Radio London

Michael Adams – Hikaru Nakamura
7th London Chess Classic; London, December 8, 2015
Spanish C65

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 Nd7 7. Nc4 0-0 8. Bd2 Re8 9. Qe2 f6. Departing from 9. ... Bd6 10. g4 Nf8 11. Ne3 Ne6 12. Nf5 a5 see Anand – Giri, 8th Chess Masters Final, Bilbao 2015.

10. h4!? “Whoa! 10.h4!! – like a man :)”, Grandmaster Nigel David Short jubilated. This may indeed be quite committal, because “10. h4 starts an attack in a position where White can hardly claim any advantage. The Pawn becomes a target instead of a weapon and Adams ends up having to struggle to draw the game”, Ulhumbrus said. 10. ... Nf8 11. h5 Be6 12. Ne3 Qd7 13. h6 g6 14. 0-0 Bg4. Black is prepared to give up the Bishop-pair in order to simplify the position. 14. ... Rad8 deserved also consideration. 15. Nxg4 Qxg4 16. Nd4 Qxe2 17. Nxe2 Ne6 18. g3 g5 19. Be3. Perhaps a more stubborn modus operandi is 19. Kg2 followed by Rf1-h1, trying to sell the Pawn as dearly as possible. 19. ... Bf8 20. Kg2 Bxh6 21. Rh1 Bg7. Black is now a Pawn up, but in the given position it’s virtually impossible to exploit it. 22. Kf3 h6. “22. ... c5 followed by ... Ne6-d4+, recapturing with the c-Pawn and then lifting the Rook to e6 is one idea here”, Dennis Monokroussos said. 23. Kg4 Re7 24. Raf1 Rf8 25. Rh3 Nd4 26. Nxd4 exd4 27. Bc1. Needless to say, 27. Bxd4?? is refuted by 27. ... f5+. 27. ... Re5! 28. f4 Rc5 29. Rh2 f5+ 30. exf5 Rfxf5 31. Rhf2 gxf4 32. Bxf4 h5+ 33. Kh3 Be5 34. Re1 Ra5. Nakamura is trying hard to win, but “The Spider” defends the capital with all his skill. 35. a3 Rd5 36. Re4 a5 37. a4 Rf7 38. b3 Bd6 39. Rfe2 Rg7 40. Bxd6 cxd6 41. Re8+ Kh7 42. Rf2 Rdg5 43. Rf3 R5g6 44. Re4 Rg4 45. Re6 h4 46. Rxd6 c5 47. Rd5 Rxg3+ 48. Rxg3 hxg3 49. Kg2 b6 50. Rd6 Rg6 51. Rxg6 Kxg6 52. Kxg3 Kg5 53. Kf3 Kf5 54. Kg3 Kg5 55. Kf3 Kf5 56. Kg3 ½ : ½.

Michael Adams vs. Hikaru Nakamura
Photo: John Saunders