[Event "Sparkassen Gp 2"]
[Site "Dortmund GER"]
[Date "2002.07.11"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Leko, Peter"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Hathaway, Mark"]
[BlackElo "2752"]
[ECO "C42"]
[EventDate "2002.07.06"]
[WhiteElo "2717"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 { Though he has occasionally played this before it's somewhat interesting because usually plays 2...Nc6, often heading for the Marshall Gambit of the Spanish Game. } 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 Nf6 { Essentially Black says White will have an isolated queen's pawn and Black will develop easily and then attempt to exploit his pawn structure advantages  (White's disadvantages) . } ( 8... Nb4 { is the other common move } ) 9. h3 { White is anticipating having an isolated queen's pawn and wants to avoid ...Bc8-g4xf3, undermining Pd4. } ( { Interesting is } 9. c5 { to preserve his pawn strucure and to "punish" Black for not opening the position } 9... Bg4 10. Be3 ) 9... O-O ( { An alternative is } 9... dxc4 10. Bxc4 Nb4 11. Nc3 c6 ) 10. Nc3 ( 10. c5 Nb4 $2 11. Bb5 Bf5 12. Ba4 ) 10... Nb4 11. Be2 dxc4 { Finally Black feels it's safe, or necessary, to get rid of Pc4. } 12. Bxc4 c6 { After this it's clear Black's plan is to occupy square d5, trade off White's light square bishop, occupy the central files with rooks and pressure Pd4. White has used h2-h3 to prevent ...Bc8-g4xf3, but Pd4 will be a weakness for some time. White, on the other hand, has use of Pd4 and the control of e5 it provides. Black's most dangerous piece is the one which can attack Pd4, so Bc1-g5, aiming to trade for Be7, might be very good. Perhaps White should encourage Black to occupy d5 (a2-a3 Nb4-d5) with a minor piece, so the file won't be open and Pd4 might be more safe. Then White could focus on occupying and utilizing the e-file. } 13. Bg5 Nbd5 14. Re1 Be6 15. Qb3 { It doesn't seem to me the queen does well here; it competes with Bc4 for light squares. The idea is to combine pressure on d5 with the threat to Be7. If Black has to use Qd5 to defend d5 then what defends Be7. } ( 15. Bb3 ) 15... Qb6 ( { The obvious challenge } 15... b5 16. Bxd5 Nxd5 ( 16... Bxd5 $6 17. Nxd5 Nxd5 18. Bxe7 Nxe7 19. Rac1 { and both sides have pawn structure weaknesses, but White is better developed } ) 17. Bxe7 ( 17. Nxd5 $4 Bxg5 $17 ) 17... Nxe7 $13 { and Black has taken advantage of the existing alignment of Be6 with White's Qb3; also leaving Nc3, rather than trading it off, to keep the c-file closed } ) 16. Nxd5 cxd5 { Now neither side has perfect pawns, but Pd5 might possibly be the weakest. At least Black has kept the e-file closed, so Re1 isn't terribly useful  (yet) . } 17. Qxb6 { further ruining Black's pawns and giving Bc4 room to retreat to b3, continuing the threat to Pd5 } 17... axb6 18. Bb3 { The c-file is now open, but there's no way for Black to invade at c2 (Bb3 controls c2) . On the other hand, White might try to invade to c7. } 18... h6 19. Bf4 Rfc8 { Black's pieces seem to have everything covered except e5. Next he has to figure out how to exchange pieces to lead to an equal endgame. White will avoid most exchanges, but how can he make progress? I suppose f2-f4-f5 is one way of disturbing the coordination of Black's position. } 20. Ne5 g5 { This appears to be chasing Bf4 toward a less useful square, but it might also serve to prevent f2-f4-f5. Unfortunately, for Black, it also shows up later as a weak point, not easily supported by pieces. } 21. Bh2 Bb4 ( 21... Ne4 { heading to d2 to chase Bb3 off the b3-d5 diagonal } ) 22. Re2 Ne4 23. Nd3 Bf8 24. Rae1 { White has apparently decided he still has more chance for success via the e-file than anywhere else. How is he going to move Be6 off the file? } 24... Bg7 { This seems odd to me. Of course, White doesn't have time for f2-f3 because ...Bxd4 is check, giving Black time to retreat ...Ne4-f6. But, it probably leads to a trade of dark-square bishops, something Black has been avoiding. } ( 24... Nd6 { The knight might go to c4 to block Bb3 or it could go to either b5 or f5 to target Pd4. } ) 25. Be5 Bxe5 { I don't see what Black gains by this exchange. } ( { Also insufficient seems to be } 25... f6 26. Bh2 f5 27. Be5 $14 ) 26. Nxe5 Kg7 27. Nd3 Rc7 28. Nb4 Rd8 { Can't anyone see why White is continuing to try to win, isn't it obvious he has tremendous potential? How can a Grandmaster achieve victories when he begins with this kind of position? Even Fischer, known for squeezing out points from such positions, had great difficulty against the better defenders of his day, such as Petrosian. } 29. g4 ( 29. Nxd5 Bxd5 30. Bxd5 Nxf2 31. Bxb7 Nxh3+ 32. gxh3 Rxb7 $11 ) ( 29. Bxd5 Bxd5 30. Nxd5 Rxd5 31. Rxe4 Rc2 $11 ) 29... Nf6 30. Kg2 Rd6 { a slightly awkward place for the rook } ( 30... Rdc8 { might be ignoring White just a little too much } 31. Rxe6 $5 fxe6 32. Rxe6 Rc6 33. Nxc6 bxc6 $16 ) 31. f3 Bd7 ( 31... Rd8 32. Rxe6 fxe6 33. Rxe6 Rcd7 34. Rxb6 { is possibly better for White since he would have more pawns, but the same number of pieces (though one is a bishop fighting a Black rook) } ) 32. Kg3 Kf8 33. h4 { Pg5 is hard for Black to support and White can simply push through over there, aiming eventually for g4-g5 to kick Nf6 away from the defense of Pd5. I know that may seem odd, since there are pawns in the way, but if Pg5 has to give way after h3-h4xg5 and f3-f4xg5, then White will indeed be able to put a pawn at g5. } 33... Bb5 34. Re5 gxh4+ 35. Kxh4 Bc4 { In a general sense every one of Black's pawns is bad, but his pieces are wel placed to complement them. It's not so easy for White to make inroads. } 36. Bc2 { White can try to chase Bc4 by playing a2-a4 (cutting off one retreat square) and then b2-b3. Bc4 is well placed, but can be chased to a horrible a6. } 36... Bb5 $1 { If White chases it now with a2-a4 the bishop retreats on the b5-e8 diagonal and Pa4 is suddenly a target! Incidentally, Black might now threaten ...Rc7-c4, hitting Nb4 and Pd4. } 37. a3 Rd8 38. Kg3 Kg7 39. Bf5 Kf8 40. Rh1 Kg7 41. Nc2 { White is making a definite shift toward the king-side. I suppose he feels more confident of achieving something after g4-g5 and he wants to attack Black's king. Whether Black just exchanges pawns, opening the h- and g-files, or moves Nf6, there will be some room for White's pieces in that area. Black's rooks have to react somehow to oppose White's rooks. } 41... Re8 42. Ne3 Rce7 43. Kf4 Bc6 44. Bc2 Bd7 45. g5 { White's dominance of the dark squares should remind Black of why he traded dark-square bishops, weakening his control of e5. } 1-0