塔什干

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Expressly annotated by King Lear

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Fabiano Caruana – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
FIDE Grand Prix; Tashkent, October 21, 2014
Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5! Mr. Vachier-Lagrave is deservedly celebrated for his ability in conducting the Sicilian Defence. 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3. For the sharper 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 h6 8. Bh4 Qb6 9. a3 Nbd7 10. Bc4 g5 11. Bf2 Qc7 12. Qe2 Nb6 13. Bb3 gxf4 14. 0-0-0 see Caruana – Vachier-Lagrave, Biel 2011. 6... e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. 0-0-0 Nbd7 11. g4 b5 12. Rg1. Less convincing looks 12. g5 b4 13. Ne2 Ne8 14. f4 a5 15. f5 a4 16. fxe6 axb3 17. cxb3 fxe6 18. Bh3 Rxa2 19. Bxe6+ Kh8 20. Ng3 Nc7 21. Bc4 Qa8 22. Rhf1 Rxf1 23. Rxf1 Ra1+ 24. Kc2 Rxf1 25. Bxf1 d5 with an edge for Black, Caruana – Gelfand, 8th Tal Memorial, Moscow 2013. 12. ... Nb6. Another try is 12. ... b4 13. Nd5 Bxd5 14. exd5 a5 15. g5 Nh5 16. Kb1 a4 17. Nc1 with a slight edge for White, Dominguez Perez – van Wely, Foros 2007. 13. Na5 Rc8. If 13. ... Qc7 then 14. g5 Nh5 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. exd5 Bxd5 17. Qxd5 Qxa5 18. Kb1 with a fair compensation for the Pawn, Jakovenko – Givon, 15th European Individual Championship, Yerevan 2014. 14. g5 Nh5 15. Kb1 Qc7. For 15. ... Nf4 16. a3 g6 17. h4 Qc7 see Anand – Topalov, Sandnes 2013. If, instead, 15. ... g6 then 16. a3 Qc7 17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. exd5 Bxd5 19. Qxd5 Qxa5 20. Bd3 (else 20. Rg4 Ng7 21. h4 as in the game Svidler – Sjugirov, 21st Russian Team Championship, Loo 2014) 20. ... Rfd8 21. Rg4 Rb8 22. Rh4 Qc7 23. Rxh5 gxh5 24. Qe4 f5 25. Qxf5 Bf8 26. g6 with an overwhelming attack, Ter Sahakyan – 韦奕 (Wéi Yì), World Junior Chess Championship, Athens 2012. 16. Nd5!? This is a novelty, far stronger than 16. h4 d5 17. Nxd5 Nxd5 18. exd5 Bxd5 19. Qf2 Bxa2+ 20. Kxa2 Qxa5+ 21. Kb1 ½ : ½ V. Damjanovic – Arsovic, Belgrade 1993. 16. ... Nxd5 17. exd5 Bxd5 18. Qxd5 Qxa5 19. Bd3 g6 20. c4. The line of attack pursued by Ter Sahakyan in the above mentioned game (20. Rg4 Rc7 21. Rh4) looks rather stronger. 20. ... Nf4 21. Bxf4 exf4 22. cxb5 axb5 23. Qxb5 Qa7. White has connected and passed Pawns on a2 and b2, but... “Before the endgame”, Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch once remarked, “the gods have placed the middlegame”. 24. Be4 Rc7 25. Bd5 Qf2. In his live commentary Grandmaster Alexander Delchev suggested the immediate 25. ... Rb8 26. Qd3 Bf8 – it’s interesting! 26. Qb3 Qxh2. Winning a Pawn and putting White onto the defensive. 27. a4 Qf2 28. Rc1 Ra7 29. Qb4 Qe3 30. Rcd1 Qe5 31. Qb5 Kg7 32. Bc6 Rc8 33. Rg2

33. ... d5! A strong and thematic push! 34. Bxd5 Rc5 35. Qb3 Bxg5 36. Bc4 Bf6 37. Re2 Qf5+ 38. Re4 Re5 39. Re1 Rxe4 40. Rxe4 Re7 41. Bd3 Rxe4 42. Bxe4 Qd7 43. Qb5 Qxb5 44. axb5 Bd4 45. Kc2 h5 46. b6 Bxb6 47. Kd1. White’s King runs to g2, vainly hoping for an opposite-colored-Bishops fortress, but... 48. Bc6 g5. 不是！ 49. Bd7 Kf6 50. Ke2 g4 51. Kf1 Kg5 0 : 1.