Karjakin - Svidler: "Small advantages....small advantages"
"For me, the most important thing was the inner contents of the fight, the inner state of the two opponents at the board." - Tigran Petrosian
The prophetic words of the great master of strategic play studded with great deceptive dynamism, is the underlying factor....chief one in determining success.
Stress......the oft mentioned term in modern days, is the chief component of this inner state!
Simply put, "stress refers to that quality of experience, produced through a person-environment transaction, that, through either overarousal or underarousal, results in psychological or physiological distress" - the best description of the term that I've come across.
Without getting into the science of it, suffice to say that it is merely a perceived sense and the protagonist in the 'act of stress' is Mr.Mind!
Stress can be "experienced" either through overarousal or underarousal and Svidler exemplified both in two games! It can be psychological and physiological and we could see these manifest clearly in Svidler's moves as well as bodily movements, clutches, blushes, twitches....and eyes.
Stress necessarily need not carry only negative connotation, at times stress can trigger positive action and responses and probably that is what transpired in Karjakin's psyche in his fourth game, where he nurtured his small pluses, especially after the way he rose like a phoenix in the third game.
In the previous game, when Svidler was on the threshold of a World Cup victory, the overarousal clogged his rational thought process resulting in.....first 28.Rf2? and then 29.Qd2??
For a grandmaster of the class of Svidler, these are pretty elementary and would haunt him for ages.
And in the fourth game, it began with....
.....this position, where Svidler just played 12.....g6
13.Nd6!?
What this move ensures is that the position gets imbalanced irrevocably. And this is a crucial factor in the state of the match where Karjakin requires a win and Svidler a draw!
We shall follow the game quickly and delve only on decision of important nature.
13......ed6; 14.Bf6 Rg8; 15.e4 Be6; 16.Kb1 Kd7; 17.Nd5!
A nice move to have, especially when you are in a must win position! A well drafted knight on d5 square gives a great feeling!
The point is not that this move ensures a great advantage, but in Capablanca's parlance an enduring 'small advantage'! The Knight on d5 can be evicted only by conceding the Bishop, which at this moment is the only effectively developed Black piece. Also, after, and if, White plays Bb5, this option will no longer be possible after having put his King on the d7 square.
White will bring in his other Rook too to the center and all his pieces would be harmoniously placed.
17.....Bg7; 18.Bg7 Rg7
Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta tweeted, "The Rook fianchetto might do the trick..." and you cannot discount this factor that this Rook must have caused some nagging concern in Svidler's mind on how to make it effective.
19.Bb5 Kd8;
Prelude to the next move
20.Rd2 Bd5; 21.Rd5 Kc7; 22.Rc1! Re8; 23.Rd4
The other option is to double the Rook on d-file and tie-down Black's Rook and try and fix Black's Kingside pawns on white squares and attack them subsequently.
Such considerations are simply said over the board, but hard to decide while sitting across the board with the clock ticking and the 'carrot' dangling!
I am reminded of the following position (how can I afford not to bring in Zurich into the scheme of things!!):
Gligoric - Smyslov, Zurich, 1953
Bronstein commented: "There is a widespread and therefore dangerous misconception that an extra pawn leads automatically to a win. Black's main advantage in this position, however, is not so much his extra pawn, which is a long way from being exploited, but his control of many squares in the center: Q4, Q5, Qb4, Kb4, Kb5.
White's counter chances lay in his pawn majority on the Queenside and the open d-file. How many such games end up as draws by accurate play! But Smyslov holds the reins with an iron hand. His plan can be broken down into the following parts:
1) The immediate exchange of one Rook, leaving the other one for the possible fight against White's Queenside pawns and to attack the KP and QBP.
2) The threat to create an outside passed pawn to deflect White's Rook to the h-file so that his own Rook can take control over the d-file.
3) The advance of King's knight pawn to g4 to undermine White's f-pawn which supports his e-pawn.
4) An attack on the e-pawn, tying down White's pieces.
5) The dispatch of the King to win the opponent's weak pawns.
A we can see, it is a simple winning plan - simple for Smyslov, of course."
One of the finest reading of a Grandmaster's mind.....thinking process!
Coming back to Karjakin - Svidler:
White must have entertained a similar thought process and must have decided on the option 23.Rd4 which must have appealed to him in his 'mind's-eye' and which according to him would pose more problems - even if it is trivial or at times pseudo.
23.....Re5; 24.Ba4 b5; 25.Bb3 Rc5; 26.Rd5!
Karjakin managed to exchange Black's 'active Rook' and retain all his minute pluses: the 'd5' square; pressure on the hemmed 'd6-pawn'; the Bishop which is definitely superior to Black's Knight.
The position is in perfect equilibrium, despite the above factors - and here lies the crux of winning any battle: it never was about material or positional superiority which incidentally are the effect but not the cause. Rather it is the precursor "the act of creating" which includes creating doubt in the opponent's mind, as the primary objective, even if it is subliminal!
Now, he needs to take his King to the battlefield in quest of creating a passed pawn - the only way to win any endgame if one's opponent is not blundering mate or material!
26.....Rc1; 27.Kc1 a6; 28.Rd3
In a way, putting this Rook on d2 helps White to play h4 to hem the Black's pawn on light squares, by defending the g2 pawn.....in case if it is required.
But the move played reserves the d2 square for his King to step on and travel to the center of action!
28.....g5
The struggle for activating that 'fianchettoed Rook' begins! Black needs to put his pawns on the dark square and then can travel only via h-file - a laborious route!
Rest assured, though this may appear simple and logical, such considerations are never without some nervous feeling for the one who is actually sitting across the board, even if he is an acclaimed grandmaster!
29.Kd2 h4; 30.Rc3! Kb6; 31.Rd3!
White has some little threats which keeps Black busy, whilst allowing him to reach the time control! The King move in between is to ensure that he does not blunder out his chance in a unique way - threefold repetition!
31....Kc7; 32.Ke3 f6; 33.Rc3 Kb6; 34.Rd3 Kc7; 35.Rc3 Kb6; 36.Bd5 Ne7; 37.Kd4
Some significant improvement has been achieved and a stage in White's plan has been achieved! But, is this enough.....!?
37.....Rh7
The Rook begins his journey back to work after been on vacation to a remote island for 20 days.....moves!
38.Be6 Rh8;
Was he not standing here 38 moves back!?
39.a3 Rd8; 40.Rc2 Rh8; 41.Rf2 Ng6; 42.Kd5 Rd8; 43.Bf5 Nf4; 44.Kd4 Re8
The decisive moment in this endgame which started disturbing the equilibrium.
It is very difficult for human mind to consider 44.....d5!?.....because, after 45.e5 fe; 46.Ke5 the proximity of White's King to Black's K-side pawns would outweigh his opportunity of counterplay with the d-pawn, supported by Rook, Knight and possibly the King, in the mind's eye.
45.g3 Ne6; 46.Be6 Re6; 47.Kd5 Rd5; 48.Kd6 hg3; 49.hg3 g4; 50.fg4 Re4; 51.Rf4 Re3; 52.Rf6 Rg3; 53.Ke5 Kb7?
Were we not taught in Kindergarten that the King should strive to move towards an opponent's passed pawn and control the Queening square?
Yet in this position the move 53.....Kc7 which is the route to reach to the proximity of g-file disowns the a-pawn and the human mind is very attached to materials!
Don't be mistaken that .....Kc7 is a salvation, but if you want to make your opponent miss his track, then it is the only way..... and not by remaining in that obscure corner instead of taking a walk across the board.....
54.Kf5 Rb3; 55.g5 Rb2; 56.g6 Rg2
Did Svidler resign here or after the White King reached f7!?
And International Master V.Saravanan aptly tweeted: "Today is the day Chess History will etch Sergey Karjakin forever as the original comeback Kid"
The prophetic words of the great master of strategic play studded with great deceptive dynamism, is the underlying factor....chief one in determining success.
Stress......the oft mentioned term in modern days, is the chief component of this inner state!
Simply put, "stress refers to that quality of experience, produced through a person-environment transaction, that, through either overarousal or underarousal, results in psychological or physiological distress" - the best description of the term that I've come across.
Without getting into the science of it, suffice to say that it is merely a perceived sense and the protagonist in the 'act of stress' is Mr.Mind!
Stress can be "experienced" either through overarousal or underarousal and Svidler exemplified both in two games! It can be psychological and physiological and we could see these manifest clearly in Svidler's moves as well as bodily movements, clutches, blushes, twitches....and eyes.
Stress necessarily need not carry only negative connotation, at times stress can trigger positive action and responses and probably that is what transpired in Karjakin's psyche in his fourth game, where he nurtured his small pluses, especially after the way he rose like a phoenix in the third game.
In the previous game, when Svidler was on the threshold of a World Cup victory, the overarousal clogged his rational thought process resulting in.....first 28.Rf2? and then 29.Qd2??
For a grandmaster of the class of Svidler, these are pretty elementary and would haunt him for ages.
And in the fourth game, it began with....
.....this position, where Svidler just played 12.....g6
13.Nd6!?
What this move ensures is that the position gets imbalanced irrevocably. And this is a crucial factor in the state of the match where Karjakin requires a win and Svidler a draw!
We shall follow the game quickly and delve only on decision of important nature.
13......ed6; 14.Bf6 Rg8; 15.e4 Be6; 16.Kb1 Kd7; 17.Nd5!
A nice move to have, especially when you are in a must win position! A well drafted knight on d5 square gives a great feeling!
The point is not that this move ensures a great advantage, but in Capablanca's parlance an enduring 'small advantage'! The Knight on d5 can be evicted only by conceding the Bishop, which at this moment is the only effectively developed Black piece. Also, after, and if, White plays Bb5, this option will no longer be possible after having put his King on the d7 square.
White will bring in his other Rook too to the center and all his pieces would be harmoniously placed.
17.....Bg7; 18.Bg7 Rg7
Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta tweeted, "The Rook fianchetto might do the trick..." and you cannot discount this factor that this Rook must have caused some nagging concern in Svidler's mind on how to make it effective.
19.Bb5 Kd8;
Prelude to the next move
20.Rd2 Bd5; 21.Rd5 Kc7; 22.Rc1! Re8; 23.Rd4
The other option is to double the Rook on d-file and tie-down Black's Rook and try and fix Black's Kingside pawns on white squares and attack them subsequently.
Such considerations are simply said over the board, but hard to decide while sitting across the board with the clock ticking and the 'carrot' dangling!
I am reminded of the following position (how can I afford not to bring in Zurich into the scheme of things!!):
Gligoric - Smyslov, Zurich, 1953
Bronstein commented: "There is a widespread and therefore dangerous misconception that an extra pawn leads automatically to a win. Black's main advantage in this position, however, is not so much his extra pawn, which is a long way from being exploited, but his control of many squares in the center: Q4, Q5, Qb4, Kb4, Kb5.
White's counter chances lay in his pawn majority on the Queenside and the open d-file. How many such games end up as draws by accurate play! But Smyslov holds the reins with an iron hand. His plan can be broken down into the following parts:
1) The immediate exchange of one Rook, leaving the other one for the possible fight against White's Queenside pawns and to attack the KP and QBP.
2) The threat to create an outside passed pawn to deflect White's Rook to the h-file so that his own Rook can take control over the d-file.
3) The advance of King's knight pawn to g4 to undermine White's f-pawn which supports his e-pawn.
4) An attack on the e-pawn, tying down White's pieces.
5) The dispatch of the King to win the opponent's weak pawns.
A we can see, it is a simple winning plan - simple for Smyslov, of course."
One of the finest reading of a Grandmaster's mind.....thinking process!
Coming back to Karjakin - Svidler:
White must have entertained a similar thought process and must have decided on the option 23.Rd4 which must have appealed to him in his 'mind's-eye' and which according to him would pose more problems - even if it is trivial or at times pseudo.
23.....Re5; 24.Ba4 b5; 25.Bb3 Rc5; 26.Rd5!
Karjakin managed to exchange Black's 'active Rook' and retain all his minute pluses: the 'd5' square; pressure on the hemmed 'd6-pawn'; the Bishop which is definitely superior to Black's Knight.
The position is in perfect equilibrium, despite the above factors - and here lies the crux of winning any battle: it never was about material or positional superiority which incidentally are the effect but not the cause. Rather it is the precursor "the act of creating" which includes creating doubt in the opponent's mind, as the primary objective, even if it is subliminal!
26.....Rc1; 27.Kc1 a6; 28.Rd3
In a way, putting this Rook on d2 helps White to play h4 to hem the Black's pawn on light squares, by defending the g2 pawn.....in case if it is required.
But the move played reserves the d2 square for his King to step on and travel to the center of action!
28.....g5
The struggle for activating that 'fianchettoed Rook' begins! Black needs to put his pawns on the dark square and then can travel only via h-file - a laborious route!
Rest assured, though this may appear simple and logical, such considerations are never without some nervous feeling for the one who is actually sitting across the board, even if he is an acclaimed grandmaster!
29.Kd2 h4; 30.Rc3! Kb6; 31.Rd3!
White has some little threats which keeps Black busy, whilst allowing him to reach the time control! The King move in between is to ensure that he does not blunder out his chance in a unique way - threefold repetition!
31....Kc7; 32.Ke3 f6; 33.Rc3 Kb6; 34.Rd3 Kc7; 35.Rc3 Kb6; 36.Bd5 Ne7; 37.Kd4
Some significant improvement has been achieved and a stage in White's plan has been achieved! But, is this enough.....!?
37.....Rh7
The Rook begins his journey back to work after been on vacation to a remote island for 20 days.....moves!
38.Be6 Rh8;
Was he not standing here 38 moves back!?
39.a3 Rd8; 40.Rc2 Rh8; 41.Rf2 Ng6; 42.Kd5 Rd8; 43.Bf5 Nf4; 44.Kd4 Re8
The decisive moment in this endgame which started disturbing the equilibrium.
It is very difficult for human mind to consider 44.....d5!?.....because, after 45.e5 fe; 46.Ke5 the proximity of White's King to Black's K-side pawns would outweigh his opportunity of counterplay with the d-pawn, supported by Rook, Knight and possibly the King, in the mind's eye.
45.g3 Ne6; 46.Be6 Re6; 47.Kd5 Rd5; 48.Kd6 hg3; 49.hg3 g4; 50.fg4 Re4; 51.Rf4 Re3; 52.Rf6 Rg3; 53.Ke5 Kb7?
Were we not taught in Kindergarten that the King should strive to move towards an opponent's passed pawn and control the Queening square?
Yet in this position the move 53.....Kc7 which is the route to reach to the proximity of g-file disowns the a-pawn and the human mind is very attached to materials!
Don't be mistaken that .....Kc7 is a salvation, but if you want to make your opponent miss his track, then it is the only way..... and not by remaining in that obscure corner instead of taking a walk across the board.....
54.Kf5 Rb3; 55.g5 Rb2; 56.g6 Rg2
Did Svidler resign here or after the White King reached f7!?
And International Master V.Saravanan aptly tweeted: "Today is the day Chess History will etch Sergey Karjakin forever as the original comeback Kid"
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