[Event "Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.07.09"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2810"] [BlackElo "2798"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:40:27"] [BlackClock "0:46:41"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {The two super-GMs have a long history in the Sicilian. After the second Sinquefield Cup in 2014 when Vachier-Lagrave chose the Caro-Kann (this was one of Caruana's seven straight wins) the Frenchman sticked to his beloved Najdorf and was very, very successful.} 6. f3 {In their last two encounters Caruana opted for:} (6. h3 e5 7. Nde2 h5 8. g3 Be6 9. Bg2 {And} b5 (9... Nbd7 10. a4 Be7 {which later was spectacularly won by the French GM, Caruana,F (2820) -Vachier Lagrave,M (2757) Wijk aan Zee 2015 More precise than} (10... Rc8 11. Be3 Nb6 12. Bg5 $1 { remember this cute double bishop move!} Be7 13. b3 {which was the course of his game with Judit Polgar. "I certainly was not satisfied with the outcome of the opening as now my Nb6 is out of place and d5 is not happening." (MVL)} d5 $6 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. exd5 Bf5 16. Be4 {and White was clearly better.})) 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Be3 Be7 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. exd5 Bf5 {did yield White much and was played in a game which eventually ended a draw, Caruana,F (2805)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2723) Stavanger 2015}) 6... e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O Nbd7 11. g4 b5 12. h4 {Their latest duel in the English attack saw} (12. Rg1 Nb6 (12... b4 13. Nd5 Bxd5 14. exd5 a5 15. g5 Nh5 16. Kb1 a4 17. Nc1 { with an edge for White}) 13. Na5 {and the second player prevailed later, Caruana,F (2844)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2757) Tashkent 2014}) 12... Nb6 13. Qf2 ({ Black was fine after} 13. g5 Nh5 14. Na5 Rc8 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. exd5 Bd7 17. Rg1 g6 {Chacon,P (2537)-Dothan,Y (2589) corr. 2007}) 13... Rb8 {All in all the history of their last games suggests that Caruana was very well prepared for the game and he indeed uncorks a novelty now:} 14. g5 ({In all four previous games White tried to exploit the pin on the d-file, one example} 14. Nc5 Bc8 15. h5 Qc7 16. g5 Ne8 17. Nb3 b4 18. Nd5 Nxd5 19. exd5 {which was unclear in Schon,E (2115)-Stojic,D (2219) Manly Sydney 2009}) 14... Nfd7 {One idea behind White's move is that} (14... Nh5 {can be answered by} 15. Nc5 {and if Black keeps the bishop with} Bc8 16. Nd3 {creates a double threat against the e5 pawn and multi-trades on b6 followed by Nc3-d5 in the line} Qc7 17. Bxb6 Qxb6 18. Qxb6 Rxb6 19. Nd5 Rb7 20. N3b4 {when White has a bind.}) 15. f4 {White modifies the pawn structure and pressurizes on d6, but MVL defends well.} exf4 16. Bxf4 Rc8 $5 (16... Qc7 {would most likely be similar to the game after} 17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. exd5 Bg4 19. Be2 Bxe2 20. Qxe2 Rfe8 21. Qf2 Rbc8) 17. Nd5 ({ Black has ample compensation for the pawn after} 17. Bxd6 Bxd6 18. Rxd6 Qc7 19. Rd1 Ne5) ({However} 17. Nd4 {with the idea to put the knight on f5 deserved serious attention.}) 17... Nxd5 18. exd5 Bg4 19. Be2 Bxe2 20. Qxe2 Re8 21. Qf3 {The alternatives were} (21. Qh2 Qc7 22. Kb1 (22. h5 Bf8) 22... Bf8 {although it is not easy to see a good follow-up on the kingside for White.}) ({ Obviously White did not like to trade queens; therefore he rejected} 21. Qf2 Qb6) 21... Qc7 22. Nd4 ({Or} 22. Rh2 Ne5 (22... Nb6)) 22... Nb6 ({The immediate } 22... Qc4 {is an empty blow after} 23. Kb1) 23. Rhe1 {White tries to divert the opponent's active pieces from the queenside.} (23. Rhf1 {would strongly be met by} Qc4 {when Black wins a pawn.}) 23... Bf8 {Vachier-Lagrave goes for a forced line.} (23... Qc4 $5 {looked safer though.}) 24. Rxe8 Rxe8 25. Nf5 Qc4 { It is not good to allow the pawn to h6:} (25... g6 26. Nh6+ Bxh6 27. gxh6 Rc8 28. c3 b4 29. Bd2 {when the huge threat of a white queen coming on the long diagonal is always a nightmare for Black.}) 26. b3 Qb4 27. c3 Rc8 28. Rd3 Nxd5 {This was Black's idea, but it seems as MVL underestimated the strong} 29. Bd2 $1 {The knight is obviously poisoned:} (29. Rxd5 $2 Rxc3+) (29. Qxd5 $2 Qxf4+) 29... Nb6 30. Kb1 {The queen needs to retreat.} Qc5 31. Be3 Qc7 {The only move, since} (31... Qc6 {loses the pawn at once} 32. Qxc6 Rxc6 33. Nd4 Rc8 34. Nxb5 { with a comfortable edge for White.}) 32. Qf4 {It should be noted that both players were in time trouble. Here best was} (32. Bf4 {with domination. For example:} Rd8 33. h5 a5 34. Bg3 (34. h6 g6 35. Nd4) 34... a4 35. h6 $1 g6 36. Nxd6 Bxd6 $4 37. Qf6 {The line is not forced but illustrates White's possibilities.}) 32... Re8 $1 {Vachier-Lagrave seizes his chance and activates the rook. Now Caruana could (should?) have forced a draw with:} 33. h5 (33. Nxd6 Rxe3 ({But not} 33... Bxd6 34. Qxd6 Qxd6 35. Rxd6 Nc8 36. Rc6) 34. Qxe3 Bxd6 35. Qe8+ Bf8 36. Rd8 Qc5 37. b4 Qf5+ 38. Kc1 Qf1+ 39. Kc2 Qf5+ {with perpetual.} ({And not} 39... Qf2+ $2 40. Kb3 {when checks are over and White wins.})) 33... Re6 {Now Black both kept the pawn and activated the rook. Next he wants to bring his knight into the center.} 34. Kc2 {Or:} (34. Kb2 Nd7 35. Rd2 Ne5 {rerouting the knight while covering the d6 pawn.}) 34... Qc6 (34... Nd7 $5 {with the advantage was better.}) 35. Bxb6 {Caruana cracks under the pressure. After} ({With} 35. Qg4 {White creates the threat Nf5-h6+ and has serious chances to survive, e.g.} Nd5 36. Nd4 Qc5 37. Nxe6 Nxe3+ 38. Rxe3 Qxe3 39. Nxf8 Kxf8 40. Qc8+ Ke7 41. Qb7+ Ke6 42. Qc8+ Ke5 43. Qe8+ Kf4 44. Qxf7+ Kg4 45. Qxg7 Qe2+ {with perpetual.}) 35... Qxb6 36. Rf3 Qb7 $1 {The correct spot for the queen.} ({Weaker was} 36... Qc7 37. h6 g6 38. Ne3 {with the threat Ne3-d5.}) 37. Ne3 ({Nothing changes} 37. h6 g6 38. Ne3 Re4) 37... Re4 38. Qg3 { Or else Black will take the pawn with tempo:} (38. Qf5 Re5 39. Qf4 Rxg5) 38... Re5 39. Qf4 {With this last but one move before the time Caruana control blunders a pawn. The last chance was} (39. g6 hxg6 40. hxg6 fxg6 {and although White is two pawns down the insecure position of the Black king gives him hope to survive.}) 39... Rxg5 40. h6 gxh6 41. Rf2 Qd7 42. Nf5 Qe6 {There is no attack and white is three pawns down.} 0-1 [Event "Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting"] [Site "Dortmund"] [Date "2016.07.09"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Najer, Evgeniy"] [Black "Buhmann, Rainer"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2687"] [BlackElo "2653"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Germany"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "GER"] [WhiteClock "0:04:20"] [BlackClock "0:01:05"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nce2 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. f4 Be7 (7... Qb6 8. Nf3 Be7 9. Ng3 Nf8 10. Bd3 Bd7 11. Bc2 O-O-O 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. Qe2 a5 14. a3 Qa7 {Steinitz,W-Fleissig,M Vienna 1873}) 8. Nf3 O-O (8... a5 9. h4 O-O 10. Rh3 f6 11. a3 Rf7 12. Be3 Nb6 13. b3 Qf8 14. Qb1 a4 15. dxc5 Bxc5 16. Bxc5 Qxc5 17. b4 Qf8 {Short,N (2680)-Vallejo Pons,F (2698) Reggio Emilia ITA 2010}) 9. Be3 (9. g3 b5 10. a3 a5 11. h4 Ba6 12. Ng5 h6 13. Qd3 hxg5 14. hxg5 g6 15. g4 Kg7 16. f5 exf5 17. gxf5 Bxg5 18. f6+ Bxf6 19. exf6+ Qxf6 {Anton Guijarro,D (2616)-Howell,D (2678) Dubai UAE 2016}) 9... a5 $5 {A common idea in these type of structures, but new here.} (9... f6 10. g3 Qb6 11. Qd2 fxe5 12. dxe5 Rd8 13. Bh3 d4 14. Bf2 d3 15. Nc1 Nf8 {Kamsky,G (2730)-Ding,L (2628) Moscow RUS 2011}) 10. h4 $1 {White has to act because quiet play won't give an advantage.} a4 11. Qc2 f5 {Black anticipates 12.Ng5 g6 13.h5, but perhaps not in the best way.} 12. Ng5 (12. g4 $5 {was also interesting.}) 12... Nb6 13. dxc5 Nc4 14. Bg1 Qa5 15. Nd4 (15. g4 $5) 15... Nxd4 16. Bxd4 Bxc5 17. Bxc5 Qxc5 18. Bxc4 Qxc4 19. Qd2 {Also here White is slightly better thanks to knight vs bad bishop.} Bd7 20. h5 Rfc8 21. h6 (21. a3 d4 $1 22. Qxd4 (22. cxd4 $2 h6 23. Nf3 Qb3) 22... Qxd4 23. cxd4 h6 24. Nf3 Rc2 {with good compensation.}) 21... a3 $1 22. b3 Qxc3 23. Qxc3 Rxc3 24. hxg7 Rc2 $1 {Correctly ignoring threats; Buhmann plays this phase strongly.} 25. Rxh7 Bc8 $2 {But this move is as bad as it looks.} ({Correct was the natural} 25... Rac8 {when White is not better.} ) 26. Rh2 $2 {White doesn't profit.} ({Winning was} 26. Kd1 $1 Rxg2 27. Rh1 { followed by 28.Rc1, e.g.} Bd7 28. Rc1 Re8 29. Rc7 Re7 30. Rh8+ Kxg7 31. Rh7+ Kf8 32. Rxd7) 26... b6 $2 ({The only move was} 26... Ra5 $1 {followed by 27... Rac5 and the computer says it's equal.}) 27. Nxe6 $1 {Decisive.} Bxe6 28. Rh8+ Kxg7 29. Rxa8 d4 30. Rd1 Rxa2 31. Rxd4 Bxb3 32. Ra7+ Kg6 33. Rd6+ Kh5 34. Rg7 1-0 [Event "Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.07.09"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter"] [Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2674"] [BlackElo "2706"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Germany"] [BlackTeam "Ukraine"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GER"] [BlackTeamCountry "UKR"] [WhiteClock "0:27:56"] [BlackClock "0:35:37"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. g3 Nc6 7. Bg2 e5 8. d5 Ne7 9. O-O a6 (9... Bxc3 10. Qxc3 Bg4 11. h3 Bh5 12. Re1 b5 13. e4 a6 14. c5 Nd7 15. g4 Bg6 16. c6 Nc5 {Vidit,S (2651)-Neelotpal,D (2475) Thiruvarur IND 2015}) 10. a3 Bc5 11. Bg5 Ne8 12. b4 Ba7 13. e4 h6 14. Be3 f5 15. Bxa7 Rxa7 16. exf5 Bxf5 17. Qd2 Nf6 18. Nh4 Bh7 19. f4 exf4 20. Rxf4 g5 21. Rf2 gxh4 22. Qd4 Ra8 23. Rxf6 Nf5 24. Qg4+ Kh8 25. Re6 hxg3 26. hxg3 Rg8 27. Qf4 Rxg3 28. Ne4 Rg6 29. Rf1 Qh4 (29... Qg8 $1 30. Rf2 Qg7 {was clearly better for Black.}) 30. Rxg6 Qxf4 31. Rxf4 Bxg6 32. c5 Rd8 33. Nc3 Kg7 34. c6 b5 (34... b6 $5) 35. a4 bxa4 36. b5 axb5 37. Nxb5 a3 38. Ra4 Ne3 39. Nxc7 Kf6 40. Bf3 Rc8 41. Rxa3 Rxc7 42. Rxe3 Re7 43. Rc3 Bf5 44. Kf2 Ra7 45. Kg3 Kg5 46. c7 Bc8 47. Rc6 h5 48. Rxd6 h4+ 49. Kf2 Rxc7 50. Rc6 Rxc6 51. dxc6 1/2-1/2 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.09"] [Round "?"] [White "Najer, E."] [Black "Buhmann, R."] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2687"] [BlackElo "2653"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nce2 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. f4 Be7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. Be3 a5 $146 10. h4 a4 11. Qc2 f5 12. Ng5 Nb6 13. dxc5 Nc4 14. Bg1 Qa5 15. Nd4 Nxd4 16. Bxd4 Bxc5 17. Bxc5 Qxc5 18. Bxc4 Qxc4 19. Qd2 Bd7 20. h5 Rfc8 21. h6 {[#]} a3 $5 {Instead of worsening his "bad" bishop even more with 21... g6 Buhmann goes for a counterattack.} 22. b3 Qxc3 23. Qxc3 Rxc3 24. hxg7 Rc2 $1 {That was Black's idea. Suddenly White's king is in danger and the white rook an a1 looks awkward.} 25. Rxh7 Bc8 $2 {[#] There are only a few pieces left on the board but the position is complicated. White has threats on the kingside but Black should have had faith in his counterattack. The unfortunate retreat of the bishop gives White time to bring his rook on a1 into play - and then White's position is fine indeed.} ({After} 25... Rac8 $1 26. Rh8+ Kxg7 27. Rh7+ ({The engines give} 27. Rxc8 Bxc8 28. Kd1 Rxg2 29. Rc1 Rg1+ 30. Kd2 Rxc1 31. Kxc1 Kg6 {as best and consider the endgame as absolutely equal. White is a pawn down but his good knight should hold against Black's bad bishop.}) 27... Kg6 28. Rxd7 Rh8 29. Nh3 Rxg2 30. Kf1 Rc2 31. Ng1 Rhh2 $15 {Black should not lose.}) 26. Rh2 $2 ({Najer misses} 26. Kd1 $1 Rxg2 27. Rh1 Kxg7 28. Rc1 $1 { with a winning attack for White.}) 26... b6 $2 {[#] Returning the compliment.} ({After} 26... Ra5 $1 $11 {with an equal position Black is back in the game.}) 27. Nxe6 $1 {Now White is winning again.} Bxe6 28. Rh8+ Kxg7 29. Rxa8 d4 30. Rd1 Rxa2 31. Rxd4 Bxb3 32. Ra7+ Kg6 33. Rd6+ Kh5 34. Rg7 $1 1-0 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.09"] [Round "?"] [White "Caruana, F."] [Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2810"] [BlackElo "2798"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O Nbd7 11. g4 b5 12. h4 Nb6 13. Qf2 Rb8 14. g5 $146 { This logical move is a novelty.} Nfd7 15. f4 exf4 16. Bxf4 Rc8 17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. exd5 Bg4 19. Be2 Bxe2 20. Qxe2 Re8 21. Qf3 Qc7 22. Nd4 Nb6 23. Rhe1 Bf8 24. Rxe8 Rxe8 25. Nf5 Qc4 26. b3 Qb4 27. c3 Rc8 {[#]} 28. Rd3 $5 {White sacrifices a pawn.} ({An alternative was} 28. Kc2 Qc5 29. Kb2 a5 {with a dynamically even position.}) 28... Nxd5 29. Bd2 Nb6 30. Kb1 Qc5 31. Be3 Qc7 {[#]} 32. Qf4 ({ Caruana refrains from the knight sacrifice} 32. Nh6+ $5 {after which White has a dangerous attack that does not seem to be winning though, e.g.} gxh6 33. gxh6 Nd7 34. Qf5 Ne5 35. Bd4 Bxh6 36. Bxe5 dxe5 37. Rd7 Qxd7 38. Qxd7 Rxc3 {and Black should be able to hold.}) 32... Re8 {[#]} 33. h5 $5 {Caruana plays for a win!} ({After} 33. Nxd6 Rxe3 34. Qxe3 Bxd6 35. Qe8+ Bf8 36. Rd8 Qc5 37. b4 Qf5+ 38. Kc1 Qf4+ 39. Kb1 Qf1+ 40. Kc2 $11 {the game ends with a perpetual.}) 33... Re6 34. Kc2 Qc6 35. Bxb6 $6 {Now Black gets the upper hand.} ({The engines recommend} 35. Nd4 {and after e.g.} Qg2+ 36. Qf2 Qxf2+ 37. Bxf2 Re5 38. Nc6 Re2+ 39. Rd2 Rxd2+ 40. Kxd2 Nd5 {they consider the position as roughly equal - despite Black's extra pawn. Black's bishop has trouble to come into play, White's king is more active and Black's queenside is vulnerable.}) 35... Qxb6 36. Rf3 Qb7 {[#] Now Black is a solid pawn up.} 37. Ne3 Re4 38. Qg3 Re5 39. Qf4 Rxg5 $1 40. h6 gxh6 41. Rf2 Qd7 42. Nf5 Qe6 {The time-control is reached and White is three pawns down. Caruana resigned.} 0-1 [Event "Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting"] [Site "Dortmund"] [Date "2016.07.10"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"] [Black "Najer, Evgeniy"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D18"] [WhiteElo "2706"] [BlackElo "2687"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:21:14"] [BlackClock "0:24:05"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O O-O 9. Nh4 Nbd7 10. h3 Bg6 11. Nxg6 hxg6 {This line of the Slav defense is considered to be extremely solid for Black. However, since White controls the center and has the bishop pair, he does not mind fighting for the win without too much risk.} 12. Qb3 Qb6 13. Rd1 Rad8 {Another treatment of the variation is:} (13... a5 14. Bd2 e5 15. d5 Nc5 16. Qa2 Rad8 17. dxc6 bxc6 {as in Ipatov, A (2630)-Brunello,S (2615) Warsaw 2013}) 14. Bd2 Ba5 {A novelty. Najer wants to swap off the queens as soon as possible and relieve the pressure. Previously, Black always played:} (14... a5 {which clamps the queenside and leads to a long maneuvering battle. In the following game, King Loek advanced everything that he had on the kingside after} 15. Be1 Qc7 16. Qc2 Nb6 17. Bb3 Qe7 18. Rac1 Rd7 19. Qe2 Ra8 20. g4 Nbd5 21. f4 {and eventually White won in Van Wely,L (2643)-Kasimdzhanov,R (2690) Germany 2000}) 15. Rac1 {White is also a bit better after:} (15. Qxb6 Nxb6 16. Be2) 15... c5 {Black proceeds with his relieving strategy. Maybe the other central break was more precise:} (15... e5 $5 16. d5 Qxb3 17. Bxb3 Nc5 18. Bc4 cxd5 19. Nxd5 Bxd2 20. Rxd2 Nxd5 21. Rxd5 ( {Not} 21. Bxd5 $2 Nb3 $1) 21... Nxa4 22. b3 Nb2 23. Rxe5 Nxc4 24. Rxc4 Rd7 { with a better version of the endgame in comparison to the game.}) 16. d5 { Ponomariov does not mind a slight advantage. After all, even in his younger years, the experts were always comparing his style to the one of Anatoly Karpov.} Bxc3 17. Bxc3 Qxb3 18. Bxb3 Nxd5 19. Bxd5 exd5 20. Rxd5 Nb6 21. Rxc5 Nxa4 22. Rc7 Nxc3 23. R1xc3 {The counter-intuitive} (23. bxc3 $5 {deserved serious attention as well, for example} Rb8 24. Rb1 a5 25. Rcxb7 Rxb7 26. Rxb7 Ra8 27. Kf1 {and Black cannot trade easily the last pair of queenside pawns.}) 23... Rd1+ 24. Kh2 Rd2 25. Rxb7 Rxf2 26. Kg3 {Finally, the forcing play is over and Ponomariov enjoys the better game. His rooks are more active and this is of primary importance in rook endgames. Furthermore, the fact that there are two pairs of rooks still on the board provides some additional chances to White (mating threats), but Najer can pin his hopes on the limited material.} Rf6 {Perhaps Black should have gone for the passive defense with} (26... Rd2 27. b4 a6 28. Rcc7 {Please note that Black cannot trade a pair of rooks after} (28. Ra7 Rb2 $1) (28. Rc6 Re8 $1) 28... Rdd8 ({And now} 28... Rd6 $1 {with the idea of Rd6-f6 and releasing the second rook.}) 29. h4 Rb8 {because of the tactical shot} 30. Rxf7 $1) 27. Rxa7 Rb8 28. h4 $1 {Rooks provide tactical chances, remember. This is better than the passive defense of the pawn:} (28. b3 Rfb6 29. Rcc7 Rf6 (29... Rxb3 30. Rxf7 Rxe3+ 31. Kf2 Re6 32. Rxg7+ Kh8) 30. Rab7 Re8 31. Rc3 Re5 {when the black rooks are active and his hopes for the draw are alive and kicking.}) 28... Kh7 ({Of course not} 28... Rxb2 $4 29. Rc8+ Kh7 30. Raa8 {and mate.}) ({But} 28... Re6 {might have been more resilent.}) 29. Rcc7 {Ponomariov goes for the one-rook endgame.} Rxb2 (29... Rf8 30. e4 { is a worse version for Black.}) 30. Rxf7 Rxf7 31. Rxf7 g5 32. hxg5 Rb5 33. e4 { The pawn cannot be defended:} (33. Kf4 Kg6 34. Rd7 Rf5+ 35. Ke4 Rxg5) 33... Kg6 (33... Rxg5+ 34. Kf3 Kg6 {would lead to the same.}) 34. Ra7 Rxg5+ 35. Kf3 Rb5 36. Kf4 Rb6 $1 {The best defense. The white rook cannot be left active:} (36... Rb2 37. Ra6+ Kf7 38. g4 Rf2+ 39. Kg5 Re2 40. Ra7+ Kf8 41. Kg6 Rxe4 42. Ra8+ Ke7 43. g5 Re5 44. Rg8 {and White wins.}) 37. Ra2 Kf6 {But this loses. Now Ponomariov gets a chance to break in. Black should have waited with:} (37... Rc6 38. g4 ({or} 38. Ke5 Rb6 39. Kd5 Rb5+) 38... Rb6 {Then after} 39. Ra4 { White intends to destroy the opponent's defensive set-up with e4-e5 and Ra4-d4-d6, but Black has:} Rf6+ $1 40. Ke5 Rf8 {and this frontal defense seems to save him. One sample line:} 41. Kd5 (41. Kd6 Rf4) 41... Rd8+ 42. Ke6 Re8+ 43. Kd6 Kf7 44. Ra7+ Kf6 45. g5+ Kxg5 46. e5 Kf5 47. Rf7+ Ke4 48. e6 g5 49. e7 g4 50. Rf8 Rxe7 51. Kxe7 g3 {and draw.}) 38. e5+ Ke6 {The king cannot go back:} (38... Kg6 39. Ra4 Re6 40. g4 Rc6 41. Rd4 {and White seizes the sixth rank.}) 39. Ra7 {Seventh is even better. White calculated everything correctly.} Rb4+ 40. Kg5 $1 {The e5 pawn is no longer needed as the black king cannot coordinate his efforts with the rook.} Rb5 ({Or} 40... Kxe5 41. Re7+ Kd6 42. Rxg7) 41. g4 Kxe5 42. Rxg7 Ke4+ 43. Kh6 Kf4 44. g5 Kg4 45. Ra7 1-0 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.10"] [Round "?"] [White "Ponomariov, R."] [Black "Najer, E."] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2706"] [BlackElo "2687"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O O-O 9. Nh4 Nbd7 10. h3 Bg6 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. Qb3 Qb6 13. Rd1 Rad8 14. Bd2 Ba5 { A new move. The engines favor} (14... a5 {, z.B.} 15. Be1 Qc7 16. Qc2 Nb6 17. Bb3 Qe7 18. Rac1 Rd7 19. Qe2 Ra8 $11 {Van Wely,L (2643)-Kasimdzhanov,R (2690) Deutschland 2000}) 15. Rac1 (15. Qxb6 Nxb6 16. Be2 Rfe8 17. Ne4 Bxd2 18. Nxd2 $14 {with the better pawn structure and a nice bishop is an alternative.}) 15... c5 $6 {This leads to a worse endgame - which seems to be tenable though.} (15... e5 {seems to lead to equality, e.g.} 16. d5 Qxb3 17. Bxb3 Nc5 18. Bc4 Bxc3 19. Bxc3 Nxd5 20. Bxe5 Nb6 $1 21. Bd6 Nxc4 22. Rxc4 Rfe8 23. Rcd4 (23. Rxc5 Re6 $11) 23... Ne6 24. R4d2 Rd7 25. Bb4 Rxd2 26. Rxd2 Rd8 $11 {A long line which, however, is more or less forced.}) 16. d5 Bxc3 17. Bxc3 Qxb3 18. Bxb3 Nxd5 19. Bxd5 exd5 20. Rxd5 Nb6 21. Rxc5 Nxa4 22. Rc7 Nxc3 23. R1xc3 (23. bxc3 {is the move the engines prefer. After} Rb8 24. Rb1 a5 25. Rbxb7 Rxb7 26. Rxb7 Ra8 27. Kf1 a4 28. Ke2 a3 29. Rb1 $14 {they consider White to be better.}) 23... Rd1+ 24. Kh2 Rd2 25. Rxb7 Rxf2 26. Kg3 Rf6 27. Rxa7 Rb8 28. h4 $6 (28. b3 $1 $14 {is good - Black cannot attack the b-pawn with} Rfb6 {because White counterattacks with} 29. Rcc7 $16) 28... Kh7 (28... g5 $1 {is an easier way to draw.} 29. hxg5 (29. h5 Kh7 30. Rcc7 Rb3 31. Rxf7 Rxe3+ 32. Kg4 Kh6 33. g3 Rxf7 34. Rxf7 Rb3 $11) 29... Rf5 30. Kg4 Rbb5 $11) 29. Rcc7 Rxb2 30. Rxf7 Rxf7 31. Rxf7 g5 $1 {With this temporary sacrifice Black gets rid of the doubled pawns.} 32. hxg5 Rb5 33. e4 Kg6 34. Ra7 Rxg5+ 35. Kf3 Rb5 36. Kf4 Rb6 37. Ra2 Kf6 $2 { This loses. Black had to keep the white king under control.} (37... Rf6+ $1 38. Ke5 (38. Kg4 Re6 39. Re2 Ra6 40. Kf4 Rf6+ $1 41. Kg4 Ra6 42. e5 Ra4+ $11) 38... Rb6 $11 {and the white king cannot hide from checks.}) 38. e5+ $1 Ke6 {Now White can reach a Lucena position which is theoretically won.} (38... Kg6 39. Ra4 $1 {with the idea 40.Rd4 followed by 41.Rd6+ also wins.}) 39. Ra7 Rb4+ 40. Kg5 Rb5 41. g4 Kxe5 42. Rxg7 Ke4+ 43. Kh6 Kf4 44. g5 Kg4 45. Ra7 1-0 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.10"] [Round "?"] [White "Caruana, F."] [Black "Nisipeanu, LD."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2810"] [BlackElo "2674"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. Be3 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Ne7 8. O-O Nbc6 9. Bb5 a6 10. Bxc6+ Nxc6 11. Nxf5 exf5 12. f4 $1 {A good novelty. In a previous game Nisipeanu had no problems to equalize:} (12. c3 Be7 13. Qd3 Nxe5 14. Qxf5 Nc4 15. Bc1 Qd7 16. Qxd7+ Kxd7 $11 {Volokitin,A (2624)-Nisipeanu, L (2668) Bled 2016}) 12... Qa5 13. Kh1 {Another option is} (13. Nd2 Bc5 14. Bf2 $14 {which seems to promise White a slight advantage.}) 13... Bc5 14. Bd2 { White wants to keep the black-squared bishop on the board but this costs time.} Qc7 15. Nc3 d4 16. Ne2 O-O 17. Be1 Rad8 (17... f6 $11 {seems to be simple and good.}) 18. Qd3 Qb6 19. a3 Qb5 20. Qxb5 axb5 21. Rf3 b4 22. axb4 Bxb4 23. Bf2 Rfe8 24. Nc1 Be7 25. Rb3 f6 26. Nd3 fxe5 27. fxe5 Bg5 28. Bg3 Re7 29. Rb5 Be3 30. e6 Rxe6 31. Rxf5 {Simplifying even further.} (31. Rxb7 {is a bit more critical.}) 31... Ne7 32. Rb5 b6 33. Be5 Rc8 34. c3 dxc3 35. Bxc3 Rd8 36. Re5 Rxe5 37. Nxe5 Nd5 38. g3 Nxc3 39. bxc3 Bg5 40. Rb1 Bf6 41. Nc6 Rd2 42. Rxb6 Bxc3 43. Ne7+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.12"] [Round "?"] [White "Kramnik, V."] [Black "Buhmann, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2812"] [BlackElo "2653"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Be7 {The modern treatment of this line.} 7. Be3 b6 8. Qd2 O-O 9. h4 $5 {A rather new idea.} (9. O-O-O {is bad because of} Nc6 10. Kb1 c4 {e.g.} 11. f5 b5 12. Nxb5 Rb8 13. Nd6 Bxd6 14. exd6 Nf6 15. Bg5 Qb6 16. Qc3 Ne4 17. Qa3 exf5 18. Be2 Nxg5 19. Nxg5 Nxd4 20. Bh5 g6 21. Qc3 Nb5 22. Qf6 d4 23. Kc1 Nc3 24. bxc3 Qb2+ 25. Kd2 Qxc3+ 26. Ke2 d3+ {0-1 (26) Saric,I (2628)-Svane, R (2467) Kozloduy 2013}) 9... Nc6 10. Bb5 Qc7 11. O-O-O a6 12. Bd3 {[#] That's the idea of White's play on the kingside. White now threatens to sacrifice on h7.} f5 $6 {Maybe not the best. But what is the best?} (12... c4 $2 13. Bxh7+ Kxh7 14. Ng5+ Kg8 15. Qe2 g6 16. h5 {and White has a strong attack.}) (12... b5 13. Bxh7+ Kxh7 14. Ng5+ Kg8 15. Qe2 {gives Black a slightly better version of the line above.}) (12... h6 13. g4 $40) 13. g4 $40 c4 14. gxf5 $1 {White sacrifices a piece.} (14. Bf1 $5 fxg4 15. Ng5 Ndb8 16. Qg2 $40) 14... cxd3 15. fxe6 Ndb8 16. Nxd5 Qd8 17. Nxe7+ Nxe7 18. Ng5 h6 19. Qxd3 hxg5 20. hxg5 Bxe6 {[#] White invested two pieces and got a strong attack and four pawns in return.} 21. Qh7+ Kf7 22. d5 Bf5 23. e6+ (23. Qh5+ Bg6 24. Qe2 {with the threat of 25.e6(+).} Nxd5 25. Qf3 {and White keeps the pressure.}) 23... Ke8 24. Qxg7 Qc7 {Threatening ...Qxc2#.} 25. Rh2 Nxd5 26. Qxf8+ $1 {Very imaginative.} ({After} 26. Qxc7 Nxc7 27. Bxb6 Nxe6 {the tension is gone and Black is better.}) (26. Bd4 $5 Nc6 27. Bf6 $11 {was another idea.}) 26... Kxf8 27. Rxd5 {Black has queen and knight for a rook. But some black pieces do not take part in the game!} Bh7 $6 (27... Bg6 $1 {keeps Black's queen mobile.}) 28. b3 Ke8 $6 ({Better is} 28... Ra7) 29. g6 (29. Kb2 $5 { was another idea. White now threatens Bd4 because Black can no longer take on f4 with check.}) 29... Bxg6 30. Rh8+ {White's attack is not over yet.} Ke7 31. f5 Bxf5 (31... Be8 $2 32. Bg5# {Upps!}) 32. Rxf5 Qc3 33. Bg5+ Kxe6 34. Rf6+ Qxf6 (34... Kd5 35. Rd8+ Ke5 36. Re8+ {with a perpetual.}) 35. Bxf6 Kxf6 36. Rh6+ {Finally a quieter position is reached. White is material down but has good drawing chances.} Ke5 37. Rxb6 Kd5 38. Kb2 Nc6 39. a3 Kc5 40. Rb7 Rg8 41. Rh7 Rg2 42. Rh5+ Kd6 43. Kc3 Rg3+ 44. Kb2 Rg2 45. Kc3 Rg3+ 46. Kb2 Rg2 { A game with two winners!} 1/2-1/2 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.12"] [Round "?"] [White "Najer, E."] [Black "Caruana, F."] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2687"] [BlackElo "2810"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Ne7 6. O-O h6 7. Nbd2 Nd7 8. Nb3 g5 9. Bd2 Qc7 10. a4 a5 11. c4 ({The alternative is} 11. Ne1) 11... dxc4 12. Bxc4 Nd5 (12... Bg7 13. Rc1 b6 14. Qe2 O-O 15. Bd3 Bg4 16. h3 Bh5 17. Bb1 Rac8 18. h4 gxh4 19. Qe4 f5 20. Qxh4 Bxf3 21. gxf3 Nd5 22. Kh1 Qd8 23. Qh3 Rf7 24. Rg1 Kh7 25. Rg5 Qf8 26. Rcg1 Re8 27. R1g2 c5 28. Rxg7+ {1-0 (28) Kurnosov, I (2660)-Gritsenko,A (2422) Vladivostok 2012}) 13. Ne1 Be7 14. Bd3 Nf8 15. Qc2 Bg6 16. Rc1 Qb6 17. Bxg6 Nxg6 18. Nd3 Nh4 19. Rfe1 Nf5 20. Re4 Rg8 21. Ndc5 Qc7 22. Qd1 b6 23. Nd3 Qd7 24. h3 Kf8 25. Kh2 Rd8 26. Rc4 Rc8 27. g3 Nc7 28. Qc2 Na6 29. Ne1 Kg7 30. Nf3 b5 31. Rc3 bxa4 32. Nc5 (32. Nxa5 Nb4 33. Qxa4 (33. Qd1 $2 Qd5 {with a double attack.}) 33... Ra8 {puts White into an awkward pin.}) 32... Bxc5 33. dxc5 Nb4 34. Qb1 (34. Qd1 Qd5 35. Qe2 Qa2 $15) 34... Rcd8 35. Kg2 Qd5 36. Rcc4 Qd3 (36... Rb8 $5) 37. Qa1 Rd5 {Black has the initiative but nothing tangible yet.} 38. Rg4 Kh8 39. Qc1 Na2 {[#]} 40. Qe1 $2 ({Correct was} 40. Qa1 {Now, a typical computer line is} Rb8 (40... Nb4 41. Qc1) 41. Qxa2 Rb3 42. Rc3 Rxc3 43. bxc3 Qe2 44. Qc4 Rxd2 45. Qxe2 Rxe2 46. Rxa4 Rc2 $11) 40... Rb8 {Threatening to enter on the b-file with a vengeance. White decides to strike first.} 41. Bxg5 hxg5 42. Nxg5 Rd7 43. Rxa4 Nb4 44. Qc1 {[#] With the idea Nf3, Qg5 and Qh5.} Nc2 $1 45. Kh2 Nce3 (45... Nce3 46. fxe3 Qe2+ 47. Kg1 Rd1+ $19) 46. Ne4 Qe2 0-1 [Event "Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting"] [Site "Dortmund"] [Date "2016.07.12"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Buhmann, Rainer"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2812"] [BlackElo "2653"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:37:57"] [BlackClock "0:48:29"] 1. e4 {Kramnik played a couple of open games in Stavanger, and later he ventured 1.e4 in some blitz and rapid games. Is this a sign that he is working hard to get back to the throne?} e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Be7 {GM Prusikin called this "the German line" as two young players, M. Bluebaum and R. Svane, use it regularly.} 7. Be3 b6 {The main idea is to trade the light-squared bishops as soon as possible.} ({Instead Buhman tried} 7... O-O {in May and was successful after} 8. a3 b6 9. g3 Nc6 10. Qd2 Bb7 11. h4 Rc8 12. Bh3 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Bc5 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15. Bd4 Bb7 16. Ne2 Ba6 {Nomin Erdene, D (2448)-Buhmann,R (2651) Wunsiedel 2016}) 8. Qd2 O-O 9. h4 {Black's plan worked well in the following recent super-GM game:} (9. Nd1 a5 10. c3 a4 11. Bd3 Ba6 12. O-O Nc6 13. Bxa6 Rxa6 14. f5 b5 15. fxe6 fxe6 16. Qe2 Qb6 {and later Harikrishna defated Giri as Black in Stavanger 2016.}) 9... Nc6 10. Bb5 Qc7 {Buhmann is well prepared in his pet French defense.} ({One predecessor:} 10... Nxd4 11. Nxd4 cxd4 12. Bxd4 Nc5 13. O-O-O Bd7 14. Be2 b5 15. f5 exf5 16. Nxd5 Be6 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Kb1 {and White prevailed later in Paravyan,D (2511) -Lugovskoy,M (2502) Loo 2016}) 11. O-O-O a6 12. Bd3 {Provoking the obvious c5-c4...} f5 {...a trick for which Black does not fall! Bad was} (12... c4 $2 13. Bxh7+ Kxh7 14. Ng5+ Kg8 15. Qe2 g6 16. Qg4 $1 {with a decisive attack.}) 13. g4 {There is no time for positional play; it is all about checkmate.} ({ After} 13. exf6 $6 Nxf6 14. Kb1 c4 15. Be2 b5 {White has a nice e5-outpost, and Black a fast moving attack. Guess who is happier?}) 13... c4 {Now Buhmann wants to close the flank.} ({Instead} 13... fxg4 $2 {will open one file too many, and White will win after} 14. Ng5 Bxg5 15. hxg5 g6 16. Qh2 {and besides mate, Bd3xg6 is also a threat.}) 14. gxf5 $1 {Of course.} ({Kramnik is too big to allow the closing of the position after} 14. Be2 b5) 14... cxd3 15. fxe6 Ndb8 {The best defense.} ({Both} 15... dxc2 {which gives time to White to bring a rook into the attack} 16. Rdg1 Ndb8 17. Qg2) ({and} 15... Ndxe5 16. Nxe5 dxc2 17. Rdg1 {allow White to attack for free. In fact, in this line he can even win material after} Bxe6 18. Qg2 Bd6 19. Nxd5) 16. Nxd5 Qd8 {Once again, best. The queen is needed for kingside protection.} ({Although} 16... Qb7 17. Ng5 Bxg5 18. hxg5 Bxe6 19. Nxb6 $5 Qxb6 20. d5 {is not completely clear.}) 17. Nxe7+ Nxe7 {A picturesque position. Almost all the black pieces are backed up on the eight rank, completely scared of the white pawn. The exception is the brave knight which is ready to block the pawns from either side.} ({Please note that in case of} 17... Qxe7 18. Qxd3 Bxe6 19. d5 Bf5 20. Qb3 Na5 21. Qxb6 {there will be no blockade.}) 18. Ng5 h6 {It is not about pawns.} ({After} 18... dxc2 19. Qxc2 g6 20. d5 $1 {White breaks the blockade and destroys the defense:} Nxd5 21. e7 Qxe7 22. Rxd5 Bb7 23. Qd3) 19. Qxd3 $1 { Kramnik sacrifices another piece!} ({In the computer-suggested line} 19. Nf7 Qd5 20. f5 Nxf5 21. Nxh6+ Nxh6 22. e7 Re8 23. Bxh6 Rxe7 24. Qxd3 Be6 {I do not see how White can break the blockade, while the blockading pieces are ready to show teeth.}) 19... hxg5 20. hxg5 Bxe6 21. Qh7+ Kf7 22. d5 Bf5 $1 {Did I mention that Buhmann was down to a minute on his clock? Yes, this is an only move. Both captures lose:} (22... Bxd5 23. e6+ $1 Kxe6 (23... Ke8 24. Qxg7 { followed by Rh1-h8 is deadly.}) 24. Qxg7 Nbc6 25. Rh6+ Kd7 26. Rxd5+) (22... Nxd5 23. f5 $1 {with the threat of Qh7-g6-e6 mate.} Qd7 24. fxe6+ Qxe6 25. Rhf1+ Ke8 26. Rxf8+ Kxf8 27. Rf1+ Ke8 28. Qh8+ Kd7 29. Qxg7+ Kc6 30. c4 Nxe3 31. Rf6 {In both case,s White wins on the freshly open files.}) 23. e6+ { White wins a fifth pawn for the piece. Technically speaking, he will only be down a pawn.} ({The chip screams for} 23. Qh5+ {However, the position arising after} Bg6 ({when indeed after} 23... Ng6 24. e6+ Ke7 25. Qh7 Rg8 26. Bxb6 $1 Qc8 (26... Qxb6 27. d6+ Kxe6 28. Qxg8+) 27. Rd2 {White might be better.}) 24. Qe2 (24. e6+ Ke8 25. Qe2 Qd6 {is advantage for Black.}) 24... Nxd5 25. Qf3 Ke6 26. c4 Nb4 27. Rd6+ Qxd6 28. exd6 N8c6 {is anything but clear.}) 23... Ke8 24. Qxg7 Qc7 $1 {The only move once again. The mate threat on c2 gives Black a chance to get rid of White's most monstrous pawn.} (24... Qd6 {loses to} 25. Rh8 Rxh8 (25... Ng6 26. Qf7+ $1) 26. Qxh8+) 25. Rh2 ({Or} 25. Rd2 Nxd5) 25... Nxd5 26. Qxf8+ $3 {I'm not sure how to annotate this. Incredible, unbelievable? Too lame. A Kasparyan move? This one sounds appropriate. I will award two exclamation marks even though it does not win the game - for the sheer beauty of the move.} ({Objectively speaking} 26. Bd4 {was better when after} Nc6 ({White's idea is demonstrated in the line} 26... Qxg7 27. Bxg7 Ne3 28. Bxf8 Nxd1 29. Rh8) 27. Bf6 Qxg7 28. Bxg7 Nde7 29. Bxf8 Kxf8 30. Rh8+ Ng8 31. Rd7 Bxe6 32. Rd6 Nd8 33. Rxb6 {the game will most likely end in a draw.}) 26... Kxf8 27. Rxd5 Bh7 {Nobody wants to allow a back-rank check with a few seconds on the clock. One little miscalculation, and you're mated.} ({However, there was a case for} 27... Bg6 $1 {when} 28. Rh8+ {only helps Black to get a decisive counter-attack after} ({However, I suspect that Kramnik wanted to play } 28. b3 $1 {and after the more or less forcing} Qc3 29. Bd4 Qe1+ 30. Kb2 Qxe6 31. Re5 Qd7 32. Rh8+ Kf7 33. Bxb6 Qb7 34. f5 Qxb6 35. fxg6+ Qxg6 36. Ree8 { it seems as if Black, who has a queen and a knight for the rook and three pawns is not winning...}) 28... Ke7 29. f5 Qg3 30. Bxb6 Qf4+ 31. Rd2 Qf1+ 32. Rd1 Qxf5 {and Black wins.}) 28. b3 $1 {Super cool! The idea is c2-c4, free the rook, and checkmate with it.} ({Bad was the straightforward} 28. g6 Bxg6 29. Rg5 Bh7 30. Rgh5 Ra7 {and Black wins.}) 28... Ke8 (28... Qc3 29. Bd4 Qf3 (29... Qe1+ {helps White only after} 30. Kb2 Qe4 31. Rd8+ Ke7 32. Bf6+ Kxe6 33. Re8+) 30. Rd8+ Ke7 31. Bf6+ Kxe6 32. Rxh7 {and in comparison to the above-mentioned line, White has a bishop in addition to the rook and is better!}) (28... Kg8 { sends the king to the wrong side of the board:} 29. g6 Bxg6 30. Rg2 Kh7 31. f5 Bh5 32. f6 Bg6 33. Rdg5 {an White wins.}) ({Perhaps the best try for Black is} 28... Ra7 29. g6 Bxg6 30. Rh8+ Ke7 (30... Kg7 $4 31. Bd4+) 31. c4 Kxe6 { It seems over right? However, chess is inexhaustible, and White has further resources:} 32. f5+ Bxf5 33. Rh6+ Ke7 34. Bg5+ Kf7 35. Rxf5+ Kg7 36. Bd2 { Believe it or not (or better analyze it with your super-powerful computers and let the readers know) but this might again be a draw. Here is the proof:} Qd7 37. Rd5 Qe7 38. Rdh5 Qa3+ 39. Kb1 Rf7 40. Rh7+ Kf8 (40... Kf6 $2 41. Bc3+ Ke7 42. Re5+ Kf8 43. Rh8+ Kg7 44. Rg5#) 41. Bc1 Qb4 (41... Rf1 $2 42. Rf5+ $1) 42. Rh8+ Ke7 43. Rxb8) 29. g6 {Forcing the draw.} ({[A bold move suggested by the engines is} 29. Kb2 $5 {(to prevent any Qc3) but this should lead to a draw as well. - PD]}) 29... Bxg6 30. Rh8+ Ke7 31. f5 Bxf5 32. Rxf5 Qc3 (32... Kxe6 33. Rff8) 33. Bg5+ Kxe6 34. Rf6+ Qxf6 {Or else White may change his mind.} (34... Ke5 35. Re8+ Kd5 36. Rd8+ Ke5 37. Kb1 $1) 35. Bxf6 Kxf6 36. Rh6+ Ke5 37. Rxb6 Kd5 {Buhmann emerged a piece ahead, but since his only pawn faces three white ones, victory is not a possibility.} 38. Kb2 Nc6 39. a3 Kc5 40. Rb7 Rg8 41. Rh7 Rg2 42. Rh5+ Kd6 43. Kc3 Rg3+ 44. Kb2 Rg2 45. Kc3 Rg3+ 46. Kb2 Rg2 {So, did anyone miss a win? You decide for yourselves, but to me it seemed as if it was balanced from the beginning :)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting"] [Site "Dortmund"] [Date "2016.07.12"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Najer, Evgeniy"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2687"] [BlackElo "2810"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] [WhiteClock "0:05:57"] [BlackClock "0:24:47"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Ne7 6. O-O h6 7. Nbd2 Nd7 8. Nb3 g5 9. Bd2 Qc7 10. a4 (10. Bb4 Ng6 11. Bxf8 Rxf8 12. Ne1 Nf4 13. Bd3 Nxd3 14. Nxd3 O-O-O 15. Ndc5 Nxc5 16. Nxc5 b6 17. Na6 Qe7 {Naiditsch,A (2685) -Ponomariov,R (2711) Linares ESP 2015}) 10... a5 11. c4 dxc4 $5 (11... Bg7 12. cxd5 (12. Rc1 O-O $2 13. Qe1 b6 14. cxd5 Nxd5 15. Bb5 Ne7 16. Qe2 Rfd8 { Kosteniuk, A (2554)-Gunina,V (2496) Huai'an CHN 2016}) (12. Bc3 O-O 13. h3 { ?-? Rublevsky,S (2680)-Svidler,P (2736) Foros UKR 2007}) 12... Nxd5 13. Ne1 f6 14. Bh5+ Kd8 15. exf6 N7xf6 16. Be2 Ne4 {Rublevsky,S (2692)-Girya,O (2456) Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2015}) 12. Bxc4 Nd5 13. Ne1 Be7 14. Bd3 Nf8 15. Qc2 Bg6 16. Rc1 Qb6 17. Bxg6 Nxg6 18. Nd3 Nh4 19. Rfe1 Nf5 20. Re4 Rg8 21. Ndc5 Qc7 22. Qd1 b6 23. Nd3 Qd7 24. h3 Kf8 25. Kh2 Rd8 26. Rc4 Rc8 27. g3 Nc7 28. Qc2 Na6 29. Ne1 Kg7 30. Nf3 b5 31. Rc3 (31. axb5 cxb5 32. Rxc8 Rxc8 33. Qd3 a4 34. Nc1 Bb4 {gives Black a huge advantage.}) 31... bxa4 32. Nc5 Bxc5 33. dxc5 Nb4 34. Qb1 Rcd8 35. Kg2 Qd5 36. Rcc4 Qd3 37. Qa1 (37. Qc1) 37... Rd5 38. Rg4 Kh8 39. Qc1 Na2 40. Qe1 $2 {Now b2 drops and the game is over.} (40. Qc2 {is unclear.}) 40... Rb8 41. Bxg5 {This loses, but what else?} (41. Bc1 Nxc1 42. Qxc1 a3) (41. Rxa4 Rxb2) 41... hxg5 42. Nxg5 Rd7 43. Rxa4 Nb4 44. Qc1 Nc2 45. Kh2 Nce3 46. Ne4 Qe2 0-1 [Event "Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting"] [Site "Dortmund"] [Date "2016.07.12"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2674"] [BlackElo "2798"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "112"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Germany"] [BlackTeam "France"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GER"] [BlackTeamCountry "FRA"] [WhiteClock "0:09:53"] [BlackClock "0:33:48"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 c5 8. Rb1 O-O 9. Be2 cxd4 10. cxd4 Qa5+ 11. Bd2 Qxa2 12. O-O Bg4 13. Bg5 h6 14. Be3 Nc6 15. d5 Na5 16. Bc5 b6 17. Bxe7 Rfe8 18. d6 Nc6 19. Bb5 Nxe7 {Amazingly, the theory only starts here.} 20. h3 (20. Bxe8 Rxe8 21. dxe7 Rxe7 (21... Qa3 22. Re1 Qxe7 23. h3 Be6 24. Qa4 Qd7 25. Qa6 Rd8 26. Re3 Qc7 27. Rd3 Rc8 { Bunzmann,D (2500)-Van Wely,L (2700) Godesberg GER 2001}) 22. Qd8+ Bf8 23. Qb8 Qe6 24. Rfe1 Qc8 25. Qf4 Rc7 26. Nd4 Bd7 27. e5 Rc4 {Aleksandrov,A (2634) -Shirov,A (2699) Turin ITA 2006}) 20... Bxf3 (20... Be6 21. Bxe8 Rxe8 22. dxe7 Qa3 23. Nd4 Qxe7 24. Nxe6 Qxe6 25. Qa4 Re7 {Hagen,A (2416)-Andersen,M (2461) Copenhagen DEN 2012}) 21. Qxf3 Qe6 (21... Rec8 22. dxe7 Qe6 23. e8=Q+ Rxe8 24. Bxe8 Rxe8 25. Rfe1 Bf8 26. Qb3 (26. e5 a5 27. Re4 Bc5 28. Rf4 Qxe5 29. Rxf7 Qe4 30. Qxe4 {?-? Sundararajan,K (2495)-Gupta,A (2434) Visakhapatnam IND 2006}) 26... Qxb3 27. Rxb3 Bc5 28. Kf1 a5 29. f3 a4 30. Rd3 a3 31. Rc1 Kg7 32. Rxc5 bxc5 33. Rxa3 {?-? Muzychuk,M (2528)-Muzychuk,A (2549) Monaco MNC 2015}) 22. Bxe8 Rxe8 23. dxe7 Qxe7 24. Rfd1 Bf8 25. Rd4 Qe6 26. Rbd1 a5 27. Rd7 a4 28. Ra7 a3 29. Rdd7 Be7 30. Rdb7 h5 31. g3 h4 32. gxh4 a2 33. Kg2 Bc5 34. Qe2 Qxe4+ 35. Qxe4 Rxe4 36. Rxa2 Rxh4 37. Rd7 Rf4 38. Rd3 Kg7 39. Rf3 Rxf3 40. Kxf3 Kh6 41. Ra7 f5 42. Rc7 Kg5 43. Rh7 Kf6 44. Ke2 g5 45. Kf3 g4+ 46. hxg4 fxg4+ 47. Kg3 Ke5 48. Rh5+ Ke4 49. Rg5 Kd3 50. Rxg4 b5 51. Rg5 Kc4 52. Kf3 b4 53. Ke2 b3 54. Rg4+ Kc3 55. Rg3+ Kc2 56. Rg8 Bd4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.07.12"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2713"] [BlackElo "2706"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "149"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Cuba"] [BlackTeam "Ukraine"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CUB"] [BlackTeamCountry "UKR"] [WhiteClock "0:07:52"] [BlackClock "0:21:29"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 h5 9. Nd5 Bxd5 10. exd5 Nbd7 11. Qd2 g6 12. O-O-O (12. Be2 Bg7 13. O-O b6 14. a4 O-O 15. c3 Nh7 16. a5 b5 17. Nc1 Bf6 18. Nd3 Bg5 {Caruana,F (2804)-Giri,A (2782) Paris FRA 2016}) 12... Nb6 (12... Bg7 13. Kb1 Qc7 14. Be2 O-O 15. g4 Rfc8 16. Rc1 hxg4 17. fxg4 a5 18. g5 Ne4 19. Qd3 Nec5 20. Nxc5 Nxc5 21. Qd1 Qe7 {Dominguez Perez,L (2726)-Bacrot,E (2718) Beijing CHN 2014}) 13. c4 $5 {New.} ( {There are a few top games that went} 13. Qa5 Bh6 14. Bxh6 Rxh6 {e.g.} 15. Kb1 Kf8 16. h4 Rc8 17. Qb4 Kg7 18. c4 Rh8 19. Be2 Re8 20. g3 Qc7 {Dominguez Perez, L (2719)-Carlsen,M (2801) Moscow RUS 2009}) 13... Rc8 14. Na5 Nbxd5 15. Bg5 b6 16. Nb7 Qc7 17. Bxf6 Nxf6 $6 ({Missing} 17... Bh6 $1 18. Bg5 (18. Nxd6+ Qxd6 19. Bg5 Bxg5 20. Qxg5 O-O) 18... Bxg5 19. Qxg5 Qxb7 20. Kb1 Qe7 $1 {and Black is OK.}) 18. Nxd6+ Bxd6 19. Qxd6 Nd7 20. Be2 a5 21. b3 Qxd6 22. Rxd6 Ke7 23. Rhd1 Rc7 24. Kb2 Rb8 25. R6d5 Ke6 26. Rd6+ Ke7 27. R6d5 Ke6 28. a3 Nf6 29. Rd6+ Ke7 30. R6d2 h4 31. Bd3 Nh5 32. Re1 Kf6 33. Bc2 Nf4 34. g3 hxg3 35. hxg3 Ne6 36. Rd5 a4 37. Rexe5 axb3 38. Bxb3 Nc5 39. f4 Rd7 40. Bc2 Rh8 41. Rxd7 Nxd7 42. Re3 Nc5 43. Kc3 Rh2 44. a4 Rg2 45. Bb3 Rg1 46. Kb4 Rb1 47. Ka3 Ra1+ 48. Kb2 Rg1 49. Bc2 Rg2 50. Kc3 Rf2 51. Bb3 Rf1 52. Bc2 Rf2 53. Bd1 Rf1 54. Bb3 Rg1 55. Kb4 Rb1 56. a5 Nxb3 57. Rxb3 bxa5+ 58. Ka4 Rc1 59. Kb5 g5 {This might be the losing move.} (59... Ke6 60. c5 a4 61. Rd3 Ra1 62. c6 a3) 60. fxg5+ Kxg5 61. c5 a4 $2 (61... Kf6 {might still hold, e.g.} 62. Re3 a4 63. c6 Rc2 64. g4 (64. Kb6 Rb2+ 65. Ka7 Rc2) 64... Kg5 $1 65. Ra3 Kxg4 66. Rxa4+ Kg3 $1 {with a tablebase draw.}) 62. Ra3 Kg4 63. c6 f5 64. Rd3 (64. Kb6 Rb1+ 65. Kc5 Rc1+ 66. Kd5 Rd1+ 67. Kc4 Rc1+ 68. Rc3) 64... f4 ({At first it seemed that} 64... Kg5 {draws the game but in the comments Logical_Nonsense pointed out that} 65. Ra3 $1 {wins:} ({not} 65. Kb6 Rb1+ 66. Kc5 Rb3 $1) 65... Kg4 66. Kb6 Rb1+ 67. Kc5 Rc1+ 68. Kd5 Rc2 (68... Kh3 69. Rd3 $1) 69. Rd3 $1) 65. gxf4 Kxf4 66. Kb6 Ke4 67. Rd2 Rb1+ 68. Kc5 Ke3 69. Ra2 Rc1+ 70. Kd6 Rd1+ 71. Ke5 Rc1 72. Ra3+ Ke2 73. Kd5 Rd1+ 74. Kc5 Rc1+ 75. Kb5 1-0 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.13"] [Round "?"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Buhmann, Rainer"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2798"] [BlackElo "2653"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 {In round three Buhmann chose the French against Vladimir Kramnik and came under heavy attack. In his second game in a row with Black against an absolute top player Buhmann switches to the Breyer Defense.} 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 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Bg5 h6 15. Bh4 {A well-known position that is a regular guest in tournaments of all levels.} g6 16. a4 (16. dxe5 dxe5 17. N3h2 Bg7 18. Qf3 c5 19. Rad1 Qb6 20. Ne3 c4 21. Nhg4 h5 22. Nxf6+ Nxf6 23. g4 hxg4 24. hxg4 Qe6 25. Re2 Rad8 26. Red2 Rxd2 27. Rxd2 Bc8 28. Qd1 Bf8 29. f3 Bc5 30. Bf2 Qb6 31. Qe2 Bb7 32. b4 cxb3 33. axb3 a5 34. c4 bxc4 35. Nxc4 Bxf2+ 36. Qxf2 Qb4 37. Rd6 Kg7 38. Rb6 Qe7 39. Nxa5 Qa3 40. Nc4 Qc1+ 41. Qf1 Qxc2 42. g5 Nd7 43. Rxb7 Rh8 44. Qg2 Qc1+ {0-1 (44) Romanishin,O (2530)-Kashlinskaya,A (2344) Podebrady 2012}) 16... Bg7 17. d5 Qb8 18. Ne3 (18. axb5 axb5 19. Rxa8 Bxa8 20. Bxf6 Nxf6 21. Ng3 c6 22. dxc6 Bxc6 23. Qd3 d5 24. Nd2 dxe4 25. Ndxe4 Nd5 26. Bb3 Rd8 27. Rd1 Qa8 28. Nc5 Bf8 29. Nge4 Be7 30. Qc2 Nf4 31. Rxd8+ Qxd8 32. g3 Nxh3+ 33. Kh2 Bxc5 34. Kxh3 Ba7 35. g4 Kg7 36. f3 h5 37. gxh5 Qh8 38. Qd2 Qxh5+ 39. Kg3 Bg1 40. Qg2 Be3 {0-1 (40) Tsyplakov,N-Chepurnoy,L Russia 1991 }) 18... c6 19. dxc6 Bxc6 20. axb5 axb5 21. Rxa8 Bxa8 22. Nd2 b4 23. c4 Nc5 24. Bxf6 Bxf6 25. Nb3 Rc8 26. Nxc5 Rxc5 27. Qd3 Ra5 28. Bb3 Bg5 29. Rd1 Qb6 30. c5 $1 Qxc5 ({Better was} 30... Rxc5 $5 {After} 31. Nc4 Qa6 {Black can hold.} ({ After} 31... Qc7 32. Nxd6 {f7 will fall.}) 32. Nxd6 (32. Nxe5 Qxd3 33. Nxd3 Ra5 $11) 32... Qxd3 33. Rxd3 Rc1+ 34. Kh2 Kf8 35. Bxf7 Rc2 36. b3 Bxe4 $11) 31. Nc4 Ra7 32. Nxd6 Kg7 33. Qf3 Qc6 (33... f5 {does not help after} 34. Qg3 {e.g.} Bxe4 35. h4 Bf4 36. Ne8+ Kh7 37. Nf6+ Kg7 38. Nh5+ Kh7 39. Bg8+ Kh8 40. Qxg6 -- 41. Qf6+ Kxg8 42. Qg6+ Kf8 43. Rd8+ Ke7 44. Qf6#) 34. Bxf7 Re7 35. Ba2 { And in view of the crushing threat Qb3 Black resigned.} (35. Ba2 Qc2 36. Bb3 Qxb2 37. h4 Bxh4 38. g3 Bf6 39. Ne8+ Rxe8 40. Rd7+ {nebst baldigem Matt.}) 1-0 [Event "Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.07.13"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Buhmann, Rainer"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C95"] [WhiteElo "2798"] [BlackElo "2653"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:44:23"] [BlackClock "0:00:31"] 1. e4 e5 {After the nerve-wracking game yesterday, Buhmann wants some tranquility. Who can blame him?} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 {Surprise! Buhmann almost always plays the Berlin instead. Presumably, that is not because he is German.} 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 {The Breyer which was very popular in the 1970s is still fashionable.} 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 {Vachier-Lagrave has a good score in this line, winning two with five draws.} Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Bg5 {The French GM played this particular line back in 2011.} h6 15. Bh4 g6 {Played after almost half an hour of deep thought. Black has other possibilities as well:} ({Relevant:} 15... Qc8 16. N3d2 g6 17. dxe5 Rxe5 18. f4 Re8 {and Black seemed fine in Sutovsky,E (2635) -Svidler,P (2727) Skopje 2015}) ({Or} 15... Qb8 16. N3d2 exd4 17. cxd4 Qa7 18. d5 c6 19. dxc6 Bxc6 20. Rc1 Rac8 {which also gave Black a lot of piece play, although Vachier Lagrave proved victorious at the end, Vachier Lagrave,M (2731) -Renet,O (2497) Mulhouse 2011}) ({Finally, the slightly curious way to fight White's dark-squared bishop with} 15... Be7 16. Bg3 Bf8 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 dxe5 19. Qf3 {which was a bit better in Vachier Lagrave,M (2721) -Beliavsky,A (2632) Khanty-Mansiysk 2010}) 16. a4 Bg7 17. d5 Qb8 18. Ne3 { A novelty. The knight is ready to fight for the d5 square as Black will have to sooner or later free his position with c7-c6.} ({The predecessor saw White achieve less than nothing after:} 18. axb5 axb5 19. Rxa8 Bxa8 20. Bxf6 Nxf6 21. Ng3 c6 {Tsyplakov,N-Chepurnoy,L Russia 1991}) 18... c6 19. dxc6 Bxc6 20. axb5 axb5 21. Rxa8 Bxa8 {Now the position resembles some lines of the Najdorf, with the slight difference that his dark-squared bishop is fianchettoed. More important is that the second player has good control of the d5-square and thus has approximately equal chances.} 22. Nd2 b4 {Or else White can fix that pawn after:} (22... Bc6 23. b4 Nh5 24. Nb3) 23. c4 Nc5 24. Bxf6 {Vachier-Lagrave trades two of the defenders of the d5 square. Still, his bishop remains passive and, Buhmann can be completely satisfied with his position.} Bxf6 25. Nb3 Rc8 26. Nxc5 Rxc5 27. Qd3 Ra5 (27... Bg5 {to swap off the knight on e3 would be easier.}) 28. Bb3 Bg5 29. Rd1 Qb6 {This is not bad but allows White a chance to free his bishop.} ({Instead the immediate} 29... Bxe3 30. fxe3 ({Or} 30. Qxe3 Kg7 31. Qd3 Qb6 32. Qxd6 Qxd6 33. Rxd6 Bxe4) 30... Kg7 {with the idea} 31. Qxd6 Qxd6 32. Rxd6 Bxe4 {was OK for Black.}) 30. c5 $1 {An excellent practical chance. The bishop is coming to life now. So does the knight.} Qxc5 { Not the only choice.} ({In the line:} 30... Rxc5 $1 {Probably best objectively. } 31. Nc4 Qa6 32. Nxd6 Qxd3 33. Bxf7+ {White wins a pawn, but Black has plenty of compensation after} Kf8 {thanks to the bishop pair and the active pieces. For example:} 34. Rxd3 Rc1+ 35. Kh2 Rc2 36. Bxg6 Rxf2 37. b3 Bf4+ 38. Kg1 Rc2 { and it is difficult to make progress as White.}) ({Obviously bad is} 30... dxc5 $4 31. Nc4) 31. Nc4 Ra7 {This is too passive. If Buhmann had more time and energy he would have probably found} (31... Bxe4 $1 {The pretty line:} 32. Qxe4 $5 (32. Qe2 $1 {Best.} Qb5 $1 33. Re1 {However,} ({Or a draw after} 33. Qxe4 d5 34. Qxe5 dxc4 35. Qxb5 Rxb5 36. Bxc4 Rb7) 33... Bd5 {leads to a position with two pawns for the exchange after} (33... Ra7 $2 34. Qxe4 d5 35. Nd6 $1 { wins for White.} ({Rather than} 35. Qxe5 $2 Re7 {which leads to the opposite result.})) ({Or} 33... Ra8 34. Qxe4 d5 35. Qxe5 {and White keeps the extra piece.}) ({Finally} 33... Ra6 {loses to} 34. Qxe4 d5 35. Qg4 {with a skewer on the f1-a6 diagonal.} ({Again not} 35. Qxe5 $2 Re6) ({Although possible and winning for White is} 35. Qe2)) 34. Nxa5 Qxa5 35. Bxd5 Qxd5 36. Rd1 Qc6 { which Black should hold.}) 32... d5 33. Rxd5 Qxd5 34. Qxg6+ fxg6 35. Nxa5 Qxb3 36. Nxb3 Kf7 {should lead to a draw.}) 32. Nxd6 Kg7 {Once that Spanish bishop comes to life, the f7-pawn is doomed:} (32... Rd7 33. Qf3 Bf4 34. Nxf7 Rxf7 35. g3 {with material gains.}) 33. Qf3 Qc6 {Makes things easier for White. Buhmann should have tried:} (33... f5 {although here too, White's advantage is decisive after} 34. Qg3 Bxe4 35. h4 Be7 36. Ne8+ Kh7 37. Bg8+ $1 Kh8 {And now either the computer-win with} 38. Ba2 $3 ({Or the human one with} 38. Qxg6 Bxh4 39. Qxh6+ Kxg8 40. Qxh4) 38... Kh7 39. Qb3) 34. Bxf7 Re7 35. Ba2 {A pawn down and facing the deadly threat Qf3-b3-g8 mate, Black resigned.} 1-0 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.13"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D41"] [WhiteElo "2706"] [BlackElo "2812"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2016.07.09"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Qxd2 O-O 11. Bc4 Nd7 (11... Nc6 {is equally common.} ) 12. O-O b6 13. a4 {many moves have been tried here, including either rook to the center and either center pawn advance.} (13. Rad1 {"scores" best}) 13... Bb7 14. Rfe1 {Following, among other games, Topalov-Carlsen, London 2015 (1/ 2-1/2, 97)} Rb8 {apparently the novelty. The rook coming to c8 is more natural and has been played four dozen times.} 15. Bb5 Nf6 16. Bd3 h6 17. Rab1 Ba8 18. h3 Qe7 19. Rb3 Rfd8 20. Qb2 Rbc8 21. a5 bxa5 22. Ra3 Rb8 23. Qa2 Qb4 24. Rb1 Qf8 25. Re1 Qb4 26. Rb1 (26. Rxa5 {is the way to play on, but Black's tactics are in time.} Rxd4 27. Rb1 (27. Nxd4 Qxe1+) 27... Qxb1+ 28. Bxb1 Rd1+ 29. Kh2 Rdxb1 30. Rxa7 Bxe4 {and Black is not worse. His position is too compact for White to break through.}) 26... Qf8 27. Re1 1/2-1/2 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.13"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2810"] [BlackElo "2713"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2016.07.09"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. Nbd2 Nxd2 9. Bxd2 Bg4 10. c3 O-O 11. h3 Bh5 {Reached a few times, including Capablanca-Marshall, 1913! (0-1, 53)} 12. g3 {an innovative but not new idea} Qd7 13. Kg2 Bg6 {Played earlier this year, also in Germany (Predojevic, Ni Hua, Grenke Open 2016 -- 1/2-1/2, 15)} 14. Ne1 Bd6 15. Qg4 Qxg4 16. hxg4 Rfe8 17. Bxg6 hxg6 18. Nd3 f6 19. g5 Kf7 20. Rh1 Rh8 21. b4 (21. Bf4 {applies slightly more pressure, but after} Bxf4 22. Nxf4 Ne7 {there's not a real way to improve, and the knight will likely not be able to stay perched on f4.}) 21... Rae8 22. a4 Nd8 23. b5 Ne6 24. Rxh8 Rxh8 25. a5 Ke7 26. a6 b6 {If only White's knight could access c6. If only...} 27. Re1 Kd7 28. Bc1 Rh5 29. f4 Nd8 30. Nf2 fxg5 31. fxg5 Ne6 32. Re2 {White sets a trap.} Rh8 (32... Nxg5 $2 33. Bxg5 (33. g4 Rh2+) (33. Bxg5 Rxg5 34. g4 {and Black will eventually lose the trapped rook after Kf3 and Nh3.})) 33. Nd3 Re8 34. Kf3 Rf8+ 35. Kg2 Re8 36. Kf3 Rf8+ 37. Kg2 1/2-1/2 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.15"] [Round "?"] [White "Najer, E."] [Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2687"] [BlackElo "2798"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 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. e5 {The game now transposed into the ultra-sharp Tal-Variation. Who has the better memory is better and who found a new idea with his engines?} dxe5 12. fxe5 Nfd7 13. Ne4 Qxa2 14. Rd1 Qd5 15. Qe3 Qxe5 16. Be2 Bc5 17. Bg3 Qd5 (17... Bxd4 18. Rxd4 Qa5+ 19. Rd2 O-O 20. Bd6 Nc6 21. O-O f5 22. Bxf8 Nxf8 23. Nd6 Ne5 24. Kh1 Nfg6 25. Nc4 Nxc4 26. Bxc4 Kh7 27. Bb3 Ne5 28. h3 Bd7 29. Rd6 Rc8 30. Re1 Nc4 31. Bxc4 Rxc4 32. Rxd7 Re4 33. Qxe4 fxe4 34. Rxe4 Qb5 35. Rc7 Qb6 36. Rec4 Qf2 37. Re4 b5 38. Rc6 a5 39. Rexe6 a4 40. Re7 a3 41. Rcc7 Qf6 42. Ra7 a2 43. c3 Qxe7 {0-1 (43) Najer,E (2670) -Nepomniachtchi,I (2602) Mainz 2008}) 18. c4 Bxd4 19. Rxd4 Qa5+ 20. Rd2 O-O 21. Bd6 f5 (21... Re8 22. Qg3 Qf5 23. Bd3 Qg6 24. Qxg6 fxg6 25. Bg3 Rd8 26. Nd6 g5 27. Rf1 Nc6 28. Be4 Nc5 29. Bxc6 bxc6 30. Be5 Rd7 31. Rf3 a5 32. Bd4 Nb7 33. Ne4 a4 34. Bb2 Rxd2 35. Kxd2 Na5 36. Nd6 Ba6 37. Kc3 Rb8 38. Ba3 c5 39. Bxc5 Rb3+ 40. Kd2 Rxf3 41. gxf3 Nb3+ {0-1 (41) Mekhitarian,K (2511)-Fargere,F (2478) Dieren 2010}) 22. Bxf8 Nxf8 23. Nd6 Nbd7 24. g4 {All this is still "theory".} fxg4 (24... Qe5 25. Qxe5 Nxe5 26. gxf5 exf5 27. O-O g6 28. Rb1 Be6 29. c5 a5 30. Ra1 a4 31. Ra3 {1/2-1/2 (31) Yu,Y (2667)-Wei,Y (2629) China 2014}) 25. Bxg4 Qa1+ 26. Rd1 Qe5 {[#]} 27. Rd3 $2 {A blunder.} ({But} 27. Qxe5 Nxe5 28. Bh3 Bd7 {also looks good for Black.}) 27... Nc5 28. O-O (28. Qxe5 Nxd3+ {costs the rook.}) 28... Nxd3 29. Qxd3 Bd7 {After regaining the exchange Black remains with the better position and a couple of extra pawns.} 30. Nxb7 Rb8 (30... Bc6 31. Bf3 Bxf3 32. Rxf3 Qc7 $19) 31. Bf3 Qc7 32. Nd6 Qc5+ 33. Rf2 a5 34. Nb7 Qb4 35. Qe4 Nh7 36. c5 Ng5 0-1 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.15"] [Round "?"] [White "Buhmann, R."] [Black "Ponomariov, R."] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2653"] [BlackElo "2706"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. Bg2 e6 5. O-O Be7 6. d4 O-O 7. d5 ({The main line is} 7. Nc3 Ne4 {and now the modern line is} 8. Bd2 {.}) 7... exd5 8. Nh4 c6 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Nf5 Nc7 11. Nc3 d5 12. e4 Bf6 13. exd5 cxd5 14. Bf4 Nba6 15. Re1 Bc8 (15... Qd7 16. Bh3 Qd8 17. Nd6 Bc6 18. Rc1 Nc5 19. b4 N5e6 20. Nce4 dxe4 21. Rxc6 Nxf4 22. gxf4 Ne8 23. Nxe4 Qxd1 24. Rxd1 $11 {1-0 (58) Wojtaszek, R (2733)-Eljanov,P (2723) Biel 2015}) 16. Nd6 Bxc3 17. bxc3 Be6 18. a4 Nc5 19. h4 Qd7 (19... a6 20. c4 dxc4 21. Nxc4 Bxc4 22. Qxd8 Raxd8 23. Bxc7 Rde8 24. Rxe8 Rxe8 25. Bxb6 {1/2-1/2 (25) Diermair,A (2488)-Efimenko, Z (2656) Zalakaros 2015}) 20. a5 Bg4 21. f3 (21. Bf3 Bxf3 (21... Bh3 $2 22. g4) 22. Qxf3 $11) 21... Be6 22. g4 Qc6 {[#] Asking the knight on d6 about its plans.} 23. Rb1 Rad8 24. axb6 axb6 25. Nf5 Bxf5 26. gxf5 {White's pawn structure on the kingside is no reason to be happy and White is also far away from having compensation for the pawn he sacrificed in the opening.} Nb5 27. Be5 Rfe8 28. f4 f6 (28... Ne4 $5) 29. c4 fxe5 30. Bxd5+ Rxd5 31. Qxd5+ Qxd5 32. cxd5 {[#]} Nc3 $2 ({Correct was} 32... Nd4 $19) 33. Rxb6 Nxd5 $2 ({Better was} 33... Nd3 34. Ra1 (34. Re3 Nxd5) 34... Nxf4 35. d6 Ne4 $17 {Black is better though White can still fight.}) 34. Rd6 $2 {This loses.} (34. Rxe5 {Should be a draw.}) 34... Nxf4 35. Ra1 e4 36. Rc6 e3 (36... e3 37. Rxc5 e2 38. Rcc1 Nd3 $19) 0-1 [Event "Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.07.15"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Najer, Evgeniy"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B97"] [WhiteElo "2687"] [BlackElo "2798"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:00:57"] [BlackClock "0:55:20"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 {Najer has a reputation for opening erudition. The choice of this line should not have come as a surprise for Black.} e6 7. f4 h6 {This line became popular after Pal Benko used it in a couple of games in 1956. Nowadays it is the pet line of the French top GM. Vachier-Lagrave has done a lot to increase its development.} 8. Bh4 Qb6 9. Qd2 {In Stavanger, Giri tried:} (9. a3 {to save the pawn. This game was annotated for the readers of the chess.com news section.} Be7 (9... Qxb2 $4 10. Na4) 10. Bf2 {Then went for} Qc7 11. Qf3 Nbd7 ({Vachier also tested} 11... b5 12. g4 Nc6 13. O-O-O Bb7 14. h4 d5 15. e5 Ne4 {with double-edge position in Grischuk,A (2750)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2765) London 2015}) 12. O-O-O b5 13. g4 g5 {and later Black won in the game Giri,A (2790) -Vachier Lagrave,M (2788) Stavanger NOR 2016}) 9... Qxb2 10. Rb1 Qa3 11. e5 {The other pawn advance was also tested against the French GM:} (11. f5 Be7 12. fxe6 fxe6 13. Bc4 Nxe4 14. Nxe4 Bxh4+ 15. g3 Bg5 16. Nxg5 hxg5 17. O-O Qc5 {and Black held the position in Ortiz Suarez,I (2577)-Vachier-Lagrave,M (2744) Baku AZE 2015}) ({Against another Najdorf expert Najer chose:} 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Be2 Nc6 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. O-O {and this is probably where Vachier Lagrave had concentrated his preparation. Najer,E (2641)-Wojtaszek,R (2711) Czechia 2014}) 11... dxe5 12. fxe5 Nfd7 {The other main possibility is:} (12... g5 {For example} 13. exf6 gxh4 14. Be2 Qa5 15. O-O Nd7 16. Rbd1 h3 17. g3 Bb4 18. Qe3 Bxc3 $2 19. Nxe6 $1 {with a powerful attack for White in Wei,Y (2734) -Areshchenko,A (2661) Baku 2015}) 13. Ne4 Qxa2 14. Rd1 Qd5 15. Qe3 Qxe5 {It is very common for White to sacrifice three pawns for a development advantage in this line. A piece or two to open the black king may also be offered...} 16. Be2 Bc5 17. Bg3 Qd5 { Not new, but relatively unexplored. There are only five game in my Megabase.) Black usually plays:} (17... Bxd4 18. Rxd4 Qa5+ 19. Rd2 O-O {and tries to defend this. Yu,Y (2664)-Wei,Y (2625) Xinghua 2014}) 18. c4 {The queen seems very vulnerable on d5, but it is not easy to exploit that. One other way is:} ( 18. Bf3 {is interesting as well. The only played game is especially interesting.} O-O 19. Qc3 ({The main idea is} 19. Nf6+ Nxf6 20. Bxd5 exd5 21. O-O Nc6 {when Black has enough material for the queen and seeks the initiative. }) 19... e5 20. Nb3 Bd4 21. Nxd4 exd4 22. Rxd4 Qe6 23. Rd6 Qe7 24. Rd2 Nf6 25. Bd6 Nxe4 26. Bxe7 Nxc3 27. Bxf8 Nc6 28. Bxc6 bxc6 29. Rd8 {and White went on to win. Eryomenko,V (2512)-Malimonenko,V (2222) Azov 2010}) 18... Bxd4 19. Rxd4 Qa5+ 20. Rd2 O-O 21. Bd6 f5 {Black sacrifices back some of the extra material to cement the position.} (21... Rd8 {was obviously analyzed by both players.}) 22. Bxf8 Nxf8 23. Nd6 Nbd7 24. g4 fxg4 {Yes, this is the first new move. In the Najdorf, a lot of the novelties happen around move thirty...} ({Here is the predecessor:} 24... Qe5 25. Qxe5 Nxe5 26. gxf5 exf5 27. O-O g6 28. Rb1 Be6 29. c5 a5 30. Ra1 a4 31. Ra3 {1/2-1/2 (31) Yu,Y (2667)-Wei,Y (2629) China 2014} ) 25. Bxg4 Qa1+ $1 {Vachier-Lagrave lures one of the white pieces back.} (25... Qe5 26. Ke2 {will give White a chance to double rooks quickly on the "d" file.} ) 26. Rd1 {The other possibility is} (26. Bd1 Qe5 27. Qxe5 (27. Ke2 $5) 27... Nxe5 28. O-O {when Black has a vast choice.} a5 (28... Bd7) (28... b6) (28... Rb8)) 26... Qe5 27. Rd3 $2 {A blunder!} (27. Ke2 {was called for. There is a complex endgame after both:} Qxe3+ (27... b5 {This practically forces a draw after} 28. Nxc8 Qxe3+ (28... Rxc8 29. Rxd7 {will transpose.}) 29. Kxe3 Rxc8 30. Rxd7 Nxd7 31. Bxe6+ Kf8 32. Bxd7 Rxc4 {All Black needs to do is trade the rooks. Even if White gives up all his four pawns for nothing, it will be a fortress.}) 28. Kxe3 Ne5 {Black should be fine with three pawns for the exchange. White is good too.}) 27... Nc5 $1 {An abrupt finish. The rook is overworked. It cannot leave the d3 square.} 28. O-O (28. Qxe5 Nxd3+ {loses it.} ) (28. Rc3 {drops the knight to} Qxd6) 28... Nxd3 29. Qxd3 Bd7 30. Nxb7 Rb8 ( 30... Bc6 {should also do.}) 31. Bf3 Qc7 32. Nd6 Qc5+ {Two extra pawns leave White no chances.} 33. Rf2 a5 34. Nb7 Qb4 35. Qe4 Nh7 36. c5 Ng5 {Not the best tournament for Najer so far.} (36... Qxe4 37. Bxe4 Ng5 38. Bg2 Rxb7) ({White resigned due to} 36... Ng5 37. Qxb4 Nxf3+ 38. Rxf3 axb4) 0-1 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.15"] [Round "5"] [White "Buhmann, R."] [Black "Ponomariov, R."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E17"] [WhiteElo "2653"] [BlackElo "2706"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2016.07.09"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. Bg2 e6 5. O-O Be7 6. d4 O-O 7. d5 exd5 8. Nh4 c6 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Nf5 Nc7 11. Nc3 d5 12. e4 Bf6 13. exd5 cxd5 14. Bf4 Nba6 15. Re1 Bc8 16. Nd6 Bxc3 17. bxc3 Be6 18. a4 Nc5 19. h4 Qd7 20. a5 Bg4 21. f3 Be6 22. g4 Qc6 23. Rb1 Rad8 24. axb6 axb6 25. Nf5 Bxf5 26. gxf5 Nb5 27. Be5 Rfe8 28. f4 f6 29. c4 fxe5 30. Bxd5+ Rxd5 31. Qxd5+ Qxd5 32. cxd5 Nc3 33. Rxb6 Nxd5 $2 {Instead of pawn grabbing, going right for the king and rook was the better way:} (33... Nd3 34. Re3 Nxf4 {This is the point. Black GUARANTEES a knight outposted on f4. The strength of this knight will be seen in the game.}) 34. Rd6 $2 (34. Rxe5 $1 Nxb6 (34... Rxe5 35. Rb8+ Kf7 36. fxe5 {is even worse for Black since White fixes his pawns.}) 35. Rxe8+ {and the knights aren't too menacing. White's plan will be to trade off one black pawn and, if he needs to, offer the rook for the other one. He must also make sure to avoid having any pawns of his own!}) 34... Nxf4 35. Ra1 e4 36. Rc6 e3 0-1 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.15"] [Round "5"] [White "Dominguez Perez, L."] [Black "Nisipeanu, LD."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2713"] [BlackElo "2674"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2016.07.09"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Ne7 6. O-O c5 7. Na3 Nec6 8. c4 Be4 9. Nb5 Be7 10. dxc5 O-O 11. Be3 Nd7 12. Nd6 b6 13. Nd2 Nxc5 14. N6xe4 dxe4 15. Qb1 Nxe5 16. Nxe4 f5 17. Nc3 f4 18. Bxc5 (18. Rd1 fxe3 $1 19. Rxd8 Raxd8 $1 {Be honest. Nearly everyone reading this would have played 19...exf2+.)} 20. fxe3 Bg5 {The point. Black's bishop and Rf8 gain more life without the capture on f2. Black is likely not worse. Every one of his pieces is active. We will not even be considering 21. Nd1. It's just too upsetting to the stomach.}) 18... Bxc5 19. Qe4 Qg5 {...f3 is coming} 20. Bf3 Rad8 21. Rad1 Bd4 $1 22. Nb5 ( 22. Rxd4 Rxd4 23. Qxd4 Nxf3+) 22... Bxb2 23. Nxa7 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Rd8 (24... Qf5 {May have given Black some small chances. The idea is to trade the knight for the bishop, then run the e-pawn to e4.}) 25. Rxd8+ Qxd8 26. Nc6 Qd3 27. Nxe5 Qxe4 28. Bxe4 Bxe5 29. Kf1 Bd4 30. Ke2 g5 31. f3 Kg7 32. h3 h6 33. Kd3 Bc5 34. Ke2 Kf6 35. Kd3 Kg7 36. Ke2 Kf6 1/2-1/2 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.16"] [Round "6"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Black "Ponomariov, R."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2798"] [BlackElo "2706"] [Annotator "Komodo 9.01 64-bit"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2016.07.09"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. Nc3 {c3, Rxe8+, and Bf4 have all been popular here.} Rxe1 12. Qxe1 b6 {This move seems new. Perhaps it is here that Ponomariov concedes some advantage to Vachier-Lagrave.} (12... Bxd4 {This proved to be balanced, but not boring, in the following game by Kryvoruchko in 2015.} 13. Bf4 Ne8 14. Nd5 c6 15. Ne7+ Kf8 16. Nxc8 Qf6 17. Bg3 Rxc8 18. Qb4+ d6 19. Qxb7 Rc7 20. Qb8 Bxb2 21. Bxd6+ Qxd6 22. Qxb2 Re7 23. Rb1 Qc5 24. Bd3 { Kravtsiv, Martyn -- Kryvoruchko, Yuriy 1/2-1/2 EU-ch 16th, 2015}) 13. Bf4 $1 Bb7 $1 {Black has to allow the doubled pawns. Nd5 and Qe4 create all kinds of trouble if Black avoids the doubled pawns.} (13... Bxd4 $2 14. Bxd6 cxd6 15. Qe4 {Another classic case of Loose Pieces Drop Off.}) 14. Bxd6 cxd6 15. Qe3 Qe7 16. Qxe7 Bxe7 17. g3 Kf8 18. a4 (18. Bg2 {This seemed a very natural approach. Facing the bishop pair, it is traditional to trade one of the bishops. Vachier-Lagrave has a deeper plan. He will entomb the b7-bishop, not trade it.} ) 18... Bc6 19. a5 bxa5 20. d5 Bb7 21. Rxa5 a6 22. Ra3 Bf6 23. Na4 $1 {Tactics support strategy. c4 and b3 are on the agenda now that the knight has cleared the way for the c-pawn.} Ke7 (23... Bxd5 $4 24. Nb6 $1 {Another fork lurking in the variations.}) 24. c4 Kd8 25. Re3 a5 26. Be2 Ba6 27. Kf1 Rb8 28. b3 { Komodo evaluates this position as dead equal, but to a human eye, Vachier-Lagrave is nearly winning with an "extra" light-squared bishop.} g5 29. Ke1 Bd4 30. Rf3 Ke7 31. Bd1 h6 32. Kd2 Rb4 $2 {The rook makes no sense here. Now even the engine concedes White's serious plus.} 33. Kd3 Ba7 34. Rf5 f6 35. Nc3 Bc5 36. f4 Rb8 37. fxg5 fxg5 38. Kc2 Bg1 39. Bh5 $5 {h3 was also possible. Vachier-Lagrave siezes on tactics.} Bxh2 40. Rf7+ Kd8 41. Bg4 Rb7 42. c5 $1 { The bishop on a6 is released, but suddenly Ponomariov is faced with serious threats.} Bxg3 (42... dxc5 $4 43. d6 {mate in six} Ke8 44. Bh5 Bxg3 45. Rf3+ Kd8 46. Rf8#) 43. Ne4 dxc5 (43... Rc7 $1 {A possible recourse.} 44. Nxg3 Rxc5+ 45. Kb2 Bb5 {Does White have enough to win here? That seems quite unclear. Certainly, he can try.}) 44. Nxg3 d6 45. Rf8+ Ke7 46. Ra8 Rb6 (46... Bd3+ $1 { The last recourse.} 47. Kc3 Bg6 {It's still not clear if White can win here.}) 47. Kc3 Bb7 48. Nf5+ Kf6 49. Rf8+ Ke5 50. Ne3 Ke4 51. Nc4 Ra6 {This allows mate in one, but there was no major improvement.} 52. Bf3# 1-0 [Event "Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.07.16"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Buhmann, Rainer"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A09"] [WhiteElo "2810"] [BlackElo "2653"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:52:15"] [BlackClock "0:00:48"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 {Curiously, this position is already new for both players, at least according to Megabase. Buhmann has usually chosen the solid Slav set-ups with 2...c6 either immediately or after 2...Nf6. Caruana previously faced:} (2... Nf6 3. Bg2 c5 4. O-O Nc6 5. d4 e6 6. c4 Be7 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. Nbd2 {in Caruana,F (2791)-Agdestein,S (2628) Flor & Fjaere 2014}) 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. O-O e5 5. c4 d4 6. d3 Nf6 7. e3 Bd6 {Now a reversed Benoni will appear on the board. More solid is the symmetrical set-up after} (7... Be7 8. exd4 exd4 9. Bf4 O-O 10. Re1 h6 11. Ne5 Nxe5 12. Bxe5 Bd6 {as in Bukavshin,I (2522)-Korobov,A (2702) Moscow 2013}) 8. exd4 cxd4 9. Bg5 $1 {The advantages of the extra tempo. Black did not have time to play h7-h6, and this extra possibility is available. The swap of this bishop for a knight is usually desirable in the Benoni.} h6 10. Bxf6 Qxf6 11. Nbd2 Bc7 12. Qa4 {Simply gaining space on the queenside.} (12. b4 $6 Nxb4 13. Qa4+ Nc6 {does not work here as the queen protects the knight from f6.}) 12... O-O 13. b4 Bf5 14. Qb3 { Caruana can be happy with the opening. His play on the queenside is straightforward and simple, while Buhmann has difficulties with the play on the opposite wing.} Rab8 ({Previously only} 14... Bg4 {had been tried, one example is} 15. a3 Rab8 16. Ne4 Qe7 17. Rfe1 {with a slight advantage for White in Koehler,J (2086) -Oliynyk,V (2167) LSS email 2013}) 15. Rfe1 a6 { Better was to refrain from any queenside pawn pushes. He could have tried instead:} (15... Bg4 16. a3 Rfe8 17. Rac1 Qd8 {followed by f7-f6 or even f7-f5 in the proper moment.}) 16. Rac1 Rfd8 17. a3 ({On} 17. c5 {with the idea to put the knight on c4. Black has a good regrouping in} Be6 18. Qb2 Bd5) (17. b5 {is a bit early due to} Ne7) 17... Qe7 18. b5 {Now it is time.} Na5 19. Qb4 Qf6 {Forced, but after this White mounts further pressure.} (19... Qxb4 $4 20. axb4 ) 20. Ne4 Bxe4 $2 {This practically gives away the keys to the fortress. Black's position is quite passive and difficult after the queen retreats as well. Those options were to be preferred} (20... Qb6 21. a4) (20... Qe6 21. a4 (21. Nc5 Qf6 {With an advantage for White in both cases.})) 21. Rxe4 { Awkwardly, the threat Nf3xe5 is unstoppable.} axb5 (21... Re8 22. Rce1) (21... Qe6 22. Nxe5) 22. cxb5 Qb6 {One more threat has been addded to Black's troubles:} (22... Rbc8 23. Rxc7 Rxc7 24. Qxa5) 23. Nxe5 {Caruana won a pawn and kept more active pieces. The rest is routine for him.} Bd6 24. Qb2 Rbc8 25. a4 Rxc1+ 26. Qxc1 Qc5 27. Qxc5 Bxc5 28. h4 h5 29. Bf3 g6 30. Rf4 {Black resigned as he cannot hold the f7 pawn.} (30. Rf4 Rf8 (30... Bd6 31. Nxf7) 31. Nd7) 1-0 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.16"] [Round "6"] [White "Najer, E."] [Black "Dominguez Perez, L."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2687"] [BlackElo "2713"] [Annotator "Komodo 9.01 64-bit"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2016.07.09"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 b6 7. Bd3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Ba6 9. Bxa6 Nxa6 10. Qe2 (10. O-O {This was Ding Liren's selection against Dominguez earlier this year. That game was drawn with a mundane repetition.} c5 11. Rc1 Qd7 12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. Qxd7 Ncxd7 14. Nb5 Nd5 15. Bg3 Nc5 16. Rfd1 Rfc8 17. Nfd4 a6 18. Nd6 Bxd6 19. Bxd6 Nd3 20. Rb1 Nc5 21. Rbc1 Nd3 22. Rb1 Nc5 23. Rbc1 {Ding, Liren -- Dominguez Perez, Leinier 1/2-1/2 China Elite Mind Basque, 2016}) 10... Qc8 11. e4 Re8 12. O-O c5 13. Rad1 {Around here, Komodo thinks that White has a significant edge. (+0.7)} h6 14. h3 Bf8 15. Be5 Nd7 16. Bg3 Qb7 17. d5 exd5 18. Nxd5 Rac8 19. b3 Nb4 {It's really hard to say where White has gone wrong or if Komodo is simply consistently overestimating the White position. In any case, with the return of this knight, Black has reduced White's advantage from a seemigly large one to a very manageable one.} 20. Nc3 a6 21. Qd2 Nf6 22. a3 Nc6 23. e5 Rcd8 24. Qc2 Nd4 $1 {Dominguez finds a very nice tactical solution to the small problems facing him.} 25. Nxd4 cxd4 26. exf6 Qc6 $1 {The "point."} 27. Rd3 dxc3 28. Qxc3 Qxc3 29. Rxc3 Bxa3 30. Rc6 Bc5 31. fxg7 Kxg7 32. b4 {This forces equality. The evaluation changes little in the remaining play.} (32. Bf4 Re6 33. Rxe6 fxe6 34. Re1 Rd3 35. Rxe6 Rxb3 { is an aggressive choice. It's hard to say if this is playing to win or playing to lose.}) 32... Bxb4 33. Rxb6 a5 34. Rc1 Rd5 35. Ra6 Rf5 36. Rc4 h5 37. Rf4 Rd5 38. Kh2 Re1 39. Ra7 Be7 40. f3 Re6 41. h4 Kg6 42. Re4 Bd8 43. Rxe6+ fxe6 44. Be1 Rd4 45. g3 a4 46. Ba5 Bf6 47. Bc3 Rd3 48. Bxf6 Kxf6 49. Rxa4 Rxf3 50. Kg2 Rd3 51. g4 hxg4 52. Rxg4 Kf5 53. Rg3 Rxg3+ 54. Kxg3 1/2-1/2 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.16"] [Round "?"] [White "Caruana, F."] [Black "Buhmann, R."] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2810"] [BlackElo "2653"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. O-O e5 5. c4 d4 6. d3 Nf6 7. e3 Bd6 8. exd4 cxd4 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bxf6 Qxf6 {[#] Caruana plays a Benoni with colors reversed. A good opening to play for a win.} 11. Nbd2 Bc7 12. Qa4 O-O 13. b4 Bf5 14. Qb3 Rab8 {Objectively the position should be equal but it seems to be easier to play for White who can advance his pawns on the queenside, play against the pawn on e5 and rely on his white-squared bishop. Black, however, has a good position but finds it more difficult to formulate a plan.} 15. Rfe1 a6 16. Rac1 Rfd8 17. a3 Qe7 $6 ({Maybe} 17... Ne7 {was more careful to avoid putting the knight on the rim.}) 18. b5 Na5 19. Qb4 Qf6 20. Ne4 {[#]} Bxe4 $2 {During the last moves White has gradually increased the pressure and after this exchange he is clearly better.} ({But it is hard to propose sensible alternatives. The following line which Fritz 15 recommends shows how difficult the position is for Black:} 20... Qb6 21. Nh4 Be6 22. a4 {and now Fritz 15 gives} Qa7 23. Ng6 b6 {as best - with a clear advantage for White.}) 21. Rxe4 {[#]Black's knight on a5 is really awkwardly placed - and White now simply threatens 22.Nxe5 winning a pawn. Black is helpless.} axb5 22. cxb5 Qb6 23. Nxe5 Bd6 24. Qb2 Rbc8 25. a4 Rxc1+ 26. Qxc1 Qc5 27. Qxc5 Bxc5 28. h4 h5 29. Bf3 g6 30. Rf4 {Black resigned. He loses a second pawn because he cannot protect f7.} 1-0 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.16"] [Round "?"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Black "Ponomariov, R."] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2798"] [BlackElo "2706"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. Nc3 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 b6 ({Black refuses to take the offered pawn. After} 12... Bxd4 13. Nd5 c6 14. Bf4 {Black might not be worse but he is under pressure.}) 13. Bf4 Bb7 14. Bxd6 $5 {[#]White gives his black-squared bishop against Black's knight and hopes to exploit the fact that Black's white-squared bishop might easily prove to be a problem.} cxd6 15. Qe3 Qe7 16. Qxe7 Bxe7 17. g3 Kf8 ({It is difficult to suggest a plan for Black that would help his white-squared bishop. If he tries to activate it with} 17... Bf3 {White plays} 18. Bg2 {and after an exchange of bishops White gets a strong knight on d5.}) 18. a4 Bc6 19. a5 bxa5 20. d5 $1 {[#] Shutting the bishop out of the game.} Bb7 21. Rxa5 a6 22. Ra3 Bf6 23. Na4 Ke7 24. c4 Kd8 25. Re3 a5 26. Be2 Ba6 27. Kf1 Rb8 28. b3 g5 29. Ke1 Bd4 30. Rf3 Ke7 31. Bd1 h6 32. Kd2 Rb4 $6 33. Kd3 Ba7 34. Rf5 f6 35. Nc3 Bc5 36. f4 Rb8 37. fxg5 fxg5 38. Kc2 Bg1 39. Bh5 {[#]After lengthy maneuvering White resorts to tactics and initiates a mating attack in the endgame.} Bxh2 40. Rf7+ Kd8 41. Bg4 Rb7 42. c5 $1 {[#] Letting Black's bishop out of its cage to mate Black's king.} Bxg3 43. Ne4 dxc5 ({Black has to give the bishop. After e.g.} 43... Bf4 44. cxd6 Ke8 45. Bh5 {White has a devastating mating attack.}) 44. Nxg3 {Black has three pawns for the piece but White still has a strong attack.} d6 45. Rf8+ Ke7 46. Ra8 Rb6 47. Kc3 Bb7 48. Nf5+ Kf6 49. Rf8+ Ke5 50. Ne3 {Black's king is caught in a mating net.} Ke4 51. Nc4 Ra6 52. Bf3# 1-0 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.17"] [Round "7"] [White "Dominguez Perez, L."] [Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D83"] [WhiteElo "2713"] [BlackElo "2798"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2016.07.09"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 O-O 6. Rc1 Be6 7. c5 c6 8. h3 b6 9. b4 a5 ({The alternative} 9... Ne4 {allowed a not-yet-super-GM Wesley So to outplay an opponent in the 2012 Olympiad.} 10. Bd3 a5 11. Na4 Nd7 12. f3 b5 13. fxe4 bxa4 14. b5 dxe4 15. Bxe4 cxb5 16. Nf3 Bxa2 17. Qe2 Bc4 18. Rxc4 bxc4 19. Qxc4 Ra7 20. O-O e5 {Jumabayev, Rinat -- So, Wesley 0-1 (63 moves) Istanbul ol (Men) 40th, 2012}) 10. Na4 b5 11. Nb6 Ra7 12. a4 Nfd7 13. bxa5 Rxa5 14. Qd2 Nxb6 {Was Vachier-Lagrave forced to do this or did he intend it? It seems like White should be able to consolidate and open lines for the rooks, but concrete methods never appeared.} (14... Ra7 {This alternative seems unappealling. Best play might be...} 15. Nxd7 Nxd7 16. axb5 Qa8 17. bxc6 Ra2 18. Qb4 Nb8 19. Bb5 Nxc6 20. Bxc6 Qxc6 {Komodo thinks White can consolidate with Ne2 and Nc3. Consolidation will not be easy, but the protected passed pawn will be a nice reward for the effort.}) 15. Qxa5 Nxa4 16. Qxd8 (16. Qd2 {Perhaps keeping the queens on might have later provided opportunities to stretch Black's defenses? Or not :/}) 16... Rxd8 17. Nf3 Na6 18. Be2 (18. Ne5 $1 {Might this have stretched Vachier-Lagrave's defenses?} Rc8 (18... Bxe5 19. Bxe5 {This is possible, but winning the bishop pair and Black's good bishop should favor White heavily.}) (18... Bd7 {Perhaps Black needs to go passive?} 19. Ra1 { Black's knights are faced with difficulties due to the threatened Rxa4.} Nb4 ( 19... Nb8 $1 {Black is really giving ground.}) 20. Kd2 {Black's knight is cruisin' for a bruisin' -- yappin' for a trappin'?}) 19. Nxc6 $1 Rxc6 20. Bxb5 {and White's bishop hits everything.}) 18... Nb4 {Suddenly Vachier-Lagrave's knights are creating considerable headaches for Dominguez.} 19. Kd2 Na2 $1 20. Rc2 (20. Ra1 {This was also possible here. Dominguez returns to this idea in a moment.}) 20... Nb4 21. Rcc1 Na2 22. Ra1 N2c3 (22... N4c3 {The which knight conundrum. Less famous than the which rook conundrum. This might have been more active. Or not :/} 23. Bd3 Ne4+ 24. Bxe4 dxe4 {Back's pieces are becoming concerningly active.}) 23. Rhc1 Nxe2 24. Kxe2 f6 {Vachier-Lagrave prepares e5. From here on, even the engine is not convinced that Dominguez's extra exchange can be put to meaningful use.} 25. Kd2 Bf5 26. Ra2 Be4 27. Rca1 e5 28. Bg3 Ra8 29. Ra3 Kf7 30. Ne1 exd4 31. exd4 Bh6+ 32. Ke2 Re8 33. Kf1 Bd2 $1 {Black's pieces are quite active and threatening. White's rooks are not.} 34. Nd3 (34. f3 Bf5 35. Rb3 $1 {Stopping Bc3 doe to Rxa4! seems balanced.}) 34... Bxd3+ 35. Rxd3 Bc3 36. Rc1 b4 {With the advance of this pawn, Vachier-Lagrave actually lays claim to some edge. It is now time for Dominguez to bail out.} 37. f3 Nb2 {Vachier-Lagrave forces Dominguez to return the exchange.} 38. Rdxc3 bxc3 39. Rxc3 Nc4 40. Kg1 Re2 41. Rb3 Ne3 42. Bf2 Nd1 {Now the game is drawn by repetition.} 43. Bg3 Ne3 44. Bf2 Nd1 45. Bg3 Ne3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.07.17"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Najer, Evgeniy"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A24"] [WhiteElo "2812"] [BlackElo "2687"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:55:32"] [BlackClock "0:00:38"] 1. c4 e5 2. d3 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. g3 d6 5. Bg2 Nf6 6. e4 {The Botvinnik-English has a very solid reputation.} c6 ({There is also the symmetrical continuation: } 6... O-O 7. Nge2 c5 8. a3 Nc6 9. Rb1 Nd4 10. b4 b6 {Grischuk,A (2771) -Mamedov,R (2660) Moscow 2010}) 7. Nge2 a6 8. O-O b5 {A very similar position to the Fianchetto KID has arisen. The main difference is that the white central pawn is on d3 instead of d4. This gives the center extra stability which White can use for a novelty.} 9. f4 {Although this is the most common idea in the Botvinnik set-up.} ({The alternatives led White nowhere:} 9. cxb5 axb5 10. b4 O-O 11. a4 Be6 12. Bd2 d5 (12... bxa4 13. Nxa4 Na6) 13. exd5 Nxd5 { Serper,G (2540)-Sokolov,I (2665) New York 1996}) 9... Qb6+ {For a moment, the white king is a bit loose and Najer tries to make use of that.} 10. Kh1 Ng4 11. Qe1 Nd7 12. h3 h5 13. b4 ({The knight is obviously invincible} 13. hxg4 hxg4+) 13... Ne3 {This obvious move has a drawback. Black could have tried instead:} ( 13... h4 $5 14. gxh4 (14. hxg4 $2 hxg3+ {is still bad for White.}) 14... Bf6 15. Qg3 bxc4 16. Qxg4 cxd3 17. Na4 ({Worse is} 17. Ng3 Rxh4 18. Qf3 Qxb4) 17... Qxb4 18. Nec3 {with messy, double-edged play.}) 14. Bxe3 Qxe3 15. d4 $1 { An important detail. The black queen is in danger.} (15. Rd1 h4 {would be good for Black who has wonderful play on the dark-squares.}) 15... Qd3 {There is no time to capture eeither of the pawns:} (15... exd4 $2 16. Rf3) (15... exf4 $2 16. Rf3) 16. fxe5 dxe5 17. cxb5 {Kramnik could have even sacrificed that pawn with:} (17. d5 Qxc4 18. dxc6 Qxc6 19. Nd5 Qd6 20. Rc1 O-O {It seems as if Black has escaped but a second wave comes.} 21. Rc6 $1 Qb8 (21... Qxc6 $4 22. Ne7+) 22. Ne7+ Kh7 {Now both} 23. Qd2 $5 ({Or} 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Nxc8 Qxc8 25. Rxf7 {promises White a serious initiative.})) 17... axb5 18. d5 Bb7 19. Rd1 Qc4 20. dxc6 Bxc6 21. Nd5 Bxd5 22. Rxd5 Nb6 {Pawn grabbing with a king in the middle is a sin.} (22... Qxa2 $2 23. Nc3 Qc4 24. Rxd7 $1 Kxd7 25. Nd5) (22... Rxa2 $2 23. Nc3 Ra8 24. Rf3 {followed by Bg2-f1 is very good for White.} (24. Nxb5)) 23. Rc5 Qe6 {But now the pawn was edible:} (23... Qxa2 24. Nc3 Qb2 25. Rxb5 {with some advantage for White.}) 24. Nc3 O-O 25. Rxb5 {As a result of the forced play Kramnik has won a pawn, but Najer has managed to castle.} Rfc8 26. a4 $1 {This is a strong play for the initiative by the former worldd champion.} (26. Nd5 {istead is equal after} Nxd5 27. exd5 Qd7) ({White could have kept the extra pawn though with} 26. Rf3 Rc4 {Black's defense resources are not exhausted.}) 26... Nxa4 27. Nd5 Rab8 {A mistake. The rook should not have been given a chance to reach the seventh rank. Correct was:} (27... Qd7 $1 28. Ra5 Rxa5 29. bxa5 {White is still much better, but Black can be happy to have swapped off an important attacking piece.}) 28. Ra5 Nb6 {Otherwise the knight will be trapped after} (28... Nb2 29. Ra7 Rf8 30. Qe2) 29. Ra7 Rf8 30. Ra6 $1 {The pin is more than unpleasant.} Rfd8 31. Qf2 Rd6 32. b5 {Also good was:} (32. Ra7 Rd7 (32... Nd7 33. b5 Rxb5 34. Nc7) 33. Rxd7 Nxd7 34. Qa7 { but Kramnik correctly figured out that the pinned knight is the major problem for Black.}) 32... Rb7 {The knight is not moving:} (32... Nxd5 33. exd5 Qe7 34. Rxd6 Qxd6 35. Qxf7+) 33. Qc2 Kh7 {This loses.} ({Once more bad line is:} 33... Nxd5 34. exd5 Qd7 35. Rxd6 Qxd6 36. Qc8+) ({The last chance was:} 33... Qd7 34. Qc5 Qd8 $1 {when White still needs to work to prove his advantage.}) 34. Qc5 { Black is practically in zugzwang!} Kg8 {Kramnik has improved almost all of his pieces but one of them can do better. In situations like this, you have to identify the lazy guy and bring it into the battle. Thus:} (34... Bf8 {Then White will simply take it with} 35. Rxb6 Rbxb6 36. Nxb6 Rxb6 37. Qxf8) 35. Kh2 $1 {No, this is not the lazy person.} Kh7 36. h4 Kg8 37. Bh3 {This one is! Once the bishop is inserted into the action, Black can no longer hold.} Rxd5 ({ Or} 37... f5 38. Nxb6 Rdxb6 39. exf5) 38. exd5 Qxd5 39. Qc6 Qd2+ 40. Bg2 1-0 [Event "44th GM 2016"] [Site "Dortmund GER"] [Date "2016.07.17"] [Round "7"] [White "Buhmann, R."] [Black "Nisipeanu, LD."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D06"] [WhiteElo "2653"] [BlackElo "2674"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "54"] [EventDate "2016.07.09"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Bf5 {This is the sixth most popular move here, but it still has nearly 800 master-level games.} 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bf4 {Bg5 has been more popular. There are about 60 master games there.} Bb4 {The prior position was reached twice in Morozevich's play in the Dubai Blitz and Rapid championship in 2014. He selected Bd6 against both Van Wely and Radjabov. Both games went against him, but the opening was not the problem.} (5... Bd6 6. Bg3 O-O 7. e3 c6 8. Bd3 Bxd3 9. Qxd3 a5 10. e4 Nxe4 11. Nxe4 dxe4 12. Qxe4 Bb4+ 13. Ke2 a4 14. Rhd1 Nd7 15. Kf1 Qb6 16. Kg1 Be7 17. Qe2 Qa6 18. Rac1 Rfe8 19. Qc2 Bf6 20. h3 {Radjabov, Teimour -- Morozevich, Alexander 1-0 Wch Rapid, 2014}) ( 5... Bd6 6. Bxd6 Qxd6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 c6 9. Be2 Nbd7 10. O-O h6 11. Qb3 Rab8 12. Rfd1 a6 13. a4 a5 14. h3 Rfe8 15. Qa2 Bg6 16. b3 Bh5 17. Ne1 Bxe2 18. Qxe2 dxc4 19. bxc4 e5 20. d5 {Van Wely, Loek -- Morozevich, Alexander 1-0 Wch Blitz, 2014}) 6. Qa4+ Nc6 7. Ne5 O-O 8. Nxc6 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 bxc6 10. Qxc6 Qb8 11. Qb5 dxc4 12. Qxb8 Rfxb8 13. Bxc7 (13. f3 {preparing e4 is the Komodo-approved way to seek a plus.}) 13... Rb2 14. f3 Bb1 {This is aggressive, but Black's piece are struggling a bit to maintain their active posts on the queenside.} (14... Nd5 15. Bd6 Bg6 {Black has a great deal of pressure.}) 15. Kd1 Nd5 16. Kc1 Rxa2 17. Rxb1 Nxc7 18. e4 Ra4 {Black has been forced back, and White is better, but is it possible to win?} 19. Be2 f5 {An aggressive solution. The engines do not endorse this move, but it must have seemed extremely natural to Nisipeanu, an afficianado of the Schliemann Defense (3...f5) in the Ruy Lopez.} 20. Rf1 (20. g3 {This is Komodo's favored move. I have no idea why :/}) 20... Rf8 21. Rb7 Na8 {The knight can go to b6 and free the rook from the defense of c4.} 22. Kb2 Nb6 {Much of White's advantage has slipped away here.} 23. Bd1 Ra5 24. Bc2 Rf7 25. Rb8+ Rf8 26. Rb7 Rf7 27. Rb8+ Rf8 {White still seems for choice after a trade of rooks, but if favorable for White, the position is only slightly so. Both players were presumably amenable to a last-round draw here rather than initiating a new phase of play.} 1/2-1/2