The Najdorf in Corus: Part III

Yet another theoretical battle in the English Attack! This Round 10 match pitted young Sergey Karjakin against Vishy Anand. Everyone predicted this game to be exciting - both players are considered to be leading opening theoreticians.



This position was reached after white's 23rd move. Those of you with a good memory may recall seeing it before...Karjakin certainly has! At Corus 2006, he was on the black side of it against Peter Leko. There he chose 23...Qc6 and the game ended in a premature draw. Here, Anand showed his subtle understanding of the position by playing 23...Nb5!. After an exchange of rooks, Karjakin's pieces became tied down and he was forced to resign on move 63.

As usual, you can download my notes to the game here.