SPRAGGETT ON CHESS: Today's game; Leko vs Bacrot Dortmund 2009

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS

The following very interesting game was played yesterday in the Dortmund International Tournament. The players are the Hungarian Peter Leko and French Etienne Bacrot. A game of some theoretical value, and very complex in all of its stages. This makes exact analysis difficult, if not impossible, but I have tried to convey the principal ideas and themes in the analysis below.

Leko, P - Bacrot, E
DORTMUND 6/ 7/2009.

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 The Queen's Indian Defence is very popular in master play

Popularized by Nimzovitch in the last century, this opening is flexible and dynamic. It is difficult for White to develop any initiative, and play is usually characterized by an intense and hard fought game. This opening is considered less ambitious than the King's Indian or the Benoni, but has the advantage that rarely does Black get crushed in the opening stage of the game!

4. g3 The most popular (and oldest!) line

White prepares to directly oppose the Black fianchettoed Bishop. This variation has been extensively tested at the highest levels of international tournament and match competition. Most of the hardest fought world championship matches of the past 80 years or so have seen this opening play a big part of the theoretical preparation of both players.

4...Ba6!? Nimzovitch's invention

There is nothing wrong with the straight forward ...Bb7 (the classical line), but this line has become more popular. By attacking the pawn on c4 Black annoys his opponent and tries to disrupt his normal development.

White has many ways of defending his pawn (b3, Nbd2, Qa4, Qb3 or Qc2) and all lead to very different types of middle games. The move 5.b3 is the most popular choice in practice (and probably the most logical move), but results have shown that Black gets a reasonable game.

Recently a new idea in the 5.Qc2 line has sparked the interest of grandmasters, and has caused some real headaches for the Black players. It involves a pawn sacrifice (as we shall soon see) and leads to very interesting play where, it seems, that Black can not afford to make any mistakes.

Principally to avoid the complications of this Qc2 line, some grandmasters have been experimenting with the solid 4...c6 (instead of ...Ba6 or the routive ...Bb7), with the idea of taking the game into Catalan-type positions after ...d5. Anton Kovalyov and S.Tiviakov have been its main exponents. Especially Kovalyov has achieved great results with this line.

5. Qc2!? Until just recently, this move was considered innocuous, and maybe even good for the Black side! Then someone noticed a very interesting gambit....

White defends c4 and at the same time prepares to advance in the center with e4

5...Bb7 preventing e4 6. Bg2 c5 !?

This logical move tries to take advantage of the position of the White Queen: Black threatens to take on d4, and sooner than later will place a Rook on c8, X-raying the Queen on c2. If White now takes on c5 then Black simply recaptures with his Bishop and has an easy development.

7. d5 !? This move , which involves a pawn sacrifice, has created a lot of interest in the Qc2 line.

Modern masters often sacrifice a pawn in the opening to try to gain the initiative. Sometimes this pawn sacrifice entails serious risks (if black defends rationally, he will simply be a pawn up), and other times there is less risk (you either get the pawn back or have adequate compensation). In this case there is really no risk at all (!) and even positional players who NEVER sacrifice pawns are willing to do so in this position!

White's idea is to disrupt the normal development of the Black pieces, castle and get an advantage in development. Then by placing his Rook on the d-file he will have real threats. Often White plays e4-e5, increasing the pressure on Black's position.

A number of interesting defensive lines have been worked out, but the practical problems of playing the Black position with the new and faster time-control has meant that the results have strongly favoured the White pieces. Often Black tries to return the pawn. It appears that while Black must play perfectly, White can afford to play loosely and still have adequate compensation.

7...ed 8. cd Nxd5 Black really has no choice but to take the gambit, as otherwise White will have a huge advantage in the center. Taking with the Bishop is not considered as good as after 8... Bxd5 9. Nc3 Bb7 10. e4! White has a clear initiative and better practical chances than in the game.

The Black Knight is awkwardly placed on d5 and will soon be attacked (Rd1 or e4) . The problem in this line has been where should the Knight move to. Praxis has shown that the answer is not obvious.

9. O-O Be7 10. Rd1 Now Black must make a decision

White's game is easy to play. He can increase the pressure with e4 or Qf5 or sometimes Ne5. In all of these lines Black must be careful since not only does White have direct threats, but the Rook on d1 puts a lot of positional pressure on the backward d-pawn. The Black Queen, especially, often finds it useful to move off of the d-line!

10... Nc6!? Development! This move might become the main line in this variation

Previously more often played at the top has been the solid and reasonable 10... Qc8, (defending the Bishop on b7 and getting off of the d-file) for example 11. a3!? d6!? 12. Nd4 Nf6 13. Bxb7 Qxb7 14. Nf5 O-O 15. Nc3 Nc6 16. Bg5 Ne8 17. Bxe7 Nxe7 18. Nxd6 Qc6 19. Nf5 Nxf5 20. Qxf5 Nf6 21. Nd5 Nxd5 22. Rxd5 Rad8 23. Rad1 g6 24. Qf3 1/2-1/2, Moiseenko,Alex - Ivanchuk,V , Dagomys 2009 16th TCh-RUS Premier

Note that Black's immediate idea is that White can not take the Knight on d5 because of ...Nb4!

11. Qa4 probably the best. White now threatens to take the Knight on d5. But 11. Qf5!? is worth exploring as an alternative.

11... Nf6 The most reasonable retreat; from f6 the Black d-pawn is defended

Retreating to c7 might be ok, but moves like Ne5 or Bf4 (with the idea of Nc3, Bxc7 and Nd5!) seem annoying to Black.

12. Nh4 !?

More often seen has been 12. e4 but it is not dangerous for Black after 12...O-O, for example 13. e5 Ne8 14. Nc3 Nc7 15. Be3 Qe8 16. Rd2 Rd8 17. Re1 Ba8 18. Ne4 Ne6 19. a3 Kh8 20. Qc2 h6 21. g4 Ncd4 22. Nxd4 cd 23. Bxd4 Nxd4 24. Rxd4 d6 25. Nxd6 Bxd6 26. Bxa8 Bxe5 27. Rxd8 Qxd8 28. Rxe5 Qxa8 29. Qe4 1/2-1/2, Wang Yue - Leko,P Elista 2008 FIDE Grand Prix

White's idea behind Nh4 is to provoke weaknesses in the Black camp (...g6) by threatening Nf5.

12... Qc8!? Bacrot is apparently prepared and has a new idea!

Clearly a move that demands great nerves! Black invites the White Knight to move to f5.

Earlier this year Leko (with Black!) was unsuccessful with 12... g6: 13. Bh6 Bf8 14. Bxf8 Kxf8 15. Nc3 Kg7 16. Rd6 Na5 17. Qf4 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 h6 19. Ne4 Nxe4 20. Qxe4 Re8 21. Rxg6 fg 22. Qxg6 Kf8 23. Qxh6 Ke7 24. Nf5 Kf7 25. Nd6 Ke7 26. Rd1 Rf8 27. Rd5 Rf6 28. Qh7 Kf8 29. Rg5 1-0, Aronian,L - Leko,P , Nice 2009 18th Amber Rapid .

Undoubtedly Bacrot had studied this last game in detail at home and had prepared his last move as an improvement. His basic idea is to play ...Nd4 next move (returning the pawn) and simplify the position with exchanges.

13. Nf5 White does not need to be asked twice! This Knight is very annoying to Black.

13...Nd4! Bacrot's idea! He returns the pawn in order to decrease the creeping pressure on his game.

14. Bxb7

A pragmatic decision by Leko. There is nothing better than to take his pawn back. Probably Leko thought quite a while here before making this decision:

the tempting 14. Nxg7 is playable but appears that at best is only worth a draw, and maybe not even that; after 14... Kf8 15. Bh6 b5! (see diagram to right) it becomes apparent that White's threats are an illusion.

16. Bxb7 ( or if 16. Nf5 Ke8 17. Ng7 Kf8 (17... Kd8 18. Bxb7 Qxb7 19. Qa5 Qc7 20. Qd2 Rg8 is unclear, but probably good for Black) 18. Bxb7 Qxb7 19. Nf5 Ke8 20. Ng7 Kf8 (20... Kd8 21. Qa5 Qb6 22. Qd2 Rg8 transposes to the previous note)) 16... Qxb7 17. Nf5 Ke8 18. Ng7 Kd8 19. Qa5 Qc7 20. Qd2 Rg8! and once more we have the previous position.

Note that if instead of this White takes the Bishop on e7, then Black simply recaptures with his King.

14... Qxb7 15. Nxd4

Again, Leko can transpose into the previous note with Nxg7. One of the interesting things in this game is how, when facing an important decision, Leko every time replys with a pragmatic solution. Maybe not always the best move, but always a reasonable move!

I think that this is a positive characteristic that Leko learned by playing in so many super tournaments (and a match for the world championship with Kramnik). He makes a conscious decision to try to have every single one of his moves do something that either improves his position or creates problems for his opponent.

15...cd 16. Rxd4 (This is better than Qd4)

It is time to take stock of Black's idea: White is no longer with an advantage in development; the Rook on d4 is awkwardly placed and will likely have to retreat soon; and Black has free development.

The negative side is that the Black d-pawn is isolated and can easily become a targe to attack, especially since White is already half-way doubled on the d-file! However, as Tarrasch once put it, he who is afraid of an isolated pawn should not play chess!

Black undoubtedly plans to compensate the weakness of the isolated pawn by activity of his pieces and by placing his rooks along the c and e files.

I think that the position is roughly balanced. Bacrot's idea seems to have worked!

16... Bc5!? Most accurate.

It is best to hit the Rook before castling, as otherwise White will simply develop with Nc3 and Bg5 with pressure. For example: 16... O-O 17. Nc3 Bc5 (17... a6 18. Bg5 b5 19. Qd1) 18. Rd3 Rfe8 19. Bg5 with an edge for White; interesting , however, is 16... b5!? and if 17. Qb3 Bc5; another option is 16... Rc8 , but it seems that White can simply continue 17. Nc3 O-O 18. Bg5

17. Rd3

At first sight a bit strange as it seems that the rook might be subject to harrassment here. However, Leko intends to develop quickly and double along the d-line. An option worth investigating for a future game is 17. Rd1 O-O 18. Nc3 Rfe8 19. Bg5, with the idea of playing the other Rook to c1. However, it appears that Black can do better: 17.Rd1 b5! (17...Ne4? 18.Rxd7!) 18. Qf4 O-O 19. b4 Be7 20. Bb2 Rac8! with good play.

17... b5 !? Forcing White to decide where to put the Queen

There is a reasonable option in 17... O-O!? 18. Nc3 h6! 19. Bf4 Rfe8 20. Rad1 b5 with interesting play. The advantage of Bacrot's move (b5) is that it is more forcing.

18. Qf4!? Pragmatic

Moving to h4 might have the drawback that a later ...Be7 will leave the Queen a bit exposed. And moving to b3 or d1 seem contrary to Leko's plans.

Looking good but actually weak is 18. Qc2?! as Black has the stunning 18... Bxf2! 19. Kxf2 Qh1! with mutiple threats against the White King. The threat of Ng4 (mate!) is hard to meet, and if 20.Re3ch Black simply slides his King to d8. Even if White succeeds in meeting the direct threats, his Queen-side is paralyzed; Black will bring his two Rooks into play with great effect.

18... O-O Finally Black has castled!

Apart from the fact that Black has an isolated d-pawn, I see nothing great about White's position.

19. b4!? Natural, and ambitious; but risky . Possibly not best.

After 19. Nc3!? Rfe8 (19... b4 20. Na4 Be7=) 20. b4 Bf8 21. Bb2 a5 gives black counterplay. Leko decides that his most promising chance is to delay the development of his Knight until later.

19... Bb6?! I don't like this natural move. I think it is an error of judgement. Black over estimates his chances of an attack against the King.

It is Bacrot's interpretation of the position that after following up with ...Re8 (with threats) and ...Rc8 he will be very active, possibly even better! For this reason he rejects the retreat of the Bishop to e7. As it turns out, Bacrot's reasoning is overly optimistic.

Correct is 19... Be7 and after 20. Bb2 a5! (diagram to right) 21. ba 21...Rxa5 22. Nd2 Rc8 with sufficient counterplay on the Queen-side to balance the game .

In this line White has no attacking chances on the King-side.

20. Bb2 With an obvious desire to take on f6!

As we shall see, the fact that the Black Bishop is over on the Queen-side gives White some chances on the King-side.

20... Rfe8 Bacrot's idea, ofcourse.

As explained, Bacrot had calculated that his activity would be enough to prevent White from developing significant threats. Undoubtedly he underestimated Leko's simple and strong reply...

21. e3! Again, a pragmatic solution to the problems of the position. Leko would be wrong to proceed 21. Bxf6 as after 21...Rxe2 22. Rf3 Re1 23. Kg2 gf 24. Qxf6 Qc6 and Black is better!

As we shall see in a few moves, Black's threats and activity are more optical than real. With Leko's last move the Bishop on b6 is blunted, and as it turns out, is out of play! Now White is indeed threatening to take the Knight on f6, so Black's move seems forced:

21... Rac8 Hoping to get in ...Rc2

Note that 21... Ne4 is strongly met by 22. Nc3; and worse is 21... Re4 as White has 22. Qf3 with an unpleasant pin

22. Nd2 Ofcourse not 22.Bf6 as Black mates on c1!

This last move of Leko is worth commenting on. Pragmatic as ever, Leko is not intimidated by the threat of ...Rc2. This is a sign of a great master! Many would consider the apparently more logical (if not stronger) move 22. Na3!? , which maintains the threat on f6 and prevents ...Rc2.

However, Leko must have reasoned that after 22...Bd8 ( not 22... Rc6 23. Nxb5!; or if 22... a6 23. Bxf6) 23. Rad1 a6 24. Bxf6 Bxf6 25. Rxd7 Qe4 (25... Qa8 26. Qf5 Rc3 27. Nc2 not enough compensation for the pawn) 26. Qxe4 Rxe4 27. R1d6 Rxb4 28. Rxa6 h6(diagram) even though White is a pawn up he has many technical difficulites , especially in view of the awkwardly posted Knight on a3 and the active Black pieces.

Ofcourse, only a careful analysis can verify if this is indeed true, but from the practical point of view, I think that Leko was correct in avoiding this line.

22... Bd8! A bit awkward, but necessary. The Knight has to be defended.

23. Rd1 Consistent with Leko's interpretation of the position

There was a strong alternative in the immediate 23. Bxf6 Bxf6 24. Rd1 h6 25. Qf5!

23... Rc2 So Bacrot realizes his plan, but White easily deals with his threats. In any case, Black has nothing better.

24. Bxf6! Bxf6

The character of the position is defined by White's attack on the isolated d-pawn and the Bishop vs Knight feature. In this type of position the long term prospects of White must be very pleasant, unless Black can get some real counterplay over on the Queen-side.

As we shall see, Black's counterplay is more of an illusion than real, and so the only logical conclusion is that White is better. How much better? This is difficult to say without a very careful and precise analysis. But in practice, the kind of advantage that White has more often wins than draws.

25. a3 Defending the a-pawn, which is Black's only immediate counterplay

However, perhaps Leko's last move is not the best move. Worth consideration is ignoring the attack on a2 for a while: 25. Nf3!? attacking the d-pawn, 25... Re7 (dangerous is 25... Rxa2 26. Rxd7 Qc8 27. Qf5 a6?? 28. Ng5! winning) and now , once the Black rook is on the awkward square e7, 26. a3

And I like very much the forcing move 25. Qf5!? (often a key move in this type of position) and now if 25... Rxa2?! 26. Rxd7 will transpose into the previous comment.

In any case, as already pointed out, Leko's strength is not in always making the best move, but in being able to always make good , strong and pragmatic moves!

25... Ra2 Black must continue to harrass White; the a-pawn is the target

Trying to exchange one of White's Rooks only creates other problems for Black: 25... Rc3?! 26. Qf3! Qc6 (26... Qxf3 27. Nxf3 Rxd3 28. Rxd3 Rd8 29. Rd5 Bb2 (29... a6 30. Rd6) 30. Nd4 Bxa3 31. Nc6 Re8 32. Rxd7 with a clear advantage in the ending) 27. Rxc3 Bxc3 28. Rc1! with an annoying pin; or if 25... Be5 then 26. Qe4! Qc6 27. Rxd7 Qxd7 28. Qxc2 Rd8 (hoping to use this pin) 29. Rc1! and Black is simply a pawn down for nothing

26. Nf3 Logical; pragmatic; But is it the best move?

Leko seems to completely ignore, for the whole middlegame, an idea that is very strong in this position: namely, playing the Queen to f5.

Karpov was very good in finding this type of creeping, little move that makes life difficult for his opponent:

26. Qf5!? (see diagram on the right) might be the best move, keeping in reserve the possibility of playing the Knight to b3. For example: 26... Re6 (if 26... Re7 27. Rd5 a6 28. Ne4!) 27. Nb3 with serious problems for Black to solve.

Ofcourse, Leko's move is also good and, besides, it has the immediate threat on d7. However, one has to ask whether a Fischer would have played this way!?

26... Qa6!? Black's only hope is getting some counterplay

When you find yourself in an inferior position, the important thing is to not become demoralized because this will just lead you to play weaker! In this position Bacrot does the right thing: he seeks counterplay and does not even try to defend his d-pawn. Experience has taught him that some pawns are not worth defending.

Defending with 26... Rd8 runs into 27. Ng5!? Bxg5 28. Qxg5 f6 29. Qc5 with great advantage.

Notice that Bacrot's last move places the Queen a bit off side. This gives Leko an idea...that it turns out is not so good!

27. g4?! Logical, but wrong. This move loses most of White's advantage.

Leko's idea is to exploit the off side Queen by commencing an attack on the King side. The problem is that it unnecessarily weakens his own King-side and that Black will now get chances that he does not deserve!

In my opinion, the right move is (again) the creepy 27. Qf5! (see diagram below) Now if 27... Rxa3 28. Rxd7 (28. Qxd7 Rf8 29. Rxa3 Qxa3 30. Qxb5 Bc3 31. Rd7 Qxb4 32. Qxb4 Bxb4 33. Rxa7 is a pawn up in an ending, but not necessarily winning ) 28... Ra1 (what else?) 29. Rxa1 Qxa1 30. Kg2 with a dominating position; if now 30... a6 then 31. Ng5 wins immediately (diagram)

27... h6 ! Atleast g5 is under Black's control now, ruling out later Ng5

There might be an argument for the immediate 27... Rxa3 as after 28. g5 Rxd3 29. Rxd3 Bc3 30. Rxd7 Rf8 Black might be ok. In anycase, Bacrot's move is fine.

28. h4 consistent. Leko's middle-name!

If instead 28. Rxd7 then 28... Qxa3 is murky enough for Black. The isolated d-pawn is not going to run away.

28... Rxa3

It is already too late to try to hold back the White pawn assault on the King-side, so Black has to take this pawn and hope. Among the Black resources is now playing ...Ra1 forcing an exchange.

29. Rd6!? Ofcourse not 29. Rxd7?! Qe6!

Leko forces the Black Queen off the 3rd rank before proceeding with his attack.

29... Qa4! The best square. Now any exchange sac on f6 will lose the d1-Rook to check!

30. g5 Leko gets back to his real job...

30...hg 31. hg Ra1 ! Excellent tactical vision

32. Rxa1 There is nothing better

This is a critical moment in the game. Black has a clear chance here to now save the game , that might have been impossible had Leko played the earlier suggested Qf5. The question is now: how should Black re-capture on a1?

31...Bxa1?! Wrong way!

It appears that Black can save himself with 32... Qxa1! 33. Kg2 Be5! The key resource! (see diagram below)

After 34. Qe4 ( not dangerous is 34. Nxe5 Qxe5 35. Qxe5 Rxe5 36. Rxd7 Rxg5 37. Kf3 a6) Black plays the cold blooded 34... Bxd6! 35. Qxe8 Bf8 and it seems that White does not have time for his Knight to come into play with the desired effect: 36. Ne5 (36. g6 Qf6!) 36... Qa2! key move (diagram) 37. Nxd7 (37. Qxd7 a6 38. g6 fg 39. Nxg6 Bxb4) 37... Qd5 with a draw , most likely by perpetual check.

Returning to the game:

33. Rxd7 White builds the pressure

While the exchange of one of the Rooks has benefited Black, the fact is that the remaining Black pieces are poorly co-ordinated! Especially, the Black Queen is out of play. In the meantime, White centralizes his pieces and succeeds in creating threats. Black's defence is still difficult.

33... Rf8 Ofcourse not 33... Qa2 as after 34. Qf5 a6 35. g6 with a strong attack, if not winning

34. Qd6 ! Neat centralization. Contrast this with Black's pieces!

34... g6 Black eliminates any plans that White has of playing g6 himself

35. Nh2 !? Again, a pragmatic decision, but this is probably not the best move

Leko's idea is clear: Ng4 followed by a Knight drop on either f6 or h6. From the practical point of view, normally such threats really annoy the opponent , if nothing else. The problem is, however, that it only looks more dangerous than it really is!

It was better to have increased the pressure with those creepy Karpov type moves:

35. Qc5! a6 36. Kg2 (diagram) None of Black's pieces is in play, or can create threats. In the meantime, White can slowly build up his position. For example 36... Qa2 37. Rd6 Kg7 38. Kg3 etc.

White would have excellent practical chances to win the game.

35... Bc3! The only hope is to counter attack on b4. 36. Ng4

After such interesting (but imperfect) play by both sides, the curtain falls so unexpectedly!

36... Bg7?? Probably time trouble. It loses very quickly by force

The best move is the cold blooded 36... Qxb4! with excellent chance for saving the game. White's attack on the King-side is more optical than dangerous:After 37. Nh6 (37. Nf6 Kg7 38. Qh2 Bxf6 39. Qh6 Kg8 40. gf Qg4 with a perpetual) 37... Kg7 38. Qc7 Qc4 39. Qxa7 Qe6 and Black is fighting.

It is also possible that ...Kg7 might hold, but I don't trust it instinctively.

37. Nf6! Bxf6 38. gf

Perhaps Bacrot thought that he could now bring his Queen into play, overlooking that White is threatening mate by taking the Rook on f8! On such small details, champions are dethroned! Black must now move his rook.

38... Rc8 the alternative38... Re8 allows the very cruel 39. Qe7 winning immediately