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White goes for the opening of the h-file. The threat of h4-h5xg6 is very serious, but playing 10...h5? is not an option. After 11.e6! Black would be under a strong attack and without counterplay. Leko correctly strikes back in the center. These are well-known moves, of course.

10...c5 11.e6!?

Before White pushes further with h4-h5, he decides to break the structure in the center as well, leaving his opponent's King no place to hide.

11...fxe6?

Better is 11...c4 here. In A. Petrosian - Malanjuk, Yerevan, 1984, White continued 12.Qd1 Nb6 13.exf7+ Rxf7 14.Be3 Bg4 15.h5! Nc6 16.hxg6 hxg6 17.Be2 with an edge, thanks to an open position of Black's King.

12.h5 cxd4 13.hxg6!

Joel Lautier claims in his notes in the Chess Informant that this move is a novelty – hardly so! It was previously played in Bass - Larouche, New York, 1985. Black, of course, can't play 13...dxc3? 14.Qxe6+ Kh8 15.Rh7 checkmate.

13...Nc5

In the above mentioned game Black continued 13...Nf6 and after 14. gxh7+ Nxh7 15.Qc2 Nf6 15.Ne4 Bb7 16.Nxf6+ exf6 17.Qh7+ Kf7 18.Bh6 Rg8 White would have had an advantage with 19.Bd3. In this interesting position Lautier continued…

14.Qc2!?

But according to his analysis White could have played much better here.

His suggestion is 14.gxh7+ Kh8 15.Nh4! threatening checkmate.

ANALYSIS DIAGRAM AFTER 15.Nh4!

Here Black plays 15...Rf6 (in case of 15...Qe8 White plays 16.Qc2!, forcing 16...Rf6, since 16...dxc3 is strongly met by 17.b4!. Note that 17.Ng6+ Qxg6 18.Qxg6 cxb2 19.Bxb2 Bxb2 20.Rh3 Nbd7 21.Rg3 Bb7 looks okay for Black.) 16.Qd1!? Qd6 (played to renew the threat ...dxc3) 17.Qh5! (intending Qh5-e8+). Here Lautier offers two lines:

1) 17...Bd7 18.Bg5 Qe5+ (18...dxc3 19.Be2 cxb2 20.Rd1 leads to a crazy position, but White should be ahead. For instance, 20...Qxd1+ 21.Bxd1 b1=Q 22.Bxf6 must win for White. Or 20...Qe5 21.Bxf6 Qxh5 22.Bxg7+ Kxg7 23.Bxh5 Nd3+ 24.Kf1 Nc1 25.Bg6! and White is better. Of course, as in any long variation, improvements are possible on both sides) 19.Be2 Nd3+ 20.Kf1 Nxf2 21.Bxf6 Qxh5 22.Bxg7+ Kxh7 (22...Kxg7  23.Nf5+! wins) 23.Kxf2!

ANALYSIS DIAGRAM AFTER 23.Kxf2

and White's attack wins.

2) 17...Nbd7 18.Qe8+ (18.Ng6+ Rxg6 19.Qxg6 Bb7 is more or less hopeless for White) 18...Nf8 19.Ng6!+ Rxg6 20.Qf7! Qe5+ 21.Ne2 Nd3+ 22.Kd2

ANALYSIS DIAGRAM AFTER 22.Kd2

and now 22...Qg5+ 23.f4! or 22...Bh6+ 23.Rxh6! and in this incredibly messy situation White seems to come out ahead. This kind of position makes for a great Saturday afternoon analysis!

14...Rxf3!?

Black correctly eliminates a dangerous enemy. Instead 14...dxc3? 15.gxh7+ Kh8 16.Nh4! Rf6 17.Bg5! offers White a crushing attack, according to Lautier.

15.gxh7+?

This is a mistake. Here, according to Lautier, 15.gxf3! and if 15...dxc3? then 16.gxh7+ Kh8 17.Rg1! with a very strong attack. Instead, 15...d3 is better, but after 16.Qd2 hxg6 17.Qg5 Nbd7 18.Qxg6 Nf8 19.Qg3! White has a strong attack again.

15...Kh8 16.gxf3 d3! 17.Qd1 Nc6

White is up an exchange, but the character of the game has changed. The pawn on d3 is very strong and White's pieces are disorganized. Here 18.Be3! was the only move. Lautier gives 18...Nd4 19.Bxd3 Nxd3+ 20.Qxd3 Nxf3+ 21.Ke2 Qxd3+ 22.Kxd3 Bb7 with compensation for Black due to a pair of Bishops, but he is not forced to go into this line.

18.Bh6?! Bxh6 19.Rxh6 Bb7

Black grabbed the initiative and his attack is quickly becoming overwhelming. White biggest problem is a lack of coordination between his pieces.

20.Bg2 Ne5 21.Rh3 Qd4

Black has a serious advantage, he threatens ...b5-b4 among other things.

22.Rg3 Nc4 23.Kf1 Rf8 24.Kg1 Rf4!

Black avoids 24...Nxb2? 25.Qd2! Nc4 26.Qg5! when the threat of checkmate wins the game.

25.Qc1 e5 26.Nd1 Kxh7

Now White's material advantage is marginal, while Black's pieces still dominate the center. Black's next step is the transfer of his light Bishop to f5, where it will support the d-pawn.

27.Rb1 Bc8! 28.Ne3?

In time pressure White makes a serious mistake. If White had tried 28.b3, Black wins after 28...d2 29.Qc3 Bf5 30.Ra1 Qxc3 31.Nxc3 Nb2 32.Nd1 Nxd1 33.Rxd1 Rd4 and ...Bf5-c2 decides the game. The only move was 28.Bh3! trying to force the exchange of dangerous pieces.

28...d2! 29.Qc2+ Qd3!

This move must have been missed. Now Black is winning due to the strong d2-pawn.

30.Qxd3 Nxd3 31.Bf1 Nc1 32.Bxc4 bxc4 33.Rg5 Bf5 34.Ra1 Rxf3 35.Nd1 Bc2 36.Kg2 Bxd1 37.Rh5+ Kg6, 0-1.

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