[Event "SuperGM"]
[Site "Linares ESP"]
[Date "2002.03.06"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Kasparov, Garri"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Hathaway, Mark"]
[BlackElo "2838"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2757"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 { It's rather amazing to me that this opening variation should continue to be the primary defense of many top GMs. It was invented in the 1950s by Najdorf (originally of Poland, but after World War II of Argentina) and fought over throughout the 1960s and 70s. Bobby Fischer utilized it and honed it like a knife. Many years later, after other defenses have been tried and many discarded, this is Kasparov's favorite. It's interesting also to note that there are a zillion 6th moves White can choose from, and the one played most these days by the top GMs is 6. Be3, a move (and system) created by GM Robert Byrne, a New Yorker who was a childhood (and perhaps lifelong) friend of Bobby Fischer. Did he invent this opening variation to combat Fischer? I don't know. It was taken up by Englishmen and made more popular in the 1980s and 90s. Now it's commonplace. } 6. Be3 { Fischer preferred 6. Bc4 and that's still considered good, but it's not to the taste of today's players. I suppose I should also add that 6. Bg5 was "all the rage" during the 1960s and 70s when Fischer played actively, but his "Poison Pawn Variation" (after 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 8. Qd2 Qxb2) is still considered good, and it's one reason 6. Bg5 isn't played much now. } 6... e5 { Particularly against 6. Be2 this move (6...e5) was Fischer's response. It is named for Opocensky, but like many variations, Fischer played it a lot and made it popular. It makes sense that as White he'd play 6. Bc4 if he thought Black might play 6...e5, leaving the c4-f7 diagonal open. } 7. Nb3 { Now there are a couple of weaknesses in Black's pawn structure, so White will have a clear idea of where to play (d5, d6, b6) . However, Pe5 controls d4 and with ...Bc8-e6 Black controls d5 pretty well too. Only Bf8 will be noticably bad. } 7... Be6 8. f3 { There's no immediate need for this. He wants to play g2-g4-g5 to gain better control of d5. Playing Qd1-d2 is mainly to prepare O-O-O and I guess he doesn't want to commit to that yet. } ( 8. Qd2 Ng4 9. Bg5 { is awkward for Black } ) 8... Nbd7 ( 8... d5 9. Nxd5 Nxd5 10. exd5 Qxd5 11. Qxd5 Bxd5 12. c4 { is considered premature for Black because his remaining pieces don't coordinate so well } ) ( 8... h5 { is a recent innovation aimed at preventing g2-g4-g5. It leaves g5 weak and makes ...O-O more risky. } ) 9. g4 b5 ( 9... h6 ) 10. g5 b4 ( 10... Nh5 11. Nd5 ) 11. Ne2 ( 11. Nd5 Nxd5 12. exd5 Bf5 { makes the entire effort worthless. White wouldn't have use of square d5 and Black's Nf6 is traded, rather than being chased off to the edge of the board. And on top of all that White's pawns are a mess. } ) ( 11. gxf6 bxc3 12. fxg7 Bxg7 13. bxc3 ) 11... Nh5 12. Qd2 a5 13. Ng3 Nxg3 14. hxg3 { White gains by having the open h-file, but Black retains sufficient control of the central squares. It's also less clear where White's king will be safe. After the king-side pawns advanced he wouldn't be expected to O-O, though he might play Ke1-f2. With Black's queen-side pawns far advanced it's highly unlikely he'll O-O-O. On the other hand, Black's king seems perfectly safe, but Rh8 is going to be out of play if Ke8 stays in the middle of that rank. } 14... a4 15. Nc1 Qa5 16. Nd3 d5 17. exd5 Qxd5 18. Bg2 Qb5 { He has to keep Pb4 defended. } 19. Bh3 Bxh3 20. Rxh3 Be7 21. Rh4 $1 { White works around the edges as well as he can (Black can't do any better yet) and Pb4 stands out as a major weakness. } 21... f5 $5 22. O-O-O { This isn't bad. It puts the king behind some pawns and develops Ra1-d1, to create a threat to Nd7. } ( 22. Nxb4 $2 f4 ) ( { Aiming to open lines to Ke8 might help. } 22. gxf6 gxf6 23. Nxb4 f5 24. Nd5 Qxb2 25. Nc7+ $13 ) 22... b3 23. a3 Rc8 { I don't see the benefit of allowing White to close up the pawns around his king. } ( 23... bxc2 ) 24. c3 Nf8 25. Rh2 Ng6 26. Nb4 ( 26. Rdh1 Rd8 ) 26... Rd8 27. Nd5 { It seems a little risky to allow Nd5 to be pinned this way. Of course, it threatens Nd5-c7+, but Black will prevent that. } ( 27. Qe1 ) 27... Kf7 28. Qd3 Qxd3 29. Rxd3 f4 { It might be a little odd for this to be Black's only tactic, but Rh8 is still well stuck behind Ph7 and Nd5 is proving to be strong enough and White's king's position is plenty safe. } 30. gxf4 exf4 31. Nxf4 ( 31. Bxf4 Rxd5 32. Rxd5 Nxf4 33. Rd4 Bxg5 34. Rxa4 h5 { is a little complicated by the fact both sides have some offense, for once in this game, but Black's two minor pieces might give him an advantage } ( 34... Nd3+ 35. Kb1 Re8 36. Re4 ) ) 31... Nxf4 ( 31... Bxg5 32. Rxd8 Rxd8 33. Ng2 Bxe3+ 34. Nxe3 Re8 ) 32. Rxd8 Rxd8 33. Bxf4 Rd3 34. Rh3 Kg6 35. Bd2 Bd8 { Black has to wait. } ( 35... Bxg5 $4 36. Bxg5 Kxg5 37. f4+ Kxf4 38. Rxd3 h5 39. c4 g5 40. c5 g4 41. c6 g3 42. c7 g2 43. Rd1 h4 44. c8=Q $18 ) 36. Rg3 Be7 37. Rh3 ( { White can't quite get his king out of the box made by Pb3 and Rd3. } 37. Kd1 Bxa3 38. bxa3 b2 39. Kc2 Rxd2+ 40. Kb1 ) 37... Bd8 38. Rg3 Kf5 39. Kd1 Bc7 { Their repetition of moves near the end could well have been due to time pressure. White might be better, but his pawns are weak (all of them) and Black's pieces are very well placed to capitalize on even the smallest misstep, such as 40. Rh3 Bf4, winning Bd2. Instead White has to prevent ...Bc7-f4 by 40. Rg4 Rxf3. This takes the game off in an altogether different direction. } 1/2-1/2