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Commentary on game 9 is brought to you by GM Neil McDonald,
IM Malcolm Pein and FM Chris Duncan
Despite Kasparov's muted performance in the match so
far, he only needs one win and seven draws to remain World Champion. Yesterday
we saw a glimpse of the 'real' Kasparov. Now today he will be eager to
show the world that he is back to his best form with an emphatic victory.
During his 1.c4 break in Games 5 and 7 Kasparov must have been devising
a new way to attack the Berlin Defence!
1. e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6
4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8
9.Nc3 h6
Kramnik is the first to vary. In the previous games
he played 9...Bd7 here. Instead he sidesteps anything the World Champion
may have prepared with this useful move which gains control of the g5
square. Now if he wishes Kasparov can make sure the black king goes to
the kingside rather than queenside with 10.Rd1+
which more or less forces 10...Ke8 as 10...Bd7
11.e6! fxe6 12.Ne5 looks painful. Of course if Kasparov plays 10.b3
and Kramnik replies 10...Bd7 we will have
transposed back to games 1 and 3.Now Kasparov has gone into a long think.
He wants to try to figure out the difference between
9...h6 and 9...Bd7 and whether or
not he can exploit it.
10.Rd1+
On second thoughts if 10...Bd7
11.g4! Ne7 12.e6! fxe6 13.Ne5 would win out of hand, so Kramnik's
king definitely has to flee to the kingside.
10... Ke8 11.h3
Kasparov wants to use his pawns to gain space on the
kingside and restrict Black's pieces- the same method of torture Kramnik
used against him in Game 4!
11.. a5
Black responds by gaining space on the queenside.
12.Bf4
The bishop is active here but on the other hand it takes
the f4 square away from the knight and obstructs the further f2-f4 advance
for at least a couple of moves.
12...Be6 13.g4 Ne7
Black pieces have been pushed back but White still
has to find a way to break through.
14.Nd4 Nd5
Assuming Black's Knight can stay on this active square
he would be happy with the pawn structure after 15.Nxe6
fxe6 as he would have a solid centre and potential pressure along
the f file.
15.Nce2
This excellent retreat defends the bishop and clears
the way for c2-c4 at some point to challenge Black's well placed knight.
15... Bc5
Black develops his final minor piece, but I like White's
position.
16.Nxe6 fxe6 17.c4
Now that the knight is driven back White must have
a definite advantage.
17...Nb6
18.b3
Now if Black plays passively White can improve his position
step by step on the kingside with Kg2 and Bg3, followed by either f2-f4
or Nf4.
18...a4
So Black looks for counterplay on the queenside as
soon as possible.
19.Bd2
Another fine retreating move from the World Champion.
White clears f4 for his knight and also has ideas of driving Black's bishop
from c5 with b3-b4. If now 19...Rf8 20 Nf4 looks
good for White.
19... Kf7
The king looks slightly awkward here but it defends
e6 and besides Black wants to clear the way for his king's rook to enter
into the game. I expect White to begin gearing up for an f4-f5 advance
with Kg2. If possible he would like to get his knight to the wonderful
e4 square.
20.Bc3
This makes possible Ng3 and Ne4 without allowing Bd4
in reply. The bishop also defends a1 and so frees the rook on d1 for the
attack without having to worry about axb3 in reply.
20...Rhd8
At last Black has completed his development. The question
is whether White can exploit his slightly better placed minor pieces and
superior pawn structure.
21.Rxd8 Rxd8 22.Kg2
White has conceded the d file as he wants to use his
other rook to support a future f2-f4 advance.
22...Rd3
The rook is annoying for White here, but he can work
around it. Meanwhile the knight on b6 is looking very passive. The rook
is annoying for White here, but he can work around it. Meanwhile the knight
on b6 is looking very passive. Now IM Malcolm Pein thinks that Kasparov
should be aiming to gain more territory on the kingside with h4 and h5.
23.Rc1
Now he is ready to play Rc2, Ng3 and Ne4.
23... g5
This commital move weakens his kingside pawns further
but it fights for the f4 square. Now White has to be careful as after
24.Ng3 Nd7 25.Ne4 Bd4 the e5 pawn is in danger
of dropping off. The best idea might be to adapt Malcolm Pein's idea with
24.Rh1 trying for h3-h4.
24.Rc2
Kasparov now has the option of exchanging rooks into
a better endgame with 25.Rd2, though it's
doubtful that he could win it. However, I don't see any convincing sharper
options for White.
24... axb3 25.axb3 25.axb3 Nd7
Kramnik exchanges pawns to free his knight from the
defensive duty of guarding a4. This piece has been a spectator for much
too long on b6. Kramnik may want to place it on c5 after withdrawing his
bishop to attack b3 or maybe he has a long journey planned to h4.
26.Ra2
The drawback to exchanging pawns is that it has conceded
the a file to White's rook- was Kramnik's idea a positional misjudgment?
The big threat is 27.b4 chasing the bishop away then Ra7 winning a pawn.
26... Be7
As predicted he clears c5 for his knight. Now a critical
moment has arisen- can White exploit the a file or has Black enough dynamic
counterplay with his pieces?
27.Ra7
The rook swoops down to the seventh rank and attacks
b7.
27... Nc5
Kramnik activates his knight. His queenside is hanging
by a thread, but he has apparently calculated that he has enough initiative
to hold the balance.
28.f3
A quiet little move to keep control by preventing 28...Ne4.
White is happy to exchange the b3 pawn for the b7 pawn as c7 then
comes under fire.
28... Rxb3 29.Rxb7 Nc1
This was the move which Kramnik must have seen in advance.
He disrupts the white pieces just in time before his queenside crumbles.
30.Nxc1 Rxc3
White was so close to breaking through, but now 31.Ne2
Rxc4 32.Rxc7 is just equal. Here Kasparov gave up his winning attempt
and agreed a draw. Kramnik had the tactics worked out and thus achieved
his third draw with the Berlin Defence.
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