Compiled By Scorpionchess

Heavily Annotated Games

Unive Matches 2014

1

1

C50

Shirov,Alexei

2691

Giri,Anish

2768

Unive Matches 2014 (1.1)

12.10.2014

[Multi]

1.e4 e5 2.

f3 c6 3.c4 c5 4.d3 f6

5.

c3 d6 6.0-0 a5 7.b3 a6 8.d4!?

The computer doesn't like this move but Giri
had expected it. "Otherwise I just take the
bishop. Harikrishna played both 8.Be3 and 8.
B g 5 a g a i n s t m e . I l e a r n t a l o t a b o u t t h i s
position from him."

xb3

9.axb3

exd4

10.

xd4

h6

D i a g r a m [ # ]

11.

f5

xf5

12.exf5 0-0 13.g4

[

Perhaps premature.

13.

f3 d5 ]

13...

d7 14.d5 xd5 15.xd5

Diagram

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b5!

Shirov had missed this move.

16.

f3

fe8 17.g2

[ 17.c4

c6 18.xc6 bxc6

followed by 19...

Reb8.

]

17...

e2 18.c3 e4 19.a4 ae8 20.xe4

xe4 21.h3

[

Giri thought

21.

f4

was better.

]

21...d5 22.b4

b6 23.f6

[

Trying to force matters but perhaps

23.

g1

or trading queens (Giri) was better.

]

23...g5 24.

f5 e5 25.c8+

Diagram

(Diagram)

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h7! 26.f8

[ 26.

e3!? xe3! 27.f8 f3+ 28.g1

g3+!

29.fxg3

e8+

30.

c5

xc5+

31.bxc5

e2

and wins - Giri.

]

26...

e4+ 27.g3 g6 28.f4 gxf4+

[

Not

28...

xf6? 29.fxg5! xf1 30.g6+!

and wins!

]

29.

xf4 e2 30.xh6

[

Giri said that

30.

c1 e3 31.xe3 xe3+

32.

f3

xf3+

33.

xf3

xf6+

was winning.

]

30...

xh6 31.xf7+ h8 32.f3 g1!

33.h4

[ 33.

d3 e3+ 34.xe3 xe3+

should also

win.

]

33...

h2+ 34.h3 d6

0-1

2

E11

Timman,J

2601

Jobava,Ba

2717

Unive Matches 2014 (1.2)

12.10.2014

[Multi]

1.d4

f6 2.c4 e6 3.f3 b4+ 4.d2

xd2+ 5.xd2 d5 6.g3 bd7 7.g2 c6

This set-up was often employed by Ulf
Andersson in the 1980’s. Through the years,
Jobava played it several times as well, but no-
one had played the most popular move
against him:

8.0-0 dxc4 9.a4

b8 10.c1

b6

In order to meet the natural 11.Na3 with

11...b5!.

11.

xc4 c5

Diagram

Unive Matches 2014

2

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12.b4

A nice, thematic move, which removes

the white weaknesses on the b-file and piles
up the pressure.

a6 13.c2

After 13.b5 Bb7,

c5 is solidly protected and Black has achieved
his aim.

cxb4

‘Only move’, said Jobava. The

computer also gives 13...0–0 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.
bxc5 Ne4 16.Qe3 Nexc5 and due to the check
on the bottom rank White cannot take twice on
c5.

14.

xb4 e7 15.a3 b7 16.bd2

It looks pretty unpleasant for Black. He
cannot ‘pass’ anymore.

xa3 17.xa3 e7

18.

e5 xg2 19.xg2 hc8

A tactical save.

After 19...Rb7 20.Nc6+ Kf8 21.a5 White is
clearly better, and after 19...Rbc8? 20.Nc6+
Kf8 21.Rac3 the queen’s rook is too passive.

20.

c6+ e8

‘Here I had to choose’, Jobava

said. ‘If I play 20...Kf8, then follows 21.Rac3
Tb7 22.Nb4 and White occupies the c-file. If I
put my king on e8, it can always go to d8 later.
White’s next move looked dangerous.’

21.e4

a8 22.e5 d5 23.e4 c7 24.d6+ f8

Diagram

(Diagram)

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1

Here Timman went for the draw with...

25.

b5

cc8 26.d6 c7 27.b5

‘I didn’t see how

to make progress’, he said. ‘Certainly in the
first game of such a match it seemed unwise
to take risks.’ Jobava also thought that other
attempts by White would be risky, for
example: 27.a5 Nb8 28.axb6 Nxb6 29.Nb4
Rxc2 30.Nxc2 a5 and White has to reckon
with Black’s passed pawn.

½-½

3

D46

Giri,Anish

2768

Shirov,Alexei

2691

Unive Matches 2014 (2.1)

13.10.2014

[Multi]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.

c3 f6 4.e3 e6 5.f3

bd7 6.c2 d6 7.d3 0-0 8.0-0 dxc4

9.

xc4 b5 10.e2

[

In 2010 Giri played

10.

d3

against the

same opponent.

]

10...

b7 11.e4 e5 12.dxe5 xe5 13.d4

Th is lo oks d an gerou s b eca use o f...

eg4

Diagram

[ 13...

g6

14.

f5

e5

15.f4

xc3

16.bxc3 c5 17.

f3 c4 18.e5 xf3 19.exf6

b7 20.fxg7 e8 21.e3 e4

Moiseenko,

A (2707)-Kasimdzhanov,R (2693) Poznan
2014

]

Unive Matches 2014

3

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14.g3!

[ 14.h3?

h2+ 15.h1 xf2+! 16.xh2

xd4

is good for Black, but nonetheless Giri

had hoped Shirov would go for this. "I had
found something there."

]

14...

c5

[

Everything à tempo.

14...

xg3

15.hxg3

xd4 16.d1 ( 16.f4 c5!

17.b4

h5 ) 16...xd1 17.xd1 fd8

a n d a p p a r e n t l y W h i t e h i s e n o u g h
co m p e n s a t io n h e r e . S h ir o v p l a ye d th i s
earlier this year, but not today.

]

15.

f5

Diagram

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e8!

[ 15...

b6 16.xg4 xg4 17.b4 xb4

( 17...

d4 18.b2 ) 18.b2 xc3 19.xc3

f6 20.e3

is nice for White.

]

16.

f4 b6

Diagram

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17.

g2! xf2

[ 17...g6!?

is another option, e.g.

18.h3 gxf5

19.hxg4

xe4 20.gxf5 xc3 21.bxc3 e7

with an edge for White.

]

18.e5

[

Niet direct

18.b4?

xb4 19.xf2 xc3

and e4 drops.

]

18...

d7

19.b4

xb4

20.

xf2

xe5

Spectacular, but even this position Shirov had
played before in the Bundesliga!

21.

e4

[

Only this is a novelty! In the game Dennis

Wagner-Shirov, Eppingen 2014, the hyper
sharp

21.

xg7

followed:

c5+

22.

h3

c8+

23.g4

xg7

24.

xe5+

xe5

25.

xf7+ xf7 26.xh7+ e6 27.g6+

e7

28.

g7+

e6

29.

h6+

e7

30.

h7+ e6 31.g6+ e7 32.g7+

e6 33.g6+

draw.

]

21...c5

Diagram

(Diagram)

Unive Matches 2014

4

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22.

f1!

Tha t's th e id ea .

xe4

23.

xe4

g6!

[

Not

23...

g4?? 24.e7+ ]

24.

d5 xf4

[ 24...

ad8

25.

d6!

( 25.

d6?

f8! )

25...

e6 26.f3 ]

25.

e7+! h8 26.xf4 c4 27.c6 c3

[ 27...

e3 28.f3 c5 29.g2 ]

28.

b1 ac8 29.f3 a6 30.e4!?

[ 30.

xb5 xa2 31.e4

and the threat of

31.Rh4 is killing.

]

30...

xa2 31.xb5 xh2 32.d7 f8

33.

h4

[

Giri: "In my calculations I had missed

B l a c k ' s r e p l y . I w a s l o o k i n g a t

33.

h5

Maar na

xg3

I didn't see it."

]

33...

c2 34.xh7+ xh7 35.h5 xh5

36.

xh5 g6 37.e2 g7 38.xc4 ce8

39.

xa7 f6 40.d7 e3 41.g2 c3

42.

d5 e3 43.f2 ee8 44.d7 e4

45.

d5 ee8 46.c7 c8 47.b7 ce8

48.

d7 a8 49.c4 ae8 50.f3

[

Not

50.

xf7?

e7!

51.

xe7

xe7

52.

xe7? xf7+ ]

50...

e1 51.d5 e6 52.d7 e1

Diagram

(Diagram)

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53.g4!?

A g o o d tr y - th e o n ly t ry.

g5

54.

d5 f5

[

B l a c k w o u l d r a t h e r p l a y

54...

f6

but then comes

55.g5

a1

en nu

56.

g2

( 56.

d8? c1 57.xf7? xc4 ) 56...e3

57.

d6

and no w e.g.

e4 58.d1 b2

59.

c2 ]

55.

e5 fxg4+ 56.g2 e3 57.d7+ h6

58.

xg4+ h5 59.f6+!

wins the exchange.

xf6 60.h3+ g5 61.g3+ h6 62.xe1

f4 63.h4+ g7 64.g8 h6 65.d4

f4 66.e6 b8 67.h3 f4 68.d7+

h6 69.g8 e3 70.h7+ g5 71.d5

f2 72.e7 d4 73.e4 f4 74.c2 e5

75.

b4+

1-0

4

A50

Jobava,Baadur

2717

Timman,Jan H

2601

Unive Matches 2014 (2.2)

13.10.2014

[Multi]

1.d4

f6 2.c4 e6 3.f3 b6 4.a3 a6

5.

c2 b7 6.c3 c5 7.e4 cxd4 8.xd4

c6 9.xc6 xc6 10.f4 h5 11.d2

[ 11.

e3

d6??

12.

d1

1-0 was the

famous game Christiansen-Karpov, Wijk aan
Zee 1993.

]

11...

c7 12.g3

[

Timman was following a game Jobava-

Iturrizaga, Khanty-Mansiysk 2009, which
continued

12.

d5

b7

13.

d3

d6

14.0-0

b8 15.g3 exd5 16.exd5 b7

Unive Matches 2014

5

17.

fe1+ d8 18.c3 f6 19.b4 c7

20.

b2 c8 21.xf6 gxf6 22.xf6 d8

23.

ac1 f8 24.c5 bxc5 25.bxc5 a5

26.c6 dxc6 27.dxc6

a6 28.f5+ b8

29.

xd8+ xd8 30.c7+

1-0. Jobava: "I

tried to remember that game but of course
I couldn't."

]

12...

c5 13.g2 0-0 14.0-0 ac8 15.ac1

f6 16.b4 e7 17.d3 b8 18.h3 fd8

[

Jobava said

18...d6

was better.

]

19.

fe1 b7 20.e5 e8 21.e4 d6

22.exd6

xd6

[ 22...

xd6!? 23.f4 a8 ]

23.

e2 e5

[ 23...

e7!?

Jobava

]

24.c5

[

Promising waso

24.

g5! xg2 25.h5

e.g.

b7 26.xh7+ f8 27.h8+ e7

28.

xe5 xd2 29.g8

with a huge attack.

]

24...bxc5 25.bxc5

[ 25.

g5!? ]

25...

c6 26.a5 d7

[

Jobava: "Perhaps

26...

d4

was better. The

r o o k m a y g o t o a 4 a n d o n

27.

c3

y o u c a n g o

d7

28.

xe5

xe5

Ah, no, White wins material with

29.

d6!

"

]

27.

g5

xg2

28.

xg2

f6

29.c6

"To try something." (Jobava)

[ 29.

e4 a8! ]

29...

d5??

Jobava was in time trouble too but

he doesn't miss his chance.

[

A blunder in the opponent's time trouble.

29...

d6

is fine for Black.

]

30.

xf7!

Dat buitenkansje laat ook een

Jobava in vette tijdnood zich niet ontgaan.

xa5 31.xe6 f8 32.cd1?

[

Here

32.

d7!

was winning. The threat

R c 1 - b 1 - b 7 i s h a r d t o p a r r y a n d

a6

is answered by

33.

e6!

threatening Rce1, e.

g.

c7 34.h6! ]

32...

c7?

[

Timman could save himself with

32...

a8!

when

33.

d8

fails to

xd8 34.d7 xd7

and the queen protects Ne8, e.g.

35.

xd7

c5

and wins.

]

33.

d8! xd8 34.d7

"Incredibly stupid,"

Tim man sigh ed. "I gu ess I wa s a little bit
lucky", smiled Jobava.

1-0

5

D38

Shirov,Alexei

2691

Giri,Anish

2768

Unive Matches 2014 (3.1)

14.10.2014

[Multi]

1.d4

After the failure in the opening game

Shirov changes tack.

f6 2.c4 e6 3.f3 d5

4.

c3 b4 5.g5 h6 6.xf6 xf6 7.e3 0-0

8.

b3 c5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.a3

10.Qxd5 Nc6

followed by 11...Rd8 is not exactly Shirov’s
style.

xc3+ 11.xc3 d7

Diagram

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12.

e2

Here Van der Wiel proposed the plan

12.Rc1 and if 12…b6 13.Bb5. Now Black is
pretty much obliged to play 13...c4, but that
doesn’t seem such a bad thing: after 14.b3 a6
15.Bxd7 Bxd7 it wouldn’t be wise to win a
pawn on c4.

b6 13.0-0

b7 14.ac1 c4

15.

d2 b5 16.f3

16.f3 would be too slow

now on account of 16...Rfe8.

e7

Keeping an

eye on a3 and keeping the positional threat of
...a7-a5 in the position. But with hindsight, Giri
wasn’t happy about this move.

17.

a5 c6

18.b3

d6

19.bxc4

bxc4

20.

b1

A Karpovian manoeuvre with which W hite
increases the pressure on d5.

ab8 21.c3

b3

There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong

with 21...Nf6, because taking on a7 remains
unattractive. Giri opts for more activity.

22.

xd5

Diagram

(Diagram)

Unive Matches 2014

6

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xa3

Even after the game Giri wasn’t sure

about 22...Rb5!? 23.Qa4 (after 23.Qa6 Black
can take on d5 with the rook as well, but he
also has the alternative 23...Nb8!?) 23...Rxd5
24.Qxc4 Ba8 25.Bxd5 Bxd5. ‘For the “small
exchange” White has two strong centre pawns,
this is hard to assess. On the other hand, the
endgame was also very dangerous for me.’

23.

c7

23.Qb4 Qxb4 24.Nxb4 Bxf3 25.gxf3

and perhaps the white knight is a little better
positioned than in the game.

xc7 24.xc7

xf3 25.gxf3 b6 26.b5

26.Ra1 Rxa1 27.

Rxa1 Rc8 is risky, but White still has 28.Na6.

b3

27.

xa7

The computer gives the

extremely hard-to-find 27.Nd6!? c3 28.Rb1
Rxb1 29.Rxb1, holding off the black rook,
whereas on ...Td8 W hite can go after the c-
pawn immediately with Nb5. But here W hite
still has to deal with the a-pawn as well.

c3

27...Ra8! 28.Nc6 c3 29.e4 (29.Rb1? Rb2!)
29...Ra2 and Black doubles on the second
rank, with enough counterplay for the draw.
‘During the game I thought this didn’t work’,
said Giri.

28.

b1 xb1 29.xb1 d5 30.f1

c2

A little subtler may have been first 30...Ra8

3 1 . N b 5 R a 5 .

31.

c1 b4 32.e2 b8

33.d5

xd5

Certainly not 33...Rd8? 34.Nc6!.

34.

xc2 e7 35.f4 b7

Giri: ‘His knight is

bad over there, and the rook ending is
completely drawn.’

36.

c6 xc6 37.xc6 g6

38.f5 gxf5 39.

xh6 b4

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The doubled f-pawn defends everything, so
Black only has to keep the h-pawn in control.
Shirov kept trying until move 61, but the draw
was inevitable.

40.

f3 g7 41.d6 h4

42.

g2 g4+ 43.h1 b4 44.d4 b1+

45.

g2 g6 46.d6+ f6 47.d4 a1

48.

f3 h1 49.h4 a1 50.h3 a4

51.

g3+ f7 52.g2 b4 53.h3 a4

54.f4

a1 55.h4

½-½

6

E70

Timman,Jan H

2601

Jobava,Baadur

2717

Unive Matches 2014 (3.2)

14.10.2014

[Multi]

1.d4

f6 2.c4 g6 3.c3 g7 4.e4 0-0

5.

d3

Diagram

(Diagram)

Unive Matches 2014

7

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The move that is also often played by Sokolov
and Seirawan. Jobava now improvises:

c6

The idea is known, and it has been played by,
among others, King’s Indian expert Eduard
Gufeld and also Luke McShane. On 6.Nge2
Black wants to play 6...e5 and then after 7.d5
Nd4 8.Nxd4 exd4 9.Ne2 it becomes clear why
Black has postponed ...d7-d6: here he has 9...
c5! 10.dxc6 dxc6 with a good position, as
commentator John van der Wiel explained.
Timman of course knew this and played:

6.

f3 d6 7.d5 b4 8.e2 a5 9.0-0 g4!?

Slightly strange with the bishop on e2, as
Timman doesn’t mind exchanging it:

10.

g5!?

Van der W iel thought that 10.Nd4 Bxe2 11.
Ndxe2 was more natural.

xe2 11.xe2 c6

12.

e3 d7!?

Taking away a square from his

knight, and sometimes Na4 is possible now.
But it turns out that Black can afford to play
like this.

13.h3 cxd5 14.exd5!

The pressure

o n e 7 is wo r t h m o re t o T i m m a n th a n t h e
possible break with e4-e5.

a4 15.

ac1 fc8

16.

fd1 a6 17.e1 c5

The consequence

of putting the knight here is that the pawn on
e7 may be lost in some lines. Black hopes to
get active counterplay for it.

18.

cd1

b6

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19.

xc5

bxc5

Jobava opts for

counterchances along the b-file instead of
holding onto the pawn with 19...Rxc5 20.b3
axb3 21.axb3.

20.

xe7 h6 21.xd7 xd7

22.

ge4 a3

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23.bxa3

Interesting is 23.b3!? f5 24.Nxd6

Bxc3 25.Nxc8 Rxc8 26.Re7 and the d-pawn
m a y j u s t g i v e B l a c k a h a r d t i m e .

xc3

24.

xc3

e5

25.

b5

xc4

26.

e4!

26.Rc1 looks better, but after 26...Rcb8 27.
Rxc4 Rxb5 28.Re7 Rb1+ 29.Kh2 Rd1 30.Rf4
f5 Black has solved most of his problems.

cb8 27.a4!

The point. White cannot very well

t a k e t h i s p a w n i n v i e w o f 2 8 . N x d 6 .

b2

28.

d2 xa4 29.xa4 xa4 30.xd6 b1+

31.

h2 b4

Diagram

Unive Matches 2014

8

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32.

c8?

Timman called this the decisive

mistake. Better was 32.a3! Rb8 33.Nc4 f6 34.
Re2 Rd8 35.d6 and the white rook will have a
f i e l d d a y .

f8 33.d6 e8 34.d7+ d8

35.

d6!

Still his best chance. Possibly in his

calculations Timman had hoped to win here
with 35.Ne7, but then 35...Rb6 holds.

xd7

36.

xf7+ d4

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37.

c2

With hindsight, Timman said that

p e r h a p s h e s h o u l d h a ve tr i e d t h e kn i g h t
ending after 37.Rxd4+ cxd4 38.Kg3 Kc6 39.
Kf3. This indeed looks good for White. In the
pressroom, Oleg Romanishin produced the
following line off-hand: 39...Kd5 40.Nxh6 Kc4
41.Ng4 Kc3 42.Ne5 Nc5 43.h4 Kc2 44.Kg4 (or
44.g4) 44...Nd7 and now 45.Nc6! wins.

c6

38.

xh6 c4 39.g4 c3

Still it looks pretty

dangerous with that c-pawn, but Timman was
convinced: ‘White is always better here.’ It

looks like there is no win anymore, though.

40.

e3 c5 41.g4 b4 42.h4 b6 43.c1

d2 44.g3 c4 45.c2+ c5 46.e1

46.h5 gxh5 47.gxh5 might have given better
w i n n i n g c h a n c e s .

b4

47.

c2+

c5

48.

e1 b4 49.h5 gxh5 50.gxh5 d6

51.

c2+ c4 52.e3+ d3

Now Timman

had had enough of the gadfly on c3, and he
steered towards the draw with...

53.f3

xe3

54.

xc3+ d4 55.a3

½-½

7

D45

Giri,Anish

2768

Shirov,Alexei

2691

Unive Matches 2014 (4.1)

16.10.2014

[Multi]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.

c3 f6 4.e3 e6 5.f3

bd7 6.c2 d6 7.d3 0-0 8.0-0 dxc4

9.

xc4 b5 10.e2 b7 11.d1 c7

12.

d2

"Here I had already forgotten what

Black should do", Shirov said, "for the last
time I studied this was two years ago. But I
think my next was the worst possible move."

fe8

[ 12...a6

13.e4

e5

was the better move

order according to Giri. "But the way the
m a t ch wa s d e ve l o p i n g, I h a d h o p e d h e
would play like this. This order gives me
the opportunity to play a trick on move 15."

]

13.

ac1

a6

14.e4

The Latvian said on

Chess24: "Now it is strategically inferior by
fo rce. No t so nice wh e n yo u 're d o wn two
points."

e5 15.

d5 d8

[

After

15...

xd5 16.exd5 exd4 17.dxc6

xe2 18.cxb7 xb7 19.xd4

Shirov didn't

trust the position. Black will have to retreat
with e.g.

ee8 20.f5 ( 20.c6 xc6

21.

xc6 e5 22.e3 c7

may also be

playable.

) 20...

f8 ]

16.

xf6+ xf6 17.c3

[

Giri: "I had other possibilities here." For

instance,

17.

g5

g6

18.h4

h6

Now White has the possibility

19.h5!

since

xh5

is met by

20.dxe5

xe5 21.xe5

xg5 22.xf7!

with some advantage.

]

17...

ad8 18.g3

A pretty move, said Cor van

W ijg e rd e n i n th e c o m m e n ta r y r o o m . T h e
knight wants to go to f5 and the white bishop

Unive Matches 2014

9

can go to g4.

c5 19.d5 c4

Quickly played.

Giri didn't mind putting his opponent in a pin
(Bh3 versus the Nd7), but with hindsight he
thought that the immediate 20.b3 might have
been better.

20.

a5 c8

[

T h e d i r e c t

20...

b8

looks cleverer, but

Shirov thought this would give W hite too
many chances on the queenside.

]

21.

h4 g6 22.g4 e7 23.d2 b8

24.

xd7 xd7 25.b3

[

In the post mortem Giri opted for

25.

b4

xb4

26.

xb4

A downside to this line is

t h a t B l a c k c a n r e a c t a c t i v e l y w i t h

a5

"Also, after 26...Rbc8 we could end up in the
same position as in the game", Shirov said.

]

25...cxb3 26.axb3

bc8

[

"I've looked at

26...

e7

here, but I thought

it wa s to o slow" , said S h iro v. " Ma ybe it
would have been better."

]

27.

b4

The general idea is that after the

exchange of the dark-squared bishops White
p l a y s b 3 - b 4 , a f t e r w h i c h h i s k n i g h t i s
completely superior to the black bishop.

xc1

28.

xc1 c8 29.xc8+ xc8 30.xd6

xd6 31.c3

[

This runs into a brilliant saving combination.

31.

f3

was worth considering. Then Shirov

w a n t e d t o t r y

g4!

There can follow:

32.

g2 f5 33.c3 fxe4 34.xe5 d1!?

and the queen on d6 will defend the black
king successfully.

]

31...

h3!! 32.b4

[

Now on

32.

f3

Shirov had planned

a3

f o r e x a m p l e

33.

g5 b4 34.e1 d7

and the march of the a-pawn gives Black
sufficient counterchances.

]

32...a5!

33.bxa5

b4

34.

c6

d8!

Shirov: "I saw that the plan ned 34... Qb 8
would mean big trouble for Black after 35.a6.
Luckily I found the text move right on time. I
d i d f e e l i n t u i t i v e l y t h a t I h a d t o h a v e
something with that bishop on h3."

35.a6

a5

The point. Due to the mate threat on the back
rank, White now has to give perpetual check,
for after 36.f4 the white king won't survive the
attack either.

36.

e8+ g7 37.xe5+ g8

38.

e8+ g7 39.e5+ g8 40.e8+ g7

½-½

8

C53

Jobava,Baadur

2717

Timman,Jan H

2601

Unive Matches 2014 (4.2)

16.10.2014

[Multi]

1.e4 e5 2.

f3 c6 3.c4 c5 4.c3 f6

5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d5 7.

e2

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One of Jobava’s specialties; he played this
against Karjakin, amongst others. Timman got
the position earlier this year against Naiditsch.
Instead of the common 7...Ne4 Timman now
came up with an interesting novelty:

d3!?

If White takes everything is fine for Black: 8.
Bxd3 Ng4! 9.0–0 0–0 (9...Ncxe5!?) 10.Bf4
Re8! 11.Qe2?! (11.Bb5) 11...f6 and White is
in trouble.

8.exf6

dxe2

9.

xe2+

f8

9...Be6 10.fxg7 Rg8 11.Bg5 was played in two
rather obscure games in 2013, but Timman
called the text move ‘forced’. By the way,
Black lost in those two games.

10.b4

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Unive Matches 2014

10

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A do-or-die move Timman hadn’t looked at.
Commentator Cor van Wijgerden thought it
was ‘a very crazy move’: ‘Activity is good, but
you also have to consider vulnerability. Jobava
said after the game: ‘I was playing “over-the-
board”. Maybe this was wrong, and I should
have played 10.Bg5.’

d6

10...Bb6? 11.b5

Na5 12.Ba3+ Kg8 (12...c5 13.bxc6+ Kg8 14.
B e 7 Q c7 is n e ce ssa r y, b u t a ls o go o d f o r
W hite) 13.Be7 Qd7 14.fxg7 Kxg7 15.Qe5+
and Black gets mated.

11.b5

a5 12.g5

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e8

Van Wijgerden thought there was

nothing wrong with 12...gxf6 13.Bh6+ Kg8
followed by ...Bf8, but Timman called this line
‘very unpleasant. White has very good
compensation for the pawn.’ After the queen
exchange, on the other hand, Black has a
pleasant endgame.

13.

xe8+ xe8 14.fxg7

g8 15.f6 e7 16.xe7

On 16.Be5, 16...

a6! is even stronger than 16...c6 followed by
...f7–f6, as after 17.Bxc7 axb5 something may
happen on b3, so the g7-pawn is lost.

xe7

17.

bd2 a6 18.a4 xg7 19.0-0 h3

Well, well. Did Shirov perhaps see this move?

20.

fe1+ d6 21.g3 f6 22.d4 e7

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23.

ed1

It’s understandable that with the

black king in the centre, Jobava wants to keep
all the rooks on the board, but now Black gets
the initiative. 23.Rxe7 Kxe7 24.Ne2 was about
equal.

c5!

Improves his own structure and

worsens his opponent’s.

24.bxc6

bxc6

25.

ab1 c7 26.c2 f5 27.b2 d3

With hindsight, Timman thought that 27...Bxc2
28.Rxc2 Rb8 might have been better. ‘But I
wanted to keep it complicated.’

28.

b4 e2

29.

e1 ae8 30.g2 d6!?

Not the best,

Timman said. ‘I had various alternatives here,
such as 30...f5 or first 30...Nb7.’

31.

c2 d3

32.

e3 b7

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(Diagram)

Unive Matches 2014

11

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33.

b4!

A very strong manoeuvre, Timman

thought, with which White keeps things under
control.

c5 34.f4 c7 35.xf6 xa4

36.

b3 e4+

The immediate 36...Nxc3? 37.

Rc1 loses material.

37.

g1

Timman called

this a critical moment. White could also play
37.Kh3, but then what’s his reply to 37...Re6 ?

xc3 38.d4 b5 39.xc6 e6 40.xe6

xe6 41.b4

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d4

After the game it was found that 41...Kb7!

still offered Black good possibilities here.
White has no checks, and he cannot take on
d5 o n a ccou nt of the pin alo ng the e-f ile .
There can follow: 42.Ra1 Nc3, intending 43...
Rb 6 a n d a n e xch a n ge o f th e ro o ks, a f te r
which the black a-pawn is the greatest enemy
o f t h e wh it e kn igh t s. A f te r th is th e ga m e
peters out to a draw.

42.

c4 c3 43.f3 a5

44.

xa5 b6 45.fxe4 xb4 46.e5 d3

47.

c1 d2 48.xc3+ b6 49.d3 b1+

50.

g2 d1 51.xd1 xd1 52.c4+ c5

53.

e3 d2+ 54.h3 e2

½-½

9

E54

Shirov,Alexei

2691

Giri,Anish

2768

Unive Matches 2014 (5.1)

17.10.2014

[Multi]

1.d4

f6 2.c4 e6 3.f3 d5 4.c3 b4

5.e3

Deviating from 5.Bg5 in Game 3.

0-0

6.

d3 c5 7.0-0 dxc4 8.xc4 cxd4 9.exd4

b6

10.

g5

b7

11.

e5

A pretty

straightforward approach. Other plans are 11.
Rc1, 11.Qe2 or 11.Re1.

xc3 12.bxc3 bd7

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Here Shirov took a long think: should he enter
th e we ll-kn o wn liqu ida tio n to a d ra w th a t
follows?

13.

xd7

The alternative is 13.Qe2,

which of course has been played quite often.
But Shirov didn’t expect anything good to
come from this. ‘It makes no sense to try this
against such a well-prepared opponent. I saw
not a single way to set him any traps. It’s
been a preparation problem, this whole match.
At crucial moments I always had the feeling
that I would only take a risk against him if I
deviated. It’s a very embarrassing situation. I
hope that tomorrow with white he will fight and
we will have a good game.’
The remaining moves were:

xd7

14.

xf6

gxf6 15.d5

xd5

15...exd5? 16.Bd3 is very

Unive Matches 2014

12

dangerous, as is well-known.

16.

g4+ h8

17.

h4 xc4

For a moment Shirov hoped for

17...Qd8 18.Rfd1 Rc8 19.Ba6 Rxc3 (19...Rg8
20.Bxc8! Rxg2+ 21.Kf1 – this is why White
played the f-rook to d1 on move 18) 20.Bd3
and now White wins the exchange because
20...f5 is not possible due to 21.Qd4+. But of
course Giri had no reason whatsoever to go
for this kind of scenario.

18.

xf6+

g8

19.

g5+

h8

Match winner Anish Giri had

the following explanation: ‘We were both
bluffing. He hoped I would not go for this line.
I didn’t remember it exactly, but saw it during
the game. He seems to be not so well
prepared. In his best days he could
compensate this with his ideas behind the
board, now this has become much more
difficult, against players who use a strong
computer.”

½-½

10

B43

Timman,Jan H

2601

Jobava,Baadur

2717

Unive Matches 2014 (5.2)

17.10.2014

[Multi]

[Notes by FM Peter Boel]

1.d4 e6 2.

f3 c5

3.e4

Perhaps both players were surprised to

find themselves in a Sicilian. In any case
Jobava thought for a long time here.

cxd4

4.

xd4 a6 5.c3 b5 6.d3 b7 7.0-0

c6 8.xc6 xc6 9.e2

[ 9.

e1 c5 10.h5 b6 11.e3 xe3

12.

xe3 e7 13.d5 d8 14.xe7 xe7

15.e5

h6

Delgado Ramirez,N (2602)-

Kamsky,G (2706) Tromsø 2014

]

9...

e7

Shirov said he didn't entirely trust the

knight manoeuvre to g6.

10.

e3

[ 10.

d2 g6 11.a4 b4 12.d5 a5 13.c3

b3 14.g3

d6 15.e3 0-0 16.c4 c5

Ponomariov,R (2727)-Vallejo Pons,F (2629)
Linares 2002

]

10...

c8!?

And this made Anish Giri frown.

What is Black's plan? Jobava wanted to carry
through 11...d5 and for this purpose he moved
his queen from the d-file. An alternative was
10...b4 11.Nb1. Now Timman prevents this.

11.a3 d5!? 12.f3?!

Creative, but it couldn't

be right in Giri's opinion: "After 12. Bd4 or

also 12.Bc5 or one of the rooks to d1 White is
fine."

dxe4 13.fxe4

g6 14.ad1

[ 14.

d4!?

looks interesting. Possibly

Timman didn't trust

e5 ]

[ 14.a4

b4

15.

d5

doesn't work either:

Black can just play

exd5

16.exd5

xd5

and then he can interpose the bishop on e6
if necessary.

]

14...

e7 15.h5 c7 16.d4 0-0 17.f3

h6 18.

xf7!?

[

P o s s i b l y T i m m a n t h o u g h t t h a t

18.

df1

ad8 19.e3 e5

was too slow. In any

case the audience had something to enjoy
again. But soon the consensus was that
Timman had gone too far.

]

18...

xf7 19.xg6 d8

[ 19...

d6 20.e2 e8

was also possible,

but it doesn't really look comfortable.

]

[

Shiro v suggeste d

19...

f6

Jobava was

afraid of

20.e5

but after

xe5 21.e2 f6

22.

h7+

f7

White has no way of

continuing the attack.

]

20.

d5!

The only way to make something out

of this — and, of course, spectacular.

xd5

[

Not

20...exd5?

and now White has a

winning attack after

21.e5!

f8 22.h7

xa3 23.e6 f4 24.b6 ]

21.exd5

c5 22.c3

[ 22.dxe6

xd4+ 23.h1 f4

is winning for

Black.

]

22...

xd5 23.xe6 xd4+ 24.cxd4 d6

25.

f5!?

[

Artistry in chess, Timman knows all about it.

The attempts

25.

h7+ f8 26.c8+ d8 ]

[

and

25.

e3

do not offer much.

]

25...g6!

But this way Black remains an

exchange up. White had to exchange queens
a n d d id n 't ge t a ch a n ce in th e e n d ga m e .

26.

xg6+ xg6 27.xg6 fd7 28.f2

g7 29.e4 xd4 30.xd4 xd4 31.e3

d1 32.e2 h1 33.h3 f6 34.d3 e5

35.

b7

a5

36.

c6

b4

37.

c2

d4

38.

b3 c5 39.f3 e1 40.a4 e7

41.

d1 d7 42.g4 d3 43.f5 e3

44.

c8 h5 45.f5 e2 46.xa5 b3 47.g4

hxg4 48.hxg4

xb2 49.a4 c4 50.g5

e2
0-1

Unive Matches 2014

13

11

B33

Giri,Anish

2768

Shirov,Alexei

2691

Unive Matches 2014 (6.1)

18.10.2014

[Multi]

1.e4

chess.com

c5 2.

f3 c6 3.d4 cxd4

4.

xd4 f6 5.c3 e5

Shirov recently won a

friendly match against the father of this line,
Evgeny Sveshnikov himself, so it is safe to
presume he will be well-booked on this. On
the flip side, Anish will know this also and can
be equally expected to be ready.

6.

db5 d6

7.

g5 a6 8.a3 b5 9.d5 e7 10.xf6

xf6 11.c3 g5 12.c2 0-0

chess.com:

'This moves is mostly avoided nowadays and
12...Rb8 is preferred, and in this game Giri
s h o w s w h y . '

13.a4

bxa4

14.

xa4

a5

An example of just how heavily-trodden this
line is, after 14 moves, the online database
still contains well over 5000 games.

15.

c4

b8 16.b3 h8 17.ce3

[ 17.0-0

chess.com

f5

18.exf5

xf5

19.

ce3 g6 20.d3 xd3 21.xd3

xe3 22.fxe3 xf1+ 23.xf1 xb3 24.c4

Kasimdzhanov,R (2696)-Gelfand,B (2751)
Tashkent 2012

]

17...g6 18.h4

Still completely theoretical, this

very aggressive move aims to open the h-file
one way or the other as quickly as possible. if
Black takes with

xh4

the file is opened with

19.g3

and if not, then h5 would follow.

g5

20.f4

exf4

21.gxf4

h4+

22.

f1

This move is more than a little surprising. Of
the nearly 300 games in the online database,
less than ten chose anything other than Kd2,
and the six games with Kf1 did not end well
for White. chess.com: '!'

[ 22.

d2

(chess.com) was the more

common move here, but Giri had found out
t h a t t h e t e x t m o v e p o s e s B l a c k
considerable problems.

]

22...f5 23.

a2

This is the point of Kf1 instead

of Kd2. W hile Kd2 brings the king to a safer
part of the board, Kf1 allows this rook lift with
Ra2-h2 to quickly attack the h-file. In spite of
th e p o o r t r a ck r e c o r d i n th e g a m e s , o n e
cannot argue with the consistency of this
choice, and it should be noted the engines do
not chastise it either.

fxe4

24.

ah2

g5

25.

h5

This key move in Giri's preparation is

what ensures a very difficult struggle for Black.
Shirov later noted that the more he looked at
this position, the less he liked it.

[ 25.

g2

chess.com

b7 26.xh4 gxh4

27.

xh4 g7 28.h5 e6 29.xh7+ xh7

30.

xh7+ g8 31.h8+ g7 32.8h7+

g8

33.

h8+

g7

34.

8h7+

g8

35.

h8+ g7

1/2 Radulski,J (2552)-Spasov,

V (2571) Panagyurishte 2012

]

25...

b7

26.

e2

e6

27.

h6

g8

chess.com: '?!'

[

Too passive. Black's best chance seems to

be

27...

xd5

chess.com

28.

xd5 ff7

(Shirov hadn't seen this latter move), though
after

29.

e6

White still has the upper

hand.

]

28.

g2 bf7

Diagram

[

After this the black position collapses. The

c o m p u t e r g i v e s

28...

e5

chess.com

29.fxe5 dxe5 30.

xh4 gxh4 31.h5 e8

but that doesn't look too attractive.

]

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

29.

xh4! gxh4 30.f5!

The knight cannot

be taken because of Qg7 mate. chess.com:
'30.f5 also wins, due to the threat of 30.f6 and
31.Qg7+. Black cannot take on f6 because
the bishop on g8 is hanging: 30...h3 31.Rg5
and W hite wins.'

h3 31.

h4!

The threat is

the not-so-subtle Ng6 mate!

xh4 32.xg8+

xg8 33.xh4 g2+ 34.f1 h2 35.e3

g7 36.f6 h1+ 37.f2 h2+ 38.e1

h1+ 39.d2 h2+ 40.c1 e7 41.f5

hg2

[ 41...

xf5? 42.f8+ g8 43.xg8# ]

42.

xg7 xg7 43.f8+ g8 44.xg8

Unive Matches 2014

14

xg8 45.f6+ g7 46.h4

The h-pawn fall

and there is nothing to hope for, so...

1-0

12

A29

Jobava,Baadur

2717

Timman,Jan H

2601

Unive Matches 2014 (6.2)

18.10.2014

[Multi]

chess.com: '[Notes by FM Peter Boel]'

1.c4

chess.com

e5 2.

c3 f6 3.f3 c6 4.g3

c5 5.g2 d6 6.d3 h6 7.a3 a6 8.b4 a7

9.0-0 0-0 10.

e3

chess.com: '!?' chess.com:

'Job a va 's first un usu al mo ve fo r the da y,
though it had been played before by, among
others, Daniel Fridman. "A tempting move for
me," Jobava said. "The strong bishop on a7 is
t r a d e d o f f , a n d I ' m c h a n g i n g t h e p a w n
structure."'

[ 10.

b2

chess.com

d4 11.xd4 exd4

12.

d5 xd5 13.cxd5 e8 14.e1 a5

15.

c2 d7 16.ac1 axb4 17.axb4 b6

Istratescu,A (2667)-Navara,D (2708) Saint
Quentin 2014

]

10...

xe3

[

The principled move. Others have played

10...

d4

(chess.com) e.g.

11.

c1 xf3+

12.exf3

e8 13.d2 f5 14.fe1 c6

15.

xa7 xa7 16.d4 a8

Fridman,D

(2602)-Balogh, C (2632) Bastia 2013

]

11.fxe3

e6 12.h4

[ 12.

d2

chess.com

b8

13.

h4

c6

14.

f5 d5 15.cxd5 cxd5 16.e4 xf5

17.

xf5 dxe4 18.af1 d4+ 19.e3 xd3

20.

xe4

xd2

21.

xd2

bd7

Mamedyarov,S (2660)-Delchev,A (2601)
Mallorca 2004

]

12...

g4

[

Jobava liked

12...

b8

(chess.com) "Then I

play

13.

d2

with a slow game."

]

13.

c1 g5

[

Jobava thought this wasn't the best move

e i t h e r . T h e a l t e r n a t i v e w a s

13...f5

(chess.com) Then White wins a pawn with

14.h3

f6 15.xf5

but Black gets some

c o u n t e r p l a y w i t h

d7

16.g4

h5

Jobava: "Now I can destroy his structure."

]

14.

xc6

bxc6

15.e4

h5

chess.com:

'According to the Georgian the queens had to

b e e x c h a n g e d . '

16.h3

f6

17.

g2

chess.com: 'Now White wants to steamroll on
the queenside with a3-a4-a5 and b4-b5. So
Timman takes action:'

d5

18.cxd5

cxd5

Diagram

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

'But the black pieces are wrongly placed for
this:'

19.

xf6!

A powerful exchange sacrifice

that throws Black's position into chaos.

gxf6

20.exd5

d7 21.e3

[

"Maybe

21.e4

(chess.com) was still better",

Jobava said. "But I wasn't sure, so I chose a
more forced line."

]

21...

g5?

[ 21...f5

was more resilient, but Black still

has trouble fighting the powerful knights.

22.

f1 f4?! 23.f3! xf3+ 24.xf3 ae8

25.gxf4

exf4

26.

d4

and White has an

edge thanks to the strong knights and many
pawn targets. Notice how Black's pawns are
broken into four islands. Ex:

e3

27.

xf4

xh3 28.e4 c8 29.b5 axb5 30.xb5

g7 31.xc7 ]

22.

c5 f5 23.xc7 ad8

[ 23...

ac8

chess.com

24.

xd7

xc3

25.

xf5 c2 26.e1

isn't a problem for

White either.

]

24.

f3 h5 25.xe5 b5 26.c4 fe8

27.

f1 d7

[ 27...

c8

(chess.com) was in Jobava's

opinion a better version, for example:

28.

f4

xe2+ 29.xe2 xe2+ 30.f2 xd3

31.

e3 e4+

with good winning chances

for White in the endgame.

]

28.

f4 xe2+ 29.xe2 xe2+ 30.f2

xd3

31.

e3

e7

chess.com: 'After the

Unive Matches 2014

15

trade with 31...Qe4+, the rook would be more
passive on d7 than on c8.'

32.

xf5

xd5+

33.

h2 d7 34.g4+

1-0