Leko – Anand
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.c3 d6 8.a4 Rb8 9.d4 Bb6 10.Na3 0–0 11.axb5 axb5 12.Nxb5 (Leko – Anand also cranked out these moves at very fast pace.)
12…Bg4 (Black offered a pawn sacrifice for rapid development. White’s pawn on e4 is not in a hot position.)
13.Be3 (Leko took a long time to come up with Be3. Other possible options are 13.d5 or 13.Bg5. Black obviously cannot take the pawn with Nxe4 due to Bd5.)
13…exd4 14.cxd4 Nxe4 (Now Bd5 and Black will respond with Qe8 protecting both Knights. But that may still be the best move for White.)
15.Qc2 (I am not a big fan of this move because of Na5. I prefer to keep my Bishop. But it is only a matter of preference.)
15…Qe8 (A little surprising to me. I would want to get rid of the White Bishop on b3.)
16.Ba4 (This is why I wanted to play Na5 to get rid of that Bishop. White is a little better now. It looks like Bd7 is the most obvious choice to block the annoying pin.)
16…Bd7 (Just as expected. He cannot afford to allow the pin.)
17.Rfe1 (This is interesting because it does allow Nb4. 17.Nc3 would have been an interesting choice. The Knight on b5 does really have a purpose anymore.)
17…Nb4 (I believe the game is now equalized. This is why I have some doubt with Rfe1. This allows Black to kind of simplify the game.)
18.Qc4 Ba5 19.Nc3 Bxa4 (20.Rxa4 would be the strongest reply here. This may force Black to play 20…d5.)
20.Rxa4 d5 (This is a must to chase the Queen back.)
21.Qf1 (The only safe square for the Queen. The position is very much equal.)
21…Nc6 1/2
I hope vishy springs a surprise…… no Ruy Lopez today……. come on something else
Analysis from Zappa:
Afetr move 16, deep 14:
+0.19 1. Nb5-c3 Ne4-f6 2. Qc2-d1 h7-h6 3. Rf1-e1 Qe8-d8 4. d4-d5 Nc6-e5 5. Be3xb6 Rb8xb6 6. Nf3xe5 d6xe5 7. Re1xe5 Rb6xb2
Wouldn’t 15… Na5 be met by 16. Ra5 and gaining 2 knights for the rook ?
After 17 white (deep 14):
+0.46 1… Nc6-b4 2. Qc2-b3 Bb6-a5 3. Nb5xd6 c7xd6 4. Ba4xd7 Qe8xd7 5. Ra1xa5 Nb4-c6 6. Qb3-a4 Rb8-b4 7. Qa4-a3 Rf8-b8 8. Ra5-a8
who is better ?
Hey Susan,
Thanks for providing all this great commentary to demystify the process for us. I think your comment “17.Rfe1 (This is interesting because it does allow Nb4. 17.Nc3 is an interesting choice. The Knight on b5 does really have a purpose anymore.” should be revised. If I understand correctly the last sentence should read: “The Knight on b5 doesn’t really have a purpose anymore.”
Thanks again,
John Madera
P.S. I’m having a great time at the center in my second month of tournament play.
Susan, where are you???
draw agreed.
1/2-1/2
which player offered the draw?
It looked like Leko had a really good position earlier but didn’t force it, allowing Anand to at least get equality. Perhaps Anand was feeling relieved of the earlier pressure, and accepted Leko’s offer a draw?
Anyway, Svidler and Grischuk have the weirdest, most exciting game today. Too bad the polls didn’t select that game for Susan to comment on!
“which player offered the draw?”
The FIDE rules will help… a player may only offer a draw AFTER his move and if the opponent wants to accept it he has to do it BEFORE his move (or more exact: before having touched one of his figures).
So Anand must have offered the draw.
Greetings
Jochen
Another short draw. Thrilling. Why don’t we just let them agree to draws over breakfast? Does chess really benefit from these games with 17 moves of prepared analysis, 4 moves of real chess, and then an agreed draw?
To Susan Polgar:
I appreciate your blog and your comments.
Please note that the title of this post should be:
Leko – Anand LIVE commentary 1/2
and not:
Leko – Svidler LIVE commentary 1/2