[Event "SuperGM"]
[Site "Linares ESP"]
[Date "2002.03.06"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Black "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Hathaway, Mark"]
[BlackElo "2629"]
[ECO "B42"]
[WhiteElo "2717"]

1. e4 c5 { I wonder why he's sticking to this defense after his loss with it in round 8 to Kasparov. } 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 { Kan Variation } 5... Nf6 6. O-O { White could play e4-e5 next. } 6... d6 ( 6... Bc5 7. Nb3 { leaves Bc5 under attack and e4-e5 still possible } ) ( 6... b5 ) 7. c4 { Ivanchuk establishes the Maroczy Bind, as Kasparov did. Will Vallejo Pons have learned anything, so his result could be better this time? Already he has Pd6 to prevent e4-e5! I've seen a few games where Ivanchuk has done very well with this formation, so I wouldn't want to try the Black pieces against him. } 7... Be7 8. Nc3 O-O { As in the game with Kasparov Black's position is relatively weakness-free. But, the most likely place for White to attack is at g7 or h7 and that places Black's king in danger. White, on the other hand, has no major weakness of a similar quality (Pc4, for example) . } 9. f4 { I'm surprised at this, before Kg1-h1. Can Black respond with ...Qd8-b6 to pin Nd4? } ( 9. Qe2 { defends Pb2 and prepares to support Bc1-e3, if needed. By defending Pe4 & Pc4 it also would allow Bd3 to retreat to c2 or b1 if Black attacks it. } ) 9... Re8 { In the game with Kasparov he had problems with the weakness of Pe6 after he fianchettoed ...Bc8-b7. This time he prepares to have it nicely defended. I suspect Ivanchuk would only begin to look at Pf7 as another weak spot to include in his offensive plans. } ( 9... Qb6 $5 10. Be3 Nc6 ) 10. Kh1 Nbd7 11. Qe2 { certainly a curious move-order, these last three moves. At the moment White might be considering e4-e5 because Nf6 has no good retreat square. } 11... g6 { It's amazing how a move like this can be appealing and yet it weakens Nf6 quite a lot. And, after f4-f5 (whenever White chooses to play it) open lines would soon follow. } 12. Bd2 { This is a tepid move, but he is gradually mobilizing his pieces while keeping an eye on Black's formation and where he will need to focus his attention. Right now it looks like e4-e5 or f4-f5, but there's also a possibility of moving heavy pieces onto the h-file. } 12... Bf8 13. Rad1 { Mysterious? No, he expects ...Bf8-g7, so Pd6 would be the big weakness. Of course this will leave Black wondering what to do with Bf8. } 13... Nh5 { In his 9th round game (Vallejo Pons - Anand) he had to meet an f-file attack against his castled king and Nf3-h4 was played to gain space for f2-f4. Is he replaying that game or does he have some original idea here? } 14. Nf3 { Ivanchuk doesn't appear to be in a hurry, but he's not going to allow ...Qd8-h4 either. He's incidentally (?) clearing the d-file and may plan Bd2-e3-d4. This is an amazingly quiet maneuvering noncomittal game for Ivanchuk. } 14... b6 15. e5 { Now the flood gates open and Black has Nd7 and Nh5 and Re8 developed. Most of his pieces are passively on the back rank. That's not to say this will be a crush, but White clearly has an advantage. } 15... Bb7 16. Ng5 { Now Pd6, Pf7 and Ph7 are all threatened. It's no coincidence. } 16... Ng7 17. Be4 { Since the bishop is blocked by Pg6 he decides to trade it for Bb7, so he might use square e4 for another piece. This move also continues to clear the d-file. } 17... Qc7 18. Qf3 Bxe4 19. Ncxe4 h6 ( 19... dxe5 20. fxe5 Nxe5 21. Nf6+ Kh8 22. Qh3 h5 23. Bc3 ) 20. exd6 Qd8 $6 { I wonder why he'd give up the pawn so readily. } ( 20... Bxd6 21. Nxd6 Qxd6 22. Bc3 Qe7 23. Ne4 { and White is clearly better, but Black is hanging on } ) 21. Qh3 hxg5 ( 21... Nf5 22. Bc3 $16 ) ( 21... h5 22. Bc3 $16 ) 22. fxg5 e5 ( 22... Nf5 23. Bc3 Bg7 24. Bxg7 Kxg7 25. g4 ) 23. Qxd7 { The bad news is that the attack doesn't end. The f-file is open and Ne4 has good control of f6 and the h-file is open, so Kg8 still isn't safe after a queen trade. I suppose his worst frustration is that he's given a pawn and hoped to keep some material edge as compensation for his positional woes, but now he's just behind material and position. One of the things I liked most about this game is that Ivanchuk didn't force much. He let Vallejo Pons strangle on his own inability to develop and maneuver properly. Ivanchuk just kept flexible and attacked when he had specific targets and all his pieces involved. Chess looks so easy sometimes. } 1-0