When draw is not a preferred option...!
"The fact is that from the Renaissance onwards, almost up to our own time, architects have used the same basic forms - columns, pilasters, cornices, entablatures and mouldings, all of which were originally borrowed from classical ruins. It is natural that within such a long period tastes and fashions in building should have varied considerably, and it is convenient to have different labels by which to distinguish these changing styles. It is a strange fact that many of these labels which to us are simply names of styles were originally words of abuse or derision."
....wrote E.H. Gombrich in his monumental work "The story of Art"!
The audacity of putting the Bishop on a8 square deliberately and have every pawn on that Bishop's colour, and the move such as 20.g4 bear 'those labels'!
White: Vladimir Kramnik - Black: Fabiano Caruana
This is a new position, as early as 11th move!!
I prefer Vlady's 11th move, moving into the wild, anyday!
11) .....cb4; 12) cb4 b5!?
I am not very sure whether this would have been prepared at home; in any case, the subsequent "Italian dance" by Caruana's Knights must have been conceived only during the heat of the battle!
13) Rc1 Ne8! 14) Nb3 Nd6; 15) Ne1 Nc4; 16) Nd3 Ra7!?
Not so much to vacate the square for the Bishop, but more to have an eye on 'e7', if the Queen wishes to leave the d8-square for some reason
17) Bh4 Ba8
Else, it is blocking the Rook on a7. And what would you say about the unprovoked Bh4....more to make the opponent and the onlookers scratch their heads!? I even dozed off, while trying to find an idea for this move! Even the engine which usually throws strange choices fail to spot this move, even after prompting and priming - moves in void cannot be fed into the logic that goes behind its programing!!
18) Bf3 Nf6; 19) Qe2 Ne8; 20) g4?!
Strangely, the play by White and Black seem anachronous during this phase. Caruana's Knight take a particular route in quest for the 'c4' square, bearing on e4 briefly and later to contest White's Knight on c5. White meanwhile, puts his Bishops on certain squares....and....suddenly this move "g4"! The sequel only makes us believe that it is aimed at aiding the push e3-e4 indirectly by preempting Black's "f5", perhaps; before he can put his Bishop on g3 square.
Chess, my friend, is based on such logical and illogical thought process: logical because the player has a logic behind his choices and illogical because some or many who look it may fail to grasp the logic - which does not exclude the opponent himself!! Don't get swayed by anything else...!
20) .....Ned6; 21) Bg2
And by the way, this Bishop also gets a flight square to pave way forward for the f-pawn and e-pawn. Chess primarily is a contest for the squares - the central squares in particular and this is what you will witness in any well played games by the masters, including this one!
21) .....Qc8?!
Otherwise, how will you justify the Ra7!? To play Re8, the Queen need not have gone to c8 and back!
22) Nbc5 Re8; 23) Bg3 Qd8; 24) Rcd1 e6; 25) f3?! Qe7; 26) Kh1 Bh6; 27) Nf4 Nb7; 28) Ncd3 Nd8!
Now Black has achieved some meaning to his manoeuvres in the backyard and largely owing to the ill-conceived overtures by White. Reminds me again of the the great quote by Bronstein, "If indeed the position is clearly in balance, desire alone cannot tip the scales". The Knight is getting ready to bear on the weakness on the White's queenside pawns.
29) e4 Nc6; 30) ed5 Nb4; 31) de6 Nd3!
A rare instance when even the intermezzo ef7 with check also fails! White is strategically lost already.
32) Rd3 fe6; 33) Qe1 Qd8; 34) h4 Rf7!
After all, this Rook did not move to a7 just like that!
35) g5 Bg7; 36) Bh3 Rf4!!
Disjoints all the White's pieces and the innocuous Black pawn on f7 which trespassed into the e-file, courtesy White, is now beginning a triumphant march - catching Caruana's hand is the only way to stop it!!
37) Bf4 e5! 38) Bg3 e4! 39) Rd1 Bd5!
A fine prophylactic move, in the style of Petrosian!
40) Be5 ef3; 41) Qf2 Qa5
White structure crumbles like nine pins, one by one. Rest of the game requires no commentary
42) Bg4 Rf8; 43) Rd3 Qb4; 44) Bg3 h5; 45) gh6 Bh6; 46) Kh2 Nd2; 47) Ra1 Ne4! 48) Qc2 Ng3; 49) Ra6 Be4; 50) Bf3 Qe1! 51) Qb3 Kh8; 52) Be4 Rf2; 53) Kh3 Qf1; 54) Kg4 Rf4! Resigns
A fine game by Caruana with the finish aided by Kramnik. Kramnik is a fine fighter and kudos to his thirst for going for jugular even at the cost of... Chess lives because of such great fighters, who even dare to lose!
....wrote E.H. Gombrich in his monumental work "The story of Art"!
The audacity of putting the Bishop on a8 square deliberately and have every pawn on that Bishop's colour, and the move such as 20.g4 bear 'those labels'!
White: Vladimir Kramnik - Black: Fabiano Caruana
This is a new position, as early as 11th move!!
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In the game between So Wesley and Shakhriyar (position below) both the players lived someone else's life, almost fully..... to reach the following position, where White's 23.Rd4 was a new move! Both the players would have starred at this position (before Rd4) for considerable time sitting on the couch in their abode and god knows what kick they get by repeating it on the board
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I prefer Vlady's 11th move, moving into the wild, anyday!
11) .....cb4; 12) cb4 b5!?
I am not very sure whether this would have been prepared at home; in any case, the subsequent "Italian dance" by Caruana's Knights must have been conceived only during the heat of the battle!
13) Rc1 Ne8! 14) Nb3 Nd6; 15) Ne1 Nc4; 16) Nd3 Ra7!?
Not so much to vacate the square for the Bishop, but more to have an eye on 'e7', if the Queen wishes to leave the d8-square for some reason
17) Bh4 Ba8
Else, it is blocking the Rook on a7. And what would you say about the unprovoked Bh4....more to make the opponent and the onlookers scratch their heads!? I even dozed off, while trying to find an idea for this move! Even the engine which usually throws strange choices fail to spot this move, even after prompting and priming - moves in void cannot be fed into the logic that goes behind its programing!!
18) Bf3 Nf6; 19) Qe2 Ne8; 20) g4?!
Strangely, the play by White and Black seem anachronous during this phase. Caruana's Knight take a particular route in quest for the 'c4' square, bearing on e4 briefly and later to contest White's Knight on c5. White meanwhile, puts his Bishops on certain squares....and....suddenly this move "g4"! The sequel only makes us believe that it is aimed at aiding the push e3-e4 indirectly by preempting Black's "f5", perhaps; before he can put his Bishop on g3 square.
Chess, my friend, is based on such logical and illogical thought process: logical because the player has a logic behind his choices and illogical because some or many who look it may fail to grasp the logic - which does not exclude the opponent himself!! Don't get swayed by anything else...!
20) .....Ned6; 21) Bg2
And by the way, this Bishop also gets a flight square to pave way forward for the f-pawn and e-pawn. Chess primarily is a contest for the squares - the central squares in particular and this is what you will witness in any well played games by the masters, including this one!
21) .....Qc8?!
Otherwise, how will you justify the Ra7!? To play Re8, the Queen need not have gone to c8 and back!
22) Nbc5 Re8; 23) Bg3 Qd8; 24) Rcd1 e6; 25) f3?! Qe7; 26) Kh1 Bh6; 27) Nf4 Nb7; 28) Ncd3 Nd8!
Now Black has achieved some meaning to his manoeuvres in the backyard and largely owing to the ill-conceived overtures by White. Reminds me again of the the great quote by Bronstein, "If indeed the position is clearly in balance, desire alone cannot tip the scales". The Knight is getting ready to bear on the weakness on the White's queenside pawns.
29) e4 Nc6; 30) ed5 Nb4; 31) de6 Nd3!
A rare instance when even the intermezzo ef7 with check also fails! White is strategically lost already.
32) Rd3 fe6; 33) Qe1 Qd8; 34) h4 Rf7!
After all, this Rook did not move to a7 just like that!
35) g5 Bg7; 36) Bh3 Rf4!!
Disjoints all the White's pieces and the innocuous Black pawn on f7 which trespassed into the e-file, courtesy White, is now beginning a triumphant march - catching Caruana's hand is the only way to stop it!!
37) Bf4 e5! 38) Bg3 e4! 39) Rd1 Bd5!
A fine prophylactic move, in the style of Petrosian!
40) Be5 ef3; 41) Qf2 Qa5
White structure crumbles like nine pins, one by one. Rest of the game requires no commentary
42) Bg4 Rf8; 43) Rd3 Qb4; 44) Bg3 h5; 45) gh6 Bh6; 46) Kh2 Nd2; 47) Ra1 Ne4! 48) Qc2 Ng3; 49) Ra6 Be4; 50) Bf3 Qe1! 51) Qb3 Kh8; 52) Be4 Rf2; 53) Kh3 Qf1; 54) Kg4 Rf4! Resigns
A fine game by Caruana with the finish aided by Kramnik. Kramnik is a fine fighter and kudos to his thirst for going for jugular even at the cost of... Chess lives because of such great fighters, who even dare to lose!
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