Annotated chess game: Adams - Kasparov, 2005 - Sicilian, Najdorf, English Attack

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ANNOTATED GAME

Adams - Kasparov, 2005 - Sicilian, Najdorf, English Attack
Adams vs. Kasparov
Annotated by: tcslick420 (1200)
Chess opening: Sicilian (B90), Najdorf, Byrne (English) attack

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Notes by Travis Colon. This is an amazing attacking game by Garry Kasparov in the Sicilian, Najdorf line. His opponent Adams plays the White side. He and Short are two of the strongest British GM's. Kasparov's knowledge of this line is tremendous. watch how both sides combine attack with defense, a common theme in this double-edged system. This game is relatively short, but amazing, nonetheless.

1. e4 c5	Kasparov's favorite reply to 1.e4. The Sicilian is a dynamic system which rightfully portrays Kasparov's characteristic style, a mixture of positional subtlety and ruthless aggression. Always willing to complicate, even at the cost of material, yet ever patient, always waiting for the right moment to strike. If necessary, improving his position or playing defensive, then continuing his attack when he feels he is secure.
	1 comment neilskye (1200) on 02-Nov-07: Great annotation. Kasparov recently came 25th in a worldwide list of living geniuses, decided largely by public vote. I think the reason for this is that the average member of the public does not understand chess well enough to appreciate the true genius of Garry Kasparov. In my estimation Kasparov would certainly be in the top 5.


2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4	In the Open Sicilian, White allows Black to trade off the c-pawn for the d-pawn, opening the c-file. In return, white has a spacial and development advantage over black, but only slight. You can see that the position is already unbalanced with the first move. Unbalanced openings are less drawish since they allow chances for both sides and are risky.



4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6	Garry has played the Dragon a couple of times, but he mostly plays the Najdorf, transposing into somehting of a Scheveningen of sorts with ..e6. He also varies with ..e5, but not in most cases. The early ..a6 prevents the simplification move, Bb5, and also prepares ..b5.



6. Be3 e6 7. Be2 Qc7 8. Qd2 b5 9. a3 Bb7	..Bd7 is another popular option. Garry wants d7 for his knight later on, when white will eventually push his pawn to g5, driving off the knight.



10. f3 Nc6 11. O-O-O	Adams decides to play the English Attack. I personally, along with many other top GM's, use this system as my main weapon against the Najdorf. This is a strong system which consists of the same setup as the Yugoslav Attack against the Dragon. Here, the pawn is placed on f3 to prevent ng4, harassing the bishop on e3. The bishop on e2 holds the f3 pawn in order to start the pawn storm g4, h5, etc. The pawn storm does not only serve as an attack on he Black king. White wants to eventually push to g6 and remove the pawn from f7, softening e6, a key pawn in Black's chain. Black has some good chances as well. His attack can come from any moment, and quite dangerously at that. We can safely say that the position is in some type of dynamic equality.
	2 comments marinvukusic (2161) on 30-Oct-07: "I personally, along with many other top GM's..." From this I gather you are a top GM? tcslick420 (1200) on 30-Oct-07: No, I mean me and top GM's. my bad. you know what i mean. geeze.


11... b4	Opening the b-file for black. The b-file is a much better weapon for black than the c-file, as it is harder to defend. Here, both the b and c-files are wide open for Black's use. Kasparov utilizes this well.



12. axb4 Nxb4 13. g4	Beginning the pawn storm.



13... Be7 14. g5 Nd7 15. h4 Nc5	Black sallies his knight over to the queenside.



16. Kb1 Rb8	The rook hovers dangerously over White's king. Although there is nothing immediate of this move, it is a very deadly potential threat.



17. h5 O-O	Black castles later than usual. In most cases castling early is a priority. Sometimes it can be delayed until the moment when the king's safety is in jeopardy. Garry waits for that moment. He probably felt that White's pawn storm needed attention, and rightfully so.



18. g6 Bf6	Black has his bishop on the long diagonal, and at the same time he avoids the risky Dragon pawn structure which would make White's pawn storm even more dangerous.



19. Rdg1 Ba8 20. Bg5 Be5 21. gxh7+ Kxh7	Black sees no threats following either gxf7 or gxh7. His king may look exposed, but in actuality, there is no immediate danger to his king, and Garry knows that his attack is much stronger at the moment. Garry is a mighty calculator. Just because his situation looks threatening, doesn't mean it is. Kasparov did not see any concrete threats in his calculations, and so, does not worry about his defenses. If 22.h6, ..g6, and Black's defenses hold. The king cannot be driven from h7, even with a rook sacrifice on g6.



22. Nb3 Nxc2	! White would be ill-advised to take the knight. 23.Qxc2 or 23.Kxc2, ..Rxb3 and Black threatens, among other things, ..Bxc3, ..Rfb8, ..Qb6/a5, etc.



23. Nxc5 Na3+	If I could I would give all these moves exclamation marks. That rook we discussed earlier is now a real issue.



24. Ka2 Qxc5 25. Na4 Nc2	! Kasparov is an incredible calculator. He obviously had seen this many moves prior. 26.Nxc5 Rxb2#. Black's threats on b2 cannot be met. There is nothing left for white to do but to "try" and run.



26. Kb1 Qa3	And here, White resigns. 27.Qxc2 Rfc8, and you can do the rest. Hope you enjoyed it. Don't think I need to explain this. ^^