Norway Chess: Kramnik vence a Anand

[Event "5th Norway Chess 2017"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2017.06.07"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2808"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "120"] [EventDate "2017.06.06"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 {An Archangel seems to be a breath of fresh air after multiple Berlins and Marshalls.} 6. Nc3 $5 { Something Vishy must have cooked before hand. A specialty of Dominguez, it is very rare compared to 6.c3} b5 (6... O-O 7. Bxc6 dxc6 8. Nxe5 Re8 {recovers the pawn, which makes castling a viable alternative to the move in the game}) 7. Bb3 O-O 8. Nd5 (8. d3 h6 9. Nd5 {is much more common, seen in many of Dominguez's games. Anand has his own idea, involving a pawn sacrifice.}) 8... Nxe4 {Kramnik isn't one to refuse a challenge. Also, any other move lacks justification} (8... h6 9. c3 {with the idea of a quick d4, looks dangerous}) ( 8... Bb7 9. c3 {again might be an issue.}) 9. d3 Nf6 10. Bg5 Be7 11. Nxe7+ Qxe7 12. Re1 {After a more or less forced sequence we arrive at this position. White clearly has compensation for the pawn: two bishops, pressure on e5 and better development. Black must play accurately, but his position is still solid and it is hard to crack any weakness. Sometimes, recovering e5 will not be sufficient for an advantage.} h6 13. Bh4 (13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. Bd5 Bb7 15. Nxe5 Nxe5 16. Bxb7 Rae8 {is completely fine for Black, even perhaps better for him due to the superior piece placement!}) 13... Bb7 14. c3 Rfe8 15. d4 (15. Nxe5 Nxe5 16. d4 Nf3+ 17. gxf3 Qd6 {gives Black an edge. The crippled pawns on the kingside are worth more than the, for now, uncoordinated bishops.}) 15... e4 16. Nd2 Na5 17. Bc2 g5 18. Bg3 Nc4 {Releasing some pressure off of e4 seems natural, though Black now has to suffer against the activation of some important pieces.} (18... d5 19. h4 {gives White obvious counterplay. The position is still terribly murky.}) 19. Nxc4 bxc4 20. b3 Bd5 21. Be5 $6 { despite recovering the pawn, this move isn't precise} (21. h4 $1 Qe6 22. hxg5 hxg5 23. Qd2 {puts real pressure on g5}) (21. Bxc7 $5 {is also worth considering, as the bishop will hide on a5 without problems.}) 21... d6 22. Bxf6 Qxf6 23. bxc4 Bxc4 24. Rxe4 Rxe4 25. Bxe4 Re8 {Material is even, but Black retains a nagging edge now that his rook controls the only open file and his pieces are slightly better placed.} 26. Bd3 Qe6 27. Bxc4 Qxc4 28. Qb3 Qd3 29. h3 Kg7 30. Rd1 Qe2 31. Rf1 Re6 32. Qd5 Qd2 {The situation hasn't changed. Anand has played very well to get to this position and continues holding on.} 33. Qc4 a5 34. Qxc7 $2 {But this is a mistake. Giving Black the outside passed pawn proves catastrophic.} (34. a4 Re1 {looks dangerous, but after} 35. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 36. Kh2 Qxf2 37. Qxc7 {there isn't anything but a perpetual.}) 34... Qxa2 35. c4 Qd2 36. Qb6 a4 37. Qa7 Qb4 38. f4 Re1 $1 {The transition to the queen endgame is perfectly timed. The Black king is not easily caught in a perpetual check.} 39. fxg5 Rxf1+ 40. Kxf1 hxg5 41. Kg1 Qxc4 (41... a3 {immediately was winning.} 42. Kh2 Qb2 43. Qe7 Qd2 $1 {and wWhite can't prevent the pawn from advancing}) 42. Kh2 Qb4 43. Qe7 Qd2 44. Qa7 Qf4+ 45. Kh1 Qc1+ 46. Kh2 a3 47. Qa5 Qf4+ 48. Kh1 Qc1+ 49. Kh2 Qe3 50. Kh1 f6 $2 (50... Kg6 {made Kramnik's life slightly easier. The point is that White is almost zugzwanged, as the queen has to keep an eye on the kingside and the a-pawn. This is easy for computers to see, but for humans it's a huge headache to calculate queen endgames.} 51. Qa8 Qb3 52. Qg8+ Kf5 53. Qh7+ Ke6 {and the king escapes successfully.}) 51. Qa4 (51. Qc7+ Kg6 52. Qc4 $1 {would have made Black's task much, much harder}) 51... Qc1+ 52. Kh2 Qf4+ 53. Kh1 Qe3 54. Kh2 Kf7 55. Kh1 ( 55. Qa7+ Kg6 56. Qa8 Qb3 $1 {is winning. Black places the king on g7, the queen on f7 and finally pushes a2.}) 55... Kg6 56. Qa8 (56. Qc4 $1 {is still winning for Black, but much, much harder}) 56... Kg7 57. Qb7+ Kg6 58. Qa8 (58. Qd5 $1) 58... Qb3 {Now the pawn advances without problems} 59. Qe4+ Kg7 60. Qe7+ Qf7 0-1