[Event "10th Norway Chess 2022"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B52"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2750"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2022.05.30"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [Tiebreak "Number of wins+Number of black wins"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/7200:0"] 1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} c5 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:09]} d6 {[%emt 0: 00:03]} 3. Bb5+ {[%emt 0:00:11]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 4. Bxd7+ {[%emt 0:00:10]} Qxd7 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 5. c4 {[%emt 0:00:11]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:47]} 6. Nc3 { [%emt 0:00:13]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} (6... g6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bg7 9. f3 $1 ( 9. O-O $6 O-O 10. f3 Rc8 11. b3 d5 $1 $11)) 7. d4 {[%emt 0:00:21]} cxd4 { [%emt 0:00:03]} 8. Nxd4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} g6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 9. f3 {[%emt 0:00: 38]} Bg7 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 10. Be3 {[%emt 0:00:08]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:07]} 11. O-O {[%emt 0:00:13]} a6 {254} 12. Nb3 $5 {153} (12. a4 $5) (12. Qd3 $5 Ne5 13. Qe2 Rac8 14. b3 b5 15. Nd5 bxc4 (15... Nxd5 16. cxd5 $14) 16. Nb6 $18) 12... e6 { 735} (12... Ne5 13. Qe2 $14) 13. Qe2 {452} Qe7 {73} 14. Rfd1 {276} Rfd8 {201} 15. Rac1 {376} Rac8 {[%emt 0:00:34]} 16. Nd4 $6 {412} (16. Kh1) (16. Na4 $14) 16... Nd7 $6 {1187} (16... d5 $1 17. Nxc6 Rxc6 (17... bxc6 $5) 18. e5 Ne8 19. cxd5 exd5 20. f4 Nc7 $11) 17. b3 {202} b5 $6 {335} (17... Nxd4 18. Bxd4 Bxd4+ 19. Rxd4 Nf6 20. Qe3 $14) 18. cxb5 {509} Nxd4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 19. Bxd4 { [%emt 0:00:10]} Bxd4+ {[%emt 0:00:19]} 20. Rxd4 {118} axb5 {[%emt 0:00:27]} 21. Qd2 {428} Rb8 {660} (21... Nf6 22. Nxb5 Rxc1+ 23. Qxc1 e5 24. Rd2 d5 25. exd5 ( 25. Qa3) 25... Qb4 $44) 22. Rxd6 {291} b4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 23. Ne2 {184} Ne5 { 75} 24. Rd1 {422} Nc6 {151} 25. e5 $1 {[%emt 0:00:19]} Qa7+ {111} 26. Kh1 {340} Qf2 {587} 27. Rc1 {101} (27. f4) 27... Rxd6 {[%emt 0:00:30]} 28. exd6 {[%emt 0: 00:08]} Ne5 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 29. h3 $3 {66} (29. f4 Nd7 30. Rc7 Rd8 $11) (29. Rc2) (29. Qd1 Qe3) (29. Qe1 Qxe1+ 30. Rxe1 Nd3 $11) 29... Rb5 {534} (29... Nd7 30. Rc7 Rd8 31. Qg5) 30. f4 {803} Nd7 {[%emt 0:00:47]} 31. Qd4 $1 {69} Qxd4 { [%emt 0:00:18]} 32. Nxd4 {[%emt 0:00:11]} Rd5 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 33. Nc6 {147} Rxd6 {[%emt 0:00:24]} 34. Nxb4 {[%emt 0:00:14]} e5 {138} 35. fxe5 {[%emt 0:00: 54]} Nxe5 {[%emt 0:00:16]} 36. Rc5 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Rd1+ {[%emt 0:00:25]} 37. Kh2 {[%emt 0:00:07]} f6 {70} 38. a4 {352} Rb1 {[%emt 0:00:54]} 39. Rc3 {68} Ra1 {80} 40. Rc7 {42 What an amazing game by Vishy Anand. So so accurate!} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "1"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B52"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2750"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ {Anand is solving the problem of the Najdorf in the most effective way—by avoiding it.} Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Nc6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 g6 9. f3 {The best way to build the Maroczy setup.} ({The other main move was faced by the former world champion, but as Black, in the following sharp encounter} 9. O-O Bg7 10. Nde2 Qe6 11. Nd5 Qxe4 12. Nc7+ Kd7 13. Nxa8 Qxc4 14. Nc3 Rxa8 15. Bg5 e6 16. Re1 Nd5 17. Nxd5 Qxd5 18. Qxd5 exd5 19. Rad1 h6 20. Bc1 d4 {and Black was eventually happier in Naiditsch,A (2716) -Anand,V (2780) Baden-Baden 2013}) 9... Bg7 10. Be3 O-O 11. O-O {Here we have a Hedgehog pawn structure, with a typical bind for White, but without the pair of light-squared bishops. On the surface, this seems to favor White, as the majority of his pawns are positioned on the opposite color of his remaining bishop. However, after} a6 {Vachier-Lagrave prepares a typical pawn spike on the queenside with b7-b5 and it becomes obvious that White is missing his light-squared bishop.} 12. Nb3 {Avoiding the trade.} ({Another way to prevent the break is:} 12. Qd3 {but Black did well recently in the following game.} Rfc8 13. b3 b5 14. cxb5 Ne5 15. Qd2 d5 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. exd5 axb5 18. Qe2 Qxd5 {Xiong,J (2687)-So,W (2772) Chess.com INT 2021}) ({Black's idea is well-illustrated by the line} 12. Qd2 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 b5 {when Black equalizes at once.}) 12... e6 $146 {Now the French GM is getting ready to strike in the center.} ({The predecessor was an email game that ended peacefully after:} 12... Rac8 13. Na4 Qe8 14. Nb6 Rd8 15. Qe2 Nd7 16. Na4 Nce5 17. Rac1 Nd3 18. Qxd3 Ne5 19. Qb1 Qxa4 20. Nd4 Rc8 21. b3 Qa5 22. Rf2 Nc6 23. Nxc6 Rxc6 24. Qd3 {1/2-1/2 (24) Wilhelmi,D (2473)-Tleptsok,R (2448) ICCF email 2013}) ({The immediate} 12... b5 13. cxb5 axb5 14. Nxb5 Qb7 15. Qe2 {does not promise Black enough compensation.}) 13. Qe2 Qe7 {More preparation is mandatory.} ({Not yet} 13... d5 14. Rad1) 14. Rfd1 Rfd8 15. Rac1 Rac8 {Both sides have brought their pieces into the game and Anand decided to bring his knight back to the center.} 16. Nd4 ({But there was also an argument for the generally useful move} 16. Kh1 $5) 16... Nd7 {Vachier-Lagrave spent a lot of time on this move, apparently carefully checking the consequences of the principled break.} ({And indeed} 16... d5 $1 {might have been the way to the equality, as after} 17. Nxc6 { which is the only way to try and control the situation in the center, Black can recapture either way.} Rxc6 ({Or also the more natural} 17... bxc6 18. e5 Nd7 19. f4 {when Black can again attack the center with} f6 ({Or even with} 19... g5 $5)) 18. e5 Ne8 19. cxd5 exd5 20. f4 {For a moment it seems as if it is very ugly for Black, but he can get his pieces out with} ({Nothing yields.} 20. Nxd5 Qxe5) 20... Nc7 21. g3 f6 {and slowly even the chances.}) 17. b3 b5 { And the Frenchman decided to go for his original break, even at the expense of a pawn!} ({The computer suggestion} 17... Nxd4 18. Bxd4 Bxd4+ 19. Rxd4 Qg5 20. Rcd1 {is hardly appealing to many human beings.}) 18. cxb5 Nxd4 19. Bxd4 Bxd4+ 20. Rxd4 axb5 21. Qd2 $1 {A neat reply! The pawn is not going anywhere, and Anand consolidates before picking it up.} ({Instead, the immediate capture} 21. Qxb5 {would have allowed Black too much play with} Rc5 22. Qe2 Qg5 $1 ({But not } 22... Rdc8 23. Qe3 $1) 23. Qe1 Ne5 {and this looks scary for White, to say the least.}) 21... Rb8 ({There is not enough for the pawn in case of} 21... Nf6 22. Nxb5 Rxc1+ 23. Qxc1) 22. Rxd6 b4 23. Ne2 $1 {Another accurate move by the former world champion! His pieces somehow manage to stick together all the time.} ({A more \"active\" retreat instead} 23. Na4 {would have allowed} Nb6 $1 24. Rcc6 Rxd6 25. Rxd6 Nxa4 26. bxa4 Qa7+ {with full equality.}) 23... Ne5 24. Rd1 {This seems to be the final consolidation.} Nc6 $1 {But Vachier-Lagrave has not yet said his final word. The threat of a capture on d6, followed by Rb8-d8, is hard to parry.} ({But there was an alternative way to try and defend. Surprisingly, the endgame after} 24... Rxd6 25. Qxd6 Qxd6 26. Rxd6 Rc8 27. Rd2 g5 $1 {looks quite difficult for White to convert. Although, as we know, a pawn is a pawn.}) 25. e5 $1 ({Correctly avoiding} 25. Rd7 $4 Rxd7 26. Qxd7 Rd8 $1 27. Qxe7 Rxd1+ {check! And wins.}) 25... Qa7+ 26. Kh1 Qf2 {Alas, this does not allow enough activity.} ({A more resilient try was} 26... Qa5 $1 27. Nd4 Nxd4 28. Qxd4 Rdc8 $1 {although here, too, White has all the winning chances with} 29. h4 $1) 27. Rc1 Rxd6 28. exd6 Ne5 29. h3 $1 {While in control, Anand uses the time to open air for his king.} ({Certainly not} 29. d7 $2 Nxd7) ({Less convincing is} 29. Rd1 Rc8 30. Ng1 Qxd2 31. Rxd2 Nd7 {and Black is still too active.}) 29... Rb5 {The last active chance, but it comes short due to a tactical detail.} 30. f4 Nd7 31. Qd4 $1 {That is it! The queens must be traded.} Qxd4 ({For} 31... Qxe2 {leads to a mate after} 32. Rc8+ Nf8 33. Rxf8+ Kxf8 34. Qh8#) 32. Nxd4 Rd5 33. Nc6 Rxd6 34. Nxb4 {This time White has both the material and the positional advantage. Anand quickly finishes the job.} e5 35. fxe5 Nxe5 36. Rc5 Rd1+ 37. Kh2 f6 38. a4 Rb1 39. Rc3 Ra1 40. Rc7 {PLAY CHESS, NO WAR!} ({Black resigned because of the line} 40. Rc7 Rb1 41. a5 Rxb3 42. Nc2 {and the a-passer is unstoppable.}) 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "2"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Wang, Hao"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2864"] [BlackElo "2744"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 {No weird moves or move orders in this game.} e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 {The Catalan was featured in Carlsen's opening preparation for the World Championship match last year and ever since, it has been an incredible weapon in his hands.} Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Na3 Bxa3 8. bxa3 Bd7 9. a4 Bc6 10. Ba3 Re8 11. Qc2 Nbd7 12. Rac1 Bd5 13. Rfe1 a5 ({Earlier this year, Nepomniachtchi tried} 13... Rc8 14. e4 Bc6 15. Nd2 c3 16. Nb1 Nb6 17. a5 Na4 18. Nxc3 Qxd4 {as seen in Carlsen,M (2865)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2773) chess24.com INT 2022, and now} 19. e5 $1 {would have been clearly better for White.}) 14. Red1 c6 15. Ne5 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Nb6 17. e4 (17. Rb1 $5 {is also worth considering.}) 17... Nfd7 18. Nxc4 Nxc4 19. Qxc4 Nf6 20. f3 Qc7 21. Rb1 Rad8 22. Qb3 Rd7 23. Bc1 $6 ({A weird move; White seems to have an overwhelming positional advantage after} 23. Bc5 Qd8 24. Bb6 Qa8 25. Rb2 {when Black is totally tied up without counterplay.}) 23... c5 $2 ({An outright mistake. Black should have played} 23... h6 24. Be3 e5 {when White is only slightly better.}) 24. Bf4 Qc6 25. Rbc1 b6 26. dxc5 Rxd1 27. Rxd1 {White is much better and to boot, Wang Hao is running hopelessly low on time. Black needed to make it move 40 to start seeing increments hitting his clock, but that is a long way to go when you are playing over-the-board and cannot premove and on top of that, your opponent is the World Champion...} Qxc5 $2 ({It was better to play} 27... e5 28. Be3 bxc5 29. Qb5 Qe6 30. Rd2 {when White is much better.}) 28. Be3 Qc6 29. Qb5 $1 Qc3 30. Rd3 Qc2+ 31. Rd2 Qc3 32. Kf2 $2 Rb8 $1 {A nice defensive move.} 33. Qd3 Qc8 34. Bxb6 Qb7 35. Qd4 $2 h6 $4 ({A bad blunder. Black should have played} 35... e5 36. Qe3 h5 37. Bxa5 Qc6 {when it is not yet over albeit probably hopeless against Carlsen.}) 36. Bxa5 Qb1 37. Kg2 Qc1 38. Qc3 Qb1 39. Qc2 Qb7 40. Qc7 Qa8 41. Qxb8+ Qxb8 42. Rd8+ {and Black resigned.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Wang, Hao"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2864"] [BlackElo "2744"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nd7 {This knight development has become very popular over the last few years. The idea is to send it onward to b6 where it will help make c2-c4 more difficult to achieve for White.} 3. d4 Nb6 4. b3 Bf5 5. Nh4 $1 e6 6. Nxf5 exf5 7. Qd3 {This already looks pleasant for White.} g6 8. Bg2 Nf6 9. O-O Be7 10. c4 c6 11. Bh6 Bf8 12. Bg5 Be7 13. a4 $1 a5 14. Nc3 O-O 15. Bxf6 { White gives up his bishop pair to work on a juicy target: the d5-pawn.} Bxf6 16. cxd5 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 cxd5 18. e3 $6 ({Here Carlsen missed his best chance of the game; with} 18. Rac1 Rc8 19. e3 Qd7 20. Qb5 Qxb5 21. axb5 Rfd8 22. b6 { , White would have had a large advantage and serious winning chances.}) 18... Qd7 19. Qb5 Rfd8 20. Rfc1 Be7 21. Rc2 ({The computer suggests} 21. Qb6 $5 {but} Ra6 22. Qc7 Bb4 23. Qxd7 Rxd7 24. Rc8+ Kg7 25. Rac1 {is anything but obviously better for White.}) 21... Kg7 (21... Bb4 {was also possible.}) 22. Qb6 Qe6 23. Qb5 Qd7 $1 {After this move, Black has more or less fully neutralized White's pressure. Carlsen continues for a while but nothing ever materialized nor even got close.} 24. Qf1 Ra6 25. Bf3 Rb6 26. Qd3 Qe6 27. Kg2 h5 28. h4 Bb4 29. Kg1 Be7 30. Rb1 Bb4 31. Qf1 Rc6 32. Rxc6 bxc6 33. Rc1 Rd6 34. Kg2 Qe7 35. Qa6 c5 36. Qd3 cxd4 37. Qxd4+ Qf6 38. Rc7 Qxd4 39. exd4 Kf6 40. Rb7 Ke6 41. Rb5 Rd8 42. Kf1 Rd6 43. Ke2 Rd8 44. Rb7 Bc3 45. Kd3 Be1 46. Ke3 Bb4 47. Rb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "2"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2730"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Qc2 c6 9. Bf4 b6 10. Nbd2 Nh5 11. e3 Bb7 ({Their classical game continued} 11... Nxf4 12. exf4 Bb7 13. cxd5 cxd5 {with equal chances, Giri,A (2761) -Topalov,V (2730) Norway Chess 2022.}) 12. cxd5 exd5 ({A novelty. Previously, Black had tried} 12... cxd5 13. Bc7 Qe8 14. Rfc1 Nhf6 15. Bf1 Nb8 {as seen in Ding Liren (2801)-Anand,V (2757) Kolkata 2019, when} 16. a4 $1 {would have been clearly better for White.}) 13. h4 Rc8 ({In the only previous game with this position, Black opted for} 13... c5 14. Nb1 b5 15. Ng5 g6 16. Nc3 cxd4 17. Nxd5 Rc8 18. Qd1 Bxd5 19. Bxd5 Nxf4 20. exf4 Nb6 {and Black had equalized in Shpakovsky,A (2546)-Rallabandi,P (2488) ICCF email 2020.}) 14. Nb1 Nxf4 15. exf4 c5 16. Nc3 Nf6 17. Rad1 a6 ({Another option for Black was} 17... cxd4 18. Nxd4 Bb4 19. Ndb5 a6 20. Qb3 Bc5 {and Black is only slightly worse.}) 18. dxc5 Rxc5 ({Black could also consider capturing with the bishop, for instance,} 18... Bxc5 $5 19. Qb3 Qc7 20. Ne5 {with a small plus for White.}) ({By contrast, White is clearly better after the pawn recapture:} 18... bxc5 19. Ne5 c4 20. g4 {and Black is struggling with his center pawns.}) 19. Rfe1 Re8 $6 ( 19... b5 {looks like a better try.}) 20. Qb3 h6 21. Nd4 Bf8 $2 22. Rxe8 Nxe8 23. Nc2 (23. Na4 $5) 23... Nf6 24. Ne3 b5 25. Ncxd5 Nxd5 26. Bxd5 Qc7 $4 ({ Black should have tried} 26... Bxd5 27. Nxd5 Qc8 28. Kg2 {when White is clearly better but there is still a lot of work to be done.}) 27. Bxb7 $2 ({ White could have won another pawn with} 27. Bxf7+ $1 Qxf7 28. Qxf7+ Kxf7 29. Rd7+ Kg8 30. Rxb7 {and Black will not hold the endgame.}) 27... Qxb7 28. Nd5 Qc6 29. Qf3 Rc2 30. a3 (30. f5 {was better.}) 30... Bc5 31. b4 Bf8 ({Of course, not} 31... Bxf2+ $4 {on account of} 32. Qxf2 $1 Rxf2 33. Ne7+ {, leaving White a piece up.}) 32. Kg2 Qc4 $4 33. Ne3 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "1"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2730"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,63,19,31,14,-11,-14,-14,-4,-30,3,0,6,15,0,6,28,21,17,22,11,13,28,-21, -21,-12,-14,-29,-22,-34,-21,-23,-19,-20,-27,-40,-29,-21,-30,-37,-23,-13,29,19, 34,17,14,-14,57,0,0,-36,2,-2,0,-6,-7,-7,-8,-11,-7,-16,-7,-19,-6,-15]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Qc2 c6 9. Bf4 b6 10. Nbd2 Nh5 11. e3 Nxf4 ({In their armageddon game, Topalov instead opted for} 11... Bb7 12. cxd5 exd5 (12... cxd5 13. Bc7 Qe8 14. Rfc1 Nhf6 15. Bf1 Nb8 {was played in Ding Liren (2801)-Anand,V (2757) Kolkata 2019, where the Chinese player now could have tried} 16. a4 Nfd7 17. a5 {with a significant advantage.}) 13. h4 Rc8 {.}) 12. exf4 Bb7 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. Rfc1 Rc8 ({Or} 14... Bd6 15. Bf1 Nf6 16. Bd3 Qe7 17. Re1 Rac8 18. Qd1 Qd8 19. Qe2 Rc7 20. a3 {was played in Giri,A (2776)-Anand,V (2753) Zagreb 2021, and now} Qd7 {followed by ...Rfc8 should let Black equalize.}) 15. Qa4 ({A novelty, departing from an online game played by Giri a couple of years ago:} 15. Qd1 Rxc1 16. Rxc1 Qb8 17. Bf1 Rc8 18. Bb5 Rxc1 19. Qxc1 Qc8 20. Qxc8+ Bxc8 21. Kf1 Kf8 {and if anything, then Black has the marginally better chances here thanks to his bishop pair, Giri,A (2764)-Van Foreest,J (2682) chess24.com INT 2020.}) 15... a6 16. Qb3 (16. h4 $5 {also looks like an option but co-commentator Neiksans was not particularly worried on Black's behalf, claiming that Black's position was perfectly playable.}) 16... b5 17. Rxc8 Qxc8 18. a4 bxa4 19. Qxa4 Nb6 20. Qd1 Nc4 {Black already has a comfortable position.} 21. Rc1 Qb8 22. Nxc4 dxc4 23. Qe2 Bf6 24. Rxc4 {White has won a pawn but thanks to his bishop pair, Black can never be worse.} Bd5 25. Rc1 Bxf3 ({Black forces the draw. If he had been more ambitious, then} 25... Qb7 {could have been tried but that too leads to approximately equal chances.}) 26. Bxf3 Bxd4 27. Ra1 Qxb2 28. Qxb2 Bxb2 29. Rxa6 g6 30. Kg2 Kg7 31. Ra8 Rxa8 32. Bxa8 {and draw agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "2"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Tari, Aryan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2654"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,71,19,31,14,-14,-11,4,33,-19,0,-1,-2,16,2,-15,14,10,38,31,68,63,96,87, 84,84,81,57,73,84,102,102,93,99,96,85,67,39,37,27,17,24,32,33,33,43,43,53,24, 34,34,33,50,24,78,90,115,104,113,104,113,116,90,101,134,149,182,155,347,359, 361,365,520,522]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 ({Their classical game went} 4. Nf3 O-O 5. Qc2 c5 6. dxc5 Na6 7. g3 Nxc5 8. Bg2 Nce4 9. O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 Qc7 11. Nd4 d5 12. cxd5 exd5 13. Bf4 Qc5 14. Rfb1 b6 15. Rb5 Qxc3 16. Qxc3 Nxc3 17. Rb3 Nce4 18. a4 Bd7 19. a5 Rfc8 20. axb6 axb6 21. Rxa8 Rxa8 22. Rxb6 Ra1+ 23. Bf1 h6 24. Nc2 Ra2 25. Nb4 Ra1 26. Nc2 Ra2 27. Nb4 Ra1 28. Nc2 { ½-½ (28) Mamedyarov,S (2770)-Tari,A (2654) Chess.com 2022.}) 4... c5 5. dxc5 O-O 6. a3 {Now entirely departing from their previous game.} Bxc5 7. Bf4 $5 ({ A relatively rare move but a specialty by the late Hungarian Grandmaster Gyozo Forintos who played it regularly in the 1970s and 1980s. The main line is} 7. Nf3 {which has been played in thousands of games.}) 7... d5 8. e3 Nc6 9. Nf3 dxc4 $2 {Although previously played by Viktor Korchnoi, this move is an outright mistake that gives White a clear advantage. This is what can happen when a player, even a grandmaster, is forced to think for himself; mistakes happen.} (9... Qa5 {would have transposed into a mainline of the 5.Bf4 Queen's Gambit Declined, as played countless times in top games, including by Caruana and Nakamura.}) 10. Bxc4 Bd7 11. Rd1 Be7 12. O-O Rc8 13. Ba2 (13. e4 $5) 13... Nh5 $6 14. Bb1 g6 15. Bh6 Re8 16. Qd3 (16. e4 $5) 16... Nf6 17. Bg5 Qb6 18. e4 Red8 19. e5 Be8 20. Qe2 Nd5 21. Nxd5 Rxd5 22. Rxd5 exd5 23. Bxe7 Nxe7 24. Qd2 Kg7 25. Re1 h6 26. h4 Qe6 $4 (26... Bd7 $1 {was more solid.}) 27. h5 Rc4 28. hxg6 fxg6 29. Nd4 Qg4 30. Rd1 $6 ({It was better to play} 30. f4 Nc6 31. Ne2 Ne7 32. Bd3 {and White has a decisive advantage.}) 30... Nc6 31. Nf3 Bf7 $2 ({ Black should have tried} 31... Qf4 32. Qxd5 Rc1 33. g3 Qc4 34. Qxc4 Rxc4 35. Bd3 Ra4 {when White has an extra pawn but Black can still fight.}) 32. Ba2 Rf4 33. Bxd5 Nd4 34. Nxd4 Bxd5 35. f3 Qg5 36. Ne2 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2753"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a5 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 h6 9. Nbd2 Be6 10. Bb5 Nd7 11. Nf1 d5 12. Be3 dxe4 13. dxe4 Qe7 ({In Bucharest, So played this position with the black pieces against Dominguez:} 13... Qf6 14. Qe2 Rfd8 15. Red1 Bf8 16. Ng3 a4 17. Nh2 Qg6 18. Ng4 Bd6 19. Bc4 Bxc4 20. Qxc4 Qe6 21. Qxe6 fxe6 {and White had a small plus in Dominguez Perez,L (2753)-So,W (2776) Bucharest 2022.}) 14. Qe2 Rfd8 15. Red1 a4 16. Qc2 a3 $6 ({It is not clear than getting the pawn to a3 does anything for Black other than leaving the pawn vulnerable. Two alternatives were} 16... Nb6) ({and} 16... Bxe3 17. Nxe3 Nb6 {, in both cases, White has no more than a tiny edge.}) 17. b4 Bd6 18. N1d2 Nb6 $6 ({A questionable positional decision;} 18... Nf8 {is more sensible. }) 19. Bxb6 cxb6 20. Bc4 Rdc8 21. Qd3 Nd8 22. Bxe6 Qxe6 23. Nf1 Bf8 24. Ne3 { White has a large advantage. Radjabov does his best to confuse matters.} f6 25. Nd5 Nf7 26. Nd2 Ra6 (26... Rc6 {looks like a better choice.}) 27. Rab1 (27. c4 $5) 27... b5 28. Qxb5 Nd6 29. Qd3 b5 30. Rbc1 Rac6 31. Rc2 f5 32. exf5 Nxf5 33. Nb3 Rc4 34. Na5 e4 $5 {Black has done well to complicate the situation. Unfortunately for Radjabov, So had his reply ready...} 35. Re2 $1 ({ Excellently played. This, far from obvious, strike is the only move to keep White's advantage, for instance,} 35. Qd2 e3 $1 36. Nxe3 Nxe3 37. fxe3 Re4) ({ and} 35. Qe2 Nd4 $1 {and Black is back in business.}) 35... Re8 36. Nxc4 exd3 37. Rxe6 Rxe6 38. Nxa3 {and Black resigned.} 1-0 [Event "10th Norway Chess 2022"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2022.06.01"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D10"] [WhiteElo "2730"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2022.05.30"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [Tiebreak "Number of wins+Number of black wins"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 b5 4. a4 c6 5. Nc3 (5. axb5 cxb5 6. Nc3 Qb6 (6... a6 7. Nxb5 axb5 8. Rxa8 Bb7) (6... b4 7. Nb5) 7. Nd5 Qb7 8. Bf4 e5 9. Bxe5 Nd7 10. Nc7+ (10. Bf4) 10... Kd8) 5... b4 6. Nb1 (6. Na2 $5 Nf6 7. e5 Nd5 8. Bxc4 a5) 6... Ba6 7. Qc2 Qxd4 8. Nf3 Qd7 $5 (8... Qb6 $5) 9. Bxc4 Bxc4 (9... e6 { Aronian vs Vallejo Pons 2011}) 10. Qxc4 e6 11. Be3 Nf6 12. Nbd2 Be7 13. O-O O-O 14. Rfd1 c5 (14... Rd8 15. Bc5 Bxc5 16. Qxc5 Nxe4 17. Qc2 Nf6 18. Ne4 Qe7 19. Rxd8+ Qxd8 20. Nxf6+ gxf6 (20... Qxf6 21. Rd1) 21. Rd1 Qe8 $11) (14... Qc7 15. Bc5 Bxc5 16. Qxc5 a5 17. Rac1 $13) 15. Bxc5 Rc8 16. Nb3 Qc7 17. Qb5 $1 (17. Rac1 $2 Nbd7 $19) (17. Qxb4 Na6 $19) (17. Z0 Bxc5 18. Qxc5 Qxc5 19. Nxc5 Rxc5 20. Rd8+) (17. Ne5 Bxc5 18. Qxc5) 17... a6 18. Qxb4 Nc6 19. Qe1 Rab8 20. Bxe7 ( 20. Rac1 $1 Rxb3 (20... h6 $5) 21. Bxe7 Qxe7 22. Nd4 Rb6 23. a5 $1 $18) 20... Qxe7 21. Nfd2 (21. Rac1 $1 Rxb3 (21... h6 22. Rc3 $14) 22. Nd4 $16 Rb6 23. a5) 21... Qb4 (21... Ne5) 22. Qe2 Nd4 $1 23. Nxd4 Qxd4 24. b3 (24. Qxa6 Rc2 25. Qe2 h6) 24... h6 25. Ra2 {Too ambitious.} (25. Nf3 Qa7 (25... Qxe4 26. Qxa6 $16) 26. Rac1) 25... a5 $5 26. h3 Qb4 27. Qe1 Rc3 28. Rb2 Rd8 29. Rdb1 (29. Rc1 Rxc1 30. Qxc1 Nxe4) 29... Nd7 $1 (29... Rd4) 30. Qe2 Rb8 (30... Nc5 31. Qb5 Qxb5 32. axb5 Nd3 33. Ra2 Nb4 34. Rab2 Rb8 35. Nc4 Rxb5 $15) 31. Rd1 Nc5 32. Rbb1 Rd3 33. e5 Rd5 34. Nc4 Rxd1+ 35. Qxd1 Nxa4 36. Ra1 Nc3 37. Qd6 (37. Qd2) (37. Qd6 Qxb3 38. Nxa5 Qb2 39. Rf1) 0-1 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.01"] [Round "4"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Tari, Aryan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2753"] [BlackElo "2654"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 dxc4 7. O-O Nc6 8. Re1 ({Not the only option for White, for instance,} 8. a3 Be7 9. e4 a6 10. Bf4 b5 11. Qd2 Na5 12. Rad1 c5 13. Qc2 Qb6 14. d5 Bb7 15. d6 Bd8 16. e5 Nd7 17. Rfe1 Nb3 18. Be3 Rc8 19. Ne4 h6 20. g4 f5 21. exf6 Nxf6 22. Ne5 Bxe4 23. Bxe4 Nd4 24. Qb1 Qxd6 25. Bg2 Bc7 26. f4 Nd5 27. Qg6 Nxf4 28. Bxf4 Rxf4 29. g5 Ne2+ { 0-1 (29) Radjabov,T (2765)-Aronian,L (2781) Paris 2021}) ({or} 8. Qa4 Nd5 9. Qc2 Nb6 10. Rd1 Be7 11. e4 Bd7 12. Be3 Qc8 13. Qe2 Re8 $6 14. h4 Bf8 15. Bf4 Nb4 16. Ne5 c5 {as seen in Harika,D (2471)-Tari,A (2625) Caleta 2019, and now} 17. dxc5 Bxc5 18. Rac1 {would have given White an advantage.}) 8... Rb8 9. a3 Be7 10. e4 Na5 11. Bf4 b5 12. Qc2 h6 (12... Rb7 $5 13. Rad1 c6 {is more solid.} ) 13. Rad1 Nb3 $2 (13... Rb7 $5 {is still okay for Black.}) 14. h3 $2 ({ White could gain an advantage with} 14. d5 $1 exd5 15. e5 d4 16. exf6 Bxf6 17. Ne4 Rb6 18. Nfd2 {and while Black has some compensation for the piece, it is not quite enough.}) 14... a6 15. d5 exd5 (15... Nd7 $1 {was best.}) 16. Nxd5 $2 (16. Ne5 $1 Bb7 17. exd5 {is messy but looks better for White.}) 16... Nxd5 17. Rxd5 Qe8 18. Bxc7 Rb7 19. Bf4 Be6 20. Rdd1 Bc5 21. g4 Rd7 22. g5 h5 23. Qc3 Qd8 (23... a5 $1 {was much better for Black; the threat of ...b5-b4 gives Black a large advantage.}) 24. Rxd7 Qxd7 25. Be5 g6 $4 {A dreadful weakening of the kingside} ({Also missing} 25... Bxh3 $1 {which wins for Black, for instance,} 26. Bxh3 Qxh3 27. Bxg7 Qg4+ 28. Kh1 Rd8 29. Bh8 Qh3+ 30. Kg1 Bf8 {and Black's attack is stronger.}) 26. Bh8 f5 27. Bf6 Kh7 28. Nh4 f4 (28... Bd4 29. Qg3 f4 30. Qxf4 Bxb2 31. e5 {is better for White.}) 29. Qf3 $4 (29. e5 $1 {is clearly better for White.}) 29... Bd4 (29... Qd2 $1 {gives Black a decisive advantage.} ) 30. Rd1 Qa7 31. Qxf4 Rf7 32. e5 Rd7 33. Kh1 Bxb2 34. Rd6 Nc5 35. Be4 Nxe4 36. Qxe4 Bf7 37. Kg1 $4 (37. Rxd7 Qxd7 38. e6 Qxe6 39. Qxe6 Bxe6 40. Bxb2 {wins for White.}) 37... Rxd6 $4 ({Black could somehow have defended with} 37... Bxa3 $1 {.}) 38. exd6 Bxf6 39. gxf6 c3 $4 (39... Qd7 {was necessary.}) 40. Nf3 Qc5 $4 41. Qe7 $1 Qd5 42. Qf8 $1 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "3"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Tari, Aryan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D41"] [WhiteElo "2753"] [BlackElo "2654"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. e4 dxe4 ({ The other main line is} 7... Nc6 8. Bb5 dxe4 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. Ng5 Be6 11. Nxe6+ ({or} 11. Bf4 Bb4 12. O-O-O+ Ke7 13. a3 Bxc3 14. Bd6+ Ke8 15. bxc3 h6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Bxc6+ bxc6 18. Rd4 {which Carlsen managed to win in Carlsen,M (2863)-Ding,L (2791) chess24.com INT 2020.}) 11... fxe6 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Ke2 Bb4 14. Rd1+ Ke7 15. Na4 Rhd8 16. Rxd8 Rxd8 17. Be3 {and White had a tiny plus which he nevertheless still managed to win in Yilmaz,M (2624)-Nisipeanu,L (2652) Terme Catez 2022.}) 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Ng5 Be6 10. Nxe6+ fxe6 11. Bc4 ({ Another main option for White is} 11. Bg5 {which gives White a marginal edge as seen in Ding Liren (2799)-Wei Yi (2729) Hangzhou 2022; one of the games from Ding's sprint to play enough games to qualify for the Candidates tournament that starts later this month.}) 11... Ke7 12. O-O Kf7 ({Or} 12... Nbd7 13. Be3 (13. Rd1 Rc8 14. Be2 a6 15. Be3 Rc6 16. Rac1 Kd8 {was marginally better for White in Carlsen,M (2862)-So,W (2770) chess24.com INT 2020}) 13... Rc8 14. Bb3 Nc5 15. Bxc5+ Rxc5 16. Rfe1 g6 17. Nxe4 Nxe4 18. Rxe4 {with an edge for White, Carlsen,M (2862)-So,W (2770) chess24.com INT 2020.}) 13. Nb5 Na6 14. a3 ({White has also tried} 14. Be3 Bc5 15. Bxc5 Nxc5 16. b4 Na6 17. a3 Ke7 18. Rac1 Rhc8 19. Ba2 Nd5 {with equal chances in the endgame, Spartinos,P (2357)-Baranowski,T (2359) ICCF email 2015.}) 14... Be7 15. Be3 Rhc8 {Now Black has gotten things under control and his pieces into play. While White still has some initiative, the remainder of that got neutralized through precise play by Tari.} 16. Rac1 Nc5 17. Rc2 a5 18. Rfc1 a4 19. Bxc5 Rxc5 20. Bxe6+ Kxe6 21. Rxc5 Bxc5 22. Rxc5 Rd8 23. Nc3 Rd2 24. Rb5 Nd5 25. h4 Nxc3 26. bxc3 Ra2 27. Rxb7 Kf6 28. Rb4 Rxa3 29. Rxe4 Rxc3 30. Rxa4 h5 31. Rf4+ Kg6 32. Kh2 Ra3 33. Rb4 {and draw agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.01"] [Round "4"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2864"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,51,14,25,10,10,28,11,18,20,8,12,11,-42,-27,-8,-15,-18,-8,0,30,29,21, 10,27,24,85,56,60,48,48,48,73,74,74,76,72,79,7,-95,67,76,68,-18,28,16,6,0,-78, -54,94,-68,-68,-32]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bg5 {\"I simply had to play this plan, as it might be the only variation that might work (when playing for the win in the Armageddon).\" (So)} h6 6. Bh4 d6 7. c3 a6 8. a4 Ba7 9. Nbd2 Qe7 10. O-O g5 ({Their previous encounter in the line went } 10... Be6 11. b4 O-O 12. Re1 Bxc4 13. Nxc4 Qe6 14. b5 Ne7 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. Rb1 axb5 17. axb5 Ng6 18. g3 Rfc8 19. Kg2 Nf8 {with the world champion eventually winning a lengthy game, So,W (2770)-Carlsen,M (2847) chess24.com INT 2021}) 11. Bg3 Nh7 ({In another top game Black did well after:} 11... Nd7 12. Kh1 Nf8 13. Ng1 h5 14. f3 Ng6 15. Bf2 Bxf2 16. Rxf2 f5 17. exf5 Bxf5 18. Nf1 Nf4 {Aronian, L (2785)-Nakamura,H (2750) Chess.com INT 2022}) 12. b4 Nf8 13. b5 Na5 {\"Somehow the knight is stuck [here].\" (So)} (13... Nd8 {\"was the best move according to the computer.\" (So)}) 14. Bd5 c6 $146 ({It did become clear that the players were aware of the email predecessor:} 14... h5 15. h4 g4 16. Ne1 Ng6 17. d4 Nxh4 18. bxa6 Ng6 19. Nc4 Nxc4 20. axb7 Bxb7 21. Bxb7 Rb8 22. Bd5 Nb2 23. Qc1 h4 24. Bh2 h3 25. g3 Qd7 {I guess one can only afford having a bishop like this in an online game, Tyulenko,Y (2453)-Herman,T (2365) ICCF email 2020}) 15. Ba2 Ng6 16. Rb1 {\"I was quite pleased with the opening, but somehow my bishop on g3 always gets trapped.\" (So)} (16. Kh1 $5 { to open some room for both his kingside pieces might have been more appropriate though.}) 16... axb5 ({On} 16... h5 {White planned} 17. b6 Bb8 18. h3 {\"and at the very least his bishop is dead.\" (So)}) 17. axb5 cxb5 18. Rxb5 {\"I figured I simply have to go for this type of position, cause otherwise Magnus knows all the maneuvers, all the piece placements, it's very hard to win.\" (So)} Nc6 19. Bd5 {Surprisingly, this is a concrete mistake.} ({But can anyone really go for} 19. Kh1 $5 {just inviting the black pawns to move forward with tempi} h5 20. h3 g4 21. Ng1 h4 {Still, somehow the position remains unclear after} 22. Bh2 Bxf2 23. Rxf2 Rxa2 24. hxg4) 19... h5 {Carlsen is still blitzing the moves and this prevents him from spotting a stronger continuation.} ({Stronger was} 19... g4 $1 20. Ne1 h5 {when White cannot save his bishop, for instance after} 21. h3 ({Therefore the bishop should be likely sacrificed with} 21. d4 h4 {but here too, White should not have enough compensation for the piece.}) 21... h4 22. Bh2 g3 {the pin decides.}) 20. h3 g4 21. hxg4 hxg4 22. Nh2 Nf4 $1 {A nice maneuver from the world champion. He is clearly in the driver's seat.} 23. d4 {Not optimal, according to the machines.} ({Instead} 23. Nc4 {would have maintained the balance as in the line} Nh5 ( 23... Kf8 $5) 24. Bxc6+ bxc6 {White has the killer blow} (24... Kf8 $1 { is still very unclear.}) 25. Nxd6+ Qxd6 26. Rxe5+ Kf8 27. Rxh5 $1 {as discussed in the studio.}) 23... Nh5 {A good move, but played after a good minute on the clock. Too much for an armageddon game $1} 24. Nb3 Nd8 { Apparently, this timid move is letting White off the hook.} ({Instead} 24... Qg5 {\"and Black is probably better, because the a7-bishop is always very strong in this line.\" (So)}) ({And even stronger is} 24... Nxg3 $1 25. fxg3 Qg5 $1 {as the pawn is too small of a price to pay for the huge attack after} 26. Bxf7+ Kd8) 25. Ra5 {Now it is anything but clear, and So even thought that he was better. He definitely was clockwise.} Nxg3 26. fxg3 Qg5 27. Re1 Nc6 ({ Better was the following regroupment} 27... Rh5 28. Nf1 Qh6 {although White is fine after say} 29. Ne3) 28. Bxc6+ bxc6 29. Qa1 {It is White who is getting close to the enemy pieces first.} Rb8 30. Rxa7 Rxb3 31. Qa2 ({The other idea was} 31. Rc7 O-O 32. Rxc6 exd4 33. cxd4 Bb7 {when Black has compensation for the pawn.}) 31... Rb7 $1 {\"He got lucky he had this.\" (So)} 32. Rxb7 Bxb7 33. Qa7 Bc8 34. Qc7 O-O $1 {Not very usual to see castling that late, but certainly an only-move.} 35. Nf1 exd4 36. cxd4 Qf6 ({Safer looked} 36... c5 37. Qxd6 cxd4 38. Qxd4 Rd8) 37. Rd1 c5 ({Carlsen is avoiding to fix pawns on the color of his own bishop with} 37... d5 $5 38. e5 Qh6 {although his position should be perfectly safe here.}) 38. dxc5 dxc5 39. Qxc5 {Finally, So won a pawn, but the reduced material and the relatively unsafe position of the white king should have been enough for the world champion to survive. Should have, as long as he had more time on the clock...} Be6 40. Ne3 Rc8 41. Qd6 Qg5 (41... Kg7 $5 {\"in order to trade queens\" should have been better according to So.}) 42. Qf4 Qc5 ({It was not too late for} 42... f6 $1 43. Nd5 Kg7) 43. e5 $1 { Now that the queen is separated from his queenside the attack is decisive.} Ra8 44. Qg5+ Kh7 ({Nothing changes} 44... Kf8 45. Kh2) 45. Kh2 $3 {A beautiful ambush $1 Rd1-h1 followed by Kh2-g1 mate is the main threat.} Rg8 46. Qh4+ Kg7 47. Nf5+ $1 {And a nice finishing touch that destroys the enemy defenses.} Bxf5 48. Qf6+ Kh7 49. Qxf5+ Kg7 50. Qf6+ {PLAY CHESS, NO WAR $1} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D46"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2864"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,75,25,27,27,2,35,35,18,22,32,46,43,25,26,33,36,36,51,42,46,59,56,49, 32,54,47,47,47,47,59,59,59,51,51,52,52,52,47,46,46,39,39,26,26,32,37,39,36,40, 37,37,39,20,39,39,36,30,29,30,30,4,42,36,36,36,29,29,29,29,29,29,29,29,29,29, 29,29]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O h6 ({The main line is} 8... dxc4 9. Bxc4 {, and here many different things have been tried for Black; two examples from So's relatively recent games: a)} a6 ({b)} 9... b5 10. Be2 Bb7 11. e4 e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nd4 Neg4 14. g3 Be5 15. Nf5 Qb6 16. h3 Nh6 17. Be3 Qc7 18. Nxh6+ gxh6 19. Bxh6 Rfe8 20. Kh2 c5 21. Nxb5 Qe7 22. Bf3 Nxe4 23. Rae1 f5 24. Qc4+ Kh8 25. Nc3 Qd6 26. Bxe4 fxe4 27. Be3 Qh6 28. Qxc5 Qh5 29. Bd4 Rac8 30. Bxe5+ Rxe5 31. Qxa7 Re7 32. Qd4+ Rg7 33. Nxe4 Rf8 34. Nc5 Bc8 35. Ne6 {1-0 (35) So,W (2770)-Duda,J (2743) Chess. com INT 2020.}) 10. a4 c5 11. Rd1 Qc7 12. Ne4 Nxe4 13. Qxe4 Nf6 14. Qh4 cxd4 15. Bd3 e5 16. exd4 e4 17. Bxe4 Nxe4 18. Qxe4 Qd7 19. Bf4 Re8 20. Ne5 Qf5 21. Qxf5 Bxf5 22. Nd3 Bxd3 23. Bxd6 Bc2 24. Rdc1 Rac8 25. a5 f6 26. f3 Bb3 27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. Re1 Ba4 29. Ba3 Re8 30. Rxe8+ Bxe8 31. d5 Bf7 32. d6 Be8 33. Kf2 Kf7 34. Ke3 Ke6 35. Kd4 Bc6 36. h4 h5 37. Bb4 Bb5 38. g4 hxg4 39. fxg4 Be2 40. Kc5 Kd7 41. Kb6 Kc8 42. d7+ Kxd7 43. Kxb7 Ke6 44. Bc3 Kf7 45. b4 Bb5 46. h5 Be2 47. Bb2 Bb5 48. Bc3 Be2 49. Bd2 Bb5 50. Bc3 Be2 {½-½ (50) So,W (2776)-Rapport,R (2776) Bucharest 2022.}) 9. b3 e5 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 cxd5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. Bb2 Qf6 15. Bxe5 Qxe5 16. Rac1 Bd7 17. Qc7 Qxc7 18. Rxc7 Bc6 { A novelty $1 but hardly one that will rock the world.} 19. Rc1 ({Thus far the players had followed a game between two lower-rated players, whose game we will quote in full to give them a spot in the sun for a brief moment:} 19. b4 Rac8 20. Rxc8 Rxc8 21. Rc1 Bd7 22. Rxc8+ Bxc8 23. Kf1 Kf8 24. Ke2 Ke7 25. Bb5 a6 $6 26. Ba4 b5 $2 27. Bb3 Bb7 $2 {Black has badly misplayed the endgame by putting so many pawns on light squares and limiting the scope of his light-squared bishop.} 28. Kd3 f6 29. Kd4 Kd6 30. h4 $6 ({White could win with } 30. Bd1 Bc6 31. Bg4 Bb7 32. Bf5 Kc6 33. f3 Kd6 34. f4 Kc6 ({or} 34... Ba8 35. Bc8 {and the a6-pawn drops}) 35. e4 Kd6 36. e5+ fxe5+ 37. fxe5+ Kc7 ({or} 37... Ke7 38. Kc5 d4 39. g3 {and White is winning}) 38. Be6 {and White wins the d-pawn and the game}) 30... g5 $2 31. h5 $4 ({White blows his entire advantage with this peculiar decision to put a pawn on a light square; he would have been winning after} 31. hxg5 hxg5 32. f3 Bc6 33. f4 Bb7 ({or} 33... gxf4 34. exf4 f5 35. Bc2 Bd7 36. Bd1 Bc8 37. Bf3 Be6 38. a3 Bf7 39. g4 {and White's bishop will penetrate on the queenside or the passed pawn on the kingside will decide}) 34. fxg5 fxg5 35. Bd1 Bc8 36. Bf3 Be6 37. g3 g4 38. Bg2 Bf7 39. a3 Bg8 40. e4 dxe4 41. Bxe4 Be6 42. Bh7 Bc8 43. Bg6 Be6 44. Ke4 {and White wins the g-pawn and with that the game}) 31... Bc6 32. a3 Bb7 33. Bc2 Bc8 34. f3 Bd7 35. e4 dxe4 36. Bxe4 f5 37. Bd5 f4 38. Be4 Be8 39. Bb7 Bxh5 40. Bxa6 Be8 41. Bb7 Bf7 42. Be4 Bc4 $4 (42... Be8 {is a draw.}) 43. Bf5 {½-½ (43) Demir,B (2099) -Avci,A (1844) Konya 2016.} (43. a4 $1 {was still winning for White $1})) 19... Rfc8 20. Rxc8+ Rxc8 21. Kf1 Kf8 22. Ke2 Bd7 23. Rxc8+ Bxc8 24. Kd2 {White has a tiny edge, but in reality, it is a simple draw.} Ke7 25. Kc3 Kd6 26. b4 b6 27. Kd4 a5 28. b5 Bd7 29. a4 Bc8 30. f4 f6 31. f5 Bb7 32. g3 Bc8 33. Bc2 Bd7 34. g4 Bc8 35. Bb3 Bb7 36. Ba2 Ba8 37. Bb3 Bb7 38. Ba2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Stavanger"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2022.06.01"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D10"] [WhiteElo "2730"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2022.05.30"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [Tiebreak "Number of wins+Number of black wins"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 b5 4. a4 c6 5. Nc3 (5. axb5 cxb5 6. Nc3 Qb6 (6... a6 7. Nxb5 axb5 8. Rxa8 Bb7) (6... b4 7. Nb5) 7. Nd5 Qb7 8. Bf4 e5 9. Bxe5 Nd7 10. Nc7+ (10. Bf4) 10... Kd8) 5... b4 6. Nb1 (6. Na2 $5 Nf6 7. e5 Nd5 8. Bxc4 a5) 6... Ba6 7. Qc2 Qxd4 8. Nf3 Qd7 $5 (8... Qb6 $5) 9. Bxc4 Bxc4 (9... e6 { Aronian vs Vallejo Pons 2011}) 10. Qxc4 e6 11. Be3 Nf6 12. Nbd2 Be7 13. O-O O-O 14. Rfd1 c5 (14... Rd8 15. Bc5 Bxc5 16. Qxc5 Nxe4 17. Qc2 Nf6 18. Ne4 Qe7 19. Rxd8+ Qxd8 20. Nxf6+ gxf6 (20... Qxf6 21. Rd1) 21. Rd1 Qe8 $11) (14... Qc7 15. Bc5 Bxc5 16. Qxc5 a5 17. Rac1 $13) 15. Bxc5 Rc8 16. Nb3 Qc7 17. Qb5 $1 (17. Rac1 $2 Nbd7 $19) (17. Qxb4 Na6 $19) (17. Z0 Bxc5 18. Qxc5 Qxc5 19. Nxc5 Rxc5 20. Rd8+) (17. Ne5 Bxc5 18. Qxc5) 17... a6 18. Qxb4 Nc6 19. Qe1 Rab8 20. Bxe7 ( 20. Rac1 $1 Rxb3 (20... h6 $5) 21. Bxe7 Qxe7 22. Nd4 Rb6 23. a5 $1 $18) 20... Qxe7 21. Nfd2 (21. Rac1 $1 Rxb3 (21... h6 22. Rc3 $14) 22. Nd4 $16 Rb6 23. a5) 21... Qb4 (21... Ne5) 22. Qe2 Nd4 $1 23. Nxd4 Qxd4 24. b3 (24. Qxa6 Rc2 25. Qe2 h6) 24... h6 25. Ra2 {Too ambitious.} (25. Nf3 Qa7 (25... Qxe4 26. Qxa6 $16) 26. Rac1) 25... a5 $5 26. h3 Qb4 27. Qe1 Rc3 28. Rb2 Rd8 29. Rdb1 (29. Rc1 Rxc1 30. Qxc1 Nxe4) 29... Nd7 $1 (29... Rd4) 30. Qe2 Rb8 (30... Nc5 31. Qb5 Qxb5 32. axb5 Nd3 33. Ra2 Nb4 34. Rab2 Rb8 35. Nc4 Rxb5 $15) 31. Rd1 Nc5 32. Rbb1 Rd3 33. e5 Rd5 34. Nc4 Rxd1+ 35. Qxd1 Nxa4 36. Ra1 Nc3 37. Qd6 (37. Qd2) (37. Qd6 Qxb3 38. Nxa5 Qb2 39. Rf1) 0-1 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "3"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D10"] [WhiteElo "2730"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 b5 4. a4 c6 {This line has become rather trendy as of late. Nakamura and Dominguez played this line in the FIDE Grand Prix, and in the blitz event preceding this tournament, So played it against Wang Hao.} 5. Nc3 (5. axb5 {was played in all of the aforementioned games, but the text move is the other main line.}) 5... b4 6. Nb1 ({The other option is} 6. Na2 Nf6 7. e5 Nd5 8. Bxc4 e6 9. Nf3 Be7 10. Bd2 a5 11. Nc1 Nd7 12. Nb3 Bb7 13. O-O { 1-0 (42) Bu,X (2708)-Zhang,Z (2640) Hangzhou 2022}) 6... Ba6 7. Qc2 Qxd4 ({ In the FIDE Grand Prix in Belgrade, Bacrot tried} 7... Nf6 8. Nd2 Qxd4 9. Ngf3 b3 10. Nxd4 bxc2 11. f3 e6 12. Nxc2 Be7 13. Nxc4 {and although the game later ended in a draw, White was clearly better at this juncture, Shankland,S (2708) -Bacrot,E (2642) Belgrade 2022.}) 8. Nf3 Qd7 9. Bxc4 Bxc4 10. Qxc4 e6 11. Be3 Nf6 12. Nbd2 Be7 13. O-O O-O 14. Rfd1 c5 {Anand returns the pawn.} ({According to the engine, Anand could also have considered} 14... Rd8) ({and} 14... Qc7 { , but Anand was clearly uncomfortable with White's pressure.}) 15. Bxc5 Rc8 16. Nb3 Qc7 17. Qb5 a6 18. Qxb4 Nc6 19. Qe1 Rab8 20. Bxe7 Qxe7 21. Nfd2 ({As Anand pointed out after the game} 21. Rac1 $5 {was better, although Black appears to have decent compensation after} h6 ({but not} 21... Rxb3 $2 22. Nd4 $1 Rb6 23. a5 $1 {which is clearly better for White}) 22. Rc3 Nb4 23. Rxc8+ Rxc8 24. e5 Nfd5 {and Black has reasonable compensation for the pawn.}) 21... Qb4 22. Qe2 Nd4 23. Nxd4 Qxd4 24. b3 h6 25. Ra2 a5 26. h3 Qb4 27. Qe1 Rc3 28. Rb2 Rd8 29. Rdb1 $6 ({White could also have considered} 29. Rc1 Nxe4 30. Nxe4 Rxc1 31. Qxc1 Qxe4 {and a draw is the likely outcome.}) 29... Nd7 $1 ({Anand also considered } 29... Nh5 {but could not make it work.}) 30. Qe2 Rb8 (30... Nc5 $5 {is also interesting.}) 31. Rd1 $6 ({White should have played} 31. Nc4 $1 Nc5 32. Nxa5 Qxa5 33. b4 Qxa4 34. bxc5 Rxb2 35. Qxb2 Rxc5 {and a draw will be the result.}) 31... Nc5 32. Rbb1 Rd3 $1 {Anand tries to avoid moves that could give White the opportunity to simplify the position and reach the time control.} 33. e5 Rd5 34. Nc4 Rxd1+ 35. Qxd1 Nxa4 36. Ra1 Nc3 ({Here, Topalov exceeded the time limit. Some possible lines were} 36... Nc3 37. Qd3 (37. Qc2 a4 38. Rc1 a3 39. Nxa3 Qxa3 40. Qxc3 Rxb3) (37. Qd2 a4 38. Rc1 Ne4 39. Qxb4 Rxb4 40. bxa4 Rxa4) ( 37. Qe1 $4 a4 $1 38. Rc1 Na2 39. Qxb4 Rxb4 {wins for Black}) 37... Qxb3 38. Rxa5 Qb4 39. Ra1 Nd5 {with a position that should be drawn.}) 0-1 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.01"] [Round "4"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2770"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,103,27,18,26,26,26,9,24,10,15,12,12,14,16,-9,32,36,42,5,45,17,11,-8, -11,-10,13,8,3,3,11,8,3,10,0,-65,-64,-59,-59,-55,-52,-48,-52,-76,12,29,47,58, 41,43,46,46,88,88,95,95,73,79,86,86,84,94,88,50,80,84,91,67,103,97,100,105,99, 105,99,100,106,106,105,87,91,92,97,112,159,80,95,101,177,186,202,95,152,151, 146,83,95,102,108,97,250,279,293,304,333,325]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nd3 {A peculiar line that Vachier-Lagrave also used against Dominguez in Bucharest a few weeks ago.} Nxe4 5. Qe2 Qe7 6. Nf4 Nf6 7. d4 d5 $6 ({The game against Dominguez saw the American continue} 7... Qxe2+ 8. Bxe2 Nc6 9. c3 d5 10. Bf3 Ne7 11. O-O Bf5 12. Re1 O-O-O 13. Nd2 Ng6 14. Nf1 Bd6 15. Ng3 Rhe8 16. Be3 Nh4 17. Nxf5 Nxf5 18. Bd2 c6 19. Rxe8 Rxe8 20. Nd3 Nh4 21. Bd1 Ne4 22. Be1 Nf5 23. a4 g6 24. g4 Ng7 25. f3 Nf6 26. Bg3 Bxg3 27. hxg3 Nd7 28. Kf2 h5 29. gxh5 Nxh5 30. Bc2 Ng7 31. Rh1 Nf5 32. g4 Nd6 33. Rh7 Nf6 34. Rh1 Nd7 35. Rh7 Nf6 36. Rh1 {½-½ (36) Vachier Lagrave,M (2750)-Dominguez Perez,L (2753) Bucharest 2022.}) 8. Nc3 c6 9. Be3 g6 $6 (9... Na6 {followed by ...Nc7 is better.}) 10. O-O-O {Now White has a clear advantage. Vachier-Lagrave could hardly have asked for a better outcome of the opening.} Bg7 11. h3 $6 (11. Re1 $1 {intending f2-f3, Qd2, and h2-h4 was a better option for White.}) 11... O-O 12. g4 Re8 13. Bg2 Nbd7 14. g5 Ne4 15. Nxe4 dxe4 {Now the computer assesses the position as about equal, but that evaluation does not hold for long...} 16. h4 Nb6 17. h5 $2 (17. Bh3 $1) 17... Qxg5 18. hxg6 hxg6 {Now Black is better $1} 19. Rdg1 Qb5 20. Qxb5 cxb5 21. Bf1 Nc4 $2 {Black misses his chance.} ({Here,} 21... b4 $1 {would have given Black a clear advantage. After the text move, White is once more in control.}) 22. Nd5 Rd8 23. Nc7 Nxe3 24. fxe3 Rb8 25. Nxb5 {White is back to being better.} Bf5 26. Bh3 $1 Bh6 27. Rg3 Bxh3 28. Rgxh3 { The endgame is much better for White.} Bg7 29. Rg1 Rd7 30. Rg4 Re8 31. Rhh4 a6 32. Nc3 Rde7 33. Rxe4 f5 34. Rxe7 Rxe7 35. Nd5 Re8 36. Kd2 Kf7 37. Kd3 g5 38. Rh1 Kg6 39. c4 Rh8 40. Rxh8 Bxh8 {The resulting endgame is easily won for White.} 41. b4 Kf7 42. a4 Ke6 43. b5 axb5 44. axb5 Bg7 45. Nc3 g4 46. c5 Bf6 47. b6 Kd7 48. Ne2 Bh4 49. Nf4 g3 50. Ke2 Kc6 51. Kf3 Kd7 52. Ng2 {and Black resigned.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "3"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D50"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2770"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,63,33,34,34,1,1,-5,6,6,37,44,58,63,63,1,39,8,19,-7,12,-15,-15,-6,16, 46,25,20,36,46,51,28,63,57,59,63,61,48,48,23,23,6,5,5,5,3,3,3,16,14,14,0,0,1, 10,-2,-13,-13,-32,-5,0,-4,0,0,2,2]} 1. d4 {No 1.e4 from the Frenchman today.} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. Bg5 (7. e4 { was played in Radjabov-Tari in today's round.}) 7... Be7 8. e3 O-O 9. Qa4 (9. Be2 {is the main line.}) 9... h6 ({Or} 9... Qb6 10. Qb5 Be6 11. Bd3 Nc6 { and draw agreed, ½-½, in Mchedlishvili,M (2584)-Kryvoruchko,Y (2683) Terme Catez 2022, which does not tell us anything, but it looks slightly better for White.}) 10. Bh4 Nc6 11. Bb5 Ne4 12. Bxe7 Nxe7 13. Rc1 ({This invites a sequence where most of the pieces gets vacuumed off the board. The alternative was} 13. O-O Nxc3 14. bxc3 Be6 {although that too is close to equal.}) 13... Qb6 14. O-O a6 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Qxe4 Qxb5 17. Qxe7 Qxb2 18. a3 Bf5 19. Rc7 b5 20. Qb4 Qxb4 21. axb4 Rfc8 22. Rfc1 Rxc7 23. Rxc7 a5 24. bxa5 Rxa5 {This could look slightly better for Black with the passed b-pawn and bishop vs. knight, but White is not in any danger.} 25. h3 b4 26. Nd4 Be4 27. f3 Bd5 28. e4 Ra1+ 29. Kh2 Rd1 30. exd5 Rxd4 31. Rb7 Rxd5 32. Rxb4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.01"] [Round "4"] [White "Wang, Hao"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2744"] [BlackElo "2761"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,119,30,37,51,44,77,77,51,21,26,41,55,32,18,36,14,-3,-1,-9,55,28,105, -13,36,32,20,-24,-6,-29,-21,-9,-9,-6,-3,21,18,14,9,13,24,-5,12,15,24,26,14,15, 18,11,3,-10,3,9,10,10,-3,-6,4,6,21,33,31,41,41,38,42,46,67,50,74,54,54,50,52, 50,61,-12,-11,-11,-60,-107,-99,-112,-120,-117,-108,-166,-163,-201,-170,-192, -150,-179,-211,-197,-119,-136,-136,-136,-107,-111,-96,-147,-142,-122,-179,-198, -71,-70,-73,-70,-67,-67,-63,-62,-62,-62,-62,-59,-60,-99]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. g4 h6 9. Be3 b5 10. Nd5 Bb7 11. Bg2 ({It was better to play} 11. Bb6 Qc8 12. Nxe7 Kxe7 13. f3 Nbd7 14. Ba5 Nc5 15. Qd2 Qe6 16. O-O-O {(White already had a decisive advantage at this point $1)} Rhc8 17. Kb1 Nxb3 18. axb3 d5 19. g5 hxg5 20. Qxg5 Kf8 21. Rg1 Ne8 22. exd5 Bxd5 23. Bd3 e4 24. fxe4 Bxe4 25. Qh4 f5 26. Bxe4 Qxe4 27. Qh8+ Kf7 28. Bc3 Rxc3 29. bxc3 Qe6 30. Rxg7+ {1-0 (30) Shirov,A (2664)-Van Foreest,J (2678) Chess.com INT 2020.}) 11... Nbd7 12. Nxe7 Kxe7 13. f3 Qc7 14. O-O Rhc8 15. c3 a5 16. a3 Kf8 17. h4 Nb6 18. Qe2 Nc4 19. Bf2 Kg8 20. Rad1 Ba6 21. Qc2 $4 (21. Nc1 a4 22. Nd3 Re8 {is only somewhat better for Black.}) 21... Rab8 22. Bh3 Rd8 23. Rfe1 Bc8 24. Bf1 Be6 25. Nd2 Nxd2 (25... h5 $1 {was better according to engines.}) 26. Rxd2 a4 27. Be3 Bb3 28. Qc1 Nh7 29. g5 h5 ({ Giri is trying to keep the position closed but it was better to play} 29... hxg5 30. hxg5 d5 31. exd5 Bxd5 {and Black still has the somewhat better chances.}) 30. f4 exf4 31. Bxf4 Nf8 32. Bg3 Ne6 33. Kh2 Qc5 34. Rf2 (34. Qb1 $5 {intending ideas with g5-g6 followed by e4-e5 would have been better for White. }) 34... Re8 $6 35. Rf5 Qc6 36. Qd2 g6 $2 37. Rf6 $2 (37. Rd5 $1 {would have given White a clear advantage.}) 37... Rbd8 38. Qf2 Nc5 39. e5 Ne4 40. Bg2 $4 ( 40. Qf3 {was necessary.}) 40... Nxf2 41. Bxc6 Ng4+ 42. Kg1 Nxf6 43. gxf6 Re6 { Black is winning.} 44. Bxb5 dxe5 45. c4 e4 46. c5 Rd5 47. Bf2 Rxf6 48. Rxe4 Rd1+ 49. Re1 Rxe1+ 50. Bxe1 Rf5 51. Bf2 Kf8 52. Bd7 Rd5 53. c6 Rxd7 $5 { Rather than trying to win, Giri forces the draw which brings along the same objective for him, the armageddon bonus point.} 54. cxd7 Ke7 55. Kh2 Kxd7 56. Kg3 f6 57. Kf4 Ke6 58. Bd4 Kf7 59. Bc3 Ke6 60. Ke4 {and draw agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "3"] [White "Wang, Hao"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2744"] [BlackElo "2761"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,64,38,25,51,51,77,58,56,25,32,20,53,32,32,22,18,36,12,-15,-15,-13,-13, -13,-13,6,9,17,17,30,22,-10,18,5,8,28,34,53,93,109,84,68,110,114,114,120,208, 31,0,44,28,45,45,45,45,62,74,55,86,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Be3 Be6 9. f4 exf4 10. Bxf4 Nc6 11. Qe2 Ne5 12. O-O-O Nfd7 13. Kb1 Rc8 14. Qe3 O-O 15. g4 Re8 16. Nd4 Qa5 17. a3 b5 18. Nf5 b4 $6 (18... Bxf5 {is the main move, as has been tested extensively in correspondence/email games.}) 19. axb4 ({The engine indicates that White is better after} 19. Bxe5 Nxe5 20. Nxe7+ Rxe7 21. Nd5 Bxd5 22. Rxd5 Qc7 23. Rh2 {with an edge for White.}) 19... Qxb4 20. Qd4 Qa5 21. Nxe7+ Rxe7 22. Qxd6 Rxc3 $1 ({Through transposition, we have arrived at a game by Vachier-Lagrave, who here played less accurately} 22... Ree8 $2 23. Nd5 Qa4 24. Rh2 Bxd5 25. Qxd5 Nf6 26. Qb3 Qxe4 27. Bxe5 Qxe5 28. Re2 Ne4 29. Qd5 Qf4 30. Ka1 g6 31. Rde1 Rc5 32. Qxc5 Nxc5 33. Rxe8+ Kg7 34. R8e3 Qd4 35. Kb1 Na4 36. Rb3 Nc5 37. Ra3 Na4 38. Rb3 Nc5 39. Ra3 Na4 {with a draw by repetition in ½-½ (39) Yu Yangui (2704)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2763) Riga 2021.}) 23. Bxe5 Ba2+ 24. Kc1 Rxc2+ 25. Kxc2 Rxe5 26. Bc4 Rc5 {Giri found this amazing \"only move\" after a nearly 45-minute think.} 27. Qxd7 (27. b3 Qb4) 27... Rxc4+ 28. Kd3 h6 29. Rc1 Qb4 30. Rxc4 Bxc4+ 31. Kc2 Bb3+ 32. Kd3 Bc4+ {with a draw by repetition.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.02"] [Round "6"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Wang, Hao"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2744"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "300"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 e5 {A sharp and somewhat risky choice by Wang Hao.} 6. d4 cxd4 7. cxd4 exd4 8. Bf4 a6 ({The only previous game with this particular variation involving one of the players was an ancient game by Anand when he was still a talented junior and on the way to become India's first grandmaster:} 8... Nge7 9. Bd6 O-O 10. Nbd2 b6 11. b4 Bb7 12. Bc4 a6 13. a4 Na7 14. Rc1 b5 15. axb5 Nxb5 16. Bxb5 axb5 17. Nb3 Re8 18. Bc7 Qc8 19. Be5 Nc6 20. Bxg7 Kxg7 21. Nfxd4 Rxe4 22. Nxb5 Rxb4 23. Nd6 Qc7 24. Nc5 Rd4 25. Ne6+ fxe6 26. Qxd4+ Nxd4 27. Rxc7 Bc6 28. h3 Ra2 29. Rd1 Ne2+ 30. Kh2 Nf4 31. Rc1 Kf6 32. R1xc6 {and draw agreed, ½-½, in Anand,V (2500) -Pigusov,E (2520) Moscow 1987, even though White is winning in the final position $1 For instance,} dxc6 33. Rf7+ Ke5 ({or} 33... Kg5 34. Ne4+) 34. Nc4+ Ke4 35. f3+ {, and the knight on f4 drops.}) 9. Bc4 d6 10. Nbd2 ({White scores massively with} 10. Qb3 {but} Na5 $1 {is fine for Black, for instance,} 11. Bxf7+ Ke7 12. Qd5 Nf6 13. Bg5 Rf8 14. e5 dxe5 15. Qxd8+ Kxd8 16. Nxe5 Nc6 { and Black has equalized.}) 10... h6 $4 ({A dreadful blunder. Black obtained an advantage with} 10... Nf6 11. Re1 O-O 12. Bb3 h6 13. h3 Re8 14. Rc1 {in Haria, R (2463)-Santos Ruiz,M (2560) New Delhi 2019, and now} Re7 {would have been best.}) 11. Bd5 $4 ({White would have been close to winning with} 11. Qb3 Qe7 ( {or} 11... Na5 12. Qa3) 12. Bd5 Ne5 13. Bxe5 dxe5 14. Nc4 {and Black is completely busted.}) 11... Nge7 12. Nc4 O-O $6 ({Or} 12... Ne5 13. Ncxe5 dxe5 14. Bxe5 Bxe5 15. Nxe5 Nxd5 16. Qa4+ Ke7 17. exd5 Qxd5 18. Rad1 Kf6 19. Nf3 Kg7 {and Black has equalized.}) 13. Bxd6 Re8 14. Bg3 Rf8 15. h3 Nxd5 16. exd5 Ne7 17. Nxd4 Nxd5 18. Nb3 ({Or} 18. Re1 Nb6 19. Nd6 Nc4 20. Nxc4 Qxd4 21. Qxd4 Bxd4 {and Black should be okay.}) 18... b5 19. Nd6 Nb6 20. Nc5 Ra7 $6 (20... Qf6 $1 {is about even.}) 21. b3 Nd7 22. Nce4 Nf6 $2 (22... Bxa1 23. Qxa1 f5 24. Rc1 Bb7 {would have kept the chances about balanced.}) 23. Rc1 Nxe4 24. Rxc8 Qxc8 25. Nxc8 Rxc8 26. Qg4 (26. Bf4 $5) 26... Re8 27. Bf4 Rae7 28. Be3 Re6 29. Rd1 $4 ({A bad blunder. White should have played} 29. g3 $1 {with a clear advantage.}) 29... b4 $4 ({Wang Hao missed a draw at this point:} 29... h5 30. Qf4 Be5 31. Qh4 (31. Qf3 $2 Rf6 32. Qe2 Nc3 {is better for Black.}) 31... Bf6 32. Qf4 Be5 {with a draw by repetition.}) 30. Rd3 a5 31. Qd1 Nc3 32. Qd2 h5 33. Rd8 Bf6 34. Rxe8+ Rxe8 35. Qd7 Rd8 36. Qc7 $2 ({It was more precise to play} 36. Qc6 $1 Be5 37. g3 Kg7 38. Kg2 {and White is winning.}) 36... Rd5 $2 ({ A better chances was} 36... Nd5 37. Qxa5 Nxe3 38. fxe3 Be7 {and White still has a lot of work to do before he can claim the full point.}) 37. g4 hxg4 38. hxg4 Nxa2 $4 39. Qc6 $1 Rd1+ 40. Kg2 Kg7 41. Bh6+ Kxh6 42. Qxf6 Nc3 43. f4 Rd2+ 44. Kh3 {and Black resigned.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "5"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Wang, Hao"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2744"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,77,19,38,40,41,51,40,40,27,31,30,57,41,40,-10,5,12,5,-5,-5,11,-8,-1,1, 7,16,-3,19,7,1,2,21,23,20,32,27,23,12,23,27,28,27,-4,-4,-7,-1,-13,10,-39,18,18, 60,68,62,62,66,54,88,27,76,44,90,95,92,95,94,93,89,99,117,87,138,129,124,92, 138,151,150,150]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 Rb8 12. Nc2 Bg5 13. a3 ( {Previously, Anand has given preference to} 13. a4 {, for instance,} bxa4 14. Ncb4 Nxb4 ({or} 14... Bd7 15. Bxa6 Nxb4 16. cxb4 O-O 17. O-O Bc6 18. Rxa4 Bxa4 19. Qxa4 Qe8 20. Qxe8 Rfxe8 21. b5 {with a clear advantage for White in Anand, V (2792)-Van Wely,L (2647) Wijk aan Zee 2006.}) 15. cxb4 O-O 16. Rxa4 a5 17. h4 Bh6 18. b5 Bd7 19. Nc3 d5 20. exd5 Kh8 21. Be2 f5 {as played in Anand,V (2804) -Grischuk,A (2781) Stavanger 2015, and now} 22. O-O {with a tiny advantage for White.}) 13... a5 14. Bd3 Ne7 15. Nce3 Bxe3 16. Nxe3 O-O 17. O-O Be6 18. Qe2 Qb6 19. Rfd1 Rfd8 ({Black has a couple alternatives at this juncture:} 19... Qc5 20. Qd2 b4 21. cxb4 axb4 22. Rac1 Qd4 23. Bc4 Qxd2 24. Rxd2 bxa3 25. bxa3 Rfc8 {and White is marginally better, Grigoryev,V (2513)-Khromov,S (2513) ICCF (RCCA) 2003.}) (19... g6 20. Rd2 Kh8 21. Rad1 Qc5 22. h3 Rb6 23. Bb1 Kg7 { as seen in Motylev,A (2552)-Galliamova,A (2515) Samara 2000, and now} 24. b4 $5 {would have offered White a tiny edge.}) 20. Rd2 g6 ({With this move, the players finally depart from prior praxis. Black has previously given preference to} 20... Qc5 21. Rad1 g6 22. h4 h5 23. Qf3 Kg7 24. Qg3 {and White was somewhat better in Garcia,G (2440)-Birnboim,$146 (2455) Valetta 1980.}) 21. a4 b4 22. Bb5 bxc3 23. bxc3 Rbc8 24. Rd3 d5 $1 {Wang Hao spent 13 minutes on this move, which forces simplifications and ultimately leads to drawn endgame.} 25. Nxd5 Nxd5 26. exd5 Rxd5 27. Rxd5 Bxd5 28. Qxe5 Bc4 29. Rb1 ({Or} 29. Bxc4 Rxc4 30. Rd1 h5 {and Black is okay.}) 29... Qc5 30. Qe1 Bxb5 31. Rxb5 Qxc3 32. Qxc3 Rxc3 33. g3 Ra3 34. Rxa5 h5 35. h4 Kg7 36. Ra6 Kf8 37. Kg2 Kg8 38. a5 Kg7 39. Ra7 {and despite having an extra pawn, this endgame is a well-known draw, at least at the grandmaster level.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "5"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2864"] [BlackElo "2753"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 b5 { A topical line that Carlsen used himself as Black.} 8. a4 Bb7 {Radjabov sacrifices a pawn.} ({The world champion preferred instead} 8... b4 9. Nfd2 Nd5 10. Nxc4 c5 11. dxc5 Ba6 12. Ne3 Nd7 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. c6 Rc8 15. Bf4 Nc5 16. c7 Qd7 17. Nd2 g5 {with a huge mess in Ding,L (2805)-Carlsen,M (2875) Zagreb 2019}) 9. axb5 a6 10. bxa6 Nxa6 11. Qxc4 Bd5 12. Qc3 c5 {Up to here the players were following another top game, until the world champion came with a novelty.} 13. Bf4 $146 ({Nakamura defended convincingly in the predecessor after:} 13. dxc5 Nxc5 14. Rxa8 Qxa8 15. Be3 Nfe4 16. Qc2 Rc8 17. Nc3 Nxc3 18. bxc3 Ne4 19. Bd4 Nxc3 20. Bxc3 Bf6 21. Rc1 Rxc3 {Vidit,S (2723)-Nakamura,H (2766) Chess.com INT 2022}) 13... Ne4 14. Qc1 cxd4 15. Nxd4 {\"It is very rare that you follow a plan from move one and it just works perfectly. I took a pawn in the opening and defended it in a very, very ugly way, and that passed pawn won me the game.\" (Carlsen)} Nec5 {The world champion felt optimistic after this move as he did not think this was any of the main moves in his preparation file.} ({The computer preferences are} 15... Nac5 16. Rxa8 Qxa8) ({ Or the super-sharp} 15... Nxf2 $5 16. Rxf2 Bxg2 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Kxg2 Nc7 19. Rxa8 Qxa8+ 20. Rf3 Nd5 {with chances to hold on to the draw in both cases.}) 16. Bxd5 Qxd5 17. Be3 {White already liked his position a lot.} Qb7 {The best practical choice according to Carlsen. Now the white queenside knight needs to develop less ambitiously.} ({In case of} 17... Bf6 {White was planning} 18. Nc3 Qd7 (18... Qb7 19. Qb1 {\"intending again Nd4-b5, and these bunched-up knights are potentially really very ugly for Black.\" (Carlsen)}) 19. Ndb5 {As} ({ The Norwegian was also considering} 19. Rd1 Bxd4 20. Bxd4 Nb3 21. Bxg7 Nxc1 22. Rxd7 Nxe2+ 23. Nxe2 Kxg7 {with a healthy extra pawn for White.}) 19... Nb3 20. Qd1) 18. Nd2 ({Not} 18. Nc3 $2 e5) 18... Rac8 19. Qb1 Nb4 20. N4f3 {After some consolidation, White will initiate trades. Radjabov's problem, according to Carlsen, is that he does not have a neat way to force the draw.} Qb5 21. Re1 Rfd8 22. Kf1 {\"It is a really ugly move, but it is the only chance that I saw. \" (Carlsen)} (22. Bxc5 Bxc5 {\"He is just too active.\" (Carlsen)}) 22... h6 23. Rc1 Bf8 {At the end of the day, Radjabov decided to stay put. The problem was that he spent too much time on this move, and his clock was suffering at this moment. Badly.} ({Nothing really changes} 23... Na4 24. Rxc8 Rxc8 25. Bd4) 24. Ne4 Nb3 25. Rxc8 {\"It feels so nice to exchange some pieces.\"(Carlsen)} Rxc8 26. Nc3 Qb7 ({In case of} 26... Qc6 {White was planning} 27. Ra3 $1 ({ Rather than} 27. Ra7 Bc5)) 27. Ra4 $1 {An accurate move.} ({The world champion mentioned the cute trick} 27. Ra7 Nd2+ $3 28. Nxd2 (28. Bxd2 Qxa7) 28... Qh1#) 27... Nd5 {Now it is very straightforward for White.} ({It made sense to try another version of the long-diagonal trick with} 27... Bc5 $1 {Then} 28. Bxc5 $4 {would be horrific due to} ({Therefore White needs to opt for} 28. Qd1 { When Black preserves chances for a fortress with either} Nd5 ({Or} 28... Nc6 $5 ) 29. Nxd5 exd5 30. Bxc5 Rxc5) 28... Nd2+ $1 29. Nxd2 Qh1#) 28. Nxd5 Qxd5 29. Kg2 ({Also excellent for White was Gustafsson's suggestion} 29. Qd3 Qxd3 30. exd3 Rb8 31. Ne5 {with excellent winning chances, as the black knight would be soon cut off the game with d3-d4.}) 29... Qc6 30. Ra7 {All the black pieces are optimally placed according to Radjabov and he does not want to make any moves with them. Therefore} g5 {But this is too much.} ({Or} 30... Qd5 31. h4 ( {And perhaps even better was} 31. Qd3)) 31. Qd3 Nc5 32. Qc4 Qb6 33. Qa2 Qc6 ({ There are no drawing chances after} 33... Qb4 34. Ra8 {(Carlsen)}) 34. b4 Nd7 ( {The last try was} 34... Nb7 {although Black should lose here too.}) 35. b5 Qd6 ({There are no tricks after} 35... Qxb5 36. Nd4 Qe5 37. Rxd7 Qe4+ 38. Kg1 Rb8 39. Nc2 {(Carlsen)}) 36. Qa6 {The passer is unstoppable. PLAY CHESS, NO WAR $1} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.02"] [Round "6"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2766"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,88,27,45,31,24,14,27,15,27,25,3,23,21,40,32,24,32,40,18,6,-4,-10,-14, 8,-6,-9,-27,-5,-14,-12,-5,25,-4,10,12,1,6,24,-17,17,21,23,7,9,11,18,24,34,25,4, -6,1,6,-20,-89,-87,-64,-64,-64,-51,-100,-122,-227,-113,-105,-97,-142,-120,-100, -119,-119,-117,-113,-95,-110,-84,-84,-48,-48,-61,-64,-69,-62,-71,-77,-65,-71, -71,-59,-59]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. O-O Nd7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Be3 f6 9. Ne2 a5 10. a4 b6 11. b3 Rf7 12. Ng3 g6 13. Qe1 Bf8 14. Nd2 Nc5 15. Ne2 Ba6 16. Nc4 Ne6 17. f4 exf4 18. Nxf4 Qd7 19. Nd2 (19. Nxe6 Qxe6 {with chances for both sides.}) 19... Bg7 ({It was better to play} 19... Nd4 $1 20. Qd1 Bg7 21. Ne2 Ne6 {with an edge for Black.}) 20. Nxe6 Qxe6 21. Nf3 c5 22. Qd2 g5 23. Rae1 Raf8 24. Qf2 h6 25. h4 g4 $6 26. Nd2 f5 27. Qg3 $4 (27. exf5 Rxf5 28. Qe2 Qg6 {is about equal.}) 27... fxe4 28. Rxf7 ({Giri has initially overlooked that he could not recapture on e4 with the knight due to} 28. Nxe4 Rxf1+ 29. Rxf1 Rxf1+ 30. Kxf1 Qxe4 {.}) 28... Rxf7 29. Bf4 e3 $4 (29... Bd4+ 30. Kh1 Qf5 {wins for Black.}) 30. Ne4 $4 ({Or} 30. Bxe3 Re7 31. Ne4 Bb7 32. Bd2 Be5 33. Bf4 Bd4+ 34. Be3 Be5 {with a draw by repetition.}) 30... Bb7 31. Kh1 Bxe4 32. Rxe3 Bxg2+ 33. Kxg2 Qc6+ 34. Kh2 h5 35. Re4 Qf6 36. Qe1 Bf8 37. Kg1 Bd6 38. Bxd6 Qxd6 39. Re8+ Kg7 40. Qe5+ Qxe5 41. Rxe5 Kg6 42. Rg5+ Kh6 43. Re5 Kg6 44. Rg5+ Kh6 {and here White resigned.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "5"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E36"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2766"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d5 7. Nf3 b6 8. Bg5 dxc4 9. Qxc4 Ba6 10. Qa4 h6 11. Bh4 c5 $1 12. dxc5 bxc5 13. Rd1 Qb6 14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. e3 Bxf1 16. Kxf1 Nc6 17. Rb1 Rad8 18. Ke2 Rd5 19. Rhc1 (19. h3 Rfd8 {1/2-1/2 (19) Villarreal,B (2399)-Schneider,G (2416) ICCF email 2019}) 19... Rb8 (19... a5 20. Rd1 Rfd8 21. Rxd5 Rxd5 22. b3 Na7 23. Qg4+ Kh8 24. a4 Nc8 {1/2-1/2 (39) Palladino,M (2300)-Piacenti,L (2349) ICCF email 2020}) 20. b4 Ne5 21. Nxe5 Rxe5 22. Kf1 Qb5+ 23. Qxb5 Rxb5 24. Ke2 cxb4 25. Rxb4 Rxb4 26. axb4 Rb5 27. Rc4 a5 28. bxa5 Rxa5 29. g3 Kg7 30. Rg4+ Kf8 31. Rc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.02"] [Round "6"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E16"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2730"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "122"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,122,29,29,29,6,6,6,-1,-11,6,1,1,3,2,-17,-6,-6,-11,-6,6,5,33,21,20,44, 59,18,57,75,70,45,53,44,44,63,62,48,70,39,72,38,56,62,55,57,72,64,65,62,62,66, 63,74,112,55,79,56,68,72,82,25,56,49,49,-108,-75,-111,-112,-111,-39,-85,-24,-6, -9,-10,-14,-19,0,-32,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-37,0,0,0,0,22,-37,-23,-41,-36,-32,22,21,6, -17,0,0,53,26,70,55,74,66,47,78,98,103,146,102,84,85,85,85,134,142,145,145,145] } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Nbd2 O-O 6. Bg2 b6 7. O-O Bb7 8. b3 c5 9. Bb2 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Qe7 11. Rc1 Rd8 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Qc2 Nf6 14. Ne4 Nbd7 15. Nc6 Bxc6 16. Qxc6 Rab8 17. Rfd1 Nxe4 18. Bxe4 Nf6 19. Bf3 h6 20. Kg2 Rxd1 21. Rxd1 Rd8 22. Rxd8+ Qxd8 23. Be5 Bc5 24. h4 Nd5 25. Qb7 a5 26. a4 f6 $2 (26... Nf6 $5 {is less weakening and definitely better.}) 27. Bb2 ({White seems to gain a solid advantage after} 27. Bg4 $1 Ne3+ 28. fxe3 fxe5 29. Bxe6+ {and Black will be in misery for the remainder of the game, but clearly Mamedyarov was unsure whether he would actually be able to win this position.}) 27... Kf8 28. Qc6 Kf7 29. Bh5+ g6 30. Bf3 h5 31. Qb7+ Ne7 32. Bc3 Qd1 {Now, Black is actually doing quite well, but unfortuately he was down to a minute on the clock whereas Mamedyarov had nearly three times that available. A big difference at this stage of the game.} 33. Qe4 $4 Qxb3 {After White's blunder, Black is actually much better.} 34. Bd2 Qb2 ({Trying to exchange the bishop with} 34... Bb4 35. Be3 Nd5 {looks very good for Black}) 35. Be3 Qe5 $4 (35... Bxe3 36. Qxe3 Qb4 {and Black should probably win the game.}) 36. Qxe5 fxe5 37. Bd2 Nd5 {Now, the chances have evened out again.} 38. e3 Bb4 39. Bc1 Ke7 40. Be4 Kf6 41. Bb2 Bc3 42. Bc1 Bb4 43. Kf1 Kf7 44. Bc2 Kf6 45. Ke2 e4 46. Bb3 Kf5 47. Bc2 Nc3+ 48. Kf1 Kf6 49. Bb2 Ke5 50. Kg2 Kd5 51. g4 $1 {A fantastic move that makes Black's position a hell to play, particularly with just 18 seconds left on the clock. White had more than a minute.} Ke5 $2 ({Black immediately goes wrong. Black could have held with} 51... hxg4 {but making sense of the moves at this stage was impossible for Topalov.}) 52. Kg3 Kf6 53. Bxe4 Bd6+ 54. f4 Bb4 55. Bc2 hxg4 56. Kxg4 Kf7 57. e4 $2 (57. Kg5 $1 Be7+ 58. Kh6 Nd5 59. Bxg6+ {wins for White.}) 57... b5 58. Bxc3 Bxc3 59. axb5 Bd4 $4 (59... e5 $1 { was a better chance.}) 60. e5 Bc5 61. Bb3 Bb6 {and, in this lost position, Black exceeded the time limit.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "5"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D11"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2730"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "114"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,114,28,34,25,-11,34,26,21,1,7,-3,-3,-5,48,49,42,39,47,46,47,17,23,9, 23,18,27,16,29,-27,-17,-12,3,17,26,37,31,18,40,33,31,9,36,30,28,34,31,11,13,16, 18,14,14,0,31,53,44,28,36,34,23,21,34,39,34,36,50,60,58,18,27,15,3,0,0,7,0,9, 15,8,20,20,20,25,5,15,15,-18,0,22,14,9,-5,-17,15,7,29,21,21,20,54,-69,-80,-80, -9,-9,-51,-51,58,49,22,0,0,0,0,0,79]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 dxc4 ({The main alternatives are} 6... Be4 {and}) (6... Bg6 {.}) 7. Nxf5 exf5 8. e3 Nbd7 9. Bxc4 Nb6 10. Bf1 ({Previously, Mamedyarov had tried } 10. Bb3 h5 11. Qd3 Qd7 12. Bd2 h4 13. O-O-O O-O-O 14. f3 Bd6 15. Rhg1 { with a small edge for White, Mamedyarov,S (2764)-Tomashevsky,E (2701) Baku 2014.}) 10... Bd6 ({Black can also consider} 10... h5 11. h4 g6 12. Bg2 Bd6 13. O-O O-O 14. Qd3 Qe7 15. Bd2 Rfe8 {with more or less equal chances in Tauber,H (2527)-Maerten,T (2526) GER email 2018.}) 11. Bg2 O-O 12. Qd3 $6 ({Or} 12. O-O Re8 13. Qb3 Qe7 14. a4 Qe6 15. Qxe6 fxe6 16. a5 Nbd5 17. a6 {with an advantage for White in Izoria,Z (2589)-King,A (2238) New York 2015.}) 12... g6 13. Bd2 Re8 14. O-O-O Qe7 15. f3 c5 $6 ({Black can possibly improve with} 15... Bb4 $1 16. Rhe1 c5 {and Black has pressure.}) 16. Kb1 cxd4 17. exd4 ({White has to capture with the pawn as} 17. Qxd4 $4 Rad8 {wins for Black.}) 17... Qd7 18. Rhe1 (18. Qb5 $5) 18... Rxe1 19. Rxe1 Bc5 20. f4 ({Or} 20. Bg5 Bxd4 21. Nb5 Bc5 22. Qxd7 Nbxd7 23. Rc1 Bf8 24. Rc7 h6 25. Bxf6 Nxf6 26. f4 {and White should not be worse.}) 20... Bf8 21. Qb5 Qxd4 $6 (21... Qc7 $5 {looks interesting.}) 22. Be3 Qd6 23. Rd1 Qe6 24. Bxb6 $6 (24. Bd4 $5 {also seemed reasonable, although Black should fine.}) 24... axb6 25. Bxb7 Ra5 26. Qc6 Rc5 $6 ({This forces an endgame that is not entirely clear but definitely not better for Black. Instead,} 26... Ne4 $5 27. Qxe6 Nxc3+ 28. bxc3 fxe6 29. Re1 Ra7 30. Bc8 Kg7 31. Bxe6 Re7 32. Re2 Kf6 33. Bc4 Rxe2 34. Bxe2 Bc5 {would have been a draw. }) 27. Qxe6 fxe6 28. Bf3 Rc7 29. a3 Kf7 30. Na4 Nd7 31. Be2 Rb7 $6 (31... h6 32. b4 g5 {is possibly a better option for Black.}) 32. b4 e5 $2 33. Bb5 Ke6 34. Kc2 $2 ({Here, White missed a genuinely good opportunity in} 34. Nc3 exf4 35. Ba6 Ra7 ({or} 35... Rb8 36. Bc4+ Ke7 37. Nd5+ Ke8 38. Bb5 {and White is winning}) 36. Nb5 Rxa6 37. Nc7+ Ke7 38. Nxa6 {and White has very good winning chances.}) 34... exf4 35. gxf4 Bh6 $6 (35... Nf6 $5 {may have beeen better.}) 36. Rd4 ({The computer claims and advantage for White after} 36. Bxd7+ Rxd7 37. Re1+ Kd6 38. Nxb6 Rc7+ 39. Kb3 Bxf4 40. Nc4+ Kc6 41. a4 {which may or may not be true.}) 36... Nf6 37. Kb3 Nh5 $6 (37... Ne4 38. Bc4+ Kf6 39. Bd5 Rb8 40. Bxe4 fxe4 41. Rxe4 Rb7 42. Rd4 Kf5 {should be fine, but not better, for Black.} ) 38. Rc4 Bxf4 39. Rc6+ Ke5 40. Nxb6 Bxh2 41. a4 Bg1 42. Nc4+ (42. a5 Ng3 43. Ba6 Rg7 44. Bc8 Ne4 45. a6 Nd6 46. Nc4+ Nxc4 47. Kxc4 g5 48. b5 g4 49. Re6+ Kf4 50. Bb7 g3 {which is probably a draw.}) 42... Kf4 43. Nd6 Re7 44. a5 Nf6 $6 ( 44... Ng3 45. Rc1 Be3 46. Rc2 h5 {may also be okay for Black.}) 45. Rc1 Bf2 46. Rc2 Kg3 47. Bc6 Re6 48. Rd2 f4 $2 ({According to the engine, this is a mistake. Black should have played} 48... Ne4 49. Nxe4+ fxe4 50. Rc2 h5 51. b5 h4 52. Rc3+ Kf4 53. b6 h3 54. Bd7 h2 55. Rh3 Rd6 56. Bb5 Bxb6 57. axb6 Rxb6 58. Kb4 g5 59. Rxh2 g4 {with a likely draw.}) 49. b5 Bc5 50. Rd3+ $2 ({Here, the computer claims and advantage for White after} 50. Nb7 Ba7 51. Rd6 Re3+ 52. Kc2 Ne8 53. Rd1 Re2+ 54. Kc3 Bf2 55. b6 g5 56. Nd8 Nf6 57. Rd3+ Kh2 58. b7 Ba7 {but honestly, how do you calculate this $2}) 50... Re3 51. Ne4+ Nxe4 52. Bxe4 f3 53. Kc4 $1 {The only move to save the draw.} Rxd3 54. Bxd3 Be3 55. b6 h5 56. Kb5 h4 57. a6 Bxb6 {and draw agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "5"] [White "Tari, Aryan"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B52"] [WhiteElo "2654"] [BlackElo "2750"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. c4 {The normal move is 4.Bxd7+, but this particular continuation is one that Tari has played on several previous occasions.} Nf6 ({Previously, the Frenchman had tried} 4... Nc6 5. O-O g6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Bg7 8. Be3 Nf6 9. f3 O-O 10. Nc3 Rc8 11. Rc1 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 a6 13. Bxd7 Nxd7 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Qd4+ Kg8 {and Black was close to having equalized, Caruana,F (2795)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2788) Chess.com INT 2016.}) 5. Nc3 Nc6 ({ The main line is} 5... g6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Bg7 8. f3 O-O {which is considered fine for Black.}) 6. O-O e5 $1 {This seems to more or less equalize for Black.} 7. d3 Be7 8. Nh4 $5 O-O 9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. Nf5 Ne8 11. f4 ({A better option was} 11. Nxe7+ Qxe7 12. f4 {and White has some initiative.}) 11... Bf6 12. Qf3 Rb8 13. Rb1 Nc7 14. g4 $6 ({Too weakening. White should have tried} 14. Nxd6 Ne6 15. Ne2 exf4 16. Nf5 Ng5 17. Qxf4 Bxf5 18. Qxf5 Ne6 {with chances to both sides.}) 14... Ne6 ({Or} 14... exf4 15. Bxf4 Be5 {and Black has some pressure.}) 15. g5 Be7 16. fxe5 $2 (16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. f5 Nxg5 18. Qg4 f6) 16... dxe5 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Qg3 f6 19. gxf6 Rxf6 20. Rxf6 Qxf6 21. Ne2 Rf8 22. Bd2 Nf4 23. Nxf4 exf4 24. Qf3 Qg5+ 25. Qg2 Qh5 26. Bc3 g6 27. Qf2 Bh3 28. Kh1 f3 29. Be1 Qg4 0-1 [Event "Norway Chess 2022"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.03"] [Round "7"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D50"] [WhiteElo "2864"] [BlackElo "2761"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,67,30,30,27,6,6,6,6,19,44,46,30,45,49,10,16,19,19,19,19,8,27,-20,4,18, 26,0,3,3,3,3,3,3,8,1,1,1,4,26,22,17,69,69,90,86,93,88,102,78,89,89,92,92,100, 92,122,122,243,253,263,254,297,297,320,337,344,344,379,379]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 exd5 {A quick look at the database reveals that Carlsen has a lot of experience in this line, whereas Giri is playing it for the first time.} 7. Bg5 ({Most likely, the Dutch GM's decision was based on the fact that the world champion was mainly seeking an advantage in the endgame after} 7. e4 Nc6 ({Or also after} 7... dxe4 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Ng5 Be6 10. Nxe6+ fxe6 11. Bc4 Ke7 12. O-O Nbd7 13. Be3 Rc8 14. Bb3 Nc5 15. Bxc5+ Rxc5 16. Rfe1 g6 17. Nxe4 Nxe4 18. Rxe4 e5 {Carlsen,M (2862) -So,W (2770) chess24.com INT 2020}) 8. Bb5 dxe4 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. Ng5 Be6 11. Bf4 Bb4 12. O-O-O+ Ke7 13. a3 Bxc3 14. Bd6+ Ke8 15. bxc3 h6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Bxc6+ bxc6 18. Rd4 {and the world champion's notable technique helped him win both these games, Carlsen,M (2863)-Ding,L (2791) chess24.com INT 2020}) 7... Be7 8. e3 O-O 9. Be2 {A solid, developing move.} ({A more aggressive solution is:} 9. Rd1 { when the decisive game of the latest World Cup saw} Nc6 ({A more recent effort by Black saw} 9... Be6 10. Bd3 h6 11. Bh4 Nc6 12. Qa4 Qb6 13. Rd2 Rfd8 14. O-O Rac8 15. h3 Kf8 16. Bb1 Na5 17. Qb5 Nc4 18. Qxb6 axb6 19. Re2 Nxb2 20. Rxb2 Rxc3 21. Rxb6 Bc8 {with a slight edge for White in Praggnanandhaa,R (2642) -Ding,L (2806) chess24.com INT 2022}) 10. Qa4 Be6 11. Bb5 Qb6 {and we shall see, this game has a lot of similarities with today's encounter after} 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Nxd5 Bxd5 14. Rxd5 Bxb2 15. Ke2 Bf6 16. Rhd1 Rac8 17. Bc4 Qb4 18. Qb3 Qxb3 19. Bxb3 Nb8 20. g4 $1 h6 21. h4 g6 22. g5 hxg5 23. hxg5 Be7 24. Re5 Nc6 25. Rd7 Bd8 26. Rb5 Na5 27. Bd5 Rc7 28. Bxf7+ Kg7 29. Rxc7 Bxc7 30. Bd5 { 1-0 (30) Duda,J (2738)-Karjakin,S (2757) Chess.com 2021}) 9... Nc6 {Now, after a few obvious and logical moves, a critical position will arise.} 10. Qd3 h6 11. Bh4 Be6 12. O-O Qb6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Nxd5 Bxd5 15. Qxd5 Qxb2 16. Bc4 { On the surface, it seems as Black has solved all his opening problems. He got rid of the potential weakness, the isolani, traded a few pieces and even kept the opposite-colored bishops on the board. But speaking of those, they are actually a problem for the second player here. Mainly because Carlsen is ready to build serious pressure along the light-squares when Giri would have little to show in return on this particular color complex.} Qxa1 $146 {And this over-the-board novelty by Giri would hardly attract any followers...} ({ The predecessor was also very, very unpleasant for Black after:} 16... Rad8 17. Qf5 Qxa1 18. Rxa1 Bxa1 19. g4 Rd6 20. Qb1 Ne5 21. Nxe5 Bxe5 22. Qxb7 { Gharibyan,M (2460)-Kantor,G (2527) Tornelo INT 2021}) ({But the machine is optimistic about his chances and suggests instead} 16... Qa3 17. Rad1 Na5 { Black's position is held on tactical nuances, for example} 18. Bd3 g6 19. Bxg6 {does not work due to} Rad8 $1 20. Qf5 fxg6 21. Qxg6+ Bg7 {and a perpetual is the maximum White can get.}) 17. Rxa1 Bxa1 18. g4 $1 {An excellent move, just as in the game Duda-Karjakin from above. Carlsen opens air for his king, while bringing in another attacker of the light squares. It quickly becomes evident that Giri's problems on the light squares got even more serious, now that there is no black queen to look for a relief trade.} Rae8 ({White can attack either side of the board, as the beautiful line} 18... g6 19. g5 Rad8 ({ Nothing changes} 19... hxg5 20. Nxg5 Rad8 21. Qf3 {and White should soon make it to the enemy king.}) 20. Qe4 Kg7 21. Qb1 $1 {demonstrates. White's attack is crushing, say} Bc3 22. Qb3 Ba1 23. Bxf7 Rxf7 24. gxh6+ Kf8 25. Ng5 $1) ({ And after} 18... Rad8 19. Qf5 Rd6 {White can continue his attack with either the direct} 20. g5 ({Or prepare it a bit more with} 20. Kg2)) 19. h4 {The most consistent continuation.} ({Also interesting was} 19. g5 hxg5 20. Nxg5 Re5 21. Qg2) 19... Re7 20. g5 hxg5 21. Nxg5 {But here the most obvious move is not the most optimal. Apparently, the world champion felt that there was something even better, but at the end chose the safer option.} ({Carlsen would have won spectacularly instead with the fantastic} 21. Qf5 $3 {the threat of a knight inclusion in the attack is too strong} gxh4 $2 ({Therefore, Black should try} 21... Ne5 {but after} 22. Nxg5 g6 23. Qf6 Rd7 24. Bb3 $1 {White is completely dominating and can soon get to the enemy king, say} ({Or the more complicate machine move} 24. Bb5 $1) 24... b5 25. Kg2 a5 26. h5 $1 gxh5 27. Bc2) ({ Also bad for Black is} 21... Bf6 $2 22. Bd3 {winning at once.}) 22. Ng5 { loses at once.}) 21... Bf6 $1 {Giri immediately takes his chance to swap an important attacker.} 22. Qf5 Bxg5 23. hxg5 Re5 {But here it is the Dutch GM's turn to go in the wrong direction.} ({Stronger was} 23... Ne5 $1 24. Bb3 Rd8 25. g6 Kf8 26. gxf7 Nxf7 27. e4 Rd6 {and since the knight is more useful in covering the light squares, Black has decent chances to survive.}) 24. Qf4 Rc5 ({It was not too late for} 24... Re7 $1 25. g6 Ne5 26. gxf7+ Nxf7 27. Qf5 Rd8 28. e4 Rd6 29. e5 Rc6) 25. g6 $1 Ne5 26. gxf7+ Nxf7 27. Be6 (27. Bb3 $1 { would have been even better.}) 27... Rh5 {After this, it is curatins.} ({ The last chance was to trasfer the rook for both the defense and the counterattack along the sixth rank with} 27... Rc6 28. Bd5 Rf6 {even at the expense of the queenside pawns, Black should look for active play on the opposite wing, for instance} 29. Qa4 Rd8 30. e4 Kh7 31. Qxa7 Ne5 32. Qxb7 Rdf8) 28. Qc7 {Giri loses both his pawns and remains pinned until the bitter end.} g5 29. Qxb7 Rh6 30. Bb3 g4 31. Qxa7 Kg7 32. e4 Rh5 33. Qc7 Kf6 34. a4 {PLAY CHESS, NO WAR $1} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.03"] [Round "8"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D27"] [WhiteElo "2753"] [BlackElo "2750"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 e6 3. c4 dxc4 4. e3 Nf6 5. Bxc4 a6 6. b3 c5 7. O-O cxd4 8. Nxd4 Be7 9. Bb2 O-O 10. Nd2 b5 11. Be2 Bb7 12. Rc1 ({Vachier-Lagrave has had some experience against} 12. a4 {this year:} bxa4 ({Or} 12... Nc6 13. axb5 Nxd4 14. Bxd4 axb5 15. Bf3 Qd7 16. h3 h6 17. Qb1 Rxa1 18. Qxa1 Ra8 19. Qb2 Ne8 {and Black had equalized in Mamedyarov,S (2759)-So,W (2776) Stavanger 2022 - another game from the blitz tournament of this event $1}) 13. Rxa4 Nbd7 14. Qa1 ({or} 14. Ra1 Nb6 15. Bf3 Qd7 16. Bxb7 Qxb7 17. Qf3 Qxf3 18. N2xf3 Rfc8 19. Rfc1 Rxc1+ 20. Rxc1 Nfd7 21. Nc6 Bf8 22. Na5 Bb4 23. Nc6 Bf8 24. Na5 Bb4 25. Nc6 Bf8 {1/2-1/2 (25) Vidit,S (2727)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2761) Warsaw 2021}) 14... Nc5 15. Ra5 Qb6 16. Nc4 Qc7 17. Rc1 Bd5 18. b4 Ncd7 19. e4 Nxe4 20. Nf5 exf5 21. Rxd5 Qf4 22. Bf3 Ndf6 23. Ne3 Nxd5 24. Nxd5 Qd6 25. Rd1 Rfd8 26. Bxg7 f6 27. Bh6 Qe6 28. Nc7 Qb6 29. Bxe4 fxe4 30. Nxa8 Rxa8 31. Qa2+ Kh8 32. Qf7 { 1-0 Mamedyarov,S (2759)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2750) Stavanger 2022 - also from the blitz event $1}) 12... h6 13. Bf3 Qd7 ({Their game in the blitz event continued} 13... Nd5 14. Ne4 Qb6 15. Ng3 Rd8 16. Nh5 Nf6 17. Qe2 (17. Bxb7 Qxb7 18. Rc2 a5 19. Nxf6+ Bxf6 20. Qg4 {gives White a pleasant position.}) 17... Nxh5 18. Bxb7 Qxb7 19. Qxh5 Bf6 20. Ba1 Rd5 21. Qf3 Bxd4 22. Bxd4 Nc6 23. Bc3 Rad8 24. h3 Qd7 25. Rc2 b4 26. Bb2 a5 27. Qg4 Ne5 28. Qg3 Ng6 29. Kh2 Rg5 30. Qc7 Qxc7+ 31. Rxc7 Rd2 32. Bc1 Rxa2 33. e4 Rb5 34. Be3 a4 35. Rb1 a3 36. Rc4 Ne5 37. Rd4 Rc2 38. Rbd1 Nc6 39. Rd7 a2 40. Rc7 Ra5 41. Ra1 Ra6 42. Rb7 Rc3 43. Rb6 Rxb6 44. Bxb6 Rc2 45. f4 e5 46. Kg3 Nd4 {and White resigned, 0-1, Radjabov, T (2753) -Vachier Lagrave,M (2750) Stavanger 2022.}) 14. Qc2 Ra7 15. Bxb7 Qxb7 16. Rfd1 Rd8 17. N2f3 Qe4 18. Qxe4 Nxe4 19. Kf1 {Despite the departure of the queens, White has the better chances thanks to his pieces being better organized than their black counterparts.} Bf6 (19... Rad7 $5) 20. Re1 Rad7 21. Rc2 Ng5 $6 (21... Rd5 $5) 22. Nxg5 Bxg5 23. Rec1 {Black's knight on b8 has a hard time getting into play. For now, it is guarding the a6-pawn, but long-term, White would like to see it get into action.} Bf6 24. Ke2 {To the untrained eye, this may look very equal, but I feel certain that Radjabov was happy with his position at this point. He may be rusty, but in technical positions such as this, he is a beast.} Kf8 $6 (24... Rb7 $5) 25. Bc3 Re8 26. Bb4+ Be7 27. Ba5 Bd8 28. Bd2 Bf6 29. Nf3 {At this point, Vachier-Lagrave was down to 48 second, whereas Radjabov had more than the double of that.} g6 $6 ( 29... g5 $5) 30. Ba5 ({White could also consider} 30. e4 Kg7 31. h4 h5 32. g3 { with a large advantage.}) 30... e5 $4 {This pawn immediately becomes a liability.} 31. Rc8 $1 Bd8 32. Bxd8 Rdxd8 33. Rxd8 Rxd8 34. Nxe5 {Chess can be brutal.} Ke7 35. f4 Ke6 36. Rc7 Rf8 37. g4 g5 38. Kf3 gxf4 39. exf4 f5 40. Rh7 fxg4+ 41. Ke4 Kd6 42. b4 {and Black resigned. Please note that Black's knight never moved from the b8-square the entire game.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.03"] [Round "7"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2753"] [BlackElo "2750"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8. Bb5+ {This variation has been played a lot by top players this year. As we will see below, the theory goes very deep.} Nc6 9. O-O O-O 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. Qc2 cxd4 12. cxd4 Bg4 13. Ne5 Qxd4 14. Bb2 Qb6 15. Rab1 Bxe5 16. Bxe5 Qa5 17. Bc3 Qc5 18. Qb2 a5 $1 19. Bd4 ({Or} 19. Rfc1 Qd6 20. Be5 Qd7 21. Qc3 (21. h3 Be6 22. Rd1 Qa7 23. h4 a4 24. a3 Bb3 25. Rdc1 c5 26. h5 f6 27. Bc3 e5 {was a bit better for Black even though he lost in the end, Badelka,O (2453) -Kuybokarov,T (2582) Sharjah 2022.}) 21... Rfd8 22. Qxc6 Rac8 23. Qxd7 Rxc1+ 24. Rxc1 Bxd7 25. Bc7 Rc8 26. Bf4 Rxc1+ 27. Bxc1 f6 28. f3 Kf7 29. a4 Bxa4 30. Bd2 Bb5 {and draw agreed, ½-½, in Andreikin,D (2724)-Shankland,S (2708) Belgrade 2022.}) 19... Qd6 ({Black has also tried} 19... Qb4 20. Qa1 Qa4 21. Bc5 Rfe8 22. Rfe1 Rad8 23. Qe5 ({or} 23. h3 Be6 24. a3 f6 25. Qc3 Rd7 26. Kh2 Red8 27. Bb6 Ra8 28. Rbc1 Ra6 {while White has some initiative for the pawn, the chances are about even, Ali Marandi,C (2523)-Burke,J (2573) Dulles 2022.}) 23... f6 24. Qg3 Be6 25. a3 Rd7 26. h4 Red8 27. h5 Rd1 28. Qc7 R1d7 29. Qg3 Rd1 30. Qc7 R1d7 31. Qg3 {with a draw by repetition, ½-½, Sevian,S (2684) -Antipov,M (2615) Saint Louis 2022.}) 20. Qc3 Rfd8 $5 {A novelty $1} ({In the relatively recent European Championship,} 20... Be2 {was tested in two games:} 21. Rfe1 Bb5 22. a4 Bxa4 23. Bh8 f6 24. e5 Qd8 25. exf6 exf6 26. Rb7 Rf7 27. Rxf7 Kxf7 28. h4 Qd6 $2 ({Later in the tournament, Black went for} 28... Qxh8 29. Qc4+ Kf8 30. Qxa4 Re8 31. Rxe8+ Kxe8 32. Qxc6+ Kf8 33. Qc7 Qg8 34. Qxa5 { and draw agreed, ½-½, Prohaszka,P (2573)-Ragger,M (2647) Terme Catez 2022.}) 29. Qc4+ Kf8 30. Re6 Qd5 31. Rxf6+ {White has a clear advantage thanks to Black's vulnerable king.} Ke7 32. Qe2+ Kd7 33. Qg4+ Ke7 34. Qxa4 Rxh8 35. Rf3 Rd8 36. Qa3+ Ke6 37. Qe3+ Qe5 38. Qb3+ Qd5 39. Qc3 (39. Qb7 $1) 39... Qd1+ 40. Kh2 Qd4 41. Qb3+ Rd5 42. g3 Qd1 $2 ({Now Black's king returns to the fire;} 42... a4 $1) ({or} 42... Qc5 {holds the balance for Black.}) 43. Qc3 Rf5 44. Qxc6+ Kf7 45. Qc7+ Kf6 46. Qb6+ Kg7 47. Rxf5 gxf5 48. Qxa5 Qf3 49. Qe5+ Kf7 50. Kg1 h5 51. Kf1 Qd1+ 52. Kg2 Qd3 53. Qf4 Qc2 $2 54. Qf3 Kg6 55. Qd5 Kf6 56. Qd6+ Kf7 57. Qd7+ Kf6 58. Qe8 Qd1 59. Qf8+ Ke6 60. Qg8+ Ke5 61. Qg7+ Ke6 62. Qg6+ Ke7 63. Qxf5 {1-0 (64) Bluebaum,M (2642)-Ivic,V (2610) Terme Catez 2022. Impressive technique by the German grandmaster.}) 21. Bb6 ({If White was playing for a win then} 21. Bc5 Qf6 22. Qa3 {would be the way to do it, even if the white advantage is minimal. However, it seems like Radjabov is already fishing for a repetition.}) 21... Qd3 22. Qe5 Re8 23. f3 f6 24. Qc5 Be6 25. a3 a4 26. Rfd1 Qe2 27. Qxc6 Kf7 28. Re1 Qc4 29. Qxc4 Bxc4 30. Rbc1 Rec8 {and with move 30 reached, no repetitions are needed for draws to be agreed...} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.03"] [Round "8"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A36"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,91,30,-4,14,19,20,9,6,6,6,7,37,33,13,-3,-15,-8,-8,-12,-9,0,50,-14,34, -3,14,0,2,24,27,1,-5,-8,38,38,23,16,21,8,-6,-15,-29,-30,-8,-8,-8,-8,-14,-23, -47,-28,-31,-37,-69,-61,-50,-53,0,-118,-93,-164,-164,-353,123,123,128,118,120, 107,121,102,149,128,141,149,144,134,154,153,145,150,158,133,147,141,141,141, 146,141,187,195,230,210]} 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 e6 6. e4 Nge7 7. Nge2 O-O 8. O-O b6 9. a3 d6 10. Rb1 Nd4 11. b4 Nec6 12. Be3 Bd7 13. Qd2 (13. b5 $5 Ne7 14. a4 {is better for White.}) 13... Nxe2+ 14. Nxe2 Nd4 15. Nxd4 cxd4 16. Bh6 e5 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. f4 f6 19. h4 {The position is about equal.} b5 $1 20. Rbc1 bxc4 21. Rxc4 Bb5 22. Rc2 Ba4 23. Rcc1 Rc8 24. h5 $6 ( 24. Bh3 Bd7 {would invite an exchange of the bishops which Black would welcome. }) 24... gxh5 $1 25. Bf3 Qd7 $1 {Now, Black is taking control of the game.} 26. Qh2 Rxc1 27. Rxc1 Rc8 28. Rf1 Rc3 29. Be2 Bb5 30. Qxh5 Bxd3 31. fxe5 $4 dxe5 $4 (31... Bxe2 $1 {would have been winning for Black, for instance,} 32. exf6+ Kh8 33. f7 ({or} 33. Qf5 Rxg3+ 34. Kh2 Qxf5 35. Rxf5 Rf3 {and Black is winning}) ( 33. Qxe2 Rxg3+ 34. Kf2 Qh3 35. Ke1 {and now Black wins after} Rxa3 {, 35...Rb3 or 35...Re3.}) 33... Rxg3+ 34. Kf2 Bxh5 35. f8=Q+ Rg8 36. Qf6+ Qg7 {and White can resign.}) 32. Qf3 {Now White is winning $1} Qe6 33. Bxd3 Rxa3 34. Kg2 a6 35. Rf2 Rb3 36. Bc4 $1 {Forcing the queens off the board.} Rxf3 37. Bxe6 Re3 38. Bf5 Rb3 39. Ra2 Rxb4 40. Rxa6 Rb7 41. Rd6 Ra7 42. Kh3 Rb7 43. Kg4 Ra7 44. Kh5 Rc7 45. Rd8 Re7 46. Bg4 {The bishop is on the way to the a2-g8 diagonal followed by Rg8#. Black resigned.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.03"] [Round "7"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A37"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. d4 $5 {The sharpest and best option for White against Black's otherwise very solid set-up. White sacrifices a pawn for the initiative and Black loses the right to castle.} Nxd4 7. Nxd4 cxd4 8. Ne4 d5 9. Qa4+ Kf8 10. Qa3+ Qe7 11. Nd6 Be5 ({Or} 11... dxc4 12. Bd2 Bf6 $4 ({a bad blunder; Black would have been okay after} 12... c3 { , for instance,} 13. bxc3 Be5 14. Bf4 Bxf4 15. gxf4 Nh6 16. Qb4 Nf5 17. Nxf5 Qxb4 18. cxb4 gxf5 19. Kd2 {with approximately equal chances.}) 13. Bb4 a5 14. Bc5 Kg7 15. Nxc8 Qc7 16. Bf8# {1-0 Donchenko,A (2657)-Fier,A (2560) chess24. com INT 2020.}) 12. c5 ({This is more accurate than} 12. Nxc8 Qxa3 13. bxa3 Rxc8 14. cxd5 exd5 ({or} 14... b6 15. Bb2 Rc2 16. Rb1 d3 17. Bxe5 Rxe2+ { with better chances for Black in Hammer,J (2637)-Christiansen,J (2548) Larvik 2019.}) 15. Rb1 b6 16. Bxd5 Nf6 17. Bf3 Kg7 18. Kd2 Nd7 19. Bb2 Nc5 {and Black had the better chances in Gordievsky,D (2622)-Van Foreest,J (2629) Wijk aan Zee 2018.}) 12... Kg7 13. O-O Nh6 14. e4 dxe4 15. Nxe4 f6 16. f4 $6 {This pawn advance looks natural but is, in fact, not the best move.} ({White should instead have played} 16. b4 $1 Rd8 17. b5 Nf5 18. Rb1 h5 19. Bd2 Bd7 20. Qd3 { with a clear advantage for White, Mondry,M (2247)-Rashitov,D (2328) ICCF email 2018.}) 16... Bc7 17. Nd6 Rd8 (17... Nf5 $5 {can also be considered.}) 18. Nb5 Qd7 19. Nxc7 Qxc7 20. Bd2 a5 21. c6 $2 ({White should have played} 21. b4 Bd7 22. bxa5 Bc6 23. Bxc6 Qxc6 24. Rab1 d3 25. Rb6 Qd5 26. Qb4 {and the chances are about even.}) 21... bxc6 22. Rac1 Ra6 (22... Bb7) 23. Rc5 a4 24. Rfc1 Bb7 25. Bf1 Raa8 26. Bg2 Ra6 $6 {I'm not sure why Anand decided to repeat moves as he has the better chances and he had about 45 minutes left on the clock.} ({ Black could have tried} 26... Rd7 27. Bxc6 Bxc6 28. Rxc6 Qb7 {and Black has an extra pawn and the clearly better chances.}) 27. Bf1 Raa8 28. Bg2 Ra6 {and a draw by repetition.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.03"] [Round "8"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Tari, Aryan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2730"] [BlackElo "2654"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Nc3 h6 6. h3 a6 7. Be3 ({In the classical game, play continued with} 7. a4 d6 8. Be3 Bb4 {.}) 7... d6 8. O-O O-O 9. a4 Re8 10. Nd5 Be6 11. Bxc5 dxc5 12. Ne3 Qd7 13. a5 Rad8 14. Nd2 Bxc4 15. Ndxc4 Qe6 16. Qe1 Nd4 17. Kh2 Nh5 18. f3 Nf4 19. Qf2 g6 20. Rfd1 h5 $6 ( 20... Kh7 {was better.}) 21. h4 Qf6 $4 22. c3 Nc6 23. g3 Nxd3 $2 {An incorrect piece sacrifice,} ({Clearly Tari did not like} 23... Ne6 24. Nd5 Qg7 25. f4 exf4 26. gxf4 {and White has a large advantage.}) 24. Qf1 Nf4 25. gxf4 Qxf4+ ({ Or} 25... Qxh4+ 26. Qh3 Qf2+ 27. Kh1 {and White is winning.}) 26. Kh3 Ne7 27. Qf2 g5 28. Qg3 Ng6 29. hxg5 c6 30. Nf5 h4 31. Qxf4 Nxf4+ 32. Kxh4 {and there was no need to continue the battle. Black resigned.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.03"] [Round "7"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Tari, Aryan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2730"] [BlackElo "2654"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,101,30,39,12,25,19,17,7,19,10,11,26,9,32,22,9,-1,-10,6,9,5,5,-22,9,9, 5,12,34,20,77,50,40,34,36,63,36,36,59,72,87,62,44,58,58,67,53,55,57,24,46,58, 45,35,29,29,22,14,12,10,31,7,25,38,38,21,21,0,32,10,13,0,1,2,26,13,26,19,72,87, 63,43,37,45,40,27,47,31,31,31,31,21,15,4,3,3,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Nc3 h6 ({Black decides to prevent} 5... d6 6. Bg5 { which has been played in thousands of games in my database.}) 6. h3 a6 7. a4 d6 {This position is already rather rare but has been played several times by Aronian.} 8. Be3 Bb4 {A curious decision which, by the way, had only been played once before in my database, by a 1400-rated player $1} 9. O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 O-O 11. a5 d5 12. exd5 Nxd5 {Black's position looks active, but honestly cannot be easy for Black to play with the bishop pair and open files to work with on White's part.} 13. Bd2 Bf5 ({A better solution for Black was} 13... Re8 14. Re1 Nf6 15. Qb1 e4 {and Black would be close to equality. After the text move, White gets a small but clear advantage.}) 14. Re1 Re8 15. Qb1 Qd6 16. Qb3 Rad8 17. d4 $5 Bc8 $6 (17... e4 $1 18. Nh2 Bc8 {was the better option.}) 18. Re4 Kh8 $6 ({The computer calls the text move a mistake, instead recommending} 18... Kf8 {but putting the king and queen on the same diagonalis not something a human would do willingly.}) 19. dxe5 $6 ({White should have played} 19. Bf1 $1 exd4 20. Rxe8+ Rxe8 21. cxd4 {followed by c2-c4 and White has a rather obvious advantage.}) 19... Nxe5 20. Nxe5 Rxe5 21. Rxe5 Qxe5 22. Re1 Qd6 23. Bd3 c6 24. c4 $6 (24. Qc4 $5 {to swing the queen to h4 would have been far better.} ) 24... Nf4 25. Bxf4 Qxf4 26. Qb6 $6 (26. Qb4 $5) 26... Qd6 {Now Black is getting things under control again; White is still better but nothing like before.} 27. Re3 Qd7 28. Qc5 Re8 29. f4 Qd8 $6 (29... Kg8 $1) 30. Kf2 (30. Rxe8+ Qxe8 31. Qd6 {would have been more uncomfortable for Black.}) 30... Kg8 31. Rxe8+ Qxe8 32. Qd6 g6 $2 (32... f5 $1 {was the right \"weakness\" to make $1}) 33. Qf6 (33. g4 $1 {was much better.}) 33... Qf8 34. Qe5 Qd8 35. Ke3 f6 36. Qd4 Qe7+ 37. Qe4 Qc5+ 38. Kf3 Bf5 39. Qe8+ Kg7 40. g4 Bxd3 $1 {On the last move before the time control, Tari had to make this crucial decision, and he chose right. Now a draw is around the corner.} 41. Qd7+ Kf8 42. Qc8+ Ke7 43. Qxb7+ Kd6 44. Qb8+ Kd7 45. cxd3 Qg1 46. Qb2 Qf1+ 47. Ke4 Qe1+ 48. Kd4 Qxa5 49. Qb7+ Kd6 50. Qb8+ Kd7 51. Qb7+ {Despite the draw, a fascinating battle.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.03"] [Round "7"] [White "Wang, Hao"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C83"] [WhiteElo "2744"] [BlackElo "2770"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "108"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,108,30,25,36,11,25,20,25,3,-10,11,10,10,0,0,9,6,0,-28,-22,-10,-17,-17, 15,-1,74,-22,-43,-25,-37,-24,-32,-33,-30,-70,-49,-60,-14,10,-3,-16,-16,-10,-28, -8,-20,-25,-34,-36,-16,-50,-52,-97,-99,-99,-94,-97,-97,-160,-172,-193,-180, -188,-154,-171,-154,-144,-161,-173,-121,-121,-121,-107,-102,-139,-155,-153, -171,-168,-146,-209,-223,-219,-227,-219,-190,-209,-216,-207,-214,-280,-201, -201,-197,-197,-183,-216,-150,-153,-168,-171,-189,-195,-177,-205,-216,-270, -255,-301,-312]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Be7 10. Bc2 Bg4 11. Bb3 {Is this an invitation to a draw $2 After 11...Be6 12.Bc2, the moves could be repeated.} Nc5 $1 {Now, we have already left what is know about the Open Ruy Lopez, but this had already been analyzed by Mamedyarov at home.} 12. Bxd5 Nxe5 $5 (12... Qd7 {was also possible, but the text move is better and sharper: the right anti-dote when your opponent is angling for a draw.}) 13. Bf4 ({In the post-game interview, Mamedyarov mentioned that} 13. Bxa8 Qxa8 14. Nbd2 O-O 15. h3 Bh5 16. g4 Nxg4 17. hxg4 Bxg4 18. Qe2 Bd6 {is satisfactory for Black. A possible continuation which they did not cover was:} 19. Re1 Qd5 20. b4 Qh5 21. bxc5 Bh2+ 22. Kg2 Qh3+ 23. Kh1 Bf4+ 24. Kg1 Bxf3 25. Qxf3 Bh2+ 26. Kh1 Bg3+ {with a draw by perpetual check. Clearly, this is not something you can work out at the board when you contemplate your thirteenth move, but it would have lead to the result that Wang had \"hoped\" for.}) 13... c6 {Now, Black already has a comfortable position.} 14. Bxe5 Qxd5 15. Qxd5 cxd5 16. Nbd2 f6 17. Bd4 Nd3 18. b4 Nb2 19. h3 Bd7 {Black's position is marginally better thanks to his bishop pair and the potential pressure against White's queenside.} 20. Nb3 Na4 21. Ne1 Bf5 22. g4 Bg6 23. Ng2 Kf7 24. Rfe1 Rac8 25. Nf4 Be4 26. Nd2 $2 (26. Re3 { was necessary, although} Bd6 27. Nh5 Rc6 {looks rather unpleasant for White.}) 26... Bd6 $1 27. Nxe4 Bxf4 28. Nc5 Bd2 29. Nxa4 $2 (29. Red1 {was relatively better, even if} Bxc3 30. Bxc3 Nxc3 31. Rd3 Ne2+ 32. Kf1 Nf4 {gives Black a clear advantage.}) 29... Bxe1 30. Nc5 Bd2 31. a4 Ra8 {It requires some technique for Black to break through but Mamedyarov is up to the task.} 32. Nd7 Rhd8 $6 (32... Bf4 $1) 33. Nb6 $2 Rab8 34. axb5 Bxc3 $2 {This overcomplicates things.} ({The simpler path forward was} 34... axb5 35. Ra7+ Kg8 36. Nd7 Ra8 37. Rb7 Ra3 38. Bxf6 Rxd7 $1 ({but not} 38... gxf6 $4 39. Nxf6+ {with a draw by perpetual check.}) 39. Rxd7 gxf6 40. Rxd5 Bg5 41. Rc5 Kg7 {and Black is winning.}) 35. Bxc3 Rxb6 36. bxa6 Ra8 37. Ra5 $2 ({It was better to play} 37. b5 {although} Rxb5 38. Bd4 Ke6 {also seems to win for Black.}) 37... Rbxa6 38. Rxd5 Ra3 39. Rc5 Rd8 40. Kg2 Rd3 41. Bb2 Rab3 42. Bc1 Rxh3 43. Be3 Rh4 44. Kg3 Rh1 (44... g5 $5) 45. Kg2 Re1 (45... Rhb1 $1) 46. b5 Kg6 47. Rd5 Rb4 48. g5 f5 49. b6 Reb1 ({Black was also winning after} 49... Rxe3 50. Rd6+ Kxg5 51. fxe3 h5 {and Black is winning.}) 50. Rd7 f4 51. Bd4 Kf5 52. Bxg7 Rxb6 53. Bh6 Kg4 54. Rf7 R1b3 {and White resigned.} 0-1 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.05"] [Round "10"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2864"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 (4... Be7 {was played in their classical game.}) 5. Bg5 Be7 ({A curious move that Grischuk has played on several occasions. The main moves are} 5... h6) ({and} 5... d6 {.}) 6. Nc3 d6 7. a4 O-O 8. a5 {A novelty.} (8. h3 {was thus far the preference of white players.}) 8... Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 Nd4 11. Qd1 c6 12. O-O b5 $6 ({It was more accurate to play} 12... h6 13. Bh4 g6 14. Ne2 Nxe2+ 15. Qxe2 Nh5 16. Bxe7 Qxe7 17. Qe3 Qg5 {and Black has equalized.}) 13. Ba2 $6 ({White could also consider} 13. axb6 axb6 14. Rxa8 Qxa8 15. Ne2 Nxe2+ 16. Qxe2 h6 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. Qh5 Qb7 {and White has the somewhat better chances.}) 13... Ne6 14. Be3 a6 15. Qf3 Qd7 16. Ne2 d5 17. c3 Bc5 $6 18. exd5 ({It was better to play} 18. Ng3 Rad8 19. Nf5 {and White has the upper hand.}) 18... cxd5 19. Bxc5 Nxc5 20. d4 e4 21. Qe3 Nd3 $6 (21... Nb7 22. Nf4 Rfe8 {was fine for Black.}) 22. Qd2 $2 ({ Here,} 22. Rab1 b4 23. Bb3 {would have given White a clear advantage.}) 22... Rae8 23. f3 Nf2 $1 24. fxe4 N2xe4 25. Qd3 Qd6 ({Or} 25... Nh5 26. Qf3 (26. g4 Nhf6) 26... g6 27. Nf4 Nxf4 28. Qxf4 f5 {with a clear advantage for Black.}) 26. Rf3 g6 27. Raf1 Nh5 28. g4 Nhf6 29. Nf4 Ng5 $6 ({Black could also consider } 29... Re7 30. Re3 Rfe8 31. Re2 Kg7 {and Black has a comfortable position.}) 30. R3f2 Nge4 $6 (30... Qd8 31. Bb3 Ne6 32. Ne2 Ne4 {and Black has the upper hand.}) 31. Rg2 h6 $6 ({It was better to play the immediate} 31... g5 {.}) 32. h4 g5 33. hxg5 hxg5 34. Nh3 ({Another option for White was} 34. Qh3 Kg7 35. Nh5+ Nxh5 36. gxh5 f5 37. Rxf5 {and White has the better chances.}) 34... Kg7 35. Rf5 $2 {Now Black gains control of the game.} ({White should have played} 35. Qe3 Ng8 36. Nf2 Qd8 {with equal chances.}) 35... Rh8 36. Nxg5 $6 Rh4 $4 { Black throws all of his advantage away and hands it to White.} ({Instead, Black should have played} 36... Nxg5 37. Rxg5+ Kf8 38. Qf1 Re6 {and while White has an extra pawn, Black's pieces are better coordinated and White's king is vulnerable.}) 37. Bxd5 Nxg5 38. Rxg5+ Kf8 39. Bf3 $4 {White throws the advantage away again.} ({White should have played} 39. Qg3 Qxg3 40. Rxg3 Re2 41. Rg2 Re3 42. Bb7 {and White is winning.}) 39... Qf4 40. Re5 $1 Rxe5 $6 ( 40... Rh3 41. Rxe8+ Nxe8 42. Rf2 Rg3+ 43. Kf1 Nf6 {with a complex position and chances for both sides.}) 41. dxe5 Qxe5 42. Kf2 ({Here,} 42. Qd2 Nd7 43. Bd5 { would lead to about equal chances.}) 42... Rh3 $2 (42... Rh1 $1 43. Rg1 Rh2+ 44. Rg2 Rh1 {would be a draw by repetition.}) 43. g5 Nh5 $2 ({Black could still have survived after} 43... Rh1 44. Qd2 Ne4+ 45. Bxe4 Qxe4 46. Qd8+ Kg7 47. Qd4+ Qxd4+ 48. cxd4 Rh3 {with a rook ending that Black should not lose.}) 44. g6 fxg6 $4 {The losing mistake.} ({Black, of course, only needed a draw and therefore,} 44... Qc5+ 45. Qd4 Qxd4+ 46. cxd4 Nf4 47. g7+ Kg8 48. Rg1 Ne6 49. d5 Nxg7 50. Rc1 Rh2+ 51. Ke3 Kf8 52. b3 {with a position that is far from easy for White to win.}) 45. Qd8+ Qe8 46. Qxe8+ Kxe8 47. Rxg6 Nf4 48. Rxa6 Nd3+ 49. Ke3 $4 ({It was better to play} 49. Ke2 Nxb2 50. Ra8+ Ke7 51. a6 {and White is winning.}) 49... Ne5 $4 {Black counter-blunders.} (49... Nxb2 { was the only move.}) 50. Re6+ {and Black resigned.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "9"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2864"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,80,29,34,33,22,36,12,4,10,18,26,27,2,21,-4,18,19,29,-10,17,20,29,1,33, 16,20,19,32,-15,-1,9,23,5,6,6,6,21,0,-40,-10,-15,-6,-2,-2,-30,-2,65,43,72,82, 73,159,158,150,150,157,155,155,159,159,165,165,165,165,108,116,116,51,59,28,22, 29,60,21,20,14,13,22,13,27,0,7]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 {Not the most topical Italian nowadays, but definitely the most complex one. White does not want to trade a single pawn yet.} Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. Re1 d6 7. a4 Na5 8. Ba2 c5 9. c3 Nc6 10. Na3 {One of the routes to shift the knight towards the juicy d5 and f5 outposts. This one has the advantage of not obstructing the bishop.} h6 {Carlsen deviates from an earlier game of his (see below). And it seems as this move does not go well with his setup.} ({In Berlin, Aronian demonstrated good defensive play following:} 10... Be6 11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. Bd2 a6 13. b4 cxb4 14. cxb4 d5 15. Nc2 b5 16. axb5 axb5 17. Rxa8 Qxa8 18. exd5 Nxd5 19. Nxe5 Ncxb4 20. Nxb4 Nxb4 21. Qb3 Qd5 {Dominguez Perez,L (2752)-Aronian,L (2772) Berlin 2022}) ({The world champion did better the previous time he faced this line after} 10... a6 11. Nc2 Rb8 12. h3 b5 13. axb5 axb5 14. Ne3 Be6 15. Bxe6 fxe6 16. Bd2 Qd7 17. Qe2 d5 {Giri,A (2782)-Carlsen,M (2855) Leuven 2016}) 11. Nc2 a6 12. Ne3 Be6 13. Nd5 {Mission accomplished. Carlsen needs to decide how to deal with the intruder, but that is far more difficult than it seems.} Re8 $146 { In a way, this looks logical, the rook is opening a square for the bishop. On the other hand, after the potential trade on d5, Black would rather have the rook back to it's initial position, from where it can support the f7-f5 advance.} ({Black held in an email predecessor after:} 13... Rb8 14. Nd2 Qd7 15. Nc4 Bd8 16. Nxf6+ Bxf6 17. Nb6 Qd8 18. Nd5 Bg5 19. Bxg5 Qxg5 20. Re3 Kh7 21. Rg3 Qd8 {Achilles,E (2444)-Colin,S (2437) ICCF email 2016}) ({Anand explained in the studio the importance of including the h7-h6 move. It is favoring him in case of the logical} 13... Bxd5 14. exd5 Nb8 {as after} 15. Nh4 $1 {followed by Qd1-f3 and later Nh4-f5 Black cannot easily get rid of the annoying knight and \"that pawn (on h6) will hurt.\" (Anand)}) 14. Nd2 b5 { This looks dubious.} ({It made sense to proceed with} 14... Bf8 $5 {in order to open a square for the queenside knight and position it better in case of} 15. Nf1 ({But perhaps Carlsen disliked} 15. Qf3 $5 Bxd5 16. exd5 Ne7 17. Bb3 { with the positional threat of a4-a5.} ({Or even} 17. Bc4 {with a bind.})) 15... Bxd5 16. exd5 Ne7 17. Qf3 Nh7) 15. Nf1 {Now if Black does not want to allow his opponent permanent control of the center, he needs to take} Bxd5 ({White is also significantly better after} 15... Rb8 16. axb5 axb5 17. Bd2) 16. Bxd5 $1 {\"I wanted to take with the bishop, so that I could get this 'knight thing. '\" (Anand)} Nxd5 ({Certainly not} 16... Qc7 17. Ne3) 17. exd5 Na5 18. b4 Nb7 { This is the \"knight thing\" the former world champion was referring to. The knight is trapped for a very long time.} 19. Re2 $1 {The next sequence of moves was also well calculated by Anand.} ({But perhaps an even better move was } 19. Qg4 $5 {with the main idea of infiltrating the opponent's camp after say} Kh8 20. axb5 axb5 21. Rxa8 Qxa8 22. Qd7 Bf8 23. Qxb5) 19... cxb4 20. cxb4 a5 21. axb5 axb4 22. Rb1 Qd7 {\"I was surprised that he let me go like this, because basically, this is just-resigns.\" (Anand)} ({Indeed} 22... Nc5 $1 { would have been a better chance when after} 23. Rxb4 Ra1 {\"is a bit irritating.\" The Indian GM intended to go for} 24. b6 {and believed this should work, but things are far from clear after} Qa8 25. Qc2 Qxd5 (25... Rb8 26. d4 {is not as good for Black.}) 26. Bb2) 23. Reb2 Nc5 ({The blockading attempt} 23... Bd8 {would be rejected with} 24. b6 $1) 24. Rxb4 Qf5 25. Be3 $1 {With the removal of this once-a-poor piece, but now-a-good-blockader, the b-passer becomes almost unstoppable.} Nxd3 ({Or else a lost endgame after} 25... Qxd3 26. Qxd3 Nxd3 27. R4b3 Nc5 28. Bxc5 dxc5 29. b6) 26. Ng3 Qh7 27. R4b3 Nc5 28. Bxc5 dxc5 29. b6 {The pawn is moving.} Red8 30. b7 Rab8 31. Rb6 c4 {The culmination of the game. Anand knew he was winning, but miscalculated with } 32. Rc6 ({The most convincing win would have been} 32. Qg4 $1 {Not only attacking the c4-pawn and hitting the back rank, but also threatening the black king concretely, as in the line} Rxd5 33. Nf5 (33. Qxc4 Rc5 {is less convincing.}) 33... Bf8 34. Nxh6+) ({Also good would have been} 32. Qa4 Rxd5 33. Qxc4 Rc5 {although here White needs to find some more convincing moves.}) 32... Qd3 $1 {Carlsen grabs his chance.} 33. Qf1 ({It was never clear what Anand missed. Probably this was the line} 33. Qxd3 cxd3 34. Nf5 ({The machine still finds an edge for White after} 34. Kf1 $1 {as Black cannot defend with} Rxd5 ({But instead he has} 34... Bf8 $1 35. Rc7 Rxd5 36. Ke1 {and it is still very messy.}) 35. Nf5 Bf8 (35... Bf6 36. Rxf6 $1) 36. Rc8) 34... Bf8 35. Rc7 g6 36. Ne3 Bd6 $1 {when Black somehow holds the pawns, say} 37. Rc6 Rd7 38. Rc8+ Kg7 39. Rxb8 Bxb8 40. f3 f5) 33... Bf8 34. Rxc4 {Frustrated, Anand forces a draw.} ({The last chance to fight for more was the line} 34. d6 Bxd6 35. Rd1 Qg6 36. Rb6 c3 37. Qc4 c2 38. Rc1 {and now Black needs to find the study-like} Bf8 $3 39. Rxg6 Rd1+ 40. Nf1 Rxc1 41. Rc6 Rxb7 42. Rc8 Rbb1 43. g4 Rxf1+ 44. Qxf1 Rxf1+ 45. Kxf1 {and it is not clear if White's advantage is enough for the win.}) 34... Qxf1+ 35. Kxf1 Rd7 36. Rc8 Rbxb7 37. Rxb7 Rxb7 38. Nf5 Rd7 39. g4 g6 40. Nxh6+ Kh7 {Forcing the swap of the minor pieces, and the pawn split. PLAY CHESS, NO WAR $1} (40... Kg7 41. g5) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "9"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2753"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,79,26,15,17,20,21,25,22,30,12,-9,-9,22,40,37,37,37,35,39,37,40,40,35, 52,54,56,59,68,53,46,56,84,79,55,55,55,60,60,60,74,38,54,60,79,62,84,30,57,46, 48,31,33,43,88,98,92,98,83,54,73,84,109,118,115,111,145,124,155,120,148,131, 143,152,191,158,239,235,490,479,1467,1662]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 $6 {This move is a little passive and not considered best.} ({ The main line is} 5... O-O {, but Black can also consider Aronian's favorite move}) (5... d5 {, something that Nakamura also has played a bunch in online games.}) 6. d4 exd4 7. cxd4 Bb4+ 8. Bd2 Bxd2+ 9. Nbxd2 Bd7 10. O-O O-O 11. Re1 Re8 12. h3 {White has a pleasant position, indeed the engine claims a clear advantage for White.} Ne7 13. Bf1 c6 14. Qb3 Qb6 15. Qa3 Qc7 16. Nc4 Nc8 17. e5 dxe5 18. dxe5 Nd5 19. Rac1 {White is in complete control of the game.} h6 $6 20. b4 (20. Nd4 $5) 20... Qd8 21. Qb2 Rb8 22. a3 a6 23. Rcd1 (23. Qc2 Be6 24. Qe4 {looks very promising for White.}) 23... Qc7 24. Qd4 (24. Bd3 $1) 24... Bf5 25. Nh4 Bh7 26. Bd3 b5 27. Bxh7+ Kxh7 28. Na5 {Black is being outplayed left, right, and center, and has a truly depressing position.} Nce7 29. Rc1 Rbd8 30. Qe4+ Kh8 31. Nf3 Qd7 32. Rc2 (32. Nd4 $5) 32... Ng6 33. Nxc6 Rc8 34. Rec1 Ngf4 $2 (34... Nb6 {would have been a better try.}) 35. Ncd4 (35. Nfd4 $5) 35... Rxc2 36. Rxc2 f6 $2 {Another mistake.} (36... Ne6 {would have had been better albeit still quite terrible for Black.}) 37. Rc5 fxe5 38. Nxe5 Nc3 39. Rxc3 Qxd4 {One last trick. But Giri was not to be rattled.} 40. Nf7+ {and Black resigned. A possible continuation was} (40. Nf7+ Kg8 41. Qxe8+ Kh7 42. Rc6 { and Black can resign.}) 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.05"] [Round "10"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,77,19,30,20,20,11,0,0,-8,-4,-4,2,-52,-11,-10,-21,-53,-58,-62,-49,-60, -60,-41,-29,-54,-23,-67,-37,-67,-36,-126,-67,-33,32,-11,-10,-18,4,4,10,57,53, 86,-3,73,91,63,41,18,35,24,14,-72,-72,-35,-15,-69,-31,-103,135,135,175,-9,187, 179,373,411,707,742,742,343,809,859,1107,660,29989,29984,29985,29982]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. b3 Be7 5. Bb2 O-O 6. Qc2 c5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Nc3 $2 (8. d4 {is best.}) 8... Nc6 9. a3 Bg4 $6 (9... d4 $1 {is already much better for White.}) 10. Bb5 d4 11. Ne4 Bxf3 12. gxf3 Ne5 13. Be2 (13. f4 $5 Nf3+ 14. Ke2 Nh4 15. Bd3 g6 {should be better for Black.}) 13... Rc8 14. Rg1 Re8 15. Ng3 Bf8 $6 (15... d3 16. Qb1 Bd6 ({or} 16... dxe2 17. Bxe5) 17. Bd1 Bf8 {gives Black the somewhat better chances.}) 16. f4 d3 $4 {A blunder.} ({Black should have opted for} 16... Ng6 17. O-O-O {with a position the engine calls better for Black but where I definitely would prefer to play with the white pieces.}) 17. Qb1 dxe2 18. fxe5 Nd7 19. Qe4 $2 ({Here,} 19. f4 $1 c4 20. bxc4 Rxc4 ({or} 20... Qh4 21. Rg2) 21. Kxe2 {is better for White.}) 19... g6 $2 (19... c4 $1 { was better.}) 20. f4 c4 21. b4 a5 22. Bc3 Nb6 $2 23. Kxe2 Nd5 24. Bd4 $2 ({Or} 24. h4 Qd7 25. bxa5 Rcd8 26. Rad1 {and White has a large advantage.}) 24... axb4 25. axb4 c3 26. f5 $2 (26. Rac1 Bxb4 27. f5 Bc5 28. Rxc3 Nxc3+ 29. Bxc3 { and White has a clear advantage.}) 26... cxd2 27. e6 Rc7 28. Nh5 Qd6 29. Kf3 $3 {What a move $1 The only winning move for White in this position.} Qxh2 30. Rh1 Qd6 31. Rag1 $4 ({White would have been winning after} 31. Be5 Rc4 32. Bxd6 Rxe4 33. Kxe4 {.}) 31... Bh6 $4 {Black counterblunders $1} ({He should have played} 31... fxe6 32. fxg6 h6 33. Be5 Qd7 {and Black is still very much alive $1}) 32. Be5 Qc6 33. Bxc7 d1=Q+ 34. Rxd1 fxe6 35. Nf6+ ({It was even better to play} 35. Rxd5 $1 {.}) 35... Kf7 36. fxg6+ Kxf6 37. Rxh6 Qxc7 38. Qh4+ ({ White could mate faster with} 38. gxh7+ Kf7 39. Qg6+ Ke7 40. Qxe6+ Kd8 41. Rxd5+ {.}) 38... Ke5 39. Qh2+ {and Black resigned.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "9"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D50"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. Bg5 Be7 8. e3 O-O 9. Be2 Nc6 10. Qd3 h6 11. Bh4 Qb6 ({Here,} 11... Be6 12. O-O Qb6 { was played in Carlsen,M (2864)-Giri,A (2761), Norway Chess 2022.}) 12. O-O Rd8 13. Rfd1 Qxb2 14. Rab1 Qa3 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Nxd5 Qxd3 $5 {A novelty $1} ({ In their previous game in this line, So had opted for} 16... Qxa2 17. Nxf6+ gxf6 18. Nd4 Be6 19. Rxb7 Rd6 20. Rd2 Qa1+ 21. Rb1 Qa5 22. Rdd1 Nxd4 23. exd4 { The chances are objectively close to even, but Black's exposed king inspired Mamedyarov to take some chances in the pursuit of exploiting that.} Rad8 24. h4 Qf5 25. Qg3+ Qg6 26. Qf4 Qf5 27. Qxh6 Rxd4 28. Rbc1 Qe5 29. Rxd4 Rxd4 30. Bh5 $4 ({A blunder; White could have kept the balance with} 30. Rb1 $1 {.}) 30... Rd8 $4 (30... a5 $1 {gives Black excellent winning chances.}) 31. Bf3 $6 (31. Rf1) 31... a5 32. Qe3 a4 33. Qa7 $4 (33. Qxe5 fxe5 34. Ra1 Bb3 35. Kf1 Rd4 36. g3 e4 37. Be2 {and White should hold the draw.}) 33... Qd4 $2 (33... Qb2 34. Qc7 Rd4 $1 {wins for Black.}) 34. Qe7 Rb8 35. Rd1 Qxh4 36. Qa7 Rb2 37. Qc5 $2 Qb4 38. Qxb4 Rxb4 39. Bd5 $2 Bf5 $2 40. Rc1 $4 Rb1 $1 {0-1 (40) Mamedyarov,S (2762)-So,W (2778) chess24.com INT 2021}) 17. Nxf6+ gxf6 18. Rxd3 Bf5 19. Rxd8+ Nxd8 20. Rb2 Rc8 21. h4 Rc1+ 22. Kh2 Rb1 23. Rxb1 ({Or} 23. Rd2 Ne6 {with more or less even chances.}) 23... Bxb1 24. a3 Kf8 25. g4 Ne6 26. Kg3 Ke7 $6 ({ It was probably a little more accurate to play} 26... a6 27. Nd4 b5 {but So was still playing relatively fast, apparently not worried about Mamedyarov's winning chances.}) 27. Nd2 Bc2 28. f4 Nc5 29. Kf3 Nb3 30. Nxb3 Bxb3 {The position is objectively a draw, but Mamedyarov is having the kind of tournament where he feels it is okay to try to push a little more. Nevertheless, the needle on the evaluation bar never moved far from the 0.00 point.} 31. Ke4 Be6 32. Kd4 b6 33. e4 a5 34. e5 fxe5+ 35. Kxe5 f6+ 36. Kd4 Bd7 37. g5 fxg5 38. hxg5 hxg5 39. fxg5 b5 40. Kc5 b4 41. axb4 axb4 42. Bc4 Be6 43. Kxb4 Bxc4 44. Kxc4 Ke6 45. g6 Kf6 46. Kd4 Kxg6 47. Ke4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "9"] [White "Tari, Aryan"] [Black "Wang, Hao"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2663"] [BlackElo "2744"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,88,25,18,18,13,13,13,8,16,25,-10,1,-16,19,19,7,7,18,2,26,29,33,50,69, 8,-6,-4,5,-43,-33,-7,-23,-23,-31,-23,-23,-46,-39,-33,-45,-57,-62,-60,-89,-82, -75,-83,-21,-34,-34,-37,-34,-38,-99,-127,-13,-26,0,-45,0,0,0,0,41,42,27,-2,0,0, 0,-32,-11,-11,16,16,35,35,99,99,99,73,413,430,441,471,471,471,721,777,29993]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 5. c3 d6 6. a4 g5 $5 7. Qb3 $5 Qe7 8. a5 Bg7 ({Or} 8... a6 9. h3 Bg7 10. Nbd2 Nd7 11. g4 Nc5 12. Qc2 h5 13. Rg1 hxg4 14. hxg4 {as played in Chigaev,M (2588)-Sethuraman,S (2644) Chess.com INT 2020, when} Rh3 {would have given Black a nice plus.}) 9. Nbd2 Nd8 10. Nf1 c6 ({Or} 10... g4 11. Ng1 c6 12. Ne3 h5 13. Ne2 Bh6 14. O-O Be6 15. f4 gxf3 16. Rxf3 { with a clear advantage for White Santos Ruiz,M (2581)-Niemann,H (2478) Sitges 2020.}) 11. Ne3 Ng4 12. Nf1 $6 (12. d4 $1 {was the way to go for White.}) 12... f5 13. h4 f4 14. Qd1 $2 {A difficult to explain move. Now Black takes over the control of the game.} Be6 15. hxg5 hxg5 16. Rxh8+ Bxh8 17. Bxe6 Nxe6 18. Nh4 gxh4 19. Qxg4 O-O-O {We had to wait until move 19 to see the first king castle away from the center. When will it be White's turn $2 By the way, Black has a comfortable edge.} 20. Bd2 Kb8 21. b4 d5 22. Nh2 dxe4 23. dxe4 Qh7 ({Or} 23... Ng5 24. Qe2 c5 {with a clear advantage for Black.}) 24. O-O-O {Finally, the white king castles $1} Re8 25. Re1 $4 (25. Qf5 Qe7 {and the chances would have been about even.}) 25... c5 $1 26. Nf3 Qd7 27. Kb2 a6 28. Rc1 Rd8 $4 (28... Bf6 {would have kept Black's clear advantage}) 29. Be1 Qd6 30. Nxh4 cxb4 31. cxb4 Nd4 $6 (31... Bf6 {was again the way to go, keeping the game about balanced.}) 32. Nf5 Qe6 33. Qd1 ({Here, White should have played} 33. Qh3 {, although he was probably concerned about} f3 {, but White comes out on top after} 34. Nxd4 Qxh3 35. gxh3 Rxd4 36. Kb3 Rxe4 37. Bd2 {with an edge for White in the endgame. }) 33... Qg8 34. Nxd4 exd4 35. Qd3 Qxg2 36. Rc2 f3 $6 37. Bd2 Be5 $2 38. b5 axb5 39. Qxb5 Qg7 40. Rc5 $1 d3+ $4 {A decisive mistake.} ({After} 40... Bd6 41. Rd5 {, White would have been somewhat better but with heavy pieces and open kings on both sides of the board nothing would have been decided.}) 41. Rxe5 Rc8 42. Kb3 Qc7 43. a6 Qc2+ 44. Ka3 Rc7 {and Black resigned before he would get mated.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.05"] [Round "10"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2730"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "300"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 {The solid alternative to avoid the Berlin Wall Variation.} O-O 9. Nc3 Ne8 10. d4 (10. Nd5 {is the main line.}) 10... Bf6 11. Re1 d5 12. b3 {A specialty line that has almost exclusively been played in games featuring the French grandmaster.} c6 (12... Be6 13. Ba3 Nd6 14. Nb5 Be7 15. Nxd6 Bxd6 16. Bxd6 Qxd6 17. Re5 {with a small edge for White, Paravyan,D (2625)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2749) Krasnaya Polyana 2021.}) 13. Ba3 Nd6 14. Qf3 Be6 (14... Nf5 15. Bxf8 Nxd4 16. Qxf6 gxf6 17. Be7 Qc7 18. Bxf6 Ne6 {was played in Vachier Lagrave,M (2761)-Nakamura,H (2750) Chess.com INT 2022, and here} 19. Re3 { would have given White a clear advantage.}) 15. Qf4 Be7 16. Bd3 g6 (16... Ne8 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Re5 g6 19. Rae1 Ng7 20. Ne2 Rae8 21. Ng3 Qd6 {and Black has almost equalized, Vachier Lagrave,M (2751)-So,W (2772) Saint Louis 2021.}) 17. h4 Ne8 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 19. h5 {White has a strong initiative.} Qf6 $4 {A natural move but also a tactical blunder.} 20. Qxf6 Nxf6 21. hxg6 hxg6 22. Bxg6 { White has won a pawn. The rest is conducted with admirable precision on Vachier-Lagrave's part.} Kg7 23. Bd3 Rh8 24. f3 Rh4 25. Ne2 Ne8 26. Kf2 Nd6 27. Rh1 Rah8 28. Rxh4 Rxh4 29. g4 b6 30. Kg3 Rh8 31. Nf4 Bd7 32. Re1 Kf8 33. c4 dxc4 34. bxc4 Rg8 35. c5 bxc5 36. dxc5 Nb7 37. Re5 f6 38. Rh5 Rg5 39. Rh8+ Rg8 40. Rh6 Ke7 41. Bc4 Re8 42. Rh7+ Kd8 43. Rf7 Nxc5 44. Rxf6 Re3 45. Kf2 Rc3 46. Bg8 Rc2+ 47. Kg3 Rc3 48. Bh7 Ra3 49. g5 a5 50. Bb1 Ke7 51. Ng6+ Kd8 52. Ne5 Be8 53. g6 {and Black resigned.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "9"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2730"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 h6 7. Re1 O-O 8. Nbd2 a6 9. a4 Ne7 10. d4 (10. Nf1) 10... exd4 (10... Ba7 11. h3 Ng6 12. Bf1 c6 13. a5 Re8 14. Qc2 d5 15. exd5 exd4 16. Rxe8+ Qxe8 17. Nxd4 Nxd5 18. N2f3 {was played in Svidler,P (2714)-Mamedyarov,S (2770) chess24.com INT 2021, and here} c5 {would have equalized for Black.}) 11. Nb3 ({The natural recapture} 11. cxd4 {is okay for Black:} Ba7 (11... Bb4 $1 12. Re2 a5 {is fine for Black}) 12. h3 Nc6 13. d5 Nb4 14. Nf1 c6 15. Bd2 Bc5 16. Qb3 cxd5 17. exd5 a5 18. Ng3 Bd7 19. Bc3 {and White had the upper hand, Navara,D (2735)-Pashikian,A (2612) Gjakova 2016.}) 11... Ba7 12. Nbxd4 Ng6 13. Qc2 Re8 14. h3 c5 15. Nf5 Bxf5 16. exf5 Rxe1+ 17. Nxe1 Ne5 {Black has a comfortable position.} 18. Be2 Qe7 19. Bf4 Re8 20. Nf3 c4 21. Kf1 b5 22. axb5 axb5 23. b3 Nxf3 (23... Bc5 {gives Black a pleasant position although White, of course, is far from lost.}) 24. Bxf3 d5 25. bxc4 bxc4 26. g4 Bb8 27. Qc1 Qb7 28. Kg2 Bxf4 29. Qxf4 Qb2 30. Qc1 Rb8 31. Qxb2 Rxb2 32. Ra8+ Kh7 33. Rf8 Rb7 34. h4 g5 35. fxg6+ {and draw agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "11"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D78"] [WhiteElo "2864"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "112"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,92,48,23,14,-4,21,21,4,6,6,-1,11,11,3,1,-12,-18,3,11,11,2,-4,2,2,-6, -1,-27,-6,-36,-38,-32,-36,-26,-26,-6,-6,-7,-8,-8,-14,-20,-6,-30,-30,-15,-4,-23, 0,0,0,0,1,8,8,8,9,9,9,6,18,18,18,18,18,15,40,33,34,43,55,46,84,82,100,92,81,83, 112,107,109,109,109,128,128,128,133,39,110,122,102,100,118,113,159]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 c6 7. Nc3 {Perhaps a line that the world champion had prepared for his previous world championship match $2} dxc4 8. e4 Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 e5 {In the spirit of the Slav defense.} ({ Black held his own after} 10... Na6 11. e5 Nd5 12. Qe2 Nac7 13. h4 h5 14. a4 Qd7 15. Rd1 Rad8 16. Qxc4 Ne6 17. Nxd5 cxd5 18. Qb3 f5 19. a5 f4 {in the recent game Matlakov,M (2688)-Antipov,M (2596) Cheboksary 2021}) 11. dxe5 Nfd7 12. e6 {The only way to play for an advantage.} fxe6 13. Be3 Qe7 14. Bg2 Na6 15. Qe2 $146 {White comes first with a novelty, but the forcing play continues a bit.} ({The predecessor did not yield anything for White after} 15. f4 Nb6 16. a4 Rad8 17. Qe2 Bd4 18. Bxd4 Rxd4 19. a5 Nc8 20. Rfd1 Rfd8 21. Rxd4 Rxd4 22. Ra4 Qc5 {Abdala,H (2180)-Tugsavul,U (2365) ICCF email 2008}) 15... Nb4 { Best, the knight is heading to the d3-square.} ({There is no way to defend the pawn, for example} 15... b5 16. a4 Bxc3 17. axb5) 16. Qxc4 {Thanks to a little trick, Carlsen restores the material balance.} Nc2 17. Nd5 cxd5 $1 {So far Mamedayrov's play is perfect.} ({The more the symmetry is broken, the better the bishops become, therefore} 17... exd5 18. Qxc2 dxe4 19. Qb3+ {is simply bad for Black.}) 18. Qxc2 d4 19. Bd2 Rac8 20. Qb3 Nc5 21. Qa3 {Carlsen got what he wanted from the opening: a hefty bishop pair, and a somewhat better pawn structure. However, Mamedyarov too, cannot complain. His pieces are active and the d4-passer is getting perky.} Qd7 22. Rac1 {Before opening his light-squared bishop, White wants to have the rook out too.} ({The immediate} 22. e5 {can be met with} Qa4 (22... Bxe5 23. Rfe1 Bg7 24. Rac1 {is a bit better for White.}) 23. Qxa4 Nxa4 24. Bb4 Rf7 {and it is about equal.}) 22... b6 23. e5 $1 {Without this bishop, White cannot claim anything.} Bxe5 {More pieces on the board mean more trouble.} ({It was not too late for} 23... Qa4 $1 24. Qxa4 Nxa4 25. Bb4 Nc5 {as the e5-pawn is hanging, White needs to spend a tempo on} 26. f4 {but that allows} Nd3 27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. Ba3 Bf8 {and it is again equal.}) 24. Rfe1 Bg7 25. b4 Na4 26. Rxc8 Rxc8 27. Qb3 {Now the light squares are very, very sensitive and Mamedyarov needs to be extra cautious.} Nc3 $1 {Careful play $1} ({Black correctly avoids} 27... Re8 28. Rxe6 Rxe6 29. Bd5 Kf7 30. Bxe6+ Qxe6 31. Qxa4 {with a serious edge for the first player.}) ({ And he certainly needs not to allow} 27... Kf7 $2 28. Rxe6 $1) 28. Rxe6 Kh8 29. Kh2 Re8 {Trading some more.} (29... Rf8 30. f4 {is more difficult to defend.}) 30. Rxe8+ Qxe8 31. Qc4 {A few more pieces have been traded, but Mamedyarov's problems remained. The bishops dominate the board and the only one to risk losing is Black.} h6 {The king needs air.} (31... h5 $5) ({The other way to defend was to swap a pair of queenside pawns at once with} 31... b5 32. Qc7 Nxa2 33. Qxa7 Nc3) 32. a3 a5 33. bxa5 bxa5 34. Bf1 $1 {The bishop is needed for the kingside attack as quick as possible.} ({Carlsen avoids} 34. f4 a4 35. Bf3 Qf8) 34... Qf8 ({Here} 34... a4 {is not solving the problems as} 35. Kg1 Qf8 36. Bf4 {defends the pawn indirectly and} Qxa3 $2 {loses the game at once due to} 37. Qf7 Kh7 38. Bd3) 35. Kg2 Ne4 $1 {Mamedyarov trades the last pair of queenside pawns, while defending his kingside.} ({Again, there is no} 35... Qxa3 $2 {this time due to} 36. Qe6 g5 37. Bc4 ({Or the immediate} 37. h4 $1) 37... Qf8 38. h4 $1) 36. Be1 Qxa3 37. Bd3 ({This time} 37. Qe6 {is not yielding White anything due to} Nf6 $1) 37... Nd6 38. Qa6 Nf5 ({Or} 38... Kh7 39. Bxa5) 39. h4 h5 40. Bxa5 Kh7 {Many players would have agreed to a draw at this point, but not the world champion. He keeps grinding further, assisted by the arising time-trouble.} 41. Qb5 Qf8 42. Qd5 Qd6 43. Qf3 Qe5 {Missing a chance to force a draw at once.} ({The forcing line} 43... Qa3 $1 {and whenever the Ba5 retreats, Black's next move is the same} 44. Bb6 Ne3+ $1 { that forces the swap of the bishop pair, and draw becomes inevitable, say} 45. fxe3 Qxd3 46. exd4 Qc2+ 47. Qf2 Qc6+ 48. d5 Qxd5+ {and there is nothing to play for.}) 44. Bd8 Qe6 45. Qb7 Nd6 ({Safer was not to allow the pin at all with} 45... Nh6 46. Qb5 Nf5 {and it is passive and unpleasant for Black, but White does not seem to make progress.}) 46. Qc6 $1 {A very nasty pin in the time trouble.} Qb3 {And Mamedyarov succumbs to the pressure.} ({However, even with plenty of time on the clock, it is obviously too difficult to play under a pin with} 46... Be5 $1 47. Bc7 Kg7 {as} 48. f4 {seems crushing. However, there is} Bxf4 $1 49. gxf4 Qg4+ 50. Kf2 Qxf4+ 51. Qf3 Ne4+ $1 52. Bxe4 Qxc7 { and that would be a draw.}) ({Even a semi-waiting move like} 46... Bh8 $1 { would have likely held.}) 47. Bxg6+ $1 {Once again, Carlsen's grinding net him the decisive advantage.} Kxg6 48. Qxd6+ Kh7 49. Qd7 Kg6 50. Qc6+ Kf7 51. Qc5 Qb7+ 52. f3 Ke8 53. Bc7 Qb2+ 54. Kh3 d3 55. Qxh5+ Kd7 56. Qf7+ Kc6 {PLAY CHESS, NO WAR.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.06"] [Round "12"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A06"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,90,16,-25,7,-13,13,13,13,20,29,6,11,17,29,21,15,15,15,-19,26,14,12,12, 17,0,-10,-20,-7,-34,-11,-15,16,16,6,4,-1,8,14,-28,-36,-39,-26,-32,-21,0,-11,-5, -5,0,0,-6,10,10,23,17,52,0,21,0,14,0,17,-12,17,-21,-44,-58,0,0,0,0,0,-21,-18,0, 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-62,0,0,0]} 1. b3 d5 2. Bb2 c5 3. e3 a6 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Be2 $6 (5. d4 {is best.}) 5... Nf6 (5... d4 $1 {is already comfortable for Black.}) 6. O-O ({Once more,} 6. d4 {was the right move for White.}) 6... d4 $1 {Now, Black has a comfortable game.} 7. Re1 g6 8. exd4 cxd4 9. c3 dxc3 10. dxc3 Qxd1 11. Rxd1 {When you have to enter such a position as White in a must-win game, then you know things have already gone a bit awry. Black has a comfortable position.} Bg7 12. c4 O-O 13. Nbd2 Bf5 14. Nf1 Rfd8 ({Black also had} 14... Ne4 $1 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Ne3 Nc3 {and, if anything, Black has the better chances.}) 15. Ne3 (15. Ne5 Be4 {is about equal.}) 15... Nd7 (15... Ne4 $1 {was once more pleasant for Black.}) 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Nd4 ({White would have had a marginal plus after} 17. Nxf5+ gxf5 18. Nd4 Nxd4 19. Rxd4 Nc5 { but it does not look like a serious winning attempt.}) 17... Be4 $1 18. f3 Nc5 $1 19. Ndc2 $2 ({White was possibly surprised by Black's previous move and did not respond in the best possible way. After} 19. Nxc6 Bxc6 20. b4 Ne6 21. Kf2 { , I would prefer White, but objectively speaking, Black is completely okay.}) 19... Bxc2 20. Nxc2 a5 $1 {Now Black has a nice positional hold on the position; the control of the dark squares and the good knight on c5 vs miserable bishop on e2 imbalance makes Black's life rather comfortable.} 21. Kf2 $2 ({Giri is trying to create something out of nothing but only succeeds in making things worse. However, after} 21. Rd5 b6 22. Rad1 Rxd5 23. cxd5 Nb4 24. Nxb4 axb4 25. Rd2 Nb7 $1 {, White would not have had any chance of creating an advantage.}) 21... Rxd1 22. Rxd1 Nb4 23. Nxb4 axb4 24. Rd2 Kf6 ({Or } 24... e5 $1 25. Ke3 h5 {and Black is completely in control.}) 25. Ke3 e6 26. f4 Ke7 27. Bf3 Rd8 $1 {Anand had several better options available, but knew that Giri could not allow the exchange of rooks as that would guarantee Black at least a draw. With White having to sidestep the exchange, Black is comfortably better.} 28. Re2 $4 b6 ({Or} 28... Rd3+ 29. Kf2 f5 {with something similar to the game continuation.}) 29. g3 f5 30. Bg2 h6 31. Bf3 g5 {Black has a decisive advantage but is not really interesting in winning because a draw suffices to win the armageddon due to Black's draw odds.} 32. h4 Rd3+ 33. Kf2 g4 $5 ({Black is easily winning after} 33... gxf4 34. gxf4 Rc3 {, threatening . ..Nd3+. The text move tells White \"you will never be able to break through and even if I could win, I will not even try, just to demonstrate that you can do nothing.\"}) 34. Bg2 Rc3 35. Rd2 Rd3 36. Rc2 Rd1 37. Re2 Nd3+ 38. Ke3 Nc5 39. Ba8 Rd8 40. Bc6 Rd6 41. Bh1 Rd1 42. Bg2 Rd3+ 43. Kf2 Rd1 44. Rc2 Rd3 45. Re2 Rd1 {and draw agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "11"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. Nc3 g6 7. h4 $5 h6 $6 ( {Black does not really need to play this pawn push, for instance,} 7... Bg7 8. h5 Bf5 9. h6 Bf6 10. O-O O-O 11. Nxd5 Qxd5 12. d3 Qd7 13. Be3 b6 {was excellent for Black in Caruana,F (2791)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2766) Chess.com INT 2021.}) 8. O-O Bg7 9. d3 Be6 10. Bd2 Rc8 11. Rc1 b6 12. a3 O-O 13. Nxd5 Bxd5 14. b4 cxb4 ({Or} 14... Nd4 15. Nxd4 Bxg2 16. Ne6 Qd7 17. Kxg2 Qxe6 18. bxc5 Rxc5 19. Rxc5 bxc5 20. Be3 c4 21. dxc4 Qxc4 {with more or less equal chances in Artemiev,V (2704)-Carlsen,M (2847) chess24.com INT 2021.}) 15. axb4 Bxf3 ({ A novelty. The only prior game saw} 15... e5 16. Re1 (16. Qa4 $5) 16... e4 17. dxe4 Bxe4 18. b5 Bxf3 19. Bxf3 Nd4 {and Blcak had equalized in Uhlmann,W (2575) -Adamski,J (2470) Bucharest 1978.}) 16. Bxf3 Nd4 17. Be4 Rxc1 18. Bxc1 Qd6 19. Bd2 Rc8 $6 (19... Qe6 $5 20. e3 Nb3 {, intending ...a7-a5 was completely fine for Black.}) 20. e3 Nb5 21. h5 g5 22. Qa4 $6 (22. d4 $5) 22... Nc3 $6 ({ Black could possibly have been doing better with} 22... Qe5 $1 23. Bf3 Qf5 { and White has nothing better than to repeat moves.}) 23. Bxc3 Bxc3 24. Qxa7 ( 24. b5 Ba5 25. Rb1 {may have been marginally better for White.}) 24... Bxb4 25. Rb1 Ba5 26. d4 Kg7 27. Qa6 Qe6 28. Bd3 Qc6 29. Bf5 Rc7 30. Qe2 Qd5 31. Bd3 Rc3 32. Rd1 Bb4 33. Qb2 Qb3 34. Qe2 Qd5 35. Qb2 Qb3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.06"] [Round "12"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2753"] [BlackElo "2730"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5 9. Be2 Bb7 ({As far as I can see, the only game in this variation involving Radjabov since the early 2000s went} 9... Nbd7 10. e5 Nd5 11. O-O Bb7 12. Nxd5 cxd5 13. Ne1 Qb6 14. Bh5 Be7 15. f4 {with a clear advantage for White, Radjabov,T (2765)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2778) Chess.com INT 2020.}) 10. e5 ({ For those not old enough to remember, Topalov played an amazing idea in 2008:} 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Ne5 Bg7 12. Nxf7 Kxf7 13. e5 Nd5 14. Ne4 Ke7 15. Nd6 Qb6 16. Bg4 Raf8 17. Qc2 Qxd4 18. Qg6 Qxg4 19. Qxg7+ Kd8 20. Nxb7+ Kc8 21. a4 b4 22. Rac1 c3 23. bxc3 b3 24. c4 Rfg8 25. Nd6+ Kc7 26. Qf7 Rf8 27. cxd5 Rxf7 28. Rxc6+ Kb8 29. Nxf7 Re8 30. Nd6 Rh8 31. Rc4 Qe2 32. dxe6 Nb6 33. Rb4 Ka8 34. e7 Nd5 35. Rxb3 Nxe7 36. Rfb1 Nd5 37. h3 h5 38. Nf7 Rc8 39. e6 a6 40. Nxg5 h4 41. Bd6 Rg8 42. R3b2 Qd3 43. e7 Nf6 44. Be5 Nd7 45. Ne6 {and Black resigned, 1-0, Topalov,V (2780)-Kramnik,V (2795) Wijk aan Zee 2008.}) (10. h4 g4 11. Ne5) 10... Nh5 ({This move has fallen out of favor on account of the alternative on White's next move. Nowadays, Black prefers} 10... Nd5 $5 {with chances to both sides.}) 11. a4 ({White should have played} 11. Nxg5 Nxg3 12. Nxf7 Kxf7 13. fxg3 Kg8 14. O-O Nd7 15. Bg4 Rh7 16. Bxe6+ {with a sharp position and somewhat better chances for White.}) 11... a6 (11... Nd7 $5 {improves.}) 12. Qc2 ({ A bad move $1 Once more, White should have played} 12. Nxg5 $1 Nxg3 13. Nxf7 Kxf7 14. fxg3 Kg8 15. O-O Nd7 16. Bg4 Qe7 17. Ne4 Rh7 18. Nd6 Rb8 19. b4 $2 ({ White could have played} 19. axb5 $1 axb5 20. Ra7 {and Black would have been utterly busted}) 19... h5 20. Bh3 Bh6 21. Kh1 {was played in Kramnik,V (2770) -Anand,V (2765) Belgrade 1997, and here} Nf8 $1 {would have left Black much better.}) 12... Nd7 {Now White is essentially a pawn down without any compensation. Things only go downhill from here.} 13. Rd1 Qb6 14. O-O Nxg3 15. hxg3 Be7 16. Rfe1 O-O-O 17. b3 cxb3 $6 (17... b4 $1 18. Ne4 c3 {is even stronger.}) 18. Qxb3 Kb8 $6 (18... g4 $1) 19. axb5 cxb5 20. Bf1 $4 (20. Nxb5 $1 axb5 21. Bxb5 {was White's only chance.}) 20... g4 21. Nh4 Rc8 {Now, Black is completely winning.} 22. d5 Bxh4 23. gxh4 g3 24. Rd2 gxf2+ 25. Rxf2 Qd4 26. Ne2 Qxd5 27. Qb2 Qc5 28. Nd4 Nb6 29. Nb3 Qc3 30. Qb1 Rc7 31. Rc1 Qxe5 32. Rxc7 Qxc7 33. Rc2 Qe5 34. Nc5 Qd4+ 35. Kh2 Qxh4+ 36. Kg1 Qd4+ 37. Kh2 Qh4+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "11"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E36"] [WhiteElo "2753"] [BlackElo "2730"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,62,45,38,38,6,9,6,31,-2,-2,-3,3,1,4,4,21,21,21,19,19,8,15,0,24,-24,14, 13,13,16,16,16,16,-16,-7,0,0,0,0,-1,-1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 O-O 7. Nf3 dxc4 8. Qxc4 b6 9. Bg5 Bb7 10. Rd1 Nbd7 11. Ne5 h6 12. Bh4 c5 13. Nxd7 Qxd7 14. Bxf6 ({For those willing to play chess, there is still the option of playing} 14. dxc5 {, although Black equalizes after} Qc7 15. f3 Rfd8 16. Rc1 Rac8 17. b4 a5 18. b5 Bd5 19. Qc3 Qxc5 20. Qxc5 Rxc5 21. Rxc5 bxc5 22. e4 Bb3 23. Be2 c4 24. e5 g5 25. Bxg5 hxg5 26. exf6 Rb8 {as in Podgursky,A (2487)-Hall, M (2594) ICCF email 2020.}) 14... gxf6 15. dxc5 Qc7 16. h4 Rfd8 17. Rxd8+ Rxd8 18. Rh3 Rd5 (18... Bd5 $2 19. Qc1 Kh7 20. Rc3 bxc5 21. Rxc5 Qh2 22. Qe3 (22. Qc3 $1) 22... Qxh4 23. Rc7 Kg6 24. Rxa7 (24. Qxa7 $1) 24... Rc8 25. g3 Qc4 { and Black had equalized, Yu Yangyi (2763)-Vitiugov,$146 (2732) Khanty-Mansiysk 2019.}) 19. Rg3+ Kf8 20. Rc3 Rxc5 21. Qb4 Kg7 ({Two alternatives:} 21... f5 22. Rxc5 Qxc5 23. Qxc5+ bxc5 24. e3 a5 25. Kd2 Ke7 26. Kc3 Kd6 27. Kb3 Kc7 28. g3 Kb6 29. Be2 Bd5+ 30. Kc3 Kc7 31. Bh5 f6 32. Bd1 Kd6 33. Bc2 {and draw agreed, 1/2-1/2, in Indjic,A (2628)-Tomashevsky,E (2718) Mali Losinj 2019.}) (21... a5 22. Rxc5 bxc5 23. Qc3 Kg7 24. e3 Qb6 25. g3 Bd5 26. Be2 Bb3 27. g4 e5 28. g5 hxg5 29. hxg5 fxg5 30. Qxe5+ f6 31. Qe7+ Kg8 32. Qe8+ Kg7 33. Qe7+ Kg8 34. Qe8+ Kg7 35. Qe7+ {with a draw by repetition, 1/2-1/2, Dreev,A (2662)-Gelfand,B (2686) Douglas 2019.}) 22. Rxc5 bxc5 23. Qc3 Qh2 24. Qxc5 Bxg2 25. Bxg2 Qxg2 26. Qxa7 Qh1+ 27. Kd2 Qd5+ 28. Kc3 Qc6+ 29. Kd2 Qd5+ 30. Kc3 Qc6+ 31. Kd2 Qd5+ {with a draw by repetition. All of this had been played a couple of times before, including Yu Yangyi-Ding Liren, Khanty-Mansiysk 2019.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.06"] [Round "12"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Tari, Aryan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D33"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2663"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5 9. Nb3 Bb6 {The Dubov Variation or rather the move that Dubov resurrected as it actually was played way back in the early days of the opening.} 10. Nxd5 $6 {Not the critical line, but seen in other grandmaster games.} Be6 11. e4 Bg4 12. Qd2 $6 ({An inaccurate move. White should have played} 12. Bf3 Bxf3 13. Qxf3 Nxd5 14. exd5 Ne5 15. Qe4 O-O 16. O-O Re8 17. Bd2 Nd7 18. Qf3 Nf6 19. Rad1 Qxd5 20. Qxd5 Nxd5 {and Black had equalized in Kobalia,M (2587)-Dreev,A (2647) Tornelo INT 2021.}) 12... Nxd5 13. exd5 $2 ({ A further mistake by So. He should have played} 13. Qxd5 {when} Be6 14. Qxd8+ Rxd8 {gives Black a small edge. However, White had to win and therefore decided to keep the queens on the board.}) 13... Qe7+ 14. Kf1 O-O-O $2 ({ Flashy and not the best. Black would have been clearly better after} 14... O-O 15. h3 (15. dxc6 $4 Rad8 {wins for Black}) 15... Bh5 16. d6 Qe6 17. Kg1 Ne5 { and Black has the clearly better chances.}) 15. h3 $6 ({White should have played} 15. Kg1 Be6 16. dxc6 Rxd2 17. cxb7+ Kb8 18. Bxd2 g5 {with approximately equal chances.}) 15... Bf5 $4 ({Black's best option was} 15... Be6 16. Qe1 Bxd5 17. Qxe7 Nxe7 18. Bxd5 Rxd5 19. Kg2 Rhd8 {and Black should never lose, in fact, he is slightly better.}) 16. dxc6 $4 ({Wow $1 What a crazy gamble. White is much better after} 16. Qf4 $1 Bg6 17. Qg4+ f5 18. Qf3 Ne5 19. Qc3+ {.}) 16... Rxd2 $2 ({Obvious, but also not the best. Black would have been completely winning after} 16... bxc6 $1 17. Kg1 Rxd2 18. Bxd2 Qe2 19. Kh2 Bxf2 {.}) 17. cxb7+ Kb8 18. Bxd2 a6 $4 ({No, no, no, no, no $1 Black should have played} 18... Be4 {, for instance,} 19. Bf4+ Kxb7 20. Re1 Bxg2+ 21. Kxg2 Qd7 {gives Black a large advantage.}) 19. Re1 Qf6 20. Kg1 {Now Black is lost. The rest of the game is Black trying to come up with a swindle and White avoiding Black's attempts while also including several curious repetition of moves.} Be6 21. Kh2 Ka7 22. Bc3 Qxf2 23. Rhf1 Qc2 24. Nd4 Bxd4 25. Bxd4+ Kb8 26. Be5+ Ka7 27. Bd4+ Kb8 28. Rxe6 fxe6 29. Be5+ Ka7 30. Bd4+ Kb8 31. Bxg7 Re8 32. Be5+ Ka7 33. Bd4+ Kb8 34. Be5+ Ka7 35. Rf7 Kb6 36. b8=Q+ Rxb8 37. Bxb8 a5 38. Be5 a4 39. Rb7+ Ka6 40. a3 Qe2 41. Bd4 e5 42. Re7 h5 43. Re6+ 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "11"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Tari, Aryan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2663"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "161"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,161,61,25,25,10,0,17,22,17,12,7,14,11,65,-24,-1,-22,22,-8,-15,-34,6, -8,0,-20,14,-4,-4,-4,9,-4,9,9,23,14,9,0,6,-5,-7,-3,7,13,1,0,-5,-25,-20,-32,-22, -32,-13,-57,10,15,24,-4,5,0,22,14,20,19,13,-35,-15,-22,-17,-18,14,-30,10,-48, -31,-41,-53,-55,-24,-2,-3,-63,-73,-28,-19,-19,-17,0,0,0,79,63,63,39,74,81,70, 68,74,77,68,68,68,68,68,64,64,47,47,47,68,42,68,68,68,68,68,29,29,37,29,28,34, 26,26,22,26,22,22,42,42,25,31,33,31,33,31,32,25,25,57,44,40,40,40,40,44,44,44, 49,47,49,40,40,40,40,40,40,40,32,31,0,1,-1]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 a5 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 h6 9. Nbd2 Be6 10. Bb5 Bb6 11. Nc4 Bc5 12. Ncd2 Bb6 13. a4 Na7 14. Bc4 Nc6 15. Bb5 Na7 16. Bc4 Nc6 17. Bxe6 ({Or} 17. b3 d5 $5 18. exd5 Nxd5 19. Bb2 {was played in Paramzina,A (2260)-Girya,O (2402) Khanty-Mansiysk 2021, and now} (19. Ne4 {would have kept the chances even.}) 19... Nf4 $1 20. Bxe6 fxe6 {would have given Black a clear advantage.}) 17... fxe6 18. Nc4 Ba7 ({A novelty. Previously, Black had played} 18... Bc5 19. d4 exd4 20. e5 $2 dxe5 21. Ncxe5 dxc3 22. Qxd8 Nxd8 {was rather prematurely scored as a win for Black, 0-1, in Quintero,D (2288)-Costa Trillo,V (2346) ICCF email 2018.}) 19. Be3 Bxe3 20. Rxe3 Qd7 21. Qb3 b6 22. Rae1 Rf7 23. g3 Raf8 24. Kg2 Qd8 25. Ncd2 Qd7 26. R1e2 Nh7 27. Qb5 Na7 28. Qb3 Nc6 29. Qb5 Na7 30. Qxd7 Rxd7 31. Nc4 Nf6 32. Na3 Rdf7 33. Nb5 Nxb5 34. axb5 g5 35. Rc2 Kg7 36. b4 axb4 37. cxb4 g4 {If anything Black is better at this point.} 38. Nh2 h5 39. hxg4 hxg4 40. Ra2 Kg6 41. Re1 Rh7 42. Ra7 Rfh8 43. Nf1 Rf8 44. Rc1 d5 45. Ne3 dxe4 46. dxe4 Nxe4 47. Nxg4 Kg5 48. f3 Rd8 49. Rc2 Nd6 $6 ({It was simpler to play} 49... Rhd7 $1 50. Raa2 Rd2+ 51. Rxd2 Rxd2+ 52. Rxd2 Nxd2 53. Nxe5 Kf5 { and Black will not lose.}) 50. Rcxc7 ({White's best chance was} 50. Nxe5 Nxb5 51. Ra1 Nd4 52. Rc4 {but this too should be completely okay for Black.}) 50... Rxc7 51. Rxc7 e4 52. Rg7+ Kf5 53. f4 Nf7 54. Kh2 Rh8+ 55. Kg1 Rd8 56. Kg2 Rc8 57. Kg1 Rd8 58. Kf2 Rd2+ 59. Ke3 Rd3+ 60. Ke2 Rb3 61. Rxf7+ Kxg4 62. Rg7+ Kf5 63. Rg5+ Kf6 64. Kf2 Rf3+ 65. Kg2 Rb3 66. Kf2 Rf3+ 67. Kg2 Rb3 68. Re5 Rxb4 69. g4 e3 70. g5+ Kf7 71. Kf3 e2 72. Rxe2 Rxb5 73. Rh2 Rb1 74. Rh7+ Kg6 75. Rh6+ Kf7 76. Rh7+ Kg6 77. Re7 Re1 78. Rb7 Rf1+ 79. Kg3 Rb1 80. Rb8 e5 $1 81. fxe5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.06"] [Round "12"] [White "Wang, Hao"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A48"] [WhiteElo "2744"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3 d6 5. h3 c5 6. c3 Qb6 7. Qc1 O-O 8. Be2 $6 Bf5 $6 ({A reasonable move, but Black had the much stronger} 8... cxd4 $1 9. exd4 e5 $1 10. dxe5 Nd5 {available, for instance,} 11. Bh6 dxe5 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. Nxe5 Re8 14. c4 Nb4 15. Qc3 f6 16. Ng4 Bf5 17. Ne3 Rxe3 18. fxe3 Nc2+ 19. Kf2 Na6 {and Black was much better in Andrianov,$146 (2315)-Lu,M (2343) New York 2022.}) 9. Nbd2 cxd4 10. exd4 Nd5 11. Bh2 Nc6 $6 (11... Bh6 $5 {is thematic and quite pleasant for Black.}) 12. O-O Rac8 13. Nc4 Qc7 14. Ne3 $6 ( 14. a4 {was the way to go for White.}) 14... Nxe3 15. Qxe3 Qb6 16. Nh4 Bd7 17. Qd2 e5 $1 {Black takes the initiative.} 18. dxe5 Nxe5 19. Nf3 Be6 $2 (19... Bb5 {is perfectly fine for Black. The text move less so.}) 20. Rfd1 $6 ({White could have claimed an edge with} 20. Bf4 Rfd8 21. Be3 {.}) 20... Bc4 21. Nd4 Bxe2 22. Qxe2 Rfe8 23. Qb5 Qc7 24. Re1 a6 25. Qa4 Qc4 {Now, Black is completely fine. White's best would have been to exchange queens, but then the hopes of winning for White would vanish faster than a fart on a windy day.} 26. Qa3 $2 Nd3 27. Rxe8+ Rxe8 28. Bg3 Be5 ({Or} 28... d5 29. Rd1 Bf6 {and Black is in control.}) 29. Rd1 Bxg3 (29... Nc5 $5) 30. fxg3 Nc5 (30... h5 $5) 31. g4 $2 ({White should have played} 31. Qa5 {even if} Ne4 32. g4 Nc5 {is fine for Black.}) 31... Qd5 32. Qb4 $4 Re2 $1 ({White resigned due to the threat of mate on g2 as well as} 32... Re2 33. Nxe2 Qxd1+ 34. Kf2 Nd3+ {, winning White's queen.}) 0-1 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "11"] [White "Wang, Hao"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2744"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,37,46,45,46,61,80,60,48,32,27,42,55,29,32,13,30,10,38,40,21,27,34,-10, 1,-10,25,14,14,18,24,16,19,29,41,53,39,27,39,11]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f4 b5 9. fxe5 $6 {Totally unambitious and allowing Black to equalize without any problems.} dxe5 10. Qxd8+ Kxd8 11. Be3 Nbd7 12. O-O-O Rc8 {In the confessional booth, the Frenchman posed the question, what he intended to do if White now had played 13.Bd3.} 13. Bb6+ ({The answer was} 13. Bd3 Rxc3 14. bxc3 Ba3+ 15. Kb1 Ke7 { and Black has excellent compensation for the exchange.}) 13... Ke8 14. Ba5 { Wang Hao discourages Black from sacrificing on c3 as he can recapture with the bishop. However, almost needless to say, Black has no problems at this point.} Nc5 15. Nxc5 Bxc5 16. Be2 h5 17. Kb1 Ke7 18. Rhe1 Bf2 ({The invitation to a draw. If Black had played for a win, then} 18... Bd6 {would have been a good choice.}) 19. Bb4+ Bc5 20. Ba5 Bf2 21. Bb4+ Bc5 22. Ba5 {with a draw by repetition.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.07"] [Round "14"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2753"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Bg5 {In my childhood opening manual, it was indicated that this type of move should be played with caution as the bishop could easily get stuck on g3 (after ...h7-h6 and ... g7-g5) and never return to play. It was illustrated by a game by Capablanca as Black (bonus points for the first who identifies the game in the comment section below this report). However, nowadays the line is becoming increasingly popular, being played by a number of top players.} h6 7. Bh4 a5 ({ A Giri/Vidit specialty. The main line is unsurprisingly} 7... g5 {but in this particular position it is not the best.}) 8. Nbd2 Ba7 9. O-O g5 10. Bg3 O-O 11. Re1 ({White can also play} 11. a3 Nh7 12. h3 ({or} 12. Kh1 Kh8 13. b4 h5 14. b5 Ne7 15. Bxe5+ dxe5 16. Nxe5 Kg7 {is messy but okay for Black as in Adhiban,B (2672)-Vidit,S (2727) Kolkata 2021.}) 12... h5 13. d4 g4 14. hxg4 hxg4 15. Bh4 Qd7 16. Nh2 exd4 {and Black was already doing fine in Praggnanandhaa,R (2612) -Ding,L (2799) chess24.com INT 2022.}) 11... Nh7 12. h3 ({Or} 12. Nf1 h5 13. h3 h4 14. Bh2 g4 15. hxg4 Bxg4 16. Ne3 Bxe3 17. Rxe3 {as played in Demchenko,A (2610)-Bodnar,$146 (2434) Chess.com INT 2021, when} Qf6 {would have been best.} ) 12... h5 13. d4 $1 Qf6 14. Bb5 h4 15. Bh2 g4 16. hxg4 Bxg4 17. Bxc6 $1 bxc6 18. Qa4 h3 19. Bg3 $2 ({A serious mistake. White should have played} 19. Qxc6 Qg6 20. Bg3 Qh5 21. Qxc7 hxg2 22. Kxg2 Bh3+ 23. Kg1 f6 {with chances for both sides.}) 19... Qh6 $1 20. gxh3 Qxh3 (20... Bxh3 $5 {could also be considered.}) 21. Re3 Bd7 $4 {Nooooo $1} ({Black would have kept a strong initiative and better chances with} 21... f6 22. Qxc6 Kh8 23. Nh4 Bh5 24. Nf5 Rg8 {.}) 22. Nxe5 $1 {BOOM $1 This sacrifice destroys everything Black has been building. The game is quickly over.} dxe5 23. Bxe5 Qh5 24. Rg3+ Bg4 25. Qd1 {and Black resigned.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "13"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2753"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O a5 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 h6 9. d4 Ba7 10. Bb3 Re8 11. Bc2 {Now the play starts resembling a Ruy Lopez, albeit one where Black has played the odd ...a5 and put the bishop on a7.} Bd7 12. a3 Nh7 ({Or} 12... b5 13. Be3 a4 14. Nbd2 Na5 15. Kh2 Qb8 16. Nh4 c5 17. d5 Qd8 18. g3 c4 {and Black had equalized in Melia,S (2404)-Muzychuk,M (2540) Caleta 2018.}) 13. Be3 Qf6 14. Ba4 Ng5 $6 ({Black should have given preference to} 14... Nf8 {when White would only be marginally better.}) 15. Nxg5 hxg5 16. d5 Nb8 17. Bxa7 (17. Qb3 {is quite pleasant for White.}) 17... Rxa7 18. c4 $6 ( 18. Re3 $5) 18... Bxa4 19. Qxa4 Qe7 20. Nc3 Nd7 21. b4 Rea8 {White has more space but Black's position is solid and without any apparent weaknesses.} 22. Nb5 Ra6 $1 {Had it not been for this tactical resource, Black would have been in trouble.} 23. Qd1 (23. Nxc7 $4 Nb6 {wins for Black.}) 23... Nf6 24. Rb1 axb4 25. axb4 Ra2 26. Re2 Rxe2 {I'm a little surprised by this decision as the exchange of rooks only seems to favor White.} ({After} 26... R2a6 {, Black would have no problems.}) 27. Qxe2 Qd7 28. Nc3 ({Or} 28. c5 Nxe4 29. Nxc7 Qxc7 30. Qxe4 dxc5 31. bxc5 Qxc5 32. Qxe5 {with equal chances.}) 28... g4 29. h4 g6 30. g3 Kg7 31. c5 c6 32. Rd1 dxc5 33. bxc5 Qc7 34. Qb2 ({White should not get tempted to play} 34. d6 $2 {as} Qa5 $1 {followed by ...Nd7 is much better for Black.}) 34... Nd7 35. Qb4 cxd5 36. exd5 Qxc5 37. Qxb7 ({Or} 37. Qxg4 Qxc3 38. Qxd7 Qf3 39. Rf1 Ra2 40. Qxb7 Rd2 {with equal chances.}) 37... Ra7 38. Qc6 Rc7 39. Qxc5 Rxc5 40. Ne4 Rc4 41. Nd6 Rd4 42. Rxd4 exd4 {and draw agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "13"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E94"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2761"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "133"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,120,19,31,25,-16,57,30,37,32,37,33,39,29,48,31,35,35,39,47,75,28,42, 49,-5,6,31,38,38,38,32,32,9,-21,8,8,15,0,0,21,23,24,33,33,22,36,37,37,46,52,49, 71,83,84,74,81,84,72,56,35,52,35,46,42,38,36,40,50,50,50,50,50,49,48,50,50,50, 50,50,50,55,48,72,50,55,41,55,26,39,39,62,55,55,55,55,55,55,55,55,55,64,53,53, 53,53,55,85,80,93,95,93,86,79,59,91,71,129,83,84,82,256,167,181]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O exd4 8. Nxd4 Re8 9. f3 c6 10. Kh1 d5 11. exd5 cxd5 12. Bg5 Nc6 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Bb5 Re6 { This position has been reached in several grandmaster games. White has very little, but apparently enough for White to give it a shot.} 16. Bc4 Bb7 17. Bb3 Qa5 ({In the World Rapid and Bltz Championship in Warsaw last year, Black tried } 17... Re5 18. Bf4 Rf5 19. Be3 Rh5 20. Ne2 Ba6 21. Re1 {as seen in Duda,J (2760)-Chigaev,M (2632) Warsaw 2021, and now} Qd6 {would have given Black something close to equality.}) 18. Qd2 Rae8 19. Nxd5 Qxd2 20. Nxf6+ Bxf6 21. Bxd2 Re2 22. Bc3 Bxc3 23. bxc3 a5 {White has won a pawn, but given the activity of Black's pieces, Black should have sufficient compensation.} 24. Kg1 Bc8 25. Rf2 Re1+ 26. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 27. Rf1 Re2 28. Rc1 Be6 29. c4 {White has made a little progress, but a draw is still the likely result.} Rb2 30. Rc3 Kf8 31. a3 Ke7 32. Ba4 Kd6 33. c5+ Kc7 34. h3 h5 35. Kh2 h4 36. Re3 Ra2 37. Bb5 Rc2 38. Re5 Rc3 39. a4 Rb3 40. Kg1 Rc3 (40... Rb2 $1) 41. Kh2 Rb3 42. Be8 Kd8 43. Bc6 Rb4 44. Bb5 Rd4 45. Kg1 Kc7 46. Kf2 Rb4 {Black has managed to build a perfect set-up, not allowing White to make any progress .} 47. Re2 Rb3 48. Rc2 Ra3 49. Re2 Rc3 $6 {Black gets sloppy.} ({After} 49... Rb3 50. Re4 Rb2+ 51. Kg1 Rb1+ 52. Kh2 Rb4 {, Black would have been fine. Now White exchanges the c-pawn for Black's h-pawn.}) 50. Re4 Rxc5 51. Rxh4 Rc2+ 52. Kg3 Kd6 $2 ({The rook ending after} 52... Bd7 53. Bxd7 Kxd7 {should be a draw. After the text move, however, Black gets himself in even bigger trouble.}) 53. Rh8 Kc5 54. Rb8 Rb2 55. h4 Bd5 56. Rf8 $2 (56. Rd8 $1 {was better}) 56... Rb4 $2 {Black misses his chance.} ( 56... Kd6 {was necessary.}) 57. Rc8+ $4 (57. Rd8 Bb3 58. Be8 {was the way to go for White.}) 57... Kb6 $4 (57... Kd6 {would have been defensible for Black.} ) 58. Rd8 (58. Be8 $1 {wins.}) 58... Kc5 59. Rd7 Rxb5 $4 {Total desperation. Now, Black loses in simple fashion.} 60. axb5 Bc4 61. Kf4 a4 62. g4 Bxb5 63. Rxf7 a3 64. Re7 Bd3 65. Ra7 Kb4 66. h5 gxh5 67. gxh5 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.07"] [Round "14"] [White "Tari, Aryan"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B00"] [WhiteElo "2663"] [BlackElo "2864"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "300"] {[%evp 0,73,30,14,81,75,60,61,84,57,70,70,50,44,72,31,54,59,50,60,35,12,34,-6, 23,-18,-24,-21,-18,-9,4,7,70,70,74,-35,-23,-9,30,41,15,15,15,15,32,17,18,12,27, 22,24,35,36,51,66,68,85,47,53,43,48,63,61,61,82,59,93,67,156,144,666,1063,1183, 1276,1680,29984]} 1. e4 b6 2. d4 Bb7 3. Nc3 d6 4. f4 Nd7 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bd3 c5 7. O-O cxd4 8. Nxd4 Ngf6 ({Or} 8... a6 {, right away.}) 9. Qe2 a6 10. a4 $6 ({ White could have played} 10. e5 dxe5 11. Nxe6 fxe6 12. fxe5 Bc5+ 13. Kh1 Nxe5 14. Qxe5 {and White has a clear advantage.}) 10... Be7 11. Bd2 O-O 12. Kh1 Nc5 {Now we have essentially reached a position from the Paulsen/Kan Sicilian where Black has a comfortable position. Carlsen must have been satisfied at this point.} 13. Rae1 d5 $2 {Very premature and completely unnecessary.} (13... Rc8 {followed by ...Re8 would have been pleasant for Black, then ...d6-d5 can come later.}) 14. e5 Nfe4 15. f5 {This is beginning to look a bit unpleasant for Black.} Bg5 $2 16. Bxg5 $6 ({White could have gained a sizeable advantage with} 16. Bxe4 dxe4 17. Bxg5 Qxg5 18. b4 Nd7 19. Nxe4 Qh4 20. Nd6 {and White is clearly better.}) 16... Qxg5 17. Rf3 $2 {Another inaccurate move.} ({After} 17. Nxe4 dxe4 18. Bc4 a5 {, White would have been a tiny bit better.}) 17... exf5 $1 18. Rxf5 Qh6 $2 {The wrong square for the queen.} (18... Qe7 {would have been about equal.}) 19. Rh5 Qg6 20. Nf5 Rae8 21. Bxe4 dxe4 22. Nd6 Rxe5 { Unnecessary but already feeling the pressure of the clock, Carlsen tries to change the situation on the board where his pieces can become more active.} ( 22... Re7 {was solid, reasonable and slightly better for White.}) 23. Rxe5 Qxd6 24. Rf5 g6 25. Rd1 $1 {Now White is clearly better.} Qe6 26. Rff1 Qe5 $6 (26... Bc6 {was relatively best but White is obviously better.}) 27. Qe3 $1 a5 28. Kg1 Re8 29. Rf2 (29. Qd4 $5) 29... f5 30. g3 Kg7 31. Nb5 Re7 32. b3 Ne6 33. Nd6 ( 33. Nd4 {is simple and good.}) 33... Ba6 $2 (33... Qc5 {would have limited White's advantage but is also joyless for Black.}) 34. c4 Nc5 $4 (34... Bb7 { was necessary.}) 35. Nxf5+ $1 {BOOM $1 White wins on the spot after this neat little combination.} gxf5 36. Qg5+ Kh8 37. Rxf5 {and Black resigned before he would get mated.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "13"] [White "Tari, Aryan"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C47"] [WhiteElo "2663"] [BlackElo "2864"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. Bd2 O-O 9. O-O Rb8 ({In the confessional booth, Magnus was explaining that he was trying to avoid the forced lines that arose in his game against Wesley So a few years ago:} 9... Bxc3 10. Bxc3 dxe4 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Bxe4 Qxb2 13. Bxc6 Rb8 14. Rb1 Qxb1 15. Qxb1 Rxb1 16. Rxb1 Rd8 17. Bf3 Kf8 18. Rb8 Re8 {and the endgame is completely equal, So,W (2765)-Carlsen,M (2872) Wijk aan Zee 2020.}) 10. Re1 Re8 11. h3 Be6 $6 {Labelled by Carlsen as a \"crazy move,\" forcing Tari to start thinking on his own.} ({Black could easily equalize with} 11... dxe4 12. Nxe4 ({or} 12. Bxe4 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 Bxd2 14. Qxd2 Bf5 15. Qf4 Bxe4 16. Rxe4 Rxe4 17. Qxe4 Rxb2 18. Qxc6 {and draw agreed, 1/2-1/2, Binas,J (2328) -Adams,J (2329) ICCF email 2016.}) 12... Nxe4 13. Bxb4 Nxf2 14. Rxe8+ Qxe8 15. Qe1 Qxe1+ 16. Rxe1 Be6 17. Kxf2 Rxb4 {and Black had a pleasant position in Shahinyan,D (2460) -Alaverdyan,G (2281) Yerevan 2021.}) 12. b3 Nd7 13. exd5 cxd5 14. Qf3 ({Or} 14. Nb5 Bxd2 15. Qxd2 Nc5 16. Nd4 Qd6 {and White is a little better, but Black should be okay.}) 14... Nc5 15. Re2 c6 16. Rae1 g6 17. Nb1 Bxd2 18. Nxd2 Qg5 19. c3 $6 {The beginning of a wrong plan.} (19. Nf1 { is simpler with approximately equal chances.}) 19... Bd7 20. b4 $6 ({White could have kept the chances even after} 20. Re3 $1 Rxe3 21. Rxe3 {.}) 20... Rxe2 21. Rxe2 Ne6 22. g3 Qd8 ({Black could consider} 22... Kg7 23. h4 Qf6 24. Qxf6+ Kxf6 {and Black has a tiny pull.}) 23. h4 a5 {Black is trying to push but White is completely okay.} 24. a3 axb4 25. axb4 Ra8 26. Nb3 Ra3 27. Bc2 $1 Kg7 28. Re3 Qf6 29. Qd1 h5 30. Rf3 Qe5 31. Re3 Qf6 32. Rf3 Qe5 33. Re3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.07"] [Round "14"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Wang, Hao"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2730"] [BlackElo "2744"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,66,22,41,36,48,46,44,-4,34,19,41,4,-18,-18,-18,-22,-17,-6,-18,-22,-23, -35,-32,-26,-23,-23,-13,-1,-10,17,11,24,-29,-23,-28,-7,0,35,-49,-16,-51,-51, -28,-53,-55,-21,-15,-2,-50,51,31,53,27,27,-92,-78,-82,-82,-377,-402,-413,-418, -418,-426,-414,-440,-448,-448]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Nde2 Bc5 7. Ng3 d6 8. Na4 Bb4+ 9. c3 Ba5 10. b4 Bc7 11. Be2 O-O 12. O-O a6 13. Be3 h6 14. a3 b5 15. Nb2 Bb6 16. c4 $6 ({Topalov should have tried} 16. Bxb6 Qxb6 17. a4 Be6 18. axb5 axb5 19. Qxd6 Rxa1 20. Rxa1 Rd8 21. Qc5 { which is somewhat better for White, but possibly Topalov was unsure whether he could win this.}) (16. Qd3 $5 {could also be considered.}) 16... Nd4 {Now Black is very comfortable.} 17. a4 Bb7 $6 (17... Be6 $1 {would have given Black an advantage, but the two bishops on b6 and b7 do look nice, and as we will see in the game continuation, Black makes full use of these beasts.}) 18. Bd3 Rc8 19. axb5 axb5 20. cxb5 $6 (20. Re1 {was better.}) 20... d5 $1 {Things now get very unpleasant for White.} 21. Na4 dxe4 22. Bb1 Ra8 $5 (22... Ba7 $1 { is even better but Wang Hao has something concrete and spectacular in mind.}) 23. Ba2 $4 ({A blunder. White should have played} 23. Ra2 Bd5 24. Nxb6 Qxb6 25. Rd2 Rad8 {with about even chances even if Black's position looks excellent.}) 23... Rxa4 $1 {BOOM $1} 24. Qxa4 Nd5 $2 ({Black should have played the more accurate} 24... Ng4 $1 25. h3 Nxe3 26. fxe3 Nf3+ $3 {and Black is winning, for instance,} 27. gxf3 Bxe3+ 28. Kh1 ({or} 28. Kh2 Qd2+ 29. Kh1 exf3 {and it is curtains for White.}) 28... Qh4 29. Qc2 exf3 {and White cannot defend.}) 25. Rac1 Nxe3 $2 (25... f5 {was best, but Wang Hao now saw the idea from the ... Ng4 line and let it fly. Let's all remember, that Black only needs a draw to win the armageddon game.}) 26. fxe3 Nf3+ $3 {Not winning but spectacular.} 27. gxf3 $4 ({White should have played} 27. Kh1 Bxe3 28. Rc3 Bf4 ({or} 28... Qh4 { , leading to the same line}) 29. gxf3 Qh4 30. Kg2 Rd8 31. Rd1 exf3+ 32. Rxf3 Bxf3+ 33. Kxf3 Rc8 34. Bxf7+ Kh8 35. Be6 Rc3+ 36. Kg2 Rxg3+ {with a draw by perpetual check.}) 27... Bxe3+ {Now Black is winning.} 28. Kh1 Bxc1 $1 29. Rxc1 exf3 30. Qa7 Qd2 31. Rg1 f2+ {Yes, those bishops on b7 and b6 came to good use. } 32. Qxb7 fxg1=Q+ 33. Kxg1 Qxa2 {and White resigned.} 0-1 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "13"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Wang, Hao"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2730"] [BlackElo "2744"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "163"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,104,32,28,69,46,61,28,13,23,36,28,45,-16,-28,-26,-31,-24,-27,-18,-29, -37,-37,-32,-29,-16,-18,-21,-14,-21,10,-1,10,20,14,30,26,24,22,22,24,-17,0,0,0, 0,11,0,0,-9,-11,-15,0,-21,0,-29,-12,-20,0,-8,-10,-19,-20,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,13,8, 24,25,25,27,9,49,34,37,4,8,44,110,118,124,110,136,131,151,127,133,123,131,125, 125,123,122,109,109,119,119,87,110,-470,219]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Nde2 Bc5 7. Ng3 d6 8. Na4 Bb4+ 9. c3 Ba5 10. b4 Bc7 11. Be2 O-O 12. O-O a6 13. Be3 h6 14. h3 Be6 15. Qc1 b5 16. Nb2 Bb6 17. a4 Bxe3 18. Qxe3 Rb8 19. axb5 axb5 20. f4 Qb6 21. Qxb6 Rxb6 22. f5 Bc8 23. Rfd1 Rd8 24. Rd2 Bb7 25. Nd1 Ne7 26. Bf3 Rc8 27. Ra3 d5 28. exd5 Nexd5 29. Ra7 Bc6 30. Nh5 Rbb8 31. Nxf6+ Nxf6 32. Bxc6 Rxc6 33. Re7 e4 34. Re5 h5 35. Kf2 h4 36. Ke3 Rc4 37. Rd6 Rc7 38. Rc5 Ra7 39. Rd2 Ra1 40. Nf2 Re1+ $6 (40... Rg1 41. Ng4 Nxg4+ 42. hxg4 f6 {would have kept things equal.}) 41. Re2 Rg1 $4 {Finally, Wang cracks from having been under pressure for ages.} 42. Nxe4 Nxe4 43. Kxe4 Re8+ 44. Re5 {White has a winning rook ending.} Rc8 45. Kd3 Rd8+ 46. Kc2 Ra8 47. Kb2 Rb8 48. Kb3 ({Or} 48. c4 bxc4 49. Re8+ Rxe8 50. Rxe8+ Kh7 51. Re2 {with an easy win for White}) 48... f6 49. Rd5 (49. Re8+ {wins easily, for instance,} Rxe8 50. Rxe8+ Kh7 51. Re4 Rxg2 52. Rxh4+ Kg8 53. Rd4 {followed by Rd5 and Black can soon resign.}) 49... Rb1+ 50. Kc2 Rg1 51. Kd3 (51. Rd1 $1 {is easiest now.}) 51... Rf1 52. Rd2 Rf4 53. Re2 Kh7 54. Re4 Rxe4 55. Kxe4 Kh6 56. Kf4 Kh5 57. Rd7 $4 ({If White had played} 57. Rc5 {, Black could have resigned.}) 57... Rc8 $1 {Now Black has counterplay, exactly what you need in rook endings.} 58. Rxg7 Rc4+ 59. Kf3 Rxc3+ 60. Ke4 Rc2 $4 {Black counterblunders.} ({After} 60... Rc4+ 61. Kd5 Rxb4 62. Ke6 Rc4 63. Kxf6 Rc6+ 64. Ke5 Rc5+ 65. Ke6 Rc6+ {, it would be a draw. After the text move, White is winning once more.}) 61. Kd5 Re2 62. Kc6 Re5 63. Rd7 $6 (63. Rb7 {is a simple win.}) 63... Kg5 64. Rb7 Re2 65. Kxb5 Kxf5 66. Rg7 Ke6 67. Kb6 {This should be a trivial win.} f5 68. b5 Kf6 69. Rg8 Kf7 70. Rh8 Rxg2 71. Rxh4 Kf6 72. Rc4 (72. Rb4 {is easier.}) 72... Ke5 73. Kc6 Rg6+ 74. Kc5 f4 75. b6 f3 76. b7 Rg8 77. Kb6 ({It was easier to play} 77. Rb4 f2 78. b8=Q+ Rxb8 79. Rxb8 f1=Q 80. Re8+ Kf4 81. Rf8+ {and the queen on f1 falls.}) 77... f2 78. Rc1 Ke4 79. Rf1 Kf3 80. Ka7 $4 ({White's only path to winning was} 80. h4 $1 {, keeping the pawn out the square of Black's king.}) 80... Rg1 81. Rxf2+ Kxf2 82. b8=Q {and draw agreed as} (82. b8=Q Ra1+ 83. Kb7 Rb1+ 84. Kc7 Rxb8 85. Kxb8 Kg3 {is a draw. Had White's pawn been on h4, the black king could not have caught it.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "13"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,77,47,25,25,17,24,19,19,13,31,6,-1,4,4,5,4,4,2,-8,44,24,33,33,23,11, 11,29,29,18,26,7,7,-21,-21,-2,8,13,60,52,62,56,56,55,55,73,94,69,73,67,131,135, 144,147,147,153,153,105,99,121,134,153,164,164,182,182,186,197,198,198,199,202, 202,199,199,195,195,195,256,256]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {No super-tournament can happen without the super-solid Berlin.} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 {The second most popular choice, but one which avoids the endgame.} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Ne8 10. c4 {Not the most popular move. White is playing for space. Whichever pawn White pushes, he will gain some room for his pieces.} ({Giri's preference was:} 10. d5 {instead, and after} d6 11. Re1 Bg5 12. Nc3 Bxc1 13. Rxc1 Nf6 14. Qd4 Bf5 15. Bd3 Bg6 16. a4 Qd7 17. a5 a6 18. h3 Rae8 {and albeit cramped, Black later survived in Giri,A (2773) -Nakamura,H (2750) Chess.com INT 2022}) 10... Bf6 11. Re1 d5 12. cxd5 Qxd5 13. Be3 Be6 14. Nc3 {Now the position is more like a Petroff rather than a Ruy Lopez.} Qd7 ({ Did I say Giri's preference $2 Well, he has a game here, too} 14... Qd8 15. d5 Bf5 16. Bd4 Nd6 17. h3 a6 18. a4 Re8 19. Rxe8+ Nxe8 20. a5 Bxd4 21. Qxd4 Qe7 22. Qd2 {1/2-1/2 (22) Giri,A (2779)-Nakamura,H (2754) Paris 2019}) 15. d5 { An important pawn.} Bf5 16. Qb3 $146 {A novelty. Vachier-Lagrave needs to apply pressure with his pieces, otherwise his IQP might become a weakness.} ({ The minimal advantage that White got in the predecessor:} 16. h3 Nd6 17. Bd4 Bxd4 18. Qxd4 a6 19. a4 Rfe8 20. a5 Rxe1 21. Rxe1 Re8 22. Re3 Rxe3 23. Qxe3 Qd8 24. b4 {is not enough for Vachier-Lagrave and he chooses not to follow the footprints of Harikrishna,P (2729)-Aronian,L (2765) Kolkata 2018}) 16... Nd6 17. Rac1 a6 {After some thought, So takes care of the a4-e8 diagonal.} ({ The problems that might occur on it are illustrated by the line} 17... Rfe8 18. Nb5 $1 {With multiple threats. Black cannot trade the knight due to the skewer, therefore} c6 {is forced but leads to White's edge after} 19. Nxd6 Qxd6 20. dxc6 ({Or also} 20. Qxb7 cxd5 21. Bc5 Qf4 22. Rxe8+ Rxe8 23. Be3) 20... bxc6 21. Red1) 18. Na4 Ne4 {Most likely based on an oversight.} ({Black could have instead cleared the queenside with} 18... Rae8 $5 {and after} 19. Nc5 { defended a cramped position with} Qc8 {True, White's play is far more pleasant after say} 20. Red1 ({Or} 20. a4)) ({The other sufficient defense was the simple} 18... b6 $5 {but So likely did not want to weaken the queenside further.}) 19. f3 {Now what $2} Nd6 {A sad retreat, with Black just giving away two moves.} ({But} 19... b5 20. fxe4 bxa4 21. Qd3 Bg6 22. Bf4 {looks horrible for Black.}) 20. Nc5 {The knight made it to the optimal square.} Qc8 { Whereas the black queenside rook cannot escape its initial position.} 21. Bf4 Rd8 ({The problem of the black queenside rook becomes more obvious after} 21... Re8 22. Rxe8+ Qxe8 23. Nxb7 Nxb7 24. Qxb7 g5 ({Not} 24... Rb8 $2 25. Re1 $1) 25. Bd2 {and Black cannot make use of the weakening f2-f3.}) 22. Kh1 $1 { A tricky move, which prepares the next captures.} ({The immediate} 22. Bxd6 Rxd6 23. Nxb7 {was likely rejected by Vachier-Lagrave on the account of} Bd4+ 24. Kh1 Rb6 25. Qa4 Bf2 {But the machine still claims an edge for White thanks to} 26. Rxc7 $1 Bxe1 27. Rxc8+ Rxc8 28. g4 $1 {Go figure...}) 22... h6 { Luft is needed.} ({As} 22... Rb8 {is only an optical illusion due to the back rank weakness} 23. Bxd6 Rxd6 24. Nxb7 $1 Rxb7 25. Qxb7 $1) 23. Bxd6 Rxd6 24. Nxb7 $1 {That was the point $1 White wins a pawn.} Rb6 {Forcing matters, but this is favorable for Vachier-Lagrave.} ({If a move like} 24... Rd7 {is Black's best choice, then he is really in trouble $1}) 25. Qxb6 cxb6 26. Rxc8+ Bxc8 ({Not} 26... Rxc8 $2 27. Nd6) 27. Re8+ Kh7 28. Nd6 {The French GM goes for a winning line and does not look for anything else.} ({There was also a neat alternative} 28. Rf8 $1 Bxb7 29. Bd3+ g6 30. Rxf7+) 28... Bb7 29. Bd3+ g6 30. Be4 $1 {That's it $1 The black bishop is dominated and White quickly converts his extra pawn.} Bxb2 31. Rxa8 Bxa8 32. Nc4 Bf6 ({Or} 32... f5 33. Nxb2 fxe4 34. fxe4) 33. Nxb6 Bb7 34. d6 Bd8 35. Nd7 $1 Bc8 36. Nc5 Be6 37. Bc6 Kg7 38. Nb7 Bf6 39. a4 {PLAY CHESS, NO WAR $1} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "15"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. O-O Be7 7. Re1 O-O 8. Bf1 d5 9. d4 Re8 ({Black has a number of alternatives available in this position: a)} 9... c5 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. Rxe3 Nc6 13. h3 d4 14. Re2 Qb6 15. c3 Rd8 16. cxd4 Nxd4 17. Nxd4 Rxd4 18. Rd2 Rxd2 19. Qxd2 Bf5 20. Nc3 Rd8 21. Qc1 h6 {with a fully satisfactory position for Black, Leko,P (2674)-Bu, X (2729) Hengshui 2019.}) ({b)} 9... h6 10. h3 c5 11. Be3 b6 12. Ne5 Bd6 13. Nc3 a6 14. Qf3 Be6 15. Rad1 {and White was clearly better, Antipov,M (2607) -Papp,G (2599) Struga 2021.}) ({c)} 9... Bf5 10. c4 Nc6 11. Nc3 Bg4 12. cxd5 Nb4 13. Bc4 Bxf3 14. gxf3 Re8 15. Qb3 {and White had an obvious advantage, Fedoseev,V (2696)-Bachmann,A (2599) Krasnaya Polyana 2021.}) ({d)} 9... c6 10. c4 Nbd7 11. Nc3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Nb6 13. Bb3 Nbd5 14. Bg5 {and White had some initiative, Rozum,I (2542)-Rakhmanov,A (2651) Bryansk 2021.}) 10. c4 (10. Bf4 $5) 10... Bg4 (10... Nc6 {could also be considered.}) 11. Nc3 Nc6 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. h3 Bh5 14. a3 $6 {White takes the b4-square away from Black's knights but it is almost certainly not the best.} ({A good alternative appears to be} 14. Bd2 $5 {, for instance,} Ndb4 15. g4 Bg6 16. Rc1 Bd3 ({or} 16... Nd3 17. Bxd3 Bxd3 18. Bf4 Bc4 19. a3 Bd6 20. Rxe8+ Qxe8 21. Bxd6 cxd6 22. b3 Ba6 23. Qd2 { and White has the upper hand.}) 17. Bf4 Bxf1 18. Kxf1 Nd5 19. Bg3 {and White has the somewhat better chances.}) 14... Nxc3 {Here, the players depart prior praxis.} ({Previously, Black had played} 14... Qd7 15. g4 Bg6 16. Bg2 Nxc3 17. bxc3 Bd6 18. Be3 Be4 (18... Rad8 $5 {is fine for Black.}) 19. c4 $6 b6 $2 ( 19... Rad8 $1 {is pleasant for Black.}) 20. c5 $1 Bf8 21. Ne5 $1 Qd5 $2 ({ This is a mistake; Black should have played} 21... Nxe5 22. Bxe4 Nxg4 23. Bxa8 Nxe3 24. Qf3 Nf5 25. Rxe8 Qxe8 26. Qxf5 Qxa8 27. Re1 {and White has excellent winning chances.}) 22. Bxe4 $4 ({White blunders; after} 22. f3 Bg6 23. Bf2 Nxe5 24. f4 Nf3+ 25. Qxf3 Qxf3 26. Bxf3 {, White wins material and should win the game.}) 22... Qxe4 23. Nxc6 Qxc6 24. d5 Qa4 $4 ({Noooo $1} 24... Qf6 {is somewhat better for Black.}) 25. Qxa4 {and Black resigned, 1-0, Grischuk,A (2766)-Duda,J (2737) Chess.com INT 2018.}) 15. bxc3 Bd6 16. Be3 Qf6 {As co-commentator GM Benjamin Bok pointed out, this position resembles a Scotch Four Knights (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5) with the colors reversed.} 17. Bd3 $6 {Not the best move.} ({White could also have considered} 17. Rb1 Rab8 18. a4 Bxf3 19. Qxf3 Qxf3 20. gxf3 { when White, despite his horrendous pawn structure and Black's much more harmonious one, has the somewhat better chances thanks to the bishop pair and the pressure on the open files.}) ({Or} 17. g4 Bg6 18. Bg2 Be4 19. Bg5 Qg6 { and the chances would have been about even.}) 17... h6 18. g4 $6 ({Or} 18. a4 Na5 19. g4 Bg6 20. Kg2 b6 {with about equal chances.}) 18... Bg6 19. Kg2 ({ Black has a pleasant position after} 19. Bxg6 fxg6 ({or} 19... Qxg6 20. Kg2 Ne7 {with equal chances}) 20. Kg2 Rf8 {and Black has a comfortable position.}) ({ By contrast,} 19. a4 $4 {loses after} Bxd3 20. Qxd3 Qxf3 {.}) 19... Bxd3 20. Qxd3 Ne7 21. Bd2 Ng6 {Targeting the weak f4-square.} 22. Qb5 $4 {A horrendous blunder, easily one of the biggest of Anand's long career. He resigned before his opponent realized what had happened or spotted the winning combination.} ({ White should have played} 22. Qf5 Qxf5 23. gxf5 Ne7 24. f6 Ng6 25. fxg7 Kxg7 { when a draw is the likely result.}) ({After} 22. Qb5 $4 {, Black could play} Qxf3+ $3 {when} 23. Kxf3 Nh4# {ends the game.}) 0-1 [Event "http://www.chessbomb.com"] [Site "http://www.chessbomb.com"] [Date "2022.06.09"] [Round "16"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2832"] [BlackElo "2813"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bb5+ c6 8. Ba4 b5 9. Bb3 a5 10. Nf3 O-O 11. O-O a4 12. Bc2 c5 13. Rb1 Nc6 $1 ({An improvement over the classical game which continued with} 13... Bg4 {.}) 14. e5 ({Or} 14. d5 Ne5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Bh6 Ba6 17. Bxf8 Kxf8 {which was fine for Black in Dubov,D (2702)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2784) Moscow 2020.}) 14... Rb8 15. Be4 Bf5 16. Bxf5 gxf5 17. Qd3 Qd7 {An unusual-looking position but Black is doing fine already.} 18. Rd1 Rfd8 $6 (18... b4 $5) 19. Bf4 cxd4 20. cxd4 e6 21. Bg5 (21. Qe3 $5) 21... Rdc8 22. Qe3 Ne7 23. Bf6 h6 24. Qf4 Ng6 25. Qg3 Kh7 26. d5 {A hard gamble for complications.} ({The objectively better move,} 26. h4 { fails to yield anything special for White, e.g.,} Bxf6 27. exf6 Qc7 28. Ne5 Rg8 29. Rbc1 Qb7 {with chances for both sides.}) 26... exd5 27. Rb4 Rc4 {Black is clearly better.} 28. Rxc4 bxc4 29. e6 $5 Qxe6 (29... Qc8 $1 {would have kept the advantage.}) 30. Qxb8 Bxf6 {The computer assesses this as equal, but when you're playing an armageddon game, such assessments are not easy to come by nor verify.} 31. Re1 Qd7 32. Qb6 $2 Kg7 33. g3 $4 (33. Nd4 {was necessary.}) 33... f4 (33... d4 $1 {wins for Black. The two passed pawns are impossible for White to handle.}) 34. Qc5 fxg3 35. hxg3 Nf4 36. Qe3 (36. gxf4 Qg4+ {is out of the question for White as he has to win and thus must play something worse.}) 36... Nd3 37. Rb1 Qe6 38. Rb7 Qxe3 39. fxe3 c3 40. Rc7 Nb4 41. Ne1 Be5 { Black is clearly better but this endgame is impossibly difficult to play.} 42. Rc8 Bxg3 43. Kf1 Bxe1 $2 {This exchange allows White back in drawing territory. } (43... Nxa2 44. Nc2 Bd6 {was clearly better for Black.}) 44. Kxe1 Nxa2 45. Kd1 a3 46. Rb8 {The black knight is trapped but the passed pawns provide sufficient counterplay to save the draw.} h5 47. Kc2 h4 48. Rb1 Kf6 49. Kb3 Nb4 $4 {This loses.} ({Here,} 49... h3 {,}) (49... Kf5 {, and}) (49... Ke5 { all save the draw.}) 50. Kxb4 a2 51. Ra1 $4 {Carlsen counterblunders, missing that} (51. Rf1+ {or 51.Rg1 wins.}) 51... c2 52. Kc3 h3 53. Kxc2 Kg5 $4 (53... Kf5 {is the only move that draws, for instance,} 54. Kd2 h2 55. Ke2 Ke4 56. Rc1 f6 57. Rd1 f5 58. Kf2 f4 59. exf4 Kxf4 {and White will end up winning two of Black's pawns but will have to sacrifice the rook on the last pawn.}) 54. Kd3 ( {Black resigned as} 54. Kd3 Kg4 55. Ke2 Kg3 56. Rg1+ Kh4 (56... Kh2 57. Kf2 { loses even faster.}) 57. Kf3 h2 58. Ra1 Kh3 59. Rh1 {and Black will eventually lose all his pawns.}) 1-0 [Event "http://www.Chess.com"] [Site "http://www.Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.09"] [Round "15"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2864"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "157"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,157,23,18,18,-9,44,39,61,46,46,49,49,49,49,44,48,18,27,18,42,25,29,7, 11,18,76,76,117,48,97,63,55,52,24,27,31,-42,-50,-47,-47,-41,-41,-28,-37,-48, -39,-57,-42,-45,-43,-58,-46,-46,-48,-57,-49,-46,-46,-64,-59,-46,-50,-59,-45, -46,-59,-60,-72,-70,-70,-102,-90,-105,-109,-104,-91,-108,-113,-112,-94,-118, -129,-134,-123,-83,-104,-119,-137,-112,-112,-158,-175,-173,-175,-178,-188,-159, -209,-222,-124,-128,-107,-172,-173,-172,-50,-19,-23,-22,-21,-40,-40,-40,-16, -24,-21,-24,-37,-40,-39,-39,-29,-39,-19,-62,-60,-55,-55,-55,-57,-59,-39,-39, -39,-39,-39,-39,-39,-39,-39,-39,-34,-39,-39,-39,-40,-40,-41,-40,-40,-40,-39, -40,-40,-41,-39,-40,-42,-40]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bb5+ c6 8. Ba4 b5 9. Bb3 a5 10. Nf3 O-O 11. O-O a4 12. Bc2 c5 13. Rb1 Bg4 14. e5 Nc6 15. Be4 $6 ({White could gain a pleasant advantage with} 15. h3 Bxf3 16. Qxf3 Rc8 17. Rxb5 cxd4 18. Qe4 dxc3 19. Rd1 Qc7 20. Rc5 { .}) 15... Rc8 16. h3 $6 Bxf3 17. Qxf3 Qd7 18. Bd3 $2 (18. Bxc6 {was necessary to keep the balance. Now, Black takes over.}) 18... cxd4 19. Bxb5 dxc3 20. Qxc3 Qd5 21. Bxa4 Qxa2 22. Ra1 Nxe5 23. Rxa2 Rxc3 24. Bd2 Rcc8 {Black has won a pawn, but the conversion seems unlikely given that White has no weaknesses as well as the bishop pair. Nevertheless, Vachier-Lagrave makes it difficult for Carlsen.} 25. Bb5 Rc5 26. Be2 Nc6 27. Rc1 Rxc1+ 28. Bxc1 Rb8 29. Be3 Bd4 30. Bh6 Bg7 {Black would like the knight vs. bishop imbalance as that has been proven to give the stronger side decent winning chances. Obviously, Carlsen is aware of this and not willing to oblige.} 31. Be3 h5 32. g3 e6 33. Kg2 Nb4 34. Rd2 Nd5 35. Rd3 Nxe3+ 36. Rxe3 Bd4 37. Rd3 {The presence of the opposite-colored bishops is another draw indicator, but it also provides Black with a steady initiative. However, the fact that Vachier-Lagrave manages to push Carlsen to the brink of defeat in this endgame shows why it is too early to discount him as one of the world's top players.} e5 38. Rd2 Kg7 39. h4 Kh6 40. f4 Be3 41. Rd7 exf4 42. gxf4 f5 {With the pawns fixed on dark squares, White has potentially long-term problems, although it should still be a draw. Carlsen also has another long-term problem, he is very low on time, basically playing on increments while Vachier-Lagrave had forty minutes left on the clock $1} 43. Kf3 Bc1 44. Bc4 Rc8 45. Bf7 $2 (45. Bd3 {was better.}) 45... Rc3+ 46. Kg2 $2 {The obvious but wrong direction for the king.} ({It was better to play} 46. Ke2 Bxf4 47. Bg8 g5 48. hxg5+ Kxg5 49. Rg7+ Kf6 50. Rf7+ Kg6 51. Rb7 {when Black, of course, has excellent winning chances but White also has chances to save himself.}) 46... Bxf4 47. Bg8 g5 48. Be6 Kg6 $4 ({Black misses the win with} 48... gxh4 49. Bxf5 h3+ 50. Bxh3 Rg3+ 51. Kh2 Bb8 {when White will lose material.}) 49. Rd5 g4 50. Bxf5+ Kf6 51. Bh7 Be5 52. Bg6 $1 {Now the position is a draw $1} g3 53. Ra5 Rc4 54. Ra6+ Kg7 55. Bxh5 Rxh4 56. Rg6+ Kh7 57. Rg5 Rh2+ 58. Kf3 $4 (58. Kg1 {looks dangerous but saves the draw. After the text move, Black is winning once more.}) 58... Rf2+ 59. Kg4 ({Or} 59. Ke4 Kh6 {and Black wins.}) 59... Bf4 60. Rg6 Rf1 (60... Bc7 $1 {wins, for instance, } 61. Rg5 ({or} 61. Kh4 Rh2+ 62. Kg4 Rh1 63. Kg5 g2 {and Black wins}) 61... Rf1 (61... g2 $4 62. Kh3 {draws}) 62. Kh3 Kh6 63. Rc5 Rh1+ 64. Kg2 Rh2+ 65. Kf1 Bf4 {and White cannot stop Black's pawn.}) 61. Kf5 Bg5+ 62. Ke4 Rf4+ 63. Kd3 Rf5 64. Ke4 Rf4+ 65. Kd3 Bh4 66. Re6 g2 67. Rg6 Rf5 68. Rxg2 Rxh5 {With one minute left on the clock, Carlsen seeks refuge in an endgame that has been lost by countless players over the years, including several to Carlsen. Vachier-Lagrave, however, does not test Carlsen for long.} 69. Ke4 Bf6 70. Kf4 Bg7 71. Ke4 Kg8 72. Rg6 Kf7 73. Ra6 Bf6 74. Ra8 Rh4+ 75. Kf5 Rh5+ 76. Ke4 Rb5 77. Kf4 Be5+ 78. Ke4 Bd6 79. Rh8 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "15"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Tari, Aryan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2663"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "121"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,121,61,21,15,20,24,27,66,23,63,0,61,40,22,39,35,21,41,25,12,14,14,-7, 5,-1,11,15,31,35,37,37,37,51,41,40,17,20,20,3,37,37,37,60,42,56,80,67,78,50,89, 81,90,84,109,107,129,103,101,105,103,94,109,94,152,114,137,126,135,150,151,83, 116,100,151,129,155,145,166,118,120,111,118,111,121,0,0,0,0,0,-20,-23,-23,-46, -33,-33,-44,-44,36,0,8,1,7,49,57,44,39,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,156,156,180,204,859, 886,912,937]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. Bf4 {For this game White decided to bet on the London System.} c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 Bg4 6. c3 e6 7. Qb3 Qc8 8. h3 Bh5 9. Be2 {Apparently this simple developing move is now more promising than 9.g4. Black is running out of useful moves.} Be7 {White is waiting for this move to finally capture} 10. dxc5 ({In an earlier game of his, Giri achieved nothing with:} 10. O-O O-O 11. Rfe1 Rd8 12. Qd1 a6 13. a4 h6 14. dxc5 Bxc5 15. b4 Be7 16. Rc1 Ne4 17. Nxe4 Bxf3 18. Nd2 Bxe2 19. Qxe2 e5 {and a few moves later, a draw was agreed in Giri,A (2772)-Gelfand,B (2663) Warsaw 2021}) 10... Bxc5 11. g4 $146 {Now this is good, according to the Dutchman. And it is a novelty.} ({ White did not achieve a thing in the predecessor after:} 11. c4 O-O 12. O-O Rd8 13. cxd5 Nxd5 14. Bg5 Be7 15. Bxe7 Ndxe7 16. Rfd1 Qc7 17. Rac1 Rd7 18. Nc4 Rxd1+ 19. Rxd1 Rd8 20. Rxd8+ Nxd8 {Pakleza,Z (2501)-Hovhannisyan,R (2642) Tornelo INT 2020}) 11... Bg6 12. Nh4 {For starters, White is trading the important bishop.} Qd7 13. Nxg6 hxg6 14. g5 {Next, White is sending the knight in exile, on the rim. \"I thought this move was very important, as there is no Nf6-d7.\" (Giri)} Nh5 15. Bh2 a6 16. O-O-O b5 17. Kb1 Bd6 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. c4 $1 {\"That is a move that I normally never make and I was really proud of that. \" (Giri)} O-O ({Black cannot capture} 19... bxc4 20. Nxc4 dxc4 $2 ({And} 20... Qc7 21. Qb6 $1 {is also significantly better for the first player.}) 21. Qb7 $1 ) 20. cxd5 exd5 21. Nf3 {The result of the opening battle is clearly not favorable for Tari. He has a weak isolated pawn, and horrible excluded knight. His opponent keeps playing precisely, on top of that.} Rad8 22. h4 $1 { Prophylactic thinking is probably Giri's major strenght. \"I think this was very good.\" (Giri)} ({His main point was that in the case of the obvious} 22. Nd4 $5 Nxd4 23. Rxd4 {Black can create counterplay with} Qe5 24. f4 Qe7 25. Rg1 {Or else the knight might be transfered toward the center via the g3-square.} Rfe8 {\"and he starts to bother me.\" (Giri)}) ({White also disliked} 22. Rhg1 d4 23. Nxd4 Nxd4 24. Rxd4 Qh2 {\"which is also quite annoying.\" (Giri)}) 22... Rfe8 23. Nd4 Ne5 {Looking for activity, but...} 24. Qa3 {\"Very stong and counterintuitive, not to allow the Ne5-c4 counterplay.\" (Giri)} Qb6 ({The endgame after} 24... Qxa3 25. bxa3 {would have highlighted the fact that Black is playing practically a piece down.}) 25. b3 {Counterplay stopped, now White only needs to trade a few right pieces and win.} Rc8 26. Qb2 Qd6 27. Rc1 Qd7 $1 {\"A good fighting attempt as my rook will have to watch out for Qd7-h3 moves. \" (Giri)} 28. Rxc8 Rxc8 29. Qd2 ({At first White thought he would win with} 29. Rc1 Rxc1+ 30. Qxc1 {but then disliked} Qh3 {although here too, Black should be in trouble after} 31. Qc7 $1) 29... Ng4 30. Bf1 {\"I thought this was very subtle.\" (Giri)} ({It did not become quite clear what was wrong with the immediate} 30. Bf3) 30... Qe7 31. Bg2 Qe5 32. a3 {An important moment of the game. Giri felt that he is almost there, that the win is nearby, but could not find it.} ({White did not like} 32. Bf3 Nh2) ({And} 32. Qe2 f5 {\"and because my queen has left I do not have the move Nd4-c6 anymore.\" (Giri) Only at the studio did the Dutchman learn that in the line} 33. Rd1 Kh7 34. Bf3 Qh2 {He has the spectacular winning tactic} 35. Nxf5 $3 gxf5 36. Bxg4 fxg4 37. Qxg4 {and wins.}) 32... Kh7 33. Ka2 f5 $1 {Tari finally stabilizes the kingside.} 34. Bf3 Qd6 {\"Now it is very hard to convert. I just do not threaten anything. \" (Giri)} 35. Bd1 Re8 36. Bf3 Rc8 37. Qe2 ({The machine finds the immensely strong maneuver} 37. Rb1 $3 Qh2 ({Nothing changes} 37... Qd7 38. Rb2) 38. Rb2 Qxh4 39. Ne6 {winning.}) 37... Rf8 ({There does not seem to be enough counterplay with} 37... b4 38. Bxg4 fxg4 39. Qxg4 Rc3) 38. b4 {As the players were running short on time, Giri switched to plan B, trying to flag his opponent.} ({Stong was} 38. Rc1 $1 Qh2 39. Rc2 Qxh4 40. Ne6 {similar to the line from above.}) 38... Qe5 39. Qd2 ({Still, owning the open file would have been better} 39. Qc2 $1) 39... Rc8 40. Nb3 Rc4 41. Rd1 f4 $1 {Great practical defense by Tari, again.} 42. exf4 ({At first White thought that he would be winning with the pretty line} 42. Bxg4 fxe3 43. Qe2 Qe4 ({But then Giri spotted } 43... Nf4 $1) 44. f3 Rc2+ 45. Kb1 {and indeed, there is nothing for the second player, despite the many discovered checks $1}) ({Giri missed though} 42. Na5 fxe3 43. Nxc4 dxc4 44. fxe3 {with an edge.}) 42... Rxf4 43. Nd4 Qc7 44. Kb1 Qf7 45. Qe2 Nh2 $1 {Now Black is out of the woods.} 46. Bxh5 gxh5 47. Qd3+ Qg6 48. Ne6 Rxf2 ({Even better would have been} 48... Rf5 $3 {when Black would be playing for the full point.}) 49. Qxg6+ Kxg6 50. Rxd5 {Now the mutual time-pressure simply demands a dramatical finish $1} Kf7 51. Nc7 Nf3 52. Rd7+ Kg6 53. Ne8 Re2 54. Rxg7+ Kf5 55. Rf7+ Kg4 56. Nf6+ Kxh4 57. g6 Nd2+ {And here it is $1} ({Tari would have saved himself by forcing the enemy king under a fork with} 57... Re1+ $1 58. Kc2 Re2+ 59. Kd3 {(or else perpetual check)} Rg2 $1 {and it should be even.}) 58. Kc1 Ne4 59. Re7 Nc3 60. Rxe2 Nxe2+ 61. Kd2 { PLAY CHESS, NO WAR $1} 1-0 [Event "http://www.Chess.com"] [Site "http://www.Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.09"] [Round "16"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Wang, Hao"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C48"] [WhiteElo "2705"] [BlackElo "2712"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,107,26,16,11,40,40,22,8,22,2,23,42,18,56,19,19,17,17,15,16,7,22,-3, -10,-13,3,6,16,8,47,20,39,40,61,54,88,103,127,114,124,132,121,128,127,128,128, 131,151,144,161,168,171,136,128,129,131,130,135,135,128,139,139,139,145,153, 157,157,157,149,162,147,148,150,155,170,168,144,151,144,150,165,197,195,201, 192,207,208,221,226,221,208,245,232,255,267,342,331,320,219,223,223,284,279, 255,244,261,284,341,330]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. O-O Nxb5 6. Nxb5 c6 7. Nc3 d6 8. d4 Qc7 9. h3 h6 10. Re1 Be7 11. Be3 O-O 12. a4 Re8 13. Qd3 Bf8 14. Rad1 a5 15. Nd2 exd4 $2 (15... b6 {is solid and perfectly good for Black.}) 16. Bxd4 Nd7 17. Qg3 $1 (17. Nc4 Ne5 {would be equal.}) 17... Qd8 18. Nc4 {Now White has a clear advantage.} Qg5 19. Qxg5 hxg5 20. Be3 f6 21. Nxd6 Bxd6 22. Rxd6 {White has won a pawn and has a decisive advantage.} Ne5 23. b3 Be6 24. Red1 Kf7 25. f3 Rh8 26. f4 $6 ({White could also play} 26. Ne2 Rhe8 27. Bb6 {and Black is completely without counterplay, both now and in the future.}) 26... gxf4 27. Bxf4 Ng6 ({A better chance was} 27... Ke7 28. Be3 g5 29. Ne2 Rh4 30. Ng3 g4 {although Black's hope for a party ends with} 31. Bf2 $1 {with the threat of Nf5+ and a retreat with the rook is met by h3-h4, closing the kingside and the door to Black's hopes.}) 28. Be3 {White has a large/decisive advantage and for the remainder of the game, Black never gets close to anything more than this—it only gets worse. A very solid demonstration by Radjabov.} Ne5 29. Bd4 Rh5 30. Ne2 Ng6 31. Ng3 Rg5 32. Kf2 Rh8 33. Be3 Re5 34. Rd8 Re8 35. Rxe8 Kxe8 36. Bb6 Bd7 37. Bc7 Rg5 38. Rd2 b5 39. axb5 Rxb5 40. Ne2 Rb4 41. Nc3 Rb7 42. Bxa5 Ne5 43. Na4 Ra7 44. Bc3 Nc4 45. Re2 Bc8 46. Nc5 Nd6 47. e5 Nb5 48. exf6+ Kf7 49. Bb2 gxf6 50. c4 Nc7 51. Ne4 Ne8 52. g4 Bd7 53. Kg3 Ra2 54. Rf2 {and Black finally had enough.} 1-0 [Event "http://www.Chess.com"] [Site "http://www.Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.09"] [Round "15"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Wang, Hao"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C43"] [WhiteElo "2753"] [BlackElo "2744"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 Nc6 $5 {This line was used repeatedly by Wang's countryman Yu Yangyi in the FIDE Grand Prix series.} 5. dxe5 ({The alternatives for White are} 5. Bxe4 {,}) (5. Nxe5 {, and}) (5. O-O {.}) 5... Nc5 6. Nc3 Nxd3+ 7. Qxd3 d6 8. Bf4 dxe5 9. Qxd8+ {At this point, Radjabov had already used 51 minutes of his time.} ({Or} 9. Nxe5 Qxd3 10. Nxd3 Bd6 11. Nb5 a6 12. Nxd6+ cxd6 13. Bxd6 Bf5 14. O-O-O O-O-O 15. Nf4 {and White has won a pawn and has a clear advantage, Rublevsky,S (2671)-Iordachescu,V (2627) Tripoli 2004.}) 9... Nxd8 10. Bxe5 Ne6 11. O-O-O Bd7 12. Nd4 Nxd4 {Black has to be a little careful as White's initiative can otherwise quickly develop into something different, more concrete.} ({An alternative here was} 12... O-O-O 13. Nxe6 fxe6 (13... Bxe6 14. Rxd8+ Kxd8 15. Rd1+ Kc8 16. Nb5 Bc4 17. Nxc7 Bc5 18. b3 Ba3+ 19. Kb1 Be2 20. Rd4 Bf1 21. Bxg7 Rd8 {when Black may survive, but these variations are long and therefore not necessarily right.}) 14. Ne4 Rg8 15. g3 Be7 16. h4 h6 17. Rhe1 {with an edge for White.}) 13. Rxd4 O-O-O 14. Rhd1 f6 ({Black could also consider} 14... Bc5 15. Rc4 b6 16. Bxg7 Rhg8 17. Bf6 Rde8 18. b4 Be6 19. Nd5 Bxd5 20. Rxd5 Bxf2 {and White's initiative is nothing special.}) 15. Bg3 c6 16. Ra4 a6 17. Rad4 Bc5 18. Ne4 Be7 19. Bd6 Rhe8 20. Bxe7 (20. a4 $5) 20... Rxe7 21. Nc5 b6 22. Nxd7 {White decides to exchange down to a drawn endgame.} ({He could won a pawn with} 22. Nxa6 {but clearly was not sure whether the knight would return home:} Kb7 23. Nb4 c5 24. Nd5 cxd4 25. Nxe7 Be6 26. Re1 Rd6 {and the knight will come home, but the advantage is insignificant.}) 22... Rexd7 23. Rxd7 Rxd7 24. Re1 Kc7 25. Re6 Rd6 26. Re7+ Rd7 27. Re6 Rd6 28. Re7+ Rd7 29. Re6 {with a draw by repetition.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.09"] [Round "16"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A36"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2730"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. c4 c5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. d3 d6 6. Qd2 $5 {A relatively rare but not entirely uncommon move. So has played it before and so has Carlsen, Ding Liren and Levon Aronian.} Qa5 {A positionally sharp choice by Black.} ({ Last year, Topalov faced} 6... e6 7. b3 Nge7 8. Bb2 O-O 9. h4 h6 10. Nf3 d5 $6 (10... Rb8 $5) 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Na4 Bxb2 13. Nxb2 Kh7 14. Rc1 b6 15. d4 { with a clear advantage for White in So,W (2772)-Dominguez Perez,L (2758) Saint Louis 2021.}) ({The symmetrical} 6... Qd7 {was tried against Carlsen:} 7. b3 b6 8. Bb2 Bb7 9. Nd5 Bxb2 10. Qxb2 e5 11. f4 O-O-O 12. Nf3 f6 13. O-O Nce7 14. e4 {and White had an overwhelming advantage in Carlsen,M (2872)-Jakovenko,D (2698) Moscow 2019.}) 7. e3 ({Or} 7. Nd5 Qd8 ({Black can also play} 7... Qxd2+ 8. Bxd2 Rb8 9. Rb1 e6 {with equal chances}) 8. f4 e6 9. Nc3 Nge7 10. b3 b6 11. Bb2 Bb7 12. e3 Qd7 13. Nf3 {as seen in Shimanov,A (2587)-Nielsen,P (2617) chess24.com INT 2019, and now} O-O 14. Ne4 f6 {would have been equal.}) 7... Bxc3 $5 8. bxc3 Bd7 ({The alternatives are:} 8... f5 9. Nh3 Nf6 10. Rb1 Qc7 11. O-O Bd7 12. Qe2 e5 13. f3 O-O 14. e4 {and White has a very pleasant position, Aronian, L (2758) -Ivanchuk,V (2686) Batumi 2019.}) ({Or} 8... Nf6 9. Ne2 Bd7 10. O-O h5 11. Nf4 h4 12. Nd5 Nh5 13. e4 O-O-O {was played in Keymer,V (2235)-Lagunow,R (2164) Willingen 2015, and now} 14. Qb2 e6 15. Rb1 b6 16. d4 $1 {leads to fascinating play, for instance,} exd5 17. cxd5 Nb8 18. dxc5 dxc5 19. c4 { with excellent compensation for the sacrificed piece.}) 9. Rb1 O-O-O 10. Nf3 $6 {This is almost certainly wrong.} ({White typically develops the knight to either h3 or e2.} 10. e4 {would have been a better choice.}) 10... f5 11. Qb2 Qc7 {Objectively speaking, this position should be completely equal, but there are, of course, opportunities for the better player to try to get something out this position.} 12. Ng5 $6 Rf8 13. f4 Nf6 14. O-O h6 15. Nf3 b6 16. a4 Na5 {This knight is not easily evicted and basically shuts down White's play on the queenside; the aim of Black's play since exchanging on c3 in the opening $1 Black has a comfortable position.} 17. Qc2 Bc6 18. Rb5 Rhg8 19. Nd2 Bxg2 ( 19... Ng4 $5) 20. Kxg2 e5 $5 ({Or} 20... Qc6+ $5 21. Kg1 Ng4 22. Re1 e5 { with a large advantage for Black.}) 21. Kg1 Re8 $2 ({Or} 21... Ng4 22. Nb3 (22. Re1 g5 {is clearly better for Black}) 22... Nxc4 23. dxc4 a6 {and Black wins the rook and is clearly better.}) 22. fxe5 dxe5 23. e4 Qd7 $6 ({Black could also consider} 23... h5 $1 24. Nb3 Nxc4 25. dxc4 a6 26. exf5 axb5 27. fxg6 Qc6 28. cxb5 Qe4 {and Black has a solid advantage.}) 24. Rxa5 $2 {A somewhat desperate attempt to play for a win.} ({White's only alternative also does not lead anywhere but would possibly have been a better choice:} 24. Nb3 Nxb3 25. Qxb3 Qxd3 26. a5 Kc7 27. axb6+ axb6 28. Rd1 ({or} 28. Rxb6 $6 Rb8 $1 29. Rxb8 Rxb8 30. Qa2 Rb1 {and White is, at best, equal.}) 28... Qxe4 29. Rxb6 Rb8 30. Rb5 Nd7 31. Rxd7+ Kxd7 32. Rxb8 Qe1+ 33. Kg2 Qe2+ 34. Kg1 ({but not} 34. Kh3 $4 Qf1+ 35. Kh4 g5+ 36. Kh5 Qh3# {. Oops $1}) 34... Qe1+ {with a draw by perpetual check.}) 24... bxa5 25. Nb3 Rd8 $2 (25... Qxa4 $1 {was best.}) 26. Nxc5 Qc6 27. Nb3 fxe4 ({Again,} 27... Qxa4 $1 {was the way to go.}) 28. d4 e3 29. d5 $4 {A blunder.} ({White should have tried} 29. Qe2 {but Black is doing okay after} Qxa4 30. Nc5 Qc6 {, for instance,} 31. Bxe3 exd4 32. Rxf6 Qxf6 33. Qg2 Qb6 34. Qa8+ Kc7 35. Bf4+ Rd6 36. Qxg8 Qxc5 37. Qg7+ Kc8 38. Qf8+ Kd7 { , and White will have to take the draw by perpetual check, thus letting Black win the armageddon.}) 29... Qxc4 30. Rxf6 e2 31. Bd2 Rxd5 (31... Qxd5 $1 { was best.}) 32. Be1 Rd1 33. Kf2 Rgd8 34. Qxg6 Qxb3 35. Qf5+ Kb8 (35... Kb7 $1) 36. Qxe5+ Ka8 37. Qxe2 Qb7 $6 (37... Ra1 $1) 38. Rxh6 $2 Rb1 39. Kg1 Rb2 40. Qf1 Re8 41. Rf6 Rb1 42. Kf2 Rbxe1 {and White resigned.} 0-1 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "15"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2730"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 ({It hardly bears reminding that we have seen too many examples of} 5. d4 Nd6 6. dxe5 ({the Berlin Wall Variation arises after} 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {- named so after Vladimir Kramnik effectively used it to stop Garry Kasparov from getting any wins or even an advantage as White in their 2000 World Championship match in London.}) 6... Nxb5 7. a4 Nbd4 8. Nxd4 d5 9. exd6 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Qxd6 11. Qe4+ Qe6 12. Qd4 Qd6 13. Qe4+ Qe6 14. Qd4 Qd6 {and ½-½ in Nakamura,H (2750) -So,W (2778) Berlin 2022, as well as in nearly a thousand other games, including several with So as both White and Black.}) 5... Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. c3 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 13. a4 a5 14. Bf4 ({Varying over one of his own games as Black:} 14. d5 d6 15. Bd3 Bd7 16. Na3 Bg5 17. Qe4 g6 18. Bb5 Bxc1 19. Rxc1 Qg5 {and Black had a pleasant position in Harikrishna,P (2732)-So,W (2770) Lichess.org INT 2020.}) 14... d5 15. Nd2 c6 ({Or} 15... Nd6 16. Nb3 Bf5 17. Nc5 b6 18. Nd3 Qf8 19. Qe3 Nc4 $6 ({ too optimistic and not realizing the danger that awaits;} 19... Qd8 {would have been a much better option.}) 20. Qf3 (20. Qg3 $1 {would have been even better.}) 20... Bxd3 $4 (20... Be4 21. Qh3 Qc8 22. Qxc8+ Rxc8 23. b3 {is marginally better for White.}) 21. Bxd3 Nxb2 22. Bb5 {with a decisive advantage for White, Kovalev,V (2648)-Sadhwani,R (2545) Chess.com INT 2020; the knight is trapped behind enemy lines.}) 16. h3 g6 17. Nf3 Nd6 18. Bd3 ({ If White had been a little ambitious, then a small advantage could be claimed after} 18. Qe2 Be6 19. Re1 Qe7 20. Qe3 {but this will obviously not make you giddy with excitement unless you are a very different animal than me.}) 18... Bf5 19. Bxf5 (19. Bxd6 Bxd3 20. Bf4 Be4 21. Ne5) 19... Nxf5 20. Qe2 Qe7 21. Re1 Qxe2 22. Rxe2 Ng7 23. Be5 Bxe5 24. Nxe5 f6 25. Nd3 Kf7 26. g4 Ne6 {The commentators GM Benjamin Bok and IM David Pruess tried to make this position interesting, but the same could not be said about the players who seemed content to go for the draw.} 27. Kg2 h5 28. Re3 hxg4 29. hxg4 g5 30. Rh3 Kg6 31. Re3 Kf7 32. Rh3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.10"] [Round "18"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2753"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,57,27,23,35,6,6,-15,-7,-7,-4,3,-1,-25,-23,-35,-13,-64,-35,-69,-29,-25, -51,-26,-30,-70,7,-24,-24,-24,-20,-18,-62,-78,-37,-37,-45,-45,-38,-116,-100, -99,-99,-99,-70,-85,-103,-102,-103,-104,-104,-104,-104,-177,-391,-444,-176, -394,-423,-460]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. b3 d5 4. Bb2 c5 5. e3 Nc6 6. cxd5 exd5 7. a3 Be7 8. Qc2 Be6 9. Ng5 $2 (9. d4 {would keep the balance.}) 9... Qd7 10. Nxe6 Qxe6 11. Nc3 O-O 12. Bd3 Bd6 $2 (12... Nd4 $1 {would have been clearly better for Black.}) 13. O-O-O $4 ({Dude $1 What are you doing to your king $2 White should have played} 13. O-O {with a normal position where White perhaps has a tiny edge.}) 13... c4 {Now Black is almost winning.} 14. bxc4 dxc4 15. Bf5 Qe7 $1 16. Nb5 Be5 17. Nc3 Bd6 (17... b5 $1 {wins for Black.}) 18. Nb5 Be5 {Inviting to a repetition of moves. I'm not sure why Mamedyarov did not just accept the outreached hand from Radjabov because the white position is in shambles.} 19. f4 $4 Bxb2+ 20. Qxb2 a6 21. Nc3 b5 22. g4 b4 23. axb4 Nxb4 { White is completely busted.} 24. g5 Nfd5 25. Nxd5 Nxd5 26. Qe5 Qa3+ 27. Qb2 Qe7 28. Qe5 Qa3+ 29. Qb2 {with a draw by repetition.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "17"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2753"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,69,27,17,28,-6,6,6,6,-24,-2,-2,14,0,0,9,21,19,20,15,12,-12,-11,-19, -24,-14,0,-52,-56,-57,-8,-49,-20,-15,-7,-1,-1,-9,-8,0,17,17,13,-33,-38,-76,-65, -105,13,-1,-23,-80,-87,-21,-8,-20,-36,-50,-59,-59,0,-122,-64,-64,-35,-35,-17, -17,-17,-17,0,-17]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. Qc2 b6 9. Nc3 {For the decisive game of the tournament, Mamedyarov decided to sacrifice a pawn in the opening. As usual.} ({To more cautious play leads:} 9. Ne5 Bb7 10. Nc3 Nfd7 11. Nf3 a5 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Rfc1 Nc6 14. Qb3 Rc8 15. Nb5 {And now thanks to the following neat maneuver} Nf6 16. e3 Ne4 17. Be1 Nd6 $1 {Black equalized in full in Markus,R (2627)-Sjugirov,S (2680) Belgrade 2022}) 9... dxc4 10. e4 {The QGA, the Catalan, and their siblings all offer the c4-pawn in return for a strong center and kingside-attacking chances.} Nbd7 11. e5 {Removing the important defender.} Nd5 12. Ne4 {The chess pieces do not like central vacuum.} Ba6 13. Neg5 g6 14. h4 { All of this has been seen before, but now Radjabov comes up with a novelty.} Kg7 $146 {A move that overprotects the vital g6-point.} ({The predecessor is an email game that witnessed a quick draw after:} 14... c5 15. Rad1 ({However} 15. Rfe1 $5 {deserves attention instead, and after} cxd4 16. Nxd4 {White's initiative seems strong.}) 15... Qe8 16. h5 Rd8 17. Qa4 Nb8 18. Qc2 Nd7 19. Qa4 Nb8 20. Qc2 Nd7 {1/2-1/2 (20) Beecham,C (2478)-James,A (2400) ICCF email 2020}) ({Black could have also taken the exchange at once} 14... c3 15. bxc3 Bxf1 16. Bxf1 {with similar play as in the game.}) 15. h5 {Offering the exchange once again.} ({The other way to play it is} 15. Rfe1 $5 {Overprotecting the center and intending to meet} c5 {with} 16. Rad1) 15... c3 {And this time, Radjabov accepts the offer.} ({There is, however, an alternative. Wild, bewildering, and frightening but one that the machine does not fear} 15... c5 $1 {then} 16. Rfe1 cxd4 {is likely met with} 17. Nxd4 Bxg5 18. Bxd5 exd5 ({Or also} 18... Bxd2 19. Qxd2 exd5 20. e6 Qf6 21. exd7 Rad8 {with full compensation for the pawns thanks to the perfect knight.}) 19. e6 $1 {and after some more fun} Nc5 20. Bc3 Kg8 ({Or} 20... Bf6 21. e7) 21. e7 Qd6 ({But not} 21... Bxe7 $2 22. Nc6 ) 22. exf8=Q+ Rxf8 {we reach a total mess with approximately balanced character.}) 16. bxc3 Bxf1 17. Bxf1 {The compensation for the exchange is clear. On top of that, Mamedyarov threatens to chase the black knight even farther from the kingside with c3-c4, and Radjabov needs to find only-moves.} b5 $1 {The best defense $1} ({The annoying knight cannot be chased away} 17... h6 $1 {due to} 18. Nxe6+ fxe6 19. Qxg6+ Kh8 20. Qxh6+ Kg8 21. Qg6+ Kh8 22. Bd3 {With winning attack, e.g.} Rf5 23. Qh6+ Kg8 24. Qxe6+ Rf7 25. Bg6 (25. h6)) ({ The annoying knight cannot chased away either.} 17... Bxg5 $2 18. Bxg5 Qe8 19. Qd2 {as Black is too weak on the dark squares.}) ({Finally, allowing c2-c3 is also deadly for Black, say} 17... a5 $2 18. c4 Nb4 19. Qe4) 18. Qe4 $1 { Transferring the main attacker close to the black king.} Qe8 $1 {Another neat defense $1 The g6-pawn is once again additionally covered.} ({The immediate trade} 18... Bxg5 19. Nxg5 Qe8 {would have allowed Mamedyarov an additional resource} 20. Qh1 $1 ({In comparison} 20. Qh4 h6 21. hxg6 fxg6 22. Ne4 g5 { looks safer for Black.}) 20... h6 21. hxg6 fxg6 22. Ne4 g5 {and the extra tempo can be used for something constructive, like} 23. Bd3) 19. Bd3 ({Black would have likely parried the direct attack} 19. Qh4 {with} h6 20. hxg6 Bxg5 21. Nxg5 fxg6 $1 (21... hxg5 $4 22. Qh7#) 22. Ne4 g5 23. Qg4 Qg6) 19... Bxg5 { Now he can.} 20. Nxg5 h6 21. hxg6 ({Or else} 21. Nf3 f5 22. exf6+ N7xf6 23. Qe2 g5 {trying to lock the kingside.}) 21... fxg6 {Once again, an only-move.} ( 21... hxg5 $2 {loses after} 22. gxf7 Rxf7 23. Qh7+ Kf8 24. Qh8+ Ke7 25. Bxg5+ N7f6 26. exf6+ {when White has a huge attack with enough material.}) 22. Nf3 ({ Black would have reacted to} 22. Nh3 {in the same way as in the game.} N7b6) 22... N7b6 {At last, Radjabov has stabilized the kingside, but Mamedyarov prepares to bring on the last reserves.} 23. Kg2 $1 h5 ({The other way to defend is} 23... Qf7 {and this is somewhat more precise. For example, after} 24. Rh1 h5 25. g4 {Black has the interesting} Qxf3+ $5 ({Or} 25... Nc4 { as in the game.}) 26. Qxf3 Rxf3 27. Kxf3 Rh8 {looking for a fortress.}) 24. Rh1 ({White got an additional chance, and the complicated play after} 24. Nh4 $5 Qf7 25. Qe2 Ne7 26. Be4 Nbd5 27. Nf3 Nf5 {might have been Mamedayrov's practical choice as his opponent was running very short of time.}) 24... Qf7 25. g4 Nc4 ({There is still} 25... Qxf3+ $5 26. Qxf3 Rxf3 27. Kxf3 Rh8 { But Black obviously wanted to avoid this endgame.}) 26. Bg5 $1 {Now it seems as Black's position is about to collapse at any moment.} Nxc3 27. Bf6+ Kg8 28. Qe1 ({Maybe} 28. Qxc6 $5 {is a try, although Black can also defend here with} Rac8 29. Qa6 Qd7 30. gxh5 Nd5 31. hxg6 Nxf6 32. exf6 Rxf6 33. Rh7 Qc6 $1 { and still, this might have given White better chances for the full point.}) 28... Nd5 29. Ng5 ({Or} 29. gxh5 Nxf6 30. hxg6 Qg7 31. exf6 Qxf6 32. Rh3 Rae8 { with sharp, unclear position.}) 29... Qd7 30. Bxg6 {Almost mate, but...} Nxf6 $1 {Radjabov demonstrates amazing resilience when under pressure.} ({Instead} 30... Nf4+ $2 31. Kg1 Nxg6 32. Qe4 $1 Rxf6 33. exf6 Nf8 34. Rxh5 {would have led to a decisive attack for Mamedyarov.}) 31. exf6 Rxf6 32. Bh7+ Kg7 33. Rxh5 Raf8 {This presents White one last chance to play for the overall win of the tournament.} ({Safer is} 33... Rh8 $1 34. Ne4 Qxd4 35. Nxf6 Qxf6) 34. f3 { And Mamedyarov decided that the risk is too much and offered a draw on the next move.} ({Strong is} 34. Bf5 $1 {when Radjabov still had to find a lot of strong moves to save the game with} Qd5+ 35. f3 exf5 ({Less accurate is} 35... Ne3+ 36. Qxe3 exf5 37. Qe7+ R8f7 38. Nxf7 Qxf7 39. Qd8 {when Black is in great danger.}) 36. Rh7+ Kg6 37. Qh4 {And now} Ne3+ $1 38. Kg1 fxg4 39. Qh5+ Kf5 40. Ne4+ Kf4 {This king somehow escapes $1} ({But neither here} 40... Ke6 $2 41. Nc5+) 41. Qh2+ Kf5 $1 ({Nor there} 41... Kxf3 42. Nd2#) 42. Rh5+ Kg6 43. Rxd5 cxd5 44. Nxf6 Rxf6 {and this should be a draw.}) 34... Rh8 35. Qc3 {PLAY CHESS, NO WAR $1} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.10"] [Round "18"] [White "Tari, Aryan"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2663"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "174"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. h3 h6 7. Na4 Bb6 8. a3 Be6 9. Bxe6 fxe6 10. O-O O-O 11. b4 Qe8 12. c3 ({The alternatives are: a)} 12. c4 Nd4 13. Nxb6 Nxf3+ 14. Qxf3 axb6 15. Qe2 Qg6 16. Ra2 Nh5 17. Qg4 Kh7 18. Qxg6+ Kxg6 19. a4 Nf6 20. Be3 {and White's position is easier to play, indeed he managed to win in the end, Nepomniachtchi,I (2792)-Caruana,F (2820) Paris 2021.}) ({b)} 12. Nxb6 axb6 13. Bd2 b5 14. c3 d5 15. Re1 Qh5 16. exd5 exd5 17. Nxe5 Qxd1 18. Raxd1 Nxe5 19. Rxe5 Rxa3 {with equal chances in Van Foreest,L (2530)-Predke,A (2682) Warsaw 2021.}) 12... Nh5 13. Nxb6 axb6 14. Be3 Nf4 15. Kh2 Qh5 16. Ng1 Qxd1 17. Rfxd1 Ra4 18. Bc1 Nh5 19. f3 b5 20. Ne2 Raa8 21. Bb2 Nf4 22. Nxf4 exf4 23. c4 bxc4 24. dxc4 e5 25. Rac1 b6 26. c5 dxc5 27. bxc5 b5 28. Rd5 Rfe8 29. Rd7 Ra7 30. Rcd1 Kf8 31. h4 Re7 32. Kh3 Ke8 33. R7d5 Ra4 34. Kg4 g6 35. h5 gxh5+ 36. Kxh5 b4 $2 ({Black would have been fine after} 36... Kf7 37. g4 fxg3 38. Kh4 Ke6 39. Kxg3 h5 {and Black is even a little better.}) 37. axb4 Rxb4 38. Bc3 Rc4 $6 ({Now, Black is getting himself in trouble. After } 38... Ra4 $1 {, Black would still be okay.}) 39. Be1 Rd4 $4 ({A blunder, after which, Black is losing $1 He could have kept White's advantage under control with} 39... Rc2 40. Ra1 Rxg2 41. Bh4 Rh2 ({but not} 41... Reg7 $4 42. Ra8+ Kf7 43. Ra6 {and White is winning.}) 42. Kg6 Rg2+ (42... Rxh4 $4 43. Ra8+ {forces mate.}) 43. Kf5 Nd4+ 44. Rxd4 exd4 45. Bxe7 Kxe7 46. Rd1 Rg5+ 47. Kxf4 Rxc5 48. Rxd4 {with an endgame that Black should hold but still requires some precision on Black's part.}) 40. Ra1 Rd7 41. Rxd7 $4 ({White misses his chance. He could have won with} 41. Ra8+ Kf7 42. Rxd7+ Rxd7 43. Rh8 Re7 44. Rxh6 Re6 45. Rh7+ Ke8 46. Rxc7 {.}) 41... Kxd7 42. Kxh6 Rc4 {Now Black is already doing fine again.} 43. Bf2 Rc2 44. Rf1 Ke6 45. Kg5 Nb4 46. g4 fxg3 47. Bxg3 Nd3 48. Rh1 Rxc5 49. Rh6+ Kd7 50. Kf5 Rc3 51. Rh7+ Kd6 52. Rh8 Kd7 53. Rh3 Ra3 54. Bxe5 Ra5 55. Rh7+ Ke8 56. f4 Nxe5 57. fxe5 Ra6 58. Rxc7 {This rook ending is an elementary technical draw. If you are not sure, spend an hour or two analyzing Anand's play, preferably with a book on basic rook endings. Everybody should know this like the back of their hand.} Rh6 59. Rg7 Ra6 60. Rg6 Ra4 61. Rb6 Ke7 62. Rb7+ Ke8 63. Kf6 Rxe4 64. Rb8+ Kd7 65. Rb7+ Ke8 66. Rh7 Re1 67. Rh8+ Kd7 68. Rh7+ Ke8 69. Ke6 Kd8 $5 ({Now, Anand is showing off by demonstrating that even when going to the long side (the supposed wrong side), he can still draw this.} 69... Kf8 {going to the short side is the \"better\" option, but because White has a central pawn, it is a draw anyway.}) 70. Rh8+ Kc7 71. Kf6 Kd7 72. Rh7+ Ke8 73. Ke6 Kf8 74. Rh8+ Kg7 75. Re8 Ra1 76. Rd8 Ra6+ 77. Ke7 Ra7+ 78. Rd7 Ra8 79. e6 Kg6 80. Rd2 Ra7+ 81. Rd7 Ra8 82. Rc7 Kg7 83. Rc2 Ra7+ 84. Kd6 Ra6+ 85. Kd7 Ra7+ 86. Rc7 Ra8 87. Rb7 Kf6 {and White lost on time.} 0-1 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "17"] [White "Tari, Aryan"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "*"] [ECO "C83"] [WhiteElo "2663"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,43,19,38,25,16,14,23,25,0,4,0,30,17,10,12,10,20,22,-24,-2,0,-2,-3,-5, 9,9,-10,1,-6,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Be7 10. Bc2 Bg4 11. Qe1 ({Earlier in the tournament, we saw} 11. Bb3 Nc5 12. Bxd5 Nxe5 13. Bf4 c6 14. Bxe5 Qxd5 15. Qxd5 cxd5 {with a good game for Black in Wang Hao (2744) -Mamedyarov,S (2770) Norway Chess 2022.}) 11... Bxf3 ({For some reason this exchange is super rare. The alternatives are: a)} 11... O-O 12. Nd4 ({or} 12. Nbd2 Nc5 13. Nd4 Nxd4 14. cxd4 Ne6 15. Nb3 c5 16. dxc5 Nxc5 17. Nd4 Ne6 18. Be3 Rc8 {and Black is only marginally worse, Ivic,V (2623) -Atalik,S (2459) Paracin 2022.}) 12... Nxe5 13. f3 c5 14. Ne2 Bh4 15. Ng3 Re8 16. fxe4 dxe4 17. Be3 Nd3 18. Bxd3 exd3 19. Qf2 f5 {with sharp play and full compensation for the piece sacrificed by Black, Vachier-Lagrave,M (2761) -Mamedyarov,S (2767) Belgrade 2022.}) ({b)} 11... Nc5 12. Nd4 Nxd4 13. cxd4 Ne6 14. Qd2 O-O 15. Nc3 f5 16. Qd3 ({or} 16. f4 Kh8 17. h3 Bh5 18. Kh2 c6 19. Qf2 c5 20. Be3 Rc8 21. Bd1 Bxd1 22. Rfxd1 b4 {with a sharp position position, Sutovsky,E (2673) -Vocaturo,D (2609) Caleta 2018.}) 16... Kh8 17. Bb3 c6 18. h3 Bh5 19. f4 g5 20. Kh2 {was Vachier Lagrave,M (2779)-Giri,A (2779) Zagreb 2019, and now} b4 21. Ne2 Bxe2 22. Qxe2 Nxd4 {and Black has the better chances.}) 12. gxf3 Nc5 13. b4 Na4 ({This an improvement over} 13... Ne6 14. f4 g6 15. Qe2 Bf8 16. a4 Rb8 17. axb5 axb5 18. Kh1 Qh4 19. Qf3 Ne7 {as played in Haria,R (2490) -Girya,O (2405) Gibraltar 2022, and now} 20. Rg1 Bh6 21. Rg4 Qh5 22. Be3 {would have given White a clear advantage.}) 14. f4 Qd7 15. Qe2 (15. Kh1 g6 16. Qe2) 15... Nxc3 $1 {Forcing the draw.} 16. Nxc3 Nd4 17. Qd1 Nxc2 18. Qxc2 Qg4+ 19. Kh1 Qf3+ 20. Kg1 Qg4+ 21. Kh1 Qf3+ 22. Kg1 * [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.10"] [Round "18"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2730"] [BlackElo "2864"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. O-O a5 7. Re1 {As Topalov has demonstrated throughout the event, he does not mind repeating his opening choices from the classical game to the armageddon.} Ba7 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. Nf1 Ne7 ({A very rare but fully playable move. The classical game continued} 9... Be6 { .}) 10. Ng3 Ng6 11. Bb3 c6 12. d4 exd4 13. cxd4 Bg4 14. Qd3 d5 15. e5 Ne4 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Rxe4 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Bxd4 {Black has equalized.} 19. Bf4 a4 20. Bc2 Nxf4 21. Qxf4 c5 22. Rd1 Ra6 $6 (22... Qd5 {is better.}) 23. g3 (23. b4 $1 axb3 24. Bxb3 {would give White a small plus.}) 23... Re8 $6 (23... Qd5 {is again best.}) 24. b4 $1 axb3 25. Bxb3 {Now, White has a strong initiative.} Qe7 26. Bc4 Rf6 27. Qg4 Rg6 28. Qe2 Rb6 29. Kg2 $6 (29. Rd2 {or}) (29. Bb5 Ra8 30. a4 { would keep a nice advantage on White's hands.}) 29... Rb2 30. Rd2 Rxd2 31. Qxd2 b5 $1 {A nice equalizing combination.} 32. Bxb5 Qb7 33. Bxe8 {and draw agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "17"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2730"] [BlackElo "2864"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. O-O a5 7. Re1 Ba7 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. Nf1 Be6 10. Bxe6 ({A new move. Previously, Carlsen has faced} 10. Bb5 Ne7 11. d4 (11. Ng3 Ng6 12. h3 c6 13. Ba4 d5 14. exd5 Nxd5 15. d4 exd4 16. Nxd4 Qc7 {gave Black a comfortable position in Duda,J (2743)-Carlsen,M (2862) Wijk aan Zee 2021.}) 11... c6 12. Bd3 Ng6 13. h3 Nh5 14. Be3 Nhf4 15. Bc2 Qc8 16. Bb3 exd4 17. Nxd4 Bxd4 18. Qxd4 $4 (18. cxd4 {would have led to equality.}) 18... Bxb3 $4 ({Here, the world champion missed} 18... Nxg2 19. Kxg2 Bxh3+ 20. Kg1 Qg4+ 21. Ng3 Qf3 {and it is game over for White.}) 19. axb3 d5 $2 ({ Black still had} 19... Nxh3+ 20. Kh1 (20. gxh3 $4 Nh4 $1 {wins for Black}) 20... Nhf4 {and Black has won a pawn.}) 20. Qd2 (20. Bxf4 Nxf4 21. Qd2 { would have been clearly better for White.}) 20... Nxh3+ 21. gxh3 Qxh3 {with a strong attack that White should be able to fend off through precise play, So, W (2770)-Carlsen,M (2862) chess24.com INT 2021.}) ({The other option is} 10. Bb3 Qd7 11. Ng3 h6 12. Bxe6 fxe6 13. Be3 Bxe3 14. Rxe3 Qf7 15. d4 a4 {with equal chances, Radjabov,T (2765)-Anton Guijarro,D (2703) chess24.com INT 2020.} ) 10... fxe6 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. Rxe3 Qd7 13. Rc1 a4 14. Ng3 Qf7 15. d4 h6 16. Qe2 Ra5 17. h3 {White has perhaps a tiny, insignificant pull. But his strategy is clearly: let Carlsen come to me.} Nh5 18. Nxh5 Qxh5 19. Rd1 Qf7 20. a3 exd4 21. cxd4 Ne7 22. g3 Nc8 23. Nh4 Nb6 24. e5 (24. Rc1 $5) 24... dxe5 25. Rf3 Qe8 26. Rxf8+ Qxf8 (26... Kxf8 $5) 27. Ng6 Qe8 28. Nxe5 Rd5 29. Qc2 Qd8 30. Rd3 Rxd4 31. Rxd4 Qxd4 32. Qxc7 Kh7 33. Qc2+ Kg8 34. Qe2 Nd7 35. Nxd7 {and draw agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.10"] [Round "18"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B53"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2761"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,103,27,27,40,40,69,70,74,57,53,42,42,41,40,23,27,18,0,17,34,29,28,0, -4,0,3,-20,5,4,7,7,7,13,16,-7,-2,-35,-27,-25,-17,-19,-19,-9,-9,-8,-20,-19,-15, -12,-15,-20,-25,-25,-21,-22,43,20,33,32,63,0,53,49,63,56,88,117,78,78,128,82, 106,83,75,64,70,16,110,109,171,131,154,171,164,164,150,150,144,125,193,190,318, 285,302,314,187,265,273,268,268,311,340,369,526,525]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Qe3 Nf6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Bc4 Bg7 8. h3 O-O 9. O-O b6 10. Rd1 Nd7 (10... Bb7 {is fine for equality.}) 11. b3 Bb7 12. Bb2 Rc8 (12... a6 $5) 13. Rd2 Nde5 14. Nxe5 Nxe5 15. Be2 Nd7 16. Rb1 Re8 17. h4 Qc7 18. Nb5 Qc5 19. Qxc5 Nxc5 {Black is doing fine.} 20. f3 Bh6 21. Rdd1 a6 22. Na3 b5 23. c4 b4 24. Nc2 a5 25. Bd4 f5 $6 ({Somewhat unnecessary. Black should have given preference to} 25... Ra8 {, when only Black can be better.}) 26. exf5 gxf5 27. Bf2 Ne6 $2 (27... Bg7 {is much better.}) 28. Ne3 ({White has several attractive options, for instance,} 28. Bd3 Rf8 29. Bb6) ({or} 28. a3 bxa3 29. Ra1 {when White has a nice target to play against on a5.}) 28... Rf8 29. Nd5 Kf7 30. g3 (30. Bd3 $5) 30... f4 $2 (30... Rg8 $1 {would have kept things balanced.}) 31. g4 Bg7 32. Bd3 Nd4 33. Kg2 e6 34. Bxh7 $2 (34. Bxd4 Bxd4 35. Bxh7 Be5 36. Nb6 {would have given White a clear advantage.}) 34... exd5 $2 ({ Another mistake. Black should have played} 34... Rh8 35. Rxd4 Bxd4 36. Bg6+ Kxg6 37. Ne7+ Kf6 38. Nxc8 Bxf2 39. Nxd6 Bc6 40. Kxf2 Rxh4 {but to expect the players to see this at this point in the game is unreasonable.}) 35. Bxd4 dxc4 36. Bf5 $6 (36. h5 $1 {is even better.}) 36... Rce8 37. bxc4 $6 (37. h5 $1) 37... Re2+ 38. Bf2 Bf6 $4 (38... Bc8 {would have kept White's advantage at a minimum.}) 39. g5 {Now White has a large advantage.} Be5 40. c5 Rd8 41. Bd3 Rxf2+ 42. Kxf2 Bd4+ 43. Kg2 dxc5 44. Be4 Bxe4 45. fxe4 c4 46. Kf3 Ke6 47. g6 c3 48. Rbc1 Ke5 49. h5 Rg8 50. Rd3 a4 51. Rcd1 Be3 52. Rd6 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "17"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B30"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2761"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,64,32,23,36,40,46,45,45,52,41,23,36,55,36,49,29,14,45,18,36,29,52,34, 28,24,27,49,34,25,26,29,64,29,48,41,57,43,44,46,44,47,51,36,46,20,11,1,7,7,26, 24,41,17,20,-22,-13,-36,-40,-27,-28,-46,-34,-47,-41,-37,-34]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. O-O Nge7 5. Re1 h6 {An almost new move, it has only been played in one game prior.} ({The main lines are} 5... a6 {,}) (5... Nd4 {, and} ) (5... Ng6 {Clearly, Giri would not want to show his preparation in these lines when it really did not matter too much what the result would be.}) 6. b3 $5 a6 7. Bxc6 Nxc6 8. Bb2 b5 9. Nc3 Be7 10. a4 bxa4 11. Nxa4 O-O {Black has equalized.} 12. d4 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Bb7 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15. Qd4 Bf6 16. Qd3 Bxb2 17. Nxb2 f5 18. e5 a5 {Black has no problems whatsoever. Now the question is: what are we going to do until move 30 when we can agree to a draw $2} 19. Qd2 Qh4 20. f3 Rfb8 21. Qf2 Qb4 22. Nd3 Qc3 23. Qc5 Qxc5+ 24. Nxc5 Kf7 25. Ra2 g5 26. Kf2 Ke7 27. h4 g4 28. Nd3 a4 29. bxa4 Rxa4 30. Rxa4 Bxa4 31. c3 Rc8 32. Rc1 Bb5 {and draw agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.10"] [Round "18"] [White "Wang, Hao"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E29"] [WhiteElo "2744"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,66,19,31,25,-16,-12,-6,10,20,33,-9,-10,-10,19,8,18,9,7,7,16,4,48,-15, 30,-25,53,18,10,11,30,16,20,6,3,-44,-45,-42,-60,-63,-42,-45,-28,-28,-21,-22, -10,-7,8,-29,42,29,71,70,75,98,74,108,108,-1,71,92,92,83,197,92,92,-109,-109]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. Bd3 Nc6 8. Ne2 (8. Nf3 {is what White has been playing in the more recent games. The text move is the old main line.}) 8... b6 9. O-O Ba6 10. e4 Ne8 11. f4 f5 12. Ng3 ( 12. exf5 exf5 13. dxc5 bxc5 14. Be3 d6 15. Ng3 Ne7 16. Qf3 Nc7 17. Rab1 Qd7 18. Rfe1 g6 {and while the chances are only marginally better for White at this point, White managed to squeeze out an elegant win in Praggnanandhaa,R (2612) -Esipenko,A (2714) Wijk aan Zee 2022.}) 12... g6 13. dxc5 bxc5 14. Be3 d6 15. Qa4 Na5 16. Rad1 Qc7 17. exf5 exf5 18. Rfe1 Nf6 {Black has comfortable position where it is extremely difficult for White to make progress. White's bishops are neatly locked in behind his c4- and f4-pawns.} 19. Nf1 Rae8 20. Bf2 Bb7 21. Ne3 Qc6 (21... Re6 $5 {followed by ...Rfe8 would have kept White's chances under a lid. The text move looks tempting, but White's pieces are beginning to wake up.}) 22. Qc2 Qd7 23. Bh4 Nh5 $6 {The wrong idea.} 24. Qf2 Ba6 $2 (24... Nf6 {is necessary.}) 25. Nd5 {Now White is simply better.} Kg7 ({ Or} 25... Bxc4 26. Bxc4 Nxc4 27. Qa2 Qa4 28. Nb4 {and White has a large advantage.}) 26. Qf1 Rxe1 27. Rxe1 Re8 28. Be2 Qf7 29. Rd1 $2 (29. Be7 $1 h6 30. Bd3 {would give White an almost decisive advantage.}) 29... Rxe2 $4 ({ Unnecessary desperation. After} 29... Re4 {, Black would still have had a playable position.}) 30. Qxe2 Bxc4 31. Qf3 Bb3 32. Rd2 Nc4 33. Re2 $4 ({ NOOOOOO $1 White blunders his winning position away. After} 33. Rf2 {, White would still be winning.}) 33... Bd1 $1 {Now Black wins back the exchange and is clearly better.} 34. Ne7 Bxe2 35. Qxe2 Nxf4 {Black is winning.} 36. Qf1 Nh5 37. Qf3 h6 38. Qb7 g5 39. Bf2 Kf6 40. Nd5+ Kg7 41. Qc6 Nf6 42. Nxf6 Qxf6 43. Qb7+ Kg6 44. Qd5 Qf7 45. Qd3 Qe6 46. Qd1 Nxa3 47. h4 gxh4 48. Bxh4 Nc4 49. Bf2 Qe4 50. Qa4 a5 51. Qd7 Qe5 52. Qa4 Qe4 53. Qd7 Qe5 54. Qd8 Qe6 55. Qa8 Kf7 { Black has three extra pawns and is, of course, easily winning, but offers a solution that will let Wang go out with some honor while serving his own objective of winning the armageddon: letting White deliver checks to repeat the moves.} 56. Qb7+ Kg6 57. Qa8 Kf7 58. Qb7+ Kg6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.05.31"] [Round "17"] [White "Wang, Hao"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2744"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,56,25,25,25,25,12,11,22,11,19,24,12,9,5,-4,6,3,10,7,-10,18,32,24,17, 22,26,22,21,36,34,37,35,26,29,23,29,24,31,35,31,28,23,16,31,33,12,7,0,-1,-4, -19,-10,-6,-6,-6,-7,-11,-7]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. Bf4 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 13. c3 d5 14. Bd3 g6 15. Nd2 Ng7 16. Qe2 c6 17. Re1 Bf5 18. Bxf5 Nxf5 19. Nf3 Ng7 20. Be5 Bxe5 21. Nxe5 Qd6 22. Qf3 f6 23. Ng4 Re8 24. Re5 ({Of course,} 24. Nxf6+ $4 {can be met with} Qxf6 $1 {and Black wins because White cannot capture the queen with the back-rank mate at the other end of the board, while} 25. Rxe8+ {allows} Nxe8 {and the queen on f6 is protected.}) 24... Kf7 25. Nh6+ Kf8 26. Ng4 Kf7 27. Nh6+ Kf8 28. Ng4 Kf7 1/2-1/2