Anand Viswanathan Novelty against Alexei Shirov

[matt_ward]

Hi All,

I could not help post such a instructive and somewhat brilliant masterpiece by the one and only legend Anand. In his third game against Shirov Anand played the Caro- Kann.

Here is the Game and Novelty.

Shirov,Alexei (2709) - Anand,Viswanathan (2817) [B12]
24th Leon Masters Leon ESP (3), 04.06.2011

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.g4. This is by far the most aggressive approach to the Caro-Kann Advance, and has led to many a tactical slugfest. The idea is obviously to gain space and time over the bishop, as well as promote dangerous options if the pawns start rolling forward on the kingside. Though of questionable reputation, it is also a favorite of Shirov's. 4...Bd7 5.c4 e6. This line doesn't see much grandmaster play, and it is hardly surprising considering the awkward bishop on d7 and the unattractive development problems Black will need to solve. 6.Nc3 c5!!N










Astonishing really, and if ever there was an opening novelty deserving of exclamation points, this is it. It isn't so much that Black is winning (he is not), but what it does to the evaluation of the position from both White's and Black's perspective. Instead of the old quiet behind the lines fight expected from Black while White tried to open lines and crack Black's position, now Black's pieces are about to take a very serious life of their own while White's g4 pawn looks like a very questionable weakness. 7.cxd5. Though the engines don't condemn Shirov's choice, they do have a slight preference for 7.Nf3 Still, the question would remain: what the heck is that pawn doing on g4? 7...exd5 8.dxc5 Bxc5










9.Bg2?! Shirov starts to go astray, but one cannot blame him for not wanting to take on d5 and potentially go down in flames. Unfortunately for him, that is exactly what happens. 9.Qxd5 Qb6 10.Bc4 Be6 (10...Bxf2+ is also possible, but leads to nothing decisive after 11.Ke2 Be6 12.Qb5+ Nc6 13.Bxe6 fxe6 14.Nf3) 11.Bb5+ Nc6 12.Bxc6+ bxc6 13.Qf3 protecting f2 and g4, though Black's chances are to be preferred due to the slightly better development and bishop pair. 9...Ne7 10.h3 Qb6 11.Qe2 0-0 12.Nf3? A mistake that allows 12...d4! however the position was probably compromised as it was. 13.Ne4 Bb5 14.Qd2 Nbc6 Threatening Bb4. 15.a3 Ng6 16.b4 Be7 17.Bb2 Rfd8 0-1.


What surprises me is move 6. c5!! a Novelty is found and yet surprises me that it has been played before?!

Therefore how on earth can it be a Novelty as clearly stated below it shouldn't be.

"Now, before readers begin protesting their databases show two games with the aforementioned novelty, it is worth noting that one is by players rated under 2000, and frankly that cannot be considered a genuine precedent, and in the other, a game played in 1976, the Black player was lost so quickly, he clearly had no idea what he had in his hands."

[Andy McCulloch]

This is a simple copy and paste of a Chessbase article. It would surely have been better just to direct people to their site?

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=7268

[Carl Hibbard]

This is a simple copy and paste of a Chessbase article. It would surely have been better just to direct people to their site?

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=7268

It would yes!

Members should always at least provide a pointer to the 'original' work even if they just want to add their own comments or thoughts on the matter

[Geoff Chandler]

"Now, before readers begin protesting...." etc etc.

Why come out with that guff.

Next they will be claiming 3.Bb5 in the Lopez is aTN because todays
player are far superior than those of old and what went on before
does not really count.

Mikhail Mukhin (The 1976 player) won! He refuted it OTB.

Good Grief:
Blitz games to decide who has the right to challenge the World Champion.
Players using mobiles phones to cheat and our so called top players
having an at the board tissy because he is out of his book by move 6
and resigns 11 moves latter in a position leaving most of us baffled as to why?

And now they are sticking !! on an opening move played in a 45 minute allegro game.

There was a time when !! was only attached to a truly brilliant move.
Not some OTB try in a glorified blitz game.

The game is going to Hell in a hand basket.

[Paul McKeown]

our so called top players
having an at the board tissy because he is out of his book by move 6
and resigns 11 moves latter in a position leaving most of us baffled as to why?

And now they are sticking !! on an opening move played in a 45 minute allegro game.

The was a time when !! was only attached to a truly brilliant move.
Not some OTB try in a glorified blitz game.

I agree, Geoff. 6... c5 TN is hardly the most astonishing move one might come across, is it? A quick c6-c5 is meat and drink in the Slav and the Semi-Slav, it's hardly a surprise that it has value when White plays artificially (4. g4) in the Caro-Kann, with its structural similarities. Playing the Alekhine, as I have for a decade now, I've seen many instances when c7-c6 followed by a quick c6-c5 has been justified. And I can promise you - as can my opponents and all my chess-playing colleagues - that I am no world champion. A polite !? expressing interest would surely have been sufficient; !! is hyperbolic.

Perhaps all it indicates is surprise at the tram rails that theory follows, if the move has never been played at a high level before.

[Richard Bates]

I agree, Geoff. 6... c5 TN is hardly the most astonishing move one might come across, is it? A quick c6-c5 is meat and drink in the Slav and the Semi-Slav, it's hardly a surprise that it has value when White plays artificially (4. g4) in the Caro-Kann, with its structural similarities. Playing the Alekhine, as I have for a decade now, I've seen many instances when c7-c6 followed by a quick c6-c5 has been justified. And I can promise you - as can my opponents and all my chess-playing colleagues - that I am no world champion. A polite !? expressing interest would surely have been sufficient; !! is hyperbolic.

Perhaps all it indicates is surprise at the tram rails that theory follows, if the move has never been played at a high level before.

Is it even remotely true that "Shirov's favourite treatment" of the Caro Kann is 4.g4 (as the article claims)? If it was 4.Nc3 and 5.g4 then i could understand, but the only surprise to me (albeit not knowing much of the Caro Kann past move 5) in this whole article was that 4.g4 was considered playable at all!

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Paul

I'm still trying to find a practical reason why he resigned.
His postion is ropey but not resignable.
It's as if he is saying:

"Well if you are not going to follow theory then I'm going home."

The Alekhine? Better watch out. If one of the top lads plays 1...Nf6
in answer to 1.e4 and wins it will get !!! and re-named after him.

[Paul McKeown]

Hi Paul

I'm still trying to find a practical reason why he resigned.
His postion is ropey but not resignable.

Nah, Geoff, what conceivable move can White play that helps his position? It's bogawful. If he does nothing, he loses his e-pawn, it looks almost like an Albin Counter-Gambit that has been played disastrously by White, he's losing his e5-pawn, he can't get the d4-pawn, and where's his e2-and c4 pawns gone, never mind what happened castling The only sensible looking move I can think of is Rd1 (0-0-0 is only for the criminally insane - can I use ??!! - seeing we're into hyperbolic notation??), but then just a5 and the end won't be long.

[Paul McKeown]

Is it even remotely true that "Shirov's favourite treatment" of the Caro Kann is 4.g4 (as the article claims)? If it was 4.Nc3 and 5.g4 then i could understand, but the only surprise to me (albeit not knowing much of the Caro Kann past move 5) in this whole article was that 4.g4 was considered playable at all!

Thanks, Richard, that is pretty pertinent. 4. Nc3, then if 4... e6, White can play 5. g4 and Black is no longer able to tuck up the Bishop with 5... Bd7, so he has to play 5... Bg6 and White can hope to gain tempi and space later with h2-h4-h5. Had a swift search and 4. g4 is indeed rather unusual, although not completely unheard of.

So the whole commentary to this game on Chessbase appears nonsensical. Bad game by Shirov, that's all.

[Paul Cooksey]

Agree chessbase are over-hyping the game.

But still as a C-K player, g4 isn't rubbish. Anand shows you can meet it by blowing up the centre instead of the normal attempt to prove is premature with h5, etc. So fair enough to give him credit for a deep idea, albeit in the kind of side line super-GMs don't play in serious games.

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Paul McK.

I know the postion was hopeless against a player of Anand's class but
chess is chess and it was an allegro game.
I've seen on two other forums (and me here makes three) where punters
are asking to be shown why it was game over.

Grandmaster draws I can live with. Grandmaster resignations Arghhhh.

I've seen worse positions won, I've had worse postions and won.
I think a player has a duty to himself and the game not to jack it in
until they losing a bucket load of material or facing a dead cert mate.

By coincidence I've just posted this postion.



White mated Black from here in 7 moves.
Not an allegro game. A net C.C. game where the players had days to move.
I would have thrown in the towel ages ago. But....

http://www.redhotpawn.com/blog/blogread ... gpostid=61

Also there is a lad who (under the same conditions) missed a mate in one
and was mated the very next move!
Pretty unique that. One for the cover on my book of blunders.
Chess is chess.

[Roger de Coverly]

Perhaps all it indicates is surprise at the tram rails that theory follows, if the move has never been played at a high level before.

Offering to sacrifice the d pawn in the style of the Hennig Schara is a very unusual idea in the Caro. Anand is able to play anything but many Caro players adopt a style of digging in and waiting, so an early pawn sacrifice isn't on their agenda.

It just shows how many possibilities are out there just waiting to be tried. Older books used to think that 4 g4 was just premature, future books may say the same.

[Paul McKeown]

I know the postion was hopeless against a player of Anand's class but
chess is chess and it was an allegro game.
I've seen on two other forums (and me here makes three) where punters
are asking to be shown why it was game over.

Grandmaster draws I can live with. Grandmaster resignations Arghhhh.

I've seen worse positions won, I've had worse postions and won.
I think a player has a duty to himself and the game not to jack it in
until they losing a bucket load of material or facing a dead cert mate.

Geoff,

I can be a bit of "play to the bitter end" type myself! Heck, I've won many a game from worse positions than that, even against, relatively speaking, strong opposition. But then again, my opponents are not Vishy Anand...

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Roger

"It just shows how many possibilities are out there..."

Agree and the reputation the Caro has for being dull has I'm sure helped
many a Black player win as White totally underestimates what is comoing.

The Caro Kann is the rich relative of the Scandinavian and Black
can go sac happy with that if he feels inclined.

I'm going back a few years now but a Caro won the best game prize
at an Olympiad. Great attacking game. Inspiring stuff. Even had me playing the Kann.
It was the same Olympiad Tim Upton beat a GM in 16 moves with
the Ponziani (another opening with a poor rep).

[Matt Mackenzie]

"Now, before readers begin protesting...." etc etc.

Why come out with that guff.

Next they will be claiming 3.Bb5 in the Lopez is aTN because todays
player are far superior than those of old and what went on before
does not really count.

Mikhail Mukhin (The 1976 player) won! He refuted it OTB.

Good Grief:
Blitz games to decide who has the right to challenge the World Champion.
Players using mobiles phones to cheat and our so called top players
having an at the board tissy because he is out of his book by move 6
and resigns 11 moves latter in a position leaving most of us baffled as to why?

And now they are sticking !! on an opening move played in a 45 minute allegro game.

There was a time when !! was only attached to a truly brilliant move.
Not some OTB try in a glorified blitz game.

The game is going to Hell in a hand basket.

I think this is all slightly OTT, Geoff.

Anand's move may not have actually been a novelty - but it is far from inconcievable that he believed it was.

An interesting comparison (which was alluded to in the ChessBase article) was Kasparov's (in)famous "Game 16"(*) pawn sac in the 1985 K v K match.

(* though it was actually debuted earlier in the match of course!)

It turned out it *had* been played before 20 years previously - in the Hungarian Championship, no less. Now what is the significance of the year 1965, you might ask??

Some might guess the answer - it was the year before Informator started publication. A year later, it would very likely have got into said book and the pawn thrust analysed to death (it was, of course, unsound) before Gazza had even pushed a pawn in anger

As it was, GK and his aides never even knew of the precedent until after *that* game. Spooky.