1.c4

The English Opening, obviously a fitting choice for the first round in London, especially as it is exactly the same pawn as I picked in the drawing of lots no.1 obviously. Besides, I felt that chances were rather slim that I would get a worse position with the text than I got with 1.d4 against him in Moscow.

f6 2.c3 e5 3.f3 c6 4.g3 d5

This has been Kramnik’s choice of late, and was what I had expected. So far, White has, unsurprisingly, been unable to prove that having an extra tempo in the Dragon gives him an advantage.

5.cxd5 xd5 6.g2 b6 7.0-0 e7 8.a3

Other moves here include 8.b1 which can be met by the sane 8...a5 (or the insane 8...g5), after which White has not been able to gain an advantage. Or 8.d3 leading to more or less normal play.

8...0-0 9.b4 e6 10.b1

10.b5 d4 11.xe5?? b3 is a well-known trap, and not the best way to start the tournament!

10...f6 11.d3 a5

This move, which Kramnik played very quickly, has recently been overtaken as the main move by the immediate 11...d4 The text complicates play a bit: Black will gain an outpost on b3 for his bishop after an eventual ...a4, as well as some pressure against a3, but on the other hand the c7 pawn is now backward.

12.b5 d4 13.d2 c8

13...d5 is the other main line here, while 13...d5?? 14.xd5 xd5 15.e3 is a well-known trap: Black loses a piece by force.

14.e3 f5 15.c2

Here or on the next move (I was more or less out of the book here), I considered playing a4 myself, which however has the drawback of giving up the b4-square, where a black bishop might eventually sit comfortably.

15...d8 16.b2 a4 17.fc1

Quite logically, White is piling up the pressure along the c-file.

17...d6 18.de4 e8!

Even though this unlucky knight ended up staying here for the rest of the game, I think this is a good move, as the knight is protecting c7, while the white pieces are stepping on each others toes.

19.e2!

I liked this move. I bring the queen a bit closer to the kingside and increase my influence over some light squares, which will be important in the likely event of White playing f4. Perhaps even more importantly though, it was hard to find another useful move.
19.e2?! b3 is awkward, since c7 is now protected: 20.c3 d7! winning a pawn.

19...f8

19...h3 20.f3 should be an improvement of the position for White, as Black will now have to reckon with g4.

20.f4

I felt that there was no other plan here. f4 increases my central control, but at the same time weakens my position a bit.

20...exf4 21.gxf4 d7

Consistent, as it more or less forces my next move.

22.d4

I was aiming for this position, believing that I would have good chances because of the dynamic possibilities connected with c5. I think Kramnik was not too unhappy with it either, as yet another weakness is created in my position.

22...c6

This was more or less the only move I considered, as I thought that Black had to do something to prevent b7 from collapsing completely. 22...c4!? 23.f2 d3 was actually quite good, but Kramnik may have decided (and if so, probably quite correctly) that there was no reason to start concrete play, since 24.c5! looked strong during the game. Still, Black is probably fine here after 24...xc5 25.dxc5 c4! (25...xb1 26.xb1 gives White excellent compensation for the exchange, as Black cannot play 26...c4 due to 27.d5+) 26.xb7 g4+ 27.g2 xg2+ 28.xg2 ab8.

23.c5 xc5 24.dxc5 c4 25.d1 c7?!

The most solid move. This move also has some downsides though, as it doesn’t attack the c-pawn, the capture of which would leave the passive knight on e8 an excellent square on d6, and it also takes away the c7-square from the very same knight.It took me some time to refute the crazy-looking 25...d2 over the board, but fortunately it’s not very hard: 26.bxc6 bxc6 27.e4 xb1 (27...g4 28.xd2!) 28.xd7 xd7 29.d6! (29.e1 b8 30.xb1 db7 is not at all clear) 29...xd6 30.xc6 with decisive material gains;
25...e7 attacking c5, looked very risky to me during the game, but is probably possible: 26.bxc6 bxc6 27.xc6 xd1+ (27...ac8 28.xd8 xd8 29.xa4 xc5 30.e4 c8 should be a draw as well, as Black is very active) 28.xd1 c8 29.d5 xc5 30.d4 I stopped my calculations here during the game, thinking that White is winning material. However, it turns out that after 30...d6 31.xc4 h8 White surprisingly has no way of keeping it: 32.xa4 xd5 33.xd5 xd5 and due to White’s weakened king and offside queen, Black should not lose.

26.c1!

Bad bishops protect good – potentially at least – pawns, and I needed this one to protect e3 and a3! Additionally, the knight might now turn out to be exposed on c4, as both d4 and Rb4 are in the air. However, I still don’t think that White has any real advantage, especially in a practical game, as he is still slightly exposed.

26...a5

Black needs to relocate this knight in order to create counterplay.

27.bxc6 bxc6 28.xa4?!

I was very happy to discover that this move does not lose any material, even though it looks a bit loose. 28.b4 was another move I considered, but I did not like 28...b3 (28...b3 29.xd8 xd8 30.f1 and a4 falls without any real compensation) 29.xa4 xc1 30.xc1 f5 when Black has some counterplay. However, White is probably still a bit better, and I should probably have gone for this.

28...xd1+

28...b3 29.b6 (29.xd8 xd8 30.b2 is Rybka’s first choice, but looks too risky to me) looked good for White to me due to 29...xc1 30.bxc1 xd1+ 31.xd1 xa3 32.d4 with some kind of domination, though Black still retains some drawing chances. 29... a5 is what I missed; now Black has good counterplay.

29.xd1 d8 30.c2 f7 31.c3

31.b6 was my original intention, but I eventually rejected it because of 31...b3 32.c3 d1+ 33.f2 h5 34.xb3 xb3 35.xb3+ h8 when it seemed to me that Black had too much activity.

31...h5 32.e2

I was very happy with my position here, thinking that I was on my way to consolidation.

32...f5?

Perhaps his only real mistake in this game. He could have retained dynamic equality with the amazing 32...f8!! with the idea of 33...b3. The point, which we probably both missed, is that White cannot play 33.d4 because of 33...xd4 34.exd4 f5 and Black is at least not worse, as 35.e4 fails to 35...g6+ 36.g2 xg2+!
32...g4 33.g3 d1+ 34.xd1 is probably why he decided to play 32...f5.

33.e4 g4 34.g3

Now, however, Black has nothing.

34...f7

Kramnik had probably been hoping that 34...d1+ would be good here, but this is easily refuted by the calm 35.f1 (and not 35.xd1?? xc5+).

35.f1! e6 36.c3 a8 37.b4

Now White is in complete control, with a positional as well as a material advantage. The knight on e8 still has no prospects.

37...d7 38.f5 f7 39.f4 d1 40.f2 b3

Desperation, but it was either this or losing slowly without counterplay.

41.e2 b1 42.c4 xa3 43.e2

Black resigned, as he is completely tied up and defenceless against threats like b8 and Bxf7. 43.xf7+ xf7 44.c4+ f8 45.b8 a2+ 46.e2 xe2+ 47.xe2 would have won even more quickly, but would not have led to such a nice final position :)

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