Peaceful coexistence

Anish Giri – Magnus Carlsen
2nd Vugar Gashimov Memorial; Shamkir, April 23, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 0-0 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. dxc5!? A novelty. After 10. 0-0 cxd4 11. Ne4 Qf5 12. Ng3 Qa5 13. exd4 White has some prospects of initiative, Aronian – Carlsen, FIDE World Rapid Championship, Dubai 2014. 10. ... Nd7 11. c6.

11. ... Ne5!? A very strong Pawn sacrifice to get dynamic and positional compensation. 12. Nxe5 Qxe5 13. 0-0. Giri refuses the offered Pawn, as after 13. cxb7 Bxb7 14. 0-0 Rfd8 15. Qb3 Bd6 16. g3 Rab8 White King would be in big trouble. “Wondering what Magnus has in store after [...] 13. Qb3!”, Grandmaster Erwin l’Ami was instead asking himself. 13. ... bxc6 14. Qe2 Rd8 15. Rfd1 Bb7. “Position is balanced – Black has a very active Bishop pair in return for a slightly spoiled Pawn structure – his Queenside Pawns are isolated”, Grandmaster Aleksander Delchev said. 16. Rxd8+ Rxd8 17. Rd1 Rxd1+ 18. Qxd1 Qc7 19. h3 Bxc3 20. bxc3 c5. Objectively, the chances are equal. A draw by mutual agreement is just a matter of time. 21. Qa4 Qc6 22. Qxc6 Bxc6 23. Bd3 e5 24. f4 f6 25. Kf2 Kf7 26. h4 Ke6 27. g3 g5 28. hxg5 hxg5 29. fxg5 fxg5 30. Ke1 Bd5 31. a3 e4 32. Be2 Ke5 33. Kd2 Be6 34. Ke1 Kd6 35. Kd2 Ke5 36. Ke1 Kd6 37. Kd2 Ke5 ½ : ½.

Anish Giri vs. Magnus Carlsen
Photo: Shamkir Chess 2015

Tarjei J. Svensen (‏@TarjeiJS)