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Hikaru Nakamura vs Vladimir Kramnik
London Chess Classic (2012), London ENG, rd 2, Dec-02
Scotch Game: Schmidt Variation (C45)  ·  0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

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Kibitzer's Corner
Dec-02-12  lost in space: Simply brilliant
Dec-02-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: Nice ending technique. very patient.
Dec-02-12  dumbgai: Nice payback for the Olympiad.
Dec-02-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  WannaBe: Multiple Queen Collection!! Guess Naka didn't want to see the other 2 pawns getting Queen'd either. =))
Dec-02-12  Ulhumbrus: 7 Qe2 obtructs White's development. The reply 7...d6 however concedes greater space to White to White and may make it more difficult to profit from White's move. This suggests 7..Bc5.

10 c4 acquires a Maroczy bind but neglects White's development.

11 Be3 is inexact because 11..Bf6 hinders the move Nc3. This suggests 11 Nc3 first.

12...Ne5 forks the c4 pawn and the square g4. 13 h3 seems necessary because after 13 Nd2 Ng4 acquires the bishop pair and a persistent advantage.

Instead of 26 exd6, an interesting alternative is 26 Ng5 Bxg2 27 Rxg2 de 28 f5 h6 29 fg hxg5 30 gf+ Kxf7 31 Qh7 threatening Rf1+ as well as Rd7+

Dec-02-12  Wyatt Gwyon: God queen endings are such a b*tch.
Dec-02-12  Hankanintetrolla: Får jag bjuda på runkfest?
Dec-02-12  parisattack: I guess that's what they mean when they say someone is 'outplayed.' Beautiful chess and some great razzle-dazzle by K3.
Dec-02-12  ChessYouGood: Most players would have realised the position was resignable 20 moves earlier.
Dec-02-12  positionalgenius: Fantastic play from Kramnik. I thought i was watching karpov this game
Dec-03-12  WiseWizard: Rb6 Bb7 Qa8 is just beautiful chess.
Dec-03-12  ikipemiko: Great positional play by Kramnik -
totally outplayed Nakamura for the entire game step by step!
Dec-03-12  sicilianhugefun: Queen endings are so difficult to handle. A lot of times, I am a pawn up but in a snap my pawns are gone.. But what I really hate on this game is nakamura's guts to keep on playing when Kramnik's passed pawn is queening so glaringly.. Salute to big Vlad for melting little naka's brains on this struggle...
Dec-03-12  OneArmedScissor: Very Capablanca-like game. You might say there was nothing "flashy" in this game, but that's because the position didn't require it. Kramnik plays what is needed for the win in classic fashion.
Dec-03-12  DrAttitude: I agree with Nakamura to play to the "end". 'You can not win, draw, or stalemate if you resign." DRATTITUDE CIRCA AGE 10.
Dec-03-12  jamesmaskell: For those loving a bit of trivia, the traditional first move played at this game (a local junior player I think) was in fact 1. f4. Everyone had a laugh about it, especially when Malcolm Pein (organiser) explained that the player had to stick with whatever was moved.
Dec-05-12  freeman8201: Come on naka....Schmidt line must be Qe2 because you're suppose to play e5. And Be3 looks bad as it just becomes a duck.
Dec-10-12  Ulhumbrus: An alternative to 11 Be3 is 11 Bd2 so that 11..Bf6 can be answered by 12 Bc3
Dec-10-12  haydn20: <parisattack: I guess that's what they mean when they say someone is 'outplayed.' Beautiful chess and some great razzle-dazzle by K3.> Indeed, in the interview after the last game, Naka sai he felt very good about his play and was "totally outplayed" only in this game.
Dec-17-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  PawnSac: <freeman8201: Come on naka....Schmidt line must be Qe2 because you're suppose to play e5. And Be3 looks bad as it just becomes a duck.>

Well, as Carlsen said about His game with Nakamura...

"I thought that point i should be playing for an advantage because i felt that his play was rather strange..."

I think that about sums it up. LOL

Dec-17-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  PawnSac: Don't get me wrong, i have a lot of respect for his ability. After all, he is US #1 and a FAR better player than me. But he does tend to take a walk on the wild side and get kinda weird.

I thought that from move 50.RxR he went downhill fast. there were drawing chances before that. But Kramnik was patient (a key element in endgame play) and just waited for Naka to leave something hanging and pick it up, then solidify. Very proper technique from what i can see. Naka should have kept rooks on the board and played for a draw.

Sep-01-17  Toribio3: I thought the game will end up in a draw. But Kramnik is an adept technician when it comes to endgame.

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