Caruana Dominates at Tata Steel

Fabiano Caruana was the runaway winner of the 2020 Tata Steel Masters, scoring an outstanding 10/13 (+7) to finish a full two points ahead of Magnus Carlsen at 8 (+3) points. Wesley So ended his tournament in clear third place at 7.5 points. This was Caruana’s first tournament victory at Wijk aan Zee, and he was on top of his game, playing some exemplary technical chess. International Master Kostya Kavutskiy annotates two of Caruana’s best games exclusively for CLO.

[pgn]

[Event "Tata Steel Masters"]
[Date "2020.01.24"]
[Round "11.4"]
[White "Kovalev, Vladislav"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C78"]
[WhiteElo "2660"]
[BlackElo "2822"]
[Annotator "Kostya"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Belarus"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "BLR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d6 8. a4
Rb8 9. d4 Bb6 10. axb5 axb5 11. Na3 O-O 12. Nxb5 Bg4 13. Re1 Bxf3 14. gxf3 Nh5
15. f4 Nxf4 16. Bxf4 exf4 17. Kh1 Ne7 {White's trump in this kind of position
is the potentially restricted bishop on b6. But after Black's last move,
intending c6 & c5, Black's dark-squared bishop not only opens up, but creates
immediate positional problems for White on the dark-squares. As Caruana
explained after the game, Kovalev may have mixed up his opening work, which
can be lethal when facing one of the best prepared players in the world.} 18.
Bc2 Ng6 19. b4 c6 20. Na3 c5 21. bxc5 $2 {This turns out to be a serious
mistake, as it opens up Black's queen.} (21. Nb5 {would keep White's position
relatively stable:} Qd7 22. Bd3 cxd4 23. cxd4 Nh4 $15 {with a small edge for
Black.}) 21... dxc5 22. Nc4 (22. d5 Ne5 $19 {would leave Black with a
strategically winning position.}) (22. Nb5 cxd4 23. cxd4 Ba5 $1 $19) 22... cxd4
23. Nxb6 (23. cxd4 Bxd4 $19) 23... Rxb6 24. cxd4 Rd6 25. Ra4 Ne5 $1 {With idea
Nc6, forcing White to compromise his structure.} 26. f3 Nc6 27. e5 {Giving up
a pawn to avoid a hopelessly passive position.} (27. d5 Ne5 $17 {with very
clear play for Black on the kingside - Qh4/f6, g5, and so on, targeting
White's weaknesses.}) 27... Rxd4 28. Rxd4 Nxd4 29. Be4 Qh4 {Black now has an
extra pawn and a decisive advantage here, with White's king still being quite
weak. Fabiano doesn't let his opponent off the hook.} 30. Rg1 Rd8 31. Qf1 g6
32. Rg4 Qe7 33. Rxf4 Qxe5 34. Rh4 Ne6 35. Rh3 Nf4 36. Rg3 Rd2 {Without any
defense to either Qd4 or Qb2, White resigned.} 0-1

[/pgn]

[pgn]

[Event "Tata Steel Masters"]
[Date "2020.01.22"]
[Round "10.5"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E71"]
[WhiteElo "2822"]
[BlackElo "2723"]
[Annotator "Kostya"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "FID"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 O-O 6. Be3 Nc6 $5 {A rare and
adventurous way of meeting the h3/Be3 setup, which is currently one of the
most dangerous tries at White's disposal against the King's Indian, and one
that Caruana has used multiple times.} 7. d5 Ne5 8. f4 Ned7 9. g4 $5 {One of
the points of White's system is to take space and keep control over it. In
this case, g4 is ambitious, but principled.} c6 10. Nf3 cxd5 11. cxd5 b6 $146 {
A new move by Firouzja} (11... Nc5 12. Bxc5 dxc5 13. e5 $16 {already looked
very good for White in Jones,G (2662)-Pavlidis,A (2546) Heraklio 2017.}) 12.
Nd4 Nc5 13. Qf3 $6 {Not the engine's first choice, but a logical move,
defending e4 with the queen and preparing to castle queenside, while keeping
the bishop controlling the vulnerable f1-a6 diagonal.} (13. Nc6 Qe8 14. Bg2 {
was probably critical, and could be tested in future games. My guess is that
Firouzja had some deeper preparation here, and was willing to go for risky
complications against Caruana.}) 13... Bb7 {Here Firouzja spent some time for
the first time in the game, indicating that he hadn't checked White's move in
his preparation. He may have thought there was a way to punish White's play
(as Qf3 is not suggested by the engine), and with Bb7 he is basically
committed to go for a very sharp piece sacrifice.} ({Instead} 13... e6 $1 {
would have likely caused White more problems:} 14. g5 Nh5 {with a total mess
after} 15. O-O-O (15. dxe6 $2 fxe6 16. O-O-O Nxf4 $1 17. Bxf4 Bxd4 18. Rxd4 e5
$17) 15... exd5 16. Nc6 Qe8 17. Nxd5 Bb7 18. Nce7+ Kh8 19. f5 $13) 14. g5 Nfxe4
$5 {Nh5 was still playable, but this was likely Black's intention with Bb7.}
15. Nxe4 Bxd5 16. Nf6+ exf6 17. Qxd5 Re8 18. Nc2 $1 {I think this was the most
practical way of dealing with Black's initiative.} fxg5 19. O-O-O gxf4 20. Bd4
$1 {Black will be left with four pawns for the sacrificed piece, but Caruana
exchanges off Black's most important piece, the dark-squared bishop.} (20. Bxf4
Qf6 $19) 20... Bxd4 21. Qxd4 $14 Ne6 22. Qd2 Qf6 23. Kb1 Rac8 24. Bb5 Red8 25.
Nb4 d5 26. Rhf1 Rc5 27. a4 d4 28. Nd3 Rf5 29. Rf3 {Stockfish doesn't seem to
give White that large of an advantage here, but with a total blockade of
Black's pawns, White's position is much easier to play. Firouzja quickly gets
in trouble from here:} g5 30. Rg1 Kf8 $2 (30... h5 {was better but after} 31.
Bc6 $14 {and Be4 White will be very close to breaking through.}) 31. h4 $1 h6 (
31... gxh4 32. Qb4+ Nc5 33. Rgf1 $18 {is a disaster for Black, as White will
soon start collecting all the pawns.}) 32. hxg5 hxg5 33. Rh3 f3 34. Bc4 Ke7 35.
Bxe6 Kxe6 (35... fxe6 36. Rh7+ Kd6 (36... Kf8 37. Qh2 e5 38. Rh6 $18) 37. Qb4+
$18) 36. Qh2 $1 {White's knight on d3 is simply a positional stalwart,
completely blocking Black's play, allowing White's heavy pieces to roam freely
and hunt down Black's king. The advantage is fairly decisive now and Caruana
converts smoothly:} f2 37. Rf1 Kd7 38. Rh6 Qe7 39. Rxf2 Rxf2 40. Qxf2 Kc8 41.
a5 bxa5 42. Qc2+ Kb8 43. Nc5 Rd6 44. Rh8+ Rd8 45. Qb3+ Kc7 46. Qb7+ Kd6 47.
Rh6+ f6 48. Ne4+ 1-0

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx8mDArM4HQ Caruana showed the spirit of a champion with his final round victory over Vladislav Artemiev, choosing to grind the win out when a draw would have been more than acceptable.

[pgn]

[Event "Tata Steel Masters"]
[Date "2020.01.26"]
[Round "13.4"]
[White "Artemiev, Vladislav"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2822"]
[PlyCount "132"]
[EventDate "2020.01.10"]
[SourceTitle "200127 Tata Steel"]
[SourceDate "2020.01.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.01.27"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nd7 3. c4 dxc4 4. Qa4 a6 5. Qxc4 b5 6. Qc2 Bb7 7. Bg2 Ngf6 8.
O-O e6 9. d3 Be7 10. a4 c5 11. Nc3 Qb6 12. axb5 axb5 13. Rxa8+ Bxa8 14. Bg5 O-O
15. Ra1 h6 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Nd2 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Rc8 19. Qb3 Rb8 20. Nce4 Be7 21.
Kg1 f5 22. Nc3 Ne5 23. h3 h5 24. Nf3 Nxf3+ 25. exf3 Bf6 26. Re1 Kf7 27. Ne2 g5
28. g4 hxg4 29. hxg4 fxg4 30. fxg4 Qd6 31. Ng3 Qd5 32. Qc2 Bd4 33. Qe2 Rh8 34.
Ne4 Qe5 35. Qf3+ Kg7 36. b3 Rf8 37. Qe2 Qd5 38. Rf1 Kg6 39. Qd1 c4 40. bxc4
bxc4 41. Kg2 Ba7 42. f3 cxd3 43. Qa1 Be3 44. Rd1 Qc4 45. Qc3 Qa2+ 46. Nd2 Qc2
47. Qe5 Bxd2 48. Qxe6+ Kg7 49. Qe7+ Rf7 50. Qe5+ Kf8 51. Qb8+ Ke7 52. Qe5+ Kd8
53. Qb8+ Kd7 54. Qb7+ Kd6 55. Qb6+ Ke5 56. Qb5+ Kd4 57. Qb6+ Kc4 58. Qe6+ Kc3
59. Qe5+ Kb3 60. Qd5+ Kb2 61. Qb5+ Bb4+ 62. Kg3 Qxd1 63. Qxb4+ Qb3 64. Qd2+ Kb1
65. Qe1+ Kc2 66. Qf2+ d2 0-1

[/pgn]

Wesley So finished at +2, with his two wins coming early in the event against Anand and Firouzja. Kavutskiy analyzes both.

[pgn]

[Event "Tata Steel Masters"]
[Date "2020.01.12"]
[Round "2.7"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2765"]
[BlackElo "2758"]
[Annotator "Kostya"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "India"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "IND"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. h3 a6 8. Bb3
Be6 9. Bc2 d5 10. Ng5 dxe4 11. Nxe6 fxe6 12. dxe4 Bxf2+ 13. Kxf2 Ng4+ 14. Kg1
Ne3 15. Qe2 Nxc2 16. Rb1 N6d4 17. cxd4 {Based on Wesley's short usage of time
up until this point, he had likely seen some of these complications in his
preparation before. However it's quite unclear just how deeply either player
had looked into this line, and what they remembered at the board.} Qxd4+ 18.
Kh2 Rf2 19. Qg4 Ne3 20. Qxe6+ Kh8 21. Rg1 Qd3 22. Qxe5 Raf8 $2 {A natural move,
but one that lets White consolidate.} (22... Nxg2 $1 {would force a draw.} 23.
Rxg2 Rxg2+ 24. Kxg2 Qe2+ 25. Kg3 Rf8 $1 $11 {and Black will give a perpetual
with Qe1+ next}) 23. Qg3 Qe2 {Optically White's position looks precarious, as
Black is threatening to take twice on g2 and play Rf2, as well as the slow but
deadly maneuver of R8f6-g6. With one very unexpected move, Wesley finds a way
to deal with all of his problems:} 24. b4 $3 {A brilliant defensive resource.
Giving the rook access to b3, where it will bother Black's knight. Vishy is
not in time to generate enough threats.} ({According to Stockfish White is
close to winning after} 24. Kh1 {but has to find a very narrow sequence of
moves to demonstrate that:} R8f6 25. Nb3 Nf1 26. Qh4 Qd3 27. Bg5 Qxb1 28. Bxf6
Rxf6 29. e5 $1 $16 {and the e-pawn becomes very strong.}) ({White's second
point can be seen in the line after} 24. a3 Nxg2 25. Kh1 R8f7 $1 26. Rxg2 Rxg2
27. Qxg2 Rf2 28. Qg1 Qe3 $1 {in the game, White would have Rb3 here, winning,
but without it is forced to take a draw after} 29. Qg4 Qe1+ 30. Qg1 Qe3 $11)
24... Rxg2+ {Vishy thought for a little while here but likely couldn't find
anything playable.} (24... R8f6 25. Rb3 $1 Rg6 26. Rxe3 Rxg3 27. Rxe2 $18) (
24... Nxg2 25. Kh1 R8f7 26. Rxg2 Rxg2 27. Qxg2 Rf2 28. Qg1 Qe3 29. Rb3 $1 $18)
25. Rxg2 Nxg2 {Hoping for Qxg2 Rf2 but White can counter the discovered check:}
26. Qg4 {With no more possible tricks, Black resigned.} 1-0

[/pgn]

[pgn]

[Event "Tata Steel Masters"]
[Date "2020.01.14"]
[Round "4.4"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D27"]
[WhiteElo "2765"]
[BlackElo "2723"]
[Annotator "Kostya"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "FID"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. b3 cxd4 8. Nxd4
Be7 9. Bb2 O-O 10. Be2 Bd7 11. Nd2 Nc6 12. Rc1 Rc8 13. N4f3 b5 14. a3 Qb6 15.
Rc2 e5 16. Bd3 Rfd8 17. Qe2 Bg4 18. Rfc1 Na7 19. Rxc8 Rxc8 20. Rxc8+ Nxc8 21.
h3 Bxf3 22. Qxf3 Qd8 23. Qe2 Qd5 24. Bc2 Nd6 25. Qd3 Qxd3 26. Bxd3 Nd7 27. g4
g6 28. Ne4 {It seems like Wesley's main strategy here, starting from 21.h3,
was to exchange all of the pieces except for his two bishops against Black's
bishop and knight. A classical long-term advantage, with the two bishops and a
fluid stucture White will be able to play for two results while putting
pressure on both sides of the board. A deadly strategy in the hands of a
superb technician like Wesley So.} Nxe4 29. Bxe4 Nc5 30. Bc2 e4 $6 {After this
move Black's task becomes quite difficult, though Wesley doesn't find the most
accurate way to prosecute the advantage.} ({After} 30... f6 {Black would face
a long and unpleasant defense:} 31. Kg2 Kf8 32. f4 exf4 33. exf4 Kf7 34. Kf3
$16 {Although White is not winning, he can continue to pose problems for a
long time, with a risk-free advantage.}) 31. b4 Nd3 32. Bc3 Kf8 33. Kf1 f5 34.
Ke2 $6 (34. gxf5 gxf5 35. Bb3 $1 Bh4 36. Be6 Bxf2 37. Bxf5 Bxe3 38. Bxh7 $18 {
was best, where White will soon be left with an extra passed pawn and
fantastic winning chances.}) 34... Bd8 35. Bxd3 exd3+ 36. Kxd3 Kf7 37. e4 {
Firouzja might have felt this position was drawn, and I think he would be
right, but ends up choosing wrong in the game.} fxg4 ({After} 37... f4 $1 38.
f3 Ke6 39. Bd4 g5 $16 {Stockfish gives a large advantage for White, but I'm
unable to find a plan to break through.}) 38. hxg4 g5 {The losing mistake.} (
38... h5 $5 39. gxh5 gxh5 {also deserves deeper analysis, but I was unable to
find a winning line for White - Black's h-pawn generates just enough
counterplay to hold.}) 39. Kd4 $1 {Grabbing the last chance White will have to
activate his king.} Bb6+ 40. Kd5 Bxf2 41. Kc6 Ke6 42. Kb7 Kd7 43. Kxa6 Kc6 44.
e5 $1 {The 'principle of two weaknesses' decides the game.} Be3 45. e6 Bc1 46.
a4 bxa4 47. Be5 1-0

[/pgn]

Nine consecutive draws in the final rounds, including two before move twenty, hurt So’s chances for a higher ranking. Still, third place and an estimated five rating points are estimable consolation prizes! Jeffery Xiong continued to amass top-flight experience in Wijk, ending his event in the middle of the pack at 6/13 (-1). Xiong got his first draw with Magnus Carlsen in Round 3, although he will probably be kicking himself for not taking the full point, as Kavutskiy shows.

[pgn]

[Event "Tata Steel Masters"]
[Date "2020.01.13"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D41"]
[WhiteElo "2872"]
[BlackElo "2712"]
[Annotator "Kostya"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Norway"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 cxd4 8.
cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Qxd2 O-O 11. Bd3 Nc6 12. Bc2 Qe7 13. O-O Rd8 14. Qe3
b6 15. Rfd1 Bb7 16. Rac1 Rac8 17. h4 Na5 18. Bd3 h6 19. g4 Nc6 20. Bb1 Qd7 21.
Kh2 Qd6+ 22. Kg1 Na5 23. Bd3 $2 {A surprising slip from Carlsen, who had been
shuffling for a few moves now.} (23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Bd3 $11 {would keep things
equal.}) 23... Rxc1 $1 {Spotting the error.} 24. Rxc1 Nc6 {All of a sudden
White can't defend the d4-pawn. Carlsen hunkers down and prepares for a
difficult endgame.} 25. Bb5 (25. Rc4 b5 $19) 25... Nxd4 26. Qxd4 Qxd4 27. Nxd4
Rxd4 28. f3 a6 29. Bf1 Rd7 $1 {Accurate, stopping counterplay with Rc7.} 30. a4
Kf8 (30... g5 $1 {was the key move Black needed to play here, as well as the
next move. The point is to stop White from being able to push e5 and f4.}) 31.
Kf2 (31. Rb1 $1 {was good right away:} Rd6 32. e5 Rc6 33. f4 $1 $44 {and White
gets enough counterplay.}) 31... Ke7 ({Again} 31... g5 {was probably best:} 32.
hxg5 hxg5 33. Rb1 Rd6 34. e5 Rc6 35. Bd3 Rc3 $1 36. Be2 Bc6 37. Rxb6 a5 $1 $17)
(31... f6 $5 {would also keep some winning chances, stopping White from
playing Rb1 and e5, as in the game.}) 32. Rb1 {From here Carlsen defends
perfectly, and finds every move to survive.} Rd6 33. e5 Rc6 34. Bd3 g5 35. h5
Bc8 (35... Rc3 {would not quite work, based on an incredibly small nuance:} 36.
Be2 Bc6 37. Rxb6 a5 38. Bd1 Rc1 39. Bb3 Be8 40. Rb7+ {This check makes all the
difference. In the previous line, Black's king would be on f8.} Kf8 41. Ra7 Rc3
42. Bd1 Rc5 43. Bb3 Rxe5 44. Rc7 $1 {An amazing mutual zugzwang. With White to
play, he would be worse, with Black to play, there's no way to make progress.})
36. Ke3 Rc5 37. f4 Ra5 38. Rxb6 gxf4+ 39. Kxf4 Rxa4+ 40. Kf3 Ra3 41. Ke4 f6 42.
Rb8 Bd7 43. Rb7 fxe5 44. g5 hxg5 45. h6 Kd6 46. Rb6+ Bc6+ 47. Rxc6+ Kxc6 48. h7
Ra4+ 49. Kxe5 Rh4 50. Kf6 g4 51. Kg5 Rh2 52. Kxg4 Kd5 53. Bg6 Rh6 54. Kg5 Rxh7
{Otherwise Bh5 would win.} 55. Bxh7 e5 56. Kg4 Kd4 1/2-1/2

[/pgn]

David Anton Guijarro is the winner of the B Group at 8.5/13, punching his ticket for entry into the 2021 Tata Steel Masters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n2BmiE5Qis The final round matchup between Pavel Eljanov and Erwin L’ami, who finished tied for second place with Nodirbek Abdusattorov at 8/13, has to be seen to be believed.

[pgn]

[Event "82nd Tata Steel GpB"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2020.01.26"]
[Round "13.4"]
[White "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Black "L'Ami, Erwin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C88"]
[WhiteElo "2650"]
[BlackElo "2606"]
[Annotator "Hartmann,John"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2020.01.11"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4
Bb7 9. d3 O-O 10. Bd2 Nd4 11. Nxd4 exd4 12. c3 dxc3 13. Nxc3 b4 14. Ne2 d5 $146
15. e5 Nd7 16. Nf4 c6 17. d4 (17. e6 {is too early:} Nc5 18. Bc2 b3 19. exf7+
Rxf7 20. Bxb3 Bd6 {with some attacking play for the pawn}) 17... Re8 18. a5 {
Clamping down on the mobility of the d7-knight, and isolating the b4-pawn from
its brethren.} Rb8 (18... Nf8 19. Ba4 {with the idea of Qb3, Rac1, etc.}) 19.
Nh5 (19. e6 $1 Nf6 20. exf7+ Kxf7 21. Ne6) 19... g6 {[#]} 20. f4 $5 (20. Nf4
Nf8 21. Ba4) 20... f5 (20... gxh5 $2 {is unplayable due to the attack following
} 21. Qxh5 f5 22. Bc2 Nf8 23. Bxf5 Kh8 24. Re3 $1) 21. g4 $5 {But this looks
to be too much.} (21. exf6 Nxf6 22. Ng3) 21... gxh5 22. gxf5 Nf6 $6 ({The
cold-blooded} 22... Kh8 {seems to hold after} 23. Qxh5 Rg8+ 24. Kf2 (24. Kh1 c5
$1) 24... Bh4+ 25. Kf3 Bxe1 26. Rxe1 Bc8 $1 27. Bc2 $141 c5 28. f6 Nxf6 $1 29.
exf6 Bg4+) 23. exf6 Bxf6 24. Re5 $5 {No one values material anymore!} (24. Qxh5
Bxd4+ 25. Kf1 c5 26. Bc2 $13) 24... Kh8 (24... Bxe5 $2 25. dxe5 $40 {gives
White a mobile pawn wedge and a clear reroute for the b3-bishop to the b1-h7
diagonal.}) 25. Qxh5 Rg8+ 26. Kf2 Qf8 27. Rc1 $6 {Perhaps prophylaxis against
the ...c6-c5 break. But White doesn't seem to have time for such niceties!} (
27. Rae1 $142 Qg7 (27... Bxe5 $2 28. fxe5 $1 $18) 28. Qh3 c5 (28... Bxe5 $2 29.
fxe5) 29. dxc5 Bc6 $13) 27... Qg7 28. Qh3 Bc8 (28... c5 $1) 29. Ke3 {!?!?!?!} (
29. Bc2 $5) 29... c5 $5 {Probably based on the tactical continuation in the
game.} (29... Bxe5 30. dxe5 Bd7 {is probably playable now, although White has
some compensation.}) (29... Bd7 {connects the rooks and tries to consolidate
with the White rook effectively self-trapped.}) 30. Bxd5 cxd4+ (30... Rf8 {
is a vital alternative. If} 31. Ke2 {(freeing the d2 bishop and giving a
lifeline to the trapped rook)} Bxe5 32. dxe5 Bxf5 33. Qg3 Bg4+ 34. Ke1 {
is hard to evaluate. Do the bishops and the pawn duo balance the material?})
31. Kf2 Bb7 32. Bxb7 $2 {Natural but flawed.} (32. Bxg8 $1 Rxg8 33. Re6 $8 Bg2
34. Qg3 Qb7 35. Qd3 Qg7 {(threatening ...Bh4+)} 36. Ke1 (36. Qg3 Qb7 $11) 36...
Bd5 37. Rxf6 Qxf6 38. Kd1 Qg7 (38... Re8 39. Rc7 Be4 40. Qc4) 39. Kc2 Rc8+ 40.
Kb1 {and we head into a complicated ending with chances for both sides.}) 32...
Rxb7 33. Re6 d3 $1 {Freeing the dormant bishop!} 34. Kf3 Rb5 $6 (34... Bxb2 35.
Rg6 Qd7 36. Rxg8+ Kxg8 37. Rg1+ Kh8 38. Rg5 Bf6 $1 $19) 35. Rcc6 Qg1 {with the
devastating threat of ...Qd1+} (35... Bxb2 $1) 36. Re1 (36. Rc7 $1 {(hitting
h7)} Qh1+ (36... Qd1+ 37. Ke4 Qh1+ 38. Qf3 $1 $18) 37. Ke3 Qg1+ 38. Ke4 Qd4+
39. Kf3 Qd5+ 40. Re4 Qxf5 41. Qxf5 Rxf5 42. Rxb4 $18) 36... Qg7 37. Ree6 Qg1
38. Re1 Qg7 39. Rce6 (39. Ree6 $11) 39... Rb7 (39... Rc5 $1 {and ...Rc2 would
be very difficult to meet.}) 40. Rxa6 Bxb2 (40... Rc7 $1) 41. Rg6 $1 {After a
back and forth battle Eljanov moves the game towards a draw.} Qf7 42. Rxg8+
Qxg8 43. Qh6 (43. f6 Qd5+ 44. Kg3 Qg8+ 45. Qg4 Bxf6 46. Qxg8+ Kxg8 $11) 43...
Qd5+ 44. Re4 Rb8 45. Qe6 Qxa5 46. Bxb4 (46. Rxb4 Rxb4 47. Qe8+ Kg7 48. Qe7+ Kg8
49. Qe8+ $11) 46... d2 47. Qd7 Qxf5 48. Re8+ Rxe8 49. Qxe8+ Kg7 50. Qe7+ Kg6
51. Qe8+ Kg7 52. Bxd2 Qd5+ 53. Ke2 Bf6 54. Qe3 Qg2+ 55. Qf2 1/2-1/2

[/pgn]

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