Rebel10 (exp) – Anand,V

A difficult choice. From a computer’s point of view 1 e4 is the most likely choice to be played, but I like surprises and I had something in mind.

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Date: July 23, 1998
Location: 8 game match
Tournament: game-8
Round:
Opening: E12 Queen's Indian
Submitted by:
Published on: February 20, 2020

[Event "game-8"] [Site "8 game match"] [Date "1998.07.23"] [Round "?"] [White "Rebel10 (exp)"] [Black "Anand,V"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "2795"] [ECO "E12"] 1. d4 { A difficult choice. From a computer's point of view 1 e4 is the most likely choice to be played, but I like surprises and I had something in mind. } 1... Nf6 2. c4 e6 { Whoops, didn't count on that one. In the specially prepared openingbook I counted on the Grunfeld, the Queen's Gambit Accepted and the Slav. Also the Queen's Indian was prepared, but less thoroughly than the other openings. } 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 { During the game I wished I had chosen 4 g3 instead. But 4 a3 is not bad at all, leading to a lively game. The move is still popular and 4 g3 leads to a much more quiet game. } 4... Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Qc2 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Nd7 9. e4 c5 10. Bf4 Qc8 { Out of book. Rebel only knows 10 ... Be7 and 10 ... cxd4. I must confess that I thought that 10 ... Qc8 was a novelty, because I had never seen it before. } 11. Bb5 { Heavily criticised, because the bookmove 11 d5 scored a clear 3-0 for White recently. But this is nonsense IMO: A great player like Anand would NEVER play 10 ... Qc8 if this can be refuted by 11 d5. Anand confirmed after the game that Rebel's move 11 Bb5 is a good one. } 11... a6 12. Bxd7+ Qxd7 13. Ne5 Qc8 { Rebel expected 13 ... Qd8 14 Rd1. } 14. Qd3 { An interesting move. First Rebel wanted to play 14 Nc4, but the reply 14 ... Qc6 is sufficient in that case. } 14... b5 { Stops 15 Nc4, but overlooks White's next move. Maybe it was better to complete development first. } 15. Qf3 { Very surprising! The main idea is 15 ... Be7? 16 Bg5! It is very difficult to find a good move for Black here. } 15... Bd6 { A brilliant solution. Anand gives some material to reach an unclear ending. Other moves have been analysed, but all seem insufficient. All in all anand used about 20 minutes to come to this decision. Again no quiet game! } 16. Nxf7 { Immediately indicating an evaluation of +2, but this is far too optimistic! } 16... Bxf4 17. Nxh8 Qc7 18. Qh5+ { Less good is 18 g3 Bh6! Black plans 19 ... O-O-O 20 Nf7 Rf8. } 18... g6 19. Nxg6 hxg6 20. Qxg6+ Qf7 21. Qxf7+ Kxf7 { So White has rook + 3 pawns for 2 bishops. But one pawn will fall (d4 is weak) and it is not easy to get the pawns on the king's side going. According to Anand the ending is unclear. Most chess programs, though, still think White is clearly better. } 22. g3 { Rebel was debating between this move and 22 f3. After 22 g3 the move 22 ... Bxe4?? fails to 23 f3 Bxf3 24 Rf1 winning a piece. } 22... Bh6 23. f3 cxd4 24. cxd4 Rc8 { Taking control of the c-file. Because of the weaknesses on d4 and a3, Black is always able to win back one pawn. } 25. h4 { This is a clear mistake. Anand indicated after the game that 25 Ke2 should be played, with a very unclear endgame. } 25... Rc2 { This rook is seriously hampering White's game. } 26. g4 Be3 27. h5 Kg7 { Stopping the pawns. Note how useless the White king's side pawns are. } 28. Rd1 a5 { Planning b5-b4 creating a strong passed pawn. White has to activate the h1-rook quickly, or else it is over. } 29. d5 exd5 30. Rh3 { Not a nice move, but it contains a little trick. Rebel first wanted to play the normal 30 exd5, but then 30 ... b4, or first 30 ... Ba6 followed by 31 ... b4 would have been decisive. } 30... b4 31. axb4 axb4 32. f4 { Here it is. White finally activates his unfortunate rook. The tactical point is 32 ... d4?? 33 Rxe3 dxe3 34 Rd7+. } 32... Bf2+ 33. Kf1 Bc5 { The cleanest way. } 34. Ke1 d4 { Creating a second passed pawn. Because the White pawns cannot accomplish anything, the game is over. } 35. e5 Rc3 { Securing the further advance of the pawns. } 36. Rh2 b3 37. h6+ Kh7 { Here I resigned the game before Rebel could play 38 Rb2. White's game is hopeless. 0-1 } 38. Rb2 0-1