1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Nc6 14. Nb3 a5 15. Be3 a4 16. Nbd2 Bd7 17. Rc1 Qb7 18. Bb1 a3 A new and logical move. Whenever possible, White plays a3 himself to give his bishop the nice square a2. With the text move Black prevents this. Still, the move has some concrete disadvantages so perhaps Kasimdzhanov's 18... Bd8 is better after all. 19. bxa3?! White gains a strong initiative with 19. d5! and now 19... axb2 of course fails to 20. Rxc6! so the knight must leave c6. ( 19. d5 ) 19... Nb8 (19... Na5 20. b4! Nc4 21. Nxc4 bxc4 22. Rxc4 doesn't give enough compensation.) (19... Na7 20. bxa3 is no solution either. ) 20. Qb3 axb2 21. Qxb2 Qa6 22. Rc3 followed by Rec1 with big pressure. 19... Rxa3 20. Nb3 exd4 A good idea, Black will plant a knight on c4. 21. Nfxd4 Ne5 22. f4 Nc4 23. Bf2 g6 24. Nc2 Ra4 25. Qf3 Re8 26. Ncd4 Bf8 27. Rcd1 d5!? Everything is ready for this thematic push. The critical moment of the game. 28. exd5?! It looks like this wins material, but Black can keep everything together. Surprisingly strong is 28. e5 Ne4 29. Bxe4 dxe4 30. Rxe4 Rxa2 31. f5! and Black must take concrete measures to prevent immediate loss. 31... Qc8 (31... gxf5 32. Rg4+!) (31... Ra3 32. e6 fxe6 33. fxg6 hxg6 34. Qg4 Kh7 35. Nxe6 Bxe6 36. Rxe6 Rxe6 37. Qxe6 with a big advantage.) 32. e6 fxe6 33. fxg6 hxg6 34. Qf6 Bg7 35. Qxg6 e5 36. Rh4 en de zwarte stelling lijkt onhoudbaar. 28... Rxe1+ 29. Bxe1 Qxd5 30. Bh4 This might have been White's trump card but Black has a strong counter. 30... Qxf3 31. Nxf3 Ne3! 32. Re1 Ned5 Now Black has definitely taken over. His pieces are more harmoniously placed and a2 and f4 are weak. 33. f5 gxf5 34. Nfd4 Ne4 35. g4 Bb4 36. Rc1 Ndc3 37. gxf5 Nxb1 38. Rxb1 Rxa2 39. Rc1 Bc3 40. Rf1 Ra4 Now that the timecontrol is reached, the rest is a matter of technique. 41. Rd1 Nd2 42. Ne2 Rxh4 43. Nxc3 Nf3+ 44. Kf2 Bxf5 45. Nxb5 Rxh3 46. Nc5 Ne5 47. Rd5 Ng4+ 48. Ke1 Re3+ 49. Kd2 Re5 50. Rxe5 Nxe5 51. Ke3 Kg7 52. Nd6 Kf6 53. Nde4+ Bxe4 54. Kxe4 Ng6 55. Na6 Ke7 56. Nc7 Nh4 57. Kf4 Kf6 58. Ne8+ Kg6 59. Nd6 Ng2+ 60. Kf3 Ne1+ 61. Ke4 f6 62. Kf4 h5 63. Ne4 Nd3+ 64. Ke3 Nb4 65. Nd6 Kg5 66. Ne4+ Kf5 67. Kf3 Nd5 68. Nd6+ Kg5 69. Ne4+ Kg6 70. Nf2 Nc7 71. Kg3 Ne6 72. Kh4 f5 73. Nd3 f4 74. Ne5+ Kf5 75. Nf3 Ke4 76. Nh2 Ng7 77. Kg5 f3 78. Kh4 Ke3 79. Kg3 Nf5+ 80. Kh3 Kf2 0-1