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Commentary on game 13 will be brought to you by GM Neil
McDonald, IM Malcolm Pein and FM Chris Duncan
Kasparov often claims that 13 is his lucky number- after
all, he was born on the 13th April, he is the thirteenth world champion
and the 13th game was usually lucky for him in his World Championship
matches with Karpov. Today he certainly needs the magic of 13 to rescue
him from his desperate match situation.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6
After a brief outing with the Archangelsk in Game 11,
Kramnik returns to the Berlin Defence. Will it prove invincible again?
4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+
Kxd8 9.Nc3 h6 10.h3
This diverges from Game 9, in which Kasparov played
the more direct 10.Rd1+. I'm surprised that
the World Champion is still trying to defeat this opening line: Kramnik
seems to handle these heavyweight queenless middlegame positions with
great dexterity.
10... Ke8
This may be a small victory for White, as the king moves
to the kingside anyway without being provoked by 10.Rd1+.
The white rook may prove more useful on f1 than d1 as it supports a later
space gaining f2-f4 advance.
11.Ne4
A new move after 35 minutes thought- other ideas are
11.b3 to develop the bishop on b2 or 11.Rd1
any way to get in Nd4. Now the natural response would be 11...Be6
intending 12...Bd5 in some cases.
The mystery is why Kasparov thought such a long time if he had prepared
it at home.
11... c5
Kramnik asserts control over the d4 square and may
intend b7-b6 followed by Bb7, when the light squared bishop is excellently
placed- though he would have to watch out for a sudden e5-e6 advance.
12.c3
This regains influence over d4 and threatens to win
a pawn with 13.g4 Ne7 14.Nxc5.
12... b6
This counters the threat and prepares to put the bishop
on the long diagonal. The next couple of moves are critical- either Kasparov
will find a way to break open the centre and gain the advantage or it
will be completely equal.
13.Re1
The opposition of the white rook on e1 and black king
on e8 is a bit uncomfortable for Kramnik- for example, White has ideas
of 14.g4 Ne7 15.Nf6+ gxf6 16.exf6 regaining
the piece with advantage. Now Kramnik has to choose between the active
13...Bb7 and the safe 13...Be6.
13... Be6
The Challenger opts for the solid approach. On the
other hand the bishop could become a target here- e.g. White could try
14.g4 Ne7 15.Nh2 aiming for f4 and f5.
14.g4
Draw agreed. The World Champion is clearly off form
for some reason- no new ideas and no energy. This suggests there will
be a sad end to what promised to be a great fighting finish to the match.
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