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Chessville is pleased to present notes and games from Corus by the noted author
Dr. Albert Alberts (See Chessville reviews of Dr. Alberts' book, How To Fool Fritz
- Explorations in Man Assisted Machine Chess here and here.)

Editor's Note:  Begun in 1938, this event is currently sponsored by Corus, a company from the Netherlands, and is held each year in Wijk aan Zee, The Netherlands.  This event (a category-20 tournament this year) is perennially among the strongest, if not the strongest, tournament on the GM calendar.  Recent winners  include such well-known GMs as current World Champion Viswanathan Anand (5-time winner, the most ever), Kasparov, Topalov, Kramnik, Leko, Karpov, and Ivanchuk.  Earlier winners included such famous players as Euwe, Korchnoi, Larsen, Keres, Petrosian, Tal, and Botvinnik.  Of course, there have been many others - for a complete list click here.  Now, on to Dr. Alberts' Diary (for the most current entries, scroll towards the bottom of the page):

Corus Diaries 2008

So far not very lucky with CORUS.  Friday no admission and on Sunday public transportation failed us. However, all games are live on www.coruschess.com and Radjabov-Anand was great.  I focus on moments in which computers are better then humans.

CORUS WIJK AAN ZEE 2008, ROUND 1 - THE FIRST MASTERPIECE

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.0-0 Nbd7 11.Ne5 Bg7 12.Nxd7 Nxd7 13.Bd6 a6 14.Re1

Out of book (in book is 14.Bh5) but this one is excellent.

14.Bf8 15.Bg3 Bg7 16.Bd6 Bf8 17.Bxf8 Rxf8(?) 18.b3 b4 19.Na4 c3 20.a3 a5 21.d5 Qe7 22.d6 Qf6 23.e5 Qf4 24.Bd3 bxa3 25.Qe2 Qd2 26.Rxa3 Qxe2 27.Rxe2 g4 28.Nxc3 Rg8 29.Ne4 Kd8 30.Nd2 c5 31.Bb5 Bd5 32.Nc4 Rg5 33.Rea2 Nxe5(?)

Computers recognize the problem, but 33...a4 is eventually lost for Black too.

34.Nb6 Rb8 35.Rxa5 Be4 36.Ra7 f6

37. R2a6(?)

NO!!  And this is common in tournament chess.  The gradual build-up of an overwhelming position took too much of the human brain (?).   The span of concentration is over after the carefully prepared breakthrough on a5.  Probably a trained grandmaster can rely on endgame technique.  After 37.R2a6(?) Rg8 38.Rc7(?) Rf8 39.Rxc5(?) Rf7 40.d7 Nxd7 41.Nxd7 Rxd7 42.Bxd7 Kxd7 Anand was able to postpone his defeat until move 85.

Computers have no mercy: 37.R2a4! and Black has to resign right away because the only way to defend Be4 is with the desperate 37...c4 38.bxc4 h5 39.Re7 Nf3+ 40.gxf3 gxf3+ 41.Kf1 Rxb5 42.cxb5 Rxb6 43.Rxe4

Analysis Diagram: after 43.Rxe4

...and White is a rook up. 1-0.

Radjabov could have enjoyed a walk on the beach and/or a lovely night out in the bohemian hotel Sonnevanck with a grand piano, wooden dance floor and excellent cuisine.  Prodigy Carlsen won twice, but in round 1 via a sudden, mysterious, resignation by Maymedarov in a nearly equal position, 0-1.  Aronian had a Black win too, but due to a blunder by Gelfland, who was under pressure the entire game, by the way.  So far so good, no cops, no rain.  And no Najdorf Sicilian.
 

Monday January 14 round 3.  Strong south wind, which means the tent comprising the demonstration room is flapping and the air smells sulphuric due to the steel mills.  All draws but a STRANGE ONE in Radjabov-van Wely:

Black to play (Rh2).  Game lasted to move 93. Draw!  Funny thing, we thought "Uncle Louk" van Wely had a winner.  NOT.

Computers set Black at -2.04 steady, no win.  Put the black pawn on a4, the white one on a3, bishop b4 and then -2.06 (only -0.02!!) and TILT to a win over depth 20!  An old game Velimirovic-Timman had black pawn on a3, white pawn a2, bishop b3 and that one is a winner for black too.  Fun!!

Very risky Sicilian (e5, Svesnikov-like) in Polgar-Topalov, draw, but I try to win for Polgar.

I was monitoring all the games in grandmaster and in the "secondary" group.  Sometimes in the latter the games are more frivolous.

Nigel Short got smashed yesterday by the 13-year old Chinese girl Hou in the Berlin Wall Ruy Lopez.  Today we had Braun-vdWerf in what I call a Slav Slayer Marshall gambit that I sent once to Chessville.  22 moves White win.

Polgar had a victory with Black over Gelfland today, but White erred at least three times.

Still working on the Polgar-Topalov line. I mistrust it for Black.  Got it to a "Fischer" ending with bishop/rook for White vs. knight/rook for Black, but so far only draws.  Get back to you.
 

Round 4.  Recently I reported in Chessville on gambits to confront computers.  This approach still works in tournaments as well:

Slav -Slav
Slayer as I refer to it- Marshall Gambit
Braun-van der Werf 2# league

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e4 (yo) dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Qxd4 7.Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8.Be2 Na6 9.Bd6 Qxg2(?) (book has b6, but then again Black is not safe) 10.Qd2 Nf6 11.Bf3 Qg6 12.0-0-0 e5 (paying a pawn for a castle, but Black's base line remains vulnerable) 13.Bxe5 0-0 14.Ne2 Qf5 15.Qe3 Nb4 16.Nd4 Nxa2+ 17.Kd2 Rd8 18.Ke2 Qxe5? (a no-no, tilt to advantage ) 19.Qxe5 Re8 20.Qxe8+ (20.Nc6! now brings the decision too) Nxe8 21.Nxc6 bxc6 22.Rd8

Worth a diagram, in Morphy style.  Black resigned after 22 moves.  22...Bb7 23.Ra8 Ba8 24.Ra1 a6 (or 24...Nb4 25. Ra7) 25.Ra2 sets White over +3.3.

Funny how the so-called secondary group brings mucho more adventure then the grandmaster class. Yesterday we saw Nigel Short going under in quite a frivolous miniature in the Berlin Wall Ruy Lopez against 13-year old China Girl Hou.  And now this one!  How come the elite is not all that daring?

PS. Swedish fellow Carlsson beat Dutchman Ruigrok in a Ruy Lopez. Typical rule in MAMS: always respond to any attacks on a Bg5 with h6/Bh4/g5 with giving a piece Ng5 for 2 pawns then do e5 and win over the h7-b1-diagonal with Bc2 (Qd4).  Easy.  Still waiting for a Najdorf Poisoned Pawn.  Do I have surprises for White!

Polgar - Topalov Round 3

Funny line by Topalov. Is it good? Analyzed Man-Assisted-Machine, human moves indicated with (M).

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3 Qc7 8.a4 h6 9.a5 Be6 10.Nd5 Nxd5!?

Out of book and not recommended.

11.exd5 Bg4!? 12.Ra4 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 Nd7

White is up +1.36, but the advantage is difficult to materialize.  14.Bd3 (M).  Machine wants Bc4 but I agree with Polgar to keep the 4th row for Ra4, now 14...Nc5 is a different story but Topalov left that one out.) 14...g6!? 15.0-0 (Polgar did 15.Qg3 with f4 without 0-0, very brave, but later she had to fight for a draw) Bg7 16.Qg3 0-0 17.f4 (M) (her idea, the Rf1-rook has to participate) exf4 18.Raxf4(M) Qxa5 (because 18...Be5? fails on 19.Bg6! with sudden death) 19.Rh4(M) Qxd5 20.Bxh6 Bxh6 21.Bxg6(M) Qg5 22.Bh7+ Kh8 23.Qxg5(M) Bxg5 24.Rh3 Kg7 25.Bf5 Ne5 26.Rg3 f6 27.h4 Nf7 28.hxg5 Nxg5

Analysis Diagram: after 28...Nxg5

...and the plan is completed: steer towards a bishop/rook and knight/rook ending inspired by the famous Fischer-Taimanov Vancouver games in which a minimal initial advantage can be enlarged gradually, as in : 29.Rd1 Rae8 30.Rb3 Re5 31.Rxb7+ Rf7 32.Rxf7+ Kxf7 33.g4.  This one starts at +0.27 for White.  Note that the machine recommended 19.b4 Qa2 and then 20.Rh4-line is avoided.  In that case the white pawn structure in the ending reached via an identical route is too disrupted (-0.18).  So far I obtained draws and I complement Mr. Topalov for challenging a new vision in this Sicilian.
 

All Silent on the Front.  5th round tomorrow.

Kramnik got the pedal to the metal and squeezed out a full point in a near-drawn endgame against Elianov.  Anand wanted to do the same against Mick Adams but the latter did not budge.  Draw.  Aronian and Carlsen leading but a Houdini prodigy escape in Ruy Lopez in Carlsen-Aronian to a perpetual.  Uncle Louk van Wely overcame Topalov with black, and as stated, came close beating to Radjabov as well.  Polgar OK, Gelfland not in good shape.  Invanchuk stood up to Leko who lacked courage in the decisive moment.

Watch out for Mr. Braun in GC-3, leading with 4 out of 4(!!), one due to a Fritz Fooling Marshall Slav.  Who is Mr. Braun? 

Peng-BRAUN Ben-Oni
Round 3

Computer players!  Take a lesson in playing Black:

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 (yes) 4.a4 bxc4 5.Nc3 d6 6.e4 g6 7.Bxc4 Bg7 8.Bb5+ (out of book, book has 8. f4 0-0 9. Nf3 Ba6 about equal) Bd7 9.Nf3 0–0 10.h3 Bxb5 11.axb5 Ne8 12.0–0 Nc7 13.Qe2 Nd7 14.Bf4 Nb6 15.Rfd1 Qd7 16.Ra5 Rfb8 17.e5 Rb7 18.Bg3 Rd8 19.Qe4 Nc8 20.b4 cxb4 21.Qxb4 Nb6 22.Qb3 dxe5 23.Bxe5 Ncxd5 24.Bxg7 Kxg7 25.Ne5 Qf5 26.Nc6 Rd6 27.Nxd5 Nxd5 28.Rxa7 Rxa7 29.Nxa7 Rf6 30.Qb2 (?) (30. Qd5 Qh2+ 31. Kh1 Qa7 is a draw) Nf4

31.f3(?) (the only one is 31.Nc6! Qg5 32. f3 Nh3+ 33.Kh2 Nf4 34. b6 is a perpetual via Qh5/Qc5 but difficult to spot over the board) 31...Nxh3+! 32.gxh3 Qxf3 33.Rd2 Qe3+ 34. Rf2 Qa7 is at -1.5 for Black and looks like a winner. Peng did 33.Ra1? and sudden death at -4.5. 32.Kh2 does not help: 32...e5 33.Nc6 Qf4 34. Kh1 Qh4 at -4.5.
 

Need a French lesson for Black?

Nijboer-BRAUN
Round 1

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qc7 7.Qg4 f5 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qd1 Bd7 10.Bd3 (out of book) Ba4 11.Bd2 Nd7 12.Nf3 h6 13.h4 0–0–0 (castling into it, clearing the base line for connected rooks, I like it and it is effective against computers too) 14.Rh3 Nb6 15.dxc5 Nd7 16.c6 Bxc6 17.Kf1 Nc5 18.a4 Ne4 19.Be3 Ne7 20.Qc1(?) (White should proceed his attack with 21. a5) g5 21.hxg5 hxg5 22.Bxg5 Rxh3 23.gxh3 Rh8 24.h4 Ng6 25.Qe3 Kb8 26.a5 Rh5 27.Bxe4? dxe4 [-2.52 black winning] 28.Nd4 Bd5 29.Qg3

29...e3! (transcendental non-computer move, played with great flair and vision) 30.Bxe3 Qc4+ 31.Ne2 Rxh4 32.f3 Rh1+ 33.Bg1 Ne7 34.Qf4? (succumbs to pressure, Qf2 was badly needed) Rxg1+ 35.Kxg1 Qxe2 36.Rf1 Bc4 37.Rf2 Qe1+ 38.Kg2 Nd5 39.Qh4? a6 0-1

Three times, sailor's right.

BRAUN-Negi
Round 2, Catalan

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Nc7 7.0–0 e5 8.a3 f6 (it is in the books, I do not like it one bit) 9.Rb1 c4 (out of book) 10.b3 Bf5 11.Ra1 cxb3 12.Qxb3 Qd7 13.Rd1 Bc5 14.e3 (computer wants d4 already here, me too) 14...Be6 15.Qc2 Bf5 (suggested now 15...0–0 before it is all too late, white ignores draw offer by repetition) 16.Qa4 Rd8 17.d4 (yes! Open d- and e-file for a pawn, my guess computers will succumb to this strategy too) 17...exd4 18.exd4 Nxd4 19.Qc4 Nce6 20.Be3 b5 21.Qa2 Bg4(?) (but probably 21. - Qc8 wont help either) 22.Nxd4 Bxd4 (22.- Bd1?? 23.Bc6 for your information) 23.Rd2 Qc8 24.Bxd4 Nxd4 25.Re1+ Kf8 26.Qb2 Qc4?? A blunder but White is very good here. 27.Nxb5 Ne6 28.Rxd8+ (at+ 11.95!!) Nxd8 29.Nd6 Qa4 30.Qb8 Qd7 31.Bc6  Computer announces mate in 14.

Braun created great asymmetry with his d4-sacrifice in a fully mobile position and played the finish after 26...Qc4? in great romantic style. It seems he has quite an opening trick bag too, won in round 4 with an old fashioned Marshall Slav as noted.  Keep an eye on this fellow.  Maybe talk to him?   Give him How to Fool Fritz, by the way it is in the stands between Karpov etc., making the author very proud.  And then again: that the best is yet to come!  No HAL-computer is going to lock out this astronaut out of the space vehicle!

A thriller in GC-C Ruigrok-Braun.

CORUS 2008 Round 5
GC-C. Ruigrok on the warpath
Ruigrok-BRAUN, Caro-Kann

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bf4 Qa5+ 12.Bd2 Qa4 13.Rh4 (out of book) Be7 14.Rf4 Bd6 15.Rh4 Qb5 16.Qxb5 cxb5 17.Ne4 Be7 18.Rh1 Rc8 19.c3 Nb6 20.Ne5 Nf6 21.Nxf6+ Bxf6 22.Nd3 0–0 23.f4!? (on the warpath) Rfd8 24.g4!? (yo) Nc4 25.Ke2 b4 26.Rag1 Nxb2 27.Nxb4 Be7 28.Nd3 Na4 29.Rc1 (g5!?) Ba3 30.g5!? (unmitigated audacity) Bxc1 31.Rxc1 f6 32.gxh6 gxh6 33.f5 exf5 34.Nf4 Kf7 35.Ng6 b5 36.Ke3 Re8+ -2.38 37.Kd3? b4? (aye! 37...Nb2 was an immediate winner over -3.3) 38.Rb1

...and now Black has to work with a -1.3 advantage.  Braun sunk in deep thought here for 45 minutes.  In the meantime Fritz-10 saw the win, be it over depth 20 capacity full strength: 38...bxc3 39.Rb7+ Ke6 40.Bxh6 c2 41.Bc1 Rc3+ 42.Kd2 Kd5 43.h6 a5 44.h7 Rh3 45.h8Q Rexh8 46.Nxh8 Rxh8 47.Kxc2 Kxd4 48.Rd7+ Kc4 49.Be3 Rh2+ 50.Rd2 Rxd2+ 51.Bxd2 Kb5 52.Kd3 Nb6 53.Kd4 a4 54.a3 Kc6 55.Be1 Nd5 56.Bg3 f4 57.Bf2 Ne3 58.Ke4 Kd6 59.Be1 f5+ 60.Kf3 Nd5 61.Bf2 Ke5 62.Be1 Kd4 63.Bh4 Kc3 64.Bf2 Kc4 65.Bg1 Nc3 66.Bf2 Nb5 67.Kxf4 Nxa3 68.Bh4 Nc2 69.Kxf5 Nb4 70.Be7 a3 0-1

Question is: will the young German IM see this almost superhuman route?  That would reveal an extraordinary talent.  Complication: a thunderstorm.  Lightning and all that.  Under pressure of being the leader with 4 out of 4 and knowing that you missed 37...Nb2 requires extreme mental stamina.  It is a Karpov line, can one stay ice cold like Anatoli in his best days?  Let us see.  In real time: 38...bxc3 39.Rb7+ Ke6 40.Bh6 c2 41.Bc1 so far so good.  But alas!  My Main Man failed! 41.Bc1 and he did 41...f4? and not Nc3+ and the thing dwindled to a draw.  Braun still leading 4 ½ in GC-3 and Ruigrok his first ½.  What a thriller!

In GC-A class Radjabov the King of the King s Indian now leading with Carlsen and Aronian due to a clumsy mistake of Eljanov.  Polgar-Leko a draw in the Ruy Lopez Marshall gambit as it should be.  Ivanchuk-Carlsen a draw in the harmless Ruy Lopez Exchange line because both players do not know about the revival of the IBM-1962 Portisch line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4. Bc6 (terrible) dc6 5.0-0 Bg4 6.h3 h5 with a score for Black over 60% in computer chess, www.howtofoolfrirz.com.  Aronian and Anand agreed on a friendly draw after 1 hour.  And again: a harvest of attractive wins in GC-B and GC-C.  One poisoned pawn Sicilian but not consumed.

A TRIBUTE TO ROBERT JAMES FISCHER

Radjabov-Adams Round 6

Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0–0 Bg4 6.h3 h5

Played 18th of January 2008, the day Robert James Fischer passed away.  RJF polished up the Exchange Variation for white in his ascension in the '60s.  No matter his eternal influence on classic chess: I have never liked it and I am glad to see Adams comes up with the 5...Bg4 6.h3 h5-line from Portisch-Barendregt 1962.  The verdict is that White is ok as long as he does not touch the bishop with hg4.  That is to say: not right away.

The tournament game went: 7.d3 Qf6 8.Nbd2 Ne7 9.Re1 Ng6 10.d4 Nf4 11.dxe5 Qg6 12.Nh4 Bxd1 13.Nxg6 Nxg6 14.Rxd1 Rd8 15.e6 fxe6 16.Re1 Ne5 17.Nf3 Nxf3+ 18.gxf3 Bb4 19.c3 Bd6 20.Kf1 0–0 21.Ke2 Rd7 22.Rd1 Rdf7 23.Rd3 c5 24.b3 b5 25.c4 draw, Radjabov playing it safe.

In computer chess, the story can be different because machines will be inclined to play hg4 at one time or another. I play the line for black adhering to a few rules-of-thumb; hang on to pawn g4, play Bd6 or Bc5 and occupy the d-file with 0-0-0 and connect the black rooks when Ng8 has been moved. In some lines white penetrates the black castle with Qe3/Qa7 or Qb3/Qb7 but then black can defy this attack by going Kd7 or Kf7.

Examples:

7.d3 Nh6!? 8.Be3 (8.Bg5? Bf3!) f5!? 9.hxg4 hxg4 10.Nxe5 Qf6 11.d4 0–0–0 12.exf5 Bd6 13.Bf4 Qxf5 14.Bg3 Qh5 15.f3 Bxe5 16.Bxe5 Nf5 and White can not recover from a -2.2 Black advantage initiated at a +1.81 risk-level at the moment of 9.hg4.

A second motive: 7.d3 Bd6 ( 7.- Bd6 can answer 7. c3 as well) 8.hxg4 hxg4 9.Ng5 Qc8 (now Ng5 has no place to go) 10.Nxf7 Kxf7 11.c3 Nf6 12.Re1 (12.Nd2 Bc5 13.Qb3+ Kg6 14.d4 exd4 15. Nc4 Rh5 very good for Black) Qe6 13.Qb3 Rh7 14.Be3 Rah8 15.Qxe6+ Kxe6 16.Kf1 Nh5 17.Nd2 Nf4 18.Bxf4 exf4 and Black has an enduring advantage.

7. d3 Bd6 8.hxg4 hxg4 9.Ng5 Qc8 10.c3 f6 11.Qb3 fxg5 12.Bxg5 Nf6 13.Nd2 Qd7!? 14.Qxb7 Kf7 15.Qb3+ Kg6 16.Be3 Rh7 17.Rfd1 g3 18.Nf1 gxf2+ 19.Bxf2 Rah8 20.Ng3 Qg4 and a miniature win for Black.  A rarity in computer chess.

I invented the 6.h3 h5-line myself without any previous theoretical knowledge in 2005/2006 (A.H.Alberts, How to Fool Fritz, then played on a Fritz-7 at 625 Mhz, but the idea holds up on Fritz-10 at 2 Ghz as well) and played about 100 games with a 60% winning score for Black.  I mailed a manuscript to Robert James Fischer, grandmaster of chess, in Iceland because right at that particular time RJF landed on the island.  Needless to say: I never got an answer.  I played the line over-the-board in an Amsterdam chess café and defeated an IM once.  He told me Fischer abandoned the Exchange line rather rapidly.  Due to Bg4/h3/h5?

We will never know.

PS. My preferred Fischer game?  Fischer-Keres Curacau 1962 in which only computers can detect a weaker move (Qb8) by Keres and in which Fischer missed a direct win.  Second: the three games he LOST to Efwim Geller.  All Great Gods in heaven now.

The king is dead. Long live the king. The show must go on.

Sunday 19-01. The day after Round 7

Polgar-Anand Round 7

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3 etc.  Polgar usually plays Nf3 instead of Nb3 to press on pawn d6.  She lost later on hitting that one with 29. Nd6?  In GC-B and C I saw the 6...e5-line too.  Quite irritating these e5-people.  Suppose we go 7.Nb3 and then 8.f4 to open the f-file for Rh1 after 0-0?

This one is in the book: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f4 exf4 9.Bxf4 Nc6 10.Qd2 d5 11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Nxd5 Qxd5 13.Qxd5 Bxd5 14.0–0–0 0–0–0 15.g3 Bd6 16.Bh3+ Kb8 is about equal.  But too symmetric I think.  In many Sicilians it is advantageous to sacrifice pawn e4 to create full mobility for a bishop pair, make black lose tempi chasing Ne4, connect rooks Ra1-Rf1 after Qh5.  So why not: 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f4 ef4 9.Bf4 Nc6 10.Nd5!? Nxe4 11.c4 Rc8 12.Bd3 Nf6 (computer indicates compensation for the pawn)

13.Bg5 Be7 14.Nxe7 Qxe7 15.0–0 Ne5 16.Nd4 Nxc4 17.Nf5 Bxf5 18.Bxf5 Rc5 19.Qd4 Ne5 20.Rae1 and white is slightly better with 2 pawns down.  Chess and life are about taking risks.  In this line 17.Rc1 b5 18.Bf5 Rc5 19.Bxf6 gxf6 20.Qh5 Kd8 21.b4 Rc8 22.Qf3 Qd7 23.Bd3 Rg8 24.Bxh7 Rg5 25.Qxf6+ Qe7 26.Qf2 White is quite good.  Or 17.b3 d5 18.Bxf6 gxf6 19.cxd5 Qc5 20.Bxh7+ Kxh7 21.dxe6 fxe6 22.Kh1 White good again.  Look at: 15.0–0 Nxd5 16.cxd5 Bxd5 17.Be4 Qb6+ 18.Kh1 Bxe4 19.Qxf7+ Kd8 20.Rad1+ Bd6 21.Qxg7 Re8 22.Rf6 not bad either.  To get to an ultimate mobilization of all white pieces: 12.Bd3 Nf6 13.0–0 Nxd5 14.cxd5 Bxd5 15.Qh5 Be6 16.Rae1 Ne5 17.Bxe5 dxe5 18.Bf5 Qb6+ 19.Kh1 Be7 20.Nd4 White quite good and this line demonstrates the essential idea.

A wild one: 10.Nd5 Nxe4 11.c4 Rc8 12.Bd3 Nf6 13.Bg5 Bxd5 14.cxd5 Ne5 15.Bf5 Rb8 16.Rc1 g6 17.Bb1 h6 18.Bh4 Bg7 19.0–0 0–0 20.Qd4 Re8 21.Rc3 g5 22.Bg3 Qd7 23.h4!? Qb5 24.hxg5 Nxd5 25.Qf2 (-2 risk, the maximum lies at -3) Nxc3 26.bxc3 Qc4 27.Qf5 (-1.29) Kf8 (?) 28.Nd4 (-1.00) hxg5 29.Bc2 (-0.43) Re7 30.Qxg5 (-0.43) Rbe8 31.Bb3 (0.00 and tilt to equality and going positive) Qd3 32.Nf5 and a white WIN.  A bit swindlish this one but will a tournament player find the refutation over the board?  An opponent will highly likely suspect that you analyzed it all out after 25.Qf2 and get very nervous.

After a dozen runs the best defenses for black are: 10.Nd5 Nxe4 11.c4 Rc8 12.Bd3 Nf6 -13.Bg5 Be7 14.Nxe7 Qxe7 15.0–0 Ne5 16.Nd4 0–0 17.Nf5 Qd8 18.Nxg7 Qb6+ 19.Kh1 Nfg4 20.Nf5 Bxf5 21.Bxf5 Nf2+ 22.Rxf2 Qxf2 23.Bxc8 Rxc8 24.Qxd6 Nxc4 25.Qe7 Nxb2 26.Be3 Qf5 27.Qxb7 Qe6 28.Bd4 Nc4 29.Qf3 white slightly better.

10.Nd5 Nxe4 11.c4 Rc8 12.Bd3 Nf6 13.Bg5 Be7 14.Nxe7 Nxe7 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.0–0 Ng6 17.Rc1 Ne5 18.Qd2 0–0 19.Rf4 Re8 20.Rc3 Qb6+ 21.Kh1 Qd8 22.Bxh7+ Kxh7 23.Rh4+ Kg8 24.Qh6 Ng6 25.Rg3 Bg4 26.Qh7+ Kf8 27.Qh6+ perpetual or Black can play for a win with Ke7.  Again: over-the-board the sequence with Rf4-h4 with Qh6 will probably make any opponent nervous.  And a draw for White is secured.

Monday 20 January.  The kids are all right!  After round 8 Carlsen is still on top in GC-A and another youngster Caruana now leading in GC-C via a direct win with Black over main competitor Braun who lost to Grivas as well in the earlier round.  What happened?

BRAUN-CARUANA
Round 8

Slav Defense: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.0–0 0–0 9.Nh4 (out of book) Qe7 (Playing this line against Krush in round 6, Caruana was defeated in a delicate endgame. Krush did 10.Nf5) 10.f3 Rd8 11.Qb3 Bg6 12.Nxg6 hxg6 13.Na2 Ba5 14.Rb1 a6 15.Qc2 Nbd7 16.b4 Bc7 17.a5 e5 18.dxe5 Nxe5 19.Be2 g5 20.Rb3 Nd5 21.g3 Bd6 22.Qb1 Bb8 23.e4 Ba7+ 24.Kh1 Nc7 25.f4 Ng6 26.e5 Nd5 27.Qe4 Re8 28.Bd3 Qd7 29.Qf3 Qh3 30.Nc3 Nxc3 31.Rxc3 Rad8 32.Bc4 gxf4 33.Bxf4 Rf8 34.Rd3 Rxd3 35.Qxd3 Bb8 36.Rf2 Qh5 37.Qe4 Nxe5 [diagram] (Just about equal here after oscillating advantages for Black and White.)

The finale was played by Caruana with supreme confidence and I hope that Braun s inaccuracies in the endgame –like we saw in his finish against Ruigrok- are not symptomatic.  Another great talent this Caruana teenager.  And a handsome fellow too!

Tomorrow: Kramnik-Topalov.  No funny stuff with the etiquette.  The referees show no mercy.  Cheparinov-Short 0-1 after 1.e4 c5 because Cheparinov refused to shake hands with Nigel.

PS. My money is still on Kramnik though for the final win.  He showed incredible endurance in near-draw endgames.  A strong will to win.

Checking up on Caruana-Carlsson round 7 after analyzing Polgar-Anand round 8 I found out that Caruana actually did put Nb3/f4 in gear in an e5-Sicilian!  I think the line has a great future.  My man.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3(yes) Be6 8.Qd2 Be7 9.0–0–0 (out of book, but very natural) 0-0 10.g3 Ng4 11.f4 (yo!) Nxe3 12.Qxe3 b5 13.Kb1 b4 (I just love these Sicilians with 0-0-0 for White and 0-0 for Black) 14.Na4 Bg4 15.Re1 Nd7 16.h3 Bh5 17.Bc4 (Permit me to coin a term for the c4-bishop: the Fischer King.  The piece presses on d5/e6/f7 in the Sicilian and defends c2 and a2 when played to b3 as in the Sozin-Fischer lines.) Qc7 18.Bd5 exf4 19.gxf4 Rac8 20.Nd4 Bf6 (Black still good here at -0.33 but that is just the surface.  Caruana plays the game from a pseudo-White disadvantage as an underdog and that is how it should be done against computers and apparently in tournaments too.) 21.Bb3 Nc5 22.Nf5 Bg6 23.Ng3 Nxa4 (Now I would have taken out the mighty bishop with Nb3) 24.Bxa4 Qa5 25.Bb3 Rfe8 26.h4 h6 27.Qc1 (The attack can be launched now with 27.f5, but Caruana does these rather cryptic moves from time to time) 27...Rc5 28.Rhg1 Bh7 29.e5 (or f5) dxe5 30.Nh5 Qb6 31.Qe3 [diagram]

Breaking News:

Topalov-Kramnik Round 9

Slav defense. A 12.Nxf7-sacrifice?! 22-0-2008

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.0–0 Nbd7 11.Ne5 Bg7 12.Nxf7!? (what a surprise!  This opening has been around for centuries and nobody ever ventured 12.Nf7!?) 12...Kxf7 13.e5 Nd5 14.Ne4

(and now the computer defends with the hideous 14.- Bf8 15.Bh5+ Kg8 16.Qg4 Rh7 17.Qxe6+ and black slightly better, but Kramnik was clearly surprised) 14...Ke7 15.Nd6 Qb6 16.Bg4 Raf8 17.Qc2 (all machine moves, planning Rhg8 ,because the white queen should not get to g6-c2.  Kramnik judges Qd4 viable) 17...Qxd4 18.Qg6 Qxg4 19.Qxg7+ Kd8 20.Nxb7+ Kc8 21.a4!?  The Bulgarian is a true provocative agent, 21.Rad1 is solid, because 21...Rfg8 22.Qf7 Rf8 23.Nd6+ Kc7 24.h3 Rxf7 25.hxg4 is just about equal.  But Kramnik seems nervous due to all this ruckus and we get 21...b4(?) (after 22. Nd6+ Kc7 again 23. Rad1 and now a6 or Rd8 or Rfg8 are all very good for White, as Qg6 can return to c2.  But the whole thing gets on Topalov s nerves as well. 22.Rac1(!?).  A royal advantage of over +1 collapses to zero 0.00.  Aye!

To be restored after Kramnik s 22...c3? (22...Rfg8 23.Qf7 Rf8 24.Nd6+ Kc7 25.Qg6 avoid a perpetual 25...Nf4 26.Bxf4 Rhg8 27.Qc2 gxf4 28.f3 Qg7 white slightly better) 23.bxc3 b3(?) 24.c4 Rfg8 (+2.57 a winner now) 25.Nd6+ Kc7 26.Qf7 Rf8 27.cxd5!? (27.h3 wins right away, but Topalov wants to continue in great macho style) Rxf7 28.Rxc6+ Kb8 29.Nxf7 Re8 (?) 30.Nd6 Rh8 31.Rc4 (over +3) Qe2 32.dxe6 Nb6 33.Rb4 Ka8 34.e7 Nd5 35.Rxb3 Nxe7 36.Rfb1 a chaotic struggle but White coming out on top.  He deserves to win just on grounds of the unique imaginative invention of 12.Nxf7.  Of course Kramnik is not going to resign.  No use annotating the finale. 36.Rfb1 Nd5 37.h3 h5 38.Nf7 Rc8 39.e6 a6 40.Nxg5 h4 41.Bd6 Rg8 42.R3b2 Qd3 43.e7 Nf6 44.Be5 Nd7  Black is down over 12.5; I think the referee should throw in a towel.  Kramnik is KO as KO as one can be. 45.Ne6 and Kramnik has to admit that he is totally crushed. 1-0. Amazing game.

Post-Mortem:

The 12.Nxf7!? sacrifice by Topalov against Kramnik probably flashes all over the globe now.  I have my doubts:

Cheparinov-Krasenkow, Round 9
GC-B  Slav Slayer Marshall Gambit

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e4 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Qxd4 7.Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8.Be2

Invented by the legendary Frank James Marshall in what I call the WESTERN style.  Bishop pair mobility in a position without central pawns and a wandering black queen.  In all lines ...Qxg2 is a no-no, opening the g-file with the open d/e-files.

8...Na6 9.Bd6 b6 10.Nf3 Bb7 11.0–0 Rd8 12.Qd2 (out of book) c5 13.Rad1 Nb4 14.a3 Nc6 15.Bd3 Qg4 16.h3 Qh5 17.Qf4 f6(?) 18.Rfe1 Qf7 19.Bf5 Bc8 20.Be4 [+2.46, an overwhelming advantage for White] Bd7 21.Bc7 Rc8 22.Ng5 fxg5 23.Qxf7+ Kxf7 24.Rxd7+ Nce7 25.Bd6 a5 26.Bf3 h5 27.Rb7 Rh6 28.Rxb6 Nf5 29.Rb7+ Nge7 30.Rd1 Kf6 31.Bc7 Nd4 32.Bxa5 g4 33.hxg4 hxg4 34.Bxg4 Rch8 35.Bh3 g5 36.f3 Ng6 37.Rc7 Nf4 38.Rxc5 Nxh3+ 39.gxh3 Nxf3+ 40.Kg2 Rxh3 41.Bc3+ e5 42.Rf1 1-0

Frightening.  Stagger Lee shot Billy, shot the boy so bad.  I advocated the SLAV SLAYER Marshall Gambit in computer chess and note how a professional transformed this line into what seems like a nuclear weapon!  Are we going to see it in GC-A as well?

Rumour has it that the Cheparinov-Short handshake incident dates back to the sordid Kramnik-Topalov affair last year.  But Cheparinov apologized and the forfeited game against Short was played on Monday.  Now it was said that the 12.Nf7 breaking news sacrifice in the Slav Defense- played in about one third of the CORUS games- was cooked up by the Bulgarians three years ago.  I know Topalov looks at chess as an exact science in the computer era.  A variety of lines was analyzed up to move 20 probably with machines.  Question is: what lines were analyzed and can one beat computers with it?  I doubt it.  Take a look:

14.Bh5+ Kg8 15.Ne4 Qb6 16.Nd6 Rf8 17.Qg4 Nc7 18.Qe4 Ba8 19.Qg6 Rh7 20.Bg4 Kh8 21.Bxe6 Nxe6 22.Qxe6 h5 23.Qxd7 Bh6 24.Qh3 h4 25.e6 Qxd4 26.Nf7+ Rhxf7 27.exf7 Qf6 and a White win.  BUT:

14.Bh5+ Kg8 15.Ne4 c5! 16.Nd6 Qe7 17.Nxb7 cxd4 18.Qxd4 Rf8 19.Rae1 Nf4 20.Bxf4 Rxf4 21.Qxa7 Nxe5 22.Qb6 Kh7 23.Nc5 g4 24.Qxe6 Qxe6 25.Nxe6 Rf5 26.Nxg7 Kxg7 27.f4 gxf3 28.Bxf3 equality.

After 14.Bh5+ Kg8 15.Ne4 Bf8! 16.Qg4 Rh7 17.Qxe6+ Kh8 18.Bg6 Re7 19.Qh3 c5 20.Nd6 Qb6 21.Bf5 Rd8 22.Nxb7 Qxb7 23.e6 N7f6 24.dxc5 Nf4 25.Bxf4 gxf4 26.Rfd1 and Black is clearly better.

However, Topalov played 14. Ne4 first:

14.Ne4 Bf8! 15.Bh5+ Kg8 16.Qg4 Rh7 17.Qxe6+ Kh8 18.Bg6 Re7 19.Qg4 c5 and now 20.Nxg5!? is futile: hxg5 21.Qh5+ Kg8 22.e6 Bg7 23.Qh7+(Bh7+ no good either) Kf8 24.exd7 Qxd7 25.dxc5 and Black wins.

After 20.Nd6 Qb6 21.Bf5 Rd8 22.Rfd1 cxd4 23.Nxb7 (Qxd4 is hopeless) Qxb7 24.e6 N7f6 25.Qxd4 Ree8 [diagram]  Black is superior over -2.  The black resources are c5/Bc6/Qb6 and Rd8 and the Bf8/Rh7-team effectively defend Kh8.  f4 for White to activate Rf1 comes too late.

The verdict? 12.Nf7!? is a bit of a Swindle but no tournament chess without Swindles. We had a field day!

PS. Both players did NOT shake hands, but now the rule is that players only have to shake hands in case one is offered.  Strange world.

ROUND 10.  There is a Dutch saying: the young squeak like the old sing.  This time it is the other way around:

Well well, what do you know.  Former champion and now Grand Old Man of Dutch chess, Jan Timman, against Lubojevic plays the 12.Nf7!?  Topalov/Cheparinov sacrifice in the Slav Defense.  The Honor League with Kortsnoj and Portisch.

Timman-Lubojevic

18...Ba8(?)  [Do not be shy: 18.- Qxd4 19.Nxb7 Qxg4 20.axb5 cxb5 21.Nd6 Bxe5 22.Nxb5 black over -2.  Do not fear 18...Qxd4 19.Bxe6 Kxe6 20.Qg6+ Ke7 21.Nxb7 Bxe5 22.Qh7+ Rg7 23.Qxh6 Nf4 24.Bxf4 Qxf4 25.axb5 Rg6 26.Qh3 Rh8 and we can go to dinner. The ghost 21.Nf5+ Rxf5 22.Qxf5 Qd3 at -3.9 does not exist.  All this computer analyzed in 30 minutes after 18...Ba8.  It just is not fair to look at these games as an alien in a spaceship with computers.  But then again we aliens know that 12.Nf7!? is not truly correct and in order to beat HAL we will have to come up with something better.  [HAL is the chess computer in Kubrick s classic film Space Oddyseia.]

19.Rfe1(?) Nc7(?) (of course 19...Qd4 again and even more devastating) 20.d5??  Timman apparently plays the 12.Nf7!?-line totally unprepared.  Half an hour computer analysis would have told him the entire story.  20...cd5 21.ab5 a5(?) (Qd4) 22.b3? (ba6) cxb3 23.Qh7  White is down -3.7.  No use annotating or assigning question marks from here on. Just wait for the b3/b2/b1 axe to fall. 0-1

Round 11, Friday 25-01-2008:

Great round, 3 wins for Black.

With my money still on Kramnik, we monitor:

CARLSEN-ANAND Round 11

1.e4 c5 (This man has plans.) 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.a4 Nc6 8.0–0 Be7 9.Be3 0–0 10.f4 Qc7 11.Kh1 Re8 12.Bf3 Rb8 13.Qd2 (out of book) Bf8 14.Qf2 Bd7 15.g4 e5 16.Nf5 exf4 17.Bxf4 Be6 18.Rad1 Ne5 19.Bxe5 dxe5 20.g5 Nd7 21.Nd5 Qc6 22.Bg2 Qc5  (Anand is never pawn greedy, no ...Qa4) 23.Qh4!? (My kind of move too, but machine wants to play it safe.) Qxc2 (And now the pawn is accepted.  At this point Leko-Kramnik agreed on a draw in a Petroff Defense.  With the upcoming Kramnik-Carlsen tomorrow, Kramnik has to confront Anand with Black on Sunday.  However in the meantime Aronian is doing very well against van Wely too.

24.Rc1!? (after 24.a5 all perpetuals, but Magnus works steady on his plan with Rc3/Rh3,Bf3 to hit on h5, practically all his moves are non-computer) Qxa4 25.b3 Qa5 (25...Qb3 26.Rc3 and Black can play on without the queen.  26...Bd5 27.Rb3 Bb3 at -1.75.  But Anand estimates the defense of the upcoming attack very well and again is not pawn hungry) g6 27.Rh3 h5 28.Bf3(?) [28...gh6 does not win either.]  The clocks run and moves come fast now.  28... Bxd5 (28. -Qb5 29.Rd1 Bd5 good too) 29.exd5 Bg7 30.Bxh5!?  (Although this sacrifice will not win, one thing has to be said: Carlsen sticks to his plan from 23.Qh4 stubborn like a mule) gxf5 31.Bxf7+ Kxf7 32.g6+ Kg8 (Optically it all looks very threatening with rooks on open h/f-files but Anand defends well and rapido; Black is up -5 a total win.  Admitted: the attack has style, but let us not forget that Carlsen is the leader due to two dubious points with Black against Maymedarov in round 1 and in round 10 from the catastrophic event in the game with Van Wely.  Followed 33.Qh7+ Kf8 34.Rxf5+ Ke7 35.Qxg7+ Kd6 36.Rf7 Qxd5+ 37.Kg1 Rbd8 38.Rh7 Qd4+ 39.Kg2 Qg4+ 40.Kh1 Rg8 41.Rf6+ Kc7 42.Qe7 Qe4+ 0–1

Radjabov again victorious with his King s Indian specialty over Gelfand.  Van Wely going under against Aronian (White); as predicted Topalov still under heavy g-file artillery from Black.  Polgar struggling against a Black attack over the h-file.  Can we end up with FOUR wins for Black in this round?  Looks like the final 2 rounds will be climactic!  Topalov got away with a draw, but Polgar succumbed to the dark force.  The Dutch eat potatoes and watch the news at 6 PM strictly, even if the Earth is shaking.  17.50 local time now and all games over.  The Grandmaster-A class served us well today!  Aronian (up for Ivanchuk/Polgar) leading 7/11 with Radjabov (Leko/Carlsen), Anand (Van Wely/Kramnik) and Carlsen (Radjabov/Kramnik) trailing at -1/2.  Gentlemen, place your bets!

Carlsen-Anand. CORUS round 11. The morning after.

The experts agreed that 33.Qh7+ was the faulty continuation of the White attack that remarkably enough was conceived from a series of 6/7 non-computer moves raising the risk time and time again starting with 23.Qh4!?  Consensus was reached on the verdict that 33.Rxf5 Qxd5+ 34.Rhf3 Qd1+ 35.Rf1 Qd5+ 36.R1f3 Qd1+ would have led to a (deserved) draw for all practical purposes.  Playing this line in machine assisted, one will note that the robots then will steer into a domain that - in my opinion - transcends human calculative capacity.  Fritz/Rybka both play on without queen via, e.g.

36...Qf3 37.Rxf3 Nf8 38.Qc4+ Ne6 39.Qd5 Rbd8 40.Qxb7 Nf4 41.Qxa6 Rd1+ 42.Rf1 Rxf1+ 43.Qxf1 Nxg6 44.Qf5 Kh7 45.Qh5+ Bh6 46.Qf5 Kg7 47.b4 e4 48.h4 Re7 49.h5 Nf4 50.Qc5 Re6 51.Qd4+ Kg8 52.Qg1+ Kf7 53.Qa7+ Kf6 54.Qe3 at a -2.10 advantage for Black.

The lunatics are taking over the asylum.  Some of the continuations then lead to a pawnless ending with a white queen vs. a black rook/bishop/knight configuration and we will have to consult Nunn s classic book on the subject.  I am certain that the ever gentle Anand would have conceded the perpetual after 33.Rf5! and we have to complement Magnus Carlsen with a marvelous conception.  If the defeat after 33.Qh7+ has not demoralized the youngster too much, he is still a contender for the final win of the tournament and we are heading towards what probably will be the hottest chess weekend in the history of CORUS (former Hoogovens) in the normally quiet village called Wijk aan Zee.  Get on the bus Gus!

ROUND 12:

Carlsen win, tomorrow key role for Polgar?

Glad to see that Magnus Carlsen's confidence appeared unbroken after the defeat in the confrontation with Anand in round 11.  I even suspect that his 33.Qh7+ was not really a mistake, but a case of unmitigated audacity.  He must have seen the draw after 33.Rf5 – or the crazy ending in case Anand had wanted to play for a win- but he probably wanted to see his plan end up in a forced win one way or another.  Great players can be very creative AND very solid depending on the game in question.  Against Kramnik (White) Carlsen stood a little better all the time, practically all his moves fit exactly the computer programs and when in the last hour Kramnik became impatient, the young Norvegian stayed cool as ice.  At move 40 the game was a total disaster for White; after the break Kramnik tried to swindle himself out of it, to no avail.  Radjabov and Anand and Aronian coming out with draws, it is 7 ½ out 12 for the Armenian and the Viking prodigy.  Tomorrow Carlsen-Radjabov and Polgar-Aronian.  A key role for the queen of chess?

From the viewpoint of prospecting for a style of play effective against computers in my judgment Carlsen does qualify.  In GC-B I saw a segment of interest in this domain:

Movsesian- l Ami

24.Nf6+!  In the tournament room: 24...gxf6(?) 25.exf6 Qe8(?) 26.Qh5 c6 27.Bf4 Bxf2+!? 28.Kxf2 Nxf4 29.Qxh6 (mate-finder announcing mate in 11) Rd2+ 30.Ke3 –better 30. Kg1 mate in 8, and white resigned.  NOT: 30. Kf1?? And mate-in-4 for Black and Movsesian avoided this Swindle.

In case of: 24...Kh8 25.Qh5 Rd2 26.Bxg6 fxg6 27.Qxg6 Bg8 28.Nxg8 Kxg8 29.e6 c6 30.Re4 white very good.

Or: 24...gxf6 25.exf6 Qc5 26.Bxg6 Qd5 27.Be4 Qd2 28.Rb1 Qg5 29.h4 Qg4 30.Qf4 Qxf4 31.Bxf4 h5 32.Bf3 Bg4 33.Bc6 white very good again.

The point I am trying to make is: in the vast majority of cases the beauty of a chess combination like this is destroyed by machines in the post mortem.  24.Nf6 is an example of a transcendental human move via which a computer can be fooled initially.  In reruns you will find that the machine steals this magnificent idea.  Somehow, say, Fritz-10 has a self-learning capacity and once the combination has been processed through the algorithms they will find 24.Nf6 too like imitating monkeys and then choose the 24...Kh8-line.  I am almost certain that Movsesian planned the combination after 22.Bf4.  A non-computer move, because it will insist on 22.Be3 Bxe3 23.Qxe3 Ng6 24.Qa7 with a raid on the black queen side pawns.  Once It has been fooled with 22.Bf4 a few times, a machine will play 22.Bf4 Nf5! (why do I keep thinking that Karpov would have found this over-the-board?) 23.Rd1 Rxd1+ 24.Bxd1 b4 25.cxb4 axb4 26.axb4 White still better but no fun.  If you want to embed the combination after 21. Re1, then the black Nd5 will not move and your Bf4-trick can not be effectuated.  A machine will play 21.Re1 a4 because it now reckons with 22.Be3 after 22...Ne7 having dismantled your beautiful Bf4/Nf6-human scheme. Such are the aggravations of a computer chess player.

- Dr. Albert Alberts

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