Download PGN of October '07 1 d4 d5 games
Moscow Variation [D43]
Aronian - Gelfand: Levon Aronian came up with an interesting novelty which seemed to give White somewhat the better chances in a quiet line of the Moscow Variation, 16 g4!?:
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However, his king was weakened by the g2-g4 pawn push and very precise play was required. That day Aronian was far from his best form and Gelfand cleverly exploited his mistakes and just flattened his K-side.
Aronian - Anand: In the Mexico World Championship Vishy Anand showed excellent preparation with the Black pieces in sharp and complicated Slav openings. Here he introduced a strong novelty in a famous position of the Anti-Moscow Gambit, which not only helped him to get sufficient counter chances but to give White real problems and scored a full point, apparently without sweat.
Grischuk - Svidler: A grandiose battle in one of the most topical lines. Svidler accepted a pawn sacrifice and then came up with the rare option 16...Qc5!?:
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Grischuk developed the initiative with a series of energetic moves, which involved a brilliant piece sacrifice. Peter defended very skilfully but still had to give up his queen, nevertheless maintaining sufficient counter resources. A following small inaccuracy gave Alexander a chance to give Black serious problems but he was attracted by another interesting option which only led to a repetition of moves.
Grischuk - Anand: A principled opening argument between two foremost experts, Alexander Grischuk and Vishy Anand. Grischuk came up with a small innovation in a deep line, which previously seemed quite acceptable for Black and soon it became clear that Black might face real problems in the endgame, which had previously been considered drawish. Despite all of Anand's efforts he failed to solve the problems and found himself in a difficult situation. However, one small inaccuracy from his opponent was sufficient for him to escape into a rook ending with a pawn less. In fact, only more thorough analysis might prove how real White's chances would have been, but in any case Black has to find something more convincing in the early stages in order to avoid such problems.
Kramnik - Gelfand: Vladimir Kramnik could not resist the temptation to take part in such exciting Mexican duels in the Anti-Moscow Gambit, and here he came up with a rare continuation which was met by the logical novelty 13...Rg8!?:
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White's chances still seemed preferable but perhaps he had a better option at one point. Then a series of energetic pawn advances helped Gelfand exhaust his opponent's resources and made White's extra pawn insignificant.
Kramnik - Anand: The highly anticipated battle between Kramnik and Anand also took place on Anti-Moscow territory. Vladimir prepared a novelty which gave him the better chances, then Vishy sacrificed an exchange for two pawns but his position looked hazardous with a locked light-squared bishop and the king castled Q-side. However, his strong centralised pieces and precise defensive play did not give White real chances to acquire anything more substantial than the seemingly promising invasion of his major pieces. Black's king also played an important role in defence and in the final position Black might already have thought about more ambitious play but a draw was good enough for Anand to secure the Title.
Meran Defence [D47-48]
Gelfand - Kramnik: A novelty in a not very ambitious, but still poisonous, line in the Meran helped Kramnik to comfortably solve Black's problems, but perhaps White could still improve his play and achieve some advantage.
Morozevich - Anand: Another strong innovation from Vishy Anand's laboratory, 16...g6!:
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It sounds unbelievable but perhaps it is solving all Black's problems in the Nf3-d4 line - moreover, it might already be White who has to fight for equality. Morozevich failed to solve this task and found himself in a very bad ending with a pawn less, which he eventually managed to save thanks to his opponent's inaccuracies.
Ruslan
If you have any questions, then please post a message at the 1 d4 d5 Forum, or subscribers can email me at ruslan@chesspublishing.com.