[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2021.07.14"] [Round "?"] [White "Iordachescu, Viorel"] [Black "Murzin, Volodar"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2589"] [BlackElo "2502"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {This was one of the most interesting matches of the round, something that can be seen only in chess. Viorel Iordachescu, who has worked as a coach of promising young players in the UAE for many years, faces one of the rising stars of Russian chess Volodar Murzin, who is coached by GM Mikhail Kobalia.} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 {A solid choice in the final game.} Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Ne7 6. c3 h6 7. O-O Nd7 8. a4 ({Two other interesting players, a former prodigy and a current one, discussed the consequences of} 8. Nbd2 a5 9. a4 Bh7 10. Nb3 Qb6 11. Ne1 Nf5 12. Nd3 Be7 13. Re1 g5 {in Karjakin,S (2757)-Firouzja, A (2759) Online 2021}) 8... a5 9. Na3 Bh7 10. Ne1 {A standard maneuver. The knight opens the road for the f-pawn.} Ng6 $146 ({Black survived after} 10... c5 11. Nb5 Nc6 12. Bd3 Na7 13. Bxh7 Rxh7 14. Nxa7 Rxa7 {However, it was evident that he was suffering after} 15. Be3 ({And} 15. c4 $5 {seemed very dangerous for Black too.}) 15... Ra6 16. c4 dxc4 17. Qc2 Rh8 18. Qxc4 Rc6 19. Nf3 cxd4 20. Qxd4 Bc5 21. Qg4 g6 22. Bxc5 Rxc5 {Pranesh,M (2317)-Ghosh,D (2550) New Delhi 2020}) 11. Bd3 {There were other moves that would have prepared the kingside assault, like} (11. f4 $5) ({And} 11. Nac2 $5) 11... Be7 12. Nac2 O-O {Murzin finished the development, but has a problem with the lack of space. There are too many black pieces on board, and they are obstructing each other.} 13. g3 {Restricting the mobility of the knight. Iordachescu plans to ramp up the pressure against the enemy position with his h-pawn.} (13. f4 {looked even better to me, intending g2-g4 and f4-f5 as soon as possible.}) 13... c5 14. h4 c4 {In return, Black removes the bishop from its strongest diagonal.} 15. Be2 Nb8 {This manuever, though, seems a bit slow.} ({The moment was good for central counterplay with} 15... f6 $1 {When} 16. h5 {can be met either with the perspective knight sacrifice} Ngxe5 ({Or the solid regroupment} 16... Nh8 17. f4 Nf7 {when Black seems OK.}) 17. dxe5 fxe5 {with interesting play for the piece.}) 16. Ng2 (16. h5 Nh8 17. Ng2 {might have transposed into the game.} ) 16... Nc6 17. h5 Nh8 ({Now the sacrifice is no longer as appealing:} 17... Ngxe5 18. dxe5 Nxe5 19. Nd4 {As Black's center is not as superior as before.}) 18. Nce3 Qd7 19. f4 {Finally this pawn makes a move.} ({However, there was an argument for one last delay:} 19. Bg4 $1 {Then the planned pawn push} f5 { can be met with} (19... f6 20. exf6 {is the same.}) 20. exf6 Rxf6 21. Nf4 { and White is clearly better as the knight greatly benefits from the f4 square.} ) 19... f6 20. exf6 Bxf6 21. Bg4 {Iordachescu continues with the obvious and logical moves, and this allows his young opponent the precious time to bring his pieces back in the game.} ({The energetic play along the light squares} 21. f5 $1 {would have been the logical follow up of White's kingside attack. Then} Bxf5 (21... exf5 $2 22. Nf4 {drops the d5 pawn at once.}) 22. Nxf5 exf5 23. b3 $1 cxb3 24. Qxb3 {With strong pressure would be clearly favorable for White.}) 21... Nf7 22. b3 {This is still the best. White keeps some pressure, however his young opponent defends very accurately.} cxb3 23. Qxb3 Ne7 24. Ba3 Be4 25. Qb5 Qc8 $1 {Correct!} ({Otherwise White dominates in the endgame after} 25... Qxb5 $6 26. axb5 Nd8 27. Bc5) 26. Rac1 Ra6 $1 {A nice regroupment. It is time for Black to show some strength and he should be better on the queenside. The backward c3-pawn is an obvious counter-attacking candidate.} 27. Rfe1 {Too slow!} ({This is the last good moment for} 27. f5 $1 {when} exf5 ({Therefore} 27... Nd6 {might have been a better defensive try, with blockade after} 28. Bxd6 Rxd6 29. fxe6) 28. Bxe7 Bxe7 29. Bxf5 {is better for White.}) 27... Nd6 28. Qe2 Nef5 {Now Black stabilized almost completely the situation, but there is one more thing that White could have done.} 29. Kh2 (29. c4 $5 {was already on the agenda.}) 29... Rc6 30. Qd2 {Going completely into a passivity.} ({ In blitz (and not only!) one could hardy find the amazing resource} 30. c4 $3 { White gets rid of his weakest pawn while at the same time he unleashes the power of his well-prepared attacking pieces. The concrete argument is the pretty line} dxc4 ({Therefore Black should defended with} 30... Nxd4 $1 31. Qa2 Bf3 ({Or} 31... Bf5 {and in both cases the game remains unclear.})) 31. Bxd6 Nxd6 32. d5 $1 {and Black's position collapses.}) 30... Re8 31. Bxd6 Nxd6 32. Bh3 b5 (32... Qc7 $5 {looked good too.}) 33. Ng4 {A nervous move.} ({White needed to swap of the pawns first} 33. axb5 $1 Nxb5 34. Ng4 Nd6 35. Nxf6+ gxf6 36. f5 Nf7 37. fxe6 Ng5 {when it would have been unclear.}) 33... bxa4 34. N2e3 (34. Nxf6+ gxf6 35. f5 Nf7 36. fxe6 Ng5 {no longer looks attractive for White without the queenside pawns.}) 34... Qd8 {Murzin is in full control on the queenside and decides to pay attention to the opposite wing.} ({Both} 34... a3 $5) ({And} 34... Rb6 $5 {were good as well.}) 35. Ne5 {Missing a good moment to regroup.} ({Safer was} 35. Ra1 Qc7 36. Rec1) 35... Rb6 {Now Black infiltrates on the queenside.} 36. Ra1 Qb8 37. Re2 Rb1 $1 38. Qa2 Rxa1 ({ Even stronger was} 38... Qb3 $1 {with the idea to meet} 39. Nd7 {with} Rxa1 40. Qxa1 Bxd4 41. cxd4 Qb5 {Double-attack!}) ({Or the direct} 38... Qb5 $1) 39. Qxa1 Qb3 40. Ra2 {And Iordachescu misses his last amazing chance.} ({The sudden sacrifice} 40. Bxe6+ $3 Rxe6 41. Rb2 {would have beautifully trapped the black queen as} Qxc3 ({True, Black's position is so strong now that he can afford sacrificing the queen with} 41... Bxe5 $1 42. dxe5 Nc4 43. Rxb3 axb3 44. Nxc4 dxc4 {when Black is still in command.}) 42. Rb8+) 40... Bxe5 41. dxe5 Nb5 ({Or even better} 41... Nc4 $1 42. Nxc4 Qxc4 {as the pawn is immune:} 43. Rxa4 Qe2+ 44. Kg1 Qe3+ 45. Kh2 Qf2+) 42. Rxa4 d4 $1 {At the end of the day, while the white pieces are busy with the battle against the black passers, Murzin opens the enter and makes it to the white king.} 43. Bf1 Rc8 44. Rc4 Rxc4 45. Bxc4 Qxc3 46. Bxe6+ Kf8 47. Qa4 Qb2+ (47... Qd3 $1 48. Ng2 Qc2 {would have won at once instead.}) 48. Kh3 Qb4 49. Qd1 ({Perhaps the endgame was a chance:} 49. Qxb4+ axb4 50. Nc4 Ke7 51. Bg8 b3 52. Nb2 Bc2 {although here too, the black passers should decide.}) 49... Nc3 50. Qd2 Qb1 51. Qxd4 {Now White is mated.} ( {But there was no hope for him in the line} 51. Kh4 Qd3 $1 (51... dxe3 52. Qd8# )) 51... Qh1+ 52. Kg4 Bf3+ 53. Kf5 Qxh5# 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.15"] [Round "10.1"] [White "Martinovic, Sasa"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2548"] [BlackElo "2847"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Croatia"] [BlackTeam "Norway"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CRO"] [BlackTeamCountry "NOR"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bd2 {An important sideline these days. White wants to take on c3 with the bishop.} c5 $5 {Immediately leaving the heavy theory.} (5... Bg7 6. e4 Nb6 7. Be3 O-O 8. a4 a5 9. h3 Nc6 10. Nf3 Nb4 11. Be2 c6 12. O-O Be6 13. Ng5 Bc4 {Carlsen,M (2862)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2784) Online 2021}) 6. Rc1 ({Not a bad move but critical is} 6. dxc5) 6... Nc6 7. dxc5 Bg7 8. e4 $146 (8. Nf3 O-O 9. a3 Bg4 10. e3 Nxc3 11. Bxc3 Bxc3+ 12. Rxc3 Qa5 13. Be2 Rfd8 14. Qc2 Bf5 {Veingold,A (2505)-Zjukin,S (2366) Tallinn 2006}) 8... Ndb4 9. Nf3 ({Here} 9. a3 Nd3+ 10. Bxd3 Qxd3 11. Nge2 {looks a bit better.}) 9... O-O 10. a3 Nd3+ 11. Bxd3 Qxd3 {The bishop pair gives good compensation.} 12. Qe2 Qxe2+ 13. Kxe2 Be6 (13... Bg4) 14. Nd5 $1 {A good decision. Allowing the check on c4 would be rather unpleasant.} Bxb2 $1 { This required some calculation.} 15. Rc2 (15. Rb1 $5 Bxa3 16. Rxb7) 15... Bxa3 $1 {This seemed impossible but...} 16. Ra1 f5 $1 {...thanks to this great move, Black isn't losing material and, in fact, keeps an edge.} 17. Rxa3 fxe4 18. Nxe7+ Nxe7 19. Nd4 (19. Ne5 $5) 19... Bd7 20. Rb2 Nc6 21. Be3 (21. Nb5 $5) 21... Nxd4+ 22. Bxd4 Bc6 23. Rba2 a6 24. Ke3 Rad8 25. Rd2 Rd5 26. Ke2 Rfd8 27. Be3 Rd3 28. Ra1 Kf7 29. g3 Rxd2+ 30. Bxd2 Bb5+ 31. Ke1 Rd3 32. Rb1 Ke6 33. Rb4 Bc6 34. Rb2 Kd5 {White resigned, perhaps somewhat prematurely, but his back is against the wall, and at some point Black's a-pawn will start running.} 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.15"] [Round "?"] [White "Adhiban, B..."] [Black "Delgado Ramirez, Neuris"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2660"] [BlackElo "2622"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c6 7. e4 {After some thought, Adhiban chooses the sharpest continuation.} ({Firouzja tried to bring his dark-squared bishop instead into game with} 7. a4 {However, Carlsen equalized easily with} Qa5 8. Qd2 O-O 9. e3 Re8 10. Bd3 dxc4 11. Bxc4 b6 12. Bd3 Ba6 13. c4 {and even took over the initiative with} c5 $1 {Firouzja,A (2728)-Carlsen,M (2863) Online 2020}) 7... dxe4 8. fxe4 e5 {The safest reply. If Black manages to stabilize the position, he would enjoy the better game as all the white pawns would be horrible.} (8... Nxe4 {is risky as proved from this game} 9. Qg4 Nf6 10. Qxg7 Rg8 11. Qh6 Qa5 12. Ne2 Nbd7 13. g3 {Curi,G (2231)-Ibanez,J (2157) Montevideo 2017}) 9. Nf3 Qa5 10. Bd2 {Adhiban argues that his pawns are bad. He simply sacrifices them.} Nxe4 11. Bd3 Nxd2 12. Qxd2 exd4 13. O-O $1 {Offering a third pawn!} O-O $146 {That is a novelty. It seems as the king will be safer on the kingside, but it turns out that Delgado castles into an attack.} ({Black solved all his problems with} 13... Be6 14. Rab1 dxc3 15. Qf4 Nd7 16. Qh4 h6 17. Rxb7 O-O 18. Qe4 Nf6 19. Qxc6 Rfd8 { and even won later in Kuybokarov,T (2472)-Macieja,B (2550) Chess.com 2018. It would be interesting to see what the Indian GM had prepared in that case.}) ({ The second pawn is not really tasty:} 13... Qxc3 14. Qe2+ Be6 15. Ng5 {leaves the black king desperately weak.}) 14. Ng5 $1 {Dark clouds gather around the black king.} f5 {There is no other way to stop the obvious capture on h7.} ({ Since after} 14... h6 $2 {The knight can offer itself for the other pawn:} 15. Nxf7 $1 Rxf7 {Then the attack through the center decides after} 16. Rxf7 ({ Actually White's position is so strong that he may choose to bring on the reserves in another way:} 16. Qe2 $1 Qd8 17. Rxf7 Kxf7 18. Rf1+ Kg8 19. Qe4 { transposing into the winning line below.}) 16... Kxf7 17. Rf1+ Ke7 {Here the neat solution is} ({Black can prevent the mate on the back rank} 17... Kg8 18. Qe2 $1 Qd8 {But not along the b1-h7 diagonal:} 19. Qe4) 18. Qe1+ $3 {Now} ({ As otherwise the black king escapes via the d6-square:} 18. Qe2+ Kd6 19. cxd4 Kc7 20. Rf7+ Nd7 21. c5 Kb8 {and it is not clear anymore.}) 18... Kd6 {does not work due to} (18... Be6 19. Bf5) 19. Qg3+ $1 {This check is the difference from above.} Qe5 ({Or otherwise mate:} 19... Ke7 20. Qxg7+) 20. c5+ Kd5 { and White would win the queen with} 21. Bc4+ $1 ({Or} 21. c4+ $1)) ({Neither does} 14... g6 {slow down the attack} 15. Nxf7 $1 {would once more decisively open the road for the white pieces.} ({Here too, White has an alternative winning line:} 15. Rae1 Nd7 16. Qf4 Qxc3 17. Qh4 h5 18. Nxf7 $1 {With a mating attack} Rxf7 19. Re8+ Nf8 ({Or} 19... Rf8 20. Qe7 $1) ({And} 19... Kg7 20. Rxf7+ Kxf7 21. Qe7#) 20. Rxf7 {and mate is near.}) 15... Rxf7 16. Rxf7 Kxf7 17. Rf1+ Ke7 (17... Bf5 18. Bxf5 gxf5 19. Qg5 {does not help Black at all.}) 18. Qe2+ Kd6 ({Nothing helps} 18... Be6 19. Re1) 19. Rf7 Be6 20. Rf6 Kc7 21. Qxe6 { and the attack is decisive.}) (14... Qxc3 15. Qe2 {leaves Black no defenders on the kingside at all and is equally hopeless.}) 15. c5 $3 {This might be what Delgado missed. An important diagonal is opened, and the white pieces crash through. Notice the idle black pieces on the queenside. Only the queen is quick enough to come to the rescue, but that is not enough.} ({Instead} 15. Qe2 {would have given Black more defensive resources with} Qd8 {Seemingly best, when} ({Another move that deserves attention is} 15... dxc3) ({And Black might be able to defend with} 15... Qc5 {Although there he still needs to survive nasty pressure after both} 16. g4 $5 ({And} 16. Kh1)) 16. Ne6 Bxe6 17. Qxe6+ Kh8 18. Bxf5 Rf6 {is already solid enough for Black.}) 15... Kh8 {Now all Adhiban needs is to bring the queen in.} ({Mainly because of the threats along the diagonal:} 15... Qxc5 16. Qa2+ Kh8 17. Nf7+ Rxf7 (17... Kg8 18. Nh6+ Kh8 19. Qg8+ Rxg8 20. Nf7#) 18. Qxf7 dxc3+ 19. Kh1 Qd5 {Black saves the mate and has lots of pawns for the exchange, but his pieces are still idle and wouldn't have the time to come back into the game} 20. Qc7 Qg8 21. Rae1 Nd7 22. Bc4 $1 Qf8 23. Rxf5 Qxf5 24. Qd8+ Nf8 25. Rf1 {and wins.}) (15... dxc3 {loses in a similar fashion} 16. Qa2+ Kh8 17. Nf7+ Rxf7 18. Qxf7 Qxc5+ 19. Kh1 Qd5 20. Qc7) ({Whereas} 15... Qxc3 16. Qa2+ {is even an easier win for White.}) 16. Qe2 $1 { And this incursion is decisive. The threats are 17.Qe2-h5 and 17.Ng5xh7, and they cannot be stopped.} ({There is an alternative win here too:} 16. Qa2 Qc7 17. Rae1 h6 {And now comes the pretty} 18. Bxf5 $3 Bxf5 ({Black is completely paralyzed after} 18... hxg5 19. Bg6 Rxf1+ (19... Rd8 20. Qe2) 20. Rxf1 Nd7 21. Qf7 {and mate is inevitable.}) 19. Rxf5 {Here the only way to prevent mate is} Na6 ({Let's not forget about the back rank:} 19... Rxf5 20. Re8+ Rf8 21. Rxf8#) 20. Nf7+ Kh7 21. cxd4 {but that leaves Black desperately lost.}) 16... Nd7 { This attempt to bring the knight in loses quickly, but Black's position is beyond salvation anyway.} ({I forgot to mention that the queen is threatening something else too:} 16... h6 17. Qe7 $1 {Traps the rook as} Rg8 18. Nf7+ Kh7 { leads to yet another mate with} 19. Rxf5 $1 Bxf5 20. Bxf5+ g6 21. Ng5+ Kh8 22. Qh7#) ({The capture} 16... Qxc5 {seems like a chance, especially when one sees the line} 17. Nxh7 $2 ({However,} 17. Qh5 $1 {is stronger and proves decisive.} dxc3+ 18. Kh1 h6 19. Nf7+ Rxf7 ({Or mate after} 19... Kg8 20. Nxh6+ $1 gxh6 21. Qg6+ Kh8 22. Qxh6+ Kg8 23. Qg6+ Kh8 24. Rf3) ({Or another mate after} 19... Kh7 20. Rxf5 $1 Bxf5 21. Bxf5+ Kg8 22. Nxh6+ gxh6 23. Qg6+ Kh8 24. Qh7#) 20. Qxf7 Qd5 {Here the simplest win is} 21. Qg6 $1 Bd7 22. Bxf5 Bxf5 23. Rxf5 Qg8 24. Rf7 {paralyzing Black for good.}) 17... dxc3+ 18. Kh1 Kxh7 19. Qh5+ (19. Rf3 g6 ) 19... Kg8 {and Black repels the attack.}) 17. Nxh7 ({Not} 17. Qh5 $2 Nf6) 17... dxc3 ({The capture is impossible:} 17... Kxh7 18. Qh5+ Kg8 19. Bc4+ Rf7 20. Qxf7+ Kh7 21. Qh5#) ({And the counter-sacrifice does not help either:} 17... g6 18. Nxf8 Nxf8 19. Qe5+ Kg8 20. Bc4+) 18. Qh5 Qxc5+ ({Nothing helps} 18... g6 19. Qh6) 19. Kh1 Kg8 20. Bxf5 Qd5 ({Or} 20... Rxf5 21. Rxf5 Qe7 22. Raf1 c2 23. Qg6 {and Black can only resign.}) 21. Ng5 Nf6 {Finally the knight comes to the rescue...} ({White wins everything in the line} 21... Rxf5 22. Qh7+ Kf8 23. Rxf5+) 22. Qh7+ $3 {But is nicely removed from its king!} (22. Qh7+ $3 Nxh7 23. Bxh7+ Kh8 24. Rxf8+ Qg8 25. Rxg8#) 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.15"] [Round "10.50"] [White "Shirov, Alexei"] [Black "Zherebukh, Yaroslav"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2662"] [BlackElo "2620"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Spain"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ESP"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. b3 Ne4 (5... c5 6. dxc5 Bxc5 7. Bb2 O-O 8. Nbd2 b6 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Qb1 Bb7 11. Bd3 h6 12. O-O Nd7 {Svane,R (2730) -Deac,B (2741) Chess.com 2019}) 6. Nbd2 Bb4 7. Bd3 f5 8. Ne5 Nd7 9. Qh5+ $146 ( 9. Bxe4 Nxe5 10. Bc2 Nf7 11. O-O O-O 12. f4 Nd6 13. c5 Bxd2 14. Bxd2 Ne4 15. Rc1 Bd7 16. Be1 Be8 17. a4 Qf6 18. Qe2 h6 19. Bxe4 dxe4 20. b4 a6 21. h3 Rc8 22. Kh2 Kh7 {1/2-1/2 (22) Kozlowski,W (2461)-Nekhaev,A (2528) ICCF email 2009}) 9... g6 10. Nxg6 Ndf6 11. Qh3 Rg8 12. Ne5 Bc3 13. Bxe4 dxe4 14. Rb1 c5 15. f4 cxd4 16. exd4 ({According to the engine, the best move is} 16. Bb2 {but that's not what White wants.}) 16... Qxd4 17. Ke2 $5 {A hyper-sharp but, objectively speaking, a too dangerous way of playing.} e3 $2 ({Simply finishing the development with} 17... Bd7 18. Rd1 O-O-O {would be very promising for Black.}) 18. Ndf3 Qxf4 19. Bb2 Bxe5 $6 (19... Qe4) 20. Bxe5 Qe4 21. Rbc1 Nd7 22. Bd6 f4 23. Rhd1 {By now, White is a bit better, but it was still very much a game until the following blunder ...} e5 $4 24. Qe6+ 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.15"] [Round "10.42"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Braun, Arik"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2675"] [BlackElo "2609"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Israel"] [BlackTeam "Germany"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ISR"] [BlackTeamCountry "GER"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 a6 4. Nc3 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Be6 7. Bxf6 (7. e3 Nbd7 8. Bd3 c6 9. Qc2 Bd6 10. Bf4 Qc7 11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. h3 O-O 13. O-O g6 14. a3 Ne8 15. Na4 Qe7 16. Ne5 Nd6 {So,W (2770)-Carlsen,M (2847) Online 2021}) 7... Qxf6 8. Qb3 Ra7 9. a3 Qd8 10. h4 Be7 11. Qc2 $146 (11. e4 c6 12. e5 Nd7 13. Qc2 b5 14. Rd1 c5 15. dxc5 Nxc5 16. b4 Nd7 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18. Rxd5 Qc7 {Vidit,S (2726)-Grandelius,N (2670) Online 2021}) 11... Nd7 12. e4 dxe4 13. Nxe4 Nf6 14. Neg5 Bd5 15. Ne5 c6 16. Bc4 O-O 17. O-O-O Bxc4 18. Nxc4 g6 19. Ne5 Nh5 20. Nxh7 $1 {A lovely, somewhat long-term sacrifice.} Kxh7 21. g4 Nf4 (21... Nf6 22. h5 Kg7 23. hxg6 Qd5 24. g5) 22. Qe4 $1 {Chasing the knight is important.} ({After } 22. h5 $2 Kg7 {Black can try to maintain his knight on f4.}) 22... Ne6 23. h5 Ng5 24. hxg6+ Kg7 25. Qc2 f6 26. Nf7 $1 Rxf7 (26... Nxf7 27. Rh7+ Kg8 28. gxf7+ Rxf7 29. Qg6+) 27. gxf7 Qd6 28. Qf5 Qd5 29. f8=Q+ Bxf8 30. f4 Qxf5 31. gxf5 { Black has managed to trade queens, but his coordination is absolutely hopeless. } Nh7 (31... Nf7 32. Rdg1+ {loses the knight.}) 32. Rdg1+ Kh8 33. Rg6 Bg7 34. Rg3 Kg8 35. Re3 b6 36. Re8+ Nf8 (36... Kf7 37. Rb8) 37. Rc8 Kf7 38. Rxc6 Nd7 39. Kd2 Ra8 40. Ke3 Re8+ 41. Kf3 a5 42. Rc7 Re7 43. Rhc1 Nf8 44. d5 Rd7 45. d6 Ke8 46. Rxd7 Nxd7 47. Rc8+ Kf7 48. b4 axb4 49. axb4 b5 50. Rd8 Nb6 51. d7 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.15"] [Round "10.19"] [White "Ivic, Velimir"] [Black "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2581"] [BlackElo "2710"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Serbia"] [BlackTeam "Spain"] [WhiteTeamCountry "SRB"] [BlackTeamCountry "ESP"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 a6 8. Ne2 ( 8. a3 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bc5 10. Be2 O-O 11. Qd2 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 b5 13. Bf3 Qb6 14. Ne2 a5 15. O-O Bxd4+ 16. Nxd4 Nc5 {Firouzja,A (2759)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2792) Paris 2021}) 8... Qb6 9. Qc1 Be7 10. c3 f6 11. h4 O-O 12. h5 Qa5 13. h6 g6 14. Kf2 $146 (14. a3 cxd4 15. Nexd4 Nxd4 16. Bxd4 fxe5 17. Nxe5 Nxe5 18. Bxe5 Qb6 19. c4 Bc5 20. Bd3 Bd4 {Wei,Y (2732)-Xu,Y (2554) Xinghua 2021}) 14... cxd4 15. cxd4 fxe5 16. fxe5 Ndxe5 $5 {Tempting, but it's not working here.} 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Kg1 $1 Ng4 ({Taking the third pawn is also better for White:} 18... Nxf3+ 19. gxf3 Rxf3 20. Bg2 Rf7 21. Qe1) 19. Bd4 Bd7 20. Qe1 Qd8 21. Qg3 e5 22. Nxe5 $1 Bd6 23. Qb3 $1 Bxe5 24. Bxe5 Qg5 25. Bd4 Rf7 26. Qg3 Raf8 27. Rh4 Qf5 28. Rxg4 Qxg4 29. Qe5 Rf6 30. Nc3 Bc6 31. Nxd5 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.15"] [Round "10.4"] [White "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Black "Abrahamyan, Tatev"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C19"] [WhiteElo "2535"] [BlackElo "2358"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "175"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Ukraine"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UKR"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. a4 Qc7 8. Nf3 h6 9. h4 b6 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Be2 Nbc6 12. O-O O-O 13. Bf4 f5 14. exf6 Qxf4 15. fxe7 Rf7 16. Bb5 Rxe7 17. Bxc6 Bxc6 18. Ne5 Be8 19. a5 Rc8 20. axb6 axb6 21. g3 Qf5 22. Re1 Rec7 23. Re3 b5 24. dxc5 Rxc5 25. Qd4 R5c7 26. Ra6 Qxc2 27. Rxe6 Bf7 28. Rd6 Ra8 29. Kg2 Kh7 30. Rf3 Bh5 31. g4 Ra4 32. Qb6 $6 Bxg4 $2 ({After} 32... Rxc3 $1 33. gxh5 Rxf3 {White should force a draw with} 34. Rxh6+ ({as} 34. Nxf3 {loses to} Rg4+ 35. Kh3 Qf5 {and now there is no} 36. Rf6 gxf6)) 33. Qxc7 $2 ({Missing} 33. Rxh6+ $1 gxh6 34. Qxc7+ {and mate soon.}) 33... Bxf3+ 34. Nxf3 Rg4+ $2 ({Here, the threat was stronger than the execution:} 34... Qf5 $1 {wins.}) 35. Kh3 Qf5 36. Rf6 $1 {A cold shower.} Rxh4+ 37. Kxh4 Qxf6+ 38. Kg3 Qg6+ 39. Kh2 Qh5+ 40. Kg2 b4 41. cxb4 Qg4+ 42. Qg3 Qxb4 43. Qh4 Qd6 44. Qg4 Qg6 45. Kh3 Qf6 (45... Qxg4+ 46. Kxg4 Kg6 {is actually a tablebase draw.}) 46. Qh5 Qe6+ 47. Kg3 Kg8 48. Qe5 Kf7 49. Qf4+ Qf6 50. Qc7+ Kg8 51. Qb8+ Kh7 52. Qe5 Qg6+ 53. Kf4 Qc6 54. Qf5+ Kg8 55. Nd4 Qc7+ 56. Kg4 Qc4 57. Qe5 Kh7 58. Qf4 Qf1 59. Kf5 Qe1 60. Qe3 Qb1+ 61. Ke5 Qa2 62. Qf3 Kh8 63. Ke6 Kh7 64. Qf5+ Kh8 65. Kd6 Qa6+ 66. Kxd5 Qb7+ 67. Ke5 Qc7+ 68. Ke4 Qe7+ 69. Kf3 Qb7+ 70. Kg3 Qc7+ 71. Qf4 Qe7 72. Nf3 Qe6 73. Ne5 Qb3+ 74. Kh2 Qe6 75. Qe4 Kg8 76. Qc4 Qxc4 77. Nxc4 Kf7 78. Kg3 Kf6 79. Kf4 g6 80. Ne3 g5+ 81. Ke4 h5 82. Nf5 Kg6 83. Ne3 Kf6 84. Nf1 Kg6 85. Ke5 g4 86. Kf4 Kf6 87. Ne3 Kg6 88. Nxg4 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.16"] [Round "?"] [White "Sargissian, Gabriel"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R.."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D40"] [WhiteElo "2682"] [BlackElo "2608"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bxc4 e6 5. Nf3 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. Nc3 a6 8. a3 b5 9. Ba2 Bb7 10. d5 exd5 11. Nxd5 Nxd5 (11... Bd6 12. e4 Nxd5 13. Qxd5 O-O 14. Qh5 Qf6 15. Bg5 Qxb2 16. Bd5 Na5 17. Ra2 Qc3 18. Bd2 Qd3 {Aronian,L (2782) -Ding,L (2799) Online 2021}) 12. Bxd5 Bd6 13. e4 O-O 14. b4 $146 (14. b3 Qc7 15. Be3 Rad8 16. Qe2 Ne7 17. Bxb7 Qxb7 18. e5 Bb8 19. Bxc5 Rfe8 20. Rad1 Rc8 21. Bd6 Ng6 {Aleksandrov,A (2574)-Berzinsh,R (2373) Online 2020}) 14... c4 15. Bb2 Qc7 16. Qc2 Be7 17. Rad1 Rad8 18. h3 Rfe8 19. Nh2 Nb8 20. Ng4 Nd7 21. Qc3 Nf6 22. Rfe1 h5 $1 23. Nh6+ gxh6 24. Re3 h4 $1 25. Rf3 Rd6 $1 26. g4 (26. e5 Nxd5) 26... Bd8 27. Kg2 Qe7 28. Rf4 Bxd5 29. Rxd5 Rxd5 30. exd5 Qd6 31. Qf3 Qxd5 $5 {The safest route to the win, especially considering the match situation.} ({Also possible was} 31... Nxd5 32. Rd4 Qf6 33. Qxd5 Bb6 34. Rd2 c3 ) 32. Bxf6 Qxf3+ 33. Kxf3 Bxf6 34. Rxf6 Re6 35. Rf5 Rd6 36. Ke2 Kg7 37. a4 bxa4 38. Ra5 Rd3 39. Rxa4 Rxh3 40. Rxa6 Rb3 41. Rc6 h3 42. Rxc4 Rb1 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.16"] [Round "?"] [White "Sjugirov, Sanan"] [Black "Nihal, Sarin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2661"] [BlackElo "2620"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. Nbd2 Nd7 11. c3 Nc5 12. Bc2 (12. axb5 axb5 13. Rxa8 Qxa8 14. Bc2 b4 15. d4 bxc3 16. bxc3 Nd7 17. Nf1 Bf6 18. d5 Ncb8 19. h4 Qa1 {Nakamura,H (2754)-Topalov,V (2740) Riga 2019}) 12... Nxa4 13. Bxa4 bxa4 14. Rxa4 Bc8 15. Nf1 f5 16. Ne3 fxe4 17. dxe4 Kh8 18. b4 Qe8 19. Nd2 $146 (19. b5 Nb8 20. Qd5 Ra7 21. Qa2 Rb7 22. bxa6 Ra7 23. Nd5 Bd8 24. Be3 Rxa6 25. Rxa6 Nxa6 26. Qc4 c5 {Hegelund,O (2266)-Galavics,H (2392) ICCF email 2018}) 19... Bh4 20. Re2 Ne7 21. Ndf1 Ng6 22. Ng3 Nf4 23. Rea2 Rb8 24. Ngf5 Bd8 25. Ng3 Qg6 26. f3 h5 27. Kh1 h4 28. Ngf5 h3 29. g3 Ne6 30. Rf2 Qh7 31. Nc4 Bb7 32. Kg1 d5 33. Nxe5 dxe4 34. fxe4 Bxe4 35. Nd7 $2 {Grabbing the exchange will expose the king too much.} ({Best is} 35. Ne3 {and it's highly unclear.}) 35... Rxf5 36. Nxb8 Rxf2 37. Kxf2 Qf5+ 38. Ke1 ({More tenacious is} 38. Kg1 {but after} c6 $1 39. Rxa6 { and now first} Bf3 $1 {Black also wins. The bishop will move to d5 followed by Qf3 at some point.}) 38... Bd3 39. Be3 Bf6 40. Ra3 Bc4 41. Bf4 Nxf4 42. gxf4 Qe4+ 43. Kd2 Qxf4+ 44. Kc2 Qxh2+ 45. Kb1 Qe2 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.16"] [Round "?"] [White "Krasenkow, Michal"] [Black "Alekseenko, Kirill"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2591"] [BlackElo "2699"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Qc2 c6 9. Rc1 (9. Bf4 b6 10. Nbd2 Nh5 11. e3 Nxf4 12. exf4 Bb7 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. Rfc1 Bd6 15. Bf1 Nf6 16. Bd3 Qe7 {Giri,A (2776)-Anand,V (2753) Zagreb 2021} ) 9... a5 10. a4 Re8 11. Na3 Bd6 $146 (11... h6 12. b3 Ne4 13. Bf4 g5 14. Be3 Bf6 15. Rd1 Bg7 16. Bc1 Qf6 17. e3 b6 18. Bb2 Ba6 19. Rac1 Qf5 {Kumar,P (2348) -Schwenk,H (2204) ICCF email 2018}) 12. Bf4 e5 $6 {This doesn't solve Black's opening problems.} (12... Bxf4 13. gxf4 Ne4) 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Bxe5 Bxe5 15. cxd5 Nxd5 16. Nxe5 Rxe5 17. Nc4 Re8 18. Rd1 Be6 19. e4 Nb4 20. Qc3 Qc7 21. Nd6 Re7 22. e5 Qb6 23. Rd2 Nd5 24. Qc2 Rd7 25. Rad1 Rad8 ({After} 25... f6 26. Be4 $1 {is unpleasant.}) 26. Rd4 Nb4 27. Qc1 h6 28. Rh4 f6 $6 (28... c5 $5) 29. Rxh6 $3 gxh6 30. Qxh6 Qc7 31. Qxf6 Bb3 (31... Re7 {also loses:} 32. Qg6+ Kf8 33. Rd4 Bg8 34. Qh6+ Rg7 35. Rf4+) ({Perhaps it is time for} 31... Rxd6 32. exd6 Rxd6 {with a draw.}) 32. Bh3 $1 Rf8 33. Be6+ Bxe6 34. Qxe6+ Kh8 35. Qh6+ Kg8 36. Rd4 {The key moment has arrived.} Nd5 $2 ({There is a narrow path to the draw:} 36... Rh7 37. Rg4+ Rg7 38. Qe6+ (38. Rh4 Rh7) 38... Kh8 39. Ne8 { and now Black had to see that} Qf7 $1 {also attacks f2, and then after} 40. Nf6 $1 {there is} Rh7 $3 41. Qf5 Nd5 42. Qxh7+ Qxh7 43. Nxh7 Kxh7) 37. Qe6+ Kh8 38. Ne8 Qd8 39. Qh6+ Kg8 40. Rg4+ Kf7 41. Nd6+ 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.17"] [Round "14.8"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Sindarov, Javokhir"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E91"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2558"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "France"] [BlackTeam "Uzbekistan"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "UZB"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 c5 7. d5 e6 8. Nd2 Nbd7 9. O-O e5 10. a3 Ne8 11. b4 f5 12. Rb1 Nef6 $146 (12... a6 13. Qc2 b6 14. a4 cxb4 15. Rxb4 a5 16. Rb2 Ba6 17. exf5 gxf5 18. Re1 Qf6 19. Rb3 Qg6 {Meduna, E (2500)-Gross,S (2385) Prague 1992}) 13. Nb5 Ne8 14. Qc2 b6 15. Nc3 Qe7 16. Bb2 f4 17. Bg4 Nc7 18. Nb5 Nxb5 19. cxb5 Nf6 20. Bxc8 Raxc8 21. Rbc1 $6 ({After } 21. f3 {White seems to have a slight edge as Black's attack is much slower than in the game.}) 21... Qd7 $1 {A double attack, in fact, on b5 and the g4-square.} 22. Qd3 f3 $1 {Not even a pawn sacrifice.} 23. Nxf3 ({Safer s} 23. Qxf3 {but apart from taking on b5, Black can consider} Bh6 24. Qe2 Bxd2 25. Qxd2 Nxe4) 23... Nh5 $1 {The point, of course.} 24. Ng5 Nf4 25. Qd1 Qxb5 { Firouzja tries to solve things tactically but misses a detail.} 26. a4 $6 ({ Best is} 26. Rb1 $1) 26... Qxb4 27. Bc3 Qc4 $1 {Basically deciding the game.} 28. Rc2 ({Perhaps Firouzja planned} 28. Bxe5 {but Black has} Qxc1 $1) 28... Qxa4 29. Bd2 h6 30. Bxf4 hxg5 31. Bxg5 Qxe4 32. Re1 Qf5 33. h4 Bf6 34. Bh6 Rf7 35. g3 Qh5 36. Qc1 Rh7 37. Be3 Bxh4 38. Qd1 Qxd1 39. Rxd1 Bf6 40. Ra1 Rb7 41. Ra6 Kf7 42. Kg2 Ke7 43. Rca2 Rcc7 44. Bd2 b5 45. Ba5 Rd7 46. f4 b4 47. Re2 Rb5 48. g4 Kf7 49. Rf2 e4 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.17"] [Round "12.9"] [White "Vakhidov, Jakhongir"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A37"] [WhiteElo "2534"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Uzbekistan"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UZB"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. c4 c5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. O-O Bg4 7. d3 (7. h3 Bxf3 8. Bxf3 e6 9. Bg2 Nge7 10. b3 O-O 11. Bb2 d5 12. d3 Rc8 13. Qd2 b6 14. Na4 Bxb2 15. Qxb2 d4 {Nielsen,P (2618)-Vidit,S (2726) Online 2021}) 7... Qd7 8. Nd5 Nf6 9. Nxf6+ $146 (9. Ng5 h6 10. Nxf6+ Bxf6 11. Ne4 Bg7 12. Re1 Bh3 13. e3 Bxg2 14. Kxg2 f5 15. Nc3 O-O-O 16. a3 g5 {Kostjukovich,S-Pikkmets Mikk,R Tallinn 2000}) 9... Bxf6 10. Rb1 Bh3 11. Bh6 Bxg2 12. Kxg2 d5 $5 {Starting rather risky play.} 13. cxd5 Qxd5 14. Qa4 O-O-O $5 15. b4 $5 cxb4 16. Be3 ({Better is first} 16. Rfc1 {so that Black won't have the ...b6 option.}) 16... Kb8 $6 ({This is one of those cases where Black has to break a positional rule of chess as weakening the kingside with} 16... b6 {is better for tactical reasons. He can follow up with Kb7 (or Kb8, if White gives a check on a6) and Rc8.}) 17. Rfc1 Qa5 {This seems to solve Black's problems as well, doesn't it?} 18. Qxa5 Nxa5 19. Bf4+ {Oops, no, it doesn't.} Ka8 20. Bc7 Rd5 $6 ({In hindsight, the best chance is} 20... Nc6 21. Bxd8 Rxd8) 21. e4 Rb5 22. a4 $1 {There's a good chance Dominguez had missed this.} Rb6 23. Bxb6 axb6 24. Rxb4 Rd8 25. e5 Bg7 26. d4 Ka7 27. Rcb1 e6 28. Rxb6 Rd7 29. Rd6 Re7 30. Nd2 Rc7 31. Ne4 Bf8 32. Rd8 Be7 33. Rh8 h5 34. Rh7 Nc6 35. Rc1 Ba3 36. Rc4 Rd7 37. Nf6 Re7 38. f4 Bb2 39. d5 exd5 40. Nxd5 Rd7 41. Rxc6 bxc6 42. e6 Rxd5 43. e7 Rd2+ 44. Kf1 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.17"] [Round "2.9"] [White "Cheparinov, Ivan"] [Black "Svane, Rasmus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "2661"] [BlackElo "2669"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "121"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {After a nerve-racking second blitz game which Cheparinov needed to win on demand, the psychological advantage was clearly on his side.} 1. e4 e5 { Svane was consistent with his classical approach against the two main moves through the match, whereas Cheparinov was alternating 1.e4 and d4.} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 8. h4 {It is no longer a secret that the Bulgarian GM firmly believes in this move.} Qe6 ({ Last year, Aronian held the opposite-colored bishop position after} 8... d6 9. c4 Nb6 10. exd6 cxd6 11. Nc3 Be6 12. b3 d5 13. cxd5 Nxd5 14. Bb2 Qb4 15. Qc4 Qxc4 16. Bxc4 Bb4 17. Bxd5 Bxd5 18. O-O-O Bxc3 19. Bxc3 f6 {Nepomniachtchi,I (2784)-Aronian,L (2781) Online 2020}) 9. Nd2 {The more flexible move, which scores better than 9.g3.} a5 10. g3 Ba6 11. c4 Nb4 12. Bh3 {White deviates from their earlier game, played just minutes prior to this one.} ({After} 12. Nf3 Qg6 13. h5 Qc2 14. Rh4 Be7 15. Bg5 Bxg5 16. Nxg5 Rb8 17. a3 Qxe2+ 18. Kxe2 Nd5 19. Ke1 Ne7 20. b4 c5 21. b5 {White was better, but failed to convert, Cheparinov,I (2609) -Svane,R (2644) Sochi 2021}) 12... Qg6 $146 {And this worked spectacularly well for Cheparinov! The novelty played by Svane is an obvious mistake.} (12... f5 13. O-O Nc2 14. Rb1 Nd4 15. Qd3 Bc5 16. b3 O-O 17. Ne4 Ba7 18. Bf4 Qg6 {and Black even won later in Vusatiuk,V (2372)-Stegariu,V (2594) Chess.com 2020}) 13. Ne4 {Obvious but very strong. The black queen is in danger, h4-h5 being a decisive threat.} h5 14. a3 {Not the only way to terrorize Black.} (14. Bg5 $1 {intending to jump with the knight to d6 is equally good:} Nd5 {and White should be winning after castling either kingside or queenside.} 15. O-O-O (15. O-O)) (14. O-O {at once is excellent too.}) 14... Nd5 15. O-O Nb6 16. Qf3 {Renewing the trapping threat. This time the bishop wants the queen.} ({Even better might be} 16. b3 $1 a4 17. Qf3 {but that is a small detail.}) 16... Qh7 {As ugly as this is, it's the only way to save the game.} (16... Nxc4 {does not work after} 17. Bf5 Nxe5 18. Qf4) ({However, the tricky} 16... Bxc4 $1 17. Bf5 Be2 $1 {almost works when White needs to find} 18. Qf4 Nd5 19. Nd6+ $1 cxd6 20. Qe4 {finally trapping the queen. Still, this might have been a better practical chance for Svane.}) 17. Bf5 {The simplest moves are best when blitzing.} ({Another way to break open the king's castle is } 17. Ng5 Qg8 18. Rd1 Rd8 19. e6 fxe6 20. Bxe6 dxe6 21. Qxc6+ Rd7 22. Be3 { with a decisive attack.}) 17... Qg8 18. c5 {White is completely winning. Black's position is a pain to watch, but Svane keeps fighting and it was almost a matter of seconds at the end.} (18. b3 a4 19. Re1 axb3 20. Bg5 { would have been great for White.}) 18... Nd5 ({As after} 18... Bxf1 19. cxb6 Bc4 20. bxc7 Bd5 21. Qd3 {Black cannot stop the deadly check on d6.}) 19. Re1 { with the unstoppable threat of opening the e-file.} Be7 20. Nd6+ Kd8 (20... cxd6 21. exd6 {is not playable at all.}) 21. Bd2 $1 {The simplest. But White was running below a minute on the clock here in the search for a forcing win.} Bc8 22. Ne4 {A sensible retreat.} ({Although} 22. Rad1 cxd6 23. cxd6 {is a legit way to finish the battle.}) 22... f6 23. exf6 gxf6 24. Rad1 Qg7 25. Nc3 $1 {Removing the last defender.} Bb7 26. Be4 ({Or} 26. Nxd5 cxd5 27. b4) 26... Nxc3 27. Bxc3 Kc8 28. Bf5 Rd8 {Everything is ready for the decisive blow.} 29. Rxd7 $1 {Here it is!} Rxd7 30. Rd1 Kb8 31. Rxd7 {Svane knows that he is lost and understands that his only chance is to flag the opponent before he reaches move 60. A rapid sequence of moves follows with no one blundering anything.} Qf8 32. Qf4 Bd8 33. Qd4 Be7 34. Qf4 Bd8 35. Bd4 Bc8 36. Rh7 Bxf5 37. Qxf5 Kb7 38. Qxh5 Be7 39. Qf7 Rd8 40. Qxf8 Bxf8 41. Bxf6 Rd1+ 42. Kg2 Bxc5 43. Be5 Bb6 44. h5 Rd2 45. Rf7 Rd5 46. f4 Rd2+ 47. Kh3 Bg1 48. Kg4 Kb6 49. h6 Rh2 50. h7 c5 51. Kg5 ({Cheparinov does not even have time to promote to a queen:} 51. h8=Q Rxh8 52. Bxh8 {The promotion move is too laborious, and this may waste precious seconds on the clock, although White is winning, of course..}) 51... Bd4 52. Bxd4 cxd4 53. Kg6 d3 54. Rd7 d2 55. Rxd2 Rxd2 56. h8=Q Rd6+ 57. Kg5 Rd5+ 58. f5 Rd8 {The last cheapo.} 59. Qxd8 Kb7 60. Qd5+ Kb6 61. b4 {Because the two-second increment had been triggered, Svane resigned here.} 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.18"] [Round "19.6"] [White "Martirosyan, Haik M."] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D79"] [WhiteElo "2648"] [BlackElo "2770"] [Annotator "Hjartarson,J"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "Azerbaijan"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "AZE"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 c6 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O d5 7. cxd5 cxd5 8. Nc3 Nc6 9. Ne5 Bf5 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Bf4 Nh5 $5 ({More common is} 11... Nd7) 12. Be3 c5 $146 (12... Nf6 13. h3 Rb8 14. b3 Qa5 15. Na4 Be4 16. Rc1 Bxg2 17. Kxg2 Rfc8 18. Bf4 Ra8 19. Be5 Ne4 {Paszewski,M (2515)-Ansh,S (2278) Chess.com 2020}) 13. Nxd5 e6 14. Nf4 cxd4 15. Nxh5 gxh5 {Like in some Benoni and King's Indian defenses, this doubled pawn on the h-file is no problem for Black at all.} 16. Bd2 Rc8 17. Bb4 Re8 18. Rc1 Qb6 19. Qa4 d3 20. exd3 Bxd3 21. Rfd1 Bb5 22. Qb3 Bd4 $6 (22... h4 $5) 23. Be1 e5 $2 24. Bd5 {As simple as that. Black is basically lost already.} Kg7 25. Bxf7 Rf8 26. Rxc8 Rxc8 27. Bxh5 Rf8 28. Bf3 Qa6 29. Rc1 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.18"] [Round "19.22"] [White "Tabatabaei, M. Amin"] [Black "Yu, Yangyi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2613"] [BlackElo "2705"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Iran"] [BlackTeam "China"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IRI"] [BlackTeamCountry "CHN"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 a6 8. a4 (8. Nbd2 Ba7 9. O-O O-O 10. a4 Na5 11. Ba2 g5 12. Bg3 Nh5 13. b4 Nxg3 14. hxg3 Nc6 15. Nh2 Kg7 {Carlsen,M (2847)-Aronian,L (2781) Online 2021}) 8... Qe7 9. O-O Ba7 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Re1 Be6 12. b4 Bxc4 13. Nxc4 Qe6 14. b5 Ne7 15. Rb1 Nd7 16. Bxe7 Qxe7 17. d4 Qe6 18. Qd3 Nb6 19. Ne3 a5 20. Nd2 $146 (20. Rbd1 Rfe8 21. Qc2 Rac8 22. Nd5 exd4 23. Nxb6 d3 24. Qxd3 Bxb6 25. Nd2 Bc5 {½-½ Nasuta,G (2518)-Girish,A (2444) Llucmajor 2019}) 20... Rfd8 21. Nf5 h5 $6 ({Missing} 21... g6 $1 {because White cannot take on h6 here.}) 22. Qg3 g6 $6 (22... Qf6 $5 23. Re3 Nd7) 23. Re3 $1 Kf8 24. Qg5 $1 gxf5 25. exf5 Qa2 26. Rbe1 Nd5 (26... Qxd2 27. Qh6+ Ke7 28. Rxe5+ $1 dxe5 29. Qxd2 {and White will win in the attack. }) 27. Rh3 Ke8 28. f6 ({Slightly more convincing is} 28. dxe5 Kd7 29. e6+ fxe6 30. fxe6+ Kc8 31. c4) 28... c6 29. c4 Nxf6 $2 ({Black's last chance is} 29... Bxd4 30. Qg8+ (30. cxd5 Qxd5) 30... Kd7 31. Qxf7+ Kc8 32. cxd5 Qxd2 33. Rf1 Rd7 $1 34. Qe8+ Kc7 35. f7 (35. Qxa8 $2 Rd8) 35... Rdd8) 30. dxe5 dxe5 31. Rxe5+ Kd7 32. Rd3+ Kc7 33. Re7+ Nd7 34. Qe5+ Kc8 35. Rexd7 Bb6 36. Rxd8+ Bxd8 37. b6 (37. b6 Bxb6 38. Qe8+ Kc7 39. Rd7#) 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.18"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Dubov, Daniil"] [Black "Malakhov, Vladimir"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D15"] [WhiteElo "2714"] [BlackElo "2666"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 {The Chebanenko Slav has been Malakhov's bread and butter for many years now and its occurrence was definitely not a surprise for White. Or, as Dubov put it, it was as surprising as \"rain in England.\"} 5. g3 {A relatively rare line. White is trying to get his opponent away from his comfort zone and play positions typical for the Catalan or the Neo-Grunfeld.} dxc4 6. Bg2 g6 {Neo-Grunfeld it is.} ({Black can also choose to stick to Catalan gambit waters with} 6... e6 7. O-O b5 8. Ne5 Bb7 9. b3 cxb3 10. axb3 Nbd7 11. Qc2 Rc8 {with compensation for the pawn in Basso,P (2655)-Checa,N (2787) Chess.com 2020}) 7. O-O Bg7 8. e4 O-O 9. Qe2 b5 10. a4 {A direct approach.} ({Dubov also considered the natural moves} 10. Rd1 $5 {when Black has difficulties with the development} Nbd7 ({Or} 10... Bb7 11. e5 {followed by the same e5-e6.}) ({If} 10... e6 11. e5 {and then White will start a direct kingside attack by advancing his h-pawn.}) 11. e5 {followed by e5-e6.}) (10. Re1 $5) 10... b4 $146 {To which Malakhov reacts with a very solid novelty.} (10... Bb7 11. Rd1 e6 12. Bg5 Qb6 13. e5 Nd5 14. Ne4 Nd7 15. Nd6 {Karlic,Z (2206)-Ostojic,V (2005) Zagreb 2011}) 11. Nd1 a5 {The c4-pawn is defended tactically.} 12. Re1 Ba6 13. e5 Nd5 14. e6 {White badly wanted to play this.} ({Although he knew that} 14. h4 {might be quite good for him as well. Dubov was not afraid of} c3 15. Qc2 cxb2 16. Bxb2 {as this would have opened the game for his pieces on the queenside.}) 14... f5 15. Ne5 {This is what White wanted to do when advancing the pawn on e6, install the knight on f7, push the h-pawn and mate. However, he underestimated Black's next maneuver. } ({Dubov also considered} 15. Ne3 {when he was once again pro-queenside opening:} c3 ({However, he seriously disliked} 15... b3 $1 {and could not find enough in the lines along} 16. Nxc4 (16. Ne5 $5) 16... Nb6 17. Nfd2 Qxd4) 16. Qc2 cxb2 17. Bxb2 Nxe3 18. Rxe3 {\"as the black queenside is in a mini-stalemate.\"}) 15... Rf6 $1 {A strong maneuver that demolishes White's edge.} ({Instead, White expected something along the lines} 15... Qb6 16. Ne3 Qxd4 17. N3xc4 Bxe5 18. Qxe5 Qxc4 19. Bh6 $1 {\"And I mate.\" (Dubov) Checking a bit further, he really does do so in the line} Rf6 ({White is also winning after} 19... Nf6 20. Bxf8 Kxf8 21. Rad1 (21. Rac1) 21... Kg7 22. Rd4 Qc2 23. Rd8) 20. Rac1 Qb3 21. Bxd5 Qxd5 22. Rcd1 $1 Qxe5 23. Rd8+ Rf8 24. Rxf8#) 16. Nf7 Qc8 17. Ne3 {The most \"controlled\" move, according to the young Russian.} ({He wanted badly to make the move} 17. Bg5 {work, but after} c3 18. Qe5 {Then} (18. Qc2 Rxe6 {is obviously bad for White.}) 18... c2 19. Bxd5 (19. Bxf6 Bxf6 { suddenly traps the white queen in the middle of the board!}) 19... cxd1=Q ({ And indeed, Dubov's intuition did not let him down here as Black has a winning continuation instead:} 19... cxd5 $3 20. Qxd5 Bb7 21. Qd8+ Qxd8 22. Nxd8 Be4 { and White can resign.}) 20. Raxd1 cxd5 21. Qxd5 {is in fact good for White, but Dubov felt that he might easily miss something and end up in a lost position.}) 17... Rxe6 18. Ng5 c3 {Most likely the primary reason for Malakhov's defeat. The opening of the queenside works well again for the first player as his rooks are more mobile.} (18... Rxe3 $1 19. Bxe3 {would have been fine for Black instead.}) 19. Qc2 Rxe3 ({Black could have also kept the rook alive with} 19... Rd6 20. bxc3 {But this seemed too risky for him. In fact, Dubov thought he is mating with} Nxc3 (20... bxc3 21. Ba3) 21. Qb3+ {But there is nothing clear-cut, at least after a primary analysis:} e6 22. Nxf5 $1 gxf5 23. Nxe6 Ra7 24. Nc7+ Kf8 25. Re8+ Qxe8 26. Nxe8 Ne2+ 27. Kh1 Kxe8 28. Qg8+ Bf8 {and it is anyone's game.}) 20. Bxe3 cxb2 21. Qxb2 Nd7 22. Rac1 N7b6 ({After} 22... N7f6 {\"Black might have saved his king but could have easily lost his queenside pawns.\" (Dubov)}) 23. Qb3 {It is interesting to know that Dubov considered his position winning at this stage, whereas Malakhov thought that he was OK.} Bb7 24. Bf4 Bf6 25. Ne6 {Such a beast cannot be ignored for long.} Kh8 26. Bh6 {As Larsen once said, the air around the enemy king might not be just empty.} Qg8 27. h4 Rb8 28. Rc5 Ra8 29. Ng5 {Setting up a devilish trap in the arising time trouble.} ({The other way to attack was connected with the swap of the important defender:} 29. Bg5 $5 Bxg5 30. hxg5 Ra7 31. Bxd5 Nxd5 32. Qb2 {and then White would remove the blockader on d5 searching for decisive infiltration.}) 29... Ra7 {Malakhov sees it.} (29... Bxd4 {would have been a cold shower after} 30. Rxe7 $3 Nxe7 31. Nf7+) 30. Rc2 {Second time offer.} Qe8 {Once again rejected.} (30... Bxd4 31. Rxe7 $1) 31. Re6 {The problem is that White keeps making progress, and Malakhov finally bites the bullet.} Bxd4 ({ Had he stayed, White intended to attack this way:} 31... Qg8 32. Rce2 Ba8 ( 32... Bxd4 33. Rxe7 $1 {works again.}) 33. Re1 {followed by Bg2-f3, Kg1-g2 and the familiar h-mate.}) 32. h5 $1 Bf6 ({Dubov's point was connected with the line} 32... gxh5 33. Qd3 ({But once more Dubov's intuition was correct and} 33. Bh3 $1 {would have won instead.}) 33... Bf6 34. Qxf5 {when he thought he was mating. Only at the press-conference did he realize together with commentating GM Sergey Shipov that Black has a defense:} Qg6 {This was not a problem for him as he quickly produced a mating picture again with} 35. Rxf6 exf6 36. Re2 Ra8 37. Bxd5 $1 Qxf5 ({But then he saw the defense} 37... Nxd5 38. Qd7 fxg5 39. Re6 Nf6) ({And alas} 37... cxd5 $1 {is a defense too.}) 38. Nf7+ Kg8 39. Nd8+) 33. Rce2 $1 {The capture on f6 cannot adequately be prevented.} Bxg5 ({A familiar trick is demonstrated again in the line} 33... Qg8 34. Rxe7 Bxe7 35. Rxe7 Nxe7 36. Nf7+) ({Whereas after} 33... Qd7 34. hxg6 hxg6 35. g4 {White was ready to mate once more along the h-file.}) 34. Qb2+ $1 {The neatest win.} ({ Not allowing any chance for the knight to interfere in the line} 34. Bxg5 Bc8 35. Qb2+ Kg8 36. Bh6 Nc3) 34... Nc3 ({Or the posh mate} 34... Bf6 35. Rxf6 Nxf6 36. Qxf6+ exf6 37. Rxe8#) 35. Bxg5 Nbxa4 36. Qa1 Kg8 37. Re1 {Black is tied up, and the desperate counterplay does not work:} Ba6 38. Bxc6 Qd8 39. Bxa4 Qd5 40. Bc6 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.18"] [Round "19.5"] [White "Dzagnidze, Nana"] [Black "Yip, Carissa"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2524"] [BlackElo "2430"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Georgia"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GEO"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O O-O 5. d4 d6 6. c4 Bf5 7. Nh4 Be4 8. f3 Bc6 9. Nc3 e5 10. Be3 $146 (10. d5 Bd7 11. e4 Ne8 12. Bh1 f5 13. exf5 gxf5 14. f4 e4 15. Be3 Na6 16. Ng2 Nc5 17. Bd4 Nf6 18. Ne3 Nd3 19. Ne2 b5 {Van Wely,L (2654)-Caruana,F (2791) Dubai 2014}) 10... Bd7 11. Qd2 exd4 12. Bxd4 h6 13. e4 Nc6 14. Be3 Kh7 15. Rad1 Re8 16. Kh1 a6 17. f4 b5 $6 ({Better was} 17... Bg4 18. Rde1 Qd7) 18. e5 $1 dxe5 19. Nd5 $2 ({The typical} 19. f5 $1 {was good for White, with the nice point} g5 20. Qxd7 $1 Nxd7 21. Bxc6 gxh4 22. Rxd7 Qc8 23. Nd5) 19... Ng4 $2 ({Again} 19... Bg4 $1 {which is now good for Black:} 20. Nxf6+ Qxf6 21. fxe5 Qxe5 22. Bxc6 Rad8) 20. f5 $1 {Not missing the second chance.} e4 21. fxg6+ fxg6 22. Rf7 $2 (22. h3 Nxe3 23. Qxe3 {was very good for White.}) 22... Nce5 23. Rxg7+ Kxg7 24. Bd4 Bc6 $6 (24... g5) 25. Bxe4 Nf6 $2 ( 25... bxc4) 26. Bg2 $2 (26. Qf4 $1) 26... bxc4 27. Ne3 Kh7 28. Qf2 Bxg2+ 29. Kxg2 Qd6 30. Bc3 Qc6+ 31. Kg1 Ne4 32. Qf4 Ng5 33. Qf1 Nef3+ 34. Nxf3 Nxf3+ 35. Kf2 Rf8 36. Ke2 Nd4+ 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.20"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A55"] [WhiteElo "2501"] [BlackElo "2731"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "135"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 {A must-win situation for the rating favorite, and Giri avoids the beaten tracks.} 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. e4 e5 5. Nf3 Be7 6. Be2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. d5 {This is, of course, possible but looks a bit premature. Instead, White is usually trying to keep the pawn structure in the center flexible, waiting for a concession.} ({The main move is} 8. Re1 {when a possible move like} Re8 { which prepares the capture on d4 is the concession White wants when playing} 9. d5 {Then the black rook is no longer supporting the f7-f5 advance.}) ({The other main moves are} 8. Be3) ({Or the immediate} 8. Qc2) 8... Nc5 {This square is the difference.} 9. Qc2 a5 10. Be3 Qc7 11. a3 ({Another plan is} 11. Nd2 Bd7 12. f3 Rfb8 13. Nb3 Nxb3 14. Qxb3 cxd5 15. cxd5 a4 16. Qb4 {Although here too, Black is not deprived of counterplay and may attack on the kingside with} Nh5 {Hirneise,T (2452) -Nazaretyan,T (2316) Online 2020}) 11... Ng4 { In order to unbalance as much as he can.} ({An interesting idea is} 11... a4 $5 {when} 12. Bxc5 dxc5 13. Nxa4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 Rxa4 15. Qxe5 Qxe5 16. Nxe5 { provides Black compensation for a pawn.}) 12. Bxc5 $146 {This is a novelty and a logical one.} ({In an earlier game, White opted for the illogical} 12. Bg5 Bxg5 13. Nxg5 a4 {and Black was already better in Glodyan,D (1954) -Chelyadinsky,A Dagomys 2009}) ({The modest} 12. Bd2 {would be a good sign for Giri as he can choose between the kingside attack with} f5 ({or the positional approach} 12... a4)) 12... dxc5 13. Ne1 Nf6 14. Nd3 {Abdusattorov wants to tame the enemy pieces, but the pawn breaks are just about to start.} Bd7 15. b3 cxd5 16. cxd5 ({Of course not} 16. exd5 Bd6 {when Black's play on the kingside unfolds by itself.}) ({However, the swap of the knight pair is a must if White wanted to be a successful blockader:} 16. Nxd5 $1 Nxd5 17. cxd5 b5 18. Nb2) 16... b5 17. Nb2 {Intending a3-a4, but the young Uzbek GM comes a move short.} ({Abdusattorov likely considered} 17. a4 $5 {at once to which} b4 (17... c4 $2 {is a mistake due to} 18. Nxb5) 18. Nb5 Bxb5 19. axb5 Nxe4 {Can be met with} ({ However, White might have feared} 19... c4 $1 {instead.}) 20. Nxb4 $1) 17... c4 $1 {Giri crashes through with a typical anti-blocking sacrifice.} 18. bxc4 b4 19. axb4 axb4 20. Nca4 ({Once more, a preliminary trade might have eased White's defense:} 20. Rxa8 $1 Rxa8 21. Nca4 Ra5 22. Bd1) 20... Ra5 $1 {The pin is more than annoying.} 21. Bd1 Rfa8 22. Qd3 ({It made sense to try} 22. Re1 $5 {instead with the idea} Bc5 23. Nxc5 Rxa1 24. Nb3 {when the white passers are ready to roll.}) 22... Bc5 23. Bb3 ({With the white queen misplaced,} 23. Nxc5 Rxa1 24. Nb3 {is no longer working, and Black would stop the opponent's pawns after} R1a2 25. Qb1 Qa7 26. c5 Bb5 27. Re1 Nd7) 23... h6 {Giri has clearly outplayed his younger opponent, and this is the first moment when he could have levelled the score in the match.} ({Strong is} 23... Bd4 $1 {winning material and the game after} 24. Rab1 ({Or} 24. Ra2 Bxb2) 24... Bxa4 25. Nxa4 Rxa4 26. Bxa4 Rxa4) 24. Qc2 Qa7 25. h3 ({The computer claims} 25. Ra2 {to be a better defense but does not say what would it play after} Bd4 26. Rfa1 Ng4) 25... Bd4 26. Ra2 Ra6 {The second good moment to likely level the match is missed.} ({The forcing line} 26... Bxb2 $1 27. Qxb2 Bxa4 28. Rfa1 Qd4 29. Qxd4 exd4 30. Rxa4 Rxa4 31. Rxa4 Rxa4 32. Bxa4 Nxe4 {followed by a king's march to c5 seems like a winning idea.}) 27. Rfa1 Rc8 28. Nc3 $1 {Abdusattorov is shaking the boat! The young GM feels that this is a good moment to finally free himself from the pin.} ({Although objectively} 28. c5 $1 Bxa4 29. Rxa4 Rxc5 30. Qe2 {might have been the right thing to do.}) 28... Ra3 $1 {Precision! } ({In the line} 28... Rxa2 29. Rxa2 Bxf2+ 30. Qxf2 Qxf2+ 31. Kxf2 bxc3 32. Nd1 Nxe4+ 33. Ke2 Nd2 {Black preserves the advantage, but the resources are quickly evaporating, and this may well end in a draw.}) 29. Nd3 {Defending the pawn and moving from yet another pin. This is the human way to do it.} ({ The machine defends instead with} 29. Nb1 $1 Bxf2+ $1 30. Qxf2 Qxf2+ 31. Kxf2 Nxe4+ 32. Kf3 {but eventually comes to the conclusion that Black should still be close to a win, thanks to the amazing} Rxb3+ 33. Kxe4 Re8 $3 34. g4 g6 $1 35. Nd3 f5+ 36. Ke3 e4 37. Rd2 exd3+ 38. Kd4 Re4+ 39. Kc5 fxg4) 29... Nxe4 $1 { It seems as White's position collapses.} 30. Nxe4 Bxa1 31. c5 $1 {The last chance!} ({White would not survive after} 31. Nxb4 Rxa2 32. Bxa2 Bd4) 31... Rxa2 $1 {That should be good enough for the win.} ({Although} 31... Bf5 $3 { would be neater, making use of one more pin in the lines} 32. Nxb4 ({Nothing changes} 32. f3 Bd4+ 33. Kh1 Bxc5) 32... Bxe4 33. Qxe4 Rxa2 34. Bxa2 Qxc5 { and Black wins.}) 32. Qxa2 Qxa2 33. Bxa2 Ra8 34. Bc4 {Abdusattorov stabilizes and seems ready to start pushing the passers. But it was once again about a tempo.} ({Black should convert easier after} 34. Nxb4 Bf5 35. Ng3 Bc3) 34... Bf5 35. f3 Bd4+ 36. Kf1 Kf8 {Alas, Giri has passed another clear win. Unsurprisingly, the pins are involved again.} ({If he had a minute more on the clock, Giri would have no doubt found} 36... Bxe4 $1 37. fxe4 Bxc5 38. Nxc5 { And now not} Rc8 {which loses to} ({But} 38... Ra1+ $1 39. Ke2 Rc1 {and this time the rook skewers, which can be interpreted as a pin, win for a change. Plus, the rook would stop the white pawn too.}) 39. d6 Rxc5 40. d7) 37. d6 Bxe4 {Missing the last winning opportunity.} (37... b3 $1 38. Bxb3 Ra3 39. Bc4 Bxe4 40. fxe4 Rc3 {stops the pawns and attacks too.}) 38. fxe4 Rd8 39. Ke2 {Now the white pawns will cost Black a piece.} Bxc5 40. Nxc5 Rxd6 41. Nd3 f6 42. Bd5 $1 {The white pieces are super-solid, and he is out of danger.} Rb6 43. Kd2 Ke7 44. Kc2 Kd6 45. Kb3 Rb8 (45... f5 {should have already been played.}) 46. h4 f5 47. h5 f4 ({The last micro-chance is} 47... Rc8 $1 48. Bc4 fxe4 49. Nxb4 Rf8 { although here too White should be able to survive with} 50. Nc2 Rf5 51. Ne3) 48. Ne1 Ke7 49. Nf3 {The white pieces are holding the enemy ones behind.} Kf6 50. Bc4 Rb7 51. Bd5 Rb6 52. Bc4 Rb8 53. Bd5 Rb5 54. Bc4 {Finally, a desperate Giri sacrifices his passer:} Ra5 55. Kxb4 Ra1 56. Kc5 Rh1 ({Objectively, Black needs to force a draw with} 56... Rc1 57. Kd5 Rd1+ 58. Kc5 Rc1) 57. Kd6 Rxh5 { As now only White can win:} 58. Bd5 ({Or also} 58. Be6 $5) 58... g6 59. Bc6 Kg7 60. Bd7 $1 {Very practical! Abdusattorov forces the opponent to give up his pawn in worse circumstances under the threat of a three-fold repetition.} ({ Although} 60. Nxe5 Rh2 61. Nd3 Rxg2 62. Nxf4 Rd2+ {would be fine for White too, after} 63. Bd5 {but unnecessarily complicated.}) 60... Kf6 61. Bc6 Rh1 62. Nxe5 Rd1+ 63. Bd5 h5 ({Or} 63... g5 64. Ng4+ Kg6 65. e5) 64. Nd7+ Kg7 65. e5 Re1 66. e6 {And the passer advances after} g5 67. e7 g4 68. Ne5 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.20"] [Round "26.7"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Paravyan, David"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2629"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "120"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "France"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Nd4 5. Bg2 Nxf3+ 6. Bxf3 Bc5 7. O-O O-O 8. e3 d6 9. d4 Bb6 10. Bg2 Re8 11. b3 Bg4 12. Qd3 c6 13. h3 Be6 14. d5 cxd5 15. cxd5 e4 16. Qd2 Bf5 17. Bb2 Nd7 18. Rac1 Nc5 19. Na4 Nd3 20. Nxb6 axb6 21. Ra1 Qd7 22. Kh2 Nxb2 23. Qxb2 h5 24. Qd4 b5 25. h4 Qe7 26. Qb4 Bd7 27. a3 Rac8 28. Rac1 Rc5 29. Qd4 f5 30. b4 Rxc1 31. Rxc1 Rc8 32. Rxc8+ Bxc8 33. Qb6 Bd7 34. Qxb7 Kf8 35. Bf1 Be8 36. Qb8 Qd7 37. Be2 Ke7 38. Kg1 Kf6 39. Qb6 Ke7 40. Kf1 { The first moment of the position with Black to move.} Qd8 41. Qb7+ Qd7 42. Qb8 Qd8 43. Qa7+ Qd7 44. Qd4 Kf8 45. Qb6 {Here Paravyan stopped the clock, saying his next move would be a three-fold repetition.} Ke7 46. Ke1 Qc8 {Now MVL makes a calculation error.} 47. Kd2 $2 Qa8 $1 {Now it's a draw.} 48. Qd4 ({ MVL said that from afar he had planned} 48. Qc7+ Bd7 49. Bxb5 {but here he discovered that it just loses to} Qxd5+) 48... Qxa3 $2 ({After} 48... Kf8 $1 { White has to lose one pawn.}) 49. Qxg7+ Bf7 50. Qc3 Qa2+ 51. Ke1 $6 ({ Remarkably, the engine claims White is still winning with} 51. Qc2 $1 Qxd5+ 52. Ke1 {due to Black's weaknesses on b5 and h5.}) 51... Qb1+ 52. Bd1 Bxd5 53. Kd2 Bc4 54. Bxh5 Qf1 55. Qg7+ Kd8 56. Qf6+ Kc7 57. Qe7+ Kc8 58. Qe8+ Kc7 59. Qe7+ Kc8 60. Qe8+ Kc7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.22"] [Round "28.13"] [White "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2709"] [BlackElo "2726"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 e6 5. Nbd2 Qb6 6. Rb1 Bd6 7. dxc5 Qxc5 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O Nbd7 10. b4 Qc7 11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. c4 b6 13. cxd5 Qxd5 14. Qe2 Bb7 15. e4 Qh5 16. Nc4 Rfd8 17. Rbd1 Nf8 18. h3 Ng6 19. Qe3 Ba6 20. Nd6 Rxd6 21. Bxa6 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 Ne5 23. Be2 Nxf3+ 24. Bxf3 Qe5 25. Qc1 h6 26. Qc6 Rb8 27. a4 Kf8 28. a5 bxa5 29. bxa5 Ne8 30. a6 Qc7 31. Qa4 Qc5 32. Qa1 Nc7 33. Rd7 Kg8 34. e5 Rb4 35. Qd1 Nb5 36. Rb7 Nd4 37. Be4 g6 38. Qd2 Rc4 39. Bxg6 $2 ({ In this tricky situation, White is OK even if he gives e5 with check, e.g.} 39. Qe3 Rc1+ (39... Qxe5 40. Bd3 $1 Qxe3 41. fxe3 Rc1+ 42. Kf2 Nc6 43. Be4 { leads to a draw}) 40. Kh2 Qxe5+ 41. f4 Qc5 {and a fun drawing line is} 42. Bxg6 $5 Rf1 $1 {(threatening a knight check on f3)} 43. Bxf7+ Kf8 44. Bh5 $1 Nf3+ 45. Qxf3 Rxf3 46. Rb8+ Ke7 47. Rb7+ Kd6 48. Bxf3 Qe3 49. Rf7 Qb6 50. Be2 { with a fortress.}) 39... fxg6 40. Qxh6 $6 ({The last chance is} 40. Rb8+ Kf7 41. Rb7+ Ke8 42. Qxh6 Rc1+ 43. Kh2 Nf3+ (43... Qxe5+ $6 44. f4) 44. Kg3 Qxe5+ 45. Qf4) 40... Rc1+ 41. Kh2 Qxe5+ 42. f4 {After the time control, Vidit had plenty of time to find} Nf3+ $1 43. Kg3 (43. gxf3 Qe2+ 44. Kg3 Rg1+ 45. Kh4 Qf2#) 43... Qe1+ $1 44. Kg4 (44. Kxf3 Rc3+ 45. Kg4 Qg3#) 44... Ne5+ $1 45. Kg5 (45. fxe5 Rc4+ 46. Kf3 Rc3+) 45... Nf7+ 46. Rxf7 Kxf7 47. Qh7+ Ke8 48. g4 Rc5+ 49. f5 exf5 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.22"] [Round "28.2"] [White "Jumabayev, Rinat"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A38"] [WhiteElo "2637"] [BlackElo "2709"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "172"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Kazakhstan"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "KAZ"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. c4 c5 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 O-O 7. Nc2 Nc6 8. Nc3 d6 9. O-O Bd7 10. b3 Qa5 11. Bd2 Rfc8 12. Rc1 Qd8 13. h3 a6 14. a4 h5 15. e4 Rab8 16. Rb1 Be8 17. Qe2 Nd7 18. Rfd1 Nc5 19. Be1 Na7 20. a5 Nd7 21. Nd5 Nc6 22. b4 e6 23. Nde3 Qe7 24. f4 b6 25. axb6 Nxb6 26. Qd3 Na4 27. Qa3 Na7 28. Nd4 Qc7 29. Bf2 Nc6 30. Ne2 Ne7 31. Rd2 Nb6 32. Rc1 Rd8 33. c5 dxc5 34. Rxd8 Rxd8 35. bxc5 Nbc8 36. Qxa6 {This should somehow be winning for White, but Jumabayev fails to find the best plan while Shankland continues to play his successful baseline defense.} Nc6 37. e5 Rd2 38. Be1 (38. Nc3 {makes sense and threatens Nc3-b5-d6.}) 38... Rb2 39. Bf3 Bf8 40. Qa3 Qb8 41. Bf2 N8a7 42. Qd3 ( 42. Kg2 $5) 42... Nb4 43. Qd4 Rb3 44. Be4 Bc6 45. Nc3 Nb5 46. Nxb5 Qxb5 47. Bxc6 Nxc6 {These trades are very useful for Black, who isn't even worse anymore.} 48. Qc4 Qb7 49. Qe4 Qb5 50. Qc4 Qb7 51. Qe4 Qb5 {White should probably have taken the draw here, but that's not easy to do when you're still a pawn up.} 52. Nf1 Rb2 53. Qc4 Qb7 54. Rc2 Rb4 55. Qe2 h4 $1 56. Qf3 (56. gxh4 $5 Rxf4 57. h5) 56... Bh6 57. Be3 hxg3 58. Nxg3 Nxe5 59. Qxb7 Rxb7 60. Rc3 Nc6 61. Ne2 Kf8 62. Kf2 Ke8 63. Ra3 Kd7 64. Rd3+ Kc7 65. Nc3 Ne7 66. Kf3 Nf5 67. Bd2 Rb3 68. Ke2 Kc6 69. Ne4 Rxd3 70. Kxd3 Kd5 71. Bc1 Nh4 72. Nd6 f5 73. Ne8 Kxc5 74. Nc7 $2 {Now White even loses.} (74. Ke2 $1 {still holds.}) 74... e5 75. Be3+ Kc6 76. Na6 Ng2 77. Nb4+ Kd7 78. Nd5 Nxe3 79. Nxe3 Bxf4 80. Nd5 Bg5 81. Nc3 Ke6 82. Ne2 e4+ 83. Kd4 Bf6+ 84. Ke3 Ke5 85. Nc3 f4+ 86. Kf2 Be7 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.22"] [Round "?"] [White "Bacrot, Etienne"] [Black "Ponkratov, Pavel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C15"] [WhiteElo "2678"] [BlackElo "2629"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nge2 {I have not seen this line in a while. A lovely delight to my eyes.} dxe4 5. a3 Be7 6. Nxe4 Nf6 7. Qd3 {One of the two best continuations. If I recall correctly, other French GMs like Degraeve and Bauer have used it in the past. The most curious part, however, is that it is a pet line of Ponkratov, who scores really well as White!} ({The main move is still} 7. N2g3 {and it has been tried by the likes of Firouzja, Radjabov, Bronstein... Here is an old game by a hidden specialist of the line:)} Nbd7 8. Bd3 c5 9. dxc5 Nxc5 10. Nxc5 Bxc5 11. O-O Bd7 12. Nh5 Nxh5 13. Qxh5 Qb6 14. Bf4 Bc6 15. Rae1 g6 16. Bxg6 $1 fxg6 17. Rxe6+ {with a crushing attack for White in Bojkov,D (2445)-Yasim,H (2217) Istanbul 2006}) 7... Nc6 8. Be3 ({Here is one success story of the Russian GM:} 8. Bf4 O-O 9. O-O-O b6 10. N2c3 Nd5 11. Nxd5 exd5 12. Nc3 Be6 13. h4 {and White eventually prevailed in Ponkratov,P (2611)-Socko,B (2663) Moscow 2014}) 8... O-O ({Black can always release some pressure in the center with a trade} 8... Nxe4 9. Qxe4 O-O 10. O-O-O Qd5 11. Qd3 Qa2 12. Nc3 Qa1+ 13. Nb1 e5 14. d5 Nd4 {with interesting double-edged play in Philippe,C (2371)-Dgebuadze,A (2550) Vandoeuvre 2004}) 9. O-O-O Ng4 $146 { A risky affair.} ({An earlier game led to a position similar to the game of Ponkratov from above. The only difference is that the queens were traded:} 9... Nxe4 10. Qxe4 Qd5 11. Qxd5 exd5 12. Bf4 Bd8 13. h4 {and White is somewhat better in Campora,D (2505)-Maus,S (2280) Seville 2003}) 10. h4 {Bacrot does not want to spend a tempo on h2-h3.} f5 ({In case of} 10... Nxe3 {White would have likely attacked in the spirit of the Rubinstein French with} 11. fxe3 h6 ( {Pawns like this one} 11... Bxh4 $4 {should not be taken, even if they offer you money:} 12. g3 Be7 13. Nf6+) 12. g4) 11. Ng5 h6 ({Now} 11... Nxe3 12. Qxe3 {does not make sense anymore for Black due to the gaping hole on e5 and the bad e6-pawn.}) 12. Nf3 Bd6 13. g3 {White fixes some squares for his pieces to play around.} Rb8 {Ponkratov needs to find counterplay now.} (13... Nxe3 14. Qxe3 {is as before not good for Black.}) 14. c4 {The most active play!} ({ Also interesting is the restrained approach} 14. Nf4 $5 {when White does not fear} Bxf4 ({Nor does he fear} 14... b5 15. d5 $1) 15. gxf4) 14... b5 ({ Perhaps the restrained} 14... b6 $5) 15. c5 Be7 16. Nf4 b4 {Consistent but now Black opens too many squares for the opponent's pieces.} ({Stronger seems} 16... Bf6 {when a direct approach like} 17. d5 exd5 18. Qxd5+ Qxd5 19. Nxd5 { does not yield White much:} Bb7 {and the pawn is not appealing:} 20. Nxc7 Nxe3 21. fxe3 Ne7 22. Be2 Rfc8) 17. a4 b3 {Practically giving up this pawn in the hope to open files against the enemy king.} ({Perhaps} 17... Na5 $5 {is the way to play, although White is very comfortable with} 18. b3 Bf6 19. Bg2) ({Or } 17... Bf6 $5) 18. Qc3 $1 {This simple maneuver is the problem! The white bishop is open and ready to seize the a2-g8 diagonal, thus causing havoc in the enemy camp.} Nf6 ({Or else White dominates completely:} 18... Bf6 19. Bc4 Re8 20. Rhe1) 19. Bb5 Ne4 20. Qxb3 {After a thorough calculation, Bacrot picks up the pawn. It is not about the material that much, though; it is about the diagonal that he seizes and from where he wants to mate the opponent's king first.} ({There is also} 20. Qd3 $5 Qe8 21. d5 Nb4 22. Qc4 {with an edge for White.}) 20... Na5 ({Notice that} 20... a6 {does not win anything on the pin due to} 21. Ne5 $1 ({or also} 21. d5 $5) 21... Nxe5 22. dxe5) 21. Qa2 a6 22. Nxe6 {Once more, the French GM follows the most principled path.} ({Still, the more cautious} 22. Bc4 {might be better when White is in control after} Nxc4 23. Qxc4 Qe8 24. Ne5) 22... Bxe6 23. Qxe6+ Kh8 24. Bd7 ({White has to be careful not to part with his queen, as in the line} 24. Qxa6 c6 25. Bxc6 Nxc6 26. Qxc6 Rf6 27. Ne5 Qg8 $1) 24... Rf6 {The queen is trapped nevertheless?} ({ Here Black has a sudden and amazing way to coordinate his pieces with} 24... Bf6 $3 {The main idea is demonstrated by the line} 25. Ng5 ({The main trick works in these lines too:} 25. Rd3 Rxb2 26. Kxb2 Nxc5) ({Or} 25. Ne5 Bxe5 26. dxe5 Nb3+ {followed by a capture on c5.}) 25... Nb3+ 26. Kc2 Nbxc5 $3 {When White has to be careful not to get mated:} 27. dxc5 Rxb2+ 28. Kd3 $1 ({Rather than} 28. Kc1 Qb8 $1) 28... Qa8 $1 {And the machine suggests a handshake after} 29. Bc6 Qd8+ 30. Bd7) 25. Ne5 $3 {Nope, White has it all covered!} Rxb2 ({ The white pieces are surprisingly flexible after} 25... Rxe6 26. Nf7+ Kh7 27. Nxd8 Rf6 28. Ne6) 26. Kxb2 {This obvious capture is not the best, though!} ({ The other capture is winning outright instead:} 26. Qxf6 $3 {But to play it, a player needs to have nerves of titanium because} Qb8 ({Or the instant loss} 26... Bxf6 27. Nf7+) ({Or a similar escape of the king after} 26... Rb1+ 27. Kc2 $1 Rb2+ 28. Kd3 $1) 27. Qf7 $1 {does not lead Black anywhere, and the checks are useless:} Rb1+ 28. Kc2 Rb2+ ({Nothing changes} 28... Qb2+ 29. Kd3) 29. Kd3 {There is not even a perpetual!}) 26... Qb8+ 27. Ka3 Rxe6 28. Bxe6 { One more move and White would lock up everything with Rd1-b1; however, Ponkratov does not give up without a fight.} Qb6 $3 29. Bf7 Qf6 {The queen is out, and this is very dangerous.} 30. Bg5 {A beautiful way to attack, but as we know, not everything that glitters is gold.} ({The neat path for the edge is } 30. Rhe1 $3 {when} Bxc5+ 31. dxc5 Qxe5 32. Rd8+ Kh7 33. Bd4 Qe7 34. Rg8 Qxf7 35. Rxg7+ Qxg7 36. Bxg7 Kxg7 37. f3 {gives White a serious endgame advantage.}) 30... Nxg5 {Alas, this loses.} ({The stunning resource} 30... Bxc5+ $3 { would have saved Black instead, e.g.} 31. dxc5 ({Or} 31. Ka2 Nc3+ 32. Kb2 Nxd1+ 33. Kc2 Qb6 34. Ng6+ Kh7 35. dxc5 Qxc5+ 36. Kxd1 {which is also equal according to the machine after both} Nb3 ({Or} 36... Nc6)) 31... Qxe5 32. Rd8+ Kh7 33. Bg8+ {with perpetual check.} Kh8 ({Black cannot deviate:} 33... Kg6 $4 34. h5+ Kxg5 35. f4+) 34. Bf7+) 31. hxg5 Qxg5 32. Rb1 $1 {The white pieces infiltrate.} g6 33. Rb8+ Kh7 34. Rd1 $1 {Not letting the queen out. Bacrot is showing no mercy.} (34. Re8 $1 {would also do the job.}) ({But not} 34. Bxg6+ Kg7 35. Rd1 Nc4+ $1 {when everything starts over again.}) 34... Bf6 35. Bxg6+ Kg7 36. Bf7 Kh7 37. Bg8+ {A nice little maneuver to improve the bishop.} Kg7 38. Bd5 {The black knight is trapped with tempo.} Kh7 39. Rg8 Bg7 40. Re8 Bxe5 41. Rxe5 Qg4 42. Rd3 f4 43. Kb4 fxg3 44. Re7+ $1 {Winning the queen by force, therefore Black resigned.} (44. Re7+ Kh8 45. Re8+ Kh7 46. Be4+ Kg7 47. Rxg3) 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.22"] [Round "28.11"] [White "Tabatabaei, M.amin"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D27"] [WhiteElo "2613"] [BlackElo "2730"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Iran"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IRI"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 a6 6. O-O c5 7. Be2 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bd7 9. e4 Nc6 10. Nc3 Be7 $146 (10... Bb4 11. Nf3 Bxc3 12. bxc3 Nxe4 13. Qc2 Nc5 14. Be3 Qe7 15. Rfd1 Rd8 16. Ng5 f5 17. Rab1 b5 {Salimova,N (2372) -Dimitrov,R (2509) Pleven 2020}) 11. Be3 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Bc6 13. Qd3 O-O 14. Rfd1 Qb8 15. a4 Qf4 16. f3 Rad8 17. Qe3 Qxe3+ 18. Bxe3 Bb4 19. Na2 Be7 20. b3 Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Rc8 22. Rc1 Bd7 23. Rxc8+ Bxc8 24. b4 Bd7 25. a5 Ne8 26. Kf2 Nc7 27. Bc5 Bxc5+ 28. bxc5 Kf8 29. Nb4 Ke7 30. Ke3 Bb5 $6 ({The (also positionally) obvious} 30... e5 {is equal.}) 31. Bxb5 Nxb5 32. c6 bxc6 $6 ({If Hari had seen White's next move, he might have gone for} 32... Nd6 33. Kd4 Kd8 34. Kc5 Kc7 35. e5 Nf5) 33. e5 $1 {A great intermediate move. The pawn can be taken later; it's the space advantage that's more important now. Tabatabaei converts the remainder with excellent technique.} Nc7 34. Kd4 Kd7 35. Kc5 f6 36. Nxc6 Nd5 37. exf6 gxf6 38. Nb8+ Kc7 39. Nxa6+ Kb7 40. Nb4 Ne3 41. a6+ Ka7 42. Kd6 e5 43. Ke6 Nxg2 44. Kxf6 Nh4 45. Nc6+ Kxa6 46. Nxe5 Ng2 47. Kg7 Kb6 48. Kxh7 Kc5 49. Kg6 Kd4 50. Kf6 Ke3 51. Kf5 Kd4 52. f4 Kd5 53. Ng6 Ne3+ 54. Kg5 Ke6 55. h4 Nc4 56. h5 Nd6 57. Ne5 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.22"] [Round "28.1"] [White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E06"] [WhiteElo "2687"] [BlackElo "2847"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Poland"] [BlackTeam "Norway"] [WhiteTeamCountry "POL"] [BlackTeamCountry "NOR"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O a5 7. Qc2 c6 8. Nbd2 b6 9. e4 Bb7 10. Rd1 Na6 11. e5 Nd7 12. cxd5 $146 (12. a3 Rc8 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. Qb1 b5 15. Nf1 b4 16. h4 Qb6 17. Qd3 Rfd8 18. N1h2 Bc6 {Garcia Fuentes,S (2134) -Peycheva,G (2255) Chess.com 2020}) 12... Nb4 13. Qb1 cxd5 14. Nf1 Ba6 15. Ne3 Rc8 16. a3 Nc6 17. b3 b5 18. h4 b4 19. a4 Be2 20. Rd2 Bxf3 21. Bxf3 f6 22. Bg4 f5 23. Nxf5 $5 {No fear!} ({After} 23. Bh3 Bxh4 {is possible as well because} 24. gxh4 $2 Qxh4 {also attacks d4.}) 23... exf5 24. Bxf5 Bxh4 $5 {Mirrorring White's play.} (24... g6 25. Bxg6 Kh8 26. Bxh7 Bxh4 {leads to wild complications as well.}) ({The engine prefers} 24... Kh8 {when} 25. Bxh7 { is once again met by} Bxh4 {e.g.} 26. Qg6 Qg5 27. Rd1 Qxg6 28. Bxg6 Bd8 $1 { and Black is better in the endgame due to the pressure he'll put on d4.}) 25. gxh4 $2 ({The quiet} 25. Rd1 {leaves White with only a pawn for the pieces, but h7 and Bh4 are still hanging and Kg2 with Rh1 is an idea as well. The engine says it's roughly equal!}) 25... Qxh4 $6 {Played after just two minutes. } ({Apparently Carlsen didn't really believe in} 25... Ncxe5 $3 {which, however, gives Black a winning attack after} 26. dxe5 Nxe5 27. Bxc8 Qxc8) 26. Be6+ Kh8 27. Qd3 $1 Ndxe5 28. dxe5 Nxe5 29. Qxd5 Nf3+ 30. Qxf3 Rxf3 31. Bxc8 Rf8 32. Bb7 Qf6 33. Rda2 Qf7 34. Bg2 Qxb3 35. Be3 Rd8 1/2-1/2 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.22"] [Round "28.1"] [White "Stefanova, Antoaneta"] [Black "Goryachkina, Aleksandra"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2470"] [BlackElo "2596"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Bulgaria"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "BUL"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Bg4 4. O-O Nf6 5. d4 e6 6. c4 Nbd7 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Nc3 Bd6 9. Ne1 (9. Nh4 Nb6 10. f3 Be6 11. e4 Be7 12. e5 Nfd7 13. f4 Bxh4 14. f5 Bxf5 15. Rxf5 Be7 16. Qg4 g6 17. Rf2 O-O {Grischuk,A (2771)-Postny,E (2615) St Petersburg 2018}) 9... O-O 10. f3 Be6 11. Nd3 $146 (11. e4 c5 12. Nb5 Be7 13. e5 Ne8 14. f4 a6 15. Na3 f5 16. Qb3 Nc7 17. dxc5 Nxc5 18. Qd1 Ne4 19. Nec2 Nb5 {Miller,E (2355)-Arnold,M (2267) Forchheim 2018}) 11... Re8 12. Nf4 Nf8 13. Nxe6 Nxe6 14. Be3 c5 15. dxc5 Bxc5 16. Bxc5 Nxc5 17. Qd2 d4 18. Nb5 d3 19. exd3 Qb6 20. d4 Qxb5 21. dxc5 Rad8 22. Qc3 $6 ({The best square is} 22. Qc1) 22... Nd5 23. Qa3 Ne3 24. Rf2 Nc4 $6 (24... Nd1 $1 25. Rf1 Qe2 {threatens 26...Rd3 and 27...Qe3+, and there's not really anything White can do about it.}) 25. Qc3 Re3 26. Qc2 Qxc5 $4 27. Rc1 $1 {Now it's Black who will suffer from back-rank issues.} ({Goryachkina must have expected} 27. b3 {which allows} Rd2 $1 28. Rxd2 Re1#) 27... Red3 28. Kh1 $1 {Remarkably, Black doesn't have a good move here.} ({Black's play was based on} 28. Qxc4 $2 Rd1+ 29. Bf1 Rxc1) ({Also winning is} 28. b4 $1 {when after} Qxb4 {White can play} 29. Qxc4 Rd1+ 30. Bf1) 28... b5 29. b3 h5 30. bxc4 b4 31. Qe2 Rc3 32. Re1 Rxc4 33. Bf1 Rc3 34. Kg2 h4 35. gxh4 Rd6 36. Kh1 Re6 37. Qd2 Rxe1 38. Qxe1 Re3 39. Qd2 Qe7 40. Qd4 Re1 41. Kg2 a5 42. Rc2 Qe6 43. Bd3 g6 44. h5 gxh5 45. Qd8+ Kg7 46. Qg5+ Kf8 47. Qxh5 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.22"] [Round "28.2"] [White "Lagno, Kateryna"] [Black "Assaubayeva, Bibisara"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B96"] [WhiteElo "2558"] [BlackElo "2389"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Kazakhstan"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "KAZ"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 h6 8. Bh4 Qb6 9. Qd2 Qxb2 10. Rb1 Qa3 11. Be2 $5 ({More common are} 11. e5 {and}) (11. f5 ) 11... Nc6 $5 ({Here} 11... Be7 {is the main line.}) 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. e5 (13. O-O Be7 14. Rb3 Qa5 15. Kh1 Nxe4 16. Qd4 Bxh4 17. Nxe4 O-O 18. Qxd6 Qd5 { Simagin,V-Kholmov,R Vladimir 1960}) 13... dxe5 14. fxe5 Nd5 15. Nxd5 $6 { This is not very dangerous for Black.} (15. Rb3 Qa5 16. Ne4 Qxd2+ 17. Kxd2 { looks like a better endgame for White.}) 15... exd5 $146 ({Also possible is} 15... cxd5 16. O-O Bc5+ 17. Kh1 Be3 18. Qe1 Bg5 19. Bf2 O-O {as in Goldberg, A-Selke,H DDR 1983}) 16. O-O Bc5+ 17. Kh1 Qe3 18. Qa5 O-O 19. Bd3 Bd4 20. Rbe1 Bb6 21. Qa4 Qd4 22. Qxc6 Qxh4 23. Qxb6 Be6 24. Qe3 Rab8 25. a3 Rfc8 26. Rf4 Qd8 27. Ref1 Rb2 28. Qa7 Qc7 29. Qxa6 Rd8 30. Re1 Qc3 31. Rff1 Ra2 32. a4 Qd4 33. a5 Qc3 34. Qb6 Qxa5 35. Qe3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.23"] [Round "29.13"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E62"] [WhiteElo "2726"] [BlackElo "2709"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. d4 d6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 g6 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 Bf5 6. Qb3 Qc8 7. Nc3 c6 8. O-O O-O 9. Re1 Bg4 10. e4 Bxf3 11. Bxf3 e5 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. c5 $146 (13. Be3 Rd8 14. Rad1 Rxd1 15. Rxd1 Nbd7 16. Rd2 Qc7 17. Qd1 Bf8 18. a3 Bc5 {Lares,H (2029) -Forthoffer,P (2192) Horben 2019}) 13... Na6 14. Be3 Nc7 (14... Ng4 $2 15. Bxg4 Qxg4 16. Qxb7) 15. Rad1 Ne6 16. Qc4 h5 17. Ne2 Rd8 18. Bg2 Ng4 19. Bc1 Rxd1 20. Rxd1 Qf8 21. f3 Nf6 22. b4 a5 23. a3 axb4 24. axb4 Ne8 25. f4 Qe7 26. Bh3 N8c7 27. f5 gxf5 28. Bxf5 Nb5 29. Bb2 Bf6 30. Qb3 Ned4 31. Nxd4 exd4 32. Qf3 Nc3 33. Rd2 Ra4 34. Qxh5 Rxb4 35. Kg2 $1 {Preparing to bring the bishop to the c1-h6 diagonal.} Na4 36. Bc1 $1 Kf8 (36... Rb1 37. Ra2) 37. Ra2 Qe5 38. Bf4 $1 Qxc5 39. Qh6+ Ke7 (39... Bg7 40. Bd6+) 40. e5 $1 {The final touch of White's concept.} Qd5+ 41. Kh3 Bxe5 42. Re2 f6 43. Rxe5+ $1 (43. Rxe5+ fxe5 {leads to checkmate:} 44. Bg5+ Ke8 45. Qh8+ Kf7 46. Qh7+ Kf8 47. Qe7+ Kg8 48. Bh7+ Kh8 49. Bf6#) 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.23"] [Round "29.9"] [White "Ponkratov, Pavel"] [Black "Bacrot, Etienne"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B68"] [WhiteElo "2627"] [BlackElo "2678"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "France"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "FRA"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Bd7 9. f4 Be7 10. Nf3 b5 11. e5 b4 12. exf6 bxc3 13. Qxc3 gxf6 14. Bh4 Rg8 15. Kb1 Rb8 16. Bf2 $146 (16. h3 Qa5 17. Qxa5 Nxa5 18. Bxa6 Rxg2 19. Rhg1 Rg6 20. f5 exf5 21. Bg3 Nc6 22. Bxd6 Bxd6 23. Rxd6 Rxg1+ 24. Nxg1 Ke7 25. Rd1 f4 {Nakamura,H (2736)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2784) Chess.com 2020}) 16... f5 17. Nd4 Bf6 18. Bxa6 Rxg2 19. Rhg1 Rg6 20. Bc4 Qb6 21. Rg3 Ne7 $6 ({This was a good moment for} 21... Rxg3 22. hxg3 {and Black can force things even further:} Qc5 $1 23. Qd3 Nxd4 24. Bxd4 Qxd4 25. Qxd4 Bxd4 26. Rxd4 Ke7 $11) 22. Bb3 Qb4 23. Qd3 d5 24. Qe2 Qd6 25. Be3 Kf8 26. Qh5 Kg8 27. Nf3 Rb4 ({Here the engine comes up with} 27... Ba4 $5 28. Rh3 (28. Bxa4 Rxb2+ 29. Kc1 Qa3 30. Kd2 Qxa4 { is terrible}) 28... h6 29. Nh4 Bxb3 30. cxb3 Rg4 31. Qxh6 Bg7 32. Qh7+ {(Ha!)} Kf8 {with good compensation.}) 28. Ne5 Be8 29. Nxg6 hxg6 30. Qf3 Qb8 31. h4 Bxh4 32. Rh3 Bf6 33. Qf2 g5 34. fxg5 Bg7 35. Bc5 Rf4 36. Qh2 Ng6 37. c3 Qb5 38. Bd4 e5 39. Bf2 Bc6 40. Bc2 Bd7 41. Rhd3 Be6 42. Bb3 d4 43. cxd4 e4 44. Rc3 Bxb3 45. Rxb3 Qe2 46. Rb8+ Bf8 47. Rh1 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.23"] [Round "29.7"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa R"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B45"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2608"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "France"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. e5 Nd5 8. Ne4 Qc7 9. f4 Qb6 10. c4 Bb4+ 11. Ke2 f5 12. exf6 Nxf6 13. Be3 Qd8 14. Nd6+ Bxd6 15. Qxd6 Bb7 16. Kd1 (16. Rd1 Rc8 17. Rg1 c5 18. g4 Qc7 19. f5 Qxd6 20. Rxd6 Ke7 21. Rd3 Ba6 22. b3 d5 23. g5 Ne4 {Bacrot,E (2673)-Van Foreest,J (2682) Linares 2020}) 16... c5 17. Qxc5 Be4 18. Be2 d6 (18... Rc8 19. Qa3 d6 20. Ke1 O-O 21. Rd1 d5 22. Bd4 Rf7 23. c5 a5 24. Rf1 Bxg2 25. Rg1 Be4 {Akopian,V (2713) -Radjabov,T (2742) Heraklio 2007}) 19. Qd4 O-O 20. Kc1 Qc7 $146 (20... Qe7 21. Rd1 d5 22. c5 Nd7 23. b4 e5 24. fxe5 Nxe5 25. a3 Bxg2 26. Ra2 Be4 27. Kb2 Kh8 { Moreto Quintana,A (2448)-Jedrzejowski,M (2496) ICCF email 2018}) 21. b3 e5 22. fxe5 dxe5 23. Qc5 Qb7 24. Kb2 Nd5 25. cxd5 (25. Bg4 Nxe3 26. Qxe3 Bf5 27. Bxf5 Rxf5 28. Rhd1 {is also good for White.}) 25... Rfc8 26. Rac1 $5 Rxc5 27. Rxc5 h6 (27... Bxd5 $2 28. Rxd5) 28. d6 Bxg2 ({This loses quickly, but also after} 28... Rc8 29. Rxc8+ Qxc8 30. Rc1 Qd7 31. Rd1 Bf5 32. a4 Qb7 33. Bf3 e4 34. Be2 a6 35. Bc4+ Kh7 36. Rd4 {Black will have a hard time holding this.}) 29. Rd1 Qe4 30. Bc4+ Kh8 31. d7 Qxe3 32. Rc8+ Kh7 33. d8=Q 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.23"] [Round "29.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2847"] [BlackElo "2687"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Norway"] [BlackTeam "Poland"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"] [BlackTeamCountry "POL"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Ngf6 6. O-O a6 7. Ba4 e6 8. c4 Be7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Qe2 Qc7 11. f4 (11. Bb3 b6 12. Be3 Bb7 13. f3 Rac8 14. Rac1 Rfe8 15. Rfd1 Qb8 16. Ba4 Rc7 17. b4 Rec8 18. Bb3 b5 {Nakamura,H (2736) -Carlsen,M (2847) Online 2021}) 11... Nb6 12. Bb3 e5 13. Nf5 $146 (13. fxe5 dxe5 14. Nf5 Bxf5 15. Rxf5 Rac8 16. Bg5 Ne8 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Nd5 Nxd5 19. exd5 Qc5+ 20. Kh1 f6 {Hansen,T (2420)-Djurhuus,R (2458) Norway 2019}) 13... Bxf5 14. exf5 Rfe8 15. g4 exf4 16. Bxf4 Bf8 (16... Qc6 $5) 17. Qg2 Nxc4 $6 18. g5 Nh5 19. Nd5 Qc5+ 20. Kh1 b5 21. g6 Rab8 22. Rad1 Nxf4 23. Rxf4 Re5 24. Rh4 Rxf5 25. Bc2 ({Winning was} 25. Rxh7 fxg6 26. Qxg6 Rxd5 (26... Rf1+ 27. Rxf1 Qxd5+ 28. Kg1 Qc5+ 29. Rf2) 27. Rg1 Rb7 28. Bc2) 25... Qf2 $1 26. gxf7+ Kxf7 27. Bxf5 $6 ({White is still on top after} 27. Qe4 $1 {because} Qf3+ 28. Qxf3 Rxf3 29. Kg2 {traps the rook and} Rc8 (29... Ne5 30. Be4 g5 31. Rh5 {is similar}) 30. Bxh7 Ne5 31. Be4 g5 32. Rh5 g4 33. Bxf3 gxf3+ 34. Kh3) 27... Qxh4 28. Rf1 Kg8 29. Rf4 Qe1+ 30. Rf1 Qe5 31. Qh3 Qxd5+ 32. Rf3 Qd1+ 33. Rf1 Qd5+ 34. Rf3 Qd1+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.23"] [Round "29.14"] [White "Ivic, Velimir"] [Black "Andreikin, Dmitry"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C10"] [WhiteElo "2581"] [BlackElo "2724"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Serbia"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "SRB"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. Be3 Bd6 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Qe2 b6 10. O-O-O Bb7 11. Kb1 (11. Ne5 c5 12. h4 Qc7 13. Bg5 Nd5 14. Rhe1 cxd4 15. Qe4 f5 16. Qxd4 Bc5 17. Qa4 Bxf2 18. Re2 Bg3 {Tomashevsky,E (2706)-Kramnik,V (2753) Chess.com 2020}) 11... c5 12. Bg5 Qc7 $146 (12... h6 13. Bh4 Rc8 14. Rhe1 Bxf3 15. Qxf3 c4 16. Be4 g5 17. Bg3 Bxg3 18. fxg3 Kg7 19. c3 b5 {Anand,V (2774)-Meier,G (2628) Karlsruhe/Baden Baden 2019}) 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. d5 $5 Bxd5 15. Nh4 Rfd8 16. Qh5 f5 17. Bxf5 $1 Bxa2+ (17... Be5 $5 18. Qxh7+ Kf8) 18. Kxa2 exf5 19. Qg5+ Kh8 20. Qf6+ Kg8 21. Rhe1 Bf8 22. Nxf5 Rxd1 $2 ({The only move was} 22... b5 {to activate the queen. After} 23. Re3 Qa5+ 24. Ra3 Qxa3+ 25. Kxa3 Rxd1 {Black should hold.}) 23. Qg5+ Kh8 24. Qf6+ Kg8 25. Re4 Rd4 26. Qg5+ Kh8 27. Qf6+ Kg8 28. Nxd4 Qc8 29. Nf5 ({Also winning was} 29. Re3 Qa6+ 30. Kb3 c4+ 31. Kc3 Qa5+ (31... Bb4+ 32. Kxb4 Qa5+ 33. Kxc4 Rc8+ 34. Kd3) 32. Kxc4 Rc8+ 33. Kd3 Qa6+ 34. Kd2 Bb4+ 35. c3 Bxc3+ 36. bxc3 Qa2+ 37. Kd3 Qa6+ 38. Ke4) 29... Qa6+ 30. Kb3 c4+ 31. Rxc4 $2 ({White had to bite the bullet:} 31. Kc3 $1 Qa5+ (31... Bb4+ 32. Kxb4 Qa5+ 33. Kxc4 Rc8+ 34. Kd3 Qb5+ 35. Ke3) 32. Kxc4 Rc8+ 33. Kd3 Qb5+ 34. c4 Qb3+ 35. Ke2 Qc2+ 36. Kf3 Qd3+ 37. Ne3 {and wins.}) 31... Qb5+ 32. Kc3 Qa5+ 33. Kb3 Qb5+ 34. Kc3 Qa5+ 35. Kd3 Qd5+ 36. Rd4 Qxg2 37. Rd7 Qf3+ 38. Kd2 Qxf2+ 39. Kc1 Qg1+ 40. Rd1 Qg6 41. Qd4 Qxf5 42. Rg1+ Qg6 43. Rxg6+ hxg6 44. Qd7 a5 45. Qb7 Re8 46. Qxb6 Re5 47. c3 Rh5 48. Qb8 Kg7 49. b4 axb4 50. cxb4 Bxb4 51. Qxb4 Rf5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.23"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Muzychuk, Mariya"] [Black "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2550"] [BlackElo "2472"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. O-O d5 {This active approach against the Italian has gained more and more attention lately, mainly thanks to the efforts of the likes of Aronian, So and Nakamura.} 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Re1 Bg4 {Active defense of the center.} 9. h3 Bh5 10. Nbd2 ({Black is not afraid to sacrifice a pawn a la the Marshall Gambit after} 10. g4 Bg6 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. Rxe5 c6 13. Qf3 Bd6 14. Re1 Kh8 {intending to push the f-pawn as in McShane,L (2640)-Sethuraman,S (2646) Riadh 2017}) 10... Nb6 11. Bb3 { Previously, White was mainly putting more pressure against the black center with 11.Bb5.} Kh8 {Once again a very concrete, aggressive move by Kosteniuk. She is ready for the kingside push. This was also the Russian's first long thought, almost a quarter of an hour spent on her clock.} ({Black, however, may also choose to play on the other side:} 11... a5 12. Ne4 a4 13. Bc2 Ra5 14. b4 axb3 15. Bxb3 Be7 16. Ng3 Bg6 17. d4 Bf6 18. Be3 exd4 19. Nxd4 Nd5 {with unclear consequences in Anand,V (2753)-Mamedyarov,S (2782) Zagreb 2021}) 12. Ne4 Bd6 13. g4 {The first long deliberation by Muzychuk. She needs to stop the black f-pawn. In fact, White does want to exploit the f5-square for her knight, but this is easier said than done.} Bg6 14. Ng3 $146 ({Giri managed to pressure his opponent after} 14. d4 exd4 15. Nxd4 Nxd4 16. Qxd4 Be7 17. Bf4 f5 18. Qxd8 Raxd8 19. Ng5 {Giri,A (2783)-Inarkiev,E (2693) St Petersburg 2018, and this seems like the right thing to do. In any case, playing without the queens is far more pleasant for White.}) 14... Nd7 15. Bc2 {All eyes on the f5-square!} a5 {Kosteniuk expands on the queenside just like Mamedyarov did against Anand.} ({Instead} 15... h6 {deserves attention too, intending to meet} 16. h4 {with} ({Black however might have feared} 16. b4 a6) 16... f5 $1) 16. h4 h6 ({With the g5-square too soft, Black cannot afford} 16... f5 17. gxf5 Bxf5 18. Nxf5 Rxf5 19. Ng5 $1) 17. h5 {Muzychuk is also immensely aggressive on the kingside.} ({Interesting is} 17. g5 {when} hxg5 ({But Black can react instead with} 17... h5) ({Or perhaps even better} 17... f5 18. gxh6 f4 19. hxg7+ Kxg7 20. Ne4 Rh8 {trying to take over the initiative in similar fashion as in the game later.} ({Or} 20... Nf6)) 18. h5 $1 {looks good for White.}) 17... Bh7 18. g5 {Obvious, but White is about to face a nasty surprise.} f5 $1 {The game is opened in Black's favor.} ({Instead} 18... hxg5 19. Nxg5 {would have led to White's dream position after} Bg8 ({or after} 19... Nf6 20. Kg2) 20. h6 gxh6 21. Qh5) 19. gxh6 ({Stronger seems} 19. d4 $1 {Black is fine in all the lines, but the game remains unclear; for example,} f4 ({Or} 19... exd4 20. cxd4 f4 21. Ne4) (19... e4 20. Nh4 hxg5 $2 (20... Ne7 $1) 21. Ng6+ Bxg6 22. hxg6) 20. Bxh7 fxg3 21. Bc2 gxf2+ 22. Kxf2 exd4 23. Qd3 {It seems as White will soon mate, but the exchange sacrifice} Rxf3+ $1 24. Qxf3 Nde5 {leaves Black perfectly fine.}) ({Of course not} 19. gxf6 Qxf6 {which only brings the black pieces in.} ) 19... gxh6 20. Bxh6 Rg8 {The white king is too exposed, and the pin along the g-file is more than nasty.} 21. Bb3 ({After} 21. Kf1 Qf6 22. Bd2 Rg4 { Black's attack unfolds by itself.}) 21... Qf6 $1 {Kosteniuk wants to keep the queens aboard.} ({True,} 21... f4 22. Bxg8 Qxg8 23. Qb3 fxg3 {would be great for Back too.}) 22. Bxg8 Rxg8 23. Bg5 {The lesser evil.} ({Or else White drops a whole piece after} 23. Qd2 f4) ({Or} 23. Bd2 f4) 23... Rxg5 24. Nxg5 Qxg5 { At the end of the day, an original piece ratio has appeared on the board. The three black light pieces are obviously mightier than the couple of white rooks, and as usual in these positions everything is decided by a direct attack.} 25. Kf1 ({The king will not survive on the h-file for long:} 25. Kh1 Nf6) 25... Nf6 26. Qf3 Ng4 {This maneuver is obvious. Black increases her attacking potential easily.} 27. Qg2 ({What is not that obvious is that the white king is stuck and the attempt to run away} 27. Ke2 e4 $1 28. dxe4 Nce5 29. Qg2 f4 {would have finished the game at once.}) 27... e4 $1 {Still this break! Kosteniuk wants to clear the e5-square for her knight.} 28. d4 {The e5-square is rejected.} ({Moreover, the capture is simply impossible due to} 28. dxe4 f4 $1 29. Nf5 f3 $1) 28... Nd8 $3 {But there is an even nicer square for the knight on f4!} 29. c4 $1 {Muzychuk squeezes one final chance out of nowhere!} Ne6 30. c5 Bf8 $1 {But Kosteniuk is simply impeccable!} ({The natural attack} 30... Nf4 {could have been met with} 31. cxd6 $3 Nxg2 32. dxc7 Qg8 33. Rac1 Qc8 34. Kxg2 {And although the machine still promises a serious edge for Black after} Nf6 { it is obvious that complications can occur.}) 31. Rad1 ({If} 31. Ne2 f4 $1 { finishes the battle.}) 31... Nf4 32. Qh1 {Who else is not yet enjoying itself?} Bg8 $3 {Yes, this guy. This second one-step-back, two-steps-forward maneuver is the decisive reinforcement of Black's attack.} 33. Nxe4 ({Nothing changes} 33. b3 Bd5) 33... Bc4+ 34. Kg1 fxe4 {And Muzychuk resigned as the multiple threats cannot be adequately met.} (34... fxe4 35. Qxe4 Nf6+) 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.23"] [Round "29.5"] [White "Dzagnidze, Nana"] [Black "Shuvalova, Polina"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2524"] [BlackElo "2489"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Georgia"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GEO"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. d3 O-O 6. Nbd2 a5 7. e4 a4 8. e5 Nfd7 9. a3 c5 10. c4 Nc6 $146 (10... dxc4 11. dxc4 Nc6 12. Re1 Qc7 13. Qe2 Rd8 14. b3 Nb6 15. Rb1 axb3 16. Rxb3 Na4 {Malecki,R (2096)-Kowalczyk,R (2242) Raciborz 2020}) 11. Re1 Re8 12. h4 h6 13. Qe2 Nb6 (13... Bf8) 14. Nf1 dxc4 $6 ( 14... Na5) 15. dxc4 Nd4 $2 16. Nxd4 Qxd4 17. Bxh6 $1 {Already decisive.} Bd7 ( 17... gxh6 18. Rad1 Qxc4 19. Qh5 {gives White a winning attack immediately.}) 18. Rac1 $1 {Simple chess.} gxh6 19. Red1 {Trapping the queen.} f5 20. Rxd4 cxd4 21. Rd1 Bc5 22. g4 Kf7 23. Ng3 Rg8 24. gxf5 exf5 25. Qh5+ Kg7 26. e6 Bxe6 27. Nxf5+ 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.24"] [Round "32.16"] [White "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Black "Dubov, Daniil"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2716"] [BlackElo "2714"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. Nc3 d6 7. a3 Bg4 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Nd4 10. Qd1 c6 11. Ba2 Ne6 12. Re1 $146 (12. Ne2 d5 13. Ng3 Bc5 14. c3 dxe4 15. dxe4 Nf4 16. b4 Bb6 17. Bc4 Qxd1 18. Rxd1 Rfd8 19. Be3 Bxe3 20. fxe3 N4h5 {Barua,D (2520)-Yurtaev,L (2520) Kolkata 1998}) 12... Qc7 13. Be3 Rad8 14. Qf3 g6 15. Rad1 Kg7 16. Ne2 d5 17. Ng3 Nd4 18. Bxd4 exd4 19. Ne2 dxe4 20. dxe4 Bd6 21. Nxd4 Rfe8 22. c3 Bc5 23. b4 Bb6 24. Bb1 a5 25. Qe3 Kg8 26. e5 Nd5 27. Qg3 {Sacrificing a pawn, which is rather dangerous to take, but Dubov goes for it anyway.} axb4 28. axb4 Nxb4 $2 (28... f6) 29. Nf5 $1 {The knight will reach d6 with tempo.} Rxd1 30. Rxd1 Nd5 31. Nd6 Re6 (31... Rd8 32. Ba2 { will win back the pawn with a dominating position.}) 32. Bf5 Re7 33. c4 Nb4 34. Nc8 ({Also good is} 34. e6 $5 fxe6 35. Bxg6 Rg7 36. Bxh7+ Kxh7 37. Qh4+ Kg8 38. Ne8 {and Black's minor pieces can't help in the defense.}) 34... Qxe5 35. Nxe7+ Qxe7 36. Bg4 Qe4 37. Qb8+ Kg7 38. Qxb7 Bc5 39. Qb8 Nc2 40. Bf3 Qxc4 41. Qe5+ Kg8 42. Rd8+ Bf8 43. Qe7 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.24"] [Round "30.15"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Vitiugov, Nikita"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2714"] [BlackElo "2724"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Ngf6 6. O-O a6 7. Ba4 e6 8. c4 Be7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Qe2 Qc7 11. f4 Nb6 12. Bb3 e5 13. Nf5 Bxf5 14. exf5 Rfe8 15. g4 d5 $5 $146 {This novelty involves a long-term piece sacrifice.} (15... exf4 16. Bxf4 Bf8 17. Qg2 Nxc4 18. g5 Nh5 19. Nd5 Qc5+ 20. Kh1 b5 {Carlsen,M (2847)-Wojtaszek,R (2687) Sochi 2021}) 16. cxd5 Nfxd5 17. Bxd5 Nxd5 18. Nxd5 Qc5+ 19. Ne3 exf4 20. Rxf4 Bg5 21. Rf3 Rad8 22. Kf1 Qd4 $6 (22... Qc6 23. Kg2 Rd4 24. h3 Rde4 25. Qc2 Qd7 {is a better way to keep the pressure, and Black might indeed have enough compensation.}) 23. a4 $1 {Now that the black queen doesn't attack Bc1 anymore, the Ra1-a3 maneuver becomes an option.} Qe4 24. Ra3 Rc8 25. Rc3 {Trade when you're material up!} Rxc3 26. bxc3 Qxa4 27. Kg2 Qe4 28. Qf2 a5 29. h4 Bf6 30. Qc2 Qc6 31. g5 $1 {A second pawn sacrifice, once again to force a trade.} Bxc3 32. Nd1 Bb4 33. Qxc6 bxc6 34. Rd3 Kf8 35. Kf3 Re1 36. Bb2 Rf1+ 37. Kg4 Rg1+ 38. Kh5 Kg8 39. Rd8+ Bf8 40. Bxg7 $1 {Svidler had to foresee this one; otherwise, he would be lost!} Kxg7 41. f6+ Kg8 42. Ne3 h6 43. Nf5 hxg5 44. Ne7+ Kh7 45. Rxf8 (45. Rxf8 gxh4 46. Rxf7+ Kh8 47. Kh6 {wins immediately.}) 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.24"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Andreikin, Dmitry"] [Black "Ivic, Velimir"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A49"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2324"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "162"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. b3 g6 3. Bb2 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. d4 {The doubled fianchetto is an anti-KID line, which both Andreikin and Artemiev love and play with pleasure.} a5 {One of the ways to fight for equality, in the spirit of the Grunfeld defense.} ({The world champion chose instead} 6... b5 7. O-O Bb7 8. Qd3 a6 9. Nbd2 c5 10. dxc5 dxc5 11. a4 Qxd3 12. cxd3 Nbd7 {and did well in Artemiev,V (2709)-Carlsen,M (2847) Online 2021}) 7. c4 a4 {Consistent.} ({ Black can also swap a pair of knights at once with} 7... Ne4 8. Nc3 Nxc3 9. Bxc3 {but Ivic will do this later. Another top game went} c6 10. O-O Nd7 11. Qc2 Nf6 12. e4 d5 13. e5 Ne4 14. Nd2 Nxc3 15. Qxc3 e6 16. Rfe1 b5 17. cxb5 cxb5 18. a3 {Howell,D (2663)-Lagarde,M (2657) Online 2020}) 8. Nbd2 a3 $1 $146 { This is a novelty that looks just fine.} ({Although Black also did quite well after} 8... c5 9. O-O Qc7 10. Qc2 Nc6 11. Bc3 Bf5 12. Qd1 Ne4 13. Nxe4 Bxe4 14. e3 axb3 15. axb3 Qb6 {Jaferian,K (2163)-Shtembuliak,E (2620) Online 2021}) 9. Bc3 c5 10. O-O ({It is not easy to stabilize the position in the center as} 10. d5 e6 {opens it in Black's favor.}) 10... Nc6 11. e3 ({Here too} 11. d5 { allows Black a chance to counterattack with} Nb4 12. Ne1 b5 $1) 11... Bf5 12. Qe2 ({It is not that easy to bother the bishop:} 12. Nh4 Bg4) 12... Ne4 13. Nxe4 Bxe4 {Now that a pair of knights has been swapped, Black has enough room for his pieces to maneuver. The central pressure is also favorable for him. All in all, Ivic has equalized with ease.} 14. Rfd1 e6 15. Rac1 {We can now appreciate the young Serbian's novelty. With the a-file locked, Andreikin finds it hard to form an active plan. There is no b2-square for his queen, no doubling along the a-file, and the pawn on a2 is a potential weakness.} ({ The play a la the Queen's Indian} 15. Bf1 {which attempts to avoid the swap of the light-squared bishop can be met with} Qe7 16. Ne1 g5 $1 {and Black is doing great.}) 15... Qe7 16. Ne1 {Finally Andreikin agrees to swap another pair of pieces.} ({If} 16. Bf1 e5 {is good for Black.}) 16... Bxg2 17. Nxg2 cxd4 18. exd4 d5 {Ivic tries to fix the enemy pawns on the color of his own bishop, but this plan has a concrete flaw.} 19. Ne3 {But Andreikin misses the moment.} ({Strong is} 19. cxd5 $1 exd5 20. Qxe7 Nxe7 21. Bb4 {when White would put pressure on the enemy pawns first after} Rfe8 22. Ne3 Nc6 23. Bc5 Red8 24. Rc3 $1 {followed by Ne3-c2!}) 19... Rfd8 20. c5 b6 $1 {Now Black takes over the initiative.} 21. Qb5 {A risky affair.} ({As} 21. cxb6 Qb7 22. Qb5 Ra6 { regains the pawn with an excellent position.}) 21... Na7 $1 {Ivic felt that the queen might get trapped in his camp.} 22. Qxb6 Rdb8 23. Qa6 ({Safer is} 23. Qd6 Qxd6 24. cxd6 Nb5 {but then Black would be just much better, thanks to his better pawn structure and powerful light pieces.}) 23... Nb5 24. Qc6 Qd8 { Overprotecting the d5-spot and keeping White from sacrificing his knight for a pair of central pawns.} (24... h5 $5 {at once is very good as well.}) 25. Ba1 h5 $1 {That is an important part of Ivic's plan. The white knight is deprived of the g4-square.} ({Why this is important is demonstrated by the line} 25... Nc7 26. Qd6 Qxd6 27. cxd6 Nb5 28. Rc6 Rd8 29. Ng4 $1) ({And if Black tries to trap the enemy queen with} 25... Qa5 {then White would surely sacrifice his knight with} 26. Nxd5 $1 exd5 27. Qxd5 {for a pair of strong passers.}) 26. Ng2 {For the moment, the knight releases the pressure from the d5-pawn, and this could have been lethal for White.} ({The computer suggestion} 26. b4 Nc7 27. Qd6 Qxd6 28. cxd6 Nb5 29. d7 Kf8 {does not solve his problems at all.}) 26... Bf8 $1 {Slowly surrounding the queen.} ({However, there are even better alternatives:} 26... Qa5 $1 {intends to trap the queen after, say} 27. Ne3 Ra6 28. Qd7 ({Therefore White should try instead} 28. Nxd5 Rxc6 29. Ne7+ Kh7 30. Nxc6 Qa8 {but it is obvious that White would not get enough for the queen.}) 28... Ra7 29. Qc6 Rc7 $1) ({And another way to trap milady is} 26... Bh6 $1 { Not letting her noble knight come to the rescue} 27. Ne3 Bxe3 28. fxe3 Qa5 { and wins as above.}) 27. Ne3 $1 {Andreikin quickly realizes his mistake and finds a chance to keep fighting.} Nc7 28. Nc4 $1 {That's the only way.} dxc4 29. bxc4 Na6 ({Strong is to deal with the pawns at once with} 29... e5 $1 { with the idea} 30. d5 ({Or} 30. dxe5 Qc8 $1) 30... Ra6 $1) 30. Qf3 Qg5 ({ Here the passers could be tempted with} 30... Bg7 31. Bc3 Qf8 {preparing e6-e5! }) 31. c6 Qf5 {In any case, Ivic is winning, but from here on the players are desperately lacking time.} (31... h4 $5) 32. Qxf5 gxf5 33. d5 exd5 34. cxd5 Bd6 35. Rc4 ({Stronger is to try and bring the passers into motion with} 35. f4 Nc7 36. Be5 $1) 35... Rb4 (35... Nc7 $5) (35... Rb5 $5) 36. Rc3 Nc7 37. Rf3 Rab8 38. Kg2 ({And here White needs to get rid of the potential passer with} 38. Rxa3 $1 Rb1 39. Rad3 Rxd1+ 40. Rxd1 Ra8) 38... Rb1 39. Rxb1 Rxb1 40. Bf6 Rb5 ({ A neater win would be} 40... Nxd5 $1 41. Rxf5 Nxf6 42. Rxf6 Be7) 41. Rxf5 Rxd5 42. Rf3 $1 {Andreikin knows that there are no chances for him without the rooks.} Ne6 43. h4 Kh7 {Ivic feels the danger and safeguards his king.} (43... Kf8 $5 {would be good too.}) ({But Black should definitely avoid} 43... Rd2 44. Rf5 Rxa2 $2 (44... Kh7 $1 {still works for Black.}) 45. Rxh5 Ng7 46. Rg5 Bf8 47. Bxg7 Bxg7 48. Rc5 $1 {and White is out of danger.}) 44. Ba1 f5 45. Re3 $1 { Andreikin is one of the greatest rapid and blitz specialists in the world and would not give up without a fight. Every move he plays is a threat; every move improves something in his position.} Nc7 46. Bf6 Rc5 ({Here, though,} 46... Rd2 $1 {picking up the a2-pawn would be faster.}) 47. Be7 Nb5 {Missing White's idea.} ({Instead} 47... Nd5 $1 48. Bxd6 Nxe3+ 49. fxe3 Rxc6 50. Bxa3 Rc3 51. Bd6 Rxe3 {should still win for Black.}) 48. Bxd6 Nxd6 {The more important of the minor pieces has been traded by White, and he now has a chance against the knight.} 49. Re7+ Kg8 50. c7 Kf8 51. Rd7 Ne8 52. Rh7 (52. Rd5 $1 Rxc7 53. Rxf5+ Kg8 54. Rxh5 Rc2 55. Ra5 Rxa2 56. g4 {would lead to the same.}) 52... Rxc7 53. Rxh5 Rc2 54. Rxf5+ Kg7 55. Ra5 Rxa2 56. g4 $1 {Suddenly it is a draw as the white rook and pawns find common language.} Nd6 57. g5 ({Also good is} 57. h5 $1 Nc4 (57... Ne4 58. Kf3 Nxf2 59. g5) 58. Ra7+ Kf6 59. Ra6+ Kg7 ({Black also has to be careful:} 59... Kg5 $4 60. Kg3 $1 {would mate him instead!}) 60. g5) 57... Nc4 58. Ra7+ Kg6 59. Kg3 Rb2 60. Kg4 Ne5+ 61. Kf4 Nd3+ 62. Ke3 Rb3 63. Ra6+ Kf5 64. Ra5+ Ke6 (64... Kg4 $2 65. g6) 65. f4 a2 {The last try.} 66. f5+ ( 66. Rxa2 $4 Nb4+) 66... Kd6 67. f6 ({Perhaps it is wiser to advance the more distant pawn instead, purely from a practical point of view:} 67. g6 Nc5+ 68. Kf2 $1 ({But here White needs to avoid stepping on the fourth rank:} 68. Kf4 $2 {due to} Rb4+ 69. Kf3 Na4)) 67... Nc5+ 68. Ke2 Rb2+ 69. Kf3 Ke6 70. Kg4 $4 { The drama of time trouble! After an enormous fight for his life, Andreikin finally errs due to the time deficit.} ({Both} 70. Kg3 $1) ({Or} 70. Ra8 $1 { would lead to a draw.}) 70... Rb4+ 71. Kh5 Ra4 $1 {This might have been missed by White!} ({He likely only considered} 71... Na4 72. Ra6+ Kd5 73. f7 a1=Q 74. f8=Q {when White is safe.}) 72. Rxc5 (72. Rxa4 Nxa4 {changes nothing.}) 72... a1=Q {Now Ivic finally wins, but his opponent would not miss one last little chance.} 73. Rc6+ Kd5 74. f7 Qh8+ 75. Rh6 Qf8 76. Rf6 Ke5 77. Kg6 Rxh4 78. Re6+ $1 Kf4 $1 (78... Kxe6 $4 {Stalemate!}) 79. Re8 Qd6+ 80. Kg7 Kxg5 $1 81. f8=Q Qg6# {The young Serbian GM has the tournament of his life!} 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.24"] [Round "30.2"] [White "Assaubayeva, Bibisara"] [Black "Lagno, Kateryna"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2389"] [BlackElo "2558"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "214"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Kazakhstan"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "KAZ"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. e4 e6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Nge2 exd5 8. cxd5 a6 9. a4 Nbd7 10. Ng3 Nh5 11. Nxh5 gxh5 12. Be3 f5 13. Be2 O-O 14. exf5 Ne5 15. O-O Bxf5 16. Ne4 Bxe4 17. fxe4 Qh4 18. Qc2 Ng4 19. Bxg4 Qxg4 20. Rxf8+ Rxf8 21. Rf1 Re8 22. Bf4 Bd4+ 23. Kh1 Rf8 24. g3 h4 25. Qd1 Qg6 26. Qe2 h3 27. Re1 b5 28. axb5 axb5 29. b3 h5 30. Qf3 Re8 31. Qd3 Kh7 32. Qf3 Re7 33. Qd3 b4 34. Qf3 Bc3 35. Rf1 Qxe4 36. Qxe4+ Rxe4 37. Bxd6 Rd4 38. Bxc5 Rxd5 39. Be7 Rd2 40. Rb1 Kg6 41. Bc5 Re2 42. Rg1 Rb2 43. Bd6 Kf5 44. Rf1+ Ke6 45. Bc5 Rxb3 46. Bxb4 Bxb4 47. Rg1 Bc5 48. Re1+ Kf5 49. Rf1+ Kg6 50. Rc1 Rb2 51. Ra1 Bd4 52. Rd1 Be5 53. Re1 Bb8 54. Rg1 Kf5 55. Rf1+ Kg4 56. Ra1 h4 57. Ra4+ Kf3 58. Ra3+ Kf2 59. Ra1 hxg3 60. hxg3 Kxg3 61. Ra3+ Kg4 62. Ra4+ Bf4 63. Ra1 Rc2 64. Rg1+ Bg3 65. Rb1 Re2 66. Ra1 Re3 67. Rb1 Be1 68. Rb7 Bc3 69. Rb1 Be5 70. Rg1+ Kf3 71. Rf1+ Ke2 72. Rb1 Rd3 73. Rc1 Rb3 74. Rc2+ Kd1 75. Rf2 Ke1 76. Rf5 Re3 77. Rf7 Ke2 78. Rb7 Ra3 79. Rb1 Ra2 80. Rc1 Rb2 81. Ra1 Rc2 82. Rb1 Kf3 83. Rf1+ Kg4 84. Rg1+ Kf5 85. Rf1+ Bf4 86. Rb1 Bc1 87. Rb5+ Kg4 88. Rb4+ Kf3 89. Rb7 Bf4 90. Rb1 Be3 91. Rf1+ Kg4 92. Re1 Bc5 93. Rf1 Be3 94. Re1 Rc3 95. Rf1 Kg3 96. Re1 Rb3 97. Rf1 Bf4 98. Rd1 Rb2 99. Rd3+ Kg4 100. Rd1 Rh2+ 101. Kg1 Re2 102. Kh1 Be3 103. Rf1 Kg5 $2 ({With seconds on the clock, even a simple plan like} 103... Bf2 104. Ra1 Kg3 105. Rb1 Be3 {can be hard to find.}) 104. Rf3 Kg4 105. Rf1 $2 ({ After} 105. Rg3+ $1 Kf4 106. Rg8 {Lagno would have had to play her pawn to h2 in the next four moves to avoid a draw based on the 50-move rule, but that would be a draw as well as White could sacrifice her rook for stalemate.} ({Not } 106. Rxh3 $2 Re1+ 107. Kg2 Rg1+ 108. Kh2 Rg4 {that actually wins for Black.}) ) 105... Kh4 106. Rf7 Re1+ 107. Kh2 Bg1+ 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.25"] [Round "37.7"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "France"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 (10... a5 11. Rd1 a4 12. Ne2 Bc5 13. Nf4 Ne7 14. Bd2 Nd5 15. Nh5 Rg8 16. c4 Nb6 17. Bh6 Bf8 18. b3 Bf5 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2749)-Anand,V (2753) Zagreb 2021}) 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. Rfe1 Rd8 15. Rxd8+ Kxd8 16. g4 hxg4 $146 (16... Nh4 17. Re3 hxg4 18. hxg4 Ke8 19. Nxe6 Rxe6 20. Bg3 Rg6 21. Re4 Rh6 22. a4 Nf3+ 23. Kg2 Nh4+ 24. Bxh4 Rxh4 25. Ne2 g6 {Kurgansky,V (2367)-Hernandez,A (2243) ICCF email 2015}) 17. hxg4 Nd4 $1 {Instantly played.} 18. Rd1 c5 19. Nxe6+ Rxe6 20. Ne2 Kc8 21. Nxd4 cxd4 22. Rxd4 g5 $1 23. Bg3 Ra6 {It turns out that the activity of Black's rook combined with the non-ideal placement of White's bishop and e-5 pawn provide enough compensation.} 24. a4 Rc6 25. c3 (25. Rd2 Rc4) (25. c4 Rb6 26. Rd2 $6 Rb4) 25... Rb6 26. b4 Rc6 27. Rd3 Rc4 28. Rf3 Kd7 $1 29. Rxf7 Ke6 30. Rh7 Rxc3 31. b5 Rc4 32. Rh6+ Kd5 33. Rh7 Ke6 34. Rh6+ Kd5 35. Rh7 Ke6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.25"] [Round "37.4"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Durarbayli, Vasif"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D13"] [WhiteElo "2726"] [BlackElo "2606"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "112"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "Azerbaijan"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "AZE"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bf4 a6 7. Ne5 Qb6 8. Nxc6 bxc6 9. Qd2 Nh5 (9... Bf5 10. f3 e6 11. a3 Nd7 12. e4 Bg6 13. Rc1 Be7 14. Na4 Qb7 15. Bd3 O-O 16. O-O Rfc8 17. b4 a5 {Adhiban,B (2654)-Laznicka,V (2648) Moscow 2019}) 10. Be3 Nf6 11. a3 Ng4 12. Bg5 $146 (12. Bf4 e5 13. Bxe5 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Rb8 15. Nd1 Be7 16. e3 O-O 17. Rc1 Rd8 18. Be2 c5 19. O-O Bf5 20. f4 c4 { Billio,M (1767)-Podvoysky,E (2227) LSS email 2014}) 12... e5 13. h3 f6 14. hxg4 fxg5 15. dxe5 ({Even the wild} 15. e4 $5 {is possible here.}) 15... Rb8 16. b4 a5 17. b5 d4 18. Ne4 cxb5 19. Qxg5 h6 $2 20. Qf4 $2 ({The eval bar jumps up for } 20. Nd6+ Bxd6 21. Qg6+ {and this is bad for Black everywhere:} Kd7 (21... Kd8 22. Qxg7 Re8 23. exd6) (21... Kf8 22. exd6 Qc6 23. Rh3) 22. Qxg7+ (22. exd6) 22... Be7 23. Qxh8 Qc5 24. Rh3) 20... Be6 21. g3 b4 22. Bg2 b3 23. Nd6+ $2 { Not good here.} (23. O-O) 23... Bxd6 24. exd6 b2 25. Rb1 Qc5 26. O-O Rf8 27. Qe4 Kf7 28. Rbd1 Ba2 29. d7 Kg8 30. Qg6 Rb6 31. Qe8 Re6 32. Qh5 Qxh5 33. gxh5 Rd8 $2 {The wrong rook.} (33... Rd6 {should win the game, e.g.} 34. Be4 Rb8 35. Bb1 Bxb1 36. Rxb1 Rxd7 37. Rfd1 Rc7 38. Kg2 Rc2) 34. Rxd4 b1=Q 35. Rxb1 Bxb1 36. Bd5 Kf7 37. Ra4 $1 {With the a-pawn dropping, it's a draw.} Rxd7 38. Bxe6+ Kxe6 39. Rxa5 Rd2 40. Kf1 Ba2 41. Rc5 Rd1+ 42. Kg2 Re1 43. Kf3 Kd6 44. Rc2 Bb3 45. Rb2 Bc4 46. Ke3 Ke5 47. Rc2 Ba6 48. f3 Ra1 49. Rc5+ Kd6 50. Ra5 Bc4 51. Ra7 Ke5 52. Rxg7 Ra2 53. Re7+ Kf6 54. Re4 Rxe2+ 55. Kf4 Rc2 56. Re3 Bd5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.25"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Tabatabaei, M. Amin"] [Black "Martirosyan, Haik M."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E46"] [WhiteElo "2613"] [BlackElo "2632"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "122"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd2 c5 6. a3 Bxc3 {Martirosyan follows in the footsteps of his great countryman (well, soon-to-represent the U.S.) Aronian.} 7. Bxc3 Ne4 8. Ne2 ({A few weeks ago, Aronian successfully defended after} 8. Rc1 b6 9. Nf3 Bb7 10. Be2 Nxc3 11. Rxc3 cxd4 12. exd4 d6 13. O-O Nd7 14. Qd2 Nf6 {Caruana,F (2820)-Aronian,L (2781) Paris 2021}) 8... b6 9. d5 Ba6 10. b3 b5 11. Qd3 Nxc3 $146 {A novelty that limits the options of the opponent.} ({In another game by Aronian, the Armenian number-one chose a slightly different move order:} 11... exd5 12. Qxd5 Nxc3 13. Nxc3 Qa5 14. Qd2 bxc4 {but this allowed his opponent an additional possibility that he used:} 15. Bxc4 {Still, Black did not experience any problems after} Nc6 16. O-O Bxc4 17. bxc4 Ne5 18. Ne4 Qxd2 19. Nxd2 Rfb8 20. Rfb1 Kf8 21. Kf1 Ke7 {Yuffa,D (2566)-Aronian,L (2775) Moscow 2019}) 12. Nxc3 bxc4 13. bxc4 exd5 14. Qxd5 { Tabatabaei wants to exploit the holes in the black pawn structure. Therefore, he keeps the queens alive, at least for now.} ({After} 14. Nxd5 Nc6 15. Be2 Qa5+ 16. Qc3 Qxc3+ 17. Nxc3 Na5 {Black's lead in development promises him good play after} 18. Nb5 Rab8 19. Rb1 Rb6) 14... Qa5 {However, White has problems of his own, mainly the lag in development; thus, Black quickly brings everyone out.} 15. Qd2 Nc6 16. Be2 ({The endgame after} 16. Nb5 Rab8 17. Qxa5 Nxa5 18. a4 Rb6 {is still good for Black.}) 16... Rab8 17. O-O {If White gets a couple of tempi to stabilize his position in the center, Black will be sentenced to eternal suffering.} Ne5 18. Rfc1 $1 {Well foreseen by White. The pawn is defended.} Rb3 {Black's activity will soon net him a pawn. But after the capture, Martirosyan will have his pieces stuck on the queenside, so Black has to be very, very careful.} ({Actually} 18... Bxc4 19. Bxc4 Nxc4 20. Qxd7 { is possible too. Black needs to be careful, though, and find the following moves:} Nb2 {Intending c5-c4 and Nb2-d3.} 21. Nd5 {And now} Kh8 $1 {equalizes.} ({Rather than} 21... c4 22. Ne7+ Kh8 23. Nc6)) 19. f4 {Setting a nasty little trap.} ({There is one more idea to try and exploit the relatively shaky position of the black pieces:} 19. Qc2 $5 {with the idea} Rxa3 ({Not} 19... Rfb8 $2 20. Nb5 $1) 20. Qb2 Rxa1 21. Rxa1 Qb4 22. Qd2 $1 {Which may easily trap one of the black pieces if he is not careful. Like} Bxc4 ({Black can still hold with} 22... Bc8 $1 23. Qc2 d6) 23. Ra4 Qb3 24. Bd1 Qb6 25. f4) 19... Nc6 {when Black does not fall.} ({It is easy to miss a sudden retreat in the attack like this one} 19... Nxc4 $2 20. Bxc4 Bxc4 21. Ne4 $1 Qxd2 22. Nxd2 { and White wins.}) 20. Kf2 Rd8 {Once again, careful play by Martirosyan.} ({ The move in the game is better than} 20... Rxa3 21. Qb2 Rxa1 22. Rxa1 Qb4 23. Qd2 {when again more the black pieces are in danger.}) 21. Ra2 Rxa3 {Finally picking up the pawn.} 22. Rxa3 Qxa3 23. Nd5 {With the clear intention to try and trap the black queen.} ({However, stronger would be} 23. Ne4 $1 {to install the knight deeper into the enemy position. Then} d6 (23... Bb7 24. Nd6) 24. Nxd6 Nb4 25. Rc3 Qa1 26. e4 {promises White the better chances.}) 23... d6 24. Rc3 Qa1 25. Rc1 Qa3 26. Rc3 {White has a draw, but is there something more? } Qa1 {Tabatabaei decided to play on.} ({Notice that Black cannot deviate from the repetition:} 26... Qa5 27. Qc1 $1 {threatens to trap the black queen, and when he frees the air for her} Rb8 28. Ra3 Qd8 29. Rxa6 {the bishop suffers.}) 27. Qc1 Qxc1 28. Rxc1 Bc8 29. Ra1 Kf8 ({Nothing changes} 29... a6 30. Bf3) 30. Bf3 a6 31. Rb1 ({Stronger is} 31. g4 $1 {with a likely draw after} Nb4 32. Nxb4 cxb4 33. Ra4 b3 34. Rb4 Be6 35. f5 a5 36. Rxb3 Bxc4 37. Ra3) 31... Be6 $1 { Now Black keeps the extra pawn, and it gets harder and harder for his opponent to prove compensation.} 32. Rb7 {Especially after this inaccuracy.} ({ Tabatabaei should have chosen instead} 32. Rb6 $1 Bxd5 33. Bxd5 Nb4 {when the activation of the bishop should keep White safe after} 34. Bf3 $1 Ke7 ({And if } 34... g6 35. Rb7 {seizes the seventh rank.}) 35. Bg4) 32... Na5 $1 33. Ra7 Nxc4 34. Nc7 ({Or} 34. Rxa6 Nd2) 34... Nd2 ({Even stronger is} 34... Rb8 $1 35. Rxa6 Rb2+ 36. Kg1 Nb6 $1 {Cementing the position with excellent winning chances.} ({Rather than} 36... Nxe3 37. Nxe6+ fxe6 38. Rxd6)) 35. Bd5 ({ Missing a good chance} 35. Nxe6+ $1 fxe6 36. Bg4 Re8 37. Ke2 Ne4 38. Rxa6 { when the strong bishop can help White hold.}) 35... Bxd5 36. Nxd5 Rb8 37. Rxa6 {The time trouble starts to tell.} ({However, since the pawn is not going anywhere} 37. Ke2 $1 {first would be better, preparing counterplay after} Ne4 ( 37... Rb2 $4 38. Ra8+) 38. Kf3 f5 39. g4 g6 40. gxf5 gxf5 41. Ne7) ({Likewise} 37. g4 $1 {would be great too.}) 37... Ne4+ 38. Ke2 f5 39. Kd3 Rb7 ({It makes sense to throw an intermediate check first, worsening the position of the white king:} 39... Rb3+ $1 40. Kc2 (40. Kc4 Nd2#) 40... Rb7) 40. Kc4 ({For White could now try his last chance with} 40. g4 $1 g6 41. Kc4 Kf7 {The point of the g2-g4 advance is to find counterplay on the kingside with} 42. gxf5 gxf5 43. Ra2) 40... Kf7 41. Ra8 h5 42. h4 g6 43. Rh8 Nd2+ 44. Kd3 Ke6 {Black has consolidated his advantage and slowly but surely converts his extra pawn.} 45. Nc3 Nb1 {First infiltration.} ({Also good is} 45... Nf1 $1 46. Ke2 Nh2) 46. Nd1 Na3 47. Rg8 Rb3+ 48. Ke2 Kf7 49. Rd8 Nc4 50. Rd7+ Ke6 51. Rg7 Kf6 52. Rd7 Ra3 53. g3 Ra2+ 54. Ke1 Rg2 {That is it. White's position deteriorates.} 55. Rh7 Ke6 56. Rg7 Kf6 57. Rh7 Rxg3 58. Kf2 Rh3 59. Nc3 Nxe3 60. Nb5 Nd5 61. Nxd6 Rxh4 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.25"] [Round "37.3"] [White "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Black "Gunina, Valentina"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B11"] [WhiteElo "2472"] [BlackElo "2436"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "151"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Qe2 Nxe4 6. Qxe4 Nd7 7. Bc4 (7. Qe2 Nf6 8. d3 g6 9. g3 Bg7 10. Bg2 O-O 11. O-O Bg4 12. h3 Bxf3 13. Bxf3 e6 14. Kg2 Qb6 15. c3 Nd5 {Firouzja,A (2759)-Abdusattorov,N (2627) Online 2021}) 7... Nf6 8. Ne5 e6 9. Qf4 b5 10. Be2 Bd6 11. d4 O-O 12. Qg3 Ne4 13. Qd3 f5 14. Nxc6 Qc7 15. Ne5 a5 $146 (15... Rd8 16. Qe3 Bb4+ 17. Kf1 Qxc2 18. Qd3 Qxd3 19. Nxd3 Be7 20. f3 Nf6 21. Be3 Nd5 22. Ne5 Nxe3+ {0-1 Almarza Mato,C (2137)-Kuerten,D (2139) ICCF email 2014}) 16. f3 Nf6 17. O-O Ba6 18. Bf4 Rfd8 19. h4 $2 (19. Rfd1) 19... Nh5 ({Already here Black could have reached a big advantage with} 19... b4 20. Qd2 (20. Qd1 Nd5) 20... Bxe5 21. Bxe5 Qxe5 22. dxe5 Rxd2 23. Bxa6 Rxa6 24. exf6 Rc6) 20. Bh2 f4 21. Qb3 Re8 22. Ng4 a4 23. Qd3 e5 (23... Ng3) 24. Rfe1 Ng3 25. Bxg3 fxg3 26. Qf5 Bc8 27. Qh5 Bxg4 28. Qxg4 a3 29. bxa3 Rf8 30. Qe4 Ra4 31. Bd3 g6 32. Qd5+ Kg7 33. Re4 Rxd4 34. Rxd4 Bc5 35. Kf1 Bxd4 36. Re1 Bc3 37. Re3 Rd8 (37... Rf4 $1 {would have been decisive.}) 38. Qe6 Rd4 39. Ke2 Rxh4 40. f4 Rxf4 41. Rf3 Qa7 42. Qd5 Kh6 $6 ({Missing another win:} 42... Qg1 43. Qd7+ Kh6 44. Qh3+ Kg5 45. Qxg3+ Rg4) 43. Rxf4 exf4 44. Kf3 Kg7 45. Kxf4 Qf2+ 46. Kg4 h5+ 47. Kh3 Qg1 48. Kxg3 Qe1+ 49. Kf3 Qd1+ 50. Ke3 {It was time to offer a draw, but Gunina self-destructs. It's very clear that Black cannot win anymore after White's next move:} Kh6 $2 51. Qe4 $1 {This simple threat of mate in one wins the game for White.} Qg1+ 52. Kf3 Qd1+ 53. Qe2 (53. Be2) 53... Qa1 54. Qe3+ g5 55. Qe6+ $6 (55. Qc5 $1 Bf6 56. Ke4 $1) 55... Bf6 56. Qf5 Kg7 57. Qd7+ Kf8 58. Qxb5 Qd1+ 59. Ke4 Qg4+ 60. Kd5 Be7 (60... Kf7) 61. Be4 Qf4 62. Qd7 Qf7+ 63. Qe6 Bxa3 64. Qxf7+ Kxf7 65. c4 Ke7 66. Bf5 g4 67. c5 Kd8 68. Kc6 Ke7 69. Kb6 Kf6 70. Bd7 Ke7 71. Bf5 Kd8 72. g3 Bb2 73. Kb7 Be5 74. a4 Bc7 75. c6 Bxg3 76. a5 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.26"] [Round "?"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2709"] [BlackElo "2714"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. h4 {\"I had not checked this thoroughly until yesterday. \" (Shankland)} ({Shankland revealed his respect for Svidler in the post-game interview, and one of the reasons for his respect is the opening repertoire of the Russian GM. This is the reason why he avoids the Grunfeld} 3. Nc3 d5 { which was also played by the great Kasparov a few weeks ago} 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8. h3 O-O 9. Be2 cxd4 10. cxd4 Nc6 11. Be3 f5 { Grischuk,A (2778) -Kasparov,G (2812) Zagreb 2021}) 3... Bg7 4. Nc3 d6 {Svidler surprisingly switches to the KID.} ({Shankland was aware of his opponent's latest Grunfeld course and prepared something against the line that Svidler suggests there:} 4... Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. d5 Nb8) 5. e4 Nc6 6. Nge2 O-O 7. f3 e5 { Now it is a form of the Samisch, but with a pawn on h4 in return for the generally more useful Nb8-c6 move. Still, h2-h4 is not bad to have in this setup.} 8. d5 $146 {Shankland is confidently executing his moves, this novelty included.} (8. Be3 exd4 9. Nxd4 h5 10. Qd2 Re8 11. O-O-O a5 12. Kb1 a4 13. a3 Bd7 14. Nd5 {Ter Sahakyan,S (2640)-Guseinov,G (2665) Online 2020}) 8... Nd4 9. Be3 ({Every KID player knows that this pawn is poisoned:} 9. Nxd4 $2 exd4 10. Qxd4 Nxe4 $1 {wins for Black.}) 9... c5 {Svidler will sacrifice it anyway.} 10. dxc6 bxc6 11. Nxd4 exd4 12. Bxd4 Rb8 {In return for the pawn, Black gets the half-open b-file for his rook and prolongs the diagonal for his dark-squared bishop. His presence in the center becomes more significant too.} ({The other way to play it is} 12... c5 13. Be3 ({or} 13. Bf2 Nh5 14. Qd2 {and here, besides the game transposition} Rb8 ({Black may also try} 14... Be5)) 13... Nh5 ) 13. Qc2 c5 14. Bf2 Be6 15. O-O-O {The most natural move. Shankland is still in his prep.} ({The machine prefers to keep the king in the middle with} 15. Rc1) ({Or} 15. Rd1 {but having the king insecure is not a human trait.}) 15... Nd7 {\"He was supposed to be worse after this move [according to the computer]. \" (Shankland) The sacrifice of a second pawn is once more a no-brainer for a King's Indian player.} 16. Rxd6 Qa5 17. Be1 Ne5 {Svidler has rapidly improved his pieces, and his opponent decides to part with one of the pawns in order to lower their attacking potential.} 18. f4 ({After the greedy} 18. b3 {White would do OK with} Qa3+ ({However} 18... Rfd8 $1 {is more accurate, not letting the king out with significant pressure for Black in the line} 19. Rxd8+ Rxd8) 19. Kd1 Rbd8 20. Rxd8 Rxd8+ 21. Nd5 $1) 18... Nxc4 19. Bxc4 Bxc4 20. e5 Rfd8 $1 {Svidler on his turn swaps off the active white rook.} 21. Rxd8+ Rxd8 22. h5 $1 {Shankland needs to play on his own, and this brings his sweet fruits earlier than expected.} ({White could keep the pawn, yes} 22. a3 {but} Qb6 $1 {would permanently seize the light squares around the enemy king.}) 22... Bxa2 { Now the pawns are equal, and White opens files on his own. The battle rapidly heats up...} (22... Bd3 $5) 23. hxg6 hxg6 24. Ne4 Qb6 {...and suddenly ends because of this blunder.} ({Shankland expected instead} 24... Qb5 $1 {and thought that he is better in the line} 25. Nd6 Qb3 ({Black is not forced to enter this line and could have chosen instead} 25... Qa6 26. Qxc5 (26. Bc3 Bd5 ({Or} 26... Be6)) 26... Be6 {when anything would be possible.}) 26. Qxb3 Bxb3 27. Bc3 f6 28. exf6 Bxf6 29. Nb7 Rf8 30. Nxc5 {True, he then admitted, \"I think I end up a pawn, but it is very close to a draw.\" (Shankland)}) ({ Also OK for Black is} 24... Qa6 $1 25. Bh4 Rc8 {when} 26. Nf6+ Kf8 27. Qd2 { creates various threats, but Black has the resource to swap off the active white queen with} Qc4+ 28. Kd1 Bb3+ 29. Ke1 Qb4 $1 {and Black is fine.}) 25. Bh4 Rd4 ({The queen on b6 is losing the game in the line} 25... Rc8 26. Nf6+ Kf8 27. Nd7+) 26. Nf6+ Kf8 27. Bf2 $1 {This maneuver backwards might have been what Svidler missed!} Bxf6 ({Everything falls apart in the line} 27... Rc4 28. Qxc4 $1 Bxc4 29. Bxc5+ $1 Qxc5 30. Nd7+) 28. exf6 Qxf6 (28... Rc4 29. Rh8#) 29. Qxc5+ Rd6 30. Qc8+ {And once more everything falls apart on the dark squares.} (30. Qc8+ Rd8 31. Rh8+ Qxh8 32. Qxd8+ Kg7 33. Bd4+) (30. Qc8+ Kg7 31. Qh8#) 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.26"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Durarbayli, Vasif"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2606"] [BlackElo "2726"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Azerbaijan"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "AZE"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. a4 Rb8 8. Nxe5 (8. c3 d6 9. d4 Bb6 10. a5 Ba7 11. h3 Bb7 12. Be3 Nxe4 13. d5 Bxe3 14. dxc6 Nxf2 15. Qe2 Nxh3+ 16. Kh1 Nf2+ 17. Rxf2 Bxf2 18. cxb7 Ba7 {Grischuk,A (2778) -Giri,A (2776) Zagreb 2021}) 8... Nxe5 9. d4 Bxd4 10. Qxd4 d6 11. Bf4 c5 12. Qe3 c4 13. Ba2 Nh5 $146 (13... O-O 14. Nc3 b4 15. Ne2 Qc7 16. Rad1 Re8 17. Qd4 Rb6 18. f3 Be6 19. Be3 Rc6 20. Qa7 Qa5 {Svidler,P (2714)-Aronian,L (2781) Paris 2021}) 14. Nc3 Nxf4 15. Qxf4 O-O 16. axb5 axb5 17. Rad1 Be6 18. Bb1 (18. b4 $5) 18... b4 19. Ne2 Qb6 20. h3 (20. c3 {is a logical recommendation, but also there Black is much better:} bxc3 21. bxc3 Bg4 $1 22. Qd2 (22. Rfe1 { loses right away because of} Bxe2 23. Rxe2 Qxb1) 22... Qb2 23. Rfe1 Qxd2 24. Rxd2 Bxe2 25. Rdxe2 g5 26. h4 h6 {and just compare the minor pieces.}) 20... c3 21. bxc3 Bc4 22. Rfe1 Bxe2 23. Rxe2 bxc3 24. Ree1 Ra8 25. Qg3 Rfc8 26. Kh2 Ra3 27. Re3 (27. f4 $5) 27... Qb4 28. f4 Nc4 29. Qg4 Rb8 30. Rg3 g6 31. f5 Nd2 32. Qf4 Qd4 33. fxg6 hxg6 34. Rg5 Ra1 35. Rd5 Qxe4 36. Qxd6 Raxb1 37. Rd4 Qe6 38. Qc7 Qb6 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.26"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Lagno, Kateryna"] [Black "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B40"] [WhiteElo "2558"] [BlackElo "2511"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "China"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "CHN"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 d5 4. exd5 exd5 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Nc6 7. Bg2 Bc5 8. Nb3 Qe7+ 9. Qe2 Bg4 $146 (9... Bb6 10. Nc3 Nb4 11. Qxe7+ Nxe7 12. O-O Nxc2 13. Rb1 Bf5 14. Bf4 Rd8 15. Rbd1 Be6 {Adams,M (2716)-Vidit,S (2726) Online 2021}) 10. Qxe7+ Bxe7 11. c3 O-O-O 12. h3 Be6 13. O-O h5 14. N1d2 g5 15. Nf3 g4 16. hxg4 Bxg4 17. Nbd4 Bf6 18. Bf4 Nge7 19. Rfe1 Ng6 20. Bg5 Bxg5 21. Nxg5 Rd7 22. f3 Nxd4 23. cxd4 Bf5 24. Rac1+ Kb8 25. Kf2 f6 26. Bh3 Ne7 27. Bxf5 Nxf5 28. Ne6 Rg8 29. Nf4 Nxg3 30. Rc5 b6 31. Rc6 h4 32. Ree6 $2 {It's easy to miss Black's next move.} ({White has to play} 32. Rxf6 Rc7 (32... Rh7 33. Ng6 $1) 33. Nxd5 Rc2+ 34. Ke3 h3 35. Kd3 $1 Rxb2 36. Ne7 $1 Rg7 37. d5 h2 38. d6) 32... h3 $1 { A fantastic find by Tan.} 33. Nxh3 Rh7 34. Nf4 Nf5 $1 {The point. Black's rooks will enter with devastating effect.} 35. Ne2 Rh2+ 36. Kf1 Rgg2 37. Re8+ Kb7 38. Rce6 Nh4 39. R6e7+ Ka6 {White can only postpone the inevitable.} 40. Ke1 Nf5 41. Kd1 (41. Re6 Nxd4 {and White can't even take the knight.}) 41... Nxe7 42. Rxe7 Kb5 43. Re3 Rxe2 44. Rxe2 Rxe2 45. Kxe2 Kc4 46. Ke3 b5 47. Ke2 Kxd4 48. Kd2 f5 49. Ke2 Ke5 50. Ke3 d4+ 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.27"] [Round "5.6"] [White "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2628"] [BlackElo "2881"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "127"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {After his sensational win against the world champion in Wijk an Zee earlier this year, the young star of Russian chess put up a great fight against Carlsen once again. The two classical games were drawn after a fierce battle, and after two more draws in the rapid, Carlsen finally won a game. Esipenko needed to win on demand now to stay in the match; therefore, the Berlin was out of the question.} Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O h6 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 Bb6 {Other ways to play it besides 8...a5 have also been tested by Carlsen:} (8... a6 9. Bb3 b5 10. Nbd2 Bb6 11. Nf1 Ne7 12. a4 Rb8 13. d4 Ng6 {was Harikrishna,P (2752)-Carlsen,M (2857) Baku 2016}) ({The world champion lost a game last year in the line} 8... Re8 9. Nbd2 a6 10. a4 Be6 11. Bxe6 Rxe6 12. b4 Ba7 13. Qc2 Qd7 14. Nf1 d5 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. Nxe3 Ne7 17. a5 { Ding,L (2791)-Carlsen,M (2863) Online 2020, but he would choose this path anyway for the second blitz game!}) 9. Nbd2 Ne7 10. a4 $5 {A relatively rare line recently tried by Svidler.} c6 ({That game went} 10... a5 11. Bb3 c6 12. d4 Ng6 13. Nf1 d5 14. Ng3 Nxe4 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Rxe4 Bf5 17. Re1 e4 18. Nd2 Qh4 {when Black had nothing to complain about in Svidler,P (2714)-Caruana,F (2820) Online 2021}) 11. d4 Ng6 12. Bf1 Re8 13. Qc2 Bc7 14. b4 $146 {A novelty in the spirit of the Ruy Lopez. White expands on the queenside rather than trying to attack on the opposite wing. 从后翼反击！这是一个新思路。} ({Another game of Svidler went} 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 dxe5 16. Nc4 a5 17. Be3 Be6 18. b4 Bxc4 19. Bxc4 Bb6 20. Rad1 Qc7 21. Bc1 {with a small edge for White in Svidler,P (2714)-So,W (2770) Paris 2021}) 14... Be6 {Here and on the next move, Black certainly had to consider the central break d6-d5.} ({Black is very close to equality after} 14... d5 $5 15. exd5 Nxd5 16. dxe5 Nxe5 17. Bb2 Nxf3+ 18. Nxf3 Rxe1 19. Rxe1 Be6 20. b5 {although the b-pawn pressures somewhat the second player's position.}) 15. Bb2 a5 {It seems that this only helps White.} ({It is not too late for} 15... d5 16. exd5 Bxd5 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 (18. Nd4 $5) 18... Bxe5 19. c4 {Although White preserves some pressure, the symmetry should help the world champion to hold this position.}) 16. b5 $1 {Now the b-file can be opened in White's favor, and the potential weakness left on the a-file can work nicely for him.} Bb6 ({In case of} 16... cxb5 17. Bxb5 Bd7 18. Bxd7 Qxd7 { White can gain space with} 19. c4) ({This is the last moment for} 16... d5 $5 17. exd5 Bxd5 18. dxe5 Nxe5 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Rad1 {although this is a better version for White in comparison to the lines above.}) 17. Ba3 Qc7 18. Rab1 { The threat is to trade on c6 and capture a pawn on d6.} cxb5 ({Or} 18... Rad8 19. Rb2 $5 {Doubling on the b-file.}) 19. Bxb5 $1 {Esipenko has achieved everything he wanted on the queenside. The b-file is in his hands, and he will use it to infiltrate into the opponent's camp and attack the pawn weaknesses on a5, b7, and d6.} Rec8 20. d5 Bd7 {是否要保留白格象？这是一个有 槸鍚﹁淇濈暀鐧芥牸璞★紵杩欐槸涓€涓湁 槸鍚﹁淇濈暀鐧芥牸璞★紵杩欐槸涓€涓湁瓒ｇ殑閫夋� Ц閸氾箒顩︽穱婵堟殌閻ц姤鐗哥挒鈽呯吹鏉╂瑦妲告稉鈧稉顏呮箒鐡掞絿娈戦柅澶嬪? 搁崥锕侇洣娣囨繄鏆€閻ц姤鐗哥挒鈽呯吹鏉╂瑦妲告稉鈧稉顏呮箒鐡掞絿娈戦柅澶嬪 鍚﹁淇濈暀鐧芥牸璞★紵杩欐槸涓€涓湁瓒ｇ殑閫夋嫨� 崥锕侇洣娣囨繄鏆€閻ц姤鐗哥挒鈽呯吹鏉╂瑦妲告稉鈧稉顏呮箒鐡掞絿娈戦柅澶嬪妫 氾箒顩︽穱婵堟殌閻ц姤鐗哥挒鈽呯吹鏉╂瑦妲告稉鈧稉顏呮箒鐡掞絿娈戦柅澶嬪妫? ﹁淇濈暀鐧芥牸璞★紵杩欐槸涓€涓湁瓒ｇ殑閫夋嫨棰� 箒顩︽穱婵堟殌閻ц姤鐗哥挒鈽呯吹鏉╂瑦妲告稉鈧稉顏呮箒鐡掞絿娈戦柅澶嬪妫版? 侇洣娣囨繄鏆€閻ц姤鐗哥挒鈽呯吹鏉╂瑦妲告稉鈧稉顏呮箒鐡掞絿娈戦柅澶嬪妫版ǜ 淇濈暀鐧芥牸璞★紵杩欐槸涓€涓湁瓒ｇ殑閫夋嫨棰樸� 洣娣囨繄鏆€閻ц姤鐗哥挒鈽呯吹鏉╂瑦妲告稉鈧稉顏呮箒鐡掞絿娈戦柅澶嬪妫版ǜ鈧 ︽穱婵堟殌閻ц姤鐗哥挒鈽呯吹鏉╂瑦妲告稉鈧稉顏呮箒鐡掞絿娈戦柅澶嬪妫版ǜ鈧? 淇濈暀鐧芥牸璞★紵杩欐槸涓€涓湁瓒ｇ殑閫夋嫨棰樸€? } 21. Bf1 $5 (21. Nc4 $5 {would be good for White as well, for instance after 也不错的} Bxb5 22. Nxb6 Qxb6 23. Rxb5 Qc7 24. Re3 { 双方进入激烈的战斗中}) 21... Rab8 {This only makes things worse for Black.} ({It makes sense to protect the d6-pawn in advance with} 21... Ne8 22. Nc4 Ba7 23. Rb2 Rab8 24. Reb1 {although Black's position remains rather gloomy here too.}) 22. Nc4 {Now the dark-squared bishops are being traded, and White gets his hands on the pivotal b6-point.} Bc5 23. Bxc5 $1 Qxc5 24. 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Nb6 Rd8 25. Nd2 {[%cal Gf2f4,Gb6c4,Gd2c4] with domination.}) 24... Ne8 25. Reb1 Qc7 26. Qb3 Qd8 27. Qa3 $5 {Going for the more valuable pawn on d6.} ({Although there is nothing wrong with} 27. Nxa5 {也可以考虑} Ra8 28. Qb4) 27... Qf6 28. Nxd6 Nxd6 29. Rxd6 Qe7 ({Black is simply down a pawn in the line} 29... Rxc3 $2 30. Qxc3 Qxd6 31. Qxa5 {without any counterplay.}) 30. Rbb6 (30. Rb3 $5 {might be simpler.}) 30... f6 {A crafty move...} 31. Qa1 {...which Esipenko did not counter in the best possible way.} ({The neatest win would be } 31. c4 $5 Nh8 32. Nh4 {[%cal Gh4g6,Rg6e7]} Nf7 33. Ng6 Qe8 34. Rxd7 $3 Qxd7 35. Ne7+ $18 {and it is over.}) 31... Nh8 $1 {Now the white rooks are in danger.} 32. Bb5 Bxb5 33. Re6 $1 {An excellent intermediate move. 更加积极的想法！} ({After} 33. axb5 {这是直接的想法} Nf7 34. Re6 Qc5 {Black could survive by constantly attacking the white rooks with his knight. 黑方以反击取得均衡}) 33... Qc5 34. Rxb5 Qc4 ({There is no} 34... Qxc3 $4 {due to the typical trick} 35. Re8+ $1 {引离c8车} Kf7 { Stockfish 14:} 36. Qxc3 Rxe8 ({Stockfish 14:} 36... Kxe8 37. Qb3) 37. Nh4 (37. d6) 37... Kg8 38. Nf5 g6 39. Nxh6+ Kg7 40. Ng4 Re7 41. Rb6 $18) 35. Qe1 ({ The computer suggests} 35. Qb2 {[%cal Rb5b7,Rb2b7]} Qxe4 36. Qb3 {but I doubt any human would play this way even with many hours on the clock.}) 35... Nf7 36. Rxa5 Qxc3 {In the heat of time trouble, Carlsen allows the same trick he avoided a couple of moves ago.} 37. Qxc3 {And Esipenko forgets about it as well!} (37. Re8+ $1 {would have finished it at once. 依然是引离战术。}) 37... Rxc3 38. Rb5 Rc4 39. a5 {Still, White has a winning advantage and converts without any problems.} Rf8 (39... Rxe4 40. a6 $1 {and the pawn is unstoppable. 至少b7兵守不住了！}) 40. Nh4 {[%cal Gh4g6] 另一条进攻路线。} Nd8 ({Here} 40... Rxe4 {would be met with} 41. Ng6 Ra8 42. Rxb7 Rxa5 43. Re8+ $18) 41. Re7 Rf7 42. Re8+ Rf8 43. Rxf8+ Kxf8 44. f3 Rc7 45. Nf5 h5 46. Rb6 {[%cal Gf5d6,Gd5d6] White is getting ready to attack the kingside as well.} (46. h4 $5) 46... Ke8 47. g4 $1 {Looking for a second weakness.} hxg4 48. hxg4 g6 49. Nh4 Rh7 ({The second weakness is revealed in the line} 49... Kf7 50. g5 $1 {[%cal Rb6g6,Rh4g6]} fxg5 51. Nxg6) 50. Nxg6 Kf7 51. Rd6 Kxg6 52. Rxd8 Rc7 53. Kf2 Rc5 54. d6 Rc2+ 55. Kg3 $1 {The neatest win.} (55. Ke3 Rc3+ 56. Ke2 Rc2+ 57. Kd3 Rc6 58. Rd7 {still requires plenty of work by White.}) 55... Rd2 56. d7 $1 {Forcing the rook trade.} Kf7 57. Rh8 Rxd7 58. Rh7+ Ke6 59. Rxd7 Kxd7 60. g5 $1 {And opens the road for his king.} fxg5 61. Kg4 Kc6 62. Kf5 Kb5 63. Kxe5 Kxa5 64. Kd6 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.27"] [Round "5.8"] [White "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2595"] [BlackElo "2886"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O (6. h3 Bb6 7. Nbd2 Ne7 8. O-O O-O 9. Re1 c6 10. Bb3 Ng6 11. Nf1 d5 12. Ng3 dxe4 13. dxe4 Qxd1 14. Rxd1 h6 {was the second 25+10 game between the players.}) 6... h6 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 a6 ({Deviating from the second 10+10 that he lost, where Carlsen played} 8... Bb6 9. Nbd2 Ne7 10. a4 c6 11. d4 Ng6 {Esipenko,A (2628)-Carlsen,M (2881) Sochi 2021}) 9. a4 Ba7 10. Nbd2 Re8 11. b4 Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6 13. Qc2 Qd7 14. Nf1 d5 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. Nxe3 Ne7 17. Rab1 $146 (17. a5 Ng6 18. g3 Rd8 19. Kg2 Qc6 20. Nf5 Ne7 21. Nxe7+ Rxe7 22. c4 dxe4 23. dxe4 Qe8 24. Rad1 {Ding Liren (2791) -Carlsen,M (2863), Online 2020}) 17... Rd8 18. a5 Ng6 19. c4 c6 20. Red1 $6 ( 20. g3 {looks better to prevent Black's move.}) 20... Nf4 21. Nf5 $6 g6 $1 22. Nxh6+ $6 {In a must-win situation, Esipenko is calling Carlsen's bluff. The problem is that it's not bluff.} ({Safer is} 22. Ng3) 22... Kg7 23. Ng4 $6 ({ Better is} 23. Nxf7 Qxf7 24. Ng5 {but after} Qe7 25. Nxe6+ Nxe6 26. exd5 Nd4 27. Qd2 cxd5 {Black is also better.}) 23... Nxg4 24. hxg4 Ree8 ({The text move is fine, but Black could win the pawn directly with} 24... dxe4 25. dxe4 Rd6 $1 26. Rxd6 Qxg4 $1 27. Ne1 Rxd6) 25. Nh2 Rh8 26. f3 dxe4 27. dxe4 Qe7 28. Rxd8 Qxd8 $6 29. g3 $2 ({With the active} 29. Qb2 $1 {White would solve matters completely with an equal position.}) 29... Qd4+ 30. Kh1 Nd3 {Now Black is winning.} 31. Qe2 Qxc4 32. Rd1 Rd8 33. Rf1 Qxb4 34. f4 exf4 35. gxf4 Qxa5 36. g5 Nc5 37. Qb2+ Kg8 38. Ng4 Nxe4 39. Nh6+ Kh7 40. Qh2 Rd2 41. Qh4 Kg7 42. f5 Qd5 43. f6+ Nxf6+ 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.27"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Piorun, Kacper"] [Black "Bacrot, Etienne"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B06"] [WhiteElo "2593"] [BlackElo "2700"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "110"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nf3 a6 4. Bd3 d6 5. c3 Nd7 6. O-O e5 7. Nbd2 Ne7 8. Re1 O-O 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. a4 Nc5 11. Bc4 Nd3 12. Re3 Nxc1 13. Rxc1 Qe8 14. Qb3 Bh6 15. Rd3 Nc6 16. Bd5 Nd8 17. a5 Ne6 18. Bxe6 Qxe6 19. Rd1 f6 20. Nc4 Qf7 21. Rd8 Rb8 22. Rxf8+ Bxf8 23. Rd8 Kg7 24. Qa4 Be7 25. Rd3 Be6 26. Nfd2 Qg8 27. Ne3 Rd8 28. Qc2 Bc5 29. Ndc4 Be7 30. Nd2 h5 31. Nf5+ Kf8 32. Rg3 Bc5 33. h3 Qf7 34. Ne3 Kg7 35. b4 Ba7 36. Ndf1 Qd7 37. c4 Bxe3 38. Nxe3 Qd2 39. Qb1 Kf7 40. Nd5 c6 41. Rd3 Qg5 42. Nb6 $6 (42. Ne3 Rxd3 43. Qxd3 {would have been very safe for White. }) 42... Rd4 $1 43. Rxd4 $2 {Giving Black a passer is not a good idea either.} exd4 44. Qd3 Qc1+ $1 ({Perhaps Piorun only counted on} 44... Qe5) 45. Kh2 Qc3 $1 {Winning on the spot.} 46. Qe2 h4 47. Na4 Qxb4 48. Nb2 Qxa5 49. f4 Qc3 50. Nd3 Bxc4 51. Qg4 Qxd3 52. Qd7+ Kg8 53. Qe8+ Kg7 54. Qe7+ Bf7 55. e5 Qf5 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.27"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Tabatabaei, M. Amin"] [Black "Martirosyan, Haik M."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2381"] [BlackElo "2340"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 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 Ne8 10. c4 Bf6 11. Re1 d5 12. cxd5 Qxd5 13. Be3 Qd8 14. Nc3 Nd6 15. Bf4 Be6 16. Be5 Bxe5 17. dxe5 Nf5 18. Bd3 c5 19. Be4 Nd4 20. Ne2 Nxe2+ 21. Qxe2 Qc7 22. f4 g6 23. Qf3 Rae8 24. b3 b5 25. h4 c4 26. bxc4 Bxc4 {A somewhat strange choice. Why not give yourself a protected passer?} (26... bxc4 27. h5 f5 $5 {and Black is OK.}) 27. h5 Qe7 28. Qg3 f5 29. Bf3 Kg7 30. Rad1 Rd8 31. Qf2 a5 32. Qb2 gxh5 $2 {Another odd pawn move.} (32... Qc5+ 33. Kh2 Rxd1 34. Bxd1 (34. Rxd1 Qe3) 34... Be6) 33. Bxh5 $6 ({Strong is} 33. Rd6 $1) 33... Kg8 $2 ({A better square is} 33... Kh6 $1) 34. Rxd8 Rxd8 35. e6 $1 {Decisive.} h6 (35... Bxe6 36. Qe5 Rd6 37. Re3) 36. Qe5 Rd5 37. Qb8+ Kg7 38. Qe8 Qxe8 39. Bxe8 Kf8 40. Bc6 Ke7 41. Bxd5 Bxd5 42. Re5 Bc4 43. Kf2 h5 44. g3 a4 45. a3 b4 46. axb4 a3 47. Ra5 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.27"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Black "Dzagnidze, Nana"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B94"] [WhiteElo "2533"] [BlackElo "2447"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Bc4 g6 8. Qe2 Bg7 9. O-O-O O-O 10. f4 Qc7 11. f5 (11. Kb1 e5 12. Nf3 b5 13. Bb3 Bb7 14. fxe5 dxe5 15. Rhf1 Rac8 16. g4 Kh8 17. Ne1 b4 18. Nd5 Nxd5 19. Bxd5 Bxd5 20. Rxd5 Nb6 21. Rd3 f6 22. Bc1 Na4 {Ortiz Suarez,I (2545)-Fernandez de La Vara,A (2486) Villa Clara 2020}) 11... b5 12. Bb3 Bb7 13. h4 Nc5 14. h5 Nxb3+ $146 ( 14... Nfxe4 15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. hxg6 hxg6 17. Qf2 Nxb3+ 18. axb3 Rfc8 19. Rd2 d5 20. Qh4 Qe5 {Berg,E (2612)-Spirin,O (2468) Gothenburg 2010}) 15. axb3 Qc5 ({ It looked super dangerous but} 15... Nxh5 {was probably the best.}) 16. hxg6 hxg6 17. Qf3 Rfc8 18. Qh3 Qe5 19. Bxf6 Qxf6 (19... exf6 20. fxg6 fxg6 21. Qd7) 20. fxg6 Qxg6 (20... fxg6 21. Rdf1 $1) 21. Nf5 Qg5+ 22. Kb1 Rxc3 23. bxc3 Bxe4 24. Nxg7 Qxg7 25. Rde1 d5 26. Re3 e6 27. Rg3 Bg6 28. Re1 Re8 29. Qh4 a5 30. Rf1 a4 31. Kb2 Rc8 32. Rf6 axb3 33. cxb3 b4 34. cxb4 Rc2+ 35. Ka3 Re2 36. Rfxg6 $1 fxg6 37. Qd8+ 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.28"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Bacrot, Etienne"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2678"] [BlackElo "2847"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. Bd2 {A tricky move order that deprives Black of the standard Nc6-a5 maneuver.} ({The main line is} 10. Nc3 {when Black can reply with} Na5 11. Ba2 b4 12. Ne2 c5 {Caruana,F (2492)-Adams,M (2735) Gibraltar 2007}) ({ The other knight development} 10. Nbd2 {may be also answered with} Na5 { which is what the specialist of this line, Tomashevsky, prefers} ({or the modern treatment} 10... Nd7 11. axb5 axb5 12. Rxa8 Qxa8 13. c3 Nc5 14. Bc2 b4 { Grandelius,N (2691) -Giri,A (2780) Batumi 2019}) 11. Ba2 c5 12. Nf1 bxa4 { Svidler,P (2734) -Tomashevsky,E (2749) Khanty-Mansiysk 2015}) 10... Qd7 { Played after almost half an hour of reflection. Was Carlsen trying to remember something? Or was he deciding what to reveal and what to hide before the match? At the press conference he said \"I just did't know it very well.\"} ({ Tomashevsky likes instead to release the queenside pressure at once with} 10... b4 11. c3 Rb8 12. cxb4 Bc8 13. b5 axb5 14. axb5 Rxb5 15. Ra8 Rb8 16. Rxb8 Nxb8 {Vachier-Lagrave,M (2775)-Tomashevsky,E (2716) Tbilisi 2015}) 11. Nc3 {Now the d7-square is no longer available for the kingside knight; therefore, Black switches back to} Na5 ({Curiously, Carlsen has positive experience with the line} 11... Nd4 12. Nxd4 exd4 13. Ne2 ({The world champion also revealed that he was looking for a way to try and avoid the lines} 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. exd5 { which are \"just a little bit better for White but very limited of winning chances (for Black.)\"}) 13... c5 14. Ng3 g6 15. c3 dxc3 16. Bxc3 d5 17. Qf3 d4 18. Bd2 {but as White, Carlsen,M (2625)-Pedersen,N (2516) Aalborg 2006}) 12. Ba2 c5 ({There is also} 12... b4 13. Ne2 c5 14. Ng3 Rab8 15. c3 b3 16. Bb1 Qc7 17. Nf5 Bc8 {Bjerre,J (2529)-Andersen,M (2601) Germany 2020}) 13. Ne2 Nc6 14. Ng3 {The knight landed on g3 via a slightly different route, and Bacrot is ready for the usual kingside attack business.} d5 {The most aggressive way.} ({ Both} 14... g6) ({And} 14... Nd4 {have been tried before.}) 15. exd5 Nxd5 16. c3 $146 {A novelty that was played instantly. But judging by the amount of time spent by both the players so far, the impression is that they both were already out of book.} (16. c4 Nc7 17. Bc3 b4 18. Nxe5 Nxe5 19. Bxe5 Qc6 20. f3 g6 21. d4 cxd4 22. c5 Rad8 23. Ne4 d3 {Louro,E (2194)-Giurgiu,N (2137) Online 2004}) ({The move in the game is needed, as otherwise White is not threatening to capture the e5-pawn:} 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. Rxe5 Bf6) 16... Rad8 {In Marshall spirit!} ({The timid} 16... Bf6 {would give the initiative to White:} 17. Ne4 Be7 18. Bg5 $5 f6 19. Be3 {when Black has obvious problems.}) (16... f6 17. Nh4 {\"is unpleasant for Black\" (Carlsen)}) 17. axb5 {It seems useful to open the a-file for the rook. However, Carlsen delicately criticized this move, mentioning that the bishop on a2 is in big trouble in many lines afterward.} axb5 18. Nxe5 {And Bacrot takes the most principled decision.} Nxe5 19. Rxe5 Bd6 20. Re1 (20. Rg5 $5 h6 (20... Be7 $5 21. Re5 Bd6) 21. Rxg7+ Kxg7 22. Bxh6+ Kxh6 23. Qh5+) 20... Nf4 21. Bxf4 Bxf4 {The end of the forcing line. Black has full compensation for the pawn, thanks to his excellent bishops and control over the d-file.} 22. Ne4 {Defending the pawn tactically.} ({If White wanted a draw, he might have chosen} 22. d4 cxd4 23. Qxd4 {when} Qxd4 24. cxd4 Rxd4 25. Ne2 {trades everything.}) 22... Qc7 {A clever move that provokes a kingside weakening.} ({Of course not} 22... Qxd3 $2 23. Qxd3 Rxd3 24. Nxc5) ({The immediate} 22... Qc6 {can be met with} 23. Qh5 Rxd3 24. Qxc5) 23. g3 {Bacrot voluntarily weakens the light squares, a decision he would regret later.} ({ With the black queen hitting the pawn on h2, the line} 23. Qh5 g6 (23... Rxd3 24. Nxc5 ({But} 24. g3 $1 {might spoil this plan.}) 24... g6 25. Qh4 Bxh2+ 26. Qxh2 Qxc5 {\"and I should be completely fine.\" (Carlsen)}) 24. Qxc5 ({However, it still makes sense to have the queen actively placed on the kingside as White can hope to build pressure on his own with} 24. Qh4 {with the tactical point} Rxd3 25. Nf6+ Kg7 26. Re7 $1 Qc6 (26... Qxe7 $4 27. Nh5+) 27. Rxb7 Qxb7 28. Qxf4 {winning some material.}) 24... Bxh2+ {is no longer appealing for White.}) 23... Be5 24. f4 {One more weakening.} ({More practical is} 24. Qe2 Rfe8 25. Rad1) ({Or} 24. Qh5) 24... Bd6 25. Qh5 ({White cannot trade his light-square defender easily} 25. Nxd6 $2 Qxd6 26. Re3 Qc6 {and the white king is badly exposed.}) 25... Qc6 (25... c4 $5 {at once looks also excellent for Black.}) 26. Qh3 ({Nevertheless, perhaps Bacrot should have tried} 26. f5 { which Carlsen anticipated:} c4 27. f6 ({Against} 27. d4 {the world champion had planned} Ra8 $1 {ruining White's optimal setup, Ra1-d1 and Ba2-b1.}) 27... Rfe8 $1 (27... cxd3 $2 28. Qg5) 28. fxg7 Re5 {\"I am playing with many more pieces there; that should be great.\" (Carlsen)} (28... Be5)) 26... c4 $1 { \"I was already feeling very comfortable.\" (Carlsen) It is important to block the white bishop as it is always ready to do something malicious to the enemy kingside.} ({As in the line} 26... Kh8 27. Bxf7 $1 Rxf7 28. Ng5 h6 29. Nxf7+ Kg8 30. Nxd8 {And Black needs to force a perpetual} Qh1+ 31. Kf2 Qf3+ 32. Kg1 Qh1+) 27. d4 ({As usual} 27. Nxd6 Rxd6 {does not help White.}) ({Nor does} 27. dxc4 bxc4) 27... Rde8 ({The world champion could not see more than a perpetual in the line} 27... f5 $1 28. Ng5 (28. Nxd6 Rxd6 {is plain bad for White as the rook enters the attack via the h-file.}) ({After} 28. Nf2 Ra8 $1 {is very strong, simply paralyzing White. At a good moment, Black can even sacrifice the exchange, as in this line:} 29. b3 Rxa2 30. Rxa2 cxb3 31. Rae2 Qxc3) 28... h6 29. Ne6 Qh1+ 30. Kf2 Qf3+ 31. Kg1 {There is a beautiful inclusion of the black bishop in the line} Rde8 $3 (31... Qh1+ $11) 32. Nxf8 Rxe1+ 33. Rxe1 Bxf4 $1 {when Black wins everything} 34. Ng6 Be3+ 35. Rxe3 Qxe3+ 36. Kf1 Qc1+) 28. d5 ({Black did not mind} 28. Nxd6 Qxd6 {\"His bishop is dead, and his king is forever weak.\" (Carlsen)}) 28... Qxd5 ({Afterward, Carlsen believed he should have gone for} 28... Qb6+ 29. Kf1 {The world champion did not mention what he intended to do, but I suspect he had in mind the brilliant attacking maneuver} Bb8 $3 ({Carlsen and Skripchenko analyzed Nigel Short's suggestion in the studio} 29... Bxd5 30. Nf6+ $1 gxf6 31. Qg4+ Kh8 32. Qf5 {Hoping for a perpetual. Then the world champion found the following line} Bxf4 33. Rxe8 (33. Qxd5 $1 {still keeps White in the battle, though.}) 33... Rxe8 34. Bb1 Re1+ $3 35. Kxe1 Qg1+ 36. Ke2 Qg2+ 37. Ke1 Bd2+ 38. Kd1 Bf3+)) 29. Rad1 Rxe4 {\"I didn't see a win after the queen sac, but I thought it would be very difficult for him.\" (Carlsen)} ({Black also considered} 29... Bc5+ 30. Kf1 Qc6 31. Bb1 g6 32. Nxc5 Qxc5 33. g4 {and, of course, liked his position but thought that White has some chances to hold.}) 30. Rxd5 Rxe1+ 31. Kf2 Rfe8 32. Re5 $1 { The only move.} ({Otherwise it is mate:} 32. Rxd6 R8e2#) ({Or another one} 32. Rd2 Bc5+ 33. Rd4 R8e2#) 32... Bxe5 ({Instead} 32... R1xe5 33. fxe5 Bc5+ 34. Kf1 Be4 $1 {might be even stronger.}) 33. Kxe1 Bxc3+ 34. Kf1 Bc8 $1 {Obviously seen well in advance.} ({For} 34... Bxb2 $4 35. Qd7 {loses for Black.}) 35. Qg2 {The queen is limited, which is one problem for Bacrot. The other is that his king is still in mortal danger.} ({Stronger is} 35. g4 $1 Bxb2 36. Qg2 Bf6 37. Qc6 {with practical chances to survive.}) 35... Bf5 ({A study-like win is} 35... Rd8 $3 36. Qc6 Bd7 37. Qb7 Bh3+ 38. Ke2 Bg4+ 39. Kf1 Bd4 {setting up an unusual mating net. White can get easily mated in many lines:} 40. Qxb5 Be3 41. Kg2 Rd2+ 42. Kf1 Rd1+ 43. Kg2 Rg1#) 36. Qd5 Be6 37. Qc5 $1 {The best defense.} ({The pawn is immune} 37. Qxb5 Bh3+ 38. Kf2 Bd4+ 39. Kf3 Re3+ 40. Kf2 Rb3+ { and Black picks up the queen.}) 37... Bxb2 38. Kg2 $1 {Bacrot found some amazing resources, but still this was not enough in the end.} Bd7 39. Qd5 { Carlsen thought this to be the last mistake.} ({Apparently, the computer is holding this after} 39. Qc7 $1 {Sticking to the black pieces.} Bf5 40. Qc5 (40. Qb6 Bd7 41. Qc7 Bg4 42. h3 Re2+ 43. Kf1 Ba3 44. Bxc4 bxc4 45. hxg4) 40... Be4+ 41. Kh3 {Carlsen believed that he is winning in the line} Rb8 42. Qc7 ({ However, there is the strong resource} 42. Qb4 $1 Bf6 43. Bxc4 $1) 42... Ra8 43. Qc5 g6) 39... Rd8 $3 {A beautiful ambush! \"It is just all over.\" (Carlsen)} 40. Qc5 ({However, there is still a lot of play left after the most resilient} 40. g4 $1 Bf6 41. Kg3) 40... Bf6 41. Bb1 g6 42. g4 Bxg4 43. Qxb5 c3 44. f5 g5 $1 {A nice final touch. Everything is in order now on the kingside, and Black may take care of the enemy king now or advance his c-passer.} ({ Black has correctly avoided the direct} 44... c2 45. Bxc2 Rd2+ 46. Kg3 Rxc2 47. Kxg4 h5+ 48. Kg3 {and there is no mate.}) 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.29"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C00"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2709"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {[%evp 0,71,25,13,53,3,3,0,-16,-2,-5,-2,-9,-16,-5,-14,20,-15,-28,-15,-13,-27, -14,-46,-53,-53,-53,-53,-61,-57,-53,-62,-77,-65,-53,-65,-60,-69,-77,-93,-94, -66,-72,-92,-89,-72,-72,-68,-61,-57,-34,-15,-35,-94,0,0,428,128,636,697,697, 348,1062,1022,1022,786,1022,1022,29995,29996,29997,29998,29999,-30000]} 1. e4 e6 {A surprise for Karjakin, who mainly expected the Sicilian or the solid 1... e5 move.} 2. d3 {Therefore, the Russian GM decided to surprise his opponent in turn and avoid the long theoretical lines. Plus, this move is good, right?} d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. Ngf3 Be7 5. g3 a5 {A possible move order, but Shankland soon reverts to a main line.} 6. Bg2 a4 7. a3 {This pawn needs to be stopped.} c5 8. O-O Nc6 9. Re1 O-O 10. e5 Nd7 11. Nf1 b5 12. h4 Bb7 ({Black can also put pressure along the c-file with} 12... Qc7 13. Bf4 Nd4 14. Nxd4 cxd4 {when} 15. Nh2 Bb7 16. h5 b4 17. axb4 Bxb4 18. Rf1 Nxe5 19. h6 g6 20. c3 {gave White the initiative in Naiditsch,A (2687)-Lalith,B (2587) Doha 2016}) 13. h5 h6 { One of the possible ways to defend. Just like White has stopped the a-pawn, so does Black with the striker on the opposite wing.} 14. Bf4 Qb6 {Shankland has prepared for queenside expansion. However, his last move shifted one more of his pieces away from the kingside, and White immediately starts creating concrete threats.} 15. Qd2 $146 {With the clear intention to capture on h6 sooner or later.} ({An earlier game saw another version of the sacrifice:} 15. Ne3 Rfb8 16. Ng4 Bf8 17. Qd2 {[%cal Rg4h6,Rf4h6,Rd2h6]} Nd4 18. Nxd4 cxd4 19. Bh3 Ra6 20. Bxh6 gxh6 21. Nxh6+ Bxh6 22. Qxh6 Qd8 {when White's initiative turned out to be enough only for a draw later in Johansson,K (2264)-Hassim,U (2117) LSS email 2014}) 15... Rfc8 {Shankland clears the f8-spot for his bishop. His plan seems perfectly reasonable. He wants to defend as economically as possible, and if just one Bf8 can do the job, then all would be great for him.} ({Actually, White isn't yet threatening to sacrifice and} 15... b4 {is possible as} 16. Bxh6 gxh6 17. Qxh6 Qd8 {seems to defend sufficiently.}) 16. g4 $1 {Karjakin thought that this is the only way to build a successful kingside attack. He aims to make use of the hook on h6 to break open the g-file.} ({The standard way of attacking involves the pieces:} 16. N1h2 {Then Black will proceed with his queenside business} b4 ({Although the immediate knight swap with} 16... Nd4 $5 {also makes perfect sense and Black should be OK after} 17. Nxd4 cxd4 18. g4 b4) ({Black needs to keep the bishop on its position for the time being, though, as} 16... Bf8 17. g4 $1 {makes the g-push plan more interesting.}) 17. Ng4 {when a key defensive idea for Black is } Nd4 $1 {Knocking down an important white attacker.} ({Let's assume that Black ignores his opponent on the kingside. An illustrative line for White's attacking possibilities goes} 17... bxa3 18. bxa3 Ba6 {Now the programmed} 19. Bxh6 $1 gxh6 20. Nxh6+ {leads to winning attack for the first player:} Kf8 ({Or } 20... Kg7 21. Qf4 Rf8 22. c4 $1 {when White will soon crash through the center.}) 21. Qf4 Nd8 22. Ng5 $1 {There is this knight coming with decisive effect!}) 18. Nxd4 cxd4 {After the knights are off the board} 19. Bxh6 gxh6 20. Nxh6+ Kg7 21. Qf4 Rf8 {does not seem to work well for White anymore.}) 16... Qd8 {The queen steps back for defense. That is once more very sensible.} ({ However, there is the aggressive defense too:} 16... Nd4 $1 17. Nxd4 cxd4 18. Nh2 b4 19. g5 {The problem with this approach is that Black risks being checkmated. Still} Qc7 $1 {puts enough pressure on the queenside to challenge the white queen just in time. For example,} 20. gxh6 ({or} 20. Re2 bxa3 21. bxa3 Qc3) ({And if} 20. Rac1 bxa3 21. bxa3 Qc3 $1 {which is the human way.} ({ Although the computer dares to even take material with} 21... hxg5 22. Bxg5 Bxa3)) 20... Qxc2 {and without the queens, White's attack fizzles out.}) 17. N1h2 ({With the queen in the defense} 17. g5 {can be well met with} hxg5 18. Nxg5 Ndxe5 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Bxe5 Qf8) 17... Ra6 {The rook protects the e6-pawn and is ready to support the b5-b4 break.} ({When the black queen is away,} 17... Nd4 $6 {does not work that well anymore:} 18. Nxd4 cxd4 19. Nf3 { as the d4-pawn is vulnerable.}) ({And if} 17... Nf8 {intending to block the g-pawn via the h7-square, then} 18. g5 $1 hxg5 19. Bxg5 {with White's attack.}) 18. Kh1 $1 {The rook is the key piece in the attacking puzzle.} b4 19. Rg1 Nf8 20. axb4 ({It is early for the immediate} 20. g5 hxg5 21. Bxg5 Bxg5 22. Nxg5 Nxe5) 20... cxb4 ({Any time the pressure on e5 is realized} 20... Nxb4 { White strikes with} 21. g5 $1) 21. d4 $1 {Not only does Karjakin defend the e5-spot, he opens the diagonal for his light-squared bishop too.} Na5 ({ There is still not enough time to transfer the knight to the h7-square} 21... Nh7 22. Bf1 Ra5 23. g5 hxg5 24. Nxg5 Nxg5 25. Bxg5 Bxg5 26. Rxg5 {The files would be opened in White's favor, and his attack would be super-strong.}) ({ However, Shankland might have still been able to survive with} 21... a3 $1 22. b3 ({No time for} 22. Bf1 axb2 $1) 22... Nh7 {Then} 23. Bf1 Raa8 24. g5 { can be met with} hxg5 25. Nxg5 Nxg5 26. Bxg5 Bxg5 27. Rxg5 Nxd4 {True, White can ignore the knight:} 28. Bd3 {But then Black will bring it closer for the kingside defense with} Nf5) 22. g5 $1 {Now the grand strategy works well for Karjakin. As the Russian GM summarized it, it takes just one mistake to lose for Black.} Nc4 {That is more accurate.} ({Then} 22... hxg5 23. Bxg5 $1 Bxg5 ( 23... Nc4 24. Qf4) 24. Nxg5 {with an unstoppable attack.}) 23. Qc1 hxg5 24. Bxg5 b3 ({Or} 24... Bxg5 $4 25. Nxg5 b3 26. Bf1 $1 {Bringing everyone together. } bxc2 27. Ng4 $1 {With the unstoppable threat of a check on either h6- or f6-square next. A possible mating attack runs} Qe7 28. Nh6+ gxh6 29. Ne4+ Ng6 30. Nf6+ Kg7 31. hxg6 fxg6 32. Rxg6+ Kxg6 33. Qxc2+ Kg5 34. f4+ Kxf4 35. Qf2+ Kg5 36. Qg3+ Kf5 37. Bd3#) 25. Bxe7 Qxe7 26. Bf1 $1 {The file is opened; the end is near.} (26. Bh3 $1 {[%cal Rg1g7,Rf3h4] would also be good.}) 26... a3 $2 {The last mistake.} ({More resilient is} 26... f5 $5 27. exf6 Qxf6 28. cxb3 ({ Or the immediate} 28. h6) 28... axb3 29. Rxa6 Bxa6 30. h6) 27. Rxg7+ $3 { A brilliant way to get to the enemy king.} Kxg7 28. Ng4 f5 29. exf6+ Qxf6 30. Nxf6 {Not only does Karjakin win the black queen, he continues the decisive attack as well.} axb2 31. Qg5+ Kf7 32. h6 Ng6 33. Nh4 $1 {The final blow.} bxa1=Q (33... Nxh4 34. Qg7#) ({A pretty finish would be} 33... Rg8 34. h7 Rg7 35. Nxg6 bxa1=Q 36. h8=N#) 34. Qxg6+ Ke7 35. Qg7+ Kd6 (35... Kd8 36. Qd7#) 36. Qd7# 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.29"] [Round "6"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2726"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {[%evp 0,99,19,31,34,19,13,4,13,-2,-9,3,3,10,33,2,42,34,74,62,74,-54,64,-1,6, -11,-28,0,-24,23,9,9,27,25,30,26,26,17,17,20,20,20,20,20,15,20,20,4,11,17,24, 10,29,19,9,13,0,0,42,29,17,10,8,19,3,4,61,64,74,80,119,80,103,-88,25,25,25,302, 495,623,505,505,695,695,738,485,485,485,647,864,851,903,925,962,952,992,992, 1002,29995,29996,29997,29998]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. a4 Rb8 8. c3 ({Vidit also had this on the board in the previous round:} 8. Nxe5 Nxe5 9. d4 Bxd4 10. Qxd4 d6 11. Bf4 c5 12. Qe3 c4 13. Ba2 Nh5 $1 {and he went on to win in Durarbayli,V (2625)-Vidit,S (2726) Sochi 2021.}) 8... d6 9. d4 Bb6 10. a5 Ba7 11. h3 Bb7 12. Be3 Nxe4 13. d5 ({An alternative is} 13. Re1 {e.g.} Ne7 14. dxe5 Bxe3 15. Rxe3 O-O 16. Bc2 Nc5 { Firouzja,A (2759)-Dubov, D (2710) Online 2021}) 13... Bxe3 14. dxc6 Nxf2 15. Qe2 (15. Qd5 $6 {Anton Guijarro,D (2675) -Grischuk,A (2777) Online 2020} Qf6 $1 $15 16. Rxf2 Bc8 {is slightly better for Black.}) 15... Nxh3+ 16. Kh1 Nf2+ 17. Rxf2 Bxf2 18. Qxf2 ({Deviating from two recent top GM games:} 18. cxb7 Ba7 19. Bd5 Qd7 20. Nd4 ({The mistake} 20. Qe4 $2 {played in Vachier Lagrave,M (2760) -Aronian,L (2781) Paris 2021 won't be repeated because of} f5 $1 21. Qh4 c6 { and Black is winning}) 20... Qe7 21. Bc6+ Kf8 22. Nf3 d5 $14 {Grischuk,A (2778) -Giri,A (2776) Zagreb 2021}) 18... Bxc6 $5 $146 ({Better than the older example:} 18... Bc8 {稍差一些} 19. Nxe5 {[%cal Rf2f7,Gb3f7]} O-O 20. Nd3 Qg5 21. Nd2 b4 22. Nxb4 Rb5 23. Ne4 Qg6 {Adhiban,B (2587)-Ashwin,J (2461) Bhopal 2013}) 19. Nxe5 Bxg2+ 20. Kg1 (20. Kxg2 $4 {Stockfish 14:} Qg5+ 21. Kf1 Qxe5 22. Qxf7+ Kd8 23. Be6 Qf6+ 24. Qxf6+ gxf6 25. Nd2 b4 26. c4 c6 27. Nf3 Re8 28. Bf5 Kc7 29. Kf2 h5 30. Rh1 b3 31. Nd4 Re5 {[%cal Re5a5]} 32. Rxh5 Rxa5 33. Rh7+ Kb6 34. Rh3 Rb7 35. Be4 Ra2 36. Rxb3+ Kc7 37. Ne6+ Kb8 38. Rd3 a5 39. Rxd6 a4 40. Rd8+ Ka7 41. Bxc6 Raxb2+ $15 42. Ke3 {[%eval -37,33]}) 20... Qf6 { [%csl Rf7] This move Duda didn't know.} ({He wanted to test Vidit in the line} 20... O-O 21. Nxf7 Qe7 22. Nd2 {and now Black needs to find (or \"know\") the remarkable sequence} d5 23. Qxg2 Qe3+ 24. Kh1 Kxf7 $1 {and it's equal.}) 21. Nxf7 Qxf2+ 22. Kxf2 Rf8 23. Kxg2 Rxf7 24. Bxf7+ Kxf7 25. Nd2 Re8 26. Rf1+ Kg6 27. Kf2 h5 28. Rg1+ Kf6 29. Kf3 g6 30. Ne4+ Kg7 31. Nf2 Rf8+ 32. Kg2 Re8 33. Nd3 g5 34. Nb4 Re2+ $6 {This looks tempting because the white king is driven to the corner.} ({Best was probably} 34... c5 $1 35. Nxa6 Ra8 36. Nc7 Rxa5 37. Ne8+ Kg6 38. Nxd6 Ra2 39. Rb1 b4 40. c4 b3 $1 {and White won't be able to win this.}) 35. Kh1 $1 ({Black holds after} 35. Kf3 Rxb2 36. Rxg5+ Kh6 37. Rd5 Rb3 38. Rd3 c5 $1 39. Nxa6 b4 $1 40. Rxd6+ Kg7 $1 41. Nxc5 Rxc3+ 42. Nd3 Ra3 43. a6 b3 44. Ke4 h4) 35... Rxb2 36. Ra1 $1 {This strong prepatory move decides the game.} c5 37. Nxa6 b4 38. Nxb4 $5 ({Also winning was} 38. cxb4 cxb4 39. Nc7 Rc2 40. a6 Rxc7 41. a7 Rxa7 42. Rxa7+) 38... cxb4 39. a6 bxc3 40. a7 c2 41. a8=Q Rb1+ 42. Kg2 c1=Q 43. Ra7+ Kf6 44. Qf8+ Ke5 45. Re7+ Kd5 46. Qf3+ Kc5 47. Rc7+ Kb4 48. Qb7+ Ka5 49. Qa7+ Kb5 50. Qb8+ 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.30"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2709"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2 d5 4. d4 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 Nbd7 11. Nc3 h6 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. e3 (13. Rfd1 Qd6 14. e3 Rfd8 15. a5 Rac8 16. Qe2 Bxf3 17. Bxf3 c6 18. Ra4 g6 {Giri,A (2776) -Grischuk,A (2778) Zagreb 2021}) 13... Qd6 $146 (13... a5 14. Rac1 Bxf3 15. Bxf3 c6 16. Rfd1 Qb6 17. Ne4 Nxe4 18. Bxe4 Qb4 19. Qc2 Rfd8 {Andreikin,D (2737) -Movsesian,S (2673) Tallinn 2016}) 14. Rfb1 a5 15. Qe2 Bxf3 16. Bxf3 c6 17. Rd1 g6 18. h4 h5 19. Qc2 Rfd8 20. Ne2 Kg7 21. Kg2 Qc7 22. Rac1 Rac8 23. Qb3 Bd6 24. Rc2 Qe7 25. Rcd2 Bb4 26. Rd3 Rd7 27. e4 Rcd8 28. Nf4 e5 29. dxe5 Qxe5 30. Rxd7 Rxd7 31. Nd3 Qe7 32. e5 Nd5 33. Qc2 Nc7 $2 {Karjakin said he had seen this line but forgot about 39.Bxc6.} 34. Nxb4 axb4 35. Rxd7 Qxd7 36. Qc5 Qd2 37. Qd6 Qxd6 ({Also losing is} 37... Nd5 38. Bxd5 cxd5 39. Qf6+ Kg8 40. e6 $1 fxe6 41. Qxe6+ Kg7 42. Qe7+ Kh6 43. Qxb7) 38. exd6 Ne6 39. Bxc6 $1 b6 (39... bxc6 40. a5 {and one of the pawns will queen.}) 40. Bd5 Nc5 41. Kf3 Kf6 42. b3 g5 43. hxg5+ Kxg5 44. Ke3 f5 45. Kd4 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.30"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2709"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 Nc6 7. g4 g6 8. Be3 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 Bg7 10. O-O-O $146 (10. Qb4 O-O 11. O-O-O b5 12. e5 Ne8 13. Bg2 Rb8 14. Ba7 a5 15. Qd4 Bb7 16. Bxb8 Bxg2 17. Qa7 Bxh1 18. Rxh1 Bxe5 { Karthikeyan,M (2606)-Sardana,R (2437) Gibraltar 2020}) 10... Be6 11. f4 Qa5 $6 {Other moves are better but White has an edge everywhere.} 12. f5 $1 Bxa2 13. Bd2 ({There were actually two refutations:} 13. g5 Nh5 14. f6 Nxf6 15. gxf6 Bxf6 16. Qa4+ Qxa4 17. Nxa4 {is also much better for White.}) 13... O-O 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. Bxa5 Bxd4 16. Rxd4 Ne3 17. Kd2 Nxf1+ 18. Rxf1 {The bishop on a2 is trapped.} Rfc8 19. b3 Rc6 20. Ra1 Bxb3 21. cxb3 Rac8 22. Ke3 Rc2 23. f6 exf6 24. Rxd6 Rh2 25. Rxf6 Rxh3+ 26. Rf3 Rh2 27. Rd1 Rb2 28. Rd3 h6 29. Kf4 g5+ 30. Kf5 Re2 31. Bd8 Kh7 32. Bf6 b5 33. Rd7 Kg8 34. b4 Ra2 35. Rd8+ Rxd8 36. Bxd8 Rd2 37. Bf6 Kf8 38. Rc3 Rf2+ 39. Ke5 Ke8 40. Rd3 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.30"] [Round "6.5"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2709"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 {Karjakin is often labelled as the \"Minister of the Defense.\" People are forgetting, though, that he first proved himself as one of the strongest tacticians on Earth. In fact, a few years back, during his meteor-like rising years, even top players like Anand and Kramnik wisely preferred to avoid the Sicilian when facing him.} 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 Nc6 7. g4 ({There are, of course, other ways to develop, like} 7. Be3 e6 8. g4 Be7 9. Bg2 Nd7 10. O-O O-O 11. f4 Nxd4 12. Qxd4 e5 13. Qd2 exf4 14. Bxf4 Ne5 15. Nd5 {Andriasian,Z (2926)-Savchenko,B (2848) Chess. com 2020}) 7... g6 8. Be3 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 Bg7 {All of this was played fast by both, but Shankland is about to face a nasty surprise.} 10. e5 $5 $146 { Interesting and new, according to Megabase. And played very confidently by Karjakin, just like his next moves. In the post-match analysis with GM Sergey Shipov, Karjakin revealed that this was an idea of his second, the creative GM Denis Khismatullin. \"I rushed to prepare, and he showed me this between the games.\"} ({In an earlier game, White went for the central break a tad later after} 10. Qb4 O-O 11. O-O-O b5 12. e5 Ne8 13. Bg2 Rb8 14. Ba7 a5 15. Qd4 Bb7 16. Bxb8 Bxg2 17. Qa7 Bxh1 18. Rxh1 Bxe5 {and this led to very unclear play in Karthikeyan,M (2606)-Sardana,R (2437) Gibraltar 2020}) 10... Nd7 ({Black cannot capture the pawn as} 10... dxe5 $2 11. Qxd8+ Kxd8 12. O-O-O+ { completely paralyzes him, and the initiative is irresistible:} Kc7 ({Or} 12... Bd7 13. g5 Nh5 14. Bg2 Rb8 15. Bb6+ Ke8 16. Nd5 {with complete domination.}) 13. g5 Nh5 14. Nd5+ Kb8 {and White is close to winning after both} 15. Nb6 ({ and} 15. Nxe7)) 11. O-O-O Bxe5 {The only possible capture.} (11... Nxe5 $2 { drops a piece after} 12. f4) ({As before} 11... dxe5 $2 {leaves Black completely paralyzed and helpless} 12. Qb4 O-O 13. Nd5 e6 14. Nb6 Rb8 15. Qd2) 12. Qd2 Qa5 13. Nd5 $1 {The point behind the sacrifice! Shankland is facing a tough practical decision: Should I enter the in-depth analysis of my opponent who is still blitzing, or should I play it safe?} Qxd2+ {He chose the latter.} ({Karjakin said that he remembered a few of the forcing lines after the principled} 13... Qxa2 14. Qb4 {and he felt confident. Then Black obviously cannot sacrifice the rook:} Qa1+ ({Also grim for Black is} 14... O-O 15. f4 Bg7 16. Nxe7+ Kh8 17. Bd4) ({And even worse seems} 14... Kd8 $2 15. f4 $1 {This move is the key to Black's castle in most of the lines.} ({The black bishop should be chased away from its active position as the line} 15. Bb6+ Nxb6 16. Qxb6+ Ke8 17. Nc7+ $2 Kf8 18. Nxa8 $4 Bf4+ 19. Rd2 Qa1# {clearly illustrates why.}) 15... Bg7 16. Bb6+ {and then win the rook.}) ({Best seems} 14... Rb8 15. f4 $1 ({Rather than the immediate} 15. Ba7 Qa1+ 16. Kd2 Qxb2 17. Qxb2 Bxb2) 15... Bg7 16. Ba7 Qa1+ 17. Kd2 Qxb2 18. Qxb2 Bxb2 19. Rb1 Bg7 20. Bxa6 { with an edge for White, but perhaps Black can hold this?}) 15. Kd2 Qxb2 16. Qxb2 Bxb2 17. Nc7+ Kd8 18. Nxa8 b5 19. Bg2 {as the white knight escapes.}) 14. Rxd2 {\"I knew that the endgame is clearly better for White. Despite the pawn deficit, the white pieces are immensely active, and playing this as White is much easier.\" (Karjakin)} ({Another capture is also possible:} 14. Bxd2 Rb8 15. f4 Bg7 {but then White needs to find the sharp idea} 16. Bb4 b6 17. Nxe7 $1 Kxe7 18. Bxd6+ Ke8 19. Bg2 Bb7 {with the beautiful point} 20. Bc7 $3 Bxg2 21. Rhe1+ Kf8 22. Bxb8 {and wins.}) 14... Kd8 ({The rook cannot be saved with} 14... Rb8 15. f4 Bg7 16. Ba7) 15. f4 Bg7 16. Bg2 a5 ({Once more} 16... Rb8 { only helps White rearrange his pieces after} 17. Ba7 Ra8 18. Bf2 Rb8 19. Bh4) ( {Whereas} 16... e6 {opens the game favorably for the first player and he crushes through with} 17. Nb6 Nxb6 18. Bxb6+ Kd7 19. Rhd1 d5 20. c4 $1 ({ Or even} 20. Bxd5 $1 exd5 21. Rxd5+ Kc6 22. Rd6+ Kb5 23. R1d5+ Kc4 24. Rc5+ Kb4 25. a3+ Ka4 26. Ra5#)) 17. a4 $1 {Fixing the pawn on a5. White is dominating; he does not need to force anything yet.} Ra6 $1 {The only chance.} 18. Bf1 $1 { A key move, which does not let the rook go out.} Rc6 19. Bb5 h5 ({Here and on the next move, Karjakin expected} 19... e6 $1 20. Bxc6 bxc6 {when he planned to pick up the-a5 pawn in the line} 21. Nb6 d5 ({Or} 21... Kc7 22. Nc4) 22. Nxd7 Bxd7 ({Nevertheless, this is Black's best chance, especially since the line} 22... Kxd7 23. Bb6 Bb7 24. Bxa5 $2 Ra8 25. b4 c5 $1 {is far from clear yet.}) 23. Bb6+) 20. g5 h4 (20... e6 $1 {is still there.}) 21. Re1 Nb8 { \"A terrible move.\" (Karjakin)} ({Shankland misses his last chance to opt for } 21... e6 22. Bxc6 bxc6 23. Nb6 Kc7 24. Nc4 {with at least some practical chances for survival.}) 22. Ba7 $1 {Now it is basically over.} e6 (22... Nd7 23. Bxc6 bxc6 24. Nxe7 {loses everything for Black.}) 23. Bxc6 Nxc6 24. Bb6+ Kd7 25. Ne3 ({There are other ways to pick up the d6-pawn, like} 25. Nc7 Bf8 26. c4) 25... Ke7 26. Bc7 {The pawn is lost, and without it everything collapses.} Nd4 (26... d5 27. Nxd5+) 27. Rd3 Bd7 28. Nd5+ Ke8 29. Nf6+ { White forces the win.} (29. Bxd6 {would have done too.}) 29... Bxf6 30. gxf6 Nf5 31. Bxd6 Kd8 32. Red1 Bxa4 33. Be7+ $1 {Everything is precisely calculated despite the time deficit.} Kc7 ({Or else the key black pawn is lost after} 33... Kc8 34. Rd8+ Rxd8 35. Rxd8+ Kc7 36. Rf8) 34. Bd8+ Kc8 ({There is literally no choice:} 34... Kc6 35. b3 Bb5 36. Rc3+) 35. Bb6 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.30"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A30"] [WhiteElo "2709"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. b3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 c5 6. Bb2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. d4 cxd4 9. Qxd4 Nc6 10. Qf4 d5 11. Nc3 dxc4 12. Rfd1 Qb8 13. Qxc4 Rd8 14. e4 Rxd1+ 15. Rxd1 Ne5 16. Qe2 Nxf3+ 17. Bxf3 Bb4 $6 ({After the game, Karjakin preferred } 17... e5) 18. a3 Bxc3 19. Bxc3 Qc7 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. e5 fxe5 ({Maybe things are not so bad for Black after} 21... f5) 22. Bxb7 Qxb7 23. Qxe5 Qf3 24. Rd7 h6 25. Qc7 Rf8 26. Qc2 a5 27. a4 Qa8 28. Qc1 $2 {Missing Black's next.} ({ Karjakin admitted that it would have been difficult for him after} 28. Qd2) 28... Rd8 $1 {This solves everything.} 29. Rxd8+ Qxd8 30. Qxh6 Qd1+ 31. Kg2 Qd5+ 32. f3 Qxb3 33. Qg5+ Kf8 34. Qd8+ Kg7 35. Qd4+ Kg8 36. g4 Qb4 37. Qd7 Qb2+ 38. Kh3 Qh8+ 39. Kg2 Qb2+ 40. Kg1 Qa1+ 41. Kf2 Qb2+ {What follows can only be explained by the fact that Shankland needed to win this game.} 42. Ke3 Qxh2 43. Qd8+ Kg7 44. Kd3 Qa2 45. Qd4+ Kg8 46. Qc4 Qa3+ 47. Ke4 Qb2 48. g5 Qb1+ 49. Ke3 Qe1+ 50. Kd3 Qf1+ 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.07.30"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Black "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2472"] [BlackElo "2511"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "China"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "CHN"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. c4 Nc6 6. d3 Nf6 7. d4 Be7 8. d5 Ne5 9. Be2 Nxf3+ $146 (9... O-O 10. O-O Re8 11. Nc3 c6 12. Be3 cxd5 13. cxd5 Nfg4 14. Nxe5 Nxe3 15. fxe3 dxe5 16. Qb3 Bc5 {El Messiry,R-Haase,P IECC email 1997}) 10. Bxf3 h5 11. h3 Bf5 12. Nc3 Qd7 13. Be3 a6 14. a4 c5 15. dxc6 bxc6 16. a5 Rb8 17. O-O O-O 18. Na4 d5 19. Nb6 Qd6 20. Rc1 Qb4 21. Bd4 dxc4 $6 22. Re1 {Preparing a strong exchange sacrifice.} (22. Rxc4 $1 {is already winning because} Qxa5 (22... Qd6 23. Rxc6) 23. Ra4 Qb5 24. Be2 {traps the queen.}) 22... Be6 23. Rxe6 $5 fxe6 24. Qe2 Rf7 (24... Kh8) 25. Nxc4 Nd5 $2 {Returning the exchange isn't necessary and loses quickly.} (25... Bc5 {is actually not super clear yet.}) 26. Bxh5 Rbf8 27. Qxe6 Nf4 28. Bxf7+ Rxf7 29. Qg4 Bc5 30. Be3 Bxe3 31. fxe3 Qc5 32. b4 Qa7 33. Rf1 Nd3 34. Rd1 Ne5 35. Rd8+ Rf8 36. Rxf8+ Kxf8 37. Qf4+ Nf7 38. Ne5 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.08.01"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Goryachkina, Aleksandra"] [Black "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2596"] [BlackElo "2472"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "126"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Nf3 a6 6. O-O Nc6 7. Be3 {Quite a fresh idea.} ({More common is} 7. a4 Rb8 8. a5 b5 9. axb6 cxb6 10. Bf4 Bd6 11. Ne5 Ne7 12. Bc6+ Kf8 13. Bg2 Nfd5 14. Bd2 b5 15. b3 {with huge complications in Giri,A (2776)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2792) Zagreb 2021}) 7... Nd5 8. Qc1 Nxe3 $146 {An accurate move and a novelty.} ({In an earlier game, Black tried} 8... Be7 {However, after} 9. Qxc4 Nxe3 10. fxe3 {the doubled white pawns provided them central stability and a little pull in the endgame after} O-O 11. Nc3 Rb8 12. Ne4 Qd5 13. Ned2 Bd7 14. Rac1 Qxc4 15. Nxc4 {Sjugirov,S (2675)-Oparin,G (2652) Chess.com 2020}) 9. Qxe3 {The correct choice.} ({Otherwise Black will develop her dark-squared bishop aggressively with} 9. fxe3 g6) 9... Be7 10. Rc1 O-O {Going into slow developing mode.} ({There's not enough compensation after } 10... b5 11. Ne5) 11. Rxc4 Bd7 12. a3 $1 {An accurate move. Despite Black's bishop pair, it is White that has the easier play. The position is closed, and the bishops cannot show their strength, whereas White can easily expand on the kingside, thanks to her strong center.} ({Goryachkina prevents the active maneuver} 12. Nbd2 Nb4) 12... a5 13. Nbd2 a4 14. Ne5 {Prolonging the diagonal for the bishop.} ({The manuever in the game cannot be prevented:} 14. Rac1 Na5 15. Rxc7 $2 {loses the exchange due to} Bc6) 14... Na5 {Quite original, Black is bringing her pieces out.} ({Instead} 14... Nxe5 15. dxe5 c5 16. Ne4 Bb5 17. Rcc1 Qd4 {would not have solved Black's problems due to} 18. Qxd4 $1 cxd4 19. Rc7) 15. Rc2 Bb5 16. Re1 {A smart move, which is overprotecting the e2-pawn.} ( 16. h4 $5 {at once is also quite good.}) 16... Ra6 $1 {Once more an original maneuver by Kosteniuk!} 17. h4 Rd6 18. Qc3 c6 19. e3 f6 {This, however, is a very risky decision. Kosteniuk does not want to wait patiently and instead wants to open her bishops. But she needs to pay with a pawn for that.} ({ The other way to play it is the patient} 19... Qa8 $5 {although there White can proceed building a kingside initiative with} 20. h5 Rfd8 21. h6) 20. Nef3 ( {Kosteniuk thought that} 20. Nec4 $5 {would have been a better idea for White.} ) 20... e5 {The logical follow-up, but White has a strong counterblow at her disposal.} 21. b4 $1 {Now Goryachkina wins a pawn by force.} ({Naturally, not} 21. dxe5 $4 Rd3 {trapping the queen.}) 21... axb3 22. Nxb3 Nxb3 23. Qxb3+ Kh8 24. a4 ({Another way to exploit her central superiority is connected with} 24. dxe5 Rd3 ({Black can also play like in the game:} 24... fxe5 25. Nxe5 Qe8) 25. Qb1 Rxa3 26. Rd2 Rd3 ({Or} 26... Qe8 27. Nd4 fxe5 28. Nxb5 cxb5 29. Rd5 { with an edge for White.}) 27. Red1 Rxd2 28. Rxd2 Qe8 29. Nd4 {White has the initiative.}) 24... Ba6 25. dxe5 Rd3 26. Rc3 Rxc3 27. Qxc3 fxe5 28. Qxe5 c5 { For the pawn Kosteniuk got the bishop pair and a strong outside passer. It was evident after the game that she enjoyed her compensation.} 29. h5 $1 { Goryachkina logically accomplishes her kingside expansion.} ({White could have also taken care of the pawn with} 29. Rc1 $5 c4 30. Nd4) 29... c4 30. h6 Bf6 31. hxg7+ Bxg7 32. Qh5 Qf6 {This obvious move, however, fails concretely and should have led to a disaster.} ({Kosteniuk needed to search for a queen swap instead with} 32... Qe8 $1 33. Qd5 Qf7 $1 {Without the queens on the board, Black can fully enjoy her compensation.}) 33. Ng5 $3 {Going all-in. Goryachkina feels that this is the right thing to do.} Qxf2+ ({It is probably not too late to offer the queen swap with} 33... Qg6 $1 {Although this version is much better for White after} 34. Qxg6 hxg6 35. Be4 Rf6 36. Rd1 $1 {with a clear edge for White.}) 34. Kh2 Qc2 $1 {The only move. The white bishop remains pinned. Both players were very low on time but found amazing resources. } (34... h6 {would lose after} 35. Rf1 Qc2 36. Rxf8+ Bxf8 37. Ne6 Kg8 38. e4 $1 {cutting away the queen from the defense with inevitable mate.}) ({And if Black defends the diagonal with} 34... Qf5 {then the bishop joins in the attack decisively:} 35. Be4 Qf2+ 36. Kh3) 35. e4 $1 {If Goryachkina manages to block the opponent's main defender, her attack should emerge victorious.} h6 36. Nf7+ {Maybe White wanted to repeat the moves once in time trouble to reach the time control and only then find the accurate solution. Alas, she would not get a second chance after this.} ({Goryachkina's brilliant attack would have been crowned with the decisive inclusion of the rook:} 36. Rd1 $3 {is winning with the decisive threat or Rd1-d6xh6, like in the line} Rf2 (36... Kg8 { does not help either as the white rook finds another way in:} 37. Qg6 $1 hxg5 38. Rd7) 37. Rd8+ Rf8 ({Or instant mate} 37... Bf8 38. Qxh6+ Kg8 39. Qh7#) 38. Rd6 Kg8 39. Rxh6 $1 {And Rh6-h8! when mate is unstoppable.}) ({Notice that the other tempting move} 36. Ne6 {would not work for White after} Rf2 $1 37. Rg1 Kh7) 36... Kg8 $1 {Once again the only move.} ({The other king retreat loses after} 36... Kh7 $2 37. e5 c3 38. e6 $1) 37. Qd5 {A seemingly decisive ambush, however White is about to be shocked.} ({If Goryachkina had more time on the clock, she might have noticed the change in the situation and settled for a draw instead with} 37. Nxh6+ Bxh6 38. Qxh6 Rf2 39. Rg1 {when Black can continue with either} Qd2 $1 ({Or} 39... c3 {and White has to force a perpetual check sooner or later.})) 37... c3 $3 {A cold shower! There are so many discovered checks, a double check as well, but none of them leads White anywhere. Kosteniuk thought that her opponent missed this move.} (37... Rxf7 $2 {of course loses to} 38. Rf1) 38. Nxh6+ Kh7 39. Nf7 ({Otherwise too, Black speculates with the queen trade} 39. Nf5 Qd2 $1) ({However} 39. Ng4 $5 { might have still been a draw in the complicated line} Qd2 40. Qh5+ Bh6 41. Re3 Bf1 $3 42. Qxh6+ Kg8 $11 {with a perpetual check.}) 39... Qf2 {A double attack in time trouble!} ({However, the offer to swap queens is still best:} 39... Qd2 $1 {with the key idea to escape with the king in the line} 40. Qh5+ ({ Therefore, White needs to accept the trade} 40. e5 $1 {When} Qxe1 $4 {loses beautifully:} ({But Black can take the queens off the board instead} 40... Qxd5 $1 41. Bxd5 Bd3 $17 {with a clear edge for the second player as the strength of the passer and the bishop pair increases in the endgame.}) 41. Be4+ $1 Kg8 42. Nh6+ Kh8 43. Qg8+ $1 Rxg8 44. Nf7# {thanks to this study-like smothered checkmate.}) 40... Kg8 41. Ng5 Rf6 $1 {and the black king is safe, which cannot be said for its colleague.}) 40. Ng5+ {The last move before the time control and Goryachkina steps on the edge of the abyss again.} ({It is a good moment to force a draw with} 40. Qh5+ Kg8 41. Nh6+ Bxh6 42. Qxh6 Qxe1 ({Or} 42... Rf6 43. Qh4 Bd3 44. e5 {when again a perpetual is about to happen.}) 43. Qg6+ Kh8 44. Qh6+) 40... Kg6 $3 {Suddenly it is Black who is attacking the opponent's king.} ({In case of} 40... Kh8 41. Qd7 Qf6 $1 ({Not allowing the mate after} 41... Qxe1 $4 42. Qh3+) 42. Ne6 Qh6+ 43. Kg1 c2 {The game would likely end in a draw in the forcing line} 44. Nxf8 c1=Q 45. Ng6+ Kh7 46. Rxc1 Qxc1+ 47. Kh2 Kxg6 48. Qf5+ Kh6 49. Qh3+ $11 {with yet another perpetual.}) 41. Rh1 {Black felt that she should win somehow by force now; she has spent almost all her time.} ({The computer suggestion} 41. Ra1 Qd2 $1 {is much better for Black.}) 41... Qd4 ({Stronger is} 41... c2 $1 42. Nh3 Qe3 {when Black is seemingly winning.}) 42. Nh3 $1 {The only defense.} ({The more central retreat leads to mate after} 42. Nf3 Rh8+ 43. Nh4+ (43. Bh3 Qf2#) 43... Rxh4+ 44. gxh4 Be5+ 45. Kh3 Qe3+ {Funny, a symmetrical idea that White used earlier.}) 42... Qxd5 43. exd5 Bh6 {The c-pawn is still a huge force, but Goryachkina has a path to the draw.} ({Somewhat more accurate is} 43... Be5 $5 44. Nf4+ Kf6) 44. Re1 ({A neater way to save the half point is} 44. Nf4+ $1 {Then White likely feared the line} Rxf4 $1 ({Or} 44... Bxf4 45. gxf4 c2 46. Rc1 Bd3 47. Kg3 { when White should hold.}) 45. gxf4 Bxf4+ 46. Kh3 Bd3 {It seems as the black passer is unstoppable, and indeed it is, but White has a chance to snatch the opponent's last pawn in the line} ({Not yet} 46... c2 47. Be4+) 47. Kg4 Bd2 48. d6 Bf5+ 49. Kf3 c2 50. Ke2 c1=Q 51. Rxc1 Bxc1 52. Bxb7 $11 {with a draw.}) 44... Bd3 (44... Bd2 $1 {would be stronger, bypassing the white knight.}) 45. Nf4+ $1 {Goryachkina found the drawing idea.} Bxf4 $1 {But Kosteniuk keeps pushing for the win.} ({Instead} 45... Rxf4 46. gxf4 Bxf4+ 47. Kh1 c2 48. d6 $1 $11 {leads to the draw from above.}) 46. gxf4 Rxf4 47. d6 Rxa4 48. Bxb7 { Too many pawns have been traded, and now all White needs to do to achieve a textbook draw is to somehow trade the enemy passer for her bishop.} Rd4 49. Kg3 {Missing a neat draw.} ({The correct way is} 49. Rc1 $1 c2 50. Bc6 Rxd6 51. Ba4 $1 {with inevitable capture on c2. In this case White would lose the exchange but should be safe.}) 49... Bf5 50. Bf3 c2 51. Rc1 Kf6 52. Kf2 Ke5 53. Ke3 { Missing her last chance to deal with the pawn once and for all.} (53. d7 $1 Rxd7 54. Bg4 $1 Bxg4 55. Rxc2 {would be a textbook draw. True, White still needs to prove it, at least for 50 more moves.}) 53... Rd3+ 54. Ke2 Rxd6 55. Ke1 {Intending Bf3-d1!} ({After} 55. Ke3 Rd3+ 56. Ke2 Kf4 57. Bh5 Rd8 {White is in zugzwang.}) 55... Kd4 $1 {Activating her resources to the limit.} (55... Kf4 $1 {would be a bit more accurate when} 56. Bd1 Ke3 $1 {would transpose into the game.}) 56. Bd1 ({Maybe Goryachkina should have tried her last chance } 56. Bg4 $1 {although Kosteniuk still has a clear path to the win:} Bd3 57. Kd2 Rh6 $1) ({The black king cannot be stopped with} 56. Kd2 Kc4+ 57. Ke3 Kb3) 56... Ke3 $3 {The pawn is lost, but the white king is danger.} 57. Rxc2 ({ Or otherwise there is a study-like mate in the line} 57. Bxc2 Rg6 58. Kf1 Bh3+ 59. Ke1 Rg1#) 57... Bxc2 58. Bxc2 {Normally, this endgame would be a draw, if the white king had a chance to sneak into the dark corner. Alas, she will never make it as Kosteniuk will chase the bishop constantly until it is simultaneously attacked with a back-rank checkmate threat.} Rd2 ({Missing the quickest win} 58... Ra6 $1 {but Kosteniuk will finds this later after all.}) 59. Bf5 {The bishop tries to stay close to the black king.} Rf2 60. Be6 Rf6 61. Bd5 Rd6 {But now it needs to step in the open air.} 62. Bb3 Rb6 63. Bc2 { And once that it blocks the king's sortie} Ra6 $1 {Now she sees it and finishes it off. A hugely complicated, fighting game!} 0-1 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.08.01"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D24"] [WhiteElo "2847"] [BlackElo "2729"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Norway"] [BlackTeam "Poland"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"] [BlackTeamCountry "POL"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bxc4 Nxe4 7. O-O Nf6 ( 7... Nxc3 8. bxc3 Be7 9. Ne5 O-O 10. Qg4 Nc6 11. Re1 f5 12. Qf3 Nxe5 13. Rxe5 Kh8 14. Bf4 Bd6 {Deac,B (2627)-So,W (2770) Bucharest 2021}) 8. Qe2 ({Carlsen had beaten Duda with} 8. Qa4+ {two years ago, following the moves} Nc6 9. Ne5 Rb8 10. Rd1 O-O 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Qxa7 Bd7 13. Qa4 c5 14. Qc2 cxd4 15. Rxd4 Bc5 16. Rh4 h6 17. Bxh6 gxh6 18. Qd2 Nh7 19. Qxh6 Bxf2+ 20. Kxf2 Qf6+ 21. Qxf6 Rxb2+ 22. Kg1 Nxf6 23. Rf1 Kg7 24. Rf3 Rg8 25. Rhf4 Bc6 26. Rxf6 Bxf3 27. Rxf3 {and 1-0 on move 71 in Carlsen,M (2835)-Duda,J (2738) Wijk aan Zee 2019.}) 8... O-O 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 Be7 11. Rad1 Nc6 12. Rfe1 $146 (12. d5 exd5 13. Nxd5 Nxd5 14. Rxd5 Qe8 15. Bxe7 Qxe7 16. Ne5 Re8 17. Nxc6 Qxe2 18. Bxe2 bxc6 19. Rd2 Rxe2 20. Rxe2 Ba6 {Hollan,M (2346)-Pniaczek,M (2211) Chess.com 2020}) 12... Nd5 13. Bxd5 Bxh4 14. Bxc6 ({Duda gave the line} 14. Be4 Be7 (14... Bf6 $5) 15. d5 (15. Bb1 $5) 15... exd5 16. Nxd5 Bd6 {and Black is OK.}) 14... bxc6 15. Qc4 Rb8 16. Nxh4 Qxh4 17. b3 Rd8 18. Qxc6 Bb7 19. Qc5 {Duda said he underestimated White's last two moves.} Qg5 {\"I wasn't happy to play this against Magnus. It's easy to become paranoid in slightly worse endgames against him!\" (Duda)} 20. Qxg5 hxg5 21. h3 Bd5 22. Re5 f6 23. Nxd5 {\"I blundered [this] but luckily it was holding for me.\" (Duda)} fxe5 24. Ne7+ Kf8 25. Nc6 Ra8 26. Nxd8 Rxd8 27. Rc1 exd4 28. Rxc7 d3 29. Rc1 Ke7 30. f3 Rc8 $1 {The neatest way to force the draw.} 31. Rd1 Rc2 32. Rxd3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.08.02"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Fedoseev, Vladimir"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C93"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2696"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Bb7 10. d4 Re8 {The Zaitsev variation is a very rare bird in Fedoseev's opening repertoire. He had played it in a couple of online games recently but also in one game in this tournament.} 11. Nbd2 ({One of these games went} 11. a4 Bf8 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. Bd5 Reb8 15. Na3 Ne7 16. Bxb7 Rxb7 17. axb5 axb5 18. Nc2 Rbb8 {Shirov,A (2662)-Fedoseev,V (2687) Chess. com 2021}) 11... Bf8 12. a3 ({The other online game of the Russian GM went} 12. Bc2 g6 13. a4 exd4 14. cxd4 Nb4 15. Bb1 c5 16. d5 Bg7 17. Nf1 Nd7 18. Ra3 Nb6 $146 {Hakobyan,A (2598)-Fedoseev, V (2687) Online 2021}) ({At this World Cup, we saw} 12. a4 h6 13. Bc2 exd4 14. cxd4 Nb4 15. Bb1 c5 16. d5 Nd7 {in Ivic-Fedoseev.}) 12... h6 13. Bc2 d5 {However, the impression is that Black did not surprise his opponent. Karjakin knew a lot about this move, as he had used it a few years back as Black himself.} ({\"I was mostly prepared for\"} 13... Nb8 {\"which is considered to be the main move.\" (Karjakin)}) 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Rxe5 16. Nf3 ({The story that the former world championship contender revealed is that he tried this line as Black when he was just 11 years old on ICC against Kamsky,and his far more experienced opponent chose} 16. f4 {to which Karjakin replied with a trick he knew:} Bc5+ 17. Kh2 Bc8 $3 { with the point that} 18. fxe5 $4 ({Another top example of this idea has witnessed} 18. Nf3 Rh5 19. Nd4 Bg4 20. Qd2 dxe4 21. Bxe4 Nxe4 22. Rxe4 Qd7 23. Kg1 Bf5 24. Re5 Bd6 25. Re1 Bg6 26. Qf2 Rd5 {and this game eventually finished in a draw, Kryvoruchko, Y (2602)-Cheparinov,I (2671) Khanty-Mansiysk 2009}) 18... Ng4+ 19. hxg4 Qh4# {is mate. \"Somehow I got lucky and won quickly, and that was a great feeling.\" (Karjakin)}) 16... Re8 17. e5 Ne4 18. Bf4 { Overprotecting his key pawn.} ({An earlier game saw wild development:} 18. Qe2 c5 19. Nd2 Rxe5 20. f3 c4 21. fxe4 Bc5+ 22. Kh1 dxe4 23. Nf1 e3 24. Bxe3 Bxe3 25. Nxe3 Qh4 26. Qg4 Qe7 27. Qxg7+ Kxg7 28. Nf5+ Rxf5 29. Rxe7 Rf2 30. Rxb7 Rxc2 {Radjabov,T (2759) -Wojtaszek,R (2737) Dortmund 2019}) 18... c5 19. a4 { \"I remembered that this position was somehow very critical, that with precise play White should be slightly better.\" (Karjakin)} f5 20. h4 $5 $146 { Karjakin did not check the opening beforehand but was happy to find this new and interesting idea. The move is logical as White needs to attack on the kingside.} ({Black is doing well after} 20. Nd2 Qh4 21. Nxe4 dxe4 22. Qd7 Qxf4 23. Qxb7 Rad8 24. Re2 Qxe5 25. axb5 axb5 26. Qxb5 Kh8 27. Qc4 {in Tari,A (2599) -Vidit,S (2718) Wijk aan Zee 2018}) 20... Be7 {Fedoseev is quite ambitious and apparently believed that he would have enough time to grab the annoying white pawn.} ({The queenside counterplay} 20... b4 21. cxb4 c4 {is not convincing after} 22. Nd4) ({But perhaps Black needs to choose} 20... bxa4 21. Bxa4 ({or} 21. Rxa4 a5 {followed by Bb7-c6, Ra8-b8 with queenside play.}) 21... Re6) 21. h5 Rf8 {\"Maybe this was not the best, but it was logical, with the idea Qd8-e8 to attack the h5-pawn.\" (Karjakin)} ({Instead} 21... Qb6 22. Qd3 Rf8 { looks more solid indeed, but Black needs to confess that he was wrong earlier, always a very difficult task!}) 22. axb5 {White has decided that the trade of a rook pair is in his favor. In fact, he has already envisioned a possible scenario where he is winning the opponent's knight in the center and wants to deprive the opponent of any counterplay!} (22. e6 {\"was interesting too\" (Karjakin)}) 22... axb5 23. Rxa8 Bxa8 ({If} 23... Qxa8 24. e6 $1 {is still strong when} Rf6 25. Ne5 Rxe6 26. Ng6 Bd6 27. Bxd6 Rxd6 28. f3 Nf6 29. Bxf5 { is winning for White, his attack being simply irresistible.}) 24. e6 $1 { Opens the road for the knight and once installed on g6, it will deliver deadly threats.} Re8 ({Fedoseev lacks good advice} 24... Rf6 25. Nh4 Rxe6 26. Nxf5 Bg5 27. Qg4 {is a huge attack for White.}) (24... Bd6 25. Bxd6 Qxd6 26. Nh4 { does not help either as the pawn is invincible} Qxe6 27. f3) ({It seems that the most resilient defense is to transfer the bishop to e8,} 24... Bc6 25. Ne5 Be8 {Then} 26. f3 (26. Ng6 Bxg6 27. hxg6 {also looks attractive for White.}) ({ And} 26. g3 {is much better for White too.}) 26... Nf6 27. Qd3 Nxh5 28. Nf7 $1 Nxf4 29. Qxf5 g6 30. Qxf4 {Wins material for White, and he should be able to convert.}) 25. Ne5 Bg5 26. Ng6 {The knight is now close to the black king and is ready to support the passer. White's idea has worked perfectly well.} d4 { A desperate try.} ({As} 26... Rxe6 27. Bxg5 Nxg5 (27... Qxg5 28. f3 {drops a piece for Black.}) 28. Rxe6 Nxe6 29. Bxf5 {\"is just lost for Black.\" (Karjakin)}) 27. cxd4 Nxf2 ({Against} 27... cxd4 {Karjakin considered many things, like} 28. Bb3 ({But perhaps a simpler solution is} 28. f3) 28... Kh7 29. e7 Bxe7 30. Bf7 {winning the exchange.}) 28. Kxf2 Bxf4 29. Nxf4 Qh4+ 30. Kg1 $1 {The neatest win.} Qxf4 31. d5 {Blocking the black bishop while connecting the passers.} Qg3 ({Or} 31... Qd6 32. Bxf5 Qxd5 33. Qxd5 Bxd5 34. e7 {(Karjakin)}) 32. Re2 Qg5 33. Qd2 $1 {The pawns are unstoppable, and Karjakin is the first finalist!} 1-0 [Event "Sochi"] [Site "Sochi"] [Date "2021.08.03"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B52"] [WhiteElo "2847"] [BlackElo "2738"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "148"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 {Duda is not afraid to enter the sharp Sicilian lines.} 3. Bb5+ {Whereas Carlsen prefers a more positional approach.} Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 ({ Last year the world champion won a highly instructive game, which I analyzed for Chess.com members, in the line} 4... Nxd7 5. O-O Ngf6 6. Re1 Rc8 7. c3 e6 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 d5 10. e5 Ne4 11. Nbd2 Nxd2 {This pawn structure was reached in the current game as well, but in his earlier one Carlsen found a nice attacking regroupment:} 12. Qxd2 $1 {A cool move! It had already been played in a game that apparently was not overlooked by the world champion.} ({ As a rule, White is automatically recapturing with the bishop:} 12. Bxd2 Be7 { Then activating the queen on the queenside:} 13. Qa4 {where it is not doing that much and is often traded as in this game:} Ra8 14. Rac1 O-O 15. Ba5 Nb6 16. Qb5 Qe8 {Stean,M-Kortschnoj,V (2670) London 1976}) 12... Be7 13. Qf4 { The point behind the capture. White's pawn chain highlights the kingside, and this is where White should be attacking.} O-O 14. Qg4 {and White later won in Carlsen,M (2881)-Xiong,J (2730) Clutch Chess International 2020.}) 5. O-O Nf6 6. Qe2 Nc6 7. c3 e6 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 d5 10. e5 Ne4 11. Nbd2 Nxd2 12. Bxd2 { The pawn structure is the same as in the game Carlsen-Xiong, except White does not have his pieces as nicely prepared for a kingside attack. Besides, Duda comes with a strong move:} Bb4 $5 {The more pieces are traded, the easier Black's play will be.} ({White has managed to put pressure on his opponent after} 12... Be7 13. g3 O-O 14. Kg2 Rac8 15. h4 f6 16. exf6 Bxf6 17. Bc3 Qf7 18. Rad1 Rce8 19. b4 a6 20. a4 {Giri,A (2780)-Grandelius,N (2670) Online 2021}) 13. Bf4 $146 {A novelty. Carlsen certainly wants to keep all his pieces alive as he plans to attack on the kingside.} ({Otherwise, everything might get traded, as in an earlier game between the two top African GMs:} 13. Bxb4 Nxb4 14. a3 Nc6 15. Rac1 Rc8 16. Rc3 O-O 17. Rfc1 Ne7 18. h3 Rxc3 19. Rxc3 Rc8 20. Qc2 h6 21. Rxc8+ Qxc8 22. Qxc8+ Nxc8 {½-½ Adly,A (2603)-Amin,B (2654) Abu Dhabi 2016}) 13... O-O 14. Qd3 {White wants to soften the opponent's kingside with Nf3-g5!} ({But perhaps the immediate} 14. h4 $5 {is more to the point.}) 14... Be7 $1 {Duda does not allow any active knight jumps.} 15. a3 Rac8 { Precisely this rook.} 16. g3 ({With the other rook at its place, Black can meet } 16. h4 {with} f6 $5) 16... Na5 {Black's play is very natural and obvious. White needs to be careful.} 17. b3 Qc6 $1 18. Bd2 $1 {A necessary move.} ({ Otherwise, Black may get full control over the queenside, thanks to the typical maneuver} 18. Rfc1 Qa6 $1 19. Qxa6 ({Black is also much better after} 19. Qd1 Qb5) 19... bxa6 20. Rcb1 Rc3 {and White is in trouble.}) 18... Qb6 19. Rfb1 a6 20. Kg2 {The impression is that Carlsen was somewhat slow to build his attack in this game.} ({Still} 20. h4 $5 {looks good.}) 20... Nc6 21. Re1 ({ Last call for} 21. h4 Qb5 22. Qe3 Rc7 23. h5 {with double-edged play.}) 21... Qb5 22. Qb1 Rc7 23. h4 Rfc8 {Now Duda starts to threaten first.} 24. Ra2 ({ Perhaps it is time to play for equality with} 24. Rc1 Na7 ({Or} 24... Na5 25. Rxc7 Rxc7 26. Qd1 {defending tactically on b3 and preparing more trades.}) 25. Rxc7 Rxc7 26. Ra2 {followed by Ra2-c2 and further trades.}) 24... a5 $1 25. Rh1 a4 {Duda opens some infiltration squares for his pieces.} 26. b4 ({It is not too late to switch back to the trading track with} 26. Rb2 Bxa3 27. Ra2 Be7 28. bxa4 {with a likely further exhaustion of the queenside resources.}) 26... h6 27. Be3 ({Both} 27. g4 $5) ({And} 27. h5 $5 {seem to promise White better practical chances.}) 27... Na7 $1 {Now the major pieces threaten to infiltrate Carlsen's camp, and he needs to revert to defense.} 28. Bd2 ({As} 28. Rc1 $6 Rxc1 29. Bxc1 Qc4 $1 {is plain bad for the first player.}) 28... Qe2 ({Maybe an even better attacking setup is} 28... Rc4 29. g4 Qc6 30. Qd3 Nb5 {putting both the c3-square and the d4-pawn under pressure.}) 29. Re1 Qc4 30. Re3 Nb5 31. Rd3 Rc6 32. Rb2 Bd8 33. g4 {Finally, the world champion starts his kingside attack.} ({However, there is a case for a Carlsen-like prophylaxis with} 33. Qf1 $1 Bb6 34. Rb1 $1 {when the d4-pawn is poisoned:} Nxd4 $2 ({Or} 34... Bxd4 $2 35. Rc1 {which also drops material for Black.}) ({Therefore, Black would have to agree to some threefold repetition, as in the line} 34... Qc2 35. Rc1 Qa2 36. Ra1 $11) 35. Nxd4 Bxd4 36. b5 $1 {and White wins a piece.}) 33... Bb6 34. Be3 Nc3 35. Qf1 Qb5 {Duda is accurate.} ({Indeed, there is no need to allow} 35... Ne4 36. b5) 36. Rc2 Ne4 37. Rxc6 {Carlsen spent a valuable half-minute on his clock.} ({Obviously contemplating the consequences of the positional exchange sacrifice} 37. Rc5 $5 Bxc5 38. dxc5 Qc4 39. Nd4 R6c7 40. f3 Nc3 {Apparently, the world champion did not like what he saw.}) 37... Rxc6 38. Rd1 {This is definitely a mistake. The endgame should be avoided like the plague!} (38. Qd1 $5 {would keep practical chances.}) 38... Rc4 {And Duda believes his mighty opponent.} (38... Qxf1+ $1 39. Kxf1 Rc3 {would be a dream endgame for Black; he could do practically anything, like bringing his king all the way to c4, for example.}) 39. Nd2 ({Kingside, kingside!} 39. h5 $5) 39... Nxd2 40. Rxd2 Qc6 41. Qe2 Rc3 42. Ra2 {Going into a passive defense.} ({ With the queens on, White has good chances of constructing a perpetual check in some lines after} 42. g5 $1 Qc4 43. Qg4 h5 $5 ({If} 43... hxg5 44. hxg5 Rc1 45. Rd1 Rxd1 46. Qxd1 Qc6 47. g6 $1 {also opens the black king.}) 44. Qxh5 g6 45. Qf3 Rxa3 46. h5 $1 {and the black king becomes exposed.}) 42... Bd8 $1 { Duda stops all these possibilities now.} 43. g5 hxg5 44. hxg5 Qc4 $1 {Endgame is the game here!} 45. Qxc4 dxc4 (45... Rxc4 $1 {is also great with the familiar king march towards the c4-square on the agenda, or even better: a march of the king towards the f5-spot.}) 46. d5 $1 {Carlsen knew that if something is not changed urgently he would lose the battle slowly and risks} exd5 47. Rd2 Rd3 {This looks like the most practical choice, but Duda allows some chances, just a move away from the overall win.} ({Strong is} 47... Rxa3 $1 48. Rxd5 Rd3 49. Rc5 a3 50. Rxc4 a2 51. Rc1 Kh7 {effectively finishing the game.}) 48. Rxd3 cxd3 49. f4 Kf8 {It seems as Black is in time, but he lacks one move...} ({Here a neat win would be} 49... f6 $1 50. exf6 gxf6 {activating both his bishop and king urgently.}) 50. Kf3 Ke7 ({It is not too late for} 50... f6 $1) 51. Bc5+ Ke6 52. Ke3 Kf5 53. Kxd3 {Now it is suddenly a draw!} g6 ({As Black does not have the time to snatch the pawn} 53... Kxf4 {due to the breakthrough} 54. g6 $1) 54. Be3 {That is sufficient but more complicated.} ({ Simpler is} 54. Ke3 Kg4 55. Ba7 {just shuffling the bishop along the a7-d4 diagonal.}) 54... Bc7 {On paper, Black's bishop should be way stronger that its counterpart. And indeed, if it had been in front of the white pawns (or rather behind them), it could and would have easily won them all. The problem is how to activate it?} 55. b5 {The natural desire of the world champion to demonstrate some activity will lead to his defeat.} ({The little time on the clock prevented him from finding the cunning defense} 55. Bc5 $3 {with the tactical point} Kxf4 $4 (55... b6 56. Be3 Bd8 (56... b5 57. Bc5 $1) 57. Kd4) 56. Bd6 Bd8 57. e6+ {when White even wins.}) ({White does not want to let the bishop out for sure} 55. Bd2 Bb6 {is letting the bishop out.}) 55... Bd8 56. Kd4 Bb6+ 57. Kd3 Bd8 58. Kd4 Be7 {Not forcing anything yet.} ({In the line} 58... Ke6 59. Kc5 $1 {White gets enough counterplay to hold the balance, e.g.} Be7+ 60. Kb6 Bxa3 61. Kxb7 Bb2 62. b6 a3 63. Kc7 a2 64. b7 a1=Q 65. b8=Q Bxe5+ 66. fxe5 Qxe5+ 67. Kb7 Qxb8+ 68. Kxb8 f6 {and a draw.}) 59. Bc1 Ke6 60. Bb2 Bd8 61. Kc5 $1 {Active defense is the only hope for Carlsen.} Ba5 62. Bc1 {And, very low on time and under pressure, the world champion blunders.} ({He would have still likely saved the match with} 62. Bd4 $1 {as} Bd2 $2 {fails to} 63. Kb6 $1) 62... Bc3 $1 {The bishop is out, and White's moves are limited.} 63. b6 ({Alas, White loses by a move in the line} 63. Kb6 d4 64. Kxb7 d3 65. Kc6 d2 66. Bxd2 Bxd2 67. b6 Bxf4 68. b7 Bxe5) 63... d4 64. Kc4 Kd7 65. Be3 $1 { The last desperate try.} Bb2 $1 {Which is carefully refuted.} ({Otherwise White wins, thanks to the familiar breakthrough} 65... dxe3 $4 66. Kxc3 Kc6 67. Kd3 Kxb6 68. f5 $1 Kc7 (68... gxf5 69. e6 $1) 69. e6) 66. Bxd4 Bxa3 67. Be3 Bb2 {The white king is too busy to save the kingside pawns.} 68. Kb4 a3 69. Kb3 Ke6 70. Ka2 Kd5 71. Kb3 Ke4 72. Bd2 Bd4 73. Kxa3 Bxb6 74. Kb4 Bf2 $1 {The last accurate move, and Duda can enjoy his Candidates' spot!} ({Not the rushy} 74... Be3 $4 75. Bxe3 Kxe3 76. f5) 0-1 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2021.08.05"] [Round "8"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D50"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. Bg5 Be7 8. e3 {Duda admitted that despite the fact that Karjakin played the Semi-Tarrasch in the previous round, he actually did not expect it.} O-O 9. Rd1 ({That game of Karjakin went:} 9. Be2 Nc6 10. Qd3 h6 11. Bh4 Qb6 ({Deac could not completely equalize after:} 11... Be6 12. O-O Qb6 13. a3 Rfd8 14. Rfd1 Ne4 15. Bxe7 Nxe7 16. Nd4 Nxc3 17. Qxc3 Rac8 18. Qd2 {Grischuk,A (2776)-Deac,B (2627) Bucharest 2021}) 12. O-O Rd8 13. Nb5 Bg4 14. Nfd4 Bxe2 15. Qxe2 a6 16. Nxc6 bxc6 17. Nc3 Qb4 18. Bg3 Ne4 {and Black successfully defended in Fedoseev, V (2696)-Karjakin,S (2757) FIDE World Cup 2021}) ({Duda was aware that:} 9. Bd3 { is not the most accurate move order, although he already played it twice. One of these games was played here:} h6 10. Bh4 Nc6 11. Qa4 Bd7 (11... Be6 12. O-O Qb6 13. Qb5 Qxb5 14. Nxb5 g5 15. Bg3 Ne4 {and Black equalized in Duda,J (2729) -Vidit,S (2726) Tornelo INT 2021}) 12. Qd1 Bg4 13. h3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 d4 { and Black was already great in Duda,J (2729)-Grischuk,A (2776) FIDE World Cup 2021. Perhaps this game gave the strength to Karjakin to repeat the Semi-Tarrasch.}) 9... Nc6 (9... Be6 {\"might be a tad more accurate.\" (Duda)}) 10. Qa4 Be6 11. Bb5 {White decided to develop his bishop more aggressively.} Qb6 {The queen is stepping out of the rook's way.} ({But maybe:} 11... Rc8 $5 { is a bit more accurate, when Black needs not to worry about:} 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Qxa7 Ra8 14. Qb7 c5 {when Black has enough for the pawn.}) 12. Bxf6 $146 ({ In the predecessor, Giri managed to successfully blockade the opponent's isolated pair of pawns after:} 12. O-O a6 13. Bxc6 bxc6 14. Qc2 Rfd8 15. Na4 Qa5 16. Nd4 Bd7 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. Nc5 {and this looks very attractive for White, but it would have been naive to expect it once more from Karjakin, Giri, A (2714)-Wang,Y (2697) Beijing 2011}) 12... Bxf6 13. Nxd5 Bxd5 14. Rxd5 { \"It is very simple for me to play, that was the main point.\" (Duda)} Bxb2 15. Ke2 $1 {\"The king is better placed in the center for the endgame.\" (Duda)} ({ Although the computer suggestion:} 15. O-O Bf6 16. h4 $5 {looks very good for White too.}) 15... Bf6 16. Rhd1 Rac8 17. Bc4 Qb4 {\"This move surprised me.\" (Duda)} ({The Polish GM expected instead:} 17... Rfd8 $5 {However then:} 18. Rd7 Rxd7 19. Rxd7 Qb2+ 20. Nd2 {Still leads to serious problems for Black, for example in the line:} Ne5 21. Bxf7+ $1 Nxf7 22. Rxf7 Kxf7 23. Qd7+ Be7 24. Qf5+ Bf6 25. Qxc8 Qxa2 26. Qxb7+ {when White wins a pawn.}) ({The other move that Duda expected was:} 17... Qb2+ $5 {but this might still transpose to the game after:} 18. R5d2 Qb6 19. Qb3) ({Perhaps:} 17... Na5 $5 {was the most resilient. Then:} 18. Rxa5 ({And:} 18. Bd3 Nc6 {at least kicks away the bishop from its ideal diagonal.}) 18... Rxc4 19. Qxc4 Qxa5 20. Rd7 b6 {trades some of the active White pieces and promises more chances of a defense for Black.}) 18. Qb3 Qxb3 19. Bxb3 {The endgame is clearly better for the first player thanks to his superior bishop. The f7 point is very vulnerable and White is ready to attack it.} Nb8 {A very sad move.} ({It seemed more logical to defend with:} 19... Rfd8 20. Rd7 Rxd7 21. Rxd7 Nd8 {but after:} 22. h4 $1 {Black is again paralyzed.}) 20. g4 $1 {The right plan is kingside expansion. One pawn coming up to the g6 square will completely ruin Black's position.} h6 {The Polish GM did not like this, as he thought that the light squares around the opponent's king were getting weak.} ({Duda expected instead:} 20... Na6 21. g5 Bb2 { But then:} 22. Nd2 {still keeps everything under control for White.}) 21. h4 g6 22. g5 ({Also great was Short's suggestion:} 22. h5 g5 23. Nd2 {followed by a victorious knight leap to the f5 square.}) 22... hxg5 23. hxg5 Be7 ({Karjakin needed to try:} 23... Bc3 24. Nh4 Kg7 25. f4 {although that should not be completely satisfactory, but it was the lesser evil.}) 24. Re5 Nc6 {A blunder, after which Black's position collapses.} (24... Bc5 {was Black's last chance.}) 25. Rd7 $3 ({\"My first thought was actually:\"} 25. Re4 {\"which might be also good, as I want Rd1-h1 and Re4-h4.\" (Duda) This is likely what Karjakin was hoping for when:} Rfd8 $1 26. Rh1 Bf8 {followed by Bf8-g7 would have cemented his position.}) 25... Bd8 $5 {Missed by White. But his position is nevertheless still won.} ({After:} 25... Nxe5 26. Nxe5 {Nothing can save Black, for instance:} Rce8 ({Or:} 26... Bxg5 {when both:} 27. Nxg6 ({And:} 27. Nxf7 Rxf7 28. Rxf7) 27... Rfd8 28. Rxf7 {should win for White.}) 27. Nxg6 $1 { and that is it.}) 26. Rb5 Na5 ({Black is losing material in case of:} 26... b6 27. Ne5 Nxe5 28. Rxe5 Rc7 29. Bxf7+ $1) 27. Bd5 {A small hiccup before the victory.} ({Both GMs were super-exhausted at the end of the chess marathon, and missed the simple:} 27. Rxd8 $1 Rfxd8 28. Rxa5) 27... Rc7 28. Bxf7+ $1 { A nice tactical shot that finishes the job at once.} ({Now:} 28. Rxd8 $2 { no longer works due to:} Rxd8 29. Rxa5 b6 30. Rb5 a6) 28... Kg7 (28... Rxf7 29. Rxd8+ {drops not only a pawn, but a piece as well.}) 29. Rxc7 Bxc7 30. Bd5 { And in this hopeless situation Karjakin congratulated the new World Cup winner! As far as I remember, Duda is the most worthy champion ever. He did not lose a single game in the entire World Cup, did not even have to play a blitz match and had to decide only two of his matches in the rapid playoff, one of them against the world champion!} 1-0