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ACF

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR ACF EXECUTIVE POSITIONS

from Jey Poole, ACF Secretary

Nominations now in hand for positions on the ACF Executive committee are:
    President: Gary Wastell
    Deputy President: Bill Gletsos
    Vice-President: Denis Jessop
    Vice-President: Kevin Bonham
    Secretary: Jey Hoole
    Treasurer: Norm Greenwood

The deadline for nominations for President having now passed, Gary Wastell is declared re-elected. Additional nominations for the other five Executive committee positions, receivable during or before the ACF Annual Conference on 6 January 2009, must be sent, preferably by email, to jeydh4@hotmail.com. If unable to transmit by email, the address for the submission of hardcopy nominations is:
    ACF Secretary
    Jey Hoole
    25 Carlile Street
    Evatt ACT 2617.

All nominations will be formally acknowledged within 72 hours. If you have not received an acknowledgement of your application by this time, please contact me on 0403 126 181.

2008 MYER TAN AUSTRALIAN CHESS GRAND PRIX

Complete 2008 calendar. 6 events remain for 2008.

Coming Grand Prix Events

2009 YULGILBAR-THINK BIG AUSTRALIAN CHESS GRAND PRIX

Complete 2009 Calendar. 11 events currently registered for 2009.

Coming Grand Prix Events

EVENTS CALENDAR

2008 Elwood Bendigo Bank Championship

Venue Box Hill Chess Club, 3 Rochester Rd, Canterbury, Vic, 3126.
Format 7-Round Swiss. 90+30.
Entry fee $75. Concession $60. $5 discount if paid prior to 5.00 pm, 30 October or if Elwood Bendigo Bank customer or if Chess Kid.
Prizes $2200, $1100, $600, $300, $200. U2000 $300, $150, $50. U1600 $300, $150, $50. Book and voucher prizes for Juniors U18, U14, U12.
Enquiries to John Kara, 0401 572 549, j.kara@global1t.com.
Website here.

Gosford Open

Venue Central Coast Leagues Club, Dane Drive, Gosford.
Format 7-Round Swiss. “Fischer” 60 minutes + 10 seconds per move.
DOPs Chief Arbiter: Keith Farrell.
Entry fee $50. Concession $40. Juniors $35. $10 deduction if paid prior to 24 October.
Prizes (If 15 players) Open $325, $175, $100. U1800, U1600, U1400, U1200 $100, $40. Also Unrated and junior prize.
Enquiries to Allen Robinson 0412 607 207 or Keith Farrell (02) 4341 7864; keith@GosfordChess.com.
Website here.

2008 Queensland Veterans and Disabled Chess Championships

Venue Blue Fin Fishing Club, 24 Lilac St, Inala, Qld, 4077.
Format 6 rounds. 60 minutes + 10 seconds per move.
DOPs Chief Arbiter: Garvin Gray.
Entry fee $50; $40 if paid by 1 November. Add CAQ $10 membership fee if applicable.
Prizes Veteran (50+) $125, $100, $75. Disabled $125, $100, $75.
Entries close 6.00 pm, Friday, 14 November. Registration from 8.30 to 9.00 am on Saturday, 15 November.
Enquiries to Gail Young, 3372 8077, qwcl@hotmail.com.
Website here.

2008 Queensland Women's Chess Championship

Venue Blue Fin Fishing Club, 24 Lilac St, Inala, Qld, 4077.
Format 7 rounds. 60 minutes + 10 seconds per move.
DOPs Chief Arbiter: Garvin Gray.
Entry fee $50. (plus CAQ $10 membership fee if applicable).
Prizes $150, $125, $100, plus trophies (Best senior rated under 1200, best under 18, best under 12).
Entries close 6.00 pm, Friday, 12 December. Registration from 8.30 to 9.00 am on Saturday, 13 December.
Enquiries to Gail Young, 3372 8077, qwcl@hotmail.com, or Garvin Gray, 0422 993 062.
Website here.

2009 Australian Open Chess Championship

Venue Manly-Warringah Rugby League Club, 563 Pittwater Road, Brookvale.
Format 11-Round FIDE-rated swiss. “Fischer” 90 minutes + 30 seconds per move.
DOPs Chief Arbiter: Nick Chernih.
Entry fee if received by 9 December $145 ($105 concession). After 9 December $170 ($130).
Prizes $2500, $1750, $1000, $750, $500, $250, $200, $150. Under 2100 $250, U2000 $250, U1900 $250, U1800 $200, U1700 $200, Best Senior $250, Best Woman $250.
Registration from 11.00 a.m. Friday, 2 January, 2009.
Enquiries to Chris Dimock. Phone (02) 9221 5380. Fax (02) 9221 5282. Email enquiries@australianchessopen.com.
Website here.

Manly Chess Classic

Venue Manly-Warringah Rugby League Club, 563 Pittwater Road, Brookvale.
Format 11-Round swiss for players rated under 1600. “Fischer” 90 minutes + 30 seconds per move.
DOPs Chief Arbiter: Nick Chernih.
Entry fee if received by 9 December $100 ($75 concession). After 9 December $125 ($100).
Prizes $600, $450, $300, $200. Under 1400 $150, U1300 $150.
Registration from 11.00 a.m. Friday, 2 January, 2009.
Enquiries to Chris Dimock. Phone (02) 9221 5380. Fax (02) 9221 5282. Email enquiries@australianchessopen.com.
Website here.

Australian Open Lightning Championship

Venue Manly-Warringah Rugby League Club, 563 Pittwater Road, Brookvale.
Format 5 minutes per player per game.
DOPs Chief Arbiter: Nick Chernih.
Entry fee $25 ($20 concession).
Prizes TBA.
Enquiries to Chris Dimock. Phone (02) 9221 5380. Fax (02) 9221 5282. Email enquiries@australianchessopen.com.
Website here.

2009 Australian Junior Chess Championship

Eligibility For male and female players born in 1991 or later.
Venue The Dennett Centre, Saint Ignatius' College, 2 Manresa Court, Athelstone, SA.
Format 11-Round Swiss. 90 minutes + 60 seconds per move.
DOPs IA Charles Zworestine & IA Roland Eime.
Entry fee if received by 25 November $70. If received by 23 December $80. If received after 23 December $95.
Prizes U18 $800, $300, $100. U16 $300, $100. U14 $300, $100.
Enquiries to Chief Organiser Alan Goldsmith, 0401 672 481, alang@chariot.net.au, or to George Howard, 0414 841 575.
Website here.

2009 Australian Girls Chess Championship

Eligibility For female players born in 1991 or later.
Venue The Dennett Centre, Saint Ignatius' College, 2 Manresa Court, Athelstone, SA.
Format depending on entries. 90 minutes + 60 seconds per move.
DOPs IA Charles Zworestine & IA Roland Eime.
Entry fee if received by 25 November $70. If received by 23 December $80. If received after 23 December $95.
Prizes U18 $400, $200, $100. U16 $150, $50. U14 $150, $50.
Enquiries to Chief Organiser Alan Goldsmith, 0401 672 481, alang@chariot.net.au, or to George Howard, 0414 841 575.
Website here.

2009 Australian Junior Under 12 Chess Championship

Eligibility For male and female players born in 1997 or later.
Venue The Dennett Centre, Saint Ignatius' College, 2 Manresa Court, Athelstone, SA.
Format 11-Round Swiss. 60 minutes + 60 seconds per move.
DOPs IA Charles Zworestine & IA Roland Eime.
Entry fee if received by 25 November $60. If received by 23 December $70. If received after 23 December $85.
Prizes U12 $300, $100. U10 $100, $50. U8 $100, $50.
Enquiries to Chief Organiser Alan Goldsmith, 0401 672 481, alang@chariot.net.au, or to George Howard, 0414 841 575.
Website here.

2009 Australian Junior Under 12 Girls Chess Championship

Eligibility For female players born in 1997 or later.
Venue The Dennett Centre, Saint Ignatius' College, 2 Manresa Court, Athelstone, SA.
Format depending on entries. 60 minutes + 60 seconds per move.
DOPs IA Charles Zworestine & IA Roland Eime.
Entry fee if received by 25 November $60. If received by 23 December $70. If received after 23 December $85.
Prizes U12 $150, $50. U10 $50, $25. U8 $50, $25.
Enquiries to Chief Organiser Alan Goldsmith, 0401 672 481, alang@chariot.net.au, or to George Howard, 0414 841 575.
Website here.

2009 Queenstown Chess Classic

Venue Millennium Hotel (corner of Frankton Rd and Stanley St), Queenstown, New Zealand.
Format 10 round Swiss, 100 minutes + 1 minute/move.
Entry fee NZ $165 (Juniors NZ $88). Entry free to GMs and, WGMs. Entry free to IMs and WIMs (with $90 deducted from any prize won). Title players claiming free entry must provide organisers with notification of booked flights itinerary by 1st December 2008. Entries received after 1 November add $35; entries received after 1 January add $70; entries received on site add $90, all payable at time of entry.
Prizes $10,000, $7000, $5000, $4000, $3500, $3000, $2500, $2000, $1800, $1700, $1600, $1550, $1500, $1450, $1400. Under 2000 $500, U1800 $500, U1600 $500, plus senior and junior prizes.
Registration 6.00 - 8.00 pm, Wednesday 14 January at the tournament hall.
Enquiries to Helen Milligan, heligan@queenstownchess.com.
Website here.

New Zealand Rapidplay and Lightning Championships

Venue Millennium Hotel (corner of Frankton Rd and Stanley St), Queenstown, New Zealand.
Format Rapidplay: 25-26 January, 9 round Swiss, 30 minutes per player. Lightning: 26 January, preliminary seeded groups leading to a round-robin final, 5 minutes per player.
Entry fee Rapidplay: NZ $80 (Juniors NZ $45). Lightning NZ $35 (Juniors NZ $25). Entry free to GMs and WGMs with the proviso that an amount equal to the appropriate entry fee will be deducted from any prize won.
Prizes Rapidplay: $1650, $1100, $800, $600, $320, $225, $175, $110; best junior $110; best female $110. Lightning: $450, $330, $220, $110; First reserve $110; Second reserve $80.
Enquiries to Helen Milligan, heligan@queenstownchess.com.
Website here.

2009 Doeberl Cup

Venue The Hellenic Club of Canberra, Matilda Street, Woden ACT 2606.
Format Premier (9-13 April, 9-Round Swiss, 90 minutes + 30 seconds), Major, Minor, 50+ (10-13 April, 7-round Swisses, 90+30), Under 1200 (10-11 April, 6-Round Swiss, 20+10) & Chess 960 (11 April, 5+0).
Entry fee free to GMs, IMs, WGMs and WIMs. Premier $140. Major & Minor $120, U/18 $80. 50+ $80. Under 1200 $60.
Prizes Premier $4000, $2500, $1500, $800, $500, $400, $350, $300. Major $1500, $800, $450, $250, $150, $100. Minor $750, $400, $250, $150, $100. 50+ $450, $300, $150, $100. Under 1200 trophies and gift vouchers.
Close of entries for Premier, Major, Minor, 50+ is 12.00 midday, Wednesday 8 April. Under 1200 entries close 12.00 midday, Friday, 10 April. All player sign-ins close 12.00 midday on first day of play.
Enquiries to Charles Bishop, info@doeberlcup.com.au.
Website here.

2009 Sydney International Open Chess Tournament

Venue Parramatta Town Hall, Church Street, Parramatta, NSW, 2150.
Format Open & Challengers (restricted to players rated below 2000) events. 9-Round FIDE-rated Swisses. 90 minutes + 30 seconds per move.
Entry fee free to GMs, IMs, WGMs and WIMs and players rated over 2500. Open 2400-2499 $100, 2300-2399 $125, 2200-2299 $150, 1600-2199 $175, unrated $225. Challengers $90, unrated $100.
Prizes Open $5000, $2500, $1500, $1000, $750, $500, $500, $500, $250, $250, $250, $250, $250 (Best female), $250 (Best under 18), $250 (Best under 12). Challengers $500, $400, $350, $300, $250, $200, $200, $100 (Best female), $100 (Best under 18), $100 (Best under 12).
Close of entries is on Sunday, 12 April. Player registration from 6.30 - 7.45 pm on Tuesday, 14 April.
Enquiries to Brian Jones, phone 61-2-9838-1529, fax 61-2-9838-1614, info@chessaustralia.com.au.
Website here.

Oceania Zonal Chess Tournament for Men and Women

Venue Outrigger Twin Towns Resort
Format Nine round swiss for Men and Women (or a round robin if appropriate).
DOPs Chief Arbiter: IA Charles Zworestine. Assistant Arbiters: IA Gary Bekker & Graeme Gardiner.
Entry fee dependant on rating. See website.
Prizes Men: $1500, $1000, $750, $500, $400, $250, $150. 1^st under 2000 $300. 1^st under 1800 $300. Women: $750. $500, $300. 1^st under 1800 $300.
Registration by Friday, 6 June, 2009. The organiser may, at his discretion, accept late entries.
Enquiries to Graeme Gardiner, 11 Hardys Road, Mudgeeraba Qld 4213. Phone 5522 7221. Fax 5522 7760. Email ggardiner@gardinerchess.com.
Website here.

OVERSEAS EVENTS CALENDAR

Notice of the following overseas events has been received by the ACF. For more information, please consult the relevant website or contact auschessnews@gmail.com.

9^th Liberec Open 2008, The Liberec Hotel, Saldovo Namesti 1345, Liberec, The Czech Republic, 15 - 22 November 2008. 9-round Swiss. www.czechtour.net/liberec-open

13 ^thRakan Muda GACC World Inter-Varsity Chess Championship, University of Malaya , 50603 Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia, 29 November - 6 December 2008. www.gacc-chess.com

7^th Parsvnath International Tournament, Modern School, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi, 10 - 19 January 2009. 10-round Swiss. Rs 11,50,000/- in prizes. Open, U2400, U2251, U2100, U1901, Women, Veteran and Junior prizes. www.delhichess.com

OVERSEAS NEWS

WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2008

World Champion Viswanathan Anand is defending his title in a 12 game match against Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn, Germany from 14 October to 2 November, 2008. Rapid and blitz tie-breaks will be played if the match finishes 6-6. The main sponsor is Evonik Industries AG. Prizemoney is 1.5 million Euro. Official Website: www.uep-worldchess.com.

 Vladimir Kramnik (2772) - Viswanathan Anand (2783) [D49]
World Chess Championship, Bonn (5) 20/10/2008
(Notes by IM Malcolm Pein from The Week in Chess.)

Vishy Anand took a near decisive 3½-1½ lead over Vladimir Kramnik in their best of twelve game world title contest. The unthinkable happened as the Indian outplayed the challenger with the black pieces for a second time. Kramnik was again out-prepared off the board, outplayed face to face and in serious time pressure, he missed an elegant combination. The beautiful finish to this game with Kramnik a piece up in an endgame but facing an unavoidable mate was a crushing psychological blow and it is hard to conceive the Russian fighting back even at this early stage.

The first surprise occurred in the opening when Anand repeated the line of the Slav Defence from game three. Post game analysis suggested that although he lost, Kramnik stood quite well at one point so he doubtless had come armed with an improvement. Indeed I suspect Kramnik has largely assumed Anand would have to play something else.

However on move 15 Anand showed that he had devised a second way to play the position. Kramnik thought for about 45 minutes over his eighteenth move and although it was sound, the deficit on the clock that resulted had already sowed the seeds of his defeat as Anand continued to play quickly.

As Kramnik's rate of play increased, inevitably, the accuracy of his moves decreased and he missed a chance to set Anand some problems. Chances were still approximately equal when on move 28 with only around twelve minutes to reach the time control at move 40 Kramnik erred. Move 28 was inaccurate but move 29 was a fatal error and Anand, whose nickname is the 'Tiger from Madras', pounced.

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 a6 9.e4 c5 10.e5 cxd4 11.Nxb5 axb5 12.exf6 gxf6 13.0-0 Qb6 14.Qe2 Bb7 15.Bxb5 Rg8
  Vishy gets his novelty in first! 15...Bd6 was seen in Game 3.
16.Bf4 Bd6 17.Bg3 f5
  17...Bxg3 18.hxg3 Helps White block the g file.
18.Rfc1 f4
  18...Ke7 19.Nxd4 Qxd4 20.Rd1 Rxg3 21.Rxd4 Rxg2+ 22.Kf1 Rag8 (22...Rxh2 23.Qd2) 23.Qd2 Ne5 24.Rxd6 Rg1+ 25.Ke2 Bf3+ 26.Ke3 Rxa1 looks better for White.
19.Bh4 Be7 20.a4
  Now the idea of Qb6-d6-d5 presents itself. This just looks unclear but not bad for White. I feared for Kramnik when Anand got his novelty in first and Kramnik had to think for a long time. He is way behind on the clock.
20...Bxh4
  Vishy is out of preparation clearly now. 20...Qd6 21.a5?! Qd5.
21.Nxh4 Ke7 22.Ra3
  22.Qh5 Qd6 23.Bxd7 Qxd7 24.f3 Qd6 25.Re1; Not 22.b4 Rxg2+! 23.Nxg2 Rg8 24.f3 d3+ 25.Qf2 Bxf3 26.Qxb6 Rxg2+ 27.Kf1 Nxb6 28.Bxd3 Nd5 coming to e3; 22.Nf5+ Kf6 seems OK for Black.
22...Rac8
  22...Rg5 23.Qd2 (23.Bxd7 Kxd7 24.Nf3 Rg7).
23.Rxc8
  23.Rd1.
23...Rxc8 24.Ra1
  26 minutes left.
24...Qc5
  24...Rg8.
25.Qg4 Qe5 26.Nf3 Qf6
  Holding d4 and f4; 26...Bxf3 27.Qxf3+/=.
27.Re1
  27.Nxd4 Qxd4 28.Rd1 Nf6-/+; 27.Bxd7 Kxd7 28.Nxd4 Ke7! with compensation in the form of a beautiful bishop 29.Rd1 Rc4 30.Ne2 Rxa4; 27.Rd1 Ne5 28.Nxe5 Qxe5 29.Qh4+ Qf6 30.Qxf6+ Kxf6.
27...Rc5
  27...Nf8!? Yusupov.
28.b4
  Played very quickly, 0.18 remaining to 0.50.
28...Rc3
  Avoiding simplificiation in Kramnik's time pressure.
29.Nxd4?
  This loses! 29.Bxd7 Kxd7 30.Ng5 h6 31.Nh7 Qe5 31.Kf1.
29...Qxd4 30.Rd1 Nf6
  The point which Kramnik has doubtless seen but there is a classic sting in the tail.
31.Rxd4 Nxg4 32.Rd7+ Kf6 33.Rxb7 Rc1+ 34.Bf1 Ne3
  That's it, brilliant, White will be a bishop up with two connected passed pawns and he can resign. One of the most elegant finishes to a WCC game ever.
35.fxe3 fxe3 0-1
  A psychological hammer blow. You can come prepared Vlad but my novelty will still come first. I can play quicker than you and outplay you in your time trouble. I can't see Kramnik coming back from this 1½-3½ down, three games with white and his main line is wrecked.

 Viswanathan Anand (2783) - Vladimir Kramnik (2772) [E34]
World Chess Championship, Bonn (6) 21/10/2008
(Notes by IM Malcolm Pein from The Week in Chess.)

You have to go a long way back in chess history to find a successful recovery from three games down in a world title match. In the first recognized contest in 1886 Wilhelm Steinitz came back from 1-4 to defeat Johannes Zukertort. That illustrates the scale of the task facing Vladimir Kramnik after he was outplayed by Vishy Anand in the sixth game of their title contest. With six to play Anand leads 4½-1½ and must surely retain the title unless the challenger can start winning soon. And Anand has white again on Thursday; the organisers thought it fairer that each player have white the day after the rest day for half the match.

Game 6 saw another novelty from Anand on move 9 and more strikingly original play. Kramnik was forced to exchange queens and concede the bishop pair which left Anand slightly better. Rather than defend, Kramnik decided to break out and sacrifice a pawn, a decision which did not convince the twelfth world champion Anatoly Karpov who I was able to quiz during play in the analysis room and whose insights are referred to below.

It soon became apparent that Kramnik had missed something and to add to his one pawn deficit he was again behind on the clock. Anand was looking very relaxed and obeyed the golden rule of converting technically won endgames, 'don't hurry'. Kramnik decided to give up another pawn for some activity but Anand avoided all the tricks and there was even an echo of the third game as he missed a trivial win before wrapping up the game a few moves later.

A fine game from Anand who always looked slightly better after the novelty 9.h3!. The variations in which the white rook, apparently misplaced on g1, can suddenly appear on g3 were particularly clever.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2
  A quiet line. 4.f3 was played in game 2. White avoids the doubling of his pawns on c3 after Bxc3+ and tries to secure the bishop pair.
4...d5 5.cxd5 Qxd5
  Romanishin's line which aims to exchange queens quickly.
6.Nf3 Qf5 7.Qb3 Nc6 8.Bd2 0-0 9.h3!
  A new idea. Previously 9.e3 was played. g2-g4 may herald a kingside attack or even snare Black's queen.
9...b6 10.g4 Qa5 11.Rc1 Bb7 12.a3 Bxc3 13.Bxc3 Qd5 14.Qxd5 Nxd5
  Karpov preferred White after 14...exd5; the bishop on b7 is blocked in.
15.Bd2 Nf6 16.Rg1
  Avoiding ...Nxd4 but Karpov liked 16.g5 Ne4 17.Bf4.
16...Rac8 17.Bg2 Ne7 18.Bb4 c5?!
  18...Rfe8 19.Bxe7 Rxe7 20.Ne5 Bxg2 21.Rxg2 c5 22.dxc5 bxc5 23.Rg3! coming to c3 is unpleasant but better than what follows.
19.dxc5 Rfd8 20.Ne5 Bxg2 21.Rxg2 bxc5
  Kramnik went a pawn down because if 21...Nc6 22.Nd3! Nd4 23.e3! (not 23.cxb6?? Rxc1+ 24.Nxc1 Nc2+ 25.Kf1 Rd1 26.Be1 Rxe1#); If 21...a5 22.Bd2 Ne4 23.cxb6 Rxd2 24.Rxc8+ Nxc8 25.b7 Rc2 26.Kd1! wins.
22.Rxc5 Ne4
  White is a clear pawn up. Although his rook is temporarily out of play his king is well placed.
23.Rxc8 Rxc8 24.Nd3 Nd5 25.Bd2 Rc2 26.Bc1 f5 27.Kd1 Rc8 28.f3 Nd6 29.Ke1 a5 30.e3 e5 31.gxf5 e4 32.fxe4 Nxe4 33.Bd2 a4?!
  33...Rc2 34.Kd1?? Nxe3+; but 33...Rc2 34.Re2! is better. 33...Re8 was worth a try.
34.Nf2! Nd6 35.Rg4 Nc4 36.e4 Nf6 37.Rg3 Nxb2 38.e5 Nd5 39.f6 Kf7 40.Ne4 Nc4 41.fxg7
  41.Rxg7+ Ke6 42.Ng5+ Kxe5 43.f7 Nxd2 44.Rg8 was quicker.
41...Kg8 42.Rd3!
  Avoiding the final trap. 42.Nf6+ Nxf6 43.exf6 Re8+ 44.Kd1 Rd8! 45.Kc1 Nxd2 46.f7+ Kxf7 47.g8Q+ Rxg8 48.Rxg8 Nb3+! Norwood.
42...Ndb6 43.Bh6 Nxe5 44.Nf6+ Kf7 45.Rc3 Rxc3 46.g8Q+ Kxf6 47.Bg7+ 1-0

 Viswanathan Anand (2783) - Vladimir Kramnik (2772) [D19]
World Chess Championship, Bonn (7) 23/10/2008

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.0-0 Nbd7 9.Qe2 Bg6 10.e4 0-0 11.Bd3 Bh5 12.e5 Nd5 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.Qe3 Re8 15.Ne1 Bg6 16.Bxg6 hxg6 17.Nd3 Qb6 18.Nxb4 Qxb4 19.b3 Rac8 20.Ba3 Qc3 21.Rac1 Qxe3 22.fxe3 f6 23.Bd6 g5 24.h3 Kf7 25.Kf2 Kg6 26.Ke2 fxe5 27.dxe5 b6 28.b4 Rc4 29.Rxc4 dxc4 30.Rc1 Rc8 31.g4 a5 32.b5 c3 33.Rc2 Kf7 34.Kd3 Nc5+ 35.Bxc5 Rxc5 36.Rxc3 Rxc3+ ½-½

 Vladimir Kramnik (2772) - Viswanathan Anand (2783) [D39]
World Chess Championship, Bonn (8) 24/10/2008
(Notes by IM Malcolm Pein from The Week in Chess.)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 Bb4 6.Bg5 c5
  It's the super sharp Vienna Variation. No margin for error here.
7.Bxc4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Qa5
  Anand's match strategy seems to be to head for tactical positions where possible.
9.Bb5+ Bd7 10.Bxf6 Bxb5
  Astonishing, this is a novelty and so early in a sharp line. Kramnik outprepared again.
11.Ndxb5
  11.Nb3 looks sharper but of course Kramnik knows Anand has looked at it in detail. 11.Nb3 Qb6 12.Bxg7 Rg8 13.Bd4 Bxc3+ 14.Bxc3 Rxg2.
11...gxf6 12.0-0 Nc6BR />   12...Bxc3 13.Nxc3 Rg8 14.Qb3 Qg5 15.g3+/-
13.a3
  13.Nd6+ Ke7! 14.Nxb7 Qc7 traps the knight 15.Qb3 Rab8.
13...Bxc3 14.Nxc3 Rg8
  Very reminiscent of the Meran games numbers three and five with the pawn structure f7, f6, e6 and no castling. Or at least not the conventional way.
15.f4
  An aggressive move. White takes away the e5 square from Black's knight and considers f4-f5.
15...Rd8 16.Qe1
  Heading for h4 to attack and just shadowing the enemy king. Black is weakened but active.
16...Qb6+ 17.Rf2
  17.Kh1 Qxb2 18.Rb1?? Qxg2#.
17...Rd3
  A risky thrust into the enemy position that threatens Rf3.
18.Qe2 Qd4 19.Re1 a6!?
  19...a6 20.Nd5 exd5 21.exd5+ Kf8 22.dxc6 bxc6; 19...a6 20.Nd5 exd5 21.exd5+ Kd7 22.dxc6+ Kxc6 running to a7 is really not much for White.
20.Kh1 Kf8 21.Ref1 Rg6
  A great move covering f6. Kramnik was building up for f5 but this neutralises it. Black is very well centralised apart from this rook which Kramnik tries to cut out of the game.
22.g3
  Trying to prepare f4-f5 and emphasising the isolation of the rook on g6. 22.f5 exf5 23.Rxf5 Rd2 24.Qf3 Ne5-+.
22...Kg7 23.Rd1
  Hoping to leave Black with a poorly placed rook but the loss of time allows Anand to solve all his problems. However 23.f5 exf5 24.exf5 Rg4 25.Rf4 Rxf4 26.Rxf4 Qe3=.
23...Rxd1+ 24.Nxd1 Kh8 25.Nc3 Rg8
  Simple stuff, Anand uses Kramnik's loss of time to reorganise and castle by hand. This looks very level now.
26.Kg2 Rd8 27.Qh5 Kg7 28.Qg4+ Kh8 29.Qh5 Kg7 30.Qg4+ Kh8 31.Qh4 Kg7 32.e5
  Attempting to mix it up.
32...f5
  Anand avoids complications where possible . There was no point going into 32...fxe5 33.Qg5+ Kh8 34.Qf6+ Kg8 35.fxe5 Rd7 36.Rf4 Qxe5 37.Ne4.
33.Qf6+ Kg8 34.Qg5+ Kh8 35.Qf6+ Kg8 36.Re2
  36.g4 is impractical so White can achieve nothing here. Another success for Anand.
36...Qc4 37.Qg5+ Kh8 38.Qf6+ Kg8 39.Qg5+ Kh8 ½-½
  5½-2½. Vishy is one win away from match victory.

TAILPIECE