CM

07

Rd 2

Gm 3

Elista

Leko -

Bareev

By move 39. Rae1, things have gotten a bit unfortable for black. There are two pins hinging on the e5 pawn. Black's rook and king lay on the same diagonal as the bishop on c3, and black's rook on e8 is virtually attacked twice by the white rooks on e3 and e1. There is also the queen on h5 bearing down on the e8 square. Problems, problems! Bareev played 39...e4. Fritz6 suggested the moves 39...b5 undermining the d5 pawn, and 39... Bd6 blockading the same pawn. Remember, it is no longer a good situation for black. Leko countered with 40. Be4 fe4 41. Ne4 and black resigned. At this point, Leko had two pawns for his bishop, but he is about to cash in on the pinned rook on f6. Bareev, if he decided to play on, could go 41... Re4 42. Re4 Bd7 ( to protect the e8 square from the rook ) 43. f5 Ne5 44. Be5 Be5 45. Re5, but white is winning. Now, say, Leko took the rook at 43. Bf6+, then 43. Qf6 R4e2 is not as good for him as the text move. 1-0 Leko leads the match 2.5 - .5