[Event "World Cup"] [Site "Cambridge, MA USA"] [Date "2019.09.10"] [Round "1"] [White "Press, Shaun"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B26"] [Annotator "danie"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "1977.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 g6 5. d3 Bg7 6. Be3 Rb8 7. Qd2 b5 8. Nge2 b4 9. Nd1 h5 $5 (9... Nf6 10. Bh6) 10. h3 e6 {N} (10... Nf6 11. f4 Bb7 12. O-O Nd7 13. c3 Qa5 14. f5 Nce5 15. fxg6 Nxg6 16. Bg5 bxc3 17. bxc3 Ba6 18. Ne3 e6 19. Rf2 Nde5 20. Raf1 Bxd3 21. Nf5 Bf8 22. Re1 c4 23. Nf4 Qc5 24. Nd4 Rh7 25. Nxg6 Nxg6 26. e5 d5 27. Bf1 Bxf1 28. Rexf1 Qc7 29. Qc2 Bc5 30. Rxf7 Qxf7 31. Rxf7 Bxd4+ 32. cxd4 Kxf7 33. Qf2+ Ke8 34. Qc2 Nf8 35. Qa4+ Rd7 36. Bh6 Ng6 37. Qc2 Ne7 38. Qh7 Rdb7 39. g4 hxg4 40. hxg4 Rb1+ 41. Kg2 R8b2+ 42. Kg3 Rg1+ 43. Kf3 Rh1 44. g5 c3 45. g6 Rf1+ 46. Kg3 Nf5+ 47. Kg4 Rg2+ 48. Kh3 Rg3+ 49. Kh2 Rf2+ 50. Kh1 Nxh6 51. Qxh6 c2 52. g7 Kf7 {0-1 (52) Eminov,O (2295)-Sarana,A (2577) Batumi GEO 2018}) 11. O-O Nge7 12. f4 a5 13. Rb1 O-O 14. g4 hxg4 15. hxg4 f5 $1 16. exf5 (16. Nf2 fxg4 (16... Nd4 17. c3 Nxe2+ 18. Qxe2 bxc3 19. bxc3 Rxb1 20. Rxb1 Bxc3) 17. Nxg4 e5 18. f5 $1 gxf5 19. exf5 Bxf5 20. Nh6+ Bxh6 21. Bxh6) 16... exf5 17. g5 Be6 18. b3 Nd5 (18... Bd5) 19. Bf2 Nd4 20. Nxd4 cxd4 21. Re1 Bf7 22. Nb2 Ne3 $1 23. Bxe3 dxe3 24. Qxe3 Re8 25. Qf2 Rxe1+ 26. Qxe1 Qb6+ 27. Kh2 Re8 28. Qf1 d5 $1 (28... Bxb2 29. Rxb2 Qe3 30. Rb1 Qd2) 29. Na4 Qd4 30. Kh1 (30. Kg3 Re3+ 31. Kh2 Bf8) 30... Bf8 $1 31. Rc1 Bd6 (31... Qh8+ 32. Kg1 Bg7) 32. c3 bxc3 33. Nxc3 Bxf4 34. Rc2 Qh8+ 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.10"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Gan-Erdene, Sugar"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2407"] [BlackElo "2776"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. h3 (8. f3 Be6 9. Qd2 Nbd7 10. g4 b5 11. O-O-O O-O 12. g5 b4 13. Ne2 Nh5 14. Ng3 Nf4 15. h4 a5 {Dominguez Perez,L (2763)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2778) Saint Louis 2019}) 8... Be6 9. Qf3 O-O 10. O-O-O b5 11. g4 b4 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. exd5 Bc8 14. Bd3 Nd7 15. Rhg1 a5 16. Nd2 Qc7 {N} (16... Ba6 17. Bxa6 Rxa6 18. g5 a4 19. Qe2 Qa5 20. Kb1 Raa8 21. Ne4 Rfc8 22. Qd3 Qc7 23. h4 b3 {Oren,I (2258)-Ryzhkov,I (2356) ICCF email 2016}) 17. Bb5 $6 (17. g5) 17... Ba6 18. Bc6 Rac8 $6 (18... Bb7 19. Nc4 a4 {is good for Black.}) 19. Kb1 Bb7 20. Nc4 Bxc6 21. dxc6 Nb8 $6 ( 21... Qxc6 22. Qxc6 Rxc6 23. Nxa5 Rc7 {=}) 22. Qd5 $2 {Now everything works for Black.} (22. Nb6 $1 Qxc6 (22... Rce8 23. Nd5) 23. Qf5 {would have given White a slight advantage.}) 22... Nxc6 23. Nxd6 $6 b3 $1 24. c3 bxa2+ 25. Kxa2 ({Also bad, but perhaps not yet losing, is} 25. Ka1 Rcd8 26. Bc5 a4 (26... Rd7) ) 25... Bxd6 26. Qxd6 Nb4+ $1 {Power play.} 27. cxb4 Qc4+ 28. Ka1 axb4 29. Qd5 Qc2 $1 {The threat (of Ra8+) is stronger than the execution.} 30. Qa5 Ra8 31. Ba7 b3 {White is helpless against the threat 32...Rfc8 and 33...Rc7.} 32. Qa3 ( 32. Rc1 {allows} Qxf2 $1 33. Bxf2 Rxa5+ 34. Kb1 Rfa8) 32... Rfc8 33. Rge1 h6 34. f3 Rc7 35. Bc5 Rxa3+ 36. Bxa3 Ra7 37. Rd8+ Kh7 {Black will take on a3 next. } 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.10"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "El Gindy, Essam"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A36"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2431"] [PlyCount "121"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. Qd2 Nf6 (6... Qd7 7. b3 b6 8. Bb2 Bb7 9. Nd5 e5 10. f4 Nge7 11. e4 Nxd5 12. cxd5 Nd4 13. Nf3 Nxf3+ 14. Bxf3 Qe7 {Aronian,L (2752)-Grischuk,A (2775) Stavanger 2019}) 7. b3 O-O 8. Bb2 Rb8 9. f4 {N} (9. e3 a6 10. Nge2 Qc7 11. Nf4 e6 12. h4 b5 13. h5 Ne7 14. Ne4 e5 15. Nxf6+ Bxf6 16. hxg6 fxg6 {Fahrner,K (2319)-Koscak,J (1783) Graz 2011}) 9... e5 10. Nf3 Nd4 11. O-O b6 12. Rae1 Re8 13. Ng5 Bb7 14. e3 Nf5 15. Nge4 exf4 16. Rxf4 Nh5 17. Rff1 Nh6 18. Nf2 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Nf6 20. e4 Nhg4 21. Nd5 Ne5 22. Bxe5 dxe5 23. g4 h6 24. h4 Nh7 25. Rh1 Rb7 26. Nd1 Nf8 27. N1e3 Ne6 28. Rh2 Rd7 29. Kh1 Nf4 30. Rf1 Rd6 31. Rf3 Qd7 32. Qd1 a6 33. Qf1 b5 34. g5 h5 35. Nxf4 exf4 36. Nd5 Be5 37. Rxf4 $5 bxc4 38. bxc4 Rb8 39. Rff2 Bxh2 40. Rxh2 Rdb6 ({ Black misses a chance here:} 40... Qg4 $1) 41. Nxb6 Rxb6 42. Rd2 Qg4 43. Qe1 a5 ({And here another one:} 43... Qh3+ 44. Kg1 Rd6 45. Qf2 Rxd3 46. Rxd3 Qxd3 47. Qxc5 Qb1+ 48. Kf2 Qxe4 $1) 44. Kh2 Qf4+ 45. Kg2 a4 46. Qf2 Qe5 47. Qf3 a3 48. Rf2 Qe6 49. Qg3 Kg7 50. Kf3 Kg8 51. Kg2 Rb1 52. Qf4 Qd7 53. Kh2 Rb7 54. Qe5 Qg4 55. Qe8+ Kg7 56. Qe5+ Kh7 57. Qg3 Qd1 58. Qe5 Qg4 59. Qg3 Qd7 60. Qe5 Qg4 61. Qg3 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.10"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Mekhitarian, Krikor Sevag"] [Black "Andreikin, Dmitry"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D11"] [WhiteElo "2558"] [BlackElo "2741"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 a6 5. Bd3 Bg4 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Nbd2 e5 8. cxd5 cxd5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Be2 Nxf3+ 11. Nxf3 Bd6 12. b3 Bxf3 13. Bxf3 Be5 14. Rb1 Qd6 15. g3 O-O 16. Bb2 Rfc8 17. Qd3 Rc7 18. Rfd1 Rd8 19. Bd4 Rdc8 20. Rd2 g6 21. Rbd1 Rc1 22. Bxe5 Qxe5 23. Bxd5 b5 24. Bf3 Kg7 25. Qd4 Qf5 26. Kg2 Qb1 27. e4 Rxd1 28. Rxd1 Qxa2 29. e5 Ng8 30. e6+ Nf6 31. Ra1 $6 ({Completely winning was} 31. Qa7 Rf8 {e.g.} 32. e7 (32. Rd8) 32... Re8 33. Rd8 Qxb3 34. Rxe8 Nxe8 35. Qd4+ (35. Qb8) 35... f6 36. Qd8 Qf7 37. Bc6) 31... Qxb3 32. Rxa6 Qc4 33. Qe5 Qc7 34. Qa1 Rf8 35. Ra7 (35. exf7 $1 Rxf7 36. Bd5) 35... Qd6 36. Ra6 Qc5 37. Rc6 Qf5 38. exf7 Rxf7 39. Qd4 Rd7 40. Qc3 Rd3 41. Rc7+ Rd7 42. Rc5 Rd3 43. Rxf5 Rxc3 44. Rxb5 Rc7 45. g4 h6 46. h4 Rc4 47. g5 Nh5 48. Bxh5 gxh5 49. Kg3 Rg4+ 50. Kh3 Rf4 51. Rb7+ Kg8 52. Rb2 Kg7 53. gxh6+ Kxh6 54. Kg3 Rg4+ 55. Kh3 Rf4 56. Kg3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE World Cup"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.09.10"] [Round "1.39"] [White "Nihal Sarin"] [Black "Cori, Jorge"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B32"] [WhiteElo "2610"] [BlackElo "2676"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Be7 7. N1c3 a6 8. Na3 Be6 9. Nc2 Rc8 {Not the main line.} ({The original idea of Sveshnikov to avoid the move Ng8-f6 was to trade the dark-squared bishops with} 9... Bg5 10. Be2 Bxc1 11. Rxc1 Nf6 12. O-O O-O 13. Qd2 Qb6 14. Rfd1 Rfd8 {as in Carlsen,M (2862) -Hou,Y (2673) Wijk aan Zee 2015}) ({Although Black can always switch back to Sveshnikov-like lines with} 9... Nf6 10. Be2 O-O 11. O-O Rc8 {as in Volokitin, A (2649) -Moiseenko,A (2657) Rivne 2016 (see below.)}) 10. Be2 Na5 {Cori wants to generate queenside play before he castles, but this might be a risky strategy here.} ({Instead} 10... Nf6 {is still possible and was seen in some games of the Kalashnikov main specialist Alexander Moiseenko:} 11. Be3 O-O 12. O-O Nb8 13. Na3 ({Or} 13. b3 b5 14. Nb4 bxc4 15. Bxc4 Bxc4 16. bxc4 Rxc4 17. Qb3 Rc8 18. Nbd5 Nxd5 19. Nxd5 Bg5 20. Rac1 Rxc1 21. Rxc1 Nd7 22. Rc6 {1/2-1/2 (22) Volokitin,A (2649)-Moiseenko,A (2657) Rivne 2016}) 13... Nc6 14. Rc1 h6 { with playable position, Yu,Y (2750)-Moiseenko,A (2667) China 2017}) 11. b3 b5 12. Ne3 bxc4 13. Ned5 $1 {N Only energetic play can refute Black's idea. This move is a novelty and reveals some problems behind Cori's set up.} ({A predecessor saw Black doing more than fine after:} 13. bxc4 Nxc4 14. Nxc4 Bxc4 15. O-O Nf6 16. Be3 Qa5 17. Bd2 Qa3 18. Bxc4 Rxc4 19. Qf3 Qc5 20. Rac1 O-O { with a solid extra pawn for the second player, Tobon,S (1800)-Medvedovski,M (2115) Frankfurt 2018}) 13... Nf6 ({It transpires that the pawn is taboo:} 13... cxb3 14. axb3 Nf6 (14... Ra8 15. Be3 $1) 15. Bxa6 {leads Black to a horrible position after} Rb8 16. Bb5+ Bd7 17. Bxd7+ ({Not as accurate is} 17. Nxf6+ Bxf6 18. Bxd7+ Qxd7 $1 19. Rxa5 Qc7) 17... Nxd7 18. Nxe7 {And in order to avoid the loss of the knight Black has to give up his castling right:} Kxe7 {which is a huge advantage for White.}) ({The move} 13... Bxd5 {would most likely transpose into the game after} 14. Nxd5 Nf6 15. Be3 Nxd5 ({as} 15... Rb8 16. bxc4 Nxe4 17. Qa4+ Kf8 18. O-O {once again leaves the black king badly misplaced.})) 14. Be3 {Be3-b6 is a huge threat and Black needs to initiate some trades.} Bxd5 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Qxd5 O-O ({Once again there is no time to snatch the pawn:} 16... cxb3 $2 17. axb3 Nc6 18. Bxa6 Rc7 19. Bb6) 17. O-O cxb3 18. Bxa6 Rc3 ({Perhaps a better try was} 18... b2 19. Rab1 ({Also better for White is} 19. Bxc8 bxa1=Q 20. Rxa1 Qxc8 21. Qxa5 Qb7) 19... Rc6 20. Bd3 h6 21. Rxb2 Bg5 {White is again better, but Black would at least manage to get rid of one of the annoying bishops.}) 19. Rfb1 $1 {Wonderfully played! Nihal spots that the c3 rook is in danger.} ({White has nothing after} 19. axb3 Nxb3 20. Rab1 Nc5) 19... Nc6 ({The point behind White's play is revealed by the line} 19... bxa2 20. Qxa2 $1 Nc6 (20... Rxe3 {is the best chance but he does not have enough to survive here either after} 21. fxe3 Nc6) 21. Bb6 Qd7 22. Qd2 { The rook is trapped!}) 20. Rxb3 {White wants to keep a passer along the a-file as then his bishop may support it all the way up to the promotional square.} ({ However:} 20. axb3 Nd4 21. Bxd4 exd4 22. Bc4 {might have been more accurate, keeping the black rook locked.}) 20... Rxb3 21. Qxb3 Nd4 {Cori decided to defend a gloomy position with opposite-colored bishops on the board.} ({But:} 21... Bg5 22. Bxg5 Qxg5 23. a4 Nd4 {might have been the better practical chance. The queen and the knight pair cannot be underestimated, especially in the attack.}) 22. Bxd4 exd4 23. Bc4 {Black is in trouble. His bishop is significantly underperforming in comparison to its counterpart and the a-passer is a monster.} Qa5 24. g3 Bg5 25. Kg2 g6 26. Bd5 Qc3 ({Or} 26... Qa7 27. Rb1) 27. Rd1 Kg7 ({Black deviates from the endgame. After:} 27... Qxb3 28. axb3 (28. Bxb3 {is also good of course.}) 28... Bf6 29. Kf3 {Followed by Kf3-e2-d3 White will release his rook, which in its turn will land on the seventh rank. This will finally give a free passage to the queenside-passer.}) 28. Rd3 Qc5 29. a4 Bd8 30. Qb2 Bb6 31. Rb3 {For a moment White hesitates.} (31. h4 {at once was better than in the game.}) 31... Ba5 32. Rd3 Bb6 ({Missing a chance to activate his pieces to the maximum with} 32... Rc8 33. Qxd4+ Qxd4 34. Rxd4 Rc2 {The defender often saves himself with such sacrifices.}) 33. h4 $1 { Finally Nihal finds the right plan. The major weakness in the position is the black king and the h-pawn puts it in great danger.} Rc8 ({The blockade cannot succeed:} 33... h5 34. Rb3 Ba5 35. Qe2 {followed by g3-g4 will nevertheless lead to decisive attack for White.}) 34. Qe2 Ba7 ({Nothing changes} 34... Qa5 35. Qf3 Qa7 36. h5) 35. h5 Qc1 ({Here is a line which reveals why the h-pawn matters in the attack:} 35... Rf8 36. Rb3 Rb8 37. Qg4 $1 Rxb3 38. h6+ Kxh6 39. Qf4+ Kg7 40. Qxf7+ Kh6 41. Qf8+ {with mate to follow.}) 36. Qg4 Rc7 37. Rf3 ({ Even stronger was} 37. Qh4 {To prevent the defensive idea which happened in the game. Then} Bb6 38. Rf3 Ba7 ({Here} 38... d3 {is a move too late:} 39. h6+ Qxh6 40. Qf6+ {with mate.}) 39. h6+ Qxh6 40. Qf6+ {and mate is unavoidable.}) 37... d3 $1 {Cori finds the only way to defend against the immediate mate.} 38. Qh4 Bd4 39. Rxd3 {Safe play.} ({Faster was} 39. Bxf7 $1 {when the d-passer can do White no harm and he is winning after both} Rxf7 ({or} 39... d2 40. h6+ Kf8 41. Qd8#) 40. h6+ Qxh6 41. Rxf7+) 39... g5 {This weakens the king.} ({However: } 39... Bf6 40. Qh3 {does not stop the attack.}) 40. h6+ Kf8 ({Or} 40... Kg6 41. Qh3 {when Black should soon be mated.}) 41. Qh5 {Nihal is almost there with Rd3-f3 as a decisive threat. Cori finds one last chance:} Bxf2 $1 42. Rf3 $1 {...which is nicely parried by White. Initiative is everything in the opposite-bishop attacks.} ({The obvious capture} 42. Kxf2 Rc2+ 43. Kf3 Qf1+ 44. Kg4 {would have deprived White of deserved win after} Rf2 $1 {In order to avoid the Qf1-e2 mating threat he should settle for a draw with} 45. Rd2 $1 Rxd2 46. Qxg5 Qe2+ 47. Kh4 Qh2+) 42... Qg1+ 43. Kh3 Qh1+ 44. Kg4 Qxh5+ 45. Kxh5 Bd4 ({A bit more stubborn was} 45... Be1 46. Kxg5 Bd2+ 47. Kh5 Re7 {although White should also win here.}) 46. a5 {Now the pawn moves and it is over in a few moves.} Ra7 47. a6 $1 f6 ({Or} 47... Rxa6 48. Rxf7+ Ke8 49. Rxh7) 48. Ra3 ( 48. Bb7 {at once would also suffice.}) 48... Ke7 49. Kg4 Kd8 50. Bb7 {The rook is out of the game. Nihal calmly prepares the final blow.} Bc5 51. Rb3 Ke7 52. Kf5 Bd4 53. g4 Kd7 54. Bd5 $1 {The time has come.} Rxa6 55. Rb7+ Kc8 56. Rxh7 Ra1 57. Rf7 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.10"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Huschenbeth, Niclas"] [Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C19"] [WhiteElo "2620"] [BlackElo "2643"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 cxd4 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 Qc7 10. Qd3 (10. Ne2 Nbc6 11. h4 Bd7 12. f4 dxc3 13. h5 O-O-O 14. Qd3 d4 15. h6 Rg6 16. h7 Rh8 {Kulaots,K (2560)-Radjabov,T (2759) Dortmund 2019}) 10... Qxe5+ 11. Ne2 dxc3 12. Qxc3 Nbc6 13. Qxe5 Nxe5 14. Ng3 f6 15. Bb2 Kf7 16. Nh5 Nd7 17. O-O-O b6 {N} (17... a6 18. Be2 e5 19. Rhg1 b5 20. f4 Bb7 21. g4 d4 22. Rdf1 Ke6 23. g5 Be4 {Van Foreest,J (2626)-Karthik,V (2462) Zuerich 2019}) 18. Rg1 Bb7 19. g4 Rh8 20. f4 Rh6 21. Be2 Rah8 $6 22. Nxf6 $1 Nxf6 23. g5 Rxh2 24. gxf6 (24. Bxf6) 24... Nf5 25. Bd3 R8h7 26. Bxf5 exf5 27. Bd4 Ba6 28. Rg7+ (28. Rg5) 28... Rxg7 29. fxg7 Be2 30. Rg1 Bg4 31. Re1 Be2 32. Rg1 Bg4 33. Re1 Be2 34. a4 Kg8 35. Kb2 a5 36. Ka1 Kf7 37. Rb1 Rh6 38. Rg1 Kg8 ( 38... Bg4 39. Re1) 39. Rg3 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.12"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Christiansen, Johan-Sebastian"] [Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B94"] [WhiteElo "2558"] [BlackElo "2739"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Qe2 (7. Bc4 Qb6 8. Bb3 e6 9. Qd2 Be7 10. O-O-O Nc5 11. f3 Bd7 12. g4 Qc7 13. a3 b5 14. Ba2 Qb7 {Cheparinov,I (2666)-Saric,I (2681) Patras 2019}) 7... h6 8. Bh4 g6 9. f4 e5 10. fxe5 dxe5 11. O-O-O Qc7 12. Nb3 b5 13. Rxd7 $5 ({In 2014 Parimarjan Negi recommended} 13. Nd5 {in his Grandmaster Repertoire series for Quality Chess. The text move is known from tournament practice since 2017.} Ng4) 13... Nxd7 14. Nd5 Qb8 (14... Qd6 15. Na5 Ra7 (15... f6 $5 16. Qf3 Be7 {Nikolovski,N (2380)-Grigoryan,K (2542) Novi Sad SRB 2018}) 16. Qf2 Rc7 17. Be2 Qc5 18. Bg4 g5 19. Rf1 Qxf2 20. Nxc7+ Kd8 21. Bxf2 Kxc7 22. Bg3 f6 23. Bxd7 Kxd7 24. Rxf6 { Fawzy,A (2431)-Cheparinov,I (2715) Batumi GEO 2018}) 15. Na5 (15. Bf6 Nxf6 16. Nxf6+ Ke7 17. Nd5+ Ke8 18. Nf6+ Ke7 19. Nd5+ Ke8 20. Nf6+ {Blomqvist,E (2488) -Wei Yi (2733) Astana KAZ 2019}) 15... Bc5 (15... Bb7 16. Nf6+ (16. Qd2 Bxd5 17. Qxd5 Bd6 18. Be2 O-O 19. Nc6 Nb6 20. Nxb8 Nxd5 21. Nd7 Nf4 {Kokarev,D (2620)-Sorokin,A (2469) Sochi RUS 2017}) 16... Nxf6 17. Bxf6 Qc7 18. Nxb7 Rg8 19. a4 bxa4 20. Qc4 Qxb7 21. Qxa4+ Qd7 {Gruenfeld,Y (2421)-Steinberg,N (2532) Ma'alot-Tarshiha ISR 2018}) 16. Qd2 g5 {N} (16... Bb7 17. Be2 Bd4 18. Nxb7 Qxb7 19. c3 Bc5 20. Bg4 Nb6 21. Bf6 Nc4 22. Qe2 O-O {O'Gorman,T (2280)-Nakar,E (2462) Helsingor 2018}) 17. Bg3 Qd6 18. Be2 O-O 19. Rf1 f6 20. h4 Kg7 21. hxg5 fxg5 22. Rxf8 Nxf8 23. b4 Ba7 24. Qc3 Ng6 25. Nc6 Bb8 26. Nxe5 Nxe5 27. Qxc8 Ra7 28. Bf2 Rf7 29. Bc5 Rf8 30. Qb7+ Rf7 31. Qc8 Rf8 32. Qh3 $1 {Avoiding the draw that was enough to reach round two.} Qc6 33. Bxf8+ Kxf8 34. Kb1 Kg7 35. Bd3 Ba7 36. Qf5 Bd4 37. a3 Qd6 38. Be2 Qc6 39. Bd3 Qd6 40. Be2 Qc6 41. Bh5 Qd6 42. Qc8 Nc4 43. Nc7 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.12"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Black "Chigaev, Maksim"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B06"] [WhiteElo "2664"] [BlackElo "2644"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Nd7 6. Bf4 Ne7 7. Qd2 h6 8. h4 b6 9. O-O Bb7 10. Rad1 a6 11. Rfe1 Qb8 12. a4 Qa7 13. e5 d5 14. Bf1 Qb8 15. Ne2 c5 16. c3 c4 17. Ng3 Qc7 18. Nh2 Nf5 19. Nxf5 gxf5 20. Be2 O-O-O 21. Nf1 Rdg8 22. Ng3 Qd8 23. b3 cxb3 24. c4 dxc4 25. Bxc4 Kb8 26. d5 Nc5 27. Qe3 Qxh4 28. a5 Bf8 29. Nxf5 $1 Qg4 (29... exf5 30. e6+ Ka8 31. exf7 Rg6 32. Qe8+) 30. Ng3 b5 ( 30... h5 $5 31. axb6 h4 32. dxe6 fxe6 33. Rd8+ Bc8 34. b7 $1 Kxb7 (34... Nxb7 35. Rxc8+ $1 Kxc8 36. Bxa6) 35. Be2 Qg7 36. Bf3+ Kb8 37. Nf5 $1 Qc7 38. Nd4) 31. Be2 Qh4 32. d6 Na4 33. Rc1 Rg4 34. Rc7 Rxf4 35. Rec1 Rc4 36. R1xc4 bxc4 37. Bf3 1-0 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE World Cup"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.09.11"] [Round "2.19"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Albornoz Cabrera, Carlos Daniel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2729"] [BlackElo "2581"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "41"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. O-O Bd7 5. Re1 Nf6 6. c3 a6 7. Bf1 Bg4 8. d4 { A topical, sharp line.} Bxf3 ({The main line remains} 8... cxd4 9. cxd4 { when Black has two principally different tries to fight for the center:} d5 { Black received a recent blow in the variation at the top-level game played in July:} ({Or} 9... e5 10. d5 Nd4 {which led to favorable Ruy Lopez type of position for White in the following game:} 11. Be3 Nxf3+ 12. gxf3 Bd7 13. Nd2 b5 14. a4 Be7 15. axb5 axb5 16. Rxa8 (16. Qb3 $5) 16... Qxa8 17. Nb3 {with some advantage for White in Anand,V (2776)-Gharamian,T (2626) Bastia 2016}) ( 9... Bxf3 {would transpose into the game.}) 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nc3 e6 12. h3 Bh5 13. g4 Bg6 14. Nxd5 Qxd5 15. Bg2 O-O-O (15... Bb4 $5 {Firouzja.}) 16. Ne5 Qxd4 17. Qf3 {and White had a dangerous attack which he duly converted, Giri,A (2779) -Mamedyarov,S (2774) Zagreb 2019}) 9. gxf3 cxd4 10. cxd4 d5 11. e5 (11. Nc3 e6 12. Bg5 Be7 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. exd5 Nxd4 15. Re4 Nf5 {was pointed out to Svidler after the game as theory that he wasn't aware of.}) 11... Nh5 {If Black gets the tempo to block the position he will even be better, but there is no time for that.} 12. e6 $1 g6 13. Nc3 f5 $6 {"A very large present." - Svidler.} ({Svidler pointed out that} 13... Bg7 14. exf7+ Kxf7 15. Bh3 Nxd4 16. Be3 Nf5 17. Nxd5 e6 {was quite playable for Black.}) (13... Ng7 14. Bh3 Nxe6 15. Rxe6 $1 fxe6 16. Bxe6 Bg7 17. Be3 Qd6 18. Nxd5 {is another line from Svidler.}) 14. Qb3 Nxd4 {N Albornoz might have mixed something in his memory.} ({A predecessor saw:} 14... Bg7 15. Qxb7 Nxd4 {when Svidler had a choice to improve on that played game later:} 16. Nxd5 ({Or at once with} 16. Rd1 $5) 16... Rb8 {Now instead of the blunder} 17. Qa7 $4 ({White could have headed instead for a small but stable advantage in the endgame after:} 17. Qd7+ Qxd7 18. exd7+ Kxd7 19. Rxe7+ Kd6 20. Be3 Kxd5 21. Rd1) 17... Nxf3+ 18. Kh1 Nxe1 { when Black was winning, Kristjansson,S (2478)-Koop,T (2416) Reykjavik 2016}) 15. Qxb7 Rb8 (15... Bg7 16. Rd1 O-O {Svidler} 17. Nxd5) 16. Qxa6 Nxf3+ 17. Kh1 Qc7 $2 {With the bishop on f8 blocking the king this loses!} ({Obviously, there is no time to pick up the rook:} 17... Nxe1 18. Qc6+ Qd7 19. Qxd7#) ({ However, it is also a bit too late for:} 17... Bg7 18. Qc6+ Kf8 19. Rd1 Nd4 20. Qxd5 Qxd5+ 21. Nxd5 {When Black has to settle for a gloomy endgame with} Nxe6 ( {As} 21... Nc2 22. Rb1 Na3 {does not force repetition due to the beautiful shot } 23. Nb6 $1 Nxb1 24. Nd7+ Ke8 25. Nxb8 {and White wins.}) 22. a4 {The bishop pair and the outside passers make Black's defensive task close to impossible. But this was Black's best choice.}) 18. Qa4+ $1 {Now the king has to stay in the center.} ({Avoiding} 18. Bb5+ Kd8 19. Kg2 Nxe1+ 20. Kf1) ({However, the moves could have been transposed:} 18. Bf4 $1) ({Svidler looked at the beautiful} 18. Re5 {when the only move} Bg7 $1 {is winning for Black.}) 18... Kd8 19. Bf4 $1 {whereas White can save-guard his own royalty.} Nxf4 (19... Qxf4 20. Qd7#) 20. Nb5 {Black's coordination is lost and as long as he is not delivering, he is receiving mate.} Qb6 ({Or:} 20... Rxb5 21. Bxb5 Nxe1 22. Bd7 $1 {with unstoppable mate.}) (20... Qb7 21. Rac1 (21. Na7 $1)) 21. Nd4 $1 { One last pretty move before the curtains fall.} (21. Nd4 {The finish could have been:} Qc7 ({Or:} 21... Qb7 22. Nc6+ Kc7 23. Qxf4+ Kxc6 24. Rac1+ Kb6 25. Qb4+ Ka7 26. Qa5+ Qa6 27. Qxa6#) ({Nothing changes:} 21... Rb7 22. Nc6+ Kc7 23. Qxf4+ Kxc6 24. Rac1+) 22. Nc6+ Kc8 {Now the most convincing is the cool:} 23. Rac1 ({Although} 23. Ba6+ Rb7 24. Bxb7+ Qxb7 25. Na5 {would also do.})) 1-0 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE World Cup"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.09.12"] [Round "4.16"] [White "Nabaty, Tamir"] [Black "Sethuraman, S.P..."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A48"] [WhiteElo "2658"] [BlackElo "2624"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"] 1. d4 ({Another move order that may transpose to the same line runs:} 1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. d3 g6 4. Nd2 Bg7 5. Ngf3 Nc6 6. Be2 Nf6 7. O-O dxe4 8. dxe4 O-O 9. Qc2 b6 10. Nc4 Qc7 {1/2 Sedlak,N (2568)-Miladinovic,I (2604) Mataruska Banja 2008}) 1... Nf6 2. Nf3 d6 3. Nbd2 g6 4. e4 Bg7 5. c3 {Nabaty needs a draw and does not mind a solid central setup.} O-O 6. a4 c5 7. dxc5 dxc5 8. Be2 Nc6 9. O-O Qc7 10. Qc2 b6 11. Nc4 Bb7 12. Bg5 Rad8 13. Rfd1 h6 14. Bh4 Nh5 { Everything is very logical. The only active square for the bishop is g5, but it can be easily traded there. True, Black needs to weaken himself.} 15. Ne3 g5 16. Nd5 Qc8 {N} ({Curiously, this all had been seen before:} 16... Qb8 17. Bxg5 hxg5 18. Nxg5 Qe5 19. h4 Nf4 20. Bc4 e6 21. g3 {with a mess, Sirotine,K (2388) -Iskusnyh,S (2520) St Petersburg 2006}) 17. Bg3 Nxg3 (17... e6 18. Ne3 { would most likely transpose as White threatens to save the bishop.}) 18. hxg3 e6 19. Ne3 Ne7 {Sethuraman skilfully maneuvers with his pieces.} 20. Rxd8 { Nabaty feels that his opponent makes progress and decides to trade the potentially dangerous black rooks.} ({Maybe White should have tried the more solid} 20. Nd2 Qc7 21. a5 {in order to get rid of this potential weakness.}) 20... Rxd8 21. Rd1 Rxd1+ 22. Bxd1 Qc6 {The most obvious move is inaccuracy.} ({ So far Black has played quite well and could have started grinding his opponent with} 22... Bc6 $1 23. Nd2 Ng6 {Next the knight will get to e5 and later c5-c4 will be in the cards. The two bishops can become a weapon in the future.}) 23. Qd3 $1 {The tactical point. Nabaty had probably seen this before the trade of the rooks.} ({Otherwise Black is enjoying himself after} 23. Nd2 Ng6) 23... Qxe4 ({It was not too late to switch to "grinding mode" with} 23... Qc7 24. Bc2 Ng6 {when Black is somewhat better, but would that be enough for the point?}) 24. Qd8+ {Now White achieves maximum activity:} Bf8 25. Bc2 Qc6 26. Ng4 Kg7 27. Nf6 ({Objectively better was:} 27. Nxh6 {As after} f5 ({ White is slightly better after} 27... f6 28. Ng4) 28. g4 $1 {The knight not only is not trapped, but will have strong influence in the attack.}) 27... Qc8 28. Nh5+ Kh8 {Sethuraman needs to risk.} ({After} 28... Kg8 29. Nf6+ Kh8 30. Qd3 ({White can also venture into an endgame:} 30. Ne5 $6 Qxd8 31. Nxf7+ Kg7 32. Nxd8 Kxf6 33. Nxb7 Nc6 {but this is really risky with his knight stuck on b7.}) 30... Nf5 31. g4 c4 32. Qe2 {White has dangerous threats and easier play as well, although the computer claims equality.}) 29. Ne5 f5 {Probably a mistake.} ({But the problem is how to play and win the position after} 29... Qxd8 30. Nxf7+ Kg8 31. Nxd8 Bd5 32. Nf6+ Kh8) 30. Qd6 ({There was a pleasant alternative:} 30. Ng6+ Nxg6 31. Qf6+ Kh7 32. Qf7+ Kh8 33. Nf6 Bg7 34. Qxg6 Bxf6 35. Qxf6+ {with an attack.}) 30... Bd5 (30... c4 31. g4 $1 {does not stop the attack.}) 31. c4 Bc6 ({Black would lose a piece in the line:} 31... Nc6 32. Ng6+ Kg8 33. Nxf8 Qxf8 34. Qxf8+ Kxf8 35. cxd5) 32. Nf7+ Kh7 ({Black should not survive after} 32... Kg8 33. Nd8 {either.}) 33. Nd8 Kg6 {Finally, the king will trap the knight, but it will be surrounded by pieces itself:} 34. Nxe6 Kxh5 35. Ng7+ $1 Bxg7 36. g4+ $1 fxg4 ({Or} 36... Kxg4 37. Bd1+ Kh4 38. Qg3#) 37. Qh2# 1-0 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE World Cup"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.09.13"] [Round "10.14"] [White "Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E06"] [WhiteElo "2656"] [BlackElo "2745"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"] 1. Nf3 (1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. d4 O-O {1-0 (49) Meier,G (2628)-Nisipeanu,L (2672) Dortmund 2018}) 1... Nf6 2. d4 e6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. g3 O-O 6. Bg2 dxc4 7. Ne5 Qd6 {"I did not expect this especially since I have played it and come to the conclusion it is kind of dubious." (Nisipeanu)} ({Nakamura has experience in this line as White:} 7... c5 8. dxc5 Qxd1+ 9. Nxd1 Bxc5 10. O-O Nd5 11. Ne3 Nc6 12. N3xc4 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Bd4 14. Nd3 {1/2 Nakamura, H (2761)-Radjabov,T (2759) Moscow 2019. But this game can hardly be called a fight.}) ({Nisipeanu believes he is slightly better after} 7... Nc6 8. Bxc6) 8. O-O {Postponing the capture of the pawn for the time being.} (8. Nxc4 Qa6 { was how Black should play according to the German player as Black then quickly solves the problem of his most problematic pieces (the queen and the light-squared bishop) after a further ...Rf8-d8 and ...Bc8-d7-c6.}) 8... Qa6 9. a4 Nc6 ({Nisipeanu also has experience in the line with reversed colors. Last year he tried the move:} 9... Rd8 {in the featured position against Meier. His countryman reacted well:} 10. Nb5 Ne8 11. Qc2 Nc6 12. Qxc4 Nxd4 13. Be3 Nf5 14. Bc5 Bxc5 15. Qxc5 Qb6 16. Qxb6 axb6 17. Rfd1 {and White went on to win an instructive game, Meier,G (2628)-Nisipeanu,L (2672) Dortmund 2018}) 10. Nb5 ({ With the pawn on a4 the capure on c6 makes less sense:} 10. Nxc6 bxc6 {"A tripled pawn opens two files!" (Yermo)}) 10... Nxe5 11. dxe5 ({White cannot bring his knight out in case of:} 11. Nxc7 $2 Qa5 12. Nxa8 Nc6) 11... Rd8 12. exf6 $1 {N "I could not really remember if this sacrifice was good or not." (Nisipeanu) The intuitive sacrifices remain one of the last human weapons against the power of the machines.} ({Instead a predecessor saw a quick draw after} 12. Qc2 Nd5 13. Qxc4 c6 14. Nd6 Qxc4 15. Nxc4 b6 16. Bd2 Ba6 17. Rfc1 { 1/2 Efimenko,Z (2647)-Kravtsiv,M (2623) Lvov 2015}) 12... Rxd1 13. Rxd1 ({ White rejected} 13. fxe7 {due to} Rxf1+ 14. Kxf1 ({However} 14. Bxf1 {provides compensation for the material as well, for example:} Bd7 ({Against} 14... Qc6 { best seems the preliminary} 15. Bg2 ({rather than} 15. Nxc7 Bd7 16. Nxa8 Qc8) 15... Qd7 {Then} 16. Nxc7 Qxe7 17. Nxa8 {when Black cannot pick up the knight} b6 18. a5) 15. Nxc7 Qd6 16. Nxa8 {However White did not like} Qxe7 17. Nc7 a6) 14... Bd7 $1 15. Nxc7 Qd6 {With mating threat.} 16. Bf4 e5 {"White is just busted." (Nisipeanu)}) 13... Bd6 {The only move.} (13... Bxf6 $2 14. Nxc7) 14. Bf4 e5 {This move, just like the others before, was practically blitzed. Nevertheless, it seems it's Black's major mistake. The speed with which Nakamura played though made White chose his next move from purely practically reasons.} ({The computer suggests instead the highly sophisticated:} 14... c3 15. bxc3 e5 16. Bxe5 Qa5 17. Bxd6 cxd6 18. fxg7 {but this seems like a fun position to play as White.}) ({More natural however was:} 14... Qa5 $1 { For example:} 15. Nxd6 ({There is also the repetition} 15. Bd2 Qa6 16. Bf4 { in case that White does not mind sharing the point.}) 15... cxd6 16. Rxd6 gxf6 17. Bh6 ({Not that good is} 17. Rad1 Kg7 $1 {when the king is secure.}) 17... e5 18. Rad1 {and whenever the bishop goes, White captures on b7:} Be6 (18... Bf5 19. Bxb7) 19. Bxb7 {The position remains unbalanced, but since the black king is eternally weak Nisipeanu repeated multiple times he "may never lose it. "}) 15. Nxd6 ({White did not like the line:} 15. Bxe5 $1 Bh3 16. Bxd6 Bxg2 17. Nxc7 Qc6 18. Nxa8 Bh3 19. f3 {that much as he felt his king is in danger. However, if he just keeps his knight to control the diagonal he should be much better, say:} gxf6 20. a5 $1 {and I do not see any danger for him, just extra material for White.} ({Rather than} 20. Nc7 $2 Qb6+ 21. Kh1 Qf2 {(Nisipeanu) which indeed wins for Black after} 22. Rg1 c3 $3 (22... Qxe2 23. Ra3 $1) 23. bxc3 Qxe2 {with huge material losses for White.})) 15... cxd6 {The first lengthy thought by Nakamura, in an obviouly tough position.} ({Nisipeanu believed that the best defense was:} 15... exf4 $5 16. Ne8 Qb6 {when White has a lot of choice:} ({After} 16... Qa5 17. Rd8 gxf6 {White simply brings more and more pieces into the attack:} 18. Rad1) 17. Rd8 ({White can also win material after:} 17. a5 Qxb2 18. Nxc7 (18. a6 $5) 18... gxf6 19. Nxa8 {and this should be much better for him, although there are still chances after} c3) 17... gxf6 18. Rad1 ({One point behind the move Qa6-b6 is revealed in the line } 18. Nxc7+ Kg7 19. Nxa8 Qxd8) 18... Qxb2 19. Nxc7+ Kg7 20. Nxa8 {White should be better, but there is still much play going.}) 16. Bxe5 $1 {"I thought I am much better here." (Nisipeanu)} Qa5 ({Not} 16... Bh3 17. Rxd6 Qa5 18. Rd5 $1 { (Nisipeanu)} ({Rather than} 18. Bc3 Qc5)) 17. Rxd6 {In comparison to the line above White did not win material, but has all his pieces securely placed. He's dominating. Nakamura needs to sacrifice some pawns to bring the reserves out, but this does not help him.} Bg4 ({Nothing changes} 17... Be6 18. Rad1) 18. Bc3 Qc7 19. Rad1 g6 ({If} 19... Bxe2 20. Rd7 {and the rooks dominate on the seventh rank.}) 20. Bxb7 Rf8 21. Bf3 Bxf3 (21... Bf5 22. Rc6 {is equally hopeless.}) 22. exf3 {White has it all: a more secure king, more active pieces and even a material advantage.} h5 ({Or} 22... Re8 23. Kg2) 23. Kg2 Re8 24. h4 Qc8 25. a5 {Next Nisipeanu improves everything he can and penetrates on the back ranks.} a6 26. Rd7 Qa8 27. R1d6 Rc8 28. Bd4 c3 29. bxc3 Re8 30. Bb6 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2019.09.13"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Nihal Sarin"] [Black "Safarli, Eltaj"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C94"] [WhiteElo "2610"] [BlackElo "2593"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2019.09.07"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"] 1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Nc6 { [%emt 0:00:06]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:28]} a6 {71} 4. Ba4 {[%emt 0:00:20]} Nf6 { [%emt 0:00:05]} 5. O-O {[%emt 0:00:48]} Be7 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 6. Re1 {[%emt 0: 00:31]} b5 {76} 7. Bb3 {[%emt 0:00:56]} d6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 8. c3 {[%emt 0:00: 41]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:07]} 9. h3 {95} Nb8 {46 The Breyer!} 10. d4 {295} Nbd7 { 187} 11. Nbd2 {380} Bb7 {195} 12. Bc2 {140} Re8 {[%emt 0:00:42]} 13. Nf1 { [%emt 0:00:41]} Bf8 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 14. Ng3 {[%emt 0:00:11]} g6 {[%emt 0:00: 07]} 15. a4 {494} (15. b3) (15. Rb1 c5 16. d5 c4 17. b4 cxb3 18. axb3) 15... Bg7 {[%emt 0:00:11]} (15... c5 {is by far the main move here.} 16. d5 c4 { An important game in this line was between MVL and Bassem Amin who is a big expert in the Breyer.} 17. Bg5 Nc5 18. Nh2 h6 19. Be3 h5 20. Qf3 Nh7 21. Qe2 Qc7 22. Ngf1 Rab8 23. Nd2 Bc8 24. axb5 axb5 25. f4 exf4 26. Bxf4 Nf6 27. Qf1 Nfd7 28. Nhf3 Bg7 29. Qf2 Rb6 30. Be3 Ra6 31. Rxa6 Bxa6 32. Bd4 Bf8 33. Rf1 Bh6 34. g4 hxg4 35. Qh4 gxf3 36. Qxh6 Ne5 37. Nxf3 Ncd7 38. Ng5 Nf8 39. Nxf7 Qxf7 40. Rxf7 Kxf7 41. Bd1 Re7 42. Bg4 {1-0 (42) Vachier Lagrave,M (2780)-Amin,B (2704) Brest 2019}) 16. Bd3 {390} c6 {[%emt 0:00:50]} (16... d5 $5 {was seen in Anand vs Santos Latasa and Black should be holding his own here.} 17. Bg5 ( 17. dxe5 dxe4 18. exf6 Nxf6 $11) (17. exd5 exd4 18. Rxe8+ Qxe8 19. cxd4 bxa4 $11) 17... b4 $5 {is a line which should be explored in greater depth.}) 17. Bg5 {719} h6 {146} (17... Nf8 18. Qd2 Ne6 19. Be3 Nd7 {is another way to play this position, but somehow it looks a bit passive.}) 18. Be3 {415} Qc7 {137} 19. Qd2 {381} Kh7 {34 Until now we have 23 games that have been played! It looks pretty normal.} 20. b4 $5 {56 Nihal has taken unusually high amount of time for his moves until now but the last one he played pretty quickly. It is quite possible that he is still within his preparation! White is better here.} Nb6 {323} (20... exd4 21. cxd4 $16) (20... d5 21. dxe5 Nxe4 22. Bxe4 dxe4 23. Nxe4 Nxe5 24. Nxe5 Bxe5 25. Bd4 $16) 21. dxe5 {337 By taking on e5 Nihal starts a serious of moves that are committal but give him a lot of space in the position. Usually White doesn't like to clarify with dxe5 because he is essentially exchanging his d4 pawn for the one on d6. But in this case Nihal has a concrete idea in his mind.} (21. a5 exd4 (21... Nc4) 22. cxd4 Nc4 23. Bxc4 bxc4 24. Bf4 Qd7 25. Rac1 d5 26. Ne5 $16 {Even here it seems as if White's position is clearly preferable.}) 21... dxe5 22. a5 $1 Nbd7 {[%emt 0: 00:58]} 23. c4 $1 {174 With a series of powerful moves Nihal has taken over the iniative.} Rad8 {148} (23... bxc4 24. Bxc4 Re7 25. Qa2) 24. Qa2 $1 {200} Kg8 {218} (24... Qd6 25. Bc2 bxc4 26. Qxc4 Qe6 27. Qxe6 Rxe6 28. Red1 $16) 25. Bc2 $1 $18 {503 An excellent move by Nihal. He is now going to plae his bishop on b3 and put more pressure on the f7 point. White is not just better here, but with accurate play even close to winning!} Qd6 {1958 Black has to make this uncomfortable move because he cannot move his knight from d7. It allows Bb6.} 26. Bb3 {135} Qe7 {[%emt 0:00:53]} 27. Rad1 {366} (27. Nh4) 27... Rc8 { 134} 28. Nh4 {81} Kf8 {522} 29. c5 {181 Packing the Black pieces completely!} Nb8 {106} 30. Rd6 {202 This is also very strong. Next up is a knight sacrifice on the f5 square!} Red8 {543} 31. Ngf5 {Bamm!} gxf5 32. Nxf5 Qc7 33. Nxg7 { There were other flashy ways to win as well, but Nihal chooses the simplest and the best.} Kxg7 34. Bxh6+ {Another powerful piece sacrifice!} Kxh6 (34... Kg6 35. Qd2) 35. Rxf6+ Kg5 36. Rf5+ $1 (36. Rxf7 {was good but Nihal is more accurate!}) 36... Kh6 37. Qe2 {There is just no way to stop mate! What a game!} (37. Qe2 Rg8 38. Qh5+ Kg7 39. Re3 {Bringing the last piece to the party creates a nice impression.} (39. Rxf7+ $18)) 1-0 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.14"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2656"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 c5 (8... Nd7 9. O-O-O Nf6 10. Bd3 c5 11. Rhe1 Be6 12. Kb1 Qa5 13. a3 c4 14. Be2 Ne4 15. Qc1 d5 {Caruana,F (2819)-Duda,J (2729) Paris 2019}) 9. O-O-O Be6 10. a3 d5 {N} (10... Nd7 11. h4 Ne5 12. Ng5 Bf5 13. f3 b5 14. g4 Be6 15. Bf4 c4 16. Qe2 Qb8 17. Bg2 a5 {Gopal,G (2580)-Mosadeghpour,M (2337) Al Ain 2014 }) 11. h4 f6 12. h5 Nc6 13. Nh4 Qd7 14. f3 Rad8 15. g4 d4 16. Bf4 Ne5 17. Qe1 $2 ({A pawn sacrifice gives White decent play:} 17. Nf5 $1 Nxf3 (17... Bxf5 18. gxf5 Qxf5 $2 19. Bh3) 18. Qe2 Ne5 19. cxd4 cxd4 20. h6) 17... Qd5 $1 18. b3 c4 $1 {Suddenly Black has an overwhelming attack, almost out of nothing.} 19. Rxd4 Qa5 20. Bxc4 Bxc4 21. bxc4 Bxa3+ 22. Kd1 Bb4 ({The quiet} 22... Rfe8 {was strong as well.}) 23. Rxd8 Rxd8+ 24. Ke2 Bxc3 25. Qb1 Bd2 26. Bg3 Bg5 27. Be1 Qc5 28. Qb3 Bxh4 29. Bxh4 Nxc4 30. Re1 Re8+ ({Preparing with} 30... Kh8 { would still give Black a win, but Nisipeanu graciously allows Nakamura to leave the tournament with a draw.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE World Cup"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.09.14"] [Round "11.24"] [White "Xu, Xiangyu"] [Black "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E21"] [WhiteElo "2576"] [BlackElo "2693"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. Bd2 O-O 6. e3 c5 ({Another plan is: } 6... Bb7 7. Bd3 d6 8. O-O Nbd7 9. a3 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 Ne4 {Braun,A (2598) -Donchenko,A (2604) chess.com INT 2019}) 7. Bd3 Ba6 8. a3 Bxc3 9. Bxc3 d5 { N A logical novelty.} ({It will be interesting to learn why did Inarkiev deviate from} 9... cxd4 10. exd4 d5 11. b3 Qc7 12. Rc1 Rc8 13. Bb2 dxc4 14. bxc4 Nbd7 15. O-O Bb7 16. d5 exd5 17. Nd4 Re8 18. cxd5 Qe5 {1/2-1/2 (18) Gligoric,S-O'Kelly de Galway,A Palma de Mallorca 1967}) 10. dxc5 dxc4 11. Bc2 Nbd7 ({White is somewhat better in the endgame after} 11... Qxd1+ 12. Rxd1 Nd5 13. Ne5) 12. cxb6 axb6 13. h4 $5 {An interesting concept. Since White did not castle yet it seems attractive to bring one major piece to help the bishops. Or two. The question is if White has the time to do it with the king in the center.} Qc7 {Inarkiev wants to win a tempo by chasing the queen from the open file. This however, is a risky strategy as the almighty majesty does want to meet the black king at his residence.} ({More solid seems to be challenging the bishops at once with:} 13... Nd5 {The attack would not be dangerous without the dark-squared bishop:} 14. Qd4 ({If} 14. Bd4 c3 15. bxc3 Qc7 { pointing at the fact that White did not castle yet.}) 14... Nxc3 15. Qxc3 Nc5) 14. Qd4 Rfd8 15. h5 h6 16. Rh3 Kf8 {A serious inaccuracy. The king is not safer there.} (16... e5 17. Qh4 {does not change much.}) ({However, it made sense to adopt this defensive set-up:} 16... Nc5 17. Qh4 Ne8 $1 (17... Qe7 18. Rg3 {is less attractive for Black.}) 18. Rg3 f6 19. Qg4 e5 {From the two white bishops the most annoying is the one without an opponent. Therefore, Black needs to build a wall against it as soon as possible.}) 17. Rg3 Bb7 ({With the king already on f8, the aforementioned plan is not good:} 17... Nc5 18. Qh4 Ne8 19. Qg4 f6 20. Nh4) 18. Qh4 Qd6 ({Or} 18... Bxf3 19. gxf3 {followed by Ke1-e2 and a massive attack on the kingside.}) ({Apparently, the computer fears White's attack so much that it suggests the positional exchange sacrifice:} 18... Ra5 19. Bxa5 bxa5) 19. Rd1 Qe7 20. Qxc4 {A small snack in the middle of the attack.} ({Xu, however, missed a far more delicious dish. The beautiful} 20. Rxd7 $3 {was gaining material in all lines. For example:} Nxd7 ({If} 20... Rxd7 21. Bb4 Rd6 22. Rxg7 $1 Kxg7 23. Qg3+ {with a decisive attack on the dark squares.}) (20... Qxd7 {stumbles into the magic:} 21. Bb4+ Ke8 22. Qxf6 $1) 21. Bxg7+ Ke8 22. Qf4 {with an unstoppable attack.}) 20... Nc5 21. Rxd8+ Rxd8 22. Qh4 {As if nothing happened, Xu resumes the attack.} Be4 {Finally, Inarkiev challenges the bishop, however...} ({Had he known what was about to happen, he might have chosen} 22... Rc8 {although this should not have changed the final outcome.}) 23. Rxg7 $3 {No mercy in the second window of opportunity!} Kxg7 ({ Black could have also tried to checkmate, for a change. But he will be one tempo short:} 23... Bxc2 24. Bxf6 Rd1+ ({After} 24... Qd7 25. Nd4 {is the simplest win.}) 25. Ke2 Qd6 ({In case of} 25... Qd7 26. Rg8+ $1 Kxg8 27. Qg3+ { The king lacks an escape square on d7 and Black faces heavy material losses:} Bg6 (27... Kf8 28. Qg7+ Ke8 29. Qg8#) 28. Qb8+) 26. Be7+ $1 {winning the queen after} Qxe7 27. Rg8+) 24. Bxe4 Ncd7 ({If Black trades more pieces, the pin will be still unbearable even in the endgame:} 24... Ncxe4 25. Qxe4 Qd6 26. Qd4 $1 Qxd4 27. Bxd4 {Now White threatens all sorts of knight pickings, like Nf3-h2-g4 or the kingside pawn advance. The only way to break the pin is:} e5 ( {The knight endgame is obviously lost:} 27... Rxd4 28. Nxd4 Nxh5) 28. Nxe5 Kf8 29. Bxb6 {But that leaves Black poor and pawnless.}) 25. Ne5 $1 {The decisive reinforcement.} Rc8 ({Otherwise the pin is unbearable:} 25... Nxe5 26. Bxe5 Rc8 27. Qg3+ Kh8 28. Qf4 Kg7 29. g4 {with g4-g5 coming.}) 26. Nxd7 Rxc3 {This bishop costed Black too dearly.} 27. Qg3+ {Winning a whole piece.} ({Less precise is:} 27. bxc3 Qxd7) 27... Kh8 28. Nxf6 Qxf6 29. bxc3 Qxc3+ 30. Ke2 f5 31. Bd3 Qb2+ 32. Kf3 Qxa3 33. Qe5+ Kh7 34. Qc7+ Kg8 35. Qd8+ Kf7 36. Bc4 Qa4 37. Qc8 (37. Qc7+ Kf6 38. Kf4 {would have the need to calculate, but Xu is in control.}) 37... Qd1+ 38. Kf4 ({Or} 38. Kg3 Qg4+ 39. Kh2 Qxh5+ 40. Kg1 Qd1+ 41. Bf1) 38... Qd6+ 39. Kf3 Qd1+ 40. Be2 Qd5+ 41. Kg3 Qe5+ 42. Kh3 Qb2 43. Bc4 Qe5 44. Qd7+ Kf6 45. Qd8+ Kf7 46. Qxb6 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.14"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Dubov, Daniil"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2702"] [BlackElo "2699"] [PlyCount "136"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 Nf6 6. Re1 O-O 7. h3 Qb6 8. a4 ( 8. Na3 d5 9. e5 Ne8 10. d4 cxd4 11. cxd4 Nc7 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Bg5 Re8 { Shirov, A (2658)-Fedoseev,V (2681) Riga 2019}) 8... a6 9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. e5 {N} (10. a5 Qc7 11. d3 d5 12. e5 Nd7 13. Bf4 f6 14. exf6 Qxf4 15. fxg7 Rf7 16. Nbd2 Kxg7 {Majeric,Z (2366)-Kosztolanczi,G (2230) Ajka 2004}) 10... Nd5 11. a5 Qd8 12. d3 d6 13. Qa4 dxe5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. Rxe5 Qd6 16. Re1 Bf5 17. Na3 Rfe8 18. Nc4 Qc7 19. Be3 Nxe3 20. Rxe3 Rad8 21. Ne5 f6 22. Qxc6 Qd6 23. Qxd6 exd6 24. Ng4 Rxe3 25. fxe3 Rb8 26. Nxf6+ Kg7 27. Nd5 Rxb2 28. e4 Bd7 29. Rf1 Be6 30. Nc7 Bd7 31. Nxa6 Rb7 32. c4 Be8 33. e5 Ra7 34. Nb8 Rb7 35. Na6 Ra7 36. Nb8 Rb7 37. exd6 $3 {An early candidate for Move of the Tournament.} Rxb8 38. Re1 Kf8 ({ The alternative was to play more actively:} 38... Bc6 39. a6 Kf6) 39. Re7 Rd8 40. a6 Rxd6 41. a7 Rd8 (41... Ra6 42. Rc7 Ra2 43. Kh2 Ra3 44. Kg3 Rxd3+ 45. Kf4 Ra3 46. Ke5) 42. Rb7 Bc6 43. Rc7 Be8 44. Kf2 {The white rook and pawn dominate Black's position completely, and bringing the king will do the rest.} g5 45. Ke3 h6 46. g3 Bg6 47. Rb7 Rxd3+ 48. Kf2 Ra3 49. Rb8+ Kg7 50. a8=Q Rxa8 51. Rxa8 Bd3 52. Ra4 Kf6 53. Ke3 Bf1 54. h4 gxh4 55. gxh4 Ke5 56. Ra6 Bxc4 57. Rxh6 Be6 58. Rg6 Bf5 59. Rg1 Kf6 60. h5 Bh7 61. h6 Bg6 62. Kd2 Kf7 63. Kc3 Kf6 64. Kc4 Bf7+ 65. Kxc5 Bg6 66. Kd6 Kf7 67. Ke5 Bd3 68. Rg7+ Kf8 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.14"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Anton Guijarro, David"] [Black "Wei, Yi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2674"] [BlackElo "2721"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 h5 (3... g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. e3 Nge7 6. Nge2 O-O 7. O-O d6 8. d3 Rb8 9. b3 a6 {Ding,L (2805)-Caruana,F (2818) Saint Louis 2019}) 4. h3 d6 5. Nc3 h4 6. g4 f5 7. gxf5 Bxf5 8. d3 Nf6 {N} (8... Qd7 9. e4 Be6 10. Nge2 g6 11. Be3 Bg7 12. Qd2 a6 13. f4 Nge7 14. Nd5 Nd4 {Moor,R (2392)-Degtiarev,E (2425) Switzerland 2015}) 9. Nf3 Be7 10. d4 Qd7 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Qxd7+ Nxd7 13. O-O O-O-O 14. Nd5 Bf6 15. Be3 e4 16. Nd2 Rhe8 17. Nxf6 gxf6 18. Rac1 Nf8 19. Nb1 Bh7 20. Nc3 f5 21. Nd5 Ne6 22. Rcd1 Rf8 23. f4 Rd7 24. Bf2 Rg7 25. Bxh4 Ncd4 26. Rd2 c6 27. Ne3 (27. Kh1 $1 {would have been a nice move here. The computer likes White.} cxd5 28. cxd5 {wins back a piece.}) 27... Bg6 28. Kh2 Bh5 29. Rf2 Rd7 30. Bf1 a5 31. Ng2 a4 32. Kh1 Rh7 33. Bg5 c5 34. h4 Re8 35. Ne3 Reh8 36. Rh2 $6 {From this point Wei Yi takes over the game.} (36. Bf6 Rg8 37. Rg2 {was still a bit better for White.}) 36... Nxg5 37. fxg5 $2 ({White didn't need to be afraid of} 37. hxg5 Bf3+ 38. exf3 Nxf3 39. Rxh7 Rxh7+ 40. Kg2 Rh2+ 41. Kg3 Rxd2 {because of} 42. Bh3 Kd8 43. g6 Ke7 44. Bxf5 Re2 45. Nd5+ Kf8 46. Bxe4 Rxe4 47. Kxf3 Rxc4 {=}) 37... f4 38. Nd5 e3 39. Rxd4 {A sad necessity.} ( 39. Rd1 f3) (39. Rd3 Bg6) 39... cxd4 40. Nxf4 Be8 41. Kg2 Rxh4 42. Rxh4 Rxh4 43. Kg3 Rh1 44. Bh3+ Kc7 45. Ne6+ Kd6 46. Nxd4 Rb1 47. Kf4 Rxb2 48. Bf5 Rxa2 49. g6 a3 50. g7 Bf7 51. Bh7 Rxe2 52. Nb5+ Kc5 53. Nxa3 Ra2 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2019.09.15"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Safarli, Eltaj"] [Black "Nihal Sarin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2593"] [BlackElo "2610"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "121"] [EventDate "2019.09.07"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "1500+10"] 1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nc6 { [%emt 0:00:00]} 3. Bc4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Bc5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 4. c3 {0 No Evans Gambit this time!} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 5. b4 $5 {0 Safarli remembers the magic formula! b4 has to be played. This is not as popular as d3 or d4 but has been played many times before.} Be7 {87} (5... Bb6 {is another possibility.}) 6. d3 {[%emt 0:00:05]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:32]} 7. O-O {[%emt 0:00:03]} d5 { [%emt 0:00:51]} 8. exd5 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Nxd5 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 9. Re1 {[%emt 0: 00:05]} Bg4 {[%emt 0:00:15]} (9... Bf6 {Looked like a solid way to continue.} 10. b5 Na5 11. Nxe5 Nxc4 12. dxc4 Nb6 $15) 10. h3 {[%emt 0:00:17]} Bh5 { [%emt 0:00:15]} 11. b5 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Na5 {[%emt 0:00:55]} 12. Rxe5 {[%emt 0: 00:04]} Nf6 {79} (12... Nxc4 13. Rxh5 (13. dxc4 Nf6 14. Qxd8 Bxd8 15. Nbd2 $16) ) 13. Nbd2 {706 Black has lost a pawn but in return he has excellent compensation. White's position is a bit overstretched.} Bd6 {128} 14. Re1 { [%emt 0:00:08]} Re8 $5 {78 A very interesting move and not the first move that comes to mind. Usually you want to connect your rooks with Qd7 and then challenge on the open file. But it turns out that ...Re8 is a pretty good move. } (14... Qd7 $5) 15. g4 {257 Somehow it felt like White was taking too much of a liberty with this move. His king is also weakened.} Bg6 {[%emt 0:00:36]} 16. d4 {87} Nxc4 {151} 17. Nxc4 Qd7 (17... Rxe1+ $1 18. Qxe1 Qd7 19. Nce5 Qxb5 20. c4 Qa4 $1 $11) 18. Nce5 {165} (18. a4 Nxg4 $1 $17) 18... Qxb5 {54 Black has recovered the pawn and should be even. White's knights in the centre are what hold his position together. Black would like to get rid of them, but it is not so easy.} 19. c4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Qa6 {[%emt 0:00:29]} 20. Be3 {183} Rad8 {371} (20... c5 $5) 21. Qb3 {[%emt 0:00:11]} c5 {339} 22. Nxg6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} cxd4 {102} 23. Bxd4 {[%emt 0:00:01]} hxg6 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 24. Rxe8+ {[%emt 0:00:01] } Rxe8 {[%emt 0:00:20]} 25. Qb5 {27 Nihal didn't want to take on b5 and straighten White's structure to some extent, but that would have given him an easy draw.} Rc8 $6 {68} (25... Qxb5 26. cxb5 b6 $11 (26... a6 $11)) 26. Rd1 { 141} (26. Qxa6 bxa6 27. Rc1 {The c-pawn looks more of a strength here than a weakness.}) 26... Bf4 {[%emt 0:00:21]} 27. Qxa6 bxa6 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 28. Be5 $1 {124 A powerful idea found by Eltaj.} Bxe5 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 29. Nxe5 { 1 After this Black is in trouble from multiple fronts. His back rank is slightly weak. The knight on e5 is solidly placed with f4 coming up. The pawns on a-file are weak and the c pawn is turning into more of strength than a weakness.} Kf8 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 30. Rd6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} a5 {[%emt 0:00:16]} 31. Ra6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Rc5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 32. f4 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Rc7 { [%emt 0:00:11]} 33. Rxa5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Ne4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} (33... Nd7 { was perhaps better.}) 34. Kg2 {[%emt 0:00:13]} g5 {[%emt 0:00:16]} 35. fxg5 { [%emt 0:00:42]} Nxg5 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 36. c5 {[%emt 0:00:18]} Ne6 {[%emt 0:00: 20]} 37. Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:00:13]} (37... Rxc5 38. Nd7+ $18) ( 37... Nxc5 38. Rxc5 Rxc5 39. Nd7+ $18) 38. Nd3 {[%emt 0:00:16]} Kd7 {[%emt 0: 00:12]} 39. h4 {[%emt 0:00:09]} f6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 40. Ke4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 41. a3 {[%emt 0:00:17]} Nd8 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 42. Nf4 { [%emt 0:00:03]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 43. Nd5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Rd7 {[%emt 0:00: 02]} 44. Ra6 {19 Safarli's technique was impeccable. From a slightly better position, he has converted this into a complete win.} Ne6 {[%emt 0:00:17]} 45. Rc6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} g6 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 46. Rc8 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Rb7 {[%emt 0: 00:16]} 47. c6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Rb1 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 48. Ra8 {[%emt 0:00:24]} Re1+ {[%emt 0:00:13]} 49. Ne3 {[%emt 0:00:09]} f5+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} 50. gxf5 { [%emt 0:00:02]} gxf5+ {[%emt 0:00:01]} 51. Kd3 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Nf4+ {[%emt 0: 00:20]} (51... f4 52. Rxa7+ Kg6 53. Ng4 Kf5 {would give Black better fighting chances, but the position is lost all the same.}) 52. Kd2 {[%emt 0:00:27]} Re2+ 53. Kd1 Rxe3 {[%emt 0:00:26]} 54. c7 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Rc3 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 55. c8=Q {[%emt 0:00:03]} Rxc8 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 56. Rxc8 {1 The rest is easy.} Kg6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 57. Ra8 {[%emt 0:00:16]} Kh5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 58. Rxa7 { [%emt 0:00:01]} Kxh4 59. a4 Nd5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 60. a5 {[%emt 0:00:03]} f4 { [%emt 0:00:01]} 61. Ke2 {28 Safarli took a 1-0 lead in the match. Now Nihal was in a must-win situation.} 1-0 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2019.09.15"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Yu, Yangyi"] [Black "Adhiban, B....."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B93"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2639"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2019.09.07"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "1500+10"] {Playing for a win with the black pieces against Yu Yangyi is never easy.} 1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} c5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} d6 {[%emt 0:00: 00]} 3. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} cxd4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 4. Nxd4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 5. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} a6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 6. f4 {19 When you play the Najdorf with Black White always has at his disposal certain sharp lines which can end in a theoretical draw. Here Adhiban has to be careful as he has to win at all costs.} Qc7 {[%emt 0:00:51]} 7. Bd3 {[%emt 0:00:40]} g6 { [%emt 0:00:06]} 8. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:50]} Bg7 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 9. O-O {[%emt 0: 00:10]} Nbd7 {[%emt 0:00:37]} 10. Qe1 {[%emt 0:00:29]} O-O {121} 11. Kh1 { [%emt 0:00:03]} e5 {180} 12. a4 {71} (12. Qh4 b5 13. fxe5 dxe5 14. Bh6 { is well known theory.}) 12... Nc5 {104} 13. Qh4 {[%emt 0:00:55]} exf4 {81} 14. Bxf4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Be6 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 15. e5 $6 {78} (15. Ng5 {keeping the pressure was better.}) 15... Nh5 $1 {373} 16. exd6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Qd8 { [%emt 0:00:01]} 17. Bg5 {256} f6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 18. Be3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Qxd6 $2 {[%emt 0:00:25]} (18... Nxd3 19. cxd3 Qxd6 20. Ne4 Qd5 $15) 19. Bc4 { [%emt 0:00:21]} Rae8 {265} 20. Rad1 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Qc7 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 21. Bd5 {67} (21. Rfe1 Bxc4 22. Qxc4+ Ne6 23. Qxc7 Nxc7 24. g4 $18) 21... Bxd5 {63} 22. Nxd5 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Qc6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 23. Qc4 {141} (23. Qb4 {The idea is to attack the c5 knight and at the same time threaten g4.} Nd7 24. g4 $18) 23... Ne6 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 24. Qb3 {[%emt 0:00:01]} f5 {112} 25. Nd4 { [%emt 0:00:09]} Nxd4 {[%emt 0:00:29]} 26. Bxd4 {[%emt 0:00:15]} Kh8 {[%emt 0: 00:02]} 27. Bxg7+ {[%emt 0:00:27]} Nxg7 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 28. Rde1 {71} g5 { [%emt 0:00:25]} 29. c4 {[%emt 0:00:21]} f4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 30. a5 {[%emt 0:00: 40]} Rxe1 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 31. Rxe1 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Re8 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 32. Rxe8+ {80} Qxe8 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 33. Qc3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Qe2 {153} 34. h3 { [%emt 0:00:17]} Kg8 {[%emt 0:00:25]} 35. Qf6 {[%emt 0:00:22]} Qe1+ {[%emt 0:00: 21]} 36. Kh2 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Qg3+ {[%emt 0:00:19]} 37. Kh1 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Qe1+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} 38. Kh2 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Qg3+ {[%emt 0:00:01]} 39. Kh1 { [%emt 0:00:01]} Qe1+ {[%emt 0:00:11]} 40. Kh2 {1 With this draw Yu Yangyi advanced to round three. Adhiban was knocked out.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.09.15"] [Round "12.13"] [White "Matlakov, Maxim"] [Black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2716"] [BlackElo "2686"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 g6 8. Be2 ( {A highly exciting battle emerged after} 8. Ne5 Bg7 9. f4 Nd7 10. h4 Qe7 11. Qc2 O-O 12. O-O-O Nxe5 13. fxe5 Bd7 14. g4 f6 15. Qxg6 fxe5 16. Bd3 e4 17. Nxe4 Be8 18. Nf6+ Rxf6 19. Qh7+ Kf8 20. g5 hxg5 21. hxg5 Rf7 22. Qh3 Rd8 23. g6 Rf6 24. Qh8+ Bxh8 25. Rxh8+ Kg7 26. Rh7+ Kf8 27. Rh8+ Kg7 28. Rh7+ Kf8 29. Rh8+ { 1/2 Mamedyarov,S (2764)-Giri,A (2779) Saint Louis 2019}) 8... Bg7 9. O-O O-O 10. Ne5 c5 11. cxd5 cxd4 12. exd4 exd5 13. Bf3 Nc6 14. Re1 Qd6 15. Nxf7 { N A rich novelty. Gelfand was definitely aware of it as he quickly picked up the correct continuation.} ({All of this had happened before and an email game went} 15. Nxd5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Bxe5 17. g3 Be6 18. Qb3 Rad8 19. Rad1 Qb8 20. Qe3 Bg7 21. b3 Rfe8 22. Qc1 Kh7 23. Nf4 Rc8 24. Qa3 Bf5 25. Rxe8 Rxe8 26. Qb4 b6 { 1/2 Rodriguez,L (2107)-Ramos,E (2262) ICCF email 2016}) 15... Rxf7 16. Bxd5 Bf5 ({Worse is} 16... Bd7 17. Bxf7+ Kxf7 18. Nb5 Qb4 ({Black gets under nasty attack if he opts for} 18... Qf6 19. Qb3+ Kf8 20. Re3) 19. Qf3+ Kg8 20. Qd5+ Kh7 ({Or} 20... Kh8 21. Qxd7 Qxb5 22. d5 Nd4 (22... Rd8 23. Re8+ $1) 23. Qxb5 Nxb5 24. Re7 {with a clearly better endgame for White.}) 21. Qxd7 Qxb5 22. Re7 Rg8 23. Qxb7 {In comparison to the game Black lacks the additional chances related to the weak white king.}) (16... Qf4 17. Qb3 Qxf2+ 18. Kh1 Nxd4 19. Qc4 (19. Bxf7+ Qxf7 20. Re8+ Bf8 21. Rxf8+ Kxf8 22. Qb4+)) 17. g4 {A forced weakening.} ({As otherwise there is no visible follow-up of the attack in case of} 17. Bxf7+ Kxf7 18. Nb5 Qb4) 17... Bd7 18. Bxf7+ Kxf7 19. Nb5 Qb4 20. Qf3+ Kg8 21. Qd5+ Kh7 22. Qxd7 Qxb5 23. Re7 ({Not:} 23. d5 $2 Rd8 24. Qe6 Nd4 { with a decisive counter-attack.}) 23... Rg8 24. Rae1 {The end of the forcing line.} ({Due to the kingside weakening Matlakov can no longer liquidate into a favorable endgame:} 24. Qxb7 Qg5 25. Rxg7+ Rxg7 26. Qxc6 Qxg4+ 27. Qg2 Qxd4 { is equal.}) 24... Qxb2 ({The other move which deserved serious consideration was} 24... Qg5 $5 25. Rf7 ({True, White does not need to repeat and can keep on playing with} 25. Re8 {Then} Rxe8 26. Rxe8 Nxd4 27. Kf1) 25... Nd8 26. Rfe7 Nc6 {leads to repetition of the moves.}) 25. Qxb7 Qc2 ({Once more, it made sense to keep the queen close to the enemy king with} 25... Qc3 {Then} 26. Qc7 (26. R1e3 Qa1+ 27. Re1 {is only repetition.}) 26... Qf3 {looks annoying for White. In any case he would not have enough time to seize the seventh rank.}) 26. Qc7 Qa4 27. Qd7 ({It is too early for} 27. Rf7 Nxd4 28. Ree7 $2 Qd1+ { when Black attacks first.}) 27... Qc4 28. Rf7 Nxd4 29. Ree7 Kh8 ({The endgame after} 29... Qc1+ 30. Kg2 Qc6+ 31. f3 $1 Qxd7 32. Rxd7 {is very difficult for Black. He is practically paralized and the rook and the pawn are as a rule stronger than the minor pieces in the battle on two flanks.}) 30. Kg2 $1 { A very cool move, sidestepping the knight check and asking Black what is he doing.} (30. Rxg7 Rxg7 31. Rxg7 Nf3+ 32. Kg2 Ne1+ 33. Kg1 Nf3+ {would lead to a forcing draw instead.}) 30... Nc2 {The knight leaves the center. A bad sign for Gelfand.} ({However, it is understandable that he still does not like the endgame after} 30... Qc6+ 31. Qxc6 Nxc6 32. Re4) ({Most stubborn, however, is to use the same "sticking" idea from before} 30... Qc3 {The queen is ready for perpetual all the time:} 31. Rxg7 ({Therefore White will need to try and play for the win with} 31. Re8 Rxe8 32. Qxe8+ Kh7 33. Qe4 {when the white pieces are dominating, but the black ones are lurking in the grass, waiting for a good moment to come.}) 31... Qf3+) 31. Qe6 Qd3 ({If the endgame was very bad for Black, here it is simply unplayable.} 31... Qxe6 32. Rxe6 g5 33. Rxa7) 32. Re8 $1 {Matlakov wins material.} Rxe8 33. Qxe8+ Kh7 34. Qe5 Ne1+ 35. Qxe1 { Forced but good.} (35. Kg1 $2 Nf3+) 35... Qd5+ ({The last chance was:} 35... Qc4 36. Rf3 Qxg4+ 37. Rg3 Qc4 {although White should win here as well.}) 36. Rf3 Qxa2 37. Qe4 1-0 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE World Cup"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.09.16"] [Round "19.9"] [White "Xu, Xiangyu"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2576"] [BlackElo "2759"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 (3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 {was the move order of the game Chatalbashev,B (2552)-Docx,S (2427) Gent 2017 below.}) 3... Bb4 4. Nf3 d5 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 (7. Bd2 {is the main line.}) 7... b6 ({The very solid line} 7... Bd6 8. c5 Be7 9. Bb5 Bd7 10. O-O a6 11. Bxc6 Bxc6 12. b4 Ne4 13. Ne5 Qe8 14. Nxc6 Qxc6 15. a4 Nxc3 16. Qxc3 Qd7 17. Bd2 c6 {led eventually to a draw in Mamedyarov,S (2765)-Dubov,D (2700) Paris 2019}) 8. Bd2 Bb7 { This leads to an already fresh position. According to my Megabase only two games have been played in the line.} ({In one of his previous games the Russian GM chose} 8... a5 9. Bd3 Ba6 10. cxd5 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 exd5 12. Rc1 Ne7 { Vitiugov,N (2718)-Grischuk,A (2751) Novi Sad 2016}) 9. a3 (9. cxd5 exd5 10. Bd3 Bd6 {was Chatalbashev,B (2552)-Docx,S (2427) Gent 2017}) 9... Bd6 10. cxd5 { The first lenghthy thought by the Chinese player.} exd5 11. Bd3 a6 12. Ne2 { N This novelty has been played after almost half an hour of thought.} ({ Both predecessors saw} 12. O-O {when Black opted for either} Nb8 ({Or} 12... Re8 13. b4 Nb8 14. b5 a5 15. a4 Nbd7 {Chatalbashev,B (2552)-Docx,S (2427) Gent 2017}) 13. b4 Qe7 14. Rfb1 Re8 15. a4 c6 16. Ne5 Bxe5 17. dxe5 Qxe5 18. Ne2 { Tabatabaei,M (2590)-Alekseev,E (2639) Bandar e Anzali 2019}) 12... Ne7 13. Bc3 {Xu stops the c7-c5 advance...} ({There is no time for} 13. Ng3 c5) 13... Ne4 $1 {...but allows another unpleasant move. If the knight is left where it is the kingside attack will run smoothly.} 14. Bxe4 {Therefore White ventures into a risky line.} ({Objectively speaking:} 14. O-O {should have been preferred.}) 14... dxe4 15. Ng5 {Black loses a pawn, but in the process all his long-ranged pieces are freed.} Nd5 {A cautious move. Grischuk makes sure there will be no long-ranged pieces eyeing his king.} ({Also interesting was} 15... Nf5 16. Nxe4 Qh4 17. N4g3 (17. N2g3 Nxe3 $1 {as below.}) 17... Nxg3 18. fxg3 (18. Nxg3 Bxg2 {would be similar to the game except that instead of a knight there is a bishop on c3.}) 18... Qe7 {with good compensation for a pawn. }) 16. Nxe4 Qh4 17. N4g3 ({Worse is} 17. N2g3 $2 Nxe3 $1 18. fxe3 Bxe4 { with a clear advantage for Black.}) ({The other forcing line also favors the second player:} 17. Nxd6 Nxe3 $1 18. Qd3 Nxg2+ 19. Kf1 Nf4 20. Nf5 ({Or} 20. Nxf4 Bxh1) 20... Nxd3 21. Nxh4 Bxh1 {as the black knight cannot be trapped:} 22. Rd1 g5) 17... Nxc3 18. Nxc3 Bxg2 {Black regains the pawn, however now some files are opened against his king. It all gets very, very sharp.} 19. Rg1 Bf3 $1 ({More open files mean more problems for Black:} 19... Qxh2 20. O-O-O Bf3 { White can already regain the material with} 21. Rh1 ({Or play for attack with} 21. Nf5 $5) ({Or} 21. Rde1 $5) 21... Bxh1 22. Rxh1 Bxg3 23. Rxh2 Bxh2) 20. Nf5 Qxh2 21. Rxg7+ Kh8 {All of this was forced and Xu hurries to bring on the reserves with} 22. Ne4 ({The other option was} 22. Ne2 {when Black can practically force a draw with} Rg8 ({Or play on with} 22... Qh5 23. Neg3 ({Not } 23. Nxd6 Kxg7) 23... Bxg3 24. Rxg3 Qh1+ 25. Kd2 Qxa1 26. Rxf3 {with compensation for the exchange.}) 23. Rxg8+ Rxg8 24. Nxd6 cxd6 25. Qf5 Rg1+ 26. Nxg1 Qxg1+ 27. Kd2 Qxa1 28. Qf6+ Kg8 29. Qd8+ Kg7 30. Qg5+ {and perpetual.}) 22... Bh5 {Black on his turn hurries to bring on the reserves and hopes to trap the rook.} ({Grischuk avoids the devilish trap} 22... Qh1+ $2 23. Kd2 Qxa1 ({Even worse is} 23... Bxe4 24. Rxh1 Bxc2 25. Rhxh7#) 24. Nf6 Qh1 25. Rxh7+ Qxh7 26. Nxh7 Kxh7 27. Nxd6+ {when White should win.}) ({However, safer was} 22... Rg8 23. Rxg8+ Rxg8 24. Kd2 Rg6) 23. Nf6 Bg6 {The point. It should be said that the previous play exhausted both players' clocks. Especially White's. } 24. O-O-O {According to the computer, this most natural move is a mistake. There is a huge difference if the white king is on d2 or c1!} ({The machine finds this play best:} 24. Qe4 $1 Qh3 25. Rxh7+ $3 Bxh7 26. Nxh7 Qxh7 ({Instead } 26... Kxh7 $2 {loses after} 27. Nxd6+ Kg8 28. Kd2 cxd6 29. Rg1+) ({However} 26... Rae8 $5 {is possible with unclear endgame after} 27. Ng5 Rxe4 28. Nxh3) 27. Kd2 Rae8 28. Qf3 {Ra1-h1 is a major threat, which means that Black's next move is forced} Bh2 $1 29. Rh1 Rg8 $1 {The threat is Rg8-g1, but White has} 30. Ne7 $3 Rxe7 31. Qf6+ Rg7 32. Qxe7 {Then} Qh5 {is well met with} (32... Rg2 33. Qf8+ Rg8 34. Qe7 {only repeats moves.}) 33. Qe8+ Rg8 ({Not:} 33... Kh7 $2 34. Qe5 $1) 34. Qe5+ Qxe5 35. dxe5 Rg2 36. Ke2 Kg7 37. Kf3 Rg5 38. Rxh2 Rxe5 { with a drawn rook endgame!!}) 24... Be7 {A blunder says the computer, but apparently both players believed it was already over for White.} ({On his turn, Grischuk misses the computer idea:} 24... Qh3 $3 25. Rxh7+ Bxh7 26. Nxh7 Qxh7 27. Qe4 Rae8 28. Qf3 (28. Qg2 Rg8 {loses a vital tempo.}) 28... Bh2 29. Rh1 Rg8 {Now in comparison to before, the line} 30. Ne7 Rxe7 31. Qf6+ Rg7 32. Qxe7 Qh5 33. Qe8+ Rg8 34. Qe5+ Qxe5 35. dxe5 {no longer works as} Rg1+ $1 {is a check. This is where the difference between 0-0-0 and Kd2 becomes evident.}) 25. Qc6 { With seconds on the clock Xu misses a win!} ({The following brilliant stuff} 25. Rxh7+ $3 Bxh7 26. Nxh7 Qxh7 27. Qe4 Bd6 28. Rh1 Bh2 29. Qg2 {would have won the game for him.}) ({Moreover} 25. Ng4 Qh5 26. Rxg6 {was also far from clear, and even worse for White after} fxg6 ({Or} 26... hxg6 27. Nxe7 Qxg4 28. d5) 27. Nxe7 Qxg4 28. Rh1 Rf6 29. Qxc7 {White definitely has enough for the exchange.}) (25. Rxg6 hxg6 26. Ng4 {would have transposed to the line from above.}) 25... Bxf5 26. Rdg1 {The last attempt. It could easily have worked in time trouble.} Bg6 ({For instance, an obvious move like} 26... Bd6 $2 {would reveal White's idea:} 27. R7g2 $1 Qh3 28. Qxa8 $1 Rxa8 29. Rg8+ Rxg8 30. Rxg8#) ({The aforementioned line worked only because the black queen was removed from the rook. It would not work after} 26... Qxf2 27. Qxa8 Qxg1+ $1) 27. R1xg6 hxg6 28. Rh7+ Qxh7 29. Nxh7 Kxh7 {The extra material wins easily. The only task is to reach the time-control.} 30. Kd2 Bd6 31. e4 Rad8 32. Ke3 Rfe8 33. f4 (33. e5 Re6 34. f4 Kg7 {leads to the same.}) 33... Re6 34. e5 Kg7 ({Not the hasty} 34... Bxe5 $2 35. Qh1+) 35. Qb7 c5 36. d5 ({Or} 36. Qxb6 Bxe5 37. Qxd8 Bf6+) 36... Re7 37. Qxb6 Bxe5 $1 38. fxe5 (38. Qxd8 Bf6+ {and whereever the king goes there's a discovery check.}) 38... Rxe5+ 39. Kf3 Rexd5 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.16"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Alekseenko, Kirill"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2671"] [BlackElo "2746"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 h6 8. Re1 O-O 9. h3 Re8 ({It's probably better to avoid White's queenside expansion with} 9... a5 10. Nbd2 Be6 11. Bb5 Na7 12. d4 Nxb5 13. dxc5 Na7 14. b3 Re8 15. cxd6 Qxd6 16. Ba3 c5 {Carlsen,M (2882)-So,W (2776) Saint Louis 2019}) 10. a5 Ba7 11. Qb3 {N This logical move is a novelty.} (11. Nbd2 Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6 13. Nc4 d5 14. exd5 Qxd5 15. Ne3 Bxe3 16. Bxe3 Rd8 {Nevednichy,V (2541)-Foisor,C (2360) Medias 2016}) 11... Qe7 12. Be3 Bxe3 13. Rxe3 Rb8 14. d4 b5 15. axb6 cxb6 16. Nbd2 b5 17. Bf1 Qc7 18. d5 $1 Ne7 19. c4 b4 (19... bxc4 20. Qa3 $1) 20. Qa4 Nd7 21. Qa5 Qxa5 22. Rxa5 f5 23. Nb3 $1 fxe4 24. Nfd2 Nf6 25. Nxe4 Nxe4 26. Rxe4 Bf5 27. Re1 Bc2 28. Nd2 Nf5 29. Rxa6 Red8 30. Rea1 Nd4 31. Ra7 Rf8 32. R1a6 Rbd8 33. Rb6 b3 34. Rbb7 g5 35. c5 dxc5 36. Bc4 Rf6 37. Re7 Kf8 38. Rxe5 Rf7 39. Ra6 Kg7 40. f3 Rdd7 41. d6 Rf8 42. Rxc5 Rfd8 43. Rd5 Nf5 44. Bxb3 Ne3 45. Re5 Rxd6 46. Rxd6 Rxd6 47. Rxe3 Rxd2 48. Bxc2 Rxc2 49. Rb3 h5 50. h4 gxh4 51. Kh2 Rc1 52. Rb4 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.16"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Yuffa, Daniil"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B11"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2577"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 e6 6. Be2 Bc5 7. O-O Ne7 8. Qg3 (8. Na4 Bd6 9. d4 dxe4 10. Qxe4 Nd7 11. Rd1 O-O 12. Qf3 Qa5 13. Nc3 Nf6 14. Ne4 Nxe4 15. Qxe4 Rad8 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2783)-Mamedyarov,S (2784) Paris 2017 }) 8... O-O 9. d3 Nd7 10. Kh1 {N} (10. exd5 cxd5 11. Bf4 Nf5 12. Qh2 Nd4 13. Bd1 b5 14. Ne2 Nxe2+ 15. Bxe2 Qb6 16. Qg3 Rfe8 17. Bh6 Bf8 18. c3 Nf6 {Elez,N (2168)-Bodiroga,P (2358) Kac 2014}) 10... f5 $5 11. Bg5 Bd4 (11... Kh8) 12. Qd6 Bf6 13. f4 Rf7 ({Better was} 13... Kh8 $1 {with the idea} 14. Qxe6 $2 Nc5) 14. Bxf6 Rxf6 15. e5 Rf7 16. d4 {This is pleasant for White.} Nc8 17. Qb4 Qb6 18. a3 c5 (18... a5 $5) 19. Qxb6 Ncxb6 20. Nb5 Re7 21. b3 cxd4 22. Nxd4 Nc5 23. g4 Ne4 24. Rg1 {White got everything he wanted and is clearly better now.} Rf8 25. gxf5 exf5 26. h4 g6 27. Rg2 Kf7 28. h5 Rh8 29. Rag1 Ree8 30. a4 a6 31. a5 Nd7 32. c4 $1 ({Even better than} 32. e6+ Rxe6 33. Nxe6 Kxe6) 32... dxc4 33. e6+ Rxe6 34. Bxc4 Nf8 35. hxg6+ hxg6+ 36. Rh2 Rg8 37. Nxe6 Nxe6 38. Rh6 Nf2+ 39. Kg2 Ne4 40. Kh2 Nf2 41. Bxe6+ Kxe6 42. Rhxg6+ Rxg6 43. Rxg6+ Kd7 44. Rb6 Kc7 45. Kg3 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2019.09.16"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Alekseenko, Kirill"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2671"] [BlackElo "2746"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2019.09.07"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"] 1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nc6 { [%emt 0:00:00]} 3. Bc4 {[%emt 0:00:22]} Bc5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 4. O-O {[%emt 0: 00:55]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 5. d3 {[%emt 0:00:23]} d6 {[%emt 0:00:36]} (5... O-O 6. c3 d6 7. h3 h6 8. Re1 a6 {1-0 (43) Carlsen,M (2882)-So,W (2776) Saint Louis 2019}) 6. c3 {[%emt 0:00:41]} a6 {[%emt 0:00:36]} 7. a4 {[%emt 0:00:41]} h6 {28 has been played a lot by Karjakin.} (7... Ba7 {is the main move in the position.} 8. Re1 O-O 9. h3 h6 10. Nbd2 Re8 11. b4 Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6 {with a typical Italian position.}) 8. Re1 {[%emt 0:00:33]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:18]} 9. h3 {[%emt 0:00:45]} Re8 {85 Black would like to play Be6 and exchange the bishops and take back on e6 with the rook. It's with this in mind that Black played ... Re8.} (9... a5 $5 {Karjakin likes to play this always claiming space on the queenside.} 10. Nbd2 Be6 11. Bb5 Na7 12. d4 Nxb5 13. dxc5 Na7 {This was seen in the recent game Carlsen vs So.} 14. b3 Re8 15. cxd6 Qxd6 16. Ba3 c5 17. Nc4 Qxd1 18. Raxd1 Bxc4 19. bxc4 {Carlsen went on to win this, but it seems like objectively this position is completely fine for Black. 1-0 (43) Carlsen,M (2882)-So,W (2776) Saint Louis 2019}) 10. a5 $5 {14 This is a new move in the position. Previously White has played Nbd2 here in over 40 games. The main point is that although a5 cramps the queenside, it still loses time and Black should be able to find a way to equalize.} Ba7 {169} (10... Be6 $5 {Maybe he was afraid of} 11. Bxe6 Rxe6 $1 (11... fxe6 12. b4 $14 {is already a slight edge for White.}) 12. d4 {It seems that Black is losing a piece, but there are still some tricks in the position.} exd4 13. cxd4 Bb4 14. d5 Bxe1 15. Nxe1 (15. dxe6 Bxa5 $17) 15... Rxe4 16. dxc6 bxc6 {Black has a rook and two pawns for two minor pieces. The position should be close to equal, or slightly better for White.}) 11. Qb3 {[%emt 0:00:21]} Qe7 {182} (11... Re7 12. Nbd2 (12. Be3 Bxe3 13. Rxe3 Rb8 {now d4 is not so easy to execute because the e4 pawn would hang in many lines. With the queen on e7 this resource was not available for Black.} 14. Nbd2 (14. d4 exd4 15. cxd4 Nxe4 $15) 14... Be6 15. Bxe6 Rxe6 16. d4 Re8 17. d5 Ne7 18. c4 {White is surely better, but without the b5/b6 moves there is one less headache for Black.}) 12... Rb8 13. Qa2 Be6 14. Bxe6 Rxe6 15. Nc4 {White has some pressure in the position, but Black should be fine.}) 12. Be3 {323} Bxe3 {683} 13. Rxe3 {267} Rb8 {95} 14. d4 $1 {341 No time for Be6.} b5 {196 At first this seems like a weak move because after enpassant you get a weakness on a6. But the question is what should black really do here? Don't you think he has landed into a passive position that is quite difficult to hold.} (14... exd4 15. cxd4 Nxe4 $2 16. Nc3 Bf5 17. Bd5 $1 $18 (17. Rae1 Nxa5 $15)) 15. axb6 {244} cxb6 {149 This exchange of a-pawn for the c-pawn is just positionally bad. Black should avoid it at all costs.} (15... Rxb6 {Although not so great, should have been tried.} 16. Qc2 $14 {White looks better, but this is much better than what happened in the game.}) 16. Nbd2 {335 Alekseenko completes his development.} b5 {222} 17. Bf1 {568} Qc7 {[%emt 0:00:58]} 18. d5 $1 {382} Ne7 {62} 19. c4 {41 White is just better. His pieces are so well placed and he also has the space advantage. Black on the other hand has nothing really going his way.} b4 {473} (19... Ng6 20. Rc3 $16) (19... bxc4 20. Qxc4 Qxc4 21. Nxc4 $16 {White's play is quite easy.}) 20. Qa4 {82} Nd7 {531} 21. Qa5 {[%emt 0:00:54]} Qxa5 {574} 22. Rxa5 {[%emt 0:00:38]} f5 {13 Harikrishna tries for some counterplay in this position, but all that White has to do is keep control. Positionally he is already winning.} (22... Nc5 23. Nb3 $1 (23. Nxe5 Nb7 24. Rxa6 dxe5 25. Nb3 $16 {Even after giving up a piece, White is still better.}) 23... Nxb3 24. Rxb3 $18 {White is just winning.}) 23. Nb3 {282} fxe4 {497} 24. Nfd2 {182} Nf6 {169} 25. Nxe4 {61} Nxe4 {81} 26. Rxe4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Bf5 {71 Hari decides to give up his a6 pawn for activity but this is not going to be sufficient.} 27. Re1 {72} Bc2 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 28. Nd2 {69} Nf5 {256} 29. Rxa6 {125} Red8 {88} 30. Rea1 {709} Nd4 {170} 31. Ra7 {92} Rf8 {319} 32. R1a6 {114} Rbd8 {290} 33. Rb6 {587 The rook is coming to b7 and the rooks doubled on the seventh rank is going to be extremely strong.} b3 { [%emt 0:00:29]} 34. Rbb7 {137} g5 {8 White has maximized his position. It is quite impressive to see how resolutely Alekseenko continues.} 35. c5 $1 {190} dxc5 {[%emt 0:00:23]} 36. Bc4 {[%emt 0:00:43]} Rf6 {173} 37. Re7 {68} Kf8 {156} 38. Rxe5 {[%emt 0:00:54]} Rf7 {168} 39. Ra6 {72} Kg7 {[%emt 0:00:46]} 40. f3 { [%emt 0:00:00]} Rdd7 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 41. d6 $1 {251} Rf8 {258} 42. Rxc5 { [%emt 0:00:29]} Rfd8 {133} 43. Rd5 {95} Nf5 {82} 44. Bxb3 {64} Ne3 {[%emt 0:00: 08]} 45. Re5 {298} Rxd6 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 46. Rxd6 {[%emt 0:00:20]} Rxd6 { [%emt 0:00:06]} 47. Rxe3 {[%emt 0:00:37]} Rxd2 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 48. Bxc2 { [%emt 0:00:04]} Rxc2 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 49. Rb3 {6 It's quite rare that Hari lands up in a rook endgame with two pawns down without a real fight.} h5 {113} 50. h4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} gxh4 {105} 51. Kh2 {[%emt 0:00:13]} Rc1 {[%emt 0:00:48] } 52. Rb4 {24 A tremendous game by Alekseenko.} 1-0 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2019.09.16"] [Round "3.1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2718"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "185"] [EventDate "2019.09.07"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} (2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 {1/2-1/2 (27) Wojtaszek,R (2722) -Vidit,S (2711) Prague 2019}) 2... d5 { [%emt 0:00:06]} 3. c4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 4. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00: 08]} Bb4 {11 Vidit has always loved to play the Ragozin.} 5. Qa4+ {[%emt 0:00: 16]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 6. e3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:17]} 7. Qc2 { [%emt 0:00:05]} Re8 {[%emt 0:00:41]} 8. Bd2 {[%emt 0:00:06]} a6 {[%emt 0:00:18] } 9. a3 {[%emt 0:00:15]} Bd6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 10. Rd1 {9 Wesley So tries to attack Vidit on his game that was played against Wojtaszek in March 2019.} Bd7 {1567 Vidit had already played this against Wojtaszek, yet took 26 minutes for the move. What was going through his head?} 11. h3 {99} (11. Bc1 dxc4 12. Bxc4 h6 13. O-O e5 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Nd5 Bd6 17. b4 Be6 18. g3 Nxd5 19. Bxd5 Bxd5 20. Rxd5 Qe7 $11 {1/2-1/2 (27) Wojtaszek,R (2722)-Vidit,S (2711) Prague 2019}) 11... h6 {827 A useful move in general.} (11... e5 $5 12. cxd5 ( 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Rxe5 14. cxd5 c6 $1 $11) 12... exd4 $1 13. dxc6 dxc3 14. Bxc3 Bxc6 $11 15. Ng5 $2 h6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Qh7+ Kf8 {is absolutely nothing for White.}) 12. c5 {549 Wesley makes quite a provocative choice.} Bf8 { [%emt 0:00:17]} 13. Ne5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Nxe5 $1 {[%emt 0:00:26]} 14. dxe5 { [%emt 0:00:06]} Ne4 {[%emt 0:00:17]} 15. Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} dxe4 {[%emt 0: 00:05]} 16. Ba5 {66} (16. Qxe4 Bc6 17. Qc2 Qg5 $44) 16... Qc8 $1 {259 Vidit now extricates himself from this slightly passive position very nicely.} 17. g4 {198} Bc6 {108} 18. Bg2 {[%emt 0:00:30]} Rd8 $1 {453} 19. Rxd8 {1284} (19. Bxe4 Rxd1+ 20. Kxd1 Qd7+ 21. Ke1 (21. Ke2 Bxe4 22. Qxe4 Qb5+ $19) 21... Bxe4 22. Qxe4 Rd8 $17) 19... Qxd8 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 20. Bxe4 {165} Bxe4 {62} 21. Qxe4 {64 } Bxc5 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 22. Qxb7 {262} Rb8 {[%emt 0:00:34]} 23. Qxc7 {[%emt 0: 00:09]} (23. Qxa6 Qd5 24. O-O Rxb2 $36) 23... Qxc7 {[%emt 0:00:44]} 24. Bxc7 { [%emt 0:00:04]} Rxb2 {627 Black is a pawn down, but White has no real way of clinging on to his extra material.} 25. O-O {172} Rc2 {[%emt 0:00:43]} (25... Bxa3 26. Ra1 Be7 $1 {Perhaps Vidit missed this.} 27. Rxa6 Bh4 28. f4 Bf2+ 29. Kg2 Bxe3+ 30. Kf3 Rb3 $11) 26. Bd6 {190} Bxd6 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 27. exd6 { [%emt 0:00:04]} Rd2 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 28. Rb1 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Rxd6 {[%emt 0:00: 07]} 29. Rb8+ {[%emt 0:00:04]} Kh7 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 30. Rb7 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Kg6 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 31. Ra7 {3 This rook endgame should no doubt be drawn, but it seems a big uncomfortable when your opponent's rook is more active than yours.} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:28]} (31... f5 $1 {Somehow after looking through the entire game, it seems as if the sooner Black deals with his issue of the kingside pawns, the better it is. Black should be fine here after Kf6 and g5.} 32. Kg2 Kf6 33. Kf3 g5 $11) 32. h4 {[%emt 0:00:16]} Rc6 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 33. Kg2 {85} g5 {500 I somehow felt this was a tension in the position that could not benefit Black because taking on h4 would leave him with a weakness on h6 and if he doesn't take then at all points he has to worry about h4-h5.} 34. Kg3 {[%emt 0:00:36]} gxh4+ {[%emt 0:00:25]} 35. Kxh4 {5 Vidit has no real problems going into this structure, believing in the soundness of his position.} Kg6 { [%emt 0:00:31]} 36. a4 {96} Rc2 {242} (36... f5 $1 {It was time to get active now.} 37. a5 fxg4 38. Kxg4 e5 {Black should be able to easily hold this.}) 37. Kg3 {[%emt 0:00:55]} Rc6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 38. a5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Kf6 {89} 39. e4 {208} Kg6 {221} 40. f3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 41. Kf4 {171} e5+ {630} 42. Kg3 {67} Kg7 {[%emt 0:00:36]} 43. Ra8 {[%emt 0:00:23]} Kh7 { [%emt 0:00:17]} 44. Rd8 {130} Kg7 {108} 45. Ra8 {178} Kh7 {118} 46. Kf2 {450} Kg7 {[%emt 0:00:45]} 47. Kg2 {[%emt 0:00:16]} Rc2+ {108} 48. Kg3 {[%emt 0:00: 16]} Rc6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 49. Ra7 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Kf8 {163} 50. Kf2 {144} Kg7 {[%emt 0:00:58]} 51. Kg2 {[%emt 0:00:43]} Rc2+ {[%emt 0:00:43]} 52. Kg3 { [%emt 0:00:06]} Rc6 {121} 53. Rd7 {[%emt 0:00:14]} Kf8 $6 {876} (53... Rc5 $1 { Now it is not so easy to calculate the pawn endgame after this, but after thorough analysis, one can conclude that this is a draw.} 54. Rd5 Rxd5 55. exd5 Kf8 56. f4 (56. Kh4 Ke7 57. Kh5 Kd6 58. Kxh6 Kxd5 59. Kg7 Ke6 60. Kf8 (60. g5 Kf5 $11) 60... Kf6 61. Ke8 Ke6 $11) 56... f6 (56... exf4+ 57. Kxf4 Ke7 58. Ke5 $18) 57. fxe5 fxe5 58. Kf3 Ke7 59. Ke3 Kd7 $11) 54. Rd5 {124} Re6 {[%emt 0:00: 06]} 55. Rc5 {130} Ke8 $6 {247} (55... Kg7 {The king should be kept on the kingside.} 56. Kh4 Kh7 57. g5 (57. Kh5 Rf6 (57... Kg7 58. g5 hxg5 59. Kxg5 $18) 58. Rxe5 Rxf3 $11) 57... Kg6 $11) 56. Kh4 {449} Kf8 {[%emt 0:00:37]} 57. Kh5 { 573} Kg7 {272} (57... Rf6 58. Rxe5 Rxf3 59. Kxh6 $16) 58. g5 $1 {167 White gets this just in time before Black could play Rf6.} hxg5 {[%emt 0:00:56]} 59. Kxg5 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Rh6 {117} (59... Rf6 60. Kg4 Re6 61. Kf5 Rf6+ 62. Kxe5 Rxf3 63. Rc6 {is similar to the game.}) 60. Kf5 {[%emt 0:00:54]} Rf6+ {[%emt 0: 00:49]} 61. Kxe5 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Rxf3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 62. Rc6 {[%emt 0:00:16] } Rh3 {61} 63. Kd5 {165} Rd3+ {98} 64. Kc5 {82} Re3 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 65. Kd4 { 239} Ra3 {[%emt 0:00:30]} 66. Rxa6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Ra1 {180} 67. e5 $1 { 496 White could have already started his journey towards the queenside. Why did he push his pawn to e5 before that? The pawn cramps black a little more.} ( 67. Kc5 Re1 68. Rc6 Rxe4 69. a6 Ra4 70. Kb5 Ra1 71. Kb6 $18) 67... Rd1+ {67} 68. Kc5 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Rc1+ {96} 69. Kd5 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Rd1+ {[%emt 0:00: 15]} 70. Kc6 {110} Re1 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 71. Rb6 {440} Rxe5 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 72. a6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Re7 {92} (72... Ra5 73. Kb7 f6 74. a7 Rxa7+ 75. Kxa7 Kg6 76. Ka6 Kg5 77. Kb5 f5 78. Kc4 $18) 73. Rb7 {196} Re6+ {[%emt 0:00:21]} 74. Kb5 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Re5+ {[%emt 0:00:37]} 75. Kb6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Re6+ {[%emt 0: 00:39]} 76. Ka5 {360} Re5+ {[%emt 0:00:27]} 77. Rb5 {66} Re7 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 78. Rc5 $1 {59 Nice move by Wesley. The threat now is to get the king to b6 followed by the rook blocking the checks along the c-file.} Kg6 {117} 79. Kb6 { [%emt 0:00:04]} f5 {[%emt 0:00:24]} 80. a7 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Re8 {[%emt 0:00:33] } 81. Kb7 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Kg5 {[%emt 0:00:18]} 82. Rc8 {[%emt 0:00:02]} (82. a8=Q Rxa8 83. Kxa8 Kg4 84. Kb7 f4 85. Kc6 f3 $11) 82... Re7+ {[%emt 0:00:08]} 83. Kb8 {[%emt 0:00:24]} Rxa7 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 84. Kxa7 {1 It's quite amazing that White is just in time by one tempo!} Kf4 {[%emt 0:00:41]} (84... f4 85. Kb6 f3 86. Kc5 Kg4 87. Kd4 f2 88. Rf8 Kg3 89. Ke3 $18) 85. Kb6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Ke3 {[%emt 0:00:42]} 86. Re8+ {[%emt 0:00:03]} Kd3 {68} 87. Rf8 {[%emt 0:00:04] } Ke4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 88. Kc5 {[%emt 0:00:02]} f4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 89. Kc4 { [%emt 0:00:01]} Ke3 {62} 90. Kc3 {[%emt 0:00:05]} f3 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 91. Re8+ {[%emt 0:00:03]} Kf2 {[%emt 0:00:18]} 92. Kd2 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Kf1 {[%emt 0:00: 59]} 93. Ke3 {27 One could say that Vidit didn't play the endgame well. But also due credit should be given to Wesley So. To beat a player of Vidit's calibre in such an equalish endgame is not easy.} 1-0 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.17"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E06"] [WhiteElo "2811"] [BlackElo "2702"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Nc6 9. Qxc4 Na5 (9... Qd5 10. Nbd2 Rd8 11. e3 Qh5 12. Ne1 e5 13. dxe5 Ng4 14. Ndf3 Be6 15. Qc2 Bf5 16. Qb3 Be4 {Mareco,S (2606)-Zhigalko,A (2591) Baku 2016}) 10. Qc2 b6 11. Ne5 Bb7 {N} (11... Nd5 12. Bd2 Bb7 13. Na3 Re8 14. Nd3 Nc6 15. Qc4 Rb8 16. Rfd1 b5 17. axb5 Nb6 18. Qa2 Nxd4 19. Nf4 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 Nxb5 { Chloupek,S (2310)-Adamek,Z (2120) Prague 1994}) 12. Bxb7 Nxb7 13. Nc6 Qe8 14. Rd1 Bc5 15. Ne5 Bd6 16. Nc3 c5 17. Ne4 (17. Nc4 $5) (17. Bg5 $5) 17... Nxe4 18. Qxe4 cxd4 19. Nc4 Nc5 20. Nxd6 Nxe4 21. Nxe8 Rfxe8 22. Rxd4 Nf6 23. Be3 (23. Rd6 $5) 23... Rec8 (23... Nd5 $5 24. Bd2 f5) 24. Rd6 Rc2 25. Rc1 Rxb2 26. Rxb6 Rxb6 27. Bxb6 h6 28. a5 (28. Bd4 $5 Nd5 (28... Kf8 29. Bxf6 gxf6 30. a5 f5 31. Rc6 {is unpleasant}) 29. e4 Nb4 30. Bb6 $5) 28... Nd5 29. Rc6 Ne7 30. Rd6 Rc8 31. e4 Rc1+ 32. Kg2 Nc6 33. Kf3 Kf8 34. Ke2 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.17"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Safarli, Eltaj"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A04"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2593"] [PlyCount "41"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. Nf3 f5 2. d3 Nc6 (2... Nf6 3. e4 d6 4. exf5 Bxf5 5. d4 Qd7 6. a3 e5 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. Bg5 Be7 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Nxe5 Qe6 11. Qe2 dxe5 {Grischuk,A (2766) -Mamedyarov,S (2765) Paris 2019}) 3. d4 e6 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 g6 6. c4 Bg7 7. d5 exd5 8. cxd5 Ne7 9. Nc3 c6 {N} (9... d6 10. O-O c5 11. dxc6 bxc6 12. Bf4 d5 13. Rc1 O-O 14. Na4 Ne4 {Studnicka,T (2377)-Golcman,E (2181) Prague 2014}) 10. d6 Ned5 11. Nxd5 Nxd5 12. O-O Qf6 13. Ng5 h6 (13... Qxd6 14. e4 fxe4 15. Nxe4 { is too dangerous.}) 14. Bxd5 cxd5 15. Nf3 Qxd6 16. Bf4 Qe6 17. Nd4 Qb6 18. Nf3 ({On another day Mamedyarov would have played on with} 18. Be3 {when} Qxb2 { is asking for trouble:} 19. Qd3) 18... Qe6 19. Nd4 Qb6 20. Nf3 Qe6 21. Nd4 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.17"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C17"] [WhiteElo "2729"] [BlackElo "2656"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Ba5 6. b4 cxd4 7. Nb5 ({The sharper and perhaps more challenging alternative is} 7. Qg4) 7... Bc7 8. f4 Bd7 9. Nxc7+ Qxc7 10. Bd3 (10. Nf3 Ba4 11. Bd3 Ne7 12. O-O Nbc6 {transposes.}) 10... Ba4 11. Bb2 Ne7 12. Nf3 Nbc6 13. Qd2 (13. b5 Na5 14. Rb1 a6 15. bxa6 bxa6 16. Nxd4 Nac6 {Anand,V (2767)-So,W (2754) Stavanger 2019}) 13... a6 14. O-O Qb6 15. Qf2 Bb5 16. Bxd4 Nxd4 17. Qxd4 Qxd4+ 18. Nxd4 Bxd3 19. cxd3 Rc8 20. Rac1 {N } (20. Kf2 g6 21. Rfc1 Kd7 22. Ke2 h5 23. g3 Rhg8 24. Kd2 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Rc8 26. Ra1 Nc6 27. Nf3 Na7 {Sarana,A (2411)-Bivol,A (2208) St Petersburg 2014}) 20... Kd7 21. Kf2 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Rc8 23. Rxc8 Nxc8 24. Ke3 Ne7 25. a4 Nc6 26. Nxc6 Kxc6 27. d4 b5 28. a5 Kd7 29. g4 Ke7 30. h4 g6 31. h5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE World Cup"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.09.17"] [Round "20.6"] [White "Matlakov, Maxim"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2716"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"] 1. e4 {A surprise. Matlakov is mainly a 1.d4 player. He rarely pushes his king's pawn this early.} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d5 {Aronian likes this move against the Ruy Lopes as well.} 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Re1 Bg4 9. Nbd2 Nb6 10. h3 Bh5 11. Bb3 Kh8 {A question of style. Aronian likes initiative and therefore prefers to keep queens on the board.} ({White does not seem to have much after:} 11... Qxd3 12. Nxe5 Bxd1 13. Nxd3 Bxb3 14. axb3 Be7 15. b4 a6 16. Ne4 Nd7 17. Bf4 Rac8 18. Rad1 Rfd8 {but eventually managed to win in Giri,A (2797)-Harikrishna,P (2723) Shenzhen 2019. Moreover, these positions would be completely risk-free for White with close to zero chances of a loss.}) 12. Ne4 Be7 13. Ng3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 f5 15. a4 {N} (15. Bc2 a5 16. Nf1 Bg5 17. Qh5 Bxc1 18. Raxc1 Qf6 19. Nh2 g6 20. Qh6 Nd8 {was OK for Black in Dastan,B (2569)-Martirosyan,H (2597) Batumi 2018}) ({The immediate pawn sacrifice} 15. d4 {is also interesting as the line} exd4 16. Nh5 dxc3 17. Qg3 Bf6 18. bxc3 {promises White plenty of initiative on the open files and diagonals.}) 15... a5 {The pawn should not be let run all the way to a6. This will weaken the light squares too much.} 16. d4 f4 ({Once more} 16... exd4 17. Nh5 dxc3 ({But maybe Black can defend with} 17... Bf6) 18. Qg3 Bf6 19. bxc3 { looks good for White.}) 17. Nh5 {Risky, but good.} (17. Ne2 {is more solid.}) 17... g6 18. dxe5 {Except that the follow-up is not the optimal one.} ({ Better was to keep the open file for the rook with} 18. d5 $1 Na7 (18... Nb8 { barely changes much.}) 19. Rxe5 Bd6 ({Worse is} 19... gxh5 20. Rxh5 Qd7 21. Bc2 Rf7 22. c4 {with an overwhelming initiative for White.}) 20. Re6 gxh5 21. Qxh5 {The rook on e6 would have been quite useful on the kingside, whereas the black knights need time to rescue their king.}) 18... gxh5 19. Qxh5 Qd3 { This blocks the bishop's diagonal and prepares a counterattack.} 20. Bf7 Rxf7 { At the first possible moment. Aronian never hesitates whenever the word initiative is on the board.} ({Strictly speaking, he could have waited for a better moment to sacrifice the exchange. After} 20... Rad8 21. Bxf4 $2 { would allow such a chance:} ({Black is doing great after} 21. e6 Nd5 {followed by Nd5-f6 too.}) 21... Rxf7 22. Qxf7 Rf8 {winning.}) 21. Qxf7 Rf8 22. Qh5 Bc5 23. Qf3 {The best defense.} ({Otherwise White will be forced to trade the queens under less favorable circumstances:} 23. Qe2 Qg3 24. Qf3 Nc4 25. e6 N4e5 ) 23... Qxf3 24. gxf3 Rf5 {The minor pieces are better in the arising endgame as they have nice outposts around the white king.} 25. Re4 (25. e6 Kg7 { would not change anything. The e-pawn is due to evaporate soon.}) 25... Nxe5 26. Bxf4 Bd6 27. Kg2 Nd5 28. Bg3 Ng6 $1 ({Less accurate was} 28... Nxf3 29. Bxd6 cxd6 30. Rd1) 29. Rd1 ({After} 29. Bxd6 cxd6 30. Rd1 Ndf4+ 31. Kf1 d5 { Black is much better in any case.}) 29... Kg7 30. h4 Kf7 31. Rd2 ({Here and on the next move it made sense for White to swap the bishops off:} 31. Bxd6 cxd6 32. Kg3) 31... Nf6 32. Red4 Nf4+ 33. Kh2 ({The black bishop will be superbly placed in case of} 33. Bxf4 Bxf4 34. Rd1 Bd6 {followed by b7-b6.}) 33... Ne6 34. Rc4 Bxg3+ $1 {Concrete and strong, especially in timetrouble.} 35. fxg3 ( 35. Kxg3 c6 {followed by Nf6-d5 would also keep the white rooks under control.} ) 35... Rxf3 36. Kg2 ({Perhaps White should have trid:} 36. b4 axb4 37. cxb4 Ra3) 36... Re3 37. g4 Ke7 {The final preparation.} 38. Rf2 ({Or else the black knights and rook create mating threats:} 38. g5 Ne4 39. Rd1 Nf4+ 40. Kf1 Re2) 38... Ne4 $1 {A rook is trapped no matter what!} 39. Rf5 ({If} 39. Rc2 Nd6 { anyway.}) ({Both} 39. Rf3 Rxf3 40. Kxf3 Nd2+) ({and} 39. Rf1 Nd2 {can't help either.}) 39... Nd6 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.17"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Xu, Xiangyu"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E10"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2576"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. O-O O-O 7. b3 Nc6 (7... b6) (7... c5) 8. Bb2 b6 9. Nbd2 Bb7 10. Rc1 Ne7 (10... Qe7 11. a3 Ne4 12. Qc2 Nxd2 13. Qxd2 Na5 14. Qe3 dxc4 15. b4 Nb3 16. Rxc4 Bd5 {Nikolaou,S (2196) -Delithanasis,D (2007) Nikaia 2017}) 11. Qc2 Rc8 12. Rfd1 {N} (12. Ne5 c5 13. e3 Nd7 14. Rfd1 Qc7 15. Nxd7 Qxd7 16. dxc5 Rxc5 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Qb2+ f6 19. cxd5 Rxc1 20. Rxc1 Nxd5 {1/2 Malyuga,V (2160)-Okrugin,A (2035) Zelenograd 2013} ) 12... Re8 13. Ne5 Nd7 14. Nd3 Nf6 15. Ne5 h5 {The problem for Xu was that he needed to play for a win.} 16. e4 dxe4 17. Nxe4 Nxe4 18. Bxe4 Bxe4 19. Qxe4 c6 (19... Nf5) 20. Qf3 Bxe5 21. dxe5 Qc7 22. h3 Rcd8 23. Qf6 Nc8 24. Rd6 $1 Qe7 25. Qxe7 Nxe7 26. Rcd1 Rb8 27. Bc1 c5 28. Bg5 Rb7 29. g4 Rc7 30. Rd8 Rxd8 31. Rxd8+ Kh7 32. Bf6 Ng8 33. g5 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.17"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Alekseenko, Kirill"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2746"] [BlackElo "2671"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4 Bd7 9. c3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qb8 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bh4 Be6 14. Nbd2 (14. h3 O-O 15. Bg3 Nh5 16. Bh2 Nf4 17. Bxf4 exf4 18. Re1 bxa4 19. Rxa4 Nc4 20. Rxc4 Bxc4 21. b3 Bb5 {Durarbayli,V (2637)-Inarkiev,E (2693) Konya 2019}) 14... O-O 15. h3 cxd4 16. cxd4 Qb6 {N} (16... Re8 17. Bg3 Qb6 18. dxe5 dxe5 19. axb5 axb5 20. Bxe5 Rad8 21. Qb1 Nc6 22. Bh2 Nb4 {Dragnev,V (2461)-Ragger,M (2644) Czech Republic 2018}) 17. b4 Nc4 18. d5 Bd7 19. Nxc4 bxc4 20. Rb1 a5 21. b5 Rac8 22. Re1 c3 23. Qd3 Rc7 24. Red1 Bd8 25. Bg3 Nh5 26. Nxe5 $5 dxe5 27. Bxe5 Rc8 28. d6 ({Hari must have looked at} 28. g4 {but perhaps he didn't like} Qg6 { but here} 29. Bh2 $1 {is interesting as it prepares a nice way of getting rid of the pin along the g-file with 30.e5! when} Bb6 30. e5 {has to be met with} Rc4 $1 {and there} 31. e6 {leads to wild complications.} (31. Qxc4 $2 Qxc2)) 28... Qc5 29. Bd4 Qxd6 30. b6 Bc6 31. b7 Rb8 32. e5 Qg6 33. Qxg6 fxg6 34. Bc5 Bc7 35. Bxf8 (35. Bb3+ $5) 35... Kxf8 36. Rd4 Bxe5 37. Rc4 Bxb7 38. Rc5 Bd6 39. Rcb5 Bb4 40. Bxg6 Nf6 41. Rd1 Ke7 42. Re5+ Kf8 43. Rb5 Ne8 44. Bc2 Nd6 45. Rxb4 axb4 46. Rxd6 Ba8 47. Bb3 Be4 48. Rd4 Bg6 49. a5 c2 50. Rf4+ Ke7 51. Rc4 Bd3 52. Rc6 Be4 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2019.09.17"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Alekseenko, Kirill"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2746"] [BlackElo "2671"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2019.09.07"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 {0 ChessBase} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {0 When in a must-win situation go for the Ruy Lopez!} a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 {2 Hari prefers to go for the d3 line where he feels he can have much better fighting chances for an advantage than Re1.} b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4 Bd7 {70} 9. c3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qb8 {70} 12. Bg5 h6 {86} 13. Bh4 Be6 {65} 14. Nbd2 O-O (14... bxa4 15. Bxa4+ $16) 15. h3 cxd4 {18 This has been seen before in Dragnev vs Ragger. Ragger being the former second of Hari, we can be sure that Harikrishna would have looked at this game.} 16. cxd4 Qb6 17. b4 {726 Hari has the first long think of the game for 12 minutes.} (17. axb5 axb5 18. dxe5 dxe5 19. Nxe5 Rac8 { Black has excellently placed pieces which give him enough compensation for the missing pawn.}) 17... Nc4 {176} 18. d5 {66 The nice thing about this position is that it is imbalanced. And this is precisely what Harikrishna needs when he is playing for a win. It doesn't matter that the evaluation is around equal. The fact that the pawn structure is imbalanced gives White chances to make his opponent go wrong.} Bd7 {1062} 19. Nxc4 {81} bxc4 20. Rb1 {69} a5 {200 I do not like this move very much. It gives White a passed pawn and this is a long term trump for Hari. But Alekseenko felt that it was not a big deal. He also gets a fixed square on c5 for his pieces.} (20... Rfc8 {Black looks completely fine and solid.}) 21. b5 {374} Rac8 {404} 22. Re1 {202} c3 {616} 23. Qd3 { 333 The main question in this position will revolve around the fact now whether the c3 pawn is a weakness of a strength. If White can round it up with Rb3 then he would be close to winning, but of course Black will do everything in his power to save it, starting with Rc5 and Rc8.} Rc7 {686} 24. Red1 {540} Bd8 {319} 25. Bg3 {431} Nh5 {71} 26. Nxe5 $5 {183 Harikrishna has seen that the piece sacrifice is promising and goes for it!} (26. Bh2 f5 $17) 26... dxe5 {309} (26... Nxg3 27. Nxd7 $18) 27. Bxe5 $44 {What is the real assessment of this position?} Rc8 {The second best move in the position.} ({An illustrative line as to how complex the position is:} 27... Qg6 28. Bh2 Bc8 29. g4 Nf6 30. Bg3 h5 31. b6 Rb7 32. Qxc3 Bxb6 33. e5 Ne4 34. Qc4 Bxg4 35. hxg4 Bxf2+ 36. Kg2 Rxb1 37. Bxe4 Qxg4 38. Bh7+ Kxh7 39. Qxg4 hxg4 40. Rxb1 Be3 41. Re1 Bg5 42. Re4 f5 43. exf6 Bxf6 44. Bc7 Rf7 45. d6 Kg6 46. Rxg4+ Kf5 47. Rc4 Rd7 48. Rc5+ Ke4 49. Rxa5 Be5 50. Kf2 Bxd6 51. Bxd6 Rxd6 52. Ra8 Rf6+ 53. Ke2 Rf7 54. a5 Kd5 55. a6 Kc5 56. Kd3 Kb6 57. Rb8+ Kxa6 $11) 28. d6 $6 {While cutting off the queen from g6 surely looks strong, better was to begin with g4.} (28. g4 {would have been a stronger choice.} Qg6 (28... Nf6 29. Bd4 Qc7 30. e5 $18) (28... Re8 29. Bh2 Nf6 30. e5 $16) 29. Bh2 Bb6 30. e5 Rc4 $1 {Not at all an easy move to find. } (30... Qxd3 31. Rxd3 $16) 31. Qe2 $1 (31. Qxc4 Qxc2 $17) (31. Qxg6 fxg6 { Opens up the pressure against the f2 pawn.}) 31... Bxg4 32. hxg4 Rxg4+ 33. Kh1 Nf4 (33... Qg5 34. Rg1 $18) 34. Bxg6 Nxe2 35. Re1 (35. Bc2 Nd4 $13) 35... Nd4 36. Be4 $14 {White seems to be doing well here.}) 28... Qc5 $5 {732} (28... Re8 {could have been stronger.} 29. Bd4 Qxd6 (29... Qb7 {looks even stonger, but I doubt is anyone can have the courage to play so calmly.} 30. e5 g6 $19) 30. e5 Qg6 31. Qxg6 fxg6 32. b6 {And this is the point. The b-pawn will ensure that White wins some more pawns and the game would be close to around equal.} (32. Bxg6 c2 $19) 32... Bf5 33. Bxf5 gxf5 34. b7 Rb8 35. Bxc3 Nf4 36. Bd4 Ne2+ 37. Kf1 Nxd4 38. Rxd4 Be7 $15) 29. Bd4 {Harikrishna gives up his d6 pawn as well.} (29. Bh2 Bg5 30. e5 g6 $17) 29... Qxd6 {74} 30. b6 $1 {6 Hari is pushing his b-pawn and trying to create threats all across the board. This is really not an easy position to assess. Mainly because White has only one pawn for his piece. But the black pieces are not so well placed. The knight on h5 is out of the game. e4-e5 is always a threat. This gives White excellent compensation. Kudos to Hari for understanding this. It definitely wasn't easy. Any lesser player would have gone wrong here from Black. But Alekseenko was playing the best chess of his life and managed to hold on.} (30. e5 Qg6 31. Qxg6 fxg6 $13) 30... Bc6 $1 {Accurate move.} (30... Nf4 31. Qf3 $18) 31. b7 Rb8 32. e5 Qg6 33. Qxg6 fxg6 34. Bc5 Bc7 {We reach another critical position in the game. Hari simply took on f8. But perhaps inserting a check would have done him more benefit than harm.} 35. Bxf8 $6 (35. Bb3+ $1 {It was important to give this check.} Kh7 36. Bxf8 Rxf8 37. e6 {White defends his e-pawn.} Nf4 (37... Bxb7 38. e7 Re8 39. Rd7 $18) (37... Rb8 38. Bc2 Nf6 {White is not worse here. In fact he is pushing for something.}) 38. e7 Ne2+ 39. Kf1 Ng3+ 40. Ke1 Re8 41. fxg3 Rxe7+ 42. Kf1 $18) 35... Kxf8 {Now Black is able to organize himself much better.} 36. Rd4 (36. e6 Ke7 {The king joins in.}) 36... Bxe5 37. Rc4 Bxb7 38. Rc5 {Here it seems to me that Harikrishna missed Black's defensive idea.} Bd6 $1 {The bishop can now come to b4.} 39. Rcb5 (39. Rxa5 Nf4 $1 40. Rab5 Ne2+ 41. Kf1 Nd4 42. Rxb7 Rxb7 43. Rxb7 Nxc2 $19) 39... Bb4 $19 {With this move Hari's chances of equalizing the score were dashed.} 40. Bxg6 Nf6 41. Rd1 Ke7 42. Re5+ Kf8 43. Rb5 Ne8 44. Bc2 Nd6 45. Rxb4 axb4 46. Rxd6 Ba8 47. Bb3 Be4 48. Rd4 Bg6 49. a5 c2 50. Rf4+ Ke7 51. Rc4 Bd3 52. Rc6 Be4 {The rook is dominated on the c-file. Harikrishna tried his best but Alekseenko played really well.} 0-1 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2019.09.17"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2718"] [BlackElo "2767"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2019.09.07"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventCountry "RUS"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"] 1. c4 {0 0 Vidit chooses 1.c4 in this must win game.} e5 {23 23 Wesley has always stuck to this move.} 2. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:52]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 4. g3 {[%emt 0:00:13]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:07] } 5. cxd5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Nxd5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 6. Bg2 {10 10 We have the reversed Dragon.} Bc5 $5 {5 5 This move is quickly overtaking ...Nb6 in terms of popularity.} 7. O-O {[%emt 0:00:35]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:06]} 8. d3 {[%emt 0:00: 24]} Re8 {3 3 This is not the most popular move in the position but already players like Caruana, Mamedyarov, Adams, etc have played it with Black.} 9. Nxd5 {[%emt 0:00:47]} ({Carlsen in his World Championship Match Game 9 against Caruana went for this.} 9. Bg5 Nxc3 10. bxc3 f6 11. Bc1 Be6 12. Bb2 Bb6 13. d4 Bd5 14. Qc2 exd4 15. cxd4 Be4 16. Qb3+ Bd5 17. Qd1 Bxf3 18. Qb3+ Kh8 19. Bxf3 Nxd4 20. Bxd4 Qxd4 21. e3 Qe5 22. Bxb7 Rad8 23. Rad1 Qe7 24. h4 $14 {With a pleasant position that later ended in a draw. ½-½ (56) Carlsen,M (2835) -Caruana,F (2832) London 2018}) (9. Bd2 Nxc3 10. Bxc3 Nd4 11. b4 Bd6 12. Rb1 Nxf3+ 13. Bxf3 a6 14. a4 c6 {This was game 4 of the match and it was similar to what Vidit has against So. ½-½ (34) Carlsen,M (2835)-Caruana,F (2832) London 2018}) 9... Qxd5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 10. Bd2 {8 8 This is already a fresh position theoretically, but the contours of it are similar to positions that are reached in this line.} Qd8 {205 205} 11. Rc1 {182 182} Bb6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 12. b4 {[%emt 0:00:52]} Nd4 {6 6 This is the way in which Black would like to equalize. Once you do not have knights on the board, it is much more difficult to create play.} 13. a4 {212 212} a6 {[%emt 0:00:36]} 14. Bc3 {234 234} Nxf3+ { 535 535} 15. Bxf3 {[%emt 0:00:33]} c6 {4 4 Black says I am trying to be as solid as you can. The ball is in White's court. The onus is on Vidit who is in a must win situation to do something here.} 16. b5 {639 639} cxb5 {[%emt 0:00: 58]} 17. axb5 {6 6 Both moves - taking on b5 or playing a5 look fine for Black. Somehow one gets a feeling that Vidit played the opening in a little too simplified manner. It's definitely difficult to beat a player of Wesley's class from such a position.} axb5 {410 410} 18. Qb3 {109 109} Bd7 {63 63} 19. Bxb7 {91 91} Rb8 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 20. Be4 {857 857} Qf6 {347 347} 21. e3 { 433 433} Bf5 {416 416 Wesley is trying to be as solid as possible in the position. Of course exchanging the bishops with Bxf5 is possible, but Vidit could also go Bd5, keeping the tension in the position.} 22. Bb4 $5 {593 593 Vidit is not worried about the fact that he would be crippling his pawn structure. In fact he is looking at the d5 outpost for this rook in the future. } (22. Bd5 Bxd3 23. Bxe5 Qxe5 24. Qxd3 Red8 25. Rfd1 $16) 22... Bxe4 {306 306} 23. dxe4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} h5 $1 {5 5 Wesley understands the most important thing about the position after the bishops have been exchanged. He can try to take advantage of the weakened light squares around the white king.} 24. Qd1 { 547 547} Qg6 {539 539} 25. Qf3 {[%emt 0:00:23]} Bd8 $1 {39 39 Wesley reroutes his bishop to e7 where he can exchange it for the strong b4 bishop.} 26. Rfd1 { [%emt 0:00:51]} Be7 {[%emt 0:00:42]} 27. Rb1 {108 108} Bxb4 {444 444} 28. Rxb4 {[%emt 0:00:27]} Qg4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 29. Kg2 {138 138} f6 {333 333} 30. Rd5 { 345 345} Qxf3+ {113 113} 31. Kxf3 {[%emt 0:00:02]} g5 {0 0 Wesley is happy if White takes the b5 pawn and a pair of rooks are exchanged. The resulting four vs five endgame is a draw.} 32. Ke2 {1076} Rec8 {[%emt 0:00:31]} 33. f4 {335} exf4 {480} 34. gxf4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} gxf4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 35. Rxh5 {[%emt 0: 00:47]} fxe3 {[%emt 0:00:49]} 36. Kxe3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Kf7 {71} 37. h4 {107} Rh8 {[%emt 0:00:19]} 38. Rbxb5 {[%emt 0:00:16]} Rxb5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 39. Rxh8 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 40. Ra8 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rh5 {[%emt 0:00: 00]} 41. Ra7+ {[%emt 0:00:49]} Kg6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 42. Ra6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 43. Ra7+ {[%emt 0:00:11]} Kg6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 44. Ra6 { [%emt 0:00:03]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 45. Ra7+ {[%emt 0:00:05] With this draw, the match ends in 1.5-0.5 victory for Wesley So and Vidit is eliminated.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.09.20"] [Round "28.2"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2730"] [BlackElo "2707"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"] 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nc7 7. O-O g6 ({ Duda expected a more "central" line:} 7... e5 8. a3 Be7 9. Rb1 O-O 10. b4 cxb4 11. axb4 b5) 8. Na4 ({White did not get anything in the following Women Speed Chess Championship game:} 8. d3 Bg7 9. Be3 Ne6 10. Rc1 O-O 11. Qd2 Rb8 12. Bh6 b6 13. Bxg7 Kxg7 14. Ng5 Nxg5 15. Qxg5 Bb7 16. Rfd1 e5 17. Qxd8 Rfxd8 {Harika, D (2492) -Sebag,M (2476) chess.com INT 2019}) 8... Ne6 ({Otherwise there might be problems along the diagonals:} 8... b6 9. d4 (9. e3) 9... cxd4 10. Bf4 { (Duda)}) 9. d3 Ncd4 10. Be3 {"I am winning a pawn and this cannot be bad, right?" (Duda)} ({White was also considering} 10. Nxd4 cxd4 11. b4 {"It is very pleasant for White." (Duda)}) 10... Bg7 11. Rc1 O-O $1 {N A novelty and the best move under the circumstances. Xiong spotted non-obvious counterplay.} ({A predecessor saw Black burning down in flames after} 11... Qd6 12. Nd2 f5 13. Nb3 Nxb3 14. Qxb3 Nd4 15. Bxd4 cxd4 16. Nc5 Qb6 17. Qa4+ Kf7 18. Bd5+ e6 19. Bxb7 {1-0 (19) Endzelins,L-Nikkanen,P Finland 1977}) 12. Nxc5 Nf5 13. Nxe6 ({From the theoretical point of view, this move is not optimal. After the accurate} 13. Bd2 $1 Nxc5 14. Rxc5 Bxb2 15. Qb3 Bg7 16. Rfc1 {"White is a little better" (Duda)}) 13... Bxe6 14. Bc5 ({Otherwise Black will get enough counterplay thanks to his strong dark-squared bishop:} 14. b3 Nxe3 15. fxe3 Qb6 ) 14... Bxb2 15. Rb1 Bg7 16. Rxb7 {"I decided to sacrifice the exchange." (Duda)} Qc8 $1 17. Rb5 a6 18. Ra5 {Now the rook is stuck on a5 and in order to free it White needs to sacrifice some material.} Bc3 19. Qa4 ({Another way to sacrifice the exchange was:} 19. Bb6 Bxa5 20. Bxa5 Rb8) 19... Rb8 $1 {Duda said he had forgotten about this move, and that it threatens 20...Bd7 21.Qa3 Bb2 winning the queen.} ({It's better than} 19... Bxa5 20. Qxa5 Rb8 21. Qa3 { which is a much better version of the sacrifice that White got into the game.}) 20. d4 $1 {There is nothing else.} ({The point behind Xiong's idea is that White can not free himself with:} 20. Rc1 $2 {due to:} Bd7 21. Qa3 Bb2 { when Black wins.}) 20... Bxa5 21. Qxa5 {Black won an exchange, but White has the bishop pair and a solid pawn structure. Xiong's next move is an inaccuracy. } Rb2 {This wins another pawn, but now White's center expands.} ({Instead he should have slowed White down in the center with} 21... Bd5 22. Re1 Rb5 23. Qc3 Nd6) 22. e4 $1 Nd6 23. Qa3 Rxa2 24. Qe3 {"White always has compensation as he can push the central pawns." (Duda)} f6 {The queen sortie to h6 was not yet dangerous.} ({Therefore} 24... Qb7 {deserved serious investigation, e.g.} 25. d5 (25. Ne5 $5) (25. Qh6 f6) 25... Bd7 26. Qh6 f6) 25. Rc1 Qd7 {In the wrong direction!} ({After} 25... Qb7 $1 26. d5 Bd7) ({or} 25... Qb8 $5 {Black would be looking into the future without any fear.}) 26. d5 Bh3 27. Bxh3 Qxh3 { The trade of the bishops looked logical but in reality it weakened the e6 square.} 28. Bxd6 ({Even better was the direct:} 28. Nd4 $1 Rb8 29. Nc6 Rb7 30. Nxe7+ Rxe7 31. Bxd6 {with advantage for White.}) 28... exd6 29. Nd4 Rc8 ({ Duda realized here that Black can defend himself with} 29... Rb8 $1 30. Ne6 Rab2 31. Qa7 R2b7 {followed by Rb7-b1 with counter-chances. If Black can keep the opponent's queen away he would be safe.}) 30. Nc6 Re8 31. Nd4 Rc8 ({After} 31... Qd7 32. Ne6 Rb2 33. Rc7 Rb1+ 34. Kg2 Qb5 {White can still play for a win with} 35. Kh3 $1) 32. Rb1 Ra4 33. Ne6 {The knight on e6 defended by a pawn is as good as a rook, Kasparov would say. Here it is better than any of the black rooks and Xiong's defense is very difficult.} Rac4 34. Re1 g5 {Now comes the fantastic:} ({Duda felt that Black should be already losing anyway. However:} 34... a5 $1 35. Qa7 Qh6 36. Qxa5 (36. Kg2 a4) 36... Rc1 $1 {with the same old idea of trading the rooks and keeping White busy might have saved Black.}) 35. e5 $3 {A breakthrough into Black's most defended square after which his position falls apart.} dxe5 ({Nothing helps:} 35... Qf5 36. exd6 Qxd5 37. Qa7 { (Duda)}) 36. Qa7 Qh6 37. d6 Rc1 38. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 39. Kg2 g4 {Mate is threatened, but it is all under control:} 40. h4 gxh3+ 41. Kh2 Qg6 42. Qa8+ ({From afar White planned:} 42. Qb7 {which also wins, but slowlier.}) ({"The only thing to be aware of is not to get checkmated after:"} 42. Qe7 $4 Rh1+ 43. Kxh1 Qe4+ { (Duda)}) (42. Qa8+ {Black resigned due to:} Kf7 43. d7 {The white queen protects him on the long diagonal.}) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.20"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C99"] [WhiteElo "2774"] [BlackElo "2729"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d6 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Nc6 14. Nb3 a5 15. Be3 a4 16. Nbd2 Bd7 17. Rc1 Rac8 (17... Qb7 18. a3 Rfe8 19. Bd3 exd4 20. Nxd4 Ne5 21. Bb1 b4 22. f4 Ng6 23. Qf3 bxa3 24. bxa3 Rac8 {Saric,I (2695)-Akopian,V (2650) St Petersburg 2018}) 18. Bd3 Qb7 19. Qe2 h6 20. a3 {After a 15-minute think (and another 12 minutes on the next) Svidler decides to go or some trades.} exd4 ({He must have been looking at} 20... Rfe8 $5 {as well.}) 21. Nxd4 Nxd4 22. Bxd4 Rxc1 {N} (22... Rfe8 23. Rb1 Bd8 24. b3 Qa6 25. Nf3 Ba5 26. b4 Bd8 27. Rbd1 Qb7 28. Bb2 Be7 29. Nd4 Rb8 {Vertongen,W (2379)-Palmkoeck,W (2334) ICCF email 2004}) 23. Rxc1 b4 {MVL spent 13.5 minutes on this.} (23... Bc6 $5) 24. Nc4 {And here, after a 21-minute think, Svidler decides to sacrifice a pawn as there is nothing better.} (24. axb4) 24... bxa3 25. bxa3 Bb5 26. Nxd6 $1 {The best chance is to take the bait.} Bxd3 27. Qxd3 Bxd6 28. Bxf6 Bf4 29. Rb1 Qc7 30. Bc3 Rd8 31. Qf3 Rc8 $6 ({Much safer was} 31... Bd6 { and it's not easy for White to convert the extra pawn.}) 32. Bb4 {Now White threatens to consolidate with g3, Kg2 and further improve the position.} Qc1+ ( {The computer comes up with the funny idea} 32... Bc1 $5 {locking in the white rook and after e.g.} 33. Be1 {Black can move his bishop to d6 after all:} Bf4 34. g3 Bd6 {with better drawing chances than in the game.}) 33. Qd1 Qc4 34. g3 Qxe4 ({Instead of playing a long and unpleasant game after e.g.} 34... Be5 35. Qd7 Qc2 36. Re1 Qc6 37. Qxc6 Rxc6 38. Rd1 {Svidler tries something concrete, but it doesn't work.}) 35. gxf4 Rc6 36. f5 $1 {Missed by Svidler.} Qxf5 37. Bd6 Qxh3 38. Rb4 Rc3 39. Rd4 Kh7 40. Qxa4 Qf3 41. Qd1 Qc6 42. Qf1 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.20"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Vitiugov, Nikita"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C43"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2767"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nc3 Nxe5 7. dxe5 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. f4 f5 11. Be3 (11. exf6 Bxf6 12. Ba3 Rf7 13. Re1 Bxc3 14. Bxh7+ Kxh7 15. Qd3+ Bf5 16. Qxc3 d4 17. Qb3 Qf6 {Arribas Lopez,A (2511)-Dragun,K (2614) chess.com INT 2017}) 11... Be6 12. a4 Qd7 13. Qf3 Rfd8 { N} (13... b6 14. Rfd1 Rfd8 15. h3 c6 16. c4 Bc5 17. Bxc5 bxc5 18. Be2 Rab8 19. Qa3 Qe7 {Moll,R (2642)-Stalmach,K (2562) ICCF email 2012}) 14. Rfd1 c5 15. Kh1 g6 16. h3 Qc7 17. Qf2 b6 18. Qe1 Kh8 19. Be2 Rg8 20. Bf3 Rad8 21. a5 b5 22. a6 $1 Rd7 23. Rdb1 Rb8 24. Bf2 Rdd8 25. Qe2 Qb6 26. Rb2 Rd7 27. Qf1 Rc7 28. Be2 Bd7 29. Qd1 Qe6 30. Ra5 Kg7 31. Qa1 g5 32. Bxb5 Rxb5 33. Raxb5 Bxb5 34. Rxb5 gxf4 35. Qa5 $1 {It all works perfectly for White.} Qxe5 $6 ({Black should have waited with} 35... Qc6) 36. Rb7 Rxb7 37. axb7 f3 {This active defense actually leads to a lost position much quicker.} 38. gxf3 Bd6 39. Kg2 Qh2+ 40. Kf1 Qxh3+ 41. Ke2 {Eventually Black will have to give up his bishop for the b-pawn.} Qh2 42. Qxa7 Kf6 43. Qb6 Ke7 44. Qc6 Kd8 45. Qc8+ Ke7 46. Qxf5 Kd8 47. Kf1 Qh1+ 48. Bg1 Bh2 49. Qg4 (49. Qc8+ Ke7 50. Qxc5+ {would have been simpler.} ) 49... Bd6 50. Ke2 Ke7 51. Bxc5 Qh2+ 52. Bf2 ({And here the quickest was} 52. Kd3 $1 Bxc5 53. Qg7+ Kd8 54. Qg8+ Ke7 55. b8=Q) 52... h5 53. Qf5 Kd8 54. Qc8+ Ke7 55. Qf5 Kd8 56. Qf7 h4 57. Qg8+ Kd7 58. Qg4+ Kc6 59. Qc8+ Kb5 60. b8=Q+ 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.20"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A14"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2763"] [PlyCount "175"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. c4 O-O 6. d4 dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 Nbd7 11. Nc3 h6 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. Rfd1 (13. b4 Bd5 14. Nxd5 exd5 15. Qb3 c6 16. e3 Bd6 17. Rab1 Qe7 18. Rfd1 g6 {So,W (2776)-Giri,A (2779) Saint Louis 2019}) 13... Bd5 14. Qd3 Bxf3 15. Bxf3 c6 16. Kg2 {N} (16. e3 a5 17. Rac1 Nd5 18. Ne4 Qb6 19. Qc2 Nb4 20. Qe2 Qa6 21. Nc5 Bxc5 22. Rxc5 Qxe2 23. Bxe2 Rfd8 {Zhao,J (2601)-Wang,Y (2690) China 2018}) 16... Qa5 17. e3 Rfd8 18. Qc4 Rac8 19. Rab1 Nd5 20. Qb3 Qb4 21. Qc2 a5 22. h4 Nf6 23. h5 Rc7 24. Ne2 Qb6 25. Nf4 Nd5 26. Rbc1 Bd6 27. Nd3 Nb4 28. Qb3 Rcd7 29. Be4 Qc7 30. Rh1 Nxd3 31. Bxd3 Be7 32. Bb1 Qd6 33. Qc2 Bf6 34. Qc5 Qxc5 35. Rxc5 Rd5 36. Rc4 e5 37. Be4 R5d7 38. dxe5 Bxe5 39. b4 axb4 40. Rxb4 Ra8 41. Rhb1 Ra7 42. Bf5 Re7 43. Bc8 c5 44. Rb5 Rc7 45. Bxb7 Rxa4 46. Bd5 Kf8 47. f4 Bc3 48. e4 Bd4 49. e5 c4 50. Rb8+ Ke7 51. R1b7 Ra7 52. Bc6 f5 53. Rxc7+ Rxc7 54. Ba4 Ra7 55. Rb4 Rc7 56. Kf3 Ke6 57. Bc2 Ba7 58. Ra4 Bb6 59. Ke2 Kd5 60. Bxf5 Ra7 61. Rxa7 Bxa7 62. Kf3 Bc5 63. Bh7 c3 64. Kg4 Bf2 65. Bg8+ Kc6 66. Bb3 Kd7 67. Kf3 Be1 68. g4 Bd2 69. Ke4 Ke7 70. Kf5 Be3 71. g5 hxg5 72. Kxg5 Bd2 73. Kg4 Be3 74. Kf3 Bd2 75. h6 gxh6 76. f5 c2 $2 (76... Kf8 {holds. After} 77. f6 Bc1 78. Ke4 h5 {Black's two passers defend against White's wining attempts.} ({After} 78... Bg5 79. Kf5 Bc1 80. e6 {the only way is the brilliant} Ba3 81. Kg6 Be7 $3 {and White cannot win anymore! Just wow.} ({The winning method after} 81... Bb4 82. Kxh6 Ba3 {is} 83. Kg6 Bb4 84. Kf5 Ba3 85. Ke5 Bb4 86. Kd5 Ba3 87. Ba4 Bb4 88. Kc6 Ke8 89. Kc7+)) 79. e6) 77. f6+ Kf8 78. Bxc2 Bc3 79. Kf4 h5 80. Bd1 h4 81. Bg4 Ba5 82. Kf5 Bc7 83. e6 Bd8 84. Bh5 h3 85. Bg4 h2 86. Bf3 Kg8 87. Kg6 Kf8 88. Bc6 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.20"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Yu, Yangyi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2763"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bf4 e5 8. Bg5 a6 9. Na3 b5 10. Nd5 Be7 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. c4 b4 13. Nc2 O-O (13... a5 14. Qf3 Be6 15. Rd1 Bxd5 16. exd5 Nd4 17. Nxd4 exd4 18. Bd3 Kf8 19. g3 g6 20. h4 h5 {Karjakin,S (2748)-Radjabov,T (2759) Moscow 2019}) 14. g3 Bg5 (14... a5 15. h4 Be6 16. Qd2 Rc8 17. Nce3 Nd4 18. O-O-O g6 19. Kb1 h5 20. f4 Bg7 21. Bd3 f5 { Nepomniachtchi,I (2720)-Yu,Y (2715) Havana 2015}) 15. Bg2 a5 16. O-O Ne7 17. Nce3 Bxe3 18. Nxe3 Be6 19. b3 Ra7 20. Qd3 Nc6 21. Rfd1 {N} (21. f4 f6 22. Kh1 Nd4 23. Nc2 Nxc2 24. Qxc2 Qb6 25. Rad1 Rc8 26. Qd2 Ra6 {Enders,P (2460)-Bobras, P (2531) Germany 2015}) 21... Nd4 22. Nc2 Nxc2 23. Qxc2 a4 24. Rab1 Qb6 25. Rd2 axb3 26. axb3 Rfa8 27. h3 h6 28. Rbd1 Ra1 29. Kh2 Qc5 30. Bf3 f6 31. Rxa1 Rxa1 32. Qd3 Ra6 33. Bg4 Bf7 34. Bd7 Kf8 35. Bb5 Ra3 36. Kg2 Kg8 37. Qf3 Kh8 38. h4 Ra8 39. Qg4 Qc7 40. h5 $6 ({Promising was} 40. Bd7 $1 {e.g.} Ra1 (40... Rd8 41. Be6 Be8 (41... Bxe6 42. Qxe6 {is not possible becuse White will continue 42. Qd5 and 43.c5}) 42. h5 Bc6 43. Bf5 Be8 44. Qd1 Bf7 45. Ra2 {with strong pressure.}) 41. Be6 Be8 (41... Bxe6 42. Qxe6 Ra6 43. Rd5 Kh7 44. h5 Rc6 45. Rb5 Rb6 46. Qe8 Qb7 47. Kg1 $1 Qc7 48. Qa8 $1 {forces a queen trade}) 42. h5 Ra8 ( 42... Ra3 43. Qd1 Ra6 44. Bf5 Bf7 45. c5 $1 Qxc5 46. Rc2) 43. Qd1 Rd8 44. Bf5 Bf7 45. Ra2 {again with strong pressure.}) 40... Kg8 41. Qd1 Rd8 42. Kh2 Be6 43. g4 Kh7 44. Ra2 Qb7 45. f3 Ra8 46. Rxa8 Qxa8 47. Qxd6 Qa2+ 48. Kg3 Qxb3 49. g5 Qe3 50. g6+ Kh8 51. Qxe6 Qg1+ 52. Kh3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE World Cup"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.09.21"] [Round "29.8"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2759"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {Italian for a win. Not Berlin!} Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 a6 8. a4 Ba7 9. Nbd2 Qe7 10. O-O ({Black's defense is easier after} 10. Qe2 Be6 11. b4 Bxc4 12. Nxc4 Qe6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. O-O O-O 15. b5 Nd8 16. Rfb1 axb5 17. axb5 Ne6 {Yu,Y (2736)-Aronian,L (2756) Riga 2019}) 10... g5 11. Bg3 Nd7 12. b4 {N Dominguez came very well prepared for the game. This move is a novelty. What's more important: the Cuban-American GM managed to get an extremely complex position. Not a single pawn has been traded yet, and the battle is going on all over the board.} ({A recent game saw} 12. Bd5 Nf8 13. Nc4 h5 14. h4 g4 15. Ne1 Ng6 16. b4 Nd8 17. b5 {Martirosyan,H (2616) -Hovhannisyan,R (2634) Yerevan 2019.}) 12... Nf8 13. b5 Nd8 $1 ({The a-file should be kept blocked, as the following line suggests:} 13... axb5 $2 14. axb5 Nd8 15. b6 $1 cxb6 16. d4 {when Black's center crumbles.}) ({The other square for the knight will leave it permanently out of the game} 13... Na5 $6 14. Ba2 h5 15. d4 h4 {Then White can even afford playing like this:} 16. Bxe5 $1 dxe5 17. Nxe5 {with a strong attack through the center.}) 14. d4 ({Here the immediate} 14. Bd5 $5 {deserves serious attention. The point is to provoke the weakening move} c6 {when} 15. Ba2 h5 {gives a chance for White to explore the weakness with} 16. Nc4 h4 17. Nxd6+ $1) 14... Ng6 15. h3 h5 16. Bd5 {A tad late, but White hardy has any other choice.} c6 {Most likely unnecessary.} ({ Grischuk might have done better with} 16... g4 17. hxg4 h4 18. Bh2 h3 19. bxa6 ({or} 19. g3 Bxg4 20. bxa6 exd4 {when the excluded bishop on h2 should not make White happy.}) 19... hxg2 20. Re1 Bxg4 {Black's kingside attack looks more serious than the initiative of the opponent on the other wing.}) 17. Bb3 g4 18. hxg4 Bxg4 ({Black also had other choices, such as:} 18... h4 19. Bh2 h3) 19. Qb1 {Breaking the pin at once and preparing the move b5-b6.} Rc8 ({Here too } 19... h4 {is possible when after} 20. Bh2 h3 21. g3 ({Not as good is} 21. b6 hxg2 22. Kxg2 {when the white king is badly exposed.}) 21... Qf6 22. Bd1 { The position can hardly be evaluated correctly. Both sides have problematic pieces; however, White can always hope to get his bishops out and prove their superiority, such as in this line:} exd4 23. cxd4 Bxf3 24. Nxf3 Bxd4 25. Nxd4 Qxd4 26. bxc6 bxc6 27. Ra2) 20. bxa6 bxa6 21. Qd3 h4 22. Bh2 Ne6 {Quickly to f4!} ({Once again Grischuk has a vast choice:} 22... h3 23. g3 Qf6) ({Or even the computer move} 22... Rc7 $5 {that removes the rook away from the tempo:} 23. Qxa6 h3 {In both cases with a double-edged position.}) 23. Bd1 {Not only defending but attacking the Bg4.} Nef4 24. Qxa6 O-O {An inaccuracy.} ({ Stronger seems} 24... Rc7 25. Nxe5 dxe5 26. Bxg4 Qg5 27. Bf3 exd4 28. cxd4 Bxd4 29. Rab1 {And only then} O-O {For the pawn Black keeps a strong grip on the position.}) 25. Nxe5 $1 dxe5 26. Bxg4 Qg5 27. Bf3 Ra8 ({Apparently now there is no time for} 27... exd4 28. Qxa7) 28. Qc4 {The pawn on d4 survives and thanks to it Dominguez has the king in safety. With his next move Grischuk still tries to prove that he has enough initiative on the kingside, but blunders.} Nxg2 $2 ({After} 28... h3 $1 29. Bxf4 Qxf4 30. Rfd1 hxg2 {it would have been anyone's game.}) 29. Kh1 $3 {Brilliant! The attack for Black is over and it will be White to mate along the g-file.} ({Instead} 29. Bxg2 h3 30. Bg3 hxg2 31. Rfd1 {would have made Black happy after either} Kg7 ({or} 31... Qg4)) 29... Qxd2 ({Nothing changes} 29... h3 30. Rad1) 30. Rad1 {defending the central pawn.} ({Not as good is} 30. Bxg2 exd4) 30... Ne3 ({Or} 30... Qh6 31. Bxg2 Rab8 32. Bh3 {with similar consequences.}) 31. fxe3 Qxe3 32. Rd3 Qh6 33. Bg4 {A remarkable turnaround. White's long-ranged pieces come into the game, and the attack is unstoppable. The previously gorgeous black pieces sadly observe the laughter from the opposite corners of the board.} Rae8 34. Rdf3 Re7 35. Bf5 {This bishop, which does not have an opponent, is especially annoying.} Nf4 ({Or} 35... Kh8 36. Qxc6) 36. Bxf4 exf4 37. Rxf4 Rb8 (37... Kh8 {should not change anything after} 38. e5) 38. Rg4+ Kf8 ({If} 38... Kh8 39. Rfg1) 39. Bg6 $1 {It is over.} Rbb7 40. Qxc6 Qe3 41. Rxh4 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.21"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C24"] [WhiteElo "2707"] [BlackElo "2730"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 c6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb3 Bb4+ (5... Bd6 6. Nc3 dxe4 7. Ng5 O-O 8. Ncxe4 Nxe4 9. Nxe4 Bf5 10. O-O Na6 11. Nxd6 Qxd6 12. Qf3 Be6 13. Qg3 Bxb3 14. axb3 Nb4 {Anand,V (2770)-Kramnik,V (2790) Frankfurt 1998}) 6. Bd2 Bxd2+ 7. Qxd2 Qd6 8. Qg5 Nbd7 9. exd5 cxd5 10. d4 e4 11. Ne5 (11. Nh4 Nb6 12. Qxg7 Qf4 13. Qxh8+ Ke7 14. Nc3 Qxh4 15. Qg7 Bg4 16. Bxd5 Nbxd5 17. Nxd5+ Nxd5 18. Qe5+ Be6 {Svidler,P (2737)-Duda,J (2729) Riga 2019}) 11... O-O 12. Nc3 Nb6 13. f3 Be6 14. O-O-O {N} (14. Qe3 exf3 15. gxf3 Nh5 16. Qg5 f6 17. Qxh5 fxe5 18. Qxe5 Qxe5+ 19. dxe5 Rxf3 20. O-O-O Rd8 {Vitiugov,N (2721)-Zubov,A (2612) Gjakova 2016}) 14... Rac8 15. Qd2 a6 16. Rhe1 exf3 17. gxf3 Nfd7 18. h4 f6 $6 19. Nd3 Bf7 {Black's last two moves are refuted with an annoying queen move:} 20. Qf4 $1 Rc6 ({Black cannot avoid the trade:} 20... Qc6 21. Nb4) ({while} 20... Qxf4+ 21. Nxf4 {also wins the d-pawn.}) 21. Qxd6 Rxd6 22. Nc5 $1 ({ Stronger than} 22. Nf4) 22... Rb8 23. Re7 Kf8 24. Rde1 {Black can't avoid a material loss.} Nxc5 25. dxc5 Rd7 26. Rxf7+ Kxf7 27. cxb6 {Black has no chance of saving this.} Rbd8 28. Nxd5 Kg6 (28... Rxd5 29. Rd1 {will lead to a winning pawn ending.}) 29. c4 Kh5 30. Re4 Rc8 31. Kd2 g5 32. Ke3 Rf7 33. hxg5 fxg5 34. Ba4 Kh6 35. Be8 Rf8 36. Bd7 Rb8 37. b4 Kg6 38. Nc7 Rfd8 39. Re7 Rh8 40. Be8+ Kf6 41. Nd5+ 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.21"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Yu, Yangyi"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2776"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8. Bb5+ Nc6 9. Rb1 (9. O-O O-O 10. Be3 Bg4 11. d5 Ne5 12. Be2 Nxf3+ 13. Bxf3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 Bxc3 15. Rab1 b6 16. Bxc5 Rc8 {Dubov,D (2700)-Mamedyarov,S (2765) Riga 2019}) 9... O-O 10. d5 Ne5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. O-O a6 13. Be2 Bxc3 14. Be3 { N} (14. Qc2 Bd4 15. Bh6 Re8 16. Be3 Bxe3 17. fxe3 Qd6 18. Qc3 f6 19. a4 b6 20. Rfc1 Bd7 {Fuller,W-Kitts,G Grand Rapids 1989}) 14... Qa5 15. h4 Rb8 16. h5 Bd7 17. f4 Qxa2 18. hxg6 hxg6 19. Bg4 f5 20. Bh3 Qa4 ({If we believe the engine, both} 20... Qc4) ({and} 20... b5 {would give Black a close to winning advantage.}) 21. Qxa4 Bxa4 22. Bxc5 Rf7 (22... fxe4 $5) 23. Rb6 Kh7 24. Rf3 Ba5 $6 {The king doesn't have enough defenders this way.} (24... Bg7 25. e5 Bc2) 25. Re6 fxe4 26. Rg3 Rg8 27. f5 $1 {This gives White a winning initiative.} g5 (27... gxf5 28. Bxf5+ $1 Rxf5 29. Rxe7+ {wins on the spot.}) 28. Bxe7 (28. Bg4 {is also very strong.}) 28... Bc7 29. d6 Bb6+ 30. Kh2 Bd7 31. Rg6 $1 e3 (31... Rxg6 32. fxg6+ Kxg6 33. Rxg5+ Kh6 34. Bxd7) 32. R3xg5 Rgg7 33. Rxg7+ Rxg7 34. Rh5+ Kg8 35. f6 $1 {Yu finishes it with accurate play.} Bg4 (35... e2 36. Re5 Rh7 37. Rxe2 Kf7 38. Kg3 Bxh3 39. gxh3 Rh5 40. Rb2 {also wins.}) 36. Rh8+ $1 Kxh8 37. fxg7+ Kxg7 38. Bxg4 Bc5 39. Kg3 a5 40. Kf3 a4 41. Bd7 a3 42. Be6 b6 43. Bb3 1-0 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE World Cup"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.09.23"] [Round "37.1"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2811"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 {"Maybe I should study some Catalans with ...dxc4." (Grischuk)} 5. Bg2 a6 6. O-O Nc6 7. e3 Rb8 8. Nfd2 e5 9. Bxc6+ bxc6 10. dxe5 Ng4 11. Nxc4 Be6 12. Qe2 ({Ding has positive experience in this line as White:} 12. Nbd2 h5 13. f3 Rb4 14. fxg4 Bxc4 15. Nxc4 Qxd1 16. Rxd1 Rxc4 17. Bd2 Rxg4 {Ding,L (2777)-Mamedyarov,S (2799) Huaian 2017}) 12... h5 13. Rd1 Qc8 14. Qf3 {N A novelty. At his stage Ding was an hour ahead on the clock and Grischuk was severely worried about his king safety.} ({A predecessor saw White winning after} 14. Nbd2 h4 15. Nf1 hxg3 16. hxg3 Rb4 ({However, lots of ifs and buts were left behind the scenes. For example, what if} 16... Bd5 $1) ( {Or} 16... Rb5 $1) 17. b3 Bd5 18. f3 Bc5 19. fxg4 Rh1+ 20. Kf2 f5 {Vorobiov,E (2586)-Goudriaan,E (2375) Leiden 2012}) 14... Rb6 {"An excellent move." (Grischuk) Instead of defending Black sacrifices the exchange in return for light-squared domination.} ({Ding didn't want to play} 14... Bd5 {because he didn't like} 15. Rxd5 cxd5 16. Qxd5 {and Grischuk then prolonged the line:} Qf5 17. f3 Qc2 (17... Nh6 18. Nc3) 18. Qc6+ {and claimed he would have given perpetual check.} ({Not} 18. Nbd2 $2 Qd1+ 19. Kg2 Qe2+ {and mate.}) 18... Kd8 19. Qd5+ ({Once again White can try to develop:} 19. Nbd2 {This time his queen is not hanging on d5, but there does not seem to be an adequate defense after} Qd1+ 20. Nf1 Nxh2 21. Kxh2 Rh6 $3 {e.g.} (21... Qxf1 22. e6 Qf2+ (22... fxe6 23. Ne5 Qf2+ {leads to the same perpetual.}) 23. Kh3 Qf1+ {is a repetition only.}) 22. Nd6 (22. Qe4 Qxf1 {changes nothing.}) 22... Bxd6 23. exd6 ({ In the endgame too, White comes short of one move to organize himself:} 23. e4 Be7 24. Qd5+ Qxd5 25. exd5 Rhb6 26. b3 Rb5 27. Ne3 Bc5 28. Nc4 Bd4 {with a large advantage for the second player.}) 23... Qe2+ $1 24. Kg1 Rxd6 25. Qa4 Rd1 {Black is winning. Either the players missed the Rh8-h6 idea, or their super-computers found something exceptional.}) (19. fxg4 Qxc1+ 20. Kg2 Rxb2+) 19... Ke8 ({However, the main question remained: How would White save himself after} 19... Kc8 $1 20. fxg4 Qxc1+ 21. Kg2 hxg4 {does not seem playable at all. }) 20. Qc6+) 15. Nxb6 cxb6 16. h4 {White sensibly decides to keep the h-file blocked.} ({However, in the line} 16. Nc3 $5 h4 (16... Nxe5 17. Qe4) 17. h3 Nxe5 18. Qe4 Qc7 19. g4 {it is not yet clear how would Black profit from the opponent's kingside weakening.}) ({In the line} 16. Nd2 h4 17. h3 Nxe5 18. Qe4 Bd6 19. g4 f5 {Black's initiative is overwhelming.}) 16... Nxe5 17. Qf4 ({ Worse is} 17. Qe4 f6 18. Nc3 (18. Nd2 Bd5) 18... Bg4) 17... Ng6 18. Qe4 Be7 19. Nc3 {At last Grischuk finds a moment to develop his queenside.} Bf5 {"Not the most accurate" ((Ding)} ({Instead the Chinese GM suggested the improvement} 19... Bg4 $1 20. Re1 (20. Rd2 O-O {does not seem natural at all.}) ({Whereas} 20. f3 {is always met with} f5) 20... f5 21. Qg2 (21. Qd4 Bf6 22. Qxb6 Ne5) 21... Ne5 {In these lines White does not have enough time to lock the light squares with the timely f2-f3.}) 20. Qh1 $1 {"Very important. I finally thought I am more or less OK." (Grischuk)} ({An important detail is} 20. Qg2 Ne5 21. f3 g5 22. e4 Bh3 $1 {With tempo!} 23. Qe2 gxh4 {and Black has a strong attack.}) 20... Ne5 21. f3 {"[After this move] my position is not so promising. " (Ding)} Bc2 $5 {Temporarily disturbing the harmony in the enemy camp.} ({Here } 21... g5 22. e4 Bh3 23. Bxg5 {is good only for White}) ({but} 21... Bc5 $5 { at once might have been more to the point.}) 22. Rd2 Bg6 23. Qg2 ({White could even have fought for more with} 23. e4 f5 24. Re2) 23... O-O 24. Rd1 Qf5 25. Rf1 Qe6 26. Ne2 ({Against the natural development} 26. Bd2 {Black planned} Bd3 27. Rfe1 (27. Rf2 Nc4) 27... Qf6 {when he does not need to fear} 28. f4 $2 Ng4) 26... Nd3 27. Kh2 $1 {Another sensible, important move.} ({The king might get a cold after} 27. Rd1 Bc5) 27... Rd8 ({Here} 27... Bc5 {is met with} 28. Nf4 Nxf4 29. gxf4) 28. e4 ({Grischuk was low on time. Otherwise he might have tried } 28. Rd1 $1 c5 29. e4 {with the idea} f5 $2 30. Rxd3 Rxd3 31. Nf4) 28... f5 29. exf5 ({The position should be dynamically balanced in the line} 29. Nf4 Nxf4 30. Bxf4 fxe4 31. fxe4 Bxe4 32. Qe2 {as well.}) 29... Qxf5 30. Nf4 Bf7 31. Nxd3 Rxd3 32. Bf4 {Again a sensible, down-to-earth approach. Grischuk finishes the development and as he put it, later made a draw from a position of strength.} ({The other developing move} 32. Bg5 Bxg5 33. hxg5 Qxg5 34. Rad1 Rxd1 35. Rxd1 Bxa2 {would drop a second pawn.}) 32... Bxh4 33. Rad1 Rxd1 34. Rxd1 Bf6 {For the exchange Black has enough: the a pawn and the bishop pair.} 35. b3 g5 36. Bc7 Bd5 37. Qe2 g4 ({The forcing line} 37... Bxf3 38. Qe8+ Kg7 39. Rd7+ Kh6 40. Qf8+ Kg6 41. Qg8+ Kh6 {looks dangerous for Black but there is nothing more than a perpetual check.}) 38. Qd3 Qxd3 39. Rxd3 gxf3 40. Bxb6 Be5 41. Bd4 ({White could have also tried} 41. Rd1 {but the point should be split here as well after} Kf7 ({Less good is} 41... h4 42. Bf2)) 41... Be4 (41... Be4 {A drawn pawn endgame arises by force after} 42. Rd2 Bxd4 43. Rxd4 f2 44. Rd1 Bd3 45. Kg2 f1=Q+ 46. Rxf1 Bxf1+ 47. Kxf1 Kf7) 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.23"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Vitiugov, Nikita"] [Black "Yu, Yangyi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B91"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2763"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3 e5 7. Nde2 Be7 8. Bg2 O-O 9. O-O b5 10. Nd5 Nxd5 (10... Nbd7 11. Nec3 Nb6 12. Nxf6+ Bxf6 13. b3 Be6 14. Ba3 Qc7 15. Qd3 Rfc8 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2778)-Wojtaszek,R (2749) Shenzhen 2018}) 11. Qxd5 Ra7 12. Be3 Rb7 13. Qd2 Nd7 14. Nc3 Nf6 15. Bg5 Be6 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Nd5 Bg5 18. Qd3 a5 {N} (18... Qd7 19. c3 Rc8 20. h4 Bd8 21. Rfd1 g6 22. Rd2 Rc5 23. Ne3 Rb6 24. a3 Be7 {Lupulescu,C (2620)-Huschenbeth,N (2596) Germany 2017}) 19. a3 Qc8 20. c3 Qc6 21. Rfd1 Kh8 22. Qe2 Qc4 23. Qh5 Bh6 24. Qf3 Qb3 25. Qe2 Qc4 26. Qc2 {Avoiding the repetition.} f5 27. b3 Qc5 28. b4 Qa7 29. exf5 Bxf5 30. Qe2 Rbf7 31. Rf1 Be6 32. Qxb5 Rxf2 33. Kh1 Qa8 $5 {Giving an exchange.} 34. Rxf2 Rxf2 35. Nf4 Rxg2 (35... Qc8 {wouldn't be possible:} 36. Nxe6 Qxe6 37. bxa5 {and the a-pawn will decide the game.}) 36. Nxg2 axb4 37. Qxb4 (37. cxb4 $5) 37... Bd5 38. Qb2 Be3 39. a4 h6 40. h3 Bc5 41. Kh2 Bc4 42. Qc2 Qf3 43. Nh4 Qe3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.22"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A35"] [WhiteElo "2730"] [BlackElo "2707"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nc7 7. O-O g6 8. Na4 Ne6 9. d3 Ncd4 10. Be3 Bg7 11. Rc1 O-O 12. Nxc5 Nf5 13. Nxe6 Bxe6 14. Bc5 Bxb2 15. Rb1 Bg7 16. Rxb7 Qc8 17. Rb5 a6 18. Ra5 Bc3 19. Qa4 Rb8 20. d4 Bxa5 21. Qxa5 Rb2 22. e4 Nd6 23. Qa3 Rxa2 24. Qe3 f6 25. Rc1 Qd7 26. d5 Bh3 27. Bxh3 Qxh3 28. Bxd6 exd6 29. Nd4 Rc8 30. Nc6 Re8 31. Nd4 Rc8 32. Rb1 Ra4 33. Ne6 Rac4 34. Re1 g5 35. e5 $1 dxe5 (35... fxe5 36. Qxg5+ $18) (35... Qh5 36. exd6 Qf7 $16 {Black is still fighting.}) 36. Qa7 $1 Qh6 37. d6 {The d-pawn, queen and knight spell Black's doom.} Rc1 38. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 39. Kg2 g4 40. h4 $1 gxh3+ 41. Kh2 {The White king is very safe here.} Qg6 42. Qa8+ (42. d7 $2 Rh1+ 43. Kxh1 Qe4+ $19) (42. Qa8+ $1 Kf7 43. d7 $18) 1-0 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.09.24"] [Round "38.2"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2707"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bb5+ c6 8. Ba4 O-O 9. Ne2 e5 10. O-O Nd7 11. Be3 Qe7 12. Bc2 ({Another tabiya that has been heavily investigated runs} 12. d5 Rd8 13. c4 b5 14. d6 Qf6 15. cxb5 cxb5 16. Bxb5 Nb6 17. Bc5 Bf8 18. Qd3 Bxd6 19. Rad1 Bd7 20. Bxb6 axb6 21. Bxd7 Rxd7 {Gelfand,B (2692)-Piket,J (2633) Monte Carlo 2000}) 12... Nb6 13. f4 {N "For sure I surprised him in the opening." (Radjabov)} ({The predecessor saw Black doing fine after} 13. Qc1 Re8 14. Bg5 Qf8 15. Rb1 {Sorokin,V (2337)-Jansa,V (2482) Arvier 2006}) 13... exd4 14. Bxd4 Rd8 ({During the game White started to question his analysis. Especially in the main line he studied} 14... Bg4 15. Qe1 {an he was wondering what will happen after the natural} Bxe2 ({His main line ran instead:} 15... Rfd8 16. f5) 16. Qxe2 Bxd4+ {but finally assumed he should be slightly better after} 17. cxd4 c5 18. dxc5 Qxc5+ 19. Kh1 {(Radjabov) }) 15. f5 Bxd4+ 16. cxd4 c5 17. Qd2 {At this point of the game the Azeri GM became overexcited. Without the fianchetto bishop he felt that everything should end with quick mate and went for} ({Instead a more accurate approach is } 17. Qd3 $1 cxd4 18. fxg6 hxg6 19. Nf4 {would have led to a serious attack for White.}) ({Ditto for} 17. a4 $1 Nc4 18. Qd3 Ne5 19. Qg3 cxd4 20. Nf4 { White has time to bring more pieces into the attack whereas Black lacks air for his troops.}) 17... Nc4 $1 {"I completely missed this. Probably it is a good move." (Radjabov)} ({Instead he was hoping for} 17... cxd4 18. Bb3 gxf5 19. Ng3 {"followed by Ra1-e1 and everything is coming [at the black king]." (Radjabov)}) 18. Qd3 {A practical choice.} ({From afar White planned} 18. Qh6 { but here he saw} Bxf5 $1 {and dismissed the whole line. Indeed, the variations show enough compensation for the material, but never a clear advantage, therefore White risks as much as his opponent:} 19. Rf4 ({One point behind the knight's activation is seen in the line} 19. exf5 Qxe2 20. f6 Qe3+) 19... Rd6 { With the idea} 20. Rh4 $2 ({Better is} 20. Ng3 Bd7 21. e5 Rxd4 22. Nh5 f5 23. exf6 Qf7 {when there is nothing decisive and White is down material.}) 20... g5 $1) 18... Ne5 19. Qa3 Nc4 20. Qc3 ({The computer claims that} 20. Qg3 {is more to the point, when} cxd4 21. Nf4 b5 22. Nd5 (22. Rae1 Ne3) 22... Qe5 {allows Black a chance to stabilize the position, but White remains much more active.}) 20... b5 {Xiong already believed he is better.} 21. f6 Qd6 22. d5 Re8 {The beginning of a wrong idea.} ({After} 22... Ne5 23. Qd2 Re8 {the position remains extremely complicated and difficult for both players. Black always has to be wary of mating attacks against his king, whereas White always has to watch out for practically lost endgames.}) 23. Bd3 Ne3 {Active, but at the same time the knight is not safe enough there.} ({The time for do or die did not come yet. Xiong could have opted for} 23... Nb6 24. Bxb5 Rxe4 {instead.}) 24. Bxb5 Rxe4 25. Ng3 Ng4 {Tactically defending the rook. However now Black has too many things to worry about.} 26. Rac1 (26. Nxe4 $4 Qxh2#) 26... c4 ({ Here, the possible endgame is no longer favorable for Black. He cannot finish the development fast enough. For example:} 26... Rf4 27. Rxf4 Qxf4 28. Rf1 Qd4+ 29. Qxd4 cxd4 30. Bc6 Rb8 31. h3 Ne3 32. Rf4 d3 33. Re4 Bb7 34. Rxe3 Bxc6 35. Rxd3 {winning a pawn.}) 27. h3 Bb7 ({The last chance was the search of another endgame:} 27... Re3 $1 28. Qxc4 Nxf6 29. Qd4 Qxg3 30. Qxf6 Bf5 31. Bc4 Qe5 32. Qxe5 Rxe5 {and Black should survive.}) 28. hxg4 Rxg4 ({If} 28... Qc5+ 29. Rf2 Rf4 30. Rcf1 Rxf2 31. Rxf2 Qxb5 32. Qe3 {the black king suffers on the dark squares.}) 29. Bc6 $1 {Strong play by Radjabov. The fianchettoed bishop is a menace and should be neutralized.} ({Lines like} 29. Ne2 $4 Qxd5 30. Rf2 Rxg2+ 31. Kf1 Rxf2+ 32. Kxf2 Qxb5 {are quite persuasive.}) 29... Rxg3 30. Qxc4 Ba6 $5 {Xiong understands that something went terribly wrong for him and in the time-trouble tries his best to confuse his opponent.} ({Otherwise White would enjoy a huge advantage in the endgame, without any counterplay:} 30... Rc8 31. Qf4 Qxf4 32. Rxf4) 31. Qf4 $1 {Another practical decision by White.} ({He felt that he should win if he accepts the sacrifice, but could not see a clear way after} 31. Qxa6 Rh3 32. Qc4 Qh2+ 33. Kf2 Rb8 $1 {The path is indeed very narrow:} 34. Bb5 $3 {Threatening mate and shutting off the intruder. There are many checks but none of them promises Black salvation:} h6 ({Or} 34... Qg3+ 35. Ke2 Qe5+ 36. Kd1) 35. Qc7 $1 {Another key move.} Rxb5 ({Nothing changes} 35... Qxc7 36. Rxc7 Rh5 37. Bc4) 36. Qxh2 Rxh2 37. d6 {The d-passer should decide.}) 31... Rd8 32. Rce1 $1 {Back-rank mate is threatened.} Qc5+ (32... Bxf1 33. Qxd6 Rxd6 34. Re8#) 33. Rf2 Rc3 34. Re7 {Both Qf4-h6 and Re7xf7 are on the agenda.} Rc1+ {This loses at once.} ({Black should have tried his last chance:} 34... Rc2 {with the idea} 35. Rxf7 ({However, after} 35. Qe3 $1 Qxe3 36. Rxe3 { Black could have hardly survived.}) 35... Rxf2 ({But not} 35... Qxf2+ 36. Qxf2 Rxf2 37. Rg7+ Kf8 38. Kxf2 {which should win for White.}) 36. Rg7+ Kh8 37. Qxf2 Qc1+ {with perpetual.}) 35. Kh2 Rc3 36. Qh6 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.24"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2811"] [BlackElo "2759"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 (2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Bc5 7. O-O O-O 8. d3 h6 9. Nxd5 Qxd5 10. a3 a5 11. Bd2 Qe6 12. Rc1 Qe7 13. Bc3 Nd4 14. e3 Nxf3+ 15. Qxf3 Bd6 16. Qh5 c6 {as in Carlsen,M (2845)-Giri,A (2797) Shamkir 2019 was quite a similar position as in the game, and at the same time completely different:} 17. f4 exf4 18. gxf4 Qxe3+ 19. Kh1 Rd8 20. Rce1 Qc5 21. f5 Bf8 22. Be4 Rd5 23. Rf3 b5 24. Rg1 Ra7 25. Bf6 g6 26. Qh3 Rd6 27. Qh4 Rxf6 28. Qxf6 Be7 29. Qxc6 Qxc6 30. Bxc6 Kg7 31. fxg6 fxg6 32. d4 a4 33. d5 b4 34. Be8 Bg5 35. h4 Bxh4 36. Rxg6+ Kh7 37. Rc6 Bg4 38. Rf4 Rg7 {1-0}) 2... Nf6 3. Bg2 {"There are many ways to play for both sides. I went for the most simple way." (Ding)} Bc5 4. d3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Nc3 Nb6 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. O-O O-O 9. a3 a5 10. Na4 (10. Be3 Bxe3 11. fxe3 f5 12. b4 Qf6 13. b5 Ne7 14. Qb3+ Be6 15. Qb2 Qh6 16. e4 f4 {Prakash,G (2350)-Chakrabarty,D (2082) Bhubaneswar 2011}) 10... Nxa4 11. Qxa4 Nd4 {N} (11... Bd7 12. Qc2 Bb6 13. b3 Bg4 14. Bb2 Bxf3 15. Bxf3 Nd4 16. Bxd4 Bxd4 17. Rab1 c6 {Ronce,N (1943)-Joslin, J (1980) Nancy 2013}) 12. Nxd4 Bxd4 13. Bd2 c6 14. e3 Bb6 15. Bc3 Re8 16. Rfd1 Bd7 {Perhaps too passive, according to Ding.} (16... Bf5 $5 17. Rac1 h6 {followed by ...Qd7.}) 17. Rac1 h6 18. h3 ({This becomes a weakness later so Ding preferred} 18. Rd2 {as "a more useful waiting move" with the idea Qd1 and d3-d4.}) ({The point of 16... Bd7 was} 18. d4 exd4 19. Bxd4 c5) 18... Rb8 19. Rd2 Bc7 20. d4 (20. Qd1 c5 21. d4 cxd4 22. exd4 e4) 20... c5 21. Qc2 exd4 (21... cxd4 22. exd4 e4 23. Bxe4 Bxh3 24. Bh7+ Kh8 25. Bf5 Bxf5 26. Qxf5 f6 27. d5 Bd6 28. Kg2 {followed by Rh1 is also slightly better for White (Ding).}) 22. exd4 c4 23. a4 {Stopping 23... b5.} Bd6 24. Rdd1 b6 25. Re1 Rxe1+ ({After} 25... Qg5 $5 26. Bd2 Rxe1+ (26... Qh5 27. g4 Qh4 28. Qxc4 h5 $2 29. Qd5) 27. Rxe1 {Ding thought Black couldn't play because of} Bxa4 28. Qxa4 Qxd2 29. Re8+ Rxe8 30. Qxe8+ Bf8 31. Bd5 { but he missed} Qd1+ 32. Kg2 Qh5 {=}) (25... Qc7 $5 {Ding}) 26. Rxe1 Qc7 (26... Qf8 $5 27. h4 Re8 28. Ra1 $5 {Ding}) 27. h4 Re8 28. Bd5 Rxe1+ ({Ding suggested } 28... Qc8 $5 {and thought} 29. Qg6 Be6 30. Rxe6 Rxe6 {is not very good for White but he might have underestimated the endgame after} (30... fxe6 31. Bxc4 $1) 31. Bxe6 Qxe6 32. Qxe6 fxe6 33. Kg2 {e.g.} Kf7 34. Kf3 h5 35. Ke4 Ke7 36. d5 g6 37. Bd2 Bc5 38. Be3 {and the c-pawn drops.} Bxe3) 29. Bxe1 Be6 $6 { "A very bad move." (Ding)} (29... Qc8 $5 30. Bxc4 Qe8 31. Bd2 Bxa4 32. Qg6 Qd7 33. Bxh6 Bf8 {and White still has some work to do.}) 30. Bxe6 fxe6 31. Qe4 { This is quite problematic for Black.} Kf7 (31... Qf7 32. Qc6) (31... Qd7 32. d5 ) 32. Bc3 (32. d5 {was also possible.}) 32... Bf8 33. d5 Qd6 34. dxe6+ Qxe6 35. Qb7+ Kg8 ({In the analysis Ding tried} 35... Be7 36. Bd4 Kg6 37. Bxb6 Bf6 38. Bxa5 {but it's not better.}) 36. Bd4 Qf5 37. Kh2 ({was fine too.} 37. Qxb6) 37... Qc2 38. Qd5+ $1 (38. Qxb6 Qxa4 39. Qe6+ Kh7 40. Qf7 Qb4 {gives Black slightly more chances.}) 38... Kh7 39. Qf7 Qd3 40. Bc3 Qd6 41. Qxc4 Qg6 42. Bd4 (42. Bd4 Bd6 43. Be3 {and with Kg2, Qd5, h5 and/or Qc6 coming the win is fairly easy for White, so Grischuk resigned.}) 1-0 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE World Cup"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.09.25"] [Round "40.1"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2774"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {Two years back Lady Luck versed the two great players and friends in a battle not only for the World Cup final, but for the Candidates' spot as well. Back then Aronian won a tense armageddon game which he could have easily lost.} Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 a6 6. O-O d6 7. a4 O-O 8. Re1 Ba7 9. h3 h6 10. Nbd2 Re8 11. b4 Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6 13. Nf1 Qd7 ({There is also } 13... d5 14. Qc2 Qd7 15. Ra2 Rd8 16. b5 Ne7 17. exd5 Qxd5 18. Be3 Bxe3 19. Nxe3 Qc5 {as in Duda,J (2730)-Giri,A (2780) chess.com INT 2019}) 14. Be3 Bxe3 15. Nxe3 d5 16. b5 {N} ({In the predecessor White played this on the next move after} 16. Qc2 Rd8 17. b5 axb5 18. axb5 Ne7 19. c4 c6 20. bxc6 bxc6 21. Ra5 dxe4 22. dxe4 Ng6 {Kravtsiv,M (2641)-Parligras,M (2645) Hungary 2019}) 16... Ne7 ({Black obviously does not wish to improve the opponent's queen in the line } 16... axb5 $6 17. axb5 Rxa1 18. Qxa1 Ne7 19. c4) 17. c4 d4 {Closing the center seems like the better choice here for Black. He gains an important outpost for his knight on c5 from where it will have good access both to the d3 and a4 pawns.} ({The other way to play the position} 17... dxe4 18. dxe4 Qxd1 19. Raxd1 axb5 20. axb5 c6 {leaves White somewhat better.} (20... Nxe4 $2 21. Nd5 $1)) 18. Nf5 Re8 {Prepares the capture on f5.} 19. N3h4 ({Also interesting was} 19. Nd2 $5 Nxf5 {with the idea} 20. exf5 R6e7 21. Qf3) 19... Ng6 $1 {Getting more breathing room for his pieces.} 20. g3 (20. Nxg6 {would be a mistake. After} fxg6 {Black has clear play along the f-file after the maneuver Nf6-h5-f4.}) 20... Nxh4 21. Nxh4 Qe7 {Now the queen looks towards the opposite wing.} 22. Qc1 (22. Nf5 Qb4) 22... Nd7 23. Qa3 Nc5 $5 {Aronian decided to keep the queens on the board.} ({Black could have played also} 23... Qxa3 24. Rxa3 a5 {which should be about equal.}) 24. f4 $6 {An obvious idea, but it has a hidden flaw.} ({Both} 24. Nf5 Qf8) ({And} 24. Red1 a5 {would not have promised White anything, but this option should have been preferred.}) 24... exf4 25. Nf5 Qf8 26. gxf4 {Everything seems fine for Vachier-Lagrave. He is ready to transfer some major pieces along the g-file. However} Rf6 $1 { The threat is g7-g6.} 27. Rf1 Rxf5 $3 {Brilliant! This move refutes White's idea. His kingside is left in ruins, the open e-file is in Aronian's hands from where he can bring his pieces quickly in striking distance from the white king. The knight is also close enough, whereas Vachier-Lagrave's queen is way too far.} 28. exf5 Re3 29. Rae1 ({Nothing changes} 29. Rad1 Qe7) ({nor} 29. Kg2 Rxd3 30. Qb4 Qe7 $1 {in both cases with a decisive atatck for Black.}) 29... Qe7 ({There was a nice alternative:} 29... Rxh3 30. Qa2 Nxd3 {continuing the attack with equal material.}) 30. Rxe3 {Vachier-Lagrave came one step closer to the abyss.} ({The computer suggests the spoiler} 30. f6 $1 {in order to slow the black queen a bit. Then} gxf6 $1 ({After} 30... Qe6 31. Qxc5 Rxe1 ( 31... Qxh3 32. Rxe3 dxe3 33. fxg7 Qg3+ {is only perpetual.}) 32. Qxd4 Qe3+ ({Or } 32... Rxf1+ 33. Kxf1) 33. Qxe3 Rxe3 34. Kf2 Rxd3 35. Rg1 {leads to an endgame which White should hold.}) 31. Qb4 Qe6 32. Rxe3 Qxe3+ 33. Kh2 Nxd3 34. Qb3 {White manages to organize his forces a bit, but nevertheless should be close to lost, e.g after} Qe2+) 30... Qxe3+ 31. Kh2 (31. Kg2 Nxd3 $1 {wins for Black.}) 31... Qe2+ {Obvious, but not optimal.} ({Had Aronian united his knight with the queen at once, the result would have been different! Black wins with:} 31... Ne4 $3 32. Qb2 ({If} 32. f6 Qg3+ 33. Kh1 Qxh3+ 34. Kg1 Qg3+ 35. Kh1 Nd2 {followed by Nd2-f3 is the end.}) 32... Qg3+ 33. Kh1 Qxh3+ 34. Kg1 Qe3+ $1 {To separate the king from the rook.} 35. Kg2 (35. Kh1 Qxd3) 35... Qg3+ 36. Kh1 Qxd3 37. Re1 Nd2 {Black is the one with the extra material now, whereas White still suffers to coordinate his pieces.}) 32. Kg1 Nxd3 ({It was not too late to switch to the winning line with} 32... Qe3+ $1) 33. bxa6 bxa6 34. Qb3 Qe3+ 35. Kh2 Qd2+ 36. Kg1 {Despite the missed win it is again Aronian who calls the shots. The queen and the knight are fearsome attacking couple and if a single pawn comes to help them Vachier-Lagrave's defense will collapse. Plus, Black can practically always force perpetual check. This false sense of invincibility perhaps played a decisive role in Aronian's subsequent play.} Qe3+ ({Better was} 36... Nxf4 $1 37. Qf3 Ne2+ 38. Kh1 Qc2 {with good winning chances.}) 37. Kh2 h5 (37... Qd2+ {with a draw was there, but Aronian still pushes.}) 38. Qd1 $1 h4 $4 {The dramatic blunder!} ({Either} 38... Nf2 39. Qxh5) ({or} 38... Nxf4 39. Qf3 Nd3 40. f6 Qxf3 41. Rxf3 Nb2 {would have likely ended the game in a draw when more games would determine the future winner.}) 39. Rf3 $1 {Vachier-Lagrave trades the queens and wins the endgame! A complete turnaround.} Nb2 40. Rxe3 Nxd1 41. Rd3 Nb2 42. Rxd4 c5 43. Rd5 Nxa4 44. Kg2 {Next the Frenchman demonstrates his impeccable technique.} Kf8 45. Kf3 Ke7 46. Kg4 Nb6 47. Rxc5 Kd6 48. Ra5 Nxc4 49. Rxa6+ Ke7 50. Kxh4 Nd6 {And} 51. Rxd6 $1 {wraps up the game as the pawn endgame is lost.} Kxd6 52. Kg5 Ke7 53. f6+ (53. f6+ {Nothing can save Black:} gxf6+ (53... Kf8 54. fxg7+ Kxg7 55. Kf5 {and White will soon win the last black pawn due to the zugwang.}) 54. Kf5) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.23"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2811"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] {This was played in round five of the World Cup 2019.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 a6 6. O-O Nc6 7. e3 Rb8 8. Nfd2 e5 {This is the main move. If White can play moves like Nfd2, Black must try and take advantage of it by playing in the centre.} 9. Bxc6+ (9. Nxc4 exd4 $11) 9... bxc6 10. dxe5 Ng4 11. Nxc4 Be6 12. Qe2 {Grischuk goes for the relatively lesser played move.} (12. Nbd2 {is the main move and was already seen in the game between Ding and Mamedyarov.} h5 13. f3 Rb4 14. fxg4 Bxc4 15. Nxc4 Qxd1 16. Rxd1 Rxc4 17. Bd2 $14 {White is definitely is pushing here.}) 12... h5 13. Rd1 Qc8 {This has been seen before in the game Vorobiov Goudriaan. Black's idea is simple. He would like to play ...h4. And simply run over White's kingside.} (13... Qe7 { was Ilincic vs Ashwin. Black won after} 14. f3 Qc5 15. Nbd2 Nxe5 $11) 14. Qf3 $5 {Grischuk definitely didn't make this move very happily. But he realized that he must do something drastic against Black's threat of h4 and found this interesting move.} (14. h4 g5 {is really something to worry about.} 15. hxg5 h4 ) (14. f3 h4 15. Nc3 hxg3 16. fxg4 Bxg4 17. Qg2 Bxd1 18. Qxc6+ Qd7 19. Qxd7+ Kxd7 20. Nxd1 Rxh2 21. Bd2 $13) (14. Nc3 h4 {is already quite a dangerous position for White.} 15. Qf3 $5 hxg3 16. hxg3 Be7 17. Qxc6+ Kf8 $36 {is just the kind of position Black is looking for.}) (14. h3 Bxc4 (14... h4 $5 15. hxg4 hxg3 16. f3 Bd5 17. Qg2 Bxc4 18. b3 Bd5 19. Ba3 {White seems to be doing fine here.}) 15. Qxc4 Nxe5 16. Qe4 Bd6) 14... Rb6 $5 {It's quite puzzling that in this position where Ding Liren could have chosen a winning move, he goes for an inferior move that gives him dynamic equality.} (14... Qb7 {is just not in the spirit of the position.} 15. b3 (15. Na5 Nxe5 $15) 15... h4 16. h3 $18 { With the queen on b7, no attack really works.}) (14... Bd5 $1 {A lot of people started shouting that this position is simply winning for Black. If it were so easy, then wouldn't a 2800+ player find it? Let's try to understand why Ding Liren didn't play this?} 15. Rxd5 (15. Qe2 h4 $19 {is not even required to be analyzed. The attack is decisive.}) 15... cxd5 16. Qxd5 Qf5 $1 {There is a mate on f2.} (16... Be7 17. f3 h4 (17... Nh6 18. Nc3 $44) 18. Nbd2 hxg3 19. hxg3 {The position is complex and I am not sure about the assessment.}) 17. f3 {is what both Ding Liren and Grischuk were worried about.} (17. f4 Qc2 18. Nbd2 (18. Qd2 Qxc4) 18... Qd1+ $19 19. Kg2 Qe2+ 20. Kg1 Qf2+) 17... Qc2 {It's easy to miss this move. It hits the h2 and c1. The point is that interposing on d2 means that the Queen can go to d1 and finish off the game. And Qd2 fails to Qxc4. So surprisingly White's options are quite few.} 18. Qc6+ $1 (18. Qd2 Qxc4 $19) (18. Nbd2 $2 Qd1+ 19. Nf1 {simply loses the queen. So it is important to first give a check on c6.} Qxd5) 18... Kd8 (18... Ke7 19. Qxc7+ $18) 19. Nbd2 ( 19. Qd5+ Kc8 {No more checks!} 20. Nbd2 Qd1+ 21. Kg2 (21. Nf1) 21... Qe2+) 19... Qd1+ 20. Nf1 {Let's say White gets some time here, then he simply goes Bd2 and finishes Black off.} Nxh2 $1 (20... Z0 21. Bd2 Qxa1 22. Ba5 $18) 21. Kxh2 (21. Bd2 Qxa1 22. Ba5 Qxf1+ 23. Kxh2 Qe2+ 24. Kg1 Qd1+ 25. Kh2 Qd7 $19) 21... Rh6 $1 {A powerful move that stops all of White's threats.} (21... Qxf1 22. e6 $1 fxe6 (22... Qd3 23. Ne5 Qe2+ 24. Kh1 Qf1+ 25. Kh2 $11) 23. Ne5 Qf2+ 24. Kh1 Qf1+ $11) 22. Nd6 (22. Qe4 Qxf1 $19) 22... Bxd6 23. exd6 (23. e4 Be7 $1 24. Qd5+ (24. Bxh6 Qxa1 $19) 24... Qxd5 25. exd5 Rg6 $19) 23... Qe2+ 24. Kg1 Rxd6 $19) (14... Bxc4 15. Qxc6+ Ke7 16. b3) 15. Nxb6 cxb6 16. h4 Nxe5 17. Qf4 Ng6 18. Qe4 Be7 {The position is dynamically equal. Later the game ended in a draw.} 19. Nc3 Bf5 20. Qh1 Ne5 21. f3 Bc2 22. Rd2 Bg6 23. Qg2 O-O 24. Rd1 Qf5 25. Rf1 Qe6 26. Ne2 Nd3 27. Kh2 Rd8 28. e4 f5 29. exf5 Qxf5 30. Nf4 Bf7 31. Nxd3 Rxd3 32. Bf4 Bxh4 33. Rad1 Rxd1 34. Rxd1 Bf6 35. b3 g5 36. Bc7 Bd5 37. Qe2 g4 38. Qd3 Qxd3 39. Rxd3 gxf3 40. Bxb6 Be5 41. Bd4 Be4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.26"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2774"] [BlackElo "2758"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. d4 cxd4 ({A major alternative is } 5... Bg7 {when White has been taking the pawn in recent games:} 6. dxc5 Qa5+ 7. Nbd2 Ba6 8. a3 (8. Rb1 $5 Qxa2 9. b4 {Artemiev,V (2692)-Potapov,P (2479) St Petersburg RUS 2017} Bc4 $5) 8... Qxc5 9. c4 Nf6 (9... Nh6 10. b4 Qh5 11. Rb1 f5 {So,W (2765)-Maze,S (2596) Gibraltar 2019}) 10. b4 Qb6 11. O-O O-O 12. Bb2 d6 13. Qc2 Bc8 14. e5 Bf5 15. Qb3 dxe5 16. Bxe5 Rfd8 {Nepomniachtchi,I (2759) -Dubov,D (2703) Sochi RUS 2018}) 6. Qxd4 f6 (6... Nf6 7. e5 Nd5 8. O-O Bg7 9. Qh4 h6 10. c4 Nc7 11. Nc3) 7. Qa4 {N MVL deviates from his game against Carlsen last month in St. Louis.} (7. O-O d6 (7... Bg7 8. c4 Nh6 9. Bxh6 Bxh6 10. Rd1 O-O 11. c5 Rb8 12. b3 Kh8 13. Na3 Qa5 14. Nc4 Qb4 15. Ne1 Qb7 16. Rd3 Qc7 17. Rad1 {Firouzja,A (2521)-Lorparizangeneh,S (2485) Hamedan IRI 2017}) 8. c4 c5 9. Qd3 Bg7 10. b3 (10. Nc3 Nh6 11. Nh4 Rb8 12. b3 O-O 13. Re1 Nf7 14. f4 f5 {Kovalev,V (2687)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2539) Wijk aan Zee NED 2019}) 10... Nh6 11. Nc3 Rb8 12. Bd2 O-O 13. Rae1 Nf7 14. h4 Rb7 15. h5 g5 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2778)-Carlsen,M (2882) Saint Louis 2019}) 7... Bg7 8. O-O Nh6 9. c4 Qb6 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Re1 {MVL was happy with this move, for which he spent 16 minutes on the clock.} ({He also looked at} 11. Qa3 d6 12. c5 {but considered it "not enough"}) ({and} 11. Rd1 {can perhaps be met by} Ng4 12. Qc2 f5) 11... Nf7 12. Be3 Qb7 13. Qb3 Qxb3 (13... Rb8 $5 14. Qxb7 Rxb7 {Radjabov}) 14. axb3 Rb8 15. Rxa7 Rxb3 16. Na4 Rb7 17. Rxb7 Bxb7 18. Nb6 d6 19. c5 (19. b4 $5 c5 20. bxc5 Bxe4 21. Nd4 Ne5 {MVL}) 19... e5 $1 {Radjabov thought he had to do this because otherwise, with Ra1-a7 coming, it can get unpleasant.} 20. b4 ({ Initially MVL was planning} 20. Ra1 {but he saw} d5 {and said "I don't think I am better anymore." For what it's worth, the computer still prefers White after different moves:} 21. b4 (21. Ra7) (21. exd5 cxd5 22. b4)) 20... Ba6 21. Ra1 Bb5 22. Nd2 Rd8 {"I had to be a bit careful to make a draw." - MVL} 23. Ra8 Rxa8 24. Nxa8 Bf8 25. Nc7 dxc5 26. Nxb5 cxb5 27. bxc5 Nd8 28. Nb3 Nc6 29. Kf1 Kf7 30. Ke2 Ke6 31. g4 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.26"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Yu, Yangyi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2811"] [BlackElo "2763"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. Nf3 ({The other main move is} 3. d4 {e.g.} e4 4. d5 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Qe7 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. a3 Bxc3 8. Bxc3 d6 9. Nh3 cxd5 10. cxd5 O-O 11. Bg2 Bf5 {Ding,L (2782)-Anand,V (2803) Bilbao 2015}) 3... e4 (3... d6 4. e4 f5 5. exf5 Bxf5 6. d4 Nd7 7. Nc3 Qe7 {Hammer,J (2680)-Geirnaert,S (2450) Skopje 2015} ) 4. Nd4 d5 (4... Nf6 5. Nc3 Qb6 6. e3 Na6 7. d3 Bb4 8. Bg2 Nc5 9. dxe4 Ncxe4 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3 d6 12. Qc2 Nc5 {Bu Xiangzhi (2711)-Tran Tuan Minh (2503) Ho Chi Minh City VIE 2017}) 5. d3 ({Considering the many games at the highest level played with the sequence} 5. cxd5 Qxd5 6. Nc2 Nf6 7. Nc3 {it's probably considered to be more critical, e.g.} Qh5 (7... Qe5 {has been tried as well}) 8. h3 (8. Ne3 Bc5 9. Qc2 Qe5 10. Bg2 Bxe3 11. fxe3 Bf5 12. b4 (12. O-O O-O 13. b3 Nbd7 14. Bb2 Qe6 15. Rxf5 Qxf5 16. Nxe4 Qg6 {Anand,V (2791)-Adams,M (2745) Shamkir 2015}) 12... O-O 13. Bb2 Nbd7 14. O-O Qe6 15. b5 Bg6 16. Qb3 Nd5 17. Rac1 N7f6 {Aronian,L (2801)-Papaioannou,I (2652) Hersonissos GRE 2017}) (8. d3 exd3 9. Qxd3 Na6 10. Bg2 Bh3 11. Bf3 Qg6 12. Bxc6+ bxc6 13. Qxa6 Rd8 14. Ne3 Ne4 {Svidler,P (2753)-Topalov,V (2772) Norway Chess 2014}) 8... Na6 9. Bg2 Qg6 10. b3 (10. Rb1 Nb4 11. Ne3 Bc5 12. a3 Nbd5 13. Qc2 Nxc3 14. Qxc3 Bb6 15. b4 O-O {Aronian,L (2801)-Svidler,P (2722) Moscow 2010}) 10... Bc5 11. Bb2 O-O 12. Na4 Be7 13. Ne3 Nd5 14. Nxd5 cxd5 15. O-O Be6 {Nakamura,H (2802)-Aronian,L (2780) Stavanger 2015}) 5... Bc5 (5... Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Qb6 7. Bxb4 Qxb4+ 8. Qd2 Qxd2+ 9. Nxd2 exd3 10. e4 dxe4 11. Nxe4 Ke7 {Rapport,R (2720)-Cornette,M (2573) Karlsruhe 2016}) 6. Nb3 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Bxd2+ 8. Qxd2 dxc4 ({Yu himself faced the move} 8... exd3 {when he was playing White against Gao Rui, Chiva 2017:} 9. Qxd3 dxc4 10. Qxc4 Nf6 11. Bg2 Be6 12. Qc2 O-O 13. Nc5 Bc8 14. O-O Nbd7 15. Nb3 Qe7) 9. dxc4 f5 10. Nc3 {N} (10. Qxd8+ Kxd8 11. Nc3 Nf6 12. Nd4 Kc7 13. f3 Re8 14. O-O-O Na6 15. Bg2 Bd7 {Galchenko,M (2368)-Hammer,J (2659) Norway 2018}) 10... Qxd2+ 11. Kxd2 Nf6 12. f3 $6 {Ding said he missed Black's knight manueuver to e5 "and after this I was worse I think."} (12. Bh3) (12. e3) (12. Kc2) 12... Nbd7 13. fxe4 $6 (13. Nd4 Ne5 14. b3) 13... Ne5 $1 14. c5 (14. e3 fxe4 15. Be2 Bg4 {is good for Black, as the d3 and f3 squares are so weak.}) 14... fxe4 ({Ding was more worried about} 14... O-O $1 15. Bg2 Nc4+ 16. Kc1 Ne3 17. Bf3 fxe4 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. Bxe4 {and now} Bf5 $1 20. Bxf5 Rxf5 {and despite being a pawn up White is the one having to be careful here.}) 15. Bg2 Bf5 ({The pawn sacrifice} 15... e3+ {was interesting:} 16. Kxe3 (16. Ke1 $5) 16... O-O {with very active play which gives plenty of compensation.}) 16. Raf1 Nc4+ 17. Kc1 Ne3 18. Rf4 {Thanks to this maneuver the worst is over for White.} O-O 19. Nd4 Nxg2 20. Rxf5 Ne3 21. Re5 Rae8 22. Rxe8 Rxe8 23. Nc2 Nf5 24. Na3 Ne3 25. Nc2 Nf5 26. Na3 Ne3 27. Nc2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE World Cup"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.09.27"] [Round "47.2"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2774"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 (1... c5 2. c4 {was the move order of So,W (2754)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2780) Abidjan 2019}) 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e3 {Vachier-Lagrave has a lot of experience in this Anti-Gruenfeld.} Nxc3 6. dxc3 ({The more ambitious} 6. bxc3 g6 7. Bb5+ Bd7 8. Be2 Bg7 9. d4 O-O 10. O-O Qc7 11. e4 Bg4 12. Bg5 Rd8 13. Rc1 {has been seen in Artemiev,V (2757)-Fedoseev,V (2671) Izhevsk 2019}) 6... Qc7 7. e4 e6 8. Bd3 {N A novelty, which should have been anticipated by the French GM.} ({There are two earlier games of Vachier-Lagrave here:} 8. Be3 Be7 9. Nd2 ({Their blitz game went} 9. Be2 O-O 10. O-O Bd7 11. Qd2 Bc6 12. Bf4 Qa5 13. Qc2 Qa4 {and eventually the American GM was victorious, So,W (2754) -Vachier Lagrave,M (2780) Abidjan 2019}) 9... O-O 10. Qf3 Rd8 11. Qg3 Bd6 12. f4 b6 13. Qf2 Bf8 14. Be2 Ba6 15. O-O Bxe2 16. Qxe2 Nc6 17. f5 {this one was eventually drawn, So,W (2754)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2779) Stavanger 2019}) 8... Be7 9. Qe2 {Now it is some sort of Alapin Sicilian, where Black should be careful about the possible kingside attacks as he is missing his knight on f6.} Bd7 {Intending Bd7-c6 and Nb8-d7.} ({Less precise is} 9... Nc6 10. e5) 10. O-O O-O $2 {A very careless move.} ({After the correct} 10... Bc6 $1 11. e5 {Black needs not to enter the dangerous line} (11. Bc2 Nd7 {looks OK for Black.}) 11... Bxf3 ({But rather continue the development normally:} 11... Nd7 12. Be4 Bxe4 13. Qxe4 O-O {Without the light-squared bishops White's attack is not as frightening.}) 12. Qxf3 Nc6 13. Qg3 Qxe5 14. Bf4 Qf6 15. Be4 {with good compensation for the pawn.}) 11. e5 Bc6 {Apparently, the French GM realized what he had done and this move came after almost 12 minutes of reflection.} ({A weakening move like} 11... g6 {would not be good for Black either.}) 12. Ng5 $1 {Radjabov catches his chance.} h6 (12... Bxg5 13. Bxg5 {is a solid, risk -free two-bishop advantage for White. The one on g5 will secure him the d-file, from where the rooks will be transferred along the third rank, and then Bg5-f6 will come. ..}) 13. Bh7+ {An important intermediate check.} Kh8 14. Bc2 {With the deadly threat of Qe2-d3!} (14. Bb1 $5 {might have been even more subtle, as Radjabov suggested afterward.}) 14... c4 {The pawn attacks the d3 square, preventing Qd3 for now.} ({With the king in the corner lines like} 14... Bxg5 15. Bxg5 hxg5 16. Qh5+ Kg8 17. Qh7# { are not recommendable.}) ({After} 14... g6 {White can already sacrifice a piece for an attack:} 15. Nxf7+ ({However, stronger and simpler is} 15. Nh3 $1 Kg7 16. Nf4 Nd7 17. Re1 {with similar attack as in the game. At the moment the threat is Bc2xg6!}) 15... Rxf7 16. Bxg6 Rg7 17. Qh5 {Although Black has way out here:} Rxg6 $1 18. Qxg6 Qxe5 19. Qxh6+ {with an unclear position.}) ({ White's main threat is revealed in the line} 14... Nd7 $2 15. Qd3 g6 16. Nxe6 $1 fxe6 17. Qxg6) 15. Re1 {Overprotecting the e5 pawn to set free the queen for a kingside assault.} Qd8 {Black needs to fight the annoying knight. It is too close to his king!} ({For example, the line} 15... Nd7 16. Qh5 Nxe5 ({ Black is also destroyed after} 16... Kg8 17. Nxe6 $1 fxe6 18. Bxh6 $1 Rf7 19. Bh7+ $1 Kxh7 20. Qxf7 Kxh6 21. Qxe7 {Followed by a rook lift and mate.}) 17. Rxe5 $1 Qxe5 18. Nxf7+ {is not possible with the rook on e1.}) 16. Nh3 ({ Also good was} 16. Ne4 Nd7 ({Perhaps Radjabov was worried about} 16... Qd5 { But then there was} 17. Qh5 $1 {and if} f5 18. Bxh6 $1 gxh6 19. Qxh6+ Kg8 20. Qg6+ Kh8 21. Re3 {wins for White.}) 17. Bf4 {with a large advantage for the first player.}) 16... Qd5 {Defending the c4 pawn with tempo.} ({Instead:} 16... b5 {loses to the flashy} 17. Bxh6 $1 ({Although a simple move like} 17. a4 $5 { should be also very good for White.}) 17... gxh6 18. Qh5 Kg7 19. Rad1 Nd7 20. Rd4 {and Black cannot survive the attack.}) 17. Nf4 Qc5 {It seems that Black finally got some air to complete the development. Alas...} 18. Bb1 $1 {The queen is once again ready for the battery.} Bg5 ({Otherwise the attack is devastating:} 18... Nd7 19. Qc2 g6 20. Be3 $1 ({But not the impatient} 20. Nxg6+ $2 fxg6 21. Qxg6 $4 Qxf2+ 22. Kh1 Qxe1#) 20... Qa5 21. Nxg6+ fxg6 22. Qxg6 {with mate to come.}) 19. Nxe6 $1 {Wins a pawn.} ({The computer points to an even better idea:} 19. b4 $1 {is a fine move, which intends to open even more diagonals for the white pieces. Then} cxb3 20. Qd3 g6 21. axb3 {threatens Bc1-a3 and if} Rd8 22. Nxg6+ $1 {once again crushes Black, e.g.} fxg6 23. Qxg6 Qe7 24. Bxg5 hxg5 25. Qh6+ Kg8 26. Bh7+ Qxh7 27. Qxg5+) 19... fxe6 20. Bxg5 Qd5 ({The king still suffers in the corner in case of the following puzzle-rush sequence:} 20... hxg5 21. Qh5+ Kg8 22. Bh7+ Kh8 23. Bg6+ Kg8 24. Qh7#) 21. Qg4 Nd7 {Vachier-Lagrave decided that this gives him more practical chances.} ({ Instead, in the endgame} 21... Qxg2+ 22. Qxg2 Bxg2 {White has a pleasant choice between} 23. Bxh6 ({and} 23. Kxg2 hxg5 24. Bg6) 23... gxh6 24. Kxg2 { with a solid extra pawn and a better minor piece White should be winning.}) 22. Be4 Nxe5 23. Qh5 ({Or:} 23. Qh3 Nf3+ 24. Bxf3 Qxg5 25. Bxc6 bxc6 26. Qxe6 { also with an extra pawn, but with the queens on the board.}) 23... Qb5 ({ The rook endgame} 23... Nf3+ 24. Bxf3 Qxg5 25. Qxg5 hxg5 26. Bxc6 bxc6 27. Rxe6 {should be hopeless for Black. It is not only the extra pawn that matters, but the shattered pawn structure of the second player.}) 24. Bxh6 Bxe4 25. Bf4+ Kg8 26. Qxe5 ({But not} 26. Bxe5 Rf5 27. Qh4 Rxe5 28. Rxe4 Qxb2) 26... Bd5 $6 { Most likely the decision to keep the queens was made due to the coming timetrouble for White.} ({In hindsight, Black should have tried his luck in the endgame:} 26... Qxe5 27. Bxe5 Bd5 28. Bd4 {Although then White should find a way to activate his rooks via the e-file as well.}) 27. Re2 Rf5 28. Qe3 Qe8 29. f3 $1 {Radjabov demonstrates textbook technique. First he kills the enemy bishop...} Qg6 30. h4 {...and then he creates a stable construction for his pieces...} (30. Bg3 $5) 30... Raf8 31. Bg5 a6 32. Rd1 {...and behind the stable construction he brings his major pieces out.} Qe8 33. Rd4 Qc6 34. Rg4 Kh7 35. Bf4 $1 {The bishop gets to the ideal diagonal.} R8f7 36. Be5 b5 37. Qf2 Qd7 38. Qg3 {The queen is also there to help the attack.} Rh5 39. Bd4 Qc7 40. Re5 $1 {Finally one of the defenders is traded and that releases the h-pawn. This little bit of energy forces the collapse of the black position.} Rhf5 ({If } 40... Rxe5 41. Bxe5 Qb7 42. h5 {with the threats of h5-h6 followed by Rg4-g8-h8 mate, and Rg4-g6-h6 with mate!}) 41. Rg5 Kg8 42. h5 Rxg5 43. Qxg5 Qe7 44. Qg4 Rf5 {A blunder but there was no adequate defense against h5-h6 anyway.} 45. Qxf5 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.16"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Vitiugov, Nikita"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. Qe2 Nd7 8. Nc4 Re8 9. Bd2 b5 10. Ne3 Nf8 11. h4 {This has been seen before in Duda-Laznicka, 2016. The question is, what is the point of this move? Well, for starters Ng6 is now longer so comfortable because I can stop Nf4 with g3 and then push the knight back with h5. But mainly the h-pawn lunge is to move ahead with h5-h6 and create weaknesses around the black king.} (11. O-O-O a5 12. Kb1 a4 13. Nf5 b4 14. g4 Be6 15. Be3 Bd6 16. d4 exd4 17. Bxd4 f6 18. Qe3 Bxf5 19. gxf5 Qe7 20. Rhe1 c5 21. e5 cxd4 22. exd6 Qxd6 23. Qxd4 Qxd4 24. Nxd4 Rxe1 25. Rxe1 c5 26. Nc6 Ra6 27. Ne7+ Kf7 28. Nc8 Rc6 29. Re7+ Kg8 30. Re8 Kf7 31. Re7+ Kg8 32. Re8 g6 33. Ne7+ Kf7 34. Rxf8+ Kxe7 35. Rh8 gxf5 36. Rxh7+ Ke6 37. Rh4 Rc8 38. a3 Rb8 39. Kc1 Ke5 40. Rc4 Kd5 41. Rf4 Ke5 42. Rc4 Kd5 43. Rf4 {1/2-1/2 (43) Dominguez Perez,L (2739) -Karjakin,S (2773) Saint Louis 2017}) 11... a5 (11... Ng6 12. g3) 12. a4 $5 {But this is already a new concept. White players have usually tried to long castle and continue with their play on the kingside which leads to double edged play. What Vitiugov is trying to do, is play on the entire board. The downside of this strategy is that he doesn't know where he should be placing his king.} Bb6 {Karjakin defends his a5 pawn, asking the question to White - what are you going to do with your king?} (12... b4 {should be considered. It doesn't seem idea to give up the c4 square but this is not a big worry for Black, he can always exchange that knight with his light squared bishop.} 13. Nc4 f6 14. h5 Ne6 $13) 13. h5 $1 { Let's keep moving forward.} Ne6 (13... h6 {Judging from how the game proceeded, this might be a wiser choice, stopping White from creating weaknesses on the kingside.} 14. g4 $5 Bxe3 15. Qxe3 Bxg4 16. Rg1 Bxf3 17. Qxf3 Qd6 {Black is a pawn up, but I am pretty sure that Vitiugov analyzed this position at home and came to the conclusion that White has excellent chances.} 18. O-O-O $44) 14. Qd1 Nd4 15. h6 g6 16. Nxd4 (16. axb5 cxb5 17. Nxd4 exd4 18. Nd5 Qxd5 $19 { is the problem!}) 16... Qxd4 $6 {This seems like an error in judgement by Karjakin.} (16... exd4 {This looked like a serious option during the game.} 17. Nf1 (17. Ng4 f5 $19) 17... c5 (17... f5 18. Ng3 (18. f3 fxe4 19. fxe4 Rf8 $17 { looks excellent for Black.}) 18... fxe4 19. Nxe4 Bf5 20. Qe2 {This is positionally quite favourable for White.} Qe7 21. f3 Bxe4 22. dxe4 $1 $16) 18. axb5 c4 $5 $132 {We can argue about who is better here, but one thing is sure that this is much better than what happened in the game.}) 17. axb5 cxb5 18. Qf3 $1 Qd8 (18... Qxb2 $2 19. Qf6 Qxa1+ 20. Ke2 $18) 19. Nd5 f5 20. Nxb6 cxb6 21. exf5 Bxf5 {Here we reach another critical position. White has his trumps in the position, the main one being the excellent pawn structure and the little guy on h6 which constantly creates mating threats against the black king.} 22. Qb7 (22. O-O $14 {This was the risk free way of playing the position.}) 22... Re7 (22... Qd7 23. Qxd7 (23. Qxb6 e4 $132) 23... Bxd7 24. f3 $14) 23. Qc6 Bd7 (23... e4 {It felt that this was the right way to play in the position. However after} 24. O-O $1 {The threat of Bg5 forces Black to make some decisions.} (24. Bg5 $2 exd3+ {is just what Black wants.} 25. Bxe7 Qxe7+ 26. Kf1 Rc8 27. Qd5+ Be6 {Black is already close to winning.} 28. Qxd3 $2 Bc4 $19) 24... exd3 25. Bg5 $16 Rc8 26. Bxe7 Qxe7 27. Qd5+ $18) 24. Qd5+ Re6 (24... Be6 25. Qxd8+ Rxd8 26. Bg5 $18) 25. O-O $1 {After the White queen and other pieces have created a lot of positional weaknesses in Black's camp, it is time now to bring the king to safety!} Qe8 26. Rae1 Bc6 27. Qa2 Qf7 28. Re3 Rae8 29. Rfe1 R6e7 {I think such positions are Vitiugov's strength. There are weaknesses in the position, he manoeuvres with precision, putting more pressure on his opponent.} 30. b3 b4 31. Qa1 Qf6 32. R1e2 $1 Bd5 33. Qe1 { Forming Alekhine's Gun!} Re6 34. Bc1 $1 {The bishop makes his way to b2. The only downside is that the h6 pawn is weak, but e5 is definitely more important. } Qh4 35. Bb2 Bc6 (35... Qxh6 36. Rxe5 $16 Rxe5 $2 37. Rxe5 $18) 36. Rh3 (36. Rxe5 Bxg2 $1 {You can always bank on the minister of defence to come up with creative defensive ideas.} 37. Kxg2 Qg4+ 38. Kf1 Qh3+ $11) 36... Qg5 37. Rg3 Qxh6 38. Bxe5 Qh4 39. Ree3 Qe7 40. Bd4 b5 41. Bb6 (41. Rxe6 Qxe6 42. Re3 Qf7 43. f3 $16) 41... Qd6 42. Rxe6 Rxe6 43. Re3 Rxe3 44. Qxe3 {This endgame is better for White on two counts: 1. The black king is weaker than White's king and 2. the black pawns are weaker than white's. The opposite coloured bishop with the queens on the board, adds to Black's worry rather than increase the drawing tendencies.} a4 45. Bc5 Qd5 46. f3 axb3 (46... a3 47. Bxb4 a2 48. Bc3 $16 {White has things under control.}) 47. cxb3 Qxb3 48. Qe5 {The threat is Qb8+ followed by either winning the c6 bishop or mating the black king.} Qf7 49. Bd4 Kf8 50. Bc5+ Kg8 51. Bd4 Kf8 52. Kf2 $5 {A practical choice. Threat is to play Qc5+ now and pick up the bishop on c6. Karjakin deals with this threat but forgets about the other threat!} (52. Qc5+ Qe7 53. Qxc6 Qe1+ 54. Kh2 Qh4+ 55. Kg1 Qxd4+ $19) 52... Qd5 $2 (52... Bd7 53. Bc5+ Kg8 54. Bxb4 $16 {White has his chances in this position, but Karjakin should be able to hold.}) 53. Bc5+ $1 {Game over!} (53. Bc5+ Kg8 (53... Kf7 54. Qe7+ Kg8 55. Qf8#) 54. Qb8+ Kf7 55. Qf8+ Ke6 56. Qe7+ Kf5 57. g4+ Kf4 58. Be3#) 1-0 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.20"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Vitiugov, Nikita"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C43"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2767"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nc3 (6. Nxd7 Bxd7 7. O-O Bd6 8. c4 c6 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. Nc3 Nxc3 11. bxc3 O-O {is the main line with over 1000 games already having been played from this position.}) 6... Nxe5 7. dxe5 Nxc3 8. bxc3 {Although this is a theoretical position, I would like to take a look at it in some detail. The main reason being the interesting imbalances in this position. Let's jot down the imbalances. 1. The first thing that strikes you is the pawn structure. Black clearly seems to have a better structure as he doesn't have any doubled pawns like White has on the c-file. 2. Thanks to the e5 pawn, White has some space advantage. 3. White has a majority on the kingside while Black has a majority on the queenside. 4. White has the semi open b-file which could prove useful. After listing the imbalances you begin to understand a few things. The pawn structure is really not the main thing in the position. It would have been if Black had knights on the board. Imagine adding a knight on d7 and a white knight on f3. Suddenly things are not so clear, because the knight gets a very nice square on c5 because of the pawn structure. As there are only bishops on the board, White doesn't have to worry about his pawn weaknesses for now. Also the pawns on c2-c3 prevent Black pawns from advancing. easily on the queenside. Imagine you had a pawn on b2 instead of c3. One can easily imagine the move c5 being more powerful as then Black wants to run down White with c4,d4 and so on. With the doubled pawns, it is not so easy for Black to push on. For White on the other hand, the pawn majority on the kingside is easier to expand with f4-f5. Black can stop White pawns after f4, by playing ...f5. However, that gives White a passed pawn on e5, as we see in the game. All in all I feel that the position is slightly better for White.} Be7 9. O-O (9. Qh5 Be6 10. Rb1 Qd7 11. h3 O-O-O $13) 9... O-O 10. f4 f5 (10... f6 {should have been considered.} 11. Qh5 f5 {leads to a similar position as in the game.} (11... g6 12. Bxg6 Bc5+ 13. Kh1 hxg6 14. Qxg6+ Kh8 15. Qh5+ Kg8 16. Rf3 Rf7 17. Rg3+ Rg7 18. Rxg7+ Kxg7 19. f5 $18)) 11. Be3 Be6 12. a4 Qd7 13. Qf3 Rfd8 {It's quite interesting to see how Vitiugov builds up this position.} 14. Rfd1 c5 15. Kh1 g6 16. h3 Qc7 17. Qf2 {Not only putting pressure on the c5 pawn but also to reroute the bishop to f3.} b6 $6 { Although this looks like a normal move, it might have been a good idea to not touch this pawn without any provocation. The reason being it gives White a hook to open up a line on the queenside at a later date with a5.} 18. Qe1 Kh8 19. Be2 $1 Rg8 20. Bf3 Rad8 {Wesley has hinted at some kingside pawn with g5, but he is not able to execute it.} 21. a5 $1 b5 22. a6 $1 {Now the b5 pawn will also be a small weakness.} Rd7 (22... g5 23. fxg5 Bxg5 24. Bxg5 Rxg5 25. Rab1 $16 {It somehow feels that this entire operation with ...g5 proved more beneficial for White than Black.}) 23. Rdb1 Rb8 24. Bf2 Rdd8 25. Qe2 Qb6 26. Rb2 $1 {Again we see how Vitiugov is good at making these little moves. The idea is not to double on b-file as then the a6 pawn would fall, but to actually create a square on b1 for the queen.} Rd7 27. Qf1 $1 {The queen makes a square on e2 for the bishop and gets ready to jog back to b1.} Rc7 28. Be2 Bd7 29. Qd1 $1 {A small halt on the way to b1.} Qe6 (29... Be6 {is impossible because b5 hangs.}) (29... Bc6 {was perhaps a better idea as now Ra5 is not so easy, but White can just improve his position slowly.}) 30. Ra5 $1 Kg7 31. Qa1 (31. Bxb5 Rxb5 32. Raxb5 Bxb5 33. Rxb5 Qxa6 34. Qb1 $14) (31. Qb1 g5 $5 32. Bxb5 gxf4 33. Bxd7 Rxb2 34. Qxb2 Rxd7 35. Qb5 $14 {White is definitely looking good here.}) 31... g5 32. Bxb5 Rxb5 (32... Bxb5 33. Raxb5 Rxb5 34. Rxb5 gxf4 { we reach this position in the game as well.}) 33. Raxb5 Bxb5 34. Rxb5 (34. Qa5 $5 Rc6 35. Rxb5 Rxa6 36. Qc7 Rc6 37. Qxa7 Ra6 38. Qb8 $18) 34... gxf4 35. Qa5 $1 Qxe5 36. Rb7 Rxb7 37. axb7 {With such a pawn on b7, the win is just a matter of time.} f3 38. gxf3 Bd6 39. Kg2 {No ghosts!} Qh2+ 40. Kf1 Qxh3+ 41. Ke2 Qh2 42. Qxa7 Kf6 43. Qb6 Ke7 44. Qc6 Kd8 45. Qc8+ Ke7 46. Qxf5 Kd8 47. Kf1 Qh1+ 48. Bg1 Bh2 49. Qg4 Bd6 50. Ke2 Ke7 51. Bxc5 $1 Qh2+ 52. Bf2 h5 53. Qf5 Kd8 54. Qc8+ Ke7 55. Qf5 {Vitiugov makes it a point to repeat the position to gain time and also show who is in control.} Kd8 56. Qf7 h4 57. Qg8+ Kd7 58. Qg4+ Kc6 59. Qc8+ Kb5 60. b8=Q+ {A high class positional game from which we can learn a lot.} (60. b8=Q+ Bxb8 61. Qc5+ Ka6 (61... Ka4 62. Qb4#) 62. Qb6#) 1-0 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.30"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Yu, Yangyi"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D97"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2774"] [Annotator "peterdoggers"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O 7. e4 Nc6 8. Be2 e5 9. d5 Nd4 10. Nxd4 exd4 11. Qxd4 c6 12. Qc4 (12. d6 Re8 13. Qd3 b5 14. f3 Re6 15. Be3 Rxd6 16. Qc2 Nh5 17. O-O Bd4 18. Qc1 b4 19. Bxd4 Rxd4 20. Na4 Qd6 21. Rd1 Nf4 22. Bf1 c5 {Wang,H (2710)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2758) Beijing 2014 }) (12. Qd1 Re8 13. O-O Nxe4 14. Nxe4 Rxe4 15. dxc6 Rd4 16. Qb3 bxc6 17. Bc4 Qf6 18. Be3 Rd8 {Harikrishna,P (2727)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2758) Beijing 2014}) 12... b5 13. Qxc6 Bd7 14. Qd6 Re8 15. e5 {N} (15. Bg5 Rb8 16. a3 a5 17. O-O b4 18. axb4 axb4 19. Nd1 Nxe4 20. Bxd8 Nxd6 21. Bc7 Rb7 22. Bxd6 Rxe2 {Giri,A (2783)-Mamedyarov,S (2817) Wijk aan Zee 2019}) (15. Bd3 a5 16. f3 b4 17. Ne2 Bf8 18. Qg3 Qb6 {Navara,D (2726)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2794) Schwegenheim GER 2018 }) (15. f3 Nh5 16. Be3 f5 17. Qa3 b4 18. Qxb4 Rb8 19. Qa3 fxe4 20. f4 Qh4+ 21. g3 Nxg3 22. Bf2 Qh3 23. Bxg3 Rec8 24. Bf1 Qg4 25. Be2 Qh3 26. Bf1 Qg4 27. Be2 { 1/2 (27) Ding Liren (2766)-Wei Yi (2706) Wijk aan Zee NED 2016}) 15... Ng4 { Played after just two minutes, so MVL knew what he was doing.} 16. e6 {MVL surely had White's alternatives analysed as well:} (16. f4 Nxe5 $1 17. fxe5 Bxe5 18. Qc5 (18. Qb4 a5) 18... Rc8 19. Qf2 Rxc3 $1) (16. Bf4 Nxe5 17. O-O a6 { (threatening 18...Bf8)} 18. Qa3 Qb6 19. Be3 Qb8 20. Bc5 a5) 16... fxe6 17. h3 Ne5 18. dxe6 Bxe6 19. Qxd8 Raxd8 20. Bxb5 ({After} 20. O-O $6 Bc4 {Black has more than enough compensation.}) 20... Bc4 $1 {Again the critical move here.} 21. Bxe8 Nd3+ 22. Kf1 (22. Ke2 Rxe8+ 23. Be3 Rd8 $1 {is also equal as White can't untangle.}) 22... Bxc3 $1 {A key move for Black as well.} (22... Nxc1+ $2 23. Kg1) (22... Nxb2+ $2 23. Kg1 Bxc3 24. Bxb2 Bxb2 25. Re1) 23. bxc3 Nxc1+ 24. Kg1 Ne2+ 25. Kh2 Rxe8 {The remaining endgame is a draw.} 26. Rhe1 ({Yu said he forgot whether to play the rook to e1 or d1 but also after} 26. Rhd1 {Black is OK.}) 26... Bf7 27. c4 Bxc4 28. Rac1 Bb5 29. Rc7 a6 30. Ra7 Re4 31. Rd1 Rd4 32. Rxd4 Nxd4 33. a4 Bxa4 34. Rxa6 Bb3 35. Ra7 Bf7 36. Kg3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE World Cup"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.10.01"] [Round "56.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A19"] [WhiteElo "2811"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. e4 c5 4. e5 Ng8 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 {A famous pawn sacrifice in the Flohr-Mikenas system. For the pawn White collects the bishop pair and has the lead in the development.} Nxe5 8. Ndb5 a6 9. Nd6+ Bxd6 10. Qxd6 f6 11. Be3 Ne7 12. Bb6 Nf5 13. Qb4 Nc6 14. Qc5 Qe7 ({Instead Dubov decided to return the pawn at once with:} 14... d6 15. Bxd8 dxc5 16. Bb6 e5 17. O-O-O Ncd4 18. Bxc5 Bd7 19. Bd3 Rc8 20. Bxd4 Nxd4 21. f4 Bg4 22. Rde1 Nc6 { and Black held his own in Giri,A (2767)-Dubov,D (2648) Novi Sad 2016}) 15. O-O-O d6 {Radjabov decided to stick to the pawn.} ({There was another chance to give back the pawn but to enter an endgame with:} 15... Qxc5 16. Bxc5 d6 17. Bxd6 Nxd6 18. Rxd6 Bd7 {as in Wojtaszek,R (2737)-Mons,L (2500) Germany 2017. True in this case White keeps slight edge thanks to his better pawn structure. Risk-free.}) 16. Qa3 O-O 17. g4 Nh6 18. Rg1 Nf7 {N A novelty.} ({In a predecessor Black went:} 18... f5 {and did more than fine after:} 19. gxf5 ({ However, I suspect that in this particular game White would have gone for:} 19. g5 $1 Nf7 20. f4 {limiting the black knights with advantage.}) 19... Nxf5 20. Ne4 Qh4 21. Nxd6 Qxh2 22. Rg2 Qf4+ 23. Kb1 Nxd6 24. Rxd6 e5 {Grant,J (2249) -Eggleston,D (2368) Edinburgh 2009}) 19. f4 {What is White's compensation all about? Black indeed has an extra pawn, but can he move anything?} Bd7 (19... e5 {allows the occupation of a wonderful outpost after:} 20. Nd5) ({Whereas:} 19... f5 20. g5 {limits the black knights as discussed above.}) 20. h4 { Meanwhile White can and will expand on the kingside. His play is much easier and this is already an advantage.} a5 {In order to get some air for his pieces. } 21. g5 {Ding continues with his plan without a blink.} (21. Nb5 Ra6 {will at least get rid of the enemy bishop.}) 21... Kh8 ({Here:} 21... Ra6 22. c5 $1 { hitting the rook does not seem as appealing.}) 22. Qb3 {The queen is slowly moving towards the kingside.} Rfc8 23. Kb1 e5 {This turned out to be a mistake. } ({Radjabov should have opened some air for his pieces with:} 23... fxg5 24. hxg5 {Then:} e5 {Leads to a position where White still has plenty of compensation for the pawn, but Black can fight on. For instance:} 25. Nd5 ({Or: } 25. Bd3 Nb4 26. Nd5 Nxd5 27. cxd5 a4 28. Qa3 {with compensation.}) 25... Bf5+ 26. Ka1 Qe6 {With the key resource:} 27. Nc7 Rxc7 $1 28. Bxc7 Nb4 {when Black creates threats on his own.}) 24. Nd5 Bf5+ 25. Ka1 Qe6 26. gxf6 $1 {White plays for domination.} ({Ding correctly avoids:} 26. Nc7 Rxc7 $1 27. Bxc7 Nb4 28. Rg2 exf4 {when Black has compensation for the sacrificed material.}) 26... gxf6 27. a3 $1 {One more cool move. The Chinese GM constantly demonstrates his compensation is long-term.} ({Although there was nothing wrong with:} 27. Bg2 a4 28. Qc3 a3 29. b3) (27. Nc7 {was once again possible, but there was no need to allow the counterplay-} Rxc7 28. Bxc7 Nb4) 27... Rab8 ({The idea of White's previous move is revealed in the line:} 27... Nb4 $5 28. Qf3 $1 {Ignoring the steed.} Nc2+ 29. Ka2 {and the black knight achieved nothing.}) 28. Bg2 Rg8 29. Ne3 $1 {A very strong retreat which creates the nasty Bg2-d5 threat. All the white pieces are ideally placed.} Nd4 {Practically, a resignation. But did Black had had a choice?} ({Radjabov cannot save his bishop:} 29... Bh3 $2 30. f5 Bxf5 31. Bd5 Qd7 32. Nxf5 Qxf5 33. Bxf7 {drops a piece.}) ({Ditto for:} 29... Bg6 $2 30. f5) ({Finally,} 29... Ne7 {leads to horrible position for Black after:} 30. Nxf5 Qxf5 ({Or} 30... Nxf5 31. Bd5 Qe7 32. Rxg8+ Rxg8 33. Qh3 ) 31. c5 $1 d5 32. Bxd5 {White regains the pawn and keeps all the advantages of his position.}) 30. Bxd4 exd4 31. Nxf5 Qxf5 32. Bd5 Rxg1 33. Rxg1 Nh6 ({If: } 33... Rg8 34. Rxg8+ Kxg8 35. c5 $1 {is strong for White.}) 34. Qb6 Qd7 35. Qxd4 {Ding regained the pawn and kept all the advantages in the position- safer king, better pieces, better pawn structure. Everything spells quick disaster for Black.} Qe7 36. Ka2 Nf5 37. Qc3 b6 ({Nothing changes.} 37... a4 38. Re1 Qg7 39. Re6) 38. h5 Re8 39. h6 Ne3 40. Re1 (40. Re1 {Radjabov resigned, not waiting for:} Nxd5 41. cxd5 Qxe1 42. Qxf6+ Kg8 43. Qg7#) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.10.01"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Yu, Yangyi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2774"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "peterdoggers"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 ({Yu has also played the more passive, but very solid} 5... Nf6 6. d4 Be7 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O (8. h3 Re8 9. O-O b6 10. Ne2 Bb7 11. Ng3 Nbd7 12. c3 Bf8 13. Bg5 g6 14. Re1 Rxe1+ 15. Nxe1 Bg7 16. a4 a5 17. Nc2 h6 18. Bd2 h5 {Zhao Jun (2611)-Yu Yangyi (2759) Tianjin CHN 2018}) 8... Nc6 9. Re1 Nb4 10. Bc4 d5 11. Bb3 c6 12. Ne2 Ne4 13. c3 Na6 14. Ng3 Nd6 {Giri,A (2780)-Yu Yangyi (2764) Shenzhen CHN 2018}) 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 O-O ({The other big system for Black is} 7... Nc6 {and this is what Yu played earlier this year against MVL:} 8. Qd2 Be6 9. O-O-O Qd7 10. Kb1 Bf6 11. Ng5 (11. h4 O-O-O 12. Bg5 Qe7 13. Qf4 h6 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. Qxf6 gxf6 16. Nd4 Ne5 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2778)-Yu Yangyi (2764) Shenzhen CHN 2018}) 11... Bxg5 12. Bxg5 f6 13. Bf4 O-O-O 14. b3 h5 15. h3 Rhe8 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2779)-Yu Yangyi (2738) Stavanger NOR 2019}) 8. Qd2 Nd7 9. O-O-O Nf6 10. Bd3 Re8 (10... c5 11. Rhe1 Be6 12. Kb1 Qa5 13. a3 c4 14. Be2 Ne4 15. Qc1 d5 16. Bd4 Rac8 17. Ne5 Nd6 18. Bg4 Rfe8 {Caruana,F (2819)-Duda,J (2729) Paris 2019}) 11. Rhe1 ({ Earlier this year Yu faced} 11. h4 {and went} d5 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Qf4 Be6 15. g4 Qd6 16. Qxd6 cxd6 17. Rdg1 Kf8 18. Nd4 Bd7 {and a draw after 56 moves in Wei Yi (2741)-Yu Yangyi (2738) Danzhou CHN 2019}) 11... Bg4 12. Qe2 {N } (12. h3 Bxf3 13. gxf3 d5 14. Rg1 Qd6 15. h4 Bf8 16. Bg5 Nd7 17. h5 Ne5 18. Rg3 Nc4 {Har Even,A (2374)-Turkov,V (2529) ICCF email 2016}) 12... a6 13. h3 Bd7 $1 {Vachier-Lagrave said he underestimated this in advance.} 14. g4 ({ "I cannot really go} 14. Nd4 {because of} g6 $1 {and then 15...c5 and my queen turns out to be misplaced on e2," said MVL.}) 14... Bf8 15. Qf1 ({MVL suggested } 15. Qd2) 15... g6 16. Bg5 Bg7 17. Nd2 Rxe1 18. Rxe1 Qf8 19. f4 { Vachier-Lagrave still thought he was better here.} Re8 20. Bh4 ({Here he noticed that after} 20. Rxe8 Qxe8 21. f5 {White isn't threatening anything yet and Black has time for} Bc6 {"Then what happens is he goes 22...Nd7 and 23... Ne5 and I might just be worse." (MVL)} 22. fxg6 hxg6 23. Bxf6 Bxf6 24. Qxf6 { is met by} Qe1#) 20... Rxe1+ 21. Qxe1 Qe8 22. Qxe8+ Bxe8 23. Ne4 Nxe4 24. Bxe4 c6 25. Kd2 Bd7 26. Bd3 f5 27. g5 b5 28. Bf2 c5 29. b3 Kf7 30. h4 h5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE World Cup"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.10.02"] [Round "57.1"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C89"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2811"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 {In a must-win situation it seems suicidal to allow the Marshall Gambit and compete with a computer. However, Radjabov has something on his mind.} d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d3 Bd6 13. Re1 Bf5 14. Qf3 Qh4 15. g3 Qh3 16. Be3 ({Earlier this match (and this year) Radjabov tested his opponent in the forcing line:} 16. Nd2 Rae8 17. Ne4 Bg4 18. Qg2 Qxg2+ 19. Kxg2 f5 20. h3 Bh5 21. Bf4 Bxf4 22. gxf4 fxe4 23. dxe4 Bf3+ 24. Kxf3 Rxf4+ 25. Kg3 Rfxe4 26. Rxe4 Rxe4 27. f3 (27. a4 Re2 28. axb5 axb5 29. Bxd5+ cxd5 30. Rd1 Rxb2 31. Rxd5 Rb3 32. f3 Rxc3 33. Rxb5 {½-½ (33) Radjabov,T (2758)-Ding,L (2811) Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2019 was the continuation of the first match game.}) 27... Re2 28. c4 bxc4 29. Bxc4 Rxb2 30. Bxa6 g5 {but Black comfortably held back then, Radjabov,T (2756)-Ding,L (2812) Shamkir 2019}) 16... Bxd3 17. Nd2 Qf5 18. Bd4 Rfd8 19. a4 h6 20. h4 Rac8 {[#]} 21. Qxf5 {N This is the Azeri's prepared novelty. He revealed that he almost did not prepare for this game as he had it all stored in his file. The preparation was more psychological, as we shall see in a moment.} ({Another recent game of the Chinese GM went:} 21. axb5 axb5 22. Bxd5 cxd5 23. Ra5 Qxf3 24. Nxf3 Re8 25. b4 f6 26. Ra6 Bf8 27. Ra7 Ra8 28. Rxe8 Rxe8 {and Black held his own in Karjakin,S (2750)-Ding,L (2805) Saint Louis 2019}) 21... Bxf5 22. Ne4 Bf8 {Played after 30 minutes of thought! A good sign for White.} ({It is curious to learn that Radjabov knew that this line is a draw! This was his main psychological problem- should he go for it, or not? What if the opponent knows(remembers actually!) the line? The fact that Ding sank into thought definitely gave courage to the first player. Best now was:} 22... c5 $1 {"with a draw," said Radjabov. It is not as obvious though and in many lines Black is holding with only moves. In particular these: } 23. Bxd5 ({If this was played White might have tried instead:} 23. Nxd6 Rxd6 24. Be5 {with slow grinding, but most likely not winning the game.}) 23... cxd4 24. Bb7 {Now Black has to remember clearly how to regain the pawn:} Rc4 25. Bxa6 ({In the line:} 25. Nxd6 Rxd6 26. axb5 axb5 27. Re5 dxc3 28. Ra8+ Kh7 29. bxc3 g6 30. Rxb5 Rxc3 {everything disappears from the board.}) 25... Bxe4 $1 26. Bxb5 ({One more key line runs:} 26. Rxe4 dxc3 27. Rxc4 cxb2 28. Rb1 bxc4 29. Rxb2 c3 30. Rc2 Bb4) 26... dxc3 $1 27. Bxc4 cxb2 28. Rad1 Bc2 29. Ba2 Bxd1 30. Rxd1 Bc7 {and it should be a draw. However, calculating such a line is close to impossible and remembering it- maybe even more difficult.}) 23. Nc5 Nb4 24. Re5 g6 25. axb5 cxb5 26. Ne6 $3 {This is what Radjabov's idea is based on. A shocking central blow, against which Ding has to find only moves.} ({ Instead:} 26. Nxa6 Nc6 27. Rxb5 Nxd4 28. cxd4 Rxd4 29. Rb7 Rd7 30. Rxd7 Bxd7 31. Bd5 Rc2 {would have led to a typical Marshall situation where White is up a pawn, but Black comfortably holds thanks to his bishop pair.}) 26... Bxe6 $1 {Everything else is inferior.} ({Instead:} 26... fxe6 {loses to:} 27. Rxf5 $1 gxf5 28. Bxe6+ Kh7 29. Bxf5+ $1 {The point.} Kg8 30. Bxc8 Rxc8 31. cxb4 { and Black misses the g-pawn in comparison to the game.}) ({Or:} 26... Rd7 27. Nxf8 Rxf8 28. Bc5 Nd3 29. Bxf8 Nxe5 30. Bxh6 {winning a pawn.}) 27. Rxe6 fxe6 28. Bxe6+ Kh7 29. Bxc8 Rxc8 {One more good sign for Radjabov, who was up to here still in his prep!} ({Instead:} 29... Nc2 $1 {would have still been "a draw" as the Azeri GM revealed. For example:} 30. Rc1 Nxd4 31. cxd4 a5 ({ Or even:} 31... Rxd4 32. Bxa6 Rb4 {and once that the b-pawn disappears the draw becomes inevitable.}) 32. Ba6 Bg7 33. Bxb5 Bxd4) 30. cxb4 Rc4 31. Bf6 $1 { One more brilliant practical decision.} ({White avoided:} 31. Be5 Bg7 32. Bxg7 Kxg7 33. Rxa6 Rxb4 34. Ra2 Kf6 {with a draw.}) 31... Bg7 ({Bad was:} 31... Rxb4 32. Rxa6 {when Black has problems on both wings.}) ({However, another version of the bishop exchange seemed like a good way to hold:} 31... Rc6 $1 32. Bc3 Bg7 {Now:} 33. Kg2 Bxc3 34. Rc1 $5 a5 $1 {will lead soon to the endgame Black dreams of three versus two on the kingside. Especially if he can play h6-h5!}) 32. Be7 Rc6 {Once again Ding hesitates and is uncertain which endgame to chose. } ({Better was to search for the rook endgame again with:} 32... Bxb2 33. Rxa6 Bc3 {True, after:} 34. Rb6 Bxb4 35. Bf6 {Radjabov will keep the bishops alive and this will give him much more chances than the pure rook endgame, but at least the pawns will be on the same side which should make defense easier.}) 33. Ra2 Kg8 34. Bc5 Kf7 ({Here was the last moment for:} 34... Bf8 $1 {Black is still very close to the draw. Say:} 35. b3 Kf7 $1 ({Not the immediate:} 35... Bxc5 36. bxc5 Rxc5 37. Rxa6 {(with tempo!)} Kg7 38. Rb6 $1) 36. Rc2 Bxc5 37. Kg2 {Avoiding the threat Bc5xf2+!} (37. bxc5 a5 {is similar.}) 37... a5 $1 {and Black manages to get rid of the queenside pawns.}) 35. Kg2 Ke6 36. b3 h5 ( {According to Radjabov Black's last chance was:} 36... Bc3 {Although here after:} 37. Rc2 $1 {Black's chances of survival are slim. Both:} Bxb4 $2 ({And } 37... Bd4 $2 38. Re2+) 38. Re2+ {lose on the spot.}) 37. Kf3 {Now White automatically centralizes his pieces and is practically winning.} Kf5 38. Rd2 Be5 39. Rd5 Ke6 ({The very last chance to put up resistance was:} 39... Kf6 { with the idea to meet:} 40. Ke4 {with} Re6) 40. Ke4 {White showed no mercy from here:} Bf6 41. f4 $1 Bc3 42. f5+ Kf7 43. Rd7+ Kg8 (43... Ke8 44. Rh7 $1) 44. Bd6 $1 gxf5+ 45. Kxf5 Bg7 46. Kg5 (46. Kg6 $2 Bf8) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2019.10.02"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Yu, Yangyi"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D86"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2774"] [Annotator "peterdoggers"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. d5 (9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O b6 11. Rc1 Bb7 12. Bb5 Rc8 13. Qd2 Na5 14. d5 e6 15. c4 a6 16. Ba4 exd5 17. exd5 Nxc4 18. Rxc4 b5 19. Bxb5 axb5 20. Rxc5 Qd7 {Giri,A (2779)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2778) Saint Louis 2019}) 9... Na5 10. Bd3 O-O 11. Rb1 e6 12. c4 f5 $5 {N An interesting but risky novelty. White resonds strongly with a temporary pawn sacrifice.} (12... b6 13. Bd2 Nc6 {1/2 (13) Ivanov,I (2510)-Yermolinsky,A (2615) Durango 1992}) 13. O-O fxe4 14. Bxe4 Nxc4 15. Nf4 Nd6 16. Bf3 exd5 $6 ({At this point it was probably better to go} 16... e5 17. Ne6 Bxe6 18. dxe6 e4 19. Bg4 Bd4 20. Qb3 Qe7 {but White is still better after} 21. Qd5) 17. Qxd5+ Kh8 18. Qxc5 {In this open position Black is in some trouble because of his lack in development, White's centralize pieces and pressure on the queenside.} Bf5 19. Bb2 $1 Bxb2 ({Of course not} 19... Bxb1 $2 20. Bxg7+ Kxg7 (20... Kg8 21. Bd5+) 21. Ne6+) 20. Rxb2 Qf6 21. Re2 $1 {Keeping the knight on the uncomfortable d6 square.} ({Underestimated by MVL, who was mostly considering} 21. Rd2 Ne4 22. Bxe4 Bxe4 23. g3 {"but this is only slightly worse and probably holdable."}) 21... Rfc8 (21... b6 22. Qb4 {"and I am in some trouble, how to avoid Nd5." (MVL)}) 22. Qa5 Rc4 23. Nd5 Qd4 24. Re7 Rac8 25. Rd1 $6 ({White should have played} 25. Qa3 $1 {to prevent Black's Rc1. "I didn't actually find a continuation for me. It very possibly could just be lost." (MVL)}) 25... Rc1 $1 {The trade brings Black some air.} 26. Ree1 Nc4 27. Qb4 Rxd1 28. Rxd1 Qb2 29. Qe7 Qg7 30. g4 Bd7 31. Qxg7+ (31. Re1 $5) 31... Kxg7 32. Ne3 1/2-1/2