[Event "SuperGM"]
[Site "Linares ESP"]
[Date "2002.02.26"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Black "Kasparov, Garri"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Hathaway, Mark"]
[BlackElo "2838"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "2717"]

1. Nf3 { Ivanchuk is an enigma. He's capable of some horrificly complicated tactical melees and of some brilliancies, but he's also capable of exceedingly odd play. He usually begins with 1. e4, but will play whatever suits his needs. Here he plays 1. Nf3, it's first occurrence of the tournament, and what kind of game does he desire? Who knows, perhaps not even him. } 1... c5 { Kasparov offers a transposition to a Sicilian Defense by 2. e4. But, Kasparov can also play many kinds of openings, so this might remain a closed position. } 2. g3 { With Pc5 White won't get d2-d4 without having to consider ...cxd4. But, it could become an English Opening with c2-c4 or a King's Indian Attack with d2-d3 and e2-e4. } 2... g6 ( 2... Nc6 ) 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O { White waits to see how Black is organized before committing any pawns. But, does that gives Black time to make any White pawn move a bad one? With ...Nb8-c6 he makes d2-d4 impossible and c2-c4 weakens d4. } 4... Nc6 5. c3 { This isn't so terrific. It's an indication Ivanchuk doesn't want to play a King's Indian Attack (5. d3) , but wants to fight Kasparov's pieces head-on. However, in this opening you can't always force such things without dire consequences. Nb1 won't be able to develop to c3 and Black is probably already equal. } ( 5. d3 ) ( 5. c4 ) 5... d5 6. d4 cxd4 { In many of Kasparov's games an exposed Pc4, or in this case Pc5, has given him problems. His choice to exchange-off that pawn probably didn't take him long. It gives the c3 square back to White, so Nb1-c3 will be available. But, Black's Ng8 isn't required to develop to f6 to block Bg7 (as Nf3 does to Bg2) . It can develop Ng8-h6-f5 or with ...e7-e6, Ng8-e7 and Black's position will be very harmonious. } 7. cxd4 e6 8. Nc3 Nge7 9. b3 O-O 10. Qd2 { Before Bc1-b2 or Bc1-a3 he takes the c1-h6 diagonal to prevent ...Bg7-h6. This preserves control of c1 without having to also play e2-e3. } 10... b6 11. Ba3 Ba6 12. Rac1 Qd7 13. Rfd1 Rfd8 { This breaks the pin on Ne7 and also prepares to meet e2-e4 with pressure on Pd4. } 14. g4 Rac8 15. h3 { Both sides have developed sensibly, but now what? Bg2 isn't especially terrific, so White might think of e2-e4, but Black has aligned against Pd4 to prevent that. So, if the central files are to remain closed it would be natural to double rooks on the c-file. } 15... h6 { Why so passive? } ( 15... Rc7 { intending either ...Ne7-c8-d6-e4 or ...Rd8-c8 } ) 16. e3 { If Bg2 can't be useful on the h1-a8 diagonal then perhaps he'll just trade it at f1. } 16... Kh7 17. Rc2 $1 Ng8 { He seems terribly concerned White will get to play e3-e4 in an advantageous way; so it appears he will also play ...Ng8-f6 to control square e4. This goes against his opening development, so one could also expect he will have to pay some cost for this. } 18. Rdc1 Qe8 { This move is a bit hard to decipher. He might be intending ...f7-f5 to expand on the king-side, while threatening to open the f-file for a Black rook. But, on the c-file it looks like White might be able to force an opening and trade rooks. } 19. Ne1 ( 19. Bf1 $6 Bxf1 20. Kxf1 f5 { and the weakness of White's king-side light squares becomes obvious } ) 19... Nf6 20. f4 { Ivanchuk beats Kasparov to the punch and makes his own king-side gesture. Of course there's no way to know, just yet, whether this could succeed or backfire. If the c-file opens and rooks are traded it might not mean anything. If many pieces stay on the board it could lead to a file opening on the king-side and a wild fight all over the board. } 20... Kg8 21. Nd3 ( { leading to terrible confusion is } 21. g5 hxg5 22. fxg5 Nh7 23. h4 f6 24. Nf3 fxg5 25. hxg5 e5 ) 21... Bxd3 { With 17...Ng8 Kasparov seemed to be just maneuvering, but here he seems to be saying knights are much better than bishops in this kind of position (with this many pawns and few or no good open diagonals for a bishop) . Certainly e5 would be an excellent outpost square for a knight, so Nd3 had to be removed. On the other hand, White has good control of e4, so ...Nf6-e4 isn't going to be possible. } 22. Qxd3 Bf8 23. Bxf8 Qxf8 24. Qd2 ( 24. f5 Nb4 ) 24... Nb4 25. Rb2 Kg7 26. a3 Nc6 27. b4 { If Ivanchuk is in the mood to move pawns he might eventually over-extend and leave his backdoor open. At the moment everything seems under control; Pa3 & Pb4 do well to block the diagonal and Qf8. } 27... Ne7 28. Rbc2 Ne8 { Kasparov does some remaneuvering (again) and has his eye on c4. } 29. Bf1 ( 29. Nb5 { while Qf8 is somewhat away from the queen-side } 29... Rxc2 30. Rxc2 Rd7 31. Qc1 a6 32. Nc3 Nd6 33. Na4 Qb8 ) 29... Nd6 30. Ba6 { keeps excellent control of the c-file and attempts to keep Black's pieces from defending one another } 30... Rc6 31. Qd3 { If he can't prevent Kasparov from ...Nd6-c4, then at least he can make Nc4 a bad exposed piece. Here he prepares to defend Pe3 & Pa3 and to play e3-e4 or a3-a4 to advance around a Nc4, while it is made into a target. } 31... h5 { As in his game with Villejo Pons, Kasparov sees an opportunity to open a second front, aimed at Kg1. This is partly a matter of necessity since Ivanchuk controls the queen-side very well, and it's partly opportunism to take advantage of the weakened light squares Bg2 previously guarded. } 32. Qe2 ( 32. gxh5 { should be quite good because Rc2 can move across to the king-side before any Black rook could, and removing pawns from in front of Kg7 should be good. The only downside is giving control of f5 to Black. } ) 32... Qh8 33. Kg2 Qh7 { What a horrible place for the queen. If White could simply lock up the king-side with g4-g5 and then force a quick opening of the c-file he might invade on the queen-side to win. But, Pe3 is weak and ...Ne7-f5xe3 is a serious threat. It's tempting. } 34. g5 { That puts an end to the second front. It gives up square f5, but that's of little concern compared to keeping Kg2 safe. This was an amazingly indirect maneuvering game. I haven't seen these two play this kind of game before. I suppose it shows they each have great respect for the other's tactical prowess. If anyone it was Ivanchuk, in the final position, who has the advantage! } 1/2-1/2