[Event "GMA, Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2003.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Shirov,A"]
[Black "Bareev,E"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Hathaway"]
[BlackElo "2725"]
[ECO "C11"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[WhiteElo "2720"]

1. e4 e6 { After a loss to Kramnik in round 3, Bareev decides to play
the more solid French defense. Bareev has been one of the best French Defense proponents for many years (along with England's Nigel Short and the "Swiss" Viktor Korchnoi) . } 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 { I'm not certain why, but there seem to be fewer recent games with the Winawer Variation (3...Bb4) } 4. e5 Nfd7 { Black is cramped and Pf7 stands out as terribly weak. Black must erase White's central pawns to free his pieces. White needs to support his central dark-square control and somehow transition to an offense against Ke8. This usually involves f2-f4-f5xe6, somewhat as White plays against a Caro-Kann in the Advance Variation. } 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 { This is the most common move, though other variations have been used. } ( 7. Ne2 { intending c2-c3 and perhaps then g2-g4, Ne2-g3, f4-f5 } ) 7... cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5 { Black is fighting for control of d4, perhaps aiming to trade some pieces and in some cases hoping to get ...Nd7-c5 to challenge Bf1-d3. } 9. Qd2 { White defends Be3, prepares O-O-O and maybe considers Nd4-b5 to trade dark-square bishops and then hop Nb5-d6 to disrupt Black's position. } 9... Bxd4 ( 9... a6 ) 10. Bxd4 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Qb6 { Black hasn't eliminated White's central pawns, but the piece trades should lead to an endgame which is about equal. If White wants more he'll have to avoid the queen trade; one might argue he should have avoided those earlier trades as well. } ( 11... a6 ) 12. Qd2 { White offers Pb2 and threatens O-O-O to defend Pb2, keep the king safe and control d4 again. Black can't force more minor piece trades and he would be risking quite a lot to try ...f7-f6xe5, so he has to either capture Pb2 and try to survive the aftermath or find some other way to develop pieces before committing his king to either castled position. } 12... Qxb2 ( { various possibilities: } 12... Nc5 13. Nb5 ( 13. O-O-O Bd7 14. h4 Na4 15. Nxa4 Bxa4 16. h5 ) 13... O-O 14. O-O-O Bd7 15. Nd4 ) 13. Rb1 Qa3 14. Nb5 $1 { Sacrificing another pawn to prevent castling! } 14... Qxa2 ( 14... Qc5 15. Rb3 { threatening Rb3-c3 and Nb5-c7+ } ( 15. Nd6+ { Some players would like to eliminate Black's right to castle,  thereby knowing where Black's king will be for the near future. } ) 15... O-O 16. Rg3 { intending Bf1-d3 and possibly Qd2-e2-h5 or f4-f5 and Qd2-h6 } ) 15. Nd6+ ( 15. Nc7+ $4 Kd8 { and White is stuck; Nc7 and Rb1 are both en prise! } ) 15... Kf8 16. Rd1 Qb2 { It's not terribly appealing to move the queen again, but it probably seemed very important to prevent Qd2-b4 and there's the benefit of the immediate threat ...Nxe5 } 17. Be2 Qb6 { Again, it's not appealing to move the queen again, but it's his only good piece for the moment. One could argue that whatever short-term benefits he's gaining from these moves that it doesn't restrain White for long and that Black's other pieces need to be brought into play. I think he might want to play his queen onto the c-file to defend Bc8, so he'd be prepared to play ...a7-a5 and so on. I think it's the inconsistency of the purpose of his plans which gives White a way to causes him problems. } 18. c4 $5 { White has a significant
advantage in development . To make best use of this advantage it is very
important to open the position's files and diagonals! White threatens cxd5, but it's not clear if he still wants to find a way to castle or if he will fight with Ke1 and perhaps Rh1-f1. } 18... d4 ( 18... dxc4 19. Nxc8 Rxc8 20. Qxd7 $18 Ra8 21. Rd6 Qa5+ 22. Kf2 g6 ) 19. Bf3 $1 { preparing O-O or Ke1-f2-g3 by avoiding 19. Kf2 d3+ 
The Bishop has discovered the most active diagonal! Black's targeted Queen-side,
particularly the b7 pawn, will be an extra bonus. } 19... a5 { It's right about here that Fritz starts realizing White is still equal and should complete his development, though I still have doubts about the idea of ...f7-f6. It certainly is to be considered. } ( 19... f6 { Fritz7 } ) ( 19... Ke7 { Fritz7 } ) 20. O-O { In one move the rook is brought into alignment with Kf8; White's plan hasn't changed much from move five. } 20... d3+ 21. Kh1 Qd4 { Black knows White doesn't want a queen trade, so he offers Pd3 at that high price. White might use a rook to capture it, but if he could continue the offense without having to spend extra time on that then he'd do so. This is probably THE position which will test Shirov the most. If he can find his way through this and stay on plan then he'll be alright, if he falters he's lost. } 22. Nb5 $5 { It's hard to say whether this really works or if it's just a "try". } 22... Qc5 { I suspect this is a flinch, but one is sometimes required to make such difficult choices with a clock ticking. It's hard to criticize except it makes his earlier moves (offering a queen trade) irrelevant. } ( 22... Qxc4 23. Nd6 Qd4 24. Nxc8 ( 24. Rc1 Nb6 25. Rc3 Bd7 26. Bxb7 Rb8 27. Rxd3 $16 ) 24... Rxc8 25. Qxa5 $13 ) 23. Qxd3 $16 { Fritz7 } 23... g6 { Black has an extra pawn and he's trying to improve his king's safety & develop Rh8 at the same time. White has a couple of moves to prove his piece activity is worth as much or more than Black's Pa5. } 24. Nd6 { threatening Pb7 or perhaps to remove the defender of Nd7 } 24... Nb6 25. Rb1 Kg7 26. Rb5 Qc7 $18 { Fritz7 } 27. Qd4 { If White can squeeze Black's army back then it won't be able to support the advance of Pa5 and White would have more time to threaten at several points. At the moment Nb6 is threatened, but c4-c5 could also be used to keep the central squares in White's hands and to keep the d-file closed. Black would be foolhardy to play ...f7-f6 to try to weaken Nd6. It would only expose his king to renewed threats. } 27... Nd7 { After this Fritz7 sees ways to win material based on the threats at b7 & d7. Shirov finds another weakness to threaten too. } 28. f5 $1 $16 { Wow! It's not entirely unusual, but every time one sees a sacrifice like this it's quite surprising. If ...exf5 then e5-e6+ would be strong. If ...gxf5 then the g-file is open and Kg7 is in severe danger. Notice, too, that Black only has two pieces, aside from Kg7, developed off the back rank.
If we look at the position carefully, we discover that certain
combinational motifs are possible. These themes can be provoked by the
weakening of the dark squares near the Black king and undeveloped Queen side. } 28... gxf5 29. Nxf5+ ( 29. Bxb7 Rb8 30. Bxc8 Rhxc8 31. Nxc8 Rxc8 32. Ra1 { Fritz7 } ) 29... exf5 30. e6+ Ne5 { Black is trying to stop the attack by trading-off White's attacking pieces. } ( 30... Nf6 31. Rxf5 Qe7 32. Bd5 $18 { massively advantageous for White, Fritz7 } ) 31. Rxe5 { threat: Re5-c5+ to win Qc7 } 31... f6 32. Rxf5 { material is returned to equal and White threatens Qxf6+, mating } 32... Rf8 33. Bd5 { This simply locks out Black's Bc8, so White can attack on the f-, g- and h-files without hindrance. } ( 33. Rg5+ Kh8 34. Bxb7 Bxb7 35. Rxf6 { mating, Fritz7 } ) 33... Qe7 34. Rh5 Kh8 ( 34... Bxe6 $2 { is no better } 35. Qe4 ) ( 34... a4 35. Qh4 Rh8 36. Rxf6 { Walk right in, sit right down, make yourself at home. } 36... Qxf6 37. Rg5+ Kf8 38. Rg8+ Ke7 39. Rg7+ { wining Black's queen and probably leading to a quick mate, Fritz7 } ) 35. Be4 $18 { and White breaks through at h7! } 35... Bxe6 36. Rxh7+ Qxh7 37. Bxh7 Kxh7 38. Qe4+ { winning Be6 and bringing to a close Black's effort to keep his king safe by trading queens } 1-0