[Event "Superstars Hotel Bali"]
[Site "Benidorm ESP"]
[Date "2002.11.29"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Result "1-0"]
[BlackElo "2699"]
[ECO "B32"]
[EventDate "2002.11.29"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[WhiteElo "2527"]

1. e4 c5 { Although Shirov has played a variety of defenses, I think he's been playing the Petroff's Defense and perhaps the Caro-Kann most recently. } 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 { Neo-Sveshnikov or Lowenthal leaves d5 (and perhaps d6) weak. More common is 4...Nf6, forcing White to defend Pe4 and threatening ...d5. } 5. Nb5 d6 6. N1c3 { He threatens Nc3-d5 and Nc7+, so Black must nip that idea in the bud. } ( 6. Bc4 ) ( 6. c4 ) 6... a6 7. Na3 b5 { Instead of White dominating square c4 it's Black who controls it, for the moment. Eventually piece play should dominate a position more than pawns. There is also the immediate threat of ...b4. } 8. Nd5 { White could continue with Bc1-e3-b6 and Nc7+, so Black has to react quickly. } 8... Nce7 9. c4 Nxd5 10. exd5 $5 { This makes the pawns a bit unbalanced with White advancing on the queen-side. Aside from Pb5 Black shouldn't have much difficulty completing his development. } ( 10. Qxd5 Be6 11. Qc6+ ( 11. Qd1 ) 11... Bd7 12. Qd5 b4 13. Nc2 Rb8 ) 10... bxc4 11. Nxc4 { Now White controls c4! } 11... Nf6 ( 11... f5 { is aimed at preventing Bc1-e3 from resting easy, in light of ...f4 } ) 12. Be3 Rb8 13. Be2 Be7 14. a4 { aiming for a4-a5 and Nb6 or Bb6 to cramp Black, but making Pb2 backward! That and the slightly exposed Pd5 make White's position suspicous. Where's his offense coming from? I suppose he thinks it's necessary to use a Nb6 to defend Pd5, but ...Nf6-d7 can chase a Nb6 away, exposing Pb2. If he continues his queen-side advance then one of the pawns gives him the advantage. So, where's Black's offense come from? } 14... O-O 15. O-O Bb7 $2 { The bishop is badly placed on the b-file. } ( 15... Nd7 { leaves Rb8 to hinder the advance of Pb2, but gets in the middle of everything, blocking Bc8 and Qd8. } ) ( 15... Ne8 { defends Pd6 to prepare ...Be7-g5xe3 and clearing the way for ...f7-f5-f4 to create a king-side offense of some sort } ) 16. Nb6 Nd7 { There it is! But, does it really work? } ( 16... Ne8 ) 17. a5 f5 18. f3 Nxb6 19. Bxb6 Qd7 { keeping a foot planted firmly on both the queen- and king-side and preparing some kind of king-side offensive } ( 19... Qe8 $2 20. Qb3 { threatening Ba7 or Bc7 is a bit awkward for Black } ) 20. b4 { If it's backward then trade it off. In this case b4-b5xa6 would make a passed pawn; ...a6xb5 does the same. } ( 20. Qd2 { clears the back rank for the rooks to move anywhere they're needed, in particular Rf1-d1 to defend Pd5 } ) 20... Bd8 21. Be3 Bf6 { threatening ...f4 and ...e5-e4-e3, but once that threat is avoided then what is Bf6 doing? } ( 21... Qf7 22. Bc4 Rc8 23. Qb3 ) 22. Rb1 { Keeping the rook on the a-file, to back up Pa5, might be appealing, but Pb4 needs more immediate support. } ( 22. Ra3 ) 22... Rbc8 ( 22... Bc8 { prevents b4-b5 for the moment } ) 23. b5 axb5 24. Rxb5 ( 24. Bxb5 $2 Qf7 ) 24... e4 { Mostly desperation I think. White's offense is rolling along nicely and Black has none. } ( 24... Rfe8 25. Rb4 Qf7 26. Bc4 Rxc4 27. Rxc4 Ba6 28. Rc6 Bxf1 29. Kxf1 e4 30. f4 $16 ) 25. fxe4 { White doesn't want to play f3-f4 and leave Black with a protected passed pawn at e4. And, I understand that feeling. However, to open lines means to give Black other possibilities. } 25... Rfe8 26. Rb4 { defending Pe4 and threatening Be2-b5 or a5-a6 seems correct } 26... Bc3 { Now begins a forcing sequence. White doesn't want to move Rb4, so he threatens Black. } 27. Bb5 Qd8 28. Bxe8 Bxb4 { Now what? Be8 and Pa5 are threatened. Obviously Be8 needs to move and threaten something or White needs to threaten Bb4 or Kg8. } 29. Bc6 ( 29. Qb1 Qxe8 30. Qxb4 Bxd5 $13 ) 29... Ba6 { If Black can't trade off Bb7 then he's just lost a valuable tempo and White can take the advantage in the center by capturing Pf5. Pa5 becomes a casualty of the campaign. } 30. Rxf5 Bxa5 31. h3 $1 Rb8 32. Kh2 { tries to make the king safer, but might be wasting a valuable tempo } ( 32. e5 $16 { makes a passed pawn } ) ( 32. Bg5 { shifts pieces toward Kg8 for an attack } ) 32... g6 $2 { Why weaken the king's position when there is still room for piece activity improvements. } ( 32... Bc3 ) 33. Bg5 Qc7 34. Rf3 $16 { After this it's difficult to find a good move for Black, despite there being no direct threat. } 34... Rb4 35. Bh6 Rb8 36. Qa1 Be2 37. Rf2 $18 Bd3 38. Qf6 { and checkmate is unavoidable. The weakening ...g6 has to be blamed for part of this mess. } 1-0