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Commentary on game 11 will be brought to you by GM Neil McDonald, IM Malcolm Pein and FM Chris Duncan Despite the obituaries after Game 10, the match is still alive. After all, there are only a handful of Grandmasters in the world that Kasparov wouldn't reasonably expect to beat 4-2 in a six game mini match. But so far Kramnik has been in brilliant form. If the World Champion has a big novelty up his sleeve, this would be the perfect time to reveal it! 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Here we go again. Will Kasparov finally succeed in breaking down the Berlin Defence? 2... Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 So Kramnik ducks the challenge. 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 This is the Archangelsk Variation, which has been very popular recently at top level. Black has achieved good results with this dynamic approach to the Ruy Lopez.Now we will have a real test of preparation- Kramnik has won almost all the theoretical battles so far in the match, but he must expect the World Champion to have looked deeply at this line. 7.a4 Bb7 8.d3 0-0 9.Nc3 Na5 This begins a sharp well established line that leads to a flurry of attacks and counterattacks. Black is willing to give up a pawn to weaken White's centre and gain the bishop pair. 10.axb5 Nxb3 11.cxb3 axb5 12.Rxa8 Bxa8 13.Nxe5 Winning a pawn, but now comes Black's assault on White's centre. 13... d5 14.Bg5 This is a useful pin as 14.exd5 Nxd5 would give Black strong potential pressure against g2. 14...dxe4 15.dxe4 Qxd1 16.Rxd1 b4 Black completes the process of undermining White's centre. If the knight moves from c3 then Nxe4 will be fine for Black. 17.Bxf6 This seems like a new idea: Instead of allowing liquidation and a draw White gives up a piece for the exchange and a couple of pawns. 17... bxc3 18.bxc3 gxf6 19.Nd7 Bd620.Nxf8 Kxf8 21.f3 h5 At last the dust has settled. Black has two bishops against a rook and two pawns- this is approximate material equality. Black's kingside pawns are ragged but on the other hand the c7 pawn is a nice support for the bishop on d6. Both players are still more or less on 'home ground': Kasparov has 1 hour 35 minutes left, Kramnik 1 hour and 54 minutes. Black's dark squared bishop is well placed, but the bishop on a8 has yet to find an active diagonal. Maybe Black will try to break things up with f6-f5 at some point, or manoeuvre the bishop over to e6. 22.h4 A lovely restraining move. White prevents the further advance of the black h pawn and so fixes it as a target on h5. It cannot be easily defended by the bishop on a8. Now there is the immediate threat of 23.Ra1 followed by 24.Ra5 picking up the pawn and creating a passed pawn on the h file. Of course, Black cannot play 22...Bg3 because of 23.Rd8+ winning a piece. 22... Ke7 Kramnik centralises his king- he wants it to be at hand to safeguard the queenside if White tries a pawn advance there. 23.Kf2 White also activates his king-a vital necessity in the endgame. If instead 23.Ra1 Bc6 24.Ra5 Be5 blocks the attack on h5. 23... Bb7 Kramnik is the greatest player in the world at defending slightly worse endgame. The question is whether the World Champion can find a way to break into his fortress. 24.c4 White's immediate strategy is to ensure that the bishop
on b7 remains inert. It can no longer leave b7 as 25.Rd5
wins the h5 pawn. Kramnik now has 1 hour and Kasparov 56 minutes. 24...Be5 he idea of this move may be c7-c5 and then Bd4, but it doesn't look very good. After c7-c5 White could always play Ke3 and answer Bd4+ with Rxd4, giving up the rook for bishop and pawn with good winning chances. 25.Rd2 Keeping the option of going to the a file via the second rank. 25...Bc8 The bishop seeks a more active diagonal. Kramnik's options now include the solid Be6 or the counterattacking f6-f5. 26.Rd5 Be6 27.Ra5 The rook finally reaches the a file and puts indirect pressure on h5. Now the threat is to evict the black bishop from e5 with Ke3 and f3-f4 when h5 drops. 27... c5 This clever move avoids immediate disaster by blocking the fifth rank as 28.Rxc5?? loses the rook to 28...Bd4+. 28.Ke3 On the other hand Kasparov isn't too unhappy as the c5 pawn is a long term target. Also it has become easier for him to create a passed pawn with an eventual b3-b4. 28... Bd4+ Kasparov has 34 minutes and Kramnik has about 46 minutes. 29.Kd3 Ready for 30.b4. 29... f5 At last a bid for activity from Black. The game has reached a key moment- does Kasparov have a way to press home his advantage or is the Challenger going to escape the pressure? 30.b4 The long awaited breakthrough, which at worse will give White a protected passed pawn after 30...Kd6 31.b5. However according to IM Ferguson this is defensible for Black. 30... fxe4+ Now Kasparov has 30 minutes, Kramnik 37 minutes left. 31.Kxe4 Avoiding having a fixed pawn structure after 31.Fxe4, which would make it harder for him to create a passed pawn on the kingside. 31... Bf2 More or less forced, for if 31...Bxc4 32.bxc5 Bf2 33.c6 Bxh4 34.c7 wins a piece [IM Ferguson] 32.bxc5 Bxh4 33.c6 White has created a passed pawn and is attacking h5. Now we shall see if Kramnik has found a defence to liquidate and force a draw. 33... Kd6 Instead 33...f5+ looked safe. However, Kramnik prefers to go after the c6 pawn immediately. 34.Rxh5 Kramnik now has 23 minutes and Kasparov has nearly 25 minutes. Winning a third pawn but with both c6 and c4 hanging it is doubtful that White will be able to force a win. 34... Bf2 35.g4 The only chance is to utilise the kingside pawns. 35... Kxc6 36.Rh2 Kasparov brings his rook over to defend the c pawn, but now it looks drawn. 36... Bc5 37.Rc2 f6 38.Rh2 A last try. 38... Bxc4 39.Rh6 Picking up the f6 pawn, 39...Bd5+ This should draw easily. If necessary Black can give up a piece to liquidate all the pawns. 40.Kf5 Bxf3 41.g5 Kd5 Here a draw was agreed. This must be a bitter disappointment for the World Champion as he seemed to have generated real winning chances. |