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Ruy Lopez: Closed, Anti-Marshall 8.a4 — Part 2 of 2

Anand–Grischuk, World Championship Mexico City 2007 · Nakamura–Aronian, Sinquefield Cup 2015 · 8:18 · ECO C88

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In this video

Game 1: Viswanathan Anand (2792) vs Alexander Grischuk (2726)

World Championship Mexico City 2007, 20 September 2007 · White won (1-0) · 50 moves

Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.

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Key moments

  1. 8...b4The first move after the opening line0:36
  2. 27.Nxd2The queens come off2:04
  3. 39...Rf4The evaluation moves from +1.13 to +2.943:06
  4. 40...Rh4White stays more than two pawns ahead from here3:12
  5. 45...c4The evaluation moves from +3.01 to +5.853:36
  6. 49...c3The evaluation moves from +5.60 to +8.553:56
  7. 50.Ng6+White wins after 50 moves3:59

Evaluation

Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.

Game 2: Hikaru Nakamura (2814) vs Levon Aronian (2765)

Sinquefield Cup 2015, 30 August 2015 · Black won (0-1) · 51 moves

Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.

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Key moments

  1. 8...b4The first move after the opening line4:35
  2. 11...Rxd8The queens come off4:45
  3. 39...Rbf8Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here7:05
  4. 40.Nxe5The evaluation moves from −2.04 to −4.797:08
  5. 51...Rc3Black wins after 51 moves8:05

Evaluation

Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.

About these games

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O, White plays 8.a4, avoiding the Marshall Attack's ...d5 pawn sacrifice and putting immediate pressure on Black's b5 pawn. Both games continue 8...b4, where Black gains queenside space and takes the c3 square from White's queen's knight. White must then choose between a slow build-up with d3 and a direct d4.

Anand–Grischuk, World Championship Mexico City 2007, took the slow route with 9.d3. After 10.Nbd2, 11.Ba2 and 12.c3, White pushed 13.d4, opened the b-file and gained space with 18.g4 and 19.d5. The evaluation was +0.24 at 8.a4 and +1.26 at 23.Nd2. The queens came off with 27.Nxd2, and the score sat at +0.75 at 33.Rxf4. Grischuk won the a-pawn with 34...Bxa4, but White's kingside play and passed d-pawn decided the game. From 40...Rh4 White stayed more than two pawns ahead. 45...c4 moved the score from +3.01 to +5.85, 47.Rf1 took it to +6.23, and 49...c3 to +8.55. White won after 50.Ng6+.

Nakamura–Aronian, Sinquefield Cup 2015, followed 9.d4 d6 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.Qxd8 Rxd8. Unlike Game 1, the queens left the board at once. Black used the cramping b4 pawn, knights aimed at d4 and rooks doubled on the f-file. The score went from +0.15 at 13.Bc4 to −1.20 at 23.Rea1. Black stayed more than two pawns ahead from 39...Rbf8, and 40.Nxe5 dropped the evaluation from −2.04 to −4.79. Black won after 51...Rc3.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Anand vs Grischuk, World Championship Mexico City 2007
  3. 4:08Game 2: Nakamura vs Aronian, Sinquefield Cup 2015

The opening line

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4

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