 } ) 9. Bd3 e4 10. Be2 Bxf5 11. O-O a6 12. Nd4 Nxd4 13. Qxd4 O-O 14. Nc3 $16 Qe8 15. Bf4 Rd8 16. Rad1 Kh8 17. f3 Qg6 18. fxe4 Nxe4 19. Nd5 Bh3 $4 ( 19... Bh4 20. Bd3 Rde8 21. Ne3 Bc8 22. Bb1 $16 ) 20. Bf3 Ng5 21. Qd2 $1 $18 Nxf3+ 22. Rxf3 Bg4 23. Nxe7 Qh5 24. Rdf1 Bxf3 25. Rxf3 Rde8 $6 26. Rh3 $1 Qg4 27. Qd3 h5 28. Ng6+ Kg8 29. Nxf8 { 1.05-1.20 } 1-0
[Event "Cup Rector"]
[Site "Kharkov"]
[Date "2001.04.25"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Turov, Maxim"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Ruslan Ponomariov"]
[BlackElo "2553"]
[ECO "C42"]
[EventDate "2001.04.18"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]
[WhiteElo "2673"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Bg4 8. c4 Nf6 9. Nc3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 Nxd4 11. Qh3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Be7 13. Bg5 Qc8 $1 ( 13... O-O 14. Rad1 c5 15. Rfe1 h6 16. Bxh6 gxh6 17. Qxh6 $36 { Kupreichik-Yusupov, 1987 } ) 14. Qd3 Ne6 15. Bxe6 fxe6 16. Rfe1 ( 16. Qc4 $5 Qd7 17. Rad1 Qc6 18. Qxc6+ bxc6 19. Rfe1 Rd8 20. Rxd8+ Kxd8 21. Rxe6 Kd7 22. Re2 Rb8 $14 ) 16... Qd7 $1 ( 16... O-O 17. Qc4 $36 ) 17. Qc4 O-O-O 18. Rxe6 Nd5 19. Bxe7 ( 19. Re5 Nb6 $1 ) 19... Qxe6 20. Bxd8 Rxd8 21. g3 $5 $146 ( 21. Rd1 Nf4 $5 ( 21... c6 22. Nxd5 ( 22. g3 ) 22... b5 $1 23. Qb4 Rxd5 24. Qf8+ Kb7 25. Qxg7+ Kb6 26. Rc1 Qe2 $44 ) 22. Rxd8+ Kxd8 23. Qd4+ Qd6 24. Qxg7 Ne2+ 25. Kf1 Nxc3 26. Qxc3 Qxh2 $11 ) 21... c6 ( 21... Qf5 $5 22. Qc5 b6 23. Qb5 Kb7 24. Rd1 c6 25. Qc4 $14 ) 22. Rd1 g5 $1 ( 22... Rd7 $2 23. Nxd5 Rxd5 24. Rxd5 Qxd5 25. Qxd5 cxd5 26. f4 Kd7 27. Kf2 Ke6 28. Ke3 Kf5 29. h3 $18 ) 23. h4 gxh4 24. Qxh4 h6 25. Kg2 $6 ( 25. Qe4 Qxe4 26. Nxe4 $14 { Ph6 } ) 25... Ne3+ $2 ( 25... Rd7 $11 26. Qh3 Qxh3+ 27. Kxh3 Nxc3 28. Rxd7 Kxd7 29. bxc3 c5 30. Kg4 b5 31. Kf5 a5 ) 26. fxe3 Rxd1 27. Nxd1 Qd5+ 28. Kh2 Qxd1 29. Qxh6 Qc2+ 30. Kh3 Qxb2 31. Qe6+ Kc7 32. g4 $16 Qe2 33. e4 c5 34. e5 c4 35. Qd6+ Kc8 36. Kh4 Qd3 37. Qe6+ Kd8 38. Qg8+ Ke7 39. Qg7+ Ke6 40. Qf6+ Kd5 41. Qd6+ Ke4 42. Qxd3+ Kxd3 43. e6 c3 44. e7 c2 45. e8=Q c1=Q 46. Qd7+ Ke2 47. g5 Qh1+ 48. Qh3 Qd5 49. Qg4+ Kf2 50. Qf4+ Ke1 51. g6 Qxa2 $6 52. g7 Qg8 53. Qf8 $1 $18 Qc4+ 54. Kg5 Qd5+ 55. Kf6 Qc6+ 56. Ke7 Qc7+ 57. Ke6 Qc6+ 58. Qd6 Qc4+ 59. Kd7 Qa4+ 60. Kd8 Qb3 61. Qf8 1-0
[Event "Cup Rector"]
[Site "Ukraine Kharkov"]
[Date "2001.04.22"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Pelletier, Yannick"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Barsky, V."]
[BlackElo "2531"]
[ECO "B80"]
[EventDate "2001.04.18"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[SourceDate "2001.05.12"]
[WhiteElo "2673"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 { The Najdorf Sicilian has been the main opening of choice for decades. } 6. Be3 { According to statistics this is the 3rd most often move played. } ( 6. Bg5 { and } ) ( 6. Be2 ) 6... e6 7. f3 b5 8. g4 Nfd7 { Kasparov played this variation
twice in Cannes and it has became popular. The idea behind the move is to
start counter-play on the Queenside (where White will be castling) immediately.
Of course it's a bit slow,  but how does one exploit it? } 9. Qd2 Nb6 10. O-O-O N8d7 11. Nb3 $5 { It's a novelty. The Guests of Cannes played 
As I understand, Ponomarev's idea is to prevent the Knight's maneuvre,
Nd7-c5-a4 etc. } ( 11. Qf2 { for example: } 11... Bb7 12. Bd3 Rc8 13. Nce2 Nc5 14. Kb1 Nba4 15. h4 ( 15. b3 Nxd3 16. cxd3 Nc5 17. Ng3 Be7 18. Qb2 b4 { Polgar - Kasparov } ) 15... Qc7 16. Rhe1 d5 { Grischuk - Kasparov. Ex-champion won both games. } ) 11... b4 12. Nb1 ( { Forced. The Bishop on e3 is too important: } 12. Ne2 $2 Nc4 ) 12... a5 ( { After } 12... Be7 13. Qxb4 d5 14. Qa5 Bb7 { Black hasn't enough compensation for the pawn. But now White has a big
advantage in development. } ) 13. Bg5 $1 f6 ( { I suspect in case of } 13... Qc7 { Black didn't like something like } 14. Nd4 $5 d5 $5 15. Nb5 Qb8 16. Bf4 e5 17. exd5 exf4 18. d6 { with very strong attact. Nevertheless Ruslan Ponomarev played... } ) 14. Nd4 $1 Ne5 ( { Dubious was } 14... fxg5 $6 15. Nxe6 Qf6 16. Nc7+ Kd8 17. Nxa8 Nxa8 ) 15. Bb5+ Kf7 16. Bh4 Qc7 17. f4 Nec4 18. Qe2 { Now Black has big problems
with his development. Pelletier decides to go into complications, but... } 18... e5 $5 19. Nf5 exf4 20. g5 $1 { In this game Ruslan playes like a boy of his age
(usually 17-year old Ponomarev prefers long endgames etc.)! } 20... Ne5 21. gxf6 g6 22. Nd2 $5 a4 ( { Black believed his opponent. After } 22... gxf5 23. Qh5+ Ng6 24. Bd3 $5 { White has a strong initiative even though Black's a piece up... } ) 23. Kb1 { Ponomarev's style is very often compared with Karpov's play. Last move is
typical for Karpov too - quite prophylactic in such a sharpposition! } 23... a3 24. Nf3 Nxf3 25. Qxf3 axb2 26. Rxd6 $1 { A bolt from the blue! } 26... Qxd6 $6 { A very sad decision. Of course after } ( 26... Bxd6 { White has a lot of interesting attacking possibilities, for example, } 27. Qb3+ Kf8 ( 27... Be6 28. Nh6+ Kf8 29. Qxe6 $40 ) 28. Bg5 h6 ( 28... Bd7 29. Bh6+ Ke8 30. f7+ Kd8 31. Qxb2 Be5 32. Qxb4 ) 29. Bxh6+ Rxh6 30. Nxh6 { but play would
have been much sharper than  in the game. Now all is quite simple. } ) 27. Nxd6+ Bxd6 28. e5 $1 Be6 ( { Or } 28... Bxe5 29. Qe4 Bd6 30. Qc6 $18 ) 29. Qb7+ Nd7 30. Bc4 { A very interesting and important game for theory. } 1-0
[Event "European Club Cup"]
[Site "Panormo"]
[Date "2001.09.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Savchenko, S."]
[Black "Santos Carlos, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Stanislav Savchenko"]
[ECO "E97"]
[EventDate "2001.09.??"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[Source "Mikhail Golubev"]
[SourceDate "2001.02.24"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. b4 Nh5 10. Re1 Kh8 11. Nd2 Nf4 12. Bf1 Ng8 ( 12... f5 13. g3 Nh5 14. exf5 Nxf5 15. g4 $5 ( 15. Nde4 $14 ) 15... Nh6 16. gxh5 Qg5+ 17. Kh1 Ng4 18. Re2 $16 ) 13. c5 Qg5 14. Kh1 ( 14. g3 Nh3+ 15. Kg2 Nf4+ 16. Kh1 Nh3 $13 ) 14... Nf6 15. f3 ( 15. Nf3 Qh5 16. Nb5 Ng4 17. Kg1 f5 $13 ) 15... N6h5 16. Nc4 Qh4 17. Kg1 ( 17. cxd6 $5 $14 ) ( 17. Be3 $14 ) 17... g5 ( 17... Qg5 18. Qc2 ) 18. Be3 g4 19. fxg4 $2 ( 19. g3 $1 Nh3+ ( 19... Nxg3 20. Bf2 $16 ) ( 19... Qg5 20. Kh1 gxf3 21. Qxf3 Bg4 22. Qf2 $16 ) 20. Kg2 gxf3+ 21. Qxf3 N5f4+ 22. Bxf4 $8 Nxf4+ 23. gxf4 exf4 24. Be2 $16 ) 19... Bxg4 20. Qc2 Rg8 21. Qf2 Qe7 22. Kh1 Bf6 23. g3 Rg7 $6 ( 23... Nh3 $1 24. Bxh3 Bxh3 25. cxd6 cxd6 26. Nb5 a6 27. Nbxd6 b5 28. Nxe5 $3 Raf8 29. Ndxf7+ Rxf7 30. Nxf7+ Qxf7 31. Bd4 $14 ) ( 23... Rg6 24. cxd6 cxd6 25. Nb5 ) 24. cxd6 cxd6 25. Nb5 Rag8 ( 25... a6 26. Nbxd6 b5 27. Bc5 $1 bxc4 28. Nf5 Qd8 29. Nxg7 Nxg7 30. gxf4 Bh4 31. Qe3 Bxe1 32. Rxe1 $18 ) 26. Nbxd6 Bh4 ( 26... b5 27. Nxb5 ) 27. gxh4 b5 ( 27... Qxh4 28. Nxe5 $18 ) 28. Nxb5 Qxh4 ( 28... Nh3 29. Bxh3 Bxh3 30. Rg1 Bg2+ 31. Rxg2 Rxg2 32. Qxg2 Rxg2 33. Kxg2 Qxh4 34. Nbd6 Qg4+ 35. Kf2 Nf4 36. Bxf4 Qxf4+ 37. Ke2 $18 ) 29. Nxe5 Qf6 $138 ( 29... Bf3+ 30. Nxf3 Rg1+ 31. Qxg1 Rxg1+ 32. Kxg1 Qg4+ 33. Kf2 $18 ) 30. Nxg4 Rxg4 1-0
[Event "Governor's Cup-2"]
[Site "Kramatorsk"]
[Date "2001.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Efimenko, Zahar"]
[Black "Kupreichik, Viktor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "V.Barsky (www.chesstoday.net)"]
[BlackElo "2453"]
[ECO "B67"]
[EventDate "2001.11.??"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[WhiteElo "2523"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Bd7 9. f4 b5 { One of the main positions of Sicilian Rauzer. } 10. Bxf6 gxf6 ( { Viktor Kupreichik himself was proving many years ago, that taking
on f6 by queen is too risky: } 10... Qxf6 11. e5 ( 11. Bxb5 $5 ) 11... dxe5 12. Ndxb5 Qd8 13. Nd6+ Bxd6 14. Qxd6 exf4 15. Ne4 ( 15. Bxa6 $5 Rxa6 16. Nb5 Ra7 17. Nxa7 Nxa7 18. Rd2 Nc8 19. Qxf4 O-O 20. Rhd1 $36 { Diaz Augusto - Radulov, Cuba 1980 } ) 15... Ne7 16. Bc4 Rc8 17. Bb3 Nf5 18. Qxf4 Qc7 19. Qg4 $36 { Kupreichik - Popov, URS 1974. } ) 11. Kb1 Qb6 12. Nxc6 Bxc6 13. Qe1 Be7 ( 13... b4 $2 14. Nd5 $1 ) 14. Bd3 Qc5 { In exchange for double
f-pawns black has two bishops and very solid pawn bastions in the centre. } 15. Qg3 $5 { Rare move, more often white plays } ( 15. f5 { , but without great success, for example: } 15... h5 16. Qh4 b4 17. Ne2 e5 18. b3 a5 19. Bc4 Rc8 $132 { Sedlak - Acs, Greece 2001. } ) 15... O-O-O { It's a novelty: black doesn't worry about his king-side. The previous game runs } ( 15... Kf8 16. f5 b4 17. Ne2 e5 { It's a typical method: black plays
e6-e5 only when white's knight can't jump to d5. } 18. Qf3 a5 19. b3 a4 20. Bc4 h5 21. h4 axb3 22. Bxb3 Bd8 $13 { Popovic - Damljanovic, Yugoslavia 1989. } ) 16. Rhe1 ( 16. Qg7 Qh5 $5 ) 16... Kb8 17. f5 Rdg8 ( { After long castling black lacks standard play } 17... b4 $6 18. Ne2 e5 $2 { due to simply } 19. Bxa6 ) 18. Qh3 Qe5 { Usually in such positions (when
white hasn't a dark-square bishop and has only one knight on c3) black's queen
is placed very strongly on e5. But here there are some tactical nuances. } 19. Nd5 $1 { Here it is! } 19... Bd8 ( 19... exd5 20. exd5 Qxd5 21. Bf1 Qc5 22. Rxe7 $16 ) ( 19... Bxd5 20. exd5 Qxd5 21. fxe6 $16 ) 20. c4 $1 { Quite unexpectedly
white begins a direct attack against his opponent's king. It is interesting
that after 19.Nd5 both black's rooks and queen are cut off from the king on 
b8. } 20... Bb7 21. cxb5 exd5 22. bxa6 Ba8 23. exd5 Qxd5 24. Be4 Qxe4+ { Black has to part with a queen. In other cases white has many more forces in
attack than black in defense, i.e.: } ( 24... Qc4 25. Bxa8 Kxa8 26. Qf3+ d5 27. Rxd5 $18 ) 25. Rxe4 Bxe4+ 26. Ka1 Rxg2 27. Qb3+ Ka8 28. Qc4 ( 28. Rc1 $5 ) 28... Bf3 29. a3 { A very practical decision: now white will never be mated on the first rank. } 29... Ba5 30. Rf1 Rb8 { The f3 bishop can't leave the h1-a8 diagonal.. } 31. Rxf3 Rgxb2 32. Qd5+ Ka7 33. Qd4+ R2b6 ( { An endgame after } 33... Kxa6 34. Qxb2 $5 Rxb2 35. Kxb2 { has to be winning for white. } ) 34. Rb3 Rc8 35. Kb1 d5 36. Rxb6 Bxb6 37. Qxd5 { Black is unable to defend all his pawns so white has to win. } 37... Rc7 38. Qd3 Re7 39. Kb2 Re3 40. Qc4 Rh3 41. Qxf7+ Kxa6 42. Qxf6 Rxh2+ 43. Kb3 h5 44. a4 Rf2 45. Qe6 Ka7 46. f6 h4 47. a5 Bxa5 48. Qe5 Bb6 49. Qe7+ Ka6 50. f7 Rf3+ 51. Kc2 1-0