Painless execution- Matlakov Maxim - Vladimir Kramnik, Qatar Masters,2015
One of the finest games played in the modern times and surely would find a place right at the top in this edition of Qatar Masters! After going through the game once, you might be tempted to ask..."what is so great about it!?"....and probably even be deluded to think that this is a pompous exposition.... .....and to that inveterate questioner I only hope that he allows him sufficient time to see through the game again and again....dispassionately....and more importantly.....without that 'devil called engine'. For under its apparent simplicity, the game hides a silent dynamism ....a poetic concept....and hence I am tempted to find a parallel to it in that great game played by Capablanca against Lasker in their world championship match, almost a century back; which I shall deal in a separate post. Again please don't expect a similar ending...in fact it is a Rook and Knight ending, but in spirit, both these games are 'similar' - a carefully chosen...